04 hindustantimes
J ULY 2 6, 2 02 0
p g
htspotlight
Metro trains, schools likely to
remain shut in next phase too
UNLOCKING INDIA Many parents don’t favour reopening of schools at this stage, according to HRD ministry inputs
Saubhadra Chatterji
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Barring a last-minute
change of mind, the Narendra
Modi government is unlikely to
allow the reopening of schools in
the next phase of easing of restric-
tions that is expected next week,
according to top officials involved
in the discussions related to this.
The officials, who asked not to
be named, added that metro rail
services were unlikely to start
soon while gymnasiums and
swimming pools might remain
out of bounds, as part of the meas-
ures to check the spread of the
coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
After a 68-day hard lockdown
ended on May 31, the government
has announced two phases it
termed Unlock 1.0 and Unlock 2.0,
in June and July respectively.
Each phase has allowed more
activities across domains, in an
effort to revive economic activity,
and return to a semblance of nor-
malcy.
Most activities have been
allowed outside so-called con-
tainment zones where there are
still clusters of infections. States
have been allowed the freedom to
impose restrictions again if they
feel the need to. India continues to
see the number of Covid-19 cases
rise. It added 48,458 cases on Sat-
urday to take its total case tally to
1,383,959.
The HRD ministry on Monday
began consultation with states
and other stakeholders on
reopening of schools which have
been closed since March due to
the pandemic. In the meeting
chaired by the Secretary, School
Education, Anita Karwal, state
education secretaries also delib-
erated upon health and safety of
students, hygiene measures in
schools and issues regarding
online and digital education.
Union HRD minister Ramesh
Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said in June
that suggestions would be sought
from parents on schools repoen-
ing, which would be examined
and sent to the health ministry
and ministry of home affairs.
After an extensive consulta-
tion, the HRD ministry has con-
veyed to the Centre’s Covid-19 sit-
uation managers that many par-
ents don’t favour reopening of
schools at this stage. “HRD minis-
try told us that many parents
have even requested that schools
be opened only after the vaccine
is developed,” said one of the offi-
cials cited above. India will start
facetoface
POONAM KHETRAPAL SINGH, WHO Regional Director
‘COVAX Facility aims to deliver two
billion doses by the end of 2021’
S
everal experimental
vaccines for Covid-19
are in final-stage clini-
cal trials and early
results from two of them have
established safety levels and
immune response. With vac-
cines expected to be ready by
early 2021, the World Health
Organization (WHO)
recently launched the
COVAX Facility as a mecha-
nism to guarantee rapid, fair,
and equitable access to coun-
tries to a broad portfolio of
vaccines and manufacturers
to a demand-secure market.
Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh,
WHO Regional Director for
South-East Asia, spoke to
Sanchita Sharma about the
facility and how it aims to
deliver two billion doses by
2021-end to prioritised popu-
lation groups. Edited
excerpts:
When is the earliest the world
can expect a Covid-19 vaccine
to be ready?
There are promising results
from the clinical trials for
some vaccine candidates,
which is very encouraging.
However, we need to wait for
the completion of the trials
and their outcomes to be in a
better position to understand
by when the vaccines will be
ready. It is important the
potential vaccines meet the
recommended mandatory
standards of efficacy and
safety before they are used
for mass vaccination.
WHO is working globally
with partners to accelerate
research and development of
a safe and effective vaccine
and ensure equitable access
for the billions of people who
will need it. But even with an
THE SPREAD OF COVID-19
Total confirmed cases including new cases added on July 25
UT J&K
17,305 523
Punjab
12,684 468
Haryana
30,538 783
DELHI
129,531 1,142
113,068
Rajasthan
35,298 1,120
25,547
Gujarat
54,712 1,081
38,612
Madhya Pradesh
26,926 716
18,488
Dadar & Nagar Haveli
815 45
Chhattisgarh
7,087 268
Maharashtra
366,368 9,251
207,194
Telangana
52,466 0 40,334
Goa
4,686 146 3,047
Karnataka
90,942 5,072
Kerala
18,098 1,103
*Data compiled by covid19india.org and cross-checked from inputs by HT’s correspondents and news agencies. 'Cases reassigned
to states' is as per data released by the MOHFW. This figure has not been included in the calculation for the daily new cases.
the trial of the Oxford-Astra Zen-
eca vaccine next month and top
official are hopeful that if the
trials are successful, the vaccine
can be rolled out by December.
“We need to be very careful
about schools because children’s
health is of paramount impor-
tance,” said a second official.
accelerated process, the
development and production
of a vaccine will take time.
How will WHO ensure equitable
access to vaccines, especially in
low- and middle-income coun-
tries?
WHO is committed to and will
continue to advocate coun-
tries to ensure that as medici-
nes and vaccines are devel-
oped, they are shared equita-
bly with all countries and
people. In April 2020, a global
collaboration of govern-
ments, global health organi-
sations, civil society groups,
businesses, and philanthro-
pies came together to form
the Access to Covid-19 Tools
Accelerator, or the ACT-Ac-
celerator. The idea is to form
a plan for an equitable
response to the Covid-19 pan-
demic. There are four pillars
under the ACT-Accelerator,
of which vaccines are one.
COVAX Facility has been
established recently under
the vaccine pillar of the ACT-
Accelerator to manage the
large, diverse portfolio of
Covid-19 vaccines that are
under development to ensure
a global sharing of risks, asso-
ciated with the development
of Covid-19 vaccines and
equitable access based on a
New cases
9,517
8,297
23,654
I N D I A
512
4,683
33,750
Tamil Nadu
8,611
HT also learns that while there
is a recognition that metro servi-
ces will help the situation return
to normal, it still comes with
attendant risks, especially in cit-
ies such as Delhi, Kolkata and
Bangalore. Suburban train servi-
ces have been operational in
Mumbai since June 15, although
fair allocation of the available
vaccines. The facility is a
mechanism designed to guar-
antee rapid, fair, and equita-
ble access to Covid-19 vacci-
nes worldwide. By connect-
ing a pool of demand to a pool
of supply, it will allow coun-
tries access to a broad portfo-
lio of Covid-19 vaccines and
provide manufacturers
access to a demand-secure
market. All countries have
been invited to participate,
and those that will are
expected to receive access to
vaccines procured by the
facility at the negotiated
price. The facility aims to
deliver two billion doses by
the end of 2021 to prioritised
population groups in all par-
ticipating countries.
What will be India’s role in
vaccine development?
India is among the largest
vaccine manufacturers and
is rightly called the world’s
pharmacy. It is also home to
many research institutes and
experts. Undoubtedly, they
would play an important role
in making the Covid-19 vacci-
nes available globally.
WHO convened a meeting
of vaccine manufacturers
from South-East Asia Region
on April 29 to get a landscape
of the development and man-
ufacture of potential Covid-19
vaccines. Twelve vaccine
manufacturers from India,
Indonesia, and Thailand par-
ticipated in the meeting and
shared their collaborations
with vaccine developers,
platforms likely to be used by
them to develop the vaccines,
potential timelines, and
capacities for vaccine pro-
duction.
Recovered cases
UT Ladakh
1,276 30 1,057
Himachal Pradesh
2,049 174 1,173
Chandigarh
852 29 555
Uttarakhand
5,961 244
3,495
Uttar Pradesh
63,742 2,971
39,903
Tripura
3,778
2,131
Bihar
36,314 2,803
24,520
Jharkhand
7,841 277
3,521
Odisha
24,013 1,320
Andhra Pradesh
88,671
43,255
7,813
Puducherry
2,654 139 1,561
206,737 6,988 151,055
they are meant only for workers
providing essential services.
Large congregations, which
have been banned from the
beginning of the lockdown, may
continue to be prohibited. The
government has already decided
to celebrate Independence Day
with such restrictions in place.
MP CM Chouhan tests positive for Covid, hospitalised
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
BHOPAL : Madhya Pradesh chief
minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
tested positive for coronavirus,
he disclosed in a series of tweets
on Saturday while appealing to
people who came in contact with
him recently to get tested and
isolate themselves.
“My dear people of the state, I
had symptoms of Covid-19 and
after the test my report has come
back positive. I appeal to who-
ever came in contact with me to
get their Covid tests done. My
close contacts should quaran-
Groundwork needed to build trust in vaccine
HEALTH WISE
SANCHITA SHARMA
T
his week marked sev-
eral milestones in the
global effort to develop
a vaccine against coro-
navirus disease (Covid-19), with
several groups pushing ahead
to have a vaccine ready for use
by early 2021.
A man on Friday received the
first dose of the indigenous Cov-
id-19 vaccine in Delhi developed
by Hyderabad-based Bharat
Biotech and Indian Council of
Medical Research.
The vaccine, called Covaxin,
produced no immediate side
effects in 24 hours after vaccina-
tion, and the volunteer who was
vaccinated will be under obser-
vation for another week at All
India Institute of Medical Scien-
ces, Delhi, which is one of the 12
sites in the country where the
vaccine is being tested.
The results of two random-
ised trials published earlier this
Arunachal
Pradesh
1,056 65 392
Sikkim
499 22 142
Assam
29,921 1,130
21,762
Nagaland
1,289 50
541
Meghalaya
646 88
94
Manipur
2,176 30
1,520
Mizoram
361 29
103
183
West Bengal
56,377 2,404
35,654
Andaman
and Nicobar
290 31
176
15,929
1,383,959 
Total cases in India*
32,095 
Deaths due to Covid-19
Cases being
0 reassigned
to states
On Friday, cabinet secretary
Rajiv Gauba told nine states that
two to three-day lockdowns alone
are not enough to slow the spread
of the disease and pointed out
while some states have demon-
strated “the situation can be
turned around” others have
“showed how it can deteriorate”.
tine themselves,” Chouhan said
in a tweet in Hindi.
Chouhan and some colleagues
visited Lucknow in a govern-
ment plane on July 21 to attend
the funeral of MP governor Lalji
Tandon who died in Uttar Pra-
desh.
“Chief minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan has appealed to the
people of the state to be cautious.
Even the slightest callousness
may invite coronavirus. Every-
one must take precautions, be
safe and follow the guidelines,”
said an official communiqué
later from the state government.
The CM said in one of his
week in The Lancet have raised
hope for a vaccine against Cov-
id-19 by early 2021. Early results
show AstraZeneca Oxford vac-
cine, which will be produced by
Serum Institute of India (SII) in
Pune and called Covishield, is
