BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD.
| ESTABLISHED 1838 | NEW DELHI | MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020
UK had prepared a contingency plan for
Boris Johnson’s death when the PM
Rain & squall in
city; cloudy sky
C
likely today
loudy skies, light rains
and thunderstorm bro-
ught the mercury down in
the capital on Sunday, the
IMD said, even as some
parts reported squall. The
city recorded a maximum of
34 degrees C. The change in
the temperature is due to an
active western disturbance
that is expected to bring ra-
ins over the north Indian
plains. Its effect is likely to
last until May 6-7. The skies
will continue to remain clo-
udy, with spells of rain ex-
pected on Monday. P 3
LOCKDOWN 40
DAY
20 central teams
in most hit dists
to assist states
T he Centre has decided to
deploy 20 central health
teams in as many affected
districts with maximum
number of Covid-19 positive
cases to assist states in imp-
lementation of contain-
ment strategy to check the
disease. These teams, which
consist of experts from Na-
tional Centre for Disease
Control, AIIMS, JIPMER
and All India Institute of
Hygiene and Public Health,
will submit their reports to
chief secretaries. P 9
VACCINE HUNT
A vaccine
looks like
humanity’s
best bet against
coronavirus. Unprecedented
efforts are being made
with researchers and
organisations across
the world pursuing both
traditional and novel
methods to create one
as soon as possible.
TOI takes a look P9
54% face loss in
income: Survey
A survey on Indian consu-
mer sentiments conduc-
ted amid the lockdown by
management consulting fi-
rm McKinsey showed 54%
people have seen a loss in in-
come and 67% have cut back
on their spending. The con-
sumers said they wanted to
continue spending on groce-
ry, household supplies and
at-home entertainment. P 11
US bill for green
cards for docs
A group of senators have
announced that they will
introduce a bipartisan legis-
lation, ‘The Healthcare
Workforce Resilience Act’.
The bill proposes to recaptu-
re unused immigrant visas
(green cards); 25,000 are pro-
posed to be allocated to im-
migrant nurses and 15,000 to
immigrant doctors. P 12
CRPF cop tests
+ve, HQ closed
A CRPF head-constable at-
tached to a special DG-le-
vel officer tested positive on
Sunday and joined 135 infec-
ted men at a quarantine cent-
re. At least 31BSF men deploy-
ed in Jama Masjid have also
been found positive even as an
ITBP man died of Covid. The
CRPF HQ has been shut. P 7
Doorstep booze
likely in C’garh
L iquor shops will open in
Chhattisgarh from Mon-
day. Home delivery of liquor
may be done to prevent crow-
ding. Retail sale limit has be-
en raised from two bottles of
liquor and four quarts of be-
er to 5 litres per person. In
Delhi, such shops will be
open from 9 am to 6.30pm.
Maha’s U-turn
on shop opening
A day after holding firm on
its stand not to relax rest-
rictions in Mumbai and Pu-
ne, the Maharashtra govern-
ment allowed standalone and
neighbourhood shops for
non-essential items, inclu-
ding liquor, to reopen across
the state. The concession app-
lies even in red zone areas.
battled Covid last month. “They had a
strategy to deal with a ‘death of Stalin’-
type scenario. It was tough,” he said
Col, Major among 5 martyred Time to reopen city, have to
while rescuing hostages in J&K live with corona: Kejriwal
Top Lashkar Man
From Pak 1 Of 2
Terrorists Killed
Saleem Pandit & Rajat Pandit
Srinagar/New Delhi: Lea-
ding from the front in the Ar-
my’s best traditions, Colonel
Ashutosh Sharma, a deco-
rated commanding officer of
a Rashtriya Rifles battalion,
along with a company com-
mander, two other soldiers
and a policeman laid down
their lives in a fierce encoun-
ter with terrorists at Chanji-
mulla area of Handwara in
north Kashmir’s Kupwara
district on Saturday evening.
The two terrorists killed
in the encounter, one of
whom identified by J&K poli-
ce as top Lashkar-e-Taiba
FULL COVERAGE: P 8
21 RR loses its CO for the
second time in 20 yrs, P 8
(LeT) commander Haidar,
were part of a large group of
Pakistani infiltrators who
had sneaked into Kashmir
through the Wadarbala-Raj-
wara forests in Kupwara last
month, according to sources.
Colonel Sharma and his
team reached the site after re-
ceiving reports that civilians
were being held hostage in a
house by the terrorists. In the
ensuing encounter, some ci-
vilians managed to get out
while some were extricated
by the Army.
Colonel Sharma, the CO of
21 Rashtriya Rifles, with his
company commander Major
Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh
Kumar, Lance Naik Dinesh
Singh and J&K police sub-
inspector Sageer Ahmad
Pathan Qazi, were retur-
ning from a massive combing
operation underway in the
Wadarbala-Rajwara forests
when they were informed
that two to four terrorists had
Cash flows for AIR SALUTE TO COVID FIGHTERS 1L tests a day
Sunil Kataria
cos dry up due
to lockdown
T he extended lockdown
has left companies, espe-
cially MSMEs, staring at a
bleak future. Some compa-
nies are struggling to pay sa-
laries to employees, while
some are looking at winding
up operations, report Nam-
rata Singh & Reeba Zacha-
riah. While fixed expenses
— such as salaries to emplo-
yees — have remained cons-
tant even during the lock-
down, there’s been no inco-
me or cash that has come for
a non-essential manufactu-
rer or service provider.
DPK Engineers CMD S
Sampathraman said, “Cash
flow is to a business what
blood is to the human body...
My cash flows will run dry in
a week.” Several MSMEs are
also facing a tough time dra-
wing working capital from
banks. Solkar Solar Indust-
ry CMD K E Raghunathan is
considering shutting opera-
tions altogether. “We do not
have any cash. Period.” P 11
Man who gave dignity to dead loses
life after 5 hospitals turn him away
Sumitra.DebRoy
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Breathless with de-
pleting oxygen levels, a 52-ye-
ar-old Dongri man died after
allegedly being tossed aro-
und from one south Mumbai
hospital to another. Calls to
1916, the BMC helpline, yiel-
ded no concrete response.
Khalid Ali Shaikh passed
away early on Saturday, mere-
ly four hours after he mana-
ged to find a bed at the state-
run St George Hospital.
Shaikh had dedicated the
last five years of his life to gi-
ving a dignified burial to the
many who died in the city but
whose mortal remains could
not be taken to their home in
Kerala. He headed a commit-
tee formed for the purpose.
“It is unfortunate that my
father couldn’t get a chance to
PAGES 14 | CAPITAL | INVITATION PRICE ` 4.50; ` 7.00 WITH ET OR `8.50 (``7.00 IN FARIDABAD & GREATER DELHI EDITION) WITH NBT
Thousands defy a beach
closure in California to protest
against the governor’s order.
US Air Force & Navy jets stage a
flypast to salute frontline staff
TWO-DAY ENCOUNTER
Army and J&K Police personnel pay tributes to the five slain
bravehearts in Handwara on Sunday
Intel says 2-4 terrorists in
Wadarbala-Rajwara forests,
Kupwara. Army begins combing
op on May 1 morning
May 2, 1.30pm | Army, CRPF,
J&K Police start cordon & search
op at Chanjimulla on info that
terrorists have taken hostages
➤ Gunfight begins around
3.45pm with terrorists holed up in
adjacent houses. 1 terrorist killed
A twice-decorated daredevil who
doted on daughter, led from the front
C
olonel Ashutosh Sharma (45), com-
manding officer of 21 Rashtriya Ri-
fles, was awarded the Sena Medal for gal-
lantry twice. “He was a daredevil, who al-
ways led from the front,” a senior Army
officer said. Sharma had “scalped”, as so-
Col Sharma with
me soldiers would say, 30 enemies at last
count. Back in the barracks, though, all
he could talk about with fellow soldiers,
whose welfare was his top priority, was his
daughter Tamanna
seven-year-old daughter Tamanna. His
wife, Pallavi Sharma, said, “It is not that one can serve the co-
untry only by joining the Army. One should be a good human
and responsible citizen. Everyone must do their work with re-
sponsibility in whichever field they go.” P 8
taken refuge in the nearby
Chanjimulla hamlet on Sa-
turday afternoon.
“Colonel Sharma and his
small party were ahead of the
security forces still deployed
in the forests when they got
intelligence inputs that the
by May-end
planned: Govt
An IAF chopper showers petals over AIIMS, New Delhi, in an aerial salute to
‘corona warriors’, healthcare workers and police personnel at the forefront
of the Covid-19 battle. IAF, Navy and Coast Guard helicopters took to the
skies across major Indian cities as a thanksgiving gesture. P 2
It is really
unfortunate
that my father
couldn’t get a chance
to fight for his life
— Khalid Ali Shaikh’s son
fight for his life,” said his son,
Shahbaz, adding that they
spent two-and-half hours go-
ing from hospital to hospital in
ataxi on Friday. They went to fi-
ve hospitals, of which two tes-
ted his father’s oxygen levels.
No one was willing to admit
him despite his depleting oxy-
gen levels. The deceased was a
diabetic and was suffering
from fever and weakness for
the past four days, which wor-
sened around 8 pm on Friday.
Shahbaz said they hailed a
taxi and headed to Prince Aly
Global cases cross 3.4m,
toll surges to 244,000.
US suffered record 2,909
deaths on Thursday, says
WHO data released Sunday
India Border
in mortar blast. 4 Army personnel
and 1 cop enter a house to
evacuate civilians (as per Army
& police). But locals say 2nd
terrorist was hiding in cowshed
➤ Terrorist opens fire, lobs
grenades. Team loses contact
with colleagues
6pm | Attempts at contact fail, as LeT commander Haidar
reinforcements arrive. Op halted alias Iqbal, a PoK-resident,
due to darkness, bad weather
terrorists, clad in combat fati-
gues, had taken civilians hos-
tage in one of the houses,” a
senior officer said.
A firefight erupted aro-
und 3.45pm with the two ter-
rorists, who were apparently
hiding in separate but adja-
Khan Hospital in Mazgaon,
where his father’s pulse and
oxygen saturation levels we-
re checked. “They said his
symptoms looked like that of
Covid-19 and referred us to
HN Reliance Hospital. They
even told us his oxygen satu-
ration levels were low,” he sa-
id. They then headed to HN
Reliance Hospital in Charni
Road, where once again his
oxygen levels and pulse rate
was measured.
Since the hospital is not a
dedicated Covid-19 hospital, it
offered to arrange for an ambu-
lance and send Shaikh to Se-
venHills in Marol, which is a
dedicated Covid hospital.
However, the hospital said
his son was unwilling to take
his father all the way to Seven-
Hills in Marol.
Spoke to doc on phone, P 9
Researchers in Texas A&M University
are asking hundreds of frontline
workers to participate in a phase-4
clinical trial of a TB vaccine that
could help boost immune system
tro
l
25km
C on
e of
Lin
Kupwara
Handwara Chanjimulla
Baramula
Srinagar
Kupwara
N
Sunday
Op resumed at first
light. 2nd terrorist killed
around 9.30am
Bodies of 5 security
personnel, 2 terrorists
found. Terrorists identified
and local Asif Reshi
Terrorists had been
active in Handwara
forest for 2 weeks
T he two terrorists — Hai-
der from PoK, a top LeT,
and Asif Reshi from Handwa-
ra — were part of a seven-
member group, five of whom
were killed in Kupwara dis-
trict on April 5 when they tri-
ed to infiltrate across the LoC.
These two returned to PoK,
intelligence sources said, and
managed to infiltrate a few
days later. Locals had spotted
them in the forested area for
the last two weeks. P 8
cent houses. In the ensuing
gun-battle, some civilians
fled the houses, while the Ar-
my said a few others were “ex-
tricated successfully” by the
security forces.
Loss of contact, P 8
Sushmi.Dey @timesgroup.com
New Delhi: As the third pha-
se of the national lockdown
begins on Monday with re-
laxations, the government
plans to step up its Covid-19
testing capacity to conduct
one lakh tests per day each
for rapid antibody (blood-ba-
sed tests) and the more defi-
nitive RT-PCR by May-end.
The supply of new rapid
test kits would mean the go-
vernment’s plan to use
them, particularly in red zo-
nes as well as in low preva-
lence areas to keep a tab on
trends, will be back on track
after an initial lot of Chine-
se kits failed to function
properly. The kits have been
embroiled in controversy
with Indian Council of Me-
dical Research (ICMR) fin-
ding them to be unreliable,
as they gave a wide varia-
tion in results.
Covid cases may rise, P 9
Man loses dad,
ends up with
`16L bill at hosp
Clara Lewis & Malathy Iyer
Mumbai: Not only did a city
resident lose his 74-year-old
father to Covid-19-related
complications, but he was al-
so left with a bill of Rs 16 lakh
for his father’s 15-day ICU
stay in a hospital. “I don’t
think any middle-class per-
son can afford treatment
worth Rs 1 lakh per day. The
bill has come as a huge shock
for us,” said his son.
Manpreet Sohal, the di-
rector of Nanavati Hospital,
Juhu, where the patient died
on April 15, denied allega-
tions of overcharging. “The
patient was brought in a cri-
tical condition with co-mor-
bidities and multi-organ fai-
lure. Despite our best clinical
measures, he passed away.”
2.8L Covid charges, P 9
INDIA’S LARGEST ENGLISH NEWSPAPER
Warren Buffett’s company
Berkshire Hathaway reports a net
loss of $50 billion in the first
quarter amid the pandemic, says
it has sold off all its airline stocks
Asks Centre To
Let Mkts Run On
Odd-Even Basis
Atul.Mathur @timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Ruing that Del-
hi’s economy was in dold-
rums, revenue collection at
rock bottom and there was al-
most no money to pay salaries
to government staffers, CM
Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday
said it was time to relax lock-
down in the city. He appealed
to the Centre to let the conta-
inment zones remain sealed
and make the rest of the city
FULL COVERAGE: P 2-12
— now fully a ‘red zone’ — a
‘green zone’ and allow mar-
kets to reopen from Monday.
“When all economic acti-
vities are shut and revenue
generation has stopped, how
do we give salaries? How do
we run the government?”
Kejriwal said at a digital
press conference.
Reasoning that the coro-
navirus was here to stay, he
said, “We will have to adapt
and prepare to live with coro-
na. And Delhi is ready for it.”
13 urban sprawls account for
2/3rd of India’s cases, deaths
Atul.Thakur@timesgroup.com
N
early three-fourths of
all Covid-19 cases and
deaths reported in In-
dia have been in the count-
ry’s 35 largest urban agglo-
merations (UA), with two-
thirds of cases and deaths be-
ing in just 13 of them, a TOI
analysis of the data shows.
As of Sunday morning,
the number of cases repor-
ted from these 35 largest ur-
ban centres added up to
28,761, which was 72% of the
39,980 cases reported in the
country. Similarly, 981 of the
1,301 deaths, or about 75%,
were in these urban sprawls.
These UAs are spread across
16 states and the national ca-
pital territory of Delhi.
The 13 UAs with the lar-
gest number of cases, each
with over 500, between them
accounted for 26,483 cases, or
about 66% of the national to-
tal. In the deaths, despite the
fact that the data for Kolkata
was not available, they acco-
unted for 915, or 70% of the
country’s total. An urban
agglomeration is defined as
a continuous urban habita-
tion that surrounds a city or
the continuous geographi-
cal stretch of two or more
contiguous cities. Greater
Mumbai or Delhi with its sa-
tellite towns are examples.
Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmed-
abad are the country’s worst-
hit urban agglomerations.
0 case in Jamshedpur, P 9
Migrants can finally go
home, but many can’t
pay for train or bus
SL Shanth Kumar
Priyanka Kakodkar, Ahmed Ali &
Prashant Jha TNN
M
igrant worker Ajay
Tiwari was down to
his last Rs 2,000 when
the lockdown began 40 days
ago. After being forced to
shell out Rs 350 for a medical
certificate — a mandatory
requirement for anyone re-
gistering for permission to
leave Maharashtra — the 32-
year-old from MP’s Rewa dis-
trict is worried he will neit-
her be able to subsist on the
Rs 150 he has left nor pay for
his trip back home.
“Private doctors are
charging Rs 400-500 for a me-
dical certificate stating that
someone doesn’t have flu
symptoms. We went in a gro-
up, so the cost came to Rs
350,” said Tiwari, who
wasn’t paid his wages for
March by his employer at Sa-
ki Naka in Andheri East.
While Ajay is desperate
to get back to his village, the
reality of life without a live-
lihood has hit home for elec-
We will not be
able to continue
this (lockdown) for long
because of no revenue
generation ( 300cr last
month compared with
3,500cr in April 2019)
It (relaxing lockdown) may
cause a rise in the number
of cases, but we are ready
to deal with the situation...
We will have
to be ready
to live with
coronavirus
—Arvind Kejriwal
He suggested that the
Centre could let shops func-
tion on an odd-even basis. “We
hope if Delhi markets reopen,
the economy will also open.
Some cases of coronavirus
will increase, but we are pre-
pared to tackle them,” the CM
said, adding Delhi had eno-
ugh PPE kits and proper ar-
rangements at hospitals if
there was a spike in the num-
ber of positive cases.
Can take out your car, P 2
CORONA COUNT CROSSES 40K
Rise In Cases
1-10K
10K-20K
20K-30K
30K-40K
* Infection growth rate on the day milestone was crossed,
as a rolling average of daily cases in past week
NEW CASES
SET RECORDS
April 30
IN LAST 3 DAYS 1,832
25% of all active cases
detected in past 3 days
I ndia’s Covid-19 count top-
ped 40,000 as fresh cases to-
uched another new high on
Sunday, the third in as ma-
ny days. Even though Maha-
rashtra reported a drop in
numbers, Delhi (427 new in-
fections), Gujarat (374), Pun-
jab (330), Tamil Nadu (266),
Haryana (66) and J&K (35) re-
ported their highest jump in
cases in a single day, reports
Durgesh Nandan Jha.
With this, India has seen
7,564 fresh cases in the past
three days alone, accounting
for more than a quarter of all
active cases in the country
(29,624). This surge in the last
A family sits on the outskirts of
Mumbai. With no money, they
plan to walk 600km to Nanded
Migrants attack cops in
MP red zone, injure 5, P 8
Fare burden on states,
oppn slams Centre, P 8
MHA: Aid movement of
‘distressed’ migrants, P 8
Train of emotions rolls
into UP from Maha, P 8
trician Sundar Singh, who
had managed to return to his
native Almora district in Ut-
tarakhand from Gurgaon
three days before the lock-
down started.
Paid `4k each for ride, P 9
States staring at
revenue shortfall
T he UP government has
spent over Rs 12,000 crore
in paying salaries and pen-
sion for April when its reve-
nues were Rs 2,284 crore. In
Punjab, wage and pension bill
added up to Rs 3,000 crore in
April and there was an equal
amount spent on debt servi-
cing, while total earnings we-
re Rs 200-250 crore. While sta-
tes have been demanding the-
ir borrowing limit be raised,
they are awaiting clarity from
the Centre to amend laws. P 11
Ggn to ease more
curbs than Noida
G urgaon begins Lockdown
3.0 on Monday with a
slew of relaxations: offices
can open, cabs can ply and ho-
use staff can come to work. In
Noida, which is a red zone, sh-
ops outside containment zo-
nes will be allowed to open, of-
fices can resume work and pe-
ople can move in their vehi-
cles. However public tran-
sport, cab services and barber
shops remain closed. P 7
No. Of Days Growth Total Cases
It Took Rate* Till Date
42,456
74 11.9
Recovered
8 8.4
11,442
7 6.4
Deaths
5 6.2
1,390
May 1 May 2 May 3
2,333 2,564 2,667
Source: Data from state govts
few days of lockdown’s se-
cond phase, just before rest-
rictions in many parts are set
to be eased, will come as a wor-
ry for the government.
Fresh cases on Sunday
spiked to 2,667, breaking Sa-
turday’s record of 2,564, even
as Maharashtra recorded 678
new cases, down from 790 on
the previous day, and signifi-
cantly less than the peak of
1,008 on Friday.
While numbers continued
to rise in Delhi, the surge was
the most dramatic in Punjab,
where as many as 324 pil-
grims who returned from
Nanded tested positive. P 9
Zone no bar:
Couple tie knot
at UP border
Harveer Dabas TNN
Bijnor: Arvind Kumar, 28,
wanted to marry Chhaya Ra-
ni, 25. But
there was
a pro-
blem. He
lived in a
red zone
in UP whi-
le his bri-
de to-be
was a resident of a green zo-
ne, in Uttarakhand. The new
Covid-19 regime has marked
fresh borders in parallel to
state borders. People of a red
zone can’t enter a green zone.
The families came out
with a solution — solemnise
the wedding at the border.
And on Saturday evening,
Arvind took Chhaya home in
his car. However, it didn’t
start so well. On Saturday
morning, Arvind, a resident
of Bijnor’s Rehar area, got a
pass to travel from the dis-
trict administration, and
happily dived into the back-
seat of a flower-decked car.
Bar on entry, P 9
2 TIMES CITY | LOCKDOWN-DAY 40 THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020

Photos: Anindya Chattopadhyay, Sanjay Sekhri

ARMED FORCES
SALUTE CORONA A fleet of military jets carried
out a spectacular fly-past

WARRIORS
over the capital as part of a
nationwide exercise to express
The military jets,
gratitude to lakhs of doctors,
including Sukhoi-30MKI,
H ealthcare workers on
Sunday had an “inspiring”
start to the day as helicopters
paramedics, sanitation staff
and other frontline workers
engaged in fighting the
MiG-29 and Jaguar, flew
over Rajpath and then
hovered over hospitals in the orbited over the city
coronavirus pandemic
city and showered flower petals for around 30 minutes
to thank the “corona warriors”. from 11 am
While the workers were
“elated” and “overwhelmed”
by the gesture, they also said
it will send out a message to
those who have stigmatised
and humiliated them

Delhi govt to prepare database No public transport, but

you can take out your car
of migrants wanting to go back  Continued from P1
WHAT ALL YOU CAN DO FROM TODAY,
AND WHAT YOU CAN’T...
F
rom Monday, Delhi gov-

Issues Guidelines For Inward And Outward Movement Of Stranded Passengers
Atul.Mathur@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Delhi govern-
ment on Sunday tasked addi-
tional district magistrates to
compile a database of mig-
rants and other people desi-
rous of going back to their na-
tive places over the next few
days with the help of additio-
nal commissioners of police.
Guidelines were also issu-
ed for the nodal officers who
would be coordinating with
the resident commissioners
and officials of other states for
both inward and outward mo-
vement of stranded people.
Last week, the Centre had
allowed the movement of
migrant workers, students,
tourists and pilgrims to back
to their hometowns. It had as-
ked the states to prepare gui-
delines and appoint nodal of-
ficers to oversee the entire ex-
ercise. With a large number
of migrant workers stuck in
various states, it would be
one of the biggest planned in-
terstate movement of people.
The AAP government on
Friday had appointed princi-
pal secretary (social welfare)
PK Gupta as the nodal officer
for the entire exercise. Delhi
Police special commissioner
Muktesh Chander was tasked
to provide logistical and secu-
rity support. The government
ernment has allowed
movement of people for all
non-essential works between
➤ All govt offices that deal
with essential services with
offices related to IT services,
call centres, data centres,
tion and Delhi Tourism and 7am and 7pm, besides opening 100% staff strength warehouses, cold storage,
For outward movement For inward movement Transportation Development of all private offices with 33% ➤ Departments that don’t deal private security and
➤ DM to supervise preparation of ➤ State nodal officer to assess Corporation would provide staff and let self-employed peo- with essential services to have facilitation services
comprehensive database of migrant the number of Delhi residents buses up to interstate bus ter- ple such as domestic helps, san- all officers of deputy secretary ➤ Industrial estates
workers, pilgrims, tourists, students stranded in other states minals or predecided points itation workers, technicians, and above level and 33% of ➤ Factories for IT hardware
and others who want to go back to ➤ Transport department, DTC and near borders from where the mechanics, plumbers and elec- lower ranks and packaging material
respective states DTTDC to send buses to different respective states would take tricians to operate.
them in their own vehicles. Though the guidelines is- ➤ All private offices with ➤ Must e-commerce
➤ Additional DM and additional locations in other states 33% strength
deputy commissioners to register such The buses would have to be sued by the Centre says the services
➤ Only those found
stranded persons asymptomatic to be allowed properly sanitised and social RWAs will decide if the maids ➤ Technicians, plumbers, Yes ➤ Driver with two
➤ Health department to screen to board the buses distancing would have to be are allowed in a residential mechanics, electricians, passengers in a car,
them and allow only the ones who are maintained between passeng- colony, there was no such re- safai karamcharis, maids, 2-wheeler without pillion
➤ Health department to
ers. “Transit passes will be is- striction imposed by Delhi helps, laundry, press wallahs
asymptomatic to proceed screen each passenger at ➤ Construction where
sued to those having their own government, an official ➤ Essential services, stationery
➤ Buses that will be used to transport them disembarkment point workers staying at same place
vehicles by the respective dis- said. “If there are instances shops in market complexes and
to be sanitised, social distancing norms to be ➤ DMs to ensure ➤ Marriage ceremonies up to
followed in seating arrangement
trict officials,” said an official. that the RWAs are not allowing big market areas
passengers are home 50 people maintaining social
The movement of stran- despite residents wanting the
➤ DTC and DTTDC to coordinate with quarantined ➤ All essential and non- distancing
ded people would also be allo- maids to work, the government
state nodal officers to provide requisite essential standalone shops,
General guidelines wed by trains, for which rail- may intervene,” another gov- ➤ Funeral up to 20 people
number of buses from their respective neighourhood colony shops
➤ Delhi Police to provide ways ministry would separa- ernment official said. ➤ Sowing, harvesting,
locations to ISBT or specified locations at and those in residential
security arrangements at tely issue detailed guidelines, While public transport, in- agricultural supply chain
interstate borders complexes, including liquor
points of boarding of buses, including how and where to cluding Metro and buses, taxis,
➤ Respective states to arrange buses get the tickets and rules to be auto-rickshaws and cycle-rick- and pan/cigarette shops ➤ All financial institutions
to pick stranded people from interstate disembarkment and screening
of passengers followed at the railway sta- shaws won’t ply, people can ➤ Print and electronic media, ➤ Goods carriers
borders or ISBT
tions and inside the coach. move around alone on two-
➤ Ministry of railways to issue separate ➤ No unlawful assembly or
To pick Delhiites stuck in wheelers and with two passen-
guidelines for sale of tickets and disorderly movement allowed
other states, buses would be gers in a car. All standalone ➤ Air, rail, metro, interstate ➤ Rickshaws, autos, taxis
other norms ➤ Strict vigil in areas and intrastate bus travel ➤ Barber shops, salons
sent by the transport depart- shops and those located in the
➤ Stranded persons to be encouraged where migrant ➤ Schools, colleges,
ment, DTC and DTTDC. At neighbourhood and residential ➤ No movement of
to use Aarogya Setu app population lives
the disembarkment points in complexes dealing in essential education institutions NO people between 7pm
Delhi, screening of passeng- or non-essential commodities, ➤ Hospitality services and 7am, unless for
had also named 10 senior IAS district magistrates had alre- people would be allowed to go ers would be carried out by including liquor, pan, gutkha ➤ Cinema halls, gyms, malls, emergency work
officers for coordinating with ady started collecting infor- back to their native places af- the health department before and cigarettes, would also be al- sports complexes
different states for the move- mation of close of 16,000 peo- ter being “encouraged” to sending them into quaranti- lowed to function, the CM said. ➤ Movement of people aged
➤ Social, political, cultural above 65 or those with co-
ment of stranded people. ple living in about 500-odd download the Aarogya Setu ne. “Police will make securi- About 150 government-run li-
gatherings morbidities, pregnant women
While compiling of the night shelters and schools in mobile app. Those coming to ty arrangements at boarding quor shops can remain open be-
database of migrants in the the last week of March. Delhi would be asked to go into and disembarkment points tween 9am and 6.30pm. ➤ Religious institutions and children below 10 years
city is likely to begin in a cou- According to the standard home quarantine and under- and keep a strict vigil in areas All factories in industrial ar-
ple of days, Delhi Urban Shel- operating procedure issued on go periodic health check-up. where the migrant popula- eas with access control have also which was just 10% of Rs 3,500
ter Improvement Board and Sunday, only asymptomatic Delhi Transport Corpora- tion lives,” said an official. been permitted along with most 17 new cases from crore collected in the first
commercial and private estab- Kapashera village month of last fiscal. Reading

