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VIJAYAWADA, SUNDAY MARCH 22, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

Coronavirus:Complaint filedagainst singerKanika Kapoor

5

Cabinetapproves pro-duction-linkedsops for elec-tronics firms

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Judge donatessalary to helpworkers hit byCovid-19

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HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated March 21, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANAC TODAY

Month & Paksham:Phalguna & Krishna PakshaPanchangam:Tithi: Trayodashi: 10:07 amNakshatram: Shatabhisha: 10:27 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 04:53 pm – 06:23 pmYamagandam: 12:22 pm – 01:53 pmVarjyam: 05:37 am – 07:25 amGulika: 03:23 pm - 04:53 pmGood Time: (to start any important

work)Amritakalam: 02:24 pm – 04:12 pmAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:58 am – 12:46 pm

FFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 35/21Humidity: 29%Sunrise: 06.18Sunset: 06.27

Amidst panic over a possibility of community transmission ofcoronavirus, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of Parliament

Varun Gandhi has posted a video in which he could be seen standingadjacent to lawmaker Dushyant Singh, who has self-quarantined himself after coming in contact with aninfected Bollywood singer. Dushyant Singh and hismother, former Rajasthan Chief Minister VasundharaRaje, went into self-isolation on Friday after attendinga programme with singer Kanika Kapoor, who hastested positive for COVID-19.

In wake of the call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to observe 'JanataCurfew' on Sunday, the Indian railways on Saturday decided to put

brakes on as many as 709 trains. According to information, 584 trainshave been cancelled completely and the rest 125 trains partially. TheRailways has already announced the suspension oftrain services of over 3,700 passenger locomotivesand long-distance mail and express trains, whichwere scheduled to start journeys on Sundy due tocall of ‘Janata Curfew'. This will lead to cancellationof around 2400 passenger and 1300 express trains.

At least 111 labs will conduct test for diagnosis of novel coronavirusacross the country, the Ministry of Health and Family welfare saidon Saturday. These include both government and private labs.

However, capping the prices of the tests is still under discussion, JointSecretary of Health Ministry, Lav Agarwal said. Thelabs have been designated by the Indian Council ofMedical Research. Agarwal asserted that peopleshould not come for test unless the fit in the testingcriteria, defined by the Health Ministry and ICMR.

US based search engine giant Google on Saturday launched aneducational coronavirus website that contains safety tips

and authoritative information about the pandemic. Themove comes a week after President Donald Trump told apress conference that Google would be building ascreening website that would direct people to testingsites. The website, google.com/covid19, is focused oneducation, prevention and local resources. People can findinformation, safety and prevention tips, search trends relatedto Covid-19, and resources for individuals, educators and businesses.

GOOGLE LAUNCHES EDUCATIONALCORONAVIRUS WEBSITE

COVID-19: RAILWAYS PUTS BRAKEON 709 TRAINS ON SATURDAY

111 LABS ACROSS THE COUNTRYTO CONDUCT TESTS FOR COVID-19

VARUN GANDHI STANDS NEXT TOSELF-QUARANTINED DUSHYANT SINGH

Chest, Mental Care, ENThospitals clubbed into zonePNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Visakhapatnam districtadministration has set up aspecial Coronavirus treatmentzone clubbing the InfectiousDiseases and Chest Hospital,Government ENT hospital andGovernment Hospital for Me-ntal Healthcare. The hospitalsare on the same road, just astone's throw from each other.

The Government ChestHospital is the node for treat-ment where all the suspectedcases are being admitted. Here,swabs are being collected andsent to virology department atTirupati.

Principal of Andhra MedicalCollege and in charge of the

surveillance team Dr PV Sud-hakar said all the in-patientsfrom ENT hospital have beenshifted to King GeorgeHospital. The KGH, that has1,500 beds and was recentlyrefurbished, will be buffer hos-pital for all other diseases.

He said the chest hospitalhas 250 beds, ENT 100 andGHMC has 300 beds.

However, district collector V

Vinay Chand has ordered anincrease in the the capacity byanother 100 in ENT hospital asthere is enough space. Of the300 beds in GHMC, 100 wouldbe separated for Covid-19treatment and quarantine. Hesaid all the beds in GHMCcannot be utilised as there isneed for specialised treatmentfor the mentally ill patients.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Commissioner and Director ofMuncipal AdministrationGSRKR Vijay Kumar onSaturday said a door-to-doorsurvey with the help of villageand ward volunteers is onpresently to stop spread ofCoronavirus in the state.

Addressing the media here,he said that a survey in 1.37crore of the 1.43 crore house-holds has been completed.

"Each village and ward sec-retariat is equipped with ANMservices. There is a volunteerfor every 50 houses. The door-to-door survey is unprece-dented in the country," VijayKumar said.

He said that volunteers,along with the health depart-ment staff, have been sensitis-ing the people at their door-step. The total number of vol-unteers undertaking the sur-vey was put at 2.80 lakh.Similarly, 1.18-lakh secretari-at employees are also takingpart in the survey, VijayKumar said.

The state has an ANM fora population of every 2000.

Quoting a list released bythe Centre, he said that thetotal number of people whotravelled to the state fromoverseas was 6,379. However,a survey undertaken by volun-teers and ASHA workersreveals that another 6,000travelled to AP from overseas.

Vijay Kumar said that thestate is being prepared toimplement the 'Janata Curfew'called by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on March 22.

Quarantineviolators willbe arrested,warns Roja PNS n NAGARI

YSRCP MLA RK Roja onSaturday warned people whohave returned to the statefrom abroad in the recentpast that they would bearrested if they violate the iso-lation period.

"Initially, notices would beserved on them and thenarrests would be affected.This extreme step would betaken only if the foreign-returned are found to be vio-lating the government'sadvice and roam aboutfreely," the MLA said.

Scared, crowd forces Dubaireturn youth to get off busPNS n HYDERABAD

In a clear sign that a sense ofpanic is setting in among thepeople over the rising numberof Coronavirus infections, anunruly mob created a sceneand didn't allow a youngsterwho returned from Dubai, toboard a bus at LB Nagar inHyderabad on Saturday. Theyouth faced some tensemoments before the Policemanaged to bring the situationunder control.

Police said the youth hadstarted from Dubai onThursday and landed atMumbai International airportby a SpiceJet flight on Friday.After undergoing the thermalscreening and the prescribedhealth protocols, he took a busfrom Mumbai and reachedHyderabad on Saturday. Later,he came to the Chintalkunta

area at LB Nagar, to catch a busfor his onward journey to hishometown. He was on his wayhome for a vacation when theincident occurred.

The 22-year-old youngsterwas identified as a native ofWest Godavari district in AP,who was working as house-keeping staff in Dubai and hadcome on vacation, said the

Police. According to the Police, the

man was about to board thebus from Chintalkunta, whenpassengers noticed the board-ing pass and other tags on hisbaggage. They raised an alarmand asked the driver not toallow him to board the bus.

The youngster tried toexplain to the mob that he wasscreened at the Mumbai air-port and did not show anysymptoms, but they refused tolisten to him and did notallow him to board the bus.

The situation soon turnedugly, prompting the driver tocall the police. Police rushed tothe spot and rescued the youthfrom the mob.

After verifying his creden-tials, they called in the medicalteams and shifted him toGandhi Hospital for furthertests. The results are awaited.

Vizagites risk Corona danger for liquor, non-veg Serpentine queues seen in front of liquor, meat shops in city ahead of ‘Janata curfew' PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Going by the number of peo-ple waiting in serpentine qu-eues to buy liquor and meat onSaturday, it was clear that Cov-id-19 and its side-effects werethe last thing on their minds.

With Vizag, like the rest ofIndia, preparing to respond tothe call given by Prime Min-ister Narendra Modi to observe'Janata curfew' on March 22,these people made sure thattheir confinement at homeshould be pleasant and fulfill-ing while they do their bit tobreak the chain of Coronavirus.

On Saturday, people beganstocking up grocery and essen-tial items, apprehending the

government may order totallockdown if the situation dete-riorates. This was despite Modi

appealing people to avoid panicbuying and assuring that stepswere being taken to ensure that

supply of essential commodi-ties was not disrupted.

After doctors debunkedrumours that Coronavirusspread from chicken, peoplehave gradually resumed relish-ing it. This was evident fromthe rush seen at the meat mar-ket in the city.

Some youngsters are alsoplanning to hold parties at theirhomes on Sunday. "We want tostay in our houses. But, stayingalone would be boring. So, weare planning to make specialnon-vegetarian dishes andenjoy with our friends. Thiswould also help to beat thepanic created because of thevirus," said some college stu-dents. Rumour doing rounds

on WhatsApp that the first per-son who tested positive forCoronavirus from the city haddied triggered tension amongthe denizens here.

For others, the spectre ofliquor shops remaining closedon Sunday as part of JantaCurfew was too much to han-dle. They made their way to theliquor shops, and patientlywaited in queues, in total dis-regard of the 'social distancing'advice.

Interesting, the hustle-bustleof traffic on Vizag roads was se-en again on Saturday, with pe-ople ignoring the instructionsto remain indoors. A large nu-mber of the people are appar-ently taking the virus casually.

Pune woman withno foreign travellink tests positivePNS n PUNE

A woman in her early 40s hastested positive for coronav-irus in Pune, a senior officialsaid on Saturday.

The woman, who is curre-ntly on ventilator support atBharti Hospital, had not trav-elled to a foreign country, nei-ther did any of her family me-mbers. However, she had att-ended a wedding in NaviVashi on March 3, he said.

She was initially admittedto a local hospital for pneu-monia and her samples weresent for H1N1 testing whichapparently tested negative.

"We are investigating thecase. Although she testedpositive for Covid-19, she do-es not have a history of trav-el abroad. She must have co-me in contact with someonewho had foreign travel histo-ry," the district collector said.

TS reports 1st caseof local transmission PNS n HYDERABAD

Indicating Telangana's pro-gression to the second stage ofCovid-19, the first case of aperson with no history oftravel testing corona positivehas been reported inTelangana.

A 35-year-old male(Patient20) from Hyderabad,who is primary contact ofPatient 14, was confirmedCovid-19 positive on Monday.The Patient 14 pushed thestate into Stage2 of local trans-mission, i.e. cases of those peo-ple who have come in contactwith those having a travelhistory.

According to the HealthDepartment, the present con-dition of the hospitalizedpatient is stable. Telangana isno longer local-transmissionfree. P14 who came fromDubai on March 14 developedCovid-19 symptoms on March17. He was declared Covid-19positive on March19.

TS to shut down for 24 hrsPNS n HYDERABAD

Upping the ante, TelanganaChief MinisterChandrashekhar Rao onSaturday appealed to people toobserve 'Janata curfew' for 24hours i.e. from 6 am on Sundayto 6 am on Monday. KCRasked people to observe it in

letter and spirit and demon-strate to the country thatTelangana State would standon an exemplary note whenthe situation demands.

Except for emergency andessential services, there will betotal shutdown for 24 hourstomorrow.

GSRKR Vijay Kumar

People throng a store selling eggs in Vizag city on Saturday.

The hospitalsare on thesame road,just a stone'sthrow fromeach other

The 22-year-oldyoungster wasidentified as anative of WestGodavari district inAP, who wasworking ashousekeeping staffin Dubai and hadcome on vacation.

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3

3

3

3

1.37cr householdssurveyed for Corona

3

Two more test positive forCovid-19 in Andhra Pradesh65 fresh cases reported on Saturday, taking the number of cases to 315PNS n NEW DELHI

The Director, Health andFamily Welfare Departmentof Andhra Pradesh on Saturdayannounced that two more per-sons have tested positive for thedreaded Covid-19, bringingthe total number of confirmedcases in the state to five.

Meanwhile, the number ofnovel coronavirus cases inIndia rose to 315 on Saturdaywith 65 persons testing positiveas several states went into bat-tle mode to contain the pan-demic, imposing restrictionson people's movement andgatherings besides announcinga slew of precautionary mea-sures.

As per a bulletin released lateon Saturday, the first of the twopatients is a 24-year-old busi-nessman from Vijayawada whoreturned from Paris andreached New Delhi on March15. From New Delhi, hereached Hyderabad and pro-ceeded to Vijayawada onMarch 17. After showingCovid-19 symptoms he wasadmitted to the GovernmentGeneral Hospital inVijayawada on March 20 andhis samples were sent for tests.The blood tests confirmed on

March 21 that he was indeedsuffering from Covid-19.

The second patients is a 22-year-old male who had trav-elled from London toHyderabad on March 18 and

then to Rajahmundry on thesame day. He was confirmedpositive for Covid-19 onMarch 21, thus taking the totalnumber of positive cases in thestate to five.

The first positive case in thestate was identified in Nelloredistrict and the second inOngole. The third is fromVisakhapatnam.

Social activists distributed masks to the passersby in front of the Charminar in Hyderabad on Saturday.

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DOCTOR IN THERAJ BHAVAN

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VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 22, 2020 vijayawada 02

C PRADEEPn VIJAYAWADA

The coronavirus pandemic hasclaimed 10,000 lives across theglobe most of them in Europeand Asia. Italy is the worst-hitwith 4,000 deaths, followed byChina, the epicentre of the out-break.

Responding to the rapidspread of the coronavirus PrimeMinister Narendra Modi gave acall for 'Janata Curfew' onSunday.

Normal life paralyses duringnatural calamities and whenlaw and order goes out of con-trol. But for the first time,Indians are facing a peculiar sit-uation where they have beenadvised to confine themselves tohomes, as curfew has beenimposed across the country tocombat the deadly coronavirus.

Vijayawada, too, is gearing upto follow the call given by thePrime Minister. Already, normallife in Vijayawada city came toa standstill, as less than 10 percent people are seen coming outof their houses.

Meanwhile, the governmenthas given instructions todenizens to keep indoors.Schools, colleges and universi-ties declared holidays, whilepeople have been advised to ven-ture out only during importantworks and emergency.

The State government has

been taking precautionary mea-sures and declared that Tirupatitemple and Kanakadurga tem-ple will remain closed till March31 to avoid huge gatherings andcombat the virus from spread-ing. Only daily rituals are beingperformed in temples, whileentry of devotees was restricted.

On the other hand, thoughVijayawada city is the hub ofeducation, it wore a desertedlook. Soon after IPE exams, thegovernment has declared holi-days to the educational institu-tions till March 31. There was apractice that the EAMCET andNEET coaching would beginafter two to three days break. But

with the outbreak of Covid-19and holidays were declared forinstitutions.

The other major impact of thevirus was seen on the transportsector, the PN Bus Station,which is Asia’s biggest bus sta-tion and Vijayawada RailwayStation, which is a major hubconnecting the north and southIndia used to be flooded withpassengers was isolated for thepast few days.

With rumors being circulat-ed on social media on the virus,people are canceling their jour-neys. Meanwhile, the govern-ment also ordered people totravel only during emergency. To

prevent people especially seniorcitizens from travelling, railwayswithdrawn 50 per cent conces-sion given to them.

The social media impact isalso clearly seen on the peoplerather than the government’sinstruction to prevent and pro-tect them from the deadly virus.People and youth are getting car-ried away by rumors spread oversocial media. People in the cityare preferring to staying indoors,as the temperature in the city ison the rise, hence, they are stay-ing indoors.

It is also observed thatemployees of a few IT compa-nies in the city are in the grip of

fear due to the virus, as they haveto work from the office unlikework from home as ordered bythe government.

The authorities concernedare reportedly not keeping astrict vigil on Auto Nagar, whichis in the heart of Vijayawada city,where drivers and cleaners fromvarious places and neighbouringStates like Telangana, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu andOrissa arrive on a regular basis.It may be noted that the num-ber of coronavirus cases inthose States is far high comparedto Andhra Pradesh. InMaharashtra, 50 Covid 19 pos-itive cases have been registered,while 20 positive cases werereported in Karnataka andTelangana.

Speaking to The Pioneer, K

Krishnaveni, a maid, expressedher agony that there are rumorsthat in a few days malls, outletsand grocery shops in the city,would be closed due to the virus,which would hamper their livesand daily wage workers.

It is observed that peopleare buying additional provi-sions and vegetables anticipat-ing that the governmentwould close malls and shopsin the days to come to controlthe pandemic, which hasalready entered the secondstage in the country.

Meanwhile, as per the instruc-tions of the government, ther-mal screening is being carriedout in malls, commercial com-plexes, offices, Rythu Bazaarsand other public places to pre-vent the virus.

Vijayawada gears up for ‘Janata curfew’

Lessons have to be learntand instantly implement-ed by India from the hor-

rific experience of Italy wherepeople treated government-ordered lockdowns lightly. Theyroamed streets, ate out and usedpublic transport causing anunprecedented number of 4,032deaths. Any laxity in observingSunday’s ‘Janata Curfew’ calledby Prime Minister NarenderModi to prepare people fortougher times ahead, will causemuch grief as coronavirus casesare spiking at an alarming rate.It took just two days for the last50 cases to be recorded.

Public spaces and roadsappear emptier now than aweek ago but the path towardsacceptable levels of social dis-tancing isn’t easy. The paradoxis that no degree is acceptable;it has to be total. One coron-

avirus positive patient can infecthundreds.

Yet, till the week gone by,people were gathering withimpunity for political meetings,religious congregations, wed-dings and celebrity parties.Anecdotal evidence shows howthis sends a wrong message topeople about the impact of theglobal pandemic.

Trinamool Congress supre-mo Mamata Banerjee’s daredev-ilry may be essential in WestBengal politics where she hasmore rivals than friends but thisdoes not give her a passport tohold a 10,000-strong rally. Twodays later, Kolkata recorded itsfirst positive case.

DMDK chief Vijyakanth’swife was seen in Chennai dis-tributing fruits to the poor onher birthday. An MLA fromSirpur-Kaghaznagar, KoneruKonappa, gave police a toughtime by evading self-quarantine

on return from the US.The list would be incomplete

without mentioning howTelangana Chief Minister K.Chandrashekhar Rao and hisAndhra counterpart YSJaganmohan Reddy trivialisedthe deadly nature of coron-avirus. KCR used loose lan-guage against the first patientwho travelled from China.

Jagan stooped further byhectoring and virtually identi-fying by caste State ElectionCommissioner NimmagaddaRamesh Kumar for postponing

local bodies’ polls under theguise of coronavirus. He had toeat crow when he instructedclosure of Sri Venkateswaratemple at Tirumala, throngedby thousands of devotees, forthe first time in recent history.

It has been proven thatEuropean nations, particularlyItaly, France and UK, paid aheavy price by waking up lateand not making people hunkerdown in their homes. Italy wit-nessed a massive spike from justthree cases to over 30,000 casesin a span of just 28 days with 8.3

per cent fatality rate. The USseems heading in the samedirection with hundreds ofyouth flocking Florida’s beach-es for the spring break.

The dire possibility of Indiaslipping from Stage II to StageIII, that is community transmis-sion when cases begin rising in

geometric progression, is realand cannot be overstated. Giventhese circumstances, the contin-uation of the Shaheen Baghprotest in Delhi and the recentrally outside the Madras HighCourt organised by ThowheedJamath to protest against theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) are abominable.

No cause or leader, whetherpolitical, religious or other, cansupersede the State’s fundamen-tal responsibility of safeguardinglives of the citizens by provok-ing people to throng the streets.Religious leaders fell in linequickly by closing down temples,mosques and churches.

Initially, alarm bells wentringing when the Sri RajaRajeshwara temple atVemulawada, Saraswathi Devitemple at Basar kept their gatesopen while 1.5 lakh devoteesassembled for a festival at Kadiriin AP.

Politicians continue to holdout. Parliament remains in ses-sion, surprisingly when theOpposition want the twoHouses adjourned sine die inview of the coronavirus threat.Their worst fears were con-firmed when MPs DushyantSingh, Derek O’Brien and oth-ers were forced to quarantinethemselves after the formerattended a soiree hosted inLucknow by singer KanikaKapoor who tested positive forthe virus.

Though an early starter,Telangana has much to do incontainment of the virus. Thepresence of a 10-member groupof Indonesians, reportedlytasked with preaching, inRamagundam and later inKarimnagar should causeworry. How so many coron-avirus-infected foreigners couldland in small towns is not justa matter of health security.

