AV 9th May 2020

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

9 MAY - 16 MAY 2020 - VOL 49 ISSUE 2

'COVID-19 CANCELLED OUR WEDDING' Pandemic hits wedding and events industry hard

inside: New Labour leader aims to forge better relation with British Indians SEE PAGE 4

Does Covid-19 make writing a Will more relevant among Brit-Asians?

SEE PAGE 15

Migrants grow restless, resort to violence SEE PAGE 23

Rupanjana Dutta The UK’s wedding industry is among one of the hardest hit, as the Coronavirus pandemic led to limitations on UK’s public gatherings and hosting of events. A study by Londonbased wedding planning app, Bridebook has found that coronavirus has impacted 64% of weddings in

2020, either by postponements or by cancellations, according to a report by the Evening Standard. With an additional 36% of all other wedding-related businesses being lost, the industry is set to suffer losses of up to £87.5bn in the UK, with around £3bn per annum, contributed by the Asian wedding industry alone. Cost of an average Asian wedding is between £30,000

to £50,000, with a guest-list running between 500-1000 people. n India and many other countries in South Asia, weddings often have a short turnaround time (on average a 6 months gap between engagement and wedding), but in the UK, most Asian families take 12-18 months to plan for a wedding, especially if it’s a destination wedding.

Continued on page 10

Lockdown extended by two more weeks in India SEE PAGE 26

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9 May - 16 May 2020

Ushering into auspicious 49th year

with Keith Vaz

Girima Desai Girima Desai is a podiatrist specialising in musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders. She was born and raised in London but moved up to Edinburgh, Scotland to pursue a degree and career in podiatric medicine. Girima decided to find a career in healthcare because she wanted to make a positive impact every single day and this is what makes her a great practitioner. After using her experience within the NHS, Girima now works in the private sector in Buckinghamshire. Outside of podiatry, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends and taking full advantage of her unlimited cinema card- particularly, dramatic Bollywood films! It has been a lifelong dream to spend a year travelling around the world, in particular South East Asia. Her favourite country to visit has been Zanzibar, where she attended a cousin's wedding.

1

Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?

London and Edinburgh. Although I've spent most of my life living in London, Edinburgh will always hold a special place in my heart as this is where I evolved as a person and started my career.

2

What are your proudest achievements?

My proudest achievements would most definitely be graduating from university. I'm also extremely proud to be able to say that I give back to society by helping people in need.

3

What inspires you?

My parents. Since a young age, I have seen my parents work extremely hard to provide for our family. They have taught me to never give up on my dreams and have motivated me to keep pushing myself until I reach my goals.

4

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

COVID-19. As a private practitioner, I have to abide by the lockdown rules, so I am unable to work. It is an extremely difficult time as I am unable to give my patients the care and service that they require.

5

Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?

My mother. She has always encouraged me to believe in myself and has been my mentor from the very beginning. She has taught the necessary skills required within my career. I am incredibly grateful that she constantly challenges me- a bit too much, in my opinion!

6

What is the best aspect about your current role?

I am a chatterbox (I struggled in school for this reason) so interacting with my patients and getting to know them is the best part about my job.

7

And the worst?

I love my job so I don't think there is a 'worse aspect'.

8

What are your long-term goals?

To continue working and supporting our community. Patient education is very important for me. One of my long-term goals is to bring more awareness to podiatry and illnesses that can severely affect the lower limbs.

9

If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?

Having a well-rounded education is incredibly important but I believe that it is also important to teach children the basic skills required to function as an adult within society. First aid and CPR are taught in school but topics such as taxes, budgeting and critical thinking are also necessary.

10

If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?

My great-great maternal grandfather, Darbar Gopaldas Desai. He is remembered as the first Prince in India to give up his States to become a freedom fighter against the British Raj. It would be an honour to be marooned on an island with him. Perhaps I could learn a thing or two about wisdom!

Health inequalities in Brent and Harrow Sangat Centre in Harrow has urged Health Commissioners in Harrow and Brent, to recognise that race and racial inequalities are a risk factor for Covid19 and that ethnic minorities in Harrow and Brent (58% Harrow residents are non-white and that figure is 64% in Brent) are dying in disproportionately high numbers compared with white people which has been our ‘worst fear for a long time’.

Recent analysis has revealed that three London boroughs with high BAME

populations- Harrow, Brent and Barnet – were also among the five local authorities with the highest death rates in hospitals and the community.

Kanti Nagda MBE of Sangat Centre said, “We have been pointing out that health inequalities have existed in the minority community population for a long time, and now this is being reflected in the pandemic and that those inequalities are actually coming out loud and clear.

In a letter to the Commissioner Mr Nagda stated, “We appreciate that

deaths happen due to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancers, but they have never hit the headlines.”

He further added, “Commissioners have ignored, pre-planning for the health of minorities and educating them. WE have requested for a meeting, to explore the situation and future planning to eradicate the inequalities.”

Dear readers, your favourite weeklies – Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice – on May 5, 2020, celebrated its 48th foundation day.

This has been possible due to your love and warmth. Appa Saheb Pant has been the source of inspiration for this publication’s journey. Pranlal Sheth, Kusumben Shah, Nalinkant T Pandya , Balwantsinh Kapoor and Shri Yuddhavir have been the pillars of strength. The Indian High Commissioner in Britain, Appa Saheb, had on May 5, 1972 unveiled the first edition of Gujarat Samachar. There has been no looking back since. Gradually, a New Life was born in the form of Asian Voice. Knowledge service,

social service , and reliability are the factors behind making Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar a part of your life. This makes us happy as well as proud. On this occasion, we would like to thank all the readers, writers, advertisers, friends and well-wishers who have been our source of support, cooperation, and encouragement. Without your blessings and cooperation this would not have been possible. As Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice enter the 49th year, we hope for your continued support and love.

Yours CB Patel Publisher and Editor

MP hosts webinar with Indian students stranded in the UK On Sunday 3rd May Virendra Sharma MP, Chair Indo-British APPG, and Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall hosted a webinar with Indian international students suffering during the coronavirus lockdown.

During the webinar Virendra Sharma talked about his own experience with coronavirus, the amazing work of our dedicated NHS heroes and how we can all help each other get through this. Following his talk, he fielded questions from students from up and down the country about all different aspects of the lock down, about their personal safety, money worries and getting home.

On the call Virendra Sharma MP said, "This is a listening exercise, I want to know what problems you are facing so I can help you. It’s no good me just guessing what your issues are so I am here to find out. Anything I can help you get from the British or Indian governments I want to help with."

The issues most often raised by students was a lack of money due to being stopped from working, being stuck in Britain after they would have returned to India and family members being unable to visit banks in India to send them money.

Speaking after the call Sanam Arora, Chairperson NISAU said, "We are grateful to our patron Mr Sharma for a holistic and thorough engagement with the distressed Indian student community.

This has provided a sense of relief to Indian students that their concerns are being listened to by Britain and will get

adequately considered by the British Government."

Mohanish Borana, President NISAU added, "On behalf of my team, we are absolutely honoured to have Mr Sharma interacting with distressed Indian Students from more than 65 universities all over the U.K on a NISAU platform. His commitment to help the community was quite heartwarming as he answered each and every query with compassion and empathy. I am sure students must have learned a lesson or two from his experiences of surviving corona."

By 2023, lack of experience may haunt UK Police have been question marks about those who Some reports appearing in British media are joining the force. Prime Minister Boris have raised eyebrows about the state of policing in the UK. The report, published Johnson has promised to get onboard 20,000 first in The Times, reveals that a third of officers in the next three years. However, police officers will have less than three questions remain as to how the government years’ experience by 2023, a figure that will match up with the experience of colraises serious concerns about the recruitleagues who have left. ment and retention fallacies of the system.

The government, over the next three years, plans to raise the force’s strength to more than 146,000 in FINANCIAL A SERVICES England and Wales.

However, figures suggest PROTECTION MORTGAGES out of these 146,000, a Life Insurance Residential whopping 32 per cent Critical Illness Buy to Let could be short on experiIncome Protection Remortgages ence.

There has been a steady departure of senior Please conta act: officers from the force in Dinesh Shonchhatra S last ten years due to budget Mortgage Ad dviser cuts the forces have had to face. The cuts ensured that Call: 020 8424 C 4 8686 / 07956 810647 there were no replacement found for the posts lying 77 High Street, Wealdston ne, Harrow, HA3 5DQ vacant. mortgage@majorestate.co om ~ majorestate.com What is worse there

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Can NHS fight a second wave of coronavirus?

In the midst of the biggest health crisis in recent history, thousands of doctors say important wider patient care has been neglected in the Covid-19 pandemic and are significantly worried about long-term clinical demands on the NHS. The death toll crossed Italy, as we went to press.

More than half of doctors told a British Medical Association (BMA) survey that prioritisation of confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients was worsening the care available to those without the condition. Almost a third of doctors responding said it was having a significantly worse impact.

More than 16,000 doctors from across the UK replied between 28-30 April, in what is the biggest survey gauging UK doctors’ opinion since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.

The BMA’s findings come at a crucial time for the Government as it reviews its five tests for easing lockdown ahead of the May 7 deadline, the first of which is “making sure the NHS can cope”.

Further, the biggest concern raised by doctors is the longterm impact on patient clinical demand, with 40% saying this is their greatest worry.

Hospitals have been repurposed into prioritising Covid patients, with a halt put on a range of other services for patients – including for those with chronic conditions. Wards and facilities have been adapted to cope with the demand of patients with the coronavirus infection at the expense of other patients. Referrals from GPs are not being accepted unless for a serious medical conditions and routine investigations to aid diagnosis are not available in many cases.

Not only that, according to a BMA survey, doctors are relying upon donated or self-bought PPE and two thirds still don’t feel fully protected from coronavirus.

The government is of course worrying about business and the lack of it. But it must ensure that before if it even lifts lockdown partially, the hospitals are ready to cope with whatever is coming- including a second wave of the pandemic.

Lockdown extended; curbs eased in India The government of India has extended the nationwide lockdown - which was scheduled to end on May 3 – by another two weeks. The third phase of the lockdown will, however, be less stringent than that experienced during the past 40 days. In 603 of the 733 districts, designated as green and orange zones,, markets other than malls can re-open, factories and industrial units can resume operations, self-employed people such as domestic helps and barbers can go back to work, a nd e-commerce in nonessential items can recommence. But the relaxation measures have left several states dissatisfied. Their grouse largely pertains to the red zones, the 130 districts which have been deemed as Covid hotspots and therefore, placed under the maximum restrictions stipulated in the home ministry’s directive. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, for instance, has contended that several a reas that have no Covid cases have found themselves ineligible for relaxations because they happen to be located in red zone districts. The West Bengal government has also termed the Centre’s assessment of such zones in the state as “erroneous”. And Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has argued against designating entire districts as red zones - only the containment zones, areas with a high hot sp ot districts, should be subject to strident restrictions, he said.

That 319 districts, more than half the districts in the country have not had a single Covid-19 case in three weeks does testify to the success of the lockdown from a healthcare standpoint. A further 284 districts which do not have a large number of cases are placed in orange zones. However, epidemiologists have consistently emphasised t hat lockdowns do not frame the endgame

in the battle against the virus. Hotspots can change, the infection can recede from some areas and spread to new ones.

Kejriwal, too, underscored the need to view the pandemic from such a perspective when he said that “what is a green zone today can turn red”. The Centre does allow states to re-designate green zones as orange and red zones. It also allows them th e freedom to classify red areas as orange zones. But it does not give them the flexibility to relax the lockdown in areas within the hotspot districts. The Delhi CM underlined the limitations of this approach when he asked: “If a district has 50 villages and 40 cases emerge in one, why should the entire district be declared a red zone?”

States and local authorities dealing with the infection at ground lev el are the best placed to understand its spatial vagaries. It’s, therefore, imperative that they have a say in drawing the boundaries of the areas that have to be opened up. The details of the red, orange, green zone scheme need constant review and revision from such a perspective. The step towards allowing resumption of some economic activity is welcome.

Unfortunately the current phase may not see a significant rise in economic activity, at a time when every single day of such activity foregone generates forbidding opportunity costs in lost income and livelihoods. India's main economic engines such as Mumbai and Delhi have been in red zones. States will struggle to restart economic activity within such tight constraints. States which are at the forefront of the Covid mitigation strategy are now stru ggling with an acute resource constraint, with roots in the economic standstill.

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TEAM GUJARAT SAMACHAR AND ASIAN VOICE AT YOUR SERVICE Dear Readers, The Corona epidemic has severely affected the whole world including us all.

Our dedicated team is working hard to keep you updated with the latest news coverage in the comfort of your home.

During this period of crisis, many of our service oriented organisations and individuals are playing their role as a vigil citizen by contributing in the service of our society.

To appreciate these good deeds of humanity, we publish a special coverage every week in our newsweeklies.

We are eager to hear from you about any sort of such good work conducted by you or anyone known to you. You can email us at: jyotsna.shah@abplgroup.com

We are a family and we stand with all those who have lost their loved ones to this Corona Pandemic The news of the tragic departure of many of our brothers and sisters in the Corona epidemic is shocking.

Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice believe in standing by your side at such a time and sharing your grief.We consider it as our duty to share your pain and playing our part , Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice will publish a free death announcement of your near and dear ones with a short message, along with a small photograph.

Feel free to share such news with us at: support@abplgroup.com

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.

- William Blake

Alpesh Patel

We Need To Educate People About Investing From Cradle to Grave I’ve launched a free investing course to educate people about investing – www.investingchampions.com . The reason is clear – during Covid more people than ever are wishing they had saved more, and others saw their pensions crash. Some want to save to protect themselves from future falls but do not know where to begin.

Since I started investing with £100 borrowed from my aunt, I have been addicted to the idea some of the most clever people in the world are working to make me money. I own a tiny part of Apple, Microsoft.

The sad truth is our schools do not teach children about compounding, benefits of saving. Oh, we teach consumerism – not saving.

We teach Greek history, not saving.

History of ancient Rome and Greece have not helped me in Covid. Saving has. Investing has.

There are few worries greater, after health, than worries about money. The answer is to arm yourself to know what to do, what to look for. The idea is not to get rich quick or overnight.

It is to protect, and to outperform bank accounts, and should your risk appetite allow, make sure you own a bit of Microsoft.

But people know how to open a bank account, not how to buy a share. Of course investing in Microsoft is risky. Or in Amazon.

The risk is making a 100x return.

But in seriousness, the risk is that in any given year you do not make a return. That is the definition of risk. And so it is not for everyone. We used to say, ‘not for widows and orphans’.

Imagine you have a child, may I suggest a £500 or £1000 account for them if you can afford it. And then buy them some Google (Alphabet), Amazon and Apple.

You could also give them index trackers (Exchange Traded Funds) with all the benefits of diversification that comes with and fund, and ADRs – American Depository Receipts – foreign companies eg from India and China listed in America – eg Alibaba and Infosys.

Financial education shows how our education system is so unfit for purpose. Our schools are based on an 18th century notion of education. Hopefully, Covid has shown we can have one outstanding teacher reaching thousands of students and sparking their interest. Of course, 1-2-1 is important or 1-20 or 1-30, but we also need to have broadcasts from the best teachers in the UK in their subjects (paying one of them star salaries for their excellence) to reach students is a lot easier than trying to raise the wages of all teachers regardless of ability.

Editor: CB Patel Asian Voice is published by Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 • Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com Website: www.abplgroup.com © Asian Business Publications

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New Labour leader aims to forge better relation with British Indians Labour Friends of India (LFIN) under the leadership of CoChair, Rajesh Agrawal, met with Sir Keir Starmer to discuss rebuilding trust with the British Indian community Rupanjana Dutta The UK’s British Indian community has welcomed Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s new stance on Kashmir- calling it a ‘bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve peacefully’ and emphasising that matters of the ‘sub-continent should not divide communities here’.

Taking fresh impetus from the election of Sir Starmer, the Executive Team of Labour Friends of India (LFIN) under the leadership of Co-Chair, Rajesh Agrawal, met with the new Leader to discuss rebuilding trust with the British Indian community, shared values and promoting UK-India ties. Sir Starmer also pledged to work closely with LFIN to encourage more people from an Indian background to stand for elected positions both in Westminster and local government.

Speaking about the contributions of the British-Indians to the party an d his willingness to forge a better relation with the community, the Labour leader said, “Britons of Indian origin contribute so much to the UK and to the Labour Party. I’m committed to working closely with Labour Friends of India to rebuild trust with the community.

We must not allow issues of the subcontinent to divide communities here.

Any constitutional issues in India are a matter for the Indian Parliament and Kashmir is a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve peacefully.

“Labour is an internationalist Party and stands for the defence of human rights everywhere.

“A Labour Government under my leadership will be determined to build even stronger business links with India and to co-operate on the global stage on issues such as climate change. I look forward to meeting the Indian High Commissi oner in due course to open a renewed dialogue between the Labour Party and the people of India.”

Rajesh Agrawal, Co-Chair of Labour Friends of India & Deputy Mayor of London for business saiid, “I congratulate Keir Starmer on his election as Leader. I really welcome his commitment to rebuilding strong links between the Labour Party and the Indian community. This has been a great start and Keir has achieved a lot in the short span of couple of weeks.

Labour Friends of India will work closely with him and will continue to promote UK-India ties as well as continuing to raise any issues from the community to the leadership.”

Natural party for British Indians Speaking about re-connecting with the Indian community, Mr Agrawal in an exclusive interview told Asian Voice, “Labour Party is the natural party for British Indians but last few years have seen the relations strained. I really welcome Keir Starmer's commitment to rebuilding strong links between the Labour Party and the Indian community. Keir has started off really well and has achieved a lot in the short span of time by addressing some of the most difficult issues. The British Indian community can already see that the process of healing has started, but I am equally aware that it will require a lot of effort & time.”

from the British Hindu Community which numbers over a million British citizens on the Covid-19 review that you as leader of the Opposition have commissioned. My understanding is that the review will examine why the virus appears to disproportionately impact those from ethnic minority backgrounds without Labour party leader LFIN Co-Chair Rajesh Agrawal engaging the views of Sir Keir Starmer the Hindu community.

I find this extremely But during the last general election, insensitive.

That a community of over Kashmir issue had impacted the relaa million people who actively strive to tionship between the British Hindus play a part in helping Great Britain and the party. A number of campaigns prosper every day have been so callouswere held against it by the community, ly brushed aside is extremely worrying. that felt agonised and dejected, after the “Baroness Lawrence maybe leading party under Jeremy Corbyn seemed to the review but as the leader of the have ‘polarised’ the ‘India-Pakistan conLabour Party you are accountable for flict’. However, Morning Star has the review. So again, I would like to reported, that the leader came under understand why you have chosen not increased fire for changing the Labour to engage the Hindu community…

Party’s policy on Kashmir after meeting “I find it alarming that you chose the executive team from Labour Friends not to contact either of the two largest of India, last week. organisations that represent the milA proud British Indian himself, the lion Hindus in Great Britain namely LFIN Chair emphasises that to empowthe Hindu Forum of Britain and the er any community, it is important to Hindu Council UK, despite offering have a strong voice and representation. considerations to the Jewish and Sikh “LFIN will actively engage with the Communities who are much smaller in community and work towards their numbers in the UK. strengthening UK- India ties,” Mr “I trust you will reconsider your Agrawal told the newsweekly. “Keir has decision and give our community the pledged to work closely with LFIN to respect it too deserves as you have encourage more people from an Indian given to the other organisations that background to stand for elected posiyou have so positively engaged with...” tions both in Westminster and local The British Indian Voice has tweetgovernment.” ed a letter to Sir Starmer, on 8 April He added, “Keir has already made it 2020 sent by Hindu Forum of Britain’s clear that he wants to open a renewed President Trupti Patel, as a reply to the dialogue between the Labour Party and Labour leader’s invitation to discuss the people of India. He is looking forrising issues with her. She highlighted ward to meeting the Indian High ‘Caste legislation, Anti-India stance Commissioner . India is one of world’s and Hinduphobia in the Labour party’, fastest growing major economy and an are some of the key topics she would emerging super power. Keir is keen to like to highlight in her discussion, if building even closer relationship with the party wants to begin the process of India and to co-operate on the global reconciliation and positive engagestage on issues such as climate change.” ment.

But clearing the air, Mr Agrawal Covid-19 digital roundtable fiasco told Asian Voice that the party leader has already met with the Hindu comBut with everything going for the munity to discuss the pandemic chalnew Labour party and its efforts to lenge and effect on the community. engage with the British Indians, the “Covid-19 is the biggest health & ecorecent absence of British Hindus in the nomic emergency since the second Covid-19 digital roundtable to review world war. It is incredibly sad the way the impact of coronavirus on the it is affecting people around the world.

BAME community, has opened up a While the virus itself doesn’t discriminew can of worms. nate between people based on faith, According to 2011 census, UK has community, race or nationality, it has 1.5mn Indians living in Britain, and disproportionately impacted the peo817,000 of Hindus, that form 1.5% of ple from BAME community. Official UK’s population. The virus has affectfigures show more than a third of peoed 16.2% of the BAME community, ple in intensive care from Covid-19 are according to NHS England, out of from BAME backgrounds – well over which 3% are Indians. double the proportion of BAME people Mahendra Pattni, Trustee of in the wider population,” he said.

Hindu Council of Brent, wrote to Sir “I am glad that Keir Starmer has Starmer, asking why the Hindus have charged equalities campaigner been excluded in a roundtable, that Baroness Doreen Lawrence to lead a reviews a condition that directly review on this matter. I know that Keir affects the community, urging the Starmer, Baroness Doreen Lawrence leader to ‘reconsider’ his decision. and Angela Rayner have already met A letter that has been seen by Asian with Hindu Council UK and Hindu Voice states, “I am writing directly to Forum of Britain and have discuss this you to raise my urgent and serious issue along with others,” he added. concern that there is no representation

People's High Commissioner Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam retires Rohit Vadhwana

Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam, a 1982 batch IFS officer, retired on 30th April 2020. She served for one and a half year in London as High Commissioner of India. Exceptionally popular in the UK, not only amongst the Indian people numbering 2 million - if we include professionals and students - but also the local authorities and businesses, she was seen always smiling contagiously. A humble human touch in personality made her approachable by anyone in the gatherings of hundreds of people. Any member present at the event would walk to her, without hesitation, speak to her and click a selfie. Her popularity surpassed even sports and film celebrities present in the event whom people would desert for a picture with the High Commissioner in beautiful saree.

In the event of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan’s talk at Nehru Cultural Centre in May 2019 she was completely at ease with the Maestro. She gracefully exhibited her appreciation for the achievement of Sarod Player. Similarly, there were many professional diplomatic learnings for every officer during the Ministerial visits to London, may it be Dr S Jaishankar, EAM; Mr Piyush Goyal, CIM & Railways; Dr Hardeep Singh Puri, MOS (IC); or that of Mr V. Muraleedharan, MOS of EA. In serious business events and meetings, she would bring freshness, without diluting the depth of discussion.

Take the example of Sustainable Financing evening in Guild Hall or Diaspora Effect Report launch at the same place, everyone said she was always on the top of the subjects. It may be a combination of her vast knowledge, command over varieties of subjects and deep understanding of human nature (possibly due to an educational background in Psychology) that she displayed comfort and competence, in equal balance, at every occasion.

It was her love for Indian culture and fantastic ability to display the power of women that made it possible to have first-ever Fashion Show of Indian Saree at the London Fashion Week in February 2020. It was one in the series of many events which included the prestigious exhibition of Kashmiri Pashmina Shawl at St James Court, The Taj in London. The remarkable first-ever India Day held in UK Parliament in June 2019 or the firstever India Day held in the City of London in July 2019, resulted in strengthening relations between the two countries, under her leadership.

Energetic and active, the High Commissioner met leaders of the UK government, held diplomatic discussions; spoke at the renowned think-tanks like Chatham House; celebrated Women's Day; falicitated many artists and achievers; hosted Indian cricketers at her residence; visited BAPS temple; attended dozens of community events; and even welcomed children in her office on the occasion of Halloween! The variety and amount of work she did during her stay in London will remain a study in itself.

The celebration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and the 550th Anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji in 2019, meticulously planned under her guidance, conveyed a positive message to the whole of UK. Her larger than life image displayed on a digital screen at the Trafalgar Square, delivering a message of peace, prosperity and love for everyone at the Diwali function hosted by Mayor of London. These came out in complete contrast to the violent protests held in front of the High Commission a few weeks before the event.

Born on 4th April 1960, she retired after almost 39 years of service as Indian diplomat. Her stint as the first Indian female career diplomat High Commissioner in the UK might be the most important, but remarkable achievements she had had throughout her career are outstanding too. She is married to her batchmate, Amb. A R Ghanashyam and they have two sons.

(Expressed opinion is personal)

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Mallya seeks nod for appeal in SC against extradition Fugitive Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya has sought permission to appeal in the United Kingdom Supreme Court.

He has already lost a petition in the London High Court against his extradition to India. He faces charges of fraud linked to unpaid loans to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The dismissal of the appeal by the high court had cleared the way for Vijay Mallya's extradition to India. He had 14 days to apply for permission to appeal in the UK Supreme Court.

The UK Home Office will now have to wait for the outcome of that appeal before finalising his extradition to India.

"The leave to appeal has been filed. We have until May 14 to respond," a spokesperson for the UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which represents the Indian authorities in the legal process of the extradition, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The 64-year-old, whose business interests have ranged from aviation to liquor, is wanted in India over Rs 9,000 crore in loans Kingfisher took out from banks which the authorities argue he had no intention of repaying. Vijay Mallya denies the charges against him and is currently on bail. He had fled to the UK in 2016.

VGS comes to rescue of Gujarati students stranded in Singapore Just a call from a worried mother in Ahmedabad was enough to end the miseries of several Gujarati students left stranded in Singapore amid coronavirus pandemic.

One of the students, Karan Shayani's mother, made this call to Vishwa Gujarati Samaj(VGS) President C K Patel. In just a day, Patel, with the help of Singapore Gujarati Society leaders, made lodging and boarding arrangments in safer premises ending all tensions.

“Around 13 students in Singapore, within the age bracket of 20-22 years, found themselves in dire condition with borders shut down.

Some of them also found themselves running out of the fund, food, and even roofs”, said Patel adding, “A helpless mother in tears called us. Fortunately, within hours, the students have been shifted to a hostel. All the required facilities will be provided as long as they will need”.

“Responding to the call for the support given by the VGS, Biren Desai, president, Singapore Gujarati Society, Tushar Doshi, former president, Singapore Gujarati Society and Kirit Vora, vicepresident firstly made transport arrangments to bring students to the hostel. Also, put in place, very quickly, medical assistance and food arrangments for the students”, said Digant Sompura, chairman non-residents Gujarati committee.

All the safety measures were followed while moving students from their respective stays. While selecting the shelter house, utmost care was also taken to make sure that students can follow

social-distancing principles in this covid-19 crisis.

Medical assistance was also provided to those in need.

Before moving to the hostel, the students narrated their ordeal in text and video messages on social. . In a video, Vivek Bhandri , one of the students, tells that with the Singapore government extending the lockdown till June, their colleges asked them to attend online classes, and they were running out not only of supplies but funds as well to pay rents or fees. With borders closed, they did not even have the option of coming back home.

The Vishwa Gujarat Samaj has reached out to all the distress calls made from India or foreign lands.

Earlier also, the VGS swiftly swung into action to help of stranded Gujaratis in Philipines, US, UK and even in parts of India.

On the representation of the VGS leading members in the UK, led by C K Patel, the ordeal of stranded Indians was represented to the administration. Preeti Patel, secretary of the state to the Home Department, had then wasted no time in extending the visas without stamping.

“Be it aborad or various cities in India like Haridwar, Kota or Udaipur, the local Gujarati community, has come forward to answer the call by the VGS in helping out the distressed members”, said Patel Patel maintained that once the flying instructions are relaxed, the VGS will again coordinate with the Indian and respective governments to bring stranded people back home.

Silent London streets haunt homeless

Even as the UK government claims to have provided homes to around 90% of those left without a place to sleep, Central London has become the hotspot for newly unemployed restaurant and pub workers, who are unable to pay rent.

The government figures suggest it has housed 5,400 people including 1,800 in 10 hotels across London but hundreds of tents and cardboard box encampments remain on the London streets.

As a preventive measure, the day centres have been closed to arrest the spread of the virus. This has led to the homeless people unable to find a shower or a place to wash their clothes, toilet facilites and have no access to regular food supplies, reports The Guardian.

With all avenues of stomach filling dried up, the homeless have been literally at the mercy of a few small groups

of volunteers to provide thousands of meals a week.

Although some among those on street rejected the option of moving to a hotel room, most of the newly homeless are still awaiting help, and feeling very vulnerable in the central London at night.

Aside from the practical difficulties, homeless are worried over the silence the city has fallen into. They claim all the normal sounds and smells are absent leading to an impression of a ghost town the capital has become.

Taking to The Guardian, Amrit Maan, the owner of the Punjab restaurant in Covent Garden, who has kept his kitchens open to cook around 2,500 meals a week for Under One Sky and a Sikh charity, Nishkam Swat, to distribute, said he was troubled by the emptiness. “You can hear the wind rushing through the streets. It feels so

eerie, like waking up in a post-apocalypse movie.”

About 10 people are sheltering beneath a scaffolded shop front near Charing Cross station (where the underpasses that used to shelter dozens of homeless have been closed off); volunteers said most had longterm drug and alcohol problems. One man was lying in a foetal position on the cold pavement, passed out, watched over by his girlfriend. No one here was hungry, but they accepted water and biscuits for their dogs.

Government officials have acknowledged that more needs to be done. They said that it is possible that the actual number will be larger, but we’ve been working at this as fast as we can; we’re trying to get more people in every day. There is caution from others involved in the process with local officials putting the onus on Central government.

6 READERS VOICE

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Workers’ Memorial day Alongside the heroic frontline workers in our NHS, emergency and care services, we should also praise the efforts of the postmen, couriers, delivery drivers and retail and stockroom workers. They are working incredibly hard and often placing themselves at risk to ensure that we have all the essentials we need during lockdown.

We have sadly heard outrageous reports of some companies failing to enforce social distancing measures in their own workplaces, as well as falling short on providing staff with the protection they need.

Throughout the Covid-19 outbreak, trade unions have continued to play a vital role in holding employers to account and improving conditions for workers in all sectors and industries. City Hall has also now teamed up with Our Frontline UK to provide mental health and bereavement support to key and essential workers.

However, there is clearly room for the Government to play its part in more strongly enforcing corporate responsibility.

Last week, we marked International Workers’ Memorial Day with a minute’s silence to commemorate those who have tragically died whilst doing their job during the pandemic.

The very least that we owe them is that we ensure that workers are better valued and protected, going forward.

Navin Shah AM London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow

Give praise where it is due!

As we say friends in need are friends indeed! This slogan also applies to our community organizations and Hare Krishna, Swaminarayan temples that are always in the front, in time of adversity. This unexpected attack on humanity by laboratory generated biological weapon has indeed tested our resolves and separated true friends of Hindu community from fair weather, equivocating, fiduciary friends who give leap service in time of plenty but nowhere to be seen in time of adversity!

