english news paper | breaking news | latest today …...2019/09/20 · the indian space research...

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

HYDERABAD 11WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO

BRING CANCER AWARENESS: ARJUN

ANALYSIS 9FOCUS ON

MAKING HISTORY

SPORTS 16KAMAL-SATHIYAN

STORM INTO QUARTERS

HYDERABAD, FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 20, 2019; PAGES 16 `3

}SHAURYA'S FILM TO BE SHOT

ACROSS MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

www.dailypioneer.com

RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 1 ISSUE 347*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated September 19, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Bhdrapada & Krishna PakshaPanchangamTithi : Shashthi : 08:11 pmNakshatram: Kritika: 10:20 amTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 10:39 am – 12:09 pmYamagandam: 03:10 pm – 04:40 pm

Varjyam: 03:01 am - 04:42 am

Gulika: 07:38 am - 09:08 amGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 07:47 am - 09:29 amAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:45 am - 12:33 pm

Forecast: ThunderstormsTemp: 29/23Humidity: 98%Sunrise: 06.04Sunset: 06.14

Modi targets ‘loudmouths' onRam temple; jibe may hurt SenaPNS n NASHIK

In a jibe without naming allyShiv Sena, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Thursdaysaid the Supreme Court ishearing the Ram Mandir caseand asked "some loudmouths"to refrain from making state-ments on the issue.

"I am amazed at the 'bayanbahadurs and badbole' (loud-mouths) on the Ram Mandirissue. Every one in the coun-try respects the SupremeCourt. The apex court is hear-ing the case. I want to tell thesepeople with folded hands tohave faith in the judicial sys-tem," Modi said at a rally here.

Shiv Sena has been demand-ing construction of the Ramtemple and asking the Modigovernment to take steps inthat direction like it did onArticle 370 in Jammu andKashmir.

Sena chief UddhavThackeray on Mondaydemanded that the Centre take

a "courageous decision" tobring in a law to build a RamTemple in Ayodhya.

"It has been our demandfrom last year that a special lawmust be brought in and RamMandir should be built... Theissue has been going on since1992. How many years shouldwe wait? We are hearing that theissue is in the final stages in thecourt. We appeal to the courtsto give it decision on the issue.

"However, beyond that weexpect that Centre should notwait for court order and use itpowers. The Centre took acourageous step in abrogatingArticle 370. It is out requestthat the Centre would do thesame for Ram Mandir issue,"the Sena chief had toldreporters here.

Modi said the first 100-daytenure in his second innings asthe PM focussed on promise,

performance and delivery."There is a push for develop-ment, a message of India'sglobal power, welfare of peopleand efforts for employmentopportunities," he said.

"Rs 20,000 crore were put infarmers' accounts so far out ofwhich Rs 1500 crore was inaccounts of farmers inMaharashtra," he said. ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavisthanked Modi for the trustreposed in him in 2014 whenhe was made the CM.

Sena chief UddhavThackeray onMonday demandedthat the Centretake a "courageousdecision" to bring ina law to build aRam Temple inAyodhya

KCR announces Rs 1 lakhbonus for Singareni workersPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana governmenton Thursday announced a 28per cent share in the profit ofSingareni Collieries CompanyLimited (SCCL) to its employ-ees for 2018-19. Chief MinisterK. Chandrasekhar Raoannounced in the state leg-islative Assembly that eachemployee will get a bonus of Rs1,00,899, which is Rs 40,530more than the last year's bonus.

He said that this isTelangana government'sDussehra festival gift for theemployees of SCCL. The com-pany, owned by the Telanganagovernment and the Centre ona 51:49 equity basis, earnedrecord net profit of Rs 1,765crore during 2018-19. In 2017-18, each worker was paid Rs60,369 as part of the 27 percent profits shared with theworkers. The company, whichhas a workforce of over 56,000,had clocked a net profit of Rs1,212 crore in 2017-18.

He pointed out that thecompany, which had produced50.47 million tonnes of coal in2013-14, had been increasing

production every year. In2018-19, the coal productionwent up to a record level of64.41 million tonnes. The netprofit grew from Rs 418 crorein 2013-14 to Rs 1,765 crore in2018-19. KCR, as Rao is pop-ularly known, said the publicsector undertaking is playing

a key role in the developmentof Telangana.

"Progress in coal produc-tion, transport, sales, profits,increase in turnover, all standas a symbol of the Telanganagovernment's effective andgood governance.

Continued on Page 4

PNS n HYDERABAD

Due to reduced sourcing ofonions from other statesattributed to the economicslowdown, hoarding by sometraders, and diver-sion by others;the prices ofonions con-tinue to risein the city,with thecurrent ratesh o v e r i n garound Rs4,500 a quintal.

A quintal ofonions was tradedbetween Rs 3,200 and Rs 3,600just four days ago. However,the arrivals from other statesto the city are down to just 30-40 truckloads a day, as againstthe normal 75-150 truckloadsa day.

Traders in the city attributethe shortfall to the damagecaused to onion crop due torecent heavy rains and floods

in Maharashtra. The rainshave affected onion crops inTelangana too. The citysources a substantial portionof its requirement of onionsfrom Maharashtra, Karnataka

and Andhra Pradesh.Even in the mainwholesale markets at

Malakpet, MondaM a r k e t(Secunderabad),Osman Gunj,Siddiamber Bazarand Bowenpally,

the wholesale pricesof onions are prohib-

itive. According to one view,

even the available stocks ofonions are being diverted toKolkata, from where the com-modity is finding its way toBangladesh.

On Thursday, onion wastraded at between Rs 50-60 akg in the retail market, almostsix times the rate just a monthago — Rs 10 a kg.

Continued on Page 4

Onion prices hit new high

Youth thrashedand burnt byvillagersPNS n HYDERABAD

In a shocking incident, a manwho was allegedly accused ofsorcery was beaten to deathand his body was set ablaze ona pyre at Adraspalli village inShamirpet on late Wednesdaynight. The deceased was iden-tified as B Anjaneyulu, 24, anauto driver by profession.According to sources, the fam-ily members of K Lakshmi, awoman who died on Tuesdaydue to ill health, suspected thatAnjaneyulu, could have per-formed black magic on herleading to her death.

Continued on Page 2

PNS n HYDERABAD

Reflecting the lasting rewardsof efficiently-run organiza-tions, Minister for MunicipalAdministration K T Rama Raopointed out on Thursday thatHyderabad Metro's fares werecheaper than those of TSRTCAC buses.

He was responding to aquestion raised by CongressMLA Batti Vikramarka in theAssembly.

KTR said, "The Metro faresare minimum Rs 10 and max-imum Rs 60 in Hyderabad. InChennai, the minimum andmaximum rates are Rs 10 and

Rs 70; in Lucknow Rs 10 andRs 60: in Bengaluru Rs10 andRs 60; and in Delhi Rs 10 andRs 60 respectively. Our com-petition is directly with otherpublic transport. In the case ofRTC AC buses operated in the

city, the minimum is Rs 15 andthe maximum is Rs 80. Metroride is cheaper than travellingin AC bus of RTC".

KTR said that in fact theCentral Metro Act had adopt-ed TS' provision whereby theconcessionaire is allowed to fixinitial fares. By October, theRaidurgam station will becompleted and by December10 km length from JBS toMGBS will also be completed.With 3 lakh footfalls every daycommuters had embracedMetro.

KTR said, "Governor, ChiefMinister and I travelled in theMetro. Opposition leaders

should travel in Metro to knowhow it is working. People likeit, that's why 3 lakh people aretravelling".

"By December, total 66 kmlength of Metro will be oper-ational in the city. We havecompleted 66 km Metro in justsix years, while all other citiestook 7-9years. We resolved360 court cases in the 2 yearsafter TRS came to power. Wecannot compare HyderabadMetro with other Metros asours is world's largest DBFOT(Design, Build, Finance,Operate, Transfer) Metro," heremarked.

Continued on Page 2

Metro cheaper than RTC AC buses: KTR

K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

Upholding once again thetruth in the maxim attributedto former MissouriCongressman William Clay"(In politics), there are no per-manent enemies, and no per-manent friends, only perma-nent interests", Congress MLAfrom Sangareddy T JaggaReddy on Thursday met hisbête noire for 14 years FinanceMinister T Harish Rao, creat-ing flutter in political circles.

Jagga Reddy's meeting withHarish Rao, at the Assembly'sinner lobbies, lasted half an

hour. It created sensation in theAssembly corridors, withalmost every leader discussingthe possible agenda of theirmeeting. What beats everyone

is that the two leaders had usedthe harshest language againsteach other during their polit-ical encounters.

Continued on Page 4

PNS n BENGALURU

A national-level committeecomprisingacademics andISRO experts are analysingthe cause of communicationloss with Chandrayaan-2 lan-der ahead ofits planned softlanding on the lunar surface,the space agency said onThursday.

The Indian Space ResearchOrganisation also said theorbiter of the India's second-lunar mission continued toperform scheduled scienceex-periments to "complete satis-faction" and performance of all

its payloads were "satisfactory"."All Payloads of orbiter are

powered. Initial trials fororbiter payloads are complet-ed successfully. Performanceof

all orbiter Payloads is satisfac-tory. Orbiter continues to per-form scheduled science exper-iments to complete satisfac-tion," the city-headquartered

ISRO said in an update on itswebsite.

"National-level committeeconsisting of academiciansandISRO experts are analysingthe cause of communicationloss with lander," it added.

Lander Vikram, with roverPragyan housed inside it,lostcommunication with groundstation on September7 duringits final descent, just 2.1 kmsabove the lunarsurface, min-utes before the planned touch-down on the Moon.

Efforts to reestablish thelink were on sincethen, buthopes of a positive result

appear to be fading away.The lander, designed to exe-

cute a soft-landing on thelunar surface, and rover, havea mission life of one Lunar day,which is equivalent to 14 earthdays.

On September 8, ISRO saidthe lander was spotted on thelunar surface by camera on-board of the Chandrayaan-2orbiter.

Vikram had a hard-landing.However, ISRO from the

day of losing contact with thelander had been upbeat aboutthe performance of theorbiter.

Hopes to get back Vikram fading away l Panel to analyse cause of communication loss with lander

L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

Telangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao and hisAndhra Pradesh counterpartYS Jaganmohan Reddy willmeet again on September 24 tothrash out pending bifurca-tion-related issues. The meet-ing will be held at PragathiBhavan here. It will be theninth meeting between thetwo Chief Ministers, afterYSRCP swept the APAssembly polls in May thisyear and Jagan took over asChief Minister.It would be Jagan's fourth visit

to Pragathi Bhavan — theofficial residence of KCR.Official sources said the pro-posal to link Godavari andKrishna rivers tops the itemson the agenda before the ChiefMinisters. Besides, the CMswill discuss the sharing ofassets and liabilities of thecommon institutions listed

under Schedule IX and X ofthe AP Reorganisation Act,2014, most of which are locat-ed in Hyderabad. KCR isexpected to take up the issueof AP government releasing a

GO 'unilaterally' last monthtaking over all the assets of theAP Heavy Machinery andEngineering Ltd (APHMEL)located near Vijayawada, thesubsidiary of SingareniCollieries Company Ltd(SCCL), in which Telanganagovernment has majority stake.APHMEL has a huge landbank of 200 acres nearVijayawada, estimated to beworth nearly Rs 600 crore.

Continued on Page 2

l Krishna-Godavarilinkage on top of theagendal 9th meeting withinfour months

Six friendsjointly win Rs 12 cr lotteryTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Dame luck smiled on sixfriends working at a jewelleryoutlet in Kollam district onThursday as they hit thejackpot, jointly winning thefirst prize of Rs 12 crore in theOnam bumper lottery.

The winners had pooled into purchase two tickets of Rs300 each from a lottery ven-dor in front of their shop, ofwhich one turned out to bethe winning ticket. This is thehighest prize money offeredby the state lotteries depart-ment. As the results wereannounced on Thursday, thesix — Ronni, Vivek, Rajiv,Subin Thomas, Rimjin andRatheesh could not believethat they had won the firstprize.

PNS n NEW DELHI

A Delhi court has closed acheating and criminal intimi-dation case against a SupremeCourt's former womanemployee who had lev-elled allegations of sex-ual misconduct againstChief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi.

The apex court's three-member In-House InquiryCommittee, headed by JusticeS A Bobde, had in May this yeargiven a clean chit to the CJI asit "found no substance" in theallegations levelled against himby the woman.

Chief MetropolitanMagistrate Manish Khuranaaccepted the closure reportfiled by Delhi Police after thecomplainant in the case,

Naveen Kumar, a residentof Jhajjar in Haryana, saidhe had no opposition tothe plea and that he didnot want to pursue the

case. "Complainant statedthat he is satisfied with theinvestigation conducted by thepolice in this case. He also stat-ed that he does not want to fileany protest petition and there-fore, the closure report may beaccepted as he does not want topursue the present case.

Supriyo ‘heckled'at JadavpurUniversityPNS n KOLKATA

Union minister Babul Supriyowas on Thursday shown blackflags and allegedly heckled bya section of students atJadavpur University, where hehad gone to address a semi-nar organised by the ABVP.Supriyo was initially stoppedfrom entering the campusfor around one-and-halfhours from 2.30 pm by mem-bers of Left-leaning organi-sations -- AFSU and SFI --who raised the slogan 'BabulSupriyo Go Back', varsitysources said.

The BJP leader is current-ly being held up on the cam-pus, with the students block-ing his way out. "I did notcome here to do politics. ButI am saddened by the behav-iour of some of the studentsof the university, the waythey have heckled me... Theypulled me by my hair and alsopushed me," Supriyo, whoattended the seminar amidheavy security, told reporters.

‘Oil crisis tohave impacton inflation’MUMBAI:Reserve Bank gov-ernor Shaktikanta DasThursday expressed the hopethat the ongoing crisis in SaudiArabia that has spiked crudeprices to multi-year highs willhave limited impact on infla-tion and fiscal numbers.Drone attacks on the world'slargest oil refinery in SaudiArabia, alleged to have beencarried out by Iran over thepast weekend, has lead to amassive 20 percent surge incrude prices. The crisis hasspooked domestic marketsand roiled the rupee leading tofears that a prolonged supplydisruption will create problemsfor the domestic economy asaround 80 percent of oildemand is met throughimports.

Court closes cheating caseagainst ex-SC employee

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Raoannounced in the state legislative Assembly that each employee will get abonus of Rs 1,00,899, which is Rs 40,530more than the last year's bonus

ControversialSekhar Reddyspecial inviteeon TTD Board AMARAVATI: AndhraPradesh Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy onThursday accommodated for-mer member of the TTD gov-erning board Sekhar Reddy asits special invitee. Post demon-etisation of high-value cur-rency, Sekhar was caught pos-sessing wads of new notestotaling several hundreds ofcrores of rupees. Cases filedagainst Sekhar created a sen-sation across the country.Jagan and several others hadthen slammed TDP ChiefChandrababu, his son Lokeshon issues connected withSekhar.

Others appointed as specialinvitees on the TTD Board are:Bhumana Karunakar Reddy,Rakesh Sinha, KupenderReddy, Govinda Hari,Dushmant Kumar and AmolKale (Mumbai).

KCR, Jagan to meet on Sept 24 on bifurcation-issues

Jagga’s meeting with Harish createssensation in Assembly corridorsl By December 66 km length of Metro will be operational

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Phone: 040-23322341, Hyderabad Office: F-502, Diamond Block, Lumbini Rockdale, Somajiguda, Hyderabad - 500 082. Telangana. Printed at JagathiPublications Ltd, D 75, E 52, Industrial Estate, Balangar, Hyderabad -500 037, Medchal -Malkajgiri District, Telangana. Chief Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any

damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement before

responding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 hyderabad 02

EGGRATES

` 37,960 (10 gm)

` 46,200 (1kg)

` 5521

HYDERABAD 368VIJAYAWADA 381VISAKHAPATNAM 370RETAIL PPRICE `3.68

SILVER

HYDERABADBULLION RATES

CHICKENRATES

Dressed/With Skin `164

Without Skin `189

Broiler at Farm `113

(IN HYDERABAD)

Supply water to villages in Nizamabad: KCR

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao hasinstructed the officials con-cerned to prepare a compre-hensive plan to supply water forirrigation and drinking pur-poses in all the villages inLegislative Assembly segmentsunder the combinedNizamabad district.

Since there is less availabil-ity of water in Nizamsagarand Singur projects this year,villages under the jurisdictionof these projects should be sup-plied water through alternativemethods and the officersshould preparealternative/temporary plans.

The Chief Minister said inorder to solve the issues per-taining to irrigation water,drinking water and PoduBhoomulu (lands under shift-ing cultivation) he would visitthe combined Nizamabad dis-trict for two days in the com-ing month and discuss thematter with people. The ChiefMinister had a meeting withthe Legislators from the com-bined Nizamabad district andSpeaker P Srinivas Reddy inthe Assembly premises here onThursday.

Ministers Vemula PrashanthReddy, Errabelli Dayakar Rao,Government Whip GampaGovardhan, MLAs BajireddyGoverdhan, A Jeevan Reddy,Hanumanth Shinde, Biyyala

Ganesh Gupta, Surender, MLCSubhash Reddy, ChiefSecretary SKJoshi, CMPrincipal Secretary S NarsingRao, Secretary SmitaSabharwal, OSD PriyankaVarghese, Irrigation E-in-CMuralidhar Rao, SEs Shankar,Sudhakar Reddy, RWS E-in-CSri Krupakar and others par-ticipated.

The CM said since SRSP islinked to the KaleswaramProject, there would not be anyproblem to the SRSP Ayucut(lands irrigated under the pro-ject) in future. The Chief

Minister said irrigation watershould be supplied to Armoor,Balkonda and BanswadaAssembly segments throughthe Lifts as is done at Gutpaand Ali Sagar. The CMinstructed the officials from theIrrigation department to getthe survey done and prepareestimates, find out where to put

the Lifts and to what extent ofland water can be supplied inthe villages. Since the govern-ment has decided to fill theSRSP with not less than 90TMC of water, the CM saidwater should be supplied to themaximum extent from theSRSP to the Ayucut.

The Chief Minister said

though tanks and reservoirs inthe state are brimming withwater, but for Singur andNizam Sagar adequate waterdid not reach them. Hence,alternative and temporaryplans should be made for thesupply of water to the villagesunder these two projects. TheCM wanted water should bedrawn from various sources,from HMWS, from Pargi,Komati Banda, SRSP and anyother source and supply to thevillages. In other places, watershould be supplied throughtankers and from the borewells.

He said this problem wouldbe there only for this year andby the next year; water will besupplied from the MallannaSagar to these two projects.Preparations should begin nowso that people will not sufferduring the coming summerseason. The CM also said thatin the combined Nizamabaddistrict, farmers doing shiftingcultivation are facing prob-lems and there are disputesbetween the Forest andRevenue departments. The CMassured that he would visit thecombined Nizamabad districtfor two days next month,would discuss with the localsand solve the issues pertainingto the forest department.During the visit, the CM saidprogrammes for the permanentsupply of irrigation and drink-ing water would also belaunched.

n CM asks officials to prepare plan and supply water for drinking and irrigation purposes

Since SRSP is linked to the Kaleswaram Project, therewould not be any problem to its ayucut

(lands irrigated under the project) in future. —K CHANDRASHEKHAR RAO, Chief Minister

Collectors go the extra mile in acting out their planPNS n KHAMMAM / KOTHAGUDEM

The District Collectors in erst-while Khammam have beenmaking exceptional efforts forthe success of 30-day ActionPlan, proposed by the ChiefMinister K Chandrashekar Raofor development of the villages.The Collectors have beenextensively touring remote vil-lages, educating the villagers onthe importance of the ActionPlan in the overall wellbeing ofthe villages and its residents.

Khammam Collector RVKarnan has toured several vil-lages in Tirumalayapalammandal. He interacted with thelocal officials and residents. Heexplained the residents aboutthe objectives of the 30-dayAction Plan. Cleanliness atindividual level leads to clean-liness at village level, he told thevillagers in an interaction withthem at Tirumalayapalem,Pindiprolu andMohammadapuram villages.

Curiously, Karnan has

inspected the residences check-ing for abandoned water pots,tires, containers, water drums,even the status of sanitationaround the toilets. At a househe picked up an utensil inwhich mosquitoes were breed-ing, showed it to the residentsof the household. At anotherplace when he found an aban-doned tire containing water

and mosquito larvae in it hehimself emptied the water in itas the officials and villagersstood amazed of his action. Headvised the residents not toallow anything that helps mos-quitoes to breed at their hous-es. Karnan felt that there hasbeen active participation ofelected representatives andofficials at field level for the

success of the 30-day ActionPlan. Collective efforts wereneed for chalking out plans andtheir execution as part of yearand five year plans.

"The State would releasefunds based on populationratio. Works identified duringpadayatras have to be execut-ed on war-footing basis involv-ing residents. The villages inKhammam should becomemodel ones in the State" theCollector noted. On the otherhand, Kothagudem CollectorRajat Kumar Saini touredMaoist affected agency vil-lages Kudunur, R Kothagudem,Bodanelli, Kurnavalli and oth-ers in Cherla mandal. Heinspected the works being exe-cuted as part of the ActionPlan. "The 30-day Action Planaims at creating healthy andprospering villages. Priorityhas to be given to sanitation,Haritha Haram and drinkingwater works" Saini advised theofficials adding that the ActionPlan paves the way for devel-opment of the rural areas.

3 suspended, 8 served noticesfor dereliction of dutyPNS n KORUTLA

Jagityal District CollectorSarat during the past 10 daysplaced a panchayat secretaryand two filed assistants undersuspension, served show-cause notices on eight gov-ernment personnel andtransferred a tahsildar forshowing dereliction to dutyin the implementation of 30-day action plan.

Daily, he makes a surprisevisit to one village or theother to study the imple-mentation of the plan. Healso enquires from villagerson the involvement of the vil-lagers and officials in theaction plan implementation.

Four days ago, theCollector placed Vellulla pan-chayat secretary in Metpallimandal. On Tuesday last, he

placed two field assistantsunder suspension and serveda show-cause notice on apanchayat secretary. Hetransferred tahsildar. Thisexplains how serious the dis-trict Collector is in imple-menting the 30-day actionplan. The suspension of threepersonnel in 10 days sentshivers down the spine ofofficials who are taking extraprecautions in implementingthe action plan.

The Collector inspectingthe progress in all mandals toensure there are no lacunae inimplementing the action plan.As a result, the works aregoing on at a brisk place in380 villages of 18 mandals.In 379 villages, 380 standingcommittees have beenappointed and 1,137 co-optedmembers have been deployed.

PNS n CHERLA

Posters and pamphlets byMaoists appeared in manyagency villages in Kothagudemand neighbouring districts onThursday, accusing the BJP ofinstigating communal hatredin Telangana to spread its basein the State.

The Maoist party said theBJP and the Narendra Modigovernment are Hindu fascistsand are resorting to atrocitiesagainst dalits, Adivasis, womenand minorities. The postersappeared in the name of theoutlawed CPI (Maoist) PartyTelangana State Committee.

Prime Minister NarendraModi, claiming to create amodern India by 2023, wasspreading dubious patriotism,fascism and promoting cor-porate forces with a long-range strategy, the pamphletssaid, adding that to suppressMaoists, 'Operation Samadhan'has been launched.

Stating that inflation in thecountry has been making thelives of common people miser-able, the pamphlet said thefaulty policies of the State andCentral governments were beingopposed by students, women,workers, dalits and Adivasisand their agitations are takingthe shape of militant fights.

The Maoists appealed tothe people to organise cele-brations from September 21 toNovember 8 marking the 15th

foundation day of the MaoistParty. The posters and pam-phlets have appeared at Cherlain Kothagudem district, at

Metlagudem and Gunnaramvillages of Wazedu mandal inMulug district, Narsingpetaof Chintoor mandal of EastGodavari district in AndhraPradesh.

'The event holds great sig-nificance as it also marks the50th foundation day of CPI(ML) and MCCI. Grand cele-brations have be conducted atall villages along with meetingsand seminars against Hindufascism'," the posters read.

BJP inciting hatred tocreate base in TS: Maoists

Police on high alertPNS n WARANGAL

Posters depicting the 50thyear of formation of CPIMaoist party appeared in theforest villages of Muluguwhich prompted the police toset their forces on high alert.The posters purportedlyissued by the Telangana statecommittee of CPI Maoistsexhorted the people of theforest villages to celebratethe 50th year of formation ofthe naxalite wing and theywere accompanied by pam-phlets highlighting theimportance and existenceof the Maoist activity in thestate of Telangana.

The party pamphlet calledupon the people to observea week of formation from

September 21 to October 8. Meanwhile, the police put

the previous naxalite bas-tions in north Telanganaunder surveillance on theeve of formation week fete ofthe naxalites. The policeforces operating especiallyin the forest terrain havebeen put on their heels andextensive patrolling was ini-tiated in the wake of the callof the naxalites.

The law enforcers suspectthat the naxalites may takeup their formation week fetein the forest terrain con-necting, Khammam-Karimnagar-Adilabad andWarangal and alerted inter-state border policeforces to take up combingoperation.

SRSP waterbeingpolluted?PNS n BALKONDA

Water in the Sriramsagarproject is changing colour fol-lowing heavy inflows intothe project 20 days agobecause of heavy rains in theupper catchment areas. But,the farmers attribute it to thelocal factories releasing toxicwastes into the project andworried about the prospectsof the crop if their lands areto be irrigated with the pro-ject water.

Drinking water is beingsupplied through MissionBhagiradha and through lift-irrigation schemes throughthe project, they said exhort-ing officials to focus on theissue.

They wanted the officialsto conduct a probe into thewater pollution and savecrops in the ayacut lands.However, project deputy EEJagadish said that it was dueto release of waste into riverGodavari in the upper reach-es of the project. The watercolour is change is an annu-al feature, he added.

Fancy vehiclenumber fetchesRs 5.10 lakh

KCR, Jagan tomeet on Sept ...

PNS n BHONGIR

A bore well trader,Ramchandra Reddy, won thefancy number TS 30D 9999in the online bids placed forhis new BMW car. He placedbid for Rs 5.10 lakh to ownthe number, a record of sortsin the district so far. Hadthere been no competition toget the number, the fancynumber could have been eas-ily taken for Rs 50,000.

Kanukula Venkat Reddy ofBommalaramaram competedwith the bore well traderfrom Puligilla of Valigondamandal to grab the number.Venkat Reddy quoted Rs 3.58lakh to have the number onhis Innova car.

Continued from Page 1

The Chief Ministers are alsoexpected take forward theirplan to divert Godavari waterto Srisailam and NagarjunaSagar in the Krishna basin tohelp meet the irrigation anddrinking water needs of theRayalaseema region in AP aswell as Mahabubnagar,Nalgonda, Ranga Reddy dis-tricts in Telangana. The riverlinkage proposal was mootedby the CMs during their meet-ing at Pragathi Bhavan inMay.

Thereafter, irrigation offi-cials from both the states helda series of meetings to discussthe locations from whereGodavari water could bediverted and the expenditureinvolved in the entire project.

‘Move to give weekly-offs to police failed’PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandraskhar Rao said thatthe state government's attemptto extend weekly-offs to policein Telangana had failed due tovarious reasons and the gov-ernment is now working onevolving a new system that willensure police personnel getbreaks from work periodical-ly. However, the CM did notdisclose the reasons whichfailed the weekly-off system forpolice.

The TRS government soonafter coming to power in 2014had taken a policy decision toextend weekly-offs to policepersonnel in state for the firsttime. However, it could not beimplemented during the pastfive years.

Intervening during theQuestion Hour and answeringa supplementary question inthe Legislative Assembly onThursday , the Chief Ministeradmitted that the governmentexamined a proposal for insti-tuting weekly offs for the policedepartment but that was foundto be unworkable.

The CM stated that the theDirector General of Police(DGP) was examining the bestpossible way to provide breaks

that can ensure some relieffrom the highly stressful workthat police personnel perform.

