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12
A mid efforts to defuse ten- sion at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, the next round of military-level talks may be stormy as China has not pulled back more than 40,000 troops deployed near the front and in operational areas. This comes about even as the two sides had agreed in the four rounds of Corps Commander parleys to retreat to the peacetime locations at the earliest. Elaborating upon the cur- rent scenario, sources said besides not moving back more than 40,000 troops from the front and operational or “depth” areas, the Chinese have also not shifted heavy weapons deployed there. The “depth” areas are generally located 15 to 20 km away from the border, and during the talks the two armies had agreed to thin out troops from there. It was also agreed to return to the respec- tive peacetime locations as soon as possible, sources said adding there were so far no positive signs in this direction from the Chinese. Officials also said the dis- engagement process had not made any significant progress since the last Corps Commander-level talks early last week. Contrary to expec- tations, the Chinese were not showing the eagerness to move out of the Pangong Tso (lake). Incidentally, the face-offs began in May from the Pangong lake when the Chinese army obstructed an Indian patrol after intruding into their zone resulting in fisticuffs. The Chinese army is now stationed on some of the cru- cial spurs and is also con- structing a jetty on the Indian side in the lake. India has asked the Chinese to remove the jetty and fast interceptor boats, but the Chinese are yet to do so, they added. However, the Chinese army has removed nearly all its makeshift bunkers and tents from the disputed area, reports indicated. Similarly, the Chinese had earlier removed some of its troops from the Hot Springs and Gogra but were yet to dis- mantle structures constructed there in the last eight weeks. They are all main “friction points.” The Chinese claim Indian troops will dominate the strategic heights if they retreat to their side of the LAC. Some semblance of nor- malcy returned to the LAC after National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 5 talked to each other to defuse the volatile border situation. The next day troops from the face-off sites started with- drawing, and the last round of talks between the Corps com- manders on July 14 saw both the sides mutually agreeing to monitor further disengage- ment by troops and verify the development in the next few days. The Indian side was car- rying out this task every 72 hours and sources said based on the pace of withdrawal after verification, the date for the next round of military-level talks will be decided. Given this situation on ground, the coming days may see more intense dialogue at the military and diplomatic levels to speed up the pace of disen- gagement and de-escalation as a major confidence building measure, sources said here on Wednesday. The next round of Corps Commander talks may take place later this week or early week, they added. Realising the evolving sce- nario, the Army is ready for a long haul in terms of deploy- ment at the LAC even during the harsh winter months in Ladakh and other vulnerable areas, officials said. Earlier, it was anticipated that the stand- off at the four sites in Eastern Ladakh will end in the next few weeks and the two armies will return to reduced patrolling in the winter months. T he Rajasthan political imbroglio on Wednesday reached the Supreme Court with State Assembly Speaker CP Joshi filing an SLP to chal- lenge the High Court’s decision to scrutinise his power to issue disqualification notice against 19 MLAs of Pilot camps for skipping the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meet- ing and indulging in anti-party activities. A Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra will take up the matter on Thursday. Sachin Pilot has also filed caveat in the case. The “toppling” game and alleged involvement of Central machineries like ED, CBI and IT also reached the Prime Minister’s door with Rajasthan Chief Minister writing to PM Narendra Modi accusing cer- tain Congressmen and a Central Minister of conspiring to dethrone him. In the surprise move not known in recent past with similar template, Gehlot wrote to Modi alleging attempts to bribe Congress MLAs to defect. Gehlot also named Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat among BJP leaders and said he is involved in deal- making with rebel Congress MLAs. “For some time, attempts are being made to destablise democratically elected Governments. This is an insult to the mandate and open vio- lation of constitutional values. Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are examples of this,” Gehlot wrote in the letter. The Chief Minister accused Pilot of conspiring with the BJP to dislodge the Congress Government in Rajasthan in a replay of Madhya Pradesh drama, where Jyotiraditya Scindia’s switch from the Congress to the BJP led to the collapse of the Kamal Nath Government in March. Earlier in the day seeking an interim stay on the Rajasthan High Court’s July 21 decision, the Assembly Speaker said it was the duty of the top court to ensure that all consti- tutional authorities exercise their jurisdiction within the boundaries and respect their “respective ‘lakshman rekha’ as envisaged by the Constitution itself ”. T he Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday searched the premises of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s brother Agrasen Gehlot at Jodhpur and a dozen other locations in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Delhi and Gujarat in connection with a money laundering probe in a fertiliser scam. The agency conducted the searches at 13 locations across the four States, including the Jodhpur premises of Agrasen Gehlot, who is facing 7 crore Customs penalty in the alleged fertiliser scam, officials said. The ED has filed a crimi- nal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) taking cognisance of a Customs Department com- plaint and chargesheet in the alleged fertiliser scam. The agency began the syn- chronised searches early on Wednesday at six places in Rajasthan, four in Gujarat, two in West Bengal and one location in Delhi. ED sleuths were assisted by personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) during searches at the farm- house and residence of the Agrasen Gehlot in Jodhpur. C hief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday spoke to Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla over a video call during which he sought the lat- ter’s cooperation in giving pri- ority to Odisha for availability of Covid-19 vaccination after necessary statutory clearances. Patnaik said the State Government would be in touch with the SII for this purpose. He expressed happiness that the SII has partnered with the Oxford University to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. He also applauded the phil- anthropic activities carried out by Poonawalla and his foresight in tying up with various research institutions across the globe to develop this vaccine. Poonawalla appreciated Patnaik’s getting in touch with the SII to know about the progress of the vaccine. He said the Oxford University’s vaccine has shown promising results in the first- phase trial. In India, the next phase trial would begin in mid-August and the vaccine would be ready by October- November this year, he added. Poonawalla further said that the SII and the Odisha Government can be in touch with each other and carry for- ward the collaboration once the vaccine is cleared and available. I n order to mobilise more funds for the ongoing battle against Covid-19, the State Government on Wednesday decided to borrow more from the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) and Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC) funds. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy, who briefed about the decision, said the Government would borrow more from the CAMPA and OMBADC, which have sufficient funds and it has already received approval in this regard from the Supreme Court Judge oversee- ing the utilisation of funds and the CAG. The State has already borrowed Rs 1,000 crore from these two funds, he informed. “It is likely that the Central funds to the State will decline which is why market borrow- ing is needed. We expect the State Government’s market borrowing will be within 3.5%,” the Chief Secretary said. Besides, the State Government would get money from pre-committed borrow- ings like RIDF and EAP funds, he said. The Council of Ministers was also appraised of the Government’s revenue aug- mentation strategy. Funds of different departments have been remaining idle in banks. After the Finance Department’s scrutiny, the money will be mobilised to deal with the evolving situation due to Covid-19, Tripathy said. It was revealed that the State Government has already spent Rs 1,700 crore, including Rs 340 crore, from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, to meet expenses of the anti-Covid battle. F ive more persons suc- cumbed to Covid-19 infec- tions in the State on Wednesday, increasing the total death toll to 108. While three of the deceased belonged to Ganjam district, two casualties were natives of Gajapati and Kandhamal districts, respec- tively. The deceased of Ganjam included a 40-year-old woman, who was also suffering from diabetes and hydronephrosis, a 61-year-old man also having co-morbidity, and a 60-year-old man, who was also suffering from diabetes and hyperten- sion. The Kandhamal deceased was an 86-year-old man, who was suffering from diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The 72-year-old man of Gajapati district, who suc- cumbed to the virus, was also suffering from diabetes, hyper- tension and coronary artery disease, the Health and Family Welfare Department said. Also, the death of another patient due to other health complications was reported from Ganjam. With this, the number of such deaths rose to 31. Meanwhile, an all-time high of 1,078 positive cases were reported on the day in the State, taking the total count to 19,835. Ganjam district regis- tered the highest 371 cases, fol- lowed by Khordha with 121, Rayagada 96, Malkangiri 66, Cuttack 57, Jagatsinghpur 35, Jharsuguda 34, Sundargarh 29, Puri 28, Bargarh 26, Gajapati 24, Kendrapada 24, Jajpur 20, Sambalpuir 20, Nabarangpur 17, Keonjhar 16, Kalahandi 15, Koraput 15, Kandhamal 13, Mayurbhanj 13, Baleswar 10, Subarnapur 10, Balangir six, Nayagarh five, Boudh three, Dhenkanal two, Angul one and Bhadrak one. However, another 440 patients recovered on Wednesday in the State, taking the total recoveries to 13,749. The highest 83 recovered in Khordha district, 68 in Ganjam, 49 in Baleswar, 40 in Malkangiri, 23 in Jagatsinghpur, 21 in Bhadrak, 20 in Mayurbhanj,18 in Koraput, 17 in Puri ,12 each in Jharsuguda, Keonjhar and Nabarangpur, 11 in Cuttack, 10 in Baragarh, 9 from Jajpur, nine in Angul, six each in Kendrapada and Sundargarh, five each in Balangir and Sambalpur and four in Nayagarh. A s many as 91 persons test- ed positive for Covid-19 in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. With this, the capital city’s total positive cases rose to 1,343. While 72 cases were detect- ed from quarantine centres, 19 were local contacts, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. The quarantine cases included 26 workers of a flour mill in Mancheswar linked with an earlier positive case, 14 cases, all women, of IRC Village Ganapati Nagar Basti linked with an earlier case, nine cases, all employees of a construction company in Rajmahal Square linked with an earlier positive case, three cases, all women, of Nayapalli Trinath Basti, two cases, both men, of Aiginia near Police Academy linked with an earlier positive case, an eight-year-old girl of Nayapalli Behera Sahi, a 27-year-old man of Patia Swarna Vihar with a travel history of Rajasthan, a 45-year-old man of Chintamaniswar, a 19 -year-old girl of Salia Sahi Adivasi Basti, a 85-year-old woman of BJB Nagar Bijaylaxmi Colony, a 50-year-old man of Jharpada Ganesh Mandap and a 42- year-old man of Old Town Badadanda Sahi. The local contacts includ- ed a 60-year-old woman of IRC Village N-6, a 58-year-old man of Laxmisagar, a 30-year-old man of Chandrasekharpur near Sai International School, a 54- year-old woman of Kolathia near Mangala Mandira, a 48- year-old man of Patrapada AIIMS Nagar, a 70-year-old woman of Pandara Jagannath Nagar, a 17- year-old boy of Khandagiri Tapabana Lane Basti, a 26-year-old woman employee of a private hospital, a 50-year-old man of Saheed Nagar EPF Colony, a 64-year- old man of Sailashree Vihar, a 53-year-old man of Unit-3 Kharavel Nagar (an employee of a Government office), a 25- year-old man (a security guard of a Central Government hos- pital), a 45-year-old man of Laxmisagar Oscar City, a 29- year-old woman of Baramunda Satabdi Nagar, a 46-year-old man of Pokhariput Kalunanda Nagar, an employee of a Government office and a 26- year-old man of Jharpada. However, 99 patients recovered on the day in the city. In Cuttack city too, as many as 54 persons tested pos- itive on the day. With this, the city’s tally surged to 452, including 219 active cases. The new cases included 41 from home quarantine, 11 from institutional quarantine and two local cases. The institu- tional quarantine cases includ- ed a Covid warrior of the SCB Medical College Hospital and eight patients and attendants of the hospital. The two local cases includ- ed a 23-year-old Covid warrior from Thoria Sahi. T he Orissa High Court on Wednesday directed the District Judges to declare courts under their judgeships to remain closed in case contain- ment zone order is declared in any area by the Government. The HC further said, “In case of lockdown/shutdown or in any such eventuality/gen- eral preventive measure taken by the State authority in respect of that judgeship, the District Judge shall instruct and take recourse to adopt functioning of the courts in virtual mode/videoconferencing as far as practicable to take up only extremely urgent matters under intimation to the High Court.” The District Judge or the Presiding Officer would allow functioning of the office/court with the minimal staffs to ensure adherence of social dis- tancing and other Covid-19 guidelines. The HC added accused would be produced in a court as required under law.

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Page 1: % ˆ& ’ 3 ˘,˛˚ ,˜˝ ˇ (˘ )˜˜%4 ˜& ˘,˛˚ ,˜˝ ˇ ,˝ˆ ˘˙ˇ˘&4 ... · 2020. 7. 22. · The Chinese claim Indian troops will ... the date for the next round of military-level

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Amid efforts to defuse ten-sion at the Line of Actual

Control (LAC) in Ladakh, thenext round of military-leveltalks may be stormy as Chinahas not pulled back more than40,000 troops deployed nearthe front and in operationalareas. This comes about even asthe two sides had agreed in thefour rounds of CorpsCommander parleys to retreatto the peacetime locations atthe earliest.

Elaborating upon the cur-rent scenario, sources saidbesides not moving back morethan 40,000 troops from thefront and operational or“depth” areas, the Chinese havealso not shifted heavy weaponsdeployed there. The “depth”areas are generally located 15 to20 km away from the border,and during the talks the twoarmies had agreed to thin outtroops from there. It was alsoagreed to return to the respec-tive peacetime locations assoon as possible, sources saidadding there were so far nopositive signs in this directionfrom the Chinese.

Officials also said the dis-engagement process had notmade any significant progresssince the last CorpsCommander-level talks earlylast week. Contrary to expec-tations, the Chinese were notshowing the eagerness to moveout of the Pangong Tso (lake).Incidentally, the face-offs beganin May from the Pangong lakewhen the Chinese army

obstructed an Indian patrolafter intruding into their zoneresulting in fisticuffs.

The Chinese army is nowstationed on some of the cru-cial spurs and is also con-structing a jetty on the Indianside in the lake. India hasasked the Chinese to removethe jetty and fast interceptorboats, but the Chinese are yetto do so, they added. However,the Chinese army has removednearly all its makeshift bunkersand tents from the disputedarea, reports indicated.

Similarly, the Chinese hadearlier removed some of itstroops from the Hot Springs

and Gogra but were yet to dis-mantle structures constructedthere in the last eight weeks.They are all main “frictionpoints.” The Chinese claimIndian troops will dominate thestrategic heights if they retreatto their side of the LAC.

Some semblance of nor-malcy returned to the LACafter National Security Adviser(NSA) Ajit Doval and ForeignMinister Wang Yi on July 5talked to each other to defusethe volatile border situation.The next day troops from theface-off sites started with-drawing, and the last round oftalks between the Corps com-

manders on July 14 saw boththe sides mutually agreeing tomonitor further disengage-ment by troops and verify thedevelopment in the next fewdays.

The Indian side was car-rying out this task every 72hours and sources said basedon the pace of withdrawal afterverification, the date for thenext round of military-leveltalks will be decided.

Given this situation onground, the coming days maysee more intense dialogue at themilitary and diplomatic levelsto speed up the pace of disen-gagement and de-escalation as

a major confidence buildingmeasure, sources said here onWednesday. The next round ofCorps Commander talks maytake place later this week orearly week, they added.

Realising the evolving sce-nario, the Army is ready for along haul in terms of deploy-ment at the LAC even duringthe harsh winter months inLadakh and other vulnerableareas, officials said. Earlier, itwas anticipated that the stand-off at the four sites in EasternLadakh will end in the next fewweeks and the two armies willreturn to reduced patrolling inthe winter months.

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The Rajasthan politicalimbroglio on Wednesday

reached the Supreme Courtwith State Assembly SpeakerCP Joshi filing an SLP to chal-lenge the High Court’s decisionto scrutinise his power to issuedisqualification notice against19 MLAs of Pilot camps forskipping the CongressLegislature Party (CLP) meet-ing and indulging in anti-partyactivities.

A Bench headed by JusticeArun Mishra will take up thematter on Thursday. SachinPilot has also filed caveat in thecase.

The “toppling” game andalleged involvement of Centralmachineries like ED, CBI andIT also reached the PrimeMinister’s door with RajasthanChief Minister writing to PMNarendra Modi accusing cer-tain Congressmen and aCentral Minister of conspiringto dethrone him.

In the surprise move notknown in recent past withsimilar template, Gehlot wroteto Modi alleging attempts tobribe Congress MLAs to defect.Gehlot also named UnionMinister Gajendra SinghShekhawat among BJP leadersand said he is involved in deal-making with rebel CongressMLAs.

“For some time, attemptsare being made to destablisedemocratically electedGovernments. This is an insultto the mandate and open vio-

lation of constitutional values.Karnataka and MadhyaPradesh are examples of this,”Gehlot wrote in the letter.

The Chief Ministeraccused Pilot of conspiringwith the BJP to dislodge theCongress Government inRajasthan in a replay ofMadhya Pradesh drama, whereJyotiraditya Scindia’s switchfrom the Congress to the BJPled to the collapse of the KamalNath Government in March.

Earlier in the day seekingan interim stay on theRajasthan High Court’s July 21decision, the Assembly Speakersaid it was the duty of the topcourt to ensure that all consti-tutional authorities exercisetheir jurisdiction within theboundaries and respect their“respective ‘lakshman rekha’ asenvisaged by the Constitutionitself ”.

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The EnforcementDirectorate on Wednesday

searched the premises ofRajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot’s brotherAgrasen Gehlot at Jodhpurand a dozen other locations inRajasthan, West Bengal, Delhiand Gujarat in connectionwith a money launderingprobe in a fertiliser scam.

The agency conducted thesearches at 13 locations acrossthe four States, including theJodhpur premises of AgrasenGehlot, who is facing �7 croreCustoms penalty in the allegedfertiliser scam, officials said.

The ED has filed a crimi-nal case under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA) taking cognisance ofa Customs Department com-plaint and chargesheet in thealleged fertiliser scam.

The agency began the syn-chronised searches early onWednesday at six places inRajasthan, four in Gujarat,two in West Bengal and onelocation in Delhi.

ED sleuths were assistedby personnel of the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)during searches at the farm-house and residence of theAgrasen Gehlot in Jodhpur.

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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Wednesday

spoke to Serum Institute ofIndia (SII) CEO AdarPoonawalla over a video callduring which he sought the lat-ter’s cooperation in giving pri-ority to Odisha for availabilityof Covid-19 vaccination afternecessary statutory clearances.

Patnaik said the State

Government would be in touchwith the SII for this purpose.

He expressed happiness thatthe SII has partnered with theOxford University to develop aCovid-19 vaccine.

He also applauded the phil-anthropic activities carried outby Poonawalla and his foresightin tying up with variousresearch institutions across theglobe to develop this vaccine.

Poonawalla appreciatedPatnaik’s getting in touch withthe SII to know about the

progress of the vaccine.He said the Oxford

University’s vaccine has shownpromising results in the first-phase trial. In India, the nextphase trial would begin inmid-August and the vaccinewould be ready by October-November this year, he added.

Poonawalla further saidthat the SII and the OdishaGovernment can be in touchwith each other and carry for-ward the collaboration once thevaccine is cleared and available.

����� 0��0���1���

In order to mobilise morefunds for the ongoing battle

against Covid-19, the StateGovernment on Wednesdaydecided to borrow more fromthe CompensatoryAfforestation FundManagement and PlanningAuthority (CAMPA) andOdisha Mineral Bearing AreasDevelopment Corporation(OMBADC) funds.

The decision was taken ata meeting of the Council ofMinisters chaired by ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik

Chief Secretary AsitTripathy, who briefed about thedecision, said the Governmentwould borrow more from theCAMPA and OMBADC,which have sufficient funds andit has already received approvalin this regard from theSupreme Court Judge oversee-

ing the utilisation of fundsand the CAG. The State hasalready borrowed Rs 1,000crore from these two funds, heinformed.

“It is likely that the Centralfunds to the State will declinewhich is why market borrow-ing is needed. We expect theState Government’s marketborrowing will be within 3.5%,”the Chief Secretary said.

Besides, the StateGovernment would get moneyfrom pre-committed borrow-ings like RIDF and EAP funds,he said.

The Council of Ministerswas also appraised of theGovernment’s revenue aug-mentation strategy. Funds ofdifferent departments havebeen remaining idle in banks.After the Finance Department’sscrutiny, the money will bemobilised to deal with theevolving situation due toCovid-19, Tripathy said.

It was revealed that theState Government has alreadyspent Rs 1,700 crore, includingRs 340 crore, from the ChiefMinister’s Relief Fund, to meetexpenses of the anti-Covidbattle.

����� 0��0���1���

Five more persons suc-cumbed to Covid-19 infec-

tions in the State onWednesday, increasing the totaldeath toll to 108.

While three of thedeceased belonged to Ganjamdistrict, two casualties werenatives of Gajapati andKandhamal districts, respec-tively.

The deceased of Ganjamincluded a 40-year-old woman,who was also suffering fromdiabetes and hydronephrosis, a61-year-old man also havingco-morbidity, and a 60-year-oldman, who was also sufferingfrom diabetes and hyperten-sion.

The Kandhamal deceasedwas an 86-year-old man, whowas suffering from diabetes andchronic obstructive pulmonarydisease.

The 72-year-old man ofGajapati district, who suc-cumbed to the virus, was alsosuffering from diabetes, hyper-tension and coronary arterydisease, the Health and Family

Welfare Department said.Also, the death of another

patient due to other healthcomplications was reportedfrom Ganjam. With this, thenumber of such deaths rose to31.

Meanwhile, an all-timehigh of 1,078 positive caseswere reported on the day in theState, taking the total count to19,835. Ganjam district regis-tered the highest 371 cases, fol-lowed by Khordha with 121,Rayagada 96, Malkangiri 66,Cuttack 57, Jagatsinghpur 35,Jharsuguda 34, Sundargarh 29,Puri 28, Bargarh 26, Gajapati24, Kendrapada 24, Jajpur 20,Sambalpuir 20, Nabarangpur17, Keonjhar 16, Kalahandi15, Koraput 15, Kandhamal 13,Mayurbhanj 13, Baleswar 10,

Subarnapur 10, Balangir six,Nayagarh five, Boudh three,Dhenkanal two, Angul oneand Bhadrak one.

However, another 440patients recovered onWednesday in the State, takingthe total recoveries to 13,749.The highest 83 recovered inKhordha district, 68 inGanjam, 49 in Baleswar, 40 inMalkangiri, 23 inJagatsinghpur, 21 in Bhadrak,20 in Mayurbhanj,18 inKoraput, 17 in Puri ,12 each inJharsuguda, Keonjhar andNabarangpur, 11 in Cuttack, 10in Baragarh, 9 from Jajpur,nine in Angul, six each inKendrapada and Sundargarh,five each in Balangir andSambalpur and four inNayagarh.

