coronavirus cases rise pm’s social media to 39 in india - the assam tribune … · 2020-03-09 ·...
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PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM GUWAHATI & DIBRUGARH
RN-1127/57 TECH/GH – 103/2018-2020, VOL. 82, NO. 66 GUWAHATI, MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020
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NOTICE
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a holiday in the offices of
The Assam Tribune on
the occasion of Dol Jatra,
there will be no issue of
this newspaper on
Tuesday.
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March 9, 2020
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JOCOSERIOUS
Centre yet to frame rulesfor implementing CAAR DUTTA CHOUDHURY
GUWAHATI, March 8: Though both theHouses of the Parliament passed the Citi-zenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 to make itan Act despite strong protests in Assam andother parts of the country, it is still notdecided when the Government will startimplementing the Act and the process offormulating the rules has also slowed down.
Highly placed sources in the Govern-ment of India told The Assam Tribune thatto implement the Act on the ground, theGovernment would have to frame the rulesand for that, the Centre has to take theviews of the stakeholders and the StateGovernments.
Sources revealed that the Ministry ofHome Affairs (MHA) started the processof consultation with the stakeholders inthe month of January, but the processslowed down after strong protests indifferent parts of the country. Sources saidthat in the consultation process, the Gov-ernment initially talked with the groupsand organizations representing the peo-ple who are likely to be benefitted by theCitizenship (Amendment) Act. In the nextphase, the Government would have to takethe opinion of the State Governments be-fore finalizing the rules for implementing
the CAA.
SEE PAGE 2
Yes BankNEW DELHI, March 8:
The CBI has registered anFIR against Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor,DHFL and DoIT UrbanVentures for allegedcriminal conspiracy,cheating and corruption,officials said today. Kapoor,62, is in ED custody. – PTI
Book fairGUWAHATI, March 8:
The 33rd Guwahati BookFair, scheduled fromMarch 14 to 25, has beencancelled over coronavirusfear following State healthdepartment’s advisory toavoid mass gathering, thePublication Board of Assamsaid. – City Correspondent
Bangla coronaDHAKA, March 8:
Bangladesh todayconfirmed its first threecases of coronavirus, ahealth official said. Theaffected include two menand one women, and two ofthem recently returnedfrom Italy. – PTI
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal felicitating women on the occasion of International Women’s Day at a programme inMajuli on Sunday. – UB Photos
Seven womenachievers share
their storiesPM’s social media
accountsNEW DELHI, March 8: In
a unique social media initia-
tive, Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Sunday handed
over his accounts on various
platforms to seven women
achievers from different
fields to share their life jour-
neys and messages on the
International Women’s Day.
From a farmer to activists
working in the fields of sanita-
tion, disability rights, water
conservation and fighting hun-
ger to somebody dedicated to
reviving handicraft industry,
women used Modi’s accounts
– which enjoy a huge follow-
ing, to share their stories and
spread their messages.
Known for his imaginative
communication initiatives, the
Prime Minister handed over
his accounts on platforms like
Twitter and Facebook to
these women, saying they
have done great work in a
wide range of sectors and their
struggles and aspirations mo-
tivate millions.
SEE PAGE 2
Health conditionof Akhil Gogoi
stableSTAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 8:
The health condition of
KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi is
now stable and has been im-
proving steadily. But he still
remains very weak, said
KMSS joint secretary Mukut
Deka today.
Gogoi is currently lodged
in Guwahati Central Jail af-
ter he was arrested in De-
cember during the mass
movement against the Citi-
zenship (Amendment) Act.
Recently, he complained of
severe back pain and fever.
“He could not even meet
his visitors in jail for two days
as he was not in a condition
to get up from bed. Later in
GMCH the doctors detect-
ed a kidney stone and he was
also diagnosed with severe
gastric problem,” Deka told
The Assam Tribune.
The KMSS moved the
NIA Special Court here a
few days back with a petition
seeking medical treatment
for Gogoi.
SEE PAGE 2
Delimitationexercise will be
transparent: BJPSTAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 8: The delimitation exercise will
be totally transparent and political parties and other stake-
holders will be consulted while the process is being un-
dertaken, said BJP national general secretary Ram Mad-
hav here today.
“During the delimitation exercise the political parties
will be involved and a lot of other
stakeholders will also be consult-
ed. It is a very detailed and trans-
parent exercise,” Madhav said ad-
dressing a press conference.
The Centre recently ordered de-
limitation exercise in Assam, Aru-
nachal Pradesh, Manipur and Naga-
land citing improvement in the in-
ternal security situation. Delimita-
tion of Lok Sabha and Assembly con-
stituencies was conducted in other
states in 2008. Former Supreme
Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai will head the Delimi-
tation Commission that will redraw the Lok Sabha and
Legislative Assembly constituencies of the four states.
Asked about the report of the Clause 6 committee,
Madhav said, “The State (government) is in the process
of forwarding it to the Centre... As soon as it is received,
the Central government will study the report and then
take a decision on whether all suggestions can be imple-
mented or incorporated in the statutes.”
Ram Madhav
SEE PAGE 2
Coronavirus cases riseto 39 in India
Five more test positive in Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/
NEW DELHI, March 8: The number
of coronavirus cases rose to 39 in India
on Sunday, after a couple and their son,
who had flown from Italy last month
and evaded airport screening, and their
two relatives tested positive in Kera-
la, prompting the state authorities to
warn of strict action, including
prosecution, against those
hiding travel history and
symptoms of the infection.
Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja
said the state has been put on high alert
in the wake of the new cases, report-
ed more than a fortnight after India’s
first three coronavirus patients -
medical students from Wuhan- were
discharged from hospitals in the state.
The minister said all the passengers
who travelled with the infected family in
the Venice-Doha Qatar airlines QR 126
flight on February 29 and Qatar Airlines
flight QR514 from Doha to Kochi that
arrived at 8.20 am on March 1 should
get in touch with health authorities.
The airlines, in a statement, said it
was working with Indian health author-
ities in this regard.
The state health department said
failure to inform authorities about
travel history and symptoms would be
considered a crime, while the state
police separately said it was “illegal
and punishable” if anyone hid such in-
formation.
“Strict action, including prosecution,
will be initiated against them.
Directives of various government
agencies should be followed in this
regard,” a police release said
The minister said the couple in their
fifties and their 24-year old son had taken
a flight from Italy to India on February
29 and evaded health screening at the
airport. The two others affected
are their relatives, Shailaja said,
adding they hail from Ranni in
Pathnamthitta district, she said.
“As of now their condition is stable.
But there is need to take extra care”,
the minister. Two nonagenerian mem-
bers of the family will be shifted to the
Kottayam Medical College hospital s
a precauation, she added.
SEE PAGE 2
COVID-19 positive US tourist came intocontact with over 400 persons in State
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 8: The
State health department has
tracked more than 400 peo-
ple with whom the US tour-
ist, who tested positive for
COVID-19 in Bhutan, had
come into contact during his
stay in Assam.
“The State health depart-
ment has traced more than
400 contacts in different plac-
es including MV Mahabahu
and resorts where he stayed.
Teams of doctors and micro-
biologists have been keeping
a close watch on these people
who have been quarantined,”
Health Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma said today.
So far, 5 tests have been
done and all are negative.
Citing that even the part-
ner of the American tourist
is reported to be negative for
the virus, Sarma appealed to
all not to panic and observe
all protocols including per-
sonal hygiene.
Minister of State for
Health Pijush Hazarika ad-
vised people to avoid foreign
travel for some time.
Last evening, Chief Minis-
ter Sarbananda Sonowal re-
viewed the preparedness and
monitoring mechanism of
health department to deal
with coronavirus disease.
Sonowal directed the
health department to take
steps for sensitizing all gov-
ernment officials on corona-
virus. Underling the impor-
tance of awareness among
people, the Chief Minister
asked the department to
form dedicated teams at vil-
lage level by involving ASHA
and AWW who would visit all
households and inform peo-
ple about the preventive
measures.
SEE PAGE 2
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Late Satya Nanda Borah(Passed away on
28th February 2020)
Today on your Adya
Shraddha we remember you
Deuta, with greatest love and
pray for your eternal peace
and happiness.
Kumaril Bora (Son)
Kopil Bora (Son)
Nirada Das (Niece)
CD/Adya Shraddha/........../1
CD/InMemo/.........../1
Dr. Ananya Madhab07.05.1979 – 04.03.2007
Tomorrow, on your Punnya
Tithi, we all pray to the Amighty
for your eternal peace.
Family Members and
Members of Dr. Ananya
Madhab Charitable Trust
CD/InMemo/P/SP004820/1
Nikunjalata BoraDOB: 24.08.1944
DOD: 28.02.2020
Remembering you on Adya Shraddha, we
pray to Almighty for your eternal peace.
May your soul rest in peace. You will
always be in our hearts and prayers.
Mourned by –
Sri Pratim Kumar Bora (Son)
Smti Jina Bora (Daughter-in-Law)
Dr Bonti Bora Das (Daughter)
Dr. Utpal Das (Son-in-Law)
Smti Jyotirani Bora (Daughter)
Sri Deba Jyoti Bora (Son-in-Law)
Indrani, Swagata, Aditya Pratim,
Debarchana, Himjyoti
(Grand daughters and sons)
Srimantapur, Guwahati-32
CD/A-Shraddha/P/RP001848/1
In Loving Memory
Late Khagendra Lal
Baishya Soud
Demise : 07.03.2012
Late Damayanti
Baishya
Demise : 09.06.2011
Fondly remembering you
today on your 8th Punya
Tithi.
On behalf of family members
Sri Sanjay Kr. Baishya (Son)
(Dr.) Sri Anjay Kr. Baishya (Son)
CD/In Memo/P/SP004977/1
Late Iswar Prasad
ChangkakatiRemembering our beloved‘Deuta’ with our prayer on theoccasion of his Eleventh DeathAnniversary, Tomorrow.May his soul rest in eternalpeace.
