Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 5

All military exercises which the Indian armed forces conduct with militaries of other countries have been suspended till further orders due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Defence in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs had planned more than 50 exercises during 2020. “Everything has been put on hold till further orders,” said a senior functionary, adding that even after the covid scare goes away it will take some time for militaries to start re-engaging with each other. Assets like warships, planes and helicopters and combat manpower of each country have been diverted to oversee the crisis.

There’s no scope for even conducting the planning conferences which are prelude to conducting a exercise. The calendar for exercises will have to redrawn; some exercises will be expectedly curtailed while others will have to be ‘postponed’. Countries will have to commit assets and also be sure that the host country is free from Covid.

The scheduled list for 2020 included several bilateral exercises with countries like US, Russia China, France, UK, Israel, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, Malaysia, Nepal, among others.

Chandigarh, April 4

His last meeting with the family was just a few minutes long—the time it takes to have a cup of tea. And this was sipped outside the front door.

Dr Gurpal Kataria is posted at Punjab government hospital in Nawanshahr, a coronavirus hotspot. The front line doctor and his team are taking care of the 18 infected patients admitted at the isolation ward there.

The doctor has little time now to visit his family in Jalandhar, 60 km away. He keeps in touch over the phone but the last, brief visit was two weeks back.

“I did not enter the home as a precautionary measure, just saw them and then returned on duty,” he says.

Kataria’s wife is a dentist at the Hoshiarpur civil hospital.

“My daughter, who has taken the class 10 exams, always tells me to take care. She also feels proud that her parents are serving people,” he says.

Nawanshahr has reported 19 coronavirus cases so far, the highest number from any district in Punjab where the count was 53 on Saturday morning.

A 70-year-old patient has died in Nawanshahr. Eighteen others, including a two-and-a-half-year-old child and three women, are in the isolation ward of the civil hospital, waiting for the day their tests results show negative.

Kataraia says a major concern is the patients’ morale. They often ask doctors about the coronavirus count, worrying how many people have died each day.

“For us this is like a place of worship, where we get a sense of satisfaction when we see happiness on the faces of our patients,” says the 54-year-old doctor.

“We counsel our patients on a regular basis and tell them there is no need to be scared, and they will be fine. We try to keep them in positive frame of mind and keep their morale high,” Kataria says. “We do not let them feel that they are stuck here.” “When they go back from here, they will certainly remember us,” he says.

He says all arrangements are in place at the government hospital to deal with any coronavirus eventuality. Medical teams are on standby, in case there is a spike.

Kataria’s own team—which includes a microbiologist, a rural medical officer, a pharmacist and a lab technician—stays in houses within the hospital complex.

“I and my team are available round the clock here,” he tells PTI over the phone.

Kataria got his MD degree from the Amritsar government medical college. His experience at the time of swine flu outbreak in 2009 has helped him in dealing with the coronavirus cases, he says. PTI

We all are facing something that seems unreal, yet it is right there in our faces, real and terrifying. And like magic, it is fooling us. What I miss the most is my newspapers. I used to get seven and spent much of the morning reading them. Unalloyed pleasure

Rahul Singh

Rahul Singh

MY apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez for using — or rather misusing — the title of his iconic novel, Love in the Time of Cholera, for this column. He was the originator of what came to be called “magic realism”, a style of writing that was followed by many others, including Salman Rushdie. With the coronavirus rapidly sweeping across most of the world, we are now living in that same realm of magic realism. We are facing something which seems unreal, yet it is right there in our faces, terribly real and terrifying. It is terrifying mainly because we do not know nearly enough about it. And like magic, it is fooling us. Our lives are being upturned in a way that has perhaps not happened since the Second World War.

At 8 pm, on March 19, our Prime Minister brought the ongoing threat of the mysterious virus into virtually every Indian’s home. In a half-hour riveting broadcast, he graphically outlined the gravity of the situation and what he proposed to do about it. For a start, he declared a self-imposed Janata Curfew the following Sunday, March 22, from 7 am to 9 pm: a virtual, but voluntary, shutdown of all outdoor activity nationwide, except for the running of essential public services. This was followed two days later with another broadcast, making the curfew much more severe, and almost mandatory. Three weeks confined to one’s home seems surreal. As I write this, it is almost two weeks since the lockdown. How have I coped?

