DELHI, HARYANA SEE RISE IN COVID NUMBERS

On Sunday, Delhi reported 517 new cases of coronavirus, up almost four times since 131 at the beginning of this month. In Haryana, the count has increased by four times until Sunday, although the number is less than that in Delhi. For the first time since the third week of January, active cases in the country have begun to rise again. The quantum of the rise is still very small, but the increasing trend has continued for four days now.

Just when the pandemic seemed to be getting over in India, the rise in cases in Delhi and Haryana has begun to sound alarm bells once again. The silver lining, as of now, is the fact that the rise in cases has been restricted in these two states, basically Delhi and its neighbourhood, and has not been reported from other parts of the country

The reasons for the rising numbers in Delhi and Haryana are not definitively clear right now, but the most plausible explanation is that it is being caused by the withdrawal of the mask mandate and doing away with all restrictions. These moves are not unique to Delhi, or Haryana, and have been withdrawn from the entire country, but Anurag Agrawal, former director of Delhi-based Institute of Genetics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), noted that the trends first become evident in major urban centres. Agrawal said the current rise being witnessed in Delhi is consistent with what would be expected if people stopped wearing masks and began interacting more freely. Schools and offices have reopened, travel is back to normal and most businesses have begun operating at full capacity. It is not surprising to see the cases rise amidst increased interactions with reduced restrictions.

That would suggest that large big cities too could see a surge in cases in the near future, although no city is showing such signs as of now.

With the possibility of a new Covid-19 variant triggering a fresh surge in cases, the Centre has told the states to send sewage samples to all sentinel sites that currently carry out surveillance of poliovirus. This is among the key strategies that have been communicated to the states last week, even as a few urban centres in the country have witnessed an increase in the Covid-19 cases.

NON-BJP CMS MAY MEET IN MUMBAI TO DISCUSS POLITICAL SCENARIO: SANJAY RAUT

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said a conference of non-BJP chief ministers is likely to be held in Mumbai soon to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the chief ministers of states where the BJP is not in power underlining the need to discuss the current situation in the country, he told reporters. "NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) president Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray have discussed this and efforts are on to hold such a conference in Mumbai," Raut said.

He said various issues including unemployment, inflation, the "misuse" of Central probe agencies, attempts to create communal discord etc. will be discussed in the upcoming meeting.

Raut alleged that recent attacks on processions taken out to mark Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti were "politically sponsored" to polarise voters, especially in the states where elections are due in the next few months.

He reiterated his veiled "new Hindu Owaisi" barb at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray who has taken an aggressive stand seeking the removal of loudspeakers atop mosques by May 3.

"In Maharashtra too, a 'Hindu Owaisi' made all efforts to spoil the peace on Hanuman Jayanti. Concerted efforts were made to create disturbances in Maharashtra but people and the police are patient and strong," he said.

AAP KEEPS PUNJAB POLL PROMISE, FREE POWER UP TO 300 UNITS A MONTH

From July 1, domestic consumers in Punjab will not have to pay for power up to 300 units per month. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann made the announcement as he completed a month in office.

Mann also said that bill arrears up to 2 KW until December 31, 2021, would be waived for all consumers, farmers would continue to get power free, and there would be no change in the power tariff for industrialists.

For many domestic consumers however, receiving the benefits of free power will be contingent on restricting their consumption below 600 units for every billing cycle of two months. Therefore, anyone who consumes more than 600 units will be billed for the entire consumption, not just for the excess above 600 units.

This condition will not apply to Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes, Below Poverty Line (BPL), and freedom fighters consumers, who will get 600 units free in any case. “If they utilise more than 600 units, they will pay only for those units,” Chief Minister Mann said. The free power ceiling for these categories of consumers is currently 200 units.

Punjab, Mann said, will make power the cheapest in the country for consumers of all categories. “The Chief Minister of Delhi has made power cheapest in the country. That is why we have taken guidance from him; sent officials to him to take advice.” he said, referring to AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.

ON COMMUNAL VIOLENCE, BJP ON THE OFFENSIVE, AGAINST CONGRESS

Attacking the Congress in the wake of recent incidents of communal violence, BJP national president J P Nadda indicated on Sunday at a public meeting in the Vijayanagara region of Karnataka that his party will be targeting the main opposition party in the run-up to the 2023 polls on the issue of dropping of cases in the state against activists of the radical Popular Front of India (PFI).

Speaking at a public rally following a meeting of the BJP state executive, Nadda drew a reference to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s speech earlier, when he accused the Congress and its former chief minister Siddaramaiah of dropping cases against PFI activists in the past. Nadda said the Congress speaks against terrorism but releases terrorists.

“You must have seen, there’s an attack on the Ram Navami shobha yatra somewhere, something else at another place. This is Mr Bommai’s subject, he is the Chief Minister, the Home Minister. He will certainly investigate the details of it. But on the face of it, I can say this is an attempt to split the society in a designed manner,” Nadda said.

