With the death of one more employee this weekend, the toll of BEST employees succumbing to COVID-19 is two, while four have recovered and have been discharged.

Sources said that an employee from the transport engineering department of Backbay bus depot died at KEM Hospital.

"The employee had reported to work and has been listed on duty until April 21, after which he fell ill. This clearly shows he laid his life working for the BEST Undertaking. His next of kin should be offered a job in the BEST and his family should be given an amount of R1 crore out of medical insurance," Shashank Sharad Rao, general secretary of the BEST Workers' Union said.

A BEST spokesperson confirmed the development and said the employee was suffering from high blood pressure and had been absent from work since April 22. He tested positive for Coronavirus on May 1 and died on May 3.

The first employee BEST lost to Coronavirus was a foreman working for the electric supply branch. He tested positive for Coronavirus on April 2. Since March 16, he had been admitted to a private hospital and had kidney-related ailments. He resumed work at Wadala depot on March 20 after and worked till March 22, after which he died.

On the other hand, there have been success stories too. A BEST spokesperson said a BEST bus conductor, who was diabetic, was admitted with COVID-19 since April 18. He recovered and was recently discharged. Another employee residing at the Parel staff quarters has also recovered. In addition, BEST has seen no positive cases since May 1.

BEST in numbers

. 30: No. of employees recuperating from COVID-19
. 8,865: No. of employees tested
. 1,500: No. of high-risk employees told to stay home
. 400: No. of employees recommended home-quarantine as a precaution

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Over the past six days, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has recorded a total of 124 COVID-19 deaths, almost double of the toll recorded between April 22 and April 27 (59), making it one of the major causes of concern for the city. With four BMC workers succumbing to the viral infection in the last two days, 21 deaths were reported just on Sunday.

Of the 124 deaths, 60 are in the age group of 40 to 60 years, three are aged below 40, and the remaining 61 are above 60 years of age. As per the civic body's data, 2,144 new cases and 59 deaths were reported between April 22 and April 27. Another 3,024 cases got added between April 28 and May 3. Meanwhile, 441 new cases were reported on Sunday taking the city's tally to 8,613.

Sources in the BMC said that they had formed a four-tier system to deal with the COVID-19 cases. Around 2,000 asymptomatic patients have been shifted from hospitals to COVID-19 quarantine centres across the city so that the health workers can focus on the treatment of serious patients.

Meanwhile, the number of patients in Dharavi is also increasing by the day. On Sunday, 94 new cases and two deaths were reported in the area. So far, the total number of patients in the largest slum of the city has reached 590 with 20 deaths. Mahim has reported 16 new cases with the total being 68 in the area.

Four BMC workers die
A total of four BMC workers, including a BEST staff, involved in fieldwork related to COVID-19 have died over the past two days.

A 46-year-old staff was working in the labour ward of civic-run Shatabdi Hospital in Govandi, where a pregnant woman had tested positive for the virus. The worker was a high-risk contact and had tested positive for the virus too, after which he was admitted to Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar. However, he succumbed to the infection on Saturday.

One motor loader, 49, working with the solid waste management department in BMC died due to the viral infection on Saturday. Another worker of N ward and deputed at the MCMCR training unit in Powai for COVID-19 related work died the same day.

Speaking to mid-day, Ramakant Bane, general secretary of the municipal union, said, "The workers are worried about their and their family members' health. With the growing number of COVID-19 cases, the BMC should test their workers on priority."

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Civil society organisations and independent researchers from all over the country have prepared a report explaining how the lockdown is adversely affecting tribal communities and forest dwellers amid an acute lack of awareness. It will be presented before the central and various state governments this week."

The assessment is prepared by civil society organisations and independent researchers who are working with tribals and forest dwellers. These include Campaign for Survival and Dignity (Chandigarh), Soumitra Ghosh of the All India Forum for Forest Movement (AIFFM), Neema Pathak Broome of Kalpavriksh, Pune, Tushar Dash and Sushmita (independent researchers), among several others. Work on the report has been in the pipeline ever since the enforcement of the lockdown measures on March 24.

Representative image:  tribal villagers in Jharkhand, Picture: Sushmita

Remote location a challenge

According to the report, lack of information among the tribals and forest dwellers about the pandemic and about the required protective measures is a major issue in tribal areas. "Tribal settlements are located remotely, thereby making it particularly difficult for information to reach there," reads the report. "The reverse migration from cities and urban areas also raises concern about spreading of the virus in tribal areas."

The report highlights how a lack of proper healthcare facilities and low testing numbers of tribal populations increases the risk of infection and how the lockdown has affected collection, use and sale of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) by tribals and forest dwellers. It also includes recommendations to the Centre on how to combat the issue and help the communities in need.

Representative image:  tribal villagers in Jharkhand, Picture: Sushmita

Speaking with mid-day, independent researcher Sushmita said: "COVID-19 impacts people with compromised health conditions and low immunity. This increases risks of infection amid the tribal populations living in deprivation. Testing and monitoring of the disease is inadequate and is mostly limited to urban areas. Providing testing facilities in tribal areas is a major challenge."

According to independent researcher Tushar Das, "The lockdown has affected collection, use and sale of MFP by tribals and forest dwellers. An estimated 100 million forest dwellers depend on MFP for food, shelter, medicines and cash income. The MFP collection season from April to June provides major income support to tribals (almost 60 per cent of the annual collection takes place during this period) and, unfortunately, it coincides with the lockdown. The trading and value chain of Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFPs) has been completely disrupted under the lockdown as traders are not willing to buy NTFPs in the current situation."

The report recommends
According to both, Sushmita and Tushar, the Central government is yet to come up with a comprehensive COVID-19 response programme for tribal communities. The report recommends the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) set up a COVID-19 response cell and give specific guidelines to address the problems of tribals and forest dwellers. "The MoTA should also ensure that district and sub-district level officers are well informed about all relevant guidelines and orders related to COVID-19 regularly and ensure that these are complied with," Sushmita said.

"The Centre should coordinate with the state governments to provide immediate relief to the tribal communities by ensuring information and awareness, providing health care and testing facilities in the tribal areas, support for MFP collection and sale," Tushar added.

100
Approx. no. of forest dwellers, in millions, depending on Minor Forest Produce

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Around 200 stray dogs have died in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai due to dehydration, insufficient food and nutrition since the beginning of the lockdown, an Andheri-based NGO, Save The Paws has said.

With stray dogs increasingly fighting each other over food, in one such incident, nine puppies died in MIDC area last week. The puppies were eating on the road and another stray dog bit them all and snatched the food. Seriously injured, the puppies later died.

Speaking to mid-day, Poonam Gidwani, founder of Save the Paws, said, "The lockdown's worst effect has been on the animals. They are not getting enough food."

Lakhs of stray cats and dogs, monkeys, birds, cows and other semi-domesticated animals in India depend on food waste from markets, restaurants and grocery shops. With COVID-19 having locked people inside their homes and several establishments shutting down, strays are having a hard time finding food.

Most of the updates about cats and dogs dying of starvation have come from Aarey Milk Colony and Film City.

Gidwani added, "We have received reports from Aarey about animals dying of starvation. The lockdown has also stopped incomes. As such, feeders of stray animals too are finding it hard to spend on these animals." The NGO visits locations to verify animal deaths and also facilitates disposing of their remains.

Save The Paws is being helped by the Reliance Foundation with food for stray cats and dogs, fodder for stray cattle and grain for birds.

Bollywood lends a hand
Celebrities like Rohit Shetty, Farah Khan and Preeti Simoes too are helping Save The Paws provide foods for stray animals. Every Sunday, Save The Paws supplies animal food enough for a week to feeders in Film City and Aarey. Simoes said, "My aim is that not a single animal should sleep hungry. Each animal should get sufficient food as they are part of our planet."

How you can help
"It is easy to help animals in your area. After every meal, if rice or roti is left, don't throw it away. Take the food in a sheet of newspaper and keep it by the roadside. Dogs, cats and other stray animals will eat it. Don't waste food," Gidwani said.

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Shivam Misra from Khar, founder and managing partner of Walnut & Co, a strategy and market access consulting firm in Singapore, flew from Budapest to Kathmandu, for business meetings in early March, but due to COVID-19, he found himself locked in Kathmandu.

"When I landed, Nepal had around six novel COVID-19 cases. I had no clue that Nepal or India may move towards a lockdown," said Misra, adding, "Some reports citing official figures say there are approximately 12,000 Indians stranded in Nepal. There are a huge number of labourers stuck here, being looked after by the Indian Embassy." He has been living at the Marriott in Kathmandu with nine other guests.

He said, "The Indian officials at the embassy have been stupendous. They have put forward my case to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). They have always been accessible on email or phone. I do feel a twinge when I think of family back home, but one has to be patient. Gaurav Aggarwal, in charge of this property, has been wonderful too, inviting me to his home, which helps dispel the homesickness a little." The entrepreneur's days in Kathmandu are full of, "reading, writing and exercise. I walk through the hotel property. I am a photographer; portraiture and fashion being my forte." Misra said, "The downtime taught me that we are in a mindless race. This may teach us to value what is true. My lens will now capture human stories differently."

When not behind a business desk, Misra will be thinking of "conscious capitalism. This is not socialism, for without capitalism the economy cannot grow. I will, though, recalibrate a more fair distribution of wages and a more equitable distribution of wealth."

Biz whiz Narayan Murthy spoke about how he changed his philosophy from socialism supporter to 'compassionate capitalist' after an unsavoury incident abroad. Misra's changing mindset too proves that we may come out of this pandemic altered in our hearts and minds.

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Due to the lockdown, migrant workers who were stranded in Mumbai are being sent back to their villages. Today, the Mumbai Police sent 25 migrant workers from the city to Rajasthan. This is the first bus to transport migrant workers from Mumbai to their village.

According to Mumbai Police, the 25 people are from Jalore district in Rajasthan. All of these individuals were residing in South Mumbai and are migrant workers. The workers had requested the Mumbai Police that they be sent to their village, due to which, the Police has issued a permit to go to Rajasthan. The fare of the bus will be paid by the workers themselves which is nearly Rs 6,000 per person.

The people travelling in this bus are from Jalore district. They all formed their own groups and sent an application to the police, after which they were given a permit.

Dharmendra Singh is from Jalore district of Rajasthan and was working at a cloth merchant's in South Mumbai but the work stopped due to the lockdown. Singh had applied to the MRA Marg police station after which the police arranged for a bus for him to go back to his village. Dharmendra Singh said that he was stuck in Mumbai due to the lockdown and is thankful to Mumbai Police.

Hansraj Chaudhary, who is from Jalore district, said, "I used to work at a stationery shop in Bora Bazar and the work stopped after the lockdown. There was no source of earning and it was causing problems."

DCP Zone 1 Sangram Singh Nishandar told mid-day, "These people applied to go to their village after which we gave them a permit. They got their own medical assistance and now they are going back to their village."

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People living with domestic abuse will be able to access safe spaces at a pharmaceutical chain in the United Kingdom.

Those needing help can ask staff at the counter to use the consultation room, where they will be able to contact services for help and abuse, a UK report said, adding that it was a desperate situation.

This is an extraordinarily difficult time and isolation does give more power to the abuser.

The Jerusalem Post has a special report stating that at least four persons have been murdered and an four more have committed suicide because of domestic violence.

In India, the National Commission for Women (NCW) reported that it received 315 domestic violence complaints in April alone, amid the lockdown.

This is a record high, one that we can certainly not be proud of and in this pandemic, it is increased as abuser and victim are in lockdown together with all escape avenues cut off.

