21072020-TT-01.qxd 7/20/2020 11:20 PM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | jammu | srinagar | vol.140 no.201 | 12 pages | ~4.50 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881  haryana BIDEN AHEAD OF TRUMP IN APPROVAL RATING WORLD /thetribunechd NAMGYAL APPOINTED LADAKH BJP PRESIDENT BACK PAGE DEBT-TO-GDP RATIO TO SHOOT UP TO 87.6% BUSINESS /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com tuesday, july 21,2020 Oxford vaccine holds out hope Safe & induces strong immune response: Scientists london, July 20 A Covid vaccine created by the University of Oxford appears safe and induces a strong immune response within the body, scientists announced on Monday after the first phase of human trials. Doses of the vaccine were given to 1,077 healthy adults aged between 18 and 55 in five UK hospitals in April-May as part of the Phase I clinical trial and results published in the ‘ Lancet’ medical journal. The results showed these induced strong antibody and T-cell immune responses for up to 56 days. “There is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the Covid-19 pandemic, but these early results hold promise,” said Prof Sarah Cases seem to have peaked in Delhi, says AIIMS chief Tribune News Service UK SIGNS DEAL FOR 90 MILLION DOSES ■ Phase I and II data for the vac- cine shows it did not lead to any unexpected reactions and had a similar safety profile to previous vaccines of this type. Gilbert, co-author of the study. “As well as continuing to test our vaccine in Phase III trials, we need to learn more about the virus – for example, we still do not know how strong an immune ■ The immune responses observed are in line with what previous studies have shown are associated with protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. response we need to provoke to effectively protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection,” she said. Scientists behind the trials found the response could be even greater after a second dose. New Delhi, July 20 On a day when India’s Covid cases climbed to 11,18,043 with a record daily spike of 40,425 cases, New Delhi AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria said the cases appeared to have peaked in the Capital. “The rest of the places will peak later,” he said, ruling out community transmission at pan-India level and maintaining that large local outbreaks amenable to containment were being witnessed. New Delhi-AIIMS, meanwhile, has begun human trials for indigenous vaccine candidate Covaxin being developed ‘Indigenous vaccine results in 2-3 months’ COVID-19CASES INDIA COUNT RECOVERED 7,00,086 FRESH FATALITIES 681 TOTAL DEATHS 27,497 11,18,043 TOTAL RECOVERED DEATHS WORLD 1,47,48,771 88,04,227 6,10,816 with Bharat Biotech. The AIIMS chief said 1,124 healthy volunteers had been enrolled for the trial. No law & order, Bengal Beijing dithers on honouring on brink, Guv tellsShah pullback deal, talks hit bump Kolkata, July 20 West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi today and informed him about “rampant corruption and nepotism” in the distribution of relief to those hit by Cyclone Amphan, a press note issued by the Governor’s office stated. Rather than benefitting the needy, the relief was siphoned to members of the ruling party, triggering unrest and violence in the state, the Union Minister was told. The “worrisome and dangerously deteriorating law and order” situation targeting political opponents and the “partisan” role of the police was discussed too. “The role of the police leaves much to be desired,” the Governor said. It was high time that exemplary AjayBanerjee Tribune News Service Dhankhar says relief siphoned| Covid situation alarming action was taken against senior police officials acting in utter disregard of conduct rules, he said. Dhankhar focused on “politicisation of higher education” and the role of Vice Chancellors. He expressed concern at the alarming Covid-19 situation in West Bengal with the toll rising each day and the abysmal lack of health facilities to deal with the pandemic. — TNS NewDelhi, July20 The India-China talks on military de-escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have hit a minor roadblock. New Delhi wants Beijing to fully adhere to the agreement on creating a physical buffer zone and going back from certain gray areas, before any progress can be made. A fresh physical verification of the buffer zone will be made as the previous one showed a partial pullback by China, unlike what was agreed upon at the meetings of the top military commanders. The two sides had to move back 1.5 km on each side of the approximate LAC, which has not happened. Sources say a meeting of the Lieutenant General-level commanders is possible only Your duty to uphold rule of law: SC to UP on Dubey encounter Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 20 The Supreme Court today said it wanted the probe into the encounter killing of gangster Vikas Dubey to be led by a retired judge of the top court and asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to spell out its stand by Wednesday. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said besides a retired SC judge, a retired senior police officer should also be added to the inquiry ordered by the state government. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the UP Government, said he would submit a draft notification to the Bench on July 22, the next date of hearing, to WHY OUT ON BAIL? Wondering how a gangster with so many cases was released on bail, the CJI said, “This is a failure of the system that somebody who had so many crimes in his name was let out and he committed this crime (killing of eight cops).” enable it pass appropriate orders. The Bench said it could not spare a sitting top court judge to become a part of the inquiry panel. During the hearing on petitions seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the encounter killing of Dubey and his associates, the CJI said, “You as the state have to uphold the rule of law. It is your duty to do so.” The CJI also asked the Solicitor General to look into the statements made by the CM, Deputy CM, saying, “If they have made certain statements and then something has followed, you should look into it.” As a lawyer for one of the petitioners said the court should not allow UP Government to choose members for the commission, the CJI said, “Are you saying a former Supreme Court Judge and a former High Court Judge are state-sponsored?” US RESOLUTION URGES CHINA TO DE-ESCALATE Washington: A bipartisan group of nine Congressmen has introduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives, urging Beijing that it should work towards de-escalating the situation at the border with India through diplomatic mechanisms and not by force. PTI FIRST 5 RAFALES ON JULY 29, TO BE BASED AT AMBALA: IAF after some movement on the ground is visible. There are at least two points where the People's Liberation Bus fares up 25% in Himachal Tribune News Service Shimla, July 20 In a decision bound to burden the common man, the Himachal Government today okayed more than 25 per cent hike in bus fares. The decision was taken by the state Cabinet at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. An official spokesperson said the fare would be Rs 7 for the first 3 km, instead of Rs 5. There would be an increase of 25 per cent in the present per km tariff for travel beyond 3 km for hilly and plain areas. The Cabinet also gave its nod to withdraw the facility of free travel to Members of Parliament and MLAs in HRTC buses within and outside the state. However, the facility would continue for all former MLAs and MPs. INSIDE Army (PLA) has not created a buffer. At PP 17-A (Gogra), the gap between the two armies is not complete. It is narrower than the ideal 1.5 km on each side. At Finger 4 on the north bank of Pangong Tso, a 135-km glacial lake, not much has changed. The PLA is sitting on the ridgeline of a mountain spur. Eight spurs of the Chang Chenmo range end on the north bank of the lake. Each spur or ridgeline is identified as 'finger' in military parlance. India assumes the LAC to be at Finger 8, which is to the east of Finger 4. India was patrolling till Finger 8 but the Chinese are not allowing patrols to pass now. On July 10, the PLA had moved away its boats and thinned out troops, but its troops still occupy the ridgeline. India wants the PLA to move back till Finger 8. CMGehlot slams door on Pilot, calls him ‘worthless’ Aditi Tandon ‘HE SOWED DISCORD, BACKSTABBED’ Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 20 In his fiercest public attack on rival Sachin Pilot thus far, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today slammed Congress doors on the rebel leader calling him a “good-fornothing backstabber”. Exuding confidence in his “majority government”, the CM said the state Assembly would function and truth would prevail. Days after waiting for Pilot and 18 other dissident MLAs to return to the party fold, Gehlot today closed the options of reconciliation by calling the former Deputy CM “useless” and saying Congress leaders knew all along of the rebel’s “incompetence”. “We knew he is ‘nikamma’, ‘naakaara’ and did nothing except pit one person against the other. But we did not say a thing in the larger interest of the party. I ‘nikamma’, ❝ We knew he isnothing except pit ‘naakaara’ and did one person against the other. But we did not say a thing in the larger interest of the party…. But he stabbed the party in the back. Ashok Gehlot, CM ‘MLA’s BRIBERY CHARGE BASELESS’ Former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot on Monday slammed charges of bribery hurled at him by party MLA Giriraj Malinga, saying he would take legal action in the matter. He dismissed Malinga’s accusations as “baseless and vexatious”, saying he was saddened but not surprised at the charges. COURT VERDICT ON REBELS LIKELY TODAY taught Congress leaders here how to respect the state unit president notwithstanding his age. Rajasthan is the only state where no demand was ever made to change the state chief who held the post for seven years. But he stabbed the party in the Sinkhole on expressway IndiGo to lay off 10% workforce New Delhi, July 20 Even as the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) today cautioned the AI management against its decision to send employees on ‘leave without pay’, saying any unilateral change on wage settlement would be “illegal”, private domestic carrier IndiGo announced to lay off 