Measures like staggeredworking of government staffand a re-look of the policy ofallowing weddings with restrict-ed attendance are needed, thelatter in light of VIP politiciansattending marriages with 1,000other guests.

The PM’s `resolve andrestraint’ strategy in the waragainst corona virus will face thelitmus test during the voluntarycurfew from 7 am on Sunday.Its success is important becauseit may be a precursor for morelockdowns, this time imposedby the government. The leastexpected from people to pre-vent a full-blown outbreak is tofollow government guidelineswith diligence.

It is not just about old peo-ple getting infected. Theyoung must stay at homewhen asked and remainhealthy for their own goodand for the sake of others.

Public spaces and roads appearemptier now than a week ago but thepath towards acceptable levels ofsocial distancing isn’t easy. Theparadox is that no degree isacceptable; it has to be total.

S NAGESH KUMARFormer Resident Editor,

The Hindu

‘ALL ANDSUNDRY’

Learn from Europe’s mistakes, keep people in their homes

n Vijayawada, too, isgearing up to follow thecall given by the PrimeMinister. Already, normallife in Vijayawada citycame to a standstill, asless than 10 per centpeople are seen comingout of their houses

n It may be noted that the number of coronavirus cases in thoseStates is far high compared to Andhra Pradesh. In Maharashtra,50 Covid 19 positive cases have been registered, while 20positive cases were reported in Karnataka and Telangana

n The authorities concerned arereportedly not keeping a strictvigil on Auto Nagar, which is inthe heart of Vijayawada city,where drivers and cleaners fromvarious places and neighbouringStates like Telangana, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu andOrissa arrive on a regular basis

EGG RATES

` 41,670 (10 gm)

610

GOLD

` 35,900 (10 gm)

` 3300

HYDERABAD 210VIJAYAWADA 225VISAKHAPATNAM 260RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `22..2255

SILVER

VIJAYAWADABULLION RATES

`//110000

CHICKEN RATES

Dressed/With Skin `65

Without Skin `75

Broiler at Farm `45

`//KKGG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Well-known physician DrSamaram on Saturday madeit clear that paracetamol isnot a cure for theCoronavirus.

"In fact, there are no drugsto treat the virus," the doctorsaid. He pointed out that thedrugs being used in treat-ment of AIDS and malariaare being used to treat thevirus.

"These drugs are beingadministered on an experi-mental basis in the absenceof sure-shot medication thatcan treat the virus," Dr

Samaram said. Referring to rumours

doing rounds on socialmedia that a drug has beendeveloped to treat theCoronavirus, the doctor

expressed disgust overrumourmongers spreadingfake news.

He made it clear thatparacetamol offers no curefor the virus. "Only qualifieddoctors have to confirm it,"Dr Samaram said, wonderinghow anyone could prescribea medication for Coronavirusfor which no vaccine hasbeen developed.

It may be recalled thatChief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy andSpecial Secretary PV Rameshhad said that the symptomswill reduce upon administer-ing paracetamol.

Paracetamol is definitely not acure for coronavirus: Samaram

PNS n MACHILIPATNAM

Three students drowned in astream in Krishna district ofAndhra Pradesh on Fridayevening.

According to the police, agroup of eight students hadgone to the Katleru stream atDamuluru village ofNandigama mandal to take abath when the incident tookplace. Five of them survived,police added.

Nandigama Rural CircleInspector K Satish said the vic-tims could not swim in theflow of the water.

The five were rescued by

local people, said police.Those who drowned have

been identified as P GopiReddy (20), S Srinivasa Reddy(21) and D Ravindra Reddy(19), all residents ofNarasimharao Palem village inVeerulapadu Mandal, saidpolice. Later, the locals andpolice fished out the bodies.

Three studentsdrown in stream

Make ‘Janatacurfew’ asuccess,appeals Bonda PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former MLA BondaUmamaheswara Rao onSaturday appealed to peopleto make ‘Janata Curfew’,which is slated for Sunday, asuccess.

Addressing the media atSingh Nagar here onSaturday, he said that peopleshould feel the responsibili-ty and be a part of the curfewto control the pandemic.

He said that the ensuingthree to four weeks are verycrucial to fight against thevirus collectively. As there isno medicine to corona, theyshould maintain social dis-tance to control the virus.

Every individual shouldbe a part of ‘Janata Curfew’and none of them shouldcome out of their housesfrom 7 am to 9 pm to com-bat the spread of Covid 19.He added that at 5 pm, peo-ple should venture of theirresidences and clap for 5minutes in support of doc-tors and medical staff forstriving to control the dead-ly virus. He said that TDPwill extend its support tocontrol and drive away thedeadly Covid 19.

AP JAC Amaravatiextends support to‘Janata curfew’PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh JACAmaravati has extended itssupport to the ‘Janata Curfew’call was given by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onSunday for total lockdown inthe country to prevent thespread of Covid-19.

They hailed the measurestaken by the State governmentto check the spread of coron-avirus and appealed to thegovernment employees toextend their support to ‘JanataCurfew’. Speaking on the occa-sion, AP JAC chairman Bopparaju Venkateswarlu said allemployees should fight againstthe deadly virus and take it for-ward till they win over thevirus. He said the governmentemployees, outsourcing, con-tract employees, retired staffand others should join hands inthe fight against the virus.

He suggested to employeesto take measures to prevent thespread of coronavirus in officesby using sanitisers, maintaininga distance of at least five feetfrom the visitors, keeping thekeyboard, table and othersclean and free from virus.

He requested Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy to givepermission if possible to workfrom home for 10 days in

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In order to facilitate rail pas-sengers avail the refund of tick-ets in the wake of COVID -19to avoid the crowd at railwaystations and maintain socialdistancing on the railway sta-tion premises, Indian Railwayshas relaxed refund rules for thereserved tickets generatedthrough Passenger ReservationSystem (PRS). This relaxationis for a period of three monthswith a journey commencingperiod March 21 to June 21.

All rules for e-Ticket remainthe same, as the passenger doesnot need to come to station for

refund of a ticket for the trainscancelled by railways withjourney period from March 21to June 21. Passengers can getrefund across the counter onsubmission of tickets up tothree months from the date ofjourney.

For the trains that were notcancelled by railways but pas-sengers are not interested to

travel, they can file TicketDeposit Receipt within threemonths from the date of thejourney at the station.

Passengers can submit theTDR to the Chief ClaimsOfficer Chief CommercialManager, Claims Office, for therefund within 60 days of thefiling of TDR subject to veri-fication from the train chart.

Passengers who wish to can-cel the ticket through 139 canget refund across the counterwithin three months from thedate of journey. They are adv-ised to avail the facility and av-oid coming to the railway sta-tion in the wake of Covid 19.

Refund rules for reservedtickets through PRS relaxed

PNS n NEW DELHI

Researchers from premier insti-tutes like NIMHANS and AIIMShave adapted a standardised testfor dementia screening that cannow be used in Hindi, Telugu,Kannada, Malayalam, Urdu andTamil -- apart from English.

A team of researchers, includ-ing from the National Institute ofMental Health andNeurosciences (NIMHANS) andthe All India Institute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS), have adaptedthe tests in these seven lan-guages that will also check formild cognitive impairment.

They have adapted theAddenbrooke's CognitiveExamination (ACE-III), a well-known screening instrument fordementia detection/diagnosis.

ACE-III had previously beenadapted and validated intoGujarati. The work was carriedout by the University of EastAnglia (UEA) in the UK and inIndia at NIMHANS and ManipalHospitals, Bengaluru; Nizam'sInstitute of Medical Sciences,Hyderabad; Shree Chitra TirunalInstitute for Medical Sciences andTechnology (SCTIMST),Trivandrum; AIIMS, Delhi; andJawaharlal Institute ofPostgraduate Medical Educationand Research, Puducherry.

"With the rising burden ofdementia globally, there is aneed to harmonise dementiaresearch across diverse popula-tions," said Suvarna Alladi, pro-fessor of neurology atNIMHANS in Bengaluru and thelead researcher. The ACE-III is a

well-established cognitive screen-ing tool to diagnose dementia,but there have been few efforts tostandardise the use of it acrosscohorts speaking different lan-guages.

"We aimed to standardise and

validate ACE-III across sevenIndian languages, and to assessthe diagnostic accuracy of the testto detect dementia and mild cog-nitive impairment," Alladi addedin a paper published in theArchives of Clinical

Neuropsychology.The researchers said a major

proportion - 58 per cent - of peo-ple with dementia reside in low-and middle-income countries,and by 2050 that will increase to68 per cent. Therefore, standar-dising diagnostic tools fordementia is important to accu-rately determine prevalence ratesand to establish risk and protec-tive factors for dementia.

A total of 1,203 participantsfrom Hyderabad, Delhi,Trivandrum, Bengaluru andPuducherry were examined byan experienced neurologist. Thestudy included controls and par-ticipants who were diagnosedwith dementia or mild cognitiveimpairment, but those with mod-erate or severe dementia wereexcluded.

In accordance with the origi-nal version of ACE-III, the Indianversions look at five different cog-nitive functions - attention, mem-ory, fluency, language and visu-ospatial functions. Each of thefive domains of the tests was eval-uated for cultural relevance,translatability, comparable diffi-culty and adaptability.

For example, in the memorysection, participants were askedabout Indian politicians andmovie actors. "Accounting forcultural differences and linguis-tic characteristics of differentpopulations is crucial for thedevelopment of a commoninstrument to diagnose demen-tia," noted Eneida Mioshi, profes-sor of dementia care research atUEA's School of Health Sciences.

"The development of a com-

mon diagnostic tool will facilitateharmonisation of dementiaresearch across diverse popula-tions, and catalyse the develop-ment of preventative and treat-ment strategies for larger cohortsof dementia from diverse demo-graphic and geographic back-grounds. This adapted version ofACE-III can be used to uniform-ly diagnose cognitive impairmentin people speaking different lan-guages from both rural andurban populations located acrossIndia." said Alladi.

Not only the ACE-III is a quickand inexpensive method ofscreening for dementia, it willalso allow for harmonisation infuture cross-national researchstudies, propelling Indiandementia research forward, theauthors noted.

Researchers now make available key dementia test in TeluguSTANDARDISED TEST DEVELOPED FOR USE IN 6 INDIAN LANGUAGES — HINDI, TELUGU, KANNADA, MALAYALAM, URDU AND TAMIL — AND ENGLISH

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 22, 2020 vijayawada 03

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

District Collector Md Imtiazhas suggested to the railwayauthorities to arrange moresanitisers and infrared ther-mometers to screen morepassengers travelling intrains. He, along with JointCollector K Madhavilathaand sub-collector DhyanaChandra, made a surprisevisit to the railway station onSaturday and inspectedarrangements made to checkthe spread of coronavirus. Heinspected the functioning ofinfrared thermometers andqueue lines.

Speaking on the occasion,Imtiaz said the railwayauthorities have to keep tabson passengers and preventthe spread of virus frominfected persons travellingin trains. He suggested themto conduct medical testsimmediately, if any passengerfound symptoms of coron-avirus. He said ‘JanataCurfew’ will be observed onSunday and appealed to peo-ple to stay indoors. He feltthat more sanitisers should bearranged in the railway sta-tion particularly on platformsand ticket counters.

‘Railway officialsshould keep tabson commuters’

DGP appeals peopleto stay indoors

Buggana says SEC’s remarksagainst Jagan are uncalled for

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

DGP Gautam Sawang directedpolice personnel to be present atthe stations, as ‘Janata Curfew’will be observed from 7 am to9 pm across the State on Sunday.The DGP on Saturday appealedto people in the State to extendtheir support to ‘Janata Curfew’voluntarily by staying indoors.

The DGP said as per the callgiven by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddypeople should stay at home andfight against coronavirus.

While the ‘Janata Curfew’ ison all police personnel, includ-ing Superintendents of Police,should be in stations in case ofany emergency. As people wouldbe staying at home, police shouldbe cautious, alert and in contact

with Control rooms, while peo-ple can dial 100 in emergency.

The DGP said that the idea tomaintain ‘Janata Curfew’ is tocontrol the deadly Covid-19, asthe life of coronavirus is 12 hoursand through ‘Janata Curfew’, ifpeople stay indoors for 14 hours,the virus chain will be broken,and chances of virus spreadingwill be controlled.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

YSRCP Vinukonda MLA BBrahmanaidu came downheavily on TDP leader NaraLokesh and former TDP MLAGV Anjaneyulu for levellingfalse allegations against him.

Addressing the media hereon Saturday, Brahmanaidusaid that P Hyma Rao,Savalyapuram, TDP ZPTCnominee from Vinukondamandal of Guntur district,had died of heart attack.

He condemned Lokesh forhis tweet accusing him ofresponsible for the death ofHyma Rao. He lamented thatthough Lokesh could havenot gained political knowl-edge, however, he could grasponly crude politics.

Taking on TDP leader GV

Anjaneyulu, Brahmanaidusaid that notorious politicalhistory of the former wouldcome out onto the fore soon.He alleged that Anjaneyuluhad purchased lands inAmaravati, which will bebrought before the publicsoon.

YSRCP MLA rubbishesTDP leaders’ allegations

PNS n MANGALAGIRI

Leader of the Opposition NChandrababu Naidu exhortedparty district presidents totake part in ‘Janata Curfew’called by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi as the cor-navirus has claimed the lives ofover 10,000 across the world.

Addressing the party leadersthrough video conference fromthe TDP headquarters hereon Saturday, Naidu asked theparty leaders to put people onalert on the virus paying spe-cial attention to children andelderly.

He wanted the party leadersto gather documentary evi-dence on the irregularities ofthe YSRCP, especially threatsposed by the YSRCP leaders, inthe local body polls. Also, evi-dence should be gathered onforcibly effected unanimouselections and send the evidenceto Returning Officers and tothe SEC.

Inability to file nominationsby many and forcible with-drawal of nominations demon-strated by the YSRCP winning24% of the seats “unanimous-ly” as against 2% earlier. Thegovernment targeted the SECand harassed his family mem-bers, as the SEC dashed a let-ter to the Union governmenthighlighting the irregularities.He asked the party leaders tofile cases against the high-handed behaviour of theYSRCP in the court of law andalso fight against the public

domain too.Out of jealously for SEC

postponing elections, ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy, ministers in his cabinethurled out threats to the SEC,Naidu said expressing con-cern over lack of security forthe SEC in the State.

In the letter addressed by theChief Secretary, there would beno corona threat for at least thenext four weeks. However,within four days of addressingthe letter, educational institu-tions have been closed pro-hibiting people from visitingtemples and theatres and otherpublic places. He demandedthat the contention of theChief Secretary and the Chief

Minister on this.The Chief Minister is speak-

ing one way on corona, min-isters and officials have differ-ent versions on the virus, hesaid adding that utter confu-sion prevailed in the Statebecause of divergent versionsof Chief Minister, ministersand officials on the virus.

Quoting Jagan as saying,Naidu said that coronavirus isa common disease like typhoidand flu. He became a laughingstock with his paracetamol andbleaching powder remarks. Healleged that the YSRCP is play-ing with the public health. TheYSRCP government earnedbad name with its stand.

The greatness of democracy

is if one system fails, anothercomes to the rescue of people,he said quoting the examples ofvarious systems like legislature,administration, judiciary andthe media.

Sensing feudal leaders likeYS Jaganmohan Reddy willcome to power, architects ofConstitution created the foursystems.

Right to vote and right tocontest are constitutionalrights. Candidates should beable to freely file their nomina-tions, he said accusing YSRCPleaders of trampling upon civilrights of the people. He exhort-ed the party leaders and cadreto teach a lesson to YSRCPleaders and save democracy.

Naidu pokes fun at Jaganfor Corona-flu comparison

n The greatness ofdemocracy is if onesystem fails, anothercomes to the rescue ofpeople, said TDP chief NChandrababu Naiduquoting the examples ofvarious systems likelegislature,administration, judiciaryand the media

n Right to vote and right tocontest are constitutionalrights. Candidates shouldbe able to freely file theirnominations, he saidaccusing YSRCP leadersof trampling upon civilrights of the people

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Higher officials briefedGovernor Biswa BushanHarichandan on the steps beingtaken by the government toprevent the spread of novelcoronavirus. In turn, theGovernor directed officials totake necessary steps to preventthe spread of the virus in theState and make people part ofthe measures being taken up bythe government to keep thevirus under control.

Governor Biswa BushanHarichandan convened areview meeting on coronaviruswith Chief Secretary NilamSawhney, Jawahar Reddy,Special Chief Secretary, Medicaland Health Department at theRaj Bhavan here on Saturday.

The Governor said it is pos-sible to prevent the spread ofthe virus with the active partic-ipation of voluntary organisa-tions. Mukesh Kumar Meena,Secretary to Governor, VijayaRamaraju, Special Officer ofGovernment, and others werepresent.

Take steps to keep coronaat bay, Governor tells CS

Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan chairs a review meeting with Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney and Special ChiefSecretary Jawahar Reddy, on steps being taken by government to prevent spread of Covid-19, in Vijayawada on Saturday.

Governor Biswa BhusanHarichandan appealed tothe people to respond to

the call given by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and observe'Janata Curfew' on Sunday,March 22, from 7 am to 9 pm. The Governor appealed to thepeople to remain indoors from7 am to 9 pm and not toventure outside. He said thismeasure was essentially meantto curtail the spread of NovelCoronavirus. The Governor saida day's cooperation from thepeople may break the chain ofspread of Novel Coronavirus.He also advised voluntaryorganisations, Red Cross andorganisations led by youth likethe NCC, Scouts and Guides,NSS, civil society and others tocreate awareness andencourage citizens to follow'Janata Curfew' and stay inside

their homes. The Governor saidpeople should follow the adviceof Prime Minister NarendraModi and ensure that hismessage about 'Janata Curfew'as well as about the measuresneeded to be taken to preventthe spread of Covid-19 reacheseveryone. The Governor also remindedabout Modi's special requestwhile observing 'Janata Curfew'that citizens should take part inthanking all the medicalfraternity, who have beenworking day in and day out athospitals and public places likerailway stations, bus stationsand airports. The Governor said that it's timeall the people stand united andfight against the menace ofNovel coronavirus which isposing a threat to the whole ofmankind.

Guv urges people to heedPM's Janata curfew appeal

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Taking strong objection to thebaseless allegations targetingChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy in the letter purportedlywritten by State ElectionCommissioner (SEC) N RameshKumar, Finance MinisterBuggana Rajendernath saidpower without responsibility donot go well with the high office.

The YSRCP has swept Kadapadistrict in 2019 polls and there isno challenge from TDP inPulivendula, no wonder thatthey had won more seats unan-imously but the SEC has given atable with the percentage ofunanimous elections comparedto previous elections and attrib-uted motives.

The SEC had also cast asper-

sions on the ministers and MLAsthat Opposition was not allowedto file nominations, which isuntrue, as the data shows howmany nominations were filed bythe TDP and Opposition parties.Even the TDP won unanimous-ly in 99 places and 40 indepen-dents were elected unopposed for

MPTCs.He asked what Chandrababu

Naidu must have said to hiscadre, whether to win moreseats or to give up the fight. Thecontradiction in postponing elec-tions citing coronavirus, as a solereason on one hand and keepingcode of conduct in force washighlighted in the apex court, hepointed out.

The Chief Minister has alreadyreviewed the Covid-19 situationwith the Chief Secretary and the

Health Secretary when the SEChas issued notification postpon-ing elections without even con-sulting the State government.Wielding power without takingresponsibility is not a good signand it is better if the SEC con-ducts himself in an impartialmanner, he said.

The government has beentaking all steps to contain thespread of coronavirus and the vil-lage Secretariat system is comingin handy, he said.

Dos and dont's to befollowed on Janata curfewDOS

DON’TS

Every citizen should be alert tothe danger posed by Covid-19Get milk, adequate medicines andother essentials goods before 6am; Milk reaches the distributersbetween 3 am and 5 am.Leave home only in emergencyand absolutely necessary.Clean the entire home, especiallyutensils of daily use withdisinfectants.Clean hands with soaps. Usesanitizers if there is no soap andwater.Maintain social distance.

