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CAPSULESAVE GANGA ACTIVISTDIES AFTER LONG FASTRishikesh: Environmentalactivist GD Agarwal died inhospital here on Thursday, 111days after he began a fast for apollution-free Ganga. He was 86.

MAHANT SHOT AT IN BKT AREALucknow: Unidentified bike-borne miscreants shot at theMahant of New HanumanTemple in Aliganj near ChandrikaDevi Temple (GRC College)under Bakshi-Ka-Talab policestation on Thursday night. Thevictim, identified as Ajay ShankerShukla, had gone to the templefor Navaratra-related work.According to his son Anand,Shukla suffered injuries on ribsunder the right shoulder. ASP,East, Gaurav Grover said thevictim had been admitted to

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE nNEW DELHI

Fresh firework has erupted inthe Rafale deal after a

French investigative websiteMediapart quoted an internalDassault Aviation documentrevealing that the fighter jetmanufacturer had no optionbut to enter into a joint venturewith Anil Ambani’s RelianceDefence as it was presented as“mandatory” and a “trade-off ”if the French company had tobag the 36 Rafale jets deal.

However, Dassault, in aPress release on Thursday,claimed it “has freely chosen tomake a partnership with India’sReliance Group” and addedthat the decision was takenunder no duress.

Latching on the revela-tion, Congress president RahulGandhi on Thursday calledfor an investigation, declaringthat Prime Minister NarendraModi “is corrupt.” Also, hedemanded Modi’s resignationand sought a probe into the roleof Modi in the deal.

The BJP rubbished thecharges and termed Rahul a“clown Prince” who hasacquired mastery in levellingfalse allegations.

The fresh revelation in theRafale came days after formerFrench President FrancoisHollande indicated that theIndian Government nudgedFrance to have an offset dealwith Reliance.

Mediapart, which firstreported Hollande’s remarks,said the Dassault managementhad told its trade unions it was

“imperative and mandatory”for the company to chooseReliance as an offsets partner.Incidentally, the report cameout on a day when DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanleft for Paris to hold bilateraltalks with her French counter-part Florence Parly.

Quoting an internal docu-ment of the aviation giant, thenews report said Deputy ChiefExecutive officer of Dassault,during a presentation to work-ers representatives, said thejoint venture with Reliance forsetting up a plant at Nagpur

was “counterpartie.” The report said, “At

Dassault Aviation, according toa document obtained byMediapart, the alliance withAmbani was indeed presentedas a ‘counterpart’ to the Rafalesales contract. “DassaultAviation’s deputy chief execu-tive officer Loik Segalen madethis clear on May 11, 2017 dur-ing a presentation of theNagpur Dassault RelianceAerospace joint venture to thestaff representatives: ‘It wasimperative and mandatory forDassault Aviation to acceptthis counterpart, in order to get

the export contract from India,’said the no.2 (of) the group,according to elected staff,” thereport added.

The joint venture is knownas DRAL.

The Dassault was transfer-ring its assembly line to pro-duce the Falcon business jets atthe DRAL facility being built inNagpur, and had to explain toits workers why it was not cre-ating jobs for French labourers.The company identifiedReliance as “counterpart,” thenews report said.

The Mediapart article saidthe document suggested the

Dassault official had explainedto its staff that the joint venturewas a “trade-off.”

The French aviation com-pany, however, denied thereport and said it “has freelychosen to make a partnershipwith India’s Reliance Group.”“This joint-venture, DassaultReliance Aerospace Ltd(DRAL), was created February10, 2017. Other partnershipshave been signed with othercompanies such as BTSL, DEF-SYS, Kinetic, Mahindra, Maini,SAMTEL,... Other negotiationsare ongoing with a hundred-odd other potential partners,”Dassault said in a press release.

The statement said withinthe framework of theSeptember 2016 Inter-Government Agreementbetween France and India,Dassault Aviation has sold 36Rafale aircraft to India. Incompliance with the Indianregulations (DefenceProcurement Procedure) andas frequent with such a con-tract, Dassault Aviation hascommitted to offset in Indiaworth 50 per cent value of thepurchase.

The deal is worth over`58,000 crore and the offsetscome to about `30,000 crore.

Continuing his broadsideagainst the Prime Minister,Rahul alleged that Modi helpedhis industrialist friend AnilAmbani pocket `30,000 crorein the purchase of 36 aircraft.

The Congress presidentalso described Sitharaman’svisit to France as part of a “greatcover-up”.

Continued on Page 7

PNS n NEW DELHI

Pressure mounted on UnionMinister MJ Akbar to

resign after the RSS indicatedits support to the “victimised”women journalists even asTextile Minister Smirit Iranibacked the #MeToo movementand said Akbar should speakfor himself.

Giving clear hints onSangh’s stand on the allegationof sexual attempts made againstthem by Akbar and others, RSSjoint general secretaryDattatreya Hosabale shared apost by Facebook executiveAnkhi Das, which said, “Youneedn’t have a #MeToomoment to support the womenjournalists who have narratedtheir victimisation. You needn’t even be a woman. Youjust need to have a sensibilityof what is right and what is wrong.”

Tweeting the FacebookExecutive’s post, Hosabale alsocommented, “I liked it. She hasarticulated what I was feeling”.

Hosabale’s tweet in supportof female journalists who havemade complaint of sexualharassment at their workplaceis seen significant as the socialmedia is gunning for thealleged “predator”.

Close to the Sangh leader’stweet, Smriti Irani expressedher solidarity with the womenwho are speaking out and saidthat “the gentleman (Akbar)concerned would be betterpositioned to speak on thisissue”.

She urged people not tomock the women who arespeaking out against theharassment meted out to them.

“I have said again andagain on this particular issue,especially about women speak-ing out that anybody speakingout in no way should beshamed, victimised or mocked.That is my only appeal toeverybody who is witnessingthis surge of outpouring ofemotion, anger on the internetand offline also,” she said.

She underlined thatwomen don’t go to work to beharassed but to work to livetheir dreams and earn arespectable living.

“So, I will say here today itmust be very difficult forwomen to come out and talkabout whatever happened intheir professional lives. It isextremely an important part oftime in our society where moreand more women are getting

the support, so they can speakout. “I feel there are enoughinstruments in our judicial andpolice systems to deliver justiceand I am hopeful that all theseladies who are speaking out get,due to due process, the justicethat they deserve,” Irani said.

Foreign Minister SushmaSwaraj had earlier chosen tokeep mum on the issue whenshe was repeatedly asked tocomment on the allegationsagainst her junior ministerialcolleague.

Meanwhile, days afterterming the #MeToo move-ment raging in the country a“wrong practice”, BJP lawmak-er Udit Raj on Thursday againquestioned what if complaintsouting men for allegedly sexu-ally harassing women provedwrong and the prestige of aman was destroyed.

Taking action or seekingresignation of an accused mere-ly on a complaint of sexualexploitation means there is noneed of police or the judicialsystem, he said.

“Considering oral or writ-ten complaint of the victim ofsexual exploitation as a judg-ment and taking action orseeking resignation meansthere is no need of police orjudicial system. What if thematter proves wrong and canthe soiled prestige of a man berestored?” the BJP MP fromNorth-east Delhi tweeted.

PNS n CHANDIGARH

Self-styled godman Rampalwas on Thursday found

guilty by a Hisar court in twoseparate cases of murder andother offences.

Hisar Additional Districtand Sessions Judge DR Chaliyaheld controversial godmanRampal along with 26 of hisfollowers guilty of two murdersand other offences, includingwrongful confinement of hisvictims at his Satlok Ashram atBarwala in Hisar.

The quantum of punish-ment would be announced onOctober 16 and 17.

Rampal has been in prisonsince November 2014. A spe-cial court was set up insideHisar’s Central Jail to pro-

nounce the judgment viavideo-conference.

Rampal and 27 of his fol-lowers were booked on chargesof murder and wrongful con-finement after four womenand a child were found dead inhis Satlok Ashram onNovember 19, 2014. Anothercase was also registered againstRampal and his followers aftera woman was found dead in hisashram on November 18.

The two cases againstRampal and his followers werelodged at Barwala police stationon November 19, 2014. Besidesthe murder charges, theBarwala police had alsoinvoked offences of wrongfulconfinement in the two FIRs.

Thousands of his followershad clashed with police when

they had come to arrest himfollowing directions of thePunjab and Haryana HighCourt over contempt of courtin 2014.

Continued on Page 7

PTI n AMARAVATI/BHUBANESWAR

Avery severe cyclonic stormpacking winds of up to 150

kmph and widespread rain hiteastern India on Thursdaykilling eight people in AndhraPradesh and damaging homes,uprooting trees and powerlines in the State and in Odisha.

Cyclone ‘Titli’ made land-fall on the eastern coast earlyon Thursday wreaking havocmainly in Srikakulam andVizianagaram districts ofAndhra Pradesh and Odisha’sGajapati and Ganjam districts.

Traffic on the Chennai-Kolkata National Highway washit after the uprooted trees

blocked some sections of theroad, according to officials.

The South Central Railwayas well as East Coast Railwaycancelled several trains whilesome were terminated midway,officials said, adding a fewexpress trains were also divert-ed. Train services betweenKhurda Road in Odisha andVizianagaram in AndhraPradesh also remained sus-pended since 10 pm onWednesday.

While no loss of lives wasreported in Odisha, “verysevere” cyclonic storm left atrail of destruction uprootingtrees, electric poles and dam-aging hutments. The cyclonic

storm system is now movingnortheastwards towardsGangetic West Bengal acrossOdisha and will weaken grad-ually, the IMD said.

According to the IndiaMeteorological Department,Cyclone ‘Titli’ made its landfallnear Palasa in Srikakulam dis-trict, south west of Gopalpur inOdisha with an estimated max-imum sustained surface windspeed of 140-150 km per hourgusting to 165 km per hourbetween 4.30 am and 5.30 am.

Continued on Page 7

PNS n NEW DELHI

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Thursday attached assets worth`54 crore of KartiChidambaram and his compa-ny Advantage StrategicConsulting Pvt Ltd. (ASCPL) inINX Media money launderingcase. The attached assetsinclude immovable propertiesin India, UK and Spain besidesdeposits in banks.

The ED probe has revealedthat then INX promoters Peterand Indrani Mukerjea met thenFinance Minister PChidambaram to expedite theirapplication for FIPB approval.

“The ED identified payments of`3.09 crore by Peter Mukerjeato ASCPL and associated enti-ties controlled by Karti throughmanipulated debit notes.During investigation, it wasadmitted that debit notes wereraised on the directions ofKarti to show some transactionwhich in fact did not occur,” theED said in a statement.

Continued on Page 7

Mumbai: The BSE Sensexslumped over 750 points to endat a six-month low and NSENifty ended below the 10,300mark on Thursday as globalindices witnessed across-the-board losses after investor sen-timent was hit by heavy sell-offin world markets.

The 30-share index, whichcommenced with a gap downopening, cracked over 1,000

points, breaching the 34,000-mark and hit a low of 33,723.53,before staging a partial recov-ery to touch a high of 34,325.09in afternoon trade. The gaugefinally ended 759.74 points, or2.19%, lower at 34,001.15. Thisis the lowest closing since April11. It had gained 461.42 pointson Wednesday.

Similarly, the NSE Niftysettled at 10,234.65, down

225.45 points, or 2.16%. Itmoved between 10,138.60 and10,335.95 in day trade. “The rea-son for Thursday’s fall is clear-ly global after President Trump’sacerbic comments against theFederal Reserve and the conse-quent sharp fall witnessed in allthe major Asian markets,” saidDheeraj Singh, Head ofInvestments — Taurus AMC.

Detailed report on P10

PTI n SRINAGAR

The Income Tax Departmenton Thursday carried out

surveys against two business houses in the mili-tancy-hit areas of the KashmirValley for alleged tax evasionrunning into crores of rupees,officials said.

They said tax sleuths fromincome tax offices inChandigarh and Rajasthanwere flown in here for carryingout the surprise checks, anexercise undertaken in the mil-itancy-infested Valley first timein 16 years.

About eight premises,including godowns, of the two

companies were searched atPampore and Pulwama in southKashmir and in the State capi-tal here. “The surveys are beingconducted on charges of tax eva-sion and the business premisesof the assesses are being visited,”a senior official said.

The income tax teams wereassisted by the CRPF for ensur-ing the security of the team.

The first company that wassurveyed has been is KingsIndustries Private Limited thatmanufactures electric poles and

iron structures, and is beinginvestigated for alleged “roundtripping of funds” to the tune of`10-11 crore as the same wasnot reflected in their accountbooks, the officials said.

The second operation wascarried out against Srinagar-based Hafiz Constructions -- areal estate company that isalso into hotel business. Thecompany is alleged to havemade “unaccounted transac-tions for sale of immovableproperties to the tune of `10crore”, they said.

The officials of the twobusiness houses were alsobriefly quizzed by the tax offi-cials, they said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

In yet another big setback tothree directors, including

Chairman & ManagingDirector of beleagueredAmrapali Group Anil KumarSharma, the Supreme Court onThursday initiated contemptproceedings against them anddirected that they be placedunder police surveillance forthe next 15 days.

The SC clarified onThursday that the AmrapaliCMD and directors Shiv Priyaand Ajay Kumar will not bekept in police lockup for thenight and instead be taken toa hotel in Noida, where theirphones will be seized. The topcourt had on October 9, direct-ed that the CMD and twodirectors be taken into policecustody till they hand over allthe documents of the group’s 46firms. The three directors werereleased on Wednesday nightfrom police custody after nine

properties of Amrapali Group,where bulky documents ofgroup companies are stashed,were sealed in compliance withthe SC’s order.

A Bench of Justices UULalit and DY Chandrachudallowed the three directors tostay in their home for Thursdaynight but asked them to presentthemselves before Station HouseOfficer (SHO) of Noida Sector58 on Friday before 8 AM.

The top court fixed a 15-day limit for forensic auditorsto collect, collate and cata-logue the documents from2008 till now with regard to the46 companies of the groupfrom the nine properties situ-ated in Noida, Greater Noida ofDelhi-NCR and Rajgir andBuxar district in Bihar.

Continued on Page 7

2 Mediapart reports that the fighter jet manufacturer had no optionbut to enter into a joint venture with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defenceas it was presented as “mandatory”

2 Dassault claims Dassault Aviation has freely chosen to make apartnership with India’s Reliance Group

2 The Mediapart report came out on a day whenDefence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman left forParis on a three-day visit to hold bilateraltalks with her French counterpart

2 Rahul seeks Modi’s resignation andsought for an investigation into the role of the PM in the deal

Rahul Gandhi is repeatedly lying. He is making amockery of the national security. The entireGandhi family is corrupt and they are pointingfingers at others? SAMBIT PATRA

r Smriti Irani expresses hersolidarity with the women whoare speaking out and said ‘thegentleman (Akbar) concernedwould be better positioned tospeak on this issue’

Rampal held guilty of murder Karti’s `54-cr assets inIndia, abroad attached

Amrapali chiefs’phones seized,contempt begins

Titli kills 8 in AP, ravages Odisha Sensex crashes over 750 pts; Niftyends below 10,300 on global rout

MeToo snowballs,Akbar faces ouster

SC orders CMD, 2 directors to liveunder police watchtill papers retrieved

Rafale exposé stokes fire

Dassault rejects coercion charge, claims ‘freely chose partner’; Cong, BJP lock horns

Why has suddenly theDefence Ministerrushed to France?What is theemergency?

Ex-President of France(Francois Hollande), noless, has said India’sPM is corrupt, now thecompany which got thecontract, its seniorexecutive is saying thatIndia’s PM is corrupt

RAHUL GANDHI

Rahul Gandhi has learnt anew mantra. He has been

taught that tell a lie…inhigh voice…so that it

appears true. But he hasnot been taught properly. A

lie is always a lie and itnever turns into truth

PRAKASH JAVADEKAR

People relocate to safer places as Cyclone Titli hits Barua village in Srikakulam on Thursday PTI

IT dept surveys 2 firms interror-hit areas of Valley

RSS No 3 Hosabale’s insinuating FB post makes

it insurmountable for MoS to get off the hook

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

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WORLD 11

TRUMP MOCKS #METOOMOVEMENT

OPINION 8

#METOO MOVEMENT: A SPARK OR FIRE?

FIR LODGED

AGAINST

NANA PATEKAR

14 VIVACITY

instagram.com/dailypioneer/

LUCKNOW, FRIDAY OCTOBER 12, 2018; PAGES 16 `3

Amrapali CMD Anil Sharmaaccompanies cops at Noida Sector 62office PTI

city 02LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 2018

PNS n LUCKNOW

At a function atSamajwadi Party officein Lucknow where for-

mer Union minister YashwantSinha was addressed as the new‘JP’, the Bharatiya Janata Partyrebel slammed the NarendraModi government, saying thatan emergency-like situationprevails in the country andfreedom of dissent is in peril.

“The government is intim-idating people who are oppos-ing the wrong policies of theModi Raj. Government agen-cies are persecuting them byraiding their houses and offices.This exactly happened duringthe Emergency. That time too,attempt was made to gag free-dom of speech using methodswhich are being deployed thistime too,” Sinha said.

Sinha, who attended JaiPrakash Narain’s birth anniver-sary function on Thursday, evenblasted the media, saying thatthey too were biased towards thegovernment.

Incidentally, SamajwadiParty patron Mulayam SinghYadav did not attend the func-tion, though BJP MPShatrughan Sinha and SP chiefAkhilesh Yadav were in atten-dance.

“The situation in the coun-try is going from bad to worse.Only those leaders stand bene-fited who try to be on the rightside of the Modi government,”Sinha said.

Appreciating SamajwadiParty chief Akhilesh Yadav forhis initiative to fight against theBJP, the former Union ministersaid, “A mahagathbandan (grandalliance) for the 2019 Lok Sabha

polls will throw up results like1977 when the entire unitedopposition routed the then inpower Congress.”

Without taking any names,Sinha said that the oppositionwould have to fight againstDuryodhan and Dushshasan inthe elections because a unitedopposition will certainly have anupper hand.

Speaking about the much-publicised Rafale fighter air-craft deal, Sinha said that it wassurprising that the DefenceMinister had no informationabout it like the Finance Ministerdid not know about demoneti-sation decision of the BJP gov-ernment.

Paying tributes to late JaiPrakash Narain, Yashwant Sinhasaid that he got the opportuni-ty to work with JP, former PrimeMinister Chandrashekhar andeven Mulayam Singh Yadav.

“We have to take a vowtoday in this function to fight

against the corrupt and ineffi-cient government at the Centre,”he said.

In his brief speech, BJPMP Shatrughan Sinha said thattoday was the anniversary ofSampurna Kranti hero JaiPrakash Narain and peoplewere looking towards YashwantSinha because he had JP-liketraits. He also lauded AkhileshYadav for providing effectivegovernance.

Earlier, talking to the media,Sinha said that Samajwadi Partywanted him to contest the com-ing Lok Sabha poll under itsbanner.

In his address, SP chiefAkhilesh Yadav criticised theanti-people policies of the BJPgovernment.

Yadav also slammed theBJP government in UP andclaimed that the people of thestate were suffering due to itsmisrule and also because of thedeteriorating law and order.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Congress president RahulGandhi on Thursday said

that local leaders were the realbackbone of the party anduntil they were empowered, thegrand old party could notregain its golden past.

“You are the backbone ofthe organisation. Until youwork and execute our pro-grammes in the field, we can-not strengthen ourselves andregain our lost glory,” Rahulsaid while interacting withCongress district and city chiefsthrough video conferencingon Thursday morning to getdirect feedback from them.

“We know and appreciateyour power and contribution.I assure you all that now youwill not only be strengthenedby giving you more power, butyour feedback too will decideevery action, including selec-tion of candidate,” the Congresspresident added.

Rahul, who could manageto interact with only half adozen district chiefs of UP onThursday, said he had interact-ed with district chiefs fromWest Bengal, Odisha,Maharashtra and other states.

The Congress chief assuredthe local leaders that he wouldregularly speak to them and

Lucknow (PNS): Independent MLA and former ministerRaghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya is likely to launch his polit-ical party and contest the coming Lok Sabha election. Raja Bhaiyawas a minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Partygovernments in the past. He was Food and Civil Supplies and JailMinister in SP government.

Sources said that his new party would be named ‘Jansatta Party’.A leader close to Raja Bhaiya said in Lucknow on Thursday thatthe process for registering the new outfit was underway. He saiddiscussion on the new party had already started on the officialFacebook page of Raja Bhaiya. The leader said that an applicationhad been submitted to the Election Commission of India and threenames had been given for the new outfit, one of it being ‘JansattaParty’. Raja Bhaiya is also slated to hold his first political rally atJaneshwar Mishra Park in Lucknow on November 30, where theannouncement of the new political party would be made. He ispresently an Independent MLA from Kunda in Pratapgarh and issaid to be close to the BJP. He has good influence among Thakur.

Lucknow (PNS): A maulviof a mosque was arrested inShamli for forging a passportissued in the name of his firstwife. Officials in Shamli toldmedia persons on Thursdaythat the maulvi of Kurishyanmosque, Mohammad Ayub, gota passport in the name of his firstwife Bushra in 2013. But in 2015,Bushra died and the maulvimarried her younger sisterMushrat. Later, the clericrenamed his second wife asBushra and tried to forge thepassport by changing the photoof the passport holder appearingon the passport.

An FIR under sections420/467/468/471 of the IndianPenal Code and sections 3 and5 of the Passport Act was regis-tered against Ayub and he wasarrested on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, a 25-year-oldwoman was raped by two menafter being forced to drink liquorat Nasirpur village ofMuzaffarnagar. The woman wasengaged by the two men to workin a field. On Wednesday, shewas forced to drink liquor afterwhich the two men raped her.The woman was sent for med-ical examination and a case wasregistered against the accused.

PNS n LUCKNOW

In a fresh directive, the stategovernment has banned the

use of cigarette, tobacco, panmasala and gutka in govern-ment offices. Violation of theban will invite disciplinaryaction against the erring person.

Chief Secretary AnupChandra Pandey said thatthough a ban on tobacco use atpublic places was in place, stillpeople were smoking cigaretteand chewing gutka and panmasala in government offices.

He asked all additional

chief secretaries, principal sec-retaries, secretaries, commis-sioners and heads of depart-ments to ensure effectiveimplementation of the ban.

Pandey said in his direc-tives that the use of tobacco inany form was hazardous forhealth and government person-nel should be told about this.

Incidentally, the govern-ment had banned use of gutka,tobacco and paan masala ingovernment offices on March26, 2017 after Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath visited thesecretariat for the first time.

Livid at the sight of betel-stained walls of the buildinghousing the Chief Minister’soffice, Yogi banned the use ofpaan and tobacco products inschools, colleges, hospitals andother government buildings.He also asked officials to stopchewing paan and paan masalaon duty.

After this, the ChiefMinister administered a sani-tation pledge to officials, andasked them to ensure that it waseffectively implemented on thelines of Swachh BharatAbhiyan.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Several persons, includingpolicemen, were injured

when an eve-teasing incidentled to a communal clash inShamli while a similar clashwas reported from Bahraichover installing an idol ofGoddess Durga.

As per reports, some youthsof a particularly communitywere teasing girl students inBawana hamlet of Budhana inShamli on Thursday. After beingmolested, some victims com-plained to the police and thecops reached there to nab theyouths.

However, when the copstried to nab the eve-teasers,members of their communitygathered at the spot and peltedstones, injuring five cops, andchased away the police party.They also roughed up the fam-ily members of the girls for dar-ing to complain against theirsons.

As the news of the assault ongirls’ family spread, members ofthe other community also con-verged on the scene and soonthere was a free for all.

Both the sides threw stonesand fought a pitched battle withthe police. The mob also torchedseveral police vehicles, includingthat of a circle officer.

The situation could be con-trolled only after police rein-forcement reached the spot andchased away the trouble-makers.

A case was registered against100 persons under relevant sec-tions of the Indian Penal Code.Seven people were also bookedfor beating the victims’ familymembers.

Security has been tightenedand additional police force hasbeen deployed in the area.

Meanwhile, in Sisaye Salonarea of Bahraich, half a dozencops were injured when theytried to intervene in a clashbetween members of two com-munities over installing an idolof Goddess Durga in the local-ity on Wednesday night.

Reports said that membersof a community objected to theinstallation of an idol of GoddessDurga and this led to a clashbetween the two communities inwhich both sided attacked eachother with bricks. When thepolice intervened, the warringgroups attacked them too. Sixpolicemen — two sub-inspec-tors and four constables — wereinjured in the incident.

The police registered casesagainst 290 people from bothcommunities, naming 40 ofthem. A total of 15 persons werelater arrested and additionalforce was deployed in the area.The situation was under control.

District Magistrate MalaSrivastava and Superintendent ofPolice Sabharaj Singh also visit-ed the area. Orders were issuedearlier against installation ofidols, especially at disputedplaces, without permission.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Rashtriya Lok Dal vice-pres-ident Jayant Chaudhary

said that he was still hopeful ofa grand alliance of like-mind-ed parties before the 2019 LokSabha elections.

Chaudhary said thatBahujan Samaj Party chiefMayawati’s decision to dumpthe Congress was only forChhattisgarh and MadhyaPradesh Assembly polls andtalks were going on amongSamajwadi Party, BahujanSamaj Party, Congress and Leftparties for the parliamentaryelection.

Defending Mayawati’sdecision in MP andChhattisgarh, the RLD leadersaid, “The interest of a party isequally important and the partyleader cannot ignore its leaderswhile deciding about alliancewith other parties.”

Chaudhary was of the viewthat a grand alliance could beformed for UP and Bihar too.

“UP and Bihar represent mostof north India politically. Weare working on a commonminimum programme. Thegrand alliance will happen inthe 2019 general election,” hesaid.

Chaudhary hit out at ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath onthe “exodus” of workers of UPand Bihar from Gujarat due tofear of attacks by the locals.

“A Chief Minister is boundto protect the interests of all cit-izens of the state. But the CMsays that those who are jealousof the progress of Gujarat arepropagating a wrong picture.

The CM should speak for UPworkers on the issue instead ofbatting for the Gujarat govern-ment. It is a dangerous trendthat the BJP has set in the coun-try,” he stated.

However, when questionedabout seat sharing among part-ners of the grand alliance, theRLD leader remained evasiveand did not say how many seatshis party wanted to contest inthe 2019 Lok Sabha poll.

“This is a non-issue. We areready to work with our part-ners and we will move twosteps forward, if they move onestep forward. Our aim is to dis-lodge the BJP from power atthe Centre,” he said.

Chaudhary reiterated thatthe RLD was in favour ofPaschimanchal and said theissue would be discussed whenthe alliance partners go for2019 election.

He also expressed grief atthe death of passengers in thetrain derailment in Rae Barelion Wednesday.

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Freedom of dissent

in peril: Yashwant

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav with Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha at Jai PrakashNarain’s birth anniversary function in Lucknow on Thursday Pioneer

Cigarette, tobacco, gutka banned in govt offices

Communal clash

over eve-teasing

Local leaders real backbone of Congress: Rahul GandhiInteracts with

party’s dist,

city chiefs

take their advice and servicesin ensuring more power tothem at the ground level.

To strike a better rapportwith local leaders, Rahul alsoenquired about the well-beingof their family members andalso sought inputs on localissues.

Majority of district chiefsinformed the Congress presi-dent that the party needed to bestrengthened at the booth, blockand panchayat levels. Some alsocomplained that the state lead-ers never interacted with themand that decisions were takenwithout their consent.

Rahul assured them thatthis was just a beginning andthat he would be contactingthem at least once every fort-night.

Sources said that afterlaunching ‘Shakti App’ to con-nect with Congress workers up

to the booth level, the exercisewas adopted by Rahul Gandhiin the belief that the tworegional parties — Bahujan

Samaj Party and SamajwadiParty — may not align with theCongress in the 2019 LokSabha election.

Congress blames govt for

retired professor’s death

PNS n LUCKNOW

Congress on Thursdayaccused the Bharatiya

Janata Party of fooling thepeople in the name of clean-ing the holy river Ganga orbuilding Ram temple. It alsoheld Chief Minister YogiAdityanath responsible for thedeath of agitating SwamiSanand.

“Agitating retired professorof IIT, Swami Sanand, was onfast to raise the issue of corrup-tion and protest against noeffective action been taken toclean the holy river Ganga butthe state government failed torespond to his concern. Nowafter the death of Sanand, thegovernment has suspendedthree engineers and held themresponsible”, said Congressspokesman Mukesh Chauhan,adding that the Chief Ministerwas directly responsible for thedeath.

“Yogi Adityanath shouldeither tender apology or sub-

mit his resignation as his gov-ernment’s inaction on theissues raised by Sanand costthe life of the social activist”,Chauhan added.

He said that during the2014 Lok Sabha polls,Narendra Modi had come toUP from Gujarat, claimingthat Maa Ganga had calledhim to contest election fromVaranasi but he did not takepain to fulfill the promises hemade during election cam-paign.

“Narendra Modi hadcalled Ganga his Maa (moth-er) and promised to clean theholy river but nothing hasbeen done in this regard exceptof misleading people, Chauhansaid, adding that several crorerupees had been spent onNamami Gange project but theholy river was still polluted. Healso reminded Uma Bharti ofher pledged that if the Gangawould not cleaned before 2019parliamentary polls she wouldleave active politics.

Raja Bhaiya likely to

form his own party

Cleric held for forging wife’s passport

Jayant hopeful of alliance


PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Taking a serious note of theNew Farakka Expressderailment that claimed

seven lives on Wednesday,Northern Railway’s DivisionalRailway Manager (LucknowDivision) Satish Kumar onThursday suspended an executiveengineer and a signal inspectorposted at at Harchandpur railwaystation in Rae Bareli.

Giving details,spokesman/Senior DivisionalCommercial Manager of NRLucknow division, JagtoshShukla, said that laxity of both theofficials had come to light in thepreliminary inquiry and so actionwas taken against them. “TheChief Commissioner of RailwaySafety will be conducting aninquiry at Harchandpur railwaystation from Friday. The inquirywill conclude on Saturday. On thebasis of the findings of theinquiry, action will be initiated ifmore officials are found guilty ofdereliction of duty,” he said.Shukla denied reports of suspen-sion of station master of RaeBareli and Harchandpur sayingthe news circulated among themedia was wrong.

Meanwhile, two moreinjured rail passengers suc-cumbed on Thursday inLucknow. Rinku (28), who wasbrought to the KGMU Trauma

Centre in a very bad state, and 11-year-old Sugandh admitted to theTrauma Centre of SGPGI withmultiple fractures, died early onThursday. The DRM said one ofthe tracks on which rail trafficwas disrupted following thederailment was repaired andopened for train movement onThursday morning, while workon the other track was likely to becompleted by evening. On

Wednesday, the engine and ninecoaches of Malada-New DelhiNew Farakka Express trainderailed at Harchandpur in RaeBareli in Uttar Pradesh around6.10 am on Wednesday. AnNDRF team, comprising 40 per-sonnel, and senior officials fromthe State and the Railways, rushedto the spot for rescue. RailwayBoard Chairman AshwaniLohani also visited the accident

site and said the Railways has ini-tiated a separate enquiry into theaccident. The causes of the derail-ment will be known once theAnti-Terrorism Squad submits itsreport. A special train, which wasarranged for the stranded passen-gers, left Lucknow for New Delhiwith 1,369 passengers on board,railway officials said, adding thatthey were given food packets tosustain them through the journey.

Train derailment: Railways

suspends two officials


“Iwill rather shoot myselfthan fall into police hands,”

Shivam Singh, one of the primeaccused in the Thakurganjmurder case, had told his aideChinna minutes before hekilled himself at their hideoutin Viram Khand-5 (GomtiNagar) on Wednesday night.

“Chinna told Shivam thata police team had surroundedthe house and asked him tosurrender. But Shivam shothimself in another room at thehouse,” said Hazratganj circleofficer Abhay Kumar Mishra,who was heading the operationalong with his LocalIntelligence Unit (LIU) coun-terpart Radhey Shyam.

Mishra said the police hadsurrounded the house afterhaving received a tip-off froman informer. “The cops were incivvies so that people did notpanic. Chinna and Shivammistook the team as that of STFand later, Shivam shot himselffearing arrest,” he said.

Mishra said the bullet ofcountry-made pistol piercedthough Shivam’s head fromright to left. “The pistol wasrecovered from the scene,” he

added. Both Shivam andChinna had taken shelter in thehouse, which is owned by sub-inspector Ram Singh, who ispresently attached with motortransport department in Hapur.

However, several questionsstill remain unanswered. Thepolice failed to explain as tohow Shivam and Chinna suc-ceeded in getting the house ina posh locality, and that tooowned by a policeman.

“The videos and photosshowing both Shivam andChinna had gone viral onsocial media after they killedImran Ghazi and his brotherArman Ghazi on October 3night. Besides, every detailrelated to the accused was inpublic as newspapers were con-stantly carrying the stories onthem. How could an ordinaryman take the big risk of arrang-ing a house for the accused?.The accused must have beenbeing helped by some police-men,” a source said.

Sources said the police hadannounced Rs 15,000 each onthe arrest of the duo after fail-ing to get any clue about them.

“Shivam had several cases reg-istered against him. He wasseen moving nonchalantly in aCCTV footage that theThakurganj police hadobtained from the crime scenein Musahibganj (Thakurganj).A hardened criminal who usedto boast of his shady record tointimidate local residentswould hardly shoot himself,”the sources opined.

They said the possibilitythat Chinna shot Shivam couldnot be ruled out. “Chinnaworked as a police informerand it seems that he leaked theinformation to cops and latershot Shivam. Chinna may turnapprover in the case,” thesources claimed.

Meanwhile, the name ofanother aide of Shivam sur-faced in the double murdercase. Police spokesman AKSingh said the accused wasidentified as Virendra ofMisribagh locality and thepolice had launched a manhuntfor him. The slain brothers hada rivalry with the accused asthey were vying for suprema-cy in the locality.

Shivam told his aide

he would shoot selfTHAKURGANJ MURDERS

Lucknow (PNS): The EmergencyMedicine department of King George’sMedical University (KGMU) is planningto introduce evening OPD services soon.Media spokesperson, KGMU, SantoshKumar said the Emergency Medicinedepartment would also operate differentunits like pre-hospital care, acute care,emergency ICU and toxicology unit.“The Emergency Medicine departmentwill provide holistic patient care as wellas MD and PDCC training in emergencymedicine, which will produce specialistsin this particular field,” he said.