Let us become more robust in our tackling of domestic violence now, and even post this phase, whenever that may be. First, we must identify domestic violence for what it is.

This means recognising verbal violence too — just because there are no physical scars, it does not mean there is no violence.

Then, remove the stigma from this kind of violence. Men can be victims too, they should not be shamed or disbelieved if they do complain.

Give the victims a lifeline and escape route, call out the abuser and make punishments harsh in accordance with the crime.

We often see domestic violence being brushed-off as a small, internal family matter. It is not. It can be deceptive because it happens behind closed doors and can be deadly.

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Call it red-tape or over-sensitivity about allowing non-essential shops to remain open in Mumbai amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but government agencies, especially the BMC, were apprehensive through most of Monday about allowing liquor shops to resume business even as thousands lined up for their favourite tipple since early morning.

The state government issued orders on Sunday that standalone retail liquor shops could do business in red, orange and green zones excluding containment areas between 10 am and 6 pm from Monday.

Following the state order, the State Excise Department's Mumbai city and suburban superintendents and district collectors came up with joint notifications a few hours before the 6 pm deadline and a little after 3.30 pm, some liquor shops opened, with some of them allowing only one bottle per customer.

A man with his liquor stock in Sion on Monday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

However, the BMC hadn't made any announcement till 5 pm. Some of its assistance commissioners tweeted early morning that non-essentials shops (including liquor shops) should not be opened without the BMC nod.

Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi did not respond to text messages. When told about the chaos, Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta assured to look into the matter. A senior BMC official said in the two video-conferences that Pardeshi held with state government bureaucrats, liquor shops were not discussed.

Meantime, Principal Secretary Bhushan Gagrani, in-charge of media relations for state government's COVID-19 mitigation, said in a press conference online that local authorities like municipal commissioners and district collectors are authorised to overrule the state's common guidelines under the powers vested in them by the Epidemic Diseases Act. But he said local authorities were told to issue separate orders elucidating the reasons behind stalling the state guideline. Nagpur and Aurangabad Collectors have specifically told state bosses that they won't allow liquor shops to reopen. Whereas, other collectors, who thought of allowing the measure, were prompt in circulating orders to retailers and other stakeholders.

A senior excise department official told mid-day that Greater Mumbai's case was different. "Here at least four agencies are involved in decision-making. We followed the state's orders and issued our own notifications that would also go to licensed retailers. BMC and city police are the other two agencies which have been working jointly in COVID-19 mitigation and they know the fight and its nuances for taking any further decisions," the officer said.

By late afternoon, some Excise Department officials had reached BMC headquarters to hand over the department's order and also seek information on containment areas. "It's a tricky situation that needs to be tackled in a foolproof process. Such decisions don't happen very quickly. The other side is that the shop operators might have their own difficulties like deputing healthy staff (50 per cent of the total strength) on counters. Shops might not have inventory and require new stock from wholesalers," he said, adding the business was likely to resume smoothly in a day or two, provided that the BMC gives a green signal.

6PM
Time by which liquor shops must shut

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been readying quarantine centres and acquiring hospitals for COVID-19 patients, but it seems it hasn't quite decided whom to let in. The 32-year-old wife of a COVID-19 positive patient from Dharavi has been running from pillar to post to get him to a hospital. The 35-year-old who requires dialysis, tested positive on May 1 but BMC officials allegedly advised her to quarantine him at home, as he is asymptomatic.

When she pointed out that they stay in a 180 sq ft house with senior citizen parents, they allegedly did not pay much heed. While the BMC maintains that asymptomatic patients are not hospitalised, the patient has become a potential threat not just to his family but to the whole SRA building with 91 flats, where they stay.

Neighbours and relatives of a COVID-19 positive person admitted to Sion Hospital being stamped. Pic/Suresh Karkera

"I repeatedly called the COVID-19 Helpline. They asked my husband's age and his other illnesses. But when they came to know he is asymptomatic, they told me to quarantine him at home. I told them we live in a 180 sq feet home with senior citizen parents, but they didn't pay attention," said the wife of the patient.

The patient needs to get dialysis done every three days from last year. "I don't know why they are doing this. Last week a patient was found in our building, and he also required dialysis. They took him to a hospital, but are refusing to take me. I am worried about my father and mother, who are senior citizens. In a house like this, how can we maintain physical distance?" the patient said.

"Home quarantine is not possible for him. The authorities should look into this matter and provide assistance. The family is also financially weak. The father of the patient, a former Indian Navy personnel, runs the house. Now they have approached the Mumbai police for help," said a family friend of the patient.

"Asymptomatic COVID-19 positive patients are not required to be admitted in a hospital. I don't have the details of this patient, but I will ask officials to inquire and we can also arrange for dialysis for him at JJ Hospital," said Assistant Municipal Commissioner G/North Ward Kiran Dighavkar. A BMC official said if the patient's conditions worsens, he will be admitted.

180
The area (in sq feet) of the house the man stays in with his wife and aged parents

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Eight residents of Panchsheel chawl in Govandi — who were classified as high-risk patients after they came in contact with a deceased 55-year-old woman, whose death was posthumously ruled as due to COVID-19 tested positive on Sunday evening.

These high-risk patients had been kept at a quarantine facility in Mahul over the weekend and after their results came, they were shifted to an isloation centre in Shivaji Nagar. "The reports came in yesterday (Sunday) at 6 pm while we were still in Mahul," one of the eight people who have tested positive said.

"All of us were classified as high-risk patients. We will have to stay here for the next 14 days. This place is much better than the quarantine facility in Mahul. There we would only get vada pav to eat and the place had water issues. The doctors here asked us what our symptoms, but not many of us have a fever. We have been allotted rooms here and two people can stay in one room," the patient added.

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Mulund's T ward saw the biggest spike in COVID-19 positive cases since March 2020 on Monday. There were 52 cases reported in 24 hours taking the number to 123. The number of containment zones has reached 33.

But, a major cause for concern is that the cases reported are from the slum pockets of Mulund West.

Mulund had comparatively kept the infection down till date.

There were 71 patients reported in Mulund till date, of which 52 are under treatment. There were 28 containment zones declared till now, of which 18 are active.

Authorities are on alert as Indira Nagar (19 cases), Ramgadh (15 cases) have slums. Rigorous testing and screening camps have been held in these areas.

"We had conducted camps to trace more patients, we have now received positive reports of 52 people in one day," said Assistant Municipal Commissioner (T ward) Kishor Gandhi.

According to T ward data, Amar Nagar found three new cases, Indira Nagar, 31 more cases and Ramgadh, 8 new cases in the last 24 hours. "The rising number in slum pockets is definitely worrisome, as they have narrow lanes and common toilets," said a health official on condition anonymity.

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Trains that are scheduled to take migrants to their native places have been lined up at various railway stations across the state but a delay in receiving clearances from other states have started to affect the entire process.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior railway official said, "On Monday, two trains had been lined up. One was to travel from Akola to Lucknow, while the other from Bhiwandi to Jaipur, but the problem is that they are confirmed at the last moment." While the Akola-Lucknow train left at 6 pm on Monday with 1,200 passengers, the Bhiwandi-Jaipur one will leave late in the night.

The official further said, "The train from Vasai that left early Sunday morning was originally scheduled to leave at 12.30 pm the previous day. Due to delayed permissions and procedure, the train finally left at 4 am on Sunday."

While so far six trains have left from the Central Railway section, 16 have left from the Western Railway segment. Senior officials said that the arrival of a large number of migrants at the same time is leading to problems in receiving states. This is because on arrival, state government officials receive them and make arrangements of their stay at isolation centres before sending them to their respective districts, and at many places these arrangements take a lot of time. Also, if two trains arrive at the same time, it becomes difficult for the receiving state to manage, hence delaying the entire process.

The journey so far...

From MMR region
Bhiwandi-Gorakhpur train 1,104 migrants
Vasai-Gorakhpur train 1,200 migrants
Bhiwandi-Jaipur Lined up tonight

Other trains
Nashik-Bhopal train 314 migrants
Nashik-Lucknow train 847 migrants
Nagpur-Lucknow train 977 migrants
Akola-Jaipur train 1,200 migrants

Besides this, 15 other trains have left from the WR segment with 1,200 migrants each.

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On day 1 of the extended lockdown till May 17, Mumbai Police on Monday took to Twitter to share the importance of staying home amid the COVID-19 crisis. Giving a novel twist to one of the popular games during coronavirus lockdown, Mumbai Police latest meme inspired by Ludo struck a chord with netizens.

At times, it’s better to not try your luck. Staying at home is your best bet against Coronavirus. #GameOfLife #TakingOnCorona pic.twitter.com/v7KEmyjQic

— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) May 4, 2020

While sharing the Ludo-inspired meme, Mumbai Police said, "At times, it's better to not try your luck. Staying at home is your best bet against novel coronavirus. #GameOfLife #TakingOnCorona." The latest post by Mumbai Police urged people to stay home and not to try their luck by venturing out amid the coronavirus crisis.

Salute To Our Corona Warriors 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏😊😊😊👏👏👏👏
A Huge Respect 🙏🙏🙏😊😊👏👏#IndiaSalutesCoronaWarriors

— Aaryen Tiwari (@AaryenTiwari) May 4, 2020

In the post, one can see tokens of all the four players inside the house with the COVID-19 virus occupying the place on the path of the Ludo board. While sharing the coronavirus twist Ludo game post with their followers, Mumbai Police sent a strong message showing how staying at home can be the only safe bet the COVID-19 epidemic.

Best example for current situation

— Pooja Chauhan (@PoojaCh39757719) May 4, 2020

Mumbai Police also put a hard hitting caption on the picture which read, "The safest place to be is IN #TakingOnCorona." Since being shared online, the post has garnered over 600 likes and about 5,000 re-tweets. Even Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra retweeted the post with heart emoticons of various colours. Besides Parineeti, hundreds of users lauded Mumbai Police's unique take on creating awareness on the importance of being home amid lockdown.

pic.twitter.com/6yEFDqcHRi

— Parth (@PresidentPique) May 4, 2020

One user commented, "Best example for current situation," while another user said, "So creative my god!." A third user wrote, "Kudos to ur creative team!!!." Lauding the Mumbai Police a fourth user said, "We will prefer to staying at home only."

Here's how netizens reacted to Mumbai Police's twist to Ludo game:

Thank you very much to all the police system. No matter how big the crisis is from now on, only the police system will stand before us as God.

— Sandip Jondhale (@SandipJondhale6) May 4, 2020

So creative my god!!🍁😍🙏

— Sonam Upadhyay (@Sonam22Upa) May 4, 2020

At times, it’s better to not try your luck. Staying at home is your best bet against Coronavirus. #GameOfLife #TakingOnCorona pic.twitter.com/v7KEmyjQic

— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) May 4, 2020

At times, it’s better to not try your luck. Staying at home is your best bet against Coronavirus. #GameOfLife #TakingOnCorona pic.twitter.com/v7KEmyjQic

— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) May 4, 2020

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Days after nine constables from the Wadala police station tested positive for COVID-19, another 12 policemen of the JJ Marg Police Station have been found to be infected of the virus. As many as 48 cops, who came in contact with these 12 policemen, have been quarantined. Even a DCP of Mumbai Police has also been found tested positive for the pandemic.

The 12 infected cops include six police officers and six constables. According to the information received from the police, the infected policemen were deployed at checkpoints in the area within their jurisdiction. They have been admitted for treatment in hospitals near their homes. The treatment of these policemen is also being monitored by senior officers.