Family membersNarikalbari, Guwahati
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GUWAHATI, March 8:
Aalok-d-Light, a city-based
NGO working for women and
children, observed the Inter-
national Women’s Day with a
two-day programme in collab-
oration with Beltola College.
A prize money inter-col-
lege debate competition on
‘Gender Discrimination
Women’s Day observedHampers Progress’ was held
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day in which several colleges
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press release.
The highlight of the celebra-
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gramme held at the Guwahati
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Das was felicitated for her in-
spiring achievements.
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women teachers of Beltola
College. The function was
compered by Indira Bhuyan,
social worker.
Anjana Sarma Barua, Chief
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hati Refinery), who attended
the function as the chief guest,
emphasised the need for wom-
en to enhance their level of
confidence to enable them-
selves to take active part in na-
tion building.
Parul Devi Das advised the
students to stay focused on their
career to achieve success in life.
Cash prizes with citations
were given away to the win-
Zubeendischarged STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 8:
Singer Zubeen Garg was re-
leased from Nemcare Hospi-
tal today following improve-
ment in his health condition.
Managing Director of the
hospital Dr Hitesh Barua said
that Zubeen left the hospital at
around 3.30 pm after under-
going treatment for 10 days.
Zubeen was admitted to the
hospital on February 28 after
he suddenly collapsed during
a music event here. Doctors
said work overload and stress
were primarily responsible for
deterioration of his health.
“Now his condition is stable
and he is fit. But he will require
rest. To prevent recurrence of
any such problem, Zubeen has
to follow a healthy lifestyle,” Dr
Barua said. Zubeen today flew
to Mumbai to consult doctors
for further treatment.
CITY CORRESPONDENT
GUWAHATI, March 8:
Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi
and Chief Minister Sarbanan-
da Sonowal have greeted the
people of the State on the oc-
casion of Holi and urged eve-
ryone to celebrate the festival
with adequate precautions in
view of coronavirus outbreak.
In a statement issued today,
Prof Mukhi said, “I extend my
warm greetings and good
wishes to the people of Assam
in particular and the country
in general on the auspicious oc-
casion of Holi – the festival of
colours. May this festival bring
peace, harmony, prosperity
and happiness in our lives.”
He also said the colours of
Holi reflect the State’s diversi-
ty and multi-cultural heritage.
“I hope the festival becomes a
harbinger of joy, happiness and
merriment for all cutting across
religions, castes, creeds and
ethnicities. I also hope that the
colours of Holi help everybody
to overcome seasonal ailments
and lead people to become
healthy and wealthy. I at the
same time request the people
to celebrate the festival care-
fully especially in the wake of
reported spread of corona vi-
rus,” the Governor added.
Chief Minister Sonowal, in
a statement, said that the cel-
ebration of Holi would
strengthen the bond of broth-
erhood, friendship and harmo-
ny. He also said that the festi-
val would enrich the cultural
and ethnic life of Assam besides
ushering in peace and prosper-
ity in our society.
CM, Guv greetpeople on Holi
OBITUARY
Dr PK DekaGUWAHATI, March 8: Dr
Prabin Ku-
mar Deka,
former Su-
perintendent
of the Gauha-
ti Medical
College and Hospital
(GMCH), passed away at the
age of 80 here today.
He was a resident of
Ashirwaad Apartment at Chan-
dmari. He leaves behind his
wife, Dr Anjali Deka, a retired
professor and former head of
the Pharmacology Department
of the GMCH, and two sons,
besides other relatives.
Dr Deka also served as the
head of the Radiology Depart-
ment of the GMCH. His funer-
al took place at the Navagraha
crematorium today.
Centre yet to frame ...(Contd from page 1)
Sources pointed out that first priority of the Government
would be to finalize what documents would be allowed to as-
certain the identity of the people applying for Indian citizen-
ship. The Government will have to finalize the documents,
which will be allowed to be submitted by the applicants to
prove that they came to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan or
Afghanistan before December 31, 2014. The persons will also
have to prove their religion, sources pointed out.
Sources admitted that the situation would be more complicated
in case of Assam. It is assumed that most of the suspected foreigners,
who would be benefitted by the CAA, had applied for inclusion of
their names in the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Now the
same people will apply for citizenship claiming that they are reli-
gious minorities of Bangladesh, Pakistan or Afghanistan. “This will
mean, they either submitted forged documents while applying for
inclusion of names in the NRC or they would submit forged papers
to apply to become Indian citizens under the provisions of the CAA,”
sources pointed out. Another major issue is that no Government
agency has records of the number of foreigners who would be
benefitted from the CAA in Assam and West Bengal as majority of
the people came illegally by taking advantage of the porous border.
The Government will also have to issue detailed guidelines
to the officers who will be entrusted with the responsibility of
handling the applications and preparation of such guidelines
will also take some time, sources added.
Health condition of ...(Contd from page 1)
Acting on the petition, the court asked the jail authority to
arrange necessary medical treatment for him and provide cop-
ies of all medical reports to his family. Deka said the jail authority
would provide the copies of medical reports to Gogoi’s family by
Monday. “We will consult specialist doctors about Akhil Gogoi’s
treatment after receiving the medical reports,” he said.
Recently, two human rights activists – Babloo Loitongbam and
Henri Tiphagne – moved the National Human Rights Commission
on Gogoi’s deteriorating health condition and sought its immediate
intervention. Deka also stated that the International Federation
for Human Rights and the World Organisation Against Torture
moved the United Nations over Gogoi’s health issues.
Seven women achievers ...(Contd from page 1)
“As I’d said a few days ago, I’m signing off. Through the day,
seven women achievers will share their life journeys and per-
haps interact with you through my social media accounts. Let
us keep celebrating the achievements of such women and learn-
ing from them,” he said in his tweets.
The seven women were drawn from different parts of the
country and came from varied backgrounds. They included Sne-
ha Mohandoss, who works to eradicate hunger, Malvika Iyer,
who survived a gruesome bomb blast that blew off her hands and
damaged her legs when she was 13 and is now a motivational
speaker, disability activist and model, and Arifa Jaan from Kash-
mir who promotes traditional crafts of Kashmir.
Others were Kalpana Ramesh, a water conservator, Vijaya
Pawar, who promotes handicrafts from the Banjara community
of rural Maharashtra, Kalavati Devi of Kanpur, who collects
money to build toilets, and Veena Devi, who is from Munger in
Bihar and made her name by growing mushrooms under her
bed due to lack of space. – PTI
Covid-19 positive US ...(Contd from page 1)
The Chief Minister also stressed on implementing extensive
awareness activities covering all panchayats, villages, towns and
tea gardens within a week’s time. He asked the ASTC to use its
mechanism to generate awareness among commuters on coro-
navirus disease. He also urged the Railways to collaborate with
the health department. Cent per cent screening of passengers of
international flights at the LGBI is being carried out along with
regular screening in other airports of the State.
Coronavirus cases ...(Contd from page 1)
The three, who had returned from Venice, at first refused to
cooperate with health officials, following which they were
forcibly admitted to the isolation ward of the Pathnamathitta
General Hospital. – PTI
Delimitation ...(Contd from page 1)
Madhav said the State unit
of the BJP would take a final
decision regarding the forth-
coming elections to the BTC.
“Our State unit will take a final
decision about how to proceed.
There is still time,” said the
senior saffron party leader.
To a question regarding the
March 26 elections to three
Rajya Sabha seats from Assam,
Madhav said the ruling alliance
has the numerical strength to
win two of the seats. “The can-
didates will be announced in
the next two-three days. We
have (certain) commitments
with our alliance partners.
Those commitments will be
honoured,” he added.
The BJP has earlier an-
nounced its decision to leave
one of the seats for its ally, BPF.
Regarding possibility of the
Congress and the AIUDF
fielding a joint candidate for the
third seat, Madhav said, “They
(Congress and AIUDF) are al-
ways together, whether pub-
licly or surreptitiously.”
He alleged that the Con-
gress and other forces tried to
spread misinformation regard-
ing the Citizenship (Amend-
ment) Act, 2019, but now the
BJP has started a massive pub-
lic outreach programme
across Assam to “remove the
misconceptions”.
“We recently held a big ral-
ly at Dibrugarh. The kind of
response our party has re-
ceived, shows that there is no
misconception in the minds of
the people regarding the CAA.
The Congress is trying to
spread misinformation not
only in Assam but across the
country,” he said.
ners of the debate competition
at the function. Jagya Pratim
Saikia of Cotton University
bagged the first prize, while
the second and third prizes
went to Tridib Bhagawati of
Cotton University and Shruti
Medhi of Handique Girls’ Col-
lege respectively.
The function was presided
over by retired IAS officer and
president of Aalok-d-Light
Paramesh Dutta.
Earlier, Bijaylaxmi Baruah,
secretary of Aalok-d-Light, gave
a brief description of the NGO.
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI 3
Janasanyog/D/11258/19
Janasanyog/D
/11218/1
9
BHUBANESWAR, March
8: Under attack by opposition
parties over deposits of Rs 545
crore of Lord Jagannath in cap-
ital-starved Yes Bank, the Od-
isha government on Sunday
sought the Centre’s interven-
tion for release of the funds in
the interest of devotees.
Odisha’s Finance Minister
Niranjan Pujari urged the Cen-
tre to give necessary instruc-
tion to the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) to allow release of
the amount deposited with the
crisis-hit lender.
NEW DELHI, March 8:
Amid uncertainties over the
leadership issue, senior Con-
gress leader and former Un-
ion minister Ajay Maken has
said it is high time Rahul Gan-
dhi comes back as party pres-
ident as he is the most accept-
able leader.
The former president of the
Congress’ Delhi unit, Maken,
in an interview to PTI, also bat-
ted for veterans to gradually
make way for younger leaders,
saying if parties do not change
their leadership with time, then
people change parties.
Vouching for Rahul Gandhi as
Congress chief, he said there is
no other face as acceptable as
Rahul who also has good intent
at heart, zero baggage and con-
sistently takes an aggressive
stand in fighting against the
might of the BJP and Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
Maken also argued for a
long-term advisory role for
interim president Sonia Gan-
dhi saying her experience and
expertise in handling Con-
gress affairs would be much
needed by the new president.
