The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday revoked theemergency use authorization for malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as

a treatment for COVID-19, the use of which has been championed byU.S. President Donald Trump. The FDA said based on new evidence, itwas no longer reasonable to believe that oral formulations ofhydroxychloroquine and the related drug chloroquine may beeffective in treating the respiratory illness caused by the novelcoronavirus. The move comes after several studies of thedrug suggested it was not effective, including a widelyanticipated trial earlier this month showed it failed to preventinfection in people who have been exposed to the virus.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In a first, GovernorBiswabhusan Harichandanwould address both theAssembly and LegislativeCouncil on the first day of thebudget session through virtualconference on June 16 at 10 am.

The Governor will addressboth the Houses of theLegislature from the DarbarHall from the Raj Bhavanthrough video conference.

This arrangement has beenmade in the wake of Covid-19pandemic. Finance Minister

Buggana Rajendranath will pre-sent the budget for the finan-cial year 2020-21 in the after-

noon. It is not yet confirmedwhether the session will be cutshort to two days.

The Business AdvisoryCommittee (BAC), which isscheduled to meet after theGovernor's address, will decideon number of working days,according to sources.

It may be recalled that thestate government could notpresent the full budget inMarch in the wake of Covid-19spread.

Accordingly, the governmentopted for vote on account forthree months, and the periodwould end by June 30.

Meanwhile, AssemblySpeaker T Seetharam told the

media on Monday that strictCovid -19 guidelines are beingfollowed in making the seatingarrangements in both theHouses.

Seats in the Assembly andCouncil are being sanitised.Seating arrangements are beingchanged to ensure social dis-tancing. Arrangements aremade to conduct medical teststo every member while themedia will be allowed to coverthe session from the pressgallery and no visitors will beallowed for this session.

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

MONEY 8REPORT: GDP CONTRACTION POSES‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT' TO MSMES

ANALYSIS 7UNLEARNING VITAL

LESSONS FROM HISTORY

SPORTS 11‘DHONI AT NO 3 WOULD HAVE

BROKEN MOST RECORDS’

VIJAYAWADA, TUESDAY JUNE 16, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

}LET US BE THEREFOR EACH OTHER

IN OUR OWN SMALLWAYS: ANUSHKA

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*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 224*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

One year on, dissensionsurfaces in YSRCP ranks

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Narasapuram MP KanumuruRaghu Rama Krishna Raju onMonday set the proverbial catamong the pigeons by confess-ing that he was never keen onjoining the party but did so onlyafter repeated requests fromthe YSRCP leadership.

The MP’s confession drewsharp gasps among the collec-tive ruling party leadership.

Talking to the media here, theMP said “I never sought a tick-et from the YSRCP. As a matterof fact, the YSRCP leadershipoffered the ticket to me. Theparty leadership requested sev-eral times pleading me to jointhe party. They literally plead-ed me to join the party. TheYSCRCP leadership said only ifI join the party will other MPsfollow me. They asked me tojoin the party becauseNarsapuram is a stronghold ofthe TDP. I had no interest, butafter several deliberations Ijoined the YSRCP.”

Raju has been a maverickfrom the day he joined the party,and his revelations come as nosurprise to his followers.However, the situation is unex-pected for the YSRCP which hasbeen on a roll ever since it wona landslide in the 2019 elections.

On hindsight, the YSRCPleadership could have takenheed of the blowing wind. EverSince Raju hosted a farewellparty for MPs after the wintersession of Parliament in 2019,relations have soured withYSRCP supremo and ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

Raju had invited PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andthe then BJP national president

and Union home minister AmitShah for the dinner.

Raju had also made it clearhis stand on the policy deci-sions of the Jaganmohan Reddygovernment. He was highlycritical of the AP government’smove to implement Englishmedium in governmentschools and also raised theissue in Parliament seekingprotection of Telugu languageand Centre’s intervention in

ensuring education in mothertongue in primary classes.

Jagan took a serious view ofRaju’s stand as this flew in theface of his government’s decisionto introduce English medium ingovernment schools for ClassesI to VI. Raju had also criticisedJagan’s sand policy saying it hadled to scarcity of sand and ram-pant irregularities in its supply.

304 fresh Covid-19cases, 2 deaths in AP PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A record 304 fresh cases wereadded to the Covid-19 tally inAndhra Pradesh on Mondayas the state's aggregate mount-ed to 6,456.

With two fresh deathsreported from Kurnool andAnantapur districts in the last24 hours, the overall tollrose to 86, accordingto the latest Covid-19 bulletin.

Of the 304new casesreported, 246were locals, 52from other statesand six foreignreturnees.

Kurnool, the majorcoronavirus hotbed in thestate, crossed the 1,000 markin the number of cases as 60were added in the last 24hours, taking the total to1,036.

With 30, it also has thehighest Covid-19 toll so farfollowed by 27 in Krishna, thesecond major hotspot in thestate.

As many as 56 new caseswere reported in Krishna,majority of them inVijayawada city, taking theoverall count to 757.

A new Coronavirus clusteremerged in Chelluru grampanchayat under Rayavarammandal in East Godavari dis-trict, with a hamletSuryaraopet registering 26cases in a single day.

TDP MLA hurt in stonepelting byYSRCP workers PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Tension prevailed inVisakhapatnam East Assemblyconstituency on Monday aftersuspected YSRCP supportersgheraoed MLA VelagapudiRamakrishna Babu, and peltedstones and coconut shells at him,causing injuries.

It all happened when theMLA reached Ramakrishnapuram to take part in foundation-stone laying ceremonies.

It is believed that the suspect-ed YSRCP activists did not wantthe MLA to get any credit for thedevelopment work and hencedid their best to obstruct him.

When the MLA remainedundaunted and tried to go aboutwith his plans, the suspectedactivists of the ruling party pelt-ed stones and coconut shells athim. Locals said that the attack-ers did not belong to the area.The injured MLA alleged thatthe YSRCP leaders are obstruct-ing development in the con-stituency.

“Our party president NChandrababu Naidu taught usonly how to develop the con-stituency, and not to indulgerowdyism,” he said.

Narayana breaks barriers, set to join YSRCPPNS n HYDERABAD

If the grapevine is to bebelieved, former MunicipalAdministration Minister andsenior TDP leader P Narayanais all set to become the latestentrant to the ruling YSRCP.

It’s no secret that Narayanahad been desperately trying toswitch sides and join theYSRCP for the past one year.However, YSRCP MLAs fromNellore had been stonewallinghis moves.

Now, sources closeto the man himselfindicate thatNarayana hasbeen able tobring downthe walls andc o n v i n c eNellore YSRCPleaders to allowhim be part oftheir party. They haveindicated that they haveno objection to Narayana’sjoining the ruling party, the

sources said.Narayana has been

under scrutinyfor various rea-sons ever sinceY SJaganmohanReddy came to

power. He was the

CRDA chairmanand since the probe

in the Amaravati land hasbegun, the former ministerallegedly was even more deter-

mined to wriggle out of themess that took root during theprevious regime.

Furthermore, recently agovernment order was issuedrestricting the number of stu-dents to be admitted in edu-cational institutions.Narayana, who runs an empireof educational institutions is atextreme loss as the number ofstudents in each of his collegeswas way above the prescribedlimit.

HYDERABAD: The YSRCP leadership isunderstood to be preparing the ground fordisciplinary action against the party’sNarasapuram MP Raghurama Raju for outburstagainst the party. The controversial MP had beenpublicly critical of the government’s policies and hadalleged corruption, land mafia activities in the state besides casteismin the one-year rule of the YSRCP government. Taking a serious viewof the MP’s criticism, the top leadership of the YSRCP is planningdisciplinary action against him. It is understood that YSRCPpresident YS Jaganmohan Reddy has decided to serve show causenotice on the MP. He is also reported to have sent indications that hemay face suspension from the YSRCP if his response to the showcause notice is not satisfactory.

Stage is set for a Budget session of many firsts

AP man endslife in Hydquarantinefacility

Kadapa SteelPlant to haveRs 500 croreequityPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The upcoming Kadapa SteelPlant will have Rs 500 croreequity, and negotiations areon with big-ticket companiesfor a joint venture with theState-owned AP High-GradeSteels Limited.

This was revealed during areview meeting on the pro-posed Steel Plant here onMonday where ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy was briefed about thedevelopments and the bigcompanies showing interest tobe part of the projectd.

The Chief Minister saidthat there would be a Rs 500crore equity and the negotia-tions are on with major com-panies who are expressinginterest in the venture that iscoming up in YSR Kadapadistrict. Officials briefed Jaganabout the discussions theyheld on behalf of High GradeSteels Limited with HyundaiMotors, Tata Steels, EssarSteels, among others, haveshown interest in joining theKSP venture which has acapacity of about 3 milliontonne annually.

Two forensicsstudents testpositive, AMCmortuary shutVISAKHAPATNAM: The

mortuary of the AndhraMedical College in

Vizag city has beentemporarilyclosed after twopostgraduatestudents ofForensic

Medicine andToxicology

Department testedpositive for Covid-19. As

many as five professors, fourPG students, and 10 otherstaff, who had come incontact with two PGstudents, have been putunder quarantine.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The AP government hasdecided to resume inter-statebuses to Karnataka from June17. Following the approvalfrom state government, theAndhra Pradesh State RoadTransport Corporation(APSRTC) management hastaken the decision to start busservices to Bengaluru city anda few other places inKarnataka state from June 17.

The APSRTC will initiallyresume inter-state services toKarnataka with a limited num-ber of 168 buses, which will beincreased to 500 in four phas-es. The corporation hasarranged buses from variousdistrict centres and townsacross the state to Karnataka.

Reservations for the buseswill be launched online fromTuesday, June 16. People whowish to travel to Karnatakacan booktheir tick-ets onlinet h r o u g hofficial web-s i t ewww.apsrt-conline.in.

Following the physical dis-tance, the use of masks andsanitisers has been mademandatory for all passengers.

The AP government hasmade all the arrangements tocarry out Covid-19 tests forpeople who will return to thestate from Karnataka.

RTC MD Madireddy Prataphas urged the authorities tofollow the protocol issued bythe Centre and state to preventthe spread of Covid-19through passengers who trav-el through RTC buses.

APSRTC had shut down allthe inter-state bus servicesdue to the lockdown.However, AP government offi-cials wrote to the neighbour-ing states to allow inter-statebus services to operate in thewake of the relaxationsannounced by the Centre inlockdown restrictions.

Chief Secretary NeelamSawhney wrote to govern-

ments of Telangana,Karnataka andOdisha exceptTamil Nadu overthe resumption ofthe bus services

between states.

TDP gives Rs 50K aid toVizag gas leak victimsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Telugu Desam Party (TDP)supremo N ChandrababuNaidu on Monday saida financial aid of Rs50,000 to the gasleak victims' fami-lies inVisakhapatnam —which he wanted tohand over personal-ly — is now being trans-ferred directly into their bankaccounts.

While the toll in the gas leak

has been put at 12, the TDPsaid it was providing the finan-cial aid to 15 families.

In a separate letters writtento the 15 families, Naidu

said the ruling YSRCPgovernment has notgiven him permissionto visit the port cityand therefore was not

able to meet them per-sonally and hand over

the assistance.

l Governor to address both Houses via videoconference l Legislators over 60 get option not to attend

AP-Karnataka busservices from June 17

PNS n HYDERABAD

A resident of Visakhapatnamwho had recently returnedfrom the UAE, was foundhanging in a hotel atMadhapur where he wasunder quaran-tine.

The vic-tim wasidentifiedas 28-year-old DavidT h a r u nKumar, a resident ofVisakhapatnam in AndhraPradesh. A polytechnic grad-uate, he was working for a pri-vate company in Qatar for afew years. According to thepolice, Kumar was engaged toa distant relative of his and thecouple was supposed to getmarried on his return.

As per protocol, Kumarchecked into a quarantinefacility at a private hotel inMadhapur after landing atthe Rajiv Gandhi InternationalAirport (RGIA) inShamshabad.

33

3

33

3

33

I never sought a ticketfrom the YSRCP. As a

matter of fact, the YSRCPleadership offered the ticket tome. The party leadershiprequested several timespleading me to join the party.They literally pleaded me to join the party

— KANUMURU RAGHU

RAMA KRISHNA RAJU

Narasapuram MP

CBI ALERTS STATES ON FAKE HANDSANITISER MADE USING METHANOL

State Bank of India is seeking to recover two guarantees furnished bythe former billionaire Anil Ambani, which according to a news report

are worth more than $158 million. The state-run lender filed anapplication with the National Company Law Tribunal toappoint a resolution professional, according to an updateon the court's website. The tycoon, who had offeredpersonal guarantee on the bank's loans to his RelianceCommunications Ltd. and Reliance Infratel Ltd., wasgiven a week to reply on Thursday. The 60-year-old is the younger brother of Mukesh Ambani, thewealthiest man in Asia.

TOTAL SHUTDOWN IN CHENNAI FROMJUNE 19, RS 1,000 DOLE AGAIN: TN CM

With Chennai and suburbs continuing to witness a surge in COVID-19cases, Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Monday declared a total

lockdown in these areas from June 19 to 30. Also, a full-scale shutdown willbe implemented here on two Sundays during the 12-day period,he said. Also, the Chief Minister announced another round ofcash relief of Rs 1,000 to rice ration card holders andunorganised sector workers in Chennai and a string of othernearby areas in Chengelpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallurdistricts. Ration card holders and workers with several statewelfare boards have already received Rs 1,000 cashassistance in April and subsequent months.

US FDA REVOKES EMERGENCY USE OFHYDROXYCHLOROQUINE FOR COVID-19

ANIL AMBANI FACES CRISIS AS SBI MOVESTO RECOVER RS 1,200 CRORE FROM HIM

This lock downproves that:“The only thing

more dangerousthan ignorance is

arrogance.”Albert Einstein

Rahul Gandhi@RahulGandhi

Under PM @Nare-ndraModiji’sdecisive

leadership, Indiais resolutely and

collectively fighting againstthe Covid-19 global pandemic.

PM Modi’s government willleave no stone unturned tohelp our people in need.

Amit Shah@AmitShah

As a responsibleopposition,keeping in mind

the patheticmanner in which the

govt is dealing with #COVID19& listening to genuineconcerns of the public, wediscussed some possiblesolutions & sent concretesuggestions to Hon@DrTamilisaiGuv

Uttam Kumar Reddy@UttamTPCC

@ncbn hasstarted hisschool of acting

again. But thistime, only a few

joined the classes. On the firstday itself, new traineesrealised that @ncbn is amaster inthe art of telling liesand shedding crocodile tears.

Vijayasai Reddy V@@VSReddy_MP

Twitterati

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated June 15, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Jyeshtha & Krishna Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Ekadashi: Full Night

Nakshatram:Ashwini: Full Night

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 03:32 pm – 05:10 pm

Yamagandam: 09:01 am – 10:39 am

Varjyam: 01:36 am – 03:23 am

Gulika: 12:16 pm - 01:54 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 10:02 pm – 11:49 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:50 am – 12:43 pm

VIJAYAWADAWEATHERFFoorreeccaasstt:: CloudyTemp: 37/28Humidity: 665%Sunrise: 05.41 amSunset: 06.51 pm

YSRCP LEADERSHIP MULLINGACTION AGAINST RAJU

The CBI has alerted the police in all the states and Union territories andother law-enforcement agencies about an Interpol input warning about

racketeers selling fake hand sanitiser, manufactured using the highly-toxicmethanol, and another gang posing as PPE and other COVID-19-relatedmedical suppliers, officials said on Monday. After getting the input, theCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI) immediately alerted the policeauthorities to remain vigilant about gangs using the modusoperandi to make quick money, the officials said. Agencysources said some criminals are approaching hospitals andhealth authorities posing as representatives of manufacturersof PPE kits and other COVID-related protective gear.

Was never keen to join YSRCP,says party’s Narsapuram MP

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, D.No. New 3-88, Old 3-22, Chandra Theatre, Gosala, Penamaluru Mandal, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh - 521 151, Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any

damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement before

responding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | JUNE 16, 2020 vijayawada 02

EGG RATES

` 49,450 (10 gm)

60

GOLD

` 47,100 (1kg)

` 1350

HYDERABAD 370

VIJAYAWADA 385

VISAKHAPATNAM 365

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `33..8855

SILVER

VIJAYAWADABULLION RATES

`//110000

CHICKEN RATES

Dressed/With Skin `177

Without Skin `201

Broiler at Farm `122

`//KKGG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

At the field level, the BJPalways mingles withpeople, interacting

with them and fulfilling theirneeds. The party identifiesitself with the people andthis was the reason it came topower with a landslide major-ity and won a permanentplace for itself in the heartsand minds of people unlike a100-year-old party, which ison the way out.

Even in the early days ofimposing lockdown, whenpeople were mostly confinedto their homes, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,Home Minister Amit Shahand party national presidentJP Nadda exhorted the partyworkers to approach the peo-ple and learn their difficulties.

The party presidententrusted responsibilities toBJP leaders and set targets forthem and constantly moni-tored the progress. A reviewof the activities in the wake ofreturn to normalcy in society,

it is evident that the BJPactivists, compared to those ofother political outfits, helpedthe people, especially thepoorer sections of society, tothe most possible extent.

The BJP is the only party tohave set up a control room atnational headquarters tocoordinate relief operationsacross the country.

Against the target of pro-viding food packets to over 5crore people, they were dis-tributed among 20 crore peo-ple as per the official data.Besides, five crore ration kitsand five crore masks were alsodistributed. The relief opera-tions continue.

At least 10 lakh BJP rankand file spent their timeamidst the people taking careof their needs. BJP leaderspaid special attention to theelderly and the indisposed.Over 4.5 lakh workers exclu-sively worked for their wel-fare.

At the same time, BJP

workers worked hard tomobilise funds for PM CaresFund. In fact, 54 lakh peoplecontributed to the fund.

The party’s Yuva Morcha,Kisan Morcha, MahilaMorcha, Dalit Morcha,Minority Morcha and all affil-iated units coordinated 24x7to extend a helping hand tothe downtrodden during theCovid pandemic.

Modi loves to remain in themidst of the people. He alwaysthinks of ways and means toget closer to the people if heis not in a position to make

direct contact with them. In the 2012 Gujarat elec-

tions, he addressed the peo-ple of the state through holo-gram technology, which wasintroduced for the first timein the country. In the 2014general elections, he used thesame technology to addressover 800 public meetings cre-ating an impact among thepeople of even the remotesttowns and villages that it wasModi who was directly inter-acting with them. In fact,Modi drew closer to the peo-ple with his Chai Pe Charcha.

The Modi Government feltthat it’s its duty to explain itsdecisions to the people onvarious issues be it demoneti-sation, scrapping Article 370,Citizenship Amendment Act,Triple Talaq and so on.

It held meetings across thecountry on the issues toexplain the priorities of thegovernment to the people. Atcertain times, Modi himself

explained to the people thereasons for taking the deci-sions. Modi is aleader whop r o v o k e st h o u g h tamong thepeople by dis-cussing the mostordinary issuesthrough his Mann Ki Baataired on All India Radio.

The BJP propagated its suc-cesses of the Modi govern-ment completing the firstyear of its second termexploiting technology by wayof virtual rallies addressed byNadda, Amit Shah andRajnath Singh.

Besides many Union min-isters, CMs, senior party lead-ers, party general secretaries,secretaries held rallies in thename of Jan Samvad.

In the virtual rally held inWest Bengal, Amit Shah washeard by over 2 crore, whichis a record of sorts.

While thousands of

activists took part in thismeeting, many more listened

through social mediaplatforms likeFacebook, YouTubeetc. Over 15,000LED screens and

70,000 smart TVs wereinstalled across West

Bengal to enable people frombooth level to hear AmitShah.

In Bihar too, he addressedmillions of people takingtechnology to another dimen-sion.

Modi used technology tobring rapport between leadersand CMs. There is no exag-geration to say that no otherleader exploited technology aseffectively as Modi. Moreover,SAARC, G-20 internationalmeetings were held via tech-nology because of Modi’s ini-tiative.

The effect of virtual ralliesis that they can be taken toeven the most remote areas.

What is surprising is the

Congress and Left parties,who were either rejected orlost contact with the people,criticising the BJP at a time itis working hard to develop arapport with the people.

Some people who subscribeto urban naxalite ideologypredicted that the protests inthe USA over killing of anAfrican-American GeorgeFloyd by a police officialwould instigate people againstModi in India. They even pre-dicted that Dalits andMinorities would revoltagainst Modi.

Others predicted clashesbetween Aryans andDravidians.

BJP wants the country toraise its head proudly in thecomity of nations by achiev-ing comprehensive develop-ment and by promoting unityand patriotism. But the fissi-parous forces are not able tounderstand this, whereas peo-ple of the country received itvery well.

Y SATYA KUMAR

BJP National Secretary

TRULY

SPEAKING

MODI HAS MASTERED THE ART OF USING TECH TO REACH OUTIn the 2012 Gujarat elections, he addressed the

people of the state through hologram technology,

which was introduced for the first time in the country.

In the 2014 general elections, he used the same

technology to address over 800 public meetings

creating an impact among the people of even the

remotest towns and villages that it was Modi who

was directly interacting with them.