safe and provokes both humoral
and cellular immune responses.
A recombinant adenovirus
type-5-vectored vaccine from
China also generated an
immune response without side
effects. Similar results were
posted for the Moderna vaccine,
which is being developed in the
US in collaboration with the
National Institutes of Health.
“There are different waves of
vaccines coming, you’ve got
Moderna, China and AstraZen-
eca, which is one of our five part-
nerships coming at the end of
this year, so we’ll see which vac-
cines are the most safe and effi-
cacious. Till then, people will be
exposed and slowly build herd
immunity, but that will happen
only after 50-60% people get
infected, which is a long way
away. We can’t count on herd
immunity to protect before a
vaccine, which will come
sooner,” said Adar Poonawalla,
India ramps up testing infra,
420,000 tested in single day
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEWDELHI:About 420,000 Covid-19
tests were conducted in India in a
day, officials said on Saturday,
nearly double the daily testing
capacity of 220,000 at the begin-
ning of the month.
As many as 16 million tests
have been conducted in India
until now, according to the Union
health ministry’s data. Last
week, about 350,000 samples were
tested daily on average.
With the third-highest Cov-
id-19 cases globally, the increased
testing has taken India’s tests per
million to 11,485, according to the
data. This is much lower com-
pared to the US (158,981 tests per
million) and just about half of
Brazil’s 23,094. The US and Brazil
are the two worst-hit countries by
the pandemic.
India had one Covid-19 testing
lab in January – Pune’s National
Institute of Virology. The num-
ber has now gone up to 1,301 labs.
Of these, 902 are government and
399 private labs.
The Centre has advised the
states and Union territories to
keep up the “test, track and treat”
strategy. “Aggressive testing
may lead to a higher number of
Amid surge, states opt I am not Donald
for curbs on weekends Trump: Maha CM
Press Trust of India
letters@hindustantimes.com
n
NEW DELHI/NAGPUR/KOLKATA:More
high-risk areas were brought
under lockdown on Saturday for
varying periods, including
weekends, by states in a bid to
check the rapid rise in Covid-19
cases.
Over a dozen states have so far
opted for such selective lock-
downs citing the need to revive
economic activities and at the
same time reduce the risk of
spread of infection, though Bihar
and Manipur have imposed a
state-wide shutdown from July
16 and July 23, respectively.
In Madhya Pradesh, a 10-day
lockdown has been imposed in
capital Bhopal after a spike in
cases. The state has been observ-
ing total shutdown on Sundays.
A complete lockdown till
Monday morning was imposed
in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu,
which too has been enforcing
shutdown every Sunday.
While Uttar Pradesh observed
another weekend lockdown,
similar curbs were imposed for
the second time this month in
n Shivraj Singh Chouhan
tweets, “I have been reviewing
the status of corona infection
every evening since March 25. I
will try to review the corona situ-
ation through video-conferenc-
ing as much as possible.”
As questions did the rounds
chief executive officer of SII.
He cautioned that producing
enough doses for the whole
world won’t happen overnight.
“Scaling up to cater to the whole
population will take four to five
years in terms of the global pop-
ulation,” said Poonawalla.
Scientists warn that the hype
around efforts is also feeding
fears about vaccine safety,
which is already being exploited
by anti-vaxxers who are playing
on the distrust of national gov-
ernments and profiteering by
pharmaceutical companies.
In an editorial in journal The
Lancet, which published results
of the Oxford and China vaccine
trials this week, editor-in-chief
Richard Horton noted, “Opin-
ion polls suggest that in some
countries, such as the USA, as
little as half the eligible popula-
tion would be willing to receive
a vaccine against Sars-CoV-2.
The arguments cover familiar
ground—ranging from claims
that the pharmaceutical indus-
try is trying to profit from the
pandemic to the notion that the
virus poses little danger to
human health. The context of
urgency is also strengthening
SUN DAY HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
CORONAVIRUS: NATION
TN CASES CROSS 200K MARK
Press Trust of India
n letters@hindustantimes.com
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu on Sat-
urday breached the grim
milestone of 200,000 corona-
virus disease cases with the
biggest daily spike of 6,988
fresh infections, pushing
the tally to 206,737.
The death toll climbed to
3,409 with 89 fatalities.
The number of those dis-
daily positive cases initially but
would eventually achieve a
decline as has been demonstrated
after Union Government’s tar-
geted efforts in the NCT [National
Capital Territory] of Delhi,” a
government press release said.
The number of daily cases in
Delhi went up to nearly 4,000 in
June after the government scaled
up testing with rapid antigen kits.
Dr Puneet Misra, a community
medicine professor at New
Delhi’s All India Institute of Med-
ical Sciences, said increased test-
ing will also help keep the mortal-
ity low. “If cases are detected
Uttarakhand’s four districts --
Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital
and Udham Singh Nagar dis-
tricts -- which have reported
1,348 cases since July 18.
All shops were shut and trans-
port suspended in West Bengal
as part of the twice-a-week lock-
down in the state.
Jammu went into a 60-hour
lockdown from Friday, while a
six-day complete lockdown has
been imposed in Kashmir except
Bandipora from Thursday.
In its most recent update, the
union health ministry placed the
total number of cases at 1,336,861
and the death toll at 31,358.
In worst-affected Maharash-
tra, where over 350,000 cases
have been recorded, civic
authorities of Nagpur city
announced a voluntary ‘janta
curfew’ on Saturday and Sun-
day, when only essential servi-
ces will remain functional.
A complete lockdown was
imposed in Nagaland capital
Kohima till July 31, while it will
come into effect in Dimapur from
Sunday.Meghalaya has
announced a lockdown in Shil-
long from July 26 to July 29.
on social media about Chouhan
choosing to get treatment at a
private hospital and not a gov-
ernment facility, the official
communiqué said patients suf-
fering from other diseases were
also treated at AIIMS and Ham-
idia Hospital, Bhopal; hence, the
CM was admitted to Chirayu
Medical College so that the com-
mon man did not face any diffi-
culty.
Ministerial colleagues of
Chouhan, other ruling party
leaders and Opposition leaders
wished him a speedy recovery.
Addressing the CM, senior
BJP leader and Rajya Sabha
the anti-vaccination movement.
President Trump has called the
US vaccine programme Opera-
tion Warp Speed. This designa-
tion has led some anti-vaccine
activists to claim that corners
are being cut in safety testing.”
People in India have tradi-
tionally accepted mass vaccina-
tion programmes, which helped
the country eradicate small pox
in April 1977, two and a half
years before its global eradica-
tion in December 1979. But over
the past two decades, vaccine
scepticism is growing.
Polio eradication wasn’t as
easy, with the wild polio virus
sustaining in several pockets
because people refused to get
their children vaccinated
because of fake news and mali-
cious rumours of side effects,
such as autism and impotence.
Campaigns to give children
the Measles-Rubella (MR) vac-
cine against measles, and ado-
lescent girls the HPV vaccine
against cervical cancer ran into
roadblocks, which makes it
important to begin the ground-
work to build the public’s trust
in the vaccine.
That is possible only by
charged on Saturday was
7,758, taking the recoveries
to 151,055, a health depart-
ment bulletin said.
Continuing with the
aggressive testing, health
workers tested 64,315 sam-
ples,pushing the number of
samples tested so far to
2,287,334. Chennai reported
1,329 new cases, and the
state capital’s tally stood at
93,537.
early, they can receive requisite
treatment early. This also helps
doctors in monitoring patients
who might be at a higher risk of
death such as the old, those with
compromised immune systems,
those who might have diabetes,
hypertension, cancer, heart, and
kidney disease.”
India has seen a steady decline
in the number of Covid-19 deaths.
With 31,358 deaths till Saturday,
the case fatality rate stood at
2.35%.
According to the health minis-
try data, the recovery rate has
also gone up to 63.5%.
on Covid lockdown
Swapnil Rawal
swapnil.rawal@hindustantimes.com
n
MUMBAI:Justifying his decision to
lift the restrictions put in place to
arrest the spread of the coronavi-
rus disease in phases, Maharash-
tra chief minister Uddhav Thack-
eray has said that living with the
disease is a tightrope walk that
requires balancing the economy
and public health.
In the first instalment of a two-
part interview to Shiv Sena MP
Sanjay Raut for the party’s
mouthpiece Saamana, Thack-
eray warned against lifting the
lockdown curbs all at once. “Just
thinking about the economy too
will not work. Those who are only
concerned about the health situa-
tion, however grave it may be,
too, will have to think a little
about the economy. Living with
the coronavirus is a tightrope
walk,” Thackeray said.
“People may be bored [of the
lockdown], but we can’t lift
restrictions to give them a break
from it... I am not [Donald]
Trump, I can’t see my people suf-
fer in front of my eyes…”
member Jyotiraditya Scindia
tweeted, “I pray to God for your
speedy recovery from the dis-
ease. I wish you good health soon
so that you can serve the people
of the state.”
The opposition Congress took
a dig at the CM. State Congress
president Kamal Nath said,
“Shivraj ji, I am pained to know
about your being infected with
corona. I pray to God for your
speedy recovery but it is a matter
of regret that when we were seri-
ous over corona you dubbed
corona as ‘darona’ [don’t fear],
drama and a weapon to save (the
then Congress) government.”
bringing people on board by
increasing transparency in
both information sharing, and
discussing concerns. Govern-
ments and health agencies must
allay fears about safety, availa-
bility and profiteering and
assure the public that vaccina-
tion of those at risk, including
front-line workers and older
people, will be prioritised.
Public health campaigns
should be planned keeping in
mind learnings from polio and
MR vaccination drives, where
disinformation preceded vacci-
nes across states, which primed
communities to refuse even
before health workers got a
chance to explain its benefits.
“A Covid-19 vaccination
strategy demands a whole-of-so-
ciety response—incorporating
business, trade unions, faith
communities, charities, media,
entertainment, and sports. A
vaccine to protect the public
against SARS-CoV-2 is the most
important and immediate tech-
nical challenge humanity has
ever faced—at a moment when
public trust in science and gov-
ernment is alarmingly brittle,”
said Horton, in his editorial.
SUN DAY H IN DUSTA N T IMES, N EW D E LH I
J ULY 2 6 , 2 02 0 hindustantimes 05

