First India Rajasthan-Rajasthan News In English 11 April 2020 edition by First India-English News Paper

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD

CORONA

22°C - 37°C

ALERT JAIPUR l SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00

COVID-19 UPDATE

RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 304

WORLD

1,01,559 16,77,190 246 DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

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DEATHS

INDIA

7598

CONFIRMED CASES

RAJASTHAN

561

DEATHS

CONFIRMED CASES

BETWEEN ECONOMY AND HEALTH, GEHLOT CHOOSES HEALTH!  Gehlot makes up his mind for  Centre also mulling the idea of

lockdown extension till 1st May! declaring financial emergency

Kartikey Dev Singh Jaipur: According to available indications, Rajasthan is all set to extend an ongoing corona lockdown till 1st May with certain ‘practical’ concessions. This was a clear indication that emerged after CM Gehlot’s three hour long discussions with his core team on Friday night. Meanwhile, by taking an initiative, Punjab has already extended lockdown till 1st May. However, a final deci-

sion on this sensitive issue will be taken by the state government after the scheduled video conference of Prime Minister with CMs on Saturday following which a formal announcement will be made. It is reported that the centre is mulling on a big step amid Corona pandemic of imposing financial emergency in the country. The bureaucracy is abuzz with the word that the Centre is taking legal advise from experts on the

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot during a v-c to review corona situation in state where DB Gupta, Kuldeep Ranka, Amit Dhaka were present on Friday.

subject so that it should not be seen as interfering in the jurisdiction of the state governments in the federal structure of the nation. One of the principal objective of declaring the state of financial emergency will be to ensure an optimum utilization of all available financial and revenue resources across the country. The inherent quality of Ashok Gehlot to sense the future even before anyone else has

made him a stalwart leader and it is this quality which has made the Chief Minister intensely mull on lifting the lockdown in Rajasthan. The simple reason for the dilemma : Gehlot does not want to risk people’s lives and wants to be ‘double sure’ the Covid has been eliminated from the desert state. This is probably the reason that on Friday, while holding a video conference with reputed members from various in-

GROUNDED ON RUNWAY AWAITING CLEARANCE

dustrial organizations and association, Gehlot hinted that decision on lockdown will be taken keeping in mind the risk to people’s lives. Gehlot was discussing with the state’s industrial organizations, food and grocery associations, vegetable vendors association, medicine association, Aadhatiya trade association, dairy association, hotel, mining and jewelery businessmen and builders etc. Turn on P6

GLOBAL STATE OF AFFAIRS COUNTRY TOTAL CASES

TOTAL NEW DEATHS DEATHS

488,844 SPAIN 157,053 ITALY 147,577 GERMANY 119,624 FRANCE 117,749 CHINA 81,907 UK 73,758 IRAN 68,192 TURKEY 47,029 BELGIUM 26,667 S’LAND 24,551

17,995 15,970 18,849 2,607 12,210 3,336 8,958 4,232 1,006 3,019 1,001

USA

+1,304 +523 +570

+1 +980 +122 +98 +496 +53

WWW.WORLDOMETERS.INFO

LAST UPDATED: APRIL 10, 2020, 11:00 PM

IN RAJASTHAN Many Indian carriers on Friday took to micro blogging platform Twitter to promote the message of staying at home albeit through a witty banter. These tweets under #StayingParkedStayingSafe garnered massive response from netizens garnering over 600 retweets and 3,000 replies. Aeroplanes can be seen parked across many Airports in the country including runway of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, during a nationwide lockdown imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, in Bengaluru. —PTI Photo

DAY’S HIGH

896 new

cases in 24 hrs India’s total number of coronavirus positive cases rises to 7,598 with 246 deaths so far

New Delhi: With 896 COVID-19 cases reported in the country in the last 24 hours, India’s total number of coronavirus positive cases rose to 7,598 on Friday, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The ministry said that the highest jump in COVID-19 cases had been reported in the last 24 hours. Additionally, 37 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours taking the toll to 206. Out of all these cases, 6039 are active cases, 516 have been cured/

discharged/ migrated, and 206 deaths have been reported so far. The country witnessed the highest one day increase with 896 cases. Maharashtra with 1364 cases is the worst affected state followed by the Union Territory of Delhi with 898 cases and Tamil Nadu with 834 cases. Meanwhile the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday denied that Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s claim of community transmission of COVID-19 in the State.

PM to talk lockdown extension with CMs

Brief me on relief work: Sonia tells PCC chiefs

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers of all states on Saturday via video, where a call would be taken on whether the 21day lockdown to check spread of coronavirus, ending next week, should be extended. The video conference comes amidst indications that Turn on P6

New Delhi: The Congress hopes that the government will come out with a plan to deal with the situation arising out of the prevailing lockdown, party president Sonia Gandhi said on Friday as she took stock of the party’s relief work for people reeling under the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Turn on P6

PM Narendra Modi

PMO REVIEWS EFFORTS TO CHECK CORONA SPREAD The production of PPE is being ramped up, a review meeting held by the Prime Minister’s Office on the efforts to tackle the spread of coronavirus was informed on Friday. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister P K Mishra chaired the meeting of the empowered groups of officers set up to tackle the challenges arising out of COVID-19.

The meeting reviewed and expressed satisfaction on the detailed testing protocol and procedure, under which 1,45,916 samples have so far been tested across the country. According to an official statement, the production of PPE is being ramped up and capacity building for healthcare personnel is being ensured.

Sonia Gandhi

WAREHOUSE SPACE AT DELHI AIRPORT Amid the lockdown imposed to help contain the spread of coronavirus, Delhi Airport has set up additional warehouse space for handling the international and domestic cargo movements for essential commodities including healthcare and medical supplies, said Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, Chief Executive Officer of Delhi International Airport (DIAL). MODI-ABE DISCUSS CORONA SITUATION PM Narendra Modi on Friday said India-Japan special strategic and global partnership can help develop new technologies and solutions for the post-COVID-19 world. He made these remarks on Twitter after speaking with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on Corona situation. P2

DISTRICT

TOTAL CASES

AJMER ALWAR BANSWARA BHARATPUR BHILWARA BIKANER CHURU DAUSA DHOLPUR DUNGARPUR JAIPUR JAISALMER JHUNJHUNU JODHPUR KARAULI PALI SIKAR TONK UDAIPUR PRATAPGARH NAGAUR KOTA JHALAWAR BARMER OTHER DIST.

5 6 24 9 28 20 11 7 1 5 221 27

31 43 2 2 1 27 4 2 1 19 12 1 0 TOTAL 509 OTHER (Italy) 2 EVACUEES 50 GRAND TOTAL 561

NEW TOTAL CASES SAMPLE

— +1 +12 +1 — — — +1 — — +53 +8 — +9 — — — — — — — +2 +3 — — +90 — +8 +98

SAMPLE RECEIVED Including 1107 Evacuees sample SAMPLE NEGATIVE UNDER EXAMINATION

1090

385 961 224 676 3324 597 219 425 274 272 4260 287 2309 1666 262 84 503 483 713 71 139 423 257 169 2259 21242 — 1107 22349

22,349

20,698

NEWS JAIPUR | SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020

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INDIA-JAPAN PARTNERSHIP CAN HELP DEVELOP NEW TECHS FOR POST-COVID WORLD: PM MODI

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi said the IndiaJapan special strategic and global partnership can help develop new technologies and solutions for the post-COVID-19 world. The PM made these remarks on Twitter after speaking with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on the situation arising out of coronavirus outbreak. “Had fruitful discussion with my friend, Japanese PM @ abeshinzo about the COVID-19 pandemic. The India-Japan Special Strategic & Global Partnership can help develop new technologies and solutions for the post-COVID world for our peoples, for the Indo-Pacific region, and for the world,” he said. PM Abe had recently declared a state of emer-

NEPAL, INDIA AGREE TO ENHANCE COOPERATION

PM Narendra Modi with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. —FILE PHOTO

Had fruitful discussion with my friend, Japanese PM @abeshinzo about the COVID-19 pandemic . The Flag of IndiaFlag of Japan Special Strategic & Global Partnership can help develop new technologies and solutions for the post-COVID world - for our peoples, for the Indo-Pacific region, and for the world. gency in Tokyo and six other prefectures to contain the spread of the killer virus. An official statement later said the

two leaders discussed the global health and economic challenges emerging out of the COVID-19 pandemic. —PTI

PM Narendra Modi and Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli. —FILE PHOTO

epal PM KP Oli & his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi agreed to enhance cooperation to further intensify fight against coronavirus and underlined the need of taking care of the citizens left stranded in each other’s country due to the lockdown to contain the spread of the pandemic. Oli and Modi held a telephone conversation to discuss the situation.“We have agreed to enhance cooperation to further intensify the fight against corona virus,” PM Oli tweeted after the conversation. Hundreds of Nepalese, mostly migrant workers, are stranded along Nepal’s —PTI border with India due to the lockdown.

Poor haven’t received Changing election results has necessary items: Kataria disappointed youth: Chandana First India News

Jaipur: LoP Gulab Chand Kataria has alleged that people have not received Rs 2,500 promised by the State Government. Kataria said that he has received this feedback from MLAs and apprised the Chief Minister about the same. He said that poor people have received 5kg of ration, but other necessary items like salt, chilli and oil haven’t been provided to them. He added that tribal in Udaipur have been facing problem as ration material have finished in shops. Kataria said farmers

First India

Gulab Chand Kataria

have received 70% of Kisan Samman Nidhi from the Centre. Rs 500 have been transferred to Jan Dhan account and the Central Government has also given Rs 740 crore in SDRF, Rs 2,765 crore in DMFT and Rs 7,100 crore in MNREGA. All this money has been received by the State Government, he claimed.

Jaipur: After an open revolt by Youth Congress leaders, now, the Sports Minister in Ashok Gehlot Government, Ashok Chandana has also expressed his displeasure over the results of recently held Youth Congress elections. The office bearers of the Youth Congress, the candidate for President’s post, Umardeen and some others have already rebelled and are preparing to go to Delhi to lodge a formal complaint with the party leadership. Sumit Bhagasara, who had been declared

Ashok Chandana

winner earlier, has filed a defamation suit before the result was changed, amid allegations of hacking of online voting. Sports Minister Ashok Chandana, who was also the President of the State Youth Congress, has said that changing the result has disappointed the youths of the state. He

added that All India Youth Congress has accepted hacking by filing a police complaint therefore, till a fair inquiry is completed, the results should be withheld. He also said that it was unfortunate that Rahul Gandhi’s dream of ordinary youth’s involvement in the Congress party, has been shattered by hackers. PCC member and former Vice- President of the State Youth Congress, has also questioned the outcome of the result. He said that IT Company’s mishandling has tarnished image of Youth Congress.

‘India ready to help fight corona’ New Delhi: PM Modi told Israel & Brazil that India is ready to do whatever is possible to help its friends in fight against the coronavirus. Modi made the remarks after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu & Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro thanked New Delhi for allowing the export of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and the raw materials to produce it. —PTI

Army destroys terror launch pad in Keran Srinagar: The Indian Army on Friday carried out precision attacks on terrorist launch pads in PoK responding to ceasefire violations by Pakistan Army. Army sources said terror launchpad targeted by the troops on LoC are in Dudhniyal area of Kel sector which was used by the Pakistan Army to launch five terrorists who had infiltrated in the Keran sector around April 1. “The five terrorists were killed by Army Special Forces in fierce combat on April 5 but in process, we had also lost our 5 Special Forces operatives,” said sources.— ANI

‘ENHANCE VIGIL ALONG PAK, BANGLA BORDERS’

Home Minister Amit Shah

ome Minister Amit Shah has directed the Border Security Force (BSF) to enhance vigil along the Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, especially in the non-fenced areas, a senior official said on Friday. The minister reviewed the security of the two borders on Thursday and also directed the BSF to ensure that no cross-border movement takes place at these two fronts, Joint secretary in the ministry, Punya Salila Srivastava told reporters during a daily briefing on the steps taken by the ministry to ensure enforcement of the ongoing —PTI coronavirus lockdown.