����� 0��0���1���.����.2

As many as 91 persons test-ed positive for Covid-19 in

Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.With this, the capital city’stotal positive cases rose to1,343.

While 72 cases were detect-ed from quarantine centres, 19were local contacts, theBhubaneswar MunicipalCorporation (BMC) said.

The quarantine casesincluded 26 workers of a flourmill in Mancheswar linkedwith an earlier positive case, 14cases, all women, of IRC VillageGanapati Nagar Basti linkedwith an earlier case, nine cases,all employees of a constructioncompany in Rajmahal Squarelinked with an earlier positivecase, three cases, all women, ofNayapalli Trinath Basti, twocases, both men, of Aiginianear Police Academy linkedwith an earlier positive case, aneight-year-old girl of NayapalliBehera Sahi, a 27-year-old man

of Patia Swarna Vihar with atravel history of Rajasthan, a45-year-old man ofChintamaniswar, a 19 -year-oldgirl of Salia Sahi Adivasi Basti,a 85-year-old woman of BJBNagar Bijaylaxmi Colony, a50-year-old man of JharpadaGanesh Mandap and a 42-year-old man of Old TownBadadanda Sahi.

The local contacts includ-ed a 60-year-old woman of IRCVillage N-6, a 58-year-old manof Laxmisagar, a 30-year-oldman of

Chandrasekharpur nearSai International School, a 54-year-old woman of Kolathianear Mangala Mandira, a 48-year-old man of PatrapadaAIIMS Nagar, a 70-year-oldwoman of Pandara JagannathNagar, a 17- year-old boy ofKhandagiri Tapabana LaneBasti, a 26-year-old womanemployee of a private hospital,a 50-year-old man of SaheedNagar EPF Colony, a 64-year-old man of Sailashree Vihar, a53-year-old man of Unit-3

Kharavel Nagar (an employeeof a Government office), a 25-year-old man (a security guardof a Central Government hos-pital), a 45-year-old man ofLaxmisagar Oscar City, a 29-year-old woman of BaramundaSatabdi Nagar, a 46-year-oldman of Pokhariput KalunandaNagar, an employee of aGovernment office and a 26-year-old man of Jharpada.However, 99 patients recoveredon the day in the city.

In Cuttack city too, asmany as 54 persons tested pos-

itive on the day. With this, thecity’s tally surged to 452,including 219 active cases.

The new cases included 41from home quarantine, 11 frominstitutional quarantine andtwo local cases. The institu-tional quarantine cases includ-ed a Covid warrior of the SCBMedical College Hospital andeight patients and attendants ofthe hospital.

The two local cases includ-ed a 23-year-old Covid warriorfrom Thoria Sahi.

����� .����.2

The Orissa High Court onWednesday directed the

District Judges to declare courtsunder their judgeships toremain closed in case contain-ment zone order is declared inany area by the Government.

The HC further said, “Incase of lockdown/shutdownor in any such eventuality/gen-eral preventive measure takenby the State authority in respectof that judgeship, the DistrictJudge shall instruct and takerecourse to adopt functioningof the courts in virtualmode/videoconferencing as faras practicable to take up onlyextremely urgent matters under

intimation to the High Court.”The District Judge or the

Presiding Officer would allowfunctioning of the office/courtwith the minimal staffs toensure adherence of social dis-tancing and other Covid-19guidelines.

The HC added accusedwould be produced in a courtas required under law.

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In recognition of the immensepopularity of the famous

Sambalpuri song ‘Rangabati’,the State Government onWednesday renamed its lyricistMitrabhanu Gauntia’s nativevillage Bilung as ‘RangabatiBilung’ under Bamra Tehsil inSambalpur district.

On obtaining a NoObjection Certificate (NOC)from the Union Ministry ofHome Affairs and Ministry ofScience and Technology, theState Government rechristenedBilung as ‘Rangabati Bilung’with effect from Wednesday(July 22), said a notificationissued by the Revenue andDisaster ManagementDepartment.

“All rules, instructions in

force in this regardshall be amendedaccordingly by the con-cerned competentauthorities,” the notifi-cation stated.

Notably, 77-year-old lyricist MitrabhanuGauntia was conferredwith Padma Shri awardthis year. Earlier in2017, ‘Rangabati’ singerJitendra Haripal hadalso been conferredwith the Padma award.

Gauntia has also receivedOdisha State Sangeet NatakAcademy Award andAkashvani National Award forMusic.

In his comment, UnionMinister Dharmendra Pradhantermed renaming of Bilungvillage as ‘Rangabati Biung’ as

an appropriate compliment tothe Rangabati song and itslyricist Gauntia.

He thanked Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, UnionMinister Amit Shah and ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik forrenaming Bilung after the pop-ular song.

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School and Mass EducationMinister Samir Ranjan Dash

on Wednesday informed thateducation syllabuses in theState would be reduced in viewof the closure of all schools,including higher secondaryschools, for a long period oftime due to Covid-19.

While State Council ofEducational Research &Training (SCERT) would takea detailed decision regardingreduction of the syllabuses for

Classes-I to X, the Council ofHigher Secondary Education(CHSE) would do accordinglyClasses-XI and XII, he said.

The SCERT would submita report regarding the numberof days the schools wouldremain open after the closureperiod. The School and MassEducation Department wouldtake a decision in this connec-tion after the report is received,Dash said.

The Chief Minister hasgiven his approval for syllabusreduction, he added.

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The four newly-elected BJDRajya Sabha members from

Odisha took oath in theParliament Chamber in NewDelhi on Wednesday.

Subhas Singh, Sujit Kumar,Mujibulla Khan (Muna) andMamata Mohanta had been

elected unopposed to theUpper House of the Parliamenton March 18. Rajya SabhaChairman and Vice-PresidentM Venkaiah Naidu adminis-tered oath of office to them.

It is stated to be the firstoccasion where members tookoath when the House is not insession.

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To further the ‘ease of onlineaccess’ to public services,

the Electronics andInformation TechnologyDepartment has developed acommon frontend interface tomake it more convenient forcitizens.

This was known at a high-level review meeting heldunder the chairmanship ofChief Secretary Asit Tripathyhere on Tuesday wherein ITSecretary Manoj Mishra pre-sented different facilities avail-able in the portal.

The Chief Secretary direct-

ed different departments tolink their e-Governance portalswith the OdishaOne portaland integrate it with the pay-ment gateways of the banks andPaytm. The department wasasked to complete the portaland make it live within amonth.

Mishra said, “Citizens willaccess to online services of var-ious departments through thissingle portal.” IT SpecialSecretary Manoj Patnaik said,“As of now, seven G2C serviceslike issuance of birth and deathcertificates, payment of holdingtax, trade licence fees, waterbill, electricity bills, booking ofthe tickets of OSRTC buseshave already been integratedwith the portal.”

Mishra said the citizen ser-vices of all the departmentswould soon be onboarded with‘OdishaOne’ portal in differentphases.

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Azoom meeting of theOdisha Environment

Congress (OEC) 2020 wasgoranised here on Tuesday.

Delivering the welcomeaddress, Sudarsan Das soughtviews from the invited OECorganising committee mem-bers whether to change the ear-lier-decided theme‘Environment and Biodiversity’to a theme on Covid19 as sug-gested by many recently.

Following opinions, it wasdecided that OEC should con-tinue with the theme decidedearlier and pandemic as a sub-theme.

Around 20 such sub-themes were shortlisted. Thesuggested subthemes are con-cerned with biodiversity,human well being, develop-ment, pandemic as well as cru-cial issues touching the envi-ronmental periphery.

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The Covid-19 pandemic islikely to be over in India

around mid-September. Twopublic health experts from theHealth Ministry have madethis claim. They have used amathematical model-basedanalysis to draw the projection.The analysis shows that whenthe number of infectedbecomes equal to thoseremoved from circulation byrecovery and death, the coeffi-

cient will reach the 100-percent threshold and the epi-demic will be ‘extinguished’.

The analysis, published inthe online journalEpidemiology International,has been done by Dr AnilKumar, Deputy DirectorGeneral (Public Health) in theDGHS, and Rupali Roy,Deputy Assistant Director(Leprosy) DGHS in the HealthMinistry. They used the Bailey'smathematical model to drawthe projection. This randomly-determined mathematical‘mode' takes into considerationthe distribution of the total sizeof an epidemic involving bothinfection and removal. Mostexperts believe an effectivevaccine won’t be ready untilwell into 2021 and we will allbe coexisting with the virus forthe next year or longer in theabsence of a magic bullet. Thisnext phase of the crisis mayrequire us to reset our expec-tations and awareness andchange our behaviour. There isthreat from the neighbour-

hood, no less than country-to-country travel. As muchdepends on the severity oflocal outbreaks and the effec-tiveness of testing, contact trac-ing, social distancing, hospitalsystems and public health mes-saging that is free of politicalshading, the danger mayremain hanging for some moretime.

So, not all the news is grimthe media keeps churning outnonstop. The social media out-fits are so overwhelmingly pes-simistic that it appears as if thevirus shall never go. Panic isalso spread by some public offi-cials despite noble intentions ofsensitising the masses. Theform and content of publicitythey use are terribly poor andmisplaced. All the same, nowthat super experts say we arenearer to the end of the tunnel,there is cause to feel relievedand have the basic, inbornimmunity restored naturally.Immunity is more a mentalthing than physical.

Looking back in time, we

get to know that in the first halfof the year, governmentsworldwide resorted to emer-gency measures like forcedbusiness closures, stay-at-homerules and bans on large gath-erings. The moves slowedinfection, saved lives and gaveleaders time to stockpile med-ical equipments and supplies.Yet, that progress came at thecost of economic contraction,soaring unemployment andtrillions of dollars in fiscal andmonetary stimulus measures.Governments are likely to bereluctant to resort to wholesalelockdowns again in anythingshort of a catastrophe.

The Indian corona figureslook horrific by the sheer num-ber though the percentage isnot that ghastly. Oftentimes,the Press briefings by stateofficials and media masters donot make clear the severity.They do not talk in terms ofpercentages and proportions.Actually, India is still in ahighly manageable state, moreso because the virus-strain

appears to be less virulent thanthe one that afflicted humansbefore March in big numberselsewhere in the world. But asusual, India has taken its shareof beating on the economicfront due to lockdowns andshutdowns.

Luckily however, manyIndian businesses have latelyshown real good prepared-ness, made contingency plansfor the future and continue tooperate as near-normal despitethe significant impact of coro-na over the last months.According to HSBC's Navigatorreport, almost half (46%) ofIndian businesses coveredunder a survey, felt 'verystrongly' impacted by the pan-demic; yet, more than half(54%) felt they were as well-prepared as they possibly couldbe. This is a level that is the sec-ond highest amongst all coun-tries surveyed and higher thanthe average across all markets(45%), according to the reporttitled 'Building Back Better'.The survey was conducted on

more than 2,600 companiesacross 14 global markets,including 200 Indian firms.Despite the high level of impactfaced by Indian businesses,more than a quarter (29%) ofthose surveyed said they areoperating as normal; and thislevel was the second highestacross all markets, behindmainland China.

“While COVID-19 hasundeniably altered the eco-nomic landscape, Indian busi-nesses have shown resilience inthe face of adversity. Businesseswill have to make varyingdegrees of adjustments to adaptto this altered landscape whichwill be the new normal for theforeseeable future," HSBC IndiaHead of Commercial BankingRajat Verma said. The factthat a substantial proportion ofIndian businesses are still oper-ating as normal may be attrib-uted to nearly three quarters(73%) of them either having amanagement that is sufficient-ly agile or being strong overalland able to manage with a

number of adjustments.However, 2% of those sur-veyed in India feel their long-term survival is threatened.

The survey further saidthe most important aspect foraround 42% of Indian busi-nesses is to review their sup-pliers' ability to weather futureuncertainty. Besides, 64% ofIndian businesses see the cur-rent environment ensuringpositive changes to their prod-ucts/ services. This is the jointhighest across all markets sur-veyed (along with China) andsignificantly higher than theoverall average at 44%.Moreover, favourable changesto customer demand (60%)and better access to financingfacilities (62%) are some of theother aspects that have beenpositively impacted by the cur-rent environment as per thesurvey.

However, aspects related toavailability of labour have thelowest positive balance forIndian businesses with only53% seeing it being positively

impacted while 25% see a neg-ative outcome from the currentenvironment.

Incidentally, a few barely-known, mostly-unsungastrologers too have predicteda significant waning trend ofcorona.

Lastly, the vaccine made inthe UK may take half a yearmore to be declared safe forhuman use. An indigenousvaccine too is not far behindalthough India will keep dis-playing devilish figures andnumbers of the afflicted. Peoplewill hardly die as the inherentpotential of Indians to fightviral infections has always beenbig on record. This does notmean Indians are out of dan-ger. Those who have espousedWestern style of life, particu-larly ‘family structure' and‘food', are likely to have lost theusually robust ‘Indian immu-nity'. Hand washing, socialdistancing and keeping indoorsmay have to be respected forsome more time to ensure per-fect safety.

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The CuttackMunicipal

Corporat ion(CMC) onWe d n e s d a ysealed KhatbinSahib Bari Laneof Ward no. 15in the city and declared it as acontainment zone followingdetection of several Covid-19positive cases in the locality.

The area from Maa SaralaSuppliers, Rover Street to RoverStreet Puja Mandap, theKhatbin Sahi police outpost tothe house of DayanMohammad to the house ofRabindra Sethi, house ofRabindra Sethi to the house ofMd Ishak and entry gate ofUrdu school till Maa SaralaSuppliers, the backside of Rover

Street Puja Mandap to thebackside of Modi Ind Paperdistributor at Khatbin Sahipolice outpost square has beendeclared as containment zone.

Active contact tracing andsurveillance would be carriedout in the area. Inhabitantswithin the containment zonehave been advised to stayindoors. The CMC wouldensure supply of essential itemsfor all the citizens residing inthe zone.

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The death of Gajapati ADMKarunakara Raika, who

died at the MKCG MedicalCollege Hospital at Brahmapuron Tuesday, was confirmed asa Covid case by districtCollector Anupam Saha onWednesday.

The swab samples of Raikahad been sent for tests. Thereport, which came positive,was received after his death,said the Collector.

Notably, Raika was incharge of the Covid Hospitalhere. A few days back, he wasadmitted to a hospital here afterhe was taken ill. He was shift-

ed to the MKCG Hospital onTuesday as his condition dete-riorated.

Born to a scheduled tribefamily in Atara Singh villageunder Nuagada block of

Gajapati district, Raika becamean OAS officer due to his ded-ication and hard work.

It is the first case where anOAS office died due to Covid.

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The three chari-ots on which

the deities of theJagannath Templemade trips to andfrom the GundichaTemple during theRath Yatra this yearwould be preservedin a museum atJagannath Ballav inthe pilgrim city.

This wasinformed by ShreeJagannath TempleAdministrat ion(SJTA) ChiefA d m i n i s t r a t o rKrishan Kumar onWednesday.

Every year, the chariotswere being dismantled after theRath Yatra and the wood wasused in the temple kitchen. But

this year, after a discussion withthe Biswakarma and Bhoiservitors, the SJTA decided toconserve the three chariots atthe museum being construct-

ed at Jagannath Ballav.The SJTA chief said the

chariots would be shifted to thepremises of Jagannath Ballavsoon.

��������������"�����'��BHUBANESWAR: Sevenmajor industries and corporatehouses, including State andCentral PSUs, have begunoperating their Covid CareCentres (CCCs) for their per-sonnel in accordance with theState Government’s recentdirective.

This was known from areview meeting held by ChiefSecretary Asit Tripathy onTuesday. Tripathy asked theother industrial units to oper-ationalise their CCCs withinJuly 25.

The units, which have setup CCCs are Tata Power atJajpur and Duburi, GrasimIndustries at Ganjam, RourkelaSteel Plant, IOCL at Paradip,Mahanadi Coalfields atLakhanpur and Jindal Stainlessat Jajapur Road. PNS

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BJP State president SamirMohanty on Wednesday

appointed Pravaris (in-charges)for 36 organisational districts ofthe party.

The Pravaris are:Seemanchal Khatei for Angul,Golak Prasad Mohapatra forBaleswar, Nauri Naik forBargarh, Bishnu Sethi forBaripada, Sureshwar Satpathyfor Balangir, Kalandi Samal forBhadrak, Bhuban Mohan Jenafor Bhubaneswar, Ram ChandraMeher for Boudh, Bata KishoreMishra for Banai, PrithvirajHarinchandan for Cuttack city,Amar Naik for Cuttack Sadar,Dhiren Senapati for Deogarh,Pravati Parida for Dehnkanal,Saroj Sabat for Gajapati, SurathBiswal of Ghumusar (Ganjam),

Ashok Mishra for Ganjam,Sarada Prasad Satpathy forJajpur, Sarada Pradhan forJagatsinghpur, Shankar Oramfor Jharsuguda, Ramesh Sahufor Kalahandi, Biranchi NarayanTripathy for Kandhamal, JatinMohanty for Kendrapada,Nabin Ram for Keonjhar,Balabhadra Majhi for Koraput,Bhrugu Baxipatra for Khordha,Kaliram Majhi for Malkangiri,Niranjan Mishra for Nayagarh,Mukesh Mahaling forNabarangpur, ArtatranaMohapatra for Nuapada, RabiNarayan Nayak for Panposh,Lekhasri Samantsinghar forPuri, Mohan Majhi forRairangpur, Gobinda Jain forRayagada, Tankadhar Tripathyfor Sambalpur, Murali Krishnafor Sundargarh and BhabendraPanda for Subarnapur.

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Noted persons here onWednesday opined that

spread of Covid-19 can bechecked with support of peo-ple only.

They viewed this attendinga webinar titled “Role of front-line warriors in Covid man-agement” organised by thePress Information Bureau (PIB)here.

I&B Ministry OdishaAdditional Director ShailendraKumar Malavya said doctors,nurses, police, ASHA andAnganwadi Workers andmedia representatives are allworking as frontline Covid

warriors, risking their lives.Twin City Police

Commissioner SudhanshuSarangi said, “The humanity isfacing an unprecedented prob-lem. We all have to remain con-scious until a vaccine is invent-ed to fight Covid. People’s sup-port is necessary to controlspread of the virus,”

Director of MedicalEducation and Training(DMET) Prof CBK Mohantysaid precaution is the onlysolution to the Covid now.

Utkal University ReaderDr Nabanita Rath and DMETAssociate Prof BrajakishoreDas also spoke.

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As many as 33 prisoners and10 jail staffs, including a

Jailer, of the Brahmapur CircleJail have tested positive for theCovid-19.

Following detection, theprisoners have been kept underisolation in the jail campus andthe 10 sent to home quarantine.All of them have been advisedto get admitted to CovidHospital if they develop anysymptom of corona infection.

The Ganjam CDMO has

assured the Jail Superintendentto send doctors to the jail forhealth checkup of quarantinedinmates.

Sources said swab sam-ples of 50 prisoners and 92 jailstaffs had been sent for test onJuly 19. Of them, reports of 33prisoners and 10 jail staff camepositive and all are asympto-matic.

Earlier, 20 prisoners andtwo staff of the jail had testedpositive for the virus. The firstcase from the jail was report-ed on June 6.

Meanwhile, reports saidrelatives of a dead elderlywoman and villagers inJakarapalli village underKukudakhandi block inGanjam district refused tocarry her body to a crematori-um in fear of getting infectedwith the virus.

The body of G Budiamma(75), who died on Mondaymidnight, lay in her house fora few hours. With the help of

some Biju Yuva Vahini vol-uneers, the local Sarpanch tookthe woman’s body to the cre-matorium and performed thelast rites.

This is not the first case. Afew days back, a young busi-nessman, who died after suf-fering from fever, was carriedon a trolley rickshaw to cre-matorium in Buguda NACarea in fthe district. The youth’srelatives refused to attend lendshoulder to carry his body tothe crematorium.

On Wednesday, the districtregistered the single-day high-est spike of 371 Covid positivecases, taking the total count to6,362. The district also report-ed three Covid deaths, takingthe total toll to 62.

So far, 4008 infected per-sons have recovered in thedistrict. Now 2,287 patients areundergoing treatment at dif-ferent Covid hospitals.

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Coronavirus has taken thelives of three members of a

family in less than a week in theCovid-19 hotspot Ganjam dis-trict.

According to reports,Jitendra, son of KrushnaChandra Patra, was running anelectronics store at theDigapahandi bus-stand. Healong with his parents andwife was residing near the area.All the family members wereadmitted to a Covid Hospital atSitalapali after they tested pos-itive for the virus.

Jitendra’s mother Janakifirst succumbed to the diseaseon July 15. Four days later, helost his father. Less than 24hours of his father’s death, hehimself died late on Mondaynight at the hospital. Only hiswife survived and was dis-charged from the hospital afterher recovery.

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In order to transport peoplein emergency cases during

night hours, the BerhampurMunicipal Corporation(BeMC) has allowed 22 auto-rickshaws to run in the city.

The BeMC has made pub-lic the auto-rickshaw registra-

tion numbers and mobilephone numbers of all 22 auto-drivers, who will run theirthree-wheelers. The civic bodyhas also fixed fare at Rs 10 perkm.

The BeMC took the deci-sion after auto drivers volun-tarily proposed to run theirthree-wheelers to help peopleduring emergencies.

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After a sudden surge inCovid-19 positive cases,

the administration onWednesday announced aseven-day shutdown in theentire Rayagada district.

The shutdown with effectfrom Thursday would remainin force till July 29.

The administrationdeclared the shutdown to curbthe virus spread following 96new positive cases were report-ed from the district on the day.Active surveillance and contacttracing would be carried out inthe district during the period,

said the administration.All shops, commercial

establishments andGovernment and privateorganisations would remainclosed while both private andpublic transport would berestricted during the period.However, essential services likehospitals and medicine shops,movement of goods carriersand other economic activitieswould continue to function.

Till now the district hasreported 338 positive caseswith197 active cases. While 139patients have recovered fromthe disease, two have suc-cumbed to the virus.

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In a bid to prevent the spreadof coronavirus, all banks in

Kandhamal district wouldremain closed for a week. Thedecision was taken by theKandhamal Collector onWednesday following a num-ber of bank employees testingpositive for the virus in the dis-trict.