Vizag poised to becomefilm hub of South IndiaCHINNAM PRADEEP KUMAR n VIJAYAWADA

Vizag has a special place in thehearts of Tollywood fraternity asmany Telugu films have had beenshot here. The beaches, ‘erramat-ti dibbalu’ and Araku Valley havebecome most sought after placesto shoot the films. Yesteryearrenowned directors shot manyfilms here. After bifurcation oferstwhile Andhra Pradesh theprominence of Vizag enhancedmanifold.

Speculations are rife that thePort City, which was recentlydeclared as the Executive Capital,may become the hub of SouthIndian film industry. ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddy,who focused much on welfareduring his one-year rule, has beentaking the initiative to facilitatethe shifting of Tollywood basefrom Telangana to AndhraPradesh. Soon after the firstanniversary of his rule, he hasshifted gears to give the muchneeded thrust to development.

The recent visit of Tollywoodbiggies to Amaravati for talks

with the Chief Minister hasbared more plans forVisakhapatnam than expected.The Chief Minister had baffledthe Tollywood delegation by ask-ing them to spell out what othersteps they were expecting fromhim when they just asked for per-mission for the shooting of filmsand TV serials. The ChiefMinister has reportedly offeredmore than what the Tollywoodexpected like the single windowsystem for various projects of thefilm industry and development ofthe City of Destiny.

Ater bifurcation, ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddyappears to be going a step aheadto turn the picturesque Port Cityinto the hub of the South Indianfilm industry. The government islikely to extend a series of sops forthe Tollywood to shift the base toVisakhapatnam.

Speaking to The Pioneer, Filmand Television PromotionCouncil of Andhra Pradesh(FTPCAP) president J Chaitanyasaid that with the initiative of theChief Minister permissions per-taining to the film industry will

be issued through a single win-dow, which is a positive move bythe government. After the cinebiggies met Jagan, immediatelypermissions were accorded toresume shooting, which werestalled due to the lockdown.The government is likely to allo-cate 1,000 acres for setting up ofcine hub in Visakhapatnam in thedays to come, he added.

FTPCAP secretary P Vijay Varma thankedJaganmohan Reddy for the sup-port and encouragement to thefilm industry.

Durga temple toremain closedon June 21

Pawan demandscancellation ofClass X examsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Jana Sena Party chief PawanKalyan demanded that thegovernment postpone theClass X examinations, whichare scheduled to begin fromJuly 10. He pointed out thatall the neighbouring StatesTelangana, Tamil Nadu,Chhattisgarh and other Statesin the country have decidednot to conduct exams keep-ing in view of covid-19. Hesaid that by conducting theexaminations, the govern-ment was pushing the lives ofthe students into risk as thenumber of positive cases is onthe rise day after day.

He said that by announc-ing the date of Class X examsit has created a worry amongparents. Though the numberof papers is being cut, duringthe present Covid-19 crisis, itis not advisable to conductexaminations, he said.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Sri Durga Malleswara Swamytemple atop Indrakeeladri Hillwill remain closed on June 21on account of solar eclipse.The temple doors will beclosed after performing ritual‘Pancharati’ on June 20.However, the temple will beopened for darshan to devo-tees on June 22 from 6 am.

The temple VedicCommittee membersannounced that Durga temple,along with other temples onthe hill will remain closed onSunday, due to eclipse. Theannular solar eclipse will beginon June 21 at 10.25 am andend at 1.54 pm, according totemple officials.

After the eclipse, priestswill perform cleaning rituals at2.30 pm on the temple premis-es. Later, the temple doors willbe closed after ‘Pancharati’on June 21. On the occasion,the temple committee hascancelled all darshans onSunday.

l The recent visit ofTollywood biggies toAmaravati for talks with theChief Minister has baredmore plans forVisakhapatnam than expected

l The CM baffled theTollywood biggies by askingthem to spell out what othersteps they were expectingfrom him when they just askedfor permission for the shootingof films and TV serials

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP chief NChandrababuNaidu wasindulging inmud-sling-ing againstthe YSRCPto defame theparty, allegedHone MinisterM e k a t h o t iSucharita.

Addressing the mediahere on Monday, the HomeMinister lashed out at oppo-sition leader Naidu for hisbaseless allegations that theYSRCP had forced TekkaliTDP MLA K Atchannaidu tojoin the YSRCP. She said it isshameless for Naidu toindulge in such baseless accu-sations.

She sought to clarify thatthe YSRCP had never invitedthe accused TDP MLA KAtchannaidu to join theirparty. Speaking on the Rs 150crore ESI scam, she said thatthe government had ordereda probe as Atchannaidu hadbrazenly violated all norms

and swindled Employees StateInsurance (ESI) funds worthmore than Rs 150 crore.

She further informed thatAtchannaidu had threatenedthe ESI directors flauntinghis capacity as the LabourMinister to misappropriatethe funds. Using intimidatingtactics, he did not pay heed tothe advice of the directors andbrazenly indulged himself insuch a huge scam, she alleged.

Sucharita said that all theaccused related to the ESIScam were arrested only afterobtaining clear evidence thatshowed their involvement.She hastened to add that there

are a few more high-levelpersonalities involved in thescam and all the details oftheir involvement will alsocome to the fore during thecourse of the investigation.

The Home Minister addedthat former minister and TDPsenior leader JC DiwakarReddy’s family was involved inseveral irregularities duringthe Naidu’s regime. The HomeMinister said that JC DiwakarReddy family members hadcheated the transport depart-ment by creating fake docu-ments and even risked thelives of many by operating thebuses without proper licences.

l The Home Minister added that former ministerand TDP senior leader JC Diwakar Reddy’s family

was involved in several irregularities during theNaidu’s regime. The Home Minister said that JCDiwakar Reddy family members had cheatedthe transport department by creating fakedocuments and even risked the lives of manyby operating the buses without proper licences

l Sucharita informed that Atchannaidu hadthreatened the ESI directors flaunting his capacity

as the Labour Minister to misappropriate the funds

Home Minister refutesTDP chief’s allegations

IANS n LONDON

Genes may soon reveal, whowould develop severe Covid-19symptoms, remain asympto-matic or only have a mildCoronavirus attack, sayresearchers.

Data from popular homegenetic-testing kits could help sci-entists shed light on why somepeople, who catch Coronavirushave no symptoms, while othersbecome very ill, according to theteam from the University ofEdinburgh in the UK.

Researchers are now askingpeople who have used DNA test-ing services to gain ancestry or

health insights to join a study thataims to identify key genesinvolved in the body's response

to the infection."Understanding the effect

genes have on susceptibility to

Covid-19 could aid efforts totackle the pandemic, and helpcombat future disease outbreaks,"said the researchers.

More than 30 million peopleworldwide have used genetictesting services. Researchers arenow urging them to share theirDNA data to help speed up dis-coveries that could help fight thevirus.

"Some people suffer no illeffects from Coronavirus infec-tion, yet others require intensivecare. We need to identify thegenes causing this susceptibility,so we can understand the biolo-gy of the virus and hence devel-op better drugs to fight it," said

Jim Wilson, Professor of HumanGenetics at the University ofEdinburgh.

By providing gene data, volun-teers will help the team avoid thecostly, time-consuming task ofcollecting the hundreds of thou-sands of DNA samples thatwould otherwise be needed tomap the genes involved.

The team aims to identifygenes that influence the risk ofdeveloping Covid-19 and thosethat affect disease severity, bycomparing volunteers' symp-toms - or lack of them - with theirDNA.

Researchers also aim toanalyse the long-term health

consequences of infection andself-isolation. The study is sup-ported by the Medical ResearchCouncil, Biotechnology andBiological Science ResearchCouncil, Health Data ResearchUK and Wellcome Trust.

"To identify the genes thatexplain why some people get verysick from Coronavirus and oth-ers don't, we need the solidarityof a large proportion of peoplefrom different countries who canshare their DNA testing resultswith us. In this case, size reallymatters," said Albert Tenesa,Professor of QuantitativeGenetics at the University ofEdinburgh.

Researchers to identify genes that put some at Corona risk

Vja Dvn serves over 10.9 L migrantsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The South Central Railway,Vijayawada Division, has suc-cessfully distributed free mealsto over 10.90 Lakh migrants ontheir journey back to theirhomes on 753 Shramik Specialspassing through the Division tillJune 14. In response to the callgiven by the Ministry ofRailways to serve the guestworkers on Shramik Specials,Vijayawada Division has part-nered with IRCTC to serve theneedy from its base kitchens inthe Division to serve the foodand water to migrants at allimportant junctions like Nellore,Gudur, Ongole, Vijayawada,Rajahmundry and Samalkot toachieve this exceptional feat.

Supporting this novel initia-tive, many local NGOs voluntar-ily provided 1.2 lakh meals,snack packets to guest workerson 90 Shramik trains across theDivision. Especially, NGOs likeAmrutha Hastham, RangarayaAlumni of 1979 and AmaravatiRunners did indispensable ser-vice by responding positively

every time with in short noticeand rendered succour tomigrants travelled in 25 trains tilldate.

Similarly, Satya Sai SevaSamithi, Bezawada Panthers,Amaravati, Asajyothi YouthEngagement, Sha Nathmal &Co, Hotel Fortune Murali,Doctors' Association, ZariyaFoundation, Jain Samaj, SamaraSata Sewa, Amaravati RoundTable, Sarah Foundation, GreenMeadows, Samskriti Seva Samitiand Vadsundhara DiamondRoof have voluntarily came for-

ward to serve the migrants withfree food and water inVijayawada.

At Rajahmundry,Keasavabhatla Charitable Trust& ISKCON and Jain Seva Samitiprovided food to the migrants.RSS Volunteers, Audi SankaraEdcuational Institutions atGudur and Iskcon Food ReliefFoundation in Nellore cameforward to serve the migrants.Despite supply and labour con-straints, unscheduled runningnature of Specials and hugerequirement in numbers, NGOs

efficiently pooled all theresources to ensure no one goeshungry on their way back tohome.

P Srinivas, Divisional RailwayManager, Vijayawada, was effu-sive in his praise of all theorganisations whose generosityand personal involvementhelped the railways a lot in thehour of need. The DRM alsocomplimented the Division offi-cials for maintaining close liai-son with NGOs and VoluntaryOrganisations.

l Despite supply and labourconstraints, unscheduledrunning nature of Specials andhuge requirement in numbers,NGOs efficiently pooled all theresources to ensure no onegoes hungry on their way backto home

l P Srinivas, DivisionalRailway Manager, Vijayawada,was effusive in his praise of allthe organisations whosegenerosity and personalinvolvement helped the railwaysa lot in the hour of need

YSRCP firm on exposinggraft in TDP: AmbatiPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The TDP’s base was shakenwith the arrest of three TDPleaders and this is just a begin-ning as the YSRCP govern-ment is firm on arresting allthe corrupt leaders andproducing thembefore the court,disclosed YSRCPMLA and officialsp okesp ersonA m b a t iRambabu.

Speaking to themedia here onMonday, Rambabusaid that ever since theYSRCP came to power, ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy is ensuring transparen-cy in the governance and firmon exposing the corruptionthat had taken place duringthe TDP rule.

Former MinisterAtchannaidu in the previousTDP government was

involved in Rs 150 crore med-ical scam, he reminded.Moreover, the arrest of JCPrabhakar Reddy and his sonAsmith Reddy was made foroperating buses with forgeddocuments and for not takingsafety measures while plying

buses. All these irregu-larities took place

with Naidu’s com-pliance during histenure, he alleged.

TDP chief Naiduand his son Lokesh

are politicising theseissues by adding caste

colour to them andterming them as being done

with political vengeance, hesaid. “The YSRCP has nointerest in taking politicalvengeance against the TDP,which has only 23 seats in theAssembly and the party is onthe verge of extinction. LikeCongress, TDP will also van-ish from the State,” he predict-ed.

Naidu decriesattack on party MLAPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Opposition leader NChandrababu Naidu onMonday alleged that theYSRCP government wasresorting to repeated attackson TDP MLAs and leadersviolating the fundamentalrights of citizens despite ofrepeated strictures from theHigh Court.

Naidu condemned theattack on MLA VelagapudiRamakrishna Babu, and camedown heavily on the rulingparty goons for pelting stonesat the TDP MLA fromVisakhapatnam East con-stituency and other leaders.The ruling party hooligansprevented the TDP MLAfrom laying the foundationstone for development activ-ities and created havoc bycommitting repeated offencesand attacks on the TDP lead-ers.

Naidu questioned whetherthe opposition MLAs has noright even to launch CCroad works in their seg-ments. The YSRCP wastrampling upon the funda-mental rights of all sectionsof people and the long-standing democratic systemwas being disrupted deliber-ately. Now, even the rights oflegislators were beingdenied.

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | JUNE 16, 2020 vijayawada 03

‘Naidu turned schemes into scams’PNS n VIJAYAWADA

N Chandrababu Naidu hadturned his welfare schemesinto scams when he was at thehelm and was sulking over thearrest of his party leaders, saidMinister for Water ResourcesK Anil Kumar Yadav.

Addressing a press confer-ence here on Monday, theminister slammed TDP chief NChandrababu Naidu and hisson Nara Lokesh for support-ing those accused of corrup-tion. Neither Chandrababunor Lokesh dared to pay a visitto the State for the past threemonths fearing the pandemicand were least bothered aboutthe public. But all of a sudden,Lokesh visited Tadipatri topacify the family members of

JC Prabhakar Reddy, who werearrested on corruption charges,while Naidu hosted a candle-light rally standing up for theaccused, he alleged.

Meanwhile, Anil Kumarlambasted Lokesh for makingstatements like, “We are noting

down everything and we willpay back to the ruling partywith an interest.”

The minister said, “There isno future for the TDP in theState and asked who would payback with interest? Instead oftaking responsibility for the

scams that took place in theirrule, TDP members are playingcaste politics by provoking BCs.There is no separate law for BCsand OCs. It is shameful ofNaidu and Lokesh standing bythe accused, who was chargedwith Rs 150 crore scam dealingwith employees health, whilethe other was plying buses withforged documents. It is Naidu,who had asked to prove the cor-

ruption charges and the govern-ment is conducting investiga-tion, wherein facts are beingunveiled.”

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy made apromise to the public duringelections that strict action willbe taken against the corrupt andtoday as per the Constitution,action is being taken against theaccused, he added.

ATTACKS ON TDP LEADERS

Lokesh warns Jagan of TDPpaying back in the same coinPNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP general secretary andMLC Nara Lokesh warned theYSRCP government that theywould not keep mum if theycontinue to attack the TDPleaders. Lokesh on Mondaymet the family members of JCPrabhakar Reddy. Later, speak-ing to the media on Monday, hevented his ire on Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy for thearrest of TDP leaders.

He said that JC PrabhakarReddy did not resort to anycorrupt activities likeJaganmohan Reddy. He saidthat they are not scared of casesfoisted by the YSRCP govern-ment.

He said that travels businessis not new to the JC family andreminded that Jagan wasbehind bars on charges of cor-ruption for 16 months and wastrying to take revenge. Heinformed that they are makinga note of all the humiliationsand attacks on the TDP lead-ers and very soon they wouldpay back in the same coin,warned Lokesh.

He alleged that 22 caseswere filed against JC Prabhakar

Reddy since February 22, andstressed that Prabhakar Reddyis not a financial offender. Thegovernment was filing casesagainst SCs and backwardclasses, if they keep quiet, theruling party will file false casesagainst everyone, he opined.

MLA K Atchannaidu under-went surgery but he wasbrought by road fromSrikakulam to Amaravti andthey did not allow them insidethe court by hurting theirmorale.

Lokesh said that people,who talk against Jagan arebeing targeted, they have notdone any wrong and will get

bail, said Lokesh. JC DiwakarReddy said that the rulingYSRCP was targeting the oppo-sition with a political vendet-ta and creating unnecessarytrouble intentionally.

He said that the Assemblywill be held by sending all theTDP leaders out of the hall andpass the bills. Despite no namesin the FIR, Prabhakar Reddyand Asmith Reddy were arrest-ed, he pointed out.

He said that Lokesh hasmore concern on the partyleaders and my family,hence, hecame to meet them, DiwakarReddy said.

n Anil Kumarlambasted Lokesh formaking statementslike, “We are notingdown everything andwe will pay back tothe ruling party withan interest”

n The minister said, “There is nofuture for the TDP in the Stateand asked who would pay backwith interest? Instead of takingresponsibility for the scamsthat took place in their rule,TDP members are playingcaste politics by provoking BCs

n Lokesh said that people,who talk against Jaganare being targeted, theyhave not done anywrong and will get bail,said Lokesh

n JC Diwakar Reddy saidthat the ruling YSRCPwas targeting theopposition with a politicalvendetta and creatingunnecessary troubleintentionally

Srinivasulu takes charge as new CPPNS n VIJAYAWADA

B Srinivasulu assumed charge asthe new city Commissioner ofPolice here on Monday.Srinivasulu, who was discharg-ing duties as an AdditionalCommissioner of Police ofVijayawada, which is a part of thestate capital region of Amaravati,has been elevated to the top post.

He took charge from ChDwaraka Tirumala Rao, hispredecessor, who was posted asthe DGP, Railways. Incidentally,Srinivasulu had earlier served asVijayawada CP from May 2013to August 2014.

Addressing a press confer-ence, the newly-appointed CPsaid he is already has experi-ence of working as theCommissioner of Police inVijayawada and possesses aclear understanding of theproblems pertaining to thecity. He thanked the govern-ment for once again giving himthe opportunity to serve thecity as the PoliceCommissioner.

He said measures would betaken to ensure speedy justiceto public in all the cases. Hesaid that he would furtherstrengthen the Special Branchand control the crime rate inthe city. He warned of sternaction against those who try tobreak law and order byindulging in or inciting vio-lence and disturbing the peace

in the city. He said that theywould punish those indulgingin drug peddling or drug traf-ficking. The new CP said thatthe Cyber Cell would focus onall the online frauds.

Outgoing Commissioner ofPolice Ch Dwaraka TirumalaRao said that he had worked asVijayawada CP for 23 monthsand added that the departmentunder him had effectivelyworked during the Assemblyelections in the city and takensteps to contain the spread ofCovid-19.

He further stated that theywere able to control the crimerate in the city significantlywhile improving public rela-tions. Tirumala Rao said thatit was a very good experienceto work as CP and congratu-

lated the newly appointed CPB Srinivasulu.

The CP warned ofstern actionagainst those whotry to break lawand order byindulging in orinciting violenceand disturbing thepeace in the city.He said that theywould punish thoseindulging in drugpeddling or drugtrafficking

B Sreenivasulu takes charge as Commissioner of Police from his predecessorDwaraka Tirumala Rao in Vijayawada on Monday

Was never keento join YSRCP...

Continued from Page 1

Raju meanwhile admittedthat due procedures werenot allowed in the arrest ofK Atchannaidu, but refusedto believe that the arrestwas an act of polit icalvendetta. Further, he notedthat not allowing formerChief Minister and TDPpresident N ChandrababuNaidu f rom meet ingAtchannaidu at the Gunturhospital amounted to viola-tion of his rights.

On Saturday, when Naiduwent to Guntur hospital tomeet Atchannaidu, he wasasked to take permissionfrom the magistrate. TheMP also admitted that thereis large-scale corruption indistribution of house sites tothe poor. He also said MPsare finding it difficult to getan appointment with Jaganbecause of the coteire sur-rounding the CM. “I could-n’t get an appointment withthe CM several times.

On the issue of shifting thecapital from Amaravati, hesaid, “It is a sensitive issue.I have an af f inity toVijayawada where I was bornand brought up. I fiercelywant Amaravati

to be the capital. Jagan was

of the view that Amaravatiwill continue to be the cap-ital with two more capitals.BJP also wants Amaravati tobe the capital.”

TDP gives Rs 50K aid to families ofVizag gas leak victims

Continued from Page 1

In the letter, the TDPchief claimed how oneentire flight was can-celled when he wasabout to go to the portcity. "Now, the TDPleaders would visit eachof the bereaved familiesand the assistance wasbeing directly depositedin their bank accounts,"Naidu said.

He told the victims'families that an irrepara-ble loss was caused tothem and that could notbe compensated in anymanner.

"However, each fami-ly should take courage

and move forward. TheTDP would always befor the people andextend all support at alltimes," he added.

Naidu also con-demned the rulingYSRCP government say-ing it has thrown allweight behind the LGPolymers managementfrom the beginning.

"But whether inpower or in opposition,the TDP would contin-ue to be on the side ofthe people and it wouldfight for the cause of jus-tice to the gas leak vic-tims families and hun-dreds of those injured insurrounding areas," headded.

Kadapa SteelPlant to have Rs 500 cr equity

Continued from Page 1

The meeting discussed aboutthe proposals of the companies forjoining the venture. Further nego-tiations with the companiesshould be completed soon andafter finalising the partner, otherformalities with the selected com-pany would be completed withintwo months, the officials told.

Within two years, developingthe township and allied infrastruc-ture would be completed.

By this month-end soil testingand geo technical survey would becompleted, the officials told theChief Minister. Roads, power sup-ply, main compound wall andother infrastructure would bedeveloped expeditiously, told theofficials. The Chief Minister saidthat there will be Rs 500 croreequity in the KSP.

Industries minister M GouthamReddy, Industries DepartmentSpecial Chief Secretary, K Valvanand other officials were presentduring the review meeting.

AP man ends life inHyderabadquarantine...

Continued from Page 1

However, on June 12,the hotel staff foundhim hanging in theroom and alerted thepolice.

Based on the com-plaint of the hotel man-agement, the MadhapurPolice registered a caseof suspicious death andbegan an investigation.

