· 2021. 2. 14. · mustafa, a front organisation of jaish-e-mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of...

12
A sinister plot to bleed Jammu on the occasion of second anniversary of “ghast- ly” Pulwama terror attack was foiled by the alert jawans of Jammu & Kashmir Police after they recovered 6.5 kg explo- sives from a Kashmir-based nursing college student near Jammu bus stand late on Saturday evening. The IED was to be used for triggering a blast at any one of the major installations in Jammu, including its famous Raghunath Mandir, railway station, bus stand and jewellery market located in the walled city area of Lakhdatta Bazar. Nursing college student from Pulwama, currently studying in Chandigarh, was directed by the Pakistan-based handlers of Al-Badr terror out- fit to execute the terror plot. In a separate development, a consignment of weapons was also recovered from Samba. The weapons could have been airdropped in the area using Pakistani drones. Meanwhile, J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh also made a major revelation on Sunday that terrorist com- manders in Kashmir are smug- gling weapons from Bihar with the help of their over ground workers network to carry out operations in the region. He confirmed that chief commander of Lashkar-e- Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con- ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the video footage to his handler Iliyas doctor of JeM to plan a major terror strike in New Delhi. Addressing a joint Press conference here in the district police lines in Jammu, Inspector General of Police, Jammu range Mukesh Singh said they have been on high alert for the last three days as there were inputs that on the anniversary of Pulwama attack terrorist groups may carry out some major attack in Jammu city. He said based on these inputs checking points were established at critical points and on Saturday night a person namely Suhail was found roam- ing suspiciously in the area. “He was carrying a bag. On being questioned and checking of the bag around 6.5 kg IED was recovered which was not active. During questioning he said he was a student of nurs- ing college and was studying in Chandigarh. He was tasked by Al-Badr handlers in Pakistan to place this IED at places,” he said. Singh said on further ques- tioning Suhail also revealed that after placing the IED he was supposed to take a flight to Srinagar and he was to be received by a high ranking over ground worker of Al- Bad, Athar Shakeel Khan at Srinagar. “After meeting Athar he was supposed to become an active militant. This was his planning. Another person in Chandigarh was also in the know-how of this planning. He has also been picked up from Chandigarh and has been iden- tified as Qazi Waseem and there is another person Abid Nabi associated with this out- fit. He has also been arrested," he said. The IG said by his arrest and by the recovery of this IED a major terror attack has been averted. Addressing mediapersons on the occasion, Director General of Jammu & Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh said police carried out two major success- ful operations and arrested two chief commanders of The Resistance Front (TRF) and Lashkar-e Mustafa in the last one week from different areas of Jammu. He said the TRF is being run by Lashkar-e-Tayyeba while the terror outfit Lashkar- e-Mustafa is being run by Jaish- e-Mohammad from across the border to carry out terror activ- ities not only in Jammu & Kashmir but in some other parts of the country including Delhi. “Lashkar-e-Mustafa came into being recently in August last year,” he said. Singh said the chief com- mander of Lashkar-e-Mustafa, Hidayatullah Malik, who was leading this outfit and was active from the last few months, was arrested by the police from Kunjwani area of Jammu. He said Hidayatullah was working as an OGW for a long time and later became active to carry out terror activities sponsored by Jaish-e-Mohammad. He said Malik was tasked to expand the terror base of the out- fit from the South Kashmir areas to Jammu region. Singh said, “Hidayatullah had set up a network of OGWs to ferry arms consignment arriving from across the border to Kashmir Valley. In addition, he was also in touch with terror associates in Bihar from where he was smug- gling pistols. So far seven pistols have reached Kashmir via Chapra in Bihar.” “Hidayatullah had also set up a network of Kashmiri stu- dents studying in different cities across Punjab and was using them to ferry these con- signments to Kashmir,” he said. Referring to the modus operandi of terror outfits using tunnels, the DGP said during his interrogation Malik had also revealed that one of the active terrorist Ashiq Nengroo, who used to ferry infiltrators from Jammu to Kashmir Valley via road link, himself used the tunnel route to return to Pakistan along with his family. He said now Ashiq Nengroo is working as an active handler and organising logistics support for terrorists across Jammu & Kashmir. During 2017-18 Nengroo had managed to ferry around three dozen ter- rorists from the International Border to Kashmir Valley. T he Ministry of Road Transport & Highways on Sunday announced that all lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways will be declared as “FASTag lane of the fee plaza” from midnight of February 15, 16 of 2021. Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari made it clear that the deadline for the implementation of FASTag would not be extended further, and the vehicle owners should immediately adopt the e-pay- ment facility. The Central Government had last extended the FASTag deadline for the vehicles from January 1, 2021, to February 15, 2021 “Therefore, as per NH Fee Rules 2008, any vehicle not fit- ted with FASTag or vehicle without valid, functional FASTag entering into the FASTag lane of the fee plaza shall pay a fee equivalent to two times of the fee applicable to that category,” the Ministry said in a statement. In the statement issued by MoRTH, the Ministry clarified that this has been done to fur- ther promote fee payment through digital mode, reduce waiting time and fuel con- sumption, and provide for a seamless passage through fee plazas. A s massive operation inentsified to reach about 30 people trapped inside tun- nel began after a flash flood in Chamoli district a week ago, rescue teams on Sunday recov- ered 12 more bodies, including the first ones to be pulled out from the sludge-choked Tapovan tunnel. Five bodies were recovered from the Tapovan power pro- ject tunnel, six from Raini upstream and one from the riverbank in Rudraprayag, tak- ing the confirmed death toll in the Uttarakhand disaster to 50. Officials said 154 people still remain missing after the February 7 devastation, possi- bly triggered by an avalanche in the upper reaches of the Alaknanda river system. A surge of water in Dhauliganga and Rishiganga rivers had ripped through two hydel projects. Bodies of vic- tims were being found at dif- ferent locations by the river over the past week, but rescuers had so far failed to reach any- one — dead or alive — in the tunnel network at the National Thermal Power Corporation's 520 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad project.Chamoli District Magistrate Swati S Bhadauria and Superintendent of Police Yashwant Singh Chauhan rushed to the tunnel when the first two bodies were brought out in the early hours of Sunday. Three more bodies were recovered later from the tunnel, which is packed with debris brought by the flash flood. Officials said a heli- copter has been kept on stand- by at the Tapovan F ormer Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, along with his father Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting Parliamentarian from Srinagar), found themselves locked up inside their Gupkar road house early Sunday morn- ing after they noticed a police van stationed outside the front gate had blocked their way. Angry over this develop- ment, Omar Abdullah immedi- ately took to Twitter to vent his ire against the security estab- lishment. In a series of tweets Omar wrote, “This is the ‘naya/new J&K’ after Aug 2019. We get locked up in our homes with no explanation. It’s bad enough they’ve locked my father (a sitting MP) & me in our home, they’ve locked my sister & her kids in their home as well.” In response, a Twitter han- dle of Srinagar police said, “Today is the 2nd anniversary of the dreaded Lethpora Terror incident. There s Due to adverse inputs, movement of VIPs/Protected Persons has been discouraged and all con- cerned were informed in advance NOT to plan a tour today". However, unrelenting Omar Abdullah hit back ques- tioning the police claim. T he US Senate has acquit- ted a defiant Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial in just over a year, after the Democrats failed once again to muster enough votes to convict the former president on a charge of inciting the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on January 6. The Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday to convict Trump on a single impeachment count — incitement of insur- rection. But that majority of all 50 Democrats in the upper chamber of the US Congress, joined by seven Republicans, fell 10 votes short of the 67 needed for a conviction, two- thirds of the 100-member Senate. The Senate acquitted the 74-year-old Republican leader of inciting insurrection at the US Capitol last month after he urged hundreds of his sup- porters to confront lawmak- ers as they were certifying that he had lost the November 3 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. He was accused of incit- ing riots in the Capitol which left five people, including a police officer, dead. Trump is first president in US history to be impeached by the House of Representatives twice, and first to be tried for impeach- ment after leaving office. P rime Minister Narendra Modi’s day out on Sunday to Tamil Nadu and Kerala saw the dedication and commis- sioning of a slew of develop- ment projects in both the poll- bound States which would result in creation of thousands of jobs and savings in foreign exchange. The Prime Minister also laid foundation stones for pro- jects meant for farming, devel- opment of innovation for youths, strengthening of skill of technically qualified youths and development of tourism projects. One of the important func- tions presided over by the Prime Minister was the hand- ing over of Arjun Mk-1A the state-of-the-art main battle tank to Indian Army. The high performance tank was devel- oped by the scientists of Chennai-based Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), a unit of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other allied institutions. General MM Naravane, Chief of Army Staff, received Arjun Arjun Mk-1A from Prime Minister Modi in an elegant function held at Chennai's Indoor Stadium. Paying homages to the sol- diers ambushed at Pulwama two years ago, the Prime Minister said, “No Indian can forget this day. Two years ago, Pulwama attack happened. We pay homage to all the martyrs we lost in that attack. We are proud of our security forces. Their bravery will continue to inspire generations.” Quoting the verses of Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathi in Tamil, Modi said, “Let us make weapons; also make paper; let us make fac- tories; let us also make schools; let us make vehicles that can move and fly — also let us make ships that can shake the world.” Inspired by this vision of Subramaniya Bharathi, India has undertaken a massive effort to become self-reliant in the defence sector. Later, Modi inaugurated the Chennai Metro Rail Phase- I extension project completed at a cost of 3,770 crore which would ease traffic flow in the city. A long time dream of the farmers in the Cauvery Delta districts (the five districts on the banks of Cauvery river) got a boost as the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the extension, renovation and modernisation of the Grand Anicut Canal System to be completed at a cost of 2,640 crore. The works would improve the water carrying capacity of the canals which distribute water meant for irri- gating the farm lands. The Prime Minister also launched the electrification of the railway track between Villupuram- Cuddalore- Mayiladuthurai-Thanjavur and Mayiladuthurai-Thiruvarur stretch which is expected the save Indian Railway Rs 14.61 lakh per day in fuel cost on the Chennai-Egmore Kanyakumari stretch. It turned out to be a gold- en day for Kerala as the Prime Minister dedicated to the nation the Rs 6,000 crore propylene derivatives petro- chemical complex at Kochi Refinery which would save the country foreign exchange worth Rs 4,000 crore per annum and generate thou- sands of job opportunities. This is the first unit in the country to produce acrylic acid and acrylates hitherto import- ed at high costs. The acrylic acid unit commissioned by the Prime Minister is world's largest single train unit. Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated the Ro-Ro vessels at the historic Willingdon Island which will reduce dis- tance from 30 km by road to 3.5 km on waterways. This will help us to bring down the transportation cost, transit time, pollution, and congestion on road in Kochi," said the Prime Minister. Sagarika, the international cruise terminal, built at a cost of Rs 25.72 crore was thrown open to service by the Prime Minister marking Kochi as an important cruise station in the global tourism map. The terminal would cater to more than a lakh tourists per year with its air conditioned halls for lounging, ten counters for customs clearance and 48 counters for immigration for- malities. Vigyana Sagar, the marine engineering training institute, with a capacity to train 114 fresh engineering graduates in different aspects of naval and architect engineering is anoth- er of the innovative establish- ment dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister on Sunday. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for recon- structing the south Coal Berth at Kochi to facilitate the import of ammonia meant for FACT, the public sector fertiliser giant. I n view of the Odisha Bandh call given by the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Monday (February 15), all schools across the State would remain closed on the day, informed School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash on Sunday. The decision was taken to ensure the safety of students. This apart, all schools would also remain closed on Saraswati Puja on Tuesday (February 16), the Minister said. Besides, all private buses would stay off roads from 6 am to 1 pm. Private Bus Owners’ Association Treasurer Barada Acharya, said the ser- vices would resume after 1 pm.”Notably, the bandh call has been given by OPCC against the rising prices of petrol, diesel and natural gas. The bandh would be observed for six hours from 7 am to 1 pm. Congress workers are likely to stage road blockade at various road junctions. However, OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik on Sunday said emergency services including ambulances, vehicles carrying milk, mediapersons and examinees of educational institutions and brides and grooms would be exempted from the purview of the bandh. All State Government employees working in Bhubaneswar have been advised by the Home Department to reach their respective offices by 9:30 am on February 15 in view of the bandh call. “Officers and employees of Lok Seva Bhawan, Kharavela Bhawan, Rajiv Bhawan and Heads of Department Building, etc., may be advised to reach office latest by 9.30 am to facilitate their smooth entry,” the Home Department said in a notification. The front gates of the Lok Seva Bhawan would be closed at 10.15 am and all the passage would be regulated through the rear gate.The connecting gate between the Red Building and Main Lok Seva Bhawan building would remain open, it said. T he State registered 73 new Covid-19 positive cases in 19 districts and from the State pool, taking its total caseload to 3,36,174 on Sunday. Of the new cases, 44 were reported from quarantine centres while 29 were local contact cases. Bargarh district recorded the day’s highest 14 cases followed by Angul with eight and Sambalpur six. Besides, one case was report- ed from the State pool. Currently, the number of total active cases in the State stood at 760 and the cumu- lative samples tested were 80,23,978.However, 103 more patients recovered on the day taking the total recoveries to 3,33,554. F our days prior to the announcement of a nation- wide lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak last year, Namita Majhi of Mahuldihi vil- lage under Rajgangpur block of Sundargarh district had come to visit her friend Babulal Majhi’s house at Panchara village under Kutra block in the district. Little did she know that her visit would turn into a fairytale and lead to marriage with Babulal on the Valentine’s Day this year.Both got to know each other when Namita came to Panchara for attending a wed- ding, two years ago. She and Babulal shared their contact numbers and were regularly in touch over phone during the next one year. Being invited by Babulal, Namita came to his house last year. However, Namita couldn’t return to her village after the announcement of the lock- down. The two started living in the same house and subse- quently fell in love. Their relationship was also approved by their family mem- bers. The elated couple tied the nuptial knot on Sunday in the presence of their kin, well-wish- ers and friends.

Upload: others

Post on 03-Mar-2021

0 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

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

�� ����������������� �� �!������������"��"�� ������������ ������!�"��������#����� ��� ��� � ��������$�����% �� ����������� ��������������&���� �� � ������ ����� ���������������

��������������#$ ���� ���!�%����� &'�&�()� '��� ��������()*�����+�" �,(-���������������������������"��������� � " �������������*�./������������� � ���� ������0������������������� ���������������� ������� ������ ������������������������ �� ����������������� ����,�������� ����������� ��

��*� �� ��������� �����������������"+�+"�"� !������+� ��1 � ����2 ���$��� ������������������������� ��������� ��������������� ��� " ����� �0 3�����������2��������#4���������� ��$��� ���� "��� ���� ������������

����� ��������,-��� �����,�� �� �,�����.&/()� %������,������������5*,����,��������������������� �� ������������((��������� ������������������� ���� ����������

�������

������� ����� 4�11

Asinister plot to bleedJammu on the occasion of

second anniversary of “ghast-ly” Pulwama terror attack wasfoiled by the alert jawans ofJammu & Kashmir Police afterthey recovered 6.5 kg explo-sives from a Kashmir-basednursing college student nearJammu bus stand late onSaturday evening.

The IED was to be used fortriggering a blast at any one ofthe major installations inJammu, including its famousRaghunath Mandir, railwaystation, bus stand and jewellerymarket located in the walledcity area of Lakhdatta Bazar.

Nursing college studentfrom Pulwama, currentlystudying in Chandigarh, wasdirected by the Pakistan-basedhandlers of Al-Badr terror out-fit to execute the terror plot.

In a separate development,a consignment of weapons wasalso recovered from Samba.The weapons could have beenairdropped in the area usingPakistani drones. Meanwhile,J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh alsomade a major revelation onSunday that terrorist com-manders in Kashmir are smug-gling weapons from Bihar withthe help of their over groundworkers network to carry outoperations in the region.

He confirmed that chiefcommander of Lashkar-e-

Mustafa, a front organisation ofJaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office ofNSA Ajit Doval and had alsodispatched the video footage tohis handler Iliyas doctor of JeMto plan a major terror strike inNew Delhi.

Addressing a joint Pressconference here in the districtpolice lines in Jammu, InspectorGeneral of Police, Jammu rangeMukesh Singh said they havebeen on high alert for the lastthree days as there were inputsthat on the anniversary of

Pulwama attack terrorist groupsmay carry out some major attackin Jammu city. He said based onthese inputs checking pointswere established at critical pointsand on Saturday night a personnamely Suhail was found roam-ing suspiciously in the area.

“He was carrying a bag. Onbeing questioned and checkingof the bag around 6.5 kg IEDwas recovered which was notactive. During questioning hesaid he was a student of nurs-ing college and was studying inChandigarh. He was tasked by

Al-Badr handlers in Pakistan toplace this IED at places,” he said.

Singh said on further ques-tioning Suhail also revealedthat after placing the IED hewas supposed to take a flight toSrinagar and he was to bereceived by a high rankingover ground worker of Al-Bad, Athar Shakeel Khan atSrinagar.

“After meeting Athar hewas supposed to become anactive militant. This was hisplanning. Another person inChandigarh was also in the

know-how of this planning. Hehas also been picked up fromChandigarh and has been iden-tified as Qazi Waseem andthere is another person AbidNabi associated with this out-fit. He has also been arrested,"he said. The IG said by hisarrest and by the recovery ofthis IED a major terror attackhas been averted.

Addressing mediapersonson the occasion, DirectorGeneral of Jammu & KashmirPolice Dilbag Singh said policecarried out two major success-ful operations and arrestedtwo chief commanders of TheResistance Front (TRF) andLashkar-e Mustafa in the lastone week from different areasof Jammu.

He said the TRF is beingrun by Lashkar-e-Tayyebawhile the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Mustafa is being run by Jaish-e-Mohammad from across theborder to carry out terror activ-ities not only in Jammu &Kashmir but in some otherparts of the country includingDelhi. “Lashkar-e-Mustafacame into being recently inAugust last year,” he said.

Singh said the chief com-mander of Lashkar-e-Mustafa,Hidayatullah Malik, who wasleading this outfit and was activefrom the last few months, wasarrested by the police fromKunjwani area of Jammu. Hesaid Hidayatullah was workingas an OGW for a long time and

later became active to carry outterror activities sponsored byJaish-e-Mohammad.

He said Malik was tasked toexpand the terror base of the out-fit from the South Kashmirareas to Jammu region. Singhsaid, “Hidayatullah had set up anetwork of OGWs to ferry armsconsignment arriving fromacross the border to KashmirValley. In addition, he was alsoin touch with terror associates inBihar from where he was smug-gling pistols. So far seven pistolshave reached Kashmir viaChapra in Bihar.”

“Hidayatullah had also setup a network of Kashmiri stu-dents studying in differentcities across Punjab and wasusing them to ferry these con-signments to Kashmir,” he said.

Referring to the modusoperandi of terror outfits usingtunnels, the DGP said duringhis interrogation Malik hadalso revealed that one of theactive terrorist Ashiq Nengroo,who used to ferry infiltratorsfrom Jammu to Kashmir Valleyvia road link, himself used thetunnel route to return toPakistan along with his family.

He said now AshiqNengroo is working as an activehandler and organising logisticssupport for terrorists acrossJammu & Kashmir. During2017-18 Nengroo had managedto ferry around three dozen ter-rorists from the InternationalBorder to Kashmir Valley.

� ��� 067'689:

The Ministry of RoadTransport & Highways on

Sunday announced that alllanes in the fee plazas onNational Highways will bedeclared as “FASTag lane of thefee plaza” from midnight ofFebruary 15, 16 of 2021.

Union Road TransportMinister Nitin Gadkari made itclear that the deadline for theimplementation of FASTagwould not be extended further,and the vehicle owners shouldimmediately adopt the e-pay-ment facility. The CentralGovernment had last extendedthe FASTag deadline for thevehicles from January 1, 2021,to February 15, 2021

“Therefore, as per NH FeeRules 2008, any vehicle not fit-ted with FASTag or vehiclewithout valid, functionalFASTag entering into theFASTag lane of the fee plazashall pay a fee equivalent to twotimes of the fee applicable tothat category,” the Ministrysaid in a statement.

In the statement issued byMoRTH, the Ministry clarifiedthat this has been done to fur-ther promote fee paymentthrough digital mode, reducewaiting time and fuel con-sumption, and provide for aseamless passage through feeplazas.

� ��� %��;2�0<'69$�' 0

As massive operationinentsified to reach about

30 people trapped inside tun-nel began after a flash flood inChamoli district a week ago,rescue teams on Sunday recov-ered 12 more bodies, includingthe first ones to be pulled outfrom the sludge-chokedTapovan tunnel.

Five bodies were recoveredfrom the Tapovan power pro-ject tunnel, six from Rainiupstream and one from theriverbank in Rudraprayag, tak-ing the confirmed death toll inthe Uttarakhand disaster to50. Officials said 154 peoplestill remain missing after theFebruary 7 devastation, possi-bly triggered by an avalanche inthe upper reaches of theAlaknanda river system.

A surge of water inDhauliganga and Rishigangarivers had ripped through twohydel projects. Bodies of vic-tims were being found at dif-ferent locations by the riverover the past week, but rescuershad so far failed to reach any-one — dead or alive — in thetunnel network at the NationalThermal Power Corporation's520 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad

project.Chamoli DistrictMagistrate Swati S Bhadauriaand Superintendent of PoliceYashwant Singh Chauhanrushed to the tunnel when thefirst two bodies were broughtout in the early hours ofSunday. Three more bodieswere recovered later from thetunnel, which is packed withdebris brought by the flashflood. Officials said a heli-copter has been kept on stand-by at the Tapovan

� ��� 4�11

Former Jammu & KashmirChief Minister Omar

Abdullah, along with his fatherDr Farooq Abdullah (sittingParliamentarian fromSrinagar), found themselveslocked up inside their Gupkarroad house early Sunday morn-ing after they noticed a policevan stationed outside the frontgate had blocked their way.

Angry over this develop-ment, Omar Abdullah immedi-ately took to Twitter to vent hisire against the security estab-lishment. In a series of tweetsOmar wrote, “This is the‘naya/new J&K’ after Aug 2019.We get locked up in our homeswith no explanation. It’s badenough they’ve locked my father(a sitting MP) & me in our home,they’ve locked my sister & herkids in their home as well.”

In response, a Twitter han-dle of Srinagar police said,“Today is the 2nd anniversaryof the dreaded Lethpora Terrorincident. There s Due toadverse inputs, movement ofVIPs/Protected Persons hasbeen discouraged and all con-cerned were informed inadvance NOT to plan a tourtoday". However, unrelentingOmar Abdullah hit back ques-tioning the police claim.

����� 7��9:0!%;0

The US Senate has acquit-ted a defiant Donald

Trump in his secondimpeachment trial in justover a year, af ter theDemocrats failed once againto muster enough votes toconvict the former presidenton a charge of inciting thedeadly insurrection at theCapitol on January 6.

The Senate voted 57-43on Saturday to convict Trumpon a single impeachmentcount — incitement of insur-rection. But that majority ofall 50 Democrats in the upperchamber of the US Congress,joined by seven Republicans,fell 10 votes short of the 67needed for a conviction, two-thirds of the 100-memberSenate.

The Senate acquitted the74-year-old Republican leaderof inciting insurrection at theUS Capitol last month after heurged hundreds of his sup-porters to confront lawmak-ers as they were certifying thathe had lost the November 3presidential e lection toDemocrat Joe Biden.

He was accused of incit-ing riots in the Capitol whichleft five people, including apolice officer, dead. Trump isfirst president in US history tobe impeached by the House ofRepresentatives twice, andfirst to be tried for impeach-ment after leaving office.

� ��� +9600�:<�;+9:

Prime Minister NarendraModi’s day out on Sunday

to Tamil Nadu and Kerala sawthe dedication and commis-sioning of a slew of develop-ment projects in both the poll-bound States which wouldresult in creation of thousandsof jobs and savings in foreignexchange.

The Prime Minister alsolaid foundation stones for pro-jects meant for farming, devel-opment of innovation foryouths, strengthening of skill oftechnically qualified youthsand development of tourismprojects.

One of the important func-tions presided over by thePrime Minister was the hand-ing over of Arjun Mk-1A the

state-of-the-art main battletank to Indian Army. The highperformance tank was devel-oped by the scientists ofChennai-based Combat

Vehicles Research andDevelopment Establishment(CVRDE), a unit of DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) and

other allied institutions.General MM Naravane, Chiefof Army Staff, received ArjunArjun Mk-1A from PrimeMinister Modi in an elegantfunction held at Chennai'sIndoor Stadium.

Paying homages to the sol-diers ambushed at Pulwamatwo years ago, the PrimeMinister said, “No Indian canforget this day. Two years ago,Pulwama attack happened. Wepay homage to all the martyrswe lost in that attack. We areproud of our security forces.Their bravery will continue toinspire generations.”

Quoting the verses ofMahakavi SubramaniyaBharathi in Tamil, Modi said,“Let us make weapons; alsomake paper; let us make fac-tories; let us also make schools;

let us make vehicles that canmove and fly — also let usmake ships that can shake theworld.” Inspired by this visionof Subramaniya Bharathi, Indiahas undertaken a massive effortto become self-reliant in thedefence sector.

Later, Modi inauguratedthe Chennai Metro Rail Phase-I extension project completedat a cost of ��3,770 crore whichwould ease traffic flow in thecity. A long time dream of thefarmers in the Cauvery Deltadistricts (the five districts onthe banks of Cauvery river) gota boost as the Prime Ministerlaid the foundation stone forthe extension, renovation andmodernisation of the GrandAnicut Canal System to becompleted at a cost of �2,640crore. The works would

improve the water carryingcapacity of the canals whichdistribute water meant for irri-gating the farm lands.

The Prime Minister alsolaunched the electrification ofthe railway track betweenVillupuram- Cuddalore-Mayiladuthurai-Thanjavur andMayiladuthurai-Thiruvarurstretch which is expected thesave Indian Railway Rs 14.61lakh per day in fuel cost on theChennai-Egmore Kanyakumaristretch.

It turned out to be a gold-en day for Kerala as the PrimeMinister dedicated to thenation the Rs 6,000 crorepropylene derivatives petro-chemical complex at KochiRefinery which would save thecountry foreign exchangeworth Rs 4,000 crore per

annum and generate thou-sands of job opportunities.This is the first unit in thecountry to produce acrylic acidand acrylates hitherto import-ed at high costs. The acrylicacid unit commissioned by thePrime Minister is world'slargest single train unit.

Prime Minister Modi alsoinaugurated the Ro-Ro vesselsat the historic WillingdonIsland which will reduce dis-tance from 30 km by road to3.5 km on waterways. This willhelp us to bring down thetransportation cost, transittime, pollution, and congestionon road in Kochi," said thePrime Minister. Sagarika, theinternational cruise terminal,built at a cost of Rs 25.72 crorewas thrown open to service bythe Prime Minister marking

Kochi as an important cruisestation in the global tourismmap. The terminal would caterto more than a lakh tourists peryear with its air conditionedhalls for lounging, ten countersfor customs clearance and 48counters for immigration for-malities.

