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A large group of men claim- ing to be local residents clashed with protesting farm- ers at Singhu border on Friday, triggering chaos resulting in the Delhi Police resorting to firing tear gas shells and baton charge to break up warring groups. The protesters hurled stones at each other at the site. Delhi Police SHO (Alipur) Pradeep Paliwal sustained severe injuries in the violence after a man attacked him with a sword, an official said, adding that several other protesters and policemen sustained injuries during the clashes. Police said they have arrested accused Ranveer Singh, a res- ident of Punjab, who attacked the SHO. “SHO Alipur, Delhi, inter- vened between rioting pro- testers (MKSC faction) and local Singhu villagers, who had gone to register their protest against the happenings on Republic Day-2021 and con- tinued loss of ordinary liveli- hood for over two months,” the Delhi Police said in a tweet. In another tweet, police said, “This is how the SHO was assaulted; he has suffered griev- ous injuries on his hand. Peace has been restored. Legal action is being initiated.” The group claiming to be locals demanded that the farm- ers vacate the Singhu border, one of the main protest sites around the Capital, alleging that the protesting farmers had “insulted” the national flag during their tractor parade on Republic Day. Armed with sticks, the group of locals reached the site and asked the farmers to leave while raising slogans against them. The protesters at the Singhu border, much of which is barred for entry from out- side, came out in large numbers to resist the locals. However, they were promptly stopped by farmer union volunteers which helped the situation from turning ugly. “They are not locals, but hired goons. They were throw- ing stones, petrol bombs at us. They attempted to burn down our trolleys also. We are here to resist them. We won’t leave the place,” said Harkirat Mann Beniwal, 21, from Punjab’s Khana district. Thousands of protesting farmers had clashed with the police during the tractor rally called by farmer unions on January 26 to highlight their demand for repeal of the Centre’s three farm laws. Many of the protesters, driving trac- tors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument. Some protesters even hoist- ed a religious flag and a kisan union flag on its domes and the flagstaff at the ramparts, where the national flag is unfurled by the Prime Minister on Independence Day. A mid boycott by the Opposition of his address to the joint session of Parliament, President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday announced that the Government would respect the Supreme Court’s decision to suspend three farm reform laws and claimed that the laws have “given new rights” to the farmers. He regretted violence and “disrespect to tricolour” on the Republic Day saying right to freedom of expression goes hand in hand with the Constitutional duty to follow the rule of law. As many as 16 Opposition parties, including the Congress and its allies, Left parties, the Trinamool Congress as well as the AAP, the SAD and the BSP boycotted the address, protest- ing Government’s handling of farmers’ protest. Reading the customary Government statement in the joint session of Parliament, marking the beginning of the Budget Session, the President spoke about border escalation along Line of Actual Control (LAC) saying “additional forces have also been deployed to pro- tect India’s sovereignty over the LAC” and that the Government was “committed and alert” towards protecting the country and the Army was prepared. He said that in June 2020, 20 of our soldiers made their supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley to protect the motherland. “Every country- man is grateful to these mar- tyrs,” the President said. In his address, he also talked about a new beginning in Jammu & Kashmir saying the Union Territories con- ducted local bodies polls, first since independence, and J&K is “moving towards a new free- dom”. In the middle of President’s address, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) MP Hanuman Beniwal showed a placard and raised slogans, demanding the repeal of the three agriculture laws. SAD party president Sukhbir Singh Badal along with other party members held placards on the Parliament premises. Against the backdrop of the farmers’ agitation for the complete roll-back of three farm reform laws, the President said 10 crore small farmers were immediate beneficiaries of reform laws. “The biggest benefit of these agricultural reforms also started getting to more than 10 crore small farmers immedi- ately. Many political parties had given full support to these reforms from time to time only after realising these ben- efits to small farmers,” he said. The President further said “at present, the implementation of these laws has been post- poned by the country’s highest court. My government will respect and follow the Supreme Court’s decision in full respect.” Referring to the violence on January 26, during “tractor rally”, Kovind said the “insult” to tricolour on the “holy day” of Republic Day “is very unfor- tunate.” He said, “The Constitution which gives us the right to free- dom of expression, the same Constitution teaches us that law and rule should be followed equally seriously.” I ndia’s economy is set to wit- ness a V-shaped recovery as the country’s growth engine is back on track after a coron- avirus-led slowdown, the Pre- Budget Economic Survey said on Friday. The economy may see an 11 per cent growth in the next financial year, while Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could see a contraction of 7.7 per cent in the current fiscal ending March 31, 2021. India witnessed its last annual con- traction of 5.2 per cent in the fiscal year 1979-80. Amid farmers’ protests which entered the 64 days over the farm laws, the Economic Survey termed the three agri- cultural reform laws as a “rem- edy”, building a case for its acceptance among the farm community that has strongly opposed it. According to the survey, the agricultural reforms would enable farmers to sell where they get the “best deal” and thereby, allow competition, an essential condition for the wel- fare for the small farmer. The Economic Survey said that the Centre’s recent reforms in the agricultural markets will enable the creation of “One India, One market” and offer more opportunities to farmers. At the same time, services, manufacturing and construc- tion were most hit by the lock- down that was imposed to curb the outbreak of the Covid- 19 pandemic. “After an estimated 7.7 per cent pandemic-driven con- traction in 2020-21, India’s real GDP is projected to record a growth of 11.0 per cent in 2021-22 and nominal GDP by 15.4 per cent. These conserv- ative estimates reflect upside potential that can manifest due to the continued normalisation in economic activities as the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines gathers traction,” the survey said. The growth will further be supported by supply-side push from reforms and easing of reg- ulations, push for infrastruc- tural investments, boost to manufacturing sector through the Productivity Linked Incentive Schemes, recovery of pent-up demand for services sector, increase in discretionary consumption subsequent to roll-out of the vaccine and pick up in credit given adequate liquidity and low-interest rates, it said. I ndia has scored near the bottom of a Covid-19 per- formance index where almost 100 countries were profiled for their response to the pan- demic that has swept the world. The Lowy Institute pub- lished its index on Thursday and New Zealand, Vietnam, and Taiwan appeared as the top three countries with the best worldwide handling of the cri- sis. Meanwhile, Britain, Brazil, and the US ranked among the bottom. Overall, countries in the Asia-Pacific did a better job at controlling the pandemic while Europe and the US were “quickly overwhelmed.” China was excluded from the list as the Lowy Institute cited a lack of credible public data. An independent think tank based in Australia, the Lowy Institute looked at how coun- tries with publicly available and comparable data on coro- navirus managed the pandem- ic to date following their hun- dredth case. The report has come at a time when India’s latest tally of the coronavirus disease (Covid- 19) is 10,720,048 as on Friday. The number of recoveries from the disease is closing in on the 1.04 crore mark, as 20,746 new discharges took total recovered cases to 10,394,352. Chandigarh: Actor-turned- activist Deep Sidhu, who has been booked in connection with the religious flag inci- dent at Red Fort, has said he needs some time to bring out the truth and will then join the investigation. The 36- year-old Sidhu is in the eye of a storm for being among the protesters who put up a reli- gious flag atop the Red Fort on Republic Day. G hazipur border on Friday witnessed a surge of crowd as around 1,000 farmers from western Uttar Pradesh joined the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) members who have stayed put on at the UP Gate to demand the repeal of agri laws. Notwithstanding the Ghaziabad administration’s ultimatum to the protesters to vacate the UP Gate protest site, more farmers from west- ern Uttar Pradesh districts such as Meerut, Baghpat, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Moradabad and Bulandshahr reached the UP Gate early morning to join the stir fol- lowing an emotional appeal by BKU leader Rakesh Tikait. The crowd of protesters that had reduced to 500 on Thursday night has now again increased with around 1,000 farmers joining the stir. Flanked by supporters, Tikait remained at the cen- trestage of the protest site on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, which has been barricaded from both sides, prohibiting regular traffic movement. However, extra security forces deployed at the protest site have been sent back. Several farmers from parts of Haryana have also decided to move towards Delhi borders to join the ongoing agitation against agri laws and held protests against lookout notices to peasant leaders and the Ghaziabad administration’s ultimatum to vacate protest site. T ens of thousands of farm- ers gathered in Muzaffarnagar town on Friday to attend a mahapan- chayat in support of the Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre’s new farm laws in Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border. A day after BKU leader Rakesh Tikait broke down at Ghazipur and tension spi- ralled amid fears that the farmers who had been camp- ing there for two months would be forcibly removed by the local admin- istration, all roads in western Uttar Pradesh it seemed led to Muzaffarnagar. S cientists at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology at Hyderabad said that they have found a different variant of SARS-CoV-2 in southern parts of the country. Rakesh Mishra, director of CCMB, said the different variant (N440K) appears to be milder than the existing one and the institute is stepping up research on it to ascertain its prevalence in the country. The findings came amid the concerns of a mutated vari- ant of SARS-CoV-2 found in the UK recently. “It is not a new variant that we found. It is N440 K. It is a different variant. This is there for some time. This N440K was a very small number in September and October last year. Now it looks like it is get- ting a much bigger proportion. No symptoms issues with N440K,” Mishra told agencies. “Either this (the different variant) has become normal or the earlier one became weaker. But certainly symptom wise if it is not equal, it (the different one) is milder. We don’t have enough data as of now. We are accelerating... I think in the coming days we will do large- scale sequencing,” he explained. He said the variant is seen in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh among other southern States and scientists have no sufficient data to prove its exis- tence in other parts of the country. Mishra said the CCMB did not see any increased num- ber of cases or symptoms with this variant of the virus. S ecurity apparatus in the highly sensitive Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone went into a spin after an improvised explo- sive device (IED) went off near the Israeli embassy situated at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road in New Delhi on Friday evening. Police said while no person was injured, some cars were dam- aged in the blast. A letter addressed to Israeli Ambassador to India was recovered from near the blast site. The blast took place at the pavement opposite Jindal House which is three bunga- lows away from the Israeli embassy. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi and assured him of “fullest pro- tection” to the jews nation’s diplomats and its mission. I n the first encounter of 2021, three local terrorists belong- ing to the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist outfit were eliminated by the joint team of the security forces in Mandoora Tral area of Awantipora on Friday. Meanwhile, soon after the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar briefed the media about the first encounter, another encounter of the day was launched by the security forces in Lelhar area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday.

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Page 1: % 1 % %8 - The Pioneer

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Alarge group of men claim-ing to be local residents

clashed with protesting farm-ers at Singhu border on Friday,triggering chaos resulting in theDelhi Police resorting to firingtear gas shells and baton chargeto break up warring groups.

The protesters hurledstones at each other at the site.

Delhi Police SHO (Alipur)Pradeep Paliwal sustainedsevere injuries in the violenceafter a man attacked him witha sword, an official said, addingthat several other protestersand policemen sustainedinjuries during the clashes.Police said they have arrestedaccused Ranveer Singh, a res-ident of Punjab, who attackedthe SHO.

“SHO Alipur, Delhi, inter-vened between rioting pro-testers (MKSC faction) andlocal Singhu villagers, who hadgone to register their protestagainst the happenings onRepublic Day-2021 and con-tinued loss of ordinary liveli-hood for over two months,” theDelhi Police said in a tweet.

In another tweet, policesaid, “This is how the SHO wasassaulted; he has suffered griev-ous injuries on his hand. Peacehas been restored. Legal actionis being initiated.”

The group claiming to belocals demanded that the farm-ers vacate the Singhu border,one of the main protest sitesaround the Capital, allegingthat the protesting farmers had“insulted” the national flagduring their tractor parade on

Republic Day.Armed with sticks, the

group of locals reached the siteand asked the farmers to leave

while raising slogans againstthem.

The protesters at theSinghu border, much of which

is barred for entry from out-side, came out in large numbers

to resist the locals.However, they were

promptly stopped by farmerunion volunteers which helpedthe situation from turning ugly.

“They are not locals, buthired goons. They were throw-ing stones, petrol bombs at us.They attempted to burn downour trolleys also. We are here toresist them. We won’t leave theplace,” said Harkirat MannBeniwal, 21, from Punjab’sKhana district.

Thousands of protestingfarmers had clashed with thepolice during the tractor rallycalled by farmer unions onJanuary 26 to highlight theirdemand for repeal of theCentre’s three farm laws. Manyof the protesters, driving trac-tors, reached the Red Fort andentered the monument.

Some protesters even hoist-ed a religious flag and a kisanunion flag on its domes and theflagstaff at the ramparts, wherethe national flag is unfurled bythe Prime Minister onIndependence Day.

����� +,-��,./0

Amid boycott by theOpposition of his address

to the joint session ofParliament, President RamNath Kovind on Fridayannounced that theGovernment would respect theSupreme Court’s decision tosuspend three farm reformlaws and claimed that the lawshave “given new rights” to thefarmers.

He regretted violence and“disrespect to tricolour” onthe Republic Day saying rightto freedom of expression goeshand in hand with theConstitutional duty to followthe rule of law.

As many as 16 Oppositionparties, including the Congressand its allies, Left parties, theTrinamool Congress as well asthe AAP, the SAD and the BSPboycotted the address, protest-ing Government’s handling offarmers’ protest.

Reading the customaryGovernment statement in thejoint session of Parliament,marking the beginning of theBudget Session, the Presidentspoke about border escalationalong Line of Actual Control(LAC) saying “additional forceshave also been deployed to pro-tect India’s sovereignty over the

LAC” and that the Governmentwas “committed and alert”towards protecting the countryand the Army was prepared.

He said that in June 2020,20 of our soldiers made theirsupreme sacrifice in theGalwan Valley to protect themotherland. “Every country-man is grateful to these mar-tyrs,” the President said.

In his address, he alsotalked about a new beginningin Jammu & Kashmir sayingthe Union Territories con-ducted local bodies polls, firstsince independence, and J&Kis “moving towards a new free-dom”.

In the middle of President’saddress, Rashtriya LoktantrikParty (RLP) MP HanumanBeniwal showed a placard andraised slogans, demanding therepeal of the three agriculturelaws. SAD party presidentSukhbir Singh Badal alongwith other party members heldplacards on the Parliamentpremises.

Against the backdrop ofthe farmers’ agitation for thecomplete roll-back of three

farm reform laws, the Presidentsaid 10 crore small farmerswere immediate beneficiaries ofreform laws.

“The biggest benefit ofthese agricultural reforms alsostarted getting to more than 10crore small farmers immedi-ately. Many political partieshad given full support to thesereforms from time to timeonly after realising these ben-efits to small farmers,” he said.

The President further said“at present, the implementationof these laws has been post-poned by the country’s highestcourt. My government willrespect and follow the SupremeCourt’s decision in full respect.”

Referring to the violenceon January 26, during “tractorrally”, Kovind said the “insult”to tricolour on the “holy day”of Republic Day “is very unfor-tunate.”

He said, “The Constitutionwhich gives us the right to free-dom of expression, the sameConstitution teaches us that lawand rule should be followedequally seriously.”

����� +,-��,./0

India’s economy is set to wit-ness a V-shaped recovery as

the country’s growth engine isback on track after a coron-avirus-led slowdown, the Pre-Budget Economic Survey saidon Friday.

The economy may see an11 per cent growth in the nextfinancial year, while GrossDomestic Product (GDP)could see a contraction of 7.7per cent in the current fiscalending March 31, 2021. Indiawitnessed its last annual con-traction of 5.2 per cent in thefiscal year 1979-80.

Amid farmers’ protestswhich entered the 64 days overthe farm laws, the EconomicSurvey termed the three agri-cultural reform laws as a “rem-edy”, building a case for itsacceptance among the farmcommunity that has stronglyopposed it.

According to the survey,the agricultural reforms wouldenable farmers to sell wherethey get the “best deal” andthereby, allow competition, anessential condition for the wel-fare for the small farmer.

The Economic Survey saidthat the Centre’s recent reformsin the agricultural markets will

enable the creation of “OneIndia, One market” and offermore opportunities to farmers.

At the same time, services,manufacturing and construc-tion were most hit by the lock-down that was imposed tocurb the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“After an estimated 7.7 percent pandemic-driven con-traction in 2020-21, India’s realGDP is projected to record agrowth of 11.0 per cent in2021-22 and nominal GDP by15.4 per cent. These conserv-ative estimates reflect upsidepotential that can manifest dueto the continued normalisation

in economic activities as therollout of COVID-19 vaccinesgathers traction,” the surveysaid.

The growth will further besupported by supply-side pushfrom reforms and easing of reg-ulations, push for infrastruc-tural investments, boost tomanufacturing sector throughthe Productivity LinkedIncentive Schemes, recovery ofpent-up demand for servicessector, increase in discretionaryconsumption subsequent toroll-out of the vaccine andpick up in credit given adequateliquidity and low-interest rates,it said.

����� +,-��,./0

India has scored near thebottom of a Covid-19 per-

formance index where almost100 countries were profiledfor their response to the pan-demic that has swept the world.

The Lowy Institute pub-lished its index on Thursdayand New Zealand, Vietnam,and Taiwan appeared as the topthree countries with the bestworldwide handling of the cri-sis. Meanwhile, Britain, Brazil,

and the US ranked among thebottom.

Overall, countries in theAsia-Pacific did a better job atcontrolling the pandemic whileEurope and the US were“quickly overwhelmed.” Chinawas excluded from the list asthe Lowy Institute cited a lackof credible public data.

An independent think tankbased in Australia, the LowyInstitute looked at how coun-

tries with publicly availableand comparable data on coro-navirus managed the pandem-ic to date following their hun-dredth case.

The report has come at atime when India’s latest tally ofthe coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is 10,720,048 as on Friday.The number of recoveries fromthe disease is closing in on the1.04 crore mark, as 20,746 newdischarges took total recoveredcases to 10,394,352.

���������� ��������������������������� �������� ���������������������������� ������������������������������������������ �������������������

Chandigarh: Actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, who hasbeen booked in connectionwith the religious flag inci-dent at Red Fort, has said heneeds some time to bring outthe truth and will then jointhe investigation. The 36-year-old Sidhu is in the eye ofa storm for being among theprotesters who put up a reli-gious flag atop the Red Forton Republic Day.

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Ghazipur border on Fridaywitnessed a surge of crowd

as around 1,000 farmers fromwestern Uttar Pradesh joinedthe Bharatiya Kisan Union(BKU) members who havestayed put on at the UP Gate todemand the repeal of agri laws.