Create awareness on measures tobe taken to control the spread ofCovid-19 among the elderly andchildren.Employees and parents have toinspire children by telling them thatsmall sacrifices at present will keepmajor problems of the future at bayAt 5 pm on Sunday, the day ofJanata Curfew, go to yourbalconies or outside your homesand clap as a mark of gratitude tothose working round the clock tokeep India safe.Approach doctors only if you sufferfrom a cold, cough and fever.

Do not be complacent; everyoneis vulnerable to Covid-19.Do not step outside your homeunless there is an emergency;best is to isolate yourself.Do not touch eyes, nose, mouthand face with your hands.Don’t assume that nothing willhappen to you….it’s not the rightattitude.

Don’t disturb people who are homequarantined.Don’t touch others. Maintain distance.Don’t resort to panic buying.Continue to purchase essentials asyou have in the past.Persons above 60 years andchildren below 10 years areespecially vulnerable and noamount of precautions are enough.

The CM has already reviewed the Covid-19 situation with theChief Secretary and the Health Secretary when the SEC hasissued notification postponing elections without even consulting

the State government. Wielding power without takingresponsibility is not a good sign and it is better if the SEC conductshimself in an impartial manner

— BUGGANA RAJENDERNATH, Finance MMinister

Continued from Page 1

According to the releaseabout blood samples of 142suspected coronavirus caseshave been tested, of which130 returned negative whilereports of seven are await-ed.

Deputy Chief Ministerand Health and FamilyWelfare Minister A KaliKrishna Srinivas (Alla Nani)on Saturday confirmed thattwo new positive cases havebeen identified in the State.

He asked people to takenecessary preventive mea-sures. Speaking to the mediahere, the Minister said asper the Chief Minister'sappeal, everyone shouldobserve 'Janatha Curfew'on Sunday. Similarly, one

should express gratitude tothose who working to pre-vent spread of Covid-19 byclapping hands and ringingbells, he said.

Nani emphasised that thegovernment was taking allpreventive measures to con-trol spread of the virus.

He added that generalRTC buses will not plywhile Kanti Velugu serviceswill be available for a fewdays.

Meanwhile, Special ChiefSecretary Jawahar Reddysaid mock drills are beingconducted in district hospi-tals and medical colleges.Training will be given to thehospital staff to tackle thesituation in the comingdays, if the patients countincreases, he said.

2 more test positivefor Covid-19 in AP

Continued from Page 1

Similarly, the collector has giveninstructions to create 1,000 beds inVisakha Institute for MedicalSciences, a government hospital.Recently, a 50-bed isolation wardwas created in this hospital. VinayChand said the services of privateand corporate hospitals and privatemedical colleges would also beutilised and discussions to thiseffect are on with the managements.

They were already told to acquirethermal scanners and create isola-tion wards for the suspect cases."Our target is to create 5,000 bedsfor now," Dr Sudhakar said.

On the availability of doctorsin the event of large scale infec-tion, he said the city alone hasover 3,000 doctors, including550 post graduates of various dis-ciplines. As of now, King GeorgeHospital has around 1,000 doc-tors of all specialities.

Chest, Mental Care,ENT hospitals...

Continued from Page 1

"Preparations are underway toimplement the curfew," he said.Meanwhile, Medical and HealthSpecial Chief Secretary Jawahar

Reddy appealed to the people toremain indoors on Sunday. Heasked the people not to be negli-gent about the Coronavirus andappealed for cooperation of oneand all for the curfew.

1.37cr households surveyed...

Continued from Page 1

She was addressing a meet-ing at the Nagari townmunicipal hall on the precau-tions to be taken by peoplewho have returned fromabroad.

Roja expressed concernthat some of these peoplewere moving about freely bydisregarding instructions ofdoctors and healthcare pro-fessionals.

She exhorted the people toobserve 'Janata Curfew' calledby Prime Minister NarendraModi and cooperate with thegovernment in containingthe spread of Coronavirusfrom the country.

Continued from Page 1

He said, "No RTC bus will berunning, but every depot willhave 5 buses at the disposal ofChief Secretary ready to meetany emergency. No buses fromother states will be allowed.They will be stopped at borders.Metro Rail will not operate, but5 trains with staff will be keptready to meet emergencies orany eventuality."

KCR urged malls and shopsto close down. "Milk and infantnecessities, petrol, vegetables,emergency, fire services, hospi-tals, electricity, water and sew-erage, which are essential com-modities, will be functioning."He wanted people in the state to

once again live up to the expec-tations as they did during theSakala Janula Samme during theseparate statehood movement.

Reiterating that people'scooperation in arresting thespread of the virus and break-ing the chain was needed, the

Chief Minister said all inter-statebus services would be stopped.Since there was an increase inthe number of cases in neigh-bouring Maharashtra, the ChiefMinister said the ChiefSecretary, DGP as well asMedical and Health Principal

secretary were in touch withtheir counterparts there. Basedon the emerging situation inMaharashtra over the next cou-ple of days, the governmentwould take a decision onwhether to close the border withMaharashtra.

The Chief Minister said thatthe Center had agreed to thestate's request for access to labfacilities at CCMB for testingpatients. About 1,000 patientscould be tested in one go.Exuding confidence thatTelangana State would be able tocheck further spread of coron-avirus with cooperation fromthe people, the Chief Ministersaid the state government wasgeared to meet any situation.

TS to shut down for 24 hoursTelangana reportsfirst case of local

Continued from Page 1

Both the patients areallegedly residents ofSecunderabad area, and offi-cials will be conducting adoor to door screening onSunday in about 1kilometerRadius. Total number of pos-itive cases in Telangana stoodat 21 on Saturday. The secondpatient confirmed for Covid19on Saturday is a 33-year-oldmale who works for MSCCruises on board MSCBellissima, a cruise ship ownedby the company. The govern-ment did not announce whenthis man came to the city butsaid he was confirmed asCovid19 positive on Saturday.

Quarantineviolators willbe arrested,warns Roja

Key takeaways We are preparing for worstpossible scenario and willsend ration to people's housein worst possible case ofcomplete state lockdown.

We are not a poor state. Weare ready to spend thousandsof crores

We will inform Maharashtragovernment and may close theborders after observing 2 daysas there are a lot of residentsof Adilabad and Nizamabadwho have relatives there.

Staying in home isolation oraway from issue has nothingto do with prestige.

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 22, 2020 nation 04

SHORT READS

J-K govt employeeswith foreign travelhistory to go formandatory quarantineJAMMU: The Jammu andKashmir administration onSaturday asked its employeeswith foreign travel history to gofor quarantine before resumingtheir duties. A circular issuedby the General AdministrationDepartment (GAD) advisedpeople to avoid contact withpersons having a foreign travelhistory. "The virus mainlyspreads through socialcontacts and social gatheringsand when a person comes incontact with those who areinfected. Therefore, all theAdministrative Secretaries/Divisional Commissioners/Deputy Commissioners/Headsof Departments are directed toensure the quarantine of allsuch officials or their relativeswho have a foreign travelhistory since March 1, beforethey resume their duties," theorder read.

7 personnel injured asmob attacks policestation in Rajasthan

Punjab govt refusespermission for ‘BabaKala Mehar mela' CHANDIGARH: The Faridkotadministration in Punjab onSaturday denied permission forholding an annual event, 'BabaKala Mehar mela', at Kotkapurain wake of the coronaviruspandemic. Faridkot DeputyCommissioner Kumar SaurabhRaj said the proposed March25 event at Bir Sikhanwalavillage in Kotkapura would notbe held. "The next date forholding the mela will beannounced later," he said. Thedecision has been taken afterthe state government issueddirections that public gatheringof more than 20 people at oneplace will not be allowed. 'BabaKala Mehar mela' is organisedevery year at Bir Sikhanwalavillage by the Sandhu clan topay respect to their elders.Thousands of people belongingto the Sandhu clan fromseveral parts of Punjab,Haryana and Rajasthan attendthe 'mela'.

KOTA (RAJASTHAN): At leastseven police personnel,including an assistant sub-inspector, were injured andseveral vehicles damaged aftera mob pelted stones at a policestation in a failed attempt torelease an accused fromcustody in neighbouring Barandistrict. The incident took placelate on Friday night as the 200-strong mob vandalised policejeeps among other vehicles inthe premises. Earlier thatevening, a local communityleader Imtiyaz Maulana wasarrested from his home inBaran city as he was wanted ina criminal case lodged by aman about a month ago.Maulana was booked underSections 308 (attempt tocommit culpable homicide) and452 (house-trespass) of theIndian Penal Code for enteringthe victim's house and beatinghim up over an issue.

PNS n AURANGABAD

Covid-19 patient inAurangabad recovers, testsnegative Aurangabad, Mar 21(PTI) The woman, who test-ed positive for coronavirus inMaharashtra's Aurangabaddistrict, has now tested nega-tive for the infection followingtreatment, an official said.

The woman, with travelhistory to Russia andKazakhstan, had tested posi-tive for the virus on March 13,district health officer Dr

Sundar Kulkarni told PTI.Her latest swab reports after

treatment have come out neg-ative, he said.

"Our line of treatment hasworked. We used retroviraltherapy, which is a combina-tion of three to four drugs. Shewill remain under observationtill the end of this month andthen discharged," the officialsaid. At least 21 swab sampleswere taken from the collegewhere she works as a lecturerand all of them have testednegative, he added.

Coronavirus patientin Maha recovers

PNS n MUMBAI

The Mumbai Metro One willsuspend its operations onSunday to support PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's callfor 'janata' curfew in wake ofcoronavirus outbreak.

The transport bodyannounced the move throughits official Twitter handle@MumMetro.

"In continuation of our fightagainst #Covid19 and in sup-port of Hon'ble PM's appeal of#JanataCurfew, #Mumbai-MetroOne suspends operationson 22/03/2020 (Sunday) forthe entire day, to encourage peo-ple to stay at home and make'Janta Curfew' an unprecedent-

ed success," it said.The Mumbai Metro One,

which runs between Ghatkoparand Versova, is widely used byMumbaikars to cut travel time

between western and centralsuburbs. Maharashtra has so farrecorded 63 positive cases ofCovid-19, the highest in thecountry.

Mumbai Metro to suspendoperations for Janata curfew

PNS n AHMEDABAD

Six new coronavirus positivecases were reported in Gujaraton Saturday, which took thetally of such patients to 13 inthe state, Chief Minister VijayRupani said here.

Twelve of these patients havehistory of travel abroad, whileone person in Surat had visit-ed Delhi and Jaipur recently, hesaid.

"Four of these cases werereported in Ahmedabad city,one in Ahmedabad rural, threeeach in Surat and Vadodara,and one each in Rajkot andGandhinagar," Rupani said.

Appealing to the people tostay indoors and follow theguidelines related to social dis-tancing and cleanliness, hesaid the state government wasprepared to tackle the "worst-possible" situation.

Rupani was talking toreporters after visiting

Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.He also announced that the

1,200-bed super specialty newblock of the hospital will bekept exclusively for the treat-ment of coronavirus patients.

Similar facilities will be setup in Rajkot, Vadodara and

Surat, he said.Deputy Chief Minister Nitin

Patel visited SSG Hospital inVadodara to review the situa-tion and met top officials.

The government hasappointed senior officials infour zones of the state to deal

with outbreak of such cases.State Home Minister

Pradipsinh Jadeja warnedthose trying to spread falseinformation about coronaviruson social media platforms.

"Action will be taken againstthe people who are spreadingfake WhatsApp messages tocreate panic and confusionamong public. Cases will beregistered against them andaction will be taken," Jadejasaid.

The state had reported itsfirst two coronavirus positivecases on Thursday. A day later,another five cases had beendetected.

The state government hasalready ordered closure ofschools, colleges, privatecoaching classes, gyms, waterparks, multiplexes and otherpublic places. To prevent gath-ering of people, the authoritiesin some districts have imposedsection 144 of the CrPC.

Six new coronavirus positivecases in Gujarat take total to 13

PNS n NEW DELHI

A couple was deboarded froma Delhi-bound Rajdhani trainon Saturday after co-passengersnoticed a home quarantine sealon the husband's hand, theRailways said, urging people toavoid non-essential travel for thesafety of fellow citizens amid aspurt in coronavirus cases.

It said the Delhi-based cou-ple boarded the Bangalore City-New Delhi Rajdhani atSecunderabad Saturday morn-ing. When the train reachedKazipet in Telangana at 9:45 ama co-passenger noticed the quar-antine mark — authorities areputting on suspected coron-avirus cases — on the husband'shand. The woman too had thehome quarantine seal.

Their co-passengers theninformed the TTE on board thetrain, the national transportersaid. The train was brieflydetained and the couple wasadmitted to a hospital.

The coach was completelysanitised in Kazipet and was

locked, officials said.The air conditioning was also

switched off. The train left forits destination at 11.30 am.

The Railways has reportedtwo other incidents when peo-ple asked to remain in homequarantine were found travellingon trains. Of the total peopledetected in the two instances, 12later tested positive for thenovel coronavirus.

Urging people to maintainsocial distancing, Railways saidit has found four passengerswho travelled in B1 coach of

11055 Godan Express fromMumbai to Jabalpur on March16 tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.

"They came to India fromDubai last week. All concernedhave been alerted to take neces-sary action," it said in a tweet.

In another case, eight passen-gers who travelled on APSampark Kranti Express fromDelhi to Ramagundam onMarch 13 tested positive for thevirus on Friday. "Passengers areadvised to avoid non-essentialtravel for the safety of fellow cit-

izens," the Railways urged. TheHealth Ministry said Saturdaymorning that the number coro-navirus cases in India has risento 258. However, according toICMR 271 individuals havebeen confirmed positive amongthe suspected cases and contactsof known positive cases.

Couple with quarantine stamp deboarded from train

PNS n HAMIRPUR (HP)

A man has been booked inHimachal Pradesh's Hamirpurdistrict for reportedly organ-ising a 'jagran' (religious gath-ering) in violation of Section144 of CrPC imposed in thewake of novel coronavirusoutbreak in the country, policesaid on Saturday. An FIR waslodged against Kshuti Prakashof Anu Khurd area under IPCSection 188 for violating sec-tion 144 of CrPC, HamirpurSuperintendent of Police ArjitSen Thakur said.

Section 144 of CrPC pro-hibits assembly of four ormore persons at one place.HP has reported two cases ofcoronavirus. A 32-year-oldman from Harchakkian tehsiland a 64-year-old womanfrom Dohabe village inShahpur subdivision havebeen found suffering fromcoronavirus, CM Jai RamThakur said on Friday.

FIR against manin Himachal fororganising jagran

Indian student createssanitiser robot in DubaiPNS n DUBAI

Motivated by the motto "stay safeand be clean" amid the coron-avirus scare, a grade sevenIndian student in the UAE hascreated a robot that dispensessanitisers detecting a hand froma range of 30cm.

Siddh Sanghvi, a student ofSpring Dales Schools in Dubai,said his mother showed him avideo where people were touch-ing the hand sanitiser's bottle toclean hands and getting infect-ed, Khaleej Times reported.

"But this defeats the purposebecause coronavirus can bespread by touching contaminat-ed surfaces," the paper quotedhim as saying.

"So, I thought why not createsomething using the STEMtechnology, where the machinecan dispense the sanitiser auto-matically, without bringing yourhand in contact," added theyoung inventor.

"Washing hands from arobotic hand sanitiser can besuper fun. Not only does this dis-covery take your mind off fromthe Covid-19 pandemic panic,but it intrigues you to dig deep-er," Sanghvi, who has keen inter-est in Artificial Intelligence said.

PNS n CHANDIGARH

The Punjab Police on Saturdaywarned of strict action againstthose indulging in spreadingunsubstantiated claims and fakenews about coronavirus.

Punjab Director General ofPolice Dinkar Gupta saidthose found guilty ofindulging in suchacts will be penal-ized and dealtwith under therelevant provi-sions of law.

In an advisoryissued here, the DGPwarned people againstspreading baseless rumoursand falsehood.

He also issued a series of 'dosand don'ts' against using mobilephones and social media plat-forms to spread mischievousand unsubstantiated informa-tion, which can create unnec-essary panic and hardship to thepeople.

These are tools that help keepeveryone connected andinformed, Gupta said, warningpeople against sendingWhatsApp forwards, or postingand spreading fake news on thedeadly disease.

Gupta requested the gener-al public not to create panic

or unrest through mali-cious forwards and

social media posts.Pointing out that

Covid-19 pandem-ic affects each one,Gupta said, "It

impacts our dailylives and livelihoods.""The virus can be dev-

astating for our families, friendsand community," he said,adding the safety and welfare ofeach one of our family mem-bers, work colleagues and every-one around is of paramountimportance, with the authoritiesdoing their best to battle theproblem. Punjab has reportedsix COVID-19 cases so far.

Punjab police warnrumourmongers

Migrant workers being sent backwithout proper screening: MamataPNS n KOLKATA

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee alleged onSaturday that the railways wasnot ensuring proper screeningof passengers entering the statethrough long-distance trains.

She claimed that migrantworkers from the state, partic-ularly those in Maharashtra,were being packed off in trainsand sent back without medicalcheckups.

"I have been saying this forthe last one month. Now Indiais entering the third stage (ofthe coronavirus outbreak),which is very dangerous. Thenext two weeks are extremelyimportant. I have asked thechief secretary to tell the rail-

way authorities to immediate-ly stop all long-distance trains,"the chief minister told Bengalitelevision news channel "ABPAnanda".

"I have also been urging theCentre to stop all internation-

al flights coming to the coun-try for a long time," she said.

On the availability of masksand hand sanitisers, Banerjeesaid the priority of the govern-ment was to supply these itemsto the health workers, cleaning

staff and police personnel first."The small-scale sector of

the state is manufacturingaround 6,000 litres of alcohol-based hand sanitisers everyday.We will first supply it to thosewho are in the priority list andthen it will be made availableto the public," she said.

The Trinamool Congress(TMC) supremo accused theCentre of not making enoughmasks and hand sanitisersavailable to the state. She alsourged people to avoid largegatherings. "Some organisa-tions are organising large gath-erings even now, which shouldbe completely avoided. I urgethem not to play with fire atthis point in time," the chiefminister said.

The Delhi-basedcouple boarded theBangalore City-NewDelhi Rajdhani atSecunderabadSaturday morning.When the trainreached Kazipet inTelangana at 9:45am a co-passengernoticed the quaran-tine mark — authori-ties are putting onsuspected corona-virus cases — on thehusband's hand

PNS n SRINAGAR

NC president FarooqAbdullah and party leaderHasnain Masoodi released anamount of Rs one crore eachfrom their MPLAD funds onSaturday to combat the spreadof the coronavirus in Jammuand Kashmir.

"The party president andSrinagar MP released anamount of Rs one crore fromhis MPLAD funds today tocombat the COVID-19 threatin Jammu and Kashmir," aNational Conference (NC)spokesperson said.

He added that of the saidamount, Rs 50 lakh have beenearmarked for SKIMS,Srinagar while Rs 25 lakheach for Budgam andGanderbal districts in centralKashmir.

The Srinagar parliamen-tary constituency, which isrepresented by Abdullah inthe Lok Sabha, is spread overthe three districts of Srinagar,Budgam and Ganderbal.

The spokesperson also saidfollowing directions fromAbdullah, the party MP fromsouth Kashmir's Anantnag,

Justice (retd) HasnainMasoodi, released an amountof Rs one crore to fight thecoronavirus outbreak in hisconstituency.

"Masoodi has also releasedan amount of Rs one crore tocombat the threat of the virus

in his constituency," he said.The amount would be

equally distributed amongAnantnag, Kulgam, Shopianand Pulwama — the four southKashmir districts that werepart of Masoodi's constituen-cy, the spokesperson added.

Farooq, Masoodi release Rs 1creach for Covid-19 fight in J&K

PNS n CHENNAI

Madras High Court judgeJustice SM Subramaniam onSaturday donated his onemonth's salary to the ChiefMinister's relief fund to helpworkers of the unorganisedsector affected by shutdowndue to the coronavirus pan-demic.

