SAMBALPUR l sunday l november 22, 2020 l `8.00 l PAGES 24 l CITY EDITION tibet’s leader-in-exile visits White House, A first in 60 yrs The head of Tibetan government-in-exile Dr Lobsang Sangay visited the White House on Saturday and met US officials Dr Lobsang Sangay Robert Destro meets u.s. coordinator for Tibetan issues u.s. acknowledgment of govt-in-exile? Sangay, who is the President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), was invited to the White House to meet the newly-appointed US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Robert Destro. The move is likely to enrage China, which has already criticised Destro’s appointment, saying it amounted to political manipulation aimed at destabilising Tibet ■ ■ For the last 60 years, the head of CTA was not allowed to visit the White House as the US did not recognise the Tibet’s govt-in-exile Appointment of a Special Coordinator for Tibet and the US engagement with Sangay are being read as Washington tacitly lending legitimacy to the government-in-exile Sangay Had visited the U.S. state department last month CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI AIADMK & BJP will fight polls together What have the DMK and the Congress done for this country or Tamil Nadu when they were in power for 10 years? - Amit Shah, Union Home Minister THE alliance between BJP and AIADMK will continue for the upcoming Assembly elections, in which the battle will be between ‘dynasty’ and ‘development’. This was the message conveyed during Union Home Minister and BJP’s election strategist Amit Shah’s visit to the State, which was turned into a celebratory event by its ally the AIADMK. Chief Minis, ter Edappadi K Palaniswami got a high-octane start to his party’s election campaign, with the Home Minister terming TN the best-governed State in the country . Shah was accorded a grand welcome at the airport. Overwhelmed by the crowd that had gathered by the roadside on his way from the airport to hotel, Shah stepped out of his motorcade to interact with the public. Shortly afterwards, he declared open the Kannankottai-Thervoy Kandigai reservoir and laid the foundation for infrastructure projects worth `67,378 crore at an event held in Kalaivanar Arangam. Speaking here, Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said their party’s alliance with the BJP would continue for next elections. Amit Shah assured the Cen- long odds Trump’s bid to hang on to power weakens after twin blow E x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e In a major blow to US President Donald Trump’s efforts to hang on to the presidency , Michigan lawmakers from his own party said on Saturday they will not oppose the state certifying Joe Biden as the winner. Trump had met them at the White House and was expecting them to back his bid to overturn the election results in the state. “We have not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan,” the state’s Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and Speaker of the House L e e C h at field said in a joint statement after meeting Trump. Earlier in the day Georgia , had dealt another blow to Trump by certifying Biden as the state’s winner. “The numbers reflect the verdict of the people,” said Brad Raffensperger, the GOP secretary of state in Georgia. As of Saturday Biden has , 306 electoral votes and Trump 232. Trump has been waging a last-ditch effort to get leaders in Republican states to back his claims of electoral fraud and prevent them from certifying a Biden win.  p9 tre’s support for all the development schemes and welfare measures being implemented by the Palaniswami government. Shah also lauded the Tamil Nadu government’s Covid containment strategies and measures, which have brought down the case numbers by a substantial measure in the recent past. The State’s recovery rate at 97 per cent, Shah pointed out, was highest in the country. The Union Minister also did not miss the opportunity to train his guns on the DMK, which will be contesting for power in TN after 10 years. “The DMK would face rout in the elections, as only ‘democratic forces’ will prevail,” Shah said, while reminding the public about the 2G scam. “What has the DMK and the Congress done for this country or Tamil Nadu when they were in power for 10 years? Show the details of what you did in 10 years and let us have a public debate. I am ready to give accounts (of what NDA did for TN),” he added. Palaniswami thanked the Central government for restarting the economy, which went through a period of stagnation due to the pandemic and related restrictions, through multiple stimulus packages offered to various sectors. “In post- @ New Delhi (Above) Home Minister Amit Shah launches projects worth `67,378 crore in Chennai on Saturday. CM Palaniswami and Dy CM Panneerselvam are also seen; Shah waves at the crowd gathered outside the Chennai airport | p jawahar, debadatta mallick shah overwhelmed by crowd at airport Soon after leaving the airport, Union Home Minister Amit Shah sprang a surprise by breaking the protocol and getting out of his vehicle to greet his supporters. Later, at the State government function held in Kalaivanar Arangam, he sprang more surprises, by apologising for his inability to speak in Tamil. He also hailed the leadership of Palaniswami and Panneerselvam in the State’s development. Twist in Puri custodial death as House simmers for 2nd day E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar/Puri