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Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakururges party workersto educate people over Corona

Rohtak MP DrArvind Sharmagives Rs 5 lakh for samplecollection fromhis MP quota

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3 more testcoronavirus positivein Chandigarh,Sector 30 sealedCHANDIGARH: Threenew coronavirus caseswere reported in Chandi-garh on Sunday, taking thetotal number of cases to26. The family contacts of the53-year-old woman, whotested positive on Satur-day, were diagnosed withCOVID-19. The contactsinclude her 56-year-oldhusband, her 25-year-oldson, and a one-and-a-half-year granddaughter. Theauthorities decided to seala portion of Sector 30 afterfour cases surfaced fromthe same area. However,out of the seven familycontacts of the COVID-19positive case of Dhanas(PGI employee) six haveturned out to be negative.

Dhoni inclusion innational-sidechangedpower dynamics in Indian cricket:Srikkanth

Coronavirusspreading in Del-hi butsituation undercontrol: ChiefMinister Kejriwal

AGENCYPANAJI, APRIL 19

Goa Health Minister Vishwa-jit Rane on Sunday an-nounced that all the COVID-19 positive cases in the statehave tested negative andthanked the medical staff forsaving the lives of the people.

"Zero indeed has greatvalue. Immensely happy toannounce that all theCOVID-19 positive cases inGoa are now negative. Verygrateful to our doctors andfrontline workers whoworked tirelessly and risked

their lives to save others,"Vishwajit Rane said in atweet.

The health ministerin the tweet stated thatthe active number of cas-es in Goa now stands atzero.

"While we currentlydo not have any activecases in the state, it is ourresponsibility to keep inmind the importance ofthe lockdown, maintainsocial distancing, in-crease the scope of test-ing and adhere to normsand guidelines issued by

both Central and State gov-ernments," a notice tweetedby Rane said.

Rane appreciated thedoctors and other medicalstaff for fighting the coron-avirus in the state.

"My deepest gratitude toour warriors, the excellentteams of doctors headed byDr. Edwin at ESI Hospital,for working tirelessly andcounter the menace of thisdeadly virus," he added.

Meanwhile, Goa ChiefMinister said there has beenno new case of COVID-19 inthe state after April 3.

Goa becomes corona free, No active case in state

AGENCYNEW DELHI, APR 19

There is no proposal for re-duction of pension and noaction is being contemplatedby the government in this re-spect, the Centre said onSunday. The assertion as-sumes significance as ru-mours are afloat that the gov-ernment is contemplating re-duction or stoppage of pen-sion. It has come to the noticeof the DoPPW that, in thewake of the current pandemicCOVID-19 and the ensuingeconomic scenario, many ru-

mours are afloat that the gov-ernment is contemplating areduction or stoppage of pen-sion which has become asource of worry for the pen-sioners, the government saidin a communique. "As clarified earlier, it is be-ing reiterated that there is nosuch proposal for reduction ofpension and no action is con-templated by the governmentin this respect. Instead, thegovernment is committed forthe welfare and well being ofthe pensioners," the commu-nique issued by the DoPPWsaid.

AGENCYNEW DELHI, APRIL 19

The supply of non-essentialgoods by e-commerce com-panies will remain prohibitedduring the countrywide lock-down, said the Union Min-istry of Home Affairs (MHA)on Sunday.

The nationwide lock-down in India meant for a pe-riod of 21 days, was extendedtill May 3 by the government.And only the delivery of es-sential goods was allowed un-der the first phase of lock-

down between March 24 andApril 14. The Union Ministerfor Commerce and IndustryPiyush Goyal also welcomedthe decision saying that themove will create a level play-ing field for small retailers."Grateful to Prime Minister

Modi for the clarification thate-commerce companies canonly supply essential goodsduring the lockdown. Thiswill create a level playingfield for small retailers," saidthe minister. The industrybody, the Confederation ofAll India Traders (CAIT) hasalso welcomed the develop-ment. "CAIT demolished asinister plan of e-commercecompanies to trade in non-es-sential commodities. Accept-ing the objection of CAIT, theMHA excluded the permis-sion granted earlier.

Supply of non-essential goods by e- companies to remain prohibited

BUREAU CHANDIGARH, APRIL 19-

Haryana Chief Minister Mr.Manohar Lal today urged theVice-Chancellors and Profes-sors of various universitiesand colleges in the State, inthe true spirit of dischargingsocial responsibility, everyteacher should take a lead so-cially in helping the needy inthis hour of crisis.

He urged that every Uni-versity and College shouldlimit their expense to impor-tant works only. He furtherappealed to both the govern-ment and private universitiesand colleges not to insist anystudent pay the fee during thelockdown period.

The Chief Minister waspresiding over a meeting withthe Vice-Chancellors throughvideo conferencing here to-day.

Appealing the Universi-ties conducting various re-searches, the Chief Ministersaid that in this hour of crisisthe universities should utilizetheir research work for thebetterment of the society byusing their research projectsto fight the COVID-19 battle.He said that every universityshould follow the social dis-tancing norm meticulously.He said to ensure that the stu-dents do not suffer academi-

cally; every university andcollege should continue tak-ing online classes.

During the meeting, theteachers shared that most ofthem have already startedholding classes on various theE-learning platform. Theyshared that the live classeswith students, online work-sheets, PPT presentations, etcare being conducted to helpthe students to cover their syl-labus. The Chief Ministerwas apprised that every facul-ty member is working dedi-catedly to ensure that the ed-ucation material and all aca-demic help should be given toeven those children who donot have smartphones. It wasshared that through digitallearning platforms, most ofthe Universities and collegeshave covered 70 to 80 percentsyllabus.

Khattar urges Privatecolleges not to force

students for depositing fee

Good News

9 new coronaviruscases in J-K, tallytouches 350SRINAGAR: The numberof COVID-19 cases inJammu and Kashmirreached 350 on Sundayas nine more people test-ed positive for the coron-avirus in the Union territo-ry, officials said.Of the fresh cases, eightare from the Kashmir divi-sion while one is fromJammu, the officials said.Now, the number of novelcoronavirus cases in theJammu division is 55 andthat in the Kashmir divi-sion stands at 295, theyadded.

UP govt to provideemployment to 5lakh strandedworkers in stateLUCKNOW: The UttarPradesh government onSunday decided to set upa committee to provideemployment to the 5 lakhworkers who entered thestate in the last 45 daysfrom different parts of thecountry amid the coron-avirus lockdown."In a meeting today, theChief Minister ordered toset up a committee aimedat providing employmentto 5 lakh workers whohave come to the state inthe last 45 days from dif-ferent parts of the coun-try," said Awanish KAwasthi, Additional ChiefSecretary, Home Depart-ment.

No relaxationin lockdown in DelhiNEW DELHI: Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal onSunday announced that inview of the current coron-avirus situation in the na-tional capital, no relaxationwill be given in the lock-down for at least a week."We have decided to keeppeople of Delhi safe. Thelockdown will remain andthere will be no relaxation.We will review the situa-tion again after a week,"said the Chief Minister.Prime Minister NarendraModi had last week, whileextending the nationwidelockdown, said that someconditional relaxations inthe lockdown norms maybe considered after April20.

AGENCYNEW DELHI, APRIL 19

Selective relaxation will be givenin non-containment areas fromApril 20, but strict restrictionswill continue in districts declaredCOVID-19 hotspots, the govern-ment said on Sunday.

Addressing a daily mediabriefing to give updates on thenovel coronavirus situation in thecountry, Joint Secretary in theHealth Ministry Lav Agarwal saidsome activities in agricultural sec-tor and rural economy would bepermitted as part of ensuring“Jaan bhi hai jahan bhi hai (lifeand wellbeing)”.

He also said a high-level taskforce to work on frontiers of sci-ence related to vaccines and drugtesting was formed on Sunday.

“The co-chair of the taskforce are member of the NitiAayog and the principal scientificadviser to the government. Be-sides them, AYUSH, ICMR, De-partment of Science and Technol-ogy, Biotechnology, CSIR,DRDO, DG Health Services andDrug Controller are also its mem-bers,” Agarwal said.

He said 1,334 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported since Sat-urday with 27 deaths in the last 24hours. Total cases stand at 15,712and deaths at 507. As many as2,231 COVID-19 patients, whichis around 14.19 per cent, havebeen cured, Agarwal said.

Prime Minister NarendraModi had announced that fromApril 20 selective relaxation willbe given in some areas. In accor-dance to that, there will be somerelaxations in non-containmentzones from midnight, Agarwalsaid.

The joint secretary in the

health ministry, however, saidcontainment areas in coronavirushotspots will not get the relax-ations.

States and Union Territoriesmay impose measures which are

even more stringent than Centre’sguidelines, according to local re-quirements, he said.

Hotspots or red zones arethose areas where either there arelarge number of COVID-19 cases

or the doubling rate of infection isless than four days, Agarwal ex-plained. “In these hotspots, localadministrations delineate contain-ment zones and buffer zones tocontrol spread of the disease. Norelaxations are permitted in thesecontainment zones,” he said,adding strict perimeter controlwill be continue and nothing ex-cept essential services will be al-lowed there.

Selective relaxation in non-containment areas from today

Punjab allows sandmining, stone crushingCHANDIGARH: Sand and gravel mining and stone crushing havebeen permitted as part of the construction-related activities in Pun-jab from Monday, according to the state home department.Also in view of the new academic session, shops dealing in distribu-tion of books to school and college students have also been al-lowed to operate, as per an official release here.In view of approaching summer season, the sale of air-conditioners,air-coolers, fans and their repair shops have also been brought un-der ambit of essential goods or services and have been allowed toremain open and operate. In line with the Centre's guidelines, in-dustrial activity is allowed in the state's rural areas, provided thatthe operators of industries, employing ten or more persons, shouldmake all arrangements for the stay or transport of workers.

Covid-19 does notsee race, religion,colour, caste andcreed, says PMNEW DELHI: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Sunday saidthat the highly infectious virusdisease Covid-19 does not seerace, religion, colour, caste,creed, language or borders.“Covid-19 does not see race,religion, colour, caste, creed,language or borders. Our re-sponse and conduct thereaftershould attach primacy to unityand brotherhood. We are in thistogether,”?the prime ministersaid in his LinkedIn post. “India,with the right blend of the phys-ical and the virtual can emergeas the global nerve centre ofcomplex modern multinationalsupply chains in the postCOVID-19 world. Let us rise tothat occasion and seize this op-portunity,”PM?Modi’s post read.The next big ideas from India,PM?Modi said, should findglobal relevance and applica-tion. “They should have theability to drive a positivechange not merely for India butfor the entire humankind,” theprime minister wrote in his post.

AGENCYNEW DELHI, APRIL 19

During his visit to Rajiv Gandhi Su-per Speciality Hospital on Sunday,Union Health Minister Dr HarshVardhan said that the data of thecoronavirus is "improving" witheach passing day.

"I am being told that around 95patients, out of the 177 admittedhere (Rajiv Gandhi Super SpecialityHospital) will be discharged by to-day evening. Analysis of our data inthe past few days has been satisfac-tory. The data is improving every-day," he said while speaking to ANI.

"The doubling rate of patients inthe last 14 days was 6.2 days. Whenit was calculated for the last 7 daysit turned out to be 7.2 days. It hasturned out to be 9.7 days for the past3 days. It is a good indication," headded.

The Union Minister also toldthat around 12-13 patients in thehospital are in ICU but are stable.

"I have been told that 12-13 pa-tients are in ICU. No one serious and

also no patient admitted in this hos-pital needed a ventilator so far."

The minister also spoke to adoctor who developed COVID-19while treating the patients at the air-port and Narela Medical Centre inDelhi and said, "Even after havingcoronavirus, his morale was veryhigh. The doctor is admitted hereand I spoke to him via video confer-encing."

COVID-19 Data in Indiaimproving with each passing

day: Dr. Harsh Vardhan

India questions Pakistanover collapse of domes of

Gurudwara Kartarpur SahibAGENCYNEW DELHI, APRIL 19

India has forcefully taken up the issue of the collapse of domes of Sikhshrine Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur with Pakistan.

"It has been highlighted that the damage to the structures in theholy Gurudwara have caused great consternation to the members of theSikh community," sources said.

India has urged Pakistan that in deference to sentiments of Sikhcommunity, the deficiencies which led to damage to newly construct-ed structures be urgently rectified and remedied.

Their strong sense of faith and devotion to holy site must be fullyunderstood and appreciated, they added.

The Kartarpur Sahib Corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pak-istan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, toDera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur district.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the corridor from theIndian side while Imran Khan opened the route on Pakistan side.

No inter state movement of workers permitted

No proposal for reductionof pension: Centre

PUBLIC NOTICESI , Sanjiv Kumar Alias Sanjiv Sharma Alias Sanjay S/o Ramgopal Sharma R/o Vill Bakhli tehsil pehowa distt (Kurukshetra) declares that my son rahul sharma and his wife Rimpy out of my control. ,i disown them from my moveable/immoveable properties. I and my family will not responsible for their act and conduct. anybody deal with them.

84661I, Shamsher Singh S/o Hazara Singh R/o W/no-1 Village Rohon Tehsil Khanna Distt Ludhiana declare that my son Gurmeet Singh is out of my control. So I disown him from my moveable and immoveable property. Anybody dealing with him his/her own risk.

63372

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020

NEWSPAGE2

BRIEFNEWS

MOHALI: Amidst Covid-19 horror, a 65-yr shopkeeper from Gurdaspur has successfully undergone an emergency bypass surgery at a private hospital, Mohali recently. Ashok Kumar Bajaj has suffered a heart attack and was investigated at Amritsar. He was diagnosed with severe heart disease and referred to Dr Harinder Singh Bedi, director of cardio vascular sciences at Ivy Hospital. Timely surgery saved Ashok, who recovered well now, said Bedi. In another case a 53-yr old woman from Malerkotla was successfully treated for severe infection on a heart valve, which got complicated with heart and kidney failure besides sepsis at Ivy recently. In both cases the whole cardiac staff came together as soon as possible and an emergency surgeries were performed, said Dr Bedi. Dr Bedi further said that in these troubled times, non-Covid heart emergencies are also required to be taken care of with extra precautions as any patient can be a asymptomatic carrier of Covid-19.

Man suffers heart attack, undergoes emergency bypass surgery

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.

Kindness in giving creates love.

Lao Tzu

CHANDIGARH: Hyundai Motor India (HMI) has entered into a partnership with Air Liquide Medical Systems Pvt. Ltd. (ALMS) a Manufacturer of ICU Ventilators, to augment the production and supply of Ventilators in Tamil Nadu and other states. With this partnership HMI and ALMS aim to achieve a target of 1000 ventilators in the Phase 1 of production, and to scale up subsequently. Ventilators are medical devices used by healthcare professionals that take over the work of breathing from a patient who is unable to breathe on their own by delivering air with high concentration of oxygen to their lungs. For patients severely affected by COVID-19, ventilators are critical to ensure continuous oxygen is supplied to overcome respiratory insufficiency. Commenting on this arrangement with Air Liquide Medical Systems Pvt. Ltd. , Mr. SS Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., said that ventilators and other respiratory aids are critical devices in the fight against COVID-19 and to this end, Hyundai & Air Liquide Medical Systems are working together to ensure a steady supply of Ventilators in India. As a Socially Responsible and Caring Brand.

