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RAMZAN TS MAKES HISTORY Plasma therapy

Central team for
Godavari flows into
for Covid patients
Telangana to make
TIMINGS
IFTAR 06:40 PM from Monday
SEHER 04:29 AM Only 13 new cases
in TS in 24 hrs Covid assessment
Let’s
Salute
Them Ranganayaka Sagar
HANS NEWS SERVICE
HANS NEWS SERVICE

Hyderabad: Health Min-

Hyderabad: Achieving an-
other big milestone in the
construction of one of the
world's largest Kalesh-
waram Lift Irrigation
CITY Scheme (KLIS) irrigating
35 lakh acres in the state,
the Telangana government
on Friday successfully re-
leased Godavari waters
into the Ranganayaka
Sagar Reservoir located at
Chandlapur village in
Chinnakodur mandal from
the surge pool in Chief
Minister K Chandrasekhar
SIMPLER, QUICKER Rao's native district of Sid-
dipet.
COVID TEST KITS ON On the same day last
THEIR WAY year, wet run of the first
P3 pump in Package 6 of the
Kaleshwaram lift scheme
was conducted by releas-
BUSINESS ing water from Yellampally
project to the surge pool.
Considering April 24 an
auspicious day, state In-
dustry Minister KT Rama
Rao and Finance Minister
T Harish Rao formally
switched on one of the four
MF BODY ASSURES pumpsets releasing water
INVESTORS into the 3-TMC-capacity
reservoir constructed at
AFTER FRANKLIN the cost of nearly Rs 3800
SHUTS 6 SCHEMES crore. In view of the lock-
down, the event was held
P6 as a simple ceremony with
a limited number of 20 in-
NATION vitees only. The reservoir
Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao and Industry Minister KT Rama Rao at the
inaugura�on of Ranganayak reservoir constructed under the Kaleshwaram project in
Siddipet. The reservoir will provide irriga�on to 1.14 lakh acres
is one of the largest water
preserving bodies under
the Kaleshwaram project.
The water body will pro-
vide irrigation waters to
1.14 lakh acres in Siddipet
and Rajanna Siricilla dis-
tricts. All the four pumps,
each having a capacity of
135 MW , will lift 0.25 tm-
cft water in 24 hours. The
reservoir can be filled in
three days if all the four
pumps are operated simul-
taneously for three days.
The pumps lift water to a
height of 122 meters.
Harish Rao said Go-
davari water is being
brought from Medigadda
barrage located
Jayashankar Bhupalpally
in
district to Siddipet passing
nearly 200km. Before
reaching Ranganayak
Sagar, water travels
through Annaram,
Sundilla, Medaram, and
Anantagiri barrages
through tunnels and open
canals. Water is lifted to
390 meters at the reservoir
from Madigadda, he
added.
The reservoir will also
address drinking water and
industrial needs, the min-
ister said, appealing to the
Industry Minister to sanc-
tion industrial and IT proj-
ects in Siddipet district,
which is full of water and
infrastructure to develop
as a hub of agro industries
and a technology centre.
Industry Minister KTR
is confident of heralding
second Green Revolution
by creating irrigation for
one crore acres after the
completion of the Kalesh-
waram project in Telan-
gana. He said Pink Revolu-
tion aiming to export meat
was already initiated by
the state government.
KTR extolled his Cabinet
colleague for developing
Siddipet a role model in
every sector.
ister Eatala Rajender
said Telangana has got
the nod for convalescent
plasma therapy from the
Centre and it would be
done on Covid-19 pa-
tients in critical condi-
tion from Monday.
He said that 13 new
cases were confirmed
with 29 recovered pa-
tients getting discharged
on Friday. Talking to re-
porters here, the Health
Minister pointed out that
a majority of the positive
cases were reported from
the GHMC, Vikarabad,
Suryapet and Gadwal.
While 44 families ac-
counted for 260 positive
cases in the GHMC, 25
families accounted for 83
infected cases in
Suryapet, 30 families and
45 positive cases in Gad-
wal, whereas 14 families
accounted for 38 positive
cases in Vikarabad.
On an average, six to
seven members from each
family were found to have
been infected. Since the
infection is spread around
these families only, we are
hopeful of containing its
further spread in these
areas. Eatala pointed out
that each member in
every house in contain-
ment areas in these four
areas are being enquired
for presence of virus re-
lated issues.Contd on Page 5
Concern over
virus surge in
Hyderabad
HANS NEWS SERVICE
Hyderabad: Taking serious
note of increasing number of
deadly Coronavirus cases in
Telangana, particularly in
Hyderabad, the Union gov-
ernment deployed an Inter-
Ministerial Central Team
(IMCT) to the state to study
the measures taken to con-
tain the virus and the relief
measures grounded for the
poor in villages.
So far, the teams had vis-
ited Mumbai and Delhi,
where the number of positive
cases multiplied in a short
time. Now, the Centre con-
sidered Hyderabad, Ahmad-
abad, Surat, Thane and Chen-
nai as hotspots of the virus.
The Union Home Ministry
decided to send the Central
team to Telangana on Friday
after analysing the virus scare
in every metropolitan city
and big towns in the county
and the teams left for Telan-
gana there and then. The
team headed by Deputy Sec-
retary rank o�cial would
make the on-spot assessment
of the situation and issue nec-
essary directions to state au-
thorities for redressal.
The IMCTs would focus on
a range of issues, including
compliance and implementa-
tion of the lockdown meas-
ures, supply of essential com-
So far, the teams
had visited Mumbai
and Delhi, where
the number of
posi�ve cases
mul�plied in
a short �me.
Now, the Centre
considers
Hyderabad,
Ahmadabad,
Surat, Thane and
Chennai as hotspots
of the virus
modities, social distancing in
movement of the people out-
side their homes, prepared-
ness of the health infrastruc-
ture, hospital facilities and
sample statistics in the dis-
tricts, safety of health profes-
sionals, availability of test
kits, PPEs, masks and other
safety equipment and condi-
tions of the relief camps for
labour and the poor.
O�cials said the team will
hold a meeting with Chief
Secretary Somesh Kumar and
medical authorities and make
specific suggestions to reduce
the intensity of virus in the
state. The team will also sub-
mit its report to the Centre in
three or four days. The viola-
tions include incidents rang-
ing from violence on frontline
healthcare professionals, at-
tacks on police personnel, vi-
olations of social distancing
norms in market places and
opposition to setting up of
quarantine centres.

Covid-19 taught India to Moon sighted, Muslims to

ARNAB GETS 3-WEEK
Human
vaccine
PROTECTION FROM SC trial begins
P7 London (PTI): A microbi-
ologist has become the
first human to be injected
TESTING TIME for the human trial phase
of a vaccine in the UK
against the novel coron-
avirus being developed by
a group of scientists at
the University of Oxford.
Elisa Granato is the first
volunteer in an initial
2ND WAVE OF VIRUS group of 800 to be part of
OUTBREAK the ground-breaking trial,
IN MONSOON, WARN which is hoped will be the
answer for immunisation
SCIENTISTS
P9 against the deadly virus
and help with the easing
of lockdown measures in
place to curb its rapid
transmission. "I'm a sci-
entist, so I wanted to try
to support the scientific
process wherever I can,"
Granato told the BBC as
she was injected in Ox-
ford, where the trial be-
gan this week. “Since I
don't study viruses I felt
a bit useless these days,
so I felt like this is a very
easy way for me to sup-
port the cause,” she said,
as she was injected on
her 32nd birthday on
Thursday.
Con�nued on Page 5
become self-reliant: PM begin fasting from today
Modi hails grit and
wisdom of rural
India, gives ‘Do Gaz
Ki Doori’ mantra
New Delhi (PTI): The
coronavirus pandemic
has taught the country "to
be self-reliant and self-
sufficient" and not look
for solutions abroad,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi told grassroots lead-
ers on Friday as he
stressed that every vil-
lage, district and state
should be able to provide
for its basic needs.
Applauding people for
their grit in fighting the
COVID -19 outbreak,
Modi said “the collective
power of the villages
is helping the coun-
try move forward”
and complimented
the rural India for
its simple and mo-
t i v a t i n g
mantra of “Do Gaz Ki
Doori” to popularise so-
cial distancing. The slo-
gan given by the rural In-
dia “showed the wisdom
of the people”, he said.
Con�nued on Page 5
New Delhi (PTI): Ramzan,
the Islamic month of
prayers and fasting, will be-
gin from Saturday in India
amid a lockdown in force
due to the coronavirus pan-
demic.
The Ramzan moon was
sighted on Friday, clerics
said. Every year the sight-
ing of the Ramzan moon
brings great cheer for
Muslims as they scamper
to make preparations for
fasting and head to
mosques to begin special Devouts pray a�er announcement of the holy month of
'Taraweeh' prayers, but Ramzan, during second phase of lockdown in wake of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with 'Sarpanches' from
coronavirus pandemic, in Hyderabad on Friday
across the country via video conferencing, amid ongoing not this time. At a meeting
na�onwide COVID-19 lockdown, in New Delhi on Friday of the Ruyat-e-Hilal Com-
WITH 37 NEW DEATHS,
mittee, Imarat-e-
Sharaiyah-Hind here, it
was announced that the
KCR greets Muslims
HANS NEWS SERVICE
TOLL MOUNTS TO 723
moon was sighted in Delhi
and in several parts of the
country. Shahi Imam of Hyderabad: Extending greetings to the Muslims on the
Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed beginning of holy Ramzan month, Chief Minister K
New Delhi (PTI): The death toll due to the novel Bukhari and Shahi Imam Chandrasekhar Rao appealed to them to stay at home
coronavirus rose to 723 with 37 fatalities re- of Fatehpuri mosque and offer prayers indoors during the holy month. On
ported since Thursday evening, while the Mufti Mukarram Ahmed the eve of the start of Ramzan from Friday, the Chief
number of cases saw a record jump of 1,752 also said the moon was Minister called up top police officials on phone and en-
to go up to 23,452 cases on Friday, according sighted and the fasting will quired about the security arrangements particularly at
to the Union health ministry. The previous start from Saturday. They masjids during the month. He instructed the top cops
highest single day increase was on April 20 appealed to Muslims to to be vigilant and monitor the movement of the people
when 1,540 cases were reported. The number of active perform all rituals and all through the day. The CM also instructed the author-
COVID-19 cases stood at 17,915 as 4,813 people were cured prayers at home during ities to hold meetings with local masjid heads and ensure
and discharged, and one patient migrated, the ministry Ramzan while adhering to no group prayers held in the holy places during the lock-
said. Thus, about 20.52 per cent of the cases have recov- social distancing and lock- down period. In a message, the CM wished, "May this
ered so far, an official of the ministry said. down norms. auspicious month further the spirit of harmony, happi-
Con�nued on Page 5 ness, and brotherhood in our society."

WINDOWS
N Korean media quiet on
Kim Jong-un's whereabouts
Seoul: North Korean media outlets
have remained quiet on leader Kim
Jong-un's whereabouts without putting
out any reports on his public activity
amid persisting speculation over his
health. Speculation about Kim's health
problems spiked after a CNN report
earlier this week, citing a US o�cial,
said that Washington was looking into intelligence that Kim
was in "grave danger" after a surgery, reports Yonhap News
Agency. But South Korea downplayed the report, saying that it
had seen no unusual signs with regard to Kim's health. North
Korea's state media have recently put out reports on Kim
sending diplomatic letters and conveying gifts to honoured
citizens but stopped short of providing reports or photos fea-
turing his public activity.
Wishes pour in for Sachin Rapper Fred the Godson NASA wants people to watch
Tendulkar who turns 47 dies of coronavirus SpaceX launch from home
New Delhi: A name synonymous Los Angeles: American rapper Fred the Washington: Amid COVID-19
with most things good and perfect Godson has died of complications due to restrictions, the historic SpaceX
in Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar coronavirus at the age of 35. The rapper, mission to launch two NASA as-
on Friday turned 47 and was whose real name is Frederick Thomas, tronauts to the International
flooded with flattering wishes from died on Thursday. He had shared his Space Station (ISS) on May 27 is
the sporting fraternity. The COVID-19 diagnosis on April 6 via Twit- set to be a much quieter a�air
diminutive Mumbaikar, the great- ter. The hip-hop community paid trib- than it would have been in normal times, with the
est accumulator of runs in the utes to the New York-based rapper. "Peace to you Fred The US space agency asking people not to travel to
game's history, decided not to have any elaborate celebra- God Son on your ascension. Prayers to your family. Salute,” Florida to witness the spectacle. "We are asking
tions this year owing to the devastation caused by the rapper Nas posted on Instagram. “My little brother ooooh people to join us in this launch, but to do so from
COVID-19 pandemic. "Started my day by taking blessings how sad am i, i prayed and prayed and prayed for you all home," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was
from my Mother. Sharing a photo of Ganpati Bappa that night long," Fat Joe wrote. Fred made his breakthrough in quoted as saying in a press conference on Thurs-
she gifted me. Absolutely priceless," he tweeted on Friday 2010 with his ‘Armageddon' mixtape, which featured guest day by The Verge. The SpaceX's Crew Dragon
well past afternoon. A former Rajya Sabha MP, Tendulkar spots from Cam'ron, Busta Rhymes, Waka Flocka Flame, spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Robert
has slipped into the retired life after calling it quits in Styles P, and others. He also collaborated with artistes such Behnken and Douglas Hurley, is scheduled to lift
2013, o�ering perspective on the game when sought and as Diddy, Meek Mill and Pusha T. Fred is survived by his wife o� on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex
staying busy with social work. LeeAnn Jemmott and two children. 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
2 TELANGANA HYDERABAD SATURDAY 25 APRIL 2020

MGNREGS works underway SHAKE OFF CORONA BLUES

A podcast that helps

in 12,548 Gram Panchayats
HANS NEWS SERVICE
Hyderabad: Minister for Panchayat
Raj and Rural Development E
Dayakar Rao on Friday said that
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS) has been taken up in
12,548 Gram Panchayats.
The minister participated in
video conference held by Union
Panchayat Raj and Rural Develop-
ment department. He said that
about 10 lakh workers have been
participating in the works. “Em-
ployment is provided to about 82
persons on the average in each vil-
lage. Safety of the workers has been
ensured in view of Coronavirus
spread. Masks and sanitisers have
been supplied,” he added. The min-
ister demanded the Union govern-
ment to include agriculture works
in the NREG scheme.
He said that the government is
purchasing the produces from the
farmers. “Paddy is purchased at
4,000 purchase centers. Sanitation
workers have been given an incen-
tive of Rs 500. About 50 lakh masks
have been prepared through the
Self Help Groups. 12 kg rice and Rs
1500 cash is provided to all the
white ration card holders,” Dayakar
Rao added.
you keep up-to-date
Suno India in English
and Telugu not only
entertains but also
updates with help
of experts
AVINASH BHINGARDE
Hyderabad: As people are stuck
at home due to the lockdown in-
duced by the COVID-19 pan-
demic, many are turning to var-
ious hobbies including painting,
reading and cooking. Listening
to podcasts is another option
that is growing among lis-
teners who use it to
keep themselves
get an expert to talk about the
current situation and how one
can deal with it. We also have a
bulletin every day for two min-
utes about current a�airs to
keep the listeners updated, and
so far the response we received
is excellent.”
Over a span of two months,
their COVID-19 English pod-
cast has received around
two lakh listeners and

Hyd NGO helps rural people cope with Covid entertained as

MEGHNA NATH
Hyderabad: As compared to their urban counterparts,
people in rural areas are still largely unaware of ways to
e�ectively cope up with Covid and keep at bay.
With government stringently enforcing lock-
down, their fears and anxieties exacerbated,
causing mental stress. A city-based NGO,
Foundation for Sustainable Development
(FSD), is building their confidence through
tele counseling and awareness activities.
Dr K Krishnan, Executive Director, Foun-
dation for Sus-
tainable De-
velopment,
said, “In this lockdown pe-
riod most a�ected are
marginalised people. To
motivate them and help
them face this situation,
we aim to create a sense
of security and also help
in allaying their fears. We
received around 1,700
well as informed
about various is-
sues, even as
calls in past few weeks from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, they go about
Kerala and Tamil Nadu from vulnerable groups in rural their daily
areas, including financial worries and sourcing food.” chores. Lockdown
The organisation volunteers visited their areas and is giving a big boost
counseled them and also to the fledgling industry.
tried to solve their prob- Amid pervasive fake news about
lems. The organisation also the COVID-19 pandemic, ignit-
highlighted whatever is- ing baseless fears and anxieties
sues faced by the migrant in people, Suno India, a multi-
workers, jobless people to lingual and multi-generational
the state government by podcast platform, shines spot-
twitting in social media. light on under-represented and
“Our NGO has also taken under-reported topics using au-
an initiative to guide them dio as a medium. It has started a
on how to maintain social special segment called ‘The
distancing in public places and when engaged for NREGS Suno India Show’ on Covid-19
works. We are training in hygiene, too,” Krishnan said. coverage in English and Telugu.
The NGO has distributed rations kits to around 700 Padma Priya, Co-founder of
families in Hyderabad. More than 23 volunteers are help- Suno India, says, “Podcasts are
ing them in this mission and so far it helped more than well-researched yet personal.
2000 rural families across Telangana. “Many likeminded People can listen to these audio
people are supporting us in this drive by sending across podcasts while doing their daily
various grocery items and also extending financial help,” household chores. Every day we
added Krishnan.
Telugu podcast has
received 50,000 lis-
teners.
“We are here for
people who want
to understand an is-
sue without reacting.
We also don’t tell our
listeners what to think
and equip them with all the in-
formation required for them
formulate an opinion. We take
our time to report and tell our
stories packed with the right mix
of human interest stories and
facts,” adds Padma. Started in
2018 and operating from Hyder-
abad and Delhi, the founders be-
lieve their podcast is a platform
for issues that should matter.
They also believe that there is
an urgent need to give a plat-
form to issues that are often
sidelined as inconvenient, irrel-
evant, or are simply invisible;
that’s what sets us apart from
others.