Though my base is Mumbai, a little over a fortnight ago I was in Delhi, attending a couple of urgent meetings of a school society I am associated with. The day after the PM’s first broadcast, the two clubs that I frequent, the Delhi Gymkhana Club and Delhi Golf Club, announced the closure of all their eating outlets and sports facilities. In effect, they were shutting their doors until further notice. In Mumbai and other major Indian cities as well, the same closures have taken place. Restaurants were told not to take any customers but were allowed to sell takeaways. That, too, ended the following day, since the staff were unable to get to work as there was almost no public transport.

On the Janata Curfew day, I managed to book a flight that would take me back to Mumbai. My flight was due to leave at 9.40 pm, after the curfew was over. So, I should have no problem getting to Delhi airport, and subsequently from Mumbai airport to home. At least that is what I thought. I had another thing coming! No taxis were operating in Delhi, not even Ola and Uber. Luckily, a friend agreed to take me to the airport. On the way, the Delhi streets were eerily empty. The airport, too, was almost deserted, all its shops and eating places closed. At Mumbai airport, the pre-paid taxi counter was shut. However, I managed to get an Uber, though the wait was almost three hours. Again, we drove through streets entirely deserted. Police checks stopped us four times, wanting to quarantine me if I had entered India from another country.

So, how have I been occupying myself while confined to my apartment? I miss my newspapers the most. I used to get seven of them and spent much of the morning reading them. Unalloyed pleasure. I now have to read two or three online. But it is not the same thing. I am old-fashioned. I love the smell and feel of newsprint. I have also been spending much more time watching TV, particularly news channels. Sadly, my favourite sports channels have nothing “live”, hence they are of little interest.

The news channels have been doing a great job. From my home — the cameraman said he had been sanitised — I appeared on a TV discussion on the electronic media’s coverage of the crisis. What I found deeply disturbing was how so many of the panelists felt that scenes of the tens of thousands of migrant workers trying to get home on foot should not have been shown. Why? Because they caused “panic”, and showing those scenes was not in “public interest”. I vehemently disagreed. This was a real tragedy. Their stories must be told, even if it shows our society in poor light. Journalists should be responsible at perilous times like this, needless to say. But suppression of news is not the democratic way out.

Till just the other day, the virus was just a statistic: how many thousands had tested positive in such and such country, how many had succumbed, and so on. And then, it came home to me in a far more real way, with a sudden jolt, when I learnt that a dear friend, Mohan Shah, had died from the deadly infection in a New York hospital. As he was not feeling well, he had gone to a clinic for treatment. He caught the virus there and died a few days later. He was only a little older than me.

Mohan was one of the early pioneers of Indian garment exports to the US, which would become a huge business. Many others followed behind him, and India became a leader in the manufacture and export of garments, giving employment to millions. After garments, he saw another opportunity — linking the island city of Mumbai to its suburbs and its hinterland, via the sea, thereby decongesting the over-burdened roads and trains. But it was the usual Indian story. Politicians wanted bribes and bureaucrats stood in the way. Mohan gave up in frustration and the ambitious project never got off the ground.

— The writer is a veteran journalist

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 5

In a series of new measures to ensure smooth supply of essentials to the people, the Punjab Government has set up Transport facilitation controls to maintain uninterrupted movement of trucks etc, carrying such supplies, while deciding to impose Rs. 1.85 lakh penalty against anyone found selling essential items above MRP.

While the central transport control room is headed by the State Transport Commission, the facilitation controls rooms in the districts are headed by Secretary and the RTA, according to an official spokesperson.

Under orders from Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the Transport Department has also stepped up supplies for other states which are deficient in food grains and other essentials.

The outward movement of stocks to deficient states has gone up by almost 50% over the normal, said the spokesperson, adding that nearly 20-25 rakes of wheat/rice containing 54,000-67,500 tonnes are being dispatched daily to the deficient States.