"This is a justifiable ques-tion. It is only in namesake thattheir duties are meant for eighthours at a time. They are onduty every day and night.Anyone who works under suchstress levels cannot work effec-tively for long. Society shouldnot condone such high levelsof stress at work," the ChiefMinster said.

He also said that theTelangana government wasthe only one in the countrythat pays home guards Rs20,000 a month, the highest inIndia.

KCR complimented thepolice for the peaceful GaneshNimmajjanam procession ear-

lier this month and said it wasnot an easy achievement to doso year after year. Hyderabad,he said, has a great future. "Itis an affectionate society andwelcoming."

On the under constructionpolice command control cen-tre in the city, he said the facil-ity represents a fusion of tech-nologies. "Though it is calledthe police command controlcentre, it is much more thanthat. Every governmentdepartment will have space init. It should be ready by thisDecember or January next," hesaid, adding that officials at thecentre will be able to monitorhappenings live, take steps forimmediate intervention intimes of natural disasters or forproviding relief efforts.

l Govt to evolve a new system to give cops break: CM

n The TRS governmentsoon after coming topower in 2014 hadtaken a policy decisionto extend weekly-offs topolice personnel instate for the first time.However, it could notbe implemented in thelast five years

Mallanasagar tobe a tourist spotPNS n HYDERABAD

The Mallanasagar reservoir,part of the mega KaleshwaramLift Irrigation Scheme, will bedeveloped as a tourism desti-nation, Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao has said.The under construction reser-voir in Siddipet district canstore 50 TMCft of water and isone of the largest artificialwater bodies to be construct-ed under the Kaleshwaramproject.

The Chief Minister, whoagreed to a proposal to developMallannasagar as a tourist des-tination, asked TourismMinister V Srinivas Goud tolook into the issue and makeappropriate plans. Replying toa question in the Assembly on

SRSP revitalization, the ChiefMinister said the governmentsof the past had ignored SRSP.But with water fromKaleshwaram project reachingSRSP and the brilliant idea bythe late irrigation expertVidyasagar Rao to use the SRSPflood flow canal also as a reser-voir means not only assured irri-gation to the seven lakh acres ofSRSP ayacut but also to addi-tional ayacut when other com-ponents of the Kaleshwaramproject are ready, he said.

Target set forreleasingfishlingsPNS n HYDERABAD

Minister Talasai SrinivasaYadav on Thursday said thatthe government targeted torelease 80.57 crore fishlingsinto 21,756 water bodies andasked the fisheries depart-ment officials to achieve thetarget by September 30.

Addressing officialsthrough videoconference,t h eM i n i s t e rsaid thatrelease off i s h l i n g scommenced onSeptember 16 by releasingthem into Kaleshwaramwaters. So far, 19.38 crorefishlings were released into5,958 water bodies.

He asked the officials tonot to compromise on qual-ity and size of the fishlingsand involve elected people'srepresentatives and fisher-men in releasing the fishlings.

Metro cheaperthan RTC AC ...

Youth thrashed and burnt...Continued from Page 1

According to locals,Anjaneyulu and his fatherwere known to allegedly prac-tise witchcraft, and Lakshmi'sfamily members always sus-pected the duo for Lakshmi'spoor health.

“Anjaneyulu and Lakshmiwere neighbours, and for the pastfive years Lakshmi was sufferingill health and availing treatmentat OGH. However, she died onTuesday, following which her

funeral was conducted onWednesday," police said.

On Wednesday, Anjaneyulureportedly came to attendLakshmi's funeral. Furiousover his presence, Lakshmi'sbrother-in-law Balram andother family members alleged-ly attacked Anjaneyulu withaxes and sickles, and furtherthrew him into Lakshmi'sfuneral pyre. Police learntabout the incident around 9pm the same day. Subsequentlythey began their investigation

and cordoned off the crimescene. Soon, Anjaneyulu'sbrother also approached theShamirpet police station claim-ing that his brother was miss-ing. On Thursday morning,dog squad, CLUES team and apolice team led by DCPPadmaja Reddy visited thegraveyard. A bloodstained spotin the graveyard and recovereda handkerchief from the sceneby the police. They also col-lected bones from the pyre andsent them for forensic analysis.

Clearing the air over cloudyland acquisition process inthe Old City, KTR said,"Government is committed toMetro in Old City. In SultanBazar, based on traders'request, the right of way hasbeen reduced to 65 metersfrom 100 meters. Likewise, inBadichowdi, it was reduced to80 meters.

“There are no changesbeing made in existing align-ment," he observed, whiledismissing claims of align-ment changes and need foradditional land acquisition.

KTR said, "No deviationsare made from the concessionagreement done in 2010under the Congress regime.The right of way is providedby the State government with66 stations and 3 depots on269 acres of land.”

Man held forcheating doctorof Rs 1.40 crorePNS n HYDERABAD

A 57-year-old man was arrested by theWhite Collar Offences team of Hyderabadpolice for cheating a doctor to the tune ofRs 1.40 crore on the pretext of securingorders for supply of the agricultural farminputs under PMKVY scheme.

The arrested accused was identified asChamarthy Pattabhiraman alias GuruPattabhi Raman Chamarthy, a formeremployee of TATA Fertilisers and residentof from Delhi. He was apprehended andproduced in a city court following a man-hunt in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

The accused,along withother accom-plices, cheatedDr GNagasaina Rao,60, a cardio-vascular-tho-racic surgeon,in 2017 withfalse promiseof securingorders for sup-ply of the farminputs underPMKVY to the

West Bengal gov-ernment, police said.

Accused Chamarthy bought the mater-ial from a private firm in Mumbai and cre-ated two fictitious orders in the namessenior West Bengal government officials ofDr Paritosh Bhattachharyya and PijushKanti Pramanick by forging their signa-tures. He gave copies of the letters toNagasaina Rao and obtained orders for thesupply of goods. Chamarthy collected Rs1.40 crore from Nagasaina Rao andabsconded, police said.

Basing on a complaint from DrNagasaina Rao, a case was registered forcheating and forgery. Investigations by CCSinspector K Manoj Kumar revealed thatChamarthy had cheated several people inthe past whom police are trying to identi-fy and locate.

PNS n HYDERABAD

About 100 large business hous-es and 200 MSME's have sub-mitted expression of interest toTSIIC for establishing units inthe Pharma City to come up atMucherla in Ranga Reddy dis-trict. Minister of Industries KTRama Rao said this in theAssembly on Thursday.

He said these companiesare interested in establishingunits across the value chain ofpharmaceuticals includingR&D, APIs, formulations, bio-logical manufacturing etc,which will boost job creation.Responding to a question inAssembly, he said, "HyderabadPharma City is proposed to bebuilt on 19,333 acres inYacharam, Kandukur andKadthal mandals of RangaReddy district. After the pro-ject implementation is com-pleted, it is expected to gener-ate investments of Rs 64,000crore and employ 5,60,000people directly and indirectly."

The infrastructure facilitiesat the project will be developedat an estimated cost of Rs16,784 crore. Facilities thatwill form the technical infra-structure include CommonEffluent Treatment Plant(CETP), sewerage treatmentplant (STP), district heatingand cooling systems (DCS andDHS), integrated solid wastemanagement, waste to energyplant, command centre forICT-IOT based monitoringand environmental monitor-ing. The government propos-es to build physical infra-structure like approach roads,internal roads with storm waterdrains, power supply, watersupply, street lighting andwarehousing. This apart, socialinfrastructure includingschools, universities, hospitalsand other services are alsoenvisaged in the Pharma Cityproject.

RIMEORNERC

3 die in Jangaonroad mishap HYDERABAD: Three peopledied when their car hit a vannear Devaruppula policestation in Jangaon onThursday morning. Thedeceased were identified asPenugonda Ganesh, 60,Penugonda Sukanya, 38, anddriver MD Nazeer, all residentsof Mahabubabad town. Twoothers sustained injuries in themishap. The DCM van driverwas driving in a rash mannerwhich may have caused thecollision, said police. The vandriver is on the run. A casewas booked under section304-A (death by negligence) ofthe IPC and the bodies wereshifted for postmortemexamination.

Car turns turtle asdriver takes selfieWARANGAL: In his obsessionfor selfies, a young mandriving a car caused a majoraccident in Eturnagaram onThursday evening. Police said,Sanjeev from Hyderabad, wasreturning home with fourfriends after a visit to theBogatha waterfalls. He tried totake a selfie at a blind curveand lost control of the carwhich careened and turnedturtle. Five persons, includingSanjeev, Saichand, Sreekanth,Tejaswini and Anupama wereinjured in the accident. Thecondition of Anupama andTejaswini is reported to becritical. All were admitted inEturnagaram area hospital.

Class II studentmowed down by carHYDERABAD: A class IIstudent was mowed down bya speeding car at Kukatpallyon Thursday. Police saidseven-year-old girl, P Rishitha,was returning home fromschool when she met with theaccident. The mishapoccurred atAVB Puramarea inKukatpallypolicestationlimits. Thedeceased,who studiedin St RitaHigh School,was thedaughter ofSrinivasa Rao, 35, a mason.Her elder sister, Jhanvi,studies in class III. Rishithaand Jhanvi were returninghome from school onThursday evening. WhileRishitha was crossing theroad, she slipped and felldown. A Bolero car, bearingthe number TS 08 UD 8718,registered on the name of oneNeeladri Temburu, ran over thegirl, who was still on theground. She received serioushead injuries. Police said thegirl succumbed while beingshifted to a hospital. A casewas booked against the driverHemachalam under section304-A (death by negligence) ofthe IPC and a probe waslaunched.

FOR SUBSCRIPTION, RENEWALS AND COMPLAINTS ABOUT DELAYED PAPER DELIVERY, PLEASE CONTACT 040-23322341-43

Participants gather with their notes at the rural development event inaugurated by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan atNational Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) in the city on Thursday

RURAL CCIRCLES EENTHRAL

PNS n HYDERABAD

A highly decomposed bodywas found on the premisesof Tollywood actorAkkineni Nagarjuna's farm-house in Papi Reddy Gudain Rangareddy district onWednesday night. Policerecovered the body andstarted an investigation.

The deceased was iden-tified as 32-year-old CPandu, with the help of anID card and an Aadhaarcard found beside the body,Shamshabad DCP PrakashReddy said, adding that hedied by consuming poisonaround October 2015.

The place the body wasfound was a piece of agri-

cultural land spread over 40acres that the actor hadbought. It had remainedunused for several years.Nagarjuna had sent some

farm workers there to readythe land for organic farm-ing. The workers whoreached the place noticedfoul smell emanating from

an abandoned building.When they entered thebuilding, they noticed theskeletal remains of a body,which was completelydecomposed. Theyinformed the VillageRevenue Officer who alert-ed the Keshampet police ofCyberabad. Police reachedthe spot with a dog squadand CLUES team and col-lected forensic evidence.

According to case details,Pandu's family owned aland next to the one belong-ing to the actor. He wasclose to one of his threebrothers, Kumar, who died

of a kidney ailment in 2015. Soon after his brother's

death, Pandu slipped intodepression and would tell hisfriends and family that hewanted to kill himself. InOctober 2015, he went miss-ing after writing a letter say-ing that the property in hisname should go to his moth-er Jangamma. No missingperson's case was lodged bythe family, sources said.Pandu reportedly consumedpoison and killed himself.The police have filed a caseof suspicious death onThursday and shifted thebody for postmortem.

Man had poisoned himself four years ago, say police

PNS n HYDERABAD

Vehicle riders in the city heaved a sighof relief after the Telangana govern-ment decided not to implement theharsh new motor vehicles Act whichprescribed back-breaking fines ontraffic rule violators. The governmentopted against implementing the Acton the grounds of lack of feasibility.

The big penalties, however, wouldhave meant windfall for the policedepartment, with estimates sayingrevenue could have jumped from thecurrent collection of Rs 170 croreannually to Rs 500 crore. But that wasnot to be. The government was notinclined to implement the new rulestaking into consideration the groundrealities.

The police, on their part, plan toremain on even higher alert so as notto let anybody violate rules at will in

the absence of harsh penalties and getaway scot-free.

Many locals are of the view that thetraffic police would have gotten sobusy hauling up violators and col-lecting fines, it wouldn't have foundtime to regulate traffic.

With regard to enforcing trafficrules, police in the Rachakondacommissionerate recently set anexample for the other two --Hyderabad and Cyberabad commis-sionerates -- to follow. TheRachakonda police went aboutenforcing rules with ingenuity; itmade the violators on two-wheelerspurchase helmets and offered assis-tance in acquiring other vehicle-relat-ed documents, instead of imposingfines on them. This saved the viola-tors from paying fines and helpedthem get the necessary papers and getrule violation-proof from then on.

The deceasedwas identified as32-year-old CPandu, with thehelp of an ID cardand an Aadhaarcard foundbeside the body

Heavy fines avoided, butno let-up in police vigil

RACHAKONDA

Total cases

7,67,699Helmet defaults

5,76,130

CYBERABAD

Total cases

11,97435Helmet defaults

6,91,007

TRAFFIC RULES VIOLATION IN THE FIRST SIXMONTHS OF 2019 IN FIGURES

n A majority of the casespertain to the helmet rule.

But Rachakondapolice’s modusoperandi cantruly help reducetraffic violationsand therebypenalties paid by

offenders.

Accused Chamarthy Pattabhiraman

PNS n HYDERABAD

A debate is raging over whoshould inspect vehicles - aconstable or a police officer -in social media.

Who is authorised toinspect the vehicles? Twovideos of vehicle riders object-ing to a constable checkingvehicles have gone viral on theInternet.

In one of the videos, vehi-cle riders are seen arguing withconstables for inspecting theirvehicles saying he is not autho-rised to do so. At the sametime, a case is filed against aman for preventing a policeconstable from discharginghis duty.

The rules say that an officerof the rank of SI or above hasthe right to inspect vehicles.Moreover, the vehicles docu-ments should be inspectedonly in the presence of officers.Neither police constables norhome guards have the right todirectly inspect vehicles.

People can complain topolice higher-ups if the rulesare violated. If videographicevidence is produced, pun-ishment can also be awardedto erring policemen.

In Telangana, there is acashless system of collecting

traffic fines. No police officercan collect money on the pre-text of inspecting vehicles. Ifan officer demands cash, thesame can be reported in acomplaint. Action can betaken against an officer foundguilty.

Under Section 41 of CrPC,persons moving under suspi-cious circumstances and theirvehicles and equipment can bechecked by a police officerwithout permission from any-one. In such situations, evenpolice constables can checkpeople and their vehicles.

Police officials say that whileconstables can't check vehicleson their own in normal cir-cumstances, the members ofpublic can't misbehave withthem in any manner either. Onthe other hand, if a police per-sonnel behaves rudely withanyone affecting their rights,a complaint can be lodgedagainst such acts.

100 big businesses eyeingstake in Pharma City

Mega industrial park spread over 19,333 acrescoming up at Mucherla in RR, KTR tells Assembly

Hyd to boost healthcare,life sciences sectors: EtelaHealth Minister tells entrepreneurs to use TS i-Pass, get permit for industries in 15 daysPNS n HYDERABAD

Hyderabad is the largest man-ufacturer of drugs in India,and Telangana governmentwill provide have 24x7 powersupply, clean water supplyand boost the confidence ofinvestors in pharma, healthcare and life sciences R&Dsector, state Health MinisterEtela Rajender said onThursday. He was speaking attrade show 'Analytica AnaconIndia and India Lab Expo'organised in Hyderabad.

Minister Etela told theinvestors and businesses that"Hyderabad is the safest placein India" and they must seethe opportunity to investhere. "Use TS i-Pass and geta permit for your industrieswithin 15 days," he said.

"The state government willgive you subsidy in electrici-ty and tax rebate. We alsohave 24x7 clean water andelectricity supply as well,"added the health minister.

The Telangana governmentplans to set up a Pharma Cityat Sultanpur, on the lines ofHiTec-City for IT, to facilitateexpansion of existing phar-maceutical and bulk drugmanufacturing companies.

"We have allotted 400 acres

of land for the construction ofa new Pharma city. An addi-tional 300 acres will also beallocated," Etela said.

Over the years, Hyderabadhas emerged as the pharma-ceutical hub of the country

and has come to be known asthe 'Genome Valley of India'.

There are about 800 phar-ma, biotech, and med-techcompanies in Hyderabad,making it one of the largestlife sciences hub in Asia. Italso account for 35-40 percentof the national pharma pro-duction, the minister said.

Analytica Anancon Indiaand India Lab Expo is a befit-ting stage for the largest phar-ma market in the country,said Bhupinder Singh, CEO ofMesse Muenchen India.

The three-day conferencewill cover latest developmentsin life sciences and pharmaresearch aimed at encourag-ing pharmaceutical researchin Hyderabad.

Etela Rajender speaks at trade show ‘Analytica Anacon India and India Lab Expo'

Over the years,Hyderabad hasemerged as thepharmaceuticalhub of the countryand has come tobe known as the‘Genome Valley of India'

P Rishitha

Petrol, diesel prices risePNS n HYDERABAD

Petrol price increased inHyderabad by 27 paise anddiesel by 24 paise onWenesday, in wake of thesurge in crude prices afterlast week's drone attacks onSaudi Arabia's oil facilities.

The latest increase is thebiggest single-day hike sincethe July 5 Budget presented inParliament that raised rates byalmost Rs 2.50 a litre due to an

increase in excise duty onfuel. The currentprice of petrol inHyderabad is Rs

76.99 at Indian Oilpetrol bunks andRs 77.00 at Bharat

Petroleum bunks,while diesel prices were at Rs71.75. "We hope that the gov-ernment reduces excise duty,”said Susheel, general managerof Bharat Petrol bunk inKhairatabad.

HMDA todevelop 16 urban

lung spaces

HYDERABAD: The HMDA isdeveloping forest blocks at 16locations in its jurisdiction as 'urbanlung spaces'. These are expected to becompleted by March 2020.

Responding to question in Assembly,MA&UD minister KTR said the majorwork involves construction ofprotection walls, which is in progress.The project will cost of Rs 96.64 crore.

Who can check vehicles,constable or officer?

Debate rageson SM; rulessay only officers can

Body found on Nagarjuna's property

PNS n HYDERABAD

Hospitals across Telangana con-tinue to be overcrowded withpatients, including those withsymptoms of dengue, even asthe state government remainedin a denial mode and has evengagged the private hospitalsfrom giving out the numbers ofdengue patients on the pretextof avoiding a health scare.

Hundreds of people suffer-ing from viral fever, malariaand seasonal diseases and alsoshowing dengue symptoms areundergoing treatment at majorgovernment-run hospitals andprivate healthcare facilities inHyderabad and other parts ofthe state.

Hyderabad's Fever Hospital,popularly known as Sir RonaldRoss Institute of Tropical andCommunicable Diseases, isteeming with patients includ-ing many with suspecteddengue symptoms.

A similar situation is seen inOsmania Hospital, GandhiHospital, Niloufer Hospital forchildren and MaternityHospital Petlaburj -- all themajor government-run hos-pitals in Hyderabad which getpatients from across the state.The infrastructure and medicalstaff are proving inadequate todeal with the huge number ofpatients. In some hospitals,two patients are being accom-modated on one bed. Somepatients are also being treatedon the floor.

As many as 3,000 cases ofdengue were reported in thestate during the current month.This has taken the total num-ber of cases reported sinceJanuary to 4,500. While unof-ficially 56 dengue deaths have

been reported across the state,the government claims thatonly one person died ofdengue.

It was only two days ago thatthe health department con-firmed the first death due todengue. A 35-year-old manfrom Medchal district on theoutskirts of Hyderabad died ata private hospital.

Officials said a committeewas going through the recordsto check whether 20 other sus-pected deaths were due todengue.

The spurt in dengue caseshas sent panic and triggereddemands from the oppositionfor declaring medical emer-gency.

However, the health author-ities have put gag orders on theprivate hospitals, blaming them

for creating a scare by declar-ing dengue deaths.

A committee comprisingsenior health department offi-cials were set up to look intothe suspected dengue deathcases. They are verifying theconfirmatory tests done by thehospitals.

The panel was constitutedfor death audit after allegationsthat instead of confirmingdengue on the basis of MAC-ELISA tests, many hospitalsand labs are doing rapid diag-nostic tests and giving falsepositive cases.

Officials made it clear that ifa dengue patient suffered fromany co-morbid condition suchas hypertension, or if MAC-ELISA test is not done, such acase will not be declared asdengue death.

"Of the seasonal fever, 99 percent cases are of the viral feverand less than one per cent casesof fever reported were diag-nosed as dengue and othersuch fevers," Health MinisterEtela Rajender told the stateLegislative Assembly early thisweek.

He rejected the demand ofthe opposition parties todeclare medical emergency inthe state. He slammed them forcreating an unnecessary alarmon the issue. "The oppositionmust stop creating unnecessaryfear among the people," he said.

He urged the opposition tocooperate with the govern-ment in checking the spread ofthe seasonal diseases by sensi-tising people about the causesof viral fevers and measures toprevent them.

The Health Minister said thegovernment had taken severalmeasures to tackle the currentsituation. He said the leaves ofthe doctors have been can-celled.

Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) has taken up mea-sures to control the mosquitomenace. As poor sanitation inhomes is identified as the mainreason for breeding of denguecausing mosquitoes, theauthorities are running a pub-lic awareness campaign.

The opposition parties,however, have targeted thegovernment for what they callhiding the facts and mis-leading people. They allegedthat there is a shortage ofmedicine, lack of diagnosticfacilities and beds in govern-ment hospitals.

"The situation is bad. Thegovernment has failed to tack-le the situation. There are noproper facilities in governmenthospitals, while private hospi-tals are fleecing the poorpatients," said Congress partyleader Mallu BhattiVikramarka.

ON THE RISEn Hundreds of people suffering

from viral fevers areundergoing treatment atmajor government-runhospitals and privatehealthcare facilities

n Hyd's Fever Hospital isteeming with patientsincluding many withsuspected dengue symptoms

n As many as 3,000 cases ofdengue were reported in thestate during Sept

n This has taken the totalnumber of cases reportedsince January to 4,500

n Officials said a committeewas going through therecords to check whether 20other suspected deaths weredue to dengue

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

Government hospitals in thedistrict are witnessing hugerush of patients for the last oneweek following the spurt in viralfevers in the forest villages ofPeddapalli and Manthani. Daily,over 200 patients are visiting thePHCs in the district. The caseis the same in Huzurabadregion of Karimnagar district,

Dharmapuri region ofPeddapalli area and Siricilladistrict.

Following the rise in num-ber of patients, the officialshave increased the OP time inmany PHCs. Though there isa paucity of funds and short-age of equipment in the PHCs,the treatment and testing facil-ity was up to the mark inmany PHCs as per villagers.

Spurt in viral fevers in Karimnagar dist

Over 3,000 cases of dengue reported across state in Sept so far

K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

Though the ElectionCommission is yet to announcethe by-election to theHuzurnagar Assembly con-stituency, the issue is alreadycreating disparities among theTelangana Congress leaders.However, Revanth Reddy'sstatement, proposing ChamalaKiran Reddy's name as the can-didate for the Huzurnagar seatis uniting the Nalgonda districtCongress leaders.

On the other hand,Sangareddy MLA T JaggaReddy said that internal rum-blings are very common inCongress party. However, theruling TRS is cashing in on theopportunity. The TRS allegedthat the Congress party raisedcurtains to the drama in thename of 'candidate' forHuzurnagar by-election. PowerMinister G Jagdish Reddy saidthat Padmavathi will certainlyloss election if TPCC presidentN Uttam Kumar Reddy fieldshis wife.

On Thursday, Bhongir MPKomatireddy Venkat Reddy,

while having chitchat withscribes, has condemned thestatement of Malkajgiri MP ARevanth Reddy. He made itclear that Uttam PadmavathiReddy is only suitable candi-date for Huzurnagar seat. "Idon't know the name suggest-ed by Revanth Reddy forHuzurnagar by-election. Notonly me, but also senior leaderK Jana Reddy doesn't knowsthe name suggested by RevanthReddy. We are in politics forthe last 30 years. Will the partyfield a new candidate by object-ing us? We don't advices of theleaders, who joined partyrecently. We don't want otherdistrict leaders to interfere inour district politics. What is theneed for TPCC working pres-ident to interfere in Nalgondapolitics? Congress will registervictory in Huzurnagar. Thesenior leaders are wishing meto become the PCC Chief. Wewill work for the sake of partyeven if I don't get PCC chiefposition. Jana Reddy, Uttamand me got united. We joinedhands though we have differ-ences all these days. We areseniors and we will discuss the

issue. We will strive for the vic-tory of Padmavathi. The con-stituency people too are wish-ing Padmavathi to contest theby-elections".

On asked whetherKomatireddy Rajagopal Reddywill stay in the Congress,Venakat Reddy asked thescribes to pose the question tothe former in this regard."Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao's brother'sdaughter Regulapati Ramyaraois in BJP though KCR is inTRS, similarl is the case withmy brother", he said.

Rumblings common inCongress, says Jagga

Responding to theHuzurnagar by-election issue,Sangareddy MLA Jagga Reddysaid that internal rumblings arevery common in the Congress."The reason for rumblings is dif-ferences of opinions. It is verycommon in all political parties.In general, these sorts of differ-ences will not visible in region-al parties and comes out only innational parties. The seniorleaders have to maintain restraintregarding issues like Huzurnagarby-election," he said.

"There is no single hero inCongress but Rahul Gandhi isour leader. At constituencylevel, the local leaders areheroes", he opined. He said thatsenior leaders Jana Reddy,Uttam and Komatireddy broth-ers are dictating Congress inerstwhile Nalgonda district.Huzurnagar constituency isUttam's own constituency.Uttam has freedom in selectingthe candidate for by-election.However, party high commandwill finalise the party candi-date's name.

HUZURNAGAR BY-ELECTION

Revanth's comments unite Nalgonda Cong leadersUTTAM’S SPOUSE PADMAVATHI RIGHT CANDIDATE FOR HUZURNAGAR SEAT, SAYS KOMATIREDDY

Uttam's wife will facedefeat: Jagadish

In contrast to Congressleaders, ruling party TRSleaders alleged that UttamKumar Reddy started dra-mas afraid of their defeat inHuzurnagar by-election.

During an interactionwith the scribe at his cham-bers in Assembly lobbies,Power Minister G JagdishReddy said that it looksUttam made Revanth tospeak like that as it is cer-tain that Padmavathi willlose elections if he fields her.

"Uttam's mental condi-tion is not good and hencehe is speaking like. Uttam isstating that the police are fil-ing cases against Congressleaders in Huzurnagarthough there are no casesagainst them", he said.Jagdish further said that onevillage, which is 100%Congress village, inHuzurnagar became 100%TRS. With this effect, Uttamhas lost his mental condition.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Minister for IT and IndustriesKT Rama Rao on Thursdayhas announced that the dis-tribution of BathukammaSarees would begin fromSeptember23 across the state.He said that the Telanganagovernment has spent Rs 715crore for Bathukamma sareesin three years in Sircilla.

"Bathukamma sarees arenot uniforms. So, this year, thesarees are made in 100 vari-eties in 10 different designsand in 10 different colors," theMinister said. He said the dis-tribution of sarees in each con-stituency center would beopened by MLAs, MLCs, MPs,Judge Chairman and localcorporations. All over thestate, women over the age of18 and white ration card-holders are being given 1.02crore sarees.

"The state government isspending Rs 313 crore for thisinitiative this year. WithBathukamma sarees, govern-ment is empowering PowerLoom Workers and thou-

sands of families have beendirectly benefited byBatukamma sarees. Using26,000 power looms employ-ing 16,000 workers, theweavers have generatedincome of Rs 16,000 to Rs20,000 per month". Around10 lakh sarees with 9 yardshad been made while remain-ing 92 lakh sarees with 6yards. Total 102 lakh sareesaccount to 670 lakh meters ofcloth. On an average, 8 lakhmeters were produced perday. By Wednesday, 75 lakhsarees have been sent to thedistricts. Cost of each sareecomes down to Rs 280 andadditional GST. This year,the sarees are ready to be dis-tributed in all 100 varieties in10 different designs and 10different colors.