Hyundai Motor India Partners with Air Liquide Medical Systems

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CHANDIGARH: Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, is further enhancing its multiple initiatives towards the COVID-19 relief efforts, by manufacturing and distributing sanitisers to the authorities and people in the under-privileged section of the society. The Company has already distributed over 5,000 liters of sanitisers as part of this initiative. The sanitisers are being produced at the Company’s manufacturing facilities in the country, where production of two-wheelers wasproactively haltedon March 22, 2020 to ensure the safety and wellbeing of employees. For the past three weeks, select employees from the production and CSR teams of Hero MotoCorp have been engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of these sanitisers, which are being made as per the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Hero MotoCorp has also distributed over four lakh (400,000) protective face-masks already.

Hero MotoCorp Steps up COVID-19 Relief Efforts

AGENCY Jaipur. The patient was admitted cases, 30 were reported from The total number of COVID-JAIPUR, APR 19 to a private hospital after he Jodhpur; 17 in Bharatpur; 12 in 19 cases in Rajasthan includes

compla ined o f f eve r and Nagaur; seven in Jaipur; four in two Italian citizens and 60 people One more person died of breathlessness, Additional Chief Swai Madhopur; two each in brought from Iran to Army health coronavirus in Rajasthan's worst- Secretary (Health) Rohit Kumar Kota, Bikaner and Jhalawar; and centres in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer.hit Jaipur, pushing the death toll Singh said. one each in Jaisalmer, Jhunjhunu, The maximum 12 deaths have to 22 in the state, whose infection Officials said the 62-year-old Bhilwara and Hanumangarh. been reported from Jaipur. The count soared to 1,431 with 80 man from the Raja Park area of He said so far 302 patients entire state is under the lockdown fresh cases on Sunday. Jaipur was admitted to the private have tested negative for the since March 22 and a massive

So far, Jaipur has reported hospital on April 16. He died on infection after treatment, of survey and screening is under 526 cases, including 12 deaths. Saturday night. which 97 have been discharged way to track the people infected "One death has been reported in Singh said of the 80 fresh from hospitals. with the virus.

Nehru school in Haibatpur waives fees of students

ROHIT LAMSARNEELOKHERI/NIGDU, APRIL 19: Due to Coronavirus, where everyone is going through financial crisis due to weak economic condition

parents of children studying in schools were also worried about paying the fees. In the same crisis, Nehru Senior Secondary School, Haibatpur has waived the fees of April, May and June keeping the economic condition of the parents. Apart from this, every staff member of the school gave 30 per cent of his one month

salary to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. School Principal Mehar Singh said that there was a concern regarding the school fees on the parents of the children because every work due to the lockdown under Kovid-19 their payment is stalled. In view of the situation and problems of the parents, the Nehru Education Committee, Haibatpur has decided that no fee will be charged from the children for the next three months.

Carry food and water, sit six feet Apart, LS employees told

AGENCY "On any given day, the total the same time, and there would NEW DELHI, APR 19 number of officers and staff be no gatherings permitted in the

attending office in each corridors.As the nation is set to witness Branch/Office/Wing/CeII/Unit Female staff members that easing of some lockdown norms shall not exceed 33% of the are having children of 5 years of from Monday, Lok Sabha actual strength, the seating of the age or below and those who are Secretariat has allowed its said officials may be so arranged sick can work from home after officials to join office while that a distance of at least 6 feet is taking permission from maintaining social distancing maintained between them, competent authorities.and other safeguards against officials shall compulsorily wear "Female officers having COVID-19. face masks, staggered lunch- children below five years of age

According to an order breaks to avoid gathering during and staying far away and not issued by the secretariat, only 33 lunch, spitting in public places is having own conveyance may percent of the staff will be strictly prohibited," the order also seek approval to work from allowed to attend at any given read. Staff members have been home. Officials who are feeling day and individuals would need asked to bring their food and sick and feel the need to self-to sit at a distance of at least 6 feet water, as canteen will remain quarantine themselves may do away from each other, and work closed. Additionally, they would so in their own interest and in the at staggered hours. not be allowed to have lunch at larger public interest.".

CHANDIGARH: Nissan Motor India has launched a package of special services to help its customers through the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The new services offered include emergency roadside assistance during lockdown and extended warranty for customers who were unable to use the benefits of the standard warranty or free service. Those customers whose free service, warranty and extended warranty were coming to an end during the lockdown period will be able to avail these benefits for one month after the lockdown is lifted. Nissan is also communicating to all its customers on upkeep of their cars during lock down through its website, social media channels and email.

Nissan India announces services tosupport customers during lockdown

CHANDIGARH: The Board of Directors of HDFC Bank Limited approved the Bank’s (Indian GAAP) results for the quarter and full year ended March 31, 2020, at their meeting held in Mumbai on Saturday, April 18, 2020. The accounts have been subjected to an audit by the statutory auditors of the Bank. The Bank’s net revenues (net interest income plus other income) increased by 18.2% to ? 21,236.6 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Net interest income (interest earned less interest expended) for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 grew to ? 15,204.1 crore from ? 13,089.5 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, driven by growth in advances of 21.3%, and a growth in deposits of 24.3%. The net interest margin for the quarter was at 4.3%. Other income (non-interest revenue) at ? 6,032.6 crore was 28.4% of the net.

HDFC Bank limited financial resultsfor quarter and ended Mar 31

CHANDIGARH : International Journalism Centre extends heartiest thanks to all the Journalists in India and all other countries of the World, who all have contributed immensely to the coverage of Covid 19 putting their lives to risk. It shows their sincere efforts and love & dedication towards Journalism- Three Cheers,” said Dr. Sandeep Marwah President of International Journalism Centre was created in the year 2007 when few known journalists from different countries decided to promote positive and constructive journalism in the World under the leadership of media guru Sandeep Marwah at Marwah Studios.Few aims and objectives were placed on order including to start a community radio station, a community television station, a news paper to give news on art and culture, to enroll journalist associations as its members, to look into the interest and needs of journalists and good journalism.

International journalism centre is proud of journalists for their role in pandemic

CHANDIGARH, APR 19: In a gesture of its own kind, Chandigarh unit of BJP hand over a 7000 bottles of sanitizer to Chandigarh Police at their headquarter in sector 9 on Sunday. BJP aimed these sanitizer bottles to entire brigade of 6700 cops fighting against Covid 19 on ground along with police stations, PCRs and headquarters. Party president Arun Sood formally handed over the truck filled consigned to DGP Sanjay Beniwal (IPS) in the presence of top police officials and party workers. ‘We respect the covid fighters, hence this gesture on their way. We will very soon equip the sanitation workers of Municipal Corporation and door to door garbage collectors with sanitizers.” said Arun Sood.

BJP donates over 7000 bottles of sanitizers to Chandigarh Police

Our woes doubled due to lockdown 2.0: Vegetable farmersAGENCY hands, to do something for them during this lockdown.NEW DELHI, APR 19 to ensure that their livelihood and "Our products (Vegetables)

family can survive during this are not being properly taken to The lockdown-20">lockdown lockdown period. market due to the unavailability 2.0 have worsened the plight of Another vegetable farmer, in of labours, helpers. As we can't farmers growing vegetables in his late thirties, Prem Chand, sell them, so earning has been the South West Delhi where said, we are facing tough time very very low," he said.many of these farmers are not getting labour, other resources to market their products which has resulted in the loss of their earning.

"Due to the extended lockdown, we could not take these products to market (Mandi) for selling. Our income has been very meagre and how can we survive with this money as we

police is stopping him and many this will be the scene, how can we have to feed our family," Kale, a other vegetable farmer, at many earn money and survive?.vegetable farmer told .barricades, when they wanted to H e r e q u e s t e d t o t h e He further expressed his sell their products at market. If Government, with his folded displeasure over the way the

Two COVID-19 positive women deliver healthy babies in MumbaiMUMBAI: In a heartwarming development, two women who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus delivered healthy babies at Mumbai's BYL Nair hospital on Sunday. The doctor said that both the children have tested negative for the deadly virus but could not be breastfed as there are chances of virus transmission. "Two women came to us in labour last week. After a routine checkup, we did the COVID-19 test and found both of them were positive, after which we have shifted them to a special pregnancy ward. They both have delivered babies," said Dr Ramesh Bharmal, Dean, BYL Nair hospital. "We later tested babies for COVID-19, but their reports came negative. Now, these babies will again be tested after a few days following which they will be discharged. As both the mothers are COVID-19 positive, so they cannot breastfeed their babies. The babies have to be fed from the milk bank," he added.

No one appreciates nature' beauty in City beautiful

CHANDIGARH: Laminates manufacturer Stylam Industries, Panchkula has undertaken many works in various govt schools in Panchkula district under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities before lockdown.The company has provided benches, water cooler and dustbins at Government School, Abheypur. A shed for preparing midday meal was also built besides repairing the classrooms and green boards.

Infrastructure improved in schools under CSR

One more dies of COVID-19 in Rajasthan; death toll 22

CSIR testing anti-leprosy vaccine Mw for COVID-19

AGENCY Mande told a news agency.NEW DELHI, APR 19 Speaking about the Mw

vaccine, he said, "The Mw is Council of Scientific and usually used as a vaccine for Industrial Research (SCIR) leprosy.Director-General Dr Shekhar It is a micro bacterium C Mande on Sunday said that species and we will be using a the institute is currently strain of it for an immune-testing Mycobacterium w boosting vaccine." He further (Mw), which is a vaccine for said that the CSIR has tied up leprosy, to treat COVID-19.” with several hospitals and

T h e C S I R i s they are in the process of concentrating on immune- recruiting patients for clinical boosting vaccines and hence trials. "The results of our trial Mw is being tested. We have will be out in a couple of taken approval of Drug months. If we find that the Controller General of India results are encouraging then (DCGI) to test Mw for a we will increase the number vaccine of coronavirus," of patients," he said.

NGO 'I Am Still Human' provides food kits

CHANDIGARH, APR 19: With COVID 19 spreading in Chandigarh a city based NGO, 'I Am Still Human' (IASH), has come to the f o r e f r o n t t o h e l p underprivileged people like daily wage earners, people living on the footpaths, slums and physically challenged people on the streets.

Responsibility(CSR) plan. It is pertinent to mention that A n o t h e r o r g a n i s a t i o n an MNC based in tricity - Big E d u v e l o c i t y t o o h a s Rox has brought its upcoming collaborated with IASH p r o p e r t y - ' W o m e n under its CSR. IASH has also E x c e l l e n c e A w a r d s partnered with The Catalysts 2020'(WEL Awards) on board PR to spread the message IASH's campaign, under its through media. C o r p o r a t e S o c i a l

PICTURES CHANDIGARH DURING LOCKDOWN

NEWS BRIEFS

3HARYANACong questionsBJP decision

on onlinecompanies

SHIV KUMAR SHARMAKARNAL, APRIL 19

District convenor of Karnal, Con-gress, Sardar Tarlochan Singh, hasquestioned the decision of the BJPgovernment in Haryana to allowonline companies like AmazonFlipkart in the state from April 20 todobusiness. He said that this deci-sion showed government's insensi-tivity. He said that the poor, labourclass, daily wage labourers, Rehdi-walas small business grocer havebecome financially depressed dueto the lockdown and the govern-ment is hurting theur business. Thecondition of the farmer in the stateis poor.

He said that the governmentshould know who is suffering underthis pressure. He said that with thepermission of online business, 10lakh traders of the state will be af-fected. The economy of the countryand the state is dependent on thetraders and farmers. The commonpeople have old ties with the arti-sans and traders. Workers are mi-grating. The common man bor-rowed from his shopkeeper, andtakes installments and favoritethings. This has put businessmen introuble. The businessmen had notyet emerged from the demonetisa-tion and the GST problems. NowCorona has hit them hard. He saidthat the government should with-draw this decision immediately.

Farmers should notface problem during

purchase: ACSKARNAL, APRIL 19

PK Das, Additional Chief Secre-tary, Food, Civil Supplies and Con-sumer Affairs Department, Haryanareviewed the arrangements for pro-curement of wheat at the districtlevel through video conferencingon Sunday. He instructed the offi-cials for the purchase of wheat thatduring procurement at procurementcenters, farmers should not face anyproblem, purchase wheat of thesame farmer, who has been called,to inform the farmers at the pan-chayat level. Even if you do notreach the commissioner at any pur-chase centre, the purchase of wheatshould not be interrupted.

Giving information aboutwheat procurement in the districtthrough VC, Deputy Commissionerof Karnal Nishant Kumar Yadavsaid that wheat will be procured at173 places in Karnal, including 10big mandis, 3 subyards, 160 pur-chase centers. He informed thatcomplete preparations have beenmade at all centers and wheat pro-curement will start at all placesfrom Monday. He also informedthat his plan is that along with thepurchase, the lifting of the wheatshould also be done at the sched-uled time.

Inspired by SevaBharti, Khatiksociety adopts poor families

GURMEET KASHYAPKARNAL, APRIL 19

In the fight against the global pan-demic Corona, the Khatik societyset such an example which is beingpraised all over. Some of the KhatikSamaj people affected by the lackof ration due to the lockdown hadgone to the Seva Bharti office tocollect packets of ration for somepeople of their colony. At that time,the workers of Seva Bharati wereworking to make ration packets anddeliver them to the needy houses.When they came to know that on alarge scale, Seva Bharti was distrib-uting the packets of ration to thedisadvantaged, helpless, poor dailywage laborers and the deprived so-ciety all over the city, they changedtheir mind and decided that they toowill serve the people.

The people of the Khatikcolony then adopted poor / needyfamilies. The people of KhatikSamaj, impressed by that work,also gave a check amounting to Rs11,000 rupees to Seva Bharti, in aspontaneous and self-inspiring way.Rajkumar Tanwar Pradhan, RajeshMultania General Secretary fromKhatik Samaj , Narendra MultaniaTreasurer, Kaka Singh ChauhanFormer Secretary, Vikas Tanwar,Vinod Puri, Balakishan Tancer,Sheshapal Chauhan, BalakishanBadgujar etc. were present on theoccasion.

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020

Panipat firm develop PPE kitsVIJAYANT SHARMA, PANIPAT: A group of three exporters Neeraj Ahuja of MahadevExports panipat, Sanjiv Gulati & Puran Rawal have developed the PPE kits(PersonalProtection Equipments) and started commercial productions in their factories.NeerajAhuja also informed that all necessary permissions and lab testing certificates havebeen obtained from concerned authorities including Sitra, DRDO, CE, ISO 9001-2015and kits are produced as per USFDA standards with GMP , They also stated that ordershave been received from various government/ semi government and private sector or-ganizations. He further said during the starting of production state and district adminis-tration extended full support. They expressed their gratitude to administration. Compa-ny has also distributed free kits to various social organizations , police personnel andto local Municipal workers who are working hard during COVID 19

BUREAU CHANDIGARH APRIL 19:

Haryana Government has grantedpermission to the Directors of Gov-ernment Medical Colleges namelyKalpana Chawla Government Med-ical College, Karnal; BPS Govern-ment Medical College, KhanpurKalan, Sonipat and Shaheed HasanKhan Mewati, Government MedicalCollege, Nalhar, Nuh to fill up 197vacant posts of faculty on contractualbasis from the retired doctors upto theage of 70 years for one year or till theregular incumbent joins, whichever isearlier for the effective managementof COVID-19 Pandemic in the State.