LEGAL NOTES Use safe chemicals

ATTACKS ON DOCTORS & MEDICAL STAFF
HC asks govt to file comprehensive report
LEGAL CORRESPONDENT ernment hospitals in recent
times. Additional DG of Police Ra-
Hyderabad: Hearing on a tag of jiv Ratan filed an a�davit in the
Public Interest Litigations filed by court stating that the government
petitioners seeking a direction to has passed an ordinance which
the Principal Secretary, Home De- says that any person who attacks
partment to strengthen the secu- doctors and medical sta� in hos-
rity at all government hospitals to pitals will face 7 years of impris-
protect doctors and medical sta�, onment.
the division bench comprising Chief Justice Questioned Addi-
Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh tional DG that exactly how many
Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek police personnel have been de-
Reddy ordered the Telangana puted at each hospital. In the a�-
Home Department Principal Sec- davit, the security has been
retary to file a comprehensive re- stepped up but how many security
port on incidents of attacks on personnel posted is not clearly
doctors and medical sta� at gov- mentioned, he said. Moreover, as
mentioned in the a�davit that 4
FIRs are registered and incidents
of attack on doctors have in-
creased, but do not mention as to
how many incidents took place.
CJ Raghavendra Singh Chauhan
directed the Principal Secretary,
Home Department to file a more
detailed additional counter a�-
davit within two weeks.
CJ pointed out that this is not
the time, wherein doctors and
medical sta� are misbehaved
with. Not only the doctors but also
the medical sta� should be pro-
tected. The case has been ad-
journed for two weeks.
in disinfectant
tunnels: High Court
T he High Court Division Bench headed
by Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh
Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy
on Friday heard a taken up PIL on estab-
lishing disinfectant tunnels at public of-
fices, market places, hospitals etc., to
avoid the further outbreak of coron-
avirus.
Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh
Chauhan while hearing the public inter-
est litigation observed that the Govern-
ment says that it is not recommended to
erect these disinfectant tunnels. In fact it
has some health hazards on persons who
are subjected through it. It merely sprays
a chemical on human garments and does
not protect the human body and if at all
any person affected with Covid-19 goes
through it, then other unaffected persons
will be prone to Covid-19. The Bench also
pointed out that even dermatologists
have advised against the erection of dis-

File counter-affidavit justifying 25% infectant tunnels. Chief Justice

Raghavendra Singh Chauhan directed

deferment in pension, HC orders govt

Advocate General BS Prasad to discuss
the matter with the Director of Institute
of Preventive Medicine and find out

H earing on the public interest litigations on de-

ferment of pension to the pensioners by the
Telangana Government the High Court Division
Bench headed by CJ Raghavendra Singh Chauhan
and Justice A Abhishek Reddy questioned Advocate
General, regarding the status in 50 percent pension
deferment to the pensioners of the State govern-
ment.
Advocate General BS Prasad informing the bench
said the State government has taken a decision to
defer 25 percent pension rather than 50 percent
with e�ect from April month. Chief Justice
Raghavendra Singh Chauhan adjourned the case by
three weeks directing it to file its counter-a�davit
justifying its decision to defer payment of pension
by 25 percent.
which safe chemical can be used in the
disinfectant tunnels.
CJ said, two disinfectant tunnels have
been ordered to be erected at High Court
during this situation but for the ambigu-
ity prevailing over this issue, it has been
put on hold. The case has been ad-
journed for two weeks.
HYDERABAD SATURDAY 25 APRIL 2020 CITY 3

Simpler, quicker Covid

BEST PASTIME IN LOCKDOWN

Bury yourself in books, advise book-a-holics

test kits on their way TEJAL SINHA

Hyderabad: Reading books is

HANS NEWS SERVICE
Hyderabad: E�orts are on across
the world to make Coronavirus
testing simpler, safe and quicker.
Fast testing kits like pregnancy
test kit or HIV test kit or Hepatitis
test kit which give results in no
time could well be on their way
even for Covid-19 if ongoing trials
succeed.
At present, the Reverse Tran-
scription Polymerase Chain Reac-
tion (RT-PCR) testing is being
done in many countries including
India as it is considered the best
testing method to identify the
Novel Coronavirus infection in
any individual. The test result,
though, takes at least 4 to 6 hours.
The disadvantage, however,
with RT-PCR is that it cannot be
preferred to community testing
where a large number of persons
have to be tested. This is where
rapid or fast testing methods come
into picture. Doubts are, however,
being cast on the rapid antibody
tests based on serology or blood
sample, which gives basic idea
about presence of virus, and fur-
ther tests are necessary to ascer-
tain 100 percent confirmation of
virus infection. ICMR has directed
states to withhold this testing, cit-
ing inaccurate results.
Dr Vijayabhaskar, chairman of
S Need for rapid tes�ng to take up community-level tes�ng;
ICMR stays rapid tests as of now
S As in the case of pregnancy or HIV tests, where one gets ini�al
result in a ma�er of minutes, further evalua�on is necessary
to get a complete picture, stress experts
clinical trials ethics committee,
Hyderabad, stated that HIV or
pregnancy or hepatitis testing is
the initial testing process done by
a lab technician or an individual.
In the case of preg.test, where one
gets initial result in a matter of
minutes, further evaluation is
done to get a complete picture.
" Researchers are on the job to
get a similar testing kit for Coro-
navirus also. The nasal swab taken
from the individual is exposed to
the kit components and change of
colour confirms presence of virus.
Later, further testing has to be
taken up," he said.
Dr Krishnamurthy, pul-
monology HoD at Gandhi Hospi-
tal, stated that the technician col-
lecting sample from a Coronavirus
suspect case has to take full pre-
cautions including PPE kit, N 95
masks, face shield etc., to avoid any
scope for infection which is the
case with the present RT-PCR
testing being done in Telangana.
He felt news of research or avail-
ability of di�erent forms of rapid
or fast kits is doing rounds across
the world, but how accurate or
helpful these basic tests are would
only be known after testing done
over some period of time.
slowly making a comeback. Even
the ones who never read a book
are, thanks to the lockdown, lay-
ing their hands on one. That a
book, indeed, is a man's best
friend – at least in solitary –
seems to be true.
April 23, World Book Day, was
celebrated by millions of people
and over 100 countries in lock-
down. With schools closed due
to COVID-19 and families
confined at home, books stimu-
late our minds and boost
well-being.
The book-a-holics are
finding the lockdown the
best time to keep them-
selves engrossed in read-
ing. Many of them are pre-
ferring to read
mythological books series.
Speaking to The Hans In-
dia, M Sanjana Rao, who
works for a PR agency in So-
majiguda, said, “I have always
loved reading books. These are
good times to read books. At
present I am reading ‘Mrityun-
jaya' by Shivaji Sawant.”
K Sahiti, a student of mass
communication from St Francis
College for Women, Begumpet,
said, “I have a good collection.
We have been in our houses for
almost a month or so. Currently,
I am reading a book titled ‘The
S With schools closed and
confined to homes, children
also taking to reading
S Telangana Jagruthi founder and
former MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha
(@RaoKavitha) has tweeted that she
is currently reading ‘Guns, Germs and
Steel’ by Jared Diamond. Ne�zens are
announcing what they are reading or
what will be next
Secrets of the Nagas' by Amish
Tripathi.”
K Spurthi, a social activist said,
“Books enlighten and transport
us to a di�erent world. It is a
good mental exercise and also
helps us improve our vo-
cabulary. I recom-
mended everyone to
read a book at least
every month. I am cur-
rently reading the
book ‘Feminist Rani’
by Shaili Chopra and
Meghna Pant.”
Many twitterati’s have
also taken the social me-
dia platform sharing their
love towards reading books
especially during the lockdown.
K Rajashri (@RajashriKul)
tweeted “#MyBookMyFriend
My daughter Rudraveena, class
7 Kendriya Vidyalaya UoH,
Gachibowli Hyderabad is read-
ing a Marathi book ‘Ravan’ by
Sharad Tandle and trying to un-
derstand another aspect of
RAVANA.”
Bibha Tripathi (@Bibha
43013762) tweeted, “#MyBook-
MyFriend Books are the best
companion.. I am reading Sita by
Amish Tripathi and Sophie's
world by Jostein Gaarder."
Meanwhile, Telangana Ja-
gruthi Founder and former MP
Kalvakuntla Kavitha
(@RaoKavitha) also tweeted on
Thursday that she is currently
reading ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’
by Jared Diamond. “#World-
BookDay I am currently Re-
reading ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’
probably #Covid19India e�ect!!
Will start ‘A chequered bril-
liance’ soon. What is your cur-
rent book? And the immediate
next? @ShekharGupta
@supriya_sule @ShashiTharoor
@dhanyarajendran @rahulpan-
dita @VVSLaxman281"

IT cos begin to E-grocery market looks

lay off staff
to stay afloat
Downsizing gets off
the ground; techies
ge�ng termina�on
messages
ESA BIN ABDUL REHMAN
Hyderabad: In a ripple effect
of COVID-19 crisis destabil-
ising IT companies in USA,
Canada and Europe, on
which depends a huge chunk
of Indian IT sector, IT com-
panies in city have started
pruning their staff in a bid to
stay afloat. Layoffs and ter-
minations especially of those
on the bench are causing
panic among techies.
“I am working in a
renowned healthcare com-
pany as a senior manager and
I have been on my probation
for six months. However, the
company kept further exten-
sion in probation period on
hold,” said the Subrato
(name changed), who was
later asked to put down his
papers.
Similar is the case of Priya,
name changed, who was re-
lieved by the company for
not accepting 30% pay cut.
She received a message from
HR that “since you are not
ready to take a 30% pay cut,
we are relieving you and as
per the offer letter we will
pay the notice period effec-
Cyberabad CP
felicitates lyricist
promising to start-ups Chandrabose
HANS NEWS SERVICE
Many new entrants having a bite of the Hyderabad: The Commis-
sioner of Police, Cyberabad,
big pie that is only growing bigger V C Sajjanar on Friday felici-
tated lyricist Chandrabose
VASAVI KALERU for penning the song
(Aalochinchandi Annalaara
Hyderabad: E-grocers are in much demand and several supermarkets Aavesham Maanukondi
are delivering groceries at the doorstep of consumers. Seizing the Tammullara). The song has
opportunity, new players are entering the market and seeking to bite gained lot of momentum
into the big pie of online retail giants like Bigbasket and Grofers. during this time of crisis.
Sharing the market surge, Hari Menon, BigBasket's co-founder, The song was released by
wrote on Twitter that, "Today, we delivered 2.83 lakh orders and are the commissioner from his
growing. Sadly, the expectation is three to six times this number. We o�ce in Cyberabad and the
are really trying our best.” o�cer thanked the lyricist
for this song because it helps
in creating awareness
amongst public on precau-
tions to be taken to prevent
Covid-19.
The Commissioner fur-
ther noted, “Every citizen
shall comply with the proto-
col of lockdown and help the
government in defeating the
deadly virus. Moreover the
usage of masks is very essen-
tial and if anybody is found
to be roaming without
masks, then strict action will
be initiated against them.”
Owaisi hands over safety kits to Hyd CP
Top e-grocers say that unprecedented surge in market demand is
a big target to meet as most of the delivery executives across India
from the Metropolitan cities are back to their hometowns. HANS NEWS SERVICE
Small-scale essentials delivery companies are cashing in on the
surge by increasing their market size. "We have started our deliveries Hyderabad: The MP of Hyder-
last month. Currently we are serving in 40 places across Telangana abad, Asaduddin Owaisi on Fri-
and in 11 locations of Hyderabad. We hit around 10K subscriptions day handed over 350 safety kits
in a week and receiving around 250 to 500 orders every day, " said V to the Commissioner of Police,
Sunil Kumar, founder, Just Hap. Hyderabad, Anjani Kumar. Each
Another startup founder Sravani Devunuri said, "Our concept of kit contained 10 masks, 10 gloves
essential deliveries was for towns and regions who could not access and 1 sanitiser. In another pro-
supermarkets. Moreover, we are selling essentials such as vegetables, gramme, the employees of Keka
fruits, milk, curd and other groceries." Company in Madhapur con-
Startups company Just Hap says that they are receiving orders tributed 6,000 sanitiser bottles
through customer care number of their application other than the to the police department.
online orders. Most of the calls registered were from senior citizens After the conclusion the event,
living in the gated communities of Hyderabad. the Commissioner stated, “As the
POOR MUSLIMS COUNT ON
ZAKAT DURING COVID CRISIS
M M FAROOQUI
Hyderabad: As Ramzan month
has begun amidst lockdown, civil
society groups have called upon
the a�uent to ensure their Zakat
(poor tax) this year reaches the
destitute and the needy across
the State, who account for 63 per
cent of the total population of
Muslims. Zakat is a religious ob-
ligation for all Muslims to give
away money to the poor, which
is believed to purify their earn-
ings.
According to a survey by Help-
ing Hand Foundation, around
63% of Muslims in the city are
below the poverty line (BPL),
while other 37% are financially
stable and 2% are elite families.
The survey was conducted in
slums of Old City during the
lockdown. As many as 2,528
households were covered in over
50 urban slums, south and west
of the city, including Chan-
drayangutta, Baba Nagar, Vatta-
pally, Hassan Nagar, Balapur,
Yakutpura, Kalapather, MD
Lines, Shaheennagar, Sultan
Shahi, TalabKatta etc.
Approximately 60% or more
CP urges Muslim brothers
to celebrate Ramzan
fes�vi�es by staying
at home
holy month of Ramzan is starting
from Saturday, I convey my
wishes to the Muslim commu-
nity.”
He further added, “I also want
to urge each and every Muslim
brother to celebrate the festivi-
ties of Ramzan by staying at
home and by maintaining the so-
The poor and daily
wagers form as much as
63 per cent of the
popula�on. Having lost
their livelihoods, they
need to be rescued from
hunger pangs by the
stable as well as rich
classes, stresses a study
Muslims in Hyderabad consti-
tute weaker sections. It is found
that 80% of them are daily wa-
gers. Auto drivers form the
largest pool of daily income earn-
ers, accounting for 18% to 20%
of the daily wagers, and 55% are
other daily wage workers like
carpenters, plumbers, labour in
kirana shop, hotels, mechanic &
workers marriage halls, cooks
cial distance. Muslim brothers
should not get together at one
place under any circumstances,
if not we will be forced to take
strict action by booking cases
against them.”
“The lockdown has been reap-
ing fruits since last few days and
the next 15 days are more crucial.
So it’s very important that every
Muslim brother shall remain at
home and cooperate with the
government and police in defeat-
ing the deadly virus,” stated the
o�cer.
etc. Most importantly 15% of
them are widows with no male
earning member in the family.
“The aim is to help donors
make informed choices on their
donations through Zakat this
Ramzan. HHF has come up with
a high-level socio-economic clas-
sification of Muslims in Hyder-
abad. We believe that such data
on the socio-economic back-
ground of the principal minority
community will be useful in
making informed choices”, said
Mujtaba Hasan Askari of HHF.
Md Iftekharuddin Ahmed,
president of Muslim Reservation
Front of Telangana, and Moulana
Md Mohsin Pasha Ansari Qadri
(Moulvi Jamia Nizamia), general
secretary of All India Sunni
Ulema Mashaiq Board, called
upon the well-o� to pay sadaqa
and zakat to charitable trusts and
religious institutions, keeping in
mind the conditions of those af-
fected by lockdown. They urged
Chief Minister K Chandrashekar
to spend the money earmarked
for annual Iftar party and other
programmes of Ramzan amongst
poor Muslims by directly trans-
ferring money in their accounts.
Rachakonda police
adopt orphanages,
old-age homes
HANS NEWS SERVICE
Hyderabad: Rachakonda po-
lice on Friday adopted the old
age homes, orphanages and
homes for specially-abled per-
sons in its commissionerate.
The Commissioner of Po-
lice, Rachakonda, Mahesh
Bhagwat said that these homes
are mostly dependent on the
services of kind-hearted peo-
ple in the society and during
the lockdown, these homes are

Congress picks holes in govt relief promises

tive from 1st April.” A
mother of an infant baby, she
is jolted by the out of the
blue termination.
A few days ago, services of
three employees of a famous
MNC involved in developing
computers and software
were terminated with differ-
ent reasons.
The city of Hyderabad
hosts around hundreds of IT
companies, a majority of
them are located in Madha-
pur and Hi-Tec City. These
companies provide employ-
ment directly or indirectly to
around 5 lakh people from
TS and other states.
“We are receiving com-
plaints about pay cuts, termi-
nations of bench employees,
termination of those ques-
tioning pay cuts from
smaller companies. Similar
complaints are pouring in
about not extending the join-
ing date in larger companies
even as the recruited has al-
ready resigned from previous
company, after receiving the
offer letter,” informed C
Vinod Kumar, State Con-
venor of Forum for IT Em-
ployees (FITE).
TPCC president N U�am Kumar Reddy points at State govt’s failure in delivering relief package to the needy
HANS NEWS SERVICE
Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh
Congress Committee (TPCC)
President N Uttam Kumar
Reddy on Friday has strongly
criticised Chief Minister K
Chandrashekhar Rao for not de-
livering the promised relief
package for those affected due
to lockdown in view of coron-
avirus pandemic.
Uttam Kumar Reddy was ad-
dressing a press conference at
Nalgonda after having review
meetings with the district col-
lector and SP on the coronavirus
measures taken in the district.
He enquired about the coron-
avirus relief measures and the
status of procurement of agri-
cultural produce. He also lodged
a criminal complaint against Re-
public TV and its head Arnab
Goswami for his highly objec-
tionable, derogatory and defam-
atory remarks against Congress
tral governments were not hon-
oured to all sections of the soci-
ety who were affected due to
lockdown.
Further, he alleged that the
quality of rice being supplied to
poor was sub-standard and de-
manded that the State Govern-
ment should supply good quality
rice to the poor.
The TPCC President also al-
leged that a majority of migrant
workers in the State did not get
the promised rice and financial
assistance. He urged the State
Government to restore the serv-
ices of field assistants, who were
on a strike, to start NREGA
works in Telangana.
Uttam Kumar Reddy also
said, it was quite shocking that
TPCC chief N U�am Kumar Reddy, MP submi�ng police complaint to Nalgonda SP, Ranganath, against Arnab the Chief Minister was yet to
Goswami of Republic TV for making derogatory remarks against AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, on Friday. come up with the details of esti-
mated losses to the State due to
President Sonia Gandhi and Speaking on the occasion, Ut- the Chief Minister did not en- lockdown and how the govern-
urged the district SP to register tam said it was highly unfortu- sure that, the relief announce- ment plans to help the affected
a case against him. nate that even after one month ments from the State and Cen- segments.
being deprived of such good
Samaritans, as they are unable
to venture out to manage
things.
He noted, “As we have been
interacting with so many peo-
ple during the lockdown, the
one thing which I have noticed
is that these people, staying in
such homes are being deprived
of food, care and attention. So,
on behalf of the entire
Rachakonda police, I decided
to adopt these homes and with
the help of other o�cers from
our commissionerate we have
identified the homes which are
in dire need of ration, medi-
cines and safety equipment.”
“After finalizing the desired
homes, we have given the re-
sponsibility of these homes on
the respective SHO’s and once
the SHO’s submit their report,
we will coordinate with the
donors and volunteers and will
direct the relief material
unswervingly to the homes
with the help of concerned
SHO,” added the o�cer. The
Rachakonda police have so far
reached out to 30 homes
which constitute orphans, sen-
ior citizens and specially-abled
people.

