Pioneer dehradun-english-edition-2021-06-20

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At a time when India is still
recovering from the hor-
rors of the second wave of
Covid-19 pandemic, AIIMS
Chief Randeep Guleria has
warned that third wave is
inevitable in the next 6-8 weeks
if people do not adhere to
Covid-appropriate behaviour.
However, the AIIMS
Director was not in favour of “a
national-level lockdown, saying
that it “cannot be a solution” as
it adversely affected the econ-
omy which is still reeling under
restrictions imposed in the
past few months during various
phases of lockdown.
“Until a sizeable number of
people are vaccinated, everyone
must strictly follow Covid-
appropriate behaviour such as
wearing of masks and social
distancing,” he said. Advising
the authorities that the moment
the positivity rate goes beyond
5 per cent, area-specific lock-
down and containment mea-
sures should be implemented.
His caution comes amid
easing of lockdown restric-
tions in various parts of the
country with people moving
out on streets and roads in
hoards ignoring all Covid
appropriate norms. There have
been photographs and videos
on various media showing
crowds thronging the markets
and public places with no
masks or casually tied on
mouth with no social distanc-
ing behaviour being followed,
all ideal conditions for the
coronavirus to spread like a fire.
“As we have started unlock-
ing, there is again a lack of
Covid-appropriate behaviour.
We don’t seem to have learnt
from what happened between
the first and the second wave.
Again crowds are building up...
people are gathering. It will take
some time for the number of
cases to start rising at the
national level.
Third wave is inevitable
and it could hit the country
within the next six to eight
weeks,” Dr Guleria said. “It all
depends on how we go ahead
in terms of Covid-appropriate
behaviour and preventing
crowds,” he added.
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After telephonic invite to
attend an all-party meet
convened by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in the nation-
al Capital on June 24, the
mainstream Kashmiri leaders,
on Saturday claimed they are
not in a position to confirm
their participation in the
absence of any formal invita-
tion and receipt of a clear
agenda from the Centre.
Majority of leaders, who
publicly opposed the Centre’s
move to Abrogate Article 370
that stripped Jammu
Kashmir of its special status in
August 2019 and were detained
for several months, have
reportedly received an invita-
tion to join the parleys at the
highest level.
Cautiously responding to
the first such dialogue offer,
some of the Kashmir-based
leaders claimed that at present
there was no clear-cut agenda
for talks with New Delhi.
“Once we will receive a formal
invitation along with the agen-
da of the talks then only we can
take a call to join the parleys,”
he said.
The JK units of the BJP
and the Congress are also like-
ly to be part of these discus-
sions, which are being seen as
part of efforts to strengthen
normal political processes in
the Union Territory.
The much-awaited meet-
ing is being convened to bring
on board all the stakeholders
from the region to explore the
possibility of holding Assembly
polls after the completion of
the Delimitation process.
Apart from the Prime
Minister, the Union Home
Minister and some of the
senior Cabinet Ministers are
scheduled to attend the meet-
ing.
Reports also revealed the
Centre was preparing ground
for the said meeting for a long
time and had discussed the
contours of the political process
with some of the like-minded
leaders in advance before invit-
ing them for the talks.
Responding to the offer of
talks by the Centre several
Kashmir-based leaders claimed
they have so far received only
a verbal invite and were still
looking forward to a formal
invitation to join the parleys in
New Delhi.
National Conference pres-
ident Dr Farooq Abdullah on
Saturday said they will sit and
discuss the strategy to be fol-
lowed if they get the formal
invitation from New Delhi.
Former Chief Minister and
PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti in
Srinagar said, “There is no
clear-cut agenda about the
talks with New Delhi. However,
I have asked my party’s Political
Affairs Committee (PAC) for a
meeting to discuss the same.”
Chief spokesman of the
party Syed Suhail Bukhari in a
recorded message confirmed,
“PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti
had received a call from the
Centre to attend the all party’s
meet in New Delhi next week”.
He said the party chief had
convened a meeting of the
Political Affairs Committee of
to take a final call on whether
to attend the same or not.
Meanwhile, hours after
Mehbooba received an invita-
tion from the Centre for talks
with State’s regional political
parties, her uncle and senior
leader of the party, Sartaj
Madni, was on Saturday
released from six-month-long
detention.
A0:4B7:B8=67Q =4F34;78
In the run up to the US
troops withdrawal from
Afghanistan, Pakistan’s covert
agency — the Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) — is report-
ed to be helping the Taliban to
forge an alliance with terror
groups Jaish-e-Mohammad
and Lashkar-e-Tayyeba for a
violent takeover of provinces in
the war-torn country.
The Taliban, along with the
Pakistani terror groups, is cap-
turing weapons stores of the US
Army and opening its offices in
Government infrastructure like
school and hospital buildings
reconstructed by India.
The Pakistan Army is
trained in operating the
American weapons, and the
Taliban has found the role of
JeM and LeT handy in both
capturing such stores and using
them in further onslaught.
The Taliban has reported-
ly developed an understanding
with the JeM and LeT for such
attacks in Helmand and
Kandahar provinces. While the
LeT is assisting the Taliban in
Helmand, the JeM is operating
in Kandahar.
Recently, the LeT con-
ducted a mine blast in
Helmand in which three per-
sons were killed and the
Pakistani terror group had
claimed responsibility for the
attack which was later also
endorsed by the Taliban.
Continued on Page 4
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The speculation over the
political future of former
IAS officer Arvind Kumar
Sharma ended on Saturday
when Uttar Pradesh BJP pres-
ident Swatantra Dev Singh
appointed him as party’s UP
unit vice-president.
Sharma, an MLC, is con-
sidered close to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and had left the
civil service to join politics. He
joined the BJP in January this
year and was elected as MLC
the next day. Since then spec-
ulation was rife that he would
be accommodated in the Yogi
Cabinet and be given an
important post.
A Gujarat cadre officer
hailing from Uttar Pradesh,
Sharma had long been one of
the trusted bureaucrats of Modi
since his tenure as Gujarat
Chief Minister. He also served
in key positions in the PMO
after Modi became Prime
Minister in 2014.
There was speculation that
Sharma might replace one of
the two Deputy Chief Ministers
assisting Yogi Adityanath in the
Government. At present Dr
Dinesh Sharma and Keshav
Prasad Maurya are two Deputy
Chief Ministers in the
Government.
“With Sharma being made
vice-president his immediate
elevation to Cabinet is ruled
out as BJP’s constitution calls
for one man one post. But it
does not mean he can never be
made minister. Then, he will
have to resign from the party
post,” said Sanjay Dixit, BJP
leader.
1H:30CC0
It was the same stage where
the first Asian Games were
held, called Irwin
Amphitheatre before it became
known as the National
Stadium. Taking over the baton
as the third runner in the 4 x
400 metres relay of the first
Indo-Pak athletic meet, an
event which was the idea of
India’s first Prime Minister
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to
get people to forget the bitter-
ness caused by the country’s
partition, a young Sikh runner
overtook his Pakistani rival,
looked back challengingly as he
flew past to give India a win-
ning lead before passing on the
baton to the fourth and last
runner.
A new sprinting star had
emerged that day on the icon-
ic track, now an artificial grass
hockey pitch named after
Dhyan Chand.
A statue of Dhyan Chand
stands outside the stadium.
But the place also deserves one
in honour of Milkha, who died
last Friday night aged 91, leav-
ing the track and field sport in
a state of shock.
Hurdler Gurbachan Singh
Randhawa, one of the Milkha’s
contemporaries, who is
remembered as a finalist in the
1964 Tokyo Olympics, is in a
state of disbelief.
When last Randhawa
spoke with Milkha, the latter
had just ended his routine jog
at Chandigarh.
“I can’t believe Milkha is dead,”
said Gurbachan.
Appointed as deputy direc-
tor in Punjab Government’s
sports department by then
Chief Minister Partap Singh
Kairon, in recognition of his
numerous achievements on
the track which are history,
Milkha is remembered as a
simple man, a sparse eater
who enjoyed “just a small drink
of whiskey” in evening.
“How, of all people, did I
get this virus into me?” Milkha
is said to have asked
Gurbachan. If it was a mystery
to Gurbachan, it was one also
to the rest of the country.
