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EYE on INDIA February 26, 2021 | The Indian Eye 14

mool Congress (TMC) in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee in Kolkata.

srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir)

Plays resume in Valley, offer

relief to actors, theatre lovers

heatre plays have resumed in Kashmir providing entertain-
ment to art lovers in the state, after months of pandemic-in-
Tduced shutdown.
Plays in the Valley are mainly organized by Actors Creative The-
atre (ACT) in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Acad-
emy of Art Culture and Languages (JKAACL). With Kashmir re-
ceiving heavy snowfall combined with the threat of the spread of
Covid, cultural activities including theatres have been at a stand- Army jawans take positions near encounter site in Shalgul forests
still. at Srigufwara, in Anantnag district on Wednesday. (ANI)
Tagore Hall in Srinagar has opened up its venue for plays, pro-
viding relief to both artistes as well as theatre lovers who have been not see that much of mutation happening as one would have seen
trooping in from different parts of the Valley to watch. otherwise,” he said.
Most of them who arrived to watch said they were happy to The total number of COVID-19 cases in India stands at
meet their friends after a long time. 1,10,30,176 and the active cases tally is 1,46,907.
Mushtaque Ali Ahmad Khan Chairman of Actors Creative While as many as 1,56,567 deaths have been reported, a total of
Theatre said, “ A full-length play can have a duration up to two 1,07,26,702 people have been discharged.
hours. It requires a lot of dedication and rehearsal. The children
who acted in our play were freshers and they were speculative of
doing full-length plays.” sikar (rajasthan)
“So we did 12 small plays of 15 minutes duration over the last
three days. The children who acted in the plays did an exceptional Tikait demands an agri
performance. I could see their confidence boosted after the suc-
cessful conduct of the play. Now they are eager to do a full-length research centre in Parliament
play,” Khan said.
haratiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on
Wednesday demanded establishment of a agriculture re-
new delhi Bsearch centre in the Parliament premises so that rates of

Herd immunity by natural crops can be determined.
“The government dispels the Swaminathan report and thinks
that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) that is being asked for
infection very difficult is too much. Why not establish an agriculture research centre in
the Parliament premises, grow crops there and decide their rates
ero surveillance data has shown that only around 20 to 25 according to profit and loss after harvesting?” Tikait told ANI. The
per cent of individuals across the country have positive an- BKU leader also said with this farmers’ protest, political parties
Stibodies, so herd immunity by natural infection is very diffi- will now have to include farmer welfare in all elections and will
cult to achieve, according to All India Institute of Medical Scienc- have to address farmers’ issues.
es (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria. “If we are looking at herd Earlier, Tikait had threatened the Centre that if the three newly
immunity by natural infection, that will be very Galleria difficult enacted farm laws are not repealed, the farmers will march to the
and it is unlikely that we will able to achieve that because the sero Parliament with 40 lakh tractors.
surveillance data shows only around 20 to 25 per cent individual Speaking at a farmers’ rally in Sikar in Rajasthan, Tikait said,
nationally have positive antibodies so it would be very difficult,” “Our next call will be for a march to Parliament. We will tell them
Dr Guleria said. before marching. This time it won’t be just 4 lakh tractors but 40
“We know that people with mild infections tend to gain anti- lakh tractors will go there if farm laws are not taken back.”
bodies over time. One way of having a good amount of people who Tikait also demanded that a new law should be enacted ensur-
have some immunity is vaccination. If we are able to vaccinate a ing minimum support price for farmers.
large number of individuals we will have a good mass of people This comes weeks after the violence that broke out in the na-
who are protected or immune and that will be very useful,” the tional capital on January 26 during the farmers’ tractor rally.
AIIMS director added. Farmer groups protesting against the Centre’s agricultural laws
Once less number of cases is reported in any setup, the chances strayed from the prearranged route and broke barricades to enter
of mutation occurring become less, Guleria said. Delhi. They clashed with the police and vandalized property in sev-
“Mutation happens because of more and more replication. If eral parts of the national capital.
we can keep our cases down or allow them to further fall, we will (with ANI reports)

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