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US indicts President
Nicolas Maduro and
other top officials
of Venezuela on
‘narco-terrorism’
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Cash transfers, free foodgrains for On Day 2, supply chain
poor in `1.7L cr corona package
Govt Looks To 60% POPN TO GET 5KG WHEAT OR RICE
Ease Impact Of FARMERS
➤ Each farmer to get 2,000 in April of up to 100 workers for 3 months
Lockdown ➤ To benefit nearly 9cr farmers and ➤ Amount to be transferred to the PF accounts
cost about 17,000 cr
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: The government
on Thursday announced a Rs
1.7 lakh crore package focused
on emergency cash transfers
into bank accounts of the poor,
along with providing free food-
grains, pulses and cooking gas
for three months in a bid to
cushion them from the impact
of the coronavirus lockdown
and economic disruption
caused by the disease.
Announcing the relief
measures, finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman, howev-
er, did not touch on loan con-
cessions or support for the cor-
porate sector and middle class,
saying other concerns would
FULL COVERAGE
P 2, 3, 4, 5-8, 9, 11 & 12
be “considered separately”. It
is expected that more mea-
sures aimed at helping busi-
ness could be on the anvil. Two
days ago, an extension in com-
pliance deadlines relating to
GST and income tax filings
had been announced.
The elements of Thurs-
day's announcement, such as
free grains, is a departure
from the government’s usual
stand against handouts but is
seen as a response to an un-
precedented crisis caused by
the Covid-19 spread on the In-
dian and global economy and
the displacement caused by
the ongoing 21-day national
lock down.
VIRUS WATCH
CMs bridge
the gap on
migrants
Chief ministers have
reached out to each other
on social media seeking
help for one state’s
migrants stranded in
another. Naveen Patnaik
has promised to bear the
cost of help that other
states offer to Odisha
people stuck in states,
while Hemant Soren has
sought Arvind Kejriwal’s
help for Jharkhand mi-
grants.
Permit for med stu-
dents to manage +ve
cases: In urgent mea-
sures to ramp up medical
capacity to tackle any
sharp rise in Covid-19
cases, the government is
considering facilitating
fifth-year MBBS students
and retired but practising
doctors to help in manag-
ing patients, if necessary.
WEATHER
Max
34.0°
...................................
Min
25.0°
Ahmedabad Forecast: Mainly clear
sky. Maximum temp will be around 35°C
Times Classifieds P 6
Dahod policeman puts duty before self
Rejoins Duty
Hours After Elder
Brother’s Death
Sachin.Sharma
@timesgroup.com
Vadodara: Even before the
ashes of his brother’s pyre
turned cold, police sub-in-
spector P K Jadav was back at
his post, hiding emotions un-
der the starched uniform to
answer the call of duty.
During lockdown in the
wake of the Covid-19 outbre-
ak, tragedy
struck
dav, posted
Ja- LOCKDOWN
at the Garba-
da police sta- HEROES
tion in Da-
hod district, when the news of
the demise of his elder brot-
her in Ahmedabad reached
him.
Jadav, who was extensive-
ly involved in duties pertai-
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Hollywood star-humanitarian
Angelina Jolie and entrepreneur
Kylie Jenner donate $1 million
each to aid relief efforts
Q1. Who is India ' s finance minister?
blockages ease a bit
earning less than 15,000 a month in businesses
and prevent the threat of job loss
FOOD
➤ 80cr individuals, about 60% of population, to
get 5 kg wheat or rice for 3 months
➤ This is in addition to the 5 kg they
already get
➤ 1 kg pulses per family for 3 months
CASH TRANSFERS
➤ 20.4cr women Jan Dhan account
holders to get 500 p.m. for 3 months
GAS CYLINDERS
➤ Free gas cylinders to 8cr poor
families for 3 months
➤ Max 3 gas cylinders
MNREGA
➤ Wages to be increased by 20 per
day from April 1, to benefit about
13.6 crore families
PF BENEFITS
➤ Non-recoverable advance of 75%
of the outstanding amount or three
months wages (whichever is lower)
allowed from EPF
➤ To benefit 4cr workers under EPF
➤ Govt to pay 24% of monthly wages of those
Total estimated cost: 1,70,000 cr ( 73,000 cr additional + 97,000 cr already budgeted*)
“We have first tried to re-
ach the poorest of the poor so
that they don’t have to worry
about how to feed their fam-
ilies,” the minister said, add-
ing that as things develop the
government will come back
with more steps. With most
elements of the package in
place for three months, the
government seems to expect
that the coronavirus crisis
will stabilise by end-June.
Recognising the contribu-
With no transport,migrants
make the long march home
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
A
new humanitarian cri-
sis may be unfolding in
the country. Tens of tho-
usands of desperate people,
mainly migrant labour redu-
ced to joblessness by the lock-
down and with little or no mo-
ney or food, have been strea-
ming out of major cities for
the past few days, attempting
foot marches of hundreds of
kilometres to reach their ho-
mes in India’s small towns and
villages. Some were barefoot,
and one had handkerchiefs
wrapped around his feet and
broken slippers stuffed into
his pockets in the hope of repa-
ir.
These tides of men, and
women and children, driven
by the uncompromising arith-
metic of survival and fear of
contracting the novel corona-
virus, pose a new challenge to
the government’s all-out at-
tempts to contain the spread of
Covid-19.
"Some 26,000 people have
reached Ratanpur, on the Gu-
jarat-Rajasthan border, in the
past two-three days. Our te-
ams are listing them, they are
being screened by medical te-
ams. Those who have been ad-
ning to the lockdown impo-
sed by the state government,
did not think twice before em-
barking on a seven-hour jour-
ney to and from Ahmedabad
and attend the last rites in the
remaining few hours.
On March 24, Jadav’s brot-
her Hardevsinh (63) passed
away at 3 am in Ahmedabad
after prolonged illness. Jadav
informed his seniors and left
Garbada at around 5am for
Ahmedabad, and rejoined du-
ty at 3pm on the same day.
Also consider this, it takes
around 3.5 hours to reach Ah-
medabad from Garbada. Out
of the around 10
hours that Jadav
was out of Gar-
bada, he spent
around seven
hours travel-
ling.
Jadav’s commitment to
duty did not go unnoticed as
Gujarat chief minister Vijay
Rupani appreciated the ges-
ture in a tweet. Rupani also
NEWSPAPERS
ARE
SAFE
* INCLUSIVE OF AHMEDABAD TIMES (FOR AH-
MEDABAD AND GANDHINAGAR CITIES ONLY)
Worldwide infections set to top Pope Francis tests negative
half a million people as both Italy after an employee in his
and US appear poised to surpass residence was said to have
China, where the pandemic began been infected
Q2. Which country does the Christchurch shooter belong to?
SR CITIZENS, WIDOWS
➤ Govt to provide 1,000 for next
3 months to senior citizens
SELF HELP GROUPS
➤ Limit of collateral-free lending to
be raised from 10 lakh to 20 lakh
INSURANCE FOR HEALTH WORKERS
➤ 50 lakh for health professionals who meet
with accident while treating
Covid-19 patients
➤ Govt health centres, wellness
centres and hospitals covered
➤ About 22 lakh health workers
to benefit
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS
➤ States asked to utilise welfare
fund created under a central Act
➤ 3.5cr workers registered
under the fund
DISTRICT MINERAL FUND
➤ States asked to use fund for
medical testing, screening and
other requirements to prevent
spread of Covid -19
*SBI
tion of medical professionals that banks charge. The cur-
in the current crisis, there will rent package adds up to
be a special insurance scheme around 0.76% of the GDP esti-
for doctors, nurses, other mate for the next financial
health workers, safai staff and year. A one-time non-refunda-
Asha workers dealing with ble advance for EPFO sub-
Coronavirus cases with a Rs 50 scribers was part of the pack-
lakh cover in case they meet age, which will allow them to
with an accident. dip into their corpus and with-
Earlier, the government draw up to 75% of the money
limited the first exercise to or three months wages, which-
easing compliance burden for ever is lower.
individuals and companies,
while waiving some of the fees Continued on P 7
Times News
Dozens of migrants, most of them daily wage labourers who are now
out of job, trudge along a highway near Delhi on Thursday
had a toddler in his arms whi-
vised quarantine are stamped
le his wife walked beside him.
and being transported to their
He was hoping he could hitch
villages on buses arranged by
a ride, or several rides, home.
the administration," Dungar-
pur collector Kanaram told Police checkposts on the
TOI. outskirts of Jaipur, especially
There were thousands lea- along the Jaipur-Agra, Jai-
ving the Delhi National Capi- pur-Sikar and Jaipur-Ajmer
tal Region, trudging down the highways, are coming across
Yamuna Expressway and the people walking back to their
expressway to Meerut. Raj Ku- villages; they had been asked
mar was one; he had set out for by their families to return ho-
home with just Rs 1,000 in me.
hand. But home was Chhapra
in Bihar, 1,050 km away. And he Continued on P 7
id, “I had to return because of
the prevailing conditions due
to the coronavirus outbreak.
My family too understands
that a policeman has to give
priority to his duty.”
Jadav said that the crema-
tion was attended by only a
few close relatives owing to
social distancing and lock-
down. “We were looking to
hold a ‘besna’ later, but the
lockdown was extended till
March 31. It may not be pos-
sible to hold it now,” he added.
Gujarat Police is actively
involved in ensuring the lock-
down in a success. The force
is also trying to ensure that
the supply of essential com-
Gujarat chief minister Vijay
modities is smooth and those
living on the streets or shanti-
Rupani appreciated P K Jadav’s es are supplied food, water
gesture in a tweet and also and other essentials.
called him up Dahod police are also
handling the mammoth task
called up Jadav to appreciate of ensuring workers from Ra-
him. jasthan and Madhya Pradesh
Talking to TOI, Jadav sa- reach home.
AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 | PAGES 18 | PRICE `3.00
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Growth may fall
to 3-decade low
of 2.6%: SBI
T
he impact of the pandem-
ic and the consequent 21-
day lockdown will push
India’s GDP growth to 2.6% for
FY21, the lowest in nearly three
decades, according to an esti-
mate released by SBI group
chief economic adviser Sou-
mya Kanti Ghosh. Ratings
agency Crisil has also slashed
its forecast for next fiscal to
3.5% from 5.2%, reports Ra-
jesh C.
Ghosh said the total cost of
the ongoing lockdown will be at
least Rs 8 lakh crore in nominal
terms — an income loss of Rs
1.77 lakh crore and a loss in cap-
ital income of Rs 1.7 lakh crore.
Sensex rises past
30k, but closes
slightly lower
T
he sensex, which had ral-
lied nearly 1,600 points to
over 30,000 early on
Thursday, gave up part of its
early gains after finance min-
ister Nirmala Sitharaman an-
nounced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore
booster for the poor, while the
market was also hoping for
stimulus for industries hit
hard by Covid-19 pandemic.
After shedding about 1,000
points, the index closed at
29,947, a gain of 1,411 points. In
just three sessions, the index
has gained nearly 17%, or
about 4,300 points. It was its
best three-day rally since May
2009.
Put humans
above economic
targets: Modi to
G20 leaders
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: As the world
grapples with the Covid-19
threat, PM Narendra Modi
called upon the internatio-
nal community to put hu-
man beings, rather than
economic targets, at the
centre of the coordinated re-
sponse to the global health
emergency.
Addressing a special vir-
tual G20 summit where the
grouping pledged to inject
over $5 trillion into the glo-
bal economy to counter the
social and economic impact
of coronavirus, Modi noted
that the meeting was happe-
ning three months after the
outbreak of what has since
turned into a pandemic, and
said decisions taken by the
member countries would
shape the world's response
not just to this but also futu-
re pandemics and calamiti-
es.
Sources quoted Modi ex-
horting participants to “put
human beings, rather than
economic targets, at the
centre of our vision of glo-
bal prosperity and coopera-
tion”.
Rajkot firm
set to make
ventilators
Nimesh.Khakhariya
@timesgroup.com
Rajkot: A Rajkot-based com-
pany has taken up the task of
manufacturing ventilators in
bulk, looking at the massive
demand in hospitals across
the country where Covid-19
patients are being treated.
A meeting of various
stakeholders was held at the
Rajkot collector’s office two
days ago under the leadership
of Rahul Gupta, a special co-
ordination officer appointed
for coronavirus and former
collector of Rajkot. The need
for hand sanitizers, personal
protective equipment kit, and
ventilator has risen massively
with the spread of the virus
and hospitals nation-wide are
reeling under the shortage of
supply of these essential med-
ical equipment.
HAPPAMES
L 0
INDIA’S LARGEST ENGLISH NEWSPAPER
Knowledge is Safety!
Read the paper to enhance your
awareness and safety during
Healthcare these times.
vouchers to be Stay Safe Tip!
won daily.
Clean phones with
alcohol-based disinfectants.
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
T
wo days into a 21-day
lockdown, India's
hugely disrupted sup-
ply chain for essential com-
modities struggled to get go-
ing in the face of a fresh set of
challenges — truckers aban-
doning goods vehicles
stranded on highways, man-
ufacturers running out of in-
ventory and delivery agents
of e-tailers refusing to ven-
ture out for fear of police ha- People queue up for essential service passes in Tirupati
rassment — even as state
governments and local au-
thorities appeared to remove
GLITCHES THAT NEED FIXING
some of the roadblocks that ➤ Trucks are stranded on highways as
had stalled the distribution drivers and helpers are abandoning vehicles
network on the first day. and hiking back home, due to which
Transporters'
ations and members of the
associ- wholesale markets have been hit by shortage
Agriculture Produce Market ➤ Packaged food companies running low on
Committee said the Centre's inventories and could run out of products in 7-10
decision to exempt goods days if supply chain isn’t normalised. Lack of raw
trucks from highway toll had materials has also forced cos to cut production
made little difference be-
cause drivers and helpers
➤ Delivery execs of e-tailers have refused
had started abandoning
stranded vehicles in antici-
to venture out fearing police harassment
and some have gone back to villages
pation of a prolonged log-
jam.
MHA sets norms Function 24x7: Govt
ach
With trucks unable to re-
their destinations,
for smooth supply to establishments
wholesale markets have
been hit by a shortage of
agricultural produce, in-
cluding fruits and vegeta- T he Centre on Thurday laid
down standard operating
procedures to maintain the
T he Delhi government has
urged establishments dealing
bles. in essential goods and services to
"Truck drivers have supply of essential goods at function 24x7 to ensure steady
started abandoning trucks local retail shops, large supplies during the lockdown.
and hiking back home, even organised retail stores and After a meeting at the LG’s office
if these places are 200-300km e-commerce platforms, with the on Thursday, the government
from where they are. We re- home ministry underlining that decided to allow e-commerce
quest the Centre to urgently all constituents of the supply platforms to deliver essential
ask the states, particularly chain — from manufacturer to supplies, including food,
district collectors, to supply wholesaler/retailer — should be pharmaceuticals and medical
food and water to our strand- allowed to operate. devices, to homes. Px
ed drivers," Bal Malkit
Singh, chairman of the All Welfare Association esti- aged food industry running
India Motor Transport Con- mates that about 30 lakh out of stocks in a week to 10
gress, said. "We are also un- trucks are stuck on high- days if the supply chain
der lockdown, otherwise ways across the country. wasn't normalised immedi-
we'd be making arrange- In the FMCG sector, Bri- ately.
ments for our drivers." tannia CEO Varun Berry
Continued on P 7
The All India Transport flagged the risk of the pack-
State records third Covid
death, five new +ve cases
Migrants Told To Stay Put; To Be Offered Food & Stay
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad: Gujarat recor-
ded the third death due to coro-
navirus as a 70-year-old man
from Bhavnagar succumbed to
the viral infection on Thurs-
day. Five more positive cases
were recorded, taking the total
number of cases to 44. In all, Co-
vid-19 has claimed three lives in
the state.
The state health & family
welfare department said the el-
derly man recently travelled to People collect food packets to be distrbuted in Shah-e-Alam on Thursday
Delhi. After multiple symp-
toms, he was hospitalized a few to the migrants to stay put. "I ors. It also announced delivery
of days ago. His report arrived appeal to laborers from Rajast- of food and essential services
on Thursday morning. Offici- han, Madhya Pradesh, UP and to the elderly living in six dis-
als said the man was suffering other states not to rush to their tricts most affected.
from co-morbidities like can- native states. State govern- Rupani conducted a high-
cer, diabetes and heart disease. ment is making arrangements level discussion with various
Amid exodus of thousands to provide ration and other fa- departments on Thursday and
of workers from the state, DGP cilities". The state government said that the state would soon
Shivanand Jha on Thursday also announced setting up of a procure 156 ventilators for new-
announced that movement on new control room to oversee ly-formed hospitals. In a video
roads would not be allowed distribution of essential goods conferencing with Union he-
henceforth. The state govern- and services in Gandhinagar. alth minister Dr Harsh Vard-
ment has assured to provide From Friday onwards, the han, the state reiterated de-
migrants food and stay facility police have allowed movement mand to allow two new testing
through district collectors. of home delivery services to labs in Ahmedabad and one at
CM Vijay Rupani appealed encourage citizens to stay indo- Rajkot.
5 more deaths take corona
toll to 18, total cases cross 700
DurgeshNandan.Jha
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Five deaths from
Covid-19 infections were re-
ported from across the coun-
try on Thursday, the highest
single-day count so far, tak-
ing the toll from the disease
to 18, even as states regis-
tered 71 new cases.
The total number of coro-
navirus cases thus far in In-
dia crossed the 700 mark,
ending the day at 721, accord-
ing to reports from states.
The health ministry con- Idle trains at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus on Day 2 of
firmed six new Covid-19
deaths, which included some
the lockdown in Mumbai on Thursday
already reported by TOI. The 694. As per confirmed figures officials said. In Jammu and
total number of deaths con- from states, TOI has report- Kashmir, a 65-year-old trader
firmed by the ministry is 16. ed 90-plus cases on two days and preacher from Sopore
The health ministry also this week. district became the first Co-
reported 88 new cases, the Most deaths have taken vid-19 casualty in the valley.
highest official single-day place in elderly people and
count so far, taking its total to those with co-morbidities, Continued on P 7

GOOD SAMARITANS: A group arranged refreshments in
Chandkheda for migrant workers walking back home
To make your life easy during the coronavirus
lockdown. TOI invites its readers across Gujarat to
send their queries at lockdownfaqs@gmail.com
We will seek answers from Gujarat Police and other
authorities. Please keep your questions brief.
Keep track of our edition on https://epaper.timesgroup.com
Can I take a walk in my colony?
What about local park?
Yes, you can take a walk in
your colony but not more than
4 people can walk at a time
such that you don’t break the
notification under IPC section
144. Make sure you maintain an
adequate distance from each
other even while walking past
each other. Local civic parks
have been closed and there is
no question of them opening
for morning walkers
I am supposed to work from
home and wanted to get a
broadband connection at my
place but not a single service
provider is ready to come as
everyone of them is saying
that police is not allowing us
to go and beating us. What is
the truth?
Internet services has
been part of the 18 essential
listed items that have been
exempted from present curbs.
If the employee of your service
provider shows the policeman
a service invoice based on
your request the person will be
allowed to go
I need to go thrice a week for
dialysis will I be allowed to go ?
What should I carry?
Yes, you will be allowed to
go for the dialysis. Please carry
your medical file. But not more
than two people can travel in
a car.
How do I pay my EMI for the
business loan for April month
as there has been complete
Questions replied to by: Police commissioner Ahmedabad Ashish Bhatia and
Deputy municipal commissioner Mukesh Gadhvi
Pilgrims’
progress to
quarantine
Ahmedabad: A family of three
from the Narol area of the city
was among the last batch of pil-
grims to have returned from
Saudi Arabia on March 15. They
were instructed to home quaran-
tine themselves for14 days due to
the coronavirus threat, but they
did not pay heed this advice and
went roaming about the city.
The administration received
complaints from their neighbo-
urs and the authorities picked
up the couple three days ago and
placed them in a government qu-
arantine facility in Nikol. Their
son, who was on a business visit
to Surendranagar, was quaranti-
ned in the neighbouring district.
Many families who returned
after performing the Umrah at
Mecca and Medina, met a simi-
lar fate after they refused to qua-
rantine themselves.
More than a week passed and
the situation got serious for
others as well, as people as is the
custom, went and paid respects
and congratulated them on their
successful completion of the pil-
grimage. Feasts were also part of
the programmes.
PAAN SHOP OWNERS SAID THAT MOST PEOPLE HAVE STOCKED UP WELL IN ADVANCE
Smokers ration puffs, prices soar in black market After rally faux pas,
Niyati.Parikh@timesgroup.com
Ahmedabad: The 21-day lock- Burglars steal cigarettes from 2 stores
down imposed by the state go-
vernment has left habitual
smokers in a frenzy, and many
have ended up rationing the
number of cigarettes they smo-
ke, one puff at a time. With the
21-day lockdown causing paan
shops across the state to shut
down completely, smokers are
struggling hard to find their
smokes.
“I had stocked up on a few
packets of cigarettes when the
state government announced
closure of paan shops in four
major cities, but that was consi-
dering shops will reopen after
March 31. However, I don’t
think I have enough stock to last
me two more weeks through
the lockdown period. I’ve cut
down to three cigarettes a day
from over 10,” said Sharad
Sharma, an Ahmedabad-based
businessman.
Paan shop owners said that
most people have stocked up
156
VENTILATORS TO BE
PROCURED BY THE STATE
ON PRIORITY FOR SPECIALIZED
HOSPITALS CREATED IN
AHMEDABAD, VADODARA, SURAT
AND RAJKOT
LOCKDOWN
DOUBTS
WRITE
TO US
lockdown? What are banking
hours right now?
The banking hours at the
moment have been restricted
between 10am and 2pm.
As far as EMI payments are
concerned, industrial and
trading bodies in Gujarat
have represented the concern
regarding April EMI payments
before the central government
and are awaiting a decision.
A close relative has met with
an accident in a neighbouring
district/state. Will I be allowed
to go there in a car
Yes , you can travel to the
neighbouring district or state
but not more than two people
are allowed in a car. This is
because IPC section 144 is in
force
Can my residential society
bar vegetable vendors from
entering my society?
The Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC) has
launched a vegetable delivery
service where a responsible
person from your society
will take orders of individual
members and then place
the bulk order on AMC’s
WhatsApp helpline number
9408753064. AMC will provide
transportation facility to the
society representative only
to the nearest vegetable
market to carry back the bulk
vegetables 100kg or more.
Payments at the vegetable
market has to be made by the
society representative.
Marching with `12 in pocket on a journey of 1,300km
Ashish Chauhan
& Sarfaraz Shaikh TNN
Ahmedabad: Ravindra Yadav,
working in a wood furniture
factory in Odhav, has embar-
ked on a long journey to Bara-
banki in UP with merely Rs 12
in his pocket. "We have heard
that the government or NGOs
will help us reach the border. It
is our only hope as our sheth
told us to leave for homes as the-
re will be no work or salary. I
know the trip home is going to
be arduous, but I am a worker
and do not want to beg for my
food,” said Yadav.
Ever since Gujarat was
locked down on Tuesday follo-
wed by pan India lockdown
from Wednesday, thousands of
migrant workers have embar-
ked en masse on long journeys
on foot to their homes.
With their plight hitting na-
tional headlines, police, NGOs
and other stakeholders jumped
to their rescue offering vehi-
cles to drop them to nearest bor-
der posts and food packets. Ho-
wever, with three weeks of lock-
down and uncertainty looming
over their heads, most insisted
they would rather go home to
their families in such difficult
Khadia bans outsiders
well in advance. “Shutdown of
paan shops is certainly a reve-
nue loss, but all businesses are
facing losses due to the lock-
down and we have to bear it. Ma-
ny of our regular customers
purchases their stocks before
shutdown,” said Paresh Chau-
han, who owns a city-based pa-
an shop.
“I somehow anticipated a
longer closure and therefore,
had stocked up cigarettes for a
month. I am still using them ju-
diciously but not sure how it
will fare if the lockdown gets
extended further. Let’s see how
TIMES CITY
GUJARAT TO PROCURE 156 VENTILATORS
Patients To Be
Shifted To
Specialized
Hospitals
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad:State health
and family welfare depart-
ment officials said Gujarat is
soon going to receive 156 ven-
tilators for specialized hospi-
tals for Covid-19 patients.
Jayanti Ravi, principal se-
cretary (health and family
welfare), told mediapersons
on Thursday evening that the-
re is a severe shortage of ven-
tilators globally due to the
pandemic, but Gujarat has al-
ready ordered 156 ventilators
for its hospitals and these will
arrive soon. “We are keeping
an eye on a development
which may materialize by to-
morrow – the CM has interve-
ned to ensure availability of
locally-produced world
class ventilators. Final
testing of the prototype
will begin soon,” said
Ravi.
Ravi said that from
Friday onwards, all new
Covid patients in Gujarat will
be admitted in the four major
cities– Ahmedabad, Surat,
Vadodara and Rajkot – at new-
ly-converted facilities. Cumu-
latively, the four cities have
2,200 beds.
As on Thursday evening,
the total number of positive
cases in Gujarat is 44. These
70 detained
uring the last 24 hours, 70
D people have been
detained for violating the
notification of CrPC 144,
prohibiting the assembly of
four persons at one place at
one time. Those detained for
the section 144 violation were
caught by Bapunagar,
Danilimda, Gomtipur,
Khokhra, Rakhial, Sabarmati,
Madhavpura and Gaekwad
Haveli police stations.
From Vapi to UP on tricycle
Vadodara: Tahir Khan Pathan and his brother Nazim Pathan made
enough money for themselves and their family by selling fruits in
Vapi town of Valsad. But with 21-day lockdown, the duo decided to
return to their home in Etah of Uttar Pradesh. With train services
already suspended, the duo decided to take a cycle-rickshaw and
cover the journey of over 1,200 kilometres. “We have taken our entire
luggage as we have decided never to return. We will earn less
money in our hometown, but we will work there,” said Tahir. TNN
times.
Ram Prasad Kori, 32, a fur-
niture polisher hailing from
Unnao was seen walking bare-
foot, handkerchief wrapped
around his feet and broken slip-
pers stuffed in his pockets. "I
don't have money to buy new
slippers and no cobbler to
it goes,” said Abhishek Amin, a
Surat-based businessman.
The increased demand for
cigarettes has also led to pack-
ets being sold in the black mar-
ket at 35%-50% higher rates.
“I’m a habitual smoker and
thus it is tough for me to live wit-
hout them. I called the owner of
a roadside stall near home,
from where I regularly purcha-
se smokes and while he agreed
to supply me, I ended up paying
50% higher price,” said Ashish
Narayanan, a professional.
A number of smokers have
taken the lockdown as an op-
portunity to quit smoking alto-
gether. “I have been trying to qu-
it smoking for a long time now
and I feel there’s no better chan-
ce than the lockdown. It’s tough
because I smoked quite a few ci-
garettes a day but I have stopped
completely since Sunday. It has
gone well with me,” said Nirali
Shah, a Vejalpur resident.
(Names of smokers have be-
en changed to protect identity)
Kutch Ahmedabad Gandhinagar
Coronage 1 15 | 1
G U J A R A T
POSITIVE DEATHS
THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 CASES
44 3
236
Gujarat gets
permission from the
Election Commission of
Tested on Thursday: 60
Negative: 59
India (ECI) to use COMPLAINTS FILED Positive: 1
indelible ink to mark Result pending: 0
persons in home
FOR VIOLATION OF
quarantine for easy QUARANTINE RULES Rajkot Bhavnagar Surat Vadodara
identification SO FAR 5 1 7 |1 8
Pics: Yogesh Chawda
Neuberg lab begins
testing in A’bad
TIMES NEWS NETWORK sician with their medical regi-
stration number are required
Ahmedabad: After receiving for the test of a sample,” said
approval from Indian Council Dr Sandip Shah, executive di-
AMC DECLARES FLIGHT MAPPING CONTACTS of Medical Research (ICMR) rector, Neuberg Diagnostics.
Flight Travelling from DOA (Ahmedabad) and Gujarat government, Ne- “Reporting and sample ac-
DETAILS OF PATIENTS Indigo AY-121 Delhi March 13 uberg Diagnostics Private Li- ceptance will be strictly in ac-
mited on Thursday announ- cordance with the ICMR and
O P Machra, DyMC, AMC, on Thursday AI-172 UK March 13
ced the commencement of Co- Gujarat government guideli-
shared the details of the flights taken by AI-191 Mumbai March 14 vid-19 testing at its laboratory nes and will follow ICMR and
11 of the city-based COVID-19 positive SpiceJet 0334 Dubai March 14 — Neuberg Supratech —in Gujarat government prescri-
patients. Machra tweeted: “If anyone from Ahmedabad. bed MRP of Rs 4,500,” he ad-
your friend and family has travelled from EY-288 Abu Dhabi March 14
The laboratory chain star- ded. “A separate isolated Co-
these flights and still not home SpiceJet 0334 Dubai March 14 tup has received ICMR appro- vid-19 collection facility has
quarantined, please report to 104 or Air Arabia Dubai March 15 val to offer Covid-19 RT PCR been created at our laboratory
155303 if he/she is from Ahmedabad (sic).” G-90489 Sharjah March 18 tests through its four laborato- in Ahmedabad, which separa-
ries in India. Apart from Ah- tes regular patients from su-
include 15 in Ahmedabad, 8 in medabad, itsother laboratori- spected Covid-19 patients to
Vadodara, 7 in Surat, 7 in
Gandhinagar, 5 in Rajkot, 1 in
Kutch and 1 in Gandhinagar.
Couple, woman booked es are located in Bengaluru,
Chennai and Pune.
“Neuberg Supratech Labo-
ensure social distancing and
safety. All our staff involved in
collection of samples and in la-
On Thursday, the state he-
alth department launched its for quarantine breach ratory, Ahmedabad has star-
ted collecting COVID-19 sam-
boratory processing areas ha-
ve been provided with appro-
Covid-19 dashboard at gujco- TIMES NEWS NETWORK ged by the AMC health team, a ples at the lab as well as from priate PPE (personal protecti-
vid19.gujarat.gov.in . “Figu- 62-year-old man his 50-year- home. Identity and address ve equipment) as per guideli-
res will be updated twice a Ahmedabad: A couple from old wife had returned from proof of the patient and requi- nes issued by CDC and WHO,”
day. We will also add mo- Isanpur and a woman from Oman on March 14 and were sition/prescription from phy- he added.
re details over time,” Vatva were booked on Wed- home quarantined on March
said Ravi. nesday under Section 188 and 22. Police sources said that on
In light of the deaths 270 of IPC and relevant provi- March 24 it was found that the FAST FACTS
so far, Ravi appealed to se- sions of the Epidemic Disea- couple were visiting their re- ➤ Last rites of the 85-year-old Vadodara are functional in Gujarat
nior citizens to be extra cau- ses Act, 1897, for flouting the latives. woman from Ahmedabad was along with a private lab for testing
14-day home quarantine requ- “They were taken into
tious and follow lockdown ru- performed on Thursday. The of Covid-19 samples
irements. The couple had go- custody and handed over to
les, not venture out, and ma- Covid-19 patient had succumbed ➤ IAS officers have been
ne to a relative’s house, while the health department,” said
intain social distancing of at to infection on Wednesday night. entrusted duties associated with
least 1 metre. “Even when you the woman had gone to anot- a police officer.
Health department officials said the epidemic. Anupam Anand
are home, try to maintain dis- her household to offer pray- In the case registered in that protocols of proper disposal
would oversee work related to
tance. If you suspect a condi- ers. They were booked and Vatva, on March 24, AMC te- were followed quarantine whereas Lochan Sehra
tion with symptoms seen in sent to different quarantine am found a woman, 35, who
➤ Five labs at the government would monitor urban areas and
Covid-19, inform the 104 fever centres. had returned from Dubai, Manisha Chandra OPD/ IPD at
hospitals in Ahmedabad,
helpline,” said Ravi. According to the FIR lod- was not at her home. hospitals
Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Surat and
18 face action for taking out procession Gujarat’s Covid dashboard corrected
TIMES NEWS NETWORK ce station filed an FIR against Chersang Tha- B ecause of a technical glitch, the Gujarat government’s COVID-19
dashboard showed 172 coronavirus positive cases and 12 deaths
kor, sarpanch of Adhaar village and 17 other re- in the state. Realizing the error, health department officials said the
Ahmedabad: Patan police have booked 18 per- sidents of the village under Section 188 of the site had been pulled down for the time being. According to the
sons including the sarpanch of Adhaar village IPC for violating orders of a public servant. dashboard in the afternoon, there were 172 positive cases, 3,096
in the district for violation of prohibitory or- The villagers had sought permission to or- persons had been tested, zero patients had been discharged, and 12
ders. Interestingly, even as Section 144 CrPC re- ganize a procession as part of the fair of god- had died. The government had said earlier in the day that the
mains in force, the villagers were given permis- dess `Kuvarika Mata’ in the village. They were number of deaths due to coronavirus stood at three. A statement
sion for an assembly of 50 persons for the pro- granted permission on the condition that only later issued by the health & family welfare department said,
cession of a deity. The conditional permission 50 persons could participate in pulling the cha- “Today’s status: COVID 2019 positive cases till now: 43, total deaths:
was granted by the sub-divisional magistrate. riot of the goddess at the two-day fair, on March 03. There was some software glitch in the dashboard for COVID-19
D V Dodiya, inspector of Patan taluka poli- 23 and 24. because of which erroneous information was displayed.” TNN
COVID-19
ROUNDUP
E-COMMERCE HOME
CM’s appeal DELIVERY OF ESSENTIAL
M Vijay Rupani
ITEMS ALLOWED, BAN ON
C appealed to
migrants to remain
HEAVY VEHICLES LIFTED: The
city police have allowed home
delivery of essential items by
wherever they e-commerce portals. Any
were promising person with a valid identity
the government will reach card for home delivery from
them and give them food and e-commerce companies will
shelter. be allowed. The administration
has also lifted ban on heavy
DGP’s warning vehicles in the city.
tate DGP Shivanand Jha said
S that no further movement
will be allowed on the roads
ESARAL APP MADE FREE
DURING LOCKDOWN: The
Rajkot cops convince migrants to stay and collectors have been asked
eSaral application, used by
students of Class IX to XII to
Rajkot: Rajkot police stopped many migrant labourers from going to make arrangements for the
prepare for the JEE and NEET,
to their native in Dahod and MP on Thursday. Cops intercepted migrants on the move.
has been made free by its
marching migrants and facilitated their medical check-up. Later,
developers during the
they convinced the labourers not to leave and asked some carried from cities.
lockdown period. Kota-based
builders to provide food and shelter so they don’t need to go back. DCP, Zone -5, Ravi Teja said
Aditya Mittal, mentorship
The Morbi district authority also held meeting with ceramic unit they are trying to convince the
coordinator of eSaral said
owners to convince labourers to live in local colonies till situation labourers to stay back because
students appearing for JEE
normalizes. TNN if only one labourer infected
and NEET this year can revise
with coronavirus reached his
through video lectures.
mend the slippers. I have left for Sunil Gamit, a handicap- inty in the city is very unsett- or her village, local chains of
home with a prayer on my lips ped man on a wheelchair with ling,” said Gamit. infection will form in remote
and resolve to go back to my fa- his family, was also seen on the Meanwhile, the queues of areas. DCP Zone-4, Neeraj Bad-
mily,” said Kori who has his wi- road with his family moving to- migrant labourers marching gujjar said they are taking care IF IN NEED, CALL
fe and three children in village. wards Dahod. “My sister works home became a cause of con- of migrant labourers, but they
“What if they die or I die? I in a primary school but it has cern for the authorities who fe- are not ready to stay back at any
104 for fever or COVID-19
related information
want to be with my loved ones been shut and she was not gi- ar for their health and possibi- cost. “They are so desperate
and not survive on charity,” sa- ven any salary. We want to esca- lity of infection spreading to re- they have started heading to 108 for health-
ys Kori. pe to our village as the uncerta- mote villages across India if their village on foot,” he said. related
emergencies
155303 for
AMC-related
complaints
and
information
9013151515 WhatsApp
chatbox for COVID-19 related
Meghdoot.Sharon stay there. At a time when the queries
ith the city going under extended lockdown along with the
W nation, and scarcity of cigarettes turning them into prized
commodity, burglars struck two stores in Gomtipur on
@timesgroup.com coronavirus outbreak is a thre-
at to everybody, we have decided
1075/+91-11-23978046
National helpline
Ahmedabad: Following the not to allow any outsiders in.”
Wednesday night and made off with cigarettes worth lakhs of
embarrassing procession last He added that although the HELPLINE FOR FOOD FOR THE
rupees. The thieves were caught on CCTV camera, and cops are
Sunday, in which dozens of Kha- banners have barred the entry ELDERLY THROUGH NGOS:
looking for them. A burglary case has been registered at
dia residents marched on the of outsiders into pols up to
Gomtipur police station. Police said both the provision stores are Ahmedabad: Prashant Pandya |
streets — defeating the purpose March 31, the ban will continue
located near Badiyakaka Crossroads. TNN 155303
of the janata curfew — people of until the 21-day lockdown is in
Khadia have made amends. Se- force and if required, even be- Surat: R C Patel | 9824345560
Cyber cheats trying to exploit veral pols in and around Khadia
have put up banners at entran-
yond.
Residents of Hajira ni Pol
Vadodara: Krishna Solanki |
0265-2459502
Covid-19 fears, cops warn ces asking outsiders not to enter say that they have banned peo-
Rajkot: Chetan Ganatra |
or even use pol roads to pass ple from passing through the
ity police have warned that cyber cheats are using phishing 0281-2476874
C links under the garb of providing information about the novel
coronavirus pandemic to trap unwary citizens and hack their
through.
Banners have been put up at
pol, as coronavirus-infected
persons could spread the virus. Jamnagar: A K Vastani |
0288-2553417
Dhal ni Pol, Hajira ni Pol, Sad “Everybody is known to each
phones or computers. DCP cybercell, Rajdeepsinh Jhala said Mata ni Pol, Ghasiram ni Pol, other in our pol and it is not dif- Bhavnagar: D M Gohil |
numerous phishing links on Covid-19 have been detected on the Babur nu Delu, Saankdi Sheri ficult to identify an outsider,” a 0278-2424814
internet. “If anyone clicks on such links received by messages or and other places. resident said.
in other forms, his or her mobile or computer may be hacked. Gandhinagar: Amit Singhai |
“There are heritage hotels “Like other pols, we have
Once cheats can hack your mobile, it is easy for them to get your 9909954709
such as the French Haveli, banned people from entering or
financial and personal details,” he said. Jhala said it is a serious Baghban Haveli, and Bavishi passing through Hajira ni Pol. Junagadh: Hitesh Vamja |
issue and the cybercell is working to trace the cheats. On a Haveli in our pol,” said Parth This is necessary to ensure that 9898146865
postive note, Ahmedabad police tweeted that the city crime Bhavsar, a resident of Dhal ni residents of the pol are not af- Helpline for civil supplies and
branch has taken a lead in #fight against Corona# by distributing Pol. “Foreigners and people fected by coronavirus,” said Vi- amenities during lockdown |
wheat flour, bread and milk packets for the needy. TNN from other parts of the country ral Jani, a Hajira ni Pol resident. 1070 and 079-232-51900