We were indeed surprised by number of telephone calls, mainly from Swaminarayan temples, especially from Neasden temple with offers of delivering evening meals seven days a week, being charity; they would not accept payment.

As most of us, OAPs who worked hard, lived within our means, saved for rainy days, are indeed in comfort zone financially. Most would donate directly to the temple as gesture of appreciation. I would urge every reader to donate just £10 to £15 a month by direct debit and help these public spirited charities to serve our community in our hour of need!

Perhaps this is a golden opportunity to go into the corridor of power with Almighty!

Kumudini Valambia

By Email

What a loss!

The passing away of Irrfan Khan on April 29 and Rishi Kapoor on April 30 are a great loss to the Hindi film industry.

Rishi Kapoor was my favourite actor right from his first movie 'Mera Naam Joker' as a child artiste till the day of his death on April 30, 2020. He was the only actor who acted opposite more than 50 leading women on screen, including my favourite actress Zeenat Aman in 'Hum Kisise Kum Nahin’ He was a chocolate boy and was loved by all women, including his wife Neetu Singh, who he married later. Like Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor too were excellent actors who could perform all kinds of roles in films.

May their movies be remembered not only among the older generations, but among the younger generations too. May their souls rest in peace and may God give solace to their wife and children.

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai

Does AV influence Government policy?

I know these sounds like far-fetched idea, wishful thinking but in this topsy-turvy world when nothing makes sense, President Trump advocating injecting disinfection liquid that would kill human beings, it is more than likely that such ethnic publications may be read at the highest level. It may carry a punch and influencing politicians that may sound unrealistic, even wishful thinking!

Being an avid fan and regular contributor to “Readers’ Voice” I know these letters along with columns by Kapil and Kalpesh Patel, not forgetting excellent editorial, as well as CB’s “As I See It” column, I feel AV is read at the highest level, perhaps taken seriously, as par excellence AV/GS is the bestselling and widely read ethnic weeklies outside India.

I, along with Kapil Dudakia, mentioned from day one that coronavirus could be laboratory born malformation virus that somehow escaped and caused such mayhem that many nations are demanding compensation from China, including US and Germany! In sharp contrast some nations like Britain shows stunning naivety!

This is especially worrying as notorious, outlandish Wuhan is the centre of this epidemic where China’s “Institute of Virology” is situated, prime site for research into biological warfare! Now US and WHO demanding free access to these sites to ascertain the truth! It is time to make odious China, using equivocate language to fool the world, is declared a pariah State!

Secondly another contributor suggested that family members of those who lost their lives should be paid financial compensation rather than empty words and now government has agreed to pay £60K to these families. There are few more such hints and suggestions in AV that are creeping into government policy! Long live AV/GS! Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

Attacks on doctors Reports about attacks on doctors and frontline personnel in India are really disturbing (Asian Voice 2-8 May 2020). Those who are protecting society and common people should be protected by all of us. Doctors and paramedical staff are working under stressful situation with limited resources and dealing with various patients who are naturally under tension especially in the current situation.

The government should give more powers to security personnel to deal with those perpetrators who are not only creating problems for themselves but under the name of religion and minorities, they are creating nuisance in society.

Public properties are made from the taxes paid by hardworking people so anybody who damages these should be dealt with firmly. There should be a separate mechanism to deal with these cases expeditiously so other people think twice before doing any harm to the property or people. The message is one needs to learn to respect before even think to expect.

Hitesh Hingu London

Vegetarianism can save the world It must have become clear to the world that the Chinese, whose food predominantly comprise of birds and animals may have condemned the world to the deadly coronavirus.

The one and only remedy now left for us humans is to be compassionate to all living beings and change our food to plant based diet.

Vegetarianism has been the Indian way of living for thousands of years and only this ancient wisdom can save the world before it self-destruct!

Gandhiji rightly said that the civilisation of a country is determined by the way it treats its animals.

Gulab Mistry

By Email

Mass suffering The suppliers of essential foods, childrens’ needs and commodities are charging unjustifiable prices when customers are passing through difficult times.

This is sheer exploitation and taking advantage of the situation. We request the government and local boroughs to control the situation.

Ramesh Nehru

By Email

Hindus and NHS I agree with Prakash Shah, Edgware (Asian Voice 2 May 2020). We Hindus do so much for the NHS and the country, but do not mention anything about it or come forward like other communities and, therefore we are over looked We should be more assertive and voice our achievements.

Kapila Patel

By Email

Kapil’s Khichadi Labour fails Indians again Kapil Dudakia Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party appointed Baroness Doreen Lawrence to lead the review into BAME COVID deaths. This act undermines the nation at a time when we are all in the middle of a global pandemic. I say so because the elected Government has already announced a formal investigation into the very same matter and as such, the wise decision by any responsible opposition would have been to be supportive of the Government rather than creating a false alternative narrative to suit their political inclinations.

Having set it up, Starmer put his foot in it immediately. He did not bother to invite any representation from the Hindu community. Quite astonishing given that Indians are disproportionately affected

by COVID-19. Is this incompetence? Is it negligence? Or is it the same old Labour Party happy to treat our community with contempt?

I wrote on 6th April of my serious reservations about Labour as it is now, and as it might be under the new leadership. I specifically pointed out several key issues Labour would need to tackle to remedy the situation. And in his first act as leader, he ignores us. Just incredible.

I asked leaders of several Hindu organisations if they had written to the new Labour leader. Smt Trupti Patel confirmed that the Hindu Forum of Britain had written to Sir Keir Starmer expressing their serious concerns. To his credit, Starmer did reply but he missed the opportunity to reset relations with the Hindu community. The response was nothing but political rhetoric to obfuscate a community organisation.

There was no apology, nor any understanding of the harm Labour has done to India, Indians and Hindus.

In fact Starmer has gone on to promote a number of Labour politi-

cians who have been responsible for anti-India, anti-Indian and antiHindu behaviour. These are the very people promoting the hooligans from Pakistan occupied Kashmir, and responsible for the anti-India conference motion. I hate to break this to you Keir, but if this is the mark of your leadership then you can say goodbye to any support from us. Might I suggest you first fire those who gave you such contemptible advice.

The HFB have also been in a conference call with Keir and his team.

Their President Truptiben reminded him about Labour failings in the past, but also those under his watch. He acknowledged that an apology is due, though why that has not been forthcoming (as it was the case for the Jewish community) immediately is a mystery to me. Let’s see what this apology looks like (if it ever sees the light of day) before making any judgements.

Let me remind Keir, Kashmir is not a constitutional issue, nor is it a bilateral issue. It is an integral part of India, and that includes Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir has been part of Bharat Varsh since records began thousands of years ago. So for Labour, or other politicians who wish to promote the invaders history, they will never succeed.

My challenge to Keir, at the next Party Conference, I want you to give full unreserved support for India and state clearly, Kashmir is integral to India and a Labour government will not interfere.

Keir your window of opportunity will pass by if you make the errors of the past. Time to listen to new advice, from people who will tell you the truth, regardless of whether you like it or not. You cannot save Labour if you remain in the pockets of vote bank politics.

(Expressed opinions are personal.)

We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit.

Please keep contributing as always.

If you are new, then write to Rupanjana at rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com - AV

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OFCOM FINES FORMER BROADCASTERS OF PEACE TV URDU AND PEACE TV Ofcom has fined the former licence holders of Peace TV Urdu £200,000 and Peace TV £100,000 for breaking allegedly broadcasting rules.

Peace TV Urdu and Peace TV were international satellite television channels which broadcast religious programmes from an Islamic perspective.

Ofcom investigations found that programmes broadcast on Peace TV Urdu and Peace TV contained hate speech and highly

offensive content, which in one instance was likely to incite crime.

Ofcom has concluded that the content represented serious failures of compliance with their broadcasting rules, which warranted fines.

The former licence holders, Club TV and Lord Production, must now pay £200,000 and £100,000 respectively to HM Paymaster General.

After further breaches, Ofcom moved to suspend Peace TV Urdu’s licence in November 2019, and both licences were surrendered.

WHY A COVID-19 VACCINE COULD NEVER BE AROUND While over 100 vaccines are currently under pre-clinical trials and a couple of those have entered human trial stage, a professor at Imperial College, London has sounded the warning bells by claiming that there may never be a coronavirus vaccine and that governments will be left to respond to future outbreaks of the pathogen with regional or national lockdowns.

Dr David Nabarro, a special envoy to the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Covid-19, said no 'absolute assumption' can be made 'that a vaccine will appear at all'.

Leading health experts have raised alarming questions about what if the world never sees a Covid-19 vaccine, as in the case of HIV and even dengue where there is no vaccine even after years of research.

According to a CNN report, "there is another, worst-case possibility: that no vaccine is ever developed".

In this outcome, "the public's hopes are repeatedly raised and then dashed, as various proposed solutions fall before the final hur-

dle", the report said.

"There are some viruses that we still do not have vaccines against. We can't make an absolute assumption that a vaccine will appear at all, or if it does appear, whether it will pass all the tests of efficacy and safety," Dr David Nabarro, was quoted as saying in the report.

According to Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the vaccine could happen in 12-18 months.

However, "we've never accelerated a vaccine in a year to 18 months," Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, was quoted as saying.

The Covid-19 disease could be with us many years into the future and lockdown are not sustainable economically.

"It means the culture of shrugging off a cough or light cold symptoms and trudging into work should be over. Experts also predict a permanent change in attitudes towards remote working," said the report.

PM SAYS FEAR OF NEVER SEEING SON GAVE HIM STRENGTH The fear of not seeing his newborn son helped the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson overcome the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister, 55, who was hospitalised for a week in April at St Thomas’s Hospital in London, said on Sunday that doctors had been prepared to announce his death. Incidently, the Prime Minister had spent three days in intensive care.

In an interview with the Sun, he said he focussed on positive thoughts about pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds and the impending birth of their child.

He said: ‘We’ve all got a lot to live for, a lot to do, and I won’t hide it from you, I was thinking about that, yes.’

His son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, was born last Wednesday, just over two weeks after the Prime Minister was released from hospital. Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds named their newborn son after the nurses that saved his life.

He said he jumped on his hospital bed wearing only his boxer shorts to ‘clap like crazy’ for the NHS – just two hours after leaving intensive care.

Johnson also admitted that he was in denial about how seriously the virus had affected him leading up to his admission to hospital.

"I was in denial because I was working and I kept doing these meetings by video-link," he said.

But I was really feeling pretty groggy. I was told I had to go into St Thomas'. I really didn't want to go into hospital. But they were right."

The Prime Minister had a word of praise for the NHS staff also saying they ‘pulled my chestnuts out of the fire, no question’.

US President Donald Trump has revealed that he and Johnson had discussed the latter’s battle with the virus and the Prime Minister thought it was all over.

Johnson said his moving from intensive care to general ward was an amazing moment for him as the healthcare workers clapped him out of the ICU. He said that the doctors and nurses deserve a lot of credit for the kind of work they are doing.

He was admitted on April 5 after spending three nights in intensive care before returning to a ward. The PM was discharged on April 12 and recuperated at

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Covid-19 tribute paid by laying shoes at Southend Hospital Memorial Day, a minute silence was held at the Southend Hospital, Essex in memory of the National Health Service (NHS) and key workers who have lost their lives by putting themselves on the frontline to protect people from the pandemic.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is himself recovering from the Covid-19, also joined the countrywide commemoration.

Thirteen pairs of empty shoes were laid in front of the hospital to honour those who have lost fallen to the covid-19. There have been reports suggesting the loss of 129 lives at the Southend Hospital, each pair of a shoe represented every ten fallen lives who became victim of the outbreak.

Tributes were also paid to the healthcare workers, including

doctors, nurses and other key members who have died protecting lives of ordinary citizen.

An event was also organised outside the hospital to renew the commitment to espouse the cause of those who are in the battlefield and protest lack of availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers.

There are reports suggesting death of at least 90 NHS workers in the last month that doesn’t include casualties of transport employees and other key workers.

Dame Donna Kinnair, the chief executive and general secre-

tary of the Royal College of Nursing, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror: "I am heartened to hear how many people took part in the minute's silence to honour the memory of staff who have tragically died during the pandemic. We thought it was important to pay tribute publicly to those who have lost their lives to the virus, and I am proud that so many took the time to do so this morning."

Tuesday's silence was a departure from the enthusiastic, loud clapping which has become a weekly focal point across the country.

There have been reports conforming the deaths of more than 90 NHS workers since March 25.

Those among who have lost lives includes among others the carers and bus drivers.

Faryal Makhdoom admits lockdown caused postnatal depression Faryal Makhdoom, the wife of former unified light-welterweight world champion, Amir Khan, has opened up about her postnatal issues.

Makhdoom gave birth to their third child, a son named Zaviyar, earlier this year.

Much to her dismay, due to the outbreak of Covid-19 outbreak, the UK has been facing lockdown to safeguard against the pandemic. This has led to adverse effect on the 28-year-old mother who has found it difficult to go outside her house and mingle with the society.

The five-member family, a son, two daughters, Faryal and Amir themselves, have isolated itself at the home in Bolton.

Makhdoom has also been working on behalf of her husband's Amir Khan Foundation, supporting the One Family’s fundraising initiative for NHS staff. However, it has not been easy for Faryal who has revealed she had been going through postnatal depression.

According to a report in The

Metro, she claimed that she felt very low. She said, “In the last two months of my pregnancy, I was constantly home and I thought, as soon as I have my baby I’m going to go on a nice holiday, I’m going to enjoy it with my kids and be able to take some time off but it’s so unfortunate…

She said that after pregnancy, you do go through postnatal depression but this time it was not as bad as I had with my first

child. She said that it was disheartening to hear all these deaths happening, everyone struggling and people getting laid off of jobs.

Makhdoom said all these happening around was taking a toll on her and she was getting really, really upset.

Makhdoom also revealed how she has been keeping her spirit up. She said, that she just tries to keep herself busy doing other things, reading books and finding time out, praying and meditating. She also said that she has been trying to take things in a positive way and she was getting used to the lockdown.

She also hoped to get through this period all together.

She also said that it was important for us to be listening to the government and staying home, stayin g in and not crossing the lines.

Family mourns death of PIO pharmacist

Mehool Patel, who owned and ran a community pharmacy in north west London, died in a hospital on April 23 due to Covid-19 infection. Patel, 48year-old pharmacist, is survived by his wife and two sons who are in deep mourning.

The wife of Mehool, Arpeeta paid rich tribute to her husband, who was hailed as a 'hero' by the medical fraternity for his selfless service'. On ventilator, Patel battled with the disease for a month in the hospital. His friends hailed him as a selfless person who would go to any extent to help his patients, reports The Sun. Remembering her husband, forty-six-year-old, Arpeeta said she and the entire family will miss her husband.

Mehool was the co-owner of

the shop along with his two brothers, Chirag and Hamansu.

Medical officials who knew him have spoken about how Mehool put his life in the battle against the virus.

Taking about Mehool, his brother-in-law, Pratel described him as someone who had a great sense of humour.

He was quoted as saying, "A friend and a loving husband to his wife of 23 years and a dedicated father to two beautiful daughters, aged 16 and 19 years old, who were his pride and joy.

Jayesh will leave a great void in the lives of many."

Talking about Mehool, one of his close family friend said, "Mehool was very passionate about his profession and loved his patients and would do any-

thing for them.”

He was described as a great father and a great husband who was deeply family-oriented.

Mehool was described as a man who always looked to help others and not bother about himself.

The pandemic claimed the life of another PIO pharmacist Jayesh Patel who breathed his last on April 22 at Epsom General Hospital. Recalling him, his brother-in-law, Bharat Patel was quoted as saying, “Jayesh was known amongst his family, friends, and colleagues for his sense of humour.

Jayesh was the youngest of five siblings in the family. Smita Patel, the owner of Guildford Chemist where Jayesh had worked, recalled him as a colleague and a close friend.

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Indian High Commission organises webinar on Navigating COVID19: Accessing Finance through CBILS for your Business The High Commission of India in the UK, in partnership with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and India Professional Forum (IPF), organised a webinar on ‘Navigating COVID19: Accessing Finance through CBILS for your business’ for the Indian Diaspora Small Businesses, Startups, Professionals in the UK as well as UK businesses in the UK India business corridor.

The session aimed to discuss the issues and challenges with regards to CBIL scheme for small businesses.

The session also explored non-banking options for obtaining funding under the CBIL scheme. The Webinar was attended by over 60 Indian business representatives across sectors like Financial Services, Healthcare, IT & IT Services, Trading, and business services.

While welcoming the participants, Ruchi Ghanashyam, High Commissioner of India to the UK said, “the pandemic presents and undoubtedly very challenging period in our lives, though we must try and navigate these challenges safely.”

“We are finding new ways of working and organising efforts with businesses with new technologies and the Economic team of the High Commission stands ready to assist businesses from across the UK,” she added.

Lord Karan Bilimoria, in his Keynote address said, “It’s not a fight

between health and wealth.

Impatience cannot be confused with recklessness and restarting the economy has to be done very carefully to avoid another lockdown.”

He further added, “We are starting to look ahead to see how to come out the crisis, and at the CBI we refer to the three phases of restart, revival and renewal. We need a sustainable restart based on clear scientific evidences.”

This was followed by a panel discussion on Accessing Finance through CBILS for Small & Medium Businesses. While moderating the panel Dr. Mohan Kaul, President, India Professional Forum said, “This webinar is a part of a number of joint initiatives to assist Indian diaspora businesses to continue to succeed and play an important role in strengthening the UK economy”.

The Panel Members included, Sharad Chandak, Regional Director,

SBI & CEO, SBI UK; Katrin Herrling, CEO & Co-founder, Funding Exchange; Ben Davey, CEO, Barclays Ventures; Deepesh Thakrar, Senior Director, Debt Finance, OakNorth. The panel discussed the CBILS in detail and responded to queries and questions of the participants at length.

Ben Davey, CEO, Barclays Ventures shared, “SMEs are the heart of our economy - the government has recognised that through the range of support schemes now available and the banking industry has an important role to play in supporting SMEs in accessing those funds”.

Rishi Khosla, Co-founder and Group CEO of OakNorth shared on the message, “This crisis may be as bad or even worse than 2008. There will be many businesses that were strong, profitable, healthy businesses before the pandemic which will now be struggling to survive. We are trying to find ways to support these businesses and help them through this extremely difficult time. We want to look back on this and know that as a society, we came together to support one another, to help the vulnerable, and to protect SMEs. If we get that right, it will be great learning for generations to come.”

Can’t mourn father’s demise amid Covid-19, laments GP Bromley-based general practitioner (GP), Suthan Ulakanathan who lost his father U l a g a n a t h a n Subramaniam, 65, to the Covid-19 on April 13, has lamented the fact that he and family have been hard-pressed grieving their loss due to the social distancing protocols.

Ironically, days before his father passed away, Suthan also lost his uncle Sivananthan, 56, to the pandemic.

Due to the social distancing norms, the family has been unable to mourn the loss of two elders and has been unable to follow the traditional Hindu rituals. This is also the time when the grieving families gather together and receive visitors.

The 36-year-old Suthan was quoted as saying by The News Shopper: "We are all struggling to grieve at the moment, because of the restrictions. You don’t have that personal touch with friends and family.”

He rued the fact that his father’s funeral had just been reduced to a cremation, rather than the beautiful Hindu ceremony they usually would have hold under the normal circumstances.

He also described the agony his family has been going through during such a calamity with virtually no support of any kind due to the lockdown.

Known as Nathan, Ulaganathan, who

had been living in Hayes for last 17 years, come to the UK from Sri Lanka, and made a career as a service engineer.

After initially experiencing difficulty in breathing and reduction in oxygen levels, he was admitted to the hospital on April 8.

In the initial phase, Ulaganathan responded well to the treatment but the ‘fit and well’ grandfather’s condition rapidly deteriorated. He was immediately shifted to ICU, where he died

later.

Suthan said that his father contracted the virus through his wife, who works as a GP practice manager. His uncle's wife also worked in front-line health services as a domestic, cleaning hospital wards.

Neither had access to testing in March, when they may have become infectious, as the Government has only recently began to open up eligibility to NHS staff.

Suthan was critical of the delay in the testing and said that it should have been utilised from early on. It would have helped his family to know if his mother was already infected by it. He said it seemed that those in powers couldn’t comprehend the extent of calamity they were faced with.

JUNIOR ETHNIC DOCTORS GEAR UP FOR COVID19 FIGHT The number of deaths of NHS staff from Black, Asian and minority ethnic(BAME) backgrounds who contracted coronavirus is frightening, but the young doctors from the same groups are all set for a long fight against the invisible enemy.

They were to report on duty in August. But pandemic has push forward this year's graduation. And, young doctors are out, fresh from medical colleges, to support their senior NHS force fighting COVID 19 spread.

A total of 7,588 medical students are graduating across the UK, a BBC report said. Initially, they will be attached to more experienced doctors, learning the ropes while helping with routine tasks, including taking blood and writing discharge letters.

The junior batch is going through a phase of mixed emotions. They are daunted as well as excited. The greatest challenge and as well as worry, is that they have not done any training in a pandemic environment.

Dr Jordan Foley, one of the fresh graduates, said it a new territory and environment of them.

Nearly two-thirds of the healthcare workers whose deaths have been publicly announced were from ethnic minority backgrounds, BBC analysis found.

"As a newly-qualified doc-

tor from an ethnic minority background, I do have to say is it a concern," said Dr Foley.

"As doctors we ultimately do need to work where we are required, to help patients as best as we can, so it is a risk that we may be exposed to it's just an occupational hazard."

Working in the north of England also means he will be away from his Birmingham home.

From August, he will work in respiratory medicine - right on the coronavirus front line.

Like the rest of her colleagues, Dr Ammena Zahabi was notified by email about the plans for her graduating earlier than expected. For her it just happened so abruptly.

As Dr Zahabi starts work, she will live with her parents.

Her pregnant sister, though, has moved out as a precaution.

Dr Manisha Chaudhry is a bit scared but also believed that this is the right time to put her skills to use.

According to her they are joining the NHS at a time where they know staff are being really appreciated and valued.

"There's a huge sense of good spirit and being unified against this virus.

I think that's a really lovely environment to go into and start working in. BBC quoted Dr Chaudhry.

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'COVID-19 CANCELLED OUR WEDDING' Couples facing challenges 28 year old Rahul and Anjali (name changed on request) are no different.

They planned for a £50,000 wedding, for 700 guests, across a week of events in and around London in summer 2021.

But they now fear, there is no option other than postponement of their wedding, as many uncertainties loom large across the industry.

Speaking to Asian Voice, the emotional bride-to-be said, “We met while working at the same office years back, and fell in love. My boyfriend proposed to me in Paris, during a short preChristmas trip last year, and we decided to tie the knot in 2021.

“We have planned for several events, some traditional ones that our parents insist on having, and a joint bachelorette and Bollywood themed ‘mehendi’ night.

“I was meant to go to Delhi in India, for dress and jewellery shopping this autumn, and was planning to buy this beautiful bridal wear from a designer shop that I shortlisted during my previous visits. “We wanted a dream wedding and a honeymoon in possibly Mauritius, but now we are not sure where we stand. We don’t even know if things will normalise in the coming one year.

“With venues and organisers asking for part deposit, we are not sure we want to tie down ourselves to a date and place, as there is no guarantee we can have our dream wedding even in 2021 or get deposits back. Our international guests, that includes my grandparents from Canada, great aunts and uncles and their family from the US and India may not even be able to attend, if lockdown and restrictions continue.

Moreover, there is also no scope of getting a wedding insurance now, hence we are contemplating to postpone the wedding to 2022. We may have to go back to the drawing board to plan everything from scratch, as no one knows if the world would be the same as before.”

Optometrist Shantelle Panchal from Coventry met her pharmacist

Shantelle and Mitul

fiancé Mitul Patel from Leicester, while studying at Aston University in Birmingham. The 25 year old bride-tobe, is still battling with Whittlebury Park Hotel in Northamptonshire, for a refund of the deposit for their wedding, that was meant to be on 25 April 2020.

Shantelle received an email from the hotel around the end of March, telling them about the closure of the venue till

11

30 April 2020, due to coronavirus.

When Shantelle and family asked for a refund of her cancelled wedding, she was told she would receive credit towards a new date and guests would be given a voucher to be used by the end of year. But she was also told that they needed to pay the outstanding balance of around £6,000, on top of the £3,000 she had already deposited to postpone to a later date.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Shantelle said, “After being told by Whittlebury Park in March they are having to cancel our wedding due to venue closure, we were initially trying to re-arrange our wedding for May 2021. But the hotel said it has to be within April 2021, which was not possible for us due to our religious calendar. On top of that they asked us to pay over £6000 in order to postpone. After many difficult and awkward responses, the hotel agreed to have the wedding in May 2021. After a long ordeal and seeing how the hotel treats its valued guests in such unprecedented times, we just want our money back, and start afresh elsewhere. We do not wish to support a business that is trying to profit during Covid-19, when strict guidance from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been given to issue refunds.

“Furthermore as per their contract with us, a cancellation due to ‘force majeure’ means they have to refund all the sums to the customer, however the hotel is still refusing to return our venue funds of £3000! An excuse of ‘non-refundable’ is not acceptable when no service has been provided to us or our guests. Now we have no response from the hotel, as they immorally hold on to our money & thousands of pounds from our guests who had booked hotel rooms for the wedding only, all to be refused a refund. We wish the hotel could do the right thing as many other hotel venues have refunded with no quibble. How can it be right to keep our money when it’s clear given the financial uncertainty we need the money, not a gift card! We haven’t faced this problem with any of our other suppliers.”

The hotel, which on the website said to be closed now till 8 May 2020, as we went to press, in a statement told AV, "We have sadly been left with no choice but to temporarily close our venue due to government guidance. We sympathise deeply with couples who have weddings booked over the coming weeks and will continue to offer the highest level of professionalism during this unprecedented time.

"Whittlebury is endeavouring to avoid wedding couples needing to cancel their weddings. We have a dedicated team working tirelessly to ensure that weddings can be postponed to a mutually acceptable date at no additional cost to the couple.

"If a couple does not wish to postpone their wedding, and instead wishes to cancel, then our usual terms and conditions will prevail. When a wedding is cancelled, the booking fee and instalments are retained to cover the costs we have incurred in preparing for the event. If the balance of the contract has been paid, this will be refunded as this payment reflects the on the day costs.

"We always advise that our wedding couples take out the relevant insurance and our terms highlight this recommendation too, however in this case the Bride & Groom to-be chose not to.

"If a wedding guest has booked accommodation, we are offering to rebook them at no additional cost for any time within 12 months or the date of

the wedding should it be beyond 12 months.

"The wedding industry is united in advising couples to postpone weddings, rather than cancel, not only to prevent personal financial loss and additional distress, but also to protect the suppliers and small businesses that make dream weddings possible.

"With an extremely limited team, as a result of furloughing 360 staff members, we are doing our utmost to attend to all guests’ bookings with care and professionalism. We are currently working with 18 couples to rearrange their dream day and have successfully rearranged 13 of these and awaiting confirmation from a further 4.

"We are not imposing any additional cost for a postponed wedding and are honouring our 2020 prices for them. We are delighted that this approach has resulted to date in the successful rebooking of all except one wedding from 2020 to 2021. These postponed weddings remain our top priority at this time."

Caterers and venues feel helpless Caterers like Ragasaan, who are famous for their ‘value added’ services to their clients, once provided canapes for the Prime Minister’s Diwali party at 10 Downing Street. They also help clients find a suitable venue as a package for their events or weddings, but now they are facing many problems due to some inflexible and non-cooperative venue owners.

is very minimal. The clients are talking to the venues directly and then coming back to us with options, and we are trying to accommodate the majority.”

Atul Lakhani Atul Lakhani, Director of Sanjay Foods believes this government has let down the wedding, catering and events industry the most. Sanjay Foods is famous for designing and delivering spectacular weddings, while creating delicious gourmet food. Atul, who has already written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, outlining what in particular the wedding, catering and events industry is going through, told Asian Voice, “Weddings, catering and events are part of the hospitality industry. In the definition of hospitality, the government has not included these. Therefore, there is zero support available to the people in our industry. While restaurants or takeaways may get a grant, support and business relief, our industry that has been the most affected, has been totally excluded. We were probably the first to close down, and will be the last to reopen. With this social distancing, you cannot have crowds. If you cannot have crowds, you cannot have events or wedAtul LakhaniOn one hand Chancellor is pledgdings. ing money to those affected in the industry, and yet he excludes such a significant part of the hospitality sector.”

Arun Luthra

Ragasaan Director Arun Luthra told Asian Voice, “Wherever we have been able to move dates, we have transferred the cost. Not only do we provide catering services, we also contract locations or venues (as packages) for interested parties. At the moment every case is different. We have to see how venues are responding to each request. Some venues would like a second instalment to postpone the event to 2021, some are giving flexibility to carry forward and some are asking for clearance of all dues to postpone events to 2021.

“We are in between and for us to clarify, wherever there has been objections from clients, to have a dialogue back with the venue etc, has been a challenge, more as mostly there is no one at the venue to talk to, with staff furloughed. We are trying to keep both clients and venue owners happy, though our customers have been mostly very understanding, some of the venues have not been so cooperating. We need a bit more support from venues on giving us mutually convenient dates and flexibility in such unprecedented times.

“Anybody who is contracted with us for catering services alone, the deposit

Firdaus Nagree

But Firdaus Nagree, Founder of Cavendish Banqueting, who hosts around 250 weddings a year, is using this opportunity to turn around his business, so that they can offer even better services to their clients, when the lockdown lifts. “We have taken case by case methodology, and understanding circumstances, we have refunded money to those who have cash flow issues themselves. Other people who hold on to the deal, we are working with them for a future event,” Firdaus told the newsweekly.

The serial entrepreneur speaking about his new business model added, “We have furloughed people, but haven’t required to make anyone redundant. All our businesses have a very strong back office in

India, who are now better trained and aware of the wedding scene in the UK. They have been working remotely, addressing queries, doing virtual consultations, speaking to customers who are still intending to book with us or need support services. This has been very successful, particularly for new bookings, especially for next year. We are also providing services that we are not going to earn any money on such as introducing photographers or videographers, talking about menus and table seatings with people who haven’t yet booked with us.

“We are supporting people, using this opportunity with no charge or expectation, and that has in turn helped us. We have had new bookings with smaller deposits. The team in India is now more confident, fine tuned to UK needs and it is an innovation that we will be able to use to our benefit, especially when the lockdown lifts.”

Cash flow problems for planners and organisers Many suppliers and organisers who are relying on the income through deposits received so far for events that are now postponed, are struggling with cash flow, trying to make ends meet- however possible.

Meera Majithia

Meera Majithia, the Founder of Carriages Weddings and Events, is a successful Indian wedding planner in the UK, arranging around 10-12 weddings every year.

Speaking to Asian Voice, she said, “The industry has really been hit hard. But what amazes me is how all the suppliers are coming to work together. Most have moved dates without any extra charges. We are looking at a two years’ wedding now happening in one year- in 2021.”

While the weddings are being postponed, and many are demanding a 100% refund of their deposits, leading to conflicts between the suppliers and the host, Meera thinks that despite uncertainties, she has not yet met a nervous bride turning into a ‘bridezilla’.