Sailaja Ramayyar, Director,Handloom and TextileDepartment, said, "We havebeen distributing saris for thelast three years and are mak-ing saris every year to improvethe design and quality. Alongwith the saree, the blouse willalso be provided".

Bathukamma sareesdistribution from Sep 23

PNS n HYDERABAD

Governor Dr TamilsaiSoundararajan on Thursdaycalled upon the people topractice Yoga that will help notonly tone the body but alsohelps infuse positive energy.

Inaugurating the yogaclasses on Thursday morningat the Samskruthi Bhavanon the Raj Bhavan premisesfor the staff and their familymembers, the Governor feltthat of late, with the tech-nology developing fast, peo-ple began neglecting thephysical exercises, particu-larly yoga and even morning

walk. Physical fitness shouldbe the style of living of every-one, the Governor saidadding that practicising reg-ular yoga is the only way tokeep oneself fit. "Let us allrespond to the 'Fit India' callgiven by the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi," she saidadding that yoga has becomeher regular practice.

The Advisor to theGovernor, APVN Sarma, theSecretary to the Governor,Surendra Mohan, other offi-cers of the Raj Bhavan, staffmembers and the members oftheir families attended theyoga classes.

Practice yoga,Guv asks people

Azharuddincontests for HCApresident post PNS n HYDERABAD

Former India cricket team cap-tain Mohammad Azharuddinon Thursday filed nomina-tion papers for the HyderabadCricket Association presiden-tial elections to be held onSeptember 27.

Two years ago, he also filedthe nomination papers butwere rejected as the HCAfound them to be not in order.As he could not give satisfac-tory answer on lifting of banimposed on him because of thematch-fixing controversy.

Speaking after filing thepapers, he said his objective isto take the game of cricket for-ward. He wants to keep theHyderabad Cricket above allwith the help of advice fromeveryone. He also stressed ongrooming the district-levelcricket even further.

Dengue patients throng TS hospitals

PNS n HYDERABAD

BJP president K Laxman firedon Chief Minister KChandrashekar Rao saying thelatter has been cheatingSingareni employees by tellinglies in Assembly. Laxmanalleged, for the first time in thehistory of Singareni Collieries,the mining PSU is facing afinancial crisis, due to themismanagement of TRS gov-ernment.

"Singareni Collieries hasalways been a profitable com-pany. But due to the misman-agement of Telangana gov-ernment, Singareni Collieriesis in a severe financial crisisnow. Government has collect-ed about Rs 13,105 crore fromSingareni Collieries over thepast five years but has not paidback. While SingareniCollieries turnover is about Rs27,000 crore, the state govern-ment is due to more than Rs10,000 crore. Due to the mis-management of state govern-ment, Singareni which is aprofitable company has gotinto a position, where it isunable to pay even salaries andbonuses to workers," he said.

"TSGenco is due Rs 8000crore to Singareni Collieriesbut the government is not

taking any action. The stategovernment is due Rs 1200crore to Singareni ThermalPower Station at Jaipur.Government is also lootingSingareni by buying powerfrom Jaipur power plant at amuch lesser cost of Rs 3.42 perunit, while the same govern-ment is paying more than Rs7 to private power plants. Evenafter buying power at cheaperprice, the government is notpaying dues. While the stategovernment is pushingSingareni Collieries into asevere financial crisis on oneside, KCR has been cheatingSinagreni workers by sayingthat government will give 28percent bonus. KCR shouldincrease the bonus to 30 per-cent as 49 percent of the bonuswill be paid by Centre alone,"further said K Laxman.

Laxman came down heavi-

ly on CM saying the latter hasbetrayed Singareni workers ongiving jobs to dependents andeven diverted Rs 1600 Crore inthe name of 'district mineralfunds' from SingareniCollieries to state government.Laxman stressed that even topay the bonus, company has togo for fresh loans, due to theirresponsible management bystate government.

"As KCR's daughter Kavithaheaded Telangana BogguGhani Karmika Sangham, CMKCR gave several promises toSingareni workers during tradeunion unions elections. But hasfailed to implement them,” hefurther said.

Govt's mismanagement pushedSCCL into crisis, says Laxman

While SingareniCollieries turnover isabout Rs 27,000

crore, the state governmentis due to more than Rs10,000 crore. Due to themismanagement of stategovernment, Singareni whichis a profitable company hasgot into a position, where it isunable to pay even salariesand bonuses to workers

— K LAXMAN, TS BJP ppresident

Jagga’s meetingwith Harishcreates sensation

After the meeting, Jagga toldscribes that it was in connectionwith the development of his con-stituency. "I met Harish Rao after14 years. I spoke to Harish Rao forthe sake of my constituency peo-ple. Harish Rao responded posi-tively," Jagga observed.

However, hawks say there ismore to it than meets the eye inthe crucial meeting. Doubts areserious among those sectionsthat believe that it was HarishRao who had obstructed JaggaReddy from joining the TRSafter the Assembly elections. Fora while, Jagga Reddy was prais-ing Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao and his sonIT Minister KT Ramarao, whilespitting fire at Harish Rao.

Jagga's long-standing grousehas been that Harish Rao did'injustice' to the people ofSangareddy by diverting Singurwaters when the latter worked asIrrigation Minister. Jagga calledit 'water theft' without the knowl-edge of the Chief Minister. Hehas slammed Harish Rao sever-al times, accusing the latter ofresorting to "blackmail" politics.Jagga alleged that Harish hadtried to join Congress with thehelp of Congress leader Dr KVPRamachandra Rao in 2008.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Confederation of RealEstate DevelopersAssociation of India(CREDAI) Telanganaannounced its new officebearers for the period 2019to 2021, who will beresponsible for spear-heading and strengtheningthe Credai initiatives inTelangana and support thedevelopment of the sectorin the region.

The team will be led byG Ram Reddy, ChRamchandra Reddy,President & D MuraliKrishna Reddy, president-elect, E Premsagar Reddyas Secretary, K IndrasenaReddy, G Ajay Kumar, CJagan Mohan , VMadhusudhan Reddy asvice presidents, and GopalPancharia, Pallerla Raju, YSaideswar Rao, as jointsecretaries and BPanduranga Reddy as trea-surer.

The new team set theagenda by announcing anincreased focus onbuilders unity to promotethe activities in the chap-ters of CREDAI Telangana

along with the focus onconsumer satisfaction andadherence to ethical stan-dards of operations in realestate industry as the keyobjectives for this year.

The real estate sector inTelangana has witnessedremarkable progress sincethe formation of the state.The contribution ofCREDAI Telangana hasalways been immensewith their key focus onconsumer satisfaction andimportance on adherenceto ethical building stan-dards, initiatives for skilldevelopment for the con-struction workers, waterconservation and HarithaHaram and the adoptionof Green Building

Concept in the projects bymembers.

Speaking on the occa-sion G Ram Reddy,Chairman of CREDAITelangana said, "We hadan interesting real estatejourney in the state sinceits formation in 2014. Thereal estate sector was lag-ging behind the rest of thecountry; however, due toproactive policies and ini-tiatives by the state gov-ernment, the real estatesector in Hyderabad &rest of the state is showingpositive growth and lead-ing the country both interms of absorption ofoffice spaces and sales ofthe properties. We hopethe same to continue."

‘State realty sectormarching ahead'

KCR announcesRs 1L bonus...

It is a proud moment for all of us,when the SCCL fared better than theCoal India in almost all parametersrelated to the coal management in thecountry," the Chief Minister said.

"Our government feels that thesweat that each and every SCCLworker shed in creating the nationalwealth, often coming out of jaws ofdeath, is no way inferior to the sac-rifices of our own army personnelfighting at the borders," he added.

He recalled that in the unitedAndhra Pradesh, Singareni workerswere getting meagre bonus. Thebonus was only Rs 13,540 in 2013-14.

Onion prices hitnew high

Some unscrupulous traders havehoarded onions in large quantities, sens-ing market trends. There are many spe-cial godowns to store onions for days onend. However, when the supplies to themain market dwindle, traders bide theirtime to bring stocks from the godownsto the market at the opportune momentand sell it at a higher place, making akilling. The common people, who feelthe pinch as prices of onions go throughthe roof, are hoping that officials wouldconduct raids and help stabilize prices.

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

Will create newparadise in Kashmir: ModiNASHIK: Blaming the Congressfor the plight of Kashmiris fordecades, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Thursdaycalled for making efforts tocreate a "new paradise" in thevalley. Launching the BJP's pollcampaign for the next month'sMaharashtra Assemblyelections, Modi also said that alot of efforts are being madefrom across the border tofoment violence in Jammu andKashmir. "We have to create anew paradise (in Kashmir)...hug each Kashmiri," he said."Cattle don't vote," Modi said oncriticism that his government'sprogramme to vaccinate 50crore livestock is a politicalmove. The national animaldisease control programme isaimed at eradicating foot andmouth disease and brucellosisin livestock and vaccinatingover 50 crore livestock,including cattle, buffalo, sheep,goats and pigs against foot andmouth disease.

INX Media: Courtextends custody ofChidambaram till Oct 3

Chinmayanand case:Priyanka slams BJP,cops for 'negligence'NEW DELHI: Congress leaderPriyanka Gandhi Vadraslammed the BJP governmentand the police in Uttar Pradeshon Thursday over theChinmayanand case, sayingthey were repeating the"negligence" shown and"protection" given to theaccused in the Unnao rapecase. Her allegations came aday after the student, who haslevelled rape charges againstformer Union minister SwamiChinmayanand, threatened toset herself on fire if theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)leader was not arrestedimmediately. The student alsoasked if the government waswaiting for her to die even afterher statement was recordedbefore a magistrate.

NEW DELHI: A Delhi courtThursday extended till October3 the judicial custody of formerfinance minister PChidambaram in connectionwith the INX Media corruptioncase. Special judge Ajay KumarKuhar also allowed medicalexamination of Chidambaram.The court extended the judicialcustody of Chidambaram afterthe CBI sought extension of theveteran Congress leader'sjudicial remand. SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta,appearing for CBI, soughtextension of the judicialcustody and said there hasbeen no change ofcircumstance from the day hewas first sent to jail. Senioradvocate Kapil Sibal, appearingfor Chidambaram, opposed theinvestigative agency's plea toextend his judicial custody.Sibal moved an application onbehalf of Chidambaram seekingregular medical checkup andadequate supplementary dietduring judicial custody in TiharJail.

PNS n PANAJI

People dependent on themining industry in Goa havecalled off their protest pro-posed for Friday outside thevenue of the GST Councilmeet, which will be chairedby Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman, follow-ing an assurance from ChiefMinister Pramod Sawant.

Earlier, the mining depen-dents were planning to walkto the GST Council meetvenue on Friday to put forththeir grievances before theUnion minister.

However, after Sawantassured them that he wouldfix a meeting of their repre-sentatives with Sitharaman,the proposed protest wascalled off , Goa MiningPeople's Front (GMPF) pres-ident Puti Gaonkar said onThursday.

Gaonkar said they wouldsubmit a memorandum toSitharaman, who is part ofthe Group of Ministers(GoM) formed to look intothe mining crisis in thecoastal state.

Earlier, the police said elab-orate security arrangements

were made for the GSTCouncil meet in Goa and thatthe mining dependents will bestopped if they try to protestoutside the venue.

The mining operations, akey source of revenue to thegovernment, came to a stand-still in March 2018 following aSupreme Court order whichquashed 88 mining leases. TheBJP-led state government ear-lier requested the Centre toamend the existing mininglaws so that the leases getextended. A GoM under theleadership of Union Homeminister Amit Shah has beentrying to work out a solutionto revive the mining industryin Goa.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Commuters faced difficulties inreaching their destinations onThursday as several privatebuses, taxis and autorickshawsremained off the roads due toa strike called by the UFTAagainst the amended MotorVehicle Act provisions.

Many schools in the nation-al capital remained closed dueto the strike while some askedparents to make their ownarrangements to pick up anddrop their wards.

The services of Delhi Metro,Delhi Transport Corporation(DTC) and cluster buses

remained unaffected.United Front of Transport

Associations (UFTA) generalsecretary Shyamlal Gola saidover 50 transport associations

and unions in Delhi-NCR weretaking part in the strike.

The UFTA is demandingwithdrawal of the steep hike inroad traffic penalties and

certain other provisions ofthe new MV Act.

Rajender Soni, general sec-retary Delhi-auto Rickshaw

Union said the national capi-tal has over 50 small and bigauto unions and majority ofthem took part in the strike.Delhi has over 90,000 autos.

There were reports of attackson some auto drivers who didnot participate in the strike.However, Soni refuted theclaims and said the strike waspeaceful and a large number ofauto drivers were willinglyparticipating in it.

Light Motor VehicleAssociation including variouslast mile connecting vehiclesassociations of Grameen Sewa,e-rickshaws said they did notparticipate in the strike.

PNS n SRINAGAR

Incidents of miscreants threat-ening shopkeepers and vandal-ising private vehicles havebeen reported from manyplaces in Kashmir Valley wherenormal life remained disrupt-ed for the 46th day onThursday following abroga-tion of Article 370, officialssaid.

They said private cars havecome under stone-pelting atmany places as the miscreantswant to enforce shutdown.

Authorities have taken noteof these incidents and followup action has been taken, theofficials added.

Markets remained closedin the Valley and public trans-port off the roads, they said.

They said some of the shopsopen for few hours early in themorning and late in theevening, but remain shut dur-ing the day.

Public transport was off theroads, but private cars wereplying in many areas of the cityand elsewhere in the valley,they said.

Few auto-rickshaws andinter-district cabs were alsoseen plying in some areas incivil lines of the city, theyadded.

The officials said Internetservices remained suspendedacross all platforms.

While landlines across thevalley were functional, voicecalls on mobile devices wereworking only in Kupwara andHandwara police districts ofnorth Kashmir, they added.

The efforts of the state gov-ernment to open schools havenot borne any fruit as parentscontinued to keep children athome due to apprehensionsabout their safety.

Most areas of the valleywere restrictions-free, but thedeployment of security forcescontinued on the ground tomaintain law and order, theofficials said.

Restrictions were firstimposed across Kashmir onAugust 5 when the Centreannounced its decision toabrogate Article 370 of theConstitution and bifurcate thestate into two Union territories.The restrictions were lifted inphases from many parts of thevalley as the situationimproved with the passage oftime.

Authorities have beenimposing restrictions in vul-nerable areas of the valleyevery Friday, apprehendingthat vested interests mightexploit the large gatherings atbig mosques and shrines tofuel protests.

PNS n MUMBAI

Activists opposing the pro-posed felling of over 2,600trees in Aarey Colony staged asilent protest outsideBollywood megastar AmitabhBachchan's bungalow hereagainst his tweet supportingthe Mumbai Metro project.

Several activists, who areagainst the felling of trees in theleafy colony to make way for aMetro car shed, on Wednesdaystaged their protest outsideBachchan's residence in Juhu,holding banners and placardscarrying messages: 'Save Aarey'and 'Gardens do not makeforests'.

Earlier on Tuesday, Bachchanin a tweet said, "Friend of minehad a medical emergency,decided to take METROinstead of his car...came backvery impressed..said was faster,convenient and mostefficient..Solution forPollution..Grow more trees..Idid in my garden.. have you."

Mumbai Metro RailCorporation Limited'sManaging Director AshwiniBhide even hailed Bachchan'spraise for the Metro project.

"Thank u @SrBachchan ji frdepicting d importance of#Metro so succinctly. Thankyou for ur support. We'r com-mitted 2 commission entire#MumbaiMetro network incld-

ng @MumbaiMetro3 @d earli-est r prvide faster, safer, conve-nient,#PollutionFree commute2 #Mumbaikars#AareyAikaNa," Bhide tweeted.

However, environmentalactivist Zoru Bhathena, whohas filed a petition in theBombay High Court against thecivic body's approval given forfelling of the trees, asked the

megastar to visit Aarey tounderstand the ground realityand also hit out at the Metroproject authorities.

"Dear MMRDA Official, Ihear you are looking for plotsfor constructing casting yardsfor your various METRO pro-jects. Would SrBachchan's gar-den suffice? I think you'll willfind the area suitable for yourneeds... and I am sure he wouldhappily oblige too."

"Dear @SrBachchan. Wouldrequest you to leave theprotec-tion of your Garden & join our

friends waiting for u outside.Sir, let us take you for a visit toAarey It will change your per-ception Sir. When will youjoin us Sir. Aarey is waiting?# S a v e A a r e y F o r e s t#SaveAareySaveMumbai," hesaid in another tweet.

The Aarey Colony, adjoiningthe Sanjay Gandhi NationalPark, is known as a majorgreen lung of the metropolis.

Yuva Sena chief AadityaThackeray has been quite vocalagainst the proposed felling oftrees in the area.

Environmentalists andactivists are also opposing theMetro car shed project andhave been demanding its relo-cation. Several Bollywood per-sonalities and politicians havealso extended their support tothese activists.

Commenting on the Aareyissue, Maharashtra ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis onSunday said it is the govern-ment's land which does not fallunder a forest area.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Hitting out at Arvind Kejriwalfor not giving sanction to pros-ecute former JNU Students'Union president KanhaiyaKumar in a sedition case, UnionMinister Prakash Javadekar onThursday accused the DelhiChief Minister of supportingthose who allegedly raised "anti-national" slogans in the univer-sity in 2016.

Coming down heavily onKejriwal and his governmentfor not giving sanction to pros-ecute Kumar and others facingsedition charges, Javadekar saidthat despite repeatedly beingasked by the court about thepermission, the chief ministerwas not granting it. "Court isrepeatedly asking the DelhiCM that when will you givepermission to prosecute thosewho raised anti-national slo-gans. But we can say that theCM is supporting those peoplewho raised the slogans," he said.

Javadekar, who is the min-ister for information andbroadcasting and environmentand climate change, said, "It isclear from Arvind Kejriwal's

attitude that he supports suchstatements otherwise he wouldhave granted the sanction."

The Delhi Police had onWednesday informed a citycourt that the request forsanction to prosecute Kumarand others was pending beforethe Home Department of theDelhi government. The policehad informed that it had doneits part and was now awaitingthe decision. On January 14,the police had filed a chargesheet in the court againstKumar and others, includingformer JNU students UmarKhalid and AnirbanBhattacharya, saying they wereleading a procession and sup-ported seditious slogans raisedin the JNU campus during anevent on February 9, 2016.

PNS n BHOPAL

Days after senior Congressleader Digvijaya Singh claimedthat people donning "saffronrobes" were committing rapes,some anonymous posters cameup in the city, demanding a banon his entry to Hindu religiousplaces.

The posters, according tosome people who saw them,were apparently put up aroundmidnight outside various tem-ples in the city, including theParshuram temple in CharImli area, by an unidentifiedright wing body.

However, they wereremoved them in the morningby unidentified persons.

The posters, carrying pic-tures of the Congress veteran,read: "Hindu samaj ki yahipukar, Hindu virodhiDigvijaya Singh ke liye mand-iron ke darwaze band hon,band hon Hindu Samaj (this isan appeal of Hindu society thatdoors of temples should beclosed for anti-HinduDigvijaya Singh)."

Singh kicked up a row onTuesday by saying that peopledonning "saffron robes" arecommitting rapes which aretaking place in "temples", and

thus defaming the SanatanDharma (ancient religion).

He also said that such actsare "unforgivable".

Though Singh did not takenames, his comments comeclose on the heels of a SupremeCourt-appointed SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) prob-

ing allegations of rape levelledagainst BJP leader SwamiChinmayanand by a law stu-dent in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress leader, whohad kicked up controversies inthe past as well with his state-ments, also said the Sanatandharma (ancient religion) isbeing defamed by such acts.

Meanwhile, local NGOSanskriti Bachao Manch chiefChandrashekhar Tiwaridubbed the poster protestagainst Singh as a "naturalreaction" by the Hindu com-munity.

"I got to know about suchposters against Singh. This isa natural reaction, given hisrepeated anti-Hindu barbs.This anger also resulted in hisdefeat during recent Lok Sabhaelections from Bhopal seat," hetold PTI.

However, state Congressmedia coordinator NarendraSaluja dubbed Digvijaya Singha "staunch Hindu", and allegedthat the BJP "distorted" hiscomments for political gains.

"There is no bigger follow-er of the Sanatan Dharma, orthe Hindu Dharma, thanDigvijayaji in the state. TheBJP distorted his statement forpolitical benefits," he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court sum-moned the Home Secretary ofUttar Pradesh on Thursday,taking a serious view of thestate government's failure torespond to a plea by a "minor"Muslim girl, who has chal-lenged the Allahabad HighCourt order by which her mar-riage was found to be void.

The 16-year-old girl haschallenged the high courtorder, saying that as per theMohammedan Law, once afemale attains the age of puber-ty, that is 15 years, she is inde-pendent to take decisions forher life and is competent tomarry any one of her ownchoice.

When the matter came upfor hearing before a bench ofJustices N V Ramana and AjayRastogi, the counsel appearingfor the state, sought time to filea response on the petition.

"Let the Chief Secretaryappear (in court). Then he willunderstand the seriousness ofthe matter," the bench said inan oral observation.

Later, the bench summonedthe Home Secretary of of thestate and directed him to per-sonally appear before it onSeptember 23.

The top court noted in itsorder that despite grantingtime to the state's counsel forfiling reply on the plea, thelawyer has not received prop-er instruction from the depart-ment concerned.

"We are forced to compel theappearance of Secretary Home(of Uttar Pradesh) to appearpersonally before us on

Monday (September 23)," thebench said.

The top court had earlieragreed to examine the plea ofthe girl who has been orderedto stay in a shelter home forwomen in Uttar Pradesh afterher marriage was found to bevoid by the high court.

The girl, who is 16-years-oldas per a medical report, haschallenged the high court'sJuly order which dismissedher petition against a trialcourt directive sending her toa shelter home at Ayodhya.

The high court had dis-missed her plea against the trialcourt's order observing thatsince she was a "minor" hercase would be dealt with inaccordance with the JuvenileJustice (Care and Protection)Act, 2015 and as she did notwant to join her parents, theorder sending her to the shel-ter home was correct.

The girl, through her lawyerDushyant Parashar, has told theapex court that the high courtfailed to appreciate the fact thather 'nikah' is in accordancewith the Mohammaden Law.

The plea, which said that herright to life and liberty may beprotected, contended that shewas in love with a man andthey performed 'Nikah' in

accordance with theMohammadan Law in Junethis year.

Her father had lodged apolice complaint alleging thathis daughter has been kid-napped by the man and hisassociates. Thereafter, the girlrecorded her statement beforea magistrate in which she saidthat she had married the manout of her free will and wantedto stay with him. The trial courthad directed that she be sent tothe child welfare committee forsafe custody and protectionuntil she attains the age of 18.

Referring to an earlier apexcourt judgement, the plea hassaid that the girl may be per-mitted to lead conjugal life withher husband.

The top court noted in its order thatdespite granting time to the state'scounsel for filing reply on the plea, thelawyer has not received properinstruction from the departmentconcerned

Activists, who areagainst felling oftrees in the leafycolony to makeway for a Metroshed, staged theirprotest outsideBachchan'sresidence in Juhu

Digvijaya Singh

The Congressleader, who hadkicked upcontroversies inthe past too, alsosaid the Sanatandharma (ancientreligion) is being defamed by such acts

United Front ofTransportAssociationsgeneral secretarysaid over 50transport unions inDelhi-NCR weretaking part in the strike

Markets remainedclosed and publictransport off theroads. Some shopsopened for fewhours early in themorning and latein the evening, butremain shut during the day

Posters come up in MP againstDigvijaya, dub him ‘anti-Hindu'

GST COUNCIL MEET

Nirmala Sitharaman

Mining dependents calloff proposed protest

Prakash Javadekar

Javadekar saysKejriwal backs slogan-shouters in JNU

SC summons UP Home Secy overminor ‘married' girl's plea

Protests outside Bachchan's house over Metro tweet

Commuters stranded as pvt buses, cabs go off road over MV Act

Valley: Normalcy elusivetraders ‘threatened’

PNS n KOLKATA

As part of an initiative to gen-erate clean and sustainablepower, researchers at IITKharagpur have developed anew technology to source elec-tricity from clothes drying inopen space, a statement heresaid on Thursday.

The technology was recent-ly tested at a remote village,where around 50 wet clothitems were put up for drying bywashermen across a surfacearea of 3000 sq. metre.

The clothes, when connect-ed to a commercial superca-pacitor, discharged electricityof around 10 Volt in almost 24hours - enough to glow awhite LED for over an hour.According to the statement,traditionally woven cellulose-based fabric contains a tinychannel network, which was

used by theresearchers forpower generation.

"The clothes wewear are madefrom cellulose-based textile whichhas a network ofnano-channels .Ions in saline watercan move throughthis by capillary action induc-ing an electric potential in theprocess," explained leadr e s e a r c h e r S u m a nChakraborty. Capillary actionis defined as the movement of

water within thespaces of aporous material.

"Until now, itwas beyondimagination thata wet cloth beingdried in a natur-al atmospherecould be capableof generating

clean energy. This new tech-nology would be extremelybeneficial in addressing theessential power requirementsin remote villages,"Chakraborty added.

IIT-Kgp researchers generateelectricity from wet clothes

The clothes, when connected to acommercial supercapacitor, dischargedelectricity of around 10 Volt in almost24 hours-enough to glow a white LEDfor over an hour

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 nation 06SHORT READS

At meeting with Shah,Mamata raises AssamNRC issueNEW DELHI: West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee metUnion Home Minister AmitShah here on Thursday andraised the issue of the NRC inAssam. After meeting Shah athis North Block office, theTrinamool Congress chief saidmany genuine Indians wereexcluded from the NRC inAssam and she requested thehome minister to examine theircases as many of thoseexcluded are Bengali-speakingpeople, Hindi-speaking,Gorkhas and even Assamesepeople. "I have not come todiscuss about the NRC in WestBengal, I have come to discussabout the NRC in Assam,"Banerjee said after the meeting.She met Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Wednesdayand raised the issue ofrenaming the state. Banerjeealso invited the prime ministerto inaugurate a coal block inthe state.

‘Process of cancellingland rights granted toVadra's firm started’

15 policemen flunkdope test in Punjab'sAmritsarAMRITSAR: In anembarrassment for the PunjabPolice, 15 policemen here failedthe dope test while oneconstable was caught replacinghis urine sample. Police onThursday said an annualmedical examination of 25policemen was conductedrecently. Fifteen of the themwere told to undergo a dopetest and they were testedpositive. All 15 policemen hadbeen sent to the SwamiVivekananda de-addictioncentre at the GovernmentMedical College in Amritsar fortreatment, they said.

CHANDIGARH: The Haryanagovernment has begun theprocess of cancelling thelicence given to Robert Vadra'sSky Light Hospitality to developland that was later transferredto realty major DLF for Rs 58crore, officials said onThursday. Director of the state'sTown and Country PlanningDepartment K M Pandurangsaid the procedural formalitiesto cancel the licence has beencompleted keeping in withprovisions of the HaryanaDevelopment and Regulationand Urban Areas Act, 1975.The formalities include servingnotices on the coloniser andgiving it an opportunity to beheard. "We have to followprocedure of cancellation whichwe are following and theformalities have beencompleted. We gave themnotice and hearing opportunity,which has concluded. Now, wehave to take a decision and thatprocess is on," he said.

PNS n MUMBAI

Senior Shiv Sena leader SanjayRaut on Thursday said theirparty president UddhavThackeray and Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis are firm onthe alliance for the upcomingMaharashtra Assembly pollsand are in the process of seal-ing the seat-sharing pact. Healso expressed hope that theNanar refinery project, whichis being opposed by the Sena,will not pose a hindrance intheir alliance with the BJP.

