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Tribune News Service

Srinagar, March 24

National Conference vice-president and former CM Omar Abdullah was released on Tuesday after nearly eight months in detention as the administration revoked his incarceration under the Public Safety Act.

Edit: Omar’s detention ends

Soon after his release from the Hari Niwas guest house, Omar talked to reporters and urged the Centre to release other detainees and also restore high-speed Internet services in Jammu and Kashmir.

“People are detained in and outside the state. The Centre should have mercy, release them and send them home. I also request the Centre to end the Internet restrictions,” Omar said. He also urged people to take safety measures and protect themselves from Covid-19. Earlier in the day, J&K Government’s spokesman Rohit Kansal tweeted that the detention order of Omar Abdullah had been revoked.

Omar served as J&K’s Chief Minister from 2009 till 2014.

The former CM, who was detained in August last year when a major crackdown was launched in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370, said during his detention he had “thought a lot” to talk about political issues, but said he would now wait for the pandemic to end.

“I want to give this message to all that we should maintain social distancing. I will talk in detail later about what happened to J&K after August 5, but first we should save ourselves from this virus,” he said.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 24

The government today suspended debit card withdrawal charges, waived minimum bank balance requirement and postponed the last date for filing income tax and GST returns till June 30.

Making the announcement via video-conferencing with her Minister of State Anurag Thakur, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said an economic resuscitation and stimulus package would be announced very soon.

She said regulators and her ministry were monitoring developments and volatility in stock markets in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

Though the Covid Economic Task Force announced by PM Modi on March 22 was yet to be constituted, Sitharaman said separate sub-groups comprising parliamentarians with an interest in finance, academics, industrialists and officials were working on a package for the economically vulnerable and the industry.

The relaxations announced today covered five areas: Direct taxes, indirect taxes, financial services, corporate governance and fisheries.

The last date for filing income tax returns for 2018-19, linking of Aadhaar with PAN and Vivad Se Vishwas scheme has been extended to June 30. The last date for investments in saving instruments has also been extended. The necessary circulars and legislative amendments are yet to be issued.

In case of indirect taxes, no penalty will be imposed if MSMEs delay filing GSTR-3B due for March, April and May 2020 by the last week of June. Companies with a turnover of above Rs 5 crore will be charged 9 per cent interest for the delay. The payment date for the Sabka Vishwas scheme has also been extended to June 30.

In corporate governance, the requirement of holding board meetings has been extended by 60 days and the minimum residency norm waived for company directors.

The government has also raised the threshold of default under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to Rs 1 crore. “This will by and large prevent triggering of insolvency proceedings against MSMEs,” Sitharaman said.

“If the current situation continues beyond April 30, we may consider suspending Sections 7, 9 and 10 of the IBC for six months,” she said. In fisheries, a delay of one month in the arrival of inputs will be condoned.

ATM withdrawals free

• Fee for withdrawals from ATMs of other banks suspended
• Minimum bank balance requirement waived
• Last date for investments in saving instruments extended
• Date for Aadhaar-PAN linking, Vivad Se Vishwas plan relaxed

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 24

The Railways on Tuesday reminded the county about the seriousness of the Covid-19 virus, saying it never stopped, even during the war. “Please understand the seriousness of the circumstances. Stay at home,” it said.

Railways has suspended passenger trains and is operating only freight trains, making effort to ensure availability of essential commodities through its uninterrupted freight services. Even in the war time, Railways haven’t stopped passenger trains.

During the situation of lockdown in several states, staff deployed at various good sheds, stations and control offices are working on a 24/7 basis to ensure that the supply of essential items for the nation does not gets affected.

In its statement today, the Railways said that on March 23, a total of 474 rakes were loaded for essential commodities like food grains, salt, edible oil, sugar, milk, fruits & vegetables, onion, coal and petroleum products.

During the day, it also loaded 121 rakes of iron ore, 48 rakes of steel, 25 rakes of cement, 28 rakes of fertiliser and 106 rakes of containers.