“Most couples have been very level headed about their wedding being postponed and calm about their deposits,” added Meera. “But those who are not meant to marry in 2020, are now getting nervous about losing out their dates and preferred venues to the weddings postponed from 2020. So they are calling around to enquire. But the problem is, many organisers and suppliers have furloughed their staff, and sometimes there is only one manager trying to deal with both old and new enquiries, leading to delays.

“I always advise my clients to take wedding insurance, but once Covid was announced, new insurance policies were made unavailable. So much is not contracted as this Covid crisis is such an unprecedented thing. Suppliers are adding new terms and conditions to contracts and most going forward, will have a clause covering such crises.”

But what has been the greatest challenge for Meera in particular? She said, “For my business in particular, cashflow has been the greatest challenge this year. I had events booked for 2020, that now stand postponed.

Usually I take 50% of the deposit during booking and take the rest later, closer to the date of

the event- and that has been a big setback for me, like it has been for many other suppliers.”

Jaspreet Pandohar, Founder of Bombay Funkadelic, who organises on average 25-30

Jaspreet Pandohar

wedding parties per year said, “We do a lot of private parties, and that includes engagement, Mehendi, pre-wedding and wedding reception parties. We would normally have one or two events per month, and we supply anything from entertainment to decoration to food and drinks packages, finding venues etc.

Due to the virus, many venues are now shut.

Couples are having to postpone or cancel their plans, which is having a knock on effect on suppliers like myself. Lined up bookings are being cancelled. Some are asking me to hold on to the deposits, and am happy to complete the job I have invoiced them for, but the uncertainties are worrying.

“The Indian weddings here are booked way in advance. Those unsure of the event in the future, have requested for a refund, and it depends on what stage I have got into with the planning. If no work was started, I am happy to refund 100%. But if work has started, I keep a nominal fee and return part of the deposit. It is upto the terms and conditions on the contract. A month before the event, there is usually zero refund.

Talking about her problems with cash flow she added, “There is no income coming in at the moment. The cash flow each month is badly affected. I am currently living off my savings, till I could claim part of my income from the government under the selfemployed scheme. But that is not open until June, and I have to wait for the government to let me know about my eligibility. My last event was on 5 March 2020 and since then I haven’t had any income!”

Vineet Johri

However, professional photographer Vineet Johri, of V Kumar photography, who covers at least 50 weddings a year, thinks that the government scheme for self-employed people like him is unhelpful, uncertain and too hard to apply. While his photographer’s insurance covers accidents and damages, it does not cover business loss. But Vineet is offering a full refund of deposits to those who booked with him. “I don’t want to hold on to anyone’s deposit. These are hard times. I am living on my savings, and my cash flow is badly affected, as expected. But if I don’t refund the money, the client would assume I am not refunding it. But if I do return the money, they will definitely come back to me with work, just because of the goodwill I have created. So I am giving 100% back.”

COVID-19 OVERSIGHT DÉJÁ-VU? Dr Shubhra Chaturvedi, Ph.D, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal, Nehru University, New Delhi, India US President Donald Trump in one of his recent statements, stated that he will seek damages from China for failing to contain the Corona virus. This comes after his decision to halt the funding of the World Health Organisation, blaming it for not handling the spread of Covid-19 well and promoting China’s disinformation about the virus. It is a classic example of the American response to “soft” governance issues.

While the reproach towards China is justified, it is also imperative to not over look the way in which America managed the pandemic and acted in a way unbecoming of the position it occupies in the global order. This article scrutinises the American actions in the current scenario in light of those followed in case of climate change. Both have a similar trend that emerges in a two stage process. First stage is full of denial and mismanagement and second leads to attempts towards crippling of global governance.

Mismanagement and crippling of global governance institutions Covid-19 is a highly infectious new strand of the coronavirus disease that was discovered in November 2019 and has infected over 3 million people all over the world. China was where the spread of coronavirus started as an epidemic. On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organisation first heard of the reports of a previously known virus leading to pneumonia in Wuhan. The virus soon spread and turned into a global pandemic. The Chinese government placed Wuhan and nearby cities under a quarantine.

The United States first responded to the pandemic with a denial from President Trump of the seriousness of Covid-19. In early March, President Trump held tours across the state of Georgia and demonstrated a casual approach toward approaches like rapid testing and social distancing. Not only the President, the Mayor of New York City Bill De Blasio also claimed that coronavirus “died in open air”. As a result of the initial slack, the virus spread dangerously and the current numbers of the confirmed cases in US are crossing 1 million.

The American image of being the leader is now being questioned with regard to its practices in times of crisis. But this is not something new. Denial of the seriousness of environmental challenges is the conventional expected response from US as seen in case of Climate change too. US President Trump only denied the phenomenon of climate change on several occasions.

When he spoke of it, the definition was confined to clean air and water.

He described climate change as an expensive hoax and a myth.

According to a survey done in January 2020 by BBC News, China at 11,256 megatonnes, the US at 5225 mega tonnes and the EU at 3475 mega tonnes are among the top three annual emitters of Carbon

Dioxide in the world. While they continue to burn fuels and utilize the resources for energy, nuclear weapons and power, they endanger countries like Lagos, Haiti, Kiribati, Yemen, Manila and so on. All these are either disaster prone or have weak governments or donot have the resources to support the advanced technology with the rising populations.

But President Trump stated that his predecessors threw away billions of American taxpayer money at the disposal of developing countries in the name of climate change. So, November 2019 saw President Trump initiate the formal process of withdrawal from the Paris Climate agreement. Infact he withdrew from the Green Climate Fund in 2017, a cause supported by his predecessor President Obama.

This is in line with his attempts to cripple institutions of global governance. On one hand, there are institutions like AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) warning the world of dangers of environmental ignorance and urging states to take timely action. On the other, there are big powers pulling out of international agreements promoting environmental protection. It is important to understand that there is no demarcation possible between the developed world and the rest.

This is evident from the crises being faced due to the nearly global spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Even when the WHO announced the public health emergency on 30 January 2020, regarding the spread of Covid-19, it advised all countries to take necessary precautions to avoid infection and secondary transmissions. At that time President Trump underplayed the outbreak. Later in April 2020, the US Intelligence agencies accused China of concealing the outbreak. While there is evidence that the coronavirus travelled around the world from Wuhan in China, this action hints shunning away of owing up a goof up. In fact, President Trump went on to criticise WHO for praising China’s initial response in the pandemic and then the follow up with the funding cuts.

With Covid-19 forcing everyone to slow down, it is crucial for us to understand the intensity with which the nature can retaliate. Most importantly, it is necessary that it is assured that the global governance does not get crippled so easily on issues of environment and global health. It is time that the powerful ones take responsibility and choose wisely and in time and if not, then the others take charge of it. We do not really have superheroes camouflaged to take the hit for us. The world leaders need should start acting according to the adage “with great power comes great responsibility’.

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9 May - 16 May 2020

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Continued from page 1

'COVID-19 CANCELLED OUR WEDDING' Couples facing challenges 28 year old Rahul and Anjali (name changed on request) are no different.

They planned for a £50,000 wedding, for 700 guests, across a week of events in and around London in summer 2021.

But they now fear, there is no option other than postponement of their wedding, as many uncertainties loom large across the industry.

Speaking to Asian Voice, the emotional bride-to-be said, “We met while working at the same office years back, and fell in love. My boyfriend proposed to me in Paris, during a short preChristmas trip last year, and we decided to tie the knot in 2021.

“We have planned for several events, some traditional ones that our parents insist on having, and a joint bachelorette and Bollywood themed ‘mehendi’ night.

“I was meant to go to Delhi in India, for dress and jewellery shopping this autumn, and was planning to buy this beautiful bridal wear from a designer shop that I shortlisted during my previous visits. “We wanted a dream wedding and a honeymoon in possibly Mauritius, but now we are not sure where we stand. We don’t even know if things will normalise in the coming one year.

“With venues and organisers asking for part deposit, we are not sure we want to tie down ourselves to a date and place, as there is no guarantee we can have our dream wedding even in 2021 or get deposits back. Our international guests, that includes my grandparents from Canada, great aunts and uncles and their family from the US and India may not even be able to attend, if lockdown and restrictions continue.

Moreover, there is also no scope of getting a wedding insurance now, hence we are contemplating to postpone the wedding to 2022. We may have to go back to the drawing board to plan everything from scratch, as no one knows if the world would be the same as before.”

Optometrist Shantelle Panchal from Coventry met her pharmacist

Shantelle and Mitul

fiancé Mitul Patel from Leicester, while studying at Aston University in Birmingham. The 25 year old bride-tobe, is still battling with Whittlebury Park Hotel in Northamptonshire, for a refund of the deposit for their wedding, that was meant to be on 25 April 2020.

Shantelle received an email from the hotel around the end of March, telling them about the closure of the venue till

11

30 April 2020, due to coronavirus.

When Shantelle and family asked for a refund of her cancelled wedding, she was told she would receive credit towards a new date and guests would be given a voucher to be used by the end of year. But she was also told that they needed to pay the outstanding balance of around £6,000, on top of the £3,000 she had already deposited to postpone to a later date.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Shantelle said, “After being told by Whittlebury Park in March they are having to cancel our wedding due to venue closure, we were initially trying to re-arrange our wedding for May 2021. But the hotel said it has to be within April 2021, which was not possible for us due to our religious calendar. On top of that they asked us to pay over £6000 in order to postpone. After many difficult and awkward responses, the hotel agreed to have the wedding in May 2021. After a long ordeal and seeing how the hotel treats its valued guests in such unprecedented times, we just want our money back, and start afresh elsewhere. We do not wish to support a business that is trying to profit during Covid-19, when strict guidance from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been given to issue refunds.

“Furthermore as per their contract with us, a cancellation due to ‘force majeure’ means they have to refund all the sums to the customer, however the hotel is still refusing to return our venue funds of £3000! An excuse of ‘non-refundable’ is not acceptable when no service has been provided to us or our guests. Now we have no response from the hotel, as they immorally hold on to our money & thousands of pounds from our guests who had booked hotel rooms for the wedding only, all to be refused a refund. We wish the hotel could do the right thing as many other hotel venues have refunded with no quibble. How can it be right to keep our money when it’s clear given the financial uncertainty we need the money, not a gift card! We haven’t faced this problem with any of our other suppliers.”

The hotel, which on the website said to be closed now till 8 May 2020, as we went to press, in a statement told AV, "We have sadly been left with no choice but to temporarily close our venue due to government guidance. We sympathise deeply with couples who have weddings booked over the coming weeks and will continue to offer the highest level of professionalism during this unprecedented time.

"Whittlebury is endeavouring to avoid wedding couples needing to cancel their weddings. We have a dedicated team working tirelessly to ensure that weddings can be postponed to a mutually acceptable date at no additional cost to the couple.

"If a couple does not wish to postpone their wedding, and instead wishes to cancel, then our usual terms and conditions will prevail. When a wedding is cancelled, the booking fee and instalments are retained to cover the costs we have incurred in preparing for the event. If the balance of the contract has been paid, this will be refunded as this payment reflects the on the day costs.

"We always advise that our wedding couples take out the relevant insurance and our terms highlight this recommendation too, however in this case the Bride & Groom to-be chose not to.

"If a wedding guest has booked accommodation, we are offering to rebook them at no additional cost for any time within 12 months or the date of

the wedding should it be beyond 12 months.

"The wedding industry is united in advising couples to postpone weddings, rather than cancel, not only to prevent personal financial loss and additional distress, but also to protect the suppliers and small businesses that make dream weddings possible.

"With an extremely limited team, as a result of furloughing 360 staff members, we are doing our utmost to attend to all guests’ bookings with care and professionalism. We are currently working with 18 couples to rearrange their dream day and have successfully rearranged 13 of these and awaiting confirmation from a further 4.

"We are not imposing any additional cost for a postponed wedding and are honouring our 2020 prices for them. We are delighted that this approach has resulted to date in the successful rebooking of all except one wedding from 2020 to 2021. These postponed weddings remain our top priority at this time."

Caterers and venues feel helpless Caterers like Ragasaan, who are famous for their ‘value added’ services to their clients, once provided canapes for the Prime Minister’s Diwali party at 10 Downing Street. They also help clients find a suitable venue as a package for their events or weddings, but now they are facing many problems due to some inflexible and non-cooperative venue owners.

is very minimal. The clients are talking to the venues directly and then coming back to us with options, and we are trying to accommodate the majority.”

Atul Lakhani Atul Lakhani, Director of Sanjay Foods believes this government has let down the wedding, catering and events industry the most. Sanjay Foods is famous for designing and delivering spectacular weddings, while creating delicious gourmet food. Atul, who has already written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, outlining what in particular the wedding, catering and events industry is going through, told Asian Voice, “Weddings, catering and events are part of the hospitality industry. In the definition of hospitality, the government has not included these. Therefore, there is zero support available to the people in our industry. While restaurants or takeaways may get a grant, support and business relief, our industry that has been the most affected, has been totally excluded. We were probably the first to close down, and will be the last to reopen. With this social distancing, you cannot have crowds. If you cannot have crowds, you cannot have events or wedAtul LakhaniOn one hand Chancellor is pledgdings. ing money to those affected in the industry, and yet he excludes such a significant part of the hospitality sector.”

Arun Luthra

Ragasaan Director Arun Luthra told Asian Voice, “Wherever we have been able to move dates, we have transferred the cost. Not only do we provide catering services, we also contract locations or venues (as packages) for interested parties. At the moment every case is different. We have to see how venues are responding to each request. Some venues would like a second instalment to postpone the event to 2021, some are giving flexibility to carry forward and some are asking for clearance of all dues to postpone events to 2021.

“We are in between and for us to clarify, wherever there has been objections from clients, to have a dialogue back with the venue etc, has been a challenge, more as mostly there is no one at the venue to talk to, with staff furloughed. We are trying to keep both clients and venue owners happy, though our customers have been mostly very understanding, some of the venues have not been so cooperating. We need a bit more support from venues on giving us mutually convenient dates and flexibility in such unprecedented times.

“Anybody who is contracted with us for catering services alone, the deposit

Firdaus Nagree

But Firdaus Nagree, Founder of Cavendish Banqueting, who hosts around 250 weddings a year, is using this opportunity to turn around his business, so that they can offer even better services to their clients, when the lockdown lifts. “We have taken case by case methodology, and understanding circumstances, we have refunded money to those who have cash flow issues themselves. Other people who hold on to the deal, we are working with them for a future event,” Firdaus told the newsweekly.

The serial entrepreneur speaking about his new business model added, “We have furloughed people, but haven’t required to make anyone redundant. All our businesses have a very strong back office in

India, who are now better trained and aware of the wedding scene in the UK. They have been working remotely, addressing queries, doing virtual consultations, speaking to customers who are still intending to book with us or need support services. This has been very successful, particularly for new bookings, especially for next year. We are also providing services that we are not going to earn any money on such as introducing photographers or videographers, talking about menus and table seatings with people who haven’t yet booked with us.

“We are supporting people, using this opportunity with no charge or expectation, and that has in turn helped us. We have had new bookings with smaller deposits. The team in India is now more confident, fine tuned to UK needs and it is an innovation that we will be able to use to our benefit, especially when the lockdown lifts.”

Cash flow problems for planners and organisers Many suppliers and organisers who are relying on the income through deposits received so far for events that are now postponed, are struggling with cash flow, trying to make ends meet- however possible.

Meera Majithia

Meera Majithia, the Founder of Carriages Weddings and Events, is a successful Indian wedding planner in the UK, arranging around 10-12 weddings every year.

Speaking to Asian Voice, she said, “The industry has really been hit hard. But what amazes me is how all the suppliers are coming to work together. Most have moved dates without any extra charges. We are looking at a two years’ wedding now happening in one year- in 2021.”

While the weddings are being postponed, and many are demanding a 100% refund of their deposits, leading to conflicts between the suppliers and the host, Meera thinks that despite uncertainties, she has not yet met a nervous bride turning into a ‘bridezilla’.

“Most couples have been very level headed about their wedding being postponed and calm about their deposits,” added Meera. “But those who are not meant to marry in 2020, are now getting nervous about losing out their dates and preferred venues to the weddings postponed from 2020. So they are calling around to enquire. But the problem is, many organisers and suppliers have furloughed their staff, and sometimes there is only one manager trying to deal with both old and new enquiries, leading to delays.

“I always advise my clients to take wedding insurance, but once Covid was announced, new insurance policies were made unavailable. So much is not contracted as this Covid crisis is such an unprecedented thing. Suppliers are adding new terms and conditions to contracts and most going forward, will have a clause covering such crises.”

But what has been the greatest challenge for Meera in particular? She said, “For my business in particular, cashflow has been the greatest challenge this year. I had events booked for 2020, that now stand postponed.

Usually I take 50% of the deposit during booking and take the rest later, closer to the date of

the event- and that has been a big setback for me, like it has been for many other suppliers.”

Jaspreet Pandohar, Founder of Bombay Funkadelic, who organises on average 25-30

Jaspreet Pandohar

wedding parties per year said, “We do a lot of private parties, and that includes engagement, Mehendi, pre-wedding and wedding reception parties. We would normally have one or two events per month, and we supply anything from entertainment to decoration to food and drinks packages, finding venues etc.

Due to the virus, many venues are now shut.

Couples are having to postpone or cancel their plans, which is having a knock on effect on suppliers like myself. Lined up bookings are being cancelled. Some are asking me to hold on to the deposits, and am happy to complete the job I have invoiced them for, but the uncertainties are worrying.

“The Indian weddings here are booked way in advance. Those unsure of the event in the future, have requested for a refund, and it depends on what stage I have got into with the planning. If no work was started, I am happy to refund 100%. But if work has started, I keep a nominal fee and return part of the deposit. It is upto the terms and conditions on the contract. A month before the event, there is usually zero refund.

Talking about her problems with cash flow she added, “There is no income coming in at the moment. The cash flow each month is badly affected. I am currently living off my savings, till I could claim part of my income from the government under the selfemployed scheme. But that is not open until June, and I have to wait for the government to let me know about my eligibility. My last event was on 5 March 2020 and since then I haven’t had any income!”

Vineet Johri

However, professional photographer Vineet Johri, of V Kumar photography, who covers at least 50 weddings a year, thinks that the government scheme for self-employed people like him is unhelpful, uncertain and too hard to apply. While his photographer’s insurance covers accidents and damages, it does not cover business loss. But Vineet is offering a full refund of deposits to those who booked with him. “I don’t want to hold on to anyone’s deposit. These are hard times. I am living on my savings, and my cash flow is badly affected, as expected. But if I don’t refund the money, the client would assume I am not refunding it. But if I do return the money, they will definitely come back to me with work, just because of the goodwill I have created. So I am giving 100% back.”

COVID-19 OVERSIGHT DÉJÁ-VU? Dr Shubhra Chaturvedi, Ph.D, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal, Nehru University, New Delhi, India US President Donald Trump in one of his recent statements, stated that he will seek damages from China for failing to contain the Corona virus. This comes after his decision to halt the funding of the World Health Organisation, blaming it for not handling the spread of Covid-19 well and promoting China’s disinformation about the virus. It is a classic example of the American response to “soft” governance issues.

While the reproach towards China is justified, it is also imperative to not over look the way in which America managed the pandemic and acted in a way unbecoming of the position it occupies in the global order. This article scrutinises the American actions in the current scenario in light of those followed in case of climate change. Both have a similar trend that emerges in a two stage process. First stage is full of denial and mismanagement and second leads to attempts towards crippling of global governance.

Mismanagement and crippling of global governance institutions Covid-19 is a highly infectious new strand of the coronavirus disease that was discovered in November 2019 and has infected over 3 million people all over the world. China was where the spread of coronavirus started as an epidemic. On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organisation first heard of the reports of a previously known virus leading to pneumonia in Wuhan. The virus soon spread and turned into a global pandemic. The Chinese government placed Wuhan and nearby cities under a quarantine.

The United States first responded to the pandemic with a denial from President Trump of the seriousness of Covid-19. In early March, President Trump held tours across the state of Georgia and demonstrated a casual approach toward approaches like rapid testing and social distancing. Not only the President, the Mayor of New York City Bill De Blasio also claimed that coronavirus “died in open air”. As a result of the initial slack, the virus spread dangerously and the current numbers of the confirmed cases in US are crossing 1 million.

The American image of being the leader is now being questioned with regard to its practices in times of crisis. But this is not something new. Denial of the seriousness of environmental challenges is the conventional expected response from US as seen in case of Climate change too. US President Trump only denied the phenomenon of climate change on several occasions.

When he spoke of it, the definition was confined to clean air and water.

He described climate change as an expensive hoax and a myth.

According to a survey done in January 2020 by BBC News, China at 11,256 megatonnes, the US at 5225 mega tonnes and the EU at 3475 mega tonnes are among the top three annual emitters of Carbon

Dioxide in the world. While they continue to burn fuels and utilize the resources for energy, nuclear weapons and power, they endanger countries like Lagos, Haiti, Kiribati, Yemen, Manila and so on. All these are either disaster prone or have weak governments or donot have the resources to support the advanced technology with the rising populations.

But President Trump stated that his predecessors threw away billions of American taxpayer money at the disposal of developing countries in the name of climate change. So, November 2019 saw President Trump initiate the formal process of withdrawal from the Paris Climate agreement. Infact he withdrew from the Green Climate Fund in 2017, a cause supported by his predecessor President Obama.

This is in line with his attempts to cripple institutions of global governance. On one hand, there are institutions like AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) warning the world of dangers of environmental ignorance and urging states to take timely action. On the other, there are big powers pulling out of international agreements promoting environmental protection. It is important to understand that there is no demarcation possible between the developed world and the rest.

This is evident from the crises being faced due to the nearly global spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Even when the WHO announced the public health emergency on 30 January 2020, regarding the spread of Covid-19, it advised all countries to take necessary precautions to avoid infection and secondary transmissions. At that time President Trump underplayed the outbreak. Later in April 2020, the US Intelligence agencies accused China of concealing the outbreak. While there is evidence that the coronavirus travelled around the world from Wuhan in China, this action hints shunning away of owing up a goof up. In fact, President Trump went on to criticise WHO for praising China’s initial response in the pandemic and then the follow up with the funding cuts.

With Covid-19 forcing everyone to slow down, it is crucial for us to understand the intensity with which the nature can retaliate. Most importantly, it is necessary that it is assured that the global governance does not get crippled so easily on issues of environment and global health. It is time that the powerful ones take responsibility and choose wisely and in time and if not, then the others take charge of it. We do not really have superheroes camouflaged to take the hit for us. The world leaders need should start acting according to the adage “with great power comes great responsibility’.

12 MEDIA WATCH

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SCRUTATOR’S No social distancing while queuing up to buy liquor

The government has now permitted liquor shops to reopen in green, orange, and red zones (barring the containment zones).

Of course, there are restrictions in place and shopkeepers have been instructed to ensure that customers maintain a distance of two metres between each other.

Now that liquor shops have been reopened, people have been spotted queuing up outside the stores from the wee hours of May 4. While some stores are indeed trying their best to maintain social distancing, others are unable to stop people from crowding. Some photos show how circles have been sketched outside stores to specify where customers should be standing while waiting for their turn. Only five people are allowed to be present inside the store and Section 144 is stil l applicable in many states around the country.

Are people really that thirsty that they have been crowding outside liquor stories from 7am just to get their hands on their favourite booze? All messages from the government about social distancing and staying home have fallen on deaf ears. (Agency)

Aarogya Setu mandatory for employees in India Aarogya Setu, India’s own contact tracing app has been made mandatory for both government and private sector employees. So far, participation on the app was voluntary but the new order from the Union Home Ministry will not only make it necessary for private and government sector employees but also for people within a containment zone. The new directive will force many new users onto the contact tracing application. Aarogya Setu compiles user location and Bluetooth data to form a network of information to warn authorities of a potential spread of the virus. The app has already registered with over 50 million downloads on Google Play Store with over 300,000 reviews.

Apart from contact tracing, the application acts as a one-stop solution for spreading awareness about Covid-19, helping self diagnose users and provide latest updates. Once a user downloads the app, it will ask for contin uous Bluetooth access and location data.

The app then asks for some info that will help build data about the users. In the next step, a selfassessment test is put forward where the user is asked about their current health and whether they are showing any of the symptoms

of Covid-19. The user will also have to declare their travel history.

In case you're a doctor, the app will ask if you were exposed to Covid -19 patients. Depending on the answers, the app will suggest a way forward. (Agency)

Path cleared for Uddhav to retain CM seat

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray

The Election Commission has announced election to nine legislative council seats in Maharashtra, with polling to be held on May 21. The schedule, deferred earlier due to the lockdown, will allow CM Uddhav Thackeray to become a member of the state legislature before the May 27 deadline to remain in his post.

Constitutional norms require a minister who is not member of either house of legislature at the time of assuming office to be elected within six months.

Uddhav’s deadline ends on May 27.

At a full commission meeting, comprising CEC Sunil Arora, who joined from the US via video call, and election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra, the EC reviewed the suitability of conducting c ouncil polls in Maharashtra. The meeting followed requests from state governor B S Koshyari, Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP that polls be conducted and completed by May 27 in the interest of a stable state government. It also considered the chief secretary’s view that holding polls in a safe environment was possible with all preventive measures in place in view of the Covid-19 crisis. (The Times of India)

Gujarat plans incentive for frontline warriors The Gujarat government plans to give financial incentives to boost the morale of frontline workers posted at government hospitals designated as Covid-19 hospitals. The beneficiaries will include doctors, nurses,

paramedical staff, and sanitation workers posted at government-run facilities. The incentives could be up to one month’s additional salary. Sources said that the g overnment is addressing day-today issues being faced by the frontline Covid warriors and is providing them with the best possible lodging and other arrangements that include food, yoga facility, entertainment and psychological counselling.

“However, to boost the morale of these frontline warriors, the state government has decided to provide them with financial incentives as well,” a source said. A proposal to this effect has been sent to the state government. “However, the Government of India is also planning to announce similar incentives,” the source said. “So, the state government is likely to wait for some time and merge the incentives with state government sops.” (The Times of India)

Mad scramble for tobacco products Nearly 50 people gatecrashed to a shop and made a mad scramble for tobacco products in Surendrangar district of Gujarat.

The video of the incident reported from Sudamada village of Sayla taluka went viral on social media.

The nicotine addicts gatecrashed the shop of Ramesh Ali Mehrani after news spread that he had procured bidis and chewing tobacco of a popular brand.

Mehrani sells cattle feed. But had brought more than 50 boxes, each containing 20 bundles of bidis and 30 boxes of chewing tobacco of a popular brand, police said. “About 20 boxes of bidis and 10 boxes of tobacco had already been sold when we raided his shop. People, elderly and youngsters, gave too hoots to social distancing and made a mad scramble for tobacco,” said Shaktisinh Gohil of Sayla police station. “When the crowd saw us, they dispersed in a

matter of minutes. We arrested Mehrani and seized 30 boxes of bidis and 20 boxes of tobacc os, all worth Rs 12,600,” added Gohil.

(The Times of India)

Yoga, chants for Covid treatment Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan advocated the use of yoga, chants and music for treatment of Covid19 infections along with other

Odisha, West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya. “We had to pass through countless checkposts. We were interrogated by policemen particularly at the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal borders, and screened for Covid-19 before we were allowed passage,” says Jeyendhran. Finally overcoming all the odds they accomplished their mission. (The Times of India)

Govt, ADB sign $1.5bn loan to fight Covid-19

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan

existing systems of treatment.

“Many diseases are cured with love but when it comes to infections like Covid-19 even the mother can’t touch her son. So, along with the prevailing system of treatment, elemental practices in Indian traditions can be tried,” the senior BJP leader said after holding a video conference with religious leaders. Chouhan asked the leaders to send in their suggestions for alternative treatments. “Maybe we will come out with a module for treatment.

It could even reduce the death rate,” he said, suggesting songs, bhajans and shlokas to boost the morale of Covid-19 patients. The video interaction came a day after Chouhan announced that the BJP government will distribute 10 million packets of ayurvedic churan to build immunity. The Congress had criticised the CM over Chouhan’s photograph on food packets. “People are dying of coronavirus but your hunger for publicity is not ebbing,” said Congress leader Jeetu Patwari.

(The Indian Express)

Duo drives 3,450 km from TN to Mizoram to take body When ambulance driver S Chinnathambi began his four-day 3,450 km journey from Tamil Nadu to Mizoram, carrying the body of 28-year-old Vivian Remsanga, he did not dare tell his family where he was going. “I knew they would not understand why I was taking such a risk in the middle of a pandemic,” says Chinnathambi. “But for me, all I wanted was to give a family the chance to bury their son.” On April 23, Vivian had died of a heart attack, and with the city in lockdown, transporting the body to his hometown looked next to impossible, especially with air routes shut down. But that’s when Chinnathambi and fellow driver P Jeyendhran stepped in to take on the journey no one else was willing to. After the Chennai Mizo Welfare Association coordinated the paperwork and state permits, the two drivers, along with Vivian’s friend Raphael AVL Malchhanhima, began their arduous journey across six states Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,

The government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $1.5 billion loan that will support the Centre’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and help in shoring up the country’s healthcare facilities and provide social protection for vulnerable sections of the population. ADB is also in dialogue with the government for further possible support for stimulating the economy, supporting strong growth recovery, and to build resilience to future shocks, an official statement said. This includes support for affected industries and entrepreneurs, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by facilitating their access to finance through credit guarantee schemes, MSME integration into global and national val ue chains through enterprise development centres, and a credit enhancement facility for infrastructure projects. The largest-ever loan for the healthcare sector will focus on immediate priorities such as disease containment and prevention, as well as social protection for the poor and economically vulnerable sections of society, especially women and disadvantaged groups. The loan from ADB follows the $1 billio n extended by the World Bank earlier. (The Times of India)

Couple abandon girl’s body, go home A 6-month-old girl died in Ahmedabad Civil Hospital recently, after being admitted due to complications not related to Covid-19. When the hospital staff searched for kin of the girl, they couldn’t find anyone and informed police. DCP, Zone-4, Neeraj Badgujar said the infant’s parents, Bharat Damor and his wife, residents of Naroda, had come to Civil Hospital with their daughter and the baby died due to some other complications. She hadn’t been admitted for Covid19, but for some other illness.

Damor and his wife left the body of the girl in the hospital and went away. They managed to reach Dungarpur in Rajasthan. After police investigation, the body of the girl was buried by a charitable organization. The burial took place with religious rites being performed by the charitable organization. Inspector K B Rathod, who handled the investigation, said, “We went to the place where Damor used to live in Naroda. We were able to trace his cousin. He rang up Damor and asked him to return for the baby’s cremation, but he refused and gave permission to the police to cremate the baby.” (The Times of India)

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9 May - 16 May 2020

in brief ELDERLY'S FREE RUSH-HOUR TRAVEL MAY BE SUSPENDED As London prepares to get transport moving again, the elderly unlikely to get free rush-hour travel.

The ministers are mulling one-way system on the train platforms as part of exiting the lockdown.

Freedom Pass holders in the capital could be prevented from travelling for free during rush-hour as Britain's coronavirus lockdown is eased, a report in Daily Mail suggested.