BIZ BRIEFS
Artzolo to raise
funds for Covid
Hyderabad: Artzolo.com, in
collabora�on with Plas�cs for
Change India Founda�on, is
hos�ng a sale of 100 curated
artworks by prominent ar�sts
across India as part of a Covid-
19 relief drive for the rural
waste-picker community. The
fundraising sale will go live ex-
clusively on artzolo.com from
April 26 �ll May 3, 2020. These
funds raised going directly to-
wards sustaining a minimum of
2,000 vulnerable families
(10,000 individuals) in this
community by providing them
with essen�al food and sup-
plies kits. The founda�on has
already provided 3,000 individ-
uals with such kits and hopes
that the art-sale will result in
more resources to support the
community. The sale will in-
clude the work of renowned
ar�sts like Thota Vaikuntam,
Subrata Das and Vivek Kuma-
vat among others.
Paytm in pact
with Vodafone
Hyderabad: Paytm and Voda-
fone Idea entered an exclu-
sive partnership enabling
Paytm to exclusively power
prepaid mobile phone
recharges for Vodafone Idea
under ‘Recharge Saathi’ pro-
gramme. As part of the pro-
gramme, any Paytm customer
including pharmacists, milk
booth operators, newspaper
vendors, even individuals
such as security guards can
recharge any Vodafone Idea
number and start earning. All
recharges and transactions
would happen securely on
Paytm app in the
prepaid/postpaid payments
section under the ‘Stay at
Home Essentials’ category.
Vodafone Idea assures cash-
back to merchant partners for
multiple recharges. Individu-
als and small businesses will
be able to earn up to an addi-
tional Rs 5,000 under the
‘Recharge Saathi’ programme.
Property values see
upswing in Hyderabad
HANS BUSINESS
Hyderabad: Property values in
Hyderabad continue to see
positive growth even though
the growth momentum on the
demand and supply side might
have been halted because of
the coronavirus induced lock-
down.
According to a report by
Elara Technologies-owned on-
line property brokerage firm,
PropTiger.com, property value
in what is often called India’s
pharmaceutical capital in-
creased by 9 per cent in the
January-March 2020 period
when compared to the same
period last year.
From Rs 4,977 per square
foot (psf ) in Q4FY19, average
price of flats in the City has
grown to Rs 5,434 psf in
Q4FY20, shows the report ti-
tled Real Insight: Q4FY20.
A consistent increase in
prices over the past few years
has now made Hyderabad real
estate more expensive than
real estate in India’s informa-
tion capital Bengaluru and au-
tomobile manufacturing hub
Chennai.
Primarily because of the
Covid-19 situation, home sales
in the city fell 39 per cent year-
on-year, with the sale of only
5,554 units during the quarter
ended March 31, 2020. New
launches saw an even sharper
deceleration, falling 56 per
TODAY’S QUOTE
Lockdown more disastrous for Indian economy
“
In countries such as India, with young
demographics, lockdown causes more human suffering
that Covid-19 itself. This con�nuing lockdown is,
unfortunately, making it ever more inevitable that India
will suffer a consumer lending cycle. Con�nuing
weakness in the rupee is a concern
– Jefferies' Equity Head Christopher Wood
MF body assures investors
after Franklin shuts 6 schemes
Says majority of fixed income MF assets are invested in superior quality securities
New Delhi: Mutual fund industry
body Amfi on Friday assured in-
vestors that majority of fixed in-
come mutual funds assets are in-
vested in superior credit quality
securities and such schemes have
appropriate liquidity to ensure
normal operations.
The statement by the industry
body came after Franklin Temple-
ton Mutual Fund voluntarily de-
cided to wind up its six debt
schemes citing redemption pres-
sure and lack of liquidity in bond
markets due to coronavirus pan-
demic.
This is the first instance when a
fund house is shutting its schemes
because of coronavirus related
pandemic. The industry body, in a
statement, has strongly recom-
mended that investors should
continue to focus on their invest-
ment goals, consult their financial
advisor and not get side-tracked
by an isolated event in a few
schemes of one fund company.
“We expect fixed income funds
across entire mutual fund indus-
try to continue their normal op-
eration without any material im-
pact," it added.
The action taken by the partic-
ular AMC is limited to the six spe-
cific credit risk fixed income
schemes managed by the said As-
set Management Company (AMC)
due to the illiquidity of their port-
folios, the Association of Mutual
Funds in India (Amfi) said. The as-
HANS BUSINESS
Hyderabad: The Federation of
Small and Medium Enterprises of
India (FSME India) on Friday
urged the Andhra Pradesh govern-
ment to extend support to the mi-
cro, small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs) battered by the ongoing
lockdown in the State.
"Operations of MSMEs came to
cent YoY. The report reveals
that during the March quarter,
a mere 3,904 new units were
launched in Hyderabad.
“Consistent price increases
over the past few years have
transformed Hyderabad from
an affordable property destina-
tion into a city of mid and lux-
ury segment homes. This is why
the share of affordable homes
is lower both in the number of
sales as well as the number of
launches in this market,” says
Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO,
sets under management (AUM) of
these six schemes constitute less
than 1.4 per cent of the Indian Mu-
tual Fund Industry's aggregate
AUM as on March 31, 2020. "Fixed
income schemes of most mutual
funds have superior credit quality
as confirmed by ratings of inde-
pendent credit rating agencies and
continue to remain fairly liquid
even in these challenging times,"
it added. Sebi regulations allow
mutual funds schemes to borrow
up to 20 per cent of their assets to
meet liquidity needs for redemp-
tion/dividend pay-out. While Amfi
said it is in the process of collecting
the data, many mutual funds have
informed that they don't have any
outstanding borrowing.
It said that liquidity, maturity
profile and credit quality for debt
funds is appropriate for day-to-
day operations to continue unin-
FSME India seeks support for AP MSMEs
a standstill in
Andhra Pradesh
and other parts of
the country due to
the ongoing na-
tionwide lock-
down which be-
gan on March 25. As consequence,
majority of MSMEs, which em-
Housing.com, Makaan.com and
Proptiger.com.
Hyderabad is different from
most cities where affordable
homes claim a lion’s share in
quarterly sales as well as
launches. Only 14 per cent of all
homes sold during the quarter
in Hyderabad were units priced
up to Rs 45 lakh- the govern-
ment defined ticket size for
homes to fall in the affordable
category. In terms of launches,
too, only 36 per cent units were
from the affordable segment.
GOING DIGITAL
CAIT, DPIIT to launch e-com platform for retailers
Confedera�on of All India Traders (CAIT) and Department
for Promo�on of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) joined
hands to come up with an e-commerce pla�orm for local
retailers. The announcement comes a day a�er Amazon
announced its new programme 'Local Shops on Amazon'.
Reliance Industries also announced JioMart-WhatsApp
partnership to empower kirana stores
terruptedly. “Banking liquidity in
excess of Rs 7,00,000 crore, Long
Term Repo Operations (LTRO)
conducted by the RBI, expecta-
tions of further rate cuts and Op-
eration Twist by the RBI is likely
to keep bond market liquid and
normally functioning in current
challenging times,” Nilesh Shah
Amfi Chairman said.
"The mutual fund industry re-
mains fully committed to investor
interests and there is no need for
them to panic and redeem their
investments. The industry contin-
ues to remain robust like in 2008
sub-prime crisis or 2013 taper
tantrum crisis,” he added. NS
Venkatesh, Chief Executive, at
Amfi said that the industry has
seen many cycles and its profes-
sional fixed income fund man-
agers have managed crises e�-
ciently over the years.
ploys lakhs of people, are on the
brink of collapse. So, there is an ur-
gent need to bail out the key sector
at the earliest possible," APK
Reddy, national president, FSME
India, said. Reddy along with other
members of the association partic-
ipated in a videoconference organ-
ised by the Andhra Pradesh gov-
It’s time builders o�er
discounts to push sales
Anarock says developers across the country have unsold ready-to-move-in units worth `60,000 cr
P
roperty brokerage firm
Anarock on Friday said
cash-starved builders are
sitting on ready-to-move-in hous-
ing units worth Rs 66,000 crore
across seven cities and asked
them to o�er discounts to clear
their finished unsold stocks dur-
ing the ongoing coronavirus pan-
demic. According to Anarock,
there were 78,000 unsold ready-
to-move-in flats at the end of
March quarter across seven cities
namely Delhi-NCR, Mumbai
Metropolitan Region (MMR),
Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hy-
derabad and Pune. These units
are worth about Rs 65,950 crore.
"Developers need to take a call on
what they want to do with their
unsold inventory, depending on
their holding capacity and finan-
cial distress, if any," Anarock
Chairman Anuj Puri said. "Orga-
nized developers with strong bal-
ance sheets are less apt to o�er
discounts, but those which need
liquidity urgently will need to
consider their options. These
would include discounted prices
and other incentives," he added.
The unsold ready-to-move-in
units contribute 12 per cent of the
total unsold stocks of over 6.44
lakh units. The remaining 88 per
cent are under construction.
Puri also advised first time
homebuyers to negotiate hard
Brokers seek Sebi,
govt intervention
Mumbai: Terming the shut-
down of six debt schemes by
Franklin Templeton Mutual
Fund (FTMF) as an extreme
step that has created panic,
an umbrella body of brokers
on Friday sought markets
regulator Sebi and the Min-
istry of Finance's interven-
tion to protect investor in-
terest. FTMF stunned all by
deciding to shutter opera-
tions of six schemes with as-
sets under management of
more than Rs 25,000 crore
late Thursday evening, cit-
ing redemption pressures
and market volatilities in
wake of the Covid-19 pan-
demic. The fund house has
said that capital markets
regulator Sebi was informed
in advance about the deci-
sion, which has been taken
to protect investor wealth.
"Such an extreme step by
FTMF has created panic
among their investors as
well as mutual fund in-
vestors in other debt
schemes across asset man-
agement companies," the
Association of National Ex-
change Members of India
(ANMI) said.
ernment to take inputs from indus-
try associations on MSME sector
on Friday. During the meet, FSME
India also submitted a report on re-
vival of the MSME sector in AP to
AP Industries Minister M Gau-
tham Reddy.
The industry body urged the
government to stop collection of
fixed charges on power supply to
MSMEs for at least a year.
with builders and get a good deal
on ready-to-move-in apartments.
He said interest rates on home
loans are low at 7.15-7.8 per cent.
"The lockdown period has kick-
started rapid technology-led evo-
lution on the Indian real estate
market," said Puri.
"Some states are now also
mulling the introduction of e-reg-
istration of property documents,
thereby completing the entire
value chain. This is necessary
since physical site visits are un-
FOREX (buy rates in `)
US Dollar 79.51
Euro 86.42
UAE Dirham 22.89
Thai Baht 2.71
British Pound 98.04
Australian Dollar 51.14
Canadian Dollar 57.03
Swiss Franc 81.42
29 lakh jobs in danger
COVID-19 JOLT
due to aviation crisis
New Delhi: With the coronavirus
crisis bringing global aviation in-
dustry to a halt, as many as 29.32
lakh jobs are likely to be at risk in
India's aviation sector during the
year 2020, according to a report
by International Air Transport As-
sociation (IATA).
The data shows that among the
Asia Pacific countries, Indian avi-
ation sector would be the worst hit
in terms of jobs, with a likely im-
pact on 29, 32,900 jobs. The report
also said that the revenue of the
sector in India may fall by $11.221
billion this year compared to 2019.
Further, the passenger demand is
likely to fall by 47 per cent in the
country, it showed.
Conrad Cli�ord, IATA's Re-
gional Vice President for Asia-Pa-
cific, said that airlines in the region
face a liquidity crisis with a $61 bil-
lion cash burn in the second quar-
ter of 2020. "We have seen the first
Mkts snap rising streak
as financials stocks slide
Mumbai: Snapping a two-session
rising trend, the BSE Sensex tum-
bled 536 points on Friday as fi-
nance and bank stocks skidded af-
ter Franklin Templeton MF
suddenly closed six debt fund
schemes, catching investors o�
guard. A depreciating rupee and
negative global cues added to the
gloom, brokers said. The 30-share
BSE Sensex settled 535.86 points
or 1.68 per cent down at 31,327.22,
while the NSE Nifty declined
159.50 points, or 1.71 per cent, to
9,154.40.
Franklin Templeton Mutual
Fund late on Thursday announced
winding up of six debt schemes,
with assets under management of
over Rs 25,000 crore, due to re-
demption pressures and lack of
liquidity in bond markets amid the
Covid-19 crisis. Many retail in-
vestors and high net worth indi-
viduals (HNIs) who invested in
likely to pick up quickly even after
the lockdown ends, as both buyers
and sellers will remain wary," he
added.
As per the data, Hyderabad
has the least unsold ready stock
of nearly 2,400 units worth Rs
1,870 crore.
The highly Covid-19-impacted
MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan
Region) has the maximum ready
stock of nearly 19,200 unsold
homes worth Rs 26,150 crore.
Pune has the second-highest
South
African Rand 4.65
Hong Kong Dollar 11.34
Japanese Yen 0.82
New Zealand Dollar 48.16
Saudi Riyal 22.36
Swedish Krona 8.72
Singapore Dollar 56.35
HYDERABAD SATURDAY 25 APRIL 2020
airline casualty in the region.
There will be more casualties if
governments do not step in ur-
gently to ensure airlines have suf-
ficient cash flow to tide them over
this period," he said. Cli�ord iden-
tified India, Indonesia, Japan,
Malaysia, the Philippines, South
Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand as
priority countries that need to
take action. The industry body ex-
pects that the due to the Covid-19
crisis global airline passenger rev-
enues would drop by $314 billion
in 2020, a 55 per cent decline com-
pared to 2019. Airlines in Asia Pa-
cific will see the largest revenue
drop of $113 billion in 2020 com-
pared to 2019.
Sensex tumbles
536 points while Nifty
sheds 159 points
these schemes as part of their
fixed-income asset allocation will
be hit as the money will be blocked
with no clear timeline for recov-
eries, experts said. Bajaj Finance
was the top laggard in the Sensex
pack, dropping 9.14 per cent, fol-
lowed by IndusInd Bank (6.58 per
cent), Axis Bank (5.96 per cent),
ICICI Bank (5.09 per cent) and
HDFC (5 per cent). Reliance In-
dustries, however, capped the
losses by rallying 3.34 per cent.
Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp,
L&T, PowerGrid and Bajaj Auto
were among the other gainers.
During the week, the Sensex de-
clined 261.50 points or 0.82 per
cent, while Nifty fell 112.35 points
or 1.21 per cent.
ready unsold stock of nearly
16,000 units worth over Rs
11,400 crore.
Delhi-NCR comes third with
nearly 15,600 unsold ready
homes worth Rs 10,720 crore,
while Bengaluru has ready unsold
stock of approximately 10,100
units worth Rs 7,150 crore. Chen-
nai has nearly 9,400 ready unsold
units in the city worth nearly Rs
5,800 crore. Kolkata has ready
unsold stock of nearly 5,300 units
worth Rs 2,860 crore.
��������������������������������� NEWS 5