“We face challenges posed by emer-gencies related to infections, communi-cable diseases, cardiac diseases, strokeand trauma. KGMU provides round-the-clock services to patients with a varietyof emergencies. We receive around 350patients per day and they are routedthrough the department of EmergencyMedicine department for further care. Inthe dedicated Emergency Medicinedepartment, we provide initial assess-ment and first-line treatment that has theadded advantage of saving precioustime and providing expert care,” Kumarexplained. HoD Dr Haider Abbas ismanaging the department with help ofresidents and staff. “In view of the sig-nificance of emergency care in reducingmortality and morbidity, the UttarPradesh government has strengthenedthe needs of Emergency Medicinedepartment by sanctioning 18 new postson the initiative of Vice-Chancellor DrMLB Bhatt,” he added.

Emergency Med

dept plans evening

OPD services

Suspected

dengue,

malaria cases

on the rise


Suspected malaria anddengue cases are on the rise

in different parts of city. Eightpatients, suspected to be suffer-ing from dengue, were admit-ted to Dr Shyama PrasadMukherjee (Civil) Hospital onThursday. Out of the 151 sus-pected malaria cases atBalrampur Hospital, 15 testedpositive. According to healthofficials, malaria and viralfever cases are on the rise asscores patients are reachinghospitals.

Meanwhile, at Dr RamManohar Lohiya Hospital, aone-year-boy suffering fromdengue is recovering and as perdoctors, he is likely to be dis-charged soon. According toincharge Dr Ashutosh KumarTripathi, eight patients sus-pected to be suffering fromdengue were admitted to CivilHospital. “While the card testhas given a positive report, weare waiting for Elisa test report,”he said. Additional director ofthe non-communicable dis-eases (NCD) unit KP Tripathion Thursday visited RajeevGandhi 2, Rafi Ahmad Qidwai,Maulana Kalbe Sadiq andothers wards to take stock ofthe situation.


Uttar Pradesh Deputy ChiefMinister Dinesh Sharma on

Thursday handed over anappointment letter for a govern-ment job to Kalpana Tiwari, thewife of Apple executive VivekTiwari who was shot dead by apolice constable last month.

Sharma visited the residence

of Kalpana and gave her theappointment letter for a job in theNagar Nigam, a governmentspokesman said. On the occasion,Kalpana said, “I think the probein the case is moving in the rightdirection. I am satisfied with it tillnow.” Vivek, 38, was shot dead byconstable Prashant Chaudhary inthe Gomti Nagar Extension areahere when he was on his way to

drop an ex-colleague home in hisSUV. Chaudhary, however,claimed he pulled the trigger asTiwari tried to run him overthrice to kill him. A case of mur-der was registered against thepoliceman based on a complaintfiled by the relatives of thedeceased. Two constables,Chaudhary and Sandeep Kumar,were subsequently arrested.

Dy CM gives appointment

letter to Apple exec’s wife

Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma handing over appointment letter to Kalpana Tiwari on Thursday. Also seen are Cabinet ministerAshutosh Tandon and mayor Sanyukta Bhatia Pioneer


Lucknow (PNS): Underthe Aroma Mission, CentralInstitute of Medicinal andAromatic Plants has beenspreading awareness regardingthe Mission to over 5,000farmers and hand-held over500 farmers in their entrepre-neurial ventures. CIMAPdirector AK Tripathi toldmediapersons at the institutewhere the farmers had gath-ered on Thursday to sharetheir success stories on the var-ious ventures. He said that theinstitute had been reaching outto the farmers in every possi-ble manner, through telephone,field demonstration by scien-tists, who stay back in the fieldand train farmers how to dis-till the oil if they do not havethe necessary apparatus. Citingthe advantages that the farmerhad under the mission,Tripathi said that those plantscould be grown on arid landand they were not grazed bythe animals. He said that theywere even suitable for saline soils.

“In fact after the oil extrac-tion from these aromaticplants, they can be used as ani-mal feed. These plants also getan extremely good revenuefor the farmers ranging fromRs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 to Rs 1lakh per acre,” he said. He saidthat the three plants whichwere popular with the farmerswere mentha, lemongrass andVetiver (khus) which could begrown in all kinds of soils. Hesaid that palmarosa had alsobeen extremely popular.

PROTESTThe Lucknow Municipal Corporation workers, seeking old

pension revival and ban on outsourcing of workforce among otherdemands, protested on first day of their two-day two-hour workboycott on Thursday. The employees, led by association leadersSyed Qaiser Raza, RK Singh and others, said they were firm ontheir work boycott in support of the demands. “All Jal Kal depart-ment and LMC employees are taking part in the protest and wehave forwarded a memorandum of demands to senior officialsand ministers,” Singh said. He threatened to go ahead with themass agitation plan on November 29 if the government failed tomeet their demands. The work boycott for two hours affected thefunctioning of LMC at several places. The protest lasted more thantwo hours and was attended by majority of employees.

DURGA PUJARDSO Sarbajanin Puja Committee, formed in the year 1968,

will be celebrating its golden jubilee year of Durga Puja at RDSORajdhani Hall from October 12 to 18. RDSO director general willinaugurate the celebrations. General secretary of Sarbajanin PujaCommittee said that the festival would see a line-up of eventsover the week, including cultural shows, arts competition, music& drama, food festival, fair etc.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDFounder of City Montessori School Jagdish Gandhi was hon-

oured with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in Bangkok, thecapital city of Thailand, for his efforts for a safe and secure futureof world’s 2.5 million children by establishing unity, peace andhuman rights across the globe. The ‘International GlobalAchievers Alliance Award’ ceremony was held recently at a hotelin Bangkok wherein the Princess of Thailand, Dr Mom LuangRajadarasri Jayankura honoured Gandhi.

PADYATRA

Students of Lucknow University and associated colleges tookout a padyatra on Thursday. The rally started from Shri Jai NarainPost Graduate (KKC) College and culminated at LucknowUniversity. The students submitted a memorandum, addressedto the state government, to the district administration demand-ing student union elections. Anurag Tewari, who was represent-ing the students, said the padyatra stopped at various points whereit was joined by students from KKC College, DAV College,Christian College and other colleges. At LU, the gates were closedand the students remained outside.

VIJAYA BANKVijaya Bank has shown excellent progress in its reviewed

financial results for the quarter which ended on June 30.Addressing mediapersons and general public about the bank’sfinancial report, regional manager Eshwara Prasad T said VijayaBank had shown a growth of 13.24% in its operating profit, whichis Rs 852 crore for June quarter. The net profit of the bank is Rs144 crore and total business has grown to Rs 2,79,674 crore witha growth of 24.12%, the highest till date. The bank has also showntremendous improvement in its NPA sector.

LAUNCHEDTo light up Diwali, Borosil has introduce new diya designs

while keeping the core essence of ‘beauty with performance’ intact.The diyas are a blend of traditional motifs with promise of quality and safety.


Over 98.5 per cent multi-storeybuildings developed by Lucknow

Development Authority (LDA) are saidto be violating safety norms, imperilingthe lives of occupants. The state govern-ment has also expressed concern overthe lack of safety norms and worked outa plan for adequate arrangements toensure safety of the occupants in caseof natural calamities.

The anomaly was brought to thefore in a survey conducted by the Urbanand Housing department. The surveywas conducted last month following therequest of UP’s Natural DisasterResponse Force with a view to assess-ing safety measures in the apartments.Eyebrows are being raised on how themapping department passed the blue-prints which were in violation of thesafety norms. There is a strict provisionin the UP Urban Building DevelopmentRules on the basis of which blueprintsviolating the safety norms are binned.Chief engineer IS Singh expressed sur-prise over the violations. Now, the LDA

administration, on the instructions ofthe state government, will constitute apanel of experts to examine the blue-prints of multi-storey complexes andapartments to ensure complete adher-ence to the safety norms. It will be com-pulsory for all development agencies,government agencies engaged in civilengineering projects, housing boardsand as well as private builders to havetheir blueprints approved by the expertpanel. Completion certificates will alsobe issued after physical inspection bythe panel members. The chief engineersaid the completion certificate would bea must before allotment of shelters. Headded that strict measures were beingtaken to safeguard the lives of residentsagainst any natural calamity like earth-quake. LDA Vice-Chairman PN Singhsaid the policy would come into exis-tence with immediate effect. The chiefengineers said that the obsolete safetyequipment in the multi-storey buildings and towers would be replacedsoon. A plan is being chalked out toreplace old firefighting equipment withthe latest ones.


An international conferenceon sleep disorders will kick

off for the first time in Lucknowon Friday. Addressing media-persons, organising secretary BPSingh said sleep disorders hadnot been taken as a separate sub-ject for deliberation earlier.

“We all spend one third ofour life sleeping but disorders ofsleep have not been givenenough attention, which wasrequired in this region of theworld where not many trainingfacilities for a huge populationof South East Asians is available.To address this very importantissue, the South East AsianAcademy of Sleep Medicine,along with other organisations,has taken a giant step in organ-ising the conference on sleepdisorders at Lucknow,” saidSingh. He said that internation-al experts from more than 11countries would be participat-ing in the conference with thebest known being David White,who was Professor of ClinicalMedicine at the HarvardUniversity. He said that all kindsof sleep disorders would bediscussed but the major onewould be sleep apnoea. “Thereis very little information regard-ing this sleep disorder. Nearly 4per cent of the males and 2 percent of the females in Lucknoware suffering from sleep apnoea.The symptoms for this diseaseare that a person wakes up witha choking feeling, He or she alsogets up frequently to urinate andsince he or she has not had arefreshing spell of sleep thenext day he or she is fallingasleep at meetings and during

daily routine. This can also leadto sudden death with a drop inthe oxygen intake in the personwho is suffering from this dis-ease,” he said. Singh said thatprevalence of obstructive sleepapnoea, characterised by respi-ratory insufficiency during sleepwas associated with cardiovas-cular events like stroke, hyper-tension, ischemic heart disease,poor diabetes and BP controletc. He further pointed out thatthis was also important to betackled with because 15 per centof the road accident deathsoccurred because of this disor-der. Sleep apnoea could alsolead to stroke or death, headded. Singh said that becauseof the change in the life stylepeople were not sleeping suffi-ciently. He said that this couldbe distinguished from thepathological snoring which hap-pened in 40 per cent males and30 per cent females. Singh saidthat sleep apnoea is common in30 per cent patients of hyperten-sion, 30 per cent in obesepatients and 75 per cent inpatients of stroke. The organis-ing secretary said sleep was notoptional. “It is absolutely criti-cal to people’s health,” he added.According to one survey in

India, 93 per cent of the popu-lation in the study was sleepdeprived but only 2 per centIndians discussed their sleepissues with the physicians.

Himanshu Garg (presidentof SEAASM) said that 10 to 15pc of the total road accidentswere due to sleepiness or driverfatigue. “Furthermore by 2020the number of people killed inmotor vehicle crashes areexpected to double to 2.3 mil-lion deaths worldwide of whichapproximately 2.3 to 3.45 lakhwill be due to drowsiness orfatigue. David Cunnington fromAustralia said: “Insomnia is themost common sleep disorderwith some insomnia problemsnear the past year reported by30 pc of the adults.”

Pratibha Dogra from a hos-pital in Gurgaon said: “A declinein sleep duration of up to 18minutes per night over the past30 years has occurred.Complaints of sleeping prob-lems have increased substantial-ly over the same period withshort sleep (less than 6hrs/nightin a full time worker becomingmore prevalent). As you knowthis alone doubles the risk ofheart attack, apart from otherundesirable consequences.”


The track work for LucknowMetro Rail Corporation

(LMRC) will be completed bythe middle of December thisyear. Managing director,LMRC, Kumar Keshav saidthat they were working on thecritical points of the trackwork currently on the elevatedcorridor from the KD Singh‘Babu’ Stadium to thePolytechnic crossing whichwere primarily atBadshahnagar and Polytechniccrossings.

Talking to The Pioneer, hesaid that the track work of theentire 23 kilometre would becompleted by December. “Weare carrying out both the trackand the OHE work simultane-ously. The track work at theAmausi Airport end will becompleted by the end of

October itself,” he added.The MD said that the 20th

train would start from Chennaifor the LMRC Depot onOctober 20. “This is the lasttrain which we will receivefrom the Alstom and I will per-sonally be going for its delivery.The train should reach thecity by the end of this month,”said Keshav.

He pointed out that cur-rently they were running seventrains on the priority track.“The trains after they arebrought to the Depot are thencommissioned. They are runfor the passengers only afterthey have covered a certainlength of 2000-3000 kilometres.For this we run these trains atnight after the operations arefinished on the priority corri-dor for a period of six to eightweeks. This is importantbecause these trains will be run

on the entire length of the cor-ridor,” he said.

Keshav said that for threedays these trains were taken formaintenance and for the otherfour days of the week they wererun on the priority corridor atnight. He said that the LMRCwas focusing on restoring theroads during the constructionof the Lucknow Metro. “All thebarricades will be removed bythe end of this month from theconstruction areas except for avery few where critical work isbeing carried out and all theroads also will be restored. Weare hoping to complete thisbefore Diwali next month. Wehave largely removed theboards from many stretches onthe North-South Corridor,” hepointed out. Asked whetherthey were facing any problemof land acquisition, Keshavsaid that they had acquired theland wherever it was required.“We have also managed to getthe land which was required forthe entrance to one of theunderground stations,” he said.

Regarding the change inthe name of LMRC to UPMetro Rail Corporation, hesaid that all the relevant papershad already been submitted tothe Registrar of Companiesafter the LMRC Board hadgiven a nod to the change in thename. On queries regarding thetrials of the Lucknow Metro forthe entire corridor, he saidthat they could not comment asof now. He said that currentlythe focus was on the comple-tion of track work.

Keshav: Track work will becompleted by mid-Dec

CITYBRIEFS


City bus drivers went onstrike on Thursday morn-

ing, leaving the passengershigh and dry. However, man-aging director of LucknowCity Transport Services ArifSaqlain said the strike wascalled off in the evening aftertalks with the bus drivers.

“As a city bus caught firein Ashiyana recently, I hadissued an order for the driversto give it in writing and put

their signatures to confirmbefore leaving the depots thatthe buses had no defects. Thedrivers went on strike becausethey did not want to put theirsignatures at the time of leav-ing the depots. The otherdemand that they were mak-ing was that the targets whichhad been set for them for thedistance they drove were highand the same be reduced,”Saqlain said.

He said that after thetalks, it was decided that the

drivers would not be requiredto put their signatures butmust note the defects and getthem rectified before driving.However, the second demand was not conceded, headded.

Over 135 drivers at theGomti Nagar depot went onstrike while 125 drivers at theDubagga depot did not joinin. “Our primary aim wasthat the drivers should ensuresafety and security of the pas-sengers,” Saqlain said.

City bus drivers strike work

Devotees paying obeisance to the deity at Chhitwapur temple on the second day of Navratra on Thursday Pioneer

CIMAP makingcultivators aware aboutAroma Mission

Lucknow (PNS): In the case of issuance ofa fake cheque worth Rs 2.5 crore by KGMU, theHazratganj police registered a case of fraud andtempering with documents. SHO, Hazratganj,Radharaman Singh said Amit Prakash Pathakof Jankipuram deposited the cheque at IndusIndBank. “The cheque reached the head office ofAllahabad Bank in which KGMU has a bankaccount. After the cash was credited, theKGMU officials got an alert. Later, the KGMUregistrar denied that he had issued any suchcheque. Subsequently, chief manager ofAllahabad Bank (HQ) Anand Kumar Goellodged a case,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, a 60-year-old village guard wasfound hanging from a tree in Thakurganj policestation area. Police claimed that the man endedhis life but failed to explain why. The body wassent for autopsy and investigations were start-ed. As per reports, Heera Lal of Barikalan vil-lage in the area had to gone to guard crops inhis field on Wednesday night but did not returnhome for breakfast on Thursday. His sonDheeraj went to the field and found him hang-ing from the tree. “Heeralal was found hang-ing from a tree with a rope tied around hisneck,” a police spokesman said, adding that fur-ther investigations were on.

KGMU fraud: Caseregistered for docus tampering

Now, safety expert panel

to approve blueprints

Global conference on sleepdisorders commences today

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n ALLAHABAD

Commissioner of AllahabadDivision Ashish Kumar

Goel said that works related tothe preparations for the forth-coming Kumbh Mela to be heldin January next year were inprogress and majority of themwere expected to be complet-ed by November 5. TheCommissioner presided over ameeting of Kumbh Mela-2019Advisory Committee at CircuitHouse on Thursday. It wasattended by mayor AbhilashaGupta ‘Nandi’, Ajay Bharti,Rajmani Kol, all MLAs,Inspector General of Police(Kumbh) KP Singh, DistrictMagistrate (Kumbh) VijayKiran Anand, SDM (Kumbh)Rajiv Rai, heads of governmentdepartments and members ofthe Advisory Committee.Volunteers of civil defence willbe deployed at various placesto help the pilgrims so that theyreached their destinations inthe shortest possible time, AnilKumar of civil defence said.

The members suggestedthat the dharamshalas shouldbe given a facelift to provide acomfortable stay to the teerthpurohits coming here fromthe far-flung places. TheDistrict Magistrate has direct-ed all the agencies engaged invarious works to completethem on time and ensureremoval of garbage strewn onthe roads and at various cross-ings on a priority basis. Themembers suggested thatbesides the removal of garbage water should be sprin-kled regularly so that dust settles down.

Preparations for

Kumbh Mela

underway

nation 05LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 2018

ARCHANA JYOTI n NEW DELHI

The Union Ayush Ministry's bid to ropein Public Sector Units (PSUs) to open

hospitals exclusively providing tradition-al systems of medicine including Ayurvedaacross the country has started deliveringresults.

In a first, and what can be called as ashot in the arm for the Ministry, theGovernment's Navratna, National ThermalPower Corporation (NTPC) has agreed toset up Ayush centres in five cities —Kayamkulum in Alappuzha district ofKerala, Koldam (Bilaspur in HimachalPradesh), Tapovan (Rishikesh inUttarakhand), Vindhyanchal and Farakkain West Bengal.

"The nitty-gritty is being finalized," asenior official from the Ministry saidadding that talks are on with other PSUstoo in this direction.

He said that efforts are on to persuadethe PSUs to set up the Ayush Centres inthe remote areas where medical facilities

are almost nil or inaccessible. "There hasbeen demand for the traditional systemsof medicines as these are playing vital rolein providing health care to large section ofpopulation, especially in developing coun-tries like India.

"This is because of the affordability ofpeople to buy Ayurvedic medicines that areof low cost, compared to that of Allopathy,"the official added.

He attributed growing demand foralternative medicines also to the increasingawareness among the public regarding theefficacy of Ayush, availability of scientifi-cally validated ayush medicines like anti-diabetes drug BGR-34 (developed by CSIR)

and Ayush Ministry's emphasis on goodmanufacturing practices in the sector.

The Ministry is also pushing for pro-grammes such as training of trainers fororientation of ASHAs/ANMs to the poten-tial of AYUSH with respect to general well-ness and preventive health care includingprevention of common ailments like dia-betes and popularizing common ayurve-da and yoga remedies/practices for themanagement of such illnesses.

Last year, the Centre had approvedproposals for setting up of 100 Ayurveda,Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy(AYUSH) hospitals across the country.During the last three years, theGovernment had also approved posting of4000 AYUSH doctors in primary healthcentres across the country.

In fact, the National Health Policy,2017 has also envisaged the integration ofthe Ayush system in the NHP and con-tribution in larger aspect including theNon- Communicable Diseases, the officialadded.

PTI n NEW DELHI

More than 900 prisonershave been released from

jails across India under anamnesty scheme announcedas part of the year-long cele-bration to mark the 150thbirth anniversary of MahatmaGandhi beginning October 2,the Home Ministry saidThursday.

Women convicts aged 55years and above and male con-victs of 60 years or more, whohave served half of their sen-tence, and a few other cate-gories of prisoners were eligi-ble for the amnesty schemeannounced by the NarendraModi government.

In the week-long firstphase of special remission toprisoners, the states and Unionterritories, after obtaining theapproval of the competent

authority in their jurisdictions,have released more than 900prisoners, a home ministrystatement said.

In the second and thirdphase, prisoners will bereleased on April 6, 2019 andOctober 2, 2019 respectively.

The following categories ofprisoners are eligible for specialremission: women convicts of55 years of age and above, whohave completed half of their

actual sentence period, trans-gender convicts of 55 years ofage and above, who have servedhalf of their actual sentenceperiod, male convicts of 60years of age and above, whohave completed 50 per cent oftheir actual sentence period.

Physically challenged ordisabled convicts with 70 percent disability and more whohave completed 50 per cent oftheir actual sentence period, ter-

minally-ill convicts, convictedprisoners who have completedtwo-third (66 per cent) of theiractual sentence period are alsoeligible under the scheme.

Special remission scheme isnot available to prisoners whohave been convicted for anoffence for which the sentenceawarded is death or wheredeath sentence has been com-muted to life imprisonment,cases of convicts involved inserious and heinous crimeslike dowry death, rape, humantrafficking and convicted underPOTA, UAPA, TADA, FICN,POCSO Act, MoneyLaundering, FEMA, NDPS,Prevention of Corruption Act,etc.

While releasing the pris-oners, they will be gifted booksrelating to Mahatma Gandhiand will be provided suitablecounselling.

PTI n NEW DELHI

US sanctions will not be animpediment to Indo-

Russia defence deals, and NewDelhi and Moscow could soonsign agreements on frigatesand Kalashnikov assault rifles,Russian Ambassador to IndiaNikolay Kudashev saidThursday.

Describing the recently-inked USD 5.4 billion S-400missile defence system deal asthe "largest contract" in the his-tory of Indo-Russia ties, he saidit was one of the "speediest"agreements to be signedbetween the two countries andthere were no protracted nego-tiations.

The implementation of the

contract, signed duringPresident Vladimir Putin's visitfrom October 4-5, would startin 2020 and would last for fiveyears, he said.

"In the coming months,

you can expect more deals.Talks are on, this is the normalprocess. We hope that withintwo-three months... We couldsoon have a deal on frigates, itis very much on the agenda of

the two sides, and we couldsoon have a deal on theKalashnikov assault rifles," theenvoy told a select group ofjournalists here.

"Yes," Kudashev saidemphatically, when askedwhether it would be right tostate that Countering America'sAdversaries Through SanctionsAct or CAATSA would not putpressure on India and Russiafor further defence deals.

His remarks come just aday after US President DonaldTrump said India would soon"find out" if the punitiveCAATSA sanctions apply to itover its USD 5 billion dealwith Russia to purchase the S-400 Triumf air defence sys-tem.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onThursday issued contempt

notice against three directors,including the CMD, ofAmrapali group for defyingvarious court orders andsought their reply in fourweeks.

A bench of Justices UU Lalitand DY Chandrachud asked thethree Amrapali directors — AnilKumar Sharma, Shiv Priya andAjay Kumar to present them-selves before SHO of NoidaSector 62 tomorrow before 8 AM.

It directed the Noida policeto take them to the sealedproperties where the docu-ments of the group's 46 com-panies will be catalogued.

The apex court also direct-ed Noida SSP to take the threedirectors to hotel Park Ascentafter 6 pm where their cell-phones will be seized and theyshall spend nights in the hotelfor the next 15 days, instead ofpolice lock up.

The top court said they willremain under police surveil-lance confined to the hotel.

It also said that the sealed

properties of Amrapali groupin Noida and Greater Noidawill be open from 8 AM to 6PM for cataloguing of docu-ments for next 15 days.

The bench asked the twoforensic auditors Ravi Bhatiaand Pawan Kumar Aggarwalcomplete the task of auditingthe balance sheet and affairs of46 Amrapali group companiesin next ten weeks time.

Earlier in the day the grouphad informed the apex courtthat its nine properties inNoida, Greater Noida as alsoRajgir and Buxar in Bihar havebeen sealed in compliance withthe court's order.

The apex court had yes-terday ordered the sealing ofnine properties of the embat-tled real estate company afterthe three directors, who are inpolice custody, said the docu-ments related to the group's 46firms were stored there.

The three directors hadmoved an application beforethe court stating that they werewilling to hand over all docu-ments but the police wasunaware about which oneneeded to be seized.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onThursday was apprised by

a super-speciality hospital herethat Uttar Pradesh politicianDP Yadav, facing life term inthe MLA murder case, wouldundergo spinal surgery onOctober 19.

Yadav was awarded lifeimprisonment by a DehradunCBI court in 2015 for his rolein the murder of MahendraSingh Bhati, an MLA fromGhaziabad's Dadri area. Thelawmaker was shot dead atDadri railway crossing inDecember 1992.

Yashoda SuperspecialityHospital at Ghaziabad, in itsmedical report filed in pur-suance of an earlier order, tolda bench headed by Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi that Yadav's viralfever has gone now and hewould be operated upon byusing local anaesthesia onOctober 19.

The bench, also compris-ing Justices S K Kaul and K MJoseph, considered the reportand extended the interim bailof the controversial politicianfor undergoing the surgery. It

also directed the hospital tofurnish a fresh report onOctober 22 and fixed the mat-ter for hearing a day after.

After perusing the report,the court today said thesurgery, which was said to bea complicated one, can be donethrough laproscpoic method byusing local anaesthesia.

Earlier, the apex court haddirected the hospital to furnisha report whether Yadav was fitto undergo spinal surgery andhad cautioned him against tak-ing any "undue advantage".

The bench, which had ear-lier granted an interim bail for15 days to Yadav for undergo-ing pre-operation tests, hadtaken strong note of the factthat the tests have not beendone on the ground that he washaving viral fever and hadwarned that it would send himback to jail.

Yadav, whose appeal in theUttarkhand High Court againstthe 2015 trial court verdict ispending, had moved the topcourt for grant of bail forundergoing the surgery.

The High Court, on June14 this year, had rejected thebail plea of Yadav.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Concerned with the rise ininstances of urban flood-

ing in the country, the Ministryof Housing and Urban Affairs( MoHUA) is bringing guide-lines on how cities should dealwith such a situation. TheMinistry has asked theNational Institute of UrbanAffairs (NIUA) to prepareguidelines to prevent urbanflooding.

The comprehensive assess-ment of losses by theGovernment during the peri-od between 1953 and 2017states that overall 256.150 mil-lion hectares of crops worth Rs1.09 lakh crore and over 8crore houses worth Rs 53,576crore were damaged while over6 crore cattle and 1 crore liveswere lost during the six -and-a-half decades. In all, the floodshave affected over 20 crorepeople so far.

According to Housing andUrban Affairs MinisterHardeep Singh Puri, there hasbeen an increasing trend ofurban flood disasters in thecountry in the past few yearsand the ministry has asked theNIUA ( National Institute ofUrban Affair ) to put togetherfacts on the recent floods, be itin Kerala or Kashmir, and

hold talks with experts to lookat the causation.

"During Kerala flood, theurban flooding issues wereraised again on whether we areprepared sufficiently to dealwith situation," Puri said afterattending a workshop on'Urban Flood Resilience' whereexperts suggested a number ofways to tackle the issue. Theworkshop was organised by theNIUA.

The minister said thatthere is need to devise a systemto anticipate natural disaster

and make preparations accord-ingly to deal with it. As perprimary estimate, Kerala floodcaused damage of assets overRs 20, 000 crore.

According to the ministry,recommendations to be drawnup to tackle urban floodingwill be based on categoriessuch as early warning for nat-ural disaster, preparedness foremergency and planning fordisaster reduction.

An official of the NIUAsaid once the recommendationsare drawn up, they will be sent

to states. NIUA Director JaganShah stressed on the need forbetter coordination betweendifferent departments in statesduring natural disaster.

The government datashows that on an average, over1,600 people die every year dueto floods, affecting nearly 32million people. More than92,000 cattles are lost everyyear, seven million hectares ofland is affected (16 percent ofthe total flood prone area), anddamage is over Rs 5,600 crore.Floods resulted in loss of 0.86percent of the total GDP in the1970s and 1980s.

Officials of MoHUA saidthat the NDMA (national dis-aster management authority)panel, set up in the wake of the2005 Mumbai floods, held thaturban flooding is a phenome-non distinct from rural flood-ing. Hence, the panel said, itneeds to be dealt with by theministry in charge of urbanaffairs through an urban flood-ing unit headed by an officerat the level of joint secretary.

In July 2012, the Ministryof Home Affairs had issuedorders designating the urbanaffairs ministry as the nodalministry for urban flooding,but since then there has beenno movement to make it oper-ational.

RAJESH KUMAR n NEW DELHI

Delhi will soon get 17 lakhnew houses that will be

able to accommodate 76 lakhpeople. The Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA) has finally approvedthe Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) ambitiousplan 'land pooling policy'.

Union Housing and UrbanAffairs Minister Hardeep SinghPuri on Thursday announcedthat he has signed the landpooling policy. The policy hasbeen hanging fire for five years.The policy covers urbanizableareas of urban extensions in 95villages. Formulated with anaim to provide affordable hous-ing in Delhi, the policy is alsoexpected to trigger economicdevelopment and generate onelakh jobs.

As part of the policy, DDAwill act as a facilitator and plan-ner and the process of poolingand development will be takenup by developer entities or con-sortiums. Sources said that DDAhas received 734 suggestions on

land pooling policy. Accordingto MoHUA officials, the policyhas been simplified further andDDA will now act as facilitator,regulator and planner and forthe uniform distribution of landto respective landowners; DDAprepares draft policy and regu-lations.

"A minimum two hectaresof land will be required bydeveloper entity to apply forthis policy. Each entity or landowner should have valid andlawful owner of the land par-cel proposed for pooling," thepolicy said.

Several farmers who havemade consortium to get bene-

fit from land pooling policy, isnow worried with this new reg-ulation which make themimpossible to avail the benefit.

The policy further statesthat differential land return intwo categories has been replacedwith uniform division of landon 60:40 basis. The policy cov-ers greenfield areas in five zones,including J, K-1, L, N and P-II,which come under the MasterPlan of Delhi-2021 (MPD).

DDA has, however,reduced the earlier floor arearatio (FAR) of 400 to 200 inview availability of water,requirement of land for phys-ical and social infrastructureand impact on environment. Asa result, instead of the project-ed 24 lakh dwelling units, DDAnow expects 17 lakh dwellingunits to come up in areasdeveloped under the land pool-ing policy.

The land pooling policywas notified by the MoHUA inSeptember 2013 while the reg-ulations for operationalisationof the policy were approved inMay 2015 by the Ministry.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n NEW DELHI

With 8,00,000 people killing them-selves every year, suicide is the sec-

ond leading cause of death globally among15-29 year olds while half of all mental ill-ness begins by the tender age of 14.However, what is a matter of concern, asper the World Health Organisation(WHO), is that mental health is yet tobecome a priority for Governments giventhat the sector currently receives lessthan 1 per cent of global aid.

Ringing alarm bells, the WHO haswarned that while presently mental healthconditions cost the world US $ 2.5 trilliona year , the figure is expected to balloon toUS $ 6 trillion by 2030 if timely steps arenot taken to check mental health disorders.

In India, mental health disorders andillness are on increase mainly due to chang-ing social dynamics, taboos, unawarenessand lack of timely and adequate treatment.As many as 80 per cent of people with anyform of mental or substance do not seektreatment in India, a new report on men-tal health released by Lancet Commissionhas said.

The earlier reports published in Lancettoo have pointed out that the burden of thedisease in India increased from 3 per centin 1990 to 6 per cent in 2013, whereas inChina mental, neurological and sub-

stance-use disorders, accounted for 7 percent of disability-adjusted life years in 1990and the percentage increased to 11 per-centage by 2013.

Though the report acknowledgedIndia's efforts to get in place the landmark

mental health care bill in 2017 entitlingpeople with mental disorders to accesscomprehensive medical and social care ser-vices in community settings, it said thequality of care continues to be poor formental health patients.

There is a severe shortage of special-ists in India: just 4000 psychiatrists, 3500psychologists, and 3500 mental healthsocial workers. This is too low given that150 million Indians need mental healthcare. Just 30 million are seeking care.

The Lancet report says that "even whentreatment is sought, its quality is poor - theWorld Mental Health Surveys reported thatone in five people with depressive disor-der received minimally adequate treatmentin high-income countries, dropping to justone in 27 in LMICs (low and middleincome countries)."

We must work towards reducing thestigma and increasing awareness throughmedia. Also, we need to encourage peo-ple to come out and talk about it, said DrSmitha Deshpande, head of the depart-ment of psychiatry at Delhi-based Dr RamManohar Lohia Hospital.

According to 2015-16 National MentalHealth Survey (NMHS) survey, everysixth person in India needs mental healthhelp of some sort. Of all the age groups,it is the adolescents who need most helpwith mental health issues.

80% mental patients do not seek

treatment in India, says report

UNDER ‘LAND POOLING POLICY' INSHORT

SC TO HEAR WB’S MOVE TOFUND PUJA BODIESNew Delhi: The Supreme Court willhear Friday the petition challengingthe West Bengal Government'sdecision to dole out `28 crore to28,000 puja committees in the Statefor Durga Puja celebrations. A bench headed by Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi was apprised that onWednesday the Calcutta High Courthad refused to interfere with theMamata Banerjee Government'sdecision to grant `10,000 each to28,000 Durga puja committees inthe State as devotees get ready tocelebrate the festival.

K’TAKA’S DASHBOARDMODEL TO BE STUDIEDNew Delhi: The AgricultureMinistry has decided to studyKarnataka's latest agri-dashboardmodel that indicates if mandi pricesof crops are ruling below theminimum support price (MSP), sothat the government can maketimely intervention to protectinterest of farmers. The agri-priceanalysis dashboard, which theKarnataka government launched inJuly known as KRIPA, providesanalysis of whether spot prices areruling below MSP and alsoforecasts rates for next threemonths.

v Mental disorders include:

depression, bipolar affective

disorder, schizophrenia and

other psychoses, dementia,

intellectual disabilities and

developmental disorders

including autism

v There are effective

strategies for preventing

mental disorders such as

depression

v There are effective

treatments for mental

disorders and ways to alleviate

the suffering caused by them

v Access to health care and

social services capable of

providing treatment and social

support is key

KEY FACTS

Guidelines to deal with urban flooding soon

Embargoes won’t deter defence deals: Russia

Jailed MLA DP Yadav toundergo spinal surgery

Union Minister of State for Defence Subhash Ramrao Bhamre and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa during the IAF Commanders' conference at Air headquartersin New Delhi on Thursday PTI

Union Ministry, NTPC agree to setup AYUSH centres in five cities

150th Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary: 900

prisoners to be freed under general amnesty

Apex court issuescontempt notice to3 Amrapali directors

“In the coming months,you can expect more

deals. Talks are on, thisis the normal process.

