The Observer Volume 20 Issue 4

Sporting activities in Bengaluru struggle to get back on feet

By Padmini Dhruvaraj Bengaluru: Though sports activities have been allowed to resume in Bengaluru, normalcy has not returned.

Lokesh SP, head coach of the Jyothy Aquatic Centre, informed The Observer: "Our pool is of 25 metres with four lanes. Follow­ ing all the regulations and safety precautions of the central gov­ ernment is difficult during an economic crisis like this.”

The Centre released a stand­ ard operating procedure (SOP) to reopen swimming pools from Oc­ tober 15 for competitive swim­ mers representing a state or the country. The SOP instructs open­ ing pools only for four hours a day and not exceeding two swim­ mers in one lane.

“To open four hours a day, we need two coaches, a lifeguard, one pump operator, a maid, and security. We won’t earn enough to pay these people’s salaries.

Additionally, we require chemic­ als, and have to pay the electri­ city bill for a 9hp motor and 3hp vacuum. Hence, the expenditure will be more than income,” Lokesh added.

Violating the SOP, a few swim­ ming pools are allowing people without Covid­negative certific­ ates. Nivedan Bhardwaj, a regu­ lar swimmer at a club in

Kengeri, alleged that it is allow­ ing more than 14 people per batch.

Asked about his safety con­ cerns, he said: “I cannot use a mask while swimming. People spit in the water due to the chlor­ ine present. Swimming goggles have, though, been made man­ datory for everyone.”

But Praveen MP, the adminis­

trator of the club, said: “We have reopened the pool for zonal swimmers. Although WHO says Covid doesn’t spread through water, we remain shut for the general public.”

Gyms and other sports academies are not running at full capacity, “We have mandated the use of masks, gloves and sanit­ izers, besides social distancing.

Despite all this, we have barely 30­40% of our regular members back,” said Dhanush M, a trainer at the Body Fitness Gym. Fearing the virus, many par­ ents have withdrawn their chil­ dren from coaching camps.

Sachin Kumar, a basketball coach at Tenvic Sports, said: “Coaching is resuming slowly.

Now it is one to one, just the coach and the student, instead of an entire team. We train in an open court and follow all cleanli­ ness and safety measures and guidelines. Only 50% students have returned since we resumed training from October, following Unlock 4.0."

Kumar feels that from health and happiness to education, sports is a necessity for children.

He thinks it helps in their overall development and growth.

Continued on Page 3

By Upasana Banerjee

By Nishant Kumar Sitamarhi: Election duty for government teachers and angan­ wadi workers has affected teach­ ing in schools and the distribution of rations.

“Around four months are spent on election duty during an elec­ tion year,” Prabhakar Kumar, a teacher from a Kendriya Vidy­ alaya, informed The Observer.

“We... are not paid adequately.”

Election duty consists of regis­

tering voters, conducting sur­ veys, counting and organizing awareness drives.

In the past, the teachers’ union has protested against drafting teachers for election duty. The

union has demanded that the Bi­ har government should regular­ ize the services of ad hoc teachers and pay adequately for election duty.

Continued on Page 2

Kolkata: The shutdown of schools due to the Covid pandem­ ic has adversely impacted the students of rural Bengal.

Students from villages do not have access to smartphones or laptops at home, leaving them at a disadvantage during online learning. They have depended solely on schools for education, but since the lockdown was im­ posed, they have lost touch with learning.

Belonging to the families of farmers and daily­wage earners, most of them cannot afford a tu­ tor for home schooling.

Durba Chattopadhyay, a teacher at Sikshangan Chalksa­

Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Railways and Commerce minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting with a delegation of farmers on Thursday at Vigyan Bhawan to hear their issues after days of protesting in Delhi. Former Punjab CM Former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal returned his Padma Vibhushan award to show solidarity with farmers.

India's COVID­19 cases surpassed 95 lakh, while the total number of people who have recovered increased to 89.73 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 94.11 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Thursday.

Actor Rajinikanth will launch his political party in January 2021, five months ahead of Tamil Nadu assembly elections.

The 69­year­old said, “I am ready to sacrifice even my life for the sake of Tamil people...It is now or never."

lika School, informed The Ob­ server: “We couldn’t communicate with our students during this time.We wish to take online classes, but cannot bear the cost of Internet.”

Tuition centres hit, P2 Rural schools lack computers and 24/7 electricity to conduct online classes. The West Bengal government cannot provide any structural assistance to the schools due to lack of preparation and insufficient funds.

With no help coming from the West Bengal government, the students have been left stranded without any facilities to attend classes.

