Tamil Nadu’s U-turn on lockdown

The Hindu Newsletter - Monday 15, June 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the big news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying home and staying safe. Here are the big stories that you need to follow today: Tamil Nadu’s U-turn on lockdown A couple of days after informing the Madras High Court that the state government had no plans of introducing another period of intensified lockdown, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has gone ahead and done just that. There will be a 12-day complete lockdown in Chennai and certain parts of Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts between June 19 and 30. Essential services, however, will function unimpeded during this period. Palaniswami’s announcement followed recommendations by public health and medical experts and a discussion in the Cabinet meeting held this afternoon. He said that on June 21 and 28 (Sundays), no relaxations would be offered. Only milk supply and access to medical facilities will be available on those two days. In our last edition of Evening Wrap (Friday, June 12), we had linked this story to an analysis by The Hindu’s Tamil Nadu bureau chief Ramya Kannan on why another period of lockdown may not really help. At the risk of repeating ourselves, here is her reasoning again: “[A lockdown has certain limited, albeit important purpose]( — it slows down the transmission in order to help health systems gear up to meet the upcoming demands on healthcare facilities. Global experience shows that a lockdown does not spell the end of the epidemic, it only postpones the inevitable — a rise in the number of cases.” Indian staffers go missing in Islamabad Two Indian High Commission staffers in Pakistan have gone missing and the matter has been raised with Pakistan authorities, defence sources said on Monday. “One vehicle with two Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) drivers had gone out for duty but did not reach the destination,” defence sources said. Pakistani media reported that two Indian staffers were arrested by Pakistani authorities for their alleged involvement in a “hit and run accident”. Official sources said the Pakistan charge d’affaires (CDA) was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs and a demarche was issued to him over the reported arrest of the two officials. In the demarche, it was made clear to the Pakistani CDA that there should be no interrogation or harassment of the Indian officials and the responsibility for their safety and security lay squarely with the Pakistani authorities. The sources said the Pakistan side was asked to return the two officials along with the official car to the High Commission immediately. Earlier this month, India had expelled two officials of the Pakistani High Commission after accusing them of espionage. India-Nepal and ‘roti-beti vyavahar’ [Rajnath Singh. File.] Rajnath Singh. File. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the differences between India and Nepal triggered by the [construction of the Lipulekh-Dharchula road]( would be resolved through talks. Observing that India-Nepal relations went beyond mere geographical or political ties, he said the two countries shared spiritual connections and a “roti-beti vyavahar” (consanguinity and inter-dining, a sociological term to describe close kinship relations). Singh was addressing the Uttarakhand unit of the BJP as part of a series of Jan Samvad virtual rallies organised by the party. He began by speaking about how the construction of the Lipulekh-Dharchula road would reduce the Kailash Mansarovar yatra by six days. Rahul attacks lockdown strategy, again [Rahul Gandhi. File. ] Rahul Gandhi. File. Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meetings with Chief Ministers on Tuesday and Wednesday to decide the roadmap for India’s future [Covid-19]( strategy, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday targeted the government over the previous stages of the [lockdown](. Gandhi took to Twitter and quoted scientist Albert Einstein to attack the government. “This lock down proves that ‘The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance’ -- Albert Einstein,” the former Congress chief tweeted, tagging a video graphic that showed the lockdown flattening the wrong curve (the economy), while the curve representing Covid-19 deaths keeps shooting upward. Talks underway in Galwan area [Uneasy calm: The Pangong Lake in Leh district of Ladakh, one of the points of friction. ] Uneasy calm: The Pangong Lake in Leh district of Ladakh, one of the points of friction. Talks are underway between India and China at the Brigade Commander and Commanding Officer (CO) level in the [Galwan area of Eastern Ladakh,](defence sources said today. The discussions are focused on de-escalation at Patrolling Points (PP) 14 and 17A, the sources said. Ground-level military talks were on regularly to resolve the stand-off and it was an incremental process, they added. So far both sides have held [five rounds of Major General-level talks](, of which two rounds happened last week after the Corps Commander level talks on June 6. There have also been a series of talks at the Brigadier and Colonel levels. Meanwhile, the limited “disengagement” agreed upon by both sides was underway, the sources added. Covid Watch: Numbers and developments The number of coronavirus cases in the country stood at 3,37,304 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 9,650. A [data analysis]( by The Hindu shows that India’s rise in cases is the third highest globally. Meanwhile, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has distanced itself [from a study which showed that the peak stage of Covid-19 in India would arrive in November](. That’s also the time when a paucity of isolation and ICU beds and ventilators could arise, the study noted. The ICMR tweeted today that the report was non-peer reviewed and does not reflect the official position of the ICMR. In Brief: [This is the ninth daily increase in petrol and diesel rates in a row since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus.] This is the ninth daily increase in petrol and diesel rates in a row since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus. State-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) increased the price of petrol and diesel for the ninth consecutive day on Monday, making the price of sensitive petroleum products highest since October 2018, when global crude oil prices were at a record high. The price of petrol was hiked by 46 paise a litre while that of diesel by 59 paise a litre today. Wholesale prices in the country witnessed a deflation of 3.21% in May due to sharp decline in prices of fuel and power, even as food articles turned expensive. “The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at (-) 3.21%(provisional) for May 2020 as compared to 2.79% during the corresponding month of the previous year,” the Commerce and industry Ministry said in a statement. In what has been hailed as a landmark judgement, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act that bars sex discrimination in the workplace also protects LGBTQ employees from job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgender status. This is widely seen as a huge victory of LGBTQ rights in the U.S. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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