We hope that withintwo-three months... Wecould soon have a deal

on frigates, it is verymuch on the agenda ofthe two sides, and we

could soon have a deal on the Kalashnikovassault rifles”NIKOLAY KUDASHEV

Special remission scheme is not available to

prisoners who have been convicted for an offence

for which the sentence awarded is death or

where death sentence has been commuted to life

imprisonment, cases of convicts involved in

serious and heinous crimes like dowry death,

rape, human trafficking and convicted under

POTA, UAPA, TADA, FICN, POCSO Act, Money

Laundering, FEMA, NDPS, Prevention of

Corruption Act, etc

Ayush centres to be formed inKayamkulum in Alappuzha district ofKerala, Koldam (Bilaspur in Himachal

Pradesh), Tapovan (Rishikesh inUttarakhand), Vindhyanchal and Farakka

in Bengal

Recommendations to be drawn up totackle flooding will be based on

categories such as early warning fornatural disaster, preparedness for

emergency and planning for disasterreduction

Delhiites would soon get17L new houses: Puri

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 2018 nation 06

PNS n PATNA

Aslipper was thrown at ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar on

Thursday when he was attend-ing a JD(U) students wingprogramme Chhatra Sangam atBapu Sabhagar here. The slip-per thrown by a youth, how-ever, did not reach the targetand fell on the ground belowthe podium.

The incident created a sen-sation as it happened despitepresence of a crowd of partyworkers, youths and students.This is the first time that suchincident took place with theCM in Patna.

The youth was in no timepinned down by the partyworkers and security personneland taken to police station butafter a good thrashing by theparty workers. He was identi-fied as Chandan fromAurangabad and he reported-

ly told the police that he was infavour of reservation to uppercastes and supported Swarnagitation.

The chappal was thrownsoon after the CM with otherdignitaries sat on the podium.Bihar JD(U) presidentBashistha Narain Singh and

Energy Minister BijendraPrasad Yadav were sitting onhis either side but at thatmoment both were lookingother side. Only Nitish whowas setting his hairs, whichwere disturbed following gar-landing, with the fingers of hisboth hands. He looked at the

flying chappal and its fall butcontinued with what he wasdoing.

Neither the CM nor anyother leader mentioned thisincident. Nitish in his speechtold the students that knowl-edge of politics during studentlife is must because they haveto do politics at state or nation-al level. But, he added, it did notmean that they should quitstudies and pursue only poli-tics.

“The standard of today’spolitics has badly fallen anddegraded. Politics without ide-ology is a social sin. Withoutprincipled politics countrycould not be run on path ofprogress,” said Nitish whilehailing the philosophies ofGandhi, Lohia, Jaya PrakashNarayan and Karpoori Thakur.The programme was organisedto mark the birth anniversaryof JP.

NAYAN DAVE n GANDHINAGAR

Due to the episode of attacks onmigrant labourers following rape of

an infant allegedly by a Bihari worker, ‘pol-itics over migrants’ has begun in Gujaratas Congress and its allied organisations arenow making allegations on Deputy ChiefMinister Nitin Patel for opposing migrantstudents.

Right from the first attack on Hindi-speaking workers, the ruling BJP is blam-ing on Congress party and its MLA fromRadhanpur constituency Alpesh Thakorfor provoking locals to spread terroramong the migrant labourers. Someprovocative speeches of Thakor havealso become viral in which he has beenseen spitting venom against the migrantsfor taking jobs of Gujaratis.

Over the past one week, Alpesh wason explaining mode, but now his sup-

porters belonging to ‘OBC, ST, SC ExtaManch’ have come on retaliation modeover the migrants issue alleging that in thepast Gujarat’s Deputy Chief Minister

Nitin Patel had opposed for giving admis-sion to students of other states in Gujarat’smedical colleges.

“If Patel could oppose students from

other States, he can also go againstmigrant workers. He is spreading the poi-son of regionalism in order to becomeChief Minister,” claimed vice-president ofOBC Ekta Manch Mukesh Bharvad,adding that the attacks on migrants arenothing but outcome of internal conflictsin Gujarat BJP. The Ekta manch is head-ed by Thakor.

Congress MLA from Bayad in NorthGujarat Dhavalsinh Zala said that GujaratGovernment could have started helplinewhen migrants were being attacked apartfrom relief camp in order to stop their exo-dus. Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee(GPCC) spokesman Jayrajsinh Parmaralleged that in the year 2015 Nitin Patelhad stated that poverty in the Stateincreased due to those people whomigrated from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.“This mentality of Patel clearly indicatesthat he is anti-migrants,” he added.

TN RAHGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Having registered a FirstInformation Report (FIR)

against senior actor NanaPatekar and three others basedon a complaint of sexualharassment lodged by actressTanushree Dutt, the Oshiwarapolice on Thursday beganinvestigations into the 10-year-old case.

Ahead of summoningPatekar and three othersaccused — choreographerGanesh Acharya, producerSamee Siddiqui and directorRakesh Sarang — for ques-tioning, the police will recordthe statements of witnesses inthe case in the coming days onthe incident that took place onthe sets of a film on March 26,2008.

“Before summoningPatekar and other accused inthe case for questioning, we willfirst record the statements ofthe witnesses in the case,” asenior police officer investi-gating the case said.

Accompanied by herlawyer Nitin Satpute, Tanushreevisited the Oshiwara policestation on Wednesday nightand recorded her statement incontinuation of a written com-plaint that she had lodged withthe same police station onOctober 6.

After she recorded herstatement, the Oshiwara policeformally registered an FIRagainst Patekar and three oth-ers under sections 354 (Assaultor criminal force to women

with intent to outrage hermodesty), 354-A (Assault oruse of criminal force withintent to disrobe her) and sec-tion 509 (word, gesture or actintended to insult the modestyo a woman) of Indian PenalCode.

In a related development,the Oshirwara police are look-ing into the complaint lodgedagainst Patekar by Tanushreeon October 6 under sections354 (Assault or criminal forceto women with intent to out-rage her modesty), 354-A(Assault or use of criminalforce with intent to disrobe her)and section 509 (word, gestureor act intended to insult themodesty o a woman) of IndianPenal Code.

Talking to media personsafter actress-client recordedher statement, Satpute said:“After our insistence, the policerecorded my client’s statementin English instead of Marathi.We wanted the police to recordher statement in English as wedid not want a repeat of what

happened ten years ago”. In2008, Tanushree’s father TapanKumar Dutta had filed a com-plaint with the Oshiwara policeand nothing much had beendone on the complaint then.

On behalf of Tanushree,her lawyer also submitted a 40-page statement on the incidentto the police and also theMaharashtra State Women’sCommission (MSWC).

In her complaint lodgedwith the police on October 6,Tanushree has alleged that theincident took place on March26, 2008 during the shooting ofa song in the film “Horn OkPleaseee” . The entire was to bepicturised on the actress, whilePatekar had only line in thesong. She said that before theshoot, she had made it clear tothe producer and director thatshe would not enact or performany lewd, vulgar or uncom-fortable steps in the particularsong.

“On the 4th day of theshoot, 26th March 2008, whileshooting was going on, Nana

Patekar’s behaviour was inap-propriate towards me. He wason the set despite his work inthe song being over and he wasgrabbing me by the arms andpushing me around on thepretext of teaching me how todance. When he was teachingindecently and unnecessarily,then I felt very uncomfortablebecause of his behaviour and Ifelt he has outraged my mod-esty,” Tanushree alleged.

“He (Patekar) told thechoreographer and other juniorartists to back away so that hecould teach me the dance stepsthrough he was not a choreo-grapher and he was notrequired during the choreog-raphy as per my previousrehearsals,” the actress added.

“After the incident, I wasunder tremendous shock, Isuffered psychological trauma,was unable to take up work,suffered huge monetary lossesin crores and therefore I decid-ed to take action through filmindustry by lodging a writtencomplaint with the Cine andTV Artistes Association. TheAssociation decided the matterand passed the order withoutconsidering my complaint forap0logy,” Tanushree stated inher police complaint.

In her complaint,Tanushreee had also namedchoreographer GaneshAcharya, producer SameeSiddiqui, director RakeshSarang and some MNS work-ers who allegedly damaged hercar and pulled her out of hercar, as co-accused.

PNS n MUMBAI

Days after he dismissedlightly and chose not to

comment on the TanushreeDutta-Nana Patekar row,senior Bollywood actorAmitabh Bachchan onThursday broke his silence onthe ongoing “Me Too” move-ment, by saying that "nowoman should ever be sub-jected to any kind of misbe-haviour or disorderly conduct,especially at her work place".

As he turned 76, Bachchanposted an interview on histwitter handle in which hesaid: “No woman should everbe subjected to any kind of mis-behaviour, or disorderly con-duct, especially at her workplace. Such acts should imme-diately be brought to the noticeof concerned authorities, andcorrective measures be taken,either through filing com-plaints or a recourse to law”

“Discipline and civic, socialand moral curriculums, shouldbe adopted at a very early edu-cational level. Women chil-dren and the weaker sections ofour society are the most vul-nerable. They need to be underspecial protective care,” Big Bsaid, in reply to a question.

“It has been most hearten-ing to see women representa-tions in most work vocations,on the increase in our country.It would be an irreparableblemish if we are not able toprovide them the welcomethey deserve and the dignity ofthe security of their presence,”the senior actor said.

It may be recalled thatBachchan had come in forsevere criticism after he madelight of a question on the alle-gations of sexual harassmentmade by Tanushree Duttaagainst Nana Patekar, by saying:"Neither is my name Tanushreenor is it Nana Patekar so howcan I answer your question?".

Early this week, Bachchan’sdaughter-in-law and actressAishwarya Rai Bachchan hadvoiced her opinion on the“MeToo” movement at anevent. “I have always spokenout, I spoke in the past, I amspeaking now, and I will con-tinue to speak. When it comesto helping women find theirvoice, find the strength, feel con-fident about sharing their sto-ries, it’s not about the currenttime. This has been going onsince a lot of time and I am gladit has found a certain momen-tum today,” Aishwarya had said.

No woman should ever besubjected to any kind ofmisbehaviour, says Big B

TN RAGHUNATHA nMUMBAI

Reviving her old spat withHrithik Roshan, actress

Kangana Ranaut on Thursdayslammed her ex-boyfriend-actor by saying that “peoplewho keep wives as trophies andyoung girls as mistresses shouldbe boycotted”.

“There are men who makefalse promises of love and mar-riage to a girl to get them intoa relationship that is also a typeof harassment. There are mar-ried men who keep their wivesas trophies and keep young girlsas their mistresses likeHrithik...They lure young beau-tiful girls with the promise ofmarriage and later try to provethem mad. Nobody shouldwork with such people. Theyshould be boycotted," Kanganatold a news television channel.

Justifying the treatmentbeing meted out to film makerVikas Bahl, a former memberof the now dissolved PhantomFilms who has been accused ofsexual harassment by a coupleof actresses, Kangana said:"There are many people likeVikas Bahl, he is not the onlyone. We still have a lot of workto do so, we should not start the

celebrations as yet. We have along way to go. We have tomake this place (world)absolutely safe for woman".

Kangana’s commentsagainst Hritik came three daysafter the 44-year-old actortweeted: "It is impossible for meto work with any person ifhe/she is guilty of such gravemisconduct. I am away andhave access to only sporadicinformation. I have requestedthe producers of Super 30 totake stock of the apparent factsand take a harsh stand if needbe. This is not to be hushed orbrushed under the carpet. Allproven offenders must be pun-ished and all exploited peoplemust be empowered and givenstrength to speak up.”

Hritik’s comment came inrespect of Bahl, who is thedirector of Super 30, a biopic onthe life of mathematicianAnand Kumar and his educa-tional programme Super 30.

Incidentally, Kangana'sQueen co-star Nayani Dixit hadaccused Bahl of sexual mis-conduct. After a reported affairbetween the two during thefilming of Krrish 3, Kanganaand Hrithik have been engagedin a legal war.

Some people keepwives as trophies:Kangana on Hrithik

FIR lodged against Nana, 3 others in sexual harassment case

Slipper misses target Nitish

Jammu: The Indian SpaceResearch Organisation will setup a centre at the CentralUniversity Jammu (CUJ) toexpand its presence to thenorthernmost State of India.

ISRO Chairman K Sivansigned memorandums ofunderstanding with CUJ ViceChancellor Ashok Aima andofficials of Central SpaceInstruments Organisation(CSIR-CSIO) to set up thecentre on Thursday.

Union Minister JitendraSingh was present during thesigning of the MoUs at CUJcampus in Samba.

The centre, named SatishDhawan Center for SpaceScience, is proposed to bespread on an area of about1,150 square metres.

The area of space applica-tion is of particular interest toJammu & Kashmir as its econ-omy and human lives areaffected by vegetation cover,forest area, snow, landslides,avalanches, ground water,cloud cover, which can bemonitored from space throughremote-sensing.

Also, considering therecurring natural calamities,requirement of strengtheningground-based observationalcapabilities of this region forweather and atmosphericresearch is of utmost impor-tant.

The centre will take care ofthe emerging geospatial andspace technology requirementsfor the development of theregion.

Union Minister Singh saidthe collaboration betweenISRO and CUJ was a landmarkachievement for Jammu &Kashmir.

Saying that ISRO wouldbecome a pan-India organi-sation with the establishmentof the centre, he urged theyouth to develop scientifictemper and interest in spaceresearch. PTI

Police detain an unidentified man who threw a slipper at Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar during Virat Chhatra Sangam in Patna on Thursday PTI

FAIZAN AHMAD n PATNA

The much publicised bookLalu Leela authored by

Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modiwas released on Thursday on theoccasion of the birth anniversaryof Loknayak Jaya PrakashNarayan. Incidentally, both Laluand Modi were disciples of JPand product of his anti-corrup-tion movement.

But the book has docu-mented “corrupt” practices ofLalu and amassing of hugewealth and assets by him and hisfamily. Lalu and his wife RabriDevi remained Chief Ministeruninterrupted for 15 years. Lateron Lalu was Railway Minister inUPA 1 under Manmohan Singhfor five years.

“Lalu Pariwar is a Ghotalapariwar. He continued with hiscorrupt practices despite goingto jail and convicted in fodderscam. He implicated his entirefamily in corruption. Tejashwi

Prasad Yadav was just a kidwhen all these corruptions tookplace,” said Modi at the booklaunching function where sev-eral senior BJP leaders andUnion Ministers were present.The BJP is also likely to use thisbook in next election againstmain rival RJD.

Modi has alleged that formaking Ministers, MPs and leg-islators Lalu asked his partymen

to donate him acres of land.Those who complied includedRaghunath Jha and Kanti Singh,both former Union Ministers,said Modi with documentaryevidences. In order make blackmoney white Lalu coerced LalanChoudhary, a BPL person, rail-way khalasi HridyanandChoudhary and landless personsPrabhunath Yadav,Chandrakanta Devi andSubhash Choudhary. The docu-ments showed these people gift-ed their precious lands in thename of Lalu’s kin, said the BJPleader.

Modi further said that toamass benami land, Lalu mis-used his family as well as thefamilies of his married daughtersand transferred the landed prop-erties through them after him-self purchasing the plots in theirname and later transferred in thename of his kin.

“Lalu left behind RobertWadra in using shell companies

for grabbing properties. Heamassed properties not only forwife, sons and daughters buttheir next three generations.Lalu is the name of the greed foramassing more and more assets,”said Modi.

Hours before the release ofthe book the Government inten-sified security of Sushil Modi.Both Nitish and Modi were pre-sent at another function and theCM was seen calling the SeniorSP and DM of Patna and gavethem necessary directives.

There was no reaction fromLalu family on this book. Leaderof Opposition Tejashwi Yadavwho has a knack of tweeting onevery issue also remained silent.Bihar RJD president RamChandra Purbe said the bookwas a bunch of lies. “Modi isusing name of Lalu only toremain in the limelight. Theworld knows that Lalu is theman always ready to take on RSSand BJP,” he said.

‘Lalu Leela’ may ruffle many political feathers in Bihar

KESTUR VASUKI n BENGALURU

Arally to highlight the plight of the defencePSU Hindustan Aeronautics

Limited(HAL) in view of the controversy overHAL missing the contract to produce Rafalefighter jet by the State Congress Party has beencancelled. The State Congress had announcedthat on his visit to Bengaluru on SaturdayCongress president Rahul Gandhi will visitHAL and address the employees. HoweverGopal Sutar, Chief of Media Communications,HAL told reporters on Thursday, “There is nocommunication on Rahul Gandhi’s meetingwith the HAL employees in Bengaluru.”

Rahul was slated to meet HAL employeesin Bengaluru on 13 October. KarnatakaPradesh Congress Committee presidentDinesh Gundu Rao had said Rahul will talkto the employees of the HAL about the con-troversial deal and also address a rally inBengaluru. However on Thursday DineshGundu Rao denied Rahul Gandhi is comingto meet HAL employees but said he will hold

a discussion . He said "Event is being held by some peo-

ple to hold a discussion on HindustanAeronautics Ltd's contribution to India, any-one can participate in it including HALemployees. He's not coming to meet HALemployees."

Rahul Gandhi had ridiculed unionGovernment's flagship Skill India campaign as"S-Kill India" and alleged `30,000 crore was"stolen" from HAL in the Rafale deal and givento a man with "no skills" to make an aircraft.The Congress has been accusing PrimeMinister Narendra Modi of snatching jobs ofthe people of Karnataka by taking away thecontract from HAL. Rahul had been saying thathad HAL been selected in place of RelianceDefence it could have generated employmentto scores of unemployed youth in the State.

The BJP has dismissed all allegations asfalse. Modi had announced the procurementof 36 Rafale fighters after holding talks withthen French president Francois Hollande on10 April, 2015, in Paris.

ISRO centreto come upin Jammu

Rahul Gandhi’s HAL meetin Bengaluru cancelled

Cong alleges Guj Dy CM opposing migrant students

PNS: After inciting violence by hisprovocative speech against migrantlabourers, repentant Congress MLAon Wednesday initiated Sadbhavnafast. Alpesh Thakor has also invit-ed Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradeshand Bihar to join him saying thatGujarat’s image is being tarnishedand hence he decided to go onSadbhavna fast. He also claimed thatthere was no attack on migrantlabourers but some people are cre-ating panic using social media.“Neither me nor the social organi-sations in which I am associatedwould ever support regionalism,”said Alpesh.

Repentant Alpesh

on Sadbhavana fast

PNS: Reacting fast on allegations made against DyCM Patel, Gujarat’s senior Minister BhupendrasinhChudasama said that all the allegation madeagainst Patel were baseless as Nitinbhai is leader ofeveryone residing in Gujarat.

“From the beginning Congress is known fordivisive politics. Everyone in Gujarat knows thatwho is provoking violence against migrants as thenames revealed in crimes against labourers eitherassociated from Congress or Alpesh led organisa-tions,” said Chudasama, alleging that Congress MLAAlpesh Thakor is trying to disturb peaceful envi-ronment of the state as his anti-migrants speech pro-voked people to attack on Hindi-speaking workers.According to him any citizen of India has right towork in Gujarat along with the local employees asper their eligibility and skills.

Allegation on Dy CM

baseless: Chudasama

A woman labourer plucks tea leaves at a tea garden in Assam on Thursday AP

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 2018 nation 07

KHURSHEED WANI n SRINAGAR

Security forces on Thursday shotdead a top-ranking Hizbul

Mujahideen terrorist Mannan BashirWani along-with an associate in northKashmir’s Kupwara district whileunknown gunmen shot dead a sepa-ratist activist in southern Shopian dis-trict. Wani was emerging as a popularterrorist across the Valley for his edu-cational background and scholarlydiscourses he had recently engagedhimself in. The separatists have calledfor a shutdown across the valley onFriday to mourn Wani’s killing whileseveral mainstream leaders includingformer Chief Minister MehboobaMufti have regretted his death.

Sources said Wani and his associ-ate were trapped in a residential housein Shatgund Bala village in Mawar beltof north Kashmir’s Kupwara districtearly on Thursday. The area was cor-doned off by troops of 30 RashtriyaRifles and counterinsurgency police ona specific input that led to exchange offire. Police said two terrorists werekilled in the shootout and one of themwas identified as Manan Bashir Wani,who joined the terrorist ranks last yearafter quitting his doctoral research ingeology department of Aligarh MuslimUniversity. Wani had written two arti-cles in past three months explaining hisdecision to quit studies and joining theseparatist movement in Kashmir.

The authorities filed a case againsta news gathering agency that publishedhis first article on website. The agencylater pulled the article down. Wani cir-culated his second article through

social media, which became an instanthit. Soon after the news about the deathof two terrorists spread, violent clash-es erupted in parts of Kupwara andHandwara. The authorities announcedclosure of schools and colleges innorth Kashmir parts and several restivepockets of south Kashmir.

Wani’s associate who died in thegunfight was identified as AshiqHussain Zargar, a resident of Tulwarivillage in Langate.

Sources said that tens of thousandsof people joined the funeral prayers ofthe slain terrorist who was rankedamong the most-wanted cadre ofHizbul Mujahideen outfit.

The Joint Resistance Leadership(JRL), a grouping of separatist leadersSyed Ali Geelani, Mirwai Umar Farooq

and Yasin Malik called for a valley-wideshutdown on Friday to mourn MananWani’s death. “Alas! heard the tragicnews of #MananWani’s Martyrdom andof his associates! Deeply pained that welost a budding intellectual and writerlike him, fighting for the cause of self-determination. JRL appeals to peopleto observe a complete #Shutdowntomorrow to pay homage to him,”Mirwaiz wrote on twitter.

Former Chief Minister MehboobaMufti termed the killing as “loss” andurged to resolve the Kashmir issuethrough dialogue with all stakeholdersincluding Pakistan.

“Today a PhD scholar chose deathover life & was killed in an encounter.His death is entirely our loss as we arelosing young educated boys everyday,” she said. “It is high time that allthe political parties in the countryrealise the gravity of this situation andtry to facilitate a solution through dia-logue with all the stakeholders includ-ing Pakistan to end this bloodshed,”Mehbooba wrote in another tweet.Wani took up arms during Mehboobaled PDP-BJP coalition in the state.

Legislator Sheikh Rashid said thekilling of Manan Wani negatesGovernor Satya Paul Malik’s claim thatwe should focus on eliminating mili-tancy rather killing terrorists. Rashidrepresents Langate constituency wherethe encounter took place.

“Rather celebrating the killing andusing bullets and pallets to dispersethousands of protesters at theencounter site, the Government shouldintrospect as to what forces masses toplay with their lives,” he said.

Terrorist who was Geology

scholar shot in Kashmir SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

Aware of the saffron outfit’salleged “nuisance value” the

Trinamool Congress Governmentis keeping close watch on thepreparations for the proposed BJPRath Yatras in December.According to the ruling partysources local leaders to the pan-chayat level have been “alertedabout the kinds of mischief that cantake place during the Yatras.”

Though the BJP will not beable to derive any special mileagefrom such yatras in Bengal, “ourworkers have been asked to keep aclose vigil because this is an elec-

tion year,” State Minister FirhadHakim has said.

Party leader and Rajya SabhaMP Sukhendu Shekhar Roy hasalso said that the Yatra would be afailure in a politically seasoned Statelike Bengal.

“Earlier yatras were take outunder the leadership LK Advani.But it was not successful in Bengal.This time also it will fail here as thepeople of Bengal do not like com-munal politics,” Roy said.

Another leader and MinisterSadhan Pandey said Bengal stillcherished its renaissance values andwould never allow outlandish phi-losophy to make home in State pol-

itics. “Bengal is a different ballgame; that they will soon under-stand. People of this State will justreject such communal gimmicks,”Pandey said.

When asked whether theGovernment was keeping watch onelements who might try to ignitecommunal flare, a senior leader andMinister said “no mischief will betolerated and those who committhem will be shown their places.”

With the 2019 general electionsless than a year away the BJP hasdecided to take out three RathYatras in the State. These Yatras willbe led by top BJP leaders includingparty president Amit Shah, Assam

Chief Minister SarwanandaSonowal and his UP counterpartYogi Adityanath.

While Shah will lead his Yatrafrom Birbhum, the UP ChiefMinister will start his Yatra fromGanga Sagar Islands. The thirdYatra will start from Coochbehar inNorthernmost Bengal borderingAssam and will be led by the ChiefMinister of the neighbouring State.

“The Yatras will be taken outin protest against TrinamoolCongress’ reign of terror, itsappeasement policy and continu-ing infiltration through Bangladeshborder,” BJP State leader SamikBhattacharya said.

TMC keeping close watch on BJPRath Yatra preparations

KESTUR VASUKI n BENGALURU

The coalition Governmentof JD(S) and Congress in

Karnataka suffered a major jolton Thursday as primary andHigher education Minister NMahesh has resigned fromHD Kumaraswamy Cabinet.

N Mahesh is the only BSPMLA from Kollegala con-stituency and became Ministerin HD Kumaraswamy’sCabinet. Just four months afterformation of a fragile coalitionGovernment of JD(S) andCongress led by HDKumaraswamy, Maheshresigned giving personal reason.The formation of coalition

Government in Karnataka alsobecame a short-livedOpposition unity calledMahaghatbhandan which fiz-zled out later as both BSPsupremo Mayawati and SPcame out against the Congress.After his resignation he alsosaid he would continue to sup-port JD(S) and not theCongress.

According to sourcesMahesh resigned from theCabinet after Mayawati askedhim to resign as it was againstBSP’s principal to be part of anypower with the congress.Mahesh had a meeting withMayawati on Tuesday and itwas much anticipated.

According to sources he wouldbe contesting fromChamarajanagara reserve con-stituency against Congress inthe ensuing general elections in2019.

In political circles the newsis abuzz that it was a politicalplot created by Devegowda tocontrol the warring congressand its leader Siddaramaiah.

Sources close to ChiefMinister Kumaraswamy saidMayawati asked him to dropMahesh, as he'd made unwant-ed comments that it's becauseof him that the BSP won a seatin Karnataka. The CM didn'tact on that. Today, she instruct-ed Mahesh to step down.

K’taka Minister N Mahesh resigns

Rape accused should be burnt

alive: Woman Cong MLA from Guj

PNS n AHMEDABAD

In the wake of the alleged rape ofa 14-month old girl in Gujarat two

weeks back, State Congress MLAGeniben Thakor has said that rapeaccused should be burnt aliveinstead of being handed over topolice. A video in which the womanlegislator is purportedly seen tellingthis to a group of women went viralon Thursday.

However, Thakor clarified thatshe was just trying to pacify thewomen as they were anguishedover the rape of the 14-month oldgirl from Thakor community.Thakor represents Vav seat ofBanaskantha district. In the video

captured on a mobile phone insidea house yesterday, the MLA is seensurrounded by some agitatedwomen. "In India, everyone has topass through the process of law (toget justice). But, whenever suchincidents happen, 50-150 personsshould come together and burn him(rape accused) alive on the same day.Finish him, don't hand him over topolice," Thakor is seen telling thewomen. In her explanation, Thakorsaid she was only trying to calmdown the women, who were movedby the rape of the toddler nearHimmatnagar town of Sabarkanthadistrict on September 28. Theaccused, a native of Bihar wasarrested by police on the same day.

TITLI KILLS...The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster

Management Authority (SDMA) said thecyclone caused widespread damage inSrikakulam and Vizianagaram districts, andthrew normal life out of gear as heavy tovery heavy rains lashed the two northcoastal districts districts since lateWednesday night. While a 62-year-oldwoman died at Gudivada Agraharam vil-lage after a tree fell on her, a 55-year-oldman died in a house collapse at Rotanasavillage in Srikakulam district, the SDMAsaid. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’sOffice (CMO) said the other six killed werefishermen who had ventured into the sea.

Of the 67 fishing boats that had goneinto the sea over the last few days fromKakinada in East Godavari district, 65 hadreturned to the shore safely, the CMO said,adding efforts were on to bring back theremaining two boats. The road network inSrikakulam district suffered extensivedamage, while the power distribution net-work was also severely affected. More than2,000 electric poles were uprooted bystrong winds. The Eastern PowerDistribution Company, that caters to theelectricity needs of the north coastal dis-tricts of Andhra Pradesh, reported that thedistribution system for 4,319 villages andsix towns in Srikakulam district was affect-ed. In Odisha, the cyclonic storm led to veryheavy rainfall mainly in Ganjam, Gajapatiand Puri districts and caused minor dam-age to power supply and communication.In all, eight districts — Ganjam, Gajapati,Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara,Bhadrak and Balasore — were affected bythe cyclonic storm, Special ReliefCommissioner B P Sethi said.

“There has been no major destructionor report of casualty from any part of thestate so far. Some damages like uprootingof trees and electric poles and damage tohutments were reported from Ganjamand Gajapati districts,” he said. Power sup-ply and telephone links got disrupted, androad communication snapped due touprooted trees at many places in Gajapatidistrict, Sethi said, adding efforts are nowon to clear the blocked roads and to restorepower supply in affected areas. OdishaChief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewedthe situation in the state and instructed offi-cials to expedite restoration efforts once thesituation improves. He also directed theofficials concerned to provide relief mate-rials to cyclone-affected people. “TheChief Minister gave instruction to send twomore teams of NDRF to Gajapati whereextensive damage has been caused toroads, hutments, electric and telephonepoles,” Chief Secretary A P Padhi said.

Thirteen teams of the National DisasterResponse Force (NDRF) and OrissaDisaster Rapid Action Force were deployedin affected areas along with fire brigade per-sonnel. “The damage is less than what we

had feared,” the Chief Secretary said.Padhi said the state government onWednesday evacuated over three lakhpeople to safe places, which helped avoidloss of life in the natural disaster. The evac-uees are housed in 1,112 shelters wherefood and sanitation facilities are available,he said. Altogether, 105 pregnant womenin Ganjam district and 18 in Jagatsinghpurhave been shifted to hospitals, Sethi said.Some railway station buildings were dam-aged at a few places, including in Palasa.Signal poles and overhead electric mastswere damaged at places between Palasa andKottabomali stations, he said. Horticulturecrops suffered extensive damage inSrikakulam district while paddy cropssuffered damage in Vizianagaram. Coconutplantations, banana and mango trees werethe worst hit, according to a preliminaryofficial report.

RAMPAL HELD...Rampal was arrested on November 19

on charges of murder, attempt to murder,conspiracy, holding illegal weapons andabetting suicide. Born as Rampal SinghJatin in September 1951 in Sonepat’sDhanana village, Rampal once worked asan engineer in Haryana’s IrrigationDepartment. He later founded the SatlokAshram in Haryana’s Rohtak and rose tobecome one of the most prominent lead-ers of Kabir Panth sect in the State. SatlokAshram’s media in-charge Chand Ratheesaid they would challenge the verdictbefore the High Court. To prevent a repeatof the violence in Panchkula following theconviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chiefGurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in rape casesin 2017, more than 2,000 policemen weredeployed in Hisar and Section 144 was alsoclamped on Thursday. Earlier, the Hisarcourt in August 2017, had acquittedRampal in two cases of wrongful confine-ment, unlawful assembly and disobedienceto order given by a public servant. Rampalwas facing other cases of murder conspir-acy, sedition and rioting. In 2014, thePunjab and Haryana High Court hadordered the police to arrest Rampal afterhe failed to appear before the court in con-nection with a 2006 murder conspiracycase. However, when police went to arresthim, Rampal and his aides had barricad-ed themselves and holed themselves upinside his Satlok Ashram. Rampal wasarrested after a two-week long stand-offbetween his followers and police which hadleft six dead and several others injured.

AMRAPALI...“During the entirety of operation of cat-

aloguing of documents of Group compa-nies, the applicants (three directors) shallremain under police surveillance...We

direct the SSP of Noida to see that after theoperation is over for the day, they bebrought to the Hotel Park Ascent in Sector62, Noida and taken the next day to theproperties, where documents are kept,” theBench said.

The court, while issuing notice ofcontempt to the three directors for primafacie violating court’s order and thwartingthe course of justice, asked the registrar ofthe apex court to register a separate suomotu case against them. “We therefore issueformal notice of contempt against directorsof Amrapali Group and direct the registrarof the Supreme Court to register a separatesuo motu contempt case to be listed onNovember 20. Reply to be filed in fourweeks,” the Bench said. The court direct-ed that the three directors shall not use cellphones during their stay in hotel at nightwithout the express authorisation of policebut granted them liberty to use the phonesduring the day time, when they will beassisting in collating the documents of 46Amrapali Group companies.

The court said that three directorsincluding the CMD shall remain present forthe next 15 days at the properties where thedocuments are being catalogued from8AM to 6PM every day. “The concernedpolice officer SHO of sector 58, Noida shallpersonally supervise and see that seals areopen at sharp 8AM and re-sealed at 6PMin the evening. Two police personnel shallremain guard on the premises,” it said,adding that forensic auditors or their rep-resentatives should also be present toguide the entire operation of cataloguing.After the work at one premises is over, theteam will move to other premises and theseal of one property will be opened at atime. The court said that at the end of oper-ation of each day, the details should bebrought to the notice of forensic auditorsand they should chalk out the operation ofeach day. The court said that forensic audi-tors should complete the task of auditingthe records and affairs of all 46 companiesin 10 weeks, after the 15 days period of cat-aloguing of documents is over. It said thatthe directors can deploy as many of theirstaff to help in collating and cataloguing ofdocuments which are stashed in these nineproperties. Two forensic auditors --- RaviBhatia and Pawan Aggarwal --- informedthe court, the directors have not renderedany assistance to them and the documentshave been stashed in the basements of thebuildings where there is no power. “Theyshould be asked to give the list of docu-ments indicating as to where and what islocated. Without the list it will be very dif-ficult to collate and catalogue the docu-ments which are very enormous. Thepower is cut in the basement where thesedocuments are located,” Agarwal said.

Earlier, in the day Amrapali Groupinformed the apex court that its nine prop-erties, including seven at Noida and GreaterNoida, were sealed in compliance with theorder of the court and they have filed anundertaking to this regard.

KARTI’S `54 CR...The money received by the associat-

ed entities was channeled back intoASCPL. The funds received by ASCPLwere invested and ASCPL also purchasedshares of Vasan Health Care. A part ofthese shares were sold at a profit of near-ly Rs 41 crore. The ASCPL also earned Rs18.49 crore from sale of shares in anoth-er company for an amount of Rs 29.49crore. These funds arising from sale oflaundered property are also assets involved in money laundering, the probeagency said.

“…assets and properties belonging toKarti and ASCPL were attached as pro-ceeds of crime. The attached assetsinclude, agricultural land in Kodaikanal,Bunglows in Ooty of ASCPL, fixeddeposits of Rs 90 lakh in the name ofASCPL with DCB Bank, NungambakkamBranch, Share of Karti in Jor Bagh Houseand Rs 9,23,46,407 in the name of Kartiwith Indian Overseas Bank,Nungambakkam Branch have also beenattached,” the ED sad. The overseas assetsattached include i.e Surridge farm,Bathealton, Somerset UK held in thename of ASCPL Singapore and TennisClub and Land located in Municipality ofGava province of Barcelona Spain in thename of Advantatge Estrategia EsportivaSLU. Efforts are on to trace other pro-ceeds of crime and laundered assets, theagency added.