Notwithstanding theGhaziabad administration’sultimatum to the protesters tovacate the UP Gate protestsite, more farmers from west-ern Uttar Pradesh districtssuch as Meerut, Baghpat,Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar,Moradabad and Bulandshahrreached the UP Gate earlymorning to join the stir fol-lowing an emotional appeal byBKU leader Rakesh Tikait.

The crowd of protesters

that had reduced to 500 onThursday night has now againincreased with around 1,000farmers joining the stir.

Flanked by supporters,Tikait remained at the cen-trestage of the protest site onthe Delhi-Meerut Expressway,which has been barricadedfrom both sides, prohibitingregular traffic movement.

However, extra securityforces deployed at the protestsite have been sent back.

Several farmers from partsof Haryana have also decidedto move towards Delhi bordersto join the ongoing agitationagainst agri laws and heldprotests against lookout noticesto peasant leaders and theGhaziabad administration’sultimatum to vacate protest site.

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Tens of thousands of farm-ers gathered in

Muzaffarnagar town onFriday to attend a mahapan-chayat in support of theBharatiya Kisan Union-ledprotest against the Centre’snew farm laws in Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradeshborder.

A day after BKU leaderRakesh Tikait broke down atGhazipur and tension spi-ralled amid fears that thefarmers who had been camp-ing there for two monthswould be forcibly removed by the local admin-istration, all roads in western Uttar Pradesh it seemed led toMuzaffarnagar.

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Scientists at the CSIR-Centrefor Cellular and Molecular

Biology at Hyderabad said thatthey have found a differentvariant of SARS-CoV-2 insouthern parts of the country.

Rakesh Mishra, directorof CCMB, said the differentvariant (N440K) appears to bemilder than the existing oneand the institute is stepping upresearch on it to ascertain itsprevalence in the country.

The findings came amidthe concerns of a mutated vari-ant of SARS-CoV-2 found inthe UK recently.

“It is not a new variant thatwe found. It is N440 K. It is adifferent variant. This is therefor some time. This N440K wasa very small number inSeptember and October last

year. Now it looks like it is get-ting a much bigger proportion.No symptoms issues withN440K,” Mishra told agencies.

“Either this (the differentvariant) has become normal orthe earlier one became weaker.But certainly symptom wise ifit is not equal, it (the differentone) is milder. We don’t haveenough data as of now. We areaccelerating... I think in thecoming days we will do large-scale sequencing,” he explained.

He said the variant is seenin Telangana and AndhraPradesh among other southernStates and scientists have nosufficient data to prove its exis-tence in other parts of thecountry.

Mishra said the CCMBdid not see any increased num-ber of cases or symptoms withthis variant of the virus.

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Security apparatus in thehighly sensitive Lutyens’

Bungalow Zone went into aspin after an improvised explo-sive device (IED) went off nearthe Israeli embassy situated atDr APJ Abdul Kalam Road inNew Delhi on Friday evening.Police said while no person wasinjured, some cars were dam-aged in the blast.

A letter addressed to IsraeliAmbassador to India wasrecovered from near the blastsite. The blast took place at thepavement opposite JindalHouse which is three bunga-

lows away from the Israeliembassy.

External Affairs Minister SJaishankar spoke to his Israeli

counterpart Gabi Ashkenaziand assured him of “fullest pro-tection” to the jews nation’sdiplomats and its mission.

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In the first encounter of 2021,three local terrorists belong-

ing to the pro-Pakistan HizbulMujahideen terrorist outfitwere eliminated by the jointteam of the security forces inMandoora Tral area ofAwantipora on Friday.

Meanwhile, soon after theInspector General of Police,Kashmir range, Vijay Kumarbriefed the media about thefirst encounter, anotherencounter of the day waslaunched by the security forcesin Lelhar area of SouthKashmir’s Pulwama district onFriday.

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Chief minister TrivendraSingh Rawat has directed

the Uttarakhand Metro Rail,Urban Infrastructure andBuildings ConstructionCorporation (UkMRC) to pre-pare a detailed project reportand work plan related to oper-ation of Metro-Neo inDehradun city. The CM issuedthis direction after viewing apresentation on Metro-Neoalong with Urban Developmentminister Madan Kaushik, chief

secretary Om Prakash andother senior officials on Fridayevening. Stressing on the needfor integrated efforts for facil-itation of better resources forcommuting in Dehradun city,the CM called for effectiveefforts in this direction.

The Finance secretaryAmit Singh Negi, UrbanDevelopment secretaryShailesh Bagauli, UkMRCmanaging director JitendraTyagi and project director VKMishra were also present on theoccasion.

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Uttarakhand State AIDSControl Society on Friday

organised a day long sensitisa-tion workshop for the industryat the office of the Directorateof Industries in Dehradun onFriday.

The workshop was aimedto make participants awareabout HIV/AIDS and the pre-cautions needed to check itsspread. Presiding over theworkshop Director IndustriesSC Nautiyal said the workshopwas aimed to sensitise the par-

ticipants about HIV/AIDS. Hesaid discrimination againstHIV/AIDS affected personneeds to be curbed.

Dr Saroj Naithani DirectorHealth and Additional ProjectDirector Uttarkhand StateAIDS Control Society also gavea presentation on the subject.Harendra Garg, PresidentSIIDCUL AssociationHaridwar also spoke on thesubject.

The workshop was attend-ed by members of industry andthe senior officials of the direc-torate.

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In order to restrict the garbagedisposal in public places, the

Municipal Corporation ofDehradun (MCD) will formteams in all the wards to raiseawareness against littering inpublic places and penaliselocals too under the Anti-lit-tering Act.

The similar kind of pro-posal was also passed in thefirst board meeting last year inwhich mayor had talked abouthiring some reputed Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs) which will also raiseawareness among locals andpenalise them too for repeatedgarbage dumping in publicplaces but this plan couldn't goahead as planned due to Covid-19 pandemic, informed offi-cials.

Moreover, the chief munic-ipal health officer, Dr KailashJoshi said that the corporationis definitely considering takingthis plan ahead and making itas part of sanitation work car-ried out in the city. He said thatthe corporation needs sometime for proper planning butwithin a few months, the MCDwill either make teams orappoint some organisations torestrict littering in public placeswhich will also possibly help toawake the civic sense amongthe locals responsible forgarbage dumping in publicplaces.

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In order to minimise use of plastic poly-bags in the Nainital district and other

adjoining areas while also aiming increas-ing the reach of Aipan art form, theNainital district administration with thehelp of Self Help Groups (SHGs) is plan-ning to introduce eco-friendly bags withAipan drawings from February.

Informing this, the General Managerof the district industries centre (DIC) ofNainital, Vipin Kumar stated that there arecurrently 25 women involved in the train-ing of making eco-friendly bags while 60women are getting trained in drawingAipan art forms on various objects underNaina Devi Growth Centre. Those womenwho get well trained by the end of thismonth will be included in the manufac-turing of eco-friendly bags and those whowould require more time to master the skillwill continue their training. The officialsfurther informed that they will focus onthe production of the products as per thedemand in the market rather than trying hardto sell in the market what they are producing.Kumar said that though the women group willmake eco-friendly bags with Aipan drawings butthe size, thickness and purpose of the bags canbe adjusted and produced as per the demand ofthe clients. He said that the women are beingtrained by one of the best master craftsmen asthey are capable of making anything from eco-friendly carry bags to school backpacks. As perKumar, the administration is planning to con-nect about 450 women with such projects underNaina Devi Growth Centre to make them finan-cially independent. He said that after women will

finish training, they can either work in the com-mon facility centre (CFC) or work through theirhomes. "We will provide all the necessaryequipment to women and they can continue towork as per their comfort level through whichthey can earn some money," said Kumar. He alsopointed out that the administration will soonissue Shilpkar cards to the women so that theycan commence their own business too anywherein the country. Officials also said the adminis-tration is also doing some trials like makingAipan drawings on items of clothing likeshawls besides crockery, frames and decorativepieces too to promote Aipan in the other partsof Uttarakhand too.

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Deputy Chief Minister ofDelhi Manish Sisodia said

the Utttar PradeshGovernment’s oppressive mea-sure to stop drinking water andelectricity facilities for thefarmers at the Ghazipur Borderis highly condemnable.

Sisodia along with WaterMinister Satyendar Jain andMLA and Delhi Jal Board ViceChairman Raghav Chadha vis-ited the Ghazipur Border onFriday to take a stock of thewater, toilet and other arrange-ments.

"It is for the first time inhistory that nation loving Sikhcommunity is branded as trai-tors by the people in the cen-tral government under thepressure from their ‘capitalistfriends’.

The BJP government atthe Centre is ignoring the

plight of the millions of farm-ers to accommodate few capi-talists of the country. That is thereason it has resorted to repres-sive techniques to crush thefarmers' protest," he said.

Sisodia said that instead ofblaming farmers for the vio-lence, the central governmentshould pay heed to farmers’interest and roll back all thethree unjust farm laws.

The deputy chief ministermentioned that on the requestof farmer leader Rakesh Tikait,Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwaldirected authorities to set updrinking water and toilet facil-ities for the farmers at theprotest site.

On the other hand, Jainsaid that the BJP is stopping thebasic facilities like water, food,toilet and others.

Adding to this, Chadhasaid that the farmers of ourcountry are not terrorists or

traitors so BJP must stop suchdirty politics. Chadha said thatthe BJP has also stopped langarservice of Kejriwal govern-ment and deliberately sus-pended internet so that the Wi-Fi service provided by us doesnot work.

Hundreds of BharatiyaKisan Union (BKU) membersstayed put on the Delhi-MeerutExpressway on Friday, notwith-standing the Ghaziabad admin-istration's ultimatum to vacatethe UP Gate protest site.

More farmers are joining infrom western Uttar Pradeshand Haryana, following anemotional appeal made byTikait, who has defiantly heldhis ground.

Tension prevailed at theprotest site throughoutThursday as police and para-military forces in anti-riot gearconducted flag marches oneither side of it.

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Security apparatus in the high-ly sensitive Lutyens'

Bungalow Zone went into aspin, after an ‘Improvised explo-sive device’ (IED) went off nearthe Israeli Embassy, situated atDr APJ Abdul Kalam Road inNew Delhi on Friday evening.

Police said no was injuredin the incident while somecars were damaged in the blast.The low intensity blast tookplace at the pavement oppositeJindal House which is threebungalows away from the Isrealembassy. Police Control Roomreceived a call around 5 min-utes past 5 pm on Friday, whendignitaries including thePresident, Vice President andPrime Minister were present atVijay Chowk to witness Beatingthe Retreat.

It was redux of February13,2012 when a woman diplo-mat of Israeli Embassy in New

Delhi was attacked by terroristsowing allegiance to an Iranianoutfit. As the information per-taining to the low intensity blastwas relayed on the police net-work, senior officials rushed tothe spot and the area was cor-doned off. Special Cell, theAnti terrorist unit of DelhiPolice has been pressed intoservice to investigate the inci-dent while NationalInvestigation Agency ( NIA)too has joined the probe.Explosive experts of NationalBomb Data Center have liftedthe debris from the spot for theforensic examination.

According to the prelimi-nary investigation, a very lowintensity improvised devicewent off on Friday at around 5PM at Abdul Klam Road nearJindal house.

“No injury to any personwas reported and nor was thereany damage to property exceptthe glass panes of three vehiclesparked nearby. Initial impres-

sions suggest it could be a mis-chievous attempt to create asensation,” said Anil Mittal, theAdditional PRO of DelhiPolice. Atul Garg, Director ofDelhi Fire Services (DFS) saidthat a call regarding the blastwas received on Friday follow-ing which three fire tenderswere rushed to the spot. Therewere no injuries and situationwas brought under control.

Anti- terrorism specialistshave been roped into to assistDelhi Police in carrying out adetailed investigation andunmask conspirators behindthis attack, said a senior policeofficial involved in the investi-gation.

Sources maintained that itcould be the handiwork ofInter Services Intelligence (ISI),the rogue external spy agencyof Pakistan which wants toexploit the ongoing farmersprotest to revive the moribundmilitancy in Punjab. Securityagencies are scanning the call

data records of cellphones andsatellite phones that were activein the vicinity. Agencies are alsosifting through the registers ofthe hotels, guest houses andlodges across the NationalCapital region to identify anysuspected check in, sourcesadded.

Later in the day, DelhiPolice Commissioner SNSrivastava and DirectorIntelligence Bureu ArvindKumar briefed the UnionHome Minister Amit Shahabout the incident. HomeMinister is believed to haveordered the explosive experts ofthe National Security Gaurds (NSG) to help the Delhi Policein the ongoing investigation.Security agencies have alsoissued a security alert at air-ports and vital security andgovernmental establishmentsin the aftermath of the blastnear Israel Embassy here andsecurity has already been aug-mentation, they said .

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Following a crackdown on proclaimed offend-ers/bail jumpers and wanted criminals, the

Gurugram Police's Proclaimed Offender (PO)staff and Crime Branch units claimed to havearrested 42 proclaimed offender/bail jumpersand 22 wanted criminals over the last threemonths from November 2020 to January 2021.

According to the police, the Haryana gov-ernment had also fixed a bounty from Rs 5,000to 1 lakh on these wanted criminals.

"Among the apprehended proclaimedoffenders/bail jumpers, many of them were evad-ing their arrest 25 to 30 years. These offenderswere arrested by the Gurugram police PO staffled by Sub-Inspector Janaluddin Khan,” saidDeepak Saharan, DCP (west).

He said that a special drive was initiatedagainst these criminals on the direction ofGurugram Police commissioner K K Rao.

"We identified such offenders by collectingdata from courts, informers and other inputs tokeep an eye on the movements and activities ofthe criminals and anti-social elements. Webelieve such elements can be a threat for the cityand disrupt law and order situation or executeany crime,” said Janaluddin Khan, Incharge POstaff west zone.

Khan informed the PO staff gatheringinformation about other absconding culprits.

He said that such operations against the POs,bail jumpers and as well as other dreaded cul-prits will be continued in future to further ensure a sense of security and safety among thepeople.

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Schools will be reopened in thenational capital for Class 9th and

11th students from February 5,Delhi Deputy Chief Minister ManishSisodia said on Friday.

Sisodia also announced reopen-ing of degree colleges, polytechnicsand ITIs. The deputy chief ministerdirected the officials to ensure safe-ty for the students and proper san-itization of the entire school premis-es.

The deputy CM said that schoolsand colleges are being reopened sothat students can prepare better fortheir practicals and internal assess-ments. He said that masks and sani-

tisers should be available in theschool premises and social distanc-ing norms should be followed.

"It is important to provide sup-port and guidance to the students forthem to prepare well for the exams.That is why the decision to reopenthe schools was taken so that the stu-dents can attend the school with theirparental consent and get graduallyinvolved in the learning process," hesaid.

Sisodia said that it will not bepossible to compensate for the learn-ing loss due to the pandemic but itis important to utilize the remainingtime in this academic year.

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AStation House Officer(SHO) of Alipur Police sta-

tion deputed at Singhu borderwas attacked by a man with asword when he intervened in theclashes between protestors atSinghu border and locals. Policesaid that the SHO has sufferedgrievous injuries on his hand.

The official said policearrested , Ranveer Singh, a res-ident of Punjab, who attackedthe station house officer. OnFriday, the Alipur SHO PradeepPaliwal was intervening in theclash between farmers and alarge group of men claiming tobe local residents over vacatingthe Singhu border protest site -- one of the hotspots for theongoing farmers' agitationagainst the agri laws.

The two sides also hurledstones at each other as policefired tear gas shells and resort-ed to baton charge to break upthe clash, an official said. "SHOAlipur, Delhi intervenes betweenrioting protestors (MKSC fac-tion) and local Singhu villagers,who had gone to register theirprotest against the happeningson Republic Day and continuedloss of ordinary livelihoods forover two months," the DelhiPolice said in a tweet.

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Gearing up for upcomingUttarakhand Assembly

elections in the year 2022, thedeputy chief minister of Delhi,Manish Sisodia will launchmembership drive of AamAadmi Party (AAP) onFebruary 1 with the target ofenrolling one lakh membersacross the State.

Uttarakhand state in-charge of AAP, DineshMohaniya today informed that

Sisodia will launch the drivefrom Dehradun and will flagoff 70 vehicles on Mondaywhich will focus on all 70assembly constituencies of Statein the next 45 days by con-ducting about 6,500 publicmeetings. Mohaniya stated thatthrough this drive, the partywill also showcase the failuresof the incumbent state gov-ernment to the public throughvarious videos while presentingAAP's policies and plans for thedevelopment of Uttarakhand.

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Following the guidelinesissued by the Union

Government, the UttarakhandGovernment issued orders forremoval of lockdown fromFebruary 1 in the State.

Now all activities would bepermitted outside containmentzones. However the activitieslike social, religious, sports,entertainment and other gath-erings would be subject tostrict adherence of SOPs.

In a letter directed to theadditional chief secretaries,Principal Secretaries, policeofficials, secretaries and districtmagistrates, the Chief SecretaryOm Prakash said that thereshall be no restriction on inter-State and intra-State move-ment of persons and goodsincluding those for cross land-border trade under Treatieswith neighbouring countries.Now no separate permission ore permit will be required forsuch movements. He howeveradded that considering theKumbh Mela- Haridwar, the

state government would issueseparate SOPs soon.

The CS clearly said that theDistrict administration shalltake all necessary measures topromote Covid-19 appropriatebehaviour and ensure wearingof face masks, hand hygieneand social distancing. He cau-tioned that observance andenforcement of social distanc-ing in crowded places, espe-cially in markets, weeklybazaars and public transport, isalso critical for containing the

spread of the infection.

The CS said that all theDistrict Magistrates (DM) shallstrictly enforce the SOPs andcan impose restrictions undersection 144. The DMs havebeen authorised to demarcatecontainment zones at microlevel and it would be theresponsibility of the local dis-trict, police and municipalauthorities to ensure that pre-scribed containment measuresare strictly followed.

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In a welcome sign and clearindication that the contagion

of the novel Coronavirus(Covid-19) is on a downwardtrend in Uttarakhand even asno death from the disease wasreported by the state healthdepartment on Friday. Thedepartment reported only 78new cases of the disease on theday. The state now has 95986cases of the disease and out ofthem 91713 has recovered fromthe disease. On Friday 116patients were discharged fromthe hospitals following theirrecovery. The recovery per-centage in the state now stands

at 95.55 and the sample posi-tivity rate is 4.54 percent. Theauthorities reported 35 newcases of the disease fromDehradun, 21 from Nainital, 13from Haridwar and five fromUdham Singh Nagar on Friday.