Posted at Secunderabad
after being rejected by Army
recruiters on three occasions,
Milkha told this writer his
instructor there recommended
a princely allowance of C1 a day
from the regimental funds to
meet his milk bill because he
would beat all others at cross-
country runs. “Ik rupaiya taan
bahut hunda si” (One rupee
was then a lot of money),
Milkha explained.
That he trained hard is
known to all who dropped in
at the National Stadium in
those days.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Legendary “Flying Sikh”
Milkha Singh, who died at
the PGIMER late on Friday
night after a month-long bat-
tle with Covid, was cremated
with full State honours at the
Sector 25 cremation ground in
Chandigarh on Saturday.
Milkha, who was 91, was
bid a tearful adieu in the pres-
ence of his family members and
several dignitaries, including
Union Sports Minister Kiren
Rijiju. “The Flying Sikh’’, as he
was fondly called, died on
Friday night due to COVID-19
related complications.
His son and ace golfer Jeev
Milkha Singh lit the funeral
pyre. Punjab Governor and
Chandigarh Administrator V P
Singh Badnore, Punjab Finance
Minister Manpreet Singh
Badal, Haryana’’s Sports
Minister Sandeep Singh were
among the other dignitaries
who attended the last rites.
Prof Jagat Ram, Director of
PGIMER where Milkha was
admitted, was also present.
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From spreading its tentacles
to gaining ground in just a
few weeks, Delta variant of
Covid-19, first detected in
India, has now made deep
inroads into the UK, Germany
and the US besides a few other
developed countries.
These countries had
recently claimed to “curb” the
original virus. They are now
again on the edge as the Delta
variant cases have started spi-
ralling, keeping the authorities
on their toes.
“The Delta variant is well
on its way to becoming the
dominant variant globally
because of its increased trans-
missibility,” Soumya
Swaminathan, Chief Scientist
of World Health Organisation
(WHO), said recently. Just last
month, the WHO had termed
the Delta variant as a “variant
of concern”.
The US too has classified
the Delta variant of the coron-
avirus as a “variant of concern”
saying that it now accounts for
10 per cent of Covid-19 infec-
tions in America, fearing that
it may become the dominant
strain if it is not contained.
So far, over 44 per cent of
the US population (146 million
people) are fully vaccinated.
The US Government has a
goal of vaccinating at least 70
per cent of its adult population
with at least one dose by July 4.
But with several studies show-
ing that a second dose of vac-
cine effectively shutting the
door on the variant, public
health officials are urging peo-
ple not to delay the second
shot.
According to health
experts, the variant is 50 per
cent more transmissible than
the original strain, engenders
four times more hospitalisation
risk, and can evade the first
dose of vaccine.
The UK too is grappling
with the vicious Delta variant.
According to reports, for the
first time in four months, the
UK recorded 11,007 Covid-19
cases in 24 hours, driven main-
ly by the Delta variant.
Continued on Page 4
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New Delhi: In an attempt to
counter bigoted disinforma-
tion against Covid19 vaccina-
tion, the Minority Affairs
Ministry will lauch “jaan hai to
jahan hai” awareness campaign
on June 21 in the rural areas
with the help of Muslim, Sikh,
Jain, Christian, Parsi and
Budhist community leaders.
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QHow has your character evolved?
Bulbul’scharacter has really evolved; right from
thebeginning—shewasahot-headedgirlincollege
and beating up her step-brothers — to now
becoming a Minister’s bodyguard. The character
is growing which is great for me; she has become
calmer because she is working and has a
responsibility on her shoulders. Even though she
still harbours a dream of becoming a national
champion in wrestling, she is focused on earning
for the family. She has definitely matured.
QWhat are some of the twists and turns that the
show will take in?
For those who don’t follow the show regularly,
here’s a bit of a sneak peek. Shalu is kidnapped by
Rajvir. Will Bulbul be able to save her? Rajvir is
trying to get Shalu married off. Is she is going to
get married to Rajvir’s friend? These are some of
the questions that will be answered in the coming
episodes. However, there is a lot more ahead with
plenty of twists.
QFrom a choreographer to acting, how has the
journey been?
The journey was not easy; I would say it was
tough. Choreography was in film and I was
looking for acting I was looking at daily soaps right
from the start. It was an industry shift. There were
lot of struggles initially. I don’t know how many
auditions I gave, I was young, so I was being cast
for the younger sister. I wanted to play the central
character. However, the good part the struggle was
for a short duration; I signed my first show as a lead
within eight months of quitting choreography.
QYouhavebeenintheindustryfor15years.The
lesson you have not forgotten?
Ihavelearntthatsuccessandfailureisabigpart
of this industry. A lot of people say this, but few
actually understand that failure is a big part in the
long run. If you don’t understand this, you will not
be able to survive here and want to quit. This
industry is all about the journey, there is no
destination. Today, you may be successful,
tomorrow a failure. Life has been great since I
understood this lesson.
QHow do you choose your projects?
There are three factors. First, the character
being offered has to be strong in the show; this
is extremely important for me at least for now. It
may change as I grow as an actor. Second, I don’t
want to land up working all 30-31 days which is
common with daily soaps. I want a healthy work-
life balance. Three, we are all here for the money,
that is a factor as well.
QA role that you loved doing.
It was Pari in Dill Mill Gaye back in 2009. I
would like to believe that I am an intellectual. This
character was extremely stupid sort. I had to really
switch off my brain to play her. I had lot of fun
playing this role. Bulbul is another role I am
enjoying.
QWhy do some characters become popular and
others don’t despite hard work put in?
There is no thumb rule here. A lot of times,
peoplehavelovedextremenegativecharacters.Like
Komolika was a huge hit; people loved to hate her.
So, there is no formula that a particular role will
work. I feel that if an actor is enjoying playing the
character, the audience understands that and the
character becomes popular, that’s my
understanding.
QWhat next?
We are hoping for the second wave to ease. We
have all been away from home and shooting under
harshconditionsundertheblazingsunfor12hours
a day. But the cast and the crew are great. It makes
things a bit easy to deal with. We are looking
forward to going home, that’s what is next.
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I
t is rare for Bollywood to make
a film on animal-human
conflict. Rarer still is for it to
rope in mainstream actors to tell the
story. Therefore, Sherni directed by
Amit Masurkar is a refreshing
change even though the run-time of
130 minutes is a bit long and
appears to drag unnecessarily.
Masurkar, the man behind films like
Newton, uses the ageold conflict of
animal-human rather beautifully —
in this case it is a tigress which is
attacking the cattle and then
humans.
Reading about this conflict is
common. Newspaper headlines are
filled with such articles where the
villagers have lynched a leopard that
entered the village or the death of an
elephant because it entered human
habitat. What is interesting about
Sherni is that instead of telling the
story in a docu-style, Masurkar
decided to weave a story around it.
This means that there is bound to be
an instant connection in the minds
of the viewers.
Vidya Balan who plays Vidya
Vincent, a forest officer, helms this
film that shows the story from both
perspectives — the humans who
have to make a living and the
animal whose habitat is being cut
into. Not to mention the politics that
comes into play and in the end, it is
the animal that pays the price. Still
there is a silver lining — that Nature
and its creatures are resilient and
they were here before humans
settled, will be there and continue to
be here even though man would be
long dead and gone.
Balan plays the role of the
officer well. To see her play an
understated and somewhat of a yes
sir officer is strange though. Over
the years, she has played some
powerful characters like Sulu in
Tumhari Sulu, Vidya Bagchi in
Kahaani and Begum Jaan in Begum
Jaan to name a few.
Her frustration and need to
change the system that will benefit
the animal and humans comes
across as stark and clear. So much
so that the viewers will feel it too.
Vijay Raaz as a Professor who
studies moths lends a hand that
propels Balan’s character. Neeraj
Kabi, Sharat Saxena, Brijendra Kala,
Ila Arun and Mukul Chadda do
their bit even if their presence is in
fits and starts.
Over all, it is a movie that
makes for an interesting watch.
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CReVU+ !
T
here have been movies that show how the
Yakuza are a dreaded lot — the underworld
crime lords who run things and control
everything — from people’s lives to businesses. But
what is the reality? Do they still wield such power in
the 21th Century? A Family, Japanese drama,
through the eyes of Kenji Yamamoto aka Lil Ken
(Go Ayano) takes the viewers on a journey of a boy
who is taken in by the Yakuza and treated like family
only to find himself in a world that has changed so
much that there is no place for the Yakuza anymore
— a world that now shuns them.