Vigyana Sagar, the marineengineering training institute,with a capacity to train 114fresh engineering graduates indifferent aspects of naval andarchitect engineering is anoth-er of the innovative establish-ment dedicated to the nation bythe Prime Minister on Sunday.The Prime Minister also laidthe foundation stone for recon-structing the south Coal Berthat Kochi to facilitate the importof ammonia meant for FACT,the public sector fertiliser giant.

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

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

�������������������������� �!�������"����������������#

��� ���������������������������������������������������������������������!����������� ��

�� ������������������� ���������������� ��!�

"������������������������������������!���

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

�"�����#�$�%��&#����������%#�$����������������'(�)����

�����#����������������#����$��������������%#�&���������� �����$��������������%#�"� �����������������!��������!�����������%������#��������� ��'���(������)�����$�������*������%������$������+�����������%�����������$�������������%��������������� ��

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

In view of the Odisha Bandhcall given by the Odisha

Pradesh Congress Committee(OPCC) on Monday(February 15), all schoolsacross the State would remainclosed on the day, informedSchool and Mass EducationMinister Samir Ranjan Dashon Sunday.

The decision was taken toensure the safety of students.This apart, all schools wouldalso remain closed onSaraswati Puja on Tuesday(February 16), the Ministersaid. Besides, all private buseswould stay off roads from 6am to 1 pm. Private BusOwners’ Association TreasurerBarada Acharya, said the ser-vices would resume after 1pm.”Notably, the bandh callhas been given by OPCCagainst the rising prices ofpetrol, diesel and natural gas.The bandh would be observedfor six hours from 7 am to 1

pm. Congress workers arelikely to stage road blockade atvarious road junctions.However, OPCC presidentNiranjan Patnaik on Sundaysaid emergency servicesincluding ambulances, vehiclescarrying milk, mediapersonsand examinees of educationalinstitutions and brides andgrooms would be exemptedfrom the purview of thebandh.

All State Governmentemployees working inBhubaneswar have beenadvised by the HomeDepartment to reach theirrespective offices by 9:30 amon February 15 in view of thebandh call.

“Officers and employees ofLok Seva Bhawan, KharavelaBhawan, Rajiv Bhawan andHeads of DepartmentBuilding, etc., may be advisedto reach office latest by 9.30am to facilitate their smoothentry,” the Home Departmentsaid in a notification.

The front gates of the LokSeva Bhawan would be closedat 10.15 am and all the passagewould be regulated throughthe rear gate.The connectinggate between the Red Buildingand Main Lok Seva Bhawanbuilding would remain open,it said.

�!�����������"������#��������

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

The State registered 73 newCovid-19 positive cases in

19 districts and from theState pool, taking its totalcaseload to 3,36,174 onSunday.

Of the new cases, 44 werereported from quarantinecentres while 29 were local

contact cases. Bargarh districtrecorded the day’s highest 14cases followed by Angul witheight and Sambalpur six.Besides, one case was report-ed from the State pool.

Currently, the number oftotal active cases in the Statestood at 760 and the cumu-lative samples tested were80,23,978.However, 103 morepatients recovered on the daytaking the total recoveries to3,33,554.

� ��� � 0'�$!�$9

Four days prior to theannouncement of a nation-

wide lockdown due to theCovid-19 outbreak last year,Namita Majhi of Mahuldihi vil-lage under Rajgangpur block ofSundargarh district had come tovisit her friend Babulal Majhi’shouse at Panchara village underKutra block in the district.

Little did she know that hervisit would turn into a fairytaleand lead to marriage withBabulal on the Valentine’s Daythis year.Both got to know eachother when Namita came toPanchara for attending a wed-ding, two years ago. She andBabulal shared their contactnumbers and were regularly in

touch over phone during thenext one year. Being invited byBabulal, Namita came to hishouse last year. However, Namitacouldn’t return to her village afterthe announcement of the lock-down. The two started living inthe same house and subse-quently fell in love.

Their relationship was alsoapproved by their family mem-bers. The elated couple tied thenuptial knot on Sunday in thepresence of their kin, well-wish-ers and friends.

���#*�������$�����#*��+�(�#������$�*�������,&-��

$%���&�'����� ��������(�����������������,),-)./0

���/&0/�"1")�0/��)0)�1�2�&��3�)4&0���������� ��������,�� �����5�����������������,,����

����������������������� ����6�7$��

=%��'� ��� ����� ������������<�� �� �����$���� �����%

������������� ���

������������<�� �� �����<

>8���+ �� ���8�(?�00�& 55>� ����������6@��� ��� �����

���� ��������'689:8 +�0;7 #9;��8#9 #�06�7�$

$�0+9:$�:� $ +9�0':!�$9'69$�' 0 9A'6$�#�'2:4�A7�'�

�0/"9�)0(&+��:;����������������� �����������

���� ����!��� ��,������ �#!�%$%�5�������%���

"�&'&"'�(� ��6$9; �6B%;#6�;$0;%%;#6C

��")��*+7:0':6�#6�%#D'6�9:0.0'%6�%�7:0�6$:6�

��,")-.�/

1A�01�$�0%:,+; ��$;%6�%6$��66��$6�� $6;04 0%�

���������� �����������������������

Page 2:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

#�������./�������������������� ���������� !"�#$#

����������� ������ ������������������� ������������������������� !��������"�� ���#�$!%���&�'��(� !)$&% �&!&�*+(� !)$&% �,%%��$-��(������������./-�����-���������01"�2�1�3$&4�5�������$6�7���$3�������#�2��������1�����"�� ���#�$!%�����1�����(����������8�������1�����(��������8�28�/�����9821�:4&��!4&&)!%�628�;8�<68:1��8������1��(�������8����������(���0���(��- �=6�-�� ������("�/����=�������������(��>�����3����9�����(��� �"�����:�� "�#��"�������7����/���#3����$�����&������(���$)����)%%���--��������9�����(*$,�������� ��9236�:��-"����/�$&��,���;�������(��&�$)?!5?��=)?!55������@��#9�����()��*���������������/�������*�A �8������@��#&& �� �'���������(�%&&$&,) )),�&,) )))�&,) ))%�

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

��������� ���

Over the past few years,India has been experienc-

ing widespread changes anddevelopments in its society,polity and economy, resultingin a variety of social move-ments. Combined with this isthe information explosion andmass media outbursts going intandem. More than anyoneelse, sociologists have an exact-ing role in deciphering thesemovements, issues and theforces behind them. This bookdoes precisely that.

‘Bliss of Ignorance’ by DrAbash Parida (VishwamuktiPublication/Bhubaneswar) isa refreshingly bold account ofa dozen plus issues that haveinflamed Indian society in thepast few months.

Parida is an AssistantProfessor in Sociology andDevelopment Studies,Sophitorium Group ofInstitutions- Khordha. He isalso a blogger - ‘Social Pixel’ -and a columnist for variousnewspapers. This is his firstbook and a fascinating one atthat. In the 200-page hardback,the writer has expressed ayawning disquiet with the exist-ing social instruction and itsblotchy contours.

An incisive observer ofcontemporary events, Parida’sbook, as it says in the intro-duction, tries to ‘provide akaleidoscopic analysis of cer-tain social issues which are lessdiscussed, misrepresented andless valued.’ Yet another goal ofthis book is to ‘clear the dust’on several information thathave been disseminated to us.

Focusing specifically onIndia, the book delves into the

concept and definition of sev-eral social movements fromdiverse perspectives and offersa critical insight into the fun-damentals. He also picks upthe ongoing debates and trea-tises on these movements. Itcovers the dialogue on a widerange of crusades varying inlocus and the spatial spread -from gender to women’s bodyrights and the civil society.

The latitude of the book isvast, and the author hasengaged himself in some verycontroversial issues. Fromfemale genital mutation towitch hunting, from the newreligion and the god-men tomob lynching, from transgen-der identity to homosexuality,the treatment is absorbing.

Some contents in the bookare case studies, some are com-ments and some have a per-ceptive analysis. Havingworked in various universitiesabroad and in India, Parida hasbeen a keen observer of theevents that have been unfold-ing across the countries. Hesubstantiates his viewpointwith facts and figures.

In chapter on witch hunt-ing, for example, Dr Parida hasdealt with evil practice in all itsramifications. He calls witchhunting a ‘culturally inducedmurder’ and concludes that thispractice is ‘unethical, harmfuland no modern society canafford it’. Terming it as a spon-taneous expression of anger,hate and superiority complex,he looks at 2015 Dadri moblynching from sociological,political and legal angles. Hesays that demonizing Islam isa global phenomenon. Quotingfrom ‘Hatecrime Watch’, he isof opinion that between 2009

and 2019, Muslims werewrongdoers in 12 % of caseswhile Hindus were the perpe-trators in 58 % of cases. On thepresent-day information boom,he says, a huge pool of infor-mation makes us confused.We are confused not becausewe don’t have analytical skillsbut in actuality we have littletime to analyze this informa-tion. Information is business.Misinformation is bomb. Hetries to distinguish between a‘private world and an alterna-tive form of social reality.’

The other interestingexploration in book are socialmedia and its multidimen-sional roles, new role of mar-ket replacing civil society orga-nizations, women and tech-nology, Islamophobia andanti–Muslim sentiments. Onesignificant departure in chap-ter-planning is discussion onhow Prime Minister GramSadak Yojana (PMGSY) hasimproved quality of life inOdisha.

��*����� *

The new programme toinvite citizen volunteers

for policing over online con-tents is one of the most unwiseand regressive decisions taken

by the Union Ministry ofHome Affairs (MHA). Thiswill not yield the desired resultsand shall lead to further con-fusion and overreach on mul-tiple aspects. To begin with, theMHA circular states that thescheme will start as a pilot pro-ject in Tripura and Jammu andKashmir, wherein citizen vol-unteers will be asked to flagand report rape, terrorism,child sexual abuse, rape, “rad-icalisation” and “anti-national”activities.

However, ironically, underthe prevalent laws, it isnowhere defined as to whatconstitutes an ‘anti-nationalactivity’. There are umpteenexamples of as to how suchambiguous terms without any

precise definition can provelethal to social harmony, espe-cially when common peoplewithout knowledge in law orsubject to any special order areempowered with such powerto decide what can pass themuster to be paraded onlineand what fall within thereportable category.

Apart from that, authoris-ing ordinary people, withoutany locus standi, to decidewhat qualifies for thereportable label or flag shallultimately land us in a scenarioof rampant misuse of the pro-visions of the scheme andharassment of common manby the common man. Theother objectional aspect of thescheme is that there is no

statutory foundation for cre-ating such a volunteer forceand there is no plan as to howthey will be judiciously utilisedin the process and how willthey be controlled.

To take the discussion fur-ther, even if we accept that theMinistry’s mission is actually tocounter cybercrimes, it is notunderstood as to why andhow a fundamental stateresponsibility could be dele-gated to such citizen volun-teers, who in all probability,shall be unregulated and unac-countable to any authority andcannot be completely reliedupon regarding how judi-ciously they would screen andscrutinise fellow citizens. This,therefore, may by all chances

turn into ammunitions in thehands of the vested interestgroups to satiate their agendaof political or personal vendet-ta and may also deepen distrustand polarisation and loosenthe social fabric.

Most importantly, thewhole exercise of making cit-izens subject to such surveil-lance and scrutiny without theproper sanction of law andexercise of due process of lawis an infringement of their fun-damental rights to freedom ofspeech and expression andprivacy.

Moreover, the act of theMHA is a blatant violation ofthe law laid down by theSupreme Court of Indiaregarding criminalising online

speech, as the court, had cau-tioned while striking downSection 66A of the InformationTechnology Act, 2000 thatthere needs to be a distinctionbetween speech that is simply‘offensive or annoying’ andbetween that which is capableof inciting a ‘disruption ofpublic order, or violence’. Andunder the MHA’s scheme, it isnot practicable to expect citi-zen volunteers to exercise suchprudence capable of drawing adistinction as discussed.

This programme seems tobe an extension of the idea ofblanket gag on online criticismof the State Government inBihar, the Uttarakhand police’sdrive to scrutinise social mediafor ‘anti-national’ posts. It is

true that social media today isthe new platform to initiateand lead revolutions, politicalbattles, campaigns, electoralcontests and even the ongoingfarmer protests.

Social media seems to beall pervading and deeply pen-etrating into the social psy-chology, but such unmindfuloutsourcing of theGovernment’s authority to‘scrutinise social media posts’to the volunteer’s corps fromamongst the common manwithout due regulation mech-anism in place and wherescrutiny by technical and legalexperts is required is both dis-turbing and against rule of law.The move will only pave theway for raising a permanent

army of vigilantes with a rightto infringe on the fundamen-tal right to freedom of speechand expression and privacy ofthe fellow citizens and shallonly strengthen the growingpublic perception that thisGovernment is in favour ofpersecuting citizens daring todisagree and dissent, which isunwelcome in a presumably-robust democracy like that ofours.

(The writer is a lawyerand public policy expert and aDistinguished Adjunct Professorof Law & Media Studies atSchool of Mass Communication,KIIT University. He can bereached [email protected].)

)*��������������� �+�������� ����������,��������������

���������

��0$�$���������1��0����������!��������$�'-./01-232�(

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

The annual issue of theForest Park Morning

Walkers’ Association’s publica-tion 'Sabuja Sakala' wasunveiled at the Forest Parkpremises here on Sunday.

The invited guests high-lighted the benefits of a healthymorning walk.

The function, presidedover by association presidentDurga Charan Das, was inau-gurated by senior journalistPradyumna Shatapathi andProf Birendra Kumar Tripathi.

Those present included AlekhChandra Nayak, PrashantKumar Parida, UmeshKhandelwal, Kulmani Nayak,Lilavati Sahu, Ranjit KumarMohanty, Lingaraj Sahoo,Debabrata Patra and severaldignitaries of State capital city.

1����2����*���3�������������������

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

In the wake of a huge uproarover the controversial bylaws

prepared by the NationalMonuments Authority (NMA)for two ancient temples inEkamra Kshetra here, theCentral Government hasreportedly ordered to with-draw the draft notification.“The bylaws on Brahmeswarand Ananta Basudeba templeswill be withdrawn soon,”informed Union MinisterPratap Chandra Sarangi onSunday. Clarifying over NMAbylaws, he said it was a draftnotification, not a final order.“Like the heritage bylaws wereframed for Puri Shreemandir,the NMA prepared the draftnotification for the two temples

in Bhubaneswar. We have dis-cussed with Union HomeMinister Amit Shah and UnionMinister of State for Cultureand Tourism Prahlad SinghPatel in this regard and anorder has been given to theNMA for withdrawal of thedraft,” Sarangi told media.

Opposing the bylaws, hesaid the draft notificationshould not have been circulat-ed in this manner. “A draft noti-fication was prepared seekingpublic opinion for enforcingconstruction restrictionsaround national monuments.

Before preparing the draft,the NMA should have con-sulted others. However, theUnion Culture Minister hasalready ordered to withdrawthe bylaws,” he said.Sarangi’s

statement came amid wide-scale protests by servitors of theLingaraj Temple as well as res-idents of Ekamra Kshetrademanding immediate with-drawal of the heritage bylawson the two temples.

Besides, Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik also urged theCentre for rollback of thebylaws for two ancient shrines.

The Samajwadi Party onSunday held a demonstrationin front of the Raj Bhavan hereled by its State president RabiBehera and submitted a mem-orandum to Union CultureMinister Prahallad Singh Patelthrough the Governordemanding immediate with-drawal of the bylaws to respectthe spiritual emotion of thepeople of Odisha.

����������� �����������������������

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

On the 2nd anniversary of thePulwama attack, a mega

rally was organised by the stu-dents’ association of the UtkalUniversity here as a mark ofrespect to the CRPF personnelwho were martyred in the inci-dent.

Carrying a 120-metre-longTricolour, hundreds of studentsmarched from the Vani ViharSquare to Master CanteenSquare recalling the supreme sac-

rifices of the paratroopers thatcontinue to inspire spirit ofpatriotism among country-men.On occasion, several per-sonalities, including retiredArmy personnel, who partici-pated in event, were felicitated by

Students’ Association. TwoCRPF personnel from Odisha,Manoj Behera of Ratanpur vil-lage in Cuttack district andPrasanna Sahu of Shikhar villagein Jagatsinghpur district, wereamong the 40 CRPF martyrs.

�������������1��&�������� �

��*���!��$����$�����$����������$����������$

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

Two youths sustained criti-cal injuries after they were

allegedly attacked by bouncerswith sharp weapons at a bar inthe Kharavel Nagar area inBhubaneswar on Saturdaynight. Both injured youths hadcome to the bar to celebrate the‘Kiss Day’ with their friends.

Sources said bouncers ofbar intervened when the groupcreated nuisance after havingdrinks. The bouncers attackedthe two youths with knives fol-lowing an altercation withthem. The youths sustainedmultiple injuries on necks,faces and other parts of theirbodies.A case was registered atKharavel Nagar police stationin connection with incidentand police started investigationand took CCTV footages of barfor scrutiny, sources said.

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

The border disputes withAndhra Pradesh and other

States at many times are trig-gering serious problems.

If the Odisha Governmentdoesn’t take timely action, thereare chances that the situationsmight worsen further, saidUnion Minister DharmendraPradhan on Sunday.

Pradhan said AndhraPradesh’s efforts to involveOdisha people in its panchay-

at polls by crossing the geo-graphical border in Koraput,Ganjam and Gajapati districtsare a matter of great concern.“It is our responsibility to safe-guard geographical boundariesof our State and connect the

brothers and sisters residing inthe bordering areas with us,”Pradhan said.

The State Governmentwhich has taken legal recourseover the Kotia issue is expect-ed to take the battle to a logi-cal conclusion.

Besides, the local adminis-tration should work tostrengthen the Governmentwelfare schemes in the borderregion for all-round develop-ment of the local people, hesaid. Pradhan called upon lead-ers of all political parties, socialorganisations and activists inOdisha to work collectivelyfor safeguarding the borderswith holistic development ofthe people residing in theregions.

�����������

!��������������-���!�4���������

)/���������5�� ���������������������&������+

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

Panic gripped visitors at theState Botanical Garden near

the Nandankanan ZoologicalPark near here as a fire brokeout there on Sunday.

However, no casualty ormajor damage was reported inthe fire mishap. On being

informed, Fire Service per-sonnel rushed to the spot andinitiated efforts to douse theflames.

Though the reason behindthe incident was yet to beascertained, it was suspectedthat the fire broke out duringcooking by a group of pic-nickers.

������������ �� �� �������������

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

Principal Secretary, OdiaLanguage, Literature and

Culture, Bishnupada Sethi hasstressed on strengthening OdishaState Archives and focusing ondigitisation of paper records.Sethi was speaking at a ceremo-ny organised to celebrate theArchives Week.

He stressed that the crucialdocuments need to be preservedand the records in shape of vol-umes, loose sheets, files, oldgazettes, maps and newspapershoused in the archives need to bedigitised.

Sethi said the documentscontain the most valuable infor-mation on the history of forma-tion of Modern Odisha such asfreedom struggle, creation ofOdisha province, natural calami-ties, first settlement in the Stateand account of the social cus-toms prevailing during earliertime such as Sati and human sac-

rifice. The records also includedocuments from the pre-Independence era. Sethi harpedon collection of records ofMaratha rule, Zemindars, kingsand rulers. Professor AshokKumar Patnaik made a queryabout collection of documentson Pt Jawaharlal Nehru's Odishavisit and Netaji Subhas CahndraBose’s connect with Odisha.Director Culture Ranjan KumarDas and State ArchivesSuperintendent Sk Soleman Alispoke among others.

/������$�����������+����#�������

)6�����5+� ����������).����������������(����3� !������� ������+

� � ���� ����������������������

� ��� #$�91�� $

Describing re-promulgationof The Odisha Agricultural

Produce and LivestockMarketing (Promotion and

Facilitation) Ordinance asdeplorable, unwanted andbetrayal to farmers who are onwarpath along with farmers ofrest of country against thethree anti-farm laws, LokShakti Aviyan convenorPrafulla Samantara on Sundaywarned Government to stoppassing of Bill in Assembly;

otherwise, farmers of Odishawould resort to agitation.Whilespeaking to Press here,Samantara pointed out thatOdisha Government's ill inten-tion is clearly visible. “AfterCabinet approval, the design isto bring a draft Bill in form ofan ordinance for legislation inforthcoming Budget Session

of State Assembly,” hesaid.According to him, whenfarmers are prepared to diedemanding withdrawal of threeCentral legislations and whenat least 220 farmers havealready died for cause, it isunfortunate OdishaGovernment it attempting tobring a Bill to introduce a pri-

vate mandi system and demol-ish Government-controlledAgriculture Produce MarketingCooperatives (APMCs). “TheState Govt has a moral andConstitutional responsibilityto protect marginalised andexploited farmers through aneffective and strong law toensure that the MSP is guar-

anteed,” Samantara argued. Headded that at least the OdishaGovernment should follow theKerala, Punjab and RajasthanGovernments to bring a legis-lation to counter Central law toensure MSP as the agricultureis under the State list. He alsodemanded a legislation to pro-tect rights of sharecroppers.

������ #9 #�06�7�$

With the UnionGovernment allowing

one more post in the Apex Scale,the Odisha Government wouldnow have four such posts in theIAS Cadre.

While Chief Secretary,Member of Board of Revenue,Chief Administrator KBK postswere in the Apex Scale, now thepost of DevelopmentCommissioner-cum-ACS &Secretary to Planning andConvergence Department hasbeen allowed in this scale.

So, now, four more postscan be created by the StateGovernment making it to eightin the Additional ChiefSecretary rank, said an official.The Union Government hasincreased the cadre strength ofIndian Administrative Service(IAS) officers by allowing 11more posts in a recent review of

cadre. The Ministry ofPersonnel, Public Grievancesand Pensions has informed theState Government in this regard,official sources said. While thecadre strength for IAS officersin Odisha was 237, it has beenincreased to 248. Earlier, therewere 11 posts in the PrincipalSecretary rank and now, it hasbeen increased to 13.

The Commissioner-cum-Secretary-rank posts were 39,which have been made 36.However, Secretary, AdditionalSecretary, Joint Secretary andDeputy Secretary posts in theIAS cadre have been increasedfrom 20 to 24.

Cadre review is done in fiveyears, but this time consultationbetween Centre and StateGovernment took a longer peri-od. The last cadre review wasdone in 2014. The Senior Dutyposts, which were 129, havebeen increased to 135.

�� ������ ������������ �� �

������������������������#$�2��$��������2������#

Page 3:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

#�������.3�������������������� ���������� !"�#$#

4'564� �� �*� �������� ���,������������*� ���

���������B��������� $��1 � ���������4���������������� ���������18�1����� ��� �� ������ ��� ��������� ���������� ���� ��� ������ ���� �� � " � �� 4��� �� �������� ��,����� �� ��� $� )�.E,����� :��� ��� ����'�"�����������������������������7����#����9������� �������� ����������"�� ��������������������+���������� ��� ���� ��$�(�?/����� ������������ ���� ����,������������� �� ���%�� ��������,+��������� ���#';�������� ��� � ����� "� ��� ���� ��� #4' ����� ��� ����!��������4 ������������

��������*������������������<����� ��

������������� B%��()/��� ������ "�������������������$��������������������������������� ���������� ����� ��� ;� ��� ��� ��� ������ � %������ �� ��� ��� ����"�� �� ;� ��� ��� ��� ������ 1����� # �� ��������#������ ��� ��������������1������������ ����������'� #��������� '��� �� �� ������� %�� ������� ������"�� ���� ��������� �"������������$����������� ���������������������������1���������������������!����� �

�*���� ������� �� ����-������ ����� ���������

������������� B#� ��� ��� ���� �����������+����,F�����1$!9 ������ ���� ����� ������ � � �����,��"�� ���������� � ������� ����� ������ :�� �'������� ���������D;���� ��� ��G'�;H������� �I�������������� ���� ���I�;� ���'�;������� ��� 1 ������"��������� 3�������� ������1$!9������9������������������������������������� �"����������� ����������

� �����,����� �-������ ���,������� �����#�������B����������$� ����������� �������G$��H�����+�% ��� ������������ ���1��� ������� �#������������������������8�@� ��� � ���������������"� � ���� ���� �����"�� �� � ����� �������� ��� ���� �� ���� ������ �� �� ��� �� 9� ��� �������� ����� �� �� (* :'��'�� ���������� ��� �������"������$�/�E.E���� ����������� ��� ��������� 3�������������� ��������������� ��(5J �� ��� $� ������� ��� ��� ���������� ��������� ��������

��� ��� ��� �� ���� �� �<���#����������B ���� ����� ���� ������� ����� � �������� ���K���� �� �� �������� �� ������� ��� ��"�����������2����� ��D�'����������� ��� ���� ��� �������� ��� ������ ��� ����" ��� �������� ��� ����� ��� ������ ���� ����� ������� ������� ���� ������� ��� ������� ������������ ���� L%������� ���� ����� ��� ���@������ �������� �� ����@������"��������������� ��� ������������M�� ��� ����������������� ����������

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

While police are yet to revealthe details in connection

with the sensational case ofdeath of Rama Devi Women’sUniversity student JharaphulaNayak, her father RamakantNayak has threatened to sethimself on fire in front of theState Assembly here.Ramakanthas blamed the Jajpur police fortheir alleged tardy progress inthe investigation into the case.

Ramakant said the TwinCity Commissionerate policemanaged to crack the case ofrecovery of a woman’s headlessbody in Bhubaneswar withinseven days while the Jajpurpolice are yet to make anymajor headway in theJharaphula death case despitethe arrest of the accused, seizureof the scooter used for carrying

the body, recovery of CCTVfootage and other related evi-dences.

Notably, on January 26,accused Rakesh Swain andJharaphula had come to theOYO Shiv Sai Guest House atDharma Vihar in Bhubaneswarand stayed in room no. 201 ofthe hotel. Rakesh, said to beJharaphula’s boyfriend, found

her in an unconscious state atthe hotel room in the morningof January 27. He then called uphis friend Shekhar. WhileShekhar drove the scooter,Rakesh rode pillion makingthe unconscious girl sit betweenthem. Rakesh initially intendedto hospitalise Jharaphula at SCBMedical College Hospital inCuttack. He realised midway

that Jharaphula had died. Heand Shekhar went all the way to

Jajpur by the two-wheeler anddumped the body on roadside

at Mulapala under the Kuakhiapolice limits.

����������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������!�

� ��� 0�A�!�$9

The Nayagarh police havecracked the murder case

of a woman in the Sarankularea of the district with thearrest of four persons, includ-ing two contract killers, onSunday.

The four accused, whoseidentification were yet to berevealed by police, were for-warded to court.Thedeceased’s husband identi-fied as Akhi Mohapatra andhis paramour were arrestedand forwarded to court

connection with case earlier..The number of arrests in thecase has gone up to six. Thewoman identified as Sasmitawas found hanging at herhouse at Suar Sahi under theSarankul police station in thedistrict on January 29.