Preliminary investi-gation revealed thatKumar and his fiancéused to quarrel frequent-ly as he could not returnhome.

On Friday, Kumarhanged himself to theceiling fan using a bed-sheet, after an argumentover the phone again.The police are investi-gating.

Narayana all setto join YSRCP

Continued from Page 1

Running the business is nolonger viable for him if thesedecisions are enforced.Keeping in view his businessinterests, Narayana reported-ly expressed interest in joiningYSRCP, which now appears tobe merely a matter of time.The Mekapati family is said tohave played a key role in facil-itating Narayana’s entry intothe YSRCP.

Mekapati Rajmohan Reddywho was close associate of YSRajasekhara Reddy and theseassociations have enduredand continue in the Jagan era,with one of Medapati’s sonbeing Minister and another aMLA. Jagan may not deny therequest of MekapatiRajmohan Reddy if matterswere to come to such a head,and Narayana may soon startsinging paeans to Jagan.

304 fresh Covid-19cases, 2 deaths in AP

Continued from Page 1

The village now has a totalof 40 Coronavirus cases, offi-cial sources said. All thosewho tested positive here,attended a wedding recently atG Mamidada that had over 100Coronavirus patients.

The sub-jails in Nellore andTirupati also reported Covid-19 cases as a couple of inmatestested positive. Of the total6,456 cases in AP, 5,087 werelocal residents, 1,159 fromother states and 210 were for-eign returnees.

The state now has 2,985active cases, including 2,231locals, 567 from other statesand 187 foreign returnees. Inall 3,385 patients have been dis-charged so far, according to thebulletin. The state has so farcompleted 5,67,375 Covid-19tests, including 15,173 in thelast 24 hours, with a positivityrate of 1.14 per cent.

2 forensic students testpositive: AMC mortuary closed

Continued from Page 1

The PG students had con-ducted post-mortem on over40 bodies in the last onemonth. Despite wearing PPEand other safety equipment,they tested positive for theCovid-19.

The contact persons of thestudents tested negative forthe virus, but they were putunder quarantine as a precau-tionary measure.

Principal of AndhraMedical College (AMC) PVSudhakar said all the profes-sors and staff of the forensicmedicine department havebeen put under quarantine. “It

is difficult to keep mortuaryopen. So we decided to closeit temporarily,” he said.

Since the morgue has beenclosed, no post-mortemswould be conducted fromMonday. The AMC officialshave informed the police toshift the bodies to nearby gov-ernment hospitals for autopsy.

All the bodies have beenshifted to King GeorgeHospital’s morgue for com-pleting the medico-legal for-malities.

Experts said that it is awakeup call for the adminis-tration and it should set uptemporary morgues in all thedistricts of Andhra Pradesh.

Stage set fora session ofmany firsts

Continued fromPage 1

Speaking to ThePioneer senior MLAU m a r e d d yVenkateswarulu saidthat the session will beconducted as per theguidelines prescribed tocontain the virus. Thereare no hard and fastrules regarding MLAsaged over 60 years(senior citizens).

Those who want, canstay home, he said.Venkateswarulu saidthat seating arrangementis also changed insidethe hall as per instruc-tion to maintain socialdistance, all safety mea-sures are being taken toensure smooth functionof the sessions.

Exam, result stressat ‘worrying levels' NAMRATA SRIVASTAVA

n HYDERABAD

Every hour one student com-mits suicide in India, withabout 28 such suicides report-ed every day, according todata compiled by the NationalCrime Records Bureau(NCRB) a year ago, soon afterthe exam results areannounced.

Two thirds of young peopleare going through 'worryinglevels' of exam stress, accord-ing to a survey, and one in 10are going through 'extreme'stress from exams.

But, only 34 per cent of stu-dents seek external help whenthey're stressed about exams.

As the results of TelanganaIntermediate exams approach,the Board of IntermediateEducation has provided a listof clinical psychologists whomthe students can contact forhelp.

Talking about this initiative,Dr Anitha Are, a clinical psy-chologist said, "This helplinewas available also before theexams began. Now-a-days wesee that many children facing

immense pressure to performwell in academics as well asextra-curricular activities. Dueto this pressure, they facedepression, anxiety and stress.What is more worrisome isthat many parents and teach-ers neglect these situations,thinking that the child is act-ing out to run away fromstudies. The child thus is leftalone without anyone to talkto."

Dr Anitha futher adds that,this helpline initiative holdmuch more importance due tothe ongoing pandemic situa-tion. "Earlier, children could atleast leave all the worries whenthey were around their friends.However now, they are lockedup, they can't go out to play.Even their online classes are

conducted with their parentskeeping a vigil on them. Thesethings can irritate kids andmake them anxious."

While most schools abroadhave a counsellor who helpskids navigate through theirissues, many schools in thecountry have no such provision.Dr Manzher AIi consultantpsychiatrist, associated with theTSBIE expresses, "We all knowthat mental health is still stigmain Indian society. Most peoplerefrain from talking about it.Thus child mental health is ofvery less consequence. Mostschools appoint their teachers ascounsellor, and not a qualifiedexpert. A psychiatrist canunderstand the issues the childis facing better, and thus can bemore helpful to the kid."

Reminiscing an incidentwhere a teacher recounted herdiscussion with the student inteachers' staff room in a school,Dr Anitha Are shares, "Wenever share what kids tell us toanyone, unless the child is sui-cidal. While the teachers aretaught child psychology in B.Edcourse, the experts handle thesematters very delicately."

Two thirds ofyoungsters aregoing through‘worrying levels'of exam andresult stress

PNS n HYDERABAD

In the time of the Covid-19pandemic, the Council forIndian School CertificateExaminations (CISCE) hasnotified that students all acrossIndia and abroad can nowchoose not to appear forthe pending ICSEboard exams or theISC board examsand instead getevaluated on thebasis of internalassessment marks.

The CISCE onMonday informedthe High Court that itwill not force students toappear for remaining exami-nations for Class X and XII inJuly, 2020. The Council saidthat it has decided to offer stu-dents two options - eitherthey can appear for pending

exams as per the revisedschedule or they could opt outof the remaining exams, inwhich case the final results willbe based on performance ininternal assessment or pre-board exams. The Councilsaid that it will soon come up

with the methodology forthe same.

Few papers of theICSE exam couldnot be held due tothe pandemic. Inthe proposal theCISCE has also said

that "for the avoid-ance of doubt, for

those subjects whereexaminations have alreadybeen conducted, results inthose subjects will be declaredbased on the student's perfor-mance in such examinations."The next hearing, on this mat-ter, will be held on June 17.

Students can optout of ICSE exams

PNS n HYDERABAD

The work from home(WFH) being offered bythe IT Industry is helpingthe IT professionalsstrengthen their familybonding as they are spend-ing more time at home.Previously, work apart,travel would take two tothree hours more.

The survey, which took500 samples in 150 pro-jects over a month, alsosaid about 57 per cent ofthem are not keen on anonsite opportunity at thispoint due to the fear ofCoronavirus.

The 14-point question-naire, administered per-sonally and also online,said nearly 90 per cent ofthe companies have

extended the work fromhome post lockdown.About 82 per cent of therespondents said theywould like it if the facilityis further extended.

TITA Global PresidentSundeep Kumar Makthalasaid the survey aimed tounderstand how the WFHis being implemented,

their views about extend-ing it and other aspects.

He said the work fromhome has helped manypeople strengthen theirfamily relationships. TheIT sector, according toNIMHANS, was amongthose that were seeing ahigh rate of divorce anddiscord. The WFH has

given time to iron outmany such issues, he saidadding that about 89 percent of those surveyedhave reported enhancedrelationships with spousesand other family members.

Issues with internet con-nectivity, missing team-work and occasionalpower outages remainedthe key challenges for workfrom home. About 62 percent said they had no workpressure while workingfrom home. The survey,however, said that about 48per cent were putting in 8-10 hours work and about29 per cent said they wereputting in 10-12 hours ofwork at home. A majorityof the companies did notgive any incentive for workfrom home.

Work from home helping instrengthening family bonding

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | JUNE 16, 2020 nation 04

SHORT READS

Lakhs of locusts killedin UP's Mahobadistrict: OfficialMAHOBA: The districtadministration here sprayedchemicals on a swarm oflocusts, spread over half-a-kilometre, killing lakhs of them,officials said on Monday. Theswarm attacked Mahoba onSunday evening after invadingBanda district. Only 10 per centof the agriculture fields hadvegetables, therefore theysettled on trees, districtagriculture officer Veer PratapSingh said. On Sunday evening,the swarm attacked a garden inKamalkhera village. "As soon asthe news of the locustsreaching the village came,officials of the agriculturedepartment sprayed chemicalsthrough a fire tender, followingwhich lakhs of locusts werekilled. Some locusts died in therain itself," Singh said. Theofficial said some small swarmsof locusts are still hoveringaround and the administrationand farmers are fully alert.

HC seeks Delhi govtreply on Ganga RamHospital's plea

Drive-in worshipadopted by churchin Bengaluru

BENGALURU: A church hereorganised a unique drive-inworship allowing visitors toperform Sunday servicewithout breaking the socialdistancing norm in view of thecoronavirus spread. TheSunday mass was divided infive service and divided in threebatches. The first batch was oftwo-wheelers at 7 am and 5pm, the second batch was ofcars from 9 am to 7 pm andthe third batch at 11 am was ofthose who came in auto-rickshaws, cabs, buses or bywalk to the church. Accordingto pastor Dani Kuruvilla ofBethel AG Church, theworshippers performed theprayers without getting off theirvehicles.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi HighCourt Monday sought responseof the AAP government on aplea by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital(SGRH) seeking quashing of anFIR lodged by Delhi Policeagainst it for allegedly violatingCOVID-19 regulation norms.Justice C Hari Shankar, whoconducted the hearing throughvideo conferencing, issuednotice to the Delhi governmentand listed the matter for furtherhearing on August 11. On theinterim plea seeking a stay onthe investigation and furtherproceedings, the court haslisted the matter for Tuesday forhearing hearing arguments.Advocate Rohit Aggarwal,representing the hospital, saidthey are seeking quashing ofthe FIR lodged on June 5 atRajinder Nagar police stationunder Section 188(disobedience to order dulypromulgated by public servant)of IPC and the proceedingsinitiated thereafter.PNS n MUMBAI

The Bombay High Court onMonday permitted all flightoperators to allow passengersto occupy middle seats inflights, but said they shouldstrictly comply with guide-lines of the Directorate Generalof Civil Aviation (DGCA) onmeasures to prevent the spreadof COVID-19.

A division bench of Justices SJ Kathawalla and S P Tavaderefused to accept the contentionsraised in a petition filed by AirIndia pilot Deven Kanani, whosaid the middle seats of all inter-national and domestic flightsshould be kept vacant to preventthe spread of coronavirus.

"We are of the prima facieview that the safety and health ofpassengers on board the aircraftqua (with regard to) COVID-19virus is adequately taken care ofeven if the middle seat of the air-craft is not kept vacant onaccount of passenger load and

seat capacity, the court said.The court permitted air car-

riers to allow passengers to occu-py the middle seat in flights, butsaid they should strictly complywith DGCA's guidelines onmeasures to be taken to preventspread of the coronavirus.

The DGCA in its May 31 cir-cular said flight operators shouldtry to keep the middle seatvacant but if it has been booked,then the passenger shall be pro-vided with a wraparound gownin addition to the mask and face

shield. If possible, passengersfrom one family or those travel-ling in one group could be allot-ted seats along with the middleseat, it said in the circular.

The court in its order said ithas not seen any material toshow wrongdoing on part of theAir India and Air India Expressor violating circulars issued bythe DGCA on March 23 andendangering the lives of passen-gers travelling back to Indiafrom abroad in the Vande Bharatflights.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The average temperature overIndia is projected to rise by 4.4degrees Celsius, while the inten-sity of heat waves is likely toincrease by 3-4 times by the endof the century, according to a gov-ernment report on the impact ofclimate change on the country.

India's average temperaturehas risen by around 0.7 degreeCelsius during 1901–2018, large-ly on account of Green HouseGases-induced warming, statesthe report by the Ministry ofEarth Sciences.

It is likely to be published byScience and Technology MinisterHarsh Vardhan on Tuesday.

The report has been preparedby the Centre for ClimateChange Research, a cell underMoES' Indian Institute ofTropical Meteorology, Pune.

“By the end of the twenty-firstcentury, average temperatureover India is projected to rise byapproximately 4.4 degreesCelsius,” the report states.

In the 30-year period between

1986 and 2015, temperatures ofthe warmest day and the coldestnight of the year have risen byabout 0.63 degrees Celsius and0.4 degree Celsius, respectively.

By the end of the century, thetemperatures of the warmestday and the coldest night are pro-jected to rise by approximately4.7 degrees Celsius and 5.5degrees Celsius, respectively,according to the report.

The frequencies of occur-rence of warm days and warmnights are projected to increaseby 55 per cent and 70 per cent,

it says. “The frequency of sum-mer (April–June) heat wavesover India is projected to be 3 to4 times higher by the end of thetwenty-first century,” the reportstates.

The average duration of heatwave events is also projected toapproximately double. The com-bined rise in surface temperatureand humidity, amplification ofheat stress is expected acrossIndia, particularly over the Indo-Gangetic and Indus river basins,the report notes.

Sea Surface Temperature

(SST) of the tropical IndianOcean has risen by a degreeCelsius on average during1951–2015, markedly higherthan the global average SSTwarming of 0.7 degree Celsius,over the same period, the reportstates.

Sea Surface Temperatures doeshave an influence over the IndianOcean. The Indian Ocean Dipoleis linked to the SSTs of theIndian Ocean. A positive IOD,linked to the cooling/warming ofthe Indian Ocean waters, gener-ally helps to have a good mon-soon.

Temperature over India to rise by over4 deg Celsius by end of 21st century

PNS n KOLKATA

In a hilarious turn of events, aman claimed on Facebookthat he had ordered a 'commu-nist manifesto' on an e-retailplatform, but was insteaddelivered a copy of 'BhagavadGita'.

Attaching photos of thebook and the invoice that said'Communist Manifesto',Sutirtho Das, a resident of themetropolis, wrote on Facebookthat he was taken by surpriseon opening the delivery pack-et, as the two books were asdifferent as chalk and cheese.

Das said that he had ordereda copy of 'CommunistManifesto' online on June 10from the e-commerce giant, asit was offering a discount.

A parcel was delivered to hisresidence by a representative ofthe company on June 13, whilehe was at office, Das wrote.

"On reaching home, Iopened the package, and to mysurprise, I found that the bookdelivered was 'Bhagavad Gita'and not the 'Communist

Manifesto' that I ordered," hesaid.

The 120-page book seemedto be an abridged version of theBhagavad Gita in English lan-guage, he stated.

His Facebook post has invit-ed hilarious comments andraised a few eyebrows.

Many have also shared hispost. Attempts to contact thee-retail company for a clarifi-cation failed as no oneresponded to telephone calls.

Man orders ‘Communist Manifesto'online, gets copy of ‘Bhagavad Gita'

No. of Covid-19 tests tobe increased to 18,000per day in Delhi PNS n NEW DELHI

The ruling AAP and main oppo-sition BJP in Delhi on Mondaysaid the battle against COVID-19 needs to be fought keepingpolitical differences aside, whileinforming that the number ofcoronavirus tests will beincreased to 18,000 per day in thecity from June 20, even as theCongress hit out at the Centreand the Delhi government forthe surge in the number ofcases in the national capital.

After a meeting held by UnionHome Minister Amit Shah withthe leaders of all political partiesof the national capital, Delhi BJPpresident Adesh Gupta andAAP's Rajya Sabha MP SanjaySingh said the number ofCOVID-19 tests will beincreased to 18,000 per day in the

city from June 20.Singh said it was decided at

the meeting that politics shouldbe kept away in the battle againstthe pandemic, adding thatincreasing the number of beds inhospitals for coronavirus patientswas also discussed. Gupta said acentral team will give a report oncapping of charges in private hos-pitals, after which action will betaken to control the "arbitrary"rates charged by such facilities.

Rajasthan MLAs to stayput at hotel till RS electionPNS n NEW DELHI

Congress general secretaryAvinash Pande said onMonday that the legislatorswho are supporting the AshokGehlot government inRajasthan would continue tostay together at a hotel till theRajya Sabha election due to thealleged poaching threat fromthe BJP.

Pande said the legislatorshad been staying like a fami-ly, adding that discussions onthe future roadmap for thedevelopment of the state werebeing held at the hotel.

According to Pande, thespecial operations group of theRajasthan Police is investigat-ing the alleged attempts topoach and destabilise the stategovernment, and the report islikely to come soon.

Pande said the IndependentMLAs and legislators of otherparties had supported the gov-ernment, which took the num-ber to 125 (including 107Congress MLAs) in the Houseof 200.

"It was decided that the leg-islators will stay together sothat the BJP's attempts, which

the party did in Karnataka andMadhya Pradesh, could notsucceed in Rajasthan," he toldreporters at the JW Marriotthotel in Jaipur.

"We are staying like a fami-ly and this is a blessing in dis-guise," Pande said, adding thatthe legislators had been keptafter discussion with them.

Asked about the Food andCivil Supplies MinisterRamesh Meena's absence,Pande said the Sapotra MLAwas away due to some "person-al reasons", but he was intouch and would will followthe party directions.

Meanwhile, a letter writtento Pande by MLA Bharat Singhsurfaced on Monday, in whichthe legislator had pointed outthat most of the Rajya SabhaMPs "do not even recognise"the legislators who elect them.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on Mondayrefused to stay the Centre's April4 notification by which theimplementation of certain rulesof the Pre-Conception andPre-Natal DiagnosticT e c h n i q u e s(Prohibition of Sex-Selection Rules),1996 (PCPNDT),were suspended tillJune 30, 2020 due tothe COVID-19induced lockdown. Thetop court observed thatthere is a national crisis due toCOVID-19 and doctors' serviceswere needed to be conserved forthe Pandemic.

A bench of Justices U U Lalit,M M Shantanagoudar and

Vineet Saran issued notice to theCentre and also gave liberty tothe petitioner to raise the issueagain, if the notification isrenewed beyond June 30.

The bench said that it won't bepossible for it to interfere

with the notification atthis stage and postedthe matter for fur-ther hearing in themonth of July.

The plea filed byone Sabu Mathew

George has challengedthe “illegal and arbi-

trary” notification issued bythe Department of Health andFamily Welfare, dated April 4, bywhich the implementation of theRule 8, 9(8) and 18 A (6) of thePCPNDT was suspended tillJune 30.

Kerala CM'sdaughter wedsCPI(M) youthwing leaderPNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Kerala Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan's daughter Veena mar-ried CPI(M) youth wing leaderP A Mohammed Riyas onMonday at the officialresi-dence of the chief ministerhere, adhering to COVID-19protocols. The low-key cere-mony at Cliff House, the chiefminister's official residence,was attended by about 50 peo-ple including close friends andrelatives. Industries Minister EP Jayarajan was the only mem-ber from the ministry to takepart in the function.

The couple exchanged gar-lands, and Riyas tied the 'thali',a bridal pendant, aroundVeena's neck. The marriagewas registered under theSpecial Marriage Act. Veena isdirector of an IT firm, ExalogicSolutions Private Limited, aventure she started in 2015,headquartered in Bengaluru.

Karnataka CMlays foundationfor Rs 220 Crairport projectPNS n BENGALURU

Karnataka Chief Minister B SYediyurappa on Monday laidthe foundation stone for theconstruction of a Rs 220 croreairport project in his politicalbastion of Shivamogga, as heexpressed confidence that it willgive a boost to tourism, indus-tries and economic activities inthe region.

"The long cherished dreamof people of Shivamogga abouthaving an airport is finallybecoming a reality. The projectthat was planned when I wasDeputy Chief Minister andChief Minister in the past wasshelved due to contractor issuesand lack of interest by the gov-ernments that came later,"Yediyurappa said.

Speaking at the foundationlaying event for the airport,which he attended virtually viavideo conference, he said, nowthe government is once againtaking up the project throughinfrastructure developmentand PWD departments.

No power can break Indo-Nepal ties: RajnathPNS n NEW DELHI

Rejecting Nepal's territorialclaim, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh asserted onMonday that the Lipulekh-Dharchula road falls very muchin India and conveyed theModi government's willing-ness to sort out the "misunder-standing" with the neighbour-ing country through dialogue.

Singh stressed on the centuries-old ties between the two counties,noting that they were not onlysocial, geographical, historicaland cultural but also spiritual.India can never forget this reali-ty and Indians can never have anybitterness towards Nepal, thedefence minister added.

"Our relations are not only ofthis world, but also of the 'otherworld' and they cannot be

changed even if someone wish-es so," he said at a BJP's virtualrally for Uttarakhand, the state inwhose border region the road hasbeen built. "These are no ordinaryties and we are bound by 'roti' and'beti' (livelihood and marriage).No power in the world can breakit," Singh said. The bilateral ties

between the two countries cameunder strain after Singh inaugu-rated a 80-km-long strategically-crucial road connecting theLipulekh pass with Dharchula inUttarakhand on May 8.

Nepal's Parliament had onSaturday unanimously voted toamend the Constitution to update

the country's new political map,laying claim over three strategical-ly key areas, including Lipulekh,along the border with India.