Transport chiefs have also said train capacity could be limited by 15 to 20 per cent in order for two-metre social distancing measures to be upheld.

The proposals come as militant unions threatened to use the coronavirus crisis to demand a new deal for rail workers - including higher pay and a public service 'free from the grip of private speculation.'

Transport minister Grant Shapps this morning suggested one-way systems could be implemented in train stations as the public are eased back into normal life.

He added that hand sanitiser dispensers could be installed in stations to help with 'basic hygiene and hand washing' which is 'still by far and away the most important advice above anything else.'

Transport chiefs have also said train capacity could be limited by 15 to 20 per cent in order for two-metre social distancing measures to be upheld after restrictions are eased.

For example, a 12-carriage train which at capacity can carry up to 1,200 passengers would instead hold just 200.

UK MULLS STRICTER ANTICOVID MEASURES FOR FOREIGNERS

As the UK Government 'actively' considers stronger anti-coronavirus measures at the borders, foreign visitors may face quarantine time, a senior minister revealed today.

Downloading of new contract app could also become mandatory for new arrivals, said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

The UK, which has so far not halted inbounds flights, will be the last countries to go for stricter restrictions.

People arriving are advised to self-isolate but there is no enforced testing.

Home Secretary Priti Patel is believed to be among those who have demanded tougher rules for foreign visitors and the remaining Brits still abroad who make it home.

Appearing on the BBC's Andrew Marr show Shapps said: 'I think it is important that as we are seeing the numbers decrease and the R rate we hope decrease... that we do ensure that the sacrifices in a sense - social distancing - that we are asking the British people to make are matched by anybody who comes to this country.

'I am actively looking at these issues right now so that when we have infection rates within the country under control, we are not importing.'

Last week Bournemouth Airport became the first UK airport to start checking passengers for signs of coronavirus.

Speaking to Sky News's Ridge on Sunday this morning, Shapps announced that the new smartphone contact tracing app being developed by the NHS's digital arm would start trials on the Isle of Wight this week.

And he mooted the idea of making its use mandatory for new arrivals - although it is unclear how people who do not possess a mobile phone would be affected.

FURLOUGH SPENDING NOT SUSTAINABLE IN LONG RUN: CHANCELLOR

Even as Chancellor Rishi Sunak looks to do away with the furlough scheme by end of June, he assured on Monday, there would be ‘no cliff edge’.

“I am working to figure out the most effective way to wind down the scheme and ease people back into work in a measured way," Sunak said.

He said, "But as some scenarios have suggested we are potentially spending as much on the furlough scheme as we do on the NHS (National Health System) for example.

Now, clearly that is not a sustainable situation."

The scheme is likely to cost the public finances around 39 billion pounds, based on an assumption that 30% of employees are enrolled, Britain's official budget forecasters have said.

The furlough has been critical to the workforce with around 6.3 million of them having up to 80% of their salaries paid by the treasury.

NRIs give thumbs up to Modi On International Labour Day, Senior BJP Leader Dr. Vijay Jolly convened a historic video dialogue among NRI Leaders on coronavirus pandemic.

32 nations prominent NonResident-Indian leaders participated in a marathon 3 hours & 20 minutes long video interaction. It started at 9 am (Indian standard time) & concluded at 12.20 pm late afternoon. This live show was successfully conducted & compared by Ex-Global Convenor BJP Overseas Affairs Dr. Vijay Jolly from New Delhi, India.

Besides Dr. Jolly, from India Senior RSS Pracharak Ram Lal , from London Veteran Journalist & Editor Gujarat Samachar C.B. Patel, from NairobiKenya Ex-Parliamentarian Ms. Sonia Kaur Birdie and from Dubai Pravasi Bharteeya Samman awardee Girish Pant specially joined this unique first NRI (bharat-vansi samwad) thru video conferencing.

Dr. Jolly in his opening address welcomed all.

One minute silence was observed to mourn 2,33,830 global deaths due to coronavirus .

Dr. Jolly lauded PM Modi & BJP President J.P. Nadda for successfully steering & motivating 135 crore densely populated India in corona hardships.

Indian active engagement among SAARC & G-20 nations by PM Modi, in recent glob al health crisis, earned Bharat & Bharatvansi's unparalleled laurels claimed BJP leader Dr. Jolly.

"NRI's Thums-Up To PM Modi" for total lockdown, cheering, clapping & honouring corona warriors and providing help with food and subsidies to the poor was loudly cheered by all.

NRI's were elated & honoured to exchange greetings of safety & security

from India during these troubled times.

RSS Pracharak Ram Lal espoused the recent call of RSS Sar-Sangh Chalak Mohan Rao Bhagwat ji (RSS Chief) to shun negative attitude, work with social welfare attitude tirelessly among poor and treat all 135 crore Indian citizens of various religions as equal brothers & sisters in India & overseas.

RSS leader Ram Lal stated that it is a global crime that China didn't share vital information on it's initial corona virus cas es with other nations. This allowed its phenomenal spread worldwide. But India was caused more hardships & wide spread of corona cases due to non-cooperation of Jamaat.

Especially it's insistence to perform collective namaz prayers. Dis-regarding human safety and security. Ram Lal further stated that such pandemics do not consider religions & religious barriers. But specially the Indian village folks despite illiteracy, poverty & nondevelopment behaved disciplinedly to fight corona highlighted RSS leader.

Hats-off to rural India stated Ram Lal ji.

PM Modi and his strong determination to fight corona was highlighted by RSS functionary in his short yet crisp address. Every one greeted him with "Jai Hind" & "NAMASKAR" which US President Donald J. Trump and British heir to the Throne Prince Charles recen tly followed claimed ever smiling, active & positive political analyst and DELHI STUDY GROUP President Dr. Vijay Jolly.

Prominent participants were Ms. Aisha Amjad (Australia), Naveen Kohli (Belarus), Jamnu (Brunei), Sardar Jahan Deep Gujral (Canada), Dr. Sirajjudin (Cambodia), Ms. Riddhi Damodar (Fiji), Ajay Minocha (Germany), Sohan Goenka (Hong-Kong), Tejpal Joshi (Italy), Ms. Sonia Kaur (Indonesia), Dr. Aaron Abraham (Israel), Sandeep Moody (Kazakhstan), Vimal Chadda, Naran, Anita & Sonia Kaur Birdie (Kenya), Prabhat Gupta (Malaysia), Lalji Kurji Ramji Patel (Mauritius), Aruna (Macau), Piyush Vajpayee (Malta), Ajay (Norway), Akash Raval (New Zealand), Sharma (Nigeria), Rajiv Gupta (Russia), Pushottam (Singapore), A. Bramhbhat (Scotland), Mrs. Shama (South Africa), Ms. Sanita (Suriname), C.B. Patel & R. Vyas (London), Puneet Ahluwalia & Dr. Sangeeta Malik (USA), Girish Pant & Umesh Awatramani (UAE), Ashok Tewari (Uzbekistan), Mukesh Gupta (Ukraine), Arvind (Uganda) and Taj Mohammed (Tajikistan) besides Indian journalists, members of Delhi Study Group, Himalaya Pariwar, JVM and ASSOCHAM business leaders etc.

The video dialogue concluded with a pledge by all to make strong their adopted countries of bread & butter.

And also promote & strengthen Indian values, heritage, culture and friendship among all worldwide.

UK prepares lockdown exit strategy

Plans are afoot by the Boris Johnson’s government for reopening of the economy. A “workplace by workplace” detailed guidelines are expected to roll out.

The Prime Minister is preparing to announce that coronavirus is being contained, said a report in FT. Once the easing of the lockdown measure is announced, Alok Sharma, business secretary, is likely to come out with 10 papers setting out in “granular detail” how the economy can start to reopen.

The said papers are likely to address the demands from across the industries and businesses for more clarity and exit strategy.

Where ever possible, the office staff will be advised to continue work from home, avoiding congestion on public transport — with revised shift patterns in all sectors to help maintain distance.

“It is only right that we work together with industry and unions to ensure workplaces are safe for both those in work now and for those going back to work as government measures develop,” a government spokesman said. Tory MPs expect outdoor sectors of the economy to see restrictions eased first, with hospitality businesses and nightclubs likely to be at the end of the queue.

The Health and Safety Executive is working with the business department to provide its stamp of approval for standard guidelines for sectors that employers can adhere to — akin to a “kitemark”.

Johnson, who celebrated the birth of a son with his fiancée Carrie Symonds on Wednesday, is expected to say on Thursday that coronavirus is being contained but it is not yet time to lift the lockdown, the FT further

reports.

He will say the infection rate of the virus is being driven down, but any easing of restrictions will be gradual to avoid the health and economic risks of a second big peak.

On Wednesday, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, announced the UK's coronavirus death toll had exceeded 26,000 as figures from care homes and the wider community were included in the national data.

Raab noted even Germany — seen as a model over its handling of the crisis — was “having to think twice about easing up the measures because of the risk of a second spike”.

Johnson will say the average rate of infection — the so-called “R number” — has fallen below 1, meaning that each person on average infects fewer

than one other. Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said this week he thought the R number was around 0.75.

Johnson wants to drive that number down further before any easing of the lockdown takes place: ministers will next week consider whether to “modify” restrictions.

Sharma’s initiative, the result of detailed talks with employers and unions, is the first detailed blueprint of how the British economy might look in the “new normal” of social distancing as restrictions are lifted.

Labour leader Keir Starmer urged Johnson to set out a clear exit strategy, saying Britain risked “falling behind” countries like France, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Australia, which had published plans for ending the lockdown.

UK doc advises healthy diet to Indians

A healthy diet is a must fighting against coronavirus . Indians have been advised to cut down onultra-processed food to build resilience against the deadly virus, a leading Indian-origin cardiologist in the UK has cautioned.

Obesity and excess weight is the ‘elephant in the room' which needs to be addressed, according to Dr Aseem Malhotra, who is among the UK's National Health Service (NHS) frontline medics and also a professor of evidence based medicine.oronavirus.

Dr Malhotra(42) believes that India is particularly vulnerable, having a very high prevalence of lifestyle related diseases. Specifically, conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease are three of the major risk factors for death from Covid-19. This is

rooted in excess body fat, a cluster of conditions known as metabolic syndrome.

In the UK and US, more than 60 per cent of adults are overweight or obese, he noted.

In the US, less than one in eight people are metabolically healthy, which means having normal blood pressure, having a weight circumference if you are a man less than a 102cm and less than 88cm for a woman and healthy levels of blood sugar and good cholesterol.

Besides, a very high intake of refined carbohydrate foods in the Indian diet is also causing concern.

About recent data on the higher risk faced by black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities in the UK from coronavirus, the NHS doctor believes that disparity is also cultural or lifestyle-related.

14 UK

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9 May - 16 May 2020

AsianVoiceNews

TLIGHT

Kavi Shah Candid Stories

Kavi Shah

Sunetra Senior

K

avi has a simple yet refreshingly honest style. Her candid photography consists of family, individual and interpersonal shots, striking in their lucid emotion and subtle luminosity. Her work might radiantly belie a subject’s profession, or an emotional bond shared between two people, or simply a certain mood at a significant moment in time. “I actually started out by taking a photograph of my friend’s newborn baby”, she told us. From there, the bookings flowed. “I seemed to have a knack for lifestyle photography. I enjoy capturing the specific everyday sentiments: that special bond between a mother and her child, a daughter’s relationship with her father as she giggles.” Kavi’s single subject shots also powerfully relay the client’s personality while group photographs joyfully explore the dynamics between the people pictured. She added: “I’ve grown my portfolio through family photography for which I still receive the most bookings! These precious moments are fleeting so it’s important to be able to keep them in some way: these snaps will go up on people’s walls, becoming a tangible part of their personal history. You can remember someone as a child or commemorate a landmark achievement.”

I enjoy helping others better express themselves.” Being attentive and allowing the subject to speak for themselves then, Kavi achieves an altogether purer meaning.

When building a brand, Kavi emphasised the pivotal role of online presence in not just getting your work out there but also boosting an authentic personal account. “As well as managing my professional work, I have a blog, The Curious Londoner. It contains pictures from my wanderings which people have enjoyed. It’s been important to regularly upload shareable material that will excite others as it excites you! It’s crucial to keep that consistent too. You need to make a digital impact so that people can find you.” In short, people are drawn to articles where they can feel a genuine passion which resonates with them. And so, rising through her loyal yet creative approach, Kavi demonstrates that quality storytelling is as much about being able to present a sensitive context as it is creating strong content. This is what determines a successful piece over a mediocre one.

“I remember growing up with photo albums in the house,” she aptly concluded. “As a child, my father taught me that framing is the most important concept in

Interestingly, Kavi’s background is in the writerly world of journalism. She has written news for Metro, worked for The Telegraph as a sub-editor and commissioning editor, reviewed "Framing restaurants for What do you want to is the most the trendy do with your photography lifestyle magimportant concept in the future? azine, Time Out London, in photography. This I get commissions for as well as travel writing within my hones the focus on copywriting journalistic career so it for companies a particular would be great to be able to and brands. “I take photos of places alongoften get comsubject" side writing about them: I’m missioned to write interested in travel photography ‘case studies’. This is and moving to landscape shots. where you cover a perPeople have enjoyed hearing about son’s story, perhaps focussing on a definplaces I’ve visited and often ask for recing event, to give them a voice. It’s the ommendations. I’d also like to dabble in same drive for my photography. I love food photography, perhaps for restauworking with natural energy to directly rants. communicate a message minus the fluff.

ease people back into work in a measured way," Sunak said.

He said, "But as some scenarios have suggested we are potentially spending as much on the furlough scheme as we do on the NHS (National Health System) for

Dear Reader, An act of kindness during this crisis

In the midst of the untold misery caused by the current crisis, it is heartwarming to hear about acts of kindness and selflessness towards our fellow beings.

If you know of an an individual, an organaisation, a business or a charity that has gone the extra mile to reach out and touch someone's life through an act of kindness we would like to know.

Their generosity could be financial, material or emotional support.

COLORS TV confirms UK telecast of epic mythological series ‘Mahabharat’ What tips do you have for boosting online presence?

I try to make content that’s positive and unique to each social platform. I simply want to be able to help, amuse or inspire people. That naturally attracts people who don’t think twice to share! I also post a lot of my work online (both my photography and my writing work) so people can see what I’m up to – this helps to attract new clients too.

Lots! In terms of journalism, a relevant course helps, but more important than that, get lots of work experience under your belt and don’t be afraid to chase contacts. I’ve cold called editors asking if they needed anything done. Be ahead of the game – editors want to know what’s new or trendy in the world. Try to stand out through your work ethic: for example, if you can make a deadline earlier, do it! There are not as many people from ethnic minority backgrounds in the national newspaper workforce as there could be, but don’t let that deter you.

When it comes to photography, learn about your camera first and foremost. I took courses with the London School of Photography to learn about the settings and technical elements, before learning about photo editing using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop as it’s such an important part of the process. If there’s ever anything you’re stuck on, check on YouTube as there are many photographers giving useful advice, or reach out to a fellow photographer with a question.

Build up your portfolio by taking photographs of family and friends, and create an online presence, through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or a website, where you can share your work and get yourself noticed. Keep going, being you.

W: www.facebook.com/photographybykavi / www.thecuriouslondoner.com

Furlough spending not sustainable in long run: Chancellor Even as Chancellor Rishi Sunak looks to do away with the furlough scheme by end of June, he assured on Monday, there would be ‘no cliff edge’.

“I am working to figure out the most effective way to wind down the scheme and

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Please email your story to rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Editor/Publisher Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar.

You now freelance as a photographer and writer, do you have any advice for anyone considering going into either of these industries?

photography. This hones the focus on a particular subject. You might crop out people in the background or close in on the face. Taking a shot from higher up or lower down also makes a huge difference. You can crucially affect the mood.”

As well as, ultimately, the clarity with which a viewer discerns a certain reality.

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

example. Now, clearly that is not a sustainable situation."

The scheme is likely to cost the public finances around 39 billion pounds, based on an assumption that 30% of employees are enrolled, Britain's official budget forecasters have said.

The furlough has been critical to the workforce with around 6.3 million of them having up to 80% of their salaries paid by the treasury.

After announcing the India telecast of BR Chopra’s ‘Mahabharat’, IndiaCast UK Ltd, the distributors of Colors internationally has confirmed that the mythological will air in the UK from Wednesday.

Starring Nitish Bharadwaj, Mukesh Khanna, Rupa Ganguly, Gajendra Chauhan, and Puneet Issar, Mahabharat is directed by Ravi Chopra, ‘Mahabharat’ was first aired between 1988-90. Back in time, watching the show used to be a morning ritual and the streets would go silent as the entire nation would tune in to watch the episodes with their families. Decades later, the show is still deemed cult for its rich storyline, grandeur, and fine performances and holds a memorable place in our lives.

‘Mahabharat’ will air on COLORS TV daily from Wednesday 6th May in a two-hour slot at 20:00 – 22:00, with a repeat telecast the following day at 13:30 – 15:30. It will air with English subtitles. COLORS is available on SKY 706 and Virgin 826.

Baroness Scotland lands in controversy facing allegations of ‘cronyism’ Baroness Scotland of Asthal is facing new allegations of ‘cronyism’ after supporting a property developer proposing building a hospital at the Nursery End, which she said could create profits of £60 million, The Times has reported. Charles Rifkind is believed to be the developer who owns the freehold of the disused railway tunnels at the Nursery End, and is reportedly a trustee of a charity, linked to Baroness’ cricket scheme.

The Times further reported that former Sri Lankan team captain Kumar Sangakkara, the president of MCC was reportedly recruited

by Lady Scotland to join Peace at the Crease, an initiative she launched to “use Commonwealth cricket connections to promote peace and development”.

An MCC spokeswoman told The Times that the club received an outline proposal from Mr Rifkind relayed through Baroness Scotland. She added, “...The terms provided are unacceptable and the proposed development does not address many of the critical issues that were pivotal in the club’s rejection of the previous scheme. The club has written to Mr Rifkind politely declining his proposal.”

www.asian-voice.com

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SPECIAL

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Does Covid-19 make writing a Will more relevant among Brit-Asians?

Rupanjana Dutta A 31 year old nurse, Lucie Cocker, fighting on the frontline against the coronavirus pandemic has revealed to The Sun that she has made a will in case she dies battling the virus.

Coronavirus has brought out the most grim thoughts in everyone, with many families discussing openly about death for the first time, especially among Asian in Britain.

In her late 30s, South Londoner Renee Ghosh, a professional baker, never thought of a will before her father fell suddenly and severely ill, two years ago, with very slim chances of survival. That made her think, and draw up a will even before others in the family. “My father suddenly started talking about a will and that was our first discussion around death, his property, investments and assets, left for my mum, me and my sister. It was an emotional process, but a timely decision helped us a lot. And this also helped me to put my house in order, for my partner and children.”

But it has not been easy for 42 year old Sunita Ranganathan from Milton Keynes, a software professional, to convince her family about writing a will. She tried to speak to her husband about a prospect of will after their second child was born. A will is the only legal way to specify what you want

to happen to your child, if you die before they are 18. And many people are driven to make a will, only for the sake of their children. But the common reluctance to discuss death in Asian families and lack of ‘happy thoughts’ made it too hard.

While Asian families are mostly good at saving for the rainy days, investments and asset building, looking out for their children, also leaving behind something tangible for them, they are quite shy and unprepared when it comes to discussing death and all the legal requirements that may follow and be associated with it.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Sunita added, “I think it’s a taboo in many Asian households to talk of death and such scenarios. I know that death as a subject is painful enough for loved ones. But having a will in

place is one less thing to worry about. I’ve seen the devastation mentally that happens when death happens unexpectedly. A will makes it easier not to worry about money, logistics and paperwork.

“After the coronavirus pandemic struck the world, unexpected deaths everywhere is making me think it is perhaps time to bring up ‘the elephant in the room’ again.”

However Joseph John, an IT professional and wife Prashi from Maidenhead, are a British Asian couple in their late 30s and have a different story to share. They drew up a will two years back to ensure their son had a guardian to look

after him, if something happened to them both.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Joseph said he did not think coronavirus made a will more relevant, though he agreed that it made people think about death more. “We sat with the will writer, and went through all the combinations of who dies and what to do in that scenario. It was quite a grim process, but was good to get out of the way,” he told the newsweekly. “We were to make sure our son was cared for if both my wife and I died. So a will would establish immediately who is responsible instead of the rest of the family scrambling to make those decisions. In our case we have picked my brother as temporary guardian as he is in the UK and my wife’s brother as a long term guardian. Of course we spoke to both parties about it, before putting them down as so,” he added.

A recent research carried out by Royal London, YouGov, IRN Research and Orchard has revealed some interesting statistics about wills. 5.4 million adults do not know where to begin when it comes to writing a will and 54% of adults do not have a will. The research, from insur-

15

9 May - 16 May 2020

ance company Royal London, also states that nearly 60% of parents don’t have a valid will – meaning they either don’t have one at all, or the will they do have is out of date.

On a similar boat is Nandan Sengupta, a management consultant and academician in his 50s from Cambridge, who works both in India and the UK. He shared his view with the newspaper and said, “My wife and I discussed the importance of drawing up a will a few years back. With time it got pushed under the carpet, but the Covid-19 has brought out the worst of worries in us. We have a daughter, and I would like to put all the paperwork in place.

But that means taking account of both of our family assets in India, as well as evaluating them, which at the moment is something too difficult to draw up.”

For many Asian families, who have assets (estates) both in their country of origin (overseas) as well as the UK, writing a will is not a simple process and the correct advice is key. So many prefer speaking to their investment and tax advisors, accountants and solicitors, before weighing their options and making up their mind about how to proceed.

Continued on page 16

16 SPECIAL

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

www.asian-voice.com

9 May - 16 May 2020

Continued from page 15

Contesting a Will - Inheritance Does Covid-19 make writing a will spouse or civil partner of the Incidents of contested wills have deceased, the provision will be risen in recent years in England & based on what it is reasonable for Wales. This is mainly due to the applicant to receive, rather diverse family structures and than what sum is required to increasing property values, maintain them. For other meaning successful inheritance applicants, this will be based on claims are increasingly valuable. what would be reasonable in the Under the Inheritance circumstance for the applicant’s (Provisions for Family maintenance.

Dependants) Act 1975 (“the 1975 If the court determines that a Act”), relatives and dependants can Sundeep Oberoi, Solicitor reasonable financial provision has challenge the provisions of a will if they do not make "reasonable financial not been made in the will, a decision on any provision" for them. A claim can be brought award will be made by considering the following under the 1975 Act even if the will is valid or if factors: • The financial resources and needs of the there is no will in place.

Who can claim under the 1975 Act? applicant • The financial resources and needs of any other To claim under the 1975 Act, you must fall applicants • The financial resources and needs of any into one of the following categories: beneficiaries of the estate • A spouse or civil partner of the deceased • The former spouse or civil partner of the • The deceased’s obligations and responsibilities to other applicants or beneficiaries deceased who has not remarried • A cohabitee of the deceased – this means that • The size and nature of the estate they must have been living together as if they • Any physical or mental disability of other were husband and wife or civil partners for at applicants or beneficiaries • Any other matters, including the conduct of the least two years before the date of death applicant, which the court considers relevant • A child of the deceased • Someone who was treated as a child of the Conclusion family – this can include adult children You should be aware that a claim must be • Someone who was financially maintained by issued within six months of receipt of the grant the deceased of probate (otherwise permission of the Court What will the court take into account when will be needed). It is also important to know that considering a claim under the 1975 Act? the merits of your claim will depend on your There are two stages when it comes to individual circumstances; however, case law considering an application made under the 1975 suggests that the duration of the marriage or civil Act. partnership is a relevant factor.

The first is to look at what will constitute a Should anyone require professional advice "reasonable financial provision" – the answer to on contesting a will or an executor of an estate this will depend on the category that the defending such a claim, then please do not applicant falls into. Where the applicant is the hesitate to contact Sundeep Oberoi at SNV Law.

SNV Law, 184 Shepherds Bush Road, London, W6 7NL, Tel: 0203 026 1802 Email: sundeep@snvlaw.co.uk Website: www.snvlaw.co.uk Disclaimer: the contents of this article are for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice or give rise to a solicitor/client relationship. The reader should obtain specialist legal advice in relation to their specific circumstances.

No warranty, express or implied, is given as to its accuracy, and the author does not accept liability for error and/or omission.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WILL Wills aren’t just for sick people or elderly parents, they are equally important for most adults, especially in a situation like that of today.

It includes saving your family from stress, making sure the money, property, assets go to the right and designated people, appointing a guardian for your children to look after till they turn 18, appointing a trustee for them, choosing an executor and leaving your assets to your unmarried partner.

As which.co.uk points out, if you do not want professional help, and your finances are not much complicated, you can write a will yourself. But if you have a large estate, a solicitor or professional could make sure the document is legally binding and correct, and may save your family from a huge inheritance tax bill.

However, just writing a will is not enough. It is also important to update this will, as life progresses and one accumulates more assets and wealth. So in that case, your previous will, may become invalid and your assets can easily fall under intestacy rules. And by chance, if you are an expat, there are numerous issues that can complicate the will making process, because of your residency and domicile status.

Intestacy rules When a person dies without leaving a valid will, their assets must be shared out according to certain rules. These are called the rules of intestacy. A person who dies without leaving a will is called an intestate person. According to the government rules, if someone dies without

NO

YES

NO

YES

YES

NO YES NO YES NO YES NO

NO

39 year old Lavanya an Shetty, entrepreneur from Harrow, told the newspaper, “We discussed a possibility of will quite a few years ago, when I heard that if we both die together without a will, social service will be responsible for my son. God forbid if something happens to us, I want my son to go back to my family in India. So I had spoken to a few people about the will and then my accountant advised me that I have to keep various things in mind, including taking account of our overseas properties. He also advised that whoever is the executor of the will, needs to be trustworthy and I have to make sure that the guardian is trustworthy too. So the plan got shelved after much discussion.

“But now that coronavirus has come to play a big role in everybody’s life, the question arises, what will happen to my child if anything happens to us and the topic of will has resurfaced.

So I have spoken toMrKadi, a protection adviser and will writer, who has told me that I need to appoint a person back home, who will be the guardian of my child- so I have to check that. Then I have to decide about the

money they will get to look after my child, till he is 18, just to incentivise.

To execute the will, there needs to be an initiator in this country and there needs to be a trustee to ensure the guardian is looking after my child properly. Moreover, it is important to top up the will as and when there has been addition to our assets, to ensure relevance. ” Rama Krishna Kadi, a protection adviser and will writer, told the newsweekly that it is important to have a will in place, because life is full of uncertainties.

He also said that he has seen a spike in the number of people enquiring about writing a will, specially after Covid-19, which includes many Asians.

“I have seen a 100% increase in the number of people wanting to write a will,” he told Asian Voice.

“Since I have been in this field for the last 5 years, I have many people from the community enquiring. I think this is the right time to write a will- it goes by your requirements and in the way you want it. If there is no

will, there will be ambiguity regarding who gets what, and what they want to do with the estate.”

He added, “Coming from an Asian and South Indian background, not only will writing, but even the insurance bit is a challenge to discuss. I have been seeing a lot of cases relating to death, critical illnesses and accidents, or income protection claims. Sadly, bad things do happen to people.

“People from medical backgrounds are better in understanding the uncertainties of life, maybe because they see patients day in and out, so they understand that writing a will is important. But people who are in their mid-30s and 40s, they feel that they can wait until they are 60 or 70 years old, but actually that is not recommended.

“If you have a young family and dependant children, it is important that you write a will, may whatever be your age. So that the upbringing of your children can be entrusted in the hands of someone responsible, and who you want, if you are not around."

WRITING A WILL DURING CORONAVIRUS AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

YES NO

more relevant among Brit-Asians?

YES

a will, the husband, wife or civil partner keeps all the assets (including property), up to £270,000, and all the personal possessions, whatever their value.

The remainder of the estate will be shared as follows: the husband, wife or civil partner gets an absolute interest in half of the remainder and the other half is then divided equally between the surviving children. If a son or daughter (or other child where the deceased had a parental role) has already died, their children will inherit in their place.

During coronavirus, while most people are self-isolating, drawing up a final will with discussions and advice from professionals over calls, emails and videos are becoming the new normal. The Law Society and Solicitor’s Regulatory Authority are setting out simple do’s and don'ts, especially for those lawyers executing, witnessing or advising on the wills.

While writing a will remember that it should include all your assets, here and overseas, your home and any other property you own, savings in bank and building society accounts, national savings like premium bonds, insurance such as life assurance or an endowment policy and pension funds that include a lump sum payment on death.

According to The Law Society, under the Wills Act 1837, it is not permitted to witness a will via video messaging, as a witness must be physically present.

However it is possible to supervise the signing of a will using electronic means where a law firm or solicitor is not acting as a witness to the will.

According to a statement on their website, specially catered to the coronavirus related queries, they highlighted, “We've received numerous queries from members about this issue and are actively pursuing a way forward. We have had initial discussions with the Ministry of Justice regarding the requirements for witnessing a will and we'll continue to engage with the Ministry of Justice to find a way forward in the current circumstances...”

The Solicitors Regulation Authority, has also set out clear-cut instructions for

law firms and solicitors regarding what to do and what not to. Elaborating under the Q&A section, the body wrote, “If it is not possible to meet your client or anyone acting on their behalf, for example because of the government’s guidance on social distancing, you can consider using electronic means to take instructions from your client – for example by video link, phone or email. You should ensure that whatever means you use enable you to meet our key requirements, viz. that you must be able to identify your client and reassure yourselves that they are not subject to undue influence, and have capacity to give instructions...Many firms (still) attend to clients and witness the will in the client’s presence. Where this is not possible you must consider other options.”

Talking exclusively about clients in care homes, especially in the current situation, when visiting them in person is highly dangerous, the authority highlighted, “If you are supervising the execution of a will by someone in a care home you will be unable to attend physically to supervise so will need to issue clear instructions on how the will can be properly executed by the testator and for example care workers as witnesses. It may be possible to supervise the process electronically.eg through video or other virtual means. If you are making such judgment calls, we expect you to keep appropriate records of your decisions and how you made sure you were complying with our Principles. These could be by making full and prompt files notes, by recording in a video the advice given and the circumstances surrounding the testator’s signature and so on.”

A

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

9 May - 16 May 2020

SPECIAL

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) – an essential document for your ‘Peace of Mind’

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that grants a person or people the power to make decisions on another person’s behalf. Having an LPA will save the family a lot of time and stress in the event of loss of capacity. If capacity is lost without any LPA in place, family and friends would need to apply for a Deputyship or a Court of Protection order which takes significantly longer than registering an LPA and possibly a lot more expensive.

Unfortunately, capacity could be lost at any time making the need for an LPA ever more important. Whilst it can be quite distressing having to think about what would happen if you did lose capacity, having an LPA arranged prior to this will give you peace of mind knowing that in the event of a loss of capacity, your decisions can be made on your behalf by the people you trust to do so. Compare with an insurance policy on the house or car – we take these out in case something went wrong don’t we? LPA works on the same analogy. Its essential if your health is lost but maybe too late to take them out at that stage.