While stating this here today, aspokesman of Medical Education andResearch Department said that ChiefMinister, Mr Manohar Lal has ap-proved a proposal in this regard.

He said that while 13 posts ofProfessor, 29 posts of Associate Pro-fessor and 54 posts of Assistant Pro-fessor would be filled up in KalpanaChawla Government Medical Col-lege, Karnal; 8 posts of Professor Su-per Speciality, 7 posts of AssociateProfessor Super Speciality, 8 posts ofAssistant Professor Super Speciality,9 posts of Professor Speciality, 15posts of Associate Professor Special-ity and 10 posts of Assistant ProfessorSpeciality would be filled up in BPSGovernment Medical College, Khan-

pur Kalan, Sonipat. Apart from this,10 posts of Professor, 19 posts of As-sociate Professor and 15 posts of As-sistant Professor would be filled up inShaheed Hasan Khan Mewati, Gov-ernment Medical College, Nalhar,Nuh.

The spokesman said that theywould be paid remuneration as lastpay drawn minus pension. He saidthat the Director, PGIMS, Rohtak hasalso been permitted to fill up posts oncontractual basis as per the approvalof the State Government.

Medical colleges permittedto hire retired doctors

COVID-19: DGP Haryanaexpresses gratitude to police

force for their servicesCHANDIGARH, APRIL 19 - Director General of Police, Haryana,Mr. Manoj Yadava thanked the police officers and jawans workinground the clock in fighting COVID-19 and added that serving the peo-ple in the given situation has been possible with their immense supportand cooperation. At the same time, he also advised them to dischargeduty with utmost safety.

In a message issued here today, the DGP said that all the countriesof the world including India are currently facing the coronavirus crises.Appreciating the police personnel, he said that police force for the lastnearly one month have been working relentlessly and serving themankind by strictly following the lockdown. The excellent behaviorand tireless efforts of the police in defeating the disease is being ap-preciated by the state government, media and the general public, aswell. The police will continue its efforts in fighting the disease, headded. He also advised the police officers and jawans to use facemasks, gloves and PPE kits, if required, to protect themselves againstthe risk of corona virus infection. In addition to following the socialdistancing norms, there is a need to be taken care of self-hygiene, foodand self-protection while being on duty. As a precautionary measure,he also advised the personnel especially those posted in corona affect-ed areas to stay away from homes.

MAIN PAL KASHYAPINDRI, APRIL 19

Rajeev Gandhi Panchayati Raj Organisation,Haryana Chairman Dr. Sunil Panwar (Ayurve-da) and Congress candidate from Indri, Dr.Navjot Kashyap Panwar objected to the state-ment made by Health and Home Minister AnilVij regarding AYUSH doctors, saying thatAnil The statement made by Vij is highly con-demnable. MBBS BAMS is of 5 and a halfyears duration equivalent to Degree course. ifAnil Vij feels they are quack then it indicateshis incomplete knowledge and narrow think-ing towards Ayurveda which is a part ofRigveda. He is insulting the Indian medicalsystem at a time when the Prime Minister ofthe country is calling doctors to play plates in

the honor of the countrymen as front warriors.The leaders who gave the slogan of

`Make in India’, are doputing the medicalsystem of their own country are now seeinga threat. Dr. Sunil Panwar said that as anAyurveda doctor, he would like to tell AnilVij that Ayurveda is a certified science, ourbody can deactivate any virus with its ownimmunity power. There are many classicalyoga juices, chemicals in Ayurveda, whoseintake increases the immunity of our body.The honorarium of recruitment of Ayurvedapractitioners to the tune of Rs. 25000 permonth is reflecting the anti-Ayurveda andindigenous policy of the Haryana Govern-ment. Health can be improved in the medicalfield only by giving opportunity to Ayurve-da, he said.

Vij's statement on AYUSHdoctors wrong: Dr. Sunil

SHIV KUMAR SHARMAKARNAL, APRIL 19

The situation of epidemic like Coron-avirus across the country is quite seri-ous. Everyone is extending his hand tothe needy in this pandemecic that hasthrown a scare across the world. In thesame link, Rohtak MP Dr. Arvind Shar-ma has given Rs five lakh from his MPquota for a sample collection cabin inJhajjar civil hospital for a severe diseaselike corona or other disease. The MPtook this decision after taking stock ofthe situation at Jhajjar Civil Hospital.

Later MP Dr Arvind Sharma saidthat from the doctors of all the govern-ment hospitals across the district and es-pecially the district civil surgeon of thecurrent situation enough feedback hasbeen taken. He is quite happy with the

social justice system of the physicians heis treating as a Corona warrior. He hasalso honoured everyone with flowers. Onthis occasion Dr. RS Poonia Dr. Rakesh

Kumar Dr. Ranveer Dr. Vinay Dr. Mam-ta ENT Surgeon Dr. Munil Kadayan Dr.Nitin IDSP Dr. Manoj Dr. Vikas etc.were present

Dr Arvind Sharma gives Rs 5lakh for sample collectionMAIN PAL KASHYAP

INDRI, APRIL 19

In view of the lockdown caused by theCorona epidemic, the government has setan opening time for ration shops and theyhave been instructed not to rush to theshops as delivery of essential goods willbe made at home. But some shopkeepersare not following the rules. On the otherhand, orders have been given by the Mu-nicipality Administration to close theshop on Sunday, but two shopkeeperswere found to be in violation of the rules,due to which the Municipal Administra-tion took strict action and sealed both theshops.

Strict action against anyone who doesnot follow the rules of lock down will alsobe implemented. Giving this information,Municipal Secretary Ravindra Kumarsaid that it is in the interest of all of us tofollow the lockdown rules very strictly.Only by staying at home can we save ourlife as well as that of others. He appealedto the people to avoid congestion. Peoplewill not be allowed to face shortage of

any important items. Accountant PraveenSharma, ME Naveen Dhiman, JaipalClerk and Rajesh were present on the oc-casion.

MC seals two shops in Indri

SHIV KUMAR SHARMAKARNAL, APRIL 19

On Saturday, Gharaunda MLAHarvindra Kalyan and Indri MLARamkumar Kashyap jointly held ameeting in his constituency Kun-jpura in Grain mandi to take stockof the arrangements of wheat andmustard crop reaching the grainmandis during the global epidemiclike Corona. They gave directionsto the market committee adminis-tration. The main objective of thismeeting was that the arrangementof the crop arriving in Grain mandishould be right and proper and thereshould be mutual coordination be-tween the farmer, the agent and theadministration so that the farmerand the agent do not face any prob-lem.

MLA Harvinder Kalyan said

that the Chief Minister of HaryanaManohar Lal is keeping an eye onthe entire system, so in the presentcrisis, follow the social distancing

rules and do everything in a re-strained manner and maintain aproper system. The two MLAsjointly said that in this time of cri-

sis, farmers and factions have to co-operate with the administration andthe market committee administra-tion, police administration has tomaintain the system without deviat-ing from the system because theidentity of the patient is serious andcapable at the time of crisis.

Farmers, arhtiyas, market ad-ministrators and police officerspresent in Kunjpura mandi assuredboth the MLAs that the social dis-tancing rule will be maintained.Kalyan and Indri MLA RamkumarKashyap, after visiting KunjpuraAnaj mandi, met the farmers,arhtiyas, market administration andpolice administration officials totell them to work like teamworkduring this difficult global crisis.They reiterated that they are withthe farmers in all adverse condi-tions.

In Kunjpura Anajamandi, MLAs inspire farmers Kalyan takes stock ofSirsi Containment Zone

VIVEK RANAGHARAUNDA, APRIL 19

MLA Harvinder Kalyan along with administrative officials re-viewed the situation in Sirsi village. MLA Harvindra Kalyan is-sued the necessary guidelines to the policemen posted at the nakasof the village. Also, the administration has been instructed to sani-tise the entire container and buffer zone. During the blockade, noperson is allowed outside the village and inside the village. MLAKalyan said that Sirsi is the second village where the case ofCorona has been found after Rasin village, which is a very seriousmatter. We all have to understand that so far no medicine has beenmade of Corona, only defence is social distancing, he said. On Sat-urday, a young man from Sirsi village was confirmed to have co-rona infection in Sonepat. The young man went to Sonipat for somepersonal work. During this investigation, he was found positive af-ter which there was a stir in the Karnal administration. The districtadministration sealed the village, declaring Sirsi village a contain-ment zone. Along with this, Daha and Kharkali villages have beenincluded in the buffer zone. Teams of the Health Department willexamine and test all the suspects in these areas as well as keep themin quarantine, isolation and maintain social distancing.

SHIV KUMAR SHARMAKURUKSHETRA, APRIL 19

Decorated with President's PoliceMedal for Police Services, Diamondblood donor, environmental guardwho has planted more than 15,000plants organised 275th voluntaryblood donation camp at LoknayakJaiprakash Hopital.

In this camp Satish Bhardwajdonated blood for 56th time,Praveen Dhiman for the 47th timeand Subhash Chand and NareshKumar donated blood for the 22ndtime in this camp. The camp wasconcluded under the chairmanshipof Chief Technical Officer NareshSaini. Naresh Saini thanked thecamp convener Dr. Ashok KumarVerma for organising the camp inemergency and said that his effortsare commendable for those who areengaged in blood supply through

blood donation camp from time totime.

Camp convener Dr. Ashok KumarVerma said that so far, through 275voluntary blood donation camps,12,457 blood units have been given toState Blood Banks in blood donationcamps, so far 37500 people have got

the benefit of blood. He himself hasdonated platelets 58 times and blood130 times and is making others awarefor the last 31 years. Their constanteffort is that no one dies due to due tolack of blood. He said that he willcontinue the blood supply continu-ously in future also.

Keep supplying blood in emergency: Dr.Ashok

SHIV KUMAR SHARMAKARNAL, APRIL 19

The local administration hasswung into action after ayouth of Sirsi village of Kar-nal was found Corona posi-tive in Sonepat. The villageSirsi has been completelysealed now. DC Nishant Ku-mar Yadav has declared thevillage Sirsi as the contain-ment zone (control zone) andthe villages adjacent to itDaha and Kharkali as bufferzones (intermediatezones).Tests were also con-ducted on all 9 members of

the family of positive patientof village Sirsi.

Their report came nega-tive on Sunday. The youthwent to Sonepat for work inviolation of thelockdown.Later he was foundpositive in the investigationthere. The Sonepat adminis-tration reported this to theKarnal administration. Theadministration immediatelystarted the process of sealingthe village and investigatedthe family members comingin contact with the patient, af-ter which the report of all the9 members of his family was-

nfound to be negative.ACTION PLANAccording to the order of theCollector, an action plan hasbeen prepared to deal with thesituation. Under this, all thesuspects of these areas will beexamined, tested as well askept in quarantine, isolationand social distance.

Civil Surgeon, Karnal hasbeen ordered to make door-to-door screening and thermalscanning of persons from allthe houses settled under theContainment Zone by creat-ing a team of sufficient staff.

Sirsi's youth found coronapositive, village sealed

Editorial

In South Korea’s parlia-mentary elections earlierthis week, controversially

held amid the coronavirus re-strictions, president MoonJae-in’s Democratic Partywon a decisive victory with163 seats in the 300-memberlegislature, while its ally Plat-form Party won another 17seats, giving the ruling side acomfortable majority of 180seats.

South Korea has a multi-tude of political parties basedon ideology, region and per-sonalities. The names of theparties also keep changingwith factions leaving andforming new political group-ings. In this election 35 politi-cal parties had participated,but the main contest was be-tween the left-of-centre De-mocratic Party and the moreanti-North Korea and pro-in-dustry United Future Party. Inthe last election in 2016, noparty had a clear majority withthe DP having 122 and UnitedFuture Party 123 seats.

This year’s election saw aturnout of 66.2 per cent, thehighest in 28 years for a par-liamentary election. This indi-cates that South Koreans ac-cept all the precautionsagainst the virus regarding so-cial distancing, but are not un-duly scared of going out toperform their civic duties.

The DP’s victory is beinginterpreted as a clear endorse-ment of president Moon’sleadership in effectively com-

bating the Covid-19 crisis.South Korea was one of thefirst countries affected by thisdeadly virus, which is not sur-prising given its massivetourism and business trafficwith China. But the South Ko-rean strategy of diagnosingand tracking infected individ-uals, massive testing, effectiveisolation of contacts andprompt quarantine and treat-ment led to the rapid contain-ment of the epidemic. In fact,the South Korean strategy hasbeen widely praised by ex-perts as well as the WHO forbeing prompt, nationwide,clear and effective. South Ko-rea was successful in flatten-ing the curve of Covid-19 cas-

es by March 15 without a fulland strict lockdown. Withabout 10,000 cases, it hasbeen the most successful,among the 10 most affectedcountries, in controlling thepandemic. The emphasis wason large-scale testing of possi-ble “contact” cases after theidentification of the membersof the “Shinchionjee” Churchas the primary source of infec-tion. In mid-January itself thehealth authorities, R&D insti-tutions and the pharma indus-try were mobilised to producemassive quantities of test kitsand other equipment. The test-ing was aggressive and with apopulation of 50 million,South Korea conducted more

than 18,000 tests a day. Incomparison, in India, after aslow start, we are doing about15,000 tests a day.

Also, in South Korea,there are 650 testing centresnationwide where anybodycan get tested within minutesand receive the result by SMSthe very next day. Conse-quently, South Korea, alongwith Singapore and HongKong, was able to keep mostfactories, shopping malls andeven restaurants open. Theloss of jobs and disruption indaily life of ordinary peoplewas thus minimal. Using arti-ficial intelligence and its highInternet penetration, SouthKorea analysed on real-time

basis data from mobilephones, credit card transac-tions and surveillance cam-eras to map the movementsand contacts of actual and sus-pect virus carriers. The per-sons identified as having beenexposed to a carrier werequickly tested and quaran-tined. South Korea’s ambassa-dor to India Shin Bong-kil hascalled it the “Trace-Test-Treat” strategy. On April 9,Prime Minister NarendraModi and President MoonJae-in had discussed ways totackle the pandemic. Mr Modiappreciated the technology-based response deployed inthat country for managing thecrisis. President Moon appre-ciated the way India has moti-vated its vast population tofight the pandemic with unityof purpose.

After consistently highapproval ratings since hiselection, president Moon’sratings had slipped below 50per cent last year due to theapparent impasse in his ac-commodative North Koreapolicy and the sluggish SouthKorean economy. However,now his approval rating isover 52 per cent after being inthe 45-47 per cent range for along time. In times of crisis itis normal for people to lookfor strong and effective lead-ership. In general, the citizen-ry at large tends to rallyaround a national leader ifthat leader is seen to be credi-ble, objective and decisive.

4EXPERIENCE IS SIMPLY THE NAME WE

GIVE OUR MISTAKES.

OSCAR WILDE

WHEN LOVE IS NOT MADNESS, IT IS NOT LOVE.

PEDRO CALDERON DE LA BARCA

STARS TALKSSeemaa Singh, As-

trologer and VastuExpert known for her

accurate predictions ofwinning BJP minister Kir-

ron Kher, aswell winningof Punjabelections byC o n g r e s s .She has de-livered manylectures on

astrology in India as wellas abroad. Followed by in-ternational conferencesand T.V. shows on variousChannels.ARIES:-Challenge yourmind. Get involved insome mind sport. Work outyour future plans.

Lucky Color:-Saffron

Lucky Number:-3TAURUS:-Make your owndecisions and you willreap benefits. The per-fect day to attractothers' atten-tion.

