lockdown in state should last - the pioneer

VIJAYAWADA, THURSDAY MAY 13, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

www.dailypioneer.com

RNI No.APENG/2018/764698

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

*LATE CITY VOL. 3 ISSUE 179*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

MONEY 8SENSEX TANKS 471 POINTS; NIFTY DROPS BELOW 14,700

ANALYSIS 7HOW THE BJP LOST

THE PLOT IN BENGAL

SPORTS 11SHARDUL CAN BE AN ALL-ROUNDER: ARUN

}PRABHAS FACESA GRIM

SITUATION

2{

2

‘Disheartening to seestates complaining

about vaccine’

5

RBI grants PPI autho-risation to Eroute

Technologies

8

Improving the quality of public

expenditure

VVIIJJAAYYAAWWAADDAA

WWEEAATTHHEERR

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated may 12, 2021 5:00 PM

FFoorreeccaasstt:: Mostly sunnyTTeemmpp:: 38HHuummiiddiittyy:: 57%SSuunnrriissee:: 05:44 amSSuunnsseett:: 06:40 pm

AALLMMAANNAACC

TTOODDAAYY

Month & Paksham:

Vaishakha & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Dwitiya: 05:38 am (Next Day)

Nakshatram : 05:45 am (Next Day)

Time to Avoid : (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam : 01:48 pm – 03:24 pm

Yamagandam : 05:48 am – 07:24 am

Varjyam : 08:43 pm – 10:31 pm

Gulika : 09:00 am - 10:36 am

Good Time : (to start any important work)

Amritakalam :02:08 am – 03:56 am

Abhijit Muhurtham : 11:46 am – 12:38 pm

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Asserting that incidents like theRUIA Hospital tragedy must neverbe repeated, Minister for HealthAlla Kali Krishna Srinivas (Nani)on Wednesday said that the Stategovernment has taken all measuresrequired — right from setting upoxygen monitoring cell in everyhospital to appointing three sen-ior officials to oversee the supplyof oxygen from neighbouringstates — to prevent such tragedies.

A Group of Ministers (GoM)headed by Alla Nani held a pressconference here on Wednesdayafter the review meeting andbriefed the Covid-19 preventivemeasures being implemented bythe State government.

The Minister said that the com-mittee had discussed key issues likeoxygen supply, testing, vaccination,beds and steps to be taken to bringdown the cases.

He said that Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy had givenclear instructions to all districtCollectors to check the oxygenpipelines and complete the repairworks on a war footing to avoidincidents like RUIA Hospital in thefuture.

Also, 49 mini oxygen plants are

to be set up across the State in var-ious teaching, district and area hos-pitals, the Minister said.

He said the need for oxygen dueto Covid-19 second wave washigh as the number of such caseshas almost doubled. “Hence threesenior IAS officers were deployedto monitor the oxygen transportfrom Karnataka, Tamil Nadu andOdisha. During the first wave, theState hardly used 240 MT of oxy-gen on a daily basis, where only 50percent of designated oxygen bedswere occupied. However, in thecurrent scenario, the daily require-ment is over 590 MT, which wasallocated by the Centre and yet fac-ing shortage,” Alla Nani said.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The alarmingly high positivity ratein Andhra Pradesh calls for a com-plete lockdown for at least six weeks,according to Dr Balram Bhargava,head of the Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR).

Dr Bhargava said in an interviewon Wednesday that lockdownrestrictions should remain in placein all districts where the rate ofinfection is above 10 percent ofthose tested.

Twelve of the 13 districts inAndhra Pradesh have a positivitygreater than 10 percent. As onWednesday, the positivity rate inthe state was 23.6 percent.

The case positivity rate for theweek of May 5-11 for overallAndhra Pradesh was 26.2 percentand the State is at eighth positionin the country when it comes tohigh positivity rate.

This means since the imple-mentation of partial lockdown,the positivity rate has still notcome down.

“The high positivity districtsshould remain (shut). If they cometo 5 percent from 10 percent (pos-itivity rate) we can open them, butthat has to happen. That won't hap-pen in 6-8 weeks, clearly," Bhargavasaid in an interview at the New

Delhi headquarters of the ICMR,the country's top medical researchbody. Andhra Pradesh has onlyimposed a partial lockdown for 14days. The partial lockdown hasbeen ineffective as 7 days into thecurbs, the positivity rate continuesto remain high. Consequently thestate needs to seriously consider acomplete lockdown.

‘REASON THAT INDIA IS IN DIRE STRAITS...’:WHAT DR FAUCI TOLD US SENATE

India made the "incorrect assumption" thatit was finished with the COVID-19pandemic and opened up prematurely

that has left the country in such "direstraits", America's top infectiousdisease expert Dr Anthony Fauci hastold senators. "The reason that India isin such dire straits now is that they hadan original surge and made the incorrectassumption that they were finished with it,and what happened, they opened upprematurely and wind up having a surge right now that we'reall very well aware of is extremely devastating," Dr Fauci tolda US SenateCommittee during a hearing on Tuesday.

WORD ‘INDIAN' NOT IN WHO REPORTON COVID VARIANT: GOVERNMENT

The government today objected to thelabelling of the B.1.617 Covid variantas the "Indian variant", stressing that

the word "Indian" was never used by theWorld Health Organisation (WHO). WHOalso tweeted that viruses or variantsshould not be identified by the names ofcountries they were found in. "Severalmedia reports have covered the news ofWHO classifying B.1.617 as variant of globalconcern. Some of these reports have termed theB.1.617 variant of the coronavirus as an 'Indian Variant'. Thesemedia reports are without any basis, and unfounded," said anofficial statement.

NET ACROSS THE GANGA TO CATCHCOVID CORPSES: BIHAR MINISTER

Authorities in northern India said they haveinstalled a net across the Ganges riverafter the bodies of dozens of

suspected Covid-19 victims washed up.The discovery of 71 corpses in Biharstoked fears that the virus was ragingunseen in India's vast rural hinterlandwhere two-thirds of its people live. Localssaid that relatives immersed the bodies inthe river because they could not afford woodfor cremations or because crematoriums wereoverwhelmed by the number of funerals. Bihar minister SanjayKumar said on Twitter that a "net has been placed" in the river onthe state border with Uttar Pradesh and patrolling increased.

‘ISRAEL MOURNING HER LOSS’:ENVOY ON KERALA WOMAN KILLED

Ron Malka, Israel's ambassador toIndia, on Wednesday morningspoke to the family of Soumya

Santosh - the Kerala woman killed ina Palestinian rocket strike the daybefore - to convey his sorrow overher death. Malka said he had spokento Santosh's family on behalf of theIsraeli government, and added that"the whole country is mourning her lossand we are here for them". He alsoexpressed grief that Ms Santosh's young son - who is nineyears old - had lost his mother. The Israel ambassador alsotweeted photographs of Santosh with her husband and son.

Lockdown in State should lastfor 6-8 weeks, says ICMR head

SNCN ACHARYULUn HYDERABAD

Amidst the scary spread of Covid-19 in multiple waves across theglobe, experts have pinned theirhopes on vaccination as an unfail-ing solution. Accordingly, VIPs,celebrities and political leadersposed while taking the jab as a wayto motivate people and removevaccine hesitance. In India, almostall central leaders, including PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, havetaken the Covid vaccine.

Still, Telangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao and formerAP chief minister N ChandrababuNaidu (who is currently inHyderabad with his family) havenot taken Covid vaccine till date.It is a different matter that KCR,having contracted Covid, cannottake it for now (see experts’ viewbelow). In the first place, why both

these " Chandras" didnot take the vaccine has become atopic of hot discussion in politicalcircles.

Political observers say that leadrs should set an example for peo-ple. They cite the cases of Modiand Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister YS Jagan Mohan Reddywho have taken the Covid vaccinewith photo-op. ChandrababuNaidu, however, has no qualmsabout criticising the AndhraPradesh government over Covidvaccine issue. Besides, he hasrequested the central govern-ment to administer vaccine freeto all people. Naidu’s son and for-mer Minister Nara Lokesh alsodid not take Covid vaccine,according to close circles.Likewise, KCR’s son and ITMinister KT Rama Rao also didnot take Covid vaccine.

PNS n NEW DELHI

As expected, the Central govern-ment's mega “positivity” push,ostensibly to fend off mountingcriticism over its handling of theCovid-19 second wave has drawnsharp rebuke from various quar-ters.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhilikened the media blitz as to an“ostrich burying its head in thesand” and a betrayal of citizens.

“The false assurance of 'positivethinking' is a joke on those fami-lies and health workers who havelost their loved ones and are suf-

fering a crisis of oxygen, hospitalsand medicines. Burying one's headin the sand is not positive - it is abetrayal of our citizens," theCongress MP tweeted.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Covid-19 second wave has notonly severely impacted the gener-al public but also ultras who live inthe jungles away from society.

For over a year, the outlawedMaoists had been facing Covidfatigue without access to propermedical care and also decline in themonthly collection of funds fromtheir regular sources due to over-all economic slowdown. Theseultras generally get money fromcontractors, businessmen and otherpetty traders on the border districtsand are now facing severe financialcrunch as economic activity hascome to a near standstill.

The Maoists, after sufferingimmensely during the Covid first

wave, had announced a ceasefire inApril last year. In this interregnum,they regained strength and attackedthe security forces in Chhattisgarh

in April first week in which 22 secu-rity personnel died in Sukma dis-trict.

The security forces were on

combing operations when theattack took place. High rankingsources in the intelligence wingstated the attack was only anattempt to boost the morale of thecadres, especially those at the bot-tom of the hierarchy and who hadbeen fighting ‘Covid fatigue’ for thepast one year.

Even though the ultras hadgained the upper hand, albeit forthe short term, over the securityforces with the April Chhattisgarhattack, it is learnt that by end of themonth and the beginning of May,the second wave had hit them toohard in the Andhra-Odisha Border(AOB) and also Chhattisgarhregion, both considered Naxalhotbeds.

Why have ‘Chandras’not taken the jab yet?

Steps in place to avoidRuia-like tragedy: Nani

SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

If a prediction model based onMachine Learning (ML) devel-oped by engineering graduatesfrom SRM University in Amaravatiis to be believed, the lethal secondwave of Covid may come to an endin Andhra Pradesh by the middleof July.

Since more than a week nowAndhra Pradesh has been witness-ing 20,000 Covid positive cases perday on an average with a dramat-ic increase in overall positivity rate.

The study employed theSusceptible–Infected–Recovered(SIR) Model, making use of theinformation on the Covid affectedpeople and the recovered numberof people, which the AP govern-ment makes available through thecontrol command centre.

The SRM team made use of this

data, employed the SIR Modeland applied the methods ofMachine Learning. Study revealedthat by July 15, 2021, the rate ofinfection in AP will drop below 100per day.

With the assumption that thedecay rate of infection is the sameas the growth rate, the model pre-

dicts that the number of infectedpeople could be 10,000 by May 21,15,000 by May 30, 1,000 by June 14,500 by June 23 and 100 by July 15.

The SRM students who haddeveloped this model have alsosubmitted the report to the CMO.

Govt setsguidelines forEid prayers PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Keeping in view the rising num-ber of Covid-19 cases, the stategovernment has imposed somerestrictions on congregationalprayers.

The government has directedCollectors of all districts to takenecessary measures to preventlarge gatherings at Eidgahs wheretraditionally, Eid prayers areoffered.

Eid-ul-Fitr (Ramzan) is likelyto be celebrated on Thursday orFriday, depending on the sightingof the moon.

Minority affairs principal sec-retary Md Ilyas Rizvi said thatmasjid committees could organ-ise prayers in two or three spellsto avoid overcrowding in themosque on the day of Eid.

n 12 of AP’s 13 districts have more than 10 percent positivity

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Principal Secretary, Medicaland Health Department,Anil Kumar Singhal onWednesday said thestate government willrevive plants that havebeen shut down toproduce medical oxy-gen.

Stating that donorsfrom across the countryand abroad are coming for-

ward to help the people in thistime of crisis, Singhal said that

a separate cell has beenset up to coordinate

with them. Addressing a

press conferencehere, he said thestate govern-ment was keen

to avoid oxygenwastage in hospi-

tals in the state.

Aim is self-reliant O2 State: Singhal

Rahul Gandhi negative toCentre's ‘Positivity’ push

Covid saps Maoists’ health, wealth, cadre

AP Budget session likely from May 20

2

22

2 2

22

2nd wave to end by mid-July inAP, calculates SRM varsity team

2

2

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

vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MAY 13, 2021

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

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

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

` 75, 900 (1kg)` -1100

EGG RATES

GOLD

VIJAYAWADA 426

HYDERABAD 456

VISAKHAPATNAM 355

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀44..2266

SILVER

VIJAYAWADABULLION RATES

`̀//110000

CHICKEN RATES

Dressed/With Skin `170

Without Skin `193

Broiler at Farm `117

`̀//KKGG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

` Rs.48, 770(10 gm)

`̀ -221100

In order to fulfil collectiveneeds and wants of citi-zens, public expenditure is

incurred by the governmentor designated authorities witha concern for economy (costminimisation for procuringspecified quality of goods/ser-vices), efficiency (output max-imisation) and effectiveness(attainment of the intendedresults).

There are certain well-known, time-tested canonsfor incurring public expendi-ture. One, public spendingmust be done in a manner tobring greatest social benefits.Two, it must be made pro-ductively and efficiently.Three, public spendingshould only be done with thesanction of the appropriateauthority (Parliament and

State Legislature, as the casemay be). Four, public expen-diture should be allowedwithin available resources.

While dealing with publicexpenditure, the commonrefrain is that every author-ity should spend the publicmoney most frugally in thesame way as a person of ordi-nary prudence would doconcerning his own money.However, real-life situationsthrow many challenges waybeyond the above-mentionedbasic tenets.

In this article, we willexplore ways and means toleverage the public expendi-ture. Based on the concept ofvalue for money, the sameamount of resources canyield better results. What isvalue for money? It is defined

as a utility derived fromevery purchase or every sumof money spent.

The next issue is to deter-mine appropriate public util-ity and social benefits, and toprioritise them? The bottomline here is that politicalexecutives do it by either fol-lowing a process or depend-ing on their intuition.Anyway, they have to do a

tight-rope walk in order todecide the quantum ofresources to be earmarked fordifferent sectors, programs,projects and activities.

In order to placate variousconstituents and interestgroups, the Boss has toensure that sufficient alloca-tions are made for ongoingprojects and activities, alongwith taking up new ones. As

the demand for taking upnew projects and activities ismultiple times higher thanthe available resources, somesort of prioritisation is a

must. Most of the financesecretaries will vouch that ithas become a rule, ratherthan an exception, to sanc-tion works beyond the per-missible financial limits.

The Fiscal Responsibilityand Budget Management(FRBM) Act 2003 has beenenacted to institutionalisefinancial discipline, contain

country’s fiscal deficit,improve macroeconomicmanagement and the overallmanagement of the publicfunds within certain bound-ary conditions. This is neces-sary but not sufficient tocontain states from splurgingmoney on various things.

In extreme cases of finan-cial indiscipline sanctionsare made to a ludicrousextent by spreading the

resources too thin to makeany meaningful contribu-tion. As an example, oneneed not be a genius tounderstand all implicationsof sanctioning a projectworth Rs.7,500 cr slotted tobe completed in the comingfive years with an annualallocation of Rs.75 cr madeeach year. This is certainlynot the way to do things.

In order to improve qual-ity of public expenditure, itis, therefore, necessary onlyto take up the prioritisedworks, avoid cost and timeoverruns, provide requisitefinancial, technical andhuman resources, ensureclose monitoring, and fixresponsibility and account-ability at all levels.

Another golden rule to

improve quality of publicexpenditure is to adopt out-come-based systems, insteadof input-based systemsprevalent right now. As a casein point of primary educa-tion, the input-based sys-tem talks about numbersand ratios of schools, stu-dents and teachers, whilethe outcome-based systememphasises the level of pro-ficiency in reading, writingand mathematical skillsacquired by the number ofstudents..

To conclude, it would besuffice to say that main-taining financial discipline isone of the prerequisites ofimproving quality of publicexpenditure. As there is noshortcut, one has to contin-uously strive for it.

DR SHAILENDRA JOSHI, Advisor of Telangana govt and former

chief secretary of Telangana

While dealing with public expenditure,

the common refrain is that every

authority should spend the public

money most frugally in the same way

as a person of ordinary prudence

would do concerning his own money.

Improving the quality of public expenditure

Continued from Page 1

At the national level, Covid-19positivity rate stood at 21percent and 310 of the 734 dis-tricts have reported positivi-ty greater than or equal to thenational average.

On the other hand, thepositivity rate in Telanganahas been less than 10 percent.

On Wednesday, Telangana’spositivity rate was 6.7 percent.However, the number of testshave been coming down overthe last fortnight. The statewhich was testing 1 lakh per-sons per day last month isconducting just about 50,000to 60,000 tests per day cur-rently. If test positivity rate isa measure, based on ICMRDG’s claim, Telangana can goabout with partial or no lock-down once the 5 percent pos-itivity rate is achieved.


He said that although thestate is equipped with 27,500oxygen beds, the number isstill inadequate and hence theGovernment is setting upanother 10,000 beds acrossAP.

The Minister said that theyhad already written a letter toPrime Minister NarendraModi that AP needed 910 MTof oxygen. “On the other hand,all measures are being taken toensure that oxygen is not wast-ed, by setting up oxygen mon-itoring cells in each hospital.Also, the storage capacity isbeing increased to 600 MTfrom the existing 517 MT,” Alla

Nani said.Speaking with regard to

vaccination, he said that thegovernment has been trying tocomplete the vaccination pro-gramme faster, where the ChiefMinister has also written to theCentre requesting six croremore doses to the State. “APgovernment has a capacity toadminister over six lakh dosesin a single day and was readyto spend Rs 1,600 crore for get-ting vaccines,” Alla Nani said.

The Deputy CM slammedopposition leader NChandrababu Naidu for mak-ing irresponsible remarksagainst the State governmentand creating panic among the

public. He made it clear thatthey had no objection to pur-chasing vaccines from themanufacturers but the controlof vaccine supply remainedwith the Centre.

“Naidu can supply vaccinesto the State by using his kin-ship with the owners of BharatBiotech. The Chief Ministerhas already made it clear thathe wanted the vaccinationprocess to be free and wouldnot hesitate to spend Rs 1,600crore,” Alla Nani said.

Ministers MekathotiSucharita, Kurasala Kannababu, Buggana RajendranathReddy, Botsa Satyanarayanawere present in the meeting.


Both KCR and KTR haverecovered after testing Covidpositive. Chandrababu Naiduis 71 years old and KCR is 67years old. In Andhra Pradesh,the YS Jagan Mohan Reddygovernment has accorded pri-ority to vaccinate senior citi-zens.

According to sources, KCRhas always been disinclined tovisit hospitals. He avoids tak-ing injections except underunavoidable circumstances.KTR tested Covid positive justwhen he was planning to takethe vaccine, said his close cir-cles. This being so, AndhraPradesh Civil SuppliesMinister Kodali

Nani has alleged thatChandrababu Naidu and his

family embers got three dosesof vaccine each. The vaccineswere imported from Singapore.This has raised questions aboutwhether Chandrababu Naidugot vaccinated and why he hasnot made it public yet. Jaganand his wife Bharati got thefirst dose of Covaxin adminis-tered in Guntur city, markingthe launch of the new phase ofthe COVID-19 vaccinationprogramme in April.

Experts’ view: Researchershave recently claimed that aperson can take the COVID-19 vaccine right after recov-ering from the disease, pro-vided they do not have anysymptoms. However, the USCenters for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC) sug-gests waiting for 90 days fromthe day a person tests positive

for COVID-19 disease if thatperson has not received anyshot yet. People who gotinfected after receiving theirfirst shot may take the seconddose on their scheduled date,provided their quarantineperiod is over and they do nothave any symptoms. TheCDC has suggested that a per-son should not take the vac-cine for at least 90 days if heor she has undergone an anti-body therapy for COVID-19. According to fact sheetsreleased by Bharat Biotech(producer of Covaxin) andSerum Institute of India (pro-ducer of Covishield), thosewho are on regular medica-tion for any illness, regardlessof how long and for whichcondition, should not take thevaccine.


The order advised to avoidshaking of hands, hugging orembracing relatives, Eid-Milap programmes, or anyaction that results in violationof social distancing norms, inorder to prevent the spread ofthe Coronavirus. All the dis-trict Collectors andCommissioners ofPolice/Superintendents ofPolice of the State were

requested to ensure that theinstructions were scrupu-lously followed at all Masjidand Waqf institutions in theState.