BJP leaders politicising vagaries of IIT-Delhi develops low-cost

nature, fumes Agriculture Minister
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HANS NEWS SERVICE
Hyderabad: State Agriculture
Minister S Niranjan Reddy chal-
lenged the State BJP leaders to
prove if any of the sa�ron party
ruled states in the country are
procuring 100 per cent of the
crop yields like in Telangana.
Responding to the one-day
Deeksha observed by BJP State
unit led by its BJP Telangana
chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar here
on Friday, he lashed at them for
politicising even the vagaries of
nature like unseasonal rains and
lightning. Niranjan Reddy said,
“Unseasonal rains, bolts of light-
ning are not exclusive only to
Telangana and farmers in the
State are fully aware of the situ-
ation. But, the BJP leaders are
trying to politicise the same and
he will leave it to their wisdom.”
He said it is unfortunate that
the unseasonal rains and light-
ning caused hardships to the
farmers. But, it is more unfortu-
nate to see the BJP politicising
the vagaries of nature. He said
that the family of the farmer who
died due to lightning has been
handed over the insurance
amounts and said the “wet and
coloured paddy will also be pro-
cured at the centres and farmers
need not worry about the same.”
Niranjan Reddy said Chief
Minister K Chandrasekhara
Rao’s foresight has made the
State increase its warehousing
capacity from 4 lakh tonnes to
25 lakh tonnes.
The State government is fully
aware of the issues faced by the
farmers and taking steps to ad-
dress the same. He said, “If BJP
leaders have a�ection and re-
sponsible towards Telangana
farmers they should get sanction
for Turmeric Board and ap-
provals for procurement of 100
per cent yields of all crops at the
MSP rates from the Centre.”
The minister said that the very
demand for separate Telangana
was meant to resolve the hard-
ships faced by the farmers in the
State. It was the TRS govern-
ment which had instilled confi-
dence among the farming com-
munity with innovative schemes
like 24-hour free power, Rythu
Bandhu, Rythu Bheema, increas-
ing the irrigation water facilities.
He asked the BJP leaders not
to forget that the Centre’s Prad-
han Mantri Kisan Samman Yo-
jana was also launched taking in-
spiration from the Rythu
Bandhu scheme of the State.
Clarifying on the procurement
centres, Niranjan Reddy said,
7,077 paddy and 1,027 maize pro-
curement centres were approved
taking into consideration the ex-
tent of crops under 12,500 village
panchayats in the State. Out of
this, 5,187 paddy and 923 maize
procurement centres have
started functioning and as the
harvesting process increased the
number of procurement centres
will also be increased, he said.
diagnostic test for Covid-19
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HANS NEWS SERVICE
New Delhi: Raising to the expec-
tations reposed in the higher ed-
ucational institutions, the IIT-
Delhi researchers have
developed a low-cost real-time
polymerase chain reaction (RT-
PCR) test for COVID-19.
Researchers of IIT-Delhi
Kusuma School of Biological
Sciences (KSBS) have developed
a detection assay for COVID-19
which has now been approved
by ICMR. He was delighted to
know that the assay has been
validated at ICMR with a sensi-
tivity and specificity of 100 per
cent. This makes IIT-D the first
academic institute to have ob-
job. They are contributing their
best to combat the situation
arising from COVID-19.
He said that the PM is hoping
that we should develop our own
strengths and should not be de-
pendent on the world.
Keeping in view the capability
and high standards of research
of our Institutes, particularly
IITs, meetings were held with
IITs from the very beginning of
the onset of a pandemic, to step
the people of India. The kit will
not only empower health care
services but also support the
government in the time of crisis.
The minister reiterated that
his ministry will provide all pos-
sible support to the institutions
in their research initiatives. He
said that the projects like these
are in line with the Make in In-
dia initiative of the government.
Pokhriyal also thanked Union
Health Minister Dr Harsh Vard-
han for the efforts of Indian
Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) validating the technol-
ogy and research. Director of
IIT-Delhi, Ramgopal Rao in-
formed the minister that this is
the first probe-free assay for

‘Cooperate with o�cials to curtail Covid-19’

HANS NEWS SERVICE
Suryapet: Special O�cer for Covid-19 to
Suryapet district Sarfaraj Ahmed asked the
people to cooperate with the o�cials in the
implementation of lockdown to end the coro-
navirus in the district.
Along with District Collector Vinay Kr-
ishna Reddy and SP Bhaskaran, he inspected
containment areas of vegetable market, In-
diramma Colony and Kothagudem bazaar on
Friday. He checked the facilities provided to
the people of restricted zones, sanitation,
spraying of Sodium Hypochlorite and regis-
ters of household surveys conducted by heath
department sta�.
The Special O�cer directed the o�cials
concerned to arrange iron mesh at all con-
tainment areas in the town to stop public
movement during lockdown. He said that the
State government paid special attention on
Suryapet, which recorded more Coivd-19
cases. He told he people not to come outside
as the entire town was declared as Red Zone
and assured them not to worry as corona pos-
itive patients are recovering comfortably.
People should contact the call centre of health
department for their medicinal needs, he
added. He also suggested the people that they
must wear masks and maintain social dis-
tance to bring normalcy in Suryapet at the
earliest.
Sarfaraj Ahmed informed that police pa-
trolling vehicles have been pressed into action
to control public movement in containment
areas. He was accompanied by Municipal
Special O�cer Venugopal Reddy, Municipal
Commissioner Ramanujula Reddy, Welfare
O�cer Srinivas and others.
tained ICMR approval for a real-
time PCR-based diagnostic as-
say. Felicitating the team of
researchers on Friday, the
Union Human Resource Devel-
opment Minister Ramesh
Pokhriyal Nishank said the team
of scientists from IIT-Delhi in-
volved in the development of
COVID19 probe –free Real-time
PCR Diagnostic Kit.
He said that Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has invited sci-
entists, students and re-
searchers to come forward to
combat COVID19. In response
to this clarion call, all the pre-
mier institutions under HRD
Ministry came to the forefront
and have done a commendable
up their research and innova-
tion initiatives on Covid19.
Appreciating the e�orts of the
IIT-D, Pokhriyal said that the
Ministry of HRD is extremely
proud of its all institutions, re-
searchers, academicians, faculty
members and students who are
working tirelessly in the time of
complete lockdown, to bring out
solutions to the problems arising
out of the outbreak of Covid19.
Further, he highlighted the ef-
forts of IIT-Delhi in developing
a testing kit at a very low cost for
COVID-19 approved by ICMR
and it will be useful for specific
and affordable high throughput
testing. This assay can be easily
scaled up as it does not require
fluorescent probes.
The team is targeting large
scale deployment of the kit at af-
fordable prices with suitable in-
dustrial partners as soon as pos-
sible. The research team headed
by Prof.Vivekanandan Perumal
includes doctoral research
scholars Prashant Pradhan,
Ashutosh Pandey, Praveen Tri-
pathi, Dr.Akhilesh Mishra,
Dr.Parul Gupta, Dr Sonam
Dhamija, Prof.Manoj B.Menon,
Prof.Bishwajit Kundu, Prof.
James Gomes of IIT-Delhi.

TS Guv confers with Mentally-challenged

minor raped
ICMR to take up
rapid testing in TS
university registrars HANS NEWS SERVICE to assess spread
Hyderabad: In an utter act of HANS NEWS SERVICE
disgrace, a mentally-challenged
14-year-old girl was kidnapped Hyderabad/New Delhi: ICMR
and raped by four persons at (Indian Council for Medical
Qutbullapur under Dundigal Research) has decided to con-
PS limits. duct rapid antibodies test in
According to city police, the Telangana to assess the spread
mentally challenged girl had a of the coronavirus in general
fight with her parents on Tues- population and also the trend
day night and left the house. of seroprevalence ( number of

Asaduddin Owaisi hands over

The parents assumed that she persons in a population who
Hyderabad: Governor Dr Tamil- The Registrars said they had will return home by morning test positive for a specific dis-
isai Soundararajan reviewed with directed NSS programmers and because she had done the same ease based on serology (blood

safety kits to Hyd top cop

the Registrars of all the State uni-
versities, the conduct of online
classes, through a video confer-
ence held on Friday.
The Registrars stated that they
were conducting online classes
and around 70% to 80% are the
students were attending classes
online, and the remaining could
not be present due to connectiv-
ity problems as they were living
in rural and remote areas.
Around 80% to 90% of the syl-
labus for PG students and 70% to
80% syllabus for UG courses had
been completed, they informed.
volunteers to address this pan-
demic situation by providing
masks and other amenities to the
needy people.
Appreciating the e�orts of uni-
versities in conducting online
classes to the students, the Gov-
ernor advised them to conduct
some competitions to stimulate
innovative ideas in the young and
fertile minds on the current crit-
ical situation. She also advised
them to instruct all the students
to download the Aarogya Setu
app for to keep safe from the pan-
demic.
before.
However, as she did not re-
turn on Wednesday, the par-
ents filed a complaint.
“Upon receiving the com-
plaint, we started searching for
the 14-year-old and after two
days of hard work, we found her
on Friday. We took her to the
PS and informed her parents.
As soon as her parents ap-
peared in front of her, she re-
vealed the dastardly act com-
mitted on her by the four men
from the same locality,” said the
Inspector, A Venkatesham.
HANS NEWS SERVICE
Hyderabad: MP Asaduddin
Owaisi on Friday handed over 350
safety gear kits to the police com-
missioner of Hyderabad, Anjani
Kumar. Each kit contained 10
masks, 10 gloves and a sanitizer
bottle. In another program the
employees of M/s Keka Company
in Madhapur contributed 6000
sanitizer bottles to the police de-
partment. After the conclusion
the event, the Commissioner
noted, “As the holy month of
Ramzan is starting from Saturday,
I convey my wishes to the Muslim
community.” He further added,
“I also want to urge every Mus-
lim brother to celebrate the fes-
tivities of Ramzan by staying at
home and by maintaining social
distance. Muslim brothers
should not get together at one
place under any circumstances,
if not we will be forced to take
strict action by booking cases
against them.”“The lockdown
has been reaping fruits since last
few days and the next 15 days are
more crucial. So it’s very impor-
tant that every Muslim brother
shall remain at home and coop-
erate with the government and
police in defeating the deadly
virus,” stated the o�cer.
serum) specimen) against the
infection in the country. Also, a
Hyderabad company was given
the Centre's go-ahead to create
a drug for immunoglobulin
treatment of Covid-19 patients.
It is learnt that this company is
owned by son-in-law of TRS
MP, Ranjith Reddy.
When contacted about
ICMR's rapid testing decision,
Telangana health department
o�cials stated that they are not
aware of any such decision
Meanwhile, a lab technician
from government hospital in
Gadwal was found to be Covid-

Eatala warns house-owners Covid-19 taught India to

19 positive. However, no doctor
Plasma therapy from a government hospital has
tested positive so far in the
for Covid patients state.

become self-reliant: PM
from Monday HANS NEWS SERVICE staying as tenants in their to collect her belongings to

Continued from P1 Hyderabad: Health Minister

houses. This follows a fresh in-
cident wherein Dr Snigdha, an
move to Gandhi hostel. She
along with other junior doctors Tra�c cops ignore
Elaborating on plasma
treatment permission, Eatala
Eatala Rajender had warned of
serious action against house
orthopaedic junior doctor from
Gandhi hospital was threat-
called on Health Minister
Eatala Rajender in Koti on Fri- Continued from P1 at its level, every state has to be
anti corona
said that he spoke on this issue
with Union Health Minister
owners threatening and abus-
ing health care professionals
ened by her house owner. She
was also abused after she went
day and apprised him of the sit-
uation.
The prime minister said skills
and knowledge of people are put
self-reliant at its level and the
whole country has to be self-re-
operations
Harsh Vardhan in video con- to test during the time of a cri- liant at its level,” he said. Every
ference held on Friday. sis, but India's villages have dis- gram sabha, every block and Hyderabad: A few police per-
Eatala further informed Moon sighted, Muslims to Human vaccine played the best of their efforts every district need to be self-re- sons are neglecting the anti Co-

that KCR had himself inter-
vened and spoke to the firms
manufacturing PPEs and N 95
masks to meet the one lakh re-
quirement as the Centre was
just giving a few thousand each
time. Eatala informed that he
had constituted a panel to
analyse each of the 25 deaths
due to Covid-19 in Telangana
so far. Only a few have died
solely a�ected by the virus
while a majority of them had
co-morbid conditions that de-
teriorated their health further
once they tested positive, he
said.Eatala took objection to
private hospitals in districts
shying away patients coming
with respiratory issues. He
said that not all respiratory
problems can be considered as
Covid-19 and hence private
hospitals should see such pa-
tients taking due precautions.
He also said that no directions
were given to private hospitals
or clinics to stop OP services
or general consultations. “We
only asked private hospitals to
defer their elective surgeries,”
he added.
begin fasting from today
Continued from P1
In Kerala and some parts of
Karnataka, the moon was sighted
on Thursday. There was no rush
to the mosques or on streets as
Muslims quietly welcomed the
holy month with a prayer on their
lips for the safety of their loved
ones in the wake of the pandemic.
People greeted each other on
phone and made preparations at
home for sehri (meal before be-
ginning of fasting). With the lock-
down in place till May 3, this will
be a Ramzan without the usual
gatherings at prayer time and dur-
ing meals. All imams, Ulema and
Muslim organisations in the coun-
try have unanimously decided
that during Ramzan, Muslims will
not congregate in mosques, reli-
gious places and perform all ritu-
als like 'Iftaar' (breaking of fast)
and 'Taraweeh' (special prayers)
at home keeping in mind social
distancing norms.
Minority A�airs Minister
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said he has
spoken to state waqf board o�-
cials, social and religious leaders,
imams on adherence to the lock-
down and social distancing guide-
lines during Ramzan. He ex-
pressed confidence that Muslims
will adhere to the lockdown and
social distancing guidelines. On
the COVID-19 lockdown restric-
tions during Ramzan, Naqvi said
no Muslim wants to stay away
from mosques in this holy month,
but everyone has resolved to win
this battle against coronavirus.
Prominent Muslim body
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Monday
appealed to Muslims to adhere to
the lockdown guidelines and per-
form all religious rituals during
Ramzan, starting later this week,
staying inside their homes. Jamiat
Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana
Arshad Madani urged Muslims to
o�er prayers, including special
'Taraweeh' at home. Ramzan is
the ninth month of the Islamic
calendar during which Muslims
worldwide refrain from eating and
drinking from dawn to dusk and
end their fast in the evening.
trial begins
Continued from P1
Granato is joined by cancer re-
searcher Edward O'Neill as the first
two candidates – one of whom has
been injected with the Covid-19
vaccine being trialled and the
other a control vaccine which pro-
tects against meningitis.
They will now be monitored for
48 hours to observe the impact of
each. Scientists will then gradually
start injecting further volunteers,
healthy individuals aged between
18 and 55, in a similar half-and-half
process – with none of the partici-
pants aware which vaccine they
have been injected with.
“Personally I have a high degree
of confidence in this vaccine," said
Sarah Gilbert, professor of vacci-
nology at the University of Ox-
ford's Jenner Institute, who is lead-
ing the research. "Of course, we
have to test it and get data from
humans. We have to demonstrate
it actually works and stops people
getting infected with coronavirus
before using the vaccine in the
wider population," she said.
to fight the pandemic. Notwith-
standing the limited resources
at its disposal, India has taken
the challenge proactively and
showed its resolve to move for-
ward with new energy and new
ways, he said.
The prime minister was in-
teracting with gram panchayat
heads and members to mark
Panchayati Raj Divas on Friday.
The programme was scheduled
to be held in Jhansi, Uttar
Pradesh but was held by a video
bridge following the coron-
avirus-induced lockdown.
"This pandemic has thrown
at us new challenges and prob-
lems which we have never imag-
ined, but it also taught us a very
good lesson with a strong mes-
sage. It has taught us that we
have to be self-reliant and self-
sufficient. It has taught us that
we should not look for solutions
outside the country. This is the
biggest lesson we have learnt,”
he said.
“Every village has to be self-
sufficient enough to provide for
its basic needs. Similarly, every
district has to be self-sufficient
liant for its basic needs, he
added.
Modi said the government
worked hard in trying to pro-
vide self-sufficiency to villages
and making gram panchayats
stronger. "With its simple
mantra of Do Gaz Ki Doori
(maintaining distance of two
yards), rural India has de-
scribed social distancing in sim-
ple words, villages have show-
cased the best of their
principles, traditional values to
fight coronavirus," Modi, who
used a 'gamcha' as face mask,
said.
In his concluding remarks,
Modi stressed that there was a
need to ensure that people get
correct information and are not
swayed by rumours and misin-
formation.
He said well-cooked food
should be consumed. He also
said certain spices and home-
made 'kadha' (an ayurvedic
home remedy) are good to de-
velop immunity. He stressed
that a body with strong immu-
nity can help remain strong and
healthy.
rona operations in Hyderabad
on the roads and concentrating
on taking photos of passing by
vehicles on the pretext one or
other trivial reasons.
A tra�c constable at
Musapet Y Junction barricade
was seen holding a camera and
taking photos of passing vehi-
cles on Friday. When asked
why he was taking the photos,
he said that he was taking them
for violation of general tra�c
rules.
The constable who was sup-
posed to stop the passing vehi-
cles at the barricade and check
whether they were allowed to
travel and to check their iden-
tity cards and passes, simply
continued his photo shooting
spree allowing the vehicles to
go unchecked.
While the tra�c police at the
barricades set up at various
places have been strictly en-
forcing the anti Coronavirus
operations with true spirit, few
of them have been ignoring
real purpose of their present
duties and engaged in other ac-
tivities.
6 EDIT ����������������������������������

������������������ Italy. Then he further improved the glass and turned

it towards the sky to find four moons orbiting Jupiter.
He went on convincing the court officials for further
Are we at the cusp of one such moment now? We had
Swine Flu, Ebola and now corona in a decade or so.
Role of citizens in the
war against corona
Virus has become a scourge for humanity. Of course,

��������������������������� funds impressing them with his 'discoveries'. You can

call this government-science nexus. Science always
needed support of the rulers that be or powers that
it has got to thank the same humanity which has lost
its direction in its mad run to "modernise" itself and
in its quest for comfort. All the world has grown - if

D oes coronavirus give us an opportunity to make

the best out of it despite its devastating effect on
be. Thus was born Royal College of Chemistry to focus
on researching in the field to benefit the nation and
we call it growth - in a certain fashion destroying na-
ture first and then heaping inequities on itself en-
DR S K JOSHI

humanity and its economy? Undoubtedly, it does.