LuckyColor:-

LightBlue

LuckyNumber:-

2GEMINI:-M a i n t a i nyour mentalhealth as it helpsin solving life prob-lems. Just relax and take iteasy.

Lucky Color:-GoldenLucky Number:-7

CANCER:-Do not get dis-appointed if results don'tcome as per your expecta-tion. Help others to get re-

spect. Lucky Color:-Sandy BrownLucky Num-

ber:-18L E O : - C e r -tain decisionswill be high-ly important.I n t e r f e r e n c e

of others inyour affairs will

cause friction.Lucky Color:-Dark

TurquoiseLucky Number:-4

VIRGO:-Financial posi-tion will improve throughspeculation or unexpected

gains.Lucky Color:-Parrot

GreenLucky Number:-17

LIBRA:-Uncertainly re-garding finances will cre-ate tension. Arguments athome will lead to prob-lems.

Lucky Color:-LemonLucky Number:-11

SCORPIO:-Start your daywith a little exercise. Fam-ily responsibilities willmount bringing tensions.

Lucky Color:-ElectricGrey

Lucky Number:-8SAGITTARIUS:-You willget irritated over smallmatters. Investment shouldbe handled with extremecare.

Lucky Color:-Red Lucky Number:-15

CAPRICORN:-Fr iendswill be supportive andkeep you happy. Your de-termination will get no-ticed.

Lucky Color:-PeachLucky Number:-6

AQUARIUS:-Cultivate agenerous attitude towardslife. There is no point incomplaining and gettingupset over things.

Lucky Color:-MagentaLucky Number:-9

PISCES:-You will makemoney if you put your sav-ings into conservative in-vestments. Your hard workwill get noticed.Lucky Color:-Light Yellow

Lucky Number:-3

Moon wins as Koreans back hisstrategy to tackle Covid-19

The Reserve Bank of India has announced a set of meas-ures to provide liquidity support to crucial sectors likereal estate, small businesses and agriculture by infusing

an additional Rs 1 lakh crore. It has also prodded banks to in-crease their lending operations. This is the second tranche ofliquidity measures announced by the central bank since the na-tional lockdown began on March 23. With this, the RBI has in-fused over Rs 5.36 lakh crores in the economy. The new meas-ures announced by RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday inan unscheduled intervention were necessitated to support smallnon-banking finance companies (NBFCs), microfinance insti-tutions (MFIs) and small businesses as previous liquidityboosting steps have helped only public sector companies andlarge corporates. The central bank has, therefore, mandated thathalf of Rs 50,000 crores — made available to banks as part ofFriday’s stimulus package — ought to be lent to small and mid-sized NBFCs and MFIs.

Another half of the current Rs 1 lakh-crore package wouldgo to sector-focused lenders like National Bank for Agricultureand Rural Development (Nabard), Small Industrial Develop-ment Bank of India (Sidbi) and National Housing Bank (NHB).Nabard would get Rs 25,000 crores for refinancing regional ru-ral banks and MFIs to boost lending for farming and other gen-eral purposes in rural areas. Sidbi would get Rs 15,000 croresfor lending money to small businesses or refinancing their debt.The money — Rs 10,000 crores — made available to NHBwould help it in supporting smaller housing finance companies,which are facing cash shortage because of loan moratorium.The decision to increase the money available to states throughways and means would help their governments in sailingthrough a difficult financial crisis.

The central bank’s decision to reduce reverse repo rate by25 basis points — from four per cent to 3.75 per cent — isaimed at discouraging banks from parking their money in thesafe vaults of the RBI, instead of increasing lending to people.The very fact that the banks have deposits worth Rs 6.9 lakhcrores with the RBI shows that lenders have become risk-averse. With lockdown-hit companies reducing salaries andsacking employees, there is great uncertainty concerning a per-son’s future repayment capacity, which is crucial for taking anylending decision. Unless the bank is confident about the bor-rower’s financial health, no amount of liquidity infusion wouldprod financial institutions to lend to borrowers and all decisionstaken by RBI would remain a mere lip-service.

The only workable solution for the current financial crisisis a sovereign guarantee to all loans. Since the income of mostcompanies, especially MSMEs, has dried up, the governmentshould guarantee all working capital loans — taken for payingsalaries and running basic operations — granted by the banks.This would encourage the lenders to grant loans without anyfear and ensure unhindered economic activity in the country.

Government must guaranteeall working capital loans

On April 5, a handwrit-ten press release inTelugu began doing

the rounds on social mediaand soon found its way intoregional and national dailies.The press release issued bythe Malkangiri-Koraput-Visakha Divisional Commit-tee (MKVDC) of theCPI(Maoist) announced aunilateral ceasefire in thewake of the coronavirus pan-demic. It gave the govern-ments five days to respond.But aside from comments bypolice officers that theMaoists proposed a ceasefirebecause they were on a backfoot, there has been no formalresponse from the Odisha orAndhra Pradesh govern-ments.

In adjoining Bastar, themain theatre of the “war” be-tween CPI(Maoist) and thegovernment since the forma-tion of the party in 2004,armed actions from both sideshave kept the pot boiling dur-ing the lockdown. The Chhat-tisgarh government is tight-lipped on a possible ceasefirethough the inspector-generalof police of Bastar rangementioned to media-personsthat if the Maoists were tomake a similar announcementin Chhattisgarh, they wouldrespond positively.

The situation, however, isfar too serious to wait for theother side to make the firstmove. In order to meet themany challenges posed by thecoronavirus crisis, a ceasefirewould be a sensible decisionon many counts.

First, people who residein the areas of Maoist influ-ence in 11 states are amongstthe poorest citizens of thecountry. While the adivasicommunities of Bastar maybe better off than the Dalitlandless of Bihar, neverthe-less, even in normal timestheir lives are difficult.Hunger is no stranger, evenstarvation not unknown. Thecoronavirus threat makestheir hard lives harder.

Second, the people havebeen in a virtual lockdown fora decade and a half now.Their lives have been shat-tered, movement restrictedand fear is a constant com-panion. What is needed,therefore, is to create a condi-tion where there is relief fromthis older lockdown.

Third, a ceasefire will al-low government functionar-ies to access villages withoutfear of being attacked, andvillagers to access govern-

ment services. The Chhattis-garh government has an-nounced free rice rations fortwo months.

This is a welcome stepbut people in the conflict zoneare not able to collect their ra-tions easily. Ration shops areoften at a distance from theirvillages, exposing them to be-ing picked up on the way bysecurity forces and implicatedunder false charges. In onecase, even a ration shop deal-er was arbitrarily arrested andcharged under UAPA.

He is now in Jagdalpurcentral jail. Counter-insur-gency operations sometimesinclude deliberate destructionof foodstocks on suspicionthat the householder is sup-plying food to a Maoistsquad. While in recent yearswe have not heard of housesbeing burnt, this was com-mon in the days of SalwaJudum and Operation Green-hunt.

For red corridor to winCovid war, truce a must

Looking into reports that coronavirus‘escaped’ from Wuhan lab: Trump

The U.S. is looking intoreports that the novelcoronavirus, which has

killed more than 150,000 peo-ple globally, “escaped” froma Wuhan lab in China, Presi-dent Donald Trump has said.

“We’re looking at it, a lotof people are looking at it. Itseems to make sense,” Mr.Trump told reporters at aWhite House news confer-ence on Friday when asked ifthere was an investigationinto whether the coronavirusdisease (COVID-19) escapedfrom a lab in Wuhan, China.

Earlier in the day, FoxNews reported that the UnitedStates was conducting a full-scale investigation into

whether the deadly virus es-caped from a lab in Wuhan.Inan exclusive report, it said in-telligence operatives were re-portedly gathering informa-tion about the laboratory andthe initial outbreak of thepathogen. Intelligence ana-lysts are piecing together atimeline of what the govern-ment knew and “creating anaccurate picture of what hap-pened”, the channel quotedsources as saying.

“A lot of strange thingsare happening, but there is alot of investigation going onand we are going to find out,”Mr. Trump said. “All I cansay is wherever it came from,came from China in whatever

form, 184 countries now aresuffering because of it.” Mr.Trump added that the U.S.would end its grant to a level-IV lab in Wuhan. “[The] Oba-ma administration gave thema grant of $3.7 million,” thepresident said. “We will endthat grant very quickly.” Agroup of more than half-a-dozen lawmakers sent a letterto House and Senate leader-ship, requesting them to en-sure that no future coron-avirus relief funds be appro-priated to the Wuhan Instituteof Virology. Meanwhile, law-maker James Smith accusedChina of indulging in cover-ing up the issue of coron-avirus.

Iwatched the video postedby my friend Saba Naqviand sighed! It was a deep

and anguished sigh. The kindthat signals despair and a rap-idly declining sense of hopefor our future in these ex-treme times. Yes, we are deal-ing with an unprecedentedemergency. Each new daythrows up challenges wecould never have thoughtabout in our worst nightmareseven a few, short months ago.

Amid the death and de-struction all around us, thelast thing we need is a warthat has no victors -- a warthat can cause more long-termdamage than any virus, nomatter how deadly the mi-crobe. Hats off to Saba fornailing it through her impas-sioned message to all thehaters out there. She looksviewers straight in the eyeand asks bluntly: “Should weall go?” “We’’ in this caserefers to all Muslims living inIndia -- around 200 million ofthem.

Her question is addressedto those awful people outthere who prevented Muslimvegetable vendors from goingabout their business. And tothe others, who recommendedseparate Covid-19 wards inhospitals for Muslims whohave tested positive. Therehave been vehement “offi-cial” denials of these charges.But the ground reality is dif-ferent. Isn’t it always? It is ashame that a seasoned and

senior journalist and politicalcommentator like Saba Naqvihad to remind those hatersabout all the worthy Indianswho are India’s pride and glo-ry. Her roster includes per-sonalities like Azim Premji,Yusuf Hamied, Shah RukhKhan, A.R. Rahman andJaved Akhtar.

She lists out their impres-sive contributions and won-ders aloud about the anti-Muslim acts that she feels aregrowing across the country.Her video comes straightfrom a pained heart. It is notcarefully structured and cos-metically enhanced. It is asraw as the emotions she ex-

presses. And one can onlyhope it has the required im-pact. When she throws thesequestions -- “Should the TajMahal evaporate?” or “Doyou want Muslims to disap-pear from India?” -- it makesone cringe.

Or should. When I sharedthe video with a few closefriends, their response was socynical, I hoped they’d beproved wrong. It was one par-ticular stinging comment thatsent a chill down my spine --“Every Covid death in Indiawill be blamed on the Tab-lighi.”

We cannot and must notlet anything of the sort take

root. And the time to safe-guard against such a possibil-ity is right now.

When Saba points outthat Shah Rukh Khan has do-nated more than 50,000masks, or that Cipla’s YukuHamied has always been inthe forefront of pharmaceuti-cal battles that have saved In-dia and the world, she is juststating the obvious. Thetragedy is that she has beenforced to state any of this inthe first place. Has it reacheda point where India’s Mus-lims will have to keep at it --proving their worth, underlin-ing their achievements and re-minding their countrymen of

their “legitimacy”. Pity, Icouldn’t come up with anyother word.

Legitimacy comes withfar too many connotations.Bollywood is full of melodra-matic stories featuring illegit-imate offspring, doomed toplead for love, respect and ac-ceptance. The vicious at-tempts of certain corrosive el-ements in India, to further dis-criminate against our own,must be halted immediately.Why should Saba or anybodyelse have to trot out names of“good” Muslims who haverichly contributed to make In-dia great? Her desperation toappeal to the haters made mefeel exceedingly sad.

The authorities are busystrenuously denying that anyof this is happening. Theworld is looking closely at thepolitics of the Covid dynam-ics in India. Reports of thiskind will further damage ourinternational reputation as asecular nation.

While it is factually accu-rate that no political party orgovernment agency has “in-structed” anybody to sift outMuslim patients or create sep-arate testing facilities forthem -- it is happening re-gardless. Not everything weexperience is as transparentand overt as we would like itto be. There is always the un-spoken code widely practisedby the majority. It is these sur-reptitious signals that are farmore dangerous because they

are insidious. Prejudicecreeps in stealthily when no-body is looking. This is exact-ly what is taking place whilethe battle against Covid-19 isbeing waged aggressively.

Saba’s unfiltered wordsshould shame us – but willthey? I doubt it. At the mo-ment, those in the media whoare seen as being “soft onMuslims” (uggggh to that) arebeing closely watched, theirphone lines tapped and Godknows what other kind of sur-veillance is underway. We areat our most vulnerable at themoment. It is precisely atsuch times that self-appoint-ed, self-declared “saviours”arrive on the scene to grab un-limited power and hang on toit, much after the crisis hasblown over. A nationwidelockdown offers just such anopportunity.

Manipulating emotionsand seizing control of 1.3 bil-lion citizens is indeed a verytempting, even irresistible,opportunity. The quickest andeasiest way to achieve suchan objective is by dividingpeople and alienating the mi-norities. And it is not Mus-lims alone who are feeling in-secure in “Covid India”. Askyour neighbours and friends -- the Parsis and the Christiansfor example. Do they believethey will get the exact sametreatment at testing centers incase they need to check theirCovid status? The answermay stun you.

Should Muslims vanish?Shun hate amidst crisis

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020

NEWS AT AGLANCE

Wreath laying ceremony of CRPF personnelwho lost their lives in attack heldSRINAGAR: The wreath-laying ceremony of the three Central Reserve PoliceForce (CRPF) personnel who lost their lives in the Sopore terrorist attackyesterday was held here on Sunday. Senior officials paid floral tributes to the threeBravehearts. Three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans lost their livesand two others were injured in a terrorist attack in Sopore town of Baramulladistrict in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. Both injured CRPF personnelunderwent surgery on Saturday night and are in ICU. Both are in stable condition.42-year-old Rajeev Sharma from Vaishali in Bihar, CB Bhakare (38) fromMaharashtra's Buldhan and Parmar Stayapal Singh (28) from Sabarkantha inGujarat lost their lives in the attack.

Roads, market weardeserted lookANWAR HUSSAINNALAGARH: Due to Covid-19,Section 144 is being followed by theentire people, there is an atmosphereof peace all over in Nalagarh and therural areas around it. Residents arefully cooperating with the governmentand police administration, the roadsand highways of the village are lyingvacant and no vehicles are visible, sothe government is completely fightingcorona day to night to find a newsolution to deal with the virus and thevictims are being treated. Officialssaid that they were receiving fullcooperation of people of maintainsocial distance by remaining inhouses.

Two dead in housecollapse in RajouriJAMMU: Two persons were killed onSunday when an under-constructionhouse collapsed in Rajouri district ofJammu and Kashmir, police said. Thehouse collapsed around 2 am inremote Dharamshal village, trappingtwo persons who were asleep in oneof the rooms, a police official said. Hesaid the local residents immediatelylaunched a rescue operation. The twotrapped persons Mohammad Pervaiz(30) and Manzoor Hussain (28) werefound dead under the debris, headded. The bodies were removed bypolice and further details are awaited,the official said.

