08042021-TTB-01.qxd 4/8/2021 12:06 AM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.5 no.96 | 12 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2021-2023 established in 1881 VAX FOR ALL ADULTS IN US BY APRIL 19: BIDEN WORLD /thetribunechd ~10,738-CR PLI SCHEME FOR SOLAR PANELS, WHITE GOODS BUSINESS GHERAO CRPF PERSONNEL: DIDI TO SUPPORTERS BACK PAGE /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com thursday | 8 april 2021 Punjab bans political events, Below 45 account for 13% of Chandigarh tricity extends night curfew till Apr 30 deaths inin ‘needy’ category marked by Centre They don’t come Fresh cap on weddings, funerals | Vax target raised to 2 lakh per day Justice Gill takes oath as Pb CVC CHANDIGARH: Former Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Mehtab Singh Gill, on Wednesday took over as Punjab State Chief Vigilance Commissioner. He was administered oath by Punjab Governor this afternoon. Justice Gill will exercise superintendence and control over the vigilance and the police department. Five retired high court judges and three IAS officers had applied for the post. INSIDE Govt abolishes film appellate tribunal MUMBAI: The Ministry of Law and Justice has reportedly abolished the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal with immediate effect. Filmmakers and producers took to Twitter to express their disappointment. “Do HCs have a lot of time to address film certification grievances? How many film producers will have the means to approach courts?” filmmaker Hansal Mehta tweeted. — PTI IN BRIEF 370 judicial officers shifted in Punjab, Hry CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana HC has shifted 206 Civil and seven Additional Dist and Sessions Judges in Punjab and 156 Civil Judges and an Additional District and Sessions Judge in Haryana. — TNS Petrol costlier in Pb after levy of infra tax CHANDIGARH: With the levy of 25 paise per litre infrastructure cess, petrol and diesel have become dearer in Punjab. The cess would enable the state collect Rs 216 crore revenue annually. INSIDE Now, Waze targets Transport Minister MUMBAI: Suspended cop Sachin Waze on Wednesday claimed former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had sought Rs 2 crore from him to continue in the police and Transport Minister Anil Parab had asked him to collect money from contractors. — PTI Naxalites release missing jawan’s pic BIJAPUR: A photo of Rakeshwar Manhas sitting in a hut has been purportedly released by Naxals who are believed to have abducted the CoBRA commando after a gunbattle in Bastar on April 3. SEE ALSO P 9 Naina Mishra Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 7 To check the surge in Covid cases in Punjab, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday ordered a total ban on political gatherings and extended the night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am in all districts of the state. The restrictions will remain effective till April 30. Violators, be it political leaders, will be booked under the Disaster Management Act and Epidemic Diseases Act, he stressed. As part of the fresh curbs, the maximum gathering at funerals and weddings has been reduced to 50 persons indoors and 100 outdoors. Schools and regular colleges, except for medical and nursing institutes, will also remain closed till April 30. Wearing masks has been made mandatory for all government employees while in office. However, as some respite for shop owners in malls, the government allowed the entry of 10 persons per shop at any given time. The earlier order had capped the mall entry to 100 persons. Capt Amarinder said it was JABS AT WORKPLACES FROM APRIL 11 7-DAY LOCKDOWN IN MP’S CHHINDWARA To boost the ongoing inoculation drive that continues to battle hesitancy and wastage issues, the government is all set to launch workplace Covid vaccinations from April 11. Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a seven-day lockdown in Chhindwara and a two-day lockdown in Shahapur from 8 pm on Thursday. Night curfew will be imposed in all municipal areas of MP from 10 pm to 6 am till further orders and all municipal areas in every district will be under Sunday lockdown until further orders. 1,15,736 cases in 24 hours, the highest since the first Covid case was reported on January 30, 2020 BKU FIRM ON HOLDING BAISAKHI CONFERENCE Giving thumbs down to the CM's order on ban on gatherings due to Covid surge, the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) is adamant on holding a kisan conference on Baisakhi at Talwandi Sabo. BKU’s Shingara Singh Mann said, “Instead of upgrading facilities, the govt is creating fear among people.” MAHA VAX SHORTAGE Many inoculation centres in Maharashtra are being shut due to the shortage of vaccine, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday, adding the state now had 14 lakh doses which would last just three days. PTI SII FOR ~30 BN GRANT TO BOOST OUTPUT The Serum Institute of India has sought a grant of Rs 30 billion to ramp up monthly production of AstraZeneca’s vaccine (Covishield) to over 100 million doses by May-end. The current output is around 65-70 million doses a month. REUTERS RAHUL BACKS JAB FOR ALL | MASK UP TO FIGHT COVID: PM ON WORLD HEALTH DAY a matter of concern that over 85 