THE TIMES OFOF
INDIA, AHMEDABAD
THE TIMES INDIA,
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020
AHMEDABAD
No retail sale at Kalupur, Jamalpur
Overcrowding
At Vegetable
Markets
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad: Overcrow-
ding at Kalupur and Jamal-
pur markets has forced the
Ahmedabad municipal
commissioner and city po-
lice commissioner to ban
retail sale of vegetables
there, though bulk purcha-
ses can be made by traders.
From early morning on
Thursday, people from dif-
ferent corners of the city
made a rush for these mar-
kets to avoid the scalding
prices being charged by the-
ir local vegetable traders.
But this led to a chaotic situ-
ation, overcrowding, and
loss of all social distancing,
thus defeating the purpose
of the lockdown and heigh-
tening the risks of the spre-
ad of Covid-19.
Municipal commissio-
ner Vijay Nehra went to the
Kalupur market after re-
ports of large crowds of
consumers crammed in the
narrow lanes of the market
came in. He talked with the
vegetable dealers and then
with city police commissio-
ner Ashish Bhatia.
“We had a detailed dis-
cussion and decided to per-
mit only wholesale purcha-
ses from Kalupur market.
The police commissioner
has decided on heavy ban-
dobust to prevent individu-
al retail customers making
purchases,” Nehra said.
Nehra added that only
wholesalers are permitted
inside the Jamalpur main
market, and the retailers
who used to sit outside have
already been shifted to Ri-
verfront Sunday market,
where there was little chan-
ce of overcrowding.
A trader at Jamalpur
market said there was a
rush of retail customers in
the wholesale market from
Helpline for
supply of
essential
items set up
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Gandhinagar:A control room
and helpline to facilitate the
supply of essential items such
as milk, fruits and vegetables
has been made functional in
Gandhinagar. A helpline has
been also been set up where
where people can call and seek
information about the availa-
bility of essential commoditi-
es.
Secretary to the chief mini-
ster, Ashwini Kumar, said,
“The control room will be ope-
rational 24x7 and people can se-
ek assistance about availing of
essential commodities by dia-
ling1070 and 079-23251900.”
Kumar said 59,000 quintals
of vegetables arrived at vario-
us markets on Thursday mor-
ning. “13,655 quintals of potato-
es, 4,350 quintals of onions,
6,900 quintals of tomatoes, and
34,000 quintals of green vege-
tables have been made availab-
le,” a government statement
said. There are around 68 vege-
table markets in the state. In ad-
dition to vegetables, 610 quin-
tals of bananas, 670 quintals of
apples and 1,100 quintals of
other fruits have been made av-
ailable on Thursday.
The government added
that 55 lakh litres of milk is be-
ing sold every day.
11 approvals granted for units at GIFT city
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad:As many as 11
entities on Thursday recei-
ved approval to set up units
in the special economic zone
(SEZ) at Gujarat Internatio-
nal Finance-Tec City (GIFT
City), Gandhinagar.
Interestingly, the GIFT
SEZ development commis-
sioner granted the appro-
vals through teleconferen-
cing as the applicants could
not remain physically due to
the nationwide lockdown .
“Today through telecon-
ferencing we could approve
11new units in GIFT SEZ and
have put in place a new pro-
cess for the approval of
units,” said A K Choudhary,
development commissioner,
SERVICES EXEMPTED FROM LOCKDOWN & ID PROOF
➤ All government, civic body and
panchayat services | Valid
identity card
➤ Vehicles carrying milk, fruits,
grocery | Pass issued by
authorities, or carrying essentials
only in vehicle
➤ Edible items, food items,
medicine, pest control,
production of essential items and
civil supplies services | Valid
identity card or proof
➤ Medical store, dispensary,
hospital, laboratory, production of
medical equipment and their
research and development centres,
pharmacy and health related
services | Valid identity card
➤ Fodder, grass for animals,
medicine and treatment related
items for animals | Valid
identity card
➤ Electricity production,
distribution and maintenance
services | Valid identity card
➤ Internet, telephone, mobile
service providers and IT related
services | Valid identity card
➤ Print, electronic and social
media | Valid identity card
➤ Water supply and sewerage
services | Valid identity card
➤ Petrol, diesel, LGP, CNG, PNG
related services and production |
Valid identity card
Thursday morning. “The
individual purchasers who
came were willing to buy in
bulk as retailers in their
areas were overcharging.
He said potato, which was
priced at Rs 10-14 per kg was
being sold at Rs 30-35 per kg
in many areas. So families
are pooling requirements
for collective buying in
bulk.”
The trader added that
the state government sho-
uld fix retail rates for vege-
tables which may be 1.5 to 2
times of wholesale rates.
He said at Jamalpur main
market they usually did not
sell less than 5kg to anyone,
but on Thursday they also
sold lesser amounts at a hig-
her price.
Unseasonal showers drench
parts of Ahmedabad
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad: Heavy showers
accompanied by thunder hit
many areas in the city from
Ashram Road to Bopal, Ghu-
ma, and Shela on Thursday
night. The IMD Ahmedabad
on Thursday evening predic-
ted unseasonal weather con-
ditions for the next four days
in various regions of Gujarat.
On Friday, light to modera-
te rain or thundershower is
likely at a few places in the dis-
tricts of Ahmedabad, Gandhi-
nagar, Banaskantha, Sabar-
kantha, Kheda, Dahod, Mahi-
sagar, Aravalli, Surat, Vado-
dara and Anand. Similar
weather is expected in Jam-
nagar, Botad, Morbi, Surend-
ranagar, Bhavnagar, Amreli,
Bar council seeks aid
for needy lawyers
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad: After four days
of the lockdown due to the co-
ronavirus pandemic, the Bar
Council of Gujarat (BCG) on
Wednesday urged the state go-
vernment to extend financial
assistance to needy lawyers
whose practice has been badly
affected due to restrictions.
The BCG has requested
the government to extend fi-
nancial assistance of Rs 10,000
to nearly 30,000 advocates who
have started their law practice
in the last one decade and who
are at present struggling to
find their feet in the field.
In its representation to
chief minister Vijay Rupani,
The majority of companies that
got approvals operate in the IT and
ITES sector. They include Azura
Technologies, Ajmera Infotech,
Applie Infosol, Shrine
Technologies, Silent Infotech and
Omega Cyber World
GIFT SEZ The majority of
companies that got getting
approvals operate in the IT
and ITES sector. They inclu-
de names like Azura Techno-
logies, Ajmera Infotech,
Applie Infosol, Shrine Tech-
nologies, Silent Infotech and
Omega Cyber World.
“We at GIFT are always
ready to provide solutions to
businesses so that in diffi-
➤ Bank, ATM and finance
related services, clearing of
banks, stock exchange and
insurance services | Valid
identity card
➤ Post and courier service |
Valid identity card
➤ Vehicles carrying
biomedical waste, waste
carrying vehicles, vehicles
carrying food items,
vehicles carrying
vegetables, loaded or
unloaded | Valid proof
➤ Security services related
to essential services | Valid
proof or identity card
400 more vehicles to
supply vegetables
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad: The civic body
will put 400 more vehicles into
distribution of food and provi-
sions in residential societies
and slums alike from Friday
onwards.
After an encouraging re-
sponse to the vegetables vans,
Ahmedabad municipal com-
missioner Vijay Nehra said
that 250 extra autorickshaws
including loading rickshaws
have been pressed into service.
Nearly 48 medium-sized com-
A rainswept road stretch in Navrangpura
Gir-Somnath, Junagadh, and
Kutch districts.
On Saturday, light to mo-
derate rain is likely at isolated
places in Chhota Udepur, Nar-
mada, and Dahod. On Sunday,
similar weather is likely in
districts such as Surat,
Panchmahal, Dahod, Anand
the BCG said that there were
nearly 292 bar associations in
the state and some 75,000 lawy-
ers enrolled with the BCG.
There were nearly 30,000 advo-
cates who had started their
practice after 2011and many of
them were still struggling in
the field, claimed the BCG.
"Due to the government’s
decision to lockdown the sta-
te, the day-to-day work and
earnings of these lawyers ha-
ve stopped completely. These
lawyers are finding it extre-
mely difficult to maintain the-
ir livelihood. The state go-
vernment should consider to
extend aids to such lawyers,"
said the BCG in its representa-
tion.
cult times they get support
for new units in GIFT City
and ensure business conti-
nuity for operating units,”
said Tapan Ray, MD and Gro-
up CEO, GIFT City.
With tax breaks on set-
ting up SEZ units set to end
on March 31, there was a
rush of IT and IT-enabled
services companies to set up
base in GIFT City’s multi-
TIMES NATION
| Coronage
TIMES CITY
➤ All essential services related to
transportation and distribution along
with related e-commerce very
essential services | Valid proof
➤ Industries which are producing
items round the clock and who have
enough facilities for workers | Valid
proof
➤ People having passes issued by
district magistrate, mamlatdar, DDO or
TDO or municipal commissioner or
deputy municipal commissioner or
authority letter to visit a particular
place | Valid identity card or Pass
➤ Media people, reporter, cameraman
or employee of any media house and
their vehicles | Valid identity card
mercial vehicles including
trucks will be hired for Amul
milk distribution, mainly
milk tetra packs. There will al-
so be five large trucks that will
take vegetables to slum areas
and will provided vegetables
for free. “Beginning Friday
20,000 food packets will be dis-
tributed to the homeless via 96
autorickshaws. The volume of
food and distribution of provi-
sions will be scaled up further
in the coming days as and
when more vehicles are pres-
sed into service,” Nehra said.
Yogesh Chawda
and Kheda and in Saurashtra
in districts such as Dwarka,
Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Am-
reli, Gir-Somnath and Kutch.
On Monday, light to moderate
rain is expected at isolated
places in Banaskantha, Sa-
barkantha, Mehsana, and Pa-
tan.
VIRAL DIGEST
Ahmed Patel
gives `1 cr from
MPLAD fund
Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed
Patel has issued Rs1 crore
from his MP Local Areas
Development Fund for
creating better facilities
to fight the novel corona-
virus outbreak in Bharuch
and tribal districts of
Gujarat.
GU faculty members
donate a day’s pay: As
many as 4,000 faculty
members at Gujarat Uni-
versity decided to contri-
bute a day’s salary, amo-
unting to an Rs 1.5 crore
to Rs 2 crore, to CM Vijay
Rupani’s relief fund.
services SEZ, which also ho-
uses an International Fi-
nancial Services Centre
(IFSC).
On March 16, total 17 com-
panies got approval to estab-
lish units in the GIFT SEZ,
which was already home to
180 units.
GIFT SEZ is one of the
fastest growing services
SEZs in India, having total
exports of services worth
around Rs 3,740 crore as on
February this fiscal.
The SEZ also houses in-
ternational exchanges of
BSE and NSE, a global deli-
very centre of Bank of Ame-
rica, units of 13 major
banks, 17 insurance entities
and other services expor-
ters.
1,342 societies
call AMC
for veggies
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad:The scheme of
the Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC) to coor-
dinate buying of all daily ve-
getable for residential socie-
ties in the city received a
massive response with 1,342
housing societies calling the
corporation to get vegetab-
les.
However, just 52 societies
could provide all the details
prescribed in the advertise-
ment. G H Solanki, the depu-
ty municipal commissioner,
handling the project said a to-
tal of 2,144 families in 52 soci-
eties availed of the facility,
and bought a total 8,095kg of
vegetables.
Solanki said that majori-
ty of calls were those who
thought the AMC was giving
away free vegetables and
backed out when we enume-
rated the costs.
Another set of people we-
re placing orders for 5kg or
10kg but did not place orders
when told the minimum re-
SUPPLY CHAIN
quirement was 100kg.
According to the scheme,
the society has have to nomi-
nate a representative who
then places bulk orders — of
100kg or more including all
vegetables — for the society
with the AMC’s WhatsApp
helpline number 94087-53064.
The civic body’s zonal re-
presentative will commis-
sion a vehicle for the socie-
ty’s bulk purchase at the nea-
rest vegetable market. A soci-
ety representative will have
to accompany the vehicle to
the market.
Once the purchase is ma-
de, the AMC’s team will help
load the vegetables at the
market and unload them at
the society’s entrance.
Vadil Vandana scheme launched, elderly to get free meals
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Gandhinagar: The state
government has initiated
the ‘Vadil Vandana’ sche-
me, a programme to provi-
de meals free of cost to the
elderly living alone in the
pp-
p
Aiidft
.
.
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33
HOW YOU CAN BOOST IMMUNITY
EAT FRUITS, VEGGIES; SLEEP WELL
Good immunity is one of the biggest influencing factors in the anti-Covid-19 fight.
For building it, eating fruits, vegetables and certain other foods is important
WHICH FOODS HELP AND WHY
IN GENERAL PARTICULAR IMMUNITY BOOSTERS
Greens | Be it spinach, broccoli or beans,
green foods contain phytonutrients, low
sugar levels, high fibre and vitamins
1 Garlic | WHO has clarified that while
garlic has antimicrobial properties,
there is no evidence that it protects against
Fruits | Most fruits are low in fat, sodium and Covid-19. But raw garlic can help beat certain bacterial
calories. They contain nutrients that often and viral infections
are under-consumed, including vitamins C
and A, folate, as well as
potassium
2 Almonds | Contain fibre,
riboflavin, magnesium
and calcium. Help lower blood
cholesterol levels
3 Apples | Contain one of the best known
antioxidants to protect cells from
damage
4 Mushrooms | Are rich in vitamin
B and contain antioxidants
5 Watermelons | Are high in
vitamins and potassium
6 Yoghurt | Rich in probiotics.
proteins, vitamins D and B
7 Tea | Contains disease-
fighting polyphenols,
flavonoids
8 Ginger | A rich source
of antioxidants, it
should be added to food
preparations and tea
WHY MORE
FRUITS & VEGGIES
5 portions
A British study
A Harvard
analysis of 4.7
lakh participants
found that a higher
showed significant
intake of fruits and
health gains with at least 5
vegetables reduced
portions of a variety of fruit and
risk of death from
vegetables every day. (5 portions
cardiovascular
in total, not 5 portions
disease
WARNING of each.)
Experts clarify that no
food item can ward off SLEEP IS IMPORTANT TOO Exercise | Can boost
one’s mood and keep
Covid-19, but a habit Apart from food,
of eating immunity- doctors advise 7 to one healthy
boosting foods helps 9 hours sleep each
the body fight infections night as body uses
more effectively. One time for repair of Alcohol |
could get the infection if essential functions, Consumption
one is in close contact with including the should be in
a positive patient immune system moderation
cities of Gujarat. Surat can be reached on 0288-2553417. In Bhavnagar,
Nodal officers have been 9824345560; in Vadodara, D M Gohil can be reached on
appointed in the eight citi-
es. A government release
said that Prashant Pandya
Krishnaben Solanki can be
reached on 0265-2459502;
Chetan Ganatra can be rea-
0278-2424814-15; Amit Sing-
hai in Gandhinagar can be
contacted on 9909954709;
in Ahmedabad can be rea- ched on 0281-2476874 in Raj- and Hitesh Vamja can be re-
ched on 155303 (AMC comp-
laints helpline); R C Patel in
kot; and A K Vastani in Jam-
nagar will be available on
ached in Junagadh on
9898146865.
rtou
lOIt
E
L & C E.
SMART MEVE
magicbricks
Get Price Trends
& Estimates
for 1.5 Million+
Property Options Property Sahi. Milegi Yahin.
 4 GUJARAT | Coronage
SURAT
Nine suspected patients of
COVID-19 isolated in Surat
One Of Them
Has Travel
History
To Turkey
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Surat: Two healthcare staffers
of Surat Municipal Corpora-
tion (SMC)-run SMIMER hos-
pital and Mahavir Hospital and
seven other people with sus-
pected symptoms of COVID-19
were admitted in the isolation
ward of New Civil Hospital
(NCH) here on Thursday.
The healthcare staffers
were a 24-year-old woman em-
ployee of SMIMER hospital
and a 58-year-old male staffer of
Mahavir Hospital.
A 65-year-old male from
Variavi Bazaar in cen-
tral zone, having travel
history to Delhi; a 23- COVID-19
year-old male from
Adajan, having travel
PANDEMIC
history to Hyderabad; a 28-year-
old male from Pandesara, with
no travel history; a 54-year-old
woman from Ghod Dod Road,
with no travel history; a 60-year-
335 beds created in
two Surat hospitals
in a record time
One of the wards for treatment of COVID-19 patients in SMIMER
hospital of Surat
Yagnesh.Mehta
@timesgroup.com
Surat: Over 300 additional
beds have been created at the
city’s two hospitals on an
emergency basis for treat-
ment of COVID-19 patients.
About 225 beds have been cre-
ated at New Civil Hospital
(NCH) and 100 at Surat Muni-
cipal Corporation-run SMI-
MER hospital. About 28 more
beds can be added to the new
facility at NCH for the treat-
ment of coronavirus patients.
The facilities for COVID-19
patients have been developed
in the existing two hospital
buildings. The state govern-
ment had announced this on
Saturday last and made the
project ready for operations
on Wednesday.
NCH already had 375-bed
facility, including isolation
wards, said Mahendra Patel,
commissioner of municipali-
ties, Gandhinagar. Patel, for-
mer district collector of Su-
rat, was assigned the task of
Rajkot firm picked to make ventilators 18 rail men stuck in yard sans food,
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Rajkot: A Rajkot-based com-
pany has taken up the task to
manufacture ventilators in
bulk, looking at massive de-
mand in hospitals across the
country, where COVID-19 posi-
tive patients are being treated.
A meeting of various sta-
keholders was held at the Raj-
kot collector office two days
ago under the leadership of
Rahul Gupta, a special coordi-
nation officer appointed for
Coronavirus and former col-
lector of Rajkot.
The need for hand saniti-
zers, personal protective equ-
ipment (PPE) kit, and ventila-
tor has risen multifold with
the spread of the virus and ho-
spitals nation-wide are ree-
ling under the shortage of
supply of these essential me-
dical equipment. The meeting
was called to explore the possi-
bility of mass production of
SMC officials said they were now getting suspected cases with no
foreign travel history
old woman from Adajan, with
travel history to Rajkot and
Amreli; a 30-year-old woman
from Bhatar, with travel histo-
ry to Vadodara; and a 54-year-
old woman
from City
Light, with
travel history
to Turkey,
were among others to be admit-
ted in the isolation ward of
NCH.
Dr Ashish Naik, deputy mu-
nicipal commissioner (health
Gaurang Joshi
coordination with regard to
creation of additional beds in
the city hospitals.
“The 100-bed facility has be-
en created at SMIMER over
and above its existing infrast-
ructure of 100 beds. We develo-
ped the 325-bed facility within
three days,” Patel added.
The new facility at NCH
has been developed at the un-
der construction building for
stem cell hospital. First three
floors of the building have be-
en utilized. “They were almost
complete with partitions and
electrification. Installation of
medical and electrical equip-
ment was required and that we
have completed,” said Jayesh
Brahmbhatt, dean, Govern-
ment Medical College (GMC).
There are 12 beds in ICU
unit equipped with ventilator,
multipara monitor, pulse oxi-
meter, crash cart of medicines
and other equipment. NCH of-
ficials claimed they have eno-
ugh personal protection equ-
ipment kit for doctors and me-
dical staff.
Meeting between district administration and manufacturers held
in Rajkot on Tuesday
these medical equipment at
the local level.
According to sources, Jyo-
ti CNC, the leading Rajkot-ba-
sed company in CNC manu-
facturing machines in India,
has shown willingness to ma-
nufacture ventilators. The
RAJKOT
Gaurang Joshi
and hospitals), said, “Now, we
are beginning to get suspected
cases from people with no trav-
el history to foreign countries
too. Samples of all these new pa-
tients at NCH have been sent for
laboratory tests. Their reports
are expected to come soon.”
Meanwhile, SMC has decid-
ed to allow some malls and
shops selling essential items to
remain open for 24 hours in dif-
ferent locations of the city to av-
ert crowding. Municipal com-
missioner Banchhanidhi Pani
Drones to track lockdown violators Digital besna held to
Rajkot Police
Warn People
Of Stern
Legal Actions
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Rajkot: In order to ensure
the efficacy of the lockdown
order, the Rajkot police flew
drones over residential soci-
eties in different areas and
warned people found flou-
ting the order of stern legal
action on Wednesday night.
The drones with cameras
captured the images of a gro-
up of youths playing cricket
in the ground of their socie-
ty behind Mahila College.
“When we saw the live
images of the youths playing
cricket on the hand held mo-
Mass exodus of migrants continues from Surat
Yagnesh.Mehta
@timesgroup.com
Surat:Migrants in large num-
bers have been leaving the city
ever since the nationwide
lockdown was announced by
Prime Minister Narendra Mo-
di to contain the spread of CO-
VID-19 on Tuesday night.
Thousands of migrants
can be seen at Kamrej crossro-
ads and at a few other points
on highway alongside Dia-
mond City and parts of south
Gujarat waiting for some
transport to leave for their ho-
metowns.
Curbs on private vehicles
and public transport during
the lockdown compelled many
people to begin the journey to
their native places on foot. A
TOI
company is one of the top ma-
nufactures of computerized
numerical control (CNC) ma-
chining used to make various
factory tools.
When contacted, chair-
man and managing director of
the company, Prakramsinh
has chalked out a plan along
with civic officials to ensure un-
interrupted supplies to people
after a meeting with retailers,
mall owners and wholesellers
on Thursday.
"This will help people to buy
their groceries and other essen-
tial items with ease. There will
be no long queues anywhere.
We urge people to maintain so-
cial distancing and stay at
home to protect themselves
from COVID-19,” Pani said.
SMC officials said shops
and malls will follow a system
which will ensure that people
maintain distance from each
other. Also, local courier agen-
cies have agreed to deliver vege-
tables from Agricultural Pro-
duce Market Committee
(APMC) to residents in the city.
Civic body and police will is-
sue passes to people engaged in
home delivery of essential
items. "From Thursday, instead
of people coming to vegetable
markets, we have allowed 180
vegetable vendors inside 216
housing societies in the city,”
the municipal commissioner
said.
Pani said the civic body is
developing city's own dash-
board to keep people updated
about COVID-19 developments.
In Rajkot city alone, 16 people were arrested for flouting orders
nitor of the drone, we went
into the society and warned
them of a stringent legal ac-
tion, if they are found viola-
ting the order next time,” sa-
id H M Gadhvi, inspector
with Rajkot crime branch.
In different areas of Raj-
kot city, a total of 16 people
Many have set out on bicycles for their native villages in Dahod and
Panchmahal districts
number of migrant workers
had also left the city on their bi-
cycles, motorcycles and auto-
rickshaws. Some of the wor-
kers also travelled home in go-
Jadeja said: “We are not ex-
perts in producing ventilators
but looking at the current de-
mand in the country, we are
planning to develop this equ-
ipment. We will take help of
experts in the manufacture
and design of the equipment.
First we will start with five to
10 pieces, and if we are suc-
cessful, we will go in for mass
production.”
According to company of-
ficials it is premature to talk
about costing of the equip-
ment at this moment.
Jayanti Ravi, principal se-
cretary, health & family welfa-
re said, said that Jyoti CNC
has agreed to manufacture
1,000 ventilators for the state
government to rise up to any
emergency challenge that CO-
VID-19 may pose in the state.
“These ventilators will help
state be equipped to treat criti-
cally ill Coronavirus patients
on a large scale,” said Ravi.
MEHSANA
Bhavnagar
man dies of
coronavirus
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Rajkot: Bhavnagar city recor-
ded its first COVID-19 death
when a 70-year-old man succum-
bed in Sir T Hospital on Thurs-
day. Principal Secretary, health
& family welfare, Jayanti Ravi
told reporters that the man had
returned from a trip of Delhi re-
cently. “The had co-morbidity
such as diabetes, cancer malig-
nancy and heart conditions
too,” Ravi added.
VJ Branwal, district deve-
lopment officer (DDO), Bhavna-
gar said, “We are identifying all
the close contacts of this person
and started the process to qua-
rantine them.”
Meanwhile, the total num-
ber of Coronavirus positive ca-
ses in Rajkot touched five with
one more persons confirmed in-
fected on Thursday. Municipal
health officer, Dr. Pankaj Rat-
hod, said, “The 42-year-old man
who tested positive is a friend of
a person who had tested positive
two days abgo after coming from
Dubai.”
The team of Rajkot Munici-
pal corporation (RMC) has qua-
rantined eight close contacts of
this person including his family
members. This is the third posi-
tive case in last three days in Raj-
kot and all of them got infected
through local transmission.
TOI
were arrested for flouting
prohibitory orders. In Raj-
kot district also, 16 people
were caught violating the or-
der.
In Jamnagar, a total of 35
people were detained for vio-
lating the section 144 of the
Criminal Procedure Code
Gaurang Joshi
ods vehicles.
However, the state govern-
ment on Thursday announced
bus facility for labourers going
on foot to their hometowns in
water get help from Barodians
Jay.Pachchigar
@timesgroup.com
Vadodara: Around 18 rail-
way staff members working
in two trains were left to fend
for themselves after passeng-
er trains came to a halt on the
midnight of March 22.
Soon after the announce-
ment, a group, comprising
coach attendants, housekee-
pers and air-conditioner me-
chanics in the Dehradun-Ko-
chuveli Express and Sri
Ganganagar-Kochuveli Ex-
press trains, got stuck in a
yard near Vadodara railway
station since the wee hours of
Wednesday as these trains
had already started journey
from Kochuveli and had rea-
ched their destination sta-
tions. The trains, operated by
Southern Railway, were re-
turning with empty rakes to
Social distancing move
in Vadodara ignored
Hundreds
Throng Polo
Ground To
Buy Veggies
Tushar.Tere &
Jay.Pachchigar TNN
Vadodara: Vadodara civic
body and police’s aim to cre-
ate social distancing backfi-
red with a bang on Thursday
when the Polo Ground wit-
nessed a massive rush of ci-
tizens jostling one another
to get fresh veggies at Khan-
derao market prices.
The historic Khanderao
Market – city’s largest vege-
table market – located in Va-
dodara Municipal Corpora-
tion’s backyard - has tradi-
tionally been Barodians’ fa-
vourite place for farm-fresh
greens at affordable prices.
But looking at the lockdown,
VMC decided to shift the
vendors here to the Polo Gro-
und on Thursday as Khande-
rao market is too congested.
But the decision proved
costly as it defeated the enti-
re purpose of lockdown with
Surat police carry
out trial of drones
Surat: City police started a
trial run on using drones to
help them keep an eye on
city the roads during the
lockdown from Wednesday.
"We have identified a
few roads in Adajan to carry
out a trial of monitoring
through drone, which takes
a round of the area and
provides aerial footage to
the operator. On noticing a
gathering of group at the
same spot, the operater
then alerts the police
control room," said
Prashant Sumbe, in-charge
deputy commissioner of
police, zone IV. TNN
(CrPC) which prohibits the
assembly of more than four
persons.
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh
and districts of Dahod and
Panchmahal. The announce-
ment has led to increase in the
number of migrant labourers
wanting to return to their ho-
mes.
“It is true that a number of
people are leaving the city, and
this needs to be stopped. Police
will have to take strict action
against people coming out on to
the roads,” Surat district collec-
tor Dhaval Patel told TOI.
On Wednesday, several la-
bourers were sent either to the-
ir native places or to a nearer
place by police in rural areas of
Surat district. This was becau-
se many workers and their fa-
milies had walked up to the
highway from the city in the ho-
pe of getting transport. These
TOI
The four were stranded without
food and water for two days
Kochuveli with these employ-
ees who did not even have any
food or water stock with
them.
Their miserable condition
became public only after a vi-
deo was shared by some relati-
ves in Kerala. In the video, the
staff members were heard
speaking in Malayalam that
they have not eaten food nor
had drinking water for two
THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD
VADODARA
There was a sudden rush of buyers at the vegetable market in Padra
taluka as it remained closed due to lockdown for four days
hundreds swarming at the
sprawling ground near Kirti
Stambh to buy veggies after
word spread like wildfire
across the city.
After vendors reached
the Khanderao market pre-
mises at about 4.30am on
Thursday, they were asked
to shift their stalls to Polo
Ground. “We were baffled as
the authorities didn’t in-
form us in advance of the
plan. A few policemen told
us that we need to shift to the
Polo Ground and so we did
accordingly. But what ensu-
ed was total chaos,” said Jitu
Kachhiya, who has been sel-
support lockdown
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Palanpur: The mood was
sombre, ‘digitally’ literally!
While the picture of Jayanti
Darji was adorning the photo
frame, there were only five
members of his family sitting
at his besna, the meet to mo-
urn the dead and offer tribu-
tes.
However, hundreds of tri-
butes soon started pouring in
as Darji’s family members
connected with their relati-
ves and friends through video
conferencing.
“Not only Darji’s relati-
ves, but his own son who lives
in Mumbai paid his tributes
through video conferencing.
At a time when PM is appea-
ling to his countrymen to
strictly follow the lockdown
workers were also provided fo-
od by local non-government or-
ganizations.
“Labour department has
data of labourers working in
different industries. It should
have informed the government
about such a possibility. I think
the state government comple-
tely failed in understanding the
situation,” said Vipul Pandya,
president of Bandhkam Maj-
door Sangathan, Ahmedabad.
“The issue of people lea-
ving the city in large numbers
has become a serious problem.
Police are trying to stop them
but people are still managing to
escape. We will work on some
strategy to stop the movement
of people from the city,” police
commissioner R B Brahmb-
hatt said.
days. They also mentioned
that the toilets in the train too
did not have water forcing
them to live in unhygienic
conditions. Diasporic Kerali-
tes living in city leant about it
through their relatives in Ke-
rala. Locals contacted rail-
way officials and through in-
tervention of divisional-level
officers food and water could
be provided to staff members.
“The trains were retur-
ning to Kochuveli and since
these were point-to-point
staff they were there in the
train,” said western railway
PRO Khemraj Meena. Point-
to-point staff includes those
employees who do not have
fixed working hours. Their
work starts when the train de-
parts the origin station and
continues till the train re-
turns to the same station.
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020
TOI
ling veggies in Khanderao
for the past 45 years. Kachhi-
ya questioned the justifica-
tion of bunching all the ven-
dors together at one place.
“When the government is
advising social distancing,I
don’t understand why all of
us had to be shifted to a sing-
le spot. What was seen at Po-
lo Ground was exactly oppo-
site of what we are being
told to do,” Kachhiya alle-
ged.
Another vegetable ven-
dor, Priyank Kachhiya alle-
ged that Polo Ground had on-
ly a single gate leading to
overcrowding at one spot.
TOI
Condolence meeting of Darji in
Punsri village of Sabarkantha
to stop the further spread of
coronavirus, the Darji family
should be commended for ta-
king the initiative of digital
besna and thereby, practicing
social distancing,” said one of
the friends of the family.
Helpline to
arrest decline in
psychological
health set up
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Rajkot: Amid the lockdown, pe-
ople are now reporting of having
psychological problems after
they are being forced to stay coo-
ped up inside their homes and
flats. This has also led to many
starting to have anxiety stress
and panic attacks resulting in
frequent fights with spouses or
family members.
Looking at the increasing
stress levels, the Rajkot district
administration has launched a
helpline on Thursday to counsel
people who are disturbed or fel-
ling stressed out mentally. While
the main aim is to counsel people
complaining of anxiety while in
home quarantine, the helpline
will also offer its services to ge-
neral people too.
Talking to TOI, the nodal offi-
cer for this project, Janaksinh
Gohil said, “People are social
animals and when they are now
being isolated, they are panick-
ing which is making them hyper
or stressed out. Some kept under
home quarantine also fear of be-
ing tested positive of Coronavi-
rus. This helpline will try to allay
their fears through counseling.”
The helpline has five num-
bers which have been set up in
the collector’s office – three with
outgoing and two with incoming
facilities. The experts will call up
such people on home quarantine
and counsel them while anybo-
dy from the general public can al-
so call up if they require any psy-
chological assistance. A team of
60 people including 15 psychiat-
rists, professors and lecturers of
psychology department of Sau-
rashtra University and govern-
ment authorized counselors will
remain present to attend the hel-
pline calls on shift-wise duty.
 THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 TIMES NATION | Lockdown-Day 2 5