Srinagaradministrationinaugurates J-K's firstCOVID call centreSRINAGAR: The Srinagaradministration on Friday inauguratedthe Union Territory's first COVID callcentre. Lieutenant Governor GirishChandra Murmu inaugurated the callcentre by making the first call, whichwas received by DeputyCommissioner Shahid Iqbal. "In thecall centre we will be dealing withevery call regarding the coronavirusand lockdown, however, a specialfocus will be on medical emergenciesand essential services," MushtabaAhmad, supervisor, told ANI. Ahmadinformed that the number of the callcentre number is 6006333308, andadded, "The call centre is for theSrinagar district." "We will beforwarding the calls to the requireddepartments and a log will bemaintained to see whether thecustomers had a satisfactoryexperience," he further said. A residentof Srinagar district, Nadeem HussainBhat said, "I am grateful to theadministration for starting the COVIDcall centre. It will help people remainindoors during the lockdown, hence,preventing the spread of coronavirus."As per the latest update by theMinistry of Health and Family Welfare,the total number of positive cases ofcoronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir is314 and 4 deaths have been reported.

Covid-19: Bandiporaadmin continuesdistribution of rationkits among needyBANDIPORA: Continuing its efforts toreach out to the needy, the Districtadministration, Bandipora distributedfree ration among the needy, destitute,distressed and non-local laborersstuck in the district to ensure that theydo not face any shortage of foodmaterial during the ongoing lockdown,amid Covid-19. The DeputyCommissioner(DC), Bandipora,Shahbaz Ahmad Mirza said that so far27031 persons have benefittedincluding 1011 migrant laborers whoare stuck in the district. He said theration of dry rice, vegetables, Aata,Cooking Oil and spices is provided tothe needy, after every eight days andso far 1011 migrant labourers havebeen provided the food kits thrice. Hesaid NGOs, private institutions andseveral individuals have also assistedthe administration by providing foodkits. He said that in view of lockdownin the district, there are numerouspeople who need help and Mir Tajamulhas been nominated as nodal officerfor providing food and other essentialsto the needy people in the district.

Ajeet Sahu visits Ranbeer,New Pratap canals;reviews works for releaseof water on April 21JAMMU: Commissioner Secretary,PHE, Irrigation and Flood ControlDepartment, Ajeet Kumar Sahu, todayconducted inspection of Ranbeer Canaland New Pratap Canal in view ofrelease of water into these channels onApril 21, 2020. CommissionerSecretary, during the inspection, tookstock of desilting and cleanliness workscompleted at various places includingBhagwati Nagar, Canal main head,Shakti Nagar, Muthi, Domana, Bhalwal,Kana Chak, Akhnoor and Khour. Theexecuting agencies informed thatalmost all the necessary worksregarding release of water into thesecanals have been completed forensuring timely irrigation facilities atevery nook and corner of Jammu. ChiefEngineer Irrigation and Flood ControlDepartment apprised the CommissionerSecretary that more than five cubicmeter of silt/mulba has been clearedfrom major canals of Jammu provinceso far. Pertinently, Jammu region has avast network of canals (around 3000km) under major, medium and minorcategory alone excluding the Zamidarikhuls and Fields Channels.

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020

Jai Ram Thakur urges party workersto educate people over Corona

Says, everyone should follow directions issued by MHAAGENCYSHIMLA, APR 19

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakurwhile addressing the BJP officebearers and party workers ofSeraj Vidhan Sabha area ofMandi district through videoconferencing from Shimla todaysaid that they should strictlyadhere to the guidelines issuedby the Centre and Stategovernment regardingpreventive measures to be takento check spread of Coronavirus.

The Chief Minister urgedthe party functionaries toeducate the general publicregarding preventive steps andalso regarding variousinitiatives taken by the StateGovernment for checkingspread of this pandemic. Healso asked the party workers togenerously donate towards thePM CAREs and COVID Fundfor helping the people duringthis pandemic. He said that theworkers should also motivateothers to donate generouslytowards these funds. He saidthat Prime Minister NarendraModi has announced the second

phase of lockdown till May 3, asthere are several cases ofCOVID-19 being reported inthe country. He urged the peopleto give their wholeheartedsupport to this lockdown as itwas for their safety. Jai RamThakur also urged the partyworkers to download ArogyaSetu app as this would go a longway in providing them all

relevant information regardingCOVID-19. He said that ArogyaSetu is a COVID-19 contacttracing app developed by theMinistry of Electronics and ITand it detects and tracks theuser’s movement with the helpof GPS and Bluetooth sensorsand sends out a notification ifthey come in contact withinfected people by using its

database and algorithms.Aarogya Setu Mobile App is animportant weapon in the fightagainst COVID-19 and each oneof us must download it, headded. Chief Minister said thatthe party workers should alsocome forward to prepare anddistribute face masks and facecovers to the people. He saidthat it is not necessary to usesurgical mask or any brandedmask but the homemade clothmask is sufficient to checkspread of the disease. He saidthat the people should also besensitised regarding thisdiseases and also they would beasked to not spread or believeany kind of rumours. Jai RamThakur said that the Partyworkers should motivate thepeople to avoid any kind ofsocial gatherings and religiousfunctions. He said that theyshould motivate people tofollow social distancing evenduring farm activities. He saidthatcher party workers shouldalso ensure that no one in theirarea goes without food,particularly care should be takenof labourers from other states.

WhatsApp HelplineNumbers launched to

curb domestic violenceDINESH AGARWALSHIMLA, APR 19

A spokesperson of Social Justiceand Empowerment Departmentsaid here today that during theperiod of lockdown due to COVID-19 many cases of domesticviolence have been reportedthrough different media. Keepingthis in view and to tackle problemsrelated to domestic violence thedepartment has launched a

WhatsApp Helpline Number 7650066994. The victims can registertheir complaints on this number.

He further said that the servicewould be available 24 hours. Thedepartment has set up One StopCenters in all the District HeadQuarters to provide emergencyresponse, rescue services, medicalassistance, assistance in lodging theFIR, psycho-social support,counseling, legal aid and temporaryshelter to the victims of violence.

Haridwar, Nainital classifiedas COVID-19 'red zones'

DEHRADUN, APR 19

After Dehradun, the stategovernment has classifiedHaridwar and Nainital districts asCOVID-19 "red zones".

"80 percent of the totalCOVID-19 cases in the state arereported from Dehradun, Haridwarand Nainital. Keeping this in mind,all three districts have beenclassified as red-zones," said YugalKishor Pant, Additional Secretary(Health). Dehradun was classified

as "red zone" last week.The state's tally of COVID-19

cases reached 42 after two morepersons tested positive for thecoronavirus in Haridwar onSaturday.

Meanwhile, India's positivecoronavirus cases stood at 15,712,including 12,974 active cases of thevirus. So far, 2,230 patients haveeither been cured or dischargedwhile 507 deaths have beenrecorded in the country, as per dataprovided by the Ministry of Health.

Vehicles coming from outsideareas are being sensitized

JYOTI SYALGAGRET, APR 19

Freight vehicles,ambulances and othervehicles entering the districtUna are being sanitized fromthe outskirts. Giving thisinformation, DeputyCommissioner Una SandeepKumar said that with theobjective of making thevehicles entering Himachalfrom the outskirts virus free,the employees of theTransport Department aresanitizing vehciles at GagretRTO barrier. He informedthat before this, sanitizationwork was started on theMahatpur RTO barrier. Hesaid that special suits have

also been provided to protectthe employees who performsanitization. He informed

that about 150 vehicles arebeing sanitized daily at thesebarriers.

Alsahan templecommittee gives Rs 11000

to CM Relief Fund

JOGINDRA DEV ARYABANGANA, APR 19

The Guga Temple Alshan Committee sent funds tothe Chief Minister's Relief Fund to fight theCorona epidemic. The chairman of the templecommittee Pawan Sharma on Sunday handed overa cheque of Rs 11,000 to SDM Bangana VishalKumar Sharma. Pawan Kumar said that the templecommittee is ready to cooperate with theadministration in every step to fight the coronaepidemic.

NEW DELHI, APR 19

The Central government on Sundayclarified that no decision has beentaken as yet on the resumption ofdomestic or passenger flights,according to an official statement bythe Ministry of Information andBroadcasting.

The Union Ministry of CivilAviation has advised the airlines toopen their bookings only after thegovernment's decision in this regard.

This clarification comes afterAir India on Saturday opened thebookings for select domestic flightsfrom May 4 onwards and for theinternational flights from June 1onwards.

"In the light of the ongoingglobal health concerns, we have

currently stopped acceptingbookings on all domestic flights fortravel till May 3, 2020, and on allinternational flights for travel tillMay 31, 2020," read a notification

on Air India's website. Thenationwide lockdown which wasinitially meant for 21-days has beenextended till May 3 by thegovernment.

No decision yet on resumption ofdomestic or passenger flights: Centre

SRINAGAR, APR 19

Amid the nationwide lockdown, Srinagar'siconic Lal Chowk wore a deserted look onSunday morning, with police taking actionagainst those strolling on the roads withoutvalid reasons.

"The government has imposed thelockdown so that people stay inside theirhomes in order to protect themselves from thedisease. Ramzan is coming soon, and we lookforward to celebrating it as usual. We hopethat the disease ends soon and things restoreback to normal," said Arsab Wani.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasextended the nationwide coronaviruslockdown till May 3.

According to the Union Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare, the total numberof positive COVID-19 cases in Jammu andKashmir is 341. Till now, 51 people haveeither been cured or discharged, while five

deaths have been reported.The total number of positive coronavirus

cases across the country are 15,712, including12,974 active cases of the virus. So far, 2,230patients have either been cured or dischargedwhile 507 deaths have been recorded in thecountry, as per data provided by the Ministryof Health.

Students can avail knowledgeat Himachal Doordarshan

PANKAJ KATNAUNA, APR 19

A nationwide lockdown hasbeen put in place to preventcorona virus infection,resulting in the closure of alleducational institutions. Inview of this, the HimachalPradesh Government hasstarted broadcastingHimachal DoordarshanGyanashala on DD Shimlafrom April 17 for the studentsof 10th and 12th grade so thatstudents can study whilestaying in their homes. Givingthis information, DeputyCommissioner Una SandeepKumar informed thatHimachal DoordarshanGyanashala based on thesyllabus of 10th and 12thclasses is being telecasted

daily on DD Shimla channelof Doordarshan from 10 am to1 pm. He informed that DDShimla is being broadcastedby the cable TV networkoperators in the districtthrough Fastway, Siti Cableand CAT digital cableservices. He informed thatDD Shimla is broadcast onFastway on Channel Number95, while Channel Number604 on Catvision and DDShimla on Channel Number804 on Siti Cable. He hascalled upon the students tostudy at home and avoid theepidemic like Corona andsave others. He has alsoinstructed the working cableTV network service providersin the district to ensurecompulsory and uninterruptedtransmission of DD Shimla.

Unique COVID-19 responsemechanism comes up in SrinagarSRINAGAR, APR 19

A unique COVID-19response mechanism hascome up in Srinagar to helppeople in distress during theprolonged lockdown to fightthe pandemic and provide aone-stop solution to mattersranging from real-timetracking of cases toavailability of essentialcommodities. TheEmergency Response andManagement Centre(ERMC), which could be thefirst such mechanism in thecountry, is a brainchild ofSrinagar's DeputyCommissioner Shahid IqbalChoudhary. It wasinaugurated by Lt Governorof Jammu and Kashmir G CMurmu on Friday evening

remotely from Jammu."After we detected the

first COVID-19 case inSrinagar on March 18 andobserved the problems facedby the healthcare staff inkeeping a watch, we thoughtof making use of technology.Discussed it with theInformation Technologyteam and we had an appready," the 39-year-oldofficer told PTI here."Similarly, while enforcing

lockdown, we were floodedwith calls about variousneeds of people. While alarge number wereaddressed, many still wentunnoticed because of theenormous amount ofworkload. "Half a dozenhelplines for specific sectorswere also making theresponse cumbersome.Therefore, it was decided tohave an ERMC where onecan get anything toeverything from essentialservices to emergencyresponse, essentialcommodities to grievanceredressal and so on," he said.

Choudhary, a 2009 batchIAS officer, said after takingover as the DeputyCommissioner his focus wasto provide good governance

and prompt, efficient andeffective service delivery tocitizens.

In the changing paradigmpost the COVID-19 outbreak,he fine-tuned his skills andmade Information andCommunications Technology(ICT) a vital tool for enablingservice delivery in Srinagar.

"Now, when a COVID-19 patient is admitted, an appwill be downloaded on hismobile phone which providesa monitoring mechanism toensure that the person doesnot move around during hisquarantine period. If there issome movement, an SMSwill be generatedautomatically to the controlroom prompting the RapidResponse Team (RRT) totake immediate action.

Srinagar's Lal Chowk wearsdeserted look amid lockdown

At 158, Srinagar, Bandipora make up fornearly half of J&K’s Covid-19 cases

SRINAGAR, APR 19

With 80 such cases, Bandipore hassurpassed Srinagar as the district withhighest Covid-19 patients in thenorthern region comprising J&K,Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryanaand Chandigarh. Nuh in Haryana isnow the third district with themaximum positive cases in the region.While it’s not clear why the twoKashmir districts have the mostnumber of cases, health experts believeit could be due to the lack of earlydetection and the cases related toTablighi Jamaat. “The surveillance atairport in the early days or the cases ofcontact tracing going wrong or beingineffective could be the reason for thespike in the cases Srinagar andBandipora,” said a senior officer whowas privy to the government’s responsein the initial days of cases beingdeclared in J&K. Srinagar has 78positive cases with 60 active cases, as

17 patients have already recovered andone has died. Out of Bandipora’s 80cases, 68 are active Covid-19 patientsand 11 people have already recovered.Srinagar deputy commissioner ShahidChoudhary said that many steps weretaken to control coronavirus inSrinagar and results have beenencouraging. “From tracking of caseswith hidden or undeclared travelhistory and launching of web appTalaash, case detection has beeneffective. A total response in 10 dayswas 889,” said the DC adding that ofthe 889, 573 belonged to Srinagar.

156th BirthAnniversary ofMahatma Hans Raj JiHARPREET SINGH LEHALJALANDHAR: Hans Raj Mahila MahaVidyalaya virtually celebrated the 156th Birth Anniversary of its founderMahatma Hans Raj Ji. Principal Prof.Dr. Ajay Sareen congratulated all the

faculty members,non-teachingstaff, supportingstaff membersand students onthis pious day. Onthis piousoccasion ofMahatma HansRaj Ji’s birthday,

President, DAVCMC, Dr. Punam Surigave a video message to all the DAVfraternity. Principal Prof. Dr. Mrs. AjaySareen encouraged the teaching, non-teaching staff members and studentsto follow the path shown by this greatsoul for the betterment of our society.

Innokids children andparents enthusiasticallytaking part in onlineactivities

JALANDHAR: Innocent Hearts hasorganized various online activitiesalong with their studies, in all thebranches of Innokids (Green ModelTown, Loharan, C.J.R., Royal Worldand Kapurthala Road). Tiny tots aretaking part along with their parents intheir kind care and assistance. In ;Momand Me ; activity , they decoratedsandwiches and made lemonade. Theyare also taught to reuse the things with;Best Out Of Waste activity. Dr. AnupBowry , the secretary of InnocentHearts admired the teachers for puttingin their endeavors for holisticdevelopment of students.