RAFALE EXPOSÉ...“Why has suddenly the defence min-

ister rushed to France? What is the emer-gency?” he asked. BJP spokesperson SambitPatra called Rahul a nitwit who did notknow the technical details and process ofthe fighter jet purchase deal and telling liesirresponsibly. Quoting Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa that Rafale deal is a “gamechanger” , BJP spokesperson chargedCongress chief with mocking nationalsecurity. He said Rahul is trying to buildhis political career by spreading lies on thefighter jet deal with France. Now the peo-ple of the country will decide who to believein, the air chief marshal or Gandhi, Patrasaid. Patra repeatedly called Rahul as a`clown-Prince ‘ who would was makingallegations but shirking from commentingon his brother-in-law Robert Vadra’sattempts to lap up offset deal in the Rafaledeal during the UPA regime. He asked whyRahul was repeatedly taking name of AnilAmbani while forgetting role of OttavioQuattrocchi in the controversial BoforsGun deal during the Congress regime.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

An elderly woman during a visit to Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata on Thursday PTI

T

hanks to social media, we have increasingly begun to learn and applaud

success stories. Not too long ago, we came across the great story of

grit, determination, dream and aspiration of Swapna Burman.

Enduring pain due to an extra finger each on her two feet, she came out

with flying colours at the 2018 Asian Games. She became the first Indian

woman to win gold in the Heptathlon event. This is an incredible story and

so goes the tale of Assam’s sensation Hima Das. But how could they make

it so big? To answer it in a simple word — they dared to dream! Their suc-

cess tells us about the power of dreaming and setting a goal.

These, and many other similar stories have lessons for present-day par-

ents and children. Parents must inculcate in their children a desire to aspire

and dream. This reminds us of what Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady

of the US, had said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beau-

ty of their dreams.” Or a famous quote from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist,

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to

achieve it.” While adults have books to refer, children have little or limited

influences, including their school, peers and parents, to motivate them so

as to set higher aspirational goals. They may, however, take some lessons

out of the psychology theories in this endeavour.

Gordon Allport was a celebrated psychologist and he famously count-

ed about 18,000 trait-like terms in English language — terms that desig-

nated “distinctive and personal forms of behaviour.” He spoke of three lev-

els of traits. The first was cardinal — those that are so dominant that all of

the individual’s action can be traced back to these. These broad, highly influ-

ential traits are often called by names, drawn from key historical figures.

So, one might be described Christlike, another as Machiavellian and so on.

Then he spoke of central traits which would typically characterise an indi-

vidual’s behaviour to some extent. Finally, the least generalised charac-

teristics of the person he labelled as secondary traits. These are traits such

as “likes chocolates” or “prefers foreign cars” — ones that are influential

but only within a narrow range of situations. May be modern parents and

teachers, other than their overzealous approach to studies and extra cur-

ricular activities, should be focussing on identifying some of these and hon-

ing those central or secondary in-born traits that could lead children to high-

er aspiration.

They must also spare thoughts on Sigmund Freud’s construct of model

of personality with three interlocking parts: Id, ego and superego. The id

is a storehouse of biologically based urges: The urge to eat, drink, elimi-

nated, especially to be sexually stimulated. Freud said that the id operates

according to the pleasure principle. It is bridled and managed by ego, which

consists of elaborate ways of behaving and thinking, which constitutes the

“executive function” of the person. Freud characterised ego as working “in

the service of the reality principle.” It balances the insistent urges of the id

and constraints of reality and enables a more sophisticated thinking skills.

The superego is the equivalence of conscience and consists primarily of

prohibitions learnt from parents, teachers, and other agencies. The super-

ego or conscience-like persuasions are also dictated by what Freud calls

“the ego ideal”, a set of positive value and moral ideals which are encour-

aged to be followed, for they are believed to be worthy. Parents can sure-

ly help shape ego and superego of their children which can instill traits like,

aspirations and dreaming to achieve big.

At a recent conference on education in Vijaywada Commissioner of

School Education of Andhra Pradesh, K Sandhya Rani, reminded the chil-

dren of a 10,000-hour rule, and urged them to aspire to be the best by incul-

cating the habit of practicing. This writer is particularly fond of Malcom

Gladwell’s book, Outliers: The Story of Success, where this rule is men-

tioned, and often recommend it to youngsters. “Ten thousand hours is the

magic number of greatness,” Gladwell wrote, adding that it takes about 10

years to put in ten thousand hours of hard practice. “Even Mozart, the great-

est musical prodigy of all time, couldn’t hit his stride until he had his ten

thousand hours in. Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s

the thing you do that makes you good.”

Drawing from fascinating empirical evidences, Gladwell said that it is

important for parents to know this and put their children into special pro-

grams. “It’s all but impossible to reach that number by yourself by the time

you’re a young adult. You have to have parents who encourage and sup-

port you.” India is a highly aspirational society and is undergoing a rare

churning. Just about time we encouraged our children to dream, and aspire

for more. It is only when they begin to dream big that we can hear more

stories like those of Burman and Das. The tasks for modern parents are

clearly cut out.

(The writer is a strategic communications professional)

With the first Indian-American to hold a Cabinet position in the US asher country’s ambassador to the United Nations having put in herpapers (she is to demit office by the end of the year), a star of the

Republican Party and of the Donald Trump administration is in political orbit.And nobody seems to know which path her future political orbit will take.While some close to her have put dropped broad hints that she is lookingat lucrative private sector assignments come the new year, speculation per-sists that it is her political career which remains her abiding passion andfocus. While Haley seemed to put speculation to rest that she would chal-lenge Trump for the Republican nomination for President in the next elec-tion in her resignation letter iterating that she would “not be a candidatefor any office in 2020”, the murmurs are refusing to die down around thepolitical plans of the former Governor of South Carolina.

Haley’s is a backstory that grassroot Republicans are enthralled with— the child of Indian Sikh immigrants born Stateside who integrated com-pletely with the American mainstream while retaining pride in her cul-tural roots, she made her way up the political ladder on her own steam.First marked out as a rising star by Republican elders when she servedas a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, she wasthe second Indian-American to take oath as Governor of the State afterfellow Republican Bobby Jindal. Her big moment and coast-to-coast mediaexposure, however, came when she was chosen to deliver the officialresponse of her party to then President Barack Obama’s State of the UnionAddress in January 2016. When Trump swept to a shock victory in theNovember 2016 US Presidential poll, she was a shoo-in for an impor-tant Cabinet post. Her stand on issues — a strong supporter of Americafirst, a proponent of an integrationist model of multiculturalism includ-ing a nod to the US’ Judeo-Christian heritage albeit fuelled by waves ofimmigration and known to be uncompromising known for her tough standon America’s trade disputes as well as strategic issues not excluding theuse of force such as in the stand-off with North Korea in 2017 — is amuch better fit with that of the Republican establishment than Trump’s.The fact that Haley quit just ahead of crucial mid-term elections, thoughshe was effusive in her praise of the President, is also being seen as adesire not to be associated with the Trump legacy and style of politics.Which begs the obvious question — why? Our guess is she may run forPresident in 2020 anyway but will definitely do so if Trump decides notto run for a second term or is blocked by traditional Republicans fromdoing so. Otherwise, there’s always 2024; Haley is only 46 years old.

The Supreme Court yesterday asked the Government to reveal howit selected the Dassault Rafale as India’s next frontline fighter jet.But by not insisting on the process of the aircraft’s technical and price

evaluation, it has effectively given the Government a pass on the alle-gations of a scam in the process. Of course, the Opposition is still usinga document released by an obscure French journal to buttress its claimthat there was impropriety in the selection of the Anil Ambani-led RelianceDefence to be the main offset partner, and how Hindustan AeronauticsLimited (HAL), the Government’s defence public sector unit (DPSU), wasignored, there has been a failure to acknowledge that all these 36 air-craft will in essence come to India in flyaway condition. It is also nowbecoming a slight concern whether other fighter-jet manufacturers, whichwere jilted at the selection stage, are egging on the Opposition in orderto get the contract cancelled.

Thankfully, training for Indian Air Force pilots, who will fly the IndianRafales, have started in earnest in France. Despite the Prime Minister prais-ing the abilities of the Indian Air Force in a recent episode of Mann ki

Baat, the fact is that India’s Air Defence and aerial offensive capabilitiesare a horrendous patchwork of antiquated systems and insufficient air-craft. The Rafale will not be the panacea that some expect it to be, andwe need to purchase many more aircraft. As for the charges that theGovernment has not given HAL work, this Government has to its creditpushed harder for the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft than anyGovernment in the recent past. As for farming work out to the privatesector instead of DPSU’s like HAL, it should also be remembered thatIndia is still the world’s largest arms importer and has until recently failedpretty badly in building a decent domestic arms industry. It could be sen-sibly argued that India’s massive arms imports are a leading cause ofIndia’s trade deficit and a contributor to the fall of the rupee.

Of course, that does not preclude the fact that there are questionsthat the Government needs to answer on why one particular private con-tractor was preferred over others. The Government’s defence of the dealhas been haphazard and ill-tempered and the bickering betweenGovernment Ministers and Rahul Gandhi on the deal has been downrightjuvenile most of the time. Will the Supreme Court’s decision to take alook at Government papers change all that? One hopes so, but it will cer-tainly have a dramatic political fallout one way or another, but as it standsright now, the Opposition’s single point agenda on Rafale is crippled andmight not have a leg to stand on shortly. Maybe now the country canlook at more important issues like the state of the economy.

Rafale blows over

Supreme Court’s request to Government for details on the

Rafale deal sans price and technicals deflates the row

Haley’s orbit

Indian-origin US politician Nikki Haley is thought to be

seriously considering running for President; at some point

#MeToo movement: A spark or fire?www.dailypioneer.com

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

The outpouring of testimony from women who have undergone harassment and abuse has been powerful. But this must not be the end of it all. The MeToo campaign must lead to structural change

In the past few weeks, there has been anoutflow of horrific stories of varyingdegrees of sexual assault against women.Women from most spheres, includingjournalism, politics, Bollywood, among

others, have bravely called out their aggres-sors online. The #MeToo movement has final-ly forced India out of its slumber of conve-nient ignorance in order to recognise aproblem that plagued the country muchbefore the advent of the Internet.

The ‘MeToo’ movement is a global phe-nomenon which has seen rising allegationsagainst figures across the world. As the cam-paign gathers pace, it is pertinent to highlightthat at the end of the day, the primary rea-son these incidents remained tucked away inthe closet, rather than being out in the open,is because there is a power dynamic mismatchbetween men and women. To all the people,

whose response to the movement is: Whythese incidents are only being highlightednow, the fact is that this power dynamic mis-match in all probability did not let womenthink that there would be any real benefit tocome forward as their aggressors would getaway and they would be ostracised. Ofcourse, this is only one possible reason, therecould be many other reasons, such as traumacaused to the victim etc.

As someone who is not a victim of this formof harassment, it will be unfair of me to com-ment with any expertise on what these reasonscould be. In any case, what we must remem-ber is that it should be absolutely irrelevant whywomen waited this long to come forward. Butwe should be glad that women now do feel asthough they can actually come forward withtheir stories of horror. They have had to staysilent for much too long, but now that they havecome forward, the least we can do is listen.

As empowering as the #MeToo movementis for the women, I believe, it may unfortu-nately be relegated to just a spark rather thana fire that moulds lasting change. I am awarethat these are depressing words and while Iam completely in support of the movement,systematic change cannot be ensured unlesstangible structural reforms are introduced.While I may not be able to personally iden-tify with the agony of the victims, sexual

harassment, like a number of social evils, isa crime that requires intervention from thestate and I hope to offer some insights on howit can be better tackled.

For starters, actions are classified ascrimes when there is adequate social pressureto classify certain acts as criminal. Theamount of importance and attention that isgiven to tackling these acts is a decent indi-cator as to how these social evils are viewedby our society. With respect to crimes againstthe body and the unabated increase in the fre-quency of such crimes, especially againstwomen (which I have repeatedly highlightedin these columns), it is obvious that our soci-ety does not treat these acts with the degreeof seriousness that a decent society should.

This would also explain why in cases ofrape, there is a stigma that is attached to thevictim, which in turn discourages reportingof such cases. Therefore, since the society itselfis not at a stage where these crimes are treat-ed with the seriousness that is required, it isimperative for the state to step in and createstructures that enable serious examination ofcrimes against women.

One way in which this can be done is toenable the registration of FIRs and complaintsonline. While some police forces, like theDelhi Police Force, allow for registration ofFIRs online, most police stations do not have

such a facility. This means that women, whohave been molested or raped or sexuallyassaulted, need to physically go to a police sta-tion to register a complaint and an FIR.

It is a recognised theory of behavioural eco-nomics (and frankly common sense) that inorder to encourage people to do a particularact, one should attempt to reduce the barriersthat are in the way of the concerned person.By making women go to a police station, thereis a high probability that they would not wantto subject themselves to the judgment andopinions of a male-dominated police station.

This brings me to my second point onhow we have a male-dominated police force.As per reports, only close to 7.3 per cent ofIndia’s police force comprises of women. It isimperative that the police is made a moreviable option for women so that those whohave no option, but to go to a police stationto register their complaint, are able to do soin a more comfortable environment.

In addition to including more women inthe police force, it is important to have gen-der sensitisation for the officers at a police sta-tion so that they are less inept at handlingcomplaints of such a sensitive nature. Whileit may seem radical, I have always advocatedpermitting individuals outside the policeforce to be trained to register complaints andFIRs. This would help in two ways: First, it

would reduce the burden on an already bur-dened police force and second, it would pro-vide a clearer estimate of the actual numberof crimes that are committed in India.

This because the police has an incentiveto register fewer FIRs as this would auto-matically improve the crime numbers of eachpolice station. I have often said that the crimestatistics in India is only a reflection of twoto three per cent of the crime that actuallytakes place in the country because the policemakes it extremely difficult to register an FIR.Of course, the police is already burdened buta clearer reflection of the crimes that takeplace will automatically incentivise the stateto recruit more policemen.

A final point that I would like to discussis the role private organisations, such as com-panies, guilds etc, can play in tacklinginstances of assault against women. TheSexual Harassment of Women at Workplace(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act,2013, was a welcome step which requiresemployers to have an internal complaintscommittee. However, based on my discussionswith people, employees are often unaware ofsuch a committee being in existence in anorganisation. It is crucial for employers to takegreater responsibility in checking any form ofsexual harassment at work and encouraginggreater conversation on this issue. This is espe-

cially important because most forms of sex-ual assault on women are by individuals whoare known to the women, which means thereis a high probability of such instances occur-ring at work.

It is also important for employers to bepro-active because in my experience, offend-ers typically escalate the nature of their actsover time. For example, a rapist would in allprobability have molested many womenbefore attempting to rape them. Privateorganisations, therefore, can help check theseoffences at the initial stage itself, which couldserve as a deterrent to the offender.

To conclude, it is imperative to use thismomentum of MeToo so as to encouragestructural change. In this regard, I read thiswonderful tweet online against people whotalk about how there are instances where menare being unfairly targeted in some casesunder the MeToo movement.

In response to this, the person tweetedabout how much outrage there is about animperfect movement as opposed to the ‘sys-tematic’ abuse of women. I wholeheartedlyagree with this sentiment and, therefore,would hope that this systematic problemforces us to come up with a systematic andinstitutional solution.

(The writer is Jharkhand PCC president, for-mer MP and IPS officer. Views are personal)

NATURE’S BLESSING

Sir — Yet another cyclone, Titli, thestrongest to have formed over the Bayof Bengal, has hit Odisha and itsneighbouring States at a time whenthe fear and loss of hundreds of livesin the recent floods in Kerala andKarnataka just passed into oblivion.

The most fearful fact about Titliis that it is power-packed with a windspeed of 145-165 kmph, which meansthat the wind will unleash its fury allalong its trail. Though high alert hasbeen sounded and precautionarymeasures have been put in place, there

are reasons to worry. Tidal waves areexceptionally higher and the sea hasalready turned rough.

Authorities must take adequatesteps to reduce damage and loss oflives. It is still a mystery as to whatgoes into the making of frequent for-mation of severe cyclones over partsof Bay of Bengal. On the other hand,rain is a sine qua non over these partsof the land and even interiors, on theother, routine formation of cycloneover the Bay of Bengal is a blessing indisguise as it brings plenty of rainyclouds. Our land is blessed withfreshest waters. It is, therefore, our

duty to preserve this freshest water weget in abundance from nature inevery way possible for future use.

TK Nandanan Chennai

TIME-BOUND COMPLAINT

Sir — There can be no denial to thefact that working women usually facesexual harassment at their workplace.It is also a bitter reality that womengenerally do not have the courage tofile complaints because of fear of lossof their own reputation. The MeToocampaign has given them the courageto speak, though its too late.

Considering the sensitivity and seri-ousness of the matter, the SupremeCourt as well as the UnionGovernment, must fix some datewhereby women may file complaintsof past. Thereafter, such charges maybe considered only in a time-boundperiod of alleged sexual harassment.

SC Agrawal Delhi

TAKE THE LEAD

Sir — This refers to the article, “Heatwaves: Soon to become a norm”(October 11) by Kota Sriraj. Thereport by the UN Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change does notportend well for the planet. Theworld leaders have to take immedi-ate measures in order to bring backhumanity from extinction.

India in particular should take thelead in the fight against climatechange. Our policymakers must speedup the process of inducting electricvehicles, the use of biofuels and thepromotion of solar energy.

ShadabChennai

Send your feedback to: [email protected]

It’s about time we encouraged

our children to dream big and

aspire. Only then can we hear

more stories like those of

Swapna Burman and Hima Das

My party and its leaders will not

deliver hollow speeches and tell lies.

We will deliver on whatever we say.

—Congress chief

RAHUL GANDHI

Rahul Gandhi has learnt a new mantra to

tell a lie…in high voice…so that it appears

true. But he has not been taught properly.

—Union Minister

PRAKASH JAVADEKAR

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Kupwara and Uri, twobordering towns alongthe Line of Control inthe State of Jammu &Kashmir, have one of

the highest densities of landminesin the world. Local residents oftenbecome unknowing victims oflandmine explosions as these hillypastures are traditional grazinggrounds for their livestock. WhenFatah Mohammed, a resident ofKupwara, went to graze his sheep,he accidentally stepped on an oldlandmine and lost one of his legs.Since then, Mohammed’s life andlivelihood has come to a standstill.Unable to take care of his flock, hissource of income slowly dried up,forcing him and his family to livea hand-to-mouth existence. Butlast month, his life took a newturn, thanks to the Jaipur Foot.Now, he can not only walk with hisnew prosthetic leg, but can alsobow down to offer his prayers.

Mohammed is not the onlyone who has been able to get backon his feet. Last month, the JaipurFoot transformed the lives ofabout 300 people who lost theirlimbs in such accidents. Four per-cent of Kupwara’s population of 8.7lakh suffers from some disability.This is far higher than the nation-al average (2.21 per cent).Landmine accidents near the Lineof Control are a major cause ofdisability among the people livingin Kupwara. India and Pakistanare among the 32 countries whichhave not signed the internationalMine Ban Treaty.

Now free fitment of prosthet-ic legs is bringing back the springin their lives, thanks to collabo-ration between the Pir PanjalBrigade of the Army, the BhagwanMahaveer Viklang SahayataSamiti, makers of the Jaipur Foot,and its partner, the Spark MindaFoundation.

It all began in 2017, when thePir Panjal Brigade saw the plightof residents of remote Sahora andHathlanga villages along the Lineof Control, who had lost their legsin landmine explosions or firing byPakistan. Having heard about the

Jaipur Foot’s life changing abilities,the Brigade flew down seven suchpeople to Delhi for fitments.

Since then, there has been nolooking back for these men. Theyare able to walk, run, climb, squat,sit cross-legged and perform dailyactivities with ease with the water-proof prosthetic leg.

Developed in 1968, the JaipurFoot has changed million so livesso far. During its 50-year journey,it has touched the lives of over 1.7million people in 34 countries. Itwas first crafted after three emi-nent orthopaedic surgeons at theSMS Medical College hospital,Jaipur, realised that the artificialfoot available from America andGermany was unsuitable forIndians. Led by Dr PK Sethi,director and professor of rehabil-itation, SMS Medical College andcolleagues Dr SC Kasliwal and DrMP Udawat, the first prototypewas developed by master crafts-man Ram Chandra.

About 58 fitments had beendone when DR Mehta, then an IASofficer working with the RajasthanGovernment, was admitted to thesame hospital with a badly brokenleg. During his prolonged stay inthe hospital, he observed thatmost of the patients belonged toeconomically underprivilegedcommunities. So, although hedidn’t need a prosthetic leg, Mehtadecided to do something to makethe Jaipur Foot affordable.

The Bhagwan MahaveerViklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS)was formed in 1975 to enable thepoorest of the poor stand up ontheir feet again. According toMehta, the decision to centre theirhealthcare model on compassionled them to fit the Jaipur Foot freeof cost. This would help themreach out to all disabled, irrespec-tive of their caste, age, religion orgender. Beginning from one centre,BMVSS now has 22 branches acrossIndia and normally holds about 50fitment camps in a year in differ-ent districts and remote areas of thecountry. It provides more than16,000 prosthetic fitments everyyear and has helped 1.7 million peo-ple with physical disabilities inIndia get back their lives.

The first Jaipur Foot was awood and vulcanised rubberstructure. It has since then under-gone several improvements,though the basic design remainsthe same. The latest version of theJaipur Foot comprises an artificial

leg (supporting the foot) made outof high-density polyethylene pipewith a plastic knee joint. This arti-ficial limb is fitted to the amputee’sleg, thus facilitating a near-normallife. A patient who comes in themorning can walk out on his owntwo feet by evening.

Having seen the changeamong the seven men, who hadlost their limbs after they had beenfitted by the Jaipur Foot in 2017,the Pir Panjal Brigade requestedBMVSS and its partner SparkMinda Foundation (SMF) to helpthem reach out this time to a larg-er number of people with disabil-ities, both men and women.

So, in September this year,under the Army’s Sadbhavanamission, the SMF organised aneight-day BMVSS camp in theState’s Baramulla district to enableneedy residents from the bordervillages to come for fitments.

During this camp, the nine-member BMVSS technical team,comprising prosthetists and tech-nicians, set up their workshopwithin the camp premises andmade the Jaipur Foot with the help

of Plaster of Paris and equipment,like grinders, cutters, vacuumsuction machines, pipes andovens. This helps fit the amputeewithin hours of being measuredand reduces the waiting time.

Although the prosthetic legsare given free by BMVSS, its costsare met by its associate, SMF, theCSR arm of the Ashok Mindagroup. Under this partnership,BMVSS has received an annualfunding of `60 lakh since 2016.

Since this was the first time thatsuch a free camp was held inJammu & Kashmir, it enabled peo-ple from Hathlanga, Gagar Hill,Paro, Charunda, Uri, Tangdhar,Kupwada, Bandipura, Tithwal,Handwara, Pattan, Gulmarg andmany other remote villages of bor-der areas to register.

A husband and wife, who hadboth lost their limbs in a landmineexplosion, were among the first toregister. This couple travelled over150 kilometres from their villageSahoora, situated along the Line ofControl, to the camp when theyrealised that there was a chancethey could walk again.

They didn’t want to lose thisopportunity since the lack offinancial resources and remotenessof their village had stymied effortsto seek help. Thanks to the JaipurFoot, their dream to walk againcame true.

In fact, the camp receivedsuch an overwhelming responsethat the number of fitments had tobe increased from 250 to 274. Thisis also perhaps because BMVSS-SMF camps provide a compre-hensive end-to-end support inlimb fitment. So, depending on thenature and degree of the disabili-ty, it also provides caliper fitments,walkers, elbow crutches, sticks, etc.

With the creation of the JaipurKnee, a prosthetic knee jointdeveloped in collaborationbetween a team of StanfordUniversity students and BMVSS,there is now hope for those need-ing knee replacements. TheStanford-Jaipur Knee, as it is pop-ularly known, is locally manufac-tured in India and has been hailedas one of the top 50 best inventionsby Time Magazine.

One of the most remarkableachievements in the Jaipur Foot’s50-year journey is it’s connect topeople across the world. It hasemerged as a symbol of Indianhumanitarian assistance in Africa,Asia and Latin America. War rav-aged Afghanistan has the world’slargest number of amputeesbecause of landmines and the1,000 prosthetic limbs it receivedfrom India has cemented bilater-al relations.

The Government has deepeneddiplomatic ties by holding trainingcamps for technicians from Asian,African and Latin American coun-tries under its Indian Technical andEconomic Cooperation (ITEC)programme at the BMVSS head-quarters in Jaipur.

Not only has it earned Indiagoodwill, globally, but it has alsobecome a case study in South-South cooperation. Earlier thisyear in May, an exhibition on theJaipur Foot was organised at theUnited Nations headquarters inNew York by the Indian missionto highlight its contribution in giv-ing people with disabilities a sec-ond chance at life.

Even back home, the JaipurFoot is helping build bridgesbetween the Armed Forces and thepeople of Jammu & Kashmir, onehappy step at a time.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

SWAPNA MAJUMDAR

NAVNEET ANAND

AJOY KUMAR

There is an argument projected that thePresident has no powers to amend theConstitution. The fact of the matter

is Article 35A is not a part of theConstitution of India. It’s a part of theConstitution only applicable to Jammu &Kashmir. There is a difference. So, there isno requirement of Parliament amending it,”said Jehangir Iqbal Ganai, Jammu &Kashmir Advocate-General, to a leadingnational daily in an interview in November2017. Ganai and many wilfully ignorantpeople like him have made such desperateattempts to justify the unlawful continua-tion of Article 35A.

What is Article 35A? Well, it empow-ers the Jammu & Kashmir State legislatureto define permanent residents and givesthem special treatment, privileges andrights with respect to employment with theState Government, acquisition of immov-able property, settlement in the State, rightto scholarships and other such forms of aidas the State Government may provide.

However, the very fact that Article 35Acame into being vide a presidential order in1954 and that it was not added to the IndianConstitution through a routine parliamen-tary amendment vide Article 368; that it wasonly added via an annexure by alienatingand superseding the parliamentary process;that it owes its origin to Article 370(1)(d),which in turn was always meant to be ‘tem-porary and transitional’; that it is against thebasic ethos espoused under Article 14 of theConstitution which upholds equality beforelaw and equal protection of laws within theterritory of India; that it violates the basicstructure of the Constitution by floutingArticle 14 which prohibits the State fromdiscriminating against persons on groundsof religion, caste, creed or place of birth; thatit disenfranchises children born to Kashmiriwomen who do not marry ‘natives’ — areall glaring examples of the fact that Article35A has outlived its utility long back. It existstoday as one of the worst reminders ofappeasement politics and opportunismthat was nurtured by India’s erstwhile

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.Going back in time, it is true that after

the Delhi agreement of 1952 under Clause6, the Union Government, under the aegisof Nehru, in a classic reflection of Panditji’spoor administrative skills and even poor-er vision, appreciated the need for specialrights that existed vide notifications issuedin 1927 and 1932 under the Dogra ruler,Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu & Kashmir.

It is also true that like any of the 565princely States, after Jammu & Kashmir’sunconditional accession to the IndianDominion on October 26, 1947, SheikhAbdullah took over the reins from theDogra ruler and in 1949, he negotiatedJammu & Kashmir’s political relationshipwith New Delhi that led to the inclusionof Article 370 into the Constitution.Article 370 under Part XXI guarantees spe-cial status to Jammu & Kashmir, restrict-ing the Union’s legislative powers to onlythree areas — defence, foreign affairs andcommunications. After Jammu &Kashmir’s Constitution was framed in1956, it retained the erstwhile Maharaja’sdefinition of ‘permanent residents’.

Fears that the removal of Article 35Awould lead to the erosion of Jammu &Kashmir’s autonomy and trigger demo-graphic changes in the Muslim-majorityKashmir valley, are a bag of lies, fanned byseparatists, armchair activists and those whoneither believe in insaniyat (humanism),jamhooriyat (democracy) and kashmiriyat(Kashmir’s legacy of amity). If fears of demo-graphic invasion were indeed true, why is itthat in the past 70 odd years, the coredemography of the Kashmir valley hasremained largely unchanged, even as theHindu majority in Jammu and Buddhists inLadakh have all the rights to buy propertyand settle in the valley?

The uncomfortable truth is that Article35A is a political tool by politically irrele-vant groups like the Hurriyat to keep theembers of separatism burning; thoughthings have improved dramatically underthe Narendra Modi dispensation. True,while the voter turnout in the urban localbody polls (currently underway and is beingheld after a gap of 13 long years) was just8.3 per cent in the Muslim-dominatedKashmir valley, it was more than 70 per centin Rajouri and Poonch, with Kargil record-ing an excellent voter turnout of 77.3 percent. This signals the fact that an average

Kashmiri believes in equality and democ-ratic institutions and not on the archaicArticle 35A.

Coming back to legalities, does thePresident of India have the sole power toamend the Constitution through an order?The answer is ‘no’. This was settled in thePuranlal Lakhanpal Vs President of India caseof 1961. True, the President, who is the headof the executive, enjoys legislative powersunder Article 123 of the Constitution tomake an Ordinance when either House ofthe Parliament is not in Session, but theOrdinance within six months has to bemandatorily passed by the Parliament inorder to become a law. The fact that the pres-idential order in July 1954, that gave birthto Article 35A, was passed unilaterally by cir-cumventing parliamentary procedures by thethen President Rajendra Prasad on the malafide advice of Nehru, has, therefore, alwaysbeen ‘ultra vires’ to start with!

Again, does Article 370 have the powerto add, amend, insert or delete a new Articlein the Constitution or amend theConstitution? The answer is again a cate-gorical ‘no’. Sub-clause 2 of Article 368 statesthat an amendment to the Constitution maybe initiated only by the introduction of a Billfor this purpose in either House of theParliament, post which it has to be approvedby no less than two-third majority of all mem-bers present and voting of both the Housesput together. Thereafter it has to finally getpresidential assent before the amendmenteventually becomes legally valid.

Whichever way one looks at the Article35A issue, that it was extra constitutionalfrom its inception is now well established.We have lived with this 64-year-old mistakefoisted upon us by a short-sighted Nehrudespite the fact that the Jammu & KashmirConstituent Assembly was disbanded onJanuary 26, 1957. But it is time now toensure that the mistake of 1954 is rectifiedso that the true spirit of Article 19 andArticle 21 of the Indian Constitution,which embodies the right to freedom ofspeech and expression and right to life andliberty, are upheld in the truest sense with-out creating a stream of second class citi-zens within the State of Jammu & Kashmirunder the farcical garb of greater autono-my. Kashmir is because India is and not theother way round.

(The writer is an economist and chiefspokesperson for the BJP, Mumbai)

Why Article 35A must go

Happy feet, Jaipur style

The Jaipur Foot has not only changed the prospects for millions of disabled people across the world but has also improved people-to-

people connectivity and helped India project its soft power

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Uganda’s ‘Ghetto President’ has won many hearts

Uganda is in the news for musical notesand political upheaval — a strange com-bination but it has happened. One good

thing about music is whenever it hits you, youfeel no pain, said Bob Marley. But the reversehas happened in Uganda and its capitalKampala. Musicians have openly or discreetlyindulged in their own brand of politics andmusic has helped them fulfil their ambitions.

President Yoweri Museveni has also learntthis the hard way. The Ghetto President, RobertKyagulanyi, has posed a challenge of sorts to

Museveni who is in the saddle for the last 32years. Kyagulanyi used street demonstrations,backed by his fans, to oppose Museveni's rule.Tax on social media has upset Kyagulanyi whohas no hidden design. He wants to dethroneMuseveni with active public support.

Dreamy eyed aspirational youngsters arelooking at ‘Bobi Wine’ with hope who has cap-tivated Ugandans through popular stageplays. This made his entry into UgandanParliament smooth. But violence that rockedKampala and parts of Uganda over

Kyagulanyi's arrest has made life uncom-fortable for Museveni. There were accusationsthat the singer was ill-treated in the cell. The36-year-old has adopted the famous sayingof Egyptian Internet activist Wael Ghonim “thepower of people is much stronger than thepeople in power”. Kyagulanyi has to use hismultifaceted roles of musician, entrepreneur,philanthropist in good measure to pose seri-ous threat to Museveni.

Ganapathi BhatAkola

NOT ONLY HAS IT EARNED INDIA

GOODWILL,GLOBALLY, IT HASALSO BECOME ACASE STUDY IN SOUTH-SOUTHCOOPERATION

THE PIONEERLUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 20188

India’s weather warning system may not be as bad asone would have thought. Thanks to the IMD’s warn-ing, Odisha as well as neighbouring States are well-pre-pared and bracing for Cyclone Titli given that adminis-trations had proper advance notice thanks to the IMD.Of course authorities must check, re-check and dou-ble-check measures.