Even as the political storm over the alleged custodial death in Puri shows no sign of subsiding, the case took a new turn on Saturday with the police releasing a video claiming the family members of the victim K Ramesh had cremated his body at Swargadwar. Countering the allegations that the family members were not allowed by police to see the body of Ramesh after post-mortem or conduct the last rites, the office of the SP, Puri, posted a video footage on Twitter stating that the body of Ramesh was cremated by his family members including his father K Gurumurthy and uncle K Arya at Swargadwar after post mortem at the district headquarters hospital. In another development, while The government is protecting the IAS and IPS officials by punishing low ranking officials. The law and order situation has completely collapsed in the State Pradipta Naik, Leader of Opposition the relatives of the victim have alleged that his parents have been taken away by police, a separate video with a purported statement of Ramesh’s mother and father has begun doing the rounds in social media. The parents are shown to be stating that they are staying in a relative’s house to escape harassment by political leaders and mediapersons. Meanwhile, with the BJP latching on to the issue to corner the government, party national spokesperson Sambit Patra along with local MLA Jayant Kumar Sarangi, Brahmagiri MLA Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mahapatra and hundreds of workers staged a rally from Gundicha mandir to Collector office on Saturday Patra also met relatives of . Ramesh on the day . Speaking to mediapersons, Patra said he would fight till the guilty were punished and the family got justice. He demanded the police personnel involved should be booked for murder, `1 crore compensation to the bereaved family and an impartial investigation conducted by NHRC. The two custodial death incidents also continued to rock the Assembly for the second consecutive day with the BJP and Congress members demanding exemplary action against the erring police personnel. Members cutting across party lines also expressed concern over the police excesses and demanded corrective action. Covid economic recovery I am , happy to inform that Tamil Nadu stands second in the country in providing assistance under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme,” the Chief Minister said. “Public sector banks in the State have disbursed `6,980 crore so far.” In its endeavour to make Tamil Nadu a major investment destination, the State got Shah to inaugurate a slew of projects such as Phase-2 of the Chennai Metro Rail, an elevated highway along the Avinashi Road in Coimbatore, expansion of the Chennai Trade Centre, and a barrage across Cauvery . “Foundation has been laid for major infrastr ucture projects today,” pointed out Shah. The State also requested the Centre to approve its proposal to set up four industrial parks. After the event, Palaniswami and Panneerselvam held a 40-minute discussion with Shah at his hotel. express read Agitating Punjab farmers agree to let train movement Chandigarh: After two months of agitation, all 31 farmer bodies in Punjab on Saturday decided to lift rail blockade and allow movement of trains in the state from November 23. The decision was taken after Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh spoke to the agitating farmers.However, the farmers said they will resume protests after 15 days if the Centre does not withdraw the three contentious farm laws | P8 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Kid You Not issue. Sources said it was decided in the meeting that the government chief whip will bring a motion in the House for discussion. Raising the issue, leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Narasingha Mishra said that since education is a fundamental right for all, the State Vaccine status in India  Homegrown vaccine under phase 2/3 trial in India, one each by Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila  Developed outside but under phase 3 trial in India, one each by Oxford University-AstraZeneca (Indian partner SII) and Russia’s Gamaleya Institute (Indian partner Dr Reddy’s)  Biological E is latest vaccine maker to receive permission to test indigenous vaccine in humans  30 Total Covid-19 vaccines under preclinical/clinical trials in India  500 million Total doses expected by June-July, 2021  Vaccines likely to be available by JuneJuly next year  Serum Institute of India 35 million doses per month Cost $3 per dose  Bharat Biotech 300 million annual (as of now, to be scaled to 500 million) Cost undisclosed within four weeks. Storage of the Moderna vaccine, at -20, is difficult but not impossible. But the company has no immediate plans for distribution in India. Lastly, the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are expensive. While the final price is yet to be fixed, they could cost up to $20-37 per dose, which may be unaffordable for the national vaccination programme. This in effect means India will have to wait for its home grown vaccines such as the ones being developed by Bharat Biotech and Zydus, or those that are being developed here by Oxford’s AstraZeneca and Russia’s Sputnik V continued on: p7 . Five ‘tortured’ in Pipili PS, DGP orders probe Even before the heat over alleged custodial deaths at Puri and Birmitrapur in Sundargarh district could cool, a fresh instance of custodial