There are two types of LPA, both of which must be made when the donor has capacity (a Certificate provider has to certify this when making the application) in preparation for if they lose capacity. The first type is the Property and Affairs LPA which covers decisions about the donor’s financial affairs and their property. The attorneys can use this both before and after the donor loses capacity. The second type of LPA is the Health and Welfare LPA. This covers decisions about the donor’s personal welfare and health and can only come into effect after the donor has lost capacity.

So who should you choose as an Attorney? You can have one or more people appointed as attorneys, and these can be replaced should any become unable to act on your behalf. If they are over the age of 18 and have mental capacity, then they can be appointed. It is a very personal decision when it comes to appointing an Attorney, as it needs to be someone that the donor trusts completely. This would normally be a spouse, children

(over 18), close friends or relatives. If you have no one, you can appoint a professional attorney. This will bring added costs as professional attorneys may charge fees. Finally, an LPA isn’t valid until it has been registered by the Office

of the Public Guardian (OPG). You can download forms from the OPG website or get a professional to draw them up.

These are vital ‘peace of mind’ documents. Give them the importance they deserve.

17

Written by Shandip Nathalal Shah – Balance Consultancy and Member of the Professional Standards Board and Regional Chair (West London region of the Society of Will Writers

Sometimes tomorrow never comes, act today Evening & Weekend appointments available ■

Face to face or virtual meeting ■

Home visits available at a time to suit client ■

Subject to availability

16 SPECIAL

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9 May - 16 May 2020

Continued from page 15

Contesting a Will - Inheritance Does Covid-19 make writing a will spouse or civil partner of the Incidents of contested wills have deceased, the provision will be risen in recent years in England & based on what it is reasonable for Wales. This is mainly due to the applicant to receive, rather diverse family structures and than what sum is required to increasing property values, maintain them. For other meaning successful inheritance applicants, this will be based on claims are increasingly valuable. what would be reasonable in the Under the Inheritance circumstance for the applicant’s (Provisions for Family maintenance.

Dependants) Act 1975 (“the 1975 If the court determines that a Act”), relatives and dependants can Sundeep Oberoi, Solicitor reasonable financial provision has challenge the provisions of a will if they do not make "reasonable financial not been made in the will, a decision on any provision" for them. A claim can be brought award will be made by considering the following under the 1975 Act even if the will is valid or if factors: • The financial resources and needs of the there is no will in place.

Who can claim under the 1975 Act? applicant • The financial resources and needs of any other To claim under the 1975 Act, you must fall applicants • The financial resources and needs of any into one of the following categories: beneficiaries of the estate • A spouse or civil partner of the deceased • The former spouse or civil partner of the • The deceased’s obligations and responsibilities to other applicants or beneficiaries deceased who has not remarried • A cohabitee of the deceased – this means that • The size and nature of the estate they must have been living together as if they • Any physical or mental disability of other were husband and wife or civil partners for at applicants or beneficiaries • Any other matters, including the conduct of the least two years before the date of death applicant, which the court considers relevant • A child of the deceased • Someone who was treated as a child of the Conclusion family – this can include adult children You should be aware that a claim must be • Someone who was financially maintained by issued within six months of receipt of the grant the deceased of probate (otherwise permission of the Court What will the court take into account when will be needed). It is also important to know that considering a claim under the 1975 Act? the merits of your claim will depend on your There are two stages when it comes to individual circumstances; however, case law considering an application made under the 1975 suggests that the duration of the marriage or civil Act. partnership is a relevant factor.

The first is to look at what will constitute a Should anyone require professional advice "reasonable financial provision" – the answer to on contesting a will or an executor of an estate this will depend on the category that the defending such a claim, then please do not applicant falls into. Where the applicant is the hesitate to contact Sundeep Oberoi at SNV Law.

SNV Law, 184 Shepherds Bush Road, London, W6 7NL, Tel: 0203 026 1802 Email: sundeep@snvlaw.co.uk Website: www.snvlaw.co.uk Disclaimer: the contents of this article are for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice or give rise to a solicitor/client relationship. The reader should obtain specialist legal advice in relation to their specific circumstances.

No warranty, express or implied, is given as to its accuracy, and the author does not accept liability for error and/or omission.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WILL Wills aren’t just for sick people or elderly parents, they are equally important for most adults, especially in a situation like that of today.

It includes saving your family from stress, making sure the money, property, assets go to the right and designated people, appointing a guardian for your children to look after till they turn 18, appointing a trustee for them, choosing an executor and leaving your assets to your unmarried partner.

As which.co.uk points out, if you do not want professional help, and your finances are not much complicated, you can write a will yourself. But if you have a large estate, a solicitor or professional could make sure the document is legally binding and correct, and may save your family from a huge inheritance tax bill.

However, just writing a will is not enough. It is also important to update this will, as life progresses and one accumulates more assets and wealth. So in that case, your previous will, may become invalid and your assets can easily fall under intestacy rules. And by chance, if you are an expat, there are numerous issues that can complicate the will making process, because of your residency and domicile status.

Intestacy rules When a person dies without leaving a valid will, their assets must be shared out according to certain rules. These are called the rules of intestacy. A person who dies without leaving a will is called an intestate person. According to the government rules, if someone dies without

NO

YES

NO

YES

YES

NO YES NO YES NO YES NO

NO

39 year old Lavanya an Shetty, entrepreneur from Harrow, told the newspaper, “We discussed a possibility of will quite a few years ago, when I heard that if we both die together without a will, social service will be responsible for my son. God forbid if something happens to us, I want my son to go back to my family in India. So I had spoken to a few people about the will and then my accountant advised me that I have to keep various things in mind, including taking account of our overseas properties. He also advised that whoever is the executor of the will, needs to be trustworthy and I have to make sure that the guardian is trustworthy too. So the plan got shelved after much discussion.

“But now that coronavirus has come to play a big role in everybody’s life, the question arises, what will happen to my child if anything happens to us and the topic of will has resurfaced.

So I have spoken toMrKadi, a protection adviser and will writer, who has told me that I need to appoint a person back home, who will be the guardian of my child- so I have to check that. Then I have to decide about the

money they will get to look after my child, till he is 18, just to incentivise.

To execute the will, there needs to be an initiator in this country and there needs to be a trustee to ensure the guardian is looking after my child properly. Moreover, it is important to top up the will as and when there has been addition to our assets, to ensure relevance. ” Rama Krishna Kadi, a protection adviser and will writer, told the newsweekly that it is important to have a will in place, because life is full of uncertainties.

He also said that he has seen a spike in the number of people enquiring about writing a will, specially after Covid-19, which includes many Asians.

“I have seen a 100% increase in the number of people wanting to write a will,” he told Asian Voice.

“Since I have been in this field for the last 5 years, I have many people from the community enquiring. I think this is the right time to write a will- it goes by your requirements and in the way you want it. If there is no

will, there will be ambiguity regarding who gets what, and what they want to do with the estate.”

He added, “Coming from an Asian and South Indian background, not only will writing, but even the insurance bit is a challenge to discuss. I have been seeing a lot of cases relating to death, critical illnesses and accidents, or income protection claims. Sadly, bad things do happen to people.

“People from medical backgrounds are better in understanding the uncertainties of life, maybe because they see patients day in and out, so they understand that writing a will is important. But people who are in their mid-30s and 40s, they feel that they can wait until they are 60 or 70 years old, but actually that is not recommended.

“If you have a young family and dependant children, it is important that you write a will, may whatever be your age. So that the upbringing of your children can be entrusted in the hands of someone responsible, and who you want, if you are not around."

WRITING A WILL DURING CORONAVIRUS AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

YES NO

more relevant among Brit-Asians?

YES

a will, the husband, wife or civil partner keeps all the assets (including property), up to £270,000, and all the personal possessions, whatever their value.

The remainder of the estate will be shared as follows: the husband, wife or civil partner gets an absolute interest in half of the remainder and the other half is then divided equally between the surviving children. If a son or daughter (or other child where the deceased had a parental role) has already died, their children will inherit in their place.

During coronavirus, while most people are self-isolating, drawing up a final will with discussions and advice from professionals over calls, emails and videos are becoming the new normal. The Law Society and Solicitor’s Regulatory Authority are setting out simple do’s and don'ts, especially for those lawyers executing, witnessing or advising on the wills.

While writing a will remember that it should include all your assets, here and overseas, your home and any other property you own, savings in bank and building society accounts, national savings like premium bonds, insurance such as life assurance or an endowment policy and pension funds that include a lump sum payment on death.

According to The Law Society, under the Wills Act 1837, it is not permitted to witness a will via video messaging, as a witness must be physically present.

However it is possible to supervise the signing of a will using electronic means where a law firm or solicitor is not acting as a witness to the will.

According to a statement on their website, specially catered to the coronavirus related queries, they highlighted, “We've received numerous queries from members about this issue and are actively pursuing a way forward. We have had initial discussions with the Ministry of Justice regarding the requirements for witnessing a will and we'll continue to engage with the Ministry of Justice to find a way forward in the current circumstances...”

The Solicitors Regulation Authority, has also set out clear-cut instructions for

law firms and solicitors regarding what to do and what not to. Elaborating under the Q&A section, the body wrote, “If it is not possible to meet your client or anyone acting on their behalf, for example because of the government’s guidance on social distancing, you can consider using electronic means to take instructions from your client – for example by video link, phone or email. You should ensure that whatever means you use enable you to meet our key requirements, viz. that you must be able to identify your client and reassure yourselves that they are not subject to undue influence, and have capacity to give instructions...Many firms (still) attend to clients and witness the will in the client’s presence. Where this is not possible you must consider other options.”

Talking exclusively about clients in care homes, especially in the current situation, when visiting them in person is highly dangerous, the authority highlighted, “If you are supervising the execution of a will by someone in a care home you will be unable to attend physically to supervise so will need to issue clear instructions on how the will can be properly executed by the testator and for example care workers as witnesses. It may be possible to supervise the process electronically.eg through video or other virtual means. If you are making such judgment calls, we expect you to keep appropriate records of your decisions and how you made sure you were complying with our Principles. These could be by making full and prompt files notes, by recording in a video the advice given and the circumstances surrounding the testator’s signature and so on.”

A

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

9 May - 16 May 2020

SPECIAL

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) – an essential document for your ‘Peace of Mind’

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that grants a person or people the power to make decisions on another person’s behalf. Having an LPA will save the family a lot of time and stress in the event of loss of capacity. If capacity is lost without any LPA in place, family and friends would need to apply for a Deputyship or a Court of Protection order which takes significantly longer than registering an LPA and possibly a lot more expensive.

Unfortunately, capacity could be lost at any time making the need for an LPA ever more important. Whilst it can be quite distressing having to think about what would happen if you did lose capacity, having an LPA arranged prior to this will give you peace of mind knowing that in the event of a loss of capacity, your decisions can be made on your behalf by the people you trust to do so. Compare with an insurance policy on the house or car – we take these out in case something went wrong don’t we? LPA works on the same analogy. Its essential if your health is lost but maybe too late to take them out at that stage.

There are two types of LPA, both of which must be made when the donor has capacity (a Certificate provider has to certify this when making the application) in preparation for if they lose capacity. The first type is the Property and Affairs LPA which covers decisions about the donor’s financial affairs and their property. The attorneys can use this both before and after the donor loses capacity. The second type of LPA is the Health and Welfare LPA. This covers decisions about the donor’s personal welfare and health and can only come into effect after the donor has lost capacity.

So who should you choose as an Attorney? You can have one or more people appointed as attorneys, and these can be replaced should any become unable to act on your behalf. If they are over the age of 18 and have mental capacity, then they can be appointed. It is a very personal decision when it comes to appointing an Attorney, as it needs to be someone that the donor trusts completely. This would normally be a spouse, children

(over 18), close friends or relatives. If you have no one, you can appoint a professional attorney. This will bring added costs as professional attorneys may charge fees. Finally, an LPA isn’t valid until it has been registered by the Office

of the Public Guardian (OPG). You can download forms from the OPG website or get a professional to draw them up.

These are vital ‘peace of mind’ documents. Give them the importance they deserve.

17

Written by Shandip Nathalal Shah – Balance Consultancy and Member of the Professional Standards Board and Regional Chair (West London region of the Society of Will Writers

Sometimes tomorrow never comes, act today Evening & Weekend appointments available ■

Face to face or virtual meeting ■

Home visits available at a time to suit client ■

Subject to availability

18 FINANCE - UK

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Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel Everyone is doing webinars. So I did a free one last week – and will do another to answer everyone’s questions. You can register for it free here: www.alpeshpatel.com/greatinvestments3 These were the top questions on everyone’s mind from the last webinar on investing: How should I invest for my pension? What stocks?

How do I find them and know if they are worth buying?

When do I sell? Do I wait for a dip? I have some stocks but I don’t know if I should buy, sell, hold them? Where can I put £1k, £10k, £100k, £1m? For 12 months? For my grandchildren.

That’s a selection.

My concern is how little people know – its not their fault. It’s my job to be a geek and run a fund, write books on investing, be on TV talking about it, live it, breathe it.

So I tried to work out – how in the lock-down period of Covid can you inform people and make it structured, capivating, informative and energizing? The webinar format with my slides works when you have an agenda around people’s concerns. This is my agenda – people love structure and logic: Agenda: 1. Stock data for US, UK, European, Chinese picks; stocks I love and Goldman Sachs, UBS, Rothschilds are telling their wealthiest clients about now 2. 6 Strategies from low to higher risk 3. Which information is useful (only 5 pieces of data is the most important, the rest makes too little difference and p/e isn't one of them - DCF is).

4. How to quickly make a portfolio without being a slave 5. How to evaluate any stock in 5 minutes 6. How we turn 10k to 1m (over time, not overnight) 7. How to save sensibly, responsibly for a pension - what's in mine 8. When to add higher risk 500% over 2-3 year stocks 9. How to double leverage on a long term quality stock you love using trackers so your money goes further (never spreadbets or CFDs) 10. What the big banks are telling their clients to buy now and where they are making the market head to You learn a lot in lockdown and one is what funnily mindfully connecting to people. We are physically not socially distant.

I created a free broadcast channel (like WhatsApp Group) – but on Telegram – so feel free to get my views on all of the above there: https://t.me/pipspredator

Virgin Media and O2 may join hands to challance BT & Sky John Malone’s Liberty Global, which owns Virgin Media and a 10% stake in ITV, is reportedly in talks with Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica to combine their UK assets in a joint venture.

A deal between Virgin Media and O2 would bring together the mobile operator’s 34m customers, the largest network in the UK, with the cable operator’s 5.3 m broadband, pay-TV and mobile users. The likely deal would challenge BT and Sky in the UK. Speculations of O2's potential takeover have been rife since 2015 when a £10.25bn bid by rival Three UK, which is owned by Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, was blocked by the European Commission on competition grounds. Telefonica subsequently explored a potential £10bn spin-off of the business on the London stock market to reduce debt.

The initial public offering was subsequently put on hold as the impact of Brexit raised fears over the state of the UK economy. In November, Telefonica, which is due to announce first-quarter earnings on 7

May, announced a major global restructuring plan to focus on four main markets including the UK, while selling off a number of assets in Latin America.

Last year, Liberty Global sold its German and Eastern European cable assets to Vodafone for €18bn. As a result the company has about £5.6bn in cash to deploy for potential investments. Liberty Global and Vodafone have previously held talks about a tie-up in the UK, similar to the current talks between Virgin Media and O2, but they did not progress to a deal.

However, the two companies struck a joint venture deal in the Netherlands in 2016, combining cable and mobile networks, and a revival of talks in the UK cannot be ruled out now a potential deal with O2 has been made public. Last year, Vodafone and Virgin Media signed a deal in the UK to use each other’s networks, which was viewed as a renewing of closer ties that could kick on to potential talks of a wider deal. Liberty Global, Virgin Media, O2 and Telefonica declined to comment.

The UK economy may shrink by 5th in long lockdown If coronavirous presence forces extension of lockown for a year, then Britain’s economy will contract by a fifth during 2020, a report

by Capital Economics said.

The firm has predicted that each additional month of full quarantining would knock 1.5 percentage points off annual growth.

Even with severe containment measures remaining in place only until the end of June and with some easing of restrictions in the coming weeks, the economy would shrink by 12% this year.

Ruth Gregory, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, scenario is likely to change not for the good if the country will see multiple peaks of Covid-19 spread. In those circumstances, Gregory said, the economy would contract by 19.6% this year, a recession three times as severe as that which fol-

lowed the global financial crisis in 2008.

In addition, the expected bounce back in the economy would be delayed with the level of output still more than 6% below where it would have been in the absence of the pandemic by the end of 2022.

Prime MInister Boris Johnson maintained it was too soon to ease the lockdown despite signs that physical distancing had led to a fall in the number of hospital deaths and the number of new cases of Covid-19. The Office for

B u d g e t Responsibility (OBR), the independent body that provides economic forecasts for the government, has penciled in a fall of 35% in gross domestic product in the second quarter on the assumption that a full lockdown remains in place until the end of June.

The OBR is assuming half the restrictions will be lifted between July and September, with the rest being removed in the final three months of the year.

On that basis, output would return to its pre-crisis level by the end of the year, with an annual fall in GDP between 2019 and 2020 of more than 13%.

Gregory said she was assuming output had fallen by 25% from its pre-crisis

peak during March and April, and would stagnate during May before starting to edge up in June. In the unlikely event of an immediate end to the lockdown, recovery would begin at the start of May but the economy would still shrink by 8.2% during 2020.

Gregory said that all the scenarios outlined in her report were simplified versions of what the reality is likely to be: “The restrictions are unlikely to be relaxed all at once and there is already evidence that even while the economy is shut down some activity is trickling back.”

She added that the longer the restrictions are in place, the longer it may take the economy to recover to pre-recession levels because of scarring effects. Indeed, in the past four recessions it took between three and five years for the economy to return to its pre-crisis level.

they need more help.

The total value of production lost between the shutdowns introduced in March and plants re-opening in mid-May stands at around 8.2 billion pounds, according to a forecast by AutoAnalysis. Carmakers hope to recoup at least some lost sales. Among the leading carmakers, the Aston Martin will open its Welsh factory next week, which is building its crucial first sport utility vehicle, and output at Bentley's fac-

tory is due for a phased restart from May 11.

Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover will restart production at one of its domestic car factories from May 18. Nissan, which operates Britain’s biggest car plant at its northern English Sunderland factory, will restart phased production in early June. The facility which manufactures Qashqai, Juke and Leaf models, had halted production on March 17.

British car output nosedives as industry warns of big hit Facing one of the worst crisis, the British auto industry is staring at a production loss of more than 8 billion pounds. The outbreak of coronavius has already resulted in production cut by almost a third in March, taking it to its lowest level since 2009, sources said.

Auto sector, which occupies a significant position in British economy, being the country’s biggest exporter of goods and job provider to more than 800,000 people, has witnessed factories and dealerships closing from mid March. Globally, automakers have warned of the scale of the challenge affecting manufacturers already struggling to deal with factors like tougher emissions norms, falling diesel sales and the escalating cost of electrification and

autonomous technology.

In Britain, volumes fell by an annual 37.6% to 78,767 vehicles in March and the sector, which made 1.3 million cars last year, faces a loss of more than 250,000 cars and vans, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. "To get production lines rolling, we need a package of measures that supports the entire industry," said SMMT CEO Mike Hawes.

"This will include new workplace guidance, additional measures to ease cash flow and help furloughed colleagues back to work, as well as demand-side measures to help encourage customers back into the market." Even though the British government has introduced a number of schemes to support businesses but some firms say

Rolls-Royce plans to ground up to 15% of workforce As the impact of Coronavirus engulfs the world economy, one of the leading aviation companies in the world, the British aero-engine maker RollsRoyce Holdings is considering cutting up to 15% of its workforce, a source said.

Responding to the various media reports, the company said the situation demands ‘unprecedented’ response and employees will be notified about any cuts by the end of the month.

The outbreak has led to customers reducing production and the airlines have been forced to ground

planes. Even though the exact nature of downsizing remains unclear, the plan has been shared among the top executives, sources said.

It is believed that the plan is still in working stage and the negotiations are still going on at the firm.

The company supplies engines to well-known companies like Airbus SE and Boeing Co and the payment is made based on how many hours its engines have flown.

Sources said, company is looking at laying off close to 8,000 of it 52,000-strong workforce.

After reports of lay offs appeared in various section

of media, Rolls Royce issued a statement saying the impact of Covid-19 is 'unprecedented' and it has been forced to take swift action to increase its liquidity and dramatically reduce its spending. It claimed further action is needed and said the employees will be notified about any cuts by the end of the month.

“We have to do this right, which means we are working closely with our employees and trade union representatives and then we will consult with everyone affected. We have promised to give our people further details of the impact of the

current situation on the size of our workforce before the end of this month,” the company said. As the statement suggests, the exact nature of job cuts are unlikely to become clear before the end of this month, when the company is set to inform its employees. Rolls-Royce had done away with targets and final dividend in April itself to boost its financial capabilities to deal with the pandemic repercussions.

Warren East, the chief executive officer (CEO), had also hinted at salary cuts of employees across the world by up to 10% as a means to reduce cash expenditure.

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9 - 15 May 2020

India to boost investments to attract firms that exit China Prime Minister Narendra Modi signalled a major push to boost investments in the country and capture a part of the supply chain that is expected to move out of China as global corporations look to diversify their production base in the aftermath of Covid-19.

Modi discussed strategies to attract investments with his top ministerial colleagues, paving the way for a comprehensive strategy paper to be formally cleared by the cabinet in the coming weeks.

The meeting comes days after the PM spoke about the need to make India self-

Narendra Modi

dependent following supply lines for crucial drugs, electronic goods and chemicals getting affected in February when production around Wuhan, the source of the novel coronavirus, was disrupted. Although the gov-

ernment had been working on a "China plus One" strategy for the past few months, it gained momentum with leading industrial countries encouraging their companies to look at manufacturing facilities outside the Asian giant.

The US has already put its plan public with the secretary of state Mike Pompeo, stating that the Trump administration was trying to "mesh the supply chains that both countries (India and the US) have access to", especially in areas crucial for national security.

India is seeking to tap the rush when a sharp increase in wages in China had

already prompted many MNCs to look at alternative bases.

India's potential has exponentially grown with the global rethink about China being the dominant source of supply in the wake of outrage over its links to the virus. The department for the promotion of industry and internal trade is putting in place a GIS-based platform, which currently covers around a dozen states, allowing investors to decide their location. In the Budget for 2020-2021, the government had also announced an investment clearance cell, which is a step in this direction.

tion facilities were closed, it added. The company, however, exported 632 units from Mundra port following the resumption of port

operations. The company said the units were dispatched, ensuring all safety guidelines. In a separate release, MG Motors India also said that it retailed zero units in April as dealerships remained closed due to the nationwide lockdown to contain coronavirus pandemic.

The industry has kept the fingers crossed given a large number of auto vehicles showrooms are located in red zones - worst affected areas under pandemic, posing a threat of an extended period of lockdown.

Auto industry in India records zero sales in April It's a double whammy for the auto sector in India.

While market sentiments were already running low following economy contraction in last couple of financial quarters, the pandemic forced the companies to shut showroom doors, leading to no sales at all.

India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) sales record for the month of April in the domestic market, has remained zero.

In a statement, the company said it did not sell a single unit in the domestic market

Another US co to invest in Jio Platforms After Facebook, US-based private equity firm Silver Lake will pay £565.6 million to acquire 1.15% in the digital and telecom unit of Reliance Industries (RIL).

Silver Lake’s biggest investment in India will help RIL accelerate its debtreduction plans. The transaction values Jio Platforms at £51.5 billion - a 12% premium in rupee terms to the enterprise valuation implied by Facebook’s investment in the Indian company. On April 22, Facebook said it will spend £4.35 billion for a 9.9% stake in Jio Platforms, which owns India’s largest wireless operator. Both the deals, coming amid the pandemic-induced lockdown, are subject to regulatory approvals. In 2013, Silver Lake made its first investment in India through Bengaluru-based Eka Software Solutions. The fund’s investment in Jio Platforms establishes a new pricing benchmark for the Indian company that will see more external investors in the coming months.

last month due to coronavirus-led nationwide lockdown. This was because in compliance with the government orders all produc-

Court extends custody of Wadhawan brothers till May 8 The CBI special court extended till May 8 the custody of businessmenbrothers Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan of DHFL group in connection with the Yes Bank scam. The duo was arrested last week from a quarantine facility at Mahabaleshwar in Satara district of Maharashtra, nearly 50 days after they were booked in a case of bribery against former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor.

The Wadhawans were produced before a special court as their previous remand ended. The probe agency sought their further custody saying that it needed to probe the "deeper conspiracy" between the Wadhawans and Kapoor.

The agency alleged that there are more than 150 shell companies controlled by the Wadhawans, which they want to examine.

Besides, there are several companies floated by Rana Kapoor and his family and it needed to check whether they (Wadhawans) had any transactions with these companies, the agen-

Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan

cy said. Defense advocate Subodh Desai opposed the CBI's plea saying their custody was not required as everything was on record.

However, the court extended the custody till May 8. The Wadhawan brothers are named as accused in the CBI FIR about swindling of money

by Kapoor and others, the officials said.

The agency has alleged that Kapoor, entered into a criminal conspiracy with Wadhawan brothers for extending the financial assistance to DHFL through Yes Bank in return for substantial undue benefits to himself and his family members through

companies held by them.

According to the CBI FIR, the scam started taking shape between April to June, 2018 when Yes Bank invested £370 million in short-term debentures of the scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL).

In return, Wadhawan allegedly "paid kickback of £60 million" to Kapoor and family members in the form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd held by the wife and daughters of Kapoor.

Besides the CBI, the duo was also being probed by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Yes Bank scam.

When the dust settles Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

It seems the lockdown might ease soon; it has already been relaxed in some European countries. According to some sources we will all need to take the Bill Gates’ Vaccine, otherwise some of our rights will be stripped away.

When this is over, the property market will start to recover the effect of months of stagnation.

Interestingly, we managed to do two lets during this period. One, a studio flat in the prestigious Park Crescent development, which has undergone a major refurbishment and now the entrance looks more like a 5 star hotel.

The new let was agreed a couple of weeks ago, where the tenant was moving from a similar apartment in the block to this one.

Another property was let only prior to the weekend.

A flat in Hampstead, superbly done up, to an overseas tenant, who had a member of her family scouting the area for a suitable property. As soon as they saw the flat they were in awe. This property has been done to a very high standard, it was even requested for a photo shoot for a well known model. It was probably without a doubt the best apartment they had seen. This deal was interesting, as the tenant is overseas and there is no guarantee of whether she will be able to make it back in time to start the tenancy.

In the first example, there was very little negotiation on the rent, on the second there was none. These two examples show the strength of the London property market, even when the breaks have been on from the top.

There is no doubt the market will recover. It’s an old mature market, which is the favoured choice for overseas investors. I purposely didn’t use the word bounce, because that is not what will happen.

The lockdown has impacted companies, and therefore the workforce, this will in turn filter through to a dampened demand for rental properties. The effect on commercial properties will be far greater than residential.

We have advised our landlords, whose properties are currently looking for tenants, to reduce the asking rent by about 25%, in order to attract tenants quickly. Despite the above two examples we believe there will be a lull in the market, before it starts to move again. It is unwise to get fixated on an unrealistic rental figure as you could lose the incremental amount you’re gunning for against it being empty. Therefore, it’s better to anticipate this and reduce the asking price to begin with.

This move should be done with the understanding this tenancy should be no longer than 6 months, which is the minimum for an AST. I believe that after this period the market should be back to normal levels.

On the plus side lending has responded well to the situation and many lenders have put in policies which have adapted to the new environment. The rates are low as well, therefore one can expect the rise which was going on prior to the lockdown to carry on once the market has found its feet again.

Commercial properties will undoubtedly take longer to recover than residential properties. This provides an opportunity. Under permitted development one can rezone up to 150sqm of commercial property into residential, you do not even have to go for planning; you can get the confirmation in 56 days.

This will be a great opportunity to land some deals as we step out of lockdown. We have recently secured a property for a client with the same intention in mind; we will be doing a case study on this in future articles.

Refund £73.3 mn to Voda Idea, SC tells taxmen

The Supreme Court has granted partial relief to Vodafone Idea by asking the income tax department to refund £73.3 million to the telecom firm within four weeks, for assessment year 2014-15.

Vodafone Idea, formerly known as Vodafone Mobile Services, had, however, sought £475.9 million in tax refund from for assessment years 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18. The top court did not order I-T refund pertaining to assessment years other than 2014-15.

Govt extends AI selloff deadline

The government of India has extended the deadline to bid for Air India by two months till June 30, as the Covid-19 fallout has disrupted economic activity globally. This is the second extension in the deadline to submit bids by investors for Air India since it initiated the process of stake sale in the debtridden national carrier on January 27. Issuing a corrigendum to the expression of interest (EoI) for sale of Air India, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said the deadline has been extended in view of the “request received from the IBs (interested bidders) in view of the prevailing situation arising out of Covid-19”.

20 PAKISTAN

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Pak parliament speaker tests positive for Covid-19 ISLAMABAD: The speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly said that he had tested positive for Covid-19, after hosting an iftar dinner to celebrate Ramadan, and meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan and other high officials earlier in the week.

It is not immediately known if Khan will be tested, but he was checked in April, and tested negative, after meeting with the head of Pakistan’s biggest charity organisation, who was subsequently confirmed to have caught the disease.

The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, is currently in recess, though opposition parties have been calling for it to convene to discuss the government's handling of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, where the number

Asad Qaiser

of cases has risen to 21,501, including 486 deaths. The decision on whether to convene rested with Speaker of the Assembly, Asad Qaiser, who revealed he had tested positive in Islamabad.

"I have quarantined myself at home," Qaiser, who is also a close aide to Khan, said on Twitter. Qaiser met with the prime minister recently, and has met several other leading fig-

ures during the past few days. The speaker had hosted an Iftar, the evening meal to break fast during Ramadan, attended by politicians and dignitaries.

Daily detection of the virus has hit record highs on each of the last three days as the country ramps up its testing. On Thursday last, 990 people tested positive. Daily testing is still around 8,000 in the country, which has over 207 million people.

The government says infections are well below projections and that it plans to further ease of precautionary curbs after already opening dozens of industries and commercial activities, as well as mosque

congregations.

Qaiser is the second high official to be infected in Pakistan after the Governor of the southern province of Sindh, Imran Ismail, tested positive earlier. Pakistan’s government agreed to allow mosque congregations after senior clerics and religious leaders threatened to violate restrictions during Ramadan.

The two sides worked out safety protocols for the mosque gatherings, but a social research organization earlier this week reported that protocols were not being followed. Prominent doctors pleaded with the government to reconsider the decision, warning that mosque congregations, which are typically larger in Ramadan, could lead to a spike in infections, with hospitals already nearing capacity.

Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari is in talks with the community welfare attachés to provide immediate support to both expatriates who have lost their jobs and other Pakistanis

stuck abroad. The plans are afoot by the government to airlift around 36,000 of the stranded Pakistanis. Around 9,000 of them will be ferried back over the next two weeks on 45 flights operated by both Pakistan International Airlines and other carriers.