Rate of increase in cases PM to G-20: Put humans, not Free LPG to

‘relatively stabilised’: Govt
But Warns No
Room Yet For
Complacency
Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The government
on Thursday said the rate of in-
crease in positive cases of Co-
vid-19 has “relatively stabil-
ised” in last few days even as its
stressed that there was no room
for complacency and alertness
had to be maintained with de-
termined implementation of a
national lockdown.
The health ministry report-
ed 43 new cases and four addi-
tional deaths in last 24 hours,
taking the number of con-
firmed cases to 649 so far, of
which 593 are active cases and
42 were cured and discharged,
whereas one case was migrat-
ed. Total deaths due to Covid-19
stood at 13.
“Though the number of
cases is increasing, we are see-
ing a relatively stable trend in
the rate at which cases are in-
creasing or a little bit of reduc-
tion in the rate of increase in
MCD workers marks safe distance block at a market in New Delhi
cases,” health ministry joint
secretary Lav Agarwal said. He
added the country was “fully
geared up” to fight the virus
and called for a collective effort.
In an indication that the
Centre continues to view the
threat as grave, health minister
Harsh Vardhan held a detailed
review with state counterparts
in the afternoon that lasted
more than two and a half
hours. The discussion centred
on states with high numbers,
with others gleaning tips on
how to prevent and combat
such situations. The discussion
Piyal Bhattacharjee
drilled down to preparedness of
hospital facilities and the effi-
cacy of the contact tracing and
quarantine exercise.
At the government brief-
ing, Agarwal emphasised it
was too early to read a clear
trend, requiring the govern-
ment as well as citizens to main-
tain alertness and full adher-
ence of the lockdown. Besides,
compliance of guidelines and
protocols issued by the govern-
ment for social distancing and
other measures will help main-
tain the trend and overcome the
problem, he said. The home
ministry representative said
the Centre was working with
states to resolve problems in
provision of essential services,
including home deliveries.
“The way things are evolv-
ing, we cannot take it in a re-
laxed way. We are hopeful that
by following social distancing,
conducting a proper contact
tracing and by ensuring all peo-
ple at home quarantine are
monitored, we will be able to
combat the disease,” Agarwal
said.
At present, around two lakh
people are under community
surveillance across the coun-
try. The government also said
there was no “hard evidence” of
coronavirus pandemic having
reached the community trans-
mission stage in India and add-
ed that India continued to be in
stage 2 of localised transmis-
sion. “Community transmis-
sion phase of Covid-19 will start
if the community and the gov-
ernment don’t work collective-
ly and follow guidelines but it
will never happen in India if we
follow social distancing and
treatment properly,” Agarwal
said.
eco targets, at centre of vision
New Delhi: As the world reels
under the economic and social
fallout of the coronavirus out-
break, Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Thursday pitched
for developing a new crisis man-
agement protocol to deal with
global health crisis and urged
the powerful G20 grouping to
work towards addressing
shockwaves triggered by the
pandemic.
In his address at an extraor-
dinary videoconference of the
G-20 leaders, Modi also urged
the grouping to come out with a
concrete action plan to fight the
pandemic and said human be-
ings rather than economic tar-
gets should be put at the centre
of its vision for global prosper-
ity and cooperation.
The powerful grouping of
world's 20 major industrialised
nations at its meeting decided to
inject over USD 5 trillion into
the global economy to counter
the social and economic impact
of COVID-19.
The G20 held the videocon-
ference to discuss ways to deal
with the coronavirus pandemic
which has killed over 21,000 peo-
ple and infected more than
470,000 globally.
Government sources said
A deserted Western Express highway in Mumbai on Thursday
there was no discussion on the
origin of the coronavirus or on
China at the summit and that
the spirit during the delibera-
tions was of collaborative ap-
proach in dealing with the cri-
sis. There were no efforts to as-
cribe blame to anyone for the
outbreak of the virus, they said.
The leaders, including US
President Donald Trump and
Russian President Vladimir
Putin, also agreed to contribute
to the WHO-led COVID-19 Soli-
darity Response Fund on a vol-
untary basis.
In his remarks, Modi noted
the alarming social and eco-
nomic cost of the pandemic,
adding that 90 per cent of the
ANI
COVID-19 cases and 88 per cent
of deaths were in G20 countries.
The G20 grouping shares 80
per cent of world GDP and 60
per cent of world population.
The External Affairs Minis-
try said Modi underscored the
need for free and open sharing
of the benefits of medical re-
search and development and
sought developing an adaptive,
responsive and humane health
care systems. It said he also
sought strengthening and re-
forming intergovernmental or-
ganisations like WHO and work
together to reduce economic
hardships resulting from CO-
VID-19 particularly for the eco-
nomically weaker nations. PTI
mitigate eco
impact of
Covid-19: Min
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Households with
‘Ujjwala’ LPG connection will
get free refills till June, a move,
which together with the provi-
sion of free foodgrains
through ration shops, will put
food on the 'thaali (plate)' in 8.3
crore poor households and
help them tide over the lock-
down.
Describing the package as
“an example of responsive
governance in challenging
times,” oil minister Dharmen-
dra Pradhan said it will “miti-
gate the economic impact of
the Covid-19 outbreak on the
rural and urban poor, farm-
ers, health workers, migrant
workers, senior citizens and
other vulnerable sections of
society”.
Besides keeping the kitch-
en fire burning during these
challenging times, the free cyl-
inders will address the prob-
lem of low consumption by
beneficiaries — mostly due to
slow pace of behavioural and
social change that hampers
sustained usage of LPG for
cooking.
The Comptroller and Au-
ditor General’s report in De-
cember 2019 pegged the an-

Vet hospitals Let media do its job: Editors Guild Govt lays down
Beijing blocks
nual average refill consump-
tion at 3.66 among beneficiar-
ies who had completed a year
to stay open TIMES NEWS NETWORK norms for till March 2018. It said analysis
for 3.18 crore PMUY benefici-
New Delhi: Realising the
threat posed by hungry stray
animals, especially dogs, in
residential areas due to lack of
New Delhi: Editors Guild of
India has urged law enforce-
ment agencies around the
country to not prevent jour-
smooth supply
of essentials
UNSC meet on aries as on December 31, 2018
showed that refill consump-
tion declined to 3.21 refills a
year.
food during the lockdown pe-
riod, mny states, including
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarak-
hand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka
nalists from doing their job
and reporting the coronavi-
rus outbreak during the 21-
day lockdown announced by
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Laying down stan-

and Goa, have stepped in to is-
sue passes to individuals to
feed such animals.
Besides, the home minis-
try has also revised its lock-
down guidelines to allow vet-
erinary hospitals and phar-
macies to remain operational
during the period. The move
will help take effective action
to prevent animals from suf-
fering without medical aid.
The addition to the guide-
lines came after the the issue
was flagged by Animal Wel-
fare Board of India (AWBI)
and many animal rights
groups and individual includ-
ing BJP MP and former Union
minister Maneka Gandhi. TNN
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi. It has also urged the
government to put in place a
system of regular media
briefings at the ministerial
level to ensure communica-
tion about the outbreak does
not suffer.
The Guild, in a statement
issued Thursday, said that it
had noted with concern that
high-handed and arbitrary
police action has obstructed
many journalists from re-
porting on the coronavirus
outbreak in many parts of the
country. “Such action is self-
defeating when media free-
doms are critically important
for covering the outbreak and
A shopkeeper peeps out from his shop during the second day of the
lockdown in the wake of novel coronavirus pandemic in Bengaluru
the state response,” the state-
ment said.
“The job of the police is
not to impede journalists’
work, especially under cur-
rent circumstances, but to fa-
cilitate their functioning. The
State and Union Territory
governments and the police
also need to be reminded that
media has been exempted as
an essential service under the
current lockdown guidelines
of the Union home ministry,”
a Guild statement said.
“The Guild, therefore,
urges all law enforcement
agencies to let the media play
its role as smoothly as possi-
ble. It also urges the govern-
ment to put in place a suitable
mechanism to facilitate min-
ister-level regular briefings
during the ongoing coronavi-
rus crisis, so that communica-
tion does not suffer as it
doesn’t give the media ade-
quate opportunity to ask
questions,” the statement
added.
dard operating procedures for
maintaining supply of essential
goods at local retail shops, large
organised retail stores as well as
e-commerce platforms, the
home ministry on Thursday un-
derlined that all constituents of
the supply chain — from manu-
facturer to wholesaler/retailer
— should be allowed to operate,
while ensuring social distanc-
ing during the lockdown period.
These constituents, home
secretary Ajay K Bhalla stated
in a communication to chief sec-
retaries/administrators of all
states/Union territories, in-
clude suppliers of essential
goods like restaurants supply-
ing home delivery of cooked
food items; storage facilities like
godowns and warehouses;
transporters, drivers and load-
coronavirus
Indrani.Bagchi@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: China blocked a
discussion in the UN Security
Council on the coronavirus
pandemic sweeping the world,
sought earlier this week by Es-
tonia, in a sign that reflects the
limitations of the apex body of
global governance to debate
the burning issues of the day.
Estonia, which is a non-
permanent member, had
asked for a meeting on the pan-
demic last week. The docu-
ment stressed the “growing
concern about the unprece-
dented extent of the Covid-19
outbreak in the world, which
may constitute a threat to in-
ternational peace and securi-
ty".
PTI
A worker sprays disinfectants on
a street in Mumbai on Thursday
a discussion when the G-20
leaders sat down on Thursday
for a unique virtual summit,
there was no questioning for
transparency or origin of the
virus. Official sources said the
conversation was collabora-
tive and cooperative, which
means the US and China may
have put their mutual acrimo-
AP court jails 13
for 2 days over
lockdown violation
Vijayawada: In a first in
the country, a court in And-
hra Pradesh on Thursday
sentenced a group of 13 peo-
ple to two days of imprison-
ment and a penalty of Rs
1,000 each for violating the
lockdown imposed to battle
the Covid-19 spread.
While people have been
booked for violating the na-
tionwide shutdown im-
posed by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi two days
ago, this is the first instance
of a court sentencing people
to jail for the crime. Under
Section 51 of the Disaster

Alternative medicine isn’t quackery.

ers from the place of manufac-
ture to wholesalers/retailers;
and manufacturing units of es-
sential goods including drugs,
pharmaceuticals, medical de-
The proposal, however, did
not go far, with both China and
Russia nixing the idea. Sourc-
es said it did not appear as if
the P-5 were overly keen to hold
ny behind for the moment.
In 2015, the Security Coun-
cil did hold a similar meeting
when the Ebola virus was a
looming threat, particularly to
Management Act, a person
can be jailed for a term
which may extend up to one
year for violating the orders
of the government during

It is proven traditional wisdom Getty Images

vices, their raw material and in-
termediaries.
The SOPs forwarded to
states/UTs said all facilities in
Bhaswati Bhattacharya the supply chain — whether in-
volved in manufacturing,
a meeting on a subject that is
devastating countries and the
global economy, virtually with-
out any early end in sight.
Some reports said the Esto-
nian proposal called for “trans-
UN missions in Africa. But
this time it’s different. Not only
is China the source of the pan-
demic, the US-China rivalry is
playing out in the background
as well with President Donald
lockdown.
The court of Pileru sec-
ond class magistrate in
Chittoor district sentenced
every person in the group of
13 to two days of imprison-

A
lternative medicine has always wholesale or retail of such goods parency” which China was re- Trump insisting on referring ment and a penalty of Rs
been under assault from so- through local stores, large brick portedly unwilling to address. to the disease as ‘China virus’. 1,000.
called rationalists like Amit and mortar stores or e-com- Beijing has been facing a volley According to recent re- Pileru circle inspector
Varma (‘Beware of quacks’, TOI, merce companies— should be of allegations that it hid the in- ports, the UN Security Council Sadiq Ali said the officials
March 22). This is a nation where modern allowed to function through the cidence of the highly infec- has not met since March 12. had been creating aware-
medicine is the youngest among eight lockdown period. tious coronavirus for over a Calls for virtual UNSC meet- ness about the lockdown
coexisting and distinct systems of medi- Employees and persons en- month before reporting cases ings in the era of social dis- through loudspeakers after
cine, each with its own logic, validity, and gaged in supply chain shall be al- of unexplained pneumonia in tancing and lockdowns have al- PM’s address, but many of
ardent followers. Yet such columnists lowed to commute with e-pass Wuhan in late 2019. so found no merit with either the residents ignored the
ignore the jagged interface between and a valid photo ID. While the UN stonewalled China or Russia. call to down shutters. TNN
medical disciplines. Real medical science
requires translation into clinical prac-

Ramayan and
Covid-19 scare becomes
tice. They ignore clinical realities, such
as the successful use of urine therapy’s It is not unscientific to
nitrogen to clear the gut. They are not use herbs but to deny
interested in understanding healing or their existence Mahabharat of
children’s nightmares
creating larger frames of reference to
resolve inconsistencies.
Modern physicians cry quackery
(ENT+respiratory channel) resolve pa-
tients’ self-reported post-nasal drip and
and reiki to be clinically as good or better
than “evidence-based” pharmaceutical
1980s set for a
though their own medicines cannot
show patients how to control chronic
respiratory discomforts. The herbs tulsi,
vasa, neem, licorice, kantakari, ginger,
medicine. The NIH Consensus Confer-
ence on Acupuncture was published in DD comeback Priyanka.Kakodkar
Ram

diseases or treat cancers. Ancient San-
skrit texts contain some of the human
race’s oldest preserved clinical wisdom.
Why ignore these texts by branding them
as religion? Is it because scientists can’t
How can we generate clinical
evidence about Ayurveda
when properly designed
studies are not funded or
have panels that are biased?
understand the logic, or patent formula-
tions as intellectual property?
Frontier research in neuroscience,
oncology, gastroenterology and pulmo-
nology today points to more effective
treatments than just surgery, pharmaceu-
ticals and radiation. Examples include
panchakarma, thermography, acupunc-
ture, laser therapies, molecular ple-
otropism, electromagnetic-field thera-
pies, and herbal medicines. Scientific
studies ground their clinical usefulness.
Where are the studies for antibiotics used
for viral infections? And for combination
use of pharmaceuticals that have never
been tested for drug-drug interactions?
Hundreds of scientific references de-
scribe the anti-viral properties in Indian
plants such as guduchi, haldi, neem, in
the laboratory and the clinic. Vaidyas use
guduchi at the change of seasons, rtusan-
dhi when summer arrives with its flux
of viruses. Herbs that work in the gut are
used to keep the digestion clean, the gut
microbiome happy, and prevent the im-
mune system from being preoccupied
with indigestible antigens. The proof is
in the morning toilet and sink. No clinical
trial needed.
Herbs for prana-vaha-srotas
cinnamon, cardamom and long pepper
have been observed for their effects on
the lung, and analysed for a dozen centu-
ries. Placebo? Who cares when the throat
feels better the same day?
It is not unscientific to use herbs. It is
unscientific to deny their existence, when
the scientific clinical literature is full of
good studies. The best scientific sources
admit that, unlike pharmaceutical drugs
which are usually one chemical, herbal
medicines contain pleiotropic molecules
(a single molecule affects many molecu-
lar mechanisms, usually in different
parts of the body). It is also unscientific
not to visit PubMed to search for scien-
tific studies on herbs before making com-
ments that herbs have no scientific basis.
Market power should also speak loud-
ly to rationalists. Over 700,000 Ayurvedic
physicians and their patients use herbal
formulations. People in the West spend
billions of dollars to get herbs. If herbal
“unproven” medicines did not work
clinically, why would highly educated
people continue to use them? They can
use anything, yet choose “alternative
medicines”, rejecting the easy-to-get, al-
most free pharmaceuticals. Something
other than placebo is at play.
Varma attempts to define real medi-
cine as treatments that work, using out-
dated ideas of epidemiology. Most scien-
tist-clinicians and epidemiologists in the
Cochrane Collaboration admit that
double-blind, placebo-controlled, ran-
domised-clinical-trials are not the best
way to judge the true effectiveness of all
treatments, but they surrender with, ‘it
is what we have’. They also admit that
placebo-control designs are biased in fa-
vour of pill-based interventions, which
can be single-, double-, or triple-blinded.
Many clinical studies have surpassed
study design barriers and shown yoga
JAMA in 1998, showing acupuncture as
excellent for asthma.
The defence of peer-reviewed jour-
nals in modern medicine is also de-
bunked when major publishers admit
that many studies are financially incen-
tivised, promoting manipulated data,
and not a scientific gold standard. The
assertion that “no homoeopathic medi-
cine has ever passed” the placebo test is
outdated. Several RCTs show that ho-
moeopathy works. The greater problem
is that the medical physics of water and
dilutions cannot yet be explained by
biochemists. Yet chemists and physi-
cists accept blindly that water has un-
explained properties in vivo.
Unproven medicines remain un-
proven, just as India remains Covid-free
while it remains untested: when proper
tools will be used correctly, to test ac-
curately, by competent people, true data
will emerge.
How can we generate clinical evi-
dence about Ayurveda when properly
designed studies are not funded, when
the committees that fund them are com-
posed of single-discipline scientists full
of bias, and when proper training and
ethical research are not standard
among “experts”?
In this nation, where plural medical
systems highlight its commitment to di-
versity, respect for ancient wisdom, and
infinite potential, the bias of claiming all
therapies as quackery when they don’t
match the ideology of the best-funded
system is simply that — bias.
The patient ultimately seeks relief.
Most do not care which system they fol-
low, if their treatment really works.
The writer is MPH MD (Family
Medicine) PhD (Ayurveda-BHU), and
Fulbright Specialist in Global Public
Health/Integrative Medicine 2018-2021
Swati.Mathur@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Public broadcaster
Prasar Bharati is working out
the technical and logistical is-
sues related to the repeat telecast
of the1980’s blockbuster epics se-
ries Ramayan and Mahabharat.
The historical drama-epic
series produced by Ramanand
Sagar and B R Chopra, respec-
tively, were first telecast on Door-
darshan in the late1980’s and had
entertained an entire genera-
tion of TV viewers in an era
where the entertainment chan-
nel boom had still not taken
place, and there was no internet
and OTT platforms.
Both Ramayan and Mahabh-
arat, understood to be among the
most successful TV series in the
history of Indian television,
were viewed by over 650 million
people spread across 55 coun-
tries. Prasar Bharati chief exec-
utive Shashi Shekhar Vempati
acknowledged the popularity of
the TV shows and said the pub-
caster is in the process of firm-
ing up the schedule of the series.
TOI has learn that copyright is-
sues related to both series have
been ironed out, and only techni-
cal and logistical issues need
ironing out.
The 21-day lockdown an-
nounced by the government to
rein in the spread of the corona-
virus pandemic has triggered a
fresh demand for entertainment
options and led to many requests
to the public broadcaster to tele-
cast other popular shows such as
Chankaya and Malgudi Days,
among others.
@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: A few days after
school closed, the nightmares
began. Eight year-old Jahnavi
(name changed) would arrive
at her parents’ bedroom at
3am, saying she was scared.
“This went on for three days.
Then she finally said she had
been getting a stomach ache in
the evenings and was scared
she had contracted the corona-
virus,” said her mother, who
works in an advertising agen-
cy.
Last week, 12-year-old Ad-
vay (name changed) had a
panic attack. “He suddenly
said he couldn’t breathe. After
he calmed down, he told us he
was scared that we (his par-
ents) would be killed by the
coronavirus,” said his moth-
er, who teaches in an interna-
tional school.
With the pandemic shut-
ting down schools and offices
and news about its spread and
impact being discussed non-
stop in homes, the anxiety is
leaving its mark on children.
As parents discuss the death
toll, panic about how to keep
the disease at bay and whether
their groceries are running
out, children cannot escape its
impact.
Long before schools closed
down, Covid-19 was already on
everyone’s radar. “I was scared
to go to school. If someone
sneezed on me, I thought I was
going to get it,” said nine-year
old Jahaan (name changed).
LIMIT CORONA TIME,
GIVE +VE MESSAGE
Do not talk endlessly of virus
Try not to panic in front of children
Do not expose them to images
related to the pandemic
Spend time reassuring children,
stress pandemic can be controlled
Give them a daily routine to help
normalise the situation
He refused to go down to the
building garden, much before
the lockdown was declared.
The biggest change after
the lockdown is social isola-
tion: no school, hanging out
with friends or playing
downstairs. “Suddenly the
whole normality has
changed. Children don’t go
to school and their parents,
who may have been work-
ing, are at home all the
time,” said Dr Alka Subra-
manyam, associate profes-
sor of psychiatry at BYL
Nair Hospital.
Children are bound to be
affected by the anxiety dis-
played by parents, psychia-
trists say. “I have been inun-
dated by calls from friends
and clients who either think
they have it or are not doing
enough to prevent it. Not
sleeping, having paranoid
thoughts and so on,” said
Kersi Chavda, consultant
psychiatrist and former
president of the Bombay
Psychiatric Society.
It’s best to tell children sim-
ple facts, said Chavda. “We can
tell them these germs have
come to our city from other
countries and we have stay
home for some time to be safe.
End on a positive note, saying
it will certainly get better,”
added Chavda.
“It’s important to limit
corona-time so the child is
not exposed to this all day,”
said Subramanyam. “Among
the big triggers for children
are visual images. Even dur-
ing 9/11, children who
watched images on television
were more prone to stress,”
she added.
“A routine is vital to nor-
malise things during an ab-
normal period. Also, we
should not focus so much on
schoolwork during this time.
Instead, parents should reas-
sure children and spend qual-
ity time with them. The em-
phasis should be on getting
through this together as a
family,” advised Subrama-
nyam
 6 TIMES NATION | Lockdown-Day 2 THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020