According to information from sources, the DCP who was tested positive for COVID-19 did not show any symptoms of the virus. He is currently undergoing treatment. The area the DCP is in charge of has containment zones that have been declared as red zones.

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A fire was reported on the sixth floor of Atlas building in Napean Sea Road, on Tuesday morning. While no casualties were reported, two women were rescued from the building, a fire official said.

The fire was reported in the 11-storey residential building at 4:41 am on Tuesday and the fire brigade arrived at the scene at 4:55 am. As the intensity of the fire increased it was reported as a Level 2 fire. It gutted its two bedrooms, electric wiring and installations, wooden beds, bedding, furniture, and clothing, the official said.

The fire was brought under control within four hours, at 8.40 am, with the help of eight fire engines. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, the official added.

(with PTI inputs)

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With the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak prompting governments to impose lockdowns in different parts of the world, officials have been coming up with creative ways to spread awareness and make people stay at home. From cops dressed as Yamraj, the god of death, to some cops wearing helmets with spikes that resemble that of the virus, the internet has seen it all.

Now, a lawyer dressed as the omen of death, ‘Grim Reaper’ has taken it upon himself to make sure people of Florida maintain social distance. Daniel Uhlfelder has been dressing up as the Grim Reaper and taking strolls of the Florida beach, that has been opened to public to ensure people maintain the advised distance from each other, that has also make netizens sit up and take notice of him.

Wearing a black ragged robe, a mask and carrying a long-handled scythe, Uhlfelder has posted photos of himself advising people not only to maintain social distance but also stay at home till the situation improves.

Stay home Florida pic.twitter.com/MV4fyAXvwu

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) May 1, 2020

Busy day pic.twitter.com/uBmjaHmp2r

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) May 1, 2020

Uhlfelder also announced on his Twitter account that he will be touring the beaches of Florida from May 1 to spread awareness about importance of social distancing, wearing the garb of the Grim Reaper. He has also sharing his experiences, especially his frequent run-ins with the police, while on tour.

Someone called the cops on my Grim Reaper tour pic.twitter.com/wTP1pPymm2

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) May 4, 2020

His pictures donning the scary garb has garnered more than 13,000 likes on Twitter. The Twitterati has been showering him with praises and support in the comments.

pic.twitter.com/YFkuhCqVZI

— Adrian Steel🕵🏻ðŸÂŒ (@montana_steel) May 3, 2020

My family and I fully support you while we continue staying at home.

— Kenneth Sikora (@KennethSikora) May 1, 2020

pic.twitter.com/5gzfQDYJEP

— Laura Apollo (@lauraapollo) May 1, 2020

What do you think about the posts?

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All celebrity deaths aren't the same. Some are more equal than others. A chosen few are fine career moves; many more, simply indelible stamps to seal fading public memories. Even while so much of journalism involves telling readers that dear Ramesh is dead, when nobody knew dear Ramesh was alive.

Who's a celebrity, anyway? A neighbour we never had, in the form of an acquaintance we all do. We know them through their work (in varied fields), and therefore their passing on offers us a moment to collectively acknowledge/grieve the idea of death itself: "Oho he died is it? Sad." In the same way that we casually respond to vague, distant relatives passing away.

Ideally, I'd continue to believe the person is alive. It's not like I would've met them often, if at all, in any case. And they live on through our knowledge of their contributions. But that's an entry-level celebrity.

The expert level consists of what's called stardom, that mainly emanates from popular culture, involving entertainers and artistes, whose works and general personae draw us closer and closer, almost akin to owning them in a way that we do immediate family. Or more so school/college friends, since stars that appear closest are ones saved as childhood memories first.

There's also that sexual rite of passage that we attribute, in particular, to hot movie/rock-stars of our teens — a phenomenon that acceptably continues well into old age. No wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend ever felt jealous about their significant other, openly, obsessively lusting/thirsting for a famous actor/musician in general chit-chat. It's passed off as 'celebrity pass' (try going like that about your neighbour!). Maybe it's a necessary valve for sexual expression in a society that can be deeply prudish on such matters otherwise.

Where do these stars come to us from? Mainly, the screen. The fame which has been the monopoly of films and television (including live sports) — at least since the '70s and '80s, and up until user-generated social-media, spawning self-styled and home-made influencers.

Can't speak for the latter, but a deeply-felt obituary, more so mass-hysteria surrounding deaths of these stars from another sky, would please the recipients no end. It's the ultimate validation that artistes seek from the same humans who, through their art, they often pretend to hate!

And it is this final prize that masses feel naturally compelled to collectively award to an individual they feel deserves it, after all — not for something they did yesterday, day-before or even recently. They could be 'has-beens'. Which is, equally, to suggest that they 'have been'. The community outpouring is to acknowledge just that, for others to aspire for it as well.

The tragedy with such warm tributes is that they are delivered posthumously, having altogether lost value for the actual/ideal addressee. Sportspeople probably get the worst end of this stick. They peak before most careers formally begin. And from that point onwards, it's professional-fame only going downhill towards complete ignominy, until their death resurrects them into public imagination, while they aren't around to experience any of this lovely, concluding chapter of their own life!

This mass appreciation, of course, takes on a whole new meaning in the context of mainstream stars of Indian cinema. They're not just actors, who by my definition are professionals paid to exhibit temporary conditions of 'controlled insanity' — behaving like strange people, in stranger circumstances — and repeatedly returning to who they are.

But in doing so as lead actors, they become the all-purpose face of everything that we have loved about a film — its script/story and songs, choreography and musical compositions, genre and direction, cinematography, production design and editing… Not just the whole point, but the entire space a picture occupies in our collective nostalgia.

Every other artiste — musician, writer, painter — pretty much gains credit only for their own work. That's not true for a desi mainstream actor, on whose rockstar face has traditionally rested the full weight of India's popular culture. It's a huge burden to carry. Which explains the release that follows.

The image sometimes even dictates their whole life, while some spend a fair portion protecting it. No wonder, say a Suchitra Sen never stepped out of home at old age. Raj Kapoor, having learnt of his massive appeal in China only much later, chose never to visit, assuming he might disappoint fans who remembered him as the young man from Awaara or Shri 420.

Likewise, actor Amrish Puri, 72, told no one (in the public domain) that he was suffering from a rare form of blood cancer. I know this because he told me he was fine, killing off rumours to the contrary. His sudden death messed with nobody's memory of Mogambo.

The unparalleled public grief surrounding deaths of the new-age Irrfan, 53, and the old-world Rishi Kapoor, 67, in quick succession, while they had been ailing for a couple of years, has little do with any of what I've mentioned above.

It's do with a kite cut off, mid-flight — a great film stopped short of its crucial climax. Rishi Kapoor 2.0, as both actor and media presence, seemed dramatically more relevant than Rishi Kapoor 1.0. Irrfan was at the cusp of Hollywood royalty! Hurts more — especially once you imagine either as virtual family.

Mayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture. He tweets @mayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper

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With the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the city, the total number of containment zones have crossed the 2,000 mark. Of these, 1,235 are in congested areas.

The Central and the state governments have ordered restarting some activities in the red zones across the country. As on May 4, the number of sealed areas in the city reached 2,083. Sixty per cent of the Containment Zones (CZ) are in congested areas like chawls and slum. Around 600 containment zones are in densely populated areas and require 24-hour police surveillance.

"While the exact number of people living in these containment areas cannot be calculated, around 400 to 500 people live in every CZ," said a senior civic officer, adding that CZs restrict the spread of COVID.

Till April 23, the number of CZs were 983 with 231 zones released after 14 days. The number of CZs increased two-fold in the past 11 days.

Shifting to CCCs
The BMC has now begun to shift mild-symptomatic and asymptomatic patients to Corona Care Centres II (CCC). The civic body has started these centres across the city with a total capacity of 17,651 beds. As of now, 1778 positive patients are taking treatment in these centres. The NSCI club in Worli with a capacity of 500 people, has 279 positive persons. Byculla which comes under the E-ward has 210 positive persons in CCC II. F-North (Wadala) has 210, G-North (Dharavi, Dadar) has 207, H-East (Bandra) has 124, K-West (Jogeshwari, Andheri West) has 194 and L-Ward (Kurla, Chembur) has 118 patients in the facility.

In institutional quarantine, the civic body managed to increase the capacity of CCCI to 20,462 beds. There are 7,771 high-risk contacts of positive patients staying in these centres.

There are around 10 lakh people living in containment zones in the city right now.

10 lakh
No. of people in containment zones in the city

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The Centre and state governments' relief plan for migrants involving transportation home seems to have failed to convince migrants who are continuing to set out with their kids and meagre belongings for their hometowns in the scorching heat. Daily wagers are facing all kinds of hardships ranging from lack of food and footwear, to carrying heavy loads over hundreds of kilometres.

Between Bhiwandi and Vasai was where mid-day met these workers, some of who are taking the assistance of Google Maps for shortest routes, on Tuesday morning.

Migrants spend all night walking and the sweltering days under the shade of trees lining the highways on their way to their hometowns. Pics/Hanif Patel

A group of migrants, who used to work at a brick kiln in Vasai, began their journey in the wee hours of Monday, claiming that they were not approached by any government authority for transport back home, nor are they allowed to get tested for COVID-19.

"All the doctors are scared to touch us. They think we might be COVID-19 positive. Also, we were told that we will have to pay for the train journey to Prayagraj. How can we pay the government if we don't have a single penny in our pocket?" said Rajkumar, who worked in a brick kiln in Gorai pada, Vasai with his family members.

The distance between Mumbai and Prayagraj is 1,387 kilometres.

No work here
"We all were patiently waiting for the lockdown to end on May 3, but it was extended again. People have been saying that Coronavirus cases are increasing rapidly in Mumbai and Vasai-Virar area. I am worried about the well-being of my family. What will we do if we continue to stay in Vasai? There is no work," said Rajkumar, who has been walking on foot with his family members including women and toddlers who are barefoot.

They only have a few packets of biscuits and a water jar and are depending completely on help from Good Samaritans en route.

"We will starve here, and we will starve in our village too. Better that we die in our village," said Rajkumar.

Kids ask for food
"Children ask for food. Also, they can't walk for long distances. We have to carry them and our belongings," said Ashok, who has been leading his family and other migrant workers using Google Maps for the shortest possible route to Prayagraj.

And if the network becomes poor, Ashok said, "I will ask local people to suggest the best route."

A 10-year-old boy from a different family walking to Prayagraj was seen carrying a pressure cooker on his head. Lalman, the boy's relative, said, "The government has not done anything for us. Doctors pe helicopter se phool barasaye jaa rahe hain, aur hum logon ko khana bhi naseeb me nahin hai."

Another family, which was working as construction labourers in Vasai, told mid-day that they had been living in makeshift tents in an open field. "The rainy season is about to come. How and where will we take shelter during monsoon? Our tents will be inundated. So, it is wise to reach our village in Jalna district before the rainy season starts," said Gajanand.

Migrant worker Ramlal twisted his foot while walking. "It has been paining a lot but there is no other option than to walk home. We labourers mean nothing to the government. Otherwise, we too would have been showered with flower petals from a helicopter. We are paying for being poor," said Ramlal, who walks for a few metres and then stops to rest his foot.

1,387
Distance in km between Vasai and Prayagraj in UP

1,387km
Distance between Vasai and Prayagraj

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The number of COVID-19 cases has witnessed a sharp rise in Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) area. On Tuesday, the corporation area recorded 47 cases – the biggest single-day spike in numbers so far.

Of the 47 new cases found on Tuesday, 22 patients are either essential workers or belong to a family of one. What is more worrisome is that a total of 207 new cases have been discovered in the last seven days, taking the total toll to 395 in NMMC along with seven deaths.

