Phase three of the COVID lockdown, which began on Monday, has made it clear that the government needs to be clear in its head before laying down rules and regulations.

First, there was massive confusion among citizens on the first two days about easing of restrictions two days ago, with local officials not being on the same page as Mantralaya top brass. There was confusion even among BMC's own ward officers over the rule about allowing five shops to stay open in one street. Excise officials had no clarity about opening shops, resulting in huge queues, with social distancing going for a toss. Late on Tuesday night, the civic body suddenly announced that all shops selling non-essentials, including liquor stores, will be closed from Wednesday. This is exactly where planning should have been done.

Respective ward authorities should have sat down with local shop-owners beforehand with a gameplan on how they could handle the long queues which were sure to form.
Also, there are private office ownerAlso, there are private office owners who may be working alone or may have a very small staff strength, wondering whether to go to work. People are wondering whether two or three people are allowed in private vehicles. There are so many questions that need clear, lucid answers.

When there are so many grey areas, rumours start to churn and then social media adds fuel to the mix, resulting in what we would like to call combustible confusion. Short tempers, bewildered people, different rules are all part of this mix, likely to erupt at any time. This also is counterproductive to the good work the government is doing.

Let us have more lucid communication in all aspects, using announcements and signboards to avoid panic emanating from the perplexed and perturbed. Green zones, red zones and orange zones in place, what we need most now is a clarity zone.

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A lot of Bollywood and Television celebrities came forward to contribute to the PM-CARES Fund and did their best to help people financially. Bigg Boss fame Devoleena Bhattacharjee has done something beyond. She not only contributed to the fund but has now adopted two families and will be looking after their needs and necessities amid the Coronavirus outbreak.

Taking to Twitter, one of the fan-clubs of the actor even thanked her for this wonderful gesture and move that should inspire everyone. And in case you also happen to be a fan of the actress, this tweet is for you:

Have a look right here:

Thank youuuu so much @Devoleena_23 for Adopting 2 families for 1 month Nd Donating Money for Thier food & groceries ...
This will be the best bihu gift for your Assam fans
God bless you ❤ï¸ÂðŸ™Œ @Devoleena_23 pic.twitter.com/CdhQ8Ffl9v

— Veera kunapareddyðŸ¦Â‹ (@veerakunaparedy) April 14, 2020

To shed some more light, these two families are the families of the wage workers since these are the people that are affected the most during this lockdown. Their earnings have gone for a toss and so has their livelihood. And in case you forgot, she and her fans also helped a pregnant lady reach the hospital on time during this lockdown period. Way to go!

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Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan on Thursday said that unemployment numbers are really worrying and India needs to be "cleverer" about lifting the lockdown. Rajan's remarks came during his interaction with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, via video conference, on the economic crisis due to ongoing lockdown which is scheduled to end on May 3. "The numbers are really worrying. If you look at CMIE, virtually another 100 million more people have been put out of work as a result of COVID. 50 million through unemployment and 60 million through leaving the labour force," he said while responding to Rahul's query that India has a high level of unemployment, that is now going to be massive.

"I think it says, we need to open up in a measured way but as fast as possible so that people start having jobs. We don't have the capacity to support people across the spectrum for too long. Being a relatively poor country, people start out with significantly lower reserves," he said. "But we have to be cleverer about opening up. Perhaps do mass testing. Take a mass sample, say 1000 samples and check in mass, if there is any sign of the virus in those mass samples. If you do find it, then go deeper into the sample and check who it might be. This way it would reduce the burden on our test infrastructure and can allow us to try and vet much more. We have to be cleverer since we simply cannot wait till we have that kind of testing," the economist said.

Rajan said that it is all too easy to cover a lockdown forever, but obviously that is unsustainable for the economy. On the opening of the economy, he said: "It has to be sequencing. First, places where you can maintain distancing. It is not just distancing in the workplaces, but also distancing to and fro, from the workplace."

"So, a lot of work needs to be done both on creating the structures, as well as ensuring that the workplace is relatively safe. As well as ensuring that if there are accidents, if there are fresh cases, how do we isolate quickly without having to go to a second or a third lockdown? Those will be devastating if we have to go there," he added.

When asked about finances of the agricultural sector and the workers, migrant workers, Rajan said that the government should to find ways of getting both money as well as food through PDS to as many of these people.

"This is where the efforts we have made in Direct benefits transfer (DBT) need to be realised at this point. All the ways we transfer to relatively poor people, we need to take a call on that. We have different ways of accessing - through widow pensions, MGNREGA Rolls. And we need to say that look these are people who don't have a job, who don't have a livelihood and for the next 3-4 months while the uncertainty is on, we are going to support them," he said.

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Veteran India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Thursday said the current Indian team lacks a match-winner down the order and is too dependent on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

"This team is too dependent on Virat and you (Rohit). After Virat and you are gone, we lose 70 percent of the matches. Lower down the order few (players are there who can) win matches," Harbhajan said during an Instagram chat with India limited overs vice-captain Rohit.

"During our time, we had the trust that someone will make runs even after top three is out, taaki match na nikal jaaye haath se (match does not slip out of our hands). This is one area I think this team can work on. You need to find more match-winners," said Harbhajan, India's third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.

"Like you (Rohit) had great World Cup (2019). But one had a great World Cup and we reach the semi-finals. Had we got three who did well in the World Cup, we could have won"

The ace offie, who helped India win the 2011 50-over World Cup, also heaped praise on K.L. Rahul saying he is another match-winner besides Virat and Rohit and can bat anywhere in the order.

"Apart from you (Rohit) and Virat, K.L. Rahul is a real match-winner. He can play at No. 5, No. 6 and can open as well," said the Turbanator, as he is fondly called.

Harbhajan also urged the team management to give longer ropes to players who can then express themselves better.

"They play well in the IPL but I don't see them playing like that for the national team. They are a totally different player in IPL. I think they are scared of their place being gone. If you give them a run of 9-10 games, they have a better chance to succeed," said the 39-year old.

"Same in Tests also. The team won in Australia we played well in India too. But in New Zealand you (Rohit) were injured, Prithvi Shaw was brought back which is a good thing. My concern is someone like Shubman Gill..he was in team from before. Now Rohit is a successful Test opener. But Gill...if he is not playing it is not healthy for him and the team as well. So he has to get a chance. It is not just for Gill I am saying."

Harbhajan also said it is good to see Shreyas Iyer doing well at No. 4 and the team management has done well by giving him a long rope.

On M.S. Dhoni making a comeback to the Indian team, he said: "When I was in Chennai Super Kings camp, people asked me about Dhoni. I don't know its upto him. You need to know whether he wants to play for India again.

"As far as I know him, he won't want to wear India blue again. IPL he will play but for India I think he had decided World Cup (2019) was his last."

Harbhajan, who now plays for CSK but has also turned out for Mumbai Indians, said while the former are a chilled out unit under Dhoni, the pressure of expectation is there in MI.

"It is a chilled out setup here. MI... we were under pressure that you need to win. There was pressure of expectation always."

Harbhajan also named the likes of Jacques Kallis, Mathew Hayden, Brian Lara, Younis Khan, and Inzamam-ul-Haq as the foreign batters he found it tough against.

As far as the best spinners are concerned, he named Nathan Lyon, Muttiah Muralitharan, Graeme Swann and Saqlain Mushtaq among those that come to his mind.

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