torture has come to the fore in Pipili. Five youths who were allegedly tortured in Pipili police station have been admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack after sustaining serious injuries | p4 Postgraduate Ayurveda docs can now perform surgeries E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ New Delhi PLUS 12 PAGES CONTINUED ON : P5 government should immediately roll back its decision. Leader of Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik stated that the proposed merger of schools will create difficulties for students to attend classes as they will have to cover long distances from their homes. Responding to the concern shown by members, the Speaker directed the Minister of State for School and Mass Education Samir Ranjan Dash to make a statement in the House in this regard within two days. Outside the House, Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati threatened to commit suicide in front of the Speaker if the State News of the successful phase 3 clinical trials of the Covid-19 vaccines being developed by US biotech firms Moderna and Pfizer has cheered the world, but it may be a bit early for India to celebrate. Pfizer along with its German partner BioNTech has already applied for emergency use authorisation of its vaccine from the US drug regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, and if approved, it could be available for regulated use as early as next month. But, India may not stand to benefit much, at least in the near future, either from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or the one being developed by Moderna. This is because of three reasons. Firstly, a bulk of all the vaccines being developed, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna included, has been prebooked by rich countries, leaving low-income countries in the cold. Secondly, the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines need to be stored at extremely cold conditions, something the cold chains in India may not have the capacity to do. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate needs to be stored at -70 degree Celsius, which is impractical in India, while the one by Moderna requires to be kept at -20 degree Celsius. In India, most vaccines under the National Immunisation Programme, except the polio and rotavirus vaccines, need to be stored at 2-8 degree Celsius. The polio vaccine needs to be stored at -20 but once opened it can be simply refrigerated and used how many, how much Vaccine Annual Premaker capacity booked Price Moderna 500m-1b 78% $32-37 doses Pfizer 500m 70% $20 -BioNTech -800m AstraZeneca- 1.2b 80% $3-5 Oxford-SII Sputnik V 1.2b NA NA Johnson 1b NA $10 &Johnson W I T H T H I S I SS U E Govt faces heat over closure of schools THE State government’s decision to close down nearly 14,000 schools sparked off a furore in the Assembly on Saturday with the Opposition members creating a ruckus, demanding its immediate roll back. The proceedings of the House had to be adjourned several times by Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro during both pre and post lunch sessions as the members rushed into the well shouting slogans. As the House could not be run due to the noisy scenes, the Speaker convened an all party meeting to resolve the Moderna, Pfizer vaccines could fizzle out for India S u m i S u k a n ya D u t ta Amit Shah takes a jibe at the Opposition; says only ‘democratic forces’ will prevail T M u r u g a n a ndh a m @ Chennai wait and watch government did not roll back its decision. The School and Mass Education Minister, however, rejected the Opposition allegation that the government has decided to close 14,000 schools. “The fact is that the School and Mass Education Department has begun the process to close down 7,772 primary and upper primary schools and the Chief Minister will take a final call on the matter,” he said. Stating that the intention is not to harass the students by closing down schools, the Minister said that the government is committed to provide quality education. Postgraduate de g ree holders of Ayurveda can now perform orthopaedic, ophthalmology, dental and ENT procedures as well as surgeries, besides general surgery. The Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) said in a gazette notification that those holding masters in Ayurveda will get formal training for such procedures and surgeries, hitherto done only by practitioners of moder n medicine. The CCIM amended Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations 2016, to allow the PG students of Ayurveda medicine to practise general surgery. The Act has also been renamed Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Amend- ment Regulations, 2020. The training modules for surgical procedures will be added to the curriculum of Ayurvedic studies. The gazette notification says the students will be trained in two streams of surgery and would be awarded titles of MS (Ayurved) Shalya Tantra (general surgery) and MS (Ayurved) Shalakya Tantra (diseases o f e ye, e a r, n o s e, throat, head and orodentistry). The development indicates the growing emphasis on traditional medicine under the Narendra Modi government. The Indian Medical Association, the largest body of private doctors in India, has been openly opposing policy moves by the Centre to mix modern medicine with the traditional systems of ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha, and homoeopathy (AYUSH).