Some students say 480 return from Kota, relief

lishments, including IT and IT- out the list of relaxations the
enabled services, data and call
centres, warehouses, cold stor-
age, private security and facility
A day after 41Covid-positive
cases emerged from a single
building in South West district’s
Centre has permitted in red
zones, the CM accepted that
there would be some increase

they prefer to stay writ large on their faces management services. Industri-
al units manufacturing IT hard-
ware, packaging material apart
from essential commodities will
Kapashera village, 17 more
tested positive from the same
premises on Sunday. As many as
58 people of 95 who were tested
in the number of Covid-posi-
tive cases and Delhi was pre-
pared to deal with them.
Kejriwal said the govern-

than going home Sidhartha.Roy@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: “Words can’t

Anindya Chattopadhyay continue to function.
The government has also al-
lowed sub-registrar offices to
function where people can go
in the past few days have tested
positive for Covid-19. An official
said samples of 100 more people
residing in the building were
ment had used the one-and-a-
half month of lockdown period
to strengthen its capacity to
deal with the corona cases and
Mohammad.Ibrar and apartments, we will see describe the relief I felt on see- with prior appointments, apart collected on Sunday.. The the city was now prepared if the
@timesgroup.com what can be done.” ing my father and brothers wa- from all government offices en- district officials said 175 samples lockdown was opened.He add-
The Jamia Millia Islamia iting for me near our house gaged in essential services with were collected from the building ed that it was important to im-
New Delhi: Ayushi Aishwa- administration had recently where I was dropped in the 100% staff and others with limit- on April 20 and 21. The district plement a complete lock-
rya of Delhi University’s asked its students staying in morning,” said Juhi Verma, a ed number of junior cadre offi- officials had sealed the building down in March to prevent the
Ramjas College is one of the the hostels to vacate the pre- 19-year-old Badarpur resident. cials and personnel. State offi- on April 19 after a resident had coronavirus from spreading.
many students who is happy mises because the university She is one of the 480 students cials said these relaxations were tested positive. TNN A sources said about 150
that she will be travelling back was in proximity to major con- from Delhi who were prepa- in accordance to the national shops run by four different gov-
home. The final year student tainment zones. However, ma- ring for NEET in Rajasthan’s guidelines issued by the Union revenue generation, Delhi gov- ernment corporations in differ-
of history who lives on her ny students have said they will Kota and got stranded there af- home ministry on Friday. ernment barely managed to col- ent parts of the city might also
own in an apartment near prefer staying in the hostels ter the Covid-19 lockdown was With virtually no source of lect about Rs 350crore in April, open from Monday.
North Campus says that than going back home. announced in March end. On

her studies have been hit
due to the lockdown.
A native of Patna in 1 1
Bihar, she is elated with
the Ministry of Home HOSTELS IN
Affairs (MHA)’s order JAMIA TO
All India Students
Association on Sun-
day claimed that the
"forcible eviction wo-
uld put lives of hund-
Red zones
RWAs hesitant
Sunday morning, all of them
finally reached home.
Following an announce-
ment by chief minister Ar-
vind Kejriwal on Thursday,
HOME, FINALLY: The students were screened at 11 district counters
made at Kashmere Gate ISBT and sent home in DTC buses down to 94

migrant workers, stu-

dents, tourists and pil-
BE VACATED
reds of students under
which allows stranded COMPLETELY risk." Azeem Ahmed,
the university’s media
co-ordinator, however,
Delhi government sent 40 pri-
vate buses to Kota on Friday
night, and after health scree-
ning by accompanying per-
bags were sanitised and they
were given kits with masks, sa-
nitisers etc,” her father, Ash-
While arrangements we-
re made for 813 students, only
480 students were brought
New Delhi: The number of
containment zones in Delhi re-
ached 94 with the de-sealing of
Bengali Market and a part of
to take call on
grims to go back home. said, “The university has
“I have been stuck in my been taking care of the stu-
apartment for several days now. dents who are residing in hos-
I feel that I would be more com- tel since the lockdown started.
sonnel, the students left for
the capital on Saturday eve-
ning. After the buses reached
Kashmere Gate Interstate
wani Kumar, said. “We were
told she would be dropped near
home and we were waiting.
She was handed over to us and I
back as the rest weren’t from
Delhi, the government said.
At the ISBT, 11district coun-
ters were made, where every st-
Kailash Hills on Sunday. Despi-
te 400 new Covid-positive cases,
no new containment zone was
added in the capital. While
domestic helps
fortable at home,” Aishwarya Now also, the university offici- Bus Terminus, the students had to write on a form that she udent was screened for Cov- Bengali Market falls in New Vibha.Sharma@timesgroup.com Kakkar, RWA president, said,
told TOI. She, however, added als will ensure that the stu- were sent home in Delhi has reached safely,” he said. id-19. Each of them was visibly Delhi district, house number “We are making arrangements
that DU was yet to reach out to dents reach home safe.” Transport Corporation buses. The past six weeks have be- relieved when they finally got a 97-107 and 120-127 in Kailash New Delhi: A day after the for checking flu and respiratory
her or any other student with At JNU, the administra- “As students from many en tough for the Verma family, coupon indicating the DTC bus Hills of East of Kailash falls in Centre left it to residents’ welfa- symptoms of maids. There we-
any help in this regard. tion on Sunday announced states were being taken back, though they spoke to Juhi at le- number for their route. South East district. A govern- re associations to decide on allo- re plans of conducting basic
On the condition of anony- that the varsity would rema- the rest of us started panick- ast thrice a day. “The families “I am delighted that we ment official said so far seven wing domestic helps in their co- tests, but that didn’t materialise.
mity, a senior DU official said: in closed till May 17. “Stu- ing. So we, the students from kept requesting Delhi govern- brought back all our students containment zones have been lonies, some initiatives have be- We want to ensure that those vi-
“We are yet to decide on this. dents are required to stay Delhi, were relieved when we ment through social media from Kota safely. I request all de-sealed, most of which are in en started by them after consul- siting multiple places don’t be-
We have only a few students in back where they are and got to know about the govern- and also contacted the coa- students to stay in home isola- East district. According to the ting each other. This includes come carriers of infection. The
our hostels who have been pro- should not return to the ment’s decision,” Verma said. ching institutes in Kota for the tion for 14 days for the safety of scaling down criteria, no new basic health check-up for maids local police should help imple-
vided with all the facilities. campus until further or- “The students were scree- exact number of students their families,” transport mi- case has emerged in both the and drivers, thermal scanners ment these directions.”
For the students stuck in PGs ders,” the circular read. ned at the meeting point, their stranded there,” Kumar said. nister Kailash Gahlot said. areas in the past 28 days. TNN to test their temperature and The president of GK S-Block
providing them masks. RWA, MK Gupta, said, “There

Summer of discontent: Traders in AC biz cool heels

However, RWAs in Greater are around 400 maids who come
Kailash I and II accused to the area daily. Most
the government of pas- of them visit multiple

Paras.Singh
@timesgroup.com
Yogesh Kumar

New Delhi: Summer’s here
and the mercury is nudging
40 degrees Celsius, but Indi-
a’s biggest airconditioning
and refrigeration hub at Da-
ryaganj is still lying shut.
Traders said 60% of their
annual business occurs du-
ring this season through
which they cater to not only
domestic consumers, but cold
storage units for safe procure-
ment of agricultural produce,
patient care centres and deep
freezing requirements of me-
dical establishments.
Ashok Sahdev, who heads
Delhi Refrigeration Aircon-
ditioning Traders’ Associa-
tion (RATA), narrated how a
Noida hospital was in need of
R404 refrigerant gas for their
equipment, but they couldn’t
across the city, 250 traders are
concentrated in Daryaganj.
The peak trading season is
from March to May.
“All the retail outlets are
closed for a month. The gas,
compressors and compo-
nents that are supplied by us
are critical requirements for
labs and hospitals too. Some
drugs and samples are stored
at -20 degrees Celsius. There
is no backup right now,” Sah-
dev said, adding that spare
parts are not available online.
Freon gas is critical for air-
BUSINESS TAKES A BEATING: There are 600 refrigeration shops conditioning and used in the
across the city, of which 250 traders are concentrated in Daryaganj compressors of cars, refrige-
rators, cooling units, deep fre-
help. “I told them to look for it Freon gas and compo- ezers, cold storage and tempe-
in Noida, but they couldn’t nents used in refrigeration rature control units. While
find a solution there. Their are mostly brought from Gu- smaller dealers supply around
critical machine got ruined. jarat, Rajasthan and Mane- 15-20 tonnes of this gas, the lar-
Refrigeration is not only abo- sar. While there are around ger units use 200-300 tonnes.
ut comfort,” he added. 600 refrigeration shops Tejpal Singh, another tra-
der from Daryaganj, said that
transportation of gas has hal-
ted and shops are not being al-
lowed to operate.
The association said they
are not being allowed to cater
to emergency calls even tho-
A TRADER SAYS
This is the time when
most of the repairing
and refilling occurs.
Our industry has been
hit really hard
ugh there is no shortage of
gas right now. Hemant Babla-
ni, vice-president of RATA,
said operation theaters need
temperature control and
don’t have backup in place at
present. “This is the time
when most of the repairing
and refilling occurs. Our in-
dustry has been hit really
hard,” he added.
Bablani said the industry
was put in white goods catego-
ry and not essential items de-
spite repeated representa-
tions to the authorities. “We
are getting frantic calls from
patients who need temperatu-
re control in their houses. How
do we help them?” he asked.
RATA also argued that if
plasma therapy is found suc-
cessful, the cooling indust-
ry’s help would be required
for large-scale storage. “The
relaxations should also inclu-
de transportation of gases as
the demand is likely to jump
after the lockdown is lifted.
The current stock will be over
in 10 days. How will the next
lot come?” asked Bablani.
sing the buck. They said
the government knows
the gravity of the situa-
2 5 houses. It will be diffi-
cult to check them re-
gularly. Senior citizens
tion, but was still making RWAs HAVE and the unwell can call
announcements that wo- ASKED GOVT the maids, but only
uld lead to arguments and FOR CLARITY from gate 2 where
ON THE
confusion. They are plan- MATTER mask will be given,
ning to allow domestic thermal screening will
helps only in case of emer- be done and their
gency or for senior citizens. hands will be sanitised. Resi-
Ruby Makhija, a member dents will have to ensure that
of Navjivan Vihar RWA, said maids don’t roam around and sit
at least 25 associations jointly in parks and leave the colony im-
pursued Delhi government on mediately after doing the work.”
Saturday to get clarity on the Many RWAs argued that
matter. “We can’t force a deci- they can’t force residents to ac-
sion on residents unless there cept their decision, especially
is a clear-cut order. The anno- when they are non-members.
uncement by the Centre is like “In case something goes
passing the buck. How can we wrong, we will be blamed. If
find out if these workers are in- the government makes the si-
fected and stop them from visi- tuation conducive and ensures
ting houses?” she asked. zero movement from contain-
The Jangpura Extension ment zones, then restrictions
RWA has requested residents to can be eased. It’s better to wait
avoid calling maids and ser- till May 10,” said Rajeev Kakria
vants for another week. Kapil of E-Block RWA, GK-I.
THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI *
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020 TIMES CITY | LOCKDOWN-DAY 40 3

T3 to handle all flights when you ...Plans on track to ensure

metro resumes smoothly
take off after corona shutdown... Sidhartha.Roy@timesgroup.com

Disinfection Tunnels To Sanitise Luggage; Measures To Avoid Crowding New Delhi: This Sunday mar-
ked the sixth week of Delhi
Metro’s shutdown because of
Pankhuri.Yadav check-in machines and check- retail shops open to avoid gates 1 and 2 and check-in All international airlines’ the lockdown. However, over
@timesgroup.com in bays to avoid crowding. crowding and use “ultravio- rows A, B and C while AirA- passengers will enter T3 using 3,500 trips have been made by
To maximise safety, all let disinfection tunnels” to sia India and Air India will gates 6, 7 and 8 and check in at Delhi Metro trains during this
New Delhi: Once commerci- luggage will also be passed sanitise baggage. use entry gates 3 and 4 and rows J, K, L and M, the plan period to keep the sophistica-
al passenger flights are allo- through disinfection tunnels “We will start with T3 and check-in rows D, E and F. Spi- states. The entry gates, self ted system in readiness to resu-
wed again at Delhi’s Indira during both in- and out-bo- open other terminals as the ceJet and GoAir passengers check-in machines and the me the operations.
Gandhi International Airport und journeys. TOI was first traffic picks up,” said a se- will get in through gate 5 and check-in bays will be allocated To ensure that the 360-kilo-
(IGIA), all airlines will initial- to report on April 10 that Del- nior official of DIAL, which check in at rows G and H. All to ensure smooth flow of pas- metre network with 264 sta-
ly operate from Terminal 3. hi International Airport Ltd runs the airport. As per the other domestic airlines will sengers from the forecourt in- tions and 14 depots remains
The airlines will also be assig- (DIAL) has prepared a plan to plan, Vistara and IndiGo air- also use gate 5 and will have to the check-in hall and the se- well-oiled during the lockdown,
ned specific entry gates, self keep all food, beverage and lines will be assigned entry row H for check-in. curity thereafter, it adds. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation BATTLE-READY: Delhi Metro trains have made over 3,500 trips to keep
Commercial passenger (DMRC) is carrying out mainte- the sophisticated system in readiness to resume the operations
flights have been suspended nance of the system, which in-
across the country since the cludes running trains on all cor- The 3,500 train trips during DMRC is ensuring power
lockdown has been announ- ridors twice a day. Completely the lockdown are a result of at le- supply at metro stations for mi-
ced on March 25 to tackle the shutting down the system ast two trains running from nimum lighting for Central In-
novel coronavirus pandemic. might result in glitches when both ends of most Delhi Metro dustrial Security Force person-
Only cargo, medical and spe- metro operations resume. corridors towards the other end nel, station control room, toi-
cial flights mostly catering to May 3 was also the 26th Fo- twice a day. “The exercise is ai- lets and ensuing galleries, wa-
evacuation of stranded citi- undation Day of DMRC and for med at ensuring good health and ter pump and availability of
zens of different countries the first time in all these years, functionality of all the systems water in toilets. DMRC is also
are permitted by Directorate the event was celebrated virtu- like track, traction, signalling, ensuring functionality of the
General of Civil Aviation du- ally where managing director telecommunication, etc.,” the overhead electrical equipment
ring the lockdown period. Mangu Singh congratu- official added. and signalling systems throug-
DIAL is preparing string- lated 14,000 DMRC emp- “Minimum staff hout the lockdown period.
ent standard operating pro-
cedures (SOPs) for food, beve-
rage and retail shops to ensu-
loyees through a messa-
ge. “On this special day,
we should all be extreme-
2 6 from system-related “Similarly, all communica-
wings like Signalling, tion systems, such as radio
Electrical, Telecom, Ci- sets and intercom, are in wor-
re social distancing, the plan ly proud of what we have YEARS OF vil, Traction and Track king mode along with came-
points out. The operator will been able to achieve as an DELHI are deployed at sta- ras,” he said.
promote digital payment and organisation. More than METRO ON tions. The purpose is to “CISF personnel are man-
6 Security and immigration menus at the outlets to mini- sixty lakh journeys with MAY 3 ensuring that all sy- ning all the stations and are al-
mise human contacts. It will a punctuality of over 99 stems are working fi- so monitoring periodically
➤ Alignment of queues to ensure also encourage use of self-or-
1 To begin 2IGI to use social media and in-airport per cent were being per- ne,” he said. through station rounds and
distance among CISF/immigration
dering kiosks at the food co- formed on the Delhi Metro eve- “The duty roster for the staff CCTVs any unusual activity on
with, only channels to educate passengers about staff members
urt to cut down on queues. ry day prior to the suspension of has been prepared in such a way the premises. Any abnormal
➤ PPE for staff services in March,” he said. that a Station Manager/Station activity shall be reported to the
T3 to be Importance of Wearing mask Hand To ensure social distancing,
social distancing at all times hygiene ➤ Queue managers to avoid queues will also be aligned for “We have worked hard to ce- Controller visits the unmanned control room,” he said.
operational crowding Central Industrial Security lebrate our Foundation Day stations every sixth day.” “About 3,500 workers emp-
Printing boarding pass at home and highlighting their ➤ Tray disinfection SOP for passenger Force, which is in charge of the using social media,” a DMRC Operation Control Centres loyed in various DMRC sites
name and flight details to reduce touchpoints at airport safety; availability of sanitisers for IGIA security, and immigra- official said. at Metro Bhawan and Shastri are also being taken care
passenger after security and immigration tion staff. Personal protective DMRC also shared a stun- Park have minimum staff de- of since the beginning of the
equipment will also be provi- ning video of Delhi Metro’s net- ployment round-the-clock. lockdown. All basic amenities,
3 All passenger areas on kerbside and in-terminal will ded wherever required. work under lockdown and anot- “Generally, 10 to 12 staff work including medical care, are be-
have floor markings to aid social distancing All queues and seating her encapsulating its 25- year- per shift which has been redu- ing provided to them,” the offi-
areas will have social distan- long journey on social media. ced to 2 to 3 per shift,” he said. cial added.
ce markings and sanitisers
4 Sanitisation at 5 Ramp and forecourt
airport
➤ Provision for sanitisers
➤ All trolleys will undergo
sanitisation by passing through
will be provided to the pas-
sengers after both security
and immigration procedures.
NDMC to give `15L compensation
disinfection tunnel before being returned Social distance markings
across the terminal
➤ Designated dustbins for
disposal of PPE
to respective locations
➤ Queue managers with social
have been made at all trans-
port waiting areas and SOP is
being worked out with cab
to kin of staff in case of Covid death
distance markings at all gates
➤ Frequency of purifying providers for disinfection of TIMES NEWS NETWORK three months The civic agency has al-

6 k
air inside the terminal to ➤ Seating arrangement to avoid vehicles. A similar SOP is al- and no age limit so decided to reimburse all
be increased long queues at gates so being prepared for the New Delhi: New Delhi has been prescri- medical bills and facilities
metros and private vehicles. Municipal Council (NDMC) bed for it. “ This used during the treatment
will pay a compensation of Rs facility will, ho- EMPLOYEE of its contractual and mus-

HC registry official Tis Hazari will start hearings

15 lakh to the heirs of an emp-
loyee in case of their death
due to Covid-19 while on duty.
tests +ve for Covid All employees, including
wever, not cover STRENGTH
those not atten- OF NDMC
ding duties or it AT PRESENT
ter roll employees for coro-
navirus infection. Their fa-
mily members will also be
cannot be estab- covered under the scheme.

today, clear pending cases

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: A Delhi high court registry official
has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and
been admitted to Lok Nayak (LNJP) Hospital, so-
urces said. His condition is stated to be stable.
However, the sources added that due to the
lockdown and restricted functioning of courts in
Delhi, the official had not been coming to work sin-
ce March 20. Still, the high court is keeping a close
track of the employee’s health and has offered all
possible help to the family.
Sources said the Registrar General, on
behalf of the Chief Justice, has enquired about
the well-being of the staff and one senior official
has been deputed to check on his health on a
regular basis.
“He is admitted in a ward and recovering well.
He has, so far, not been able to find out as to how he
got infected,” a senior court official told TOI.
In April, a staffer of Saket district court died af-
ter being diagnosed with Covid-19. He also had
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Tis Hazari courts dis-
trict judge has asked all the officers
to start attending court from Mon-
day to clear backlog of verdicts.
In an administrative order follo-
wing directions by Delhi high court,
district judges have to start prono-
uncement of judgements in cases
where arguments have already be-
en heard and the matters were re-
served for orders before the start of
Covid-19 lockdown.
The administrative order added
that only those judges should come
to the court complex from Monday
who have pending work on handing
down verdicts.
File photo
FIXING BACKLOG: The judges have
been asked to fix a fresh date and time
for pronouncing judgments
orders,” the order clarified, adding
that judges who do not have any case
pending are requested not to come
to the court.
high court, they must fix fresh date
and time of pronouncement, and is-
sue notices to the litigants and coun-
sel about the decision. “The notices
shall specifically direct that only
one counsel with or without litigant
shall come to the court on the day
and at the specified time of prono-
uncement,” it added.
To prevent congestion and infec-
tion risks, judges should ensure ex-
cept one ahlmad or one reader, one
stenographer and one orderly, no
other staff member should come to
the court, the order said, adding that
staff called by judges should prefe-
rably be a Delhi resident who com-
mutes by self-driven vehicle.
“All judges are impressed upon
contractual and daily wagers,
will be eligible for the com-
pensation.
“All municipal services
to contain the spread of in-
fection by the novel corona-
virus are being provided to
residents and important of-
fices like central govern-
ment building, diplomatic
missions, etc. Though
NDMC is adopting all mea-
sures to safeguard and pro-
tect its staff, it has been felt
necessary to assure financi-
al help to motivate them in
these difficult times,” said
an official.
NDMC’s compensation
scheme is valid for next
METP`rimn
lished that their There are around 6,000
death occurred due to Co- contractual and RMR emplo-
vid-19,” said the official. yees in NDMC.
Government of West Bengal
Department of Power
3/C, LA-Block, Sector-111,Salt Lake City,Kolkata-700 106
EXTENSION OF DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION
The last date for submission of application for appointment to the Post of
Director (Distribution) in West Bengal State Electricity Distribution
Company Limited (originally published in this newspaper on 26.02.2020 &
EOT published on 28 .03.2020) is hereby further extended to 15.06.2020
(up to 5.00 PM). All other terms and conditions of the original Notification
remain unaltered. For further details , please visit www .wbpower .gov.in
as well as www.wbsedcl.in
S INTERN

other medical complications which worsened af-
ter he contracted the disease, leading to his death.
A sessions judge had tested positive for Covid-19
too after which he was hospitalised and his family
quarantined in west Delhi.
“The judges posted in Tis Hazari
courts may kindly note that except
for dictation and/or pronounce-
ment of the reserved judgments,
they shall not hold court till further
The district judge has specified
that judges should keep in mind that
since the reserved cases would have
already been adjourned en bloc in
compliance with earlier orders of
From1kmFxommw j
to download and install the Arogya
Setu application on their mobile de-
vices and ensure the said app was
downloaded and installed by their
staff as well,” it added.

Rain, thunderstorm Teenager who LOCKDOWN

went missing DOUBTS
bring mercury down from shelter WRITE
TO US CORONAVIRUS:
Anindya Chattopadhyay

MORE OF THE SAME: Light rain is expected on Monday too
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Cloudy skies, ra-
in and thunderstorm brought
the mercury down in the capi-
tal on Sunday, even as some
parts reported squall
Till 8.30am, Safdurjung,
which is considered base sta-
tion for the city, saw 1.2mm ra-
in while till 5.30pm it was tra-
ce. At Palam, 1.8mm rain was
recorded till 8.30 while 4.7mm
rain occurred till 8.30pm. A
squall with a speed of 58km
per hour was witnessed at Saf-
durjung at 7.35pm.
The maximum temperatu-
re on Sunday was 34.7 degrees
Celsius, four notches below
normal, while the minimum
was 25.6, one degree Celsius
above normal. Humidity le-
vels oscillated between 93%
and 65%.
According to Met officials,
the north Indian plains and
the hills started receiving
light to moderate rain from
Sunday under the influence of
an active western disturban-
ce. “The WD’s effect will conti-
nue till around Thursday,” an
official said, adding that some
parts of the country will also
receive hailstorm.
On Monday, generally clo-
udy sky is expected with light
rain or thunderstorm accom-
panied with gusty winds at a
speed of 30-40 km per hour.
The maximum and minimum
temperatures would be aro-
und 34 and 23 degrees Celsius,
respectively.
In terms of pollution le-
vels, the AQI was 93 on Sunday
, in satisfactory levels, accor-
ding to Central Pollution
Control Board. According to
System of Air Quality and We-
ather Forecasting and Rese-
arch — a Union body under
minister of earth science —
the AQI will be satisfactory on
Monday.
found in 4 hrs
Sakshi.Chand@timesgroup.com
New Delhi:Within four hours,
a 17-year-old mentally unso-
und girl who was allegedly ra-
ped and had gone missing from
East of Kailash-based shelter
home on Saturday morning
was recovered by Delhi Police.
She was found roaming near
Shanti Path area and brought
back to the NGO centre.
Police said that they had
formed four teams as soon as
they received information abo-
ut the missing girl. “It was im-
portant to trace her immedia-
tely. The picture of the girl was
shared with other police sta-
tions and uploaded on CCTNS
so that even other states could
alert us if they found her. We
later got information that she
was spotted near Chanakyapu-
ri. The girl was later found roa-
ming near Shanti Path area,”
said RP Meena, deputy com-
missioner of police, southeast.
The girl had initially gone
missing from her village in
Assam in April, 2017. On
March 6 this year, she was fo-
und at the New Delhi railway
station. The girl informed the
cops that she was raped and a
zero FIR was subsequently re-
gistered. Since the girl couldn’t
be moved to Assam due to the
lockdown, she was kept at the
shelter home.
On Saturday morning, the
minor girl had somehow ma-
naged to open the main gate.
To make your life easy during the coronavirus A THREAT YET
lockdown, TOI invites its readers to send their
queries at www.toilockdownfaqs.com
OPPORTUNITY
We will seek answers from the police and relevant FOR INDIA?
authorities. We request you to keep your questions brief.
Get an in-depth analysis of the
You may also email your queries to lockdownfaqs@timesgroup.com
impact of COVID-19 on economy
Answers by Delhi Police spokesperson additional and policy on ET Prime.
commissioner Mandeep Singh Randhawa
L CKDOWN Q I am in my house in Delhi, but
? FAQS my wife and 10-year-old son are stuck in
Kanpur. My mother is old and needs care
and help, which I am unable to provide well in the absence of
my wife. Can I can get an interstate travel pass to drive in my
car to Kanpur and come back? -Gautam Sarkar
Delhi Police and Delhi government are working on a
set of guidelines for interstate movement. Please wait for
the announcement.
Q My wife and I had come to Delhi for a short visit but got
stuck because of the lockdown. My aged mother has fallen
seriously ill at our house in Jammu and there is no one to look
after her. Will you please advise us on how we can get there in
our own car. We are very distressed -R L Kaul
It’s a medical emergency
so you can apply to get a
Q A lot of beggars are
movement pass from your
assembling, rather staying,
local DCP.
on roads even during the
lockdown (opposite Pacific
Mall, Rajouri Garden). Many Q I am a stamp vendor of
the Delhi government. Many
of them are sick. Please help
in removing them from the customers call me for an
e-stamp. They need stamp
road -A P Singh R ET Prime is a members only premium digital destination for business
Please give specific details papers for affidavit, bank
guarantee etc. Can I sell stamp M )k storytelling from The Economic Times. Experience nothing but the
on our COVID helpline
papers? -Jeevan Kumar Mittal gold standard in business journalism.
or call
112 for You can’t open any shop for
prompt stamp paper as of now. But . Exclusive, in-depth insights into business Deep dive reporting by
action. you can present your case domain experts 1400+ exclusive articles Spanning 17+ industries
before the local DCP and seek
a movement pass.
scar to read tre ssory Activate your 15 day free trial , visit etprime.com
4 TIMES CITY | LOCKDOWN-DAY 40 THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020