The High Court judge saidhe was donating his onemonth's salary of Rs2.25 lakh for thepurpose of dis-tr ibut ion ofwages andsalar ies forworkers in theunorganis edsector, whowould suf ferloss of incomedue to the lock-down following theCovid-19 spread.

The Judge met the TamilNadu Chief Secretary at theSecretariat here today andhanded over a cheque for Rs2.25 lakh, which is his one

m o n t h ' ssalary.

Sp eak ingto PTI, Justice

Subramaniamsaid, "People in

the unorganised sec-tor would be affected more ifthe lock- down to containCOVID-19 is prolonged. Wedon't know for how manydays or months the situationwill be dragged.

"In such circumstances,only the government mustfeed the marginalised. I don'tthink government alonecould do this. Therefore,people who are employed inorganised sectors, who drawmonthly salary and richshould contribute to help thepoor," he added.

The judge further saidsince no one had come for-ward to start the initiative he

decided to take the first stepand done his one month'ssalary.

"Since so far, no one hascome forward to begin theinitiative, I decided to takethe first step and donate myone month's salary. I thoughtthis would be a message toencourage people like actors,politicians and the rich tocontr ibute, " Just iceSubramaniamadded.

Judge donates salary tohelp workers hit by Covid-19

In such circumstan-ces, only thegovernment must

feed the marginalised. Idon't think governmentalone could do this.Therefore, people who areemployed in organisedsectors, who draw monthlysalary and rich shouldcontribute to help the poor— JUSTICE SM SUBRAMANIAM,

MMaaddrraass HHiigghh CCoouurrtt jjuuddggee

"The party president and SrinagarMP released an amount of Rs onecrore from his MPLAD funds todayto combat the COVID-19 threat inJammu and Kashmir," a NationalConference spokesperson said

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 22, 2020 nation 05

DoT asks states to permitwork by telecom, infra staffPNS n NEW DELHI

The telecom department onSaturday wrote to chief secre-taries of all states, urging themto allow movement of field staffof telecom companies andinfrastructure providers, andgive other permissions toensure uninterrupted opera-tion of critical communicationsnetworks amid coronavirusoutbreak.

In a letter to the chief secre-taries of all states and unionterritories on ensuring "oper-ational continuity of telecomservices in view of threat ofCovid-19 outbreak", theTelecom Department said thatin case of restrictions beingcontemplated for containmentof coronavirus, all critical tele-com infrastructure should bepermitted to remain opera-tional.

Moreover, all critical telecominfrastructure should be per-mitted to be manned by thestaff of telecom serviceproviders/telecom infrastruc-ture providers, it said.

"For accessing critical tele-com infrastructure locations,the movement of the staff oftelecom service providers/tele-

com infrastructure providersbe permitted," the letter said.

The Department of Telecom(DoT) has also said that move-ment of vehicles carrying dieselfor the DG sets at critical tele-com infrastructure should beallowed, and that sufficientdiesel availability should beensured.

It has also sought states'cooperation for ensuring avail-ability of power supply to crit-

ical telecom infrastructure."The support of police and dis-aster response forces be provid-ed to telecom serviceproviders/telecom infrastruc-ture providers, if necessary," itsaid.

The DoT underlined that atthis juncture a robust telecominfrastructure is critical forproviding access to emergencyservices.

"...ensuring uninterrupted

operation of critical telecominfrastructure is of paramountimportance...," the DoT said.

Critical telecom infrastruc-ture includes telephoneexchanges, mobile switchingcentres, network operationcentres, transmission centres,data centres, telecom towersites, call centres of telecomservice providers and ware-houses where maintenancespares of telecom serviceproviders are stored.

The latest moves comes afterthe telecom department onFriday met telcos and associa-tions to discuss critical issuesaround business continuity ofcommunications networks, asindustry sought governmentintervention for allowing move-ment of essential field staff andsought other waivers to keepservices up-and-running amidthe coronavirus outbreak.

Representatives from indus-try bodies like COAI andTower and InfrastructureProviders Association (TAIPA)as well as telecom operators likeBharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea,Reliance Jio and state-ownedtelcos had attended the meet-ing called by senior telecomdepartment officials.

It has also sought states' cooperationfor ensuring availability of power supplyto critical telecom infrastructure.

Coronavirus: Complaint filedagainst singer Kanika KapoorPNS n MUZAFFARPUR

A criminal complaint was filedagainst singer Kanika Kapoorbefore a Bihar court onSaturday accusing her ofneglecting and disobeying anorder issued by a public servantto prevent the spread of novelcoronavirus.

The complaint was lodgedby advocate Sudhir KumarOjha before the court ofAdditional Chief JudicialMagistrate Satish Chandra. Italleged that Kapoor hid the factthat she was infected with thecoronavirus.

The matter will come up forhearing on March 31.

The complaint also accusedKapoor of spreading the dis-ease among people by perform-ing at three parties in UttarPradesh's Lucknow.

The "Baby Doll" singer, whobecame the first Bollywoodcelebrity to test positive forcoronavirus, landed inLucknow from the UnitedKingdom and was admitted toa city hospital after she showedsigns of flu, reports said.

In a statement posted onInstagram on Friday, Kapoorsaid she had tested positive forCOVID-19, setting off a chainreaction with at least fourpolitical leaders going intoself-quarantine as a precaution-ary measure. Former Rajasthanchief minister Vasundhara Rajeand her MP son DushyantSingh and parliamentariansDerek O'Brien and AnupriyaPatel were among those whowent into self-quarantine.While Raje and her son hadrecently attended a dinnerparty in Lucknow whereKapoor was also a guest,O'Brien said he sat besideSingh at a Parliament meetingon Wednesday for two hours.

Patel, a leader of Apna Dal,said she was present at anevent on Thursday which wasalso attended by Singh.

Ripple effect ofbreakfast withPresidentPNS n JAIPUR

Jaipur Lok Sabha memberRamcharan Bohra, who hadtaken part in a breakfast hostedby President Ram Nath Kovindin which MP Dushyant Singhalso participated, has kept him-self under self-isolation and can-celled all his scheduled events.The initial report of the BJP MPhas come out negative in the testwhich he got done in Jaipur aftercoming from New Delhi, he saidin a statement on Saturday.Bohra was in New Delhi to takepart in a breakfast meeting host-ed by the President on March 18.The panic was triggered afterJhalawar-Baran MP DushyantSingh who had attended a partyin Lucknow where COVID-19positive singer Kanika Kapoorwas also present.

The "Baby Doll"singer, who becamethe first Bollywoodcelebrity to testpositive forcoronavirus, landedin Lucknow from theUnited Kingdom andwas admitted to acity hospital aftershe showed signs offlu, reports said

UP minister whopartied tests negativePNS n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh Health MinisterJai Pratap Singh, who hadattended a party withBollywood singer KanikaKapoor days before she testedpositive for coronavirus, test-ed negative for COVID-19 onSaturday, the King GeorgeMedical University here said.

The 66-year-old ministerhad gone into self-isolationafter undergoing the testinghere on Friday, soon afterKapoor announced that shehad tested positive for coron-avirus.

"Uttar Pradesh Health

Minister Jai Pratap Singh hastested negative for COVID-19,"KGMU spokesperson DrSudhir Singh said.

"Samples of 28 people whocame in contact with him havealso tested negative," he said.

Jai Pratap Singh told PTIthat he received a call from theKGMU vice chancellorinforming him that his testscame back negative.

"I have tested negative forCOVID-19. My entire familyhas tested negative (forCOVID-19). Five members ofmy family were tested and allof them have tested negative,"he said.

PNS n ROME

Hundreds of millions of peo-ple worldwide kicked off theweekend under a coronaviruslockdown, as the global deathtoll accelerated sharply and theWorld Health Organizationwarned the young they were"not invincible".

The pandemic has com-pletely upended lives across theplanet, sharply restricting themovement of huge popula-tions, shutting down schoolsand businesses, and forcingmillions to work from home -- while many have lost theirlivelihoods entirely.

While President DonaldTrump insisted the UnitedStates was "winning" the waragainst the virus, individualstates dramatically ramped up

restrictions, with New Yorkand Illinois joining Californiain ordering residents to stayhome.

The virus death toll surgedpast 11,000 worldwide, with4,000 alone in worst-hit Italy

where the daily number offatalities has shot up relentless-ly over the past week.

While the elderly and thosewith pre-existing medical con-ditions are the hardest hit bythe virus, WHO chief Tedros

Adhanom Ghebreyesuswarned that young peoplewere also vulnerable.

"Today I have a message foryoung people: you are notinvincible. This virus could putyou in hospital for weeks -- oreven kill you," Tedros said.

"Even if you don't get sick,the choices you make aboutwhere you go could be the dif-ference between life and deathfor someone else." China onSaturday reported no newlocal infections for a third

straight day, and the WHOsaid the central Chinese city ofWuhan, where the virusemerged late last year, offereda glimmer of "hope for the restof the world". But there aregrowing concerns of a newwave of "imported" infectionsin the region, with Hong Kongreporting 48 suspected caseson Friday -- its biggest dailyjump since the crisis began.Many of them have a recenthistory of travel to or fromEurope.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Union Minister PrakashJavadekar on Saturdayreviewed the measures takenby the Pune district adminis-tration to control the spreadof coronavirus in the city.

The minister, who hailsfrom Pune, held a video con-ference with DivisionalCommissioner DeepakMhaiskar, District CollectorNaval Kishor Ram and otherofficials. "The entire world isfighting the menace of coro-navirus. Under the PrimeMinister's leadership, we arealso involved in this fightwith all awareness. The PM isreviewing the measures andall the chief ministers arealso reviewing measures,"he said.

Javadekar said sincehe is from Pune, he helda meeting with officersand praised them forworking towards reducingtraffic on the roads, ensur-ing that people work fromtheir homes and creatinga public movementto control the

spread of the contagion."This is a grave menace.

There is no need to be scaredbut one has to be careful," headded. While listing outmeasures like washing hands,maintaining social distancingand not going to crowdedplaces, he said the city hassufficient number of beds for

treating those withsymptoms and

that the peoplecoming toPune in carsare beingchecked andprovided infor-mation.

"This is a gravemenace. There isno need to bescared but onehas to be careful,"he added.

Relax rly ticketrefund rules,time-frame:Raut to GoyalPNS n MUMBAI

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut onSaturday said the railway min-istry should relax refund rulesfor tickets and extend the time-frame in which one can applyfor it in view of the novel coro-navirus outbreak.

Raut, in a tweet taggingUnion Railway minister PiyushGoyal, said railway stationsare soft spots for the spread ofthe virus.

"To prevent crowding sometrains have been cancelled, butpeople are crowding railwaystations for cancellation of theirreservations. This is resulting inheavy rush at railway stations.The refund rules should berelaxed and the time frame toapply for refund should beextended," Raut tweeted.

Firms asked not tosack staff on leavePNS nMUMBAI

The Maharashtra governmenton Saturday asked the privateand public establishments in thestate not to terminate the ser-vices of its employees even ifthey go on leave in view of thecoronavirus outbreak.

It also asked these establish-ments not to deduct the wagesof their employees.

In his directive, State Labourcommissioner MahendraKalyankar has said that if anyworker goes on leave, he shouldbe deemed to be on duty with-out consequential deduction inwages for this period.

"Employers of public/privateestablishments should not ter-minate their employees, partic-ularly casual or contract work-ers, from jobs or reduce theirwages," it said.

"If the place of employmentis to be made non- operationaldue to Covid-19, the employeesof such units will be deemed tobe on duty," it added."Termination of employees fromjobs or reduction of wages willfurther deepen the crisis andwill not only weaken the finan-cial condition of the employee,but also hamper their morale tocombat the epidemic," the direc-tive said.

PNS n SHIMLA

A chemist was booked for sell-ing N95 masks at over fourtimes higher than the fixedprice in Himachal Pradesh'sKangra district amid theCOVID-19 outbreak, policesaid on Saturday.

A first information report(FIR) was lodged against theowner of a medical storelocated in Dr Rajendra PrasadGovernment Medical College(RPGMC), Tanda underSection 3/7 of the EssentialCommodities Act at Kangrapolice station on a complaintby the district food and civilsupplies department, theyadded.

Additional SHO of Kangrapolice station Jasbir Singhtold PTI on Saturday that theFIR had been lodged againstpharmacy owner RakeshVohra.

However, Singh said theaccused had not been arrest-

ed so far as the matter wasbeing investigated. If the alle-gations are proved againsthim in the court, he may bejailed up to five years underthe provisions of the EssentialCommodities Act, the policeofficer added.

Kangra District Controllerof Food and Civil SuppliesNarinder Dhiman told PTIthat the FIR was lodged afterthe chemist had been foundselling N95 masks at Rs 500each against its fixed sellingprice of Rs 115.50.

While the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions are thehardest hit by the virus, WHO chiefTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warnedthat young people were also vulnerable.

Coronavirus:Three airlinessuspend flights toAssamPNS n GUWAHATI

Private airlines SpiceJet andIndiGo and Bhutan's flagcarrier Druk Airways havesuspended their flights toairports in Assam in wake ofthe coronavirus outbreak, atop AAI official said onSaturday.

However, all 12 airports inthe Northeast will remainopen during the 'JanataCurfew' scheduled onSunday, Airports Authority ofIndia (AAI) RegionalExecutive Director for theregion, Sanjeev Jindal said.

Druk Airways suspendedits flight from Bhutan's Paroto Singapore via Guwahatifrom Saturday till March 29,he said.

SpiceJet suspended its fourflights from Kolkata toAssam's Guwahati andDibrugarh from March 24 tillMarch 30, while IndiGo can-celled its Agartala-Chennaiflight via Guwahati fromSunday till March 28, the offi-cial said. Jindal told reportersthat airports being an essen-tial service will remain oper-ational during the 'JanataCurfew'.

Autos, taxis to remain off-road inDelhi during 'Janta Curfew'PNS n NEW DELHI

Autos and taxis will be offroads in the national capital onSunday as several unions haveextended support to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's callfor a 'Janta Curfew' in the wakeof the coronavirus outbreak.

Several unions includingthe Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh,Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union,Delhi Auto Taxi TransportCongress Union and DelhiTaxi Tourist TransportAssociation, have decided tojoin the curfew from 7am to10pm on Sunday.

The prime ministeracknowledging this initiativesaid that the fight against coro-

na epidemic will receive aboost due to it. "This initiativewill give new strength to thefight of the countrymenagainst corona epidemic," hetweeted in Hindi.

General Secretary of DelhiAutorickshaw Sangh RajendraSoni said all unions affiliated

to the Bhartiya Majdoor Sanghwill join the curfew.

"We have appealed all ourmembers, including those ofDelhi Autorickshaw Sangh andDelhi Pradesh Taxi Union, torefrain from taking out theirvehicles during Janta Curfewon Sunday," Soni said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi government onSaturday said it had notimposed a lockdown for now,but would have to do if theneed arises in wake of the coro-navirus pandemic..

During his first-ever digital-only press conference, ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal saidrestrictions due to COVID-19were causing terrible financialstress to the poor.

He announced that thosereceiving ration from fair-priceshops would get 50 per centextra for next month, and alsodoubled the pension for wid-ows, differently-abled andelderly for this month.

The government has alsoreduced the size of social, reli-gious and political gatheringsto not more than five persons.It has not imposed a lockdownin Delhi for now, but will haveto do it if need arises, Kejriwalsaid.

Kejriwal said only 50 per

cent buses would ply on roadsin Delhi during the 'Janata cur-few' on Sunday.

"Rs 4000-5000 pension willbe paid to 8.5 lakh beneficia-ries by April 7," he said.

"Seventy-two lakh peoplein Delhi get ration from fairprice shops. Ration per person

being increased by 50 per cent.It will be provided free," thechief minister said.

the FIR waslodged after thechemist had beenfound selling N95masks at Rs 500each against itsfixed selling priceof Rs 115.50.

The government hasalso reduced thesize of social,religious andpolitical gatheringsto not more than fivepersons. Kejriwalsaid only 50 per centbuses would ply onroads in Delhi duringthe 'Janata curfew'on Sunday.

3 more testpositive forcoronavirus inLadakhPNS n LEH

Three more people have test-ed positive for coronavirus inLadakh, taking the total inthe Union territory to 13, asenior government officialsaid on Saturday.

Two cases are from Lehand one from Kargil,Commissioner Secretary(Health) Rigzin Samphel toldreporters here. He saidreports for 35 samples werereceived from Delhi, of which32 were negative.

"Nine reports were fromKargil, with one positive andeight negative, while 26 wereof Leh district, with two pos-itive and 24 negative,"Samphel said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi government willconduct all its press confer-ences online to protect jour-nalists from the coronaviruspandemic which has claimedone life and infected 20 oth-ers in the national capital.

"All Delhi Govt. press con-ferences will be conducteddigitally now. It's very impor-tant that all journalists, whoare on the forefront of ourbattle against Corona, alsoprotect themselves as they arein a high exposure environ-ment," Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal tweeted. Kejriwalwill brief the media on thethreat at 4 pm Saturday.

Delhi govtpressers to goonline

Worldwide lockdowns amid virus scare

Javadekar reviewsCovid-19 measures

Chemist booked foroverpriced N95 masksin HP's Kangra

No lockdown for now, but will have to do it if needed: Kejriwal

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Cabinet hasapproved production-linkedincentives worth Rs 40,995crore for electronics manufac-turing companies.

Sharing further details,Union CommunicationsMinister Ravi Shankar Prasadon Saturday said the govern-ment will dole out incentivesworth Rs 40,995 crore to boostmanufacturing of electronicsproducts.

"Two long-term policy deci-sions have been taken to makeIndia hub of electronics man-ufacturing in new directionsand medical electronics.Cabinet has approved pro-duction linked-incentive for

electronics companies. We willgive Rs 40,995 crore in thecoming five years for produc-tion linked-incentive," Prasadsaid. Incentives will be linkedto incremental sales and cap-ital investment of the compa-nies, he added.

"...because of these schemes,we hope to generate manufac-turing revenue potential of Rs10 lakh crore by 2025," Prasadsaid. The minister said thatincentive of 25 per cent will begiven on capital investmentunder the scheme.

CAPSULE

GoAir appointsSanjiv Kapoor as advisorMUMBAI: Wadia group-ownedbudget carrier GoAir onSaturday announced theappointment of aviationindustry veteran Sanjiv Kapooras advisor to the airline.Kapoor, who quit the Tata-SIAjoint venture airline Vistararecently after serving as itschief strategy and commercialofficer, will advice GoAir onimportant business andgovernment matter, the airlinesaid in a release. Significantly,GoAir's current chief executiveofficer Vinay Dube too hadinitially been roped in as anadvisor by the budget carrier,which keeps witnessing exitfrom the top deck at frequentintervals. "I welcome Sanjiv tothe ever growing GoAir family.His strong domain knowledgeand deep expertise in theaviation sector will help GoAirin multiple ways," Dube said inthe release. Kapur has alsobeen associated in the pastwith SpiceJet, where hehandled the position of ChiefOperating Officer.

Coronavirus: Potatoprices jump at least20% amid panicKOLKATA: Retail andwholesale potato prices inparts of West Bengal haveseen a jump of at least 20per cent amid panic buying,fearing a shutdown in wake ofthe coronavirus outbreak,according to market sources.The jyoti variety of the staplewhich was selling for Rs 15-17 per kg a week back hastouched Rs 20-22 a kg insome retail markets, traderssaid, adding that in certainonline marketplaces it wasselling at Rs 25 a kg.Wholesale prices of potatohave jumped to Rs 13 per kgfrom Rs 10-11 a kg a weekback in wake of high demandfrom other states, they said."Nationally, potato prices havejumped and traders aretaking further advantage of it.The retail prices should notbe more than Rs 18 per kg," acold storage associationofficial said. Urging people notto panic and stock produces,agriculture advisor to the WestBengal government PradipMazumdar said there is noshortage of potato or rice inthe state. "There is no reasonto fear. The government iskeeping a tab on the corrupttraders and will take sternaction," he said. The state hasalready procured about 20,000tonnes of potato, he said."We have been procuring sincelong and storing for futureintervention in case potatoprice jumps. The virus threathas just increased the need,"he said.