THE PIONEERLUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 2018 9

50WORDEDIT

COMMENT & ANALYSIS

A stich in time SANJUVERMA

A 64-year-old law in Jammu & Kashmir has now become a political tool. It’s time the

mistake of 1954 is rectified so that the true spirit of Article 19 and 21 are upheld

Parenting our

future generations

money 10LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 2018

Script Last Abs ChangeTraded Price Change %3MINDIA 21942.85 -504.7 -2.258KMILES 127.75 -6.7 -4.98AARTIIND 1280.5 40.7 3.28ABB 1291.35 -52.5 -3.91ABBOTINDIA 7229.55 -104.15 -1.42ABCAPITAL 106.05 -4.25 -3.85ABFRL 176.4 -0.15 -0.08ACC 1434.8 -31 -2.11ADANIPORTS 314.3 -11.95 -3.66ADANIPOWER 29.95 0 0ADANITRANS 148.5 -1.25 -0.83ADVENZYMES 178.7 4.05 2.32AEGISLOG 180.05 -1.65 -0.91AIAENG 1476.35 -41.3 -2.72AJANTPHARM 1007.7 -44.9 -4.27AKZOINDIA 1584.7 0.15 0.01ALBK 35.3 -0.8 -2.22ALKEM 1942.25 -25.85 -1.31ALLCARGO 98.55 -1.45 -1.45AMARAJABAT 720.25 -14.35 -1.95AMBUJACEM 207.3 -2.4 -1.14ANDHRABANK 25.8 -0.75 -2.82APARINDS 581.85 -11.3 -1.91APLAPOLLO 1209.5 -15.1 -1.23APLLTD 596.7 -2.1 -0.35APOLLOHOSP 1121.7 -2.2 -0.2APOLLOTYRE 205.75 -8.15 -3.81ARVIND 321.35 -8.75 -2.65ASAHIINDIA 299.4 -0.35 -0.12ASHOKA 108.65 0.4 0.37ASHOKLEY 111.5 -2.85 -2.49ASIANPAINT 1216.05 -9.9 -0.81ASTRAL 869.75 -20.8 -2.34ATUL 3088.25 -17.5 -0.56AUBANK 582.45 1.7 0.29AUROPHARMA 752.4 -25.85 -3.32AVANTI 373.5 -16 -4.11AXISBANK 580.8 -8.55 -1.45BAJAJ-AUTO 2524.15 -57.85 -2.24BAJAJCORP 402.05 4.95 1.25

BAJAJELEC 492.55 -16.35 -3.21BAJAJFINSV 5595.6 -359.15 -6.03BAJAJHLDNG 2579.1 -22.4 -0.86BAJFINANCE 2163.7 -102.35 -4.52BALKRISIND 1009.65 -33.25 -3.19BALMLAWRIE 187.3 -2.4 -1.27BALRAMCHIN 92.4 -1.6 -1.7BANDHANBNK 470.85 -41.2 -8.05BANKBARODA 93.9 -1.85 -1.93BANKINDIA 75.5 -3.75 -4.73BASF 1667.1 -2.3 -0.14BATAINDIA 899 -9.85 -1.08BAYERCROP 4358.05 54.25 1.26BBTC 1264.8 -18.95 -1.48BEL 84.65 3.25 3.99BEML 584.95 0.85 0.15BERGEPAINT 275 0 0BHARATFIN 991.25 -27.75 -2.72BHARATFORG 554.95 -34.3 -5.82BHARTIARTL 286.25 -9.4 -3.18BHEL 73.2 -0.75 -1.01BIOCON 608.55 -8.05 -1.31BIRLACORPN 540.15 -10.1 -1.84BLISSGVS 165.9 -1.6 -0.96BLUEDART 2793.85 -1.4 -0.05BLUESTARCO 558.65 -13.35 -2.33BOMDYEING 111.65 -5.85 -4.98BOSCHLTD 18246.05 -317.75 -1.71BPCL 278.65 13.55 5.11BRITANNIA 5583.55 -118.15 -2.07CADILAHC 375.45 -8.8 -2.29CANBK 225.05 -7.1 -3.06CANFINHOME 238.75 -13.35 -5.3CAPF 471.8 -12.9 -2.66CAPPL 412.55 -8.95 -2.12CARBORUNIV 357.7 -0.1 -0.03CARERATING 1056.9 -23.2 -2.15CASTROLIND 141.05 2.05 1.47CCL 239.1 -5.3 -2.17CEATLTD 1061.85 -28.2 -2.59CENTRALBK 27.5 -1.4 -4.84CENTRUM 40.25 1.3 3.34CENTURYPLY 169.3 -0.5 -0.29CENTURYTEX 742.8 -24.35 -3.17CERA 2453.45 -25.25 -1.02CESC 846.2 -39.85 -4.5

CGPOWER 39.3 -1.65 -4.03CHAMBLFERT 137.75 -2.2 -1.57CHENNPETRO 246.5 8.75 3.68CHOLAFIN 1112.4 -57.45 -4.91CIPLA 617.75 -20.1 -3.15COALINDIA 266.6 -5 -1.84COCHINSHIP 379.2 10.2 2.76COFFEEDAY 248.1 -9.95 -3.86COLPAL 1099.1 46.45 4.41CONCOR 593.7 -19.15 -3.12COROMANDEL 382.15 -0.4 -0.1CORPBANK 22.85 -0.1 -0.44COX&KINGS 189.55 -4.5 -2.32CRISIL 1618.6 -0.8 -0.05CROMPTON 199.65 -3.1 -1.53CUB 170.05 -1.55 -0.9CUMMINSIND 668.15 -18.85 -2.74CYIENT 636 -43.15 -6.35DABUR 393.4 -12.35 -3.04DALMIABHA 2053.9 -81 -3.79DBCORP 186.35 -4.85 -2.54DBL 525.35 -26.1 -4.73DCBBANK 151.7 1.35 0.9DCMSHRIRAM* 363.3 13.5 3.86DEEPAKFERT 187.85 -0.7 -0.37DEEPAKNI 248.45 -5.5 -2.17DELTACORP 211.25 -6.45 -2.96DENABANK 14.3 -0.4 -2.72DHANUKA 412.6 0.7 0.17DHFL 288.9 6.6 2.34DISHTV 55.35 -0.65 -1.16DIVISLAB 1250.1 -45.3 -3.5DLF 153.5 -9.95 -6.09DMART 1328.85 -48.15 -3.5DRREDDY 2458.3 -25.95 -1.04ECLERX 1048.95 -1.45 -0.14EDELWEISS 164.6 0.6 0.37EICHERMOT 22286.95 -168.3 -0.75EIDPARRY 198.5 -1.9 -0.95EIHOTEL 146.55 -0.5 -0.34ELGIEQUIP 243.15 -2.3 -0.94EMAMILTD 439.2 10.25 2.39

ENDURANCE 1167.55 -29.55 -2.47ENGINERSIN 112 2.2 2EQUITAS 128.3 3.3 2.64ERIS 667.75 -5.9 -0.88ESCORTS 566.15 -24.6 -4.16ESSELPRO 95.8 -1.75 -1.79EVEREADY 188.1 -3.65 -1.9EXIDEIND 251.3 -5.6 -2.18FCONSUMER 37.05 -0.75 -1.98FDC 199.6 3.9 1.99FEDERALBNK 71.5 -1.95 -2.65FINCABLES 467 -13.2 -2.75FINOLEXIND 489.65 -19 -3.74FLFL 389.85 -5.2 -1.32FORBESCO 1938.1 -11.55 -0.59FORCEMOT 1756.7 -41.2 -2.29FORTIS 131.55 -0.1 -0.08FRETAIL 433.85 -15.35 -3.42FSL 61.15 -1.95 -3.09GAIL 350.1 13.4 3.98GDL 164.5 8.2 5.25GEPIL 731.35 16.55 2.32GESHIP 314.1 -9.75 -3.01GET&D 257 -10.45 -3.91GHCL 206.2 -2.85 -1.36GICHSGFIN 234.1 -7 -2.9GICRE 315.5 -3 -0.94GILLETTE 6465.2 74.95 1.17GLAXO 1372.75 -31.25 -2.23GLENMARK 598.8 0.9 0.15GMDCLTD 87.95 0.05 0.06GMRINFRA 15.9 -0.5 -3.05GNFC 324.35 -7.55 -2.27GODFRYPHLP 695.35 -25.05 -3.48GODREJAGRO 518.7 -3.6 -0.69GODREJCP 725.15 7.05 0.98GODREJIND 477.3 -4.05 -0.84GODREJPROP 488.75 -13.95 -2.78GPPL 101.75 0 0GRANULES 89.85 -6.25 -6.5GRAPHITE 870.65 41.45 5GRASIM 880.4 -30.25 -3.32GREAVESCOT 125.2 -5.95 -4.54GREENPLY 147.55 -6.05 -3.94GRINDWELL 490.95 -0.1 -0.02GRUH 267.95 -8.15 -2.95

GSFC 89.2 -3.55 -3.83GSKCONS 6916.35 107.35 1.58GSPL 169.55 -3.8 -2.19GUJALKALI 579.25 -16.2 -2.72GUJFLUORO 782.65 -21.7 -2.7GUJGAS 609.85 -5.55 -0.9GULFOILLUB 722.5 -9.5 -1.3HAL 767.85 -7.4 -0.95HATSUN 602.8 -16.95 -2.73HAVELLS 580.15 -29.95 -4.91HCC 11.79 -0.68 -5.45HCLTECH 1008.35 -42 -4HDFC 1685.8 -52.9 -3.04HDFCBANK 1935.85 -30.45 -1.55HDFCLIFE 365.85 -3.5 -0.95HDIL 20.05 0.2 1.01HEG 4233.6 362.55 9.37HEIDELBERG 137.05 -3.85 -2.73HERITGFOOD 505.75 -0.7 -0.14HEROMOTOCO 2866.75 -47.65 -1.63HEXAWARE 384.5 -19.55 -4.84HFCL 19.25 -0.4 -2.04HIMATSEIDE 229.75 -11.05 -4.59HINDALCO 216.8 -10.35 -4.56HINDCOPPER 51.85 4.2 8.81HINDPETRO 207.15 26.55 14.7HINDUNILVR 1528.5 1.4 0.09HINDZINC 270.55 -6.85 -2.47HSCL 116.05 -4.9 -4.05HSIL 244.2 3.15 1.31HUDCO 41.25 -0.85 -2.02IBREALEST 91.85 -4.05 -4.22IBULHSGFIN 893.35 -85.1 -8.7IBVENTURES 389.95 15 4ICICIBANK 311.6 -7.3 -2.29ICICIGI 779.55 -0.45 -0.06ICICIPRULI 320 -12.45 -3.74ICIL 60.9 -0.85 -1.38IDBI 58.8 -0.25 -0.42IDEA 34.55 -1.45 -4.03IDFC 37.3 -1.75 -4.48IDFCBANK 35.15 -0.8 -2.23IEX 1629.05 -14.8 -0.9IFBIND 999.85 3.6 0.36IFCI 12.7 -0.28 -2.16IGL 229.8 -5.65 -2.4IL&FSTRANS 22.2 -1.15 -4.93INDHOTEL 123.1 2.75 2.29INDIACEM 92.45 -3.35 -3.5INDIANB 230.25 -12.55 -5.17INDIGO 763.1 17.35 2.33INDUSINDBK 1592.3 -47.15 -2.88INFIBEAM 52.15 -6.3 -10.78INFRATEL 259.8 0.85 0.33INFY 675 -25.3 -3.61INOXLEISUR 199.35 0.55 0.28INOXWIND 79.1 -2.05 -2.53INTELLECT 200.25 -5.7 -2.77IOB 12.41 -0.16 -1.27IOC 131 6.7 5.39IPCALAB 626.85 4.75 0.76IRB 130.1 -4.7 -3.49ISGEC 5332.45 -78.25 -1.45ITC 265.2 -4.85 -1.8ITDC 303.45 6.75 2.28ITDCEM 114.75 -2.2 -1.88ITI 81.75 2.45 3.09J&KBANK 39.85 -0.15 -0.38JAGRAN 108.5 -1.9 -1.72JAICORPLTD 95.4 -3.7 -3.73JAMNAAUTO 69.7 -1.1 -1.55JBCHEPHARM 298.15 -6 -1.97JCHAC 1696.4 44.15 2.67JETAIRWAYS 191.25 2.1 1.11JINDALSAW 72.6 -2.75 -3.65

JINDALSTEL 167.05 -15.05 -8.26JISLJALEQS 65.4 -0.75 -1.13JKCEMENT 692.4 0.95 0.14JKIL 129.45 -0.45 -0.35JKLAKSHMI 272.3 -10.4 -3.68JKTYRE 93.6 0.7 0.75JMFINANCIL 74.85 -7 -8.55JPASSOCIAT 6.46 -0.26 -3.87JSL 51.8 -2.1 -3.9JSLHISAR 100.65 -1.25 -1.23JSWENERGY 59.45 -1.75 -2.86JSWSTEEL 361.25 -14.85 -3.95JUBILANT 648.3 -19.95 -2.99JUBLFOOD 1146.6 -45.1 -3.78JUSTDIAL 444.75 -31.45 -6.6JYOTHYLAB 189.1 -1.95 -1.02KAJARIACER 352.75 -1.25 -0.35KALPATPOWR 304.15 -0.4 -0.13KANSAINER 411.75 -3.25 -0.78KEC 252.85 -8.7 -3.33KEI 293.5 -5.25 -1.76KNRCON 171.55 -4.8 -2.72KOTAKBANK 1115.1 -22.8 -2KPIT 197.1 -8.35 -4.06KPRMILL 611 -23.8 -3.75KRBL 313.8 -13.25 -4.05KSCL 497.1 -15.9 -3.1KTKBANK 98.35 -2.85 -2.82KWALITY 12.03 -0.63 -4.98L&TFH 128.1 -6 -4.47LAKSHVILAS 79.65 -1.15 -1.42LALPATHLAB 962.8 -5.8 -0.6LAOPALA 212.05 -5.15 -2.37LAURUSLABS 419.45 2.9 0.7LAXMIMACH 5688.75 -203.75 -3.46LICHSGFIN 411.05 -17.85 -4.16LINDEINDIA 419.6 -2.25 -0.53LT 1226.2 -26.15 -2.09LTI 1708.45 -87.2 -4.86LTTS 1374.8 -76.1 -5.25LUPIN 837.75 -21.6 -2.51LUXIND 1503.6 -9.5 -0.63M&M 730.2 -33.95 -4.44M&MFIN 373.2 -32.9 -8.1MAGMA 108 -8.15 -7.02MAHABANK 10.84 -0.28 -2.52MAHINDCIE 265.15 13.15 5.22MAHLIFE 410.75 -13.65 -3.22MANAPPURAM 73.95 -0.15 -0.2MANPASAND 96 -2.9 -2.93MARICO 305.95 3.6 1.19MARUTI 6878.1 -133.05 -1.9MAXINDIA 70.45 1 1.44MCX 745.65 48.25 6.92MEGH 74.75 -1.4 -1.84MFSL 366.5 -11.9 -3.14MGL 789.3 1.45 0.18MHRIL 199.85 -0.25 -0.12MINDACORP 119.5 0.05 0.04MINDAIND 303.3 -8.4 -2.69MINDTREE 981.1 -26.05 -2.59MMTC 30.2 4.7 18.43MOIL 164.95 -3.75 -2.22MONSANTO 2613.25 34.6 1.34MOTHERSUMI 229.3 -2.9 -1.25MOTILALOFS 618.95 -26.9 -4.17MPHASIS 1027.05 -52.75 -4.89MRF 63188.9 -816.8 -1.28MRPL 77.35 7.4 10.58MUTHOOTFIN 397.5 -8.85 -2.18NATCOPHARM 661.7 -13.1 -1.94NATIONALUM 66.8 0.1 0.15NAUKRI 1438.3 6.35 0.44NAVINFLUOR 615.3 -13.35 -2.12NAVKARCORP 76.95 -1.1 -1.41

NAVNETEDUL 104.85 -3.9 -3.59NBCC 52.65 -2.5 -4.53NBVENTURES 113.6 -3.7 -3.15NCC 69.9 -3.85 -5.22NESTLEIND 9373.55 -152.75 -1.6NETWORK18 42.65 -0.35 -0.81NH 231.2 -6.05 -2.55NHPC 23.45 -0.2 -0.85NIACL 199.2 -4.85 -2.38NIITTECH 1057.45 -138 -11.54NILKAMAL 1549.65 15.95 1.04NLCINDIA 82.75 0.9 1.1NMDC 108.45 -1.5 -1.36NOCIL 143.4 -6.9 -4.59NTPC 163.1 -1.65 -1OBEROIRLTY 368.75 -7.4 -1.97OFSS 3886.65 -90 -2.26OIL 197.6 -1.4 -0.7OMAXE 215.1 -1.45 -0.67ONGC 152.9 4.25 2.86ORIENTBANK 62.05 -1.9 -2.97ORIENTCEM 88.5 -1.15 -1.28PAGEIND 28176.35 -2033.8 -6.73PARAGMILK 243.45 -1.1 -0.45PCJEWELLER 55.55 -1.8 -3.14PEL 2235.15 -159.75 -6.67PERSISTENT 687.55 -7.1 -1.02PETRONET 211.75 -1.1 -0.52PFC 75.25 -2.35 -3.03PFIZER 2757.65 36.1 1.33PFS 14.81 -0.44 -2.89PGHH 8996.8 57.6 0.64PHILIPCARB 206.45 3.05 1.5PHOENIXLTD 518.05 -1.1 -0.21PIDILITIND 958.5 2.45 0.26PIIND 754.45 14.2 1.92PNB 64.1 -2.25 -3.39PNBHOUSING 866.9 -12.25 -1.39PNCINFRA 131.25 -0.6 -0.46POWERGRID 186.05 -1.2 -0.64PRESTIGE 169.55 -9.55 -5.33PRSMJOHNSN 82.7 -3.7 -4.28

PTC 69.65 -1.7 -2.38PVR 1258.8 -40.9 -3.15QUESS 755 -19 -2.45RADICO 330.75 15.1 4.78RAIN 175.4 8.35 5RAJESHEXPO 640.85 -21.7 -3.28RALLIS 178.3 -4.25 -2.33RAMCOCEM 580.85 -20.8 -3.46RATNAMANI 806 4.6 0.57RAYMOND 633.5 -17 -2.61RBLBANK 520.25 -15.6 -2.91RCF 56.85 -1.6 -2.74RCOM 11.12 -0.36 -3.14RECLTD 100.1 -4.1 -3.93REDINGTON 88.65 -0.55 -0.62RELAXO 683.9 -21 -2.98RELCAPITAL 241.65 -11.2 -4.43RELIANCE 1089.2 -13.15 -1.19RELINFRA 300.95 -8.5 -2.75REPCOHOME 367.5 -17.1 -4.45RNAM 154.3 -1.05 -0.68RNAVAL 11.6 -0.02 -0.17RPOWER 25.9 -0.55 -2.08SADBHAV 201.75 -7.6 -3.63SAIL 64.95 -1.9 -2.84SANOFI 5933.7 -57 -0.95SBILIFE 541.2 -21.2 -3.77SBIN 262.15 -15.95 -5.74SCHAEFFLER 5155 52 1.02SCHNEIDER 102.75 -2.85 -2.7SCI 42.95 1.3 3.12SFL 1621 -32.6 -1.97SHANKARA 1050.45 -27.3 -2.53SHARDACROP 319.7 -7.35 -2.25SHILPAMED 393.8 -1 -0.25SHK 196.65 -4.65 -2.31SHOPERSTOP 469.8 -17.4 -3.57SHREECEM 14858.5 -694 -4.46SHRIRAMCIT 1626.7 20.3 1.26SIEMENS 889.7 -24.1 -2.64SIS 919.85 -38.15 -3.98SJVN 26.55 -0.1 -0.38SKFINDIA 1628.2 -17.9 -1.09SOBHA 404.05 11.3 2.88SOLARINDS 1019.65 -1.05 -0.1SOMANYCERA 346.8 -3.15 -0.9

SONATSOFTW 321.5 -11.1 -3.34SOUTHBANK 12.65 -0.59 -4.46SPARC 305.95 -4.5 -1.45SPICEJET 70.25 2.15 3.16SREINFRA 33.85 -1.7 -4.78SRF 1729.85 -75.3 -4.17SRTRANSFIN 1046.15 -35.3 -3.26STARCEMENT 100.05 -2.8 -2.72STRTECH 297.75 -9.85 -3.2SUDARSCHEM 368.2 -9.4 -2.49SUNCLAYLTD 3750 -150 -3.85SUNDRMFAST 539.9 -5.15 -0.94SUNPHARMA 587.3 -15.7 -2.6SUNTECK 339.7 -8.05 -2.31SUNTV 636.25 -8.65 -1.34SUPPETRO 245.15 -1.45 -0.59SUPRAJIT 228 -2.55 -1.11SUPREMEIND 981.25 -16.2 -1.62SUVEN 244.55 -9.3 -3.66SUZLON 5.56 -0.2 -3.47SWANENERGY 98.65 0.6 0.61SYMPHONY 979.15 19.55 2.04SYNDIBANK 30.8 -1 -3.14SYNGENE 590.05 0.7 0.12TAKE 161.75 -6.4 -3.81TATACHEM 635.55 -15.45 -2.37TATACOFFEE 94.15 -1.1 -1.15TATACOMM 484.05 -9.15 -1.86TATAELXSI 977.25 -37.95 -3.74TATAGLOBAL 224.35 -3.75 -1.64TATAINVEST 686.1 -18.3 -2.6TATAMETALI 554.3 -35.45 -6.01TATAMOTORS 182.75 -6 -3.18TATAMTRDVR 101.7 -1.95 -1.88TATAPOWER 62.35 -2.65 -4.08TATASTEEL 556.25 -26.8 -4.6TCS 1979.75 -63.3 -3.1TEAMLEASE 2430.85 8.2 0.34TECHM 695.05 -2.75 -0.39TEJASNET 274.1 -12.95 -4.51TEXRAIL 56.5 -1.6 -2.75THERMAX 916.15 21.6 2.41

THOMASCOOK 199.45 -1.65 -0.82THYROCARE* 639 -15.65 -2.39TIFHL 505.5 1.6 0.32TIMETECHNO 123.6 -2 -1.59TIMKEN 551.15 -3.85 -0.69TITAN 779.9 -7.95 -1.01TNPL 241.45 -8.2 -3.28TORNTPHARM 1600.9 -8 -0.5TORNTPOWER 228.05 -5.25 -2.25TRENT 325 -0.4 -0.12TRIDENT 55.65 -1.35 -2.37TRITURBINE 102.3 -0.65 -0.63TTKPRESTIG 5854.3 -31.5 -0.54TV18BRDCST 34.45 -1.15 -3.23TVSMOTOR 515.1 -13.15 -2.49TVSSRICHAK 2401.7 -29.6 -1.22TVTODAY 392.45 1.1 0.28UBL 1189.65 -10.75 -0.9UCOBANK 15.85 -0.25 -1.55UFLEX 273.9 -8.6 -3.04UJJIVAN 248.65 -4.8 -1.89ULTRACEMCO 3697.9 -87.1 -2.3UNICHEMLAB 183.8 -8.05 -4.2UNIONBANK 68.6 -3.05 -4.26UPL 604.25 -17.95 -2.88VBL 746 0.9 0.12VEDL 208.25 -9.7 -4.45VENKYS 2205.2 -139.55 -5.95VGUARD 171.4 1.05 0.62VIJAYABANK 40.85 -1.8 -4.22VINATIORGA 1162.6 -29.85 -2.5VIPIND 417.7 19.85 4.99VMART 1968.35 -103.55 -5VOLTAS 496.95 -18.05 -3.5VTL 1013.7 -10.05 -0.98WABAG 255.5 -3.65 -1.41WABCOINDIA 6456.25 200.25 3.2WELCORP 136.15 -6.05 -4.25WELSPUNIND 61.45 0.15 0.24WHIRLPOOL 1424.85 -3.6 -0.25WIPRO 313.05 -3.8 -1.2WOCKPHARMA 504.65 -5.5 -1.08YESBANK 240 5.95 2.54ZEEL 465.1 5.9 1.28ZENSARTECH 273.3 -9.75 -3.44ZYDUSWELL 1291.55 -33.75 -2.55

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGEHINDPETRO 177.35 216.4 176.15 210 29.3IOC 122.9 133.95 120.5 131.15 7.15BPCL 262 284.5 259.2 278.25 12.85GAIL 328 352.7 327 350 13.65YESBANK 222 268.95 216.65 241 7.1ONGC 146.1 159.6 146.1 152.65 4.05INFRATEL 252.7 262.65 252 262.5 4.25ZEEL 448 479 434.65 463.95 4.15HINDUNILVR 1,490.00 1,540.00 1,477.20 1,537.10 9.45ASIANPAINT 1,201.00 1,221.50 1,190.45 1,220.00 -5.95TECHM 680 702.05 677.65 695.5 -3.8POWERGRID 185.95 188.5 184.05 185.75 -1.4WIPRO 308 315.45 304.85 313.5 -2.45NTPC 162 165.7 161.3 162.85 -1.5DRREDDY 2,412.05 2,516.00 2,408.00 2,458.40 -26.2TITAN 764 798 754.55 780 -8.55RELIANCE 1,064.00 1,114.75 1,043.00 1,090.00 -12.1AXISBANK 555 585.8 550.1 582.3 -6.9HDFCBANK 1,925.00 1,948.30 1,917.60 1,941.00 -26.15HEROMOTOCO 2,877.00 2,934.90 2,846.40 2,879.95 -40.15EICHERMOT 21,300.00 22,600.00 21,182.45 22,269.00 -313.35MARUTI 6,800.00 6,950.00 6,705.20 6,886.00 -99.85COALINDIA 268 274.5 265.05 268.2 -4.5KOTAKBANK 1,100.00 1,120.00 1,095.00 1,117.95 -19.8ITC 265 269.3 263.65 265.25 -4.85LT 1,230.00 1,237.00 1,220.10 1,222.05 -28.6TCS 1,985.00 2,013.00 1,941.00 1,995.00 -48.6BAJAJ-AUTO 2,540.00 2,555.90 2,505.45 2,520.00 -61.8INDUSINDBK 1,610.00 1,610.00 1,581.40 1,597.90 -40.05ICICIBANK 310 315.45 304 312 -7.85SUNPHARMA 590 603.25 582.7 588 -14.95ULTRACEMCO 3,715.00 3,739.90 3,631.20 3,683.45 -94.55UPL 609 622.4 590.2 606 -16.45HDFC 1,690.00 1,724.10 1,675.70 1,684.00 -52.95TATAMOTORS 180.65 187.75 178 182.5 -6.25BHARTIARTL 288.95 294.8 282.25 285.25 -9.85GRASIM 889 889 860 878 -31.65CIPLA 627.5 633.8 613.05 617 -22.6INFY 685 692.9 663.3 675.4 -25.05HCLTECH 1,025.50 1,025.50 998 1,012.90 -38.9ADANIPORTS 320 324.85 311.1 314 -13.1JSWSTEEL 370 372.75 354.85 360.9 -15.9BAJFINANCE 2,100.00 2,230.00 2,060.00 2,173.00 -97.95VEDL 208.15 217.75 200 208.75 -9.4M&M 747 756.5 715 730 -34.1HINDALCO 216.9 221.6 211.1 216.4 -10.5TATASTEEL 557 564 549.05 554.5 -29.15SBIN 268 271.5 260.6 261.7 -16.95BAJAJFINSV 5,685.00 5,775.00 5,551.00 5,592.00 -369.5IBULHSGFIN 919 935.5 860.65 889 -89.25

SE 500B

VITAL STATS

GOLD SILVERMumbai 32877 41300 Delhi 32620 41300Kolkata 32962 41300

BSE: SENSEX

Open

High

Low

Current value

Previous close

Change (Pts)

Change (%)

74.39

98.29

85.90

0.66

NIFTY NEXT 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGEMCDOWELL-N 460 499.5 452.4 495.9 24.3BEL 78.5 86.5 77.7 85.5 4.05COLPAL 1,051.00 1,105.00 1,038.15 1,093.20 40.45INDIGO 725 801.65 714.1 760.1 15.65ICICIGI 756 798.7 747.8 791.9 11.1MARICO 294 307.6 282.95 306 4.25GODREJCP 693.6 736.2 688.2 728.3 9.7PIDILITIND 936.85 967.85 898.55 963.5 10.65PGHH 8,899.95 9,010.00 8,801.75 8,979.00 58PETRONET 209 215.25 205.75 212.4 -0.45SUNTV 632 659 610.2 641 -2.55NHPC 23.25 23.95 23 23.6 -0.1NMDC 106.05 110.15 104.65 109.3 -0.65OIL 195.6 207.75 192.7 197.1 -1.75GICRE 315 319.9 311.5 315.05 -3.1BOSCHLTD 18,300.00 18,429.15 18,021.00 18,395.00 -187.4MRF 62,990.00 64,269.65 61,709.05 63,297.00 -682.6HDFCLIFE 358 374 355 365 -4.75AMBUJACEM 204 208.8 200.35 207.2 -2.7ACC 1,428.00 1,446.70 1,405.50 1,444.00 -19.65OFSS 3,900.00 3,999.85 3,825.10 3,920.00 -54.45BHEL 71.55 74.9 71.05 73.1 -1.05BIOCON 600 625.5 588 606.85 -9.55MOTHERSUMI 224.9 233.85 220 228.4 -3.7NIACL 205.9 205.9 198 200 -3.4BANKBARODA 91.95 95.3 91 93.95 -1.65ASHOKLEY 109.7 114.2 108.25 112.05 -2.5SAIL 65 66.6 63.8 65.2 -1.6BRITANNIA 5,525.00 5,662.45 5,490.60 5,565.00 -143.5DABUR 391.5 396.65 385 394.6 -10.65HINDZINC 272.9 275.95 267.2 270 -7.75CADILAHC 376.85 382.3 370.7 374.5 -10.8LUPIN 840 862.4 831.6 833 -25.1SIEMENS 895.55 899 871.1 887 -29.1SRTRANSFIN 1,005.00 1,082.00 995.5 1,043.65 -36.3CONCOR 586.2 605.5 580.25 593 -21.35ABCAPITAL 105 108.8 104 106.35 -3.85SBILIFE 560 560 532 541.45 -19.6DMART 1,343.00 1,368.00 1,300.00 1,325.40 -49AUROPHARMA 761.55 779.3 749.25 751 -28.65IDEA 33.8 35.25 33.4 34.6 -1.45ICICIPRULI 322.3 329.75 317.55 319 -13.5ABB 1,325.00 1,330.95 1,275.10 1,286.00 -55.4LICHSGFIN 417.8 418.95 407.25 409.9 -18.75L&TFH 127 132.6 122 127.9 -6.25SHREECEM 15,000.00 15,394.65 14,622.00 14,776.00 -765.6HAVELLS 592 598.95 570.7 576.9 -34.3DLF 155.9 160.7 152.45 153.55 -10.15PEL 2,301.05 2,320.00 2,213.95 2,239.05 -161.6BANDHANBNK 490 491.95 462.15 469.7 -42.45

34063.82

34325.18

33723.53

34001.15

34760.89

-759.74

-2.19

BSE: GAINERS

MMTC 30.20 (18.43)

HINDPETRO 207.15 (14.70)

MRPL 77.35 (10.58)

HEG 4233.60 (9.37)

HINDCOPPER 51.85 (8.81)

Current (Chng %)NSE: GAINERS

HINDPETRO 210.00 (16.21)

IOC 131.15 (5.77)

BPCL 278.25 (4.84)

GAIL 350.00 (4.06)

YESBANK 241.00 (3.04)

Current (Chng %)BSE: LOSERS

NIITTECH 1057.45 (11.54)

IIFL 415.40 (11.23)

INFIBEAM 52.15 (10.78)

TATASTEELPP 113.10 (9.99)

IBULHSGFIN 893.35 (8.70)

Current (Chng %)NSE: LOSERS

IBULHSGFIN 889.00 (9.12)

BAJAJFINSV 5,592.00 (6.20)

SBIN 261.70 (6.08)

TATASTEEL 554.50 (4.99)

HINDALCO 216.40 (4.63)

Current (Chng %)

SENSEX NIFTY

PTI n MUMBAI

The BSE Sensex slumpedover 750 points to end at a

six-month low and NSE Niftyended below the 10,300 markThursday as global indices wit-nessed across-the-board lossesafter investor sentiment was hitby heavy sell-off in world mar-kets.

The 30-share index, whichcommenced with a gap downopening, cracked over 1,000points, breaching the 34,000-mark and hit a low of33,723.53, before staging a par-tial recovery to touch a high of34,325.09 in afternoon trade.

The gauge finally ended759.74 points, or 2.19 per cent,lower at 34,001.15. This is thelowest closing since April 11.

It had gained 461.42 pointsWednesday.

Similarly, the NSE Niftysettled at 10,234.65, down

225.45 points, or 2.16 per cent.It moved between 10,138.60and 10,335.95 in day trade.

“This sell-off is part of theglobal sell-off triggered by thesharp cut in the mother mar-ket US,” said VK Vijayakumar,Chief Investment Strategist atGeojit Financial Services.

This is leading to capitaloutflows from emerging mar-kets (EMs) like India. Apartfrom the rising bond yield inthe US and EM currency woes,there are global trade skir-mishes impacting the senti-ment, he added.

“While most of the earlierfall could be attributed largelyto domestic factors, the reasonfor Thursday’s fall is clearlyglobal with the US marketsfalling sharply after PresidentTrump’s acerbic commentsagainst the Federal Reserveand the consequent sharp fallwitnessed in all the majorAsian markets,” said DheerajSingh, Head of Investments -Taurus AMC.

In an unprecedented crit-icism by a serving USPresident, Trump said theFederal Reserve had gone crazyafter the Dow Jones IndustrialAverage in New York tumbledby over 800 points onWednesday, the biggest declinein more than seven months.

Among the Sensex pack,state-run lender SBI was thebiggest loser, plunging by 5.74per cent, followed by Tata Steel4.60 per cent.

Stocks of IT bellwetherTCS fell 3.10 per cent ahead ofSeptember quarter earnings tobe released later on Thursday.

Other laggards includedVedanta, M&M, Infosys, AdaniPorts, Bharti Airtel, TataMotors, HDFC, IndusIndBank, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto,ICICI Bank, L&T, Kotak Bank,Maruti Suzuki, HeroMotoCorp, Coal India andITC, falling up to 4.45 per cent.

Axis Bank, HDC Bank,RIL, Wipro, NTPC, AsianPaint, PowerGrid and HULalso retreated up to 1.45 percent. In contrast, ONGC wasthe top gainer in the Sensexkitty, rising 2.86 per cent, whileYes Bank gained 2.54 per cent.

Stocks of oil marketingcompanies were in a bettershape on falling global crude oilprices. HCPL, BPCL, ONGCand IOC ended up to 14.70 percent higher.

Airline stocks continuedtheir rising streak for the sec-ond day after the govern-ment on Wednesday cutexcise duty on jet fuel to 11per cent to give relief to theaviation industry.

Sensex sinks over 750

pts; Nifty below 10,300

GLOBALMARKETTUMBLES AFTERTRUMP’S FEDREMARK

PTI n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday allayed

fears of job loss due to techno-logical development, sayingthe ‘4th Industrial Revolution’will change the nature of jobsand provide more opportuni-ties. Speaking at the launch ofthe World Economic Forum(WEF) Centre for the FourthIndustrial Revolution, he saidhis government is open to pol-icy changes to help reap bene-fits of the fourth industrial rev-olution.

“Our diversity, our demo-graphic potential, fast-growingmarket size and digital infra-structure has potential to makeIndia a global hub for researchand implementation,” he said.

While the previous indus-

trial revolutions eluded thecountry, India’s contribution tothe 4th Industrial Revolutionwould be astonishing, he said.

“India was not indepen-dent when the first and secondindustrial revolution happened.When third industrial revolu-tion happened, India was strug-gling with challenges of justattained independence,” hesaid. Artificial intelligence,machine learning, Internet ofThings, blockchain and bigdata hold potential to takeIndia to new heights, the PrimeMinister said.

Reeling out the achieve-ments of his Government, Modisaid teledensity has increased to93 per cent and nearly 50 croreIndians now have mobiles.