news
New foreign students can’t
enter US for online courses
FALL TERM Students already in US or returning from abroad with existing visas allowed
Yashwant Raj, Kainat Sarfaraz
and Deeksha Bhardwaj
n letters@hindustantimes.com
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI : Newly
enrolled international students,
including from India, will be
denied entry into the US for start-
ing their studies if their courses
will be taught fully online in the
fall semester, the US Immigration
and Customs Enforcement said.
The move, announced late on
Friday, came days after the US on
July 14 withdrew a rule that
required international students,
including hundreds of thousands
of Indians, to leave the country if
their institutes held classes
entirely online in view of the Cov-
id-19 pandemic, which has
prompted social distancing meas-
ures and severely affected inter-
national travel.
“Non-immigrant students in
new or initial status after
March 9 will not be able to enter
the US to enrol in a US school as a
non-immigrant student for the
fall term to pursue a full course of
study that is 100 percent online,”
said the ICE statement. It directed
universities against issuing
Form 1-20s, required to apply for
student visas, to newly enrolled
students if their classes were to be
online only.
March 9, the cut-off date, is
when ICE issued guidelines
allowing foreign students to con-
tinue to stay in the country and
pursue their classes online,
wholly, as required by the uni-
versities. It made an exception in
n People wait outside the US embassy to obtain visas.
view of the Covid-19 pandemic to
a rule under which foreigners are
not issued student visas for
online-only classes.
Ishmeet Bagga, co-director at
Mindscan education, which
offers overseas education con-
sultancy and career counseling,
said: “A lot of undergraduate stu-
dents do not mind the online pro-
gramme since they have a four-
year course. So even if they end
up taking six months of online
lessons, they know that they can
study in the US for the next three-
and-a-half years. Postgraduate
students, on the other hand, are
rethinking their decision.”
Sangram Mukherjee, a Mum-
bai resident who planned to begin
his postgraduate degree in the US
this year and secured a scholar-
ship, said he was selected in two
universities. “However, only one
HT ARCHIVE
of them offered a three-fourth
reduction in tuition fee for online
classes and that was a factor in
choosing the university...while it
has given the choice to students to
opt for online or offline classes, I
have chosen to defer my admis-
sions till January due to the
uncertainty arising out of the
Covid-19 situation.”
A 26-year-old anthropology
doctoral candidate enrolled at the
City University of New York said
the decision was disappointing,
but not worrying. “The courses
will be held online for all stu-
dents...,” the doctoral candidate
said. “But it’s disappointing since
I was excited to move to New
York.” “Moreover, if I had fallen
sick in the US, health care would
have cost a significant amount.
We are hoping the situation nor-
malises by January and then we
can join our universities.”
The number of foreign stu-
dents impacted by the new order
could not be immediately ascer-
tained. There were nearly 270,000
new foreign students enrolled in
graduate, undergraduate and
non-degree courses for the aca-
demic session starting 2019 fall,
according to Open Doors, a stan-
dard resource on international
students. The US admits an esti-
mated one million international
students annually and they gen-
erate around $41 billion worth of
economic activity and support
450,000 jobs, according to the
American Council on Education,
which represents US colleges and
universities. Incomes generated
from foreign students are critical
to the financial health of many US
colleges. According to the Stu-
dent and Exchange Visitor Pro-
gramme, 194,556 Indian students
were enrolled at various aca-
demic institutions in the US in
January. India is the second-larg-
est source of foreign students .
Universities are being extra
vigilant as the US is facing a sec-
ond surge in Covid-19 cases and
fatalities. Harvard University,
for instance, has declared its fall
classes will be all online.
Harvard and Massachusetts
Institute of Technology filed a
lawsuit challenging the earlier
plan announced on July 6 that
sought to strip foreign students of
their visas if they did not attend at
least some classes in person.
Over 200 universities later
backed the lawsuit.
2 LeT terrorists
killed in gunfight
near Srinagar
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
SRINAGAR:Two terrorists affiliated
with the Lashkar-e-Taiba were
killed in an encounter on the out-
skirts of Srinagar on Saturday,
officials said.
Police officials said that a joint
cordon and search operation was
launched following information
about the presence of militants in
village Ranbirgarh in Panzinara
area of Srinagar.
‘’During the search operation,
as the presence of terrorists got
ascertained, they were given
opportunity to surrender. How-
ever, they fired indiscriminately
upon the joint search party,
which was retaliated leading to
an encounter. In the ensuing
encounter, two terrorists were
killed and their bodies were
retrieved from the site of encoun-
ter,’’ the spokesman said.
“One of the two terrorists elim-
inated was Ishfaq Rashid of Soz-
eith, Srinagar – a top LeT com-
mander who was active since 2018
and wanted in many cases of vio-
lence. The other killed terrorist,
Ajaz Bhat was in the LeT cadre
from Pulwama district.’’
Incriminating material,
including arms and ammunition,
were recovered from the site of
encounter, the spokersperson
said. “All the recovered materials
have been taken into case records
for further investigation and to
probe their complicity in other
terror crimes. There was no
injury to civilians or loss of prop-
erty during the said encounter.’’
Bodies of the deceased mili-
tants have been sent to Gander-
bal for last rites after conducting
medico-legal formalities, the offi-
cial said.
Ayodhya will be lit up to mark
construction of temple: Yogi
Pawan Dixit
n letters@hindustantimes.com
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief
minister Yogi Adityanath on Sat-
urday said the ceremony to mark
the start of construction of the
Ram temple in Ayodhya on
August 5 has come after a wait of
500 years and will be celebrated
on the lines of Deepawali. He said
temples and houses across the
country will be lit up with diyas
(earthen lamps) and candles to
mark the occasion — much like
Deepawali which, in some parts
of the country, is celebrated to
mark Lord Ram’s return home to
Ayodhya after a 14-year exile.
Adityanath, who was in Ayo-
dhya to review preparations for
the ceremony, said the Hindu
community has been waiting for
a long time for the event on
August 5 when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi is expected to lay
the temple’s foundation stone.
He added that 11,000 diyas will
be lit at Ram Ki Paidi on the banks
of the Saryu river in Ayodhya.
“The Prime Minister will visit
Ayodhya. We will make Ayodhya
the pride of India and the world.
Cleanliness should be the first
condition,” news agency ANI
quoted Adityanath as saying.
SEERS TOLD TO PERFORM PUJA
LUCKNOW: The Shri Ram
Janmabhoomi Teertha
Kshetra Trust on Saturday
issued an appeal to all seers
across the country to per-
form puja from 11.30 am to
12.30pm on August 5, the
day on which Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi will lay
the foundation stone of the
Ram temple in Ayodhya.
“We all will be coming together
for an auspicious event. There
will be deepotsava (festival of
lights) in all houses and temples
on the nights of August 4 and 5.
Deepawali is associated with
Ayodhya and it cannot even be
imagined without Ayodhya.”
The Supreme Court paved the
way for the temple’s construction
last year when it ordered that a
temple be built on the disputed
Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid
site in Ayodhya.
Adityanath met members of
the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi
Teertha Kshetra Trust, which is
overseeing the preparations for
the ceremony. He visited Ram
Janmabhoomi and paid obei-
Champat Rai, general
secretary of the Trust,
requested people to watch
live telecast of bhumi pujan
at Ram Janmabhoomi on
television and light earthen
lamps at home in the even-
ing. Rai also requested peo-
ple not to come to Ayodhya
for the event due to the Cov-
id-19 pandemic. HTC
sance to its presiding deity, Ram
Lalla, at a makeshift temple.
Champat Rai, the trust’s gen-
eral secretary, briefed Aditya-
nath about the preparations for
the ceremony and the carved
stone slabs being prepared for the
temple. Carving of pillars and
stones for the temple has been
going on for years and the work is
likely to gather pace in the run-up
to August 5. The pre-construction
activity for the temple began on
May 11. Around 200 people are
likely to be invited to the event.
The CM requested the saints to
attend the ceremony only after
they get invites from the trust and
urged them against bringing any
additional persons.