"If the Lipulekh-Dharchularoad has given rise to some mis-understanding among the peo-ple of Nepal, I believe we can sittogether to address it. We can doit through dialogue," the defenceminister said.

ICMR recommends use ofrapid antigen kits for testingPNS n NEW DELHI

In view of its high specificity butrelatively low sensitivity, theICMR has recommended theuse of rapid antigen test kits fordiagnosis of COVID-19 in con-tainment zones and healthcaresettings in combination withthe RT-PCR test. The kits willallow faster diagnosis withoutlaboratory examination

Standard Q COVID-19 Agdetection kit (rapid antigen testkits) is a rapid chromatograph-ic immunoassay for qualitativedetection of specific antigens toSARS-CoV-2. It has been devel-oped by SD Biosensor, a SouthKorea based company, the ICMRsaid in an advisory.

Suspected individuals whotest negative for COVID-19 byrapid antigen test should betested sequentially by RT-PCR torule out infection, whereas a pos-itive test should be considered as

a true positive and does not needreconfirmation by RT-PCR test,said ICMR said. The Standard QCOVID-19 Ag detection can beinterpreted as positive or nega-tive after 15 minutes of puttingthe sample into the well byappearance of test and controllines, which can be read with anaked eye, requiring no special-ized equipment, it said.

The maximum duration forinterpreting a positive or nega-

tive test is 30 minutes. After thatthe test strip should be discard-ed, it said.

In view of its high specificitywhile relatively low sensitivity,ICMR recommends the use ofStandard Q COVID-19 Agdetection assay as a point of carediagnostic assay for testing under(containment zones and health-care settings) settings in combi-nation with the gold standardRT-PCR test, the advisory said.

“By the end of thetwenty-firstcentury, averagetemperature overIndia is projectedto rise byapproximately 4.4degrees Celsius,”the report states

HC permits airlines to allowpassengers on middle seats

PNS n MUMBAI

The Indian School CertificateExamination (ISCE) board onMonday told the Bombay HighCourt it would give its Class Xand XII students the option toeither take the pending exam-inations in July or have theirfinal results determined basedon internal assessment.

The ISCE board hadplanned to conduct its pend-ing standard X and XII boardexaminations in July after it gotcancelled in March due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

The Maharashtra govern-ment had, however, opinedthat holding examinationsgiven the current scenario wasnot viable.

The board on Monday sub-mitted a note to HC statingthat it has decided to offer allstudents (in India and abroad)whose examinations are pend-ing with an option to eithertake the pending exams in July

or have their final results, inthose subjects where examshave not been held, deter-mined based on performancein internal assessment/pre-board examinations, results ofwhich has already been takenfrom schools.

A division bench of ChiefJustice Dipankar Datta andJustice S S Shinde was hearinga petition filed by city residentArvind Tiwari challenging the

ISCE's decision to hold its10thstandard board examina-tions from July 2-12 acrossMaharashtra.

Tiwari in his petitionclaimed since the number ofCOVID-19 cases was still onthe rise, it would be appropri-ate to declare results based ongradation and assessment ofpast performance in internalexams conducted by variousISCE schools.

Students get exam or internalassessment options: ISCE to HC

"Our relations arenot only of thisworld, but also ofthe 'other world'and they cannotbe changed evenif someone wishesso," he said

Supreme Court refusesto stay suspension ofPCPNDT rules

"On reaching home,I opened thepackage, and to mysurprise, I foundthat the bookdelivered was'Bhagavad Gita' andnot the 'CommunistManifesto' that Iordered," he said

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | JUNE 16, 2020 nation 05

SHORT READS

No plan for anotherlockdown in Delhi:KejriwalNEW DELHI: Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal said on Mondaythat there was no plan foranother lockdown in Delhi evenas the number of novelcoronavirus cases continue tospurt. "Many people arespeculating whether anotherlockdown in Delhi in beingplanned. There are no suchplans," Kejriwal tweeted. Itcomes a day after Union HomeMinister Amit Shah heldmeetings with Kejriwal, Lieute-nant Governor Anil Baijal andthree mayors to discuss thestrategy to deal with the Covid-19 situation. On Sunday, Delhirecorded the highest single-dayspike of 2,224 new COVID-19cases, taking the tally to over41,000, while the death tollmounted to 1,327.

Pakistan shellsforward areas alongLoC in JK's Rajouri

Aftershocks rattleKutch post earthquake

AHMEDABAD: As many as 14aftershocks were experienced inGujarat's Kutch district, a dayafter an earthquake of 5.3magnitude hit the area, officialssaid on Monday. No casualty ordamage to property was repor-ted, they said. On Sunday night,an earthquake was recordedwith its epicentre 10 km North-North East (NNE) of Bhachau inKutch. After that 14 aftershocksrattled the area, including anearthquake of 4.6 magnitude at12.57 pm on Monday with itsepicentre 15 km NNE ofBachau, a scientist from theGandhinagar-based Institute ofSeismological Research (ISR)said. "We are analysing today'squake scientifically to determinewhether it is an aftershock or anew earthquake on a differentfault line. As of now, we arecounting it and other quakes inthe region as aftershocks of thelast night's earthquake," ISRscientist Santosh Kumar said.Apart from the earthquake of4.6 magnitude, an aftershock of3.7 magnitude was recorded at10.02 am on Monday with itsepicentre six km East-NorthEast of Bhachau, another ISRofficial said.

JAMMU: The Pakistani army onMonday violated ceasefire byunprovoked firing and shellingon forward areas along the Lineof Control (LoC) in Rajouridistrict of Jammu and Kashmir,a defence spokesman said. Thefiring with small arms andmortar shelling started fromacross the border inSunderbani sector at around2.30 pm, drawing a befittingretaliation from the Indianarmy, the spokesman said. Hesaid the cross-border firingbetween the two sides wasgoing on when the last reportswere received. There has beena spurt in Pakistani shellingalong the LoC in Jammu andKashmir this year with over2,027 ceasefire violationsreported till June 10. Threearmy personnel have beenkilled in Pakistani firing in thetwin sectors of Rajouri andPoonch in the past two weeks.

Political parties unite inCovid-19 fight: Amit ShahPNS n NEW DELHI

Union Home Minister AmitShah and the LieutenantGovernor of Delhi todayassured that there will be coro-navirus testing for all in Delhiduring an all-party meeting todiscuss the management ofthe coronavirus situation in theNational Capital Region, whichincludes Delhi and parts ofUttar Pradesh and parts ofHaryana. Mr Shah said politi-cal parties should forget theirdifferences and join hands inthe COVID-19 battle of thenational capital.

The coronavirus tests perday in Delhi will reach 18,000in the next few days, the HomeMinister said. Most parties,cutting across party lines, haddemanded more testing.

"Political differences must beforgotten and all parties mustwork together for the people ofDelhi. Under the leadership ofPrime Minister NarendraModi-ji, we should all worktogether to fight this pandem-ic," Amit Shah said.

Delhi is the state with thethird-highest COVID-19 countafter Maharashtra and TamilNadu. The capital's tally ofcoronavirus infections hastouched 41,182 as the numberof deaths due to the diseaseclimbed to 1,327.

Today's meeting comes a dayafter he held a high-level meet-ing with Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal, followingwhich he laid out a number ofmeasures to battle the capital'sCOVID-19 crisis.

"A united face of all politi-cal parties will enhance peo-ple's trust and the situation inDelhi will be soon normal. I

appeal to all political parties tourge their workers to ensurethat the decisions taken by thecentre for the people of Delhiare implemented on ground,"the Home Minister said. "Wewill have to increase COVID-19 testing in Delhi by adoptingnew solutions," he added.

The parties that attended themeeting at the North Blockincluded Delhi's ruling AamAadmi Party, the Congress,BJP, Mayawati's Bahujan SamajParty and Akhilesh Yadav'sSamajwadi Party.

At the meeting, the Congressdemanded that COVID-19testing to be provided to all and

that Rs 10,000 be paid to everyfamily in which a member isinfected or in a containmentzone. The party also demand-ed that medical students intheir fourth year be used asnon-permanent resident doc-tors. The party said there is asense of fear among the resi-dents of Delhi and that thosewanting to take a COVID-19test must be facilitated to dothe required testing which hasbeen approved.

PNS n THANE

Senior Maharashtra BJP leaderAshish Shelar on Monday saidthe Uddhav Thackeray govern-ment's mismanagement wasresponsible for the rise inCOVID-19 cases in the state.

Talking to reporters herethrough an app, Shelar said thesituation would have been differ-ent and far better if theMaharashtra Vikas Aghadi gov-ernment had followed the stepsimplemented by Kerala to con-tain the novel coronavirus out-break.

Speaking on the achievementsof the Narendra Modi govern-ment, which completed one yearof its second term, Shelar refut-ed allegations that the Centre wasnot giving funds to Maharashtra.

The Centre had given funds tothe tune of Rs 28,104 crore toMaharashtra but no one knowswhere all the money has gone,Shelar claimed.

Pointing to the high numberof COVID-19 cases in Thane dis-trict, Shelar asked if ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeraywould replace guardian ministerand senior Shiv Sena leaderEknath Shinde as was done in thecase of Mumbai where munici-pal commissioner PraveenPardeshi was shunted out.

Shelar also alleged some of thedecisions taken by the state hous-ing ministry in relation to slumrehabilitation projects were tofavour the builder lobby, and inthe process space for amenities insuch works was being reduced.

Centre sanctions armedCISF cover for Surat airportPNS n NEW DELHI

The Surat airport will soon beguarded by an armed contin-gent of the Central IndustrialSecurity Force (CISF) afterthe Union Home Ministryrecently approved the deploy-ment of the central paramili-tary at this facility in Gujarat,officials said on Monday.

Officials said the ministryhas sanctioned a strength ofabout 360 personnel to guardthe international airport oper-ated by the Airports Authorityof India (AAI).

Surat is the biggest dia-mond cutting and polishinghub of the country and as perofficials the airport handlesover 1.25 lakh passengers permonth.

"We have received the sanc-tion. The work for deploymentis in progress," CISF Special

Director General and chief ofairport security wing, M AGanapathy, told PTI.

A senior officer in the homeministry said the sanction fordeployment of about 360 CISFpersonnel for guarding theSurat airport has beenapproved by the Ministry ofHome Affairs (MHA) lastweek.

A security survey of the

airport was completed lastyear.

"The formal induction of theforce will take place after cer-tain procedures of signing amemorandum of understand-ing between the CISF andAAI is done and handover ofliving space for jawans andother administrative facilitiesis complete," the HomeMinistry officer said.

7 held for cattlesmuggling in UPPNS n BARABANKI

Police have arrested sevenpeople for cattle smuggling inUttar Pradesh's Barabankidistrict, an official said onMonday.

Around 4-kg meat wasrecovered from the suspectswhich police suspect is beef,the official said.

"On Saturday, police gotinformation about cowslaughtering fromMohammadpur village of thedistrict. Following this, apolice team rushed there,and arrested seven smug-glers,” said Barabanki SPArvind Chaturvedi.

Instruments used in ani-mal slaughter, a rope andtwo four-wheelers have alsobeen recovered from thesuspects, the superinten-dent of police said. Effortsare on to nab one more sus-pect who is a resident ofLucknow, police said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court Mondaydeclined to entertain a plea bya doctors' association seekingwaiving of the e-challans issuedagainst "all corona warriors",including healthcare workers,during first two phases of theCOVID-19 lockdown.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice PrateekJalan asked the association tomake a representation to thetraffic police with regard to itsprayers for formulation ofguidelines on display of speedlimit signboards and immedi-ate intimation of violation tothe violator, Delhi govern-ment additional standingcounsel Santosh Tripathi said.

The bench stated that as andwhen such a representation ismade, the authorities concernedwill decide on it in accordance

with the law and rules and asexpeditiously as possible andpracticable, he said.

With the direction, the courtdisposed of the plea which hadcontended that during the firsttwo phases of lockdown, all thetraffic signals were not func-tioning or were on auto blink-ing mode and consequently,"the alleged traffic violationsare without any justifiedground and reason thereof ".

The detailed order is await-

ed. The association, whichaccording to the plea is a dis-trict branch of Delhi MedicalAssociation, had stated that thee-challans were issued based onelectronic surveillance alone.

"The traffic police has engagedin discriminatory practices bytargeting the essential serviceproviders by penalizing themwithout any application of mindduring the lockdown," said thepetition filed through advocateShashank Deo Sudhi.

Average fare on Shramiktrains Rs 600, says Rlys;generated Rs 360 crPNS n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath on Mondayasked officials to lay specialemphasis on improvingCOVID-19 treatment facilitiesin districts of the state which arepart of the national capitalregion (NCR).

In a meeting with seniorofficials, the chief ministerstressed on “continued alert-ness” in districts like GautamBuddh nagar, Ghaziabad,Meerut, Baghpat, Hapur andBulandshahar, an official releaseissued here said.

The districts have recorded ahigh number of coronaviruscases. The officials were direct-ed to make sure that COVID-19hospitals in the NCR districtshave adequate beds and doctorsfor the patients, the release said.

The chief minister said theactual meaning of unlock was

discipline and it was most nec-essary to remain alert to breakthe chain of infection.

Stressing on the importanceof dialogue at all levels for fur-ther improving the arrange-ments in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 hospitals, he askedthe officials to continue to inter-act with senior administrativeofficers and specialist doctorsdeployed in 11 districts of thestate.

He also stressed that dialogue

should also be held with DMsand commissioners regularly forimproving the arrangements,the release said.

Adityanath further directedthe officials to make sure thatadequate oxygen is available inhospitals and also prepare abackup for the same. He saidtimely treatment is helpful incontrolling the mortality rate.

J&K Congress terms BJP'svirtual rally a 'flop show'PNS n JAMMU

The Jammu and Kashmir unit ofCongress on Monday termed theBJP's 'Jan Samvad' virtual rally inthe Union territory a “flop show”and claimed that DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh hadfailed to send a “loud and clear”signal to hostile neighboursincluding China and Pakistan.

It also alleged that BJP is moreconcerned about political inter-ests at the time of grave crisis fol-lowing the outbreak of coron-avirus pandemic besides severeexternal challenges. Addressinga virtual 'Jan Samvad' rally forJammu and Kashmir on Sunday,the defence minister said Indianever compromises on its“national pride” amid a standoffwith China on the Ladakh bor-der and asserted that its securi-ty capability has risen and it is nolonger a “weak” country.

Reacting to the address of thedefence minister, chiefspokesperson of PradeshCongress Committee RavinderSharma said Singh failed tosend a “loud and clear” signal tothe hostile neighbours who areflexing muscles and transgressed“deep” into the Indian territory.

“It was expected that he wouldreiterate the often repeatedpledge that every inch of our ter-ritory including Pakistan-occu-pied Jammu and Kashmir shallbe retrieved but he twice repeat-ed that country's armed strengthis for self defence only and notto terrorise any country.

“Prime Minister NarendraModi had promised to see eye toeye with China and teach a les-son to Pakistan. Where is thatpromise?” the Congress leadersaid in a statement here.

However, he said the entirecountry stands shoulder toshoulder with the armed forcesand the government of the dayto deal with “external chal-lenges”. Describing the virtual

rally a “flop show”, Sharma saidit only highlighted the fulfilmentof BJP's agenda about revocationof Article 370 but did not discussthe growing resentment overseveral post-abrogation actionsadversely affecting the people,especially the youth of the region.

PNS n MUMBAI

More tributes poured in foractor Sushant Singh Rajput onMonday with Indian filmpersonalit ies includingAmitabh Bachchan, ShekharKapur, Ekta Kapoor, BhumiPednekar, remembering himas an exceptional performerwho will always twinkle likethe bright star he was. Rajputwas found hanging in hisBandra apartment on Sunday.

According to an official,Mumbai Police found outduring the probe that the 34-year-old actor was undermedication for depression.

Bachchan posted a noteon Twitter praising Rajput forhis "sheer brilliance" as anartiste.

"Many a time did he expresshimself in the depth of philo-sophical verb. They thatlooked passed it, were either

in wonder or oblivious of itsstrength of meaning. Somewondered, some quibbled.

"To some it was a subduedmirth, subdued because, for itto be given lethargic igno-rance, would have openedthe caves of their own. Hisspeak was measured, as washis screen presence."

The "Gulabo Sitabo" actorrecalled watching Rajput's"MS Dhoni: The Untold

Story" and described thebiopic "dressed with remark-able moments of his perfor-mance".

In one of their meetings,Bachchan recalled, when hehad asked Rajput how hemanaged to give that iconicshot of the cricketer hitting asix to make India win the 2011World Cup, the actor hadrevealed he watched the orig-inal video a hundred times.

Amitabh Bachchan, Shekhar Kapurremember ‘brilliant' actor Sushant

PNS n CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu governmenthas been advised on scalingdown lockdown relaxationsand preventing the furtherspread of coronavirus, a mem-ber of an expert committee saidhere on Monday following aconsultative meeting withChief Minister K Palaniswami.

Amid continuing surge inthe number of fresh coron-avirus cases in the State, Dr PKuganantham, a senior epi-demiologist and member of the19-member expert committeeon COVID-19 set up by thegovernment, said: "We havegiven advice (to the govern-ment) on cutting down relax-ations and (further) prevent thespread of virus and the govern-ment will take a decision."

The panel had about an hour

and a half discussion withPalaniswami, Deputy ChiefMinister O Panneerselvam,Health Minister C Vijayabaskarand other top state officials.

This is the fifth meeting ofthe expert committee with thegovernment and several

experts including Dr SoumyaSwaminathan, chief scientistwith WHO and Dr PrabhdeepKaur, public health expert withIndian Council for MedicalResearch- National Instituteof Epidemiology here tookpart in the meeting through a

virtual link.On Sunday, Tamil Nadu reg-

istered 1,974 new coronaviruscases pushing the overall tallyto 44,661 and 38 people died ofthe virus, raising the fatalitycount to 435 in the state.

Dr V Ramasubramanian, a

member of the expert commit-tee, said the rise in the numberof cases was on expected lines.

Though there was 'psycho-logical stress' and several peo-ple feared the pandemic, theydid not take adequate precau-tions and it was a dichotomy,he said.

The member, an infectiousdiseases specialist, said follow-ing the panel's suggestionsmobile hospitals have beendeployed by the governmentand people with apprehen-sions may avail counsellingfrom such facilities, he said.

Even symptoms like fever,headache, body or throat pain,for a day or two could be anindicator to coronavirus andminor symptoms even for abrief spell should not be ignoredand such people need isolationfor a week at the least.

Advised TN govt on tweaking lockdownrelaxations, prevent virus spread: Expert

"Political differencesmust be forgottenand all parties mustwork together forthe people of Delhi.Under the leader-ship of PrimeMinister NarendraModi-ji, we should allwork together tofight this pandemic,"Amit Shah said

“Prime MinisterNarendra Modi hadpromised to see eyeto eye with China andteach a lesson toPakistan. Where isthat promise?” theCongress leader saidin a statement here

HC declines to entertain plea seekingwaiver of traffic challans to doctors

The panel hadabout an hour anda half discussionwith Palaniswami,Deputy ChiefMinister OPanneerselvam,Health Minister CVijayabaskar andother top stateofficials

Yogi asks doctors to focus onimproving facilities in NCR districts

The officialswere directed tomake sure thatCOVID-19hospitals in theNCR districtshave adequatebeds and doctorsfor the patients,the release said

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian Railways onMonday said the average fareper person on Shramik Specialtrains was Rs 600 and indicat-ed that by carrying 60 lakhmigrant workers home sinceMay 1, it has generated a rev-enue of around Rs 360 crore.

The transporter has run4,450 Shramik trains so far,

Railway Board Chairman VKYadav said. "The average fareof Shramik Special trains is Rs600 per passenger. One has tokeep in mind that these arenormal fares and not fares forspecial trains which are high-er. We carried 60 lakh passen-gers, so the revenue can be cal-culated. We however, managedto recover only 15 per cent ofcost of operations," said Yadav.

Outbreak situation badin Maha: Ashish Shelar

The Indian Constitution hasbeen amended 104 timesand many of the modifica-tions, including the onespassed by Parliament dur-

ing the dreaded Emergency, havebeen extensively discussed. But therehas not been sufficient debate on theamendment that started it all — thecontroversial “First Amendment.” Itwas mooted by the first PrimeMinister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru,in May 1951 within 15 months of theadoption of the Constitution the pre-vious year. The intent was to imposerestrictions on freedom of speech andother fundamental rights and to saveanti-zamindari laws. These amend-ments, which were carried out by theProvisional Parliament, were meant toovercome judicial verdicts that struckdown laws that affected the Press andindividual freedom.

The statement of Objects andReasons appended to the FirstAmendment Act said that certain dif-ficulties had cropped up in the work-ing of the Constitution because ofjudicial decisions, especially withregard to the fundamental rights. Thecitizen’s right to freedom of speech andexpression, guaranteed under Article19(1)(a), “had been held by somecourts to be so comprehensive as notto render a person culpable even if headvocates murder and other crimes ofviolence.” Therefore, restrictions weresought to be fortified in the name of“public order”, “friendly relationswith foreign states” and “incitementto an offence.”

There is much debate on the useand misuse of the sedition law thesedays but what is not well known is thatone of the purposes of Nehru’s FirstAmendment was to fortify Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)under which the charge of sedition ispinned on individuals for speaking orwriting against the State.