The demurrage and wharfage rates for goods and parcel have been halved till March 31. An emergency freight control room is working in the ministry. Also the Railways, in consultation with Production Units & Zonal Railway workshops, has decided to use the manufacturing facilities of its production unit, like Chittaranjan Loco Works, Chittaranjan; Integral Coach Factory, Chennai; Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala; Diesel Loco Works, Varanasi; Rail Wheel Factory, Yelehanka, to manufacture essential items which can be utilised for the treatment of affected people.

The Railway Board has issued necessary instructions to general managers of these production units to explore the feasibility of manufacture of items like simple hospital beds, medical trolleys for hospitals and quarantine facilities, IV stands, stretchers, hospital footsteps, hospital bedside lockers, washbasins with stands, ventilators, masks, sanitisers and water tanks.

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 24

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today said strict measures have to be taken as nearly 94,000 NRIs have reached the state since the spread of Covid-19.

The state government has put 48,000 persons, including 30,000 NRIs, in a quarantine, mainly at their houses, besides imposing curfew in the state to check further spread of the pandemic.

The case history of Covid positive persons in the state so far traces them to NRIs or someone who had travelled abroad. The government’s medical bulletin said 29 persons had tested positive for the virus. Of these, 21 were traced to only one NRI from Banga in Nawanshahr, who died within a few days of return from abroad.

The CM said the curfew orders were revised as people came out in droves during the relaxation hours thus defeating the purpose of the exercise. “Curfew has been imposed for the safety of your family, not because of any law and order situation. We all need to stay indoors to fight the deadly virus,” he said.

The police arrested 111 persons and lodged 232 FIRs for violation of curfew today.

“It is imperative to trace and test all those who had returned from Covid-affected countries,” said the CM, adding that of the over 94,000 NRIs and foreign-returned persons, who had entered the state in recent days, most had been tracked.

“Around 30,000 have been placed under isolation. All-out efforts are being made to trace the remaining,” he said, adding that constant monitoring was in progress to keep check on new travellers from abroad.

The CM said DCs had been asked to ensure door-to-door delivery of essential commodities, such as grocery, milk, fruits and vegetables, through pre-identified hawkers/ distributors, wherever possible.

As per the new guidelines, general exemption is completely barred, with no vehicular movement allowed without curfew passes. Only in case of emergency, people may be permitted to go on foot for essentials or to visit doctors and nursing homes, he said.

“In emergency, a resident can call police or civil control rooms to avail necessary essential services,” said the CM, adding that the police and civil administration had instructions to ensure that the citizens do not face hardships and were not harassed.

“Instead of blanket permission for opening of grocery shops, milk vendors, fruits and vegetable shops and chemists, it has been decided to allow them to open on a rotation. so that at any point of time at least one shop each is open in a given area. Such shops will also be allowed to provide door-to-door delivery on a call,” said Capt Amarinder.

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 24

India on Tuesday declared a 21-day lockdown across the country with effect from midnight as a major enforcement exercise to make people stay at home and prevent rapid spread of Covid-19 as the country enters a decisive stage to combat the global pandemic.

As the number of infected continues to mount, PM Modi said experience of countries affected severely and those which exercised restraint showed that social distancing was the only way to prevent the spread and required 21 days to break the cycle.

He said these 21 days could make or break this fight and “if we do not control (the pandemic), the country can be pushed back by 21 years, some families will be devastated. Forget going out, stay at home…do not violate the Lakshman Rekha at your doorstep”, the PM Modi said, appealing to the citizens with folded hands.

The PM said as per World Health Organisation estimates, one person with Covid-19 infection could spread it to thousands. An infected person may appear normal initially as symptoms take several days to manifest, he warned. Citing statistics on the geometric progression of the disease, he said if the world touched 1 lakh cases in 67 days, the count would reach 2 lakh cases in 11 days and 3 lakh in four days.

The governments, both Centre and state, he said would accord priority to healthcare and were shoring up testing facilities, personal protection equipment, isolation beds, intensive care units, ventilators and other equipment. The Centre had earmarked Rs 15,000 crore to meet this health challenge.