per cent of the cases in Punjab had the UK strain, which is more contagious and virulent. The state had no option but to go in for stricter measures to control the surge, he said, adding that he had been forced to order a ban on political gatherings as his pleas to refrain from organising such events had been ignored. Expressing concern over the high positivity (7.7 per cent) and mortality rates (2 per cent last week) in the state, Capt Amarinder direct- ed the health department to increase the vaccination drive to target 2 lakh persons per day (up from 90,000). He said he would again urge the Centre to relax the age criteria for vaccination in areas showing weekly doubling of positivity rate. Chandigarh, April 7 Nearly 13 per cent of the patients who have succumbed to Covid-19 in the Chandigarh tricity since the outbreak of the pandemic in March-April last year were below 45, the age-wise fatality figures show. Amid demands to open vaccination to all, the high percentage of those vulnerable but not eligible for the jab runs contrary to the Centre’s contention that for now, it wants to inoculate “those who require it”, not those who “want it”. In the second wave, since February this year, more than 40 per cent of those infected with coronavirus in the tricity fall in the age group of 20 to 40 years. Of the 382 Covid deaths in Chandigarh till now, 47 victims were below 45. The fatality figure for Mohali in the same age category was 72 out of the total 465. In Panchkula, of the 156 deaths reported so far, 12 victims were aged below 45. In Chandigarh, those aged above 60 accounted for 221 deaths (57.59 per cent) and those in the age group of 45 to 59 almost 30 per cent. Vardhan rules out vax for all, slams Maha, Pb, Delhi 40% OF INFECTED IN 20-40 AGE GROUP In the second wave, since February this year, more than 40 per cent of the infected in the tricity fall in the age group of 20 to 40 years. FATALITY COUNT Tricity Deaths Below 45 CHANDIGARH 382 47 MOHALI 465 72 PANCHKULA 156 12 Dr JA Jayalal, president of the Indian Medical Association, says people below 45 “are super spreaders, which is why they should be targeted for vaccination”. The constraint, he adds, is that if inoculation is opened across age groups, the vaccine requirement per month will go up to 15 crore, which is far above the monthly production capacity. continued on page 9 New Delhi, April 7 Ahead of the PM’s review meeting with the CMs on Thursday, the Centre today hit out at Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi for seeking jabs for all adults, terming the move as “deplorable attempts to distract from their failures to control the pandemic.” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan asked the three high-burden states if they had saturated the vaccine coverage of current beneficiaries to be asking for expansion of the drive. Ruling out vaccines for all, the Health Minister said so long as the vaccine supply was limited, there is no option but to prioritise. Terming as “alarming” the failure of these three states to respond to the pandemic and then to seek vaccine for all above 18 (Delhi, Punjab) or reduction in the age criterion (Maharashtra), Vardhan said, “These are deplorable attempts to distract from failures.” The minister trashed Maharashtra’s vaccine shortage claims. — TNS RBI keeps repo rate unchanged LAC meet to set tone for summer strategy at 4%, pegs 10.5% GDP growth Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service NewDelhi, April 7 The RBI on Wednesday expectedly kept interest rates unchanged and said it would help out the government by buying Rs 1 lakh crore of its bonds during this quarter. As a result, the RBI’s key lending rate (repo rate) stays at 4 per cent and borrowing rate (reverse repo) at 3.35 per cent. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the policy SENSEX RALLIES 460 POINTS The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 460.37 points or 0.94 per cent to finish at 49,661.76. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 135.55 points or .92 % to 14,819.05. Water war: Hry blames Delhi for ammonia spike Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 7 The Haryana Government told the Supreme Court that the Delhi Government was trying to conceal its water management failure by holding it responsible for the increased ammonia levels in the potable water supplied to the national capital. In an affidavit filed in response to the Delhi Jal Board’s plea, the Haryana Government said Delhi was responsible for the increased ammonia levels in the drinking water supplied to its resi- dents as the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant had not been upgraded. Haryana contended that the Central Pollution Control Board had examined the Yamuna water on January 13, 2021, and it was found that the ammonia levels rose sharply from Delhi contact point at Palla to Wazirabad. This was due to unauthorised discharge between Palla and Wazirabad, and sediment deposition in Wazirabad pond. Therefore, it is up to the Delhi Jal Board to control pollution at these continued on page 9 panel decided to continue with low interest rate regime to sustain durable growth and mitigate the pandemic’s impact on the economy. The RBI retained its GDP growth outlook for the