The Chief Minister, during the Cabinet meeting on Saturday, gave strict instructions to check the prices of all essential commodities and take strong action against those found hoarding/black-marketing/overcharging. Enforcement teams are working constantly to check overpricing etc and are taking stringent action against those indulging in such malpractices, especially who are selling items on higher rates than the prescribed ones.

As many as 15 establishments in Pathankot, 10 in Gurdaspur, 15 in Ferozepur, one in Ludhiana and 11 in SAS Nagar have been raided by the teams and one Gas Agency has been challenged, the cabinet was informed.

Meticulous monitoring is, in particular, is done for food items like wheat /atta and rice, dal, cooking oil, masala, vegetables, as well as masks, sanitizers etc. Principal Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies informed the Council of Ministers that constant monitoring is being to ascertain

The difficulties being faced in the maintenance of supply line, besides collecting data from Excise and Taxation Department and establishing networks with retailers like Reliance Fresh, Walmart, Big Bazaar etc.

Constant liaison is also being maintained with the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for uninterrupted supply of essential goods. Further, Nodal Officers of Police and Food and Civil Supplies departments are coordinating and facilitating inter/intrastate movement of essential commodities.

The newly formed transport control rooms will help the truck operators and drivers to move their trucks (loaded or empty) anywhere in Punjab for essential commodities’ transportation. These control rooms will liaison with various authorities to ensure that these operators don’t face any problem.

They will also help truckers from Punjab who are facing problems anywhere in India by coordinating with the concerned authorities of those states.

Similarly, these control rooms will also help the traders, manufacturers of essential commodities based out of Punjab to engage trucks for transportation of essential commodities to its place of consumption, said the spokesperson.

The State Control Room has been established at Chandigarh with mobile numbers 9814078544 & 9023459522.

In the districts, the control rooms have been set up at Regional Transport Authorities (RTAs) at Amritsar (Amritsar & Tarn Taran) mobile Nos 9814255623 & 8872383600, Bathinda (Bathinda & Mansa) 9779700074 & 7508732655, Faridkot (Faridkot, Muktsar & Moga) 9872676005 & 9914105200, Ferozpur (Ferozepur & Fazilka)8146852748 & 7889221313, Gurdaspur (Gurdaspur  & Pathankot) 7340701977 & 8288008751, Hoshiarpur  (Hoshiarpur  & SBS Nagar) 9646711100 & 8727049033, Jalandhar (Jalandhar & Kapurthala) 9872413497 & 9815256996, Ludhiana 9888405018 & 8528214311, Patiala (Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib) 8360417470 & 9501032006, SAS Nagar (SAS Nagar & Ropar) 8853400000 & 8427820090 and Sangrur (Sangrur & Barnala)9814069272 & 9814700505.

Goods Vehicle Operators/Drivers can contact these control rooms for assistance related to plying of their vehicles, for food availability and shelter on the routes, said the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, as part of the relief operations, 10 lakh food packets comprising each of 10 kg wheat, 2 kg dal and 2 kg sugar have been distributed amongst the people living on the margins and left out of the NFSA domain.

Another 1.2 lakh packets have been distributed amongst the migrant population (around 7.5 lakhs) settled in different industrial cities/towns of the State viz. Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Batala.

For supply of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders, refilling facility of 5 kg LPG Cylinders is being provided exclusively to migrant workers in Ludhiana through the retail chain and the entire cost is being borne by State Government.

Oil companies are being facilitated for uninterrupted supply of Petrol, Diesel & LPG Cylinders by ensuring smooth movement of vehicles. An additional allocation of 2.2LMT wheat & 10,800MT of Channa Dal is also being distributed free of cost to NFSA beneficiaries under PM Garib Kalyana Yojana.

Door to door supply is being ensured of vegetables and other grocery items across the state. PUNSUP has been designated as the nodal agency for managing the retail chain for allocation of wheat and rice from FCI and Markfed for allocation of dal from NAFED and supply of edible oil. Sugarfed has notified control rates of sugar at which wholesalers can purchase sugar to feed the retail chains.