Navi Mumbai municipal officials said the two major contributors responsible for the explosion of Coronavirus cases are — firstly the employees working in essential services who travel to Mumbai daily and secondly, the APMC vendors and merchants.

"There are some APMC vendors and merchants who reside in Mumbai. We had asked them to arrange accommodation in Navi Mumbai so they don't contract the virus. However, despite our several announcements, they haven't followed our orders. So, if this trend continues we will take stern actions against them," an NMMC official said.
Moreover, the doubling rate of the cases in Navi Mumbai has drastically come down from 11 days to six days.

To curb the infection, NMMC has already set a time limit for buying vegetables and groceries of 9 am to 5 pm. Also, considering the rising numbers, NMMC has refused permission to open liquor shops under its jurisdiction.

47
No. of new cases recorded in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday

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Two Shramik Special trains carrying more than 2,100 migrant workers left on Tuesday night from Kalyan junction in neighbouring Thane district, the Central Railway (CR) said. One of them, carrying nearly 1,200 migrants, left for Darbhanga in Bihar, a CR release said. The end-to-end service departed at 8.37 pm carrying only the registered and nominated passengers cleared by the Maharashtra government, the release said.

The second end-to-end Shramik special train left for Guntakal (Andhra Pradesh) around 11 pm, carrying nearly 930 migrants, according to Railway officials.

On Monday, the Central Railway had operated two Shramik special trains between Akola-Lucknow and Bhiwandi- Jaipur.

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A fire broke out at Vishnu Mahal, a residential building near Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday morning. This the second fire incident on consecutive days in south Mumbai.

The flames started in one of the apartments on the second floor of the building at D road, Marine Drive. There was a fire extinguisher in the building which helped to douse it before it spread. No one reported injured. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Yesterday there was a fire incident at 10-storey Atlas building on Napean sea road. It took four hours for the fire brigade to control the fire due to strong winds and initial hurdles of parking cars.

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Maharashtra BJP leader and former CM of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, on Wednesday paid a visit to Saint George, GT and Nair Hospitals where he met frontline workers including hospital deans, superintendents, doctors, nurses, and policemen who have been leading India's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis interacts with doctors and medical staff of Saint George Hospital, GT Hospital and Nair Hospital in Mumbai

Via. @dharmendrajore @Dev_Fadnavis @BJP4India @BJP4Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/rvdvNrLJNw

— Mid Day (@mid_day) May 6, 2020

The 49-year-old BJP leader not only interacted with the frontline workers but also complemented them for their exemplary service for the nation during coronavirus epidemic.

Devendra Fadnavis interacts with hospital staff while maintaining social distance

At Saint George Hospital, situated in Fort, Devendra Fadnavis met superintendent Dr. Khobragade, Dr. Gaiakwad, while at GT hospital he spoke to Dr. Shingare and Dr. Deshpande and at Nair hospital he interacted with Dean Dr Joshi.

The former chief minister visited the Mumbai hospitals to thank the medical workers for leading by example in the fight against COVID-19@Dev_Fadnavis @BJP4India @BJP4Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/ZzcIvElMCU

— Mid Day (@mid_day) May 6, 2020

While visiting these hospitals and interacting with the doctors, Fadnavis not only thanked the corona warriors but also reviewed the coronavirus situation in the state and especially in Mumbai.

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A fire has broke out in a godown of a chemical factory in Bhiwandi Rahnal village in Thane district on Wednesday afternoon. A team of six fire engines have reached the spot and are trying to douse the fire.

Maharashtra: Fire breaks out at a chemical godown in Bhiwandi Rahnal village in Thane district. More than six fire tenders have been pressed into action to put off the fire. pic.twitter.com/eFlMRLlQVG

— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2020

While the reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained, no loss of life or property has been reported so far. More details are awaited.

This is the second fire incident to reported in a single day. Earlier in the day, a fire broke out at Vishnu Mahal, a residential building near Wankhede Stadium. The flames started in one of the apartments on the second floor of the building at D road, Marine Drive.

There was a fire extinguisher in the building which helped to douse it before it spread. No casualty was reported in the fire.

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For a few days now, this paper has been reporting about Indians who have been stranded overseas and are unable to fly out to their home country because of the lockdown.

India now has a plan in place to bring back lakhs of Indians stranded overseas. The evacuation aircraft will be bringing Indians back from overseas today. For many, their ordeal may thankfully be ending. For others who have not got that much-awaited call from Indian Commissions overseas, it is still wait and hope for the best.

mid-day had reported about an older couple from Mazagaon, who are stranded in New Jersey, because of the lockdown. They were finding it very expensive to continue living in the USA, and to compound problems, finding medication was difficult too.

An entrepreneur from Mumbai has been stranded in Nepal. A family of four from Dahisar has been marooned in Sri Lanka, and have very similar problems to that of the New Jersey couple. There are several seafarers from Tamil Nadu in Sri Lanka begging to come home.

One does understand governmental constraints and all the difficulties of managing a mammoth population.

Yet, it would be good if High Commission officials at least make themselves available to answer queries.

If there are genuine problems like acquiring life-saving or absolutely necessary medication, our officials need to see how Indians can procure these, so that they are at least out of that predicament, which seems very dire. What they need most is the reassurance that they are counted, their fate matters and that they will be evacuated in the end. People are struggling in foreign lands, many extremely lonely and living on little more than hopes and prayers, the authorities must demonstrate that they are there and they care.

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The city's record for the highest number of COVID-19 cases reported in a single day increased to 769 on Wednesday as the total count reached 12,716. Bracing for more cases in the coming days, the civic body is planning to set up additional COVID-19 care centres in various open spaces across the city.

Civic officials said that the new COVID-19 centres will come up at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Nehru Science Centre, MMRDA grounds in BKC, Mahim Nature Park and NESCO ground in Goregaon. Once the work is complete, civic officials said that the current capacity of 14,000 beds will increase to 34,000 beds. For critical patients, the capacity will be increased from 3,000 beds to 4,750 beds in hospitals like Nair, KEM and SevenHills. Additionally, ICU beds will be set up at the centre in NSCI.

The G South ward (comprising Worli) with 903 cases and G North (comprising Dharavi) with 888 cases, continued to have the highest concentration of positive cases. While three deaths were reported from the G South ward, one was reported from Dharavi where a 64-year-old male resident of Naik Nagar died on Wednesday. Civic officials from G North ward said that 68 new cases were reported in Dharavi, eight in Dadar and 11 in Mahim. Civic officials in G South ward said 25 new cases were reported on Wednesday.

State health officials reported 1,233 new cases in Maharashtra and the total count of COVID-19 cases now stands at 16,758. There were 34 COVID-19-related deaths on Wednesday of which 26 were in Mumbai which included one patient who was a resident of Uttar Pradesh, three in Pune, three in Akola and one each in Jalgaon and Solapur.

While 18 of the deaths involved patients who were senior citizens, 13 of them fell in the age group of 40-59 years and 27 of the patients were suffering from other ailments. Till date, Maharashtra has had 651 deaths due to COVID-19 and till date, 3,094 COVID patients have been discharged after a full recovery. Currently, more than 2 lakh people are under home quarantine while 13,107 people are kept at quarantine facilities.

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Thousands of migrants working in the power looms at Bhiwandi set out on foot for their villages hundreds of kilometres away earlier this week. While these migrants face an enormously difficult journey with almost zero resources, those who have stayed back are also on the brink of starvation.

The Maharashtra government has been assuring of help for migrant workers should they stay back amid the COVID-19-caused lockdown. Though the Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) is offering food packets, the power loom workers say the quality of the food is inferior.

"The municipality has been giving khichdi for 15 days and the ingredients are rice and turmeric powder. Sometimes they mix vegetables in it. But the food quality is absolutely inferior, it cannot be eaten by any human being. Being a labourer does not mean that we will eat toxic food. The food smells and makes us nauseous," said Manzar Alam, a native of Bihar.

"It is the month of Ramzan and most of us are fasting. But after eating bad quality food, some of us vomited and had to break the fast," said Alam, adding that power loom owners are not helping either and that many are breaking their fast only with water.

"The power loom owner does not respond to our calls. He either switches off his mobile phone or blocks our number," said Mohammad Sahid, a native of Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh.

Raw ration only for state residents
Another power loom worker, Jalaluddin Ansari said workers get food once a day. "We have not been given raw ration by the state government. In this crisis, we have to wait in long queues for langar distributed by social workers," said Ansari.

There are seven lakh registered power looms in Bhiwandi

"There was a queue of nearly 200 workers on Monday. By the time my turn came, food was over. So, I rushed to another langar half-a-kilometre away and stood in another queue. But here too, the food finished," said Ansari, who did not eat anything on Monday.

"On Tuesday, I got food but it was not very little. This is the reality of many workers who did not dare to walk home. The state government is providing raw ration to only those who are from Maharashtra. We are not given any ration," said Ansari, whose co-workers Abdul Ali and Mohammad Younus echoed his views.

Workers say they are being given khichdi - the ingredients of which are usually rice and turmeric — in the food packet for the past 15 days

A few workers from Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh tried to go home in a truck recently. "A truck driver agreed to transport us to our native place. He took R2,500 from each worker. We started our journey a few days ago, but police at Karjat stopped the vehicle and caned the driver badly. We were forced to return to hell with no food," said Ali.

Nearly 3,000 workers rushed to the State Transport bus depot in Bhiwandi on Tuesday. mid-day spoke to a few of them and asked if they had any idea about when they would return to Bhiwandi to resume work: "Humlogo ke paas aur kya hai kamane ke liye?" said Yashpal, a native of Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh.

"It is a pandemic and the whole world is reeling under a financial crisis. We don't know what will happen to us as I have heard that big companies are downsising. We are not sure if the owners of power looms will downsize too," said Sahil.

A ray of light
There is confusion among workers regarding how and where they can get registered to travel home in trains. However, a power loom owner Parvez Alam Ansari has been helping his employees.

"I have told my workers not to panic. I have been providing them with ration, vegetables, etc. and they have been preparing meals for themselves. The power loom is shut but these workers are our assets. I cannot afford to keep them stranded amid a crisis," Ansari said.

Civic body's help mismanaged
"There are seven lakh registered power looms employing around three to four lakh migrant labourers. As per our estimate, more than one lakh people want to leave the city as they don't have work and are not getting food. We are doing our best to provide food but it's been more than a month now and the assistance provided by the local corporation is mismanaged. Now our priority is to help those who want to go to their home states, such as Uttar Pradesh, which is not cooperating with Maharashtra," said local MLA Rais Shaikh.

'We resolved all complaints'
According to Pravin Ashtikar, the chief of BNCMC, initially, there were a lot of complaints regarding food quality and its supply, but all have been resolved. "We are not denying that complaints were received from people but I must tell you that we listen to them and now things have improved in the past week. There have been no complaints about the food as far as quality and supply are concerned. There are several NGOs working with us and we are supplying 80,000 food packets daily. The migrants who want to leave just want to go home because the lockdown has been extended. Most of the migrants have been taken care of by us and their employers," said Ashtikar.

Ashtikar added that so far there are 20 cases of Coronavirus in Bhiwandi city, of which two have recovered and 290 are in institutional quarantine. "We started preparing for COVID-19 in the second week of march — we procured equipment for disinfecting and started sanitising the area much in advance. As you see the result, all positive cases in Bhiwandi have come from other areas. We have successfully stopped community transmission despite a high population. Currently, Bhiwandi has a population of over 8 lakh. We started door-to-door screening last week, targeting the most vulnerable people, and 75 per cent of the survey is complete. So far, 1,011 people are found to be vulnerable as they are suffering from other ailments and we are taking care of them," Ashtikar added.