Two cases were reportedfrom Pauri while one patienteach was reported from

Rudraprayag and Uttarkashidistricts on the day. No newpatients were reported from sixdistricts of the state on Friday.These districts are Almora,Bageshwar, Chamoli,Champawat, Pithoragarh andTehri.

The state now has only1289 active cases of Covid-19.Dehradun district is at the top

of the table of the active caseswith 265 cases while Nainital isat second position with 243cases. Haridwar has 174,Almora and Bageshwar 125each, Udham Singh Nagar 97,Pithoragarh 69, Tehri 64, Pauri55, Uttarkashi 25, Rudraprayag22, Chamoli 16 andChampawat nine active cases ofthe disease.

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State agitation-ist Ravinder

Jugran alias Rabbujoined Aam AdmiParty in state cap-ital Dehradun onFriday.

A formersenior BJP leader,Ravinder Jugranaccused both ear-lier Congress andBharatiya JanataParty (BJP) ledgovernments offailing to provideeven basic infra-structure facilities in the ruralpredominant Uttarakhand. Hesaid Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)was the best option for the pub-lic to bring a change inUttarakhand.

Jugran said he was fightingagainst the corrupt systemalone but AAP has providedhim with a platform to fightalong with like-minded people.He said that his decision to joinAAP was not abrupt but a wellthought decision. "I am quiteimpressed by the ideology of

the party and their perfor-mance in Delhi’s development.AAP has proved itself in Delhiand we are hopeful that it willbe same here too," said Jugran.He asserted that he was a sol-dier of BJP for 23 years butdecided to leave the partywhen got to know that nothingis actually changing in BJP.“Uttarakhand needs animproved education system,employment opportunities,better health facilities andtransparency in the

Government system but theBJP has failed to provide evenbasic health facilities in theremote rural areas in the lastfour years despite being inmajority in State as well as inthe Centre,” said Jugran. Statingthat after giving over twodecades to Congress and BJPwho have failed immensely todevelop Uttarakhand, Jugransaid that people here like Delhishould also give a chance toAAP in 2022 Vidhan Sabhaelections in the state.

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The pace of vaccinationagainst the Covid-19 is

picking up in Uttarakhand.On Friday a record number of6301 people were adminis-tered the Covishield vaccine. Toincrease the number of vacci-nations, the state administra-tion has also augmented thenumber of vaccine sessions. Atotal of 109 vaccine sessionswere held in different parts ofthe state on Friday which alsois the highest so far in a singleday in the state. The ChiefOperations Officer (COO) ofstate Covid-19 control room,Dr Abhishek Tripathi said that

a total of 408 vac-cine sessions haveso far been held inthe state and inthem 25818 peo-ple have been vac-cinated. InDehradun 26 vac-cine sessions wereheld on Friday inwhich 1426 peoplewere vaccinated.Similarly 842 people were vac-cinated in 15 vaccine sessionsin Nainital district on the day.In Pauri 709 people were inoc-ulated in 10 sessions while631 workers were vaccinated in15 sessions in Haridwar onFriday. In Tehri 10 vaccinesessions were held and 632workers were vaccinated inthem.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that the vaccination drivein Uttarakhand started onJanuary 16. On the very firstday a total of 2276 health care

workers were inoculated withthe vaccine in 34 vaccine ses-sions. The vaccination becamea bit sluggish after January 16but it has now again picked upthe momentum. InUttarakhand Covishield vac-cine is being administered.This vaccine is developed byOxford University-AstraZeneca and manufac-tured in India by SerumInstitute of India (SII). The sec-ond dose of the vaccine wouldbe administered after 28 daysof the first dose.

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Uttarkhand Congress presi-dent Pritam Singh has said

that the union government isworking on a strategy ofexhausting the farmers so thatthey are driven away from theongoing agitation against threefarm laws. He however alsoadded that the Congress partystands firmly behind the farm-ers.

Launching an attack on theNarendra Modi governmentfor trying to defame the protestof the farmers who are agitatingpeacefully and democraticallysince 62 days, the PCC presidentPritam Singh talking to medi-apersons said that Congressstrongly condemns the stub-bornly stance of the govern-ment. He said that the farmersof the country are only demand-ing that the three draconian

farm laws should be withdrawnby the government but evenafter 12 rounds of talks deadlockcontinues because of these gov-ernment has no intention totake back these laws. He saidthat it appears that the Uniongovernment has become a pup-pet in the hands of few busi-nessmen. Terming the inci-dents of 26th January as unfor-tunate, Singh said that the Jawanand Kisan are pitted againsteach other courtesy the centre.The PCC president alleged thatno action is being taken on thecontroversial man involved inthe Lal Qila incident whose pic-tures with the home ministerand a MP of BJP are going viral.He said that it is now confirmedthat this person was involved inthe incident of Lal Qila but heis getting protection. The PCCpresident added that some peo-ple are deliberately infiltrating

the ranks of farmers in order tomalign the farmers' protest. Heclaimed that the Congress partywould not allow the govern-ment to defame the farmers.Singh questioned that when

the government knew that someanti social elements can infiltratein the tractor rally of farmersthen why no preventive actionwas taken by the home ministry.

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Uttarakhand Congress party has decided to hold a state-wideprotest on February 2 against the price rise and atrocities

on the farmers. The Congress workers would burn the effigy ofthe Union government at district and block headquarters on theday. The Vice President of Uttarakhand Congress SuryakantDhasmana said on Wednesday that the Narendra Modi gov-ernment and BJP ruled states have hatched a conspiracy to defamethe farmers. He said that the manner in which anti social ele-ments were infiltrated into the farmers protest to spread anar-chy on January 26 has exposed the real character of BJP. He saidthat the Congress party is engaged in a countrywide protest insupport of farmers and against the anti people policies of the Modigovernment.

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Chief minister TrivendraSingh Rawat inaugurated

the Dehradun integrated com-mand and control centre(DICCC) Sadaiv Doon of theDehradun Smart City Limited(DSCL) at IT Park here onFriday. He also unveiled thefoundation stone for Dooncentre of excellence at the siteon the occasion. A memoran-dum of understanding was alsosigned between the state’sInformation TechnologyDevelopment Agency (ITDA)and Hewlett Packard Enterprisefor an IT incubation centre.

Speaking on the occasion,the CM said that consideringthe growth of various aspects inurban areas the need for smartcities is natural. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has taken for-

ward such important projectslike smart city. With workunderway in 100 cities acrossIndia under the smart city mis-sion, the demand for develop-ing other cities into smart citiesalso has increased especiallyconsidering the good results inthe cities where the project isbeing executed. The nation istoday progressing in all spheresdue to the clear vision anddetermination of the PM.Referring to growing pressureof traffic in the state, Rawat saidthat there is a limit to use offorce and widening of roads toaddress this issue. In such a sce-nario, the use of technology isvital to address traffic issues andother aspects. The smart citymodel will prove effective inimproving facilities and redress-ing public grievances. He alsosuggested that the scope of theincubation centre for which theMoU was signed should not belimited to IT alone but shouldalso encompass other spheres.

Speaking on the occasion,secretary of UrbanDevelopment and Housing,Government of India, Durga

Shankar Mishra said that theservices of the DICCC willbring about considerableimprovement in the lives of cit-izens. He also opined that theincubation centre in Dehradunshould also encompass aspectslike skilling, employability andothers in addition to IT. Mishraappreciated the consistentprogress of Dehradun smartcity project which was earlierranked 24th nationally androse to ninth position and sub-sequently the first position in

the third round.Informing about the

DICCC, the DSCL chief exec-utive officer Ashish KumarSrivastava said that initially thecentre had started a year ago ina limited form but will nowfunction in a full fledged man-ner. The technologicalenhancements made in the cityfor this purpose include instal-lation of 500 CCTV cameraswith features including facerecognition, 50 variable mes-sage display boards and 50

environmental monitoring sen-sors, adaptive traffic control sys-tem and provision for address-ing public grievances related tovarious important departments.

State minister for HigherEducation, Dhan Singh Rawat,director general of police AshokKumar, secretaries RKSudhanshu, Shailesh Bagauli,ADG Abhinav Kumar andUrban Development directorVinod Kumar Suman were alsopresent on the occasion.

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Though only two months areleft for the financial year to

end, the hotels and restaurantowners are still reluctant todeposit property tax in theMunicipal Corporation ofDehradun (MCD).

The MCD officialsinformed that the owners areready to deposit the tax of thelast financial year but as theirbusiness is not doing well sinceMarch due to covid lockdowns,they have asked for relaxationin the tax. Many have alsoapproached the DehradunMayor Sunil Uniyal 'Gama' forthe same but he has not pro-vided any relief so far.According to the officials, thecorporation is also facing hugeloss due to it as a big part of itsannual property tax collectioncomes from non-residential

property taxpayers of the city.Recently, some counsellors alsodemanded from the municipalcommissioner Vinay ShankarPandey to provide relaxation tosuch commercial establish-ments like hotels and restau-rants which got drasticallyaffected during Covid-19 pan-demic.

Leader of opposition inthe corporation, Vijendra Palstated that when the businessowners did not earn last year,how will they deposit the prop-erty tax? The MCD should pro-vide relaxation as well as extendthe date of rebate of 20 per centwhich is only uptill Jan end. Onthe extension of the 20 per centrebate on property tax afterJanuary 31, the commissionersaid that the corporation is con-sidering extending the datebut the final decision will betaken on Saturday.

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During the inauguration ofthe Dehradun integrated

command and control centre,a senior bureaucrat from NewDelhi recalled that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadencapsulated the smart city

concept in a single sen-tence. The PM had saidthat the smart city conceptis basically about how to getmore from less. One foundthe description impressiveeven while wondering whyshould one spend so muchjust to get more from less.However, it is a fact that onedoes have to spend moneyeven to be frugal whileensuring convenience andsafety for the masses in acity. What was and stillseems to be missing is the

measures to effectively addressthe root cause of the problemsto address which major initia-tives are undertaken.

Speaking in the sameevent, the chief ministerTrivendra Singh Rawat recalledthat in the year 2000 about 4.5lakh vehicles were registered in

the State of Uttarakhand wherenow the total number of regis-tered vehicles is about 30 lakh.The obvious and evident resultis frequent traffic congestioneven on roads which had sparsetraffic in the past. So, will set-ting up hundreds of CCTVcameras to penalise traffic ruleviolators and ensure swiftresponse in case of traffic jamsresolve the problem?

Consider another majorrepercussion of rising urbani-sation- alarming increase ingarbage generation and pollu-tion. The Swachchh Bharatmission is addressing the issueof garbage and sanitation.Prime Minister Narendra Modidid make garbage and its prop-er disposal an issue known toall while even attempting toelicit the focus of citizens ontheir own role in addressing the

issue. Even in cases when heand some other ministers wereaccused of cosmetic actionswhen cleaning sites, they didmake some difference in theattitude towards cleaning andsanitation workers. However, inboth the cases- traffic andgarbage, and most other issuesfaced in society, the mostimportant factor which is notbeing addressed effectively ishuman behaviour. Even if theauthorities turn Dehradun intoa surveillance nightmare, peo-ple will still find ways to litterand cause traffic issues if theirattitude and behaviour does notchange. We have witnessedespecially in the past year thateven habitually complacentand irresponsible people canmake changes in their behav-iour if the motivation is strongenough. In the case of Covid-

19 pandemic, the motivationfor people was to save them-selves from a new and confus-ing virus which could kill. Weneed to understand that it is notjust the Covid virus that can killor severely affect our lives.One can say this for manyaspects but to keep it simple,take the example of traffic andgarbage/pollution. Both areactually very alarming situa-tions especially in Uttarakhand.Deaths, injuries, financial andother losses from road acci-dents are common. The failureto effectively address garbageand pollution also has serioushealth and environmental con-sequences. Do we need to bescared by something new anduncertain like Covid to come toour senses? The solution tothese and most other problemsis to first bring about positive

changes in the attitude andbehaviour of the people. Peoplewith civic sense who also usecommon sense while respect-ing rules meant for their ownwelfare will rarely cause trafficjams, accidents or act likegarbage generation machines.The facilities being developedby the government will beused effectively for the intend-ed purpose only if the citizensact responsibly and use these asintended. While the authori-ties focus more on technology,transforming appearances andexpenditures, one can onlyhope that they start workingeffectively towards really get-ting more from less by bring-ing about the much neededchange in attitude and behav-iour of the citizens. The changewill have to start with theestablishment itself.

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Amid farmers’ protests,which entered the 64th

day on Friday, the EconomicSurvey 2020-21 termed thethree agricultural reform lawsas a “remedy”, building a casefor its acceptance among thefarm community that hasstrongly opposed it.

According to the survey,the agricultural reforms wouldenable farmers to sell wherethey get the “best deal” andthereby, allow competition,an essential condition for thewelfare for the small farmer.The Economic Survey saidthat the Centre’s recentreforms in the agriculturalmarkets will enable the cre-ation of “One India, One mar-ket” and offer more opportu-nities to farmers.

“The newly introducedfarm laws herald a new era ofmarket freedom which can goa long way in the improve-ment of farmer welfare inIndia,” the Economic Surveysaid in the chapter on agri-culture and food manage-ment titled ‘recent agricultur-al reforms: a remedy, not amalady.’ The government hadearlier proposed to the agi-tating farmers unions to deferthe implementation of thenew laws by one-and-a-halfyears. The talks between theGovernment and farmers

broke down as both the sideswere adamant on their previ-ous stands.

“The three agriculturalreform legislat ions aredesigned and intended pri-marily for the benefit of smalland marginal farmers whichconstitute around 85 per centof the total number of farm-ers and are the biggest suffer-er of the regressive APMCregulated market regime,” theSurvey said.

Farmers have been camp-ing on the outskirts of thenational capital demanding arepeal of the three laws—Farmers (Empowerment andProtection) Agreement onPrice Assurance and FarmSer vices Act, 2020, andFarmers’ Produce Trade andCommerce (Promotion andFacilitation) Act, 2020 andFarm Ser vices and theEssential Commodities(Amendment) Act, 2020. Thesurvey highlights the benefitsof the farm reforms throughthree bills.

In the section of benefit offarm reforms, the survey saidthat the new farm laws willempower farmers in theirengagement with processors,wholesalers, aggregators, largeretailers and provide a level-playing field. Defending thethree farm laws, the surveysaid that the farmers in Indiahave suffered from various

restrictions in marketing theirproduce. There were restric-tions for farmers in sellingagri-produce outside the noti-fied APMC market yards. Thefarmers were also restricted tosell the produce only to reg-istered licensees of the StateGovernments

The survey noted thatlong queues of farmers wait-ing, most often, in the hot sunto sell their produce with lim-ited ability to take their pro-duce elsewhere even if the

price is higher in an othermandi is a characteristic fea-ture of APMC mandis. “Thedelays result in large post-har-vest losses to the tune of 4-6per cent in cereals and puls-es, 7-12 per cent in vegetablesand 6-18 per cent in fruits.Total post-harvest losses wereestimated at Rs 44,000 croresat 2009 wholesale prices,” itsaid.

Several Economic Surveyshave expressed concern atfunctioning of the APMCs

and the fact that they sponsormonopolies. Specifically,Economic Surveys for theyears 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17, 2019-20focused on the reformsrequired in this context,” thesurvey said.

On the MSP, the surveysaid that “The Union Budgetfor 2018-19 had announcedthat MSPs would be kept atthe level of 1.5 times of thecost of production.

On the basis of the above-

mentioned principle,Government recentlyincreased the MSPs for allmandated kharif and rabicrops for 2020-21season.”

The survey said thatbesides creating “One India,One market” for agri-prod-ucts, the reforms will also

allow farmers “to move up thevalue chain in food process-ing–from farm to fork, createjobs and increase incomes”.

Lauding the farm sectorfor demonstrating resilienceduring the pandemic, theSurvey suggested the govern-ment to see farm sector as a

“modern business enterprise”for which “urgent reforms” arerequired to enable sustainableand consistent growth.

India’s agricultural sectorhas shown its resilience amidthe adversities of COVID-19induced lockdowns, theSurvey noted.

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The Economic Survey 2020-21 predicted that air pas-

senger travel and aircraftmovements are predicted toreach pre-Covid-19 levels inearly 2021 as a result of swiftand decisive interventions andeffective measures put in placeby the Government. TheEconomic Survey 2020-21,which was tabled in Parliamenton Friday said that Indian avi-ation market was among thebiggest in the world anddomestic airlines had begun tosee a recovery in passengertraffic.

“Despite the severe chal-lenges posed by COVID-19,the Indian aviation industryhas persevered through thecrisis and demonstrated long-term resilience and full com-mitment to serve,” the surveysaid. The survey made a spe-cial mention of the VandeBharat Mission, the repatria-tion exercise that waslaunched on May 7 to evacu-ate stranded Indians from

across the world. “It has thusreported over 30 lakhs pas-senger arrivals by 13December 2020, with over 27lakhs facilitated through char-tered flights and Air IndiaGroup, making it the largestevacuation mission in humanhistory,” the survey said.

According to the Survey,the turnaround can be attrib-uted to a number of steps putin place including ensuring24x7 operations of cargo ter-minal facilities, with suitablehealth safety measures, incen-tivising early clearage of aircargo warehouses at airportsto leave clear passage foressential shipments and inter-national medical and person-

al protection equipmentessentials being were madeavailable. The Survey addsthat despite the severe chal-lenges posed by COVID-19,the aviation industry perse-vered through the crisis anddemonstrated long-termresilience.

Domestic passengerflights remained suspendedbetween March 25 and May24 last year due to the pan-demic. When domestic flyingstarted on May 25, airlineswere allowed to operate only33 per cent of their pre-COVID flights. Currently,domestic airlines are allowedto operate up to 80 per cent oftheir pre-COVID flights.

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The Congress on Friday hitout at the Centre over the

farmers’ protest against thenew farm laws, with formerparty president Rahul Gandhialleging that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was “weaken-ing” India by “attacking” them.

At a Press conference,Rahul said the only solution tothe farmers’ issue was throw-ing the new agri laws in the“waste paper basket” andwarned that if not resolved, theagitation will spread to otherparts of the country. In a no-holds-barred attack at theCentre, Rahul accused the gov-ernment of trying to intimidateand discredit the farmers, usingthe National InvestigationAgency. Earlier in the dayCongress 16 Opposition par-ties also boycotted the cus-tomary joint session ofPresidential address ahead ofthe Budget session of theParliament.