Modiji’s intentions in declaring a lockdown were noble as well as necessary. Could his army of advisers not have anticipated this tragedy? A solution should be found to at least partly compensate for the hard time

Julio Ribeiro

Julio Ribeiro

He was only a boy, 14 or 15 years of age. On his back he carried his meagre belongings, just one change of clothes, perhaps two if he had earned enough to feed his fancy. It would surprise me if he did not possess a mobile phone! Every boy from UP or Bihar, MP or Rajasthan, who has come to the big cities as migrant labour, has to have a mobile to keep in touch with his family back home. That picture on TV will forever remain with me!

The boy was weeping! He had just been caned by exasperated policemen whose one and only concern was to keep citizens off the streets. The boy hailed from the same social background and the same economic bracket as the policeman (before the policeman was recruited in the force). But that thought, even if did arise, would not deter the policeman from using his lathi on the boy!

The thought process of a policeman would not cross the boundaries of the orders emanating from the very top. Modiji had requested every citizen to stay home. And at home he or she had to keep a social distance of 3 feet from other members of the family. The boy was not aware of Modiji’s diktat. He only knew that the coronavirus had thrown him and other migrant labourers on the road without any shelter and without the means to earn his daily wage, half of which he sent home to his impecunious parents and the other half which he spent on keeping himself alive!

For him and the other migrant labourers on the roads, egressing the city, it was Hobson’s choice. They stayed on the roads and starved to death or they walked hundreds of kilometres to their villages to the security of the family where blood ties provided love and sympathy, which human beings crave even if that does not put food in their bellies.

Such niceties are beyond the understanding of a policeman. If a sensitive police leader has failed to put such thoughts in his ears, emphasising instead the paramount duty of keeping citizens confined to their own homes to break corona’s cycle, he is going to wield his lathi on the backs and legs of the poor labourers faced by death from starvation or from the virus.

The picture of that boy crying after being assaulted for choosing not to die of starvation has forced Modiji to apologise to the migrant labourers, who for a pittance are the backbone of the construction industry, in particular. When Modiji advised us to stay indoors, we accepted his sage advice because like him we belong to the ranks of the haves and neither Modiji or his cohorts of advisers, nor we spared a thought for the unfortunate!

The boys from UP and Bihar who provide the essential domestic help to the feudal and the nouveau riche in the city of Mumbai brought the reactions of this segment of our population to my notice in a tone and tenor that made me flinch. Why did Modiji have to spring this lockdown on us in the same manner as he did when he demonetised the 1,000 and 500 rupee notes? I explained the reasons. Then, in that case, why did he order the police to beat the poor labourers? Again, I explained that Modiji had, obviously, forgotten that only ‘sahibs’ possessed flats where they and their families could make themselves comfortable for three weeks. I said I would not hold Modiji guilty on this count because I, too, with my genuine concern for the poor, had not factored in this obvious outcome of the suddenly announced lockout.

Incidentally, renovation of the exteriors of our society building was being done when the lockdown was announced. The boys staying on site were twiddling their thumbs. Some residents felt that they were a source of possible contamination and should be asked to leave. Wiser counsel prevailed and they were allowed to stay on till the contractor could move them to another of his sites not far away. The boys themselves wish to go home to Madhya Pradesh, but cannot.

Modiji’s intentions in declaring the lockdown were noble as well as necessary. Could his army of advisers not have anticipated this tragedy? Modiji had lost traction after the CAA and NRC was announced and the youth lost hope after the JNU incident. Now, the poor — who had propelled him to office because of the houses and toilets he built for them, the direct money transfers he organised to eliminate the middlemen and the village roads he got constructed — are shocked by the treatment meted out to their friends, who constitute the bulk of the migrant labour.

It is not enough to merely apologise to the wronged. The problem is not an easy one to solve, I admit. But, as I said, Modiji has a vast reservoir of thinking men and women at his disposal. He should be able to find a solution that will at least partly compensate for the hard times these poor men have faced consequent to the lockdown.