During the closure period,the required sanitisation anddisinfection of all bank officepremises and chambers wouldbe carried out.

The bank employees wouldremain in home quarantine

during the period. If anyemployee develops symptomshe or she should immediatelyreport to health authorities andthe district administration. Swabsamples of all symptomaticemployees would be collectedfor test, an official order said.

Branch Managers of theconcerned banks have beeninstructed to ensure adequateavailability of cash in all ATMcounters to meet the require-ments of customers.

After one week, the bankswould function with 50 percent staffs strictly adhering tothe Covid-19 restrictions, theorder added.

, ������������� �������4 �� � � RAYAGADA: Swab samples of

the Tehsildar of Kolnara inRayagada district have beentested positive for Covid-19.Besides, an employee of theTehsil office has also tested pos-itive

This was informed byRayagada Collector PramodKumar Behera on Tuesday.

The Collector ordered theTehsil office to remain closedfor seven days, during whichthe office would be sanitised.

The administration alsoasked citizens not to visit theTehsil office during this period.

On Tuesday, samples ofnine corona warriors in the dis-trict tested positive as well.

Till date, 242 persons in thedistrict have contracted thevirus. The number of activecases stands at 102. PNS

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Agroup of intellectuals ofthe district here has

demanded establishment of amarine biology and fisheriesresearch centre in Baleswarbecause of availability of vastcoastline and marine species.

In this context they had ameeting on Monday.

Baleswar is unique forrich biodiversity, most impor-tantly the marine ecosystemthat it harbours. The north-east coast of Odisha offers agood opportunity in the fieldof genetic conservation ofmarine biodiversity. This con-tinental shelf provides suitablegrounds for different biogenicactivities and nursery groundsfor important marine species.Sea turtles actively migrate tothese shores for breeding, it isknown for its horseshoe crab

population, said SiddharthPati, a research scholar onmarine species .

Apart from a scientificmission, the centre will driveand support the developmentof a scientifically curated pub-lic aquarium, develop newerfacilities for development ofcoastal areas and ensure a lotof advancement for the coastof Baleswar and Bhadrak, saidProf Dr Gobinda ChandraBiswal from FM university.

In the meeting they urgedthe district administration aswell as elected representa-tives to take up the matterwith the centre in their level .

Kesu Das , GourangaPanigrahi, Manoj Nayak,Niranjan Parida and severalother environment lovers werepresent in the meeting.

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Dr Satya Ketan Mohanty(40) of Bargarh has proved

to how to make one self reliantduring the prolonging lock-down time. He has made live-ly items from waste wood.

Mohanty is not only asculptor but also has collecteda large number of Indian andforeign country coins. He hasentered into the GuinnessWorld Record for this numis-

matics. As a sculptor he has col-lected drift wood, waste wood,scrap wood and sculpted theminto beautiful creations.Besides, Mohanty is a lover ofenvironment as well.

His aim is to make thehandicapped orphan andunemployed youths self reliantby providing them training onsculpting.

In the lockdown period, hehas used the time properlyand made different statuesfrom waste wood.

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Loisingha MLA Dr MukeshMahaling has urged

Director General of Police,Odisha to open a police outpostin Maharpali Chowk inLoisingha block.

In a letter to the DGP, DrMahaling pointed out that theBalangir Sadar police stationcontrols the law and orderproblem in 12 gram panchay-ats of Loisingha Block.Maharpali village is located inthe border of Balangir andBargarh district and villagers ofat least 10 gram panchayats ofBalangir and Bargarh districtsdepend on the Primary HealthCenter at Maharpali. Criminalsafter committing crimes easi-ly escape to other district.

The nearest police outpostat Magurbeda is 20 km fromthe village while the police sta-tion is 27 km. Hence to controlthe anti social activities andeffective management of lawand order, a police out postshoud be opened as quickly aspossible, demanded the letter ofMahaling.

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Ab h i m a n y uDas, a book

binder in Cuttackcity, is now thetalk of the townas he received anote of apprecia-tion from formerIndian cricketerMohammad Kaiffor his selflessservice tomankind.

Das gotKaif ’s praises forcremating unattended bodies ofpoor patients at crematoriums,a service which is done by veryfew.

Kaif took to Twitter andwrote, “Abhimanyu Das is a

book binder from Odisha wholost his mother and other lovedones in the battle with cancer.He decided to serve humanityand selflessly take care of poorcancer patients, cremate unat-

tended bodies and help in theirlast rites. Service to mankind isservice to god.”

Kaif shared two pho-tographs of Abhimanyu on thesocial.

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The Odia Samaj, New Delhi,will organise an online dia-

logue on Odia language and lit-erature, entitled “Odia BhashaO Sahitya: Kichhi Drusti,Kichhi Chinta” on July 25.

After successfully con-ducting a webinar on financialpackages and opportunities forMSME in Odisha on June 27,the forum has come up with anidea to celebrate own languageand literature.

The webinar will beaddressed by Union PetroleumMinister Dharmendra Pradhanas chief guest of the session andOdia Samaj president Sidhartha

Pradhan. Icons from the worldof Odia literature PadmashreeDr Pratibha Ray, Prof SantanuKumar Acharya, ProfManindra Kumar Meher areslated to grace the webinar asthe speakers. Writer andPrincipal Commissioner ofIncome Tax Paramita Satpathyshall be the moderator of thewebinar.

"The deadline for registra-tion is July 23. Interested par-ticipants should send theirname and contact details [email protected] toreceive the Webinar link forparticipation," said a release bythe Odia Samaj.

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The District Lawyers’Association has demanded

setting up of a Coal BearingTribunal at Jharsuguda.

After presenting a memo-randum to the Union CoalMinister, the association hasrequested to Bargarh MPSuresh Pujari to take suitableaction in the matter.

The Jharsuguda DistrictBar Association said that amajor portion of coal mines ofJharsuguda and neighbouringSundargarh and Sambalpurdistricts are under MahanandiCoalfields Limited (MCL). But,

the applications on displace-ment, compensation andemployment with the con-cerned companies are at pre-sent under the jurisdiction ofDhenkanal Coal Tribunal.

Dhenkanal being 300 kmaway from Jharsuguda, thelawyers and applicants are fac-ing a lot of difficulties andfinancial hardship to attend theTribunal at Dhenkanal.

At present, many applica-tions of Jharsuguda and neigh-bouring districts are pendingfor decision in Dhenkanal CoalTribunal. Besides, there is a lotof pressure on the District andSessions Judge , Dhenkanal todecide these cases as head ofCoal Tribunal.

The hearing dates in manycases being shifted many times.

As a result, the applicants andlawyers are facing difficultiesand return home empty hand-ed without any decision.

Considering the longstanding grievances for a CoalTribunal at Jharsuguda, theCentral Coal Ministry has beenrequested to take a favourabledecision in the case, said theBar Association members.

Sundargarh and SambalpurLawyers Association have alsoplaced similar grievances forconsideration by the Centre.The association also discussedthe issue with MP Suresh Pujariand handed over a copy of thememorandum to him.

During discussion, associ-ation president P Ram MohanRao and many other lawyerswere present.

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Adelegation of Ganam BJPled by its former district

president Kanhu Charan Patimet the DIG Police (SouthernRange) here on Wednesdayand submitted a memoran-dum protesting the recentattempt made by some mis-creants to attack on the districtpresident of the party and BJPleader Bibhuti Bhusan Jena onthe wee hours of July 18 inwhich Jena fortunately escapedunhurt. The incident has cre-ated panic among the localsand party workers.

Jena lodged a FIR atGolanthara Police Station in

this regard. The police seized weapons

and a pulsar bike which waslying near Ishaneswar Templeand started an investigationwhich is in progress, sourcessaid.

While some locals attributethe incident to possible theft,but the supporters of Jenadescribed the incident as aclear and well planned con-spiracy to eliminate Jena anddemanded stern action againstthe miscreants. Meanwhile,Pati warned of stir by the BJPif the miscreants were notbrought to book soon.

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As many as 117 Covid-19positive cases have been

detected in Jagatsinghpur dis-trict in past four days, includ-ing 40 positive cases fromParadip port town. Meanwhileone Covid-affected man suc-cumbed on Tuesday, with thetotal deaths reaching two in thedistrict.

The port town of Paradiphas been a major headache forthe administration as it is anindustrial hub. The adminis-tration has imposed section 144Crpc in Bagadia and

Abhyachandpur villages adja-cent to IOCL and a few areasof Paradip township to checkspreading of coronavirus.

However, locals fumed thatthough till July 17 Covid pos-itive cases were limited to only9 in Paradip urban body but injust four days, it jumped to 67,due to poor management of thesituation.

Former ParadipMunicipality Chairman BasantKumar Biswal demanded strin-gent measures and driving outof non-Odia workers hired byL&T. A memorandum by theBJD to the district Collectorurged him to discontinue IOCLmaintenance work and stopL&T-sponsored migrants com-ing to Paradip.

A similar claim has beenplaced by the Paradip BJP unitseeking action against the L&Tauthorities.

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A39-year-old manof Rourkela, who

was serving as a man-ager in a leading cor-porate house atKolkata, on Tuesdaymorning died on itsway to third hospitalafter not being accept-ed in two other hos-pitals, owing to non-availability of bed.

Since, the youth was hav-ing high fever and had col-lapsed on Tuesday morning, forwhich he was rushed to hospi-tal, his Covid test was con-ducted after his death andconfirmed positive.

His body, however, has

been left stranded for crema-tion, since his Adhar card hadOdisha address. Officials ofKolkata Municipal Corporationreportedly refused to crematethe body, because the person isnot a resident of their jurisdic-

tion.The deceased was identi-

fied as Ananta Nayaray Bhol, aresident of Nabakrushna Nagararea of Rourkela who wasworking as Associate Managerwith Tech Mahindra, Kolkataunit.

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The Freethought Party ofIndia (FPI) has urged CM

Naveen Patnaik to make mar-riages dowry free and ensurequality English medium edu-cation and health service atevery nook and corner inOdisha.

In a memorandum, theparty has requested for open-ing marriage offices for freeregistration of love birds, healthand family planning centres,prayerless quality Englishmedium schools at panchayatlevel and Municipal ward levelso as to fully moderniseOdisha.

"This is absolutely neces-sary to end dowry deaths,

eliminate plight of pregnantwomen, bridging widening gapin the field of education of chil-dren of the rich and the poor.Right to Equality” under Art.14

of the Indian Constitutiondemands that all students to betreated equally while educationis being imparted to them," toldthe FPI.

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The East Coast Railway(ECoR) on Wednesday

asked train passengers going toWest Bengal on July 23, 25 and29 to take necessary steps inview of suspension of publicand private transport servicesdue to a complete lockdown inthese three days.

The West Bengal hasdeclared a complete lockdownon July 23, 25 and 29.

Presently two specialtrains, 02074 Bhubaneswar-Howrah Special Express and02202 Bhubaneswar-SealdahSpecial Express, are running toWest Bengal on the abovementioned dates.

Besides, the 02246Yashvantpur-Howrah SpecialTrain and the 02704Secunderabad- Howrah SpecialTrain are passing through EastCoast Railway jurisdiction toWest Bengal.

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Without mentioningPakistan and China,

Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Wednesday laudedthe Indian Air Force (IAF)saying its Balakot strike and thecurrent combat readiness inLadakh have sent a strongmessage to "adversaries".

Given the situation onthe Line of Actual Control(LAC), he asked the IAF to beready to handle any eventual-ity while alluding to the ongo-ing efforts for de-escalation atthe border.

Incidentally, during hisfirst visit to Leh last weeksince the face-offs began morethan eight weeks back,Rajnath had sounded skepti-cal about the ongoing dialogueto defuse tension at the LAC.He said he said could not“guarantee” the outcome ofthe talks and urged the armedforces to be ever ready.

Addressing the IAF com-manders’ conference on theopening day of the two-dayevent here on Wednesday, thedefence minister also compli-mented the IAF for its rapiddeployment of assets at for-ward locations in response tothe border row with China ineastern Ladakh, saying itsBalakot strike and the currentcombat readiness have sent a

strong message to "adver-saries".

He also said the nation'sresolve to defend its sover-eignty stands firm and that thepeople of the country have fullconfidence in the capability ofits armed forces.

Chief of Air Staff AirChief Marshal RKS Bhadauriasaid the IAF was well preparedto counter short term as wellas strategic threats and theunits were "evenly poised" tocounter any aggressive action

by the adversary.He said the response by all

commands in ensuringdeployment and readiness offorces was prompt and laud-able. He also emphasised onthe need to focus on the abil-ity to handle situations at ashort notice for ensuring arobust response.

The two-day meet of theIAF top brass will review thecurrent situation on the LACand the Line ofControl(LOC)facing Pakistan

and the operational readinessto handle any threat. The IAFin the last few weeks hasdeployed its front line fighterjets in nearly all the forwardairbases along the 4,000 kmlong LAC.

With the first four Rafalefighter jets arriving fromFrance at the Ambala airbaseon July 29, the commanderswill also chalk out the inte-gration programme of theFrench manufactured theRussian origin jets like the SU-

30 and MIG-29. In a demonstration of its

aerial prowess, the IAF hasbeen carrying out night timecombat air patrols over theeastern Ladakh region in thelast few weeks, in an apparent

message to China that it wasready to deal with any even-tualities in the mountainousregion.

The IAF has deployedalmost all its frontline fighterjets like Su-30, Jaguar and

Mirage 2000 aircraft in keyfrontier air bases. The IAF hasalso deployed Apache attackhelicopters as well as Chinookheavy-lift helicopters to trans-port troops to various forwardlocations. It has also pressed

into service a fleet of C-17Globemaster III transport air-craft as well as C-130J SuperHercules in transportingheavy military equipment andweaponry to several forwardbases in the region.

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The Telangana Governmenton Wednesday handed

over a letter of appointment asDeputy Collector and also ahouse site in the city to the wifeof Col Santosh Babu, who wasmartyred in the recent violentclashes with Chinese troops inthe Galwan Valley.

"The State Governmenthas appointed Santoshi, wife ofCol Santosh Babu who wasmartyred in the recent clasheson the Indo-China Border, asDeputy Collector. ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao on Wednesday at PragathiBhavan handed over theappointment letter toSantoshi," an official releasesaid.

Rao instructed the officialsto post Santoshi in Hyderabadand its surrounding areas andalso asked his secretary SmitaSabharwal to help Santoshi till

she receives proper trainingand settles down in her job, itsaid.

Rao had lunch with 20members of Santoshi's familyat Pragati Bhavan, the campoffice-cum-official residenceof the Chief Minister. Heassured them that the govern-ment would always stand byCol Santosh Babu’s family.

Earlier, Hyderabad dis-trict Collector Sweta Mohantyand ruling TRS MLA GadariKishore Kumar handed overthe documents pertaining tothe allotment of 711 sq yardsof land at posh Banjara Hillsto Santoshi. Santoshi thankedthe Chief Minister and the dis-trict Collector for the help.

"In remembrance of themartyrdom of Col SantoshBabu, CM came to our houseand helped...the Collectorinvited me today, showed theplace (land in Hyderabad) tome and gave the related doc-uments. I am thankful to the

CM and Collector," Santoshitold reporters.

It was exactly a month ago(on June 22), when the ChiefMinister visited the bereavedfamily at Suryapet town, about130 km from here, andpledged his Government's fullsupport to the family.

During his visit then, Raohanded over cheques for Rsfive crore announced as ex-gratia by him.

He had also personally

handed over a letter appointing Santoshi as aGroup I service officer in theState Government and docu-ments allotting a house site of711 sq yards at the BanjaraHills here.

The 39-year old colonelwas among 20 Indian sol-diers who were killed in theGalwan Valley in easternLadakh on June 15 during aviolent clash withChinesetroops.

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Former CongressmanJyotiraditya Scindia hogged

the limelight on Wednesday ashe took oath as a BJP MP in theRajya Sabha and exchangedgreetings with his old party col-league and bitter rival DigvijaySingh, who too was among the45 parliamentarians who wereadministered the oath of affir-mation by Vice President MVenkaiah Naidu.

Deepender Hooda, ShaktiSinh Gohil, Sharad Pawar,Rajeev Satav and PriyankaChaturvedi were among others.

Owing to the Covid-19pandemic, the oath of affir-mation to 45 of the total 61members newly elected to theUpper House from 22 Stateswas held in the Rajya Sabhachambers and for the first timeduring inter-session. OtherMPs who were not present forthe ceremony will be adminis-tered the oath at a later date.

With 19 BJP MPs takingthe Oath on Wednesday, BJP’sstrength in the Upper Househas now gone up to 86.

Sumer Singh Solanki fromMadhya Pradesh; Nabam Rebiafrom Arunachal Pradesh;Bhubaneswar Kalita andBiswajit Daimary from Assam;Vivek Thakur from Bihar;

Abhay Bharadwaj, RamilabenBara and Narhari Amin fromGujarat; Ram Chander Jangrafrom Haryana; Indu Goswamifrom Himachal Pradesh;Deepak Prakash fromJharkhand; Ashok Gasti andIranna Kadadi from Karnataka;Udayanraje Bhosale andBhagwat Karad fromMaharashtra; MaharajaLeishemba Sanajaoba fromManipur; K Vanlalvena fromMizoram; and Rajendra Gehlotfrom Rajasthan were otherswho took the Oath.

The numbers of theNational Democratic Alliancehas gone up to 100 in the 245-member upper house. Partiesfriendly to the BJP, such as theBJD, AIADMK and theYSRCP, too saw an increase in

their tally.From the Congress, which

has 41 MPs in the house, theleaders who took oath wereKTS Tulsi from Chhattisgarh;Shaktisinh Gohil from Gujarat;Deepender Singh Hooda from Haryana;Mallikarjun Kharge fromKarnataka; Digvijay Singhfrom Madhya Pradesh; RajeevSatav from Maharashtra; andNeeraj Dangi and KCVenugopal from Rajasthan.

Oath was also adminis-tered to JDU’s Harivansh andRamnath Thakur and RJD’sAD Singh and Prem ChandGupta from Bihar; and toBikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, ofthe CPI-M from West Bengal. PriyankaChaturvedi from Shiv Sena,

NCP chief Sharad Pawar andRPI chief and minister of statefor social justice and empow-erment Ramdas Athawale wereadministered the oath fromMaharashtra.

Three MPs from YSRCP,who represent AndhraPradesh, include AyodhyaRami Reddy Alla, PilliSubhaschandra Bose andVenkataramana Rao Mopidevi.

Representing Odisha,Muzibulla Khan, Subash Singh,Sujeet Kumar and MamataMohanta from the Biju JanataDal also took oath. From TamilNadu, KP Munusamy of theAIADMK and M Thambiduraiof the AIADMK and GK Vasanof the Tamil Maanila Congressalso took oath.

Of the 61 new MPs, 49were elected to the upperhouse for the first time while12 were re-elected.

After vacancies arose inMarch in 20 states, 42 wereelected unopposed, including28 first timers, and electionswere held for 19 vacanciesand 15 other first-timers wona berth in the Rajya Sabha.

Addressing the new mem-bers, Naidu said they shouldreflect on their role andresponsibility and not fall forthe temptation of disruptingthe House for short-term gains.

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BJP’s national vice presidentand spokesperson Baijayant

Panda took to Twitter onWednesday to allege linksbetween some Bollywood starswith “certain Pakistanis & NRIswith undeniable track recordencouraging violence in J&K”.

The former Member ofParliament from Odisha, how-ever, did not give away anyname.

The BJP leader urged‘patriotric Bollywoodies’ torenounce celebrities who havea connection with somePakistanis and ISI elements.

Panda tweeted that hecame across “shocking threadsdocumenting personal & busi-ness links of some Bollywoodpersonalities with certainPakistanis & NRIs with unde-niable track record encourag-ing violence in J&K, who haveverifiable links to ISI & Pakarmy. I urge patrioticBollywoodies to renouncethem”.

While Bollywood's links tothe underworld has often beentalked about, of late, it is in thenews for a hotly debated topicof nepotism leading to factionsin the film fraternity taking oneach other.

The circumstances leadingto the death of film actorSushant Singh Rajput hasrecently triggered a debate over“insiders versus outsiders” inBollywood with a suggestionthat a clique is operating in acertain way to dole out favoursto the actors who toe its line.There is a demand for a CBIprobe into the alleged “suicide”of Rajput, who hailed fromBihar.

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The Supreme CourtWednesday approved Uttar

Pradesh Government's draftnotification for appointing for-mer apex court judge Justice(retd) BS Chauhan as chairmanof the 3-member inquiry com-mission on the killing of eightpolicemen and the subsequentencounter killings of gangsterVikas Dubey and five of hisalleged associates.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice S A Bobde directedthat the inquiry commissionshould start functioning with-in a week and the probe be con-cluded within two months.

The other two members ofthe inquiry commission wouldbe – former high court judgeJustice (retd) Shashi KantAgarwal and retired DirectorGeneral of Police of UttarPradesh K L Gupta.

The bench, also compris-ing Justices A S Bopanna andV Ramasubramanian, clearedthe draft notification and askedthe Uttar Pradesh Governmentto notify it.

The top court directed theCentre to provide secretarialassistance to the inquiry com-

mittee and said that assistancebe provided either by theNational Investigation Agency(NIA) or any other centralagency.

The bench said the inquirycommission will submit itsreport to the apex court as wellthe state government under theCommission of Inquiry Act.

The apex court said scopeof investigation to be conduct-ed by the inquiry commissionshould be wide enough.

The bench said the topcourt is not in favour of “tyingthe hands” of the commissionand it will not be wise to havea term of reference for it.

It said the commission willhave to inquire into incidentsof killing of eight policemenand subsequent encounterskillings of Dubey and hisalleged associates.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for UttarPradesh, informed the benchJustice (retd) Chauhan hasgiven his consent to be a partof the inquiry commission.

Mehta told the bench thatthe commission would alsoprobe the circumstances underwhich Dubey, who was facing65 FIRs, was released on bail.

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One of the rarest and bright-est, Comet Neowise, offi-

cially known as C/2020F3, canbe seen in the sky till July-endin India as it is closer to theearth these days. The Neowise,once it disappears, will be vis-ible only after 6,800 years.

The Nehru Science Centrein its ‘Lockdown Lecture’ seriesorganised ‘Comet NEOWISE –A Primer’ to discuss the explo-ration aspects related tocomets.