WITH SRI LANKA

$400mn currency Rlys closes ‘Dak Kashmiri student

swap approved
Rezaul H Laskar
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: India on Saturday
announced it had finalised a
$400-million currency swap facil-
ity for Sri Lanka under the Saarc
framework, and people familiar
with the matter said Colombo’s
request for a bilateral swap facil-
ity for $1.1 billion is being
considered.
The Reserve Bank of India
signed documents for giving
effect to the currency swap facil-
ity for the Central Bank of Sri
Lanka on Friday. The arrange-
ment will remain available till
November 2022, and the Indian
mission in Colombo informed
senior officials of the Central
Bank of Sri Lanka about the deci-
sion. This currency swap was
extended by India following a
request from the Sri Lankan side
for the facility under the South
Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (Saarc) Currency
Swap Framework in order to cope
with the impact of the Covid-19.
During a phone conversation
with Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on May 23, Sri Lankan Pres-
ident Gotabaya Rajapaksa had
asked India to provide a special
swap facility of $1.1 billion “to top
up the $400 million under the
Saarc facility”.
One of the people cited above
said on condition of anonymity:
“While the agreement for the cur-
rency swap under the Saarc
framework has been concluded,
the bilateral swap request for $1.1
billion is being considered.”
A statement issued by the Sri
Lankan president’s office in May
had quoted Rajapaksa as saying
the special swap of $1.1 billion
“would enormously help Sri
Lanka in dealing with our foreign
exchange issues”.
A currency swap facility helps
a country obtain foreign cur-
rency loans at better interest
rates than by borrowing directly
from the market, and repayment
is done at the exchange rate fixed
at the time of borrowing. This
eliminates risks due to fluctua-
tions in exchange rates.
Sri Lanka has made several
requests for assistance from
India after the Covid-19 pandemic
devastated its tourism industry.
RBI’s currency swap arrange-
ment for Saarc states has a corpus
of $2 billion.
Messengers’ in
bid to cut costs
NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways
has issued an order to end the
practice of using ‘Dak Messen-
gers’ or personal messengers for
sending any official communi-
cation and move towards video
conferencing only in a bid to
save cost.
The order issued on Friday
states the railway board, zones
and PSUs will only communi-
cate via video conferencing add-
ing that practice of using Dak
Messengers should be stopped
immediately.
“As a measure to reduce cost
and improve savings on estab-
lishment related expenditure,
the Board has desired that
all discussions amongst officials
of Railways PSU /Railway
Board should invariably be
held over video conferencing
accordingly booking of personal
messenger/Dak messenger
should be stopped immediately.
Compliance of the above should
be ensured, as it would lead
significant savings in allowan-
ces, stationery, Fax etc.,” the
order dated July 24 to the zones
stated. The railway ministry
has said the move is aimed at
cutting the national carrier’s
costs. HTC
held under UAPA
Ashiq Hussain
n letters@hindustantimes.com
SRINAGAR: The Jammu & Kashmir
police have arrested a 26-year-old
post-graduate Kashmir Univer-
sity (KU) student in a 2018 case
filed under the Unlawful Activi-
ties (Prevention) Act (UAPA),
two officers said on Saturday.
It was not immediately clear
why was UAPA slapped on Aqib
Ahmad Malik even as his family
said they suspect the case related
to a protest he had held on the
campus in 2018 against poor food
quality served in hostels.
Malik, who had been home in
the Shopian district since the uni-
versity’s closure because of the
Covid-19, was summoned on Fri-
day to Srinagar’s Nigeen police
station near the university and
arrested immediately.
“We have arrested him in a
2018 case under UAPA,” said sta-
tion house officer Gowhar
Ahmad. He refused to provide
more details of the case.
Officials aware of the matter
said Malik has been booked
under UAPA’s section 13, which
deals with “a person who advo-
cates, abets, advises or incites the
commission of, any unlawful
activity”.
Police superintendent
Sudhanshu Verma said they
arrested Malik after collecting
evidence in the case. “Without
evidence, we could not have
arrested him. Besides due to the
Covid-19 pandemic, it [arrest]
took some time. That is why he
was arrested now,” said Verma.
He did not also provide further
details.
Malik’s family cited the protest
and added they suspect he has
been arrested because of it. “He
was home for three months and
was called to reach the police sta-
tion where he was arrested. He
had protested against the bad
quality of food in 2018,” said Fai-
zan Mushtaq, Maik’s brother.
“He had raised a voice against
corruption in the varsity and that
is why things went against him.”
Nisar Ahmad Mir, the Kash-
mir University registrar, said
they have nothing to do with the
case. “The university has been
closed because of Covid-19 and no
classes are going on. He is our stu-
dent... It is a 2018 case in Nigeen
police station, we have not filed
any case against him. Issues in
hostels are a part of the Univer-
sity life.”