India is the largest mobiledata consuming country inthe world and also the one withthe cheapest data rates, hesaid, adding mobile data con-sumption has increased 30times in four years.

Over 120 crore Indianshave Aadhaar, he said, addingwork to connect all the 2.5 lakhvillage panchayats with opticfibre would be completed soon.

In 2014, only 59 panchay-ats were connected with opticfibre while presently 1 lakh areconnected, Modi said.

4th Industrial Revolutionto change nature ofjobs, says PM Modi

PTI n NEW DELHI

Allaying concerns about thereturn of fuel subsidy

regime, a top Finance Ministryofficial on Thursday said theGovernment asking oil PSUs tosubsidise petrol and dieselprices by `1 per litre was a“one-time thing” and it doesnot intend to ask them to do itagain.

While oil marketing com-panies will continue to enjoymarketing freedom, upstreamoil producers like ONGCwould not be asked to sharefuel subsidy burden, he said.

Just last week, theGovernment had cut exciseduty on petrol and diesel by`1.50 per litre and asked state-owned oil marketing compa-nies (OMCs) to subsidise thetwo fuels by another `1 a litre.

But most of the `2.50 perlitre reduction in rates effectedfrom October 5 has been lostin increases in selling prices onsubsequent days, giving rise tothe suspicion that theGovernment may again askOMCs to subsidise fuel.

“The `1 absorption by

OMCs in their pricing was a one-time thing,” the official said.

The Government, he said,has no intention of askingthem to do that again.

Following the comments,shares of OMCs surged by asmuch as 19 per cent intra-day,defying the broader markettrends. Shares of HPCL surged19 per cent to hit a high of`215.40, BPCL jumped 7 percent to `284.80 and IOC gainednearly 8 per cent to `134 inintra-day trade.

The benchmark BSESensex fell 759.74 points toclose at 34,001.

The cut in excise duty andOMCs absorbing some priceshad led to a drop in the priceof petrol from a record high of`84 per litre to ̀ 81.50 in Delhiand that of diesel from an all-time high of `75.45 to `72.95a litre on October 5. But ratehikes on subsequent days havepushed prices up.

Petrol has risen by 86 paiseper litre since then and dieselby `1.67, negating the entireexcise duty reduction in lessthan a week. Petrol price inDelhi on Thursday stood at`82.36 per cent while diesel waspriced at `74.62.

The official said theGovernment is also not look-ing at bringing back the subsidysharing mechanism whereupstream firms like ONGCsubsidised cooking fuels LPGand kerosene by giving dis-

counts on crude oil they sold torefiners.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp(ONGC) shares surged to`159.60 during intra-day tradeon the BSE before ending at`152.90, up 2.86 per cent.

Oil producers ONGC andOil India Ltd had till June2015 made good as much as 40per cent of the under-recover-ies or subsidy arising out of sell-ing fuel at below market price.It was speculated that the samesubsidy sharing in some formmay be brought back.

According to Moody’sInvestors Service, share pricesof state-owned oil companieshave declined around 20 percent on average since the gov-ernment on October 4announced a reduction in thecountry’s fuel prices.

The aggregate market cap-italisation of the six largest list-ed Government owned/linkedoil companies had fallen by ̀ 1.2lakh crore since then, it said.

“The share price decline iscredit negative for the oil com-panies because of the highlevel of cross-shareholdings inone another. The market valuesof their respective investmentshave declined, reducing theirfinancial flexibility,” it said in areport on Thursday. Shares ofHPCL closed up 14.70 percent at `207.15. BPCL was up5.11 per cent at `278.65 andIOC ended 5.39 per cent high-er at `131 on the BSE.

‘Govt will not ask OMCs to furthersubsidise petrol, diesel prices’SUBSIDIARY ON OIL PRICESWAS ONE TIMETHING: OFFICIAL

IN 2014, 59

PANCHAYATS

WERE CONNECTED

WITH OPTIC FIBRE,

PRESENTLY 1

LAKH ARE

CONNECTED

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 2018 world 11

Trump mocks #MeToo movementPTI n WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trumphas mocked the #MeToo

movement as he intensifiedhis criticism of the campaignagainst sexual harassment andassault which nearly hit hisSupreme Court pick JusticeBrett Kavanaugh. Trump’sclaim that #MeToo preventshim for using the phrase is hislatest volley against the move-ment, which became a forceafter sexual assault allegationsagainst Hollywood producerHarvey Weinstein surfaced lastyear.

“There’s an expression, butunder the rules of #MeToo, Iam not allowed to use thatexpression anymore. I can’t doit,” Trump said at a mid-termelection rally in Pennsylvania,and then he pointed at thephrase “the girl that got away”.

“It’s the person that gotaway. The old days, it was a lit-tle different than Pennsylvaniato it,” he said as he spokeabout winning the state in the2016 presidential election

Pointing to the media,Trump said he would use theoriginal phrase, except for themedia. “I would do it except forthese people up there. Theywould say, did you hear whatPresident Trump said? Didyou hear what he said?” he saidimitating reporters.

“So, there is an expression,but we’ll change the expression.Pennsylvania was always theperson that got away. That’spretty good,” he said amidstapplause from the audience.

The revelation of the alle-gations against Weinsteininspired many women to revealtheir own stories of sexualassault, but Trump has recent-ly taken shots at the #MeToomovement by expressing con-cern for men who are accusedof sexual assault or harassment.

Supreme Court JusticeBrett Kavanaugh’s recent con-firmation hearings renewedattention to the topic as theSenate considered ChristineBlasey Ford’s accusation thatKavanaugh sexually assaultedher. The president had said thenotion that Kavanaugh sexuallyassaulted someone and that theallegations from Ford and otherwomen could be taken as factmade this a “very scary time foryoung men in America.”

Trump had earlier mockedthe #MeToo movement at arally in July. He did so whilesimultaneously mockingSenator Elizabeth Warren ofMassachusetts and saying thatshould she win the Democraticnomination in 2020 and theywere to debate, he would tossan ancestry test to her and dareher to take it.

During the 2016 presiden-tial campaign, at least 13women accused Trump of mis-behavior ranging from sexualharassment to sexual assault.

They came forward in thewake of a 2005 “AccessHollywood” tape that wasreleased in October 2016 inwhich he is caught saying on ahot mic: “And when you’re astar, they let you do it. You cando anything. ... Grab them bythe p***y. You can do any-thing.” The President denies allthe allegations against him.

‘Unhappy with Pakistan’s

efforts on terror-financing’

PTI n WASHINGTON

Not impressed withPakistan’s efforts to com-

bat terror financing, a delega-tion of the Financial ActionTask Force (FATF) has asked itto do more to strengthen itslegal framework if it wants toavoid being blacklisted by theParis-based anti-money laun-dering watchdog, according toa media report on Thursday.Currently placed on the FATF’S‘grey list’, Pakistan has beenscrambling in recent months toavoid being added to a list ofcountries deemed non-com-pliant with anti-money laun-dering and terrorist financingregulations by the FATF, ameasure that officials here fearcould further hurt its economy.A second team of experts fromthe FATF arrived over theweekend to review the progressmade by Pakistan on an actionplan agreed in June to addressglobal concerns. Dawn report-ed that the delegation of theAsia Pacific Group (APG) ofthe FATF was not impressedwith the progress made byPakistan so far as it found thelegal framework insufficient,and the institutional arrange-ments weak.

According to sources, thedelegation feared that the setupinstalled for scrutinising theactivities of non-profit organ-isations, brokerage houses,exchange companies and dona-tions of corporate entities - reg-istered under the companies act- was not robust enough. Thesources said that the APGbelieved that even in areaswhere the legal frameworkappeared vigorous, the imple-

mentation mechanism was notgeared to track down financialflows of the entities in question,because the agencies involvedwere not well-connected,according to the report. Thisweakness was prominent inreal estate brokerages wherelarge business transactionsremained outside the ambit oflegal records. A team of theSecurities & ExchangeCommission of Pakistan(SECP) reported to the APGthat brokerage houses werelargely documented thoughreal estate dealers and theiroperations were generally out-side its area of regulation.

The APG also noticedshortcomings in commoditytrading - and the effectivenessof laws against money laun-dering through cross-verifica-tion of service providers.

The sources said the dele-gation asked the relevantauthorities to issue deadlinesfor resolving the flagged weak-nesses so that the problemscould be remedied and futureperformance evaluations bemade on the proposed matrix.

The authorities would alsohave to properly record thenumber of donation boxesplaced by religious and otherorganisations at restaurantsand business centres amongother places. Besides, all cur-rency and real estate dealerswould have to record everytransaction - both small andlarge.

The purpose of the mutu-al evaluation visit is to assessthe effectiveness of Pakistan’sAnti-Money Laundering andCounter Financing ofTerrorism (AML/CFT) regimeunder FATF methodology.

The visiting team includedIan Collins of the UnitedKingdom’s Scotland Yard,James Prussing of the UnitedStates Department of theTreasury, Ashraf Abdullah ofthe Financial Intelligence Unitof the Maldives, Bobby WahyuHernawan of the IndonesianMinistry of Finance, GongJingyan of the Peoples Bank ofChina and Mustafa NecmeddinOztop of the Turkish Ministryof Justice.

In June 2018, Pakistan

made a high-level politicalcommitment to work with theFATF and the APG to strength-en its AML/CFT regime and toaddress its strategic counter-terrorism financing-relateddeficiencies by implementing a10-point action plan. The suc-cessful implementation of theplan and its verification by theAPG is a prerequisite for theFATF to remove Pakistan fromits grey list. Earlier in August,the APG - as part of the mutu-al evaluation -identified a seriesof deficiencies in Pakistan’sAML/CFT mechanisms. Bythe end of September nextyear, Pakistan must complywith the 10-point action planit committed to with the FATFor else it will fall into the blacklist.

The authorities arerequired to upgrade agenciesand their human resourceassets to be able to handle for-eign requests to block terrorfinancing and freeze illegalassets. The authorities areworking on strengthening lawsfor extradition of thoseinvolved in terror financingand money laundering onrequests from FATF-membercountries.

By January next year,Pakistan will identify and assessdomestic and international ter-ror financing risks to and fromits system to strengthen inves-tigations and improve inter-agency cooperation, theFederal Investigation Agency,the State Bank of Pakistan, theSECP, banks, the interiordepartment as well as all otherassociated federal and provin-cial agencies, the report said.

Washington: The US “willtake care” of countries whichdefy its directive to bringtheir oil imports from Iran tozero by November 4,President Donald Trump haswarned, days after Indiaannounced that two of itsfirms have placed orders toimport crude from the Gulfnation.

Trump in May pulled theUS out of the 2015 nuclearaccord, saying it had “failed toachieve the fundamentalobjective of blocking all pathsto an Iranian nuclear bomb”and did not deal with Tehran’s“malign activities, includingits ballistic missile programmeand its support for terrorism”.

In an attempt to compelIran to agree to a new accord,Trump reinstated sanctionsthat targeted the Iranian gov-ernment’s purchase of US dol-lars, Iran’s trade in gold andother precious metals, and itsautomotive sector.

On November 4, a secondbatch of potentially moredamaging sanctions will be re-imposed on Iran’s oil andshipping sectors as well as itscentral bank. The US hasasked buyers of Iranian oil tocut imports to zero starting inNovember.

“We will take care ofthem,” Trump told reporterswhen asked about the decisionof some countries like Indiaand China to continue to

purchase oil from Iran. OilMinister DharmendraPradhan on Monday said thattwo state refiners have placedorders for importing crude oilfrom Iran in November.

He had said that India hasits own energy requirementswhich it has to fulfill.

Indian Oil Corp (IOC)and Mangalore Refinery andPetrochemicals Ltd (MRPL)together have placed order for1.25 million tonne (MT) ofcrude oil from Iran.

Iran is India’s third-largest oil supplier behindIraq and Saudi Arabia.

Of the 220.4 million met-ric tonnes (million MT) ofcrude oil imported by India in2017-18, about 9.4 per cent,was from Iran.

China is Iran’s biggest oilcustomer and is opposed toany unilateral sanctions on thecountry.

‘We will take care of countries buyingoil from Iran’

IMF chief defends rate hikes after Trump slams ‘crazy’ FedNusa Dua(AFP): IMF chiefChristine Lagarde on Thursdaydefended central bank ratehikes in a veiled rebuke toDonald Trump after the USpresident blamed “crazy” Fedpolicies for contributing tofinancial market turmoil.Lagarde’s comments came as aglobal market sell-off rolledon following Trump’s com-ments, underscoring risingfinancial volatility that the IMFwill address at its annual meet-ings this week in Bali.

Lagarde said central bankrate increases such as those bythe policy-setting US FederalReserve were justified by fun-damentals. “It is clearly a nec-essary development for thoseeconomies that are showingmuch improved growth, infla-tion that is picking up... unem-ployment that is extremely low,”she told a press briefing in Bali.

“It’s inevitable that centralbanks make the decisions thatthey make.” Following a sharpWall Street sell-off onWednesday, Trump said theFederal Reserve “is making amistake.” “I think the Fed hasgone crazy,” he said. Trump hasrepeatedly touted Wall Streetrecords as proof of the successof his economic programmeincluding his confrontationaltrade strategy, and has fre-quently criticised the Fed forgradually raising interest rates,which could press the brakes onequity markets.

The global financial eliteare on the Indonesian holidayisland for a week of discussionsclouded by the economic out-look. The IMF’s latest report onworld financial stability,released Wednesday, said glob-

al growth could be at risk ifemerging markets deterioratefurther or trade tensions esca-late. Much of the global angsthas been dominated by Trump’sescalating tariff war with Chinaand his disdain for world trad-ing norms.

But higher US interest rateshave also helped send emergingmarket currencies into a tail-spin, as countries that bor-rowed heavily in dollars race topay back debt. On Wednesday,Lagarde said world leadersshould fix global trading sys-tems instead of tearing themdown, in response to national-ist politicians pushing tariffsand protectionism. Whiledefending justified rate hikes,Lagarde added on Thursdaythat uncoordinated rate increas-es in advanced economies werecontributing to destabilisingcapital outflows from emergingmarkets.

Combined with the tradetensions, this had created “a bitof an unprecedented situation”for the world economy, shesaid.“Clearly as a result of (ratehikes)... we see and we will con-tinue to see capital flow move-ments,” she added. “The factthat large central banks ofadvanced economies are notexactly all moving at the samepace is also probably accelerat-ing that phenomenon.” Shereiterated her call for the worldto come together to address thechallenges. “De-escalate, fix thesystem, and don’t break it,” shesaid. Trump has levied orthreatened tariffs on goodsfrom economies around theworld, notably China, but alsoon traditional allies such as theEuropean Union.

US Senators call on DonaldTrump to order probe intomissing Saudi journalistWashington (PTI): More than20 top US Senators have askedPresident Donald Trump toorder an investigation intoSaudi journalist JamalKhashoggi’s whereabouts andimpose sanctions against any-one found responsible for hismysterious disappearance. Ina letter to Trump, the 22 law-makers triggered the 2016Global Magnitsky Act, whichgives the President 120 days todecide whether to imposesanctions on any foreign per-son he determines sponsoredor was involved in the disap-pearance of 59-year-oldKhashoggi, an outspoken crit-ic of the Saudi government andCrown Prince Mohammed binSalman.

Khashoggi, a US resident,vanished on October 2 afterentering the Saudi consulate inIstanbul. Turkish authoritiessuspect he was abducted andmurdered by the Saudis. ButRiyadh insists that the jour-nalist had left the building and

that murder claims are “base-less”.

Trump on Wednesday saidhe had taken up the case of thejournalist and demanded allanswers into his disappearanceof from the Saudi authorities.In the letter to Trump, theSenators said the disappear-ance of the ‘Washington Post’columnist suggested that hecould be a victim of a grossviolation of internationallyrecognised human rights.

SAUDI FACES ‘SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES’ IF JAMAL KHASHOGGI CLAIMS TRUE: UKLondon (AFP): Britain’s foreign secretary on Thursday warned that Saudi Arabia faces“serious consequences” if the suspicions of Turkish officials that journalist JamalKhashoggi was murdered after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul turn out to betrue.“People who have long thought of themselves as Saudi’s friends are saying this is avery, very serious matter. “If these allegations are true, there will be seriousconsequences because our friendships and our partnerships are based on sharedvalues,” Jeremy Hunt told AFP.“We are extremely worried,” he said. Hunt said he hadspoken to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and had told him “how very, veryconcerned the United Kingdom is”. Britain is a close ally and trade partner of SaudiArabia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Saudi Arabia to releasefootage of Khashoggi and President Donald Trump has demanded answers over his fate,as the kingdom faces growing pressure to provide a convincing explanation for hisdisappearance.

Lanka passes bill to compensatevictims of civil war with LTTEPTI n ISLAMABAD

The Sri Lankan parliamenthas passed a law to pay

compensation to the victims ofthe 30-year-long separatistwar between the Sri LankanArmy and the LTTE, nearly adecade after the end of theconflict that claimed at least100,000 lives. The Office forReparations Bill was passed onWednesday with a 59-43 voteand it will benefit survivorsand victims of the kin in sev-eral armed uprisings in thecountry, officials said. Thelong-delayed legislation hadbeen a key demand of theinternational observers urgingreconciliation in the ethnical-

ly divided nation. Formerpresident Mahinda Rajapakse’ssupporters voted against thebill arguing that the bill wouldbenefit separatist Tamil rebelscrushed in the military cam-paign.

The Liberation Tigers ofTamil Eelam (LTTE), whichled the separatist war for a sep-arate Tamil homeland for threedecades in the island nation,was finally crushed by theLankan military in 2009 withthe death of its supremoVelupillai Prabhakaran.

Since his election in 2015,President Maithripala Sirisenahas faced international criti-cism for not taking any steptowards the reconciliation

process. The United NationsHuman Rights Council hadalso pressed the Sirisenaadministration to take urgentsteps towards addressing thewar-era abuses. Finally inMarch, the government estab-lished an office to trace the tensof thousands missing sincethe end of the civil war.

“We have had a long his-tory of conflict not only in thenorth, but also in thesouth...people had disappeared(during the conflict)...it is alsonecessary to find out what hap-pened to them and give repa-rations to the affected people,”Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe said duringthe parliamentary debate.

Egypt condemns 17 to deathfor church attacksCairo (AFP): An Egyptianmilitary court on Thursdaysentenced 17 people to deathover a series of suicide bomb-ings of churches claimed by theIslamic State group that leftdozens dead.

Another 19 people werehanded life prison terms and 10were sentenced to between 10and 15 years, judicial and secu-rity officials said .Seventy-fourpeople were killed in the attacksin 2016 and 2017 in Cairo,Alexandria and the Nile Deltacity of Tanta targeting CopticChristians, who make up about10 percent of Egypt’s predom-inantly Sunni Muslim popula-tion. Christian sites of worshipacross Egypt have been repeat-

edly targeted in attacks claimedby IS, prompting the authori-ties to impose a state of emer-gency. The Egyptian army is

waging a major operationfocused on the Sinai Peninsulaaimed at wiping out thejihadists.

Maldives courtto hearstrongman’spoll challengeColombo (AFP): The MaldivesSupreme Court said Thursday itwould examine President AbdullaYameen’s petition to annul hisSeptember election defeat despiteinternational pressure on thestrongman leader to go quietly.“The Supreme Court has decid-ed to accept the constitutional dis-pute filed by President Yameenand it would be heard,” the courtsaid on Twitter, raising theprospect of fresh upheaval in thecountry’s turbulent recent politics.It later said a hearing will be heldon Sunday at 1:00 pm (0800GMT) in the tourist paradiseIndian Ocean archipelago at thecentre of a tussle for influence

between India and China. Themain opposition MaldivianDemocratic Party (MDP), whosecandidate won a landslide at theSeptember 23 vote, said Yameenshould respect the results anddrop his spurious challenge.

“The Joint Opposition callson Yameen to immediatelywithdraw this blatantly unsub-stantiated case, and to stepaside and to facilitate a peace-ful and smooth transition,” theMDP said in a statement.

Yameen, whose main politi-cal rivals were either in jail or inexile for the vote, was unexpect-edly beaten by political light-weight Ibrahim Mohamed Solihwith 58.4 percent of the vote.

The court announced thehearing date after meeting withthe nation’s chief elections com-missioner Ahmed Shareef whohad insisted that the vote was freeand fair.

In the run-up to the election,the opposition had feared itwould be rigged in favour of theincumbent as Solih was notallowed to campaign freely andwas denied media coverage.Yameen’s Progressive Party ofMaldives (PPM) said it mountedthe challenge because of com-plaints of irregularities it receivedfrom its constituencies.

“The party has been over-whelmed with numerous genuineconcerns related to the elections,including serious allegations ofvote rigging, fraud, malpracticeand corruption,” the PPM said ina statement.

PTI n WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trumphas said that India would

“find out” soon if the punitiveCAATSA sanctions apply to itover its USD 5 billion deal withRussia to purchase S-400 Triumfair defence system. TheCountering America’sAdversaries Through SanctionsAct or CAATSA is a US feder-al law that imposed sanctions onIran, North Korea and Russia.

In Russia’s case, the act pri-marily deals with sanctions onRussian interests such as its oiland gas industry, defence andsecurity sector, and financialinstitutions, in the backdrop ofits military intervention inUkraine and its alleged med-dling in the 2016 USPresidential elections. India lastweek inked a deal to purchaseS-400 Triumf air defence systemfrom Moscow. The mega deal

was sealed in New Delhi duringthe visit of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin for the annualsummit with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

Asked about the agreementbetween India and Russia,Trump while interacting withreporters in the Oval Office ofthe White House onWednesday, said, “India willfind out. Aren’t they?” “India isgoing to find out,” he said.

Asked when, he said, “Youwill see. Sooner than you think.”Secretary of State Mike Pompeowas also in the room whenTrump answered the questionon CAATSA sanctions. Pompeowas scheduled to meet the pres-ident later.

Pompeo and DefenceSecretary James Mattis had ear-lier argued the case for a waiv-er to India.Under the CAATSAsanctions, which was amended

early this year, only Trump hasthe authority for the presiden-tial waiver to India on weaponsdeal with sanctions-hit Russia.

Last week, the White Househad said that the US presiden-tial waiver on weapons deal withsanctions-hit Russia is intend-ed to “wean” countries likeIndia off the Russian equipment.“The (CAATSA presidential)waiver is narrow, intended towean countries off Russianequipment and allow for thingssuch as spare parts for previ-ously-purchased equipment,” aWhite House National SecurityCouncil Spokesperson had saidafter the conclusion of the S-400contract.

The US embassy spokesper-son in New Delhi had said thatthe CAATSA was aimed atRussia and not intended todamage the military capabilitiesof its “allies and partners.”

‘India will soon find out about my decision on Russia sanctions’Nikki Haley to join private sectorWashington: Indian-AmericanNikki Haley, who a day earli-er announced her resignationas the US Ambassador to theUN, is likely to join the privatesector and will hopefully makea lot of money, PresidentDonald Trump said as he pro-fusely praised his top diplomatat the world body. Haley (46),the first Indian-American tohold a cabinet-ranking posi-tion in any presidential admin-istration, tendered her resig-nation Tuesday, which Trumpaccepted.

Haley is likely to stay inthe position till the year-end,before which her successorcould be nominated and con-firmed by the Senate. “Nikki isgoing to be here until the end

of the year. Nikki is our friend.She has been great. I wantwhoever it is to spend sometime with Nikki before Nikkigoes out and gets herself a job,and hopefully does — she’sgoing to make a lot of money.

And I think Nikki will comeback in some form too. Butshe’s an extraordinary person,good person,” Trump toldreporters at the White Houseon wednesday. Haley has saidthat she is taking a break after

more than a decade in publiclife. Trump told reporters thathe was looking at four-five dif-ferent individuals as herreplacement.

One of them being DinaPowell (45), the former deputynational security adviser toTrump. Asked about the tim-ing of Haley’s resignation, thattoo just before the mid-termpolls, Trump said nothingmuch should be read intothis.

“There’s no good time. Imean, there is be no goodtime. She told me about this along time ago. And, frankly, it’salmost four weeks. So, it’s notthat bad. No, I don’t think soat all. I thought it was very ele-gantly done,” he said. PTI

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 2018

USAID: China’s development

assistance builds dependency

PTI n WASHINGTON

China’s development assis-tance to countries is aimed

at increasing their dependen-cy on it, he head of America’said agency has said, amidstChina’s attempt to increaseinfrastructure investment aspart of President Xi Jinping’sambitious Belt and RoadInitiative. China had beenaccused of engaging in “debtdiplomacy” by loading devel-oping countries with debt aspart of a strategy to build itsinfluence across the regionunder the BRI.

China has denied criti-cism that its finance model ispredatory and smothers recip-ient countries like Pakistanand China in debt they cannotpay.

Mark Green, the UnitedStates Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID)Administrative said the over-seas developmental aid of theUnited States and that of Chinais fundamentally different.

“They are fundamentallydifferent. So, what we alwayssay is, ‘We’re working to helpcountries on their journey toself-reliance.’ What we want isfor countries to lead their own

bright future. We want them togo from being traditional assis-tance recipients, to partners, tofellow donors,” he said.

“China’s a very differentmodel. They build dependen-cy. So, the choice is self-reliance versus almost servi-tude. What they do are loans,and as we’re learning more andmore, often unsustainablefinancing that’s mortgaging acountry’s future,” Green said.

The US asks countries totake on their own challenges,foster their self-reliance, buildtheir next generation of lead-ers, and then join us, in termsof leadership around the world,

he asserted. When these coun-tries do not pay their loans,they mortgage strategic assets,he alleged.

Pakistan is one of a num-ber of countries that haveaccepted Chinese financingfor projects of Beijing’s “Beltand Road Initiative” for build-ing roads, ports and otherinfrastructure across the globe.The new government inPakistan is reportedly con-cerned over heavy Chineseloans under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Sri Lanka last year grant-ed a 99-year lease on theHambantota deep-sea port to

Beijing, after it was unable torepay Chinese loans for theUSD 1.4-billion project.

“So, you see ports being,essentially, taken over byChina. Sole, exclusive use ofthose ports. Dangerouslyextractive, often, strategic min-erals, what should have beenthe birthright of youngAfricans, is tied up by financ-ing from China,” Green said.

“And so, what happens isthose young Africans never seethe benefits. They never see thebroad-based economic growthbased upon their resources.Instead, the benefits go else-where,” he said.

While giving aid, he said,US asks for reforms. “We askthem to respect certain rightsand values. What we want forthem is to become, eventually,trading partners,” he said.

“But equal partners, inthat. And the way that you dothat is incentivise market-based reforms, build theircapacity, increase theirincomes. So, we want them tomove, in terms of fully inde-pendent sovereign nations,leading their own future andbecoming partners of ours,”Green said.

Chinese official extradited toUS to face espionage chargesPTI n WASHINGTON/BEIJING

For the first time, a Chineseintelligence official has been

extradited to the US to face espi-onage charges for conspiringand attempting to steal tradesecrets from multiple Americanaviation and aerospace compa-nies, the Department of Justicehas said. Yanjun Xu, aka QuHui, aka Zhang Hui, a ChineseMinistry of State Security (MSS)operative, was extradited to theUS on Tuesday, following whichthe charges were unsealed onWednesday. Arrested inBelgium on April 1, Xu wasindicted on four counts of con-spiring and attempting to com-mit espionage and theft of tradesecrets. He was extradited to theUS on Tuesday after losing hisappeal.

“This unprecedented extra-dition of a Chinese intelligenceofficer exposes the Chinesegovernment’s direct oversight ofeconomic espionage against theUnited States,” said Bill Priestap,assistant director of the FBI’sCounterintelligence Division,in a statement. The arrest of theChinese official is the latest inrelation to the theft of technol-ogy. Xu is a DeputyDivision Director with theMSS’s Jiangsu State Security

Department, Sixth Bureau. TheMSS is the intelligence andsecurity agency for China andis responsible for counter-intel-ligence, foreign intelligence andpolitical security. The MSS hasbroad powers in China to con-duct espionage both domesti-cally and abroad. According tothe indictment, beginningDecember 2013 and till hisarrest, Xu targeted certain com-panies recognised as leaders inthe aviation field both in andoutside the United States. Thisincluded GE Aviation.

He identified experts whoworked for these companies andrecruited them to travel toChina, often initially under theguise of asking them to delivera university presentation. Xu and others paid the experts’travel costs and providedstipends. He faces a maximumstatutory penalty of 15 years, thejustice department said.

On Thursday in Beijing, theChina’s foreign ministry saidthat it hopes the US can dealwith the matter in accordancewith the law. It accused the USof “making something out ofthin air”. “We hope the US sidecan deal with this in accordancewith law,” Chinese foreign min-istry spokesman Lu Kang said.

Xu made his initial appear-

ance Wednesday afternoon infederal court in Cincinnati, BenGlassman, the US attorney forthe Southern District of Ohio,told reporters.

Glassman said that inno-vation in aviation has been ahallmark of life and industry inthe United States since theWright brothers first designedgliders in Dayton more than acentury ago.

“US aerospace companiesinvest decades of time and bil-lions of dollars in research. This is the American way.

In contrast, according to theindictment, a Chinese intelli-gence officer tried to acquirethat same, hard-earned inno-vation through theft,” he alleged.

“This case shows that fed-eral law enforcement authoritiescan not only detect and disruptsuch espionage, but can alsocatch its perpetrators,” Glassmanadded. Assistant AttorneyGeneral John Demers said: “Thisindictment alleges that a Chineseintelligence officer sought tosteal trade secrets and other sen-sitive information from anAmerican company that leads theway in aerospace.” “This caseis not an isolated incident. It ispart of an overall economic pol-icy of developing China atAmerica’s expense.

Lanka rejects USclaims, says noChinese militarybase at port Colombo: Sri Lankan PrimeMinister Ranil Wickremesinghehas rejected US’ claim thatChina might set up a “forwardmilitary base” at a strategicport it has leased to the com-munist nation, describing it as“imaginary”. Last year,Colombo had leased theHambantota port to Beijingfor 99 years after it failed torepay a Chinese loan of USD1.4 billion for the project.

China gaining the controlof the port has raised concernsthat the country could use theharbour for military purposes.Addressing a programme atLondon’s Oxford University onMonday, Wickremesinghe saidsome people are seeing “imag-inary Chinese Naval bases in SriLanka. Whereas theHambantota Port is a com-mercial joint venture betweenour Ports Authority and ChinaMerchants - a company listed inthe Hong Kong StockExchange.”

“There are no foreign navalbases in Sri Lanka,” he empha-sised. His comments came daysafter US Vice-President MikePence alleged China of using“debt diplomacy” to expand itsglobal influence and said thatHambantota “may soonbecome a forward military basefor China’s growing blue-waternavy”.

Several media reports sug-gested that the deepwater port,which is near a main shippingroute between Asia and Europe,is likely to play a major role inChina’s Belt and Road Initiative(BRI). The BRI, also known asthe Silk Road Economic Belt, isa development strategy pro-posed by the Chinese govern-ment which focuses on con-nectivity and cooperationbetween Eurasian countries.

The Chinese governmentcalls the initiative “a bid toenhance regional connectivityand embrace a brighter future”.However, other nations, includ-ing India, see it as a push byBeijing to take a larger role inglobal affairs with a China-cen-tred trading network. India’shas been vocal in expressing itsopposition to the BRI, whichincludes the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC)that traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Wickremesinghe saidLankan Navy’s SouthernCommand was being relocatedin the Hambantota port tocontrol security and “the USDefence Department has beenbriefed on these developments”.He said Sri Lanka was also con-cluding a commercial agree-ment that would see the AirportAuthority of India (AAI) takingover the control of theHambantota airport, which wasbuilt with high interest com-mercial loan from China.

The Prime Minister said,“In this atmosphere of suspi-cion, many countries fear thatthe South China Sea issues canspill over, leading to futuremilitarisation and militarycompetition in the IndianOcean.”

“This has resulted in anumber of stakeholders inten-sifying their interest and pres-ence in the Indian Ocean byexpanding their fleets, upgrad-ing their bases, securing accessto foreign ports, and aggressivenaval posturing via joint exer-cises, extended sorties, andlive-fire drills. PTI

3 people killed as strong quake rocks Java, Bali Jakarta (AFP): At least threepeople were killed as a shallow6.0-magnitude earthquakestruck off the coast ofIndonesia’s Java and Bali islandsThursday, a government officialsaid. The victims in East Java’sSumenep district perished afterbeing crushed by collapsedbuildings, national disasteragency spokesman SutopoPurwo Nugroho said.

“The earthquake happenedearly Thursday when they weresleeping and the quake sud-denly rocked so they didn’thave time to evacuate,” he said,adding that damage caused bythe tremor was not widespread.The strong quake was felt inDenpasar on the holiday islandof Bali, where panicked peoplefled from buildings.

“Wow, that was reallystrong and it lasted a longtime,” said a woman namedDavy who took refuge in theparking lot of a Bali hotel, sev-eral kilometres from wherethe IMF and World Bank areholding their annual meetingsthis week. Some guests at thehotel in Nusa Dua, south ofBali’s main international air-port, briefly fled outside afterthe strong tremor shook thebuilding. “The quake was verybig. I immediately woke up andtook my little kids out of thehouse,” Ni Komang Sudianitold AFP. “All my neighbours

were also running,” said themother of two.

The tremor’s epicentre wasin the Bali Sea around 40 kilo-metres (25 miles) off the east-ern end of Java island, accord-ing to the United StatesGeological Survey. The quakewas also felt in Surabaya, thecapital of East Java province,which is about 200 kilometresfrom Situbondo, the nearest

town to the quake epicentre.“I felt it for about 10 sec-

onds. People were sleeping butgot woken up by it,” TonnyAkbar Mahendro told AFP.No tsunami warning wasissued for the earthquake. “Thequake didn’t trigger any tsuna-mi for sure,” DwikoritaKarnawati, head of Indonesia’sgeophysics agency, told AFP.

The tremor comes after a7.5-magnitude quake and sub-sequent tsunami struck off theIndonesian island of Sulawesi— around 1,000 kilometresnortheast of Situbondo — lastmonth, killing more than 2,000people. A string of earthquakesin Lombok in easternIndonesia killed more than550 people over the summer.

Indonesia, one of the mostdisaster-prone nations on earth,straddles the so-called Pacific“Ring of Fire”, where tectonicplates collide and many of theworld’s volcanic eruptions andearthquakes occur.

Tsunami threat as 7.0-magnitude quake hits PNGAFP n SYDNEY

Amajor 7.0-magnitude earth-quake struck Papua New

Guinea’s New Britain island onThursday, triggering a tsunamiwarning. Hazardous tsunamiwaves were forecast for somecoasts, the Pacific TsunamiWarning Center said.