But it is more than just about the criminal family,
their honour and way of life. It is about Kenji’s journey
that began as a street punk to a trusted lieutenant of
the family; his conflict and need to avenge an attack
on his boss, his need to try and adjust to the changed
world once he is out after serving 15 years behind bars
and in the end feel his sadness when he finds that he
has lost all the honour that he once stood for.
Go Ayano plays his character well. His anger, a
young street thug, his rise in the Yakuza, to finally find
a family that he wanted only to find himself without
a home, without criminal means and worst of all
without his adopted family is palpable.
At the end, A Family is a journey about a man’s need
to have a family that he can call his own and this makes
this film heartening to watch.
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347A03D=kBD=30H k9D=4!!!
?=BQ 347A03D=
Consistent rains in the state
have resulted in landslides
and other issues due to which
a total of 253 roads were
blocked by debris at various
locations across the state. Chief
minister Tirath Singh Rawat
said that all the district magis-
trates have been ordered to
monitor the situation.
According to the State
Emergency Operation Centre
(SEOC) at 4 PM, the water level
in the Alaknanda at Chamoli
was 955.40 metres (danger level
957.42 metres) while the water
level in the Pindar at
Karnprayag was 774.05 metres-
higher than the 773 metre dan-
ger level. In Chamoli district,
the Rishikesh-Badrinath
national highway number 58
was blocked by debris at
Kanchanganga, Pagalnala,
Radangbend and near
Lambagad while the
Karnprayag-Gwaldam nation-
al highway was blocked by
debris at Harmani, Nalapani
and Tamlibend.
In Dehradun district, four
rural motor roads were blocked
to traffic. The district adminis-
tration also shifted those at risk
on the banks of the Rispana to
safer location. The water level
in the Ganga at Haridwar at 4
PM was 294.10 metres, slight-
ly higher than the danger level
of 294 metres. Similarly, in the
Rudraprayag district the
Rishikesh-Kedarnath national
highway number 107 was
blocked due to landslide near
the Kalimath gate.
The Kund-Chopta-
Chamoli national highway was
blocked to traffic while the
Srinagar-Rudraprayag national
highway 58 was blocked by
debris near Narkota. A total of
47 rural motor roads were
blocked in the district. In Pauri
district, the Pauri-Dhumakot-
Ramnagar national highway
121 and Srinagar-Pauri-
Kotdwar national highway 119
were blocked by debris. A total
of 47 rural motor roads are
blocked in the district. Four
rural motor roads are blocked
in the Uttarkashi district while
the Rishikesh-Gangotri nation-
al highway 108 is open and the
Rishikesh-Yamunotri national
highway 94 is open till
Janakichatti.
When it comes to the
Tehri district, the Rishikesh-
Srinagar national highway 58
was blocked due to landslide
near Vyasi, apart from which 25
rural motor roads were report-
ed to be blocked.
In the Bageshwar district,
two state highways and 23
ed blocked while in Nainital
district two state highways,
one main district road and 18
ed blocked. Similarly, in
Almora district the Almora-
Ghat national highway was
blocked due to landslide at
Makdau and near Kandanaula
while six rural motor roads
were reported blocked. In
Champawat district the
Tanakpur-Ghat national high-
way was blocked at Dhaun
and near Swala, apart from
which 36 rural motor roads
were also reported to be
blocked. In Pithoragarh district,
the Kali river was flowing at the
danger level of 890 metres at 4
PM.
The Pithoragarh-Ghat
national highway was blocked
at Chupkot bend, Waldiya gate
and Dilli bend while the
Ghatiabagad-Lipulekh and
Tawaghat-Ghatiabagad border
roads were also reported
blocked. Five border roads and
21 rural motor roads were
reported blocked in the district.
Efforts were underway to clear
all the blocked roads.
=R_Ud]ZUVdUVScZdW`]]`hZ_XcRZ_S]`T#$c`RUdZ_DeReV
?=BQ 347A03D=
After about three days of
rain in most parts of the
state which resulted in land-
slides at different locations and
caused the level of water to rise
in various rivers across the
state, the state meteorological
centre has issued a warning
about the possibility of heavy
rainfall at isolated places in
three districts and thunder-
storms accompanied by light-
ning and intense showers at
isolated places in six districts
on Sunday.
According to the forecast
issued by the state meteoro-
logical centre on Saturday,
heavy rainfall is likely to occur
at isolated places in
Pithoragarh, Nainital and
Champawat districts on
Sunday. Further, thunder-
storm accompanied by light-
ning and intense showers are
likely to occur at isolated places
in Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri,
Nainital, Pithoragarh and
Champawat districts. In the
provisional state capital
Dehradun, the meteorological
centre has forecast one or two
spells of rain/thundershower
with the maximum and mini-
mum temperatures likely to be
about 29 degrees Celsius and 21
degrees Celsius respectively on
Sunday.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The state health department
reported the least number
of cases of novel Coronavirus
(Covid-19) in more than two
months in Uttarakhand on
Saturday. The department
reported 220 new cases and 217
recoveries from the disease on
the day. Death of five patients
from the disease was also
reported on Saturday. The
cumulative count of patients in
the state has now increased to
3,38,508 while the death toll
from the disease has climbed to
7026. A total of 3,22,475 patients
have so far recovered from the
disease in Uttarakhand. The
recovery percentage from the
disease is now at 95.26 and the
sample positivity rate is at 6.42
percent in the state. Out of the
five deaths reported on
Saturday, one patient each died
at Mahant Indiresh hospital, All
India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh,
Jaya Maxwell Hospital
Haridwar, Dev Bhoomi hospi-
tal Kashipur and Medicity hos-
pital Rudrapur. The authorities
also reported the death of four
patients on Saturday which had
occurred in the past but were
not reported earlier.
Dehradun district reported
94, Almora 24, Tehri 21,
Haridwar 20, Nainital 17,
Nainital 17, Udham Singh
Nagar 14, Pauri nine,
Uttarkashi eight, Champawat
three, Bageshwar, Chamoli and
Pithoragarh one each new cases
of the disease on Saturday.
The state now has 3,220
active patients of the disease.
Haridwar district is at top of the
table in the list of active cases
with 471 cases while
Pithoragarh is in second posi-
tion with 452 active cases.
Dehradun has 435, Almora
247, Nainital 237, Pauri 236,
Tehri 170, Champawat 164,
Rudraprayag 156, Chamoli 131,
Uttarkashi 116 and Udham
Singh Nagar 114 active cases of
the disease.
The state reported 13 new
cases of Mucormycosis (Black
fungus) on Saturday after which
it now has 446 patients of the
disease. Death of three patients
from Black Fungus was also
reported on the day. A total of
76 patients have so far died from
this disease while 62 have recov-
ered.
In the ongoing vaccination
drive against the contagion of
Covid 19 a total of 26,853 peo-
ple were vaccinated in 416 ses-
sions in different parts of the
state on Saturday. A total of
7,31,706 people have been fully
vaccinated while 28,05,002 have
received the first dose of the
vaccine in the state so far.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Accusing the BJP govern-
ment for patronising the
Covid 19 testing scam during
Kumbh, the Pradesh Congress
Committee (PCC) president
Pritam Singh has said that a
case of murder should be reg-
istered on the state government
for deaths due to Covid in the
state. He also demanded a
judicial probe by a sitting judge
of Uttarakhand High Court
(HC) on the scam.
Addressing the media per-
sons at the headquarters of state
Congress here on Saturday,
the PCC president said that the
party would start a state-wide
agitation on the scam from
June 25 if the judicial probe is
not ordered. He said the Covid
19 test scam is not only an eco-
nomic offence but also is
directly responsible for death of
people in the state due to
Covid 19. Singh said that the
incumbent chief minister and
his predecessor have accepted
that the scam has occurred and
are now pointing towards each
other for being responsible for
it. He said that the BJP which
is a self proclaimed contract
holder for Hinduism has com-
mitted the sin of patronising a
mega scam during Kumbh in
Haridwar.