Birds bear brunt of human boredom to people flying kites during the
Remembering Rishi Kapoor
Jasjeev.Gandhiok
lockdown, which can cause ness of the lead pair had an electric ef- freshness of the lead pair, the reincar-
@timesgroup.com
considerable damage to the CITY CITY BANG BANG fect. I remember the effect a song like nation motif dealt with in a new (if not
New Delhi: Delhi’s bird hospi- wings of a bird,” said Nadeem Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Band Ho had original) way. My only, extremely short-
tals — listed under essential Shehzad (42), who runs the SANTOSH DESAI and the possibilities it unlocked in the lived foray into trying to play a musical
services — are functioning du- centre with his brother, Mo- heads of an entire generation that had instrument occurred as a result of this
ring the anti-coronavirus lock- hammad Saud. What a week for cine- thus far seen for the most part college ro- film, with one being able to eke out the
down and staying quite busy. Shehzad said while they ma. To lose two stal- mances being depicted through furtive signature riff in the film (the one that
The reason — kites. did purchase a month’s stock of warts on consecutive sidelong glances and accidental brush- triggered all those memory flashes in
Over 60-70% cases received chicken for the birds before days at a time when es of the hands. It triggered a really odd the character played by Rishi Kapoor)
at bird hospitals across the city the lockdown began, they are the world is anyway a behaviour among the young in Baroda. on the guitar. When the era of the multi-
are due to manjha (kite string) now starting to run out of food. dark and hostile place A young boy would approach a girl he starrers came, Rishi Kapoor found an
injuries while the remaining “We will have to replenish our feels like an overengi- fancied, run his fingers through his easy slot to fit into — as a romantic foil
are animal bites and injuries stock. Around 10-12 kg of chick- neered tragedy. Two very different kind hair, and mutter Bobby as he blushed to the more macho likes of Amitabh
received from falling from the en is fed to the birds each day,” of performers, with a passion for the past her. To Bobby someone was both the Bachchan, Vinod Khanna and Sha-
nest. Veterinarians say there he claimed. craft in common, have left us with a height of a swooning compliment as trughan Sinha. He continued to play the
has been a spike in the number “We are also going around sense of loss that feels deeply personal. well as a sign of daring machismo. younger, and in some ways more relata-
of manjha injuries, with people STRINGS ATTACHED: Jain Bird hospital in Chandni Chowk has close to the city, collecting raptors Some actors make an impact because The real connection with Rishi Ka- ble character in a cast of superheroes.
taking to kite flying during the 3,000 birds right now, with a large number of injured black kites from hospitals, which have of their work, others also because of the poor happened through films like Khel Unlike Amitabh Bachchan, the man
lockdown, particularly in parts been treated and then relea- role they played in our lives. If Irrfan Khel Mein, Karz, and Hum Kisise Kam who defined that era, Rishi Kapoor’s
of central, east and west Delhi. physically and donate money. sed,” said Shehzad, asking peo- Khan imprinted himself on one’s con- Nahin. Khel Khel Mein was a memora- film persona in the early part of his ca-
Despite the lockdown, Jain HOSP MANAGER SAYS Ever since the lockdown, that ple to reach out and donate to sciousness it was because of the authen- reer was not an emotionally substantial
Bird hospital in Chandni has stopped and we are low on help the birds sustain during ticity he brought to his performances, the one. It did not speak to a deep repressed
Chowk is receiving 10-15 bird 70% of cases coming in funds,” he claimed, requesting this period. ability to cut to the heart of the character anxiety in society, but it had a freshness
cases each day. Sunil Jain, are injuries from kite people to donate money thro- Meanwhile, Ambika Shuk- he was playing with originality and econ- that carried an unmistakable ring of
manager at the hospital, said string, followed by ugh their website to help birds la from Sanjay Gandhi Animal omy. In the case of Rishi Kapoor, he per- truth. In some senses he was India’s
that 70% of cases coming in are attacks from other during this period. Care Centre said that it has be- haps more than any other actor of his era first modern hero, being among the
injuries from kite string, follo- animals like cats While the bird hospital does en a double-whammy, with was someone one grew up with. first leading men born after independ-
wed by attacks from other ani- treat raptors (birds of prey), it birds coming in either with Kapoor’s filmography sent through ence. He was also among the first boy-
mals like cats. does not feed them — a task manjha injuries or are four distinct phases. The early years of heroes, in a world dominated by those
Even though kite flying is “People are still bringing in which is undertaken by wildli- hungry and thirsty. “Black ki- being a young heartthrob, the ensemble who were unmistakably men. He avoid-
particularly popular in the ne- 10-15 birds each day on an avera- fe rescue, a bird rescue hospital tes would generally be able to years when he was part of a multi-star- ed the self-pity of earlier romantic he-
arby Old Delhi area, the hospi- ge. This number used to be 50-60 in Wazirabad. The hospital has survive through kitchen waste rer cast, providing the softer counter- roes; romance in the Rishi Kapoor
tal is receiving cases from birds prior to the lockdown. Ho- close to 100 raptors, a majority and prey on other birds, but point to the more macho heroes, the des- world was hotblooded and more physi-
parts of east, west and central wever, it is still a significant of which are black kites. “The that has gone down during ultory middle years of wearing lurid cal than seen otherwise. His persona
Delhi, Jain claimed. According number,” said Jain, who added shikra breeding season gene- the lockdown. We are getting a sweaters stretched across an expanding was that of a brash, impulsive passion-
to him, the hospital currently that the lockdown has proved to rally starts in May and their lot of cases of birds that are midriff and the older years, where he ate young man, impatient to get what he
has close to 3,000 birds, with a be tricky, as their donations ha- numbers will rise to. Black ki- hungry and thirsty, while some enjoyed a renaissance as an actor, revel- Rishi Kapoor was an actor one grew up with, desired. He might have had the looks of
large number of injuries being ve dried up. tes are facing the brunt from have been badly wounded,” ling in a diverse set of roles. While his perhaps more than any other actor of his era a chocolate hero, but there was nothing
black kites. “People would earlier come manjha. Most injuries are due Shukla explained. largest body of work might well have passive or beatific about the characters
been in the middle years, with film after ble experience in more ways than one. that he played. His heroines in this

4 arrested for transporting film starring him going through the mo-
tions in forgettable roles, and his best
years as a performer were when he over-
My brother and I bunked school and
snuck into a morning show in a neigh-
bourhood theatre. At that time there
phase of his career looked and acted
genuinely young. From Dimple in Bob-
by, Neetu Singh in so many films or Ti-

Rrmw*smfimft zh *aW 1 migrant labourers in trucks came the limitations of being an aging
hero, the Rishi Kapoor that one reso-
was a rule that prohibited those under
18 from watching a morning unless ac-
na Munim in Karz, the chemistry felt
very different from what was seen in
New Delhi: Four people have been arrested for ferrying over nates is with is the early forever-adoles- companied by adults. We requested cinema of an earlier era.
two dozen migrant labourers in two separate trucks to their cent version. some random young men if they could My own memory of Rishi Kapoor
villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. On Saturday night, police One was a little younger than one pretend to be our brothers and watched will always be that of someone who was
officers on night patrol saw two trucks with Haryana and Ut- needed to be to feel the hormonal surge the film, excited both by seeing the sus- urgently young and who helped define
Ir t tar Pradesh plates outside an office in Okhla Phase-II. Around that Bobby set off in many older cou- pense unfold on the screen as well as what being young could mean. The ado-
25 people were seen standing near trucks not following the ru- sins. Bobby was an intensely influential thrill at the prospect of being caught for lescent zest for life, the frankness with
le of social distancing. The men said that they were trying to film, not only in a cinematic sense since the terrible crime we were committing. which he expressed and represented de-
go back home. The drivers of the trucks Avinish Tiwari (24) it virtually created the-young-overs- Kapoor came through best in full- sire, not just on screen but throughout
and Manoj Kumar (28) along with two other men Aklu Bind fighting-the world theme, but the man- bodied entertainers. Karz was a block- his life, and the essential honesty with
and Ravi Shankar Kumar were arrested. In another incident, ner in which it did so struck a deep buster both in terms of its box-office which he played the roles that mattered,
a group of 17 migrant labourers, including women and child- chord at the time. It showed romance in performance as well as its impact. It is a are what will remain. And of course, we
ren, were intercepted. The migrants came from Prem Nagar, a way rarely seen before on the screen, film that one still enjoys watching, giv- always have his films.
Karol Bagh on foot and wanted to go Damoh in MP. They were and the combination and the vital fresh- en its combination music, dance, the santosh365@gmail.com
counselled to stay at a shelter home. TNN My Times, My Voice: Like this article? SMS MTMVSAN <space> Yes or No to 58888

R I;
SOW" EY
(27.08 .1929 - 04.05.2004)
A Twe Kwutwyeg i & WW ".
Smt. Sushlla Sawhnay
(13.12.1935 - 19.06.2019)
Wa
-q W i
f
t Aim-ir -jw T7I
, (1,
Be it your determination to succeed ,
Be it your generosity to share,
You may not be standing here by our side,
But your stories we share with pride.
Every day in some small way,
Your hearty memories come our way,
By your noble vision, we are led,
As we take your dreams ahead.
We are still learning & try ing to implement a few
of your philosop hy..
Preeti -Rajiv Sawhney (Daughter-In-law & Son )
Sudha -Sanjiv Sawhney (Daughter-in-law & Son )
Renu (Daug hter )
Dr. Priyanka - Vikas Popli
(Grand Daughter & Son-in -law)
Malvika - Rahul Sawhney
(Grand Daughter-in-law & Grand Son)
Qf :a
Shradha - Vishal Sawhney
(Grand Daughter-in-law & Grand Son)
Simran Swahney (Grand Daughter),
Shriya - Saanvl - Ruvir & Avyaan Sawhney
Lakshita - Vihaan Popli , Anjana - Amit Sethi,
Poonam - Anil Arora , Llshi - Gaurav Puri
& All staff
Okhla mandi Nine test +ve at north
to also remain
open 24x7 corporation hospitals
TIMES NEWS NETWORK Vibha.Sharma April 25 after a nurse tested po-
@timesgroup.com sitive for the coronavirus.
3I I New Delhi: To ensure social Meanwhile, the civic agen-
distancing at Okhla fruit and New Delhi: On Sunday, nine cy has decided to take action
vegetable wholesale market, new Covid-19 cases were re- against a lab technician of
Delhi government has deci- ported from three north cor- Hindu Rao Hospital who con-
ded to keep the mandi open ro- poration hospitals, including tinued to come to work despite
und-the-clock and give out to- three doctors each from Hin- him and his wife testing positi-
kens to visitors in batches on du Rao Hospital and ve for the coronavirus.
Smt. Usha Garg the lines of the Azadpur auc- Kasturba Hospital. Earlier, a video had
05.11.1937 - 02.05.2020
We regret to inform the sad demise of our loving mother ,
tion yard.
Okhla’s Agricultural Pro-
duce Marketing Committee
The other three inclu-
ded a patient and two
relatives of the two
1 5 gone viral in which the
technician alleged no
response from the hel-
Wife of Late Justice J.B. Garg, (APMC) had earlier introdu- nurses of Hindi Rao +VE CASES pline number (1075) for
former Judge , High Court of Punjab and Haryana.
ced the token system to keep Hospital who had earli- REPORTED getting his rest of the fa-
the mandi premises deconges- er tested positive for IN THE mily members tested.
In view of the lockdown restrictions , ted by allowing only 2,000 buy- the novel coronavirus. LAST WEEK He told TOI that he was
no social gathering is being held.
Kindly keep her in your thoughts and prayers .
ers in a day. The buyers wo-
uld reach the mandi late night
to buy the stock to be sold in
In the past one we-
ek, total 15 positive cases,
upset over it. “Later, my
department arranged for
including four doctors and the test of my mother and my
UP allows

Ahhough it bas been stleen years sinceyou leftus,

sw sti Tfeelyourpresenceinevery thought, wont deedandprtrgrrss. Daughters & Sons in Law
In Grief: the retail market.
By keeping the mandi
two nurses from Hindu Rao; children and I am thankful to
five doctors from Kasturba; a them. I was not going to the ho- sale of liquor,
open round-the-clock, officials ward aaya from Rajan Babu spital since April 30,” he said.
T.R.
T.R.
SAWHNEY MOTORS PVT. LTD.
SAWHNEY SHOPPING MALLS PVT. LTD.
Vinita & Atul Bindraban Anita & Arvind Walia
Preeti & Sanjai Verma Ritu & Sukant Gupta
said they would be able to de-
congest the area further. “We
TB (RBTB) Hospital and three However, the north corpo-
non-employees, have been re- ration official claimed: “The
Haryana to
T.R. SAWHNEY AUTOMOBILES PVT. LTD.
T.R. SAWHNEY FOOD & BEVERAGES
House. No. 379. Sector 17, Faridabad , Haryana M : 9811251043
will give out a limited number
of tokens every two hours.
ported, a senior North Delhi lab technician’s wife was de-
Municipal Corporation offici- clared positive on April 28, but take call today
Ell, n.31 1 I 1 1 1 This will ensure that only a al said. he did not tell us and kept co-
certain number of buyers are All these people are at pre- ming to work till May 2. His TIMES NEWS NETWORK
inside the mandi at any given sent in quarantine. own report had come on May 1.
point of time,” APMC chair- The first case was reported Only on May 2, he informed us Lucknow/Chandigarh:
man Adil Ahmad Khan said. in Hindu Rao Hospital on and left for home.” Even as people are bracing for
the third phase of lockdown
In Loving Memory of
; To book yo
HC asks LG to beginning Monday, tipplers fi-

May I
TIMES intern call92 M2222 nally have a reason to rejoice.
Sh. JANAK RAJ After a gap of almost 40
KAPOOR
decide on Katara days, UP government on

le p you
13th Death Anniversary
We miss you every
moment in our hearts.
You are always in our
thoughts and prayers. Missed by
Radhika Kapoor & Monica Chopra, Neeraj
Chopra, Yashu Kapoor & Family.
AGE-
ttKOTIOUR IDU
For all your personal needs for advertising in
our Newspapers viz Name Change; Lost & Found;
Personal Greetings; Life Event Announcements;
Tributes; Welcome; Congratulatory & Appreciation
messages, we are glad to offer our services 24x7. The silent joy of remembering a loved one.
The moments you shared together.
We will take the request on call / email / WhatsApp Little moments that make life beautiful.
We will prepare the artwork / ad design Share them. With Friends. Relatives. Neighbours.
Colleagues. With all those whose lives the departed Soul has
touched. Because while life goes on, when you
After your approval, we will give you the option to pay
share memories , they stay on forever.
online by Paytm/NEFT/RTGS
Total
Publication Outlay
The Times of India Delhi/NCR 5,600
LOST V a r i o u s O r i g i n a l
D o c u m e n t s Viz. A l l o t m e n t
Letter , Possession Letter , Site
Pl a n , F o r m C . F o r m D .
P a y m e n t R e c e i p t s E t c . Of
P r o p e r t y No. B -78, O k h l a
I n d u s t r i a l A r e a . Phase - II .
New Delhi-110020 A nd Oth e r
M i s c . D o c u m e n t s. If Found
Pleas- Contact Me on Mob. No.
g8110101 20 . Kishore Kumar
Kh a n n a
BUSINESS CONNECT
INFRARED THERMOMETER
ante
vMOro
This is to inform the general
public that Sumit Arora Slo
Shri Ramesh kumarArora Rio
H-22 . 2nd Floor, Aaron Ville .
Sector-48 , Sohna Road .
Gurgaon. has resigned from
the partnership firm Lub Lub
Lebanese and the company
Bof n bros pvt ltd which is
situated in G-64, Ground Floor,
Baani Square , Sector-50 ,
Gurgaon- 122018. Resigned
on 12/07/2019 Sumit Arora is
not liable for any business
transactions or agreements to
any individual person , firm ,
company or organisation
related to the above mentioned
firm and company.
97,
convict’s plea
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Delhi high court has as-
ked lieutenant governor to treat paro-
le plea of Vishal Yadav, who is serving
life term for killing business executive
Nitish Katara in 2002, as a representa-
tion and dispose it of within 15 days.
The court’s order came on a peti-
tion by Yadav seeking immediate rele-
ase for an eight-week parole on the gro-
und that he was at an increased risk of
contracting Covid-19 in jail as he has a
history of tuberculosis.
“The matter requires to be
considered by the competent authori-
ty in the first instance,” the court of
Justice AK Chawla said, following
which the convict’s lawyer suggested
that the plea be treated as a representa-
tion and be disposed of in a time-bo-
und manner.
Delhi government on its part assu-
red the court that the representation
would be considered on its merits and
Sunday allowed opening of li-
quor shops in red, orange
and green zones in the state.
However, in red and orange zo-
nes, the decision will be appli-
cable in areas outside Co-
vid-19 hotspots.
Additional chief secreta-
ry, information and home,
Awanish Awasthi said the fa-
cility would be available bet-
ween 10am and 7pm only and
people would have to follow so-
cial distancing norms while
buying liquor.
According to the guideli-
nes issued by UP chief secre-
tary RK Tewari, consumption
of liquor at public places wo-
uld be prohibited and not mo-
re than five persons allowed at
liquor shops at a time.
The decision is being seen
as the state government’s mo-
ve to mop up revenue which
was hit due to strict complian-
ce in first two phases of lock-
down. UP earns approximate-
ly Rs 3,000 crore per month

PPE KIT
TOI+NBT(Delhi/NCR) 8,800 decided within three weeks, following from excise duty, which al-
TOI+ET Delhi NCR 6600 which the court gave 15 days starting most dried in April.
M-101-
May 1. “The decision taken shall be The Haryana government
(SITRA CERTIFIED) communicated to the petitioner forth- is likely to take call on
CE with. Writ petition stands disposed of opening of liquor vends
CFDA in the foregoing terms,” it added. in the state on Monday. The
Booking office: 011-49378353, 011-49378370 For any information call The prosecution had opposed any state on Sunday announced it
Swarup:9873886880 unwell relief to Yadav saying there was no would impose Covid-19 cess of

Vinod: 9958992088
risk of the novel coronavirus to the Rs 2-20 per bottle after liquor
Toll Free Number 1800120 5 4 . convict in the prison. It had also said sales begin.
the prison records indicated the con- Haryana deputy chief mi-
vict’s medical condition to be stable nister Dushyant Chautala sa-
To pay tributes, log on to http://tributes.thnesofmdia.com Readers are recommended to make appropriate
and not suffering from TB.
The prosecution added that, under
id the new levy would vary de-
pending on brand and quanti-
enqures and seek appropriate advice before
sending money, incurring any expenses , acting on
the prison rules, grant of eight weeks ty. “So far as opening of liquor
GROU P
medical recommenda tions or entering into any “emergency” parole amounted to a re- vends is concerned, we shall
commitment in relation to any advertisement mission of sentence. While sending wait for decisions by neighbo-
published in this pubication . The Times Of India
Published for the Proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., by Rajeev Yadav at Times House, 7,Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi -110002 and printed by him at Times Of India Press, 13, Site IV, Industrial Area, Sahibabad (UP), Dainik Jagran Press, Plot NO. C2/2-1, Group doesn't vouch for any claims made by the Yadav to jail in February 2015, the high uring states. Besides, we have
Advert isers of products and services . The Printer ,
Selaqui Industrial Area, Dehradun(UTTARAKHAND) and Dainik Jagran Press , Biharman Nagla, Pilibhit Bypass Road, Bareilly (UP) and Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. Plot No. 7-8, Sector M-11, Transport Hub, Industrial Model Township, Manesar, Haryana-122051. Regd .
Office,: Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road, Mumbai-400001. Editor (Delhi Market) : Diwakar Asthana – responsible for selection of news under PRB Act, @ All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of Publisher is prohibited court had said he be not considered for also sought feedback from all
RNI NO : 508/57 Publisher, Editor, and Owners of The Times Of India
Air Charge : Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Nagpur & via Rs.5.00, Leh Rs.2.00,. Price in Nepal : NEP Rs.15.00
Made in New Delhi Group publications shall not be held liable for any any remission till he completes 25 ye- the deputy commissioners,”
Volume 71 No. 106. consequences . in the event such claims are not ars of actual imprisonment. he added.
honoured by the Advertisers.
 .4
r
,
' ,
I I
31i' ci 1
T
T

furl err

o ?

G1
P#1 f, Tyr iai i ui1 .iT t 1000,'-. rcir I i iai ru r r r T 6cT r T
z r s r 9 r 1 1 Mn
ii r f r l t l
1fr a R r l l
3f 51 sr Errf 1 1 r °i r r l nf r1 r 13 'r l
. i u1 i i i r uiltuig ici ii i 7} Ci vTZ 'I T ic T i T cif I i icii if i3gc I ZT 3'a1iciZ
J
. i4' ui f i R i''rl i rcr f i ar rz 1 ,ooo/- °r r rf i r i Fu l icr i ir & c i g p

zrslt r TfirFct 1 1
3Ta 1 Y1'lcl 3r4 d I c i YTd ( N U LM ) f d f d zrs r f if3lr1 l ,00o 11;i rf r I T d ig pj
FT1Td c s ` FT f ci c ccpi cii4 i t

#1 rr tTr arrfr a 3 sra?J5r rrCIci

I fR l;' s4 c T 76 a;viTZ' Eii ( I ` " iii , fiii ,f r iii ) 9 sr rare r i T 1017 q ( i T *ici )
uz1l°t Tf t 3Tc dI

T3f TT3 c c ? gc
15 11Ol c Tfi
12
c -F TT 3T f T ::iT f7 iT7T lT T 3 ii 3 T 1 Zi T3Ti i cd hid
c I

11 li scT T' -'t 1 T3i i c 3102 ' (c v f 1 Ti c ) it

n ci Tf i 3TciP i I
313 IIr oq
c F> d l7f Ol 11 TcTi(l 10 mil' )l
'i - 13i l1f T lTf cii > $iT * 3Ti1 li$iT - i lf f u 1 I

f rIc,1 c c :
ZT;i
i c i / 3iiTiT i 3 T 3 i r 7 Tf i T1 iT li 3T Tl d i
c 578 l 42 r v I TI l I 1 l A s i ZiT W 1 3iI 3i
1i

'
- ll lf c7 c c T 'c lii i i f i 3iATCi I f' > i 3ilF.f 'Ti Zf T lei Tl I

cTct:,3T3ol
c c i a Ht 61lMt5 c c ui?ct 1 c14ic c t c c if c W1 Iddf f
41 fi i i l .iii i R > ciei a i looo uzlufi r l°t r i rf i lei { j I
,- 3T T cf 155r d- 3 1 Tc - I V Tc i tT 31 T1T 18 c fR 78 rR 3 T T c c l c 1000 T1 '1 I 1c I Uf 13TciI ci 1 N airccp' rf i gRa * 3 c1Pc1 f5 1 11 i 1
tq4 Tli;iim 250 C 3iT9 T 3fF7 f +1PT M f 1 1 I

o c T f f f 9 1 1c 12 55ZT cf c c c ] I
1 1 1; T i i - T i i 111
2s 3Ta3 1s,o6 ,o o o r l r 1 / ~ fT r 1
r ail c Tlli l f i l l 1 T zi v I , 3TTciT'i.i1 T f f r £iT 1 iT Tai lei 6 1 f ?I

3 I u I I C1 CDoc :
' ___
c ,R I I i 3T T n c 1 * c [T 202 3TT i I ii 3i 65 ,185 17T a 1 1 1 rri 1 U I I 1
rT u ir I
. ig1 l ' ii 3TT9 T Z11
* 1l°I'i Rici T I

ei u 3 f i urslt S l kJr `
pp c i l 3 i f T i Tv
c 3T i s 3 s T iT , ail TFi
c 1l 35 c T 80 i fi TZ i7 1 x, 76 c T
51 . 3if l i_
sl°I T 13 sT T
f51 c i i't il i gT 7TZ111 3iFI f c1 3 3IT T m c+ T I

ci:;I orr c?I1 )O1 cDl 1Z5FJIpo1

. a' ZTf 1 f + iT7T l'
i 3T i p .1T c l 1T39 13 THTi
1 c 1 159l
9I1 1 & 1I.1 1 *9i ic c cI5T15!.11 I1 3 TT s i 1 915 15 c4' ii l511iu I
. rfi Ali , , f 3rff Tl
s l lif r 9 mil/ i1 i T f TnT uTf T I

ijrillur hiJrrr 1oiai?m +e1T

u III lr Arai v Try \3t4c1&i cP I-IT ffI* l f i cPf.1r i i1I TT 1t 3T ci lr tJ -'1IR i, 1T T c T T ,
IIi - n lard l5T1;:4 1u rT 1>uI l. R1T 1 j I 31'cI cI T ILbcI t ri ri lU ftI5R , . S r3Tf iii u 1UI r ¼7I II 5Tl 0 I
. i ci c l T d ' i Y iei Tl514ci 3iig i ,i, i i c ci r f 1TC3 T ii*T, '1l 1T d 39 cT & T l 5 T 5 Tu1
f ' I e1Tcb.'I zft1 3TIf 1 i 1 I I e1I 1*3i ii' 3Tj iii-i i ail 3 ,40 ,194
u1.1i3T1 1 , 03, 86 ,0 44 IT9 1 siiii 3 c d c ' T r i T T P 1I
.3rciTii zTvT l5i 3 i zr1T ih
ci 3T iii f r f: uL r , Trf 5i 3.1c t.iirr
C iim i 3cTiYrr f i i i v r I

c
am:
.>r 3ir f u i l T3r1 1 T i > f o 1 3Tr120 20 f i .1l I ru1l;3 10 ? , 31f rul l;3q TT31 l;
zIIR1cb ircii
: ci I
iTr 3 T 3T lfi C 3 T 1T 65 li r I
:
cJizb ci :
c gw1 l;f> f imixrri f TuiI I lr *3 1 T1 i iN 5 5 T I
'
c L i c Tht k-ii ai :
b
Y zr r1l1> l r 3TPif3-rTi Ali
iT>;d ZTf T f1 lr f i I

Cl 1RCI a1
?ft s i i i *l r'uif 'iii f i ' f i ii i1 i r ru rur iir r i cic i ci 3 *ci r l iii i ,
' fi £fifi d 3T Tf U5 1 I1 I N I I l t 1i I R ' i 5i 1Ie1 i 9 , 3Trgi c iT iltiiciu, * i i -i i Tip T E
i 3Rc &i I
f i - igiT f > HI

r rrurcr rrr 4:
. ( ra) t es N I I 1* UIc IL1 U 3IIlTld 1 1 bV ICi1I l9 iT 34eI&1 I C 1 I I I- 1 3ilf f l;39TTd 171 1 T1 , c1ci41Td
1425 qli ci 'l* 13700 c Y 13l i tl i cl I

c T U cf 3 q c oue U?IT :
3T T 1 ci c1 T cl c i 11 I
'
I t cR NMCH c 31c)Ic1I 23 i3 Ic5icb Covid-19 c' 1c
11 TI
tl 91*iiT l,T ii {3R3wcii c i (NMCH), 7TtT1 i 3T1T -ii' iIIT ITT1 iC (ANMCH) 3I iiiiiei ' 'i v c i e i ici q,Tcsi 1 R c ci (JLNMCH ) Covid-19
i c 3ri iei ti' Rci I
vIT c i c < fri 305 ci7T'Z15.1 I1P d ,688 51R C.1 c1' W I
, 19fuir9 1 , 3f C r3i i i'T 9 r , t {t 1 91, 3ii T3iR3ir fir , TT I cp ,l TTii , i i l t i41T+Td Covid-19 ii °i ITT I

3T T ci T c cT lie L' 3T c3 ci is J ci+ 1T I

0
° c ( 1 i J c 1 i Uc1 T c a Tt _i cl R ART t1c I o 1 waftc 1cJT
w
rl clIt 1I 3TIi31if5# /I f f c clI I 1>a 1
31N 1Trd 9 i ii t51
i licki i 9.0612-2294204 ,2294205
Z21TPf 3TI ccl 1 hT c4 Ilk Tf RWH T f ei 1 Z-011-23792009 , 011-23014326, 011-23013884

o 3 1 1 5 Z 1 1 c'1Ic4' T31 c > TvT>

c 51P I W 1 I q c1I Ll tl I. c 3T1iT 1 A T9 f +iTTT if
c 1 l 0612-2294600
3 r r r f r l r ?rf1fTrfrrIIrl ;rarf d d
f i 1 1; 3 i r r r ll; iliill; ur f... https :// coyidl9.bihar.goy.in

1
c 3'c c 5cLTe)ICDSk o1 c aT c I( RfolIO c5 7RIt C)Ie 5T &IOJLI1c
)al I 31ci_ T ti IJ IT 1 1 iii .c1 ( De)dI 1 l{l
6 THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020

WEAR YOUR KNOCK

MASK
Wear it with courage.
.
KNOCK. 1

everybodY
Wear it with pride.
1 Wear it together.
Wear it to stand as one.
Wear it to show your support.
Wear it because you care.
Wear it because you dare.
Wear it to fight.
To defend.
To protect.
Wear it to encourage.
To encourage your country.
Every country man, woman and child.
eep sea ng or
Every caste, creed and religion.
X . Wear it whenever you step out of home.
your dream home while
Everywhere, every time. staying at home.
Clean it regularly.
Today, when your safety is of the utmost concern
Wear it for yourself.
f Ca Wear it for your family.
and stepping out of home is not an option,

Wear it for India. we also advise you to stay at home and stay safe.