Akhi was allegedly havingan extra marital affair with awoman of his locality due towhich the relationship withhis wife had soured, saidInspector-in-Charge (IIC) ofSarankul police station BimalMallick.

However, Akhi hatched aplan to eliminate Sasmita andhired two contract killers forRs 2 lakh to kill her. Onnight of January 29, the twosupari killers along with twoof their associates reportedly

entered Sasmita’s house whileshe was alone and strangulat-ed her to death. Later, theyhanged her body from theceiling fan to make it appearlike a suicide.. Althoughpolice initially suspected it tobe a suicide case, pos-mortemreports revealed that thewoman was first strangledand then hanged.

Based on t reports, policeinitiated an investigation andarrested Akhi, who was mas-termind behind murder andhis paramour few days back.

During interrogation,Akhi confessed to have hiredcontract killers to eliminateSasmita. Police have alsorecovered Rs 20,000 fromcontract killers and a motor-cycle used in the crime.

���.�5����!

��!���7��8��������������������������!��� ����

#���!���$����*������������������*�����

� ��� �60'$���'�

Awoman died after sus-taining severe burn

injuries while saving her hus-band, who attempted self-

immolation at Sanajaria vil-lage in Kendrapada districtlate on Saturday night.Policeidentified the deceased asBandita Mallick while herhusband Sailendra was admit-

ted to the SCB MedicalCollege Hospital in Cuttack ina critical condition.

Reports said a heatedaltercation ensued betweenShailendra Mallik and his

wife Bandita as the womanaccused him of having anextramarital affair. However,Shailendra lost his cool andset himself on fire after pour-ing kerosene on him. Bandita

tried to save her husbandand sustained critical burninjuries in the process. Thecouple was rescued by neigh-bours and admitted to thePattamundai Hospital. As the

condition of the couple dete-riorated, doctors referredthem to the SCB Hospital. ButBandita succumbed on theway and Shailendra is stillbattling for life.

7�������$�����������$�!����������������������

� ��� 49�$� ! '�

In spite of directions of StateGovernment, the private

schools were not exemptingfees. In this regard the parentshere demanded that the StateGovernment withdraw theNOC given to the schools.

The District ParentsAssociation in a Press meet atJharsuguda on Sunday allegedthat despite order of the OrissaHC, the private schools werenot curtailing their fees as perrule. The association urgedthe Government to take actionagainst the schools not abidingby the direction of the HC andthe Government.

Meanwhile, president ofOdisha Parents AssociationBasudeb Bhatta met districtCollector Saroj Kumar Samal athis residential office andrequested to implement feeexemption order in Jharsugudadistrict.

In reply, the Collector saidthat an urgent meeting wouldbe held to implement the orderin the district. In the Pressmeet, Association's districtconvener Amjad Badshah, jointconvenor Babuli Behera, Stateorganising secretary SibaramNayak, Punyasloka Mohantyand Mahamaya Kar were pre-sent alongwith State presidentBhatta.

N7 �������������D0;+ ���������@�����&1������+����5������������!��������

� ��� ��1#�8� $

What can be more barbaricthan to tonsure a married

woman in the present age whenmany procedures, includinglegal actions, are available. Thematter finally reached policewho took appropriate action

Babuli Chhatria, a residentof Paruabhadi village underKuchinda sub-division marriedBhumanti eight years back andthey have a son and a daughter.Babuli works in a factory atRengali. In his absence, hiswife and his two sisters had hotexchanges of words over shar-ing of mustard produced from

their land. However,Bhumanti’s family membersand her two married Nanandas(sisters-in-law) treated her argu-ment as misbehaviour to all ofthem. They informed matter totheir relatives and seniors oftheir caste. In a meeting of thesepeople, it was decided thatBhumanti would be tonsured;and further, she would pay Rs6,000 as fine for her misbehav-iour.

Babuli, who was present inmeeting, requested all toincrease fine amount andchangedecision of tonsuringher as it is a gross insult to awoman. But seniors didn’t agree.

� � � #9�7�0:��%0�

Death of elephants in theKarlapat Wildlife

Sanctuary in Kalahandi dis-trict continued unabated asanother female elephant diedon Sunday. With this, the tollmounted to six during the last14 days. The pachyderm

reportedly died due to sep-ticemia. It was suspected byForest Department officialsthat haemorrhagic septicemiamight be the reason behindthe death of all elephants.

The deaths have beenreported from near theGhusurigudi drain in the sanc-tuary. The Forest Departmenthas sent an expert team to theprotected area to find out thereason behind the deaths.

The team, headed by ProfNiranjan Sahu from theCentre for Wildlife Health of

Odisha University ofAgriculture and Technology(OUAT) inspected the area onSaturday. “All the symptomsindicate that the elephantsdied from bacterial diseasehaemorrhage septicaemia,”informed Sahu. Following theincident, the wildlife wing has

started immunisation of cattlein several villages situatedcloser to the two forest beats,where the elephants’ deathshave been reported.

Besides, various waterbodies have been disinfectedwith bleaching powders.Kalahandi (South Division)Divisional Forest OfficerAshok Kumar said that the vil-lagers have been advised not toallow their cattle inside the for-est as it is suspected that thewater bodies could be conta-minated.

9�������!�������!������������6���������!�����!�����&����

� ��� #$�91�� $

The parking of a large num-ber of vehicles of the cus-

tomers of Army canteen locat-ed in the busiest barracks roadin Old Bus stand area of the cityhas been creating a serious traf-fic problem between GandhiNagar square and Old busstand.This is causing seriousinconvenience not only to thelocal public, but also to thedaily commuters.

Notably, customers whocome to the busy Army storeevery day are mostly ex-Armypersonnel who park their vehi-cles in the 30 feet wide publicroad causing traffic jam. Theystand up in large queuesstretching up to the publicroad of barracks street to gettheir desired goods from themilitary canteen causinginconvenience to the local pub-lic and school going children.

Repeated complaints of localpublic submitted to the author-ities have gone unheeded so far.The local residents, therefore,have demanded that theadministration direct them topark their vehicles inside thepremises of the AD Center andnot on the public road.

Besides, the center shouldkeep its main entry gate openfrom the south side of theirpremises which is a non-resi-dential area, they demanded.This will help to decongestBarracks Road and providerelief to the locals, they added.According to the residents ofthe New Barracks Street, thelocal authorities are reported-ly misleading by sending sitephotographs on the off-days ofthe AD center.The localsdemanded that the BrahmapurTraffic Police immediately con-duct a study on the existingtraffic-flow pattern and chaot-ic parking practice and takenecessary action.

2���������������

5�$��58��������#�����#��$$������#�+�$

� ��� ��1#�8� $

As part of the reformatoryprogramme, and also to

provide higher education to theinmates of Sambalpur CircleJail, the authorities of theOdisha State Open University(OSOU) have taken an innov-ative step.

They have opened a studycentre inside the jail so that theinmates could get higher edu-cation who could not do it out-side due to various reasons.Inaugurating study centre, ViceChancellor of university ProfArkakumar Dasmahapatrasaid, “This is a golden oppor-tunity for those who are reallyinterested in higher education.

They can also rectify them-selves through it since educa-tion shows path for a betterlife.” The OSOU would provideevery scope to inmates to com-plete their education and fulfilltheir hunger for knowledge, VCadded.The officials of jail arealso, looking at necessity ofnoble purpose, providing allcoporations to OSOU author-ities. At first phase, 15 inmateshave enrolled for differentcourses including two in PostGraduate classes. “The jailinmates apart, eight jail officialshave also enrolled in differentcourses,” informed seniorsuperintendent of Circle JailBiren Sahu.

� ��� �;$�� %

The Internal ComplaintsCommittee of the Central

University of Odisha organiseda webinar titled “GenderMainstreaming in Workplace:Vigilance and Initiatives”.

Director, School of Genderand Development Studies,IGNOU, Prof Nilima Srivastavadelivered the keynote address,while chairperson, MahilaAdhikar Abhiyan Namrata

Chaddha, Prof SheelaSuryanarayanan, Head, Centrefor Women’s Studies, Universityof Hyderabad and Dr SarojiniSarangi, Obstetrician andGynaecologist, SarojiniHospital, Cuttack spoke onthe occasion.

CUO VC Prof IRamabrahmam delivered theinaugural address. AssistantProfessor, DBCNR andPresiding Officer, ICC DrKakoli Banerjee welcomed allthe dignitaries and explainedthe scope and significance of

ICC and gender studies. TheVice-Chancellor outlined theimportance of gender equality.Prof Srivastava delivered thekeynote address titled ‘Womenat Workplace: ConceptualizingGender Mainstreaming as aStrategy’. She emphasized onissues of work valuation doneby men and women in societyand psychological, institution-al and situational barriers forwomen in society. Chaddhapresented papers on ‘Strugglingfor Survival in UnorganizedSector’. Prof Sheela

Suryanarayanan, Head, Centrefor Women’s Studies, Universityof Hyderabad spoke on topic‘Gender Inequalities atWorkplace in India: PresentSituation & PersistingChallenges’.

������������� ������������������ !":��������8������;���

� ��� #9 #�06�7�$

The Freethought Party ofIndia (FPI) has condemned

the barbaric murder ofPuspalata Roul (28), a widowhaving a female child who haddone AMOFOI wedding onDecember 24 last. She hadmarried her lover PritiranjanPati (25), a Diploma holder inElectrical Engineering, byexchange of garlands. The cou-ple could not live well becauseof Puspalata’s unhappy past.Her past love affairs with dri-ver Sanjay Das became theproblem and he wanted totake revenge on her.

Puspalata did not like toditch her husband Pritiranjan.

That was precisely the reasonfor which she was murdered inthe cruelest way on February 3,said a FPI release.

suppress the fact of mur-der the killer beheadedPuspalata and threw herbeheaded body in Andharuaarea and her head at distanceof 2 km. The Commissionratepolice did a splendid job incatching the killer and hishelper within a weeks’ time. Aslong as there is no provision forquality English medium edu-cation for each and every childin India and as long as there isno standard law (Uniform CivilCode) to facilitate love narriagethroughout India and no adop-tion of one-child family to

bring down the population ofIndia, there would be lack ofeducation, extreme poverty,and exploitation leading tosuch crime, opined FPI gener-al secretary B RamchandraCST Voltaire. A widowed

� ���� 49�$� ! '�

Amale elephant fromSambalpur forests has cre-

ated havoc in Chandnimal andTareikela villages underKolabira Range here. Besideseating vegetables, the elephantdamaged four houses injuringa woman and her son.

On Thursday night, theelephant entered theChandnimal village and dam-aged house of one SureshKhadia and Sankirtan Khadiaeating their rice stock. Whenthe family members woke upand raised alarm, the elephantfled. But, Suresh's wife Sumitaand son Sakti got head injurieswhen a wall collapsed on themwhile sleeping.

Then, the elephant dam-aged the vegetables of BikramBanchor and while trying tobreak open the door of thehouse, the villagers got alertand chased away the elephantby producing noise.

Being informed, forest offi-cers reached the village to tracethe elephant. But, the elephantthen had entered the Tareikelavillage and dragged a rice bagbreaking wall of a house ofLaxmi Rout. When the villagerscreated noise the elephant fledto Mahulmunda forest.

�����������������!��������

������������!��4$����)�������

� ��� 49�$� ! '

The Bhusan Power & Steel(BPSL) has initiated various

developmental activities inThelkoloi village like senitisationprogramme in the entire village,street light installation atBrahmana Pada and Gond Pada,sprinkling of water and cleaningin village and its connectingroad.

Besides construction of staffquarter in Thelkoloi HighSchool has also been taken up.The company has installed ahigh mast light at ThelkoloiChawk. Apart from that com-pany is providing drinking waterthrough water tanker in

Thelkoloi and in peripheralareas throughout year. Recently,in a meeting between the com-pany officials and local villagers,latter raised demand for earlycompletion of water project ofLapanga which is constructedunder CSR activities of compa-ny. Further, the villagers request-ed for local employment, week-ly visit of medical staff to village,construction of toilets in localhigh school and technical train-ing to local youths in company.

� ��� 49�$� ! '�

Resentment is brewingamong farmers of

Jharsuguda district for notbeing able to sell their paddy tothe Government. Over 200farmers have not been issuedtoken to sell paddy; neitherwere the PACSs given revisedtarget given a huge quantity ofpaddy left unsold.

The Government sourcessaid that till February 11 last,the Government had given atarget for collection of7,43,187.8 quintals paddy. Outof this, 7,08,936.25 quin-talspaddy has already beenpurchased and rest 34,281.55quintals could notbe collectedfrom the target.

There is a necessity forrevised target of anoth-er3,98,857 quintals paddy,sources added.

The district administra-tion and the Civil SupplyDepartment are keeping silenceover revising the procurementProtesting the apathy of theadministration, the BJP hadgiven a three-hour road block-ade call on February 13 from 10am. On the other hand, afarmers union of the districtalso is getting ready for launch-ing agitation.

����!�����������������������������!��������""�������

�&=)0&+�/"�1&/�+&."�+&+

����������� ���� ���� �#�����

� ��� ��$�8��61 0':

Acase was registered at theGarbandha police station

in Gajapati district on Sundayagainst erring officials ofAndhra Pradesh Governmentfor their attack on journalists ofOdisha.

A media team consisting ofTV crew from Gajapati districtwas collecting informationfrom people of Gangabadapanchayat bordering AndhraPradesh regarding illegal entryof AP officials to conduct pan-chayat elections in the Odisharevenue jurisdiction.

+����*����5�2�����������

������� ��������� �������$��������������

���(+����'�� ������������������������!��!������/������0/�+>�4&�/�&�

���(��������

��� ������������������, �,�����������������

1���������������

��������)�����������������������!������������6� �

Page 4:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

�������.9�������������������� ���������� !"�#$#

� ��� 067'689:

The Army on Sunday addedmuscle to its firepower

capabilities when PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hand-ed over to the force the indige-nously designed and manufac-tured Arjun Main Battle Tank(MBT) MK-1A in Chennai.

Presiding over the cere-mony, Modi said the tank rep-resented the united Indianspirit as the weapon systemmanufactured in the south willguard the frontiers in the north.

The Arjun tank manufac-turing factory at Avadi inChennai will shortly get anorder for 118 such front-linefighting machines and the totalcontract is worth over �9,000crores.

It is an improved andupgraded version of the origi-nal Arjun-MK 1 MBT whichwas also indigenously designedand manufactured within thecountry. The new tanks hasincorporated more than 50upgrades and 71 new features.The Army will get an edge overits enemies as the new tank hasaccurate firing capabilities dur-ing day and night thereby pro-viding the army to launchcounter-offensive with lethaleffect, officials said here.

At the handing over func-tion, the Prime Minister alsoaccepted a salute by the state-of-the-art tank, indigenouslydesigned, developed, and man-ufactured by the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO)’sCombat Vehicles Research andD e v e l o p m e n tEstablishment(CVRDE) inChennai. Modi later handedover a replica model of the tankto Army Chief General M MNaravane.

“Today I am proud to ded-icate to the country one morewarrior to protect our frontiers.I am proud to hand over the

indigenously designed andmanufactured Arjun MK-1A.”

“It also uses indigenousammunition. Tamil Nadu isalready the leading auto man-ufacturing hub of India. NowI see Tamil Nadu evolving as atank manufacturing hub ofIndia,” he said.

“A tank made in TamilNadu will be used in our north-ern border to keep our nationsafe. This showcases India’sunited spirit—Bharat’s ektadarshan,” Modi added.

Highlighting the capabili-ties of the upgraded version ofthe Arjun MBT, officials saidArjun MK-1 Alpha is a “con-temporary tank in the worldwith battle winning efficacy.”

It is ‘infused’ with 71 newfeatures and would ensureeffortless mobility in all ter-rains, besides precise targetengagement during day andnight.

The production orderopens up a large avenue indefence manufacturing for over200 Indian companies andscores of Micro, Small &Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)with employment opportuni-ties to 8,000 people, they said.

Quoting from revolution-ary Tamil poet and freedomfighter Mahakavi SubramanyaBharathi, Modi said inspired bythe former’s vision, “India hastaken a massive effort tobecome self-reliant in thedefence sector.”

Of the two defence corri-dors in the country, the one inTamil Nadu has alreadyreceived investment commit-ments of over �8,100 crore,Modi said.

“We will continue workingto make our armed forces oneof the most modern forces inthe world. At the same time thefocus on making IndiaAtmanirbhar in the defencesector moves with full speed,”he said.

Later, in a tweet, he said itwas “a special day in our jour-ney to become Aatmanirbharin the defence sector,” referringto Arjun Main Battle Tank(MK-1A). Fifteen academicinstitutions, eight labs and sev-eral MSMEs were also involvedin the Arjun MK 1A.

The new tanks with itsfirst round hit probability hasone of the most accurate tankgun in the world. This majes-tic tank has indigenousKanchan Armour strappedwith DRDO developedReactive Armour Panels.

After using in differentconditions, the Army had rec-ommended a number ofimprovements to MBT ArjunMk 1, which enhanced themobility and fire power ofMBT Arjun Mk 1A. Withthese changes, this upgradedversion has successfully under-gone extensive trials by theIndian Army. The precise tar-get tracking of the tankensures accurate engagementduring day and night in bothstatic and dynamic condi-tions.

The country decided tobuild its own main battle tankand a project was initiated bythe DRDO in the 1970s at theCombat Vehicles Research andDevelopment Establishment(CVRDE).

The scientists were giventhe objective to design andbuild a state-of-the-art tankwith superior fire power, highmobility, and excellent protec-tion. The production of theArjun tanks started in 1996 atthe Indian Ordnance Factory’sproduction facility in Avadi.

At present, the Army hasmore than 100 Arjun MK-Itanks in its armour and is like-ly to induct 20 odd more tanksshortly. The first batch of 16Arjun tanks were inductedinto active service in 2004.

The old and new version ofthe MBT has a highly sophisti-cated computer-controlled inte-grated fire control system withstabilised sighting that works inall lighting conditions. The sec-ondary weapons include a co-axial 7.62-mm machine gun foranti-personnel and a 12.7-mmmachine gun for anti-aircraftand ground targets.

Officials also said the newversion launched by the PrimeMinister gas more than 55 percent indigenous content as com-pared to 40 per cent of the ear-lier version of the Arjun.

#������!������ �����������$�����

� ��� 067'689:

Mounting more pressureon the Modi Government

to come clean on the Indo-China skirmishes in recentmonths, former defence min-ister A K Antony on Sundayalleged that disengagement inboth the Galwan Valley andPangong Tso Lake areas andthe creation of a buffer zonewas a “surrender” of India’srights.

Antony said he was sadthat the Narendra ModiGovernment was not givingproper priority to nationalsecurity at a time when Chinawas getting belligerent andPakistan continued to promoteterrorism.

Addressing a Press con-ference, the senior Congressleader said that at a timewhen India was facing multi-ple challenges at the borderand was facing a two-frontwar-like situation, the increasein defence budget this year ismeagre and insignificant andwas a “betrayal” of the coun-try.

The Government had onFriday stated that India hasnot “conceded” any territoryfollowing the disengagementagreement with China inPangong lake areas in easternLadakh.

Antony said disengage-ment was good as it reducedtension but it should not bedone at the cost of nationalsecurity.

“Both disengagements inGalwan and Pangong Tso area surrender,” he alleged,adding that it amounted tosurrendering of areas tradi-tionally controlled by India.We are surrendering ourrights,” he alleged, noting thatGalwan Valley as Indian ter-ritory was never a disputedland even in 1962.

“Disengagement andbuffer zone means surrenderof our land at the moment,” healleged, while warning that theGovernment is not under-standing the importance ofthis disengagement and cre-ation of the buffer zone.

He warned that Chinacan play mischief anytime by

helping Pakistan in Siachen.“We want to know from

this Government when therewill be status quo ante as onmid-April 2020 in the entireIndia-China border,” he said,asking what was the govern-ment’s plan in this regard.

He also said that the gov-ernment must take the coun-try and the people into confi-dence on restoration of statusquo ante at the borders.

He said the Governmentalways consulted leaders of allpolitical parties before takingsuch a decision and mustkeep national security inmind.

Antony alleged that thegovernment did not increasedthe defence budget to“appease” China and to give amessage that it did not wantto confront them.

“To appease China, thegovernment sent a message bynot increasing this defencebudget that we do not want toconfront you.

To appease China, wehave agreed to disengagementon China’s terms,” he alleged.

When the whole countryis facing serious challengesfrom both China andPakistan, the senior Congressleader said the armed forcesare demanding support andsubstantial increase in thedefence budget.

“But compared to lastyear’s revised defence budget,this budget has made a mea-gre and insufficient increase ofonly 1.48 per cent. It is abetrayal of the country. Thegovernment has let down ourarmed forces. TheGovernment is not payingproper attention of nationalsecurity,” Antony said.

7������+���#��������$���#���

$����$#������$���������������������*�$���(���

$����������$$�����$������

��������#$�����������$����������$��$�������

��#��$���������#�5����

� ��� 067'689:

Of the total 29,337 kmlength of projects, only

8,632 kms length of projectshas been awarded and 1,040kms length of projects havebeen appraised so far under theBharatmala Project phase-1which is targeted to be com-pleted by 2021-22. TheDetailed Project Report for alength of 19,665 kms is stillunder preparation stage whenonly two years are left as per theschedule fixed for completionof Phase-I. Taking note of slowpace of work, a parliamentarycommittee on transport,tourism and culture asked theGovernment to examine thecauses for delay in constructionof Roads under Phase-I andtake requisite remedial mea-sures expeditiously so as toremove the stumbling blocks inorder to achieve the targetsfixed.

“In the course of exami-nation, it was seen that therewere about 375 projects ofNational Highways includingBharatmala, pending due toreasons like Land Acquisition,forest clearance, utility shift-ing, and contractor issue andso on in various States. Theseincluded projects across thecountry namely in AndhraPradesh, Assam, Bihar,Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat,Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,Jammu & Kashmir,Jharkhand, Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Meghalaya,Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu, Telangana, UttarPradesh, Uttarakhand andWest Bengal. These projectshave surpassed their date ofcompletion and the

Government apparently hasnot reviewed them,” the par-liamentary committee said inits report, which tabled in theParliament on Tuesday.

The Committee notedwith concern that some NHprojects are delayed due tomultiple reasons which inter-alia include poor performanceof contractor, utility shifting,delay in environment/forestclearance, land acquisition,cash flow problem of the con-cessionaire/contractor and soon. Delay in the projects hasresulted in increase in theoverall cost of the projects.

The Committee are con-strained to note that there istime and cost over-run inmany projects of theGovernment. “Amongst them,for example, is the Char-Dham Mahamarg VikasPriyojana - Improvement ofNH Connectivity to Char-Dham (Kedarnath, Badrinath,Yamunotri& Gangotri) in theState of Uttarakhand, foun-dation stone of which was laidin December, 2016 by theHon’ble Prime Minister. Itwas initially targeted for com-

pletion by March 2020, but theCommittee was informed thatit has been delayed due to lit-igation relating to forest andenvironment clearance in var-ious 63 courts and the exactdate of completion of the pro-gramme depends on the finaloutcome of the case,” thereport said.

The Committee also rec-ommended that 4-laning ofPune-Nashik (NH-60), Pune-Tamhini-Mangaon-Diveagar(NH-756), Hadapsar-Saswad-Jejuri-LonandPhaltan-Mohol(NH-965), Patas-Baramati-Akluj-Tondale (NH-65G) and6-laning of Pune-Solapur(NH-65), Kolhapur toVaibhavwadi-Vijaydurg underBharatmala and Alibaug toSindhudurg coastal NationalHighway in the State ofMaharashtra, extension ofPatna-Areraj road to Bettiah,Ramgarhwa and Raxaul inthe State of Bihar, road con-necting Anmod at the borderof Goa to Londa, widening ofSundar Bani-Seri-Jangar-LamRoad in Rajouri district inJammu be taken up at the ear-liest.

�����������*�5��������(�������������������������������������7����������'.

��������������� 067'689:

On the second anniversary ofthe Pulwama terror strike

on Sunday, dignitaries, filmactors and political leaders led bythe President and the PrimeMinister paid rich tributes to the40 CRPF personnel killed in theattack that days after had alsoprompted Indian Air Force to goacross borders on a “punishingmission”, hitting terror terrorcamps at Balakot in Pakistan.

Remembering the soldierswho died in Pulwama terrorattack, President Ram NathKovind said the nation is com-mitted to eliminating terrorism.“Nation salutes the sacrifice ofour brave soldiers”, he said.

Modi described CRPF‘jawans’ as “exceptional indi-viduals who devoted their livesto the country”.

On February 14, 2019, 40personnel of the Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) were killedafter a suicide bomber rammedan IED-laden truck into a CRPFconvoy. Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammad-executed attacktook place when a convoy of 78buses with 2,500 CRPF person-nel was heading to Srinagarfrom Jammu.

“No Indian can forget thisday. Two years ago, the Pulwamaterror attack occurred. We payhomage to all the martyrs. Weare proud of our security forcesand their bravery will continueto inspire future generations,” hesaid during a public event inChennai.

Former Congress presidentRahul Gandhi also expressed hisgrief by tweeting in Hindi say-ing “tribute to the brave soldiers,who died in the Pulwama terrorattack. A tribute to their fami-lies as the country owes you.”

Actors including AkshayKumar, Varun Dhawan andRajkummar Rao paid tributesand said the country will forev-er remain indebted to the bravehearts. Kumar took to Twitterand shared a picture of themartyrs. “Remembering ourbrave hearts of #PulwamaAttack,we will always remain indebtedfor your supreme sacrifice,” the53-year-old actor tweeted.

Dhawan shared the sameimage on Instagram and cap-tioned “Jai Hind”. Actor KartikAaryan prayed for the familiesof those who were killed in theterrorist attack.

“On this day, two years

back, 40 soldiers sacrificed theirlives for our nation in Pulwamaattack. Prayers for the bravesouls and their families. We’llalways be in debt of yours,” theactor tweeted.

Rest In Power Braveheartsof Pulwama!”, actor Suniel Shettywrote.

While paying homage to theslain soldiers, Vice President MVenkaiah Naidu said he standsin solidarity with the jawans’families.

“I join the nation in payingmy humble tributes to the CRPFpersonnel who were martyred inthe dastardly Pulwama terrorattack. The grateful nation willalways remember their patrio-tism & supreme sacrifice,” theVice President Secretariat tweet-ed quoting Naidu.

Union home minister AmitShah said that the slain soldiers’sacrifice will never be forgotten.“I bow down to the brave mar-tyrs who lost their lives in thegruesome Pulwama attack onthis day in 2019. India willnever forget their exceptionalcourage and supreme sacrifice,”Shah tweeted.

“Entire nation stands unit-ed against terrorists “, said theDefence Minister.

BJP president JP Naddaalso remembered the sacrificeof CRPF personnel.

“India will always remem-ber their martyrdom. Weshould all unite to completelyend terrorism from its veryroots,” Nadda said on Twitter.

Days after the attack, theIndian Air Force on February26 carried out multiple aerialstrikes at JeM terror camps inPakistan’s Balakot, killing a“large number” of terroristsand destroying their infra-structure.