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 22, 2020 money 06

2 long-term policydecisions have beentaken to make India hub

of electronicsmanufacturing in new directionsand medical electronics. Cabinethas approved production linked-incentive for electronicscompanies. We will give Rs 40,995 cr in the coming 5-yrsfor production linked-incentive

Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance commits to help fight Covid-19PNS n MUMBAI

The national pharma lobbyIndian PharmaceuticalAlliance (IPA) on Saturdaysaid it will take every step toensure that all coronaviruspatients get timely access tomedicines.

Towards this, the allianceand its members are workingwith the governments andother public agencies, pharmaindustry associations and allother key stakeholders, it said

in a statement. "We are close-ly monitoring orders andinventories. With an adequatestock of active pharma ingre-dients, finished product for-

mulations and channel avail-ability, we'd be able to sustainthe supply of medicines forthe coming months. We arenot aware of any medicines

shortage, to date," the alliancesaid.

The statement further saidthat the alliance is workingclosely with the Internationalgeneric and biosimilar medi-cines association, the WHO,the Association of AffordableMedicines in the US,Medicines for Europe, andseveral other country associ-ations to understand anypotential impact on supply ofmedicines globally.

It further noted that the IPA

is aligned to government ini-tiatives of containment mea-sures and social distancingwhile meeting supply commitments.

"We are committed to pro-viding quality medicines topatients in the country aswell as across the globe," it said.

The alliance also thankedthe entire medical communi-ty for their selfless service toprotect people from the pandemic.

IOC initiates rare protocolto maintain fuel suppliesPNS n NEW DELHI

As cities shutdown to containthe spread of coronavirus,Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has ini-tiated a rare protocol to safe-guard its workforce while at thesame time ensuring that plantsoperate uninterruptedly so asto keep the nation's fuel sup-plies running.

"We are in a business wherewe need to ensure not just con-sumers get uninterrupted sup-plies of petrol, diesel and cook-ing gas (LPG), but also airlinesget jet fuel on demand and sup-ply lines for nation's defenceforces are unhindered," IOCChairman Sanjiv Singh said.

The company has imple-mented work from home atnon-critical locations andimplemented staggered workhours and working on alternatedays at others with all precautions.

Its consumer facing pointssuch as petrol pumps and LPGdelivery services have initiatedsafeguard protocol with facemasks and sanitisers.

"We have an obligationtowards the nation to keep itssupply lines running and weare doing everything whileensuring employee and con-

sumer safety," he said addingrare times require extraordi-nary measures and Indian Oiland all its employees are risingto the occasion to serve thenation.

Singh said to keep fuel sup-ply lines running, oil refiner-ies have to function, depotshave to operate, pipelines needto flow and retail outlets needto dispense.

"To keep our operationsrunning, we have to ensure thatcrude oil is imported on regu-lar basis, it is stored and thenrefined at refineries, fuel soproduced is transported todepots from where it has to bemoved to consumer dispensingpoints. These are 24x7 opera-tions and so we have takenmeasures to ensure they runwhile at the same time employ-

ees are protected," he said. Atpetrol pumps and LPG distrib-utorships, the company is try-ing to run operations withminimum number of employ-ees while ensuring they donttake public transport, he said.

In all this, the company hasto also ensure that the switchover to ultra-clean BS-VI petroland diesel, equivalent to Euro-VI emission compliant fuel,happens before April 1 dead-line, he said.

"The challenge before us is toprotect employees and stake-holders (consumers).Challenge is that we cannotstop operations at any plant,location or retail outlet. Thechallenge is to maintain sup-plies at all times," he said.

The protocol IOC has imple-mented involves restrictingoutsider entries to companyplants and townships as well asavoiding non-essential gather-ing of people, he said addingboard meetings are being con-ducted through video confer-encing. "Indian Oil TankingLtd and Chennai PetroleumCorp Ltd (IOC subsidiaries)will hold forthcoming boardmeetings through video con-ferencing," he said.

Cabinet approves production-linked sops for electronics firms

The company has implemented work fromhome at non-critical locations andimplemented staggered work hours andworking on alternate days at others with all

PNS n MUMBAI

Air India's engineering sub-sidiary AIESL has decided tosend its re-employed staff on'leave without pay" till March31 amid its parent, Air India,suspending internationaloperations from Sunday fol-lowing the government's deci-sion to bar overseas flights inor out of India for a week, asource said.

Air India accounts for asmuch as 90 per cent of AirIndia Engineering ServicesLtd (AIESL), which is into air-craft and engine maintenance

as well as component repair.The source close to the

development said, that theengineering arm will also notbe renewing the contract ofthese people after the comple-tion of the existing ones.

"AIESL CEO has soughtthe list of personnel who areessential to sustain the currentcurtailed operations as therest of the retired employeesare to be sent on unpaid leavetill March 31," the source said.AIESL has around 5,000 work-force. Of these, as many as 286are serving the company oncontract after retirement from

regular service. With govern-ments across the world impos-ing travel and visa restrictionsdue to the spread of the novelcoronavirus infection, theentire global aviation industryhas been hit hard amid mas-sive cancellations and resched-uling of flights. This has alsoled to carriers laying off staffin huge numbers or sendingthem on leave without pay tohelp them stay afloat in suchturbulent times.

"The AIESL managementhas also decided not the renewthe contracts of these employ-ees who have been inducted in

the company after their retire-ment from the regular serviceonce their existing contractscome to an end,' the sourcesaid. The two domestic carri-ers IndiGo and GoAir havealready initiated measures toreduce cost.

IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dattahas taken a 25 per cent cut andimplemented the same for therest of the employees, GoAirhas sent its 35-50 per centworkforce on leave withoutpay for a months besides ter-minating the service contractsof high-cost expat pilots withthe airline.

AIESL to send re-employed staff on ‘leave without pay’

Soap makers reduce prices,increase productionPNS n NEW DELHI

FMCG players like HUL,Godrej Consumer andPatanjali said they are helpingfight the Covid-19 outbreak byreducing the prices of soaps,hygiene products and rampingup production of these items.

Market leader HindustanUnilever Ltd (HUL) on Fridaycommitted Rs 100 crore to helpin combating the coronaviruspandemic.

"In the public interest, HULis reducing the prices ofLifebuoy sanitizers, LifebuoyLiquid handwash and Domexfloor cleaners by 15 per cent.We are commencing produc-tion of these reduced-pricedproducts immediately andthese will be available in themarket in the next few weeks,"HUL said in a statement.

"HUL has also ramped upthe production of Lifebuoy

sanitizers, Lifebuoy Handwashliquid and Domex FloorCleaners and is committed toscaling it up even further in thecoming weeks," it added. HULwill donate 2 crore pieces ofLifebuoy soaps in the next fewmonths to the sections of thesociety which need it the most.HUL CMD Sanjiv Mehta said,"in a crisis like this Companieshave a big role to play. We are

working closely with theGovernments and our partnersto ensure that we overcome thisglobal health crisis together."

Haridwar-based PatanjaliAyurved said it has slashedprices of aloe vera and haldi-chandan soap variants by 12.5per cent. "In the light of thecommon man's problem,Swami Ramdev has decided toreduce the prices... to help thecommon people battle againstthe coronavirus," PatanjaliSpokesperson S K Tijarawlasaid. Godrej said it has decid-ed not to pass on raw materi-al price hikes to consumers.

"Pricing in the soaps catego-ry has seen significant defla-tion in 2019. However, inrecent months, we have seen a30 per cent increase in rawmaterial inputs. We were plan-ning for a price increase to par-tially cover for this spike ininput costs.

YES BANK

Jet Airways founderNaresh Goyalappears before EDPNS nMUMBAI

Jet Airways founder NareshGoyal on Saturday appearedbefore the EnforcementDirectorate in connection witha money laundering probeagainst Yes Bank promoterRana Kapoor and his familymembers, officials said.

They said Goyal'sstatement will berecorded by theinvest igat ingofficer of thecase under thePrevention ofM o n e yLaundering Act(PMLA) at itsoffice in BallardEstate here.

Jet Airways' loan expo-sure to the crisis-ridden YesBank is about Rs 550 crore.

Goyal was first summonedby the central probe agency onMarch 18 but he cited the rea-son of tending to an ill relativefor skipping the summons.

He was given a fresh timeand deposed Saturday, theysaid. The agency initiated actionagainst Kapoor and his familymembers and raided him soonafter the Reserve Bank imposeda moratorium on the "stressed"Yes Bank earlier this month.

Normal banking operationsfor Yes Bank customers were re-started on Wednesday.

Kapoor, 62, was arrested bythe ED in Mumbai on March 8and at present he is in judicialcustody.

The ED has grilled RelianceGroup Chairman Anil Ambani

and Peter Kerkar of Cox &Kings company.

The probeagency hasaccused Kapoor,his familymembers andothers of laun-dering "pro-

ceeds of crime"amounting to Rs

4,300 crore byreceiving alleged kick-

backs in lieu of extendingbig loans through their bankthat later allegedly became anon-performing asset (NPA).

As many as 44 companiesbelonging to 10 large businessgroups reportedly accounted forbad loans totalling Rs 34,000crore of Yes Bank.

Goyal, the former chairmanof the now defunct airline, isalready facing a separate crim-inal probe under the PMLAand also a foreign exchange vio-lations case being investigatedby the ED.

Financial service providers step up proactive measures PNS n NEW DELHI

To combat the spread of Covid-19 outbreak, financial servicesproviders have initiated proac-tive measures to ensure thatcritical services remain uninter-rupted and have asked cus-tomers to prioritise the usage ofdigital mediums.

SBI Card in a communica-tion to customers has said it isensuring that services remain

uninterrupted. "With the situ-ation escalating with everypassing day, SBI Card has takenproactive measures to ensureuninterrupted services. Safetyprotocols across all our officesand touchpoints have beenenhanced to fight this notifieddisaster," it said in an email toits customers on Saturday.

Country's largest life insur-er, state-owned LIC, has askedall its customers to register on

its customer portal to availonline services like premiumpayments.

Coronavirus (Covid-19)

pandemic has killed over11,000 and sickened lakhs ofpeople around the globe.

Private sector insurer BajajAllianz Life has launchedWhatsApp services for its poli-cies wherein customers canaccess more than 20 serviceswithout any physical interac-tion.

HDFC Mutual Fund said inwake of this pandemic and inline with the government advi-

sory from time to time, "we areoperating with considerablyreduced employee strength...We therefore urge you to con-nect with us on HDFC AMC'sdigital platforms".

On similar lines, YES Bankhas asked its customers to optfor digital transactions. "Toensure safety of our teams dueto Covid-19, are operating withreduced staff across all loca-tions," YES Bank tweeted.

PNS n MUMBAI

Amid businesses getting affect-ed due to the novel coronaviruspandemic, the country's largestlender State Bank of India hasopened an emergencycredit line to meetany liquidity mis-match for its bor-rowers.

The additional liq-uidity facility –Covid-19 Emergency CreditLine (CECL), will providefunds up to Rs 200 crore andwill be available till June 30,

2020, SBI said in a circularissued on Friday. The loan willbe offered at an interest rate of7.25 per cent with a tenure of12 months. “With a view toprovide some degree of relief

to the borrowerswhose operationsare impacted byCovid-19, it isdecided to makeavailable additional

liquidity credit facili-ties to the eligible borrowers byway of ad-hoc facilities —CECL to tide over the currentcrisis situation,” the bank said

in a circular to all branches.The bank said the credit line isopen for all standard accountswhich have not been classifiedas SMA 1 or 2 as on March 16,2020 are eligible to avail thiscredit line.

Special Mention Accounts(SMA) was introduced to iden-tify those accounts that has thepotential to become anNPA/stressed asset.

SMA-1 accounts are thosewhere the overdue period isbetween 31 to 60 days. while,in SMA -2 accounts overdue isbetween 61 to 90 days.

IRCTC tweaksorder, foodfacilities toallow takeawaysPNS n NEW DELHI

The IRCTC has revised itsorder on onboard servicesand will now allow takeawayfood from its plazas, refresh-ment rooms, Jan Aahars andcell kitchens which it had shutdown due to the coronavirusoutbreak. The revised orderwas issued on Saturday andwill be applicable from March22. In the latest order, the rail-way subsidiary said that whiletakeaways will be allowedfrom its food outlets, no onewill be allowed to sit thereand have meals.

On Friday, the IRCTC(Indian Railway Catering andTourism Corporation) hadordered the closure of allonboard catering services inmail or express trains fromMarch 22 until further noticein view of the coronavirusoutbreak.

NCLAT to hearonly ‘urgentmatters’PNS n NEW DELHI

As a precautionary measureagainst the coronavirus out-break, the National CompanyLaw Appellate Tribunal(NCLAT) has restricted itselfto hear only "urgent matters"till April 1 and has extendedoperation of all interimorders and stay passed in thepending matters till theirnext hearings.

All the matters listed forhearing during the aforesaidperiod “shall stand adjournedand date of hearing would benoti?ed later," said the latestnotice from NCLAT.

"Interim order/stay orderpassed in the pending mattersshall continue till the nextdate of hearing,” it said.

Announcing the precau-tionary measures, NCLATsaid: ”Premises of thisAppellate Tribunal shallremain locked during theaforesaid period except forthe days when the Bench willmeet for hearing urgent mat-ters upon mentioning.”

SBI opens emergency credit line

‘Masks, sanitisers can besold at fair price shops’PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Food and Civil SuppliesMinister Imran Hussain onSaturday said face masks,gloves, soaps and hand sanitis-ers, which have been declaredessential commodities, can besold at fair price shops acrossthe national capital.

The minister chaired ahigh-level meeting at the DelhiSecretariat to review arrange-ments for effectively tacklingthe coronavirus threat.

Hussain directed officials toregularly visit general stores,chemist shops, pharmacies,drug manufacturers, etc toensure that good quality masksand sanitisers are availableand that these commoditiesare not being sold at higherprices.

Officials are already takingnecessary action against black-marketers and hoarders asper law under the provisionsof the Essential CommoditiesAct.

We are closely monitoring orders andinventories. With an adequate stock of activepharma ingredients, finished product

formulations and channel availability, we'd be able tosustain the supply of medicines for the coming months.We are not aware of any medic

CLOSURE FOR FRIEND

Avanindra Pandey: Nirbhaya’sfriend and the only witness in

the December 2012 gangrape. Hehas since moved on. His journeythrough the ordeal has been quiteterrible too. From being accusedof taking money for interviews tobe stinged on demanding a lakhfor an interview. He laterapologised.

The hanging should bringclosure to Pandey who gotmarried three years back, has ason and works abroad. His father,a well-known lawyer inGorakhpur, refused to revealexactly where but said his sonwas happy that all the accusedhave been finally hanged.

ONE WHO WALKED

Mohammad Afroz: The onlyrapist who walked free after

serving three years in a juvenilehome. Hailing from a village 250km from Delhi, he left home at 11and used to work as a cleaner withbus driver Ram Singh, one of theaccused. According to a 2015report, Afroz had been radicalisedby his cellmate involved in DelhiHigh Court blast. An IntelligenceBureau inquiry on BJP leaderSubramanian Swamy’s letter to PMNarendra Modi saw to it that hewas shifted to another cell butapparently there was no change inhim or regret for what he haddone on the night on December2012. He was the one most violent

during the gangrape. This is not all,before he committed the ghastlyact, he had wanted to pick upanother girl, the counsellor workingwith him had revealed back then.He also revealed that Afroz didn’tshow any positive change and yetthe system allowed him to walkfree. Today, Afroz reportedly worksat a roadside dhaba in a SouthIndian State under a changedidentity. At the correctional home,for three years Afroz was taught tocook, paint and tailor.

NO MORE

Ram Singh: The prime accusedcommitted suicide by hanging

himself in Tihar Jail days after thetrial began.

special 07VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 22, 2020

R.I.P NIRBHAYAThe seven years and three

months long battle hasfinally come to an end. Anend that will be remem-bered by all, especially

those who are born without a heartand have the audacity to commitunimaginable crimes that put theentire human race to shame. The twofeet that were yearning to see the sun-rise like most of us, but was over-shadowed with countless visits tocourts and hundreds of meetings withlawyers, has finally seen the dawn.Now, she will no longer have to wakeup every day and plead for justice forher daughter, which was not a big askto begin with when her battle beganin December 2012.

After an extended fight for jus-tice, Asha Devi’s face that was alwaysin a frown and worry lines was even-tually filled with a huge smile notbecause of celebration but out of sat-isfaction that her daughter’s wrong-doers were hanged to death onMarch 20, 2020 (Friday) at 5:30 am.

“Last seven years have beenextremely long and tough for us.Every day I use to wake up with justone thing in mind that my daughtershould get justice. After completingthe household chores, Nirbhaya’sfather and I used to sit and decidewho all we had to meet and where wehad to go for the day. That was theonly thing that we could have thoughtof all these years. Our efforts and the

whole country’s prayers have paid offand the day came when justice wasserved,” Devi tells you.

It took a lot of courage for Devito become a fighter mother from yetanother voiceless woman from a vil-lage in Uttar Pradesh who never inher wildest dreams thought of stand-ing up and raising her voice. “UntilDecember, 2012 none of us knewwhat a thana looked like. We nevergot into any fights with anyone. Allwe wanted was to live a simple andhappy life jahan ghar ki baat gharmein hi rehni chahaiye. I have neverbeen that kind of person who raisedher voice. I have spent most of my lifein a village and this was somethingthat I or for that matter no one canever imagine. Facing the camera,speaking in front of the mic andanswering the media was initially dif-ficult. But, the thought of what mydaughter has gone through gave methe courage to stand up for her anddo everything that I could. WhenNirbhaya took her last breath in thehospital, I made up my mind thatthese sinisters should be punished sothat no other girl will have to gothrough the same situation as mydaughter. Saving my daughter wassomething that was not in my handsbut protecting the other girls of thecountry and to ensure their safety ismy responsibility,” she says with con-viction in her voice.

She sounds exhausted when she

finally takes the call at 10:15 pm onthe day of the hanging. She tells youthat she has been giving back to backinterviews since morning. However,she gave up on a ritual that her fam-ily had been doing for the last sevenyears — candle march — due toCOVID-19 and the pleas for socialdistancing. But she continued withthe last interview for the day becauseit meant that the people and medianever let her daughter fade intooblivion like so many other rape casesin the country.

Whether or not the death sen-tence will reduce the crime againstwomen is yet to be seen but it will def-initely send a chill down the perpe-trator’s spine and make sure thatbefore taking any such step they willgive it a second thought.

“This is the first time that hang-ing has been given to the rapists intwo decades. This will definitelyleave an impact on the society andwill ensure that rapists will know thatthey cannot run away from the judi-ciary. They can mislead the judicia-ry, they can delay the justice but cannever in history deny justice to aninnocent,” Devi adds.

In the wee hours of Friday, Deviand her husband, Badrinath Singhwere counting every second. It wasprobably the longest night for them.“We were in the court till 3:30 am.After the hearing was over and thecourt dismissed the culprit’s plea, we

went home and switched on the TV.All we were waiting for was the clockto strike 5:30 and the headline‘Nirbhaya’s rapists have been hanged’to flash on TV. We couldn’t get oureyes off the TV screen. That one-and-a-half-hour was the longest of ourlives. We couldn’t wait to see mydaughter get justice. And finally,when we saw that all the culprits havebeen hanged, I rushed to the otherroom where Nirbhaya’s photo is. Ihugged her photo, looked into hereyes and said: ‘Beta, aaj aap ko nyaymil gaya. Aap ke aaropiyon ko saza milgayi.’ I cannot put that feeling intowords,” she recalls.

Devi says that the way society hasstood by them through thick and thinand helped her daughter get justice,the same way it should support theother survivors too. “All my neigh-bours have been extremely encour-aging and supportive. Every day at8:15 pm we all used to participate ina candle march without fail. I feel for-tunate that every Indian see Nirbhayaas their daughter. I hope that this ishow all the survivors should betreated — with empathy and care bythe society. The blame game shouldbe only with perpetrators,” she says.