9 more corona+ves reported in Jodhpur First India News Jodhpur: Despite relentless efforts by State Government led by CM Ashok Gehlot, more cases of coronavirus are being reported from across the state. In his home town Jodhpur, due to hard work of ‘Team Gehlot,’ eight patients were discharged from the hospital after recovery. However, at the same time, nine more positive cases have been reported in the city. Of these nine patients, eight belong to one family including a five year old kid. All are the residents of the Nagauri Gate area, from

where several others have tested positive. All these patients have been admitted and are undergoing treatment at an isolation ward of Mathuradas Mathur Hospital. At present, 63 Coronapositives and 97 suspects are admitted in the hospital. Out of them, 26 patients are from Pokhran. District Collector Prakash Rajpurohit is leading screening & survey in Nagauri Gate. Joint director (Health) Dr Yuddhveer Singh is supervising the situation in Pokhran. CMHO Dr Balwant Manda has been monitoring screening along with his team.

BJP’s special campaign in 1,587 RSS volunteers serving@183 places Raj to begin from April 11 First India News

First India News Jaipur: In view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal, the BJP will launch a special campaign in Rajasthan from April 11 to 15, 2020. This was decided by senior BJP leaders after reviewing relief work by party workers. The focus of the campaign will be to ensure that no person sleeps hungry during the lockdown. While distributing the food packets, BJP

Senior BJP leaders hold meeting while practicing social distancing.

workers will also have to distribute masks to 5 to 7 people. They will also have to thank the corona warriors. Besides, they will download Aarogya Setu app

and motivate 40 people to download it. Besides, BJP workers will have to donate money to PM Cares Fund and encourage 40 people to do the same.

Jaipur: The volunteers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are continuously engaged in the service of the people during the lockdown. If we talk about their services in the last 5 days, 13 volunteers are doing duty at the Jaipur call centre of 108 ambulances. At the same time, 15 volunteers are helping to cook food in Akshaya Patra and some volunteers are also supporting Jaipur Dairy. The volunteers visited the hostels, where

An RSS volunteer carries out the sanitization drive at a locality in the city on Friday.

the students from Tripura Mizoram and provided them water

and ration. The need for masks is most commonly ex-

perienced due to the inevitability of masks. For this, the entire-

family of a volunteer, Mohit Mehra is serving the deprived families and the residents of the colony daily by making masks in Seva Sadan. Apart from these services, the arrangement of food for 600 families from Baba Bhomia Ashram at Murlipura Road No. 7 is also being done by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The food is being distributed to labourers in Bani Park and Gopal Nagar areas as well. A total of 1,587 volunteers are working at 183 places in Jaipur.

UK to fly more India charter flights to get thousands of Brits back home Tripti Nath New Delhi: The UK Government has announced a dozen additional charter flights from 10 Indian States, including Gujarat, to fly back home over 3,000 British travellers currently stranded in India. Two flights from Ahmedabad on April 13 and 15 figure in the list of flights that opened for booking on Friday. This follows the seven charter flights

announced earlier from Goa, Mumbai and New Delhi (April 8-12) and will take the total number of people brought back on these 19 flights to around 5,000. It is expected that between April 13 and 20, one-fourth of the 20,000 British nationals, who had expressed a desire to go back, will be on home turf -- thanks to British Airways. UK Government is

FLIGHTS SCHEDULED TO LONDON z Amritsar - UK

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

working to keep ticket costs for these charter flights as low

as possible. A spokesperson of the British High Com-

13, 17, 19 April

z Ahmedabad - UK

13, 15 April

z Goa - UK

14, 16 April

z Goa (via Mumbai) - UK

18 April

z Thiruvananthapuram (via Kochi) - UK

15 April

z Hyderabad (via Ahmedabad) - UK

17 April

z Kolkata (via Delhi) - UK

19 April

z Chennai (via Bengaluru) - UK

20 April

mission told First India, “ We do not want the cost of a flight to be

a barrier to bring British nationals home and so there is financial

support available for those genuinely struggling to pay.” Beginning April 13, the following flights to London are scheduled for two weeks and British travellers have been advised to visit the India Travel Advice page to reserve seats as well as for any further information. A number of seats will be reserved for those deemed vulnerable, according to a release

issued by British High Commission. UK Minister of State for South Asia and Commonwealth, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon said: “We are doing all we can to get thousands of British travellers in India home. This is a huge and complex operation, which also involves working with the Indian Government to enable people to move within India to get back home.”

RAJASTHAN JAIPUR | SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020

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98 new corona cases from Raj in 24 hours, 53 from Jaipur itself State capital turns into epicentre with 221 cases; 8 Indians evacuated from Iran also test positive First India News Jaipur: Covid-19 seems to have hit the state left, right and centre as 98 confirmed infected surfaced in last 24 hours. Jaipur had the maximum number of diagnosed, that is, 53 corona positive patients. Jaipur was followed by Banswara with 12, Jodhpur with 9, Jaisalmer 8, Jhalawar 3, Kota 2 and Alwar, Dausa & Bharatpur reported one case each. 8 Indians evacuated from Iran also tested positive on Friday taking the state tally to 561. So far there have been 22,349 people have been tested in the state out of which 20,698 came out negative. The report for 1090 samples is awaited. Jaipur has emerged as one of the biggest

Ajitabh Sharma, Jogaram, Anand Srivastava, Ajaypal Lamba and other officias taking stock of curfew situation in Walled City area in Jaipur on Friday. —PHOTO BY SUMAN SARKAR

epicenters in the country with 221 positive patients. Jodhpur follows the state capital

with 43 patients, Jhunjhunu with 31 patients, Bhilwara with 28 patients, Jaisalmer &

Tonk 27 patients each, Banswara with 24 patients, Bikaner has 20 patients, Kota has 19

—PHOTO BY SUNIL SHARMA

DGP: Matter would be reviewed, don’t panic

Bhupendra Yadav

First India News Fire Department personnel sanitising Raja Park area after a positive case was found on Friday.

First India News Jaipur: In the police department, which is maintaining social distancing and lockdown to avoid the spread of coronavirus, a constable stationed at the Manak Chowk police station in Jaipur was tested positive for coronavirus. For the last one week, he was on duty at the blockade point set up for the survey and screening of the medical team. The infected constable had a mild fever for the last 3-4 days. On Thursday, the medical department was taking random samples of several peo-

ple in the walled area of Jaipur. The samples of 10 constables each from Manak Chowk and Ramganj police stations were also taken. After receiving the report, the infected constable was immediately shifted to SMS Hospital. After getting the news, Additional Commissioner Ajay Pal Lamba, DCP Rajeev Pachar and Additional DCP Sumit Gupta reached Manak Chowk police station. After that, 14 constables living in the barrack with the infected constable were quarantined at the guest house situated at Manak Chowk and the whole police station

BRIEF

z Jaipur: MP Ramcharan

Bohra said that I got to know from the newspaper that the message of the Chief Minister is also being given along with the ration packets being distributed by the state government. In this regard, I would like to request that the message of the Prime Minister about the advisory issued by the central government and efforts being made should also reach the people.

z Alwar: Thanagazi police

has solved a murder case in a matter of few hours. The police claimed that Chotelal Jogi had been killed by

was sanitized. Meanwhile, After finding a corona positive case in Gurunanakpura of Raja Park on Friday, curfew has been imposed in a radius of 1 km. In this regard, DCP East Rahul Jain passed an order and imposed a curfew from 2 pm. Now, the movement of people in this area would be prohibited and they would not be allowed to come out of their homes. In the curfew area, food and milk would be supplied by the district administration and daily sanitization would be done by the Municipal Corporation.

Jaipur: While commenting on a policeman testing corona positive, the DGP Bhupendra Yadav said, “The matter would be reviewed and the reason for the constable getting corona infection would be found. The incident is worrying, but there is no need to panic. The police officials should keep taking care of themselves. They are working on the directions of the medical department, but opinion would be sought from the department while taking precautions.”

People driving through a sanitisation chamber installed at Sodala in Jaipur. —PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO

9 more cured in Bhilwara, all set to be discharged First India News

Superintendent of District Hospital Dr Arun Gaur conducted health check-ups of all nine patients till late night, in which an echo test of each patient was done separately. So far, 15 patients of Bhilwara have already been discharged after being healthy. As of Friday evening, 28 patients were found to be corona virus positive in the district, out of which two patients had died recently.

Bhilwara: Efforts made by the Bhilwara doctors have paid off. After nine coronavirus positive patients, admitted to Bhilwara Hospital, were found negative in the third consecutive test report, their discharge process was started. All these patients would be discharged on Saturday morning, which would take the total of the completely recovered patients to 24.

Kota: Situation worsens with 2 new cases, tally rises to 19

Akhil Arora incharge of Jpr in IT war room

First India News

Kota: With two new cases, total number of corona patients in Kota has gone up to 19. Both these cases have been reported from Makbara area of the city. One of the patient is 50-year old and the other is 20-year-old. 56 samples were sent for testing out of which the two were found positive. An elderly patient has already died while 30 including 18 from Kota and 12 from Jhalawar have been receiving treatment in isolation centre of New Medical College. Meanwhile, district collector Om Prakash

Photo ops, while distributing food banned First India News Ajmer: Ajmer District Collector issued an order stating that taking selfies or clicking photos done by NGOs and other organisations would be banned during distribution of food items amid lockdown on Friday. It said,“Any violation of social distancing norms may result in action under section 188 of IPC.”

paramour of his wife. Both, his wife Ratni and her lover Lalaram Balai have been arrested. Ratni reportedly told the police that she was in illicit relationship with Lalaram Balai whom she met when she used to go to work in Nimadi village. She said that her husband was a drunkard and used to beat her up. They were financially weak therefore she decided to get rid of him. The police said that Ratni had gone to Jaipur with Lalaram a year ago because of which they used to fight when she returned.

wanted criminals of Jodhpur Commissionerate Shyamlal Bishnoi was arrested on Friday and 2.05 kg of poppy milk was recovered from his luxury car. A total of 21 cases are filed against Bishnoi in various police stations. Marwar-Sojat Road Bagri Police followed the accused and finally got hold of him and his ally. Another accused Kailash was also arrested with Bishnoi. However, the car driver managed to escape from the spot. The action was taken in the direction of CO Sojat Hemant Jakhar.

police personnel, who are on curfew duty in places where coronavirus positive cases were reported, will be given recommended dose of hydroxychloroquine drug, an official advisory issued on Friday said. Additional chief secretary, Medical and Health, Rohit Kumar Singh issued the advisory to administer recommended dose of the medicine to the policemen under the supervision of doctors. Curfew was imposed in the areas of the state where coronavirus positive cases were found.

z Pali: One of the most

z Jaipur: Rajasthan

z Jaipur: Spitting pan &

—PHOTO BY MUKESH KIRADOO

Cop on duty found positive, curfew imposed in Raja Park

patients, Jhalawar has diagnose 12 patients, Churu has 11 patients, Bharatpur has 9 pa-

tients, Dausa has 7 patients, Alwar has 6 patients, Ajmer & Dungarpur have 5 patients each, Udaipur has 4 patients, Karauli, Pratapgarh & Pali have 2 patients each and one patient each in Barmer, Dholpur, Nagaur & Sikar. Apart from these 2 Italians and 50 Indians evacuated from Iran have also tested positive. So far Covid-19 has affected 24 districts of the state. The health officials have lost their sleep over the Ramganj area of Jaipur. The door to door survey has brought out a real serious picture of the spread of the virus in the walled city. All the 53 cases which were reported positive in last 24 hours were from Ramganj area.