"Talks for seat-sharing are inprogress between Thackerayand Fadnavis. Both are firm onthe alliance," Raut toldreporters here. Senior BJPleader and state water resourcesminister Girish Mahajan alsosaid that the alliance talks willpick up after Fadnavis''Mahajanadesh Yatra' con-cludes, and it will be "finalisedin two to three days".

He said there was a slightdelay in talks as the chief min-ister was busy with his yatra, apublic outreach campaignundertaken by him ahead ofthe polls.

"The alliance talks will pickup after Fadnavis concludes his

yatra and will be finalised intwo to three days. Both the par-ties are positive about thealliance and it will happen,"Mahajan said.

Speaking to reporters, Rautdownplayed Diwakar Raote'sremarks that the alliance looksunlikely if the Sena does notget 144 seats out of the total288 in the state.

"Raote did not speak hismind. This is the stand of the

alliance. He just spoke aboutthe 50:50 formula which wasfinalised in presence of BJPchief Amit Shah," the RajyaSabha member said.

Asked about the chief min-ister's remarks wherein hehinted at revival of the Nanarrefinery project, which theSena has been opposing, Rautsaid Fadnavis did not make anycomments against theThackeray-led party.

"Fadnavis's yatra was not forthe Nanar refinery project. Idon't think Nanar or Aarey willcause problems in finalisingthe alliance," he said.

On the Sena's opposition tothe proposed felling of over2,600 trees in Aarey Colonyhere to make way for a Metrocar shed, he said, "Aarey issueis important for Mumbai'sinterest." The refinery projectat Nanar in Ratnagiri wasaborted earlier this year atSena's insistence as a pre-con-dition for an alliance with theBJP for the Lok Sabha polls.

The project, however,returned to limelight ahead ofthe Assembly polls, due nextmonth, when Thackerayrecently said the proposedMetro car shed in AareyColony will go the Nanar way.

On speculations that formerstate chief minister NarayanRane may join the BJP andsenior NCP leader ChhaganBhujbal might return to theSena, Raut said, "We dontknow. The BJP is a separateparty. They are free to inductwhom they want."

Meanwhile, Mahajan saidsome more inductions werelikely into the BJP on Friday.

Uddhav, Fadnavis firm on alliance,talks in progress: Sanjay Raut

PNS n MUMBAI

With the weather departmentissuing a 'red alert' for rain inMumbai, the Maharashtra gov-ernment declared a holiday forschools and colleges in the cityon Thursday.

However, as people gearedup to tackle the situation, thehigh rainfall warning turnedout to be a damp squib as thecity hardly received any show-ers till Thursday afternoon.While the city received someshowers late Wednesday night,it remained almost dry onThursday.

The school education min-ister Ashish Shelar's order forclosure of schools and collegesissued late Wednesday nightalso remained ineffective, asseveral educational institu-tions in the city and suburbsremained open.

The Indian MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) onWednesday issued a red rainalert, indicating "extremelyheavy rainfall", for Mumbaiand Raigad districts. The irreg-ular heating and cooling of theArabian Sea and the Bay ofBengal pushed cloud precipi-tation in Mumbai to a new

high, with the city recording itswettest monsoon season thisyear since 1954.

When contacted, an IMDofficial said, "This year therehas been continuous depres-sion over Madhya Pradesh atregular intervals, whichincreased the overall rainfall inMumbai and neighbouringdistricts."

"The state capital hasreceived total 3,467 mm rainfrom June 1 till September 17,surpassing the 3,451 mmdownpour recorded in 1954.With 11 days more to go thismonth, the city will get arecord rainfall figure by then,"he said.

The cyclonic circulation andrelated low-pressure over southMadhya Pradesh has been dri-ving the humid westerly windsfrom the Arabian sea.

As the circulation gradual-ly moves westward in next fewdays, the coastal areas of thestate, including Mumbai, arelikely to witness very heavyrains, the official said.

According to a weatherexpert, the country is goingthrough a strong 'IndianOcean Dipole' (an irregularoscillation of sea-surfacetemperatures) and it is dri-ving the intensity of showersacross various places, includ-ing Mumbai.

Schools and colleges closed, butrain forecast turns a damp squib

Pulled out UP from identity crisis: YogiPNS n LUCKNOW

Marking the completion of 30months in office, Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathon Thursday released a book-let on the achievements of hisgovernment and asserted thatthe perception of the state haschanged considerably duringthis period.

Addressing a press confer-ence at his residence here, thechief minister said the state hascreated a record in implemen-tation of various centralschemes, including thePradhan Mantri Awas Yojana,Saubhagya Yojana, Kisan insur-ance, construction of toiletsand provision of health insur-ance.

"On March 19, 2017, the BJPgovernment was formed in

the state after a 14-year-exile.In the past two-and-half yearsUP was pulled out from a stateof identity crisis as we con-verted challenges to opportu-nities," Adityanath said.

He said earlier the conditionof farmers in the state was verybad and they were forced tocommit suicide. "We gave a

number of schemes to thefarmers. Crop loans up to Rs 1lakh given to 86 lakh farmersin the state were waived off andrecord purchase of crops wasdone."

Adityanath also highlightedthe success of Kumbh Mela inAllahabad, Pravasi BharatiyaDiwas in Varanasi and"improvement" in law andorder situation in the state.

"There has not been a sin-gle incident of riot in the statein the past two-and-halfyears. The dreaded criminalshave either fled from thestate or are in jail. There hasbeen a sharp decline indacoity, rape, extortion, lootand riot cases. As many as 41new police stations have been

opened in the state," he said.Besides, the state has wit-

nessed huge investments inindustrial sector and creationof job opportunities for theyouths, according to the book-let titled 'Vikas EvamSushashan Ke 30 Mah' (30months of good governanceand development).

A film titled 'UP KeKarmayogi' was also played onthe occasion. "Sanyasi ke kar-mayoga se damak raha UP kabhaal (Because of the work ofa saint, UP is shining)," thevideo said, claiming that 2.5years of the Yogi governmentare better than the past 65years.

Adityanath said in the pasttwo-and-half years 50 lakhchildren have been enrolled ingovernment primary schools.

K’taka womangiven triple talaqfrom Dubai overWhatsappPNS n BENGALURU

A Muslim woman in the dis-trict headquarters town ofShivamogga in Karnatakahas approached police accus-ing her husband of giving her"triple talaq" from Dubaiover WhatsApp. The couplehad been married for about20 years, and the woman'shusband had left for Sharjah-Dubai in January but did notcome back, police said quot-ing the woman's complaint.

On some issues the man issaid to have repeatedly pickedup quarrel with her duringtheir conversations, and final-ly gave her talaq (divorce) inAugust, stating he "doesn'twant" her, they said. "He hadinitially sent her talaq mes-sage over WhatsApp, andthen called her to utter thesame," police said.

The couple, in their 40s,did not have any children andhad adopted a girl child.

The woman has not"accepted" the talaq andsought justice by lodging acomplaint. "I don't have anyfinancial support and have adaughter to take care of," shehas said.

PNS n MANGALURU

An abandoned tent found in aforest area near a village inKollur, Udupi district, created ascare among the local peoplewho suspected naxalite presenceand informed forest officials,police said.

Police personnel, who werealerted by the forest officials, vis-ited the area on Wednesday andexamined the tent. They couldonly find vessels for cooking,boxes of vermilion and ash, adhoti and a kurta and later clar-ified that it might have been usedby spiritualists who come therefor meditation. Locals noticedthe tent on Monday in thereserve forest region of Dali

Madibare, the police said.On getting information,

Deputy Superintendent of PoliceGanesh M Hegde from the anti-naxal force (ANF) camp reachedthe spot and police and forestofficials combed the area. Policelater made it clear that the tar-paulin tent has no links with thenaxals. The place is close to thelocal residential area, wherethere is always movement ofpeople to collect firewood andgrass, they said. The spot is alsoon the way to Arasinagundi Fallsfrequented by tourists, they said.It is quite improbable that nax-alites would have erected the tentas no naxal activity has beenreported in Kollur since 2008, thepolice said.

Tent in forest areacauses panic

NAXAL PRESENCE RULED OUT

PNS n NEW DELHI

In 2017, when 88-year-oldSusie Kennaway asked herson Guy to help her die, littledid he know that the bookwhich he decided to writeinstead would become a man-ual dealing with the implica-tions of euthanasia.

With an older and infirmhusband, Susie wanted toavoid sliding into infantilisedcatatonia. In Guy's words, sheis a "very powerful womanwho takes her own path in lifeand woe betide anyone whogets in her way".

Though Guy decided totake notes immediately afterher mother's demand, henever felt that "any of what Iwrite or say or do has mucheffect on her".

"But when she discoveredthat I was writing this book Iam pleased to say that after her

initial fury, she wanted tocontribute to the project andI think the whole thing gaveher a new lease of life. Well,she's not dead yet! By a longchalk," Guy told PTI.

Though many elderly peo-ple, like Susie, express theirwish to die in a manner andtime of their choosing, thechurch, the law, the medical

profession and the pharma-ceutical industry have beenopposing this.

During their conversationsabout when and how to makeSusie's final exit, some of thedifficulties of their fractiousrelationship mellowed andsome even melted, as the real-ity of what they were planningbrought Guy and his mother

together.Guy says he had to write

“Time to Go”. It was a “passionproject, which I hope makespeople laugh a lot and changesthe world a little”.

It deals with the practical,moral and emotional impli-cations of euthanasia, anddescribes the ups and downsof a mother-son relationshipnear the end, he says.

When he started writing thebook, published byBloomsbury, Guy neverthought about euthanasia orassisted dying.

"I thought it was an activi-ty for cranks, but as I listenedto my mother, and looked intothe horrors of late geriatricmedicine, and learnt howhumans are kept alive partic-ularly in Europe long past thepoint at which they havestopped enjoying living, I sawthat assisted dying is an issue

we need to face and to discussand start coming up withsome good solutions to," hesays.

When Susie came to knowabout the book, she was nothappy the way her sondescribed her.

"I had been merrily writingabout her and my life with her,assuming she would be deadand buried before the bookappeared. But she changed theschedule and is very muchalive and very much on thewar path," he says.

Asked if the book changedhis mother's views on assist-ed dying, Guy says, "I thinkshe is a pretty strong advocatefor the right to die as wechoose. She believes as I dothat our bodies belong to us,and not the state. We shoulddetermine what happens at theend of our lives, not politi-cians, preachers or doctors."

PNS n BENGALURU

Defence Minister Rajnath Singhon Thursday flew in the Tejasfighter aircraft from the HALairport in Bengaluru, becomingthe first defence minister to flyin the indigenously-built lightcombat aircraft (LCA).

After the sortie which lastedfor around 30 minutes, thedefence minister said he chosethe aircraft because it was builtindigenously and described theflying experience as thrilling.

"Flight very smooth, com-fortable, I was thrilled. It was oneof the most memorable events ofmy life," said the 68-year-oldSingh after alighting from theaircraft.

"This is an indigenous plane.So, it came naturally to me fly inTejas and experience the flying.It was also to check under whatconditions do our fighter pilotsfly these aircraft. This is why Iflew in this aircraft," the minis-ter said.

Wearing a G suit, holding hishelmet under his arms andsporting aviator glasses, Singhlooked every inch a fighter pilot.

"I want to congratulate HAL,

DRDO and several agenciesconcerned. We have reached alevel where we can export fight-er planes across theworld...Countries in South EastAsia have shown interest inpurchasing Tejas aircraft," hesaid.

An official said the ministeralso "controlled" and flew theaircraft for around two minutes.

However, the minister said hewas following orders. "But thosetwo minutes were memorable,"he said.

The minister was accompa-nied by Air Vice Marshal NTiwari, who is also the ProjectDirector, National Flight TestCentre, ADA (AeronauticalDevelopment Agency) inBengaluru.

Talking about his experienceof flying with the DefenceMinister, Tiwari said, "RakshaMantri (Defence Minister) wasflying the aircraft in the air (for2 minutes), and he liked it. Wewent all the way up to 2 to 2.5g.But I was showing him moreavionics and sophisticated sys-tems that we have on board likelaser designation pod, using

which you can pick up targetseven from 20-25 km away."

When a person is standingstill on earth, the amount offorce exerted by earth's gravita-tional field is "one g". Fighterpilots have to bear higher num-ber of g's as they fly at high speedand altitude.

Tiwari said the minister wasvery happy with the flying qual-ity, "the smoothness, the con-trols, and the way the aircraft

was flying"."We went close to Mach 1, the

speed of sound, but he couldn'tmake it out. I had to tell him thatthis is the speed now," Tiwariadded.

Officials said the basic flyingin the Indian Air Force currentlystarts by 20.5 years and a pilotis generally ready to fly fighterjets in IAF at around 22 years ofage.

He also said that there is noupper age limit for flying fight-er jets. Till the time a pilot ismedically fit - up to the stan-dards set by the IAF - he or shecan fly the fighter jet, the officialsaid. The Air Chief is 62-years-old.

Singh also attended an exhi-bition of products of the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) inBengaluru.

A Defence Ministry officialhad said on Wednesday that theminister would be "taking a sor-tie" in order to boost the moraleof officers who have beeninvolved in the development ofthe "indigenously-made Tejas"."It will also boost the morale ofIAF pilots who are flying these

aircraft," the official had said. The IAF has already induct-

ed a batch of Tejas aircraft. Thenaval version of the LCA is indevelopment stage.

Last Friday in Goa, Tejas hadsuccessfully carried out an"arrested landing", a key per-formance, demonstrating itsability to land on board an air-craft carrier, making it a majormilestone in development of thenaval variant of the fighter jet.

Initially, the IAF had placedan order with the HindustanAeronautics Limited (HAL) for40 Tejas aircraft. Last year, theIAF issued the request for pro-posal (RFP) to HAL for the pro-curement of another batch of 83Tejas at a cost of over Rs 50,000crore. The Tejas is an indigenouslight weight, multi role super-sonic aircraft developed in bothfighter and trainer versions.

Advanced materials like com-posites are used in the manu-facture of the Tejas to reduceweight and increase the com-ponent life. The Tejas isdesigned to carry a veritableplethora of air-to-air, air-to-surface, precision guided andstandoff weaponry.

Rajnath first Defence Minister to fly in Tejas fighter aircraft

Senior BJP leader and state waterresources minister Girish Mahajanalso said that the alliance talks willpick up after Fadnavis' 'MahajanadeshYatra' concludes, and it will be"finalised in two to three days"

Mom seeks euthanasia, son writes book to give new lease of life

“I want tocongratulate HAL,DRDO and severalagencies concerned.We have reached alevel where we canexport fighter planesacross theworld...Countries inSouth East Asia haveshown interest inpurchasing Tejasaircraft”

COMPLETES 30 MONTHS IN OFFICEPNS n BENGALURU

After flying indigenously-builtlight combat aircraft Tejas, UnionDefence Minister Rajnath Singhsaid at an event here onThursday that the use of indige-nous technology in armed forceswould be around 75 per cent by2029-30. On Thursday morning,Singh flew in the Tejas fighter air-craft from the HAL airport inBengaluru, becoming the firstdefence minister to fly in theindigenously-built light combataircraft (LCA).

"The use of indigenous tech-nology (in armed forces) will bearound 75 per cent by the timewe reach 2029-30. No one hadthought that we will be usingindigenous technology this way,"

Singh said after attending anexhibition of products ofDefence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) here.

"That day is not far when wecan create 100 per cent of itemsin our country itself," he added.

At DRDO exhibition, theminister said,"Whatever I haveseen today, and whatever I haveheard, on that basis, I would liketo say, the whole country isproud of you all." He added thatthe DRDO is not just a credibleorganisation of India but it is alsogetting the international recog-nition now which is source ofimmense happiness.

"Indigenous arms, ammuni-tion and weapons are beingdeveloped in India...We are devel-

oping such a capacity gradually,"he said. Our export capability isbeing built up too, Singh said.

"Recently developed ASAT(anti-satellite) missile, the use ofNetra in Balakot air strike, andthe recent successful testing ofair-to-air missile Astra - theseincidents have solidified thenation's trust in DRDO," said theminister. Netra is an airborneearly warning and control(AEWC) aircraft and it played aprominent role in the air strikesconducted by Indian Air Forceat Balakot (Pakistan) in February.

Singh said,"This exhibitionshows the participation of pri-vate industries too. We cannotignore the contribution of bigindustrialists. They have a bigcontribution."

Indigenous tech use in armed forcesto be 75% by ‘29-30: Rajnath Singh

world 07HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

PTI n JERUSALEM

Benjamin Netanyahu's mainchallenger Benny Gantz on

Thursday presented himself asthe next prime minister, hoursafter the embattled Israeli pre-mier urged the Blue and Whiteleader to join him in forminga unity Government to avoid athird election.

With nearly 97 per cent ofthe votes counted on Thursday,Gantz's Blue and White partywon 33 seats while Netanyahu'sLikud secured 31 seats inIsrael's 120-memberParliament.

Gantz, 60, said he intendsto form and lead a "broad, lib-eral, unity government."

"After an election that wasforced on Israel, (people) votedand made a clear choice. Thepeople voted for unity andKahol Lavan won the election.It's the biggest party," he added.

He said the Israeli peoplewanted a unity governmentafter the last election too andvowed to form a "broad, liber-al unity government."

"In order to form a unitygovernment, one can't comewith political blocs and spins,"Gantz said, referring to theright-wing religious bloc'smove to recommendNetanyahu as the next primeminister after no clear winneremerged in the unprecedentedrepeat polls.

"You come with responsi-bility and seriousness. I attendto act accordingly," Gantz wasquoted as saying by theHaaretz. Gantz said he will notaccept any dictates. "There willbe no shortcuts."

His comments came after69-year-old Netanyahu said hewanted to form a right-winggovernment, but the resultsshowed it was not possible. Hecalled on Gantz to meet him "atany hour today" in order tohold discussions for a unitygovernment.

"Benny, it's on us to estab-lish a wide unity governmenttoday. The nation expects us,the both of us, to work togeth-er. Let's meet today.

Gantz for PM post inIsrael’s unity Govt

AP n DUBAI

Iran's foreign minister warnedThursday that any attack on

his country over a drone-and-missile strike on Saudi Arabia'soil industry will result in "all-out war," further pushing uptensions across the PersianGulf.

The comments byMohammad Javad Zarif repre-sent the starkest warningoffered yet by Iran in a longsummer of mysterious attacksand incidents following thecollapse of Iran's nuclear dealwith world powers, over a yearafter President Donald Trumpunilaterally withdrew Americafrom the accord.

Zarif 's comments alsoappeared to be in response toUS Secretary of State MikePompeo, who a day earlierwhile travelling to Saudi Arabiareferred to the attack as an "act

of war." Asked by CNN what would

be the consequence of a US orSaudi strike, Zarif said: "All-outwar."

"We won't blink to defendour territory," he said.

Pompeo wrote a tweet earlyThursday after his meetingwith Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman inJiddah over Saturday's droneand cruise missile attack on acrucial oil processing facilityand oil field.

Yemen's Iranian-backedHouthi rebels have claimedthe attack, but the US allegesIran carried out the assault.

Pompeo called the attacks"unprecedented."

"The US stands with#SaudiArabia and supports itsright to defend itself," Pompeosaid.

"The Iranian regime'sthreatening behaviour will not

be tolerated." Pompeo did not elaborate.

President Donald Trump hasbeen noncommittal on whetherhe would order US military

retaliation. He separately said

Wednesday he is moving toincrease financial sanctions onTehran over the attack, without

elaborating. Iran already is subject to a

crushing American sanctionsprogram targeting its crucial oilindustry.

Iran diplomat warns of ‘all-out war' if hit for Saudi attack

AFP n ABU DHABI

US Secretary of State MikePompeo on Thursday

said he preferred a "peacefulresolution" to a crisis sparkedby attacks on Saudi oil infra-structure, as Iran warnedagainst "all-out war".

Pompeo has blamed Iran for the weekend assaulton two facilities which wiped out half of Saudi oilproduction, dismissing itsdenials and condemning the"act of war".

The rhetoric has raisedthe risk of an unpredictableescalation in the tinderboxregion where Saudi Arabiaand Iran are locked in adecades-old struggle for dom-inance.

Visiting the United ArabEmirates, Pompeo howeversaid his country would prefera "peaceful" solution to thecrisis.

"We'd like a peaceful res-olution," he said.

"I hope the IslamicRepublic of Iran sees it the

same way," he told reporters after talks with theleaders of the United ArabEmirates.

Iran's Foreign MinisterMohammad Javad Zarif ear-lier warned any US or Saudimilitary strike on Iran couldcause "all-out war."

"We don't want war, we don't want to engage in amilitary confrontation," he told CNN in an interview aired Thursday. "Butwe won't blink to defend ourterritory."

Pompeo favours ‘peaceful resolution'

AFP n KABUL

War-weary Afghanistan washit with its third straight

day of bloody carnage Thursday,as a Taliban car bomb flatteneda hospital and killed 20 peoplein the south, while nine othersdied in a drone strike in the east.

The surge in violence, withcivilians paying the heaviestprice, has come after USPresident Donald Trump calledoff talks with the Taliban thatcould have seen Washingtonbegin withdrawing troops, andas the country gears up for apresidential election.

The insurgents respondedto Trump's declaration that thetalks were "dead" earlier thismonth by promising to contin-ue fighting, and have vowed totarget the September 28 polls,Afghanistan's fourth presiden-tial election since the hardlineIslamist group was ousted frompower in 2001.

Thursday's bloodshedbegan near dawn, when theTaliban killed at least 20 peopleand wounded 90 after a car

bomb destroyed a hospital inthe southern Afghan city ofQalat.

Hours later, reportsemerged of an overnight dronestrike in eastern Nangarharprovince said to have killed atleast nine civilians who hadbeen camping in the moun-tainous region as they collectedpine nuts.

The US is the only memberof the international coalition inAfghanistan that provides airsupport in the conflict, butthere was no immediate state-ment from its forces inAfghanistan, the United Nationsor NATO.

The strike came just hoursafter four people were killed onWednesday when unknowngunmen and a suicide bomberstormed a government buildingin nearby Jalalabad, capital ofNangarhar province. OnTuesday, the Taliban killed near-ly 50 people in two separateattacks —one on a campaignrally for President Ashraf Ghaniin the central province ofParwan, and the other in Kabul.

Taliban car bomb flattenshospital as Afghan violencesurges ahead of vote

AFP n LONDON

Former British PrimeMinister David Cameron

revealed Thursday that heasked Queen Elizabeth II tointervene in the Scottish inde-pendence referendum, riskingthe irritation of the nominallyneutral head of state.

Cameron, who led the suc-cessful campaign for Scotlandto stay in the United Kingdomin the 2014 referendum, said heasked if she could offer even a"raising of the eyebrow" toindicate her opposition toindependence.

He told the BBC he spokewith the queen's private secre-tary, "not asking for anythingthat would be in any wayimproper or unconstitutional,but just a raising of the eye-brow, even, you know, a quar-ter of an inch — we thought

would make a difference." A few days before the vote,

the queen told a member of thepublic in Scotland that shehoped "people would thinkvery carefully about the future"— comments that made head-lines. Scotland voted by 55 percent to stay in the UK.

In a BBC documentary tomark the publication of hismemoirs, Cameron said that"although the words were verylimited, I think it helped to puta slightly different perceptionon things".

Buckingham Palace toldAFP it would not comment onhis remarks, but a royal sourcetold the BBC they had causedsome displeasure.

"It serves no one's interests"for conversations between themonarch and her prime min-isters to be made public, thesource was quoted as saying.

Ex-PM Cameron says askedQueen's help in Scottish vote

AP n STRASBOURG (FRANCE)

British Prime Minister BorisJohnson has been accused

by European Union officials offailing to negotiate seriouslyand branded the "father of lies"by a lawyer in the UK SupremeCourt, as his plan to leave theEU in just over six weeks facedhurdles on both sides of theChannel.

In Strasbourg, France, theEuropean Parliament said onWednesday it would be thefault of Britain, not the bloc, ifthe UK crashed out of the EUwithout a divorce deal on thescheduled October 31 departureday.

In London, Johnson's gov-ernment battled to convince theUK's top court that the primeminister's decision to suspendParliament for five weeks withBrexit looming was neither ille-gal nor improper. The govern-ment's opponents claimJohnson illegally shut down thelegislature to prevent lawmak-ers from scrutinising his Brexitplans.

Government lawyer JamesEadie told 11 Supreme Courtjustices that the decision tosend lawmakers home untilOctober 14 was "inherently andfundamentally political innature," and not a matter for thejudiciary. He said that if thecourt intervened it would vio-late the "fundamental constitu-tional principle" of the separa-tion of powers.

But a lawyer for lawmakerschallenging the shutdownaccused the government ofbeing "unworthy of our trust.""We've got here the mother ofparliaments being shut down bythe father of lies," said attorneyAidan O'Neill.

He urged the judges to"stand up for truth, stand up forreason, stand up for diversity,stand up for Parliament, standup for democracy."

The judges, for their part,wondered why Johnson hadrefused to provide a swornstatement to the court about hisreasons for the suspension.

"Isn't it odd that nobody hassigned a witness statement to

say: 'This is true. These are thetrue reasons for what wasdone'?" said one of the judges,Nicholas Wilson.

The developments were thelatest in a rocky week forJohnson, who pulled out of anews conference with the primeminister of Luxembourg onMonday because of noisy pro-testers nearby. On Wednesdayhe was berated by the father ofa sick child over funding cuts toBritain's health service as he vis-ited a London hospital.

Johnson took power in Julywith a vow that Britain will leavethe EU on Oct. 31 "come whatmay." He promised to break astalemate that saw the Brexitagreement struck between theEU and Johnson's predecessorTheresa May rejected threetimes by Britain's Parliament,prompting May to resign.

Many lawmakers believe ano-deal Brexit would be eco-nomically devastating andsocially destabilising, and haveput obstacles in Johnson's path,including legal challenges to theParliament shutdown.

Johnson faces Brexit flak fromEU lawmakers, top UK court

AFP n BEIJING

Beijing on Thursday accusedWashington of "adding fuel

to the fire" of Hong Kongunrest after leaders of the city'spro-democracy movementappealed directly to US law-makers to exert pressure onChina.

Activists from the semi-autonomous city testifiedbefore a congressional com-mission in support of US leg-islation aimed at defendingcivil rights in Hong Kong,which has been convulsed byweeks of huge, sometimes vio-lent rallies.

Foreign ministryspokesman Geng Shuang saidat a press briefing Thursday thatthe US should "stop supportingviolent radical forces and HongKong independence separatists,and stop adding fuel to the fireto the words and deeds thatdamage the prosperity and sta-bility of the Hong Kong SpecialAdministrative Region."

China rebukesWashington afterHK activists makeCongress plea

PTI n KARACHI

Two classmates of a Hindudental student have been

detained by the police inPakistan's Sindh province aftershe was found dead in her hos-tel room, a media report saidon Thursday.

Nimrita Chandni, a final-year student of Bibi Asifa

Dental College in Larkana dis-trict and a social activist, wasfound lying on a cot by herfriends on Monday with a ropetied to her neck.

The two suspects, bothclassmates of Chandni, weretaken into the custody by thepolice after tracing the call datafrom the deceased's cell phone,Geo News reported.

Her room was locked frominside. Police have not yetascertained whether she com-mitted suicide or was mur-dered.

The girl hailed from Ghotkidistrict, which recently wit-nessed riots after a school prin-cipal from the minority Hinducommunity was booked oncharges of alleged blasphemy.

Pak police detain two classmates inHindu dental student's mysterious death

PTI n WASHINGTON

India has become a leader inthe global fight against a

youth e-cigarette epidemic bytaking a "historic" decision toban such nicotine and tobaccoproducts, a US-based top advo-cacy group has said.

The Government onWednesday banned produc-tion, import and sale of e-cig-arettes and similar products,citing health risk to people,especially youth. An ordinancewill be brought in to make it anoffence, entailing jail term of upto three years as well as fine.