“It is very obvious that thefarmers are very agitatedbecause the Government isdestroying their livelihood. Itis destroying the livelihood ofour labourers and it is going togive the middle class a shock inthe coming times because the

prices of food are going to sky-rocket,” said Rahul who hasbeen everyday attacking theModi government in supportof the protesting farmers.

“What is being done to thefarmers is absolutely criminal.You (Government) are beatingthem, you are threateningthem, you are bullying them,you are trying to discreditthem,” he said. TheGovernment needs to talk tothe farmers and provide asolution to them, he said.Rahul asserted that the onlysolution is repealing these lawsand “putting the laws into thewaste paper basket”.

“The Government mustnot think that the farmers aregoing back home. They are notgoing home and my concern isthat this situation is going tospread. We do not need thissituation to spread, we need aconversation with farmers andwe need a solution,” he saidfurther.

Responding to a question,he said the farmers’ movement

is going to spread to otherstates and cannot be sup-pressed. The whole issue is notjust about farmers and this willgo from farmers to workers tourban areas and slums, headded.

Asked about the RepublicDay violence, he said, “Whoallowed the farmers to enterthe Red Fort; is it not the homeministry’s job to stop themfrom doing so.”

As the farmers’ protest atGhazipur border in Ghaziabadgot a new lease of life,Congress alongwith ,Samajwadi Party (SP) and theBahujan Samaj Party (BSP)rallied support for the move-ment and slammed the BJPover the contentious farmlaws. While SP presidentAkhilesh Yadav threw hisparty’s weight behind thefarmers’ movement and hit outat the BJP for “torturing” thepeasants and levelling “falseaccusations” against them, BSPsupremo Mayawati demandedimmediate repeal of the newagri laws and its “dilly-dally-ing” approach on matters ofpublic interest.

Congress Uttar Pradeshunit chief Ajay Kumar Lallureached the Ghazipur borderto express solidarity with thefarmers’ movement.

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The BJP on Friday con-demned Congress leader

Rahul Gandhi for what itdescribed as a “call for violence”by him.

Addressing a Press confer-ence here, Union Minister and

BJP leader Smriti Irani allegedthat Rahul has “declared war onthe people of the country.”

“His call of violence will bemet with sustained peace”,announced Irani.

She said injury to 300 Delhipolicemen or journalists didnot evoke sympathy of Rahul.

The BJP leader said Rahulinstigated violence and chal-lenged administration. “Thishas exposed his face”, she said

On taking action againstRahul, Irani said “he wantsaction against himself so hebecomes a martyr.”

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The Centre on Friday saidthat the Education Ministry

is working towards conceptu-alising virtual universities.Union Education MinisterRamesh Pokhriyal Nishanksaid that the Government willsoon take necessary steps toestablish virtual universities inthe country as these universi-ties will help in achieving thedesired gross enrollment ratio (GER) inhigher education as envisagedin National Education Policy.

While chairing a reviewmeeting of the implementationof NEP,. Nishank directed allthe concerned Ministries andagencies to speed up the worksto ensure seamless implementation of the NEP

and sought suggestions fromthe stakeholders on establish-ment of the virtual universities..

The Education Ministeralso suggested that the NationalEducation Technology Forumshould be seeded in UGC Indiaand All India Council ForTechnical Education (AICTE)and it should start work imme-diately in this ambitious projectof virtual universities necessitated at the backdrop ofpandemic circumstances. “TheOnline and virtual education inthe last session conducted by allinstitutions to regularise theeducation system even duringCovid times made theGovernment to expedite for-mation of virtual universities,”said a senior EducationMinistry official.

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With tension persisting atthe Line of Actual

Control (LAC) for the last ninemonths and the armed forceson full alert, the EconomicSurvey on Friday said the allo-cated capital Budget for defencewas fully utilised. In fact, theentire allocation was consumed.In fact, this was the trend since2016-17, reversing the previoustrends of surrendering ofunutilised funds, it said.

The capital allocation for2020-21 was � 1,18, 555 croresand the overall budget allocationfor defence was �4,71,378 croresincluding civil estimates andpension. The allocated budgetfor the last fiscal was � 40,367.71crore over the budget estimatesof 2019-20.

The capital funds prior to2016-17 used to be returned tothe Government due to under-utilisation. The reasons for thiswere long procurement processand delays in finalising deals intime during the financial year.

The nearly complete uti-lization in 2020-21 was due tothe armed forces opting foremergency procurements toshore up their operational readi-ness due to the situation at theLAC in Eastern Ladakh. Atpresent, the entire 4,000kmLAC is under the watch of thearmed forces.

Army Chief General M MNaravane had said on June 12that last year 38 deals inkedthrough ‘emergency and fast

track’ route worth about �5, 000crore and in addition, capitalprocurements worth over � 13,000 crores were concluded.

The Economic Survey saidthe focus now was on giving apush to indigenisation and theDefence Public SectorUndertaking’s (DPSU) andOrdnance Factories (OF) wereincreasing the indigenous con-tent in the equipment’s andproducts manufactured by them.“The indigenous content(Degree of Indigenisation) as onMarch 31, 2020 was 74.56%,” itstated.

On efforts to boost privatesector participation in domesticdefence manufacturing, it said asa policy, DPSUs and OFs havebeen outsourcing many of their

requirements and “the value ofoutsourcing in terms of value ofproduction for the FY 2019-20stands at 41.70%.”

Also, during the past fewyears a wide vendor base hasbeen developed that includes alarge number of medium andsmall-scale enterprises and largescale industries, the Surveynoted. Exports from OrdnanceFactory Board (OFB), DPSUsand the private sector (based onauthorization issued byDepartment of DefenceProduction (DDP) haveincreased from � 4,682 crore in2017-18 to �9,116 crore in 2019-20, the survey said.

The report said since open-ing of defence sector for privatesector participation in 2001, sofar 44 Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) proposals and JointVentures have been approved formanufacture of various defenceequipment, both in public andprivate sectors.

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The CBI has registered acase on a complaint from

Principal Commissioner ofCustoms, Ahmedabad againstfive private persons and twoSuperintendents of Customs,Air Intelligence Unit, SVPInternational Airport,Ahmedabad on the allega-tions that some unscrupulouspersons were indulging insmuggling of gold in the formof paste and also 24 caratpure gold jewellery fromabroad through the airport byengaging carriers.

It was further alleged thatthe private persons in con-nivance with two thenSuperintendents of Customs,had indulged in smuggling ofgold chains, gold bars andother goods in commercialquantities running into croresof rupees through the air-port, the CBI said.

Searches were conductedat the residential and officialpremises of the accused andinvestigation is continuing,the CBI said.

Those named in the FIRare Superintendents ofCustoms Somnath Chaudharyand Sujeet Kumar and privatepersons Sajahan Jahangir,Shahidul Jahangir,Mohammad SarfarajMohammad Sharif Mansuri,Shamim and MohammadAzam.

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KOCHI : Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi whorepresents Wayanad in the Lok Sabha refuted the chargesmade by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that Centralprobe agencies were harassing honest officers in the Stateby questioning and arresting them on flimsy grounds.

Addressing leaders and workers of the Congress-ledUnited Democratic Front at Kalpetta late Thursdayevening, the Nehru-Gandhi family scion said the Centralagencies (Enforcement Directorate, CBI, DRI andCustoms) were having a relaxed time in Kerala.

“This is because the BJP at the Centre has a soft cor-ner towards the CPI(M). The Central prone agencies arehaving a relaxed time in Kerala while they were tor-menting and harassing leaders in States where the oppo-sition was in power,” charged Rahul Gandhi addressingthe UDF delegates in what was being seen as the launch-ing of his election campaign in Kerala.

“BJP used central probe agencies like the CBI and theED to harass leaders in States where the Opposition wasin power. PNS

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Kolkata : In a new twist to the chit fund casethe Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)on Friday carried out raids at the Kolkataresidences of renowned magician PC SorcarJunior. The Central agency is reportedlyinvestigating Sorcar’s connection with theTower Group ponzi group.

The CBI team raided four premisesincluding the magician’s Mukundapur andBallyguynge houses sources said adding theAgency had found transaction links betweenthe two sides whereby funds had been trans-ferred to his bank account from the chitfund company.

“The magician allegedly signed a busi-ness deal with the company years ago, andtoday's search operation was carried out toexamine the deal as well as the transactionbetween him and the chit fund company,”a CBI official said adding some documents had also been seized in this con-nection.

Sources said the fund traced to his bankaccount could be the fees for the works hedid for the chit fund group as a brandambassador. The family members howev-er remained tightlipped about the Fridayraids.

The star magician had been a BJP mem-ber and fought parliamentary elections fromBarasat constituency on saffron ticket. PNS

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Hours before Union HomeMinister Amit Shah was to

embark on his two-day pre-elec-toral visit of Bengal former StateMinister Rajib Banerjee onFriday quit as a primary mem-ber of the ruling TrinamoolCongress stoking speculationsthat he was joining the BJP dur-ing Shah’s rally in Howrah.

Banerjee who also quit as aTMC MLA on Friday carriedalong with him a photograph ofChief Minister Mamata Banerjeewho he described as a “motherfigure to me who gave me somuch of opportunity to serve thepeople of Bengal.”

Banerjee, like his formerministerial colleague SuvenduAdhikari had been speaking ina rebellious tone criticizing theway the Government and theparty had been functioning allthese years and the way the “cor-rupt sidekicks of the top partybrass” always got the front benchin the hierarchy.

“I do hereby tender my res-ignation as a member of the All

India Trinamool Congress aswell as from all other positionsheld by me in the party and itsassociates with immediateeffect,” Banerjee, who hadstepped down from the statecabinet last week, wrote in hisresignation letter to the ChiefMinister.

“I have resigned as MLA ofthe State Assembly and submit-ted my resignation letter to theSpeaker,” he said thanking “partypresident Mamata Banerjee forproviding me with an opportu-nity to serve the masses.”

Dropping hints about hisfuture plans Banerjee who hasstrong possibilities of joining theBJP in presence of Shah said “Iwant to remain in the politics inorder to serve the people and inparliamentary democracy youcannot do so as an Independentcandidate … so I will have tofind a political platform formyself under which I can workfor the people of my con-stituency and the State.”

On whether he was joiningthe BJP he said “I gave myselfsome time after quitting the

Cabinet… now I have decidedsomething and that decision Iwill make known in a couple ofdays,” adding however that hehad yet to speak to the BJP lead-ership. Banerjee is the thirdminister after Adhikari andLaxmi Ratan Shukla to quit theGovernment and the party.

Banerjee is among a bevy ofTMC MLAs from North andSouth Bengal and an MP haveleft the party in the past coupleof months or so. Apart from himtwo other MLAs includingBaishali Dalmiya --- the daugh-ter of former BCCI presidentJagmohan Dalmiya --- who waslast week expelled from theTMC and Hooghly MLA PrabirGhoshal are also likely to join theBJP in Shah’s presence sourcessaid.

A third leader RathinChakrabarty the former HowrahMayor too is likely to join thesaffron outfit along with hisother party colleagues thoughthe BJP sources remainedtightlipped about the new join-ing in that party.

When asked about the

TMC leaders joining the saffronoutfit in presence of Shah asenior State BJP leader said“there are a number of themwho will join us” in the HomeMinister’s presence.

The Home Minister whohas visited poll-bound Bengal onseveral occasions in the recentmonths is likely to begin his two-day tour from MayapurChandrodaya Temple ofInternational Society for KrishnaConsciousness (ISKCON) onSaturday before addressing theMatua community at a publicrally at Thakurnagar in North 24Parganas district.

Erstwhile refugees fromBangladesh the Matua com-munity has more than one mil-lion members and it can influ-ence the voting pattern of Northand South 24 Parganaas as alsoNadia and parts of Burdwam.During the visit, Shah is expect-ed to clear his party’s stand onthe Citizenship (Amendment)Act (CAA) as local BJP MP fromMatua community ShantanuThakur had repeatedly beenraising the issue.

Later on Saturday Shah willaddress the social media volun-teers at Science City Auditoriumin Kolkata.

On Sunday he is likely tovisit Sri Aurobindo Bhawan inKolkata and then to BharatSevashram Sangha on RashBehari Avenue in South Kolkata.Shah was earlier scheduled tovisit Ishwar Chandra VidyaSagar’s residence but the pro-gramme was later dropped fol-lowing reports that the TMCsupporters were planning toshow black flags there, sourcessaid. On Sunday he will alsoaddress a public rally atDumurjola in Howrah beforepaying a visit to RamakrishnaMission headquarters, BelurMath.

Meanwhile, with an appar-ent view to gauge the party leg-islators’ minds the ChiefMinister on Friday called aclosed-door meeting of theTMC MPs and MLAs at herKalighat residence where shereportedly disclosed the party’spoll strategy asking them to hitthe streets from February.

� !" �#���$���%������$&'�����(���")*Mumbai: Questioning the manner in which fundsare being collected door-to-door for the RamTemple construction in Ayodhya, the MaharashtraCongress on Friday warned that it may be “swindled”off by the unscrupulous elements.

“Given the background of the Bharatiya JanataParty and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the moneycollected in the name of Lord Ram may be siphonedoff by its activists for their personal use instead ofthe Ayodhya Temple,” said Congress spokespersonSachin Sawant.

Addressing a media conference, Sawant said thatearlier the BJP and its affiliates have already raisedhuge amounts for the Ram Temple, but no accountshave been given about it yet.

Besides, urging the masses to take adequate pre-cautions before donating money out of devotion forLord Ram, he also called upon the Maharashtra gov-ernment to enquire and verify if the funds collect-ed from the state go for the intended purpose.

“The Nirmohi Akhada, which fought the RamTemple cause for many years, had accused the VishwaHindu Parishad of looting Rs 1,400 crore. In 2015,the All India Hindu Mahasabha (AIHM) hadcharged VHP with embezzling Rs 1,400 crore plusseveral quintals of gold and a complaint was lodgedwith the Prime Minister's Office on August 4, 2017,”said Sawant. IANS

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More than ten months afterit suspended the subur-

ban train services in themetropolis and its suburbs,the Maharashtra Governmenton Friday allowed the resump-tion of suburban locals for allcategories of people in Mumbaiand the Mumbai MetropolitanRegion (MMR), fromFebruary 1.

In identical letters writtento the Chief General Managersof Central and WesternRailways, the State chiefSecretary Sanjay Kumarrequested both the Railways toresume local trains with effectfrom February 1, to all cate-gories of the public – from thestart of services for the day to7 am and then again from 12pm to 4 pm, and from 9 pm tothe closure of local train ser-vices for the day with effectfrom February 1, 2021.

“The local train serviceswill be restricted to the essen-tial services staff only as isbeing permitted currently from7 amto 12 noon and from 4 pmto 9 pm,” Kumar stated in hisletters to the chief GMs of theCentral and Western Railway.

It may be recalled that theCentral and Western Railways,

which had suspended all theirsuburban train services in thethird week of March last yearfollowing the announcement oflockdown, resumed opera-tions for those working inessential services from June 15last year..

The services were graduallyincreased for the convenienceof passengers and to avoidcrowding and to maintainsocial distancing. FromOctober 17, it allowed all ladiesto travel by suburban trains fora specified number of hoursduring a day in Mumbai andMumbai Metropolitan Region(MMR).

From November 2onwards, the Central andWestern Railways increasedthe number of services byanother 753 and togetheroperated 2,773 suburban trainservices.

During normal times

before the lockdown, theCentral Railway (CR) used tooperate 1,774 services daily,while the Western Railway(WR) would run 1,367 serviceson the suburban network.

Currently, the railwayauthorities are operating 2,985services, about 95 per cent ofthe total 3141 services, onMumbai''s suburban network.Of these, 204 special suburbanservices were added on Fridaymorning

“Currently 1201 specialsuburban services are beingoperated by Western Railwayfor essential services staff andother categories as notified bythe Maharashtra government.In order to maintain social dis-tancing and to avoid over-crowding, Western Railway hastaken the decision to increasethe number of daily SpecialSuburban services from 1201 to1300 with effect from today byadding 99 additional services

Before the lockdown, awhooping 80 lakh commutersused to travel daily in suburbantrains on the Main andHarbour lines of the CentralRailway and the WesternRailway to and fro from thedistant suburbs to their offices,a majority of which are locat-ed in south Mumbai.

Jaipur: Industries Minister ParasadilalMeena said that Rajasthan Governmentis working with a multi-prongedapproach to provide a favourable envi-ronment to the investors in the State.

With our efforts, Rajasthan willgrow into a majorhub for petrochemicals products, hesaid. Through extensive policy reformsand simplification of rules, we havemade the path of investment easier.

There are unprecedented possibil-ities of investment and employmentopportunities in the state through the

Petroleum Chemicals andPetrochemicals Investment Region(PCPIR) being developed in the areaadjoining the Rajasthan Refinery.

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Continuing its crackdownon the drug peddlers oper-

ating in the metropolis andsurrounding areas, the NarcoticsControl Bureau (NCB) Mumbaicarried out a series of raids inNavi Mumbai and recoveredhuge quantities of differentkinds of banned narcotics andarrested three peddlers.

During its various raids, theNCB also unearthed a novelmodus operandi of the peddlersprocuring LSD — a powerfulhallucinogic drug — through theDark Net for their customers.During the raids during a peri-od over 48 hours, the NCBsleuths seized 336 Blots of LSD(commercial quantity), 6 gramsCocaine and 430 gms Marijuanaat Nerul in Navi Mumbai.

The NCB identified thethree arrested alleged drug ped-dlers as Arbaaz Shaikh, VineetChandran and SurajSingh.While Shaikh andChandran were intercepted in aChevrolet Beat car and arrest-ed late on Wednesday.

Based on the inputs givenby Vineet and Chandran, theNCB arrested Singh late on

Thursday. Singh’s arrest fol-lowed seizure of drugs.

Three drug peddlers whoare said to be running a thriv-ing network in Navi Mumbaisince long have been arrested.They are: Arbaaz Shaikh, VineetChandran and Suraj Singh, saidNCB Zonal Director SameerWankhede.

Shaikh and Chandran wereintercepted in a Chevrolet Beatcar late on Wednesday andafter their interrogation, Singhwas nabbed late on Thursday,with the total quantities recov-ered from them.

Since the NCB entered intothe Bollywood-narcotics mafiaprobe in a big way as a falloutof the death probe of Bollywoodactor Sushant Singh Rajput inJune 2020, it has gone hammer-and-tongs after drug suppliers,financers, agents and streetpeddlers besides customers, inMumbai, Thane, Palghar andNavi Mumbai.