Package reflects govt’s NEET-UG

likely to be
S Korea shows way to fight
commitment to poor: BJP
TIMES NEWS NETWORK AFP
postponed
Manash.Gohain
@timesgroup.com
Covid-19 — without lockdown
Discharges 41% Of 9k
4STEPS SEOUL TOOK TO
New Delhi: BJP on Thursday New Delhi: The National Eli-
welcomed the announcement gibility cum Entrance Test-
CONTAIN THE SPREAD
of Rs 1.7 lakh crore relief pack-
age for the poor in view of the
Under Graduate (NEET UG)
2020 scheduled for May 3, Patients After Recovery
lockdown due to coronavirus 2020, is likely to be postponed Pradeep.Thakur fections through the Ko-
spread, saying the decision re- as a result of the 21-day lock @timesgroup.com rean Centre for Disease
flects the commitment of down. The National Testing Control, simultaneously
Prime Minister Narendra Mo- Agency (NTA) on Thursday New Delhi: No cities have with all stakeholders, in-
di to ensure that no one is left decided to not issue the admit been locked down, no cluding the media, on
hungry in the country. card that were to be down- transport closed and inter- where, when and how the
“The package will help the loaded by the candidates on national entry is still open. infections were discovered
poor, farmers and other needy Friday. The Joint Entrance Well, that’s South Korea and investigated,” a report FIRST SECOND
sections of the society when Examination (Main) will al- which has not only man- released by the UNDRR Transparency in Containment and mitigation:
the nation is on a 21-day lock- so be rescheduled as the lock aged to flatten the curve of said. sharing information Containment started as early
down to fight the coronavirus A labourer sleeps on sacks of onions at Azadpur Mandi wholesale down will continue till April rising coronavirus cases in The lessons learnt from on new infections; as the first case was identified
pandemic,” BJP President J P market in New Delhi on Thursday 14. The NTA will issue a noti- the country but has done a the MERS (Middle East Re- on where, when and in China on December 30.
Nadda said in a statement, add- fication on the status NEET- remarkable job of fully cur- spiratory Syndrome) out- how infections were Focus on identifying infected
ing, “Prime Minister Naren- UG 2020 on Friday. ing 41% of its 9,137 infected break in 2015 were handy, discovered patients and isolating them
dra Modi has announced a Cong welcomes govt relief package as Deciding not to issue the citizens, keeping the death as a result there was no
admit cards for the time be-
‘huge relief’ for the poor in this
hour of crisis.”
first step in right direction ing, a senior NTA official
count at just 126 as on
Wednesday.
confusion among the pub-
lic about the drills to be fol-
Home minister Amit Shah said, “We will not be issuing South Korea has dis- lowed during a pandemic
New Delhi: Congress on Thursday welcomed the government’s
said the announcement shows the admit cards on March 27, charged 3,730 of its 9,137 to avoid spreading the vi-
announcement of a financial assistance package to deal with job
the sensitivity of the govern- 2020, as scheduled. The new confirmed Covid-19 pa- rus. “No cities have been
losses and hardships in the wake of coronavirus-forced lockdown
ment towards the poor and oth- date for downloading of ad- tients who have fully reco- locked down, no transport
as it called it the first right step in tackling the crisis.
er vulnerable sections of socie- mit cards will be issued later vered, Dr Lee Wang-jun, closed and international
After days of criticising the Modi government for what he called FOURTH THIRD
ty. following a review. A final CEO of Myongji Hospital entry is still open,” Dr Lee
lapses and callousness while demanding economic steps like cash The main weapon is Implements triage and treatment
In his tweets, Nadda noted call will be taken jointly by and chairman of Korean said.
transfers for the poor, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said, diagnostic kits, massive system developed during 2015
that over 80 crore poor people the ministries of health and Hospital Association, said The second policy was
“The government’s announcement of a financial assistance screening combined MERS outbreak. A triage system
will get an additional five kg family welfare and human on Wednesday at a special- containment and mitiga-
package is the first step in the right direction. India owes a debt to with drive-through of five isolation hospitals created
each of wheat and rice besides resource development.” ly organised webinar by tion — tracking all suspect
its farmers, daily wage- earners, labourers, women and the elderly and walk-through for critical and severe cases,
one kg of pulses for three The health and HRD min- the UN Office for Disaster cases and tracing all con-
who are bearing the brunt of the ongoing lockdown.” test centres. Weekly mild to moderate cases sent
months to ensure that every- istries are in talks regarding Risk Reduction (UNDRR). firmed ones.
Earlier in the day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote to diagnostic capability to a network of community
one gets adequate amount of the dates for the issuing of ad- The video conference was Mitigation involved
Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that the Centre provide of 4.3 lakh through hospitals. Hotels, gyms and
food. mit cards. Based on the direc- organised by the UNDRR lowering the peak of the
fixed cash transfers to workers in the unorganised sector and a 100 labs working residential centres revamped
Farmers, daily wagers, tions, NTA will issue a notifi- and the WHO for 900 disas- outbreak through a social
special risk allowance to health workers engaged in the fight round the clock for new hospital beds
poor women, people with dis- cation on Friday on the fu- ter management and distancing campaign in-
against coronavirus. TNN
abilities and senior citizens ture course of action. Ac- health specialists from 105 troduced just after the big
will also get monetary relief such important decisions and months. cording to reliable sources countries to learn from the outbreak in Daegu at the
through direct benefit transfer, this relief package,” he said. BJP general secretary Bhu- from the government the Korean experience. end of February, Dr Lee spread of Covid-19 to Dae- moted massive screening
he said. Nadda also hailed the gov- pender Yadav said the govern- new schedule is unlikely to Dr Lee explained the Ko- said. Daegu, with a popula- gu with 85% of all cases. and fast-tracking of sus-
“On behalf of every BJP ernment’s announcement of ment stands solidly with the be announced during the pe- rean strategy as contain- tion of 2.5 million, report- Though it decided to close pect cases, underpinned by
worker, I thank the PM for this insurance of health profes- poor and other segments of riod of the lock down till ing four key policies. “The ed 735 infections in a single all schools and imposed accelerated production of
relief to the poor, farmers, sionals and the decision to give population and is committed to April 14 and the exams are first policy is one of com- day as against Seoul’s 75 voluntary restrictions on emergency diagnostic kits
women, youth, senior citizens free LPG cylinders under the the country getting over the likely to be rescheduled to ei- plete openness and trans- with a population of 25 mil- large gatherings, no cities with a weekly diagnostic
and the organised sector for ‘Ujjwala’ scheme for three coronavirus epidemic. ther third week of May or parency in sharing updat- lion. Korea has managed to were put under lockdown. capability of 430,000,” Dr
even later. ed information on new in- restrict the community “The fourth policy pro- Lee said.

Man escapes from quarantine, tracked Jhunjhunu district only to be brought back by authorities

Jaipur: A 21-year-old coronavirus positive patient triggered

a scare after he escaped from a quarantine facility in
after he was found at his home. Health department officials
have taken the samples of 10 other family members of Tayub
(21) and kept all of them in an isolation ward. PTI
Seamless delivery Prof develops simulator to
of relief measures
TIME S Inter To boo your ad ver isement co l 9278812222
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Modi

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There are 987 banks
linked to the Aadhaar
predict virus transmission
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
payment bridge with THE VIRAL TRACKER What are the
variables
the number of transac-
tions crossing 622 crore,
Hyderabad: A researcher at
the Institute of Information
used?

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abler in delivering relief establishing the dura- Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT- zPopulation size
to the poor to cushion bility of the system. The H) has developed a ‘viral zHover-distance
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Desktop or Mobile programme. and stages has been re- The study by Vikram Pu-
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No ,
infection
!ill m in
The seeding of Aad- duced, delivering as di, professor of Data Sciences
haar numbers with much as Rs 82,000 crore. and Analytics Center at IIIT- WHAT DOES THE SIMULATION DO?
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 THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 TIMES NATION | Lockdown-Day 2 7

Centre may rope in 5th-year Govt uses existing schemes

to hand out benefits to poor
medical students, retired docs ANI
Continued from P1

No Of Doctors Mamata urges A

Waiting To Appear
For Final Exam Is
Around 50,000
Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: In urgent measures to
ramp up medical capacity to tackle
any sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, the
government is considering facilitat-
ing fifth-year MBBS students and re-
tired but practising doctors to help in
managing patients, if necessary.
The health ministry and the Board
of Governors in Supersession of Med-
ical Council of India (BoG-MCI) is
looking at senior medical students be-
ing given a provisional permit to prac-
tise and manage Covid-19 cases, sourc-
es said on Thursday.
The suggestions include allowing
specialist doctors in vital specialities
like anaesthesiology, pulmonology,
cardiology and radiology who are
waiting to appear for the final exam
with a “Board Eligible” degree so that
they assist in medical management.
They could get “Board Certified” de-
gree later after passing the exam.
Estimates show there are around
50,000 such specialist doctors who can
play a significant role in critical care
management if the number of hospi-
talisation cases of Covid-19 increases
in the coming weeks. The proposal al-
so includes relaxing norms and giving
temporary licence to those who have
pursued medical education from for-
eign universities in Russia and China
and are waiting to clear MCI’s eligibil-
ity test. Such doctors can be allowed to
work in hospitals under senior doc-
tors to tackle the current situation.
Health minister Harsh Vardhan is
understood to have asked Niti Aayog
member V K Paul, who also heads the
BoG-MCI, to review the proposal,
sources in the ministry said.
The proposal is crucial as it has the
one-time non-refundable
advance for Employees’
Provident Fund Organi-
CMs to provide sation (EPFO) subscribers was
part of the package, which will
aid to stranded allow them to dip into their
corpus and withdraw up to
Bengal workers
75% of the money or three
months wages, whichever is
lower. Besides, for those earn-
New Delhi: West Bengal chief minis- ing under Rs 15,000 and work-
ter Mamata Banerjee has written to 18 ing in entities that have less
chief ministers of the country, asking than 100 employees, for the
them to provide aid to the workers time being, the government  Cops provide fruits and ration to poor amid curfew in Bathinda on Thursday
from the state who are stranded in dif- has decided to take over the
employee and employer’s con-
ferent regions due to the lockdown
over the novel coronavirus pandemic. tribution – which adds up to
`31k-cr fund for construction workers: Govt
"Bengal has many workers - semi 24% of the salary. New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday announced the use of welfare
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee makes a circle for social distancing skilled and unskilled, working in dif- A key theme of the PM Ga- fund to provide assistance and support to building and
during the lockdown, at a market in Kolkata, on Thursday ferent parts of the country. Due to rib Kalyan Yojana, unveiled by construction workers, who have been rendered jobless due to the
complete lockdown in the country for Sitharaman at a press confer- lockdown on account of the coronavirus pandemic. The central
ence, aims to provide addition-
DGCA extends ban on int’l passenger flights COVID- 19 pandemic, many Bengal
workers could not travel back and are al foodgrains free of cost for
government has collected around Rs 31,000 crore as welfare fund
for building and other constructions workers. Finance minister
New Delhi: All international commercial passenger flights will remain stuck at different places," Banerjee the next three months along Nirmala Sitharaman said states are being asked to utilise the fund
suspended till April 14, aviation regulator DGCA announced on Thursday, amid a said in the letter. with the supply of one kg puls- to provide relief to these workers. There are around 3.5 crore
nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The chief ministers of Maharash- es per family. As reported by registered workers in the fund. TNN
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on March 19 had tra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Delhi, Od- TOI on Monday, the govern-
announced that no international commercial passenger flight operations will isha, Karnataka and Punjab were ment is using the massive around the world. So, 20.4 crore sought to use existing schemes
take place in India from 1.30 am on March 23 to 5.30 am on March 29. among those who received the letter. stockpile of wheat and rice women Jan Dhan account to hand out benefits to the poor.
"In continuation of circular-II dated 19.3.2020 issued on the subject "We have received information available with the Food Corpo- holders will get Rs 500 a month As part of the package, the first
cited-above, it has been decided that all scheduled international commercial that many such workers who are ordi- ration of India. into their bank accounts for instalment of Rs 2,000 under
passenger services shall remain closed till 1830 hrs GMT (0000 hrs of Indian narily resident of Bengal are stuck in The Centre's use of the three months. Similarly, se- PM-Kisan will be given imme-
Standard Time) of April 14, 2020," the aviation regulator said. "However, this your state too," Banerjee said. "We are ‘JAM Trinity’ – Jan Dhan ac- niors, poor widows and the diately, while wages under the
restriction will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights getting SOS calls from them." counts, Aadhaar and mobile physically challenged will get Mahatma Gandhi National Ru-
specifically approved by the DGCA," it said. The government suspended They are generally in groups of 50- phones – could well amount to a one-time transfer of Rs 1,000 ral Employment Guarantee
domestic passenger flight operations from midnight on March 24. PTI 100 and can be easily identified by the what may be among the largest each. Act are being increased by Rs
local administration, the chief minis- cash transfer experiments Besides, government 20 a day.
potential to address the shortage of tals for other consultations. ter said.
doctors, mainly specialists in the Around 17 states have started "Since, it is not possible for us to re-
country. Such doctors, along with working at dedicated Covid -19 hospi- .na rr ,rr ,. -'0- argfE,i l
nurses and paramedics, are absolute- tals. Besides, the government has also
ach any help to them, I take the oppor-
tunity to request you to kindly ask
turn
"
n4r-i zrz ar-r No.A2/76/2020/SJD 0/o Secretary,
ly essential to tackle any community earmarked beds for isolation and your administration to provide them
JAWAHARLAL INSTITUTE Of
POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL EDIKATW N Social Justice Department,
spread of the disease. treatment of Covid-19 patients in both with basic shelter, food and medical AND RESEARCH IJIPMER)
(rarz+u i' 0 a iR tea + ' 3 dra Government of Kerala
C."m , , n- -') . a.a,0 .rrtr. 4S"TA
Though India’s strategy against public and private hospitals. support during this period of crisis," (An Institution of National Importance under NOTICE FOR APPOINTMENT
Covid-19 is focused on breaking the Despite a focus on isolation to she said. the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare),
chain of transmission, there are con- break the chain of transmission, the "We, in Bengal, are taking care of Dhanvantri Nagar, Puducherry 60$ 008 Applications are invited for appointment to the post of " MEMBERS
Phone: 0413 - 2296022 Website: xww jpmer.edu.n
cerns over a rise in mortality and the government is simultaneously aug- such stuck people in our State," Ba- D127.032020
(4 VACANCIES ) IN KERALA STATE COMMISSION FOR PROTECTION OF
need for ramped up critical care in- menting its testing facilities and labo- nerjee said in the letter. CORRIGENDUM CHILD RIGHTS"
frastructure to tackle the menace. ratories. In the advertisement for recruitment
She stated that the chief secretary of faculty posts on contract basis for For further details , please visit the following Websites
The government and the BoG have Currently, there are 119 public lab- would pass on the details of such peo- AIIMS (Bibinagar) by JIPMER 1. www .kerala .gov.in
already legalised telemedicine and is- oratories under the Indian Council of ple to the respective state chief secre- published in dailies on 26.03.2020
vide Advt. No.JIP/AIIMS(Bibinagar)/ 2. www.kescpcr.kera la.gov.in
sued guidelines for the same in order Medical Research (ICMR) capable of taries to speed up this entire process 2020/Contract/01 , the post name Bilu Prabhakar AS.
to make healthcare accessible in re- conducting 12,000 Covid-19 tests every of humanitarian support in this hour mentioned in the column 6 should be Date: 22.03.2020 Secretary,
mote areas as well as decongest hospi- day. of crisis. PTI read as ASSISTANT PROFESSOR .
DIRECTOR
(R0 745/F4/2020H&PRD) Social Justice Department

Govt hopeful of containing FORM G

INVITATION FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
(Under Regulation 36A ( I ) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons)

the spread of coronavirus 1. Name of the corporate debtor

Continued from P1
A
nother death was report-
ed from Rajasthan, where
a 73-year-old resident of
virus-hit Bhilwara succumbed
to Covid-19 on Thursday. “The
patient was suffering from dia-
betes, chronic kidney disease
and stroke,” state health minis-
ported eight new cases. Kerala
has had 137 Covid-19 patients so
far, the highest in the country,
followed by Maharashtra (130),
Karanataka (55), Telangana
(45) and Gujarat (44).
Total four new cases of Co-
vid-19 were confirmed from Del-
hi on Thursday, taking the
state’s total to 39.
Re gulations , 2016
RELEVANT PARTICULARS
M/ S Eagle Cotton Private Limited
Many staples 2. Date of incorporation of corporate debtor
Authority under which corporate debtor is incorporated / reg istered
18 January 2012
R egistrar of Companies, Ahmedabad
3.
already off
4. Corporate identity number / limited liability identif ication number of corporate debtor IN: U 1712 1 GJ2012PTC068665
the shelves 5. Address of the registered office and princi pal office (if any) of corporate debtor O ffice No. 13, Sarathi Complex. Opp.
Continued from P1 Diamond Market, Liliya Road, Amreli-
6560I Gujarat.

ter Raghu Sharma said.
Madhya Pradesh also re-
ported its second death. A 35-
year-old man, with no history of
foreign travel who was hospital-
ised with fever, cough and
breathing difficulty and later
tested positive for Covid-19, died
during treatment in Indore.
Earlier, a 65-year-old woman
from the state, who had tested
positive for Covid-19, had suc-
cumbed to the illness.
Gujarat recorded the death
of a 70-year-old man and five
new positive cases on Thursday,
taking the total number of posi-
tives to 44. Covid-19 has claimed
three lives in the state. The lat-
est victim, a resident of Bhav-
nagar, had recently travelled to
Delhi.
He was also suffering from
cancer, diabetes and heart dis-
ease, local authorities said.
There have been no Covid-19
deaths in Kerala so far, al-
though the state reported the
highest number of new cases,
19, on Thursday. Maharashtra,
the other Covid-19 hotspot, re-
Bhilwara
collector
‘takes over’
Lav Aggarwal, joint secreta-
ry in the health ministry, said
while the number of COVID-19
cases was increasing, there ap-
pears to be relatively a stable
trend or even little bit reduction
in the rate at which they are in-
creasing. “This however does
not establish a clear trend and
in no way are we relaxed about
anything at this point,” he add-
ed.
Agarwal said the ministry
is hopeful of containing the
spread of the coronavirus by
the social-distancing policy,
conducting a proper contact
tracing of positive cases and by
ensuring that all people at
home quarantine are moni-
tored.
He urged people to support
the lockdown announced by the
prime minister, saying social
distancing can be an effective
intervention to break the chain
of transmission and all the ef-
forts will go into waste even if
one person does not follow the
policy for containment of the
disease.
Scale of migration has
senior officials worried
B
ritannia CEO Varun Berry
said, "The food industry
supply chain is disaggregat-
ed and dependent on inter-state
movement of goods. Due to the
nature of the materials, invento-
ries across the chain are low. If
even one link in the supply chain
is broken, the country could run
out of stocks of packaged food in
the next 7-10 days.”
Many staples have already
vanished from the shelves of su-
permarkets and local kirana
stores. The movement of raw ma-
terials has been curtailed too,
forcing companies like Britan-
nia, Parle and Unibic to cut pro-
duction.
Berry’s remarks have been
one of the strongest by an FMCG
company. Parle had previously
expressed concerns, and Metro
Cash & Carry India had said it
was unable to open its wholesale
stores because of police. Biscuit
maker Unibic, whose sole factory
on the outskirts of Bengaluru
has been shut since Sunday, has
been facing problems in trans-
porting raw materials.
6. Insolvency commencement date of the corporate debtor 16/08/2019 (Order received by IRP)
7. Date of invitation of expression of interest 6/03/2020
8. Eli gibility for resolution app licants under section 25(2)(h) of the Code is available at: an be provided on request to
Email: ionradeep.eagle l) mail.com
9. Norms of ineli gibility applicable under section 29A are available at: A vailable on the Website of
IBBI://I BBI.GOV .IN/W EBFRONT/LEG
LFRAMEWORK.PHP
10. Last date for receipt of expression of interest 10/04/2020
I. Date of issue of provisional list of prospective resolution applicants 12/04/2020
12. Last date for submission of objections to provisional list 17/04/2020
13. Date of issue of final list of prospective resolution app licants 19/04/2020
14. Date of issue of information memorandum, evaluation matrix and request for resolution 1 7/04/2020
plans to prospective resolution applicants
5. Manner of obtaining request for resolution plan . evaluation matrix , information he Resolution Professional Will Share
memorandum and further information he Request for Resolution Plan/
valuation Matrix/ Information
emorandum in Electronic Form After
V erification Of KYC, Capacity To Invest ,
apability To Manage And Eligibility
Under Section 29a Of IBC, 2016 And Pre-
Q ualification Criteria, If Any A pproved
By CoC.
16. .
17.
Last date for submission of resolution plans
Manner of submitting resolution plans by a prospective resolution App licant to In electronic Form to the Email Id mention
8/05/2020 by 18:00 Hours

Continued from P1 resolution professional against Serial no . 21

5 pvt hosps
Jaipur: After 19 persons test-
ed positive for Covid-19 in Ra-
jasthan’s Bhilwara, the collec-
tor has now “taken over” five
private hospitals to scale up
the number of isolation facili-
ties for coronavirus patients
in the district.
As of now, 50 persons are
in isolation — 35 in the district
hospital and 15 in these five
private hospitals.
The district administra-
tion has also “booked” 1,500
rooms in hotels across the city.
At the moment nearly 600 peo-
ple are kept in these hotels, dis-
trict collector Rajendra Bhatt,
told TOI. The Covid situation
in Bhilwara plunged into a cri-
sis after the death of a 73-year-
old person on Thursday and
his son and granddaughter
too testing positive for the in-
fection.
So far, 19 people in the dis-
trict have been found infected
with the virus. A huge team of
1,500 health workers and 2,400
police personnel undertaking
T OI visited the Jaipur-Agra
highway near the Goner
road and found many walking on
the road, carrying bags and lug-
gage. "My village is nearly 110 km
from Jaipur. I have no option but
to go back. The police stopped us
at a few places but, when con-
vinced that we had no other
choice, they let us carry on," said
Kishan Mahawar a daily-wage
labourer.
"On Wednesday night we
have stopped a truck carrying
vegetables and asked the driver
to drop five workers to Kishan-
garh," said Sultan Singh, a cop
posted at Poorani Chungi. The
scale of movement is so large
that it frightened senior officers
at the Jaipur police commission-
erate when they were told by sub-
ordinates that hundreds of work-
ers were walking towards Trans-
port Nagar.
"A migration is on… We have
spoken to many of them who
said they are left without any
money. Yesterday we helped
some of them reach their villag-
es," said Jaipur commissioner
18. Estimated date for submission of resolution 'p lan to the Adjudicating Authority for 12/05/2020
app roval
19. Name and registration number of the resolution professional 'A Pradeep Kabra
IBBI/IPA-001/IP-P0 1 104 /2017-18/ 11790
20. Name , Address and e-email of the resolution professional, as reg istered with the Board A Pradeep Kabra
19-21 , Metro Tower, Ring Road, Surat-
395002, Gujarat, India.
LONG WALK BACK: A migrant Email:- ippradeepkabra (-r)gmail .co m
worker walks to his village with
family amid the nationwide com-
plete lockdown in Ghaziabad on 21. Address and email to be used for correspondence with the resolution professional A Pradeep Kabra
Thursday 19-2 1, Metro Tower , Ring Road , Surat-
95002, Gujarat , India.
ranged for food and water for
these migrating workers.
Email:- i ppradeep kabra@gMail.com
On the Gujarat-Rajasthan 22. Further Details are available at or with an be obtained by sending email at
border, patwaris were preparing iI2pradec D.e a& le@gmaiI.c o m
lists of the arriving population
according to the areas to which 23. Date of publication of Form G 6/03/2020
they belong and medical teams of
20 doctors and 40 nurses have
been working day and night gyp Q
Regd . No. ^ Pradeep Kabra
screening them. Most of them do
not have money and had not eat- '4 Ie4tE391 8, P
` / final for M XaggleCotton Private Limite d
en properly, Kanaram, the collec-
* IP-POl1 1Q(1-4 9- , Metro Tower, Ring Road, Surat - 395002.
1 2017-18/11790
tor, said, adding that though it
was a large number of people,
Date: 26.03 .2020 Email: ippradeep.eagle (tDgmail.com.
they were adhering to the social Place: Surat I Reg istr IBBI/IPA-001/ IP-P01 104 /2017- 18111790

e Y PcoEe
the country’s largest screen- Anand Srivastav. A few volun- distancing protocol.
ing exercise. TNN tary organisations have ar- Full report on www.toi.in
8 TIMES NATION THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020

10 Faces Of Corona Infections In India...

From March 15 to March 25, the number of Covid-19 cases across India has grown more than five times. Since the first Indian
case was reported on January 30, the country has seen an average of about 10 new cases per day. But it’s not been a uniform
... and a new way of looking
picture across the country. Some states, like Gujarat, remained free of Covid-19 cases for long, then saw a spike. Some, like
Uttar Pradesh, have seen a steady accumulation of cases. Here is a snapshot of how the cases have grown in the top 10 states
at geographic spread
On March 16, 15 states/UTs, or
The vertical axis – or the y axis, as it is usually called – is not uniform in the charts; for instance, in the 2 out of 5 of total 36 states/UTs, 1 50
Ladakh
case of Kerala, the y axis goes up to 100, whereas the peak point in a state like UP is less than 40 had confirmed cases. A little 13
over a week later, the total has
DAILY CASES IN 10 STATES REPORTING MOST CONFIRMED COVID-19 PATIENTS gone up more than 5-fold to over Punjab
Haryana 29
600, with 25 states/UTs reporting 28
cases, that is 2 out of 3 Delhi
Maharashtra Kerala Karnataka 50
Rajasthan 31 UP
CASES 128 RECOVERED 1 DEATHS 3 100
CASES 109 RECOVERED 4 100
CASES 41 RECOVERED 3 DEATH 1 Looking at the Covid-19 36 37
STEADY GROWTH: Cases are largely HOCKEY-STICK RISE: From Mar 21 SHARP SPIKE: Karnataka saw a spike in spread district-wise, Gujarat
concentrated in the urban Mumbai to 24, number of cases in Kerala cases on Mar 21 – since then, cases MP
there are some key 38 14 9
and Pune districts, and have has roughly doubled from 40 to 95, have nearly tripled, and at least eight
been steadily 50 but the state is also conducting 50
districts are affected
clusters — like in West
rising since the most tests Maharashtra and Bengal
mid-Mar Kerala — where cases Maharashtra 128
Telangana
0 0 0
are concentrated 35
MAR 11 MAR 25 MAR 11 MAR 25 MAR 11 MAR 25 Karnataka
41 Andhra
9 Pradesh
Gujarat
50
INDIA Uttar Pradesh 50
Kerala
CASES 38 DEATH 1 CASES 37 RECOVERED 9 109 18 Tamil Nadu
LATE START: Number of cases
quadrupled between Mar 21
606 STEADY GROWTH: Cases doubled within a
week. Lucknow, Agra and Gautam
REPORTED CASES Buddha Nagar reported the
and 23. With 13 cases,
most cases (8 each)
Ahmedabad district is the
worst affected 43
RECOVERED
0 0
MAR 11 MAR 25
10 MAR 11 MAR 25

DEATHS 50
Rajasthan 50
Telangana
CASES 36 RECOVERED 3 CASES 35 RECOVERED 1
LATE START: Between Mar 19 and 20, A LATE LEAP: Almost a third of the
cases doubled, and then again state’s cases are foreign nationals;
between Mar 21 and 25. Largely the Mar 19-20 spike is a result of
rural Bhilwara district has eight of a group of 13 Initially, 75 districts across
the most cases at 13 Indonesians testing positive India that had reported Covid-19
cases were put under lockdown.
0 0
Thereafter, when the case count was
MAR 11 MAR 25 MAR 11 MAR 25
MAR 11 MAR 25 hovering near 500, the Union health
ministry had listed 103 districts
Delhi Punjab Haryana as having reported cases, which
50 50
CASES 31 RECOVERED 6 DEATH 1 CASES 29 DEATH 1 CASES 28 RECOVERED 11 50
means about one out of seven of
SPIKE MIDWAY: Since mid-Mar, cases PLATEAUED? Between Mar 20 and LATE BUMP: Haryana not only has the most the more than 700 districts in India
have been rising steadily. Eight of 11 22, cases grew by 10 times, from 2 foreign nationals (14) who tested positive, it
districts have been affected. Notably, to 21. Shaheed Bhagat Singh also has reported the most recoveries (11). The all-India lockdown can serve to restrict
CM Arvind Kejriwal recently said Nagar district, with 14 cases, has A majority of its cases were in Gurgaon
that six cases were from emerged as a hotbed Covid-19 cases to the clusters with identified
local transmission cases and ensure that focus can be given to
Figures as of March 25 at 7pm contain and combat its spread
0 Data: Ministry of Health, Popper.ai
0 0 Note: State-level map shows top 15 states
Map courtesy: covindia.netlify.com
MAR 11 MAR 25 MAR 11 MAR 25 MAR 11 MAR 25 and UTs with confirmed cases
Design: Sajeev Kumarapuram