Director, NehruPlanetarium, Dr N Ratnashree,explained comets, their posi-tion in the sky and ways toobserve it through a telescope,DSLR camera or even thenaked eye.

Comet is an icy small bodywhich consists mostly of rocky

materials, dust and ice. Asthey come closer to the sunthere is evaporation of volatilecontents from these comets.When they start melting, theparticles start glowing by thereflected sunlight. This makesthe 'dust tail' of Comets.

For those keen to capturethe image, Dr. Ratnashree said,“Point your camera towardsthe North West direction andtry to take a long exposureshot. Try clicking regular pho-tographs on different days atthe same time with the samecamera settings to find out thetrajectory of the comet in rela-tion to the horizon,” she said.

The comet can be seen inclear sky conditions in areaswith lesser light pollution andwill be perfectly visible when the sky is dark,she added.

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India has become the secondcountry in the world to pro-

vide DCGI approval for anti-tuberculosis drug pretomanidfor conditional access under theNational TuberculosisElimination Program (NTEP)programme.

Pretomanid has beenapproved as part of a three-drug, six-month all-oral regi-men consisting of bedaquiline,pretomanid and linezolid, col-lectively referred to as “BPaL”for treatment of adult patientswith pulmonary extensivelydrug-resistant TB (XDR-TB),treatment intolerant or non-responsive multidrug-resistantTB (MDR-TB).

The drug manufacture,Mylan will initially make itspretomanid available in Indiathrough a donation of 400treatment courses to the NTEPwhich provides free, high qual-ity anti-tubercular drugs andcare across the country toensure that the treatment isaccessible to patients who needit the most.

Mylan president Rajiv

Malik said, “To date, Mylan andTB Alliance have securedapprovals for pretomanid intwo countries” while presidentand CEO of TB Alliance MelSpigelman, said, “The approvalof pretomanid in India as partof this three-drug, all-oral reg-imen is the first in a countrywith a high TB burden. Byembracing innovation, Indiahas an opportunity to lead thecharge to end TB and meet itsambitious goals for eradica-tion.”

India has the goal of TBelimination by 2025.

India accounts for approx-imately a quarter of the world’sTB burden, with an estimated2.7 million cases per year,highest for any country, glob-ally. Of these, around 130,000patients have some form ofdrug-resistant TB.

Patients frequently facecomplicated and lengthy treat-ment regimens of up to 20months which often result inpoor clinical outcomes. TheWHO has reported treatmentsuccess rates of 48% for MDR-TB and 30% for XDR-TB inIndia.

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Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu unveiled a statue of

Dr BR Ambedkar at theComptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG) office in NewDelhi on Wednesday.

“The CAG is a strong andcredible institution and the cred-it for this must go to the framersof the Constitution, particular-ly to Dr BR Ambedkar,” Naidusaid while unveiling the statue.He said Babasaheb Ambedkarhad the vision to ensure inde-pendence and a wide mandateto the CAG.

Describing him as a multi-faceted genius — a visionarystatesman, philosopher, tower-ing intellectual, eminent jurist,economist, writer, socialreformer and a humanist parexcellence, he observed that DrAmbedkar was the messiah ofthe oppressed.

Applauding the CAG forbeing a strong and credible

institution, the Vice Presidentsaid the core values of the topauditor — independence, objec-tivity, integrity, reliability, pro-fessional excellence, trans-parency and positive approach— drew inspiration from the lifeand work of Dr Ambedkar. Hecalled accountability, trans-parency and good governance asvery essential for democracy.

He credited the reports ofthe CAG and the consequentdeliberations in the committeesof the legislatures for having ledto various changes in the regu-latory framework, governancestructures and delivery mecha-nism of the government, ensur-ing economy, efficiency andeffectiveness of governmentoperations.

He said the CAG hasevolved as an enabler toBabasaheb’s vision that not onlyensures public financialaccountability but also acts as afriend, philosopher and guide ofthe executive.

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After appointing new chiefsof Gujarat and Haryana,

the BJP on Wednesdayappointed Suresh KumarKashyap, MP from Shimla, asits Himachal Pradesh unit pres-ident.

Kashyap is an ex-service-man and has been elected asMLA on the party's ticket ear-lier.

He replaces Rajeev Bindal,who resigned in May withinfive months of his appointment

after his name had cropped upin a police investigation in acorruption case.

BJP president JP Naddathis week appointed CR Patiland OP Dhankar as presi-dends of Gujarat and Haryanaunits respectively.

More changes at all partylevels to be effected soon withnew faces inducted in theoffice bearers team in theparty's central leadership asalso in the ParliamentaryBoard, the highest decision making body.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Wednesday registered a moneylaundering case in connectionwith the Kerala GoldSmuggling Scam.

The ED registered anEnforcement Case InformationReport (ECIR) (FIR in policeparlance) taking cognisanceof the NIA's FIR relating to theprobe into criminal aspects ofthe scam, officials said.

The ED case has beenbooked under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA) and the agency willsoon record the statements ofthe arrested accused, they said.

The ED will probe if “pro-

ceeds of crime” were generat-ed by the accused persons bylaundering of funds that wereearned in an illicit mannerthrough the alleged gold smug-gling racket.

The ED has authority toattach the immovable andmovable assets of the accusedpersons under the PMLA.

The Kerala GoldSmuggling Case was unearthedon July 5 when gold, weighingover 30 kg, was seized by theCustoms (Preventive)Commisonerate, Cochin fromthe “diplomatic baggage” thathad landed by air cargo at theThiruvananthapuram interna-tional airport from the Gulf.The seized gold is estimated to be worth �14.82crore.

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Within 24 hours of TamilNadu’s Health Minister

Dr C Vijaya Baskar claimedthat the State has the bestmedical strategy in the coun-try, the Directorate of Healthand Preventive Medicine cameout with a bulletin which stat-ed that Tamil Nadu diagnosed5,849 persons with Covid-19on Wednesday. This is the

highest number of coronaviruscases detected in the State ona single day.

What upset the TamilNadu Government is the steephike in the number of personsafflicted with coronavirus with-in a day. On Tuesday, 4,965 per-sons were tested positive for thepandemic and this means thatthe number of Covid-19patients in the State shot up byalmost 1,000 during the last 24 hours.

In last 24 hours, 74 patientssuccumbed to the pandemic.

By noon itself it was knownthat the number of patientsinfected with the virus wouldbe on the higher side. A doc-tor in the Government serviceexpressed his anxiety as thehike in the number of patientscome at a time when the Stateis experiencing rainfall as partof the South West Monsoon.

“We were expecting somerespite once the rains set in but

it has been proved wrong,” saidthe doctor who did not whathis name to be quoted.

The bulletin said as onWednesday, Tamil Nadu has51,765 active Covid-19 caseswhile the day saw 4,910 personsgetting discharged from hos-pitals across the State.

While the situation inChennai remained similar tothat of previous days (theMetropolis tested positive for1,171 persons), neighbouring

Chengalpet accounted for 223cases. Kancheepuram (325)and Thiruvallur (430) saw steep hike in the numberof patients.

Situation in Ranipet (414)and Virudhunagar (363) haveturned grave as the numbersfrom these districts show.Thirunelveli (267) andThoothukudi (202) are theother districts which recordedunabated spreading of the disease.

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More than 1,000 newpatients joined the army

of Covid-19 affected persons inKerala on Wednesday.

“Today has turned out to bea crucial day in Kerala. We diag-nosed 1,038 persons with Civid-19 and this is the highest num-ber of patients identified on asingle day since the first coro-navirus case was detected in theState in the month of March,”said Pinarayi Vijayan, ChiefMinister of Kerala.

The Chief Minister said hemay have to think seriouslyabout the proposal for anoth-er round of total lockdown inthe State as this is the first timeKerala sees the Covid-19 casesbreaching the 1,000 mark.Vijayan blamed a section of themedia and certain politicaloutfits for spreading fake newsand lies for the increase in the

number of Covid-19 cases.“Out of the 1.038 persons

tested positive today, 785 wereinfected through contactswhich reiterates that the peo-ple have to be careful in theirdealings,” the CM said.

He said the entire coastalstretch of Thiruvananthapuramand Kollam have been shutdown because of the hike in thenumber of persons afflictedwith the pandemic.

Thiruvananthapuram con-tinued to lead the table with thehighest number of coronaviruscases. The district tested 226new cases out of which 190were infected through con-tacts, he said. Vijayan alsopointed out that in all the dis-tricts in the State, the pandemichas spread through contacts.

But the Chief Minister saidthat Kerala stands in the fore-front of the States and hasearned all round appreciation

from global bodies. “Whilethe national average for covidcases per million is 419, Keralais less than half of this figure.There is an attempt by manypersons and entities to portrayKerala in poor light,” said theChief Minister.

As on Wednesday evening,there were 15,032 Covid-19patients in the State. “There aremore than 9,000 personsundergoing treatment in vari-ous hospitals in Kerala. Today,1,164 patients have been admit-ted to hospitals because ofCovid-29,” he said.

Life has come a full circle inKerala which was praised bysome media houses in the coun-try and abroad for “effectivemeasures” adopted by theCPI(M)-led Government in theState. But as on Wednesday, theChief Minister himself disclosedthat the situation in the State hasbecome a matter of concern.

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To further contain the spreadof coronavirus especially in

the worst affected areas ofKashmir valley, the UnionTerritory administration onWednesday announced com-plete lockdown in all nine reddistricts except Bandipora ofKashmir division fromWednesday evening till 6.00 amon July 27. These preventivemeasures were taken by theadministration to restrict move-ment of local residents ahead ofEid-ul-Adha on August 1.

Meanwhile, 453 fresh casesof coronavirus were detectedwhile ten more deaths of covid-19 patients were reported fromKashmir division onWednesday. The total tally ofcoronavirus patients stood at15,711. The total number ofactive positive cases in Srinagarhas crossed 2,100 mark. OnWednesday 165 fresh caseswere detected in Srinagar, fol-

lowed by 62 cases from Kulgamand 58 from Baramulla.

In Jammu division also,District Magistrate, Samba,Rohit Khajuria on Wednesdayordered complete lockdown inSamba and Baribrahmanatehsils from July 23 to July 26.The situation remained grim inRajouri district as 47 fresh caseswere detected on Wednesday.

Responding to the con-cerns of the local populationahead of Eid celebrations,Divisional Commissioner,Kashmir Pandurang. Pole saidthat the markets shall remainopen for three days from July 28to July 30 to facilitate hassle-freepurchase of sacrificial animalsand other necessary items.

Chairing a meeting toreview Eid arrangements, healso directed all DeputyCommissioner’s of Kashmir toestablish sale centres wherepeople can purchase the sacri-ficial animals with properCovid-19 protocol.

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Ajawan of Border SecurityForce (BSF) deployed

along the International Borderin Samba sector of Jammufrontier was dismissed for hisalleged involvement in smug-gling activities in connivancewith anti-national elementsand trans-border criminals.

A BSF spokesman inJammu said, “A BSF constableidentified as Sumit Kumar, res-ident of Gurdaspur in Punjabwas dismissed from services bythe BSF authorities”.

BSF spokesman added,“Sumit Kumar was appre-hended on information of thePunjab Police on July 11, 2020,for his alleged involvement insmuggling activities, con-nivance with anti-national ele-ments and trans- border crim-inals”. A 9 mm pistol, 2 maga-zines, 80 rounds of 9 mmammunition and 2 rounds of12 bore ammunition wererecovered from his possession.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on

Wednesday slammed the UttarPradesh Government for throt-tling the voices of dissent evenas she expressed shock over thekilling of journalist VikramJoshi who was gunned down inGhaziabad.

Expressing her condolencesshe said, “My heartfelt condo-lences to the family of VikramJoshi, a fearless journalist whopassed away today.” He was shotin UP for filing an FIR to bookhis niece’s molesters.

She added, “An atmos-phere of fear has been createdin the country. Voices are beingmuzzled and even media is notspared. Shocking.”

Banerjee had from a massvirtual rally on Tuesday said theBJP Government was not onlythreatening the dissenting peo-ple and chocking their voicesbut also using the central agen-cies to suppress them.

“There are fear of bullet,jail and so many other thingsbut I don’t fear bullet, gun or

any Agency. They will try tochoke my voice but I will comeout stronger,” she said.

Meanwhile, Banerjee islikely to hold a virtual meetingof the Trinamool Congressleaders on Thursday apparent-ly to decide on electoral strate-gies. Her decision comes a dayafter promising in a virtual rallyto decimate the BJP in the nextyear’s Assembly elections.

The Chief Minister is like-ly to instruct the regionalsatraps to rise above narrowpersonal interests and work ina united manner, insiders said.

“Though the TMC unites inthe name of Mamata Banerjeethere are reports coming thatthere are a lot of intra-party feudat the local levels. The ChiefMinister wants the local lead-ership to address the issues andwork united,” said a Ministerand MLA from Kolkata.

Banerjee is also likely to tellthe district leadership to startsearching for non-controversialand popular faces, sources said,adding she would also ask theleaders to begin a reach-outprogramme.

“As mass connect is the keyshe is likely to ask the leadersto launch house-to-house con-tact programmes so that thegeneral grievances of the peo-ple can be assessed and lateraddressed,” another seniorTMC leader and MLA fromNorth 24 Parganas said.

However the most impor-tant thing the Chief Minister islikely to focus on is “counter-propaganda for the BJP’s reg-ular disinformation campaign.”

According to this leader“the BJP is getting its oxygenfrom the Left cadres who havesuddenly started backing thatparty … it is not possible forrigidly conscious cadres of theCPI(M) to turn to extremeright overnight. So it seems thatthere is a plan that has beenhatched by the Left use the BJPto bring down the TMCGovernment otherwise theywould not have got 40 percentvotes in the general elections…Our Chief Minister is aware ofthis and that it why she askedthe CPI(M) workers not tocommit a big mistake by back-ing the BJP from behind.”

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In a historic development,the Unit 3 of the Kakrapur

Atomic Power Project (KAPP-3 700 W) in Gujarat attained itsfirst criticality (controlled self-sustaining nuclear fission chainreaction for the first time) at9.35 am on Wednesday.

First of its kind indigenous700 MW Pressurised HeavyWater Reactor (PHWR), theKAPP-3 is designed entirely bythe Indian scientists and engi-neers. The components andequipment for the reactor havebeen manufactured by IndianIndustries, while the construc-tion and erection was under-taken by various Indian con-tractors.

Lauding the State-runNPCIL’s feat, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi tweeted,“Congratulations to our nuclearscientists for achieving criti-cality of Kakrapar AtomicPower Plant-3! This indige-nously designed 700 MWeKAPP-3 reactor is a shiningexample of Make in India.And a trailblazer for manysuch future achievements!”

“The reactors have beendesigned and constructed tothe highest safety and qualitystandards comparable to thebest in the world. The 700 MWPHWR has advanced features

like steel lined inner contain-ment, Passive decay heatremoval system, containmentspray system, HydrogenManagement systems etc,” aNuclear Power Corporation ofIndia Limited ( NPCIL)spokesperson said.

The fuel loading of thereactor core was completed bymid-March this year.Thereafter many tests and pro-cedures were carried out dur-ing the lockdown period fol-lowing all the Covid-19 guide-lines. We could achieve thetasks with the excellent coor-dination among the NPCIL,contracting agencies,Department of Atomic Energy(DAE) units and variousCentral, State and local authorities,” NPCIL)’s AssociateDirector (CP&CC) AK Nemasaid.

As a next step, variousexperiments will be conductedand power will be increasedprogressively. Thereafter it willbe connected with the Westerngrid. The KAPP-3 is the thirdnuclear power reactor in thecountry. It is the front runnerin a series of 16 indigenous 700MW PHWRs which have beenaccorded administrativeapproval and financial sanctionby the Government and are at various stages of imple-mentation.

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The Covid-19 graphappeared to be gradually

peaking in Maharashtra onWednesday, as the State record-ed an all-time high of new10,576 infected cases, while 280 more people succumbed to pandemic.

After recording the thenhighest highest-ever 9,518infected cases on July 19,Maharashtra notched a newdaily high of 10,576 cases —much to the discomfort of theState health authorities.

Interestingly, after theinfections crossed 8,000 markon five occasions in a week(July 16-8,641, July 17-8,308,July 18-8,348, July 20-8,240July 21-8,369) and evenbreached 9,000 mark once onJuly 19, the infections touchedfive-digit mark of 10576 onWednesday.

With the fresh infectionsand fatalities, the total numberof infections mounted to3,37,607, while the total num-ber of deaths rose to 12,556.

Of the total 280 deathsreported on Wednesday,Mumbai recorded 58 deaths,taking the total number ofdeaths in the metropolis from5,817 to 5,875 , while the num-ber of corona cases rose by1,310 to touch 1,04,678.

Apart from 58 deaths

reported in Mumbai, therewere 57 deaths in Pune, 50deaths in Thane, 27 inAurangabad, 16 in Kolhapur,12 in Solapur, 9 in Jalgaon, 7 inNashik, 6 in Ahmednagar, 5 inPalghar, 4 each in Raigad andSangli, 3 each in Ratnagiri,Latur, Nanded, Nagpur andAkola, 2 each in Satara andParbhani and one death each inNandurbar, Jalna, Hingoli,Osmanabad and Buldhana. Inaddition, one more personfrom another State died inMaharashtra.

With 79,911 infected cases

and 2,146 deaths, Thane con-tinued to be the second worsthit district in Maharashtra.

Pune, which has emergedas the third worst affected dis-trict in terms of spread of thepandemic, has recorded 63,351infections and 1,514 deathstill now.

In a related development,the total number of patientsdischarged from various hos-pitals after full recovery sincethe second week of March thisyear touched 1,87,769. Therecovery rate in the state stoodat 55.62 per cent. The mortal-ity rate in the State is 3.72 percent. The State health author-ities pegged the number of“active cases” in the State at1,36,980.

Out of 16,87,213 samplessent to laboratories, 3,37,807have tested positive (20 cent)for Covid-19 until Wednesday.

Currently, 8,58,121 peo-ple are in home quarantinewhile 44,975 people are ininstitutional quarantine.

Meanwhile, in yet anothersting operation, social activistBinu Varghese helped theCrime Branch sleuths of theThane trap a 5-member gangindulging in blackmarketing ofRemdesivir injections for�25,000 per vial. The investi-gators also recovered otherexpensive cancer injectionsand medicines.

Jammu: The Pakistan Army onWednesday resorted to “unpro-voked” ceasefire violation alongthe Line of Control in two dif-ferent sectors of Qasba, Kirniand Mankote of Poonch dis-trict. According to groundreports, Pakistan army target-ed several civilian areas alongwith forward posts of theIndian Army.

Hitting back, Indian army

too retaliated strongly and tar-geted several ‘offensive’ gunpositions of the Pakistan Armyto silence them.

Ministry of Defencespokesman in Jammu, Lt-ColDevender Anand said,“Pakistan army violated cease-fire agreement around 7.15pm in Qasba, Kirni sector onWednesday”.

PNS

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Kolkata: In a sudden develop-ment former India footballerMehtab Hussain pulled out ofthe BJP a day after joining theparty amid allegations that hehad been pressurized by theTMC to quit the saffron outfit.

“Withdrawing from poli-tics” Hussain a fiery midfield-er who had his stints withMohun Bagan, East Bengaland other clubs too said “I hadjoined the BJP yesterday butwhen I returned home my rel-atives, near and dear ones andmy fans expressed their dis-pleasure about my joining pol-itics. They said that they wantme to see me in the field andnot in the politics and so Icould not refuse their requests.”When asked as to whether hereceived threats from Bengalruling outfit he said he had notbeen pressurised by anyone.

PNS

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Jammu: A former counter insurgent-turned-Jammu & KashmirPolice cop was gunned down by “unidentified” terrorists nearhis home in South Kashmir district of Kulgam late onWednesday night.

According to a police spokesman, “Terrorists fired upon apoliceman Ab Rashid Dar at his native place in village Furrahof Kulgam late on Wednesday night”.

Local reports said Dar was shot at from a very close range.He received three bullet injuries on his chest and abdomen. Hewas rushed to GMC, Anantnag.

“He was shifted to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.Police and security forces have cordoned the area and search ison to nab the terrorists”, police spokesman added. Nine years agoterrorists had also killed his son. PNS

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Page 6: % ˆ& ’ 3 ˘,˛˚ ,˜˝ ˇ (˘ )˜˜%4 ˜& ˘,˛˚ ,˜˝ ˇ ,˝ˆ ˘˙ˇ˘&4 ... · 2020. 7. 22. · The Chinese claim Indian troops will ... the date for the next round of military-level

Jammu & Kashmir is an integral partof India, geographically, culturallyand economically. The BJP

Government’s decision last year torevoke Article 370 paved the way forfull integration of this State with the restof India. Prior to the country’s indepen-dence, Jammu & Kashmir was aMuslim-majority princely State ruledby Hari Singh, a Hindu king. The Statewas relatively tranquil due to the ami-cable relationship between the king andhis subjects. However, four Congress-led policies soon after changed thedynamics of the State. First, theCongress supported the KhilafatMovement of 1919. This movementbrought the Muslim League in thelimelight and made MA Jinnah animportant political figure; the latterplayed a crucial role in India’s partitionand the start of the “Kashmir problem.”

Second, Kashmir was politicallyvibrant in the years after the KhilafatMovement. Numerous factions, eachwielding the support of different sec-tions of Muslims, emerged. The prima-ry factions consisted of Hari Singh, theMuslim League led by Jinnah, AzadConference led by religious leaderMirwaiz Shah and the All India JammuKashmir National Congress led byShiekh Abdullah. The four factionswere in a constant tussle to garner thesupport of the Muslim populationand created wide divisions within thesocio-political fabric of the troubledState. During the 1940s, former PrimeMinister Jawaharlal Nehru had arenewed sense of “Kashmiriness” andfelt the need to come to his State’s aid.In his attempt to resolve problems,Nehru supported Sheikh Abdullahand alienated the other three factions— each was equally supported by theKashmiri population — and widenedthe existing divisions.

Third, Mahatma Gandhi launchedthe “Quit India” movement against theBritish regime and by 1945, it reachedJammu & Kashmir. While in otherparts of the country, the movement wasagainst the British regime, in Kashmir,where it was led by Sheikh Abdullahand supported by Nehru, it was againstHari Singh’s rule. Jinnah supportedHari Singh during this tumultuoustime. Thus, Hari Singh’s distrust ofNehru was the primary reason for hishesitation to sign the Instrument ofAccession. Hari Singh’s dithering wasseen as an opportunity by Pakistan toinvade Kashmir and claim it by force,which it managed to do. The result ofthe bitter relationship between Nehruand Hari Singh is Pakistan-occupiedKashmir (PoK).