People neglecting the lockdown guidelines on Friday at curfew imposed area near Delhi Bypass road in Jaipur.

Kasera has allowed Bhamashah Krishi Mandi to open with some conditions from April 13. In an example of pleasant change, people in Kotdi Gordhanpura felicitated sanitation workers by showering

flowers and presenting them garlands. Residents also arranged tea and snacks for them. Earlier, there were reports of misbehaviour and manhandling with them in Chaavni, Udyog Nagar and Mahaveer Nagar.

Jaipur: In the IT war room, Principal Secretary of Social Justice and Em- Akhil Arora powerment Department Akhil Arora has been made the in-charge of Jaipur division. Arora will instruct the collectors of the respective districts of the division to resolve complaints lodged from the districts under Jaipur division at 181. At the same time, IAS Ajitabh Sharma will continue to work as nodal officer of Jaipur city.

Mishra constitutes task force for betterment higher education in Raj First India News Jaipur: Governor and Chancellor Kalraj Mishra has constituted a task force for higher education in state. Mishra said that during the lockdown, the task force would examine the challenges being faced by state’s higher education and give its recommendations. This committee would also prepare a

chewed tobacco was banned in Rajasthan on Friday, in an attempt to contain spread of coronavirus. “Considering health of public & prevent the spread of COVID-19, the government is banning spitting in public places by people after chewing pan, tobacco,” read the order by Rajasthan’s health department. Penal action will be taken against the violators. The new measure, expected to help in curbing highy contagious coronavirus, has been put in place under Section 2 of Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Act 1957.

Kalraj Mishra

roadmap by setting higher education examinations, results and timelines for the

upcoming academic session. The Governor would review the suggestions given by the committee every week. Mishra said that this decision has been taken to make our state a leader in higher education. The committee meeting would be held twice a week via Zoom or Skype. Also, an online education portal would be prepared to avoid hindrance in education.

Provide relief without discrimination: Poonia First India News Jaipur: State BJP president Satish Poonia appealed to CM Ashok Gehlot to provide relief to people without any discrimination. Poonia said that the Centre has provided ample financial relief and material to combat corona pandemic and the state should pass it on to people. He claimed that Ra-

jasthan has received Rs 2870 crore for MNREGA, Rs 470 crore to provide free gas cylinder for 62.77 lakh beneficiaries, 1.52 crore Jan-Dhan accounts have received Rs 500 per month each besides Rs 744 crore have been given to pay Rs 200 each to 37.20 lakh farmers in addition to Rs 740 crore from disaster mitigation fund and elderly & disabled pension.

PERSPECTIVE JAIPUR | SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020

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THE SILVER LINING

IN-DEPTH

GOVT MAY EXTEND LOCKDOWN

Coronavirus has spread like a negative cloud over the world. Does this cloud have a silver lining? GARIMA ARORA

he three-week lockdown is due to end on April 14 but he COVID-19 situation is still evolving. Amid talk of an extension, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet the chief ministers through video conferencing on Saturday to seek their views on extending the lockdown beyond April 14 and for how long. Given the constant increase in new cases and also casualties, it won’t be surprising if it is stretched till April 30 with some relaxation for movement of traffic and farm labour. The possibility of another dose of lockdown looks imminent after Odisha and Punjab governments announced its extension till April 30 and recommended that Centre should also do the same as saving the lives of people was to be given priority. “We have decided to extend the lockdown till April 30. We will recommend to the Government of India to extend the national lockdown… We will also request the Union Government not to start airline and railway services till April 30,” said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday. Punjab cabinet also extended the “curfew” till April 30. Capt. Amarinder Singh, the Punjab CM, was of the view that extension of lockdown till April 30 was a necessity to avoid crowding of mandis during the harvest season. With 27 cases of secondary transmission, he said that community spread appeared to have started in the state and continuing with the restrictions will help curb the pandemic. Rajasthan was also in favour of extending the closure. The state’s Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma has been quoted as saying that he was against the immediate lifting of the lockdown. Most other states like Maharashtra, where positive cases have risen to 1385, are likely to follow in the footsteps of Odisha and Punjab. So would Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she will take a decision after Saturday’s VC with the PM. In Kerala, a task force has recommended gradual and phased lifting of lockdown. With seven of its districts declared hotspots it will be a tough call for the government to see that relaxations are not taken advantage of by irresponsible crowds. It is the shape of the coronavirus curve, whether it goes up or flattens, in the next three days that will ultimately determine the government’s response. Railways and airlines are also under lockdown and there’s no indication of their services being resumed earlier than May. The World Health Organisation has stated that India has a “cluster of cases” and not community transmission. It is to avoid the latter stage that extending the lockdown will be imperative for the government.

The author is a fourth-year law student of OP Jindal Global University

The governments are starting to realise the importance of investing in the health sector and developing the same. Today, the world is at war together with a disease and no army or defense budget can help it, hence it is essential to give equal attention to the health sector of the countries

oday the world continues to battle the health and economic disasters caused by the novel coronavirus across the globe. The disease with its increasing and deadly spread has not left much of an option to the nation states but to go under complete or partial lockdown which in turn is creating an adverse impact on their social and economic sectors. With innumerous deaths taking place, hundreds of people being unemployed and lack of accessibility to basic goods to many, it is definitely a hard time for everyone around the world. Coronavirus has caused so much negative influence, however we must always strive to look for the good in everything. Standing true to the popular proverbial saying “every cloud has a silver lining”, there are certain outcomes that can be considered as a positive impact caused by the aftermath of the coronavirus. Even though largely all industries have come to a standstill because of the lockdowns, a few industries have actually blossomed over this tragic period. Online educational platforms have been on a rise since students and professors are required to stay at home. Most universities have started conducting online classes and assessments. Similarly, most offices are being run by people working from home. Companies such as Zoom and Microsoft providing such interface services are making profits. Other than the educational sector, online delivery portals are also in demand. People are voluntarily avoiding stepping out of the house to prevent the spread of the virus and thus resorting to e-commerce as a comfortable option. Online streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. are also moving upswing as people are watching online content to pass time at home.

Increased demand in hospitals for protective gears and medicinal drugs has allowed the medicine industry to grow further. The health sector has gained importance around the world. The governments are starting to realize the importance of investing in the health sector and developing the same. Today, the world is at war together with a disease and no army or defense budget can help it, hence it is essential to give equal attention to the health sector of the countries. The guidelines that have been issued across the world have a common emphasis on maintaining hygiene in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus. This has led to an increased hygiene awareness and practice. There has been a raise in general cleanliness too. Due to lack of movement on the streets, less mismanagement of waste is happening. Moreover, the governments have been spraying disinfectants in public spaces, including roads, in an effort to increase sanitization. Another evident positive impact that has been a consequence of the lockdown is the improved environment. For a long time now, there has been a continuous effort to control the climatic changes in the environment. The lockdown has considerably led to the reduction of our

The lockdown has considerably led to the reduction of our carbon footprints. The air and sound pollution caused by vehicles including cars, trains and airplanes, has seen an unimaginable drop

carbon footprints. The air and sound pollution caused by vehicles including cars, trains and airplanes, has seen an unimaginable drop. News of increased visibility and returning back of animals have made the headlines. It’s almost as if the nature is reviving itself in this break from the monotony. Due to the restricted movement of people and vehicles on the roads, not only has environment benefitted but the rate of road accidents has also dropped down. According to ‘Road accidents in India, 2018’ report by the road transport and high-

How to safeguard yourself from phishing scams

hile most of the world is trying to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems hackers are not on lockdown. Cyber criminals are trying to leverage the emergency by sending out “phishing” attacks that lure internet users to click on malicious links or files. This can allow the hackers to steal sensitive data or even take control of a user’s device and use it to direct further attacks. The last thing you want at a time like this is to become a victim of a cyber attack and maybe even lose your computer. But there some straightforward guidelines that should help you protect yourself. Many people are searching online for in

formation about Covid-19. But the pandemic has created what the World Health Organisation calls an “infodemic, in which people are bombarded with an overabundance of both accurate and inaccurate information that is circulating on the internet, making it hard to know what to trust. Hackers have started to capitalise on this situation by sending out emails that purport to offer health advice from reputable organisations such as governments and the World Health Organisation but that are really phishing attacks. It’s hard to know how many attacks are being carried out or how many people are being affected. But new attacks are being report-

The pandemic is also worsening the situation because more and more people are staying at home and using the internet to work and socialise

ed nearly every day, and some cyber security companies are reporting large increases in enquiries since many people started working from home. One of the first such attacks was reported in Mongolia and was aimed at public sector employees. It involved an email and word document about

the prevalence of new coronavirus infections, pretending to be from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The email and document look authentic and provide relevant information. But opening the file installs a malicious piece of code on the victim’s computer that runs every time they open their word process-

ing application. The malicious code allowed another computer, known as the command and control centre, to remotely access and control the victim’s device, uploading more instructions and malicious software. The hackers can then spy on the affected machine, using it to steal data or direct further attacks. The pandemic is also worsening the situation because more and more people are staying at home and using the internet to work and socialise. This means they may be using their personal computers more and working outside the normal security protections provided by their employers’ internal computer systems. FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM

way ministry, 1,51,417 people died on the Indian roads. The number of road accident deaths has been on a constant increase ever since, however these days there has been a significant fall in the same. Crime rate in general has also seen a descending trend. Another noticeable positive social impact is that people are getting to spend time with their families. In the contemporary fast-moving world, where everyone is constantly occupied with their busy lives, this moment has allowed us to take a break from the daily hustle bustle. It is an opportunity for all of us to emotionally reconnect and spend quality time with our loved ones. The whole experience of this pandemic has taught us that strength remains in solidarity. People are uniting in spirit not only across the nation but also across the globe to fight this together as one. People who have pledged to contribute to fight for this cause are an example to show that there is compassion in our hearts for one another. This pandemic has left us with a sense of renewed humanity which only makes us hopeful that the misery will end soon. Once this ends, we must make a continued effort to keep the positive impacts left by the pandemic intact and move towards a better and healthier tomorrow together.

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TWEET Shashi Tharoor @ShashiTharoor In addition to the medical helplines already started by @ProfCong in Maharashtra & Kerala, here is a national helpline number - free for anyone from anywhere to call from. 45 doctors are standing by to give advice in 4 languages (English, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam). #Covid19 Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal Wheels of Change: Railways has scaled up operations of Special Parcel Trains to boost nationwide transportation of essential commodities, ensuring uninterrupted supply for the people. India Post has also joined as a user of these parcel trains for benefit of citizens.

