eye MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899 THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE HOW TO SURVIVE A SCOURGE MUMBAI,LATECITY FEBRUARY21,2021 A look back at the chequered history of smallpox vaccination in colonial India PAGES 13, 14 ,15 16PAGES,`5.00 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM FARM LAWS DEADLOCK Extending 18-month hold on farm laws to 24 could be way out, says Punjab CM P7 RITU SARIN CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 20 EXTENDING THE pause on the farm laws from 18 to 24 months could be one possible way out of the impasse as farmers have to return to their fields for the wheat harvest next month, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said here Saturday. In an interview to The Indian THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW AMARINDER SINGH CHIEF MINISTER, PUNJAB Express , Singh said a protracted standoff hasserioussecurity implications given the inflow of weapons into Punjab since the agitation began, an issue that he had flagged to Union Home Minister Amit Shah when they met last December. The Chief Minister said that while he had not intervened directly in the matter with Central leaders in New Delhi, his “sense” was that an extended period for CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Disha Ravi says difference of opinion not sedition, judge questions police on evidence ANAND MOHAN J NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20 ADELHIcourtSaturdayreserved its order for February 23 on the bail application of activist Disha Ravi,arrestedinconnectionwith a toolkit on the farmer protests Her lawyer: If I prefer Kung Fu to Yoga, I am a Chinese spy?’ thatwastweetedbySwedishactivist Greta Thunberg. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Trains being sanitised in Thane, Saturday. Deepak Joshi Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, MP & Chhattisgarh see Covid uptick KAUNAIN SHERIFF M NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20 Pullback from Depsang, Hot Springs, Gogra on table as India, China talk ` 60 per kilo ` 88 per kilo ` 106 per kilo ` 62 per Dozen MAHARASHTRA CURFEWIN AMRAVATI, AKOLA, WARDHA DISTRICTS TO CONTAINCOVID CASES PAGE 4 SUNDAY STORY Meeting at Moldo held after Pangong disengagement, Indian side also raises issue of Demchok grazing rights DEEPTIMAN TIWARY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20 INDIAN AND Chinese commanders sat across the table Saturday to discuss pullback of troopsfromthefrictionpointsat Hot Springs, Gogra Post and Depsang Plains in Ladakh followingcompletionof disengagement and restoration of status quo ante on the north and south banks of Pangong Tso. The Corps Commander-level talks began at 10 am Saturday at the Moldo border point facing Chushul. The talks, sources said, areexpectedtocontinuelateinto the night. The Indian delegation is being led by Lt General PGK Menon, Commander of the Lehbased XIV Corps, while South Xinjiang Military District Commander, Major General Liu Lin, is heading the PLA team. InHotSpringsandGograPost areas, Chinese and Indiantroops are still in a faceoff, nine months after the military standoff began in May 2020. Disengagement of troopsinthesetwoareaswasattempted last July but Chinese re- luctancetocompletetheprocess led to a stalemate. In the Depsang Plains in the far north, Chinese troops have been blocking Indian soldiers at a place called the Bottleneck, preventing themfromaccessing theirtraditionalpatrollingpoints PP10, PP11, PP11A, PP12 and PP13. Depsang Plains is close to the strategic Indian base at Daulat Beg Oldie, near the Karakoram Pass. At the talks, the Indian side is also learnt to have broached the subject of grazing rights of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The Road by the Sea The Coastal Road project, with its undersea road and reclaimed land, promises to change the face of the Mumbai coast. PAGE10 WHILE 18 STATES didn't report any Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours and the national positivity rate — nowat 5.22 per cent —hasbeenshowingasteadydecline over the last 13 days, there isaspotof worry:fivestateshave been reporting an upsurge in daily cases, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday. The rise in the number of cases in Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh comes in the backdrop of five persons, who returned recently to India, being detected with the infectious Covid-19variantsfoundinSouth Africa and Brazil. Over the last 24 hours, Maharashtra contributed the highestnumberofdailynewcases in the country — 6,112, almost twicethe3,611casesitreporteda weekago,onFebruary14. E E X P L A I NE D Flags security threat, says arrest of activists absurd ● Needfor vigil THE UPSURGE in cases in five states comes in the backdrop of infectious variants of the virus being reported. Though there is no evidence to link the new cases to the new variants, vigil is critical. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Bengaluru court grants Mumbai police custody of gangster Ravi Pujari SAGAR RAJPUT MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 20 IN A hard-fought battle, the Mumbai police have finally managedtogainsuccessinseeking the custody of gangster Ravi Pujari, who is wanted in more than 49 cases in the city. The or- don’t bother for scars any more. To get blemish free skin use NO SCARS. It helps to reduce and remove, scars and marks. 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