Rizvi pointed out that theState Government hasimposed curfew and Section144 from 12 noon to 6 am tillMay 18 to contain the spreadof pandemic and Covid pro-tocol shall be observed strict-ly while offering Eid prayers.

Rizvi said that offering

Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at Eidgahswas strictly prohibited andappealed to worshippers tooffer Eid prayers preferably atone’s respective home.

He said that as per theorders, Eid prayers may beoffered in congregation of amaximum of 50 Musallies(members) in mosques inaccordance with capacity ofthe namaz area of the respec-tive masjid duly followingCovid-19 norms. If neces-

sary, one or two congrega-tions with above specifiednumbers in different inter-vals, which should be per-formed within the permittedtime.

Also, care should be takennot to allow anyone to enterthe masjid without a mask.Worshippers were advisedto bring their own prayermats.

The management of themasjids were advised to keep

a sufficient number of sani-tisers at the entry points. TheImams and Khateebs wererequested to make the EidKhutbah/sermons short.

Senior citizens, childrenand people with cough, coldor fever were appealed tooffer the Eid prayers at theirhomes. People suffering withdiabetes, high BP and othercoronary heart ailments wereadvised to offer prayers athome.


Poll strategist PrashantKishor too lashed out at the"disgusting" attempt to push"propaganda" in the name ofspreading positivity.

“In the face of a grievingnation and tragedies unfold-ing all around us, the contin-ued attempt to push FALSE-HOOD and PROPAGAN-DA in the name of spread-ing POSITIVITY is disgust-ing! For being positive wedon't have to become blind

propagandist of the govern-ment (sic)," Kishor tweeted.

The Central governmenthas launched a blitz onsocial media to dilute thewidespread criticism —locally and globally of itshandling of the Covid sec-ond wave.

Last week, central govern-ment officials including jointsecretary-rank officials weremade to attend a workshopon better communicationand highlighting of the gov-ernment's "positive work”.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh registered21,452 fresh cases of coron-avirus from 90,750 tests, in 24hours ending 9 am onWednesday, while 19,095recoveries and 89 deaths werealso reported.

The latest bulletin said thecumulative Covid-19 posi-

tives shot up to 13,44,386,recoveries to 11,38,028 andtoll to 8,988. The state nowhas 1,97,370 active cases, thebulletin said.

East Godavari districtreported 2,927 fresh cases,Visakhapatnam 2,238 andAnantapur 2,185 in a day.Two districts added less than1,000 new cases each, whileanother eight logged between

1,000 and 2,000 each.Visakhapatnam saw 11

fresh Covid-19 fatalities, EastGodavari, Krishna andVizianagaram nine each,Chittoor, Guntur and SPSNellore eight each,Srikakulam seven, Anantapursix, Kurnool five, Prakasamfour, West Godavari threeand Kadapa two deaths in 24hours.

AP logs 21,452 newcases, 89 deaths

Rahul Gandhinegative to Centre's‘Positivity’ push

Steps in place to avoidRuia-like tragedy: Nani

Why have ‘Chandras’ not taken...

Govt sets guidelines for Eid prayers

Covid saps...

Lockdown in State should lastfor 6-8 weeks, says ICMR head

Aim is self-reliant O2 State...Continued from Page 1

“Medical oxygen transportcapacity in the state has beenincreased from 350 MT to590 MT. Medical oxygen isbeing supplied by smalltankers to ensure that itreaches hospitals in time.Transport capacity wouldget a further boost with thearrival of 25 cryogenictankers being purchased bythe state government,”Singhal said.

He added that at the sametime, storage capacity of hos-pitals is also increased.

“Storage capacity has beenincreased in TirupatiPadmavathi, Ruia, Kadapa

and Vizianagaram hospitals.The Central government hasallotted three tankers toAndhra Pradesh and one ofthem has already reached theState. Two more tankers witha capacity of 20 MT willarrive with 40 MT medicaloxygen from West Bengal,”Singhal said.

He said that there are17,000 oxygen cylindersbelonging to various indus-tries, while 14,338 cylinderswere identified. Steps arebeing taken to divert thecylinders to Corona MedicalServices with the permissionfrom the CentralGovernment.


“We have specific inputs thatseveral high ranking Maoistsare suffering from Covid andare in need of medical aid.Covid has also resulted indwindling in financialresources. Due to Covidfatigue, many lower rungcadres have either already leftthe Movement and many oth-ers are also on their way out. Itwas only to boost such saggingmorale of the cadres that theChhattisgarh attack wasplanned. Now, the second wavewhich has been more lethal,many Maoists barring top lead-ers are ready to quit and jointhe mainstream. Those topleaders have also not beenactive since some time,” asenior intelligence official whois an expert in Maoists opera-tions, told The Pioneer.


“We have used a well-estab-lished Susceptible(S)-Infected(I)-Removed(R) modelfor simulating the spread ofvirus and use the simulationdata to train a supervisedmachine learning algorithmof random forest regression,”said Dr Soumyajyoti Biswaswho led the team of four BTech students that developedthe ML model.

Dr Biswar added: “In thetrained algorithm, we feedthe actual data for AndhraPradesh and make an estimateof the end-time for the virus.We estimate that by July 15,the rate of infection in the state

will drop below 100 per day.However, the model is a sim-plified one and does not con-sider effects of lockdown, vac-cination or third wave due topossible mutant variants of thevirus.” Dr Biswas who is anassistant professor in physicsat SRM varsity in AP has to hiscredit several papers pub-lished in international jour-nals.

He has an interest in andhas published papers on statis-tical physics, complex sys-tems, machine learning, earth-quakes, multi-agent models ofsociety. He said that the datafor the second wave startingfrom March 1 was used forthis prediction model.

2nd wave to end bymid-July in AP...

Covid catastrophe ‘couldhave been prevented’: IPPPRWHO could have sounded pandemic alarm sooner

PNS n GENEVA,SWITZERLAND

The catastrophic scale of theCovid-19 pandemic couldhave been prevented, an inde-pendent global panel con-cluded Wednesday, but a"toxic cocktail" ofdithering and poorcoordination meantthe warning signswent unheeded.

The IndependentPanel for PandemicPreparedness andResponse (IPPPR) said aseries of bad decisions meantCovid-19 went on to kill atleast 3.3 million people so farand devastate the global econ-omy. Institutions "failed toprotect people" and science-denying leaders eroded pub-lic trust in health interven-tions, the IPPPR said in itslong-awaited final report.

Early responses to the out-break detected in Wuhan,China in December 2019

"lacked urgency", withFebruary 2020 a costly "lostmonth" as countries failed toheed the alarm, said the panel.

To tackle the current pan-demic, it called on the richest

countries to donate abillion vaccine

doses to thepoorest.

And thepanel alsocalled on the

world's wealth-iest nations to

fund new organi-sations dedicated to

preparing for the next pan-demic. 'Delay, hesitation anddenial' The report wasrequested by World HealthOrganization (WHO) mem-ber states last May.

The panel was jointlychaired by former NewZealand prime minister HelenClark and former Liberianpresident Ellen JohnsonSirleaf, a 2011 Nobel PeacePrize laureate.

The report, "Covid-19:Make it the Last Pandemic",argued that the global alarmsystem needed overhaulingto prevent a similar catastro-phe. "The situation we findourselves in today could havebeen prevented," Sirleaf toldreporters.

"It is due to a myriad of fail-ures, gaps and delays in pre-paredness and response."

The report said the emer-gence of Covid-19 was char-acterised by a mixture of"some early and rapid action,but also by delay, hesitation,and denial.

"Poor strategic choices,unwillingness to tackleinequalities and an uncoordi-nated system created a toxiccocktail which allowed thepandemic to turn into a cata-strophic human crisis."

The threat of a pandemichad been overlooked andcountries were woefullyunprepared to deal with one,the report found.

18+ citizens in TS head to otherstates for vaccineNAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

With the roll-out of the vac-cination programme for thosein the cohort of 18-44 yearsnowhere in sight, TS citizenswho are 18+ are now lookingat all available options, includ-ing slots in neighbouringstates, to get the jab and pro-tect themselves from thewrath of Coronavirus.

Although the vaccinationdrive for individuals agedbetween 18 and 44 years issupposed to have startedacross the country in May,Telangana has not even set adate for the roll-out, whileclaiming to be the nation'smedical hub.

This has raised anxiety lev-els among those in the agegroup of 18-44 years, consid-ering they are more vulnera-ble amid the raging secondwave of the pandemic.

Citizens are looking at clos-est available centers in

Karnataka, includingGulbarga, Bidar and Raichurto get vaccinated. A techieGaurav Gupta said, "It isalmost impossible to get vac-cine in Hyderabad.

I kept checking on Medakdistrict, it says booked butwhen I called up they said itis showing wrong on portaland are vaccinating only 45+.We found that there wereslots open in Gulbarga onCoWin. I didn't mind driving200 km to get the jab becauseI come under high-risk indi-viduals".

The Karnataka governmentrecently opened up vaccina-

tion drive for those in the agegroup of 18-44 years after itreceived fresh stocks onMonday. People who own aprivate vehicle and can affordto take the risk of driving areheading to PHCs on the bor-ders to get a jab.

Another citizen D Shruthisaid, "I was anxious becausethe spread was so rapid andpeople of my age group weresuccumbing to the virus. I justgot my jab in time, just on theday Telangana announcedlockdown. Thankfully, there isno importance given to placeof residence while giving avaccination. I just showed myAadhaar number and the SMSfor reference and got the vac-cine".

Unlike in Uttar Pradesh,where the order was issuedthat only residents agedbetween 18-44 years would bevaccinated in state-run cen-tres, there are no such restric-tions from the Karnataka gov-ernment.


Vigilance and enforcement sleuths registered a case against Chaitra Hospital, Eluru in West Godavari district for collecting Rs 2.5 lakh from a patient as against the government prescribed cost of Rs. 72,000 for four-day treatment. Acting on thecomplaint from patient V Srikar Manikishore, the vigilance wing booked the hospital for violating government orders.

HEIGHT OOF EEXPLOITATION

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Leader of the Opposition NChandrababu Naidu onWednesday lauded thecourage and dedication thathas been the hallmark of theservices being rendered bynurses during their struggle tosave the lives of people in theendless battle against theCovid-19 second wave.

Naidu recalled how thenurses were risking their livesand giving their selfless ser-vices to the needy people andthe infected patients all overthe world. Despite the secondwave having caused anunprecedented crisis, nurseswere continuing on with theirmemorable services as front-

line warriors.In a statement here, the

TDP chief extended his greet-ings to the Covid warriors onthe occasion of theInternational Nurses Daybeing celebrated all over theworld.

“It would not be possible forothers to extend such match-less services and makesupreme sacrifices like thenurses were doing in this dan-gerous epidemic,” he said.

Naidu said that the nurseshave indeed put into practicethe age old saying 'Service toman is service to God'. “Bygiving such unfailing servicesduring a critical time, theyhave become equal to livingdeities,” he said.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh AssemblySpeaker TammineniSeetharam and his wifeVanisri, who had tested posi-tive for Covid-19, have madea full recovery and were dis-charged from hospital onWednesday.

Doctors at the MedicoverHospital in Srikakulamadministered critical treat-ment to the Speaker and hiswife to ensure that they recov-er quickly.

The Speaker, after emergingfrom the hospital, expressedhis gratitude to the doctorswho provided treatment.Speaking to the media, heexpressed his satisfaction andpraised the doctors there forthe treatment provided tohim, which was the same asgiven to other Covid patientsunder the Arogyasri scheme.

Tammineni said that it wasnot appropriate to politiciseanything now considering theseverity of the situation, in adirect reference to the Leader

of the Opposition NChandrababu Naidu.

He said that in such acalamitous situation, politi-cians should reassure people,not cause further panic.

Tammineni made an appealto the public at large not topanic if they test positive forCovid.

He stated that experts andprofessional doctors wereavailable in Srikakulam andthere was no need for peopleto go to other places in searchof hospitals for better treat-ment.

The Speaker expressed hishappiness that Srikakulamwas emerging as a medical hubin the state.

Tammineni and Vanisri hadtested positive for Covid onMay 4 and were admitted toMedicover hospital inSrikakulam and were under-going treatment there for thepast one week.

Incidentally, TammineniVansiri was elected sarpanchin the Panchayat electionsheld in February.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP MLC MareddyRavindranath Reddy onWednesday alleged that YSRCPMLC C Ramachandraiah andhis wife Kasturibai were themain culprits in the quarryblasts that left 10 labourersdead in Kadapa district.

Ravindranath Reddy, popu-larly known as B. Tech Ravi,said that the Government wastaking a lenient view eventhough Ramachandraiah's wifeholds the main lease for theMamillapalli quarries.

“How can the MLC now saythat his family has no respon-sibility for the blasts since theyhave given the quarries for asub-lease?” B. Tech Ravi asked.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, the TDP leader saidthat the police were just findingan excuse to let go ofRamachandraiah's familydespite the fact that the blastscaused huge loss of humanlives. “The family of the YSRCPMLC is saying they gave the

quarries on sub-lease to oneNageswara Reddy againstwhom there were many cases,”he said. B Tech Ravi saidRamachandraiah and his wifeshould accept the blame for thedeath of so many workers. “TheTDP would file a private case ifthe Jaganmohan Reddy regimedid not take action against themain lease holders,” he said.

The TDP leader deploredthat the Chief Minister wasdoing politics even in respect ofhanding over sufficient ex gra-tia to the kin of the deceased. BTech Ravi asked how theGovernment arrested just theholders of the sub-lease whilegiving relief to the main leaseholders.

Speaker Tammineni, wife recover from Covid

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The State government onWednesday issued orders des-ignating the Centre forIntellectual Property Rightsof the Andhra University as aState Nodal Agency for pro-moting and protectingIntellectual Property Rightsfrom the state under Pedagogyand Research in IPRs forHolistic Education andAcademia (SPRIHA) schemesponsored by the Governmentof India.

The nodal agency will pre-pare IPR policy for the Stateand state universities. Theagency will work to enhancethe Intellectual Property filingsfrom the State and also coor-dinate with Central govern-ment agencies to raise requiredresources.

It will also create and nur-ture the culture of innovation,intellectual property, entre-preneurship among all thestakeholders in the state inorder to realise the objectivesof this project.

The recurring and non-recurring grants in aid /expen-diture will be provided by theCentral Government to theCentre for IPRs (CIPR) ofAndhra University through theIPR Chair as long as the SPRI-HA Scheme is in operation.

The nodal agency will alsoco-ordinate with the AndhraPradesh State Council ofHigher Education for intro-

duction of Academic courses/diplomas etc., in this regard.

However, the manpowerappointed under the Pedagogyand Research in IPRs forHolistic Education andAcademia (SPRIHA) schemewill not claim any permanentemployment / regularisation ofservices from AndhraUniversity or from the Stategovernment, the order said.

Naidu lauds Covid services by nursesRamachandraiah real culprit in quarry blast: TDP

State Nodal Agency topromote IPRs appointed

PNS n NEW DELHI

Aiming below the belt,YSRCP’s Lok Sabha memberfrom Narsapuram RaghuRamakrishnam Raju onWednesday sought to knowhow Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy canbecome a Reddy when thecaste certificates of his fatherlate Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddyand that of his mother identi-fy them as Kapus.

Refuting the criticismagainst him through YSRCPsocial media campaign atRachabanda programme heldat his home here, Raju allegedthat Advisor to theGovernment SajjalaRamakrishna Reddy wasbehind the vilification cam-paign against him on socialmedia.

Quoting most popular dia-logues uttered by PrakashRaju in the mega blockbusterfilm Pokiri, he asked if he

should not rebut the criti-cism against him. “Should Ialways pocket the insult likea sitting duck?” he won-dered.

Raising the caste issue, Rajusaid: “How can Jagan becomea Reddy when his parents areKapus?” He quoted what heclaimed was the relevant castecertificate of former chief min-ister and Jagan’s father YSRajasekhar Reddy.

Rebel YSRCP MPsays Jagan is a Kapu,not a Reddy

Dhulipalla tests negative,shifted to Rajahmundry jailPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Anti-Corruption Bureau offi-cials have shifted TDP seniorleader Dhulipalla NarendraKumar, who was arrested oncharges of irregularities inhandling of Sangam Dairy, toRajahmundry central jail.

He had been undergoingtreatment at Ayush Hospital inVijayawada for Covid-19.Narendra was taken back toRajahmundry jail after testingnegative for the virus onWednesday?.

Doctors advised that heremain isolated to which theACB officials said they wouldlodge him in special isolationquarters inside the jail.

Meanwhile, Narendra'slawyers filed a petition in theACB court seeking bail. Apetition was filed in the courtseeking to recall Narendra’scustody.

Earlier, the former MLAwas arrested by the ACB cit-ing various financial andadministrative irregularitiesthat took place in SangamDairy during the time he wasthe chairman.

He was produced beforethe ACB court and the courtremanded in custody for 14days and later was shifted toRajahmundry jail. Narendrafaces cases registered underIPC Sections 408, 409, 418,420, 465, 471 and 120B.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former Minister and seniorTDP leader YanamalaRamakrishnudu onWednesday demanded theJaganmohan ReddyGovernment to use the Rs2,146 crore being releasedtowards ‘ways and means’on treatment of Covidpatients and for procurementof vaccines.

Ramakrishnudu said thatthere were reports that theReserve Bank of India (RBI)is extending a facility to theAP Government to draw Rs2,146 crore additionallyunder ‘ways and means’advance.

“The AP regime shouldnot divert these funds formaking payments under theprojects where it would get

commissions,” Yanamala said.In a statement here, the

TDP leader said that peoplewere asking for more spend-ing to fight the epidemic.“There is no use to make tall

claims at this critical time.The Chief Minister and hisMinisters are however claim-ing their regime had spent Rs87,000 crore on welfare in thepast two years,” he said.

The TDP leader lamentedthat the YSRCP Governmenthas been giving Rs 14,000under 'Amma Vodi' but it wastaking nearly Rs 36,000 fromeach family through 'NannaBuddi'. Just Rs 10,000 wasbeing given under the VahanaMitra but over Rs 30,000 wasbeing taken back from eachdriver with the hike in dieselprices and by imposingpenalties.

This Government gave justRs 7,500 under RythuBharosa while cancelling pay-ment of Rs 15,000 underAnnadata Sukheebhava, healleged.

Spend `2,146 crore on vax,medicines: TDP to Govt

C PRADEEP KUMAR

n HYDERABAD

Sufi scholar Altaf Ali Raza onWednesday appealed to theMuslim community to helpthe needy who are reelingunder the Covid-19 impact,instead of lavish spending onEid-ul-Fitr celebrations.

Altaf Raza, along withKrishna district governmentQazi Syed Habibulla Husseindistributed essential com-modities as Ramzan Tohfa topoor people.

Altaf Raza deplored thatthe pandemic has adverselyimpacted innumerable peopleand left many families devas-tating by claiming lives.

He said that a majority ofthe working class and poorpeople were facing financial

difficulties due to Covid cur-few and are struggling just tosurvive. Altaf Raza pointedout that many have lost theirjobs and starving due to theirlivelihood being deprived.

Altaf Raza stated that

human survival has becomequestionable and many peo-ple find it difficult to breatheand suffocate due to insuffi-cient oxygen gas.

The Islamic scholar saidthat Muslims should not

spend much on Ramzanshopping during such heart-breaking circumstances.

“The Muslim communityneeds to shrug off its illusionthat they cannot celebratethe festival if they don’t put on

new clothes. The Muslimcommunity should calculatethe Zakat and deposit it in thestate government assistancefund so that they can becomepartners in the relentlessefforts of the government

machinery,” Altaf Raza said. Altaf Raza and Hussein

with other minority leadersdistributed essential com-modities to 200 poor peoplebelonging to various religionson the occasion.

Real celebrations if you help the needy: Islamic scholar

9 hospitalsbooked forirregularities PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Flying squads deployed bythe government have contin-ued inspections of hospitalson Tuesday and Wednesday.

The teams have inspected15 hospitals and found irreg-ularities in nine and bookedcriminal cases against themanagement of all the hospi-tals involved during the pasttwo days.

Criminal cases have beenregistered against 37 hospitalsacross the state so far, includ-ing these nine.

These hospitals are foundto be indulging in chargingpatients excessively beyondapproved limits, denying/dis-couraging treatment underAarogyasri for eligiblepatients, misappropriatingRemdesivir vials allotted andselling them at excessiveprices. The managements ofall these hospitals were suit-ably counselled by officers tomend their ways and providetreatment adhering to theguidelines issued by the gov-ernment.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy directedthe officials to improve educa-tion standards in all universi-ties across the state aiming atbeing in top 10 list.