Terming the scam as noth-
ing less than sedition, the PCC
president said that the
Congress party would start a
protest on the issue from June
25 by holding a protest on the
bank of Ganga in Haridwar.
The PCC president questioned
as to why the NOC and subse-
quently the contract was given
to a company which was not
approved by Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR). He
also raised questions on the
award of Covid -19 testing
work to two labs on the basis
of one MoU.
The PCC president said
that during Kumbh where an
estimated 50 lakh pilgrims
arrived, the positivity rate was
80 percent less than other dis-
tricts which itself puts the
whole system of sample testing
on dock. He said that the state
government, health depart-
ment and Mela administration
are responsible for the criminal
neglect of Covid-19 test
process. Singh added that
Lakhs of people from different
states who arrived in Kumbh
have gone back and now the
whole episode is being referred
to as a Super spreader of Covid-
19.
The vice president of
Uttarakhand Congress Surya
Kant Dhasmana, former MLA
Jot Singh Gunsola, Vikram
Singh Negi, Mahesh Joshi and
others accompanied the PCC
president.
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The government succeeded
in controlling the second
wave of Covid-19 and is fully
prepared to face another wave
in the future as is being forecast
by experts. Chief minister
Tirath Singh Rawat said this
while speaking at the BJP’s
working committee meeting on
Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion,
Rawat said that due to better
health services in Uttarakhand,
people from outside the state
came here for treatment in dif-
ficult circumstances. This was
also the major reason for the
death rate rising in
Uttarakhand. There has been a
manifold increase in oxygen
cylinders, ICUs and ventilators
in the state after April 1.
Modern Covid care centres
with 500 bed capacity each
have been set up in Rishikesh
and Haldwani. He further said
that considering the probabil-
ity of a third Covid wave, the
government is preparing a plan
for renting hotels too in the dis-
tricts so that the caretakers of
the patients do not face incon-
venience. The chief minister
informed that 66 per cent vac-
cination of those aged above 45
years had been completed in
the state while the vaccination
of those in the 18-44 years age
group is underway. He averred
that other states are also fol-
lowing the Vatsalya Yojana
introduced in Uttarakhand for
providing support to the chil-
dren orphaned by Covid-19. To
increase the reach of the
scheme, amendment was made
to provide assistance to chil-
dren who lost even one parent
or the sole earning family
member to Covid.
Even those children
orphaned by reasons other
than Covid in this period will
benefit from the scheme, said
Rawat, adding that 556 chil-
dren had been identified so far.
He said that soon the state gov-
ernment will present the factual
statistics on the employment
provided by each department
till date. Thousands of youths
will get employment in the state
by December, he said, adding
that the government is prepar-
ing the work plan for this pur-
pose.
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The workers of the 108
emergency ambulance ser-
vice were given training on
Saturday to deal with the vari-
ous aspects of the pandemic's
effect on children. The experts
are warning that the children are
expected to be more affected
during the third wave of the
pandemic. The district pro-
gramme officer (DPO) of 108
ambulanceserviceinDehradun,
Mukesh Nautiyal said that
workers of the service are being
given a phased training on
transport and treatment of chil-
dren during the probable third
wave. On Saturday the chief
master trainer of Dehradun
district, Yashpal Singh and his
team imparted training to
ambulance service personnel.
He said that the service should
be prepared to deal with the
third wave and everyone should
be more sensitive while trans-
porting children. Singh
informed about the symptoms
in children, medicines and diet
in the training. He also gave a
detailed presentation on caution
and Covid management while
transporting children.
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The Bharatiya Janata Party
state in-charge Dushyant
Kumar Gautam said that in the
present situation, the BJP does-
n’t face a challenge from any
political party. Addressing the
working committee meeting of
the party on Saturday, he said
that the fight is between the BJP
and anti-national forces. Such
elements are targeting faith,
culture and religion. Referring
to the Kumbh Mela in
Haridwar being referred to as
a super spreader of Covid, he
said that the rivals ignored the
situation in Maharashtra,
Punjab, Jharkhand, Delhi and
other states. He said that those
who tried to hinder the con-
struction of Ram temple in
Ayodhya and questioned the
existence of Ram and now
spreading rumours about the
temple. Citing the example of
the squirrel which contributed
to the construction of the Ram
Setu, he exhorted the party
workers to contribute to nation
building.
Earlier, the meeting was
inaugurated by BJP State pres-
ident Madan Kaushik, Gautam,
chief minister Tirath Singh
Rawat and other party office
bearers.
Speaking on the occasion,
Kaushik opined that all oppo-
sition parties had worked to
misguide the public during
the Covid pandemic but the
BJP workers continued to serve
the public amidst the pan-
demic often facing risks to
their own health. The party
established a total of 15 Covid
control rooms across the state
and provided help to thousands
of people day and night
through the control rooms.
Facilitating oxygen, ventila-
tors, hospital beds or even
ration, the party workers did
the needful.
While the BJP was fighting
against the virus amidst the
pandemic, the opposition was
fighting against the BJP, he said.
Kaushik further said that dur-
ing the second wave of Covid-
19, the state government
worked on a war footing to
facilitate the required health
services. A 500-bed Covid care
facility was set up in Rishikesh
within three weeks with the
help of Defence Research and
Development Organisation
(DRDO). A similar 500-bed
facility was established in
Haldwani with the help of
DRDO in a record 21 days. The
state government did the need-
ful to provide ventilators, oxy-
gen supported beds, oxygen
cylinders and other health
facilities for Covid treatment.
Referring to the Salt assembly
bypoll, he said that the oppo-
sition had termed it the semi-
final to the 2022 assembly
polls. The BJP won the semi-
final by a considerable major-
ity and will also win the final
in a similar manner, said
Kaushik.
The party’s state general
secretary (organisation) Ajey
informed about the party’s
planned activities. He said that
15 programmes have been
planned. The state level train-
ing programme will be held for
six weeks from 20 June in six
sessions.
The party is planning to
hold Yoga camps till the booth
level on international Yoga day
on June 21. To mark Shyama
Prasad Mukherjee’s birth
anniversary on June 23, the
party will hold various activi-
ties till July 6 including lectures,
health campaign, tree planta-
tions and anti-plastic cam-
paign.
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A32-year-old woman died
allegedly after she was
administered the Covid-19 vac-
cine in Rourkela of Sundargarh
district on June 17.
The deceased Kabita
Dantali of Magini Basti under
the Plant Site police station had
been administered the dose at
the Gurudwara Road Covid
vaccination centre.
On June 18, she developed
some health problems and was
admitted to the Rourkela
Government Hospital (RGH),
where she succumbed while
undergoing treatment.
Family members of Kabita
alleged that she died due to the
side-effects of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, as per the
Central guidelines on such
allegations of deaths after vac-
cination, the woman’s body
has been sent to the Burla med-
ical college hospital for post-
mortem.
The details can be said
only after receiving the post-
mortem report, said
Sundargarh CDMO Saroj
Mishra. The Plant Site Police
have registered a case in con-
nection with the incident after
receiving a death memo from
the RGH and started an inves-
tigation.
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The abandoned and dilapi-
dated British-time
Rasgovindpur airstrip in
Mayurbhanj district has been
included under the Ude Desh
Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN)
scheme.
This was intimated by
Union Minister Civil Aviation
Hardeep S Puri to Union
Minister Pratap Chandra
Sarangi in response to the lat-
ter’s request for construction of
an airport at
Rasgovindpur. The commu-
niqué stated that the airstrip
Amardaroad (Rasgobindapur)
is included in the tentative list
of un-served airports under the
UDAN document. However,
no bid has been received so far
under UDAN for commence-
ment of Regional Connectivity
Scheme (RCS) flights. The
routes between Bhubaneswar-
Amardaroad have been includ-
ed in the special round of bid-
ding under the UDAN 4.1.
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Odisha-born IAS officer
Guruprasad Mohapatra
passed away while undergoing
treatment at the AIIMS New
Delhi on Saturday morning. He
had been admitted to the hos-
pital after testing positive for
Covid-19. Mohapatra, a 1986-
batch Gujarat-cadre IAS officer,
was serving as the Secretary of
Department for Promotion of
Industry and Internal Trade
(DPIIT). He was also given
additional charge of Secretary of
the Ministry of MSME for tem-
porary period. He was the
youngest son of renowned Odia
litterateur late Mohapatra
Nilamani Sahoo.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi condoled death and said,
“Saddened by the demise of Dr.