The decision was taken bythe Union cabinet headed byPrime Minister NarendraModi.

President of Campaign forTobacco-Free Kids Matthew LMyers said India's decision toban the sale, manufacture,import and advertising of e-cig-arettes nationwide was a "boldeffort" to protect youth fromthe risk of nicotine addiction.

He praised theGovernment for taking suchdecisive action to prevent ayouth e-cigarette epidemic inIndia.

Banning e-cigarettes‘historic’ move, says US-based advocacy group

AP n MANILA

Philippine health officialsdeclared a polio outbreak in

the country on Thursday, near-ly two decades after the WorldHealth Organisation declared itto be free of the highly conta-gious and potentially deadlydisease.

Health Secretary FranciscoDuque III said at a news con-ference that authorities haveconfirmed at least one case ofpolio in a 3-year-old girl insouthern Lanao del Surprovince and detected the poliovirus in sewage in Manila andin waterways in the southernDavao region.

Those findings are enoughto declare an outbreak of thecrippling disease in a previouslypolio-free country like thePhilippines, he said.

The World Health Organisation and theUnited Nations Children's Fund expresseddeep concern over polio'sreemergence in the countryand said they would supportthe government in immunizingchildren, who are the most sus-ceptible, and strengtheningsurveillance.

"As long as one single child remains infected, children across the countryand even beyond are at risk ofcontracting polio," UNICEF Philippines repre-sentative Oyun Dendevnorovsaid.

Philippinesdeclares newpolio outbreakafter 19 years

It’s almost been two months since PrimeMinister Narendra Modi upset thePakistani applecart by amending Article370 of the Constitution and dividing theerstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir

(J&K) into two Union Territories. To suggestthat the Pakistani leadership has gone ballis-tic, as it finds itself scrambling to come up witha coherent policy to counter Modi’s initiative,would be an understatement. Of course, with-in the Valley, stringent security measures thathave been in place since August 5, have notjust prevented any display of collective angerbut have also made it extremely difficult toassess how the average Kashmiri will respondonce restrictions are lifted.

There is little doubt that the biggestimpediment to the integration of the State intothe Indian Union has been Article 370, whichcame into effect on January 26, 1950, whenthe Constituent Assembly approved and pro-mulgated the Constitution. In effect, theArticle kept the question of J&K joining theUnion of India ambivalent. This despite thefact that the Maharaja of J&K had signed theDocument of Accession unconditionallyand had willingly accepted the State’s integra-tion into the Indian Union, as was his rightto do. This ambivalence, along with the man-ner in which the Central and StateGovernments have acted over the years, hasconfused and strained the loyalties ofKashmiris towards the country.

The irony is that while Pakistan is nowobjecting to the abrogation of Article 370 andcalling it illegal, its position on this issue wasdiametrically opposite in 1951. This can beinferred from the Pakistan Government’s let-ters No S/2119 and S/2145, addressed to thepresident of the United Nations SecurityCouncil (UNSC), which though not availablein the public domain, implies just that. Thestatement of the then UNSC President to theSecurity Council made at that time read:“Members of the Security Council, at its 548thmeeting held on May 29, 1951, have heardwith satisfaction the assurances of the repre-sentative of India that any ConstituentAssembly that may be established in Srinagaris not intended to prejudice the issues beforethe Security Council or come in its way. Onthe other hand, the two communications tome, as President of the Council, from the rep-resentatives of Pakistan, set forth in docu-ments S/2119 and S/2145, contain reportswhich, if they are correct, indicate that stepsare being taken by the Yuvaraja of J&K to con-voke a Constituent Assembly, one functionof which, according to Sheikh Abdullah,would be ‘a decision on the further shape andaffiliation poof Kashmir’. It is the sense of theSecurity Council that these reports, if correct,would involve procedures which are in con-flict with the commitments of the parties todetermine the future accession of the State bya fair and impartial plebiscite conducted underUnited Nations auspices.”

If the contents of the letters do confirmwhat is suggested, then Pakistan must certain-ly be asked to justify the change in its stance.

What this will prove is thatPakistan’s actions are lacking inconsistency and are hypocritical,to say the least. Not that the issueof hypocrisy is in doubt given itsblatant disregard for UN resolu-tions. One may recall that bothIndia and Pakistan had acceptedthe United Nations SecurityCouncil Resolution (UNSCR)No 80 of March 14, 1950, thatcalled for plebiscite. This was con-ditional as the first step in thatprocess was the withdrawal ofPakistani forces within fivemonths. That Pakistan refused towithdraw from the territories ithad illegally occupied and con-tinues to subjugate till date is notdisputed.

Moreover, it went further inthis regard by taking unilateralsteps to cede territories to China,separated Gilgit and Baltistanadministratively from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and carriedout extensive and widespreaddemographic changes in thisregion, thus reducing theKashmiri population to a minor-ity. In these circumstances, thevalidity of the resolution is inquestion.

Not surprisingly, Pakistan isnot the only one left tongue-tiedand confused by recent events.Opposition parties back home,both at the national and Statelevel, such as the Congress andits allies along with the Left, theNational Conference, and thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP), too, found themselves ina similar predicament. Of course,one can sympathise with the

confusion within the Kashmiriparties given the fact that theirfirst-rung leadership remains indetention or “protective cus-tody”, whichever way one maylike to term it. Yet, their confu-sion appears to have been bornout of a sense of apathy, tunnelvision and a refusal to undertakeany change in status quo, despitebeing fully aware that substan-tive political steps needed to betaken if the cycle of violence wasto be broken and insurgencystamped out. Their inactionclearly showed that not only didthey accrue benefits from the“business of insurgency” butwere also apathetic to the con-sequences of their actions on thelocal population, the Army, theCRPF and local police, whocontinued to pay in blood.

The parties also ignored thefact that the BJP had included theabrogation of Articles 370 and35A in its election manifesto andthat these issues were findingincreasing prominence in thepublic discourse. Given the PrimeMinister’s track record in suchmatters during his first tenure,they cannot be fully blamed forbeing lulled into a sense of com-placency. Opposition parties havesubsequently also had to dealwith the overwhelming supportthis action received within thecountry, leaving aside some ele-ments in the Kashmir Valley, whoin any case will never be pleasedwith whatever the CentralGovernment does.

“Mainlanders”, as Indiansfrom outside the Valley are

referred to by the locals, are most-ly at a loss to understand the angstof the average Kashmiri. The airof entitlement and superioritythat pervades the Valley is utter-ly incomprehensible, given thefact that it is the taxpayers’money that has been utilised overthe decades to feed their egos andlifestyles.

Facts will speak for them-selves: With just one per cent ofIndia’s population, the Statereceived 10 per cent of all Centralgrants between 2000 and 2016. Incomparison, Uttar Pradesh, thataccommodates 13 per cent of thepopulation, received just 8.5 percent of these grants within thesame period. Not that this infu-sion of funds has done anythingfor the average Kashmiri, espe-cially when one sees that the netper capita State GDP increasedfrom approximately `40,000 toonly around `60,000 during2012-17.

In comparison, in a hill Stateof similar size, Himachal Pradesh,the per capita net GDP grewfrom ̀ 80,000 to ̀ 1,20,000 with-in the same period. Therefore, theaverage taxpayer is certainly enti-tled to ask where has all themoney gone? Who is to be heldaccountable and why wasn’t thisstep taken three decades ago, ifnot earlier? Many have expresseddoubts that the abrogation ofArticle 370 has played into thehands of the separatists. Bydestroying the credibility of theleadership of the mainline polit-ical parties within the State, it willbe the militants who will fill the

vacuum left behind. That supportwould be contingent on thebelief that the CentralGovernment will usher in demo-graphic changes that will impingeon their culture, language and theway of life.

This need not be so if theregion is given a special statusunder Article 471, as has beendone for other States likeHimachal Pradesh, Uttarakhandand some in the North-East.However, what is undeniable isthat every Kashmiri, whetherhe/she admits it or not, is fullycognisant that status quo overthese past decades has only heldthem hostage to unending vio-lence and a scramble to eke outa living. They also know that overthe years, the only ones to havebenefitted were the politicians,the separatists and those runningthe administration as they wereall complicit in ensuring thatrequired checks and balancescould be avoided.

Well, if Prime Minister Modican implement even half of whathe has promised, there is littledoubt that J&K will undergo amassive transformation for thebetter. Therefore, the choicebefore the people is crystal clear.The only thing one can no longerdo is to sit astride both boats andblame the consequences on circumstance or fate.

(The writer, a military veter-an, is a consultant with theObserver Research Foundationand a Senior Visiting Fellow withThe Peninsula Foundation,Chennai)

There’s no doubt that Non-ResidentIndians (NRIs) have been assets to hostcountries. But now they can be the

nation’s valued spokespersons, lobbyists andambassadors and project our face to the worldas the UN’s International Migrant Stock reporthas declared the Indian diaspora to be thebiggest with a total strength of 17.5 million.Though we have been topping the diasporachart in recent times, what is commendableis that we have been able to maintain our spotdespite stringent visa norms by some nations.

This pool represents a little over six per cent of the total global migrant popu-lation. The latest report comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Howdy”event in Houston where he is expected to address a 50,000-strong congrega-tion of NRIs, a constituency that even US President Donald Trump cannot ignoreas he hopes to cultivate numbers for his re-election campaign. With the US impos-ing strict migration norms, the number of Indians migrating to the United ArabEmirates (UAE) outnumbered those of the US, clearly pointing out that you can-not put down an enterprising Indian. This despite a 21 per cent decline in thenumber of emigration clearances to the UAE.

For some time now, Asian nations have sought to tap into their diaspora topresent their case to the Western majors, convince them of their growth poten-tial, procure funding and improve technical knowhow. It is the intense engage-ment with the diaspora that has helped us score many points in both interna-tional and soft diplomacy, strengthened our brand and reshaped perceptions.India is among the largest remittance-receiving countries in the world with NRIsploughing back $80 billion back home. These have had a multiplier effect on oureconomy, particularly in the social sectors that encompass a slew of education-al and healthcare projects. They have also been instrumental in bringing backinternational domain expertise, the reason why Bengaluru, Gurugram andHyderabad have today become technological hubs with the existence of multi-national companies like Google, Amazon, IKEA and Facebook among others. TheGovernment could immediately formalise a rotation exchange programme at alllevels for top NRI scientists, engineers, doctors, managers and professionals toserve in their home country for a brief period. The Indian diaspora consists ofsome accomplished individuals, who have made the country proud. Many ofthem are visible in electoral politics and even hold key positions within admin-istrations in other nations. With their increasing prominence, the Government,too, has been reaching out to them to keep them invested in the cause of fur-thering India’s interests. Besides, with countries like Canada and Australia relax-ing rules for work permits based on competence and even Germany encourag-ing flow of skilled workers and service professionals, there’s an exodus of mid-dle classes. We need to keep them connected. The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas hasemerged as a solid cross-flow platform while the Government has been walk-ing the extra mile to rescue Indians from crisis situations, be it in Iraq, Syria orLibya. Yet much more needs to be done to ensure big-ticket investments andNRI inclusion in the domestic discourse. The Government needs to work on apolicy outreach consistently as NRIs clearly are our “strategic asset.”

Decades of action by advocacy groupsand the anti-tobacco lobby had finallymade smoking uncool, to a degree at

least, among younger people. This was a bigchange considering smoking was, for almosta century, one of the ultimate hallmarks of con-fidence for teenagers and a sign of havingarrived. Films, brands and advertisements hadreinforced that image till the time research did-n’t link life-threatening diseases to a costlyindulgence. Sustained campaigning might nothave got many smokers to kick the butt but

they looked for alternatives. And then vaping came along as an option. Bornthrough the burgeoning marijuana industry in the US, it involves taking a liquidconcentrate and “vapourising” it by heating it to extreme temperatures thanksto an electric arc. It is a cleaner way of inhaling active ingredients and the UStobacco industry, wary of losing customers to the burgeoning competition, quick-ly adopted vaping or electronic cigarettes as a method of consumption. But muchlike hookahs in India, where “flavoured” mixes made the habit popular amonga younger audience, flavoured vapes became a hot-seller. For kids, smokingbubblegum flavoured e-cigarette concentrates and exchanging their capsulesbecame the “new cool.” But then many experts claimed that vaping innocu-ous flavoured mixes could be a gateway to ultimate nicotine addiction. Vapingwas also claimed to tax our lungs in much the same way. So banning e-ciga-rettes was, some argued, the need of the hour. Of course, nobody is consid-ering that the stricture could also push more smokers to conventional tobac-co. Besides, is the Government being truly altruistic, considering that it appearsto be playing into the hands of the tobacco lobby? Banning e-cigarettes defi-nitely makes it look more interested in protecting cigarette companies and rais-es questions if there is a vested interest involved. The ghoulish advisories inmultiplexes and on cigarette packets look hypocritical too.

As for the target audience, the ban will have little impact. Rebellious teenagerswill continue to smoke e-cigarettes. Going by past experiences, banning sub-stances has no impact on usage. Psychotropic drugs are a strict no-no butgo to any party with college students and you will find a plethora of substances,including LSD, being bandied about. The fact is that the Government has suc-cumbed to the tobacco lobby again, which was fearful of losing its high-endcustomers who bought expensive cigarettes. After all, vaping is not somethingfor those with limited purchasing power; only the rich can afford it. These arenot the individuals who will be hurt by this ban which, therefore, will end upbeing pointless. Instead, the curbs will drive the market for concentrates ande-cigarettes underground, which will be dangerous. Therefore, regulation andtaxation are the need of the hour. Most citizens are actually not interested inbreaking the law and would have been happy to pay the taxes and smoke lowerconcentrations of nicotine in their liquids. This is also another example of Indiabecoming a “nanny state” and “maximum Government, minimum governance.”Trotting out the Finance Minister to announce the ban when the economy isin the doldrums is just another sign that the Government is not taking up realmatters seriously. Ingenuous Indians will find a way to work around it and oth-ers will make a living breaking it, much like the joke that prohibition was inGujarat until it was relaxed.

Missing woods for trees

Discriminatory provision

Sir — Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanathdeserves commendation fordoing away with the four-decade-old illogical practice of payingincome tax of Ministers from thepublic exchequer. One wonderswhy and how the anti-publicpolicy was adopted and why it isstill prevalent in Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Haryana,Uttarakhand and HimachalPradesh. These States must alsoabolish the practice.

At the very least, the PrimeMinister can advise the BJP-ruled States to do so and hopethat the remaining would followout of a sense of shame. Salaries,perks, privileges and post-retire-ment benefits, including pen-sion to all those in the legislature,should be taken up by the Centre,rather than leaving them at thediscretion of State Governments.

SC AgrawalDelhi

Progressive step

Sir — India has done well to banthe sale of electronic cigarettes.

With 106 million adult smokers,the country ranks second only toChina in the world, making it alucrative market for companiesmaking vaping products such asUS-based Juul and Philip Morris,who manufacture the heat-not-burn tobacco device.

Essentially, the ban can cut offa huge future market from e-cig-arette makers at a time when the

number of people smokingworldwide is seeing a decline.

As expected, the Associationof Vapers India, which representse-cigarette users, attacked theGovernment’s decision, saying itwould deprive millions of smok-ers of a safer solution to cut backon smoking. They say vaping is farless harmful than smoking tobac-co. But many tobacco-control

activists are of the view that theusage of such devices could lead tonicotine addiction and push thepeople towards the consumptionof tobacco. With this ban, muchmore holistic work is needed tobring down the overall tobacco usein India. Clearly much more needsto be done for a smoke-free nation.

J Akshay Bengaluru

Creating unrest

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Farooq, now a threat”(September 18). It is unfortunatethat former Jammu & KashmirChief Minister Farooq Abdullahwas arrested and his home turnedinto jail under the draconianPublic Safety Act, which entailsdetention of up to two years for“posing a threat to State securityand territorial integrity.” His arrestspeaks more about theGovernment than about a manwho, until now, was the face of themoderate Kashmiri.

He and his son, OmarAbdullah, may have much answer-ing to do about their record of gov-ernance in Jammu & Kashmir butnone can question their fealty tothe Constitution. It is known thatthis 82-year-old man is no threatto Indian territorial integrity orState security. It is astonishing thatthe court has accepted it withouteven questioning the Centre forusing a draconian Act against a keypolitical leader.

JS AcharyaHyderabad

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

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionHYDERABAD | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Pakistan’s hypocrisy

DEEPAK SINHA

Our neighbour can keep raging over the revocation of Article 370 but J&K will undergo amassive transformation if even half of what has been promised is implemented

If anyone from Pakistan goesto India to fight jihad...he willbe the first to do injustice toKashmiris, he will be theenemy of Kashmiris.

Pakistan Prime Minister—Imran Khan

They say men don't cry.Crying doesn't meanbeing strong or weak.It's a release of an emotion. Why stop it?

Actor—Sunny Deol

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

Do what’s right for the Valley

This refers to the editorial, “Farooq, now a threat”(September 18). The turn of events in Jammu &Kashmir has been disconcerting. Former Chief

Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullahdid not deserve to be booked under the Public SafetyAct and arrested and jailed in his own house. Like manyof his compatriots, he has only exercised his right to anopinion. Booking a leader, who has served as a “bridge”between the Valley and mainland India for severaldecades, is a clear indication of the trust deficit betweenthose in power in New Delhi and the Kashmiri leaders.

The treatment now being meted out to the three-time Chief Minister is blatant ingratitude because he hasopenly advocated the Valley’s continued existence as anintegral part of India. The worst part is that the coun-try’s top court has not come to his rescue and object-ed to his detention in lieu of his Constitutionally guar-anteed rights. Moves like the detention of leaders likeFarooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Muftido not help dispel the concerns about attitude regard-

ing the Valley’s integration with the rest of India. Theworld’s largest democracy that it is, India must easerestrictions, allow freedom and dissent and enable thepeople to breathe easy.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Howdy NRIs

Earlier the slogan was KashmirHumara Hai (Kashmir is ours).Now we must work towards a newone, Naya Kashmir banana hai(We must make a new Kashmir).

Prime Minister—Narendra Modi

Banning electronic cigarettes might send a message but will only drive usage underground

UN report lists Indian diaspora to be the largest at 17.5million, a number we should harvest as a strategic asset

Human rights must be fullyrespected in the territory anddialogue between India andPakistan is an essential elementfor a solution to the problem.

UN chief —Antonio Guterres

Focus on making history

IT IS A MISPLACED FACT THAT PEOPLE IN PAKISTANARE UNHAPPY. THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT HAS

BEEN SPREADING LIES FOR POLITICAL BENEFITS.—NCP LEADER SHARAD PAWAR

I FEEL BAD WHEN A LEADER LIKE PAWAR MAKESWRONG STATEMENTS FOR VOTES. EVERYONEKNOWS WHERE THE TERROR FACTORY IS. — PRIME MINISTERNARENDRA MODI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

There is a performance zone in which weall thrive. When handling critical projects,teams not only require resources but also

need to work in an environment free from dis-tractions and disturbances so that they canachieve their objectives. It is always the last lap,“minutes of terror” rather, that defines the dif-ference between success and failure.

A calm, sedate environment and resoluteattention to micro-details are not only requiredbut also expected. After investing so much effortin planning, if things go wrong, the team hasto take all the negative consequences in theirstride. Particularly when it is something as crit-ical as a space mission that is on the global radar,apart from being a matter of immense nation-al pride.

Something similar happened recently withthe Chandrayaan-2 mission at the Indian SpaceResearch Organisation (ISRO), an institution thecountry takes immense pride in. After the spaceagency lost communication with the Vikramlander ahead of the touchdown, the visuals ontelevision sets were of bewildered and disap-pointed faces in the mission control room,which was crowded with clunky cameras andpeering eyes.

A frustrated look here, a distracted coun-tenance there, the devastation and tension waspalpable and writ large on the faces of the staff,desperately trying to make contact with theVikram during the final act. In their hearts, theywere probably also praying to be left alone todo their jobs since a complication had arisen.It was not as if they didn’t know failures, the suc-cess of their launches has come through them.And perhaps, they are best equipped to handletheir lows but not at the expense of beingpanned by the world.

The price of encroaching upon mental andphysical spaces — no matter how slightly or rev-erently — comes at the cost of the team’s opti-mal functioning. It can handicap its focus onthe crucial work at hand.

The sanctity of the operation control roomcannot be violated. No external gadgetry or per-sonnel should ever make way into the sanctumsanctorum. What if a short circuit happened dueto faulty equipment brought in? There’s alwaysthe possibility of a camera battery catching fireor some such mishap. Where would that leadus? It was surprising to see such a risky act play-ing out freely in front of our eyes in the mis-sion control room itself. The operation controlcentre is kept out of bounds to non-essentialstaff, personnel and gadgets. In the entirescheme of things, mission control rooms occu-py a highly sanitised, secure, safe and seclud-ed space, be it airports, ports or railway net-works. And here we are talking about a spacemission! Second, the world can wait. There isa difference between witnessing history and his-tory being “made.” The witnessing part can wait.Let’s first focus on making the history. Let’s getthe job done first. Successful execution shouldbe the only priority, as compared to the ritualsof receiving visitors and posing for the cameras.

There should be a provision for deferred livebroadcast of such major events once the mis-sion has been accomplished. It is not a soccermatch for the public to enjoy; it is a highly

nerve-racking scientific operationbeing played out at the far end of thegalaxy. What is the point of adding tothe pressure in an already highly-charged environment while our scien-tists are still remotely choreographingand delicately manoeuvering a spacemission in the vast expanses of outerspace?

The media circus surroundingthe coverage of the event was as usualclichéd. But what came as a new lowwas some media personnel harangu-ing the scientists to bring none otherthan the ISRO chief to face theirqueries during a press conference. Thatwas when the mission was still underway and operational issues were stillbeing sorted! It also clearly shows howthe space organisation has been leftwanting in handling their communi-cations protocols.

Barring a few exceptions, sciencejournalism died long ago in the coun-try. No wonder television channelsthought it fit to send “politicalreporters” in droves to cover this spe-cific event. The media’s wall-to-wallcoverage was as usual clichéd. The corecompetencies of our television anchorsto take on character-acting and drama-tisation with ease comes quite natural-ly to them, just like a fish takes to thewater.

It would have saved the day if themedia and invitees were only allowedafter the operations were definitivelycomplete and a recorded minute-by-minute account was relayed to them,sans nail biting suspense, which only

a handful of staff should be privilegedto access and witness first, in a stud-ied controlled environment setting. Itwould also have saved the techniciansand scientists a lot of unwanted atten-tion and pressure.

Also, in the light of the partial fail-ure of the mission and the subsequentemotional breakdown of the chief, itwould have saved ISRO a lot of embar-rassment and heartbreak too.

The presence of top bosses, be itpolitical or executive, might lift up theteam’s spirit but it can also add unduepressure and divert attention andtime. When there is a delicate andexpensive mission waiting to be exe-cuted, a few milliseconds are all thatit takes to make a difference betweensuccess and failure. Had India success-fully landed the craft, it would havebeen the fourth nation in the world toland a vessel on the Moon’s surface,and only the third to operate a robot-ic rover there. The Chandrayaan-2mission, which cost roughly $140million, was intended to study the per-manently shadowed moon craters,thought to contain water deposits, con-firmed by the Chandrayaan-1 mission11 years ago. However, that was not tobe.

Whatever the loss, national prideor monetary, let us not patronise sci-entists by thumping their backs or wip-ing their tears. They need none of that.Perhaps none other than the scientif-ic community knows it better and isaccustomed to accepting failures withgrace and humility before they hit

upon success. That this is so was veryevident from the encouraging and gra-cious responses of space scientists fromcountries, who have been part of fail-ures and successes of missions like this.It is part and parcel of their daily rou-tine and high stakes space missions.We just need to maintain a measured,respectful and dispassionate distancefrom those who are executing theirwork. It is their sole and primaryresponsibility to the nation to performand maintain the integrity of theprocess without fixating on results.Nothing should come in their way. Weshould leave them to their devices andlet their work speak eloquently.

Lastly, with such high stakes, it isalso unseemly to see a lack of well-trained professional communicationapparatus to handle such events. ISROcould have handled the media in amore nuanced manner. It is time thatcommunications become a key com-ponent for the organisation in all itsfuture endeavours.

Let us hope research organisationsdo not fall prey to or are smitten bymedia coverage but are only concernedwith delivering feats that open up thenext frontiers of science whichChandrayaan-2 was destined to do. Letus leave the scientific communityalone; they know their job and theycan deliver without falling into the trapof making everything into a televisedspectacle.

(The writer is a seasoned commu-nications professional and manage-ment consultant based in New Delhi)

There is a lesson to be learnt from the coverage of the Chandrayaan-2 mission andthat is there is a difference between witnessing an epic feat unfold and achieving it

analysis 09F I R S T C O L U M N

The Modi-Trumpbromance show

KUMARDEEP BANERJEE

India and the US will have to draw a roadmap ofengagements and discussions to serve as each

other's natural strategic allies

VV SUNDAR

LET US HOPERESEARCH

ORGANISATIONSDO NOT FALL

PREY TO OR ARESMITTEN BY

MEDIACOVERAGE, BUT

ARE ONLYCONCERNED

WITH DELIVERINGFEATS THAT OPEN

UP THE NEXTFRONTIERS OF

SCIENCE WHICHCHANDRAYAAN-2

WAS DESTINEDTO DO. LET US

LEAVE THESCIENTIFIC

COMMUNITYALONE, THEY

KNOW THEIR JOBAND THEY CAN

DELIVERWITHOUT

FALLING INTO THETRAP OF MAKING

EVERYTHING INTOA TELEVISED

SPECTACLE

Leaders of two of the world’s oldest and largest democracieswill jointly face one of the biggest national minorityinfluencer/voter groups in Houston, in what could be one of

the “greatest shows around the globe” highlighting close culturaland economic ties between India and the US. The venue for thisshow has been carefully chosen, with attention to detail, beginningwith the theme “Howdy Modi,” a play on the popular Texan greet-ing. The state of Texas, also referred to as the “Lone Star”, to sig-nify its former status as an independent republic post its freedomstruggle against Mexico and subsequent accession to the US, hasbeen carefully chosen at an opportune time when Pakistan-led forcesare trying to draw international attention to Kashmir. Widely usedimages of the Wild West, a fearless, trigger happy cowboy, ridinga horse and ready to protect his cattle, fit in well with the “toughmen” image of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US PresidentDonald Trump.

But there is more. With the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slight-ly short of the $2-trillion mark, Texas is America’s second-largesteconomy. In fact, if it were still a sovereign state it would have beenthe world’s tenth-largest economy. Houston, the largest metropo-lis in Texas, is India’s fourth-largest trading partner with bilateraltrade in excess of $7 billion in 2018. This state is high on energywith crude oil productions and oil refineries fuelling manyeconomies around the globe. Clearly India, with a $2.7 trillion econ-omy racing towards the $5 trillion mark, needs vast energy sourcesto arrive early!

Those heady numbers apart, the foundation of a long-term rela-tionship lies in creating long-term “optical frameworks” for a strate-gically chosen target audience. Texas is home to nearly 2.5 lakhIndian-Americans, historically conservative in their political beliefsand wealthier than other such national groups. This fits in well withboth the Modi and Trump brand of politics, given their emphasison projecting “strong men” images, saviours of culture and the clar-ion call to make the homeland “Great Again,” in front of a large audi-ence.

Statistically, this would be the largest Indian diaspora (50,000-strong) both Modi and Trump will be facing in the US for the firsttime. This would be Trump’s brush with Indian-style election cam-paigning, with song, dance and promises. Promises to be madeand kept, to put India-US bilateral trade talks back on the track. Theworld’s largest democracies hit a rough patch in the last one yearwith trade and tariff restrictions souring traditional relationships morethan impacting the actual trade. India and the US will be eager toannounce trade deals, keeping in mind domestic constituencies.The event will also see participation from American leadership cut-ting across party lines. Apart from Republican and DemocraticCongressmen and Senators, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer,the second-ranking member of the Democratic leadership, is alsogoing to address the ‘Howdy Modi’ event. This reflects the strongbipartisan support for India-US relations.