Chairing a review meetingon Higher Education and tak-ing universities to the topposition in the NationalInstitutional RankingFramework (NIRF) held hereon Wednesday, the ChiefMinister instructed theauthorities to chart an actionplan for increasing the stan-dards in State-run Universitieslike JNTU (Kakinada,Anantapur), AndhraUniversity, SV University,Padmavathi MahilaUniversity, along withRGUKT (IIITs) in order totake them to a next level.

He told the officials to pre-pare proposals to that extentand estimate the expenditurerequired. Further, the ChiefMinister ordered the officials

to pay special attentiontowards the upcomingArchitecture University inKadapa.

The officials stated thatAndhra University is current-ly ranked at 19 and SVUniversity at 38 in the NIRFrankings. In this context, theChief Minister directed theauthorities to focus on thesteps to be taken for improv-ing the rankings in the next

two years. Also, he told the officials to

study the best practices ofthose universities that are intop positions in the NIRFrankings and focus on themethods to be adopted interms of infrastructure, teach-ing methods and staff.

The officials were directedto recruit talented, meritoriousand exemplary people asteaching staff in the state uni-versities by following dynam-ic methods. The ChiefMinister asked them to studythe best practices and policiesof the top universities overseasand try to adapt them intostate universities, by integrat-ing their curriculum and fur-ther by partnering with for-eign universities.

Reviewing IIITs, the ChiefMinister directed the officialsto introduce business coursesin IIITs and take them to thelevel of IITs. He said thatIIITs were deeply neglected inthe previous government, whodiverted about Rs 180 crore

funds of these institutions.Currently, there are 22,946

students studying in IIITsacross the state and told theauthorities to complete theconstruction of IIIT buildingsin Srikakulam and Ongole atthe earliest along with improv-ing the infrastructure facilitiesin existing campuses.

With regard to MedicalEducation, the Chief Ministersaid that the government issetting up 16 new medical col-leges, where currently only 11colleges are functioning.

With the establishment ofnew colleges, the number ofmedical seats is going toincrease significantly andmore seats will be available forpoor students by filling 70percent in convenor quotaand 30 percent in paymentquota. Further, he said that thegovernment prioritises educa-tion and health sectors, andthus spending huge amountsto improve the existing sys-tems through the Nadu-Neduprogramme.

CM tells varsities to aim for better NIRF ranking

PNS n ONGOLE

Ongole MP MaguntaSrinivasu Reddy said that spe-cial attention was being paidto providing essential medi-cines and oxygen to the Covidvictims being treated at theOngole Government Generalhospital (GGH).

He said the MaguntaRaghava Reddy Trust and MPfunds would be used to set upthe infrastructure required forthe GGH.

The MP on Wednesdaymorning discussed variousissues with the DistrictCollector Dr Pola Bhaskarand Joint Collectors JVMurali and TS Chetan atPrakasam Bhavan on theintensity and prevention

measures taken up to containCovid in the Prakasam dis-trict.

Meanwhile, MaguntaSrinivasulu Reddy visited thePolice Welfare Covid CareCenter and lauded the initia-tive of SP Siddharth Kaushalfor designing Covid CareCenter.

He said that since he takingcharge in Prakasam, the SP hasdone many new innovativeactivities and he won manyawards at the Delhi-level aswell.

The SP said that measureshave been taken to control theflow of vehicles on the roadsafter 12 noon to prevent thespread of corona by control-ling the traffic beyond the stip-ulated timings.

MP Magunta lauds services at Police Covid Care Center


VASIREDDY RAVICHANDRA

n GUNTUR

The corona pandemic wasdevastating the lives of the peo-ple on one side and causinghuge losses to the farmers onthe other. The chilli farmerswere in dire straits with the clo-sure of the Guntur MirchiYard and the cold storageswere almost full of their capac-ity. The farmers who were ina complete dilemma in sellingtheir yield were not gettingeven a minimum price. Theywere forced to sell away theircrops in the fields itself to comeout from the debts as theprices were totally dropped.Ranging from Rs 12,000 to Rs13,000 was sold per quintal ofa fine quality chilli was nowsold at Rs 10,000 per quintal.Even the lowest quality varietywas sold even at Rs 11,000 perquintal and now being sold

between Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000.They were getting Rs 500 extrafor quintal if the quality wasgood. The farmers were indeep distress and they werenow struggling to sell chillistocks kept in the fields as theholidays were declared for themirchi yard in the wake of dev-astating coronavirus.

The farmers, who were indire need of money to repaydebts, were resorting to distressselling to the local traders asper the prices quoted by them.Even there was no opportuni-ty for them to store the chillistocks as almost all the coldstorages were full of theircapacity in the Palnadu region.The farmer caught between thedevil and the deep sea as eventhe local warehouses were fullof their capacity with othercommodities.

As per the usual practice, thefarming community would

store a part of their produce inthe cold storages selling awaythe remaining yielding. Now,there was left no option for thefarmers as there was no chance

for storage. The farmers wouldprefer to sell their yield inSeptember and Octobermonths eying on the goodprice. They could get bankloans on the stocks stored inthe cold storages.Unexpectedly, all the cold stor-ages were filled with stocks thisyear throwing the farmers intodeep crisis.

Astonishingly, the chilliprices were dropped by Rs3,000 per quintal within amonth. It could be attributedto holidays declared to themirchi yard and the inability offarmers to go and sell their pro-duce in the neighbouring statesof Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.With the steep fall in chilliprices, the farmer was incur-ring a loss of Rs 10,000 peracre. The chilli crop was raisedin around 30,000 hectares inGurajala revenue division lim-its in the Palnadu region.

Chilli prices plunge with closure of Guntur Mirchi Yard ̈All cold storages filled with stocks ̈ Farmers in total despair

PNS n KAKINADA

The corona pandemic could becontained completely only withcoordination between the peo-ple's representatives and thedistrict authorities to save thelives of the people in EastGodavari district during thesecond wave of the Covid andefforts were on to deal with thedisaster, Deputy Chief Ministerand Revenue MinisterDharmana Krishnadas hassaid.

A district-level committeemeeting on the Covid situationwas held virtually under thechairmanship of district in-charge Minister DharmanaKrishnadas on Wednesday. Heparticipated in the meetingfrom the Srikakulam campoffice. At the outset, districtCollector Muralidhar Reddyexplained the steps being takenup to provide better medicalcare to the patients along withCovid control in the district."About 8,000 RT-PCR,TrueNat and rapid antigentests were conducted per dayholding complete focus. We aremaking arrangements with-

out any shortage of oxygeneven for future needs. Forwhich, a 1.7 kilolitre PSA unitwas launched at GGH andwere setting up an oxygentank with a capacity of 10 KL,"the Collector informed

Later, Dharmana said that itwas the social responsibility foreveryone to make full use ofthe available resources toensure medical and other ser-vices to all the patients toeffectively deal with the disas-ter. He suggested that healthservices should be provided in

time to the corona patientsthrough the '104' system. Hesaid there were no misconcep-tions about vaccination and theprogramme would runsmoothly depending on thedoses coming from the Centre.

BC Welfare MinisterSrinivasa Venugopalakrishnasaid that the misconceptionsamong the people aboutRemdesivir should be dispelledand the drug should not beused indiscriminately andshould be used only as per thestandard protocol.

Kakinada MP Vanga Geethasaid the results were good inthe district-level tests, medicalservices for the patients and acontinuous monitoring sys-tem was evolved on the use ofoxygen and Remdesivir.

MLC Pandula RavindraBabu, Kothapeta MLA ChirlaJaggi Reddy, RajanagaramMLA Jakkampudi Raja, PGannavaram MLA KondettiChittibabu spoke on theincrease of beds, testing, vac-cination, increase in CSR activ-ities of oil companies, evacua-tion of bodies, respectfullyperforming funerals and otherissues.

Satti Suryanarayana Reddy,Razole MLA RapakaVaraprasada Rao andMandapeta MLA VJogeshwara Rao made varioussuggestions. Along with thecommittee members at themeeting, JC (R) Dr GLaxmisha, JC (D) KirtiChekuri, JC (W) GRajakumari, Amalapuram Sub-Collector Himanshu Kaushik,Rajahmundry Sub-CollectorAnupama Anjali participatedin the meeting.

Use all resources fully tocontain corona: Dy CM

PNS n GUNTUR

A womansub-inspec-tor attachedto Tsundurupolice sta-tion ofV e m u r uconstituen-

cy in Guntur district whoallegedly attempted suicidealong with a police constableby consuming pesticide lastweek died on Wednesday.

In a suicide pact, SI PilliSravani (35) and constableRavindra, who was workingin the same police station,consumed pesticide in a bidto end their lives last week.She succumbed while under-going treatment at a privatehospital in Guntur onWednesday morning.

Sravani of 2018 batchhailed from Kandukuru inPrakasam District. She gother first posting at the Dishapolice station inNarasaraopet.

She has been on duty atTsundur police station for thepast seven months.Meanwhile, constableRavindra was getting treatmentat another private hospital inGuntur. An extra-marital affairwas suspected to be the causeof the suicide pact.

Woman SI diesin suicide pact

A CHANDRA SEKHAR

n ONGOLE

The family of MK Stalin, wholed the DMK to victory in therecent Tamil Nadu electionsand was sworn in as the ChiefMinister was from Prakasamdistrict in Andhra Pradesh.

The fourth generation ofStalin's ancestors and familydescendants were living still atPellur village, a suburb ofOngole town. The villagersexpressing happiness asKarunanidhi's son Stalinbecame Chief Minister ofTamil Nadu. While Stalin tak-ing his oath of office as ChiefMinister, the people of thistiny village celebrated his vic-tory by performingabhishekam to his portraitwith milk and flowers.

According to local people,Stalin's father and formerChief Minister of Tamil NaduKarunanidhi's ancestors weregreat musicians. Althoughthey were from Vizianagaramdistrict, they came to Ongoleand later migrated to TamilNadu in search of livelihood.

The Maharaja of theVenkatagiri dynasty, whoruled the Pellur area, himselfrose to fame as an instrumen-talist in the court of theMaharaja. They used to ren-der Mangala instrument as apart of their services to theLord at Shiva temple in Pellur.

The history was that theentire Pellur area was underthe rule of Maharaja ofVenkatagiri andKarunanidhi's ancestors weresanctioned settlements in thenearby village ofCheruvukommu Palem. Theancestors of Karunanidhibelonged to the Nayi Brahmincommunity and they came tothis region centuries ago.

A total of five familiesserved in the court of theMaharaja. The villagers saidthat they were allotted about150 acres of land in thosedays for cultivation. Theelders of the village said thatthey once migrated toThanjavur in Tamil Nadufollowing a severe drought in

the area and returned. Theywere living here in Pellursince 300 years ago, theyadded.

Speaking to 'The Pioneer',Nadaswara exponent PelluriVenkateshwarlu from this

vi l lage recal led thatKarunanidhi was the chiefguest at the Telugu DetectiveNovel Writers' Associationmeeting held in Eluru in1960. Karunanidhi himselfhad declared when

Jalandhar (Kompal ly)Balakrishna, a well-knowndetective novelist fromOngole, met him at themeeting. He asked himabout their ancestral village- Cheruvukommu Palemand said that he had gone toThanjavur for livelihood.He also said that someNadaswara artists fromOngole went to Thanjavur toattend the Thyagaraja festi-vals during Karunanidhi'slifetime and he greeted themand asked about his ances-tral village.

The villagers were plan-ning to set up a statue ofKarunanidhi in theCheruvukommu Palem vil-lage and to invite M K Stalinas the chief guest.

TN CM STALIN'S ANCESTORS FROM PRAKASAM DISTRICT

Prakasam village celebratesMK Stalin’s victory

PNS n GUNTUR

After drawing strong criticismfrom the people for displayinga board of price chart for cre-mations at a crematorium inNarasaraopeta, theNarasaraopeta Municipalityrectified its mistake andremoved the price chart.Narasaraopeta MLA GopuSrinivas Reddy said onWednesday that considering

the people's constraints duringthe critical times of Covid, themunicipality would bear thecost of cremation for the bod-ies arriving at crematoriums.

Srinivas Reddy onWednesday held a review withmunicipal, revenue and policeofficials in the wake of strongcriticism of the price chart dis-played at the crematoriumasking people to pay Rs 2,500for ordinary death and Rs

8,000 for corona death. The meeting decided that

the cost of cremation and bur-ial for all religions includingHindu, Muslim and Christianwould be borne by the munic-ipality. DSP Vijaya BhaskarRao, CommissionerRamachandra Reddy,Tahasildar Ramana Nayak,Municipal D E Srinivasa Raoand others were present at themeeting.

Civic body removes price chartat burial ground; it’s free now

PNS n TIRUPATI

CPI national secretary KNarayana has alleged that thestate government was coveringup its failure by announcing afalse death toll in the RUIAhospital incident in Tirupati.

Addressing the media per-sons virtually from his villageIyanambakkam in Nagarimandal on Wednesday,Narayana said the govern-ment has declared 11 deathsin the incident but the actu-

al death toll was 23. Hereleased a statement withthe details of all the 23deceased in the RUIA hospi-tal tragedy.

He accused the governmentof downplaying the death tolland issuing false statements inthe RUIA incident and chal-lenged the state government toprove his statement as false.Both the state and the Centrehave failed to tackle the Covid-19 second wave.

He alleged that the deaths

were caused by insufficientoxygen supplies and termedthem as the killings by the gov-ernment. It showed the ineffi-ciency of the government inprotecting the people fromthe pandemic. The CPI leaderasked both the governments towork sincerely to contain theCovid. He further criticized thestate government for failing toget the required oxygen fromthe Centre and was not show-ing responsibility for the peo-ple's lives.

Death toll in RUIA hospitaltragedy downplayed : CPI

PNS n GUNTUR

Several complaints have beenlodged in various police stationsin Guntur district against StateMinister Sidiri Apralaraju alleg-ing that he created panic amongpeople when the state was dev-astating with coronavirus statingthat N440K was spreading inKurnool district and it was verydangerous.

The police registered casessoon after two lawyers lodgedcomplaints against TDP chief NChandrababu Naidu on Tuesday.As a counter to the incident, sev-eral lawyers lodged complaintsagainst Minister Sidiri Apralarajuon Wednesday on the same issue.

Kale Devdas ofBongaralabeedu lodged a com-plaint in the Arandalpeta policestation in Guntur city. Devadaswas accompanied by TDP lead-ers Tenali Sravana Kumar,Kovelamoodi Ravindra,Kanaparthi Srinivasa Rao,Chittibabu and Manukonda

Sivaprasad filed a case. Theydemanded that the police shouldregister a case against the minis-ter and initiate action.

Several lawyers also filed com-plaints against the minister inNarasaraopet. Lawyer GundalaSuresh gave a complaint againstthe minister in Narasaraopetone town police station. GudurShekhar in two town police sta-tion and Seetaramaiah inNarasaraopet rural police stationlodged complaints.

They mentioned in their com-plaints that the minister saidN440K was spreading in Kurnooldistrict and it was very danger-ous causing panic among thepeople. They also demandedthat the case should be registeredagainst the minister and bearrested.

How the police, who registereda case against TDP chiefChandrababu Naidu on Tuesday,would react to the complaintsagainst the minister became curi-ous among the people.

Complaints galore againstMinister Appalaraju in Guntur

PNS n BHIMAVARAM

Any negligence in fightingthe corona would be a majorthreat to human lives as itwould become our enemy,Bhimavaram MLA GrandhiSrinivas said on Wednesday.

Addressing a review meet-ing with the revenue, medicaland health and municipal offi-cials at the local camp officehere on Wednesday, the MLAsaid that as soon as people

found symptoms like cough,fever, cold, sore throat andheadache, they should usemedicines immediately. Thesemedicines were available in allthe medical shops in the mar-ket. Corona patients with mildsymptoms should consult doc-tors without wasting a singlemoment. The people whowere approaching for oxygenbeds have neglected the virusand made it complicated, theMLA said.

Don’t neglect corona: Bhimavaram MLA

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MAY 13, 2021 nation 05

Madhya Pradesh CultureMinister Usha Thakurhas said 'yagya' is an

ancient method of purifying theenvironment and claimed sucha practice is being followedsince ages to get rid of pan-demics. Amid the ongoing sec-ond wave of COVID-19, Thakuron Tuesday appealed to people to perform "havan" (a fire ritual) at one time."We appeal to all to perform yagya and offer aahuti (oblation) and purify theenvironment because performing this sacred ritual to eliminate pandemicshas been a tradition since ages," she told reporters. She claimed 'yagya' isa practice to purify the environment and it is "not bigotry or ritualism". "So,let us all offer two aahutis each and purify the environment. The third waveof COVID-19 will not be able to touch our country," she said. Thakur alsosaid the state government was aware of the threat of a third wave of theviral infection. It is being said that this wave will affect children. The state ismaking full preparations to curb it, she added. "I am confident that we willbe able to handle third wave of the pandemic properly because no problemcan stay if we make joint efforts with good intentions. We pray to God thatthis wave may not cause hardships to people," she said.

Eminent Assamese littera-teur and journalist HomenBorgohain died at a hospi-

tal in Guwahati on Wednesday,following post-COVID compli-cations, doctors said. He was89 and survived by two sons.He has been separated fromhis wife Nirupama Borgohain, also a noted litterateur and journalist, forseveral years. Borgohain was found to be COVID-positive on April 24and admitted to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, from wherehe was released on May 7 after testing negative. He fell from the bed inhis sleep last night and was rushed to a local hospital where he died at6.58 am, doctors who attended him said. A prolific author and colum-nist, Borgohain received the Sahitya Akademi award in 1978 for hisbook 'Pita-Putra' (Father and Son), which he returned in 2015 in protestagainst the rising religious and social intolerance in the country.

INDIA CORNER

Asubspecies of theHimalayan red fox wasspotted here at a height

of 3,000 metres, officials saidon Wednesday. The variety,known as Vulpes Vulpesgriffithi, was seen in Bhujaniand Khaliya Top areas ofMunsiyari at an elevation of3,000 metres, some 500metres below the altitude, where its habitat is located, for the first timein recent years, said Surendra Panwar, president of Monal NGO that hasbeen working towards the protection of upper range Himalayan animalsfor around 10 years. "We have seen at least eight subspecies of the redfox at such an elevation in the Himalayan region after following itfruitlessly for two years," he said. Asked about the reasons behind theincreased visibility of these otherwise shy animals at lower altitudes,Panwar said it could be due to disturbance in their natural habitats.

MP minister bats for ‘yagya'to get rid of pandemics

Himalayan red fox's subspeciesspotted in Uttarakhand

With seven more bodiesseen floating in theGanga, the count of

bodies found in this UttarPradesh district has reached52, an official said onWednesday. The districtadministration is immediatelyperforming the last rites of the deceased as there is a possibility thatthey had contracted COVID-19. According to Ballia residents, at least 45bodies were seen floating near the Ujiyar, Kulhadia and Bharauli ghats inthe Narahi area on Tuesday evening. Late on Tuesday night, seven morebodies were found, taking the total count of bodies to 52, an officialsaid. In a statement issued on Tuesday, District Magistrate Aditi Singhhad said some bodies in a decomposed condition were seen floatingunder the Ballia-Buxar bridge. She said Sub-Divisional Magistrate(Sadar) Rajesh Yadav and Circle Officer Jagveer Singh Chauhan areprobing the matter and the last rites of the deceased were performedwith due respect. "The last rites of the deceased were performed onTuesday itself. We are trying to find out where did the bodies comefrom. Seeing the flow of the river, it seems that they came from Buxarand other parts of Bihar," Yadav told PTI on Wednesday.

7 more bodies seen floatingin Ganga in UP; count at 52

Assamese litterateur HomenBorgohain dies at 89

PNS n NEW DELHI

The B.1.617 variant of the coro-navirus first identified in India lastyear has been found in 44 coun-tries, says the World HealthOrganization (WHO) which hasclassified it as a variant of concern'.

The UN body routinely assess-es if variants of SARS-CoV-2result in changes in transmissibil-ity and severity, or if they lead tochanges in public health andsocial measures' implementationby national health authorities.

As of May 11, over 4,500sequences have been uploaded toGISAID and assigned to B.1.617from 44 countries in all six WHOregions, the global health bodysaid in its latest weekly epidemi-ological update published onTuesday.

GISAID is a global science ini-tiative and primary source thatprovides open access to genomicdata of the novel coronavirus

responsible for the COVID-19pandemic.

WHO has also characterizedthe lineage B.1.617 as a variant ofconcern (VOC).

Variants of concern are thoseconsidered more dangerous thanthe original form of the virus firstseen in China in late 2019.

That danger stems from a vari-ant's higher transmissibility, lethal-ity and resistance to vaccines, oreither of them.