Make Your Own Mask . As far as your property-search is concerned, it

Wear Your Own Mask. can still go on uninterrupted with magicbricks ,

while you stay safe inside your present home.

Together, we will get through this.

Happy and safe searching !
Fe P10ABAD1A
Share a picture wearing The best pictures will be LIFE BADLO
your home-made mask on your
social media pages using featured in TOI and on

L #Masklndia maskindia.com
#MASKINDIA
CHANGE Begins H e r e
Download magkbrkksappnow 4. C.*PW 6 AM

COVID- 19 HAS SHOWN US THAT :

rHnL imwa IJ H nLHL 10JUL
It seems fake news on social media is spreading faster than the virus itself.
And answers are harder than ever to come by. Now we aren 't medica l 1!

experts , but we know how to get to the truth. By thoroughly researching and
verifying every word before it's actually printed. So in these uncertain times ,
mig ht we ask you to wait. Wait before you share something you have no way
rll
of confirming. Wait until the truth in print makes its way to your doorstep.

PRINT IS PROOF.

p
? i s.
c' "
L ?kS t
l

Iss ue d by I n d s } leading newspapers

Cm

THE TIMES OF INDIA Dainik Bhaska r hindustantimes THE HINDU VIJAYAVANI

KANNADA DAILY

.II iE5 MunbaiMirror oI03 reed 121

rw (MR5z Busiiicssl.inc I I, mid-day

THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI *
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020 TIMES CITY | LOCKDOWN-DAY 40 7

Humans caged in, zoo now his second home
Ranger Saurabh Vashisth Devotes All His Time To Ensure Animals Remain Well Fed Amid Lockdown
Jasjeev.Gandhiok@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: For Saurabh Vashisth,
a ranger at the National Zoological
Park, more commonly called Delhi
zoo, the night passes in the blink
of an eye these days, or so it seems.
Before he knows it, he is back at
work — inspecting the fresh fodder
that has arrived for the herbivores
and sanitising it for a couple of
hours before sending it to the ani-
mal enclosures. The 32-year-old,
who has been with Delhi zoo since
2012, is devoting all his hours to en-
suring that the zoo animal not only
get fresh food, but remain well-fed
under the constraints of the Cov-
id-19 lockdown.
In normal circumstances, Vash-
isth would have a regular 9-5 rou-
tine, during which he would over-
see the food stock arrival in the
zoo by 9.30am, inspect enclosures,
check for operational problems and
submit a daily report to the zoo di-
rector, listing any requirements if
any. The lockdown has affected the
system of the contractors trucking
the food stock to the zoo. There is
no daily supply of fresh meat for
the carnivores now because the
abattoir at Ghazipur has downed
shutters in compliance with the na-
tional lockdown. This means Vash-
isth and his staff have to arrange
Empty coffers may
stall govt projects
confirm that we are author-
ised zoo personnel.”
His daily responsibility
is not limited to sourcing
ing the day. Now
animals for meat, but he
also has to oversee the slaughter-
Delhi’s Tax Collection Is At An All-Time Low
Atul.Mathur@timesgroup.com and capital projects. Among the partments to cut down on ex-
in addition, I have ing and the after-task of getting rid
to head out in the of the entrails and other parts by major promises that AAP go- penses other than staff salari-
evening to get fresh either incinerating them or using New Delhi: With the tax col- vernment made while presen- es. The decision had been ta-
meat for the carni- them for the biogas plant at the lection dropping to an all-time ting the budget included procu- ken with a view to save money
vores. There is no zoo. The meat then has to be sani- low and no source of revenue rement of new buses, better he- to combat the outbreak. “We
fixed time for that; tised and dunked in boiling water currently available due to the alth facilities, new schools and will have to heavily cut expen-
we get a call when- before being fed to the animals. nationwide lockdown, Delhi colleges, basic amenities in ses looking at revenue situa-
“The case of a tiger testing government may have to post- unauthorised colonies and Del- tion,” the CM had tweeted.
ever buffaloes
pone some of its development hi darshan for senior citizens. Sources said in comparison
become avail- positive for Covid-19 at the Bronx
and welfare projects this year. to Rs 3,566 crore collected from
able,” says the Zoo in New York made us more
Deputy chief minister Ma- taxes in April 2019, the state go-
ranger. “We vigilant,” the ranger says. “Each MANISH SISODIA SAYS
nish Sisodia, who also holds vernment barely managed to
transport the food item is cleaned thoroughly
the portfolio of the finance de- Since all businesses are collect Rs 350 crore in the first
animals in our and sanitised before it reaches the
partment, had last week said month of the current fiscal.
buffaloes that are slaughtered gover nment animal. Even if we arrange extra closed, tax generation
that it will take the government While about 70% of tax re-
on the zoo premises, a task that vehicle, though feed for the carnivores, the slaugh- has stopped and
a lot of time to tide over the eco- venues are collected from GST
generally starts after 5pm and fin- policemen often tering has to take place daily to en- expenses to tackle
nomic crisis inflicted by the and VAT, about 14% comes
ishes well past midnight. stop us on the way. In sure they get fresh meat.” Covid-19 are increasing.
outbreak of novel coronavirus. from excise and a little over
“We continue the feeding and some cases, we have had to directly Vashisth, who has a three-year- There is going to be a
“Since all businesses are 10% from stamp duty and regi-
enclosure inspection duties dur- ask senior district police officers to old son, feels uneasy about the pos-
closed, tax generation has huge shortfall of tax stration fee from sale and pur-
sibility of corona infection. He is
stopped and the expenditure revenue this year chase of properties. The re-
From doctors, nurses, bankers to milkmen and at risk because he has to go and
to tackle Covid-19 is also incre- maining, meanwhile, comes
security guards , there are many frontline warriors collect zoo personnel even from red from road tax and registration
asing. There is going to be a hu-
who are battling it out daily to ensure we are safe zones and from the vicinity of con- ge shortfall of tax revenue this The government had also fee on new motor vehicles.
tainment zones. “My wife is with set aside Rs 50 crore to fight the With all hotels, bars, clubs
and taken care of during the lockdown. We salute all year… The government may
the Central Zoo Authority too, and have to postpone some welfare coronavirus pandemic, but ex- and commercial establish-
these real, unsung heroes
so knows the kind of tasks I have projects to overcome the penses have already increased ments in the city closed, no sa-
to handle. I am worried the most crisis,” Sisodia had claimed. multifold, officials claimed. le of new vehicles and regi-
If you know of #LockdownHeroes whose stories you would like to share please about my son though, that I may
Of the Rs 65,000 crore bud- With expenses to tackle Co- stration of properties comple-
log on to www.toilockdownheroes.com. We will seek to get in touch and pass on the virus to him unknow-
feature select stories in The Times of India newspaper get for 2020-21, the state govern- vid-19 rising, chief minister tely stopped, tax collection has
ingly,” he agonises. ment has set aside Rs 29,500 for Arvind Kejriwal had earlier in dipped to an all-time low and
various schemes, programmes April directed government de- may not revive anytime soon.

Ggn, Noida open offices, differ on helps Covid-positive cases in CRPF up to 137
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Gurgaon/Noida: With Lock-
down 3.0 starting on Monday,
the Gurgaon and Noida au-
thorities came out with their
new regulations on Sunday.
Ghaziabad has, however, not
effected any changes yet.
Yogesh Kumar
domestic staff ‘ban’, this could Factory owners will have to case and those with two or more Bharti.Jain@timesgroup.com proper hygiene and physical
lead to some confrontations in apply online and seek permis- cases. Except the radius of con- distancing. Police authorities
the societies. sion to reopen their units, depu- tainment — varying from 400m New Delhi: Covid-19 cases should also take care of safety
Shopping malls, cinemas ty commissioner Amit Khatri to 1km, nothing changes here. among the central para-milita- and hygiene of its personnel by
and bigger markets like Sadar said. The administration will is- Outside, economic activities ry forces continue to rise with a providing all necessary safety
Bazar will, however, stay shut. sue passes for workers in vari- can resume, but will have to fo- CRPF head-constable attached materials like hand sanitisers,
So will liquor vends. But all oth- ous categories. The administra- cus on the number of people to a Special DG-level officer tes- soaps, masks, face shield, glo-
er standalone shops can stay tion also said the workforce in who can turn up at a time. Pri- ting positive in Sunday and joi- ves, safe food, etc. and also tra-
open from 7am to 7pm industries will gradually vate firms can call no more than ning 135 other infected person- in the personnel in their pro-

After staying behind closed
doors for nearly a month and a
half, Gurgaon — now in the or-
ange zone — will begin the new
phase with a limited reopening
outside the containment zones.
Offices will be allowed to func-
tion and Uber and Ola cabs
will also be back on the road.
Households have been per-
mitted to call their domestic
staff and residents, confined
to houses since March 24, can go
out for morning walks while
maintaining social distancing.
However, with some RWAs
deciding to continue with the
1 2
and e-commerce compa- be allowed to increase. 33% of the staff. But even this nel at Mandoli quarantine per usage/disposal,” it added.
nies can start delivering Cabs will be allowed will be a challenge as employees centre in the city. Also, 31 per- Meanwhile, after the CRPF
‘non-essential’ goods. with only two passen- living in containment zones sonnel of a single BSF compa- bus driver attached to a Spl DG
Salons and beauty par- gers. Private cars can cannot be called, neither can be ny deployed in Jama Masjid was found positive for Covid-19,
HOURS’
lours will be permitted CURFEW have three occupants, in- those from Delhi or Gurgaon. In- area have been found Covid po- the force headquarters were
to function as well. (7PM-7AM) cluding the driver. Two- dustrial operations in some sec- sitive even as one Covid-positi- closed for sanitisation and 40 of
But offices will face a IMPOSED IN wheelers with pillion tors will be allowed. Shops in ve ITBP soldier died in Safdar- his contacts, including the Spe-
challenge getting their HARYANA riders will be allowed. gated societies and standalone jung Hospital on Sunday. SAFETY FIRST: The CRPF HQ was closed for sanitisation cial DG, placed under quaran-
permitted 50% employ- In Noida, no guide- ones selling 'non-essential' go- As of now, there are 137 po- tine. The latest case comes in
ees to work as employees living line has been issued on whether ods can open from 10am to 7pm. sitive cases in CRPF apart from of central armed police forces fence, NCC cadets, Scouts and the backdrop of 135 personnel
in Delhi can’t come unless they households can call back domes- For movement within the one death; 54 cases in BSF sharing standard operating Student Police Cadets may be of CRPF’s 31st battalion based
have a pass issued by the Harya- tic staff. Noida, which remains a district (outside containment across Delhi and Tripura; 21ca- procedures to prevent the in- utilised in areas where there at Mayur Vihar, having tested
na government or the Centre. red zone, has been divided into areas), permissions will be ses in ITBP (all in Delhi) inclu- fection and asking them to cre- are no imminent law and order positive. The entire battalion
They will also need to find ac- containment and non-contain- needed but vehicles can ply ding the constable who died on ate a second line of defence to issues, the ministry suggested. was quarantined and all 480
commodation in Gurgaon, in ment zones. The 34 containment with no more than two people in Sunday; and nine cases in CISF. make up for the personnel who “Police/Security person- personnel made to undergo a
line with rules to minimise com- zones have been placed in two a car besides the driver and no The home ministry has are rendered ineffective due to nel may be advised to keep test after an SI died of Covid-19
muting between the two cities. categories — those with one pillion rider on a two-wheeler. written to all DGPs and heads virus. Home Guards, Civil De- themselves safe by practicing and 45 others tested positive.

Girl kills self in S Delhi: A DU

LSR study finds youngsters student allegedly committed

suicide by hanging from the
ceiling fan of her room in Kotla
FMl
iu
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION CUM
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR SELECTION OF
A BIDDER FOR PROCESSING AND DISPOSAL OF
.= M I
NDRAPRASTHA GAS LI
MITE D
(A Joint Venture of (WIL (India) Ud., BPCL & Govt of NICT of Delhi)

NOTICE INVITING TENDER (DOMESTIC COMPETITIVE BIDDING)

Mubarakpur on Sunday. No suicide

less prejudiced over Covid note was found from the spot. TNN DAY TO DAY SOLID WASTE GENERATED

Sangli Miraj & Ku wad Municipal Corporation (SMKC) has initiated the
Indraprastha Gas Lim ted (IGL) nvites bids through e-tencerng mode under s ng e stage, two cover
system from eligble b ciders for following:

Tender No. Description of Items Tender download

ava liable from
Submission of
offers
Manash.Gohain two research associates, Che- dents agreed that outfits such 1i5!9 r lt@f?11nil1rii '1i:Lr,_ilill il'ff "_d7 IGUET2ICPI Specia meter reading activity for 04 .05 2020 20.05.2020
@timesgroup.com hak Gidwani and Kritika as Tablighi Jamaat, who break bidding process for identification of a Private Party (the "Bidder") for CM15954 IGL PNG customers (1430 hrs IST )
Chaudhary, to explore the rela- the law, should be banned. At processing and disposal of day to day slid wa le generated in the SMKC IGLJEf21CPI ARC for h ring of support services 04.05 2020 22.05.2020
New Delhi: It’s neither Hin- tionship between xenophobic the same time, 60.3% expres- for a period of 7 years. The Authority invites bidders to submit their Bids in EC15951 for CNG control rooms. (1430 hrs IST)

sed that the media shouldn’t

dus nor Muslims, but “Covi-
diots” who are responsible
for transmission of Covid-19.
This is a part of the findings
of a research conducted by
Lady Shri Ram College.
While 18.2% of the 600 re-
spondents believed that the no-
vel coronavirus outbreak in
India was primarily due to
Muslims, 58% felt that Hindus
and other religious groups we-
re just as responsible. The stu-
dy revealed that younger po-
pulation was less xenophobic.
The study titled “Covid-19:
A threat to secularism?” was
conducted by associate profes-
sor Kanika K Ahuja from de-
partment of psychology with
attitudes towards Muslims,
collectivism, fear of coronavi-
rus and well-being in India.
The fear of the virus was al-
so responsible for the growing
xenophobia, as also explained
in earlier researches during
the outbreak of infectious dise-
ases like Ebola and SARS. The
findings also reflected the
importance of collectivistic
values and importance of fa-
mily in enhancing well-being.
Did describing the escala-
tion of Covid-19 as “Tablighi
Spread” result in stigmatisa-
tion? The research showed
that 86.8% non-Muslims didn’t
show high xenophobic attitu-
des. However, 65.5% of respon-
paint Muslims in poor light.
Ahuja said, “A substantial
part of the educated middle/
upper-class section of society
has managed not to generalise
their feelings because of hand-
ful of Muslim miscreants.
The secular spirit of India se-
ems to be alive and kicking.”
There was a difference in
xenophobia among various
age groups. The youngest re-
spondents aged below 25, lar-
gely comprising students, we-
re significantly less xenopho-
bic as compared to the three
older age groups. Gender
or perceived social class had
no impact on xenophobia.
Tats is is cuiitiruatier, ;u ou, p,e,i uus
advertisement (dip/shabdarth/0002/20.21)
published on 05.04.2020.
Due to extension of nationwide lockdown due to
Corona outbreak, the last date of empanelment
for Digital Media agencies under various
categories has alsobeen extended till
May10,2020.
for more detail please click
https://dipdelhi.org1
or
https:/(wwvi,facebook.com/Shabdarth-Media-
100397214889907/?modal=admin coda tour
DIP/Shabdarth/0025/20.21
a single age, two eenvelopes e-tendering process. The bid documents
For detailed tender document, please visit www.iglonline.net or ITI Limiteds e-tender portal at
can lobe downloaded from the website https:llmahatenders.gov.in . .
https:/Ipetroleum euniwizarde com. All subsequent changes w.r.t above tender will be posted orgy
between 04th May 2020 to 1011 June 2020. on the above mentioned websites. Downlo ad IGL Connect App through Android Google Playstore
(Nitin Kapadnis) andAppleiStore.
Commissioner i r
F-7-17M17,1 - Lei3
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION CUM NATIONAL HEALTH MISSION
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR SELECTION OF ASSAM
A BIDDER FOR PROCESSING AND DISPOSAL OF
EXISTING WASTE ON SAMDOLI AND BEDAG SITE No : NHI.1- 18C18±4 2C20-P H OC-N HN11-CF-1 39590/23-P
Dated.02i05/ 2020
e-TE NDER NOTICE
(NATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING)
Sangli Miraj & Kupwad Municipal Corporation (SMKC) has initiated
the bidding process for identification of a Private Party (the "Bidder Tenders in two Bid System (Technical Bid & Price Bid) affixing Court
for processing and disposal of existing waste on amdoli an Fee Stamp of Rs. 8.25 (or IPO of Rs. 10.00 in favour of "State Health
Bedag site. The Authority invites bidders to submit their Bids in a Society, Assam ' for bidders located outside Assam) are invited from
single age, two e-envelopes e-tendering process. The bid documents
can be downloaded from the website https://mahatenders .gov.in manufacturers'importers or authorized distributors/ dealer for supply of
between 041May 2020 to 10th June 2020_ the Viral Transport Media Kit, Viral RNA Extraction Kit , Real
(Nitin Kapadnis) Time PCR Combo Kit on an urgent basis in view of COVID-19
Commissioner pandemic condition. The complete set of tender documents and relevant
corrigendum may be downloaded from assamtenders .gov.in or the
official website of NHM https :/Inhm.assam.gov.in.
The technical bid as well as financial bid (BOQ) is to be uploaded
in assamtenders.gov.in . There is no requirement to submit the

STAY HOME. STAY SAFE.

hard copy of neither technical bid nor financial bid.
Important dates related to the Tender:
1. Tender publication date : 01105/2020 from 8.00 pm.
2. Tender submission start date 02'05/2020 from 1.00 pm.
3. Tender submission last date 07/05/2020 up to 2.00 pm.
4. Tender opening date : 07/0512020 at 4.00 pm.
5. Tender opening place (Technical) : O/o the Mission Director , National
We 're doing our duty, to keep you safe & comfortable. Health Mission , Assam , Saikia Commercial Complex. Christan basti ,
Gu w ahali-781005.

Mission Director, NHM, Assam

A Govt. of India (Ministry of Railways) Entariprise

NOTICE INVITING E-TENDER

National Competitive Bidding
General Manager/Coordination/DDU, DFCCIL, Manas Nagar Railway
9w, Colony, Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar (Mughalsarai), Chandauli -232101,
Uttar Pradesh, India, invites e-tenders on single stage two packet syste m on
prescribed forms from firms / Companies / Joint Ventures having requisite
experience and financial capacity for execution of the following work: Tender
Notice No.: MGS/EN/ RFO/SSM/295/ 2020 DATE: 01.05.2020; Name of the
work : Construction of Rail Flyover and its approaches on Viaducts, Formation
in Embankments/Cutfings including blanketing, Supply and Spreading of
Ballast and related works for sing le track electrified railway line on Item-Rate
Basis for Sasaram- Ara line of E.C. Railway connecting Sasaram Yard with Ara
1 i Line over IR and DFC tracks and related works in East Central Railway in the
I state of Bihar in India. Address of Emp loyer : DFCCIL , Manas Nagar Railway
Colony, Pt Dean Dayal Upadhyay Nagar (Mughalsarai) Chandauli -232101,
Uttar Pradesh, India. Contact Person: Ajit Kumar Mishra , IRSE Mobile:
+917897412000 Email: ajitmishra@dfcc.co. in Estimated Cost: Rs.
302 ,46,33 ,369/- (Rupees Three Hundred Two Crore Forty Six Lakhs Thirty
Three Thousand Three Hundred and Sixty Nine Only). Earnest Money: Rs.
3,02 ,50,000/- (Rs. Three cro res Two Lakhs and Fifty Thousand only). Cost of
kill Tender Document: Rs. 29,500/- (Inclusive of GST); E-tendering website:
www.tenderwizard .com/DFCCIL. For any help, please contact Tender
Wizard Helpdesk at 011-49424365 , +91-9599653865; Date of uploading of
NIT & Bid documents (online publishing date): On Date 04.05.2020 at 11.00
Hrs; Date & Time of Submission of Tender : On or before date 05.06.2020 and
time upto 15:00 hrs. Date and Time of Opening of Tender (Technical bids -
PacketA): Date 05.06.2020 at 15.30 hrs. Tender document will be available on
DFCCIL's website www. dfccil .com, www .tenderwizard .com/DFCCIL &
Central Procurement portal eprocure .gov. in. The tender documents shall be
if you know any such heroes tweet to us Omoviesnowtv using submitted in online mode only through website www.tenderwlzard .com/
DFCCIL. Tenderers are advised to visit the DFCCIL website regularl y for
further information regarding tender.
(Ajit Kumar Mishra)
General Manager/Coordination/DDU