Credit goes to TripurdamanSingh, a post-doctoral fellow at theInstitute of Commonwealth Studies,University of London, for throwinglight on the politics surrounding thisevent in his exceptionally readablebook, Sixteen Stormy Days — TheStory of the First Amendment to theConstitution of India, published byPenguin.

The First Amendment needs to beremembered for many things, includ-ing the first major clash between thePresident and the Prime Minister; theintroduction of “reasonable restric-tions” in Article 19(2) in theConstitution; and the idea of placinglegislation in the Ninth Schedule so asto insulate them from judicial review.

It is indeed a fascinatingstory with many sub-plots suchas the debate over “reasonablerestrictions.” Nehru wanted toimpose “restrictions” on free-dom of speech and expressionin the light of some cases per-taining to the media. In RomeshThappar vs the State of Madras,the Supreme Court had held inMay 1950 that a Madras Statelaw barring entry and circula-tion of the petitioner’s magazine,Crossroads, on the ground thatit disturbed “public order” wasunconstitutional as theConstitution did not provide forit. Further, it said, “liberty of cir-culation is as essential to thatfreedom (of propagation ofideas) as that of the publication.”In Brij Bhushan vs the State ofDelhi (the Organiser case), themagazine was subjected to pre-censorship because the thenNehru Government did notlike what it was saying aboutPakistan. The magazine chal-lenged the order and theSupreme Court held that pre-censorship violated Article19(1)(a). In Master Tara Singh’scase, the East Punjab HighCourt had held that Section124(A) (sedition) and Section153(A) of the IPC were violativeof the fundamental rights guar-anteed under Article 19.

Nehru felt frustrated bythese judicial pronouncementsand wanted to remedy the sit-uation via the FirstAmendment. He wanted

restrictions imposed on thefreedom of speech and expres-sion in the name of “publicorder”, “friendly relations withforeign states” and “incitementto an offence.” Senior parlia-mentarians, including mem-bers of the Congress, wantedthe restrictions to be circum-scribed by the word “reason-able.” Nehru did not like it onebit. In the midst of the ragingcontroversy, he wrote to TTKrishnamachari, Congressleader and MP, and confessedthat he did not like the word“reasonable” before “restric-tions” because it would be aninvitation for every such case togo to the courts.

However, eventually, heyielded when he found thatthere were many in theCongress Parliamentary Party(CPP) who disagreed with him.In fact, as the author notes, 77MPs wrote to him asking for afree vote on the FirstAmendment. That was whenNehru realised that the gamewas up and he gave in to thepopular demand to make therestrictions “reasonable.”Thanks to Syama PrasadMukherjee, Acharya Kripalaniand other stalwarts in theCongress, the Supreme Courthas had the constitutional man-date over the last seven decadesto examine whether the lawsmade by Parliament and theState legislatures, imposingrestrictions on free speech, are

“reasonable” or not. Former President Rajendra

Prasad, Syama PrasadMukherjee, Acharya Kripalani,HN Kunzru and many otherleading parliamentarians ques-tioned Nehru’s intentions andwarned him about the danger-ous precedent he was creating.But Nehru was adamant — thejudiciary and the Press had tobe reined in. The leaders feltthat the Constitution should, ifnecessary, be amended after thefirst general election and theconstitution of the two Houses— the Lok Sabha and the RajyaSabha. They argued that a sin-gle chamber, the ProvisionalParliament, was not competentto amend the Constitutionwhen Article 368 prescribedthe procedure to be followed bythe two Houses.

During the debate,Kameshwar Singh accusedNehru of “sowing the seed ofexecutive despotism.” SyamaPrasad Mukherjee had saidthat Nehru was “disfiguring”the Constitution by bringing in“public order” as a restriction.He said, “It is the beginning ofthe encroachment of liberty ofthe people of free India.” Hiswords have proved to beprophetic.

The President repeatedlyclashed with Nehru on the lat-ter’s proposals and even askedsenior Congress leader, AlladiKrishnaswamy Aiyyar, whetherhe could give his assent to an

unconstitutional legislationwhen he is under oath to “pre-serve, protect and defend” theConstitution.

The First Amendment alsointroduced Article 31(B), toadd the Ninth Schedule, whichthe author describes as a“Constitutional vault,” to barjudicial review of laws placed inthe schedule. Syama PrasadMukherjee warned Nehruagainst creating such a prece-dent and said, “any nonsensi-cal law can be put there” andplaced beyond judicial review.Sure enough, Nehru’s daughter,former Prime Minister IndiraGandhi, misused this provisionon many occasions.

Tripurdaman Singh callsthe Ninth Schedule “constitu-tional skulduggery” and says itgranted constitutional protec-tion to the Constitution’sabusers. All the evidence hegathers compels the author todeliver a harsh indictment. Hesays, “In the reckless, impetu-ous bid to establish theGovernment’s supremacy andopen the constitutional doorsto the Congress’ social revolu-tion…all caution had beenthrown to the wind. The cre-ation of the Nehruvian Statedemanded constitutionalblood — and the PrimeMinister and his acolytes werewilling to spill it...”

(The writer is an author spe-cialising in democracy studies.Views expressed are personal.)

We are living in troubled times. TheCoronavirus-induced lockdown and the sub-sequent economic distress caused due to

it has led to bank accounts being drained and pre-viously high-flying careers falling down in the dumps.The emergence of social distancing has meant thatfor several people, their highly interactive and gre-garious life has come to a crashing halt. It is under-standable that such a sudden pause, whether it isof incomes or social life, can lead to mental healthissues and, thus, suicides and other forms of self-harm. Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s trag-ic death isn’t the first self-inflicted one of a celebri-

ty during the lockdown. His passing away though is by far and away the most high-profile. It is impossible to know which demons in his head made him take such a stepbut one should be grateful not just for his career but also that in death, he has shonea light on mental health.

Unfortunately, in India, as a society, we have ignored the perils of poor mental healthfor far too long. The societal stigma associated with this disorder is overbearing. Thismakes it impossible for people, particularly those in high-profile industries such as theentertainment industry, to see a doctor as the rumour mill would go into overdrive. Inthis respect, India fares a lot worse than Western countries, where visiting psychia-trists is an accepted fact of life even though that does not stop those looking to self-harm. To top it all, in India there’s a severe shortage of mental health professionals.But as parents, siblings, friends and colleagues, it is imperative for each and everyone of us to keep an eye out on others. Unfortunately, we live in times when relation-ships have become extremely transactional, not just in the entertainment industry butin other fields as well. Cyber-bullying, too, is rampant on social media, which oftendrives those, who are not as strong as others, to thoughts of self-harm. Thus, tech-nology companies, especially Facebook and Twitter, have a responsibility towards check-ing the menace of bullying. If we fall as a child, our parents are there to pick us up.The problem is that we will continue to fall as adults. It is contingent on each of us topick up those who slip. We should hope that there are those who will help us if we fallas well. Beating up those, who ask for help, is not a solution. Encourage them to seekhelp and talk to those you can help.

Just when there are optics of both India and Chinasimmering down tension in Ladakh, Nepal hasreignited another Himalayan border dispute by

approving a new map, including areas disputed withIndia, and rushing it through both Houses ofParliament. It is known that China doesn’t miss anopportunity to use India’s immediate neighbours asproxies whenever it doesn’t get what it wants fromDelhi or doesn’t want to be seen as the trouble-maker.But coming so soon after Ladakh, Nepal’s aggres-sion on the cartographic war, being waged arounddifferent interpretations of British era maps, shows

that the dragon is still restive and is throwing full weight behind Nepal. It all began withthe inauguration of an Indian road link that’s intended to smoothen pilgrim flow to KailashMansarovar near the Lipulekh pass on May 8. Nepali Prime Minister KP Oli claimedIndia was overstepping territorial sovereignty issues, albeit knowing about the con-struction for a long time. Though there is a long history of both nations making claimsand counterclaims over this area, according to a 1954 treaty signed between themand China, Lipulekh Pass is very much an Indian gateway. The new road is now oneof the quickest links between Delhi and the Tibetan plateau. However, China, too, recog-nised India’s sovereignty in 2015 by agreeing to expand trade through the pass. Butoverriding such precedents, Nepal released a revised political and administrative mapshowing Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani under its territory despite India releas-ing a precise map of the area last year. Now Nepal wants these territories back, withno political party opposing the resolution for reclamation. Yet India has been in pos-session of this territory for at least 60 years and has never been contested so before.Even the new road to Lipulekh does not challenge that status quo as it has built otherinfrastructure here before and deployed military forces up to the border with China.For argument’s sake, Nepal now claims it conducted a census there in the early 1950sand cites the 1815 Sugauli Treaty as legitimising its claims. It even says that the basisfor demarcation, the Kali river, originates from a stream at Limpiyadhura, north-westof Lipulekh. Thus Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh are actually on its eastern bankand qualify to be part of Nepal’s Dharchula district. New Delhi has countered this say-ing that Kali originates in springs well below the pass, and that while the treaty doesnot demarcate the area north of these springs, administrative and revenue records ofthe 19th century show that Kalapani was on the Indian side and should be a part ofPithoragarh district in Uttarakhand. Not that the dispute hasn’t come up at diplomaticlevel talks and even in 2019, when India put out its new political map to show thechanged status of Jammu and Kashmir. But China, as in Doklam, has taken advan-tage of the trijunction area to complicate the territorial confusion and push India back-ward. In much the same manner as it had done in Ladakh.

But if Nepal has gone so maximalist and nationalist, despite sharing Hindu originsand, therefore, more naturally inclined to the Narendra Modi regime, it means that Chinanow has a complete grip on it. India’s relations with its immediate neighbours have inrecent times been uneasy primarily because of two factors. One, the Chinese eco-nomic suzerainty in smaller nations through a colonising project of debt-trapping andinfrastructure-building called the Belt and Road Initiative. Second, India’s over-depen-dence on historical, spiritual and geographical connect as a leitmotif of diplomacy ratherthan nurturing bilateral relations on more favourable and equal terms or defusing anx-ieties that smaller nations are bound to feel. Besides, China has now started frequent-ly engaging with the political leadership of our neighbouring countries and as the Maldivesexperience shows, no political alignment is possible without China being in the pic-ture. India misread Oli’s weakening position within the Nepal Communist Party (NCP)recently, when he faced a challenge from senior party leaders and former Prime MinistersPushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” and Madhav Kumar. It, therefore, rushed with theinaugural of the road, hoping to see him go and prop up a friendly candidate in power.Yet, China swiftly stepped in and mediated between all three rivals. The economic largesseof China has meant that each nation, while playing lip service to historical ties withIndia, is working with Beijing for mutual benefit. India should have seen this comingand been prepared. China will increasingly use Nepal as a pawn as it has Pakistan allthis time. India ought to invest itself politically and economically in Nepal by taking itseriously as a partner and not as a servile State. Over 90 per cent of foreign directinvestment (FDI) in Nepal is from China. Be it infrastructure or hydropower projects,everything is running on the yuan. Nepal’s growing trade deficit with China means thatit will have no option but to become an economic serf, listening to the dictates of thenew master. We need to settle this issue with pragmatism and speed so that Chinadoes not get the upper hand so easily.

Death knell

Sir — The hospitality sector is themost vulnerable in terms ofinstant loss of employment and,hence, deserves serious attentionin this time of economic rebuild.The travel bug remains helplessagainst COVID-19. Withoutenthusiastic and extensive trav-el, the hospitality sector will con-tinue to remain in a coma. Fortravel to resume, safety assuranceis needed, which is not yet insight. The hotel and tourismindustry has static assets to main-tain as opposed to travel that hasassets highly vulnerable to pro-longed disuse. Thus, they requireprimary and generous succour.

France and Germany haveput in massive outlay to theirnational airlines. Unless a con-certed and global approach to avi-ation is adopted by all nations, thetravel industry cannot be animat-ed. Perhaps, we may find a solu-tion for COVID earlier than theresuscitation of travel per se.Theimpetus for movement of peopleis related to industrial and busi-ness activity. Hence, a huge stim-ulus spending on large infra pro-jects, public housing and micro,small and medium enterprises is

a must. Unlike the 2008 econom-ic crisis, where financial arterieswere damaged, COVID haspunctured blood vessels of everyeconomic organ.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

Food fascism

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Roti vs paratha” (June 15).India is a vast country. Foodvariety here encompasses a widevariety of regional and tradition-

al cuisines native to the country.A huge list of just the types ofrotis can only be found in ourculinary heritage.

Thus, the Karnataka benchof the Authority of AdvanceRuling (AAR)’s ruling that

ready-to-eat parota needs to beheated or further processed forhuman consumption and, hence,is liable for 18 per cent GST isbizarre and regressive.

Further, the entire purposeof introducing GST was to doaway with multiple tax system.Certainly, this is not happening.Authorities must focus onimproving the economy’s healthby introducing measures toincrease demand rather thanfocussing on rotis and parotas.

SK PrabhakarGurugram

Mounting troubles

Sir — Petrol and diesel priceshave seen a rise for the ninthconsecutive day. The increasedprices of fuel have had a cascad-ing effect on the overall price ofall items of daily consumption.To alleviate the suffering of thepeople, the Government mustroll back the hike and reducethe prices of petrol and dieselwithout delay.

KshitijVia email

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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op nionVIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | JUNE 16, 2020

06

Stormy amendments

A SURYA PRAKASH

There is much debate on the misuse of the sedition law these days but what is

not known is that Nehru’s First Amendment wanted to curb freedom of speech

If the road built by Indiahas caused any misunderstanding amongthe people of Nepal, thenit will be sorted outthrough dialogue.

Union Minister—Rajnath Singh

There are people like Brian Larawho have scored so many runs.There are people like JacquesKallis who have won nothing.Virat Kohli has won nothing as aleader and has a lot to achieve.

Former cricketer—Gautam Gambhir

Sushant Singh Rajput’s fault isthat he believed those whocalled him worthless. He didn’tremember what his mothertold him. It’s up to us todecide who will write history.

Actor—Kangana Ranaut

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

Overcome challenges in e-education

All along, the entire focus of the Government has beenon saving people's lives and ensuring adequate facil-ities for COVID-19 patients. In the midst of all this,

the student community has come to face a lot of hard-ships. The nationwide lockdown has disrupted a gen-eration’s education. With an eye on keeping the young-sters safe and at the same time curb the spread of theinfection, schools and higher educational institutions con-tinue to remain shut. Examinations have been postponed.Uncertainty looms large over the dates of commence-ment of the next academic year. The students are as scep-tical about their future as are their parents. Though thenation has got into a gradual easing of restrictions, itis expected that social distancing norms will persist, pre-venting congregation in classrooms. Many education-al institutions have, thus, begun providing undisruptededucation online to their students.

However, it is observed that not all students canavail this “new model” of education. With many wardsfrom impoverished families finding it difficult to availonline facilities, chances are that e-education will belimited to privileged students, with the exclusion ofthose who do not have access to internet. As the lessfortunate are sidelined, perception of grave injustice

will haunt the education system. It is welcome that theDirectorate of Education (DoE) in Goa is mulling to fixinternet hotspots in villages. It has sought informationfrom the headmasters of the schools located in villageswith regards to internet availability in panchayats. Butpanchayat halls are vulnerable areas for the spread ofCOVID-19. If they intend to carry out the online learn-ing exercises from their precincts, it will be harmfulto the children. The DoE needs to come up with a morepractical solution.

Pachu MenonMargao

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Depressed IndiaWe want to make Indiaempowered not because weare imperialists. We do notwant to take the rightful landof Pakistan or China. We onlywant peace, amity and love.

Union Minister—Nitin Gadkari

The undue haste in passing a resolution on reclaiming oldterritories shows that China has it in its iron grip

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. Seek helpif you must. Help others when you can

Nepal’s map war

SOP compliance is key

CHINESE INTRUDED LAND OF INDIA TILL 2012 DURING

CONGREASED ON FACTS.

—BJP MP FROM LADAKH

JAMYANG TSERING NAMGYAL

THE CHINESE HAVE WALKED IN AND TAKEN OUR

TERRITORY IN LADAKH. THE PM IS ABSOLUTELY SILENT

AND HAS VANISHED FROM THE SCENE.

—CONGRESS LEADER

RAHUL GANDHI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

With the relaxation of the lockdown in non-containment zones, the spike in the num-ber of Coronavirus cases is setting new

records daily. India has reached the 3,33,255-markand the country now has the dubious distinctionof ranking fourth in the world. What is even moreconcerning is the fact that the pandemic is spread-ing evenly across India. The percentage of cases inthe worst-affected States like Maharashtra, Gujaratand Rajasthan is going down whereas the numberof infections is rising in north-eastern States,Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Goa. Ladakh added198 infections in one day, taking the cases up to 437.

However, despite all the risks associated withthe easing of the lockdown, it was a necessary stepto save the collapsing economy of the country andthe livelihoods of the people. Therefore, we needto manage our actions in a manner in which we canbalance economic activities and containment of theCoronavirus infection.

To achieve this, the Government has undertak-en a slew of measures. The Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) issued a notification allowing religiousplaces, hotels, restaurants and shopping malls toopen from June 8 under the Standard OperationProcedures (SOPs) issued by the Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare (MoHFW). Accordingto these SOPs, it is mandatory to maintain a dis-tance of six feet at all public places and use a faceshield or mask.

However, it is not clear how these measures aregoing to be monitored. The MHA has issued penal-ty provisions to hold any person violating these mea-sures liable under the Disaster Management Act,2005. Nevertheless, there is no reliable mechanismto spot violations and ensure compliance. In the caseof offices, employers have been entrusted with theresponsibility of ensuring installation of the AarogyaSetu app by all employees. This measure has drawna lot of flak as the responsibility has been shiftedto a non-State actor who might find it difficult toensure compliance with the SOPs. People are ques-tioning the fairness of this move.

To address this question, let us go back in time.In the 1990s, the Indian leather industry was hit afterGermany banned two commonly-used chemicals,pentachlorophenol (PCP) and Azo dyes. At that timethe leather industry was the fourth-largest foreignexchange earner for India and Germany was thelargest export market. PCP and Azo dyes were wide-ly used in the tanning and dyeing of leather as theywere cheap and easy to produce. Banning the useof these chemicals was ineffective from the pointof view of compliance as nearly 75 per cent of India’stanneries were small in scale. The banned chemi-cals could have always entered the value chainthrough spatially-fragmented upstream processes.However, if these chemicals were not checked, thenthe products sent to Germany would have got reject-ed after testing and exports would have incurredhuge losses. This would have impacted the liveli-hood of thousands of informal workers in tanner-ies.

This situation is very similar to the present one,where it is very difficult to ensure compliance andnon-compliance would cause loss of life and liveli-hoods. However, the Government of that time han-dled the situation deftly. It bought time fromGermany to reorganise the process and initiatedtechnology transfer from Germany for testing of fin-ished leather goods. It also banned production ofthe prohibited chemicals and dyes. It was easier tomonitor the chemical producers as 60 per cent ofthe industry’s output was coming from large firmsand 40 per cent from small and medium firms. Thus,the input producers became enforcers of the ban.

This is the same as entrusting employerswith the responsibility of ensuring employ-ees’ compliance with the Aarogya Setumandate. It would reduce the cost of mon-itoring as it is easier to monitor employ-ers rather than employees and mayincrease compliance at the end.

In the case of leather exports, theGovernment took a few additional mea-sures and with the help of the CentralLeather Research Institute (CLRI), smalltanneries were imparted technical know-how and guidance to use the approvedchemicals. Plus, the chemical and dyemanufacturers were encouraged to inno-vate and make approved dyes, which theydid. In this whole exercise, compliance wasnot State-driven.

Meenu Tewari and Poonam Pillai intheir research paper, Global standards andthe dynamics of environmental compliancein India’s leather industry, published inOxford Development Studies in 2005argued that the Government engendereda process of negotiated collective action,taking into account the exporters, firmsacross the value chain, business associa-tions, research and development institutesand regional environmental agencies.The conformity was based on a peer-mon-itoring system; hence the Government wasnot overburdened with the cost of com-pliance. The resultant acquiescence waswidespread even among the small firmsthat were difficult to monitor.

Let us consider another, more recentcase. This is the success story of a societyin peri-urban Bengaluru in complyingwith improved water management prac-tices and the Karnataka State PollutionControl Board’s (KSPCB) zero liquiddischarge norms. A residential society,Rainbow Drive on Sarjapur road madeconstant efforts to build institutions at thelevel of the society for sustainable watermanagement and finally comply with Statenorms.

Without sustainable water manage-ment practices, the society would haveencountered a major water crisis in the

near future. So Rainbow Drive took aseries of measures, including banning ofprivate borewell drilling, water pricing andmandatory water harvesting.

In 2015, the society became the firstresidential society in Bengaluru to applyto the KSPCB to recharge the groundwa-ter table. The society has also installed aSewage Treatment Plant to comply withthe KSPCB’s discharge norms, althoughit is yet to comply with it fully. Throughthe peer monitoring system, the societyensured compliance within and upheld itsresponsibility to obey Government rules.

The two cases discussed above showthat citizens or stakeholders have toshare the responsibility of compliance withany Government regulation. It is impos-sible for the Government to ensure fullacquiescence due to the prohibitive mon-itoring cost if stakeholders are many andsegregated.

Conformity is plausible only when cit-izens take the responsibility of peer mon-itoring within a group by setting up a for-mal or informal institution. TheGovernment may monitor only the insti-tution, which in turn would monitor theindividuals. If the Government attemptsto monitor each individual, then it wouldencounter the problem of omission andcommission.