B.1.617 contains three sub-lineages, which differ by few butpotentially relevant mutations inthe spike protein - this helps thevirus enter the human cells, as wellas the prevalence of detectionglobally.

At the present time, WHO hasdesignated B.1.617 as a VOCbased on early evidence of pheno-typic impacts compared to othercirculating virus variants, WHOsaid.

According to it, B.1.617 sub-lin-

eages appear to have higher ratesof transmission, includingobserved rapid increases in preva-lence in multiple countries.

Preliminary evidence suggestspotential reduced effectivenessof Bamlanivimab, a monoclonalantibody used for COVID-19treatment, and potentially slight-ly reduced susceptibility to neu-tralisation antibodies, it said.

Viruses in the B.1.617 lineage

were first reported in India inOctober 2020.

The resurgence in COVID-19cases and deaths in India haveraised questions on the potentialrole of B.1.617 and other variantssuch as B.1.1.7 in circulation.

A mutation means a change ina nucleic acid base or amino acidmolecule, and a virus containingthis change is termed a mutant.

Mutations eventually accumu-

late to generate variants that dif-fer from the original virus moreand more, and so, a variant canhave limited or even cumulativemutations.

A recent risk assessment of thesituation in India conducted byWHO found that resurgence andacceleration of COVID-19 trans-mission in India had severalpotential contributing factors.

These include an increase in theproportion of cases of SARS-CoV-2 variants with potentiallyincreased transmissibility, sever-al religious and political massgathering events which increasedsocial mixing, reduced adher-ence to public health and socialmeasures. The exact contributionsof each of these factors onincreased transmission in Indiaare not well understood.

Approximately 0.1 per cent ofpositive samples in India havebeen sequenced and uploaded toGISAID to identify SARS-CoV-2

variants.The prevalence of several

VOCs, including the B.1.1.7 andB.1.612 sub-lineages, increasedconcurrent to the surge inCOVID-19 cases reported inIndia, according to WHO.

While B.1.1.7 and B.1.612.1variants have begun to wane inrecent weeks, a marked increasein the proportion of virusessequenced as B.1.612.2 has beenobserved over the same period, itsaid. Since the identification ofthese variants through late April2021, B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2accounted for 21 per cent and 7per cent of sequenced samplesfrom India, respectively. A prelim-inary analysis conducted byWHO using sequences submittedto GISAID suggests that B.1.617.1and B.1.617.2 have a substantial-ly higher growth rate than othercirculating variants in India, sug-gesting potential increased trans-missibility.

Active Covid-19 cases incountry dip for 2nd dayPNS n NEW DELHI

India's total Covid-19 active casesdipped to 37,04,099 with a netdecline of 11,122 cases in a spanof 24 hours, the Union HealthMinistry said on Wednesday.

This is the second consecutiveday that active cases have dipped,the ministry said.

The active caseload now com-prises 15.87 per cent of the coun-try's total infections,

Karnataka, Maharashtra,Kerala, Tamil Nadu, UttarPradesh, Rajasthan, AndhraPradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu,Chhattisgarh, West Bengal,Haryana, Bihar and MadhyaPradesh cumulatively accountfor 82.51 per cent of India's totalactive cases, the ministry said.

India's cumulative recoverieshave surged to 1,93,82,642 with3,55,338 people recuperating in aspan of 24 hours.

New recoveries have outshonenew daily cases for the secondconsecutive day, the ministrysaid.

It also said that Maharashtra,Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu,Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh,West Bengal, Rajasthan, Delhi andHaryana reported 71.22 per centof the 3,48,421 new cases report-ed in a day.

Maharashtra has reported thehighest daily new cases at 40,956.It is followed by Karnataka with39,510 while Kerala reported37,290 new case

The National Mortality Ratecurrently stands at 1.09 per cent,the ministry said.

A total of 4,205 deaths were

reported in a span of 24 hours.Ten states account for 73.17 per

cent of the new deaths.Maharashtra saw the maximumcasualties (793). Karnataka fol-lows with 480 daily deaths.

The cumulative number ofCOVID-19 vaccine doses admin-istered in the country has exceed-ed 17.52 crore, the ministry said.

A total of 17,52,35,991 vaccinedoses have been administeredthrough 25,47,534 sessions,according to the provisionalreport till 7 am.

These include 95,82,449

healthcare workers (HCWs) whohave taken the first dose and65,39,376 HCWs who have takenthe second dose.

Besides, 5,58,83,416 and78,36,168 beneficiaries aged 45 to60 years have been administeredthe first and second dose respec-tively, while 5,39,59,772 and1,62,88,176 beneficiaries morethan 60 years have taken the firstand second dose.

A total of 4,79,282 beneficiariesin the age group of 18-44 yearshave received their first dose ofCOVID vaccine in the last 24hours and cumulatively 30,44,463across 30 states and UTs since thestart of phase-3 of vaccinationdrive. More than 24.4 lakh vacci-nation doses were administered ina span of 24 hours.

As on Day-116 of the vaccina-tion drive (May 11), 24,46,674vaccine doses were given. Across18,543 sessions, 10,92,452 bene-ficiaries were vaccinated for thefirst dose and 13,54,222 beneficia-ries received their second dose ofvaccine.

‘Disheartening to see statescomplaining about vaccine’

PNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra Leader ofOpposit ion DevendraFadnavis on Wednesdaydemanded that journalists,photographers and camer-apersons be included in thefrontline workers categoryto get them inoculatedagainst coronavirus.

In a letter to ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeray,the BJP leader said at least12 states in the countryhave recognised journalistsand camerapersons as front-line workers and vaccinatedthem.

"Some 12 states in thecountry have recognisedjournalists and cameraper-sons as frontline workersand given them the vaccine.Unfortunately, the decisionis st i l l pending inMaharashtra," Fadnavissaid. Several media personshave succumbed toCOVID-19 in the first andsecond waves of the pan-demic, he said.

‘Journos mustbe treated asfrontline stafffor vaccination’

Govt engaging with drug makers toramp up production of anti-fungal drugPNS n NEW DELHI

The government is engagingwith the drug manufacturers toramp up the production of anantifungal drug used for thetreatment of mucormycosis,the Chemicals and FertilizersMinistry said, as a rash of casesof rare black fungus infectionhave been reported amongpeople either recovered orrecovering from COVID-19.

With a spike in the cases ofCOVID-19 in the country,doctors have been reporting arare infection mucormycosis,also called as black fungus,among people recovered fromCOVID-19. The infection iscaused by exposure to mucormould and it affects the sinus-es, the brain and the lungs andcan be life-threatening.

"A sudden increase in

demand has been observed insome states for AmphotericinB which is being actively pre-scribed by the physicians topatients suffering frommucormycosis, a post-COVIDcomplication," the ministrysaid in a statement.

The government is thereforeengaging with the manufactur-ers to ramp up production ofthe drug. The supply positionis expected to improve withextra imports of this drug andincrease in its productiondomestically, it added.

"After reviewing the stockposition with the manufactur-ers/importers, and the demand

pattern of Amphotericin B, theDepartment of Pharma, has on11th May, 2021 , allocated thisdrug amongst the States/UTsbased on expected supply thatwill be available from May 10to May 31, 2021," the statementsaid.

States have been requestedto put in place a mechanismfor equitable distribution ofsupplies amongst governmentand private hospitals andhealth care agencies, it added.

States have also beenrequested to publicise in thestate the 'Point of Contact' forprivate and government hospi-tals to obtain the drug fromthis allocation, the statementsaid. "The arrangements forsupply will be monitored bythe National PharmaceuticalsPricing Authority (NPPA)," itadded.

PNS n BHUBANESWAR

In a minor bureaucraticreshuffle, the Odisha govern-ment Wednesday appointedsenior IAS officer SanjayKumar Singh as the newCommissioner ofBhubaneswar MunicipalCorporation (BMC) replac-ing Prem ChandraChaudhary.

Singh, a 1997-batch IASOfficer, is currently serving asthe Commissioner-cum-Secretary of SkillDevelopment and TechnicalEducation Department withadditional charge asC o m m i s s i o n e r - c u m -Secretary of Information andPublic Relations (I&PR)Department, a GeneralAdministration and PublicGrievance department noti-fication said.

SK Singh is BMCCommissioner,Sethi I&PR secy

PNS n NEW DELHI

The shadows over Ramzan aredarker this time and thedespair deeper, the scramblefor oxygen, hospital beds andeven a decent burial for theirloved ones eclipsing the gloomthat marked the fasting monthlast year.

With no large congrega-tions in mosques, no ‘iftar'parties and no late night shop-ping, it was said 2020 Ramzanwas like no other in livingmemory. But as a second,deadlier COVID-19 wave rav-ages large parts of the coun-try, Ramzan 2021 has rewrit-ten even that pandemic norm.

Almost every family acrossthe country is affected by thepandemic in one way or

another with many losingfriends and family membersand several others battlingthe dreaded virus.

"Ramzan is a time for fam-ily and friends, but this yearI have lost many of my nearand dear ones and many inthe family have been infectedby the virus. This has been atough month and I spent itjust praying to Allah that thisdeadly virus goes away fromour lives," said Tanvir Parvez,a lawyer from Ghaziabad.

The festivities, the cheer, themorning ‘sehri' at food jointsthat underscored Ramzan andEid for not just devoutMuslims but for others aswell have receded like a dis-tant dream for those likeParvez.

Corona casts its shadow on Muslim fasting month

Video of rapevictim's fatherbeing beatengoes viralPNS n AGRA

A case was registered onWednesday against eight peo-ple, who could be seenthrashing a rape victim'sfather and brother with sticksin a viral video, police saidhere, adding one of theaccused was arrested.

The video shows the twobeing attacked on the banksof Yamuna river. The incidentoccurred on Tuesday eveningat Balkeshwar Ghat underKamla Nagar Police Station,police said.

The victims, aged 45 and20, were being treated atSarojani Naidu MedicalCollege and Hospital.

Two of the accused in theviral video were identified asRahul and Jogendra, whoare named in the rape case ofthe 45-year-old's daughter.

They are out on bail, policesaid, adding the rape survivorwas a minor when she wasassaulted.

103-year-oldGandhian backhome afterCovid battlePNS n BENGALURU

Eminent Gandhian and free-dom fighter H S Doreswamyhas won the COVID-19 bat-tle at the ripe old age of 103and is returning home. "Ideveloped symptoms five daysago but there were no compli-cations as such. Yet, I decid-ed to get admitted because Ihave respiratory problems.Now, I am getting discharged,"the centenarian said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

It is quite disheartening to lis-ten to some states complainingabout Bharat Biotech's inten-tions regarding supply ofCOVID vaccine Covaxin, a topcompany official said onWednesday.

In a tweet, Bharat BiotechJoint Managing DirectorSuchitra Ella said the compa-ny has already dispatchedCovaxin lots to 18 states onMay 10.

"18 states have been coveredthough in smaller shipments.Quite disheartening to theteams to hear some statescomplaining about our inten-tions. 50 of our employees areoff work due to covid, yet wecontinue to work under pan-demic lockdowns 24x7 for U,"she said in a tweet.

The Hyderabad-based firmis supplying Covaxin to 18states, including AndhraPradesh, Haryana, Odisha,Assam, Jammu & Kashmir,Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jharkhandand Delhi. Other states areChhattisgarh, Karnataka,

Telangana, Tripura, MadhyaPradesh, Uttar Pradesh,Gujarat, Maharashtra and WestBengal.

Earlier in the day, DelhiDeputy Chief Minister ManishSisodia said Bharat Biotech hasinformed the state govern-ment that it cannot provide"additional" Covaxin doses tothe national capital.

The stock of Covaxin inDelhi has finished and as aresult around 100 vaccinationcentres set up in 17 schoolshave been closed, he said.

"The Covaxin manufactur-er has in a letter said that itcannot provide Delhi govern-ment vaccines due to unavail-ability, under instruction ofconcerned government official.It means that the central gov-ernment is controlling supplyof the vaccine," Sisodia said.

He also said the Centreshould stop export of vac-cines and share the vaccine for-mulae of the two manufactur-ers in the country with othercompanies for mass scale pro-duction.

Details sought about ‘black fungus’PNS n BENGALURU

The Karnataka governmenthas sought information fromhealth experts about 'blackfungus' being detected amongCOVID patients in the coun-try, Health Minister KSudhakar said on Wednesday.

Addressing reporters atChikkaballapura, he said, "Ihad a discussion with the tech-nical advisory committee andthe clinicians to submit adetailed report on black fungusin two days. Based on that, wewill take a call."

The minister was replying toa query on media reports that

the cases of black fungus ormucormycosis, a rare fungalinfection, are on the riseamong COVID-19 patients insome states, includingKarnataka.

He said the governmentwants to learn about the dis-ease and its treatment.

To another question on the

rising double mutant variantsof COVID, Sudhakar said hehas ordered genealogical stud-ies and its sequencing.

"Some have called it Indianvariant also. It is behavingmore erratically than theBritish variant. We are moni-toring its movement as well.Some other countries are alsostudying it," the minister said.

On improving health infra-structure and medical care inTaluk level, the minister saidthe process to recruit 2,480doctors and specialists in Taluklevel had been going on for thepast four-five months, whichhas now reached the final

level."In the next two days, a

gazette order will come fortheir recruitment.

Due to this, there will not beany shortage of physicians anddoctors in Taluk level. We willappoint doctors at Taluk levelin four days," the ministersaid.

Besides this, the state has 50oxygenated beds and six ven-tilators in each Taluk hospital.

Karnataka has shown thedeclining trend in the COVIDcases for the past two daysreporting less than 40,000infections from over 50,000cases a few days back.

WHO says Covid variant B.1.617 found in 44 countries

Ex-CBI officer who probed Rajiv assassination case no morePNS n CHENNAI

Former CBI officer KRagothaman, who was the ChiefInvestigating Officer in the RajivGandhi assassination case, diedhere on Wednesday, police andhospital sources said. The 76year-old veteran, a former SP inthe premier central investigating

agency, was admitted to a privatehospital here last week for treate-ment for Covid-19 and breathedhis last this morning, hospitalsources said.

According to DrShanmugavel, his son-in-law,Ragothaman's mortal remainswill be taken to their nativeUlundurpet in Villupuram dis-

trict for the last rites.Ragothaman was the CIO in theCBI's Special Investigation Team(SIT) that probed the killing offormer Prime Minister Gandhion May 21, 1991 atSriperumbudur, near here, dur-ing an election rally, by a femaleLTTE suicide bomber whichsent gloal shockwaves.

He had penned a few books,including on Gandhi's sensa-tional killing. He also produceda documentary titled 'HumanBomb'. In his near four decadecareer in the CBI, the former SPwho also handled many othercases, was however said to beinvolved in the high profileRajiv Gandhi assassination case

for about 10 years.Seven persons--Murugan,

Santhan, Perarivalan,Jayakumar, Ravichandran,Robert Payas and Nalini wereconvicted and sentenced todeath in the case.

However, the death sentenceof all seven was later commut-ed to life terms.

A RAMZAN LIKE NO OTHER

Incidentally, the nationalanthems of both India andBangladesh have been writtenby Gurudev Tagore. NazrulIslam was a poet widelyregarded as second only toTagore. The traditional high-way out of the Kolkata airport,called Dum Dum, was namedthe Nazrul Islam Avenue. Thebest Rabindra music singernowadays is a Dhaka lady,Rezwana Choudhuri. She usu-ally wears a sari and a red tikaon her forehead, though with-out sindoor. Bangladesh’s quar-rel with the Pakistani westernwing began in February 1948when Jinnah declared Urdu asPakistan’s only national lan-guage. Their love for theBengali language was demon-strated virtually the next dayby Dhaka University’s stu-dents, who rioted on thestreets for several days.

From then on to the endof 1971 was a very unhappytime for the East Pakistaniswho became Bangladeshis.Thereafter, whenever theythought of Pakistan, theywere Bengalis, and not somuch Bangladeshis. Theirradio talks about akash patal.It is mostly when they feelenvious of their Hindu coun-terparts that they turn tocalling the same phenomenon

asmaan zameen. They areBengali first, Bangladeshissecond and Muslims third.The majority of the people ofWest Bengal, more or less,shares this order of priority.The BJP, therefore, shouldconsider its 77 seats in therecent elections as a great suc-cess and by no means a defeat.

Do not forget that the BJPcould hardly field a Bengali-speaking public figure toaddress big meetings. Thismatters a great deal to theBengali. When I speak a fewsentences in the language, thelistener is delightedly sur-prised: “How nice is yourBengali!” Not because mygrasp of the language is sogood but because, havingbeen brought up in Kolkata,I know that Bengali is first amelody and then a language.Many third-generation set-tlers do not realise this andthe Bengali listener does notlike his language being spo-ken without its lilt. In Gujarat,if any settler speaks inGujarati, the reaction wouldoften be why did he waste hisenergy learning the language?“We understand Hindi”! Thatis the infinite love in Bengalfor its language.

That apart, after SyamaPrasad Mookerjee passed

away in 1953, if I remembercorrectly, for two general elec-tions up to four HinduMahasabha candidates won asMLAs in Bankura. Thereafter,the score was zero for everyHindu party. Haripada Bharatiwas a respected person but hecould not become an MLA foryears despite being the leaderof the Jana Sangh.Approximately, one-third ofWest Bengal is the successorof refugees from East Pakistanand Bangladesh. But until2011, they were supporters ofthe Left Front. Is this notstrange? But true. TheCommunists had openly sup-ported Partition and yet thesepeople, who families had toflee as refugees, did not care.

Given these difficulties,the BJP has done well goingfrom three to 77 seats in fiveyears. The TMC did verywell. If a BJP member reallythought that the party couldget a majority, he was dream-ing. Five years, of course, isa long time but time is like aperennial river which flowson, and opportunities arebound to offer themselves forthe Opposition.

(The writer is a well-known columnist and anauthor. The views expressedare personal.)

There is something intrinsically wrong with Pakistan. Its economy is just sputteringand lagging behind its sibling India, and even Bangladesh. Quite clearly unable tokeep pace with the changing times, Pakistan, unlike India and Bangladesh which

share the umbilical cord with it, has remained static in terms of the economy. What thenails Pakistan’s economy and why we here in India should be interested in it? As theysay, you can choose your friends but not your neighbours. Like it or not, Pakistan is ourneighbour and will remain so. A weak, disintegrating, unstable Pakistan would be a farbigger problem for us than it is now. So India has high stakes in the well-being of its

western neighbour. Right now, Pakistan is an econom-ic mess. It is borrowing too much and unable to pushthe stagnant industrial and service sectors. Its debt ser-vice ratio is unmanageable and the foreign direct invest-ment (FDI) it receives is just not into the right sectorswhich can boost its exports. The rate of unemploymentis significantly high in Pakistan. It must grow aroundseven per cent annually to absorb its youth.

The high inflation rate is piling miseries on the poor.The industrial sector stagnates at around 20 per cent.Pakistan’s exports have fallen from 15 per cent of theGDP in 2003 to around 10 per cent currently. The FDI

aids growth but that too has fallen from 3.7 per cent of the GDP in 2007 to only oneper cent now. It is thus inevitable that the high unemployment rate and poverty are goingto push its youth wayward and it may not be good news even for India. What has ledto this mess is no mystery either. Pakistan’s ruling elite have mainly been Army per-sonnel who were trained to fight but ended up managing business and making a messof it, too. High corruption prevalence in contracts and unviable projects led to a situa-tion that borrowed money could not be paid back. Its high dependence on the Chineseproducts and loans ruined its economy. It is almost at the brink of becoming a Chinesecolony. The pandemic has worsened the situation. It is about time the world communi-ty took notice of Pakistan’s plight and bailed it out. Else, there is a clear danger that thenuclear nation might implode, sinking its neighbours along. Imran Khan came with a lotof promise but soon found the rut to be so deep that he soon stopped making effortsto clean it. Unless the Pakistan establishment decides to leave its business to the busi-nessmen and restricts it to its barracks, things are going to be difficult for Pakistan.

No other issue in recent memory has overwhelmed the Indian public discourse asthe COVID pandemic. The media is full of it, the social media clogged with it; it dom-inates all discussions, ranging from the most public to the most private. The polit-

ical parties may have forgotten the last time they discussed an issue unrelated to the virus.It is the lone barometer to gauge the performance of the Government at the Centre or inthe States. Voting in elections to the legislatures or civic bodies is influenced by it. Medicalfacilities, research centres and journals debate the very minutiae. But all the loquacity hasso far not thrown up a cogent or coherent national plan to monitor and manage health-care and force the second surge of COVID to dissipate. What precisely is the national dis-

course on the pandemic really about? If you excludethe routine, daily, near-monotonous notificationsfrom the Health and Home Ministries, this is what thediscourse is all about: Bickerings, complaints, allega-tions, charges, abuses, criticisms, one-upmanship,political brinkmanship, know-all rhetoric and the like.It is no longer the social media or the war-like debateson television channels that resonate; the institutionsalso have joined the chorus. The judiciary issues ulti-matums to the Government, which retorts about mis-placed activism. The Government, the ruling party andthe Opposition are merely defending their turfs. Thereis no clarify about anything.