80K
Food packets Bhiwandi civic body claims it is providing

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Trains ferrying migrant workers have been on the move with about 14 of them having left from the Central Railway section and 62 from the Western Railway section across different divisions. However, there continues to be limitations in the number of trains leaving from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) as it is a red zone.

So far, eight trains have left from the MMR region with a couple of more planned in the coming days. A Bhivandi Road-Gorakhpur one was the first train to leave the MMR region on May 2 with 1,104 migrants.

The same day another train left from Vasai Road for Gorakhpur with 1,200 migrants. After this, two trains left for Jaipur — one from Bhivandi and another from Dahanu — on May 4, two from Kalyan to Darbhanga and Kalyan to Guntkul on May 5 and another two — Panvel to Rewa and Bhivandi to Patna in the wee hours of May 6.

The first train to arrive in the state was from Rayanapadu in Vijaywada

First train to arrive in Maha
Meanwhile, the first train to arrive in Maharashtra was from Rayanapadu in Vijaywada. It reached Chandrapur with 1,212 migrants around 9.10 am on May 6. The passengers were provided with food and water by the state government and later taken for health check-ups by the district collector before being sent to their homes.

One of the group leaders, who was onboard the train, said the migrants from Maharashtra had gone to Rayanapadu for red chilli plucking and transport was organised by the Krishna district administration. "They were taken to the station in 48 buses with 25 passengers each. The passengers included senior citizens, women and children too," he told mid-day over phone. Western Railway chief PRO, Ravinder Bhakar said the railways would run these trains as long as there was demand from other state governments.

14
No. of trains that have left from the CR section

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Six new cases of Corona were found in the Panvel Municipal Corporation jurisdiction on Wednesday taking the count to 113 under the PMC. Among the new cases are two APMC staffers, a police officer, a kidney patient, a homemaker and a BEST employee.

The PMC, which falls under the Raigad district, was initially declared an orange zone, as was the entire Raigad district but within 24 hours, the collector put PMC areas in the red zone.

Ramesh Lengarekar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, PMC, informed mid-day that PMC was a part of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), like Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan and Dombivli, etc, and considering the entire MMR is in the red zone, PMC, too, falls under the said category. "While the government has the power to decide the zones (red, orange, green), the collector has been empowered to list a zone from orange to red or green to orange."

12L population in PMC
So far, two deaths have been reported from the PMC region, which has a population of 12 lakh. The number of positive cases in Raigad district, excluding PMC, is lesser and is, therefore, in the orange zone.

Areas under the PMC — Panvel, Kamothe, Kalamboli, Kharghar, Ulve and Taloja — will follow the national lockdown period till May 17 with prohibitory orders under Section 144 (no assembly of more than five people) in force.

"As per the central government directives, we are making an attempt to keep some additional shops (five) other than medical and general stores open. A decision on this will be taken soon," a senior PMC official said.

Infection from Mumbai
The BEST staffer who tested positive is attached to the Govandi bus depot, and the police sub-inspector is attached to a police station in the Central Mumbai region.

The kidney patient was undergoing his dialysis treatment in a private hospital in Sanpada while the two APMC staffers are residents of Kamothe and Kharghar.

Mangal Kamble, founder president of Swachh Kharghar Foundation, said, "People working in Mumbai have been travelling daily between Mumbai and the PMC area, and have caught the infection in the city."

Cases spike in APMC market
"Also, our concern is that most of the vegetables, fruits, and grains are being transported all over the MMR region from the APMC market, which is already seeing an increase in the number of positive cases. A thorough screening of every vehicle entering and exiting APMC should be done and at every entry point within the PMC area. This needs to be done to curtail any community outbreak of the virus," Kamble added.

Over 100 COVID-19 cases in APMC
Dr Satish Choudhari, nodal officer for COVID at Gram Vikas Bhavan, Kharghar said, "At present, we have around 24 positive cases in the quarantine centre here. All those people who have a cold, cough, fever for more than three to five days are sent to the Gram Vikas Bhavan for quarantine and are referred to sub-district hospital Panvel or to MGM hospital in Kamothe if they need further treatment."

Twelve new cases have been detected in the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) market taking the tally there to over 100.

The market, however, continues to function as per the guidelines of the committee appointed for monitoring the situation.

113
Total no. of COVID cases in PMC area

2
No. of novel Coronavirus deaths in PMC area

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With the COVID-19 death toll among BEST workers reaching three and positive cases touching 50, BEST's decision to form 'crack teams' with heads of departments monitoring staff seems to be working well.

The BEST Undertaking is currently the lifeline of the city and has been transporting essential workers.

BEST officials said the Rapid Action Teams involve various heads of departments who act swiftly when a positive case is found.

"The crack teams seem to be working well. One such team got a call on Tuesday night about an employee at Bandra bus depot. He is a resident of Dharavi and was not feeling unwell. His wife called up to say that he was feeling breathless too. We did not have time to lose and the entire team got into action. The biggest challenge was to find a bed for him as all major hospitals in the city are under pressure.

"We called up all public and private hospitals and finally could arrange a bed at Bandra's Bhabha Hospital within a few hours. This is where teamwork helps and isolated efforts would have taken more time and caused further delay," BEST's Chief Medical Officer Dr Anilkumar Singal said.

Singal said that the undertaking has been following all norms and protocols as a result of which, cases are limited even as the lifeline continues to operate.

A BEST spokesperson added that on the bright side, four more workers have recovered and have been discharged. This takes the total number of recoveries to 11.

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In a latest controversy, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had decided to file a police complaint against doctors who prescribe COVID-19 tests to patients without conducting physical examinations. The officials of L ward had also come up with a complaint format that was supposed to be sent to police stations. However, when doctors slammed the move, the civic body withdrew it on Wednesday.

According to the complaint letter issued by L ward, a doctor found to have referred a patient for the COVID-19 test without a physical examination would face an FIR under Section 188 of the IPC (disobeying orders of a public servant) and the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897. Confirming that such a decision was taken by the civic administration, a senior civic official said, "The COVID-19 task force decided that doctors have to examine the patient physically before prescribing any test. Ward officials will file the complaint with the respective police station if the regulations are not followed and the police will investigate the matter further."

However, when contacted, an L ward official said that the decision was taken after a doctor based in New Delhi referred a patient for testing in Mumbai and the complaint form was being used as a scare tactic. "We weren't planning on taking action against doctors. We just wanted to discourage the medical fraternity from referring patients without examining them. The complaint form was shared on some chat groups," added the official.

Dr Avinash Bhondwe, president of the Indian Medical Association in Maharashtra said that it is an unjustifiable move since doctors don't have access to PPE kits and they cannot examine a suspected patient without adequate protection. "We are only working with masks and gloves. It is very risky to physically examine a patient and doctors are not able to buy PPE kits either since it's not available, which is why in some cases doctors are consulting patients over phone. However, the BMC cannot take action against doctors and this will be challenged in the court of law," said Dr Bhondwe.

He added that even making physical examination mandatory doesn't make sense unless the civic body provides PPE kits to all doctors. "More and more doctors are testing positive every day. If a doctor examines a patient without PPE and if the patient tests positive, then the doctor will be placed in quarantine," he said. Dr Bhondwe added that instead of testing only the symptomatic patients, the government should make arrangements to test everyone. "Health is a constitutional right and everyone should be able to undergo tests," he added. Dr Bhondwe also pointed out that till date none of the circulars issued by the ICMR have mentioned that physical examination is mandatory. He further said that L ward officials later assured him that no FIR would be filed against doctors.

When contacted, Dr Gautam Bhansali, consulting physician with Bombay Hospital, said that taking action wasn't the correct approach in such stressful times. "Such decisions are demeaning to doctors who are working so hard. Referring a patient is not a crime and doesn't warrant a punishment. At best, circulars can be issued to create awareness among doctors," he said.

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A slice of the verdant Nehru Science Centre in Worli has been taken over by the civic authorities for what Centre director Dr S Khened thinks must be for "an isolation centre, or for quarantine."

Khened said, "I do not know exactly for which. We got official communication a couple of days earlier that a portion of the centre's space will be acquired. The front portion of the Centre, just as you enter the main gate, has been taken. We usually use that space to hold Science exhibitions. We have also held a vintage car exhibition two years ago in that venue, so it is a massive space."

Centre officials said preparations are in full swing, with beds and mattresses and even mobile toilets being brought in. The Science Centre officials have tried to talk to those in charge at the site for details but without too much success.

They reasoned, "it is evident that the officials are extremely stressed and we are in fact, prepared for the worst. Authorities are working extremely hard to get this ready," they stated.

Khened said that the environs of the Centre are very green and will need to be maintained. "We need to have some skeletal staff inside to maintain the green patches, the trees, the many plants that we have. They need water and regular upkeep," he said adding that it was important that the Coronavirus facility is completely sealed off from the other parts of the sprawling complex.

The Centre also has skeletal staff quarters on the premises where currently eight senior officers are living with their families, "so it is vital that those who are going to be shifted into the facilities for Coronavirus, be confined to that space. I am sure this has been thought out and will be done," said Khened.

Physical space
The Science centre has moved its activities online, like most other institutions, with two virtual lectures scheduled on their YouTube channel on May 9 and May 11 respectively. The former will be a talk by Dr Vasant Shinde on Rakhigarhi Excavation and the latter is Dr Anil Kakodkar, on 'dealing with energy needs in the context of climate crisis'. Yet, said Dr Khened, "We will open again as a physical space when the government gives the green light. Children, the main visitors at the Centre, may have some apprehension about visiting since this will be used as a Coronavirus facility.

There is a great deal of wariness as the Centre is just next to the Jijamata Nagar slum area, which is a COVID hotspot. "However, with all the trepidation, we too understand that this is for the greater good, and everybody has to do their part in this fight," the director said.

Line up
The Worli area, with an unenviable record number of Coronavirus cases in Mumbai, is also being taken over as quarantine/isolation areas rapidly. Just around the corner from the Science Centre, the Nehru Centre, which is next to the Nehru Planetarium has also been acquired for Corona purposes.

S P Verma, Jt Director of Nehru Centre, said, "The two exhibition halls on the ground floor have been acquired, not the Nehru Planetarium. I think beds and other amenities will be moved in shortly, I do not know when exactly. We had been told to hand over possession of the spaces and have done so," he finished.

The Nehru Centre joins neighbour, NSCI club's The Dome and Mahalaxmi racecourse as an entire line of Haji Ali institutions, whose space has been acquired for Corona combat.

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At a time when the nation needs its frontline workers, Railway doctors remain inconspicuous by their absence. Considering this, the railway board has now issued a circular stating that "unauthorised absence" was hurting the system and creating a serious imbalance, hence fresh recruitments were necessary.

The circular, (a copy of which is with mid-day) signed by executive director/health, railway board, Dr Vijay Kumar, states, "A large number of doctors are on unauthorised leave. This is causing a serious imbalance in the strength of doctors in many zones. In view of this, it has been decided that vacancies of doctors who are on unauthorised absence will be filled up." It further mentioned that as and when the doctors, who are currently absent, report back to duty, they would be directed to report to the Director General/Railway Health Services (DG/RHS) for their further posting.h

The circular said necessary disciplinary action should be completed early and on priority. The Indian Railway Health Services (IRHS) is a cadre of doctors recruited through the Union Public Service Commission medical exam.