JNU student booked
over tweets about
the Indian Army
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi police have
booked a Jawaharlal Nehru Uni-
versity research scholar for alleg-
edly trying to “provoke riots and
breach of peace” through his
tweets against Indian Army.
In the FIR registered at
Kapashera police station on July
8, Sajid Bin Sayed has been
booked under IPC section 153
(provocation with intent to cause
a riot) and 504 (intentionally
insulting with intent to provoke
breach of the peace).
Deputy commissioner of police
(southwest) Devender Arya said
a case has been registered based
on the complaint and further
probe is underway.
When contacted, Sajid said he
was not aware of the case. “I
haven’t received any official
information and got to know
about the FIR through media
reports. Criticising policies is a
part of democracy,” said the final-
year PhD student.
The FIR, police said, was regis-
tered on the basis of a complaint
given by one Tejinder Yadav. In
the FIR, Yadav, who introduced
himself as a social worker, has
alleged that Sayed has termed
Army’s anti-terrorist operations
in Kashmir as wrong and against
the country.
Floods ravage Bihar, Assam;
rain causes landslips in Sikkim
HT Correspondents
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NAGAON (ASSAM)/PATNA/GANGTOK:
Floods caused due to heavy rain-
fall continue to wreak havoc in
districts of Assam and Bihar
while incessant rainfall in remote
villages of North Sikkim has
caused landslides cutting them
off from other parts of the state.
Floods have ravaged 27 out of
33 districts, affected more than 2.6
million people and displaced a
population of 47,772, which has
taken shelter in 564 relief camps
across the state, according to the
Assam State Disaster Manage-
ment Authority ’s daily flood
report released on Saturday.
In Raha area of Nagaon district
of Assam, several schools, water
supply project and other govern-
ment buildings have been sub-
merged in the floodwaters, offi-
cials said.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air
Force (IAF) choppers on Satur-
day carried out relief operations
in three of Bihar’s worst affected
districts—Darbhanga, Gopalganj
and East Champaran. Besides the
three major districts like Gopal-
ganj, East Champaran and Dar-
bhanga, Sitamarhi, Sheohar,
Supaul, Kishanganj, Muzaffar-
pur, West Champaran and Kha-
garia are also facing the devasta-
tion due to floods of various
scales, officials said.
n Ashokan Pillar flooded at Lauria in West Champaran, Bihar.
The Bihar Disaster Manage-
ment Department Authority
(BDMDA) principal secretary
Pratyaya Amrit on Saturday said
that around 10 lakh people have
been affected due to the floods in
the state and the Darbhanga dis-
trict is the worst affected. He
added that there has been a slight
reduction in the water levels
across the state and around one
lakh people have been evacuated.
Deputy chief minister Sushil
Modi said that each flood-affected
person would be given ~6,000 each
as relief from the government
The Ashokan pillar at Lauria
in West Champaran, the Bud-
dhist stupa at Kesaria in East
Champaran and the remains of
the fortification of ancient ruler
HT PHOTO
Raja Bali at Balirajgarh in Mad-
hubani district have been inun-
dated, officials said.
HS Naik, superintending
archaeologist of the Archaeologi-
cal Survey of India, Patna circle,
said, “Soon after the flood water
recedes from Champaran and
Kesaria stupa site, we will send
our engineer to assess the dam-
age.
Separately, an Indian Air
Force (IAF) helicopter on Satur-
day airlifted essential commodi-
ties for the people of two remote
villages in North Sikkim, which
are cut off from other parts of the
state due to landslides [caused by
incessant rainfall], an official
release said.
(with inputs from agencies)
TEEN HELD FOR
RAPING TODDLER
IN BULANDSHAHR
BULANDSHAHR (UP) : A 14-year-old
boy has been taken in police cus-
tody for allegedly raping a
2.5-year-old girl at a village in
Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr
district, officials said on Satur-
day.
Around a dozen men from the
village in Dibai area have been
booked for threatening the girl’s
family against approaching the
police over the incident on Fri-
day, the officials said.
Bulandshahr Senior Superin-
tendent of Police Santosh Kumar
Singh said an FIR was lodged on
the basis of a complaint from the
girl’s family and the matter is
under investigation.
“No external injury was found
during preliminary check up by
doctors. The 14-year-old accused
has been taken into custody and
the girl sent to district hospital for
detailed medical examination,”
Singh said.
He said during initial probe
some villagers told the police that
the girl had fallen somewhere
near her house and the boy had
“probably just picked her up in
his lap”.
“But the girl’s family has
alleged sexual offence, both natu-
ral and unnatural, with the girl
by the boy. We are awaiting
detailed medical report at the
moment to proceed further,” the
district police chief said. PTI
06 hindustantimes SUN DAY HIN DUSTA N TIMES, N EW D E LHI
J ULY 2 6, 2 02 0

NEWS

Top court to take up Raj Raj crisis puts governors’

powers in the spotlight
speaker’s plea tomorrow Murali Krishnan
n letters@hindustantimes.com
ACCORDING TO FORMER
CJ SATHASIVAM, WHEN
draft Article 153 was a matter of
significance for determining the
n Franco Mulakkal