PM Modi said while the Janata Curfew demonstrated the collective resolve of the citizens, experience of the past two days during lockdown in several parts of the country showed people were not taking it very seriously and if this trend continued, India would have to pay a very heavy price. Thanking everyone — doctors, nurses paramedics, support staff, pathologists, lab technical staff, ambulance drivers, health workers, the police, law-enforcing agencies and the media — he urged the citizens to exercise utmost restraint during this period of trial.

What is exempt

• Grocers, meat, fish, fruit, veggie, fodder outlets
• Banks, ATMs, hospitals, chemists
• Print and electronic media
• Power, sanitation, water, telecom
• Petrol pump, LPG outlets

Under Lockdown

• Rail, road, air transportation
• Offices, edu institutions, parks, places of worship etc

6 more +ve in Punjab

With six more persons testing positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, the total number of cases has gone up to 29 in Punjab. The six were relatives of the 70-year-old Nawanshahr resident who died of the disease last week. While three of the six who tested positive are his grandchildren, the remaining are his relatives, including brother-in-law (50), in Phillaur. Two of the patients had accompanied the victim to a doctor during a check-up. TNS

EC defers RS elections

The EC on Tuesday decided to postpone the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for March 26 in view of the coronavirus outbreak. Election to fill 55 seats in the Upper House of Parliament was to be held on March 26, but 37 candidates from 10 states have already been elected without a contest. The decision on holding the election for the remaining 18 seats will be taken based on the prevailing situation. TNS

Tokyo Olympics put off

Tokyo: The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to no later than the summer of 2021 following the Covid pandemic, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday. The Games were scheduled for July 24-August 9.

US may pip Europe

Geneva: The Covid-19 outbreak in the US has the potential to exceed that in Europe, the WHO said on Tuesday as the number of reported cases in the US surged. WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said 85 per cent of new cases reported to the global body overnight came from Europe and the US, “now the two main drivers of the outbreak”. AFP

New virus in China

Beijing: A man in China’s southwestern Yunnan province has died of hantavirus, a disease spread by rodents, official media reported on Tuesday. The development comes even as China prepares to lift prolonged lockdown over Covid-19 epicentre Wuhan on April 8, thus lifting the mass quarantine over the city with a population of over 11 million. AFP

PATIALA: In Ropar, around 284 people, most of them foreign r ..

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CHANDIGARH: In an unprecedented step, the Indian Army has perhaps for the first time postponed the training of officers at the prestigious Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai to avoid the spread of Covid-19. The training for the short service commission (SSC) courses was to commence from the first week of April to train around 260 officers (including women).
While 111 cadets were to report for training for SSC non-technical course, 54-candidates for technical course, 25 for SSC women (nontechnical and technical), 47 cadets for SSC (NCC special entry for men and women) and 24 cadets were to join for SSC (judge advocate general) branch course. OTA Chennai conducts training courses twice in year—April and October. The interview conducted by the SSB for October course has also been ordered to be suspended by the authorities.

Nursing officers’ exam postponed
Even on Monday, the Army authorities announced suspension of any kind of medical examination or appeal against rejection in medical examination for new candidates for the officer cadre.
The examination to train girls as nursing officers (on commissioned officers rank) in the defence forces has also been postponed by the authorities.
With this the entire training as well as selection process for officers for the force has been suspended in the country.
Military veterans have never heard of postponement of training of officers in the past. They only remember early commissioning of cadets undergoing training at academies during the 1971 war.
“Situation has never been like this in the past. In 2009, when the swine flu broke out in the country, we told our cadets not to go out of academy,” said Major General B S Grewal, former deputy commandant of national defence academy (NDA).
Lt Gen K J Singh, former Army Commander of Western Command, termed the postponement of training as a timely and pragmatic action.
“Whenever the situation gets normalised, the candidates can be informed through e-mail or telephonically to join back immediately,” he added.
The Army has already suspended recruitment rallies for selection of jawans in the first week of March.