The party constitution can be
amended to ensure that, he said.
Rahul most acceptable leader in Cong,high time he becomes chief: Maken
“I think it is high time Rahul
Gandhi came back. I am saying
this with very strong conviction
and strong reasons behind this.
Rahul Gandhi is universally ac-
ceptable in the Congress party.
There is no other face who is as
much acceptable as Rahul Gan-
dhi is, Maken said.
So, a person who is univer-
sally acceptable, no baggage,
good intent at heart and who
has been consistent and most
aggressive against the BJP and
Modi, and has been the voice
amplifier of farmers, Dalits and
minorities. I think, he single-
handedly deserves to be Con-
gress president, he said.
Asked about what would be
the right time for Rahul Gan-
dhi to return, Maken said, the
sooner, the better, because it
will end uncertainty.
Congress chief spokesperson
Randeep Surjewala also said
Prime Minister Modi and
Home Minister Amit Shah are
deeply wary of the unwavering
conviction and fearlessness with
which Rahul Gandhi has taken
on the BJP and the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
“Rahul Gandhi has adequate-
ly proved his mettle. Time has
come to rise above the parochi-
al issues of regional leadership
and work towards strengthen-
ing and rebuilding the Congress.
Needless to add that Rahul Gan-
dhi is the obvious and only choice
to lead the Congress,” he said.
Maken noted that the coun-
try needs a person with “good
intent at heart, not good con-
tent in speech”.
“We have seen the country
is paying the price to just fol-
low good content in speech
and the present situation
where our country is in, the
economy is in doldrums, there
is a social strife, the riots go-
ing on in the national capital
and the government not doing
anything, is just because the
people voted for good content
in speech of Narendra Modi.
They never saw the intent at
heart of the leader,” the Con-
gress leader said.
Commenting on the old ver-
sus young debate in the Con-
gress, Maken strongly argued
for gradual change of guard in
the party and said parties must
change their leadership in time.
“I am among the biggest sup-
porters for change, but it has to
be gradual. It can’t be in one big
sudden change. But it has to be
there. That change is required
because if the parties don’t
change their leadership in time,
then the people change the par-
ties,” he said, adding that the
electorate wants change.
On whether Congress vet-
erans will be given an adviso-
ry role, he said it should be
voluntary and not be imposed
on them, as has happened in
the case of party veterans in
the BJP. – PTI
In a letter to Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman,
Pujari said various funds relat-
ed to Shree Jagannath Temple
in Puri are managed by a com-
mittee of the Shree Jagannath
Temple Administration (SJTA).
“Out of these funds, an
amount of Rs 545 crore has
been deposited with Yes Bank,
Puri in the form of TDRs,” he
said. These deposits are ma-
turing this month, the state
minister said.
The RBI has capped with-
drawals from Yes Bank at Rs
50,000 for the next one month
and imposed strict limits on op-
erations after the cash-starved
lender faced “regular outflow of
liquidity” following an effort to
raise new capital failed.
“It is pertinent to mention
here that SJTA is a statutory
authority working under pro-
visions of an Act of the state
government. This is an issue of
religious importance for devo-
tees of Lord Jagannath. In this
background, I request you to
kindly issue necessary instruc-
tion to RBI to allow release of
deposits relating to SJTA in Yes
Bank in the interest of millions
of devotees,” Pujari said.
The move has come after
opposition parties, including the
BJP and the Congress, came
down heavily on the state gov-
ernment over fixed deposits of
Rs 545 crore of Lord Jagannath
in the crisis-hit Yes Bank.
Slamming the state govern-
ment, BJP’s Odisha unit gen-
eral secretary Prithviraj
Harichandan alleged that de-
positing money in the cash-
starved lender smacked of a
conspiracy.
Quoting an official report of
2017, he claimed that it was
decided to park the funds of
Lord Jagannath in 25 banks and
Yes Bank was not in the list
that time.
However, in July 2019, Yes
Bank was included in the list
and the funds were deposited,
Harichandan claimed, adding,
that “it smells of a conspiracy
to embezzle the temple
funds.”
Demanding a ‘white paper’
on the issue, he said there
should be an impartial probe
into the whole episode and
those responsible must be
punished.
Odisha Pradesh Congress
Committee president Niran-
jan Patnaik asked who gave the
rights to the authorities con-
cerned to deposit the funds in
the Yes Bank while there are
strict guidelines to keep the
temple money in the national-
ised banks.
Patnaik further alleged that
the motive behind keeping the
funds in the private bank was
to earn commission.
State Finance Secretary
Ashok Kumar Meena, howev-
er, maintained that as the fund
belonging to Lord Jagannath
was safe as per RBI. – PTI
Kejriwal govtorders 87 retiredofficers to vacateflats, pay Rs 4 crNEW DELHI, March 8: The
Delhi government has or-
dered 87 retired officers and
those who have been occupy-
ing government properties in
an unauthorised manner to
vacate their flats immediately.
Not just that, the Kejriwal
government has also demand-
ed that they collectively pay
almost Rs 4 crore as dues.
The order copy accessed by
IANS reads: “The non-compli-
ance of the order would attract
action under the Public Premis-
es (Eviction of Unauthorised
Occupants) Act - 1971 and the
eviction proceedings will be
initiated and occupants will be
removed/evicted along with
their respective belongings.”
The order was issued on Feb-
ruary 25. The government in-
sists that this eviction order was
issued after warning to them did
not yield any results. The public
works department (PWD) had
launched a door-to-door survey
to find out illegal occupants of
government flats in Delhi. There
are total 27 unauthorised occu-
pants in Type 1 flats, 49 in Type-
2 flats and 11 in Type-3 flats.
This stern move by the Ke-
jriwal government comes in
the wake of the Delhi High
Court coming down hard on
the Housing Ministry for per-
mitting over 550 flats to be il-
legally occupied by retired of-
ficials. It also instructed the
Centre to vacate the proper-
ties within two weeks. – IANS
3 lakh peoplecontacted BJP tocomplain againstTMC ‘misdeeds’KOLKATA, March 8: BJP
West Bengal president Dilip
Ghosh on Sunday said over 3
lakh people have contacted the
party in just eight days to air
their grievances against the
ruling Trinamool Congress.
The saffron party also decid-
ed to meet 5 crore people in its
door-to-door campaign ahead of
the Assembly polls in 2021, he
said. “Three lakh people have
contacted the party in a toll-free
number which was launched on
March 1 during the visit of
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah. They charged the TMC
with corruption and reliance on
muscle power,” Ghosh told
reporters here.
In a door-to-door campaign,
BJP workers will meet 5
crore people and hand them
over the party’s “charge
sheet” against the “jungle-raj”
of the TMC, he said.
“The charge sheet will con-
tain details of incidents of at-
tacks on women, corrupt prac-
tices of TMC leaders in every
part of the state and murder of
political opponents,” the BJP
leader said adding that the par-
ty will contest the coming elec-
tions on the development plank.
Civic polls are likely to be held
in the state soon while the As-
sembly elections in the state are
due next year. Ghosh later said
that the party’s central leaders
attended a meeting to strategise
the BJP’s civic poll campaign.
At the meeting, state party
leaders were asked to coordinate
with the local leaders for know-
ing ward-wise ground situation
and winnability of candidates in
their respective areas, he said.
About allegations that abscond-
ing Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
(GJM) leaders Bimal Gurung and
Roshan Giri were present at the
marriage reception of the son of
BJP national president JP Nadda,
Ghosh claimed that the two lead-
ers of Darjeeling Hills were
framed. – PTI
NATIONAL
Odisha seeks Centre’s intervention to release Lord Jagannath’s funds in Yes Bank
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 20204 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI
A caricature of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte being set on fire as women’s groups hold a rally near theMalacanang presidential palace to mark International Women’s Day, on Sunday, in Manila. – AP/PTI
Saudi King mostprobably dead, or
on deathbed:Whistleblower
NEW DELHI, March 8:
Twitter activist and Saudi
whistleblower Mujtahid has
claimed that King Salman of
Saudi Arabia is most probably
dead or is currently on his
deathbed, an Iranian media
report said.
His comments came on Sat-
urday after news that Saudi
authorities had detained two
of the kingdom’s most promi-
nent figures for an alleged coup
attempt. In a Twitter post on
Saturday, Mujtahid, the Twit-
ter handle of a pseudonymous
activist, explained that tens of
people from the royal family
had been detained and not only
the King’s brother Prince
Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud,
and the monarch’s nephew
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.
The court staff, the royal
palace personnel, and the roy-
al guard members have been
told that visiting the king is im-
possible due to his health con-
dition, Mujtahid added.
The whistleblower also not-
ed that Crown Prince Moham-
med bin Salman will issue a
statement on behalf of his fa-
ther to declare the King’s ab-
dication and declare MBS as
his successor.
Citing unnamed sources,
Wall Street Journal had re-
ported on Friday that Prince
Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud
and Prince Mohammed bin
Nayef were taken from their
homes early on Friday by roy-
al guards on treason charges.
The New York Times also
reported the detentions, add-
ing that Prince Nayef’s young-
er brother Prince Nawaf bin
Nayef had also been detained.
– IANS
LONDON, March 8: The
UK’s Queen Elizabeth II is re-
portedly set to shun the ruler
of Dubai after a High Court
ruling found he kidnapped his
daughters and detained them
for almost two decades, ac-
cording to a media report.
On March 5, Britain’s most
senior judges found that Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, the Vice President
and Prime Minister of the
United Arab Emirates (UAE),
had “ordered and orchestrat-
ed” the abduction of his daugh-
ters, Sheikha Shamsa and
Sheikha Latifa, and forced
them to return to Dubai.
Following the High Court
ruling against Sheikh Moham-
med, which accused him of ab-
ducting then 19-year-old Sham-
sa, in August 2000, and sister
Latifa twice in 2002 and 2018,
the Queen will now “refuse to
be photographed with him or
the princess in public”,
the Metro newspaper quoted
the report in the Times daily
as saying on Saturday.