“I am sad to say that today the Congress party is behaving in the most irresponsible manner,” he said.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

Data not yet updated today

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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MARIUPOL ON THE BRINK AS UKRAINIANS DEFY RUSSIA’S SURRENDER-OR-DIE THREAT

The shattered port city of Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to the Russians on Sunday after seven weeks under siege, in what would give Moscow a crucial success following its failure to storm the Ukrainian capital and the sinking of its Black Sea flagship. The Russian military estimated that 2,500 Ukrainian fighters were holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways in the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Moscow set a midday deadline for their surrender, saying those who laid down their arms were “guaranteed to keep their lives”.

The Russian defence ministry said that the Ukrainian forces holding out at a sprawling steel plant in the city had “forbade negotiations about surrendering,” citing an intercepted radio transmission, and repeated a demand that they put down their weapons immediately. “In case of further resistance,” the ministry said, “all of them will be eliminated. ”

But the defenders did not submit, just as they rejected previous ultimatums. “We will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war,” Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal vowed on ABC’s “This Week”. He said Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy if possible, “but we do not have intention to surrender”.

PAKISTAN WARNS AFGHANISTAN NOT TO SHELTER MILITANTS

Pakistan fired off a sharp warning on Sunday to Afghanistan’s hard-line religious rulers to stop sheltering homegrown Pakistani Taliban militants who have staged increasingly deadly attacks against the country’s military.

The warning followed Afghan reports that Pakistani aircraft on Friday carried out bombing raids in Afghanistan’s eastern Khost and Kunar provinces, killing civilians. Pakistan has so far refused to comment on the allegations, instead accusing the Afghan Taliban of doing nothing to stop attacks against Pakistan by militants in Afghanistan. “Terrorists are using Afghan soil with impunity to carry out activities inside Pakistan,” said the foreign ministry statement that was unusually harsh in its language.

Pakistan was often accused of harbouring Afghanistan’s Taliban fighters before they swept to power last August. Since their takeover, Islamabad has led the way in pressing the world to engage with the Afghan government.

It’s not clear whether Pakistan’s new PM Shehbaz Sharif will be as supportive of the Afghan Taliban as was his predecessor Imran Khan. On Saturday the Taliban foreign ministry called in Pakistan’s ambassador to complain of civilians killed in the raids.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned Pakistan “not to test the patience of Afghans on such issues and not repeat the same mistake again otherwise it will have bad consequences”.

THE REST

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FORMER ASSAM CONGRESS CHIEF RIPUN BORA QUITS PARTY, JOINS TMC

Former Assam Congress chief Ripun Bora on Sunday resigned from the party and joined Trinamool Congress, alleging that several leaders of it were working in connivance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state, particularly with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Bora, who joined the TMC in the presence of party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata soon after he quit the Congress, said in his resignation letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that infighting within the grand old party helped BJP and compelled him to leave despite having been a member since student days in 1976.

"I am very pained to inform you that it is an open secret in Assam that instead of fighting against BJP, a section of senior most leaders of Assam PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) have been maintaining secret understanding with BJP govt mainly with the chief minister," Bora said in his resignation letter.

JUVENILES AMONG 22 HELD FOR HANUMAN JAYANTI VIOLENCE IN DELHI

The Delhi police arrested 20 people over the violence during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in the city's Jahangirpuri area, including the 'main conspirators' behind the clashes and another person who allegedly fired a bullet that hit a sub-inspector, officials said on Sunday.

Two juveniles have also been apprehended in connection with the incident, they said.

Meanwhile, in the old town of Hubballi in Karnataka a large number of people are reported to have allegedly gone on the rampage damaging many police vehicles, a nearby hospital and a Hanuman temple and injured some police officials on duty over a social media post in the early hours of Sunday. According to the Karnataka Police, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been clamped in Hubballi city.

COURT CANNOT ACT AS EXPERT IN FIELD OF EDUCATION: SC

A court cannot act as an expert in the field of education and it should be left to the institutions to determine whether a candidate possesses requisite qualification or not, the Supreme Court has said.

A bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna said there cannot be any deviation from the educational qualifications mentioned in an advertisement of job.

"In the field of education, the court of law cannot act as an expert normally, therefore, whether or not a student/candidate is possessing the requisite qualification should better be left to the educational institutions, more particularly, when the expert committee considers the matter," the bench said.

The observation came while dismissing a batch of appeals challenging the order of the Jharkhand high court with regard to the selection process for appointment to the post of postgraduate trained teachers in the high school of Jharkhand for different subjects under different categories.

JAMIAT ULAMA-I-HIND MOVES SC AGAINST BULL-DOZING OF MUSLIMS' PROPERTIES

The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the use of bulldozers for razing houses and other buildings in various BJP-ruled states, terming it a ploy to target minorities, especially Muslims, under the guise of crime prevention.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President Maulana  Arshad Madani said: "The petition asks the court to order the states not to demolish anyone's home or shop without the court's permission. It is noteworthy that the politics of bulldozers is already going on in Uttar Pradesh, but now this nefarious act has started in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh as well."

It noted that during a procession in Khargone city of Madhya Pradesh on the occasion of Ram Navami, "riots were started by chanting highly provocative slogans and then by order of the state government, houses and shops of Muslims were demolished. On the other hand, the Madhya Pradesh government is defending its cruel act."