Continued on Page 2

Pandemic hits tuition centres hard Low enrolment, plummeting revenues pose a big challenge

By Abhishek Saini Panchkula:

Tuition centres in Panchkula are struggling to sustain their business due to low enrolment for online classes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tuition centres were forced to stop classes in March because of the nationwide lockdown im­ posed to curb the spread of the Covid­19 pandemic.

Ritu Gupta from Ace Tutorials informed The Observer: “Our in­ stitute was closed during March and April.”

Ace, one of the big tuition centres in Panchkula, has star­ ted online classes. “Yes, we have started online classes from May. But students cannot get the same clarity as they received in classroom teaching,” added Gupta.

Unlike Ace, some of the smal­ ler coaching centres could not sustain and had to shut down.

Ashutosh Sharma, a retired gov­ ernment officer, ran a small math tuition centre at his home in Sector 20. He was forced to shut his classroom in the lock­ down, and has not been able to restart since.

Continued from page 1 handa Shah, a government teacher at the Lakshmi High School, shared: “We were sent to far­ flung areas for election duty for which we were paid like unskilled labour.

Being a woman, I face more difficulties as I have to manage home and teaching besides election duties.”

In 2016, the Centre considered taking government teachers off non­academic work — such as election duty — to allow them to focus on teaching. However, it took no concrete measures.

The Bombay High Court recently upheld the Election Commission’s view that assigning poll duty to government teachers should be permissible under the law. The judgment also stated any disobedience may result in termination of service. This has further demoralized government teachers.

A survey by National Institute of Education Planning, an autonomous body, revealed that teachers utilize just 19% of their working hours for teaching. In the remaining time, they are in­ volved in election duties, carry­ ing out surveys and Pulse Polio

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Lack of government guidelines and parents' concerns over Covid-1 9 are preventing tuition centres from reopening after the lockdown was lifted | Abhishek Saini “I was done with the syllabus for 2019­20 batch and then the lockdown happened. After Un­ lock 1.0, parents were not com­ fortable sending their kids,” said Sharma. He feels he can only start teaching again once the pandemic ends.

Vishal Institute for Mathemat­ ics in Sector 14, another reput­ able coaching centre, planned to expand its operations to more subjects from the 2020­21 aca­

demic year. But due to the pan­ demic, they had to stop. “The lockdown was imposed in March, and all plans came to a halt,” owner Vishal Sood said.

Parents are not comfortable sending their children to classrooms in the current envir­ onment.

Rajesh Verma, father of a class XI student said: “Studies may suffer, but safety is my priority. I am not willing to send my ward

campaigns and maintaining mid­ day meal operations.

Anganwadi workers are re­ quired to provide rations and teach primary students from un­ derprivileged backgrounds. In 2010, a central government noti­ fication exempted anganwadi workers from election work. .

Nibha Devi, an anganwadi worker, said she has to distribute rations among children. When she is on election duty, she is un­ able do so.

Pradeep Singh of Beejak Seva Sanstha, an NGO working in Bi­ har in the field of education and literacy, said education in gov­ ernment schools in Bihar suffers due to the engagement of teach­ ers in election duty.

Sitamarhi’s Sub­Divisional Of­ ficer Navin Kumar, who acted as a Returning Officer, said the de­ cision to deploy government teachers and anganwadi workers for election duty is taken by the state government.

Pan Indian election is not the reason for poor education quality Adequate training is given to teachers drafted for poll duty.

“We hold seminars and camps to teach them smooth functioning of the election process,” Kumar ad­ ded.

Continued from page 1 arthasarathi Patra, a school inspector of Indpur block, Bankura district, said: “The government has no prior experience with such a situ­ ation, but we are monitoring the schools in order to provide them with as much study material as possible.”

Students are feeling detached from their studies, and many of them are considering dropping out of school. Ankur Dey, a class 3 student, said: “I can’t study with my friends anymore as my father is asking me to come to the fields with him.”

Parents are reluctant to send their children to schools as mid­ day meal schemes are not avail­ able anymore. Sudharshan Das Adhikari, whose daughter is ap­ pearing for the board exams next year, said: “My daughter’s educa­ tion has been hampered already; we want the school to at least ar­ range online classes to save the rest of the academic year.”

Some teachers of these rural schools have adopted the “camp­ ing system’’ of education. This method allows teachers to phys­ ically provide study materials to all students of a particular vil­ lage once or twice a month.

“Whenever we visit a village, we make announcements on loudspeakers to bring the stu­

nishant.k@iijnm.org

to tuition classes until Covid­19 is over.” Pratima Rani, parent of a class X student, shared a simil­ ar opinion: “I am satisfied with online classes.”

On one hand, parents are re­ luctant to send their children for physical classes, on the other students prefer offline teaching.