The NCB registered twodrugs cases in the wake of theinvestigations launched by theCBI into the death of actorSushant Singh Rajput in Junelast year upon the directiveissued by the Supreme Court.

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New Delhi: To ensure that thereis no wastage of Covid-19 vac-cines, the Union Health Ministryon Friday asked the States tocover frontline workers fromnext month also besides health-care personnel who were alreadygetting the jab in the first phaseof the national vaccination drivewhich was kicked off fromJanuary 16.

The Ministry has issueddetailed guidelines to the Statesand Union territories to ensurethat there is no wastage ofCovid-19 vaccines and for thatpurpose, the vaccinators at thesession sites have been allowedto add additional beneficiaries,apart from the 100 scheduled forthe day, in case they do not turn

up. A total of 33,68,734 benefi-ciaries (till 7 pm on Friday) werevaccinated through 62,939 ses-sions, as per the provisionalreport. At least 4,40,681 benefi-ciaries were vaccinated, the four-teenth day of nationwideCOVID19 vaccination.

The government has beenurging healthcare workers,including doctors and nurses,not to hesitate to get vaccinatedagainst COVID-19, stressingthat it is their social responsi-bility to get inoculated.

The database of frontlineworkers is being updated bystates and UTs in collaborationwith the respective line min-istries. As on date, the databaseof more than 61 lakh frontline

workers has been uploaded onCo-WIN portal. In a letter to theStates and Union Territories,Health Ministry AdditionalSecretary Manohar Agnani saidthe database of frontline work-ers is being updated by states andUTs in collaboration with therespective line ministries.

Meanwhile, India’s latestdaily count of cases of the coro-navirus disease (Covid-19) wit-nessed a sharp spike as 18,855new infections took the coun-try’s tally to 10,720,048, theUnion Health Ministry datarevealed on Friday. This was7,200 higher infections report-ed a previous day when thecountry had reported 11,666cases. PNS

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Economic calculations: Chinaaccounts for more than 60 percent of the total FDI in Nepal.Until 2014, India had thelargest FDI share in Nepal butfollowing the then friendlyCommunist Government inNepal, China managed tosurpass India. In the pastthree years, China has tripledits investment in the hospital-ity, tourism, cement manufac-turing and construction sec-tors. Popular tourist destina-tions like Thamel inKathmandu are primarilyleased by Chinese business-men, who have been accusedof sheltering Chinese nation-als involved in scams, traffick-ing and bank fraud in Nepal.With the CCP-NCP nexus inplace, diplomatic immunityhas become the synonym ofChinese interests in Nepal.Strategic Beijing: China’simmediate strategic stakesrest with the Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI), military tiesand an extradition treaty.Beijing has more than 10 BRIprojects running in Nepal,and a non-Oli Governmentmay cost big dimes to Beijing.Also, the People’s LiberationArmy was planning the thirdedition of the SagarmathaMilitary Exercise by 2020 endwith Nepal Army, whichbegan in 2017. Beijing pro-jects the joint military exercise

as a counter to India’s tradi-tional security ties with Nepal.However, the House dissolu-tion leaves little space forChina to get the Nepal Armyalong for the exercise.

Beijing also expects anearly conclusion of its extradi-tion treaty with Nepal. DuringJinping’s October 2019 visit,the treaty was almost signedbut human rights advocatesvehemently opposed the move.Amid the protests, the treatywas replaced by the MutualLegal Assistance on CriminalMatters Treaty, similar to extra-dition. An extradition treatywill enable China to prosecuteanti-China and free-Tibetvoices in Nepal as it is home to20,000 Tibetan refugees.Lost traditional space:Traditionally, the United States(US) has followed India’s courseof action concerning peaceand security in Nepal. Thetwo hold a similar position onprotecting the rights of Tibetanrefugees in Nepal, which irksBeijing. To appease the Chinese,Oli has stepped back from ear-lier commitments to join theMillennium ChallengeCorporation (MCC) — aninnovative and independentUS foreign assistance agency tohelp fight global poverty. TheUS Government began work-ing with Nepal in 2012 towarddeveloping an MCC compact.

With China alleging that theMCC was a US-led military ini-tiative, it has been in politicallurch for a decade now.However, soon after Joe Bidentook over, the US Ambassadorhas held meetings withPrachanda and the Oppositionleaders, indicating a renewedeffort to pursue Nepal for join-ing the MCC.Conclusion: Many in Indiabelieve that our recent efforts tohold talks and the ongoingmedical diplomacy will help easeties with Nepal. Contrary to thisunderstanding, Oli has a clearagenda on the border issuewith India, and he is ready toadvance Nepal’s ties with China.Considering the upcomingpolls, Oli will re-use his anti-India centric ultra-nationalismto appease voters. Therefore,India needs to be cautious ofevery friendly move it makes. AsOli’s anti-India manoeuvringshelp Beijing to assert its positionin Nepal, China would like himto remain in power. Meanwhile,it is the Opposition’s responsibil-ity to make the Nepalese pub-lic aware of Chinese debt trapsand strategic moves that havealready been proved in SriLanka and the Maldives.

(The author is an ICSSRDoctoral Fellow at the JNU, NewDelhi, and Senior Fellow at theAIDIA, Kathmandu. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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The dissolution of theLower House of theNepalese Parliamenthas caused loomingpolitical instability in

the Himalayan nation. PrimeMinister KP Oli continues toassert his position in the NepalCommunist Party as the “legiti-mate” chairperson after theElection Commission ruled in hisfavour and revoked his suspensionby the Prachanda and MadhavKumar Nepal-led faction lastweek. The onus now rests on theSupreme Court to decide on thelegitimacy of the House’s dissolu-tion and holding of fresh electionsin March or April. Meanwhile, itis unlikely that the court will ruleagainst Oli, considering his recordwith the court and the favoursgiven in judicial appointments.At stake for China: While the lin-gering uncertainty has led topolitical upheaval, Nepal is beingclosely monitored by India andChina. India has officially com-municated it as an “internal mat-ter” of Nepal, but China hasrushed to control the damage.The arrival of Guo Yezhou, aVice-Minister of the InternationalDepartment of the ChineseCommunist Party (CCP), inNepal was a clear indication of theChinese holding their breath.But Beijing failed to facilitate atruce despite the fact that the del-egation made headlines in thepolitical and strategic sphere ofNepal. With an unsuccessfulattempt to unite the warring fac-tions of the Nepal CommunistParty (NCP), China has the fol-lowing issues at stake.Political leverage: Politically, theCCP has established ties with theNCP. The CCP recommends tothe Chinese Government thedegree of economic and defenceassistance to Nepal, making it theprimary connection between thetwo Governments. The CCPand the NCP had formalisedpolitical ties during ChinesePresident Xi Jinping’s visit toKathmandu in October 2019.The party allegedly providespolitical funding to the NCPthrough “humanitarian chan-nels” like the Madan BhandariFoundation. With the NCP nowdivided, the CCP will have to re-establish ground for politicalleverage in Nepal.

��������������� ���������Sir — The rich countries are running outof Coronavirus vaccines and witnessingnew cases, strains and deaths, while thepoor countries are having to go withoutaccess to the vaccination.

In India, meanwhile, the number ofactive cases is declining. With the worstbehind us, there is the possibility ofrelaxations for public activity from themonth of February, including higheroccupancy in cinema theatres and hold-ing exhibitions. This will come as a reliefto some of the outlying sectors that couldnot fully unlock so far, although most otheractivities have been permitted.

The Maharashtra Government has,meanwhile, extended the COVID-19 lock-down till February 28. The MaharashtraGovernment had earlier extended theongoing lockdown imposed in view of theCOVID-19 pandemic till January 31. TheState has been witnessing fewer than 5,000COVID-19 cases for 26 successive days.That said, extending the lockdown in thecontainment zones is perfectly justifiable.

In an economy struggling with ademand contraction for goods and ser-vices, a graded opening is the prudentcourse with strict enforcement of publichealth measures like use of face masks, safedistancing, staggering of working hours,workplace sanitisation and firm actionagainst spitting in public places.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

�����������������������Sir — Though it’s a “rarest of rare” incident,a television channel has taken a seasonedanchor-journalist off air for two weeks anddocked his salary for one month for mis-reporting that the man who had died dur-ing the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi onJanuary 26 had been “shot” by the police.

Though the scribe had deleted histweet and mentioned on air that the farmerhad been killed in an accident after histractor toppled, the channel’s administra-tion has taken the right step. Whether itwas done to please the Union Governmentor under pressure from the powers that be,is another matter.

The decision was taken apparently tosend out the message that there is no placefor fake news in the media house. If that’sthe case, one must recall that in the pastfew years no action was taken by the samegroup against several other high-profilejournalists over various false news items,even when they never issued any clarifi-cation on the fake news items. Not onlyhave they pushed falsehoods but alsotweaked the truth, targeted the weak andfed hate to millions of viewers.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee | Faridabad

����������������� ����������Sir — Since September 27, 2020, whenthe three agriculture Bills became Actsfollowing the consent of President RamNath Kovind, it’s been a contentious topicacross the country.

If analysed technically, the laws havethe potential of boosting profit andproductivity, both of the farmers as wellas of the nation, but the demand of thefarmers was also to keep the Minimum

Support Price (MSP) intact and give itstatutory backing. Many unfortunateincidents have taken place since the farm-ers from several States reached theCapital’s doors nearly two months back.

On the occasion of the 72nd RepublicDay, we all watched the tractor paradewhich was really a display of hooligan-ism and barbarism. With over 300policemen receiving injuries during theoutrage, now even the local residents ofthe National Capital Region are angrywith the protesting farmers. Gradually,their camps are vanishing and manyfarmers’ unions have announced with-drawal from the ongoing protest. Indiacan’t afford such violence at this criticaltime of vaccination drive. Let’s all be partof a new India, let’s educate the framersabout the real benefits of the farm lawsand boost our country’s pride.

N Soumik | Bhubaneswar

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Unlike the Economic Survey for 2019-20,which was prepared keeping in mind theambitious target of achieving a $5 trillion

economy by 2024-25, this time around, the over-arching theme revolves around demonstratinghow brilliantly the Government has managed theCoronavirus pandemic. Through lucid elaborationon the details and modeling with facts and figures— using international as well as inter-State com-parison within India, Chief Economic Adviser(CEA) Krishnamurthy Subramanian has givenample justification for the “early” and “stringent”lockdown from March and thereafter calibrated lift-ing of restrictions from June onward. Tacitly, he hasalso admitted that this led to compression in demand(discretionary spending during this period wasalmost completely exterminated) on one hand, alongwith supply side disruption on the other hand.

The precipitous decline in the Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) growth by 24 per cent during thefirst quarter of the current Financial Year (FY) end-ing June 30, 2020, and continuing deceleration butat a moderate 7.5 per cent during the second quar-ter ending on September 30, 2020 is the inevitableoutcome of the above strategy that was focused pre-dominantly on saving human lives and keepingother health-related damage to the bare minimum.

However, there was sharp rebound during thesecond half when the decline was expected to bemarginal at 0.1 per cent. This has to do primarilywith fast normalisation of business activities, a cal-ibrated exit from the lockdown and release of pentup demand (with festive demand acting as the icingon the cake). For the whole year, growth is estimat-ed to be minus 7.7 per cent (against a much sharp-er decline in double digits forecast earlier by manyagencies). For 2021-22, the survey projects thegrowth to be 11 per cent which is also in sync withthe projection by the International Monetary Fund(IMF) at 11.5 per cent.

This much-trumpeted V-shaped recovery (alsodescribed as the best among all emerging marketeconomies) has been correlated by the CEA withsynchronised policy action — on the demand sideby way of reducing interest rate, pumping liquidi-ty, tax cuts and so on — and on the supply sidethrough agricultural and labour reforms. This maybe bit of an exaggeration. The recovery has to dooverwhelmingly with the exemplary success inimplementing measures on containing the virus andavoidance of a second wave of infection.

Pertinently, the survey itself notes: “Contraryto expectations of a faster growth in FY22 helpingto shave off the sharp GDP contractions this year,the Indian economy will take at least two more yearsto return to the growth levels achieved in the pre-pandemic period.” This is also in line with the IMF’sprojections, according to which after touching 11.5per cent in 2021-22, GDP growth will slide to 6.8per cent during 2022-23.

At the time of taking charge for his second stintin May 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hadset the GDP target for 2024-25 at $5 trillion. Thisby itself was highly unrealistic as it would haverequired an annual growth of 20 per cent (never seenin the past). Now, with the steep decline of 7.7 percent during the current FY, even if 11 per centgrowth is achieved during 2021-22, the GDP wouldhave merely recuperated to the 2019-20 level orabout $2.1 trillion. Starting from here, to reach $5

trillion in just about three years by2024-25 is next to impossible. Nowonder, even the CEA (unlike lastyear) is only talking of actions in theshort term. Accordingly, theEconomic Survey for 2020-21 hassuggested that “the Governmentshould come up with more fiscalmeasures for short-term support tothe economy and businesses.”

In other words, he wants theGovernment to go for a more loosefiscal policy notwithstanding thefact that already the fiscal deficit (FD)for the current year is expectedto be about 7.5 per cent. Thisdoes not include off-Budgetliabilities and extra-budgetary resources(EBRs). Once theseare included, thedeficit will increasefurther and will be more than dou-ble the Budget estimate of 3.5 percent.

While, talking of measures toboost growth, the official think tankneeds to introspect as to why despitea number of fiscal measures (com-plemented by monetary measures)taken during 2020 — branded by theCentre as several mini-Budgets —both consumption and investmentdemand continue to remain weak.For instance, look at the steep cut inthe corporate tax rate to 15 per centon new investment granted inSeptember 2019. Yet it failed to spurinvestment. This has been the posi-tion since the third quarter of 2018-19 (that was much before the pan-demic) leading to a decline in growthquarter after quarter. Spending a few

thousand crore more or leavingmore money in the hands of the peo-ple (through tax concessions ordirect cash transfer to the poor/vul-nerable) won’t be of much help inspurring demand or even enthusingentrepreneurs to invest. Of crucialimportance is the need to actuallyexecute reforms and make themwork on ground zero. Unfortunately,this is not happening. Here are someexamples.

Under a stimulus packageannounced last year, �3,00,000 crore

were to be given to micro, smalland medium enterprises(MSMEs) or identified

stressed sectors underthe Emergency CreditLine GuaranteeScheme (ECLGS).Under this scheme,

as against a target of eight millionMSMEs beneficiaries, only four mil-lion got loan aggregating to �1,50,000crore. Likewise, the �65,000 croreadditional amount given for fertilis-er subsidy under the last tranche ofthe stimulus package was meant forclearing pending subsidy dues to fer-tiliser manufacturers. It is not anadditional support to farmers.

As regards the reforms in thefield of marketing agricultural prod-ucts, we have seen the fate of the threeCentral laws which have the poten-tial of substantially increasing pricerealisation by the farmers and couldhave played a vital role in doublingfarmers’ income.

As things stand today (rightnow the Supreme Court has put ahold on their implementation), it is

not clear whether these will see thelight of the day.

The Modi Government is bettingbig on investment in infrastructure;it is reiterated in the EconomicSurvey, too. That will need massiveresource mobilisation to the tune of�100 lakh crore over the next fiveyears. A whopping 39 per cent has tocome from the Centre and Stateseach and the balance 22 per centfrom the private sector. Till date, wedon’t have a strategic plan of actionon how to do it even as State agen-cies such as the National HighwayAuthority of India (NHAI) and so on,continue to be saddled with theresponsibility to fund the investmentmostly out of borrowings, pushingthem into unsustainable debt.

Look at the steep cut in corpo-rate tax that makes India one of themost attractive investment destina-tion: At par with even Singapore. Yet,if one looks at the fine print and inparticular, several riders for availingthe benefit, this could end up dis-couraging investors, including for-eign companies, to go for it.

To conclude, it may be worthrecalling what the CEA had expect-ed the Government to do in the sur-vey for 2019-20. The CEA wanted toexpedite reforms in banking, foodand fertiliser subsidy, land acquisi-tion, enforcement of contracts, elim-ination of bureaucratic red tape,removal of bottlenecks in trans-portation and clearances at the ports.This is a sustainable solution to theproblem of low demand and slowgrowth syndrome. Will Team Modibite the bullet?

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The “establishment” hasincreasingly become oneof the most frequently

used words in political com-mentaries and debates acrossthe world. Simply put, itdescribes a tightly-organisedmatrix of shadowy elite, whoseinvisible actions and secretdecisions engineer the eco-nomic, political and social fatesof the polity. During the 2016presidential poll campaigningin the US, the populistRepublican Party candidateDonald Trump and the Left-leaning Democrat Party con-tender Bernie Sanders wereoften described as “anti-estab-lishment”, whereas another con-tender, the Democrat Party’sHilary Clinton, was under-stood as the candidate of the“establishment.”

The term “establishment”,in the context that it is gener-ally understood today, was notpart of any political lexicon till1955, when the British journal-ist Henry Fairlie used it in an

article for The Spectator. Fairliehad used the term while writ-ing about the disappearance oftwo UK foreign officers. By“establishment” he had meantto describe the influential peo-ple who were defending theofficers’ families from the Press.

Yet, within a few years, theword had been picked up byscores of political commenta-tors, journalists and activists tomean something a lot widerthan what Fairlie had original-ly intended it to mean. Theterm gained more mentionand momentum in the USthan in the UK. For example,during the primaries for the1964 US presidential elections,the conservative author PhyllisSchlafly lamented in her 1964book ‘A Choice Not an Echo’that the Republican Party wasbeing manipulated by theRepublican establishment tokeep out those who threatenedits interests. She also claimedthat this establishment wasmade up of kingmakers who

use “hidden persuaders andpsychological warfare tech-niques” for this purpose.

However, ironically, thekingmakers did not hesitate tonominate the far-Right fire-brand and populist BarryGoldwater as their candidate forthe 1964 polls. He was someoneSchlafly was more than happyto see contesting the liberalincumbent, Lyndon Johnson.Johnson swept the elections.Even though the term wasbeing used in the UK and theUS, articles in Pakistan and inIndia did not use the termbetween January 1960 andJanuary 1970.