On its part, the CRPFtweeted “‘We did not forget, wedid not forgive”. The CRPFrenewed its resolve to end ter-ror saying they have not for-given or forgotten the grue-some attack.

“Be brave enough to die asmartyr”’, said BJP MP and for-mer test player GautamGambhir and asked people tobe “brave enough to die thedeath of a martyr” as he paidhis tributes. Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwaloffered “heartfelt homage” tomartyrs, while Union MinisterSmriti Irani said: “Salute tobrave sons of mother India”.

%��&'%#'�����������������%���������������������( � ��� 067'689:

The Centre on Sunday saidthat India has been record-

ing a steady decline in thenumber of daily new deathssince October 1, 2020, whilethe national recovery rate isamongst the highest in theworld. Now the17th most-affected country by active cases,fourth by fatality, and secondby total and recovered cases,India has added 78,577 cases inthe past 7 days.

“Since 1st October 2020,the nation has seen an unabat-ed decline in Case FatalityRate. The Case Fatality Ratetoday stands below 1.5 (1.43%).With only 92 people suc-cumbing to the deadly coron-avirus disease, India’s CaseFatality Rate is one of the low-est in the world,” the UnionHealth Ministry said.

The recoveries have surgedto 1,06,11,731 with 11,016patients getting discharged ina span of 24 hours. “India’sCovid-19 recovery rate of 97.31per cent is amongst the high-est in the world. The differencebetween the recovered andactive cases has grown to1,04,74,164 as on date,” theministry highlighted. Till date,the cumulative number ofhealthcare and frontline work-ers vaccinated against Covid-19in the country has surpassed 82lakhs.

A total 82,63,858 benefi-ciaries have been vaccinatedthrough 1,72,852 sessions, asper the provisional report till 8am on Sunday. These include59,84,018 HCWs (1st dose),23,628 HCWs (2nd dose) and22,56,212 FLWs (1st dose).The 2nd dose of Covid-19 vac-cination started on Saturday forthose beneficiaries who havecompleted 28 days after receiptof the 1st dose. As on Day-29of the vaccination drive(February 13), a total of2,96,211 beneficiaries receivedvaccination. Out of which,2,72,583 beneficiaries were vac-cinated across 8,071 sessionsfor 1st dose and 23,628 HCWsreceived 2nd dose of vaccine.

“The country is witnessinga progressive increase in thevaccination day by day,” theministry said adding 68.55 percent of total vaccinated bene-ficiaries are from 10 states.

It said 81.58 per cent of thenew recovered cases areobserved to be concentrated in6 States. Kerala has reported themaximum number of singleday recoveries with 5,835 newlyrecovered cases. A total of1,773 people recovered inMaharashtra in a span of 24hours followed by 482 in TamilNadu.

:�� ������� ������������ �� �+�" �������

� ��� 067'689:

The Indian Consulate inDubai has issued an advi-

sory asking Indian expatriatesbased there to avoid visitingthe mission for consular ser-vices and instead use onlinemeans like a WhatsApp num-ber, email or a helpline num-ber to check the spread ofCovid-19. A section of the 2.6million Indians, many ofthem also engaged in blue col-lar jobs, based there are, how-ever, concerned over themove as a visit to the missionis necessitated only when theonline means are exhausted.

“Members of the Indiancommunity who wish to visitthe Consulate for any con-sular services are advised toavoid such visits unlessabsolutely necessary. Theyshould, instead, make use ofthe various electronic plat-forms of fered by theConsulate without having tophysically visit the office,”the mission said in the advi-sory issued on Thursday onTwitter.

Being the largest expatri-ate community, it is theresponsibility of all the Indiannationals residing in the UAEto str ict ly comply withCOVID preventive measuresand guidelines issued by theUAE health authorities from

time to time suchas wearing facemasks at all times,maintaining socialdistancing andavoid public gath-erings, it furthersaid.

Many of theexpatriates thereare labourers and

will now be left with no griev-ance redressal mechanismwhen online mechanisms arenot able to resolve their issues,a PIO settled in UAE said,adding why would a personvisit the consulate if all theissues are settled online.

Another expat who didnot wish to be identified saidit is illogical to restrict theIndians from visiting the con-sulate in the name of pre-venting Covid-19. There arealways means to regulate theflow of visitors to a place andinstead a home service shouldbe launched to cater to suchIndians who are under anykind of distress or an emer-gency due to lack of consularaccess, he further said, addingthe rich and mighty cannothave exclusive access to theconsulate.

The Indian mission housesa help centre for distressedIndians –Pravasi BharatiyaSahayata Kendra (PBSK), thatruns a 24x7 toll free helplinenumber 800 46342 of PBSKthere are cases wherein physicalinteraction is also required toresolve the issues, the expats said.

Other online options toconnect to the mission are send-ing emails [email protected] or sendmessages on a WhatsApp num-ber +971-54-3090571 besidesusing the PBSK Dubai MobileApplication.

���)�4'��2,4-���6��-

�������%��������������������*��!��(�������������������������������

� ��� 067'689:

The Indian MedicalAssociation (IMA) on

Sunday announced a masspetition movement fromFebruary 15 to March 31 toprotest against a CentralCouncil of Indian Medicinenotification that authorisespost-graduate practitioners inspecified streams of ayurvedato perform general surgicalprocedures. The IMA said thatthis notification will lead to“mixopathy” and demandedits immediate withdrawal.

The IMA had held a pan-India relay hunger strike fromFebruary 1-14 on the issue.

The “impractical, unsci-entific and unethical notifica-tion” should be immediatelywithdrawn, it said in a state-

ment, adding that besides thepetition movement, it will alsospread awareness among thepeople on the notification.

The IMA also said that itwill submit a list of 1,000modern medicine doctorswilling to serve in remoteareas of the country to counterthe false claim of lack of doc-tors.

“All IMA members, allspecialty organisations, allmodern medicine students,all women doctors across thecountry will educate peopleabout this retrograde andunscientific mixing of differ-ent systems of healthcare. Allmodern medicine hospitalswill promote the importanceof scientific ethical surgicalexpertise,” the doctors’ bodysaid.

The IMA also announcesnon-cooperation movement“henceforth in which modernmedicines surgeons and anes-thesiologists shall not cooper-ate with AYUSH personstraining and performingsurgery”, it said.

The doctors’ body hasbeen opposing the notificationby Central Council of IndianMedicine, a statutory bodyunder the Ministry of AYUSH(Ayurveda, Yoga andNaturopathy, Unani, Siddhaand Homoeopathy).

The notification authoris-es post-graduate practitionersin specified streams ofAyurveda to be trained to per-form surgical procedures suchas excisions of benign tumours,amputation of gangrene, nasaland cataract surgeries.

�#+���*�$�����$�����������������!+����������������������������������!���

����� 067'689:

The All India MuslimPersonal Law Board has

moved the Supreme Courtagainst a plea seeking layingdown of “gender and religionneutral” uniform grounds toaward maintenance andalimony in matrimonial dis-putes as per internationalconventions and Constitution.

The Board has opposedthe plea filed by advocateand BJP leader AshwiniKumar Upadhyay which alsoseeks directions to the gov-ernment to take appropriatesteps to remove the prevailing anomalies in thegrounds of maintenance andalimony, and make them uni-form for all citizens withoutdiscrimination.

“The applicant would liketo submit that the expression

and ‘Custom and Usage’ inArticle 13 of the Constitutiondoes not include faith of a reli-gious denomination embed-ded in personal laws,” the All India Muslim PersonalLaw Board (AIMPLB) pleasaid.

“The constituent assemblywas aware of the distinctionbetween ‘personal law’ and the‘Custom and Usage’ and chose

advisedly to exclude person-al law and include Customand Usage in Article 13 of theConstitution,” it said whileseeking impleadment in thepetition filed by Upadhyay.

The AIMPLB opposed Upadhyay’s plea onthe basis that personal lawscannot be tested on the anvilof Articles 14, 15, 21 and 44 ofthe Constitution.

�)#%*��(�� +�������������$�������������������������!�'������

����!�!��������� ��!��!���8�*�)�5��$������������������������3���!�)�������+�����

Page 5:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

�������.:�������������������� ���������� !"�#$#

Kurnool (AP): Fourteen peo-ple, including eight womenand a child, were killed andfour others injured when amini bus collided with a lorryin Kurnool district of AndhraPradesh early on Sunday, policesaid.

The incident took place ataround 4 am when a group ofpeople hailing from Chittoor district of thestate were travelling in themini bus towards Hyderabad,a senior police official toldPTI.

They were all on their wayto Ajmer in Rajasthan, headded.

Preliminary investigationsuggests that the driver of thebus apparently lost control andthe vehicle first crashed againstthe road median and thenrolled to the other side of the

road hitting a lorry, the officialsaid.

The injured have been hos-

pitalised and the condition oftwo is stated to be serious,police said. Agencies

,-$�����'-����������������������������

�������������������!������������������������������������������������$���������*������9��������'7��!���������������9�!$��)������:�����������������������������+����� ����)��������������������! ��

����� ������ � +9600�:

Along pending demand of theDevendra Kula Vellalar com-

munity to delist from theScheduled Caste and put them inthe Other Backward Communitywould soon become a reality,according to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

Addressing a public meetingat the International IndoorStadium at Chennai on Sundayafter laying foundation stonesfor various development schemesin the State including a DiscoveryCentre for the Indian Institute ofTechnology-Madras, the PrimeMinister declared that the longpending demand of the DevendraKula Vellalar community wouldsoon become a reality. “The lawwhich meets this demand wouldbe introduced in the Parliamentwhen it meets the next time,” saidModi.

The demand of PuthiyaTamilakam, representing thescheduled caste community was

to merge the seven sub sectsPallar, Kudumbar, Pannadi,Kaaladi, Kadayar, DevendraKulataar and Vadhiriyaar andrename the integrated entity asDevendra Kula Vallalar, accordingto Dr Krishnasami, party presi-dent.

The Prime Minister said inhis speech that the DevendraKula Vellalar was a communityin search of its original identity.He remembered the meeting hehad with the representatives of thecommunity sometime back inChennai. “Their craving for thereclamation of their original iden-tity was discernible and I hadassured them that the demandwould be considered favourably,”said Modi.

According to Dr Krishnasami,the DKV constituted eight percent of the Tamil Nadu populationwhich means that there were 90lakh members belonging to thecommunity.

The DKV leaders had askedthe State and Centre to delist them

from the status of ScheduledCaste and they be included in theOBC list. “It was a travesty of his-tory that a community which wasexperts in wet-land farming wasdispossessed of their land and list-ed as scheduled caste by the colo-nial Britishers. Sreenivasan Pillai,the then leader of our communi-ty had written to the Britishadministrators that we were cul-turally and traditionally differentfrom Adi-Dravidar,” said DrKrishnasami who also disclosedthat because of the poor financialstatus of the community , theycould not travel to London toargue their case.

He said the stigma attached tothe community could be removedonly after it was delisted from theScheduled Caste and incorporat-ed in the list of OBC. Accordingto Dr Krishnasami, hundreds ofthousands of DKV had beenforced to get converted intoChristianity because of the harass-ment meted out to the communitymembers by caste Hindus.

��������6����<�������� �������5���������������������('�����"������� ���10�

New Delhi: On the occasion ofsecond death anniversary oflate Malti Mohinder Singh, theinspiration and guide to teach-ers in the field of education, itwas resolved to follow the pathalways paved by them.

Tributes were paid to thelate Malati Mohinder Singh onher second death anniversarywith devotional songs held atthe Sri Sathya Sai InternationalCenter in New Delhi. FormerUnion Minister for Womenand Child Development, SmtManeka Sanjay Gandhi whilepaying tribute to the late Smt.Malti Mohinder Singh andsaid that the path paved bythem will always be exem-plary for all of us. FormerHaryana Chief Minister OmPrakash Chautala, ShriDevendra Singh, IAS,Additional Chief Secretary,Government of Haryana, Dr.

Sonia Rajesh Khullar and otherdignitaries paid homage paid tolate Malti Mohinder Singh.

It is noteworthy that inthe way to encourage andhonor teachers, MaltiGyanpeeth Awards were start-ed in the year 2013 in Punjab.

Under the Malti JnanpithAwards the best 15 teachers ofstate and government aidedhigh schools and senior sec-ondary schools of Punjab aregiven award of Rs. 01 lakh foreach every year.

%� ������ �������1��� 1�� ����������������������� "������

Amaravati: Being held underthe Covid shadow, the ongoingpanchayat polls in AndhraPradesh are witnessing thesame colour, theatrics andhuman interest stories thataccompany elections in India atall levels.

Though there was uncer-tainty whether the polls to therural local bodies would beheld as announced by the StateElection Commission, theSupreme Court's dismissal ofthe state government's appealto defer them led to the fourphase elections kick off.

As the polls are midway,some interesting aspectsinclude village volunteers con-testing polls, a contestant wear-ing a gown to campaign, sib-lings testing electoral watersand alcohol and moneyallegedly being distributed asusual. In Nellore district, twosiblings are contesting but fordifferent panchayats.

Piduru Venugopal Reddycontested the election InNellurupalli village while hisyounger sister SannareddyRajani fought for the Nellaballipanchayati.

In Vizianagaram district, agovernment official's mother isin the fray. Krishna DistrictJoint Collector LothetiSivashankar's mother LothetiKrishnaveni filed her nomina-tion for the sarpanch's post inSrungavarapukota village.

A good number of villageand ward volunteers are con-testing, and a few have alsowon.

Three former village vol-unteers managed to win theSarpanch posts inVisakhapatnam district.Ainampudi Bhaskar Raju wonin Melipaka, Padmarekha inMangalapuram and KarakaRajyalakshmi inJamadulapalem.

Subhalekha, a former vil-

lage volunteer fromMuthyalacheruvu village inAnanthapur district's Kadirimandal, has filed her nomina-tion for the sarpanch post andso did three others. However,all three withdrew them,recognising the serviceSubhalekha rendered as a vol-unteer, enabling her to winunanimously. A young Russia-educated doctor contested theSarpanch election in Gunturdistrict recently.

Jada Jitin Dev, who wasworking as a doctor in Gunturtown, sought to test his elec-toral prospects in his villageGopalamvaripalem.

In Guntur district'sPedakurapadu village ofKrosuru mandal, formersarpanch, PicchayyaChowdary, donned the garb ofSatyaharischanduru, a mytho-logical character to campaignand propel JangaSoubaghyalakshmi's electoral

prospects for the sarpanchpost.

Meanwhile, Gundepudivillage in Krishna district hasemerged as one of the smallestpanchayats in fray during thesecond phase of electionswhich happened on Saturday.

Gundepudi separated fromPolukonda panchayati in 1956.It is 20 km far away fromNandiwada, with a populationof just 196 people, out of which150 are voters.

Among these 150, 74 weremen and 76 women. Despitebeing one of the smallest pan-chayats, the village hasn't seenunanimous elections until now,though bigger villages with farlarger populations were goingfor unanimous polls.

Setting an example thatcome what may one mustalways keep fighting, a contes-tant in Guntur district straight-away went from the hospital tofile her nomination papers.

Eluru Aruna was sufferingfrom an ailment related to thenerves. She even had to be puton a ventilator but on the lastday of nominations and in abetter condition after treat-ment, she drove down toChamallamudi office to file herpapers.

As she reached the office,the poll officials, empathisingwith her, went to her car to takeher papers.

In East Godavari district'sKadiyam village, famous forhorticulture, a 92-year-oldwoman mustered all herstrength to personally visit theoffice and file nomination fora ward member's post.

In a peculiar development,a panchayat election contestantat Gummalaxmipuram inVizianagaram district literallywore his election symbol -- agown -- to impress upon thevoters to cast their vote in hisfavour. IANS +������������������������������!���$��*������ ��*������������������#��������������*�������������� ��

=�� 5�����"���&��"����������������5����3��!������ !�5����������

Jammu: J&K saw 73 newCovid cases on Sunday while65 patients were dischargedfrom different hospitals afterrecovery during the last 24hours.

An official bulletin saidthat of the new cases, 15 werefrom the Jammu division and58 from the Kashmir divisionwhile of the recovered patients,16 were from the Jammu divi-sion and 49 from the Kashmirdivision.

So far, 125,341 people havebeen infected with coronavirusin J&K out of which 122,768have recovered, while 1,951people succumbed, includingtwo on Sunday.

The number of active casesis now 622 out of which 160 arefrom the Jammu division and462 from the Kashmir division. IANS

?J���+�" ������ �4O�

Itanagar: Army troops successfullydoused a major forest fire inArunachal Pradesh's Dibang Valleydistrict along the China border, offi-cials said on Sunday.

Defence spokesman Lt Col P.Khongsai said that troops of theSpear Corps extended immediateand critical help to the civil adminis-tration in dousing the major forest firenear Anini in Dibang Valley.

“The forest fire broke out atKoylabasti and Anini on Thursdaynight and soon engulfed the sur-rounding mountain ridges. In a quickresponse to the developing situation,the units of the local formation quick-ly deployed three response columnsand immediately took charge of thesituation. It took the Army and localadministration almost 11 hours todouse the forest fires,” he said.

Khongsai said the well-coordi-nated and timely response by theArmy averted a major disaster and

saved lives and property. The localauthorities and members of civiladministration lauded the IndianArmy's effort in averting a majortragedy in the area.

Last month, the Army, Indian AirForce, National and State DisasterResponse Force, local volunteers andadministration jointly doused a majorwildfire in the famous Dzukou Valleyon Nagaland-Manipur borders aftertwo weeks of battle.

The forest fire caused huge dam-age to the flora and fauna, forest andenvironment of the Dzukou Valley,which is one of the 10 most beautifulplaces in the mountainous northeastIndia.

The Dzukou valley, situated at analtitude of 2,452 metres above the sealevel and 30 km from Nagaland cap-ital Kohima, is also a sanctuary for theendangered Blyth's tragopan -Nagaland's state bird - and otherspecies of birds and animals. IANS

������������������������� �������+� �������� ����������

Mathura: Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath, on Sundaymet saints and seers in Vrindavantown and assured them of the devel-opment of the Braj region. “The gov-ernment is working in tandem withthe religious leaders for the develop-ment of this region. We will take thisregion to the global level,” he said whileaddressing saints.

He said that after Independence,the governments had not worked forreligious tourism.”The KashiVishwanath corridor work is beingdone under the guidance of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. The KumbhMela in Prayagraj is another exampleof development of religious tourism.Ayodhya is also coming up as a worldclass city,” he said.

Yogi Adityanath said he had set upthe Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad and var-ious developmental projects werebeing taken up.The Chief Minister alsovisited the famous Banke Bihari tem-ple and offered prayers. IANS

;�!����������������������������7��2���!���

Lucknow: Six students of B.A. (Hons) finalyear in Lucknow University (LU) havelaunched 'Mission Zindagi', an online blooddonor group, to extend a helping hand topeople facing medical emergency.

The students are creating online data-base of students, teachers and staff who areregular donors or are keen to donate andcoordinate to make donors available to theneedy.Group coordinator, Devansh KrishnaSrivastava, said: “We have created a link,'Mission Zindagi', on the website where inter-ested people may register themselves by pro-viding their details and suitable time fordonation. A registered donor closest to thepatient's location will be alerted for help.”

“Any resident who requires blood maygo to the Lucknow University website wherecontact numbers of 'Mission Zindagi' mem-bers are available. They can call our team andwe will provide help at the earliest,” he added.

The biggest benefit of the initiative is thatit would save time and help save lives.

“Students will receive calls and coordi-nate blood donation round the clock. Moremembers from all undergraduate and post-graduate courses will be added later,” he said.

Other members of group are MangeshKumar Vishwakarma, Ayushi Tripathi,Shivangi Srivastava, Utkarsh Chitranshiand Sriya. IANS

Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh): A 16-year-old girlwas allegedly thrown off a terrace after afailed rape attempt by two of her neigh-bours, police said on Sunday.

The two pushed the girl down whenthey saw her father enter the house,alleged the family.The girl has suffered sev-eral fractures and internal injuries, said herfather while lodging a complaint with thepolice in Jahanabad area.

Harish Vardhan Singh, Station HouseOfficer (SHO), said the accused, identifiedas Arvind and Mahendra, have beenbooked under IPC section 354 (applyingforce to a woman with intent to outrage hermodesty), 504 (intentional insult) and 323(causing hurt), besides provisions of theSC/ST Act and the POCSO Act.

The police have set up teams to arrest

the two youths who are now absconding.According to reports the incident took

place on Saturday.The minor's father alleged that he

found his daughter missing from herroom. On searching, he discovered themobile phone of the key accused, a 21-year-old youth who resides in the neighbour-hood.He went to the youth's house toenquire about the whereabouts of hisdaughter. He claimed he was just in timeto prevent them from sexually assaultinghis daughter.

The two youths allegedly abused him,making casteist remarks against him. Theythen threw his daughter off the roof.

When she regained consciousness,she narrated her ordeal, saying the duo hadtried to outrage her modesty. IANS

4�����!��&����������� ����������������������

8������2��� �������������������������&����

Lucknow: With the exit of Suheldev BhartiyaSamaj Party (SBSP) from the alliance with theBJP last year, the Yogi Adityanath Governmenthas now chalked out an elaborate plan to com-memorate the contribution of MaharajaSuheldev in national integration and reach outto the Rajbhar community.

According to the government spokesman,various programmes will be organised acrossthe state and a grand memorial will also be builtat Chittaura in Bahraich where a huge statueof Raja Suheldev, who is revered by the back-ward Rajbhar community in eastern UttarPradesh, will be installed.

The event to mark the birth anniversarycelebration on February 16 will be addressedvirtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This is the first time that the governmentis celebrating Suheldev's anniversary.

“While the Prime Minister will addressthe programme virtually, Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath will be in Bahraich and isexpected to announce major projects forBahraich and Shravasti. Among other pro-jects, the memorial of Suheldev in the mid-dle of Chittaura Lake will also get a facelift.Earlier, BJP had issued a postal ticket and alsoannounced a train in his memory,” thespokesman said.

The programmes will also include poetryrecitation by renowned poets followed by light-ing of 1.25 lakh 'diyas' and other cultural events.

Bahraich district magistrate, ShambhuKumar, said: “The state government hasdecided to organise the Maharaja Suheldevbirth anniversary programmes across thestate. The chief minister will visit Bahraich, thebirth place of Maharaja Suheldev, and inau-gurate the ceremony.”

He further said, “The Basic ShikshaAdhikari (BSA) has been entrusted with the

responsibility of lighting 1.25 lakh diyas.”BSA Dinesh Kumar Yadav said at least 300

people had been engaged for the work.The move is apparently designed to

appease the Rajbhar community, which con-stitutes around 17-18 per cent of the popula-tion in the Purvanchal region.

The Chief Minister has issued directives tohold events to mark Suheldev's birth anniver-sary at the memorials of martyrs in all districts.

An officer in the state tourism departmentsaid the government would expand Chittauraas a tourist spot and a memorial would be builtwhich would have a meeting hall with the seat-ing capacity of 2,000 people. The memorialwould be built on 82 bighas of land belongingto the royal family of Payagpur.

Availability of land was the biggest obsta-cle for the construction of Maharaja SuheldevMemorial. Most of the land here is owned bythe Payagpur royal family.

Raja Yashuvendra Vikram Singh has beenappointed the lifetime vice-president ofMaharaja Suheldev Memorial Committeewhile the Bahraich district magistrate wouldbe the honorary president.

“The temple of Maharaja Suheldev wasbuilt by Raja Virendra Vikram Singh of theroyal family and his father Raja Yadvendra Singh has been the president of thetemple,” Raja Yashuvendra Vikram Singh said.

Suheldev was a legendary king of Shravasti(in present day north-eastern Uttar Pradesh)who is known to have defeated and killed theGhaznavi general, Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud,in Bahraich in the early 11th century.

Raja Suheldev finds mention in 'Mirat-i-Masudi', a 17th century Persian-language his-torical account.According to the legend,Suhaldev was the eldest son of King Mordhwajof Shravasti. IANS

Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh): AnArmy personnel, on a visit to hishome, was attacked and killed byunidentified miscreants. His bodywas found on Saturday with severehead injuries in his car from theNeem Sarai area here.

Police have registered an FIRagainst unidentified assailants and awoman, who was with the army manin his car at the time of the incident.

Police have detained the womanand are also looking into her allega-tion that she was gang-raped by theassailants.Reports said the armyhavildar's blood-stained body wasfound by his family members on theinformation given by the woman.

They rushed him to the MilitaryHospital in Prayagraj, where the doc-tors declared him dead.

Superintendent of Police (City)Dinesh Kumar Singh said, “The 38-year-old victim, identified asAshutosh Kumar Singh, was a resi-dent of Mahendra Nagar underDhumanganj police station. He wasworking on the post of havildar inthe Indian Army and was posted atUdhampur in Jammu and Kashmir.He had come home on leave a fewweeks back and was set to returnback soon.”

His father Ashok Kumar Singhinformed the police that Ashutoshleft home on Friday night on someerrand. Later that night, Ashutosh'swife received a call on her mobilephone from a woman who informedher that Ashutosh was seriouslyinjured and that his car was parked

at a ground in Neem Sarai area. Thefamily members soon rushed to thesite and found him with severeinjuries.

The woman informed the vic-tim's kin that she was accompanyingAshutosh to check on a plot of landwhen they decided to buy momosbut lost the way and ended up atNeem Sarai.

Suddenly, they were interruptedby a few men who were blocking theroad and this led to an argumentwith Ashutosh when he asked themto give way for the car to pass.

The men attacked Ashutoshwith bricks causing him seriousinjuries on the head.

The SP said that on the com-plaint of the family members, an FIRhas been registered against thewoman who was accompanyingAshutosh and unidentified miscre-ants in connection with the crime.

“We have detained the youngwoman named by the family mem-bers in the FIR. During questioningshe first claimed that the unidenti-fied miscreants also tried to rape her.However, she later changed herstatement and claimed that she hadbeen gang-raped. In the light of herconflicting statements, we are gettinga medical examination of the womanconducted and have also sent herclothes for forensic examination,” headded. “The body of the victim hasbeen sent for a post-mortem exam-ination. Efforts are now on to iden-tify and arrest the miscreants,” thepolice official said. IANS

���������������������������� �������������!$

� ��� 8 +�0;7

Over 80 orphans from the Saadatganj orphanage ofthe All India Shia Orphanage in Lucknow and peo-

ple from the minority community donated more thanRs 1.5 lakh for the construction of the Ram temple.

The donations ranged from Rs 1,100 to Rs 10 andRs 100. Former chairman of Shia Waqf Board, WasimRizvi, said: “Such an initiative will send a message of unityto those who work to divide people in the name of reli-gion.”

RSS executive member, Indresh Kumar, said a newchapter of mutual harmony would be written with theconstruction of the Ram temple.

The Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust isconducting a mass contact and fund-raising campaignfrom January 15 till February 27 for the construction ofthe grand temple in Ayodhya.

Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra SecretaryChampat Rai was quoted as saying: “The accounts of thetrust in three nationalized banks show an amount of overRs 1,000 crore. Nearly 1.50 lakh VHP activists are col-lecting funds for the Ram temple. 37 activists have beendeputed to deposit the donations in the bank accounts.

>#�(!������!��������������5����2���/�����

Meerut (UP): Three persons have been arrest-ed in Meerut for allegedly manufacturing and sell-ing fake high security registration plates (HSRP).

In a surprise raid on the intervening nightof Friday/Saturday in Mohanpuri area, thepolice recovered about 400 finished plates andmore than 300 'empty' ones on which numberwas yet to be written.

Abdul Rehman Siddiqui, station in-charge ofCivil Lines police station said: “We have arrest-ed manufacturing unit owner, Tanuj Agarwal, hisassociate Shriram and a seller named SandeepKumar who was picked up from Gurdwara Roadand possessed at least 18 fake plates. Police aresearching for fourth associate Mohd Wasim. Wehave also seized machines and equipment, including hydraulic press, fake holo-grams, dye, etc. used to make these fake num-ber plates.”

During questioning, the accused haverevealed that machinery, plates and equipmentwere brought from Delhi and were being sold tovarious shop owners that claimed to provide thehigh security number plate to prospective buy-ers who had no idea that the plate was fake. IANS

%�������������!$��������������&�#$

9����4������� ���������(�!���������������5������������2�;�!���

Page 6:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

therefore, had to enter theAssembly. He could haverequested an MLA to give uphis seat. But instead of doingthat, he chose not to disturbanyone; there was a VidhanParishad seat vacant which heused to become an Assemblymember. In 2001, whenNarendra Modi was in a sim-ilar situation in Gujarat, hecould not do the same. Therebeing no Vidhan Parishad inhis State, Modi had to getelected from an Assemblyseat vacated by an MLA.

Having been a memberof the Rajya Sabha, I foundthat the level of debates anddiscussions was, on thewhole, more sober andmature than in the LokSabha. Generally, the speak-ers in the Upper Houseensured that they had stud-ied and reflected on the sub-ject they spoke on whereas,in the Lok Sabha, moremembers spoke off the cuff;most of them had spent timein their constituencies overthe weekend. Many of themregularly left Delhi on Fridayafternoons, if not onThursday evenings, to returnon Monday mornings. TheRajya Sabha members couldafford to spend the weekends

in Delhi and read up beforespeaking the following week.

The Communist partieshad a commendable system;most of their Upper Housemembers spent the weekendsin Delhi. They not only stud-ied the contemporary sub-jects but also collected theBills coming up for debateand passed on their notes totheir Lok Sabha colleagues. Ioffered to organise a smallsecretariat at my cost for allmy party members so that allof us could be better preparedfor discussions. Being inpower after long and with alenient leadership, the gener-al mood in the party was oneof overconfidence. Littlewonder then that the 2004general election was lost ona manifesto which projected“India shining”. To everyIndian shining, there werecitizens not shining.

In India, our constituen-cies are large and the votersare much more varied than,say, in western countries.Moreover, our diversitymakes it useful for theMembers of Parliament andeven Assemblies to knowother parts of the country.The Upper House memberswould have the leisure to do

this kind of work during theweeks when the House doesnot sit. The Lower Housemembers cannot normallyhave much leisure; their focushas to be on their own voters.If the legislators do not taketheir knowledge side seri-ously, they would yield help-lessly to the dominance of theExecutive or the Ministers.

It is for the political parties to realise and decidewhether they wish to makeserious use of the UpperHouse or exploit it for theirconvenience. But, truly, these chambers can be usefulas knowledge-cum-wisdombanks for the parties as well as for the country. Theycan help raise the quality of politics.

Getting elected by lakhsof people is related to popu-larity or, at least, acceptabil-ity whereas knowledgedepends on education andexperience. Both are neces-sary virtues; the Lower Housemore for the party while theUpper House more for thecountry in the long run, ifused wisely.

(The writer is a well-known columnist and anauthor. The views expressedare personal.)

)�������� �������������������������(����������������������� ��������������������� ������������������������������������*��������(�������+����������������������������������� ����� ���������� �

#�������������� ����������������������������������������������!����%������������������������ ������������������������������������������*������������������������������������������������ �����"�������������� ������������������������� ������������������ ����������

����,����������-�������������������������������������������� ���������.������������������������������������������������������������� .���������������� �����������������������������*������������� ���������������������������������������������� ������������� �/����"��������������������������������&����������� ����������� �������������������������������������������������������������

����� �����������"������������������������������������������������������������� �����������������#����(����������������������������������������(

��� ����������� ���� ������������������������������������������(����������������������������������������������������������#��������"���������������� ���������������%��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(�����������01���������������� ���������������������02��������������������������������� ������������������������������� ������������������������������������������ ���0��������������������������������������������0)�������%����������������������������� �������������������������0#�������������"����������������������������������������������� ��*����/���������3����� ��%���� �������������������������������������������2�������#������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������"��������������� �3����������������� %)������%������������������������������������������������������������������

/����������������������������������4)5/�(67����������������#���������������������8����� 69���:;�9:�;6<�����������������67�==�:=9�����(��������������������������>����� 6?�)��/��������������������������

�������������������������������������������������������#�������� �������������������������� �����������������������������������������������������������������+����3����@������ ���>����� 66�������� �����(�6?�7?<�������������?A���������������������������������6=�;B6�?7A�#����6A?�:9?������������6=�:B<�<B?���������/����&����������������6::�<9=����6=;����������������������/������������������������������

������������������������������ ��������������(2�����?=?=�#������������%�������������������������*����3����)�����������,*3)-����������������������������������������������������������&����������������������������8����� �C/�&����������������������������������D!������)�������*3)&�/�����������������������3������������������������������������������������������������>�������������������������������������������������������� ������������E���&�4������������������������������������������������������������������

������#�����������/�������9=������������������������#�2���/���������/����,2//-����������4������������������������������

�����(��������������������������:=���������� 8�� ?=?6�2��� ��2//&���������������������������������������������?=?6�3��������������(�����������������������������������1������������������"������������������������������������������� ���������������������#����������������:?��������������� &�?7�===������������������A=���������"���������������������������2��������&����������������������%����������������������������������������������������������������2���������������"�����������������$����1�����1�����&�4�������������������������������������������������������������2���%��������������������������������������������������� �������������������1������������������������&�����������������4������������������� ���������������� ������������������������������������������ ������������������%����������������������������C��(��(����D������������������ (���������������������������������������������� ��������*���/����������������������������������%�������������������������������������� �1���������������������������� �������������������������

.������������

����������������� ��������������Sir— The Union Home Ministry’s call forcitizens to become “cyber volunteers” andidentify, flag and report illegal, unlawful and“anti-national” online content is perhaps themost brazen and dangerous sign of anattempt to turn our democratic and freesociety into a “surveillance State”.

Though vigilante activities directedagainst individuals, social groups and com-munities have increased in the past fewyears and the Government has ignored andsometimes even patronised these, it wasnot expected of it to move towards settingup a virtual vigilante force. The pilot pro-ject is to be implemented in Jammu andKashmir and Tripura, and then extendedto other States. This will have dangerousconsequences for citizens, as it will cur-tail their rights and will jeopardise free-dom of society. It is illegal as it violatesthe basic tenets of the Constitution whichguarantee freedom of speech and privacyto every individual.

These volunteers will act like secretpolice service agents reporting to theGovernment and its machinery about anypost or comment which they dislike or disp-prove of. Where we are moving? It’s reallya matter of great concern. A time will comewhen these volunteers will dictate terms tothe common man and will assume the roleof courts. They will pronounce judgmentson social media and will lynch anybodythey feel like without any fear. We are build-ing a “Taliban” State.

Shovanlal Chakraborty | Kolkata

� ����������������������������������Sir —In March 2020, international oilprices were raised due to the COVID-19pandemic. The Central Government is nottaking immediate steps to reduce taxes onoil or petroleum. The retail petrol anddiesel rates are governed by internation-al prices. India is 85 per cent dependenton oil imports to meet its needs. Of course,it is well known that Central and Statetaxes account for about 60 per cent of retailprices. But the Union Budget includedpetrol and diesel among those products,

on which a new agricultural structure anddevelopment cess has been imposed.

Fuel prices are increasing time to timein Pakistan and Nepal but in India, rela-tively high rates will trouble the oil con-sumers or end users. By increasing therates of petrol and diesel, the Central andState Governments will generate more rev-enue from taxation. But this will onlyenrage the common people as the pricesof commodities would increase. The oilexpenditure of a farmer who operates var-ious agricultural apparatus and machineslike diesel pumps, generators and so on,will increase but the income will not riseproportionately. Hence the Centre and theState Governments should reconsiderrelaxing the prices keeping in mind theinterests of marginal farmers and commonoil consumers.

Yugal Kishore Sharma | Faridabad

��������������������������������Sir — Parents must stop telling their chil-dren that the attraction they feel towards

the opposite gender is merely infatuationand love has nothing to do with it. Bydoing so they are suffocating their chil-dren, demoralising their spirit and alsodoubting their sense of judgment. Most ofthe parents do it because they think thatin this way they would prevent the youngminds from getting distracted. They areunaware of the fact that by imposing sanc-tions and unnecessary high moral princi-ples on their children, they are actuallymaking them weak from within.

Gradually and slowly, such children willstop discussing their problems with theirparents. The distance between them willincrease which will have adverse conse-quences for the family. Adolescents whohave reached the age of puberty need to beconvinced that their love is real and that ifthey marry for love, then they will have agreat deal of parental support.

Srinivas Reddy |Hyderabad

% � % / � 0 ) � . % � ) 1 2

���'������������'���������������<�� �� �����P =%��'� ��� �����P ������������<�� �� �����<

�������������������� ���������� !"�#$# �

.�

�������������������*����6�&//&�0/�3)��&&�?1.")�84�.�

3�������!���������!���+����������� ��5����������������������5�!����������+�����5���� �!�����&��!����������������

��� � ������ ������������ �������� �������������� ����������� ����������� ��9�������@�� � ������� ����"�� ����

�4�%�()

<���*�!������������������������!����#�!����)������������ + �

%96 ��6$9; �6�9; 8'#6 �6'%;�++;11;'�%6

86�'6$�79;7; 8'1��6+;1�6%60%

1:0:�%6$��0'9�26%;!6%

686+%6'7:%9:0�:F1;0%9�

;�%96:$���;:0%160%#A%96�$:161:0:�%6$;$�+9:6�1:0:�%6$

�����6� �2���;���-4�26

$#��!((�26�-4�2�����������������?�!����'-<�?�@��� �����������������"����������������� �������!������� ������

%�� 1����� #�������,��� %� ������+������� ��������� ������������� ��������������" ������������� ����#4��

%�������������������� �������$���������1����������$� ����1 � ����' ����%� "�� ���������� ���� ���� ���������$������������������������9�����:� ������������������������ �����������������#4�����������

������ �����,���������������������%1+���������������������� �����������������,����%����� ��� ������"�����"�������������%1+���� ��� � � �� ��������������, ��������������� ���� ��������������� � ��������� � "�������

%��#4���� �����������������+���������������� �� �������������7���#����� ���� ���� � ���������9���"��� � ����������� ������� ������� � ��������� �� +� ��1 � ����#�������������" ���������D���������������� ��� ��� � �� �������������,�� �� �������� ����������%�������� ����������������0�������� ������������������� �������������������������� �������������� ������ ����������' � ��� ���������������

%���������� ���� ���������������������#4�&� ���� ��������������������������� �������� ��������������� ��� ���������� �������� ��� ���� �������

�"0(��"���"�("� P���������

�������������� �����! "�����

������:����A�/���"�������������BA

s expressed in thisjournal, others havevoiced, from time totime, doubts about

the utility of the Upper Houseof legislature whether in theStates or at the Centre. Thecause of these doubts is the not-so-infrequent misuse of theRajya Sabha as well as theVidhan Parishads. As SanjayGandhi’s influence grew in the1970s, many of his friendswere lifted into the Rajya Sabha.Fortunately for them, the elec-tion rule-framers prescribedthe minimum age for suchcandidates as 30. Hence, likethe minimum age of 25 yearsfor the Lok Sabha, anyone whowas over 30 years was eligiblefor the Upper House. In manyways, this was the first reasonof misuse.

The Upper House wasnever meant for the youngwoman or man to get into.They, being young and fit,should cultivate the commonfolk, broaden the party baseand, in due course, contest aLok Sabha seat. The youngand raw individuals reflectedon the House discipline as wellas the quality of debates andtheir contribution toParliament. The purpose ofthe Upper House, whether atthe Centre or in States, was theexact opposite: Older, matureindividuals, preferably welleducated who could devotetime to study issues and thenspeak on them in an informedmanner. They may or may notrelate to the common folk of aconstituency, nor perhaps maythe mass voters relate to suchmembers.

The Upper House shouldbe used to accommodate lead-ers who made competentMinisters and had to get elect-ed within six months of theirappointment by the PrimeMinister or a Chief Minister.

One recent example is thatof Yogi Adityanath. He was inthe Lok Sabha when the UttarPradesh Assembly electionswere held in 2017 and he hadnot contested from any con-stituency. Yet he was selected tobe the Chief Minister and,

SOUNDBITE:��K����" ������������ ���������,� "���� ���� ��������� � � �� �� ���������!�"����������� ���� ������,� "�������7������������������"��������

��� �Q������������

%���"��� � ��� �� � �� �� .*.(��� �� ������ �������� �� �������,��� ��� �������&������� �����"����

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

���/(�2�)4"����&0)+&�/Q+�� �$�������

:&�������"���������� �������"�����:&����� " �� ���� ������� ���� � ���0���������:��"�����������������"������ �������������������������� ���������

4/��Q�����������������

%���� ���������� ��������,��� ������ � ������"��� ���� ����������������������!�"���������:�� ��������� ��������������������������

,��.&��*@�� ����Q1�������1���

:� � � ��� �� ����������(**���:��"� ���� ���� �������������� ���%���� � �� �� �����

������ � ���������������������� �)4A&/&��

Q4�����'�� �"�

Page 7:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

.�������������������!������������ ������� ���������

���*����� ����������!���������� ��������� ��������� �������� ������� 8��,���

� ������*�� ������*�!������������ �������8����B�*�� ��� ���� ������ �����

��������*������

�������������,�����������*�� ������� ��������8�������������������������������� ���8��������������������� �,����8�B,�������� ��������� ����������

Among the many challenges that needurgent attention, more so after the COVID-19 pandemic invaded our lives, is housing.

This vital segment needs a scientific and creativeintervention to make it a sustainable proposition.Lack of proper housing is one of the reasons, apartfrom loss of jobs, that led to the mass migrationof labourers from cities to the villages, during theinitial days of the countrywide lockdown. Hence,expanding access to affordable housing is essen-tial not just for equitable development but alsofor social stability.

Looking at the gravity of the issue, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budgetspeech announced the extension of the tax hol-iday on affordable housing projects for one moreyear. The Government has done this to ensureaffordable housing for migrant workers. Theaffordable rental housing projects are part of the‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).’

While we continue to record improvement indealing with poverty, homelessness has eliciteda poor response from our policymakers.Consequently, slums constitute 17 per cent ofurban households in India and in Mumbai theymake up 42 per cent of the households. Theseslum clusters lack necessary amenities like privatetoilets and potable water. A high population den-sity and a weak public healthcare system meanmore susceptibility to COVID-19 and other dis-eases and epidemics. Necessary precautions likesocial distancing to stay safe of the Coronaviruscannot be practised under such deplorable livingconditions that prevail in slums and jhuggi jho-pri clusters.

Human health and well-being depends on arange of interconnected social, economic andphysical factors that impact the environment inwhich we live and sustain ourselves. The key togood housing is to ensure that residents haveaccess to transportation, affordable healthcare,jobs, education as well as other essential services.A decent habitat and shelter can contribute in notjust individual or societal well-being but also havethe potential to catalyse overall economic growth.It is, thus, critical to recognise housing investmentas a basic, fundamental building block of econom-ic activity.

Housing is not a standalone issue and is close-ly intertwined with other factors and lack of sus-tainable housing is often the cause of a slew ofhealth and developmental problems. Poor ven-tilation and the inability to maintain basichygiene are major causes of poor health. Fragilebuilding structures undermine safety and increasevulnerability to disaster. Lack of lighting and spacelimits the ability of children to study. Inadequateprivacy and lack of sanitation contribute to a hostof diseases, hence perpetuating poverty.

For many people in the developing world, theland on which they live is their only asset. If thatproperty is not recognised as legally theirs, theylose out on several social benefits. Land owner-ship is often the bedrock of other developmentinterventions. Owning land boosts nutrition, edu-cational outcomes and gender equality. The con-verse is equally true. Where land security is absentor weak —when men and women do not haverecognised legal rights to their land and can thusbe easily displaced — all other development efforts

go in vain and conflict arises.Many who live in slums have

little or no control over the owner-ship of the property they live upon.The lack of official land titles is amajor impediment to the acquisi-tion of housing finance. People donot have documentary proof ofbeing owners of the land on whichthey live and are, therefore, legallyinsecure.

Many low-income villagershave owned their land for genera-tions but lack formal ownershipdocuments. Hence, they do nothave access to formal financialservices. Once their inhabited landgets formally titled, they couldobtain access to several public ben-efits, including loans.

Traditional housing financehas not been able to offer much helpto people in the low-income group.But a range of financial institutionsare applying good microfinancepractices, thus promoting housing.The increased provision of housingmicrofinance has resulted in safeand healthy housing conditions formillions. Successful housing micro-finance providers have marriedthe core principles of micro-cred-it — peer-based borrower selectionand repayment enforcement, closefollow-up on repayment and so on— with the technical expertiserequired to investigate land owner-ship and other classical housingfinance principles.

This model has been highlysuccessful wherever Governmentsare offering long-term tenancies

and shared-ownership housing.But the sector is still in need of moresustainable business models to getlegitimacy in mainstream finance.

Housing micro-finance caninclude a range of financial servicesthat support improving or upgrad-ing housing such as home repairand expansions, additional cookingspace, water and sanitation services,energy efficiency upgrades, thepurchase of inhabitable land or per-manent structures and the con-struction of new housing.

The demand for housingmicro-finance is high. The clientsare already channelising a goodportion of micro-enterprise loansfor home improvement; micro-entrepreneurs also use their homesas productive assets for generatingincome. A home can be a place tostore inventory, produce goodsand run a business. A home is alsoa personal asset that usually appre-ciates in value over time. Homeimprovement, thus, not onlyenhances living conditions but isalso an investment.

The Government also needs touse creative approaches for makingrental housing a safe option forhouse owners. Its share in overallhousing has been steadily declining.There is clearly a need to replace thecurrent rent control laws withmodern tenancy laws, so as to givefull freedom to tenants and ownersto negotiate the rent and the lengthof the lease.

Rules with respect to evictionalso need to be reformed to restore

the balance between the rights oftenants and the owners.

We need a differently struc-tured and more professional mar-ket rental sector. A model Rent Actis needed to promote rental hous-ing. There should be mutual agree-ment between the landlord and thetenant for a stipulated lease periodprior to which the tenant can’t beevicted and after the expiry of thelease period, the tenant will not bepermitted to continue in the hous-ing unit.

However, rent control laws givetenants so much security that land-lords worry that they may notregain possession of their proper-ty at the end of the lease period.People often leave their propertiesvacant until they get a tenant theyare comfortable with.

It is time the Government putsrental housing to use. Its share inoverall housing has been steadilydeclining. There is a need forreplacing current rent control lawswith a modern tenancy law, whichwould give full freedom to tenantsand owners to negotiate the rentand the length of the lease.

Policymakers, financial institu-tions and housing experts alsoneed to evaluate their current poli-cies, cultures and ways of working.With a thoughtful approach, theycan be better prepared to tackle thishumongous problem. TheGovernment will have to changecourse and shift away from the lega-cy mindset before the problem getsout of hand.

C!���������� �������������� ���������������������������&��!�������5"!������������!������ ���������������������������������� 5������

*�+�,�&�( ����"

1�0A8;7,:0+;162:88�!6$�

9�26;706'%96:$8�0'�;$!606$�%:;0�

# %8�+��;$1�8

;706$�9:�';+ 160%��960+6�%96A';0;%9�26�++6��%;�;$1�8

�:0�0+:�8�6$2:+6��

;0+6%96:$:09�#:%6'8�0'!6%��;$1�88A

%:%86'�%96A+; 8';#%�:0

�++6��%;�626$�8� #8:+

#606�:%��:0+8 ':0!

8;�0�

F������������������������ ������ �#��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������� �������C������D�

C������D�C�������������D�C��������D��������#������������(������ ������������� ��������#������(������ �������C������������� D�������������������������������� ������� (��"����������*��������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������2������� ���� ���������������������������������(����������������������������� ����������������������������(������������������������ ������������������������������� C������D����������������������2����G

���� ������� ���������������������������������� ��(��������������������� ���������������+�����������(��������� ������������� ������������������������������������ �������������� ����������������������������������������F��� ���������������������� �*������ �������� ��������������������������������(����������������������������������������������������(������������� ������������� � �������������������� ������������ ����������>���� ������������������������������������������������������� ���������"���(� �������������

)������� ������������������������������������� �������������������������������������� �����������������������#������������� ������������������� �H����������������������������������������� ������������#���������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������� �������������������#��������������F������������� ����������������������������������#������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ �

1���������� ��� ���������������������������(� �)����������������������������������������I2�J���������,������������������-������������������J��������������������������������� ,�������"������-�#���������������������������� ���������������������������� �������3�������������������� ����������������� �����(������������������������� �������(��������������������������������/����������������������������������C��������D�����������������������(����������������������

#�����&��� ������������������������������������ ������������������ �������������� �����#�����(�������������������������������������������������������������#�������������������������������� ������������������������ ����������������������������������������� �������������������������� �#�����������������������������������������������������������F��� �����������������������������������/��������(�������������������������������� �+����������������(��������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ������������

,�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������-

It seemed innocent enoughat the start: Just a surge inthe number of boys com-

ing to school with notes fromdoctors saying they wereexcused from playing contactsports. But pretty soon highschools all over China werehaving trouble findingenough willing young men tomake up a football team. Itwas around the same timethat attendance at the com-pulsory classes in Marxist-Leninist-Xi-Jinping-Thoughtcrashed. Even when boysstarted talking about theirfeelings and trying to looklike K-Pop stars, people triedto laugh it all off and dubbedthem “little fresh meats.” Butsome far-sighted peopleunderstood that the nation’ssoul was at stake here.

As early as last June, SiZefu, member of the StandingCommittee of the 13thChinese People’s Political

Consultative Conference’sNational Committee andchairman of Harbin ElectricCorporation, was warningthat many of China’s youngmales had become “weak,timid and self-abasing.” Fromnot playing football to notwanting to be an “army hero”is a short, slippery slope.

This “feminisation”, Siharrumphed, “wouldinevitably endanger the sur-vival and development of theChinese nation unless effec-tively managed.” And even ashe spoke, limp-wristed youngmen with flowers in their hairwere spotted lolling about inthe street outside.

Just as Oscar Wilde her-alded the fall of the Britishempire and hippie “peaceand love” caused the US tolose the Vietnam War andstart its long decline, so too,young Chinese men wearingmake-up....Stop! Are you sure

that the Party wants you to godown this particular rhetor-ical road?

Well, okay, maybe notexactly those examples. Butwhat would the veterans ofthe Long March say aboutthese effeminate young girly-men? You can’t turn theminto proper soldiers. Chinawill be easy meat for the firstmanly country that comesalong. Harrumph!

China has a very bigbureaucracy, so it takes awhile for an issue to come tothe top of the pile but by earlythis year it had arrived. It’s notclear if President-for-Life XiJinping took a personal inter-est in the issue but his enthu-siasm for football as a symbolof national strength and man-liness is well-known, so thepolicy-makers knew theywere on a safe track.

The Education Ministrytook the lead, with the pub-

lication of a policy docu-ment last week entitled,‘Proposal to Prevent theFeminisation of MaleAdolescents’. No, really, I swearI’m not making this up.Check it out online.

The document claimsthat China needs to hiremore male teachers to serveas role models (at present fourout of five teachers in urban

areas are women) and “vigor-ously develop” sports likefootball to “cultivate the stu-dents’ masculinity.”

The official Chinese newsagency Xinhua instantly tookup the cause, condemning“androgynous” young men as“slender but weak as wil-lows,” and there was a suspi-ciously instant chorus of sup-port on social media for thenotion that traditional formsof masculinity are the foun-dation of national militarystrength.

It probably sounds freshto an adult generation ofChinese who don’t even knowtheir own country’s real his-tory. To people elsewhere, itsounds like a bunch of early20th Century Englishmen inwing collars declaring that“the battle of Waterloo waswon on the playing fields ofEton.” (No, it wasn’t. It waswon when Blücher’s Prussian

army joined the battle in theafternoon after a forcedmarch.)

It sounds like a bunch oflate imperial claptrap, becausethat’s what it is. Playing foot-ball sometimes makes youbetter at playing football. Itdoes not make you better atdominating foreigners orfighting wars — and why doyou want to do that anyway?It’s, therefore, pleasing toreport that the response inChinese official and socialmedia was far from unani-mously enthusiastic.

“Is feminisation now aderogatory term?” one Weibouser asked and received over200,000 likes, and the People’sDaily, no less, published anopinion piece arguing thatdiversity and tolerance shouldbe encouraged among femi-nine and masculine menalike.

There is probably no

country on Earth where thegenerational divergence ofopinions, especially amongthe male half, is greater thanit is in China. From an almostentirely hierarchical society aslate as the 1980s(Confucianism reinforced bythe ‘democratic centralism’ ofCommunism) to a youngergeneration that is egalitarianand gender-fluid (at least inthe big cities) is one hell of aleap.

It will eventually beresolved, as these things usu-ally are, by the magic of gen-erational turnover. The youngwill outlive the old andbecome the majority. Andhere is the authentic voice ofthe young, summed up in asingle tweet: “There are 70million more men thanwomen in this country. Nocountry in the world hassuch a deformed sex ratio.Isn’t that masculine enough?”

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

�������������������� ���������� !"�#$#

.<���'������������'��� ������������<�� �� �����P =%��'� ��� �����P ������������<�� �� �����<

FIRSTCOLUMN425/� ��25)26

/2/�67+12+/�2 ������������������������ � �� ���������������������������������� � �������

-"�+�=�>4

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The writer is a well-known developmentprofessional. The viewsexpressed are personal.

'!�����������,,5������������)������������+��������������� �����

�.,++/ -?�6

Gwynne Dyer’s new bookis ‘Growing Pains: The

Future of Democracy andWork.’ The

views expressed are personal.