The key responsibilities of the doctors include attending to rail accident victims, pre-employment medical examination of staff, periodical medical tests of serving staff, conducting medical boards and other medical certification of serving employees and much more.

While the director-general (health) was not available for comment, a senior official said, "Recruitments are being carried out to get doctors and medical staff on board to fight the COVID-19 battle as the railways have been actively functioning even in these times. It has become the key provider of essential services, keeping the supply chain alive. Hence, the more number of medical workers come on board, the better it is."

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'Goodfather' is one of the biggest Hollywood cult classic of all times. The dialogues in the film are so popular that even Mumbai Police, being themselves, played around with words and used it in their latest post on Instagram, to share the importance of wearing masks.

In the post, the police department shared a meme with a still from the film and played around with its famous line, "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse' to 'I'm gonna offer him a mask he can't refuse.' In the captions, the police wrote, "Your enemy 'corona' always gets strong on 'the mask' you leave behind," with a striking hashtag #GodfathersOfSafety.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mumbai Police (@mumbaipolice) onMay 5, 2020 at 9:05pm PDT

The post, shared on Wednesday garnered 16,459 likes so far. One of the users who double tapped on the post was Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, who seemed impressed by the creativity of the police department, just like the users who commenting on the post.

A user said, "Suddenly i can't remember what the original line was. Mumbai Police tum bohot acha kaam karta hai." Another user said, "Mumbai Police are now best police in the world... In making memes too!" One more user said, "These guys keep getting better day by day!!"

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The Western Railway has worked intensively on the 2020 pre-monsoon works for Mumbai suburban railway while maintaining proper protocol of COVID-19.

A glimpse of some activities

Tree Trimming: Trimming of tree branches alongside the tracks is being done which are infringing with overhead wires in order to avoid tripping in monsoon. Till now total 158 trees have been trimmed.

Insulator Cleaning: Cleaning of insulators is a major precaution against flashing of the insulator during man soon showering. The fitting of the bridges were also checked where clearance are critical. This will help to avoid tripping in monsoon. Till now total 1,395 insulators have been cleaned.

Insulator cleaning on the left and checking of bridge fittings on the right

Bird Nest Removal: This is the season of bird breeding. The bird used to make nests in OHE structures. These nests are identified during foot patrolling and live line inspections and such identified bird nests are then removed from structures. Till now total 454 bird nests have been removed.

Bird gel: The non-toxic bird deterrent gel is also applied on overhead structures and cantilevers to prevent birds from landing on overhead structures thus avoiding the nests. During locked down bird gel at total 969 points have been applied.

Bird deterrent gel and applying gel below FOB

Cross over checking: Most of the suburban section is having unregulated overhead wires and due to temperature variation, the overhead wire of cross overs may get disturbed. To overcome this problem, all cross overs were checked hot line by tower wagon and 22 of them adjusted in power blocks.

During the lock down period despite availability of only 10-15% of the regular field staff it has been ensured that important works for monsoon preparation are going on as per target in suburban section of CCG-VR section

Sufficient number of point machines have been readied by signal workshop and kept as spare for replacement in case of monsoon flooding. Vulnerable signal boxes have been raised in flood prone areas. Staff have been continuously imparted training for monsoon drills.

Earth-resistance of Telecom installations of Churchgate-Virar Section are being checked and maintained at the desired level.

Routers, Switches, LAN Extenders, wire connections of UTS & PRS are being checked, cleaned & where there is wiring issue same is being replaced. Earth resistance of these equipment are also checked.

Testing & cleaning of Train Indicators for Suburban as well as Mail/Express trains, Public Address System is also being done.

Various equipment installed in Telecom OFC rooms of Churchgate-Virar section are also being cleaned. Checking & cleaning of different cards of these equipment are also in progress.

Power Plants for various Telecom equipment are also being maintained. Process of taking measurement of battery voltage, Charger voltage, AC supply voltage cleaning the connection terminals, cleaning battery-charger etc are in progress.

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An under-trial inmate and two staff at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai have tested positive for Coronavirus. The inmate has been admitted for treatment at JJ Hospital. The jail administration, looking at the seriousness of the matter, got 150 people, including staff and inmates tested, of which results are awaited.

According to information received from prison sources on May 2, the inmate, who was accused of murder, collapsed in the jail after which he was admitted to JJ Hospital, Meanwhile, he underwent the Coronavirus test and he was found positive on May 4 as per his reports. The jail administration then got into action and tested 150 people in the jail for the virus, and their reports are awaited.

An official of Arthur Road Jail told mid-day, "We had taken measures to prevent coronavirus. After one of the inmates and two jail staff tested positive, we got 150 people in Arthur Jail tested. The report is yet to come."

Two jail staff who tested positive have been kept under quarantine. They were earlier sent out for fieldwork. According to the jail sources, if an employee has been sent outside the jail after lockdown, he would not be given in-prison duty again and would be sent on quarantine for 14 days.

The jail has been closed down because of the coronavirus outbreak, due to which no new inmates are being accepted in the jail. At such a time, only essentials services workers are allowed inside the jail.

As the number of cases in the state is on a surge, the prison department planned some important measures. As the inmates in the prison were prone to get infected, some of the prisoners were temporarily sent out on bail. Also, five prisons in Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, and Pune have been closed down due to the pandemic.

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A video purportedly showing bodies of COVID-19 victims lying unattended near coronavirus patients at a civic-run hospital here has surfaced, following which a BJP MLA hit out at the Shiv Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Latching on to the video, BJP legislator Nitesh Rane said this shows the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) does not pay attention to the safety of patients.

The video purportedly showed some bodies lying near COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in Sion area of Mumbai. Rane tagged the video in a tweet on the micro-blogging site on Wednesday night. "The Sion hospital has shown utmost negligence by letting COVID-19 patients sleep among the bodies of those who died of the same disease. The BMC boasts of being the richest civic body but pays no attention towards the safety of patients," the BJP leader said on Thursday.

He noted that the hospital in Sion mostly gets patients from Dharavi, the biggest slum area in the country. "Is this how we treat our working class? Such carelessness of the medical staff and the Sion hospital could result in further spread of coronavirus infection," he said. As the video stirred a controversy, the hospital's dean Dr Pramod Ingale said relatives of the those who died of COVID-19 are reluctant to take the bodies. "That is the reason why the bodies were kept there unattended. We have now removed the bodies and are probing the matter," he said.

Asked why the bodies were not shifted to a mortuary, Ingale said, "There are 15 slots in the hospitals mortuary of which 11 are already filled. If we shift all the bodies to the mortuary, it will be a problem for bodies of those who died of causes other than COVID-19." Till Wednesday, Mumbai reported 10,527 COVID-19 cases and 412 deaths.

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The country has been witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases and to curb that situation, the whole nation has been following the lockdown imposed by the government. The current unprecedented times has left people worried and hence in need of hope and support. In light of this, Radio City, India’s leading radio network, has initiated multiple campaigns across 39 cities to provide hope, entertainment, and support.

Radio City and mid-day joined hands to present the perfect concoction to elevate Mumbaikars’ mood. RJ Palak, during her show Naughty Palak ka Show, connected with famous skincare expert Dr. Jayshree Sharad to share DIY tips; provided tasty and healthy food recipes from famous Chef Ajay Chopra, and brought mental health experts to counsel people and  help them get through this tough time. Additionally, stand-up comedians Atul Khatri and Nishant Tanwar have been adding a dose of laughter and fun to the listeners’ routine, while Vishal Punjabi, Founder of The Wedding Filmer, updated couples about new trends on wedding videos and online weddings.

To promote community culture, Radio City has been hosting a month-long podcast series called ‘Lockdown Rishte Podcast Series’, where Radio City RJs across Hindi speaking markets are broadcasting stories on how we can rediscover and strengthen our relationship with our loved ones. The RJ’s are also requesting citizens to share their stories as well. This podcast also features on radiocity.in

Speaking about the campaigns, Mr. Kartik Kalla, Chief Creative Officer, Radio City, said, “As we all do our bit by staying at home to ensure safety for all, the challenging situations can take a toll on our mindset. Radio City has always led purpose driven campaigns and has found innovative ways to connect with its audience to keep them entertained. These various campaigns across the 39 cities, aim to leverage the power of radio to bring positivity in the society and appreciate our listeners for always supporting us in our initiatives. I would like to reiterate the fact that we all will overcome this situation together. I urge all our listeners to stay home and stay safe!”

Extending the fun quotient down South and adding some stardust with ‘Lockdown Diary’, RJ Sowjanya in Bangalore has been indulging listeners with stories from celebrities like Raghu Dixit, Priyamani, Vijay Prakash, and many more, on how they are spending their time during the quarantine. RJs in Madurai, with the special show called ‘Nanba Calling’ have been acting as a bridge between long lost friends, allowing them to relive their old memories; RJs in Andhra Pradesh are running a special fun audio series about 3 RJs stuck together during lockdown to engage the listeners. In addition to entertaining listeners, Radio City also ensured they went the extra mile by contributing to the society and help people in need. Radio City in Patna, Bihar partnered with the ‘Super-30’ legend Anand Kumar, to provide the gift of education and help students prepare for civil services, IIT/JEE, and other similar exams. Harnessing the true power of radio, RJ Harshil crossed borders by responding to the plea of 20 students stuck in Greece and tweeting about the situation to the Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of Gujarat. This helped in alerting the Indian Embassy in Greece, who came forward to supply food and provide other basic amenities to ensure the students’ safety and well-being.

Radio City RJs in various cities led donation drives to help the citizens trying to make ends meet during the downtime. In Bangalore, RJ Rajas and RJ Nikitha volunteered to help and provide free meals for the daily wage workers; the RJs in Chennai urged listeners to donate groceries to Chennai Corporation, who distributed it to the people in need. Radio City RJ in Bikaner, Rajasthan addressed the concern of low quality and quantity of ration being distributed in Raajiv Nagar society and worked together with Bikaner Sewa Samiti to help more than 40 families. Extending a helping hand towards the Dabbawallas in Mumbai, Radio City’s ‘Dabbawalle Ka Dabba Bharo’ initiative launched a fundraiser and urged Mumbaikars to contribute and help Dabbawallas.

Leading the campaign in Delhi, RJ Ginnie shared the concerns of a man suffering from brain injury who was not able to provide for his family. Her act of kindness saw Delhiites come in tenfold to donate ration and medicines to his family. On the other hand, RJs in Jalandhar, with the help of local authorities and citizens, prepared 300+ meals daily for the needy and teamed up with NGO Divya Drishti to distribute more than 50 packets of groceries. The Radio City team in U.P. also partnered with NGOs to raise around 5 lakh rupees and distributed more than 50,000 packets of food to the poor people. Additionally, Radio City joined hands with Dainik Jagran Inext and became the first radio station to provide live updates of fresh Covid-19 cases. These efforts have been appreciated by Mr. Ranvendra Pratap Singh, State Minister for Food and Civil Supply, Mr. Jai Pratap, State Minister for Health and Family Welfare, and Mr. Bhupendra Chaudhary, State Minister for Panchayati Raj.

Radio City also conducted various multifaceted national campaigns in the last few months- Concert From Home, Garv Se Ghar Par, and Corona Fighters ko Salaam, across 39 cities of its presence. Radio City also launched a foot tapping anthem called ‘Ghar se na niklenge’, which motivated people to continue staying indoors and urged them to come forward and support the nation by donating to the PM Cares Fund.  Amplifying the core motto of ‘Rag Rag Mein Daude City’, Radio City continues to strengthen the bond with the citizens.