However, some Indiannewspapers did use the word“syndicate” in 1969 to describethe “kingmakers of theCongress Party.” The syndi-cate was described as a group ofparty elders who were againstIndira Gandhi’s anti-businessideas. In the Pakistani Press(from 1967 onwards) there wasmention of a powerful matrix

of the military, the bureaucra-cy and “22 families” runningPakistan as a dictatorship.

The political scholar SimonReid-Henry says that the seedsof the existential crisis thatdemocracy is facing today wereinitially sown during the eco-nomic and political upheavalsof the 1970s, which saw politi-cians and established politicalparties lose their ability to con-trol the outcome of events.Rising inequality, growingdomestic and international ten-sions between races, ethnicgroups and nations and the

startling exposition of politicalscandals, unleashed a powerfulsentiment of mistrust towardsmainstream political players.

The consensus that wasachieved after the World War-II, between the mainstreamLeft and Right groups in demo-cratic countries, had begun tocrumble. This created an open-ing for groups who were seento be sidelined for being anti-establishment. These wereadherents of “negative liberty”coming in to eradicate the“excesses of positive liberty.”

In 1958, the politicalphilosopher Isaiah Berlindefined two concepts of liber-ty. To Berlin, “positive liberty”involved pursuit of liberty thatwas driven by reason and notrestricted by inner constraintssuch as irrational passions anddesires. “Negative liberty” iswhen the pursuit of liberty isnot restricted by external con-straints, such as State andGovernment interference inthe lives of people. The emer-

gence of “neo-conservatism”in the 1980s is a case in point.The “neocons” emerged toannounce that they would berolling back Government inter-ference in people’s lives. Theysaw themselves as the anti-establishment. But there wereinherent contradictions in whatthey did. Take, for example,Ronald Reagan’s America andZia-ul-Haq’s Pakistan. Bothgreatly lessened State interfer-ence in matters of economics sothat the people could achieveindividual growth by actingupon their desires of acquiringmaterial wealth. Yet, eventhough this freed the Statefrom trying to aid societythrough welfare programmes, itcoupled economic freedomwith external constraints, suchas abstract ideas of morality, tra-dition and faith.

After the economic crash of1987 and rising incidents ofcontradictory behaviour thatpeddled amoral materialismwith religious piety, this set of

self-appointed anti-establish-mentarians, the “neocons”, alsobegan to be seen as being partof the establishment.

There is no tangibility inthe image of a group of power-ful men sitting in a secretsmoke-filled room, decidingthe fates of the polity. But thisis not to suggest that segmentsinfluencing a nation’s politicsand economics do not exist. Asthe veteran US congressionalaide Mike Lofgren once stated,such groups, call them estab-lishment or “Deep State, “hidein plain sight.” Take Pakistan’sso-called military establish-ment. It doesn’t really concealits political influence. That’sbecause power cannot be fullyexercised from the shadows.Those wielding power need tobe seen if they are to be obeyed(or feared).

The establishment is there-fore not a shadowy conspiracybut a position of visible powerthat many want to become apart of. Many do.

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POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The writer is a New Delhi-based policy

analyst. The viewsexpressed are personal.

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The views expressed arepersonal.

Courtesy: Dawn

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Voicing outrage over theacquittal of those involved

in the brutal murder of DanielPearl in 2002, the White Househas asked Pakistan to expedi-tiously review its legal options,including allowing the US toprosecute al-Qaeda terroristAhmed Omar Saeed Sheikhand other suspects to securejustice for the American jour-nalist’s family.

Pearl, the 38-year-oldSouth Asia bureau chief for TheWall Street Journal, was visit-ing Pakistan to report onIslamist militant networks inthe country and on the linksbetween the country’s power-ful spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda following the September11, 2001 terror strikes. He waskidnapped in Karachi, the cap-ital of Sindh, and beheadeddays later.

Pakistan’s Supreme Courton Thursday dismissed appealsagainst the acquittal of British-born al-Qaeda terrorist Sheikhin the kidnapping and murdercase of Pearl and ordered hisrelease, a judgementdenounced by the Americanjournalist’s family as “a com-plete travesty of justice.”

The apex court cleared

Sheikh and his three Pakistaniaccomplices in the case of allthe charges, ordering thatSheikh and others be immedi-ately freed from jail.

Hours after the ruling,White House press secretaryJen Psaki underlined the newBiden administration’s com-mitment to secure justice forPearl’s family.

Psaki, during her dailynews conference on Thursday,said: “The United States is out-raged by the Pakistani SupremeCourt’s decision to affirm theacquittals of those responsiblefor Wall Street Journal reporterDaniel Pearl’s kidnapping andbrutal murder which shockedthe world’s conscience in 2002”.

“This decision to exonerateand release Sheikh and theother suspects is an affront toterrorism victims everywhere,including in Pakistan. Werecognise past Pakistani actions

to try to hold Mr Pearl’s mur-derers accountable, and we donote that as of right now, OmarSheikh remains in detention inPakistan under national secu-rity authorities.

“But we call on thePakistani government to expe-ditiously review its legaloptions, including allowing theUnited States to prosecute forthe brutal murder of anAmerican citizen and journal-ist,” Psaki said in response to aquestion on Pakistan’s apexcourt’s decision.

Sheikh and his three aides- Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adiland Salman Saqib - were con-victed and sentenced in theabduction and murder case ofPearl in Karachi in 2002.

The United States, she said,is committed to securing justicefor Pearl’s family and holdingterrorists anywhere account-able for their heinous crimes.

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Pakistan authorities onFriday filed a review peti-

tion in the Supreme Courtagainst the aquittal of British-born al-Qaeda terrorist AhmedOmar Saeed Sheikh and histhree accomplices in the 2002kidnapping and murder case ofAmerican journalist DanielPearl, hours after the USexpressed outrage over thedecision terming it as an“affront” to victims of terror-ism.

The review was filed by theSindh Government in theSupreme Court after its appealagainst the acquittal verdict ofSindh High Court (SHC) was

dismissed by the top court onThursday. Pakistan’s SupremeCourt on Thursday dismissedappeals against the acquittal ofSheikh in the kidnapping andmurder case of Pearl andordered his release, a judge-ment denounced by theAmerican journalist’s familyas “a complete travesty of jus-tice.”

The apex court clearedSheikh and his three Pakistaniaccomplices in the case of allthe charges, ordering thatSheikh and others be immedi-ately freed from jail if notwanted in any other case.

Pearl, the 38-year-oldSouth Asia bureau chief for TheWall Street Journal, was visit-

ing Pakistan to report onIslamist militant networks inthe country and on the linksbetween the country’s power-ful spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda following the September11, 2001 terror strikes. He waskidnapped in Karachi, the cap-ital of Sindh, and beheadeddays later.

Sindh Prosecutor GeneralFiaz Shah, while talking to themedia, confirmed that a peti-tion was lodged to “seek areview and request the court torecall the order of acquittal.

The Sindh government, inthe petition, pleaded the courtto review its verdict and rein-state their sentences as therewere certain loopholes in the

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Authorities in Bangladeshsent a third group of

Rohingya refugees to a newlydeveloped island in the Bay ofBengal on Friday despite callsby human rights groups for ahalt to the process.

The Government insiststhe relocation plan is meant tooffer better living conditionswhile attempts to repatriatemore than 1 million refugees toMyanmar would continue.

On Friday morning, 1,778refugees started their journeyto the island of Bhasan Char infour navy vessels from thesoutheastern port city ofChattogram, after they werebrought from crammed campsin Cox’s Bazar district, said M.Mozammel Haque, a com-mander of the Bangladeshnavy. He said a fourth batchwould be sent to the islandSaturday.

“Around 4,000 refugeeshave already been sent to the

island since December, but wehave the capacity of accom-modating 1,00,000. The processwill continue until we fulfill it,”he told reporters.

Haque said the refugeeswere being treated well on theisland and they would have theoption of generating income byrearing cattle or poultry andcould also engage in makinghandicrafts. He said they want-ed them to contribute to theeconomy, but their repatriationto Myanmar is the ultimate goal.

“They will be checked byour doctors when they arrivetoday. They will be given foodand accommodation properly,”he said. While human rightsgroups criticised the move, thegovernment of Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina repeatedly saidthe refugees were moving to theisland voluntarily under gov-ernment management.

Authorities say the refugeeswere selected for relocationbased on their willingness, andthat no pressure was applied.

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Turkey hopes the UnitedStates will return to the

nuclear deal with Iran underUS President Joe Biden’sadministration, TurkishForeign Minister MevlutCavusoglu said on Friday.

Speaking at a joint newsconference with Iranian coun-terpart Javad Zarif in Istanbul,Cavusoglu said Turkey wouldalso like to see sanctionsimposed on Iran lifted.

“I hope that with the Bidenadministration, the UnitedStates return to this agreementand cooperation on the(nuclear) issue is restored,”Cavusoglu said. “In this way,God willing, the sanctions andembargoes imposed on broth-erly Iran are lifted.”

Former US PresidentDonald Trump unilaterallywithdrew America from Iran’snuclear deal in 2018. Under thedeal, Tehran had agreed tolimit its uranium enrichment inexchange for the lifting of eco-nomic sanctions.

After the US Then rampedup sanctions, Iran graduallyand publicly abandoned thedeal’s limits on its nucleardevelopment. Iranian state TVreported Thursday that Iranhas exceeded 17 kilograms of20 per cent enriched uraniumwithin a month, moving itsnuclear program closer toweapons-grade enrichmentlevels.

Biden, who was vice pres-ident when the deal was signedduring the Obama adminis-tration, has said he hopes toreturn the U.S. To the deal.

“The United States unilat-erally withdrew from this com-prehensive course of action,”Zarif told journalists, speakingthrough an interpreter. “It is theduty of the United States toreturn to this agreement and tofulfill its obligations.

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Mohammed Al Zabidi cel-ebrated in 2017 when he

learned he had been selected inthe US green card lottery,which picks people at randomfrom a large pool of applicants.It was a chance to escape hiswar-torn homeland of Yemenand pursue his dreams in theUnited States.

“I won! I won!” Al Zabidicheered. He borrowed moneyto finance his trip, boughtclothes for his new life inAmerica and packed souvenirsfor friends there. With no USEmbassy in Yemen, he made agruelling journey to Djiboutifor his visa interview.

But there, after he hadbeen initially approved, hisluck ran out: “CANCELLEDWITHOUT PREJUDICE,”read the bold, black, all-capsstamp on the unused visa in hispassport with a Trump admin-istration travel ban on severalMuslim-majority nations,including his, in place.

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No decision has been madeabout the future presence

of the US troops inAfghanistan, the Pentagon hassaid, asserting that the Bidenadministration is committed toresponsibly end the war in thestrife-torn country with thediplomatic process.

The previous Trumpadministration had signed thepeace deal with Taliban inFebruary last in Doha. Theaccord drew up plans for with-drawal of US troops fromAfghanistan in exchange forsecurity guarantees from theinsurgent group.

As part of the deal, the UScommitted to withdraw its12,000 troops fromAfghanistan within 14 months.There are currently only 2,500American troops left in thewar-torn country.

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ADutch appeals court isdelivering its judgment

Friday in a long-running civilcase in which four Nigerianfarmers are seeking compen-sation and a cleanup fromenergy giant Shell for pollutioncaused by leaking oil pipelinesin the Niger Delta.

The decision, which can beappealed to the Dutch SupremeCourt, is the latest stage in acase that is breaking new legalground in how far multina-tionals in the Netherlands canbe held responsible for actions of their overseas sub-sidiaries.

Royal Dutch Shell arguesthat saboteurs are responsiblefor leaks in underground oilpipes that have polluted thedelta.

Moscow: After a round of talksin Moscow, the Taliban saidFriday they expect the UnitedStates to fulfill its pledge towithdraw all its troops fromAfghanistan by May.

Sher Mohammed AbbasStanikzai, who led the Talibandelegation that met with seniorRussian diplomats during twodays of talks, insisted that themovement has honored its endof the deal signed last year onQatar, where the Taliban main-tain a political office.

White House and U.S. StateDepartment officials have saidthat Biden’s administrationplans to take a new look at thepeace agreement signed lastFebruary with Donald Trump’sWhite House.

The Pentagon said onThursday that the Taliban’srefusal to meet commitments toreduce violence in Afghanistanis raising questions aboutwhether all U.S. Troops will beable to leave by May as requiredunder the peace deal. AP

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New Delhi:Highlighting the need for strong indigenous phar-ma companies, a Parliamentary panel has recommended that thepharma industry should be categorised as a “strategic sector” andcalled for a necessary follow-up action in this regard.

In its report, tabled in Parliament on Friday, on the reviewof loss-making central public sector enterprises, the Committeeon Public Undertakings chaired by Meenakshi Lekhi observed thatthe indigenous awareness of healthcare facilities is of paramountimportance of any nation. The Committee said it was of the strongopinion that pharma sector plays a very important role to keepthe nation healthy and strong, and this has been quite apparentduring the current pandemic when the need for strong indigenouspharma companies has been realised with more intensity. PTI

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India is reaping the “lock-down dividend” from the

preventive measures it adopt-ed at the onset of the Covid-19pandemic indicating its will-ingness to take short-term painfor long-term gain, said theEconomic Survey tabled inParliament on Friday.

The document also saiddespite the hard-hitting eco-nomic shock created by theglobal pandemic, India is wit-nessing a V-shaped recoverywith a stable macroeconomicsituation aided by a stable cur-rency, comfortable currentaccount, burgeoning forexreserves, and encouraging signsin the manufacturing sectoroutput.

“India is reaping the ‘lock-down dividend’ from the brave,preventive measures adopted atthe onset of the pandemic...,” itsaid in the opening chaptertitled ‘Saving Lives andLivelihoods Amidst a Once-in-a-Century Crisis’.

Unlike Oscar Wilde’s cynic,‘who knows the price of every-thing and the value of nothing,’India’s policy response to thepandemic stemmed funda-mentally from the humaneprinciple advocated eloquent-ly in the Mahabharata that‘Saving a life that is in jeopardyis the origin of dharma.’

“Therefore, the ‘price’ paidfor temporary economicrestrictions in the form of tem-porary GDP decline is dwarfedby the ‘value’ placed on humanlife,” said the survey.

The document furthersaid India recognised that whileGDP growth will recover from

the temporary shock caused bythe pandemic, human livesthat are lost cannot be broughtback.

The response drew on epi-demiological and economicresearch, especially

those pertaining to theSpanish Flu, which highlight-

ed that an early, intense lock-down provided a win-win strat-egy to save lives, and preserve

livelihoods via economicrecovery in the medium tolong-term. “To implement itsstrategy, India imposed themost stringent lockdown atthe very onset of the pandem-

ic. This enabled flattening ofthe pandemic curve and, there-by, provided the necessary timeto ramp up the health and test-ing infrastructure,” it said.

Faced with enormousuncertainty, India adopted astrategy of Bayesian updatingto continually calibrate its

response while graduallyunlocking and easing eco-nomic activity. As per the sur-vey, India has transformed theshort-term trade-off betweenlives and livelihoods into awin-win in the medium tolong-term that saves both livesand livelihoods.

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The output of eightcore infrastruc-

ture sectors contract-ed by 1.3 per cent inDecember 2020dragged down bypoor show by crudeoil, natural gas, refin-ery products, fertiliser, steel andcement sectors.

The production of eightcore sectors had expanded by3.1 per cent in December 2019,according to the data releasedby the Commerce and IndustryMinistry on Friday.

Barring coal and electric-ity, all sectors recorded negativegrowth in December 2020.

During April-December

2020-21, the sectors’ outputdropped by 10.1 per centagainst a growth rate of 0.6 percent in the same period of theprevious year.

The output of crude oil,natural gas, refinery products,fertiliser, steel and cementdeclined by 3.6 per cent, 7.2 percent, 2.8 per cent, 2.9 per cent,2.7 per cent, and 9.7 per cent,respectively.

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The Sensex and Nifty buckled under selling

pressure for the sixth session on the trot onFriday as the pre-Budget Economic Survey failedto cheer investors amid continued selling by for-eign funds and a bearish trend overseas.

Both the benchmark indices fluctuatedbetween gains and losses in a highly volatile ses-sion.

The 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 588.59points or 1.26 per cent to finish at 46,285.77 -- taking the six-session aggregate loss to3,506.35 points or 7.04 per cent. Intra-day, theindex swung 1,263.20 points.

Likewise, the NSE Nifty furthered its lossby 182.95 points or 1.32 per cent to settle at13,634.60. Over the last six days, the NSE barom-eter has shed 1,010.10 points or 6.89 per cent.

On the Sensex chart, 26 shares closed in thered. Dr Reddy’s, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, BajajAuto, Infosys, TCS, NTPC and Bajaj FinServwere the major losers, slumping as much as 5.69per cent.

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India was the only countryamong emerging markets

to receive equity inflows fromFPIs in 2020, as the countryattracted USD 30 billion in thefirst nine months of the year,according to the EconomicSurvey.

Also, net inflows from for-eign portfolio investors (FPIs)recorded an all-time monthlyhigh of USD 9.8 billion inNovember 2020, as investors’risk appetite returned.

“During April-December2020, equities witnessed aninflow of at USD 30 billion,five times its previous yearvalue - India was the onlycountry among emerging mar-kets to receive equity FII

inflows in 2020,” according tothe Survey tabled inParliament on Friday.

As a result of stronginflows, buoyant Sensex andNifty resulted in India’s mar-ket-capitalisation to GrossDomestic Product (GDP) ratiocrossing 100 per cent for thefirst time since October 2010.

“While stock mar-kets value the potential futuregrowth, these elevated levelsstill raise concerns on the dis-connect between the financialmarkets and real sector,” theSurvey noted.However, otheremerging markets likeIndonesia, Malaysia, SouthKorea, Taiwan, Philippines,Brazil, Thailand and SouthAfrica witnessed outflowsfrom FPIs last year.

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The country’s exports areexpected to contract by

5.8% and imports by 11.3%during the second half of thecurrent financial year, thoughimplementation of severalmeasures by the Govt wouldhelp support exports goingforward, according to theEconomic Survey 2021.Withgradual recovery of econom-ic activities, the survey saidthat imports and exportshave picked up.During thefirst half of 2020-21 (April-September), exports dippedby 21.31 per cent to USD125.25 billion while importsdeclined by 40% to USD148.69 billion.

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The economic survey for2020-21 has suggested

revision in the weightage offood items to gauge the truepicture of inflation in thecountry, and said new sourcesof price data also need to beincorporated in the wake ofincreasing retail e-commercetransactions. As per the sur-vey, the current spike in con-sumer price-based retailinflation of food prices ismainly a supply-side phe-nomenon.