Terrorists Were On Prowl In Handwara For 2 Weeks
Part Of Seven-Man
Team, 5 Of Whom
Were Killed In April
The house damaged during the encounter in Handwara on Sunday
Saleem.Pandit
@timesgroup.com
Srinagar: The two terrorists
killed in Chanjimulla hamlet
in Handwara forest were part
of a seven-member group, five
of whom were killed in Rang-
dori forest in Keran sector in
Kupwara district on April 5
when they tried to infiltrate
the Line of Control (LoC). Ho-
wever, the two escaped the
security dragnet at the LoC
and returned to POK, intelli-
gence sources said, adding
that they managed to infiltra-
te the LoC a few days later.
Locals in Chanjimulla said
the two terrorists — Haider
from Pakistan-occupied Kash-
mir and Asif Reshi from Hand-
wara — were seen in the fores-
ted area for the last two weeks.
The Army units of 21 and 15
Rashtriya Rifles, which are
stationed in the area, had also
received inputs last week abo-
ut the presence of two to four
heavily armed terrorists in
combat fatigues in the area.
However, Vijay Kumar,
IG of Kashmir Range, denied
that Haider was part of the
seven-member team of terro-
rists which had attempted to
Three more
Indians in UAE
lose jobs over
‘Islamophobia’
Sachin.Parashar
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The government
remains concerned about at-
tempts to disturb communal
harmony in Gulf nations, par-
ticularly UAE where three
more Indians have lost their
jobs and are facing action
from local authorities for
their coronavirus-related “Is-
lamophobic” utterances. Indi-
an missions in the region have
warned in the past few weeks
against inflammatory posts
on social media, citing PM
Modi’s tweet that Covid-19
doesn’t recognise any reli-
gion, caste, creed or border.
These developments, how-
ever, have not come in the way
of India’s cooperation with
UAE in dealing with the virus.
While India sent a team of
medical professionals to UAE
on Saturday to help the coun-
try in its fight against the vi-
rus, the Gulf nation too des-
patched seven tonnes of medi-
cal supplies to India. India is
currently also working with
the UAE government to imple-
ment its plan for evacuation of
Indian nationals from the
country. More than 50,000 peo-
ple had registered for evacua-
tion with the Indian consulate
in Dubai alone until Friday.
Full report on www.toi.in
Ayurvedic drug
gets nod for
clinical trials
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Kochi: An ayurvedic medi-
cine, Zingivir-H tablet, used
for treating respiratory infec-
tions has got approval from
the Clinical Trial Registry of
India (CTRI) for clinical trials
on adults who have tested pos-
itive for Covid-19. CTRI comes
under the Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR).
The drug, developed by
Kerala-based Pankajakasthu-
ri Herbal Research, will now
be tested as a potential medi-
cine for Covid-19 in medical
colleges in India. TNN
CJI DIRECTS OFFICERS IN RANKS OF DEPUTY
REGISTRAR AND ABOVE TO ATTEND OFFICE
ANI
infiltrate the LoC in Keran
sector on April 5. Five soldi-
ers were also killed in the en-
counter in the Keran sector.
Kumar said that Haider
was a top commander of Lash-
kar-e-Taiba who had been acti-
ve mostly in Lolab, Sogam and
Handwara areas of north
Kashmir since June 2017. “He
was the mastermind behind
the recent killings of three
CRPF jawans in Sopore,” Ku-
mar said, adding that he had
killed several civilians as well.
Kumar said Haider was tas-
ked with receiving new gro-
Army units had also got
inputs last week about
the presence of two-four
heavily armed
terrorists in combat
fatigues in the area
ups of LeT from across LoC
and planning fresh attacks.
The other slain terrorist, Asif
Reshi, was a resident of Gund
Chabootra in Handwara. The
bodies of both Haider and Asif
were taken to Sheeri in Bara-
mulla district and buried in
the presence of a magistrate.
Lockdown delayed peak by
a month to June-end: Study
‘1.5 Lakh Cases NO PETALS FOR THESE NURSES
Likely At Peak’
Krishnendu.Bandyopadhyay
@timesgroup.com
Kolkata: Covid-19 may peak
in late June nationally, a st-
udy by Kolkata-based Indian
Association for the Cultivati-
on of Science (IACS) showed.
It also said that the peak itself
Centre to fund 11
modelling projects
E leven projects for studying
mathematical modelling
and computational aspects to
tackle Covid-19 will now take
off with the government
signing off on the funding.
Most of them attempt to
propose models to account for
various factors relevant to
Covid-19 by modifying the
basic SIR (susceptible-infec-
ted-recovered) models. TNN
could be halved with in-
creased testing and stringent
lockdowns in targeted zones,
while also suggesting that the
lockdown has successfully
delayed the peak by a month.
A train of emotions rolls into UP
Urooj Khan & Faiz Siddiqui TNN
Lucknow/Kanpur: As Ji-
tendra Yadav deboarded Shra-
mik Special train at Charbagh
railway station along with
about 850 migrant labourers
and their children working in
Nashik, he bowed down with
teary eyes to kiss the ground.
But officers immediately stop-
ped him and reminded him to
follow Covid precautions.
Completing the journey of
around 1,200km, the train reac-
hed Charbagh railway station
early Sunday morning. Eight
medical teams thermal-scann-
ed each passenger before al-
lowing them to proceed for
boarding 31buses arranged by
the UPSRTC for their native
places. District and police offi-
cials were also present and vid-
eographed entire exercise.
TIMES NATION
21 Rashtriya
Rifles loses its
CO for the
second time
Rajat.Pandit@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Officers have to le-
ad their soldiers as ‘tigers’ in
the Army, whether it be conven-
tional conflicts or counter-in-
surgency operations. There is
no other option because “a lea-
der has to lead by example, espe-
cially when you are leading yo-
ur men to probably their de-
aths”, said officers on Sunday.
The Army has a sterling tra-
dition of its officers leading
from the front, which is enshri-
ned in the gallantry awards list
year after year, though it’s rela-
tively rare for battalion com-
manding officers (COs) to be kil-
led in action in counter-insur-
gency operations like Colonel
Ashutosh Sharma of 21 Rash-
triya Rifles did on Saturday.
Incidentally, this is the se-
cond time that the 21RR has lost
its CO. In August 2000, the then
CO, Colonel Rajinder Chauhan,
his sector commander Brigadi-
er B S Shergill and another sol-
dier were killed in an IED explo-
sion while travelling in a vehi-
cle in the Kupwara district.
Other COs to lay down their
lives over the years include Co-
lonel Munindra Nath Rai and
Santosh Mahadik, who were
both posthumously awarded
the Shaurya Chakra for leading
separate counter-terrorist ope-
rations in Kashmir in 2015. Both
had earlier also got gallantry
medals for other operations.
In 2007, Col Vasanth V of 9
Maratha Light Infantry was po-
sthumously awarded the Ashok
Chakra, the nation’s highest pe-
acetime gallantry award, for la-
ying down his life while leading
an operation to flush out mili-
tants in Uri sector of J&K.
Chief of defence staff Ge-
neral Bipin Rawat on Sunday
said the operation in Handwa-
ra highlighted the determina-
tion of security forces to safe-
guard people’s lives.
Military helicopters on Sunday showered flower petals on hospitals to
express gratitude to corona warriors, but on Saturday 40 nurses from
Nashik who were rushed to Malegaon were forced to spend the night
on the streets. Puja Pawar, president of the Nashik Nurses Associ-
ation, said they were offered accommodation at a hostel that had not
been used for a long time. ‘The bathrooms did not have doors, the
taps were dry, the bedsheets did not seem to have been washed in
months and the entire hostel was covered with dirt,’ she said. They
were finally shifted to another facility around 3am after they reported
the situation on a WhatsApp group and alerted the media, she said
The “bio-computational
modelling” study aims to pre-
dict the progress of Covid-19
in India and assess the impact
of the lockdown by modify-
ing infection rates and ob-
taining best- and worst-case
scenarios. Going by the trend
of the model’s curve and ef-
fective reproduction num-
Migrant workers wave as they board a bus for the railway station to
catch a train home, in Kozhikode on Sunday
“I walked 170km from
Mumbai to Nashik along with
several other workers. We
were heading towards UP
when police caught us near
Nashik border on Friday. We
were hungry for two days. Po-
lice gave us food. Later, we
were informed about the
* THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI | MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020
PM MODI HAILS MILITARY’S FLY-PAST
TO SALUTE CORONA WARRIORS
Loss of contact forced suspension of night op
Continued from P 1 ra commandos, who had tak-
en positions outside. “There
T
he security forces, which was no radio contact with the
had by then cordoned off team inside, while one soldier
the area, blasted one of
the houses with heavy weap-
had a gunshot wound on his
right leg outside. When some-
ons responding to the gunfire.
“One terrorist was killed
one rang Col Sharma’s mo-
bile, it was answered by the
there,” a source said. terrorist, who was probably
injured, with an ‘Assalamua-
After contact was lost,
when someone rang Col
laikum’,” said the source.
With no contact with the
team inside, the operation was
Sharma’s mobile, it was suspended for the night amid
answered by a terrorist thunderstorms and heavy
rains. “Abundant precaution
“But the other terrorist had to be taken because no-
was hiding in the adjacent two- body knew the fate of Col Shar-
storey house with a cow-shed.
He started firing and lobbying
grenades as soon as Col Shar-
ma’s team inside,” he added.
At first light on Sunday,
the worst fears of the securi-
ma’s team entered that house. ty forces came true as all five
There was a heavy volume of of Col Sharma’s team were
gunfire,” the source said. found dead in the “house
Col Sharma and his team clearance” operation.
then “lost contact” with secu- The bodies of the two terr-
rity forces, including elite pa- orists, with weapons and oth-
His daughter’s father, ‘Col Courage’ Maj was looking forward
melted for his men and his family to starting a family
Rohan Dua & Yeshika Budhwar
New Delhi/Jaipur: Colonel Ashutosh Shar-
ma had “scalped” — as some soldiers would
say — an enviable number of the enemy’s he-
ad. It was 30 at last count.
Back in the barracks, though, all that
the ferocious officer could talk about with
fellow soldiers was his seven-year-old daugh-
ter Tamanna. His universe revolved around
the little girl. One of the last meetings with
her took place at a pizza outlet in Jaipur.
His final family photo shows Tamanna sit-
ting on his lap, both her arms wrapped aro- Army personnel take positions during the
und the doting father’s neck. encounter in Handwara on Sunday
“He would share with us her requests for
shopping, her love for sport shoes, the vaca- TOI, “He came to meet us on Holi, in March
tions she wanted to go on and the animation 2019. It was a surprise... I do not want to hear
movies she was so excited about. And we would that people are sorry about his death. He took a
all laugh, saying, ‘But there are no movie halls conscious decision to do his duty and I am ex-
here’. That’s what he talked to us about. Taman- tremely proud of him. He always took part in
na. Over phone with her, he would make end- most operations and led from the front.” She
less promises,” a senior Army officer said. told ANI that everyone must carry out their
The 45-year-old was equally mindful of work responsibly in whichever field they cho-
his duties, rushing to encounter spots, ma- ose to be in. “It’s not that one can serve the co-
king visits to villages, keeping as top priority untry only by joining the Army. One should be
the welfare of his soldiers. a good human and a responsible citizen.”
On Sunday, his wife Pallavi Sharma told
In ‘policy shift’,
Modi to attend
virtual NAM
meet on Covid
Sachin.Parashar
@timesgroup.com
P
M Narendra Modi will
participate on Monday in
a virtual NAM summit
meant to discuss ways to jointly
fight the spread of the novel
coronavirus. While the PM has
repeatedly underscored the sig-
nificance of international col-
laboration in combating the vi-
rus, Modi at NAM will still have
some novelty value, as he has
avoided attending NAM summ-
its in the past, marking as many
have said a significant depar-
ture in India’s foreign policy.
Modi became the first full-
time Indian PM to skip the
NAM summit in 2016. He did it
again in 2019, in a decision seen
as confirming India’s move
from non-alignment to what is
described these days by Indian
ber, more than 1.5 lakh would
authorities as multi-alignment.
“One has to keep in mind
be infected at the peak. though that this is not the usual
The study predicts the NAM summit. It is a virtual
peak would have appeared in meeting and will see participa-
end-May in the absence of a tion from a limited number of
lockdown and had it been
completely lifted after May 3,
member states,” said a source.
Modi is expected to outline
the rate of infection would India’s Covid-19 strategy in a
rise again at a faster rate. statement at the meeting.
Full report on www.toi.in Full report on www.toi.in
PTI
All the migrants were natives
of Kanpur and nearby dis-
tricts. including Unnao, Kan-
pur Dehat, Fatehpur, Kan-
nauj, Jalaun and Jhansi. After
undergoing thermal screen-
ing, the migrants boarded 40
special buses which ferried
them to their native districts.
Manish Kumar, a native of
Kannauj, said, “When at the
railway station I saw a team of
doctors and another team
with food packets, I could not
control my emotions. I want to
thank CM Yogi Adityanath as
train. Officers helped us in because of him we would meet
boarding it,” said Jitendra Ya- our families once again.”
dav, a taxi driver in Mumbai. Raj Shekhar, MD of
Similar emotional scenes UPSRTC, said that all the bus-
were witnessed at Kanpur es were properly sanitized and
Central Railway Station as a drivers were trained for fol-
special train from Ahmeda- lowing precautions needed to
bad with around 1,200 migrant avoid Covid-19.”
workers arrived on Sunday. Full report on www.toi.in
(Clockwise from above)
Lance Naik Dinesh Singh,
Naik Rajesh Kumar &
inspector Qazi
er “warlike stores”, were also
recovered and handed over to
J&K police. While Haidar
alias Iqbal was a resident of
POK, the other terrorist was
identified as Asif Reshi, a lo-
cal from Gund Chabootra,
Handwara. Their bodies were
taken to Sheeri in Baramulla
district and buried in the
presence of a magistrate.
ANI
Full report on www.toi.in
Rlys seeks fare for spl trains
from states, oppn slams govt
TNN & AGENCIES
New Delhi: Several opposi-
tion members on Sunday
slammed the Indian Railways
for asking state governments
to pay for tickets of stranded
migrants transported by
Shramik Special trains after
“collecting the ticket fare”,
urging the Centre not to put
extra burden on states and the
already stressed passengers.
In a late night statement, a
railway spokesperson said,
“As per the guidelines, sen-
ding state will pay the consoli-
dated fare to railways. Sen-
ding state may decide to bear
this cost or take it from pas-
sengers or take it from recei-
ving state after mutual con-
sultation or may charge it to
any fund. It is their prerogati-
16 more trains take
migrants home
A movement of only
t least 16 Shramik Special
trains departed from
different stations on Sunday
including 10 heading to Bihar
transporting stranded migrant
workers, students and tourists,
reports Dipak Dash. Sources
said nearly three dozen such
trains were pressed in to
service since special train
operations started on Friday
and Indian Railways is ready to
run over 300 such trains to
meet the demand.
Full report on www.toi.in
ve.” These trains are only run
on the request of state govern-
ment concerned, “railway has
no role to play in planning a
train” and who travels in the-
se trains is decided by the re-
spective state government.
“If you are stuck abroad
during this crisis this govern-
ment will fly you back for free
but if you are a migrant wor-
ker stranded in another state
be prepared to cough up the
cost of travel. Where did “PM
Cares” go?” tweeted NC’s
Omar Abdullah. SP’s Akhi-
lesh Singh Yadav termed the
move as “highly shameful”.
Maharashtra CM Uddhav
Thackeray on Sunday said he
had requested the Centre to
waive off the railway ticket
charges for migrants.
Full report on www.toi.in
The Bravehearts
N aik Rajesh Kumar (30):Parent unit was 3 Guards.
Hailing from Punjab, his next of kin is his mother
Badami Devi
L ance Naik Dinesh Singh (25): Parent unit was 17
Guards. From Uttarakhand, his next of kin is his
mother Tulsi Devi
S ub-Inspector S A P Qazi (41): From J&K Police, he had
volunteered to serve in the Special Operations Group in
2006. Recipient of several medals, including the Sher-e-
Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry in 2009 and the Police
Medal for Gallantry from the President of India in 2011
Kids find IED; 7 hurt as it later goes off
H ours after the encounter ended in Handwara forest on
Sunday morning, seven people, including four minors, were
injured when an explosive device went off in Ahgam area in
Kupwara district, reports Saleem Pandit. The site of the blast is
just 4 km away from Chanjimulla, where five seuritymen died in
an overnight operation to flush out two terrorists. The blast
occurred in the afternoon when two of the children who were
injured found the device and started playing with it, sources said.
Police are probing how the children got hold of the device.
Rohan.Dua@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Four days ago
when Brigadier Chandra-
kant Sood (retd) called up
from Panchkula to speak to
his son Major Anuj in Hand-
wara, they briefly spoke abo-
ut his possible homecoming
after the end of lockdown.
They also chatted about Anuj Col Sharma and Maj Sood at a
joining his parent unit, Briga- recent get-together
de of Guards, in Gurdaspur.
On Sunday, the family stoi- Monday,” the retired brigadi-
cally fielded incessant calls. er, who was with the Indian Ar-
One of those was from Anuj’s my Corps of EME, told TOI.
young wife Aakriti. She wanted The couple had got marri-
to know how she could arrange ed in 2017 and Anuj moved to
a vehicle pass, needed during the Valley within four
the lockdown, to drive down months of that. “They were
from Dharamshala, where she planning to start a family,” So-
had gone to visit her parents. od said. “Aakriti was working
“She could barely speak at with a firm in Pune. She co-
first. She wanted to come im- uldn’t be with Anuj as wives
mediately to be with us. But are not allowed where he was
my wife and I were able to con- posted. But she was anxiously
vince her to come when the waiting for his return his pa-
mortal remains reach us on rent unit in Gurdaspur.”
In Gujarat’s Kutch, police arrested 16 cement factory workers after a
clash broke out between two groups at their labour colony over
arranging transport to return to Uttar Pradesh
Migrants on edge
as clock ticks &
chaos looms
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
MHA to states: Aid
C
aught in the chaos of an
evacuation exercise too
complex to be orderly, ‘distressed’ people
despairing migrant workers
on Sunday clashed with police
in MP, fought among them- T he home ministry on
Sunday told the states and
UTs to facilitate the inter-state
selves in Gujarat, tried to gate-
crash Andhra Pradesh’s bor- movement of only distressed
ders with Telangana and Od- migrant workers, pilgrims,
isha from either side and used tourists and students who had
dirt roads to dodge lengthy moved from their native
places or workplaces just
registration and screening
protocols at checkpoints set before the lockdown and
up by Rajasthan. could not return on account of
Some 7,000 migrant work- lockdown restrictions.
“The facilitation does not
ers blocked the Agra-Bom-
bay Road in Madhya Pra- extend to those categories of
persons, who are otherwise
desh’s Barwani — a red zone
— and attacked police, injur-
ing the additional SP, an
residing normally at places,
other than the native places
SDM and three other cops.
They were angry at being
purposes of work etc., and
who wish to visit their native
blocked on the Maharashtra- places in the normal course,”
MP border and demanded to the home secretary stated in a
be allowed to pass through letter sent to the all state chief
MP on their way to UP, Bihar, secretaries and
Rajasthan and Odisha. administrators of Union
Tempers flared on the Te- territories on Sunday. TNN
langana-AP border, too, after
hundreds of people, most of Guest workers in Chen-
them migrant workers, at- nai also showed signs of
tempted to cross over from ei- restiveness, with many of
ther side, only to be confront- them lining to submit self-
ed by police contingents. In declaration forms and seek
Gujarat’s Kutch, 16 cement permission to leave. “If the
factory workers were arrest- government refuses to help
ed after a clash broke out be- us, we will start walking to-
tween two groups over ar- wards our village in a day or
ranging transport to return two,” a worker said.
to their native UP. Full report on www.toi.in
 THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020 TIMES NATION | Lockdown-Day 40 9

In vaccine hunt, no tactic left untried

A vaccine looks like humanity’s best bet against coronavirus. Unprecedented
efforts are being made, with researchers and organisations across the world
NO. OF VACCINES
IN DEVELOPMENT Bill Gates’ take on
pursuing both traditional and novel methods to create one as soon as possible
THE DIFFERENT the vaccine race
HOW CORONAVIRUS INFECTS TYPES OF VACCINES
N
oting that none of the available treatments
for Covid-19 is really a miracle cure, Bill Gates

1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 says “humankind has never had a more ur-
The virus enters the body Vaccines help initiate an immune
SPIKE PROTEIN gent task than creating broad immunity for corona-
through the nose, mouth response to detect and recognise a VIRUS VIRAL VECTOR
or eyes, then attaches to cells Inactivated Replicating
virus”, which can come through a vaccine. Pointing
M PROTEIN pathogen. Each of the vaccine types
in the airway that produce a Weakened Non-replicating
out that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the
described below helps identify and flag
protein called ACE2 RNA biggest funder of vaccines in the world, the Micro-
the virus so that immune cells can fight NUCLEIC AID PROTEIN-BASED soft co-founder says having one ready would re-
off the pathogen and learn how to protect DNA Protein subunit
quire unprecedented “global cooperative effort”.
the body in the event of an infection RNA Virus-like particle
ACE2 RECEPTOR Here are some of the key factors from his blog post:

2 The virus infects the cell by fusing

its oily membrane with the
membrane of the cell. Once inside,
the coronavirus releases a snippet
of genetic material called RNA
3 The infected cell reads
the RNA and begins
making proteins that will
4 Each infected cell
can release millions
of copies of the virus
keep the immune system
at bay and help assemble
new copies of the virus. As
before the cell finally the infection progresses,
breaks down and dies new copies of the virus
are assembled and
carried to the outer
edges of the cell
HOW THE IMMUNE
SYSTEM RESPONDS
VIRUS VACCINES It’s the most common type of the vaccine.
Seven research teams are developing these. There are two general varieties
As the most common type, production
capacities are largely available. A
collaboration between US-based Codagenix
SPEED
Experts say it may take around 18 months
to develop a coronavirus vaccine, although
WEAKENED VIRUS: The vaccine INACTIVATED VIRUS: and Serum Institute of India is changing Gates notes it could be as little as 9 months
contains a weakened form of the The virus is genetic code to weaken the coronavirus, or as long as two years
virus obtained by passing it through made which is a more efficient method
Even at 18 months, it would be the shortest
animal or human cells so it develops uninfectious
They require stringent safety testing, time in which a new vaccine has been readied.
mutations and becomes less using chemicals
which is time consuming. The inacti- The current record is 5 years
infectious. The weakened virus when or heat but is
injected can still elicit an immune response
without causing illness
still capable of
initiating an immune response
vated virus vaccine requires large quantities
of the virus, making it difficult to produce
Vaccines take so long to
develop because they are
expensive to produce and
developers wait to be sure
VIRAL-VECTOR VACCINES About 25 teams are working on these. For the The recently approved Ebola vaccine
of results from each stage
coronavirus vaccine, another type of virus is weakened and genetically altered so it is a viral vector, so expertise required
before taking the next step.
can produce the same proteins as the coronavirus does in the body to produce this type of vaccine is available
But with the Covid-19
CORONAVIRUS SPIKE GENE
Any sort of existing immunity to vaccine, multiple stages
REPLICATING VIRAL-VECTOR NON-REPLICATING VIRAL-
VACCINE: The weakened virus VECTOR VACCINE: The virus the viral vector could make the are being pursued
can still replicate inside cells contained in this type does not replicating type less effective. No simultaneously to save time
once administered. It is replicate inside cells as the licensed non-replicating vaccine
EFFICACY & SAFETY
considered safe and produces genes responsible for replication exists and will likely require a booster

70%
a strong immune response have been deactivated shot for long-term immunity Efficacy at which a vaccine will be
VIRAL GENES
enough to stop Covid-19, Gates says,
1 The immune system releases
antigen-presenting cells (APC),
which help detect and identify the
NUCLEIC-ACID VACCINES At least 20 teams are exploring this technique, which Nucleic acid–based vaccines are
often safer and have the
adding that a 60% effective vaccine “is usable,
but we might still see some localised outbreaks”
aims to use genetic instructions in the form of DNA or RNA injected into cells to prompt an
virus. APCs engulf the virus and potential to be developed quickly With a vaccine, the key elements are
immune response. Most of these vaccines encode the virus’s spike protein, that is the
display the virus’ “peptides”, safety and efficacy, Gates says, adding that
protein in the coronavirus’s spike-like protrusion that helps it to latch onto human cells
which allows other immune cells SPIKE GENE They may need adjustments to since there may not be time to do extensive
to recognise the virus too DNA VACCINE: Pores are created in RNA VACCINE: RNA is encased in induce a stronger immune studies, solid Phase-I safety trials may have
the cell membranes to increase a lipid coat so that it can enter response. Further, no nucleic acid to be followed up with real-world evidence
VIRAL PEPTIDE the uptake of DNA into a cell via the human cells to produce vaccine has so far been licensed for whether the vaccine is safe to use

2 T-helper cells latch onto the viral a process called electroporation copies of the virus protein use in humans
peptides that have been flagged by
DNA RNA MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION
the APCs and help activate other immune
cells: B cells and cytotoxic T cells
PROTEIN-BASED VACCINES Subunit vaccines seek to activate an immune response against the coronavirus spike 7bn The minimum number of vaccine
doses the world will need. The entire

3
protein to prevent it from attaching to cells in the body. For this, coronavirus proteins are injected directly into the body global population will have to be vaccinated. If it
B cells
T-HELPER CELL turns out to be a two-dose vaccine, the required
B CELL produce PROTEIN SUBUNIT VACCINE: 28 teams are VIRUS-LIKE PARTICLE These vaccines are safer and easier doses could double to 14 billion
antibodies that working on these. The focus is on the virus’s VACCINE: Five teams to produce. Sars vaccines of this
help prevent the spike protein or a key part of it called the are working on these. Without knowing the specifics of the vaccine,
type protected monkeys against infection
virus from receptor binding domain. This approach Fragments of proteins or it would be difficult to prepare manufacturing
infecting cells involves manufacturing protein shells that mimic facilities but Gates suggests different kinds of
These vaccines haven’t been tested
CYTOTOXIC massive supplies of the the coronavirus’s outer in people. Growing the viruses and vaccine factories should begin preparing so that
T CELL spike protein itself coat are purifying the proteins at pharmaceutical production can begin as soon as one is approved
and injecting a used. These scales can take years. They also often A big question is delivery — who will get the

4 Cytotoxic
T cells
identify and
dose directly
into people
empty virus
shells aren’t
infectious
require an adjuvant, or an agent added to a
vaccine to boost the immune response
vaccine and when? It won’t be possible for
everyone to get the vaccine at once, so
Long-lived ‘memory’ B and T cells that M PROTEIN distribution will have to prioritise healthcare
destroy recognise the virus can patrol the body SPIKE Compiled by Anjishnu Das & Kenneth Mohanty | Design: Sajeev Kumarapuram workers and, Gates says, more vulnerable
infected cells for months or years, providing immunity PROTEIN
Source: Nature, NYT, The Conversation low-income countries

As lockdown
eases, Covid Cases cross 40,000-mark, ‘``8.6L for meds
& consumables,
‘Allowed to speak to
doc on phone only’
cases may rise,
feels Centre record rise in several states another `2.8L
Covid charges’
 Continued from P 1 were not even allowed inside.
“My father became un-

 Continued from P 1
A W
s partial movement
starts within states and
economic activities re-
boot outside containment
zones, the government believes
cases might rise, requiring pre-
paredness in terms of labora-
tory capacity to diagnose those
infected with coronavirus.
A total of 10,46,450 samples
were tested through RT-PCR
till 9am on Sunday. “We will
continue to use rapid antibody
tests for surveillance and epide-
miological purposes. We have
validated around eight to nine
companies and orders have
been placed with two of them.
There is also a South Korean
firm manufacturing these kits
in Manesar,” an official said.
The government expects to
receive over 10 lakh RT-PCR
kits from both local and foreign
manufacturers, while delivery
DurgeshNandan.Jha
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The Covid-19
count crossed 40,000 cases in
the country with fresh infec-
tions hitting another new
high on Sunday, the third in as
many days, as Delhi (427 new
infections), Gujarat (374),
Punjab (330), Tamil Nadu
(266), Haryana (66) and J&K
(35) reported their highest
jump in cases in a single day.
Worryingly, the number of
cases has surged significant-
ly on the last three days of the
second phase of lockdown,
just before restrictions in
many parts of the country are
set to be eased. New cases on
Sunday spiked to 2,667, break-
ing Saturday’s record of 2,564,
even as the worst-hit state,
Maharashtra, continued to
report a dip in cases. The state
recorded 678 new cases, down
A woman collects rice grain fallen on the road after an NGO
distributed ration outside a slum in Mumbai on Sunday
ing to the latest data collated
from state governments.
With 427 new cases, Del-
hi’s total Covid-19 count has
touched 4,549, with the death
toll at 64.
The rise in infections was
most dramatic in Punjab,
which new cases nearly dou-
bled within a day. In the past
SL Shanth Kumar
Haryana also witnessed a
big spike in cases, with 66 re-
corded on Sunday. There have
been five Covid-19 deaths in
the state so far. Three persons
died in Rajasthan taking
state’s toll to 71while 114 others
were tested positive taking the
state’s to 2886. Gujarat record-
ed 374 new cases and 28 deaths,
Audit panel won’t
certify Covid-19
deaths: Bengal
A mid the raging controversy
over the actual number of
Covid-19 fatalities in Bengal
and the need for a committee
to audit them, the state
government has altered the
panel’s mandate and it will
now not certify whether a
patient died due to
coronavirus or a pre-existing
ailment, a member of the team
said on Sunday. He said now
the doctors treating Covid-19
patients will certify whether
they have died of the viral
disease or any other illness.
The panel was in the eye of a
political storm, with
opposition parties calling it a
government’s tool to “fudge”
the data related to the number
 Continued from P 1
ith several families
complaining of prof-
iteering by private
hospitals for Covid-related tre-
atment, the state public health
department last week issued a
notification capping treat-
ment charges for uninsured
patients seeking treatment in
private hospitals for both Co-
vid and non-Covid ailments.
The deceased patient’s son
said Rs 8.6 lakh were for medi-
cine and consumables, while
another Rs 2.8 lakh were “Co-
vid charges”. “The authorities
have capped certain charges,
but hospitals seem to be charg-
ing arbitrarily’’, he alleged.
While his father was in hospi-
tal, the family was under quar-
antine. The man is angry he
was not given any indication
by the hospital about the ex-
penses they would incur.
A
hospital spokesper-
son of HN Reliance
Hospital in Charni
Road said the son, who was
counselled by doctors and ex-
plained everything, was un-
willing to take his father all
the way to SevenHills in Ma-
rol, which is a dedicated Co-
vid hospital. “He was breath-
less and looked fragile. I
didn’t want to make him trav-
el all the way,” the son said.
With an elevated pulse
rate of 137 against a normal of
90 to 100 and oxygen satura-
tion level of 89% against a
normal of 90% to 100%, they
headed to Saifee Hospital in
Charni Road. By now, 40 min-
utes had passed. The person
manning the BMC helpline
told them he would get back in
45 minutes with the status of
beds in hospitals. The family
claimed that at Saifee they
conscious inside the cab. I
was allowed to speak with
the doctor-on-duty over the
phone. She told me that all
their ventilators were en-
gaged. She said as his respi-
ratory ratio was dropping,
he would need life-support
immediately and suggested
that we try for a bed in Bom-
bay Hospital,” said the son.
He then decided to go to
Masina Hospital. “We went
to Bombay Hospital, where
the guard at the emergency
department told us that
there were no doctors,” the
son said. The patient was fi-
nally taken to St George Hos-
pital, where a bed was made
available. “My father was
given oxygen support,” said
Shahbaz. His father was de-
clared dead around 2.30 am.
“We still haven’t received his
Covid-19 report,” he said.