So far, the government has brought back more than 18,000 Pakistanis from various foreign nations.

According to officials, the special flights operated out of various countries in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Oceania. The countries include the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Malaysia.

90,394 Pakistanis stranded in Middle East ISLAMABAD: While many stranded Pakistanis have been brought home by the special flights from across the globe, 90,394 Pakistanis have been unable to return home with several countries closing down the borders to contain coronavirus spread. Barring 802, all of them are currently stranded in various countries in the Middle East, said a report.

The UAE tops the list with 71,570 to be exact and little less than 12,000 of them are stuck in Saudi Arabia. The rest are dispersed over Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Malaysia. A majority of stranded are workers, who have been laid off amid business shut-

downs. Laid off workers account for at least 22 per cent or over 20,000 of the Pakistanis currently stuck away from home.

The report said Minister on

in brief INDIAN, HIS PREGNANT WIFE FOUND DEAD IN NEW JERSEY

A 35-year old Indian woman, who was five months pregnant, was founded murdered in her apartment and her husband was found dead in an apparent suicide in the Hudson River, authorities said. Garima Kothari was found unresponsive with trauma to her upper body on April 26 by police officers, the Hudson County prosecutor’s office said.

Following an autopsy, Kothari’s death was ruled homicide. She suffered multiple injuries in her upper body. The medical examiner determined that Kothari was approximately five months pregnant.

Kothari’s husband Man Mohan Mall, 37, was found dead in the Hudson River in Jersey City. Police officers was responding to a report of the possible suicide attempt in the Hudson River. They found an unresponsive Mall in the river. Mall was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause and manner of Mall’s death is still pending with the medical examiner. According to a report, Kothari was a talented chef and Mall was an alumnus of the India Institute of Technology (IIT), who had come to the US to pursue his master’s degree at the Columbia University. The couple owned an Indian restaurant ‘Nukkad’.

THREE MORE INDIANS IN UAE LOSE JOBS OVER ‘ISLAMOPHOBIA’

Three more Indians in UAE lost their jobs and facing action from local authorities for their coronavirus-related “Islamophobic” utterances. Indian missions in the region have warned in the past few weeks against inflammatory posts on social media, citing PM Modi’s tweet that Covid-19 doesn’t recognise any religion, caste, creed or border. These developments, however, have not come in the way of India’s cooperation with UAE in dealing with the virus. While India sent a team of medical professionals to UAE on Saturday to help the country in its fight against the virus, the Gulf nation too despatched seven tonnes of medical supplies to India. India is currently also working with the UAE government to implement its plan for evacuation of Indian nationals from the country. More than 50,000 people had registered for evacuation with the Indian consulate in Dubai alone until Friday. One of the main reasons for strong India-UAE ties has been the huge expatriate Indian population in UAE, according to UAE authorities.

HRCP sees further US gives Pak airlines permission deterioration in to operate direct flights dismal Pak human rights record DANIEL PEARL'S

ISLAMABAD: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said that Pakistan’s dismal human rights record will further deteriorate due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, heaping misery on the already marginalized sections of the society.

The HRCP released its State of Human Rights 2019 annual report this week. Its spokesperson, I.A. Rehman, termed Pakistan’s human rights record in 2019 “greatly worrisome”. Rehman noted that the ongoing global pandemic “is likely to cast a long shadow on prospects for human rights,” according to the official press release.On the release of its flagship annual report, HRCP’s Secretary-General Harris Khalique observed: “Last year will be remembered for systematic curbs on political dissent, the chokehold on press freedom, and the grievous neglect of economic and social rights.” The report stated that Pakistan has failed to protect its most vulnerable. It noted that reports of child laborers' sexual abuse in mines surfaced in Balochistan this year, while news of young children being raped, murdered and dumped have “become frighteningly common”.

ISLAMABAD: In a first, US State Department of Transportation has granted permission to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate direct flights, the airline's spokesman Abdullah Hafeez confirmed. Hafeez said before the 9/11 attacks, PIA planes did not have the permission to fly directly to the US, which is why they had to make a stop somewhere.

After the attacks, US authorities had refused permission for direct flights because of security reasons, The Dawn quoted him as saying. PIA will be allowed to operate 12 round-trip or oneway passenger or cargo flights. The permission will expire on April 29, 2021. PIA will be bound to inform the transportation department, in writing, of the route it took for any passenger or cargo chartered flights no less than five business days after the operation.

For any passenger flight, which is headed to the US from a destination outside

PARENTS MOVE PAK SC

Pakistan, PIA will have to inform, in writing, the transportation department of the route it is taking three business days before the operation. If the airline chooses to operate or change the route of a flight less than three business days before its planned departure, it can request the department to waive off the requirement "upon a showing of good cause". In case a PIA flight is headed to the US from an airport outside Pakistan, it must obtain a security clearance from the Transportation Security Administration.

Furthermore, the aircraft flying to the US must have the

authorisation document issued by the transportation department. Apart from the above conditions, PIA must also comply with the rules and regulations set by other concerned US departments, including the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as the International Civil Aviation Organisation's standards.

The airline must also comply with all "US government requirements concerning security". In October 2017, the PIA discontinued its flights to the US because of rising operational cost and in a bid to cut losses it had been facing.

The parents of slain American journalist Daniel Pearl filed an appeal to Pakistan's Supreme Court seeking reversal of the Sindh High Court (SCH) verdict that overturned convictions of four men in their son's abduction and murder case. The deceased journalist's father tweeted details of the petition along with an emotional video message, according to Voice of America. "We are standing up for justice for not only our son, Daniel Pearl, but for all of our dear friends in Pakistan, so they can know a society free of violence and terror, and raising their children in peace and harmony," Pearl's father, Judea Pearl, was quoted as saying. Last month, the Sindh government had challenged its provincial high court's order in the Pakistan Supreme Court, wherein British-born al-Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three others were acquitted in US journalist Daniel Pearl's kidnapping and murder case.

Back in 2002, the 38-year-old journalist of The Wall Street Journal's South Asia bureau was abducted and beheaded while he was in Pakistan investigating a story of terror groups' links to Al Qaeda.

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SRI LANKA & BANGLADESH 21 9 - 15 May 2020

in brief JOURNALIST HELD FOR CRITICISING NEPAL’S EX-PM Dipak Pathak, Nepali journalist and part of Radio Nepal, was reportedly arrested in Kathmandu for criticising Nepal’s former prime minister Pushpa Kumar Dahal on social media. According to a report in The Wire, Pathak was arrested from his home by the cybercrime unit of the Kathmandu police.

Nabind Aryal, SSP with the Cyber Bureau of Nepal reportedly confirmed his arrest, adding that he was arrested under the Electronic Transaction Act. “We have received complaints against him. We have, therefore, arrested him with the permission of the court. Further investigation is on,” he said. In a Facebook post from 10 April, Pathak had reportedly compared the former PM, called Prachanda locally, with American tech giant Bill Gates, by labelling the former ‘Kill Gates’ and accused Dahal of making money “in the name of revolution”.

COVID-19 CASES IN NEPAL RISE TO 82

Health authorities in Nepal registered two new coronavirus cases in Rautahat district, which took the nation-wide tally of Covid-19 positive cases to 82 on Tuesday. "A total of 83 samples were sent to Kathmandu for test out of which two samples tested positive at National Public Health Laboratory," Mahesh Shah, Chief at District Health Office Rautahat said. "One of the new patient aged 25 recently returned from Kolkata, India, and was in quarantine for two weeks and then sent home. He was screened by the medical team from the Janakpur Provincial Health Team using Rapid Diagnostic Kit (RDT) which then resulted negative. We are tracing him right now," Shah added. As per the official, the second new case of the infection was reported in a person currently in quarantine at Dewahi. On February 25, Nepal reported the first case of SARS-CoV-2 in entire South Asia in a student who returned from China.

FIRE KILLS 38 IN SOUTH KOREA

At least 38 people were killed last week when one of South Korea’s worst fires in years broke out at a construction site near the capital, officials said. They said the death toll could rise because more people could be trapped inside the warehouse that was under construction in Icheon, just south of Seoul. The blaze erupted early in the afternoon and hundreds of firefighters took several hours to put it out. Images from the scene showed several firetrucks and more than a dozen ambulances surrounding the badly damaged structure, which was completely blackened on one side. Eight construction workers were being treated for serious injuries at nearby hospitals, while two others were slightly hurt. Officials said about 30 workers managed to escape but at least one was unaccounted for. Officials were investigating the cause of the fire, which was possibly triggered by an explosion while workers were working on an underground level at the site.

CHINA ACCUSES CANBERRA OF PLAYING DIRTY POLITICS

The pandemic now has threatens to affect the diplomatic and political ties between the Australia and China. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his proposed inquiry into how the coronavirus developed and spread would not be targeted at China but was needed given Covid-19 had killed more than 200,000 people and shut down much of the global economy. Chinese state media has fiercely rounded on Morrison, with Australian studies scholar Chen Hong writing in the Global Times tabloid that Australia was "spearheading" a "malicious campaign to frame and incriminate China".

Lanka President rejects opposition call to reconvene parliament COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declined a request from the opposition parties to reconvene the dissolved Parliament, saying they are trying to make a political gain at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the country. Rajapaksa on March 2 dissolved the Parliament, six months ahead of schedule, and called a snap election on April 25 to elect a new 225-member house.

However, the election commission in mid-April postponed the parliamentary elections by nearly two months to June 20 due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected 750 people and claimed eight lives in the island nation. The new date clashed with the constitutional imperative that the new

Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Parliament has to meet within three months since its dissolution.

On April 27, seven opposition parties urged President Rajapaksa to summon the dissolved Parliament while pledging cooperation to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. "We urge the president to respond positively to this offer of responsible cooperation by us at this critical

time and revoke the proclamation dated 2 March 2020 dissolving parliament so that all of us can jointly fight to eradicate this virus," said a joint statement issued by the opposition parties.

Rajapaksa rejected the opposition call to reconvene the House, according to a press statement released by the President's office. The president claimed the opposition is trying to make a political gain at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the country, it said. The opposition parties argued that Rajapaksa has no power to draw public finances after April 30, the date which the dismissed Parliament had approved expenditure by the president.

"Getting appropriate and new legislation passed in order to meet the public health crisis and obtaining parliamentary

sanction to the utilization of monies from the consolidated fund are some such important and urgent functions of parliament," the opposition had claimed in the joint statement.

In a letter sent to opposition leaders, Rajapaksa maintained that he still has the power to draw money from the consolidated fund. The joint statement was signed by United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader Mano Ganesan, All Ceylon Makkal Congress leader Rishard Bathuideen, Jathika Hela Urumaya's (JHU) Patali Champika Ranawaka and former Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.

Sri Lanka yet to receive monetary assistance for Covid-19 fight Colombo: Sri Lanka is yet to receive any monetary foreign assistance in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic despite signing an agreement with the World Bank, a statement from the finance ministry said. 'Sri Lanka had inked an agreement with the World Bank for USD 127 million assistance for its operation against coronavirus fight but the money remains yet to be received,' the statement said, quoting a senior bureaucrat of the finance ministry, the portfolio held by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa had convened a meeting of parliamentarians of the last parliament to discuss the Covid-19 situation in view of the government's rejection of the opposition request to recon-

vene the dissolved parliament.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declined a request from the opposition parties on May 1 to reconvene the dissolved Parliament, saying they are trying to make a political gain at a time when the Covid19 pandemic has hit the country.

Rajapaksa on March 2 dissolved the Parliament, six months ahead of schedule, and called a snap election initially for April 25 which later was changed to June 20. However, the new date was also left in balance as a special meeting of political parties to firm up the date ended inconclusive.

The opposition claims that public expenditure was legally permitted only until April 30 and Parliament must be reconvened to regularise the use of

money from the consolidated fund. On Monday, the main Tamil party Tamil National Alliance was the only opposition political outfit to take part in the new meeting with Rajapaksa.

The TNA said they urged Rajapaksa to reconvene

Parliament to deal with constitutional and legal issues that had surfaced. All major parties other than the TNA had boycotted Rajapaksa’s meeting due to President's refusal to reconvene parliament based on a joint request which came from 7 opposition party leaders.

Bangladesh plans to extend shutdown DHAKA: Bangladesh plans to extend the nationwide shutdown until May 15 as Covid-19 claimed more lives, taking the total number of cases in the country to 10,929 and the fatalities to 183. 'The Prime Minister's Office is considering a proposal for an extended shutdown,” a PMO spokesman said, hours after junior minister for public administration Forhad Hossain said his office suggested the extension until May 15 to prevent further spread of the virus.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier ordered a comprehensive anti-Covid-19 campaign, amid steady rise of coronavirus cases in the country.

The government initially declared a general holiday on March 26 for 10 days. Later, that was gradually extended till April 25 as the country kept seeing a rise in the number of cases and

deaths from Covid. Bangladesh later extended the nationwide shutdown until May 5.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the tally of infections has risen to 10,929 after more people tested positive.

DGHS Additional Director General Professor Nasima Sultana said that Bangladesh was witnessing a rapid rise of coronavirus cases since March

24 as 10,929 people tested positive till now. The number of infection was only 6 until March 23. She said the Covid-19 cases were found in 63 out of the country’s 64 administrative districts, Bangladesh confirmed the first coronavirus death on March 18, ten days after the detection of the first three cases. 'Among the Covid-19infected cases, nearly 75 per cent patients are taking treat-

ment from their homes, and many of them are being cured every day after receiving treatment,' Sultana said.

As of May 2, of the total fatalities, 95 deaths were recorded in Dhaka city and 39 in Narayanganj, the river port town on the outskirts of the capital. Dhaka is the worstaffected area with 54.73 per cent of Covid-19 cases. Sultana said the massive spread of the virus has prompted authorities to expand testing facilities across the country, engaging non-government organizations, universities, state-run research institutes and private hospitals.

Despite experts' warnings, Bangladesh has reopened hundreds of its garment factories this week after nearly one month of closures. The factory owners said they were operating with fewer workers than usual and following safety guidelines.

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4,800 Indians test positive for Covid-19 in Singapore SINGAPORE: Nearly 4,800 Indian nationals, most of whom are living in dormitories for foreign workers, have been tested positive with Covid-19 in Singapore till the end of April, the Indian High Commissioner said. The total number of coronavirus cases in Singapore are 18,205 with 18 deaths, according to the figures released

by Singapore Health Ministry.

"Almost all of the infection among Indian workers is mild and their conditions are improving, Jawed Ashraf, Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, said. Over 3,500 Indian nationals, including students, have also registered with the High Commission to return home or to seek assistance for accommodation

and food due to their unexpectedly long stay here, he said.

Over 90 per cent of the 4,800 Indians infected by the virus are workers, most of whom are living in dormitories for foreign workers, he said. In

April, over 90 per cent of the Covid-19 cases emerging in Singapore were in dormitories, where authorities are conducting aggressive medical testing and taking quick steps to contain the spread of the virus.

By the last week of April,

however, the average daily number of new cases in the dormitories and in the broader community outside, as also the number of unlinked cases, were coming down compared to previous weeks, according to the High Commissioner. "We continue to pick up many more cases among work permit holders residing in dormitories, including in factory-converted dormitories, because of extensive testing in these premises," the Health Ministry said.

Two Indian nationals have died during the pandemic. One was due to a heart ailment though he tested positive after death, and another was a case of committing suicide at the hospital he was admitted for coronavirus treatment.

When policemen stop the car of Indian doctor in Dubai DUBAI: A Dubai-based Indian doctor had an 'unforgettable experience' when the city police had stopped her car and paid tribute to her instead of checking documents amid curfew hours.

Ayesha Sultana from Hyderabad was returning home when she was stopped by the police near the Al Mulla Plaza on the DubaiSharjah highway. She was driving home to Sharjah after finishing her shift at the Al Ahli Screening centre in Dubai.

"I did panic a bit and I was focused on getting my work permit and other documents to prove I am a doctor. But to my surprise, the policemen refused to check my documents and

instead gave me a salute and said I can go," Sultana told a newspaper. "This is the best reward you can get as a doctor.

As someone who grew up in UAE, this is an unforgettable day for me. This gesture from Dubai police means a lot to me and other healthcare workers around the world. This shows their respect to medics."

Sultana, who is born and brought up in the UAE said she least expected she would be dealing with a pandemic when she passed out of the Dubai Medical College in February this year. "After finishing internship with DHA, I was preparing for my MD exams when I was called by the Health Authority to join in

Japan extends state of emergency TOKYO: Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has extended the country’s state emergency until the end of the month, amid warnings that relaxing social distancing advice too early could flood already crowded hospitals with coronavirus patients.

Abe declared a month-long state of emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures on 7 April, enabling local governors to request that people avoid unnecessary trips outside and that non-essential businesses close. The measures have since been expanded nationwide, but they are far less restrictive than those introduced in the US and parts of Europe, with no fines or other penalties for those who do not comply.

The restrictions were due to end on Wednesday – the end of a series of public holidays known as Golden Week – but Abe said at a press conference they would remain in place in all regions until 31 May. He called on people to adopt “new lifestyles” based around physical distancing, adding that the extension was “designed for us to prepare for the next step and put an end to the state of emergency”. His decision came after government experts had warned that the number of new infections had not fallen enough to warrant a relaxation of social distancing measures, adding that a second wave of cases could put intolerable pressure on hospitals.

the fight against coronavirus."

She said her family was concerned but she convinced them that it was her call of duty.

"That is the whole point of being a doctor.

This is my home and I want to do my best in helping UAE fight the pandemic. We see around 200 to 300 Ayesha Sultana people every day - both defence against Covid-19". with and without symptoms. It is Taking to Twitter, Sheikh very rewarding and I am all the Mohammed had invited more committed to continue everyone to thank doctors, doing my job," added the doctor. nurses, paramedics and hospital There is massive respect for administrators with “ThankYou healthcare workers in the UAE, Heroes.” who are hailed as the "first line of

US announces relaxations for H-1B visa holders, Green Card applicants WASHINGTON: In a major relief for professionals and immigrants from countries like India, the US government has given a grace period of 60 days to H-1B visa holders and Green Card applicants, who have been served notices for submission of various documents, taking into account the massive novel coronavirus outbreak in America.

The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

Companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to

immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said the 60-day grace period for responding to its requests will include requests for evidence; continuations to request evidence (N-14); notices of intent to deny; notices of intent to revoke; notices of intent to rescind and notices of intent to terminate regional investment centers; and filing date requirements for Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion.

"USCIS will consider a response to the above requests and notices received within 60 calendar days after the response due date set in the request or notice before taking action," it said in a statement. The USCIS said

it will consider a Form I290B received up to 60 calendar days from the date of the decision before it takes any action.

The USCIS can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B work visas every year to highly skilled foreign workers. It can issue an additional 20,000 H-1B visas to those highly skilled foreign workers who have obtained masters or higher degrees from an American educational institution.

Under the existing law, the US can issue a maximum of 1,40,000 employmentbased green cards every year with a per country cap of seven per cent.

Accordingly, in fiscal year 2019, Indian nationals received 9,008 category 1 (EB1), 2,908 category 2 (EB2), and 5,083 category 3 (EB3) green cards. EB1-3 are different categories of employment-based green cards.

in brief BODIES OF TREKKERS, GUIDES RECOVERED IN NEPAL

Rescuers recovered the bodies of the last of four South Korean trekkers and their Nepali guide who died in an avalanche in January in Nepal’s mountains, officials said. Two bodies were dug up, one South Korean and one Nepali, but bad weather stopped helicopters from reaching the site, said Nepalese army official Maj. Gen. Gokul Bhandari. The other bodies were recovered last month. The team of four South Koreans and three guides died on the popular Annapurna Circuit Trekking route. Rescuers had spent weeks searching for them, but continuing avalanches and thick layers of snow hampered the operation. The warm spring weather melted the snow, exposing the bodies on the trial.

INSTALLATION OF SANITISING WALKTHROUGH HALTED

After reports of its ineffectiveness, the Punjab government in Pakistan ordered to halt installation of sanitising walkthrough gates at the entrances of public offices. The coronavirus experts advisory group (CEAG) said that the investment on disinfectant gates was unnecessary and no scientific finding backed that these devices helped curb the spread of coronavirus. Following this advice, the Punjab government has immediately barred the institutions from installing disinfectant gates in public offices and other public spots. Punjab currently tops the list of infected patients in the country with over 4,000 cases. The notification issued by the Punjab Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department stated that the usefulness of the disinfectant tunnels and walkthrough gates has not gathered any kind of scientific support.

EX-SYRIAN OFFICER ON TRIAL FOR CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

Germany began landmark trial of former high-ranking Syrian regime officers accused of overseeing the torture of thousands of prisoners. Colonel Anwar Raslan, charged by German prosecutors with the crime against humanity, worked for Syria's intelligence services until he defected from the regime at the end of 2012, just over a year after the start of the country's uprising-turned-civil war. Raslan and a former junior officer, Eyad A were arrested under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which gives a national court jurisdiction over grave crimes against international law, even when they were not committed on the country's territory.

Attempts to set up an international tribunal have been hampered by Russian and Chinese vetoes at the United Nations Security Council.

Syrian officials have repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting they target terrorists and not peaceful protesters. Raslan has been in Germany since 2014 and Eyad since 2018, according to the court statement.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES STRONG ACTION AGAINST CHINA

US President Donald Trump said his country will be taking strong action against China, alleging that Beijing did not disclose the threat of coronavirus and did little to contain the pandemic. 'We're coming up with a very distinct recommendation. But we're not happy with it,' Trump said of potential economic consequences against China. 'There's nothing positive about what happened in China having to do with this subject. Nothing positive at all,' the president continued while speaking to reporters during an Oval Office meeting. The president said the World Health Organization was acting like it worked for China, and said he would be issuing a 'recommendation' on how to deal with WHO and China.

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Migrants grow restless, resort to violence Migrants desperate to return home to UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal resorted to violence in different parts of India. Migrants from Surat clashed with police and torched vehicles. There was growing resentment in Ahmedabad, too, as migrants ran from pillar to post on learning they had to physically register themselves for the journey home and had to be dispersed by police when too many gathered at the collectorate even as the state said at least 21,500 had already been sent home.

The failure to anticipate their desperation, and to communicate effectively, was apparent. Many didn’t seem to know they had to register. A lot of people had their forms rejected for minor errors. And others found they had to fill out a new, entirely different form.

In Ahmedabad, Mohammed Shakil Alalm, a construction worker from Katihar, Bihar, said he was told by his fellow workers that migrants would be registered at the collectorate and taken to their destinations from Sabarmati railway station. "There was no such thing and I was shooed away. I do not have a job, nor money, so I do not know where to go for help," Alam said.

Angered over the delay in sending them home, hundreds of migrant workers turned violent in Bengaluru following rumours that the temporary camp near Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, where

they had gathered, was nothing but a quarantine facility. Four police personnel were attacked and a few police vehicles were damaged. Police had to resort to a lathicharge to rein in the restless workers who threw stones at the cops.

In Mumbai, Mohammad Hanif, a migrant from UP’s Balrampur who had waited at Kajupada police station in Saki Naka for five hours, said, “There was such a crowd that police hit us on our legs with sticks. They told us to leave and said they would not accept our forms today. This whole thing is a farce.” He had tried to leave once before, on a truck, but had been sent back from Powai.

In Pune, police resorted to a “mild lathicharge” after a crowd of 500-600 migrants gathered at Warje police station to fill forms and blocked the road.

Large groups of migrants that included women too hit the roads in

Vareli, a textile manufacturing cluster adjoining Surat, and resorted to heavy stone pelting at the police and vandalizing vehicles. Cops lobbed at least 40 tear gas shells and resorted to lathicharge as the mob was unrelenting. Teams of policemen were seen chasing the migrants into interior lanes and caning people.

Later, around 200 people were arrested for rioting.

The migrants, many of whom were already vexed after being sent back from Gujarat borders, started gathering on the roads outside the labour colonies.

Police rushed there and asked them to return homes.

However, migrants pressed

with their demand to return to their natives and the situation soon turned tense.

Refusing to go back, the workers resorted to stone pelting on police team. "At least 3,000 workers were involved in the rioting and few of them even hurled acid bottles on cops," said Rajkumar Pandian, inspector general of police, Surat range. Some of them damaged and torched a few motorcycles, an autorickshaw as well as a private car of a policeman. "We are trying to identify people involved in instigating the workers," Pandian added.

Vareli is an industrial cluster having textile and dyeing and printing units,

which employ close to 2,00,000 migrants, majority from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar.

Later in the noon, a huge crowd of migrants even gathered at Palanpur Patiya also in the city limit area.

However, there was no violence and went back to their homes after being convinced by police.

After the lockdown was imposed on March 23, migrants in Surat have resorted to angry protests several times. On March 29, they had pelted stones at police in Pandesara area with a demand to return to their natives. Later on April 10, a crowd of migrants blocked the national high-

India to evacuate millions stranded abroad from May 7

In the biggest exercise of its kind globally, India will begin bringing back millions of its citizens stranded abroad from Thursday (May 7) in a phased manner on non-schedule flights and naval ships. Among the first targets is UAE, where about 200,000 people have registered with the local missions to return from Dubai and Abu Dhabi alone, and who could be brought back in the first phase. Official sources said in the “short-term’’ the government hopes to facilitate the return of 1,92,000 Indians and another 200,000 to 250,000 in the medium term.

After the initial focus on Gulf, the government will look to bring back people from the US, UK, Iran and southeast Asia.

In what comes as a surprise, around 20,000 Indians have registered in the US for repatriation. India had to first focus on the Gulf because the governments there, like in the UAE, were threatening to impose restrictions on countries reluctant to take back their citizens after the coronavirus outbreak.

The government said it will allow the return of distressed Indians on “compelling grounds” and that only those

asymptomatic will be allowed to travel. They will have to pay for their travel and 14-day quarantine on return - either in hospitals or institutional quarantine apart from registering on the Arogya Setu app.

The exercise will start on Tuesday with the government sending a naval ship to Maldives to bring back Indians. Around 700 stranded citizens are expected to be evacuated on May 8 from Male and brought to Kochi. The Indian high commission in Male is reaching out to Indians who wish to return on “compelling grounds’ (medical and other emergencies, pregnant women, stranded tourists, jobless migrant workers from Kerala).

India had stopped scheduled international flights on March 22 and asked Indians abroad to

stay put till arrangements were made to bring them back.

“Medical screening of passengers would be done before taking the flight. During the journey, all these passengers would have to follow protocols, such as health protocols, issued by the ministries of health and aviation,’’ said the government in a statement. Given the scale of operations, both private airlines and Air India are likely to be deployed for the exercise. In terms of scale, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait had seen 170,000 Indians being flown back from August 13-October 11, 1990, on Air India flights.

The Indian missions abroad had created a link for registration of those looking to return but had said this wasn’t going to guarantee a seat in the aircraft.

Scores of Indians, including students, have registered from north America, UK, Europe, southeast Asia and Australia.

Warships, planes ready The armed forces are keeping some of their large warships and transport aircraft on standby to ensure they can swing into

action if the government directs mass evacuation of Indians.

“There are no explicit orders as yet but the warships and aircraft are being kept ready if the government decides to deploy them for evacuation. Similar is the case for Air India planes,” said an officer. If the numbers to be evacuated are large, then deploying large amphibious warships or “landing platform docks” like INS Jalashwa, instead of only IAF and Air India aircraft, would make better logistical sense.

The 16,900-tonne INS Jalashwa, the country’s secondlargest warship after aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, for instance, can transport 8001,000 people. For evacuating smaller numbers, IAF can deploy its C-17 Globemaster-III and IL76 aircraft. IAF has earlier deployed C-17 aircraft to Wuhan in China and Teheran in Iran to evacuate over 180 people. “INS Jalashwa and two smaller LPDs can together evacuate around 1,500 people. Or, it can be a combination of LPDs as well as military and civil aircraft. The government will have to take the call after finalising the number of people to be evacuated,” said the officer.

way by burning logs of wood.

Sources in police informed that the migrants were enraged after thousands, who had started for their natives in private buses and cargo vehicles with valid permissions, were forced to return to Surat from state borders as far as 500 km.

In Valsad district too, hundreds of labourers blocked the roads blocked the highway traffic near Vapi GIDC. But police cleared the road and the workers relented. Even in Kerala migrants came out on streets demanding that they be sent back to home and protested against landlords demanding rents.

Coronavirus can linger in air of crowded or unventilated spaces for hours Coronavirus can linger in the air in crowded spaces and rooms that lack ventilation, such as toilets, for hours, according to a new study by scientists who now recommended wearing masks in public. While the transmission of the virus from direct human contact and through respiratory droplets, such as coughing or sneezing, is clear, the potential for airborne transmission is much less understood.

The World Health Organisation has said the risk is limited to very specific circumstances, pointing to an analysis of more than 75,000 cases in China in which airborne transmission was recorded.

However, a study carried out by scientists from the University of Wuhan and published in the scientific research journal Nature, suggests the virus can potentially remain in the air in areas with poor ventilation for some time.

The study took samples from 30 sites across Wuhan, China – the city in which coronavirus was first reported – including inside hospitals as well as public areas during the height of its outbreak in February and March. It found levels of airborne virus particles in the majority of public areas was too low to be detectable except in two areas prone to crowding, including the entrance of a department store.

In open, public areas outside the hospitals, such as residential buildings and supermarkets, the study said the concentrations of Covid-19 "aerosols" were generally low.

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Chennai ropes in expert bureaucrat to abate soaring virus cases CHENNAI: Senior bureaucrat Dr J Radhakrishnan, Tamil Nadu's trouble shooter at times of natural calamities, has been appointed as the Special Nodal Officer for Greater Chennai Corporation as the coastal city grapples with rising coronavirus cases. Chennai reported 176 new cases taking the total number of cases in the city to 1,082. Tamil Nadu has recorded 3,23 cases with 30 deaths so far.

The state government order says Dr Radhakrishnan, an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, will coordinate all coronavirus related issues with Commissioner of Greater Chennai and other teams. He will be assisted by a team of five senior IPS officers.

Dr J Radhakrishnan

Chennai continues to witness a sharp rise in Covid-19 positive cases despite the nationwide lockdown and 16,000 workers conducting door-to-door screening everyday. There is criticism that the city was initially complacent.

Although eight thousand

international passengers landed in the city on a daily basis, adequate tests were not conducted.

The 1992 batch officer has been the government's trouble shooter at times of natural calamities. In 2004, when the country was devastated by a tsunami, Radhakrishnan was transferred from Thanjavur and appointed as the collector of Nagapattinam, the epicentre of the devastation in the subcontinent, where over 6,000 people died.

He oversaw almost the entire part of relief and rehabilitation works of the coastal district.

After seven years as health secretary, he is presently the commissioner of revenue administration, disaster

management and mitigation.

Recently, Chennai witnessed massive panic-buying as people rushed to grocery shops and vegetable markets ahead of the four day intense lockdown, compromising social distancing and defying the mask rule. The Chennai Corporation initially went back and forth on keeping grocery shops and vegetable markets open during the fourday "intense lockdown".

Ultimately, it decided to shut the shops and markets during this period leading to more chaos and panic.

With fear looming high that this development can trigger another wave of positive cases in the weeks to come, Radhakrishnan is sure to have his hands full.