The survey noted that theweights of all items in retailinflation are based on theNSO household consumptionexpenditure survey of 2011-12.

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India’s sovereign credit ratingsdo not reflect the economy’s

fundamentals, the EconomicSurvey said on Friday andnudged the global agencies tobecome more transparent andless subjective in their ratings.The Economic Survey 2020-21,tabled in Parliament, said thatsovereign credit ratingsmethodology must be amend-ed to reflect economies’ abili-ty and willingness to pay theirdebt obligations, and suggest-ed that developing economiesmust come together to addressthis bias and subjectivity inher-ent in sovereign credit ratingsmethodology.

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Mumbai:The rupee gained 9 paise to settleat 72.96 against the US dollar on Friday evenas the domestic equity markets closed withsignificant losses.

At the interbank forex market, the localunit opened at 73.01, and hit an intra-day highof 72.93 and a low of 73.01. It finally finishedat 72.96, higher by 9 paise over its last close.

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Actor Bhumi Pednekar has always been an environmental-ly conscious citizen who has taken up climate conser-vation as a cause to raise awareness among fellow

Indians. Bhumi has launched an online and offline initia-tive called Climate Warrior through which she is mobilis-ing citizens of India to contribute towards protecting the envi-ronment. Bhumi is thanking her industrys role in constant-ly coming forward to raise awareness about climate conser-vation and zero-waste.

On World Environment Day last year, celebrities likeAmitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, AnushkaSharma came forward for Bhumis One Wish ForThe Earth initiative and urged everyone to plantmore trees and do their bit to take care of theirenvironment. Last Diwali, Bhumi wished herindustry by sending her colleagues saplingsthat they could plant in their homes.

“The support that my fraternity gavethat campaign was immense. And its justnot that campaign. There is a certainchange in the mindset that we haveseen like within the fraternity as well,you know. My last three films, the setswere plastic-free. There was no useof single-use plastic. The crew usedsteel water bottles. These are very pro-ductive steps, because the kind of garbagethat is like – that comes out of a film set is large.And this is a conversation that I have with mostof my film teams,” says she.

“Another thing that I talk to the team withis about wastage of food and the industry isdoing whatever it can to ensure this doesnt hap-pen on sets. Like, for example, on Durgamati,because that was my last project that I shotfor before the pandemic, all the excess foodwas distributed in a very hygienic way topeople who are less fortunate. There wereextra meals cooked on set that we coulddistribute to people. It was a complete-ly pet bottle-free set. So, these are theproductive changes that we have tobring about,” Bhumi adds.

Ye Wasseypur hai...yahan kabu-tar bhi doosre ke pankh se apnaizzat bachata hai... Seldomdoes it happen that when youread a dialogue (Gangs of

Wasseypur, 2012), visuals of the film andthe actor delivering it start forming in yourhead. But then, this is just one in the listof many performances where actor ManojBajpayee left an impact with hard-hittingdialogues.

Bajpayee, last seen in Suraj Pe MangalBhari, decided to teach the tricks of hiscraft with Unluclass which has beenlaunched by the learning and entertain-ment platform, Unlu. Says Bajpayee,“Over the years, you gain some skill setswhich can help others upskill their talent.From cracking the audition and charac-ter biographies, to method acting andvoice training, we have covered a lot in theclass. Its been a mix of fun and learning.”

The actor further shares 10 tips for theemerging artists to take their craft togreater heights.

PRACTICE: The first and the mostimportant thing for an artist is riyaaz. Onemust do it constantly and regularly tosharpen the skills. And make sure that itcomes out naturally because you cannotfake emotions in acting.

GET INTO THE SKIN: The other thingto keep in mind is that you have to live inthe skin of the character for a long timewhich means make the role your own, asthis will create celluloid magic. You musttake mental and physical notes about thecharacter only then will you be able to getunder that skin.

KNOW WHAT YOUR AUDIENCEWANTS: Know the emotions and conflictsof your audience and then work passion-ately and sensitively towards the desiredapproach.

ENROLL YOURSELF INTO AN INSTI-TUTE: Study in a stellar institute likeNational School of Drama and you willcome out as a changed human being anddefinitely a better actor. When I came toMumbai, I was awe struck by the perfor-mances of NSD actors which inspired meto join it and try my luck in Bollywood.

NO EXPERIENCE IS A WASTE: Oftenyour experiences make you deliver yourbest performances. The experiences of myinitial days in Mumbai helped me a lot inperforming the character of Bhosle in thefilm.

BE OVER-PREPARED: Always be over-prepared because in acting, this is a

blessing and is an alternative word forbeing rehearsed. But sometimes youhave to keep something unknown asan actor to maintain that authentic-ity and remain organic.

KNOW YOUR POTENTIAL:You must have the knowledgeabout your capabilities andshould work on them touncover them.

ENJOY WHAT YOU DO:You have to be happy andenjoy what you do, and

then only you can deliveryour best performance.This is not only applicablefor actors but for anyartist or profession.

TRUST YOURUNIQUENESS: Everyindividual is differentand offers somethingunique which othersdont possess. Trust youruniqueness and put thatin your performance

because that is what willmake you stand out from

the crowd.

FOCUS ON YOUR PER-FORMANCE: My lastadvice is, if the perfor-mance is good, it will getthe recognition itdeserves. So, just focuson that, trust your hardwork and leave therest to the audience.

Where should one startwith the story ofBhimbhetka, because it

is a fascinating one. An hours drivesouth of Bhopal, the earliest evi-

dence of human civilisation in thecountry is accessed through anarrow road that crosses themain north-south rail line across

a lovely little railway crossing. Thehill where the rock shelters are

located is a lovely drive up in Indiasmost popular new premiumhatchback, the Hyundai i20 whichmakes it a pleasure to steer up thiswinding, narrow, twisty road afterdealing with the brilliant newhighway connecting the capital ofMadhya Pradesh to this site. Youcan see the unique structure of therock shelters as you approach it,lying on top of a hill that rises 100meters from the surroundingcountryside.

This is what allowedrenowned archaeologist VishnuShridhar Wakankar to notice thehills from a passing train whichseemed very similar to otherrock shelters he had noticedin Europe while visiting sitesthere. Not one to waitaround, he promptly gotoff at the next station andwent straight to the site.What he found was remark-able. Wakankar had discov-ered evidence of the largest pre-historic human settlement inIndia and over the years he worked

painstakingly, along with col-leagues and students from theArchaeological Survey of India(ASI), and what you can see todayis his lifes work.

And what you see inside theBhimbhetka rock shelters, wouldmake any inquisitive Indian asksome very pertinent questions.About who the earliest Indianswere, where did they come from,and what were the flora and faunaof the time. In fact, some of theoldest skeletal remains of earlyhumans were found in the town ofHoshangabad, which is a fewkilometres away, dating back some50,000 years. When Wakankarexcavated the site he found a bur-ial site of a male, who might havebeen a chieftain of sorts, but hewas found withostrich eggshells.

While inside many rock shel-ters the ochre and white paintingson the wall have faded into histo-ry, they are remarkably well pre-served in others, even though atsome you do have to strain youreyes to notice the finer details. Theochre colour is a result of the ironrich soil of the local area whereasin others like Shelter number five,you have intricate paintings inwhite.

Some of the paintings arebelieved to be as old as 10,000years ago while others depictscenes from wars with calvaryand infantry with spears andswords, such as in Shelter num-ber five, which is evidence thatthese natural shelters provided a

place of rest until at least 500 AD.The earliest ones though, such asat the famous ‘Boar’ shelter, clear-

ly are older, because not only arethe paintings more rudimentarybut they are also very similar topaintings found in similar sheltersand caves in Europe and elsewhere.

One can continue writingabout Bhimbhetka, but genuinelyseeing a site like this in India is atremendous privilege and an eye-opener as well as a lovely drive.Seeing the rock shelters brings his-tory alive and if you are a natural-ly inquisitive person, it is a placethat you must visit and you mustdrive there, because India is indeeda great country with amazingsites to see and discover. At theend, I must also thank theBhimbhetka and Bhojpur travelguide from Madhya PradeshTourism, produced by GoodEarthPublications which is, in my opin-ion, essential reading.

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"������'�6-�2,��� �����������Rap stars Badshah and KRSNA

have united for the first timeto drop a single titled Roll up.

The track comes with rap versesalong with a blend of hip-hop.

The track delivers rap versesembracing the duos signature stylecoupled with a free-flowing hookwhilst throwing some shade on thehip-hop-influenced lifestyle of themillennial generation, supported bya video that embraces the familiarhip-hop staples.

“I put together the track with avery easy-going vibe in mind,something that you can listen towhile driving or chilling with yourfriends, but I made it a point to keepmy rap verse potent in terms oflyrics. Young people today are veryinfluenced by the hip hop lifestyle

and thats reflective in this track,”KRSNA said.

Badshah said, “Its an extreme-ly exciting collaboration becauseKRSNA is one of the most prolificwriters we have right now and hesestablished himself as one of thebest rappers in the scene. Its real-ly exciting for both his fans and myfans, also I think itll take the Delhihip hop scene to greater heights! Ifeel like its coming at the right timeand the hip hop scene has neverlooked better. There might be manymore KRSNA, Badshah collabora-tions.”

Recently, Delhi-based rapperKRSNA collaborated withAmerican rapper Hi-Rez and hiphop legend Royce Da 59 for a songtitled Crossroads.

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Acontemplative man, Wahid Khan,weaved in snippets of jail — thesquare cell, books, a banyan tree

in the yard, a bucket, utensils used byprisoners to make food and tea, the widegrey metallic rods of gate and birds eat-ing leftover meals — in his rug Zindagiki seekh. An avid believer, he also wovesymbols of Gandhi such as dhoti andcharkha. To the people that see his rug,he said, “For life to be enjoyed to thefullest, you must learn to take it serious-ly. Even in laughter, enjoy it for what itis, do not lose yourself in it as that mayhave consequences.” During his stay inprison, he has learned to connect withhimself more, appreciate the simplethings in life and experience every emo-tion vividly which, in turn, has helpedhim to prepare the rug more intricately.

One would wonder how prisonerswaiting to escape the darkened enclosurewith scratched walls have become thewarp and weft of carpet weaving. Underan initiative that began in September2018, Jaipur Rugs collaborated with jailinmates to launch a special collection —Manchaha-Freedom Edition — of hand-made rugs. The brand has worked withauthorities in Jaipur Central and BikanerJail to provide its inmates meaningfulwork by teaching them the art of carpetweaving. It has opened bank accounts forinmates to help them receive the paymentdirectly and provide for their familieswhile being lodged in jail.

Brand director, Yogesh Choudhary,shared, “We believe in being an inclusivedevelopment practitioner to promote cre-ativity. Under this initiative, we areworking with over 100 inmates acrossJaipur, Bikaner and Dausa Central Jailsto provide them meaningful and fulfill-ing work. The capacity to imagine moti-

vates which, if nurtured appropriately,adds to the prestige and prosperity ofindividuals.

One of the biggest tragedies to befalla family is the incarceration of thebreadwinner. Their lives are upendedirreversibly. Most of the prisoners comefrom economically weak backgrounds

and are rarely literate. Their lives aremarred by poverty and crime and theonly way to bring about a change is toempower them economically. Under theinitiative, we teach carpet weaving toinmates who are serving long sentenceswith the aim of creating sustainable liveli-hood for them so that they can support

their families through it.”An inmate, Amar Chand, is 44 years

old and hails from Diggi, Rajasthan.Amar, an experienced weaver, was sur-prised to see weaving as an activity forprisoners in Jaipur and didn’t hesitate toparticipate in it. Choudhary shared, “Hewas constantly reminded of traditions

that he feels are slowly fading in today’sworld. He filled the one he wove withintricate designs along with simplersymbols like an elephant, horse, duck andbees. It seemingly comes out as a carni-val embraced by nature. For a quiet per-son, his thoughts come out boldly and inclear detail on the rug.” When asked

about the message expressed in hisdesign, Amar said, “Happiness and sad-ness come and go but peace can trulystay. That’s what my carpet and design‘Old is gold’ stands for.”

Next in line was Ghanshyam, aninmate in Central Jail, Jaipur. He learnedweaving as a part of the prisoners’ reha-bilitation programme. Yogesh describedhim as intelligent yet playful, who enjoysworking hard to see the final resultbloom. He is in his 40s and feels that theinitiative has been his liberation from thedifficult events that resulted in his incar-ceration.

He used Tikona (triangle) to expressthe patterns on his rug. Said Choudhary,“He attempted to explore the creative lim-its of a triangle, weaving small and largepatterns that branch in or out. The widearray of patterns mesmerise the onlook-er. Ghanshyam shared that during theweaving process, the Hindu god Shiva,was constantly in his mind, who accord-ing to mythology is the one who looksafter the disparaged. He said, ‘I felt shat-tered to be in prison but Shiva took meunder his protection and gave me anopportunity to work and find myredemption.’”

The art has certainly helped variousinmates to find and express their innercalling. The campaign’s title itself speaksof the freedom it hopes the inmates toachieve. “Manchaha, a Hindi word pop-ular in Rajasthan’s weaving community,means “expression of my heart,” and is asustainable development initiative whereweavers get to design their own rug forthe first time in the State. It taps into theuntamed fashion in rural India by nur-turing their creative potential andempowers a community. Each rug, hand-made with more than 200,000 knots, isthe story of its creator,” said Choudhary.

India has millions of craftsmen whoare engaged in traditional crafts that sym-bolise the cultural identity of the civili-sation. However, there is a growing con-cern that our ancient crafts are dying andskilled artisans are an endangered species.“This is because a number of these craftsdo not provide sustainable livelihoodwhich has deterred the next generationsfrom taking them up. Hence, we tried tomake weaving into a sustainable liveli-hood that generations can practice fromthe comfort of their home,” saysChoudhary.

On the consumer front, lack ofawareness among the end-users aboutIndia’s traditional art forms poses atough challenge for ancient Indian artforms. “To make the customers see thetremendous value of these ancestral artforms and make them realise theiruniqueness are the true tests of allbrands in this space,” he added.

2021 will see actor ParineetiChopra at her versatile best

with audience getting to see fivedifferent avatars of her. Pari willbe seen in Dibakar Banerjee’sSandeep Aur Pinky Faraar,Amole Gupte’s Saina, RibhuDasgupta’s The Girl On TheTrain, Sandeep Vanga Reddy’sAnimal and another unan-nounced project.

A trade source reveals,“Parineeti has a super excitingline up and she will be at herversatile best this year as thesefilms are extremely diverse intheir content. The actor isworking with filmmakers whohave very different sensibili-ties.”

Parineeti is currently await-ing the release of her first filmof 2021, The Girl On The Train,which according to IMDB isthe most awaited film to releasethis season. Based on the inter-nationally acclaimed epony-mous bestseller, TGOTT wasmade into a Hollywood film

starring Emily Blunt in the leadin 2016. In the Bollywood ver-sion, Parineeti plays a girl tak-ing the train, an alcoholicdivorcee, who becomesinvolved in a missing personinvestigation and uncoversdeeper secrets.

(The film is slated to releaseon February 26.)

At dinner with a friend, JazmineSullivan broke down with tears

flowing from her eyes. She hadbeen dealing with a severe case ofwriter’s block and unsure where toturn or how to move past thedrought.

“I was crying to one of my girl-friends... like, ‘Girl, I can’t even write.’That’s how I express myself. That’show I communicate and I can’t dothat,” Sullivan recalled. “I felt so stuckin that moment.”

Sullivan, a fierce songwriterwho has not only written her ownR&B hits but has also penned songsfor Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson,Monica and other R&B stars.

To take the pressure off, shedecided to produce an EP instead ofan album — “it felt easier to look atit that way” — and she came up witha concept to help the project floweasy. It resulted in Heaux Tales. “Itwas painful. It was not easy to comeup with this,” Sullivan said.

But her efforts were worth it. Ithas been lauded for its explorationof feminism, sexuality, classism andbody-shaming. It debuted at thefourth position on Billboard’s all-genre 200 albums chart — a careerhigh for Sullivan, who dropped herdebut in 2008.

Some of the songs came in bitsand pieces, with Sullivan unsure ifthey were good enough or worth fin-ishing, including Bodies, The OtherSide and Lost One, which her momconvinced her to complete afterhearing it.

In between those songs areinterludes — which Sullivan calls the“meat” of the project — of thesinger and her girlfriends freelychatting about one-night stands,drunken escapades and badbreakups.

“Usually people don’t want tohear interludes but these kind of hithome in a way; they were a voice tothe voiceless, really,” thePhiladelphian said and furtheradded, “The topics that were talkedabout were things that people wantto say but don’t necessarily get to sayon a bigger platform.”

In an interview, Sullivan talkedabout writer’s block and men’s reac-tions to her album.

�How scary was it to go throughwriter’s block when that’s a big partof your artistry?

My songs are really my form ofcommunication. If you want to get toknow me, listen to a lot of my songsand you’ll get to know the nuances ofmy personality, stuff that I may notshow if you’re just meeting me. I’mprivate, but I spill my guts out in mymusic because that was my therapyrelease, it was hard not to have that.I didn’t know where to turn to.

�What made you come up withthis particular concept for the EP?

I wanted to share the behind-the-scenes stories that I have withmy girlfriends that I’ve had all my lifesince we were in high school. I feltlike it was so much wisdom in theyears that we’ve really grown uptogether. I also felt like these are sto-ries that you don’t hear a lot about.You don’t hear Black women’s stories.You don’t know a lot about Blackwomen and there various sides. I justwanted to share our personal stories.I didn’t know that it would resonatewith people as much as it did, but Iunderstand why. My story is every-one’s story. My girlfriend’s story is allof our stories. I’m just glad that it’smeaning more to people than just aproject. It’s not just songs that peo-ple like. I feel like it’s transformingsome women and definitely helpingpeople to self-reflect and grow andfeel strong and love themselvesmore.

�Mascara from your last album,2015’s Reality Show, felt like itcould have easily fit on this EP.

Yeah, Mascara could have defi-nitely lived on this project. I wouldsay it’s probably the beginning ofsome of the aspects of the characterson this particular project. When Iwas writing it, I was on Instagramlooking at the lives of the girlsthere, in awe of all the things theyafforded because of their beauty. Ijust wanted to tell their story. Ithought it was interesting. Whiledoing such projects, you go intodepth and understand why a partic-ular woman is the way she is. A lotis probably based on the fact thatmany women who grow up wanti-ng a better life and not being ableto afford it try to figure their sur-vival. This is what motivates them.That’s the part of the story that wemiss. We go straight to judging awoman and calling her a gold dig-ger and not respecting her.