Spiritual SPEAK

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. —Buddha

Vol 1 Issue No. 304 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, D.B. Corp Limited, Shivdaspura, Tonk Road, Jaipur. Published at 304, 3rd Floor, City Mall, Bhagwan Das Road, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001, Rajasthan. Phone 0141-4920504. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

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Harsh Vardhan chairs review meeting with state health mins Union Health Min chaired a meeting via VC to review actions on Corona management New Delhi: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday chaired a meeting with state health ministers via video conferencing here from Nirman Bhawan to review actions on COVID-19 management. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, was also present in the meeting. Both the ministers took cognisance of arrangements made by states hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients and preparedness for challenges arising out of the virus spread. On Thursday, Harsh Vardhan had addressed the Global Online Conference on COVID-19 and said that India is thoroughly equipped and is putting its best foot forward. “We have planned everything possible and are in constant touch with the World Health Organisation (WHO).” He had added that In-

India is thoroughly equipped and is putting its best foot forward. We have planned everything possible and are in constant touch with WHO. —Dr Harsh Vardhan, Dr Harsh Vardhan and Ashwini Kumar Choubey along with other officials during the meeting.

Union Health Minister

ICMR validates TrueNat for screening tests New Delhi: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has validated TrueNat - a tuberculosis testing machine for COVID-19 screening tests. On Thursday, the ICMR had updated its testing strategy for COVID-19. The revised strategy states that asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of a confirmed case

of laboratory-confirmed cases, all symptomatic health care workers and all patients with severe acute respiratory illness (fever and cough and/or shortness of breath) will be done. It will also be done in hotspots/cluster (as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) and in large migration gatherings/ evacuees centres. —ANI

Movement of corona positive suspects from Nepal to India: Intel New Delhi: Suspected Coronavirus positive Indian Muslim nationals are being pushed from Nepal to India, the intelligence wing of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), a paramilitary force, has said, alerting the government and security agencies. SSB, under Ministry of Home Affairs, guards the 2450 km long Indo-Nepal and Indo- Bhutan border and is spread along the International border across Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The intelligence wing of the force alerted District Magistrate of Bihar’s West Champaran district and Superintendent of Police of Bettiah on April 3. The force stated there is an input regarding movement of suspected Corona positive Indian Muslim nationals from Nepal to

GUARDING THE BORDER

intelligence sleuths asked the local Tandheauthorities to alert the concerned agencies also the counterpart district authorities in

Nepal. SSB also said that they are maintaining tight vigil in order to avoid any infiltration into India during the lockdown. The force also stated that the borders have been sealed and they are keeping utmost vigil.

India. The SSB top officers have stated that the letter was issued to the local authorities. Agencies reviewed the missive addressed to District Magistrate of Bihar’s West Champaran district. It stated, “Input received from very reliable sources that one person named Jalim

Mukhiya, resident of Jagannathpur under Serwa police station in Parsa district in Nepal, is planning to spread Corona pandemic in India.” The letter pointed that the accused is involved in smuggling of arms and fake Indian currency notes from Nepal to India.

Amidst lockdown, ‘Nadda reviews measures taken for CRPF, ITBP start PPE, Airlines engage in helping people with BJP workers’ masks preparation units friendly banter

‘Don’t allow religious gatherings’

New Delhi: The major airlines in the country, including Indigo, Vistara, and GoAir, engaged in a witty exchange on Twitter on Friday over “staying parked” amid the lockdown imposed in view of the coronavirus. It all started after Indigo airlines kicked off a thread teasing Vistara airlines over its tagline extension saying, “Hey Vistara, not flying higher these days we heard?”. The airlines also used #StayingParkedStayingSafe. Vistara airlines responded in kind and tagged GoAir to continue the thread. “No. these days being on the ground is a wonderful thing. Flying would not be the ‘smart’ choice, what say GoAir?” it tweeted. The thread comes in the midst of a 21-day nation-wide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, due to which all international and

dia is prepared for the “worst” but he does not think the country will

Hey @airvistara not #flyinghigher these days we heard? #StayingParkedStayingSafe #LetsIndiGo domestic passenger flight operations are suspended. “Staying home is the safe feeling! We can hardly wait till everyone takes to the skies, coz at the moment it’s not like not everyone can fly right,” GoAir responded and tagged AirAsia airlines. “Absolutely, for now though, staying at home is the Red. Hot. Spicy thing to do! Isn’t that right SpiceJet?” AirAsia tweeted. Both AirAsia and SpiceJet have logos, in which red is the dominant color. —ANI

should be tested once between “day 5 and day 14” of coming in his/her contact. Testing of all sympget there due to COVID-19 menace. According to the min-

New Delhi: BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain on Friday said that its president JP Nadda interacted with party office bearers and reviewed various measures taken with regard to helping people in view of coronavirus outbreak in the country. Nadda on Thursday reviewed with BJP office-bearers the various

tomatic individuals, who have undertaken international travel in the last 14 day, all symptomatic contacts istry, Maharashtra is the worst-hit state after recording over 1,360

JP Nadda

campaigns run by the party to help the needy and spread awareness on COVID-19. “BJP president JP

positive cases. Tamil Nadu comes second with 834 cases. —ANI

Nadda discussed with party’s office-bearers in several states of North Zone, South Zone, West Zone and Central Zone regarding the measures taken to help people during COVID-19 outbreak. The district and mandal-level party office bearers were also present in the meeting held via audio conference and telephones,” Hussain said. —ANI

New Delhi: Two Central Armed Police Forces -- the CRPF and the ITBP-- Friday said they have started making PPEs (personal protective equipment) and face masks for COVID-19 frontline warriors of the country. They said they have deployed specialised machines and manpower at their bases in and around the national capital for the pur-

Agra: In a disturbing revelation, it has now been found that while returning from the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi last month, many of the members purchased a sweet, ‘petha’, from Agra and distributed it to friends and co-travellers during their journey. According to a police official in Agra, some ‘petha’ sellers in the city have told the police that some ‘Muslims’ made bulk purchases of

‘petha’ after the Holi festival, which is when the Jamaat meeting ended in Delhi. A senior police official who spoke on con-

dition of anonymity, said, “We have received reports that the Jamaatis distributed sweets. It is not very normal for Muslims to

distribute sweets to copassengers on buses and trains. We are talking to several bus conductors and daily passengers who have monthly passes to confirm this.” The official said that at least, two ‘petha’ shop owners had told the police that they sold five to ten kilograms of ‘petha’ to customers, apparently Muslims, in mid-March. “If the report of distribution of sweets is

Gambhir bats for extension of lockdown period Extension is not a bad idea considering that large number of people will come out after this and will be exposed to the virus that is still beyond control, he said

New Delhi: BJP MP from East Delhi Gautam Gambhir has batted for extension of the 21-day lockdown period to contain the spread of coronavirus, saying the country can not afford the risk of resurgence of the pandemic. Noting that chief minister’s of some states have said that lockdown needs to be extended and the prime minister has to take a decision on it, he said extension is not a bad

confirmed, it could be a major problem tracking down the co-passengers of the Jamaatis. They could be businessmen and lawyers who travel regularly between Delhi and Bareilly, Badaun, Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur. They could also include those who travel to visit families and relatives in Bareilly, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Hapur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad etc,” he said.

New Delhi: In view of the upcoming festivals, the Centre asked the states and Union territories on Friday to strictly adhere to the ongoing 21-day lockdown and not allow any social or religious gathering and procession. In a communication, the Union Home Ministry also said that appropriate vigil on social media should be maintained against circulation of any objectionable content. In view of the festivals in April, the home ministry has directed all states and UTs to ensure a strict compliance of the lockdown measures to fight COVID-19 and not allow any social, religious gathering or procession, an official statement said. While Shab-e-Barat was on Thursday, today is Good Friday. Baisakhi, Rongali Bihu, Vishu, Poila Boishakh, Puthandu, Maha Vishuba Sankranti etc. are also in April.

—Agencies

—PTI

Did Jamaatis distribute sweets to passengers?

COMBAT CORONA

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pose. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the country’s largest paramilitary force with about 3.25 lakh personnel, has also brought in a large automated machine in a Delhi-based camp that can churn out up to about 1 lakh threeplier masks a day which can be ramped up to 2 lakh units, if adequate raw material is available. —PTI

HYGIENE MATTERS MOST

ambhir said Delhi government should ensure G quality of food being distributed by it and also pay attention to hygiene of its shelters for people staying

there. He also said the govt should strictly enforce the lockdown, with special attention on containment zones in the city. Complete ban on movement of people has been enforced by Delhi govt in 22 places where coronavirus cases have been reported in the city.

idea considering that a large number of people will come out after the lockdown ends and will be exposed to the virus

that is still beyond control. A nationwide lockdown for 3 weeks was declared by PM Modi

for checking the spread of coronavirus. “We are in the middle of a fight. Lockdown was imposed despite

hardships to people and now lifting it in one go may nullify all the sacrifices of the people and hard work by various agencies to enforce it, if the virus spreads further,” Gambhir said. Its time to rise above politics to work together and stop the spread of the virus, said the cricketer-turned-politician who donated Rs one crore to Delhi government for procuring medical equipment to fight the pandemic.—PTI

—Agencies

J&K issues advisory for children, caregivers to deal with change Jammu: The J&K govt on Friday issued a detailed parenting advisory to enable children and caregivers to cope with the sudden disruption in their lives in the wake of lockdown. The advisory, put out by the Social Welfare department, stated that the sudden disruption in daily routine while limiting social interaction can adversely impact one’s mental health. The effect could be

equally felt by children and adolescents too. It is necessary to stay vigilant and tread cautiously while dealing with children, it stated. Also children should stay close to their family. If a child needs to be separated from their caregiver due to suspected illness, it must be ensured that alternative care is provided and another caregiver should regularly follow up on the child. —PTI

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‘Rahul helped in combating COVID-19’ Chhattisgarh CM Baghel credited Rahul’s alertness in playing a major role in combating coronavirus Raipur: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday credited Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s alertness in playing a major role in combating coronavirus in the Congress-ruled states and said his govt will soon start on the process of extensive testing as suggested by the former Cong president. “Rahul Gandhi had instructed me to get prepared in the first week of March on the possibility of the coronavirus and due to this, Chhattisgarh is ahead of other states in taking precautionary measures and numbers are low,” Baghel said in a video conference press briefing from Raipur. He further said his government will decide whether or not to further extend the lockdown after PM Modi’s meeting with Chief Ministers on April 11. “The situation in Chhattisgarh is under control. The decision to continue or relax the

Priyanka urges Yogi to increase COVID-19 testing Rahul Gandhi

RAHUL CONDOLES DEATH OF CONG LEADER DWIVEDI

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday condoled the death of senior party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Home Minister Ramkrishna Dwivedi. “Saddened to hear about the news of the death of Ramkrishna Dwivedi, former Uttar Pradesh Home Minister and aide of Indira ji. My condolences to his family and loved ones in this hour of grief,” the Gandhi scion said on Twitter (roughly translated from Hindi). lockdown will be decided with the Prime Minister on April 11 via video conference,” Bhagel said. The CM said that he was in New Delhi on March 12 and had met Rahul Gandhi before returning to Raipur on the same day.

After that, he said the state government had put in place a series of measures beginning March 13 by shutting down all educational institutes including anganwadis, schools and colleges, shopping malls, cinema halls etc.

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has written to Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath urging him to increase the capacity of testing and treatment of coronavirus in the state. Priyanka, in a letter on Thursday, said that the menace of coronavirus is spread across the country, including Uttar Pradesh, and stressed the need for strict actions and increasing medical facilities in combating the disease. “Increasing the number of screenings and testing is a very effective way to prevent the spread of

‘Help migrant labourers reach their homes’

the virus. South Korea, with a population of six crores, tested about 6 people per 1,000 people and has succeeded in preventing the spread,” said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, party’s General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh. She claimed that over 24 lakh people were screened for the infection in a span of nine days in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara.