current fiscal at 10.5 per cent after a 7.5 per cent contraction in last fiscal. The central bank committed to buy Rs 1 lakh crore of government bonds in the first quarter. — TNS New Delhi, April 7 Almost 11 months into the ongoing tension in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), military commanders of India and China are again set for a meeting, which could very well set the tone for the upcoming summer. The commanders are slated to meet on April 9 and a continuation of the ongoing deadlock could raise ten- DEPSANG, GOGRA ON TABLE TOMORROW ■ The next two steps — deesca- lation and deinduction — are likely to be discussed ■ Aim of talks is to pull back troops and war equipment to pre-April 2020 home bases ■ Disengagement at Dep- sang, Gogra or Hot Springs are also slated to come up for discussion sions during summer. The talks will be held at the designated meeting point along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. Sources said there could be a “positive outcome”, but also warned against any estimation of a quick-fix solution. Starting February 10, troops of either side had pulled back from along the banks of Pangong Tso, a 135km glacial lake. The present position of troops is not faceto-face, but they are within continued on page 9 In Himachal, Oppn Cong winner in 2 of four MCs Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Voters queue up outside a polling booth in Mandi on Wednesday. PTI Shimla, April 7 The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition Congress won two Municipal Corporations each, polling for which was held today. While the Congress affirmed its hold in Solan and Palampur, Mandi and Dharamsala went to the saffron party. In Palampur, the stronghold of former CM Shanta Kumar, the Congress dealt a blow to the BJP as it won 11 of the 15 wards, while the BJP and Independents won two wards each. In Dharamsala, the BJP won eight wards, while the NECK AND NECK Palampur: The Congress won 11 of the 15 wards, while the BJP and Independents won two wards each. Dharamsala: The BJP won eight wards, while Congress managed victory in five. Independents won in four wards. Solan: The Congress won nine wards, BJP seven and Independent one. Mandi: The BJP won 11 and the Congress four out of the total 15 wards. Congress managed victory in five. Independents won in four wards. In Solan, the Congress won in nine wards and the BJP in seven. An Independent was triumphant in one ward of the 17-ward civic body. In Mandi, the home district of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, the BJP won 11 and the Congress four out of the total 15 wards. The Congress’ victory in the hometown of veteran BJP leader and former MP Shanta Kumar is being seen as a major embarrassment for the ruling party. The Congress won 11 out of 15 wards. continued on page 9 Industry jittery, Haryana on back foot over job quota for locals Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 7 The Haryana Government seems to be on the back foot regarding the law on job quota for locals in the private sector. It is now considering certain relaxations after addressing industry’s concerns, particularly that of the IT firms based in Gurugram. Talking to The Tribune, Vijayendra Kumar, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, said the new law has yet to come into force for which rules have yet to be framed. “The government will implement the law after careful consideration of the concerns of the industry,” he said. “No date has been notified for the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020. The Chief Minister and Deputy CM have held a meeting with office-bearers of various WILL HIT GURUGRAM GROWTH TRAJECTORY The move to reserve jobs for the locals in Haryana will impact the business-friendly image of the state and will be detrimental to Gurugram’s growth trajectory as an IT-BPM hub. NASSCOM, TRADE BODY ❝ industry associations, assuring them that their concerns will be carefully considered before implementing the Act,” the officer said. The Act providing for 75 per cent jobs to the locals in the private sector with a salary up to Rs 50,000 per month was one of the poll promises of the Dushyant Chautala-led JJP . A survey last month by NASSCOM, the premium trade body, found that a majority of the 500-odd ITITeS companies in Haryana were worried over the impact of the new law on their recruitment strategies and the policy of equal opportunities, diversification and inclusion. The e-survey found that Information Technology and Information Technology enabled Services (ITITeS) companies providing direct employment to nearly 4 lakh people in Haryana could consider shifting their operations to source talent once the law was enacted. “Given that the Act applies to the new hires, the impact is expected to be severe in 1-2 years as the industry sees a high attrition rate,” the NASSCOM report warns. As many as 80 per cent companies said the new law would have a negative impact on their future business operations and investment plans. NIGHT CURFEW LEAVES DELHI BORDER CLOGGED ■ There were long queues of vehicles at Sarhaul border on Tuesday night after Delhi announced night curfew ■ The border was barricaded. The police allowed restrictive entry, leaving several commuters harried.