Guruprasad Mohapatra, DPIIT
Secretary. I had worked with
him extensively in Gujarat and
at the Centre. He had a great
understandingofadministrative
issues and was known for his
innovative zeal. Condolences
to his family and friends. Om
Shanti.”
Union Minister Piyush
Goyal said, “His longstanding
service and dedication to the
nationhaveleftalastingimpact.”
?=BQ 9060CB8=67?DA
Jagatsinghpur Superintendent
of Police Prakash R on Friday
suspended a Sub-Inspector of
the Tirtol police station on
charges of gross misconduct in
performing official duties.
Earlier, a complaint had
been lodged with the SP against
Nayak by one Rashmi Kanta
Sahoo, a resident of Nuagaon
village alleging that the cop had
allegedly assaulted him when
he went to the Tirtol police sta-
tion on June 13 to inquire
about a land dispute case
lodged by his mother
Sulochana Sahoo two weeks
ago.
He also alleged that Nayak
abused him in filthy language
and asked him to dispose of the
land dispute amicably with the
opposite party. But when he
opposed it, the SI rained blows
on him in presence of some
other policemen. He sustained
injuries in the cop’s assault
and hospitalised.
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On June 11at 5pm, I received
from Shri Jagadanand, a
dear friend and social activist,
the sad news of Prof
Radhamohan's demise at the
wee hours (3 am) of the day. I
was totally nonplussed by the
news. I knew that Prof
Radhamohan had an attack of
pneumoniaandwasincomafor
sometime.Iwasprayingforhim
all the time and was hoping
against hope that he will come
back to life soon with the same
physicalenergyandspirit,sonat-
ural for him. Little did I realise
that the slings and arrows of an
outrageousdestinywouldsnatch
him away from us, leaving us
completely crestfallen.
Prof Rahamohan belonged
to a rare category of Good
Samaritans. Rightm from his
school, college and university
days, he always thought of the
good of others and in particu-
lar those in distress and conse-
crated his time, energy and
resources in relieving them of
their suffering. He had a bril-
liant academic career through-
out. After post-graduation in
Applied Economics in 1965
from Utkal University, he
devoted a major portion of his
life to teaching, action research
and voluntary social work. He
had a special flair for work relat-
ing to protection and conser-
vation of environment from his
very early days and he pas-
sionately dedicated himself—
body, mind and spirits –to this
very important pursuit for near-
ly 5 decades.
Prof Radhamohan had a
fascinating and eventful career
of engagement in public service
for more than 5 decades. To
give a few illustrative specimens
of that engagement, he retired
as Principal, SCS College, Puri
in 2001 after 36 years of a very
satisfying teaching career.
Thereafter, he worked for some
time as Member, State Planning
Board. He subsequently held a
number of important assign-
ments, both official and non-
official, such as Member,
Advisory Committee of the
State Watershed Mission,
Member, Task Force on
Education, Member, State
Wildlife Advisory Committee,
Member, NSS Advisory and
Evaluation Committee,
Member, State Steering
Committee on Joint Forest
Management, Member,
State Pollution Control Board,
Member, Governing Body of
the State Resource Centre on
Adult Education, Member,
Centre for World Solidarity,
Hyderabad, Adviser, Rashtriya
Gramin Vikas Nidhi, Guwahati,
and Member,Programme
Advisory Committee, All India
Radio. In 2005, he was appoint-
ed as the first State Information
Commissioner under the Right
to Information Act, 2005 for a
period of 2 years(till he attained
the age of 65).During this brief
period, he had initiated a num-
ber of reforms to promote
openness, transparency and
public accountability with a
view to making governance
responsive, sensitive to the
needs of the poor and aggriev-
ed and responsible. His action,
conduct and contribution
boosted the image of this pub-
lic office at a very nascent stage
of its existence. He had initiat-
ed a series of efforts to establish
schools, colleges and NGOs
for genuine people's develop-
ment which is pro-poor, pro-
nature, pro-women and pro-
children. In 1990 he founded a
Resource Centre called
'Sambabh' meaning possible. It
was a registers society which in
due course became a torch-
bearer in the field of conserva-
tion, agriculture and organic
farming. 'Sambhab' was a
tremendous grass-root level
initiative in the field of sus-
tainable development and gen-
der justice.
To demonstrate the impact
of conservation on sustainable
food production, he developed
36 hectares of degraded land in
Nayagarh (the district to which
he belonged) which by all
accounts today is a pioneering
model for growing rare species
of clove bean, jack bean, black
rice and sword bean apart from
a number of other food plants.
The forest has over 1,000
species of plants and 500 vari-
eties of rice and supports a seed
bank with 700 indigenous vari-
eties of seeds.
He has been a recipient of
a number of awards such as
'Global Roll of Honour' by
UNEP (1989) for his outstand-
ing contribution to conserva-
tion, 'Utkal Seva Samman', the
highest civilian award at the
State level for dedicated public
service and 'Padma Award for
outstanding contribution to
public service along with his
daughter Sabarmati by the
Government of India.
Prof Radhamohan was an
extraordinarily simple, unas-
suming and unpretentious per-
son, who was also scrupulous-
ly honest, intensely aware, kind,
compassionate and considerate
to all colleagues and co-work-
ers, and in particular to people
in the lower strata of the soci-
ety. He was deeply committed
to Gandhian values of respect
for truth, peace, tolerance of
dissent and non-violence. He
was the very salt of the earth
and full of empathy and sensi-
tivity to his fellow beings. At the
same time he was extremely
business-like, a no-nonsense
person who was very firmly
entrenched in his fundamentals
and never swerved an inch
from the path of justice.
I had a number of occa-
sions to interact with him on a
host of issues, commencing
from literacy to promoting vol-
untarism in social work, con-
servation, climate change and
degradation of the environ-
ment , as
DG, National Literacy
Mission(NLM) and DG,
Council of People's Action and
Rural Technology(CAPART)
and every time I met him and
had a serious discussion, I felt
in the words of German poet
Goethe 'enraptured, feasted
and fed'. The last we met was on
the occasion of my being invit-
ed to deliver SB Mishra
Memorial Lecture on July 17,
2017 at the Sai International
School, Bhubaneswar.
(Dr Mishra is a former
Union Labour Secretary, Email:
ldmishraias@gmail.com)
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After his Delhi visit triggered
speculations of a possible
cabinet expansion or reshuffle
in the state, Haryana Chief
Minister Manohar Lal Khattar
denied such reports on
Saturday.“There is no such pos-
sibility,” the Chief Minister said
in New Delhi while responding
to the mediapersons on the pos-
sibility of expanding the
Haryana cabinet.During his
three days Delhi visit which
concluded on Saturday, the
Chief Minister had met Union
Minister Amit Shah and four
other Union Ministers. His
Delhi tour and meeting with
the Home Minister on
Thursday had triggered specu-
lations of a cabinet expansion or
reshuffle in Haryana.The Chief
Minister had last month met
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Union Home Minister and BJP
national president JP
Nadda.Not only this, Haryana
Deputy Chief Minister and JJP
leader Dushyant Chautala had
on June 11 met Amit Shah
while Haryana Home Minister
Anil Vij had also reached Delhi
on Thursday and met BJP
national president JP
Nadda.Commenting on the
issue of cabinet expansion, Anil
Vij told the mediapersons that
he has neither heard such dis-
cussions nor had such discus-
sions anywhere.
Deputy Chief Minister
Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak
Janata Party is an alliance part-
ner of the BJP Government in
the state.
The JJP, with its 10 MLAs,
had allied with the BJP in
October 2019 after the assem-
bly election results threw up a
fractured mandate. The BJP-JJP
Government had this week
completed its 600 days tenure
in Haryana.Apart from the
Chief Minister and Deputy
Chief Minister, there are cur-
rently 10 council of ministers
comprising one from its alliance
partner and an independent in
the Cabinet.There have been
reports that the JJP is keen to
have another MLA inducted in
the government.The cabinet
can have 14 members, includ-
ing the Chief Minister and the
Deputy Chief Minister, with
two slots kept for the future
expansion.