�What has been the reaction frommen? Have some said they’velearned about women from listen-ing to the album, and have somedissed the album and chatter?

Yes, I’ve got both. There weresome men that were able to hear theproject and have learned more aboutwomen through it. While some, areof contradictory opinion.

>7�

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana is current-ly in the North-east to shoot Anubhav

Sinha’s untitled spy thriller. The Bollywoodstar claims that he is a ‘wildlife enthusi-ast’ and he went on a safari at theKaziranga National Park in Assam.

Ayushmann says, “I have always beena wildlife enthusiast and I have cher-

ished opportunities to go onsafaris. I went to the KazirangaNational Park and I have toadmit that I had the best time.I had an amazing time spot-

ting rhinos, deers and ele-phants.”

The poster boy ofcontent cinema in Indialoves to explore India and

says he is always awestruckto discover its beauty. Says he,

“I have always been awed by ourcountry’s rich diversity and there isso much for all of us to explore. Thisincredible experience will always beetched in my heart forever.”

He adds, “I had also visited theMudumalai wildlife sanctuary in thepast and had an incredible experi-ence there too. After visitingKaziranga, I have to admit that Iwould love to reignite my passion forwildlife in the times to come andmake incredible memories that willsurely last for a lifetime.”

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Liverpool ended a five-gamewinless run in the Premier

League to move back into thetop four with a 3-1 win atTottenham Hotspur onThursday as Spurs also lostHarry Kane to an ankle injury.

The English champions hadnot even scored in their last fourleague games, but Jurgen Kloppsaid he recognised his side againas their front three sparkedback into life after RobertoFirmino ended a 492-minutegoalless drought in first-halfstoppage time.

Kane had soldiered on aftertwice receiving treatment onankle knocks in the first-half andwas eventually replaced at thebreak with Jose Mourinho pre-dicting the England captain willbe absent for at least a few weeks.

A return to the ChampionsLeague is Spurs’ target inMourinho’s first full season incharge, but Tottenham’s chancesmay now depend on how longKane is sidelined.

Kane and Son Heung-minhave been the most deadly duoin the Premier League this sea-son and thought they had com-bined for the opening goalinside the first five minutes.

Son finished coolly from

Kane’s through ball, but theSouth Korean had just strayedoffside in the build-up and thegoal was ruled out by a VARreview.

There were signs of life inLiverpool’s attacking playdespite a 3-2 defeat toManchester United in theFA Cup and they finallystruck just before the breakwhen Sadio Mane got inbehind and squared forFirmino to bundle in at the backpost for his first goal in eightgames.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’sdrop off in form has been anoth-er major part of Liverpool’sregression from the side thatromped to the title last seasonwith 99 points.

However, the England right-back connected sweetly to drillin his side’s second after Lloriscould only parry Mane’s initialeffort into his path.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s bril-liant strike from outside thebox halved the deficit justtwo minutes later.

Liverpool, though,rarely looked troubled afterKane departed and couldhave won far more con-

vincingly.Mohamed Salah’s powerful

strike was ruled out after aVAR review for a handball byFirmino earlier in the move.

But Mane restored the two-goal cushion when he pouncedon an error from Joe Rodon tofire high past Lloris.

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Debutant Nauman Ali took fivewickets and fellow spinner YasirShah grabbed four to give

Pakistan a seven-wicket victory in the firstTest against South Africa in Karachi onFriday.

Nauman finished with 5/35 andYasir took 4/79 as South Africa slumpedto 245 all out in their second innings onthe fourth day on a wearing NationalStadium pitch that favoured spin bowlers.

Pakistan, needing 88 for victory, lostopeners Abid Ali, Imran Butt and BabarAzam for a total of 52 runs before achiev-ing the target in 22.5 overs to take a 1-0lead in the two-match series.

Azhar Ali was 31 not out whileFawad Alam — who hit a fighting hun-dred in the first innings — hit the win-ning boundary.

Anrich Nortje bowled Abid in thefirst over after lunch and then had Buttcaught behind to finish with figures of2/24. Azam, on his Test captaincy debut,was dismissed leg before by KeshavMaharaj.

It was a spinners’ battle on a brown-ish wicket, allowing Nauman to recordfigures of 7/73 and Yasir 7/133. In con-trast, South Africa’s spinners managedjust four wickets.

Pakistan had taken a crucial 158-runfirst innings lead, thanks to a fighting cen-tury from Fawad and half centuries fromFaheem Ashraf and Azhar.

The writing was on the wall as SouthAfrica lost nightwatchman Maharaj onthe first ball of the day, bowled for twoby pacer Hasan Ali.

South African skipper Quinton deKock had a miserable 50th Test as he fol-lowed his 15 in the first innings with justtwo runs as he was caught off a lazy pushoff Yasir.

Temba Bavuma, who scored 40,added 42 for the seventh wicket withGeorge Linde before being the last manout as Nauman took the last four wick-ets in a rapid 22 balls.

He dismissed Linde for 11, KagisoRabada for a single run, and AnrichNortje for a duck, before removingBavuma.

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KB Arun Karthik led TamilNadu into their second suc-

cessive Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophyfinal with an unbeaten 89-runknock that shaped their seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan inthe first semi-final, here onFriday.

Arun Karthik’s 89-run part-nership with skipper DineshKarthik (26 not out)meant thatTamil Nadu overhauled the 155-run target with eight balls tospare.

TN had lost the summitclash by just one run toKarnataka, last year.

Rajasthan’s decision to batfirst at the Sardar Patel stadiumseem to be working well butTamil Nadu restricted them toa sub-par 154 for nine despiteskipper Ashok Menaria’s 51 off32 balls.

The left-handed Menaria,whose knock was laced with fivefours and two sixes, took on theTamil Nadu bowlers as he andArjit Gupta (45 off 35 balls)raised a 83-run third wicketstand.

Tamil Nadu, initially, were

sloppy in the field and droppedthree catches, including one ofMenaria.

In the final five overs,Rajasthan lost five wickets andadded only 24 runs as TamilNadu bowlers stamped theirauthority.

Chasing 155, TN lost CHari Nishanth (4) early when hewas trapped in front of thewicket by Tanveer-Ul-Haq(1/22). Tamil Nadu were in spotof bother at 17/2 after Aparajith(2) was caught in the slip cordon.

But a determined NarayanJagadeesan (28) and ArunKarthik came to the rescue asthey put together 52 runs for thethird wicket and took the gameaway from Rajasthan.

Young leggie Ravi Bishnoi(1/32) tried to bring Rajasthanback into the game by removingJagadeesan, but then TamilNadu cruised as skipper DineshKarthik joined Arun and theduo tore apart the Rajasthanattack.

Arun Karthik hammerednine boundaries and three sixes,in his match-winning knock andfittingly finished the game witha boundary.

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Already out of contentionfor the knockouts, World

champion P V Sindhu ended hercampaign with a consolationwin at the BWF World TourFinals but Kidambi Srikanthhad a disappointing finish afteryet another close defeat, here onFriday.

Sindhu, the Olympic Silvermedallist, notched up a 21-18,21-15 win over world No 13

Pornpawee Chochuwong in herthird and final match after suf-fering defeats in first two days.

“Well I think it was a goodfinish. Actually until yesterday Istill had a chance. Unfortunatelythe match with Tai went theother way, so I didn’t have achance. Otherwise, it was agood game,” Sindhu said.

“For any athlete, losing twogames is going to be hard to

come back stronger to, but Ithink it’s very important fromthese wins to come backstronger and believe in yourself.I just played my game after yes-terday’s upset,” she said.

Srikanth, however, wentdown 21-12, 18-21, 19-21 toHong Kong’s NG Ka LongAngus in what was yet anothernarrow defeat in a three-gamethriller.

New Delhi: Olympic Silvermedallist Mathias Boe ofDenmark will coach the WorldNo 10 Indian men’s doublespair of Chirag Shetty andSatwiksairaj Rankireddy inthe run up to the TokyoGames.

The decision to hire theservices of Boe was taken onFriday by the Sports Authorityof India’s (SAI) MissionOlympic Cell under the TargetOlympic Podium Scheme.

Boe, a Silver medallist atthe 2012 London Olympics,has been roped in on therequest of Chirag and Satwik.

Satwik and Chirag are cur-rently ninth in the Race toTokyo with 16 pairs eligible.

During his tenure, Boe willalso help other doubles teamunder the TOPS — mixeddoubles pair of Satwik andAshwini Ponnappa andwomen’s doubles duo ofAshwini and Sikki Reddy.PTI

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Such is the quality of theIndian batting line up that

England bowlers will need tobowl their best balls repeatedlyif they want to put the hosts, ledby their peerless skipper ViratKohli, under any kind of pres-sure during the upcoming Testseries, reckons batting coachGraham Thorpe.

Since his horrendous showin an away series in England in2014, Kohli has demolishedEngland attack both at home(2016) and away (2018)although the team had contrast-ing results in both series.

Asked if the bowling unitled by James Anderson has anyspecific plans for the Indian cap-tain, the former England left-hander said, "We know that heis a fantastic player and he hasshown that for many years now.Virat is in one of that battingorders which understands homeconditions very well."

"The key for our bowlingattack will be to bowl our 'bestball' as often as we can. I don'tthink we can ask for anythingmore from our spinners andseamers. We need to have runson the board and then havingthe Indian batting order underpressure will really be the key forus. To take the game deep willbe an important aspect forEngland," Thorpe said.

The Indian bowling is nolonger about spinners weavingmagic on rank turners andThorpe said that they are wellaware about how rounded thiscurrent home team attack is.

"The one thing about theIndian bowling attack is, it's notjust about spin. I suppose theirseam attack is also strong and sofrom that point of view it's notto just get side-tracked com-pletely in into the spin side ofthings as well."

The challenge posed byboth Jasprit Bumrah andRavichandran Ashwin can be a

tough one but the batting coachunderstands that a balance needsto be created.

"Indian bowling has devel-oped into a very good attack andwe are very aware of that. Whenyou come to the sub-continentyou will have to deal with spin.More so with Indian attack, weare aware. The training time(three days) will be used to strikea fine balance practising both."

The former left-hander isaware that there are a few bats-men, who haven't played earli-er in the sub-continent and thefour-Test series will be a biglearning curve in their processof development.

"Some of our players haven'tplayed in sub-continent, so interms of development might bebehind others but they are work-ing hard and hopefully can puton a good show. It'll be a bit ofa learning curve for some ofthem as well."

While different batsmenwill have different styles, Thorpewants his players to recogniseparticular situations and reactaccordingly.

"We may have some playerswho are slightly more aggressiveand some players would becomfortable to bat all day of theycan. We want our players to

recognise situations and thatmay be where they are able totrust their defence.

"May be they are able torotate strike whether it's againstseamers or spinners. Also howcan we apply pressure on Indianbowlers will be one of the biggestchallenges."

The batting coach is underno illusions that how hard thenext two months are going to be.

"There is hell lot of hardcricket ahead of us. I don'tthink I am under any illusionsabout that. But as a cricketerwhen you get to the highest level,you want to test yourself in manyways in a very different sort ofenvironment as well. But it's achallenge we're looking forwardto."

For Thorpe, there couldn'thave been a bigger challengethan facing an Indian team thathas just beaten Australia inAustralia.

"India at home is a real chal-lenge. They're playing very goodcricket and have been verystrong at home. They've beencoming back off a win inAustralia as well, so for us, it pre-sents a real challenge. Let's saythat's sort of where you want tobe as a player," Thorpe signedoff.

����� )/,++�0

In a long career filled with a lotof highs and few lows, what

worked wonderfully well forEngland skipper Joe Root is his"sense of humour" as he standson the cusp of his 100th Testmatch, batting coach GrahamThorpe said on Friday.

The 30-year-old Englandcaptain, who made his debutagainst India in Nagpur in 2012,will play his 100th game againstsame opposition at the Chepaukfrom February 5.

When Thorpe was askedabout Root's impending mile-stone, the former left-handergave an interesting reply.

"Well, it's a real achievementbecause when you look at thelongevity of it, I think you needa good sense of humour to playthat amount of cricket.

"Because you will experi-ence, there will be, lot of highsbut there's going to be somemoments in their way you haveyour lows and you have to showa bit of character and a bit ofresilience," Thorpe said at a vir-tual media conference.

Thorpe then added theattributes that goes into themaking of a great Test cricketer.

"And then you have to keeptrying to adapt to the next situ-ation, sometimes you're going totinker with your technique andyou have to manage all that andso to play a hundred Test match-es, it's no mean feat and he(Root) will be very proud, hisfamily will be very proud. He hasalways remained very humble,"said Thorpe, who has followedRoot's progress since his forma-tive years in Yorkshire cricket.

"I think, when I saw early onwith Joe and I was fortunateenough to see some of his earlygames with Yorkshire. He hadcharacter and temperament and

then he did play in the Lions (Ateam) early on and then when Iwas around him, he just had agreat work ethic," said Thorpe.

Root was never shy ofexperimenting with his tech-nique and that showed in hisgame.

"He certainly tried to workthings out for himself as well.He'd take the different things onboard and he'd try and it workedwith them, so I think essential-ly that's, that's what I saw withJoe when he was a younger play-er. And that's really continuedthroughout his career. He isalways trying to get better," theassistant coach said.

What sets Root apart is hisability to keep on learning fromothers and the insatiable hungerto score runs.

"He is a great student of thegame. He loves watching otherpeople play and learning. He issomebody who doesn't want tostand still. He has got greathunger to score runs as well andimprove," said Thorpe, whoknows a thing or two about play-ing hundred Tests.

Root, who scored a magnif-icent 228 and 186 in the two Testagainst Sri Lanka, used thesweep shot to perfection andThorpe said it's all about gettinginto good position to play theshot.

"Well, I think he (Root) getshimself into a good position, butlike I said, he may have an ideathat he's going to go and play thesweep shot, but then I think helooks for the line and the lengthof the delivery.

"And then will almostchoose where he is able to putit - whether that fine squaresweep, a slog sweep, but being ina really good position and (to)execute is the key to it," headded.

Last but not least is Root'stremendous work ethic that setshim apart in a league of his own.

"In the little breaks in themidst of series, he's been out tolook at his own game and keepconsidering where he can getbetter as well.

"I think that he's shown inthe series in Sri Lanka, that hewants to be a good example.

"The players who are in theteam with him have a verygood example to watch as wellhow, how he goes about his busi-ness, so his work ethic is fantas-tic and he is also kept his love forthe game, which is so impor-tant."

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The "nightmare" that heendured while being con-

fined in a bio-bubble inBangkok made ace Indian shut-tler HS Prannoy realise theimportance of addressing themental health concerns thatsportspersons are facing inthe post Covid-19 world.

International bad-minton restarted after along pandemic-inducedbreak and players hadto stay in a bio-bub-ble while com-peting in theAsian legc h a m p i -onship inB a n g k o kearlier thismonth.

"...It was firsttime we went into a

bio-bubble. We didn't knowwhat was going to happen,"Prannoy said during a webinar.

"For two weeks, we could-n't go out of our (respective)rooms. We were only allowed togo for practice, go to main hall,to go to the bus. We were not

allowed to walk even outsidethe stadium."

Prannoy said after afew days it started affectinghim mentally.

"...Because you are notallowed to go out to

have say sunlight.You just have tosit in the roomfor 22 hours,

since we wereonly trainingfor 2 hours,"he recalled.

" W ecannot

m e e t

teammates. It was a nightmareand after six days, it was takingits toll on me. I was not able tounderstand how to handle it..."

The 28-year-old fromKerala said a psychologistcould have helped him dealwith it better and hoped therewill be a structure in place toassist the players in the timesto come.

"I wish I had someone totalk to, so that I could becalmer before the match andfocus on things, because thereis social media, tons of mes-sages are coming because youare in bio bubble, all thesethings are big distractions. Ithink at this point psycholo-gists come into play," he said.

"I hope in next five years,we have a structure in placewhere all the players get theservices of a sports psycholo-gists..."

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Japanese Prime MinisterYoshihide Suga, despite

growing uncertainty as coro-navirus cases rise at home,renewed his determinationon Friday to host the post-poned Tokyo Olympics thissummer as a symbol of humanvictory over the pandemic.

"We are holding theOlympics and Paralympicsthis summer," Suga said.

"I am determined toachieve the games as a proofof human victory against thepandemic, a symbol of glob-al solidarity and to give hopeand courage around theworld."

Olympic officials haverepeatedly said the games willbe held in July as planned aftera one-year postponement,though various scenariosincluding the holding ofevents without spectators arebeing considered.

Suga repeated his resolveto achieve a "safe and secure"Olympics and pledged to getinfections under control inJapan as soon as possible.

"We must learn lessonsfrom this pandemic and beprepared for future crises," hesaid.

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South Africa’s captainQuinton de Kock on

Friday put down his team’sdefeat in the first Test againstPakistan to soft dismissals,saying his players had enoughtime to adjust to the slownature of the pitch here.

“Obviously our firstinnings batting performancelet us down, there were a cou-ple of soft dismissals and it ledto our losing the game,” deKock said after the match.

De Kock said his teamhad not taken too long to

adjust to conditions inPakistan despite the Covid-19situation.

“We let ourselves downin the first innings. Obviously,when you bat first you needmore than 220 and then wehad them something like 40for four, but we allowed themto come back into the game.”

Talking about recent bat-ting collapses by South Africain Test cricket, he said theteam was trying to work outwhy they were happening.

“Trust me if we knew itwould not be happening.”

He said when the bats-

men got bogged down theytried to play shots, but on thispitch, playing patiently wasthe requirement.

Pakistan skipper BabarAzam said it is his ambitionto see his team start winningoverseas.

“I think, at home, youare expected to do wellbecause conditions suit you,but we need to start winningoverseas as well.

“I think we need to showmore trust in our players andour top performers. We can’tdiscard players after just oneor two bad performances, we

need to have belief in them.”Babar said scoring runs

abroad gave him more con-fidence than amassing bignumbers at home.

He termed the win overSouth Africa as “very neces-sary for the team”.

“I think this victorycame through because allthe 11 players contributedand especially the wayNouman Ali bowled in thismatch. It was his debut andthere was pressure on himagainst a good team, but hedelivered. We need to trustour players.”

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