The Sheikh is said to have
been on “respectful and friend-
ly terms” with the British
Royal Family for more than 20
years, the Times report
said.
If the monarch shuns him
completely, it could have great
consequences on the UK’s
relationship with the UAE,
which the government was
hoping to strengthen follow-
ing Brexit, it added.
The report comes as Cam-
bridgeshire Police is set to
launch a review of an investi-
gation over the disappearance
of Shamsa, now 38, who was
abducted from the streets of
Cambridge on August 19,
2000, and has never been seen
in public since.
The force probed the inci-
dent in 2001 but dropped the
case after finding “insufficient
evidence”.
“An investigation into the
alleged abduction of Shamsa
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al
Maktoum in 2000 was carried
out by Cambridgeshire Con-
stabulary in 2001. A review
took place in 2017 and it was
again concluded there was in-
sufficient evidence to take any
further action,” a Cambridge-
shire Police spokesperson was
quoted as saying.
“This is no longer an active
investigation and we are not
in contact with the victim...
However, in light of the re-
cent release of the judgement,
aspects of the case will now be
subject to review,” added the
police spokesperson.
The High Court ruling con-
firmed long-standing rumours
over the Dubai ruler’s daugh-
ters’ welfare, which emerged
following a child custody bat-
tle with his sixth wife, Prin-
cess Haya Bint Al Hussein, the
half-sister of King Abdullah II
of Jordan.
Princess Haya alleged her
former husband Sheikh Mo-
hammed launched a “campaign
of fear and intimidation”
against her, and testified that
she twice found a loaded gun
on her bed and was threatened
to be whisked away in a heli-
copter to a desert prison.
She became “terrified” of
her then husband and fled to
her home in west London
last year with their two chil-
dren. – IANS
UK Queen to distance herselffrom Dubai ruler: Report
INTERNATIONAL
1 in 4 men feels sexual jokes atworkplace acceptable
LONDON, March 8: More
than one in four men (28 per
cent) globally think it’s perfect
to crack jokes or recount sto-
ries of sexual nature at the
workplace in the presence of
female colleagues, according to
a new survey. But only 16 per
cent of women say such jokes
or stories are acceptable.
The survey of over 20,000
people in 27 countries by the
Global Institute for Women’s
Leadership at King’s College,
London, conducted in collabo-
ration with market research
firm Ipsos MORI revealed at-
titudes towards workplaces
that many would regard as tox-
ic or at the very least not fe-
male-friendly.
“While those who help fuel
toxic work environments are
in the minority, it’s nonethe-
less a significant and their
views can make people’s
working lives a misery,” said
Julia Gillard, former Prime
Minister of Australia and Chair
of the Global Institute for
Women’s Leadership.
When it comes to display-
ing sexual material at work,
more than one in eight men
(13 per cent) say it’s okay, al-
most double the proportion of
women (7 per cent) who think
the same.
While people in Sweden,
South Africa and Spain are
most likely to tell off a senior
colleague who makes a sex-
ist comment, those in Japan,
Poland and France are least
likely.
Globally, 52 per cent of men
and 41 per cent of women said
it was acceptable to ask a col-
league for a date.
While 26 per cent say re-
jecting a colleague who want-
ed a date or romantic relation-
ship is more likely to damage
the career of a woman, just 7
per cent say a man’s career is
likely to harm.
“Our data shows the peo-
ple feel women’s careers are
significantly more at risk then
men’s if they turn down a ro-
mantic advance, if they talk
about their family life or don’t
take part in social activities
with colleagues,” said Kelly
Beaver, managing director of
Ipsos MORI Public Affairs.
“Equality won’t happen
without both men and wom-
en making changes and in the
world of work, which is still
dominated by men,” said
Beaver.
According to the study, 71
per cent of Russians said they
would feel confident in con-
fronting a man who is har-
assing a woman in a public
place, while at the other end
of the spectrum, 29 per cent
of people in Japan and 31 per
cent in South Korea said the
same. – IANS
UNITED NATIONS,
March 8: The benefits of gen-
der equality are not just for
women and girls, but “for eve-
ryone whose lives will be
changed by a fairer world”, UN
women executive director
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
said in her message for Inter-
national Women’s Day, which
falls on Sunday.
In 2020, a massive year for
gender equality, “we’re mo-
bilising to realise women’s
rights, and to mark 25 years
of implementing the Beijing
Platform for Action” – the
historic and landmark gender
equality plan drawn up in the
Chinese capital, Xinhua news
agency quoted the UN Wom-
en chief as saying on Satur-
day.
“We don’t have an equal
world at the moment and
women are angry and con-
cerned about the future,” she
said, adding “they are radical-
ly impatient for change. It’s an
impatience that runs deep, and
it has been brewing for years.”
Mlambo-Ngcuka under-
scored that girls are disap-
pointed with “the steward-
ship of our planet, the una-
bated violence directed
against them and the slow
pace of change in fulcrum is-
sues like education”.
“My greatest impatience is
with unmoving economic ine-
quality,” she said, calling it “a
driver of repeating poverty”.
She said policies were need-
ed, which promote equality in
childcare responsibilities and
provide state support to fami-
lies and those who work in the
informal economy.
Though “radically impa-
tient,” Mlambo-Ngcuka said,
“We are not giving up.”
She cited the hopes: grow-
ing support in tackling gen-
der-bias barriers, a driving
will for change across gener-
ations and countries, and the
last 25 years showing what is
needed to accelerate action
for equality. – IANS
WASHINGTON, March 8:
California Senator Kamala
Harris on Sunday endorsed
current frontrunner and
former Vice President Joe
Biden as the Democratic par-
ty’s US presidential candi-
date, saying the country and
the people “need him now
more than ever”.
“@JoeBiden has served
our country with dignity and
we need him now more than
ever. I will do everything in
my power to help elect him
the next President of the
United States,” she said in a
tweet, along with a recorded
video message of support.
“We need a leader who
really does care about the
people, and can therefore
unify the people,” she added
in the message.
She also announced that
she would be campaigning
with Biden in Detroit on
Monday.
Biden later thanked her.
“Kamala – You’ve spent your
whole career fighting for
folks who’ve been written off
and left behind... from our
family: thank you,” he said in
a tweet.
Harris, who is of Indian and
Jamaican African descent,
had performed well in de-
bates but announced in De-
cember that she was pulling
out, even ad before the party
polls began.
Biden, 77, became the
Democratic front runner to
take on Donald Trump in
November, surging ahead in
the Super Tuesday Demo-
cratic primaries last week,
where he won 10 of the 14
states that voted. Senator
Bernie Sanders is the run-
ner-up. – IANS
Calls forimmediate trucein Yemen after
rebels seize citySANAA, March 8: The UN
has called for an immediate halt
to fighting in northern Yemen
where the Iran-aligned Houthi
rebels seized control of a stra-
tegic city on the border with
Saudi Arabia last week.
“I’m reiterating my call for
an immediate and uncondition-
al freeze and the start of a com-
prehensive, inclusive and ac-
countable de-escalation proc-
ess,” Efe news quoted UN
envoy to Yemen, Martin Grif-
fiths, as saying in a tweet on
Saturday.
He made the remarks dur-
ing a first visit to Marib city,
the capital of the oil-rich
Marib province, the bastion
of government military forc-
es backed by the Saudi-led
coalition.
Marib is located near al-
Hazm city, capital of the prov-
ince of Al Jauf and border with
Saudi Arabia, which was seized
last March 1 by Yemeni rebels
after weeks of fighting against
government forces.
“Yemen is at a critical junc-
ture; it will either silence the
guns and resume the political
process, or we will slip back
into large-scale conflict,” Grif-
fiths said following meetings
with government officials in
Marib city, around 195 km
northeast of the rebel-held
capital of Sanaa.
The seizure of the city dealt
a big blow to the internation-
ally-recognised government of
President Abd Rabbuh Man-
sour Hadi and the coalition, as
it brings the rebels closer to
Marib. – IANS
3 killed in Kabulshooting
KABUL, March 8: Three
people were killed and anoth-
er person was injured in a
shooting attack in the Afghan
capital of Kabul on Sunday, the
police said.
“Nasir Ghairat, a member
of Logar provincial council,
along with two of his security
guards were killed and his driv-
er was wounded following the
shooting in Sayid Noor Mo-
hammad Shah Mina neigh-
bourhood,” an official from the
Kabul Police told Xinhua news
agency.
The gunmen fled the scene
after the attack in Police Dis-
trict 8, southeastern side of
Kabul.
An investigation has been
launched into the incident.
Sunday’s shooting attack
comes after two gunmen on
Friday opened fire on a gath-
ering in Kabul from a nearby
building, killing 32 people and
injuring nearly 60 others be-
fore they were shot dead by
security forces six hours later,
reports Efe news.
The Islamic State terror
group claimed responsibility
for the attack.
On Saturday, local official and
civil-society activist Hamza
Ghafari was shot dead in Ghaz-
ni city.
Meanwhile, no one has
claimed responsibility for Sun-
day’s attack yet. – IANS
Gender equality benefits not onlywomen but all: UN Official
Joe Biden gets Kamala Harris’endorsement
The casket of Katherine Johnson being taken from the Hampton UniversityConvocation Center at the conclusion of a memorial service, on Saturday, at theConvocation Center in Hampton. Johnson, a mathematician who calculated rockettrajectories and earth orbits for NASA’s early space missions and was later portrayed inthe 2016 hit film Hidden Figures, died on February 24. She was 101. – AP/PTI
ISLAMABAD, March 8:
Incidents of stone pelting
were reported at the ‘Aurat
March’ organised in various
cities across Pakistan to mark
International Women’s Day
on Sunday which injured
some of the participants.
Women, children, men,
transgender people and oth-
ers participated in the
march organised by a di-
verse group of individuals
across class, sexuality and
ability. The march hopes to
collectively raise voices and
engage in political action for
issues affecting them and
their communities in a pub-
lic rally.