CM MEETS PIYUSH
GOYAL TO DISCUSS HRY
PROJECTS
Haryana Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar on
Saturday met Union Railway
Minister Piyush Goyal in New
Delhi to discuss various railway
projects related to the state.The
meeting lasted for about one
and a half hours, at the resi-
dence of the Union Railway
Minister.
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Facing flak from the opposi-
tion over giving jobs to sons
of two Congress MLAs, Punjab
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder
Singh on Saturday defended his
government's decision, saying it
was a recognition of the sacri-
fices made by their grandfa-
thers, who laid down their lives
for the country.The Punjab
cabinet on Friday decided to
appoint Arjun Pratap Singh
Bajwa as an inspector in the
Punjab Police and Bhisham
Pandey as a naib tehsildar in the
Revenue Department as a spe-
cial case on compassionate
ground.Arjun Pratap Singh
Bajwa is the son of Qadian MLA
Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa while
Ludhiana legislator Rakesh
Pandey is the father of Bhisham
Pandey.Arjun Bajwa is the
grandson of former Punjab
Minister Satnam Singh Bajwa,
who laid his life in 1987 for the
sake of peace and harmony in
the state while Bhisham Pandey
is the grandson of Joginder Pal
Pandey who was gunned down
by terrorists in 1987, the gov-
ernment had said on Friday.The
chief minister on Saturday said
those who make a sacrifice for
the nation can, and should,
never be forgotten. Their fam-
ilies deserve to be compensat-
ed for the loss, he further said
while informally interacting
with media persons outside the
residence of Milkha Singh,
where he had gone to pay his
last respects to the legendary
athlete.Taking a swipe at the
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)
and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),
which have criticised the gov-
ernment's move, the chief min-
ister said if these parties provide
names of any youth whose
father/grandfathers have made
similar sacrifices for the nation,
they will also be provided jobs
in the state government.The
chief minister said he had tried
to find such people in these par-
ties but could find none, he said,
asserting that he would give jobs
to anyone coming from a fam-
ily that had made similar sacri-
fices. Capt Amarinder pointed
out that Punjab had been
through tough times in the
dark days of terrorism, when
35,000 innocent lives had been
lost to senseless violence.As
many as 1,700 police personnel
had also died, he recalled,
adding that it was not sufficient
to pay tributes to these people
at their memorials, and the
state needed to do something
more to compensate their fam-
ilies. “We cannot allow their sac-
rifices to go waste,” said the chief
minister.
SAD URGES GOVER-
NOR TO DISMISS GOVT
Meanwhile, the SAD urged
the Punjab governor to dismiss
the Congress government by
taking suo motu notice of the
manner in which the chief
minister was allegedly pur-
chasing the loyalty of Congress
legislators to save his chair by
doling out jobs to their wards
illegally.SAD leader Bikram
Singh Majithia also asked the
youth whose rights had been
usurped by Congress leaders to
gherao the chief minister and
ministers to demand jobs for
deserving and meritorious stu-
dents. He said in case the gov-
ernor did not take action in the
matter, the president should
take note of the unconstitu-
tional appointments and dis-
miss the Capt Amarinder Singh
government immediately.He
said the SAD-BSP alliance
would quash all “illegal”
appointments made on com-
passionate grounds and also
register cases against those
responsible for the wrongdoing,
once voted to power. Majithia
said it is condemnable that
Capt Amarinder had taken an
oath to provide jobs to each and
every household and even got
forms filled by the youth in this
regard.
AAP DEMANDS
QUASHING OF JOBS GIVEN
TO MLAs SONS
Criticizing the Capt
Amarinder Singh-led govern-
ment’s decision to appoint two
MLAs sons as police inspector
and Naib Tehsildar, the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) senior
leader and Leader of
Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab
Assembly, Harpal Singh
Cheema said that with this, the
anti-people face of the ruling
Congress government has been
exposed in the public. In a state-
ment, Cheema said that the
AAP condemned the decision
of giving jobs to two youths,
whose families are well off,
have financial resources and are
sons of four and two time
MLAs, respectively.Earlier also,
the government had circum-
vented the rules in 2017 by
directly appointing former CM
Beant Singh's grandson as a
DSP, he added. “Today, this
decision of the Captain gov-
ernment is against the youth of
Punjab. Captain Amarinder
has promised to give Ghar-
Ghar Rozgar, but in reality it is
only limited to a number of
Congress leaders’ families,” said
Cheema.
NAVJOT KAUR SIDHU
CRITICISES GOVT
Former MLA Navjot Kaur
Sidhu on Saturday criticised
the decision of giving govern-
ment jobs to sons of two ruling
party legislators, saying only
merit should be the criteria.
Talking to reporters at Chaura
village in Sanour constituency
in Patiala, she said no post
should be given to anyone with-
out merit, especially those who
were already financially well off.
Rather jobs could have been
given to a sportsperson or ward
of a freedom fighter, said the
wife of Congress leader Navjot
Singh Sidhu.
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From Page 1
Authorities said that the
fresh surge has pushed the fig-
ure above 10,000 for the first
time since late February.
In fact, the highly conta-
gious Delta variant has thrown
a spanner on the UK
Government’s plan of lifting of
remaining social and econom-
ic restrictions until July 19.
Several countries, includ-
ing Russia and Indonesia, are
now reporting a surge in
Covid-19 cases due to the
Delta variant raising appre-
hension if the available vaccines
will be able to tackle the new
form of mutated virus.
Raising concerns,
Swaminathan too pointed out
that highly transmissible vari-
ants boost the need for new,
effective shots.
Russia too is facing a huge
surge in the number of coron-
avirus cases attributed to the
Delta variant. As per Moscow
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, the
highly-transmissible variant
was detected in 89.3 per cent of
all Covid patients in the
Russian capital.
Despite being credited to
launch the world’s first vaccine,
“Sputnik V”, last year, Russia
has so far vaccinated just 9.9
per cent of its population,
mainly because of the poor tak-
ers as well as people’s negli-
gence in following Covid-19
norms.
German, Indonesia and
Singapore are some other
countries which are keeping a
vigil on Delta variants and
started a more aggressive con-
tact tracing, testing and quar-
antine campaign to keep the
infection at bay.
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From Page 1
“In Helmand province, the
LeT has so far attacked dis-
pensaries, hospitals, adminis-
trative buildings and 16 schools
built by India.
The Taliban has captured
at least two administrative
blocks and has taken hostage
of the captured hospital’s staff
for treating the injured
jehadis,” a senior official in the
security establishment said.
The Taliban has also
issued a statement claiming
any education acquired
through infrastructure built by
kafirs is not acceptable in
Islam, implying that more
such attacks against schools
are likely in the coming weeks,
the official said.
The irony of the evolving
situation in the provinces of
Afghanistan where the Taliban
is rampaging is that the cadres
of LeT and JeM will be trained
in the buildings for schools,
hospitals and administrative
blocks built by India, he said.
Counter-terrorism experts
said the US Army is known to
leave behind war stores that
include sophisticated weapons
and munitions while leaving a
war zone.
“Since the Pakistan Army
is trained in using those
weapons, these equipment will
now be exploited by the
Taliban and its Pakistani asso-
ciate groups like JeM and LeT
for further consolidating their
position in Afghanistan and
dislodging the security para-
phernalia of the elected
Government there,” an expert
said.
According to reports, the
Taliban has already gained a
significant hold in 26 out of 34
provinces in that country
where the violence being per-
petrated by the Taliban has
witnessed a marked surge dur-
ing the last few months.

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With schools witnessing a
prolonged closure due
to the Covid-19 pandemic, the
Union Education Ministry on
Saturday released guidelines
for parents and caregivers on
how to provide support to
children and facilitate their
home-based learning.
The guidelines empha-
sised the need for parents to
create a safe, engaging and
positive learning environment
for children, have realistic
expectations from them, take
care of their health and ensure
a healthy diet, and also have
fun, a statement from the
ministry said.
Union Education Minister
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
said the Guidelines for parent
participation in home-based
learning during school closure
and beyond have been draft-
ed “for parents and caregivers
to provide information on
the ‘why’ ‘what’ and how-to of
participation in supporting
children during school clo-
sure, irrespective of literacy
levels”.