Page 8:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

+�����.@�������������������� ���������� !"�#$#

�62��4'�62��4'�25��

���C�� � ������� �� ���7-���� ��� ��&��)�1/��� 0��R������D��������� ������������� ��������� �������,�������������� �� ������������� �� ��������������� ������ ���"�������������@�� ���������" ���" ��� ���������� ���

*� ������������,����� ����� � ���A>�� 4����������������������"�� ��� ���+�" �,(-"��� ������� � �������������� ��� �� ������� ���� �� ������������������ ����� ������������������� ���4���D�������� � ������ � �������"�����"��� ����,��"����������� ������ 3��:���%�������������������������!�"��������������� ������� ��������� �������������� � ������� ������ �4����������������"��� ���������� ����� � ����������"������������������

�������������,�� ��������� ����)0/)�"� ����"�D�"�������� ������3 ������������������ ����������� ������������� ��������������������"��������� ����������" �������� ���������� ������������������������ �� ���� ������ ��������� ������(�E� �� ���� � ���"�����������������@�������������� �������� �.�5**��� ������ ����%���D������� ��(.*����������������������(�***���� ���������.E�� � ������� ����

������������7��,���� ���C� ��������� � ���D�A"�"� %������"������������ ����(J%��� ��� � 3����������������� �� ��������� ����"������@ ���������:��K����%��� ���������� � ������ ��������9���� ������ �(.�����" �� ���������� ��������������� �������������������������%�������� ���"���� ����!������ ���������%��� ����������� ��������� ����� ���������� ����7������D������

����� 7��9:0!%;0

Donald Trump has told mil-lions of his supporters that

he is ready for yet anotherphase of active public life afterthe US Senate acquitted him inhis second impeachment trial.

Following four days of theimpeachment trial, the 100-member Senate voted toimpeach the former US presi-dent by 57-43 votes, 10 votesshort of the two-thirds major-ity needed for conviction.

Trump, a Republican, is thefirst-ever president to havebeen impeached twice and thefirst president to have facedimpeachment after leavingoffice.

Trump, 74, faced thecharge of incitement of insur-rection over the deadly January6 assault of the US Capitol byhis supporters.

“Our historic, patriotic andbeautiful movement to MakeAmerica Great Again has onlyjust begun. In the monthsahead I have much to sharewith you, and I look forward to

continuing our incredible jour-ney together to achieveAmerican greatness for all ofour people. There has neverbeen anything like it!” Trumpsaid in a statement.

“We have so much workahead of us, and soon we will

emerge with a vision for abright, radiant, and limitlessAmerican future,” Trump, whoreceived 74 million votes in theNovember 3 presidential elec-tion, higher than that of anypresident before him.

While Trump has

remained quiet on his post-presidency life, speculation hasbeen rife that he might run forthe presidency in 2024 orencourage someone from hisfamily to fight out a battle forthe White House.

There is also some talk that

the former president mightpart ways with the RepublicanParty to form his own party.However, there has been no statement on thisfrom Trump.

“Our cherishedConstitutional Republic wasfounded on the impartial ruleof law, the indispensable safe-guard for our liberties, ourrights and our freedoms,”Trump said.

After the end of his termon January 20, Trump flew tohis resort in Palm BeachFlorida, where he has beenstaying since then.

Trump has been bannedfrom almost all the major socialmedia platforms includingTwitter and Facebook.

Meanwhile, severalRepublican leaders slammedthe party’s Senators who votedagainst Trump.

The seven Senators areRichard Burr, Bill Cassidy,Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski,Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse andPat Toomey.

“The Louisiana GOP

immediately censured Sen. BillCassidy, while state party offi-cials in North Carolina andPennsylvania issued sharpstatements expressing disap-pointment over the votes castSaturday by Sens. Richard Burrand Pat Toomey,” Politicoreported.

“The moves are the latest ina series of censures and disci-plinary actions doled out tolawmakers deemed to be crit-ical of the former president inthe wake of the Capitol riot,” itadded.

Republican Senator JohnCornyn said that he had con-cerns about this snap impeach-ment from the start.

“The arguments of theHouse Impeachment Managersthat the Constitution permitsthe impeachment of a privatecitizen, the free speech protec-tions of the First Amendmentdon’t apply, the due processclause of the Fifth Amendmentis optional, and that the trialmay include a presiding officerwho also serves as a juror allwere a bridge too far,” he said.

���������!�����!��(������!�����3�/� /+125 )#%/�+.#/2��+84)���*

����� 9; �%;0

Two Indian-origin experts inpublic service have been

appointed by the Biden admin-istration to key positions atAmeriCorps, the federalagency for volunteering andservice.

Sonali Nijhawan has beennamed Director ofAmeriCorps State andNational, and Sri PrestonKulkarni, 42, was appointed thenew Chief of External Affairs.

Though having run forCongress twice unsuccessfullyin Texas, Kulkarni was certain-ly noticed by the leadership inWashington.

Kulkarni’s appointment,along with Nijhawan and DanKohl, reflects “the Bidenadministration’s commitmentto diverse leadership,” accord-ing to the release byAmeriCorps.

In their roles, these leaderswill use service to support theadministration’s agenda, focus-ing on four of the most urgentchallenges of our time: Covid-19, economic recovery, racialequity, and climate change, theAmeriCorps said.

Kulkarni lost his race forthe Texas District 22 seat in theUS House of Representatives toformer Fort Bend CountySheriff Troy Nehls inNovember as the Democraticnominee in a deeplyRepublican district.

Kulkarni brings a variety ofexperience in service and pub-lic affairs to AmeriCorps,including 14 years as a foreignservice officer with the StateDepartment where he spe-cialised in public diplomacyand worked in public affairsand international informationprogrammes, completing toursin Taiwan, Russia, Iraq, Israel,Jamaica and Washington, thestatement said.

Nijhawan has committedher career to developing lead-ers and growing national ser-vice. Most recently, she devel-oped and served as the execu-tive director of Stockton ServiceCorps, a six-year, USD 12 mil-lion initiative to address localneeds through AmeriCorps.

Her professional back-

ground also includes extensiveexperience in education,AmeriCorps said in a pressrelease.

Inspired by the students,families, and AmeriCorpscommunity she met, she wenton to help found City YearSacramento and launch theorganisation’s 22nd site with 50new AmeriCorps members.

Nijhawan also served as theCalifornia director ofEducation Pioneers where sherecruited, placed, and support-ed managers in urban schoolsystems and education non-profits, empowering people tochallenge the status quo of ourpublic education system.

She earned a bachelor’s ineducation and psychology fromMarquette University and amaster’s in social work from theUniversity of Maryland,Baltimore.

*���������������������������?��������8����������5����������

��� A�0!;0

Vast numbers of people allover Myanmar flouted

orders against demonstrationsand marched again on Sundayto protest the military takeoverthat ousted the elected govern-ment of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Large demonstrations wereheld in the major cities ofYangon, Mandalay and thecapital, Naypyitaw, as well as infar-flung areas dominated byethnic minorities.

Resistance also took placein cyberspace, as a group call-ing itself BrotherHood ofMyanmar Hackers defaced thegovernment’s Myanmar DigitalNews website, replacing con-tent on its home page withwords and pictures against themilitary takeover.

Protesters in Yangon againrallied outside the Chinese andU.S. Embassies. They accuse

Beijing of propping up themilitary regime and applaudWashington’s actions sanction-

ing the military.“The civil disobedience

movement and demonstrations

show that the people ofMyanmar want democracy. Westand with them,” said a state-ment Saturday on the U.S.Embassy’s Twitter account.

Other protesters carriedsigns urging people to boycottbusinesses linked to the mili-tary.

Sunday’s activism tookplace after the ruling juntaissued a new order suspendingseveral basic civil liberties.

The order, issued lateSaturday and published Sundayin state newspapers, suspendsprovisions in an existing law onsecurity and privacy protection,allowing the authorities tocarry out searches and makearrests without court warrants.

It also allows the intercep-tion of electronic and othercommunications without awarrant and permits the deten-tion of detainees for more than24 hours without court permis-

sion. Civil servants have beenvery active in the protests, andsocial media postings onSunday indicated that staterailway workers have joinedthem, with some unconfirmedclaims that they have gone onstrike.

The military seized poweron February 1, detaining SuuKyi and members of her gov-ernment and preventingrecently elected lawmakersfrom opening a new session ofParliament.

The junta, led by SeniorGen. Min Aung Hlaing, said itwas forced to step in becausethe government failed to prop-erly investigate allegations offraud in last year’s election,which Suu Kyi’s NationalLeague for Democracy partywon in a landslide. The stateelection commission refutedthat contention, saying there isno evidence to support it.

#�����������'��������������*��������������2����

+����!�����!�����������=����*���������������%������������������������5��#���+��!�9����!)�������������������������+�������������%������)��������������������'��������������!���������������9������%���������;��!��)�#��������������� +

Kathmandu: The NepalCommunist Party’s splinterfaction led by Pushpa KamalDahal ‘Prachanda’ on Sundayannounced a fresh agitationprogramme against the disso-lution of the House ofRepresentatives by PrimeMinister KP Sharma Oli.

Nepal plunged into a polit-ical crisis on December 20after Oli, in a surprise move,recommended dissolving the275-member House, amidst atussle for power with the chair-man of the Nepal CommunistParty’s (NCP) splinter factionled by ‘Prachanda’.

Acting on the prime min-ister’s recommendation,President Bidya Devi Bhandaridissolved the House the sameday and announced fresh elec-tions on April 30 and May 10,sparking protests from a largesection of the NCP led by‘Prachanda’, also a co-chair of

the ruling party. The faction ledby ‘Prachanda’ and MadhavKumar Nepal announced freshagitations against the dissolu-tion of the House ofRepresentatives.

During a press conferenceon Sunday, the struggle com-mittee led by leader of the fac-tion Narayan Kaji Shresthasaid a human chain will beformed on February 19 aroundTundikhel Open Ground inKathmandu as a symbolicprotest against “the House dis-solution” and corruption.

The protest rallies will bestaged in various districtsacross the country includingcapital city Kathmandu fromFebruary 17 to 24. The partywill also launch a campaign tocollect signatures against thedissolution from February 19 to27 at various public places.

The agitating faction hadearlier staged protests from

January 26 to February 10under the third phase ofprotests against the dissolutionof the House. Defending hismove to dissolve Parliament,Oli recently said some leaderstried to obstruct the function-ing of his government and hehad no other alternative otherthan seeking a fresh mandate.

“As some leaders tried tomake Parliament defunct andobstruct the government’sfunctioning, I was compelled togo for the fresh mandate. Sucha situation was created in whichthe government was unable tomove forward, which prompt-ed us to go for elections,” hesaid on February 5.

Following the House disso-lution, both the factions of theparty, one led by Prachandaand the other by Oli have beenstaging public meetings andmass rallies across Nepal toshow their strength. PTI

New York: An unidentifiedman could be responsible forfour separate stabbings thatoccurred within a few hours inthe New York City subways,leaving two people dead, author-ities said. The assaults hap-pened between Friday morningand early Saturday, New YorkPolice Department officials saidduring a news conference.

Authorities believe all fourvictims were homeless.

Police said they weresearching for a man they sus-pect could be behind all of theattacks. They were reviewingsubway security camera footageas part of the investigation. Allfour stabbings occurred alongthe A subway line.

One of the victims was dis-covered dead on a train inQueens at about midnight onFriday with several stabwounds to his neck and torso.

AP

��� 7��9:0!%;0

White House deputy presssecretary TJ Ducklo has

resigned, the day after he wassuspended for issuing a sexistand profane threat to a journal-ist seeking to cover his relation-ship with another reporter.

Ducklo had been put on aweeklong suspension withoutpay on Friday after a report sur-faced in Vanity Fair outlininghis sexist threats against afemale Politico journalist to tryto suppress a story about hisrelationship, telling her “I willdestroy you.”

The journalist had beenseeking to report on his rela-tionship with a politicalreporter at Axios who hadpreviously covered the Bidencampaign and transition.

��� +�:$;

American and Egyptianarchaeologists have

unearthed what could be theoldest known beer factory atone of the most prominentarchaeological sites of ancientEgypt, a top antiquities officialsaid Saturday.

Mostafa Waziri, secretarygeneral of the Supreme Councilof Antiquities, said the factorywas found in Abydos, anancient burial ground locatedin the desert west of the NileRiver, over 450 kilometres (280miles) south of Cairo.

He said the factory appar-ently dates back to the regionof King Narmer, who is wide-ly known for his unification ofancient Egypt at the beginningof the First Dynastic Period(3150 BC-2613 BC).

Archaeologists found eighthuge units — each is 20 meters(about 65 feet) long and 2.5metres (about 8 feet) wide.Each unit includes some 40pottery basins in two rows,which had been used to heat upa mixture of grains and water

to produce beer, Waziri said.The joint mission is co-

chaired by Dr. Matthew Adamsof the Institute of Fine Arts,New York University, andDeborah Vischak, assistantprofessor of ancient Egyptianart history and archaeology atPrinceton University.

Adams said the factory

was apparently built in this areato provide royal rituals withbeer, given that archaeologistsfound evidences showing theuse of beer in sacrificial rites ofancient Egyptians.

British archaeologists werethe first to mention the exis-tence of that factory early1900s, but they couldn’t deter-

mine its location, the antiqui-ties ministry said.

With its vast cemeteriesand temples from the earliesttimes of ancient Egypt, Abydoswas known for monumentshonoring Osiris, ancientEgypt’s god of underworld andthe deity responsible for judg-ing souls in the afterlife.

����� 8;0';0

UK Prime Minister BorisJohnson is to host fellow

G7 leaders for a virtual meet-ing on February 19 ahead of itspresidency of a summit inJune of the Group of Sevencountries including the UK,Canada, France, Germany,Italy, Japan and the US, Downing Street said onSunday.

The virtual meeting, thefirst hosted by Johnson as partof the UK’s G7 Presidency thisyear and the first gathering ofG7 leaders since April 2020,will bring together the worldleaders to discuss how leadingdemocracies can work togeth-er to ensure equitable distrib-ution of coronavirus vaccinesaround the world and preventfuture pandemics.

Prime Minister NarendraModi is expected to attend the

G7 Summit in Cornwall in Juneafter India was invited as aguest country by the UK,alongside South Korea andAustralia.

“The solutions to the chal-lenges we face — from thecolossal mission to get vaccinesto every single country, to thefight to reverse the damagedone to our ecosystems andlead a sustainable recoveryfrom coronavirus — lie in thediscussions we have with ourfriends and partners aroundthe world,” said Johnson.

“Quantum leaps in sciencehave given us the vaccines weneed to end this pandemic forgood. Now world governmentshave a responsibility to worktogether to put those vaccinesto the best possible use. I hope2021 will be remembered as theyear humanity worked togeth-er like never before to defeat acommon foe,” he said.

����� 8;0';0

Scientists at the University ofCambridge working with

an anti-viral coating technolo-gy called DioX believe that itcould protect facemask users bykilling the deadly coronavirusin as little as an hour.

According to ‘The DailyTelegraph’, the invisible coatingon facemasks attacks the virusby rapturing its outer layer,effectively eliminating all newmutant variants, including theUK’s so-called Kent variantand the South African variant.

“The antiviral agent with-in the coating of the mask killsthe virus by breaching its pro-tective outer membrane, whichis known as its envelope. Unlikeother parts of the virus, themembrane remains the sameregardless of any type of muta-tion. Hence this way of attack-ing the pathogen will work on

any new variant of coron-avirus,” Dr Graham Christie,senior lecturer at theDepartment of ChemicalEngineering and Biotechnologyat the University of Cambridge,told the newspaper.

“In fact, you could mutatethe entire genome of the virusand it would have no effect onthe envelope. We expect to seethe same response regardless ofthe strain of coronavirusbecause structurally they are allvery similar,” he said.

The technology calledDiOX is based on quaternaryammonium salts — organiccompounds widely used in thetextile industry for theirantimicrobial properties.Laboratory tests showed thatthe mask coated with it killed95 per cent of pathogens on itssurface within one hour andthey were undetectable afterfour hours.

Beijing: China fired back at theUS On Sunday over allegationsfrom the White House thatBeijing withheld some infor-mation about the coronavirusoutbreak from World HealthOrganization investigators.

In a statement on Saturday,White House National SecurityAdviser Jake Sullivan saidWashington had “deep con-cerns about the way in whichthe early findings of the Covid-19 investigation were commu-nicated and questions about theprocess used to reach them.”

“It is imperative that thisreport be independent, withexpert findings free from inter-vention or alteration by theChinese government,” he said,referring to the WHO missioninvestigating the origins of thepandemic in the central city ofWuhan. “To better understandthis pandemic and prepare forthe next one, China must make

available its data from the ear-liest days of the outbreak,”Sullivan’s statement said.

China responded Sundaywith a statement from itsWashington Embassy that saidthe US Had already “gravelydamaged international cooper-ation on Covid-19” and wasnow “pointing fingers at othercountries who have been faith-fully supporting the WHO andat the WHO itself.”

While it welcomedPresident Joe Biden’s decision toreverse the Trump administra-tion’s move to leave the WHO,China hopes the U.S. Will “holditself to the highest standards,take a serious, earnest, transpar-ent and responsible attitude,shoulder its rightful responsibil-ity, support the WHO’s workwith real actions and makedue contribution to the interna-tional cooperation on Covid-19,” the statement said. AP

��������������� !�������� ������������� ����������

����9(����!��������!����$����$���!���'4�����������

�����������������������&!�������+���>������#��������$�������������)�$�����������!�������������������������������(��������!���������$��������������������)����+����)�����0?@�*��ABC@�����D��������%����)�&!��� +

+�������!����������������������������������+����

1�� !����?���������������� �������!������������������:����������������

�$�����'�������27+������������������!$�

�6�10����!����������������������4$��������

0����.�������������������������������������

���/(&)�����&0!�/(&0&�&"+&�0�')����0&0&�=)4&�/��0�33��//(&�"+.)�)0/�"/)��<0"1&�+"!�2�4�0)�1���2�����2�/(&�.�0/

��1&�/�4("��&�1&0��2����/).&�� �=)+-�6!&4���.)4��&4�=&�>!�"4)"��&E�)/>!�"�+4�)."/&�4("�1&!�/(&.&�) ��30�0")+

Page 9:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

�����.A�������������������� ���������� !"�#$#

New Delhi: GST officers will immediately sus-pend registration of taxpayers whose salesreturn or GSTR-1 forms show "significant dif-ferences or anomalies" from the return filed bytheir suppliers, a move aimed at curbing tax eva-sion and safeguarding revenues.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes andCustoms (CBIC) has issued a StandardOperating Procedure (SOP) for suspension ofregistration of a person on observance of suchdiscrepancies /anomalies which indicate viola-tion of the GST Act.

As per the SOP, the registration of specifiedtaxpayers shall be suspended and system gen-erated intimation for suspension and notice forcancellation of registration in form GST REG-31, containing the reasons of suspension, shallbe sent to such taxpayers on their registered e-mail address.

The registration would be suspended incases where a comparison of the returns fur-nished by a registered person with the detailsof outward supplies furnished in form GSTR-1, or the details of inward supplies derived basedon the details of outward supplies furnished byhis suppliers in their GSTR-1, show 'significant

differences or anomalies', indicating contra-vention of the provisions of the GST Act.

"Till the time functionality for FORM REG-31 is made available on portal, such notice/inti-mation shall be made available to the taxpayeron their dashboard on the common portal inForm GST REG-17.

"The taxpayers will be able to view the noticein the 'View/Notice and Order' tab post login,"the SOP said.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) officers havealready intensified their drive against fakeinvoicing and this has also contributed toincrease in tax collections in the past couple ofmonths.

GST collections have crossed the Rs 1 lakhcrore mark for four consecutive months andsurged to an all-time high of about Rs 1.20 lakhcrore in January.

The SOP further said the taxpayers whoseregistrations are suspended would be requiredto furnish reply to the jurisdictional tax officerwithin 30 days from the receipt of such notice/ intimation, explaining the discrepancies /anomalies and the reasons as to why their reg-istration should not be cancelled. PTI

6 ����!�������������:�����;�����������������������;�������������

New Delhi: Insurance sector reg-ulator Irdai has asked insurers toissue digital policies to theirpolicyholders and also tell themhow to use these documents.

The regulator has reasonedthat the step will not onlybring down the cost but alsohelp speed up claim settle-ment process.

In its circular issued to allinsurers excluding GIC Re,Lloyd's (India) and FRBs (foreignre-insurance branches), Irdaisaid that Digilocker will drivereduction in costs, elimination ofcustomer complaints relating tonon-delivery of policy copy,improved turnaround time ofinsurance services, faster claimsprocessing and settlement,reduction in disputes, reductionin fraud and improvement incustomer contactability.

On the whole it is expect-ed that it will lead to better cus-tomer experience, said theInsurance Regulatory andDevelopment Authority ofIndia (Irdai).

In order to promote theadoption of Digilocker in the

insurance sector, the Authorityadvises all insurers to enabletheir IT systems to interact withDigilocker facility to enablepolicyholders to use Digilockerfor preserving all their policydocuments.

The insurers should informtheir retail policyholders aboutDigilocker and how to use it.Insurers are also advised toenable the process by which thepolicyholders can place theirpolicies in the digilocker, saidthe regulator.

As per the circular, theDigilocker team in NeGD(National e-GovernanceDivision) under Ministry ofElectronics and InformationTechnology will provide nec-essary technical guidance andlogistic support to facilitateadoption of Digilocker.

Digilocker is an initiativeunder the Digital India pro-gramme by the governmentwhere citizens can get authen-tic documents/ certificate indigital format from originalissuers of these certificates.

It aims at eliminating or

minimising the use of physicaldocuments and will enhanceeffectiveness of service delivery,making these hassle free andfriendly for the citizens.

Notably, the decision ofIrdai has came against thebackdrop of a letter written bySanjay Dhotre, Minister ofState for Electronics & IT,Communications and HumanResource Development, toAnurag Singh Thakur, Ministerof State for Finance andCorporate Affairs with regardsto issuance of digital insurancepolicies to citizen's DigiLockeraccounts.

In the letter, Dhotre hadrequested Thakur to adviseIrdai to issue an advisory to allinsurance companies to makeavailable the digital insurancepolicy of all policy holders viatheir Digilocker account andacceptance of Digilocker issueddocuments as valid documents.

"This will provide an alter-nate channel to access andmanage all their insurancepolicies in a safe and authenticmanner. PTI

���������������������������������� ���������� 5!��������������������� ������

Aurangabad: The rate ofpetrol with additives hascrossed the Rs 100 mark for alitre in Maharashtra's Parbhanidistrict on Sunday morning, anoffice bearer of a petrol dealers'association said.

After a 28 paise rise onSunday morning, the per-litrerate of petrol with additives forretail sale crossed Rs 100.

Parbhani District PetrolDealers' Association PresidentAmol Bhedsurkar told PTI,"The rates of petrol with addi-tives in Parbhani has reached to100.16 rupees for one litre. Thecost of unleaded petrol is 97.38

here."The cost of petrol in

Parbhani is one of the costliestin Maharashtra. The cost ishigher due to longer distance oftransportation.

Fuel in Parbhani comesfrom Manmad in the Nashikdistrict, which is at a distanceof 340 km.

"We need Rs 3,000 extra forevery tanker if prices go up by10 paise. Hence, the investmentin buying fuel has also goneup," Bhedsurkar said.

The transportation cost forfuel stands at nearly 21 paise alitre now, he added. PTI

$� ������ ������ �0�������11��������-������ ��2$���������� ���

New Delhi: Doing away withrestrictive conditions for use ofsteel in highways construc-tion, the government onSunday announced that allkinds of steel will be allowed forhighways provided these meetthe quality parameters.

Earlier, the contract pro-visions required use of steelproduced by primary/integrat-ed steel producers only. Themove is aimed at ensuring costreduction in highways con-struction using steel.

"The Ministry of RoadTransport and Highways hasissued orders that all steel -whether produced from ore,billets, pellets or melting ofscrap - would be allowed to beused for National Highwayconstruction, as long as itmeets the standards requiredfor specific grades of steel," theMinistry said in a statement.

The steel proposed to beused would be tested in NABL-accredited laboratories as athird party check before

approval. The move is basedon the analysis and discussionswith stakeholders and alsotechnical opinion.

In view of the increase insteel prices, which can impactthe cost of building nationalhighways, Road Transport &Highways Minister NitinGadkari had suggested theneed to re-look at all conditionswhich could be restrictive,without impacting the qualityof material used for highwayconstruction.

With this step, the suppli-er base for steel used in theconstruction of national high-ways would increase, leading tomore competition and betterprice discovery by the markets,the statement said.

This is also part of the con-tinuous effort by the Minister

to reduce costs through useof new technology, reducingrestrictions on suppliers andmaking the procurement sys-tem transparent, it added. PTI

4���������� �����������������!��!&�5� ������ ����������� �� ���

New Delhi: Taking a leaf out ofReliance Industries Ltd's play-book, state-owned Oil andNatural Gas Corporation(ONGC) is forming a new sub-sidiary for gas business thatcould be used to bid and buy gasfrom the firm's own fields.

The board of ONGC at itsmeeting on February 13approved creation of a newwholly-owned subsidiary com-pany for gas and liquefied nat-ural gas (LNG) business valuechain subject to necessaryapprovals, according to thefirm's third quarter earningsannouncement.

"The company is beingformed with the objective ofsourcing, marketing and tradingof natural gas, LNG business,Hydrogen enriched CNG(HCNG), gas to power business,bio-energy/ bio-gas/ biomethane/ other biofuels busi-ness, etc," it said.

ONGC may use the newsubsidiary to buy any new gas

that the firm produces fromfields such as KG-D5 in theKrishna Godavari basin, peoplewith direct knowledge of thematter said.

The government had inOctober 2020 allowed affiliatesof gas producers to buy the fuelin open auction.

This policy change allowedReliance to buy two-thirds outof the additional 7.5 millionstandard cubic metres per day ofgas it along with partner BP plcof UK plans to produce this yearfrom the new fields in KG-D6block.

"ONGC too can look at thisoption now. The new subsidiarycan participate in any auctionthat ONGC will do for incre-mental gas from KG-D5 block,"a source said.

Besides ensuring competi-tion and fair price discovery, theONGC subsidiary can then sellthe gas so sourced to firms suchas Mangalore Refinery andPetrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) ata margin.

This would help ONGCearn better margins on the gasproduced.

"Right now gas is a loss-making business for ONGC.

The government controls gasprice which is less than cost ofproduction," the source said.The government has fixed aprice of USD 1.79 per millionBritish thermal unit for ONGC'sfields. This is half of the cost ofproduction.

It allows a higher rate ofUSD 4.06 per mmBtu for diffi-cult fields such as deepsea fields(KG-D6 and KG-D6) but eventhat is less than the cost of pro-duction from highly capitalintensive projects.

The current regulationmeans even if Reliance discov-ered a price equivalent of USD6-7 per mmBtu for the 7.5mmscmd of new gas from KG-D6, it would get only USD 4.06till March 31.

The same would apply forONGC. It might discover a ratehigher for the 15 mmscmdincremental gas planned fromKG-D5 block but it can get onlyUSD 4.06 as per current price.

"So, essentially the ONGC'sgas subsidiary can bid and buyKG-D5 gas. It will pay ONGCUSD 4.06 per mmBtu but cansell to MRPL or any other cus-tomer at a price higher than that,ensuring that the gas business

becomes a viable proposition,"the source said.