Tsunami waves were fore-cast to be less than 0.3 metres(one foot) high for the coasts of

PNG and Solomon Islands, itsaid, adding that wave ampli-tudes could vary betweenregions.

A spokesman for PNG’sNational Disaster ManagementOffice in Port Moresby saidthere were no immediatereports of damage from thequake but these typically tookseveral hours to reach the cap-ital after a major shake. He was

unable to comment on thetsunami threat. The epicentrewas 125 kilometres (78 miles)east of the town of Kimbe on theisland of New Britain, accord-ing to the United StatesGeological Survey, which said itstruck at a depth of around 40km.

Two smaller tremors struckthe region immediately beforeand after the main earthquake.

The USGS website said therewas a “low likelihood of casu-alties and damage” from thequake.

But it warned that “recentearthquakes in this area havecaused secondary hazards suchas tsunamis, landslides and liq-uefaction that might have con-tributed to losses.” PNG sits onthe so-called Pacific Ring of Fire,a hotspot for seismic activity due

to friction between tectonicplates. The country is still recov-ering after a 7.5-magnitudequake hit its mountainous inte-rior in February, killing at least125 people, cutting off access tovillages and knocking outpower.Its remote terrain meansit often takes several days forinformation about damage fromquakes to reach officials and aidagencies.

Rohingya family makes rare

return to Myanmar from B’desh

AFP n YANGON

ARohingya family of five hasreturned to Myanmar from

Bangladesh, sources saidThursday, a rare developmentwhile a large-scale repatriationdeal remains stalled. More than720,000 of Myanmar’s statelessMuslim minority fled a brutalmilitary crackdown in Augustlast year, taking shelter incrowded camps in Bangladesh.

There they recounted talesof rape, murder and arson asvillages in Rakhine state wereburned to the ground. UnitedNations investigators have saidsenior Myanmar military offi-cials should be prosecuted forgenocide, but the country hasrejected these calls, insisting itwas defending itself againstmilitants.

Myanmar and Bangladeshsigned a deal to bring back theRohingya but many fearreturning without guaranteedrights such as citizenship,access to healthcare and free-dom of movement.

Authorities in Myanmarsay more than 100 displacedRohingya have returned inrecent months though rightsgroups have questionedwhether the returnees did sovoluntarily. The family of five“displaced people” came backto Rakhine state on Wednesday

morning, state mouthpieceGlobal New Light of Myanmarreported Thursday.

Myanmar’s governmenthas trumpeted each return butBangladesh insists that theofficial process has not com-menced.

The Bangladesh govern-ment’s Rohingya camp com-missioner Mohammad AbulKalam said he had only heardabout the family leaving, buthas not received official con-firmation of their return toMyanmar.

“Anyone can go back ifhe/she wants,” he said. “But for-mal repatriation has notbegun.” Abdur Rahim, a

Rohingya camp leader inBangladesh, said the familyhad been staying in theBalukhali camp in Cox Bazardistrict.

“They returned to theirhome...near Maungdaw town-ship in Rakhine yesterday,” hesaid. UN agencies, whichsigned a deal with theMyanmar government to assessconditions on the ground innorthern Rakhine, said theyhad carried out an initial sur-vey in September of about twodozen villages.“Mistrust, fear ofneighbouring communitiesand a sense of insecurity areprevalent in many areas,” theysaid in a statement.

Islamabad (PTI): “There aregood doctors in Pakistan”,Supreme Court Chief JusticeSaqib Nisar told PervezMusharraf on Thursday as hedirected the Dubai-based for-mer dictator to appear beforethe apex court to record hisstatement in the treason caseagainst him. General (retd)Musharraf, 75, who has beenliving in Dubai since 2016, isfacing the treason case for sus-pending the Constitution in2007. The former army chiefleft for Dubai in March 2016for medical treatment and hasnot returned since, citing secu-rity and health reasons.

The chief justice’s crypticremarks came as he headed abench hearing the case relat-ed to National ReconciliationOrdinance (NRO), passed byMusharraf in 2007.

The NRO grantedamnesty to politicians andother individuals by quashingvarious corruption and crim-inal cases against them sothey could return to the coun-try and engage in the democ-ratic process. During the hear-ing, Musharraf ’s lawyerAkhtar Shah submitted a replyregarding the former presi-

dent’s return to the countryand said, “I request the benchto keep my client’s illness con-fidential.”

Justice Nisar, however,remarked, “There are peoplepresent in the country who aresuffering with this disease.”Musharraf ’s lawyer thenurged, “If it is necessary forMusharraf to return then heshould be allowed to visit adoctor and his name shouldnot be placed on the ExitControl List (ECL).”

To this, the chief justiceassured, “Let Musharraf returnto Pakistan, no one will arresthim but I cannot say anythingregarding the removal of hisname from ECL.” A personplaced in the ECL cannotleave the country.

Return to Pak, thereare good doctors here:SC CJ to Musharraf

India lost $79.5 bn from climate-relateddisasters in 20 years: UN reportPTI n UNITED NATIONS

India suffered a whoppingUSD 79.5 billion economic

loss due to climate-related dis-asters in the last 20 years,according to a UN report whichhighlights the impact of extremeweather events on the globaleconomy. The report titled‘Economic Losses, Poverty andDisasters 1998-2017’ was com-piled by the UN Office forDisaster Risk Reduction. Itstates that the years between1998 to 2017 have seen a dra-matic rise of 151 per cent indirect economic losses fromclimate-related disasters.

In terms of the impact ofdisasters on the global economybetween 1998 and 2017, affect-ed countries reported directlosses of USD 2.908 trillion,more than twice of what was lostin the previous two decades.Illustrating the growing threatfrom climate change, extremeweather events now account for

77 per cent of total economiclosses of USD 2.245 trillion, saidthe report released onWednesday. This represents a“dramatic rise” of 151 per centcompared with losses reportedbetween 1978 and 1997, whichamounted to USD 895 billion.

The greatest economic loss-es have been experienced by theUS at USD 944.8 billion, fol-lowed by China at USD 492.2billion, Japan at USD 376.3 bil-lion, India at USD 79.5 billionand Puerto Rico at USD 71.7billion. Storms, floods andearthquakes place threeEuropean countries in the topten nations for economic loss-es: France, USD 48.3 billion;Germany, USD 57.9 billion andItaly USD 56.6 billion. Thailandwith USD 52.4 billion andMexico at USD 46.5 billioncomplete the list.

In terms of occurrences, cli-mate-related disasters also dom-inate the picture, accounting for91 per cent of all 7,255 major

recorded events between 1998and 2017. Floods (43.4 percent) and storms (28.2 per cent)are the two most frequentlyoccurring disasters. During thisperiod, 1.3 million people losttheir lives and 4.4 billion peo-ple were injured, renderedhomeless, displaced or in needof emergency assistance.

563 earthquakes, includ-ing related tsunamis, account-ed for 56 per cent of the totaldeaths or 747,234 lives lost, thereport said. The report wasreleased ahead of theInternational Day for DisasterReduction on October 13.

In his message for the day,UN Secretary-General AntonioGuterres said in the wake of thedevastating earthquake andtsunami in Indonesia, it wasclear that disasters have a steephuman cost as millions of peo-ple are displaced every year, los-ing their homes and jobsbecause of extreme weatherevents and earthquakes.

“A better under-standing of the economic loss-es from extreme weather eventscan help to generate greateraction on climate change andincreased ambition on reducinggreenhouse-gas emissions.

“Measuring eco-nomic losses can also motivateGovernments to do more toachieve the targets of the SendaiFramework for Disaster RiskReduction, which seeks a sub-stantial reduction in disasterlosses by 2030,” he said.

Guterres said that reducingthe economic losses from dis-asters has the power to trans-form lives and contribute great-ly to the eradication of poverty.

A key target of the globalplan to reduce disaster losses,the Sendai Framework forDisaster Risk Reduction, is toreduce economic losses fromdisasters and the report high-lights the fact that 63 per centof disaster reports contain noeconomic data.

Report: Young women facing constant

harassment, abuse worldwide

Melbourne (PTI): Girls feelthere is little point in reportingsexual harassment to authoritiessince there is hardly any action,according to a report whichshows that young women sufferrelentless abuse in cities world-wide, including Delhi.

The report from child rightsorganisation Plan International,based on more than 21,000 tes-timonials of girls and youngwomen living in Delhi, Kampala,Lima, Madrid and Sydney,found that in all five cities, boysand men grope, chase, stalk, leerat, verbally insult, and flashgirls and young women. Whilesuch behaviour is condoned bysociety, bystanders and author-ities rarely take action, accord-ing to the report by researchersincluding those from MonashUniversity in Australia.

This forces girls to adjusttheir behaviour to protect them-selves. CEO of Plan InternationalAustralia, Susanne Legena, saidthe research provides a previ-ously unseen glimpse of the

impact of harassment and abuseon the lives of girls and youngwomen.

“Constant harassment andabuse is frightening and drain-ing, and leaves young womenfeeling completely disempow-ered. This indifference and inac-tion leads many girls and youngwomen to blame themselvesfor abuse and harassment,”Legena said. “What’s more, byforcing girls and women to con-stantly adjust their behaviour tostay safe, society is denyingthem the benefits and opportu-

nities of city life,” she said.Their access to work and

study opportunities, and theirability to enjoy the city, is restrict-ed. “The idea that all around theworld — in cities like Delhi,Lima, Kampala, Madrid andSydney — girls are being pulledout of school, quitting theirjobs or moving because of theharassment and abuse they aresubjected to by men is com-pletely unacceptable,” Legenasaid.

The research was carried outusing an online mapping tool

developed by Plan International.In all five cities, girls and youngwomen noted on the map thatharassment and other forms ofabuse are so common that theyperceive it as normal. The datashowed girls feel there is littlepoint in reporting harassment tothe authorities because theyeither do not have the will orpower to act. Nicole Kalms, fromMonash University, said theresults showed that the harass-ment of girls and young womentranscends geography.

“Across five cities, the safe-ty concerns of these youngwomen are frighteningly similar,with the prevalence of sexualharassment in particular stand-ing out,” Kalms said.“The levelof danger girls are facing in citiesis shocking and we all have a roleto play in ensuring everybodyfeels safe in our cities — whetherthey are on the street, on publictransport or in parks.Individuals, communities, gov-ernments and authorities shouldall be spurred to act,” she said.

world 12


This festive season delve into the authentic Thali asEdesia, a multi-cuisine restaurant at Crowne Plaza

Today, Okhla, is serving lip-smacking satvik flavoursthis Navratri. Relish the dishes like Shakarkandi kichat, Khatta Meetha Kaddu, Paneer Makhane ki Subzi,Aloo ki subzi and Samak ke chawal served with Alooka raita, singhare/kuttu atta poori and Sabudanapapad. Venue: Edesia, Crowne Plaza Today, OkhlaWhen: Till October 18

Qba one of the pioneer of Café culture isback to Delhi. With food as its one and

foremost USP Qba is all set to pamper the tastebuds of food lovers once again with theirNavratris. At Qba- there is simplebelief of Feasting whileFasting. On the Menuone can not onlyenjoy the TradiitonalNavratri Thali butalso has specials likeKuttu Atta Pizza, PalakPatta chaat, French fries,Sabutdaane Ki kheer, Aam

Panna and more. Price: `1,000 onwardsVenue: E 42 and 43, inner circle, ConnaughtPlace.

vivacity {food} 13

KUTTU VADA - BUCKWHEAT

PATTY

WHAT YOU NEED

1 cup Buckwheat kernel, soaked & boiled; 2 tbsp Ginger, chopped1 tbsp Green chillies, chopped; 4 tbsp Ghee; Rock Salt (Sendha Namak); to taste1 cup Potato, peeled, boiled & mashed; 1/2 cup Paneer, cut into small dices; 2 tbsp Peanuts, crushed; Cumin powder; to tasteFresh Coriander, chopped; to taste

METHOD

n Soak the buckwheat kernels in waterand then boil them till cooked, thendrain and cool.

n In a bowl, mix together boiledbuckwheat kernels, ginger, greenchillies, mashed potato, rock salt,crushed peanuts, cumin powder andcoriander. Mix well so that everythingcomes together.

n Add the diced paneer and mix lightly.n Divide the mixture into equal portions

and make small patty or cutlets andshallow fry until golden brown in ghee.Serve with your favourite chutney.

Source: Foodhall

KUTTU VADA - BUCKWHEAT

PATTY

WHAT YOU NEED

For Sabudana Gallot1/4 cup sabudana soaked in warm waterfor three hours2 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed1 tsp bread crumbs1/2 tsp cumin seeds3 tbsp roasted peanuts2 Whole green chillies, finely chopped2 tbsp cilantro leaves, finely chopped1 cup cooking oil1 tsp salt, or as desiredsoaked & boiled

METHOD

n Combine all the ingredients very well.n Make small lime size balls, flatten a

bit.n Deep fry in oil till golden brown.

FOR SALSA

METHOD

n 1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded, anddiced

n 1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded, anddiced

n 1/2 cup diced fresh pineapplen 1/4 cup minced red onions

n 1/4 cup minced red bell peppersn 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantron 3 tbsp fresh lime juicen 1 tbsp minced jalapenon 1 tsp minced garlic

PINCH SALT

METHOD

n Combine the mango, avocado,pineapple, onions, bell peppers,cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno, garlic,and salt in a bowl and gently fold tocombine. Adjust seasoning to taste.

n Let it sit for 30 minutes to allow theflavours to blend.

Courtesy: Aloft New Delhi Aerocity

R E C I P E S

SABUDANA ALOO

CHAT

WHAT YOU NEED

120 gm sabudana/tapiocapearls 100 gm potato, boiled andpeeled 2 gm red chilli powder 10 gm mint 5 gm walnuts(optional)5 gm roasted cumin 10 gm cashews10 gm coriander leaves3 gm chaat masala (ignore ifmaking for vrat)15 gm Ghee (clarified butter) 5ml lemon juice Rock salt or sendha namak, asrequired

METHOD

n Soak sabudana overnight inone cup of water. Cut boiledpotato in small pieces. Heathalf teaspoon of ghee andadd potato pieces to the pan

and roast till they get browncoating. In the same pan,dry roast the walnuts andcashewnuts till they arebrowned and crisp. Removeand keep aside.

n Heat 2 tsp of ghee in thesame pan add the sabudanaand continue to stir whilesautéing them. Stir and cooktill the sabudana pearlsbecome transparent,softened and completelycooked.

n Mix the fried potatoes,walnuts, cashews, corianderleaves, lemon juice, rocksalt, red chilli powder, chatmasala.

n Garnish with a few mintleaves.

n Serve the sabudana chaatrecipe hot.Courtesy: Vaibhav Bhargava,

Corporate Chef at TheDrunken Botanist.

This festive season don't starve yourself and retreatyour taste buds with delicious special navratri menuwith dishes like, Banana shake, Watermelon mojito,Kabab-e-kela, Samak rice, Aloo tomato curry, Fruitsalad pethe ki sabzi. Time: 12 pm to 1 am Price:

`169 onwards Venue: The Future is Female, A-6,fourth floor, Vishal Enclave, Rajouri Garden When:

Till October 19

Despite a wide variety of foodavailable, the emphasis is on

how and when individuals consume thisfood. Indian cuisine from every state hasa place in history, and there is always areason why a particular food has beenincluded in a meal.

Autumn often calls for comfort foodand dishes focussed on root vegetables.But to go beyond the expected, we askeda few to weigh in on what they’re excitedto see on menus as we enter the Fallseason.

This is a season of deep green, darkyellow and brilliant orange and thesecolours mean the fruits and vegetablesare rich in disease-fightingphytochemicals. The more colourful thefruit, the better it is for your health.

Here are few trend tips for the Fall:Sujeet Singh (Executive chef,

Radisson Noida, Sec 55)Seasonal fruits are bursting with

flavours and have the highest nutrientpotential, compared with fruits storedfor longer periods of time or grown in anartificial environment. Once fruits arepicked, their quality and nutrient valuecan plummet — so eating in season islogical.

Autumn brings with it an abundanceof cruciferous vegetables, whichhave anti-inflammatorycapabilities and help detoxifythe body. Cruciferousvegetables includebroccoli, brusselssprouts, cabbage andcauliflower. These alloffer high levels ofmagnesium, amineral that helpsto boost yourenergy and relaxmuscles. Adding aspice such asturmeric to yourautumn meals willprovide additionalant i - inf lammator ybenefits and delightyour visual senses with arichly deep autumnalcolour palate. It also acts asa wonderful beautifier for theskin too.

Siddharth Jokhani (Executivechef, Smaaash)

The temperatures are cooling downand so it's time to switch up your menu.Rather than light salads and fruitycocktails, customers are looking forwarmer and heartier food and drinks tofill their bellies. Healthy eating andliving is one of the Fall 2018 trends thatwon't be going away anytime soon.Fresh juices made from qualityingredients that feature health benefitskeep customers happy, as dohandcrafted sodas and other booze-freedrinks. Cold-brew coffee has gone froma novelty to a menu staple. It has a

sweetertaste and is convenient, making it apopular choice for the younger coffeedrinkers who need their caffeine fixbefore heading to class. Score bonuspoints with customers by introducingnitro-brewed coffee, which has a thick,creamy texture.

Ashish Srivastava (Executive Souschef, Regenta LP Vilas, Dehradun)

The changing weather createsperfect conditions for cool-seasoncrops, such as lettuces, plus some foods

that have been growing all summer,such as apples, reach their peak. Fall, ofcourse, also means pumpkins, squashes

and more starchy vegetables rich invitamins and fibre, the plant-

building block that helps youfeel full and promotes

healthy digestion. Whatmakes fall eating

interesting and kind ofspecial is the variety ofsquashes andseasonal rootvegetables. Eatingp e r s i m m o n sduring peak seasonrepresents what'sgreat aboutseasonal eating:You get a wider

variety of fruits andvegetables in your

diet throughout theyear and the chance to

savour what's in season.Switching your diet

staples with the changingweather can be good for your

body too, ensuring that you areconsuming a wide variety of

nutrients.Narendra (Head shef, The Junkyard

Cafe, Saket)Autumn is the beginning of

softening of extreme humidity and thefreezing cold. As soon as certain fruitsand vegetables show up in the market,and the intense heat of summer leavesthe air, I like to suggest some must-enjoyfood this season.

These include apples, beets, brusselssprouts, pumpkin, sweet potatoes,among others.

––IANS

Get season-ready

Who said Navratri fast-ing had to be a dullboring affair? Sure

the platter is meant to bedetoxifying. But eateries intown are giving themContinental twists and anupper crust by toggling withmaterials such as quinoa, gua-camole and water chestnutsand tossing them up as fancyrelishes, caviars and salads.

Saurabh Srivastava,Executive Chef, Aloft NewDelhi Aerocity, has given atwist to the food that will beserved during Navratri. “Onetype of food consists of thecommon favourites likeSabudane ki kheer, pakode,kuttu ki roti, aloo and parwalsubzi made in tomato, kadduand more which people like tohave at home. The second iswhere there is a bit of a twist.It is food in the modern ver-sion.” So he has whipped upBuckwheat and new potatognocchi with caper sauce andSago and peanut gallot whichare two of the five innovationshe has placed on the menu thisseason. The gallot is servedwith some raw banana frittersand tropical fruit salsa. “Thewhole plating and food conceptconsists of a number of com-ponents which gives a feelingof being out in a five star hotel,that too in a season whenthere is limited access to food,”he says. The plating, conceptand ingredients are the focus.

Despite the innovations,he has ensured that the food issaatvik. “During fasting, peo-ple like food that is light andeasy to digest. There is absti-nence where anything that isheavy on digestion is avoided.The scientific reason behindobserving Navratri is that theseason changes and heavy foodcan make you sick. So peopleavoid grains, alcohol or wheat,”says the chef who studied at theInstitute of Hotel Management,

Catering and Nutrition,Lucknow and passed out in2003.

Srivastava says that sincehe has been doing this for long,he knows which ingredients touse. “I create something newwhich takes time but it is nottoo difficult. I work one or twomonths in advance. I had start-ed the trials, compiling the

menu, getting the ingredientstogether and putting every-thing together a month before.I create the menu on paper,then slowly and graduallymove towards procurement ofthe ingredients, dishes andexecute them with the team,”he says.

There are some things thatare kept in mind while plan-ning the food for the season.“The ingredients have to befresh and fall within the para-meters of the festival. So nograins are used, the salt has tobe sendha. We make sure thatwe use separate pans, potsand ladle while ensuring that

the area is kept clean,” says thechef, who is orignally fromKanpur.

Post his hotel manage-ment, he worked at the JaypeePalace Group Hotel in Agrawhen the Vajpayee-Musharrafsummit took place. He workedwith The Oberoi, New Delhi,for four years and then gotthrough OCLD, the manage-ment programme of the group.In between, he worked at theThe Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur,The Cecil, Shimla as well asThe Trident and The Oberoi,Gurugram, before joining theMarriott group recently.

Srivastava’s speciality iscontemporary and modernfood as he believes that he isgood at combining ingredientsand plating them. “People alsolike the modern take as nowa-days people eat more with theeyes and less with mouth,” hesays. As for him, he prefersfood that has simple, cleanflavours and is not overtlycomplicated. “I like authenticIndian food. I cook a dal in thestyle of Punjabi dhabas. I pre-fer two-three flavours whichcome clearly through ratherthan too many flavours at onego,” he says.

Navratra marks the perfect beginning ofthe festive season and festivities are

incomplete without a sumptious meal.The Chatter House brings to you acurated Navratra Thali menu offering alootamatar bhaji, kuttu ki puri, scramblecottage cheese, saboot dana papad, rawbanana cutlet, white pearls makhanakheer, fresh fruits and strawberry lassiand sago buckwheat burger (saboodanaburger) and sliders. When: Till October18 Price: `499 plus taxes Venue: TheChatter House, Epicuria.

C H E F T A L K

Chef SAURABH SRIVASTAVA talks toSAIMI SATTAR about how a Western touchcould also be given to Navratri fastingfood and keep you ‘with it’

I createsomething new

which takestime but it is

not too difficult.I work one or

two months inadvance. I had

started thetrials, compiling

the menu,getting theingredients

together andputting

everythingtogether a

month before

TAPIOCA AND

FENUGREEK

POPPERS

WHAT YOU NEED

Tapioca pearls (soaked for 1½ hours): 1 cupMedium size potato, boiled and mashed: 1Fresh fenugreek leaves, finely chopped: 1 cup Desiccated coconut flakes:¼ cup Coriander powder: ½ tsp Chilli powder: ½ tsp SaltOil, for deep frying

METHOD

n Drain the soaked tapiocapearls in a bowl and add restof the ingredients to the bowl.Give a mix and form tinyround shaped nuggets. If youare finding it difficult to formthe shape, add a little bit ofall-purpose flour/bread

crumbs.n Heat enough oil in a deep

heavy bottom saucepan. Dropthe poppers in the hot oilcarefully and fry in mediumheat until they’re goldenbrown. Do not over crowd thepan as you fry these poppers.

n Serve hot with a dipping ofyour choice.

Courtesy: Foodhall

As we enter the fall, pro chefs focus on new food trends suggesting adoption ofhealthier practices and more of fruit drinks

PURETWIST

gorge us


FIR against NanaA case was registered againstBollywood actor NANAPATEKAR over allega-tions of sexual harass-ment made byTANUSHREE DUTTA,his costar in a 2008film at Mumbai'sOshiwara PoliceStation. BesidesPatekar, FIRshave also beenlodged againstdirector RakeshSarang, produc-er SamiSiddiqui andchoreographerGanesh Acharya,who were part of thefilm. Tanushree’s list ofwitnesses also includedthe then assistantchoreographer of thefilm, DAISY SHAH. Theactor had stated thatDaisy had witnessedNana trying to touchher during therehearsals of the steps.

Actress SUSHMITA SEN said thatmore women should be 'encour-aged' to speak out. ‘Overlooking'the much-needed movement is

not an option at all,she added. “Thoughthe movement iscopied from the West,it doesn't mean we willoverlook it. It feelsgreat that women arecoming out and speak-ing about the harass-

ment. As a part of society, peopleshould listen to their stories andnot judge them," quoted Sen"Instead of ignoring them, weshould encourage them. Thismovement will work only if westart listening to the victims."

Diana is proud ofthe movementActress DIANA PENTY has comeout in support of women who arespeaking about their sexu-al harassment experi-ences, saying she isproud of today's womenfor their courage totalk about suchissues. “I am proudthat the #MeToomovement has kick-started. It is commend-able that women arecoming out and bring-ing light to the issueswhich they wentthrough in the past.It takes a lot ofcourage,” saidDiana. Sharing herown harassment experience,Diana said, “I went to school andcollege via train, so there weremany instances that happenedwith me, which I don't even havea count of. At some stage in life,we all have gone through somekind of harassment — be it at awork place or somewhere else, weall have dealt with such fear in ourlife. But we need not be afraid.”

‘No woman shouldever be subjected toany kind ofmisbehaviour,or disorderlyconduct,especially atherworkplace.Such actsshould beimmediatelybrought tothe notice ofconcernedauthorities, andcorrective measuresbe taken, eitherthrough filingcomplaints or arecourse to law.’—Amitabh Bachchan

The process of launching anew vehicle has changed a

bit over the years. Once upona time, it was a press confer-ence followed by drinks. Thenthe drinks disappeared andyou got a sound and lightshow with dancers bouncingaround the stage and your earspleading for mercy from the200 beats per minute EuroHouse music that accompa-nied the car being drivenonto stage. If you, as a carmak-er, wanted to make it fancier,you got European dancersinstead of Shiamak Davar’stroupe. Nowadays, it is a bitdifferent, it usually beginswith a mass ‘leak’ in a coupleof newspapers and automotivemagazines, followed by sur-prisingly accurate renders ofthe vehicle in question. Thenthere are the spy shots all overthe web. And this is where Igive you an idea. If you wantto set up your own “spy shot”website, just go to theHimalayan Expresswaybetween Zirakpur andParwanoo. Then there are theteaser emails and factory vis-its and what not. A car launchprocess often stretches foraround six-eight months, eventhe marketing around it.

So when Mahindra sentout an email saying how theirnew car would be “shark”-inspired and what not, youreally didn’t expect theMarazzo. Yes, you kind ofknew that this car was replac-ing the Xylo and would be avan, and honestly there isonly so much one can do witha van. But, you know, sharkand all. That is the fault ofyour brain because when youhear shark, your mind almostautomatically assumes thesleek and deadly GreatWhite. Because yourbrain really did notknow until youGoogled it that thereare over 500 speciesof sharks and rays. Itis a very disparatefamily of fish, but ofcourse, what we con-sider sharks are theorder of MackerelSharks, or Lamniformes.And I am sure that Mahindra

designers thought the same.Shaping a van like a GreatWhite would be ratherimpractical but the Marazzodoes look like a Basking Sharkwith its mouth agape. As Isaid, it is a large, multi-personvan. It is not supposed to begood-looking. But you knowwhat, the Marazzo is not ugly.In fact, it looks fairly reason-able. Sure, the marketeerswould always try and make itmacho, but they should nothave, as I will go on to explain.

Frankly, the last time Idrove a Mahindra vehicle, Iwas left awfully disappointedwith the KUV100. With theMarazzo, boy was I sur-prised. First, the Marazzolooks far better proportionedthan the Xylo, and while it isa big van, in the burgundy redcolour I got the tester, itlooks quite smart. Thereal surprises arenot so muchin its

looks though but the way itdrives.

The Marazzo may not beperfect and I will get to thatlater, but it is fabulous whenit comes to Noise, Vibrationand Harshness (NVH). It real-ly does feel very comfortableand quiet to be inside thecabin, quite unlike any otherMahindra every before. Theother thing is that the Marazzois on the whole a very sedatecar to drive. The engine,which is a highly turbo-charged 1.5 litre diesel unit,does take some time to get upto speed and the first fewtimes you drive the car youmight stall it, starting up froma red light. But the powercomes on relatively quicklyonce you get the hang of it,a n d

despite having 121 horsepow-er in a pretty large car, it doesnot feel massively underpow-ered, although you would notreally want to push it past thehighway speed limit.

Now, one issue I did haveis that the Marazzo, partiallybecause of its size, is not themost adept handler. Of course,throwing a large people carri-er into a corner is never a rec-ommended course of action,but one has to do these thingsin a road test, but that said,body roll characteristics are farsuperior to the Xylo and theXUV500. One strange prob-lem I encountered while cor-nering hard was that the carwould warn me that my bon-net was open. I put that downto the centrifugal force open-

ing the circuit, but

a strange warning nonethelessand I hope it was peculiar tothe vehicle I had. Over threedays and 250 km on cityroads and some highwaystretches, I got a creditable 15km per litre.

Interiors, I was driving thetop-end M8 six-seater with thecaptain seats in the secondrow and rear-legroom waspretty decent. As for the thirdrow, well, third-rows are notvery comfortable for adults inmost vehicles. The Marazzo isalso a little shorter than theInnova, so it is a bit cramped,but it is a bigger third row thanthe Ertiga. The few issues Ihave were with the fact that Iam not a fan of hard-plasticsteering wheels, the fact thatthe third row does not foldflush to the floor and the start-up of the infotainment system,which takes a while and is aparticular pain if you want tostart reversing immediately. Ireally can’t imagine gettingthis car without a reversingcamera system because it isvery long.

Honestly though, theissues were few and farbetween. I can imagine some-one buying the Marazzo as acomfortable long-distancefamily cruiser. Also, for thosewho need a vehicle to trans-port a lot of stuff or pets, youcan remove the third-rowcompletely. Sure, calling it acompetitor to the Innova is abit of a stretch, but then againat under ̀ 14 lakh for the top-of-the-line M8 six-seater, it is

incredible value, cheaperthan even a second-hand

Innova from 2014-15.Personally, I like theMarazzo and hopefullyit signifies the start ofsome excitedly fromMahindra, the newXUV700 (a SsangyongRexton with aMahindra badge) ison its way later thismonth and I hope the

company can keep itsmomentum going.

If you have any ques-tions, queries or generally

want car advice, or just to chatabout cars, do reach out to@kushanmitra on Twitter.

vivacity 14

Like quintessential Japanesedesign, Atsushi Nakashima’sworks reflect minimalism,

which is also a part of his personalstyle. Dressed in a white T-shirt, blackpants and black and white-stripedsneakers, the artiste is a canvas of hisown art. Soft-spoken and detached,the designer, who was once the headof design of the diffusion line at JeanPaul Gaultier, preferred answeringthrough a translator despite beingable to speak good English, I was told.

The East and the West meets ina confluence in his designs. He grewup in Japan after the country hadalready modernised and as a result hiswork leaned towards the contempo-rary. But his association with JeanPaul Gaultier taught him to value tra-ditions and his designs now have ele-ments of Japan.

“When I was younger, my sensi-bility was more modern Japanese, inwhich you rebuild and reinvent butwhat changed, especially after myassociation with Jean Paul Gaultier,was I learnt how to value classic andtraditional design. The Frenchbelieve in preserving their her-itage. So old buildings are pre-served and taken care of unlikein Tokyo. While Kyoto still hasa lot of traditional temples,Tokyo is entirely rebuilt andmodernised. What I learnt isthat we must value classictraditions and the beauty theybring. After that experience, Ifind that I appreciate my originsand are rooted to them,” saidNakashima.

He is showcasing the sameFall-Winter 2018 collectionthat he presented at the MilanFashion Week last month. Hiscollection celebrates his country,while presenting a global outlook.His collection is replete with cir-cles that represent the sun. Fishmotifs, knee-length jackets anddresses dominate the collectionapart from oversized pants and

layers of jackets. He was inspired by 1960s’ music

like funk, soul and disco to build thecollection but using that era’s designsas it is would be placing them out ofcontext. So he has given a moderntwist to them along with usingJapanese motifs, especially the onesthat can be seen in traditionalJapanese kimonos. The kimono itself,he said, has a simple structure but lay-ers are added based on the materialand motifs. Something that is seenin his collection as well, cleanstructure with layers. He believesthat the world is becomingsmaller and global but a “dashof Japan” finds its way into allhis work.

The designer doesn’tbelieve that there is much dif-ference between the East andWest since by the time he wasin high school Americancasuals were the “defacto uniform” of theyoung. But he reiter-ates that a globaloutlook with ele-ments of Japan iswhat defineshim.

The 40-year-old knew by the timehe was in high school that he want-ed be a fashion designer. Even thoughhis parents worked in the corporatesector, he believes that he carries theDNA of his great grandfather whowas a painter.

He brings with him a sense ofnostalgia like the loose-on jacket,which he has reinvented and replant-ed. “I use geometric prints that arelinear in nature and the clothing is

kimono-esque. Part of myJapanese identity is repre-

sented by my designs,”he said.

He’s interested inIndian hand-embroi-dery and is keen toexplore how he caninterpret traditionalembroidery from

India into themotifs he

has in hismind.

Rallying the fashion troopsthrough an all-black theme,

the first day of the Lotus Make-Up India Fashion Week endedwith the showcase of a range ofdesigns and dresses in black bycreators Ashish N Soni, RajeshPratap Singh, and Rohit Gandhi+ Rahul Khanna.

Bringing into fore a range offormal wear collection, Ashish NSoni’s designs were all about rel-evance, professionalism, func-tionalism and grace.

With extreme simplicity, ashis designs are known for, therewere full dress uniforms, embell-ished dinner jackets, frock coats,knee-length asymmetrically cutshort men’s trousers, half pants,skirts, formal trousers, uncuffed,with stripes or leg seams, plain-fronted shirt with wing collars,cuff links and shirt studs, piqueor marcella coats, waistcoats,tuxedos for men, jumpsuits forwomen, pant suits, evening capesand coats and so on. Whilemodels did slay in various back-less formal dresses, modelLakshmi Rana’s outfit was one ofthose challenging the youngglobal formal fashion. Her skirt-cum-trouser was half trouserand half skirt with a short frockblazer, that did stand outamongst all the other day-todayformals — completely a jaw-dropping look.

“The collection celebratesthe black colour in all its huespaying a tribute to our signaturebrand as well. I have used 30 dif-ferent textured black fabrics toavoid giving a dull, boring andrepetitive look. It is more aboutbringing out the simplicity yetthe elegance of black,” saidAshish.

As the dresses give a three-dimensional look, Ashish addedthat “the fabrics are either allhand-crafted and worked upon,or are in tone on tone-engi-neered jacquards.” The collectionindeed set an example of brilliantcraftsmenship as the embellish-ments were made with greatintricacy and “a disciplinedapproach to stay true to the corevalues of the brand,” said thedesigner. The inspiration behindthe all-black collection is aboutunderstanding construction, design, techniqueand technology.