25 migrants paid `1L

of a similar number of rapid
antibody kits from indigenous
manufacturers — and an addi-
tional 3 lakh from a South Ko-
rean firm — are expected by
next week, the official said.
Full report on www.toi.in
from 790 on the previous day,
and significantly less than
the peak of 1,008 on Friday.
The country has now re-
corded 42,456 Covid cases, of
which 11,442 have recovered
and 1,390 have died, accord-
two days, Punjab’s Covid-19
count has increased nearly
200%, going from 585 cases on
Friday to 1,102 on Sunday,
mostly on account of return-
ing pilgrims from Maharash-
tra’s Nanded testing positive.
both highest in a single day for
the state. Of this, Ahmedabad
alone reported 274 new cases
and 23 deaths. The state’s total
tally has now reached 5,428
and its death toll is 290.
Full report on www.toi.in
of deaths and afflictions. The
Bengal government had
acknowledged that 105
positive patients had died in
the state till then but insisted
the actual death toll from the
disease was only 33. PTI
He said a couple of days be-
fore admission his father’s
blood test results showed his
blood serum creatinine (an in-
direct measure of kidney func-
tion) was normal. “Thereafter,
the bill kept rising. I paid Rs 3.4
for 800km bus ride
lakh and a couple of days later I  Continued from P 1
received a call from the ac-

India slips in
Jamshedpur only urban Entry bar forces
S
counts department informing eeing all those people
me that if I did not pay, they walking hundreds of kil-
would stop treatment,” he said. ometres to return home,
press freedom wedding to be Full report on www.toi.in Ihad considered myself lucky.

cluster with zero case

But I have had no income

index, Javadekar solemnised at since and my savings are fast

Centre to send running out,” he said. “Back

in Gurgaon, I used to earn Rs
slams survey  Continued from P 1 maining 13 reported less state border 9,000 a month while my elder
THE WORST-HIT than a 100 cases. Jamshed-
 Continued from P 1
20 teams to brother would send around Rs

G
New Delhi: Information and reater Mumbai has UA (Cases) % of state’s total pur is the only UA among 15,000 home from Delhi.”
broadcasting minister Pra- reported 9,445 cases
Mumbai (9,445) 76.8
these 35 which has reported
worst-hit dists With migrant trains un-

kash Javadekar on Sunday said
the media enjoyed “absolute
freedom” in India, and that the
government would “expose”
surveys that tended to portray a
“bad picture” about its press fr-
eedom, reports Swati Mathur.
Javadekar’s comments we-
re in context of a report comp-
iled by global body Reporters
Without Borders which said
India had dropped two places
on the global press freedom in-
dex — from 140 to 142, in a list of
180 countries. It said the com-
munications blackout imposed
by the government in Kashmir,
which made it difficult for jour-
nalists to report on the region,
had played a significant role in
India’s ranking going down.
Full report on www.toi.in
so far and is followed
by Delhi UA (Delhi, Ghazia-
bad, Noida, Faridabad and
Gurgaon), which reported
4,473 cases. Ahmedabad ur-
ban agglomerations, which
consists of Ahmedabad-Ga-
ndhinagar spread, account-
ed for 3,610 cases. The other
three UAs that reported over
a1,000 positive cases were In-
dore, Chennai and Pune.
Seven UAs reported be-
tween 500 and 1,000 cases
each. Japiur reported
961, followed by Kolkata
with 851. Similarly, both Su-
rat and Hyderabad report-
ed over 600 cases. Vijaywa-
da, Agra and Bhopal com-
pleted the list of UAs with
over 500 cases.
A
zero cases so far. rvind Kumar was off to likely to run from the Co-
Delhi (4,473) NA* A comparison of cases Jaspur area in Uttarak- New Delhi: The Centre has de- vid-19 hotspots of Mumbai
Ahm’bad (3,610) 71.4 in these 35 largest UAs with hand’s Udham Singh Na- cided to deploy 20 public health anytime soon, road journeys Stranded people board a special
the total for their states gar, where the bride’s side was teams in as many affected dis- home are currently the only govt-arranged bus in Bengaluru
Indore (1,545) 54.3
shows that for many states waiting. But, at Bijnor border, tricts with maximum number option. The rules specify that
Chennai (1,366) 49.6 Covid-19 is largely concen- policemen stopped his car. Ar- of Covid-19 positive cases to as- migrant workers have to pay st of the bus is Rs 2 lakh. Most
Pune (1,339) 10.9 trated in their largest ur- vind and two of his relatives sist states in implementation for their trip home. They have of those boarding the bus are
ban spreads. In Delhi, were told that they can’t go fur- of containment strategy to to organise themselves into small traders from Dharavi.
Jaipur (961) 34.7
West Bengal, Gujarat and ther as the district was sealed. combat the infectious disease. groups and apply to police or Daily-wage workers with
Kolkata (851) 92.3 Maharashtra, these UAs After trying to persuade the po- The 20 districts — in nine the collector before making no earnings during the lock-
Surat (661) 13.1 alone accounted for over licemen, who didn’t budge, Ar- states besides Delhi — are Mu- travel arrangements. down are the ones without
90% of the cases. Similarly, vind called up the bride’s fam- mbai, Thane and Pune in Maha- The first private bus that any option — unless the gov-
Hyd’bad (604) 56.8
for Madhya Pradesh, Tamil ily and explained them the sit- rashtra; Bhopal and Indore in left from Mumbai for Jalor in ernment steps in. Three Shra-
V’wada (566) 37.1 Nadu, Telangana and Uttar uation. After a long discussion, MP; Ahmedabad, Surat and Va- Rajasthan on Sunday cost the mik trains carrying 1,200 pas-
Agra (536) 21.6 Pradesh, they accounted a new plan was chalked out. dodara in Gujarat; south east travellers Rs 1 lakh. The 25 mi- sengers departed on Sunday
for more than half the cases The bride sat in a car with her and central districts in Delhi; grants on board paid Rs 4,000 — one each from Vasai and
Bhopal (526) 18.5 each to cover a distance of
reported from the state. parents and arrived at Dha- Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajas- Bhiwandi on the outskirts of
*Delhi UA includes some parts of NCR rampura police picket on Utta- than; Agra and Lucknow in UP; 800km. Usually, the rate is Rs the MMR region –– to Gorakh-
Karnataka, Punjab, Bihar
and Jharkhand are the rakhand border. Arvind also Hyderabad in Telangana; Chen- 1,200 to Rs 1,500. Another pri- pur in UP. A third train left
There were eight other only states where these UAs reached there with a priest and nai in TN; Kolkata in Bengal; vate bus is set to leave for UP on Nagpur for Lucknow at night
UAs with between 100 and accounted for less than 30% the wedding was solemnised. and Kurnool, Guntur and Kris- Monday. The charges are Rs with 927 passengers.
500 cases, while 12 of the re- of the cases. Full report on www.toi.in hna in Andhra Pradesh. TNN 8,000 per head, and the total co- Full report on www.toi.in
10 AN ECSTASY OF IDEAS THE TIMES OF INDIA
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020

A thought for today

When a rainy day comes, you have to spend.
This is not a rainy day, this is a deluge.
This is pralay in terms of economic things
ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN
During Lockdown 3.0
Why Millions Defied The Lockdown
Stranded or marching, migrants have exposed our ignorance of what poverty in today’s India means
Rohit.Saran@timesgroup.com below the empowerment line. The migrant
WHERE MOST MIGRANTS BELONG
t was a lockdown that unlocked mil-
ON THE PROSPERITY-POVERTY SPECTRUM...
crisis would not have been half its size if
most Indians were above this line.

India’s test data is encouraging. Next fortnight

must see a meaningful exit strategy
I lions of Indians. As India receded
into homes in the last week of
March, a section of Bharat hit the
streets defying the order to stay
indoors. For the next few days the
India-Bharat contrast played out in the Indian
Households
Richest

Most migrants
Right help at the right time: No
doubt social welfare schemes now reach
far beyond the officially poor. The JAM
trinity (Jan Dhan account, Aadhaar
number and mobile phone) has helped
target the needy far better. But the

I
ndia today entered a fortnight long third phase of the lockdown, open – ‘India’ hiding at home scared of
with severity watered down. The country has been demarcated coronavirus and Bharat out on the
into a patchwork quilt of coloured zones. The step towards streets gripped by a fear bigger than the
virus. Over a month into the lockdown,
allowing some resumption of activity is welcome. Unfortunately the
the contrast keeps showing up – at
current phase may not see a significant uptick in economic activity,
at a time when every single day of such activity foregone generates
Bandra station in Mumbai, Yamuna
bank in Delhi, on the streets of Surat ...
forbidding opportunity costs in lost income and livelihoods.
India’s economic engines, the sprawling urban centres such as
For ‘Indians’ who witnessed the
March exodus closely some images
Mumbai and Delhi, have been designated red zones. The Centre’s lingered for days – an old woman
categorisation sets a floor which cannot be breached by states, even if walking with a stick taller than her and
struggling to keep up with the family
they disagree. States will struggle to restart economic activity within
ahead, a teenager breaking the plaster
such tight constraints. In this context, Delhi’s chief minister Arvind on his leg so that he could walk faster, a
Kejriwal has observed that even green zones will turn into red zones if girl with a limp crying because she could
current yardsticks continue. States not keep up with her mother walking
which are at the forefront of the Covid ahead with a younger sister.
mitigation strategy are now strugg- Collectively, they were more anxious
ling with an acute resource constraint, than fearful, felt more abandoned than
angry, were lacking security not courage
with roots in the economic standstill.
and were dispossessed by the cities they
The criticality of resources also implies had been working in with a dream to
that demarcating India into zones will build a better life. That a lockdown could
hinder resumption of activity. shatter migrants’ dreams so completely
Supply chains, particularly after proves how little most of ‘India’ knew
the introduction of GST, have taken on them. Questions people asked initially
betrayed their ignorance: Why are they
a seamless pan-India character. These
walking? Can they really walk 500 km?
systems cannot be reconfigured over-
night, around several new walls whose boundaries keep shifting.
Do their bags have all they owned? … all
signs of discomfort among those with
In this context, it’s worthwhile keeping in mind the exhortation creature comforts.
with which President Roosevelt launched the New Deal in the US: Poverty line to dignity line: People
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” We need to make bigger desperate to leave cities were poor in
and bolder breakthroughs towards economic resumption, with assets, not in aspiration and self-esteem.
the accent shifting from “fighting” Covid to “coping with” or They were earning a livelihood not
“managing” Covid (since it cannot be entirely eliminated). living on handouts. They were poor, but
not in the way most people think of the
It’s helpful here that last week India joined a handful of countries poor – and that’s because the popular
to complete a million Covid-19 tests. India’s tests of at-risk population understanding of poverty is badly
show encouraging results. At the one-millionth mark infection rate outdated. Especially in a country where
was just 4%, compared to 16.5% in the US and 7.4% in Germany, a you can drive from one of the planet’s
country believed to have done well in containing the virus. This data largest slums, Dharavi, to arguably the
suggests that India’s strategy should be calibrated to reflect the world’s most expensive residence in just
20 minutes.
demographic and related details of our population and climate. The
For most people, the yardstick is
world can’t follow a standard template given inherent differences the official poverty line. When last
across countries – here South Asia as a whole has done pretty well on estimated in 2011-12 nearly 22% Indians
Covid, without necessarily resorting to India’s tough restrictions. were below that line. Since then the
Leverage these positive facts, and use this fortnight to forge a meaning-
ful exit from a lockdown that’s rapidly outliving its usefulness.
Poorest
...AND THE EMPOWERMENT LINE THAT
BETTER REFLECTS MIGRANTS' INSECURITIES
Average monthly consumption spend (Rs per capita per month 2011-12)
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Percentile of population
Empowerment Line was calculated by McKinsey Global Institute in a 2014 study. Figures have not been updated
country’s GDP has almost doubled and
the population has risen less than 10%,
implying that the number of poor should
be less – much less – than they were a
decade ago. How less? We don’t know for
sure. But that did not blind us to the
migrants’ plight. Our real and growing
blindspot is about the millions who float
just above the official poverty line and
forever live in danger of falling below it
again (see illustration).
An illness, a job loss, death of an ear-
ning member ... is all it takes for a family
in this zone to plunge back into poverty. An
economic setback of the kind triggered
by the coronavirus can push thousands of
families down to the line and beyond. The
downward spiral could also pull in people
who are vaguely defined as ‘lower middle
class’, especially the self-employed. The
rapid expansion of the gig economy (Ola
and Uber drivers, courier delivery boys
…) in recent years means there will be job
losses that won’t show up as job loss.
That’s because these jobs exist some-
where between the official definition of
employed and self-employed.
belong here; exodus tells us what needs to be done
many could next – delivering the help in real time.
slip below If most migrants were reached on
their mobile with instructions on where
they can find a safe shelter with food and
income support, or information that
their employers and landlords will be
paid to take care of them during the
lockdown, they wouldn’t want to stream
out of the cities in such despair.
56% population One way to do this is to build an
below Aadhaar Plus platform. An optional
Empowerment layer built on top of Aadhaar where
Line people voluntarily put in their job status,
22% population income, assets, access to amenities,
below residence and contact number. This will
Poverty Line help identify and grade beneficiaries
60 70 80 90 and deliver help to them just when they
need it and in the form they need it –
sometimes just a text message saying
assistance is on its way.
The Aadhaar Plus database will also
help build a ‘vulnerability index’ that
An Aadhaar Plus database could, eventually, replace all other
will help build a ‘vulnerability poverty measurements. Policy makers
will be able to see precisely where
index’ that could, eventually, families are along different shades of
replace all other poverty poverty and help them accordingly. As it
measurements. Policy turns out, the labour ministry has been
working on creating something loosely
makers will be able to see along these lines called UWIN. Its
precisely where families are progress should be made public.
along different shades of The migration should serve as a vision
correction for those who were unable to
poverty and deliver help to grasp India’s growing urban underbelly.
them just when they need it, People have wondered why migrants
aren’t listening to governments. They
and in the form they need it are, but they aren’t convinced that
One way to track poverty in all its governments can walk the talk. Isolated
dimensions is to replace the poverty line and jobless, they are relying on their faith
with what McKinsey calls the Empower- (lack of it, actually) more than any reaso-
ment Line. It’s a line at which everybody ning. This is happening in a country where
has access to 8 basic needs of life with budget after budget has been dedicated to
some dignity – drinking water, education, ‘the face of the poorest and the weakest
energy, food, healthcare, housing, person’ finance ministers have seen. And
sanitation and social security. In 2014, that should make everybody rethink their
when McKinsey did the study, 56% of faith – and understand why migrants
Indians were estimated to be living have stopped taking words seriously.

‘Lockdown and pandemic are temporary … find

The Nanded Lessons ways to keep yourself happy and enthusiastic’
Don’t stigmatise migrants twice over.
Practise all religions with physical distancing In a large number of cases the lockdown
and attendant fear of infection are
economic crisis. Senior citizens may
be worrying whether they would get
from mental illness of different forms,
how does lockdown affect them?
health ministry. Government and
professional psychiatrists have closely
showing up as forms of mental distress. infected with the deadly virus. All these Today, telemedicine system is accessible followed these programmes. At the

W
hen lockdown 1.0 was announced lakhs of migrants found
BN Gangadhar, Director of the National problems are temporary and will go away to all. A patient suffering from an earlier district level, people have been receiving
themselves stranded far from home without income, food or
Institute of Mental Health and Neuro- once things return to normal. mental illness should continue his daily treatment and medicines from general
shelter, wanting to return to their families but unable to do so. sciences (NIMHANS), which was declared ■ What are ways of preventing such routine. The only difference is that he too health practitioners.
As we enter lockdown 3.0 special trains and buses are being organised an institution of national importance distress? should not step out of the house. He The matter has really moved ahead
for their passage home but this has thrown up its own share of challenges. through a central legislation in 2012, talks These problems are not to be taken should eat a healthy diet and take from a state mental hospital to the
Punjab is seeing a spike in Covid-19 cases with the return of Sikh to Sugandha Indulkar about ways to lightly and can be countered with counsel- prescribed medicines on time. various districts in the state. A
pilgrims who had got stuck at Nanded’s Takht Hazur Sahib in Maha- maintain equipoise in the current situation: ling. People suffering from these reactions Local medical shops are open and module was made available to train
rashtra. In response a blame game has ensued between the two states. can practise yoga and meditation or keep some even deliver medicine to primary care doctors in psychiatric
■ What are the primary forms of themselves creatively occupied at home, your house. So anyone can avail medicine. Later on, many such
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has suggested that his
psychological distress that you can by pursuing hobbies like these facilities. So long as these patients programmes were launched at NIMHANS
government was misled about the pilgrims having tested negative for predict in a situation of lockdown? music, singing, garde- are taking their medicines regularly, there and thereby doctors were made compe-
Covid-19 thrice. Maharashtra minister Ashok There are various forms of psychologi- ning, painting, etc. is no cause for worry. tent to treat mental illnesses. This has been
Chavan has asserted that “Nanded could not cal problems that occur due to lockdown. Find ways to keep All in all, just remember that the lock- a leap in terms of reaching out to patients
have been the source of infection” and instead These problems will not be long lasting yourself happy and down is temporary and so is the pandemic. in need of mental healthcare. Today,
suggested that the drivers from Punjab might because as things come back to normal, enthusiastic. That Things always change for the better. medical colleges across India have a
have carried the infection. Meanwhile the these symptoms will fade. These problems usually works well in ■ In India mental illness has suffered module at the MBBS level in psychiatry.
are age-specific. For instance, in case of such situations. Play major neglect from all quarters – the ■ Recently we saw people flocking
head of the Akal Takht has warned against
high school children there could be indoor games with society, government and policy makers roads protesting the lockdown and
vilifying the Sikh pilgrims like the Tablighis boredom, lethargy and increased your family members, as well. What steps can be taken to even risking infection. What should
and suggested “the veracity of the corona- irritability. In case of board games, or you can ensure that this situation is corrected? authorities do in such a scenario?
virus tests” is in question. With migrants college students, they engage in a group Actually at present, mental illnesses Authorities are doing the best they can
travelling home in large numbers this is a may be worried that activity within your are not totally neglected. Over the last in every situation. It is now up to the
situation that will be repeated in other states. But blame games will be they will lose an house, only with few decades a lot of improvements have masses to follow the rules laid down by
unedifying and unhelpful. Focus needs to be on strong protocols for academic year. In members of your been introduced. NHRC [National the government authorities and law
case of working family. Human Rights Commission] had asked enforcers. Breaking the rules will land
testing, quarantining and rehabilitating migrants.
professionals, there ■ In case of NIMHANS to supervise mental hospitals everyone in trouble. The virus infection is
Migration has played a key role in economic growth, and resumption could be financial patients already across the nation. Our institute person- quite lethal and one cannot risk one’s life
of economic activity will need the workers homebound now to migrate worries. A cons- suffering nel have visited many mental hospitals or that of many others – as it is known to
once again. Stigmatising them on top of everything they have already tant fear may be and as a result many hospitals have spread quite rapidly. Citizens of India
suffered will seriously discourage this. As Lav Agarwal has said, we whether they shown overall improvement. must obey the rules laid down for their
have to fight the infection not the infected. The second Nanded lesson is would be losing Even before this had happe- own good. Once this is clearly understood,
that even after the lockdown crowded religious gatherings must remain their job – as a ned, the district-level mental people will adhere to the rules. In India,
result of the health programmes were every situation gets politicised and that is
suspended. Eid, Diwali, Gurpurab, Christmas … they will all need
impending launched by the Union arguably more lethal than the virus.
reinventing. Prayers should continue only with physical distancing.
dilbert Sacredspace
If life is a movie In Isolation
No one can live without
We are in the scene just before the climax where relationship. You may withdraw
James Bond will dishum down the villain into the mountains, become a
monk, a sannyasi, wander off into
Shinie Antony
the desert by yourself,
If life is a movie, we are watching the scene just before the but you are related. You cannot
climax, when everything looks bleak and a sad song plays. escape from that absolute fact.
Soon James Bond will chase the villain codenamed Covid-19
in FBI circles in a brake-screechy car, toppling fruit carts, You cannot exist in isolation.
flamboyantly jumping traffic signals, and after some solid
dishum dishum we can all walk off into the sunset. J Krishnamurti
In a rerun of Netflix’s Russian Doll, however, we are stuck on the edge of our
seat, biting our nails, in a state of eternal suspense. We are in that movie and

Practise Eco-philosophy, Celebrate Life

then back on our seat, in that movie, back on our seat; there is no escape!
We – the same people who loudly warned the heroine against going out to
investigate loud noises when alone or picking up calls at midnight with a
breathless voice vowing to kill them on the other end – are now trapped in that
same house with a phone ringing non-stop. Vir Singh It tends to evolve and blossom in diversity, some microbes present, we don’t know. Magical and mysterious
Social media initially exploded with well-meaning advice on how we can in heterogeneity. Not a single species is When we observed the Venus Transit, Fragile and enduring.