The positivity rate in a State dips but nobody knows if it is on account of a peak-ing surge or reduced testing. The death rate lowers, but nobody knows if medical careis improving or the numbers are being fudged. Not enough vaccine is available for the18-44 age group, but nobody knows if there is vaccine scarcity or diversion of vac-cines to higher risk categories. The Health Minister cautions the States not to wastethe doses and asks them to step up vaccination. The Government or the pharmaceu-tical industry has explained the bizarre situation where the vaccine has multiple pricebands. Confusion is the result. For instance, the judiciary’s focus on oxygen suppliesthat led to a spurt in the number of sources supplying it: The Indian Air Force is liftingcryogenic oxygen tankers from Agra to Jamnagar and from Gwalior to Ranchi. Japanis sending 200 oxygen concentrators to India. Several countries have already dispatchedoxygen containers by land, air and sea. The Delhi Police made a case of hoarding ofoxygen concentrators by a businessman who stocked the supply in a hotel he owned.Assuming that all this oxygen is already in India and the country is improving domes-tic production, why are the patients dying for lack of oxygen? There is no clarity onthe large number of bodies found floating in the Ganges, even whether they are fromUttar Pradesh or Bihar. If nature takes its own course, the pandemic surge will no doubttaper down one day. Quality intervention is all about actively adopting a multi-nodalapproach for a coordinated fight against the virus.

Together in it

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

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MAY 13, 2021

06

Pakistan’s messIts economy in doldrums, our western neighbour

is on the verge of becoming a Chinese colony

The BJP may not have swept the State in the recent polls butits performance has been creditable, to say the least

PICTALK

Nurses honour Florence Nightingale on the occasion of International Nurses Day, in Thane PTI

THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE

OF WEST BENGAL,MORE OR LESS,

SHARES THISORDER OF

PRIORITY. THE BJP,THEREFORE,

SHOULD CONSIDERITS 77 SEATS IN THERECENT ELECTIONS

AS A GREATSUCCESS AND BY NO MEANS

A DEFEAT

PRAFULL GORADIA

Yes, there is a lot of confusion in the air. But we must battle the pandemic hand in hand

Decoding theBengal election

The results of the hard-fought election in WestBengal have been moreor less as expected. No

doubt Delhi optimists are disap-pointed because they had hopedfor a BJP majority. But their wish-es were more like dreams.Understanding Bengal, I con-cede, is difficult. In an earlier arti-cle published in this journal, I hadhinted at the unique features ofBengal. In early 1947, NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose’s elderbrother Sarat and Kiran SankarSarkar on the Hindu side and SirAbdul Rahim and FazlurRahman, the popular peasantleader, were negotiating for aunited Bengal. It would havebeen a third independent domin-ion besides India and Pakistan.

Surprisingly, these friendlynegotiations began withinmonths of the Great CalcuttaKillings of August 1946.Thousands had been killed in thename of Muslim League’s DirectAction Day. The instruction toresort to this action was fromMA Jinnah to convey to theBritish Government that Hindusand Muslims cannot coexist inone country and, therefore,Partition had to precedeIndependence. As a result,Jinnah insisted on Pakistan beingfreed on August 14, a day beforeIndia got her Independence.

Jinnah encouraged the twoMuslim leaders to somehowachieve a separate united Bengal.The Communist Party also sup-ported Sarat Babu to clinch thedeal. The reason was simply thatwith its majority Muslim popu-lation and a Prime Minister ofthe same community, a unitedBengal was likely to supportPakistan in preference to India.Earlier, Jinnah had askedMuhammad Sa’adullah, thePremier of Assam from 1939, tocategorise the adivasis as ani-mists and not Hindus. The lat-ter would then become a minor-ity and the Muslims a majority,at least marginally. The idea wasto grab Assam for Pakistan.Gopinath Bordoloi saved Assamin the nick of time by rushing toDelhi and getting the Congresshigh command to intervene.

We have no Covaxinstocks left for anycentre. Now, Covaxinwill not beadministered at anyvaccination centrefrom tomorrow until the vaccine supply is received.

AAP MLA

— Atishi

SOUNDBITETEACHERS AS FRONTLINE WORKERSSir — Hundreds of teachers have lost theirlives during the Uttar Pradesh panchayat elec-tions. It was a good decision by the courtsto take up the matter seriously and direct theState Government to compensate thebereaved family members.

Not only the teachers, but also the jour-nalists — who are tirelessly doing their job,from the crematorium to hospitals — mustbe treated as frontline workers and get vac-cinated as quickly as possible. This pandem-ic has hit the veteran academics and youngprofessors really hard. The National CapitalRegion and other metropolitan cities are stillin the throes of the second wave of the pan-demic. The Government is also putting itsbest minds together to grapple with theunprecedented problem and emerge from itsjaws with the minimum possible damage.The States and the Centre should direct theMinistries to vaccinate our citizens accord-ing to the risk level they are exposed to,whether in the field of education, defence orinformation and broadcasting. The night-mare called COVID-19 rages on and it’s aHerculean task to win the battle against thesecond wave. Will India be able to swiftly puta stop to the rising toll?

Aman Jaiswal | New Delhi

FUEL ON FIRE, PEOPLE ON THE EDGESir — The fuel prices have broken yet anoth-er record. The prices of petrol and dieselhave again been hiked and it is not goodnews for the common people. With eachround of the hike in fuel prices, the pricesof vegetables, fruits and food grains, besidesall other commodities, automatically go upand result in resentment among the citizens.

Having faced the issue of price rise formost of last year, the additional hikebecause of fuel cost increases the burden onhousewives more than on anybody else.With a marginal increase in the DearnessAllowance, the people have not gained asmuch as they are losing to the rising fuelcost. Already, the rich people are becomingricher and the poor are getting poorer allthe time. There is no one to address thebasic problems of the people. It seems that

irrespective of the Government at theCentre, whether it is the NDA or the UPA,the suffering will go on forever.

Gundu K Manaiam | Thane

A TEARFUL ADIEU TO KERALA’S ‘IRON LADY’Sir — A true revolutionist and one amongthe renowned spearheads of the CommunistMarxist party in Kerala, KR Gowri Ammahas breathed her last after 75 years ofremarkable and eventful political and sociallife. An egalitarian throughout her life, shewas fortunate to be among the CabinetMinisters of the first CommunistGovernment elected in Kerala in 1957. Shewas the architect of the historic LandReforms Bill, which helped millions oflandless people breathe easier and also facil-itated the end of feudalism in Kerala. Her sac-rifices in establishing the Communist Partyin Kerala will be written in golden letters in

the history of Kerala’s politics.Her efforts and struggles during the

course of the fight against feudalism and colo-nial reign will be commemorated forever.Unfortunately, she was made the scapegoatof the vulgar political manipulation bysome ambitious political megalomaniacswithin her party and finally expelled from theparty in 1994. She was a matchless womanin the State’s politics.

Most of the people in Kerala, regardlessof their ideological differences, had been long-ing to see her as the Chief Minister duringthe last quarter of the 20th century.Regrettably, their dreams were shatteredowing to the cheap political tricks played bysome unscrupulous politicians.

Prabhakaran Vallath | Kozhikode

Send yyour ffeedback tto:[email protected]

After an unprecedented COVID spike was wit-nessed in Goa through the past weeks, thenumber of recoveries has started climbing

now. Nearly 2,367 COVID patients have recov-ered and the count has increased significantlyin the past three days.

It is expected that the active cases in theState can be controlled if the recovery graph con-tinues to climb higher, coupled with a downwardspiral of new infections. Keeping these thingsin mind, the State Government is actively exe-cuting new interventions for the benefit of its cit-izens. With an objective to curtail the spread ofthe contagion, the Government has advised theprophylaxis treatment for all adults in the State

as a precautionary and preventive measure.But as the preparations were underway, dis-

aster struck as the shortage of oxygen led to 26deaths within four hours at the Goa MedicalCollege and Hospital (GMCH), the State’s topGovernment hospital, and created a stir. A delayin supplying oxygen may have led to a drop inpressure in the central supply at the hospital,leading to the tragedy. It is time to interrogateand find out the root cause and plug the loopholes.

The incident also led to a major rift in theBJP Government between Chief Minister PramodSawant and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane atthis crucial juncture. Rane has been openly critical of the Chief Minister’s handling of the COVID-19 situation in Goa.

Meanwhile, oxygen suppliers have beenasked to speed up their processes and addition-al vehicles and drivers are being provided toensure that oxygen reaches the GMCH within 25minutes. There has been an alarming surge inCOVID-19 cases in Goa; in fact, getting a COVID-19 negative certificate is merely an eyewash.

CK Subramaniam | Navi Mumbai

Probe Goa hospital COVID deaths

I am the PrimeMinister of Pakistan and#WeStandWithGaza#WeStand-WithPalestine.

Pakistan Prime Minister— Imran Khan

I am excited to be partof this new wave ofIndie releases. I haveanother singledropping soon, whereyou get to hear thefemale version of ‘Mawaali dil’.

Singer— Nikhita Gandhi

This all started with the #FeedIndiainitiative last yearduring the pandemicto support my fellowcitizens with rationsand other necessities. We were ableto touch more than 30 million lives.

Chef

— Vikas Khanna

How much do you wanna play? I

asked you threetimes, you are notchecking anything.

Tennis player

— Novak Djokovic

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

How the BJP lostthe plot in Bengal

THE COVAXIN MANUFACTURER HAS SAID IT CANNOT

PROVIDE TO DELHI THE VACCINES DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY.

THE CENTRE IS CONTROLLING THE VACCINE’S SUPPLY.

— DELHI’S DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER

MANISH SISODIA

18 STATES HAVE BEEN COVERED... QUITE

DISHEARTENING TO THE TEAMS TO HEAR SOME

STATES COMPLAINING ABOUT OUR INTENTIONS.

— BHARAT BIOTECH JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR

SUCHITRA ELLA

The Trinamool Congress’s historicwin in the West Bengal Assemblyelections has surprised everybody

irrespective of their politics. The resultsshow that there was a huge wave right underour nose and that the media, for reasonsbest known to itself, didn't bother to coverit. But, for reasons as we shall discuss here,the BJP failed miserably-not just in termsof the final numbers that popped up on ourscreens on the 2nd of May, but also in termsof its strategy and the way it ran its entirecampaign. It never seemed as if the BJP wasfighting a battle like a national party inkeeping with its stature. Arrogance, hatred,chauvinism and classic patriarchy charac-terised its campaign strategy.

In retrospect, the elections were foughtbroadly on two major themes — identityand symbols. The identity of larger-than-life politicians, religious identity and theregional identity of West Bengal and its cul-ture were major political tools used incourse of the campaign. While the BJP wasprojecting Prime Minister Narendra Modihimself as the face of ‘Asol Poribartan’ (RealChange) that would usher in an era of‘Sonar Bangla’ (Golden Bengal), chiefminister Mamata Banerjee was banking onher identity as the daughter of Bengal usingslogans such as ‘Bangla Nijer MeyekeiChaye’ (Bengal wants its own daughter) and‘Mamata Didi arek bar’ (Elder SisterMamata one more time).

On the one hand, the BJP aggressive-ly promoted hard-core nationalism and itsvision of ‘Ram Rajya’ and ‘Akhand Bharat’as its major political goals, TMC, on theother, was successful in portraying theBengali identity effectively. It was unam-biguously clear to the average voter on theground that while the BJP was trying topush forpolarization on the lines of religion,it was the Trinamool Congress that hadeffectively used the Bengali identity and theculture of Bengal to unite everyone. Thisprobably clinched the major win for herparty.

Limiting the aggressive polarisation onthe ground and being able to consolidatethe subaltern Hindu vote share was theturning point in this election. Another clashwhere the TMC was able to secure a winover the BJP was on the most importantquestion - Didi vs. Who? We have seen thisbeing effectively used by BJP itself duringthe 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha electionswhen the party repeatedly asked the ques-tion - If not Modi, then who? Regional par-ties have picked it up and have ever sinceused it effectively. It happened in Delhiwhen Arvind Kejriwal was the face of AamAadmi Party and now in West Bengal withMamata Banerjee as the chief ministerialface of TMC. The void on the other sideof the political space, in all of theserespective elections, left the voter with noother choice but to vote for the party witha strong local/regional leader. The lack ofa strong local leader with a political iden-

tity of his/her own, made the BJPa second choice in the mind of theBengali voter. Prime Minister Modiand Home Minister Amit Shah infrequent tours to different parts ofthe state, ironically, kept on address-ing their rallies in Hindi before aBengali audience. This did not res-onate well with the linguistic iden-tity of Bengal and the languagemovement that Bengal has foughtof its own.

Ever since the 2019 Lok SabhaElections, the BJP had startedusing resources at its disposal at afurious pace to infuse ‘Hindutva’agenda by using its IT cell, partycadres on the ground and theRSS,making elections in Bengalhighly polarised and communal.The dream of a Hindu Rashtra andAryavrata was propagated via door-to-door campaigning by party lead-ers in every village. These agendaswere later reaffirmed by nationalleaders like Modi and Shah in theirrallies attended mostly by Hindus.

Out-sized flags containing sym-bols of Om, Lord Hanuman andLord Ram were put up in everyother street so that voters’ mindscould be allured till the last momentwhen they went out to vote. Thispaid dividends to the BJP to some

extent in 2019. However, this timearound, Mamata Banerjee respond-ed by using her share of symbols,heavily emphasising on local tradi-tion, ethnicity and culture. Shetravelled across the state recitingChandi Path in Jan Sabhas and pro-jected herself as Mahisasur Mardini(Durga), who is born to finish theevil from the society, despite beingpartially handicapped and weak asshe was after her leg injury. In everyJan Sabha Mamata was seen playingfootball with the audience - a sportreligiously followed in Bengal. Sheefficiently used public figures likeRabindranath Tagore, SubhashChandra Bose, Raja Ram MohanRoy and others like them to show-case how her government has spentboth human resources and moneyto show to the world how proudthey are of their people, theirachievements and their identity.

Prime Minister and Home min-ister’s consistent presence in hugerallies at a time when Covid-19 wasrearing its deadly head a secondtime in India crumbling the alreadyweak health infrastructure gaverise to a wave of criticism. The pri-ority of the central government wasleft wide open for everyone to see.It was as if everyone could see clear-

ly for the first time how during anational crisis each and every insti-tution of the central governmentwas working for BJP in West Bengalto further the party’s electoral aspi-rations. The ruthlessness with whichthis was transpiring while citizenslost their loved ones to the virus cre-ated a strong anti-Modi narrative onthe ground. The voters perhaps con-cluded that the Central Governmentwas negligent in exposing millionsof people to risk in West Bengal dur-ing the elections that were inordi-nately extended to eight phases.Theimpact of this anger can be seeneven in the results wherein in thelast the phase the TrinamoolCongress won 90 out of 114 seats.That was at a strike rate of 79 percent.

West Bengal is a lesson for theBJP to stop being arrogant, overcon-fident and dismissive and, instead,focus on issues that matter to thepeople. It is also a ray of hope forseveral other political parties that areaiming to fight the BJP. It is alsogood news for the average Indiancitizen who believes in the idea ofIndia that its founding fathers hadenvisaged. It indeed is true that what‘Bengal thinks today, India thinkstomorrow’.

Limiting the aggressive polarisation on the ground and being able toconsolidate the subaltern Hindu vote was the turning point

SURAVI SHARMA

WEST BENGAL IS A LESSON FORTHE BJP TO STOP

BEING ARROGANT,OVERCONFIDENTAND DISMISSIVE

AND, INSTEAD,FOCUS ON ISSUESTHAT MATTER TOTHE PEOPLE. THE

RESULT IS ALSO ARAY OF HOPE FOR

SEVERAL OTHERPOLITICAL PARTIES

THAT ARE AIMINGTO FIGHT THE BJP.

IT IS ALSO GOODNEWS FOR THE

AVERAGE INDIANCITIZEN WHO

BELIEVES IN THEIDEA OF INDIA THAT

ITS FOUNDINGFATHERS HAD

ENVISAGED

It was in January last year that we all were introduced to the term socialdistancing. Back then the virus had seemed, to me at least, a threat uniqueto China. But soon the Americans were doing the same in a matter of weeks,

and then a few other countries and it was already here at our doorstep. I neverrealised that the phrase would soon be joining so many others — commu-nity spread, an abundance of caution, flattening the curve. The growing real-isation that like the days under lockdown last year, this time too I have nochoice, has given me a panicky loneliness. The way this second wave is lap-ping at us makes me wonder if we came faced with this pandemic recently— a couple of weeks back? We’re in a health emergency in spite of the lurk-ing threat for over a year. Hadn’t we had enough time for planning and prepa-ration? If only we knew our priorities! Soon started the onslaught of socialmedia posts about all the adorable quarantine activities that seemingly every-one was undertaking with their families — making cakes, cookies, re-enact-ing famous paintings for photography and, at times, virtual get-togethers andalumni meets. I took perverse pleasure in newspaper articles about China’sspiking mental diseases, rising divorce rates, increasingly desperate dispatch-es from parents who had failed at home school. It was around this time last

year my sons’ school had moved to online learning, and shops and restau-rants began to shutter. My kids, like all others I believe, suddenly found them-selves sealed within the walls of their homes — no school, no sports, nooutings. Both my sons, in their early teens, initially responded by immersingin the world of video games, and very soon started lamenting the impossi-bility of hanging out with friends. Last year, around this time of the year, whena dialysis patient walked in and came positive on the RT-PCR test for COVIDin the hospital I work in, the hospital was marked a containment area. Soalong with a couple of others, I had to be quarantined for having examinedhis body fluids under microscope. I had no option but to lock myself in oneof the rooms at home. I sat on the bed with my laptop; but did no construc-tive writing and, instead, ended up signing up for a free 15-day trial of NatureGlowand started watching YouTube stuff like how to wear your hair to bed, anddeveloped a costly impulsive online shopping habit.

My husband had been taking a life-must-go-on approach to the virus,and was doing good getting engrossed in his work. His texts (we had to com-municate through phone as I was locked up in a room for quarantine) wereabout why the media wasn’t reporting on the bleakest epidemiological mod-els, why a freight train’s worth of tanks were heading up the Himalayas toIndo-China border when the country is battling to hold its rickety healthcaresystem? I would sip my coffee and text back in validation.

One evening after my quarantine days, a friend from school, Nayna inNYC, who had been complaining of a sore throat, was admitted to a hospi-tal because she couldn’t breathe. When I heard this, a sudden cold passedthrough my body. It was the first time I had been able to actually conceiveof the disease that had been obsessing me for weeks now; and the first time,too, that I realised that we would — every single one of us — be intimate-ly touched by it one way or the other. Now in 2021 spring, the virus beganits exponential climb in India, worse in Delhi. We went into lockdown again.

The TV screen in front of me was filled with burning pyres in a certaincrematorium in Delhi. Bodies burning in rows. Ambulances brought bodiesand a sole man appeared in a PPE in the crematorium with a task of burn-ing bodies placed on dozens of wooden pyres. Every day or so I end up com-municating with friends across the globe, listening to their tales of quaran-tine. It will be interesting to see, Nayna and I agreed when we last spoke, allthe ways in which this contagion will bring us together or rip us apart.

(The author is a doctor working in Moolchand Medicity, New Delhi,as a pathologist consultant and general manager. The views expressedare personal.)

Relations between Indiaand Africa span overthousands of years. At the

dawn of history, there wasmigration of people from Africato the Mediterranean regionand to Asia. Indians have beenmigrating to Africa andAfricans to India over severalcenturies. Africa now has apopulation of about 2.5 millionpeople of Indian origin. Theyshape the economic, politicaland cultural foundation of anAfro-Indian alliance. Some ofthe descendants of Africanemigrants in India are knownas Siddis who came in the 10thcentury and their progeny stilllive in different parts of India.Gandhiji began his strugglefor freedom in Africa and Indiahas always been in the forefrontof the movement for indepen-dence and sovereignty of theAfrican countries.

It was a seminar onPortuguese colonialism held

in New Delhi in October 1961that triggered India’s decision toliberate Goa. The seminar wasaddressed by Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru among oth-ers. Nehru was reluctant to takeany military action to liberateGoa in view of his policy ofnon-violence. However, theseminar created intense publicopinion and led to OperationVijay on December 19, 1961which liberated Goa and pro-vided the impetus for anti-colonial movements in thePortuguese territories of Africa.