India in touch
Yesteryear bollywood star Nimmi no more
Cops shoot at truck driver for refusing bribe: Three police constables
were arrested on Thursday on charges of opening fire at the driver of a mini
truck in Danapur locality after he refused to give them Rs 5,000 as bribe to
allow the potato-laden vehicle cross the pontoon bridge over the Ganga. with Kabul attack
The driver was rushed to hospital. His statement was recorded on Thursday
after his relatives took up the matter with senior police officers. TNN victims’ kin: MEA Avijit.Ghosh@timesgroup.com Nimmi’s debut in ‘Barsaat’ coincided with that of music
New Delhi: The Indian Em- New Delhi: Nimmi, who swept to star- director Shankar-Jaikishan, who composed some
bassy in Kabul is in touch dom with her debut film, Barsaat, and crackling melodies for the film. The teenager got to
with family members of the went to earn acting plaudits in box-of-
RURAL WATER SUPPLY & SANITATION DEPARTMENT victims of the dastardly ter-
lipsync superhits such as ‘Jiya beqarar hai’, Among her
fice winners such as Aan and Daag,
Office of the Engineer -in-Chief , RWS&S , 'C' Block , 5th Floor, ror attack at a gurudwara in passed away in Mumbai on Wednes- recognized films are: Amar, Aandhiyan, Deedar, Sazaa,
Vasudha Shelters, Saipuram Colony, Gollapudi , the Afghan capital, External day. She was 87. Mere Mehboob, Akashdeep and Pooja Ke Phool
Vijayawada -521225 , ANDHRA PRADESH Affairs Minister S Jaishan- The actor was brought to a subur-
Email address :cewatergrid @gmaiLcom kar said on Thursday. ban Juhu hospital after complaining lightning rapidity.” to name just two.
Eol No.1/AE/DEE/Water Grid/HAM/20 Dt: 20.3.2020 Twenty-five people were of breathlessness. She died in the eve- Her performance in director Ami- “Daughter of a well-known song-
Government of Andhra Pradesh has proposed to take up Drinking Water killed after gunmen stormed ning, family sources told PTI adding, ya Chakrabarty’s box-office hit, Daag, stress Wahidan Bai, art seems to run
Supply Projects in 6 Districts of the State with an estimated cost of the gurdwara in Kabul and that the Agra-born heroine of 1950s inspired by Billy Wilder’s The Lost in the family, because her mother also
Rs_1 2, 308.00 Cr under Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM). Eligible agencies opened fire at the people in- was “unwell” for some time. crackling melodies for the film. The Weekend (1945), earned her high used to work in films. So did her aunt
may submit their Expression of Interest (Eol) to execute the projects on side on Wednesday. Among her other recognized films teenager got to lipsync superhits such praise. “Dilip Kumar and Nimmi are Jyoti…her father Janam Abdul Ha-
Hybrid Annuity Model. Eol document with full details can be accessed from One of the deceased was are: Amar, Aandhiyan, Deedar, Sazaa, as Jiya beqarar hai. the stand-outs of the picture. Both act kim Sahib was a well-to-do military
the website: rwss.ap.nic.in from 25.03 ,2020 onwards. Tian Singh, a 71-year old Del- Mere Mehboob, Akashdeep and Pooja Her rise was meteoric. A profile sympathetically with Nimmi display- contractor of Rawalpindi and she had
Contact Phone No.9618341349 Sd/-Engineer -in -Chief , hi resident. Ke Phool. published in Stars of the Indian ing the more consummate act,” wrote a happy childhood,” the write-up in
R No:458PP ADVT 1 2019-20 :26-03-2020 RWS&S , Gollapudi , Vijayawada The Islamic State terror- In an interview for Rajya Sabha Screen (1952), edited by the legendary The Times of India in its 1952 review. Stars of the Indian Screen (1952) said.
ist group has claimed respon- tv’s show, Guftagooo, Nimmi said that Baburao Patel, described her in the fol- Nimmi is also remembered as the Her marriage with film writer S
sibility for the attack which she was spotted by Raj Kapoor after lowing way: “Delicately built and of spunky girl whose love for Dilip Ku- Ali Raza was also a blockbuster suc-
Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Ltd. came weeks after a historic she had gone to see the shooting of little height, the most striking fea- mar in Aan goes unrequited. “At one cess. Raza, who wrote the dialogues of
(A Govt. of Rajasthan Undertaking)
Gandhi Block , Swasthya Bhawan, Tilak Marg, Jaipur-302005 , India deal between the US and the Mehboob Khan’s Andaz. Kapoor tures about Nimmi are her beautiful time, I would ask for Rs 3 lakh -- equiva- classics such as Mother India and An-
Phone No: 0141-2228066, 2228064 Website : www.rmsc.heahh.raj asthan.gov.in Taliban to bring lasting christened her Nimmi; her real name eyes, her fascinating smile and well- lent of what any top actor was get- daz, passed away in 2007.
CIN:U24232RJ20115GC035067 E-mail : edo rmsc@gmai l.com
peace to Afghanistan. PTI was Nawab Banu. During the shooting shaped arched eyebrows…Nimmi has ting,” she told TOI in an interview in With Nimmi’s demise, another
F.02(285)/RMSC/Proc ./Three Layer Mask /NIB-10/2020/606 Dated :24 .03.2020
of Barsaat, she tied rakhi to Kapoor an indomitable spirit and one has only 2006. In an interview, she claimed to fond chapter of Hindi cinema comes to
Notice Inviting E-Bids for a particular scene. He treated her to see her flashing eyes to recognize have received offers from Hollywood. an end. Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt fit-
Short Term E-bids are invited up to 3.00 PM of 28.03.2020 for like his sister thereafter. the artist in her. Her eyes move fast Many songs lensed on her are Viv- tingly tweeted, “You may win your
PROCUREMENT OF THREE LAYER MASK. Details of NIB-10/2020.(UBN No. COMPLETE MANAGEMENT Nimmi’s debut in Barsaat coinci- and quick carrying with them a idh Bharati favourites: Dil ka diya jala heart’s desire, but in the end you are
MSC1920GLOB00118) may be seen in the Bidding Documents at our office or AND MAINTENANC E OF ded with that of music director Shan- wealth of expression which is trans- ke gaya (film: Akashdeep) and Tum na cheated of it by death.” Goodbye Nim-
at the website of State Public procurement Portal htt0 ://s000 .rai.nic.in, RUNNING ROOM kar-Jaikishan, who composed some lated into emotion on the screen with jaane kis jahan mein kho gaye (Sazaa), miji.”
E tender Notice No ; DRM(M) ADU25I
w w w . d ii r o n l i n e . o r g, h t t o : / / e D r o c . r a i a s t h a n . g o v . i n ., - .
2019 20 Dtd 20 03.2020; Tender No: M
www.rmsc.health . raiasthan.gov.in and maybe downloaded from there. 377/35/ RR-BLDI/2019 -20; E-tender is
invited from eligible contractors for the
Note:- If any amendment is carried out in the tender specifications and
terms & conditions following pre-bid meeting, the same will be uploaded on
following work:- Name of the Work:
Contract work for Complete Management
and Maintenance of Running Room -
ON LINE TENDERING Administration of U.T. of Dadra Heat may slow corona
the Departmental website www.rmsc.health.raiasthan.Rov.in. sppp.raj.nic.in Road & Building Depart ment
and https:// eproc .rajasthan .gov.in. In case any inconvenience is felt, please
Bhildi (BLDI) including Subsidized Meals
and Crew Box handling for a period of 3
Years. Estimated Cost of work:
Government of Gujarat & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, but early summer
contact on telep hone number i.e. 0141-2228064
Raj .Samwad/C/19/6326 Executive Director Procurement
( 3 ,68 ,45,864.44/- (Rupees Three Crore
Sixty Eight Lakh Fort y Five Thousand
1 1 1 Office of the onset unlikely
Eight Hundred Sixty Four and Palsa Forty
Four Only). Earnest Money Deposit:
In the name and on behalf of Governor of Gujarat State the
Executive Engineer , District (R&B) Division , Opp. Jasani
Directorate of Medical & Amit.Bhattacharya@timesgroup.com
Administration of U.T. of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, T 3 ,34 ,200/- (Rupees Three Lakhs Thirty
Four Thousand Two Hundred Only), Date College , Rajkot-360002 , Ph. No. 0281-2465014 invites bid Public Health Department
Daman & Diu, & Time of Tender Closing : Closing at
15:00 hrs on dated 20/04/2020 , Date & second try from the intended experienced , competent and File No. DMHS/P&T/2019-20/85 New Delhi: Many Indians have been praying
Office of the Directorate of Medical & Public Health Department. Silvassa Time of Tender Opening : Opening at Registered Contractors to undertake the "Construction of Six Silvassa for an early onset of peak summer this year in
15:30 hrs. on dated 20/04/2020 . Website
"Tel.No.0260.2642940, 2640615" e-mail Id: syt)ch.sil@o mail.com Lane Fly Over Bridge on Madhapar Junction Connecting the light of some studies that have shown that
particulars Notice Board location where Date: 25/03/2020
File No. DMHS/P&T/2019-20/83 Date: 24/03/2020 complete details of tender can be seen Road from Rajkot to Jamnagar & Vehicular Underpass on transmission of Covid-19 infections may slow

Short e-Tender
& address of the office of tender inviting down in high heat. That hope may be dashed,
Short e-Tender Notice A u t h o r i t y : http://www . ireps .gov.1 n ,
Divisional Railway
Manager
2"° Floor ,
Connecting Road from Rajkot City to Morbi side at Rajkot"
whose Estimated Project Cost is Rs. 5601.50 Lakhs Document
with met department forecasts showing that
The Director of Medical & Health Serv ices, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman ( M e c h a n i c a l ), (W. Rly),
Mechanical Branch, Near Chamunda ps://rnb.nnrocure.com upto Dt.21-04-
shall he upload on ih
the chances of summer setting in early are low.

Notice
& Diu on behalf of President of India , invites online tender on Ms.// Bridge , Naroda Road , P.O. Saijpur Temperatures across most of India are
dnhtenders.gov.in/nicgep/aoo from the Reputed Manufactures/ Authorized Bogha,Ahmedabad 382345 - 2020 at 18:00 Hrs. (Any Modification / Correction will be likely to remain below normal at least over the
f display on website only.) MAHITVRAJ/157af2o
next two weeks, the India Meteorological De-
Dealers/ Suppliers for supply of below mentioned items. The Director of Medical & Health Services ,
partment’s extended range forecast reveals.
1) e-Tender ID No. 2020 UTDNH_4588 1):_ Purchase of Hand Sanitizer for Dadra and Nagar Haveli , Daman & Diu The forecast, which gives weekly outlooks
D&NH/DD under Medical & Health Department , D&NH. Estimated Cost:
CHHATTISGARH I BOARD DIVISION 1 on behalf of President of India, invites for the next 28 days, shows that the probability
T 39.75 Lacs. Last date of submission of Bid: 27.03.2020. online tender on https://dnhtenders, of the mercury hitting 40°C, even in central In-
2) e-Tender ID No. 2020_ UTDNH 4589_ 1):- Purchase of Surgical 3 Layer gov .in/nicgep/aao from the Reputed dia, are low till the second week of April. Sum-
Mask for D&NH/ DD under Medical & Health Department , D&NH. ESTIMATED NOTICE INVITING TENDER Advt. No. 66 mer arrives earlier in south and central India
Manufactures/ Authorized Dealers/
CosT : Z , 45 ,45 Lacs. Last date of submission of Bid: 27.032020. Invitation of online Bids & lender in Form 'F (Lump-Sum) CPWD LPC mode 3 ; tum Key) from eligible contractors and expert construction than the north because these regions are clos-
agencies/firms in field of Monolithic Technology as detailed in the "Pre-Qualification document and registered in CLASS-A with Unique Suppliers for supply of below mentioned er to the equator.“Several parts of north and
3) e-Tender ID No. 2020 UTDNH 4590 1):- Purchase of Mufti Parameter registration system or equivalent class registered in Govt . of India & other experienced contractor through et endering under two bid system
detail in the Pre-qualification" Document for the following work as per detail" given below. The document can be purchased and downoaded
items. central India rainfall are likely to get rain over
Patient Monitor & Syringe Pump for Shri Vinoba Bhave Civil Hospital &
Khanvel Sub District Hospital under Medical and Public Health Department ,
from- https ://eproc .cgstate .gov.in on before 30 .04 .2020 up to 17:30 hours. 1) e-Tender lD No.2020_UTDNH_4592_1) the next two-three days under the influence of
DNH, Estimated Cost: T . 97.75 Lacs. Last date of submission of Bid:
Name of work Tender Earnest Cost of Time Allowed :- Purchase of Machinery, Instruments very active back-to-back western disturbanc-
Amount Money Tender Fon d for Completion es (WDs). Again, next week, some rain is ex-
27.03.2020. Construction of Township for NMDC Ltd As. As . As. 50,000.00 24 Months
and Kits for starting of COVID-19 PCR
pected in north India, particularly over the Hi-
4) e-Tender ID No. 2020_ UTDNH_ 4587_ 1):- Purchase of Adult Ventilator at Niyanar, Jagdalpur, C.G. SH: Total Land 1768.56 17.79 (Non (i./c. rainy Laboratory under Medical & Health malayas,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, head
Area 118 Acre and 2062 Nos. Residential C(ore Croce refundable) S easo n )
for Khanvel Sub District Hospital under Medical & Public Health Department , Quarters including Hospital Block, VIP Guest Department , D&NH. Estimated Cost: of IMD. He added that temperatures aren’t ex-
D&NH, Estimated Cost: Z , 92,50 Lacs. Last date of submission of Bid: House , Club, Dormitory, Community hall , Z 19.22 Lacs. Last date of submission pected to rise significantly over most parts of
Auditorium , School , Sports , Commercial
27.03.2020. Block & Allied buildings etc. (All Residential of Bid: 31.03.2020. Tender can be India over the next two weeks or so.
Multistoried building shall be constructed An analysis by scientists at the Massachu-
5) e-Tender ID No.2020_UTDNH 4586 1): Purchase of Adult Ventilator for
with monolithic concrete technology) including
downloaded from www.dnh.nic.in and
setts Institute of Technology had shown that
Shri Vinoba Bhave Civil Hospital under Medical & Public Healt h Department , all Development Works (Civil & Electrical on www .vbch.dnh.nic.in.
EPC Mode 3 including Operation and coronavirus infections may transmit at the
D&NH. Estimated Cost: Z. 92.50 Lacs. Last date of submission of
Bid: 27.03 .2020 . Tender can be downloaded from www .dnh.nic.in and
Maintenance for 2 years. (C.G.) Director, Medical & Health slower rate in places where the weather is hot.
The study is not definitive, nor has it been peer
www.vbch. d nh. nic.tn.
Note:-1) Prequalifi cat ion criteri a and al other condition s can be seen on website (2) The bid document can be downlcaded and suonlissicn
of from website https://eproc.cgstate .gov .in up to 30.04.2020 (3) Pre-Bid meeting will be held on 16-04-2020 at head office "Paryawas Services , U.T. of DNH & DD reviewed. In general, India’s high summer pe-
Director, Medical & Health Services, Bhawan" North Block Sector- 19 Nava Raipur Atal Nagar 492101 (C.G) (4) Any other information can be obtained fro m the off ice of the "Tel.No.0260-2642940, 2640615" riod sees the least number of virus infections.
Execut ive EngineerC C Housing Board Division Jagdalpur during the office hours. (5) Amendment in tender if any will only be uploaded on
U.T. of DNH&DD the website and shall not be published in any news paper or inform by mail to any contractor. e-mail Id: svbch.sil@gmail.com Full report on www.toi.in
NoJPONFr 1 1 '.2020 A - D.24.C02020 Executive Engineer No.IP/DN W 1 13/2020 SiAassa Dt.26.032020

NEARLY 5,00,000 PEOPLE INFECTED GLOBALLY
Time To Act Was Two Months Ago:
WHO Chief Scolds World Leaders
Madrid: The number of coro-
navirus infections closed in
on a half-million worldwide
on Thursday, with both Italy
and the US on track to sur-
pass China, and a record-
shattering 3.3 million Ameri-
cans applied for unemploy-
ment benefits last week in a
stark demonstration of the
damage to the world’s biggest
economy. Health care sy-
stems in Europe and New
York buckled under the stra-
in, with Spain’s death toll
climbing to more than 4,000.
At least 2.8 billion people, or
more than one-third of the
Earth’s population, are under
severe travel restrictions. But
the head of the World Health
Organisation, Tedros Adha-
nom Ghebreyesus, scolded
world leaders for wasting pre-
cious time in the fight against
the virus that has already kil-
led more than 22,000 people and
infected over 480,000, and rava-
ged the world economy.
“The time to act was actu-
ally more than a month ago or
two months ago,” he said Wed-
nesday. “We squandered the
first window of opportunity.
Spain sends substandard
testing kits back to China
S
pain’s health ministry,
which is struggling to deal
with a surge in coronavi-
rus patients, said it was send-
ing back to China about 9,000
test kits because they did not
meet the required criteria.
China’s embassy in Ma-
drid said on Twitter that
Spain had acquired the sub-
standard test kits from a com-
pany that had not received an
official license to sell such
products. The embassy said
that the bulk of the medical
equipment ordered by Spain
had not yet left China.
Problems with test kits
from China have also been
raised in Germany. “I get ev-
ery hundreds of emails every
day with people saying, ‘Buy a
million quick tests from Chi-
na,’” Jens Spahn, Germany’s
health minister, told report-
‘Extending curbs will prevent a second wave’
AFP
GROUND ZERO: An aerial view
of Wuhan, China, on Thursday
OTHER TOP STORIES
Venezuela prez is
charged in US with
drug trafficking
Katie Benner and members of the largest
rebel group in Colombia, the
Washington: President Ni- Revolutionary Armed For-
colas Maduro of Venezuela ces, known as FARC, which
was charged in the US on has long drawn its financing
Thursday with drug traf- from the cocaine trade. Few
ficking crimes after an in- details of the charges were
vestigation by federal aut- not available early on Thurs-
horities in Was-
hington, New York
and Florida, people
briefed on the mat-
ter said. The char-
ges were expected
to be announced on
Thursday morning
at a live-streamed Nicolas Maduro
video news briefing
by the head of the US justice Union address, called Madu-
department’s criminal divi- ro “an illegitimate ruler, a
sion in Washington and the tyrant who brutalises his pe-
top federal prosecutors in ople,” and vowed that “Ma-
New York and Miami, accor- duro’s grip on tyranny will
ding to a news advisory. be smashed and broken.”
In addition to Maduro,
charges are also expected to ups have accused Maduro’s
be announced against near- aides of working with drug
ly a dozen others, including lords to line their pockets
the Venezuelan government and prop up the crumbling
and intelligence officials state. NYT NEWS SERVICE
IDRIS ELBA REFUTES ‘STUPID’ CLAIMS THAT HE IS
BEING PAID TO LIE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS DIAGNOSIS
President Putin said on Thursday Russia could defeat coronavirus in less
than three months if it imposed tough measures quickly as authorities
suspended all regular and charter flights to and from the country from
Friday. Moscow authorities said they would close all shops apart from
food stores and pharmacies from this weekend as Russia reported its
biggest one day rise in cases yet, bringing its official tally to 840
... This is a second opportuni-
ty, which we should not squan-
der and do everything to supp-
ress and control this virus.”
In Brazil, the country’s
governors are defying Presi-
dent Jair Bolsonaro over his
call to reopen schools and bu-
sinesses, dismissing his argu-
ment that the “cure” of wide-
spread shutdowns is worse
than the disease. As of Thurs-
day, the country had more
3-yr-old Indian girl
among S’pore’s 73
new virus cases
A three-year-old Indian girl
was among the 73 new Co-
vid-19 cases that have been re-
ported in Singapore in a day,
taking the tally to 631. Of the
new cases, 38 people have tra-
vel history to Europe and No-
rth America, while the rest we-
re locally transmitted cases.
Eighteen cases were linked to
a kindergarten centre where
mostly staff were infected. PTI
ers on Wednesday.“Our insti-
tutes are testing these and
looking at them, and they are
not sensitive and specific
enough.” NYT NEWS SERVICE
E
xtending school and work
closures at the coronavi-
rus’ ground zero in China
may delay a second wave of in-
fections, researchers said on
Thursday, urging the rest of
the world to take note.
With containment measu-
res largely successful and the
epidemic’s epicentre now in
Europe, China has loosened a
two-month lockdown in the ci-
ty of Wuhan where the new co-
ronavirus is thought to have
jumped from wildlife to people
late last year. But a study in the
day, but the charges
included narco-ter-
rorism conspiracy
and conspiracy to
import cocaine into
the United States.
The charges co-
me a month after
President Trump, in
his State of the
For years, watchdog gro-
TIMES GLOBAL
AFP
than 2,500 cases and 59 deaths.
Spain has become the co-
untry in Europe where the out-
break is spreading the fastest.
On Thursday, the health mini-
stry reported reported nearly
8,600 new infections and 655 de-
aths, bringing the total cases to
over 56,00 and more than 4,000
fatalities — second only to Ita-
ly’s death toll of about 7,500.
The rate of increase in Italy
has slowed slightly, noted Dr.
TRACKING OUTBREAK
Countries Infected
China 81,782
Italy 74,386
United States 69,246
Spain 56,188
Germany 40,585
Iran
29,406
France
25,604
Switzerland 11,575
United Kingdom 9,241
South Korea 9,642
Lancet Public Health journal
suggested continuing Wu-
han’s shutdowns until April
would push a potential second
wave of Covid-19 until later in
the year. That would give he-
alth services more time to re-
cover and expand, potentially
saving lives. “The city now ne-
eds to be really careful to avoid
prematurely lifting physical
distancing measures, because
that could lead to an earlier se-
condary peak in cases,” said
Kiesha Prem, a specialist at the
London School of Hygiene &
NZ shooter pleads
guilty to murder
T he man who slaughtered 51
worshippers at two Christch-
urch mosques unexpectedly
pleaded guilty to all charges on
Thursday. The sudden turn in the
case took survivors and relatives
by surprise, and brought relief to
people across New Zealand.
Tarrant, 29, pleaded guilty to 51
counts of murder, 40 counts of
attempted murder and one count
of terrorism at the Christchurch
high court. He had previously
pleaded not guilty and his trial
was supposed to start in June. AP
Have no knowledge
on ex-FBI agent: Iran
T ehran has no knowledge abo-
ut the whereabouts of a for-
mer FBI agent who disappeared in
Iran in 2007, spokesman for the
Iranian mission at the UN, Alireza
Miryousefi, wrote on Twitter. The
family of the man, Robert Levin-
son, said earlier that he had died
in Iranian custody. US President
Trump said he had not been told
that Levinson was dead. White
House national security adviser
Robert O’Brien said later that an
investigation was on but “we
believe that Levinson may have
passed away.” REUTERS
THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020
Hans Kluge, the head of the
WHO’s European office.
Germany has had a high
number of infections at more
than 39,000 people, but just 222
deaths — which has widely be-
en attributed to early and ag-
gressive testing, among other
factors. EU leaders were hol-
ding their third summit in
three weeks on the virus to ma-
nage the havoc it is wreaking
on their 27 economies. As the
number of deaths in Europe
soared past 12,000, Spain exten-
ded a state of emergency that
will allow it to impose broader
lockdowns, while France lau-
nched “Operation Resilience”,
a military-backed response to
the crisis. France began evacu-
ating infected citizens from the
hotspot of Alsace using a speci-
al high-speed train.
China’s cases have slow-
ed, with only 67 new cases re-
ported, all recent arrivals. The
leaders of the Group of 20
largest economies held a video
conference to better coord-
inate a response to the outbr-
eak, amid criticism that the
world’s wealthiest nations ha-
ve not taken cohesive action. AP
Death
175
3,291 countries/
7,503 regions hit
1,046
4,92,603+
4,089 infected globally
229
22,184+
2,234 have died
1,333
172 1,19,918
have recovered
467
131 Source: Johns Hopkins
University
Tropical Medicine (LSHTM),
who co-led the research.
The study used mathemati-
cal modelling to simulate eit-
her extending or relaxing
school and workplace closures
in Wuhan, a city of 11 million
people. By lifting control mea-
sures now, a second rush of in-
fections may occur in late Au-
gust, the analysis suggested.
But keeping lockdown measu-
res until April would likely de-
lay a second peak until October
— giving healthcare workers a
chance to regroup. REUTERS
Twitter bans site promoting
‘Chickenpox parties’ in US
T
witter on Wednesday
temporarily locked the
account of a conservati-
ve website after it promoted an
article suggesting that the me-
dical community should con-
sider intentionally infecting
people with the coronavirus at
“chickenpox parties” to help
slow the spread of the virus.
The article, titled, “How
Medical ‘Chickenpox Parties’
Could Turn The Tide Of The
Wuhan Virus,” argued that a
“controlled voluntary infec-
tion” programme could allow
young people to return to work
after contracting and recove-
ring from the virus. Such a
strategy, the article stated, co-
uld promote “herd immunity”
and help save the economy.
Twitter said the article
posted by The Federalist viola-
ted the firm’s rules. Benjamin
Domenech, the publisher, and
Mollie Hemingway, a senior
editor, did not respond to ema-
ils seeking comment on Wed-
nesday. Dr Douglas A Pered-
nia, who wrote the article, sa-
id he disagreed with Twitter.
“They are reacting to the he-
adline, but are not reading the
article itself,” he said. NYT
ANYONE WHO HAS NEVER
MADE A MISTAKE HAS NEVER
TRIED ANYTHING NEW
— ALBERT EINSTEIN
COURTENEY COX, WHO PLAYED MONICA ON ‘FRIENDS’, SAYS
SHE IS REVISITING SERIES DURING HER HOME-STAY PERIOD
Reuters
Kosovo is first
EU nation to see
govt topple over
virus response
K
osovo lawmakers ousted
PM Albin Kurti, becom-
ing the first nation in
Europe to vote out a govern-
ment over the way it handled
the coronavirus outbreak.
The government collapsed
on Wednesday, just months af-
ter it took office. The vote was
called by a junior coalition
partner who criticised steps
taken to curb the contagion.
Kurti ordered a curfew and
banned public gatherings to
stem the spread, defying Presi-
dent Hashim Thaci, who want-
ed to declare national emergen-
cy. The two officials have been
at odds all along, mainly on
how Kosovo should mend ties
with Serbia and which of them
should lead those efforts.
Kurti remains in charge as
RIVER OF SOLACE: Medical workers at a riverside park by the Yangtze River in Wuhan, China caretaker premier for up to
two weeks. During that time,
US weekly jobless claims
his party may propose a new
government leader but it may
struggle to find a coalition
partner. More than 70 people
have been infected with the vi-
soar to record 3.3 million rus in the landlocked nation of
1.8 million. BLOOMBERG
Washington: Nearly 3.3 mil-
AP
Pope reportedly
lion Americans applied for un-
employment benefits last week
— almost five times the previ-
tests -ve after
ous record set in 1982 — amid a Vatican scare
widespread economic shut-
down caused by the coronavi- Vatican City: Pope Francis
rus. The surge in weekly appli- was reported on Thursday to
cations was a stunning reflec- have tested negative for the no-
tion of the damage the viral vel coronavirus after a person
outbreak is inflicting on the in his residence was said to ha-
economy. Filings for unemplo-
yment aid generally reflect the
ve contacted Covid-19. Several
Italian newspapers with repu-
pace of layoffs. Virus deaths in table sources in the Vatican sa-
the US neared 1,050 and at least id the Italian clergyman who
US TOLL TOPS 1,000: Filings for unemployment aid generally reflect
70,000 people are infected.
The latest numbers, re-
leased by the labour departm-
the pace of layoffs. The virus toll in the US topped 1,000 on Wednesday
got sick had lived for years in
the pope’s Saint Martha’s resi-
dence. The daily La Stampa sa-
ent on Thursday, are some of
the first hard data on the eco- Terror charge on US man who id the unnamed person has be-
en hospitalised in Rome and
nomic toll of the coronavirus that his office has been disin-
pandemic, which has shut do-
wn whole swaths of American
coughed and said he had virus fected. The newspaper Il Mes-
saggero later reported that the
A
life faster than government New Jersey man was infected with the virus. pope himself was tested for the
statistics can keep track. Just charged with making Falcone later told two virus and came out clean.
three weeks ago, barely 200,000 a terroristic threat af- other store employees that The 83-year-old pontiff has
people applied for jobless bene- ter he intentionally coug- they were lucky to have remained largely secluded at
fits, a historically low number. hed near a supermarket jobs, officials said. his residence since coming do-
As staggering as the new employee and told her he Falcone was charged wn with a cold last month. AFP
figures are, they almost cer- had the coronavirus, au- with making a terroristic
tainly understate the prob-
lem. Some part-time and low-
thorities said on Tuesday.
The man, George Falco-
threat in the third degree
and fourth-degree of ob- Malaysia’s king
wage workers don’t qualify ne, 50, was shopping for structing administration
and queen under
for unemployment benefits. groceries at a Wegmans of law, Grewal said. Falco-
Nor do gig workers, independ- store on Sunday evening ne would face up to 7 years
ent contractors and the self- when a worker asked him
to move away from her and
in prison and a fine of up to
$26,000 if convicted.
quarantine
employed, although the emer-
gency aid package being con- a food display because he “These are extremely di- Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s
was too close, the state at- fficult times in which all of
sidered by Congress would king and queen are under
broaden eligibility. The sud- torney general, Gurbir us are called upon to be con- quarantine after seven palace
den rush of layoffs has led to Grewal, said. The authori- siderate of each other — not staff members tested positive
jammed phone lines and over- ties said that Falcone lea- to engage in intimidation for Covid-19. The palace said on
whelmed computer servers at ned in close to the worker to and spread fear,” Grewal sa- Thursday that seven staff were
unemployment offices across cough and allegedly laug- id. Falcone has denied of hospitalised on Tuesday and
the country, leaving many hed, telling her that he was making any threat. NYT health authorities were trying
people unable to file claims. to identify the source of the
With layoffs surging, a sig- ment aid that states provide. gig workers and others who are transmission. It said King Sul-
nificant expansion of unem- Another provision would sup- not on company payrolls. tan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad
ployment benefits was includ- ply 13 additional weeks of ben- Separate legislation pas- Shah and his wife Tunku Azi-
ed in an economic relief bill efits beyond the six months of sed last week provides up to $1 zah Aminah Maimunah Iskan-
nearing final approval in Con- jobless aid that most states of- billion to states to enhance dariah were tested for the vi-
gress. One provision in the bill fer. The new legislation would their ability to process claims. rus, but both were negative.
would provide an extra $600 a also extend unemployment But that money will take time Malaysia has reported 21
week on top of the unemploy- benefits, for the first time, to to be disbursed. REUTERS deaths and 1,796 infections. AP
AROUND THE WORLD
AFP
A 2018 South Korean
drama about an
outbreak goes viral
racter, “We must do more
research, but it looks like a
mutant coronavirus.” To which
she asks, “Corona? Then
Mers?” “Mers, Sars, the com-
mon flu. They all fall in the
S outh Korean drama “My
Secret, Terrius” may have
predicted a novel coronavirus-
same gene family with the
same gene information,” the
doctor says. “The coronavirus
like pandemic two years ago, attacks the respiratory sy-
believe Netflix users. Earlier, it stem,” the doctor adds. The
was Steven Soderberg’s 2011 agent then asks, “But that’s
film “Contagion” which was not serious enough to be used
being watched for its similar as a weapon. Am I wrong?”
plot to the crisis. A clip from The doctor says, “Like I said,
the 10th episode of the series’ this is a mutant virus. Someo-
first season is going viral on ne tweaked it to increase the
social media which shows a mortality rate to 90%.” Howe-
doctor handing over a file to ver, the clip floating on the
another character. In the viral Internet does not specifically
BE CLOSE, BUT FROM AFAR: A Covid-19 warning sign at a Dublin park clip, the doctor tells the cha- address the Covid-19 outbreak.
Consuming volcanic ash to using UV
Reuters
lamps: Fake cures running wild online
F rom being duped into taking poisonous “cures”, to avoiding
life-saving medication, people are suffering devastating
real-world impacts of a deluge of online virus misinformation. As the
new coronavirus that has killed more than 20,000 people causes
markets to crash, rumours and false claims are fuelling confusion
and deepening the economic misery. The effects can be tragic — in
Iran, more than 210 people died from drinking toxic alcohol after
claims circulated online that it could treat or ward off Covid-19, the
official Irna news agency reported. Dangerous fake cures debunked
include consuming volcanic ash and fighting infection with UV
lamps or chlorine disinfectants, which health authorities say can
harm the body if used incorrectly. Another remedy that “kills the WE SHALL OVERCOME: Children in St Helens join thousands
coronavirus”, according to misleading social media posts, is across Britain in drawing rainbows and hanging them on their
drinking silver particles in liquid, known as colloidal silver. AFP windows to brighten up people’s days during the pandemic
10 AN ECSTASY OF IDEAS THE TIMES OF INDIA
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020