Chandigarh, April 4

When their husbands are in the field to fight coronavirus, the better halves are ensuring free food distribution to cater to the poor in Punjab’s Ropar district.

Also, the wives of policemen are making masks at home to handle the pandemic.

Over 33,000 meals of dry ration along with 800 masks have been prepared by family members of police officials in last one week at their homes and community centres, said Senior Superintendent of Police of Ropar, Swapan Sharma.

The ration packets have been distributed in slum areas, while the masks at every check point by mobile patrolling teams, he said.

“Together we stand stronger is the message that families of the Ropar policemen are out to convey,” Sharma said, adding each family has contributed Rs 500 towards the fight against deadly virus.

Women and children have taken upon themselves to make masks and pack ration packets.

With policemen on duty for 14-16 hours a day since the lockdown that came into effect on March 23, their families are showing all their support.

Out of 100 families that stay in police quarters, about 30 of them have come forward to help. By stitching masks at home, they are doing their bit to ensure safety and health.

Spouses, children and even parents are enthusiastically participating to ease the burden on the policemen by making packs out of ration donated by the NGOs and the public, he said.

“We couldn’t think of anything better than making masks to keep our men in khaki safe in these tough times,” said Sukhwinder Kaur, 48, wife of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Jagtar Singh.

Shruti, 16, daughter of ASI Chandermohan with the help of her elder and younger sisters is making use of her sewing skills in making masks.

ASI Vinod Kumar’s wife Praveen Kaur has enlisted the help of her three children to make ration packs for the less fortunate.

“Lending a helping hand even if little means huge in this time of uncertainty. Also, our children imbibe value of standing with everyone in difficult times with doing as much as they can,” she said.

Lovepreet Kaur, daughter of ASI Jagir Singh, added: “Making ration packs may not mean much in ordinary times but at moments like these when policemen are overworked each little help counts. I am glad that we are taking off a little of the burden off the shoulders of forces by making use of the time.” — IANS

Melbourne, April 4

The Sikh community in Australia is working tirelessly to deliver free meals daily and groceries to people struggling with self-isolation and financial hardship amid the coronavirus crisis.

In a recent facebook post, the Sikh Volunteers Australia (SVA) has called upon families in Victoria to reach out to the group for free meal deliveries.

From soup and pasta to rice and curries on the menu, the group, which has over a dozen of delivery vans and only 20 volunteers, deliver more than 800 meals a day.

“The initiative was started three years ago in South East part of Melbourne and we have been serving free food packs to those in need, like elderly, single parent or people in self isolation,” SVA member Manpreet Singh said on Saturday.

“We have also started a new service for international students now and we expect the deliveries to go up,” he said, adding that the group follows all the rules, put in place in the wake of the pandemic, while preparing the food, packing and loading it in vans.

Another organisation named the United Sikhs has also come forward to help the needy by providing free meals and basic food supplies.

They are also providing basic over-the-counter medicines to overseas students, senior citizens, low income families, disabled and self-isolated people.

According to Gurvinder Singh, a member of the United Sikhs, the group cooks 100-200 meals twice a day for the needy and then delivers the food at their doorstep.

“We are also helping them with over-the-counter medication and basic food supplies like milk, canned food, flour, rice and lentils. We are working with the local councils and the state and federal governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

Pritam Singh Gill of Gurdwara Sahib Tarniet said he provides close to 70 meals a day in his personal capacity and almost 30-40 meals are collected from the gurdwara premises everyday for international students living in the area.

“We are giving free meals and even groceries,” he said.

The Sikh community in Australia is well known for their community services during crisis situations. They have earned accolades and praises for their selfless services.

In a “thank you” note to Sikh Volunteers Australia, Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews recently said the volunteers “fed countless Victorians during the bushfires” and this time they “hit the road again — delivering hundreds of home cooked meals to isolated people across Melbourne’s south east”. PTI

Here are today’s top news, analysis and opinion at 1 PM. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

Coronavirus update: Imran Khan govt faces brickbats in Pak over Covid-19 response

The Pakistan government is facing mounting criticism within the country and abroad for its delayed reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the virus spreading quickly due to failures in screening and quarantining.