CRUCIAL SC to hear if HC can interfere in disqualification proceedings

Murali Krishnan
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
will on Monday resume hearing
Rajasthan speaker CP Joshi’s
plea related to whether or not
courts can interfere with disqual-
ification proceedings initiated by
an assembly speaker against law-
makers even before a decision
has been taken.
A justice Arun Mishra-led
three-judge bench last heard the
matter on July 23 when it said the
issue will require a prolonged
hearing since the “question
involved is of the very democracy
itself”.
Joshi moved the apex court on
July 22 challenging the Rajasthan
high court’s July 21 order that
directed him to defer proceedings
on disqualification notices issued
to 19 rebel Congress lawmakers,
including former deputy chief
minister Sachin Pilot.
The high court was scheduled
to pronounce its verdict on the
challenge to Joshi’s notices of
July 14 when the speaker moved
the top court.
It ordered a status quo on the
matter on July 24. The ruling
meant Joshi cannot decide on dis-
qualifying the rebels.
Joshi, through his counsel
Kapil Sibal, submitted before the
Supreme Court on July 23 that
n Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot leaves a hotel in Jaipur on Saturday. PTI
courts cannot interfere with the
disqualification proceedings
until the speaker makes a deci-
sion. It is settled by the judgment
of this court in the Kihoto Hollo-
han case of 1992, Sibal argued.
In the case, a five-judge Consti-
tution bench held judicial review
should not cover any stage prior
to the making of a decision by the
speaker/chairman. No interfer-
ence would be permissible at an
interlocutory stage, the Kihoto
Hollohan judgment said.
Joshi, therefore, sought a stay
on the proceedings before the
high court. “We are trying to find
out whether the procedure
adopted [by speaker] is correct or
not. Can the voice of dissent be
shut down like this in a democ-
racy?” Justice Mishra said. The
SC declined to stay high court
proceedings. Consequently,
Joshi’s plea before the Supreme
Court seeking a stay on high
court proceedings was rendered
infructuous since it passed an
order on July 24.
Admitting Pilot’s plea, the high
court asked Joshi to defer action
on the notices served until it
decides the case.
The Supreme Court will hear
the larger issue concerning
whether courts can interfere
with a speaker’s exercise of dis-
qualification powers.
“We will hear only on the ques-
tion of jurisdiction of court to
interfere with the speaker’s pro-
ceedings. We will not go into
whether speaker acted mala fide
or bona fide. We cannot go into
that,” justice Mishra remarked
during the July 23 hearing.
Search on for MLA
Sharma, SOG seeks
hotel CCTV footage
JAIPUR: In their search for Sachin
Pilot-loyalist MLA Bhanwarlal
Sharma, accused of attempting to
topple the Congress government
in Rajasthan, the police’s Special
Operation Group (SOG)has
sought CCTV footage and guest
list from a Manesar hotel to trace
him. The SOG has registered an
FIR against Sharma, Gajendra
Singh and one Sanjay Jain on the
basis of a complaint by Congress
chief whip Mahesh Joshi who had
submitted audio clips as evi-
dence. “We have asked for CCTV
footage and details of guests list,”
a senior SOG official said on Sat-
urday. When the SOG was sent to
a hotel in Haryana’s Manesar in
Gurgaon to seek the dissident
MLA’s version in connection
with the FIR, the team was told at
the reception that the MLA was
not there, and they returned, the
unit’s Additional Director Gen-
eral Ashok Rathore had said. The
Congress had demanded the
arrest of Union minister Shekha-
wat, alleging that he is heard in
one of the clips. Both Shekhawat
and Sharma have rejected the
allegations. Jain, the third man in
the clips has been held. PTI
NEW DELHI: A governor’s powers
and role in the state legislature’s
affairs are back in focus amid the
political crisis in Rajasthan. Con-
gress legislators backing Rajast-
han chief minister Ashok Gehlot
staged a five-hour sit-in on Friday
asking governor Kalraj Mishra to
call a special assembly session for
a floor test. They accused Mishra
of acting under pressure and not
listening to their demand even as
Gehlot expressed confidence of
winning the trust vote necessi-
tated by his tussle with his former
deputy Sachin Pilot.
Is Mishra bound by the advice
of the chief minister-led council
of ministers when it comes to con-
vening the assembly session and
to what extent can the governor
exercise his discretion?
Former Chief Justice of India P
Sathasivam said normally, as per
the Constitution, the advice is
binding — but, he added, when
there is a dispute about issues
such as the number of lawmak-
ers supporting a chief minister,
then it is a special case.
“The governor can summon
MLAs to Raj Bhavan [governor’s
house], make inquiries, and have
discussions with MLA groups,
etc. The general rule that the gov-
ernor is bound by aid and advice
of the council of ministers might
not be relevant here,” said Sath-
asivam, who has also served as
Kerala governor.
What does the Constitution
say?
THERE IS A DISPUTE
ABOUT ISSUES SUCH
AS THE NUMBER
OF LAWMAKERS
SUPPORTING A CM, THEN
IT IS A SPECIAL CASE
months shall not intervene
between its last sitting in one ses-
sion and the date appointed for
first sitting in the next session”.
Article 174 originates from
Article 153 of the draft Constitu-
tion. The third clause of Article
153 said the governor’s power to
summon the House should be
exercised with discretion. When
the article came up for discussion
in the Constituent assembly, cer-
tain members including B R
Ambedkar opposed the clause.
Ambedkar sought its deletion
stating it was inconsistent with
the scheme of a constitutional
governor. His resolution won and
the clause was deleted. Draft Arti-
cle 153 eventually became Article
174. Thus, the intention of the
Constitution makers was not to
vest the governor with the discre-
tion when it comes to convening
assembly.
There are judgements that
reaffirm this. The 2016 Supreme
Court judgment in the Nabam
Rebia v Deputy Speaker reaf-
firmed this interpretation of Arti-
cle 174 when a five-judge Consti-
tution bench held that the gover-
intent underlying Article 174.
The inference that can be drawn
is the Constitution’s framers
altered their original intent, and
decided not to vest discretion
with the governor in the matter of
summoning and dissolving the
House, it court said. “We are sat-
isfied in concluding that the Gov-
ernor can summon, prorogue and
dissolve the House, only on the
aid and advice of the Council of
Ministers with the Chief Minister
as the head. And not at his own.”
Rajkhowa’s order of resched-
uling the session was held to be in
violation of Article 174 and
quashed. Senior advocate Gopal
Sankaranarayanan said if the
council of ministers has the confi-
dence of the House, there is no
question that the governor is
bound by its advice in convening
the legislature. The Nabam Rebia
judgment, however, also held
that if the governor has reasons to
believe the council of ministers
has lost the confidence of the
House, he can ask the chief minis-
ter to prove the majority.
In ordinary circumstances,
during the period when the coun-
cil of ministers enjoys the confi-
dence of the majority of the
House, the power vested with the
governor under Article 174 to
summon or dissolve the House
must be exercised in consonance
with its aid and advice. “But
where the Government in power
on the holding of such floor test is
seen to have lost the confidence of
the majority, it would be open to
Franco Mulakkal
moves top court
seeking discharge
in rape case
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Former Jalandhar
bishop Franco Mulakkal moved
the Supreme Court earlier this
week seeking discharge in a case
in which he stands accused of rap-
ing a nun two weeks after the Ker-
ala high court quashed a similar
plea. Mulakkal is accused of rap-
ing a nun, who was a member of
the Missionaries of Jesus congre-
gation, on at least 13 occasions
between 2014 and 2016 when he
visited Kerala.
Mulakkal, whose plea was
quashed by a trial court in March,
claimed that he was falsely impli-
cated after he initiated disciplin-
ary proceedings against the nun
on account of alleged financial
misdealings. The high court dis-
missed the plea on July 7 observ-
ing that the antecedents of victim
do not make out any case to doubt
the prosecution story.
“Rape is the most revolting,
cruel and hated crime to a
woman… Thus when the records
indicate that prima facie materi-
als are available to show that the

BJP team meets guv over Cong’s ‘anarchy’
HT Correspondent
n letters@hindustantimes.com
JAIPUR: State Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) chief Satish Poonia
on Saturday met Rajasthan gov-
ernor Kalraj Mishra along with a
14-member delegation to express
displeasure over chief minister
Ashok Gehlot’s comments
related to convening of the
assembly session to prove his
majority.
Congress legislators backing
Gehlot staged a five-hour sit-in on
Friday, asking Mishra to call a
special assembly session for a
floor test. They accused Mishra of
acting under pressure and ignor-
ing their demand as Gehlot
expressed confidence of winning
the trust vote amid a power tussle
with former deputy Sachin Pilot.
Poonia said Gehlot’s threat
that the people will gherao the
governor’s house if Mishra did
not convene the session threat-
ens peace. “The CM and his gov-
ernment are guilty of pushing the
peace and calm into anarchy,”
said Poonia. “There were scenes
of anarchy on the streets today
and the CM, who is also the home
minister of the state, is morally
responsible for this.”
He added demonstrations
were held at district headquar-
ters on the call of the ruling party
in violation of Covid-19 guide-
lines. “The CM came to the Raj
Bhavan with his MLAs, who
shouted slogans; this led to anar-
chy. The pressure on the gover-
nor to get a decision in their
favour is a derogatory attempt to
threaten Constitutional institu-
tions. They violated Covid-19
advisory on social distancing,”
the memorandum said.
Ruling Congress spokesper-
son Archana Sharma linked the
meeting to the BJP’s conspiracy
to topple the government. “They
are trying to delay the session and
it is their tactic to topple the gov-
ernment in which they are not
being successful. The meeting
also proves that we have the
majority.”
In a statement, Congress gen-
eral secretary KC Venugopal
announced the party will launch
nationwide protests in front of
different Raj Bhavans on July 26,
accusing the BJP of “misusing
the high constitutional office of
the governor to destabilise the
elected governments”.
The Constitution’s Articles 163
and 174 are relevant in the con-
text of the governor’s powers to
convene the state assembly. Arti-
cle 163 says there shall be a
CM-led council of ministers to aid
and advise the governor except
when he is required, under the
Constitution, to exercise func-
tions in his/her discretion. When
can a governor exercise discre-
tion disregarding the advice of
the council of ministers? Can he
do the same when convening
assembly?
The answer to this lies in cer-
tain Supreme Court judgments
and Article 174, which says the
governor “shall from time to time
summon the House of the
state...as he thinks fit but six
nor’s power to summon,
prorogue and dissolve the House
should be on the advice of the
council of ministers. In this case,
Arunachal Pradesh governor
Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa had sum-
moned the assembly on January
14, 2016. However, at least 20 rebel
Congress MLAs joined hands
with the BJP and met Rajkhowa
expressing their displeasure with
speaker Nabam Rebia. Rajkhowa
rescheduled the session to
December 16, 2015, after meeting
the rebel Congress and BJP
MLAs. This was done without the
aid and advice of the council of
ministers. Rebia moved the
Supreme Court against Raj-
khowa’s actions. The court held
the omission of sub-article (3) of
the Governor to exercise the pow-
ers vested with him under Article
174 at his own, and without any
aid and advice,” the court said in
the Nabam Rebia case.
But even there, the governor’s
power is only to call for a floor test
to determine the majority --
which would suit Gehlot and his
supporters just fine because their
urgency in calling for an assem-
bly session is to get a floor test
conducted immediately.
Going by these, Mishra can
insist on constitutional provi-
sions and established protocol be
followed, and also insist on ade-
quate safeguards given the pan-
demic, but eventually, according
to the law, he has to summon the
assembly.
Sister was subjected to sexual
assault including rape from the
hands of the superior authority
who is the Bishop of the Diocese,
it is not possible to infer that this
Bishop was falsely implicated by
the Mother Superior of the Home
functioning under him, on mere
enmity as contended by him,”it
said. The survivor lodged a com-
plaint in June 2018, and in Sep-
tember, a group of nuns held a
sit-in demanding Mulakkal’s
arrest. A chargesheet was filed
against him in April 2019.
“Due to the disciplinary pro-
ceedings initiated by the peti-
tioner (Mulakkal) against the sis-
ter, she has maliciously and
falsely implicated him...,” Mulak-
kal had told the high court.