PUNJAB

SAD, Cong leaders trade barbs as over 600 Nanded pilgrims contract Covid-19 CHANDIGARH: A war of words erupted between Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu and Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia as the state’s coronavirus count crossed 1,000 with over 600 Sikh pilgrims returning from Maharshtra’s Nanded testing positive for the infection.

While Majithia accused the state government of 'mismanaging' the return of the pilgrims from the Nanded's Hazur Sahib gurdwara and sought the minister's sacking, Sidhu hit back at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), daring its leaders to apologise for their “misleading propaganda”. So far, 609 of the 4,000 pilgrims who recently returned from Nanded have tested positive for coronavirus.

Health Minister Sidhu in a statement said the pilgrims contracted the disease before entering Punjab while stressing that 'sewadars' of the gurdwara have also tested positive for the

virus.

Religious leaders have testified that Nanded pilgrims were tested in Maharashtra but the Punjab government did not receive any test report from the state government till now, said Sidhu, who is under fire from the Opposition. Sidhu accused SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and former state minister Bikram Singh Majithia of “indulging in political one-upmanship” over a sensitive issue, that too “without verifying facts”.

“These leaders unnecessarily hyped this issue by spreading this propaganda that pilgrims are being labelled as coronavirus positive as part of a conspiracy,” said Sidhu. By politicising this issue, Akali leaders were not only trying to demoralise all frontline warriors who are going beyond their call of duty to save Punjab but also giving false and fabricated comments over such a sensitive issue, Sidhu alleged.

Sidhu said there is no need to

in brief 3,000 FOREIGN NATIONALS FLOWN OUT FROM BENGALURU Around 3,000 foreign nationals had left Bengaluru in 22 flights to 17 overseas destinations amid the lockdown, said Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) in a statement. "The first repatriation flight was to Frankfurt in Germany on March 31, while Japan Airlines operated three flights to Tokyo and Korean Air one flight to Incheon," it said. The remaining flights were to Azerbaijan, Baghdad, Cairo, Colombo, Doha, London, Male, Muscat, Paris, Paro, Riyadh, Rome, Stockholm and Tbilisi. The airport was fumigated and sanitised before and after each flight. Passengers maintained social distance and had access to sanitisers and masks in the departure terminal. "The flights were coordinated by the governments of the foreign nationals who were stranded in Bengaluru and other south Indian cities since the lockdown," it said.

PUNJAB OKAYS HOME DELIVERY OF LIQUOR

Punjab will begin home delivery of liquor after the opening hours. Instructions in this regard have been issued by the Excise and Taxation Department. Liquor vends in the state are to reopen on May 6. Having incurred £50 million excise duty loss in April, by allowing home delivery between 1 pm and 6 pm, the government hopes to boost liquor sale, hence enabling the licencees to pay pending excise duty. “When the lockdown was announced, old licencees were granted extension and they paid 60 per cent of the fee. The remaining had to be paid in the last week of March,” explained Vivek Pratap Singh, Excise and Taxation Commissioner.

“Also, if liquor is home-delivered, it will prevent crowding at the vends,” he added.

MAMATA SLAMS WEST BENGAL GOVERNOR

So far, 609 of the 4,000 pilgrims who recently returned from Nanded have tested positive for coronavirus.

worry or panic after the spike in cases with the return of pilgrims.

He said the pilgrims have been given the best treatment and also assured that the state will recover from the challenge just as it did first from situations arising out of the return of foreigners and then Tablighi Jamaat members.

Meanwhile, Majithia asked Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to sack Sidhu over the issue.

Majithia alleged that Sidhu had started defaming the pilgrims by stating that they had spoiled all

the good work done by the Punjab government in controlling Covid-19. Stating that the 'good work' of the Health Department has already been exposed by health workers who had “failed” to get PPE kits and facilities like ambulances and ventilators, the Akali leader said Sidhu has proven to be “utterly incompetent” and should quit his post immediately. Majithia claimed that it was a fact that the Punjab government did not follow the ICMR guidelines while repatriating the pilgrims.

WEST BENGAL

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, accusing him of trying to "usurp powers" amid the coronavirus crisis, and asked him to desist from using official communications and logos on social media. Banerjee's communication came after the governor shot off two letters to the chief minister last week amid the clash between the Raj Bhavan and Nabanna, the state secretariat, in the wake of West Bengal's response to the Covid-19 outbreak. "Such words and communications of such content, tenor and tone from a governor to an elected CM are unprecedented in the annals of Indian constitutional and political history. Your words against me and my ministers and officers can be described as vituperative, intemperate, intimidating and abusive," Banerjee said in her 14-page reply to Dhankhar.

Bengal admits to faults in Covid-19 data KOLKATA: In a first, the West Bengal government admitted that its system of collating data about Covid19 cases and deaths was not perfect and that some numbers had slipped through the cracks.

But the Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha steadfastly refused to include in the state's cumulative Covid-19 death count the 72 coronavirus patients labelled by the controversial audit committee as comorbidity deaths which are linked to Covid-19 but believed to have been caused by pre-existing conditions.

Eleven Covid-19 patients have died in the last 24 hours, the chief secretary said, raising the government death count to 61. This includes 33 coronavirus cases confirmed by the audit committee. If 72 comorbidity deaths are added, the tally shoots up to 133 but the state is not adding the co-morbidity fatalities.

On April 24, Sinha had said the death audit committee had examined the deaths of 105 Covid-19 patients ever since it was set up on April 3. Of 105, Covid19 was the cause of death of 33 patients. The rest of the 72 deaths were caused by co-

morbidties and Covid-19 was only an "incidental" finding. Asked about the two sets of figures, Sinha said, "We were not giving two deaths figures. We were giving one death figure that is death due to Covid as given to us by the audit committee."

Addressing the media, Sinha added, "We are quoting the right figure before you. (The 72) comorbidity deaths no more will come to us because hospitals have been told not to report co-morbidity deaths... So they are reporting the death figures and we are quoting the

death figures. Where is the issue?" So, from now on, hospitals will not report the death of Covid-19 positive patients who may have died due to pre-existing, underlying diseases. Sinha on Monday began his press meet on an introspective note. "We have not given figures for the last three days because our reporting structure was very complicated. The cases that came up after we had put out a bulletin were sometimes not recorded even. It was not intentional."

"The arrangement we had started, we thought it was fool proof but all

Mamata Banerjee

arrangements should be dynamic and improved by our learning," he said, adding. "We have now tried to ensure no figures were lost in the cracks."

The state government on Monday announced that Bengal registered 61 new coronavirus positive cases in the last 24 hours, bringing

up the number of total active Covid patients to 908.

This number had become the epicentre of controversy since Friday after contradictory figures were put in the public domain by the health secretary and the health department. No data was shared by the state over the weekend.

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The writer is a Socio-political Historian - E-mail: haridesai@gmail.com Dr. Hari Desai

The Changing History of Manipur The Titular King is the symbol of love, peace and unity for the hill and valley •people PM Modi sharing dias with Sanajaoba addressing him as Maharaja gave •indications

Col, Major among five martyred while rescuing hostages in J&K

F

or Manipur state it was the historic day: on 13 March 2020, the Titular King of Manipur not only filed his nomination as the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for the Rajya Sabha election, he surprised many since none ever joined politics from the royal family.

Of course, the corona pandemic delayed his entry in the Upper House of the Indian Parliament but none can stop him winning as the Manipur Legislative Assembly has a clear majority of the ruling BJP alliance with Nongthombam Biren Singh, the Chief Minister, at the helm of the affairs. The royal family was never inclined to join Indian politics as right from the independence days the Maharaja Bodhchandra and his eldest son Okendrajit, who was recognized the Maharaja after him, had distanced themselves from being part of the Indian politics. The grandson creates history by joining the mainstream politics. The Manipur Titular King Maharaja Leishemba Sanajaoba filing his nomination for Rajya Sabha election as the BJP candidate. (Photo courtesy: Indian Express) decision to nominate the Titular King with India. Nariman predicted that for reasons that Leishemba Sanajaoba The Titular King who is the probably had to do with showing the rebellious former symbol of love, peace and unity for the hill and valley kingdom its place, it was not given full statehood and people, as a candidate for the Rajya Sabha MP under was, instead, made a Part-C state, its administration BJP Government was most probably initiated by the handled by a diwan appointed by the Union. Protests Hon'ble Prime Minister, Narendnra Modi in were not immediate, probably because Manipur’s consultation with N. Biren Singh. Immediately, many affinity with the idea of India was already prominent, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) raised strong but demands for full statehood began soon enough. objections to the candidature of the Titular King When public agitation reached a critical threshold, Leishemba Sanajaoba for the post of Rajya Sabha MP. Manipur was upgraded to a Union territory in 1956.

The erstwhile princely state Manipur signed the When this did not put matters to rest, in 1963, a 30Instrument of Accession but not the Merger member territorial council was introduced to give the Agreement until 1949, that too under duress, states local elite some say in the state’s administration under Pradip Phanjoubam, the Editor of Imphal based Daily the guardianship of a chief commissioner. The same Imphal Free Press. He prefers to quote Fali S. year, on December 1, in the wake of a powerful Nariman’s 2013 book, The State of the Nation to give secessionist movement, the Naga Hills District of some clues: “He writes that modern India was Assam was granted full statehood after merging it with launched on a very uncertain wicket, an idea that he the Mon and Tuensang subdivisions of NEFA (now has articulated in several public lectures. Its partition Arunachal Pradesh). in 1947 was traumatic, but even after this, it was still Trouble in Manipur, however, did not end, and left with the prospect of uniting 560 or so princely secessionist sentiments began growing. It was then states, many of which were either indifferent or that full-fledged statehood was granted to it in 1972, unwilling to join the new nation — Hyderabad, together with Meghalaya and Tripura. By then, the Kashmir, Travancore, Junagadh and more. Manipur belief that no concession from the Union can be gained was one of these. The Constitution, written at such a without violent agitations had become ingrained. time, was expected to reflect this insecurity, wrote Manipur is living the consequences of such thinking to Nariman. Article 1 of the Constitution, which says this day. Only a sustained and imaginative policy can “India, that is Bharat, will be a Union of States”, purge the region of its oppressive culture of protest. indicates that India is federal. However, one article Dr.Khomdon Lisam had run a series of articles for later, Article 3, refutes this spirit. The latter empowers e-pao.net where he mentioned: “On 29 October, 2019, the Union to split existing states, merge them, alter Yamben Biren, claiming to be the "Chief Minister of their boundaries, or even change their names, with or Manipur State Council" and Narengbam Samarjit, without their consent. claiming to be the "Minister of External Affairs and Other than the anticipation of the need for Defence of Manipur State Council" said they were reorganizing its states in the days ahead, the unspeaking on behalf of the ‘Maharaja of Manipur, Shri articulated but clear message to the former princely Leishemba Sanajaoba' to formally launch the Manipur states was that if any of them misbehaved, the Union could abolish them. Nariman says that this existential Government-in-Exile― "the Manipur State Council". angst is also reflected in other provisions of the They said that the exiled government in London would Constitution. For example, the Commission of Inquiry push for recognition of independent Manipur by the Act, 1952 allows the Union to institute inquiries even United Nations. They declared "We will run the de jure into state subjects listed in the Seventh Schedule; or, exiled Government here ... from today onwards," They take for instance, the institution of the governor, who read aloud. "We will seek recognition from different is also the ear and eye of the Union in the states. Over nations ... to become a member of the United Nations. seven decades after Independence, India is no longer We hope many of the countries will recognise our the same. Nariman suggests that even if dropping these independence." However, the King of Manipur, features is not feasible, they should at least be archived Leishemba Sanajaoba has reportedly distanced himself so that India can claim to be a truly confident federal from their statement. The hot news was published in republic.” Manipur’s predicament is all newspaper in Manipur. One militant closely linked to the march of the Next Column organisation called Prepak expressed republic. The erstwhile princely state Scindias of Gwalior: support to the government in exile in signed the Instrument of Accession but London. Apart from Prepak, no other From 1857 till date not the Merger Agreement until 1949, militant group expressed moral support that too under duress. Maharaja Bodhchandra Singh to the launching of the Manipur Government in Exile had gone to Shillong for some work in September but in London.” Earlier PM Narendra Modi not only shared he was kept under house arrest in his summer dias with the Titular King but addressed him as residence and not released till he signed the agreement Maharaja. Credit must be given to continuous followon September 21, to be put into force from October 15. up by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Prior to this, an anti-monarchy movement had PMO that the Titular Maharaja not only distanced compelled the king to give way to an elected legislature himself from so called Manipur Government-in-Exile to run the state as specified in a Constitution drawn up but preferred to join the mainstream politics in India. hurriedly on the eve of Independence.

This may not only help resolving the Manipur disputes This legislative body as well as the Constitution but also extend helping hand subsiding the influence were abolished unceremoniously upon the merger of the separatist organizations.

Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, a decorated commanding officer of a Rashtriya Rifles battalion, along with a company commander, two other soldiers and a policeman laid down their lives in a fierce encounter with terrorists at Chanjimulla area of Handwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district last week.

The two terrorists killed in the encounter, one of whom identified by J&K police as top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Haidar, were part of a large group of Pakistani infiltrators who had sneaked into Kashmir through the Wadarbala-Rajwara forests in Kupwara last month, sources said. Colonel Sharma and his team reached the site after receiving reports that civilians were being held hostage in a house by terrorists.

In the ensuing encounter, some civilians managed to get out while some were extricated by the Army.

Colonel Sharma, the CO of 21 Rashtriya Rifles, with his company commander Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh Kumar, Lance Naik Dinesh Singh and J&K police sub-inspector Sageer Ahmad Pathan Qazi, were returning from a massive combing operation underway in the Wadarbala-Rajwara forests when they were informed that

two to four terrorists had taken refuge in the nearby Chanjimulla hamlet.

“Colonel Sharma and his small party were ahead of the security forces still deployed in the forests when they got intelligence inputs that the terrorists, clad in combat fatigues, had taken civilians hostage in one of the houses,” an officer said. A firefight erupted around 3.45pm with the two terrorists, who were apparently hiding in separate but adjacent houses. In the ensuing gun-battle, some civilians fled the houses, while the Army said a few others were “extricated successfully” by the security forces.

The security forces, which had by then cordoned off the area, blasted one of the houses with heavy weapons responding to the gunfire. “One terrorist was killed there,” a source said.

“But the other terrorist was hiding in the adjacent twostorey house with a cow-shed.

He started firing and lobbying grenades as soon as Col Sharma’s team entered that house. There was a heavy volume of gunfire,” the source said. Col Sharma and his team then “lost contact” with security forces, including elite para commandos, who had taken positions outside.

70,000 stranded migrants return home in special trains The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday said that 62 ‘Shramik special’ trains for migrants have been run by the Indian Railways to carry around 70,000 travellers. "Indian Railways have run 62 special trains till now for migrant workers carrying about 70,000 travellers. More trains are expected to run in coming days," Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, MHA said.

The special trains are being run to transport migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places in the country due to lockdown. The countrywide Covid-19 lockdown, which was scheduled to end on May 3, has been extended by another two weeks till May 17. The special trains were operated from different states to carry the migrants to the states of their origin. The railways will have to bear millions these special trains. Only 15% of the total was paid for by state governments while the remaining 85% was borne by the Railways, the official added.

With a subsequent increase in the number of ‘Shramik special’ trains in the coming days, the ministry is likely to incur millions on the transportation of migrant labourers to their native places. A fierce political war broke out over the issue of train fare for the migrant workers returning home, with the Congress declaring that the party and its state committees would pay the fare to enable workers to return to their native places.

The Union government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that the railways was bearing 85% of the fare cost, and state governments had to pay 15%, thus allowing migrants to go back home free of cost. The special trains were operated from Bengaluru, Surat, Sabarmati, Jalandhar, Kota, Earnakulam and other places. On an average, the bogies which have a capacity of 72 seats now carry 54 passengers due to the social distancing norms with middle seats not being allotted to any passengers.

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Lockdown extended by two more weeks in India The government of India on Friday, two days before the scheduled end of national lockdown on May 3, extended it by another two weeks but with significant, easing of curbs intended to reopen the country and restart economic activity even in the red zones, leaving only containment areas under strict restrictions.

The movement of individuals for "nonessential" activities has been prohibited between 7pm and 7am, and senior citizens, persons with comorbidities (health conditions) and children below 10 years are to stay at home except for health purposes. This can allow domestic help and other local workers to work during the day though states can further clarify the rules in this regard. Private offices (at 33% staff strength) will be able to function even in red zones.

However, the movement of individuals for all nonessential activities between 7pm to 7am is strictly prohibited and Section 144 can be invoked. The norms set the framework for states, which can increase

restrictions but cannot dilute them. The norms allow near-normalcy in green zones, now designated as areas with no fresh Covid19 cases for 21 days, with the movement of taxis, autos and rickshaws. The same applies to orange zones where no cases have been detected for a fortnight but such movement is prohibited in red zones.

Buses will also be allowed to operate at 50% capacity in green zones. In red zones, private four-wheelers with maximum two passengers in the back are permitted but for two-wheelers, no pillion riders are allowed.

Centre asks states to create buffer zones The districts were earlier designated as hotspots or red zones, orange zones and green zones primarily based

on the cumulative cases reported and the doubling rate. According to the health ministry, since the recovery rate has gone up, districts are now being designated across various zones on a broad-based criteria. “This classification is multifactorial and takes into consideration the incidence of cases, doubling rate, extent of testing and surveillance feedback," health secretary Preeti Sudan wrote to chief secretaries of states.

Till April 30, there were 129 districts in the red zone, 297 in orange and 307 in the green zone.

The government’s new assessment shows that 12 new districts have qualified as green zone, while the number of districts in the red zone have remained

largely unchanged, those identified as orange zones with no new cases in 14 days have reduced from 297 to 284, primarily because many have moved to the green zone. Under the new guidelines, the Centre has asked states to create buffer zones around containment areas as a safety measure to eliminate any chances of the virus spreading. The health secretary has asked all states to outline the containment areas and buffer zones in the

identified red and orange zone districts and notify the same.

"The containment zone is the core area and the buffer zone is the area beyond the containment zone. The containment zone will require stricter measures like house-tohouse surveillance," health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said. While the list will be revised every week, states will not be allowed to relax the zonal classification

of districts classified as red and orange zones. However, states can designate additional red and orange zones.

According to the Centre’s list, UP has the highest number of districts in the red zone - 19, followed

by Maharashtra at 14. While Tamil Nadu has 12, Delhi’s all 11 districts are in the red zone. West Bengal has 10, whereas Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have five districts each in the red zone.

India's Covid-19 count rises to 46,711, Ahmedabad testing rate death toll 1,583 The total number of Covid -19 cases in India on Tuesday increased to 46,711 after 3,875 fresh cases emerged in the last 24 hours, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The death toll in the country also rose by 194 to 1,583 since Monday, it said.

There are currently 31,967 active cases since the outbreak while 13,160 patients have been discharged or cured of the highly contagious disease. One patient has migrated from the country.

Apart from that, the total number of confirmed cases also include 111 foreign nationals.

Speaking at the press briefing today, Lav Aggrawal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health said that till Tuesday morning, "3,900 new cases and 195 fatalities reported in last 24 hours, highest increase in single day." He also added that 1,020 people have recovered in the last 24 hours bringing the total to 12,726. The recovery rate thus, stands at 27.41%.

As India saw the highest single-day spike in the number of deaths in the last 24 hours, Aggrawal clarified, "We persuaded certain states as we were not receiving reports of cases/deaths on time from them, after which the cases have been reported and we have seen spike in death cases today," and urged officials for timely report of deaths and cases in their states.

Furthermore, relating to the MHA guidelines to ease relaxation on certain parts across the country, Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, MHA said that to maintain social

State-wise tally of cases • Andaman and Nicobar Islands - 33

• Ladakh - 41

• Andhra Pradesh – 1,717

• Madhya Pradesh – 3,049

• Arunachal Pradesh - 1

• Maharashtra – 14,541

• Assam - 43

• Manipur - 2

• Bihar - 529

• Meghalaya - 12

• Chandigarh - 102

• Mizoram - 1

• Chhattisgarh - 58

• Odisha - 170

• Delhi – 4,898

• Puducherry - 9

• Goa - 7

• Punjab – 1,233

• Gujarat – 5,804

• Rajasthan – 3,061

• Haryana - 517

• Tamil Nadu – 3,550

• Himachal Pradesh - 41

• Telangana - 1,085

• Jammu and Kashmir - 726

• Tripura - 29

• Jharkhand - 115

• Uttarakhand - 60

• Karnataka - 659

• Uttar Pradesh - 2,859

• Kerala - 500

• West Bengal – 1,259

distancing, "gathering of not more than 50 people are allowed at wedding functions and not more than 20 people at last rites of deceased persons."

Meanwhile, among the total number of cases, Maharashtra continued to be the hardest-hit state with infections surging to 14,541 after 771 fresh cases and 35 death were reported since M o n d a y .

Virus-related deaths also increased to 583.

Gujarat is the second most affected state as it reported 5,804 cases so far, followed by

Delhi with 4,898 cases, according to the Health Ministry data. Tamil Nadu saw a record high number of cases after 527 people tested positive for Covid-19 in last 24 hours, taking the total to 3,550. The death toll in the state increased to 31 after one new death was reported since Monday.

T h e government on Tuesday suspended all existing visas granted to f o r e i g n nationals, barring a few categories, till international air travel to and from India remains shut due to the coronavirus

pandemic, an order by the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The ministry also said it has kept in abeyance multiple-entry lifelong visas given to Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card holders till international travel remains suspended.

The Ministry of Home Affairs also issued a standard operating protocol (SOP) for the return of Indians stranded abroad and those who are stuck in India and wish to travel to international destinations for urgent reasons.

In an order, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said priority will be given for return to India to compelling cases in distress, including migrant workers, labourers who have been laid off and those faced with expiry of short term visas. Meanwhile, Maharashtra closed all its nonessential stores and liquor shops as coronavirus cases climbed to 15,525 in the state on Tuesday. As many as 841 new Covid-19 cases and 34 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours in the state. The death toll in the state touched 617. Mumbai alone reported 26 deaths since Monday.

PM Modi reviews status of vaccine development Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reviewed the current status of India's efforts in coronavirus vaccine development, drug discovery, diagnosis and testing. He chaired a meeting of a task force on coronavirus vaccine development. The review by the prime minister took note of the extraordinary coming together of academia, industry andgovernment, combined with speedy but efficient regulatory process, an official statement said.

highest in India

Vijay Nehra

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has achieved a Covid-19 testing rate of 4,197 tests per million people, which is the highest test rate in India.

Municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra said so far laboratory tests were performed in 22,902 cases in the city and 2,038 tests were performed with test kits. With these the total number of Covid-19 tests conducted in the city were 24,940, which was 4,197 tests per million people.

Nehra said that Ahmedabad now has the highest test rate per million people in the country and it was three times that of Delhi which had the highest tests per million people earlier. AMC officials said of the 56,101 tests conducted in the state, 44.45% were done in Ahmedabad city. The officials added that AMC was able to detect the high number of cases due to intense surveillance.

In the fourth week of April, surveillance teams visited 500,000 houses and screened 22,12,000 people. Of these, 4,281 samples were collected and 290 tested positive, said health officials of AMC. So far, 18,220 samples were taken by AMC field staff and of these 1,263 tested positive.

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HEALTH

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9 May - 16 May 2020

7 easy steps to prevent bad posture while working from home

The ongoing coronavirus outbreak has pushed us into a work-from-home scenario for a lot longer than expected.

Things might just be worse for people who don't have a workstation and end up lounging wherever they find space at home. While the implications of working on your bed may not seem serious to you, your spine is begging for mercy.

Sitting in the wrong position, without strong back support will give you a lot more than a bad backache for a couple of days. A study reveals a bad sitting posture for a prolonged time may lead to spinal or musculoskeletal disease.

An important trick is to make an S with your spine.

Don't get it? Let us explain. When you slouch, your spine makes a C-shape, putting pressure on your lower back, and causing soreness. Making an S means pulling your buttocks towards the back of your chair, and keeping your upper back straight. A proper posture means maintaining a 90 degree angle between your upper arm and forearm. Your computer screen should be at an angle of 15 to 20 degrees below your eye level.

Sitting on a bed to work will only put more pressure on your lower back and needs to be avoided at all costs. Don't let your feet hang in the air. Thighs and the lower leg should maintain an angle of 90 degrees with each other.

Experts suggest taking frequent breaks and stretching to avoid spasms. Blink your eyes, stretch your fingers, and neck to help you maintain a better posture.

How to leave this lockdown with a happy body

Slipped Disc & Sciatica

“INTERVERTEBRAL DISC IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF HUMAN SPINE, THUS THE MAIN SOURCE OF PAIN.” Many patients Sciatica complain of pain in lower back along with tingling/numbness/heaviness in entire lower extremity. On reviewing the history of such Dr. Aalap Shah patients, it was noted that their profession involved prolonged sitting. Frequent travelling and lifting of heavy weights are also some of the reasons. Patient faces immense pain while changing posture and are not even able to walk or stand properly even for a few minutes. Such symptoms indicate sheer case of slipped disc resulting into sciatica.

Let’s us understand the spine first.

The spine is made up of many bones called vertebrae. There are 33 vertebrae in human spine: cervical 7, dorsal 12, lumbar 5 & sacrococcygeal 9.

Each bone (vertebra) is roughly the shape of a flattened cylinder and between each vertebra is an intervertebral disc. Disc has a stronger fibrous outer part – annulus fibrosus and a softer jelly-like part in the centre called the nucleus pulposus. Disc is important for shock absorption in the spine.

The spinal cord contains the nerves that come from the brain. It is protected by the spine. Nerves from the spinal cord come out from in between the vertebrae to relay messages to and from various parts of the body. The nerves coming out from the cervical region supplies to both arms and from the lumbar region supplies to both legs. Sciatic nerve is the longest nerve of the human body running from buttock to thigh to calf & foot.

Strong ligaments attached to the vertebrae give extra support and strength to the spine. Various muscles also go around, and are attached to, various parts of the spine.

What is Slipped Disc?

Mitul Paniker The Covid-19 lockdown and self-isolation has got most of us confined to our homes and without much exercise. With a lot of sitting around and stocked up shelves, it has become easier to let ourselves go. Asian Voice spoke to fitness and yoga expert Aditi Gajjar, who shared some inside secrets on creating a routine and being more mindful of our bodies.

A Mumbai-based yoga guru and fitness expert, Aditi practices a routine balanced with yoga, breathing exercises, and clean eating. The key, she says, is to listen to your body and give it what it wants. “Connecting with your body is very important, and helps you eat, sleep, and exercise better.

Feeling uneasy after dinner? That is your digestive system telling you to ease down on your oil intake. Craving for something sweet? That's your body asking you to fuel up! This is no rocket science. A lethargic and tired body may just be begging for some physical activity in its routine,” she says.

Having a colourful meal is very important, she reveals, something that can be very easily prepared in South Asian meals. Some greens, a bowl of cooked pulses, and multi-grain flour for your rotis. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Because it absolutely is! Do your pranayamas once a day, with sooryanamaskar – that is pretty much the exercise your body needs.

Aditi swears by her morning routine, something that leaves her feeling fresh and more energetic all day: Once you wake up, drink a glass of overnight soaked warm water soaked with cumin seeds and a pinch of cinnamon. Start with pranayama – basic breathing exercises, for half an hour, followed by 15 rounds of sooryanamaskar.

Breakfast : One aloo paratha/vegetable oats chilla cooked without oil, finished with half a spoon of ghee on top , a cup of tea without sugar, and one fruit Mid-Breakfast: Fennel seeds tea, 4 soaked almonds

When the outer ring – annulus fibrosis becomes weak or torn and allows the inner portion jelly – nucleus pulpous to bulge out, it is called as Slipped Disc.

What causes slipped disc?

Various things may trigger the inner softer part of the disc to squeeze out through the weakened outer part of the disc. For example, sneezing, awkward bending, or heavy lifting in an awkward position may cause some extra pressure on the disc. In people with a weakness in a disc, this may be sufficient to cause a prolapse. Factors that may increase the risk of developing a prolapsed disc include: 1. Prolonged sitting in wrong posture 2. Repeated forward bending 3. Heavy weight lifting in wrong posture 4. Turning, twisting, rotation & tor-

sion on spine in an abnormal manner 5. Prolonged travelling in wrong posture 6. Occupation or house hold work with lower back in forward bent/rotated posture 7. Increasing age

What happens to the patient?

1. Back pain 2.Nerve root pain (Sciatica IN CASE OF LUMBAR DISC INVOLVEMENT) Although the problem starts in the back, patient will feel pain anywhere along the course of the sciatic nerve from buttock to thigh to calf and foot in the form of heaviness, tingling, numbness & burning.

3. Pain in lower back along with heaviness/tingling/numbness in the leg while standing/walking 4. Weakness in lower extremities muscles in severely affected cases 5. bowel/bladder disturbances in severe cases

How is the diagnosis done?

Detailed clinical history & thorough clinical examination are important to conclude the diagnosis.

An MRI of LUMBAR SPINE is useful to determine the exact location & severity of the slipped disc problem.

How is slipped disc and sciatica treated?

Lunch: Vegetable Juice or a large bowl of grain salad with greens Evening: Tea without sugar, two digestive biscuits Another set of pranayama, and brisk walking for an hour Dinner: A bowl of fruit or, vegetables sauteed in olive oil with a pinch of salt or pepper “If you find yourself sitting around for long stretches, try fitting in some exercise while at it. Stretch. Hydrate. This one is so important. It is absolutely vital for your body to get enough water. You don't need an expensive gym membership, or a trainer to feel healthier or 'clean'. All you need is determi-

Ergonomics:

• Change posture frequently, if possible, every 30 minutes • Sit straight & supported • Ideal lifting & shifting techniques Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation: Physiotherapy is the gold standard treatment for slipped disc and sciatica. 95-98% patients respond very well to physiotherapy treatment.

• Non-surgical spinal decompression therapy creates a dramatic decrease of pressure in the disc (decompression) which can foster the drawing in of a disc bulge and help take pressure off a pinched spinal nerve. This can relieve back pain and sciatic symptoms completely.

• Theal therapy to reduce inflammation and foster healing over the affected tissues.

• TENS to improve symptoms via pain gate mechanisms.

• Supplemental Multi-vitamins during the treatment & recovery process • Core stability exercises to improve stability of the spine during all functional activities.

• Mckenzie exercises are 1 of the most highly recommended rehab exercises for spine

By Dr. Aalap Shah, B.P.T., M.I.A.P., M.S.P.T., Ph.D. (Scholar) Founder & Director of MISSION HEALTH in Ahmedabad, India.

nation,” Aditi said.

She added that “haealthy” doesn't necessarily come in a 'six-pack'. “Healthy comes in all shapes and sizes. What is important, is that you are eating right and getting enough exercise,” she ends.

To Our Readers

We are publishing these items in good faith, kindly consult your Doctor before you try to implement any advice. We do not hold any responsibility for its efficacy...

28 LIFESTYLE & FOOD

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9 May - 16 May 2020

How to reduce kitchen waste with Tips on working from home these preservation techniques

Food is one of the most disposable items in our households.