Mankind has always faced problems, issues, tragedies
and disasters either man-made or nature inflicted
and yet, its spirit triumphed over such lows of the civ-
ilization. This has resulted in the development of a
field what is called science and it has benefited hu-
manity immensely. Sometime in late August of 1609,
the Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei, is said to have
written to his brother-in-law about some fast chang-
ing events of the summer. Galileo had, just then heard
of a spy glass invention, and soon announced his own
version that grabbed the eyeballs of the Venetian sen-
ate which summoned him to demonstrate the same.
Galileo did so and was immediately awarded a hefty
salary for a job for life at the University of Padua in
its rulers' ambitions. Laboratory after laboratory
came up and university after university got engrossed
in research. Electrification, telegraphy and expansion
of railways and large-scale production of steel were
the signature developments of an era often called the
second industrial revolution that began around 1870.
And so standard units evolved and developed into
fine measures of today. Electromagnetism and ther-
modynamics began tackling challenges of transat-
lantic communications, electrical standards, ocean
navigation and steam power etc. Competition began
between individuals and among nations and indus-
trialists realised the power of such inventions and
grabbed the opportunity to convert science into tech-
nology and thereof into commerce and flourished.
riching some offering them a great care and comfort
and denying others of basic existence and its needs.
What has corona got to offer us because it has proved
to be a great leveller as never before? As we cannot
anyway keep these viruses at bay, best as we may try,
the only other alternative is to insure ourselves
against the ravaging nature. Research is the only way
humanity can protect itself. Let the governments
spend more on health, including India. No one would
question if funding in some areas is cut. Spend more
on free healthcare. Let each tehsil in the country have
modernised hospitals and enough staff to handle
them and future eventualities apart from fully
equipped primary health centres. A paradigm shift
is needed.
O ne of the core functions of any government is
to protect its citizens from external aggressions
as well as internal disturbances of all kinds. In India,
like many other democratic countries, the govern-
ment is expected to shield the citizens from the pres-
ent pandemic created by a nano-sized RNA virus
Covid-9.
After creating havoc in many parts of the world,
all eyes are now focused on India, where morbidity
and mortality due to virus is so far, contained up to a large extent, in
spite of the size and complexities of our country. Thanks to our leader-
ship both at the Centre and the States levels, and much-maligned public
health delivery system, we are able to o�er a formidable challenge to
Covid-19. The committed frontline health warriors, despite challenging
working conditions, have won the hearts of people.
As a supporting measure to break the chain of transmission, a na-
tionwide lockdown is being enforced since March 24, 2020. Considering

Lessons to learn from S Korea, Sweden

all related aspects, sooner than later, this lockdown has to be either
partially or fully relaxed. Again, such relaxation has to be on the basis
of the zonal status of the area. Whether the same trend of infection or
mortality will prevail after lifting the lockdown is the moot question.
During the lockdown, we in India have witnessed public responses
least 10,000 people daily and re- ranging from the insanity to the most responsible one. It would be per-
IN MY OPINION sults were delivered in three tinent to mention that the Indian psyche barring the Opposition, con-
days-time. It also went in for an- siders their government omnipotent and next only to the omnipresent.
other novel method of testing However, every government has its limitations. The bigger is the crisis,
known as drive-thru testing wider the gap between the expectations of the citizens and deliverables
sites and took up about three produced by the government. This leads to dissatisfaction among people.
lakh screening tests. This helped There are busy bodies to further aggravate the situation and thus, ham-
them in tracking the location of per the relief work done by already overstretched public resources.
the infected persons and pre- During crisis time, scoring of few brownie points whether on political,
V RAMU SARMA vented the spread of virus. In- religious or any other ground needs to be avoided. Even the most pow-

W
hile several countries
across the globe have
gone in for total lock-
down to prevent the spread of
Covid-19, South Korea is being
seen as a role model which had
succeeded in flattening the
curve without going in for lock-
down and without having to
shut down the economy. Sweden
is another country which also
chose not to go in for lockdown
but has been able to contain the
spread of coronavirus.
It is not that people of South
Korea or Sweden were not wor-
ried about the outbreak of the
virus. But what made the di�er-
ence was the way they handled
it and the discipline that was ex-
hibited by the people in those
countries. In fact, that is what
we in India need to follow.
Soon after coronavirus cases
started multiplying in China,
South Korea which had learnt a
lesson from previous epidemics
like Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome-related coronavirus
(Sars) and Middle East Respira-
tory Syndrome (MERS) that oc-
curred in 2015 from another
type of coronavirus and took im-
mediate measures to handle the
situation. It adopted the policy
of testing, tracing and treating.
People too responded with high-
est level of discipline such as
willingness to follow social dis-
tancing for greater good. This
helped South Korea not only in
containing the virus but also
helped in continuing its eco-
nomic activity. During Sars and
MERs, lack of tests to detect the
disease forced many infected
people to travel all around cities
in search of a medical centre to
perform the testing. Following
this, a law was enacted that the
government would take up im-
mediate action to approve test-
ing systems in case of health
emergency.
As coronavirus started staring
at Korea, they took up mass pro-
duction of tests and had set up
free testing sites across the
country which helped all sec-
tions of the society irrespective
of economic status to get free
tests done. It had created neces-
sary infrastructure to test at
formation sharing was another
tool they had e�ectively used.
The government publicly re-
leased information about the lo-
cation of infected individuals
and their movements around
the country but never released
the names of infected measures.
Such geographic information
had kept those who pass through
those areas to take necessary
precautionary measures. The
main lesson one should learn
from Korea is that transparency
helps.
The government in a swift
move closed schools and univer-
sities and made use of face
masks compulsory and can-
celled all public events. Massive
campaign to maintain hygiene
was taken up. The government
made best use of media in prop-
agating on the need for social
distancing while the law enforc-
ing authorities ensured strict
compliance of the WHO guide-
lines in the streets. The govern-
ment also made sure that sup-
plies of masks etc do not
disappear from the shelves and
that their prices are not in-
creased.
The self-discipline exhibited
by people in South Korea is also
something that needs to be se-
riously pondered over by many
countries like the US and Asian
countries including India. Not
just South Korea, even Hong
Kong and Singapore had expe-
rienced outbreaks of virus in the
past and they learnt lessons
whereas countries like the US
and India missed. Even when
the number of cases has been
rising across the country, we
hesitate to use the masks and we
still do not follow the guidelines
of WHO in letter and spirit. The
high-level discipline displayed
by the people of South Korea en-
abled the country to hold elec-
tions to regional assembly with-
out any spread of corona cases.
The country now has manufac-
turing capacity of 100,000 test
kits and can give results within
hours.
As South Korea did not im-
pose shutdown, economic activ-
ity did not come to a grinding
halt as in case of many countries.
This has helped them to be in an
erful governments of the world are finding the going tough. So, we have
to put all hands on the dock. Learning from the experiences, what is
going to make the real di�erence?
It is the disciplined citizen who, as a force multiplier, shall determine
the fate of India. Thus, there is imminent opportunity for citizens to
become the part of the solution, enabling the country to e�ectively tie
over the crisis. In addition to scrupulously following the instructions,
various groups of citizens can contribute their might in a number of
ways to tackle the present pandemic. In addition to be a citizen, all of
us perform di�erent roles in society. Some of us are professionals, sci-
entists, traders, workers, and others involved in production of goods
and services. If nothing else, all of us are consumers. Those of us working
on the research, preventive measures and treatment methodologies
etc. should keep abreast with latest developments. In addition, those
of us running facilities needs to plan and implement required medical
infrastructure, human resources, drugs and other supplies especially,
keeping in view surge capacity under di�erent scenarios. Many of us
can get involved in providing relief and social security to needy. Fol-
merce has not been a�ected. Ex- lowing lockdown and other directions of the public authorities becomes
Sweden is another country which had not gone in perts say that this has helped in very important in preventing further spread and containment of virus.
for lockdown. Nothing has changed in Sweden. building herd immunity and To have realistic optimism is the key to live in turbulent times. Before
there has been no panic situa- the pandemic, there were inequities, which got further accentuated in
Schools are open, cafes, restaurants, bars, tion. They know this is not a dis- the society. Depending on which strata one comes from, physical, emo-
playgrounds, gyms are open. Movement of vehicles ease that can be stopped or erad- tional and economic capacity to withstand crisis varies from person to
icated unless a vaccine is person. Let us extend our helping hand to fellow human being by show-
on highways continues uninterrupted. All that the produced. The only solution is ing compassion, saying no to hoarding and profiteering; and following
government had done was to urge the citizens to act to keep the spread of infections our dharma.
at bay. The di�erent kind of tra- (The writer is former Chief Secretary, Government of Telangana)
responsibly and maintain social distancing. The ditions they have and the im-
government has asked people to work from home, mense faith the people have in
but this restriction was also minimal. Public
gatherings have been limited to 50 and those above
the government as well as the
self-discipline which they have India’s lower death rates
defy coronavirus trend
been exhibiting has helped Swe-
den to do things in a little di�er-
70 years have been advised to be extra cautious and ent manner. One thing is certain
avoid contact with other people. No marking has that the coronavirus must sub-
side sooner or later but what ALEXANDRA ULMER & SUMIT KHANNA
been made to enforce social distancing as we see people in countries like India
here in India. The advantage Sweden has is that
people have high faith in their government. The
should learn is the kind of disci-
pline which people of South Ko-
rea and Sweden had displayed.
P arts of India have recorded dramatic falls in mortality rates after a
nationwide lockdown was imposed to fight the new coronavirus,
suggesting there has not been an undetected surge in virus-related
country is sparsely populated and most of the If people who had attended the deaths. All over the world, mortality rates are being scrutinised to de-
Jamaat had shown this kind of termine the true impact of the coronavirus, which emerged in China
households are single person households. discipline, India too would have late last year and is known to have infected more than 2.7 million people
They also do not kiss or hug been in the list of countries globally, with nearly 190,000 deaths. While death rates in some countries
which had flattened its graph of have risen sharply in recent weeks, in India the opposite seems to be
spread of the coronavirus. We happening, at least in some places, leaving hospitals, funeral parlours
advantageous position though Public gatherings have been lim- have been witnessing across the and cremation sites wondering what is going on.
they cannot escape the impact ited to 50 and those above 70 country how the law is being vi- "It's very surprising for us," said Shruthi Reddy, chief executive o�cer
of global recession. years have been advised to be ex- olated with impunity despite of Anthyesti Funeral Services, which operates in Kolkata and the south-
Sweden is another country tra cautious and avoid contact massive campaign by the Central ern tech hub of Bengaluru.
which had not gone in for lock- with other people. No marking and State governments which The company handled about five jobs a day in January but has only
down. Nothing has changed in has been made to enforce social had complicated the issue to had about three a day this month. "We've declared employee pay cuts if
Sweden. Schools are open, cafes, distancing as we see here in In- some extent. The kind of disci- revenue falls below a threshold," Reddy said.
restaurants, bars, playgrounds, dia. The advantage Sweden has pline and social distancing being Other numbers tell a similar story.
gyms are open. Movement of ve- is that people have high faith in witnessed in rural areas and Central Mumbai, home to some 12 million people, saw deaths fall by
hicles on highways continues their government. The country tribal areas is missing in urban about 21% in March compared with the same month of 2019, according
uninterrupted. All that the gov- is sparsely populated and most areas. Let us hope that in the post to municipal data. Overall deaths plummeted 67% in Ahmedabad, the
ernment had done was to urge of the households are single per- corona period, the Central gov- biggest city in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat,
the citizens to act responsibly son households. They also do ernment will come with certain over the same period. Data from at least two other cities, along with ac-
and maintain social distancing. not kiss or hug. laws where greater focus would counts from state health o�cials, show a similar pattern. Half a dozen
The government has asked peo- Like South Korea, Sweden has be laid on compulsory insurance funeral businesses and crematoriums also reported slumps in business,
ple to work from home, but this also become a role model to and people will realise the need especially in April. "If we're not seeing an increase in deaths, the suspi-
restriction was also minimal. many countries where com- for imbibing great discipline. cion that there may be more COVID-19 fatalities out there is not true,"
said Giridhar Babu, professor of epidemiology at the Public Health

LETTERS
Foundation of India.
Modi imposed a lockdown of India's 1.3 billion people on March 25
Spraying disinfectants in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected some
on people harmful 23,077 people, killing 718 of them, according to the latest figures.
India has tested about 525,000 people, meaning some 4% were pos-
Salary cut of employees
gross injustice I t was disturbing to watch the video clip, which shows
authorities using tunnels to sprinkle disinfectants on
people. There are many areas in cities, towns, and even
itive. In the United Sates, about 18% of tests are positive, according to
the COVID Tracking project. India’s apparently lower death rates stands
in contrast to what has been seen elsewhere.

W ith reference to the Central government's decision

of freezing of Dearness Allowance to Central gov-
ernment employees and Dearness Relief to the pension-
ers till July 2021, I, being an employee of public sector,
would like to put my viewpoints. The attack on workers
in one sector will not complement in the other sector.
Two negatives cannot make a positive in this case. When
we, as part of extensive working class of the country, are
hit by the government in the name of austerity measures,
we can imagine the fate of larger segment of unorganised
working class, which is being a�ected worse. Here, the
public sector is headed by the government whereas the
private sector, by the profit mongering corporates or
capitalists. When public sector itself hits its workforce,
owners of the private sector cannot remain silent. They
will further intensify their attacks. Whenever we feel
that we are deprived of some rights, we normally start
thinking in our own perspective, rather, we need to put
legs in the shoe of the lower grade workers or employees
of our own sector, who are severely/badly a�ected. In-
stead of comparing with a�ected people around us in
other sectors, we must raise our voice in their support
too. Since, a worker is a worker, whether in private sector
or public sector or organised or unorganised, we must
be always vigilant about this working class perspective.
If we, being the workers/employees in salaried segment,
don't raise voice against such attacks, then who will?
Giridhar, Nagole, Hyderabad
It’s time to stand united
I fully endorse the views expressed by Neelima Jana-
pareddy from Visakhapatnam in these columns. Yes
when we face disaster, we should forget our di�erences.
All should be united in our fight against the adversity.
Health workers, delivery boys, police, bank sta�, pharma
people, the truck drivers - all are struggling to serve the
society to ensure that we survive, overtaking the deadly
virus. If the virus is a monster, we should prove that we
are giants, we are tough optimists. This is the lesson we
are learning during our lifetime. I am sure we will cross
over the pandemic successfully. Let us take an oath that
we learn to lean on selfless service, concern for fellow
beings, altruism, imbibe empathy and establish solidar-
ity, as humans. Let us turn the adversity to human pros-
perity. Let us see God in every human. Let us have lofty
ideals and noble thoughts.
Kantamsetti Lakshman Rao, Seethammadhara,
Visakhapatnam
villages in India that are using tunnels to spray disin-
fectants on people. This despite the advisory against
spraying disinfectants on people, citing its physical and
psychologically harmful e�ects. They should reach ad-
ministrative bodies in all levels immediately and people
must be made aware of the risks of such procedures.
Also, the Central government should have classified ar-
eas in States as red, orange I and II and green zones only
to assess the case and not for any lockdown relaxation.
Dr N Khaleel, KPHB Colony,
Hyderabad
Screen vendors for coronavirus
V endors are handling, transporting and selling all
commodities such as vegetables, water, milk, medi-
cines, etc., and it is not known whether they are tested
or not. We cannot rule out the possibility of the conta-
gious Covid-19 attacking any of them. Citizens under
lockdown period going out for purchase of daily needs
are susceptible to be a�ected as the transmission mode
may be caused through men, material or money. I appeal
the governments to look into this vital aspect.
N Ramalakshmi,
Secunderabad
thehansreader@gmail.com
The Netherlands recorded about 2,000 more deaths than normal in
the first week of April, for example, while in Indonesia's capital of
Jakarta the number of funerals rose sharply in March.
Some towns in Italy also saw a jump in recorded deaths.
Indian doctors, o�cials and crematorium employees suspect the
lower death rate is in large part attributable to fewer road and rail
accidents. "Road accident cases, and even patients with alcohol or
drug abuse, stroke and heart attacks have been coming in fewer num-
bers," said Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Health Minister for Assam.
Accidents on India's chaotic roads killed more than 151,400 people
in 2018, according to o�cial data, the world's highest absolute num-
ber. The coronavirus lockdown, which is due to end on May 3, will
cut road deaths by at least 15% this year compared with 2018,
Paresh Kumar Goel, a director at the Ministry of Road Transport &
Highways, said.
With passenger trains halted, fatalities from all-too-common rail
accidents have also plunged. In Mumbai alone, for example, more
than half a dozen people typically die every day on the rail network.
Neeraj Kumar, who is in charge of a crematorium on the banks of
the holy Ganges river in Uttar Pradesh, said victims of crime were
also not being brought in. "We used to get at least 10 accident-related
bodies every day and many related to murder cases. But after the
lockdown we're only receiving natural death cases," Kumar said.
The site used to perform up to 30 cremations a day but in the month
since March 22, only 43 people had been cremated, Kumar said after
leafing through the crematorium's record book.
But the lower rates might also reflect di�culties in reporting deaths
during the lockdown, o�cials said.
SATURDAY 25 APRIL 2020
MODI GOVT'S 'INHUMANE' MOVE TO FREEZE DA HIKES
‘Why not shelve bullet train?’ Cong
New Delhi: Noting that it was "in-
sensitive and inhumane" to freeze
dearness allowance, the Congress
on Friday said instead of "hurting"
the middle-class employees and
pensioners, the government should
shelve bullet train and Central
Vista redevelopment projects to
save money for the coronavirus
fight.It is an insensitive and inhu-
mane decision of the government
to cut DA (Dearness Allowance) of
central employees, pensioners and
soldiers serving the public while
battling coronavirus, instead of sus-
pending the multi-million crore
bullet train project and the Central
Vista beautification project," Rahul
Gandhi tweeted this evening. On
Thursday the centre stopped a hike
in dearness allowances and reliefs
for all government employees.In a
notification on the subject the gov-
ernment said the move will help
save Rs 37,350 crore in financial
years 2020/21 and 2021/22. A sim-
ilar move will save states Rs 82,566
crores, making for a combined sav-
ing of Rs 1.20 lakh crores, the noti-
fication said.
Congress chief spokesperson
Randeep Surjewala asked the gov-
ernment to curtail 30 percent of its
NATION
own expenses and shelve the Cen-
tral Vista redevelopment and bullet
train projects to save money to be
used to fight the coronavirus out-
break. "The government of India,
instead of helping people by giving
them financial support in this cri-
sis, is hurting them. Instead of cur-
tailing its own wasteful expendi-
tures, the government is cutting the
money of the middle-class people,"
he told an online press confer-
ence.The government on Thursday
froze inflation-linked allowance for
its 1.1 crore employees and pen-
sioners, a move states are likely to
replicate, helping save a combined
Rs 1.2 lakh crore that could be used
to combat the coronavirus crisis.
WhatsApp group helps airlift ailing
IT professional from UK to Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (IANS):
A Delhi-based WhatsApp
group consisting of Keralites
led by a former judge and a for-
mer Union Minister played a
key role in airlifting a Kerala
IT professional from a UK hos-
pital to one in Kozhikode in an
air ambulance that arrived on
Friday.
The WhatsApp group is
known as Distress Manage-
ment Collective and was
formed 50 days back. It is led
by retired former apex court
judge Kurian Joseph.
Speaking to IANS, K.J.
Alphons, presently an Upper
House member said that every-
thing was accomplished in a
matter of two days.
"We got in touch with a
mayor in the UK, Tom Aditya
and then permission was
sought from a few departments
from Delhi. The Kerala govern-
ment also agreed and every-
thing was done in a flash. We
were told they did not want
any sort of publicity. According
to original schedule, they were
supposed to land tomorrow,
but they arrived today at
Kozhikode airport," said
Alphons.
The 36-year-old IT profes-
sional, working with UST
Global in the UK, was suffering
7
from a terminal illness and the
family wanted to reach Kerala.
Their efforts were successful
with the involvement of many,
including Alphons and it hap-
pened during the Covid lock-
down times, not a mean
achievement, by any chance,
people have applauded.
The patient, his wife and
their young child landed in
Kozhikode after couple of
stops for refuelling. A sum of
Rs 1 crore was collected
through crowd funding with
the company also chipping in
for airlifting him. The patient
is now admitted to a private
hospital at Kozhikode.