State Programme Management Unit

Delhi State Health Mission
6th floor, ‘A’ & ‘B’ wing, Vikas Bhawan II, Civil Lines, Delhi-54

Tender Notice
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registered with ICAI/empanelled with C&AG and which meet
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The void you left behind on request for proposal (RFP), for carrying out statutory audit for
20.07.2020 can never be filled fy 2019-20 of all programs (including NDCPs) for State Health
Society (Delhi) under NHM, Delhi comprising background,
but the fulfilment of legacy
terms of reference (TOR) and guidelines for submitting the
you gave, will last a lifetime. proposal can be downloaded from the website “http://www.
Yash Sanghi Puneet Sanghi health.delhigovt.nic.in” and http://govtprocurement.delhi.
Pankaj Sanghi gov.in the tender option.
(Erst. Dir. Prosecution, GNCTD) Last date of bid submission: 05.08.2020 at 12.00 Noon.
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SUN DAY HI NDUSTA N T IMES, NEW DELHI
JULY 26, 2020
The Indian Army's operations since 1947, in the defence of the nation, have inspired
generations within the organisation to sacrifice their lives for the future of their fellow Indians.
On the 21st anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, let’s revisit important events in the history
where Indian Army has displayed immense courage to safeguard its nation’s interests
J
uly 26, 1999 is a day which
will remain etched in the
mind of every Indian forever.
On this day, 21 years back,
India successfully regained
command over all the high
outposts in Kargil. India declared
its victory in the Kargil War which
was fought for more than 60 days.
Named after the successful
'Operation Vijay', Kargil Vijay
Diwas is celebrated on July 26
where the country pays homage to
the Kargil War heroes and
celebrates victory over Pakistan in
the Kargil War.
The bravehearts of the Indian
Army fought valiantly and many of
them achieved martyrdom in the
Kargil War. Indian Army’s saga of
valour and fortitude has cut quite a
wide swathe of history around the
world. The Indian Army has shown
its mettle and resolve to protect
India’s sovereignty in every
operation that it has undertaken
and will continue to place the
nation first, always and every time.
The Indian Army has time and
again lived up to its tradition of
valour, heroism, sacrifice and
fortitude. It stands vigil along the
border, watchful, prepared for any
sacrifice so that the people of the
country may live in peace and with
honour. The Indian Army is that
and much more.
INDO-PAK WAR 1947-48
Pakistan having failed to obtain
accession from the rulers of
Jammu & Kashmir, resorted to use
of force and violence under the
garb of an uprising. The Pakistani
misadventure codenamed
‘Operation Gulmarg’ was launched
in the beginning by tribal militias
and ex-armymen, with regulars.
Immediately thereafter, the
Pakistan Army got fully involved.
Pakistan’s plan emerged on 22
October 1947, when intruders
entered Jammu & Kashmir, armed
with modern weapons and
unlimited supply of ammunition.
On signing of the Instrument of
Accession by ruler of Jammu &
Kashmir on 26 October 1947, the
Indian Army airlifted troops into
Srinagar on 27 October 1947.
Fought in rugged, high altitude and
snow bound areas; operations wre
launched with vigour and were
sustained through self-reliance.
Indian Army reclaimed most of
what was infiltrated till UN
ceasefire on 31 December 1948.
LIBERATION OF GOA
AND DIU: OPERATION
VIJAY 1961
Goa and Diu continued as
Portuguese colonies even after the
British left India in 1947. When the
Portuguese refused to give up their
colonies despite a popular uprising
by the people and India’s
diplomatic efforts, the Indian
Armed Forces launched a tri-
services offensive on 18
December 1961 and liberated Goa
and Diu from the Portuguese.
1971: LIBERATION
OF BANGLADESH
The 1971 war for the liberation of
Bangladesh (Operation Cactus
Lilly) is a landmark conflict in the
annals of military history. It was a
‘just war’ that transformed the map
of the subcontinent and saw the
birth of a new Nation State.
07
Role of Indian Air Force and Indian July 1999 in Kargil district, along threatening National Highway 1D.
Navy was commendable. It was a the Line of Control extending from This was one of the toughest and
classical blitzkrieg. In just 14 days, Zoji La in the West to Turtuk longest campaigns of modern
Indian Army cut through to Dhaka, (Siachen Glacier) in the East. times, as battles took place in
the capital of erstwhile East The conflict is referred as high altitude areas at heights
Pakistan. Operation Vijay. The cause of war above 12,00 feet. Our soldiers
OPERATION MEGHDOOT: was the infiltration of Pakistan’s supported by artillery and Indian
APRIL 1984 ONWARDS Northern Light Infantry into Air Force fought legendary battles
Trouble started in the vast positions on the Indian side of the in Dras, Kaksar, Batalik and
glaciated expanse known as the Line of Control overlooking and Turtuk Sectors.
Siachen Glacier, due North of
NJ 9842 beyond which the Line
of Control is not demarcated. In
this sector, Pakistan had
illegally ceded Indian territory
to China and had started
allowing foreign expeditions
into these areas. In early 1984,
it was learnt that Pakistan was
planning Operation Ababil to
occupy the serrated Saltoro
Range that forms the Western
wall of the Siachen glacier. In
April 1984, a platoon of 4
Kumaon and Ladakh Scouts
were helilifted to the two icy
and perilous passes, Sia La
and Bilafond La.
An offensive operation by
our troops to capture Pakistan
post ‘Quaid Post’. The peak
was later renamed as ‘Bana
Top’ in honour of Naib Subedar
Bana Singh. For his act of
bravery and ultimate courage,
he was awarded the Param Vir
Chakra.
OPERATION PAWAN
In 1987, while the battle raged
on the Siachen Glacier, there
came a second challenge, a
mission in Sri Lanka. In 1987,
negotiations between the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan
Government had failed.
Therefore, it was decided to
send Indian Peace Keeping
Force (IPKF) to ensure
peaceful and voluntary
disarmament of LTTE cadres.
Soon our troops had to resort
to the use of force to execute
their mission.
Armed with sophisticated
weapons and communication
equipment, the LTTE cadres
were a force to reckon with.
Soon formations and units of
Indian Army in Sri Lanka got
involved in intense counter
insurgency operations;
peacekeeping turned into
peace enforcement.
OPERATION RAKSHAK
Since Independence, Jammu
and Kashmir has witnessed
turmoil initiated by Pakistan.
Since the year 1990, Indian
Army is operationally
committed to safeguard the
people and the state from anti-
national activities.
KARGIL WAR (1999):
OPERATION VIJAY
The Indo-Pakistan Kargil War
was fought between May and
THE INDIAN ARMY HAS
SHOWN ITS METTLE AND
RESOLVE TO PROTECT
INDIA’S SOVEREIGNTY IN
EVERY OPERATION THAT
IT HAS UNDERTAKEN
AND WILL CONTINUE
TO PLACE THE NATION
FIRST, ALWAYS AND
EVERY TIME.
08 hindustantimes
URBAN DESIGN

Imagining a post-pandemic city

More than a century before Sars-CoV-2, the Bubonic opening of the suburbs was, in fact, a result of this. Today,
Plague-causing pathogen killed millions in India in 1896. coronavirus has forced us to take a hard look at our cities,
Our cities then, as now, scrambled to tackle the epidemic. again. HT reached out to urban designers and architects
The colonial authorities created an organisation with the to re-imagine and decongest four key spaces of our lives:
sole purpose to redesign what was then Bombay to a classroom, a street market, an office and a congested
improve its sanitary and living conditions. The planned residential area. A look at their designs and innovations

[ OFFICE ] PRE COVID: PLAZA PRE COVID: HIVE ZONE PRE COVID: HIGH IMPACT SPACE LEGEND
One-way paths
MANIT RASTOGI
co-founder, Morphogenesis Entry path
Exit path