Not surprisingly, US and Indian trade ministers have been busyin preparatory talks in the run-up to the show, with as many as tenphone calls between them. India is saddled with a not-so-officialslowing economy and Trump needs a big trade victory ahead of2020. The restrictions on benefits under generalised trade prefer-ences may be first on the agenda from the Indian perspective, whilehigher tariffs on high-end medical devices and tech products willbe the go-to agenda from the US side. There may be a softeningof stance by either economies and a turn of phrase or a change inverbiage may ease “ready to roll” big ticket investment and part-nership announcements.

On the platter also would be the great divide between India andUS on definition and movement of data across boundaries. Indiais in the middle of framing rules and guidelines around personaland non-personal data usage, storage, monetisation and accessi-bility. The US and many “countries of origin of big data-using com-panies” are watching this space with keenness as any restrictionsimposed here may lead to huge consequences for the future of invest-ment flows. Even though data may not feature prominently in Indo-US trade talks on September 22, somewhere, the two sides oughtto make it a bilateral dialogue as it will be beneficial for both coun-tries in the long run. For now, besides a compelling three-hour broad-cast on Sunday, keenly watched by many across the globe, withmany more searches being generated for Houston on Google, Indiaand the US will have to draw a roadmap of engagements and dis-cussions to arrive at a balance for constituencies and economy onbilateral trade issues as well as serve as each other’s natural strate-gic allies.

(The writer is a policy analyst)

The civil services have con-tributed immensely to nation-building since India’s

Independence, yet they are criti-cised for resisting changes, stiflinginnovation and being oblivious toexternal realities. There is also agrowing perception that there’s alack of performance accountabili-ty and that misdeeds of civil ser-vants often go unpunished. Toaddress these challenges, theGovernment, in the last five years,has initiated a series of reforms thathave impacted almost all sections ofthe bureaucracy.

Keeping the sanctity of therecruitment process in the civil ser-vices is a must to ensure that fresh-ers do not develop a cynical attitude.The Government realised that per-sonality tests or interviews did notadd any value to the recruitmentprocess at the lower levels ofbureaucracy. Instead, they onlycreated a subjectivity which oftenled to corruption and nepotism.Hence, it decided to discontinuewith the interviews in the recruit-

ments for Group C and Group Bnon-gazetted posts. Many StateGovernments also followed suit.The results have been quite encour-aging as the candidates have beenpleasantly surprised for havingbeen selected on merit withoutresorting to payment of bribes orusing undue influence.

The Fundamental Rule 56-Jand All-India Death-Cum-Retirement Benefit rules providethat the Government can prema-turely retire any civil servant aftergiving three months’ notice.However, for years, these provisionsfor screening of deadwood were notbeing implemented. These rules arenow being implemented and athorough screening of servicerecords of officials by a committeeis helping identify non-performers.This exercise has sent a message thatthere is a premium attached to bothperformance and probity.

It was also noticed that thecadre-allotment policies were weak-ening the all-India character of theservices and were detrimental to the

spirit of cooperative federalism.The officers were being allottedcadres based on choice. This result-ed in officers landing either in theirhome or adjoining cadre, thus fos-tering inertia and a hesitation toserve on central deputation in theGovernment. In fact, the serviceswere slowly being converted intoglorified State services.

The Government brought areformed cadre allotment policy in2017, based on a roster for fiveregions in which all the cadres wereclubbed, thus ensuring that the all-India character of the services wasrestored. It also encouraged officerswho have served in cadres otherthat their domicile, to opt for cen-tral deputation.

It was also noticed that fresh-ly-recruited IAS officers got impor-tant field-level posts like that ofDistrict Magistrate, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Zila Parishads andMunicipal Corporations for thefirst 10 to 12 years of their service.However, they often lacked thenational perspective while serving

at the grassroots and this hamperedtheir effectiveness. To address thisissue, since 2015, freshly-recruitedIAS officers are being deputed asAssistant Secretaries in theGovernment of India for threemonths immediately after theiracademy training and just beforethey go back to their respective Statecadres for field postings. Experiencehas shown that this innovationhelped young officers imbibe anational perspective that helpedthem address local issues holistical-ly and with confidence.

Further, the performance ofcivil servants was measured primar-ily through the elaborate system ofPerformance Appraisal Reports(PARs). It was realised that due tothe complete disclosure of PARs tothe officers assessed, there waswidespread grade inflation. Officerswere being over-assessed and ratedoutstanding, notwithstanding theirperformance. PAR had become apublic relations exercise with super-visory officers reluctant to givelower rating for fear of strained rela-

tions at the workplace. This had anadverse impact on the empanelmentof officers at the Joint Secretary,Additional Secretary and Secretaryor equivalent levels. It became dif-ficult to distinguish high perform-ers from others. The Government,therefore, implemented the processof Multi Source Feedback (MSF) or360 degree appraisal, which is usedalong with the PARs to assess thesuitability of officers for higher posi-tions in the Government. This wasalso recommended by the SecondAdministrative ReformsCommission, as well as theSurendranath Committee onPerformance Appraisal Reforms.

This intervention created rip-ples in bureaucratic circles as thefeedback about officers wasobtained from peers, subordinatesand seniors on various personalityattributes. The success of this inter-vention will, however, be judged bythe resulting inclusion of errors inthe reformed empanelment process,since the exclusion errors can becorrected by subsequent reviews.

There was also a demand forlateral infusion of talent from out-side to enrich Government policyprocesses. The high echelons of pol-icy-making are primarily mannedby officers from three sources. TheIndian Administrative Services(IAS), other participating All Indiaand Central services and theCentral Secretariat Services (CSS).The Government decided to bringin talent from outside through lat-eral recruitment at the JointSecretary Level. Ten such positionswere thrown open and recruit-ment were done through the UnionPublic Service Commission(UPSC). It will be interesting towatch their contributions and amal-gamation in the working of theGovernment. This reform is likelyto generate a healthy competitionamong peers, fostering profession-alism, efficiency and competenciesin the policy-making process.

While these reforms wereaimed at bringing in accountabili-ty in performance and conduct, theGovernment also addressed rising

concerns related to the policy paral-ysis resulting from risk aversenessamong the civil services.Significantly, the risk awarenesswas brought on by multiple inves-tigations by anti-corruption agen-cies in various cases. The amend-ments in the Prevention ofCorruption Act, 1988 passed in2018 has provisions that are aimedat protecting honest and well-meaning civil servants. The provi-sion of prior approval for initiatingany investigation and deletion ofSection 13 (1) d(iii) of the Act werea result of the Government’s resolveto send a message that bonafidecommercial decision will be defend-ed and civil servants may go aheadwith bold decision making in pub-lic interest. These reforms areexpected to bring in the desiredaccountability, professionalism andcompetencies in the civil services tomeet modern day challenges.

(The writer is PrincipalSecretary, Medical, Health & FamilyWelfare Department, in UttarPradesh Govt.)

A time of reckoning for babus at lastTo change the growing perception that there is a lack of accountability regarding performance and misdeeds of civil servants, theModi Government has brought in reforms that are expected to foster professionalism and competence, says Devesh Chaturvedi

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 money 10

CAPSULE

Maruti crosses 10-lakhexports milestonefrom Mundra PortNEW DELHI: Maruti SuzukiIndia (MSI) on Thursday said ithas crossed 10 lakh exportsmark from Mundra port inGujarat after commencinginternational dispatches adecade ago. With shipments tomore than 125 countries, thecompany's cumulative exportshave already crossed 18 lakhunits mark. MSI exports modelsfrom the Mundra port to variousgeographies like Latin Americaand Europe."Within a decade ofcommencement of exports fromMundra, we achieved thesignificant milestone of shippingthe one millionth car," MSIManaging Director and CEOKenichi Ayukawa said in astatement. The company hasalways aligned its exportsstrategy to keep pace with thechanging market scenario, headded.

OYO expands to over100 hotels in morethan 21 states in USNEW DELHI: Hospitality firmOYO on Thursday said it hasexpanded its presence to over100 hotels in more than 21states in the United States.The company has committedUSD 300 million as an initialinvestment in the US to fuelrapid growth across thecountry, OYO said in astatement. "We are excitedwith our rapid growth andearly success in the US, ournewest home market," OYOfounder and Chief ExecutiveOfficer Ritesh Agarwal said.The US is a key home marketfor the company given its hugepotential, he added. Thecompany had recently partneredwith hospitality investment andmanagement companyHighgate to open its first keyflagship property OYO Hotel &Casino in Las Vegas in the US.

NY Fed to pump $ 75bn more into moneymarkets on ThursdayNEW DELHI: For a thirdstraight day, the FederalReserve Bank of New York onThursday will inject billionsinto US money markets topreserve the FederalReserve's control over short-term interest rates.In astatement late Wednesday, theNew York Fed said it will againconduct a repurchaseagreement operation of up toUSD 75 billion to offer moreliquidity to the system. Itoffered the same amount inrepo operations Tuesday andWednesday. Banks havestruggled in recent days tofind the cash needed to meetreserve requirements whichhas pushed up short-termborrowing rates.

Govt to invite global players forrollout of coal mining auctionPNS n NEW DELHI

In a bid to liberalise the coalsector, the government is plan-ning to invite global players forthe roll out of auction plan forcommercial mining byDecember this year, UnionMinister Pralhad Joshi said onThursday.

The maiden move aimed atcutting coal exports is set toend the monopoly of domesticgiant Coal India that accountsfor over 80 per cent of theIndia's dry-fuel output.

"Hundred per cent com-mercial mining is approved. ByDecember or so we are plan-ning to roll it out," Coal, Minesand and Parliamentary AffairsMinister Joshi told reporters onthe sidelines of the NationalGeoscience Award 2018.

He said that the governmentwill invite global players forthis, as 100 per cent FDI in coalwill lead to more investors incoal mining operations withbetter technology.

"We are inviting global play-ers. There is already 100 percent FDI. More investors willcome... We are hoping to getbetter technology. Whateverthe shortcomings we have inthis sector as far as mining coalis concerned that (commercialmining) will be a boost to

address it. 100 per cent com-mercial mining is approved,"Joshi said.

Coal is the most importantand abundant fossil fuel inIndia. It accounts for 55 percent of the country's energyneeds and the government istrying to curb imports.

The country's coal importsincreased by 28.7 per cent to

24.14 million tonnes in June asagainst 18.75 million tonnes inthe corresponding month of

the previous fiscal.Total imports of thermal

coal rose to 56.23 million

tonnes during the quarter ascompared with the year-agoperiod.

The country's coal importsswelled by about 13 per cent to235.2 MT during the year-ended March 31, 2019.

Coal India along with thePSU Singareni CollieriesCompany Limited (SCCL) arethe only companies that tillnow were allowed to mineand sell coal.

Coal India is the the singlelargest coal producer in theworld, operating through 82mining areas with seven whol-ly owned coal producing sub-sidiaries and a mine planningand consultancy company, itaccounts for about 600 milliontonnes (MT) annual produc-tion.

As per the Coal Ministry,commercial primary energyconsumption in India hasgrown by about 700 per cent inthe last four decades but thecurrent per capita commercialprimary energy consumptionin India is about 350 kgoe/yearwhich is well below that ofdeveloped countries.

On issues pertaining to ironore mining, the Mines MinisterJoshi said that the govern-ment is working on it and willsee to it that there are noshortages of the mineral.

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, Pralhad Joshi presenting the National Geoscience Awards at afunction in New Delhi on Thursday.

Whatever the shortcomings we have in this sector as faras mining coal is concerned that (commercial mining)will be a boost to address it. 100 per cent commercial

mining is approved— PRALHAD JOSHI , Union MMinister

PNS n MUMBAI

Default by real estate-focusednon-banking financier AlticoCapital indicates the risingcash crunch with the devel-opers, which is credit negativefor banks given their exposureto the realty sector, warns areport.

Poor liquidity had last weekforced Altico Capital to defaulton an under-Rs 20-crorescheduled interest paymenton an ECB loan from MasherqBank of the UAE.

Banks' exposure to Altico,which owes over Rs 4,500crore to the credit market, isfairly modest and accounts forless than 0.1 percent of totalbanking system loans.

Altico's default comes afterDewan Housing Finance, withsignificant exposure to realestate developers, defaultedon its loan obligations fromJune because of insufficientliquidity, raising questionsabout its solvency.

"Altico default signalsincreasingly tight liquidityamong property developers,which is credit negative forbanks given their significantexposure to the real estate sec-tor," global rating agencyMoody's said in a reportThursday.

Banks also have indirectexposure to the real estate sec-tor through their lending toNBFCs and HFCs, which alsolend to developers.

According to the ReserveBank data, the overall expo-sure of NBFCs and HFCs tothe real estate sector wasonly about 6 percent oftheir total assets as of March2019. However, someNBFCs and HFCs are moreexposed than others, mak-

ing them vulnerable to aslowdown in the sector, itsaid.

Among the banks Moody'srates, Yes Bank and IndusindBank have the largest directexposure to the commercialreal estate and will be suscep-tible to asset quality difficul-ties if the sector continues toslow, the agency said, addingICICI Bank and Axis Bank arealso significantly exposed tothe sector, with commercialreal estate loans making upover 5 percent of their overallloans.

In response to the tighten-ing liquidity in the realty sec-tor, the government onSeptember 13 announced cre-ation of an investment fund toprovide soft loans to residen-tial real estate developersunable to access new fundingto complete their partially-constructed affordable hous-ing projects.

Under the plan, the gov-ernment will contribute Rs10,000 crore to the fund andexpects a similar amount fromentities, including the LIC,banks and other developmentinstitutions.

Banks' exposureto Altico, whichowes over Rs4,500 crore tothe creditmarket, is fairlymodest andaccounts forless than 0.1percent of totalbanking systemloans

Finmin gets nearly 100 applicationsfor post of RBI deputy governorPNS n NEW DELHI

Nearly 100 candidates haveapplied for the post of deputygovernor of the Reserve Bankof India (RBI) - a position thatfell vacant after Viral Acharyaresigned six months beforethe scheduled end of his term.

The finance ministry hasreceived about 100 applicationsfor the post, which have beensent to the high-level panel thatwill select a suitable candidatefor the post, sources said.

The Financial SectorRegulatory AppointmentsSearch Committee (FSRASC),headed by the cabinet secre-

tary, is free to identify and rec-ommend any other persontoo, who has not applied forthe post, based on merit.

The committee can alsorecommend relaxationin the eligibility andqualifications/expe-rience criteria, inrespect of outstand-ing candidates.

The last date forsubmission of appli-cation for the positionwas August 30.

Acharya was looking afterRBI's monetary policy depart-ment, including its forecast-ing and modelling unit.

He ended his stint as thedeputy governor earlier inJuly. As per the public notice,the appointment will be for a

period of three years andthe person will be eli-

gible for re-appoint-ment.

The applicantshould not be morethan 60 years of age

as on July 24, 2019,it said, adding that

the applicant should haveat least 25 years of work expe-rience in public administra-tion, including at the level ofsecretary or equivalent in thecentral government.

Nirav remanded till Oct 17, trial in May 2020PTI n LONDON

Fugitive diamond merchantNirav Modi, wanted in India inconnection with the nearly USD2 billion PNB fraud and moneylaundering case, was onThursday further remanded tojudicial custody until October 17by a UK court which said it wasworking towards his extraditiontrial hearing in May next year.

The 48-year-old appearedvia videolink beforeWestminster Magistrates' Courtin London from his prison fora routine "call-over" hearing.

Judge David Robinson toldModi, who is fighting extradi-tion to India, that there wasnothing "substantial" to dealwith and that the court wasworking towards a five-dayextradition trial hearing forMay 11-15, 2020.

A team of officials from theEnforcement Directorate (ED)

and Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) were pre-sent in court for the briefhearing, required under UKlaw every 28 days pending anextradition trial. There is alsolikely to be a case managementhearing in the case ahead of thetrial in February next year.

Modi has been lodged atWandsworth prison in south-west London, one of England'smost overcrowded jails, sincehis arrest in March on anextradition warrant executedby Scotland Yard on chargesbrought by the Indian govern-ment, being represented bythe UK's Crown ProsecutionService (CPS) in court.

Since his arrest, his legalteam, led by solicitor AnandDoobay and barrister ClareMontgomery, have made fourbail applications, which havebeen rejected each time due toModi being deemed a flight risk.

In her judgment hand-ed down at the RoyalCourts of Justice in Londonon his last bail appeal inJune, Justice Ingrid Simlerhad concluded therewere “substan-tial grounds”to believethat Modiwould fail

to surrender as he does possessthe means to “abscond”.

Reiterating similar concernsas those previously raised byWestminster Magistrates' Courtduring earlier bail attempts,Judge Simler ruled that after con-sidering all the material “care-fully”, she had found strong evi-dence to suggest there had beeninterference with witnesses and

destruction of evidencein the case and con-cluded it can stilloccur.

"The applicanthas access to con-siderable financial

resources, supportedby an increased

[ b a i l

bond security] offer of GBP 2million," the judge noted.

The High Court judgestressed that while it was not forher to take a "definitive view" onthe evidence, she had proceed-ed on the basis that the gov-ernment of India has acted ingood faith in what is “undoubt-edly” a serious case and a“sophisticated internationalconspiracy” to defraud, togeth-er with money laundering.

Modi was arrested by uni-formed Scotland Yard officerson an extradition warrant onMarch 19 and has been inprison since. During subse-quent hearings, WestminsterMagistrates' Court was toldthat Modi was the "principalbeneficiary" of the fraudulentissuance of letters of under-taking (LoUs) as part of aconspiracy to defraud PunjabNational Bank and then laun-dering the proceeds of crime.

The 48-year-oldappeared viavideo-link beforeWestminsterMagistrates'Court in Londonfrom his prisonfor a routine"call-over"hearing

PNS n MUMBAI

The brand value of IndianPremier League (IPL) hasjumped 7 percent to USD 6.8billion in 2019, with the valueof the Mumbai and Chennaifranchisees rising the fastest,says a report.

However, the ShahrukhKhan-co-owned Kolkata fran-chise, along with embattledVijay Mallya's Bengaluru fran-chise saw an 8 percent declinein their valuations, Duff &Phelps, a consultancy, said inthe report Thursday.

The Board of CricketControl in India launched thepremier T20 cricketing leaguein 2008 with eight teamsowned by corporates.Following its success, two moreteams were created later butthe number is down to eightagain.

The Mukesh Ambani-

owned Mumbai Indians, thewinner of four editions, saw an8.5 percent increase in valua-tion to Rs 809 crore--makingit the most valued team, whilethe India Cements-ownedChennai Super Kings' valueshot up 13.1 percent to Rs 732crore.

The Jindals-co-owned DelhiCapitals saw it value increasing8.9 percent to Rs 374 crore inthe reporting year.

Apart from the Bengaluru

and Kolkata franchisees, theRajasthan Royals, co-ownedby the media mogulMurdoch family, also saw adecline in valuation, to Rs271 crore from Rs 284 crorea year ago.

"Our assessment of thebrand value of the variousfranchises also takes into con-sideration the effectivenessand transparency of their man-agement teams," the reportsaid, adding controversies hadimpacted the brand earlier.

The report said it is imper-ative for the teams to engagefans more actively off the fieldto increase their valuation justlike the football clubs inEurope.

"We have seen that IPL hasstill not been able to capitaliseon the merchandising market,which is a major source of rev-enue for sporting brands acrossthe world," the report said.

IPL brand value rises 7% to$6.8 b in 2019: Report

‘Govt reworking itsstrategy to enhancedirect tax mop-up’PNS n NEW DELHI

The government is reworkingits strategy to boost revenuecollection from direct taxeswhich has been lagging behindso far, a senior CBDT officialsaid on Thursday.

The government has set adirect tax collection target ofRs 13.35 lakh crore for the cur-rent fiscal, which includes Rs7.66 lakh crore from corporatetax and Rs 5.69 lakh crore asincome tax.

"Growth in direct tax col-lection has been less thanexpected. The Central Boardof Direct Taxes will look intothis and rework its strategy,"Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT) Member AkhileshRanjan said on the sidelines ofan Assocham event.

Ranjan, who is also theconvenor of the task force onDirect Tax Code, said taxpay-ers in the country should notsee paying income tax as aburden.

Asked about lowering cor-porate tax, he said the gov-ernment is seized of the mat-ter and Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman has alsoreiterated recently that there issome need for corporate taxreduction.

"That has been reiterated bythe finance minister recentlyalso that we are movingtowards lower rate and I amsure that will happen sooner orlater. Government has alreadysaid that there is some need forsome corporate tax rate reduc-tion," Ranjan said.

Talking about tax compli-ance, he said government istrying to further simplify

the taxation system as it willlead to better revenue reali-sation.

On the Direct Tax Code(DTC) report, which has beensubmitted to the government,Ranjan said, "The report hasnot been (made) public, so Iwon't be able to give anydetails on that. But the broadtrends are that we have obvi-ously focussed on compli-ance."

Compliance is the corner-stone of any tax policy and ithas different aspects. It is notjust about tax rates but alsoabout ease of filing, aboutmodernising tax system,improving litigation systemmanagement as well as thingslike making tax law morecomprehensible and organ-ised, he added.

That has beenreiterated by thefinance minister

recently also that we aremoving towards lower rateand I am sure that will happensooner or later

—AKHILESH RANJANCBDT Member

Google sets up AI research lab in BengaluruPNS n NEW DELHI

Google on Thursday said it issetting up an artificial intelli-gence research unit atBengaluru as the tech giantlooks to continue developingproducts for India and takingthem to global markets.

Google Research India, theartificial intelligence (AI) lab,will focus on advancing fun-damental computer scienceand AI research.

Apart from the Google teamled by AI scientist ManishGupta, the company will alsopartner with the research com-munity across the country tofocus on tackling challenges infields like healthcare, agricul-ture, and education.

"We are incredibly inspiredby India. With a world-classengineering talent, strong com-puter science programs andentrepreneurial drive, Indiahas the potential to contributeto advancements in AI and itsapplication to tackle big chal-lenges," Google Vice President

Next Billion Users andPayments Caeser Senguptasaid.

He added that the companyis rolling out new products andadding features to existingones to help even the first-timeinternet users.

"Future is not about just

tech but about inclusion,empowerment and economicopportunity. India inspires us,"Sengupta said at Google forIndia event.

IT Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad, who was also present atthe event, said tech platformslike Google must ensure that

their products are safe andsecure for users.

"They must safeguard theprivacy rights of individuals.Also, you must take extraefforts to ensure that peopledon't abuse the system," headded.

Sengupta said under itsInternet Saathi programmewith Tata Trusts, about 80,000'Saathis' have been trained,who in turn have trained 30million women.

Sengupta said in the last 12

months, Google Pay has grownmore than three times to 67million monthly active users,driving transactions worth overUSD 110 billion on an annu-alised basis across offline andonline merchants.

About two-thirds of thetransactions are coming fromtier-II and -III cities and towns.

Google Pay, which com-petes with players like Paytmand PhonePe, is introducingthe 'Spot' platform that willenable merchants to createbranded commercial experi-ences and reach new cus-tomers.

Google has already onboard-ed merchants like UrbanClap,Goibibo, MakeMyTrip,RedBus, Eat.Fit and Oven Storythrough its early access pro-gramme.

Besides, Google Pay isrolling out 'tokenized cards' inthe next few weeks to offer asecure way of paying for thingsusing a digital token on thephone rather than the actualcard number.

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Addressing the ‘Google for India’ event in New Delhi on Thursday

GoogleResearch India,the artificialintelligence (AI)lab, will focus onadvancingfundamentalcomputerscience and AIresearch

Realtors' cash-crunch risk forbanks: Report

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/

dailypioneer

FridaySeptember 20, 2019

uthor and lawyerGautam Bhatiawas in the cityfor a Manthantalk about his lat-est book, The

TransformativeConstitution. Gautam hasbeen practising law for fouryears in New Delhi and waspart of the legal teamsinvolved in the Right toPrivacy judgement, theConstitutional challenge tothe Aadhaar, the challengeto Section 377 of the IPCand the bail application formembers of the Kabir KalaManch, among others.

Speaking about the latestdevelopments in Jammuand Kashmir, Gautam says,“In most of the countries,before making amendmentsto any law, the governmentstakes suggestions and com-plaints from people andmakes changes accordingly.In India though, the lawwould be amended firstbefore taking in people’sopinion. The goal of inte-grating Kashmir in India isimportant but it is alsoimportant the method theyuse to do so. Shutting downall the communications of astate and passing a lawwithout consulting its citi-zens is not good for democ-racy.”

Gautam added, “Wethink of the Constitution asa founding document,embodying a moment ofprofound transformationfrom being ruled to becom-ing a nation of free andequal citizenship. Yet the

working of theConstitution over thelast seven decades hasoften failed to fulfill that

transformative promise.Not only have successive

Parliaments failed to repealcolonial-era laws that areinconsistent with the prin-ciples of the Constitution,but constitutional chal-lenges to these laws havealso failed before thecourts. Indeed, in numer-ous cases, the SupremeCourt has used colonial-eralaws to cut down or weakenthe fundamental rights.”

During his talk explain-ing how court judgementsdealing with similar caseschanged over time, Gautammentioned the judgementgiven in the Restitution ofConjugal Rights case byBhikaji in 1884 which waschanged while dealing witha similar problem in theactress Sareetha vs VenkataSubbiah case in 1983.

The TransformativeConstitution draws on pre-Independence legal andpolitical history to arguethat the Constitution wasintended to transform notmerely the political statusof Indians from subjects tocitizens, but also the socialrelationships on which legaland political structuresrested.

The lawyer advances hisnovel vision of theConstitution of India andof constitutional interpreta-tion which is faithful to itstext, structure and historyand above all to its overar-ching commitment to polit-ical and social transforma-tion.

indi has beenaround thecountry for sev-eral centuriesbut same is thecase of several

other languages which havetheir own rightful place inthe country. India, a dias-pora of several cultures andlanguages, takes pride in itsdiversity. Hindi is one ofthe 22 scheduled languagesof the Republic of India.But contrary to popularbelief, Hindi is not thenational language of India.As per Article 343 of theConstitution of India, thestandard Hindi written inthe Devanagiri script andEnglish are the official lan-guages of the Union forcarrying out the daily offi-cial work. However, everystate in the country, as ofyet according to theConstitution, is allowed tohave its own scheduled lan-guage based on its linguis-tic preferences. Hence, atpresent we have a total of22 official languages inIndia.

But what is the opinionof the citizens of the nationabout the assumption thatthe imposition of a com-mon official languageacross the country wouldhelp promote and encour-age unity among people.

“For a person like mewho comes from a differentstate and works in severalother parts of the countryand interacts with col-leagues who belong to dif-ferent languages, states andcommunities, the idea ofHindi as the common offi-cial language actuallyseems pretty enticing to behonest. Because in mixedcompany people find itcomfortable to shift to theirnative language while talk-ing to people from theirown state which eventuallyleads to people like mebeing excluded from theconversation. I really thinkbringing about a commonlanguage might actuallyhelp people bond better,”says Tilottama, a native ofOdisha whose workrequires her to travel tovarious cities.

“But at the same time Idon’t mean to say thatHindi is the only languagethat can be made into theofficial language. It couldbe any language as long asthe people find a commonground to communicate,”concludes Tilottama who isalso a member of theMobbera foundation, a

pro-LGBT communitybased in the city.

When asked about thefeasibility of a commonlanguage in India, Prof.K.S. Chalam, a well-known PoliticalEconomist, Educationistand a Scholar in DravidianStudies says, “In countrieswith a small populationsuch as Denmark suchmeasures may make sensebut in a country as popu-lated and diverse as ourstrying to establish a singleofficial language across thenation might only aggra-vate issues related to com-munal disharmony.Accepting the diversity iscrucial to help solve theissue of communal discordand not by draping a sin-gle language over distinct-ly diverse communitiesand expecting people topretend to be united.”