Lastly, Nehru agreed to his “friend”Sheikh Abdullah’s demand to pass

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Sir — This refers to the article,“Revive or perish” (July 21) byKalyani Shankar. Verily speak-ing, the Congress is beset withinternecine bickering betweenthe old guard and the youngTurks over power-sharing issuesin States where it wields power.Ironically, despite working like aTrojan, Congress president SoniaGandhi has miserably failed tonip this internal power strugglein the bud. The issue snowballedand culminated in the Congress’drubbing in the last Lok Sabhapolls. What has made mattersworse is Rahul Gandhi’s failureto lead the party.

The top leadership’s failure tocontain internal feud is now outin the public domain. This hascost the grand old party dearlyand led to disenchantment andresultant estrangement of a cou-ple of its young leaders likeJyotiraditya Scindia and, now,Sachin Pilot. The writer’s obser-vation that even if RajasthanChief Minister Ashok Gehlotsucceeds in surviving the ongo-ing crisis, the Damocles’ swordwould still hang over theCongress in view of its fragile

majority in the House, holdsgood. The Congress needs tobring both the old as well as theyoung guard on board. A goodblend of experience on the partof both will help the Congress tideover the present crisis. It’s incum-bent upon the party leadership todecide what way it wants thispolitical cookie to crumble.

Azhar A Khan Rampur

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Message or faith?” (July 22).A landmark verdict by theSupreme Court had effectivelybrought closure to the decade-old Ram Janmabhoomi-BabriMasjid case. It was left to thetemple trust authorities todecide on the date for the con-

struction of the shrine. Thetrust’s decision to lay the foun-dation stone on August 3 wasuncalled for at this momentwhen we are fighting a pandem-ic. The editorial is right to pointthe political overtones behindthis move. The ceremony couldhave been deferred for a bettertime and the Prime Minister, aninvitee of the ceremony, couldhave been spared for more

important assignments. As the verse goes, Na masjid

me, na mandir me, na kaba-Kailash me, moko kahan dhund-he bande mai to tere paas me(neither in the mosque nor inthe temple nor in Kaba-Kailash,where are you searching me, Iam beside you). Lord Ram isomnipresent. He is in no hurryfor the Ayodhya temple to bebuilt.

MC JoshiLucknow

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “A glimmer of hope” (July 22).The Oxford vaccine is a promis-ing step forward in the search fora cure against COVID-19. Buteven if the third phase of the tri-als goes as expected, it may takeanother few months before theworld can claim victory over thevirus. Till then, the social vac-cine, along with other concert-ed efforts, is the most effectiveway to control the pandemic.

SudeshnaVia email

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Articles 370 and 35(A), whichwould provide Kashmir with aseparate Constitution, flag andhead of State. This further dis-tanced the once tranquil Statefrom India.

The BJP Governmentunder the leadership of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andHome Minister Amit Shah wasable to successfully integrate theState into India and bring inpeace and development in themilitancy-ridden State.

For the last seven decades,Pakistan has approachedalmost all international fora andorganisations to justify its claimto two illegally-occupiedregions: PoK and Balochistan.Recently, it bore the expense ofa few British and EuropeanMembers of Parliament (MPs),who visited PoK, and attempt-ed to hold fraudulent electionsin the region to gain legitima-cy.

Prior to India’s indepen-dence, Balochistan was ruled bythe Khan of Kalat, who wasforcefully taken to Karachi atgunpoint to sign theInstrument of Accession.However, Khan’s decision hadto be confirmed by the twoHouses of the NationalAssembly of the kingdom forBalochistan’s integration intoPakistan. Two days prior toPakistan’s independence onAugust 12, 1947, the Houses

voted against acceding to eithernation and decided to be anindependent State.

Thus, Pakistan’s occupa-tion of Balochistan is illegal.The Balochi people, as a resultof this illegal occupation, havenot been able to completelyintegrate into Pakistan; theBalochis and the Pakistani pop-ulation have distinct cultures,social norms and values whichmake reconciliation betweenthe two unachievable.Balochistan has tried to removeits illegal occupiers on numer-ous occasions: The wars of1958, 1962 and from 1973-1977. One war is still beingfought. Cultural and social dif-ferences are not the only cata-lysts. Even though Balochistanis a mineral-rich State, with itswealth of resources fuellingPakistan’s economic growth,Balochi people are illiterateand have the highest unem-ployment rate in Pakistan,around 40 per cent.

Balochistan province con-stitutes nearly half of the coun-try’s landmass, yet its people areonly four per cent of thePakistani population. Now isthe time to support nationalistgroups in Balochistan, whoare fighting against widespreadinequalities and overall degra-dation of life. Groups such asthe Balochistan National Party,National Party, Jamhoori Watan

Party, Baloch Haq Talwar,Pashtun Khawa Milli AwamiParty and the Balochistan stu-dent organisation have beenforwarding Balochistan’s resolvefor independence. Thisprovince is located strategical-ly and its independence wouldhave significant consequencesfor the South Asia region.Chinese aggression will bechecked, Pakistan will be weak-ened, the Taliban can effective-ly be countered and the oilpipeline between Iran and Indiawill see quick development.

Many nations, which sup-port Balochistan’s resolve, havenot come to its aid because theyrespect Pakistan’s sovereigntyand say that it is an internalmatter. Balochistan had playedan integral role during India’sindependence and, thus, it is ourduty to help it gain indepen-dence. An independentBalochistan will not only ben-efit the Baloch nation butwould also be a geo-politicalinvestment for India.Balochistan’s energy resourcesare vast and India’s emergingeconomy could get enormousaccess to them.

Currently, China is mili-tarising Balochistan’s coastalbelt to have a better strangleholdon India. Balochistan’s leaderhad approached the Congress-led UPA-II Government forstrategic aid against Pakistani

occupation. However, he waslargely ignored. Baloch leadersare supportive of Indian caus-es and have even applaudedIndia’s decision to revokeArticles 370 and 35(A).

Culturally, Balochistan isvery much similar to India dueto its respect for Hinduism andits ideals. In the Kalat region ofBalochistan lies a 2,000-year-oldKali temple; the second tallestin South Asia. A post-indepen-dence Balochistan will helpprotect Indian interests fromforeign aggression.

Pakistan, on the other hand,has been instigating terroristactivities in Jammu & Kashmir,holding elections in PoK, speak-ing against India’s decision torevoke Articles 370 and 35(A)and is even attempting to cre-ate an environment against usat international fora and organ-isations.

In the midst of such anadversity, if India decides tosupport Balochistan’s cause ofindependence, the decisionwould be morally correct. Indiashould approach internationalconferences and organisationsto seek the support of majorcountries in Europe, Russia andthe US to help Balochistan gainindependence from Pakistan’sillegal occupation.

(The writer is a BJP leaderand Lok Sabha MP. Viewsexpressed are personal)

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Each disease has a persona and it isn’t just aninterchangeable cause of death. The personadepends upon the nature of humankind and

how societies react to it. It also depends upon howmany people the disease kills, how it kills, whetherit has children among its victims or orphans them,or if it surprises everybody. And once it has acquireda definitive trait, it reflects in popular culture as thetransformative agent of the human condition.

During the last plague epidemic in the 19th cen-tury, one can see the impact of the disease on thethinkers and the artistic world. There was a cult ofreligiosity, there were themes of sudden death,repentance and getting your affairs and soul in orderjust in case the plague suddenly got you. It had atransformative effect on the iconography ofEuropean art.

The bubonic plague killed half the populationof full continents and, therefore, had a tremendouseffect on the advent of the industrial revolution, slav-ery and serfdom. The circumstances created by thepandemic set free many serfs in Europe, forced wagerise for labourers and caused a fundamental shiftin the economy along with an increased standardof living for the survivors.

The 1918 Spanish Flu disproportionately affect-ed young men, which in combination with WorldWar I, created an overall shortage of manpower. Thisgap enabled women to play a new and indispensi-ble role in the workforce during the crucial pandem-ic period, which in turn led to granting of suffrageto women in the US soon after.

Epidemics hold up the mirror to humanbeings, as to who we really are. They lead us to thinkabout life’s big questions. Outbreaks raise the wholequestion of man’s relationship with God and oneanother. Even in India, though our historical tra-dition isn’t very good at recording epidemics, theveneration patterns of epidemic goddesses preservethe folk memory of diseases sweeping the country.As early as the 2nd century, the outbreak of small-pox across the Silk Road led to the worship of god-dess Hariti, believed to have the power to cause andthwart the disease. It resulted in numerous sculp-tures of the deity in the Gandhara region (present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan). In India, the leg-ends of Shitala Mata, who had the powers to healfever and small pox and Oladevi, the goddess ofcholera, have been painted by folk artists for a longtime.

The post-plague European paintings started fea-turing symbols like an hour glass with the sands oftime running out, wilting flowers, heaps of bonesand skeletons. In European Catholic countries, themain thrust was to see this as a reminder that lifeis temporary and provisional. One sees a great atten-tion to themes of suddenness of death, that is, thedanse macabre (dance of death) where everyone isswept away into the lap of the grim reaper.

In ancient literature and scriptures, right fromHomer’s Iliad to The Old Testament, plagues are asso-ciated with the idea that man is being punished forhis sins. Venetian churches were built to demon-strate repentance. In the 14th and 15th centuries,we see the Flagellants embarking on a “40-day pro-cession of repentance, self-chastisement and prayer,”whipping themselves and others.

From the perspective of political instability, thebubonic plague struck India in the late 19th cen-

tury. The ruling British Governmentresponded by introducing Renaissance-eraanti-plague measures — draconian exer-cises of power and authority. Such mea-sures by a colonial Government made thenatives more fearful than the plague itselfand they resisted.

The anti-plague activities of thehealth department involved police search-es, isolation of the sick, detention of trav-ellers in camps and forced evacuation ofresidents in parts of the city. These mea-sures were widely regarded as offensiveand alarming. The outrage against this ledto the murder of WC Rand, the Britishchairman of the Special PlagueCommittee, by the Chapekar brothers, twoIndian revolutionaries.

Diseases do not afflict societies in ran-dom and chaotic ways because microbesselectively expand and diffuse them-selves to explore ecological niches thathuman beings have created. Those nich-es show who we are. For example, duringthe industrial revolution, people actuallycared about what happened to workersand the poor and the conditions that themost vulnerable people lived in, which hadnever been a concern earlier. In today’sworld, we see that cholera and tubercu-losis move along the fault lines created bypoverty and inequality and we seem to beprepared to accept this as inevitable.

But it is also true that the way werespond depends on our values, ourcommitments and our sense of being apart of the human race. Many positivechanges are seen arising after epidemicsin history, like the end of slavery. That andthe success of the Haitian rebellion andToussaint Louverture were determined,above all, by yellow fever. When Napoleonsent the great armada to restore slavery in

Haiti, the rebellion succeeded because theslaves from Africa had immunity thatWhite Europeans in Napoleon’s army did-n’t have that insurance. It was one of thecauses that led to the Haitian indepen-dence. Besides, from an American pointof view, this was what led to Napoleon’sdecision to abandon the idea of project-ing French power in the New World and,therefore, to agree with Thomas Jeffersonin 1803 to the Louisiana Purchase whichdoubled the size of US territory.

Varied diseases provoke differentresponses. One of the vaguest societalresponses to a disease was to tuberculo-sis and how it was perceived in theRomantic period, in the early years of the19th century. Though tuberculosis is oneof the most gruesome ways to die, where,in the end, you’re cyanosed and asphyx-iate to death, yet, in that era, you wouldhave it displayed on stage in a glorified waywith beautiful opera heroines enactingplays with a theme around the disease.

People of that era thought that it wasa disease of the élite, of the artist, of thebeautiful, of the refined, and that it madepeople much more beautiful. So much sothat fashion tried to turn women intotubercular creatures. In Toulouse Lautrec’spainting, you see an anorexic-lookingwoman applying rice powder on her faceso that she looks pale like patients withtuberculosis.

Those days, famous French novelistVictor Hugo was told by his friends thathe had one great fault as a writer, whichwas that he wasn’t tuberculous, and,therefore, he wouldn’t be as great a writeras he would have been otherwise.

The germ theory of disease as put for-warded by Louis Pasteur brought forth thereality of tuberculosis in the late 19th cen-

tury. The theory insisted that tuberculo-sis was not a disease of spontaneous gen-eration of the beautiful classes but of theunhygienic and the poor. The whole inter-pretation changed and the idea of a beau-tiful disease disappeared.

Over the centuries, disease outbreakshave shaped politics, crushed revolutionsand entrenched racial and economic dis-crimination. Since World War II, human-ity has been living with the promise ofunbeatable health and long life withprospects of reversing ageing and livingforever.

The current outbreak of COVID-19has revealed to humanity that beyond allits techno-scientific powers, the modernhuman being is still a fragile creature. Thispandemic precipitated changes in our per-spective about our relationship with theenvironment and with one another. Whileholding up a mirror to society, the virushas also deepened our social fissures. Theother significant change is the rise of theGovernment in people’s lives. Being doneby many Right-wing governments acrossthe globe, this has fit with the Indian way,too. The Government runs the show.

The current pandemic has touchedevery person’s life in some way or theother, forcing isolation, uncertainty, anger,and hopelessness. This, coupled with theeconomic meltdown, is causing huge psy-chological distress and sets the alarm ring-ing for an impending mental health cri-sis. The full impact of the pandemic onthe socio-political aspects are yet toemerge and so are the responses of theartistic world which will be reflected oncanvases and papers in the comingdecade.

(The writer is an author and a doctorby profession)

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The recent Chinese aggres-sion at the Line of ActualControl (LAC) came as a

surprise for India at a time whenthe entire world was facing theCoronavirus crisis. The ModiGovernment had its hands full,revamping healthcare facilities tomeet the challenges posed by thepandemic and reviving econom-ic activity brought to a grindinghalt by the extended lockdowns.But now the national discoursehas shifted from COVID-19 to theChinese misadventure at the LACand though a dialogue is on toresolve tension along the 3,488 kmborder, there are no guaranteeshow long this uneasy peace wouldhold. In fact, Defence MinisterRajnath Singh’s recent call to theIndian Air Force to stay on alert

came at a time when a pullback oftroops from key friction pointsalong the LAC seemed to havecome to a halt with no change inthe situation for a week.

Military and economic mightare important factors for claimingthe status of a global power. As faras China is concerned, its eco-nomic strength and not militarymight is making a difference.China has established itself as theworld’s factory while India can atbest claim the status of the world’sback office. This situation is notgoing to change in a short span oftime and apart from policy inter-ventions by the Government,India should use diplomatic chan-nels to convince multinationalcorporations to minimise the riskof geographical concentration.

It is no secret that Chinesegoods are of substandard quality.However, it is quite surprising thatdespite running a trade deficitamounting to billions of dollarsfor years, the Indian Governmenthas not yet come out with techni-cal specifications for curbingimport of such cheap-qualitygoods. If we want to make our-

selves self-reliant, then we simplycannot go by the rulebook ofinternational trade because Chinahas engaged in various sorts ofmanipulation.

If we really want to tame thedragon and improve our eco-nomic strength, then the ModiGovernment should go beyondthe sensation which is created outof nationalistic fervour. The socialmedia in India is abuzz with“boycott China” messages but atthe same time we continue toaward big contracts to our trou-blesome neighbour. Some importsare unavoidable because of a lackof our self-sufficiencies. Chinesecompanies are executing variousGovernment contracts and it maybe highlighted here that India isnot a signatory to the WorldTrade Organisation (WTO) agree-ment on GovernmentProcurement (GPA) and, there-fore, we must safeguard ournational as well as economicinterests while awarding con-tracts to nations hostile to us. Wecan learn from developed nationslike the US on how to deal withthe dragon. Trade malpractices

adopted by China should be high-lighted at international fora. TheUS Trade Representative Reportissued in March highlights suchissues which are against WTOrules. Various concerns have beenraised in this report which rangefrom Government subsidy againstWTO rules to investment restric-tions. The Commerce Ministryshould also publish such reportsto highlight the foul practicesChina indulges in. TheInformation Technology (IT) sec-tor makes immense contributiontowards economic developmentand Indian IT companies have aglobal presence, except in China.Our IT companies are not gettinga level playing field in the Chinesemarket and this is primarily dueto the “Made in China 2025” plan,which has a specific thrust on IT.

In fact, the ChineseGovernment has identified tenstrategic sectors for increasing itsworldwide market share and isaggressively pursuing this. Hence,there should be a tit-for-tat poli-cy. In fact, the IndianGovernment’s recent decisions toban Chinese apps and cancel the

use of Chinese equipment forBSNL and MTNL’s 4G upgradesare moves in the right directionbecause it impacts their invest-ment. China has taken all sorts oftariff and non-tariff measures toincrease its exports and protect itsdomestic market. It has smartlyused its currency exchange rate tograb a large share in global mar-kets. The Chinese yuan has depre-ciated more than 15 per centagainst the US dollar since July2015 when it was traded at $1equivalent to 6.2 yuan.

Among various factors, thedepreciation in the yuan is not inline with the interest rate andinflation in China. The People’sBank of China has deliberatelyallowed the yuan to fall and thiscurrency manipulation was evenhighlighted by the US Treasurydepartment. The context of theseactions and the implausibility ofChina’s market stability rationaleconfirm that the purpose of thecurrency devaluation is to gain anunfair competitive advantage ininternational trade. This patternof actions is also a violation ofChina’s G20 commitments to

refrain from competitive devalu-ation.

India has to begin with curb-ing non-essential imports if itwants to get a hold of this tradebattle. If we are trying to convincethe world to look at us as an alter-native manufacturing destina-tion, then we should first reduceour dependency on the Chinesesupply chain and start creating therequisite infrastructure now withgraded tax breaks.

Of course, there will beteething issues in terms of a smallprice rise and production cost ifwe start sourcing material fromother countries, while incentivis-ing local manufacturers to scaleup, but this will help us in the longrun. From the investment per-spective, we are not dependent onChina and the cumulative ForeignDirect Investment (FDI) fromour neighbour is hardly 0.51 percent of the overall FDI. It is hightime we go for a policy changealong with strict implementationand continuous monitoring. Letnot our soldiers’ deaths go in vain.

(The writer is an economic pol-icy analyst)

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Brasilia: Brazil's Governmentsays President Jair Bolsonaro isstill testing positive for thecoronavirus following his July7 announcement.

The positive test Tuesdaycame after a follow-up checkon July 15. The governmentsays he remains in good health.

The World HealthOrganisation says the mediantime from onset to clinicalrecovery for mild cases isapproximately two weeks.

The government sayBolsonaro will keep holdingvideoconferences instead offace-to-face meetings. He hadto cancel a trip to northeasternBrazil. At least four membersof Bolsonaro's Cabinet havebeen diagnosed with coron-avirus.

Bolsonaro repeatedly dis-missed the disease as a “littleflu” and often mingled incrowds, sometimes withoutwearing a mask. AP

Kampala: Ugandan activistBobi Wine has launched anew political party ahead of apresidential election in whichhe hopes to be the face of aunited opposition against thecountry's long-time leader.

The popular singer andlawmaker, whose real name isKyagulanyi Ssentamu, has leda political pressure groupknown as People Power, whichhas captured the imagination ofmany Ugandans with its callsfor President YoweriMuseveni's retirement.

Wine is calling his newparty the National UnityPlatform, with an umbrella asits emblem. He has been call-ing for a united oppositionagainst Museveni, a U.S. Allyon regional security who hasled this East African country

since taking power by force in1986. The 75-year-oldMuseveni is increasinglyaccused of relying on thearmed forces to stay in power.

Wine has been arrested ordetained many times, includ-ing over a treason charge thathe denies. With political ralliesnow banned, presidential aspi-rants play cat-and-mouse withsecurity forces seeking tobreak up anti-government

gatherings.Museveni accuses Wine

and other opposition figures ofencouraging young people intorioting.

“We have consistently saidthat we are a non-violent move-ment and we have no plans ofestablishing a military wing,”Wine said in a statement.“What we are doing today is tolaunch a political wing of ourmovement so as to ensure thatour mission to use the electionas a strategy within the libera-tion struggle succeeds.”

Wine won a seat in thenational assembly in 2017 as anindependent candidate notbacked by any of major party.His popularity grew when heopposed divisive efforts to pro-long Museveni's rule.

Museveni is eligible to seek

another term next year afterlawmakers removed constitu-tional age limits on the presi-dency.

This week attorneys forMuseveni collected his presi-dential nomination papers, sig-naling he wants to run again.Museveni's party insists heremains its most popular mem-ber.

But opponents such asWine, who is 38, say corruptionis thriving and accuseMuseveni of personalisingpower through his firm grip onthe military, the most power-ful institution in Uganda.

The army has become evenmore influential amid thecoronavirus pandemic as menin military uniform enforcelockdown measures, some-times with brutal force. AP

Taipei: China is sending militaryplanes near Taiwan with increas-ing frequency in what appears tobe a stepping up of its threat touse force to take control of theisland, Taiwan's foreign minis-ter said Wednesday.

Such flights are more fre-quent than reported in themedia and have become “vir-tually a daily occurrence,”Joseph Wu told reporters.

Along with Chinese militaryexercises simulating an attack onTaiwan, the flights by China arecausing major concern forTaiwan's government, Wu said.

“What it is doing now isunceasingly preparing to useforce to resolve the Taiwanproblem,” Wu said.

China claims the self-rul-ing island democracy as its ownterritory and threatens to usethe People's Liberation Army tobring it under its control. Thesides split in a civil war in 1949

when Chiang Kai-shek'sNationalists fled to the formerJapanese colony as theCommunist Party took controlin mainland China.

Beijing has cut ties with theisland's government sinceTaiwan elected independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wenin 2016 and has sought to iso-late it diplomatically while rais-ing the military threat. Despitethat, Tsai was reelected this yearby a wide margin.