Hence, if the Government hasentrusted the employers to ensure that theemployees download the Aarogya Setuapp, then it is a rational policy decision.Thus, the cost of monitoring would getinternalised by employers, in whose inter-est the lockdown was relaxed. The officesshould be held responsible to implementthe SOPs and the offices that are not fol-lowing the rules should be penalised fortheir failure to do so.

However, it is imperative to build con-fidence that the data will not be misused.The trust and confidence between theGovernment and its citizens is the key tosuccess in the war against the Coronavirus.The citizens or stakeholders should formlocal institutions within their group to

devise a strategy for the containment ofthe Coronavirus and thus make compli-ance easier. Close supervision of over 135crore citizens by the Government is anunachievable goal.

It is true that law enforcement agen-cies like the police are keeping a watch oncitizens in many cities and imposing finesif they are found violating social distanc-ing norms. But this is not very effectiveas they cannot monitor everyone, always.

For instance, people would repositionthemselves as and when the police patrolvehicle approaches the shopping centres,only to huddle back when it leaves. Itshould be the responsibility of the mar-ket associations to maintain social distanc-ing norms. They should develop rules bywhich they can impose fines on shopkeep-ers who fail to enforce the norms amongcustomers. If every shopkeeper does so,then customers would also appreciate itand fall in line. The police may in turnhold the association responsible for theenforcement of rules and sanction thosewho fail to maintain order.

This does not suggest that theGovernment remains passive about com-pliance with norms. It should facilitate theprocess to make offices, business or citi-zens’ associations responsible. It shouldprovide more timely and clear informa-tion to avoid the spread of the disease. TheGovernment should counsel and trainoffices and associations on the formationof local institutions.

The most important element of a localinstitution is provision of penalty for notconforming. This would develop trustbetween the implementing authorities andother stakeholders and further betweenthe authorities and the Government.Compliance can only be co-produced byboth the Government and citizensthrough development of trust betweenthem. It cannot be produced by only oneof them.

(The writer is Associate Professor,Institute of Rural Management, Anand. Theviews expressed are personal)

Now that the lockdown has been eased, we need to manage our actions in a manner in which we canbalance economic activities and containment of the Coronavirus infection

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

SAVITA MEHTA

CONFORMITY IS PLAUSIBLE

ONLY WHENCITIZENS TAKE THE

RESPONSIBILITY OF PEER

MONITORINGWITHIN

A GROUP BYSETTING UP A

FORMAL ORINFORMAL

INSTITUTION. THE GOVERNMENT

MAY MONITOR ONLY THE

INSTITUTION, WHICH IN TURN

WOULD MONITORTHE INDIVIDUALS.

IF THEGOVERNMENTATTEMPTS TO

MONITOR EACH INDIVIDUAL,

THEN IT WOULD ENCOUNTER

THE PROBLEM OF OMISSION

AND COMMISSION

If there is anything that people fear the most right now, it is fallingprey to the current pandemic that has swept the world and ourcountry, too. The unimaginable nightmare for me and my entire

family started on May 28 when I felt high fever gripping my bodyand sapping me out of every ounce of energy.

Initially treating it as a viral infection and weakness inducedby the heatwave gripping Delhi and the National Capital Region(remember Delhi temperatures touched almost 47 degree Celsiusaround that time) I ignored the symptoms till June 1, until body-ache, fatigue and high grade fever started taking an extreme tollon me. Fighting panic and bouts of weakness, I got myself test-ed on June 1 for the deadly COVID-19 virus and my worst fearscame true. I was confirmed Corona-positive late on the eveningof June 2. It was the longest night of my life and we didn’t knowwhere to seek help and what to do next.

Eventually, in the morning I informed the chairman of the soci-ety of Sector 21, Jal Vayu Vihar, Noida, a defence sector pre-dominantly comprising people from the Indian Navy and the IndianAir Force. It was a tough decision to take because I did not knowhow they would react. Though a civilian, I have been living in JalVayu Vihar for the last 24 years but very few people know me.However, it was my moral duty to inform the society and on June3, I was taken in an ambulance to the L1 Facility of Kailash Hospital,Greater Noida.

I have two sons aged 28 years, who, unfortunately, neverlearnt how to cook. As a result they can barely make Maggi andtea for themselves. So in anticipation I had already stocked mykitchen with bread, butter, cheese, Maggi, biscuits and ready toeat food so that they could manage in my absence. In hospitalI lay burning with high fever, hacked by severe cough and extreme-ly fatigued. Doctors, looking after me remotely, took good careand responded to all my calls, messages and intercom queries.However, I was worried about my sons and how they would bemanaging since they were home quarantined.

To my utter surprise, my sons started calling up saying thatthey were being sent food by neighbours and friends (who staynearly 10 km away from my house), all three meals and that too,the food of their choice. The meals ranged from aloo and poorie,chole and rice, rajma and rice, parantha, pulaao, home-madecakes, freshly-baked buns, daal and rice, vegetables, poha, fruits,milk, chicken dishes and so on. There are 46 families in our build-ing, out of which 40 per cent are tenants who don’t interact muchwith anyone. Yet the neighbours and friends came out willinglyand coordinated with each other about who would send lunch,breakfast and dinner. I was amazed and felt gratitude toward eachand every member of my society.

On June 7, I was discharged from the hospital after my reportcame out negative. But the worst was still to come as the sameday one of my sons was detected to be Corona positive. Withintwo hours he was admitted to the same hospital. Once again,my neighbours started sending light food for me and regular foodfor my son. I was overwhelmed with the efforts, love and ded-ication shown to me and my family.

It was a very humbling experience and it was hard to imag-ine that in these 24 years I had hardly ever visited their homesor invited them over. But in my time of need, their support andgoodwill was pouring out. It’s been 11 days today and every morn-ing I get the menu for my breakfast, lunch and dinner. I could-n’t have been luckier and couldn’t ask God for anything else.

Our chairman and cluster representative calls us every dayto find out about our well-being. They even ensured that thegarbage was collected daily from my house, albeit separately.Indian culture, values and traditions have been personified in alltheir glory to me and made me indebted towards each and everyone of my neighbour who treated us with compassion, care andrespect in these trying times.

On the flip side, my brother and father who live in posh DLFCity in Gurugram, were also diagnosed with COVID-19 betweenMay 30 to June 7. Shockingly, their society people were busyshaming my family members on WhatsApp groups for bringingthe virus to their colony. As if they had a choice in the matter orwent and got sick deliberately. What a study in contrast!

Thankfully, my brother and son have tested negative now.However, my father is in one of the biggest hospitals of Gurugram,still fighting the virus. I have learnt three lessons from this nervewracking incident that has altered my life forever. First, never goto a hospital where you don’t know the doctor well, irrespectiveof how reputed it is, (in this case at Gurugram), because yourattending doctor should convey your status to your family mem-bers and set your fears at rest. Second, respect and love thy neigh-bour and third help others as it all comes back in the end. Lifejust turned a full circle for me.

(The writer is an educationist)

In international politics, one has tobe watchful about learning lessonsfrom history. Else, in the words of

Winston Churchill, “Those who failto learn from history are condemnedto repeat it.” This applies to Chinamore than ever as it is responding toglobal criticism over the pandemicwith aggressive posturing; by precip-itating a deeper crisis in Hong Kongand a stand-off with India at the bor-der. The same logic applies to thecontemporary global politics amidthe outbreak and its reshaping dis-

courses in a post-Covid world, asmany experts are putting it.

Across the globe, mistrust amongallies is high, cooperation remainsnon-existent and many countriesseem inclined to go their own nation-alist way. While the nature of the pan-demic is certainly global, the fightagainst the crisis is being fought onseveral loosely-tied and fragmentedunilateral fronts.

I gather this argument fromsome classical readings into the“practices and policies” pursued bythe supreme Chinese leadership inthe past, led by Chairman Mao.This is well explained in The ChinaQuestions. Basically, in 1912, a youngMao was gifted a book by his teacherthat became the “guiding thought” forhis life and politics. From the LongMarch in 1934 to his guerrilla wardays in Yanan, Mao kept the book byhis side and frequently referred to the

same during his conversations withparty officials.

The book titled, ComprehensiveMirror in Aid of Governance, waspublished in 1084 and was edited bySima Guang. He was a Chinese his-torian, an intellectual and politicianin the Northern Song dynasty. Thebook was an insightful account onChinese history and lessons on gov-ernance from great Chinese emper-ors. Mao’s obsession with the bookwas primarily cultivated by the corechallenge, which many rulers face inhistory: How to stay in power?

Contemporary China is verydifferent from the ancient one. It isno more a traditional agrarian, socialeconomy and is a well-developedmodern State with “high economicprowess” backed by big urban centres,high production and manufacturingbases, rapid connectivity and a grow-ing knowledge economy. The China

Model by Daniel Bell captures thiseconomic transformation in the lastfour decades. Once a “secludedempire”, China is now the world’slargest exporter and second-largestdestination for Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI). Given the context,the book that Mao cherished holdssome key lessons for the present rul-ing establishment in China. Thefirst lesson being that no dynasty canrule forever. The once-powerful Tangregime in China (618-987) had tocome to an end after 289 years.Nevertheless, while the “right to beruled” simply rests with Chinese cit-izens, history does hold some lessonsfor them on the subject. The erosionof the long-practised system of “col-lective leadership” and “power con-solidation” in present-day China,does face harder times to come.

The second lesson states that eliterebellion is the most important cause

of dynastic fall. The political elite haveboth the knowledge and resources tochallenge the system. In the name ofpromoting the “rule of law”, since2012 the Communist Party of China(CPC) leadership has been runningan “anti-graft campaign” targettinghigh-level party and military officials,some business and State-ownedenterprises (SOEs) heads on accountof corruption.

The campaign has found over 1.5million Government officials guiltyof a variety of corruption-relatedcharges, also drawing political ben-efit for the presidency but dissuadinga large section of political elite inChina.

The third lesson holds the viewthat emperors who designate loyaland competent successors are likelyto be successful. In Indian history,too, many conflicts arose as incum-bent rulers failed to address the

question of succession. In the presentsituation, it remains unclear who willsucceed the current presidency inChina. Most certainly, the way theyhandle this subject shall be a “posi-tive indicator” regarding the futurepolitical landscape of China.

The pandemic, the ongoingUS-China trade war and the playingup of “hegemonic politics” around thecrisis is weakening the foundationsof global humanitarian relief worksand the role of key international agen-cies. At the time, when the idea of“developmental partnership” aspushed forward by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in relation to Chinawas gathering acceptance and the“Wuhan Spirit” was positively reshap-ing bilateral discourse, the presentstand-off on the border and frequentcases of Chinese incursions across theLine of Actual Control are severelyaffecting mutual ties between both

the countries.By unapologetically absolving

itself from the responsibility of theoutbreak and increasing the militarybuild-up across the Indian border andthe South China Sea, China seems tobe shifting to “more assertive politics.”This not only limits the Chinese “softpower” appeal and its gains from sus-tained economic growth, but provesto be a “judgment in a hurry” by theChinese leadership which is failing tolearn lessons from its own past andis drawing global attention on bleakdiplomatic moves.

From AB Vajpayee’s visit toChina in 1979 to the Chennai infor-mal summit in 2019 under Modi, theseries of Chinese endeavours at theborder does nothing except “raisingthe trust deficit” in India-Chinarelations.

(The writer is Assistant Professor,Deshbandhu College, DU.)

Unlearning vital lessons from historyPresent-day China does not seem to fully endorse its past patterns and those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it

ABHISHEK PRATAP SINGH

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | JUNE 16, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

INDRANIL DE

A study incontrast

My Noida neighbours fed my family when we gotsick with COVID-19. But people in posh localities inGurugram behaved inhumanly with my sick brother

VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | JUNE 16, 2020 money 08

MEIL forays into defencesector; to set up unit in HydPNS n HYDERABAD

Megha Engineering andInfrastructures Limited(MEIL), a city-based inframajor is foraying into thedefence equipment manufac-turing sector and as part ofthat, it is setting up a facilityhere with an investment out-lay of Rs 500 crore.

The company has obtainednecessary permissions to man-ufacture weapons, vehicles,ancillaries and arms and equip-ment for the defence sector, apress release from the compa-ny said on Monday.

"To produce weapons, vehi-cles, ancillaries and arms,MEIL has applied for permis-sion under Defence procure-ment policy 2020 which is apart of the Make in India ini-tiative.

After careful examination ofMEIL's capabilities under var-ious government stipulations,the government of India issuedthe approvals. MEIL groupwill set up a manufacturingunit with a capital outlay of Rs500 crore at various stages," itsaid.

MEIL had begun its journeywith the construction andinfrastructure sector and

expanded its wings into oil andgas, power, solar power, avia-tion sectors and is now enter-ing defence equipment pro-duction. MEIL group compa-ny IComm Tele Limited isalready contributing to thenational defence institutions in

science and technology fields.IComm is also engaged in

the power distribution andtransmission and solar powersector. The company is alreadydeveloping and supplyingadvanced communication

radios, jammers, EW shelters,antennas, electronic warfarecontainers, wind profiles andradars. India's first mobilevirology lab to deal with theCOVID-19 epidemic wasdeveloped and launched inApril by IComm.

"With the necessaryapprovals in place, Meghagroup is setting up most mod-ern manufacturing facilitiesto produce various cutting-edge defence equipmentindigenously at our upcomingnew facility at Hyderabad. I amhappy that Megha group is ful-filling Hon'ble PrimeMinister's vision and dream ofmake in India initiative,"Srinivas Bommareddy,President, MEIL, said.

Sensex tanks 552 ptson second Covid wave fears

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmarkSensex plunged 552points on Monday,dragged by heavy lossesin financial stocks amidconcerns over a secondwave of coronavirusinfections.

After sinking over 857points during the ses-sion, the 30-share indexsettled 552.09 points, or1.63 per cent, lower at33,228.80.

Similarly, the NSENifty tumbled 159.20

points, or1 . 6 0

per cent, to close at9,813.70.

IndusInd Bank wasthe top laggard in theSensex pack, tankingaround 7 per cent, fol-lowed by Axis Bank,Bajaj Finance, ICICIBank, NTPC, Tata Steel,ITC and HDFC Bank.

On the other hand,Reliance Industries, HCLTech, Sun Pharma andONGC were among thegainers.

Market traded on anegative note on sub-dued global cues on fears

of a second wave ofc oron av i r u s

c a s e s ,Na r e n d r a

Solanki, Head- EquityResearch (Fundamental),Anand Rathi said.

With signs that thedeadly disease is comingback in China and theUnited States, investoroptimism about eco-nomic recovery is begin-ning to fade, traders said.

The number of caseslinked to the diseasearound the world hascrossed 79 lakh and thedeath toll has topped4.33 lakh.

In India, the numberof infections rose to 3.32lakh and the death tollrose to 9,520, accordingto the health ministry.

Bourses in Shanghai,Hong Kong, Tokyo andSeoul tanked up to 4.76per cent. Stockexchanges in Europewere also trading over 1per cent lower.

International oilbenchmark Brent

crude futuresfell 0.93 percent to USD38.37 per

barrel.

Report: GDP contraction poses‘existential threat' to MSMEsPNS n MUMBAI

A 5 per cent contraction ingross domestic product (GDP)during 2020-21 may lead to a15 per cent fall in corporateIndia's revenues and poses an"existential threat" for smallbusinesses, a report said onMonday.

However, policy interven-tions by the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) and the financeministry offer little hopebecause they cannot revivedemand, which is crucial forthe small businesses, the reportsaid.

The micro, small and medi-um enterprise (MSME) sectorwill have to face a sharperdecline in revenues of up to 21per cent, while operating prof-it margins will narrow to 4-5per cent, said the researchwing of domestic ratingsagency Crisil.

The agency expects a 5 percent contraction in the econ-omy because of the impact ofthe coronavirus pandemic,which has led to nearly threemonths of lockdown across thecountry with little steps atopening up lately. The govern-ment and the RBI have alreadyannounced actions like collat-eral-free loans of up to Rs 3lakh crore to the segment since

the onset of the crisis."MSMEs face existential cri-

sis, revenue to fall a fifth...asharp decline at the operatinglevel will also impact credit-worthiness, aggravating theliquidity stretch these unitshave been grappling with, par-ticularly on the working capi-tal front," the agency said.

It said there are gains to bemade out of the lower com-

modity prices but the weakdemand in the economy willensure that the small businesssegment is unable to capitaliseon those, it said.

The average interest servicecoverage ratio could slide to 1-1.5 times from 2.4 times seenbetween the financial years2016-17 and 2019-20, evenafter factoring in the benefit ofmoratorium on interest pay-

ments announced by the RBI,it said adding that without themoratorium, the ratio wouldhave gone below one.

The hardest hit will be themicro enterprise segment,which accounts for 32 per centof the overall MSME debt,and are facing material stressin terms of revenue growth,operating profit margins andworking capital stretch, it said.

Drawing from precedents, itsaid previous downturns haveshown that micro and smallenterprises are unable to man-age transient working capitalchallenges as easily as theirlarge and medium peers.

The policy interventionsfrom the RBI and the financeministry will help them tideover tapered cash flows, it saidadding that the biggest concernis demand that needs to berevived for the betterment ofthis crucial sector.

However, the report wasnot so optimistic on the poli-cy interventions' ability todrive demand in the economy.

"The current facilitationsmay not have the heft to crankup demand in the near termbecause fiscal stimulus is lim-ited and only to vulnerablehouseholds," its ChiefOperating Officer AmishMehta said.

The micro, small and medium enterprise

(MSME) sector will have to face a sharper

decline in revenues of up to 21 per cent, while

operating profit margins will narrow to 4-5 per

cent, said the research wing of domestic

ratings agency Crisil

‘Relook agroforestry fromfarmer & industry view’PNS n NEW DELHI

The earlier notion ofagroforestry meaningonly timber species needsto be relooked fromfarmers and industrypoint of view, accordingto Agriculture SecretarySanjay Aggarwal.

Timber trees have along maturity period andhence delay return tofarmers. But, there are anumber of rising sectorswhich would ensurequick return to farmersas well as fulfill industryrequirements, he said inan official statement.

Aggarwal further saidthere are multiple uses ofagroforestry like provid-ing additional income tofarmers, nurseries as ameans of livelihoodsespecially for women selfhelp groups, green fod-der, reduction in require-ment of fertilisers byplanting leguminousspecies, carbon seques-tration for combating cli-mate change, etc.

Aggarwal, who spokeon agroforestry in a June13 webinar, mentionedthat the Prime Minister'scall for 'Vocal for ourLocal' is of great rele-vance for agroforestrytoo.

Agroforestry could

contribute to steppingup supply of raw mater-ial to industry for reduc-ing the country's depen-dence on imports insome crucial commodi-ties, he said. Accordingto the statement, promo-tion of medicinal plantsis a major component ofthe government's'AtmaNirbhar Bharat'initiative and there istremendous scope forconvergence for treebased and organic med-icinal produce.

The Secretary alsoshared about recentreforms brought in theagriculture sector toensure optimum remu-

neration to farmers,including a Rs 1.63 lakhcrore outlay and ordi-nances to provide barri-er-free trade outsidenotified mandis.

The webinar flaggedthe importance of clon-

al planting material ofthe correct varietieswhich would also complywith industry require-ments.

The Central SilkBoard assured that it willassist farmers who plantthe range of silk hostspecies, which on anaverage would start giv-ing returns in 3-4 yearsand hence were ideal foragroforestry systems.

Central Silk BoardCEO Rajit RanjanOkhandiar, NationalMedicinal Plant BoardCEO JLN Sastry, IndianPapers ManufacturersAssociation SecretaryGeneral Rohit Panditand ITC Ltd FormerVice President H KKulkarni were presentin the webinar.

PepsiCo toinvest $ 3 mnfor safe wateraccessPNS n NEW DELHI

PepsiCo Foundation onMonday said it will investUSD 3 million to provide safewater access to agriculturalcommunities, and helpwomen in high water-riskareas in West Bengal andMaharashtra in associationwith WaterAid.

This programme aims toprovide 2 lakh farmers andtheir families access to pipedwater supply for householduse, and increased waterresources, the company said ina statement.

Besides, it will also establishcommunity-managed waterdistribution systems in thesecommunities, it added.

The fresh investment inIndia is part of PepsiCoFoundation's new commit-ment to reach 100 million peo-ple with safe water accessworldwide by 2030.

PNS n NEW DELHI

A survey has revealed thatabout 38 per cent startupshave run out of funds and 30per cent have 1-3 months ofcash left, indicating the severeimpact of lockdown on fledg-ling businesses.

According to the survey byLocalCircles — which receivedover 28,000 responses frommore than 8,400 startups,SMEs and entrepreneurs —16 per cent such entities saidthe they have 3-6 months ofcash left.

Another 12 per cent respon-dents said they have less thana month's worth of cash left.

"Four per cent also said thatthey have already shut downthe business due to the lock-

down effect," the report noted.LocalCircles' report assesses

the impact that Covid-19 pan-demic and the following lock-down have had on the startupsand SMEs of India.

"Many businesses have

reported a revenue drop ofmore that 80-90 per cent in thelast two months making ithard for them to even sustaintheir business," it said. Thecomparison from April to June2020 showed that percentage of

startups and SMEs out of fundshas risen from 27 per cent to42 per cent, showing a worri-some situation, it added.

These organisations are cut-ting or deferring marketing andhuman resource costs to sus-tain their business.