Aryan Pandey, a student of class XI who is enrolled with Ace, in­ formed: “I am not comfortable with online classes.” He feels it is

time coaching institutes start off­ line classes with proper safety regulations.

Kanav Goel, a class X student, told: “The level of interaction with teachers is not the same as in offline classes.”

Ritu Gupta from Ace also men­ tioned that students complained about feeling tired after attend­ ing back­to­back online classes.

With fewer students enrolling for the new academic year, rev­ enues of the big tuition centres have dropped. Even the new en­ rolments are being charged less fees than usual. Due to this, in­ stitutes are struggling to meet their expenses. “The teachers are cooperating with their salaries, but the biggest problem is rent,” said Gupta.

Sood from Vishal Institute shared similar problems. “Par­ ents enroll their children only if we reduce the fees. Sustaining with such low fees is very diffi­ cult,” he said. Vishal Institute’s plan of expanding operations has been deferred until the pandemic subsides.

The Delhi government earlier had released an SOP for both private schools and coaching centres, but the Haryana govern­ ment is yet to do the same. With no clear instructions and guidelines to operate, and with schools remaining closed at least until December 10, the future for these tuition centres remains un­ certain.

abhishek.s@iijnm.org

Govt yet to decide on onsite classes

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Learning is affected since March | Upasana Banerjee dents together,” said Malati Rani Pandit, headmistress of Sri Sri Gyan Mandir.

While the state government is yet to announce guidelines on conducting physical classes, some private organizations are trying to alleviate the students’ distress.

“We have distributed smart­ phones among students so that their learning doesn’t stop. But we could only supply a few but,” said Saikat Gupta, CSR execut­ ive of Supertron Foundation, which works for the education of

rural and underprivileged chil­ dren.

With no clarity on when the government will reopen schools, rural Bengal students continue to face challenges. These tough times are putting them at a dis­ advantage in comparison with urban schools. They are eagerly waiting for the schools to reopen; otherwise, boys will be left with no other option but to join the la­ bour force, and girls will be forced to get married.

upasana.b@iijnm.org

The fitness industry is in a bad shape Mumbai’s gym goers are worried about safety in the time of pandemic

By Viransh Shah

Mumbai: With gyms in Mum­

bai reopening, people have con­ cerns about their safety amid the Covid­19 pandemic.

Nirmal Shah, owner of To The Core Fitness, Grant Road, in­ formed The Observer: “We used to have 50 visitors a day; now it’s dropped to 20. The main reason is that people are still concerned about being infected by the virus.

Even our regular members haven’t turned up.”

A gym association was formed during the lockdown when finan­ cial difficulties were at their peak. It was decided that those whose membership ended during the lockdown would not get any extension. But if they renewed their membership, they would get a 50% discount.

Despite following required safety concerns, footfalls in the gyms remain low.

Sonal Koradia a co­owner, of Anytime Fitness, Kemps Corner, said: “Our staff are checking temperature and taking health declaration forms from members.

We’ve mandated everyone to download the Aarogya Setu app.

We record daily entries of our visitors. In case somebody tests positive, we will broadcast the

A trainee works out at Anytime Fitness' Kemps Corner branch in Mumbai after gyms reopened in Maharastra under Unlock 5.0 guidelines | Viransh Shah message on WhatsApp asking everyone who visited our gym to quarantine themselves at home.”

“The government has imposed a criterion of 15 members per hour, so managing that is a chal­ lenge for us. We have kept sanit­ izers and disinfectant sprays near every machine for users to

sanitize (their hands) after every session,” said Gaurav Parte own­ er of Alpha Fitness, Nerul.

“Mask is not feasible while training. While working out, trainees can wear masks at the chin level, but while interacting with the trainer, they should pull up the mask,” he added.

Quiz Corner 1. Who scored the most runs in the Ind ­ Ans ODI series?

2. Who scored the equaliser goal for Jamshedpur FC against Hyderabad in ISL? 3. How many career goals did Cristiano Ronaldo completed this week?

4. Who extended $85 million deal for two years with Los Angeles Lakers?

5. Who won his maiden For­ mula 2 podium in Bahrain?

For answers see page 4

Sports Across the Globe

Football

ISL: Bengaluru FC vs Chen­ naiyin FC; 7:30 pm on Friday.

(Live on Star Sports 2 & 3) Premier League: Tottenham Hotspurs vs Arsenal; 10 pm on Sunday. (Live on Star Sports Select 1) La Liga: Sevilla vs Real Mad­ rid; 8:45 pm on Saturday. (Live on Facebook)

Formula One

Sakhir Grand Prix; 10: 40 pm on Sunday. (Live on Star Sports network)

Cricket

Australia vs India 1st T20I; 1:40 pm on Friday. (Live on Sony Ten 1 and Sony Six) South Africa vs England 1st ODI; 4:30 pm on Friday. (Live on Star Sports 1)

Continued from page 1

S

hutting down sports com­ plexes has adversely af­ fected the fitness level of players.