How many times have you caught yourself throwing away uneaten food, something that could have been avoided by a little bit of preservation and planning? Many aren't aware that food waste is a major contributor to climate change, as rots produce methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide.

Food preservation has been practiced for thousands of years and all it requires is some time and patience. Considering many of us are confined to our homes these days, what better time than now to learn a new skill?

We share a few well-known methods for preserving food and all you need are a few simple tools.

Use reusable silicone bags, mason jars, and glass containers. Frozen food generally keeps for up to three months without losing much flavour.

2. Dehydrating

One of the oldest methods of food preservation, foods can be dehydrated with very few tools, as long as there's warmth and sunshine. One of the largest benefits of dehydrating is the compactness of bulk food. Almost all food can be dehydrated - think dried fruits and sun-dried tomatoes - so this option is ideal for buying seasonal produce and dehydrating it to use throughout the year.

3. Pickling

1. Freezing

Freezing is hands down one of the easiest options; a wonderful way of keeping batches of soups, stockstarters, and sweets! However, you will

need to watch out for that nasty freezer burn and be mindful about how you store the food.

Most widely used method for preserving food, it includes quick pickling, canned vinegar pickles, and fermenting. All options use fresh vegetables, vinegar, and spices to extend the life of food. Just add fresh vegetables (cucumbers, onions, carrots) into an acidic solution like vinegar, and food is preserved for a longer time. Its flavor becomes tangy and sour, though.

Best Travel Gadgets to Buy

Getting ready for a vacation is never easy (there's always something you're bound to forget to pack) but once you're there, you want the trip to be a breeze. To make your adventure easier than ever, all you need is a few of these cool travel products ranging from smart luggage to the ultimate utility jacket.

These are the best travel gadgets to buy for your next vacation.

Portable Charger

An external battery is the one thing you should never go on a trip without because no one wants to carry around a dead cell phone. This one has two USB ports, so two people can charge their phones at the same time.

cables, pens, and headphones, and then rolls up to easily fit in your backpack or other luggage. No need to worry about misplacing your small items or having them fall to the bottom of your bag.

Pack-it Specter Compression Cube Set

Packing cubes are a savior when it comes to keeping your suitcase organized. Our experts love how durable these Eagle Creek cubes are, while still being lightweight and thin (so you won’t lose any valuable space).

Tile Mate with Replaceable Battery

If you're worried about losing your passport or plane

head from falling sideways — that way you can actually sleep on the plane.

Women's Bomber 2.0

This jacket is everyone's dream: It has a ton of pockets (including some hand warming pockets!), each serving a different purpose. It's perfect for traveling because you can keep most of your positions close to you, meaning you can worry less about getting something stolen or lost. Not to mention the fact that it comes with detachable gloves and a hood, an inflatable neck pillow, eye mask, a bottle opener/whistle keychain, and so much more!

Fire HD 8 Tablet

Mini USB Cable

These 4-inch charging cords great for using with an external battery (like the Anker Power Bank!). They are also way easier to carry around than those 3-footlong cables that always get tangled in your bag.

Osmo Mobile 2 Handheld Smartphone Gimbal

Don't forget to pack this gadget if you want smooth, stabilized footage of your next vacation. It holds your phone and has built-in controls that rotate it in one sweeping motion - a.k.a. way steadier than a shaky hand. With this, you'll easily have professionallooking footage of your trip.

Jetpack MiFi 8800L

Worried about lack of coverage and Wi-Fi on your next vacay? With this Verizon Jetpack, you can connect up to 15 devices to your very own personal network. Our lab experts like that it works on a reliable network and has impressive battery life - it works as a charger, too!

Digital Burrito Pouch

This clever pouch safely stores all of your chargers,

ticket, just tuck one of Tile's tiny Bluetooth devices into your holder and you can keep tabs on everything right from your phone. Testers raved about how easy the Tile app was to use.

SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker

This speaker may be small, but it still packs a punch when it comes to sound. It's also water-resistant, so you can safely use it outdoors - and most importantly, while lounging by the pool.

Evolution S3 Travel Pillow

Anyone who's ever tried to sleep on a long flight knows it's hard to get comfy. This travel pillow is recommended

by Lexie Sachs, textiles director at the Good Housekeeping Institute. It has straps that attach to the airplane's seat to prevent your

With a Fire tablet, you can download your favorite books and TV shows so you can stay entertained on the go. It's lightweight and gives you many benefits of a tablet, minus the hefty price tag.

Plus, it claims to have a battery life that lasts throughout 10 hours of reading books or watching videos.

OVO Travel-Size Iron and Steamer

This double-duty appliance works as both an iron and a steamer, while still weighing only 1.6 lbs. It did well in our Cleaning Lab tests, just be prepared to take some extra time if you need to dewrinkle a full garment.

Noise-Canceling Bluetooth Headphones

These comfy, lightweight headphones make long flights and red eyes a lot more bearable. The excellent noise-can-

celing abilities and sound quality make tuning in to that in-flight movie much more enjoyable than with any pair you can buy on the plane.

Plus, come with a cable so you can use the plane's audio jack.

40W 4-Port USB Wall Charger

This device has a whopping four USB plugs, making it perfect for a family (or anyone who needs to charge their phone, tablet, headphones, and smartwatch all at once).

Not to mention that it'll even charge them quickly, too! It's great for those hotel rooms that never seem to have enough outlets.

Wireless Flat Bluetooth Earbuds

If you're worried about losing your go-to headphones while on vacation, this lowpriced option is a great alternative. They make listening to your favorite podcast on the beach much less risky - plus, they can manage 6 hours of playback and still have decent sound quality.

The Carry-On

This trendy, colorful line of carry-on suitcases was a top-tested pick by our Textiles Lab. They use lithium ion batteries so you can easily charge your phone on the go, and it's super lightweight thanks to its polycarbonate shell. Airlines now require these types of batteries to be removed before checking, but you can easily take it out with the push of a button (if you need to check it).

Rohm Portable White Noise Sound Machine

If you or your little ones sleep with a sound machine on at home, you'll definitely want to bring along this portable one on your trip.

This model has three different sound options to help drown out any noises that could disturb your sleep.

Mitul Paniker The ongoing Coronavirus has pushed all of us into a work from home situation, but hey! I have no complaints.

Practicing social and physical distancing is of prime importance considering the need of the hour, and who really misses the early morning traffic?

However, working from home comes with its own set of qualms. With multiple distractions in every corner of your home, it becomes easy to lose track of your goals. In this article, I would like to share with you a couple tips I picked up myself over the days to stay sane and remain focused.

Stay true to your prior routine and for the love of God, get out of those pajamas! Get up early, make your bed, take a shower and get into a new set of clothes. Make a cup of tea and then, get down to business.

Keeping a schedule is so important. Check in with your family and stick to your work hours.

Assign a dedicated work area in your home; a temporary office space, ideally a spot that catches some sunlight.

Take breaks. Stretch. Make sure to eat lunch away from your work spot.

After work hours, go for a brief walk and get some fresh hours. Set boundaries to your hours of availability.

Take time out for yourself. If you are a working mom, give yourself a breather and dedicate some time to your own self.

Pace yourself.

Do a home workout.

Recipe SPROUTS SALAD 1 cup moong sprouts ½ tsp cumin powder ¼ tsp kashmiri red chilli powder ½ tsp dry mango powder ¼ tsp salt ½ onion, chopped ½ cucumber, chopped ½ tomato, chopped 2 tbsp spring onion, chopped 2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped 1 chilli, finely chopped 1 tsp lemon juice Boil the sprouts in hot water for 5 minutes. Make sure the moon sprouts have softened, yet, have a bite to them.

Put the moong sprouts into a large mixing bowl. Add cumin powder, chilli powder, dry mango powder and salt.

Mix well until all spices are well combined.

Further add the chopped vegetables, and the lemon juice.

Mix and serve.

WATERMELON AND CUCUMBER SALAD

1 small bowl of diced watermelon 1 small thinly sliced cucumber ½ cup thinly sliced onion 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar ¼ teaspoon sea salt 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Ground black pepper 1 cup Greek yogurt 1/3 cup fresh basil and mint leaves Combine the sliced onions with the vinegar and salt.

Set aside in the refrigerator. Blend the yogurt, fresh herbs and a pinch of salt. Now combine the diced watermelon, cucumber, shallots, and drizzle the yogurt mix on top.

Sprinkle some pepper, and sea salt.

Enjoy!

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9 - 15 May 2020

Irrfan Khan's son Ayaan pays tribute to his father

It has been one hell of a week for Bollywood with not just one, but death of two amazing actors from the fraternity.

Actor Irrfan Khan died on Wednesday, last week, followed by the death of veteran actor Rishi Kapoor on Thursday. Irrfan's younger son Ayaan shared an Instagram post of his father, who died after a long battle with neuroendocrine tumour.

Sharing two pictures of himself with Irrfan, one as a child and the other as a young man, Ayaan captioned the photo, “The flesh we roam this earth in is a blessing, not a promise...” The first picture shows Ayaan riding a bike with his father, while the second one shows them walking on a street.

Ayaan also shared a statement on behalf of the family, especially his mother Sutapa Sikdar. The statement read, “How can I write this as a family statement when the whole world is taking it as a personal loss?

How can I begin to feel alone when millions are grieving with us at the moment? I want to assure everyone that this is not a loss, it is a gain. It’s a gain of the things he taught us, and now we shall finally begin to truly implement it and evolve. Yet I want to try to fill in the things that people don’t already know.”

She continued, “I asked my children, if possible, they could sum up a lesson taught by their father that has been important to them; Babil: ‘Learn to surrender to the dance of uncertainty and trust your faith in the universe.’

Ayaan: ‘Learn to control your mind and to not let it control you.’”

Sutapa called her life with Irrfan as a “wondrous, beautiful, overwhelming, painful and exciting journey”.

She added, “Ours was not a marriage, it was a union. I see my little family, in a boat, with both my sons Babil and Ayaan paddling it forward, with Irrfan guiding them 'wahan nahi, yahan se modo'. But since life is not cinema and there are no retakes.”

Neetu Kapoor honors late Rishi Kapoor with a toast Neetu Kapoor raised a toast to husband, and legendary actor Rishi Kapoor, who passed away last week following a two-year-long battle with leukaemia.

Sharing a photo of Rishi, smiling at the camera with a glass of whisky in hand, she posted “End of our story”.

News of Kapoor's death shocked Bollywood to its core.

His daughter, Riddhima, who lives in Delhi and could not make it to his funeral, shared messages for him on social media. She wrote, “Papa I love you I will always love you – RIP my strongest warrior I will miss you everyday I will miss your FaceTime calls everyday! I wish I could be there to say goodbye to you ! Until we meet again papa I love you – your Mushk forever.”

Kapoor's funeral was attended by family and other members of the media fraternity, including his son Ranbir, elder

saying, “Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully at 8:45am IST in hospital today after a twoyear battle with leukemia.

The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last. He remained jovial and determined to live to

the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents.

Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him.”

John Cena shares Irrfan, Rishi’s photos on Instagram

Ananya Pandey calls Deepika 'more beautiful on the inside' Actress Ananya Pandey, who is soon to be seen in Shakun Batra's yet-untitled movie alongside Deepika Padukone, is all praises for her wonderful co-stars. In an interview with a media source, she said, “You don't feel like she is a star overpowering you. It feels like being with a friend. Deepika is more beautiful on the inside than on the outside.”

The upcoming film also stars

brother Randhir, Kareena Kapoor Khan along with husband Saif Ali Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Ranbir's girlfriend Alia Bhatt. Bhatt later gave a tribute on Instagram, honouring the late actor.

Rishi's family issued a statement after his death,

Siddhant Chaturvedi of 'Gully Boy' fame. Talking about Shakun, Ananya said, “I told him that I'd do anything he directs. I am just going to sit there like a student and try to absorb as much as I can.”

On the work front, Ananya also has 'Khaali Peeli' opposite Ishaan Khattar, and Vijay Deverakonda's Bollywood debut 'Fighter' in her kitty.

WWE wrestler and actor John Cena recently shared pictures of deceased actors Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor. Many believe, Cena paid a tribute to the two exemplary artistes, however, he did not caption the photos.

Bollywood fans soon began commenting on the post, with many asking Cena if he watches Bollywood movies.

The 'Trainwreck' actor often shares memes and posts on his Instagram without any caption or context. He even shared photos of 'Bigg Boss 13' contestant Asim Riaz back when he was a participant on the show. Before that, he had shared a special video message for Shilpa Shetty Kundra's son, and a post for the actor.

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9 - 15 May 2020

Twinkle joins the 'club of the perfectly imperfect mothers' Actor-turned-author Twinkle Khanna shared a Mom post, bringing much relief to fellow mothers overwhelmed by the lockdown-induced cook off on social media these days. The actor posted the picture of a black coffee, and a slice of toast with peanut butter, over the weekend.

She captioned it, “Kudos to all the moms making pancakes with strawberry drizzle and banana tarte tatin, but my goals are low. Milk and a toast with peanut butter for her, a cup of black coffee for me and we are ready to make the most of our day. Welcome to the club of the perfectly imperfect mothers.”

With people spending more time inside their homes these days, the internet is up to the brim with fancy cooking videos and photos. Twinkle's post came at a time when many of us needed assurance that not having an elaborate cooking schedule is A-Okay!

The actress also shared a video on disinfecting during the pandemic. She wrote, “I used to tease my sister about her penchant for constantly disinfecting objects before we all got hit by this pandemic. Now I have to concede that she was on the right path. To keep my home safe, especially during this coronavirus phase, I make sure that all frequently touched surfaces like tabletops and kitchen slabs are clean and disinfected regularly. WHO also recommends the same. I am doing it so should you.”

Will Smith, Mick Jagger to join Covid-19 India relief concert India's four-hour concert to raise funds for the battle against coronavirus will see dozens of international and Bollywood starts participate, including rock legend Mick Jagger and Hollywood's Will Smith.

Some of the top domestic names include Virat Kohli, Priyanka Chopra, and Shah Rukh Khan. The concert has been organised by Bollywood filmmakers Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar and will be livestreamed by Facebook.

The show aims to raise millions of dollars for over 100 groups providing food and other essential services during the crisis.

Organisers said the money was needed “for those who have no work and no home and do not know where their next meal is coming from.” India has been under lockdown since March 25, and is set to last until at least May 17. The shutdown has especially affected millions of migrant workers stranded with little food or money.

by Vallisa Chauhan

Genre: Romantic comedy Duration: 139 mins

A love triangle with a twist, the two men are pretending to be gay Dostana is a fun film set in Miami and is about two men who pretend to be gay but fall in love with the same girl.

We are introduced to Sam (Abheishek Bachchan) and Kunal (John Abraham), they are both bachelors living in Miami. The two meet when they both go to view the same apartment owned by Neha (Priyanka Chopra) who lives with her aunty. Neha wants a female roommate and so her aunty will not rent the room to the boys. Sam and Kunal decide they will pretend to be gay.

The three become friends and Sam convinces Kunal to apply for a domestic partnership as Sam is not a US citizen. Unfortunately, things go wrong when the approval letter is sent back to London to Sam’s mother and on a dinner night where Neha has invited her gay boss for dinner to hopefully get a promotion, a US immigration officer turns up as well as Sam’s mother. The evening turns into chaos but there is a lot of laughter for the audience.

The following day Neha comes home upset as she was not offered the promotion and instead it was given to Abhimanyu Singh (Bobby Deol) known as Abhi. When she arrives home she is consoled by Sam’s mother and whilst she helps her deal with her situation Neha also helps Sam’s mother come to terms with her son’s sexuality.

Sam and Kunal help Neha with an assignment she is set which impresses Abhi and both Sam and Kunal take

Safety comes first for actor Sanjay Dutt With the Covid-19 pandemic affecting every industry, including Bollywood, major film shoots have been halted and releases postponed. However, actor Sanjay Dutt has a different approach. He said there are “far bigger worries” today.

He said, “The pandemic has certainly affected things but the lockdown is for everyone's safety. I honestly feel the primary thing is to focus on everyone's well-being and safety of our audiences, then comes the entertainment part. It will delay the projects in high probability but that is reasonable for the nation's best interest.”

Dutt said he is hopeful that things will soon get back to normal. He said, “Currently, every shoot is on a halt but I am looking forward to bringing some exciting projects to the audience. There are some interesting characters that I will be playing and the line-up definitely looks good.”

her out for dinner separately and confess their love for her, of course Neha thinks they are gay and therefore sees it as a friendly gesture. Neha then starts dating Abhi but Kunal and Sam try to sabotage the relationship and even convince Veer, Abhi’s 5-year-old son that Neha is not good for his father. Abhi breaks up with Neha at the same time that she finds out that Kunal and Sam have been lying to her. She kicks them out the apartment and refuses to talk to them.

Will Neha and Abhi be able to reconcile? What will happen to Sam and Kunal?

Dostana is a hilarious film which gets away with introducing crazy scenes filled with fun and laughter indulging how India views the gay community where it is ok for men to hold hands and walk down the street but not actually be gay.

You can get in touch with Vallisa: djvallisa@gmail.com

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9 - 15 May 2020

Kajal Aggarwal too opts out Deverakonda wants to reunite of Chiranjeevi's 'Acharya' with director Sandeep Ranga Actor Vijay Deverakonda of 'Arjun Reddy' fame has revealed he can't wait to reunite with director Sandeep Ranga, and has requested the latter to complete 2-3 scripts in the lockdown so they can reunite soon. In mutual admiration, Sandeep took to Twitter to laud Vijay's efforts to help middle-class families with essential groceries during the lockdown.

He tweeted, “Alloys are a homogeneous mixture of two or more metallic elements like Iron, Steel, Bronze & Titanium to achieve a greater strength to withstand against all sorts of calamities, corrosion & chemical reactions.

And you have a pair made out of it. Great & gutsy @TheDeverakonda (sic)”. Replying to the tweet, Vijay said, “I miss you Vanga. Please finish 2-3 scripts in lockdown. I cannot wait 2 years to shoot (sic).” The actor had announced £130,000 fund to help those affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

Reports reveal, after Trisha Krishnan, Kajal Aggarwal has opted out of Chiranjeevi's upcoming Telugu film 'Acharya' and chosen a Tamil project. It is to be noted that she had recently been taken on board as replacement for Trisha. Kajal reportedly opted out of the film to make herself available for one of her upcoming Tamil movies and since she couldn't juggle her dates, she chose to walk out of the Chiranjeevi-starrer.

Trisha, who had originally signed as the leading lady, also recently opted out of the project due to creative differences. The film is rumoured to feature Chiranjeevi in dual roles.

Directed by Koratala Siva, it is about a middle-aged Naxalite-turned-social reformer who launched a fight against the Endowments Department over misappropriation and embezzlement of temple funds and donations.

Kamal Haasan calls Covid-19 worst challenge since WW2

Vijay's 'Master' not to release on Amazon Prime

Opening up about the Covid-19 crisis, veteran actor Kamal Haasan called it the “greatest challenge since World War II”. Speaking about his experience enduring the government-imposed lockdown, Haasan said, “It is something that has been tutored to me by my parents and family. It is not only during times of Covid-19 but all the time. I have taken my share of spills...

I mean, fractures, injuries, and hospitalisations, and I always come back. I bounce back on my feet.”

On why he would refer to the pandemic as the worst challenge since WW2, he said, “I use World War II as the point of reference because that is the closest to our generation. Europe changed because of plague... Plague had been there for thousands of years but when it came, it swept across Europe. Suddenly, wisdom dawned on Europe and many other places when they learned that there is something called civic

One of the producers of upcoming Tamil movie 'Master' has put all rumors to rest by confirming the film will release in theatres after the lockdown and not on any OTT platform. Refuting rumours about the Vijay-starrer releasing on Amazon Prime in May, producer Lalit Kumar said, “No, we don't have any plans of releasing 'Master' directly on any OTT platform. The film will release in theatres after lifting of lockdown.”

If grapevine is to be believed, makers of the movie were offered £12.5 million to allow the film to directly release on Prime. Directed

by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the movie stars Vijay in the role of a college professor. Vijay Sethupathi will be seen playing the villain, while Malavika Mohanan will play the leading lady. The film also stars Andrea Jeremiah in a key role.

TV Listing

* Schedule is subject to change

SATURDAY MAY 9, 2020

duty and you can't be selfish.” He said the ongoing pandemic has forced people to introspect and notice the little things around them.

“It is not only seclusion but they are deep into introspection which they have never been before because they were so busy. Now, they hear the birds and think about street dance.

No one realised these things existed, they just walked around it. ”

23:08

FILM: ARUNDHATI

09:39

FILM: JUAARI

SATURDAY 9TH MAY

01:40

FILM: SAMAY - WHEN TIME STRIKES

12:45

FILM: ARUNDHATI

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MAHAKALI

SUNDAY 10TH MAY

21:00:

TROLL POLICE

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FILM: PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA

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FILM: 18.11 - A CODE OF SECRECY

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JAWANI NA ZER

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SHRIMAD BHAGWAT

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FILM: DIL NE JISE APNA KAHA

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FILM: PYAAR KE KABIL

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FILM: JOHNY I LOVE YOU

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DHARAM THI GUJARATI

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FILM: LUV SHUV PYAR VYAR

FILM: GUNAAH

DHARAM THI GUJARATI

MONDAY MAY 11, 2020

22:19

17:00: 18:00:

MUJHSE SHAADI KAROGI

18:00:

MUJHSE SHAADI KAROGI

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FILM: YEH HAI MUMBAI MERI JAAN

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FILM: MR. NATWARLAL

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FILM: TITOO MBA

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DESI BEAT

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DESI BEAT

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FILM: DASTAK

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FILM: TAQDEER KA TAMASHA

KABHI ALVIDA NA KEHNA

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FILM: BULLETT RAJA

KHATRON KE KHILADI (SEASON 10)

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FILM: JASHNN - THE MUSIC

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WITHIN

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FILM: KAHANI KISMAT KI

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TUESDAY MAY 12, 2020

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FILM: DHAAI AKSHAR PREM KE

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FILM: BIWI. COM

SUNDAY MAY 10, 2020

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FILM: BEZUBAAN ISHQ

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FILM: AAR YA PAAR

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FILM: HUFF! IT'S TOO MUCH

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FILM: AA GALE LAG JAA

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FILM: YEH HAI MUMBAI MERI

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FILM: DHAAI AKSHAR PREM KE

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FILM: LINGAA

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FILM: MERE DOST PICTURE ABHI BAKI HAI

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FILM: WOH LAMHE

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JAAN 19:31

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WEDNESDAY MAY 13, 2020

THURSDAY MAY 14, 2020

FRIDAY MAY 15, 2020 00:42

FILM: ANJAANE - THE UNKNOWN

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FILM: HAIR IS FALLING

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SATURDAY 9TH MAY

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13:00: MAHABHARAT

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FILM: HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN...!

18:30: INDIA UNLIMITED

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FILM: WANTED

19:00: NAAGIN (SEASON 4) 20:00: MAHABHARAT

13:00: SWARAGINI 15:30: JAI SHRI KRISHNA 16:00: DHARAM THI GUJARATI 16:30: RASOI SHOW 17:30: CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00: TUM KAUN PIYA 18:30: DIL KA RISHTA

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 11TH MAY FRI 15TH MAY 2020 8:00:

TERE NAAL ISHQ

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BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN

19:00: MERE HUMRAHI 19:30: KITCHEN CHAMPION 20:30: BARRISTER BABU 21:00: BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE

DEV (SEASON 1)

22:00: GOLMAAL RETURNS * Schedule is subject to change

MON 11TH MAY FRI 15TH MAY 2020 13:00: MAHABHARAT 15:00: CHALTE CHALTE 18:30: SIRF 30 MINUTES 19:00: CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00: MAHABHARAT 22:00: SHAITAAN 23:00: BIGG BOSS (SEASON 13)

SUNDAY 10TH MAY 13:00:

MAHABHARAT

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MOTU PATLU

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PAKDAM PAKDAI

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MAHABHARAT

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DESI BEAT RESET

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NAAGIN (SEASON 4)

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MAHABHARAT

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KABHI KHUSHI KABHI GHAM)

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Australia topple India from top spot in ICC test rankings Australia has ended India’s almost four-year run at the top of the International Cricket Council’s test rankings and also moved to No. 1 in the Twenty20 format at Pakistan’s expense. All international and firstclass cricket has been suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the annual update of the rankings means that results from 2016-17 were eliminated and the results since May last year are given extra weight.

That means Australia moved to No 1 with a rating of 116 after retaining the Ashes in England and going unbeaten in five tests against Pakistan and New Zealand at home over the southern summer.

Australia coach Justin Langer said his squads had performed on and off the field in recent seasons following the ball tampering

scandal in South Africa in 2018 that sent the sport Down Under into a spin.

“We have earned some respect back from other teams around the world but also from Australia," he said.

“When we started on this journey there had been a lot of talk about Australia wanting to be No.1 in the world in all three forms of the

game. We took a different approach. Not once did we talk about being No.1 ranked in the world, we wanted to be No. 1 in our values and process. That is what I am most proud of.”

New Zealand had backto-back test wins at home against India to start the year, retaining second place with a rating of 115 and relegating

Virat Kohli’s lineup to third spot on 114. England is on 105 in fourth spot in the test rankings, but retained top spot in the one-day international rankings after winning the World Cup on home soil in 2019 following an extraordinary final against New Zealand. In the test rankings, Sri Lanka is fifth with 91, one clear of South

Africa, followed by Pakistan, West Indies, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The ICC said with only two points separating first from third, it's the closest tussle at the top of the test rankings since January 2016, when India had led Australia and South Africa by a single point. India still leads the ICC test championship, though.

In the ODI rankings, England has a rating of 127 and increased its lead over India from six points to eight.

New Zealand is in third. In the T20 format, Australia heads the list for the first time since the rankings were introduced in 2011. The Australians lead with 278, 10 clear of England and 12 ahead of India.

Uncertainty continues over 2021 Olympics Arun Kumar The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will have to be cancelled if the coronavirus pandemic isn’t brought under control by next year, the organising committee’s president warned, ruling out further delays.

The comments, in an interview with a Japanese sports daily, come as medical experts doubted whether the pandemic can be sufficiently contained by next year to hold an event drawing participants and spectators from around the world.

The pandemic has already forced a year-long delay of the Games, which are now scheduled to open on July 23, 2021.

But Tokyo 2020 chairman Yoshiro Mori was categorical when asked by the Nikkan Sports daily whether the Games could be delayed until 2022 if the pandemic remains a threat next year, replying: “No. In that case, it’s cancelled,” Mori said.

Mori noted the Games had been cancelled previously only during wartime, and compared the battle against coronavirus to “fighting an invisible enemy”. If the virus is successfully contained, “we’ll hold the Olympics in peace next summer”, he added. “Mankind is betting on it.”

Masa Takaya, a Tokyo 2020 spokesman, declined to comment on a possible cancellation of the Games and told reporters that Mor’'s remarks were based on “the chairman’s own thoughts”.

But the comments will add to growing questions about the postponement, decided last month after heavy pressure on the organisers and the International Olympic Committee from athletes and sports federations.

The head of Japan Medical Association warned it would be “exceedingly difficult” to hold the Games next year if a vaccine has not been found. “I would not say that they should not be held, but it would be exceedingly difficult,” Yoshitake Yokokura told reporters. And

last week a Japanese medical expert who has criticised the country’s response to the coronavirus warned that he was “very pessimistic” that the postponed Olympics can be held in 2021. “To be honest with you I don’t think the Olympics is likely to be held next year,” said Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious diseases at Kobe University.

“Japan might be able to control this disease by next summer, I wish we could, but I don’t think that would happen everywhere on earth, so in this regard I’m very pessimistic about holding the Games next summer,” he said. But Tokyo 2020 spokesman countered that even medical experts said it was too early to make a judgment on such a possibility. Japanese officials and the IOC have said the Games will be a chance to celebrate victory over the virus, with some suggestions that the pandemic fight could even be incorporated into the opening ceremony.

Legendary Indian footballer ‘Chuni’ Goswami passes away Subimal ‘Chuni’ Goswami, the legendary forward, who led the Indian football in the 1962 Jakarta Asia Games, breathed his last after a prolonged illness in Kolkata. He was 82 and is survived by wife and son Sudipto.

“He was homebound for quite some time, suffering from various ailments. He passed away following a cardiac arrest,” a family source said.

Just a month ago, another football legend Pradip Kumar Banerjee had passed away. The duo formed a mythical attacking triumvirate along with Tulsidas Balaram, who came to be known as “Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar” of Indian football.

Balaram now remains the only

Subimal ‘Chuni’ Goswami

surviving member of the trio.

Such was Chuni’s mastery on a football field that he reportedly drew interest from England’s Tottenham Hotspur. Yet, he remained a Mohun Bagan faithful, having played for them uninterrupted from 1954 to 1968, presiding over the club’s golden

period in the 1960s. That he helped the green-and-maroons win 31 trophies while scoring 200 goals during this spell speaks volumes of his legend at the club.

Yet, the legend of Chuni could not be confined to football alone. He was a rare “allrounder” in every sense of the term, who could have earned name and fame in any other sport. He played for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy for three seasons, leading the side in 1968-69. A first-class career consisting of one century, seven fifties and 47 wickets, he is still remembered for how he demolished the mighty West Indies in the 1960s, in a friendly first-class game.

Born on January 15 in 1938, Chuni was a natural athlete. He

soon caught everyone’s eye thanks to his exceptional balance, dribbling skill and alacrity which eventually moulded him into a star striker in the 1950s and 60s.

No wonder it was a debut to perfection in Indian colour when he scored a goal against Burma in the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo.

Four years later, he established his legend, leading the national team to next Asian Games glory, which is still regarded as the country’s best performance on international stage. It was during this time, his stardom reached extraordinary heights when he used to hobnob with the likes of tinsel stars Uttam Kumar, Dilip Kumar and who’s who of other fields.

named US cricket coach

USA cricket has appointed champion cricket coach J Arun Kumar as the head coach of the men's national team. In a blog, USA Cricket CEO, Iain Higgins stated, “I’m delighted to say we have reached an agreement that he will take up the role and be permanently based in the United States as and when his working visa has been obtained.

Of course, the Covid-19 crisis has now presented some challenges around the scope of the role in the short/medium term, but we look forward to completing all of the arrangements and to welcoming him more formally in due course.”

JAK, as the former Karnataka captain is popularly known, was in Houston to meet players, selectors, team management and support staff. He returned to India just before the lockdown.

Confirming his two-year contract, the former opener said, “I’m excited about taking up my first international assignment.

I’ve always been up for challenges and this assignment gives me an opportunity to test myself against bigger and better teams. I'm looking forward to working with players to ensure there is an upward climb in USA cricket. My mission is to bring players from diverse cultures together and make sure they play quality cricket against better sides.” While waiting for the work visa, which has hit a roadblock due to the pandemic, JAK has started virtual training.

“There is nothing we can do on the field in the current circumstances, but that hasn’t stopped us from making a start,” he pointed out. “I’ve been in touch with the players and support staff on video calls. We also have a system through which we are analysing situations with the bowlers and batsmen.”