WHO reports five-fold WB Guv accuses Mamata

of appeasing Muslims
increase in cyber attacks Kolkata: The confrontation between the
West Bengal government and the Raj Bha-
Geneva (IANS): The World Health Organisation (WHO)warned van escalated further on Friday with Gov-
that the number of cyber attacks against it ernor Jagdeep Dhankhar accusing Chief
was now more than five timesof that di- Minister Mamata Banerjee of "explicitly ap-
rected at the UN body in the same pe- peasing" the minority community. Refer-
riod last year.Saying in a statement ring to Banerjee's Thursday letter to him
issued Thursday, the WHO said where she accused him of "repeatedly in-
thatthis week, some 450 active or- terfering" in the functioning of her govern-
ganization email addresses and pass- ment, Dhankhar said the chief minister's outburst is an alibi strategy
words wereleaked online along with to cover up "monumental failures" in tackling the COVID-19 pan-
thousands belonging to others working demic in the state.
on the novelcoronavirus response, reports Urging the TMC supremo "to shun politics and confrontational
Xinhua news agency."The leaked credentials did approach", Dhankhar said her conduct is only compounding the
not put WHO systems at riskbecause the data was not recent. How- miseries of the people of the state. Your communication is part of
ever, the attack did impact an olderextranet system, used by current the alibi strategy that emanates from a script that seeks to cover up
and retired sta� as well as partners,"it said.The organisation said monumental failures in these challenging times by a series of blun-
that it was now migrating a�ectedsystems to a more secure au- ders," the governor said in his second letter to Banerjee after her
thentication system.WHO said that scammers impersonating in Thursday letter set o� acrimonious exchanges between the two con-
its emails have alsoincreasingly targeted the general public in order Kanyakumari Medical College stitutional functionaries.
to channel donations to afictitious fund and not the authentic Hospital Deen Suganthi Rajakumari "Your appeasement of the minority community was so explicit
COVID-19 Solidary Response Fund.WHO asks the public to remain gi�s fruits to a pa�ent who and awkward on the Nizamuddin Markaz incident. This is most un-
vigilant against fraudulentemails and recommends the use of re- recovered from COVID-19, during fortunate and cannot be appreciated," he said, referring to an event
liable sources to obtain factual informationabout COVID-19 and the na�onwide lockdown to curb where Banerjee was asked to comment on the Tablighi Jamaat con-
other health issues. the spread of coronavirus, in gregation in the national capital
Kanyakumari district

5 riot accused test positive New study to test if nicotine

Bengaluru (IANS): As many as
116 riot case accused had been
from Ramanagara district jail to
the sprawling Haj complex
(bhavan) in the city centre after
5 co-accused tested coronavirus
positive, a senior Karnataka Po-
lice officer said on Friday.
"Of the 121 accused, 116 who
tested negative have been
shifted to Haj Bhavan in the city
from the district jail after the
remaining five tested positive
on Thursday to prevent other
inmates from getting infected,"
DCP (West) Ramesh Bhanot
told reporters here.
Ramanagara, about 50km
southwest of Bengaluru on the
state highway towards Mysuru,
has been a green spot with not
a single coronavirus case till
date.
The inmates were arrested
and remanded to judicial cus-
tody on April 21 for allegedly at-
tacking healthcare warriors and
rioting at the containment zone
in the city's southwest suburb
on April 19. "As all the accused
are from the containment zone
A policeman stands guard as people
maintaining social distancing wait in a queue
to enter a vegetable market during ongoing
COVID-19 lockdown in Jammu
where three Tablighi Jamaat re-
turnees tested positive and
their 58 primary and secondary
contacts have been sent to a
quarantine centre in the city,
they were subjected to COVID-
19 test, in which five had tested
positive and 116 negative," said
Bhanot. Of the five positive
cases, two were shifted on late
Thursday night and three on
Friday post-noon after the jail
authorities received their test
results earlier in the day. Assis-
tant Commissioner of Police
(West) Krishna Kumar told
IANS that the accused were
lodged in the district jail, as the
central jail in the city's south-
ern outskirts was crowded and
the authorities did not want to
risk.
"As Ramanagara jail is closer
to the city and spacious to ac-
commodate so many accused,
they were lodged there in sepa-
rate cells," Kumar said.
Former state chief minister
and JD-S leader H.D. Ku-
maraswamy, however, objected
to lodging the accused in the
Ramanagara jail, as the district
was a green spot and not a
hotspot like Bengaluru and My-
suru. Ramanagara is a bastion
of regional opposition party
Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) from
whose Assembly segment Ku-
maraswamy has won three
times and which is currently
represented in the lower house
by his wife Anita.
patch may keep corona at bay
Paris (IANS) R:esearchers in
France aim to test if nicotine
patch could help prevent
COVID-19 after initial observa-
tions showed that an ingredient
in tobacco, probably nicotine,
could put smokers at a lower risk
of getting the disease.
The researchers are awaiting
approval from French authorities
to start clinical trial of nicotine
patch on hospitalised patients
and the general population at the
Pitie Salpetriere hospital.
The initial study conducted at
Pitie Salpetriere, part of the
Hôpitaux de Paris, found that
daily smokers have much lower
probability of developing symp-
tomatic or severe SARS-CoV-2
infection as compared to the gen-
eral population.
According to the results, only
4.4 per cent of about 350 coron-
avirus patients hospitalised were
regular smokers and 5.3 per cent
of 130 homebound patients
Washington: Sunlight, heat and
humidity can create conditions
smoked. In the French popula-
tion, the daily smokers rate was
25.4 per cent, said the study pub-
lished in the journal Qeios.
The researchers also theorised
‘Peak Indian
that nicotine could help prevent
the virus from infecting cells or
that nicotine was preventing the
immune system from overreact-
ing to the virus.
"In order to prevent the infec-
tion and the retro-propagation of
the virus through the CNS ( cen-
tral nervous system), we plan a
therapeutic assay against Covid-
19 with nicotine (and other nico-
tinic agents) patches or other de-
livery methods (like
sni�ng/chewing) in hospitalised
patients and in the general pop-
ulation," proposed researchers
from Hopitaux de Paris, Paris
and Pasteur Institute, Paris in a
study which is also published in
Qeios.
As the pandemic of COVID-19,
caused by the severe acute respi-
ratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2), is still under pro-
gression, the identification of
prognostic factors is a global
challenge.
solar light appears to have on
killing the virus both surfaces and

Arnab gets 3-week protection from SC

that are less favourable for the
spread of coronavirus, a public
health o�cial of the Trump Ad-
ministration has said. The results
in the air. We have seen in a sim-
summer can ilar e�ect with both temperature
and humidity as well where in-
creasing the temperature and hu-

New Delhi (IANS) The

Supreme Court on Friday
granted three weeks pro-
tection from arrest to Re-
public TV editor-in-chief
Arnab Goswami in con-
nection with multiple
FIRs against him in vari-
ous states for alleged hate
speeches and for defama-
tion of Congress Presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi.
A bench headed by Jus-
tice D.Y. Chandrachud
and comprising Justice
M.R. Shah observed there
should be no restraint on
the media. "I am averse to
imposing restrictions on
media," said Justice
Chandrachud making an
oral observation.
The apex court ordered
transfer of case registered
at Nagpur to Mumbai
where investigations will
continue in the case
against Goswami, and
probe in all other cases
and complaints has been
stayed. Also, there would
be no investigation into
fresh FIRs arising out of
the April 21 show, and
asked senior advocate
Mukul Rohatgi, repre-
senting Goswami, to club
all FIRs and complaints,
and bring them on record.
Goswami, in the peti-
tion, urged the top court
that no coercive meas-
ures should be taken on
FIRs registered against
him in Maharashtra,
Telangana, Chhattisgarh
and Madhya Pradesh
and union territory of
Jammu and Kashmir. He
contended that action
against him is an attempt
to curb free speech and
the Freedom of Press un-
der Article 19 (1) (a) of
the Constitution.
Senior advocate Vivek
Tankha, representing
Chhattisgarh govern-
ments, urged the court to
issue directions asking
for a restraint order on
Goswami from making
such statements. Senior
advocate Kapil Sibal,
representing Maharash-
tra government, sug-
gested the Nagpur FIR
could be transferred to
Mumbai. The court ob-
served that it intends to
protect the petitioner
from the day and permit
him to move anticipa-
tory bail application be-
fore the trial court or the
High Court.
of a just concluded scientific
study conducted by the Science
and Technology Directorate of
the US Department of Homeland
Security, announced during a
White House news conference on
coronavirus, could be good news
for India in its fight against
COVID-19. "Coronavirus dies at
a much more rapid pace when ex-
posed to sunlight and humidity.
The virus dies the quickest in di-
rect sunlight. Isopropyl alcohol
will kill the virus in 30 seconds,"
Bill Bryan, the Under Secretary
of Homeland Security for Science
and Technology told White
curb virus
House reporters in the presence
of President Donald Trump.
"Our most striking observation
to date is the powerful a�ect that
midity or both is generally less
favourable to the virus,' Bryan
said.
The deadly coronavirus which
has so far killed more than
188,000 people globally and in-
fected 2.6 million, "is dying at a
much more rapid pace just from
exposure to higher temperatures
and just from exposure to humid-
ity,' he said referring to the study.
"We know that summer-like
conditions are going to create an
environment where the trans-
mission can be decreased. And
that's an opportunity for us to get
ahead," Bryan said.

Woman cop puts duty above one-and- half-year old son

New Delhi (IANS): The
COVID-19 crisis has brought
out the best in many persons,
who have shown extraordinary
zeal and courage despite sev-
eral odds. Among them is
Mausam Yadav, a 26-year-old
Delhi Police constable, who
leaves her one-and-a-half-
year-old toddler at home to
perform her duty at a tra�c in-
tersection in south Delhi's
Mehrauli.
Yadav, who got married
three years ago, joined the
Delhi Police in 2014. In the be-
ginning of her married life, she
faced opposition to the police
job from her neighbours and
distant relatives.
However, the nationwide
lockdown announced by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on
March 23 to combat the spread
of COVID-19 has changed the
minds of the people around
her including her family.
Speaking to IANS, Deputy
Commissioner of Police
(South) Atul Thakur said, "Af-
ter marriage she faced stigma
from some quarters about her
Police job. She also faced
taunts that she should leave
the job."
The DCP said that when
COVID-19 hit India, her neigh-
bours suggested that she
should take leave and sit at
home but she resisted.
"She told her detractors, I
have worn khaki to serve the
people and if I don't perform
my duties now, then when will
I do it," the DCP said.
Thakur added that after the
lockdown her husband, who is
in the private sector is working
from home. He is supporting
her by taking care of the child.
"He is actively helping her
taking care of the child while
his wife is doing daily picket
duty at one of the busiest pick-
ets, Ahimsa Sthal in the after-
noon," he said.
The o�cer pointed out that
Yadav takes all the precautions
while performing her duty and
"masks and gloves have be-
come part of her uniform now."
"Seeing her persistence and
commitment now her family
and friends are proud of her.
They say that we are proud
that our daughter-in-law is in
police and serving the people,"
the DCP said.
Thakur said that being a
frontline warrior, this change
of attitude has also helped Ya-
dav perform her duties in a
better manner.
The role of Delhi Police dur-
ing the nationwide lockdown
has been appreciated by the
citizens, as it has been provid-
ing medicines, rations, cooked
meals and other help to people
in distress and need.
 COVID-19

8 TESTING TIME
NYC death toll reaches 16,388
New York (IANS): As deaths in
New York City from COVID-19
has reached 16,388, a study has
shown that at least one in five
persons or 1.9 million there may
have had the disease.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said
on Thursday that based on sam-
ple anti-body tests the study con-
cluded that 22.1 per cent of the
city's 8.6 million residents had
had COVID-19.
That would work out to 1.9
million, although o�cially only
263,460 confirmed cases have
been reported.
The discrepancy points to
about 1.5 million having had a
milder attack or not having any
symptoms or not sought treat-
ment or testing.
A significant outcome of the
study is that the death rate from
the disease is much lower than
the 6 per cent with the lower
number of o�cially reported
cases coming down to about 0.5
per cent using the higher number
of cases from the study.
At the same time, the study
points to higher risks from the
large number of silent carriers of
the disease unknowingly spread-
ing it. Unlike the test used to di-
agnose if a person has COVID-
19, the anti-body test of the blood
shows if a person has had had the
disease by looking for anti-bod-
ies produced by the body to fight
it. While in the case of many dis-
Study reveals 1.9mn infected
eases having had it gives immu-
nity, scientists say it may also
happen with COVID-19 but it has
not yet been definitively proven
scientifically.
The study was based on 3,000
samples collected from 40 loca-
tions like shops around the state
over two days starting on Mon-
day While sharing the results
during his briefing, Cuomo said
the findings were preliminary
and put some caveats. The peo-
ple tested were outside their
homes and were not those iso-
lated at home the results could
vary between the two groups. "So
we have to analyse that, what
does that do to the numbers," he
said. O�cially, the first COVID-
19 case in New York City was
confirmed on March 1 when a
healthcare worker who had trav-
elled to Iran tested positive.
However, the wide prevalence
of COVID-19 in the city's popu-
lation may indicate that the dis-
ease was circulating in the city
much earlier.
Although the total number of
cases and deaths continue to
climb, the pandemic appears to
be ebbing as the number of new
cases reported is coming down,
despite a small spike on Wednes-
day. On April 18, Cuomo an-
Cases in China’s
Hubei drops below
50 for 1st time
Wuhan (IANS): The number of con-
firmed COVID-19 cases in Hubei
province dropped to below 50 for
the first time since the pandemic
originated in its capital Wuhan last
December, a health official said on
Friday. As of Thursday, no new
confirmed or suspected cases had
been reported in the province for
the 20th consecutive day, said Mi
Feng, spokesperson for the Na-
tional Health Commission, at a
press conference in Beijing. Ac-
cording to the commission's daily
report, Hubei had 47 confirmed
cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. Mi
also said all the COVID-19 patients
in serious condition in Wuhan have
been cured.
The last patient in serious condi-
tion in Wuhan was cured on Friday,
reducing the number of such pa-
tients in the city to zero, the
spokesperson added. As of Friday,
China reported 83,884 coronavirus
cases with 4,636 deaths, much less
that other countries, including the
US which now accounts for the
highest number of infections and
fatalities in the world.
nounced that the state had gone
beyond the plateau and COVID-
19 was declining.
Indian school in Dubai gives free
access to CBSE textbooks
Dubai (IANS): An Indian High School in Dubai has given its students
free access to Central Board of Secondary Educa�on (CBSE) textbooks
and learning resources online for the en�re dura�on of this term
amid the coronavirus pandemic, it was reported. The school has of-
fered to provide 100 per cent free access to CBSE textbooks and
learning resources in digital form at no addi�onal cost to all our stu-
dents for the en�re dura�on of this term, the Khaleej Times quoted
the Indian High School group of schools' CEO, Punit MK Vasu as say-
ing on Thursday. The term for Indian curriculum schools begins from
end of March to June. In a le�er to parents, Vasu said: "This will pro-
vide significant financial relief as no costs will need to be incurred on
the physical purchase of any CBSE textbooks for this en�re term." The
school will take a decision on the physical purchase of text books and
the con�nua�on of digital text books in September, depending on the
prevailing health situa�on, explained Vasu.
NASA engineers build low-cost ventilator
Washington (IANS): NASA engineers
have designed a new low-cost high-
pressure ven�lator tailored specifi-
cally to treat COVID-19 pa�ents. The
device, called VITAL (Ven�lator Inter-
ven�on Technology Accessible Lo-
cally), passed a cri�cal test on April
21 at the Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai in New York -- an epicentre of COVID-19 in the United