The government has givenoperators the freedom to dis-cover market prices but this rateis subject to a pricing ceiling orcap that the government notifiesevery six months. The cap for sixmonths to March 31, 2021 isUSD 4.06 per mmBtu.

In the February 5 auction,Reliance O2C Limited, an affil-iate of Reliance Industries Ltd,picked up 4.8 mmscmd out ofthe 7.5 mmscmd gas auctioned.

State gas utility GAIL(India) Ltd won 0.85 mmscmdof supplies while Shell picked up0.7 mmscmd.

Adani Total Gas Ltd got 0.1mmscmd, Hindustan PetroleumCorporation Ltd (HPCL) 0.2mmscmd and Torrest Gas 0.02mmscmd. Other buyers includ-ed IRM Energy (0.1 mmscmd),PIL (0.35 mmscmd) and IGS(0.35 mmscmd), they said.

Sources said the gas wasbought at a price of USD 0.18per million British thermal unitdiscount to JKM (Japan/Korealiquefied natural gas importprice), that is price of JKM(minus) USD 0.18 with tenuresranging from 3 to 5 years. PTI

New Delhi: Increasing com-modity prices, specially thoseof rhodium and palladium,which are used in catalysers tomeet strict emission norms, areputting cost pressure on auto-mobile makers, according to asenior official of Maruti SuzukiIndia.

The company, which hadhiked prices of its vehicles inJanuary, however is not plan-ning to pass on the burden toconsumers in the near futurealthough it is keeping a closeeye on its cost structure.

With the supply of semi-conductors becoming a chal-lenge for the automotive indus-try, Maruti Suzuki is alsowatching the situation closelyalthough it will have normalsupply this month.

"In commodities, priceshave gone up dramatically thisyear, especially that of steel, andrhodium and palladium, whichare used in catalysers of BS-VIvehicles.

"Demand across the worldhas gone up but its mining hap-pens only in Russia and SouthAfrica. There, the mining wasmuch lesser because of thepandemic," Maruti SuzukiIndia Executive Director(Marketing & Sales) ShashankSrivastava told PTI.

Supply was less and glob-al demand is very high becauseall Euro VI, BS-VI and ChinaVI vehicles require catalysers,he said adding, "so, the demandhas gone up, whereas supply isconstant and 80 per cent ofdemand for rhodium and pal-ladium comes from the autoindustry."

When asked if the issue isas critical as that of semicon-ductor, he said, "for rhodiumand palladium, supply is not anissue but price is a problem butin semiconductor supply is aproblem."

Commenting on MarutiSuzuki's position with regardsto semiconductor supplies,

Srivastava said, "right now forsemiconductors we don't havean issue. January was normalfor us. February seems to benormal but there is a majorsemiconductor shortage in theauto industry. So, we are watch-ing the situation very careful-ly. Right now we are not affect-ed."

On whether the companyplans to pass on the burden ofincreased rhodium and palla-dium prices to consumers,Srivastava replied in the nega-tive stating the company hadhiked vehicle prices in Januarybecause of increase in com-modity prices.

"In fact all OEMs haveincreased prices largely becauseof the increase in commodityprices. We keep watching thecost structure, how the costs areevolving and take decisionsaccordingly.

Now we have to draw a fineline. We have to take care of thedemand. PTI

New Delhi: The NationalCompany Law AppellateTribunal (NCLAT) has askedDevas Employees Mauritius toapproach NCLT to raise itsobjection over the court's deci-sion to admit a petition byAntrix Corporation seekingwinding up of DevasMultimedia.

While disposing of its plea,the Chennai bench of theNCLAT has directed DevasEmployees Mauritius to file aninterlocutory application andbe a party in the ongoing mat-ter at the NCLT.

On January 19, theBengaluru bench of theNational Company LawTribunal (NCLT) had admittedthe petition by AntrixCorporation, the commercialarm of Indian Space ResearchOrganisation, for winding upDevas Multimedia and hasappointed a provisional liq-uidator for the company.

It had also directed the pro-visional liquidator to take con-trol of the management, prop-erties and actionable claims ofDevas Multimedia.

The NCLT order was chal-lenged before the NCLAT byDevas Employees Mauritius,which holds 3.48 per cent ofissued equity share of DevasMultimedia.

Devas EmployeesMauritius has submitted thatbeing a shareholder of DevasMultimedia, being its con-stituent Board Member andowner and hence it has a say inthe manner in which the com-pany, its affairs, managementetc are carried out.

According to the petition-er, the NCLT order of January19, affects its right to participatein the affairs' and manage-ment of Devas Multimedia.

However, the NCLATobserved: "It is relevantly point-

ed out that just because an'Order of Admission' is passedat the initial stage, theAppellant's interest is not like-ly to be affected or prejudicialbecause latent and patent rea-son that still it may get anopportunity to be heard whenits Petition is Allowed."

The NCLAT Chennaibench, which consistedMember (Judicial) JusticeVenugopal M and Member(Technical) Balvinder Singhdirected it to file an applicationbefore NCLT, to be a party intothe main matter.

"….Deems it fit and prop-er in 'Directing' the 'Appellant'to file necessary 'InterlocutoryApplication' before the'Tribunal' (NCLT) seeking per-mission to implead itself in themain pending CompanyPetition setting out necessaryfacts/reasons for the same,"said NCLAT in its order passedon February 11. PTI

New Delhi: Markets regulator Sebi is in the process of settingup a cybersecurity fusion centre, a move aimed at detecting cyberthreats faster and resolve such incidents efficiently and effectively.

In its annual report for 2019-20, Sebi noted that cyber attacksand threats attempt to compromise the confidentiality, integri-ty and availability of the computer systems, networks and data-bases in the markets ecosystem.

Establishing a cybersecurity fusion centre or a cyber lab ispart of Sebi's three-tier structure for monitoring cybersecurity-related events in the securities markets and taking actions asdeemed necessary in the interest of protection of the securitiesmarket.The three-tier structure would strengthen the cyberse-curity preparedness or resilience of the entire securities marketecosystem.Under the tier-1, high-powered steering committeeon cybersecurity chaired by a whole-time member of Sebi hasbeen set up and a cybersecurity fusion centre would be estab-lished under the tier-2, the regulator said.

In the tier-3, division of technology and cybersecurity on Sebiwould coordinate with the steering committee, cyber securitylab security and operations centres at the respective market infra-structure institutions (MIIs). PTI

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

"�5%���*����������������������E����*=��������������5�����5��&�����

Kattankulathur: SRM Instituteof Science and Technology,Kattankulathur has signed aMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withTamil Nadu Veterinary andAnimal Sciences University(TANUVAS). The signing wasbetween the Department ofFood Process Engineering,School of Bioengineering,SRMIST and College of Foodand Dairy Technology,Koduvalli, TANUVAS.

As per the MoU, both insti-tutes will have a broad scope tocarry out faculty and studentexchange programme to carryout training and research activ-ities for a shorter duration. Thearea will be extended to jointresearch activities to exploreopportunities to undertakeresearch projects and seekresearch funding from externalfunding agencies. This agree-ment will also facilitate to con-

duct joint academic eventssuch as short courses, seminars,workshops, or conferencesbased on mutual interests andavailable expertise in both theinstitutions. Both institutes canshare and carry out jointresearch in technology for dis-tance and computer-basedlearning.

The MoU was exchangedbetween Dr. C. Balachandran,Vice Chancellor, TANUVASand Dr. C. Muthamizhchelvan, Pro Vice Chancellor (E&T),SRMIST in the presence ofTANUVAS officials Dr.P.Tensingh Gnanaraj, Registrar;Dr. Cecilia Joseph, DirectorResearch; Dr. V. Appa Rao,Dean Research and Dr.Premnath Manoharan, profes-sor & HoD Food ProcessorEngineering. SRMIST officialsDr. S. Ponnusamy, Registrar;Dr. T.V. Gopal, Dean College ofEngineering and Technology; Dr. M. Vairamani, Chairperson, School of Bioengineering, and heads of

the departments and facultymembers.

Speaking at the signingceremony Dr. C. Balachandran,Vice Chancellor, TANUVASsaid, "The outcome of thisMoU may bring new innovativeideas and solutions for thegrowing demand and recurringissues of the Food Processingand Health sector in India.Both the universities can nowshare knowledge, technology,and faculty exchange program.We need engineers when itcomes to technology hence thescope is more in this sector."

Dr. C. Muthamizhchelvan,Pro Vice Chancellor (E&T),SRMIST said, "Gone are thedays when we worked as indi-viduals, now it is important thatwe work with other with insti-tutes/ universities. Such col-laborations open up newavenues and will benefit bothparties."

�6"���*$�"���+������'�,�������%������$��#�

������!�����������������������������������!���������������6�#��������F�*����������

.'D3/�����������0����������!���!��������������� !�.'D/

Page 10:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

�������������������� ���������� !"�#$#

�.�%�����&����'��(�� &

����� ��)���'�&�&'�����%*'��&��+�����,� �

�'%-�

'&&(.//������������� ���/0�0���&�/

������

*����� ����������� ��������� ��������,������ ��������� �������� ������������2����� ��&�'�� �1���� �%��� �� �����������

'���������������� ������%��� �� � �� �������������������:�� ��

����������������������$�� �������������������������:�� ����� ������������(-)*� ��� ������ �(-/J���� ����� ��������������������������������������������:�� �����������1������� ��������� ������������� �$�" �����������������"���������������8�����������������1���� �

������������ �* ������������� ��� ��1 ����� ��$�� ��9������������ �� ����� ��������������������������� ����������� ������������������������

L%����� �����������������������������:���� ����� ����@� � �����������������" �����Q������� @�M�� �4������

�3�,��/��+���&""%�"#��������

N�������:���������������������������������������������:�������� �������"����� ���:����������� ������������������ ���:��������������������"�� ��������������A�����"��������������� ��"���������,��������� ����"�������,�������������� ���������������������������,���������������� � �������D

�6�'-5��>�6��������

���������

N6"���� ������������������"��� ������ ������������� ������������������������������ � ���@�������� ��� ����������������������� ��,���������� ��� ���� ������ ��������������� �����������"��������"����:&�����@������������ � "�������"���,�� ��� ������������ � ������������� �����������������D

��������� �����������

Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh’son-screen bromance in the film

Gunday was a hit as audiences real-ly loved their camaraderie. Past theseventh anniversary of the film’srelease, Arjun shares why Gunday isand will always be one of his favouritefilms.

�What did you love about the filmthat made you sign it instantly?

At the time I was starting mycareer, I was hardly six months oldin the business and Adi sir (AdityaChopra) offered me a film which wasa two-hero ensemble, big commercialset-up. When I met Ali (AbbasZafar), I loved his energy and excite-ment towards treating it like a larg-er than life adventure. It was like athrowback and a tribute to the 70’s& 80’s cinema that I grew up watch-ing. The ‘Mukul Anand, SubhashGhai space of cinema’ and at the sametime a film about brotherhood andgangsters. When you are a youngactor starting out, these are all trap-pings that you love exploring anddoing in mainstream cinema. Youwant to establish yourself at thebeginning. You want to do main-stream stuff with a sense of height-ened reality and that’s what Gundaywas all about. I got really excitedabout doing something so front foot-ed and mainstream.

�Your bromance with Ranveer inthe film was an instant hit. Tell uswhat made the bonhomie so special.

I think it was the off-camera loveand respect we had for each otherbecause we realised we have toomuch in common. In fact we are bornjust ten days apart from each other.It was much simpler for us to bondthan we realised. And when you arestarting out, you are not thinkingabout your career and rivalry. You arejust trying to make the best film pos-sible and have the most fun. Ranveerand I also knew each other before thefilm so it made it a little simpler tobreak the ice onset. Credit to Ali forwriting a film that allowed us to bebest friends. He was a big factor forbringing me and Ranveer closer. Itjust happened, it was just the flow. It’slike chalk and cheese where even

though we are poles apart, we stillmanage to fit together. It’s like sugarand spice, they are opposites but bothsound good together. We were twopeople who were completely differ-ent but ended up getting along andworking well together. People realisedthis when they saw the trailer whereboth of us looked good together.

�The film presented you in an allnew avatar. What did you love themost about your character?

Costumes. To play a character inthe 70’s, a gangster, it’s always excit-ing to go into. It was my first-peri-od film at that time. The way I wasstyled, presented, the low angle trol-leys and just being treated larger thanlife, running in slow motion, thatintroduction coming out of the train,

landing on a coal train and muchmore. I think the presentation wasway bigger than any third film couldhave gotten me and it was cool,unique and exciting. You usually feelthat you need to work a lot, beforeyou get that kind of scale but here Iwas immediately, in the third film,within the first six/eight months ofmy career.

�What do you think was the film’sUSP?

I think the camaraderie betweenRanveer and me and the big star castcoming together, was special. Aftera long time, there was a two-hero filmand the youth loved the music. Iknow for a fact that the music andtrailer made all the difference.

Today consumers have becomemore aware and conscious of

harmful chemicals hidden intheir skincare products. They areskeptical of using skincare thatwear the claim of being “organic”and “all natural”, often question-ing if these claims are just market-ing gimmicks. Dr. Jagvir Singh,Founder and President, RefreshBotanicals lists five common mis-conceptions about organic skin-care that will make you rethinkyour regimen.

MYTH 1: Using DIY masks issame as using organic products

People believe that whippingup a yogurt and honey smoothiein your blender and using it as aface mask will benefit their skinas much as an organic face mask.

While we’re all up for a DIYface treatment once in a while, theingredients you find in yourkitchen can’t really compare to theactive ingredients found in organ-ic skincare products. These spe-cial ingredients are usuallyextracted at the molecular levelleaving behind the most activeand potent part for your skin care.

MYTH 2: Organic products areineffective

Many people are afraid ofchange and stick to a product thatthey are familiar with and haveused for years. Unfortunately,many drugstore products havebeen diluted, watered down, andfilled with an abundance of chem-ical preservatives to extend thelifespan. This means that whilethe product may offer quickresults, you shouldn’t hold yourbreath waiting to see any reallong-term benefits for the healthof your skin.

Organic products, on the

other hand, are jam-packed withvital nutrients, antioxidants, vit-amins and minerals at high con-centrations that truly feeds yourskin. You’ll instantly get thatradiant, hydrated and clear skin.

MYTH 3: Organic productsneed preservatives to lastlonger

Highly organic productsoften require premium packag-ing that are equipped with air-less pumps. This prevents thehighly organic plant materialfrom oxidising, thus spoiling.When looking for organic skin-care, look for airless pumps —meaning that the product isbeing pumped through literallybeing pushed out of the contain-er.

MYTH 4: Eating healthy isenough for great skin

There is no argument withthe benefits of eating clean,antioxidant-rich foods anddrinking tons of water. However,

a healthy diet alone is not nec-essarily enough for great skin.While everything you eat doeshave an impact on your skin,food cannot cleanse away impu-rities and environmental toxinsthe way a good face wash can, orprovide a protective barrier onthe skin the way a moisturisercan. For truly beautiful skin, besure to eat healthy, exercise reg-ularly and practice safe, organ-ic skincare. Organic skincareproducts should accompany ahealthy lifestyle for a moreyouthful and fresher complex-ion.

MYTH 5: All “Natural Types”of skincare are created equal

There is a thin line betweenorganic and natural products.Note that we use the word nat-ural here, and not organic. Whilemany products may claim to be“all-natural” on their labels, itdoesn’t mean that their ingredi-ents are in fact “organic.” Naturalproducts often contain natural

ingredients but may containpesticides and other harmfulchemicals.

For a skin care brand to be ableto wear the claim of “organic,”ingredient suppliers have to under-go a rigorous process where theyare monitored for many years toensure that their farming methodsare free of pesticides, herbicides andchemicals. Additionally, skin carebrands must ensure that theirmanufacturers follow stringentpractices to ensure there is no crosscontamination of organic andinorganic materials.

In today’s time awarenessabout chemical-laden products isgaining momentum, which is high-lighting the importance of natur-al organic skincare products. Thisincreased awareness is makingmore people to switch to organicproducts. While more people aremaking the transition, morebecome mindful about the use ofchemicals in regular everydayproducts and are adapting to thenatural organic skincare regime.

������������ ��������A court-appointed legal guardian defrauds her older

clients and traps them under her care. But her latest markcomes with some unexpected baggage. StarringRosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage and Eiza González, thefilm releases on February 19 on Netflix.

�������������Against the backdrop of a turbulent era in Brazil,

this documentary captures Pelé’s extraordinary pathfrom breakthrough talent to national hero. It releases onFebruary 23 on Netflix.

������������������������A single mother enters a world of twisted mind games

when she begins an affair with her psychiatrist boss whilesecretly befriending his mysterious wife. Starring SimonaBrown, Eve Hewson and Tom Bateman, the TV dramareleases on February 17 on Netflix.

7 � 5 5 � -���?�?2�6�"4'-1���������������!����!�!�������!������!�������!�����������������������!������������� ����������� 302�/3 6326:3.�( (:0�6: �!�����!�&�

Sports players are considered asfit individuals who showcasetheir strength, endurance and

flexibility to flex their bodiesthrough tough circumstances andpull through their sport perfor-mance. They train day in and out tohave command over their body andtechniques. Every sport has theirown demands and likewise a train-ing schedule is devised by theircoaches and followed by playersand their parents for optimal perfor-mance. Long ago it was identifiedthat despite best body and technique,something was stopping the playersto achieve their best. On deeperinvestigation it was found that mind

had a role to play in performancewhich was often not understood.With time, coaches, parents andplayers recognised this gap andstarted understanding the need formental training.

Despite increased awareness, thetaboo of visiting a mental health pro-fessional acts as a huge barrier toadopt a positive and progressivechange. Over years sport psycholo-gy (area of specialisation that usespsychological interventions in sportsset up) has found its space and par-ents, coaches and players are reach-ing out to professionals for perfor-mance enhancement.

Winning is still the biggest moti-

vator fore v e r y o n einvolved insports. Evenafter having anemphasis on partic-ipation and excellence, achievingsuccess and avoiding failures takescentre stage for one and all. Whetherone is playing an individual sport ora team sport, chief coach to subor-dinate coaches, sport science expertsalong with player’s parents make acrucial part of the team whichtogether influences the course ofaction for long.

Management of sports playersinvolves binding the entire team

strongly and keeping them on thesame page. In this competitive world,increased exposure to internationalcompetitive events, advances in sup-port from corporate and governmentsectors has led to increased perfor-mance pressure. With time, sportshas moved from mere joy, sense ofsatisfaction to pride and profes-sionalism. The demand to performis so strong that it comes with the tagof “Success at any cost.” But do wereally need success at the cost of our

mental peace?Mental health

when dis-t u r b e d

affects one’s ability to recognise theself-potential and gets bogged downby stress. Talent wasted due to lackof professional help at right time cannever stand the spirit of sports.Hence, it becomes essential to learnthe mind-body connection and men-tal toughness to become resilient intesting moments of matches.

It’s scientifically proven thatexercise promotes positive mentalhealth but sometimes this observa-tion doesn’t hold true. With increas-ing competition, competitive stress,pressure of expectations, financialcrisis, logistic issues and infrastruc-tural concerns, the challenges to per-form good are not just vested in tal-ent but in things beyond one’s con-trol too.

Anxiety, depression, personali-ty disorder, mood disorders, panic,PTSD, eating disorders as well as

more serious mental health issuesare coming to surface in popu-

lation as young as age 10. Thepeak years of sport perfor-mance and the onset of mul-tiple mental health issuescoincide and thus, this factof understanding theunderlying issues whichneed attention are simplyside-lined. While themind of a player is mostimportant, even themind-set of their coach-

es and the parents areequally important. It is

essential to create a holisticapproach in bringing a

change in their perspectivestowards winning and success. Lackof time, resources, myths that it isonly for elite players have beenwiped-out; the need of the hour ismental health training for all.

(The writer is a sports psycholo-gist.)

D�������!�����������������"������� "����������������������$4 0���;;$ ������� ���"������������������ ���,��������������� ��$�0266$�:0!9 ���������������� �

��������9������� "����������������������� ��� ������������

3�++/,�$#���/��&/#� "4�%�#�

� 6 � ' - � 2 2 �

Page 11:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

�������������������� ���������� !"�#$#

��'&&(.//������������� ���/0�0���&�/

�%% �.��#�7/2.�2+/714�%/� 12�*)�7 ��/ *)2�/5�1�) �13./�������+�6�//2</66)/ #�74%�.)2�)26 �)**

%�� �������������������������������������������������������������,������������������� ��������� ����������������%����������� ���� ������������� ��� � �$������

�� �������������� ��� ������"��������� ���������� ��������� ����������������

L%����"������������������������� ���� ����������������������"������������������������������������%� ����������������� ��� ��� ����������� ������������������������M�� �%������������������8 ��� �� � "��� �� ��������

+��� ��� ������� ����������������������� ����������������������������������� ����� ��������� �������� �������������:���������"��� ����������� ���� ������������������������

%������������������������� ���������������������������������� �� ������ �� � ����� ������"��������� ������ ��������������� ������"����

%�� �+���������' �����+������������"��� ��G+'+H���������������������@�� ������� ���"����� ���������� �+;2:',(-����� ��

������� ���������� � ����������������� ���������������������������������D��@�������" ������"��-*�������

:�4����������+'+����������@�� ���������������������� ���" ������ ������ ����������������B� �� �������������"������ ������������������������ ������������������ �������������������������� �� ����������� ������@�������� ��������������������F ����������������������

6������ � ��� ���������� ���� ���"��������������������������������@������������ �����������������������+'+��7���������

�� ������#����� ����$��� �������� �

��������������������"���"���������������������������������������� ������������� �������� ���%������� ������� � ������������������������

��������� �������������������������� ����� ����"������� � ��� ���������� ������ ��� ����������@���"��� ���

%���������� � ���� ���� ����"��� ��������������������������������������������� ���� �" ����� ��������������������������������������������������������� �� ��������� �� ������ ���� ������������������ ��������0�� ��������������� ������

L%����� � ���������� ��� ������ ���������������������������������������� ����"��� ������������� ������������������������� ������������ �����M�� �����������1��� ����������������� � "��� ����R�� �� ��� �3�������

��%��������������������������&��

������������1�� ���������,������ ��Q��� ����������

� �� �����������"��������������� �����Q�������� ���������������������� ������� ���������������

%������� �� ��������������������� �����1�� ���������� ���������� ����� ��� ���������� �������������������� �� ������������������ ���� �����?*��

L6�� ����������������"���������������� ���������������� �������������������������������� �������������� �������1�� ���������,������ ���M�� �����������4�� �+������������ � "��� ����6� �������

%�� �� " ������������������� ��������������������������������� ����� ���������� �� ���� �����������������"������������������������� ������

L:��������������� � "������ ���� ��������1�� ���������� ������� �� ���� ��� ��������������������" ��������� ����� ����������������� ����@����M�� �+������

-��0������$��������*����������#����������BC7����6���$�

��������������������"���"������" ��������� ��G2$H,����������������������������������� �����%��� �� ���

�� ����������� ����� � ������������������������������� � ��� ����������������� ���"����� ���� ��� � ���������������� ���� ���� ����

L7��� ���������"��� �����������������������������������" ����������� ��������" �������K� ��������� ��������� ������������������������� ������ ��������������� ����M�� �����������'�������#���3�������� � "��� ����#���� ��� �3�������

�������� ���� ��� ��������������������@ ������� "������������������������ ���@�� ��������� � ��� ����"����� �������� ��� ���� ���� ����

Population, when unchecked, increases at ageometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only

in an arithmetical ratio...,” said ThomasMalthus in his thesis, titled An Essay on thePrinciple of Population, which was publishedin 1798. When he made this observation, theworld-population was not even one billion.During the last 200 years, it has grown toaround 7.8 billion. And the prediction ofMalthus that the world would run out of fooddue to its growing population, has not yet comeexactly true. There is no doubt, Malthus didnot foresee that at some time in the future, therewould be a spectacular increase in food pro-duction and that the earth would not produceexactly in arithmetic progression, yet no sen-sible person can deny that, after all, there is anupper limit to production of subsistence by theearth. But, strangely, we find that there is noeffective clarity in regard to this hard fact inthe minds of those who formulate nationalpolicies.

One can see that,even today, in most ofthe under developedcountries, the situationis still Malthusian andthe people there do nothave enough food. It isa well-established factthat the populationgrowth-rate in thesecountries makes itextremely difficult fortheir governments to eradicate poverty andunemployment. So the living conditions forlarge sections of people there are really poor.

In such a critical situation of stark pover-ty, high incidence of disease and extreme scarci-ty of health care facilities, many welfare andsocial service agencies voluntarily help theimpoverished, the sick, the handicapped andthe mentally unwell people. No doubt, imme-diate help in the form of food, medicine, shel-ter, health-care, etc. is needed for quite a largenumber of people and these charitable insti-tutions do commendable social service.Nevertheless, the basic problem remainsbecause the root of all these maladies is noteradicated.

The population in these poor countriescontinues to rise enormously and, alongsideit, the number of poor unemployed, diseasedand hungry people also continue to multiply.The reason for this is that no sincere and con-crete steps are taken to give a high degree ofclarity to the people.

Another factor that is responsible for thiscritical situation is the highly consumeristic andwasteful lifestyle of affluent nations or of afflu-ent sections of society in the same country. Itis not known to many that about 80 per centof the gross world-products are consumed bythe developed countries which constituteonly 20 per cent of the world-population whileremaining world population that dwell indeveloping countries gets only 15 per cent ofgross world products. So again there is needto give clarity to the people about the urgentneed for simplicity in life. Hence, what peo-ple of developing nations should made to beunderstood that mere charity cannot solve theproblems of poverty and hunger, created byexploitation, social injustice and the utterly self-ish and wasteful life-style of some nations orsome sections of society. In fact, some peoplehave recently raised this vital question aboutthe end-result of charity after a controversialdocumentary was made by a popular directorin the West on charity work done by the organ-isations there.

Many scholarly people across the globehave made a strong observation and said thatcharity alone would not serve the purpose. Onehas, therefore, to reiterate that what is requiredmore is clarity, by means of such knowledgethat brings in its wake, the highly needed moralvalues of social justice, brotherhood, love, absti-nence from sex-lust and inspiration for a sim-ple lifestyle. Remember, to change the currentsituation, the lifestyles of the people need tochange.

Azaadi hai toh sab hai (wherethere is freedom there is every-thing),” said Rehana Begum, who

along with her husband and children,was rescued from a MunicipalCorporation toilet compound in 2017.Originally from Purnia in Bihar, thefamily moved states looking for workopportunities. “My husband and I weremarried without the permission fromour families, so we had no place to fallback on, that is the price one pays forbeing a woman who dares to love,” saidRehana.

“Initially, we were offered �5,000. Aswe lived in a rented space, the idea ofmoving into the complex full timeseemed lucrative. As our entire familymoved into the complex, I had to dodouble shifts of guarding the toilet andon several occasions, had to clean it aswell. My work started at nine in themorning until 11 at night,” added she.Taking care of three children, cleaningtoilets and juggling housework, clearlytook a toll on her.