Wu said China appeared tohave grown in confidence fol-lowing its crackdown on oppo-sition voices in the Hong Kong,facilitated by the national leg-islature's passage of a sweepingsecurity law. “If internationalsociety does not give China asufficiently clear signal, Ibelieve China will take it thatinternational society will notimpede it in doing otherthings," Wu said. AP

Anchorage: A powerful earth-quake off Alaska's southerncoast jolted coastal communitieslate Tuesday, and some residentsbriefly scrambled for higherground over fears of a tsunami.

There were no immediatereports of damage in the sparse-ly populated area of the state,and the tsunami warning wascanceled after the magnitude 7.8quake off the Alaska Peninsulaproduced a wave of a less thana foot.

According to the USGeological Survey, the earth-quake struck Tuesday at 10:12pm local time and was centeredin waters 65 miles (105 kilo-meters) south-southeast of thetiny community of Perryville, ata depth of 17 miles (28 km).

Because of the temblor's

location, nearby communitiesalong the Alaska Peninsula didnot experience shaking thatwould normally be associatedwith that magnitude of a quake,said Michael West, Alaska StateSeismologist. That doesn't meanthey slept through it, West saidresidents in small towns with-in a hundred miles (160 kilo-meters) of the quake reportedvery strong shaking. Some shak-ing was also felt more than 500miles (805 kilometers) away inthe Anchorage area, West said.“No reports of any damage,”Kodiak Police Sgt. Mike Sortersaid early Wednesday morning.

“No injuries were reported.Everything is nominal.” Kodiakis about 200 miles (320 kilo-meters) northeast of where theearthquake was centered. AP

Colombo: The wife of one ofthe suicide bombers belongingto a local extremist group thatcarried out the Easter Sundaybombings in Sri Lanka killingnearly 260 people may have fledto India to avoid arrest, accord-ing to a media report.

On April 21, 2019, nine sui-cide bombers belonging to thelocal Islamist extremist groupNational Thawheed Jamaat(NTJ) linked to ISIS carried outa series of blasts that torethrough three churches and asmany luxury hotels in Sri Lanka,killing 258 people, including 11Indians, and injuring over 500on the Easter Sunday.

Sri Lankan police havearrested over 200 suspects inconnection with the bombings.

According to the Englishlanguage daily 'The Island', aprobe panel has been told thatPulasthini Rajendran aliasSarah, the wife of AchchiMohammdu MohammaduHasthun, the suicide bomberwho blew himself up at St.

Sebastian's Church in the west-ern coastal town of Negombo,most likely had fled to India bythe sea in September 2019.

Chief Inspector ArjunaMaheenkanda told thePresidential Commission ofInquiry (PCoI) that the personwho assisted her to flee hadbeen arrested, the report said.

The police officer said thatin October 2019, he wasassigned to investigate theattacks carried out by the NTJ.

Maheenkanda told thePCoI that on July 6, 2020, hereceived a tip-off from an infor-mant that Sarah, who was in theNTJ hideout in the immediateaftermath of the attacks, hadescaped and was hiding inMankadu in the eastern town ofBatticaloa, the report said onTuesday.

"When we were inBatticaloa, we met anotherperson who had seen a woman,whom he believed was Sarah.This informant said he hadseen a cab parked along

Batticaloa-Kalmunai mainroad, near Beach Road,Mankadu area around 3 AM inSeptember 2019.

"He felt suspicious andslowed down. Then he sawSarah and two other men walk-ing towards the main road.There was a street light thereand that's how the informantsaw them. This informant hadlived near Sarah's house for along time. He also saw that shegot into the back seat of the cabparked near the road," thereport quoted Maheenkendaas having told the PCoI.

The officer said that therewas information that Sarah hadfled to India by boat from theMannar area. Two persons,Sarah's brother and husband ofher aunt, had helped her escape,the report said. "One of the sus-pects is currently in custody.The other person has goneabroad. Investigations have alsorevealed that a person in theMannar area helped her flee,"the officer said. PTI

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Bestselling author WilliamDalrymple is among over

180 historians who have issuedan open letter to the UKHome Office calling for areview of the history segmentof the citizenship and settle-ment test for being "funda-mentally misleading" on issuesrelated to slavery and theBritish Empire.

The "Life in the UK Test"is a compulsory requirement

for any applicant for citizen-ship or "indefinite leave toremain" residency rights in theUK and the official HomeOffice handbook issued for itspreparation covers differentsections of British life, includ-ing its history.

Dalrymple, the author of'The White Mughals' and 'TheAnarchy: The Relentless Riseof the East India Company',and other historians includingIndian-origin academics fromleading British universities,

believe that people fromCommonwealth countries likeIndia and other former Britishcolonies are not given a fairrepresentation in the hand-book.

"We are historians ofBritain and the British Empireand writing in protest at theon-going misrepresentationof slavery and Empire in the'Life in the UK Test'," notes theopen letter issued in the offi-cial journal of the HistoricalAssociation on Tuesday.

Jerusalem: After a night ofintense protests against PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahuand his government, dozens ofIsraeli demonstrators chainedthemselves together and brieflyblocked the entrance to parlia-ment on Wednesday morning.

Police arrested four andbroke up the gathering, whichwas called to protest an upcom-ing vote to grant the govern-ment sweeping authority tobypass parliament in enactingmeasures to combat the rapidspread of the coronavirus. Butit came amid a fresh outpour-ing of discontent withNetanyahu.

Protests outsideNetanyahu's residence havebecome a weekly occurrence,with police increasingly takingharsher measures againstdemonstrators. Last month,

they arrested a retired Israeli airforce general, setting off anuproar.

The protests have sincedrawn a younger crowd andhave grown more defiant. In thepast week, thousands of Israelishave participated in some of the

largest demonstrations in near-ly a decade against the long-time prime minister, as publicdiscontent bubbled over.

Netanyahu has come undergrowing criticism for holdingoffice while on trial for cor-ruption, pushing for seeming-

ly anti-democratic measuresunder the guise of combatingthe virus and mismanaging thecountry's deepening economiccrisis.

On Tuesday night, a largecoalition of protest groups com-bined to march through thestreets of Jerusalem fromNetanyahu's official residence tothe Knesset, Israel's parliament.

They beat drums, bangedon pots and blared on trumpetswhile calling for the primeminister's resignation and hold-ing banners reading, “the Israelispring is here." Toward the end,a young women climbed atop amounted candelabra, thenational symbol, and strippedoff her shirt in protest. Policesaid they arrested 34 peoplewho were involved in the dis-turbances, deploying a heavyhand in the arrests. AP

London: Britain's Governmentannounced on Wednesday thatit will open a new special path-way to obtaining British citi-zenship for eligible HongKongers from January 2021.

In a statement, the HomeOffice said holders of theBritish National Overseas pass-port and their immediate fam-ily members can move to theUK to work and study. Thechange to immigration ruleswas introduced after Chinaimposed a new, sweepingnational security law on HongKong.

Those eligible can accessthe British job market at anyskill level and without a salarythreshold, but will not haveaccess to public funds.

“The UK has a strong his-toric relationship with the peo-ple of Hong Kong and we arekeeping our promise to them touphold their freedoms,” HomeSecretary Priti Patel said.

Those who come to the UK

through the new pathway willbe able to apply to settle inBritain permanently once theyhave lived in the UK for fiveyears. Then after a further 12months, they can apply forBritish citizenship.

Britain handed over HongKong, its former colony, toChinese rule in 1997 under a“One Country, Two Systems”framework that was supposed

to guarantee the city a highdegree of autonomy andWestern-style civil liberties notseen on mainland China.

"Today's announcementshows the UK is keeping itsword: we will not look the otherway on Hong Kong, and we willnot duck our historic respon-sibilities to its people," BritishForeign Secretary DominicRaab said. AP

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London: Britain's oppositionLabour Party has agreed to paysubstantial damages to sevenwhistleblowers who sued fordefamation after they voicedconcerns of anti-Semitismwithin the party.

The seven former employ-ees appeared on a BBC inves-tigative program last year look-ing into whether the LabourParty was anti-Semitic.

They criticised Labour'shandling of anti-Semitism com-plaints and sued after the partyissued a statement describingthe group as having “personaland political axes to grind.”

The former employees,who worked in the party's gov-ernance and legal unit, werealso accused of trying to under-mine Jeremy Corbyn, who was

Labour's leader at the time.Mark Henderson, a lawyer

for the party, told the HighCourt on Wednesday that theparty acknowledged that “theclaims about the claimants areuntrue” and apologized to thegroup.

The settlement and theapology underlined how muchthe party's new leader, KeirStarmer, is seeking to tackle theanti-Semitism claims that haveplagued Labour for years.

Starmer hopes to steer theparty back toward the centerafter the divisive tenure of left-wing predecessor Corbyn.

Corbyn, a longtime sup-porter of Palestinians and a crit-ic of Israel, has faced allegationsthat he allowed anti-Semitismto fester in the party. AP

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Washington: The Trumpadministration will pay Pfizernearly $2 billion for a Decemberdelivery of 100 million doses ofa COVID-19 vaccine the phar-maceutical company is develop-ing, Health and Human ServicesSecretary Alex Azar announcedon Wednesday.

The US could buy another500 million doses under the

agreement, Azar said.“Now those would, of

course, have to be safe andeffective” and approved by theFood and Drug Administration,Azar said during an appearanceon Fox News.

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SEannounced separately that theagreement is with HHS and theDefence Department for a vac-

cine candidate the companies aredeveloping jointly. It is the latestin a series of similar agreementswith other vaccine companies.

The agreement is part ofPresident Donald Trump'sOperation Warp Speed vaccineprogramme, under which mul-tiple COVID-19 vaccines arebeing developed simultaneous-ly. The programme aims todeliver 300 million doses of asafe and effective COVID-19vaccine by January 2021. AP

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Market benchmarkssnapped their five-ses-

sion rising streak to close mod-estly lower on Wednesday asinvestors booked profits in IT,FMCG and finance countersamid weak global cues.

After swinging 599 pointsin a volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex finished58.81 points, or 0.16 per cent,lower at 37,871.52.

Similarly, the NSE Niftyslipped 29.65 points, or 0.27 percent, to close at 11,132.60.

HUL was the top loser inthe Sensex pack, shedding 3.06per cent, a day after the FMCGmajor posted a 5.68 per centrise in consolidated net profitto �1,897 crore for the Junequarter. The company also saidit expects a couple of turbulentquarters going forward amidthe COVID-19 crisis.

Tata Steel, Maruti,IndusInd Bank, Infosys, L&T,TCS and Asian Paints were theother laggards, dropping up to2.51 per cent. On the otherhand, Axis Bank, Titan,PowerGrid, NTPC, ITC andReliance Industries wereamong the gainers, spurting asmuch as 7.36 per cent.

According to traders,besides stock-specific action,market succumbed to profit-booking at higher levels. Weakcues from global markets alsokept investors cautious.

Global equities faltered fol-lowing a spike in US-Chinatensions after Washingtonabruptly asked Beijing to closethe Chinese consulate inHouston.

Bourses in Hong Kong,Seoul and Tokyo ended in thered, while Shanghai settled ona positive note. Stock exchangesEurope were trading with sig-nificant losses in early deals asinvestor focus shifted tomounting COVID-19 cases.

“Indian indices exhibitedvolatility and closed in thenegative, in sync with negativeglobal cues. The spike in US-China tensions hit the globalmarkets while a surge in virus

infections globally also impact-ed sentiment.

“Domestically, the privatebanking space gained on theback of earnings numbers fromAxis Bank.

However, Auto, IT andPSU Banks led the losses.Volatility is expected to con-tinue due to expiry day tomor-row,” said Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit FinancialServices.

BSE IT, auto, capital goods,

teck, realty, industrials, oil and gas, FMCG and metal

indices fell up to 1.41 per cent.Consumer durables, utilities,power, energy and bankex roseas much as 2.25 per cent.

Broader BSE mid-capindex rose 0.19 per cent, whilethe small-cap gauge tumbled0.23 per cent.

Meanwhile, internationaloil benchmark Brent crudefutures slipped 0.74 per cent toUSD 43.99 per barrel.

In the forex market,the rupee pared settled on a flatnote at 74.75 against the USdollar. India added 37,724fresh cases of COVID-19 onWednesday, taking the coun-try’s tally to 11,92,915, while thedeath count neared the 29,000-mark.

Globally, coronavirus caseshave crossed 1.5 crore, withmore than 6.16 lakh fatalities.

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Even as the Indian Railwaysplans to introduce the first

set of 12 private trains in 2023,followed by 45 more in the nextfiscal, according to an initialtimeline drawn by theRailways, the national trans-porter held a pre-bid confer-ence and several internationalcompanies showed interest inthe project.

According to railway min-istry sources, Spanish coachand component maker CAF,Bombardier India, GMR groupwhich owns and operates twoairports in the country wereamong the prominent playerswhich participated in the pre-bid meeting.

Sources also said that pub-lic sector units (PSUs) likeRITES, Railways’ tourism andcatering arm IRCTC andBharat Heavy ElectricalsLimited (BHEL) also partici-pated in the meeting along withthe Hyderabad-based MedhaGroup, which had bid for theTrain 18 project, RK Associates,Sterlite Power, Bharat Forgeand JKB Infrastructure. Thesources said that Gateway Rail,Jason Infra, Hind Rectifier alsoparticipated in the meeting.

The 16 firms attended apre-application conference onthe private train project held onTuesday. However, the rail-ways remained tightlipped onthe companies that participat-ed in the meeting. TheRailways in a formal kickstartto its plans to allow private enti-ties to operate passenger trains

on its network has invited pro-posals from companies to run151 modern passenger trainson 109 pairs of routes acrossthe country. The project wouldentail private sector invest-ment of about Rs 30,000 crore.

On Monday, a Railwaysspokesperson said that theissues and concerns raised bythe prospective private playerswere discussed and clarifica-tions were provided by theofficials of the Ministry ofRailways and NITI Aayog forimproved clarity on the provi-sions of RFQ and biddingframework.

He said the queries weremainly related to eligibility cri-teria, bidding process, pro-curement of rakes, operationsof trains and composition ofclusters. The official furthersaid that there were queries onhaulage charges to which theRailways replied that haulagecharges will be specifiedupfront and will be suitablyindexed for the entire conces-sion period, thereby bringingcertainty in the haulagecharges.

“The Railways will alsoprovide the details of passengertraffic being handled on theroutes under bidding. This will

enable the bidders to do duediligence for the project,” hesaid. The official also said thatRailways has clarified thattrains to be operated under theproject can be either purchasedor taken on lease by the privateentities. The national trans-porter clarified that risks withregard to operation of trainsshall be allocated to the partiesin an equitable manner.

The Ministry of Railwayswill be providing written repliesto the queries received from theprospective applicants by July31 and the second pre-appli-cation conference is scheduledon August 12.

As part its privatisationplan, the Railways has plannedto introduce 12 trains in 2022-23, 45 in 2023-2024, 50 in2025-26 and 44 in 2026-27, tak-ing the total number to 151.

The request for qualifica-tion (RFQ), which was floatedon July 8, is likely to be finalisedby November, while the finan-cial bids will be opened byMarch, 2021.

The selection of bidders isplanned to be done by April 31,2021, according to a timelinefor introduction of private pas-senger trains prepared by theRailways.

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Shares of Reliance Industries(RIL) surged to a new high

on Wednesday, as they crossedthe �2,000-mark for the firsttime.RIL shares touched anall-time high of �2,010 pershare.They are currently trad-ing on the BSE at �1,996, high-er by �24.15 or 1.22 per centfrom its previous close.

In the past three monthsRIL’s stock price has grownaround 48 per cent.The surgehas been largely on the backof the investments coming infrom global marquee investors

into Jio Platforms.Jio Platforms has received

a total investment of �1,52,056crore in the past three monthsfrom financial and strategicinvestors, with Google beingthe latest investor to pitch inwith �33,737 crore.

On Wednesday, the com-pany in a regulatory filing saidthat the meeting of its Boardto consider and approve thestandalone and consolidatedfinancial results for the quar-ter ended June 30 will be heldon Thursday, July 30, 2020instead of July 24.

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Telecom operators will nowhave to provide the location

grid of the premises of bulksubscribers during physicalverification for issuing newconnections, according to aDoT order.

Telecom companies willhave to provide a point of salecode through a portal to lawenforcement agencies, theorder said.

The Department ofTelecom (DoT) in an orderissued on July 20 asked telecomoperators to remove or correctgibberish text in consumerapplication form of all existingconnections that were given tocustomers using electronicknow you customer (e-KYC)and Digital KYC processes.

“In case of issuing newmobile connections to thebulk subscriber, during thephysical verification of the

premises of bulk subscribers,the latitude/longitude of thepremises of the bulk sub-scriber and data and time ofthe inspection shall be cap-tured and the same shall beinserted in the CAF and data-base,” the order said.

The move will ensure thatphysical verification of thebulk connections is done bytelecom companies.

DoT has mandatedtelecom companies to conductinspection of premises of bulkconnection users every sixmonth and capture the locationgrid.

DoT has found gibberishentries in the consumer appli-cation form (CAF) submittedby telecom operators and theyhave been asked to remove orcorrect such anomalies in theexisting CAFs collectedthrough e-KYC and D-KYCprocesses.

The Department had

allowed telecom operators touse Aadhaar based e-KYCprocess from August 2016 butdiscontinued it following theSupreme Court judgement inAadhaar related matter inSeptember 2018.

Thereafter, DoT started D-KYC whereby telcos wereallowed to submit scannedcopy of customer’s photo IDand address proof and digital-ly filled basic details of the sub-scriber in CAF.

All the phone connectionsat present are issued throughD-KYC process.

Under the new rules, tele-com operators will have toverify details of the companyfrom the Ministry of CorporateAffairs before activating theSIM cards.

DoT has ordered theimplementation of the newprocess “within three monthsfrom the date of issue of theseinstructions”.

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Telecom operator VodafoneIdea Ltd NSE 3.01 % on

Wednesday announced thecompletion of its postpaid con-solidation exercise, by bringingall Idea postpaid subscribersunder a single umbrella of‘Vodafone RED’. All VodafoneIdea postpaid subscribers cannow avail benefits of theVodafone RED plan, a uniformcustomer service, and anenhanced digital experience,the company said in a state-ment.

The consolidation is a sig-nificant step towards its syner-gy realisations and has led toprocess standardisation forboth the retail and enterprisecustomers, the statementadded.

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Electronic toll collection onhighways rebounded to

March levels in June, andtouched 75 per cent ofFebruary levels as economicactivities across the countryhave started to pick up since theimplementation of ‘unlock’,Crisil Research said. Accordingto the agency, constructionacross national highways isalso picking up, however, it islikely to see a 10-13 per centdecline this fiscalyea”Electronic toll collection inJune has rebounded to Marchlevels and touched 75 per centof February levels. For an ideaof how hard the pandemic hadslammed the brakes, toll col-lection had dropped off the clifffrom �11 crore in February2020 to just �1 crore in April,”the agency said.

The COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns had virtu-ally halted movement of peo-

ple and goods in April andMay, but curbs are being liftedslowly and the economy isbeginning to crawl back.Theagency noted that nationalhighway construction activitiesrebounded to 637 km in Mayfrom just 210 km in April.

“But key constructionmonths were lost in the lock-down and labour migrationcontinues to pinch. Normalcymight return only after themonsoon. Overall, we are brac-ing for a 10-13 per cent declinein highway construction on-year this fiscal,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry ofRoad Transport and Highwaysspent �18,700 crore in April-May, a 46x jump from �400crore in the same period last fis-cal, it said.”While this was main-ly because milestone paymentswere made and to ease the cashflows of developers, it will havea trade-off - constrained futurespending by MoRTH,” CrisilNSE 0.77 % said.

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In yet another reform initia-tive in the oil and gas sector,

pipeline operators in the coun-try may shift to a unified orpooled tariff regime for inter-connected cross-country gaspipelines from September 1.

A unified tariff may doaway with levy of multiple tar-iffs on customers, ensuringequitable distribution of gasand uniform gas-based eco-nomic development across thecountry. The current system oftariff determination leads tomultiple pipeline tariffs oncustomers who have contract-ed for gas which flows frommultiple pipelineoperators.According to offi-cial sources, downstream oiland gas regulator, thePetroleum and Natural GasRegulatory Board has finalisedthe draft regulation on unifiedtariff and would fix the tariff byAugust-end and implement it

from the first day of Sept.Withthis, one nation, one gas grid,one pricing would be imple-mented across the country,bringing relief to customers infar-flung areas who were beingcharged extra for gas trans-mission but raising chargesfor other existing customers tobring about price equalisation.

According to a report byICICI Securities, unified tariffmechanism would boost utili-sation on GAIL’s Jagdishpur-Ha l d i a - B o k a ro - D h a m r apipeline by virtue of loweringof tariff under pooling of trans-mission prices.

When the CabinetCommittee on EconomicAffairs approved the JHBDPL,GAIL had proposed unifiedtariff to ensure viability of thispipeline, and had estimatedunified tariff on the JHBDPLand other inter-connectedpipelines at �57/mmbtu vs�173/mmbtu, if fixed sepa-rately for the JHBDPL.

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Retailers estimate 64 percent de-growth in their

business in the first half of July2020 as compared to the sameperiod last year as Indian retailindustry continues to face hur-dles at state and local levelsmaking recovery all the moredistant, RAI said onWednesday.

According to the fourthedition of business survey con-ducted by Retailers Associationof India (RAI), a few categoriessuch as food and grocery andconsumer durables have start-ed showing some signs ofimprovement with overall de-growth now at 45 per cent and30 per cent, respectively, com-pared to the same period lastyear.

Within the consumerdurables category, large-sizedretailers (over �300 crore sales)indicated de-growth of 21 percent, whereas within food andgrocery, small and medium-sized retailers (less than� 300crore sales) reported de-growthof 35 per cent, it added.In terms of categories, appareland clothing declined 74 percent, footwear was down 74 per

cent, jewellery, watches andpersonal accessories were down78 per cent, while furniture andfurnishing witnessed a drop of63 per cent.

Similarly, the RAI surveysaid sports goods sales dropped68 per cent, beauty, wellnessand personal care decreased by71 per cent, and quick servicerestaurants declined by 73 percent, it added.

Regionwise, RAI said allregions are equally beaten forsales growth with east at 62 percent decline, while westdropped 69 per cent, northdeclined 68 per cent and southalso saw a dip of 58 per cent inthe first half of July 2020 ascompared to the same periodlast year, RAI added.