Mandi wholesallersget conduct Coronatest in civil hospital

ANKUSH SHARMALUDHIANA: After appearing variouscorona positive from Bahadarke Roadsabzi mandi, today numbers ofwholesaler pertaining to sabzi mandireached at civil hospital special coronacheck up ward for their checkup.Comprising Ludhiana sabzi mandiarhti Association president GurkamalSingh Ilu, Amarvir Singh Lotte anddozen of other wholesalers gotconduct their medical checkup.Speaking on the occasion, PresidentGurkmal Singh Ilu said that this warwith the Corona virus is a war of thewhole society and we should all takecare of ourselves to stop spreadingcorona virus. He made it clear that nowholesaler has any symptom ofcorona, but just for the precautionarymeasures has been taken and we areawaiting the report.

PACL has money butit is doing dishonestywhile dealing withtruck operators: BittaNANGAL: For the past several days,the issue of payment dues of truckoperators by Punjab Alkleys ChemicalLimited has been heated today,Ravinder Singh Bitta, former presidentof the Nangal Truck Operators Unionwas raised some issues through some

journalists. He saidthat Punjab AlkalisChemical Limiteddoes have money butit doing dishonesty topay the hiring of poortruck operators. He

said that only five days are borrowedwith the parties which are given thegoods by PACL. He said that evenhere today when a severe disease likeCorona virus is underway, PunjabAlkalis Chemical Ltd. Is selling largeamounts of hypo chloride, which is100 percent cash back, while truckoperators have been hanging outsince November and Management isnot giving the payments under theconspiracy.

NEWS AT AGLANCE

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020

6

Allahabad HC extends closure of all District Courtstill April 27PRAYAGRAJ: Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court has extended the closure of all DistrictCourts across the state till April 27. Earlier, the courts were scheduled to open from April 20."Keeping in view the prevailing extraordinary situations arising due to the spread of pandemicnovel coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh and serious safety concerns of various stakeholders, thedirections issued vide letter number 450/ Infra Cell, Allahabad dated April 18 regarding theopening of District Courts from April 20, be kept in abeyance till April 27," read the orderissued by Registrar General. Earlier this week, Delhi High Court had extended the suspensionof the functioning at the High Court and its subordinate courts till May 3. The extendedlockdown will continue till May 3. The lockdown was imposed from March 25 to prevent thespread of the coronavirus in the country.

Coronavirus spreading in Delhi butsituation under control: Kejriwal

AGENCYNEW DELHI, APR 19

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Sunday stated thatcoronavirus was spreadingrapidly in the national capitalbut the situation was "stillunder control".

"For the last few days,coronavirus cases in Delhi areon a rise. We have alsoconducted more testing in thepast few days. Yesterday, wegot the report of 736 cases.Out of 736, 186 werepositive," the Chief Ministersaid.

Kejriwal mentioned thatall those 186 wereasymptomatic. "They did notknow they were infected. Thisis even more worrying. Attimes people don't even knowthat they are infected," he said.

The Delhi Chief Ministerinformed that one of those186, was working as avolunteer at the fooddistribution centre of Delhigovernment and added that hehas ordered rapid testing at thecentre.

"Coronavirus has beenspreading rapidly in Delhi butthe situation is still undercontrol. The containment zonesare increasing where OperationShield is implemented. As oftoday, there are 77 containmentzones in Delhi," he said.

The Chief Minister, whileadmitting that situation was"worrisome", said that there isno need to panic.

"Delhi is the capital of thecountry so it is fighting themost difficult fight against thevirus. In the last two and a half

months, those who came fromforeign, they broughtcoronavirus. It was not there inour country. What happened inMarkaz, Delhi faced the bruntof it," he said.

The Chief Minister saidthere will be no relaxation inlockdown in Delhi for now.

"Keeping in mind thesafety of people, we havedecided that for now, norelaxation can be given inlockdown. We will have anassessment after a week," hesaid.

186 more COVID-19 cases in

National capitalNEW DELHI: 186 moreCOVID-19 cases have beenreported from Delhi onSaturday, taking the totalnumber of coronavirus casesin the city to 1,893, SatyendarJain state Health Minister toldANI. He said the Delhigovernment targets toexamine 42,000 people forcoronavirus in a week. "Thereare a total of 1893 positivecases in Delhi including 186cases from yesterday. Wehave got 42,000 rapid testingkits. A trial run is being doneat LNJP hospital. Our target isto complete 42,000 testswithin a week," he said.When asked if these 186 newcases emerged due tocommunity spread of theinfection, the Delhi Ministerclaimed, "Till now in Delhi,no community spread hashappened.

44 more COVID-19 casesin Andhra Pradesh, state

tally reaches 647AGENCYAMARAVATI, APR 19

44 more COVID-19 cases have beenreported from Andhra Pradesh,taking the count of coronaviruscases in the state to 647, the StateHealth Department said on Sunday."With 44 new cases being reportedin the state, the total number ofcoronavirus cases have mounted to647," said the Health Department.Of 647 cases, 565 are active, while65 people have recovered till now. Atotal of 17 people have succumbedto the infection. According to thelatest update by the Ministry of

Health and Family Welfare, the totalnumber of positive cases in Indiahas mounted to 15,712, of which2231 people have been cured/discharged/ migrated and 507 deathshave been reported till now.

Tally in Thane district rises to 364THANE, APR 19

The number of coronaviruscases in Maharashtra's Thanedistrict rose to 364 after 44 morepeople tested positive for thedisease, authorities said onSunday. One more person diedof the viral infection, taking thetoll in the district to 12, theysaid. So far, 130 COVID-19

cases have been reported fromareas under Thane MunicipalCorporation, 73 from Kalyan-Dombivali, 69 from Mira-Bhayander, 60 from NaviMumbai, 14 from Badlapurtownship, 10 from Thane rural,four from Ambernath township,three from Bhiwandi-Nizampurmunicipal limits and one fromUlhasnagar.

Residents demands action against Beera formisbehaving with social woman worker

CHETRAM RATANNAWANSHAHAR, APR 19

All India Saini Seva SamajDi Kaumi NationalOrganization SecretaryShubh Saini and a socialworker was allegedlymisbehaved by RaghuveerSingh Beera at Barnala Gate.

Saini told that since thecountry is facing the terribleepidemic of corona She isconstantly engaged in serviceto the district administrationpolice and the poor peoplealong with her social servicecolleagues. When she wasgoing to her children after

performainng social work, aman standing at BarnalaGate, Raghuveer Singh Beerastopped her car and asked herfor a pass while talking invery unparliamenntarylanguage. ` I showed him mypass and even though he

abused me. Her husbandRajendra Singh Saini waspresent with her in the driverseat in the car. Accompaniedby her supporters, familymembers and members ofcivil administrationdemanded justice from

police department by takingactionn against Beera. Onthis occasion, along withSubrata Saini,representatives of differentsocial groups of the city werepresent.

SUMER GARGMOONAK APR 19

Ghansham Kansal District President ofSangrur District IndustrialChamber(SDIC), Sangrur with the helpof block president of Moonak BhimSain Garg, handed over 30 PPE kits toK. R. Kansal local SDM.

It is reported, "due to insufficientsafety measurements there is a all over

tension among the medical staffregarding the spreading of epidemicCOVID-19 in them". Keeping in viewthe safety of medical staff, theindustrialists of Moonak come forward& 30 PPE Kits were given to them.Among the prominent Dr. Lov RajPawar, Dr. Hardeep Jindal, Dr. SandeepJindal, Karmveer Singla, KewalKrishan Garg & Ashok Kumar werepresent on the occasion.

Govt ITI Cuttack develops COVID-19sample collection walk-in kiosk

AGENCYCUTTACK, APR 19

Inspired by the modeladopted by South Korea tocollect COVID-19 samples, ateam of GovernmentIndustrial Training Institute(ITI), Cuttack has developeda walk-in kiosk for the safecollection of samples,officials informed on Sunday.

A sample collectionkiosk is a mobile cubiclecabin which comes with apair of gloves attached to it inthe front through which thedoctor can take samples ofthe suspected patient. Thestructure is supported withfour wheels at the base formobility. The swabcollections can also be donewithout any contact with thepatient and the gloves usedcan be sanitised from outside.This will reduce the need formore PPE kits and willenable more tests in lessamount of time.

As per the World HealthOrganisation, COVID-19spreads through respiratorydroplets when an infectedperson coughs, sneezes orspeaks. And people can alsobe infected by touching acontaminated surface andthen their eyes, mouth ornose. The development isexpected to help frontline

healthcare professionals toavoid direct exposure toinfected persons.

Meanwhile, Odisha hasreported 61 coronaviruscases and one death so far. Asmany as 24 people have beendischarged/cured/migrated,as per the latest informationprovided by the Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare.

CHET RAM RATTANNAWANSHAHR, APR 19

With the discharge of onemore COVID patient fromIsolation ward of DistrictHospital Nawanshahr, thusthe total tally of cured patientsreached to 17 today. Nowonly one youngster has benleft in the isolation ward. Assoon as Mata Pritam Kaur(72) came outside isolation toboard ambulance, sheshowered bleesings and praiseon the hospital staff for theirhumanity service andboosting her morale with theircounseling and affectionatebehaviour. She said, “Initiallyit was a horrific experiencewhen she was asked to come

to the hospital, but soon sheheaved a sigh of relief byhaving a glimpse of his sonHarpal Singh and otherpatients from her village thereand the friendly and religiousenvironement in the hospital.”She was brought to isolationward on March 26 aftertesting positive for COVID-19. His son Harpal Singh (48)had completed his isolationperiod on April 7 but insisted

to stay at quarantine ward ofDistrict Hospital till thecompletion of isolation periodof his mother Pritam Kaur.Brother of Pritam Kaur, AjaibSingh former Sarpanch ofneaerby village Usmanpurand a retired Head Teacherwas so happy today that hedonated his one month’spension (Rs 40000) to thehospital staff for treating hissister well.

Mata Pritam Kaur has all praisefor hospital staff for her care

7 women report domesticviolence in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR, APR 19

Seven women have complained of abuse when theOdisha Police made calls to them, as part of the'Phone-Up' programme - which is aimed at curbingdomestic violence in the state - a top officer heresaid. A total of 304 calls were made on Saturday towomen, who had in the past reported domesticabuse, by the State Crime Record Bureau (SCRB),he said. "We received adverse reports from sevenwomen during yesterday's exercise. Police officersin the districts, from where the women complainedof domestic violence, have been told to takenecessary measures," Director General of Police(DGP) Abhay stated. Under the newly launched'Phone Up' programme, a senior police officerwould visit the woman, who reported abuse to theSCRB cell, and verify her health condition,following which action would be initiated.

"The victims can also approach us throughOdisha Police Citizen Portal and Sahayata MobileApp. These initiatives taken by the governmentwill break the chain of violence women had beenfacing at home since the imposition of lockdown,"another police officer added.

One more COVID-19case in Bihar, state

tally reaches 87PATNA, APR 19

One more COVID-19 case has been reported inBihar on Sunday, taking the total number ofcoronavirus cases in the state to 87.

"The patient is a 55 years-old-male and is aclose contact of individual who had earlier testedpositive forCOVID-19," saidSanjay KumarPrincipal HealthSecretary.

M e a n w h i l e ,Chief MinisterNitish Kumar helda review meetingon Saturday withofficials of variousdepartments on the measures taken in the wake ofthe situation arising out of the COVID-19 crisis.The Chief Minister, during the meeting,emphasised that practising social distancing duringlockdown will help everyone stay safe.

India's positive coronavirus cases increased to15,712, including 12,974 active cases. So far,2,230 patients have either been cured ordischarged while 507 deaths have been recorded inthe country, as per data provided by the Ministry ofHealth.

FICCI FLO thanks O.P.Soni for takingstep to keep all medical facilitiesworking in an effective manner

KULJIT SINGH JANDIALA GURU, APR 19

FICCI FLO, a division of theFederation of Chamber ofCommerce and Industries(FICCI) working as a nationallevel organization for WomenEntrepreneurs, today said thatthe Punjab Government wasdoing strenuous efforts toprovide essential goods to theneedy people besidesmaintaining lockdown in aneffective manner to curb theCOVID-19 pandemic inPunjab. President of theFICCI FLO Mrs. ArushiVerma in a press statementhere thanked Cabinet Ministerfor Medical Education andResearch Mr, O.P.Soni forleading the fight againstCovid-19 crisis and makingsure that the medical staff iswell-looked after in the state.``Besides reassuring theavailability of all necessaryequipment, PPE kits and facemasks, Medical Educationand Research Minister was

taking every possible step tokeep all medical facilitiesworking in an effectivemanner, said Mrs. Vermaadding that the FLOorganization wants to thankhim for making sure that allpatients are taken good care ofat the medical colleges andhospitals in Punjab and forheading the Covid Committeein an efficient manner. FLOPresident also said that whilemaking strenuous efforts forensuring to provide essentialitems to the needy andeconomically weaker sectionsSoni was also encouraging theSocial welfare organizations tohelp such sections of society.

Associate officers tell ACP Kohlithe first coroner martyr of PP

KULWINDER BHATIANANGAL, APR 19

Anil kohli, an ACP of the PPforce, also succumbed todaydue the corona viruspandemic. Regarding the factthat the ACP hasserious treatment inLudhiana. SSPRoopnagar SwapanSharma said that ACPAnil Kohli was the firstmartyr of PunjabPolice in battle ofcorona and it was a huge lose.He said that this martyr cannever been forgotten in thepolice force. Talking aboutthis, Harmeet Singh HundalSP investigation Patiala saidthat Anil kohli was very niceman and very nice to his duty.He has also worked with DSP

kohli at a time. Anil kohli isbelongs to 1990 batch andDuroh near Jalandhar andnow resides in khanna. At thattime Anil Kohli's batch matesSP Daljeet Singh, DSPGurwinder Singh, Raminder

Singh Kahlon, KesarSingh, Gurdeep SinghGossal,DSP NavreetSingh virk, DSP vijayalam Singh, GurpreetSingh, DSP RandhirSingh Ludhiana, SuchaSingh, DSP Davinder

Singh, DSP U.Cee Chawala,Ramandeep Singh, SukhjeetSingh Virk, Sukhwinderchauhan, Raj kapoor, Rajkumar, Dharmpal Choudaryand Satish Kumar Sharma allthe DSPs has expressedsorrow after this bore ofburrent news.

Industrialists donate 30 PPE kits to Moonak doctors

NEWS AT AGLANCE

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020

7

Sant Nirankari Mission contributes Rs. 50 lakh towardsCM Relief Fund Covid-19CHANDIGARH: Extending a helping hand to the State Government for its concerted effortsagainst Coronavirus and mitigating the hardships being faced by poor and needy, the Sant NirankariMission has donated Rs. 50 lakh in CM Relief Fund COVID-19.Appreciating this benevolent ges-ture, the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said that this contribution would go a longway in providing succour to the needy and poor people in these difficult times amid COVID-19. Healso expressed gratitude to the Mission for its wholehearted support and cooperation in Govern-ment’s relentless battle against coronavirus.

It may be recalled that earlier the head of the Sant Nirankari Satsang Mission Shri Gobind Singh,popularly known as Bhaiyaji, had offered the State Government to utilise Nirankari Bhawans andfacilities therein all over the state for containment of COVID-19 besides offering the services oftheir volunteers to help out the state government in this hour of crisis.

SUMER GARGCHANDIGARH, APR 19

Punjab Chief Minister Cap-tain Amarinder Singh onSunday ruled out any relax-ation in the curfew in thestate, except as needed to en-sure COVID-19 free pro-curement of wheat, till May3, when he will again reviewthe situation.