Amritsar: Ignoring all health protocols and government directions, president of Istri Akali Dal, women’s wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Bibi JagirKaur has been regularly attending public functions, just 12 days after her return from Italy.
According to Jagir’s Facebook page, she was at the centre of Europe’s coronavirus outbreak, launching Istri Akali Dal’s Italy wing. She appointed Amarjit Kaur and Harvinder Kaur as president and vice-president of the wing in Italy on February 26.

While talking to TOI on Tuesday, Kaur said she had returned to India on February 27. She said she underwent thermal scanning both at Italy and Kiev but not in Delhi. “Then there wasn’t much talk about coronavirus in India and the thermal screening had not begun. Even where I stayed in Italy, there wasn’t much hullabaloo about Covid-19,” she claimed.
Yet, according to Italian media reports, 11 persons had died due to coronavirus in Italy by February 25.
After 12 days of her arrival from Italy, Jagir attended several functions on March 11. As par her Facebook posts, on March 11 she held several meetings in Bholath assembly constituency, including election of the SAD’s Boparai circle chief, a meeting at Dialpura circle, and two marriage and engagemens sceremonies. On March 13, she honoured party leader Ranjit Singh Rindhi at Gurdwara Sant Prem Singh Ji Murarle walia. Since then she has been attending several functions.
Kaur said she had taken medical advise and also took some tests but not the virology test since she was not advised for the same . “For 14 days I confined myself to my room only reciting Gurbani and if I had to urgently attend a religious function, I had gone for a while but maintaining good distance with other people,” she claimed.

Even as the entire tricity got together on Sunday to cheer for doctors, nurses and other hospital staff battling coronavirus, a team of about 14 at the virology department of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) was quietly but efficiently going about its business.

Putting in 19 hours of work, finishing up as late as 2.30am every day, the team is testing samples for Covid-19 and ensuring real time delivery of reports.

The team, which started testing the samples for coronavirus from last week, is suddenly seeing a spike in the number of samples coming in from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana. Till reports last came in a total of 140 samples had been tested and 26 found positive. About 18 samples were being processed.

The lab is at present testing 40 samples daily though it has a capacity for 100. In an attempt to ease the lab’s burden PGIMER director Dr Jagat Ram recently urged states adjoining UT to set up their own testing centres.

About the testing facility, Dr Mini P Singh, nodal officer, COVID, laboratory services and professor at the virology department, says they have been working from 9am to 2am for the past week. “We are working in teams because this is highly specialised diagnostics work and safety of staff is also our concern. Since these are highly infectious samples, we are using bio-safety cabinets.”

The cabinets through their unique air flow system protect people from exposure to the samples. These are disinfected thrice a day, before and after testing the samples, many of which are positive, Singh says.

The samples are decontaminated first. “When the samples reach the virology lab these are stored safely in a dedicated refrigerator in one room. Once 12 to 14 samples are collected two people wearing Personal protective equipment (PPE) take them to the bio-safety cabinet for decontamination,” she says.

After a barrage of tests, it takes two hours for negative samples to be reported. An additional “confirmatory” test is done for positive samples, that’s “basically a repeat of the
previous test but targeting different genes. The final report is released after doing the confirmatory test,” she says.

So processing a sample takes six to seven hours, after which, it’s tested for two hours or more if positive.

“The results of the first set of samples, which we start processing at 11am, come in by 5pm. Today, for instance, we received samples from 9am till 11pm. They are processed thrice a day in batches,” Singh adds.

The health ministry is very strict about the reporting process, so even if a sample tests positive at 12 midnight it has to be informed in real time.

More people are being trained at the moment because they are expecting the load to increase.

About testing kits, Singh says they have a sufficient supply.

Yes, “everyone’s stressed. But as team leaders we cannot think about it,” she adds.

Right now, Singh makes sure the morale of staff members is high. They are overworked, some need counselling. “We cannot let them down,” says the doctor who at 9.30 is sitting in office compiling reports.

Her work is likely to finish by 2.30 am after which she will head home to sleep, but in another room, isolated from family members.