Incidents of stone pelting
were reported from Islama-
bad after the Jamia Hufsa stu-
dents ended their march. As
per the reports in Pakistani
media, the male participants
took down the tent and start-
ed throwing stones. Howev-
er, the situation was soon
brought under control by
police.
The incident was con-
demned by the organisers of
Islamabad's 'Aurat March',
who questioned the security
measures taken by authori-
ties for the event.
Taking up the incident to
social media, the organisers
tweeted: “Mullahs are ston-
ing the participants of #Au-
ratAzadiMarch a march that
was and is peaceful. Where
is the security that was
promised? Where was the
police that was promised?
Iss nizaam se chahtay hain
Azadi!” – IANS
Stones pelted at ‘Aurat March’in Pakistan
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI 5CITY
Janasanyog/D/11282/19
CITY CORRESPONDENT
GUWAHATI, March 8: The wide-
spread coronavirus scare has taken a toll
on the Holi market in the city with the
sale of colours and other paraphernalia
taking a discernible dip this time.
Traders had been hoping that sales
would pick up a day before the festival,
but the footfall on Sunday failed to lift
their spirits.
A wholesale trader of Fancy Bazar said,
“Due to the fear of coronavirus, the mar-
ket is a bit slow this time. Not many peo-
ple are buying water guns and colours.
Only 40 per cent of the stocks have been
sold. Sales are very low.”
Shopkeepers, however, are not trad-
ing in Chinese products.
“Not a single product is being import-
ed from China this time because of the
coronavirus scare. We do not have any
Chinese items,” he added.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi
announced that he would not celebrate
Holi this year due to coronavirus out-
Coronavirus scare hitssale of holi items in city
break, the State Health Department too
advised people not to play Holi.
“We must avoid mass gatherings as a
precautionary measure to prevent spread
of coronavirus. We urge people not to
play Holi this year even though no coro-
navirus case has been detected in the
State so far,” Minister of State for Health
and Family Welfare Pijush Hazarika told
a press conference here on Saturday.
Apart from natural colours, some of
the shopkeepers were selling chemical
colours as well.
“These chemical colours are from old
stock. These are in demand among a sec-
tion of customers, particularly the youth,”
a shopkeeper said. The natural Holi col-
ours are being sold at Rs 100-120 per kg.
“We are selling colours made in India
only. We do not sell any chemical items.
People have a false notion that we are
selling colours made in China. We have
no Chinese item this year,” Manoj Saha,
another shopkeeper said.
Shri Shri Gopalananda Ashram Com-
mittee of Shantipur also urged people
not to play colours this year.
The Guwahati Municipal Corporation
(GMC) today conducted a drive and evict-
ed 20 street vendors selling Holi items at
Fancy Bazar. The GMC collected fines to
the tune of Rs 6000 from shopkeepers.
AT photo
GUWAHATI, March 8:
Seven women achievers
were felicitated by Medicity
Group of Clinics and Diag-
nostics on the occasion of In-
ternational Women’s Day at
Medicity Aditya Complex
here today.
According to a press re-
lease, member of Bhupen
Hazarika Trust and founder of
North East Record Company
Manjula Hazarika, artist Wah-
ida Ahmed, TV journalist and
anchor Tulika Devi, senior
physician Dr Bijoya Dutta
Parasar, senior gynaecologist
Dr Biva Rani Devi, psychia-
trist and counsellor Dr San-
geeta Dutta and education en-
Prominent personalitieshonoured on Women’s Day
trepreneur Puja Kakati were
feted at the function.
A few men were also hon-
oured for their contribution
towards empowerment of
women. Among them were
founder of women-centric
ethnic food industry Devan-
ga Pallab Saikia and eminent
surgeon Dr Walliul Islam.
On the occasion, a free gy-
naecological check-up camp
was also organised in which
50 women were given con-
sultation. Senior gynaecolo-
gists Dr BK Dutta and Dr
Manoj Kumar Majumdar,
who conducted this camp,
were also felicitated on the
occasion.
At the outset of the pro-
gramme, Director, Medicity,
Dr Khalil Siddique welcomed
the dignitaries and guests.
Ashiq Zaman, an Indian
Revenue Service officer and
author, gave a pre-launch re-
view of his book Unplugged
while Devanga Pallab Saikia
launched the video of his song
Roi ja boi thoka noi (an ode
to a river) at the event.
During a musical inter-
lude, Nurana Begum, Yaman
Kalyan Deka and Ajitesh Das
presented some beautiful
numbers. The event ended
with the felicitation of the
women employees of the
Medicity Group.
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 8: A
high-level team of Journalists
Association of Assam (JAA)
and National Union of Journal-
ist India (NUJI) met the Di-
rector General of Police (DGP),
Assam, Bhaskar Jyoti Mahan-
ta at his office on Saturday and
submitted a memorandum
seeking a comprehensive so-
lution to the problems faced
by the media fraternity.
The delegation, led by
Bhupen Goswami, vice pres-
ident of NUJI, and JAA work-
ing president Anup Biswas
discussed with the DGP the
professional hazards faced by
journalists and the role of the
police in redressing the prob-
lems of journalists as well that
of society.
The DGP appealed to the
journalists to do some concrete
work to solve some of the basic
problems of the poor and down-
trodden who face untold suffer-
ing in various spheres.
Earlier, the JAA in its meet-
ing requested the State gov-
ernment to enact a law to pro-
JAA delegationcalls on DGP
tect the journalists from anti-
social and unlawful elements
while discharging their duties
for the cause of the right to
information.
The meeting held on Sat-
urday, presided over jointly by
DN Chakravartty and Anup
Biswas, decided to organise a
national seminar on the sub-
ject ‘Rights and duties of jour-
nalists and their role in main-
tenance of law and order’.
The association requested
the government to raise the
quantum of journalist pension
from the present Rs 8,000 to Rs
15,000. It also urged the gov-
ernment to raise the number of
pensioners from 20 to 40.
Chakravartty, in his presiden-
tial remarks, stressed the need
for objectivity and correctness
in news in order to ensure sanc-
tity and credibility of the media.
Dalim Phukan, general sec-
retary of JAA, in his report said
that henceforth the organisation
would meet quarterly on sec-
ond Saturdays. Bhupen Gos-
wami, former secretary, JAA,
was congratulated on becom-
ing the vice president of NUJI.
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 8: Connections-
2020, the annual meeting of the Indian
Institute of Mass Communication Alum-
ni Association (IIMCAA), North East
Chapter, which was held here on Satur-
day evening, discussed at length vari-
ous issues about the contemporary me-
dia profession and called upon journal-
ists to focus more on the positive things
that have been taking place in the north-
eastern region for the benefit of read-
ers and viewers.
The meeting discussed the need for the
media to tell the positive developments
in the North East in the wake of gradual
waning of armed insurgency movements,
and asked the media fraternity to look at
various interesting, positive and inspiring
stories from the region.
Members of the IIMC Alumni Associ-
ation also underlined the need for inspir-
ing increasing number of brilliant stu-
Mass Comm alumni body’sNE chapter holds annual meet
dents from the North East to join the
Indian Institute of Mass Communication
and expand the network of professional-
ly qualified journalists within the region.
Members expressed their satisfaction
over the fact that more students from
different parts of the country are now
opting for joining the NE campus of the
IIMC in Aizawl, Mizoram.
The meeting expressed happiness
that the permanent Aizawl campus of
IIMC is nearing completion, and re-
quested the authorities concerned to
make it functional from the new academ-
ic session.
The meeting, presided over by veter-
an journalist Samudra Gupta Kashyap
was attended among others by senior
IIMC alumni and leading tourism entre-
preneur Jahnabi Phookan, AIR Guwahati
special correspondent Manas Pratim Sar-
ma, Arunachal Pradesh IFS officer Pee-
Lee Ete, Guwahati-based journalist
Manoj Khandelwal and a few others.
CITY CORRESPONDENT
GUWAHATI, March 8: SRF
Foundation in collaboration with the
State Education Department has
implemented its flagship Rural
Education Programme in Dimoria
block of Kamrup (M) district by
adopting 10 government schools.
Under the Rural Education Pro-
gramme, the SRF Foundation or-
ganised an event ‘Academic Mela
and Stakeholders Felicitation’ for
its 10 adopted government schools
at Pub Dimoria ME School ground
(Topatali) on March 6 with the par-
ticipation of over 400 children,
teachers, headmasters, parents,
community members and guests.
District Elementary Education
Officer (DEEO) of Kamrup (M),
Buli Gogoi Bhuyan was present as
the chief guest in the programme
along with the Director of Schools
of Humanities and Social Sciences
10 schools adopted underRural Education Prog
of Assam Don Bosco University, Dr
Riju Sharma; Head of the Depart-
ment of Social Work of Assam Don
Bosco University, Prof PJ Lukose;
and Assistant Prof of Assam Don
Bosco University, Victor Narzary.
Under the Rural Education Pro-
gramme, the Academic Mela and
Stakeholders Felicitation is to fur-
ther motivate and enhance on shar-
ing of innovative ideas, best practic-
es and ensuring sustainable teach-
ing-learning practices of the schools.
As many as 12 stalls were installed
at the Mela by the students of 10
government schools demonstrating
various creativity and innovations.
All the stakeholders were feted
in categories like Best Students,
Best School Management Commit-
tees, Best Schools, Best Parents,
Best Community Members, Best
Village Heads, Best Stalls, Best
Cultural Troops, Winners in com-
petitions, etc.
JanaushadhiDiwas
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 8:
Girijananda Chowdhury In-
stitute of Pharmaceutical
Science here observed
Janaushadhi Diwas on Satur-
day. The event was attended
by Union Minister Prahlad
Singh Patel and Regional Di-
rector, North East India
Tourism, SS Debbarman.
LOCAL FORECAST:
Generally cloudy skywith one or two spells ofrain or thundershowers.Maximum and minimumtemperatures are mostlikely to be 28°C & 15°Crespectively on Monday.