In the 1980s PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi sup-ported the struggle of theAfrican countries against"apartheid" in South Africaand asked me to visit all the bor-der countries then known as the"Frontline States", to assess thesituation there. I met the lead-ers of those countries includingPresident Samora Machel ofMozambique, President Julius

Nyerere of Tanzania, PresidentKenneth Kaunda of Zambia,President Robert Mugabe ofZimbabwe, President Eduardodos Santos of Angola, SamNujoma who was not yet thePresident of Namibia, and otherleaders. Rajiv Gandhi constitut-ed the Africa Fund to providetechnical assistance to theFrontline States and to counterthe depredations unleashedagainst them by the SouthAfrican regime of the time.

In those countries, I hadmeetings with people of Goanorigin and other people ofIndian origin. Their loyalty is tothe country of their adoption.This was also the path outlinedby Nehru for people of Indianorigin who settle abroad.However, I did suggest to themthat they could and should bethe bridges to foster under-standing and cooperationbetween their country of adop-tion and their country of origin

— India.Countries of Africa have

achieved enormous progress onthe economic and social fronts.The rate of return on invest-ment in Africa is currently thehighest in the developing world.Over 400,000 new businesseswere registered in Africa in2013 and mobile telephonesreach 95 percent of the popu-lation in many places. Primaryschool enrolment in Africanow exceeds 90 percent. India

is a major source of business inAfrica. Thirty-four Africancountries enjoy duty free accessto Indian markets. In less thana decade our trade has morethan doubled to around 80 bil-lion dollars.

One of the most signifi-cant aspects of the India-Africa partnership has beenthe offer of concessional cred-it under the IndianDevelopment and EconomicAssistance Scheme (IDEAS)for implementing a range ofprojects as per the economicand social priorities of Africancountries in areas whereIndian companies have rele-vant expertise. In the lastdecade, a total of almost $9 bil-lion in concessional credit hasbeen approved for nearly 140projects in more than 40African countries.

During the last three yearsalone nearly 25,000 youngAfricans have been trained

and educated in India in areassuch as IT, renewable energy,agriculture, marine and aero-nautical engineering, marinehydrography, SME entrepre-neurship, rural development,parliamentary affairs, logisticsand management, climatechange adaptation, disastermanagement, cyber security,forensic sciences, and defenceand security, among others.They are the 25,000 new linksbetween the two regions.

There is continued accessof African students and acad-emics to India’s premier insti-tutions in areas such as engi-neering, medical technologyand agriculture. It will provide50,000 scholarships over thenext five years to African stu-dents.

The India-Africa ForumSummit held inOctober,2015adopted aFramework for StrategicCooperation and decided to

establish a regular, formalmonitoring mechanism toreview its implementationwithin an agreed timeframe.

The summit meetingshave facilitated air and mar-itime connectivity, more liber-al visa procedures and visaconcessions to enhancetourism, trade and people topeople contacts. India hascommitted $7.4 billion in con-cessional credit and $1.2 bil-lion in grants since the firstIndia-Africa Summit of 2008.It is creating 100 capacitybuilding institutions anddeveloping infrastructure,public transport, clean energy,irrigation, agriculture andmanufacturing capacity acrossAfrica. This century will be thecentury of Asia and Africa, thepeople of the two continentsworking together to promoteinclusive globalisation and amore equitable global econo-my and polity.

This century will be the century of Asia and Africa, their people working together to promote inclusive globalisation and polity

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MAY 13, 2021

07

www.dailypioneer.com facebook.com/dailypioneer | at the rate ofTheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

FIRSTCOLUMN

HOW TO DRAW ACORONA VIRUS

Lessons have come riding the second wavebut accompanied by too much melancholy

ANURAG TIWARY ANSHUMAN MISHRA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

(Tiwary is from theNational Law University,Visakhapatnam. Mishrais from the National Law

University, Odisha. The views expressed

are personal.)

Indo-Africa relations growing from strength to strength

EDUARDO FALEIRO

(The author is a former Union

Minister. The viewsexpressed are

personal.)

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MAY 13, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Gold in the national capital onWednesday weakened by Rs

229 to Rs 47,074 per 10 gramfollowing decline in globalprecious metal prices, accordingto HDFC Securities. The preciousmetal had closed the previoustrade at Rs 47,303 per 10 gram.

Silver also dipped Rs 717 to Rs 70,807 per kilogram from Rs 71,524per kilogram in the previous trade. In the international market, goldwas trading lower at USD 1,832 per ounce, while silver remained flatat USD 27.38 per ounce. "Gold prices traded under pressure onstronger dollar and rise in bond yields,"according to HDFC Securities,Senior Analyst (Commodities), Tapan Patel. Navneet Damani, VP –Commodities Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said, "Goldprices eased from near three week highs, as a rise in US Treasuryyields and a firmer dollar dented the metal's safe-haven appeal, whileinvestors awaited US CPI data due later in the day."

Gold, silver decline on weakglobal trends: HDFC Securities

The country's largestcarmaker Maruti Suzuki

India on Wednesday saidit has extended freeservice and warranty

period up to June 30, 2021, in the wake of the second wave ofthe coronavirus pandemic.v The extension would be applicableto the free service and warranty period expiring between March15, 2021, to May 31, 2021, the company said in a statement.Commenting on the step, Maruti Suzuki India Senior ExecutiveDirector (Service) Partho Banerjee said, "Since customers inseveral states are facing restricted movement, this extensionwill give them relief. They can avail these services at theirconvenience, as lockdown eases." On Tuesday, Tata Motors hadalso announced an extended warranty and free service periodtill June 30, for those passenger vehicle customers whosetenures are due on April 1 and May 31, in view of the ongoingrestrictions across the country due to the second wave of thecoronavirus pandemic.

Maruti extends free service,warranty period amid Covid

Cadila Healthcare on Wednesday said its wholly-owned subsidiaryZydus Animal Health and Investment has entered into definitive

pacts for sale of its animal healthcare established markets undertak-ing to Multiples Alternate Asset Management-led consortium for Rs2,921 crore. The consortium, including Canada Pension PlanInvestment Board and RARE Enterprises, has agreed to purchase theundertaking through an SPV controlled by them, in the name of ZenexAnimal Health India, Cadila Healthcare said. Animal HealthcareEstablished Markets Undertaking is focused on India and certain othercountries, it added. The deal is to sell Animal Healthcare EstablishedMarkets Undertaking on a slump sale basis as a going concern, for alump sum consideration of Rs 2,921 crore on a cash-free and debt-free basis, subject to certain closing date adjustments and other con-ditions, Cadila Healthcare said. Zydus AH employs around 700 peopleand has one manufacturing facility in Haridwar, it added. "The transac-tion involves transfer of immovable assets, movable assets, inventory,brands and intangible assets, licenses and permissions, employeesalong with employee benefit funds, insurance policies, other assetsand assumed liabilities," Cadila Healthcare.

Cadila Healthcare arm to sell animal health business

The rupee declined by 8 paise toclose at 73.42 (provisional)

against the US currency onWednesday amid risk aversion inthe global markets and surge incrude oil prices. At the interbankforex market, the local unit openedlower at 73.51 against the green-back and traded in the range of

73.39 to 73.51 during the day. The rupee finally ended at 73.42against the American currency, registering a fall of 8 paise over itsprevious closing of 73.34. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gaugesthe greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.14per cent to 90.26. "Indian Rupee depreciated amid risk aversion inthe global markets and surge in crude oil prices. Market sentimentsare hurt as investors are worried over rising inflationary pressure inthe US and escalating geopolitical tension between Israeli andPalestinians," said Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst.

Rupee settles flat at 72.42 against US dollar

PNS n

NEWDELHI

India's fueld e m a n dslumped 9.4per cent inApril whencompared to

the precedingmonth as lock-

downs clampedin several states

to curb the sec-ond wave of coro-

navirus sweepingthe nation pummelled

demand, official datashowed on Wednesday.

Fuel consump-tion fell 9.38 percent to 17.01 milliontonnes in April from18.77 million tonnesin March, data fromOil Ministry'sPetroleum Planningand Analysis Cell

(PPAC) showed.India was under one

of the world's severestlockdowns in April 2020,

bringing to a halt almost alleconomic activity. Fuel sales hadhalved that month, plunging tothe lowest since 2006.Comparing on a yearly basis,fuel demand surged 81.5 percent from April 2020 lows.

Sales of petrol -- used in carsand motorcycles -- fell to 2.38million tonnes in April, the low-est since August. Petrol sales inApril were 13 per cent lowerthan March 2021 and 3 per centlower than April 2019. Petrolsales in April 2020 were 9,72,000tonnes.

Demand for diesel -- themost used fuel in the country -- fell to 6.67 million tonnes inApril 2021, down 7.5 per centfrom the previous month and 9per cent from April 2019. Dieselsales in April 2020 were 3.25million tonnes.

With airlines continuing tooperate at less than capacity, jetfuel (ATF) sales in April were4,09,000 tonnes, down 14 percent over March 2021 and 36.7

per cent over April 2019. Jet fuelsales in April 2020 were 5,500tonnes.

Sales volume of cooking gasLPG fell 6.4 per cent to 2.1 mil-lion tonnes in April 2021 whencompared to the previousmonth. The sales were 11.6 percent higher than 1.9 milliontonnes in April 2019.

Bitumen, used in makingroads, consumption fell to6,58,000 tonnes in April 2021from 9,04,000 tonnes in the pre-vious month. It was lower than6,91,000 tonnes sales in April2019.

Indian authorities are scram-bling for vaccines, medicinesand oxygen as the nation facesits worst health crisis. Deathcrossed 2.5 lakh on Wednesdayin the deadliest 24 hours sincethe pandemic began, as the dis-ease rampaged through thecountryside.

Deaths swelled by a record of4,205, while infections rose3,48,421 in the 24 hours toWednesday. The death toll nowstands at 2,54,197, while thetotal caseload stands at 2.33crore.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The power ministry onWednesday said it has takenproactive measures to ensure24X7 power supply to oxygenplants in the country amid thedeadly second wave of thepandemic.

The ministry is monitoringthe power supply to 73 majoridentified oxygen plants acrossthe country out of which 13plants supply oxygen to NCR,it said in a statement.

In view of the manifold risein oxygen demand for bothmedical facilities and for home

treatment of patients, the min-istry has undertaken a numberof proactive preventive andremedial measures to ensureuninterrupted power supply tooxygen plants by the state util-

ities, it said.The position of power sup-

plies to all such plants isreviewed every day at the levelof Power Secretary along withthe Energy Secretaries of statesconcerned; CMD, POSOCOon a case by case basis.

All issues related to 24x7power supply to oxygen plantsare discussed threadbare dur-ing the daily reviews and inter-ventions are planned and exe-cuted in a time bound mannerthrough the state discomsaided by Power SystemOperation Corporation(POSOCO) and Central

Electricity Authority, the min-istry statement said.

The ministry has also set upa round the clock ControlRoom.

As part of corrective actionstrategy, a 24-hour oxygenplant control room and anInternal Control Group havebeen set up at REC Ltd.

Disruptions , if any, in powersupply are analysed by POSO-CO together with various util-ities in states (STU & DIS-COM), SLDCs (state load dis-patch centres) and POWER-GRID, and specific preventiveadvisories are issued,it added.

Proactive steps to ensure 24x7power supply to oxygen plants

PNS n MUMBAI

Extending its losses to thesecond sess ion, equitybenchmark Sensex slumped471 points on Wednesday,dragged by selling in indexmajors ICICI Bank, HULand Reliance Industries amidmixed cues from global mar-kets.

The 30-share BSEindex ended 471.01points or 0.96 percent lower at48,690.80.

S i m i l ar ly,the broaderNSE Nifty tum-bled 154.25points or 1.04 percent to 14,696.50.

IndusIndBank was thetop loser in theSensex pack,shedding over3 per cent, fol-lowed by HUL,ONGC, ICICI Bank, AxisBank, Kotak Bank, M&Mand Tech Mahindra.

On the other hand, Titan,Maruti, PowerGrid, SBI andNTPC were among the gain-ers.

"Indian indices extendedits losses due to concernsover hike in global interestrates and bond yield due torising commodity prices andinflationary pressure," saidVinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit FinancialServices.

All major indices closed inthe negative terrain includ-

ing metals whilePSU banks andmedia s tocksmanaged to stay

a f l o a t .International

commodity prices will haveto stabilise to provide suste-nance in the equity market,he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bours-es in Shanghai and HongKong ended on a positivenote, while Tokyo and Seoulwere in the red.

Stock exchanges inEurope were trading on amixed note in mid-sessiondeals.

Meanwhile, internationaloil benchmark Brent crudewas trading 0.50 per centhigher at USD 68.88 per barrel.

Sensex tanks 471 points;Nifty drops below 14,700

PNS n NEW DELHI

Rentals of prime offices inBengaluru and Mumbai fell 8per cent and 6.2 per cent,respectively, during January-March 2021 as compared tothe year-ago period, accordingto a Knight Frank report.

In its Asia-Pacific PrimeOffice Rental Index Q1, 2021report, the consultant said theprime office rents in thenational capital region (Delhi-NCR) declined by only 1 percent during January-Marchthis year as against the sameperiod of 2020.

"Despite there being uncer-tainty around the performanceof India's office sector,Bengaluru, NCR and Mumbaimarkets are expected toremain stable in rental valuesover the next 12-months,"Knight Frank said.

For Q1 2021, Knight Frank'sAsia Pacific Prime OfficeRental Index fell 1.2 per centquarter-on-quarter, led bylarge office markets such asTokyo, Hong Kong, andBengaluru, which recordedrental decline between 3 percent to 2.8 per cent during the

same period.On an annual basis, the

overall index was down 5.5 percent year-on-year.

Shishir Baijal, Chairmanand Managing Director ofKnight Frank India, said, “Thesecond wave of pandemic andassociated regional lockdownshave temporarily delayedoccupiers' office re-occupan-cy plans".

However, he said, control oninfection case count with grad-ed regional lockdowns andprogress on vaccination drivewill act as a market stabiliserin near future.

"Given the strong funda-mentals of the India officemarket, despite the near-termuncertainty, occupiers willpositively react to anyimprovement in the pandem-ic scenario in the country,"Baijal said.

Prime offices' rentalslips 8 per cent in Blr

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian FMCG industryhas recorded a 9.4 per centgrowth in the January-Marchquarter of 2021, helped by aconsumption-led growth andvalue growth by increasedprices of products, especially ofstaples, said data analytics firmNielsen.

The rural market continuedto perform with strong growthof 14.6 per cent during theperiod and the metro marketshave registered a positivegrowth after two quarters.

Fast Moving ConsumerGoods (FMCG) industry salesgrowth from the traditionaltrade channels jumped to dou-ble digits, while growth in e-commerce normalised downto single digits in the January-March quarter.

"FMCG industry in Indiahas built growth momentumby growing at 9.4 per cent inthe quarter ending March 2021after growing at 7.3 per cent inthe previous quarter (October-December 2020), over thesame quarter of the previousyear," said FMCG Snapshot forQ1 2021 released by

NielsenIQ's Retail Intelligenceteam.

Commenting on it,NielsenIQ South Asia LeadDiptanshu Ray said: "This isbacked up by staples, essentialnon-foods and indulgence cat-egories.”

However, he also cautionsthat the beginning of the sec-ond quarter may bring somenew dimensions, as the situa-tion is dynamic across thecountry.

"Now that lockdowns haveresurfaced, and with last-miledelivery boost up, the e-com-merce channel will continue tobe dynamic,” it said.

According to the report, themetro cities have registered apositive growth of 2.2 per centin the January-March quarterafter two-quarters of thedeclining trend versus theyear-ago period.

"Rural markets continue tofurther build on the growthmomentum - growing at 14.6per cent in the Mar quarterafter a 14.2 per cent growth itposted in the Dec quarter,” itsaid.

Moreover, Nielsen expects agood expected monsoon thisseason, making it the thirdconsecutive year of ruralrejoice.

This had a boost up effecton the earnings of agrarianhouseholds and kept ruralsentiments upbeat. Besides,rural centric schemes as big-ger outlay for MGNREGA,rise in wages and increase inMSP of key crops have beeninstrumental in keepingFMCG consumption in ruralmarkets buoyant. "We alsosaw the Large and medium-sized companies bouncingback in Rural India,” it added.While talking about the con-sumption growth during theJanuary-March quarter,Nielsen said it was uniform forboth foods and non-foodsFoods basket got a boost fromthe pricing uptick - mainly instaples categories like EdibleOils and Packaged Tea.

FMCG industry records 9.4per cent growth in Jan-March

PNS n NEW DELHI

Vedanta Ltd onWednesday said its SesaGoa iron ore business hascommitted a 100-bedinfrastructure in Goaamid the spike in coron-avirus infections.

"As Goa battles thesecond wave of the pan-demic with suddensurge in COVID-19cases, Vedanta Sesa GoaIron Ore has committedto add 100-bed infra-structure capacity inGoa, to support the stategovernment in combat-ing COVID-19," thecompany said in a state-ment.

The 100-bed infra-structure will be rolledout as an extension toGoa Medical College atBambolim in order toenhance the healthcarefacility in the state totackle the crisis.

Out of 100 beds, 80would be oxygenatedand 20 would be withcritical care.

Vedanta supportsGoa with 100-bedinfra, ventilators

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has granted authorisa-tion to Eroute Technologies tooperate as a prepaid paymentinstruments (PPI) company.The RBI issued authorisationon May 10, 2021, to ErouteTechnologies Pvt Ltd with per-petual validity to commenceissuance and operations ofsemi-closed pre-paid instru-ments in the country, the com-pany said in a statement onWednesday.

The Noida-based firm saidthe RBI authorisation willenable it to launch its paymentsolutions at scale indepen-dently unlike neo banks andother bank-led fintech compa-nies.

PPIs are instruments thatfacilitate purchase of goodsand services, including finan-cial services, remittances, andfunds transfers, against thevalue stored in such instru-ments. The company aims toserve the underserved segmentsthat comprise almost 680 mil-lion people, by creating user-friendly payment solutionsaddressing the specific needs ofvarious consumer segments ofour society, it said. The firm saidit is also aggressively pursuingco-branded payment solutions

with consumer companies.Eroute Technologies MD &

CEO Sanjeev Pandey said,"Amid the outbreak of theCOVID-19 pandemic, digitalpayments have become crucialfor the people and the govern-ment to fight COVID-19spread between human tohuman." He said the companywill focus on enriching pay-ment experiences across sec-tions of the society by offeringsafe, secure and reliable pay-ment solutions to match thelifestyle of the users. ErouteTechnologies is a fintech com-pany founded by SanjeevPandey, former group presi-dent of Yes Bank; AbhishekSaxena, an alumnus of IIT-BHU; and Jason Ho, chairmanof Taiwan-based Taisys Group.

RBI grants PPI authorisationto Eroute Technologies PNS n NEW DELHI

Lawrencedale Agro ProcessingIndia (LEAF), on Wednesdaysaid it is bringing in Rs 500crore worth of organised cost-effective credit to margin-alised small land-hold andtribal farmers to overcomethe COVID-19 crisis.

LEAF, an integrated agri-service provider, said it isaligning with new-age finan-cial technology non-bankingfinancial companies (NBFC)to funnel in the much-neededorganised credit for the mar-ginalised farmers.

Marginalised farmers inremote locations of Westernand Eastern Ghats in SouthIndia do not have easy accessto organised support.

LEAF Founder and ChiefExecutive Officer PalatVijayaraghavan, in a state-

ment, said marginalised farm-ers are struggling to harvestthe standing crops amid short-age of farming labour.Compounding this is therestricted functioning ofwholesale markets, due towhich farmers are fearing theworst.

"We are addressing thesechallenges by organising farm-ing labour with all safety pro-tocols and liquidating theaggregated harvest, on behalfof farmers, in large wholesalemarkets,” he said in a state-ment. The company is ensur-ing farm inputs, throughorganised credit, is reachingthe farm gates across remoteregions of Western andEastern Ghats, he said.

After the harvest is liquidat-ed, the farm has to be tendedto and prepared for the nextcrop.

LEAF to enable Rs 500 crcredit to tribal farmers

PNS n BENGALURU

O2ForIndia, an initia-tive to provide oxygenconcentrators free of costthrough Ola app forhome-isolated COVID-19 pat ients , waslaunched on Wednesday.Speaking after launchingthe Ola Foundation-GiveIndia

Foundation initiative,Deputy Chief Ministerand State COVID taskforce head C N AshwathNarayana, said to startwith, this service wasbeing implemented atMal leshwaram andKoramangala here.