Sruthi Arvind, a national bas­ ketball player, said: “Lockdown was like offseason. Now we all lack stamina. To maintain social distancing, all we now do is shooting practice and condition­ ing.”

A silver lining to the sports in­ dustry is the booming bicycle business. The Decathlon store on Mysuru Road has seen cycle sales growing from 0.5% in 2019 to 53.6% in 2020.

“We have regular enquiries, and are unable to meet demand and supply, especially (that of) geared cycles,” said Ripin Kumar, a part­time employee at Decath­ lon.

“Pre­lockdown people spent at least 3­4 hours in traffic. Now since it is work from home, they have extra hours to keep fit. By cycling, they can go out while re­ maining safe, unlike any other contact sports. This is also the best thing children can do in­ stead of using their phones the entire day,” said GP Gagan Reddy, a national­level cyclist.

According to a study conducted by the Norway University of Sci­ ence and Technology, Trondheim, kids need to exercise regularly to have a positive effect on multiple aspects of cognition and self­es­

teem, and academic performanes.

Since the schools across Karnataka remain closed, it is

difficult for the students to exercise regularly.

With All India Institute of Medical Sciences predicting a second wave of coronavirus in the country, the ray of hope for the sports fraternity looks obscure.

padmini.d@iijnm.org

Trainers have to maintain so­ cial distancing while looking after clients. “We are maintain­ ing six feet distance while train­ ing with clients. If I have to touch them to correct their pos­ ture, I place two fingers. Once the set is over, I wash my hands and ask the client to do the same,” said Saqib Shaikh, a pro­ fessional trainer at Anytime Fit­ ness.

“My regular clients have moved back to their hometowns, but I have received calls from two of them on resuming train­ ing from next month; 90% of people are desperate to get back to the gym as they’ve gained weight,” Ranveer Singh, a freel­ ance fitness trainer, shared.

Rahul Chhabria, an entrepren­ eur in the Advertising and Fash­ ion industry said: “I think exercising with masks won’t work well. I read a lot of articles where joggers wearing masks have collapsed because their lungs got punctured. Your breath is likely to get blocked while you are lifting heavy weights with a mask on. So, for me, it’s a big no­ no.”

Husain Rizvi, a trainee at Life Fitness First, Mira Road, said: “There are restrictions on taking showers, and access to the wash­

basin is allowed if you are drained out.”

Tanvi Kamat, a paediatrician who trains at Alpha Fitness, said the three basic rules are to wear masks, sanitize hands, and maintain distance. Experts ad­ vise using specialized masks while exercising at gyms as coronavirus is likely to spread during the winter.

Dr Sushil Jain, a pulmonolog­ ist and chest physician at Saifee Hospital, said: “You can avoid wearing a mask while carrying heavy weights, but if you are in a crowded place, you should wear a mask. Wearing a mask is a bit uncomfortable because you are not used to it, but it doesn’t cause any dehydration. I think people will get used to it. In the coming months of winter, the transmis­ sion of several infections, includ­ ing coronavirus, is likely to rise.

People should bring standard masks with good­quality cloth that will prevent the mask from getting wet.”

The ministry of home affairs, under its Unlock 3.0 guidelines, allowed fitness centres, gymnasi­ ums and yoga institutes to re­ open. In Mumbai, gyms and fitness centres reopened after eight months on October 25.

viransh.s@iijnm.org

4

The Observer Thursday, December 3, 2020

NGOs come to the aid of pets dumped due to Covid fear

The animals do not spread the virus, says vet

By Queeneeric Kharmawlong

Shillong : Pet owners have been

abandoning their pets because of the misconception that anim­ als can transmit Covid­19.

“The number of pets aban­ doned has increased since March. We have been getting dis­ tress calls about animals being found in a severe condition, which is a sign of negligence of the owners,” said Tee Mawlong, founder of the Stray Animal Res­ cue Society (SARS).

Farooq Z. Nongrum from Hu­ man United for Animals and Nature (HUFAN) informed The Observer: “The situation of stray animals during the pandemic is agonizing. It has been challen­ ging for people to cater to their needs.”

Sheetal Wahlang from Shillong Happy Tails said: “We have heard of many owners abandon­ ing their pets fearing they spread coronavirus,” People reject their pets because of old age, financial problems and

Animals abandoned during Covid time depend on roadside eatries for survival.| Queeneerich Kharmawlong illness. The animals have physic­ al and emotional needs, and neg­ lecting them is bad for them.