“If it’s a matter of major-ity, then why not considerTelugu as the commonofficial language? Becauseif we choose Hindi we alsohave to consider its vari-ous dialects such asMaithili, Punjabi,Haryanvi etc into what isbeing called Hindi, whichin truth are very differentlanguages of their own.Whereas Telugu is spokenby most people across thecountry and not just in theDravidian states and theCentral and Eastern partsof the country,” he contin-ued.

As a solution to thispredicament, he said,“What I believe can solvethe problem is that ifchoosing a common offi-cial language is a mustthen it better be a lan-guage that is on the brinkof extinction. They shallbe reviving a languagethrough its roots andevery state will have tomake equal effort to learnthe language and thereshall be no qualms aboutmarginalisation of otherwell spoken and currentlyofficial languages.”

Among several otherprominent positions hehad chaired Prof. Chalamwas the Vice-Chancellor ofthe Dravidian University,Kuppam (AndhraPradesh) in 2005 and wasa member of the PlanningBoard, government of MPbetween 2002-04.

Even celebrities-turned-politicians such asRajinikanth and KamalHaasan have been vocalabout the issue. “A com-

mon language not just forIndia but any country isgood for its unity andprogress. Unfortunately,(one cannot) bring a com-mon language in our coun-try. So you cannot imposeany language,” Rajinikanthsaid.

This comment follows aday after Kamal Haasan, ina video message, warnedagainst making “inclusiveIndia exclusive”. “Werespect all languages butour mother tongue willalways be Tamil,” he hadsaid.

Through all thesecontrasting opinionsthere is a commonthread.

Language is not theproblem here. Languageis not a factor that direct-ly affects the unity in thecountry. The bigger prob-lem to be addressed hereis the need for acceptanceof the diversity in thenation be it religion, cul-ture, language, caste orgender and every otheraspect rather than impos-ing a single way of lifeupon everyone.

TO SPEAK ORNOT TO SPEAK?What if the rule of one language is imposed upon the countrytomorrow? Will it really help unite the country or build tensionand conflicts, asks ANUSHKA PRADEEP

A NOVEL VISION

of the Constitution

Author and lawyer GautamBhatia shares his viewsabout the Constitution in light of latest developments in Jammu and Kashmir, reports V SATEESH REDDY

We think of the Constitutionas a founding document,embodying a moment ofprofound transformationfrom being ruled tobecoming a nation of freeand equal citizenship. Yetthe working of theConstitution over the lastdecades has failed to fulfillthat transformative promise

GAUTAM BHATIA,AUTHOR

In countries with a small population likeDenmark such measures may make sense butin a country as populated and diverse as ourstrying to establish a single official languageacross nation might only aggravate issuesrelated to communal disharmony

PROF. K.S. CHALAM, POLITICAL ECONOMIST,

EDUCATIONIST AND A SCHOLAR IN DRAVIDIAN STUDIES

For a person like me who comes from adifferent state and works in several other partsof the country and interacts with colleagueswho belong to different languages, states andcommunities, the idea of Hindi as the commonofficial language actually seems pretty enticingto be honest

TILOTTAMA, MEMBER OF THE MOBBERA FOUNDATION

A common languagenot just for India butany country is goodfor its unity andprogress.Unfortunately, (onecannot) bring acommon language inour country. So youcannot impose anylanguage

RAJINIKANTH,ACTOR, POLITICIAN

Do not make aninclusive India, anexclusive one. NoShah, Sultan orSamrat shouldrenege on thepromise of unity indiversity of India

KAMAL HAASAN, ACTOR, CHIEF OF

MAKKAL NEEDHIMAIAM

he Netplay

Corporate

Badminton

Championship

2019 powered

by Li-Ning was

held at the multi sports

centre at Madhapur. This

third edition of the tour-

nament that featured both

team and individual

events. “More than 290 players

from 92 corporates partic-

ipated in nine individual

events conducted over

two days. For the first

time in Hyderabad for a

corporate tournament, all

the matches were

streamed live on the

Internet,” said Siddharth

Reddy, Director of

Netplay Sports.

Many leading corpo-

rates such as Deloitte, JP

Morgan, Google, Indigo,

Optum, Qualcomm, TCS,

Accenture, Scitech Patent

Art, ZF India, Pega

Systems, Electronic Arts,

Novartis, Purple Talk,

Synchrony Financials and

Dark Horse Digital

Solutions went head to

head against each other in

best of three matches of

two doubles and one sin-

gles. Among the big win-

ners, Optum beat Deloitte

in the team finals to win

the championship cup.

The challengers cup was

won by Accenture who

defeated Pega Systems in

the finals.

With city shuttlers PV

Sindhu, Saina, Srikanth

and Sai Praneeth getting

recognition worldwide

for their talent and

sportsmanship, bad-

minton frenzy among the

corporates is seeing a

rise. The winners of the

various events received

trophies, medals,

Gamepoint vouchers and

goodies from Li-Ning.

Corporates battle it

out for shuttle glory

what’s brewing?12

REVIVINGTRADITION

On the occasion of the 150th

birth anniversary of Mahatma

Gandhi, the ‘Sanskruti'

Committee organised a talk by

Tushar Gandhi, Grandson of M.K.

Gandhi. The committee showcased

various Khadi outfits in different

fashion and styles for its members.

Hyderabad Friday September 20, 2019

BAAGHl Baagh, a play written byBadal Sircar and directedby Malyaban Lahiri hasfriendship andrelationships at its core.The play revolves aroundrepressed pain,relationships, and structures that we adhere to.October 2 at 8 pm, Phoenix Arena

MAHABHARATA - THE EPIC TALEl All historyand mythologyis based oncause andeffect.Mahabharata -The Epic Tale...in-depth dealswith theprimaryemotional andpsychologicalcauses that were the genesis of this destructivewar. The planet has witnessed destruction basedon the whims of a few people. Till October 6, multiple venues

lThe fifth editionof the IndianPhotographyFestival will beheld fromSeptember 19 toOctober 20 atvarious locationsin Hyderabad. IPFis an internationalphotographyfestival whichshowcasesvarious events,including talks, discussions and more.

THEATREGOOD ANSWER BY MARK

CITY GUIDE

EK DURACHARI RAJA

VENTRILOQUISMlVentriloquism is anart of voice manipulationthrough a puppet or doll.Sathosh is ainternationalVentriloquism artiste,with more than 20 yearsexperience in performing Ventriloquism shows. He isthe only ventriloquist who has been attendinginternational Ventriloquism convention at USA since2012. He regularly works with schoolchildren andteachers helping them to improve their skills.September 21, 11 am at Lamakaan

EXHIBITION

ART AAND CCULTURE

EMERGING PALETTES lA group art exhibition, aplatform for emergingartists to display their work.This is the 11th edition ofthe exhibition organised incollaboration with Goethe-Zentrum. Till October 6 atShrishti Art Gallery, JubileeHills.

COMEDY

l All of us believethat our presentmay be bad butour future will begood. The Hindiplay Ek DurachariRaja (the story of adespot) adaptedfrom AlbertCamus' Caligularemains universally relevant. It represents theface of despotism, not only in terms of thewhimsical madness and deification of rulers butalso in terms of how people react to such rulewith glimmer of hope for the future.September 22, 7.30 pm, Lamakaan

lGood Answer depicts one very unpleasantmorning In the life of Michael Kaminski, amathematics professor at a small Iowa collegewho is currently serving as its acting president.He would like to get the word "Acting" removedfrom his job title.September 21 at 7.30 pm at Phoenix Arena

GET YOUR EVENT LISTED: To get your events listed, please send your detailsalong with a poster and contact number to features.pioneer@gmail.com

INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

FUNNY BUZZNESSlFunny Buzznessis a well knowncomedy gig seriesby Buzz KyaEntertainment andhas beeninstrumental inbringing up artistslike — AmitTandon, SorabhPant, SumukhiSuresh andNaveen Richards.October 20 at 6pm HICC.

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

FUN TIME

AnjaniShah

MeenaGoradia

TusharGandhi Zeny

ArthiShah

KavitaReddy

U-Turn producerfor GOPI-SAMPATH

Gopichand is awaiting the release ofhis next film, Chanakya

fter a steady stream ofrumours and bite-sized developments,it has been finallyconfirmed onThursday that

Gopichand and SampathNandi will be coming togeth-er for a film. Their earlier col-laboration, Gautam Nanda,might not have hit the bull’seye at the box office a cou-ple of years ago, but the duoforged a formidable bondon sets, which transitionedinto this new film.Srinivasaa Chitturi whoproduced Samantha-star-rer U-Turn last year will beshepherding the projectunder his Srinivasaa SilverScreen banner. Except forindicating that it will alarge scale project withhigh-technical values, themakers haven’t disclosedanything about the film’s

genre, although a little birdie tellsus that it will be typical Gopiaction flick but with more realism.

The macho actor is right nowawaiting the release of Chanakya,a spy thriller, with Tamil director

Thiru. He has recently com-menced the filming of debu-tant Binu Subramanyam’sadventure thriller to be shotacross exotic locales of Thailand,Nepal and Cambodia and India.

ilmmaker SurenderReddy, who helmedthe magnum opusSye Raa NarasimhaReddy, starringMegastar Chiran-

jeevi, said, he never expected thefilm to come his way.

“After I was approached, Iasked 15 days time to make upmy mind. I didn’t know aboutthe life story of Uyyalawadaand the project was set on a mas-sive scale. I wasn’t sure whetherI can pull it off. But I sawChiranjeevi garu as an inspira-tion and with Charan behind the

production, I said yes,” Reddysaid. He was speaking at the

film’s trailer launch inHyderabad onWednesday evening. Hewas accompanied byRam Charan to theevent.

He said part of hisresearch for the film— in which Chir-anjeevi plays the tit-ular role, a Rayal-aseema freedomfighter, whofought against theBritish, muchbefore the first

war of Indepe-ndence, in 1857— includedreading all the

b o o k savailable

Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy.“Nandyala MP PochaBrahmananda Reddy whocomes from Uyyalawada headsthe trust Renati Suryachandrulu.I helped me with a lot on infor-mation. I also procured gazettesfrom Chennai with the help of afriend. From my readings andinteractions with people whoknew about Uyyalawada, I couldweave a story,” he recalled.

Reddy is not bothered aboutthe film ending on a sad note.Uyyalawada was executed inKoilkuntla in front of a silentcrowd of over 2,000 people afterhe lead a rebellion against theBritish East India Company(EIC) in Kurnool district in

1847. The British kept his headon the fort wall in pub-lic view until 1877.

“His death triggered awar for independence.

I don’t believe it’s a sad ending,”he exulted. “His story had all theelements for a commercial film.Imagine the fear he instilled inthe British. Otherwise he would-n’t have kept his head on the wallfor 30 years.”

Charan said his dad gave hisconsent to the story a decadeback itself but they had to waitfor the right time to take it floors.“I was never bothered aboutrecords. For me the challengewas to present what allChiranjeevi garu and Suri garuwanted on sets. We spent with-out worrying whether we will getreturns,” Charan noted. Reddychimed it, “If the film was madea decade ago it would’ve easilycost Rs 500 crore. Also, thequality wouldn’t have been thesame what it is right now.”

He added, “Before starting theproject, Charan told me that hewanted to present a big gift to his

dad and that is this film. Charanalso wanted it to be the bestamong his dad’s 150 films."

Talking about how he pulledoff casting coup of sorts by rop-ing in South heavyweights likeKichcha Sudeepa, VijaySethupathi and Nayantara for thefilm, Charan added, “While onereason was that they all wantedto share screen space withChiranjeevi garu, the other rea-son, I believe, is that it was thewish of Uyyalawada that anensemble be a part of his film.”

A couple of months ago, thedescendants of NarasimhaReddy have staged a protest atCharan’s office in Hyderabad,demanding they be paid theamount for the story and as wellas for the compensation of cropsthat were damaged by the unitmembers of the movie duringthe film’s shoot at their village.Reacting to it, Charan said afilm can be made on a his-toric personality 100years after his deathwithout the film-makers givinganything inreturn to thefamily mem-bers of the saidpersonality.

“I don’twant to belit-t l eUyyalawada’sreputation bydoing some-thing to hisdescendants.If I want todo anything, Iwould ratherdo it for hisvillage,” heconcluded.

tollywood

CHARAN wanted SYE RAA…to be his dad's best film till date: SURENDER REDDYCharan said his dad gave consent to the story a decade ago but they hadto wait for the right time to take it floors, the filmmaker said whilespeaking at the trailer launch event, reports NAGARAJ GOUD

ctress-producer Lakshmi Manchu, whohas been signed up by Voot, India’s sec-ond largest advertising video ondemand platform to host Feet Up withthe Stars in Telugu, says the show willhelp her to be completely who she is.

“When Voot approached me to host the show, Iwasn’t sure whether I can do it because in Mumbai,celebs are willing to do talk shows and they aremore open. That culture hasn’t caught up with ourcelebs yet. Our celebs have changed slightly and Itake a big creditfor it. My earliershows helpedthat shift oncelebs to be ableto see who theyreally are,” shesays, hopingviewers will getcloser to theirfavourite celebswith the show.“It’s a simpleheartwarminglifestyle show.”

L a k s h m i ’ shouse at FilmNagar, Hyderabad will host the show. “This housewas visited by Sivaji Ganesan, Rajkumar, VishnuVardhan, Mohanlal, Rajinikanth, Mammoottyand even YSR. This is more than a house to me;it’s a temple. Instead of doing it in a studio set-up,I felt it was best to brings celebs home because itwill help them feel close more comfortable.Samantha who recently participated in the showtold me, ‘Your job is easier as you have to walk downfrom first floor to ground floor to do the showwhereas as I have to check where my location isfirst thing in the morning’,” she says jokingly.

Lakshmi who has dabbled in TV feels that con-tent on the small screen is very conservative. “Theday saah-bahu serials end, our culture will get bet-ter. I don’t allow my mother to watch Telugu andHindi soap operas in my home. As if we don’t haveproblems in life, some serials compound todepression. We need shows like Friends and Sex andthe City,” she points out, adding that inthe past eight months, she hasundertaken a lot of trips.

Prod her if she isn’t bored ofdoing talk shows with celebsalone and she had this tosay: “Voot should answerthat question. They gavethe list of celebs theyneed and I’m followingit. If I have a choice, Iwould’ve invited sportsstars and politicians.” — NG

LAKSHMI:WE NEEDSHOWS LIKEFRIENDS,SEX AND THE CITY

LAKSHMI MANCHU'SHOUSE AT FILMNAGAR, HYDERABADWILL HOST THESHOW. SHE HOPESTHIS WILL MAKE HERGUESTS FEELCOMFORTABLE

he Pioneerwas to first toinform youthat NagaShaurya has

evinced his interest tospearhead debutanteLakshmi Sowjanya’sfilm (on August 29).The project was madeofficial by the produc-tion house SitharaEntertainments, thesister concern ofHaarika & HassineCreations, onThursday. It will rollout in the last week ofOctober for a releasein next May.

Speaking to thisnewspaper exclusively,Sowjanya who hadgained experience infilmmaking by assist-ing the likes ofKrishna Vamsi, Teja,Sekhar Kammula andKrish over a period oftime said the as-yet-untitled film is a gen-uine love story.

“It’s the journey of aguy and girl, both ofwho are honest andlive by principles. Weare looking at placeslike Darjeeling,Meghalaya, Dehradunto commence filming.The idea is to zero in on a picturesque location. The story willalso be shot in places like Visakhapatnam, Kerala and Paris,”she told this correspondent.

A fan of filmmakers like Yash Chopra, Balu Mahendra andMani Ratnam, Sowjanya added that she has been travellingwith the story for the past couple of years. “Chinababu (akaRadha Krishna, chief of Haarika & Hassine Creations) lovedmy story. He took it personally to ensure that it goes to floors,”she said. “I haven’t come across a person like him in the indus-

try. He is filled with warmth and is a man of princi-ples. I’m a fan of him and I consider myself

lucky to be debuting in his production team.He is extremely passionate about cinema,”she added.

SOWJANYA, WHO HADGAINED EXPERIENCE INFILMMAKING BYASSISTING THE LIKES OFKRISHNA VAMSI, KRISHAND SEKHAR KAMMULA,SAID THE FILM IS AGENUINE LOVE STORY

SHAURYA'sfilm with debutantSowjanya to be shotacross multiplelocations

eteran actress Dame JudiDench, 84, does not want toretire because there is nothing elseshe would rather be doing.

Dench, who has featured in morethan 100 films, including seven

Bonds movies, shared that the word retirementdoes not exist in her dictionary, according toa report in mirror.co.uk.

“I am so bored of the question. You retirein order to walk, paint or travel. All thosethings. Well, I get to do that. I am doing the jobthat I would retire to do,” she said.

Dench also recalled how she approached by aJames Bond fan while in the depths of theBorneo rainforest earlier this year.

She added, “I was in Borneo in March andpeople only seem to know about James Bond. Ihad photographs taken with people who ownedcrocodiles - because of Bond. Nothing else, butBond. It is kind of worldwide isn’t it?”

ctor Rajkummar Rao,who will be soon col-laborating withPriyanka Chopra forthe Netflix film TheWhite Tiger, has said

that he is looking forward toworking with her. He also hopedthat they will have good time

while shooting for the film.

Rajkummar was interacting withthe media at the trailer launch ofMade In China along with his co-actor Mouni Roy, film’s directorMikhil Musale and producerDinesh Vijan in Mumbai.

The White Tiger is an adaptationof Aravind Adiga’s Man BookerPrize-winning novel of the samename.

celeb talks

ctress JenniferAniston was forced todrop 30 pounds(14kg) in order toland her careerlaunching role on

Friends.In a new book released as

part of the 25th anniversary ofthe iconic series, Friends, aninside look at the show thatdefined a television era,author Saul Austerlitz said

Aniston was asked to slim downsignificantly in order to portrayRachel Green, reports aceshow-biz.com.

“She had to lose thirty poundsif she wanted to stay inHollywood,” Austerlitz says in hisbook. “Los Angeles was a toughplace to be an actress — it was atough place to be a woman —and Jennifer Aniston’s agent wasreluctantly leveling with her.”

He added, “Aniston was hardly

fat — everyone could see shewas beautiful — but at the showshe would one day becomeindelibly associated with, latermade a point of noting, the cam-era added ten pounds.”

Aniston had previously talkedabout the pressure she faced tobe skinny in a 1996 cover storyfor Rolling Stone.

The We’re the Millers star, now50, appeared on the hit from1994 until 2004.

ANISTON WAS TOLD TO LOSE 30POUNDS FOR ROLE IN FRIENDS

inger Ariana Grande is said tohave jetted her pet dogs Myronand Toulouse to a Glasgow hotelon a private plane, so they can bewith her during her Europeantour.

“She jetted the dogs out from Birminghamand they got there three hours before shearrived. Ariana wanted to make sure she feltright at home and after she cancelled a numberof meet-and- greets due to anxiety, they helpher with that. They help to calm her nerves,” asource told sun.co.uk.

Ariana’s pet pooches also received Tartan

collars to make the statement that they are hol-idaying in Scotland, and were looked after by aminder until Grande turned up. The sourceadded, “The dogs, who have been assignedtheir own room at the two-bedroom apart-ment, were well looked after by a minder dur-ing their stay. As well as being offered person-alised bone shaped dog biscuits and furry bed-ding they even got given tartan dog collars.”

The No tears left to cry hitmaker recentlysaid her anxiety and depression have been “atan all time high lately”, leading her to cancelher meet and greet before her show inAntwerp, Belgium.

ARIANA GRANDE'S DOGS FLYTO GLASGOW ON PRIVATEJET TO BE WITH HER

WILL DOWHATEVER ITTAKES TOBRING CANCERAWARENESS:ARJUN

ctor Arjun Kapoor will be lighting upthe Bandra-Worli Sea Link in red as agesture to show his support to cancerpatients. He says he will do whatever ittakes to bring awareness about thedeadly disease.

On World Rose Day on September 22, observedworldwide to bring happiness in the lives of can-cer patients, Arjun will light up the famousBandra-Worli Sea Link in red as a special gesturefor cancer patients.

The cause matters deeply to Arjun as he hasbeen through a deep personal loss due to this ill-ness.

“It is a cause that is extremely close to me forvery personal reasons. I will do whatever it takesto bring awareness on cancer, support as manywho are affected by it and try and tell as manythat only our spirit can make us fight this disease.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting these littlebrave-hearts who are battling cancer with a smile.Their courage is inspiring and heart-breaking,”Arjun, who lost his mother Mona Shourie to can-cer, said.

He has collaborated with the Cancer PatientsAid Association for the event where he will dis-tribute roses and gifts to the kids who will joinhim on the occasion.

World Rose Day is observed every year in thememory of 12-year-old Melinda Rosefrom Canadawho was diag-nosed withAskin’sTumour, arare formof bloodcancer.

RAJKUMMAR RAOLOOKS FORWARD TOSTART SHOOTING WITHPRIYANKA CHOPRA

DAME JUDI DENCHDOES NOT WANT TO

RETIRE

sport 15HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

AFP n PARIS

Paris Saint-Germainlaunched their latestquest for Champions

League success with a state-ment win over Real Madridon Wednesday, while a lateAtletico Madrid comebackfoiled Juventus asManchester City eased tovictory in Ukraine.

French giants PSG havefailed to make their mark inEurope, crashing out of theChampions League in thelast 16 each of the past threeyears despite the huge sumsof money spent by theirQatari owners.

With Neymar suspend-ed and Kylian Mbappe andEdinson Cavani sidelinedby injury, Angel Di Mariastepped up in their absenceby grabbing two first-halfgoals in a 3-0 triumph at theParc des Princes.

Thomas Meunier addedthe third late on as Madrid,who beat PSG on the way tolifting the trophy in 2016

and 2018, were soundlybeaten in their Group Aopener with Eden Hazardkept quiet on his full debut.

“There’s no messagesent, but we dominated thisgame very well,” PSG captainThiago Silva told RMCSport.

“We have to play likethis all the time, in theleague as well, with charac-ter and hunger.”

Real, the 13-timeEuropean champions, arestill favourites to advancefrom a section that includesClub Brugge andGalatasaray, who drew 0-0 inBelgium, but the nature ofthe loss underscored thework that lies ahead forcoach Zinedine Zidane.

Diego Simeone’sAtletico clawed their wayback from two goals down inthe final 20 minutes to res-cue a 2-2 draw at home toJuventus in Group D.

The anticipated clashbetween Cristiano Ronaldoand Joao Felix, the teenager

touted as the heir toRonaldo’s throne, took abackseat to a Atletico rous-ing comeback after second-half goals from JuanCuadrado and BlaiseMatuidi put Juve in control.

Stefan Savic noddedhome from point-blankrange to give Atletico hope

and substitute HectorHerrera headed in a cornerin the final minute to snatcha point.

“I think we played wellbut we have a bitter taste inour mouth now because wefelt we had the game in ourhands,” said Juventus bossMaurizio Sarri.

STRONG RESPONSEBoth sides trail

Lokomotiv Moscow follow-ing the Russians’ 2-1 win atBayer Leverkusen. GrzegorzKrychowiak and DmitriBarinov scored forLokomotiv either side of anown goal by formerGermany defender Benedikt

DANANJAYA BANNED FOR ILLEGAL ACTIONDubai: Sri Lanka off-spinner Akila Dananjaya wason Thursday handed a 12 month ban by theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) for illegal bowlingaction. The decision was taken after an independentassessment of his action. The 25-year-old wasassessed after the legality of his bowling actioncame under question during the first Test againstNew Zealand in Galle from August 14th to 18th. Hesubsequently underwent the independentassessment in Chennai on August 29, whichrevealed that he employed an illegal bowling action.

INDIA SLIPS IN FIFA RANKINGZurich: The Indian football team on Thursdayslipped a place to 104th position in the latest FIFArankings. The Indian team, coached by Igor Stimac,have been regularly playing since the 2019Intercontinental Cup in July. Earlier this month, Indiahad held Asian champions Qatar to a goalless drawin Doha to gain their first point in the 2022 WorldCup Qualifiers. Qatar held on to their ranking of 62ndposition, despite not being able to beat India. Oman,however, gained three places to 84th spot, followingtheir 2-1 win over India. Belgium managed to holdon to the top position, while France have surpassedBrazil to reach the second spot.

MARKRAM, MULDER LED FIGHTBACK Mysuru: Skipper Aiden Markram and allrounderWiaan Mulder hit superb hundreds as South Africa‘A' fought their way to 400 all out against India ‘A' onday three of the second unofficial Test on Thursday.Markram geared up for the three-Test series againstIndia with a superb 161, while Mulder produced anunbeaten 131 — as the visitors came within 17 runsof India A's first innings of 417. The duo added 155runs for the sixth wicket stand to resurrect the SouthAfrica A's innings after they were struggling at 142for 5 at one stage. The home team were 14 for noloss in six overs before bad light resulted in playbeing called off with over 25 overs still to be bowled.

DIBABA OUT OF WORLDS WITH INJURYPAris: Genzebe Dibaba, the 2015 champion andworld record holder in the women's 1,500 metres,will miss the World Championships due to a footinjury, the Ethiopian said on Instagram. Dibaba, 28,who won the world title in Beijing in 2015 and set theglobal best of 3min 50:07sec over the distance thesame year, is suffering from a partial rupture to aligament in her right heel which she suffered duringthe Zurich Diamond League meeting last month."Unfortunately I am not able to be at Doha WorldChampionship. I am already working to come backstronger!" she posted alongside a photo.

TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR ASIAN SHOOTINGNew Delhi: A 41-member strong Indian shootingsquad will look to secure the maximum possibleOlympic quotas in the 14th Asian Championship,which begins in Doha on November 3. Thirty-eightOlympic quota places will be up for grabs in thecontinental tournament in the Qatari capital. Theselection committee of the National Rifle Associationof India (NRAI), announced the team consisting ofshooters across the 15 Olympic events, including sixentries only for the non-competition MinimumQualification Score (MQS) section. A notableselection was the fielding of seasoned rifle shooterSanjeev Rajput in the MQS section of the men's 10mAir Rifle event. There are also some new faces whowill be seen for the first time in senior India coloursin the Olympic events.

BENGAL BEAT HARYANA STEELERS IN PKLPune: Maninder Singh was the star for BengalWarriors as they beat Haryana Steelers 48-36 intheir Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) match here onThursday. The victory helped Bengal Warriorsconsolidate their stay in the second place of thepoints table. Bengal Warriors dominated the first halfof the match with their raiding trio of ManinderSingh, K Prapanjan and Mohammad Nabibakhshpicking points with ease against a Haryana defencethat evidently lacked leadership. Bengal'sdominance wasnt limited to their raids though astheir aggressive approach in defence paid richdividends. AGENCIES

SINGLES

PTI n NUR-SULTAN

Bajrang Punia lost his semi-final bout against home

wrestler Daulet Niyazbekovunder controversial cir-cumstances after sealinghis Tokyo Olympicsquota along with RaviDahiya, who made hispresence felt in a star-studded field at theWorld WrestlingChampionships, here onThursday.

Bajrang’s frustrated coachShako Benitidis kicked thecoach’s block in anger after the65kg bout ended 9-9 followinga nerve-wracking six minutes.

Since Niyazbekov wasgiven a bigger throw of fourpoints in the bout, he was

declared the winner.In the fiercely-fought bout,

the referee gave ample time totiring Niyazbekov to catch hisbreath and he was not given

caution at least thrice.Instead Niyazbekov

was awarded four pointswhen it was Bajrang whoeffected a throw at theedge of the circle.

“I challenged it andthey should have given at

least two points to Bajrang forthat hold,” said coach Benitidis.

Several times, Bajrangraised his hands in frustrationbut to no avail.

The last edition Silvermedallist Indian will now fightfor the Bronze today.

“It was clear that the matchairman favoured the home

wrestler,” said a coach who didnot wish to be named.