A thought for today

If you’re going through hell, keep going
WINSTON CHURCHILL
Never Waste A Crisis
The positive outcomes and learnings of HIV-AIDS can help control coronavirus

Go Big On It Bachi Karkaria

The human immunode-

ficiency virus warned
to proper disinfection, disposables and
disposal protocols which were earlier
heeded most cavalierly. The loose nuts and
bolts have to be again tightened before the
Relief package will help the vulnerable us not to have unsafe sex.
The novel coronavirus
inevitable onslaught on hospitals.War-
footing is needed going by the embattled
but is too limited to revive the economy merely asks us not to have condition of quarantine centres.
unwashed hands. But As for the lay precaution of washing

F
inance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a Rs 1.70 lakh condom use is still not universal even hands, let me digress to Atul Gawande’s
crore relief package named Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana though there were still 1.1 million AIDS- 2007 book, Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on
yesterday, to mitigate the hardship caused by the 21-day lockdown related deaths in 2018, 20 years after its Performance. The very first chapter
imposed by the government. The package uses existing government peak. India has been ordered into a deals with the difficulty of implementing
21-day lockdown because on our own we correct hand hygiene in his prestigious
welfare channels to get relief in cash and kind across to more than
were incapable of following the simple Boston hospital. In the slim margin
half the country’s population. The highlights are that the package is precaution of hand-washing and its fol- between good and perfect, ‘lives are lost’.
designed to be broad-based and the bulk of the beneficiaries will be the low-on, social distancing – the only way We are correctly making a big deal of
urban poor and vulnerable rural families who supplement household to rein in a catastrophe that’s running this frontline barrier to infection, but
income through short-term unskilled work in urban centres. Another amok across the globe. Today’s is a bigger think about the millions without easy
key feature is the package’s benefits are of limited duration. need. Unlike HIV, SARS-CoV-2 infection access to soap and water.
The Covid-19 outbreak is an unprecedented shock to the economy isn’t limited to sexual partners (and, sadly, Third, safe blood-bank supply was
their unborn offspring). The hapless the most quantifiable success of India’s
and the damage has been exacerbated by the speed with which large
bystander gets shot. Like that dreaded AIDS control, and this cleanup continues
parts of the world have shut down activities. The informal segment is bell, it will take a toll on all of us. to save lives generally. Blood from
the worst hit in this scenario. They Is there any less grim comparison? compromised donors was one way of the
also lack the cushion to cope with a Well, at an individual level, Covid-19, four ways of contracting HIV. It’s not as

lockdown. Softening the blow to them the illness caused by SARS-CoV-2, will
must take priority and the govern- inflict less of the long-term traumas
ment has done well to prioritise. once suffered by HIV+ persons. From
the little we know, this new mutation
Government granaries are over-
will not trigger those debilitating
flowing with cereals currently. The opportunistic infections of full-blown
decision to increase the disbursal of AIDS. The social stigma smeared on the
both cereal and pulses at no additional HIV-afflicted were as destructive, and
cost for three months is expected to one hopes that early community sensiti-
cover around 800 million people. sing will temper the anguish faced by
Separately, the direct benefits Mumbai’s first Covid-19 case, his family
and even their part-time help.
transfer programmes through banking
But the economic impact is staggering.
channels are being utilised to put Ironically so because those most
extra cash in the hands of people or advance transfer payments. This susceptible to today’s virus are the
should help vulnerable sections trying to cope with a loss of earnings.
elderly, not HIV’s reproductive age group
Most of the measures have a shelf life of three months. The key which was also the most productive age
question is: Are these measures enough? No, because the scale of the group. Covid-19’s voracious appetite is
economic shock is extraordinary. Even well run businesses are being knocking down an economy already on
its knees. Yesterday’s hastily upped relief
swept away by the measures needed to cope with the pandemic.
package of Rs 1.7 lakh crore is a small
This means the government cannot afford to delay a more indication of the hit which will be taken
comprehensive response to the shock. To illustrate, the US which was by the economically most vulnerable.
experiencing a record period of economic expansion has unveiled Because this virus is so individually
a humongous $2 trillion stimulus package complemented by the central and nationally destructive, because
bank’s measures to revive the economy. The longer the government delays as a people we physically can’t or
a bigger response, the greater are the chances that even sound busi- irresponsibly won’t take the essential
precautions, and because our rickety
nesses will go belly up. Therefore, the Narendra Modi government must
health network will collapse under the
now ready an economic package, in conjunction with RBI, to use all means sheer weight of numbers, it’s worth
available to help the economy bounce back quickly. Such a package is learning what helped cage India’s HIV-
essential to prevent large scale job losses. Time is of the essence. AIDS. It isn’t a far-fetched comparison.
While we were spared the devastating
epidemic of Africa, it had gone beyond
high-risk-behaviour categories.
Stigmatised sex workers dropped out
of surveillance when they went under
ground and continued spreading infec-
tion; the kin of the Govandi woman who
succumbed to Covid-19 are now untrace-
able. HIV-AIDS reached the tertiary stage
– migrant workers/ truckers infected their
wives who, in 33% cases, transmitted it to
foetuses – because in the early controllable
years we sanctimoniously dismissed it as
‘only a disease of the decadent West’. This
time too we’ve been focussing on ‘travel
history’ when the larger community has
already been infected.
Five sparks emerged from the gloom
of AIDS, and these could light our way
out of Covid-19. These were foolproof
testing, safe hospital practices, the
cleaning up of blood supply, behavioural
change and the empowerment of sex
workers who, caught between life and
livelihood, finally took control of their
own destiny. Let’s see how each of these
applies to our real and present danger.
One, testing is the primary weapon
Chad Crowe
Each of us today is in the
1990s predicament of sex
workers, HIV’s worst victims.
Individually and collectively
we must ensure safe
behaviour, and have the
courage to call out anyone
refusing to comply
for those tasked with Covid-19 control.
The lesson from AIDS is that there must
be enough, and they must be reliable.
False positives and false negatives were
the bane of HIV’s frontline ELISA test.
ICMR recently called for price quotes for
10 lakh more kits, and coopted 100
government labs plus 30 private ones.
Their long footprint is not enough to keep
up with the epidemic’s galloping pace.
Two, the terror of contracting HIV-
AIDS forced hospital staff to treat every
patient as a potential carrier of the virus.
Self-preservation more than mandate led
major a factor in Covid-19 control, but
the lesson teaches us to ensure that the
sick don’t get sicker thanks to something
meant to make them better. Apparatus is
in the hands of professionals, and there-
fore easier to sanitise than changing
mulish human behaviour.
Which brings us to Factor 4. The
new virus’s trusted accomplice is our
determined resistance to personal
hygiene and civic responsibility. Unlike
with HIV, today’s high-risk behaviour is
not confined to 3-4 groups, it’s a national
trait. How do we sensitise an entire
country to safe sneezing? In our ‘what
goes of your father’ self-centredness,
how can we load the prevention-bullet of
hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and
physical distancing unless there’s a
forced lockdown?
The answer lies in AIDS lesson 5,
empowerment. Each of us today is in the
1990s predicament of sex workers, HIV’s
worst victims. Individually and collecti-
vely we must ensure safe behaviour, and
have the courage to call out anyone
refusing to comply. Knowledge is our
enabler. So, official strategy too must
boost the proven strategy of informa-
tion, communication, education. ICE,
regularly and correctly applied, works
as effectively for national afflictions.

Hello Doctor ‘A pandemic shows interconnectedness like

Telemedicine has been around. It took a calamity
for government to recognise its benefits nothing else. We are all in this together’
■ Your book offers a graphic and

T
he adage of crisis triggering reform in India is coming true yet John M Barry is the author of The Great later waves should be less dangerous. Sustaining compliance is much more
again amid the Covid-19 outbreak. The world over, policy shifts Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest grim description of the impact of 1918 ■ When millions die in a very short difficult. People have to keep doing these
hanging fire for years are getting fast-tracked in days. On Pandemic in History. India was among influenza in India and estimates that span due to a disease, it impacts things for weeks. They get tired, but it
the worst hit by that pandemic in 1918-19, in the subcontinent close to 20 million human behaviour deeply. How did the matters. In SARS many healthcare wor-
Wednesday, government issued guidelines for doctors wishing to which is estimated to have infected died. What explains such a huge toll? influenza of 1918 influence people? kers were infected and died. It seems some
practise telemedicine, which will enable online and telephonic one-third of the global population. In an I’ve never heard a good explanation. In I don’t know what happened in India. of them infected themselves taking off
medical consultation. In 2018, an adverse Bombay high court judgment email interview, the New Orleans-based fact differences could be dramatic. In the In the US it varied. Everywhere there their personal protective equipment. They
was interpreted as questioning the legitimacy of telemedicine. Since author tells Avijit Ghosh about the British army, Indian soldiers had was fear of course. And national may have known what to do and they did
then medical bodies have been petitioning MCI and government to extent of death caused by the 1918 global a case fatality rate of 22%, while leadership lied, saying it was it most of the time, 90% of the time, maybe
Jissue clear guidelines. The sheer scale of challenges facing the influenza, popularly known as the Spanish British troops at the same location “ordinary influenza by another 97% of the time. But the routine is tedious
public healthcare system due to Covid-19’s infectiousness appear to flu in India, and how world leaders should had case fatality rates of 9%. name”. In cities where local and if they slipped just a little they got
react to the Covid-19 pandemic today: Medical care was roughly the leadership echoed that, trust infected. Do the right thing every time,
have now expedited the policy shift. same. I would hypothesise two things: broke down not only between the public all the time. It makes a difference for
Telemedicine draws on advances like 4G One, it’s conceivable that other influenza and leadership but between everyone. yourself and your society.
technology facilitating video calling and offers viruses had not circulated widely in India, Society began to fray, so much that in ■ Historian Yuval Noah Harari
even greater possibilities with a range of sensors so Indians had no natural immune protec- some areas people starved to death be- recently wrote, “Humanity needs to
beginning to be deployed on smartphones tion. They were “virgin populations”, and cause no one had the courage to bring make a choice. Will we travel down the
and handheld devices that allow readings of it’s well-known such populations are very them food. The head of the army’s divi- route of disunity, or will we adopt the
temperature, blood pressure, heart and pulse susceptible to new pathogens. In the West sion of communicable disease wrote, “If path of global solidarity”? In times
other influenza viruses had circulated the current rate of acceleration continues when our lives are more collectively
rate, blood sugar levels, etc. While many Indian continuously, providing some cross- for a few more weeks, civilisation could interlinked than ever before, how
cities and southern states outperform the WHO protection to the new virus which was still easily disappear from the face of the should we as a global community react
recommended one doctor per thousand popula- an influenza virus. That’s one possibility. earth.” But in places where leadership to this macabre dance of death?
tion, healthcare facilities are nonexistent over Another is population density. was blunt and truthful, those places con- I agree with that. A pandemic
large rural swathes. Doctors are also unwilling to move away from ■ The 1918 pandemic happened tinued to function and though afraid those demonstrates interconnectedness like
cities, and in this context telemedicine spares many patients the ordeal in waves. It returned a few cities came together as a community. nothing else. We are all in this together.
and expense of travelling to urban areas for medical help. months later after an early ■ What are the biggest lessons to be In the scientific community this has
onslaught. As you write, learnt from the 1918 pandemic today, occurred far more than with earlier
With reports of unemployment and underemployment of doctors “India too suffered more especially for the top world leaders? threats from bird flu. For the larger
in some states, telemedicine can also bridge the medical field’s when it returned in Septem- Tell the truth. That and what we now geopolitical community, that takes leader-
demand-supply anomalies. In public healthcare, government can press ber 1918.” Another lesson call “social distancing”. The two are ship. I’m not confident we’re getting it
auxiliary nurse-midwives and ASHA workers into service to act as for everyone there? inter-related. If you expect people to from political leaders. On the ground,
intermediaries between doctors and patients. This will improve I expect this to come in comply with public health recommenda- where I am right now, New Orleans,
diagnosis and ensure better compliance with prescriptions. Already waves as well, but with or tions, they have to trust the people which is a hot spot, I am seeing a commu-
without vaccines, as people’s making those recommendations. Other- nity come together. Hopefully that will
web portals and mobile apps providing rudimentary telemedicine
immune systems become better wise they will not comply. And getting become true generally, and globally. But
facilities exist and they can now scale up. Tight regulation of these able to respond to the virus, compliance is very, very difficult. as they say, hope is not a plan.
services can curb malpractices, protect both patients and doctors,
improve documentation, and through informed consent even make
available medical data for research and cloud computing purposes.
dilbert Sacredspace
Free Yourself
River sutra In your true nature, you are free
the moment you see it’s not in you.
If you have a pain, observe it
Waterways are the arteries through which happening in the body.
flows the life-blood of civilisations If there is tightness or joy in your
Jug Suraiya
mind, observe that it is tight, sad,
unhappy or happy. Just observe …
I am in Kaliabor in Assam, 200 km from Guwahati, and before me as though it is happening
stretches the immense expanse of the Brahmaputra. It is the dry elsewhere.
spell before the pre-monsoon rain squalls come sweeping in grey
sheets of water, turning the dry land into iridescent green, and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
the great river is shrunken, revealing sandy beaches.
But even in its reduced state the river is a stupendous sight,
its width, spanned by a bridge, stretching over 2.7 km. And i’m told that farther
upriver, beyond Dibrugarh, it broadens out to an incredible 52 km, its shimme-
ring surface stretching out to a horizon unbounded by the farther bank.
India is indeed blessed with its rivers. In Goa there is the majestic Mandovi,
The Virus Can Give Your Life More Meaning
and the mighty Zuari, which makes me catch my breath every time i see it, Deepak Chopra & Rudolph E Tanzi isn’t enough. Feeling safe and secure is a homeostasis and prevents a cascade of of yourself in service, when you find
which i’ve done, over and over, through the years. state of awareness. It exists in us when we imbalances that can occur in hormones, resources of strength and resilience

O
Rivers are the currents of history and they give rise to civilisations. The annual ne way to respond in a crisis is to reach deeper than the everyday self. The for example. Stress is a powerful trigger inside yourself, and when you discover
flooding of the Nile, a phenomenon which leaves behind a rich deposit of silt that reduce its threat. The other way is everyday self cannot feel permanently for hormone imbalance, among other who you really are.
ensures bountiful crops, led to the pharaonic dynasties and the building of the to add to the threat. No matter how safe. Outside forces loom too large and things. It has been linked to chronic Viruses have no motive except
great pyramids. The Indus gave birth to Mohenjo-daro, the Covid-19 pandemic resolves itself – threatening. This is the time to take up inflammation, for example, which seems self-preservation and replication. All of
the first city of the South Asian subcontinent. something no one can predict – you can meditation or return to it if you have to be present in acute and chronic disease. us have the same instincts; they are built
jugularvein Imperial Rome, whose legions conquered the world, personally choose right now to reduce its lapsed. Your goal is to connect with Vagal breathing is centred on into our evolutionary past. But where
rose out of the Tiber. London, which spawned an empire threat. If you consciously make that your deeper awareness, the place stimulating the vagus nerve, which human evolution excels is at the level of
on which it was said that the sun never set, was a gift of the Thames. choice, three positive things will happen. where self-control and runs from the brain to heart, consciousness that goes beyond instinct,
When i first saw both these rivers, i was amazed as to how small and insigni- You will feel more in control; you will be security comes from. lungs, intestinal tract, and into the realms of empathy and
ficant they looked compared with India’s huge waterways. They seemed mere on the side of healing; and you will add to Healing is a mind-body elsewhere. By breathing in to self-awareness.
streams, little more than rain-fed nallahs of no particular consequence. the meaning of your life. process. If you are sad, a count of four, holding your During times of crisis, we naturally
Perhaps the most revered river in the world is our holy Ganga, worshipped Act responsibly, following what stressed, depressed, breath for a short pause, and take time to appreciate what we have and
as Mother Goddess by thousands of millions. And the great Indian tragedy is disease control experts advise. By now anxious, helpless, hopeless, breathing out to a count of place greater priority on what is most
that we’ve poisoned it almost to the point of extinction with untreated everyone is aware of the need to stay at panicky, or feel out of four, you tell the vagus nerve important to us. The question is how to
effluents, and sewage, and excrement. home, self-quarantine if you show any control, every cell in your that you are in a calm, carry this on after the crisis of Covid-19
Civilisations are born through rivers, and live by them, and those who let symptoms, keep 6-10 ft away from other body gets that message. Therefore, do balanced state. In response, it helps passes. Your life will be more meaningful
their rivers die put themselves in mortal jeopardy. people in public, don’t take long plane everything you can to send the opposite maintain mind-body balance. if you contribute to meaningful solutions
As i watch the setting sun turns the Brahmaputra into a life-tide, the colour flights, and wash your hands frequently. message. Meditation can restore mind- Follow a healthy diet and avoid / that reach far, far beyond the rampage of
of blood. This is all useful advice, but it doesn’t body balance. But you also need to be minimise alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. this virus. Everything, including being in
Jug.suraiya@timesgroup.com address where being in control comes vigilant on two other fronts: sleep and Life becomes more meaningful when control and being a healer, is wrapped up
blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi from, which is mental. Positive thinking stress. Good, sound sleep maintains you feel you have purpose, when you give in that.

Swift recovery seen
after 2009 recession
Data shows that the
recovery from the 2009
recession was the fastest
followed by the gains
after the recession
in early 80s
Source: Statista
Sensex hits
30k again,
but closes
a tad lower
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: The sensex gave up
part of its early gains after the
finance minister announced a
Rs 1.7 lakh crore financial
package for the poor while the
market was expecting a stimu-
lus for the industries hardest
hit by the nationwide lock-
down. These included hospita-
lity, aviation, banking & finan-
cial services and automobiles.
As a result, the sensex,
which had risen rallied nearly
1,600 points to over 30,000 in anti-
cipation of an overall economic
package, shed about1,000 points.
However, short-covering late in
the session led to a rally that hel-
ped the sensex close with a gain
of 1,411points, at 29,947.
NEED MORE IN
ECO PACKAGE
In just three sessions, from
its recent low at 25,639 on
March 24, the index has gai-
ned nearly 17% or about 4,300
points. It was the best three-
day rally for the Indian mar-
ket since May 2009, data sho-
wed. Market players said with
the March derivatives cont-
racts expired on Thursday, it
needs to be seen if the rally
continues on Friday. The day’s
gains came despite selling by
foreign funds who recorded a
net outflow figure of Rs 485
crore. Domestic funds, which
were net buyers for over three
weeks now, turned net sellers
on Thursday at Rs 770 crore.
According to Motilal Os-
wal Financial Services head
(retail research) Siddhartha
Khemka, the finance mini-
ster’s economic package aims
to protect the poor from the
ongoing Covid-19 crisis.
Swiggy ready for grocery
services in 150 top cities
Madhav.Chanchani
@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: Swiggy’s oper-
ations may have been disrupt-
ed since the ‘Janta Curfew’
was announced on Sunday.
But the online food delivery
company has said it is willing
to start delivering groceries
in up to 150 top cities across
the country if the supply
chain starts opening up. Swig-
gy currently delivers food
from restaurants, but also has
a grocery delivery service
called ‘Stores’ in two cities —
Gurugram and Bengaluru.
The company is willing to
leverage its fleet of 2.5 lakh
across 500 cities to deliver es-
sentials as the country re-
mains in a lockdown till April
14, so that consumers can stay
at home as PM Narendra Mo-
di has recommended. The gov-
ernment also said that online
delivery of both cooked food
and groceries is an “essential
service”, which should be al-
lowed to remain open.
“This is wartime. We can
open in as many cities as
needed as it will take 1-2
days,” said Swiggy COO Vi-
vek Sundar. He added that the
pathway for it needs to be
Amid lockdown, banks, ATM cos
warn of rush for salary, govt dole
Mayur.Shetty@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: Banks and ATM
service providers are bracing
for an intense week following
the government announce-
ment of direct benefit trans-
fer (DBT) into crores of ac-
counts, which coincides with
salary and pension payouts.
Even as many branches are
not able to operate because of
a staff shortage, banks are
warning of large crowds in
branches as Pradhan Mantri
Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) ac-
count beneficiaries, unfamil-
iar with debit cards, approach
branches for withdrawal.
Meanwhile, ATM service
providers say their employees
are not being recognised as
‘essential services’ by police
at the ground level. “If the gov-
ernment is going to put in
more funds through DBT ac-
counts, the last-mile reach is
provided by the ATM network.
Government agencies should
help ATM service providers
100
80
60
S&P 500
return gains
40
after most
recent US
20
recessions 0
(in %)
-20
COVID-19: HOW THE DEADLY VIRUS
IS CHANGING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
From hygiene products to daily staples, Indians are prioritising their
weekly expenses as infection concerns rise, according to a Nielsen study
While hygiene product sales see a surge, e-comm orders witness huge jump
TRADITIONAL TRADE GROWTH
Mid Feb to Mid March
144%
72%
42%
28%
Hand Liquid Hand
Sanitiser Wash
Source: Nielsen RMS unprojected data from
18,000 retail stores; India Value Sales
Precautionary pantry stocking drives sales of staples & processed foods
TRADITIONAL TRADE GROWTH
Mid Feb to Mid March
2019 vs 2018 2020 vs 2019
BRANDED PULSES
16%
PACKAGED ATTA Source: Nielsen
20%
RMS unprojected
data from 18,000
25%
retail stores;
India Value Sales
Behaviour thresholds give early signals of spending patterns across mkts
1 Proactive Health-
Minded Buying
Interest rises in products that
support overall maintenance
of health and wellness
COUNTRIES
Quarantined
4 Living Preparation
Increased online shopping, a
decline in store visits, rising
out-of-stocks,
strains on the
supply chain
MEXICO, RUSSIA
DELIVERY CO’S WISH LIST
For expanding its delivery
services to beyond food,
Swiggy wants the govt
to ensure that grocery
stores remain open
It also wants authorities
to help its delivery fleet
operate without harassment
cleared. During normal oper-
ational days, Swiggy was do-
ing over 1.5 million deliveries
a day until earlier this month.
Swiggy and rival Zomato
have been struggling with op-
erations as local authorities
in major cities have shut
down restaurants, stopped
trucks supplying materials to
kitchens and delivery person-
nel have also taken a beating
from the police. Sundar said
Swiggy has been in discus-
sions with police commis-
sioners, political leadership
and bureaucrats in all the ci-
ties where they are operation-
al to get deliveries started.
The appeal to these state
governments has been to allow
anyone who is associated with
the making of food — staff of
cloud kitchens & restaurants,
TAKING ACCOUNT OF PMJDY
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts (in cr)
Rural/semi-urban
bank branches
Rural-urban female
beneficiaries
Urban metro
bank branches
Total beneficiaries
RuPay debit
cards issued
and cash-in-transit compa-
nies to do their job,” said NCR
India MD Navroze Dastur.
He said that the ATM em-
ployees should be given cur-
few passes to be able to attend
to the cash machines. “Our
employees are doing a diligent
job. But if they are beaten on
the streets, they will say, ‘Why
should we go out?” he added.
ATMs are the backbone of
cash disbursement as they
can store up to Rs 20 lakh and
enable over 200 withdrawals a
TIMES BUSINESS
E-COMMERCE ORDER GROWTH
2019 vs 2018
Avg Weekly: Mar ’20 vs Feb ’20
2020 vs 2019
39%
6% 7% 8%
Antiseptic Toilet
Floor & Toilet Cleaner
Liquids Soaps
E-COMMERCE ORDER GROWTH
Avg Weekly: Mar ’20 vs Feb ’20
STAPLES
21%
16%
72%
SNACKING & PROCESSED FOODS
Salty Snacks
31%
2 Reactive Health
Management
Prioritise products essential
to virus containment, health
and public safety, such as
face masks
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
5 Restricted
Living
Severely restricted
shopping trips, online
fulfilment is limited, price
concerns rise as limited
stock availability impacts
pricing in some cases
INDIA, EU, US
Panic-buying boosts struggling FMCG cos | P 15
Swiggy has stressed that
the supply chain of groceries
from factories to shops
must not get disrupted
Of Swiggy’s entire fleet,
80-85% is currently idle,
which it says can be leveraged
for grocery deliveries
delivery personnel, and ven-
dors supplying raw material
like vegetables & meat — to be
allowed to operate. But Sundar
optimistically estimated that
food delivery operations may
normalise by the weekend.
“Our cancellation rates
were 10x normal rate as res-
taurant staff was stuck or the
delivery boy was not allowed
to move. We are still strug-
gling with beat cops on the
ground even in cities like Ben-
galuru, which is in the best op-
erational state in the country
right now,” he said. Oper-
ations in Tamil Nadu, Punjab
and Uttar Pradesh have been
completely shut as state gov-
ernments, despite central
government’s directive to al-
low online deliveries, have
asked the services to stop.
22.6
20.5
ATMs
15.7 2.1L
38.3
29.3
day. “Law enforcement au-
thorities should be able to
identify people providing es-
sential services and provide
protection so that they can
continue to provide services.
These are not normal times
and there is a need for every-
one to get together to make
things work,” said Electronic
Payment and Services foun-
der-director Mani Mamallan.
While bank branches have
been instructed to operate
with a skeletal staff of man-
THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020
1 year from trough
Hand Sanitiser 1425%
Face Mask 408%
Hand Wash 86%
77%
Source: Nielsen E-analytics;
Avg No of Order: Feb (4 weeks) March (2 weeks)
Cooking Oil (Refined + Non-Refined) 106%
Cooking Medium (Spices, Salt, Ghee Etc)
Packaged Atta
Source:
Nielsen
84% E-analytics;
Avg No of
Soft Drinks (CSD+NCSD) 68% Order: Feb (4
Biscuit
weeks) March
(2 weeks)
3 Pantry
Preparation
Pantry stockpiling of shelf-
stable foods and a broader
assortment of health-safety
products; spike in store visits;
growing basket sizes
ANGOLA, BELARUS
6 Living A New
Normal
People return to daily routines
(work, school, etc) but operate
with a renewed cautiousness
about health. Permanent
shifts in supply chain, the
use of e-commerce and
hygiene practices
CHINA
Mega bank
consolidation
on track: FM
New Delhi: The government
on Thursday said the mega
bank consolidation plan is ve-
ry much on track and will take
effect from April 1 despite the
onslaught of the coronavirus
pandemic throwing the coun-
try out of gear. The Union Cab-
inet earlier this month ap-
proved amalgamation of 10
public sector banks into four
global sized lenders, begin-
ning next financial year.
Asked if the government is
‘FROM APRIL 1’
considering extending the dead-
line for merger of public sector
banks, finance minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman said “at the mo-
ment there is nothing on that”.
Banking secretary Debas-
ish Panda said the merger
process is very much on track
and expressed hope that the
banking sector would be able to
meet the challenges thrown by
the pandemic. “That is very
much on the track. It's parallel
activity going on. As far as fund
transfers, etc, are concerned,
necessary arrangements will
be made,” Panda said. The
statement assumes signifi-
cance as there has been de-
mand from some quarters for
deferring the deadline due to
coronavirus outbreak. AGENCIES
ager-cashier and sub-staff,
even this is proving to be a
challenge. Banks are getting
staff to take turns in attend-
ing office. In some regions,
the managers have taken a
call to operate branches on al-
ternate days, but there is no
instruction from the head of-
fice allowing for closure of
branches. Most banks have
exempted people with disabil-
ities from attending office and
are treating this as paid leave.
For SBI, which has been at
the forefront of distributing
government benefits, anoth-
er issue is government pen-
sion payouts. Pensioners col-
lect their money from the
branches and do not use the
ATM as they are required to
be present at the branch for
life certificate verification.
“Next week will be critical
because of the salary and
pension payment, ” said Mah-
arashtra State Bank Employ-
ees Federation general secre-
tary Devidas Tuljapurkar.
FY21 GDP growth may crash
to 3-decade low on Covid-19
SBI Cuts Forecast To 2.6%, Crisil To 3.5% | Curfew May Cost `8L Cr
Rajesh.C@timesgroup.com
Chennai: The impact of the
coronavirus pandemic and
the consequent 21-day coun-
trywide lockdown will push
India’s GDP growth to 2.6% for
FY21, lowest in nearly three
decades, according to estimate
released by the group chief ec-
onomic advisor of the coun-
try’s largest lender State Bank
of India, while ratings agency
Crisil slashed its forecast to
3.5% from the earlier 5.2%.
The total cost of the ongo-
ing lockdown will be at least Rs
8 lakh crore in nominal terms,
an income loss of Rs 1.77 lakh
crore and a loss in capital in-
come of Rs 1.7 lakh crore, said
Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group
chief economic adviser at SBI.
Estimates showed that
over a 60-year period, global
GDP declined only once an-
nually in 2009 by 1.7%. Assum-
ing that global GDP declines
at nearly a similar rate in 2020
and given India’s share in
global GDP at 3.5%, it implies
a contraction of 2% of real
GDP in FY21 due to India’s in-
tegration with the global
economy through trade and
Bajaj pledges `100cr, Godrej `50cr
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: The Bajaj Group has
committed Rs 100 crore to In-
dia’s ongoing fight against the
coronavirus disease. The funds
will be used to upgrade “key”
healthcare infrastructure, pro-
vide basic essentials to the
needy and to support economic
aid programme in rural areas.
“Working with the government
and our network of 200-plus
NGO partners, we will ensure
these resources reach those
who need it the most,” said Bajaj
Group chairman Rahul Bajaj.
The Godrej Group has ear-
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WHAT THEY PROJECT
0 1 2 3 4 5
Moody’s lowered India’s GDP growth forecast
to 5.3% from earlier 5.8% for FY 2021
5.3% 5.8%
Revised Earlier
Projection Projection
Fitch
5.1% 5.6%
OECD
5.1%
SBI
2.6% 5.7%
CRISIL
3.5% 5.2%
ICRA
4.7% 5.2%
social consumption chan-
nels, SBI research showed.
“We estimate another 1.7%
impact on real GDP because of
the 21-day lockdown in FY21
resulting in at least 70% of the
economy at a standstill. We
thus peg our FY21 GDP esti-
mate at 2.6%, with a clear
downward bias, with Q1FY21
GDP numbers witnessing a
contraction. FY20 GDP esti-
marked Rs 50 crore for com-
munity support and relief ini-
tiatives. “This is an initial out-
lay and we hope to supplement
it over time,” said Godrej &
Boyce chairman Jamshyd Go-
drej in an e-mail to employees.
Bajaj, the vehicle maker-to-
financial services provider, is
the fourth enterprise to set
aside Rs 100 crore to combat the
outbreak in the country. Earli-
er, Vedanta, Axis Bank and
Hindustan Unilever pledged Rs
100 crore each for public health-
care and other initiatives.
The Bajaj Group will use
the funds to upgrade ICUs at
AMORK
E
O
LL H0M
Iz
In the wake of COVID-19,
USE THIS TIME TO
Answer interesting
questions on
HAPPYYMES
on daily newspaper
& EARN TIMESPOINTS
FOOD & DINING ENTERTAINMENT
Great recession (2007-2009)
84%
Early 80s recession (1981-1982)
48%
42% Average (1948-2009)
12% Savings & loan crisis
3% 9/11 downturn (2001)
2 years from trough
6 7
Some sectors
likely to be
worst affected
Agriculture,
transport,
hotels, trade and
education
IMF has warned of
a global recession
6.2% in 2020, which
could be worse
than the 2008-09
global financial
crisis, and has
called for all
efforts to meet the
challenges posed
by the pandemic
mates could also see a down-
ward revision from 5% to
4.5% with Q4GDP growth at
2.5%,” the SBI note said.
Crisil said the advers ef-
fects that will follow can dwarf
the gains from the sharp drop
in crude oil prices. Said Dhar-
makirti Joshi, chief econo-
mist, Crisil, “We have slashed
our base-case GDP growth
forecast for fiscal 2021 to 3.5%
government hospitals, procure
medical devices such as ventila-
tors (which are in huge de-
mand), enhance testing capaci-
ties and to set up isolation facili-
ties. The healthcare infrastruc-
ture support will be mainly in
Pune, where the group is head-
quartered, and in nearby areas.
Bajaj, 81, added that in the
last few weeks, there has been
a reverse migration to villag-
es. “We are thus committing a
significant portion of our
support towards an economic
aid programme in rural ar-
eas, which includes a direct
survival grant, followed by a
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(1990-1991)
from 5.2% expected earlier.
This assumes two things: A
normal monsoon, and effect of
the pandemic subsiding mate-
rially, if not wearing out, in the
April-June quarter. The slump
in growth will be concentrated
in the first half of next fiscal,
while the second half should
see a mild recovery.”
Several research houses,
economists and brokerages
have slashed the country’s
GDP growth estimates
against the backdrop of the
Covind-19 outbreak as several
sectors of the economy have
been hit hard and businesses
have come to a grinding halt
due to the 21-day lockdown.
The Indian economy was
already facing a slowdown and
the government had unveiled a
series of measures to boost
growth but the impact of the
virus outbreak will prompt the
government to unleash more
measures to reverse the slow-
down and help the poor and
business. Before the outbreak,
the government had estimated
growth to slow to an 11-year low
of 5% in 2019-20 and the eco-
nomic survey had forecast it to
recover to 6% to 6.5% in 2020-21.
livelihood intervention us-
ing a revolving fund model.”
Jamshyd Godrej said the Co-
vid-19-solidarity response fund
will back initiatives focused on
public health and essential sup-
plies. Godrej Group has donat-
ed 115 beds to government hos-
pitals in Maharashtra, which
accounts for 21% of coronavi-
rus cases, and has also helped
set up a 75-bed quarantine cen-
tre at Seven Hills hospital in
Mumbai. Additionally, it will
donate medical equipment and
protective supplies to the gov-
ernment agencies, the soaps-to-
real estate enterprise said.
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 TIMES SPORT THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD | FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020