TEMPERATURE:Max 29.0° C
Min 15.6° C
WEATHER
GUWAHATI
Moot courtcontest heldGUWAHATI, March 8:
National Law University and
Judicial Academy, Assam, or-
ganised the second edition of
Vox Anatolis National Level
Moot Court Competition from
March 6 to 8 on its campus at
Amingaon here, stated a
press release.
Mooting is an exercise
wherein students of law
schools indulge in the simula-
tion of court, arbitration pro-
ceedings, etc.
This year’s moot proposi-
tion was based on the legali-
ties of the NRC and the rights
of foreigners in detention
camps. Twenty-one teams
from premier law schools from
across the country participat-
ed in the competition wherein
they advanced arguments on
the legalities of the process.
The competition was inau-
gurated by Gauhati High
Court’s senior advocate Nilay-
ananda Dutta. The prelims and
other rounds were adjudged
by advocates of the Gauhati
High Court. The finalists were
West Bengal National Univer-
sity of Juridical Sciences and
OP Jindal Global Law School,
Haryana, the release added.
6 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020
MESSAGE FOR TODAY
Rebellion without truth is like spring in a bleak,
arid desert.
– KHALIL GIBRAN
Covid-19: a global crisis, now in India
Illustrative exampleIt had been over a decade-and-a-half ago that Manmo-
han Singh’s Congress Government at the Centre had
first mooted the ‘Look East’ policy. From time to time
there had been regular pronouncements by Delhi that
land connectivity with ASEAN nations was being estab-
lished and soon the Northeast would reap the benefits
this would entail. With the coming to power of the NDA
Government at the Centre, the status quo has not much
changed and, apart from the ‘Look East’ transforming
itself to ‘Act East’, hardly any progress appears to have
been made, no matter that in the 14th ASEAN-India Sum-
mit held at Vientiane, Laos in 2016, Indian Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi had laid emphasis on “regional inte-
gration and cooperation”. He had then asserted that the
ASEAN was central to India’s Act East Policy, and one of
the beneficiaries will be the Northeast States. He had
also repeated Manmohan Singh’s earlier assertion that
the process of connectivity between the Northeast and
ASEAN nations was well under way, and the Trilateral
Highway Project to link the region to Myanmar and Thai-
land to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, was about to be
completed. The Northeast would then be transformed
into a corridor between markets in mainland India and
those in other countries, across which economic activi-
ties would flow from the Indian subcontinent to South
Asia and China and vice versa.
An illustrative example of how misleading such asser-
tions have been is the Kaladan Project currently being
undertaken to create yet another path of connectivity be-
tween ASEAN and India through the Northeast. The
project proposes to link Mizoram with the Haldia-Kolkata
ports on the west and the Kaldan river in Myanmar to the
east, thereby forging a multi-modal transport corridor for
shipment of cargo from the eastern ports of India and from
the Northeast through Mizoram to the ASEAN. However,
though the framework agreement for this project had been
signed between Indian and Myanmar in 2008 and the first
assignment for work was made in 2010, hardly any progress
had been made in both the waterway component of 158 km
on the Kaladan river and the 109-km road component from
the Mizoram-Myanmar border. The very fact that only Rs
640 crore of the estimated Rs 2,904-crore expenditure
for the project has been spent so far testifies to how little
progress has been achieved. Reportedly, the tardy
progress has earned the ire of the Parliamentary Commit-
tee monitoring the Act East Policy, which has recommend-
ed that the reasons for the inordinate delay in completing
the project must be addressed and it should be regularly
monitored. Of equal concern to the people of the North-
east, of course, has been the lack of progress in building up
the industrial infrastructure in this region required to reap
benefits from the Act East Policy.
Power tariffThe Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission has ef-
fected a reduction in energy charges by 15 to 40 paise per
unit across all categories, while increasing the fixed costs at
the same time. The increase in fixed charges is being sought
to be compensated by decreasing the energy charges, caus-
ing an overall decrease of 2% as compared to the existing
tariff. The past one decade has seen power tariff go up
substantially even as there has not been any noticeable
improvement in the overall power scenario. This in turn
fuelled growing public opposition to the frequent hikes in
power tariff. The growing dissatisfaction of the consumers
with power tariff hikes is not without justification because
they have been made to pay at high rates for availing an
essential service which has been erratic and inadequate to
say the least. This reflects an arbitrary and illogical approach
on the part of the power authorities for whom customer
satisfaction figures at the bottom of the priorities. Following
the World Bank-aided power reforms started in 2003, the
ASEB was dismantled into several companies for bringing
in professionalism and efficiency into its functioning. Unfor-
tunately, their functioning leaves none in any doubt that
they are more interested in passing off the burden arising
out of their inefficiency to the common consumers rather
than making any sincere effort towards providing quality
service to the people. Much of the losses the power author-
ities are suffering stems from their own inefficiency and
lapses, and seeking to realize the losses simply by overbur-
dening the consumers can never be acceptable.
Our power authorities would do well to emulate the
model of the Delhi Government where the entire chain
from generation, transmission and distribution has been
streamlined, reducing undue costs in the process and
passing on the benefits to the consumer. Unfortunately,
the State’s power scenario continues to be dark in the
literal sense of the term. The meagre power generation
apart, transmission and distribution continue to be plagued
by a plethora of ills resulting in heavy but avoidable loss-
es every year. The annual losses suffered by the ASEB
and its successor companies continue to be huge – stem-
ming more from unprofessional handling of a vital sector
like power than from low tariff. This has also encouraged
financial irregularities, including APDCL’s mounting but
unnecessary administrative expenses. The Electricity
Act 2003 envisaged quality and uninterrupted power for
the masses at affordable rate but this has turned out to be
a mirage. Power theft and unrealized bills from big de-
faulters including government departments also remain
another issue left unaddressed. While occasional revi-
sion of power tariff is necessary to meet the rising cost of
production, there is little to suggest that the power au-
thorities have made any committed attempt to plug the
loopholes in their functioning.
t is often thought that the ma-
jor threat to the human race in
present times is from global
terrorism or nuclear prolifer-
ation but another kind of much great-
er threat lurks behind the shadows
and emerges without the slightest
hint – a global pandemic.
The outbreak of the mysterious
virus, named coronavirus disease 19
or Covid-19, triggered a global
health emergency. The viral infec-
tion was initially reported to origi-
nate in a seafood market in the Chi-
nese city of Wuhan in December
2019. It was soon realized that the
viral infection was highly contagious,
and could spread rapidly. Despite a
prohibitory lockdown, an estimat-
ed 80,000 people were infected
within China with more than 90,000
confirmed cases across more than
70 countries. Sadly, more than 3,100
people have lost their lives since
the outbreak was reported in De-
cember, majority of the deaths oc-
curred in China.
Covid-19, a zoonotic virus, and
the seventh member in the corona-
virus family, has never been report-
ed before. Scientific studies have
shown that the coronavirus origi-
nating from Wuhan is structurally
related to the viral pathogens re-
sponsible for Severe Acute Respi-
ratory Syndrome (SARS) and Mid-
dle East Respiratory Syndrome
(MERS). Like previous instances of
coronavirus outbreaks, scientists
suspect that the Covid-19 virus
jumped to human from either bats
or animals. For example, the virus
associated with SARS was believed
to have jumped to humans from civ-
ets in 2002. In a recent report based
on genetic analyses, the Chinese sci-
entists have identified scaly, ant-eat-
ing pangolin as a potential link for
Covid-19. While detailed genome
studies involving three other pan-
golin coronaviruses are being con-
I
While the Chinese have been
able to contain the outbreak
substantially, the initial delay
was perhaps unfortunate.
Because of this lapse, many
people and tourists were
exposed to the viral infections
and unknowingly transmitted
the pathogen while traveling.
Lettersto the
EDITOR
Holi celebration and coronavirus
Sir, – With the coronavirus
Covid-19 becoming more and more
real for the Indians with each
passing day, the excitement that
generally accompanies Holi is
somewhat diminished in this year.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan has already
cancelled its celebration and Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has also
said that he would not hold or be
part of any Holi gathering this year.
The announcements came in line
with expert advice for people to
reduce mass events to check the
Covid-19 spread. As the global
mortality rate of Covid-19 is 3.4%
and the virus has human-to-human
transmission, would it even be a
good idea to play Holi this year?
Studies have shown that the
incubation period of Covid-19 is 2 to
14 days and an asymptomatic
person can also spread the infection
which is why social distancing and
personal hygiene are important.
Holi is an auspicious occasion. It is a
social festival. Holi celebration
Articles (within 1000-1100 words) and
Letters to the Editor for publication in
the editorial page may be sent to the
email ID: [email protected].
ducted, the actual source of the vi-
ral outbreak remains elusive. As
such, scientists, researchers and
public health officials are desperate-
ly trying to identify the origin of the
virus in the Chinese city of Wuhan
in order to prevent new outbreaks.
On February 29, the World Health
Organization (WHO) raised the glo-
bal alert for Covid-19 to the highest
possible level, though refraining
from terming it a ‘pandemic’. Ac-
cording to the epidemiologists at the
WHO, the transmission
risk of coronavirus seems
much stronger than what
was earlier estimated.
Also, the researchers at
Umea University in Swe-
den have reported that
based on previous studies,
the Covid-19 emerging
from Wuhan appears as
transmissible as the SARS
virus, and that the situa-
tion was alarming.
While the Covid-19 in-
fection has been spreading
rapidly, scientists estimat-
ed the fatality rate be-
tween 1 and 2. The data collected
by the Chinese scientists indicated
that about 80% of infections were
mild to moderate, 13.8% revealed
severe symptoms, and while 6.1%
had critical episodes of respiratory
failure, septic shock or organ fail-
ure. It was learnt that the fatality
rate was 21.9% for elderly people
(over 60 years of age), and individu-
als who were diagnosed with heart
disease, diabetes or hypertension
were particularly vulnerable.