US FDA approves plasma therapy

States, NASA said on Thursday. The device now is under review for an
emergency use authoriza�on by the US Food and Drug Administra-
Covid-19 not manipulated or constructed: WHO �on (FDA), the US space agency said. VITAL is designed to treat pa-
�ents with milder symptoms, thereby keeping the na�on's limited

trial, Amazon grants $2.5 million

Geneva (IANS): All available evidence to date suggests that the novel coronavirus has a
natural animal origin and was not a manipulated or constructed virus, the World Health
Organisation (WHO) said. "Many researchers have been able to look at the genomic
features of SARS-CoV-2 and have found that evidence does not support that SARS-CoV-2
is a laboratory construct," said the global health watchdog, stressing that if it were a New York (IANS): The US
constructed virus, its genomic sequence would show a mix of known elements, but "this health regulator Food and
is not the case", reports Xinhua news agency. The novel coronavirus was identified in Drug Administration (FDA)
early January and its genetic sequence shared publicly on January 11-12, the WHO has granted approval to the
noted. Columbia University to
According to the world health body, the full genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus launch clinical trials to de-
from the early human cases and the sequences of many other viruses isolated from hu- termine whether blood
man cases from China and all over the world showed that the novel coronavirus has an plasma from COVID-19 sur-
ecological origin in bat populations. Although the intermediate animal host has not vivors can be used to prevent
been identified, the WHO said, all available evidence indicated the novel coronavirus infections in high-risk indi-
has a zoonotic source. To better understand the source of the outbreak in China, a num- viduals.
ber of investigations are currently underway or planned. Dr W Ian Lipkin, director
As of Friday morning, the global number of coronavirus cases stood at 2,708,470, with of Columbia's Center for In-
190,788 deaths. fection and Immunity, is
leading the study in collabo-
ration with colleagues.
"We appreciate the FDA's
approval of this trial, which
has the potential to help us
protect courageous frontline
healthcare workers and first
responders during this cri-
sis," Lipkin said in a state-
ment.
Amazon has made a $2.5
million grant to fund re-
search at Columbia Univer-
sity Mailman School of Pub-
lic Health.
"The study is a critical first
step in understanding if
plasma donated from
COVID-19 survivors can pro-
vide e�ective preventative
care for frontline healthcare
workers and those at high-
risk of poor outcomes from
the disease," Amazon said in
a statement.
According to the FDA,
plasma with antibodies from
individuals who recovered
from viral infections has
been used to treat influenza,
measles, MERS, Ebola, and
SARS. Small scale studies in
China have suggested that
convalescent plasma may be
e�ective in preventing and
treating COVID-19.
In recent years, the Centre
for Infection and Immunity
(CII) team at the University
has helped to reduce the im-
pact of numerous pathogens,
including viruses that cause
respiratory diseases, hemor-
rhagic fever, or neurodevel-
opmental damage in hu-
mans, such as SARS, MERS,
Lujo, Ebola, and Zika.
In CII's Biosafety Level 3
(BSL-3) lab, researchers will
test plasma for its capacity to
neutralise SARS-CoV-2 and
will measure its impact on
virus replication and shed-
ding, using molecular tests.
The studies will be ran-
domised to ensure that re-
sults provide an accurate as-
sessment of the potential
value or risk of plasma ther-
apy in preventing or treating
COVID-19.
A total of 450 individuals
will receive either convales-
cent or normal plasma: 150
health care workers at Co-
lumbia University Medical
Centre (CUIMC), 200 close
contacts of COVID-19 pa-
tients at CUIMC, and 100
COVID-19 patients in the
ICU at CUIMC.
supply of tradi�onal ven�lators available for pa�ents with more se-
vere COVID-19 symptoms. The device can be built faster and main-
tained more easily than a tradi�onal ven�lator, and comprises far
fewer parts, making it more economical to produce, NASA said. De-
veloped by engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in
Southern California, the device was designed to use parts currently
available to poten�al manufacturers but not compete with the exist-
ing supply chain of currently made ven�lators.
79% cases in Pak caused
by local transmission
Islamabad (IANS): As the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan
has increased to 11,155 with 237 deaths, the Na�onal Command and
Opera�on Centre (NCOC) has revealed that 79 per cent of these in-
fec�ons were caused by local transmission. As the nature of the in-
fec�on has undergone this change, the government has decided to
introduce track and trace system under which random tes�ng of peo-
ple will start in a few days, reports Dawn news. At least 253 health-
care providers and medical workers have been infected with coron-
avirus in Pakistan so far, according to data issued by the Na�onal
Emergency Opera�on Centre. Based on the report which has data up
un�l Wednesday, 124 doctors, 39 nurses and and 90 health workers
have been infected by the virus in the country, Dawn news reported
on Friday. Ninety-two of these healthcare providers are in isola�on,
125 are admi�ed in hospitals while 33 have recovered and have been
discharged. As of Friday, Pakistan recorded 11,429 cases, with 237
deaths. Meanwhile, Pakistan has launched a $595 million funding ap-
peal, in collabora�on with the UN and its partner organisa�ons, for
mee�ng the country’s urgent needs in the fight against the COVID-19
pandemic and tackling its socio-economic impact.

NYC to provide 5,00,000 free halal meals during Ramzan

New York (IANS): New York City
will provide 500,000 free halal
meals for Ramzan, according to
Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Announcing the programme, de
Blasio said on Thursday: "One of
Ramzan's most noble calling is to
feed the hungry, it is a crucial part
of how the holiday is celebrated,
to remember to be there for those
in need."
Since mosques that provide
meals for the poor to break their
Ramzan fast are not able to func-
tion because of the COVID-19 re-
strictions, the city will ensure they
will get halal meals, he said.
The halal meals will be a part of
a wider free meals programme run
by the city to help all those impov-
erished by the massive loss of jobs
due to the COVID-19 crisis.
De Blasio said that although the
halal meals will be available
through the 435 distribution sites,
32 of them in areas with large
Muslim communities will be the
focus of the programme.
He said that 4,00,000 halal
meals will be distributed directly
by the city at its distribution cen-
tres known as "grab-and-go" sites
because the people receiving the
meal packages have to leave im-
mediately and cannot eat there.
Another 1,00,000 meals will be
distributed through community
organisations, he said.
Those who cannot leave their
homes can request home delivery.
The city has already been dis-
tributing kosher meals that con-
form to Jewish dietary regula-
tions.
De Blasio said that he estimates
that about 2 million people in the
city's population of 8.6 million are
"food insecure" and could go hun-
gry.
"That's a horrifying number,"
he said.
The city expects to distribute 10
million free meals in April and 15
million in May, the Mayor said.
Besides running the "grab-and-
go" centres, the city is also deliv-
ering meals to the homebound by
employing thousands of taxi and
online hail service drivers who
have become unemployed be-
cause of the coronavirus shut-
down.
The federal government is giv-
ing $1,200 to all adults and $500
to children, but illegal immi-
grants, who are a sizable number
in the city, are not eligible for
them.
Many of them work in the un-
organised sector and do not qual-
ify for unemployment insurance,
either.
The poorer citizens and legal
immigrants who do not have to
pay income taxes will have their
payments delayed because they
have to go through a process to
apply for them.
Many New Yorkers will find it
di�cult to make ends meet even
with federal aid and unemploy-
ment insurance because of the
city's high cost of living.
The state has banned evictions
of tenants for 90 days to ensure
that those unable to pay rent will
not be out a home.
De Blasio estimated that
5,00,000 New Yorkers have lost
their jobs.
"Think about folks who just
weeks ago couldn't have imagined
not having enough food to eat and
now they're struggling to find it,"
he said.
US censuses are prohibited
from asking questions about reli-
gion, but an organisation, Mus-
lims for American Progress, esti-
mated that there were 768,767
Muslims in the city making up
nearly 9 per cent of the city's pop-
ulation of 8.6 million.
 COVID-19

TESTING TIME 9
Tamil Nadu journalist arrested
Chennai: A journalist based in Tamil Nadu
has been arrested for filing news reports, 2 wave of virus outbreak
nd

in monsoon, warn scientists

which showed doctors comba�ng COVID-
19 were not provided with food and per-
sonal protec�ve equipment (PPE) kit by
the government hospital in
Coimbatore.The Coimbatore police arrested Andrew Sam Raja Pan-
dian, founder of a portal called SimpliCity, based on a complaint by
an official of the Coimbatore Corpora�on. The portal had detailed
how doctors working in the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital
New Delhi: The trajectory of
COVID -19 cases could have FIR against IAS
had to go without food for long hours and were not given PPE that
is needed for trea�ng COVID-19 pa�ents.
plateaued and might even fall
for some weeks after the lock-
officer Kannan for
down is lifted but India is likely
to see a second wave in late July
not joining duty
Goa CM returns to doctor’s role or August with a surge in the
number of cases during the
Mumbai: A police case has been
registered against Kannan
Panaji (IANS): Goa Chief Minster Pramod Sawant, who turned 47 monsoon, say scientists. Gopinathan, who resigned from
on Friday, spent a few hours volunteering with a team of doctors at The timing of the peak will the Indian Administrative Service
the North Goa district hospital in the Ma- depend on how India is able to (IAS) last August, for not joining
pusa town, a government health facility control physical distancing and duty as directed by the govern-
where he prac�ced 12 years ago. Sawant, on the level of infection spreads ment amid the coronavirus pan-
who is a Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine after restrictions are relaxed, demic.A first information report
and Surgery from the Ganga Educa�on So- they said. under the Epidemic Diseases Act
ciety's Ayurvedic Medical College in Kolha- “It looks apparent that the Locals commute in a crowded boat across and Disaster Management Act was
pur, Maharashtra, said, that he volunteered to assist the govern- trajectory of daily new cases Mahananda River during the na�onwide registered against him on April 21
ment hospital's out pa�ent department, to show support to the has reached a plateau and even- lockdown imposed to curb the spread of at Moti Daman police station in the
medical team figh�ng from the frontlines in the ba�le against tually it will take a downward coronavirus, in Ka�har on Friday Union territories of Daman and Diu
COVID-19."Serving the people has always been my passion and fall, maybe for some weeks or and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, police
source of immense sa�sfac�on. On my birthday today, I volun- even months,” Samit Bhat- tute of Science (IISc), agreed. lockdown is going to be a diffi- person is more than one. said.
teered to join the team of doctors at OPD of the District hospital tacharya, associate professor at "Looking at the new cases in cult decision to make,” said Once enough people are im- He is also facing a charge under
Mapusa," Sawant said in a social media post. the Department of Mathemat- the past few days, it seems the Sundaresan. mune there will be fewer peo- section 188 of the Indian Penal
ics, Shiv Nadar University, told growth of new daily infection is “It's clear that it's going to be ple susceptible to the infection Code for refusing to obey a gov-
PTI. “Still, we may get a surge much slower than earlier. This phased. What our team is fo- and the outbreak will die. ernment order, said police inspec-
Man beaten on suspicion, dies of new cases of the same coro-
navirus and this will be consid-
apparently indicates that we
might have reached at the
cusing on is to come up with
tools to help the decision mak-
However, when an outbreak
is brought under control by so-
tor Liladhar Makwana.
Gopinathan, who hails from
Thane: A 34-year-old man was allegedly a�acked on suspicion of ered a second wave,” Bhat- plateau of the growth curve,” ers assess the public health im- cial distancing and other inter- Kerala, had quit the service over
being a COVID-19 pa�ent and died a�er falling into a gu�er during tacharya explained. Bhattacharya said. pact of various choices,” he ventions, it is possible only a 'denial of freedom to the people
the assault in Kalyan town of Maharashtra's The second epidemic may “The lockdown is currently said. According to the experts, small proportion of the popu- of Jammu and Kashmir'.
Thane district, police said on Friday. The in- come back in late July or Au- upon us. It has given us valu- infectious diseases spread via lation will have been infected 'Based on a complaint by Su-
cident took place when Ganesh Gupta had gust in the monsoon, although able time. Let us test, trace, contact between infectious and and gained immunity, they said. perintendent of Personnel H K
stepped out of his home to purchase some the peak timing will depend on quarantine, isolate, practice susceptible people. In the ab- This means enough suscepti- Kamble, an FIR has been regis-
essen�als amid the COVID-19 lockdown, an how we control social distanc- better hygiene, search for a vac- sence of any control measures, ble people may remain to fuel tered against Gopinathan for not
official said. On no�cing some policemen manning the street, the ing during that time, he said. cine, etc. We should do these an outbreak will grow as long a second wave if controls are resuming his duty in the wake of
vic�m took an alternate route, where a few passersby assaulted Rajesh Sundaresan, profes- anyway, and these are being as the average number of peo- relaxed and infection is rein- coronavirus pandemic,' the police
him a�er he coughed while walking, he said. The men suspected sor at Bengaluru’s Indian Insti- done. When and how to lift the ple infected by each infectious troduced. officer said.
him of being a COVID-19 pa�ent and a�acked him, causing him to

Mamata govt fudges death toll

fall into a gu�er and die, the official said.
9 Delhi returnee RPF personnel +ve
Kolkata (IANS): Nine Railway Protec�on
Force personnel, who had gone to Delhi
before the March 22 janata curfew, have
tested posi�ve for coronavirus infec�on,
a South Eastern Railway spokesman said
on Friday. Those who tested posi�ve
were admi�ed to a hospital by the West
Bengal government. The other members of the con�ngent are in
home quaran�ne, the spokesman told IANS. They were part of the
28-member team from the SER Kharagpur division sent to bring
some security equipment from Delhi.
1st test to cost `2,500 in UP pvt labs
Lucknow (IANS): The first test for coron-
avirus detec�on in any U�ar Pradesh pri-
vate lab will come for a maximum of Rs
2,500, the Yogi Adityanath government has
given its approval. earlier the labs were
charging over Rs 4,000. Principal Secretary
Health Amit Mohan Prasad, in an order, said: "The infec�on can be
Case against 2 toddlers
for violating lockdown
Kolkata: For the first time, Bengal has o�cially linked 57 Uttarkashi: The Revenue Police
deaths to coronavirus. The state government revealed that A physically in Uttarkashi district of Uttarak-
according to its death audit committee, 57 COVID-19 pa- challenged person hand has registered a case against
tients had died, but asserted that 39 of these were due to walks along a 51 people, including a 6-month-
co-morbidities. Only 18 of the deaths were because of deserted road old and a 2-year-old, for violation
COVID-19, Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha told the towards a ra�on shop, of home quarantine rules during
media. "Balance 39 deaths were due to comorbidities and during the na�onwide the lockdown.
COVID-19 was incidental," Sinha said. The revelation lockdown to curb the "FIR under Juveline Justice
comes on a day the central inter-ministerial team asked spread of coronavirus, Act cannot be registered against those under 8 years of
for details on the death audit committee and raised ques- at San�pur in Nadia age. A probe will be conducted in the case," informed Dis-
tions over Bengal's coronavirus figures. district, West Bengal trict Magistrate of Uttarkashi. The DM also said that dis-
The central team wanted to know if the committee, set on Wednesday ciplinary and suspension action will be taken against
up to certify deaths due to COVID-19, was recommended COVID-19 magistrate of the district for registration of a
by the central government's Indian Council of Medical
Research. In a letter to the Chief Secretary earlier today,
ease" in Bengal. He also referred to the Bengal Principal
Secretary, Health, in his presentation yesterday, saying "if
case against the kids under Juveline Justice Act. He also
has sought a report in the case.
the central team's head Apurva Chandra asked for records a COVID patient dies in a road accident, he cannot be said The country is under lockdown imposed to check the
of all COVID-19 cases in which the death was attributed to have died of COVID". spread of coronavirus. The sectors providing essentials
to some other cause by the committee. "The IMCT did not find the reasoning convincing as services have only been allowed to operate during the pe-
Chandra had also questioned the time taken by the com- there is no comparison between a road death and a death riod.And people can venture out of their houses only
mittee to take such decisions and "whether such a com- in a hospital due to a disease," Mr Chandra wrote to the when it is extremely necessary and to buy essentials.
mittee to ascertain cause of death exists for any other dis- Chief Secretary.

Body lies unattended for 20 hrs

confirmed in a single step test. In such a situa�on, those who are
not coronavirus posi�ve will have to give only Rs 2,500." He said
that the ICMR did not set the fee for the single step test from the
kit, so all the private labs were charging Rs 4,500.