“I strongly feel that a
home is the first school and
parents are the first teachers.
In this pandemic, the role of
parents is pivotal in the
growth and learning of chil-
dren,” Nishank tweeted.
These guidelines are
meant not only for parents but
also for caregivers, other fam-
ily members, grandparents,
community members and
older siblings engaged in
promoting the welfare of chil-
dren.
The activities suggested in
the guidelines are in accor-
dance with the various stages
of school education under
National Education Policy
2020, the statement by the
ministry said.
Age-appropriate art activ-
ities have been categorized on
basis of 5+3+3+4 system such
as Foundation Stage (age 3 to
8years); Preparatory Stage
(age 8 to 11 years); Middle
Stage (age 11 to 14 years); and
secondary stage: From
Adolescent to Adult (age 14-
18 years).
The activities are simple
and suggestive, which can be
adapted and adopted to local
needs and contexts. The
guidelines appreciate the role
of art as a therapy for children
under stress or trauma, the
statement said.
“They (guidelines) also
lay significance on improving
children’s learning by moni-
toring and addressing their
learning gaps.”
Collaboration of parents
with teachers in documenting
and reflecting on the progress
of children in their learning is
important for both teachers
and parents, the statement by
the Education Ministry said.
The guidelines also advise
schools to involve parents by
providing information and
ideas on helping students with
homework and other curricu-
lum-related activities, decisions,
planning and involving them in
school decisions, it said.
Resources have been made
available for children with spe-
cial needs which may be
explored by parents. A separate
chapter has been included in
the guidelines for supporting
parents with low or no literacy.
Schools, teachers and volun-
teers may take suggestive steps
to provide support to parents
who are not quite literate, the
statement said.
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The Union Home Ministry
on Saturday issued advi-
sories to all States and Union
Territories to register FIRs
against attacks on health work-
ers and implement a five-fold
strategy to prevent the resur-
gence of Covid -19 pandemic in
the coming months.
In a detailed advisory,
Union Home Secretary Ajay
Bhalla wrote to Chief Secretaries
to direct district administrations
to also invoke the stringent
provisions of the Epidemic
Diseases (Amendment) Act
2020 against the miscreants
who attack doctors and health
workers in the FIR.
The advisory directed that
the deployment of quick
response teams, help lines must
be implemented at all areas to
prevent attacks against doctors,
health professionals and insti-
tutions. In an another advisory,
the Home Secretary said that
lockdown rustications are lifted,
the five-fold strategy of Covid
appropriate behavior, Test,
Track, Treat and Vaccination
must be carefully implemented
in a calibrated way to prevent
further surge of Covid cases.
The States were also direct-
ed to implement regular mon-
itoring of Covid-19 appropriate
behviour maintenance.
“To reiterate, Covid appro-
priate behavior includes manda-
tory useof masks,handhygiene,
social distancing and also prop-
er ventilation of closed spaces.
However, easing of restrictions
in some
States have led to resumption of
crowding of people in markets
etc without adherence to the
norms of Covid appropriate
behavior.
It is, therefore essential to
ensure that complacency does
not set in, and there is no let-up
in adhering to Covid appropri-
ate behaviour, while opening up
activities,” said the advisory.
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Former Congress president
Rahul Gandhi on Saturday
turned 51, but he did not cel-
ebrate his birthday in view of
the Covid pandemic.
However, wishes poured in
from leaders cutting across
party lines and Congress work-
ers.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om
Birla took to Twitter to wish the
Wayanad MP good health and
happiness. Union Minister
Nitin Gadkari too tweeted
birthday greetings to Rahul
saying he be blessed with good
health and long life.
Chief ministers M K Stalin
(Tamil Nadu), Arvind Kejriwal
(Delhi), Hemant Soren
(Jharkhand), Conrad Sangma
(Meghalaya), Amarinder Singh
(Punjab), Ashok Gehlot
(Rajasthan) and Bhupesh
Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
(Madhya Pradesh) wished him
on Twitter.
“Wishing my beloved
brother Rahul Gandhi on his
birthday and I join others in
praising his selfless, untiring
work to establish an egalitari-
an India in every aspect. His
commitment to the ethos of the
Congress party has been exem-
plary,” Stalin said on Twitter.
National Confrence leader
Omar Abdullah wished Rahul
good health and many years
ahead in the service of the
nation, while former prime
minister and JD(S) president H
D Devegowda tweeted, “I wish
him well, and sincerely pray
that his view of the world and
his compassion defeats the
narrowness that surrounds us.”
The Punjab chief minister
said that he was proud of the
Congress leader]s hard work
and his abiding commitment
to serve the people of the
country.
His Rajasthan counterpart
Gehlot said: “Rahul ji is gen-
uinely concerned about the
welfare of the poor and down-
trodden. I wish he succeeds in
his endeavours,”
Baghel said that it is not
easy to stand before the oppos-
ing tide and Rahul is doing so
and setting an example by
standing above politics of
compromise. Rahul respond-
ed to some of the wishes on
Twitter.
While Delhi Congress
observed the day as “Sewa
Diwas” and distributed face
masks, medicine kits and
cooked meals free of cost to the
poor in the national capital, the
National Students Union of
India (NSUI), the Congress]
students] wing, organised a
free vaccination camp to mark
the occasion and the Youth
Congress distributed free
ration to the needy in Delhi.
Some state Congress com-
mittees observed the day by
distributing ration and other
essentials at no cost to the poor
and the needy. Wishing their
leader, the Congress said on
Twitter, “We wish Shri Rahul
Gandhi health and happiness
on his birthday.”
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India is constantly monitoring
the situation at the Line of
Actual Control(LAC)and the
armed forces are ready to meet
any challenge, IAF Chief RKS
Bhadauria said on Saturday. He
also said all the 36 Rafale fight-
er jets will be inducted into the
IAF by 2022.
Reiterating the country’s
stand on resolving the issues
through dialogue with China
regarding the stand-offs at the
LAC in Eastern Ladakh, he said
the first attempt is to carry out
disengagement at the “balance
friction points.”
He was obviously referring
to ongoing face-offs for the last
one year at the Hot Springs,
Gogra and the Depsang valley
in Eastern Ladakh. These fric-
tion points erupted after the
first stand-off in the first week
of May last year at the Pangong
Tso(lake) there.
India and China have so
far held 11 rounds of military
level and seven rounds of
diplomatic level talks since
May last year to resolve the
dispute at the LAC. The armies
of China and India had dis-
engaged from the southern
and northern banks of the
Pangong lake in February.
The Air Force chief said
talks are on between the two
sides and the first attempt is to
continue with the parleys and
carry out the disengagement at
the “balance friction points.”
“The first attempt is to
continue with the talks and do
the disengagement at the bal-
ance friction points. And, of
course, follow it up with de-
escalation,” he said.
“However, in parallel, the
ground realities are being
monitored closely. Whatever is
the reality across, in terms of
current leftover locations,
deployments, any changes,
that is being monitored close-
ly and whatever actions are
required on our part, we are
taking,” Bhadauria said. He
made these observations after
reviewing the Combined
Graduation Parade (CGP) at
the Air Force Academy,
Dundigal, Hyderabad.
As regards the ongoing
induction of the Rafale fight-
er jets into service, he said the
process will be completed by
2022. At present, 14 jets have
arrived at the Ambala air-
base.
“The target is 2022. It is
absolutely on target. I men-
tioned earlier. Except for one
or two aircraft, minor delays
because of COVID related
issues, but, in fact, some deliv-
eries have been ahead of time.
So, broadly, we are absolutely
on target on the Rafale induc-
tion plan,” he said.
In 2016, India had signed
an inter-governmental agree-
ment with France to procure
36 Rafale jets at a cost C59,000
crore. Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh had in February
said the country would have
the entire fleet of the fighter
aircraft by April 2022.
Addressing the cadets, the
IAF chief referred to unprece-
dented and rapidly evolving
security challenges and
reminded the young officers
that they were entering the
IAF at a juncture when a rapid
infusion of technologies and
combat capabilities was dri-
ving a monumental transfor-
mation in the Air Force.
He also highlighted the
change in operational method-
ologies and functioning with
development and opera-
tionalisation of major automa-
tion and networking projects.