The WHO has estimated the
transmissibility of the coronavirus
between 1.4 and 2.5. Transmissibil-
ity, expressed as a reproduction
number, is a measurement of ‘how
many people were infected by a vi-
rus-contaminated person in a pre-
viously healthy population’. The
higher the number, the more trans-
ferable or contagious the viral in-
fection is and the higher the risk for
rapid spread. When the reproduc-
tion number falls below 1.0, the ep-
idemic is likely to die out.
Based on the available evidence,
it seems that Covid-19 can be trans-
mitted by people who have mild
symptoms or are even pre-sympto-
matic. In fact, Covid-19 can be trans-
mitted via droplets and fomites dur-
ing close unprotected contact be-
tween the infected person and a
healthy person. This means Covid-
19 is transmitted quite efficiently, and
an average infected person can spread
the disease to several others before
it can be detected. Under such con-
ditions, there is an increased risk of
infection spreading to elderly people
and those with existing health prob-
lems. Due to this reason, Covid-19
has been much harder to contain than
the MERS or SARS, and has already
shown 10 times as many infected cas-
es as SARS in a quarter of the time
period.
As the world joins the race to find
treatments and vaccines for Covid-
19, we could learn from the Chi-
nese experience of the outbreak.
When the viral infection was initial-
ly detected in Wuhan municipality,
the Chinese authorities seemed
unable to comprehend the serious-
ness of the situation. In fact, Li Wen-
liang, an ophthalmologist who first
alerted the public of the viral dis-
ease, was warned by the local au-
thorities (Li subsequently died of
the viral disease). Later, Zhong N-
anshan, the doctor who was part of
China’s fight against the 2003 out-
break of SARS, alerted the public of
the new virus that seemed capable
of human-to-human transmission.
The response of the Chinese au-
thorities was aggressive and un-
precedented; three new hospitals
were built along with nine tempo-
rary hospitals in just more
than a week. The author-
ities promptly ordered
complete lockdown of
Wuhan and its neigh-
bouring cities in the
Hubei province – with a
population of about 58.5
million people. Across
China, as many as 700
million people were
asked to stay confined to
their homes with travel
restrictions. At the same
time, the Chinese author-
ities organized more than
200 medical teams from
around the country, including from
the military, to contain the spread of
the disease. Along with this, the
Chinese authorities also extended
the Lunar New Year holiday to cov-
er the incubation period of the vi-
rus. People diagnosed with symp-
toms of Covid-19 were kept in iso-
lation, and quarantined in stadiums
and conference centres. People
were asked to maintain personal hy-
giene, while those who developed
symptoms received medical treat-
ment. Such massive response of the
Chinese authorities including the
home-based quarantine of sympto-
matic people at the epicentre was
instrumental in containing the virus
to some extent.
Several lessons can be learnt from
the pandemic situation arising out of
the viral outbreak. Firstly, it seems
the closure of public institutions and
non-essential workplaces reduce
transmission risks to a large extent.
At the same time, information and
education campaigns undertaken dur-
ing the outbreak control efforts effec-
tively highlighted personal hygiene
and preventive measures, while peo-
ple with asymptomatic infections
were provided medical treatment.
Secondly, quarantine and isolation of
the infected cases became effective
strategies while dealing with such con-
tagious diseases. This was made pos-
sible by trained health workers who
could monitor disease patterns as part
of the early response systems and de-
liver diagnosis and treatment. While
the Chinese have been able to contain
the outbreak substantially, the initial
delay was perhaps unfortunate. Be-
cause of this lapse, many people and
tourists were exposed to the viral in-
fections and unknowingly transmitted
the pathogen while travelling. As of
now, countries like South Korea, Sin-
gapore, Japan, Iran and Italy have re-
ported hundreds of confirmed cases
of Covid-19 infections.
From the Indian perspective, the
Covid-19 outbreak is a serious con-
cern, with several new viral infect-
ed cases being already identified.
The challenges posed by such
emerging and re-emerging infec-
tious pathogens require constant
surveillance and prompt diagnosis.
In addition, we ought to update our-
selves on Covid-19, its symptoms
(i.e., fever and dry cough), and edu-
cate ourselves about the preventive
measures, viz., frequent hand wash-
ing, using alcohol-based sanitizers and
covering our mouth and nose when
sneezing or coughing. In the long
run, our government ought to facil-
itate rigorous scientific research to
understand the biology of new path-
ogens, their effects on our popula-
tions, and help develop effective
medicines/vaccines for dealing with
unprecedented emergencies.
Sankaradeva and Holi festival in Assamn the spring season, the Holi
festival is celebrated almost in
all parts of northern India. Be-
fore the appearance of Sriman-
ta Sankaradeva, it is not clearly
known whether the spring festival,
known as Doul Yatra or Holi, was
celebrated in ancient Assam. It
seems that Sankaradeva was the
person who for the first time in-
troduced this festival after return-
ing from his first pilgrimage in or-
der to propagate the Bhakti culture
of Assam.
It has been emphatically ex-
pressed in the Bhakti treatises, es-
pecially in the Bhagavat Purana, that
the Leelas (divine activities of Lord
Krishna) play the most important
role to rouse the Krishna conscious-
ness in the heart of his devotees. In
the 11th canto of the Bhagavata, it
has been specially devised that the
people who desire to have firm de-
votion to Krishna should worship
his image and display his Leelas in
congregation with pomp and gran-
deur. Sankaradeva elaborately de-
picted this portion of the Bhagavata
in his Kirtan and in his Niminavasid-
ha Sambada, and also in his crea-
tions about Lord Krishna. Srimanta
n Prafulla Pran Mahanta
Sankaradeva described the details
of the Holi played by Lord Krishna
also in other creations about Bhakti
cult of his Vaishnavite literature.
Almost all the biographers of
Sankaradeva said that he spent sev-
eral years in Jagannath Puri, Odis-
ha. He witnessed all the festivals of
at Puri several times and was ex-
tremely impressed by the perform-
ances of thousands of people. The
Jagannath temple was of pivotal im-
portance and a host of shrines and
temples were created around the
vast tract of land for several hun-
dred years. Srimanta Sankaradeva
wrote a chapter in his monumental
work, the Kirtan Gosha, on several
shines surrounding the Jagannath
temple. He elaborately described in
injunctions of the scriptures how the
ceremony of Rath Yatra was per-
formed in that time which is being
celebrated even today.
He wrote a ghosa, ‘Range faku
khele chaitanya Banamali duhate
fakure gura sinchanta Murari’. This
means the incarnation of that ever-
conscious reality in the form of Sri
Krishna Jagannath, playing with faku
or coloured powder with both hands
with his beloved devotees.
Here in Assam, the Doul Yatra is
celebrated in the month of Fagun.
Sankaradeva has described explic-
itly all the formalities in this con-
text. Sankaradeva has given an im-
pressive picture of the whole cere-
mony. Moreover, his chief disciple
Mahapurush Madhavdeva composed
a Borgeet suitable for singing in the
Holi festival. From all this, we can
say that the Daulotsav or Phalguts-
av or Holi in popular parlance has
been celebrated in the satras and
namghars in Assam since the time
of Srimanta Sankaradeva.
Many other satras of Assam also
follow this tradition as it has been
described in the Kirtana and the
Bhagavata. Some biographers of
Sankaradeva and Madhavdeva have
expressed that for the first time Ma-
hapurush Sankaradeva celebrated
the Doulotsav or Holi festival at
Batadrawa following the advice of
his family priest, Ram Ram Guru.
Sankaradeva ordered his disciple
Korole Barhoi, an expert carpen-
ters of his time, to make a wooden
image or idol of Lord Jagannath
(Lord Krishna). Ram Ram Guru
duly placed the idol in the namghar.
He also performed the religious cer-
emony, that is, Doul festival.
It may be mentioned that in that
holy place, Srimanta Sankaradeva
also exhibited the Chinha Yatra B-
haona in collaboration with Ram
Ram Guru and one of his devotees
and local followers. It is said that
Chinha Yatra Bhaona remained the
centre of inspiration for the per-
formance of Doulotsav in the later
years. Even in later times the Ahom
kings also celebrated Doulotsav or
the Holi festival.
The Doul Yatra or the Holi festi-
val of Assam was given a new shape
and devotion by Mahapurush
Srimanta Sankaradeva. His prime
objective was to involve the people
of Assam with the neo-Vaishnavite
movement without any discrimina-
tion. In the eyes of Sankaradeva, all
people in the world are equal and
hence he tried to propagate the Ek
Saran Naam Dharma among all sec-
tions of Assamese people irrespec-
tive of their caste and creed. Only
to propagate one Krishna Darsan
among the people, he gathered all
sections of the people through this
colourful Holi festival.
Srimanta Sankaradeva had dis-
ciples from the local tribal people
and also from the Muslim commu-
nity. He used khol, taal (cymbal) and
others musical instruments pro-
duced by the local indigenous peo-
ple of Assam. There was no dis-
tinction of caste, creed and religion
in practising Bhakti; everybody was
equal in his eyes. He chose the Holi
festival amongst other festivals to
unite all sections of people of As-
sam. Through the Chinha Yatra
Bhaona and Borgeets, he made the
festival more enjoyable. Even the
illiterate villagers could understand
the highly philosophical and spirit-
ual ideals by witnessing the bhao-
na and listening to the melodious
Borgeets.
After Srimanta Sankaradeva,
his chief disciple Mahapurush
Madhavdeva and others follow-
ing their guru’s footsteps spread
the Bhakti cult through the satra
and namghar institutions in As-
sam. It may be mentioned here
that the King Narnarayana and
his brother Chilarai were attract-
ed by his personality and schol-
arship and requested him to build
a satra and namghars in their
Koch kingdom.
It may be mentioned that the
prominent satras like Barpeta, Bat-
adrawa, Sundaridiya, Auniati, Dak-
shinpat, Garmur, Samaguri and Ku-
ruwabahi and also other satras are
observing the Holi festival as per
their own traditional ways.