Interestingly, 35 per centsaid they see growth in theirbusiness in the next six monthsand equal percentage said theywould scale down.

About 14 per cent said they

see their business getting shutdown, while 16 per cent saidthey were quite unsure of thefuture.

Asked if they expect to bebenefitted by the stimuluspackage announced by govern-ment, only 14 per cent said'yes', while 57 per cent said 'no'and the remaining 29 per centwere unsure about it.

The Cabinet had approvedRs 3 lakh crore emergencycredit line to the micro, small

and medium enterprises(MSMEs) to help them sailthrough the crisis.

"But a large number of star-tups might not be able to availthese benefits under theAtmanirbhar Bharat schemeeven if they are registered asMSMEs. This is because astartup needs to have existingdebt/loans on their books toqualify, but most startups usu-ally opt for VC funding, whichmakes them ineligible for thisGovernment scheme," thereport noted. "The need of thehour was and is assistance thatreaches bank accounts fast andfast in the context of startupsand SMEs means now as 42 percent of them are already in shutdown or out of funds status,"the survey said.

38% startups out of funds due to lockdown effect: SurveyAccording to the survey by LocalCircles —

which received over 28,000 responses from

more than 8,400 startups, SMEs and

entrepreneurs — 16 per cent such entities

said the they have 3-6 months of cash left

According to the statement, promotion

of medicinal plants is a major component

of the government's ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat'

initiative and there is tremendous scope

for convergence for tree based and organic

medicinal produce

PNS n NEW DELHI

Mutual funds focussed onfixed-income securities wit-nessed 46 per cent month-on-month jump in invest-ment to Rs 63,665 crore inMay, mainly due to robustinflow in liquid schemesand measures taken by theRBI.

Most individual categoriesthat invest in fixed-incomesecurities or debt funds sawinflows.

However, medium dura-tion, overnight, credit riskand dynamic bond funds

saw withdrawals.According to Association

of Mutual Funds in India(Amfi), MFs that invest infixed-income securities sawan inflow to the tune of Rs63,665 crore last month ascompared to an inflow ofRs 43,431 crore in April.

In March, the segmenthad witnessed a massiveoutflow of Rs 1.95 lakhcrore, an inflow of Rs28,000 crore in Februaryand Rs 1.09 lakh crore inJanuary.

Of the total inflow seenlast month, liquid funds

with investments in cashassets such as treasury bills,certificates of deposit andcommercial paper for

shorter horizon, attracted astaggering investment ofRs 61,870 crore.

"(The) RBI's measures

to deal with the trouble ina few debt funds haveshown clear success ininstilling confidence ininvestors as investments indebt funds in May are backto levels similar to before,"said Harsh Jain, co-founderand COO of Groww.

Amfi CEO NSVenkatesh said thatinvestors are taking advan-tage of conducive interestrates trend. Besides, shifttowards high quality AAArated has resulted in steadyrise in the net flows in debtschemes.

Debt mutual funds see 46 pc jump in inflows in May

PNS n NEW DELHI

SPML Infra on Monday saidthe COVID-19 pandemic hashit its operations hard, and rev-enue and prof-itability arelikely to bea d v e r s e l yimpacted as allprojects havecome to astandstill.

The infra-structure firm said normalisa-tion of operations will take timeas it is also facing shortage oflabour. "April-June 2020 beinglockdown months, the revenuesand profitability of the compa-ny are likely to be adverselyimpacted," SPML Infra said ina regulatory filing to the BSE."The company's project sitesremained closed from March 23,2020 due to lockdown and par-

tially reopened with effect fromMay 04, 2020, which has impact-ed its operations during Apriland May 2020," it added.The

company said thepandemic hashit it very hardas labour forcehas beenimmobilised atsites due tolockdown, with

the companytaking care of all their overheadsand protection costs, food andstay arrangements and otherfixed costs with no matchingrevenues. "Clients' paymentsare also not forthcoming inview of lockdown. All projectsites have just come to standstillin lockdown and normalisationis bound to take time in view of"new normal" of safety mea-sures and unavailability oflabour," it said.

Revenue, profitability totake hit due to Covid

Max group eyes Rs 550 crrevenue in 4 years NEW DELHI: Max India Ltd's arm Antara Senior Living has made aforay into the Delhi-NCR market with a new housing project forelderly at Noida and is targeting a sales revenue of around Rs 550crore over the next four years. The company has already tied upwith a landlord to develop this 4-acre project, located at Sector 150in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. This is the company's second project, withthe first already being developed at Dehradun in Uttarakhand.Established in 2013, Antara Senior Living, a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of Max India, is being led by Tara Singh Vachani, who isthe executive chairman. "The senior living community will bedeveloped in two phases. The first phase has 330 senior homes.

CAPSULE

NEW DELHI: Energy companyBP is writing off as much asUSD 17.5 billion from its oiland gas assets and will reviewits plans to develop oil wells asthe COVID-19 pandemicaccelerates its goal of decreasing its reliance onfossil fuels. Chief Executive Bernard Looney saidthe pandemic is forcing the company to face thelong-term impact on the economy, together withthe likelihood of weaker demand for a longerperiod of time. The company pledged in Februaryto become a net-zero company by 2050, but thepandemic has forced them to re-consider theirassumptions once more.

Coal India trade unionsplan strike next monthNEW DELHI: CoalIndia (CIL) tradeunions areplanning to go ona three-day strikefrom July 2 againstthe government'smove to open thecoal sector to private players, a union leadersaid. The development comes at a time when thegovernment plans to launch the process ofcommercial coal mining on Thursday. OnSunday, senior leaders of central trade unions ofBharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Hind Mazdoor Sabha,INTUC, AITUC and CTU held a videoconferencing, Nathulal Pandey, the president ofHind Khadan Mazdoor Federation said.

HDFC Ergo launchesIndia’s first drone cover

Exports fall 36.47 pc in MayNEW DELHI: Contracting for the third straightmonth, India's exports declined 36.47 per cent inMay to USD 19.05 billion, mainly on account ofdrop in shipments by key sectors such aspetroleum, textiles, engineering, gems andjewellery. Imports too plunged 51 per cent toUSD 22.2 billion in May, leaving a trade deficit ofUSD 3.15 billion, compared to USD 15.36 billionin the same month previous year, according tothe data released by the Commerce and IndustryMinistry.

MUMBAI: In an industry-firstinitiative, the third largestprivate sector general insurerHDFC Ergo on Monday tiedup with tech firm Tropogo tooffer commercial droneowners and operators third-party liability coverfor property damages and physical injuries fromthe flying machines. This policy will be offeredon-demand to customers on a 'pay as you fly'concept, the insurer said in a statement. Third-party insurance liability claim is mandatory fordrone operations in the country.

MG Motor India toenter MPV segment NEW DELHI: MG Motor Indiais gearing up to enter multi-purpose vehicle segmentwith Hector Plus slated to belaunched next month, andplans to hire about 200associates for its Halol plant toramp up overall production to pre-COVID level, atop company official said on Monday. Withsupply chain constraints hampering ramping upof factory output, the company is also "hand-holding" some of its tier II and tier IIIcomponents suppliers, even providing financialsupport in order to meet customer demand.

Tata Motors reports Rs 9,864 cr net lossMUMBAI: Tata Motors onMonday reported aconsolidated net loss of Rs9,863.73 crore for thefourth quarter ended March31, with the coronaviruspandemic taking a toll onBritish arm JLR as well as its domestic business.The company had posted a net profit of Rs1,108.66 crore in the January-March period ofthe financial year 2018-19. The company'sconsolidated total revenue from operations stoodat Rs 62,492.96 crore in the fourth quarter,compared with Rs 86,422.33 crore in the year-ago corresponding quarter, Tata Motors said in astatement.

Energy producer BPtakes $17.5 bn hit

I don’t think post-COVID ourbrand will do things differently,but our priorities may shiftbeyond fashion. While the

shops across the country haveopened, we have resolutely kept itshut as for me human lives mattermore than business right now, amida pandemic. It’s not that people aregoing to stop shopping, it’s just thatthey are going to be mindful aboutwhat they’re going to buy.

SABYASACHI MUKHERJEEARTIST

abyasachi Mukherjee,a champion of con-scious clothing labeland somebody whorose without anyindustrial connections

and not enough capital, set up ashop with only three artisans inhis hometown Kolkata for abouttwenty years ago, is now achange-maker in the Indian fash-ion industry. With the addition of2700 artisans to his global busi-ness and the ideology of person-alised imperfections of a humanmind, Sabyasachi brought out theessence of Khadi clothing alongwith the labour of love handcraft-ed by our Indian artisans to aninternational platform.

Speaking to FICCI FLOHyderabad, SabyasachiMukherjee and entrepreneurPinky Reddy talk to us about thefuture of luxury.

Since the past few months, theeminent designer has been sur-viving in the lap of luxury, thereal luxury is the essence of timehe says. All of us have 24 hours aday, today, when everything isshut in this intrusive world, peo-ple are increasingly valuing timeand enjoying special moments.Time is fluid and expansive butvalued by all but for Pinky Reddy,accessibility is the real luxury tohave in this era.

On being asked if the lockdownchanged Sabyasachi Mukherjee’sthinking process, he says, “I don’tthink post-COVID our brand willdo things differently, but our pri-orities may shift beyond fashion.While the shops across the coun-try have opened, we have res-olutely kept it shut as for mehuman lives matter more thanbusiness right now, amid a pan-demic. It’s not that people are

going to stop shop-ping, it’s just thatthey are going to bemindful about whatthey’re going to buy.”

The prolificdesigner ensurednone of his artisanssuffer any pay cutsamid a virus out-break, he paid themtheir full salaries tillthe end of June butfeels the challengearises if normalityisn’t restored becausethis can’t go on for-ever. He furtherspeaks about thesudden demise ofSushant Singh Rajputand how mental health should bea priority in today’s times. “Manyof us are devastated, everybody isgoing through FOMO but we areall in this together. Don’t takelosses personally, it’s always goingto be life above livelihood,” sug-gests Sabya. The entrepreneurtells us that the earth is rebootingin 2020 but life has to go on.Knowing many brides who areeagerly waiting to get married ina glorious Sabyasachi lehengamakes Pinky feel that eventhough the new normal may havechanged with only fifty peoplebeing allowed to attend a wed-ding since the photograph of abride's marriage will remain for-ever, they will always look for-ward to what’s fashionable.

Surviving a small recession cri-sis with Lehman brothers earlierin life, Sabyasachi Mukherjee feelsthe world may get a little schizo-phrenic post the pandemic, butthere will be a greater group ofpeople who will be introspectingtheir lives.

S

‘IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE LIFE OVER

LIVELIHOOD'

Hyderabad gears up for post-COVID-19he city police are24×7 on duty.Telangana's battleagainst COVID-19 has sometimesbeen harrowing

for the Hyderabad citypolice, yet they never gaveup. They have been negoti-ating with anxious families,dealing with unruly crowds,and fighting an invisiblevirus. Amid this, a softwareprofessional and actor AjithNair organised a virtualwebinar with MaheshBhagwat, Police commis-sioner of Rachakonda andIPS Anjani Kumar, commis-sioner of Hyderabad policeon post-COVID-19 precau-tions to be taken across thecity with participants notjust across the state but alsofrom USA and Australiataking an active part in it.

COVID is becominghighly infectious and sincethere's no vaccine yet, onequestion plaguing every-one's minds is what mea-sures shall be taken in orderto save ourselves from thispandemic. Netizens arereturning to their work rou-tines and are still susceptibleto the virus. One should bevery careful before re-start-ing their offices because it’sa closed environment withnumerous people. “We haveto go about our lives buthave to be alert about notbeing infected as well. Theunlocking phase has begun,people have started com-muting, public transporta-tion has restarted hence wemust not be complacent andmaintain necessary precau-tions,” informs IPS AnjaniKumar.

HOW TO MAINTAIN SAFETY?n Maintain physical distancing, wear masks, keep

washing hands every now and then.

Limiting face-to-face contact with others is the bestway to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease.To practice social or physical distancing stay atleast 6 feet from other people. Wearing a mask isthe most effective way to stop person-to-personspread. If you are in a public place where you willencounter other people, you should wear a mask.Proper handwashing not only reduces the spreadof Coronavirus, but it can also prevent the spreadof other viral illnesses such as cold and flu.

n Do not forward unauthorised messages in socialmedia The amount of misinformation that is spreadon the web is staggering. It is spread mainly viasocial media networking sites. The new hot topic is

the Coronavirus. Watch out if known or reputablenews sites are not reporting on the story.

n Always follow government bulletins and do notcreate panic situations in the society

n Read a book, paint, play a board game, ormeditate, all of these activities can help calm yourmind and prevent you from reaching for yourphone or computer and falling into a downwardspiral of despair.

n Contact GHMC, Police Control Room, and nearbypolice station for any information.

We are turning into new leaves in times of distress.We are working hard to not just keep you awayfrom crime but also from the pandemic. We arestill responding to emergency and high prioritycalls.

n Stay home, stay safe!

T

Artemis Fowl fansin for a treatArtemis Fowl backwith a bang!

his June, stepinto a magicalnew world ofthe year withDisney’sArtemis Fowl.

Based on the belovedbook by Eoin Colfer,Artemis Fowl is a seriesof eight fantasy novels,featuring the criminalmastermind ArtemisFowl II. The story unfoldsthe breathtaking, spell-binding adventures of thisunusually intelligent 12-year-old prodigy, whohappens to be a descen-dant of a long line ofcriminal masterminds, ashe desperately tries tosave his father who hasbeen kidnapped. As peo-ple continue to practicesocial distancing, ArtemisFowl marks the firstinternational movie tomake its world premiere.Releasing on 12th June2020, this action-adven-ture is a wholesome fami-ly entertainer perfect for aweekend watch.

Unveiling the adven-tures of Artemis, this fan-tastical young adult fic-tion takes us on an exhil-arating ride into the mag-ical world of ArtemisFowl, one that is filledwith an amazinglyadvanced world of fairies,goblins, trolls, dwarvesand other magical beings.Artemis Fowl, the phe-nomenal young adultfranchise, has entertainedits dedicated readers sincethe debut of the first book

in the year 2001 and hasbecome a global phenom-enon with a cult follow-ing of its own. It is alsoone of the most awaitedbook-to-film adaptationsof all time.

Directed by five-timeAcademy Award nomineeKenneth Branagh,Artemis Fowl features astellar star cast, includingAcademy Award winnerDame Judi Dench, JoshGad, Colin Farrell. Themovie also marks thedebut for young talentedartists, Ferdia Shaw andLara Mcdonnell in thelead roles; and featuresTamara Smart, NonzoAnozie in key characterportrayals.

Dame Judi Dench,who portrays the charac-ter of Commander Rootsaid, “Commander Rootis quite military andandrogynous. If you’rehead of the leprechauns,just masculine or justfeminine wouldn’t do it.She is a leader and does-n’t care whether she’sliked or not.” The actresswas not intimidated bythe prospect of playingan 800-year-old man, infact, she relished theopportunity. “I thought,why not, I’ll have a gowith it,” Dench laughs.“It’s not every day you’reasked to play an 800-year-old man!”

Descended from along line of criminalmasterminds, 12-year-old genius Artemis Fowl

II, played by FerdiaShaw, finds himself in abattle of strength andcunning against a pow-erful, hidden race offairies who may bebehind his father’s disap-pearance. Artemis Fowl,a peculiar young crimi-nal prodigy, althoughstill a child of age 12,reflects the maturity andknowledge of an adult.The character of Artemisdepicts sheer brilliance,not just for a child, butfor any age group orspecies, on, under,above, and beyond earth.Artemis is the master-mind behind all theadventures that themovie unravels, owing tohis incredible imagina-tion, unparalleledknowledge level, andwondrous vocabulary.He is a genius childwhose pastimes revolvesolely around increasinghis intelligence and plot-ting new schemes. Themovie marvellouslydescribes the journey ofthis prodigy into a crim-inal fairy world.

Kenneth Branagh says,“The goal is to give theaudience the best, thealmost visceral time theycan have. Though audi-ences familiar with thebook will see much thatthey love and recognize,there are still a few twistsand turns to keep themon their toes in the story,some of which theymight not expect.”

T

TuesdayJune 16, 2020

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10

Vijayawada Tuesday June 16 2020 what’s brewing?

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

Adopt yoga for these HEALTH BENEFITSRecent research shows that physically active yoga benefits people with mentalhealth issues, and eases depressive symptoms in them. However, it is not just notdepression, yoga helps with a whole range of physical and mentalwellness issues, especially during a global health crisis

n our busy,stressful dailyroutine, amidstthe hustle ofwork, we oftenlet things that

matter fade into the noise.Our minds, are constantlyon a move but our bodiesare often not. We have triedtiresome diet plans and allkinds of fasting, walks but

kept stressing about thatmeeting we have tomorrow,all with minimum resultsand even lesser benefits.The COVID-19 pandemic isalmost like a wakeup call, tostart building up our immu-nity, to take a step towards ahealthier lifestyle. Staying fitdoes not necessarily trans-late to achieving the perfectbody or having the best pair

of abs. Fitness, contrary topopular belief, is an amalga-mation of a healthy mind,body and soul. And Yoga isthe perfect fit, Dr ManojKutteri, Wellness Director atAtmantan Wellness Centretold IANSlife.

An over 4000-year-oldpractice, Yog or Yoga, is notonly a catalyst in our jour-ney to fitness but also bene-

fits our mind andinner wellness. Agreat mode of relax-ation, meditation isan integral part ofYoga, too. It helps keepan individual centredand has proven toimprove concentrationas well as reduce stress.

Here’s what yoga has tooffer.

Most times, Yoga and flexibility become syn-onymous, and rightly so. However, it not

only the magic of doing a split or backbend, youwill notice a gradual decline in joint pains andmuscular aches. Yoga helps build stronger

muscles that aid in conditions like arthri-tis and back pain. Postures like down-

ward facing dog (Adho MukhaSvanasana) and upward facing

dog (Urdhva MukhaSvanasana) better your

bone health focusingon your arm areaand keep osteo-porosis atbay.

Healthiermuscles

MindfulnessOne very important and often overlooked aspect of yoga is

mindfulness. The practice makes an individual more aware- of themselves, of their surroundings. One mindfully makes con-scious choices to eat healthy and focus on the part of their bodythat needs recovery. Daily practice of Yoga makes keeps your mind

agile and helps it focus on one thing at a time, as a result - lessdistractions and more productivity.

Get sound sleep

If the sudden change in lifestyle has affectedone thing universally, it's our sleeping pat-

terns. Even on the regular day, we face a great dealof difficulty in falling asleep. Various restorative

asaanas such as Savasana, yoga nidra, etc providethe relaxation your nervous system needs. Sleep,

however is not the main objective, it is deep slum-ber that it ensures - a better sleep which rechargesthe entire system and leave you fresh and lively to

start your day.

Breath wellAlot of Yoga aasanas depend

on your breathing, wellalmost all of them. Exercises likethe pranayama and anulom vilom,engage your breath in a more con-scious way, something we don'tfocus on normally. While focusingon these breathing exercises wemanage stress effectively and in amore conscious manner. Especiallyfor people with asthma or otherchronic lung diseases, thesebreathing exercises make a hugedifference in exercising the lungsand thereby aiding in their healthi-er functioning.

I

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | TUESDAY | JUNE 16, 2020

.AFP n MADRID

Marcelo celebrated by taking aknee as Real Madrid returnedfrom three months away fol-

lowing the coronavirus suspension bybeating Eibar 3-1 on Sunday.

After scoring Madrid’s third goal inthe 37th minute, Marcelo droppedonto his left knee and raised hisclinched right fist into the air, apparent-ly in support of the Black Lives Mattermovement.

Madrid’s win may have come at acost as Eden Hazard and Sergio Ramoswere both substituted early in the sec-ond half and were seen with ice packsstrapped to them while sitting in thestands.

Hazard was making his first startsince February and his icepack appeared to be aroundhis troublesome right ankle,which he injured inNovember and February,before undergoing surgeryin March.

“We knew Eden would lack a bit ofrhythm playing the whole game,” coachZinedine Zidane said.

“He played well for an hour, he tooka knock which was a scare but at half-time he said he was fine. He is happywith what he has done and we are happywith him.”

Madrid’s win means they reduce thegap behind league leaders Barcelonaback to two points after the Catalansthrashed Real Mallorca 4-0 on Saturday.

Madrid struck in the fourth minute

after a superb strike from Toni Kroosbefore Ramos tucked away Hazard’spass on the counter-attack.

Eibar pulled one back in the secondhalf through Pedro Bigas but neverfound the second to make Madrid ner-vous, despite a brief spell of pressure.

Before going off, Hazard was busy,the Belgian involved in all three goals.

His weaving run through midfieldled to Kroos’ shot and it was his effort

that was cleared out to Marcelo, whodrove into the corner.

After a miserable opening season inSpain, it was a bright start for Hazard,who could now redeem himself by play-ing a crucial role in the run-in, if he canstay injury-free.

Perhaps even more impressivethough was Karim Benzema, wholinked up brilliantly with Hazard andwas unfortunate not to get the goal an

excellent all-round performancedeserved.

Gareth Bale started on the benchbut came on and could start against

Valencia on Thursday.Zidane is likely to rotate heavily

over the next few weeks, with the gamescoming thick and fast.

PTI n MELBOURNE

Star Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is thebest fielder in the game right now, according

to Australian batting star Steve Smith, who alsorated KL Rahul as the most impressive among theyounger crop.