New Delhi: Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has written to PM Narendra Modi, urging him to arrange for ferrying migrant labourers to their home. In his letter, dated on Thursday, Chowdhury stated, “I would like to bring into your knowledge and firmly believe that you are aware better than me about stranded migrant labourers from various parts of the country with inadequate food, lodging, clothing, healthcare as well as facing uncertainty.”

IN THE COURTYARD DHFL promoter and 22 others Plea in SC seeks mass testing to identify Corona infected people detained Mumbai: An FIR has been registered against Kapil Wadhawan of DHFL group and 22 others, including his family members and servants, at Mahabaleshwar Police Station for violating lockdown orders, Satara Police said. Members of Wadhawan family were placed under institutional quarantine by the local police in Mahabaleshwar after they visited the town. The 23 people had travelled to their farmhouse in Mahabaleshwar from Khandala amid the nationwide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) have contacted Maharashtra Police regarding the Wadhawan family and their ongoing cases in connection with Yes Bank matter, sources said. State home minister Anil Deshmukh earlier said that an inquiry will be conducted into how the family got

Kapil Wadhawan

Amitabh Gupta has been sent on compulsory leave with immediate effect till the pending of inquiry, which will be initiated against him —Anil Deshmukh, State home minister

permission to travel from Khandala to Mahabaleshwar. Maharashtra Special Principal Secretary in the Home Ministry Amitabh Gupta, who allegedly gave travel permission to the Wadhawan family from Khandala to Mahabaleshwar amid the COVID-19 lockdown, has been sent on compulsory leave with immediate effect until completion of probe in the matter.

New Delhi: A petition was filed in the SC on Friday seeking directions to the Central government to carry out mass house-to-house tests for identification of COVID-19 infected persons in hotspot cities and to contain the spread. The petition, filed by a group of four people including Shashwat Anand, Ankur Azad, Faiz Ahmad and Sagar, said that the apex court should direct the Centre to ensure that it undertakes such an exercise, which would help trace, identify, isolate and treat those infected by the COVID-19. The plea said that an “exponential spread” of the virus, to “every nook and corner”, could be contained if such testing with priority being given to the states and cities which are “coronavirus affected hotspots”. The petitioners also expressed their apprehensions over the manner in which India is attempting to fight the pandemic, especially with regard to the low rate of testing.

THE PLEA

he plea said that an “exponential spread” of the virus, to “every nook and corner”, could be contained if such testing with priority being given to the states and cities which are “coronavirus affected hotspots”

Plea in SC seeks direction to Centre to help migrant workers New Delhi: A plea seeking directions to the Centre to rescue and bring back Indian migrants stranded in the Gulf countries in wake of COVID-19 pandemic was filed in the Supreme Court on Friday. The petition filed by Pravasi Legal Cell has sought that appropriate arrangements be made to rescue these migrants who are living in vulnerable condition in labour ac-

PLIGHT OF WORKERS

he plea seeks to bring to light the Tconstituent plight of Indians working and living in the countries of Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) due to the outbreak of COVID 19 or coronavirus pandemic.

commodations. The plea has said that the directions be given by the apex court to ensure that the migrant workers who are experiencing symptoms

POWER Gallery WILL MRS JUSTICE R BHANUMATI GET SERVICE EXTENSION ?

Supreme Court Judge Mrs Justice R Bhanumati is retiring in July 2020. There are speculations that in the prevailing situation, new appointment could be delayed and she may be given an extension. One top source said this is not possible since there is no such precedent of extension to any SC Judge. Another source however said that once Justice N D Ojha had been given extension. One can now only speculate. UPGRADATION OF GATHWAL’S POST AS ADDITIONAL SECRETARY, UPSC EXTENDED

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Priyanka Gandhi

have access to timely testing and medical facilities as it would result in high risk of transmission owing to the cramped conditions.

The post of R K Gathawal has been upgraded to Additional Secretary level in Union Public Service Commission upto September 7, 2020. He is a CSS officer. MIDHANI TO GET NEW CMD IN S K JHA ON MAY 1

Sanjay Kumar Jha, Director, MIDHANI, whose appointment as Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD), Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI), has been approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC), will be taking over the charge on May 1, 2020 as tenure of present incumbent Dr D K Likhi is ending on April 30, 2020. AMITABH GUPTA SENT ON COMPULSORY LEAVE IN MAHARASHTRA

Amitabh Gupta, Principal Secretary (Special), has been sent on compulsory leave with immediate effect, till the pending of enquiry, which will be initiated against him in Maharashtra. DR AMBEDKAR RETURNS TO PARENT CADRE FROM TRAINING

Dr B R Ambedkar has been re-posted as Project Officer, ITDA, Parvathirpuram upon returning from training in Andhra Pradesh. He is a 2015 batch IAS officer WILL DEA SECRETARY BE GIVEN EXTENSION?

If well-placed sources are to be believed Atanu Chakraborty (IAS:1985:GJ), Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, is likely to be given an extension for a period of three months. Reportedly, the decision may be taken in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic which necessitated the Centre to announce a slue of measures that also includes economic relief package. EXTENSION VS SUPERANNUATION: THREE NAMES DOING ROUNDS FOR HEALTH SECRETARY

The PMO and Health Ministry are making every effort to contain COVID-19 pandemic. At a time when every moment is important to make or break the situation in the fight against the pandemic, it is important to see whether Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan (IAS:1983:AP) will be given extension in service beyond her superannuation i.e. 30.04.2020. In case the NaMo administration is considering a new Health Secretary, the appointment of OSD may be announced at least 15 days ahead of Mrs. Sudan’s retirement. In case she is to be continued the announcement of extension may be made in the last week of the month. According to Sources , names of three serving Union secretaries are under consideration, in case Mrs Sudan does not get an extension. Of these three, two are from 1987 batch whereas one is from 1986 batch.

‘250 Indians infected by Coronavirus in Singapore’ Singapore: About 250 Indians, with nearly half of them staying in close contact in the dormitories for foreign workers, have tested positive for the corona in Singapore on Friday. Indian High Commissioner Jawed

Ashraf told that almost all of the Indians who have the disease are mostly stable or improving. He said that 250 Indian nationals, who are suffering from the disease, include some permanent residents.

that the State Government has taken several steps to provide relief to farmers, including providing free equipment on rent for cutting and threshing works, postpone electricity bills.

Wednesday, Modi had made it clear that the lockdown cannot be lifted in one go on April 14.

FROM PG 1 Between economy... through video conference. During the conference Gehlot stressed, “protecting the lives of the people of the state is paramount for the state government. Keeping this in mind, our government will take appropriate steps regarding lockdown. Entrepreneurs and traders have further supported the government in tackling Corona and maintaining the supply chain of essential commodities in lockdown. The fight with Corona is still on. We hope to continue to get similar

support from everyone.” He further added that the government stands with entrepreneurs in this hour of crisis. “Industries related to essential commodities which were allowed to open in lockdown, will not require any kind of permission to conduct their work,” he said. The Chief Minister took all the suggestions for smooth supply of essential commodities, removing the bottlenecks and opening the lockdown. He said that the /pass related problems faced in the supply

of essential commodities will also be resolved soon. CM said that in the fight against Corona, Rajasthan Government has taken several decisions. “Out mantra has been that nobody should sleep hungry. In fulfilling this pledge, all the people including social workers, Bhamashahs, entrepreneurs and business people have supported the government with an open mind,” Gehlot said, further adding, “social distancing and complete health safety protocols should be ensured among the work-

ers in the industries where production is going on. Masks and sanitizers should be provided in the factories. Also, there should not be a crowd in the mandis. Cleanliness should be taken care of.” During the video conference, entrepreneurs and businessmen appreciated the steps taken by the state government to prevent corona infection in Rajasthan and to provide relief to the needy. They said that Bhilwara model is being discussed in the country and the world and many states have

adopted it which is a matter of pride for the entire state. Entrepreneurs and all organizations assured that whatever decision the government takes regarding the lockdown, they will all ensure its full compliance. Urban Development Minister Shanti Dhariwal said that as a result of the lockdown initiative we have been able to a great extent in stopping its community spread. During the discussion, Industries Minister Parasadilal Meena said that due to the smooth supply

chain during the lockdown, people did not face any kind of trouble for essential goods while Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh said that the phased removal of lockdown can be considered to improve the economy. Meanwhile, Food Minister Ramesh Meena said, ‘the department has distributed free wheat to the beneficiaries under NFSA in record time. Masks and sanitizers are allowed to be sold under the PDS category.” Agriculture Minister Lalchand Kataria said

PM to... the central government may extend the lockdown across the country beyond April 14 after several states have favoured the extension to contain the fast-spreading virus. Addressing floor leaders of various parties who have representation in Parliament, on

Brief me... At a meeting with all Congress state unit chiefs via video conferencing, Gandhi said the country is fighting the battle against the coronavirus and the party is ready to play its role in it. She asked state chiefs to brief her on the relief work carried out by the Congress workers in various parts and whether they were satisfied with government support and actions.

TALKING POINT JAIPUR | SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020

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GREAT TIME TO TRY

A CLEANER HOME

A FITTER YOU

efore the aerobics revolution, Eileen Fowler was a health guru on the BBC’s first keep-fit radio program broadcast in 1954 with her catchwords: “Down with a bounce; with a bounce, come up.” She moved on to television and then records for people to exercise at home. “I don’t set aside certain hours for my exercises – they are with me all the time,” she wrote in Home Management. “Domestic duties involve a great deal of movement and, by merging them with easy exercises, you can help your figure.” Fowler’s objective was to make fitness fun. Prior to industrialisation, the working classes got exercise on the job – paid or unpaid. Manual labour was the primary way people got work done before machines, and even crafts like weaving were labour-intensive. Before irons became lightweight in the early 20th century, they could have substituted for dumbbells. Hand-pumped vacuum cleaners would have made for a great arm pump challenge. Stuck at home, I now seem to spend more time in the kitchen than in my bed at night. Deprived of pasta from the supermarket, I am making my own and heartened by the possibility that home cooking might make a comeback. In the absence of an appliance, all this dough kneading for pasta and pizza and bread may be building my muscle strength as well as girth. It might be time to put away the food processor. Powered by home electricity, mass production and technology, home applianc-

es gradually reduced the labour – but not expectations – of unpaid work at home. As Wilhelmina Rawson assured her readers in The Antipodean Cookery Book and Kitchen Companion in 1907, a lady with ten specific appliances, including a mincer and eggbeater, “can do the whole of her housework with very little exertion or fatigue”. But gyms and sporting venues are now closed and fitness supplies are short on the shelves. Maybe it is time to flip the narrative again and get clean and fed and fit and decluttered at the same time. And since attempts have failed to tackle the housework gap, would knowing vacuuming, window washing and mowing might be as good as a circuit class at the gym get men exer-cleaning? Even today where women are the breadwinner with dependent children, they still spend five hours more per week then men on housework. After losing his job, a man is likely to do less housework, not more, and the time his partner spends on housework is likely to increase. “Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition,” wrote Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex. But the torture for some of us are the sets and reps that don’t result in a clean house. If you are looking at housework as a workout, you can cardio-vac or do squats while you are emptying the dishwasher. And YouTuber Lizzy Williamson promises we won’t look at housework the same way once we incorporate her heart-pumping, wholebody-toning exercises into our clean-up.