After the hanging, while every-one was congratulating Devi, whattouched her heart was when a groupof young girls came and hugged heroutside the court. “I was almost intears when I saw around seven young

girls coming towards me with muchhappiness. They hugged me. It was atouching moment. This made merealise that how much faith theseyoung people put in our judicial sys-tem and that it was not broken,” shetells you.

Not even once did Devi losehope. Her husband, she says never lether break down. “There were timeswhen we couldn’t see a way forward.The delays in hanging were dis-heartening but I never lost faith in thejudiciary. I was confident that mydaughter will get justice. When oneof the culprit filed a mercy plea onMarch 19, 2020 (Thursday), I knewthat this isn’t going to work and thatthe hanging couldn’t be furtherdelayed. They all had exhausted alltheir legal remedies and the deathsentence was confirmed. There wasno other way that they could haveextended the date this time round,”she says.

The fight is not over yet forNirbhaya’s parents. Devi and herhusband have to put some plans inplace for their way ahead. “We will beworking towards women safety in thecountry. It is not as if the fight has gotover. We have to protect all ourdaughters. We will try to help the onesin need in whichever way possible. Inthe last seven years too, we have guid-ed the ones who would seek our help.From now on, we will try and do thison a fast track,” Devi tells you.

Nirbhaya’s rapists have been hanged after ASHA DEVI’s seven-year-long fight to get justice for herdaughter whose last wish was to live. MUSBA HASHMI catches up with this courageous motherwho never lost hope in the system despite the roadblocks

Ajay Prakash Singh is a Supreme Courtlawyer from Uttar Pradesh but lives in

Delhi with his family. A law graduatefrom the Dr Ram Manohar LohiyaNational Law University, Lucknow, with aJuris Doctorate degree in Criminology, hewas been practising in Supreme Courtsince 1997. He is infamous for havingtaken up the case of two of the fourconvicts in Nirbhaya case — AkshayKumar Singh and Vinay Sharma. Whenno lawyer took up the case of the othertwo convicts, he took up their cases aswell. Apparently, it was his mother whomade him take up the cases of the fourconvicts who were hanged till death onMarch 20, 2020.

In 2013, Singh had made anoutrageous remark: “If my daughter ormy sister in engages in pre-marital ormeretricious relationship or if she lowers

her moral standards and character, I willdefinitely burn her alive in front of myfamily members.”

The second time that Singh hadmade a similar remark was where‘godman’ Chandraswami, had also playeda key role in the bail granted to SwamiChinmayanand, the former BJP leaderaccused of sexual harassment, Singh hadargued before the Allahabad HC that:“Both the girl and Swamiji had used eachother and there was no coercion.”

Over the years Singh had left nostone unturned in order to defend thefour convicts. He had filed over eightapplications in various courts and eveninvolved the National Human RightsCommission and the International Courtof Justice on grounds that the deathpenalty isn’t an acceptable form ofpunishment.

Asha Devi (third), husband Badrinath Singh and well-wishers react outside their residence in New Delhi after the hanging — Photo: Ranjan Dimri/The Pioneer

Where they are

They were hanged tooBefore the four convicts —Akshay Thakur, PawanGupta, Vinay Sharma, andMukesh Singh — were hangedon March 20,2020 at 5:30 amfor the gangrape of Nirbhayain December 2012, there wereothers too who met with asimilar fate.

Geeta-Sanjay case 1978:It was a case that had shak-en the nation to the core.Convicts Ranga aka KuljeetSingh and Billa aka Jasbirwere sent to the gallows for thekidnapping and killing of twosiblings Geeta and SanjayChopra in Delhi in 1978.The two convicts had backthen been recently releasedfrom Arthur Road in Mumbaiwhen they kidnapped the sib-lings for ransom. But whenthe duo realised that thefather of the siblings was aNaval officer they killed thechildren and not before theduo had raped Geeta. The twowere executed on January31, 1982.

Dhananjoy Chatterjee:He was the first to be hangedfor rape and murder of a 14-year-old on March 5 1990when she was at home.Chatterjee was a securityguard with an apartmentcomplex in south Kolkata.Chatterjee was born inKuludihi, Bankura in WestBengal. He had claimed,repeatedly during his trialthat he was innocent and thathe had nothing to do with themurder, rape or theft. Hemaintained his stance till theday of his execution. Thenight before he was hanged hehad requested for sweets andcurd and a new shirt andpyjama that he wore when hewas hanged – August 4, 2004at age 39.

We were waitingfor the clock tostrike 5:30 and

the headline‘Nirbhaya’s

rapists have beenhanged’ to flashon TV. When wesaw that all the

culprits had beenhanged, I rushed

to the roomwhere Nirbhaya’sphoto is. I huggedher photo, lookedinto her eyes and

said: Beta, aajaap ko nyay mil

gaya. Aap keaaropiyon kosaza mil gayi

— Asha Devi

‘‘FFooccuuss oonn rreedduucciinngg ccrriimmee’’Anuja Kapur, criminal psychologist, says

that the hanging can only be seen as aresearch work and not as animplication that crimes againstwomen will stopimmediately after this.“First, our focus shouldnot be on stopping thecrimes completelybecause it isunrealistic. It is notpossible to completelyeliminate somethingfrom a society in one go.It takes time and efforts ofone and all. We have to tacklethis step by step. Our aim, right now,should be on reducing the crimes.Second, the hanging of Nirbhaya’s culprits

is just a research work. This will help ussee how things will change in the society.One can’t expect that this will hit the

criminals hard and they will stopcommitting crimes,” she says.

She has a take on what APSingh had said after theconvicts were hanged. “Theman has made such astatement because he wantsto come into the limelight,that’s all. These people have

no business but to passderogatory remarks for women,

there’s nothing else we can expectfrom such people. What made him

question Nirbhaya’s character was may bethat he has never learnt to respectwomen,” Kapur asserts.

The infamous defender

You are likely to neglect your physical as well asemotional health this week. Take rest to regain yourphysical, mental and spiritual energies. Get over anynegativities and maintain a positive attitude to deal withany health challenges that come your way. This week,your work related goals will be accomplished. Thiswould also mean that you will be weighed down by theresponsibilities that come with it. Delegate work andapply time management ideas. This is an excellent timefor love. You are about to enter a loving phase in yourlife, filled with calm energy and deeper understanding.Those who are committed will find their relationship goto higher levels. Singles, this is the time to go out andmingle.

Lucky number 25Lucky colour IndigoLucky day Tuesday

ARIES March 21-April 19

Pay a close attention to your emotions. Do not push backany decision related to your health like getting a testdone or a surgery or may be following a fitness plan.Make sure to maintain positive thinking and a balancedbehaviour. Work wise, things will go well. Chances ofpromotion are indicated. Do not hesitate to negotiate forwhat you are worth, you might be surprised at thepositive response. Use your abilities of harnessing yourthoughts and conquer your fears. Those looking for anew job, may find one. In love, you are aware of theexisting issues. The good part is that you are not lettingany of that disturb your relations. In case, you feel theydo, make changes to sort out the differences. It is a goodtime to start a new relationship.

Lucky number 21Lucky colour PurpleLucky day Thursday

TAURUS April 20-May 20

Be in control of your emotions and treat your body withcare and compassion. Consult a doctor in case ofhealth issues, and trust their advice. An older male,who could be your doctor, father or a relative, willmotivate you to follow a fitness plan. Have thedetermination to achieve your goals. Others may try tolimit your capabilities. Be confident to overcome anyopposition. Few of you will undertake a new project ora venture. Those looking for jobs may face competition.Those in a relationship, do not hesitate to speak yourmind to your partner. This will help you strengthen yourrelationship. Those having issues must stand firm ontheir ground as there can be no compromise at thistime. Singles may meet someone special.

Lucky number 10Lucky colour WhiteLucky day Monday

GEMINI May 21-June 20

You are filled with positive energy. Be open to newideas for growth and development. Get a freshperspective on life and be open to healing. At work asituation may arise and you may face a set back closerto the completion of your project. Trust yourself andcount on your inner resources to overcome anydifficulties. Your hidden enemies will oppose you,therefore, be strong. It is an apt time to renew yourlove life. Express yourself to your partner and see howit strengthens your relationship. You are likely toexplore other aspects of your relationship which youhaven’t done earlier. Singles, before you enter into anew relationship, first be sure what of you want in arelationship and then proceed.

Lucky number 28Lucky colour RedLucky day Wednesday

CANCER June 21-July 22

Your health is overshadowed by worry, anxiety andstress. Even a minor health challenge will make you feellow. You need to stop worrying about the future andthink about what needs to be done now. Draw upon yourinner strength to maintain your flexibility. On the careerfront, things are good. This is the time when issuesrelated to your interaction with others will come to anend. A certain compromise will create a harmoniousenvironment. Those who are experiencing stress need totake time off and spend quality time with close ones. Inlove, this week you will be inspired and motivated aboutyour relationship with your partner. Singles, start of anew relationship is indicated. Make yourself available forlove, whichever way possible.

Lucky number 7Lucky colour PeachLucky day Thursday

VIRGO Aug 23-Sep 22

You may opt for an inflexible approach where healthmatters are concerned. A new health regime may provebeneficial for you in the long term. All is well on the workfront. Opportunities will come your way. You will be full ofinspiration through the week, but you need to work inorder to get the desired result. Forget the failures in thepast, look ahead for a promising and bright future. Thoselooking for employment, are likely to get the desiredposition. On the relationship front, those who arecommitted will find a deeper spiritual meaning with theirpartner. Singles, first consider where you are going beforestarting a new relationship. Be careful as you have thetendency to become carefree. This would put you in anadverse situation.

Lucky number 3Lucky colour GreenLucky day Friday

LIBRA Sep 23-Oct 22

You will be disciplined when it comes to health. Thosesuffering from an ailment should adopt a health regimethat suits their body. You will have full control over youremotional energies. On the career front, you will trustyourself and your abilities. For those who are unhappy intheir current position, new opportunities are likely tocome your way. Play your cards well. Your strong desireto make changes will open up a path to success. Thoseseeking jobs may find one. In romance, you are likely toface some challenges. Convey your feelings to yourpartner and if possible spend some time apart. Whendifficult times are over, you can make the decisionwhether to continue your relationship or not. Singlesshould not rush into a relationship.

Lucky number 23Lucky colour MagentaLucky day Tuesday

SCORPIO Oct 23-Nov 21

You will receive a good news related to your health.Those suffering from an illness will recover soon. Staypositive. You will feel optimistic about your future.Avoid slack and continue to work towards your goodhealth. On the career front, things are not that great.Stay calm and reassess your situation. Chances arethere that you might achieve your goal. Consult atrusted friend or a career counsellor, as it might helpyou view your current situation in a new perspective.Love life seems to be confusing. You may find yourselfquestioning whether or not to stay in a relationship.The decision will affect your present and your future.Singles, this may not be a good time to get in arelationship.

Lucky number 24Lucky colour Parrot GreenLucky day Saturday

AQUARIUS Jan 20-Feb 18

Health wise, your biggest payoff lies in the routine. It isbest to make progress, slow and steady. Take charge ofyour situation. You have it in you to be thorough and dealwith issues successfully. You may face a dilemma at yourworkplace which demands an action or decision. Beforeyou go ahead with your decision, analyse all the availableinformation as it is of great importance. Your own valuesystem may be challenged, if that is the case, then staytrue to yourself. Choose what you think is right, keepinginto account long term benefits. With regard to your lovelife, this is a very good time. Those who are committedwill move to the next level. You are likely to have apeaceful and a happy love life. Overall, you will be contentand so will be others around you.

Lucky number 20Lucky colour BrownLucky day Saturday

PISCES Feb 19-March 20

You will enjoy good health this week. Those facing healthissues, be caring towards your body. Women with strongfeminine energy, could be your wife, mother or a friend,will help you heal in this situation. Maintain a positiveattitude and trust in universe’s healing energy. Even ifyou are healthy, continue to take care of yourself. This isa crucial period on the career front. You will be excitedabout taking up a new project or a venture. A promisingopportunity will come your way. Your love life is likely togo well this week. It is time to embrace change and takea long term view of your future. It is recommended thatyou have a conversation with your partner. Single shouldtake some time out for their personal life, else you willmiss a promising opportunity.

Lucky number 10Lucky colour YellowLucky day Sunday

CAPRICORN Dec 22-Jan 19

This week you will experience an upswing in terms ofyour health. With positive health comes happiness inother aspects of life as well. You will realise that you havecome a full circle, whether in career or relationships. Yourhealth will be exceptionally supportive. Be grateful forwhat you have. Things are not perfect at your work place.Practice active listening to ensure that you and your co-workers are on the same page. Some of you may feeldisconnected as you are unsure of your destination. Youneed to let go of your mental blocks or negativity. Be calmand let your inner voice guide you. You are at that point oftime in your relationship when you need to decidewhether or not to stay with your beloved. The decisionwill surely affect your future.

Lucky number 8Lucky colour BlackLucky day Saturday

LEO July 23-Aug 22

You will be able to tackle any health issue that arises atthis time as your mental energies are in control and well-directed. Your determination will help you lead a healthylife. Enjoy this phase. Career-wise, you will be able toachieve a lot in a short time. Even in the time ofdifficulties, you will be active and sustain your creativevision. You will be focussed on your goals while beingfriendly to those around you. Ensure that you don’t burnyourself with your over ambitious attitude. Inrelationship, it is time for you to keep your balance inevery way that you can. Pay attention to your ideas andyour partner’s as well. This approach will put you inharmony with your partner. Singles, may find someonereally special.

Lucky number 6Lucky colour Off-whiteLucky day Wednesday

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22-Dec 21

YYOOUURRWWEEEEKK

AHEADMADHU KOTIYA

sundaymagazine

tarot 8BE FAITHFUL IN SMALLTHINGS BECAUSE IT IS IN

THEM THAT YOURSTRENGTH LIES

— MOTHER TERESA Vijayawada, March 22, 2020

Awoman worried about her mar-riage prospects given her advanc-ing age came asking the other

day: “I am touching 40 this year, and yetI have not been able to find a reliablepartner who would stand by me. I amfairly attractive to look at and profes-sionally, too, I am doing comfortablywell. What is it that prospective groomsfind lacking in me? In the past, I cameclose to settling down with three guys atdifferent times, but they all ditched mejust as the marriage was fixed. Whatdoes my destiny have in store for mewhere marriage is concerned? Is itdenied?”

Answering her questions, I told herthat marriage was not denied at all.Rahu, the 7th sub-lord identified withmarital prospects, occupied the 2ndhouse marked with addition to family.Rahu is conjunct the lagna lord Mercu-ry, and in a sign owned by Moon, whichoccupies the 5th house identified withlove life. The linkage of the denomina-tors of the 7th house with the 2nd, pro-mises marriage. Further linkage withthe 5th house indicates a marriage ofone’s own choice, which she has beenvying for. For this very reason, she

keeps rejecting the proposals offered byher family members. Here again, the 5thsub-lord Saturn, occupies the nakshatraowned by the Sun posited in the 2ndhouse, implying that she will developrelationship. But she could not hold onto any of them. The question now iswhy? Particularly when marriage seemspromised. Was it because by chance shehappened to pick up unfaithful lovemates? Or, they felt that their chemistrywill not work because of her habit ten-dencies? A look into astrological point-ers to her personality traits will offer theright answer.

She was born in Gemini lagnaimplies that she may quickly developfriendships but will find fault with themequally fast. For, she wishes to live onher own exclusive terms. So, she maylike only ‘yes persons’ around. Till suchtime people agree to her viewpoints,they remain her best friends for whomshe may do all that she could do. Themoment one disagrees with her on anycount, she can’t digest. Mercury thelagna lord is conjunct erratic Rahu, andboth placed adverse to Uranus. Thatmakes her unconventional, eccentric,and opinionated. It also accounts for her

insensible reasoning and judgment. Ifthat would not be enough, even the Sunis placed adverse to Uranus, which fur-ther accentuates the above tendencies.

Mind signifying Moon is debilitated.It is conjunct mischievous Neptune, andalso placed adverse to Jupiter as well asfiery Mars. This in the first place, makesher stuck to delusional dream percep-tions, often distanced from ground reali-ties. She may not be keen to look beyondfor a reality check. She may notacknowledge truth on its first appear-ance. She may rather prefer passionatelypursuing her own line of thinking onhope against hope till pushed to the wall.Second, she would be temperamental,moody, aggressive, impulsive, rash andargumentative. Third, she may be emo-tionally volatile. All the more, becausethe Sun is also placed adverse to emo-tions signifying Venus. That makes hertoo much touchy and sensitive. Even ontrivial issues, she may get over exercised,and may stretch them beyond due,mulling over them for long. In theprocess, she loses her sense of objectivityand priority preference get compro-mised. Third, she would be domineeringand live in a demanding mode, not real-ising that the world doesn’t necessarilymove to an individual’s asking. Once

provoked, she may become stingy andovercritical of others. At times, she maybecome mean also. Fourth, she carriespeculiar beliefs because of which, she isoften misunderstood by others.

Her love mates were good or bad, isbeside the point, as their personalitytraits can’t be figured out through herastrological chart. But because of herown mental infirmities as detailedabove, she would have scared themenough to run away from her life. She,therefore, in the first place, needs tounderstand that before blaming othersone should look into own fault lines.Second, life can’t be lived just in ademanding mode. One needs to beaccommodating, often ignoring someweaknesses in the other. In the process,their positives, that may be more, eludesone’s attention. So is said: “Watch yourthoughts, they become words; watchyour words, they turn in action; watchyour actions, they become habits; watchyour habits, that forms your destiny.”

The writer is an astrologer, vastu consultant and spiritual counsellor. Write to him at

G-102, Bharat Nagar, New Friends Colony, New Delhi-110 025

Tel: 91-11-49848475/9818037273 Email: bharatbhushanpadmadeo@gmail.com

ASTROTURFBHARAT BHUSHAN PADMADEO

Madhu Kotiya is a tarot card reader, spiritual healer, and Founder, MShezaim Institute of Tarot and Divination. Contact details: madhu@indiatarot.com, www.indiatarot.com, M: 9873283331

Watch your thought process

TEAM AGENDA DESK > NAVNEET MENDIRATTA, CONSULTING EDITOR | H LAYOUT AND DESIGN > SATISH CHANDRA JAKHMOLA, SENIOR EDITOR (CREATIVE)

NNooww yyoouu ccaann wwrriittee ttoo uuss aatt ppiioonneeeerr..ffeeaattuurreess@@ggmmaaiill..ccoomm

l Myth: Coronavirus will disappear whensummer sets in India. Fact: From the evidence so far, the newcoronavirus can be transmitted in all areas,including areas with hot and humid weather. l Myth: Taking a hot bath can preventcoronavirus disease. Fact: Our normal body temperature is 97.5degree F. Taking hot bath will only raise our bodytemperature. Additionally, extreme hot water isharmful for us.l Myth: Pets at home can spread coronavirus. Fact: To date, there is no evidence that pets suchdogs or cats can be infected with COVID-19.However, it is prudent to wash hands before andafter handling them.l Myth: Eating Chicken or other meats can causeCOVID-19. Fact: There is no such evidence. However, eat wellcooked meat and avoid raw meat.l Myth: Wear a mask when you step out. Fact: There is no need to wear a mask for healthypeople. If you have fever, cold and cough wear athree-layer surgical mask to protect others fromgetting infected. Seek medical attention as well.N95 mask is only required for healthcareprofessionals.

The novel coronavirus outbreak (2019-nCoV, now called SARS-CoV-2)causing the COVID-19 viral diseasethat has swept into 156 countries,which affected 191,127 people (as on

March 18, 2020) and killed more than 7807people is now officially a pandemic, as declaredby the World Health Organisation (WHO).

It is for the first time that the WHO hascalled an outbreak a pandemic since the H1N1“swine flu” in 2009. The 1918 Spanish fluepidemic was the deadliest flu season that weknow of, infecting about one-third of the world’spopulation.

Coronaviruses are a large group of virusesthat are known to infect both humans andanimals, and in humans causes respiratoryillness that range from common colds to muchmore serious infections. The most well-knowncase of a coronavirus epidemic was Severe AcuteRespiratory Syndrome (SARS), which, after firstbeing detected in southern China in 2002, wenton to affect 26 countries and resulted in morethan 8,000 cases and 774 deaths.