T
unleash our inner Shakespeare and pen that iconic bestseller. Then came the he value of life has perhaps not
universal acceptance of writer’s block. Art and literature, plays and poetry been understood as well as it has
depend on gallivanting aimlessly, watching people go by, a quick run to been in the wake of the Covid-19
a cafe, kissing an old flame goodbye. Where’s that salesman who rings pandemic. Indicators of materialistic
our doorbell when we are sleeping? Life on hold, muse goes missing. progress, like GDP and GNP, have
Those who write instant screenplays as soon as a real-life murder receded before life’s love for life.
happens are frozen. Extras and junior artistes to run around in masks and gloves, Governments have put their country’s
mobbing grocery stores, are readily available but who will play Coronavirus? economic plans and programmes on
Life’s turned tragicomic, we are our own drama. Nothing can out-do the hold, giving precedence to saving lives.
dramatic tension of our days. This is the ultimate game show; the elimination Life loves life, a notion emanating
round is on, only some of us will get out alive. All our artifacts, paintings, from the eco-philosophy of Henryk
extensive knowledge of wine are secondary to immunity levels, vitamin D Skolimowski, is a universal law. Since
deficiency or that passerby who sneezed. life loves to love life, life loves to wish to
Nothing’s the same. Some rue the economy, some romance. Old women see life everywhere – not just human
who pretended they were sedately waiting for death are glugging tulsi tea. life, but life in its biosphere. Life wishes
Technophobes must master the vast video-chat cosmos. Already meme world is to see life even beyond Earth, a dream
full of naked spouses and sweethearts walking past the suited-booted WFH that one day may come true. Other
person. The small screen has overtaken the big screen. planets in the cosmos where possibilities
There are whispers that a young scientist called Frankenstein goofed of life to evolve exist have always
up in his lab. Must Harry Potter visit the wet market to take on The Virus engaged our attention. Life wills life to
That Must Not Be Named? Dracula now makes do with the necks of the stray prevail as intensively as possible!
few who break lockdown rules. Monocultures are not life-enabling.
independent in itself. Every species and rare cosmic events that occurred in 2004 The dance of life in all.
every individual of every species is and 2012, we celebrated the event with joy. Life’s love for life runs through our
dependent on numerous other species. When Apollo 11landed on the Moon and nerves. We jump with joy when told by
The higher the level of biodiversity, human footprints were left on the lunar scientists that one of Saturn’s moon’s
greater the degree of resilience and surface in 1969, we felt on top of the world. atmosphere is similar to the Earth’s. So
sustainability. When we talk about life, Here is a poem, titled ‘Life Loves too when the Chandrayaan mission
we look deeply into our dependence Life,’ written by Juanita Skolimow- discovers the possible presence of
on all life forms prevailing on ski, as tribute to her husband, water, a symbol of life, on the Moon. The
Earth. Henryk, who passionately very thought that we may not be alone in
Exploration of other embraced and promoted the universe fills us with hope. This
planets with even smallest sustainable living, conserva- curiosity, zeal, excitement, thrill, this
fraction of similarity with tion of life, and light as happiness and joy are all there because
Earth excites entire huma- life-sustaining energy: of the universal law: Life loves to love
nity because life loves to The underlying truth life. Life desperately expands its scope,
love life. Our excitement is that Life loves life. horizon, sphere, light and glory. Life,
and curiosity know no Each living being therefore, cannot be complacent with its
bounds when even a rudimentary hint Emerges from existence confined to Earth. It strives
of life comes to the fore. We feel thrilled the ground of being – for extending its wings to other
when we look at footprints of what connected and sustained. dimensions. May 4 is celebrated as Eco-
seems like rivers on the surface of the The web of Life. philosophy Day. (The writer is professor,
Red Planet; that perhaps there was once an intricate living mandala: department of environmental sciences,
life on Mars! Maybe even now there are Radiant and subtle GB Pant University, Pantnagar)
T
MOST FEMALE BILLIONAIRES INHERITED WEALTH
he Forbes 2020 Billionaires List reveals who the
world’s richest people are but also how the
wealth of the super-rich is distributed among the
sexes. With the Bezos divorce finalised last year,
MacKenzie Bezos, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff
Bezos, is now the world’s fourth richest woman.
There are only 12 women among the 100 wealthiest people on the
planet and all of them have made their fortune by inheritance (or
divorce) from a wealthy relative or husband. Walmart heiress Alice
Walton tops the list this year, taking the lead from last year’s
richest woman, French L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers
Lockdown dries up cos’ cash flows State govts face huge
No Income Puts Salaries At Risk, Some MSMEs Looking At Shutting Ops
Namrata Singh &
Reeba Zachariah TNN
Mumbai: Cash flows, the lifeli-
ne of businesses, are drying up
fast. An extended lockdown has
left companies — micro, small &
medium enterprises (MSMEs)
in particular — staring at a ble-
ak future. Some companies are
struggling to pay salaries to
employees, while some are loo-
king at winding up operations
rather than continue with an
unprofitable enterprise.
Companies use working ca-
pital for their day-to-day expen-
ses. When finished products are
sold, they get income. While the
fixed expenses — such as salari-
es to employees — have remai-
ned constant even during the
lockdown, there’s been no inco-
me or cash that has come for a
non-essential manufacturer or
service provider.
DPK Engineers CMD S
Sampathraman said, “Cash
flow is to a business what blo-
od is to the human body. When
there’s no blood circulation for
a few minutes, we would die.
My cash flows will run dry in a
week.” DPK Engineers, which
posted a turnover of around
Rs 250 crore in 2017-18, is into
diesel generators.
Several MSMEs are facing a
tough time in drawing working
99% CKP Bk
depositors to
get back full
money: RBI
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: The RBI has said
that of the 1.3 lakh depositors of
CKP Co-operative Bank, about
99.2% will get full payment of
their deposits from the Deposit
Insurance and Credit Guaran-
tee Corporation.
On Saturday, the RBI had
announced that it has cancel-
led the licence of CKP Co-op
Bank with effect from April 30
and has asked the registrar of
cooperative societies to initia-
te winding up proceedings
and appoint a liquidator for
the bank.
The 105-year old coopera-
tive bank had eight branches
spread across Mumbai and
Thane. Its name is an abbre-
viation of Chandraseniya
Kayastha Prabhu, the Maha-
rashtrian community that
started the bank.
The cooperative lender on
its website has said that it 55
wilful defaulters owe more
than Rs 209 crore.
This is the first time the
central bank is triggering
the higher deposit insurance
limit, which came into effect
after the Union Budget in Fe-
bruary 2020.
According to the bank’s
website, its deposits stood at
Rs 485 crore as on November
2019, while loans outstanding
were Rs 161 crore. It had a ne-
gative net worth of Rs 239
crore due to defaults.
UIDAI to pay
Conneqt for April
Bengaluru: Aadhaar issuing
body UIDAI said it has agreed
in principle to make pay-
ments, which were put on hold
amid the lockdown, to Con-
neqt Business Solutions
(CBSL), formerly Tata Busi-
ness Support Services, on hu-
manitarian grounds. TNN
JioMart ramps up ops with credit, incentives
Digbijay.Mishra
@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: At a time when
the lockdown has made groce-
ries one of the few major av-
enues of consumer spending,
Reliance’s JioMart is ramping
up operations, intensifying
the grocery wars through its
kirana commerce pilots with
WhatsApp, which has over 400
million active users in India.
Since the rollout of orde-
ring via WhatsApp, JioMart
has doubled weekly credit limit
and has allocated one executive
each for kirana stores to mana-
ge orders and inventory, 90% of
which is sourced through the
Reliance Retail network. Multi-
ple kirana stores in Navi Mum-
bai TOI spoke to said JioMart’s
executives are now managing
the store floor virtually through
phone calls when it comes to in-
ventory and order flow, which is
capital from banks. “My banker
revenue shortfall
said 10-12 days ago that he would
lend 20% extra over and above
the existing lending limit to al-
leviate the Covid-19 lockdown
problems. A couple of days ago,
PRECARIOUS POSITION
Some cos’ finances as of FY19 (in ` cr)
4000
Cash & investments
Employee cost
3000 Total debt
2000 299
1,225
1,058
1000 871
80
0 several MSMEs are in dire stra-
Balkrishna Ind SpiceJet
Source: Ace Equity
he said the extra limit has been
slashed to 10%. Eligibility crite-
ria continue to be surplus of as-
sets over liabilities, sufficient
stocks and debtors (with mar-
gins of 25% and 30%, respecti-
vely) to avail the 10% extra cre-
dit. These criteria are impracti-
cal when there has been zero
business in the 40 days of lock-
down,” said Sampathraman.
In large companies, there’s
greater debt, but they also have
more assets to pledge/sell and
seek extra funds. Those with
stronger balance sheets have
sufficient cash to sustain their
operations for a longer period.
Credit risk funds’ AUM
see 26% fall in a week
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: In just one week af-
ter Franklin Templeton MF’s
shock-decision to close down
six of its debt funds late on
April 23, all the credit risk
funds, the high-risk-schemes
at the centre of the crisis, to-
gether saw a Rs 12,569-crore or
nearly 26% slide in total assets
under management (AUM).
From managing Rs 48,576
crore on April 30, AUM of 20
credit risk funds fell to Rs
36,008 crore by April 30, latest
data from industry body Amfi
showed. Part of this slide could
be attributed to fall in prices of
their assets, but most of it was
due to redemptions by inves-
tors, industry players said.
The silver lining, howe-
ver, is that the pace of re-
demptions from credit risk
54% face loss in income,
67% cut spending: Survey
Digbijay.Mishra
@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: The lockdown
has hit consumers hard,
forcing them to change their
spending pattern. A survey on
Indian consumer sentiments
conducted amid the lockdown
by management consulting
firm McKinsey showed that
54% people have seen a loss in
income and 67% have cut back
on their spending.
Grocery, household suppli-
es, and at-home entertainment
areas are the areas where con-
sumers indicated they are go-
ing to continue spending. Con-
sumers are cutting back their
spending on non-essentials
like apparel, accessories, foot-
wear, alcohol, snacks, food-ta-
keout & delivery, consumer
KIRANA COMMERCE
Reliance is accelerating
the roll-out of ‘JioMart
New Commerce’
Daily orders grew 4x
during the lockdown
for JioMart, which is
currently operational
in Mumbai suburbs
with 5,000-6,000 stores
The development comes after
Reliance Retail and WhatsApp
gradually increasing at standa-
lone store level.
Most deliveries are done by
JioMart but in some cases, ki-
ranas have done them on their
own or customers have picked
up packed items due to lock-
down constraints. “The plan is
they (JioMart) will take care of
deliveries completely. This
will be smoother, once the
TIMES BUSINESS
Alice Walton
(Walmart) 70
54.4
Reliance Industries, the count-
ry’s most valued company, had
a debt of Rs 3.36 lakh crore as of
March 2020, while its cash and
cash equivalents stood at Rs
1.61lakh crore.
Tata Steel
1,00,816
19,356
9,080
1,110 572
1,305
1,151
Welspun
Companies like TCS, which
has zero debt and strong cash
flows, are better placed to tide
over the challenging business
environment. TCS’s cash flow
from operations stood at Rs
32,303 crore in fiscal 2020. Emp-
loyee costs, the highest expen-
se of the company, comprised
42% (Rs 65,642 crore) of its reve-
nue. TCS is the largest employ-
er of coders in the country with
4.5 lakh people. On the other
hand, Hindustan Unilever’s
cash position as on March 31,
2020, is Rs 9,770 crore.
Kotak Securities EVP Rus-
mik Oza said, “The lockdown
UNDER PRESSURE
Net redemptions from credit risk funds (in ` cr)
2,949
Source: Amfi
Apr 24
funds abated substantially af-
ter the RBI on April 27 opened
a special funding window for
fund houses, Amfi officials
said. According to RBI data,
in three days since the Speci-
al Liquidity Facility for Mu-
tual Funds (SLF-MF) started,
banks borrowed Rs 6,000 cro-
re through this scheme.
LINGERING IMPACT
7%
10%
31%
39%
7%
6%
electronics, personal care ser-
vices, vehicle-purchase, and
out-of-home entertainment.
In the survey, conducted
between April 10 and 13, 57%
respondents said they had
witnessed a loss in household
savings in the past two weeks
and 55% felt they will conti-
nue to lose out for the next two
announced a partnership for
commerce after Facebook’s
$5.7-billion stake purchase in Jio
RIL chairman Mukesh Amban
has said that the commerce
platform will empower
nearly 3 crore kirana stores
Facebook chief Mark
Zuckerberg has said he plans
to take products developed in
the partnership global
lockdown is lifted,” said Pra-
kash (surname withheld),
whose store has started get-
ting orders through What-
sApp from JioMart.
Incentives are being offe-
red to customers on bulk pur-
chases, which are funded by
JioMart. This gets credited
back to the kiranas when they
make their next bulk purcha-
Francoise
Bettencourt 66
THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI | MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020
MacKenzie Bezos
Meyer (L’Oreal) Julia Koch
(Koch) 57 (Ex-wife of
Jeff Bezos) 50
48.9
38.2
and uncertainty of when
things will get back to normal-
cy have brought cash flows back
into focus. Companies having
higher ebitda (earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and
amortisation) margins, less/no
debt and decent cash in their ba-
lance sheets will be able to weat-
her this phase in a better man-
ner. From an operations per-
2,883 spective, companies generating
healthy operating cash flows
are better placed in these times
when revenue is impacted but
certain fixed costs still need to
308
690 be incurred.”
Unlike large enterprises,
United Spirits
its. “It’s practically a winding-
up situation for 60% of them,”
said Sampathraman. Solkar
Solar Industry CMD K E Rag-
hunathan is considering shut-
ting operations altogether. “We
do not have any cash. Period. I
am planning to wind up my
operations because I am pus-
hed to the wall. At one point the
pilot has to eject. I will no long-
er be able to run the company
profitably,” said Raghunathan.
“But I will ensure all my depen-
dents are taken care of,” said
Raghunathan, who has been
an entrepreneur for over three
decades and started Solkar So-
lar Industries in 1984.
“One major commitment I
4,294 Total
11,136
1,847
1,252
794
Apr 27 Apr 28 Apr 29 Apr 30
According to an Amfi rele-
ase, as of April 24, redemp-
tions net of funds mobilised
by all the credit risk funds in
the industry, was Rs 2,949 cro-
re, which peaked at Rs 4,294
crore on April 27. It was on
that day the RBI announced a
Rs 50,000-crore, 90-day borro-
wing window for fund houses.
weeks. But 58% feel the eco-
nomy will bounce back
More than a year stronger than before in 2-3
7-12 months months compared to about
52% in a March-end survey.
4-6 months The coronavirus outbre-
87% believe their ak will cause further change
finances will be hit in the channels of shopping.
for over 2 months Purchase of household supp-
2-3 months lies, grocery, personal-care
products, entertainment and
0-1 month
No Impact
media will expand online.
Some sectors like apparel,
Source: McKinsey & Co
alcohol, tobacco, jewellery and
snacks are likely to be offline-
focused. Before the lockdown
started, a McKinsey report
had shown a 40% rise in consu-
mer spend at online grocers,
surpassing traditional retail
formats. Only local kirana
shops matched this rise in
spend due to proximity to con-
sumers amid the lockdown.
E-comm deliveries may start slow as
about 40% sellers are in red zones
Bengaluru: Even as states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha,
Gujarat and Karnataka start implementing the Central
government’s guidelines on lockdown extension till May 17,
e-commerce operations may not change drastically due to
challenges in large cities that are marked as red zones. While
e-tailers like Amazon and Flipkart have welcomed the government’s
move to allow delivery of non-essentials in orange and green zones
Monday onwards, industry sources said at least 40% of sellers and
warehouses are located in the red zone. This will present on-ground
challenges for e-commerce companies. TNN
se. Reliance Retail’s private
brands, such as Good Life, as
well as loose grains, are being
supplied to these kiranas,
which are being offered disco-
unts by JioMart on purchase
of select staples in bulk.
This comes at a time when
consumers are largely cutting
back on discretionary spen-
ding but are stocking up on
Jacqueline
Mars (Mars) 80
36.0
24.7
have is salary, which I do not
know how to pay. There’s a lot of
pressure on MSMEs to reduce
their drawing power (cash from
banks). According to my under-
standing, 70% of MSMEs will
not be able to pay salaries this
month,” said Raghunathan.
Companies which have bet-
ter working capital cycles are
less strained in such times.
Traditionally, sectors like
FMCG, IT, pharmaceuticals,
agrochemicals, two-wheelers
and gas, which have better cash
flows and lesser Capex require-
ments, will be less impacted in
the near term. On the other
hand, sectors that are highly
capital-intensive and have
high fixed costs will find it diffi-
cult to manage this difficult
phase of Covid-19.
“Sectors that could face
cash flow problems in the very
near term are aviation, smaller
NBFCs, capital goods, const-
ruction, hotels, infrastructure,
metals, real estate and textiles,”
said Oza. Sampathraman said
the government should spend
$500 billion on doles to poor, pro-
tection of livelihood of employ-
ee and short-maturity infrast-
ructure projects with enormo-
us rural employment opportu-
nities, like registering and
promoting ‘Geographical Indi-
cations’ for free.
Chinese co
top bidder for
IL&FS stake
in E-way co
Sidhartha
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Chinese insuran-
ce major PingAn has emerged
as the highest bidder for
IL&FS stake in Chongqing Yu-
he Expressway Co (CYEL)
with lenders too approving
the proposal in-principle.
The sale will resolve near-
ly Rs 2,500 crore of overall
IL&FS debt. The company’s
bid at an aggregate equity va-
luation covers 100% debt of
CYEL, official sources told
TOI. IL&FS holds a 49% stake
in CYEL, a company incorpo-
rated in mainland China,
through its Singapore-based
subsidiary ITNL Internatio-
nal Pte (IIPL), with the remai-
ning held by Chongqing Ex-
pressway Group (CEG).
The stake sale in the Chi-
nese Expressway company is
part of the strategy to recover
a large chunk of the funds that
are locked up in the beleague-
red group, adding up to over
Rs 90,000 crore. Government
sources said that they expect
up to 60% of the IL&FS group
debt to be recovered through a
mix of transactions in the co-
ming months.
While the biggest chunk of
nearly Rs 13,000 crore is going
to come through InvITs of ro-
ad projects, another Rs 7,500
crore is going to come from the
sale of other road assets, whi-
le claims of around Rs 6,000
crore have been budgeted for
from Gurgaon Metro, NHAI
and other agencies.
The sale in China along
with stake sale in GIFT City
and ONGC Tripura are
expected to generate another
Rs 8,000 crore. IL&FS Financi-
al Services too may help
generate around Rs 5,000 cro-
re and wind energy and real
estate businesses could fetch
Rs 4,500 crore and Rs 4,000 cro-
re, respectively.
groceries and other essential
items. Online grocers like Big-
basket and Grofers, besides e-
commerce platforms like
Amazon India and Flipkart,
have been seeing a steady spi-
ke in new orders in the catego-
ry since the lockdown bega-
n.Emailed queries sent to Reli-
ance did not elicit a response
till the time going to press.
Susanne 57
Yang Huiyan 38
Klatten (BMW,
(Country Garden)
Pharmaceuticals)
20.3
Seek Higher Deficit Limit, Advance Borrowing
Sidhartha &
Subhash Mishra TNN
New Delhi/Lucknow: Uttar
Pradesh government has
spent over Rs 12,000 crore in pa-
ying salaries and pension for
April, when its revenues were
Rs 2,284 crore. “It is shocking,
but the state cannot compro-
mise with the lives of the peo-
ple,” UP finance minister Su-
resh Khanna told TOI, reac-
ting to the low tax revenue.
It’s a similar story in Pun-
jab, where wage and pension
bill added up to Rs 3,000 crore
in April and there was an equ-
al amount spent on debt servi-
cing, while total earnings were
Rs 200-250 crore. “Not a single
bottle of alcohol was sold and
there is virtually no petrol or
diesel sales. We earned around
Rs 10 crore a day from stamp
duty and registration, which is
not there, and consumption
being what it is, is leading to al-
most nil GST. But there are hig-
her spending requirements
from relief & rehabilitation
and medical departments,”
Punjab finance minister Man-
preet Badal told TOI.
The state is staring at a Rs
8,000-9000 crore shortfall in the
first three months of 2020-21
and even if things normalise,
revenues would be around Rs
20,000 crore lower than what
Punjab had expected in the re-
maining nine months. Faced
with a severe cash crunch, the
state government has front-lo-
aded its borrowing and is tap-
ping investors to raise money
Govt panel seeks review
of 5G spectrum base price
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
TELECOM (Mbps)
Broadband data speed
23.0
Mobile data speed
10.8
50
CIVIL AVIATION
Passenger movement
(m/year)
345 700
Sidhartha
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: A high-level panel
on National Infrastructure Pi-
peline has sought a review of
the base price for 5G spectrum
auctions, arguing that the re-
serve price for airwaves auc-
tion proposed by the depart-
ment of telecom (DoT) is much
higher than other countries
and interest may be tepid.
“The high price comes at a
time when the demand for
spectrum is likely to be subdu-
ed as consolidation has redu-
ced the number of players in
the sector to effectively only fo-
ur. However, providing inclusi-
ve and affordable 5G services
to all sections of the popula-
tion in the country is impor-
tant to achieve the National Di-
Will ensure survival of
small biz: MSME secy
Sidhartha@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Arvind Kumar
Sharma, the new secretary
for micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs), has sa-
id that it is imperative to pro-
tect the backbone of the units
and entrepreneurs during
the coronavirus pandemic
and ensure that small busi-
nesses sail though the tough
times, without impacting
jobs and livelihood.
“Ridh ki haddi bachi ra-
hegi to phir se khade ho jay-
engey (if the backbone is in-
tact, they will stand again),”
Sharma told his colleagues
in the ministry after taking
charge last week.
Besides, he suggested
that the crisis should be seen
as an opportunity and units
should look for new opportu-
nities in domestic and inter-
Overall Fortune ($ billion)
Age
Lauren 56
Powell Jobs
(Apple, Disney)
16.8
16.4
now, instead August or Sep-
tember. The story is similar
across states.
By all accounts, GST collec-
tions for March sales, which
are due to be paid by Tuesday,
may be just around 30% of the
year-ago period when they we-
re estimated at around Rs 1.14
lakh crore.
HOW STATES GET THE RESOURCES
State non-tax State own
revenue tax revenue
8% 46%
Grants Share in
20%
central taxes
26%
Apart from GST and a sha-
re of the Centre’s tax kitty, the
main contributors to the sta-
te’s revenue include value-ad-
ded tax (VAT) on fuel, state ex-
cise on liquor, property tax,
and tax on vehicles. On all
fronts, tax revenues have vir-
tually come to a halt, pro-
mpting several states to open
liquor vends in the hope of rai-
sing some excise to keep the
administration running.
“With lower tax collec-
tions, the devolution to states
would be lower by almost Rs
1.8-2 lakh crore compared to
the FY21 Budget estimates.
States’ own taxes, which acco-
unted for around 44% of sta-
POWER
FY2019
AT&C loss
FY2025
22.3%
100
10%
RAILWAYS
Cargo movement Operating ratio
(m tonnes/year)
98.4%
80%
11.8
5.1
gital Communications Policy
goals. For this, participation of
the private players in the 5G
auction should be robust. In or-
der to enable this, the authori-
ties should rationalise all ele-
ments of spectrum pricing for
the auction, including base
price, period of payment of
charges and interest rates,”
the task force comprising top
officials said in its report sub-
mitted to finance minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman last week.
DoT has suggested a base
price of Rs 492 crore per MHz
and was hoping to mop up at le-
ast Rs 5.8 lakh crore. The com-
mittee included economic af-
fairs secretary Atanu Chakra-
borty, who retired last week,
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh
Kant and expenditure secreta-
ry T V Somanathan. It has pre-
national markets, pointing
out that India had to initially
depend on imports to meet its
requirement for masks and
personal protection equip-
ment. “…with little effort, af-
ter our group (of officials)
put some dots together, today
just in two-three weeks, we
have started producing more
than one lakh PPEs daily. We
have to just bring certain pla-
yers and processes together,”
Sharma, who has moved
from PMO, said.
But the key thrust for the
ministry in the coming days
will be to ensure that small
businesses come out of dis-
tress, a key theme being pur-
sued by the Narendra Modi
government. The much-anti-
cipated second stimulus
package is expected to re-
spond to challenges of
MSMEs, apart from the poor.
Source: Statista
tes’ total receipts (and amoun-
ted to Rs 12 lakh crore) in FY19,
could also see an adverse im-
pact of up to 10%. While states’
receipts would be lower by at
least Rs 3-3.5 lakh crore than
otherwise, higher spending
would lead to expansion in the-
ir deficit, and therefore, the ne-
ed to borrow more,” Motilal
Sources of states’ own tax
revenue (% share)
State GST
39.9
VAT (mainly fuel)
21.5
Excise (mainly liquor)
11.9
Property & capital transactions
11.2
Tax on vehicles Based on data for
5.7 FY18 to FY 20;
Others
9.8
Source: India
Ratings & Research
Oswal analysts Nikhil Gupta
and Yaswi Agarwal said.
While states have deman-
ded that their borrowing limit
be raised by allowing them to go
past the prescribed fiscal deficit
of 3% of GDP to up to 5% of
GDP, they are awaiting clarity
from the Centre to amend their
laws. On their part, officials at
the Centre said, the RBI has allo-
wed states to raise more funds
through ways and means ad-
vances, which are short-term
borrowings, apart from relea-
sing money in the form of devo-
lution of central taxes and reve-
nue deficit grants, to keep the
states going. But states and ana-
lysts say it is not enough.
Share of
25%
renewable
energy
9.0%
PORTS
Avg vessel
turnaround time (hrs)
59.9
Under 24
Source: Report of the Task Force on
National Infrastructure Pipeline
pared a pipeline for invest-
ments of around Rs 111 lakh
crore over five years.
The task force has also cal-
led for a revamp of financing
models for infrastructure and
backed a return of develop-
ment financial institutions,
such as IDBI and IFCI, albeit
with a sectoral focus. It has ar-
gued that banks and NBFCs
are unable to meet the massive
funding requirement and face
several challenges, which is
turning the clock back by close
to two decades.
A key theme in the report is
ensuring sanctity of cont-
racts, something that power
sector investors have complai-
ned about in the recent past,
with the task force calling for a
legislation to facilitating in-
frastructure.
NPAs could
double due to
Covid crisis
Mumbai/New Delhi: Bad
debts in banks could double as
the coronavirus crisis has bro-
ught the economy to a sudden
halt, a senior government offi-
cial and four top bankers told
Reuters. Banks are already
grappling with Rs 9.35 lakh
crore ($123 billion) of soured
loans, which was equivalent to
about 9.1% of their total assets
at the end of September 2019.
“There is a considered vi-
ew in the government that
bank non-performing assets
(NPAs) could double to 18-20%
by the end of the fiscal year, as
20-25% of outstanding loans
face a risk of default,” the offi-
cial with direct knowledge of
the matter said. A fresh surge
in bad debt could hit credit
growth and delay the count-
ry’s recovery from the corona-
virus pandemic. REUTERS
 TIMES GLOBAL THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI | MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020
I HEAR, I KNOW.
I SEE, I REMEMBER.
I DO, I UNDERSTAND
— CONFUCIUS

HAFTHOR BJORNSSON, WHO PLAYED GREGOR CLEGANE IN CAMILA CABELLO OFFERS ONE LUCKY FAN A CHANCE
‘GOT’, DEADLIFTS 501KG TO BEAT PREVIOUS RECORD OF 500KG TO BE IN HER NEXT MUSIC VIDEO FOR COVID CHARITY

Texas varsity
to start human
testing of BCG But Study Also Warns 1 In 3 Americans Who Had Jobs In Feb Will Be Jobless If Lockdown Stays
to fight Covid
Houston: Researchers in the
Texas A&M University in US
are asking hundreds of front-
‘233k more may die if US reopens now’ US bill seeks to
hasten green cards
for doctors, nurses
AFP
Chidanand.Rajghatta
@timesgroup.com
In random test of 500 in Kabul, 1/3rd test +ve
Washington: Comparing the
coronavirus pandemic to a pla-
O ne-third of 500 random coronavirus tests in Kabul came back
positive, Afghan health officials said on Sunday, raising fears
of widespread undetected infections in one of the world’s most
Lubna.Kably@timesgroup.com tion regulations have resulted
in much hardship in the battle

line medical workers to parti-
cipate in a late-stage clinical
trial of a widely-used tubercu-
losis vaccine that could help
boost the immune system and
blunt the effects of Covid-19 .
Texas A&M is the first US
institution in the clinical trial
to have federal clearance to be-
gin testing on humans. Rese-
archers hope to demonstrate
that Bacillus Calmette-Gue-
rin or BCG mitigates the ef-
fects of the new coronavirus.
BCG, which is also used to treat
bladder cancer, could be wide-
ly available for use against Co-
vid in six months. “BCG is not
meant to cure coronavirus but
bridge the gap until a vaccine
is developed. BCG vaccine has
the broad ability to strengthen
your immune response” said
Dr Jeffrey D Cirillo, a profes-
sor at the Texas A&M. Health-
care workers will be the first pe-
ople eligible for the trial, which
is set to begin this week. PTI
gue, US President Trump on
Sunday pledged that America
would rise from “this death
and destruction,” even as the li-
fe versus livelihood debate con-
tinued to animate national dis-
course as the toll from Covid-19
infections in US crossed 67,000.
Trump has thrown his we-
ight behind demonstrations se-
eking an end the shutdown and
re-opening the country for bu-
siness in the face of a new re-
port that warned that there wo-
uld be 3x more deaths from in-
fections if states re-opened pre-
maturely. But the report also
said ending the lockdown wo-
uld also save millions of jobs.
The new study from the
Penn Wharton Budget Model
balances the jobs saved from re-
opening the economy with the
associated cost to human life,
cautioning that an additional
233,000 people could die from
the virus by the end of June if
states were to reopen immedia-
LIFE VS LIVELIHOOD: Activists protest against lockdown in San Diego
tely. Even if they don’t open,
the projected toll is 117,000.
Not re-opening will also de-
cimate the US economy furt-
her, the report warned, forecas-
ting that under that restrictive
scenario and under the most
conservative estimates, nearly
1 in 3 Americans who were
employed in February would
have lost their jobs by the end of
June. The 33% unemployment
would surpass the record du-
ring the Great Depression,
when nearly 25% of American
workers were out of jobs.
Trump now appears deter-
mined not to let that happen
even at the risk of a higher de-
ath toll, after having passed
the onus of mitigation measu-
res to states, and taking on the
politically expedient position
of supporting protesters see-
king an end to the lockdown.
“And then came a Plague, a
great and powerful Plague, and
the World was never to be the
same again! But America rose
from this death and destruc-
tion, always remembering its
many lost souls, and the lost so-
uls all over the World, and beca-
me greater than ever before!”
the US President tweeted on
Sunday morning, having left
A
fragile states. Afghanistan has performed only limited testing so bill to expedite alloca- against Covid-19. For instance,
far — close to 12,000, with more than 2,700 confirmed infections, in tion of green cards to im- doctors on H-1B visas (the non-
a nation of 36.6 million. The death toll — officially at 85 — could migrant doctors and immigrant visa) could not be
also be much higher. More than 250,000 Afghans returned home nurses in the US appears to be moved to another location, say
from Iran — the regional epicentre of the pandemic since the right ‘treatment’ for the co- a hospital in New York, where
mid-February — since the beginning of the year, fanning out untry, which is reeling under the situation was dire and the-
across their country without being tested or quarantined. the coronavirus pandemic. ir expertise badly needed. The
Anecdotal reports have emerged of dozens of returnees dying of A group of senators has reason — owing to their H-1B
Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. AP announced that they will in- visa status, they were tied to
troduce a bipartisan legisla- that particular employer and
the White House for the first ti- ness there. They use USA air- tion, ‘The Healthcare Work- to that particular location.
me in over a month for a brief waves to help China. The Ene- force Resilience Act’, when Speaking on the condition
sortie to Camp David. my of the People!” Trump sa- the Senate reconvenes on of anonymity, an India-born
Trump’s Twitter feed was id. “Hopefully our Country Monday. This bill proposes to doctor said, “Majority of us
replete with the usual assort- will soon mend. We are all mis- recapture unused immigrant are on H-1B visas, and are
ment of self-comforting twe- sing our wonderful rallies, and visas (green cards); 25,000 are the primary visa holders. In
ets and retweets, including many other things!” Trump proposed to be allocated to im- case we succumb to Covid-19,
about his own approval ra- said in another tweet that indi- migrant nurses and 15,000 to it is likely that our families
tings, and rants against the cated he will be heading out for immigrant doctors. Family may be deported to India. My
media. Although he himself campaign rallies soon. members would be granted spouse and two minor child-
repeatedly certified Chinese Trump’s rightwing base is green cards from the pool of ren are on the H-4 dependent
action and transparency on chomping at the bit to break remaining visas not set aside visas,” he explains.
the coronavirus issue, Trump out of the lockdown, arguing for healthcare workers. Pointing out that one-sixth
accused NBC News and CNN that the death projections of Annually, the US sets aside of America’s health care work-
of going out of their way to say the pandemic are vastly exag- only 1.40 lakh green cards for force is foreign born, Dick Dur-
“GREAT” things about China gerated and a conspiracy to employment-based appli- bin, a Democrat Senator and
in a tweet. “They are Chinese destroy the US economically. cants and there is a 7% per-co- co-sponsor of the bill, said, “It
puppets who want to do busi- Full report on to www.toi.in untry cap. The bill proposes is unacceptable that thou-
that country caps will not app- sands of doctors currently

‘Culture of namaste, caring for the aged Russia sees over AROUND THE WORLD
ly in the process of recapture
and allocation of unused gre-
en cards and the green cards
working in the US on tempora-
ry visas are stuck in the green
card backlog, putting their fu-
10,000 cases, its
at home may’ve helped against Covid’ highest daily rise
Reuters would be issued in order of
priority dates. To facilitate ti-
mely action, premium proces-
tures in jeopardy and limiting
their ability to contribute to
the fight against Covid-19.”
New York: Ingrained social sing would be available. Other sponsors of this bill are

distancing norms like people
greeting each other with ‘Na-
maste’ in India may have provi-
ded more protection against
the coronavirus, according to a
US media report. The coronavi-
F
Seoul, South Korea rom the US to countries in The US relies heavily on Senators David Perdue, Todd
Europe and Asia, people in overseas medical professio- Young and Chris Coons.
many parts of the world nals; however, tight immigra- Full report on to www.toi.in
are emerging from their homes
as restrictions begin to ease.
But the pandemic took a turn
A STORY YOU SHOULDN’T MISS

S Korea says Kim

rus has touched almost every
country on earth, but its im-
pact has seemed “capricious.
Metropolises like New York,
Paris and London have been de-
vastated, while cities like
Bangkok, Baghdad, New Delhi
and Lagos have, so far, largely
been spared”, New York Times
said in a report. The report ci-
ted interviews with infectious
disease experts, health offici-
als, epidemiologists and acade-
mics around the globe.
“Cultural factors, like the
social distancing that is built
into certain societies, may give
some countries more protec-
tion,” epidemiologists said.
“In Thailand and India, where
virus numbers are relatively
low, people greet each other at
a distance, with palms joined
together (namaste). In Japan
and South Korea, people bow,
they tended to wear face masks
when feeling unwell,” the re-
port added. The report also no-
for the worse in some places.
On Sunday, Russia recorded
TRACKING OUTBREAK its highest daily rise in cases
with 10,633 new infections,
Countries Infected Death
187
bringing the total to 134,687.
The death toll rose to 1,280.
Bangladesh also confirmed
People exercise at La Barceloneta beach in Barcelona as Spain
did not have surgery
United States 11,43,433 67,155 countries/ its highest single-day jump,
continued to ease the lockdown measures this weekend. Permitted
Seoul: North Korean leader gunfire around the South’s gu-
activities now include walking with family, outdoor exercises such
with 665 new cases on Sunday. Kim Jong-un did not undergo ard post, raising tension a day
Spain 2,34,436 25,264 regions hit
China is seeing a surge in
as running and going out with children. Meanwhile, Spain’s death
surgery during his almost after North Korean state media
toll climbed by 164 in the previous 24 hours to 25,264, while cases
Italy 2,10,717 28,884 visitors to tourist spots after do- three week absence from pub- showed Kim visiting a factory.
34,76,021+ mestic travel restrictions were
reached 217,466, according to health ministry data on Sunday
lic life, South Korean news out- Multiple gunshots were fi-
United Kingdom 1,87,840 28,520 infected globally relaxed. China has reported 14 let Yonhap said citing a govern- red from North Korea at 7.41am
France 1,68,518 24,763
new cases taking the number of
cases to 82,877 while over 4,630
‘Just Everested’: we1990,” the 34-year-old
sprinter announced in a post
ment official, as the two Koreas
exchanged gunfire around the
(local time) towards a guard
post in South Korea, the So-
Germany 1,65,183 6,812
2,45,531+ people have died. Nearly 2 mil- Cyclist scales peak on Twitter. border on Sunday. uth’s joint chiefs of
have died lion people visited Beijing parks The pair The South Korean staffs (JCS) said. South
Russia 1,34,687 1,280 on the first two days of a long we- on exercise bike accomplished official declined to pro- Korea responded by fi-
ekend, and Shanghai’s tourist the latest feat vide reasons for belie- ring two shots towards
Turkey 1,26,045 3,397 11,12,220+
Iran 97,424 6,203 have recovered
spots welcomed over a million
visitors, media reported. B ritish cycling star Mark
Cavendish and former
teammate Luke Rowe endured
by a sports
star in coro-
navirus
ving that Kim did not
undergo surgery, but sa-
North Korea, no injuri-
es were reported. In a
Kids in Israel returned to id speculative reports briefing, an official at
over 10 hours in the saddle of lockdown in 10 hours 37
97,100 6,761
Source: Johns Hopkins school on Sunday after two that he may have had surgery, the JCS said the gunshots did
Brazil University
months of distance learning. an exercise bike to climb 8,848 minutes and 32 seconds. “I citing some differences in his not seem a planned provoca-
ted that in much of the develo- which in the western nations And in Iran President Rouha- metres, the equivalent of take my hat off to anyone leg movements, is not true, tion, as the area where it occur-
ping world, the custom of ca- have seen tragic outbreaks and ni said the country plans to reo- scaling Mt Everest. “Just who's completed it in whate- Yonhap reported. red was farmland, but declined
ring for the elderly at home le- high number of fatalities pen mosques and schools in 132 Everested with @LukeRo- ver capacity, it was grim.” Earlier on Sunday, North to provide a clear conclusion
ads to fewer nursing homes, among the elderly. PTI areas from Monday . AGENCIES and South Korea exchanged about the incident. REUTERS