She shared, “Living on the site per-manently, we worked in the compoundday in and day out. Our wages werestopped and when I refused to work, Iwas threatened with sexual violence. Ihad fallen sick at one point and wasdiagnosed with pneumonia but was notallowed to go to a hospital for propertreatment. The only saving grace is thatI am finally free.”

Rehana and her family were rescuedby National Campaign Committee for

Eradication of Bonded Labour(NCCBL). A court case is pending inDelhi for her rightful compensation andlack of accountability on the part of theDelhi Municipal Corporation. To sur-vive, Rehana’s husband, at present, isworking as a rickshaw puller while sheis trying hard to find a job as a domes-tic worker. The family fears that theymay be trapped in debt bondage againas they look for jobs.

Not just Rehana, across India, anestimated 12 million workers areemployed in brick kilns, garment facto-ries, construction units among others.Over three lakh informal workers havebeen released according to theGovernment of India. India identified atleast 1,35,000 bonded workers in its 2011census, while the Australian charityWalk Free Foundation put the numberat eight million in its 2018 GlobalSlavery Index.

Most of these workers are sourcedfrom remote rural pockets with concen-tration of poverty through a vast net-work of contractors. While most of these

pockets exist in the Northern andEastern part of the country, some devel-oped states in the West and South, alsohave such pockets.

Desperate and vulnerable popula-tion of unorganised workers, who are inno position to negotiate wages or theirrights, have become a massive pool forcheap labour. A large number of theselabourers are children, forced out ofschool, bearing the burden of sustain-ing their families.

“I lost two of my children, an eight-years-old boy and one girl, who wasbarely 10, as they were sent off to workin a kiln in Himachal Pradesh. We werejust informed that they both died but noone bothered to tell us how,” sharedPinki, the mother of the two children.

Pinki and her husband, Kale, live ina small hamlet of Bandhera Khas inDeoband, Uttar Pradesh, a colony whereseveral migrant workers like herself andher husband now reside. In 2014, Pinkiand Kale, originally from Saharanpur,were taken to work in a brick kiln inNawanshahr in Punjab and were

promised �1,500 per person per week bythe contractor. The same personpromised to pay the same amount fortwo of her children, giving them achance of making more money.

Explaining what transpired at thekiln, she said, “The only means for usto have made money was to movecities. My children were taken toHimachal Pradesh. Instead of �1,500, wewere paid only �500 every week or evenless. With no money and no clue of ourchildren, there was a sense of feelingtrapped. I remember working aroundthe clock carrying bricks on my back. Itfeels like a blur to me, the life that I livedfor five years.”

Pinki survived by living in amakeshift tent, eating corn kernels andbread. She was finally rescued in 2017along with her husband by NCCBL. Asper the wages promised to the couple,the contractors owed them over one lakhrupees. However, the family hasn’treceived a single penny so far.

For her, losing her children andnever getting to see them again was thebiggest trauma. “I was beaten up sever-al times, I was not paid for my work, butlosing my children was the scariest part,”said she.

The COVID-19 pandemic and thelockdown imposed to contain the spreadof the virus has worsened the situationfor the bonded labours as rescue oper-ations have also come to halt. NirmalGorana of the National CampaignCommittee for Eradication of Bonded

Labour (NCCBL) responsible for con-ducting rescue operations across Indiasaid, “Amid the pandemic, many weretrapped in the sites of exploitation as res-cue operations remained stalled. As thenationwide lockdown was announced,brick kiln sites, several construction sitesin remote parts of the country, includ-ing the agricultural sector continued tofunction.”

However, the meagre wages that thebonded labourers were getting was alsostopped. They had appealed in theChandigarh High Court and theAllahabad High Court, but the state wasoverburdened at that point and undertak-ing rescue operations became difficult.Even those who could be rescued werenot being given repatriation and policeprotection, making their chances offalling back in the trap of bonded labourmuch higher.

Though bonded labour was outlawedin 1976 when the Bonded Labour System(Abolition) Act came into force, the newsof rescues is fairly common. Convictions,however, are a few.

A senior official in the CentralLabour Ministry on the condition ofanonymity said, “There is widespreadprevalence of violence in case of thebonded labour and the assistance, espe-cially during the times of COVID hasbeen delayed. However, when it comes torescues, the responsibility lies with therespective states to act on these com-plaints.”

The Centrally Sponsored PlanScheme for Rehabilitation of BondedLabourers has been in place since 1978to rehabilitate those rescued. As part ofthis scheme, adult male rescuers are enti-tled to the financial assistance of �1 lakh,while those who come under special cat-egories, such as women and children areentitled to �2 lakh. Others, who are res-cued from forced or bonded labourfrom more extreme conditions like sex-ual exploitation, brothels or trafficking,as deemed by the District Magistrate, areeligible for financial assistance of �3 lakhalong with some non-cash assistancefrom the state governments.

This financial assistance is funded bythe centre but comes only after convic-tion. A person who is rescued is eligibleto �20,000 as immediate assistance fromthe District Administration, regardless ofconviction. Apart from the immediateassistance, those rescued are also entitledto a state-issued rescue certificate (RC),which makes them eligible for the reha-bilitation measures; however, those get-ting the certificates remain abysmally low.

None of the people the writer spoketo had been provided with the compen-sation. Despite a large number of womenworkers, Women’s work is unaccountedfor and their labour is not recognised inthe economy. Doubling the oppression oftaking care of the food, family and suf-fering harassment from contractors, theyremain invisible and unpaid.

%��*�� ������

You are most influenced by thepeople you surround yourself

with, so choose wisely. This wassome really good advice I wasgiven very early on in life. In myopinion, one of the biggest reasonspeople falter on their fitness plansor goals is peer and family pres-sure. So what happens when yourspouse or partner joins you on thisjourney of yours? Would thatmake your life easier? Would ithelp you stick to your plan andprocess? Most likely, yes!

The pandemic has been ahuge learning curve for a lot ofpeople. Not only have their prior-ities changed, but also their atti-tude towards health and fitness.For someone like me, fitness hasbeen a part of life since a veryyoung age and even though I’vesuffered through my fair share offamily or peer pressure, it’s neveractually made me waiver. Mywife never really worked out in lifeto be honest. The only time shestarted taking her fitness serious-ly was after we had our firstchild. She’s always been thin, butfit is something she’s had to workon and really hard. I wasn’t real-ly enthused about the idea of usworking out together if I’m beingabsolutely honest, but having agoal and working on it togetherhas been a lot of fun. It also givesme an opportunity to make herpush a little because I know if shetrains alone, she isn’t going towork as hard as she should.

For people who are just start-

ing out, the peer and family pres-sure can get a bit too much andnine times out of 10 they will fal-ter. So having your partner orspouse join you on your journeywill only make it easier.

Having said all of the above,there are documented advantagesof working out with your spouse

that can benefit both parties.

�It improves the emotional bondyou share with your partner

According to various studies,working out with your partner likesprinting or jogging at the samepace, rhythmic weight-training orany workout has a plethora of pos-

itive effects. As a result, coupleswho work out together may feelmore “emotionally attuned” withone another as compared to oth-ers.

�AccountabilityWorking out together sets the

accountability for both partners

and each one motivates the otherto achieve goals, both as individ-uals and as a couple. And let’s behonest, we have our bad dayswhere we don’t feel like workingout, on such days your partnercould be the person who pushesyou to get the work done. If oneneeds a push to get out of bed inthe morning to workout, settingcouple goals could be the answer.If they’re awake and ready to go,you will be more likely to get yourworkout done instead of hittingthe snooze button on the phonefor the next hour. Having a part-ner can make you stick to yourgoals, even on days when a work-ing out is the last thing on yourmind.

�It brings happiness to yourrelationship

Exercise makes you a happi-er person individually, thanks toall the endorphins you releaseduring and after your workout. Ifyou work out with your partner,you get to experience that togeth-er.

Pushing and motivating eachother, then seeing the results ofall the hard work you’ve put in,

creates positivity for your rela-tionship.

�It’s a commitment to eachother

If you and your partner makeworking out together a regularthing, you establish a commongoal and respect that physicalactivity is important for your-selves and your relationship.There are a bunch of studies thatshow that individuals are morelikely to make a positive healthbehaviour change if their partnerdoes too.

Overall, fitness regimes canbe made more interesting andworking out as a couple is one ofthe ways to make that happen.What adds to the fun are thosemoments of slight humour inbetween workouts that is justunderstood between you andyour partner through mere eye-contact. Also, following healthyeating habits becomes easier anda fun thing to do if the same isshared. Hence, the saying ‘coupleswho train together, stay togeth-er’.

(The writer is the founder ofSohfit.)

BREAKING CHAINS����0� �0����� ��������������� �����0�� �������������5�����!-/6&� $�(

%����� ��� ���5� ��� ��� ���C�����������&��!�5������������ ���!������5 !����� �����������"��!�����(-:23* 6:�(:2�(:3:�

��$������������������������!���������������������)������������������������������������!�)����+�;"5� 7�+9#+�G#+� ���G�� ��

Page 12:  · 2021. 2. 14. · Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the ... Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting

$������/�������������������� ���������� !"�#$#

BAYERN MUNICH SNAPS UP UPAMECANOMunich: #�����1�� �� � � �� �� ������ ��������'���� �����������#������ ��� "��8� 3 � � ��� ����������������@��������%��#�"�� ������������� � � � ��������� �� ������ ���� ��� ..,����,��� ������������������ "�,���������������4���.*./������ "�����4���(�#����� ���� ��������5.�) � �� �� ���� GS)(�) � �� ��H ������ ������ � �������&������������������8� 3 ���� ������������� ����"������.*.J�

ANKITA RALLIES TO WIN TOUR OPENERMelbourne: :�� �� ���� � ����� ��� �� $� �������������� ���" ����� ����� ������� ��������7%� %��� �"��� � �� � �����,��� � � �"�� 6� �������+��� ������������� �� :�����%�������������������� ������������� �����������:��� ��),?�/,(�/,. � ��� ��� �� ����� �� ��� S.J)�.JE ���� ����������������%�����,�������((� ������ �� ��������� ����������������,� ��� �����������()/����(E(�:�������������������� ��������������� ���,()*�

ASIAN RECORDS FOR PRAVEEN, NISHADDubai: %������� � �� ������ ���"��� ����� ���0 ������������������� ������������������������� � !��� ���� ��� ��� ��� �� �� ������� �� �������� �� ���� ���� �� ��� (.�� ��33� :������� ����7���� ���� ������ ��!������ @ ����� ���"���&� ���0 ����&� !��� �����,� �� �� ������� ���� ��� � ��� ������:�� ����������������� �"������#���3��� ��������� �� ��� ��� � ���� �� �� ������� ���� � � �� .J ������� �� ��� ��� �� �������� � ���:�� ���������������� � ����� ��������� ����� � �� %�� ���� ������ �� ���� � �� J5��������� ��%��������������:�� �� � ����� ��.J�����

SPEZIA STUNS SERIE A LEADER AC MILANSpezia: �+1 ���� ����������������@���� ������ ���� ������ �����.,*����3 ���� �������� �� �� � ��� ����� ����� ��� ���� ��� ������� ! �� �1��� ������� ����#����� ��������� �� ������ ������� ����3 ���� ���������������1 ��� � ������������������������1 ���� �����"����"���������������%��$������� ���� ������� ����������������,�����:����1 ������ �������������� ��� ��� "����������� ���� ���������8�3 ��

MAN UTD TITLE PUSH LOSES STEAMWest Bromwich: 1��������� � ��� �K�������� ������� �� �� ������� �� ���� �� 8����� �������1���������+ ����#�������������&�K��� ����������� � ������� � � (,( ���� �� ������� �� 7���#���� �����������;��!��������������&�� ��������������1����' ����&�������,� ��������� ������ �������9������������������ �� ����������������"�������������������,� ��� ��� �(-����������������� ��������� � ����#�� � ���������������� ������������������,��������� ����� ��������� ������ ��� � �� �� ����� �� ���� � ��� � ���� ���������� �������� %��� ��"�� ���"� 8� ������ ��������� ����� ��� � � ��"�� � ��� ��� �� + ��� �����"������ ������ +!�����

)26*/

����� +9600�:

India took command of thesecond Test after an exhilarat-ing day two when 15 wickets

fell on a rapidly deteriorating pitchwith star spinner RavichandranAshwin ensuring a massive firstinnings lead for the hosts with his29th five-wicket haul, here onSunday.

Resuming the day at 300 forsix, Rishabh Pant took India to329 in their first innings with anunbeaten 58 before running outof partners.

Ashwin (5/43) and companythen bundled out England for 134on a pitch that is getting morevicious by each passing session.The 34-year-old picked up his sec-ond five-wicket haul of the seriesby uprooting the stumps of num-ber 11 Stuart Broad.

By close of play, India were 53for one in the second innings,extending their lead to 249 runs.

Wickets fell in a heap onSunday but it was by no means anunplayable surface, as demon-strated by Rohit Sharma on theopening day and with 25 off 62,he was going strong even bystumps on day two. CheteshwarPujara (7 batting off 18) was at theother end.

However, barring Ben Foakes(42 not out), England batsmenhad no answers to the challengeposed by the Indian bowlers.The sweep shot that came to theirrescue in much easier conditionsin the previous Test, broughttheir downfall including Root.

So far, the script has playedout perfectly for India, who wonthe all important toss on theopening day and put up a decentenough total on a dustbowl intheir bid to level the series.

Ishant provided the first

breakthrough for India when hehad left-handed opener RoryBurns LBW for a duck with a ballthat nipped back and beat his

defensive push.The other opener Dom Sibley

(16) was the next to go, caught byVirat Kohli at leg-slip off Ashwin,

which was given by the thirdumpire after India chose to reviewas the on-field umpire turneddown the appeal for a catch.

The big wicket of captain JoeRoot (6), who tormented thehost bowlers in the first Test, wastaken by debutant Axar Patel

when the England captain’sattempted sweep against the turnlanded safely in the hands ofAshwin at short fine-leg.

Ashwin then struck at thestroke of lunch, having DanLawrence (9) caught at short-legby Shubman Gill reducingEngland to 39 for four.

India claimed another four inthe post-lunch session to leaveEngland gasping at 106 for eightat tea.

Ashwin added two morescalps to his tally whileMohammed Siraj (1/5), who wasintroduced as late as in the 39thover, debutant Axar Patel (2/40)and Ishant Sharma (2/22) also didthe damage.

Ashwin got the big wicket ofBen Stokes in the sixth over afterlunch. The left-hander missed anattempted clip off a beauty thatdrifted in and lost his off-stump.

Ollie Pope (22), who lookedassured against the spinners, wasbrilliantly caught by a divingRishabh Pant when he tried toglide one down the leg-side, togive Mohammed Siraj a wicket offthe first ball he bowled in Tests inIndia.

Foakes, who impressed withhis keeping skills when Indiabatted, showed his abilities infront of the wickets too. He bat-ted with poise against the spin-ners, who were looking to makethe most of a helping pitch.

Moeen Ali, coming in atnumber eight, fell when his edgehit Pant’s thighs and rebounded toAjinkya Rahane who took a finecatch diving forward.

Earlier resuming the day at300 for six, India added 29 runsto their overnight score. Theaggressive Pant scored 25 of thoseruns, hitting two fours and twosixes to remain unbeaten.

For England, pacer Olly Stonefinished with 3 for 47 in his firstgame in India. Off-spinner Ali (4for 128) picked up four wicketsbut proved expensive.

,��� 168#; $06

Gutsy Naomi Osaka saved twomatch points to outlast Garbine

Muguruza in a tense comebackwhile Serena Williams was pushedto a decider but prevailed againstAryna Sabalenka in a thriller onSunday and reach the AustralianOpen quarter-finals.

Hsieh Su-wei swept into her firstGrand Slam quarter-final after 16years of trying becoming the oldestplayer to make a last-eight debut inthe Open Era. Also, Simona Halepfought back from a set down to beatFrench Open champion Iga Swiatek3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Third seed Osaka as on the vergeof elimination at 3-5, 15-40 on herserve in the third set before rattlingoff four points in a row.

She then twice broke the serveof the two-time Grand Slam winnerMuguruza to prevail 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 inone hour and 55 minutes of grippingaction on an empty Rod LaverArena.

She will now have an all-Asianquarter-final against Chinese Taipeiveteran Hsieh Su-wei, who upset19th seed Marketa Vondrousova 6-

4, 6-2 in the fourth round.The 35-year-old overwhelmed

Vondrousova, a player 14 years herjunior. Hsieh got a early break in the

opening set and never looked trou-bled in win over the 19th seed, aplayer she also toppled in an AbuDhabi warm-up event in January.

SERENA SURVIVES ONSLAUGHTSerena Williams outlasted big-

hitting Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set thriller to make Australian Openquarter-finals.

The American withstood a bar-rage from the seventh seed to pre-vail 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in two hours andnine minutes and set up a mouth-watering clash with world numbertwo Simona Halep.

Williams, 39, had never beforeplayed the Belarusian, who has col-lected more trophies than anyoneelse since last year French Open butnever reached the quarter-finals ofa Slam. Sabalenka, who has spokenabout modelling her big-hittinggame on Williams, showed off herpower with blistering serves andgroundstrokes in the high-octanecontest.

A composed Williams, watchedby older sister Venus in the stands,counter-attacked superbly in theearly stages and broke Sabalenka’sserve in the 10th game to win the

opening set.Sabalenka, who was born four

months after Williams made herGrand Slam debut in 1998, wasunperturbed and stepped up herassault to dominate Williams’ usu-ally reliable serve.

The 22-year-old admonishedherself before drawing level bypouncing on Williams’s falteringfirst serve, which she landed just 36%of the time in the second set.

Williams regrouped and raced toa commanding 4-1 lead in the thirdset as a frustrated Sabalenkaslammed her racquet to theground as the match began toslip away.

Sabalenka won threestraight games to get back onterms but Williams’s experience sawher through as she maintained herunbeaten run since emerging from14-day quarantine in Australia.

Halep exacted revenge onSwiatek with a comeback three-setvictory, which set up a blockbusterquarter-final with Serena Williams.

The world No 2 was thrashed bythe 19-year-old at Roland Garros,winning just three games, but turnedthe tide in Melbburne.

,��� '9���

The West Indies beat Bangladesh by 17 runs inthe second Test on Sunday to complete a 2-0

series sweep.Rahkeem Cornwall claimed 4/105 and com-

pleted a superb catch at first slip to end the matchas the tourists bowled out Bangladesh for 213 inthe second innings on the fourth day, 18 runs shortof their victory target.

While Cornwall took centerstage, KraiggBrathwaite (3/25) and Jomel Warrican (3/47)grabbed the remaining wickets as Bangladesh werebowled out for 213 on the fourth day.

The West Indies made 409 and 117 runs intheir two innings and Bangladesh were all out for296 in their first innings. The tourists had wonthe first Test by three wickets. which was anoth-er thriller with debutant Kyle Mayers scoring arecord-breaking fourth-inning double century.

Cornwall took centrestage as spinners pickedup all 10 wickets in a famous win.

Mehidy Hasan hit two sixes and three fourslate in the day to add drama after the hosts losttheir ninth wicket but the West Indies kept theircool to deny them a come-from-behind win.

“I would say this is a team effort. The one-day team didn’t do well. But we had some plansand came on top,” said skipper Kraigg Brathwaite.

The West Indies had lost the ODI series 3-0.“Coming over here with all the protocols in

place, it is huge,” he added.“Very thankful for this opportunity. I’m very

proud of the boys. It means everything backhome.”

����� +9600�:

Give Rishabh Pant a“break” from constant

comparisons and let him gofrom strength to strength, hissenior India teammateRavichandran Ashiwn sug-gested on Sunday.

Be it for his keeping orbatting, be it with one ofIndia’s greatest or any otherplayer, Pant needs a breakfrom all sorts of comparisons,expressed Ashiwn, who hasbeen keeping the youngstumper on his toes withdeliveries that look like fetch-ing their team wickets everynow and then.

“He was constantly com-pared with the great MSDhoni for a long time. Now hegets compared for his wicket-keeping with (Wriddhiman)Saha, this that and all that,sometimes it’s just better togive a break and let peoplebuild on confidence,” Ashwinsaid at the end of the secondday’s play during which hecollected his 29th five-for inTest cricket.

On his swashbucklingw i c k e t k e e p e r- b a t s m a n ,Ashwin continued, “Withrespect to Rishabh’s keeping,

the name of the game is con-fidence right, he has beenbatting well, he has beenworking incredibly hard onhis keeping as well...

“And sometimes, whenyou are constantly being com-

pared to someone who hasdone well for years, it can bereally hard, I really do feel forRishabh, on a lot occasions,when I am watching gamesfrom home where he is play-ing the white-ball format.

“He has definitely got theability, that is why he is here

and I have no doubt he will gofrom strength to strength.”

After playing a key role inIndia’s incredible series win inAustralia last month, Pantsaid the comparisons withDhoni are flattering but addedhe wants to carve his ownidentity in the game.

,��� 8�9;$6

Pakistan clinched a four-wicket vic-tory over South Africa in the third

and final T20I with eight balls to spareat the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore onSunday to clinch the series 2-1.

South Africa were all at sea anddespite heroics from David Miller,who scored an unbeaten 85, andTabraiz Shamsi’s career-best of 4-25,Pakistan were too good for the visitorsas Hasan Ali and Mohammad Nawazclubbed 20 runs off the penultimateover, bowled by Andile Phehlukwayo(2.4-0-37-0), to clinch the game and theseries with some space to spare.

Babar Azam had won the toss andhad asked Heinrich Klaasen’s men to batfirst. South Africa had slumped to 48for six and 67 for seven before Miller’sexploits pushed the South Africaneffort to a respectable 164 for eight.

Miller clubbed five boundariesand seven sixes, four of which came inthe final over of the innings, bowled byFaheem Ashraf (3-0-38-0), in his 45-ballinnings after the entire South Africanbatting order had been caught like adeer in the headlights.

In reply, Shamsi had bamboozledthe Pakistan top-order to leave SouthAfrica with hope of clinching a victo-ry from the jaws of defeat but a lack of

support proved the difference asPakistan reached 169 for six with stilleight balls remaining in the match.

The only support Miller received inthe South African effort was from open-er Janneman Malan. The Cobras manstruck three fours and a six from 17 ballsbefore being trapped leg before fromdebutant legspinner, Zihad Mahmood(4-0-40-3).

For Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan,who scored a century and a fifty in thefirst two games, along with new part-ner Haider Ali (15), gave the home sidea good start with an opening stand of51 from just 37 balls.

,���168#; $06

Atired-looking Dominic Thiembecame the highest seed to fall

at this year’s Australian Open whenthe US Open champion was senttumbling out in straight sets byGrigor Dimitrov in the fourthround on Sunday while ailing worldNo 1 Novak Djokovic battled pastMilos Raonic to keep his titledefence alive.

The night match’s schedulinggave Djokovic the maximum

amount of time to recover froma midriff muscle injury sus-tained in his five-set winover American Taylor Fritzlate on Friday. And not oper-

ating at his best, Djokovicdropped a set but won 7-6(4), 4-6,6-1, 6-4 in a bruising battle. It wasthe Serb’s win No 300 in Grand Slamevents.

Earlier, Thiem, the Austrianthird seed and last year’s losing final-ist, appeared to lack energy after ral-lying to beat Nick Kyrgios over fivegruelling sets on Friday in front ofa raucous crowd. He struggled tomatch the intensity of the 18th-seed-

ed Bulgarian on a silent, fan-freeRod Laver Arena and slumped out6-4, 6-4, 6-0 in 2hr 1min.

Former world No 3 Dimitrovwill now play giant-killing Russianqualifier Aslan Karatsev in thequarter-finals after he stunned 20thseed Felix Auger-Aliassime over fivesets. The power-hitting 27-year-old,a virtual unknown before the tour-nament started, battled back fromtwo sets down to upset the Canadian

3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on MargaretCourt Arena.

Also, Alexander Zverev tottedup his 50th Grand Slam win whenhe beat Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic instraight sets to reach the quarter-finals.

The German sixth seed wastested in the first two sets butfound it easier in the third, sealinghis 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory withan ace.

� .0)2 %)2 14�/26������ ����������� �������7���%� ��� ���������8� ���������0������ ������ ���

�� �� With apologies toHarbhajan Singh, R Ashwin onSunday cherished surpassing hisformer India teammate’s numberof Test wickets in the country.

With 266 scalps, Ashiwn isnow only behind spin legendAnil Kumble’s 350 wickets inhome Tests. Ashwin went pastHarbhajan, who took 265 wicketsin India at an average of 28.76, bydismissing Ben Stokes with aperfect off-spinner on the second

day of the second Test.“When I was watching the

2001 series where Bhajju Pa(Harbhajan) was playing, I didn’teven imagine that I would go outand become an off-spinner for thecountry.

“I was still a batsman for mystate, trying to accelerate a careertowards batting and playing forthe country, I wasn’t sure whetherI would go on and become a play-er for the Indian team,” Ashwin

said at a post-day conference.The 34-year-old Ashwin, who

has so far taken 391 wickets from76 Tests at an impressive averageof 25.26, was not aware of his featuntil he had come for the mediainteraction at the end of the day’splay.

According to Ashwin, a lot ofhis teammates, when he wasyoung, would make fun of him ashe used to try bowling likeHarbhajan.

“Lot of my teammates fromthat age, from that generation, youknow, used to make fun of me,because I used to bowl like BhajjuPa, my action, I used to try andbowl like him and all that.

“So, from there on to comeone and actually break the recordof something that he possesses,has to be incredibly special. I did-n’t know of it, now that I do knowof it, I feel happy. Sorry, BhajjuPa...,” said Ashwin. PTI

������7�22����6�+$�������������*��!�9����2��E�������

7���%� '�6���9(�0�������:;91�����% ��� %1�� ,2/�01��

Pant needs break from constant comparisons: Ash �� �� It is an incrediblychallenging surface, saidEngland assistant coachGraham Thorpe as Indiatook upper hand after dis-missing England for 134 intheir f irst innings onSunday.

“It is a very challengingsurface that is what I amgoing to say. In terms of mecommenting on the pitch Ithink that is for someoneabove me to look at.

“It was incredibly chal-lenging on that surface forus on day two. Theirs isobviously a very skilled spinattack as well on their ownconditions. And it was avery good toss to win,”Thorpe said at press confer-ence.

Decisions by the third

umpire have come in forcriticism in the match so farand on Sunday there was anissue over Rohit Sharmabeing ruled not out onreview after he was ruled outby the on-field umpire.

However, Thorpeoffered straight bat, saying“we have to accept the deci-sion.”

“We have to trust thetechnology...That’s really allI can say,” the formerEngland batsman said to aquestion if there was a senseof frustration with theDecision Review System.

Asked how the Englandbatsmen would need to baton a tricky pitch like the onehere, Thorpe said the bats-men had plans but could notexecute. PTI

1%������������������������������!��!3

+�� ���������������������� �� ��� �

-����"�(������������������!���?������� 3..��������+�������-%�*�

$�������$�� ������� � ����� �%71��������