Pakistan currently has more than 2,400 confirmed cases and Covid-19 has caused 34 deaths across the country.

Read more.

‘It is a nightmare’: Why Tablighi Jamaat-linked infections have the Centre worried

For days, hundreds of teams of police, health and bureaucrats have been out in the field across the country to track down the thousands of Tablighi Jamaat workers who may have come in contact with Covid-19 patients. By last evening, the Union home ministry counted 9,000 Tablighi Jamaat workers and their contacts who had been located and quarantined.

Read more.

Covid-19 Update: Scientists bat for clinical trials in poor and middle-income countries

A team of scientists, physicians, funders and policymakers from over 70 organisations globally have called for an acceleration of research on Covid-19 in poor and middle-income countries where the disease can wreak havoc.

Read more.

‘Symbolism is important but…’: Chidambaram’s jibe at PM Modi’s video message

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “listen to” people and announce measures to arrest the economic slide cause by Covid-19 outbreak. Reacting to Prime Minister’s video message, he said that symbolism is important but serious thought to measures is needed.

Read more.

Covid-19 statewise tally: Maharashtra, Kerala on top; total nears 2,500

As India entered the tenth day of the 21-day coronavirus lockdown on Friday, the total number of cases in the country inched toward 2,500. The Covid-19 death toll in India climbed to 56 on Friday, the health ministry stated. The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 2,301 including 2,088 active cases and 156 recoveries.

Read more.

A July without Roger Federer

A cancelled Wimbledon is bound to hurt Djokovic’s rhythm but not as much as it is bound to impact Federer’s ticking career-clock. If and when Wimbledon is held next year and if—and that’s the big if—Federer returns to play it, he will be almost 40, and playing for both lost and leftover time. But because it’s Federer at Wimbledon and that occurrence has often defied logic, his fans will still expect him to win it.

Read more.

Peacock displays impressive plumage, dances around in Mumbai. Watch

With humans staying inside due to lockdown, the animals are probably thinking ‘where did they all go?’ Maybe to investigate further, they are also happily wandering around. Just like these peacocks roaming around or dancing on empty Mumbai streets.

Shared by many, these images and videos show how the gorgeous birds are frolicking through the deserted streets. While some are sitting on top of cars, others simply are walking around.

The Pakistan government is facing mounting criticism within the country and abroad for its delayed reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the virus spreading quickly due to failures in screening and quarantining.

Pakistan currently has more than 2,400 confirmed cases and Covid-19 has caused 34 deaths across the country.

Most of the initial cases were Shia pilgrims returning from Iran, one of the countries worst affected by the pandemic, and the virus spread rapidly after hundreds of people were kept in camps along the border with Balochistan without any screening. The camps also had no medical facilities, and this exacerbated the situation.

Follow latest updates on coronavirus here

The Pakistan government also failed to take effective action to shut down mosques, with thousands joining Friday prayers on March 20 and March 27. Commentators within the country have criticised the government’s lack of action, pointing out that Saudi Arabia had suspended the Umrah pilgrimage and shut even the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Early in March, some 250,000 men from Pakistan and abroad gathered at Raiwind near Lahore for a five-day meeting of the Tablighi Jamaat, after the country had already reported confirmed Covid-19 cases and there were public demands for the gathering to be called off.

The Tablighi Jamaat members were asked to disperse on March 12, a day after the meeting began, but the gathering has since been identified as the source of infections as far afield as Palestine and Kyrgyzstan. Some 550 Jamaat members, including nationals of Indonesia, Nigeria, Afghanistan and China, have been quarantined in Sindh after a Chinese citizen tested positive after attending the meeting in Raiwind, according to media reports.

Reports suggest the Pakistan government has failed to act on such gatherings or to shut mosques because of fears of a backlash from powerful Islamic organisations. In the face of the government’s dilly-dallying approach to the pandemic, the military has taken on a greater role in controlling the spread of the Coronavirus.