“It has been a grim start tothe second quarter of FY21with retailers facing huge oper-ational setbacks due to ad-hoclocal lockdowns creating con-fusion and leading to supplychain and staffing issues,” RAICEO Kumar Rajagopalan said.

Supply chain and opera-tions need to smoothen up toensure the upcoming festiveseason brings back the much-needed impetus to sales recov-ery, he added.

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Digital platforms anywherein the world need to be

responsive, accountable andsensitive to concerns of sover-eign nations regarding issueslike data privacy and securityof citizens, Minister forElectronics and IT RaviShankar Prasad said onWednesday.

Speaking at the G20 DigitalEconomy Ministers meet,

Prasad emphasised on data-related issues and sovereignrights of countries to protectdata privacy and security of cit-izens, according to an officialrelease.

He noted that India will soonput in place a robust person-

al data protection law that willnot only address the data pri-

vacy-related concerns of citi-zens but also ensure availabil-ity of data for innovation andeconomic development. The minister asserted that dig-ital platforms having presenceacross multiple countries mustbecome trustworthy, safe and

secure. “The Digital platforms needto be responsive, accountable,

and sensitive to the concerns ofsovereign nations as far assafety, defence and data priva-cy is concerned,” the ministersaid.

New Delhi: WhatsApp willwork with partners like banksand financial institutions inIndia to make it easier forpeople to access products suchas insurance, microcredit andpension, its India Head AbhijitBose said on Wednesday. The company will also supportmultiple pilots to test potentialsolutions to solve problemsrelated to distribution of finan-cial products, Bose said at theGlobal Fintech Fest.

The Facebook-ownedcompany has been workingfor more than a year withbanking partners to see how itcan supplement their digitalpresence and accelerate thepace of financial access across

segments and geographies inthe country, Bose said.

“We now want to open upwith more banks...Over thiscoming year to help simplifyand expand banking services,especially to the rural andlower income segments...Wealso aim to expand our exper-iments with partners for otherproducts that RBI highlightedas basic financial services, start-ing with micro pensions andinsurance,” he added. Bose saidthe collective aim over thenext 2-3 years is to be able tohelp low wage workers in theunorganised informal economyto easily access three products- insurance, microcredit andpension. PTI

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While the US remains thefavourite destination for

Indians looking for jobs over-seas, there has been a substan-tial fall in the number ofsearches looking for employ-ment opportunities in America,a report by global job portalIndeed has said. Accordingto the Indeed data, job search-es for the USA fell to 42 percent in June 2020 from a highof 58 per cent in January 2019.However, the US remained thefavourite destination forIndians looking at jobs abroad,the report noted. A down-ward trend that predatesimpacts of the COVID-19 pan-demic, and corresponds insteadwith uncertainty around andtightening of the US immigra-tion policy, it added. The datafor this report is compiled andanalysed from job searches onthe Indeed platform.

Indian job seekersremained keen to explore workopportunities across the globe,making up a significant frac-tion of those employed in var-ious sectors such as technolo-gy, administration and man-agement, sales and consumermarketing, among others inter-nationally, the report said.

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Lal Masjid’s or Masjid MubarakBegum’s middle dome collapseddue to heavy rains on Sunday,

early in the morning. Zahid, the imamof the mosque, said that he heard thun-der and when he rushed out of his room,he saw the ruptured dome.

“I was sleeping in my room insidethe mosque when I heard thunder. Wehave locked the mosque since the day butwe continue offering Namaz in theopen courtyard,” said 45-year-old Zahid.

He revealed that the mosque was lastrepaired in 2016 and since then, therehasn’t been any repairing. It was not justthe lightning and rainfall that led to thedamage but also the age. The dome andthe roof had started developing cracksover the past few years. Zahid applied atthe Delhi Waqf Board (DWB), asking forthe restoration of the damaged structure.He said that officers from the Board hadvisited the site to assess the damage onMonday.

I would often visit the mosque forprayers and noticed the cracks. Thesecould have been the outcome of a num-ber of constructions carried out by theDelhi Metro station, which is hardly 100metres away from the mosque. When theunderground metro runs through underthe building, it causes vibrations in thenearby structures.

The 200-year old mosque, built ofred sandstone, measures 29’0” north andsouth by 14’0” east and west, as quotedin Monuments of Delhi by Maulvi ZafarHasan. It’s a two-storeyed mosque. Thefirst storey, which forms the floor of themosque, consists of arched rooms usedas shops. The upper storey consists of acourtyard and prayer hall of three com-partments roofed by onion-shapeddomes, and has three arch-shapedentrances. The central arch bears theinscription on a piece of white marble.

The mosque, built in 1822-23 byMubarak Begum, is just 15 steps from theroad. She was one of the 13 wives of SirDavid Ochterlony (Akhtar Loony, nick-named by locals). It is said that MubarakBegum built this mosque superior to thearched sky. Its dignity is much more thanthat of Jerusalem, rather this should becalled a second Jerusalem.

Begum came from Pune as part ofa dance troupe and presented toOchterlony, stated William Dalrymple(in a note from the Delhi ResidencyArchives, published in 1861). Shebecame a courtesan and found her wayto Delhi where she converted to Islamand married Ochterlony. She was tact-ful and desirous, although she wasmuch younger than Ochterlony,Mubarak Begum, who was referred to as‘Beebee Mahruttun Moobaruck ul NissaBegume’, always had an upper hand intheir relationship.

In White Mughals, Dalrymple quot-ed an observer at the time who remarkedthat making Ochterlony as the‘Commissioner’ of Delhi was the sameas giving the position to her, who alsocame to be known as the ‘GeneralleeBegum’. After marriage, she possessedOchterlony’s property, through whichshe built the mosque, Lal Masjid orMasjid Mubarak Begum. She also builta neighbouring house, where the lastmushaira (poetry symposium) of Delhi,organised by Mughal prince MirzaFarhatullah Baig, was held. Stalwarts likeGhalib, Zauq and Momin also attendedthe event. The structure now houses theHauz Qazi police station.

It was for the first time that a

nautch girl, not royalty, had commis-sioned a mosque and hence, it offend-ed the Britishers and the Nawabs, whichis why they started calling it Randi kiMasjid.

In early 19th-century, randis (strum-pet) were city’s divas not only skilled indance but also singing, conversation andpoetry. And the elites and Nawabs linedup to seek their company. Their mannerof presenting themselves was so refinedthat the young Nawabs were sent to themto learn the art of conversation. Theywere always surrounded by the power-ful men of the court, the Nawabs and theBritish residence. These women knewthe city’s secrets. Therefore, even the richreached out to them to be well-informedabout particular situations. Their largekothis or multi-storeyed homes withcourtyards marked their stature. Theywere not condemned rather flaunted bythe city’s elite men who had long-termrelationships with them.

However, in the modern times, thisname of the mosque has only acted as asymbol of prejudice against it. “For thelongest time, the stigma of being ‘RandiKi Masjid’ has aggravated the ignorancetowards the mosque,” stated Alishah,walk leader, Purani Dilli Walo Ki Baatein.

An old adage goes that too manycooks spoil the broth. And it can be wit-nessed in true spirit in Shahjahanabad.For the preservation of heritage of thespecial conservation zone of Master Plan2021, multiple governing bodies areresponsible — mosque committee,mohalla committee, DWB, DelhiArchaeological Survey of India (ASI),and Shahjahanabad Re-developmentCorporation (SRDC). However, none hasemerged successful to rectify these mal-practices. Although at the local level,members from these departments can bewitnessed chatting over a cup of tea withlocal builder lobby, reported a Namaziat the mosque.

“Two more days the news will bedoing rounds on the internet. Heritageenthusiasts will be making posts on his-tory, importance of the mosque and thenthe mosque will be summoned to cheaprestoration, killing the authenticity of thestructure. Numerous mosques likeMasjid Mubarak Begum, Masjid Rukn-ud-daulah, Masjid Badal Beg etc., inShahjahanabad have met this ill fate,”rued Alishah.

Engineers of the Delhi Waqf Board,which maintains the mosque, said it is“beyond repair” in terms of its heritage.“It is tough to reach the roof, which hasbecome vulnerable and collect the bricks.They have not been cleared as we are

waiting for them to be inspected byexperts, with whom we are trying to getin touch. We will preserve the malba(rubble) for research and see if it or someother material could be used for itsrestoration,” said Mohammad Mehfuz,section officer, Delhi Waqf Board.

The official also said that the DWBhas contacted the ASI to seek its exper-tise and help in restoration as they do nothave any experts or architects within theboard and would like to reach out toother conservation agencies if theywould like to come forward and help inthe task.

(The writer is the founder of PuraniDilli Walo Ki Baatein.)

Rain inspires creativity. The term‘brainstorm’ is enough to hint at how

great ideas often come during a down-pour! Curated by Chhavi Jain, theonline exhibition Mann Ka Malhar: Alyrical exposition, aptly coincided by withmonsoon season, depicts how a groupof contemporary artists interpret theMalhar (rainfall) through their state ofbeing.

The show captures the many moodsthat ones goes through while witnessingthe rain — from an uncontrollablestorm of emotions to a sense of longing,wonderment and tranquillity.

Presented by Anant Art, the showfeatures nine artists from across Indiaand is a culmination of dialoguesbetween them and their artworks. At thebackdrop of this is a shared, yet uniqueexperience of the pandemic that hasimpacted realities and intensified com-plexities around us.

Within the realm of Indian mythol-ogy and legend, Malhar is one of themost ancient ragas in Hindustani clas-sical music that, when sung, is believedto induce torrential rainfall. The storyis famously traced to Tansen, a promi-nent figure in Hindustani classicalmusic, in the court of the Mughalemperor, Akbar. The Indian lore man-ifests magic realism in its peculiarpower of invocation. The raga has overten variants, the more prominent onesbeing Megh Malhar and Mian ki Malhar.

“A journey into Malhar attempts tointerlace the classical with contemporaryvisual forms. The curation seeks to bringto light the artists’ interpretation ofMann ka Malhar, or the Malhar within,a state of being (of mind and emotions),with a range of internal or externalscapes to experiment with,” said Chhavi.

In the raga’s nature lies positivity,fragrance, creation and a power tocleanse. Plausibly, the rainfall alludes toa state of mind brought about by therecital of the raga.

Malhar, a raga of night time, is usu-ally depicted in its intense form andvisualised in hues of blue and deep pur-ple. Despite its association with rain ormonsoon, the depiction of this raga informs of bandish (musical compositions)and other forms of representation, hasbeen variable.

Artist Tanaya Sharma’s Garden ofBloom uses the symbol of floatingcrowns to suggest alleviation of oppres-sive, hierarchical systems as a methodof cleansing brought about by rains.Artist Abhijit Saikia conceives an imageof displacement and longing, inspiredfrom his surrounding realities as though

struck by an unpredictable storm.While artist Rajib Chowdhury cre-

ates magic with his perception of mon-soon and adorns his work with AghaShahid Ali Khan’s poetry, artist and pro-fessor Indrapramit Roy delves into theunpredictable nature of life as well as theanxieties of urban life especially duringmonsoon and the pandemic.

Artist Khandakar Ohida’s audio-visual work Rain is Falling(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FaP38BpTRU&t=145s), has been con-ceived in the rustic fringes of Kelepada,a village in West Bengal. Impacted by theglobal pandemic, Ohida, while on a visitto her family in the village, is remind-ed of simpler times of her childhooddays. A lullaby, symbolic of motherhood,subtly encapsulates the work in itswake. Through a heavy, dark sky, ametaphor to a heavy heart, Ohida relo-cates the horizon of Mann ka Malharwith nostalgia in an attempt to recon-nect with her roots and emotionaldepths.

Among other participating artistsare Digbijayee Khatua, Ganesh Das,Laxmipriya Panigrahi, and MalavikaRajnarayan.

(The exhibition is live at www.anan-tart.com.)

After making its India premiere at the50th International Film Festival of

India held in Goa, National Award-win-ning filmmaker Prakash Jha’s next,Pareeksha-The Final Test, will make itsinternational premiere at the 23rdShanghai International Film Festival(SIFF).

Originally scheduled to take place inJune, the SIFF was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and will now beheld from July 25 to August 2, 2020. Thefilm will have three screenings, July 26,July 28, and August 1.

Starring Priyanka Bose, AdilHussain, Sanjay Suri and child actorShubham Jha, the film will also have itsUK premiere at the London Indian FilmFestival (LIFF).

The film, inspired by real events,

makes a sharp comment on the Indianeducation system. Good quality educa-tion, which has become the monopolyof the rich, remains inaccessible to themasses, further dividing our society.Resonating from the real experience ofan IPS officer, Shri Abhayanand, who isthe former DGP of Bihar, this story givesus a glimpse of hope for the poor whodeserve more opportunities.

Talking about the premiere at SIFF,Jha says, “It’s a great honour for our film,Pareeksha, to have its internationalpremiere at one of the biggest and mostprestigious film festivals in South Asia.We are delighted that the festival is tak-ing place physically and our film willactually be screened in theatres.”

(The film releases on ZEE5 onAugust 6.)

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The month of August is recog-nised as a month of revolution,rights and reforms in the Indian

history: August 20 — SadbhavanaDiwas, August 19 — WorldHumanitarian Day, August 15 —Independence Day, August 8 — QuitIndia Movement, August 5 — aboli-tion of Article 370 and August 1 —Muslim Women Rights Day.

August 1, 2019, is a historic dayin Indian parliamentary history whenthe bill against triple talaq was madea law despite the obstacle by so-called‘champions of secularism’, includingthe Congress, Communist Party,Samajwadi Party, Bahujan SamajParty and Trinamool Congress.

It became the day which ensuredgender equality and strengthenedconstitutional, fundamental anddemocratic rights of the Muslimwomen. Triple talaq or Talaq-a-Biddatwas neither Islamic nor legal. Despitethe fact, the social evil of triple talaqwas given “political patronage” by“Merchants of Votes”.

The law against social evil of tripletalaq could have been passed in 1986when the Supreme Court had givenhistoric judgement in the Shahbanocase. The Congress had absolutemajority in Parliament with more than400 out of 545 Lok Sabha membersand more than 159 out of 245 mem-bers in the Rajya Sabha. But the thenRajiv Gandhi-Government used itsstrength in the Parliament to make theSupreme Court judgement ineffectiveand deprived the Muslim women oftheir constitutional and fundamentalrights.

The Congress’ “Mistake of theMoment” became “Punishment of theDecades” for the Muslim women. TheCongress was worried for “Vote KaUdhaar”, while our government wasworried for “Samajik Sudhaar” (socialreform).

India runs on a Constitution andnot on any religious textbook. Earlier,various legislations had been broughtin the country to abolish social evilssuch as sati pratha and child marriage.Triple talaq law has nothing to do withreligion, the law has been made pure-ly to ensure gender equality by end-ing a social evil, inhuman, cruel andunconstitutional practice. Instant

divorce by verbally saying talaq thriceis illegal. There were several incidentscoming where women had been giventalaq through letter, phone or eventhrough text messages. Such incidentsare unacceptable to a sensitive coun-try and to a government committedto inclusive development.

Several Muslim-majority nationsof the world had declared triple talaqillegal and un-Islamic much earlier.Egypt was the first Muslim nation,which abolished this social evil in1929.

Sudan in 1929, Pakistan in 1956,Bangladesh in 1972, Iraq in 1959,Syria in 1953, Malaysia in 1969 had

abolished the practice of triple talaq.Besides, countries such as Cyprus,Jordan, Algeria, Iran, Brunei,Morocco, Qatar, UAE also endedthis social evil many years ago. But ittook 70 years for India to get rid of thisinhuman and cruel practice.

The Supreme Court on May 18,2017 had declared it unconstitution-al. One year has passed since the lawagainst it was passed and there is adecline of about 82 per cent in tripletalaq cases thereafter. If any such casewas reported, the law has takenaction.

Modi’s Government is committedto empowerment of all sections andsocial reforms. Some political partiesgive illogical statements that why theModi-Government is worried abouttalaq in Muslim women? Why theGovernment don’t do anything fortheir socio-economic-educationalempowerment? I want to make it clearto those people who ask such ques-tions that during the last six years, theGovernment has worked with inclu-sive empowerment for every sec-tions including Muslim women.

Approximately, three crore 87lakh minority students have beengiven various scholarships whichinclude about 60 per cent of the girlchild. A large number of Muslimwomen have been provided employ-ment opportunities through HunarHaat. More than 10 lakh minorityyouths have been provided employ-ment through skill developmentschemes such as Seekho aur Kamao,Garib Nawaz Swarojgar Yojna, Usttad,Nai Manzil, Nai Roushni and more. A

total of 3,040 women have performedHaj after the Modi Governmentensured Muslim women can performHaj without Mehram (male compan-ion) in 2018. This year too, more than2,300 women had applied to performHaj without Mehram. These womenwill be allowed to go to Haj 2021 onthe basis of their application for Haj2020 only. Besides, women who filenew application, will also be allowedto go next year.

Even the opposition cannot raisequestion that there has been any dis-crimination with any community inwelfare schemes. Our efforts for inclu-sive empowerment have shown resultson the ground. Our Government hasprovided electricity to a large numberof villages of the country which weredeprived of electricity for decades.These villages include large number ofminority community dominated vil-lages. We have provided benefit to 22crore farmers under Kisan SammanNidhi which include more than 33 percent farmers belonging to minoritycommunities. About 37 per cent ofmore than eight crore beneficiaries ofUjjwala Yojna providing free gas con-nection belong to minority commu-nities. We have also provided easyloans to about 24 crore people underMudra Yojna for small and mediumbusiness and other employment ori-ented economic activities and morethan 36 per cent beneficiaries are fromminority communities. Muslimwomen have significantly been bene-fitted from these welfare schemes, theyhave become an equal partner ofmainstream development.

SRM Institute ofScience & Technology

(SRMIST) andFederation of IndianChambers of Commerce& Industry (FICCI) areorganising an Industry-Academia Global VirtualConference on EmergingEconomic Scenario —Identify and CreateCompetencies.

The event will beheld in two sessions. Thefirst part — the newworld work order — willbe inaugurated byMinister for Commerceand Industry andMinister for Railways,Piyush Goyal. The secondsession — collaborativeframework for new-agelearning — is likely tohave a keynote address byMinister for Human

Resource Development,Ramesh Pokhriyal.

A large number ofparticipants consisting ofCEOs, CXOs, top corpo-rate officials, regulators,academicians, facultymembers from all over

the globe are expected tobe part of the event.

The conference aimsto deliberate upon theimpact of ongoingchanges on the economy,the swift transitiontowards digital interface

and its impact on new-age competencies, theneed for effective syn-chronisation betweenindustry and academia,and identifying newgrounds for internation-al collaborations.

In a colourful passing outparade, 100 trainees consist-

ing of 11 AssistantCommandant (Probationer), 79Sub Inspector and 10 AssistantSub-Inspector passed out fromCISF NISA Hyderabad, whileobserving all preventive mea-sures and social distancingnorms. Union Minister of State(MoS) for Home Affairs, GKishan Reddy graced the occa-sion as chief guest who reviewedthe E-Passing out Paradethrough webinar alongwithRajesh Ranjan, DG, CISF &other senior officers of CISF.

The POP of the newlyinducted officers and personnelis a grand affair for the force, amoment of pride for the officer,personnel and their family. Butin times of COVID-19, this yearfor the first time in a new his-torical experiment, E-PassingOut Parade was organised byCISF. It was witnessed electron-ically by the families, friends andgeneral public through the weblink.

In her welcome address,Anjana Sinha, IPS, Director,NISA Hyderabad presented areport on the training activities.She complimented the traineesfor their sincerity and dedicationand hoped that the rigoroustraining imparted at the train-ing centre would make themstand in good stead in their pro-fessional career. She also elabo-rated the expanding roles ofCISF and correspondingly thewide spectrum of specialisedtraining imparted at NISAHyderabad.

Ranjan welcomed Reddyon the occasion. While address-ing through webinar, he empha-sised the role of CISF in protect-ing the vital installations. Hesaid that the endeavour of CISFis to nurture the core underly-ing qualities like discipline,turnout, physical fitness and

professionalism of all the officersand personnel. He said that ourforte has been our ability to keeppace with technologicaladvances, our amiable humaninterface with the general pub-lic and above all our robust corecompetence.

During the occasion, mes-sage of Home Minister, AmitShah was also read by the DG,CISF. Shah praised the officers& personnel of CISF for theiruncompromising determina-tion and immaculate profession-alism in securing the citizensand national assets during theepidemic. He also congratulat-ed the trainees and staff andwished them a bright future.

Reddy congratulated thetrainees for making the historyby participating in the first E-Passing out Parade. He applaud-ed the growing role of CISF inthe changing security scenarioand said that CISF creditablysecuring airports, critical andvery sensitive establishmentsof the country. He said that asa part of CISF, the role of thenew officers will be vital in ourjourney towards a new Indiaand ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’. Healso praised the women person-nel. He further acknowledgedthat the women personnel havemade many noteworthy contri-butions to the force and, have

proven to be a force multiplier.MoS for Home, has appreciat-ed the role of NISA as the‘Centre of Excellence’. He con-gratulated DG, CISF for hisleadership of the force, which isattaining new milestones witheach passing day.

During the occasion, CISFannual publication Sentinel-2020 & Coffee Table BookWomen Power-CISF werereleased by the MoS for Home.The CTB on women in CISF,showcased the journey of thewomen from their induction inthe late 80s in CISF, to reach-ing the highest percentageamong any CAPF.

The officers who passedout today, during the course oftheir training, have acquiredskills in a wide array of sub-jects. They have also beenimparted strenuous training onhandling of sophisticatedweapons & sensitive electron-ic security based gadgetry, drillmovements apart from physi-cal training. To meet and over-come the challenges of internalsecurity duties and those aris-ing from naxal and terrorgroups, the trainees were sub-jected to jungle camp training,raids, ambush & counterambush, night navigation andQRT type practical training aswell.

Alok Kumar took the charge ofAdditional General Manager of

Western Railway on Monday. He is asenior officer of Indian Railways Serviceof Mechanical Engineering (IRSME)who joined railways through the SCRA(1981) exam of UPSC.

He did his mechanical engineeringfrom Engineering Council (London)and has a bachelor’s degree in electricalengineering and is an MBA too. He start-ed his careerin 1986 atW e s t e r nRailway andover the last34 years hasworked at anumber ofimp or tantposts in rail-ways includ-ing theDRM ofB h o p a lD i v i s i o n .During histenure at Container Corporation ofIndia, he was instrumental in getting stateof the art port cranes at dry ports acrossIndia.