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WITH 43 new deaths due to COVID-19, Maharashtra on Thursday recorded the highest daily toll. More than half of the deceased were from Mumbai, where the total number of confirmed novel Coronavirus cases has crossed 11,000, with 680 new infections as of Thursday.

The 26 victims of COVID 19 from the city included a resident of Manipur and Bihar each. According to state health department officials, seven deaths were reported in Pune, five in Vasai Virar, two in Solapur and one each in Akola, Palghar and Aurangabad.

Of the 43 deceased, 25 were senior citizens while 14 were in the age group of 40-59 years. And 29 of them were suffering from other ailments. The death toll in the state now stands at 694.

Focus on pregnant women too

Across Maharashtra, 1,216 new cases were confirmed on Thursday, taking the total count to 17,974. Officials said that 207 COVID-19 patients were discharged after a full recovery. Apart from senior citizens, civic officials are also focussing on pregnant women, especially those who are nearing their delivery date. Additional facilities have been made for them at Wadia Hospital, Surya Hospital and others, the officials added.

50 new cases in Dharavi

Meanwhile, cases in G North ward continued to rise, with 50 new cases reported in Dharavi and majority of the patients were below the age of 60 years. Five new cases were reported from Mahim and two from Dadar, including an 80-year-old man who lives near the Plaza Theatre. Currently, G North ward has around 945 COVID-19 cases and has the second highest number of infections in the city.

Owing to the high concentration of cases, a team from the Centre visited Dharavi on Thursday along with civic chief Praveen Pardeshi and IAS officer Ashwini Bhide who is handling the COVID-19 war room under the civic body. Civic officials, however, remained tight-lipped about the recommendations and observations made by the central government team.

1,900 Indians to land in city

The Centre on Thursday began the process of bringing back thousands of Indians stranded in other countries. As many as 14,800 Indians from 12 countries will return home via airplanes or ships. Around 1,900 of them will land in Mumbai from the USA, Bangladesh, the Philippines, the UK, Malaysia and Singapore.

The BMC has reserved 3,343 rooms in 88 two/three/four/five stars and budget hotels for the nationals returning home. All of them will be quarantined and tested for COVID-19 as a precautionary measure.

17,974
Active coronavirus cases in maha  as of today

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What started as an effort to get treatment for his diabetic father suspected to have contracted COVID-19 soon turned into a horror story for a 29-year-old who discovered bodies wrapped in plastic on beds in Sion hospital's emergency and COVID-19 ward, while his breathless father was made to share the bed with other patients. A video of the man's experience on April 20 went viral on social media and BJP leader Nitesh Rane tweeted it late on Wednesday.

The video shows bodies wrapped in black-coloured plastic kept on beds right next to patients and their relatives in what is supposed to be a ward in Sion hospital, which has set up a committee to probe the matter.

Screenshot of video taken by kin showing wrapped bodies

The Chembur resident had taken his 63-year-old father to Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital (commonly known as Sion hospital) after he complained of fever and weakness. "My father was having difficulty breathing. I did not want to take him to a government hospital but I had no choice except to go to Sion hospital," he said.

At 1.30 pm at Sion hospital, the man was asked to take his father to the emergency ward. "After an X-ray, the doctor said my father has pneumonia and they were almost certain that he had COVID-19. They cleared a bed and asked him to lie on it. Soon, another woman was told to lie next to him and a senior citizen was told to sit near his feet," the man said. His father was given an oxygen mask to help him breathe.

The video went viral on social media on Wednesday and was tweeted by BJP leader Nitesh Rane

Just when the man was certain he did not want to keep his father at the hospital, he noticed a bed behind a curtain. A closer look revealed a body covered in plastic on the bed. "I was horrified and my father started to panic. The doctors kept saying that they will admit him and shift him to another ward but nothing was happening. Then, a friend of mine arranged a bed at Seven Hills Hospital," he said.

The man was asked to go to ward no. 5 — supposed to be a COVID-19 ward — to sign discharge papers. "Patients' relatives were inside with them in the ward, which is not allowed. I saw at least three beds with bodies piled on them and patients being treated right next to them. We had always heard about how bad government hospitals are. But I never imagined this," he said.

The man took his father to Seven Hills in an ambulance at 6.45 pm, where he is currently being treated and was taken off ventilator support on Wednesday.

Rane has also complained to Maharashtra's Governor and said the hospital has admitted the video is authentic. "The enquiry is pointless since the hospital is aware of what it is doing. This enquiry is a farce. Hospital authorities say that relatives are not collecting bodies and they have no idea about proper disposal of COVID-19 affected bodies. The state has failed to deal with the situation and the Centre should step in," said Rane. He added that the issue is arising from the lack of proper guidelines on the disposal of bodies of COVID-19 patients.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya complained to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday. "Currently, bodies are being wrapped in plastic due to the shortage of bags for disposal. Relatives and not ready to take the bodies due to which they are kept in the ward. I have asked ICMR to address this issue," he said.

'Enquiry to verify'

Dr Pramod Ingle, acting dean of Sion hospital said, "From the look of the tiles and hallway, it seems like Sion hospital. However, an inquiry will have to verify. A local committee of Sion hospital officials has been set up on Thursday and they have been given 24 hours to submit a report," said Dr Ingle.

Mayor Kishori Pednekar said that the bodies were accumulating since relatives of patients were delaying in collecting them.

"Relatives are not taking bodies. However, if they give permission, the corporation will dispose of the bodies. But now, the bodies will be stored outside the wards," she said.

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With over a 100 people testing positive for COVID-19 at the APMC market in Vashi, Navi Mumbai Mayor Jayawant Sutar has demanded that it be locked down. He has threatened to write to the Maharashtra Governor and to the Central Health Committee Task Force.

Speaking to mid-day, Sutar, the mayor from BJP, said, "As per my information, the APMC already has over 100 cases of Coronavirus. When a positive case was detected on April 28, NMMC Commissioner Annasaheb Misal had ordered to shut the market for 14 days, but had to withdraw the order, after the Konkan Commissioner refused to do so."

"I spoke to Misal again during a conversation with bureaucrats and he has expressed concern over the increasing number of positive cases in the market. But so far, no decision has been taken on shutting it down," said Sutar. "Our job is to bring the matter to the notice of the government and ministers, with whom lies the final decision. If they do not heed our request, we will bring the issue to the notice of the Maharashtra Governor and the Central Health Committee Task Force monitoring the outbreak," Sutar added.

APMC Administrator and Secretary Anil Chavan, said, "As per our record, only 25 staff, including traders, have tested positive. We have been asking for swab test reports from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), but for reasons best known to them, they have not shared the reports with us." Chavan added, "We have come to know that in case a trader tests positive, the NMMC will take into account all his family members which will show a higher count."

There has been no decision on closing the market yet. File pic

When asked if they are still contemplating shutting APMC, as suggested by some traders, Chavan said, "We have learnt that government officials are still discussing this and in the next few days, the matter would be clear. Meanwhile, APMC market is functioning with restrictions and if a trader gets infected, we ensure that his galla and the two adjacent gallas are closed and sanitised."

mid-day asked Sutar about NMMC not sharing the test reports with APMC, to which he replied, "There is no reason to not share the information. All COVID-19 cases are told about to the health department and the government daily. So there is no question about APMC claiming lack of information."

A trader who did not wish to be identified, said, "It is unfortunate that the APMC market is becoming a hotspot for COVID-19. Right from the beginning, we have been alerting the APMC committee about an outbreak possibility and that they should shut the market for a few days, but our plea fell on deaf ears."

Blame game over outbreak

Sources in the APMC committee said that as opposed to the 300 trucks allowed in the market per day, traders continue to over-order stock, which is leading to several extra trucks waiting at the truck terminal. This, sources say, is exacerbating the outbreak in the market.

The market also does not have any way to prevent asymptomatic infected people from entering the premises.

Traders, on the other hand, say that the market generates a business of several crores per day and that the committee and the government do not want to interrupt that cash flow. "If someone gets infected in one stall (galla), several other workers working for the particular trader automatically run the risk of getting infected and so do their families. We have suggested that the market be completely shut for one full week with a few days' notice so people can stock up. But even that suggestion is not being taken as it will interrupt the cash flow," another trader who did not wish to be named said.

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The state government on Thursday added evaluation of board papers in the list of essential duties for teachers to ensure that results of Std X and XII board exams are declared before June 10 as directed by the Supreme Court. But considering the ground reality, this seems highly improbable as there has been no planning in this regard and teachers are left confused about their travel and other arrangements.

The government circular allows travel for teachers but no details about the travel arrangements have been mentioned. Teachers have also complained that no precautionary measures have been listed for them. The confusion will hamper the deadline, teachers believe.

Rajesh Pandya, President of Teachers Democratic Front (TDF) said that along with local travel, another issue was that of some teachers having left cities to go to their native places. "They cannot be back in time to participate in the evaluation process. Moreover, if any teacher is infected with COVID-19 while on duty, who will take responsibility for it?" he questioned.

Teachers, he said, have been demanding for a long time to be allowed to take the board answer-sheets home for correction. "The COVID numbers weren't so high then. But the government took too long to make the decision," he added.

No evaluation guidelines

Also, areas in the red zones will definitely not be able to get any paper correction work done. The evaluation will happen only in the green zones and the results can't be declared till all the papers are assessed. "The repeaters' examination which is generally held in the month of July will also not be possible this year. There are no guidelines regarding the evaluation of Social Science for Std X, considering that one of the two papers — Geography — was cancelled," said Uday Nare, a teacher at the Hansraj Morarji school in Andheri.

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The fact that food delivery has been classified as an essential service seems to have escaped some Mumbai Police personnel. Restaurateur Saransh Goila found this out the hard way after three separate instances of a cop entering the Andheri West outlet of his franchise, Goila's Butter Chicken, and beating up the workers there even though they were within their rights to keep the eatery functional.

The latest instance took place at 9 pm on Wednesday, when — according to Goila — an officer hit his workers with a lathi on their legs and shoulders, telling them to shut shop around 9 pm. "I had reached out to the DN Nagar police around 10 days ago [after the first two incidents] and was told that the situation wouldn't arise again since we are allowed to operate our business. So, it's unfortunate that it's been repeated. The incident occurred at 9 pm. That's not an ungodly hour, and as an essential service, we are anyway allowed to function beyond the curfew [of 7 pm]. The fact that they entered the store and beat up my guys has scared them," Goila said.

He added that he'd prefer it if the police made their stand clear. "They should just tell us straight up if they don't want us to operate and we will leave quietly," he said, voicing a thought that National Restaurants Association of India president Anurag Katriar echoed in a tweet after Wednesday's incident.

It read, "Dear @MumbaiPolice — We request u to kindly clarify if the home delivery is permitted or not? If yes, a sincere request to sensitise ur on-ground forces better & if not, do let us know. We will comply as law-abiding citizens. We have utmost respect for u. Thank u [sic]!"

In response, Senior Inspector Parmeshwar Gamne of DN Nagar Police Station said: "There are several restaurants around Golia's Butter Chicken restaurant. Not just their delivery boys, but even customers who come by to pick their orders, don't maintain social distancing rules. The crowding certainly calls for strictest action, considering the threat it poses for spread of the Coronavirus. Similarly on Wednesday, we had to take action and shut the restaurants after they refused to abide to the precautions. Social distancing cannot be compromised on."

With inputs from Shirish Vaktania

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A 3D printing startup in Mumbai has been accused of not fulfilling its part of the deal in a crowdfunded project initiated by a Delhi-based content creator to provide equipment to frontline health workers.