Mawlong said: “The peculiar conditions of the lockdown had a severe impact on stray animals.

Unavailability of scrap led to the death of some strays, while oth­ ers wandered off to new localit­ ies. The closure of small restaurants, roadside tea stalls and school/college canteens that fed street dogs in different areas made their lives difficult.”

Stray animals in Shillong are

also targeted by people who sell their meat illegally for easy money. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, bans dog and cat meat in India, but people continue to engage in this illegal activity.

Dr Tridib Kakoty, a veterinari­ an, said he has treated more stray animals during the pan­ demic than before. The animals are harmless, and there shouldn’t be any fear of pets spreading Covid. Animal protec­ tion laws must keep up with the

times.

“I do not have any respect for humans who mistreat and aban­ don their pets; I think they are cowards,” says Ronald Thangkiew, a dog owner.

Another pet owner, F. Mawrie, shared that she had made sever­ al calls to the different animal activist groups about stray anim­ als being found on streets in a miserable condition. “I have pets of my own, I cannot think about other animals starving.”

Activists encourage proper care of stray animals by keeping a clean area for feeding and keeping a check on waste man­ agement.

Anyone abandoning or harass­ ing animals for the fear of Covid­ 19 is punishable under Section 11(1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Foster homes are needed for cats and dogs until they find a permanent home.

The NGOs that spoke to The Observer recommended three solutions.

First, public participation to feed and foster homeless anim­ als; second, providing aid to state NGOs for animal safety; and third to sterilize their pets and not abandon them.

The NGOs are taking meas­ ures to feed stray animals and find them new homes.

queeneerich.k@iijnm.org

Clinics, labs in Sitamarhi shut due to Covid fear

Docs are scared as people do not obey norms

By Nishant Kumar

Sitamarhi: A fear among doc­ tors and paramedical staff of contracting Covid­19 has led them to close their clinics and laboratories.

Doctors in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district don’t seem to be willing to reopen their clinics following the Centre’s unlock guidelines.

Dr Sanjay Kumar Verma, a physician, informed The Observ­ er the main reason for doctors’ decision to keep their clinics closed is people disregarding ad­ vice to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

“Since a lot of my colleagues owning clinics have contracted the virus, I am scared. I am 72 and susceptible to the virus,” said Dr Verma, who used to see patients in his clinic before the lockdown.

Dr Yugal Kishor Prasad, an ENT specialist, said: “A lot of our own staff are careless which puts us at a high risk of contraction.”

Neeraj Jha, owner of Lal Path Lab, said: “My test clinics have not been functioning for the past

A private clinic in Sitarmahi stays shut due to the Covid-1 9 pandemic.| Nishant Kumar five months because of insuffi­ cient tests prescribed by doctors.

I have laid off four of my workers as it wasn’t possible pay their salaries…. Test centres are now

more focused on home testing as people prefer it.”

Those who lost their jobs haven’t had a regular income for more than six months. Mukund

Kumar, a compounder at Navjivan Clinics, said: “After a month of lockdown, I was fired from my job. Since then, I am re­ lying on farming and menial jobs.”

According to the Indian Medic­ al Association (IMA), the death rate among doctors in Bihar due to Covid­19 is 4.42% as against the national average of 0.5%.

IMA attributes this to fewer rapid antigen tests and people’s complete disregard for social dis­ tancing norms.

The shutdown of clinics has profusely affected heart patients, pregnant women and sick chil­ dren who are left with no choice but to visit the government hos­ pitals.

Praveen Kumar, whose father is a diabetes patient, had to shift him to a private hospital in Pat­ na under the care of specialist doctors.

As government hospitals are crowded with Covid­19 patients, OPDs are not admitting critical patients. Another challenge faced by government hospitals is a shortage of staff.

Doctors are reluctant to open their clinics despite strict in­ structions from the district ma­ gistrate to follow the unlockguidelines 5. and violaters will be fined with 1000rs

nishant.k@iijnm.org

Politicisation of farmers’ protest Political parties are trying to get mileage from the ongoing farmers’ agitation in Delhi. AAP has accused Punjab CM Amarinder Singh of teaming up with the BJP. Some Twitter users followed by the PM have been found sharing fake im­ ages citing Muslims disguised as Sikhs to be part of the protest.

Ritesh Roy Honest journalism is now rare in India

HuffPost India ceasing operations in the country recently due to the Modi government's policies showcases the reality we are faced with. Honest journalism is a rare sighting nowadays. News media from across the seas introducing it to India was our one hope of revival. Sadly, that hope has been taken away too.