The COVID-19 disease appears to haveoriginated from a Wuhan seafood market wherewild animals, including marmots, birds, rabbits,bats and snakes, are traded illegally.Coronaviruses are known to jump from animalsto humans, so it is thought that the first people

infected with the disease — a group primarilymade up of stall holders from the seafoodmarket — contracted it from contact withanimals.

If we compare COVID-19 with two othercoronavirus outbreaks in the recent past, we willsee that it is less lethal. With a mortality ratecurrently estimated at around 2 percent (a rangeof 0.7 to 3), it is less deadly to those whobecome affected than SARS or MERS.According to early WHO estimates, the averagereproductive rate (r0) of coronavirus rangedbetween 1.4 and 2.5. That means, on an average,each confirmed case of coronavirus would infectbetween 1.4 and 2.5 other people. It is, therefore,more contagious than some of the deadliestairborne viruses.

India is one of the first countries in theworld to prepare for an outbreak of COVID-19outbreak. According to Health ministry, Indiabegan screening people at airports from 17January onwards, six days after Chinese statemedia reported the first known death from anillness caused by the virus and a good two weeksbefore the WHO declared it a global healthemergency.

As on date, India has over 200 confirmedCOVID-19 cases and is on Stage 2, whichmeans we have only local transmission frompositive cases. The Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) believes that we mayeventually slip into Stage 3, where the diseasespreads in the community and large areas areaffected. ICMR also says that we haveapproximately 30 days window period to haltthis transmission and that’s where our focus as acountry should be on.

Till now, India has taken following stringentmeasures to address the problem:l Mandatory checks at airport and quarantineas required.l Blanket Visa ban until at least April 15, 2020.l Invoked Disaster Management Act tocentralise the response and preparedness.l Invoked Epidemic Act for the same purpose.l Created isolation facilities across the countryusing Armed Forces and Paramilitary Forcesfacilities.l Carried Rescue Missions from China, Iranand Italy to bring back Indians who are at risk ofCOVID-19 exposure.

Indian Healthcare Sector along with Centraland State Government is fully prepared to dealwith the outbreak. However, we need to keep inmind that every country in the world is facingsome challenges despite their socio-economicstatus as the virus is spreading very rapidly.

In today’s world, naturally fear is always the

first wave of every epidemic. But, we mustrealise that we have had pandemics before, andwe have responded to them before. It is veryimportant to know what each one of us can doto fight against COVID-19.

WHO advises seven simple steps for everyone of us to stay safe and prevent the virus fromspreading to other people. These are:STEP 1: Wash your hands frequently, regularlyand thoroughly with an alcohol-based hand rub(use a hand sanitiser that contains at least 60%alcohol, for at least 20 seconds) or wash themwith soap and water (for at least 40-60 seconds).Wash your hands after coughing or sneezing,when caring for the sick, before, during andafter you prepare food, before eating, after toiletuse, when hands are visibly dirty and afterhandling animals or animal waste. We use ourhands to touch objects and surfaces that may becontaminated. Without realising it, we thentouch our faces, transferring viruses to our eyes,nose and mouth where they can infect us.Washing your hands with soap and water orusing alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses thatmay be on your hands, including the virus thatcauses COVID-19.STEP 2: Avoid touching your eyes, nose andmouth to avoid transmission of virus. Handstouch many surfaces and can pick up viruses.Once contaminated, hands can transfer thevirus to your eyes, nose or mouth and can thenenter your body and make you sick.STEP 3: Cover your mouth and nose when yousneeze or cough with the bend of your elbow orwith a tissue. Also make sure that you, and thepeople around you, follow good respiratoryhygiene. Dispose of the used tissue immediatelyinto a closed bin and wash your hands. Whensomeone coughs or sneezes, they spray smallliquid droplets from their nose or mouth whichmay contain virus. By covering your cough orsneeze, you avoid spreading viruses and othergerms to other people. By using the bend of yourelbow or a tissue and not your hands to coveryour cough or sneeze, you avoid transferringcontaminated droplets to your hands. Thisprevents you from contaminating a person or asurface through touching them with your hands.STEP 4: Avoid crowded places and close contactwith anyone that has fever or cough, andinternational travel history in recent past. This ismore important for people over 60 years of ageor with underlying health condition such ashigh blood pressure, diabetes, heart and lungdiseases or cancer. Maintain at least 1 metre (3feet) of distance between yourself and anyonewho has a fever or cough. COVID-19 spreadsmainly by respiratory droplets that come out of

the mouth or nose when a person who has thedisease coughs. By avoiding crowded places, youkeep yourself distant from people who may beinfected with COVID-19 or any otherrespiratory disease. This is called SocialDistancing and is proven a very effectivestrategy for containment.STEP 5: Stay at home if you feel unwell, evenwith a slight fever and cough. By staying homeand not going to work or other places, you willrecover faster and will avoid transmittingdiseases to other people. This is called HomeIsolation and is very effective for rationing ofhealthcare resources to sicker individuals.STEP 6: If you have a fever, cough and difficultybreathing, seek medical care early. If you can,call your hospital or health centre first so thatthey can tell you where you should go. In Indiathe helpline number set up by Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare is: +91 11 23978046.This will help to make sure you get the rightadvice, are directed to the right health facility,and will prevent you from infecting others.STEP 7: Get information from trusted sources.Stay informed about the latest information fromabout COVID-19 from trusted sources. Makesure your information comes from reliablesources — Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare, Government of India website, theWHO website, or local health authorities.Everyone should know the symptoms — formost people, it starts with a fever and a drycough. Local and national authorities will havethe most up-to-date information on whetherCOVID-19 is spreading in your area. They arebest placed to advise on what people in yourarea should be doing to protect themselves.

In addition, we also need to understand thatso far 80% of people affected by COVID-19have mild symptoms and recovered from thedisease in two weeks. Most coronavirus illnessare also generally mild for children and youngadults. Treatment is similar to other coronavirusoutbreak protocols with some drugs (Undertrial) are now being tried in very sick patients.We do not have an effective vaccine as yet andtherefore seek proper medical attention in timeand avoid self-medications.

It is time we realise that COVID-19 isspreading through our human networks —through our countries, our towns, ourworkplaces and our families. In this spread, asingle person’s behaviour can cause ripple effectacross the globe. Let us be responsible and fightthe coronavirus outbreak together.

The author is President, Asian Society forEmergency Medicine (ASEM)

sundaymagazine

Stories from a festival that celebratesthe land of the glorious Bundelas — its

rich history, culture and cuisine

F R O M T H E I N S I D E

Vijayawada, March 22, 2020

Mix it up

IF YOU HAVE A FEVER,COUGH ANDDIFFICULTY

BREATHING, SEEKMEDICAL CARE EARLY.

IF YOU CAN, CALLYOUR HOSPITAL OR

HEALTH CENTRE FIRSTSO THAT THEY CAN

TELL YOU WHERE YOUSHOULD GO. IN INDIA

THE HELPLINE NUMBERSET UP BY MINISTRY

OF HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE IS:

+91 11 23978046

I think there’s a partof a woman that

wants to be the thingthat breaks a man

down— Dakota Johnson

Gone are the days when bartending used to be looked down upon. The drinkingscenario is changing in India and so are the people

As India preps to make Janta Curfew a success today, it is time we realised that COVID-19 is spreadingthrough our human networks and that a single person’s behaviour can cause ripple effect across the globetransmission. The onus, therefore, is upon us to check its spread, writes DR TAMORISH KOLE

10 11Celebrating Raja Ram of Orchha

sundaymagazine

miscellany 10Vijayawada, March 22, 2020

CHANDRA SHEKHAR AZAD MADETHE ORCHHA FOREST AS HIS BASE

IN THE 1920S AND SET UP ANESTABLISHMENT THERE USING

THE ALIAS PANDIT HARISHANKARBRAHMACHARI

Recently, when US PresidentDonald Trump was in Indiawith the agenda to push the

Indo-American strategic andtrade relations to new heights,there was unrest in the Capital,with North-East Delhi being theworst hit by communal riots. Thesame period coincided with thefirst anniversary of the Balakot airstrikes, in retaliation to thekillings of 40 jawans who losttheir lives when terrorists —aided and abetted by Pakistan —attacked an Army base inPulwama. To mark the anniver-sary, the Global CounterTerrorism Council (GCTC) held around-table conference with Lt-Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, formerAir Marshal Anil Chopra, Lt-GenSatish Dua, former diplomat TCARaghavan, Prof Amitabh Mattooand retired police officer PrabhaRao as speakers.

Taking part in the discussion,Lt-Gen Hasnain reiterated that weshould not look at Balakot in iso-lation. “We must look at incidentswhich are happening today andthe incidents which happened onAugust 5, when the Governmentof India revoked the special statusgranted under Article 370 of theConstitution to Jammu andKashmir,” he said as he remindedhow it was only after the Uri ter-

ror attacks that India started tak-ing tangible action on terrorismgenerating from across the border.“It reduced the strength of terror-ists quite significantly,” he said.

Another watershed develop-ment of the Balakot strike wasthat it called the nuclear hoaxpaddled way too often by thePakistani political and militaryestablishment. It exposed themyth that any Indian ‘misadven-ture’ would lead to a war, more soa nuclear one. The conventionalwisdom was that with Pakistanwell equipped with nuclearweapons, it was suicidal to crossthe borders. And if ever that hap-pened, it would lead to nuclearcatastrophe in the subcontinent.Balakot proved it was a well-craft-ed lie. For, it showcased there isseveral layers of strategic anddiplomatic actions between apunitive strike on terrorism andnuclear warfare.

Lt-Gen Hasnain also ques-tioned the notion that withBalakot we have done enough totackle terrorism. “Actually, thethought should be that we havejust started,” he said. “Now whatwe need in India is more of strate-gic planning through research, forwhich information is an impor-tant domain. It’s our responsibilityto convey our narrative just not

internationally but to our nationtoo,” he said explaining that aconflict doesn’t mean one opera-tion followed by victory. “There isa whole theory of conflict wherefirst comes conflict initiation,then progression, then stabilisa-tion, then transformation, thenresolution and finally termina-tion. And in this theory, Pakistan

is always a nice conflict initiatorbut worst conflict terminator,” headded.

Lt-Gen Dua took the dis-course to history and remindedthat India had never been anaggressor. “If we see the greatestemperors and kings, most of themfought within the boundaries andnever were they determined in

conquering the world,” he said,adding that in order to safeguardthe unity and integrity of thenation, “we should make our-selves strong and kinetic whenrequired”. Gen Dua also explainedthe inner dynamics of thePakistan Army and how it con-trolled almost every aspect ofPakistani life, including economy.

“In Pakistan, about 52% of fundsare used for and by the Army, andless than 1% for education,” hesaid.

Raghavan too emphasised theneed to move back and take awider look at Pulwama andBalakot and the general aspect ofhow we can deal with Pakistan onthe issue of terrorism. “Often tac-tical operations can be used toconvey strategic messages andthat we have very well conveyedthrough Pulwama and Balakot,but despite that we also need tomove back and see the wider con-text. Seeing this through historicaland political prospective whatBalakot did was to send the mes-sage to Pakistan very similar ofthe kind which was send toPakistan in 1965,” he said

The former Pakistani HighCommissioner too said thatBalakot alone wouldn’t be enoughto intimidate Pakistan to cut offits terror tentacles. While remind-ing that India has added an ele-ment of unpredictability in itsresponse to Pakistan, he cau-tioned against the impression thatPakistan had been successfullyintimidated. “The fact is there areno winners here,” Raghavan said,urging the Indian establishmentto again go to the drawing boardand draft new ways to engage

with Pakistan. “It cannot be justthrough military or through tacti-cal measures; the political anddiplomatic issues need to beaddressed with political anddiplomatic measures,” he said.

Former Air Marshal Chopralauded the political and militaryleadership for Balakot. Heinformed how this mission, whichinvolved about 6,000 people,could be kept under the wraps forthe international community. “Itmakes me feel proud that thismission which involved so manypeople and so many days of plan-ning could be kept away frompublic eyes.”

The Balakot operation maynot have stopped terrorists alto-gether. It may not have totallyconvinced Pakistan to shun thejihadi path. But it definitely sent amessage, and a strong one, to theinternational community, espe-cially the one having ambiguousstand on terrorism, to makeamends. Post-Balakot, it becameapparent to one and all this in‘New India’ any terrorist misad-venture on its soil won’t gounpunished. It’s, however, just thebeginning. The Government ofIndia must always maintain itsvigil and further build its securityapparatus to take on growing ter-ror challenges and threats.

Balakot: A watershed moment The Balakot operation may not have stopped terrorists altogether, but it definitely sent a strong message to the internationalcommunity, especially the one having ambiguous stand on terrorism, to make amends, writes SANJANA MOHAN

CELEBRATING RAJA RAM OF ORCHHAThe past six months have seen a

lot of action in the sleepy townof Orchha in Madhya Pradesh,India. The kind that you seebefore a grand event about to

take place. The roads, all levelled andrepaired, look as good as new; signages arein place, homestays model a fresh look, dec-orated with local Gond art… the excitementis clearly visible. There is something aboutthe mood that takes you into a flashback,to the legend of Lord Ram’s condition to theBundela queen, that he be made the king,if she wanted him to leave Ayodhya andaccompany her to Orchha. This conditionalso makes Orchha the only place in Indiawhere Lord Ram is referred to as Raja Ramand worshipped as a king. Eventoday, there exists a templededicated to him called SriRam Raja Mandir.

Situated on thebanks of Betwa River,Orchha is locatedaround 80 km awayfrom Tikamgarh dis-trict in MadhyaPradesh and 15 kmfrom Jhansi of UttarPradesh. Jhansi being wellconnected, and as the nearest rail-head, you can easily drive down toOrchha once you reach there. Built by KingRudra Pratap Singh of Bundela dynasty inthe 16th century, this ancient town isfamous for its Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchhafort complex, Raja Mahal among others.

THE FORT WALK

The bustling Orchha Fort complexhouses several palaces and monu-ments. That Orchha is sheltered by

thick forest is one of the main reasons thatthe age-old monuments continue exist inexcellent condition. It is this well-preservedstate, and a clearly visible Mughal influencein the Bundela architecture, that recentlyput this historical town in the tentative listof the UNESCO’s world heritage.

It is recorded that King Veer Singh Devof Bundela dynasty was a close friend ofMughal emperor Jahangir and even gave

him refuge as support in latter’sfight against Akbar. The

Jahangir Mahal insidethe Orchha Fort

bears testi-

mony to the royal hospitality extended tothe Mughal king for a night. This four-storey architectural masterpiece is a mix ofMuslim and Rajput architecture and hascountless rooms with arched entrances, bal-conies and latticed windows that frameminiature painting-like views of the mon-ument-studded riverbank outside.

The Raja Mahal, Sheesh Mahal and RaiPraveen Mahal are three other palacehighlights that make this fort popularamong the tourists. Of these, Rai PraveenMahal has an interesting history. It is saidthat Rai Praveen was a courtesan inBundela king’s court. So famous was thebeauty of this courtesan that EmperorAkbar summoned her to his court in Agra.It is said that upon reaching Agra, the intel-ligent courtesan composed a couplet for theemperor asking him why he should wantto enjoy a meal that was already tasted. Thisearned her release to return home and aPalace inside the Orchha Fort.

TEMPLES AND CHHATRIS OF ORCHHA

Outside the fort, an impres-sive Chaturbhuj templestands testimony to theKing Ram legend. The

story goes that

after the grand temple was built, Lord Ramappeared in the queen’s dream, refusing toreside there. A section of the palace wasthen converted into the Ram Raja Temple,which continues to be worshipped so bypeople who come to pay respects to “KingRam” who rules Orchha. To date, no deityis worshipped inside Chaturbhuj temple.

A beautiful Laxmi Narayan temple islocated very close to River Betwa, a 10-minute drive from the fort. Down the stepsof the temple, along the banks of the river,are located the chhatris or the cenotaphs ofthe Bundela rulers. Fourteen in number,these chhatris are made in stone with

domed ceilings, reminding you of a mixof Mughal and Hindu architecture.

CELEBRATING BUNDELKHANDICULTURE

Cut to present,the banks ofBetwa river

next to the chhatris camealive to the strains ofIndian classical musicand dance,with leg-endary Hindustaniclassical vocalistShubha Mudgalopening the cul-tural evening witha soulful rendi-tion of a ban-dish dedicatedLord Ram —Jab harid h a n u s hdhare. She

was followed by a highly energetic danseuseAditi Mangaldas and her troupe. A surrealaarti was offered to the river by dance groupSadhya creating magic for the audience.

Curated by Yasmin Kidwai of Springboxfilms, Namaste Orchha is an attempt by theMadhya Pradesh Tourism Board to put thissleepy town on the active tourist map.Though the town has been attracting a fairshare of travellers, most look at it as an‘optional’ visit when they plan their travel toa more famous Khajuraho nearby. Thisunique three-day was organised earlier thismonth to celebrate the rich history, cultureand cuisine of Bundelkhand.

For the first time, the town bore witnessto unusual collaborations and performancesby international artistes such as sitarist SmitaNagdev, fusion band Mrigya, bhakti folksinger Kaluram Bamaniya, Indian Ocean,santoor-player Shruti Adhikari, Kabir-folksinger Prahlad Tipaniya, singer Shilpa Rao,composer Clinton Cerejo and Franco-Spanish musician Manu Chao. Multipleguided tours of Orchha, such as photogra-phy tours, heritage walks, yoga sessions andrafting were held to get the visitors to engagewith the locals and discover the hidden gem.

Crafts promotion, including directengagement with the weavers, aimed to putthe town on the textile map. DesignerAnupama Dayal collaborated with thehomestay owners and handpainted theexteriors and walls around town to lend anartistic touch and quirk to the stays.

What’s a festival without local food tast-ing? A unique food curation by Delhi-basedfood writer and curator, Anoothi Vishal,brought together noted Indian chefs likeVikramjit Roy and Harangad Singh tointerpret Bundelkhandi cuisine and localingredients in their inimitable styles. Therewas also a touch of the indigenous by homechef Vandana Dubey who put together aspread of Bundelkhandi food, includingbada, thandula-aloo sabzi and tamatarchutney-bathue ka raita. Anamika Singh ofAnandini Himalaya Tea gave Orchha its veryown blend — Ram Raja Blend.

“The history and story of Orchha is tooimportant and too beautiful to be dependenton anything or anyone to discover,” saidKidwai as she shared the tourism plan toextend the golden triangle of Delhi to Agratill Orchha, both for national and interna-tional tourists. “The aim of the festival is toget people to visit Orchha once. And we are

confident that they would want tocome back again.” There’s the

temptation!

BUILT BY KING RUDRAPRATAP SINGH OFBUNDELA DYNASTY INTHE 16TH CENTURY, THISANCIENT TOWN ISFAMOUS FOR ITSCHATURBHUJ TEMPLE,ORCHHA FORTCOMPLEX, RAJAMAHAL AMONGOTHERS

Even today, the ancient legend holds charm in the quaint town of Orchha, says NAVNEET MENDIRATTA, as sheshares stories from a festival that celebrates the land of the glorious Bundelas, its rich history, culture and cuisine

hichdiExperiment(KE), the flagshipbrand of Ola Foodsoffers Indians thefeeling of having a

classic home-cooked meal. TheirUSP is decluttering the menuand offering something differentin the market. They have tried togive this basic dish, Khichdi, amodern twist and tried to rede-fine it into a wholesome, healthyand exciting everyday meal.

Launched in mid-2019,Khichdi Experiment offers thecomfort of a wholesome, nour-

ishing meal in a bowl. Khichdihas always been associat-

ed with bland foodor something that

only sick peopleeat. KE is here to

change that very per-ception. With more

and more Indians optingfor a better lifestyle and

home-cooked meals,Khichdi has become their

go-to dish. KE is shattering all precon-

ceived notions around the dishby serving it in 18 different vari-ations. From Palak Paneer,Mumbaiya Pav Bhaji and KeralaMathan Khichdi to Murg DalchaKhichdi, the brand offers signa-ture dishes with each flavourbeing a play on a classic dishfrom any state in the country.All dishes are accompanied bypickle and spiced papad with arange of sides like Tandoori SoyaChaap, Dhaba style Aloo,Tandoori Kathal and so on.