Using tech to build a High Impact Space

Spaces with face-to-face
interactions and constant
traffic of people through

more agile workspace the day

A Reception
B Waiting
C Digital surfaces

T
he workplace in a post-Covid
world needs to re-evaluate priori-
ties and be prepared to respond
with swiftness and agility to the
next big disruption.
To start with, minimising the trans-
mission of virus and other pathogens as
well as ensuring employee health are top
priorities for all organisations. To that
end, we’ve looked at how reconfiguring
the workspace to allow physical distanc-
ing, and using technology smartly can go
a long way in upholding these new priori-
ties. In a pre-Covid scenario, the open
office plan that we worked with accom-
modated 50 people in the focused work-
space with a total office capacity of 120
people. It comprised six types of spaces:
High impact like the reception, which lent
itself to face-to-face interactions; Plaza,
like the pantry, which allowed free flow of
movement; Learning centre, where peo-
ple would sit and collaboratively work;
Open and enclosed jump spaces,
equipped with digital tools to allow tele-
conferencing and white boards to facili-
tate group discussions; Hive zones or
focused work areas, which accommo-
dated high density of employees; and
Leadership work zones, for senior mem-
bers of the company.
In the post Covid scenario, the recon-
figured open office will seat fewer people,
as the space allocated to each employee
has increased with larger workstations
and higher partitions, in keeping with
social distancing norms. Agile workspa-
ces like hive zones and jump spaces have
been redefined. Close collaborative and
communal spaces have made way for
staggered seating; workstations are con-
nected through digital tools that allow
multiple users to work simultaneously
and attend video conferences from their
own stations; sliding panels create
dynamic working and meeting spaces;
and single occupancy pods and phone D Hive Zone
booths have been provided. Technology Focused work areas, which
embedded in furniture allows worksta- Modifications to the open office, as seen in this floor plan, include reconfig- accommodate high density
tions to be truly plug-and-play. uring furniture in focused work zones to ensure physical distancing, using of employees with multiple
The reception, an area of face-to-face technology to collaborate and creating distinct navigation paths work stations
interactions has been replaced by a vir-
tual reception that relies on smart tech- G Plaza
nology and digital screens to convey Spaces that allow for free
information to visitors. Magazines, pens flow movement, and turn
G into high density zones at
and pads, staple features of a reception,
have been removed. Attendance systems certain times of the day
have evolved to operate on facial and E Island pantry
G
voice recognition technology. The carry- F F Cafe seating
ing capacity of lifts, which lead up to a C
reception, is reduced to a fourth.
G Open Jump Space
Technology can also be used effectively B
to minimise touch points like blinds, light A Collaborative design that
E facilitates group discus-
switches, and toilets. Simple sensor-acti-
sions, equipped with digital
vated lights and faucets and smart win-
F tools and white boards
dow shades can be used, instead. Tempo-
D D D
rary plexiglass screens can be installed at Enclosed
various check-in points and hand-sani- Jump Space
tiser dispensers as well as Ultra Violet Phone booths, presentation
phone sterilising stations can be placed in and audio-visual rooms and
plain view. mixed-use spaces
Navigation is another vital aspect to
the new office plan. Where earlier the Leadership
movement was more free-flowing, a post Work Zone
Covid office must stagger entry and exit Thinking pods or setups for
times to decongest arrival and depar- company seniors
tures. For instance, multiple shifts for
lunch hour can be formulated to control G Learning Centre
the number of people gathered near the Spaces for training, where
pantry at a particular time. Creating sep- people work collaboratively
arate lanes for to and fro movement also
decreases chances of transmission of
Dynamic/experiential
pathogens.
space; sliding and
POST-COVID: PLAZA POST-COVID: HIVE ZONE POST-COVID: HIGH IMPACT SPACE writable panels
Manit is a leading speaker in sustainable design NAVIGATE Demarcate paths, such as a RECONFIGURE The focused work zone will accom- TECHNOLOGY Virtual reception with digital screens;
and works with urban policymakers to spearhead ini- Indoor air quality with
clockwise route on entry, to avoid free flow modate 28 instead of 50 people, ensuring 2m sensors to minimise touch points; gadgets in work indoor planters
tiatives on environmental and socio-cultural movement; stagger entry and exit times distance with use of barriers, staggered seating stations to allow faceless collaborations
sustainability Sanitisation stations
Graphic: NISHTHA DEWAN AND DHAMINI BANSAL I MORPHOGENESIS

[ STREET MARKET ]
BANDRA COLLECTIVE
Tap collaboration of six architectural firms
Looks like a well I’ll wash my
planned market for Plastic hands before I
GRID OF CIRCLES
A grid of differently painted 6ft
radius circles with separate usages:
Blue indicates pedestrian flow
the pandemic! Partition skin
Supply Pipe
3 taps
barrels

Foot pedal
start shopping.
Managing customers
allowing to and fro movement;
Green shows location of a sanitisa-
tion station; Yellow indicates zones
for customers to queue up in
Great! I don’t
have to worry
about proximity
SANITISATION
STATION Thanks to these
with DIY, low-cost
QUEUEING NUMBERS
The yellow queuing circles have
numbers on them to indicate the
to customers.
Foot pedal
circles, I am 6
feet apart from
everyone. design solutions
PARTITION +

sequence of movement to approach
the vendor. The pattern allows for
effective physical distancing be-
tween customers
POLYCARBONATE
SHIELD
A swing window on one side of a
polycarbonate barrier on the ven-
dor’s cart swings open to complete
the payment process; a hole on the
other side allows the customer to
collect the vegetables
LOCATION-BASED
APPLICATION
An application which tracks density
(and not personal data) will encour-
age customers to check the live feed
of public spaces before visiting; it
would also help if the street market
had staggered visiting hours
SANITISATION
STATION
A strategy to further enable physical
distancing and practise hygiene
would be to insert sanitisation
stations, made out of pipes, barrels
and foot pedals, between vendors.
These can be operated easily
P
ali Market in Bandra west is, in
Polycarbonate many ways, a typical Mumbai
sheet butter SANITISATION experience. Unlike other market
places with demarcated areas for
Payment different produce — a square for the fish
window mongers and meat sellers; another for the
swings vegetable sellers; a separate lane for gro-
shut DISTANCING cers and dry goods, and quite another for
PATTERN clothes or plastics — this market includes
everything from restaurants to a mutton
shop and vegetable and fruit vendors on
a 200-metre stretch that connects St
Andrews Road on one end, to Dr BR
MOBILE Ambedkar road, on the other.
With this market as the basis of our
CART illustration, and using a tactical urban-
User ism approach [where architects / design-
detail ers work with municipal authorities and
local political representatives] we have
Live developed economical, scalable and mod-
feed ular design interventions that can be
adopted in public places in different com-
Safety binations.
meter We’ve envisioned a grid of six-foot cir-
The store is cles. Differently painted, they have sepa-
less crowded Thank god, there is no rate usages: here, blue indicates pedes-
now. My turn! clashing with the trian flow, green, a sanitation station, and
public walking in the APP FOR yellow, zones for customers to wait. The
opposite direction. PUBLIC SPACES queuing circles have numbers on them to
indicate the sequence of movement to
approach the vendor. As a further pre-
caution for street vendors, we have
designed a polycarbonate sheet barrier
son selecting the vegetables and the per-
son paying for it. A window on one side of
the barrier can be swung open to com-
plete the payment process.
Other strategies to enable physical dis-
tancing includes insertion of sanitisation
stations and planters as partitions. Put-
ting a sign with text is not enough; simple,
tactical design measures are more com-
municative in guiding people.
These interventions in this space go
hand-in-hand with a pedestrianisation of
the market, which will help decongest it.
We’re also proposing a simple location-
based application which tracks density
(and not personal data) to encourage citi-
zens to check the live feed of public spaces
before going, hence empowering them to
know the risks beforehand and make
informed decisions.
Overall, the modular approach is scal-
able and can easily be applied to street
markets, parks and other public spaces
around the city. We have already imple-
mented such a grid of circles at Bhaji
Galli, a market in Grant Road with the
assistance of Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation officials, and aim to scale the
initiative around the city in the coming
weeks.
The Bandra Collective is a not-for-profit urban
design think-tank based in Mumbai, comprising of

Graphic: BANDRA COLLECTIVE

PLANTERS AS PARTITION for their vegetable vending cart which
also provides a separate space for the per-
architects and designers who seek to transform
public spaces through design thinking