As Chief Project Manager at ModernCoach Factory, Rae Bareli, he led the teamthat set up the most modern plant inIndia to manufacture high speed railwaycoaches and subsequently as ChiefAdministrative Officer at modern coachfactory, he headed the team that pio-neered implementation of Industry 4.0 inIndian Railway workshops.

He has been trained in various facetsof advanced management at CMU,Pittsburgh; SDA Bocconi, Milan; APEC,Antwerp; IIM, Ahmedabad and ISB,Hyderabad. He even won the Minister ofRailways award for Best Project and GM’sefficiency medal and also received theInstitute’s Medal during engineering.Prior to his posting as AGM/WR, he wasworking as Chief Administrative Officerof modern coach factory at Raebareli.

Aperformance reviewmeeting was held by

Rajiv Chaudhry, GeneralManager Northern & NorthCentral Railways with thedepartmental heads ofNorthern Railway throughvideo conferencing fromBaroda House, NR head-quarter office in New Delhi.

He discussed the ongoing initiatives of the var-ious departments in main-taining and enhancing theinfrastructure and assets ofthe zone, post-lockdown.As normalcy is returningNorthern Railway is puttingin efforts to revamp the railroutes, increase speed insections, increase electrifica-tion and improve signalingsystems. Infrastructureenhancement works in theform of new rail lines isagain picking up speed.

Work on the hill rail-ways, the USBRL projectand Rishikesh-KarnprayagChardham Project inUttarakhand is back ontrack. Tunneling work onthe 12.75 km T-40 tunnel in

Ramban district of Jammu& Kashmir has resumed.The sites of the iconicChenab and Anji Bridgesare abuzz with activityagain. The newly construct-ed section Virabhadra-Rishikesh section has beencommissioned and a newrailway station Yognagarihas been constructed withworld class facilities atRishikesh. Work on severaltunnels and bridges on theroute has also started.

An average 96 specialtrains going to different

destinations across thecountry are running on adaily basis from Delhi alone.The focus is on increasingthe punctuality of the trains.The punctuality status ofNorthern Railway stands at97 per cent at present. Thisis up from 92 per cent inMay-June 20. There is animpetus on increasing sec-tional speed of trains, in thisregard the overused raillines are being revamped,electrification and advancedsignaling works are beingundertaken. Speed trials are

being conducted on manyimportant routes with fullload to access efficacy. Speedin many sections is envis-aged to be increased to 100kmph and beyond fromexisting 60 to 80 kmph.

To encourage use ofrailways for movement ofgoods, freight businessdevelopment units havebeen opened in all the fivedivisions of NR. These unitswill reach out to the freightcustomers to provide aneasy and hassle-free plat-form for doing business.More and moreloading/unloading pointsare being provided as perthe demand of the cus-tomers. Now even smallcontainers can be trans-ported through railways.

Expressing satisfactionon the performance of thevarious departments,Chaudhry said, “We shoulduse this time period to over-haul and revitalise our sys-tem so that we can providesafe, comfortable and time-ly service to the rail-users”.

GAIL has been creating awareness for bring-ing a positive change to ensure a greener and

cleaner environment through its Hawa Badlomovement. In this move #Wake Up And SmellThe Change initiative has been started by theHawa Badlo platform to spread the idea of appre-ciating and preserving the positive environmen-tal changes occurred due to the lock down. In thisinitiative, the netizens were asked to take a pledgeand sustain this change in future as well as withbefitting lifestyle changes such as:�Staying home more on weekends.�Walking or riding the bicycle whenever one can.�Using one car per family.�Using cleaner fuels in vehicles and home likenatural gas, CNG, PNG, renewables etc.

An online engagement activity was alsoorganised under this initiative earlier where inpeople were requested to click pictures of scenicbeauties from their balconies, windows or roofsand post them on Hawa Badlo handles in thecomments section with hashtags.

This is an attempt to mobilise collective soci-etal efforts to improve the deteriorating air qual-ity, by encouraging sustainable and environmentfriendly steps in works as well as inculcatinglifestyle habits such as planting trees, cycling &walking, carpooling, using public transport,conserving energy and using cleaner energy

sources like natural gas for industries, CNG forautomobiles, PNG for commercial uses.

By engaging people for actions throughevents, social messaging through endorsementand web media series, short films and contests,the purpose of the platform is to motivate peo-ple to take pledge for actions against air pollu-tion and problems caused due to it. The initia-tive has been able to reach more than eight mil-lion people across all digital platforms.

In a bid to support start-ups operating in thearea of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG), GAIL

(India) Limited announced plans to invest insuch companies through its start-up initiativePankh.

It has opened a fresh fifth round for solici-tation of investment proposals from start-upsoperating specifically in the area of CBG. Start-ups that provide technology or are planning toexpand their existing CBG plants or setting-upnew CBG plants can submit their investmentproposal on GAIL web portalhttps://gailebank.gail.co.in/GSUICBG/index.aspx. The solicitation round is open till July 24.

India has vast biomass resources and the gov-ernment is giving special emphasis on its utilisa-tion by encouraging setting-up of CBG plants.Further, oil and gas companies are ready to givecommitment for offtake of CBG through issue ofLetter Of Intent (LOI). Thus, it provides goodbusiness opportunity to start-ups operating in thisarea.

The initiative was launched in July 2017 toinvest in promising start-ups. So far, GAIL hasmade investments in 24 start-ups operating in var-ious areas through four solicitation rounds.

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Baghel inauguratednewly-completed worksworth nearly �7 crore 27 lakhin Maharani Hospital ofJagdalpur headquarters inBastar district via video con-ferencing from his Raipur-based residence. He said thatpeople of Bastar have emo-tional connection toMaharani Hospital. NewGovernment is working con-sistently towards developingit as a well-equipped hospi-tal of this region. It is no wayless than any district hospi-tal across the country.Currently, people of Bastarhave to travel out of the areafor treatment. The State

Government is makingefforts to provide the bestpossible health facilities inBastar.

The CM said that spe-cial care should be taken toensure availability of doctorsin health facilities of Bastar.He inaugurated the renova-tion works done inKadambini Maternal HealthInstitution at the cost of �1crore. Likewise, he per-formed bhumi-pujan of therenovation work in eye-ward worth �50 lakh, thesecond floor addition workworth �49 lakh and theconstruction work of thecurrent OPD-MCH worth�50 lakh.

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New Zealand captain KaneWilliamson on

Wednesday said he is excitedabout playing the IndianPremier League (IPL) in theUAE but a lot of “planningand organising still needs tobe done” amid the ragingCovid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to the media onthe sidelines of the nationalteam’s training camp, forSunRisers Hyderabad captainsaid, “Considering what itactually looks like where it isand all the details that comewith it, to play in the IPL isalways an amazing thing so,absolutely, it will be great toplay in it and be a part of it,”Williamson said but alsowanted to know more aboutsecurity arrangements.

“But there’s a lot of detailsto come through before anyfinal decisions will be made.It will be nice to know more.”

“By all accounts the IPL,they’re looking to host thattournament which is a fantas-tic tournament to be a part ofand attracts such an incredi-

ble audience,” he added.Williamson said he fore-

sees good viewership for theIPL when it happens as peo-ple are starved of Live sportsright now.

“...There’s been a naturallack of content so there is areal drive to see that happenand see it happen safely, whichis first and foremost.

“It’s a shame to see theWorld Cup be postponed butI suppose it’s the nature ofwhat we’re faced with in thecurrent climate but exciting atthe potential opportunityindividually to see some crick-et come on to the horizon,” hesaid.

Williamson also wel-comed the move to have anIPL at a safe place like theUAE as India’s case load isabove 11 lakh.

“...In terms of the IPL asan isolated event, they’re look-ing at the best options tohost it in a safe place wherepeople can be quarantinedmuch like you’re seeing withother sports around the world.

“Like I said, there’s a lot ofplanning still to be done tomake sure that happens andwe only know what we knowand that’s no different fromwhat you”re hearing,”Williamson added.

‘NO REASON TO NOT GO’/�$�+����@ Big-hitt ingAussie batsman GlennMaxwell has said he has noreason not to travel for the13th edition of the IndianPremier League if everythinggets ticked off.

The postponement of themen’s T20 World Cup has

paved the way for IPL to takeplace this year. The BCCI isplanning to stage the tourneyfrom Sept 26 to November 8in UAE.

“Any time you have ahome World Cup, you are cer-tainly looking forward to it.We felt like we had beenbuilding towards it as a T20side,” Maxwell told Fox Sports.“You wait and see (with theIPL), waiting on the judg-ments of other people, whatyou can and can’t do withtravel and quarantine timesand all that, if everything getsticked off there, I have no realreason not to go.

“The overseas guys get ahell of a kick playing in it,some of the best players in theworld rubbing shoulders, sim-ilar to a World Cup, but on asmaller scale. If everythinggets ticked off I would love tobe available for it,” saidMaxwell who will play forKings XI Punjab in the tour-nament.

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Dean Smith urged AstonVilla to finish the jobafter they climbed out

of the Premier League relega-tion zone as Trezeguet clincheda priceless 1-0 win againstArsenal on Tuesday. Smith’sside have their survival fate intheir own hands after theEgypt winger’s first-half strikeat Villa Park.

Watford’s 4-0 thrashingagainst Manchester City earli-er on Tuesday had opened thedoor for Villa to escape thebottom three.

And Villa seized theirchance with a first homePremier League winover Arsenal in 18attempts dating backto 1998. Villa are nowfourth bottom and havemoved ahead of third-bottom Watford ongoal difference, withSmith’s men on -26compared to theHornets’ -27.

They head to West Ham fortheir final game of the seasonon Sunday, while Watford visit

Arsenal and second-bottomBournemouth, three pointsfrom safety, travel to Everton.There are a multitude of per-mutations that could decide rel-

egation, but Villa willbe safe if they canbetter Watford’s resulton what is certain tobe a dramatic finale. IfVilla and Watfordboth win, goal differ-ence or goals scoredwill decide who goesdown.

“It is a big boost, that’s forsure. We knew we had to getthat win to catch Watford andnow we have got the season in

our own hands,” Smith said.“That’s all you can ask goinginto the last game. It was agreat performance and aneven better result against agood team who just beat twoof the best teams in Europe.

“We have taken the seasonto the last day. Watford can goand win at Arsenal so wehave to make sure we win atWest Ham.”

Having secured an FA Cupfinal place by beatingManchester City on Saturday,Gunners boss Mikel Artetamade six changes and Arsenallooked a shadow of the teamwho impressed at Wembley.

Arsenal cannot finishhigher than eighth and mustwin the FA Cup final againstChelsea to qualify for next sea-son’s Europa League.

‘CRAZY LOW’ ON CONFIDENCEWatford goalkeeper Ben

Foster admitted the Hornets’confidence is “crazy low” asthey slipped into the relegationzone with one game of thePremier League season to goafter being thrashed 4-0 athome by Manchester City.

A change of managementdid little good after Watfordbecame the first PremierLeague team to sack threemanagers in a season whenNigel Pearson departed onSunday, as City bounced backfrom their weekend disap-pointment of losing an FACup semi-final to Arsenal.

Raheem Sterling scoredtwice in the first half before

Phil Foden and AymericLaporte rounded off a compre-hensive City win as PepGuardiola’s men won a fourthstraight league game for thefirst time this season. Themargin of defeat could sendWatford down come the finalday of the season on Sunday asthey dropped into the bottomthree on goal difference afterAston Villa’s win.

“I don’t think we helpedourselves, I don’t think we didenough to do anything butwhat the result suggested to behonest,” said Foster, whohelped keep the score downwith a string of saves. “Theconfidence is so crazy, crazylow.”

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Kylian Mbappe said onTuesday he would remain

with French champions ParisSaint-Germain next season“whatever happens” despiteconstant speculation over hisfuture.

“I’m here. I’m part of theproject for a fourth year,”Mbappe, 21, told BeInSport during half-time of PSG’s 4-0win over Celtic in afriendly played infront of around5,000 fans at theParc des Princes.

“The club’s 50-

year anniversary is an impor-tant one in the eyes of the club,the supporters, of everyone, soI will be here whatever hap-pens.”

“I’m going to try and bringback trophies with the team and

give the best of myself,” addedMbappe, who arrived at PSGfrom Monaco in 2017 in a

deal worth $208 million.Real Madrid have

regularly been linkedwith a move for Mbappe,but club presidentFlorentino Perez said lastweek the Spanish cham-

pions would not makeany big signings this

summer.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic rolledback the years with two

impressive goals to help ACMilan beat Sassuolo 2-1 in SerieA clash.

The 38-year-old nettedtwice in the first half, either sideof Francesco Caputo’s penalty forSassuolo on Tuesday.

Sassuolo had to play theentire second half with 10men after midfielderMehdi Bourabia was sentoff on the stroke of half-time following a secondyellow card.

It was Milan’s seventhvictory in the nine games sinceSerie A resumed following thepandemic-enforced shutdownand moved the team up to fifth.

Ibrahimovic rejoined Milanin December on a six-monthcontract with an option for nextseason.

“Will I stay? There are stillthree matches, 10 days and noone has said anything else,” theSwedish forward said. “But I’mworking, we are doing goodthings and if we take the tablesince I arrived I think we wouldbe second or third.”

Milan has lost just twomatches since Ibrahimovic’sarrival.

“We will talk with himimmediately after the end of theseason, he is also completelyfocused on these matches and heis doing so in an excellent man-ner, as always,” Milan sportingdirector Frederic Massara said.

Ibrahimovic gave Milan thelead in the 19th minute with a

diving header at the backpost following a crossfrom Hakan Çalhanoglu.

There was a dra-matic end to the half asCaputo leveled from thespot three minutes from

the break. The referee hadawarded the penalty afterreviewing the incident on thepitchside monitor and judgingthat the ball had hit Çal-hanoglu’s arm.

Çalhanoglu redeemed him-self moments later with a secondassist — a through-ball forIbrahimovic to run onto, roundthe goalkeeper and place into theback of the net.

It was the first time since1999 that Milan has scored atleast two goals in nine successivematches.

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It was high praise for SadioMane when Lionel Messi

summed up the Liverpool starwinger’s fourth-place finish inthe 2019 Ballon d’Or vote as“shameful”.

Boosted by the Argentinegenius’ admiration for him aswell as his own stellar form,Mane continues to harbourhopes of winning the presti-gious award sooner than later.

“Will see what’s going tohappen for the Ballon d’Or butmy dream is to win the Ballond’Or and would love to do itone day,” Mane told Star Sportsshow Football United.

The 2020 Ballon d’Orawards night was cancelledrecently owing to the Covid-19pandemic.

He played a massive role inLiverpool winning their firstPremier League title in 30years. Last year, Mane spear-headed the Reds’ charge totheir first UEFA ChampionsLeague title since 2005.

This time around, hescored goals and make assiststo keep the opposition defend-

ers on their guard all the time.“I always say that in life,

you always have to be a chal-lenger and for sure, football isall about being hungry in agood way — to like to win. Wewon the Premier League andwe would like to win it againand for sure, ChampionsLeague as well,” he said.

Mane missed outlast time despite aremarkable run forboth his club andcountry Senegal.

Expressinghis delighton winningthe PremierLeague, hesaid, “Well,it’s a bigpleasure anda big honourfor me andmy team-mates for sure.All the goodsupport fromaround theworld, speciallyfrom India aswell. I think thewait has been

so long, 30 years and finally, wedid it, so yeah, really happy.”

He gave credit to manag-er Jurgen Klopp for Liverpool’striumph.

“He gives us a lot of adviceall the time which is alwaysimportant for you and all theplayers in our career. He helpedus take responsibility in thehard times, which is not real-ly easy.”

Mane said his favouritemoment in the league was

when his club opened up thegap with Manchester City.

“Honestly, it was areally tough season forus, my team-mates andthe fans as well becausethe beginning was noteasy — too many con-tenders Man City,

United, Chelsea,Arsenal.

“If I were tochoose my favouritemoment was whenwe opened up thegap over ManCity. I thinkeverybody couldbreathe at thattime.”

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England will “consider rotating” star all-rounder Ben Stokes even though his pres-

ence makes it a better team, said coach ChrisSilverwood ahead of the third and final Testagainst the West Indies beginning on Friday.

Stokes scored 176 and 78 not out in thetwo innings and also took three wickets asEngland beat Windies by 113 runs in the sec-ond Test to tie three-match series 1-1.

His performance also earned Stokesthe numero uno position in the ICCall-rounder rankings, displacing WestIndies skipper Jason Holder.

“We want him out there asmuch as we can; everyonecan see how good he is,”Silverwood said.

“But you know what,we’re going to considerrotating him. He’s been atthe centre of the lastcouple of games andwe’ve got to make surehe’s okay. But if he is fit andhealthy, he’ll play.”

The 29-year-old hadpulled himself out of theattack midway through his15th over in West Indies’ sec-ond innings but later insistedthat there was “absolutely noth-ing to worry about”.

Silverwood said Stokes will have to“rein” him in during training as he is alwayslooking push himself.

“He’ll keep pushing himself, which is whyhe is as good as he is,” said Silverwood.

“But from a training perspective we tryand rein him in where possible and keep himas fit as a fiddle because I know we’re a bet-ter team with him out there... We’ve got tolook after him the best we can.”

Following the third Test against the WestIndies, England will play another three-Testseries against Pakistan starting August 5.

England had picked James Anderson,Jofra Archer and Mark Wood for the open-

ing Test, while including Stuart Broad,Chris Woakes and Sam Curran inthe second match.

With six to seven seamers athis disposal, Silverwood willface a selection headache but hesaid he is determined to pick

the “strongest attack” to winthe third Test.

“We’ve got to put outthe strongest attack outthat’s available to us. It’svery difficult to keep

everybody happy all thetime. But if you dothings for the right rea-son, I think there’s an

understanding there,” the45-year-old said.

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August first week has beenearmarked as a potential

time for wrestlers to assemblefor their national camps afterthe Covid-19 hiatus. TheSports Authority of India(SAI) is working in tandemwith the Wrestling Federationof India (WFI) to plan a datefor the resumption of training.

The camp will initially beheld for Olympic weight cat-egories and would also beginonly after necessary quaran-tine protocols are fulfilled.

New Delhi: The SportsAuthority of India (SAI) onWednesday extended the con-tract of 32 foreign coaches in 11disciplines till September endnext year to ensure continuityin the training of athletes tillTokyo Olympics.

Top coaches among the 32included Santiago Nieva andRaffaele Bergamasco in boxing,Graham Reid (men’s hockey)and Pavel Smirnov (shooting)among others. The contracts ofmany of these coaches were toend in September this year.

National football coach IgorStimac’s contract was alsoextended although it has noth-ing to do with the Olympics. Hewas appointed in May last yearfor a two year tenure.

The SAI said the decisionwas taken to ensure that athletesbound for Tokyo Games, post-poned by a year, have continu-ity in their training.

“The postponement ofTokyo Olympics by a yearmakes it imperative that thesame coaches be retained sothat athletes are not disadvan-taged,” Sports Minster KirenRijiju said. “A new coach takestime to understand an athleteand the athlete needs time tounderstand the training processof a coach. We don’t have thatkind of time now.”

A SAI source said that theterms and conditions of thecontracts, including theremuneration, remain thesame as earlier. PTI

London: England leg-spinner MattParkinson has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against Ireland after suf-fering an ankle injury during training.

The 23-year-old Lancashire bowler,who made his international debut againstSouth Africa in February, suffered theinjury during fielding practice on Monday.

The three ODIs, which will take placebehind closed doors in a bio-secure bub-ble at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton,begins with the first matchon July 30.

England willdecide their squadfor the series afterthe end of the twointra-squad matches anda warm-up game betweenEngland Lions and Irelandon Sunday. PTI

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Australia batsman MarnusLabuschagne has picked teammate

Steve Smith ahead of Virat Kohli in thelongest format but accepted that theIndia skipper’s numbers in white-ballcricket is second to none. Labuschagnefeels Smith ability to bat consistently indifferent conditions sets him apart.

“I think Steve (Smith) in Test crick-et has just shown in any condition, hecan find away. I think that’s what youknow really makes him the best, num-ber one Test player in the world,”Labuschagne was quoted as saying byIndia Today.

“He has found a way in India, he hasfound a way to score in England, he isobviously very consistent in Australia, soit seems that it doesn’t matter where areyou playing and in what conditions, heis finding a way. Now, Virat has proba-bly done a similar thing. I will probablygo with Steve in Test cricket.”

“Virat’s white-ball cricket is phenom-enal. The way he finishes innings, theway he finishes matches off, the way hechases. I think for me personally, I havelearned a lot from him,” he added.

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The delayed TokyoOlympics could not be

held next year if conditionssurrounding the coron-avirus pandemic continueas they are, the president ofthe organizing committeesaid on Wednesday.

In an interview withJapanese broadcaster NHK,Yoshiro Mori said he washopeful the situationwould improve and sug-gested a vaccine was thekey.

“If this kind of situa-tion (with Covid-19) con-tinues, is it possible tohold the games?” Moriwas asked by NHK.

“If current situationcontinues, we couldn’t,”Mori replied, speaking inJapanese.

The Tokyo Olympicsare scheduled to open onJuly 23, 2021 — a yearfrom Thursday. A small,15-minute ceremony with-out fans is scheduled forThursday at the newnational stadium to markthe date.

The InternationalOlympic Committee andJapanese organizers haverepeatedly expressed con-fidence the games will takeplace, though they haveoffered few details on howthey can happen in themiddle of a pandemic.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

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Milan: AC Milan announcedthat coach Stefano Pioli hassigned a two-year extension tohis contract, keeping him atthe club until June 2022.

Milan released a state-ment shortly after win againstSassuolo.

“I am happy and proud ofthe trust I have received fromAC Milan,” Pioli said.

“As I have said manytimes, our future is today: Wemust be focused and deter-mined, be united and play asone.

“We are at the beginningof an extraordinary path. If wekeep working this way, we will

grow and be more and morecompetitive.”

Milan had been in nego-tiations to replace Pioli withRalf Rangnick but the Germancoach’s representative releaseda statement saying they hadjointly decided with the clubnot to move forward. AP

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