Aayushi Parekh

Trump’s behaviour is a shame for US Donald Trump's refusal to accept his defeat is a big threat to the United States. Since 1788, 68 countries didn't have a smooth transfer of power. Most of these countries are autocratic, like China and Russia. Trump’s refusal is going to add the world's oldest democracy to the list of countries ruled by autocrats. That is going to be a big shame.

Anirudha Yerunkar ‘​ The Queen’s Gambit’ eye­opener on chess

The Queen’s Gambit has become the most viewed series on Netflix to date. After watching it, I hope people stop shrugging off chess as a game that only nerds play, and start treating it as a proper sport. I hope they recognize the time and effort that goes into excelling at chess, and give due credit to its players .

Abhishek Saini

1 ) Aaron Finch (249) 2) Stephen Eze 3) 750 4) Lebron James 5) Jehan Daruvala Editor: Viransh.S Copy Editor: Abhishek.S Page layout:Upasana.B Page editor: Padmini.D Photo editor:Nishant.K Reporters: Padmini D, Nishant.K, Upasana.B, Abhishek.S, Queenerich.K and Viransh.S. .

Supplements:Queenerich.

K.

Covid Manning the Second Frontline

The Observer Thursday, November 03, 2020

SUPPLEMENT

5

A new Robin Hood comes to the aid of the world’s poor, writes Shreya Asopa ovid -19 confronts the world with an unprecedented health challenge. But the lockdowns and collapse of economic activity have also brought in their wake unemployment, dislocation and hunger. Even as the race for a vaccine gathers pace, volunteers have stepped in to help feed the most in need. The Robin Hood Army (RHA) is an example of what a global, voluntary effort can achieve.

The RHA launched a relief initiative, Mission 30 Million, to serve 30 million people in need of food assistance across 20 countries. It has already exceeded that target thanks to huge donations from corporates and foundations like Reliance, Akshaya Patra, Godrej and many others to deliver its 'Bag of Hope'.

The parcels, which include 10 kgs of rice, 2 kgs of dal and 1 kg of sugar, were distributed to poor rural communities, daily labourers, orphanages, ailing patients and old-age homes.

Over 60,000 RHA volunteers have been involved, all adhering to the strictest health and safety

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RHA volunteer disturbing relief in Mumbai City | Credit: RHA standards. “As all eateries were closed, we tied up with corporates to distribute rations,” says Deepak Siyaram Singh, RHA Mumbai head, who has been working with the organisation since 2014. “Instead of accepting donations in cash, we accept food contributed by companies and retail stores.

Our volunteers used their own vehicles to deliver relief to the less privileged.”Established in

2014 in Delhi with the aim of curbing food wastage and eliminating hunger, RHA has already expanded to 180 cities in 12 countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Uganda, Nigeria, Botswana, Philippines Indonesia, and Malaysia. The volunteer-driven organization doesn’t have offices or own assets and relies entirely on donations in kind. It declines direct financial help. In May

2020, two months into the Covid crisis, the government of India distributed food grains worth Rs. 46,000 crore to 80 crore people under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna. Government agencies managed the entire process of procurement and distribution, but failed to reach many poor people, especially migrant labourers who were fleeing starvation in the cities.

“The government should have a proper framework to tackle hunger,” says Singh. “Many political organizations did help the poor by serving cooked meals during the lockdown, but the idea of serving cooked meals was not always practical, especially for migrants who wanted to go home. RHA distributed food ‘face to face’ and saw that some of the needy households did not receive food relief from the government.

The ground reality is different.

Yet, the government and organizations like RHA have to work towards curbing hunger.”

B

eyond the obvious risk of contracting the virus, RHA volunteers faced numerous challenges. The major one was

how to identify the needy and prevent people misappropriating the aid,” says Umme Suttarwala, who has been working with the RHA Pune Wanowrie chapter for the past four years. “We distributed food to rickshaw drivers, painters, electricians and others who weren't making any money due to the lockdown.

Another challenge was to get donors on board since the need was a lot more than the donors who donated to the “Bag of Hope”.

The world grows more than enough to feed itself. It doesn’t because there’s so much waste.

The Global Hunger Index 2020 ranks India 94th of 107 countries while the United Nations Development Programme estimates that we waste 40% of the fruits and vegetables grown for lack of storagecapacity.

Organizations like RHA are trying to solve the problem from both ends of the spectrum, by raising awareness about food waste even as they help feed the most in need. Having surpassed the Mission 30 Million goal RHA has set its sights on spreading its footprint across the world.

Never Miss an Opportunity Private hospitals are making a killing from treating Covid patients, says Arpitha Ajayakumar

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une, a city of 6.62 million, has been one of India’s worst affected by Covid-19, registering a total of 3.24 lakh infections, 8,418 deaths and 57,926 active cases, according to Pune divisional commissionerate.

