| 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 safe. India past COVID-19 peak, says Science Ministry panel India passed its COVID-19 peak in September and, if current trends continue, there will be "minimal cases" by February. These are the findings of a modelling study by a seven-member expert panel on the future course of the pandemic, which was commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology. According to the study, India's COVID burden is expected to be capped at 106 lakh symptomatic infections by early next year, with less than 50,000 active cases from December. There are 74 lakh confirmed cases as of Sunday, of which about 7,80,000 are active infections. This, however, is premised on no spikes triggered by festivals or mutations in the virus aiding its spread in winter. 'Second wave possible in winter' Meanwhile, Niti Aayog member V.K. Paul who is also the chief of an expert panel coordinating efforts to tackle the pandemic in the country, in an interview to PTI said that while cases and deaths have declined in most States he could not rule out the possibility of a second wave of infections in the winter season. "In India, the new coronavirus cases and number of deaths have declined in the last three weeks and the pandemic has stabilised in most of the States. "However, there are five States (Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal) and 3-4 Union Territories (UTs), where there is still a rising trend," Dr. Paul said. According to him, India is in a somewhat better position now but the country still has a long way to go because 90 per cent of the people are still susceptible to coronavirus infections. Health Minister says Kerala paying price for 'gross negligence' during Onam With Kerala witnessing a spike in coronavirus infections recently, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said the State was paying the "price for gross negligence" during Onam festivities when unlocking of services along with an increase in travel for trade and tourism led to the spread of Covid-19. The Minister said this ought to serve as a good lesson for all the State governments that were being negligent in planning for the festival season. Kerala's COVID-19 tally has crossed 3.3 lakh while the toll climbed to 1,139 on Saturday. Prior to Onam (August 22), the State had reported around 54,000 cases, while the death toll was nearly 200.  Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan during the 'Sunday Samvaad' in New Delhi on October 18, 2020. Twitter/@drharshvardhan During an interaction with his social media followers on the sixth episode 'Sunday Samvaad', Dr. Vardhan reiterated his request to everyone to celebrate festivals at home with their loved ones in the traditional way to ward off the risk of COVID-19 infection. "This festive season, charity must take precedence over celebrations. My own celebrations too shall remain subdued due to the heart-rending impact of COVID-19 on lakhs of corona warriors across the world battling for us," the Minister stated. Covid regulations breached in Bihar campaigns India's first full fledged Assembly elections held amid the Covid-19 pandemic is under way in Bihar, and the Election Commission of India (ECi) guidelines for campaigning are clearly only being observed in breach, The Hindu's political editor Nistula Hebbar reports. In indoor public meetings where the crowd is not to exceed 200 and social distancing of at least six feet is expected in rallies, the rules are visibly being violated. In Chapra, at a Janata Dal (United) meeting held by candidate Chandrika Rai (ex-father-in-law of Tej Pratap Yadav), the rally stage itself collapsed as there were too many people atop it. In Gaya, the local administration has lodged an FIR against organisers of an event where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president J.P. Nadda was present for violating social distancing norms. When Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders Tejaswi and Tej Pratap Yadav filed their nomination papers, they too took out a mini-road show violating norms. Politically, social distancing violation has become an equal opportunity infraction.  A crowd gathers near an election campaign vehicle outside the BJP office in Patna on September 2, 2020. Some of it, say party leaders, is due to the fact that for long elections have been a participative event not just on polling day but during campaigns too. Big shows of strength with a large turnout are par for the course while filing nominations, and public rallies. The EC's rules allowing only a handful of people in these events is a culture shock yet to be adapted to. "The Election Commission has set proper guidelines, although yes, they are being observed more in breach as we as a society experience elections as a festival with high participation," said BJP prabhari for Bihar polls Devendra Fadnavis when he spoke to The Hindu during a sit down interview. Pollution problem cannot be resolved in a day: Environment Minister Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday said the pollution problem cannot be resolved in a day and continuous efforts are needed to tackle each of the contributing factors. Interacting with people during a Facebook Live event, he said the major factors behind air pollution in the country are traffic, industries, waste, dust, stubble, geography and meteorology.  Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar addresses a press conference, in New Delhi. File "The pollution problem cannot be resolved in one day. Continuous efforts needed to tackle each contributing factor," the Minister said. Mr. Javadekar said e-vehicles are becoming popular and more than two lakh e-vehicles are being used in India currently. "I myself use an e-vehicle. I charge it at my home. I also drive an e-scooty." The Minister said the number of "bad air days" has reduced from 250 in 2016 to 180 in 2020. He said people have a big role to play in tackling air pollution and urged them to download 'Sameer' mobile application of the Central Pollution Control Board for monitoring pollution levels in different cities. Covid watch - Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India has crossed 7.5 million and stands at 75,46,351 at the time of publishing this newsletter with the death toll at 1,14,627. In Brief: After a four-day lull, fresh rains began on Sunday, lashing Kalaburagi district that was already reeling under heavy floods as the River Bhim was overflowing. The rains began at about 2.45 pm and its spread and effect are yet to be known. The water level in Bhima has risen as the inflow and outflow at Sonna Barrage rose from 8 lakh cusecs on Saturday to 8.5 lakh cusecs on Sunday. Deputy Commissioner Vijaya Jyothsna, Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Panchayat Dr. P. Raja, Additional Commissioner of Public Instruction Nalin Atul visited the Sonna Barrage and other flood-hit areas and took stock of the situation. The bowling action of Kolkata Knight Riders' offspinner Sunil Narine has been cleared by the Indian Premier League and he was removed from its suspect action warning list. Kolkata had requested an official assessment of Narine's bowling action after his name was put on the IPL warning list. The offspinner could have continued playing in the league but since October 10 hasn't featured in any Kolkata game as a precautionary step taken by his franchise. "The committee carefully reviewed all the deliveries of action footage sent of Mr Narine with the naked eye and has come to the conclusion that the elbow-bend appears to be within the range of permissible limits," the IPL said in the statement. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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