Captain Amarinder or-dered strict enforcement ofthe curfew in all districts bythe DCs, with no relaxationor concessions whatsoevereven during the Ramzan pe-riod beginning this week.

He also made it clearthat no special curfew pass-es should be issued to thepeople on account ofRamzan. The Chief Ministerdirected the DCs to take firmsteps to ensure that there isno crowding at the groceryand other shops selling es-sentials at this time, and allnorms of social distancingare strictly adhered to. TheChief Minister took the deci-sion after reviewing the cur-rent situation with senior of-ficers from the administra-tion and police department.

The decision assumes sig-nificance in the backdrop ofvarious relaxations given bythe Union Ministry of HomeAffairs for non-containmentzones in the country, effec-tive April 20.

However, taking intoconsideration the ground sit-uation, the Chief Minister isof the firm view that thereshould be no relaxation, ex-cept already announced byhis government with respectto harvesting and procure-ment operations, as well asthose relating to operationsof certain industries/brickkilns and construction activ-ity, which are housing mi-

grant labourers or have themon-site, according to an offi-cial spokesperson. Amidconcerns that the hygieneconditions were not up to themark in the Mandis, theChief Minister has also or-dered a health audit of thesecentres, where 1.85 lakhmetric tonnes of wheat is ex-pected to arrive till June,when the procurement willcome to an end.

This will infuse aroundRs 35000 crore, includingthe CCL payment of Rs26000 crore received fromthe Centre, into the stateeconomy, thus giving it themuch-needed support for

fighting the COVID-19 bat-tle effectively. An officialspokesperson said the ChiefMinister made it clear thatall efforts should be focused,at the moment, on savinglives and on ensuring thatthe procurement operationsare conducted smoothly and

in a COVID free environ-ment. Any decision on theway forward would be takenafter May 3, taking into ac-count the situation prevail-ing then and the report of theExpert Committee set up toformulate the state’s exitstrategy.

No relaxation in curfew till May 3

GAURAV GOELCHANDIGARH, APR19

On the directives of theChief Minister CaptainAmarinder Singh, the Agri-culture Department has madeelaborate arrangements toprovide adequate inputs andadequate BT Cotton seedsunder the State Govern-ment’s ambitious plan ofcrop diversification therebyenhancing the area undercotton cultivation from 9.7lakh acres to 12.5 lakh acresin 2020.

Disclosing this here to-day, Additional Chief Secre-tary Development ViswajeetKhanna said that cotton isthe second largest traditionalkharif crop in southwesterndistricts of Punjab and is a

highly sensitive cash crop asits trend changes from timeto time. Therefore, the De-partment of a Agriculture haschalked out a comprehensivestrategy to switch the areafrom Paddy to Maize andCotton cultivation as a partof crop diversification pro-gramme in a phased manner.

Pertinently, 6.62 lakhacres was brought under cot-ton cultivation during 2018,followed by 9.7 lakh acres in2019. Subsequently, theAgriculture Department hasnow further planned to en-hance the area under cottoncultivation from 9.7 lakhacres to 12.5 lakh acres. Di-vulging the preparednessplan for the ensuing seasonof sowing of cotton, Viswa-jeet Khanna said that the de-partment had put all arrange-ments in place to achieve thedesired goals and the statehas managed to provide 21.5lakh packets of bt cottonseed from the country’s re-puted seed producing com-panies.

He said that AgricultureDepartment had alreadystarted a vigorous campaignto remove weeds (host plantsof white fly) from vacantplots, roadside, opengrounds with the help of linedepartments.

State all set to enhancecotton cultivation area:

Viswajeet Khanna

Barnala woman winswar against corona

BARNALA: The woman belonging toSekha Road in Barnala who wascorona positive has won the waragainst the corona virus. The woman'sconsecutive test came negative, afterwhich she was discharged from theRajindra Hospital, Patiala. Today, theDeputy Commissioner Tej PartapSingh Phoolka and the health staffpresented a bouquet to the lady atCivil Hospital Barnala, The DeputyCommissioner congratulated the healthstaff and Civil Surgeon Dr. GurinderbirSingh. Deputy Commissioner said thatthis was the result of the cooperationand hard work of health staff thatconcerned patient has been cured.Meanwhile, Radha Rani (44) said thatstrong will power is must to defeatCorona. She appealed to people tostay at home and take allprecautionary measures. Meanwhile,Civil Surgeon, Dr. Gurinderbir Singhsaid that Radha Rani was confirmedpositive on 5th April and now she istotally fine. So far 89 samples havebeen taken in the district, out of whichtwo came positive. One of thesepatients died at Ludhiana hospital andanother patient has recovered.

All govt officials fight waragainst corona must beinsured: GESSAVERMAGURDASPUR: Gazetted educationalschool services Association which isorganisation of principals and offices ofeducation department has mournedthe death of crona warrior ACP AnilKumar Kohli and demandedcompensation of one crore for family ofdeceased.the association expressedconcern over safety of thousands ofemployees of education departmentwho are performing duties in field atnakas,mandis,control room etc.Theassociation while appreciating the workdone by principals,officers,teachersand employees of educationdepartment in covid 19 critical situationdemanded insurance cover for cronawarriors of education department andsafety kits like masks,sanitizers ,glovesetc must be provided at all.the familiesof such crona warriors are also at riskas these employees reach home afterperforming duties in field inMandi,villages,control rooms etc.

Orders health audit of mandis to ensure covid-free procurement

Rana Ashutosh KumarSingh elevated asDMD of SBICHANDIGARH: Rana AshutoshKumar Singh who is headingChandigarh Circle of State Bank of

India has beenelevated asDy. ManagingDirector of theBank today.Shri Singh hasvastexperience of29 years ofvarious

assignments in different areas ofbanking. The bank today elevated 14of its Chief General Managers as Dy.Managing Directors of the Bank.

Sarbat Da Bhala Trustgives PPE kits, masks toAmritsar rural police

KULJIT SINGH JANDIALA GURU: Due to thewidespread of Crona virus, lockdownfollowed by curfew has been done sothat people stay in their homes, so thatthe disease can be prevented fromspreading. The Punjab Police isworking day and night against thisdeadly disease. Talking to SSP RuralVikramjit Duggal, the police district,Amritsar Rural, in the wake of thecorona Virus said that in connectionwith their health and safety, the SarbatDa Bhalha Charitable Trust has usedthe Amritsar 50 KPitus for their usewith the Kovid 19 and 50 N 95 Masks.

Policemen standing inservice of people day-night

VERMAGURDASPUR, APR 19

While commendable steps are being taken by variousdepartments to beat the Corona virus, the police de-partment is performing their duty with dedication inorder to maintain law and order as well as social dis-tancing, The said views were expressed by YouthCongress leader Harish Bhardwaj. He said that all the

employees who arefighting against thiscorona virus must beinsured by the Pun-jab government likeother states to defeatthe corona. So that ifmishappening occursduring this war theirfamilies could getsome help. He further

said that strictness of police is being done only for theprotection of the general public, they have no per-sonal rivalry with anyone.

He said that the inspector of a village in Batala hasbeen suffering from corona virus in Ludhiana whileobeying orders of the high officials of making socialdistancing and he himself caught with this virus. ACPAnil Kohli of Ludhiana lost his life while performinghis duty honestly. He said that the police personnelare standing for our safety irrespective of their lives,so we should also respect them and follow their in-structions with full.

MAMOON RASHID MALERKOTLA, APR 19

Social Organizations andNGOs serving the poor peoplemeal called a meeting atNamdhari Shahidi SmarkMalerkotla, yesterday eveningto discuss problems faced bythem during distribution ofmeals to the poor, representa-tives of 11 NGOs and organi-zations unanimously decidedto stop their food services from19 April 2020 until their de-manded are not approved bythe local administration, a re-quest letter with signatures ofthe representatives of the or-ganizations was sent to SDMMalerkotla through Nodal offi-

cer. Mubin Farooqui, NarinderPal Singh and Gursewak Singhsaid that NGOs demanded ra-tion (Wheat, Pulses, Sugar andrice) for the Langer on controlrate as they are providing foodto the poor from approximate-ly last one month and there isnot any support from the gov-ernment till date and no socialorganization can work for moretime without help of the gov-ernment, they demanded healthinsurance of their volunteersdistributing food to the peopleas they are always in danger,they demanded assurance ofthe government that volunteer'sfamily will not be harassed ifany gets effected with covid-19during their service.

Social organizations, NGOs stoptheir ‘Langer Sewa’ in Malerkotla

VERMAQADIAN, APR 19

To beat the Corona virus, thepolice and the employees whohave faithfully performed theirduties day and night for thesake of law and social distanc-ing in the Lock Down for thelast one month BJP and themembers of RSS honored themby spreading flowers .

Speaking on the occasion,BJP's Block President Jogin-derpal Bhutto and DarshanSingh of RSS said that all theemployees who played an im-portant role in the battle beingfought by the Punjab govern-ment to defeat Corona, must beinsured like Maharashtra andDelhi,so that if an employeeloses his life during this waragainst corona their familycould be protected. They saidthat strictness of police is beingdone only for the protection ofthe general public; they haveno personal rivalry with any-one. They even told that re-cently ACPAnil Kohli of Lud-hiana was martyred during war

against corona after savingthousands of people. Similarly,an inspector in the nearby vil-lage of Batala is fighting a bat-tle with corona in Ludhiyana.On the other hand, self madeNihangs in Patiala imputedarm of a police personnel andthe remarks made by MLABains were inspired by politicswhich was reprehensible. It isclear from all these incidentsthat the police personnel areperforming their duties withfull dedication and their honoris mandatory so that the could

perform the duties of protect-ing the people with full dedica-tion. They said that the policepersonnel are standing for oursafety irrespective of theirlives, so we should also respectthem and follow their instruc-tions honestly. On this occa-sion, Block president of BJP’sJoginderpal Bhutto, BjymPresident Gurjit Kumar, wisepresident Gulshan Kumar,Amit Mahajan, Bachan Lal,Women's Wing President Kul-winder Kaur, Neetu Khosla,Kashmir singh Rajput.

BJP, RSS welcome police personnelfor their fight against corona

PRITPAL SINGHSHAHKOT, APR 19

Punjab Finance MinisterManpreet Singh Badal to-day said that the Punjabgovernment was spendingRs 300 crore for purchaseof medical equipment inthe state to combat Covid19.

Interacting with theDoctors and para medicalstaff after dedicatingCovid 19 virus tertiarycare centre here at BilliChuharmi near Shahkot,the Minister, accompaniedby Lok Sabha MP Chaud-hary Santokh Singh andMLAs Hardev Singh Lad-di Sherowalia and PargatSingh, said that Punjabgovernment led by ChiefMinister CaptainAmarinder Singh has no

dearth of funds to combatthis pandemic. He saidthat medical equipmentsworth RS 100 crore eachwere being purchased dur-ing months of April, Mayand June. Badal assuredthe people of state thatevery effort would bemade to provide succor topeople in this hour of cri-sis.

The Minister said thatthe pandemic which hasspread in 200 countries

across the globe has givena major setback to econo-my in the entire globe. Hesaid that the state govern-ment has already set up apanel under renownedeconomist and formerVice Chairman of Nation-al Planning CommissionDr Montek SinghAhluwalia to suggestways and means for steer-ing the state's economyout of fiscal stress due topandemic.

Rs 300 crore for medical equipments tocombat Covid 19 in state: Manpreet Badal KULBHUSHAN GARG

GIDDERBAHA, APR 19

Following reports of sevenpending samples received asnegative today there is nowonly one positive case and nosample is pending in the dis-trict.

Stating this in a press re-lease Deputy CommissionerM. K. Aravind Kumar saidthat strict and prompt meas-ures adopted by the entireteam of the district adminis-tration and police helped ingetting this result.

He said that the health de-partment has obtained 54samples in total ever since thelockdown was imposed in thestate and today 53 of them arenegative.

The one found positive,in 18 years old resident ofMeerut, too is give best treat-ment and is likely to come

clean of this virus in comingdays. "We are leaving notstone unturned to keep thedeadly Corona Virus awayfrom our jurisdiction forwhich every possible step istaken in larger public inter-est," the deputy commission-er said.

He pointed out that all theentry routes, internal roads,market area, grain market,

vegetable market, banks andother vulnerable places areunder the tight grip of the of-ficials concerned. On wheatlifting, he said that theprocess of bringing wheatfrom the agricultural fields isgoing on in a very smoothmanner across the district andadequate measures are al-ready been taken by the offi-cials concerned.

All pending reports are negative in Muktsar: DC He said that thehealth departmenthas obtained 54samples in totalever since thelockdown wasimposed in thestate and today 53of them arenegative

Directly selling vegetables inPartap Singh wala areaagainst guidelines ANKUSH SHARMALUDHIANA: The administration isdoing all efforts to stop spreading ofcorona and also imposed so manyrules for selling vegetables, but all thesaid efforts proved to be failed, whenin one area of village Partap Singhwala, one vendor reported to bedirectly sold the vegetables to buyers.Whereas, the District Mandi Board hasissued passes for supply of vegetablesin wards as well as surrounding areasof said wards. In this regard one videohas also been viral. A man in videoclaiming that he purchased thevegetables directly from one vendor inarea. So the question is arising therewhether the orders of theadministration has been followed bysome vendors or they are supplyingdirectly to buyers as per theirconvenience.

3 car riders nabbedaction for violation

of curfewKULJEET SINGH JANDIALA GURU, APR 19

Videos are going viral on so-cial media about the villageTalwandi Dogra police stationJandiala Guru, who has beenincarcerated in CCTV camera.When the matter was investi-gated by the journalist, the peo-ple of Talwandi Dogra villagedid not print their names. Onthe condition of that, on April17, three youths, including twofrom Wadali Dogra and onefrom Manawala Kalan, hadcome to deliver the consign-ment of drugs. They werecaught and taken to the policestation, who were kept in thepolice station at night and leftin the morning without takingany action. These youths wereidentified as Gulsher Singhalias Shera, Gurinder Singhresident Wadali Dogra, andNishan Singh resident Man-awala Kalan.

JALANDHAR , APR 19

Laying thrust on adoption ofthe principles of isolationand ‘self quarantine’ throughthe ‘Theekri Pehras’ forkeeping a check on spread ofCovid 19, the Jalandhar(Rural) Police has been suc-cessful in getting such pehrasinstalled in all villages ofdistrict.

Giving the details, theSenior Superintendent of Po-lice Mr. Navjot Singh Mahalsaid that as the home quaran-

tine or isolation was the soleway of combating the Coro-na Virus effectively, so Ja-landhar (Rural) Police hadlaid major thrust on makingthe people aware about theneed of isolation through thetheekri pehras. He said thatmajor focus was laid on sen-sitizing the people on this is-sue so that theekri pehrascould be imposed in the vil-lages. Subsequently, Mr. Ma-hal sad that villagers whileaccepting the request of thePolice, have imposed theekri

pehras in their villages. TheSenior Superintendent of Po-lice said that till date all the840 villages under the Ja-landhar (Rural) Police haveinstalled theekri pehras intheir villages. He said thatpeople have in a manner selfisolated themselves and nooutsider was being allowedby them to enter in their vil-lages. Mr. Mahal said thatthis has helped in checkingthe spread of Corona Virus inthe rural areas to a great extent.