TIPS FOR HOUSE WORKOUTS PLAY MUSIC Eileen Fowler did not have the benefit of Bluetooth ear phones, but you do not have to subject the whole family to your soundtrack while you dust and distract. Spotify has an album of Housework Hits for all varieties of chores or Housework Songs by artists you might be more familiar with if you’re struggling to put together your own playlist.

DEMOCRATISE DOMESTICITY

COOK FROM SCRATCH

Domestic equality between men and women has not been achieved despite the idea that revolutionary transformations are taking place. While someone might need to delegate, there is no point imagining the drudgery and boredom of housework should not be shared equally as well as its physical benefits. Housework might not be sufficient to provide all the benefits associated with

If you are one of those people lucky enough to score flour and yeast you can join the stay-at-home bread boom. If you missed out on yeast, you can make it with beer, but you will not get the knead-ercise. Old cookbooks like the Country Women’s Association’s Coronation Cookery Book may be better than new ones if you want to make your mashed potato go further, or you need a substitute for eggs, or milk is scarce. These old books also often include cleaning tips and other useful advice, like how to tan sheepskins or make your own soap.

physical activity, and unless you live with very dirty people in a huge mansion you might not find enough windows to work your arms. I have had no success convincing my children either that housework might substitute for the sport they are missing. But, inspired by Eileen Fowler, I have dusted and polished and tightened my stomach muscles cleaning high ledges while waiting for the pizza dough to rise.

The washing, drying, ironing, airing, pushing baby in his pram – these can all take on a different aspect if done with figure consciousness … Stretch to the ceiling Relax to the floor Swing to the window Swing to the door Bend by the table Foot on the chair Head to your knees Stretch in the air. –Eileen Fowler, “Housework for the Figure” in Home Management (1954) Source: The Conversation

Content: Divya Hemnani, Design: Abhishek Gupta

We perceive our own self as a mirror to others, in reflection of togetherness, we make individual efforts for betterment.

2ND FRONT

—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India

POSTAL REG NO. JPC/010/2019-21

JAIPUR | SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020

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On RaGa’s suggestion, CM orders `50L cover for Corona warriors Take action against those misbehaving with frontline warriors: CM Naresh Sharma Jaipur: Making a huge decision for frontline Corona Warriors inspired by Rahul Gandhi’s message, the state government has decided to provide Rs 50 lakh exgratia to all employees if they die battling Corona spread. Central government covers only health employees with the cover, however, extending the ambit of cover, Raj govt has

covered all its employees including Patwaris, Gram Sevak, Constables, contractual staff and daily wage staff too, if they die of Corona virus while fighting the spread. Concerned about the health and safety of Corona warriors, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has asked officials to take strict action against those anti-social elements who pose threat to the warriors and hinder their work. Gehlot held a review meeting of the law and order in the state amid Corona crisis wherein he asked Chief Secretary DB Gupta, ACS Home Rajeeva Swarup and DGP Bhupendra Singh to ensure strict action.

Pilot appraises Sonia of party’s relief work during corona crisis

Rahul Gandhi with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Assuring the doctors, health workers and all those involved in the fight against the pandemic, Gehlot said, “Corona infection has posed a major challenge in front of the

world and our state is not untouched by it. The main warriors in the war are the doctors, health workers and police officials and it is imperative that they are support-

—FILE PHOTO

ed fully while their suggestions to stop the spread are followed to the hilt.” Gehlot further added that these warriors are fighting a selfless war to save each and

every citizen of Rajasthan. “With the same zeal the cleanliness employees in the state are also carrying out their duty and to provide these warriors our utmost support is our responsibility and the biggest example of nationalism,” the Chief Minister said. Meanwhile, Gehlot reiterated that it is due to untiring efforts of Corona warriors that spread of infection has been curtailed in state that is home to 7.5 crore people. “According to experts, lockdown is to be strengthened with sampling and testing which will help us to identify the infected and isolate them which is the only cure for this virus,” Gehlot said.

Don’t panic, says Raghu as patients surge in Raj Dr Sharma also took part in Union Health Minister’s VC

CM bars photography of food distribution First India News Jaipur: Terming it to be our moral responsibility to ensure that no person sleeps hungry amid the fight against Corona, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has asked officials to ensure that those in actual need of food should benefit from state government’s efforts to feed the poor and needy. “The ration and food distribution is done with the aim of serving the people and not out of politics and it should not be made a medium to influence people

by broadcasting pictures,” Gehlot said. Meanwhile, on CM’s orders, state government has barred any photography or videography of food distribution. Appealing to the people not to take some one else’s portion of food, Gehlot said, “those homeless and unsupported people have the first right to these food packets who are totally dependent on help by people and on the state government.” CM has instructed district collectors to motivate NGOs involved in this work.

AGAIN ENCOURAGED CORONA WARRIORS

Raje keeping Nadda updated on corona situation

First India News

Sachin Pilot during the VC with Sonia Gandhi on Friday.

First India News Jaipur: Deputy CM and PCC chief Sachin Pilot attended video conferencing on Friday held by AICC president Sonia Gandhi. He presented report of relief and efforts provided by the state unit during the corona crisis. Pilot informed Sonia Gandhi that the party has distributed food packets to 15 lakh poor families. Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s VC with all the state congress presidents lasted three hours in which she took feedback of relief works by them. AICC General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal was also

present in the meeting. Pilot told Sonia Gandhi that with the help of NGOs and donors, the district congress committees have been regularly distributing medical kits, dry ration kits and food packets to poor and needy people. Pilot told Sonia that party is engaged in relief work while keeping themselves and citizens safe. He informed that PCC has set up control rooms at state, district and block level to provide relief and coordinate with administration. While talking to media, he said that Sonia has appealed to play active role in providing necessary items to poor and needy.

Jaipur: Health minister Dr Raghu Sharma has asked people not to worry from rising number of corona patients. He said that when more tests are conducted, positive cases are bound to increase, which will help us in controlling the disease. Dr Sharma has said that our focus is on conducting as many tests as possible. He informed that during video conferencing with union health minister, we have asked central government to send 10 lakh rapid testing kits quickly to increase speed of tests. He said that if we get adequate RTPCR kit which are effective in laboratory testing we can increase our efforts. He said that daily 400 to 500 tests can be conducted on AIDS centres in Jaipur,

Vasundhara Raje with JP Nadda

First India News Dr Raghu Sharma with Vaibhav Galriya and Naresh Thakral during the VC with Dr Harsh Vardhan.

Dr RAGHU BRIEFS Dr HARSH VARDHAN Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan discussed the situation of coronavirus by conducting a video conference with medical ministers of all the states on Friday. On behalf of Rajasthan, Health Minister Dr Raghu Sharma took part in the VC and gave information about the situation in Rajasthan. Dr Sharma informed the Union Minister about the arrangements made by the state government to fight coronavirus and demanded the centre to provide required facilities to the state. Jodhpur and Udaipur. “We have requested central government to give testing kit to NACO and permission for tests,” he said. The health minister

said that there is geographical dissimilarity in Bhilwara and Ramganj, therefore, the government has been working on a special model for Ram-

ganj. The entire area has been divided in 30 clusters to extensively collect samples to understand gravity of the problem. He said that we will be able to control contagion by more testing. Dr Sharma said that corona cases have been spotted in people between 18 to 40 years. People of this age have more strong immunity and possibility of becoming negative is high. He said that only 13.5% people between 60 to 80 years have been positive and the situation is under control.

Jaipur: Former Rajasthan CM and National Vice-President of BJP Vasundhara Raje has been relentlessly taking feedback from the party workers. She provides the daily feedback to party President JP Nadda through either VC or audio bridge. The BJP has been holding daily meetings via the VC or audio bridge during which all senior leaders provide their suggestions and feedback from grass-root workers based on which further action is taken by party. Meanwhile on Friday, Raje once again encouraged the corona warri-

—FILE PHOTO

ors and said that the lockdown is enforced across the country in view of the increasing risk of corona infection and everyone is in the safety of their homes “but our warriors, including doctors, police, cleaning staff and Bhamashahs, travel from streets to villages to play an important role in the country’s fight against COVID-19.” “The cleaning workers are spraying disinfectants after cleaning in villages and cities. At the same time, they are making people aware of hygiene by suggesting to stay home, wash hands and ensure social distancing,” she said.

CORONA WARRIORS

Gehlot’s shadow and a silent performer: Kuldeep Ranka Rajendra Chhabra Jaipur: There is a whole lot of battery of bureaucrats that is assisting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the coveted fight against COVID-19 and Kuldeep Ranka holds a distinctive and special place being the Principal Secretary to the CM. Ranka’s designation itself makes it clear that he is the most close, trusted and dependable bureaucrat for the Chief Minister so much so that he is just like the shadow of CM Gehlot. When Gehlot became chief minister for the third time in

December 2018, he didn’t waste much time in appointing the 1994 batch IAS as his Principal Secretary. Kuldeep Ranka’s performance during last 16 months at CMO has been a good example of efficiency, diligence, reliability and trustworthiness. Ranka is the ‘behind the scene’ silent performer during ongoing corona crisis. He is playing a vital role in every meeting, discussions, VC and so on. All other top bureaucrats have been assigned specified roles in a well defined field but Ranka has to

monitor all the fields and roles simultaneously. His Key Responsibility Area (KRA) is as wide as the whole secretariat itself. He is supposed to update the Chief Minister on all important fronts round the clock and his opinion is given a lot of weight on all serious and crucial matters. Kuldeep Ranka is quite experienced in disaster management. During 2001-2005 when western Rajasthan faced severe drought, Ranka as Collector of Jaisalmer and Pali, had done a great job in control-

Kuldeep Ranka

ling the situation. Ranka as Jaipur Collector also displayed excellent crisis management when the IOC depot conflagration happened. The IOC in-

—FILE PHOTO

cident was an unprecedented tragedy for city, which had just started developing in to a major city. Kuldeep Ranka passed this crisis with flying colours as well

and it is this experience of crisis management that is coming handy to Ranka, while dealing with the war against corona. Another very important task exclusively assigned to Ranka is to take along all the MLAs of Congress and opposition parties. It is Kuldeep Ranka who briefs CM regarding various demands and requirements in various constituencies of the state. Kuldeep Ranka has to virtually work 24x7. The whole day he is either at the CMR or with the Chief Minister, virtually having no time

for the family. Although the disaster management of the state in corona times itself is a big task but Ranka, at present, is specially involved in Gehlot’s ‘Ramganj mission’. A soft spoken Ranka has an excellent wave length and functional relationship with another Gehlot loyalist DB Gupta , who, in the capacity of the Chief Secretary of the state, also enjoys the trust and confidence of Gehlot. Infact, in Gehlot’s core group, apart from DB and Ranka, the third player to

watch out is ACS Finance Niranjan Arya! It appears that Gupta and Ranka have mutually worked out the areas of operation where each of them enjoys a comparatively ‘bigger’ free hand, under an overall supervisory control of the Chief Minister. Though, in CMO’s hierarchy, all other important players including Arti Dogra, Amit Dhaka and Rajan Vishal report to Principal Secretary Ranka, but a team leader Kuldeep always thinks of himself as ‘first among equals’.