Smith, whoanswered questionssent in by his fans onInstagram on Sunday,also said the IndianPremier League is hisfavourite tournamentto play in.

Jadeja known forhis quick and sharpfielding tactics hasearned praise fromseveral former playersand respect from thecurrent stars andSmith is no different.

Asked who the best fielder in the current lotof players Smith simply replied stating it wasJadeja.

When quizzed about which Indian player hasimpressed him the most, the Australian battingmainstay said: “KL Rahul. Very good player!”

Rahul, who has played 36 Tests, 32 ODIs and42 T20Is for Indian, has become a regular mem-ber of the national team in white-ball cricket.Besides showcasing his skills with the willow,Rahul also bears the responsibility of being thewicketkeeper in the limited overs format.

The Rajasthan Royals batsman, who rated hisfirst innings his 144 at Birmingham in the first.

Ashes Test last year as his favourite Testknock till date, said (IPL) is his favourite tour-nament.

“Tough to beat the IPL. Playing with andagainst the best players from around the world.”

PTI n MUMBAI

Former India opener Gautam Gambhirbelieves that Mahendra Singh Dhoni

would have been a different player with allbatting records in his kitty had the Indiancaptain opted batting one down in 50-overformat.

Gambhir was asked to chose betweencurrent India skipper Virat Kohli andDhoni, to chase down a target.

“It’s very difficult to compare both ofthem because one bats at No. 3, one batsat No. 6 or 7,” Gambhir said on Star Sportsshow ‘Cricket Connected’.

According to Gambhir, with the kindof flat pitches on offer and quality of cur-rent bowling attacks in world cricket now,the Jharkhand dasher could have brokenmost of the records had he batted at three.

“Probably, I would have taken MSDhoni. MS Dhoni batting at No. 3 on flatwickets, with the quality of bowling attacknow in world cricket.

"Look at Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, WestIndies, in the current situation, with thekind of quality in international cricket thereis, MS Dhoni would have probably brokenmost of the records,” added the southpaw,who is a member of both 2007 and 2011World Cup winning Indian team.

Dhoni in his career usually batted lowerdown the order and was more of a finish-er.

The former left-handed opener felt thatDhoni would have been the most excitingcricketer in the world had he not captainedIndia and batted up the order at numberthree.

“Probably, world cricket has missed onething and that is MS didn’t bat at No. Three. Had MS not captained India and battedat No. Three, probably world cricketwould have seen a completely differentplayer, probably he could have got many

more runs, he would have broken manymore records.”

However former India speedster IrfanPathan had a different viewpoint.

Pathan said that if one comparesDhoni to Kohli at number three, Kohliwould have been a better option.

“But MS had all the chance to bat at No.3, he didn't. Look, I really believe that if youcompare Virat and Mahendra Singh Dhonibatting at No. 3, I still feel Virat has a bet-ter technique.

“There’s nothing that I am taking awayfrom Mahendra Singh Dhoni, obviously hehas been an absolute legend of the game.Everyone has their own opinion. I will stilltake Virat any day,” said Pathan on the sameshow.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Country's top sprinterHima Das, who had

a stellar 2018, has beennominated for the presti-gious 'Khel Ratna' by thestate government ofAssam.

Assam sports secre-tary Dulal Chandra Dassent the letter of recom-mendation to the sportsministry on June 5.

The 20-year-old fromDhing village in Assam isone of the youngest nom-

inees for Khel Ratna thisyear.

India's first track ath-lete to win a global title atU20 WorldChampionship inTampere, Finland in2018, Hima will com-pete with ace javelinthrower Neeraj Chopra,wrestler Vinesh Phogat,TT player Manika Batra,women's hockey captainRani Rampal and crick-eter Rohit Sharma forcountry's highest sport-ing honour.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Mohammad Azharuddin would notbat an eyelid and jump at it

straight away if he is given the oppor-tunity to coach the Indian cricket teamin the future, the former India captainhas said.

“Yes, I am ready to give it a shot. IfI get an opportunity to work with theIndian team, I would jump at it with-out batting an eyelid,” Azharuddintold Gulf News in an interview.

Azharuddin wondered why toomany ‘support staff ' travel with teamsthese days.

“I am amazed to see so many peo-ple accompanying the team these days.For example, my specialisation is in bat-ting and fielding and hence if I coachany team, I don’t really need a battingcoach. Isn’t it?” explained

Azhar who is now the President ofthe Hyderabad Cricket Association(HCA).

AFP n BIRMINGHAM

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder andAston Villa boss Dean Smith said they

were aware the eyes of the world would beon their match when they relaunch thePremier League on Wednesday.

The high-flying Blades travel to VillaPark for the first game in the English top-flight after a three-month suspension.

Later on Wednesday, ManchesterCity host Arsenal, with 92 games packedinto just five-and-a-half weeks.

“First game back is going to be a little bitdifferent, what we understand is the magni-tude of the game, the coverage of the game,”Wilder said at his pre-match video press con-ference on Monday.

“Villa-Sheffield United was aChampionship game last year andwould possibly have been seventh oreighth on (BBC’s) Match Of The Dayand now it is 6:00 pm on the TV andworldwide coverage.

“From our point of view wewant to put on a good show andmake sure we play well.”

Sheffield United, who have 10games to play, are seventh in thetable, chasing Champions Leaguefootball.

They could move up to fifthplace with three points at Villa Park,but Wilder will not allow himselfto get distracted by talk of Europe.

“If it gets to the situation wherewe are one or two games out andwe are still in a fantastic position then

we will possibly talk about that,” said Wilder.“But at the moment we have quarter of

a season to go, near enough. I am sure thatyou have seen the fixture list as such as I have

seen it. There are some incredible challengesin front of us.”

ITCHING TO PLAYVilla manager Smith, whose side are

in the relegation places, said it was anhonour to be playing the first game in

the English top-flight since March.Victory over the Blades, their game in

hand over their relegation rivals, would takethem out of the drop zone with nine match-es remaining.

“The eyes of the world will be on us andwe are looking forward to it,” said Smith.

“The players have been itching to getback,” he added.

Smith questioned the temporary rulechange to allow five substitutions dur-

ing games, saying it would benefitcertain clubs. Teams can alsoname nine substitutes instead ofseven.

“I wasn’t for it,” he said. “Ijust believe we started the sea-son with certain rules and now

we have changed it. I suppose ithelps the clubs with the biggersquads. “There was talk to changeit because there is more risk ofinjury but having more subs does-n’t help that. I just wanted it to stayas it was. I think Sheffield Unitedwere the same.”

AFP nMADRID

Spain’s World Cup-winning captain Iker Casillasannounced on Monday he was ending his bid to run

for the presidency of the Spanish Football Federation(RFEF) due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pan-demic.

“I would like to inform you that I have decided notto run for the upcoming RFEF elections,”the Porto goal-keeper wrote on social media.

The 39-year-oldsaid he was pullingout of the race for thetop job in Spanishfootball as a result ofthe “exceptionalsocial, economic andhealth situation thatour country is suffer-ing”.

He said theCovid-19 outbreakwhich has claimedover 27,000 victimsin the country hadrelegated the electioninto “second place”.

Casillas, who ledSpain to their firstWorld Cup title in2010, hadannounced his inten-tion to stand againstcurrent RFEF presi-dent Luis Rubialesback in February.

His defection now leaves the way clear for Rubialesto gain a second mandate in the election scheduled forAugust 17.

Casillas played 167 times for Spain, also winning twoEuros in 2008 and 2012, and made more than 700 appear-ances for Real Madrid, with whom he won five La Ligatitles and the Champions League three times, before join-ing Porto in 2015.

AFP n SHANGHAI

Formula One chiefs want to stage tworaces in Shanghai this season after

the Chinese Grand Prix was postponedbecause of the coronavirus, the city’ssports boss said on Monday, addingthere was no final decision.

The Chinese Grand Prix, original-ly scheduled for April 19, was post-poned in February but Formula Oneappears determined to race in the coun-try — one of the sport's key markets —in the second half of this year.

Asked if there would be two GrandPrix in Shanghai instead of the usualone, Xu Bin, director of the city’ssports bureau, told Shanghai People’sRadio: “This was proposed by the F1management company.

“Everyone knows that F1 has offi-cially announced that they haveresumed the first eight European racesthis year, but none of them are in Asia.”

Xu added: “We are still communi-cating with F1 to see if there is any pos-sibility of hosting two races in Shanghai,but there is no final decision yet.

“Of course we should see how thevirus is being controlled.”

China, where the coronavirusemerged late last year, had seen a sig-nificant drop in the number of infec-tions and deaths. However, the coun-try is now racing to control a fresh out-break in the capital Beijing.

AFP n BELGRADE

Emotional Novak Djokovicbroke down in tears in front

of an enthusiastic home crowd inBelgrade after he failed to makethe final in the first leg of hisBalkans charity tennis tourna-ment on Sunday.

“I am not crying because Imissed the finals. I am just over-whelmed by emotion becausethis reminds me of my child-hood,” the world number onetold 4,000 fans packed into theNovak Tennis Centre on thebanks of the Danube.

“It’s been an emotional fewdays and I want to thank every-one who supported the event andmade it happen.”

To a standing ovation, the33-year-old added: “I love you alland thank you so much forcoming.”

Third-ranked Dominic ,number seven Zverev and GrigorDimitrov, the world 19, alsotook part in the Adria Tour eventthat got underway on Saturday.

The four headline stars werejoined by Serbian ATP players —Viktor Troicki, Filip Krajinovicand Dusan Lajovic.

Two big surprises markedthe first day — Djokovic lost toKrajinovic in three sets andDimitrov went down in two

against late call-up NikolaMilojevic. Djokovic’s win againstZverev on Sunday was notenough to secure him a place inthe final which saw Thiem defeatKrajinovic 4-3, 2-4, 4-2.

On June 20 and 21, theAdria Tour tournament willmove to Zadar, on Croatia'sAdriatic coast.

Djokovic will be joined thereby Croatia's 2014 US Open win-ner Marin Cilic and Borna Coric.

The final stop in Bosniawill be in the northwestern townof Banja Luka on July 3 and 4.

The tournament will closeon July 5 with an exhibitionmatch in Sarajevo betweenDjokovic and Bosnia’s DamirDzumhur.

AFP n BREMEN

Bayern Munich coach HansiFlick wants his side to “seal

the deal” and wrap up an eighthconsecutive Bundesliga title onTuesday with victory at relega-tion-threatened WerderBremen.

Top scorer RobertLewandowski and ThomasMueller, one shy of the recordfor assists in a single season, areboth available again after miss-ing BorussiaMoenchengladbach match dueto suspension.

Victory at Bremen, whereBayern have won all 12 gamesover the last decade, will clincha record-extending 30th leaguetitle, and the first leg of apotential treble in Flick's debutseason in charge.

“We want to finish thejob on Tuesday. That isour goal. We have anexcellent run and want tocontinue our winningstreak," said Flick, whostepped in when NikoKovac was sacked lastNovember.

“The target is to winagain in Bremen. Wewant to just seal the deal.”

Bayern have won their last10 league games and anothervictory on Tuesday would leavethem an unassailable 10 points

clear before second-placedBorussia Dortmund, whohave three matches left,host strugglers Mainz onWednesday.

“It’s our plan to bring it(the trophy) back home," saidmidfielder Leon Goretzka.

Lewandowski, the league'sleading scorer with 30 goals thisterm, netted twice while

Mueller, who is sitting on 20assists, also got on the score-sheet when Bayern thrashedBremen 6-1 when the sides metin December.

Poland star Lewandowskihas struck 45 goals in all com-petitions this campaign andneeds one more to establish anew Bundesliga personal best,having also reached the 30-goalplateau in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Sushant Singh Rajput playing the character ofMS Dhoni in his biopic is etched in everycricket lovers memory and with the actor dyingby suicide at his Bandra home on Sunday,former Australia all-rounder took to Twitter toshare how he was amazed by Rajputs acting inthe movie

Casillas ends RFEFpresidency bid

BLADES, VILLA BRACEDFOR PL RESTART

Bayern out to seal title Djoker breaks downin tears at his event

F1 wants two racesin Shanghai

‘Dhoni at No 3 wouldhave broken most records’

Jadeja best fielderin the gamecurrently: Smith

Hima Das nominated for Khel Ratna award

Azhar expresses desire

to become coach

Marcelo takes knee asReal win 3-1 against

Eibar at 'new home' inZizou's 200th game

Title race is onSetien enjoying luxury of choiceAFP n BARCELONA

Barcelona coach Quique Setienrejoiced on Monday in having key

players like Lionel Messi and LuisSuarez fit for the hectic La Liga titlerun-in ahead of hosting strugglingLeganes at a Camp Nou devoid of fans.

Suarez made his first appearancesince knee surgery in January, replac-ing Antoine Griezmann in the secondhalf of Barca’s 4-0 stroll in Mallorca onSaturday.

And Messi’s two assists, a goal, and90 minutes played suggest Barca's cap-tain has overcome the tightness in histhigh from earli-er this month.

Setien’s sidewelcome Leganeson Tuesday whiletwo points clearof Real Madrid, who face Valencia 48hours later.

Explaining the Griezmann substi-tution the coach said the FrenchWorld Cup winner was an “undeni-able” plus for his team.

“He’s played in practically everymatch but now there are more play-ers and you have to spread game timearound more.

“As the matches come and go

there will be changes.The idea is that all theplayers are fresh, thatthey can handle therun of games with the

guarantee of not getting injured so thatthey can all give their best.”

Turning to Messi he praised hisace act’s performance: “That’s why he'sthe best player in the world and we arefortunate to have him.”

“Let’s hope that it won't have anyeffect on us and that we play well andwin.

“Football loses some of its fuelwhen staged in front of empty stands.”

Barcelona vvss LeganesLive from 1:30am IST

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Bremen vs BayernLive from 12:00am IST

STAR SPORTS SELECT

aveen Chandraand SalonyLuthra-starrerBhanumathiRamakrishna,which has been

making a good buzz eversince its trailer dropped, willhave its world premiere onJuly 3 on aha. The filmmarks the directorial debutof Srikanth Nagothi, whileYashwanth Mulukutla hasproduced it. Prominent pro-ducer Sharrath Marar is thepresenter.

Speaking to us on how thedeal transpired, Srikanthsaid, “On the insistence ofSharrath Marar garu,Allu Aravindgaru watchedour film

at his home theatre sometime back. Impressed withit, he congratulated me andlater asked me to meet himin person. He broke thenews that he told his teamto acquire the streamingrights. By then, we were try-ing to pitch it to varied OTTplatforms.”

He added, “Aravind garuthought it’s a sensitive film.He felt that I’ve addressedthe problems of the leadcharacters who are in their30s yet single in a sweet andmature way. In particular, he

liked the fact that it’s a cleanmovie and the narrativestyle was simple.”

Srikanth is excited aboutthis collaboration with aha.“From my minimum inter-actions, what I’ve observedof Aravind garu is that he isvery young at heart and isupdated about film technol-ogy and what’s happeningwith the cinema of theworld and OTT platforms.For me, this deal is interest-ing as a producer of hisrepute backed an indie film-maker.”

Did Aravind offer him achance to associate with aha

or Geetha Arts next?Smiling, he said,

“Not yet, I’mhoping it will

happen.” — NG

llu Sirish ditched crash-ing out and went out fora late night jog.

Sirish took toInstagram Stories andshared a photograph of

the road. On the image, he wrote:“Late night jogs.”

Sirish had recently shared a

photograph of himself holding adumbbell and said that he is rely-ing on the workout device andrunning to stay in shape duringthe unlock phase when gyms arestill shut.

“I dream about bench press,cable crossovers & deadlifts. Butall I have are these dumbells.

Relying on these & run-ning during the #Unlock1.What’s your workout rou-tine now?” he captioned theimage.

Last seen in the damp squibABCD, Sirish is set to be team-ing up with Rakesh Sashi for afamily drama.

12

Vijayawada Tuesday June 16 2020tollywood

I’M EXPLORING MYWRITING SKILLS:ROSHNI PRAKASH

The actress haskept herself busy

at home in thelast three months

after thelockdown wasfirst enforced,

finds NAGARAJGOUD

ven though she hasshot for 10-12 days,Roshni Prakashforged a good bondwith the team of 47Days, headlined by

Satyadev. It is the reason whyshe is glad that the film isfinally releasing after an inor-dinate delay — on streamingplatform ZEE5. “As an actor Ineed to report to shoot when-ever my portions were beingshot, whilst for producers (of47 Days) Sridhar M, VijayShankar D and Raghu Kuncheit need not be. They can come,take care of finances andenquire well-being of cast andcrew before leaving. But itwasn’t the case with them.They were present allthroughout the shooting fromday one to day 34. Everybodyhas put in a lot of effort for thefilm, as they believed in thepotential of the story,” theactress, a finalist in FeminaMiss India South in 2016, tellsus.

In the film, a thriller, sheplays Paddu, wife of Satya,who will be seen as ACPSatya. “I will be seen in thehappy segments of the film.Paddu dies by suicide whilenot leaving a reason. Satyabegins to unravel the mysterybehind her extreme step. Istart coming back in the flash-back portions as well,” sheshares, adding that part of herprep for the film included get-ting fluent in Telugu. “I knewthe language to a certaindegree even before I startedshooting but the film helpedme to perfect it, almost!Telugu is something I like andI learnt it. Later, once I got tounderstand the charactermore, it was a cakewalk to pullit off.”

Roshni admits to be a “little

bothered” with the film, shotin Hyderabad,Visakhapatnam, Goa andWarangal, going for a direct-to-digital release, as shebelieves the theatrical experi-ence cannot be replaced.“Experience of watching filmson a silver screen is magical.That said my heart goes out toall theatre owners who contin-ue to reel under the after-effects of shutdown owing tothe COVID-19 pandemic. Theproducers though need toadapt to the change that ishappening. As actors we areadapting. Overall, I’m happybecause ZEE5 is helping ourfilm to reach a wide section ofpeople,” she points out, addingthat she is considering explor-ing OTT platforms as an actor.“Which actor wouldn’t wanthis work to reach more peo-ple, right?”

The actress has kept herselfbusy at home in the last threemonths after the lockdownwas first enforced. “I’vewatched a lot of acting masterclass lessons online to perk upmy skills further. I have a writ-ing skill, so I’m trying toexplore it and see how goodI’m. May be I can be a screenwriter one day… Plus, I’vetried to keep myself calm andbe happy with what’s avail-able,” she shares.

Roshni landed 47 Daysright after she completedSaptagiri Express, her maidenTelugu film. She points outthat she hasn’t come across agood script in Telugu after shewrapped up 47 Days. “Ibelieve in doing a role whichhas a lot of depth and is lay-ered. I couldn’t find one but Ihope to get such scripts after47 Days drops. I’m in touchwith a lot of people in Telugu,”she concludes.

E

ilmmakerHarishShankar, whowill be direct-ing PawanKalyan up

next for Mythri MovieMakers, will be collabo-rating with Krish to pro-duce movies. This wouldbe his second associationwith a prominent nameto churn out movies

together. He had earlierannounced teaming upwith 118 producerMahesh Koneru for thesame.

A source close to thedevelopment tells us,“Both Harish and Krishshare similar sensibilitieswhen it comes to whatkind of stories they wantto sell on screen.Another reason is that

they want to encouragenew talent. If not for thelockdown a joint pro-duction between themwould’ve beenannounced. The collabo-rations will happen forOTT platforms as well.”

Krish is presentlyoccupied with a perioddrama, starring PawanKalyan. He was the showrunner for aha’s Masthis.

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Harish Shankarand Krish to jointlyproduce films

Sirish goes for ‘late night jogs'

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Let us be there foreach other in our ownsmall ways: Anushka

n the aftermath of the passingaway of Bollywood actorSushant Singh Rajput, AnushkaShetty, areclu-sive

star whousuallykeepsher

thoughts to her own, took to herInstagram space and shared an emo-tional post, highlighting the impor-tance of communication for peoplegoing through mental issues andemphasizing that no one is born witha road map to lead a happy life.“Every single one of us out there canonly handle a situation only the waywe know how to .. no one is ever everperfect .....there is no right way ,nowrong ,we are not born with a roadmap, to get through life ...no one hasever , Each one of us big or smallare vulnerable in our own ways ...each one of us do break inside..and it’s ok ..some cry out for helpsome cry in silence, some distract, some indulge each one has theirown ways and some are helpless

...let each one of us please inour own beautiful brokenways learn to be there for

each other in our ownsmall ways ... Let’s learnto be more kind .. Let’sLearn to empathizeLet’s Learn to be a lilmore compassionateLet’s learn to love alil more .. Let’s learnto listen more ...(sic),” she wrote.

She furtherunderscored thatchange happensslowly in a millionmoments that lookthe same. “Let’s

Learn to communi-cate ... Let’s learn to be

weak ... Let’s learn to bestrong ..

Let’s all Learn to be all thatwe feel inside ..and embrace itand grow ... We are human...a smile , a listening ear, agentle touch..,just our pres-ence to another personknown unknown can make adifference beyond ourunderstanding ... We maynot be able to change andsolve everything at this verymoment ..But one smallstep will make a difference...As they say Changes hap-pen slowly in a millionmoments that look thesame.... Stay safe (sic),” sheposted further.

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Aravind garu liked thefact that BhanumathiRamakrishna was aclean film: Director