Pakistan’s planning minister Asad Umar, addressing a news conference on April 1, said the current lockdown in the country will continue till April 14.

Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, planning minister Asad Umar and President Arif Ali went into self-quarantine after a recent visit to China, which was apparently aimed at obtaining financial and other support for Pakistan due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

Click here for complete coronavirus coverage

While in isolation at his home, Qureshi was critical of those blaming China for the spread of the Coronavirus. “The world is blaming China [for the outbreak] whereas it is an international issue…Pakistan had expressed confidence in not repatriating students from China,” he was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.

A medical team sent by China to Pakistan has been sitting idle because of a lack of interpreters, according to media reports. The team of eight medical experts arrived in Islamabad last week and visited several health centres and quarantine facilities for Covid-19 patients.

“But when the Chinese medical experts started conversing, some local medical staff appeared lost, unable to understand what was being said in Chinese,” The Express Tribune reported.

Opposition PML-N lawmaker Abdul Qayyum criticised the government’s handling of the visit by the Chinese medical team, saying it should have arranged for interpreters so that their knowledge could be transferred to Pakistani doctors. “People do not know in which direction are we heading and they are asking where is the government,” he said.

In interview to ThePrint, Rawat also says Quick Reaction Medical Teams (QRMTs) have been readied to mobilise at short notice to meet the requirements of civil administration.

His remarks in an interview to ThePrint come at a time when the government is increasingly utilising the resources and expertise of the Army, Air Force and the Navy to fight the coronavirus outbreak that has led to a nationwide lockdown of 21 days.

“We would like to emphasise that our main objective now is nation first – ‘Har Kaam Desh ke Naam‘,” he told ThePrint.

Gen Rawat further said the armed forces are mandated to provide assistance to civil authorities whenever requisitioned. “But we have decided to operate beyond our mandate and provide all kinds of assistance that we can provide, even if it causes inconvenience to our people, without compromising on health and hygiene issues,” he said.

The CDS, who is spearheading the military’s response to the challenges posed due to coronavirus, said the armed forces are in constant liaison with civil administration so that if there is additional requirement of assistance, they are able to respond effectively.

Asked specifically if the military should be deployed more in the war against coronavirus, he said, “Armed Forces are ready to operate beyond the stated mandate and assist the nation in the fight against coronavirus”.

Also read: It is war. Modi govt must deploy Indian military to fight coronavirus

Services strictly adhering to guidelines

Gen Rawat also said that the Services are strictly adhering to all instructions and guidelines being disseminated by the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Health and its own medical authorities.

“Viruses do not distinguish a person in uniform from others, however, our personnel follow a disciplined regime and hence are less likely to be affected,” he said.

He said the Services have taken various measures like curtailing movement by cancellation of courses of instructions, restrictions on leave, work from home wherever feasible, social distancing and ensuring proper health and hygiene of all personnel and families.

This will help in preventing the spread of the virus.

Asked if the virus has impacted operational preparedness, he said the Service Chiefs are aware of their roles and tasks in maintaining operational preparedness at all times.

“This is their primary responsibility,” he said.

Medical infrastructure to be augmented

Gen Rawat also said necessary instructions have been communicated to augment medical facilities and infrastructure including increasing the capacity for surveillance and isolation facilities at military hospitals.

“Services hospitals have been kept on standby for establishing Covid-19 hospitals in high infection identified areas. Responsive and agile Quick Reaction Medical Teams (QRMTs) are ready to mobilise at short notice to meet the requirements of civil administration.

“Also, services of military hospitals and laboratories are extended to assist civil administration on requisition,” he said.

The CDS underlined that there is excellent synergy between all organs of the government and the three services are geared to deal with any challenge arising out of the current Covid-19 situation.

“It is important to follow guidelines that will prevent the spread of the virus amongst our citizens. Mass movement of people from areas that are witnessing higher numbers of infected people, to the lesser affected regions, will only compound the problem,” he said.

He added that under such conditions, one must appreciate that it is not business as usual.

“Everyone has to be prepared for some inconvenience that is caused due to imposed restrictions, for our safety and well being,” he said.