Despite the availability of comprehensive Covid care, including ventilator support, at public hospitals, many patients wanting the best care have opted to be treated at private hospitals.

In order to prevent private hospitals overcharging Covid patients, the Maharashtra government has capped prices for treatment.

The charges for routine care and isolation wards per patient have been fixed at Rs. 4,000, charges for beds in Intensive Care Units (ICU) without ventilator at Rs. 7,500, and ICU with a ventilator at Rs. 9,000.

These charges include drugs, consultation fees, food and bed charges but will exclude a Covid test, persona protection equipment (PPE) and other tests like MRI and CT scans.

But, by several accounts, private hospitals continue to overcharge patients. Ajay Pandy was handed over a bill of Rs. 3.6 lakh by Kriti Care Centre in Chakan, Pune. Says his sister Jyoti Dhamale, “He was on a

Covid patients continue to pay exorbitant prices for the treatment in private hospitals | Credits: TOI ventilator for 11 days and on oxygen for seven days in the general ward along with four more patients.

The hospital has charged Rs. 10,000 for the room per day for 18 days, Rs. 10,000 as ventilator charges for 11 days and oxygen charges Rs. 3,000 for seven days.

Pradeep Nag , who was tested positive for the coronavirus in September and admitted in one of the private hospitals in Hadapsar, Pune says, ‘‘Even though the charge on bed was at a nominal fixed price, I was daily

given a medicine that cost Rs. 4,000 and the PPE kits and other tests were expensive too.’’Dr Ramachandra Hankare, medical officer at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) says, “The government has decided Rs 1.5 lakh based on capped rates and we adhere to the rules.”

The district administration has appointed audit teams to keep a check on the private hospitals to prevent them from overcharging patients.

But this hasn’t provided much relief to patients as the audit

teams only scrutinise hospital bills of more than Rs. 1.5 lakh, leaving the majority of them out of their scope.

Therefore, separate audit teams have been assigned to all major hospitals by the municipal corporation, while one audit team works for all small hospitals. The total number of functioning audit teams, however, has not been disclosed by authorities. ccording to the official data, 60% patients in Pune were admitted to the

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hospital, while 40% patients, who are asymptomatic, are under home isolation.

Therefore, 1,85,060 patients have been treated at hospitals. Of them, 75% patients have opted for treatment at private facilities, says the divisional commissioner of Pune, Saurabh Rao. This comes to a total of 1.38 lakh patients, who have taken treatment at private hospitals.

But, as the Pune district administration’s records show, the audit teams have checked bills of only 2,578 patients and have saved them a total of Rs. 4.31 crores.

Most of the patients are aware of this government rule but most of them are not in a position to fight and so pay the amount demanded by the hospitals. Many patients who are unaware of the rule fail to get any help from PMC, which is of growing concern.

When asked why the team is not able to check the all the bills properly, one of the officials from the PMC said, “There are many patients in Pune and sometimes checking all their bills becomes impossible.”The officials also refused to disclose what actions they would take against hospitals who fail to follow government norms and overcharge patients.

Covid

Observer 6 The Thursday, November 03, 2020

SUPPLEMENT

Not Street Smart Ordering street food online won’t help millions of unlicensed vendors, says Anjali Jayaraj

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n an effort to help the informal sector recover from the Covid slump, the government recently joined hands with Swiggy to help street-food vendors go online. Data from National Hawker Federation (NHF) reveals that more than 4 crore hawkers across the country suffered losses of Rs. 48,960 crore within the first month of the lockdown.

The food-delivery market, dominated by the likes of Swiggy, saw a 20% drop in the same period.

An NHF report says that vendors who want to participate in the scheme will have to go through a process facilitated by Swiggy, Goods & Service Tax officials, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and the local municipal corporation.

Under the scheme, the government has also has promised to give vendors a loan of Rs 10,000 each. Says Jay Shankar Singh, head of Azad Hawkers Union (AHU), “Many street vendors don't have an Aadhar card so they can’t avail of the scheme. Just 20 out of 100 can benefit from this scheme.

Municipal authorities harass street vendors in Mumbai every single day and try to get money

Government joins hands with Swiggy to take street food vendors online | Credit: Lonely Planet from them. So the loan given through this scheme will be spent in handling them.” Arbind Singh, co-ordinator of the National Association of Street Vendors of India, disagrees saying, “Going online will definitely work for street vendors.

They will face challenges like safety issues, standardisation, pricing and sometimes product availability, but yes it is the need of the hour. The scheme will help street vendors to survive the

pandemic." As of 4 October 2020, over 20 lakh vendors had applied for loans, of which just over 7.5 lakh had been sanctioned and over 2.4 lakh distributed. But in Mumbai, 70% of stall owners say they the loan is too small to be of any use. “Only 10,000 street-food vendors have a license in Mumbai,” explains AHU’s Singh.