As the first of the three showcases gaveout the message of strength and boldness, thefollowing by designer Rajesh Pratap Singh

gave chills around the hall. With the colourpalette that ranged from all shades of blackand white, Singh’s design collection combinedstyle and travel with its winter collection. Theatmosphere turned really cold and chilly asthe background resembled the heavy sleet in

the mountains. Inspired byauthor and naturalist JohnMuir’s famous saying, “Themountains are calling and Imust go,” the collection repre-sented the mystique of Indianmountains and the challengesthey hold, and to discover one-self it is imperative to acceptthose challenges and discoverthese mountains as well.

With rugged, rocky asym-metric silhouettes, deconstruct-ed shapes with inside-out seams,the collection honoured Indianpahadi roots. Fabrics used com-prise wool-linen blends, weavesthat are made on hand loomsand ikats. With knee-lengthand long woollen coats, therewere hand-crafted shoes andgloves to accessorise the look.The blazers brought back thechecks and stripes, taking oneback to the typical winter collec-tion woollens garments full ofred, black and white checks.Singh’s collection was a tributeto adventure, travel, the roam-ing spirit and the exploration ofthe physical and beyond.

The third in line was RohitGandhi + Rahul Khanna’s curat-ed collection titled Twilight, fol-lowing the monochromaticblack theme. However, why onlyblack?

Rahul’s answer to it was,“Well, we like when the sun goesdown. This was all to celebratethe colours of car brand Nexa.”While the monochrome didspread its elegance, there werealso certain accentuated glisten-ing silver elements as “they addshine to every garment amalga-mating metallic hues along withmodern edgy elements” throughlong festive wear gowns, backlessdresses and top jackets. Theshowstopper, actress SonakshiSinha set the ramp on fire withher blue eye-shadow and long-sleek black gown with sparklingblack crystals.

Rohit talked about the hand-crafted techniques “amplifyingand highlighting every detail ofthe garments in the form ofappliqué work and hand bead-ing. Black crystals have beenutilised in order to give the col-lection a sense of luxury. Withlustrous satin and twisted crepe,

there is intricate metal work on the silhou-ettes with matte and gloss textures,” thatdefined unusual patterns and gave an impres-sion of pure indulgence.

Photo: Pankaj Kumar

The much anticipated longlist for the US$25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian

Literature 2018 was announced by eminent his-torian and academic Rudrangshu Mukherjee,who is the chair of the jury panel for the dis-tinguished prize.

The longlist of 16 novels which wasunveiled at the Oxford Bookstore in New Delhiincludes four translated works from Assamese,Kannada, Tamil and Hindi. The longlist fea-tures six women authors and three womentranslators. Two outstanding debut novels alsofind place alongside the works of several estab-lished writers.

The longlist represents the best of SouthAsian fiction writing of the last year andincludes submissions from a diverse mix ofpublishers and authors of different back-grounds writing on a wide range of issues andthemes.

The novels include stunning portrayals ofmigration, war and the pain of displacement,poignant love stories, the exploration of newfound relationships and identities, and vivifi-cation of the personal struggles, hopes and aspi-rations that symbolize the urgent and divisiverealities of contemporary South Asian life.

This year the DSC Prize, administered bythe South Asian Literature Prize & Events Trust,received 88 eligible entries and the five mem-ber international jury panel diligently wentthrough these entries to arrive at this year’slonglist of 16 novels which they feel representthe best works of fiction related to the SouthAsian region.

Speaking on the occasion, Mukherjee,Chair of the jury commented, “It gives me enor-mous pleasure to announce this longlist of 16works of fiction for the DSC Prize for SouthAsian Literature 2018. My fellow jurors and Iread through over 80 works of fiction and thenarrived at this list of 16 which we will furtherprune to prepare a shortlist and then finally awinner. “

The jury will now deliberate on thelonglist over the next month and the shortlistof five or six books for the DSC Prize 2018 willbe announced on November 14 at the LondonSchool of Economics & Political Science (LSE)in London. Thereafter the jury would meetonce again to arrive at the final winner thatwould be announced at a special AwardCeremony to be hosted in a South Asian city.

#METOO ‘Elements of traditionare essential’

After his associationwith Jean PaulGaultier, ATSUSHINAKASHIMAvalues classicdesigns more thanhis younger self did.By ASMITA SARKAR

An all-black runway

Designers ASHISH N SONI, RAJESHPRATAP SINGH and ROHIT GANDHI +RAHUL KHANNA ace the monochromegame. By CHAHAK MITTAL

LONGLIST FOR

DSC ANNOUNCED

Sixteen novels includingfour translated works arein the race for winning theprize in November

KUSHAN MITRA

SHARK TALESThe new Mahindra Marazzo is a pretty impressivevehicle and one that genuinely surprises you

Skeletons

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 2018 sport 15

AFP n SHANGHAI

Roger Federer said that he did not wantto lose in front of his young family ashe was pushed all the way for the sec-

ond match in a row at the Shanghai Masterson Thursday.

The reigning champion squeezed intothe quarter-finals after eventually defeatingthe 28th-ranked Spaniard Roberto BautistaAgut 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

The top seed will play Japan's eighthseed Kei Nishikori, while Novak Djokovicand Alexander Zverev are also through,albeit with far less hassle.

The 37-year-old Swiss great was forcedto fight in his opening match on Wednesdayagainst Russia's Daniil Medvedev.

Normal order appeared to have beenrestored when the 20-time Grand Slamchampion comfortably claimed the first setagainst Bautista Agut.

But the Spaniard earned a piece of per-sonal history after that, winning the secondset — the first time he had taken a set againstthe Swiss maestro.

The 30-year-old Bautista Agut had thewhiff of an upset in his nostrils and theprospect of a first victory over the Swiss atthe eighth attempt.

But in the ninth game of the decidingset, Federer made the breakthrough on hisopponent's serve, pumping his fist as anoth-er hard-won victory loomed into view.

Federer's wife Mirka and their four chil-dren were in the arena and he said after-wards: "I'm not sure if they give me morecourage fighting on court, but they were heretoday.

"I was telling myself, particularly tonightI cannot do this (lose) because they werethere, but I don't know how much I drawfrom that, quite honestly."

Federer said that two stern encountershad set him up nicely for Nishikori onFriday.

"I hope it's going to help me that I playedagainst Medvedev and also Bautista Agut,

two really good baseliners."From that standpoint, I feel like I found

a rhythm."

DELPO INJURY WOE One player who will not be in the quar-

ter-finals is Juan Martin del Potro after hehobbled out of the tournament.

The Argentine world number four, whohad already been suffering with a virus, lost

his footing at 5-5 in the first set againstCroatia's Borna Coric.

The 30-year-old Del Potro had lengthytreatment and strapping put on his knee, butconceded the match after losing the first set7-5.

Coric, the 13th seed, faces Australia'sunseeded Matthew Ebden next

Second seed Djokovic enjoyed a mea-sure of revenge as he booked his spot in the

quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-0 demolition ofMarco Cecchinato.

The Serbian was stunned by the Italian— ranked 72 in the world at the time -- inthe French Open quarter-finals earlier thisyear.

It was part of a wretched run of formDjokovic suffered after elbow surgery inFebruary.

But he exploded back to life mid-sea-

son, winning Wimbledon, the CincinnatiMasters and US Open.

The 31-year-old says he is back close tothe kind of blistering form that has broughthim 14 Grand Slams.

Djokovic will play South Africa's sev-enth seed Kevin Anderson and said he wasarrowing in on Rafael Nadal's top ranking.The Spaniard is not in Shanghai due toinjury.

"Obviously, I'm going to try to do every-thing I can to get to number one," saidDjokovic.

"That's one of the — probably the—biggest goal of the end of the season."

Rising star Zverev was similarly emphat-ic as he brushed aside Australian teenagerAlex de Minaur, 6-1, 6-4.

The German fourth seed will next play11th seed Kyle Edmund.

SHIA, JNPG ENTER FINALShia PG College beat Vidyant Hindu PG

College by seven wickets to enter the final of 47thSundari Devi Inter PG Collegiate CricketTournament at JNPG Ground on Thursday. Inanother semi-final, JNPG PG College beatNational PG College by 41 runs.BRIEF SCORES:Vidyant: 126 (Arbaaz Ahmed 63, Mohit Verma26, Manpreet Singh 12; Mohd Abid 20/2, AnubhavSrivastava 20/2)Shia: 130 (Hasan Akhtar 63, Vinay 32, Deepak 18;Utkarsh Awasthi 36/2, Mohit Vishwakarma 18/1)

JNPG: 174 (Bhupendra Singh 79, Arvind Rajput35, Vikasdeep Yadav 19; Sandeep Yadav 32/4,Anurag 25/2)National: 133 (Abhijeet Rawat 61, Himanshu 21,Sachin Singh 14; Jitendra Kumar 24/5, SurendraKumar 22/3, Harshit 26/1)

SHIVANI CUPLucknow District Chess Sports Association is

oorganising the 10th Shivani Cup Sunday OpenTournament at Shivani Public School on Sunday.The ten thousand prizemoney tournament will bewomen’s special with seperate category for women.Interested may contact 7459899385.

PRIDE FC WIN

Pride FC blanked Chiranjeev FootballAcademy 3-0 in the opening match of the 1stHemwati Nandan BAhuguna Memorial FootballTournament at La Martiniere ground on Thursday.Earlier, UP Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi inau-gurated the tournament.

SIDDHARTH WINS TITLESiddharth Vishwakarma of Professional Tennis

Academy defeated top seed Arjun Khade 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3 to emerge winner in the Fenista OpenNational Tennis Championship at New Delhi.

FELICITATED

Abhijeet Sinha Cricket Academy onWednesday felicitated its student Akshdeep Nathfor becoming the captain of UP Ranji Trophy team.Natrh learned his basics from ASCA. DirectorAbhijeet Sinha presented him a cheque of Rs 50thousand.

LOCAL EVENTS

PTI n SHUZHOU

Keen to see India improv-ing their away record,

national football team captainSunil Chhetri Thursday saiddefense will be the key whenthey play an internationalfriendly against China after 21years on Saturday.

"We have to defend reallywell. By the look and feel, Ibelieve we have to do a lot ofdefending. We should notafford them much space. Atthe same time, whenever wefind a little room of opportu-nity, we have to construct themoves and counter them,"said Cheetri.

"To sum it up, it's a gamewhere we must be at the topof our game in every singledepartment. If we are notbeing able to combine welland operate as a team, thenthey'll make us struggle a lot,"he said.

Chettri said India havenot done well away from ourhome and it's time to better"our records".

"It's the time to do so. Ijust hope we can utilise thisopportunity to go back andgive a good account of our-selves. We have to convince

ourselves first that yes, we areimproving. Come January, itwill be very difficult for us andwe have to be ready for that."

"I'm happy that we areplaying a team like China. It'sstrange that we are playingthem after so long. We shouldhave played them more often.I'm very excited because theyare a quality opponent andthey have always been arespected side in Asia."

Chettri missed out onIndia's last away fixtureagainst the Kyrgyzstan due toan injury.

He is keen to make hispresence count but will nottake pressure.

"I don't take too muchpressure on myself. I'm happythat I'm back to the team onceagain, that too for an away fix-ture. It's very difficult but it'ssomething where I want to be.Thank God, everyone seemsto be fit, I'm fit too. I can't justwait to go out there and giveour best on Saturday."

The charismatic captainsaid he was more focussed onthe team doing well than per-sonal accomplishments.

"If you focus on personalgoals, then you'll go in a dif-ferent direction where youdon't actually want to head.We are a team and that's themost important thing. I'mone of the senior players,actually, the senior most play-er and I have my responsibil-ity towards the team. What weachieve individually is impor-tant but it's never ever morethan the team does."

China are being coachedby World Cup-wining ItalianMarcelo Lippi but Chhetrisaid every team playing athome is dangerous.

"Forget about China —any team who's not as fancy asChina are always threateningat their home. China are oneof the Asian teams who aredoing really great in Footballof late. The League has gonefrom strength to strength andthe National team has bene-fitted from that under arespectable coach like MarceloLippi.

"That's going to be theperfect challenge that we needto assess ourselves. We havedone really well in the lastcouple of years but now it'llhelp us gauge ourselves beforethe Asian Cup."

PTI n BUENOS AIRES

India endured a medal-less outing atthe Youth Olympics after the Gold

rush of the previous three days as thewomen's hockey team lost to Argentinaand rising table tennis player ArchanaKamath went down in the Bronzemedal match here.

Kamath, who became the firstIndian paddler to enter the semifinalsof Youth Olympics, gave her all againstRomania's Andreea Dragoman beforelosing 11-8, 11-13, 9-11, 5-11, 9-11 inthe semifinal played on Wednesdaynight (wee hours of Thursday inIndia).

The Indian under-18 women'shockey team suffered its first loss of theYouth Olympics' five-a-side competi-tion, going down 2-5 to hostsArgentina.

After three successive wins, Indialost the toughest match they played inthe event.

Argentina opened the scoringwith a seventh minute goal throughCelina Di Santo. India's Mumtaz Khanequalised soon after in the eighthminute but the hosts regained the leadin the 10th minute with a field goal bySofia Ramallo.

The second period, however, wastotally dominated by Argentina as theyshowcased brilliant attack that helpedthem score back-to-back in the 12th,17th and 19th minute through Sofia,

Josefina Rubenacker and GianellaPalet respectively.

The Indian team will face SouthAfrica in its fifth match of the com-petition.

A little later in the day, the men'shockey team too did not get the resultit wanted, losing 3-4 to Australia in akeenly contested contest. Davis Miles,James Collins, Alistair Murray, BradelyMarais scored for Australia whileIndia struck through Vivek SagarPrasad, who found the net twice, andShivam Anand.

On Thursday morning, swimmerAdvait Page disappointed in Heat 3,finishing seventh. The medal-less dayfor India came after it won three his-toric Gold medals in as many days.

Another medal could be assuredif rising badminton star Lakshya Senwins his semifinal against Japan'sKodai Naraoka later on Thursday.

PTI n JAKARTA

India took over the podium in men's highjump T42/63 category, claiming all the

medals up for grabs with defending cham-pion Sharad Kumar smashing two recordsto snare a second successive Gold in theAsian Para Games here on Thursday.

The 26-year-old world championshipsSilver-medallist bettered the Asian as wellas the Games record with a jump of 1.90mto claim the top honours. The T42/63 cov-ers lower limb deficiency, leg length dif-ference, impaired muscle power andimpaired range of movement.

The silver was claimed by RioParalympic Bronze-medallist Varun Bhati(1.82m) and the Bronze went to the RioGold-medallist Thangavelu Mariyappan(1.67m). Bhati's jump was his season's besteffort.

Sharad, who hails from Bihar, sufferedparalysis in his left leg at the age of two afterbeing administered a spurious polio med-icine at the local eradication drive. He hasbeen a former world number one.

Earlier, Indian javelin thrower SundarSingh Gurjar won a Silver medal in themen's F46 category where two-timeParalympic Gold-medallist DevendraJhajharia finished fourth.

In the same event, Rinku picked up aBronze medal to make it an India-domi-nated podium. The F46 category of dis-ability covers upper limb deficiency,impaired muscle power or impaired rangeof movement.

India also logged a Bronze in the men's400m T13 category with Avnil Kumar

claiming the third position. The T13 clas-sification deals with visual impairment.

In javelin throw, Gurjar notched up hissilver with an effort of 61.33m in his fifthattempt. Gurjar trained for 22 days inFinland before the Games, an exercise thatwas backed by the Sports Authority of India(SAI).

However, it was disappointment forJhajharia, a Silver-winner in the in the lastAsian Para Games in Incheon.

In the men's 400m race, Avnil Kumarclocked 52sec to fetch a Bronze. The Goldin this event was won by Iran's OmidZarifsanayei, who took 51.41sec to completethe race, while Thailand's Songwut Lamsan.

Medals tumbled in for India in othertrack-and-field events as well with AnandanGunasekram claiming the men's 400mSilver in the T44, 62/64 classification,

while Vinay Kumar settled for a Bronze.In the T45/46/47 classification for

men's 400m, Sandeep Maan fetched aBronze medal.

Jayanti Behera clinched the women's400m Silver in the T45/46/47 classification.

In the women's 400m classification thatdeals with visual impairment (T12), RadhaVenkatesh took the Bronze medal.

In swimming, India fetched a bronzewith Swapnil Patil finishing third in themen's 400m freestyle S10.

India remained on the ninth place inthe overall tally with eight Gold, 17 Silverand 25 Bronze medals. The country added13 podiums to its tally Thursday for a totalof 50 medals.

China continued to dominate with 137Gold, 69 Silver and 49 Bronze, followed bySouth Korea.

AFP n GENOA, ITALY

Ruslan Malinovskiy cancelled outFederico Bernardeschi's second

half strike as Italy were held 1-1 byUkraine in an international friend-ly in Genoa on Wednesday duringwhich the victims of the bridge col-lapse in the city were remembered.

Bernardeschi's low strike beatUkraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatovafter 55 minutes, but seven minuteslater Malinovskiy volleyed in for thevisitors.

Italy coach Roberto Mancinispent most of his playing career inGenoa, at Sampdoria, and thefriendly at the Stadio Luigi Ferrariswas organised to raise money forthose affected by the collapse of theMorandi bridge on August 14.

Mancini, 53, was the mostcapped player in Sampdoria's historyand also the Genoa club's top scor-er winning a Serie A, four ItalianCup and a European Cup WinnersCup with the club.

For Italy the game was a warm-up ahead of the weekend's NationsLeague game against Poland, withthe Ukraine playing the CzechRepublic on Tuesday. Paris StGermain midfielder Marco Verattireturned after a long lay-off withCagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella,21, making his senior Italy debut.

Pyatov has made a number off ine saves, clearing a low

Bernardeschi curling shot after fiveminutes and a Leonardo Bonuccivolley.

There was a double chance justbefore half-t ime, as LorenzoInsigne's effort was beaten away byPyatov and a Barella volley deflect-ed over.

But Bernardeschi finally got thebetter of Pyatov after 55 minutesbefore being replaced by Lazio's CiroImmobile.

Federico Chiesa missed a chanceto close down the game for theItalians, and moments later MykytaBurda headed down for Malinovskiyto volley in.

The Ukraine play the CzechRepublic at home in Kharkiv onTuesday.

Federer battles, Djoker cruises in Shanghai

Roger, Novak and Zverev sails into Shanghai quarter-finals; del Potro crashes out

Roger Federer hits a return shot to Roberto Bautista Agut during their men's singles match of the Shanghai Masters; (right) Novak Djokovic hits a return shot to Marco Cecchinato during their men's singles match of the Shanghai Masters AP

Sharad Kumar poses for a photo after winning Gold in Asian Para Games AP

Indian hockey players in action Hockey India

A medal less day for

India at Youth Olympics

Sharad Kumar clinches gold

Ukraine hold Italy 1-1

Players in action during the match AP

Sunil Chhetri, right, and Yumnam Mangang, second right, fight for the ball AP

We have to do lot of defending: ChhetriRita Bahuguna Joshi being introduced to the players

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 12, 2018 sport 16

PTI n HYDERABAD

India's ruthless home run is unlike-ly to be challenged when the teamtakes on a below-par West Indies in

the second Test Friday in what threat-ens to be another lopsided contest.

After the hosts won the first Testby a record innings and 272 runs, thereare hardly any signs that there will bea change in the script as the second Testpromises to be another run-feast.

Add to it, skipper Jason Holder isstill not 100 per cent fit and their onlyfast bowler of repute Shannon Gabrielis a doubtful starter for the encounter.India, on the other hand, have not madeany changes to the squad that won thefirst game inside three days in Rajkot.

The lop-sided matches are hardlythe kind of preparation the Indian teamwould have wanted before the big-tick-et series against Australia startingDecember.

In fact, Virat Kohli's team might notbe able to escape a sense of deja vu asit goes into the second Test.

In 2011, India dominated WestIndies 2-0 in a one-sided series beforecrashing to a 0-4 defeat against AustraliaDown Under.

Similarly, in 2013 when India wonboth Test matches well inside threedays, the next tour of South Africa did-n't pan out well as they lost the series.

It is just an indicator that the West

Indies Test teams over the years havenot been competitive enough to chal-lenge the Indian team, which is anywayformidable on home turf.

In contests like these, the focus ison challenging one's own self whichskipper Virat Kohli did in the first Testwhere he scored 139 off 230 balls.

While 18-year-old Prithvi Shawexpectedly hogged the limelight with asmashing ton on debut, Kohli's inningswas a master-class of how to set a dif-ferent challenge for oneself as a bats-man.

The West Indiesbowling, which atbest can be com-pared to a lowerrung first-class sidein India, could havebeen taken to thecleaners but theIndian skipper hitonly 10 fours in hisknock -- significantly lessthan Shaw's 19 boundariesand Cheteshwar Pujara's 14hits.

The bulk of the runs -99 of them came in singlesand doubles. Perhaps, hewas trying to check if hecurbs certain strokes, howhis game will shape up. Heshowed a different facet tohis batsmanship during

the 24th Test hundred.The only area of concern for India

will be vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane'sform, who was touted as the best play-er in overseas conditions back in 2013-14 season, when he scored 96 at

Durban, 118 at Wellington, 103 at theLord's and 145 at Melbourne.

Rahane has gone without a Testhundred for nearly 14 months (lasthundred came against Sri Lanka inAugust 2017).

His career has tapered off a bit inthe last couple of years. And the secondTest would be last shot to get back intoa good frame of mind before theAustralia series, which could be make

or break for him.The Indian team has decided

against any experiments with MayankAgarwal failing to find a place in the XIIfor this game.

Bowling coach Bharath Arun putup a strong argument for the out-of-form KL Rahul (14 failures in 16knocks this year).

The decision to play him for thisTest is a fair enough indication thatIndia will be looking at the Rahul-Shawcombination going into that first Testagainst Australia in Adelaide onDecember 6.

Shardul Thakur continues to be the12th man as a 2-0 series win is para-mount for the home team at this pointof time.

Mohammed Shami and UmeshYadav will also like to use this oppor-tunity well as they are unlikely to fea-ture in the ODI series.

For West Indies, the aim will to atleast put up some fight unlike the Rajkotgame where they didn't even last 100overs across both innings.

Kieran Powell's 83 and RostonChase's 53 were the only notable con-tributions from the Caribbean battingline-up in the first game.

In the second innings, it looked asif the batsmen were in a tearing hurryto hit every ball where the need of thehour was to show patience.

The West Indies' slide in Test is acombination of both lack of applicationand technique needed to compete at thehighest level.

They would love to redeem them-selves, which looks highly unlikely asof now.

PTI n HYDERABAD

Stop the comparisons and let Prithvi Shaw be -- Indian cap-tain Virat Kohli on Thursday demanded "some space" for

the teenage sensation, whose batting has drawn parallels withthe likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

Hailed as a child prodigy, Shaw had a cracking Test debutagainst the West Indies team, hitting 134 off 154 balls in thefirst Test against Rajkot. The knock led to a media frenzy anda series of comments on how he is destined for greatness.

On the eve of the second Test here, the skipper, who tast-ed stardom quite early himself, took queries on the 18-year-old and called for some space.

"I don't think he should be rushed into anything yet becauseyou need to give a youngster a space to grow, in his own abil-ities. This guy is supremely talented and he has got great abil-ity as everyone saw," the skipper said at the pre-match pressconference.

"We definitely think he (Shaw) has it in him to play at thehighest level and he can repeat what he did in the first game.He is a very keen learner, a sharp guy. He understands situa-tions well. We are all very happy for him," he added.

Kohli echoed India opener Gautam Gambhir, whoWednesday saidthat people shouldstop comparinghim to the greatVirender Sehwag.

"We shouldn'tcompare him toanyone yet. Weshouldn't put himin a space where hefeels pressure of anykind and he shouldbe left in a spacewhere he enjoys hiscricket and slowlygrows into a playerwe all believe in."

Tournamentslike the IPL, the Atours, live coverageof the U-19 tourna-ments put young-sters under instantspotlight and Kohliagreed that they aremore equipped tohandle pressure sit-uations.

"Definitely itcould be one of thereasons (earlyexposure) becausethey are alreadyexposed to theenvironment that

the international game would replicate. But there's always pres-sure of playing for the country.

"When you get that cap in the morning of the game, there'salways butterflies in the stomach and I am sure everyone feelsthat pressure.

"But I am sure it is not as intense as 10-15 years back, whenyou didn't have any exposure in this kind of cricket and sud-denly you are put out there in a Test match making your debutfor India - the highest or toughest thing there could be."

IPL is one of the tournaments that had helped youngstersnot get overawed by top flight cricket.

"So I agree with the fact that they have played in situationsin the IPL where they play in front of so many people that theyare not nervous anymore at the big stage.

"...I think they are not overawed by the scenario and I thinkthat's always going to be an advantage because the guys com-ing in can start doing the job from game one which both theseyoung guys have done that and Hanuma (Vihari) as well. Theyare supremely confident guys, those who are coming up (theranks)."

The skipper scored his 24th hundred in Rajkot where heran nearly 100 runs (99) in singles and doubles.

AP n DUBAI

Australia hung on for a sensa-tional draw in the first test

against Pakistan after openingbatsman Usman Khawaja scoreda patient century on the last dayThursday.

Needing an improbable 462runs for victory, Australia battedfor a draw and survived a testinglast hour eight wickets down.

After legspinner Yasir Shahsnared Khawaja, Mitchell Starc,and Peter Siddle within eightballs, Australia captain TimPaine, 61 not out, and No. 10batsman Nathan Lyon, 5 notout, held out against Pakistan.

Australia finished on 362-8,its longest fourth innings for a

draw, after 202 in the firstinnings.

Pakistan scored 482 and 181-6 declared.

All of Khawaja's 8 1/2-hourtoil in which he scored 141 off302 balls seemed to have gone invain when Shah claimed him andtwo other quick wickets to giveback Pakistan a big sniff of vic-tory.

But Paine and Lyon thwart-ed Pakistan bowlers over the last12 overs to pull off a remarkabledraw.

Khawaja and Paine seemedto be carrying Australia to safe-ty in their sixth-wicket stand last-ing 36 overs.

But just after the left-hand-ed Khawaja made the highest

score by any visiting batsman inAsia, passing Daniel Vettori's 140in 2009 in Colombo, he was out.He missed a sweep shot off Shah's

delivery around the wicket andwas plumb leg before wicket.

Starc was brilliantly snappedup on 1 close to the wicket by

Babar Azam, and Siddle fell lbwfor zero off a sharp Shah delivery.

But Paine and Lyon battedresolutely against Shah (4-114),seamer Mohammad Abbas (3-56), and offspinner Bilal Asif, whotook six wickets in the firstinnings but none in the second.

Earlier, Pakistan had to waituntil after lunch to get the day'sfirst breakthrough whenMohammad Hafeez had TravisHead (72) lbw off the very firstball with the second new ball.

This ended a brilliant 132-run, fourth-wicket stand as Headdug in on a wearing pitch in hisdebut test. He hit five fours in his175-ball knock.

Khawaja completed his cen-tury off 224 balls with 10 fours.

Then Shah claimed his first wick-et of the match by snaring MarnusLabuschagne (13) lbw off a quick-er legbreak.

Pakistan came close to dis-missing Khawaja on 109, butAzhar Ali's throw from long offmissed the stumps at the non-striker's end with the batsmanway out of his crease.

Australia resumed the day on136-3, needing an unlikely 326more runs to win.

Khawaja and Head added 79runs together in the first session,and Khawaja led them in gather-ing 74 more in the second session.Khawaja departed an hour intothe last session, but he'd given histeammates a blueprint on how todefend.

PTI n HYDERABAD

West Indies all-rounder Roston Chase saysthey are better-prepared to tackle young

Indian batsman Prithvi Shaw, whose initialonslaught had set the tone for their embarrass-ing defeat in the first Test.

Young Shaw scored a century on debut, play-ing a key role in India's big win in the series-opener.

"I am sure our guys would have learnt quick-ly from what happened in the first Test and wewill know some of the strengths of the youngShaw, who really took us apart early in the game.I am sure we will learn from our mistakes in thefirst game and move on smartly inthe second game," Chase said onthe eve of the second Test.

While there is a planin place for Shaw, Chasedidn't want to divulge.

"We had a long chatafter the first Test andcame up with some plans.We discussed how we arelooking to bowl at him in thesecond Test along with some of theother batters. I can't obviously dis-cuss our plans in the conference.I think we have a better idea ofwhat we are looking to do againsthim."

One of the positives goinginto the second Test is thepresence of senior-most pacer KemarRoach and captainJason Holder.

"It's always goodto have the captain back. I am not sure what theline-up will be for the next match. Can't reallysay who is playing but it's really good to haveKemar Roach back, a very senior player andbrings a lot of experience to the team. So yeah,it's good to have both of them back."

Chase also explained the reasons for histeam's batting debacle in the first Test.

“India scoring 600-odd runs. It was alwaysgoing to be a hard task for us to comeback andsurpass that score. I thought that on the firstafternoon that we batted, guys were a bit tiredhaving fielded so many overs. But after that, Ithought we didn't really apply ourselves on thepitch.”

PTI n HYDERABAD

Dashing keeper-batsman RishabhPant forced his way into the

Indian ODI set-up for the first timeas the national selection committeegot down to put in place a successionplan for the legendary MahendraSingh Dhoni.

Pant, who had scored 114 and 92in his previous two Test appearances,has been a prolific white ball playerwho replaced the inconsistent DineshKarthik as Dhoni's cover.

The southpaw is expected to beone of the missing links in theIndian ODI team's middle order jig-saw puzzle.

Asked if Pant will be playingpurely as batsman, chairman ofselectors MSK Prasad said: "Yes,definitely but if need arises he will bethe back-up keeper."

While Dhoni remains the first-choice keeper till the World Cup,Prasad indicated that young Pant isa long-term investment.

"It is no brainer who is our No 1wicketkeeper. In search of second

wicketkeeper, we have given oppor-tunities to DK and right now we aregiving opportunity to Rishabh Pant.At an appropriate time, we will takea call as to who is the best among thetwo."

Prasad indicated that they have

now zeroed in on a couple of namesfor the two middle-order slots.

Another interesting inclusionwas of Mohammed Shami, who lastplayed an ODI in September last year.He will be looked at as a potentialthird seamer option.

"I have been telling this for aquite some time that we are just 18ODIs away from now before we playfirst game of the World Cup and sowe need to figure out our fastbowlers and in this process we havepicked Shami," said Prasad.

It is learnt that skipper ViratKohli, who was rested for the AsiaCup, returns to play all five ODIswhile Bhuvneshwar Kumar andJasprit Bumrah are set to comebackduring the second phase of theseries.

The chairman of selectors alsosaid that Dhoni will take part in theVijay Hazare Trophy knock-outphase, representing Jharkhand.

On Kedar Jadhav, it was learntthat he will be available for the lastthree ODIs as he is still recoveringfrom a hamstring injury.

AFP n LONDON

Shane Warne believes England should seri-ously consider replacing Joe Root with Jos

Buttler as Test captain to allow Root to focuson becoming the world's best batsman.

Australia spin great Warne says theYorkshire star could dominate the global gamewith the bat and feels Buttler would make a"very, very good" Test skipper. Warne workedwith Buttler in his role as mentor for IndianPremier League team Rajasthan Royals andis convinced the Lancashire player has cred-ible Test leadership skills.

"I've worked with Jos a bit this year, andI think he's someone who would make anexcellent captain," said Warne. "I reallyenjoyed working with him, I'd like to thinkI helped him out a little bit." Warne, who ispromoting his autobiography, said Root is England's best player but would be disap-pointed with his conversion rate when it cameto hundreds.

"He'd love to have more hundreds to beable to be spoken about in the same sentencesas Virat Kohli and Steve Smith," he said.

"Maybe England could think about theirbest player having the shackles off, not hav-ing the responsibility of captaincy, and giveit to someone like Jos Buttler," he added.

"If he (Root) totally 100 percent con-centrates on his cricket, his batting andnothing else, then maybe we might see JoeRoot become the best batsman in theworld," Warne said. "He's got the talent todo it."

India vs West Indies

Live from 9:30am IST

STAR SPORTS 1

Give Prithvi space togrow as cricketer: Kohli

West Indies cricket captain Jason Holder (C) with his teammates during a practice session ahead of second India-West Indies test match AP

HYDERABAD: India captain Virat Kohli onThursday said that Test cricket across theglobe should be played with the England-made Duke balls, expressing his displeasureat the poor quality of the SG balls that Indiause at home."The Dukes ball, I think, is the most suitedball for Test cricket. If there's a situation Iwould vouch for that to be used all over theworld because of the consistency of the balland how the bowlers are in the game at anystage, even the spinners, because the seam isso hard and upright," Kohli said on the eve ofthe second Test against the West Indies.Currently, there are no ICC specificguidelines and different countries usedifferent balls.While India use their home-made 'SG Test'from early '90s (Sonnex was the ball beforethat) manufactured by Meerut-basedSanspareils Greenlands, England and WestIndies use the UK's Dukes with the mostpronounced seam.Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka use theKookaburra.Before Kohli, senior off-spinner Ravichandran

Ashwin has also spoken about how he feltbetter bowling with the Kookaburra than 'SGTest'."A Dukes ball is still good quality,Kookaburra is still good quality. Whateverlimitations a Kookaburra might have (seamgoes flat), the quality is never compromised,"Kohli explained."The seamers as well are benefitted if the ballis hard, you can get that extra pace but if theball goes so soft in 10-12 overs, then youreffort comes down by 20 per cent. I think thequality of the ball has to be maintained,there's no doubt about that.Kookaburra balls are machine-made andhave low seam, while the India-made SGballs are handmade and have a wide seam.Duke balls are manufactured in England andare handmade. They darker in colourcompared to SG and Kookaburras due to thecoating of lacquer.

UNHAPPY WITH SG, KOHLI WANTS DUKES TO BEUSED FOR ALL TEST MATCHES

INDIA AIM TO BE RUTHLESS,

WI SEEK REDEMPTION

India ready to take on hosts in the second Teston Friday after sailing through an easy win inthe first Test

PREVIOUS TESTS AT RAJIV

GANDHI STADIUM:

Year Result

2010 India draw with New Zealand

2012 India beat New Zealand by an innings and 115 runs

2013 India beat Australia by an innings and 135 runs

2017 India beat Bangladesh by208 runs

Faisel Features

We have plans inplace for Shaw: Chase

‘Joe Root could be world'sbest if freed from captaincy’

Jor Root in action during the match AP

Rishabh Pant plays during a practice session AP

Pakistan players shake hands with Australian batsmen after the match AP

Pant breaks into Indian ODI team

Khwaja, Paine star as Aus pull off dramatic draw

against nana patekar 14 vivacity rafale exposé stokes ... · station on thursday night. the...

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