EVERY ATHLETE’S WORST FEAR HAS COME TRUE: MANCHESTER UNITED LEADING RACE TO SIGN
WRESTLER VINESH ON OLY POSTPONEMENT JADON SANCHO FROM BORUSSIA DORTMUND

GALLERY IOC working

Time spent with Ricky
at MI was magic: Rohit RACING towards
July-August

AGAINST
Mumbai: Star Indian opener and Mumbai
Indians captain Rohit Sharma felt that the
time he spent with Ricky Ponting at the
2021 Olympics
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise was Tokyo: The International
“magic.” Ponting was captain of MI in 2013, Olympic Committee (IOC) is

FATHER
when they were yet to win an IPL title. He working with sports bodies to
resigned from the post and handed it over arrange a July-August win-
to Rohit but stayed on as part of the coach- dow for the postponed Tokyo
ing staff. “Ricky Ponting to me was magic,” Olympics in 2021 and hopes to
said Rohit on Thursday in an interaction confirm the schedule within a
with former England captain Kevin Pie-

TIME
month, Japan’s Yomiuri
tersen on Instagram. “The way he handled
the team when he was captain during the
SIX STARS FOR WHOM newspaper reported on
FEDERER Thursday.
first half and then he gave the captaincy to OLYMPICS 2021 MAY John Coates, the IOC’s co-
me midway. That takes a lot of guts and
after that to be as involved as he was as a COME TOO LATE... ordination commission chief
for Tokyo, told the Yomiuri
support staff member. He was supporting the Games would have to be
all the younger players in the team and he z Williams already has held between the tennis
With the 2020 Olympics postponed until
was guiding me in captaincy,” said Rohit. four Olympic gold medals: Grand Slams of Wimbledon,
next year, there are fears the delay will
shatter the gold medal hopes of many singles at London in 2012 and slated to end in mid-July, and
ICC opens up archives of match foot- women’s doubles with the US Open, which starts in
age: As the whole world has been sent into a ageing athletes. We look at six
evergreen stars for whom the delayed sister Venus in 2000, late August.
lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic, the “We want to more or less fi-
Games might be a bridge too far... 2008 in Beijing and
International Cricket Council (ICC) on nalise the dates in four weeks’
London four years later.
Thursday opened up its archives of match ROGER FEDERER time,” the paper quoted
footage and programming to its broadcast z Perhaps the greatest tennis player of all TIGER WOODS Coates as saying.
partners. This will give the fans throughout time, the 20-time Grand Slam champion Coates, who is also presi-
z The legendary golfer
the world an opportunity to relive some of will be 40 in August 2021. dent of the Australian Olym-
will be 46 in December downed in the JUSTIN GATLIN
the greatest cricketing moments of the last pic Committee (AOC), said the
z He won Olympic gold when he partnered next year and would have semifinals by great rival
45 years as they stay at home due to the z Gatlin had planned to summer scheduling would be
Stan Wawrinka to the men’s doubles title struggled to make the US team for the Lee Chong Wei, the man he
pandemic. The move can now watch cricket retire in 2020 after dependent on avoiding clash-
at the 2008 Beijing Games. Federer was a Games if they had remained in their 2020 had beaten in the 2008 and
matches, highlights and ICC films at a time competing in his fourth es with the world champion-
quarterfinalist in singles in China, silver slot. He is currently only the sixth-ranked 2012 Olympic finals.
when live sports programming stands Olympics at the age of 38. ships for swimming (July 16-
medallist in 2012 in London before injury American with just the top four
disrupted. Now, the controversial Aug 1) and athletics (Aug 6-15).
forced him skip the 2016 Games in Rio. guaranteed to make the squad. ALLYSON FELIX
American wants to carry on World Athletics boss Se-
ICC postpones World Cup qualifiers: z In Sydney, in 2000, Federer made the z Woods, the winner of 15 majors, has z The only female track and field
till the next Tokyo Games. bastian Coe has said the world
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said semifinals in singles but he still been fighting a recurrence of a back injury athlete in history to win six
z Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic champion, will athletics championships in
on Thursday that all qualifying events for remembers Australia fondly, as it was the so at least the delay to 2021 for the Olympic gold medals, Felix
have a hard task qualifying, given the Eugene, Oregon could be
the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup and 50-overs place where he first started his romance Olympics gives him renewed hope of a had spent the last two
depth of the US men’s sprinting squad, moved back to 2022 if neces-
version in 2023 that were scheduled to be with Mirka Vavrinec, who is now his wife. golden swansong. years preparing for a
with Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles sary.
held before June 30 have been postponed “Overall it (2000) was probably the most golden farewell at the Coates told the newspaper
LIN DAN the favourites in the 100m and 200m.
due to the coronavirus pandemic. India host unbelievable Olympics I ever had,” said Tokyo Olympics. the hope was to follow the
next year’s T20 World Cup and the 50-overs Federer, who was also Switzerland’s flag- z The colourful and
z Felix, who turns 35 at FINALLY, TWO WHO same arrangements next year
event in 2023. As many as eight events will bearer in Beijing and in Athens in 2004, controversial Chinese
the end of this year, will HAVE ALL THE TIME! that had been planned for
now be postponed due to the ICC decision. where he exited early in badminton superstar
find it harder as she z Syrian table tennis 2020, including holding the
“In light of the significant global health the second round. will be 37 by the time
attempts to improve her medal tally in player Hend Zaza was marathon in the northern city
concerns at the current time and the re- the next Games roll
what will be her fifth consecutive of Sapporo instead of Tokyo
strictions on movement imposed by govern- SERENA WILLIAMS around. Lin already has set to become the
Olympics appearance. to escape the heat.
ments across the world, the ICC has taken z The US tennis great gold from Beijing in 2008 youngest athlete at
The AOC confirmed the
the decision to postpone all events up until too will be 40 in and London four years later, adding to z She is by no means the oldest woman to Tokyo this year, at just
Yomiuri report’s veracity and
the end of June subject to further review,” September next year, his five world titles. chase Olympic glory in sprint events. 11 years old.
also told Reuters in a state-
Chris Tetley, ICC head of events, said. although her desire to z There is a hint of unfinished business Merlene Ottey was 40 when she anchored z Skateboarder Sky Brown, only five ment that Coates had “prof-
play in Tokyo might not be for Lin, who was defeated in the bronze Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team to a bronze months older, was also hoping to compete fered a view but confirms a
Buttler, Stokes up for ‘shortened’ IPL: as pressing as that of Federer. medal match in Rio in 2016, having been medal in 2000. for Great Britain. AFP range of options are on the ta-
England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler ble for the IOC”. REUTERS
and allrounder Ben Stokes are hoping for at
least a curtailed IPL this season, aware that
it would be difficult to conduct the “massive
tournament” in the wake of Covid-19 pan-
demic. “Obviously, it’s such a massive Staying home is like ‘nirvana’ Finally, stubborn Fide Postponement gives
tournament for world cricket, so hopefully
stops Candidates
some of it can go ahead — perhaps a short-
ened tournament,” Buttler said in a Skys-
ports podcast. Meanwhile, Stokes said: “At for Australian players: Langer Prasad.RS@timesgroup.com
‘undercooked’ Neeraj
the moment my next competitive cricket is
going to be in the IPL. That hasn’t changed
yet so I have to think I will be playing on
Melbourne: Staying home
during the national lock-
down to contain the coronavi-
Getty Images Chennai: The Candidates chess tourna-
ment, being held in Yekaterinburg, Russia,
was the only high-profile event going as per
time to plan and train
April 20. I have to get my head round that I rus is like “nirvana” for Aus- schedule amidst the Covid-19 pandemic that Hindol.Basu@timesgroup.com and I complete-
am playing even though in the back of my tralian cricketers as they has seen mass cancellations of sporting ac- ly support the
mind I know I am probably not. I have to generally have to live out of a tivities across the globe. But on Thursday, New Delhi: When javelin postponement.
build up and get myself physically in a suitcase, head coach Justin Candidates too met with the same fate as the thrower Neeraj Chopra re- We athletes
position that if it does happen I am good to Langer has said. other events. turned to action at the ACNE knew it (post-
go.” “The truth is for me per- The world chess body (FIDE) finally de- League meeting in Potchef- ponement of
sonally and for all the play- cided to stop the tournament after the con- stroom, South Africa, earlier the Olympics)
Stranded Iain O’Brien resorts to crowd- ers, this is like nirvana in the clusion of 7 out of the 14 rounds. The main this year, he immediately was inevitable and that’s why
funding for flight back home: Desperate fact we’re home with our fam- reason given by FIDE was the stopping of all made the cut for the Tokyo it doesn’t come as a shock to
to reunite with his family in the UK, stranded ilies, we sleep in our own flights going out of Russia from Friday. “The Olympics with a throw of me,” he said. “While we were
former New Zealand pacer Iain O’Brien has beds, we eat home-cooked government of the Russian Federation an- 87.86m. The Olympic qualifica- looking forward to Tokyo 2020,
resorted to crowd-funding to arrange for his dinners and we can still work nounced that starting March 27, 2020, Rus- tion mark was 85m. It was his the environment wouldn’t
tickets after his flights were cancelled due to in one degree or another sia interrupts air traffic with other coun- first tournament after nearly a have been appropriate for the
the Covid-19 pandemic. The 43-year-old from from home,” Langer told re- tries without indicating any time frames. year. The 22-year-old had mis- event to be celebrated the way
is seeking donations through social network- porters on Thursday. FIDE can’t continue the tournament with- sed the entire 2019 season due it should be. I would say we
ing site Twitter to fund his way back home. Langer said the impact of Justin Langer has been a father-like figure for Australian cricketers out guarantees for the players’ and officials’ to an elbow injury. After quali- should look at this positively as
“Ok, so trying to raise some money to pay for the virus had hit close to safe and timely return home. In this situa- fying, Neeraj went to Turkey it would allow us a year more to
this flight back to the UK,” O’Brien wrote on home. “I’ve got four daugh- tough time.” the lucrative T20 tournament tion, the FIDE president decided to stop the for training but had to return plan and train for the Olym-
his handle. “I have an idea. If anyone would ters at home and three of Australian cricket is in its has been postponed at least tournament,” the sport’s governing body to India when the government pics, which is the biggest sport-
love a 20 min Skype/vid call, one on one, talk them have lost their jobs,” he off-season and has been until mid-April and may end said in a statement on Thursday. decided to close its doors to ing event for many athletes. It
about all things cricket, politics, sausages, said. “It’s a great eye-opener largely insulated from the up being scrapped like many Emil Sutovsky, secretary general of passengers from several coun- totally works for me.”
mental health, Sachin, etc. If you’d like that & to me, how careful we have to impact of the coronavirus other tournaments that have FIDE, said that a decision on when and tries, including Turkey. From He added: “There are ex-
can spare a couple of $£, DM me.” O’Brien be. Talk about being pre- outbreak, which has sus- succumbed to the pandemic. where the remaining rounds will happen is then onwards, Neeraj has been perts at the IOC and World Ath-
played 22 Tests, 10 ODIs and four T20Is for pared for rainy days. pended all of the country’s Government contain- going to be taken in the coming days. The in self-isolation at the National letics who will take everything
New Zealand but now lives with his wife “This is certainly more major sporting competitions ment measures to shut down tournament rules clearly state that it will re- Institute of Sports in Patiala. into consideration before mak-
Rosie and two kids in the UK. than a rainy day. Whether it’s that run during the autumn virtually all non-essential sume with the same number of points. After On Tuesday, Neeraj learnt ing a decision (on new dates).
a footy club or my daughters and winter. businesses have already hit the completion of 7 rounds on Wednesday at his hostel room in NIS that So I think it would be best at
Mithali wants women’s IPL next year: all losing their jobs ... I have Some Australian players the economy with thousands night, the eight-player tournament had Ian Tokyo 2020 will now be Tokyo this point for us all to focus on
BCCI should not “wait forever” to start the great empathy for so many are signed with teams in the of workers laid off or stood Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-La- 2021. Neeraj is one of India’s overcoming this challenging
women’s IPL, said India women’s ODI captain people going through this Indian Premier League but down without pay. REUTERS grave in joint-lead with 4.5 points apiece. prime medal contenders at the situation with our health in-
Mithali Raj, urging the board to make it Olympics. But since his injury tact for now, and then work to-
happen next year on a smaller scale before and subsequent return, he has wards the Olympics next year
gradually developing it. “I personally feel
Turkish boxers Deferred Olympics might give
hardly got any competitive ac- depending on the eventual de-
they should start a women’s IPL by next year, tion – especially with a tough cision that is taken.”
even if it’s on a slightly smaller scale and field. Neeraj knows he would Neeraj believes every inter-
with some changes in rules, such as, say,
get corona, have gone into the Olympics – national athlete “has to take
have five to six foreign players in the first
edition instead of four as is the case with the
men’s IPL,” Raj told ESPNCricinfo. IOC criticised Leander another year on circuit had it taken place in 2020 – a tri-
fle undercooked. That’s why he
relieved that the Games have
the situation in his or her
stride”, and start their prepa-
rations “only after the corona-
Damayanti.Dasgupta Reuters an Olympic Association, for mak- been postponed. virus pandemic is brought un-
Michel Hidalgo, who coached France London: The International @timesgroup.com ing sure that all the athletes and “Health is the top priority der control”.
to Euro 1984 glory, dies: Michel Hidalgo, Olympic Committee (IOC) sports lovers are looked after in
the coach who led France to the 1984 Europe- has been accused of irrespon- Chennai: At the end of last year, tough times like these,” the veter-
an Championship title and the 1982 World

Wimbledon 2020
sibility after two Turkish box- Indian tennis legend Leander an said.
Cup semifinals, has died. He was 87. The ers and a trainer caught the Paes called time on his career, ear- Being holed up at home is not
French soccer federation said on its website coronavirus during a qualify- marking 2020 as his farewell sea- what Paes had in mind, he is not
that Hidalgo died Thursday. Hidalgo coached ing event in London this son in International tennis. With complaining. “I have lived my life
his country’s national team from 1976-84 and
led host France to its first major title at Euro
1984 with midfielder Michel Platini scoring
nine goals at the tournament. Les Bleus
month.
According to the Turkish
Boxing Federation website,
his cupboard overflowing with
hundreds of trophies, including
18 coveted Grand Slam doubles ti-
out of a suitcase. I have travelled
continuously for tennis since my
early days. Now that I am forced to
could be cancelled
athlete Serhat Güler and tles, the 46-year-old wanted to sign stay at home I am doing a lot of Ben Burrows tive Richard Lewis said: “We
reached the World Cup semifinals two years trainer Seyfullah Dumlupı- off after featuring in his record ONE LAST ATTEMPT: Leander Paes things I couldn’t do before. I am are working hard to bring cer-
earlier but lost to West Germany in a penalty