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JAIPUR, SATURDAY APRIL 11, 2020

Counting Calories! A

lmost a month after revealing that she had gained 20 kilograms for the shoot of the biographical drama ‘Thalaivi’, actor Kangana Ranaut has lost five Kilograms of the extra weight. The details about her weight loss were revealed by her team in an Instagram post in which she is seen working out along with her fitness trainer. “Guys, taking cues from #Kangana to workout, stay motivated and don’t let the lethargy get to you. She has lost 5 ki-

Maanvi Gagroo

When asked to

compromise

los, long way to go!” read the caption of the workout video. Earlier last month, Kangana’s sister and manager Rangoli Chandel said that the actor had put on 20 kilos for the biographical drama based on the life of actor-turned-politician and former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa. The 33-year-old actor will be essaying the role of Jayalalithaa in the flick. The ‘Tanu weds Manu’ actor is currently in her hometown Manali and is practicing selfisolation. —ANI

aanvi Gagroo has revealed a sordid casting couch experience that she once had to suffer, involving a web series maker. The actress said that the incident took place about a year ago, when she got a call from the producer in question, with an offer for a role in an upcoming web series. “A year ago, I got a call from a random unknown number. They were like, ‘we’re doing a web series and we wanted to cast you’. They told me the budget and I said, ‘no, this is too less and why are we talking about the budget? Tell me the script. Only if I’m interested and you are interested in roping me, we can discuss money, dates and all’. So he’s like ‘we’re asking people if they are okay with the budget.’ When I said ‘no, it’s less’, he tripled the budget just in his next sentence. He said, ‘I can give you this much also, but you’ll have to make a compromise’,” Maanvi revealed in an interview. The actress then said she would call the police and added: “This words ‘compro’, ‘compromise’ -- I was hearing it after seven or eight years. Suddenly, I don’t know what triggered me, I started abusing him. I told him ‘How dare you? I’m going to file a complaint with the police’. I was really mad because in this pro-imposed #MeToo era, I was baffled how things like this still happen.” —IANS

Bhumi Pednekar

Imbibing eco-

gardening skills

Kangana Ranaut

NO MONEY IN BOLLYWOOD

Jackie goes live

with survivor

SINGING

he has belted out some of the biggest foot-tapping hits including ‘Garmi’, ‘Aankh marey’, ‘O saki’, ‘Dilbar’ and ‘Kala chashma’ among many others, and enjoys as much popularity as any top singer in contemporary Bollywood. Yet, Neha Kakkar tells you, that singers hardly ever get paid in the film industry. “We don’t get paid for singing in Bollywood at all. What happens is they feel that if we give a superhit song, the singer will earn through shows,” said Neha. The 31-year-old added: “I get a good amount from live concerts and everything, but Bollywood doesn’t have this scene. To make us sing a song, they don’t pay.” On the work front, Neha will feature in a song with rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh titled ‘Moscow suka’. The number is a mix of Punjabi and Russian language. The Russian vocals are given by Ekaterina Sizova.

humi Pednekar is indulging in some environmentfriendly quarantine activities while self-isolating with her mom Sumitra Pednekar. The actor decided to learn the science of hydroponics farming (soilless gardening) from her mom in an effort to build a garden to table concept of a sustainable lifestyle. Talking about the idea of practicing hydroponics farming, the ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ star disclosed, “My mom and I always wanted to have a hydroponics garden of our own where we grow our own vegetables and can have a fully sustainable lifestyle. We wanted to have a garden to table lifestyle at home and we are both happy with the progress.” The ‘Bala’ star talked about environment conservation and said, “This quarantine has made me get into learning the science of hydroponics and understand the essence of what conservation of environment can truly mean. I have been working closely with my mom during this time. I’m proud that our garden can now produce food for two days!” —ANI

Neha Kakkar

On Thursday, Neha took to her Instagram stories, where she uploaded a string of pictures of herself along with her brother Tony Kakkar, whom she wished a happy birthday. Tony and Neha have together collaborated for numbers like ‘Car main music’, ‘Dheeme dheeme’ and ‘Coca Cola’. —IANS

acqueline Fernandez conducted an Instagram live chat with Surat’s first Covid-19 patient, 21-year-old Rita Bachkaniwala. Rita spent 14 days in the hospital and was discharged when her tests came negative twice. In the chat, Rita, a pastry chef, visited London a few days back and came out clear at the thermal test points at the airport when she landed in Mumbai on 14 March. She then appeared with symptoms on 16 March. As she witnessed cough and rise in temperature, she called the helpline where she was advised to take the test. While suggesting what one should do if they have the symptoms, Rita advised for Self isolation. Jacqueline was curious to know whether the treatment or experiencing the disease was a painful affair for her. While sharing her experience, Rita told her that she reported promptly when her infection was detected and it was still only in the throat. She added, “I did experience oxygen shortage which caused a lot of fatigue.” —Agency

Jacqueline Fernandez

COVID-19 JAIPUR | SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020

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Unwinding the Indian Transport

Problem of COVID-19*

Dr Nachiket Gosavi & Dr Pragya Bhawsar

FA CE OF TH ED AY

ccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), post World War II, COVID-19 pandemic may be the only time that the world has come to a standstill. According to economists, even the financial meltdown of 2008 did not have such a far-reaching impact on the world economy. To break the spread of the virus, governments all over the world have had to mull over unusual policies. In continuation of this, on the 22nd and the 25th of April, the Indian Government took a stern measure. As a policy prescription, mass movement of people was stopped by halting international operations of airlines, stopping trains, grounding aircraft and sealing state and city boundaries. It needs to be reckoned that for bizarre events like these, extraordinary measures are necessitated. Due to the lockdown, individuals could not carry-out their daily economic activities. This meant that manufacturing came to a grinding halt, whereas the service industry was limping. By the end of the 21-day lockdown, experts speculate that the economy would be facing prospects of a recession. The government machinery would be facing a daunting task of kick-starting the economy minus the infection. Two weeks into the lockdown, planners and policymakers need to contemplate on the means and methods of kick-starting economic activities, reconstructing the supply chain and ensuring the seamless movement of the labour force.

Looking at data from different countries and the worst affected area of China, it needs to be reckoned that Wuhan is still to undo the lockdown, whereas the Hubei district required three months to restart the economy. Whereas images from Europe, the United States and the rest of the world provide a very bleak picture. Although, medical practitioners are optimistic about the intensity of the infection, care regarding stopping community transmission needs to be taken. Looking at the life cycle of COVID-19, the symptoms of the infection appear between seven to fourteen days. This means that no new COVID-19 case should be reported after the first week of the lockdown. Even after the completion of the first week, new cases are getting reported. This meant that the first best option, i.e., business, as usual, appears to be an illusion. This necessitates that a calibrated approach which is scalable and can quickly respond to emergencies is needed. One of the better-known strat-

egies for stopping the exponential spread of this virus is to avoid crowding and more so crowding in close spaces. As seen from Europe and USA, modes like trains and aircraft are seen to behave as catalysts in the spread of the infection across geographies. Thus, reinitiating railway and aircraft services in the short term does not appear to be a viable option. This means that local solutions to this global problem need to be developed. Look-

YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

ing at the present administrative structure of India, district-level policies need to be envisaged for unwinding the transport dilemma. Through this microlevel policy, it will be easy to identify COVID-19 hotspots and isolate them. Subsequently, all those districts that have not reported a single case of the infection during the last two weeks of lockdown period can be opened up or the lockdown instructions can be re-

state-specific railway services in the form of EMUs, DMUs and MEMUs can be restarted. For stopping the transmission of COVID-19 from infected districts/states to infection-free areas, long-distance passenger trains that ply through COVID-19 affected states/districts need to be curtailed. Although, this may have an impact on seasonal migration of labour force, tourists, etc., at an aggregate level this will ensure that COVID-19 or similar infections will not get translated into a pandemic. The last step of the unwinding of the passenger transportation problem is to start international flights, but with caution, i.e., all inbound passengers need to be screened at the first port of entry. In this solution, the train or air freight does not get affected. Rather the Government must encourage the use of these modes as this will not only help in faster delivery but ensure that community-level spread is minimized. *The views expressed are personal.

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

On professional front, don’t take too many responsibilities at once just to impress your boss rather concentrate on quality work. Someone elderly will bestow lots of blessings upon you. On personal front, you are about to buy a land to start some new business.

You have the whole right to choose your own career and field and let no one force you otherwise. Some angel investor will come in your life to take the burden off your shoulders and when that will happen, everything will be just fine. Don’t disappoint those who believe in you.

You must practice concentration enhancing exercises. You will be able to get yourself and other out of any problem today as your cards show that you are the saviour of the day. On professional front, You will work very hard to meet the deadlines.

You are very conscious about where you spend your money. Think twice before investing your time in some business. You will manage to excel in the task assigned to you by your professors. On personal front, you will help someone today from falling in some trap.

MAR 21 - APR 20

APR 21 - MAY 20

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

LEO

VIRGO

LIBRA

SCORPIO

You are ready for the competition and you will excel. You are very good at convincing people and this will prove to be your asset in long run. You are very passionate about your career and you will do whatever it takes to make a mark for yourself and then sky is the limit for you.

You are a good influencer so use it for the right cause. You will do whatever it take to help someone in need even if that person is a total stranger. Your life is easy in terms of facilities and you always wish that those around you shall also prosper.

You don’t believe in wasting money and you save wherever and whenever possible for you. Your effects in the direction of your endeavours will pay for you and you will get the success that you desire very soon. Right opportunity will strike at the right time.

Your working schedule will keep you on your toes but you need to take care of your health too. On the personal front, you will spend a lot of time with your parents today trying to make them understand your point of view towards some situation that happens to be really important.

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

AUG 24 - SEP 23

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You will spend some quality time with your family . You are very passionate about your hobby and you may find it hard to understand whether you should pursue it or not as a full time career. On the personal front, you may buy a joint property with someone close.

Your love life is on natural pace. You are trying very hard to balance your personal and work life and so far you are doing a good job. You can expect some gains from parents. You may socialise more often in future to develop professional contact for the future sake.

You are good at sports and you get lots of encouragement from those who loves you. Take one step at a time while claiming the success ladder and don’t get impatient. On personal front, your parents will be always there for you to guide you in life.

On the professional front, you will earn a good commission today in some deal. On professional front, you will be ultra efficient at work today and you will definitely get the promotion. Keep having a balance diet so that you keep getting strength to exert.