BIG DRAW ON BANKS OF GANGA IN PATNA: MOCK TESTS FOR RAILWAYS

For the last two months, Kali Ghat by the Ganga at Patna has seen large crowds during the weekends, unusually so. Sitting on the steps of the sprawling ghat are thousands of students — from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra — scribbling away on mock test papers for the Group D Railways examination.

These 90-minute mock test sessions are the brainchild of S K Jha, a mechanical engineer by qualification who has been coaching Railways and SSB aspirants since 2014.

“My motto is to democratise these mock tests for Railways exams,” says Jha. So he holds these free sessions, attracting a huge turnout. Many of these aspirants are from underprivileged backgrounds — wards of daily wagers, farmers and rickshaw-pullers.

POLLUTION DUE TO CREMATION: GREEN TRIBUNAL ASKS STATES TO EXPLORE VIABILITY OF ELECTRIC, PNG CREMATORIUM

The National Green Tribunal has directed all states and Union Territories to switch over to environment-friendly methods of cremation and explore viability of electric or PNG crematorium alongside wood to curb air pollution.

While making it clear that it has no intention to hurt any religious belief, the green panel said it had asked all states and UTs to consider remedial steps to prevent such pollution and educate and motivate people to switch over to environmental friendly methods of cremation.

“To begin with, electric/PNG crematoria can be set up as an option to the wood-based crematorium and if and to the extent people are persuaded to do so, a wood-based crematorium can be given a go by.

POWER ENGINEERS WARN OF ENERGY CRISIS IN 12 STATES, SEEK GOVT ACTION

The depleting coal inventory of domestic thermal power plants has prompted public sector power engineers to warn of an impending energy crisis in 12 states. According to All India Power Engineers Federation chairman Shailendra Dubey, the power crisis could worsen owing to the low coal stock to fire thermal power units.

“The coal crisis is being witnessed in 12 states once again after October 2021,” he said, adding that in the first fortnight of April 2022, domestic power demand hit a 38-year high for the month.

While there was 1.1 per cent power shortage in October 2021, this shortfall shot up to 1.4 per cent in April 2022. “Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Jharkhand and Haryana are facing power cuts ranging from 3 to 8.7 per cent,” he said.

IPL MATCH 28: UMAR'S FINAL-OVER HEROICS POWERS SRH TO WIN

Young pace sensation Umran Malik's scorching final over proved to be the difference as Sunrisers Hyderabad slayed Punjab Kings by seven wickets for their fourth successive win in IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.

Put in to bat first, Punjab lost last five wickets in seven balls with Malik (4/28) producing a perfect final over -- a rare four-wicket maiden (including a run out) -- to skittle out the opposition for a below-par 151.

After Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/22) provided the key breakthrough of Livingstone, the 22-year-old uncapped pacer Umran Malik picked three wickets while the fourth came via run out to derail Punjab.

In reply, Sunrisers Hyderabad overhauled the target with 7 wickets and 7 balls to spare.

Punjab were also let down with their sloppy fielding as they missed a runout and conceded easy runs defending a small total.

IPL MATCH 29: RASHID, MILLER MAGIC SEALS GUJARAT'S WIN AGAINST CSK

David Miller blasted a quickfire 51-ball 94 as Gujarat Titans pulled off an incredible come-from-behind three-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2022 match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday.

Leading the side in the absence of an injured Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan supported Miller with a 21-ball 40 as Gujarat recovered from 48/4, to seal one the greatest comebacks in the history of IPL.

Needing 48 from the last three overs after an excellent 17th over by Dwayne Bravo, Rashid hit pacer Chris Jordan for three sixes to brighten Gujarat's chances in the run chase. Gujarat smashed as many as 25 runs from the 18th over to reduce the equation to a manageable 23 from 12 balls.

More drama awaited the seesawing battle as the experienced Bravo dismissed Rashid and Alzarri Joseph off successive balls in the penultimate over.

Needing 13 from the final over, Jordan made a good start with two dot balls in a row to the well-set Miller. However, the South African smashed the third ball for a six over fine leg to keep Gujarat alive. More drama followed as Miller was caught at short thirdman but it was ruled a no-ball for a high full toss and the free hit that followed was smashed for a boundary through the leg side.

The experienced left-hander drove the fifth ball back past the bowler for a couple of runs to take Gujarat to an unbelievable win, with just one ball to spare.

Tally (Team / Wins / Matches Played)

GT 5/6

LSG 4/6

RCB 4/6

SRH 4/6

RR 3/5

KKR 3/6

PBKS 3/6

DC 2/5

CSK 1/6

MI 0/6

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Whenever one finds oneself inclined to bitterness, it is a sign of emotional failure. – Bertrand Russell

OFF TRACK

Ten year old Mikey, was asked by his mother what he had learned in Vacation Bible School.

"Well, Mommy, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead His Chosen People out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely.

Then he used his cell phone to call headquarters for reinforcements. They called in an air strike of the Israeli Air Defense to take out the bridge and all the Israelites were saved."

"Now, Mikey, is that really what your teacher taught you?" his mother asked.

"Well, no, Mom. But if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!"