T
nar contracted the virus at eight Olympics. spending a lot of time with my he All England Lawn tainty to our plans for 2020 and
shootout. the European Olympic box- But fate clearly had other would be honoured to represent aged father and my daughter and Tennis Club will decide have convened an emergency
ing qualifiers. plans. With the Covid-19 pandemic my country for that one last time, it’s something that I have missed. whether to go ahead with meeting of the AELTC main
Bundesliga’s big four clubs pledge “While the world was tak- wreaking havoc on humanity, the but it’s to early to tell,” the 1996 At- Also, at times like these you are this summer’s Wimbledon board for next week, at which a
financial aid for rivals: Four of Germany’s ing extreme measures to deal International Olympic Associ- lanta Olympic medal winner said. forced to sit back and take stock of championships during an decision will be made.”
biggest football clubs have pledged 20 with the virus, I am baffled ation (IOA) was forced to postpone Paes lauded the decision taken your life. Trying times like these emergency board meeting Elsewhere, the Profession-
million euros ($22 million) to help Bundesli- that an IOC taskforce and the the Tokyo Olympics by a year and by IOA to postpone the Games by a help you understand what your next week. al Footballers’ Association has
ga rivals facing financial difficulty in the British government allowed that might just prolong Paes’ ca- year. “It is a very smart decision priorities are.” Pressure has been growing called for urgent talks with
coronavirus crisis, the German Football the tournament to start even reer by a year. that the IOA and the Japanese But Paes is ready to go once the on organisers to make a deci- both the Premier League and
League (DFL) announced Thursday. Bayern though many of us had con- “Nobody is ever prepared for a Committee has taken. I am sure it pandemic is over. He is keeping sion, with the SW19 tourna- English Football League.
Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Lev- cerns and almost every other situation like this and it is indeed was not an easy one. The planning himself as fit as possible at home ment one of the biggest sport- Some football teams, and
erkusen and RB Leipzig — all of whom sport had shut down,” federa- very tough on athletes. Preparing for the Olympics takes years and and is also working on his mental ing events still remaining on clubs in other sports, are re-
qualified for this season’s Champions tion president Eyup Gozgec for Olympics takes lots of hard when it gets postponed so close to strength. “I am working on the fit- the calendar for June and July. ported to have already imple-
League — said they would make the funds was quoted as saying by the work and then you are suddenly the Games it means a huge loss. ness of both my body and mind at Bosses have ruled out play- mented wage reductions or
available for crisis-hit clubs in the top two Guardian. forced to deal with something like But right now nothing matters but home. I want to be ready to go out ing the tournament, which is non-playing staff have been
German divisions, which are run by the DFL. London’s Copper Box are- this pandemic and you don’t know lives. Not just the athletes but I al- and play again once this pandem- due to start on June 29, behind ‘furloughed’ onto 80 per cent of
AGENCIES
na hosted the official Olympic what to do,” Paes told TOI. so feel sorry for the thousands of ic is over. I am also keeping an eye closed doors and admitted wages.
Road Surcharge of Rs.2.00 will be applicable on this edition for all locations except
qualifying tournament, fea- “My team and I will take a deci- people who had booked their tick- on my diet. When you are forced to postponing it would be diffi- The organisers of the 2020
Abu,Ahmedabad,Anand, Ankleshwar, Baroda, Bhuj, Bharuch, Ghandhi-
nagar, Gandhidham, Jamnagar.Mundra, Nadiad, , Rajkot, Surat, Udaipur.
turing boxers from 40 nations. sion once this calamity has passed ets to go to Japan for this sporting stay indoors you are bound to get cult. All professional tennis is European Athletics Cham-
RNI Regn No. 15047/68 published by Mr Montoo Jain for the proprietor, Ben-
nett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. at 139, Ashram Road, Ahmedabad 9 and printed by him at
It continued for three days and I can assure you it won’t be an extravaganza. bored and as human beings we currently suspended until the pionships, meanwhile, are
Vardhaman Publishers Ltd Vejalpur and Plot No. 465, POR-Ramangamdi, GIDC
Industrial Estate, Village, POR, Taluka & District : Vadodara. Editor (Ahmedabad
despite virtually every other easy one. My team wants me to go “I thank the IOC, the Japan tend to kill that boredom with start of the grass-court season hopeful that the August event
Market) : Harit Mehta Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act ( C ) All
rights Reserved. Reproduction of whole or in part without written permission is
sport being suspended be- for my record eighth Olympics Olympic Committee and all peo- food. So I am trying hard to be as on June 7. in Paris will go ahead as sched-
Prohibited : NO. 72 VOL 53 cause of the pandemic. REUTERS and so does my father. Personally I ple concerned, including the Indi- strict as possible,” Paes said. Wimbledon chief execu- uled. @THE INDEPENDENT
CHEFS, CELEBS PAY
TRIBUTE TO FLOYD
CARDOZ
PAGE 3
Veteran star Nimmi passes away
NIMMI 1933-2020
#21DAYSLOCKDOWN
Stay at home, staysafe: Bollywood
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a 21-day lockdown across the
nation to fight the coronavirus pandemic, B-Town welcomed the decision
Hansal Mehta
Came to the village for
a week’s isolation.
Now here for next 21
days. Now missing
home too. But the
lockdown was essen-
tial and this too shall
pass. After this tragic
intervention we might actually inhabit
a more sensitive, united and civilised
planet. That hope keeps me going.
Anil
Kapoor
Please stay
home, calm,
safe & aware!
Nimrat Kaur
Together we will
fight this!
A much needed and
powerful decision
by the honourable
PM @narendramodi
One hundred
percent in solidarity
with the upcoming
21 day national
lockdown. Stay in
to stay safe. Let’s
do this
#CoronaOutbreak:
Kailash Kher penning a
song to create awareness
Divya.Kaushik@timesgroup.com
hile the world is facing a
W
lockdown due to the coron-
avirus pandemic, online
music concerts and live sessions by
musicians from across the globe have
come to the rescue of music lovers.
Keeping with the times, some mu-
sicians are also coming up with songs
to create awareness on Covid-19 and
encourage people to practise social dis-
tancing and self-isolation. After Bap-
pi Lahiri recently revealed that he has
composed a song for the world to join
forces and contain the pandemic,
Kailash Kher told us that he is also
writing a song to create awareness on
the current situation. He says, “I have
been home for the last 10 days now and
each day, I am taking out time to write.
I am in the process of writing a song,
Mai Hi Mera Rakshak Hu. I want to
create awareness through the song
and share a message with everyone
out there that it is our responsibility
to stay safe. We all have to contribute
to make things better and come out of
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 I ADVERTORIAL, BACKBEAT
ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY PROMOTIONAL
FEATURE I AHMEDABAD Ariana
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With no big releases lined up till April 15
N
immi, the doe-eyed star of 1950s and ’60s
Hindi movies such as Aan, Barsaat and
Deedar, died on Wednesday after
prolonged illness. .
Dhollywood braces for challenging
times ahead amidst #LockdownIndia
The actor was brought to a suburban Juhu hos-
pital after she complained of breathlessness. She
died in the evening, family sources said.
“She was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday
afternoon after she complained of breathlessness.
She passed away this evening. She had been unwell Abhimanyu.Mishra@timesgroup.com
for quite some time. She had been in and out of hos-
pital this year,” the source added on Wednesday. ith the nation going into a 21 day lockdown, the
The actor, born as Nawab Banoo, came to be
known by her screen name ‘Nimmi’, which was giv-
en to her by filmmaker Raj Kapoor, who first spot-
ted her as a shy teen on the sets of his film Andaz.
W entertainment industry in India, which has already
taken a massive hit after malls and multiplexes were
closed down due to the #Coronascare, is staring at huge losses.
With uncertainty looming large about when normalcy will be
Raj Kapoor cast her as the second lead in Barsaat restored, filmmakers are a worried lot. However, unlike
in 1949. The film had three popular songs, Barsaat Bollywood, the Gujarati film industry seems to be in a safe place
Me Hamse Mile Tum, Hawa Me Udta Jaye and Meri as of now. With no big films slated to release till April, the industry
Patli Qamar Hai, picturised on her. is breathing easy, as there are no immediate threats about
PTI suffering BO losses. However, industry insiders feel that this
lockdown might impact the Gujarati entertainment industry in
the long run. As of now, Dhollywood is preparing for the coming
months that might see an overdose of Gujarati films, thanks to
pending releases, big ticket BO clashes and unavailability of
screen space and good shows.
The Aditya Lakhia and
Karan Patel starrer
Khape is now planning
a film festival release
Parth Oza and Simran Natekar’s Rang
Jo Lagyo is in post production stage
is currently working on his next to be re-
leased in May or June. Even those, who
were planning for summer releases,
seem to be managing well when it comes
to working and finishing their projects
from home. Filmmaker Kirtan Patel,
‘THANKS TO NO UPCOMING BIG and the IPL. To avoid this ‘slow’ period, who finished shooting for his next in ear-
ly February, says, “Fortunately, we fin-
most Gujarati filmmakers were planning
RELEASES, THE INDUSTRY IS IN A to finish their projects by the month of ished our shooting well before the lock-
SAFE SPACE RIGHT NOW’ May, thus putting Dhollywood in a safe down happened. Now, instead of working
Mahesh Bhatt After a good start to the year, most Gu- place. “The good thing about this situa- from our studios, I’m working from home
Taapsee Pannu We are now at a jarati filmmakers were eyeing for sum- on the post-production of my film. But
tion is that there were no big releases
21 days ! Not a collective turning mer releases, as vacations are considered planned for March and April. Usually we aren’t announcing the trailer release
lot for us in return point, where we must to be the ideal time for good BO collec- filmmakers avoid releasing their films date or other updates, as we are not sure
of our lives. Let’s stop, listen & help the tions. March and April, on the other during these two months. So, the indus- till when we will have to stay at home.”
do this everyone! government implement hand, are considered as less productive try will not face any immediate impact,”
And hopefully by months for business due to board exams says filmmaker Krishnadev Yagnik, who CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 
the 21 days all India
the end of THIS lockdown. The time of
lockdown we great fear requires
surely will have a reason and time solidarity, humanity, sacrifice & ROME
to celebrate. Until then let’s get
through one day at a time.
hope.Not hysteria & rumour
mongering. #21daysLockdown IN THE TIMES Seat of an ancient civilisation
and housing some of the world’s
famous monuments, life in the
Anushka
Sharma
Riteish Deshmukh
Jai Hind!!! together OF CORONA: THE busy Italian capital has come
to a standstill
WORLD STANDS
It is extremely as a nation we can
important for overcome this
ALL of us to pandemic.
follow the 21
day lockdown
laid down by
our PM Shri
@narendramodi ji. Please stay at
Shahid Kapoor
Be at home. Stay
DESERTED
home to help contain the spread
Busy cities and monuments of the
safe. Stay mentally,
of the virus and follow the safety emotionally and world are now in lockdown mode
protocols physically strong. because of coronavirus scare PAGE 3
Spread love. Have
Sonakshi Sinha faith. Pray often.
Sabko pata tha Mujhse Shaadi Karoge
#NationalLockdow Speak to all those who matter
n... galti se bhi daily. Meditate. Read. Cook. See
bahar mat dikhna the sky turn bluer every day. 21
(only limited to days. Will pass. Keep it real and
people I can spot make it count you all.
mein kisi ki shaadi nahi honi hai: Aanchal
from my window)
Neha.Maheshwri@timesgroup.com
I
deally, she should have been revelling in
her Mujhse Shaadi Karoge (MSK) win
after Paras Chhabra chose her as his
‘connection’. However, Aanchal Khurana,
AANCHAL
KHURANA
who joined the reality show on March 9 as a
wild-card entrant, was busy doing the
rounds of hospitals. After being hospi-
talised for severe gas-
tritis in Mumbai, the
actress, who is cur-
rently in her home-
town, Delhi, had to
make rounds of sev-
eral hospitals follow-
ing an attack by stray
this current crisis dogs. In a chat with
that has emerged due to coronavirus.” AT, she talks about
her tryst with hospi-
The singer adds that he has com-
pleted writing the song and he will be tals, her equation
releasing it online by next week. “I will with Paras and her
be sending it to my sound production stint on MSK.
team soon and will record it. I am look- Excerpts…
ing at releasing it on social media by While you should Paras Chhabra
next week.” have been celebrat-
Kher says that now is the time when ing your win on MSK, we hear that you
each one of us should be looking at had been doing the rounds of hospitals.
sharing something positive with each What went wrong?
other. “Music has emerged as a bind- I didn’t get the time to celebrate because I
ing force during this time. I am just was doing the rounds of hospitals. I was
doing my bit in spreading some posi- hospitalised in Mumbai on the very night
tive message,” he says. the shoot wrapped up (March 17) abruptly
in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
PARAS AND I SPOKE ON THE
The next evening, I left for Delhi and on PHONE HALF AN HOUR BEFORE HE
I WANT TO CREATE March 19, I went to a hospital for further UNFOLLOWED ME THE FIRST TIME.
medication. My pet dog was with me, when
AWARENESS THROUGH suddenly, three stray dogs attacked him.
MAYBE, MAHIRA (SHARMA) DOESN’T
THE SONG AND SHARE When I tried to save him, they attacked me APPROVE OF HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH
A MESSAGE WITH EVERY- as well. Thankfully, some people came to my
rescue. I immediately went to get an anti-ra-
ME. THAT’S OKAY. PEOPLE TEND TO
ONE OUT THERE THAT bies shot, but because of the coronavirus BE POSSESSIVE OF EACH OTHER
IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY Kailash pandemic, it was not available in most hos- WHEN IN A RELATIONSHIP
Kher pitals. I had to run from pillar to post to get
TO STAY SAFE the shots, but I am better now. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 
2
AHMEDABAD TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA
ENGINEERING | MANAGEMENT | MEDIA | LAW
Level: Medium
GARFIELD
H AG A R T H E H O R R I B L E
PEANUTS
C A LV I N A N D H O B B E S
FinQlex n-
-
* in impulsive buying and pay
FORTUNE
Fo r pr Ono-re; ns Illd n,
or S MS on 9822042295.
ARIES March 20 - April 18 You are
able to gain a great deal and establish
a whole new perspective by opening
your eyes a little wider in order to
include what you normally shrug off.
Your feelings for friends and your
emotional responses to life in general
are deeper and more intense.
TAURUS April 19 - May 19 You will
have attention to detail and good
concentration. Your combative instinct
is working overtime. Relationships,
especially with opposite sex, will be
stressful. You might be asked to con-
tribute to charities. Give loans to only
those people whom you know very well.
GEMINI May 20 - June 20 You could
feel quite overwhelmed. Life will
become quieter and you will be more
introspective today. Fulfil all promises
and meet your responsibilities.You will
feel like hiding away on the weekend.
Good things are coming your way, it is
likely that you will experience great
generosity from people.
CANCER June 21 - July 21 A
situation will make you feel uncertain.
You may feel as if someone is poking
you in the side today. Go over the fine
print carefully and follow procedures.
0800 Music Takatak
1030 Likes Bajao
1200 Toofani Hits
1300 Fab 10
1400 Loudspeaker
1600 Toofani Hits
1700 Shaamdaar Hits
1900 Boht Hard
2000 Loudspeaker
2100 Planet Bollywood News
2130 E Town News
2200 Toofani Hits
2300 Happily Ever After
2330 Loudspeaker
MOVIES ON TV
1300 My Super Ex-Girlfriend
1430 Epic Movie
1550 Hitch
1805 Series : Jane The Virgin
1900 Series : Parks And Recreation
SUDOKU CHALLENGE
HOW TO PLAY
Fill in the grid
so that every
horizontal row,
every vertical
column and
every 3x3 box
contains the
digits 1-9,
without
repeating the
numbers in the
same row,
column or
box.You can’t
change the digits
already given in
the grid. Every
puzzle has one
solution.
BIRTHDAY TODAY
Y ou should avoid indulging
more attention to your savings.
Tip: Your lucky colours are
green, cream, white, gold, yel-
,
low, orange and golden brown.
Anupam V Kapil Your lucky gems are jade,
pearl, moonstone, topaz, amber
& diamond
anupamvkap il@gmall.com You share your birthday with:
Mariah Carey
Your hard outer shell may be put to test
in terms of its ability to protect your
soft, vulnerable insides.
LEO July 22 - August 21 Take
matters into your own hands and
actively pursue your goals. Dreaming
or hoping for the best won’t help you
make the right decision. You need to
resolve circumstances to be more or-
ganised and in control. A lighter mood
will help relations with other people.
VIRGO August 22 - September 21 You
do all the things that are in your
power to please a customer or
complete a particular project. You are
relentless about completing tasks. You
have a lot to do and a busy schedule
but you may need to take time out from
your normal routine and check out the
situation with a relative. Impulsive de-
cisions made now will not materialise.
LIBRA September 22 - October 22
Plan activities that get everyone
involved. Add your unique touch and
don’t imitate others.Trust your instincts
and move in that direction. Intensify
your feelings and shed the tendency
to be moody and secretive. Never fear
that you will ever be thought of as dull
and boring. Use strength and vigour.
‘Alvin And The Chipmunks: The
Squeakuel’ at 2100 Hrs
1930 Series : 30 Rock
2000 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2100 Alvin And The Chipmunks: The
Squeakuel
2235 The Little Hours
‘Underworld: Rise of The
Lycans’ at 2100 Hrs
0600 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
0750 Stay
TIMES HITORI
How to play
1. A number
may appear
just once in
each row or
column.
Eliminate
repeat num-
bers by
darkening
cells. (see
example)
2. Darkened
cells must
never be
adjacent in
a row or
column.
3. Unmarked
cells must
create a single 5. Any cell "sand-
continuous area, wiched" between
undivided by neighbours of the
darkened cells. same value can
4. Every time you be circled.
darken a cell, you (e.g. 6 4 6 )
can automatically 6. A "triple" is a
circle its vertical special case of
and horizontal sandwich. Circle
neighbours, the centre cells,
which means and darken the
ends.
they cannot be
eliminated. (e.g. 6 6 6 )
SCORPIO October 23 - November 20
You have plenty of energy and
willingness to take a big risk. It is very
important for you to have an active
relationship now. You have awesome
spur-of-the-moment ideas now. You
are sure of your feelings and need to
revitalise them by sharing them
openly with your loved one.
SAGITTARIUS November 21-
December 20 You may discover a
sentimental and sensuous side to your
nature that you had not known before.
It is advisable to maintain attention and
concentration. If you are in love but have
not expressed your feelings, it proba-
bly would be a good time to do it.
CAPRICORN December 21 -
January 19 You have a delightful
surprise from a close friend. Don’t be
alarmed; be cautious about lashing out
at people for no reason whatsoever.
Focus on home, family and recent
issues.There will be conflicts between
work and family life. Don’t expect
anything to go as planned.
AQUARIUS January 20 - February 18
Those who work for themselves could
encounter hitches, difficulties in
communicating with others or feel tired
while completing urgent duties.You are
straightforward and reliable. You can
circumvent problems with others.
PISCES February 19 - March 19 You
may not take kindly to someone you
have no personal attachment to telling
you how to do things but you have
little choice in the matter. The fact is
that they are better at doing certain
things than you are, so be smart and
learn from what they say.
0945 Five Superfighters
1135 New Police Story
1400 Rambo First Blood: Part II
1540 Monsters Inc.
1720 Daredevil
1920 The Emoji Movie
2100 Underworld: Rise of The Lycans
2225 Two Champions of Shaolin
‘The Terminator’
at 2100 Hrs
0615 Big Momma’s House 2
0805 Big Momma’s: Like Father
Like Son
0955 National Treasure: Book of
Secrets
VARIETY/MUST SEE MUST DO FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2020
LOOP THE LOOP
Rules
■ Connect adjacent dots with vertical or
horizontal lines, creating a single loop (Fig
A).
■ Crossovers or branches are not allowed
‘I was looking forward to
climbing Mt. Everest, I will
(As shown by dotted lines in Fig B). (Fig A) Not allowed
■ Numbers in the (Fig B)
puzzle
indicate the number
not give up on my dream’
of lines that should
surround
it, while empty cells
may be surrounded
by any number of
lines.
■ You can’t draw Says avid mountain climber from Mumbai,
lines around
zeroes. Harshvardhan Joshi, whose plans to scale
■ Each puzzle has
just one unique so- the mountain was put on hold, owing to
lution.
How to begin: the coronavirus outbreak
Example (Fig A) -
Begin with the zero
next to 3. Since no
lines can be drawn around zero, mark crosses around it, as shown. Now
there is a cross in one space around 3. So we know the three lines of 3
can only be drawn in the remaining three spaces. Next, these lines can
only be extended in one direction each. Continue, using the same logic.
Hints: Keep eliminating possibilities by marking crosses in spaces be- Harshvardhan Joshi at an
tween dots where a line isn’t possible, i.e., if you have already complet-
expedition in Uttarakhand
ed required lines or where a line extension may create a branch or
(Fig A) cause a deadend (Fig B)
H E A LT H C A P S U L E SCRAMBLE
Rearrange the letters in the four word jumbles, one letter to
each square/circle, to make four ordinary words
HOW TO PLAY
MNAEE
Now arrange the
LMIIT letters in the circles
to form the answer
APYDLM to the riddle or to fill
in the missing word
EHRUMY as indicated
Whatever must happen ultimately should happen ____. -
Robert F. Kennedy (11)
MINDBENDER
I have many feathers to help me fly.
I have a body and head but I’m not alive.
It is your strength which determines how far I go.
You can hold me in your hand but I’m never thrown. Ismat.Tahseen@timesgroup.com tempt Everest. It’s something I
Question: What am I?
have been cherishing.” From the
he outbreak of coronavirus
T
word go, it involved a plot of
Covid-19 has thrown life off planning, prep and effort. He af-
kilter in more ways than firms, “Every summer, in these
V SPELLATHON you can count. The world’s major last few years, I stay in the Hi-
S E Today’s Ratings: 07 - average 08- good 10-outstanding events — political, social, sports, malayas for six to seven months. I
How many words of four or more letters can you make from the letters shown in fashion and more — have been was born and brought up in Vasai,
G A
today’s puzzle? In making a word, a letter can be used as many times as it appears cancelled and postponed indefi- but now I spend most of my time
A in the puzzle. Each word must contain the central letter. There should be at least nitely, in addition to schools and in Ladakh, climbing and training
L one seven letter word. Plurals, foreign words and proper names are not allowed. colleges and places of work being hard. I have been a mountain
British English Dictionary is used as reference.
shut. And recently, all expeditions guide for many westerners. That
to Mount Everest were cancelled, is out of passion, but it’s also to
THE DAILY CROSSWORD just ahead of the climbing season. train for Everest. In winter, I also
Harshvardhan Joshi from Mum- go to Kashmir for skiing, for a
bai, an avid climber who was to month.” He’s definitely got the call
make his first attempt at scaling from the mountains, then! “Defi-
the mountain, chats with us about nitely! I’m a Ladakhi by heart. I
how his big dream to scale Mount was trying to settle there, too, in
Everest will have to wait. “I have 2018, but I couldn’t, so I thought
mixed feelings. I was really let’s focus on Everest first.
looking forward to climbing Mt.
Everest, and at first, I was very
disappointed. People around me
— my parents and friends — know
I THOUGHT
how much it mattered. But of I WOULD CARRY
course, at this point, things are SOLAR PANELS
not in our control. My Everest
dream awaits. I will not give up on TO REMOTE
it and I hope to climb there next VILLAGES IN THE
April,” he says.
‘IT HAS BEEN A DREAM
EVEREST REGION
SINCE 2016’ – Harshvardhan Joshi,
This 24-year-old IT engineer has mountain climber
been nurturing his dream since
the last four years. He says, “In GOING SUSTAINABLE WITH
2106, I decided that I would at-
SOLAR ENERGY
Harsh also planned to make it a
completely solar-fuelled ascent,
in keeping with the trend of
sustainable travel. He says, “My
aim was also to create awareness
about solar energy. I believe in
impact tourism, which is about
...at Mt.
Himlung
going to a place and developing it
sustainably. I thought I would
Himal in
carry solar panels to remote
Nepal
villages in the Everest region. I
calculated the carbon offset — by
understanding how much my
sherpa and I would reduce carbon
emissions by switching to solar
energy.
If we can be completely solar
dependent in such fragile envi-
rons, then we can do so in the city,
too. That said, the bottomline is,
we all need to consume less, no
matter where we are.”
SOLUTIONS TO GAMES/PUZZLES
TIMES SUDOKU LOOP THE LOOP TIMES HITORI
EVENTS
IF IT ISN’T HERE,
IT ISN’T HAPPENING
Mail your event details to us two days in advance
with details, preferably with a photograph: MINDBENDER SCRAMBLE
Events Ahmedabad Times, 139, Ashram Road, Arrow Robert F. Kennedy
mately should happen immediately. -
Fadia Chambers, Ahmedabad 380009.
SPELLATHON Answer: Whatever must happen ulti-
Email: ahmedabadtimes@gmail.com
You can follow us on
Words: Enema, limit, damply, rheumy
Facebook: @AhmedabadTimesTOI
sage, SALVAGE, savage
WHATZIT?
Twitter: @AhmedabadTimes
alga, algae, gala, gale, gave, gavel, saga,
Up the creek without a paddle
TELEVISION WEB ORIGNALS
1200 Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 1104 Naseeb
1500 Bruce Almighty 1443 Singh Is Kinng MX PLAYER GUIDE
1700 Shutter 1734 Vishwatma
1850 Double Impact 2100 Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat
2100 The Terminator
2315 Dead Man Walking
‘Beta’
at 2000 Hrs
Download The App And Binge Watch All Episodes, For Free
1705 Devi
AANI KAY HAVA
2000 Beta
2315 Police Aur Mujrim
2
‘Singham’ Season 2, Romantic
at 1650 Hrs Drama
0820 Biwi No.1 Starring : Priya Bapat,
1100 Jai Ho
1405 Chori Chori Chupke Chupke Umesh Kamat
1650 Singham Synopsis : Directed By
1955 Mawali Raaj ‘Tamasha’
at 2100 Hrs Varun Narvekar, The 6 Episodic Marathi Web Series Will
2250 De De Pyaar De
0702 Dil Se See Priya Bapat And Umesh Kamat Reprise Their Role As
0905 Madaari Jui And Saket. After Exploring Many Firsts Together, Jui
1109 Nil Battey Sannata And Saket’s Marriage Progresses And Their Fondness For
‘Housefull 3’ 1248 Mom
at 1245 Hrs 1512 Omkara Each Other Grows As Well. From Planning To Welcome A
0815 Sholay 1725 Mere Pyare Prime Little One To Their Family To Exploring Each Other’s
1245 Housefull 3 Minister Hobbies, The Madness Continues With The Introduction of
‘Singh Is Kinng’
1545 Dhruva 0852 Gabbar Sher 2 1910 Peepli Live
1900 Singham Returns at 1443 Hrs New Things In Their Life.
1125 Kaashi 2100 Tamasha
2200 Ready
1355 Welcome 0748 Thanedaar 2314 Badla
FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2020
AHMEDABAD IS TALKING ABOUT... AHMEDABAD TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA
3

EMPTINESS: CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN MUTES THE WORLD

The outbreak of coronavirus has led to a lockdown across towns, around
the globe, emptying out the usually busy streets. Here’s a glimpse of some
NEW YORK CITY
Times Square, one of the busiest places
in the world, the business hub that’s an
of the world’s iconic and busiest landmarks that are now deserted iconic global landmark, appears forlorn
without the bustling crowds it’s used to

PARIS
One of the wonders of the
world, the Eiffel Tower and
the surrounding areas stand
eerily empty and silent

VENICE
The old land and by-lanes of
Venice have gone silent with
people forced to stay indoors

BERLIN
The Victory Column in Berlin is a
popular tourist destination and a place
where the locals like to hang out. From
its viewing platform, you can see the
whole city. But there's no rush now

BEIJING
It’s one of the world’s most populous
cities in China, but the coronavirus out-
break has brought the country to a halt

RIP chef Floyd Cardoz: The world loses a culinary genius

Chefs, celebrities pay tribute to Floyd Cardoz, who
passed away on Wednesday due to coronavirus BOLLYWOOD REMEMBERS
Ismat.Tahseen@timesgroup.com and bay Canteen in Mumbai on March 1 and was
A WARM, TALENTED CHEF
Melissa.D’Costa@timesgroup.com also said to be filming a web series in India. Several actors took to social media to pay tribute to chef
He is survived by his mother Beryl, wife Floyd Cardoz as well
nternationally renowned chef Floyd Car- Barkha and sons Justin and Peter. Cardoz

I
Rishi Kapoor, who was in New York last year, took to
doz, who had a large was best known for In- Twitter to write: “RIP. Floyd Cardoz. Will cherish the meal
number of well- RIP CHEF FLOYD CARDOZ dian American fine din-
you made for us at your restaurant “Paowala” at Spring
known patrons, died of ing, and the news of his
COVID-19 complications in New York City on passing threw the culinary world into shock Street. NY. And several times at the “Bombay Canteen”
March 25. The 59-year-old had tested positive with names, like Top Chef host Padma Lak- (Phoenix Mills) and “O Pedro” (BKC) all in Mumbai.
for the novel coronavirus 10 days ago and even shmi, American chef Ruth Reichl and TV Sonam Kapoor posted: “RIP chef”
posted about his health on Instagram. In host David Chang paying tribute to him and
Mumbai, he was the co-owner of two restau- his vast body of work in the culinary field.
Soni Razdan quoted a news post about his death and
rants – Bombay Canteen and O Pedro – and Back in India, friends, colleagues and well- added, “Yes. This is just unbelievable.”
had recently launched his third venture Bom- wishers also expressed grief and shared their Hansal Mehta added: “This is really tragic. Just a month
bay Sweet Shop. Cardoz had reportedly at- thoughts on his sudden demise. ago I’d recreated a recipe from his book
tended the fifth anniversary party at The Bom- – With inputs from Debarati.Sen@timesgroup.com Flavorwala. It was a meat stew and it was stunning. What a
loss...”
CHEF CARDOZ INTRODUCED AMERICANS TO THE Athiya Shetty posted: “This is just too sad. RIP. Strength to
MAGIC OF INDIAN CUISINE: RASHMI UDAY SINGH all his loved ones”
Food critic and author Rashmi Uday Singh said, “Words are not
Rahul Bose tweeted: “Shocked to hear the passing away
apt to describe how I feel about the loss of the affable and bril- of @floydcardoz. Apart from enjoying sterling meals at his
liant chef Floyd Cardoz. He was down to earth, helpful and various restaurants in New York & Bombay, he was a won-
introduced Americans to the magic of Indian cuisine. Almost 25 derful man – always warm, gracious and funny. Any pan-
years ago, I had visited NYC to participate in a panel discussion demic always gets more ominous when you know those
on Indian restaurants and that is when I met Floyd for the first who have succumbed. RIP Floyd.”
time. That was also the first time that I dined at his restaurant
Tabla. I enjoyed meeting Floyd, he was such a gifted chef, and
■ Chef Floyd Cardoz, who was raised in Mumbai, attended the Global Hospitality HIS LEGACY WILL
I’ve always loved his food. Over the years, I met him several
Management School at Les Roches in Switzerland and moved to New York.
times... at the LA food fest, in NYC and Mumbai. At his Mumbai
restaurants – Bombay Canteen and O Pedro – it was a delight
■ He opened the Indian restaurant Tabla in 1998 with Danny Meyer. Later, he opened CONTINUE TO INSPIRE
to taste his interpretation of Indian food. A few months ago, I
Pao Walla in Soho, New York City and followed that up with Bombay Bread Bar. US: RIYAAZ AMLANI
■ He won the third season of Top Chef Masters in 2011.
met him in NYC in his new job as culinary director at the iconic restaurant Estiatorio Milos Restaurateur Riyaaz Amlani said, “The entire
■ Chef Floyd was the author of two cookbooks – One Spice, Two Spice: American Food,
and recently in Mumbai when I met along with The Worlds 50 Best director William Drew. industry is stunned to hear the tragic news. He
Indian Flavors (2006) and Floyd Cardoz: Flavorwalla: Big Flavor. Bold Spices. A New Way
Floyd was bubbling with ideas and enthusiasm. In fact, at our Times Food & Nightlife was not only the finest ambassador of Indian
to Cook the Foods You Love (2016).
Awards in Mumbai this year, we were going to award him and his team.” cuisine, but also a great chef and human being.
His legacy will continue to inspire us.”

HE WAS A GREAT GUY AND HE WAS ONE OF THE RARE CHEFS

INNOVATOR: HEMANT OBEROI
Hemant Oberoi, restaurateur and
ex-grand executive chef, Taj Group
of Hotels, Luxury Division, who had
worked with chef Cardoz, said, “I
had met him in New York years
ago, and we did a promotion
together there at his restaurant
Tabla. A great guy and innovator,
he always wanted to do something
different. I couldn’t meet him in India when he was
here. It’s a loss to the entire fraternity. He brought
Indian comfort food onto the menu and nobody can
take that away from him. He was quite an
enthusiastic guy who was hands-on in the kitchen.”
HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN WHO WAS DRAWN TO THE INDIAN WHEN WE MET EARLIER THIS MONTH,
AN INSPIRATION: CHEF KITCHEN: CHEF MELDAN D’CUNHA LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT IT WOULD
VICKY RATNANI Chef Meldan D’Cunha, who had worked with BE OUR LAST ENCOUNTER: CHEF
Chef Vicky Ratnani him at Oberoi Towers, said, “Floyd was five PRATEEK SADHU
says, “I met Floyd10 years junior to me. He was very hard-working. He was one of the most famous Indian
years ago and even ate He would come in at 11am and go home post
chefs while I was a student at the Culinary
at Tabla and Bread Bar midnight, daily. He used to handle the Indian Institute of America. It’s a huge loss for the
in NYC. He has always section of the banquet when I was working as
Indian culinary landscape. He broke
been an inspiration a chef at Oberoi Towers in the late 80s. At a barriers for Indian food and chefs in ways
and was like a brother time when most Indian chefs were not as inter-
we can’t count. When we met earlier this
to us. That’s how dan- ested in Indian food, and most were keen to month, little did I know that it would be
gerous this virus is. So, learn about French food, he was one of the rare
our last encounter. My condolences to his
people of the world – chefs who was drawn to the Indian kitchen and family and his teams at his restaurants.
let’s fight this and pray made a name for himself with those skills. It’s
for this loss.” a tragic loss to the culinary world.”
4 AHMEDABAD TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA
BACKBEAT FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2020

Hrithik’s ex-wife Sussanne moves in

with him in times of #CoronaCrisis n times of crisis, often the unthinkable
With the ongoing countrywide lockdown, the duo
has moved in together for the sake of their kids
I happens. India is battling the coron-
avirus outbreak, and the country is in
lockdown mode. The situation has intro-
duced a positive change in the lives of
Hrithik Roshan and his ex-wife Sussanne
Khan. The couple had divorced in Novem-
ber 2014. Over the years, they have been do-
ing an amazing job of co-parenting their
sons, Hrehaan and Hridhaan. That in-
volved everything from going on vacations
together to doing whatever they could in-
dividually, to give their kids a good up-
bringing. Yesterday, Hrithik took to Insta- The multi-starrer film
gram to announce that Sussanne has Vickida No Varghodo
moved back into his home for the sake of is likely to release in
their children, as during these times of so- June-July
cial distancing and self-quarantine, it will
be best for their kids to stay with both their
parents. With this, the two have set greater

#LockdownIndia: D-Town works from

#parentinggoals for those around them.
In his social media post, Hrithik wrote,
“It is unimaginable for me, as a parent, to
think of having to be separated from my
children at a time when the country is
practicing lockdowns. It is heartwarming
to see the world come together as one in
this time of deep uncertainty and possibil-
ity of months of social distancing and po-
tential lockdowns for several weeks per-
haps. While the world talks about humani-
ty coming together, I think it represents
more than just an idea, especially for par-
home for upcoming summer releases
 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ‘OUR FILM INDUSTRY SHOULD NOW BE PREPARED
ents sharing custody of their kids. How to FOR CHALLENGING TIMES AHEAD’
keep their kids close to them without in- Even though the industry is not facing the lockdown heat, most
fringing on the right of the other who also believe that the coming months will pose some serious chal-
has an equal right to be with his/her chil- lenges. Once the lockdown is over, most big budget Hindi films
dren. This is a picture of dear Sussanne and franchise Hollywood releases will line up at the BO, giving
Hrithik Gujarati films little scope to find good show timings and screen
(my ex-wife), who has graciously volun-
Roshan and space. “Once everything is up and running, there will be a del-
teered to temporarily move out of her
Sussanne uge of big ticket Bollywood and Hollywood films queuing up to
home so that our children are not discon-
Khan with release and so, regional films will not get the best slots or screen
nected indefinitely from either one of us.
sons Hrehaan space,” says filmmaker Rahul Bhole. He adds, “We might have to
Thank you Sus-
and Hridhaan wait a bit longer before we find a safe slot to release our films.”
sanne for being
so supportive Also, a lot of planning, rescheduling, re-releasing of marketing
and under- and promotional material will be required, adding to the overall
standing in our production cost. “Those films that were still shooting and had to
journey of co- halt their shoot would definitely feel the financial pinch,” says
parenting. Our Aditya Lakhia. He adds, “But the silver lining is that once all of
children will this is over, when theatres reopen, people who have been home
tell the story quarantined for so many days will flock to watch new films. We
can look forward to the coming months with this hope.”
THIS IS A PICTURE we create for
them. I hope Well, D-Town will certainly hope that the audience will queue
OF DEAR SUSSANNE and pray that up to watch good Gujarati films once the lockdown is over.
(MY EX-WIFE), WHO in order to
safeguard the
HAS GRACIOUSLY health of
VOLUNTEERED TO ourselves For more
and our
TEMPORARILY MOVE OUT loved ones,
on how
D-Town is
OF HER HOME SO THAT we all find planning the work
OUR CHILDREN ARE our way to
express
rescheduling
amidst lockdown,
NOT DISCONNECTED love, empa- visit our
INDEFINITELY FROM t h y ,
courage,
Facebook page
EITHER ONE OF US strength with an open heart The makers of this untitled film starring Janki Bodiwala
– Hrithik Roshan The picture that Hrithik Roshan
posted on his social media handle
(sic).” and Yash Soni are planning a June or July release @AhmedabadTimesTOI

I was shocked that Paras unfollowed Ariana Grande is

WORLD RAP
me on Instagram: Aanchal Khurana dating a real estate
 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Aanchal Khurana
agent, say reports
riana Grande is
Talking about Mujhse Shaadi Karoge, it was sup-
posed to be a wedding reality show with Paras and
Shehnaaz Gill (Bigg Boss 13 contestants) looking
out for a prospective life partner. However, eventu-
and (inset) Paras
Chhabra and
Shehnaaz Gill in
Mujhse Shaadi
A reportedly dat-
ing high-end
real estate agent Dalton
Gomez. According to a
ally, it turned into a poorer version of Bigg Boss. Karoge website, the couple has
With Shehnaaz openly professing her love for Sid- been “seeing each other
harth Shukla and Paras being linked with Mahira for several months” and
Sharma, the show didn’t seem real right from the is rumoured to be social
word go... distancing at her place.
I feel that it was a wrong decision to come up with He is the same man
a show like this immediately after Bigg Boss, be- the 7 Rings hitmaker
cause we saw two strong connections — between was seen kissing
Shehnaaz and Sidharth, and Mahira and Paras. months ago, the reports
The makers just picked one contestant each from added. Followers are Ariana Grande and
the two pairs and made a show on them. I think also convinced the two (inset) Dalton
that didn’t work, because the audience would are together after they Gomez are
have liked to see the four of them together and spotted Dalton’s tattoo rumoured to
their chemistry. I know Paras ki life mein kya chal in a story Ariana be social
raha hai and Shehnaaz is totally into Sidharth. posted. distancing at
So, it was more of a joke for everyone. Sabko pata Agencies her place
tha wahaan kisi ki shaadi nahi honi hai.

MEANWHILE, DEMI LOVATO IS

LINKED TO ACTOR MAX EHRICH
Demi Lovato and Young And The Restless online recently, and they were also spot-
actor Max Ehrich sparked romance ted getting flirty on Instagram. According
rumours after photos of the duo shop- to a US publication, they met a few
ping together on March 15 surfaced weeks ago and are dating. Agencies

Max and Demi were spotted shopping together

Billie & Mariah to take part in benefit

IT WAS A WRONG DECISION TO COME
UP WITH A SHOW LIKE MUJHSE SHAADI
If you are friends, why has Paras
unfollowed you on Instagram?
He unfollowed you a couple of
days after the show wrapped up,
concert dedicated to health workers ariah Carey, Billie Eilish and Tim
Did Paras tell you that he won’t get
engaged or married on the show
because he is already in love with
KAROGE AFTER BIGG BOSS 13, BECAUSE
WE SAW TWO STRONG CONNECTIONS —
BETWEEN SHEHNAAZ AND SIDHARTH, AND
only to follow you back a few
hours later. However, he has un-
followed you again. Also, though
M McGraw will headline a benefit
concert on Sunday, playing from
their homes, to raise money to help fight the
he chose you as his ‘connection’ spread of the coronavirus.
Mahira?
I also assumed him to be in a relation-
MAHIRA AND PARAS on the show, he is busy posting The one-hour special, to be hosted by Elton
John, is the first major event in the United
ship with Mahira, but he told me, ‘Mahi- pictures with Mahira on his so- States to harness celebrity power to help those
ra is a very good friend’. While he wasn’t too sure and get engaged. For me, it was all about making cial media pages. Where does affected by the disease. The iHeart Living Room
of getting married, he was open to an engage- a genuine connection even if it didn’t materialise your equation with him stand? Concert for America will also feature per-
ment on the show. ‘Kisi se achha connection bann into anything bigger. I was real, more mature, Even I am shocked, because we spoke on the formances by Alicia Keys, Backstreet Boys,
jaata hai toh why not?’ These were his exact practical and honest than others. I didn’t suck up phone half an hour before he unfollowed me the and Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong.
words. We needed more time to know each other to Paras to win the show. Even he acknowledged first time. Maybe, Mahira doesn’t approve of his The special is aimed at paying tribute to
better. You don’t get married on a lark. After going that I was the only girl who came with the pur- friendship with me (shrugs). That’s okay. People health workers and those on the front lines try-
inside, I told Paras that if not him, I would want pose of settling down. The others just faked it tend to be possessive of each other when in a re- ing to cope with the pandemic, which has over-
Mariah Billie
to meet someone else, date that person and even- with an intention to win the show. However, I lationship. Though he didn’t say it openly, it was whelmed hospitals. It will also encourage view-
Carey Eilish
tually get married. I don’t want to get into any- don’t see a future with him. I didn’t get enough quite evident that there was something more than ers to donate to charities. Reuters
thing frivolous. I went with a clear mind that if I time with him and also, we friend-zoned each oth- just friendship between him and Mahira. It’s just
Reg No GUJENG/2002/7254
get along with Paras, we will date for six months er. We are better off as friends. that they haven’t accepted it yet. Published by Mr Montoo Jain for the proprietor, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. at 139, Ashram Road, Ahmedabad 9 and printed by him at Vardhaman Publishers Ltd Vejalpur. Editor ( Ahmedabad Market ) : Somashukla Sinha Walunjkar
- Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act ( C ) All rights Reserved. Reproduction of whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. No. 84 Vol XIX.