NOV 23 - DEC 22

PRAJAKTA KOLI, Content Curator

voked. As seen from the census data, a bulk of the population travels around six kilometres to access jobs. This means that jobs tend to be situated within the district or in close vicinity of a city. By withdrawing the restrictions, the local economy starts to function again, whereas districts which report cases of infections remain under lockdown. This differential treatment helps in providing incentives to the population at large to follow the rules and regulations and helps in reducing the infection burden. Additionally, as air services provide point-to-point transport, airline services between the COVID-19 free districts can be initiated. Likewise, states that become infection-free can revoke the local restrictions but continue with state boundaries sealed. Such restrictions will help the local agglomerations to flourish and curtail the spread of infection from adjoining state districts that may not be COVID-19 free. With the commencement of the state-specific bus services,

DEC 23 - JAN 20

JAN 21 - FEB 19

FEB20 - MARCH 20

ETC JAIPUR | SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020

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Lisa’s ‘Space Force’ ‘F

Ready FOR

riends’ star Lisa Kudrow will be joining actor Steve Carell in the Netflix comedy ‘Space Force’. The comedy is cocreated by ‘The Office’ fame Greg Daniels. Netflix also revealed that ‘ S p a c e Fo rc e ’ ,

battle

t a time when several global personalities are making donations to fight the battle against the novel coronavirus, Hollywood actress Jennifer Stone has decided to fight the pandemic as a registered nurse. The former ‘Wizards Of Waverly Place’ actress announced her plan to fight the global virus as a registered nurse. She uploaded a photograph on Instagram of her three different ID badges, she captioned it: “A very good friend of mine (@maiarawalsh ) pointed out to me that today is #worldhealthday. It is also the day I went from a volunteer, then a student nurse, and now an RN resident.” In the same post, she further talked about her immediate goal for her new career. “I just hope to live up to all of the amazing healthcare providers on the front lines now as I get ready to join them,” she said. Stone completed her nursing school in December 2019. —IANS

one of the most anticipated scripted shows of 2020, will premiere on May 29. The series is described as a workplace comedy revolving around the people tasked with creating a sixth branch of the armed services Space Force. Several sources note that the idea for the project was sparked by Donald Trump’s June order to establish a space force as the sixth military branch. Kudrow will recur in the series as Maggie Naird, the wife of Carell’s Mark R. Naird. She is a Washington Air Force wife who has sublimated parts of herself to her

husband’s career for two decades. The show’s formal description reads: “A decorated pilot with dreams of running the Air Force, four-star Gen. Mark. R. Naird is thrown for a loop when he finds himself tapped to lead the newly formed sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces: Space Force. Skeptical but dedicated, Mark uproots his family and moves to a remote base in Colorado where he and a colorful team of scientists and Spacemen are tasked by the White House with getting American boots on the moon (again) in a hurry and achieving total space dominance.” Sources claim that Carell’s salary for ‘Space Force’, including co-creator and executive producer fees, sets a new overall record for talent, likely topping the $1-million-perepisode paydays that the cast members of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ previously netted. Carell’s ‘The Office’, which airs in India on Star World, ranks as one of Netflix’s most-watched acquired series. —IANS

Jennifer Stone

Lisa Kudrow

KEEPING

entertainment

ACT OF

ALIVE!

kindness

ctress Bella Thorne has waived her tenants rent to ease their stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Wanting to do something to help, she furloughed the rent,” a source told the New York Post newspaper. The source said Thorne felt that “this whole coronavirus is just so unfair in so many tragic ways that there is no way that [she was] going to add to their mental and economic stress.” Thorne recently shared that she and her beau Benjamin Mascolo have been talking about the pandemic all day every day, and she’s particularly concerned about her mom. “I am worried about my mom, she has Crohn’s disease... Part of me is like, ‘Mom, stay away...’ I am definitely worried for the state we are in and how long it will last. My boyfriend lives in Italy, so we talk about it all day,” she said. Thorne urged her fans to study themselves and reflect on how they can be better and happier during this time of social distancing. —IANS

Bella Thorne

Elizabeth Hurley

ctress Elizabeth Hurley is filming a murder mystery with her 18-yearold son Damian while in lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic. She’s been self-isolating in her Herefordshire home with her son and other family members. And Hurley is keeping herself entertained. The actress, 54, took to Instagram and shared a photo of her donning an animal print headscarf with a bejewelled gold detail with pearls. She also wore a pair of hoop earrings and a faux fur stole along with a red sleeveless dress. Looking at the camera in a sultry way, Hurley completed her look for the murder mystery event with a red lipstick. Alongside the photo, she wrote: “Filming a murder mystery at home #amusingourselves #lockdown #stayhome #staysafe.” It comes days after the actress shared a lingerie photo as she urged fans to keep themselves safe on what was her 11th day in lockdown. She told fans she was holed up in her Herefordshire home with eight others, including her elderly mother and aunt. In her post, Hurley admitted that after days of going make-up free in her home she decided to get dressed up in her best lingerie for her latest post. The star explained that she’d been self-isolating with her son, her mother Angela, 79, and her elderly aunt, as well as a close friend who was considered high risk. She wrote: “Day 11 of my family’s lockdown in Herefordshire and I finally washed my hair, put on some make up and found time to post. “In these scary times I feel incredibly lucky to live in the countryside and have lots of outside space. As well as my son, I have seven other people living with me including my 79 year old mother and her sister- also in her late 70’s- and one of my best friends who is in the highest risk group with severe respiratory problems. “Keeping everyone as safe as possible (and fed) is a full time job. We all are full of the highest admiration for our wonderful NHS staff and are doing everything we can to not add to their burden. Thank God it’s Sat night and we can r-e-l-a-x and take a break from being glued to the news #stayhome #staysafe #nhsheroes.” —IANS

CITY BUZZ JAIPUR | SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020

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Cometh the Hour,

Cometh the Man Dheeraj Gurjar with Rajendra Bhatt

ICC Secretary Dheeraj Gurjar has donated Rs 1 Lakh to the Bhilwara Collector Rajendra Bhatt. The amount would be used for the arrangement of food, masks and sanitizers for the needy in the Jahazpur-Kotri area. Gurjar said that people of

CITY FIRST AHMEDABAD

RAINU SINGH

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

his is an idiom that describes the phenomenon that, sometimes, when a hero is needed, one appears. India’s declining economy and divisive politics were already dragging India down. As if that was not enough, the country got struck by a pandemic!

THAT DARK HOUR HAD COME! WILL THAT MAN COME TOO?

There was nobody to be seen, not even on the horizon. Then, like a phoenix, a simply dressed, self-effacing man came. The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot sensed the oncoming danger and decided to step forward as a general. His decades’ of EXPERIENCE and a SIXTH-SENSE developed as a consequence of that invaluable experience, COMBINED to initiate an action that annihilated this enemy in the battle of Bhilwara.The first among many to follow.

That action was applied with lightning speed and ruthless efficiency. As the country is beginning to wake up to this existential threat, the battleground of that first onslaught is safe as a house. The huge populace of that remote district has been lab-tested thrice and there is no trace of this microscopic enemy there.

WAS THAT A MIRACLE? NO, OF COURSE NOT!

It was the result of quick action that burnt all red-tape in its path and struck at the epicentre of that scourge. The Chief Minister had flipped the script of administration. In a matter of 2-3 weeks, the ‘Bhilwara Model’ has become a household name across the anxious world. India’s central government has lauded and accepted it as a model for the rest of the country, inspite of political compulsions trying to put a gloved hand across these covered mouths. Such action should not stay limited to being a model for snuffing out epidemics. It should be the touchstone for all administrative actions. Be it building hospitals, infrastructure, roads, ports, airports, higher learning centres, etc, OR firing up the animal spirit of

entrepreneurs to create products and jobs on a large scale, OR in taking the agriculture sector above subsistence farming. Indian states will have to compete, not for federal handouts, but for development. CM Ashok Gehlot has written a new script and all actors will have to follow that to make India prosperous for all its citizens . Having said that, the biggest lesson on the state level was the unity forged by CM Ashok Gehlot among all politicians within Congress and opposition to fight this grave problem. At the National level, he showed great discipline in cooperating fully with the Central government in this Corona War. At the international level, unfortunately, that man has not yet arrived, and the big powers are endangering the world by indulging in blame games as thousands suffocate to death every hour. Meanwhile, as the world showers praise on the ‘Bhilwara Model’, its architect is not sitting and soaking in the applause. He is in the midst of another battle somewhere in the biggest state of India. That man has come, and taken action! The hour shall soon pass!

he novel coronavirus pandemic which originated in China has now spread across the globe and led to a major health crisis affecting the lives of millions of people. Being the second-most densely populated country in the world, India stands at the door of a potentially extensive outbreak. In order to combat the high-risk pandemic, the country was put under a 21-day lockdown which has severely affected the lives of vulnerable communities such as migrant workers, labourers, the homeless and underprivileged, daily wagers. In their struggle for survival, these communities have had to face the worst of all circumstances due to loss of income. Coming to their aid was the Akshaya Patra Foundation which started relief work in the state and many other parts of the country. From providing grocery kits and free meals to homeless shelters, daily wage earners and other

DIL SE... the Jahazpur-Kotri area are my family. So it is my responsibility that no one should sleep hungry during the lockdown. Gurjar added that “Although I

do not have an MLA fund, I am with all these people in this difficult time. That is why I have personally given Rs 1 Lakh and also food packets for the needy.” The leader also assured that no would face problems during the lockdown. —City First

Feeding the Hungry!

underprivileged people, the organization has actively worked with local district administration for relief efforts. Jaganmohan Krishna Dasa, president, Hare Krishna Movement and trustee of Akshaya Patra Foundation said, “We

solemnly stand committed to working with the Central and State/UT Governments and render all possible services to the people of our nation in these difficult times. Hare Krishna Movement, Ahmedabad and Akshaya Patra have

always strived to assist the government’s efforts to bring relief to people during crises. Our efforts are driven by the earnest hope that the situation will improve soon and normalcy returns.” cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com

WHAT’S HAPPENING!

RTU Kota has come up with a virtual classroom to minimize the effects of lockdown due to COVID-19. Students of the university and its affiliated colleagues are engaged in teaching and learning through the online platform established by RTU. More than 600 lectures comprising various topics have been uploaded so far on the dedicated YouTube channel of RTU by the faculty for the students.

The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Raj Vikash Verma as Part-time Chairman of the AU Bank for a period of one year. Verma was inducted as an Independent Director with the AU Bank in January 2018. RBI has approved the reappointment of Sanjay Agarwal as Managing Director and CEO Uttam Tibrewal as Whole Time Director of the Bank for a period of 3 (three) years. Sanjay Agarwal has been associated with this institution since its inception in 1996, wherein Tibrewal has been associated with AU Bank since 2003 and played a key part in its journey of becoming the largest Small Finance Bank from NBFC.

Devaram Saini, OSD to Rajasthan CM, was handed over a cheque of Rs 2,51,000 as a contribution in CM’s Relief Fund by the members of Rajasthan Yadav Mahasabha, under the supervision Mahendra Kumar Yadav. In the amount collected, State President Mahendra Kumar Yadav, VP Ranjit Singh Yadav, State Secretary Gaurav Yadav and State Secretary Om Prakash Yadav donated Rs. 50,000 each, wherein remaining amounts of Rs. 31000 and Rs. 20,000 were contributed by State VP Sanjay Yadav and District President Suresh Yadav, respectively.

To combat against the global epidemic, Armaan Foundation and World Vision India came forward to donate masks and hand gloves to the government officials along with the regular distribution of food packets to the needy people in the city. Further, a campaign was also started by these institutions to distribute free masks and hand gloves to the Women and Child Development Department on Friday.

Amidst the global pandemic, Skyline services have made their Helicopter available for any medical and essential need in Udaipur city. The Helicopter is capable of evacuating up to three sitting patients and is being sanitized properly to avoid the transmission of the disease.

To enhance the immunity of Police personnel, Sunrise AgriLand Development and Research donated 12 thousand organic immunity juice packets worth Rs 30 Lakhs on Friday at Police Commissionerate. Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Kumar Gupta, DIG Ajay Pal Lamba, DCP (South) Yogesh among many other officials were present at the occasion.

Dr. Arvind Agarwal, President ARYA Group of Colleges and Vice-President Dr. Puja Agarwal thanked doctors, nursing staff, medical teams, media personnel, policemen, Rajasthan government, sanitation workers, vendors, Social workers, NGOs and all the people who are engaged in the battle against COVID-19. College staff and the students are also circulating the messages among people to stay home and maintain social distance by making paintings, sketches and videos.