He exhorted them to hit the
ground running and prove
their mettle once they reach
the field in order to exploit the
state of art aircraft, weapons,
sensors and technologies to
their fullest.
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Atechnology for real-time
translation of vernacular
Indianlanguagesisintheworks.
The Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology
(MeitY) is working on the tech-
nology to enable exchange of
communications between two
persons not speaking the same
language.
This ambitious language
translation project, with a time-
line of 5-7 years, is being devel-
oped using artificial intelligence
and modern technologies to
end the language barrier in the
country.
“We have started working
onaveryambitiousnationallan-
guage translation mission. See
the magic of new technology.
For centuries we have lived
with the reality that a person
who knows only Bengali cannot
communicate with a person
who knows only Malayalam.
This will change,” MeitY
SecretaryAjayPrakashSawhney
said while speaking at a NIXI
event.Theeventwasheldonthe
occasion of National Internet
Exchange of India (NIXI) com-
pleting 18 years.
Sawhney explained with an
example that with this technol-
ogy people speaking only
Bengali will be able to commu-
nicate with those who speak
only Malayalam. “India is not
just a country but has conti-
nentalproportions.Thenumber
of languages is more than what
Europe has to deal with,”
Sawhney said.
He said that India has been
able to take away check posts
with the help of common tax
systeminasimilarwaylanguage
barrier can be ended with help
of new technologies. “It might
take us 5-7 years but technolo-
gies that are coming in give us
an opportunity to aim at this
kind of ambitious level. We
have to grow content on the
internet in each of our lan-
guages,” Sawhney said.
He announced that NIXI
willprovideapersonalisedemail
with 10 GB space to every user
ofthewebsitewith.inextension.
This email will be available on
demand. Sawhney said the
Indian economy is slowly mov-
ing towards a digital economy
with IT and electronics getting
deeper in each and every sector.
The MeitY secretary said
digitalserviceshaveexpandedin
every nook and corner of the
country with common service
centres that provide govern-
ment services to citizens in 2.51
lakh village panchayats, while
active internet user base has
grown from 23.3 crore in 2014
to 79.5 crore active internet
users. “Digital payments have
grown exponentially. There are
25.5 billion real time transac-
tions happening on an annual
basis,” Sawhney said.
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Aday after its strong stance
against Twitter, the parlia-
mentary Standing Committee
on Information Technology,
headed by Congress MP Shashi
Tharoor, on Saturday, turned
down Facebook’s request for
coming for a virtual meeting
instead of physical representa-
tion citing the company’s Covid
policies. The committee, in
fact, proposed vaccinating the
social media giant’s officials
who will come for the meeting
with the panel.
The dates for the said
meeting has not been finalised
yet.
The parliamentary stand-
ing committee has also decid-
ed that all other social media
and web platforms like
YouTube, Google, etc. must
send their representations phys-
ically before the panel.
In its response to the com-
mittee, Facebook said its offi-
cers could not appear before the
committee as the company]s
rules prohibit officials to attend
any meeting in person during
the period of the second wave
of the Covid pandemic.
With the FB officials mak-
ing a bid to appear online, all
the members of the standing
committee made it clear that no
meeting can be held online and
the Facebook officials must be
present physically.
“Taking cognizance of
Facebook’s reply, now the chair-
man of the committee, sought
the list of Facebook officials
whom the company wants to
send before the committee.
The chairman said the com-
mittee will provide COVID
vaccination to such officials and
will also give enough time to
come before the committee,”
sources said.
On Friday, the committee
had called Twitter officials on
similar issues and two of their
senior officials also appeared
before the committee physical-
ly. Both the officials of Twitter
told the committee that they
“give priority to the rules of
their company” following
which they were told that the
law of the land was supreme
and which had to be followed.
The committee has taken
cognizance of the fact that
social media platforms are
being run remotely from out-
side the country and the rules
made by the government are
also being ignored. The com-
mittee is also particularly con-
cerned about the misuse of
social media platforms regard-
ing the propagation of rumours
as well as women’s safety.
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On the occasion of World
SickleCellDayonSaturday,
health experts noted that while
early testing of the genetic dis-
ease can help lower complica-
tions, vulnerable groups often
facelimitedaccesstoqualitycare
for the inherited disorder that
affects hemoglobin.
“Moreawarenessandimple-
mentation of new therapies like
genetic therapy and Bone
Marrow Transplant is needed to
reduce these disparities,” they
said.
“Sickle cell disease (SCD),
which is the most prevalent
inherited blood disorder, is
widespread amongst many trib-
al population groups in India.
There are around 13 lakh peo-
ple affected by the disease every
year in India. While there are
several cost-effective interven-
tionswhichhavesuccessfullycut
down morbidity and mortality
from SCD in developed nations,
the access to care for SCD in the
tribal regions in India is limit-
ed,” said Dr Rahul Bhargava,
principal director, Hematology,
Fortis Memorial Research
Institute in Gurugram.
Geographically, there is a
Sickle cell belt in India com-
prisingsometribalcommunities
in Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
and Odisha.
In India, an estimated three
per cent of the tribal population
suffers from sickle cell anemia
and another 23 per cent carries
andtransmitsthesicklecellgene
to their children.
Nearly all tribal communi-
ties living in forested terrains
across the country, have cases of
sickle cell anemia.
K Vijayakumar, director,
education, Nilgiris Adivasi
Welfare Association, who has
been working with tribals in
Tamin Nadu said that, “For bet-
ter outreach and impact, the
need of the hour is to establish
a specialty hospital with mod-
ern equipment to screen and
treat sickle cell patients.
This hospital should also be
equipped to provide community
outreach, genetic counseling
and appropriate intervention
measures, he said as per a
report.
The only cure for SCD is
getting a bone marrow trans-
plant (BMT), which is a proce-
dure to replace damaged or
destroyed bone marrow with
healthy bone marrow stem cells.
Stem cells are easily taken from
the donor and planted in the
recipient.
After the BMT procedure,
the patient can lead a healthy
and normal life, explained Dr
Nita Radha Associate Professor
and HOD, Department of
Pediatric Hematology-
Oncology at SSPHPGTI, Noida.
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PSickle cell anemia can-
not be cured but can be
treated.
PMarriage counseling
will help in arresting the
spread of the disease.
PScreening all age
groups is essential from
newborn to the old
PWhen screening ante-
natal women for sickle cell
diseases, husbands may also
be screened to ensure the
child will not be at risk. If a
foetus is found to have sickle
cell disease legal medical
termination of pregnancy
may be advised.
PRehabilitation of sickle
cell patients needs attention
with compensation and suit-
able employment opportuni-
ties provided.
TACKLING SICKLE
CELL DISEASE
New Delhi: With the number
of new Covid cases dropping
significantly in the last few days
and several states announcing
unlock measures, the Indian
Railways is helping to bring
workers to their respective
workplaces from different parts
of the country, ferrying over 32
lakh people in the last seven
days.
A Railway Ministry
spokesperson said that from
June 11 to June 17, the nation-
al transporter ferried approxi-
mately 32.56 lakh passengers,
including migrant workers and
other passengers travelling by
long distance trains, with an
average occupancy of 110.2
per cent from areas like Eastern
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Jharkhand, West Bengal and
Odisha to various destinations,
including Delhi, Mumbai,
Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad, and
Chennai, among others.
The official said that to
facilitate the movement of the
migrant workers from Bihar,
West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh
and Odisha to Metros like
Mumbai, Delhi,
Hyderabad, Bengaluru and
Chennai, the Railways is oper-
ating mail and express specials,
holiday specials and summer
special trains.
The official said that all
these trains are being operated
as fully reserved trains, keep-
ing in view the Covid protocols.
He said that as on June 18,
983 mail, express and holiday
specials, which is 56 per cent of
the pre-Covid levels, are being
operated by the Indian
Railways.
In addition, about 1,309
summer special trains have
also been operated to facilitate
the movement of people
wanting to return to their
workplaces, he added.
The official pointed out
that these summer special
trains provide
connectivity primarily from
states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
West Bengal, Odisha and
Assam to major cities like
Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Chennai, Pune,
Bengaluru etc.
He also said that from
June 19 to June 28, approxi-
mately 29.15 lakh passengers,
including migrant workers and
others, have
booked tickets in long-dis-
tance mail/express trains.
IANS
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