“They earn very little after paying for rent, transport and supplies.” Says Vinod Gupta, owner of Nathu Pav Bhaji Center,

“Yes, I applied for a loan and received it few days back. Even if I get something at this point in life, it would be of great help. omplaining about things won't help me in any way.

But I have not teamed up with Swiggy yet.” Many street vendors we spoke to hadn’t heard of the scheme or the opportunity that a Swiggy tie up might create. They see little value in taking a loan from the

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government as they feel it could create additional burdens and, in any case, is too small in relation to their expenses and to make it worth their while. Says Mukesh Kumar Bind, owner of RN Sandwich Corner, “I had applied for a loan in September but still haven't received any money. I am not planning to team up with Swiggy as it is of no use, it will only create more problems. I work alone. Even if I team up with Swiggy it won't be possible for me to deliver all the online orders all alone.”

It isn’t clear what kind of commission will be charged for being onboarded. Commissions have been a constant issue for restaurants and delivery apps.

There’s near consensus among street vendors we spoke to that dealing with government, with organised retail and home delivery services is simply not worth the trouble.

Most vendors are migrants running unlicensed stalls and don't have the resources to build on what they managed to put together.

The government has the best of intentions they say, but many see them as a threat to their very existence.

Avia on in a Tailspin The travel shutdowns induced by Covid have dealt a body blow to the aviation industry, writes Dhruv Raghav

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he Covid-19 pandemic is not only taking lives but jobs too. The travel and hospitality industries have borne most of the brunt and seem the hardest hit. With most of the world’s fleet of airliners parked and mothballed, airlines both national and international are struggling to sustain themselves.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) claims this has been the worst year for the airline industry ever.

Crisil, a rating agency, predicts an annual loss of Rs. 1.1-1.3 lakh crores (trillion) for India’s domestic airline Industry.

On 28th July 2020, Indigo, India’s biggest private airline announced that it would have to lay off 10% of their total staff and further imposed a second-round, 35% pay-cut on senior staff members. The airline’s loss estimate is close to Rs. 2,844 crores as revenue dropped by 91% in the June quarter, following a loss of Rs. 870.80 crores for the March quarter. Forced to operate on a lower cash flow of Rs. 8,928 crores at the end of March 2020,

as against Rs. 9,413 crores at the end of 2019, Indigo now plans to take even more stringent steps towards cutting overhead costs as revenues continue to spiral downwards.

A similar situation has also befallen the government’s Air India. The collapse in air travel threatens the livelihoods of over 50% of the airline’s staffers. Air India has resorted to furloughs to make ends meet. The airline, on 15th July 2020 announced a scheme under which employees, based on metrics like performance and health, can avail of leave without pay from 6 Air India Aircraft parked. Domestic commercial flights operational months to 2 years, which can be only at 56% of pre­covid times. | Credit: The Hindu extend to 5 years. Just two days later, the civil aviation minister Airlines’ CEO Doug Parker said of their employees as buying and announced that a substantial that their revenue has shrunk by leasing of airliners have halted. disinvestment in Air India “is the 80% in June. American Airlines The company produces jet only option”.

International has also issued a Workers’ engines and aerostructures. Due airlines also face a bleak future Adjustment and Retraining to cost cutting, airlines have as the world’s biggest airline Notification to 37% of their staff, decided not to commission new networks suffer major losses. a warning of imminent layoffs. airliners as thousands already in United Airlines of the US, one of The ramification of the low commission collect dust in sheds. the biggest players, sent layoff demand has created deep notices to almost 50% of their US discomfort among airline he IATA recently stated staff, which puts 36,000 manufacturers.

Raytheon that full recuperation of the livelihoods at risks. American Technologies Corp. laid off 8,000 airline industry to pre-

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Covid levels is expected by 2024.

“Consumer confidence is depressed … and in many parts of the world infections are still rising,” said Alexandre de Juniac, CEO of IATA. The airline industry, like much of the the world economy, is in a slump and will take longer than expected to stabilize.

As the world cautiously opens up, domestic commercial flights have also started taking off in India. But their finances remain a challenge. The domestic market is operating at 56% of pre-Covid levels. Recently, the Indian civil aviation ministry extended the ban on international flights.

Tickets booked for flights till 31st December were cancelled, resulting in further losses for the airlines. Air Asia India, the subsidiary of the Malaysian airline, is planning to exit the Indian market, ending the TataAirAsia joint venture as it faces huge financial losses.

Covid has sent the aviation industry into a tailspin, from which it will require great skill and resilience to recover.