Ola, GiveIndiato give free O2

concentrators at doorstep

PNS n TOKYO

Japanese technology conglom-erate SoftBank Group Corp.returned to profitability for thefiscal year that ended inMarch, it said Wednesday,boosted by the strong perfor-mance of its sprawling invest-ments as stock prices surged.

Tokyo-based SoftBankreported a 4.99 trillion yen(USD 36 billion) profit, a dra-matic reversal from the 962billion yen loss logged duringthe previous fiscal year. It didnot break down quarterlyresults. Sales for the fiscal yeartotaled 5.6 trillion yen (USD

51 billion), up 7 per cent. Sales of SoftBank's assets

helped boost its bottom line by5.6 trillion yen (USD 51 bil-lion) from April to September2020. The company sold hold-ings in U.S. mobile companyT-Mobile, Chinese technologycompany Alibaba andJapanese telecommunicationscompany SoftBank Corp.SoftBank was the first to offerthe Apple iPhone in theJapanese market.

SoftBank also reduced itsdebt by 1 trillion yen (USD 9billion) this fiscal year byrepurchasing corporate bondsand repaying loans.

SoftBank returns toprofit on stock boom

India's fuel salesdrop 9.4% in April

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

9

Vijayawada Thursday May 13, 2021what’s brewing?

FUN

Endorsed for next PM,Sonu Sood reacts

rom addressing himas a ‘messiah’ to ask-ing for a BharatRatna for him, fansand several celebritieshave been rooting for

Sonu Sood, for reasons morethan one. The actor, who’sgiving his every bit to help thenation ever since the spreadof the coronavirus last year,has, however, declined therequests of running for thepost of India’s PM.

Sonu was quizzed by somephotographers in Mumbai,about the latest demand doingthe rounds on social media,that he should run for PrimeMinister. While serving colddrinks to the paparazzi thatgathered around his resi-dence, Sonu politely said,“Hum aam insaan ache hainbhai, aam insaan better hain(I’m better off as a commonman).”

Further sharing histwo cents on the idea ofentering politics, Sonuadded, “Bhai log khade

hain na humare, kya karengeelections mein khade ho ke?Woh apna kaam nahin hai na(When my brothers are fight-ing elections, what will I dothere? That’s not my work).”

The photographer was reit-erating Bigg Boss 14 finalistRakhi Sawant who recentlyendorsed Sonu Sood as thenext Prime Minister of India.Even actor-comedian Vir Dasrooted for Sonu on Twitterlast week, when a user said,“@thevirdas for prime minis-ter 2024.” In his reply, Vir Daswrote, “Wrong number. DialSonu Sood.”

Sonu Sood has been pullingall stops to arrange oxygencylinders and hospital bedsfor the patients of Covid-19

across India. He most recentlyalso brought oxy-gen plants from

France andother nationsto help with

limitedresources.

ollywood actorDia Mirzamade herdebut inmovies withthe 2001 film

Rehnaa Hai Terre DilMein, and her journey inthe entertainment indus-try has had several upsand downs. In an inter-view with a news agency,the actor opened upabout her early days inthe film industry and therampant sexism thatexisted those days.

Dia said, “People werewriting, thinking, andmaking sexist cinema,and I was a part of thesestories. Rehnaa Hai TerreDil Mein has sexism init.” She also gave anexample stating that dur-ing those times, a make-up artist could only be a

man, and the job of ahairdresser could only bedone by a woman.

She continued, “WhenI started working infilms, there were at bestonly 4 or 5 women onany given film crew witha unit strength of over120, sometimes 180 peo-ple. There would justnever be any female rep-resentation on a filmcrew, so the gender ratiowas skewed. Nobodyreally cared about it. Welive in a patriarchal soci-ety, and it is an industrythat is largely led bymen. So there is rampantsexism. And I think for alarge part, it is not evenconscious sexismbecause there are somany men who are writ-ers, who are directors,who are actors, who are

not even aware of theirsexist thinking.”

“I am sure things haveimproved now becausethere’s been just so muchadvocacy work and animproved understandingof what patriarchy is andwhat sexism is that peo-ple know better now,” theactor shared.

Dia Mirza also spokeabout her choices inthose early days and howthey were driven com-pletely by instinct. “I hadno mentor and no onewho could guide me orhelp me understand howto go about consolidatingmy choices or even mak-ing the right choices. Ikind of completely andsolely depended oninstinct and my man-agers at the time,” shesaid.

new trailer forThe GreenKnight, starringDev Patel is out,and it looks everybit as strange and

awe-inspiring as one hadhoped it would be. The video released by the

makers sees Dev Patelundertake a one-of-a-kindquest to confront TheGreen Knight, as well as hisown demons that he hasbeen running away from.

The Green Knight is amovie adaptation of the oldtale of Sir Gawain and The

Green Knight, which hadKing Arthur’s nephew SirGawain going on anunseemly, unsettlingadventure in order to provehis worth to his family andthe kingdom at large.

During this journey, SirGawain meets strange crea-

tures, robbers, and ghosts.But will he finally accom-plish what he had set outto do in the first place?

Face the deadly andscary Green Knight? Onlytime will tell.

The official synopsis ofThe Green Knight reads,“An epic fantasy adventurebased on the timelessArthurian legend, ‘TheGreen Knight’ tells thestory of Sir Gawain (DevPatel), King Arthur’s reck-less and headstrongnephew, who embarks on adaring quest to confrontthe eponymous GreenKnight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger, and testerof men. Gawain contendswith ghosts, giants, thieves,and schemers in whatbecomes a deeper journeyto define his character andprove his worth in the eyesof his family and kingdomby facing the ultimate chal-lenger.”

Apart from Dev Patel,The Green Knight featuresa bevy of familiar faces,including the likes ofAlicia Vikander, JoelEdgerton, SaritaChoudhury, Sean Harris,Kate Dickie, BarryKeoghan, and RalphIneson, who all play signif-icant roles in the epic fan-tasy drama.

Directed by DavidLowry, The Green Knightwill release on July 30 intheatres.

he successfulsequel to theblockbusterWonderWoman,Wonder

Woman 1984, is comingto Amazon Prime Video.The movie will startstreaming on the OTTplatform from May 15.

Wonder Woman 1984sees Gal Gadot’sWonder Woman andChris Pine’s SteveTrevor face-off againstthe dangerous duo ofMax Lord and theCheetah (Pedro Pascal

and Kristen Wiig,respectively).

Set in the ColdWar era, the filmhas been helmed

by Patty Jenkins, who

directed the first part ofthe franchise.

Wonder Woman 1984received a mixedresponse upon itsrelease last year, withRotten Tomatoes givingit a 59 per cent score.The critical consensuson the site read,“Wonder Woman 1984struggles with sequeloverload, but still offersenough vibrantescapism to satisfy fansof the franchise and itsclassic central charac-ter.” Indian critics tooweren’t too kind abioutthe film. WonderWoman 1984 will beavailable in four lan-guages on AmazonPrime Video — English,Hindi, Tamil, Telugu.

Wonder Woman 1984 to stream onAmazon Prime Video from May 15

F

B T

A

Dia Mirza: Rehnaa HaiTerre Dil Mein is sexist

The Green Knight trailer: DevPatel goes on a unique quest

alling the second wave ofCovid-19 a difficult timeis, definitely an under-statement. But it has alsocome as a reminder ofthe impact collective

action can bring about and thathumanity, above all, persists. It hasbeen heartening to see commonpeople from various communitiesand backgrounds come together toextend a helping hand to eachother to the best of their abilities.

Right from celebrities, comedi-ans to common people, everybodyhas been doing their bit. However,most, if not all, workplaces haveresorted to laying employees off, orpaying them less, but a minusculenumber of organisations are goingout of their way to ensure theiremployees don’t have a tough time.One such brand is Saundh, an

Indian wear label for women.The organisationbelieves in the dig-nity of humanlife — in sick-ness andhealth, and assuch hascome outwith a slewof endeav-

ours to helptheir employeesand the generalpopulace and usingtheir existing infra-structure to extendaid.

“We are striving towardsstrict protocols and measures —Saundh is safeguarding its employ-ees by the usage of protective para-phernalia such as screens, sneezeguards, face masks, and enhancedhand hygiene. While undertakingthese personal measures, we're alsoensuring proper ventilation anddisinfection across all our officesand factories to make for a safeand secure workplace,” the organi-sation tells us.

They have also implementedmandatory physical distanceguidelines and safety processes andare undertaking daily compulsory

antigen tests for every worker atthe factory.

They also organ-ised special vac-

cination campsthat startedthis monthat theiroffice/ fac-torypremisesfor all itsemployees.

Theirdeeds aren’t

limited totheir employees

alone. Saundh hasbuilt a free Covid-19

treatment facility with up to

175 beds in Surat, near its factory.The social initiative has been head-ed by its CSR wing- IKJOT, anNGO which works towards provid-ing infrastructure support for trib-al schools and other educationneeds.

“We have been distributing 10dozen bananas and 1,000 packetsof buttermilk daily, to five govern-ment hospitals. We’re also extend-ing financial and logistical aid topeople who have lost loved ones inthe wake of the pandemic buthaven’t been unable to provide aproper farewell through the pan-India helpline number to supportwith the last rites: 9924019434,”Sarabjeet Saluja, Founder, andDirector, Saundh, informs.

LEADERSHIP LIKE NONE ELSE

During the lockdown, a lot of what we're hearing ispeople being laid off left, right and centre. Cost-cutting measures have hit the roof, at a time like this,The Pioneer's RACHEL DAMMALA writes about anorganisation that's not only doing every bit to helptheir own employees, but general public too.

moking is injuri-ous to health — astatutory warningwe might haveheard and seen amillion times. It is

common knowledge thatsmoking is bad for ourhealth. It increases the risk ofcancer, diseases of the heart,lungs, and other organs.Smoking is one of the mostcommon preventable causesof death. But did you knowthat smoking is a risk factorfor many diabetes-relatedcomplications?

Covid-19 has adverselyaffected almost all the coun-tries across the globe. Thehighly virulent coronavirusaffects the respiratory system.Smoking also bad for the res-piratory system, thus increas-

ing the risk to develop respi-ratory complications.Diabetes, smoking, andCovid are a worrisome trio.

So how is smoking badfor your health if youhave diabetes?

The chemicals present incigarettes interfere with thenormal function of your

body’s cells and cause harmwhich may lead to inflamma-tion. When the chemicalspresent in the cigarette inter-act with oxygen in your body,it causes a particular type ofdamage called oxidativestress. Also, Nicotine that ispresent in cigarettes makesinsulin less effective. Allthese factors lead to anincreased risk of getting dia-betes-related complications.¬Smoking damages your

heart and blood vesselsand can cause a heartattack. ¬People with diabetes arethree times more likely todevelop lung infections

like pneumonia.¬Smoking with diabetesincreases the risk of devel-oping eye conditions likecataracts, glaucoma, dam-age to the retina, and cansometimes lead to blind-ness.¬Smoking and Diabetes arethe two major risk factorsfor circulatory problems inthe legs that can lead todiabetic foot.¬The risk of developing dia-betes-related kidney disor-der increases with smok-ing.

Does smoking increaseyour risk of developingCOVID-19 associatedcomplications in peoplewith diabetes?

We know that individuals

having diabetes are at risk ofdeveloping Covid-19 relatedcomplications. But despitehaving diabetes, if yousmoke, you are at higher riskof contracting the coron-avirus infection. Also, smok-ers are at higher risk of devel-oping pneumonia and othercomplications of acute respi-ratory distress. During acuterespiratory distress, the lungsacs get filled with fluidinstead of air. The accumula-tion of fluids may lead to asignificant decrease in oxy-gen levels in the blood.

Thus, it is advisable forpeople with diabetes andnon-diabetic individuals toavoid smoking.

How can one preventthese complications inpeople having dia-betes?

The complications in peo-ple with diabetes who smokeare severe and sometimes canbe fatal or irreversible. Toavoid these, one must:

¬Refrain from smoking andconsuming alcohol. ¬Exercise regularly¬Include fresh green leafyvegetables and a fiber-richdiet¬Take medicines as advisedIt is never too late to quit

smoking. The sooner onestops, the faster the body willstart the healing process. It isdefinitely not easy to quitsmoking. Nicotine is veryaddictive; but take supportfrom family and friends.Your doctor can also helpyou quit smoking by teachingyou behavioral techniquesand sometimes using medi-cines. Talk to him/her aboutyour smoking habit and gethelp.

The pandemic is a goodtime to let go of bad habitslike smoking. Include goodhabits like exercising regular-ly and staying physicallyactive.

The health risksassociated withsmoking areknown to all, but for peoplewith diabetes,smoking posesan even greaterrisk, especiallyduring theCovidpandemic. Dr. T Thiyagarajan,ConsultantEndocrinologist,PSG Hospitals,talks about the dangers ofdiabeticssmoking amidthe pandemic.

THEworrisome

TRIO

e wowed audi-ences with hisinnocence andyes, his fit body,in the filmChennai Express.

But actor Nikitin Dheerrightly feels that not just fit-ness but a mask, social dis-tancing and vaccine cansave people from the novelcoronavirus that is wreakinghavoc across the globe.Despite possessing animposing personality and achiseled body, the actor sayshe is not taking anychances.

“Fitness is taking care ofyour body, but coronavirusis infecting even the fittestand healthiest people. It’svery stupid for anyone tothink that he/she is fit sothey won’t catch the virus.Yes, with a fit body, you cancontrol obesity which is theroot cause of many diseases.Besides, it helps in keepingyour mind calm,” says theactor who was shooting inVaranasi till mid-April.

“Right now, our prioritymust be safety and health asin known humanity suchpandemic has not comebefore. My nani is in her90s. She has seen WorldWar-2 but says she hasnever seen anything likethis before. My parents havetaken the double dose of

vaccination and since wehave become eligible to takethe jibe too, I will soon gofor it,” he says.

On the work front,

Nikitin has shot many pro-jects in the pandemic. “Ihave Raktanchal-2 scheduleleft which we plan to shootin Lucknow, a South filmthat we are supposed toshoot in Hyderabad andDubai, and patchwork of aHindi film. Since Diwali,when things started gettingbetter, by God’s grace, Ihave been working continu-ously. First, I got a call fromSalman Khanji to play a vil-lain in Antim which startedin Pune. I also shot for theTelugu film Khiladi starringRavi Teja. I have shot in dif-ferent cities across Indiaand abroad — of course fol-lowing the protocols!”

The actor is excited aboutthe next season of his webseries and so are his fans!

Fitness alone not enough tofight Covid: Nikitin Dheer

C

S

H

hile India is stillbattling the sec-ond wave of theCovid pandemic,its comes as arelief to know

other countries are healingbetter and are able to getback to normalcy.

We’ve resorted todigishows, for everything,including live fashion showsin India. But with Paris, thefashion capital of the world,crawling back to a healthierself, Parisian catwalks are setto reopen in July as theFrench government unwindscoronavirus lockdown mea-sues. The annual HauteCouture Week will takeplace from July 5 to July 8and fashion houses will beallowed to organise liveshows and presentations,according to a statementfrom the French fashionindustry body “Federationde la Haute Couture et de laMode”. Depending on howthe pandemic progresses,physical shows would beallowed to welcome guests,in line with governmentguidance on public events, itsaid.

No major live fashion

shows have been held inParis since September 2020when some brands includingDior and Chanel had organ-ised a few shows with a liveaudience, albeit with a limit-ed number of guests.

The French are now relax-ing a curfew and other mea-sures following the end oftheir third lockdown inApril and the planned fullreopening of the economy inJuly.

In the past months, fash-ion brands have presentedtheir new lines in online-

only shows and have experi-mented with other ways toshowcase their designs suchas short films and one-on-one presentations.

The federation said itsHaute Couture online plat-form would remain availablefor digital-only shows andwould also retransmit thephysical shows.

In normal times, Parismultiple fashion weeks gen-erate some 1.2 billion eurosfor the local economy everyyear, the federation groupingcouture houses estimates.

W

FASHION REGAINING ITS

GLORIOUS PAST

ThursdayMay 13, 2021

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MAY 13, 2021

MAN CITY WIN PREMIER LEAGUEMANCHESTER: Caglar Soyuncu's second-halfgoal saw Leicester beat Man United 2-1 onTuesday in a result that confirmed Man Cityas Premier League champions.

AJAX MELT TROPHY INTO STAR GIFTS THE HAUGE: Ajax has melted down its Dutchleague trophy to give a tiny Silver star to all42,000 season-ticket holders who werelocked out of games during the coronaviruspandemic.

MAGUIRE IN RACE TO BE FITLONDON: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says ManUnited are doing all they can to get captainHarry Maguire back from his ankle injury intime for the Europa League final on May 26.

VIRAT-ANUSKHA RAISE `11 CR MUMBAI: Indian captain Virat Kohli and hisactor wife Anushka Sharma have raisednearly `11 crore in their fund-raisingcampaign to support Covid-19 relief work.

NAPOLI UP TO 2ND PLACENAPLES: Napoli boosted its chances ofqualifying for the Champions League byrouting Udinese 5-1 on Tuesday to move intosecond place in Serie A.

FANS TO SHOW THEY’RE VIRUS FREE PARIS: French Open fans must show they arefree from Covid-19 if they want to be amongthe small number of spectators allowed toattend this year's Roland Garros, organiserssaid on Wednesday.

BARCA TITLE HOPES DENTEDMADRID: Lionel Messi scored a brilliantvolley but Barcelona's title hopes could beover, with a 3-3 draw away at Levante onTuesday giving Real Madrid and Atletico thechance to pull away at the top of La Liga.

MARY, LOVLINA GET FIRST DOSEPUNE: Olympic-bound Indian women boxersM C Mary Kom (51kg) and Lovlina Borgohain(69kg) were given the first dose of theCOVID-19 vaccine here on Wednesday.

GERMAN FA IN TURMOILBERLIN: The German FA was in turmoil onWednesday after its embattled president FritzKeller said he would step down aftercomparing his own deputy to a notoriousNazi-era judge. Agencies

Liverpool: Liverpool defenderVirgil van Dijk on Wednesdayruled himself out of theNetherlands squad for Euro2020 in order to concentrate onbeing fit for next season.

The centre-back, who hasbeen out for seven months fol-lowing a knee injury, toldwww.liverpoolfc.com: “Witheverything that is going on, I feelphysically it is the right decisionthat I’ve decided not to go to theEuros and to go into my lastphase of rehab during the off-season.”

The Netherlands captain,29, said he was “gutted” to bemissing the delayed tourna-ment, which starts next month,but was at peace with his deci-sion. “The surgeon is very happywith everything that is going onand, as I said, the good thing isI’ve not really had a setback sofar and hopefully that will nothappen,” he added. AFP

PTI n NEW DELHI

India bowling coach Bharat Arunon Wednesday said ShardulThakur has what it takes to be the

fast-bowling all-rounder that theteam has needed ever since HardikPandya’s back injury restricted hisrole with the ball.

Pandya was not included in theTest team for the tour of England ashe “was not in a position to bowl”,according to the BCCI.

Arun said that while the selec-tors will have the last word on find-ing the next set of options, Thakurhas certainly made a case for him-self.

“It is more of a selectors’ job tofind them and then we can developthose all-rounders. Shardul hasproved he can be an all rounder.What he did in Australia was fabu-lous,” Arun said.

Pandya last played Test cricketfor India in 2018, during the tour ofEngland. He has been battling a backinjury since 2019 and recently, dur-ing the IPL, also picked up a shoul-der niggle.

Arun agreed that finding some-one as good as Pandya would be avery tough job.

“I wish you could just wish anddevelop bowlers like that. Hardik isan outstanding talent, but unfortu-nately, he had to undergo a backoperation and then it’s not very easy

to come back after that,” he said.“He bowled against England (in

T20s), I thought he did a really goodjob. But, to sustain that we need tomanage him well and build on hisstrength,” he added.

The two-Test old Thakur wasmighty impressive in the onlylongest format game he played in theaway series against Australia thisyear, picking up seven wickets anda half century to boot in Brisbane.

“So ideally, yes (we need todevelop seam bowling all-rounder),there must be a few (in domesticcricket) because we are always on thecircuit with the Indian team, we havenot had an opportunity to look at thedomestic all-rounders,” he added.

Thakur has also spoken abouthis desire to be seen as a bowling all-rounder and he is expected to get hisfair share of chances during theupcoming tour of England.

With bio-bubbles not going outof the game anytime soon, Arun saidall six fast bowlers will be rotatedduring the tour as the team managesits players’ workload in a “big” way.

India play six Tests in England,starting with the World TestChampionship final against NewZealand from June 18.