In March, Kusha Kapila contacted Boson Machines (BM) to provide 3D printed face shields for medical personnel at an initially agreed price of R150, by raising Rs 900,000 on Ketto.

With an industry standard yet to emerge, there were a lot of debates between Kapila and BM over the price and the number of masks to be made for raised amount."We then settled on R19 lakh for 18,000 masks," said Kapila. "Even this meant that a shield would cost Rs 105, which was still higher than the price of other 3D printers. The price was again reduced to Rs 75, before they finally agreed to R60. At the same time, the fundraising goal was also increased to Rs 21 lakh. They already had orders and capacity for 14,500 masks and we wanted to help as much as we could."

Kapila’s tweet tagging Aaditya Thackeray where she called out Boson

Boson was paid around Rs 13 lakh for the 14,500 face shields, and the remaining money was with Ketto, to be paid after the second batch of shields were dispatched.

The story gets muddled at this point, with Kapila taking to Twitter on May 1, accusing the company of not honouring its commitment and claiming even Rs 60 per mask was steep.

"After many enquiries, and [BM co-founders and brothers] Arjun and Parth Panchal's consistent unavailability, they finally sent a cost breakdown that I forwarded to various industry experts for verification."

In another tweet, Kapila alleged BM charged more than market price. Both Kapila and Ketto also claim that BM had been evading their questions.

"As of today, suppliers charge anywhere between Rs 35 and Rs 50 for a shield of the same quality," Kapila told mid-day. "This suggests that BM is trying to profit off this fundraiser. Profiting off a pandemic is shameful and anti-national. For instance, the cost of the plastic frame is quoted as R80 and they could only justify Rs 27. That's a difference of Rs 53. Further, the visor cost is quoted as Rs 30, but we found out that a sheet costs Rs 8. The tally says BM has delivered 10,700 pieces but we don't know if this has actually happened. As of today, Boson owes [me and Ketto] Rs 6,76,000," Kapila said.

By this, Kapila means BM has to return her and Ketto R6,76,000 from the initial Rs 13 lakh paid, as per her calculations. "The last time I spoke to them, which is when we reached a price of Rs 60, they agreed to return the money but later said their CA would get in touch and have ghosted me since," said Kapila.

Parth Panchal. Pic/Facebook, Arjun Panchal. Pic/Twitter

BM claims it has already delivered 10,700 face shields to 19 hospitals and other institutions across the country, including Mumbai's Sion Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, KEM Hospital, Wadia Hospitals—and even the BMC.

In an email to mid-day, BM refers to Ketto Online Ventures Private Limited as the buyer, and not Kapila. "We are unaware of the role of Ms Kusha Kapila with the buyer, M/s Ketto Online Ventures Private Limited, and whether she is authorised to represent the company in commercial matters," it said.

BM also alleged Ketto owes them an outstanding R1,31,063 from the orders that they had already fulfilled.

"We have seen the statement put out by Boson and our legal team is taking necessary steps," said Varun Sheth, of ketto.org.

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The issues regarding hospitals that are treating COVID-19 patients continue to increase. Patients at one of the dedicated facilities for COVID-19 treatment in Mumbai, Seven Hills Hospital, claim they are not getting tested and are even neglected. They have also been complaining of lack of medicines and cleanliness.

A 35-year-old woman, a dialysis patient, was taken to Seven Hills Hospital on April 12. "I tested positive for COVID-19 and within seven days I tested negative. But after another seven days I again tested positive. This is because there is no provision to isolate positive patients from suspected ones. All are in the same ward," she said.

The patient further stated, "After finally testing negative, I was not discharged as there was some spelling error in my report. I am stuck in the hospital with positive patients around me," she said.

Other patients also recalled the horror in the 'posh' hospital. "The bed sheets haven't been changed for the past 5 days, we don't get breakfast on time. Some patients are taken for dialysis at 9 am, but many times they don't undergo it. The plates are never picked up after meals," said another patient.

"The nursing staff is so scared that they don't come forward to help. A couple of days ago a patient fell in the bathroom, when she tried to get off her wheelchair after waiting for an hour for help. Patients helped her," said yet another patient. Another male patient who fell had the same experience.

Official speak

When asked about the patients' allegations, the administration said they will look into them. "Till now, we have received good reviews about the hospital administration and management, except for few instances. But, this is sad. This should not happen with anyone. I will get the information and act accordingly," said Dr Daksha Shah, deputy director of the BMC health department.

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In an attempt to prevent smuggling of liquor from neighbouring states during the lockdown, Maharashtra has sealed its borders with them and deployed adequate manpower at a dozen checkposts, an official said on Friday. The move by the excise department has come in the wake of lifting of certain coronavirus-induced curbs, which included allowing reopening of liquor shops. As the demand for alcohol has increased in Maharashtra, there is a possibility of liquor smuggling by inter-state organised syndicates, the official said.

Considering the threat from such syndicates, the excise department has deployed its flying squads and vigilance teams in districts located along the borders with neighbouring states, he said. To avoid any smuggling activity during this period, we have increased our vigil on 12 checkposts and sealed borders with adjoining states," he said. This will help in curbing illegal transportation of liquor or spirit, the official said. With the help of local police, the excise department has initiated action against persons involved in smuggling and transportation of liquor, he said.

Since the lockdown came into force in late March, at least 4,829 offences have been registered for illegal liquor transportation and 438 vehicles seized, he said. Besides, at least 2,104 persons have been arrested so far in such cases, the official said, adding liquor and other material worth Rs 12.63 crore have been seized since the shutdown.

The excise department has started a control room, where people can provide information related to illegal manufacturing or sale of liquor, he said.

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

With the cases of coronavirus continuing to surge in Mumbai, the Mumbai Police has been pulling all stops to ensure the safety of the people. The police department has been active not just in the public space but on social media with their public interest messages urging people to respect the lockdown and follow the precautions put in place by the government.

In their latest post on Twitter, the Mumbai Police has posted a series of posters used some of the famous musical bands’ names such as Backstreet Boys, Linkin Park, Oasis and U2 to make sure people follow the lockdown rules.  The police department urged their followers through slogan coined with puns asking people not to visit Linkin Park,  reminding ‘U2’ stay home and that your home is your ‘Oasis’.

The Mumbai Police said in the caption, “Stay indoors, for we are on the streets, playing your favourite safety tunes with our 'Band-o-bast'.

Stay indoors, for we are on the streets, playing your favourite safety tunes with our 'Band-o-bast'. #LockdownPerformance #TakingOnCorona pic.twitter.com/ejPW0Ofbfw

— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) May 7, 2020

The post shared on Thursday morning has garnered more than 1,900 likes and was retweeted 333 times. Users commenting on the post lauded the the police department’s creativity on their social media posts.

You guys have a great taste in music!

— Rudresh Solanki (@rudresh97) May 7, 2020

Huge respect to the person/group of people managing this account and showing his/their creativity even in this tough situation!!
Kudos to the team guys.
More recognition to you all.@MumbaiPolice @OfficeofUT

— Rishabh 🇮🇳 (@Rishabh4593) May 7, 2020

You always amaze with something 😍 new.. it's a pride to b a Mumbaikar and to be safe with Mumbai police 🙏

— roshan bangera (@roshbangera32) May 7, 2020

Creativity level genius 🔥

— Karen P (@Head_in_d_cloud) May 7, 2020

What do you think about this post?

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With the cases of Coronavirus continue to surge in the city, the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) has decided to suspend its operations from May 11 to 17.

The market committee has decided to shut all five markets, that include onion-potato markets, spices, fruits, vegetables and grains. The decision was made as cases among the market participants have been rising in spite of strict guidelines put in place to maintain social distance.

Navi Mumbai mayor Jaywant Sutar had urged the Maharashtra government to shut the APMC Market in a bid to stop the movement of people as many of the customers come from Mumbai to the travel to buy their stock of groceries.

The APMC Market in Vashi is the largest supplier of fruits, vegetables, grains and spices to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

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It will be interesting to see what happens after police action in the Bois Locker Room case. The Delhi police have booked members of this Instagram group.

A quick search will show that this online avenue had teenage boys exchanging morphed pictures, obscene content and casual references to sexual assaults and gang-rapes. The most disturbing part of this is that many of those references were to their female classmates.

Plenty has been written about action, blame games, threats and the police machinery doing its work, as it should. What is important now is how the accused families react, talk to their children and see that there is a true change in these youngsters.

There cannot be any excuses about what has been done. Parents must make that clear to their children and to themselves that this is wrong.

Now, the group members who have indulged in this will need talking to from family and from professionals, if need be. Let us not forget that this is a life-changing event for all involved.

There has to be intense, hard counselling for the boys involved. What should this be? Who needs to talk to them? Should teachers talk to them? Should one or two members of the family do it? Should professionals start counselling and continue for months? The accent should be that this is not just criminal but completely unacceptable. The shame should not come from police action alone, but the overarching realisation that this kind of talk is certainly not light-hearted but completely reprehensible.

The bigger effort is the acceptance of a gross mistake, no attempt to sweep anything under the carpet and a long, committed and concerted effort to see true transformation. Like the #metoo movement, it should be times-up for this kind of bois locker room talk.

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AMID allegations of mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis, the state has completely overhauled the top rung of the BMC by transferring civic chief Praveen Pardeshi and two others on Friday. Iqbal Singh Chahal replaces Pardeshi.

In addition to urban development, Pardeshi would also look after the water resources department. Pardeshi, a celebrated disaster management expert, who shot into limelight after managing the aftermath of the Latur earthquake very effectively as the collector, has been the most sought-after bureaucrat in planning relief and rehabilitation.

Ashwini Bhide too was waiting for a posting after her Metro III issue with Shiv Sena and a subsequent 'punishment' transfer. Along with many other IAS colleagues, she was deputed to the BMC for a special task after the Coronavirus break-out. She would now be a full-fledged empowered officer. Ex-Thane civic chief Sanjeev Jaiswal has also joined Bhide as an additional commissioner. He was waiting for a posting after leaving Thane where he served a record time.

Abasaheb Jarhad and Jayshree Bhoj, who were recently appointed in the BMC, have been shifted to make space for Bhide and Jaiswal. Two additional commissioners — P Velrasu and Suresh Kankani — have been spared.

Clashes in Mantralaya

Murmurs of clashes between Pardeshi and his political and administrative bosses in Mantralaya seemed to have proven right even as the opposition parties said on Friday that the Shiv Sena-led government was trying to find a scapegoat for covering the failure of the political set-up in Mumbai.

Sion hospital incident

Iqbal Singh Chahal

Since Mumbai's woes have been unending with the spread of the virus and the expose of BMC-run Sion hospital where bodies and patients were placed together in one ward and a COVID-19 patient's escape, made the government red-faced. Pardeshi and his team of additional commissioners, who were new to the city, invited criticism time and again. Sources said Pardeshi had several arguments with chief secretary Ajoy Mehta who preceded him as BMC chief. Pardeshi served as Devendra Fadnavis's principal secretary in the CMO before getting BMC chief's post in the previous political regime. Considering his seniority, he has also been in the reckoning for the CS office.

'Transfers no solution'

Jarhad replaced relief and rehabilitation secretary Kishorraje Nimbalkar who has been transferred as Public Works Department (PWD) secretary. Manoj Saunik will be an additional CS of the all-important finance department. He has been holding dual charge of PWD and finance. Bhoj has been sent to Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation as its managing director. Opposition leader in the legislative council Praveen Darekar said the government was masking its failure by finding scapegoats. "Transferring bureaucrats isn't the right approach to mend things. The government should be able to make good policies and make bureaucrats implement them," he said.

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