12 TIMES SPORT THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI

MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020

GALLERY

IPL is where I get most

goosebumps: Russell
New Delhi: Big-hitting West Indies all-
rounder Andre Russell says playing for
Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL is where
he gets the “most goosebumps” and
wants to remain in that side till his very
last game in the league. “Let me confess
something, IPL is where I get the most
goosebumps. I get that in CPL (Caribbean
Premier League) as well but when it
comes to playing in IPL, especially Eden
Gardens, there is no comparison,” Russell
told KKR’s official ‘Knights Unplugged’
online show.
Had to flee after being threatened by
Umar, says Zulqarnain: Pakistan’s former
wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider has blamed
Umar Akmal for his disappearing act during
an ODI series against South Africa in 2010,
saying he was threatened by the tainted
player for not conniving with him to lose a
match. “I remember telling him to just do his
job and carry the drinks. But later he (Umar)
and some others directly threatened me and
kept on badgering me so much that I came
under psychological pressure and fear and
flew to London without informing anyone,”
he said in an interview.
Neville claims EPL clubs ‘frightened’ to
publicly back restart: Gary Neville has
accused Premier League clubs of being
“frightened to death” to publicly back the
plan to restart the season. Former
Manchester United defender Neville
believes clubs do not want to be held
liable should a player become ill with the
coronavirus if the English season resumes.
World Test Championship’s points
system is ridiculous, says Holding: West
Indies fast bowling great Michael Holding
has termed the World Test Championship’s
points system as “ridiculous”, where some
of the Tests will be rendered inconsequential
once teams realise that they can’t finish in
top two in the points table.
Duplantis, Lavillenie tie in back-garden
competition: Top pole vaulters Armand
Duplantis and Renaud Lavillenie cleared
five metres 36 times in half an hour, while
Sam Kendricks managed 26 successful
attempts in a competition on Sunday from
their back gardens. AGENCIES
Bhambri not keen on Djokovic’s
plan for lower-ranked players
Indian Believes Players Should Have Higher Share
Of Grand Slam Booty Instead Of One-Time Payout
Kumaraswamy.K@timesgroup.com
Pune: Yuki Bhambri says not eve-
ryone on the men’s tennis tour is
enthused about the Big 3’s idea to
create a fund to help the lower-
ranked players cope with the
Covid-19 disruption. He believes
bargaining for a higher share of
the pie from the top-tier tourna-
ments would be a better solution
in the long term.
“I think it’s difficult to push
forward with what they have done.
From what I have heard, there are
a lot of players who have reserva-
tions about it,” Bhambri, recuper-
ating from a knee injury, said.
“People would be actually hap-
pier to give the money to people
who are fighting in the frontline,
the health workers, or the labour-
ers, people who require help, rath-
er than random tennis players
around the world whom you are
competing with.”
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic
had recently mentioned about the
top players along with the ATP
Tour and the four Grand Slams
together creating a relief fund of
$4.5 million to help those ranked
outside the top-250.
Incidentally, world No. 3 Domi-
nic Thiem has rejected the plan.
Bhambri said it was time the
Grand Slams and other major tour-
naments opened up their purse
more. “I think the best way is to try
to increase the prize money now. It
is peanuts to what the most of the
tour earns, or the revenue that the
Grand Slams and the Masters gen-
erate,” the 27-year-old said.
“You have to increase the back
end of the tournaments, not add
another million dollars to the win-
ner. It’s $3.5mn (for the Grand Slam
winner), don’t think it matters
anymore. It should go to the quali-
fiers, winners of the first-fourth
round in Slams. That is much bet-
ter than the one time payout of
five-ten thousand dollars.”
Visiting Nadal’s doctor
Bhambri is recovering from a
knee injury that has kept him away
from the game since October 2018.
For a player who’s no stranger to
injuries, it was a particularly “frus-
trating” season last year when
multiple doctors gave him varied
diagnosis and treatments that
showed no improvement.
In the end, it was Angel Ruiz Cor-
torro, the Spanish sports doctor who
has been the go-to-man for Rafael
Nadal since his junior days, who
came up with the right solution.
“I had to go there (Barcelona)
a few times. The treatment was in
September, and in end-October
and November,” said Bhambri,
happy that he didn’t have to go
under the knife.
“I did my rehab there as well, a
month and a half. I started to walk
around, move a little bit, basic exer-
cises. I kept getting better and pro-
gressing, then I came back home.”
Towards the end of January, he
began hitting on the court.
Wimbledon on one leg
The knee injury came at a
time when Bhambri, the only In-
dian to win a junior Grand Slam
singles title besides Ramesh
Krishnan and Leander Paes, had
broken into the top-100 and
seemed set to soar higher.
That remarkable phase includ-
ed wins over Gael Monfils & Guido
Pella (Washington, 2017); Nicolas
Mahut & Lucas Pouille (Indian
YUKI BHAMBRI
Wells, 2018); and Thomas Kokki-
nakis (Surbiton Challenger, 2018).
“It started with the grass court
season … By the time Queen’s
came, I was pretty much playing
on one leg,” the Delhi lad said. He
still went on to beat Taylor Fritz
in the second round, losing to Mi-
los Raonic in the next.
The knee had swollen by the
time Wimbledon arrived. Incred-
ibly, with just two weeks of “bare
minimum” practice, he took the
first set off Thomas Fabbiano be-
fore losing in the first round.
With so much pain and suffer-
ing, couldn’t have he stopped?
“It was because it’s Wimbledon,
my first appearance. It is some-
thing you had worked (for) almost
your whole life and finally when
you get a taste of it, you would do
TOI
People would be
happier to give the
money to people who are
fighting in the frontline, the
health workers, or the
labourers, people who
require help, rather than
random tennis players
around the
world.”
it with one leg and one hand tied
to your back.”
The lockdown has overlapped
with his lengthy recovery.
During the time he has been
away, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Su-
mit Nagal and Sasikumar Mukund
have taken sure steps forward.
Yet, Indian tennis has remained
the same in terms of support sys-
tem or the lack of it.
Bhambri refused to dwell on the
negatives. “It is better than what it
was. There is some support, the VK
Foundation is funding Karman
(Kaur Thandi), Sumit and
Mukund. I don’t think we have ever
had a bunch of players being fund-
ed together. But overall as a whole,
what a tennis player requires, it
has to be a collective effort by eve-
ryone and that is not there.”
‘Rohit ahead of Kohli
in white-ball cricket’
New Delhi: Former India
opener Gautam Gambhir feels
that Rohit Sharma has been
able to make more impact in
white ball cricket compared to
Virat Kohli despite Indian
skipper’s staggering statistics
in shorter formats. “... for me
white-ball cricket is all about
impact. Kohli will end up get-
ting many more runs than
Rohit, and Kohli is among the
greatest right now, but Rohit
has an edge over Kohli be-
cause of the impact he has,”
Gambhir told Sports Tak.
“I think he (Rohit) is the
best white-ball cricketer in the
world right now. He is not the
greatest overall but at the mo-
ment he is the best. He is the
only player to have hit 3 ODI
double hundreds, 5 World Cup
hundreds (in one edition) and
he is also the only player, who
once gets past 100-run mark,
people say that he missed a
double century.”
Talking further about Koh-
li and Rohit, the 2011 World
Cup winner said, “It is very
difficult to compare both of
them. Virat Kohli is unbeliev-
able. His stats prove that. But
LEE DIDN’T LET ME
SLEEP, NEVER
WANTED TO FACE
STEYN: SHARMA
New Delhi: India limited-
overs vice-captain Rohit has
revealed he was troubled by
former Australia fast-bowler
Brett Lee’s express pace dur-
ing his early days while deal-
ing with South Africa speed-
ster Dale Steyn’s swing felt
like a ‘nightmare’ to him.
“One bowler is Brett Lee be-
cause he didn’t let me sleep the
previous night on my first tour
to Australia in 2007, as I was
when your reputation is such
that when you get out after a
hundred, people say he has
missed out on double hun-
dred, that speaks volumes
about you.”
Credit for Rohit’s success goes
to Dhoni, feels Gambhir
New Delhi: Former India
cricketer Gautam Gambhir
believes the credit for Rohit
Sharma’s meteoric rise in
white-ball cricket must be
given to former captain Ma-
hendra Singh Dhoni.
“Where Rohit Sharma is to-
day, it is because of MS Dhoni,”
Gambhir told Sports Tak. “You
can talk about the selection com-
mittee and team management,
but if you do not have the back-
ing from your captain then it is
all useless. Everything is in the
hands of the captain. AGENCIES
thinking how to play this bowler
who bowls in excess of 150
kmph,” Rohit said during Star
Sports show Cricket Connected.
“I have two favourite bowl-
ers who I never wanted to face,
one was Brett Lee and the
other was Dale Steyn. I never
wanted to face Steyn because
playing pace and swing at the
same time was a nightmare, it
was just unreal,” he added.
Rohit also lavished praise
on current Australia fast-bowl-
er Josh Hazlewood. “Currently,
someone whom I don’t want to
face in Test cricket would be
Hazlewood because he’s disci-
plined and does not move away
from that length.” IANS
MONDAY 4 MAY 2020 I ADVERTORIAL, ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
LEISURE / DELHI TIMES DELHI TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA
13

Tasty food Freeze baked goods to make them last longer #CORONASUTRA
The best of locked-down creativity

at your W
hether you’ve made a
too-big batch of muffins
for your household of
Pics: iStock
SOME ITEMS CAN ALSO BE
FROZEN BEFORE BAKING

doorstep iStock
one or you just like having a stash
of freshly baked bread in the freez-
er, there are a few tricks for freez-
ing baked goods to best retain their
flavour and texture.
— Erin Jeanne McDowell/
New York Times
BROWNIES AND
BLONDIES
All freeze well after baking,
though, because of their
fudgy texture, they might
become slightly more moist
after thawing. Cut into
portions, wrap each tightly in
plastic wrap and freeze on a
sheet pan until firm. Transfer
to a resealable freezer bag.
Remove the bars from the
he lockdown may
Biscuits and scones: Portion the
dough, then transfer the portions to a
parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze
until firm, then transfer to a resealable
freezer bag. No need to thaw before
baking. Simply remove the portioned
dough from the freezer and place on a
parchment-lined baking sheet. Reduce
the oven temperature called for in the
recipe and add up to 10 minutes of
baking time.
Cookies: Drop-cookie dough can be
scooped onto a parchment-lined
CAKES baking sheet, then frozen until solid.
Sheet cakes, cake layers, loaf or Bundt cakes freeze 7KH)LUVW/LQHVRI(PDLOV,¶YH5HFHLYHG:KLOH4XDUDQWLQLQJ
Transfer the frozen cookie dough balls
best unfrosted and unfilled, because frostings and to an airtight container. ,QWKHVHXQFHUWDLQWLPHV *HW)UHH&XUEVLGHSLFNXSRU
fillings can often release moisture into the cake as DVZHQDYLJDWHWKHQHZQRUPDO VKLSWR\RXUKRXVH
When ready to bake, $UH\RXZLOOLQJWRVKDUH\RXULGHDV &KLFNHQ/HPRQ$UWLFKRNHV
it thaws. Wrap slices or portions of cake tightly in DQGVROXWLRQV" $V\RXNQRZPDQ\SHRSOH

T have killed the joy

of eating out but
there is hope. If you have
freezer and thaw fully in the
refrigerator before serving.
plastic wrap, then a layer of foil, then freeze for up
to three months. Thaw completely in the refrigera-
tor, then unwrap. Finish as the recipe directs.
move the desired
number of dough
balls to a parchment-
lined baking sheet,
$V\RXNQRZPDQ\SHRSOH
DUHVWUXJJOLQJ
,NQRZ\RXDUHXSDJDLQVWLW
WKHGLJLWDOODQGVFDSH
DUHVWUXJJOLQJ
+RZDUH\RXLQVSLULQJJUHDWQHVVWRGD\"
:HKDYHDFXUHIRU\RXUFDELQIHYHU
3DQGHPLFGLDOLQWRZQKDOO721,*+7
been craving for your
and thaw in the :HVKDUH\RXUFRQFHUQV $V\RXNQRZPDQ\SHRSOH
favourite cuisine or want $V\RXNQRZPDQ\SHRSOH DUHVWUXJJOLQJ
to keep your love for refrigerator or at room
gourmet food alive, we
MUFFINS AND QUICK BREADS temperature for 2 to 4
DUHVWUXJJOLQJ
0RWKHU¶V'D\ORRNVDOLWWOH
Tightly wrap individual muffins or quick bread slices in plastic wrap, :HKRSHWKLVQRWHILQGV\RX GLIIHUHQWWKLV\HDU
have it sorted for you. hours before baking. DQG\RXUIDPLO\VDIH <RX¶UHLQYLWHGWRVKRSDOOMHDQV
Follow delhitimes.food then transfer to a resealable storage bag. Freeze up to two months.
:H¶YHQHYHUVHHQDQ\WKLQJOLNH IRURII
on Instagram to check Thaw in the refrigerator for at least six hours before serving. When WKLVEHIRUH <HVEX\JHWIUHH
out the restros deliver- ready to eat, thaw completely in the refrigerator before wrapping Pie and tart dough: Form the dough +HUHDUH'LVWDQFH/HDUQLQJ7LSV $V\RXNQRZPDQ\SHRSOH
into disks about 1/2-inch thick and wrap $V\RXNQRZPDQ\SHRSOH DUHVWUXJJOLQJ
ing at your doorstep and bread in foil and placing it into the oven, then heating the oven to DUHVWUXJJOLQJ
give your tastebuds a 190 degrees and leaving the bread in for another 3 to 5 minutes tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze the disks &DOOXVWRGLVFXVVDORDQH[WHQVLRQ
lockdown break. after the oven reaches 190 degrees. for up to three months, and thaw in the )HHOLQJ)LHVWDWRGD\"+DSS\7DFR ZLWKRXWSHQDOW\
refrigerator overnight before using. 7XHVGD\ $&7 12:WHOO&RQJUHVV&KDUWHUV
&DORULHVGRQ¶WFRXQWGXULQJ VKRXOG1RW/LQHWKHLU3RFNHWV'XULQJ
DSDQGHPLF WKH&29,'FULVLV
*URFHUVUHSRUWIORXUVKRUWDJHVDVPRUH 1RZVKLSSLQJIDFHPDVNVDV
TIMES HITORI LOOP THE LOOP SHRSOHDUHEDNLQJWKDQHYHU UHFRPPHQGHGE\WKH&'&
$V\RXNQRZPDQ\SHRSOH $V\RXNQRZPDQ\SHRSOH
Rules DUHVWUXJJOLQJ DUHVWUXJJOLQJ
HOW TO PLAY ■ Connect adjacent dots with vertical or
1. A number may horizontal lines, creating a single loop &RXQW\RXUEOHVVLQJV6KDUH 7KLVLVQRWQRUPDO
appear just (Fig A). \RXUEOHVVLQJV ²%\-HVVLFD6DOILD
once in each ■ Crossovers or branches are not allowed
row or col- (As shown by dotted lines in Fig B).
umn. Elimi- ■ Numbers in the puzzle indicate the num- Not allowed
(Fig B)
ENGINEERING | MANAGEMENT | MEDIA | LAW nate repeat ber of lines that
(Fig A)
THE DAILY CROSSWORD
numbers by should surround
SUDOKU CHALLENGE darkening it, while empty
Level: Medium cells. (see ex- cells may be sur-
HOW TO PLAY ample) rounded by any
2. Darkened number of lines.
Fill in the grid ■ You can’t draw
so that every cells must
never be adja- lines around ze-
horizontal row, roes.
every vertical cent in a row ■ Each puzzle has
column and or column.
just one unique
every 3x3 box 3. Unmarked
solution.
contains the cells must
wiched" How to begin: Ex-
digits 1-9, create a single ample (Fig A) - Be-
without continuous area, between neigh-
bours of the gin with the zero
repeating the undivided by dark- next to 3. Since no
numbers in the ened cells. same value can
be circled. lines can be drawn
same row, 4. Every time you around zero, mark
column or darken a cell, you (e.g. 6 4 6 )
crosses around it,
box.You can’t can automatically 6. A "triple" is a as shown. Now there is a cross in one space around 3. So we know the three
change the circle its vertical special case of
lines of 3 can only be drawn in the remaining three spaces. Next, these lines
digits already and horizontal sandwich. Circle can only be extended in one direction each. Continue, using the same logic.
given in the
neighbours, which the centre cells, Hints: Keep eliminating possibilities by marking crosses in spaces between
grid. Every and darken the dots where a line isn’t possible, i.e., if you have already completed required
puzzle has means they cannot
be eliminated. ends. lines or where a line
one solution. (e.g. 6 6 6 ) extension may create a branch or cause a deadend (Fig B)
5. Any cell "sand- Example
ANIMAL CRACKERS
PEANUTS

THE WIZARD OF ID
GARFIELD

BELIEVE IT OR NOT DENNIS THE MENACE

BEAU PEEP

ARCHIE

SCRAMBLE
BETWEEN FRIENDS

Rearrange the OATEN HOW TO

letters in the PLAY If the world were
four word STYLI Now arrange the good for nothing
jumbles, one letters in the cir- else, it is a fine
letter to each cles to form the subject for ____.
square/circle, CEILNU answer to the rid- - William Hazlitt
to make four dle or to fill in the (11)
ordinary missing word as
words MACSUP indicated

SPELLATHON
Today’s Ratings:
MINDBENDER
09-average 10-good 12-outstanding Which word does NOT belong with the others?
1) a. evaluate b. assess c. appraise d. instruct
D How many words of four or more letters can 2) a. eel b. lobster c. crab d. shrimp
you make from the letters shown in today’s
D A puzzle? In making a word, a letter can be used
3) a. scythe b. knife c. pliers d. saw
4) a. two b. three c. six d. eight
W as many times as it appears in the puzzle. Each
word must contain the central letter. There 5) a. peninsula b. island c. bay d. cape
D L should be at least one seven letter word. Plu-
E rals, foreign words and proper names are not
allowed. British English Dictionary is used as
reference.
SOLUTIONS TO GAMES/PUZZLES
TIMES SUDOKU LOOP THE LOOP TIMES HITORI

ARIES March 20 - April 18 Your intuition and imagina-
tion are operating at a very high level today. Allow yourself
to be guided by your intuition. Don’t be surprised when
those around you start looking a little puzzled.
TAURUS April 19 - May 19 It may be difficult to avoid
conflict today. But it will certainly not do you any harm and
it might help you gain the security that you actually need.
There is a serious threat to the fulfilment you expected.
GEMINI May 20 - June 20 You may be especially sensi-
tive to the moods of others today. You hang on to what you
have achieved. You may feel that you have to defend your
BIRTHDAY TODAY motives today.
LEO July 22 - August 21 Your mind is especially sharp to-
day though you might be a little more introspective than
you usually are. If you are in a relationship, don’t embark
on any discussion on contentious topics.
VIRGO August 22 - September 21 You will probably need
a good listener. Don’t make any rash judgments or leap to
any conclusions. There is an atmosphere of concealment.
You will find it difficult to resolve conflicts.
LIBRA September 22 - October 22 A huge fight or a pe-
riod of separation might help you understand the feelings
of your beloved. As the need to change washes through
your life, you are waking up to things that have more to do
SAGITTARIUS November 21-December 20 In the work
sphere, you might experience disappointment regarding an
agreement or a contract. Don’t look at it like a punishment;
see it as an opportunity to strengthen your relationship.
CAPRICORN December 21 - January 19 At work, a storm
of negative influences is whirling around you, highlighting
the precariousness of your situation.You will enjoy the com-
pany of friends but they may find you unusually quiet.
AQUARIUS January 20 - February 18 Do your best to
stay completely out of the fray and focus on what you need MINDBENDER
SCRAMBLE
to do. Someone in a bad mood may try to draw you into a 1) Instruct, 2) Eel, 3) Pliers, 4) Three, 5) Bay
ulation. - William Hazlitta
quarrel. You can really put off important things, especially is a fine subject for spec-

Y our rebellious nature might ruffle some feathers

in your friend circle today. But there will be no
misunderstandings to rock the boat.
CANCER June 21 - July 21 This is going to be a difficult
day to negotiate your way around. It could be hard to get
with your purpose here than the fears that keep you stuck.
SCORPIO October 23 - November 20 It is not a great day
if you can’t see a reason for them.
PISCES February 19 - March 19 Take some time to al-
WHATZIT?
Just between the two of us
SPELLATHON
weal, weld
good for nothing else, it
Answer: If the world were
much accomplished with all that is going on. Never mind, for affairs of the heart.Tensions, conflicts, even a split could low your ideas to crystallise and set them down later. Don’t
DLED, wade, waded, wale, clei, campus
Tip: Your lucky colours are red and brown. lewd, wadded, waddle, WAD-
you will soak in most of what others tell you. There could be in the air. It is possible that the jealousy that you or the let yourself be overwhelmed by the aggression in the at-
Words: Atone, silty, nu-
You share your birthday with: Trisha Krishnan awed, dawdle, DAWDLED,
be trouble in your love life due to misunderstandings. other person is feeling could be without foundation. mosphere and suppress any feelings of destruction.
 India takes the
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020 I ADVERTORIAL, Pics: maskindia.com
#MaskIndia challenge ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
@punita_bhatia
@AditiMajumdar @RohanKottapa
lly @sandip_christie @JayashreeNand
a
@27PROudiNdian

Follow us on: twitter.com/DelhiTimesTweet facebook.com/DelhiTimesOnline instagram.com/delhi.times OF INDIA

Share a picture wearing a homemade mask on your social media handles using #MaskIndia. The best pictures will be featured in this space and on maskindia.com

#LifeInTheLockdown

Cherishing the time with my Paying tribute to corona

warriors, Bobby recites
kids in lockdown: Mary Kom poem in a special video Bobby Deol
has recited a
two-minute
piece,
Chand Roz
Ki Baat Hai
Yaron

MC Mary Kom with

husband K Onler Kom
and their four children

Abhimanyu.Mathur@timesgroup.com ABSTAINING FROM MY ily. During my time in the kitchen, something

else I tried my hand at is preparing various kinds
uring the lockdown, life has stopped for FREQUENT SHOPPING SPREES, and styles of pasta. My children love it. I would-

D boxing champ MC Mary Kom, like it has

for most of us. The six-time World Cham-
WHICH I WAS HARDLY ABLE TO
CONTROL, HAS BEEN TOUGH
n’t say there is anything new when it comes to
my activities at home – I do every household
Onkar.Kulkarni@timesgroup.com

n the midst of the ongoing coronavirus

pion and Olympic medallist is with her family at
her central Delhi house, where she is handling the
dual responsibilities of continuing training and
working out, while handling the kitchen and house-
hold duties.
“It’s been a difficult time. We’ve all had to make
changes. I found that abstaining from my frequent
shopping sprees, which I was hardly able to control,
has been tough. But in all seriousness, apart from
DURING THE LOCKDOWN
the news of the virus, hearing about doctors who
went to collect samples and the police being attacked
by the public was quite disturbing,” she tells us.
Mary adds that she’s been cooking a lot while un-
der lockdown, and her children love her pasta cre-
ations. “I’ve been making rotis and puris for the fam-
chore, be it mopping, cooking, washing, or clean-
ing. Of course, I have continued with my usual
workout at home, and I’m getting to spend more
time with my children. All this is challenging,
but I am cherishing it,” she says, adding that every-
one must take care of themselves during this time.
“The one suggestion I’d give everyone is to stay
healthy by staying active at home during the lock-
down,” she signs off.
I crisis, we have seen several celebrities
come forward to boost everyone’s morale.
The latest to join the list is Bobby Deol.
The actor has recited a poem in a special
video, which releases today, and dedicated
it to the warriors of COVID-19. The two-
minute piece, titled Chand Roz Ki Baat Hai
Yaron, has been conceptualised and writ-
ten by Sanjay Masoomm.
Bobby told us, “I have known Sanjay for
many years and when
he came to me with this
domitable human spirit and unity, which
binds Indians together. The message in the
verses encouraged me to recite a poem on
camera for the first time in my life.”
While Bobby faced the camera, his younger
son, Dharam, turned ‘cinematographer’. The
actor shares, “Dharam is fond of cameras.
Once, when he had accompanied me to the
sets of a film, I spotted him having a long chat
with the cinematographer. Later, he told me
that he wanted to be a photographer. So, I
bought him a camera. Dharam took this as
an opportunity and we shot this over two ho-
urs. Of course, we had
our share of creative dif-

BUZZSTOP
MEGHAN WILL Prayer meet held for Rishi poem,I was taken by the
simplicity with which
he expressed gratitude
towards our police
force, healthcare work-
CHAND ROZ KI
BAAT HAI YARON
TALKS ABOUT THE
INDOMITABLE
ferences (laughs).”
It’s a known fact that
Bobby’s father, Dhar-
mendra, has a skill for
writing poetry. “My dad

Kapoor at his Bandra home

ers and others, who are has penned lovely po-
LAUNCH LIFESTYLE working tirelessly to
protect us from the
HUMAN SPIRIT AND
UNITY, WHICH BINDS
ems and he uses beau-
tiful Urdu words. How-

WEBSITE: REPORT deadly virus. Chand

Roz Ki Baat Hai Yaron
talks about the in-
INDIANS TOGETHER
ever, I haven’t inherited
that talent from him,”
says the actor.
MEGHAN
MARKLE is
reportedly set
to launch a
lifestyle web-
site to rival
actress
Gwyneth
Paltrow’s
website. Before
marriage,
Meghan used
to have her
own lifestyle
website. Royal
expert Myka Meier was quoted as Neetu and Ranbir Kapoor at the prayer meet on Sunday
saying on a podcast, “I have a friend
Renuka.Vyavahare@timesgroup.com ed only to members of the family. Along with Rishi Kapoor’s wife
with a little bit of insider knowledge, The late actor’s elder brother, Neetu and son Ranbir, his daugh-
and I think she’s already working on small prayer meet was held Randhir Kapoor, said, “Rasam pa- ter, Riddhima, was also present.
something. We will be seeing some-
thing very interesting and creative
with masterminds from all over the
A yesterday at Neetu and
Rishi Kapoor’s Bandra res-
idence. The actor passed away on
gri puja was held on Saturday. His
ashes were immersed on Sunday
in Banganga, Mumbai, which was
Riddhima, who couldn’t attend her
father’s final rites owing to lock-
down restrictions, reached Mum-
the morning of April 30 after a two- followed by a quiet prayer service bai on Saturday evening after seek-
world coming together to bring some- year battle with leukaemia. Given with only family members in at- ing special permission from the au-
thing inspiring soon.’’ the lockdown, the family ensured tendance at his home because of thorities to travel from Delhi
Agencies that the prayer meet was restrict- the coronavirus pandemic.” by road.

Kids’ Choice Awards: BTS and Taylor win big

This year, the award ceremony took place virtually due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic

I 0 S..
00

FA
BTS won the award for the Favourite Music Group at the Kids’ Choice Awards
GAOGES
aylor Swift and BTS, along with Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner made a spe- der-Man actor Tom Holland was voted

T Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes,

Taylor Swift was voted as the
Favourite Global Music Star
Billie Eilish, and Lil Nas X, won
big in the musical categories at the Kids’
Choice Awards on Saturday. Robert
Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris
Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark
cial appearance during the ceremony.
Though the physical show was postponed
due to the coronavirus crisis, the virtu-
al telecast was no short of slime and the
awards. Superhero film Avengers:
Endgame won favourite movie, and Spi-
favourite superhero. The show also made
a $1 million donation to No Kid Hungry,
a US campaign to help end childhood Log on to www .gadgetsnow.com
hunger, and support people affected by
coronavirus crisis.
ANI