Theekri pehras in 840 villages forchecking spread of covid 19

315 samples taken so far, 295are negative: Civil surgeons

DALJEET AJNOHAHOSHIARPUR, APR 19

Civil Surgeon Dr. Jasvir Singh said that 315 sampleshave been received by the Health Department re-garding Covid-19, out of which 295 samples havebeen reported negative and 14 samples have yet to be

reported. He said that no sampleswere taken by the health depart-ment teams today which is goodnews for the district. He said that only 6 positive cas-

es have come out so far, out ofwhich 3 patients have recoveredand one patient has died of Harb-hajan Singh. He said that apart

from the above, a person from Khanoor, a village inthe district from Italy who had entered Amritsar, hasalso recovered.

RAKESH SHARMAFARIDKOT, APR 19

Deputy Commissioner KumarSaurav Raj has caught red-handed a man making anAyushman card at the shop atthe gate of the local Guru Gob-ind Singh Medical Hospital.Deputy commissioner KumarSaurabh Raj came and caughthimself red-handed at his shop.He was immediately taken toKotwali, ASI Harfool Singh con-firmed this. On this occasion,SMO doctor Chandrashekhar in-formed that Ayushman card ismade for just Rs 30, but this

shopkeeper used to make aroundRs 2000 from each person. He

told that we sent a person tomake an Ayushman Health Cardby taking note of Rs 500. On re-ceipt of this, Deputy Commis-sioner Kumar Saurav Raj caughthim red handed with cards.

DC nabs one makingAyushman cards

CHANDIGARH: PublicWorks Minister Punjab Vi-jay Inder Singla, on Sun-day, told that CaptainAmarinder Singh led Pun-jab government has extend-ed the suspension period oftolling operations at allState Toll Plazas till May 3.He added that on March 27,the tolling operations wereseized till earlier set limit oflockdown but now the tollplazas will remain closedtill May 3 as the nationwidelockdown has also been ex-tended to control the spreadof coronavirus. Singla saidthat as many as 23 tollplazas were operational un-der the state government

in Punjab. However, the tollplazas under NHAI will beresuming toll collectionfrom April 20 onwards fol-lowing the orders of uniongovernment where com-muters will have to pay thetax. The PWD minister saidthat besides providing freepassage, the toll plazas op-erational under state gov-ernment will continue pro-viding langar (free food) tothe drivers till May 3. Headded the roadside dhabasand restaurants were shutdue to lockdown but thestate government ensuredavailability of cooked mealto the drivers of the emer-gency supply vehicles.

Govt extends suspensionof toll plazas till May 3

AGENCY your careers and in lives. That night, my life KOLKATA, APR 19 changed completely in the space of those three

hours or actually, even an hour and a half," KKR's Former New Zealand and Kolkata Knight Riders official website quoted McCullum as saying.(KKR) batsman Brendon McCullum called his "Why was I the one who got that opportunity to unbeaten 158-run knock in the first-ever IPL match be able to go and face [the] first [delivery] with as a life-changing moment. Sourav Ganguly? How did I get a chance to play in

In the first edition of IPL in 2008, the opening the first game, have the first opportunity to bat in match was played between KKR and Royal such a huge tournament for world cricket? How Challengers Bangalore at M Chinnaswamy was I even able to grab that opportunity? How Stadium in Bengaluru. much luck did I have along the way? Honestly, I

RCB won the toss and elected to bowl first. don't know the answers to any of these, but what Little did they know, that a Kiwi batsman will take I do know is that it changed my life forever," he

McCullum, however, did not get bogged down them to the cleaners. Put into bat, KKR got off to a added.and in the final four overs, he added 56 runs more to flying start as openers Brendon McCullum and Coincidentally, 12 years back on this exact take his individual score to 158*. With this knock, Sourav Ganguly put on 61 runs in just 5.2 overs. date, McCullum gave a glorifying start to the IPL KKR posted a mammoth score of 222/3 in the Ganguly (10) was sent back to the pavilion by as he scored 158*. He is often credited with allotted twenty overs.Zaheer Khan, but McCullum continued to march bringing ruthlessness and never-say-attitude in the

KKR then had no difficulty in defending the on. Hammering the bowlers to all around the park, New Zealand team.score as the side bundled out RCB for just 82 runs, McCullum spared no mercy on the opposition and Under his leadership, New Zealand had reached winning the match by 140 runs.as a result, he brought up his century in the 16th over the finals of the 2015 50-over World Cup. He played

"You talk about sliding doors, and moments in of the innings. 101 Tests, 260 ODIs and 71 T20Is for the Kiwis.

NEW DELHI: With all sporting activities currently on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Saturday said that it is hoping to launch the domestic season from July 2020 if the nationwide lockdown is lifted. "AITA plans to launch a Domestic circuit to start tentatively in July 2020. These will initially in (July and August) be restricted to State Level tournaments keeping in mind the need for restricting travel. It shall subsequently graduate Into Zonal and National tournaments," said AITA in an official statement. AITA also said that the showpiece event will be aimed at benefiting tennis players across the country since the pandemic has adversely affected their livelihood.The apex body is in the process of setting up a 'sizeable fund' to create a domestic circuit "The AITA is also approaching the Government of India, Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs to allow it to utilise the unutlllsed portion of Its ACTC Budget 2019-2020 which was earmarked for Tournaments and Foreign Exposure up to September 2020," the statement.

An all-rounder is pivotal when you play with four bowlers: Andrew McDonald

England women hockey teamto run for COVID-19 relief fundLONDON: The England Hockey Under-16 girls team is raising money to assist the National Health Services' (NHS) in their fight against the global coronavirus pandemic. The members of the team will be collectively running the 2,070 miles the combined distances of the journeys they would have taken to play games against Belgium, Scotland and Germany this summer. "They will be raising money for NHS Charities Together along the way, with the money going towards helping the NHS provide the best possible patient care, keep their staff members as safe as possible and to fund research to find ways of beating the virus," the England Hockey said in an official statement. Earlier, the England women's football team had pledged a donation to the Players Together fund to assist the NHS' response to the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Premier League players had launched the Players Together Fund, which primarily aims to help the NHS. This initiative is partnered with the NHS Charities Together - an organisation for more than 150 registered charities to assist in raising and distributing funds.

LONDON: Australian cricket team's assistant coach Andrew McDonald has hinted that the side will continue to play with six batsmen and five bowlers including one all-rounder so that the side can have more depth to its batting line up."We've seen Australia play five out and out bowlers - two spinners and three quicks - and finish their batting at No. 6 with Agar at No. 7. In that combination you have five strong bowling options, so your all-round option in the top six isn't that critical. Whereas if you flip it around and want to lengthen your batting slightly then clearly your all-rounder becomes pivotal," ESPNcricinfo quoted McDonald as saying.Australia have Mitchell Marsh as pace bowling all-rounder while Glenn Maxwell and Ashton Agar as spinning all-rounders."We've seen Mitch Marsh come back into the fold, so he looks as though he has a little handle on that position at the moment and there are some other options in Australian cricket as well.

PAGE8

TALKSSHORT

Scoring 158* in IPL opener changed my life: McCullumNot easy for normalcy to return amid Covid-19 crisisLONDON: If staying under lockdown is boring for the common man, think about the professional athlete. Week after week, one has been hearing about cancellations of several sporting leagues and tournaments which has caused the athletes a lot of anguish.Not all of it has to do with loss of revenue, but how staying away from the field of play is indeed difficult in times of COVID-19. In some countries in Europe, there is improvement and people are talking about the possible resumption of sport later in summer.Perhaps, professional golf was one of the first to announce a start in June, minus the spectators. June may appear over five weeks away, but for pro golf to think there will be normalcy by then is indeed presumptuous. At home, in India, the athletes preparing for the Tokyo Olympics have halted all outdoor activity. Mail Today has in a series of interviews.

AITA hoping to launchdomestic season by July 2020

SPORTSYUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020

AGENCYNEW DELHI, APR 19

Former India cr icketer K Srikkanth has credited wicket-keeper batsman, MS Dhoni, for changing the power dynamics in Indian cricket and also paid a special testament to the calmness showed by him as a skipper in pressure cooker situations.

Srikkanth believes that before Dhoni's inclusion in the national side, Indian cricket was majorly

Srikkanth told "When all major ICC trophies (50-over brought in by Sourav Ganguly, MS dominated by the metro cities as somebody like Dhoni made it to the World Cup, T20 World Cup, and was totally opposite of that, when players from Delhi, Mumbai, national side, the powerhouses of Champions Trophy). Under his Kumble was the captain of the Test Chennai used to be regular members Indian cricket started to change, a leadership, India also managed to side, it was a good chance for Dhoni of the squad. But when Ranchi-born cricketer from Ranchi was a attain the number one ranking in Test to learn. Anil gave him much-needed Dhoni made his way into the national masterstroke, a zonal selector was cricket. He first led an inexperienced experience, Dhoni gave a lot of side, it gave hope to the other watching cricket in the east and he Indian side to the T20 World Cup confidence to the players".budding cricketers who now thought saw something really special in triumph in 2007. He then took over In December 2014, Dhoni they can make it big in the Indian Dhoni. He did not do something the ODI captaincy, but he had to wait announced his retirement from the team.substantial in his first two matches for leading the Test side as Anil longest format of the game and it Dhoni had made his ODI debut and people wrote him off. But he Kumble was doing the duties in the gave a chance to the likes of against Bangladesh in 2004, played a 140 odd knock against longest format. Wriddhiman Saha to cement their however, the then flamboyant Pakistan and it made Dhoni really Srikkanth reckons that learning place in the side for the longest wicket-keeper did not have a good confident". from Kumble really made Dhoni format of the game.outing as he scored just 19 runs in the

"Post Dhoni era, we have seen a understand the virtues of leadership. Then in 2017, Dhoni handed over the three-match series.lot of players from small towns "When Dhoni was the captain in the captaincy reins to Virat Kohli in the But the wicket-keeper truly making the cut. This legacy will be 2007 T20 World Cup, he handled the 50-over format. However, the arrived in the series against Pakistan very huge and it is a testament to side really well, the win boosted his wicket-keeper enjoys a great in 2005 as he scored 148 runs in the Dhoni. The team was handed over in confidence. He has always been camaraderie with Kohli and the second ODI of the six-match series at the right way to Virat," he added. calm and cool, he has motivated the duo often have been seen taking Vishakapatnam.

Dhoni is the only captain to win players, aggressive culture was decisions together.Talking about Dhoni's legacy,

a news agency

Ms Dhoni inclusion in national side changedpower dynamics in Indian cricket: Srikkanth

You talk about sliding doors, and moments in your careers

and in lives. That night, my life changed completely in the space of those three hours or actually, even an hour and a half," KKR's official website quoted McCullum as saying.

Djokovic says tennis 'big three' plan to help lowest

ranked players

AGENCY come from the prize money for PARIS, APR 19 the season-ending World Tour

Finals or the final bonus pools for Novak Djokovic has said that he, top players.Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal "Maybe if we don't have any are organising aid for players tournaments this season, we can struggling with the paralysis of take a certain percentage from the game due to the coronavirus our prize money form Australian pandemic. "I spoke to Roger and Open in January," he said.Rafa a few days ago," Djokovic, "These guys are the grass the world number one, said in an roots of tennis. The future of Instagram chat with friend and tennis. We need to show them rival Stan Wawrinka on they still can rely on support of the Saturday. "We had a long top guys."conversation about the near According to reports in future of tennis, what is going to tennis media, Djokovic, as happen, how we can contribute president of the ATP Players' and how we can help especially Council, which also includes lower-ranked players, who are Federer and Nadal, proposed to obviously struggling the most." members that players in the top

"The majority of the players 100 for singles and the top 20 in who are ranked between 200, doubles contribute according to 250 in the world, and the 700th or their rankings.1,000th do not have federation The proposed scale runs support, do not have sponsors. from 30,000 for a top-five player They a r e comple t e ly to 5,000 for those between 51 and independent and left alone," he 100. That would raise said "Guys who are ranked approximately 1 million and the between 200-250, especially to ATP would make a similar 700...are thinking of leaving contribution. On Friday, ATP tennis right now." chief Andrea Gaudenzi echoed

He said players, the ATP and the call for unity on the tour the four Grand Slams "would all website. "Our guys are at home, get together and will contribute to obviously unable to play, unable a player relief fund that ATP will to earn money and financially distribute." "It looks, hopefully, struggling, so we will try to that there will something help," he said, adding that the between 3 million (2.75 million ATP faced the problem of not euros) and 4.5 million that is knowing how long the crisis going to be distributed," he would last and how much estimated. revenue it would lose.

Djokovic said the cash could "I've been quite touched by

Serena Williams' coach and Nadal planning matches at academiesAGENCY and talking of "millions of US dollars in prize PARIS, APR 19 money".

The Nadal Academy said it was considering Both Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams' coach becoming "a campus where elite players can Patrick Mouratoglou announced plans to stage reside, train and compete between themselves in matches at their tennis academies. With top-level matches that will be televised so that fans around professional tennis shut down until at least July the world can enjoy them."13, both academies said they were examining It said Nadal had originated the idea and that the possibility of staging and broadcasting the academy had been in taks with ATP chairman matches so fans could watch remotely. Andrea Gaudenzi.

While the Rafael Nadal academy, based on "Right now tennis takes a back seat and the the Spanish island of Mallorca, said on its most important thing is everyone's health, but if in website that it was in talks with the ATP on how the coming months the Academy can be used to to proceed, Mouratoglou released a statement help other professional players, I'd be delighted if unveiling a planned "league" of 50 matches at they could come to train and also to compete," his academy near Nice in the south of France Nadal said.

Adil Rashid expresses desire to play2023 World Cup for England

LONDON: England's spinner Adil Rashid has expressed his desire to play the 50-over World Cup in 2023. By the time the 2023 World Cup comes, Rashid would turn 35. The spinner has been hampered with regular shoulder problems, but Rashid remains determined to play the tournament for his side. "I have a vision in terms of maybe achieving that, the 2023 World Cup would be lovely. Another World Cup would be nice. That's a long way away and a lot can happen in three years in terms of performance, injuries, people coming in and out, but that's something that I would love to do again. Ultimately I want to play as long as I can," ESPNCricinfo quoted Rashid as saying.

Coronavirus: Warne ponders why golf courses have been shut in AustraliaNEW DELHI: Former Australian He also added that he cannot good for mental health too," Warne said Surely common sense & doing the right spinner Shane Warne on Sunday said understand if closing down the golf in his first tweet. thing is crucial to get through this. Stay that he cannot find the real reason courses would really slow the process In the second tweet, Warne said he home. But so too is mental health-hence behind shutting down of golf courses in of flattening the curve. "Interesting is following the social distancing rules go out and exercise/walk. Isn't that Australia due to coronavirus pandemic. debate about golf courses & whether but added that mental health is really golf," Warne said in his second tweet.In a series of tweets, Warne said that they should be open or not. I'm like all important at this point in time and for In another tweet, Warne said: "I'm golf courses can be opened in the Victorian's & doing the right thing by many people, that comes through golf. homeschooling my daughter who's country as it is good for mental health staying home - unless it's necessary re "I know some people have lost jobs & doing Y12, stayed home & been on the and there is no harm if people adhere to supermarket. But I see 1000's of people doing it tougher than others & that's occasional walk with my son. So I'm social distancing rules. out exercising/waking - isn't that golf & extremely sad. We r all in this together. doing the right thing.