10 per cent of its workforce. ■ Heavy rain left a gaping sinkhole on the Delhi-Jaipur expressway, under the IFFCO flyover, in Gurugram on Monday. ■ The area was sealed off for motorists even as a similar cave-in was reported at Sec 46 light point near Sec 50 road. PTI 70K‘fake’pensionersinPunjab pilfer~162 cr, recovery ordered Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Faridkot, July 20 Large-scale pilfering of funds has come to light in Punjab with the Department of Social Security and Development of Women and Children identifying 70,137 “fake” pensioners drawing Rs 162.35 crore in oldage pension illegally. The Special Secretary in the department today wrote to all deputy commissioners directing them to initiate the process of recovery from such beneficiaries. A bulk of these pensioners is from Sangrur district (12,573), where Rs 26.63 crore has been siphoned over eight years, i.e. from 2009 to 2017. The least number of cases have been found in Pathankot (116). back,” Gehlot said. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan HC today resumed hearing the petition filed by the 19 rebels challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the Speaker. The court order is likely to be pronounced on Tuesday. SANGRUR TOPS THE LIST District Sangrur Bathinda Amritsar Muktsar Mansa Patiala ‘Fake’ beneficiaries Amount 12,573 8,762 7,853 7,441 6,663 6,528 ~26.63 cr ~17 cr ~19.95 cr ~15.70 cr ~18.87 cr ~19.63 cr Sources in the department said the government had issued a notification in June 2017 to investigate and identify dubious pensioners. The department has now asked the DCs to constitute district-level panels led by district social security officers to review the recovery process every 15 days. Each officer concerned will constitute a team for the purpose. In cases where young individuals have been found to have received pension, the committee will check their proof of age and relevant documents before making the recovery. The recovery will start immediately in cases where beneficiaries have concealed their source of income at the time of applying for pension. For individuals who have withheld details of landholding, the amount will be recovered by way of land revenue arrears. Pilots’ assn slams AI’s leave without wages move for staff IndiGo chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta said, “From where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices in order to sustain our business operations. “Therefore, after carefully assessing all possible scenarios, it is clear that we will need to bid a painful adieu to 10 per cent of our staff.” The ICPA said it backed temporary austerity measures, but slammed AI’s proposal to restructure staff wages. — TNS New consumer Act comes into force NEW DELHI: The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, empowering consumers and seeking to revamp the process of settlement of consumer disputes with strict penalties, including jail for adulteration and misleading advertisements and punishment for manufacturing or sale of products containing adulterants, came into force from Monday. — TNS Three women on 1 bed at Karnal maternity ward Parveen Arora Tribune News Service Three women share a bed in gynae ward of Karnal Civil Hospital. Karnal, July 20 Two to three women on one bed is a common sight at the gynaecology ward of the Karnal Civil Hospital where women have been battling the agony of overcrowding alongside labour pain. Anti-natal, post-natal and abortion patients have been forced to put up together, exposing them to the risk of infection amid the Covid pandemic. The ward has 28 beds to deal with a huge rush of patients, including those being referred from Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College, which has been converted into a Covid centre. Around 40 patients turn up daily, says an official. “We have little choice but to share a bed. There are several beds that have three patients each. The hospital LIMITED SPACE We earlier had 20 beds. Eight more were added by turning the waiting hall into a ward. There is no further scope now. ❝ Dr Piyush Sharma, PRINCIPAL MEDICAL OFFICER staff attribute the rush to the closure of gynae ward at the Kalpana Chawla hospital,” says a woman whose daughter-in-law delivered a child three days ago. Hospital stay is one of the most horrifying experiences for the pregnant women, who are in immense pain both before and postdelivery, claims another attendant. An official says compared to a total of 2,364 deliveries in 2019, 2,327 deliveries have already been conducted till July 19 this year. Apart from beds, the ward is facing shortage of doctors too as only one gynaecologist is available against the requirement of four. Dr Piyush Sharma, Principal Medical Officer, maintains there definitely is a shortage of beds and doctors. “We earlier had 20 beds. Eight more were added by converting the waiting hall into a ward. There is no scope for further expansion,” he adds. Widening BJP base top priority: Dhankar CHANDIGARH: In an exclusive interview with The Tribune on Monday, newly appointed state BJP chief Om Prakash Dhankar said he planned to broaden the party base in Haryana besides ensuring that the cadre reached out to those in distress due to the pandemic. INSIDE