Mumbai: The bodies of two sus-
10K private buses not willing to ply pected COVID-19 patients were
left unattended for several hours,
Thiruvananthapuram (IANS): As and when one of them for nearly 20 hours,
the present lockdown norms are li�ed, over in the isolation ward of a civic-
10,000 private bus owners have decided to in- run hospital in Andheri, where
form the Kerala government, that they will not other patients were present,
be opera�ng their buses, as strict social dis- sources said on Friday. According
tancing norms will leave them reeling in losses. The bus owners to the sources, the hospital sta�
points out that even without any such norms, they are incurring was not ready to wrap the bodies
heavy losses and with this new scenario, they will be unable to op- due to the fear of getting infected.
erate. Hence they will request the Transport Department to keep The hospital administration fi-
the buses in the garage and under the G Form applica�on, they will nally handed over the bodies to
not have to pay the road taxes also, as the buses will not be operat- their relatives on Thursday
ing. State Transport Minister A.K.Saseendran said that their con- around 4 pm, they said. The in-
cerns are genuine under the new circumstances. cident took place at the Dr R N
Cooper Municipal General Hos-
pital. "The hospital sta� was not
4-month-old positive baby dies in Kerala ready to wrap the bodies. One of
the bodies kept lying unattended
Kozhikode (IANS): A four- in the isolation ward for nearly
month-old coronavirus posi�ve
20 hours, while the other one for
about 10 hours. Several other pa-
tients were present in the ward,"
the sources said.
Talking to PTI, the hospital ad-
ministration claimed that the de-
lay was mainly because the other
sta�ers were not ready to help
the attendant in wrapping the
bodies as they were suspected
COVID-19 patients.
"The bodies of COVID-19 pa-
tients need to be wrapped prop-
erly, which a single person can-
not do without the help of others.
But the other sta�ers were not
ready to help the attendant fear-
ing that they might also contract
the infection," Dr Pinakin Gujjar,
dean of the hospital, said. He
clarified that there was no short-
age of safety gear or material for
wrapping the bodies. The city has
so far recorded 4,232 coron-
avirus positive cases. Till now,
168 patients have died due to the
infection in the city.

Intense lockdown in Chennai

baby girl passed away at the
state-run Medical College hos-
pital here on account of heart Gambhir performs last Maha Minister
failure. This is a�er a six-month
old died in Chandigarh a day rites of domestic help Awhad tests -ve
ago. The baby was under treat-
ment at a private hospital from
April 17 to 21, at Manjeri in Malappuram district. Later she devel-
I ndia's World Cup-winning former opener
Gautam Gambhir performed the last rites of
his deceased domestic help after her mortal
Chennai/ New Delhi: Tamil Nadu has de-
clared an intense lockdown in five cities
from Sunday to break the chain of transmis-
not allowed to open during this period of in-
tense shutdown. Community kitchens, non-
profits, caregivers for elderly and di�er-
Mumbai (IANS): In a shocking de-
velopment, Maharashtra Housing
Minister Jitendra Awhad has
oped breathing problems and other issues when she was moved to remains could not be sent to her home in sion of the highly contagious novel coron- ently-abled are also allowed to function. tested COVID-19 positive, official
the state-run hospital here early on Tuesday. It was on Wednesday Odisha due to the coronavirus-forced national avirus, which has infected more than 1,600 Strict security measures will be in place, sources said here early on Friday.
that the baby tested posi�ve for Covid-19. It is not yet clear how lockdown. Gambhir, also a Lok Sabha MP from people in the state so far and killed at least strong measures will be taken to disinfect Awhad, along with a dozen of
she contracted the disease. The test results of her parents are ex- the BJP, posted a tribute on his Twitter page 20, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami the containment zones. A case will be filed his family members had been in
pected later in the day. A very distant rela�ve of the baby was posi- for his employee Saraswati Patra, who was said this afternoon. A four-day intense shut- against those violating the shutdown and home quarantine since past 10
�ve, but there has been no reports of any contacts with the family working at his residence for the past six years. down has been declared in Chennai, Madu- their vehicles would be impounded, the days.
of the baby. "Taking care of my little one can never be do- rai and Coimbatore from Sunday 6 am, Chief Minister said today. Grocery shops The decision was taken as a pre-
mestic help. She was family. Performing her which will continue till 9 pm on Wednesday. which are usually permitted to remain open caution after one of his security
last rites was my duty," he tweeted. "Always In Tirupur and Salem, restrictions will be till noon, takeaways from restaurants would personnel had tested positive. The
40 AIIMS healthcare staff in quarantine believed in dignity irrespective of caste, creed,
religion or social status. Only way to create a
intensified for three days, starting 6 am on
Sunday till 9 pm on Tuesday, Palaniswami
not be allowed to restrict movement of peo-
ple and ensure social distancing. Earlier this
matter was first highlighted by
IANS on April 13.
New Delhi: At least 40 healthcare better society. That's my idea of India! Om said.Most COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu - week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke Earlier, the minister had tested
staff including doctors, nurses and Shanti," said the 38-year-old Gambhir, who one of the states worst hit by the coron- to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami negative, but a subsequent report
paramedics posted at gastroenterol- played 58 Tests for India between 2004 and avirus outbreak in the country - have been on the COVID-19 situation in the state as Mr on Thursday had come positive,
ogy department of AIIMS are under 2016. reported from these five cities. While Chen- Palaniswami sought more testing kits for alarming the state health author-
self-quaran�ne a�er a 35-year-old Media reports in Odisha said the 49-year-old nai alone has 400 cases, Coimbatore has 134 Tamil Nadu.India is under a lockdown since ities. The senior Nationalist Con-
male nurse detected posi�ve for Patra hailed from a village in Jajpur district. and Tirupur has 110. March 25 to tackle the spread of coronavirus gress Party was admitted to a hos-
COVID19. AIIMS authori�es said it She was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital a Only hospitals, pharmacies, state-run pandemic, which has killed over 700 people pital on Wednesday for further
was done as a precau�onary measure and a�er five days all 40 few days ago and was battling diabetes and shops providing essential services, govern- in India, infected more than 23,000. The tests. It's suspected that the Min-
healthcare staff will be tested for the virus. Contact tracing is also high blood pressure for a long period. She ment-run Amma canteens that provide food government on Monday eased restrictions ister may have unknowingly
being done. There have been 50 deaths in the na�onal capital, as breathed her last while undergoing treatment at subsidised rates, ATMs, restaurants o�er- in non-containment zones to give a boost to passed on the infection to several
per the Union Health Ministry. on April 21. ing home delivery, mobile vegetable and economic activity in line with PM Modi's persons who are now under treat-
fruit shops will be allowed. Other shops are call last week. ment.
 HYDERABAD SATURDAY 25 APRIL 2020

TWEET PATROL
SONAM K AHUJA
@SONAMAKAPOOR

Ramadan Kareem my
brothers and sisters.
Ramzan Mubarak

EXPLORING FASHION WITH ‘HOPE’ Lara Dutta: Was nervous

to ride a bike in a sari
A
Fashion designer Sunaina Khera, who launched her collection in Hyderabad recently, ctress Lara Dutta says she
was nervous to ride a bike
talks about her new collection ‘Hope’, how the idea came to her mind at the time of in a sari for a sequence for
her debut digital show.
Coronavirus and how she wrote a few keywords that brought her peace Lara led an all-women bike rally
in a traditional nauvari sari in the
particular sequence of the series,
ASKARI JAFFER urally to me. Someone very impor- Indian girl who has modern influ- "Hundred".

D
elhi-based fashion designer
Sunaina Khera already
carved a niche for herself
in the Indian fashion scene after
her debut at the GenNext show of
Lakmé Fashion Week last year. She
launched her ‘A Long Way Home’
and ‘Dear Mom’ collections in Hy-
derabad recently. She says, "There
was never a moment in my entire
life when I didn’t want to pursue
fashion as my career. Sure, when I
was young, I was so taken up by
the glamour of it all. But as I grew
and enrolled in NIFT, I became
aware of the amount of courage
and hard work it really entails, but
that did not change my thoughts
about what my future in fashion
would look like. Lately, I have seen
and treasured my label as a com-
panion. I want to see it grow and
have a firsthand experience of the
impact it creates."
On her debut last year, she says,
"My experience at GenNext proved
to be turning point in my career.
It’s a great platform to reach a wider
audience. My mentor Sabina
Chopra taught me things that oth-
erwise would have taken me much
longer to learn. And for that, I’m
eternally grateful."
On her recently launched col-
lection 'Dear Mom', she says, "Dear
Mom was a tribute to my mother.
I wanted to show her how special
she is so every piece from the col-
lection had her essence."
Sunaina’s trademark designs are
based on traditional Indian wear
tant once told me, there shouldn’t
be a formula in design. And so, I
stopped doing that."
"Instead, I maintain a design
journal, where I pen down
my thoughts. I could tell
you how I was feeling
when I made a collection
or what was going on in
my life during one of my
previous collections.
That comes very organ-
ically to me. Of course, all
the collections are deeply
Sunaina Khera ingrained with my sensibil-
ities and aesthetics. I design
from experiences that somehow
translate into clothes. That is my
process. My collections are my sto-
ries and parts of it will only ever be
known to me," adds Sunaina.
On contributing to the fashion
industry, she says, "As I try and ex-
plore traditional Indian silhouettes
and western occasion wear. Her of lehengas or other wedding outfits,
design process has never been up- I realise that there is a huge gap
front or direct. Sunaina says, "I between these two types of attires.
have always been inspired by what That is where I belong. I am neither
I feel inside, rather than what vi- traditional, nor modern, or a bit of
sualize outside. For a very long time both depending on how you care
I tried to get inspired by things like to see. What does that make me? I
nature, culture, etc, but over time am not asking to fit in a category
I realised that it doesn’t come nat- or be defined by a term. I am a free
ences. I want to stick to tradition
but I also want to break free from
it at the same time."
With Coronavirus taking the
world by a storm, she says, "My
company like others had to be shut
down production. It was a hard call
but a necessary one. It is heart-
breaking to be away from what I
love doing most, but it was for the
greater good of the community and
the world. At home, I have been
trying to take it one day at a time.
These aren’t my most productive
days and that’s okay. I think we are
all beginning to realise that this
isn’t a productivity contest. It is
okay to take it easy, to sit back and
reflect."
"I began working on my new col-
lection ‘Hope’. The idea came about
as I was writing down a few key-
words that brought me peace. As I
posted it on Instagram I thought
of including our followers as well,
to make it an interactive process.
Soon, a lot of people began sending
in their words and we all collectively
created a mood board for the new
collection. It consisted of some
meaningful words for all. From tur-
moil, rises creativity," shares
Sunaina.
"One of the best experiences
for me as Soumya Sharma in ‘Hun-
dred' was riding a Royal Enfield
motorcycle in a nauvari sari! It's
definitely something I've never
done before! I used to ride bikes
when I was a teenager but not
since I moved to Mumbai," Lara
said. "It's been 20 years since I
got onto a bike; so I was definitely
nervous to get on the roads and
ride a bike in a sari. I had an op-
portunity to ride with these
women who were part of a proper
rider's group. They've ridden for entertainer, the show also stars
a lot of di�erent causes and it was Rinku Rajguru.
fantastic. So, all of us were dressed It is co-directed by Ruchi
in a nauvari saris and as part of Narain, Ashutosh Shah and Taher
the show, we were celebrating Shabbir. The cast includes names
gudi padwa at the police division like Karan Wahi, Sudhanshu
that my character Soumya was Pandey, Parmeet Sethi, Rohini
part of. It was so much fun! We Hattangidi, Arun Nalawde and
literally stopped tra�c. It is cer- Makarand Deshpande. The eight-
tainly one the coolest thing I've episode series will launch on April
done on screen in my life," she 25 on Disney+ Hotstar VIP.
added. The show is about a terminally
In the series, Lara will be seen ill girl looking for thrills, who is
as ACP Saumya Shukla. The Hot- hired to be an undercover agent
star Specials show chronicles the by an ambitious female cop looking
misadventures of two contrasting for a promotion. It will tell their
women, set in the backdrop of story as they get together to ac-
Mumbai, its chawls and crime complish their own goal in 100
gangs. Being described as a masala days.

TODAY
WORLD MALARIA DAY ‘Masks to be part of therapeutic QUICK TIP
PANTSUITS,
O n World Malaria Day 2020, WHO
joins the RBM Partnership to End
Malaria in promoting “Zero malaria clothing line, fashion accessory’ JUMPSUITS, AND
TRACKSUITS ARE

starts with me”, a grassroots campaign
that aims to keep malaria high on the
political agenda, mobilize additional re-
sources, and empower communities to
take ownership of malaria prevention
and care. We know that through country
leadership and collective action, we can
radically reduce su�ering and death
from malaria. Between 2000 and 2014,
the number of malaria-related deaths
fell by 40% worldwide, from an esti-
mated 743 000 to 446 000.
But in recent years, progress has
ground to a standstill. According to
WHO's World malaria report 2019, there
were no global gains in reducing new
infections over the period 2014 to 2018.
And nearly as many people died from
malaria in 2018 as the year before.
W
ith the coronavirus set to be around for some
more time, masks could become part of the
wellness range of products, as well as a fashion
accessory, said entrepreneurs and a brand consultant.
In the hosiery town of Tiruppur several textile units
have started making masks to cater to the increasing
current demand as well as looking at the future export
potential for global brands.
"I see it become a part of lifestyle," Uma Prajapati,
50, an entrepreneur-cum-social activist, who built gar-
ment company Upasana Design Studio in Auroville in
Tamil Nadu told. Upasana has launched reusable healing
masks made of organic cotton fabric as a part of its
Therapeutic Clothing line. Prajapati said Upasana has
launched neem infused masks and silver grid masks.
"Neem is well known for its detoxifying, anti-allergenic
and calming properties. While neem's natural dye gives
the mask's organic hand-woven cotton its characteristic
yellow colour, it also carries this amazing plant's
ayurvedic properties right into the mask's fabric," Pra-
japati said.
She said since ancient times, silver has been used as
an anti-pathogenic, cleansing and energising agent.
According to her, the mask made with a special
textile woven with a grid of silver thread creates an en-
ergetic protection field around the wearer's head.
Through its air-ionizing action, the grid also reinforces
the immune system by eliminating the positive charge
of harmful free radicals in the air we breathe. On the
other hand Ami Sata, Founder, Amouve Bedding Private
Ltd, looks at the masks made of organic cotton fabric
becoming a fashion accessory.
Amouve Bedding is into organic bath towels and
bedding products (pillow covers, bed sheets and others)
and has donated through city based Agni Foundation
3,000 three layered face masks made of organic cotton.
"We have the fabric and there was demand for masks
and we made the masks. The good thing about these
masks is that unlike any non-woven or poly ones, EVERGREEN
they're free of any toxins and safe to breathe in. They
are reusable," Sata said.
The company has also provided care packages to
I t might seem like they are
taking a break, but they will
always find their way back
several daily wage workers who are struggling during into the clothing line. But, if
the lockdown period. they do take a break, it’s never
Sata said the demand for masks will be there even considered dated to wear
after the lockdown is lifted and when people start going these.
to o�ce and other places, masks can be a fashion ac-
cessory.
Sata said in the coming days malls may not attract
footfalls as before and online sales will increase.
According to her, the company will soon launch
lower priced products under a sub-brand - Fu Casa-
and also get into baby bedding products.
Concurring with the view that masks would become
a fashion accessory brand expert Harish Bijoor told
"In the beginning the demand for masks will be by
force/compulsion. Going forward while the focus on
protection will continue to be there, masks will turn
fashionable."
He said it will be the trend globally. "Many textile
units in Tiruppur have started making masks tar-
geting different segments in the domestic market.
They are also looking at export markets," Bijoor
said. Tiruppur is a major export hub for hosiery
products.

NEWS ROUNDUP
� CROSSWORD � SUDOKU
Across Down Manushi Chhillar: Supply free
4
7
Tempt astray (6)
Frenzied (8)
1
2
Tender, bid (5)
The messiah (5)
sanitary pads with ration to poor
8 Greatly surprises
someone ? (6)
3
4
'Father' in French (4)
Frighten (5)
F ormer Miss World Mansuhi Chhillar has urged Mumbai
governments to distribute sanitary pads along with daily
ration to the underpriv-
10 Musical study piece (5) 5 Pair (4) ileged.
Manushi lauds the
13 Stepped (4) 6 Fruit (6) government's decision
14 Stratagem (4) 9 Large tropical butterfly (6) to include sanitary pads
11 Old measure of liquid (3)
as essential commodi-
15 Large water jug (4) ties amid the COVID-
12 Defer or postpone (5) 19 crisis. However, she
16 Lopsided (3)
13 Tornado (7) explains that underpriv-
17 The name of a jewish family ileged women have be-
15 Little __ from Uncle Tom's
(4) come prone to severe
Cabin (3) risks due to shortage of
19 Quarry (4) 16 Benign tumour of the skin funds in the hands of
21 Princely state of India (9) (3) daily wage earners be-
cause of SARS-CoV-2 -
23 Pay as you earn in short (4) 18 Ousts or expels (6)
- the terminology now
20 Breathing sounds (5) being used by the med-
SOLUTION TO APRIL 24

24 Cat's-paw (4)
SOLUTION TO APRIL 24

21 British rule in India (3) ical fraternity to de-

26 Pilgrimage to Mecca (3)
27 Masticate (4)
29 Revise (4)
32 Film actor (4)
33 Custom or practice (5)
34 Home of St Francis (6)
35 He's on the run (8)
36 A seaport in S Ukraine, on
the Black Sea (6)
scribe the novel coronavirus globally.
22 Pull (3)
"I'm hugely thankful that sanitary pads have been listed as
23 Stopped temporarily or hes- an essential commodity by the government of India during
itated (6) the SARS-CoV-2 crisis. However, we need to focus on how
25 Delve (3) women, especially from the economically handicapped strata,
can get pads free of cost. I also urge the governments of various
28 Seaport in NW Israel (5) states to kindly look into distributing sanitary pads along with
30 He slew Goliath (5) daily rations to the underprivileged," she said.
31 Belief (5) Manushi backs Project Shakti, a non-profit programme,
that has joined hands with local women across India and has
32 Titles for aristocratic empowered them to make a living by educating them to make
males (4) biodegradable sanitary pads. The initiative works towards
raising the awareness on menstrual hygiene among women in
33 Part of B.T.U. (4)
the local communities of these women.

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and published from Hyderabad Media House Ltd, Plot No.1042, Road No. 52, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad-500033, TELANGANA. Editor: V Ramu Sarma. RNI No: TELENG/2011/38858