Ravi, who felled a few starson his way to the 57kg semifi-nals, lost 4-6 to reigning worldchampion Zaur Uguev ofRussia and will also fight for theBronze.

Ravi also made it to theTokyo Olympics in the 57kgafter stunning ArsenHarutunyan, the 61kgEuropean champion fromArmenia and 2017 worldchampion and world numberthree Yuki Takahashi of Japan.

Meanwhile, India’s cam-paign in the women’s compe-tition folded following PoojaDhanda’s defeat in the Bronzemedal bout and first roundexits of Sakshi Malik and DivyaKakran.

Pooja could not match hislast year’s Bronze winning per-formance as she lost the 59kgBronze medal play-off 3-5 to2018 Asian champion XingruPei.

There was no end to thewoes of Rio Olympic Bronzemedallist Sakshi Maik, who losther opening round 7-10 toNigeria’s Aminat Adeniyi. Shewas knocked out of the tour-namernt after the Nigerianlost her quarterfinal bout.

Sakshi waited too long toattack while her powerfulopponent moved quickly.

In the 68kg, Divya Kakrancould not do much againstreigning Olympic championSara Dosho from Japan, losingthe bout 0-2.

Dosho later lost her quar-terfinal bout, closing repechagedoors on Divya.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Indian men’s doubles pairof G Sathiyan and Achanta

Sharath Kamal sailed into thequarterfinals of the 24th ITTFAsian Table TennisChampionships with easy winover Mahfoodh Sayed Murtadhaand Rashed Rashed of Bahrain atYogyakarta, Indonesia onThursday.

The Indian duo beatMurtadha and Rashed 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 in a lop-sided affair.

In the quarterfinals, Sathiyanand Sharath Kamal will be upagainst Chinese pair of LiangJingkun and Lin Gaoyuan.

Earlier in the day after receiv-ing first-round bye, the Indiansgot the better of Jordan’s AboYaman Zaid and Aldmaizy Zeyad11-4, 11-7, 11-7 in the round of32.

But the other Indian pair ofHarmeet Desai and AnthonyAmalraj, after enjoying a bye inthe round of 64, lost to ChineseTaipei’s Liu Hsing-Yin and PengWang Wei.

Harmeet and Amalraj foughthard before losing 11-5, 7-11, 11-3, 8-11, 6-11 against their accom-plished Chinese rivals.

It was curtains for India inthe women’s doubles as the pairof Manika Batra and ArchanaKamath and Madhurika Patkarand Sutirtha Mukherjee bowedout the tournament.

The pair of Manika andArchana had an easy round of 64outing, beating the Kazak duo ofLavnova Anastassiya andKhusseinova Gulchekhra 3-0 butlost in the next round to Koreancombination of Yang Haeun and

Jeon Jhee 6-11, 9-11, 7-11.Madhurika and Sutirtha fol-

lowed suit as they lost to Doo HoiKem and Lee Ho Ching of HongKong 9-11, 5-11, 11-13 afterclearing the round of 64 hurdleagainst Macau’s Tao Chong andLei Wai Mei 3-0.

In the mixed event, the pairsof Sharath Kamal-Manika andSathiyan-Archana lost in theround of 32.

While Korean pair of LeeSangsu and Jeo Jhiee accountedfor Sharath and Manika 11-9, 11-8, 11-7, China’s Wang Chuqinand Sun Yingsha beat Sathiyanand Archana 11-7, 11-9, 13-11.

In men singles, SharathKamal, Sathiyan, Amalraj,Harmeet and Manav Thakkarhad all received first-round byesand registered 3-0 wins overtheir respective rivals in theround of 128.

Only Harmeet dropped agame against PanagitgunYanapang of Thailand beforeovercoming his rival 11-9, 6-11,11-5, 11-5.

All the Indian men’s singlespaddlers will play their round of64 matches later in the day.

In women singles, Archanaenjoyed the random bye in theround of 128 while others had toplay their first round matches toenter the round of 64.

“We can’t be too surprised because he (Di Maria) hasbeen showing for more than a year now that he iscapable of performances like that. He wasexceptional tonight. He is always dangerous.”

—THOMAS TUCHEL (PSG coach)

“PSG are a good team and created lots of chances butwhat worries me is that my team played without anyintensity. We didn’t really ever get going. We usuallycreate lots of chances and today, well we scored two

goals but both were disallowed. Apart from thatthere was nothing.”

—ZINEDINE ZIDANE (Real Madrid coach)

“I’m happy to have made my first appearance and tohave helped the team. This side is known for how italways fights to the end. A draw against a team likeJuventus isn’t bad at all. We wanted to win thematch but a draw is a good result given thequality of the opposition.”

—HECTOR HERRERA(Atlético de Madrid midfielder)

“I think we played well but we have a bitter taste inour mouth now because we felt we had the game inour hands. We need more attention and focus onset-pieces. We will work on that.”

—MAURIZIO SARRI(Juventus manager)

“We put ourselves in a great position. But conceding a goal before half-time changed the momentum.”

—HARRY KANE(Tottenham Hotspur striker)

“I believe we can be very satisfied, the teamconcentrated very hard on the job at hand.We scored three goals, that’s standard for us.”

—NIKO KOVAC(Bayern Munich manager)

“Three points away are so important. Now it’s in our hands. Ifwe can close the games at home then we will be in the last 16.”

—PEP GUARDIOLA (Manchester City boss)

Evening in ParisAngel’s brace helps PSG thrash Real 3-0; Herrera snatches late point against Juve

1Paris-Real Madrid is the first game in the history of theUCL where both teams have more players of thenationality of the opposing team than of their own in their

starting 11 (3 in Real, 1 in Paris — 2 in Paris, 1 in Real).

0Real Madrid failed to have a single shot on target againstPSG tonight, the first time they have failed to do so inthe UCL since 2003-04 (in 167 games).

3Angel Di Maria is only the 3rd player to score at least 2goals in a match against Real Madrid and Barcelona inthe history of the CL after Mário Jardel and Andriy

Shevchenko.

4Angel Di Maria has been involved in 4 of Paris' last 6 goalsin the CL (1 goal, 3 assists).

7Kieran Trippier created seven chances for Atlético Madridagainst Juventus, the most by any player on MD1 of thisseason's tournament.

2Atlético de Madrid has conceded two or more goals inthree straight matches in all competitions for the secondtime in the Simeone era, the first was in February 2014.

4Juan Cuadrado has scored each of his four CL goals inaway games.

1The 2019-20 CL season is the first campaign to see twodifferent players score a hat-trick on their debut (MislavOrsic and Erling Haaland).

16The Bayern Munich wins for the 16th time in a rowhis opening match in the CL and thus expands therecord in this competition.

2011It's the first time since Barca and ManUtd in 2011 when both CL winners andrunners up did not win their first game in

the following season.

82Rodrigo completed all 82 passes that he attemptedin Manchester City's win against Shakhtar; the mostpasses with a 100% success rate in USL since Oct

2017 (Barzagli for Juventus v Sporting CP — 96/96).

FIGURATIVELY

Hoewedes.Premier League champions

City bounced back from defeatby Norwich at the weekendwith a comfortable 3-0 victoryagainst Shakhtar Donetsk inKharkiv.

Riyad Mahrez slammedhome a rebound after IlkayGundogan hit the post, and theGerman international smackedin a second before GabrielJesus sealed the points on 76minutes.

“When you win the man-ager makes the right decisions,when you lose the wrong deci-sions. We lost one game in eightmonths and we will not doubtwho these players are. It is a joyto be their manager,” coach PepGuardiola told BT Sport.

City are second to DinamoZagreb in Group C after theCroatian champions made it anight to forget for competitiondebutants Atalanta with a 4-0rout.

Dinamo failed to score asingle goal as they lost all sixmatches on their last groupstage appearance in 2016-17.

However, Marin Leovacgave them a 10th-minute leadand Mislav Orsic bagged ahat-trick as Dinamo got off toa dream start ahead of a trip toCity on October 2.

Bayern Munich neededlate goals from RobertLewandowski and ThomasMueller to make sure of victo-ry against Red Star Belgrade inGroup D.

Kingsley Coman’s bulletheader gave Bayern a first-halflead but the German champi-ons were forced to wait until the80th minute beforeLewandowski ended Red Star’sthreat.

Substitute Mueller volleyedin a third in stoppage time.

Last year’s finalistsTottenham blew a two-goallead to draw 2-2 at Olympiakos.

Harry Kane’s penalty and afine Lucas Moura strike putSpurs 2-0 up after 30 minutesin Greece, but Daniel Podencecut the deficit shortly before thebreak and Mathieu Valbuenalevelled from the spot in thesecond half.

Bajrang Punia in action against David Habat during the pre-quarter round PTI

Bajrang loses in semis afterqualifying for 2020 Olympics

Angel Di Maria celebrates after scoring PSG’s opening goal against Real Madrid AP

Kamal-Sathiyanstorm into quarters PTI n EKATERINBURG

India would be aiming to bet-ter their best ever show when

Amit Panghal (52kg) andManish Kaushik (63kg) stepinside the ring against toughopponents in pursuit of summitberths in the World Men’sBoxing Championship heretoday.

India have never had twosemifinalists at the marqueeevent for amateur boxers and inthat respect, the two Haryanaboxers have already scripted his-tory.

But if both or either of themmanages to make the finals, itwould be a gigantic step forwardfor the sport in the country.

The task, however, is easi-er said than done.

Panghal has in his wayKazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov,who stunned Armenia’sEuropean Gold-medallist andsixth seed Artur Hovhannisyanin the quarterfinals.

Kaushik, on the other hand,faces the most accomplishedboxer in his weight category —Cuban top seed Andy GomezCruz, who out-punched Russia’seighth-seeded Ilia Popov in thelast-eight stage.

“Now begins the tough job.We have already delivered onbettering the medal count andnow we aim to better theircolour,” Indian Boxing’s HighPerformance Director SantiagoNieva said.

“I am happy but I won’t becompletely happy till the timeboth of them reach the finalsand they surely can, both ofthem,” added the country’s chiefcoach C A Kuttappa.

They are up against toughchallengers but that in no way

makes them automatic under-dogs.

Panghal, the pint-sizeddynamo from Rohtak, is thereigning Asian Games andChampionships Gold-medal-list and has back-to-back goldmedals at one of Europe’s old-est tournament — the StrandjaMemorial.

Kaushik, the shy man hail-ing from the cradle of Indianboxing Bhiwani, is aCommonwealth Games Gold-medallist and is a two-timenational medal winner.

Both are employed with theIndian Army and both haveshown a soldier’s grit in somedraining bouts so far.

QUALIFIERS SEALEDAmit Panghal (52kg) and

Manish Kaushik (63kg) havealso made the Indian boxingsquad for next year’s OlympicQualifiers owing to their medal-winning show.

The Boxing Federation ofIndia (BFI) had made it clearthat boxers who win medals atthe world championships will beautomatic picks for the Olympicqualifiers scheduled in Februaryin China.

“Yes, Amit and Manish willbe going to the qualifiers. Therewill not be any trials in theirweight categories now,” IndianBoxing’s High PerformanceDirector Santiago Nieva said.

The rest of the squad will bepicked on the basis of camp per-formance, points accumulatedat international events and insome cases, trials.

Panghal, Manish aim for history

Atletico Madrid's Hector Herrera scores his side's second goal during Group D match against Juventus AP

In the quarters,Sathiyan &

Sharath Kamal willbe up against

Chinese pair ofLiang Jingkun &

Lin Gaoyuan

sport 16HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

PTI nMOHALI

Most bowlers find it tough tocontain batsmen in deathovers but young India pacer

Deepak Chahar relishes the challengein the Twenty20 format.

With India giving youngstersopportunities ahead of the T20 WorldCup next year, 27-year-old Chahar hasimpressed in the three games he has gotsince making his debut in July last year,taking six wickets at 11.50.

Used to opening the bowling forChennai Super Kings in the IPL,Chahar has shown he can be equallyeffective in the death overs.

“I don’t know how I developed it(bowling at the top) but you have to doit when you are playing for India. It ischallenging with only two fielders out-side the circle. But I have startedthinking sub-consciously that I willneed to bowl three overs with two field-ers outside the circle,” said Chahar, whowas India’s standout bowler in theirseven-wicket win over South Africa onWednesday.

In his opening spell of three overs,Chahar swung the ball and picked upthe wicket of Reeza Hendricks beforereturning in the 18th over to remove aset Temba Bavuma with a well dis-guised slower ball.

“Earlier I used to bowl more in thedeath overs and find it easier becausein Powerplay you have only two field-ers outside the circle and after that youhave the protection of five fielders. Youcan use variation also in death overs,”he said.

Chahar said he focuses on out-guessing the batsman.

“How I bowl depends on the bats-men. In the death overs, the batsmanis expecting yorkers or a slower ball butif you can also bowl a bouncer orknuckle ball, it can surprise him. Youto have to keep guessing the batsman,”

said the Rajasthan pacer.He feels bowling on flat wickets in

Chennai during the IPL has made hima better bowler.

“There is no off the wicket helpwhen you are playing in Chennai. Butwhen we were playing in Pune last tolast year, there was help both off thewicket and in the air. But in Chennai,the swing is there for maximum oneover as there is no grass. So, I got con-fidence that if I could do well there, Icould do well elsewhere too,” he said.

Chahar has grabbed his chances sofar but knows he is far from cement-ing his place in the side ahead of theT20 World Cup in Australia.

“There is one whole year left forthat. I play each match as if it is my lastfor India. At this time Indian cricket isat the top. If you want to play you haveto do well in almost every game.There is a lot of competition and maybe that is why Indian cricket is at thetop.

“There is no guarantee that you willget your place back even if you arereturning from an injury.”

Talking about Virat Kohli’s match-winning knock of 72 not out, Chaharwas all praise.

“He is just next level and all class,”he said.

PTI nMOHALI

Test specialist TembaBavuma, who had a decent

outing in his debut in the short-est format.

South Africa looked set for180 when skipper Quinton deKock (52) and Bavuma (49)were in the middle before thesouthpaw’s dismissal put thebrakes on the scoring rate, lim-iting the total to 149 for five.

“The first 10-12 overs weplayed really well. I think wecould not really get going aftera good start and lost the gamebetween 12th to the 15th over,”Bavuma, who has played 36Tests, said after the seven-wick-et loss to India.

“When David came in the13th over, we were in a strongposition, 180 seemed very muchgettable at the halfway stage. Iwas not really able to get thatmomentum and others as well.I don’t think we were complete-ly outplayed,” said Bavuma whomissed out on a well-deservedfifty by one run in his attemptto accelerate.

The 29-year-old from CapeTown said India are formidable

but not unbeatable as the Proteasaim to level the series inBengaluru on Sunday.

“They are formidable butnot unbeatable. It was just onephase with the bat where we letourselves down and a qualityside like India made us pay.

“There will always bemoments in the game which wecan win and it is about beingaware of those moments andmaking sure we are in the rightmental space to win thosemoments,” said Bavuma.

Playing his first limited-overs game for South Africa inalmost two years, Bavuma madeit count.

“It was good to be out there.Facing the white ball again. It hasbeen a while. It was a pleasingeffort but did not do much to theresult of the game. Last (domes-tic) season was a big season forme in white ball cricket. Therewere not many Tests and thatallowed me to play white ballcricket.

“I got the opportunity tocome back to the national fold.It helped me understand whatmy gameplan is in white ballcricket,” he explained.

AFP n SYDNEY

Captain Tim Paine has pre-dicted a "very exciting era"

for Australian cricket after theteam retained the Ashes againstEngland, while revealing hebroke his thumb in the final Test.

The series was drawn 2-2,with Australia keeping the urnas the Ashes holders despite los-ing the last Test at the Oval by135 runs.

"I'm looking forward toAustralia seeing how far we'vecome this summer," Paine saidin a column for The Australiannewspaper, referring to upcom-ing home Tests against Pakistanand New Zealand.

"Last year we were a bit lostand were finding our way," headded after the side struggled inthe wake of the ball-tamperingscandal in South Africa.

"I know we have found itnow and I am confident thisgroup is the beginning of a veryexciting era in Australian crick-et. "We've got the best bowlingattack in the world and the basisfor a great batting line-up."Australia retaining the Asheswas built on the back of an

incredible series by former skip-per Steve Smith, who scored 774runs in just seven innings, andan impressive bowling attack ledby Pat Cummins and JoshHazlewood.

Paine called Smith "a freak"while also praising MarnusLabuschagne as having "a hugefuture" after he too enjoyed astellar tour with the bat. But herevealed the last Test was a strug-gle for himself and fast bowlerPeter Siddle.

"My thumb was brokentowards the end of that Test butit is not displaced, so I should beright to get back into trainingearly," said Paine, while praisingworkhorse Siddle who was bat-tling a hip injury.

"He has copped a bit of crit-icism for not bowling as well as...We know he can, but the teamknows just how heroic he was.

"A lot of other peoplewouldn't have bowled again inthe match, but he pushed on

because he didn't want to leaveJosh Hazlewood and PatCummins to do extra work."Coming off a long overseastour and with five home Testsstarting from November 21,Paine said he needs to rest andwill not play the domestic BigBash League Twenty20 compe-tition this season.

"Being captain is drainingand I think I should take everychance to recharge my batteries,"he said.

PTI n SURAT

Rookie teenager ShafaliVerma, who has been

picked in India’s T20squad, would be the cyno-sure of all eyes when theBoard President’s XI takeson the South Africawomen in a warm-upmatch here today.

The 15-year-oldShafali was named in theIndian women’s team forthe T20 series againstSouth Africa following hergood performance in the

Women’s T20 challengeearlier and at the age-group level this year.

The diminutiveHaryana-girl would like tomake optimum use of thewarm-up game and getruns under her belt if sheis given an opportunity inthe playing XI.

The first warm-upgame will be held onFriday at the LalbhaiContractor stadium here

followed by the secondmatch on Sunday.

Apart from Shefali,pacers Mansi Joshi andPooja Vastrakar have alsobeen named in the T20squad and a good outingon Friday would also boosttheir morale before themain tournament beginshere on Tuesday.

On the other hand, theSouth Africa women willalso be aiming to start

their Indian tour on awinning note. They wouldbe keen to use these gamesto assess the conditionsand get acclimatized tothe hot and humid weath-er. All the T20s will beplayed in Surat while theODIs will be played inVadodara.BPXI: Sushma Verma(captain & wicket-keeper),Devika Vaidya (vice-cap-tain), Vanitha VR, ShafaliVerma, Priya Punia, JasiaAktar, MDThirushkamini, Madhuri

Mehta, Tarannum Pathan,Sushree Dibyadarshini,Tanuja Kanwar, BhartiFulmali, Mansi Joshi,Renuka Singh, PoojaVastrakar.SA women: Sune Luus(Captain), Anneke Bosch,Tasmin Brits, Nadine deKlerk, Shabnim Ismail,Sinalo Jafta, AyabongaKhaka, Lara Goodall,Lizelle Lee, NonkululekoMlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune,Nondumiso Shangase,Mignon du Preez and LaraWolvaardt.

PTI n CHANGZHOU (CHINA)

Reigning world champion PV Sindhumade an early exit from the China

Open but B Sai Praneeth kept the Indianflag fluttering with a hard-fought straight-game win to reach the men’s singles quar-terfinals here on Thursday.

Sindhu, an Olympic Silver medallist,squandered a first-game advantage to godown 12-21, 21-13, 21-19 to Thailand’sPornpawee Chochuwong in a women's sin-gles pre-quarterfinals that lasted 58 min-utes here.

Praneeth, who had claimed a Bronzemedal at Basel, edged out China’s Lu GuangZu 21-19, 21-19 to set up a meeting againstIndonesian seventh seed Anthony SinisukaGinting.

Ginting beat India’s Parupalli Kashyap23-21, 15-21, 21-12 in a thrilling contest.

Doubles specialist Satwiksairaj

Rankireddy also had a dismal day ashe suffered twin defeats, losing boththe men’s doubles and mixed dou-

bles pre-quarterfinals.In men’s doubles, Satwik

and Chirag Shetty, ranked 15th inthe world, ran out of steam after a

decent start against fourth-seededJapanese pair of Takeshi Kamura andKeigo Sonoda and went down 19-21,8-21 in the second-round match thatlasted 33 minutes.

This is the second time Satwikand Chirag have lost to the combi-nation of Kamura and Sonoda thisyear. They had lost to the world No4 pair at the Japan Open in July.

Satwik then paired up with hismixed doubles partner AshwiniPonanappa but the duo couldn’t getpast Yuki Kaneko and MisakiMatsutomo, losing 11-21, 21-16,

12-21 to the Japanese pair.Ashwini also tasted defeat in

women’s doubles after she and herpartner N Sikki Reddy lost 12-21, 17-21 to second seeded Japanese pair ofMisaki Matsutomo and AyakaTakahashi.

Sindhu, who came into thematch with a 3-0 head-to-head leadagainst Pornpawee, dominated thefirst game as she lead 7-1 early on butthe Thai shuttler reduced the deficitto 10-11 at the break.

However, Sindhu reeled off eightstraight points after the interval tojump to 19-10 and eventually sealedthe first game comfortably.

The decider started on an evennote as both the shuttlers foughthard, moving together till 6-6 whenSindhu surged ahead to enjoy a 11-7 cushion at the break.

However, Pornpawee keptbreathing down Sindhu’s neck andslowly moved to 15-19. From there,the Thai shuttler blasted six straightpoints to leave the Indian shocked.

PTI n BENGALURU

Virat Kohli's record as theRoyal Challengers

Bangalore skipper might havebeen below-par but the team'snewly-appointed Director ofCricket Mike Hesson ruled outany change in leadership for theunder-performing franchise inthe next IPL edition.

Despite stars like Kohli, ABde Villiers and Chris Gayle (forbetter part), RCB has not wonthe IPL since the event's incep-tion. Kohli has led the team inseven of those seasons. Hessonnipped questions on Kohli con-trolling the team and change incaptaincy in the bud.

“We don't have that percep-tion that Virat controls things.But may be he has had his learn-ings from the past (mistakes)while moving forward,” Hessonsaid on Thursday.

Hesson said Kohli has beenon the same page as him andchief coach Simon Katich.“There has been no questionmark over Virat's captaincy dur-ing last couple of weeks (of dis-

cussions),” Hesson clarified“..We have been very much

aligned and he has been morethan happy to take our advicefrom our experience," the formerNew Zealand coach added.

RCB’s questionable recruit-ment has come in for a lot ofcriticism but Hesson assuredthat this time they are lookingat specific players and not hun-dreds of options.

"There will be big focus onrecruitment. Once auction gets

completed, the work starts then,not a week before the tourna-ment starts. We would have clar-ity in roles that players need toperform," he said.

On recruitment of domes-tic players, Hesson said there arespecific players they would belooking at and not just statisti-cal highlights during theMushtaq Ali or Vijay HazareTrophy.

“During Vijay Hazare andMushtaq Ali Trophy, we wouldlike to see players we want to fitin. It's more about finding outhow players build contextaround performance, condi-tions and pressure situations," hesaid.

Hesson also agreed that theteam needs to consider consis-tent performances and not oneodd innings before selectingplayers.

“Form is a factor but we needto be more holistic in terms of

how we talent scout. We look atfour-year period as then they areready to deliver when put underthe pump. It doesn't happen afterone good season,” he said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar lauded SteveSmith for his exemplary batting, saying the

former Australia skipper’s “organised mind-set” and “complicated technique” set himapart among his contemporaries.

Tendulkar praised Smith, the numerouno batsman in Tests right now, for his fan-tastic comeback in red-ball cricket in the just-concluded Ashes series.

“COMPLICATED TECHNIQUE butan ORGANIZED MINDSET is what sets@stevesmith49 apart. Incrediblecomeback!#ENGvsAUS,” Tendulkar postedon his Twitter handle.

Smith has a unique batting style, whichis both unorthodox as well as genius andTendulkar tried to explain the Australian'sgame in his social media post.

“In the first Test, the English bowlers triedto get him caught behind the wickets withslips and gully in place,” Tendulkar explained.

“And Smith just shuffled across andexposed his leg stumps to cover the line, andwas selective and smart in his approach.

“At Lord’s, they had leg-slip for him onoccasions and a few short-pitched deliveriesagainst Jofra Archer got him in trouble as hetried to cover the line with the weight on hisback-foot.”

Smith was hit by a vicious Jofra Archerbouncer in the first innings of the secondAshes Test at Lord’s. The blow was so severethat he didn’t come out to bat in the secondinnings and also missed the next Test atHeadingley. Tendulkar went on to explainwhat Smith did wrong when he was hit bythe bouncer.

“The most important thing for any bats-

man is to keep the head position forwardand wait leaning forward or marginally in-line,” said Tendulkar, the only player to fea-ture in 200 Tests.

“Smith got into bad positions and that’show he probably got hit.

“In the final two Tests, he was leavingthe ball while leaning forward, and lookedin better positions. He worked on his tech-nique very smartly. That is why I say,’ com-plicated technique, but extremely organisedmindset .”

AFP n COLOMBO

Sri Lanka’s cricket board onThursday said it will go

ahead with its tour of Pakistandespite fears that players couldbe the targets of terror attacksduring the six-match visit.

Sri Lanka Cricket secretaryMohan de Silva said theyreceived the all-clear from thedefence ministry to leave forPakistan on Tuesday afterestablishing that there was nothreat to the national team.

Sri Lanka Cricket added ina statement that the governingbody was assured the Pakistanarmy would coordinate securi-ty set at a level usually reservedfor a head of state.

“Sri Lanka Cricket wishesto announce that the forthcom-ing tour of Pakistan will goahead as planned, followingassurances given by the govern-ment of Pakistan that it willprovide maximum security,”the statement said.

De Silva added that heand “our office bearers will alsobe accompanying the team”.

Reports last week of a pos-sible terror attack were referredto the defence ministry forinvestigation.

The six-match tour, due tostart on September 27, was puton hold last week after the SriLanka prime minister’s officewarned the board it hadunspecified information abouta possible attack against itsplayers.

The Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) said it was notaware of any information relat-ing to the safety of the SriLankan team, but reiterated itscommitment to providingsecurity.

FROM START TO STOPDeepak fond of bowling at death despite success in the starting overs

Earlier I used to bowlmore in the deathovers and find it

easier because inPowerplay you have

only two fieldersoutside the circleand after that you

have the protectionof five fielders

— Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar, left, looks on as Quinton de Kock completes a run during the second T20 match in Mohali on Wednesday AP

Australia's Steve Smith, second left, celebrates catching England's Chris Woakes during the third day of the fifth Ashes AP

B Sai Praneeth in action during World Championship PTI/File PIcture

Virat Kohli in a file picture PTI

Steve Smith in action during Ashes AP

Paine sees ‘very exciting era' for Aus No question of replacingVirat as captain: Hesson

SL to go aheadwith Pak tourdespite terror fears

Eves take on SA Smith has complicated techniquebut organised mindset: Tendulkar

Praneeth keeps hope alive

Temba Bavuma plays a shot during the second T20 international match AP

We were not outplayed bybeatable India: Bavuma

english news paper | breaking news | latest today …...2019/09/20 · the indian space research...

Documents

· institute of astrophysics. 2017 talk on india's...

prasar bharati (india's public service...

dia the national aeronautics and space … · chandrayaan-2...

space shuttle orbiter structures. orbiter structures...

mars reconnaissance orbiter

orbiter manual

lunar reconnaissance orbiter

highlight news india's latest - … · india's latest news...

orbiter communications. communications windows microwave...

mars orbiter mission_mom_mars_atlas

india's trade news and views - centre for wto studies

ddms orbiter turnaround briefing ddms orbiter turnaround...

orbiter 2006

mars orbiter mission

india's mars orbiter mission successfully launched

1. theme india's tryst with mars · 1 1. theme – india's...

lunar orbiter

orbiter senior issue

tutorial orbiter spaceshuttle

orbiter orbiter mp orbiter ht -...