The Pioneer’s correspondenttried out the Palak Paneer andMurg Dalcha Khichdi. The chefgave the so-called ‘boring’ dish aunique twist by adding

Hyderabadi spices to the meat tosatisfy the taste buds of thelocals.

The Palak Paneer Khichdi,though bland, had a unique tasteto it, while the Murg DalchaKhichdi was a bit spicy, some-thing that people in Hyderabadwould love. An offline storedelivers meals starting from Rs220. However, one cannot thesedishes on everyday basis as theymight get bored with similartastes of all Khichdis.

Explaing what inspired themto start KE, Pranay Jivrajka,CEO of Ola Foods, said, “As a truly Indian brand, there is no better way to startour journey than by reimaginingIndia’s national dish. Launchedwith an aim of creating a differ-entiator in a rather clutteredmarket and curat-ing consistentfood experiencesfor everydayIndia, Khichdi Experimenthas given a flavourful twist toIndia’s comfort food.”

Speaking of the experimentswith local elements, ingredientsand flavours, he said, “We intro-duced 18 innovative dishes com-prising both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. To offer a

holistic experience, we launchedour first restaurant in Bengaluruand are experimenting with dif-ferent retail models, including acorporate kiosk, presence inmalls, food trucks etc., to ensurewe reach a wider base of con-sumers. We opted to launch ourbrand starting with targetedcities owing to theirdiverse demo-graphicsandcap-

italiseon their candour toexperiment with new dishes.”

Price: Average Food: 3.5Overall rating: 3.25/5

or an industry thatbarely existed inIndia few years ago,world-renownedmixologists are nowdriving change. Over

years, India’s drinking culturehas changed radically. Throughone door, you’ll generally findold school bartenders pitchingdrinks for Happy Hours, wear-ing casuals, while on the otherhand, you’ll see carefullymethodical experts preparingconcoctions for your reverentsipping pleasure.

The latter are often referredto as Mixologists, a term givento practitioners of Mixology,which is another way of refer-ring to the practice of makinggood cocktails.

One such mixologist isHyderabad-based ChapayAnand from the bar, Zero 40.He was recently crowned thewinner at the Brown FormanAmerican Whiskey LegacyCocktail Challenge 2020.

Anand’s creations — TheDark Soul and The ChantingJack — were adjudged the bestcocktails among creations byover 250 mixologiosts fromacross the country.

Mixology, however, was not awell-known profession in thiscountry until a few years back.Speaking to the The Pioneer,Anand tells us what made himchoose this profession. “I start-ed my career as an assistant bartender in 2010 at a renownedpub in the city. Few regular

customers would ask me tomake something interesting forthem. That made look up onthe internet and throughYouTube tutorials learnt how tomake cocktails. I kept learningfor a while,” he said.

“After working there for twoyears, I joined another pub

where I was made the seniorbartender. Here I got theoppurtunity to mingle with alot of foreigners who wouldinquire about new cocktails.That is where my mixologyjourney started. Later I joinedanother pub where I startedmaking my own cocktails and

eventually started makinghome-made syrups, currey etc,”he continued.

Right now, many bars wantto ensure zero wastage whenthey make cocktails and arecoming up with unique waysfor the same. He said,“Everyday about three to fourlitres of stout beer is wasted atthe place i work. I decided towork around it. I made a syrupout of that beer and mixed itwith Jack Daniel Whiskey andadded pineapple cordial withlime and chocolate dip. Thatwas first cocktail I presented atthe competion.”

Chapay exhibited greatcraftsmanship in making six ofhis signature cocktails and stolethe show. He wanted his cock-tail ingredients to be sustain-able with zero waste. Though itwas initially a challenge, afterseveral trials he succeeded inmaking a balanced and tastycocktail.

“The idea behind this is that

none of the ingredients gowaste as I understand theimportance of food. I am abiker as well and I often go ontreks and rides. My group hasgot stuck many times with lim-ited good availability and it’sonly our prayers that got us outof there,” he said.

Explaining about the scope ofmixology in India, he said,“India was not open to drinkingearlier. We would hide fromelders and drink. Now, the trendis changing. I see youth comingwith their parents and drinkingwith them. This way even theparents get to experience the-cocktails. There is a lot of scopefor mixology in India right now.”

K

F

sundaymagazine

food 11Vijayawada, March 22, 2020

PEOPLE HAVING BRONCHIAL PROBLEMS LIKE SINSUITS,SINUS AND MANY FACES A LOT OF PROBLEMS DUE TO LOWER

IMMUNITY. CURCUMIN CAN BE HELPFUL IN FACING SUCHPROBLEMS AND BUILDING UP THE IMMUNITY SO THAT THERE

SHOULD NOT BE SUCH KIND OF RESPIRATION PROBLEMS

ealth is the biggest wealth ineveryone’s life, even more so dur-ing the present unforeseen timeswhen we are grappling with thedeadly Coronavirus attack.

IMMUNITY is the body’s naturaldefence against disease-causing bacteriaand virus which can considerablyreduce the odds of getting sick. It isonly due to the weak immunity thatpeople are getting affected with thewidespread coronavirus and other suchpandemics.

So, to fortify our immune system, weshould look into the ancient wisdom ofour Indian kitchen and what a betterway than to fall back to good-oldturmeric, which is loaded with anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and anti-bac-terial properties due to the presence ofcurcumin. Add it to your food whilecooking, temper your favourite currywith it or simply add a dash to makeyourself a glorious golden milk.

“Curcumin has known immune sys-tem modulation properties and it altersimmune response so as to avoid hyper-sensitivity reaction. Bronchial problemsactually result from the hypersensitivereaction of the immune system andCurcumin helps balance these reactions— proves to be a fast relief,” explains DrSaurabh Arora, inventor of SNEC30,Arbro Pharmaceuticals.

Turmeric aids in making our immu-nity stronger, the main life-savingingredient in turmeric is about 3-5 percent of Curcumin; a phyto-derivative,which contains healing properties.

Here are some health issues and howturmeric can keep them at bay:

COUGH AND COLD: As the temperature changes from coldto warm, it is very common for individ-uals to catch a common cold or flu.Turmeric helps the body naturallycleanse the respiratory tract, Turmerichelps fight the infection and it’s anti-inflammatory qualities relieve individu-als from the direct impact of cold andflu.

RESPIRATORY AILMENTS: People having bronchial problems likeSinsuits, Sinus and many faces a lot ofproblems due to lower immunity.Curcumin can be helpful in facing suchproblems and building up the immuni-ty so that there should not be such kindof respiration problems.

UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACTPROBLEMS: Symptoms results in bronchial asthma,congestion of nose and airway due toinflammation, cough, cold and occa-sionally, shortness of breath, affectingchildren, adults, and elderly population.Inflammation constricts the airwaysand makes it difficult to breathe. This isoften related to an exaggerated responseby the immune system that leads tochronic inflammation and damage tolung tissue by free radicals. Curcumininhibits inflammation, relieves conges-tion and pain and thus improves yourbreathing.

VIRAL REPLICATION: Curcumin helps in boosting up theimmunity and helps to fight againstviral replication of a disease which mayhave an incubation period ranging from1 or 2 days to years.

REDUCES INFLAMMATION: Curcumin suppresses various inflam-matory molecules which are responsiblefor the causes of the damage caused byviruses. It helps in reduces symptomsand provides relief.

INHIBIT VIRAL REPLICATION: Exhibits all the antiviral properties byreducing the replication of the virus.Curcumin hence reduces the viral load.

— IANS

H

BOOSTyourimmunitywithturmeric

MixUPititGone are the days when bartending used to belooked down upon. The drinking scenario ischanging in India and so are the people.Hyderabad-based mixologist, Chapay Anand, whowas crowned the winner of the Brown FormanAmerican Whiskey Legacy Cocktail Challenge2020, spoke to K RAMYA SREE about the scopeof mixology in India, his journey to success,winning recipes and more

THE CHANTING JACK HIGHBALLGentleman Jack: 60 mlSweet lime bitters: 3 dashSweet lime marmalade: 15 mlSweet lime juice: 60 mlSweet lime soda splash Garnish with dehydratedsweet lime and serve in highball glass.

THE DARK SOULJack Daniel's no-7:

60 mlHomemadepineapple cordial:

15 mlHomemade stoutsyrup: 15 mlLime juice: 15 mlWoodford reservechocolate bitters:

3 dashGarnish with

chocolate dippeddehydrated

pineapple andserve in an old

fashioned glass

A different take onthe humble KhichdiCooking is definitely a chore although it is for our own sustenance. But, there are

days when one just wants to sit back, relax and order some food. But eatingoutside brings another set of issues — is it healthy? Is the kitchen hygienic?

This is where Khichdi Experiment comes in as it portrays itself as a brand whichnot just caters to your needs, but is healthy too. Read on as K RAMYA SREE

reviews the newly launched online restaurant in the city

Palak Paneer Khichdi

Pav Bhaaji Khichdi

am the eldest of five siblings; Ihave three sisters and a brother.My father, Kumari Ananthan,was very active politically andhence quite busy. My mother,

Krishna Kumar, used to confine herselfto raising us. Unlike many other wivesof politicians, my mother was totallydevoted to her children and family. Eachof my three sisters was born a year apart.Being the eldest, I would attend my sis-ters’ Parents-Teacher meetings. Myteachers used to laugh at this, but beingthe eldest, I naturally took up theresponsibility. I cannot say I was out-standing in academics, but I used to par-ticipate in extra-curricular activities. Iwas student leader of Tamil Sanghamin Madras Medical College and organ-ised a lot of programmes there.

Shift to south ChennaiI studied in a very good convent

school in Rayapuram, south Chennai,where affluent families live. NorthChennai is like Dharavi of Mumbai,where most people are from the southof Tamil Nadu. My father contested fromthat constituency and lost by a marginof 1,040 votes. The constituency has 50per cent fishermen and 50 per centNada, a community which we belong to.When he contested, he promised peo-ple that, irrespective of the outcome, hewould stay with them. Later, my fatherwas adamant that we move there and mymother was reluctant. In 1975, weshifted and my entire life changed.Named sis after a doc

My father is a thoroughCongressman, dedicated to the coun-try and committed to his party; hewouldn’t juggle between family andwork like those in Dravidian parties. Iwas studying in 8th standard when Iaccompanied my mother to a hospitalas she was full term with my youngestsister. I signed the form consenting tosurgery as my father was on tour withthe great leader Kamaraj. ObstetricianGnanasoundari took good care of us.My mother had four normal deliveriesand the fifth was C-section. I stillremember the way i cried waiting out-side operation theatre while my moth-er was undergoing the surgery. Myfather used to coin all Tamil names forhis kids like Tamilisai, Tamilamudha,Tamarai, but my mother was so emo-tional, she named my youngest after theobstetrician who took care of us.

Mom beat me a lotWhen I told my mother that I want-

ed to be a politician, she beat mebecause of the stress and strain she hadto endure. I used to say, “My father isan MLA, even I will become one”, butmy mother used to tell me “Don’t thinkeverything will come easily. Your fatherbecame a leader, rising from youth wingpresident to MLA. He wouldn’t lookafter family and always go to politicalwork, I would suffer a lot. Withoutmoney, if you go into politics, you haveto take public money, so you shouldhave a profession and an income”. Shewanted me to be a doctor. I later tookon OBG. I was a student leader even inMBBS at Madras Medical College.

Thanjavur taught mecore of life

There were a couple of changes whichwere very difficult to accommodate, but

I managed. The first time my entire lifechanged was when I moved to northChennai. The second time this happenedwas when I moved from Madras MedicalCollege to Thanjavur Medical College.My husband at that time was thirdnephrologist to qualify from TamilNadu and he was posted toThanjavur Medical College toset up the department.Thanjavur was a backward placeat that time. Being a politician’s kid,it was very difficult to accommodate,especially since I had never evenboarded a bus before that. In Thanjavur,to go to peripheral hospital, I had toboard a bus. The essence of life wastaught by Thanjavur, what is poverty,how poor people respect doctors, suf-frage in government hospitals etc. Thissowed the seed of desire to become apolitician in my mind. Even to get oxy-gen, I had to use my father’s name as theywouldn’t give it to MBBS students.Later, I did a programme — woman’scourt Magalir Panchayat. It wasn’t likethe negative programmes one general-ly sees these days.

Padayatra with a 10-month-old

As a daughter, I used to love myfather’s profession. My mother used tocall me to the kitchen, but I avoided it.I used to be with my father even dur-ing his campaigning. He is known forhis padayatras and undertook onefrom Kanyakumari to Chennai in 1992.My daughter Poovini was 10 monthsold and I went to see him during hispadayatra after my caesarean delivery.He had blisters and his feet wereswollen. We searched for a doctor, andno one was ready to accompany him.For 45 days, with my 10-month-old kid,I accompanied my father in his paday-atra till Chennai. That was my duty bothas a daughter and a doctor. I treated his99 followers who walked along withhim. When they reached Chennai, mydaughter and I were felicitated.

Father didn't speak tome for 6 months

In 1996, my father contested from

Kanyakumari againstthe BJP candidate. At that time, I sawthe BJP workers were totally commit-ted with saffron caps and eating onlyporridge. I have a nationalist mindsetand I told my father that I wanted to jointhe BJP. He scolded me; so, I kept thatdesire hidden. But I later joined theparty, without telling anyone. From 1999to 2000, I used to go to the BJP officewithout disclosing anything to anyone.In 2000, there was major conference inTamil Nadu and the party invited all thepeople who had joined it. They calledme onto the stage taking my father’sname. Soon enough, the news spreadlike wildfire. My father was touringRameshwaram at that time. He tele-phoned me and started to scold me. Myfather didn’t speak to me for six months.However, my husband and motherknew that I had joined the BJP. Once itwas no longer a secret, I started attend-ing BJP meetings publicly. Lost all 4 times

For 10 years, from 2004 to 2014, theCongress was in power. Everyoneassumed that I would join the Congress.When I joined the BJP, they used to ask“You want to be election-oriented ornon-election oriented?” No other party

asks such a question. I asked for elec-toral politics. I contested four times andknew beforehand that defeat was cer-tain, yet I campaigned with conviction.The last election, I contested againstKanimozhi as there were no takers forThoothukudi. My hard work was appre-ciated by the party even though I lost.Everyone predicted that I wouldn’t evensave my deposit, but I got a good num-ber of votes. From a karyakarta, I roseto BJP state president and occupied allposts in the party.

Most trolled politicianI was the most trolled person on

social media. I am a very good publicspeaker. Maybe it’s in my genes. Somepeople cannot bear this, especially if itis a woman leader and they wanted todemoralise me. DMK used to troll mefor my hair, colour, height etc. I wouldretort with my punch lines. Even today,some people say that for the humilia-tion I faced, I deserved the high-est position. My hus-band and chil-dren used

to feel very bad. My children and friendswanted me to resume my practice justbecause of the trolling I faced.

My children are doctorsMy son calls my mother his mother.

Since I left my son to my mother, I want-ed to take care of my second child. Shestays with me and is a very intelligentand self-made. She is a gold medalist inradiology. I was fortunate tohave my husband’s sup-port (he used to take careof the children and fam-ily) despite being a verysuccessful nephrologist.My husband believed inmy conviction and alwaysencouraged me. Till the timeI was BJP national secretary Iused to continue my practice, butonce I became the party’s state unitpresident, I stopped. I saw my last caseon August 15, 2014. But some of mypatients sometimecall me. Imiss

treating patients but I am clear that ifyou want to gain something, you haveto lose something else. With extremesadness, I quit my profession.

Ordinary personI am an ordinary person who likes

sarees, flowers, bangles, jumkis etc., butI do my work in an extraordinary way.When I was informed that I was cho-sen to be Governor, my first feeling wasof gratitude that the President, PrimeMinister and Home Minister thoughtme worthy of the position, eventhough I was unsuccessful and wasunable to bring some MLAs and MPsto the BJP. Even recently, during aGovernors’ conference, the PrimeMinister said that earlier, only theelderly were made Governor and nowwe picked the young as well asGovernorship is not a retirement ben-efit, people in the post have to be active.They wanted to give women represen-tation and send the message that if youwork hard, you will be given a goodposition. Wardrobe full of sarees

Whenever I am bored or over-worked, I go shopping. I have a verygood collection of sarees. I love silksarees. I have the habit of matching my

accessories with my clothes. Incollege, my professor

used to call me justto check, how Iwould dress up.

These clothes are notcostly, but simple and

elegant. I have very goodsense of clothes. I like ter-

racotta jewellery. I tell themakers the colour combina-

tion of saree and they make it forme. I have wardrobe full of sarees. Someof my friends help me get my jewellery,I don’t like much of gold. I like flowers;there are two ladies who sold flowers tome who came and hugged me andbecame very emotional when I wasleaving for Telangana.

Writing a book on myfather

I have written three bookson Modiji and two on medi-cine. Currently, I am writinga book in Tamil on my father.I am also writing a book onpreventive medicine. Anotherbook is on Modiji as a childadmiring a Prime Minister.The third book is compilationof all my speeches. I am yetto learn Telugu to the extentthat I could coin somenice one-liners which I

am good at inTamil.

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | MARCH 22, 2020

Married inMBBS 2nd yearI was married after I

turned 18. I was in my MBBS2nd year then and I didn't want to be marriedso soon and cried a lot. But in Tamil Nadu, crossing 18

and being a girl at that time was a topic of debate and then I had sisters alsowaiting to get married. As family responsibility, I was forced to do that. I initially refused

and told my parents but was later convinced for the marriage. My husband P. Soundararajanis a nice man. He was then doing his second year DM in nephrology. He is around eight years

older than me. He assured me that I would be able to complete my education. He was verysupportive. My wedding was the talk of the town as MGR and Karunanidhi met at my

marriage after 10 years. In my 4th year, I gave birth to my son Dr SuganathanSoundararajan and then completed my MBBS also, without break, without any backlogs.

After finishing my DGO in Dr. MGR Medical University, I went to Canada on scholarshipand selected fetal therapy - treating anomalies when the kid is in the womb itself. It was

very rare specialty and I was the second person in Tamil Nadu to get that training. I hada very successful practice and used to have references from all over India. I had clinic

and was working as assistant professor.

QUICK BYTESFAVOURITE COLOUR: YellowFAVOURITE FOOD: FishLAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED: SyeraaNarasimha Reddy, before that it wasKaala. But I don’t watch movies muchFAVOURITE SONG: Sange Muzhangu, it ismy caller tuneBOOK YOU ARE CURRENTLY READING:Our President presented his proceedings ina book

HAPPIEST MOMENT: When Modiji waselected PMFIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU WAKEUP: Pray to God and then do YogaCOFFEE OR TEA: I love tea with ginger,now switched to green teaFAVOURITE POLITICIAN: ModijiSTRENGTH: Self-confidence and courageWEAKNESS: Too considerate andaffectionate

COMPLIMENT YOU GET OFTEN:Appearance and smile. Take it easy natureSOMETHING THAT SCARES YOU: I amscared of falling illWHAT IMPRESSES YOU THE MOST INOTHERS: Their appearance and natureDO YOU COOK: My mark is zero incookingLAST TIME YOU WERE EMOTIONAL:Coming from Tamil Nadu to Telangana.

With father Kumari Ananthan With CM KCR

I

Telangana StateGovernor Tamilisai

Soundararajan is notjust another Governor.

She has been hand-picked after

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi made it

amply clear thatpreviously only theelderly were made

Governor and nowadays they pick

a young person asgovernorship is no

longer a retirementbenefit and people in

the post have to be‘active’. Revealing

this to THEPIONEER’Scorrespondent

Naveena Ghanate,Tamilisai also talks

about the ‘shifts’ in herlife that saw her

switch from medicineto the rough and

tumble of politics. Shereminisces about her

sense of responsibilityas the eldest child,

early marriage aswell as her

enduring lovefor sarees,

writingbooks

andmore.

vijayawada 12

Tamilisai during her wedding with MGR

With husband P. Soundararajan