India have six pacers in thesquad — Ishant Sharma, JaspritBumrah, Mohammed Shami,Umesh Yadav, Thakur, andMohammad Siraj.

“If you look at them (all six), youcould put any three or four out ofthem on the park. They are goodenough to do the job for us. So thatis a very, very healthy trend forIndian cricket,” said Arun.

“And so the five Test matchesthat we’re going to play after theWorld Test Championship, there’s adefinite cause of necessity for us torotate all the bowlers so that theystay fresh...,” he explained.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Quarantine restrictions mighthamper the Indian cricket

team’s preparations for the WorldTest Championship final inEngland but bowling coach BharatArun and fielding coach R Sridharfeel that the players’ abundantexperience will be enough tocounter that challenge.

India is expected to depart forthe UK in the first week of Junefollowing a week of hard quaran-tine. It is not yet known if ViratKohli and Co will be allowed totrain ahead of the marquee clashagainst New Zealand during theirquarantine in Southampton.

“I don’t think we have achoice,” Sridhar said when askedhow much time the team will needto ready for the big game.

“We would like to make themost of what we get because it alldepends on how many days ofhard or soft quarantine we aregoing to have, when we are goingto land and if at all getting a prac-tice game so I don’t think we havea choice,” he added.

Given the challenges posed bythe Covid-19, strict bubble lifeincluding quarantine upon arrivalhas made scheduling more taxingon the players. Sridhar said goingto the UK with a “slight under-pre-pared mindset” can also bring thebest out of players.

“It’s time to be mentally smart,we have a very experienced teamgoing into the final. Each guy iscapable of adapting to the situa-tion. They have played againstNew Zealand and played inEngland.

“So, I think that experiencewill count and we will have tocome to the fore, because we real-ly can’t plan as to how many ses-sions we want because we onlyhave to take what is given to us,”he said.

He said lack of preparation isat times akin to playing with aninjury, which sometimes makesthe player more aware.

“...Sometimes it can work inour favour as well, because thatway you’re mentally more ready.It’s like playing with an injury.Sometimes when you’re injured,you tend to concentrate a little bet-ter.

“Sometimes when you’re a lit-tle under-prepared, you tend tofocus more and maybe that willbring the best out of us as well, sothat is the kind of mindset we aregoing in with,” said Sridhar.

Arun conceded that NewZealand playing two Tests againstEngland before the WTC final isa definite advantage for Blackcaps.

“See, it is definitely an advan-tage for them...The getting used toEnglish conditions and thingslike that. But then we’ll have torecall (our past experience) inEngland...,” he said.

India planned meticulouslyfor the Australia tour earlier thisyear on which they recorded oneof their best ever Test triumphs.

They laid out the now famous“leg-side” trap for top stars likeSteve Smith and MarnusLabuschagne.

For the WTC final and fiveTests against England, Arun saidthey will plan based on what theysee in two Tests before the WTCfinal. “England is playing NewZealand before us. So that will giveus a good insight into how theNew Zealanders are playing inEnglish conditions, and also howthe English men are playing rightnow.

“The present form is extreme-ly important for us to plan and thequarantine period in Englandwould give us enough time to takeinto consideration all the factorsand make plans accordingly,” hesaid.

‘Being little under-preparedcan work in India’s favour’

Shardul can be an all-rounder: Arun

PTI n SYDNEY

Rahul Dravid pickedAustralian brains to create

a talent identification systembetter than Australia in India,the legendary Greg Chappellhas said, lamenting the currentlack of a similar structure in hisown country that was “one ofthe best at developing youngplayers.”

Chappell said that bothIndia and England have over-taken Australia as the best inrecognising young talent andproviding them a platform tosucceed.

“India have got their acttogether and that’s largelybecause Rahul Dravid haspicked our brains, seen whatwe’re doing and replicated it inIndia and with their muchlarger (population) base,”Chappell told cricket.Com.Au.

Dravid is the Director ofCricket Operations at the

National Cricket Academy inBengaluru. He was the headcoach of India A and India U-19 teams between 2016 and2019.

Chappell, one of the finestbatsmen to have playedthe game, cautionedthat talentedAustralian cricketersmight find theircareers at crossroadsbecause of the domes-tic structure.

“Historically,we’ve beenone of thebest atdevelop-i n gy o u n gplayersa n dkeepingthem inthe sys-tem, but Ithink that’s

changed in the last couple ofyears,” he said.

“I’m seeing a bunch ofyoung players with great poten-tial who are in limbo. That’sunacceptable. We cannot afford

to lose one player.”Earlier this year,

Australia were defeat-ed at home in the

Border-Gavaskar Trophyby a second string Indian

team which was plaguedby injuries to its key play-

ers and was also with-out the services

of talismanicskipper ViratKohli.

Chappellfeels the vic-tory show-c a s e dI n d i a ’ s

highly effec-tive playerdevelopment

system as

even their rookies were armedwith extensive Internationalexperience.

“When you look at theIndian team that played in theBrisbane Test that had three orfour fresh players, and every-one said, ‘This is India’s secondXI’ — those guys had played(extensively) for India A,” saidChappell.

“And in all sorts of differ-ent conditions, not just inIndia. So when they getpicked, they’re not tyros at all,they’re quite hardenedInternational cricketers,” hepointed out.

On the other hand,Australian debutants WillPucovski and Cameron Greenhad limited experience playingoutside their home country.

“We picked Will Pucovskiout of Shield cricket. Will hashardly had a game outsideAustralia. That’s the differ-ence.”

Dravid picked cues from Oz structureto create solid pool for India: Chappell

PTI n WELLINGTON

New Zealand cricketers,including skipper Kane

Williamson, who are quaran-tining in Maldives after theIPL’s suspension might headto England this weekend foran upcoming two-Test series,team coach Gary Stead hassaid.

Will iamson, MitchellSantner, Kyle Jamieson, andphysio Tommy Simsek arecurrently undergoing isola-tion in the Maldives and theTest series against England is

due to start on June 2, fol-lowed by the World TestChampionship final againstIndia from June 18 inSouthampton.

“I don’t know all thedetails right now,” Stead wasquoted as saying byESPNcricinfo.

“My understanding is thatthey are looking to leavesomewhere around the timethat we leave (May 15, 16 or17) in that time frame. Myunderstanding is that Englandboard is still working throughthe final details of what it

Kane & Co might head to Eng this weekend: Stead

PNS n NEW DELHI

Indian star shuttlers Saina Nehwal andKidambi Srikanth’s chances of book-

ing berths for Tokyo Olympics are all butover after the world body on Wednesdaycancelled the last qualifying event inSingapore due to the coronavirus-relat-ed travel restrictions.

The tournament organisersSingapore Badminton Association (SBA)and Badminton World Federation(BWF) jointly agreed to cancel theSingapore Open scheduled for June 1-6.

The Singapore Open, a Super 500event on the BWF World Tour, was thelast tournament offering Race To Tokyoranking points inside the Olympic qual-ifying window.

“In the interests of all players, tour-nament personnel and the local commu-nity’s health and safety, the event has beencancelled. BWF can confirm the tourna-ment will not be rescheduled,” the BWFsaid in a statement.

The BWF said it will issue a furtherstatement on Tokyo Olympics qualifyingat a later date.

The chances of London OlympicsBronze-medallist Saina and Srikanthqualifying for the Olympics had hingedon the Singapore Open after theMalaysian Open (May 25 to 30) waspostponed on May 7.

Saina, Srikanth Tokyohopes all but over

Mumbai: The training has gonealong just fine but Olympic-bound star javelin throwerNeeraj Chopra on Wednesdaysaid he is desperate for somecompetition ahead of the TokyoGames given that two yearshave simply been “wasted”because of injury and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 23-year-old, who isbeing seen as a strong medalhope in Tokyo, said he has beencoordinating with the SportsAuthority of India to get somecompetition exposure.

“I am trying to give my 100per cent in training and havebeen training as I used to dobefore. The focus on training isgood and it is happening well.But I am in need of competitionsand we are trying for it,” he saidin a virtual interaction.

“I have spoken to TOPS andSAI and they are also trying theirbest from their end if anythingcan happen and I can get com-petitions. Because, it has beenover two years that I haven’tplayed International competi-tions.

“I feel that I need that thing.

Due to injury in 2019 got wast-ed and 2020 and 2021 have beenwasted due to Covid-19,” heelaborated.

Chopra’s emphasised oncompetition, saying that train-ing alone is not enough to fetchgood performances at the bigstage.

“...If we don’t play competi-tions, then what is the use of thetraining. We are training fromlast year, but we needInternational competitions. If weare thinking about the Olympiclevel, then we also need to com-pete with those athletes.

“I don’t have an experienceof playing in the Olympics, thiswill be my first time,” he said,adding that the Covid-19 threatis there for everyone.

Chopra, who had smashedhis own national record with athrow of 88.07m during thethird Indian Grand Prix inMarch, also said the way hispreparations have been going,“he is very close” to the 90-metremark.

“I am ready (and confident)that I will cross the 90-metremark this year,” he said. PTI

Neeraj cries out forint’l competitions

PTI n LONDON

England all-rounder BenStokes has hinted that he

won’t be available for the cur-rently-suspended IPL this yeareven if he is fit to return to com-petitive cricket after recoveringfrom his finger surgery.

Stokes sustained a fracturedfinger during Rajasthan Royals’opening game against PunjabKings and was subsequentlyruled out of the league lastmonth.

The IPL was postponedearlier this month due to Covid-19 cases inside the bio-bubbleand England and Wales CricketBoard (ECB) has made it clearthat top cricketers from herewon’t be available even onresumption.

“We don’t know if or whenthe tournament will berearranged, but as the ECB havesaid it could be difficult for theEngland boys to have a free gap,”Stokes wrote in his column forDaily Mirror.

However, the flamboyant

all-rounder is confident that hewill be back for the next edition.

“After this year though, I dolook forward to playing a fullpart again at some point in thefuture,” Stokes wrote.

About his return from theinjury, Stokes said, “I can’t put adate on when I’ll be back play-ing again, but as long as thingsprogress as well as they havethen I should hope it will be wellbefore the three months that wasfirst feared and more like seven,eight, or nine weeks.

‘IF BBEST SSTANDS TTOGETHER’Kevin Pietersen believes

that England’s cricket boardwill relent if country’s top play-ers unanimously decide to par-ticipate in the currently-sus-pended IPL in case it resumes inSeptember this year.

Almost half of the IPL fran-chises have top English crick-eters.

“It’s going to be interestingto watch how the ECB handlethis issue around not allowing it’sbest players to play IPL if it’srescheduled,” Pietersen tweeted.

“When I went up againstENG, I was alone. This time, it’sall their best branded players! Ifthey stand together, they’ll playIPL.”

means to come through theMaldives as opposed to NewZealand,” he added.

Maldives has beenplaced in the UKGovernment’s red list ,which means that no directflights from that countrywould be al lowed inEngland and residents com-ing from there will have toundergo 10-day quarantine.

Stead also hinted thatpacer Trent Boult, who wenthome after the IPL’s suspen-sion, might be available onlyfor the WTC final.

AFP n ROME

Naomi Osaka crashed out of theItalian Open on Wednesday after

a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 second round defeat toAmerican Jessica Pegula in the clay-court warm-up ahead of RolandGarros.

The four-time Grand Slam winner,seeded second in the Italian capital, hadreceived a first-round bye, but wasunable to find her way back into thematch after losing the first-set tie-breakto her 31st-ranked opponent.

Osaka was playing just her thirdtournament since winning theAustralian Open in February and alsoexited in the second round in Madridearlier this month.

The reigning US Open champion,has seven career hard-court titles, buthas never managed to lift a clay-courttrophy.

Pegula, 27, who reached theAustralian Open quarter-finals, willnext play either 33rd-ranked RussianEkaterina Alexandrova.

IN-FORM NADIARoland Garros semifinalist Nadia

Podoroska gave Serena Williams atough re-introduction to clay-court ten-nis, ousting the 23-time Grand Slamchampion, 7-6 (6), 7-5, to advance atthe Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

A four-time champion in Rome,Williams was playing her first matchsince bowing out of the AustralianOpen semifinals, and though she gavethe Argentine all she could handle inthe opening set, Podoroska proved fartoo strong on the surface to advance injust under two hours on CampoCentrale.

BARTY IN THIRD ROUNDIn other matches, world number one

Ashleigh Barty advanced to the thirdround with a 6-4, 6-1 win over KazakhYaroslava Shvedova.

Days after her shock defeat in theMadrid Open final, the Australian over-came an early break of serve to see offShvedova, a three-time Grand Slamquarter-finalist making her way backafter giving birth to twins.

Barty dropped her opening servicegame but rallied to level at 4-4, takingcontrol of the match against Shvedova onthe red clay of the Foro Italico.

Barty will next meet 28th-rankedRussian Veronika Kudermetova as shebids for a first Rome quarter-final on herthird appearance.

Kudermetova beat France’s 56th-ranked Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-4.

Former Rome champion KarolinaPliskova, seeded ninth, also advancedpast Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-2,6-3.

Czech Pliskova, winner in 2019and runner-up last year, built on herpowerful serve, and converted six of her13 break point chances.

The former world number one nextplays Russian Vera Zvonareva who oust-ed Czech 11th seed Petra Kvitova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Fifth seed Elina Svitolina droppeda set before advancing past AmericanAmanda Anisimova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Van Dijk outof Euro 2020

Osaka, Serena fall at 1st hurdle

Colombo: Wicketkeeper-bats-man Kusal Perera was onWednesday named Sri Lanka’sODI captain with Kusal Mendisas his deputy for the away seriesagainst Bangladesh this month.

Perera, who has played 101ODIs, 22 Tests and 47 T20Is,takes over the reins fromDimuth Karunaratne.

Karunaratne, along withsenior all-rounder AngeloMathews, top-order batsmanLahiru Thirimanne and wicket-keeper Dinesh Chandimal, havebeen dropped from the squad.

Instead, the squad includesseveral new faces. PacerChamika Karunaratne and bats-man Shiran Fernando haveearned their maiden limited-overs call up, while speedsterBinura Fernando, who hasplayed a couple of T20Is, wasalso named in the side.

The team is scheduled toleave for Bangladesh on May 16for the three-match ODI seriesto be played in Dhaka on May23, 25 and 28. PTI

Perera appointedSL ODI skipper

Playing IPL will be difficult: Stokes

Naomi Osaka serves the ball to Jessica Peguladuring their match at the Italian Open AP

shortpasses

llu Arjun had recently contracted thenotorious Coronavirus and went intoisolation and received treatment forthe same. But the good news now isthat he has recovered from the same.Allu Arjun took to social media to

share the news. He wrote, “ Hello every-one! I have tested negative. I am

doing well. Thank you all forthe love,”

He added, “I have testednegative after 15 days of quar-antine. I want to thank allmy well-wishers and fans fortheir wishes and prayers,”.After meeting his family, heshared a video along of himsurprising his childrenArha and Ayaan. He cap-tioned the video: “Meetingfamily after testing nega-tive and 15 days of quar-antine. Missed the kidssoo much,”

Allu Arjun, on thework front, is starring inPushpa under the direc-tion of Sukumar and heis in talks with directorsBoyapati Srinu andGautam Tinnanuri for hisnext projects. Pushpa, inthe meantime, is set torelease in two parts asAllu Arjun is said to bekeen to capture thenational market.

12

Vijayawada Thursday May 13, 2021 tollywood

rabhas attained cultstatus across thecountry following thesensation he createdwith his breathtakingperformance in

Rajamouli’s magnum opus

Baahubali. Right after that, lookslike the actor decided to do onlypan-India entertainers tobecome the number one actor inthe country.

Currently, Prabhas is busy onthe films Radhe Shyam,

Adipurush, Salaar, and a projectwith Nag Ashwin. He is also intalks with various directors andis on the verge of lining up manycrazy and interesting projects.But the outbreak of the coron-avirus and the unexpected sec-

ond wave stalled the shooting ofhis projects. With most of thestates in the country imposinglockdown, Prabhas is unable towrap up his projects, which aredelaying his plans.

He, unlike other stars, is fac-

ing a grim situation as he has animmense following in Tollywoodand has also found craze acrossthe country. The delay of hisprojects is becoming difficult forhim and these filmmakers to sat-isfy his restless fans.

enkatesh, SureshBabu, and Ranacarry the legacy oflegendary film pro-ducer D.Ramanaidu.We’ve now learned

that his grandson Abhiramwould be making his silverscreen debut soon. DirectorTeja, who is credited for intro-ducing more than 40 people onthe silver screen, is responsiblefor many of them attaining starstatus. An insider tells us thathe has taken up the responsibil-ity of introducing Abhiram toTollywood.

Teja announced that he iscoming with Chitram 1.1, a

sequel for his hit film Chitram.He, however, didn’t announcethe star cast. Sources reveal thatSuresh Babu’s second sonAbhiram would be cast in thelead role. He alreadyannounced that the film willfeature all newcomers. Patnaikwill be scoring music for thefilm.

Teja earlier planned to do thefilm with his son Amitov butlater changed his plans. Theproject is getting delayed due tothe second wave of Covid. Nowonly time will tell if Abhiramwill create a sensation like UdayKiran on the silver screen inTollywood.

Ramanaidu's grandson

to make his debut

he much anticipatedand the most-awaitedmulti starrer RRR fea-turing Ram Charanand NTR directed byRajamouli has been

delayed due to the rising casesof coronavirus in the country. Inthe meantime, fans are waitingeagerly for the release of postersfrom the makers.

Earlier, rumours were spreadthat RRR makers are planning torelease a special poster forNTR’s birthday. In the midst ofall this, reports have it that themakers are planning to release

the film's teaser instead, onAugust 15, celebrating thenation’s Independence Day.

It is known that RRR - RanamRoudram Rudhiram is a ficti-tious patriotic entertainer fea-turing NTR and Ram Charan asfreedom fighters KomaramBheem and Alluri Seetha RamaRaju. The film also stars AliaBhatt, Olivia Norris, Shriya,Ajay Devgn, Samuthirakhani,Ray Stevenson, and AlisonDoody in important roles.Rajamouli is leaving no stoneunturned to make RRR biggerthan his Baahubali.

andamuri stars sharing screen presence isa rarity following the differences betweenBalakrishna, NTR, and Kalyan Ram. Forlong rumours did the rounds thatBalakrishna and NTR will come with amulti starrer to delight Nandamuri fans.

But it turned out to be a distant dream owing to theirdifferences. Earlier there were talks that NTR wouldstar in the NTR biopic which featured Balakrishna inthe lead. But it didn't materialise. Now all eyes are onBalakrishna’s Akhandha which is progressing at abrisk pace under the direction of BoyapatiSrinu. Balakrishna is playing a dual roleand in one of them, he will be seen asan Aghora. Now reports are comingin that Akhandha will feature anoth-er Nandamuri hero!

The buzz is that Boyapati devel-oped a powerful role of a police offi-cer in Akhandha and Kalyan Ram,who got to know of it, is said to haveshown a keen interest. Balakrishna toohas responded favourably and nowAkhandha will star KalyanRam alongside Balakrishna.However, an official con-firmation on the same isawaited. Kalyan Ramearlier starred in theNTR biopic asHarikrishna. It isknown thatAnil Raavipudiis comingwith a projectwhich istouted to bea multi star-rer withBalakrishnaandKalyanRam.

AKHANDAto have another

Nandamuri star?

P

N T

V

PRABHAS FACES A

GRIM SITUATION

When is RRRteaser releasing?

irector AnilRavipudi recent-ly delivered oneof the biggestblockbustersSarileru

Neekevvaru withMahesh Babu starrer.Now, the director is

expected to joinhands withSuperstar for

yet anothermovie.Amidst thespeculations

that the pro-ject is not happening, thedirector recently confirmedthat he is doing another filmwith Mahesh Babu.

As per thelatest reports,Mahesh Babuwill be doing therole of a cricketcoach in themovie.

Mahesh Babu whoplayed the role of anarmy major in SarileruNeekevvaru is going to playand teach cricket in thefilm. Anil Ravipudi is saidto be preparing an engagingpan-Indian range script forMahesh Babu.

The director is makingsure to balance the action,comedy, and sentiment inequal proportions. Thesports drama is going to beone of its kind, say insiders.

Mahesh Babu is currentlybusy with his upcomingmovie Sarkaru Vaari Paataunder the direction ofParasuram whereas AnilRavipudi is busy with thesequel of his F2: Fun andFrustration movie titled, F3.

The complete details ofthe project and the officialconfirmation on the film areto come out soon so watchout this space for more.

Mahesh Babuto turn coach?

D

A

Allu Arjun tests negativefor Covid, meets family

lockdown in state should last - the pioneer

Documents