I
means a huge gathering and it goes
from house to house. As such,
hugging and applying colours cannot
be avoided. The Covid-19 infection
can be transmitted in gatherings
even by single infected person. No
one can track all those one comes
across in such a huge gathering. In
such a situation, one may increase
the odds of getting an infection. The
only thing one can do is to lower the
odds of getting infected and, hence,
non-essential attendance in
crowded places is discouraged. It is
always better to take precautions. I
think celebrating Holi this year is
unsafe. It is better to stay at home
and share our wishes instead of
organizing get-togethers. Unneces-
sary trips to malls, markets,
conferences or any public places
that are crowded should be avoided.
However, one need not be panicky
over the Covid-19 situation in the
country. Yours etc., Dr DHAR-
MAKANTA KUMBHAKAR,
Tezpur Medical College.
School teacher transferSir, – The Assam Government
has rightly felt the need for
streamlining the school teacher
transfer system in the State (‘State
Govt to bring law on teacher
transfer’, AT, March 4, 2020).
There are a section of teachers in
Assam who are never satisfied with
their postings and are completely
preoccupied with their places of
postings. The primary duty of a
teacher is to teach the students
properly. If a teacher is preoccupied
with other thoughts, he or she can
never become motivated to teach
the students sincerely in the
classroom. In fact, a teacher should
feel satisfied with his or her place of
posting. The proposed policy of the
Assam Government, that a teacher
must render service in the same
place after joining his/her post for a
period of 10 years, is correct.
However, the Government of
Assam should consider the cases of
transfer of teachers on serious
health ground. Further, the
Government must ensure the
security of the lady teachers who
work in the remote places of the
State. Yours etc., MAHESWAR
DEKA, Rangiya.
NPA for vety doctorsSir, – Through your esteemed
daily, I want to draw the atten-
tion of the Assam Government
regarding the non-practising
allowance (NPA) for the veteri-
nary doctors in the government
services. When the State
Government is going to provide
the similar amount of salary to
the doctors of GMCH as that of
the AIIMS, at the same time the
veterinary doctors in the State
have not got even their NPA.
NPA is a special kind of allow-
ance payable to doctors occupy-
ing the posts of medical and
veterinary services. Until the
implementation of the 7th Pay
Commission, NPA was paid at
the rate of 25% of the basic pay.
But the 7th Pay Commission had
reduced it to 20% of the basic
pay. It is unfortunate that the
veterinary doctors are deprived
since long from getting the NPA
even after providing their
valuable services. Yours etc., Dr
BIRAJ KUMAR SARMA,
Lakhimpur.
Ragging in hostelsSir, – There are anti-ragging cells
in almost all the educational
institutions in the present time.
These cells are working sincerely so
that ragging stops and students can
live peacefully and carry on with their
studies. But there are hostels where
the wardens lack sincerity, taking
advantage of which some students
beat others mercilessly in the name
of ragging. The victims also do not
register any complaints fearing
further torture. This is a serious
issue. Through your esteemed daily,
I would like to request the anti-
ragging cells in the educational
institutions of the State to be more
alert and to keep a close eye
especially on the hostels, so that such
unwanted incidents do not happen.
Ragging is a crime, so anyone found
committing such a crime should be
given exemplary punishment. Yours
etc., KABIR CHAKRABORTY,
Cotton University.
n Nilakshi Rupam Sarma
THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI 7MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020NATIONAL
HYDERABAD, March 8: Vice-President M
Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday emphasised on
educational and economic empowerment for
women and said no country could progress if
they were denied equal opportunities.
Delivering his address at the inaugural of
iWIN (International Women Network) on the
occasion of Women’s Day here, he said, “It
was the duty of each one of us to see that no
girl was left out of school.”
An educated woman would possess skills,
self-confidence and could become a better
parent, an official press release quoted Naidu
as saying.
She would also provide better nutrition and
hence ensure that her children are healthy, he
said.
In this aspect, the Vice-President expressed
happiness over the tremendous impact of Beti
Bachao, Beti Padao on increasing the gross
enrolment ratio of girls across all levels.
Calling for a change in mindset, the Vice-
President said there was an urgent need to
make boys respect girls from a young age.
He said women were always given a re-
spectable place in Indian culture and traditions
and we need to go back to our roots.
Noting that life always needs women,
Naidu, in his trademark style, said- First, it is
Vidya (education), then Lakshmi (wealth) and
finally it is Shakti and Shanti (peace).
Describing spiritual symbols, the Vice-Pres-
ident said, “Whether we chant the Gayatri
(mantra) or read the Gita (epic), or we do
Vandana, Puja or Aarti with Shraddha towards
God to pray, we are still with women.
Maintaining that the greatest human values
are feminine, Naidu said, When we grow old-
SRINAGAR, March 8: Former PDP
leader Altaf Bukhari on Sunday
launched the Jammu and Kashmir Apni
Party (JKAP) here as he vowed to
work towards restoring J&K’s state-
hood and ensure domicile rights of
people in jobs and education, while
saying demoting the state to a Union
Territory was “unpleasant and bitter”.
The 60-year-old, who is a graduate in
agriculture science, announced the for-
mation of the JKAP at his residence and
was flanked by former MLAs and sen-
ior leaders of political parties like the
National Conference (NC), the PDP, the
Congress and the BJP, besides some
former Independent legislators.
He was elected president of the
JKAP unanimously.
Bukhari said the new party was an
outfit “of the commoners, by the com-
moners and for the commoners”.
It is a bare fact that the Union Ter-
ritory of Jammu and Kashmir has been
passing through tough times since
1990, leading to an unprecedented
scenario of death and destruction in
the region, he said.
“However, the developments
which took place on August 5, 2019,
brought some new questions and re-
alities to the fore,” Bukhari said, add-
ing that in “an unknown and unimag-
SNIPPETS
Debt-ridden farmercommits suicide
SAHARANPUR, March 8: A debt-riddenfarmer hanged himself to death in front ofa bank in Sharanpur's Chhutmalpur,police said on Sunday.
SP (Rural) Vidya Sagar Mishra said theincident took place on Saturday eveningand the farmer has been identified as 50-year-old Vedpal. He hanged himself froma tree, triggering panic in the area.
Police said he was immediately rushedto a hospital, where doctors declared himdead. The SP said a suicide note wasrecovered, in which the victim blamedbank officials and a middleman for theextreme step. – PTI
Army rescues nine peoplestranded in snow in J&K
JAMMU, March 8: The army onSunday rescued nine people, includingfive women, who were stranded in snowin the higher reaches of Jammu andKashmir's Rajouri district, a defencespokesperson said.
"Army troops of the Romeo Forcebraved harsh weather and incessantsnow and rain near Dera Ki Gali torescue the passengers travellingbetween Thanamandi and Bafliaz," hesaid. The spokesperson said their SUVgot stuck on the road due to heavysnowfall, which kept increasing.
On information about the same, he saidthe troops and the local police stationedat Dera Ki Gali swung into action andreached the site immediately andrescued the people. – PTI
CRPF constable kills selfwith service weapon
HYDERABAD, March 8: A CRPFconstable, hailing from Nagpur inMaharashtra, on sentry duty hereallegedly committed suicide by shootinghimself with his service weapon in theearly hours of Sunday, police said.
According to police, Baban Vithal RaoManwar, aged about 40, who was onsentry duty at the CRPF public schoolhere, allegedly shot himself under the chinwith his service weapon, an SLR. – PTI
Driver accused ofraping woman in car
HYDERABAD, March 8: A 23-year-oldmarried woman was allegedly raped bya man in his car near here after givingher a lift, police said on Sunday.
The 33-year-old accused offered thewoman a lift in his car on late Friday whileshe was waiting on the roadside to go toChandanvelly village, they said. Instead oftaking her to the destination, he drove to anisolated place and allegedly raped her, thepolice said. The woman lodged a complainton Saturday, based on which a case hasbeen registered and the accused taken intocustody, they added. – PTI
Karnataka putson hold weddingaid scheme for
minority womenBENGALURU, March 8: A
question mark has arisen over
the continuation of a marriage
assistance scheme for minori-
ty women in Karnataka, start-
ed during the Congress rule, in
view of non-allocation of funds
for it in the budget presented
by the BJP government.
Reacting to it, the opposition
Congress in the state hit out at
the BJP and said it has proved
that the party “is anti-minori-
ties.” In a notice issued on Sat-
urday, the director of minori-
ties had asked the secretary of
minority welfare, Haj and Wakf,
deputy commissioners of all
districts not to accept any ap-
plication under the Bidaai
scheme with immediate effect.
“It is hereby informed not
to accept any application under
the Bidaai scheme because the
finance department has not re-
served funds under the Bidaai
scheme in the budget 2020-21.
Hence, receiving applications
under the scheme must be
stopped with immediate effect
and the pending applications
shall be mandatorily sent to the
directorate by March 9, 2020,”
said the notice. – PTI
T H I R U V A N A N -
THAPURAM, March 8: The
Kerala government on Sun-
day decided to go ahead with
“Attukal Pongala,” one of the
largest all-women religious
congregations to be held on
Monday, but issued fresh
guidelines in the backdrop of
five fresh positive coronavi-
rus cases being reported in
the state.
Since months of prepara-
tions have gone in for the fa-
mous festival, it has been
decided to go ahead with it,
Health Minister K K Shaila-
ja told reporters here.
The health authorities
have issued strict instructions
that those having cold, fever
or showing any symptoms of
the virus, should offer ‘pon-
gala’ only in front of their
homes and avoid crowded
places.
The minister also visited
the Attukal temple complex
to supervise the prepara-
tions.
Many foreigners participate
in the pongala ritual and ar-
rangements have been made
er we want Karuna (compassion) or Mamta
(love). From those who are angry with us we
want Kshama (forgiveness). It is a womans
world, he said.
Observing that even after seven decades of
Independence, there were still reports of gen-
der discrimination, atrocities and violence
against women, the Vice-President stressed
that there should be zero tolerance towards
such social evils.
He called for meting out swift punishment
to those who commit crimes against women
and said that political will was required to curb
crimes against women rather than merely
bringing a new bill.
On the need for a special emphasis on edu-
cation and empowerment of rural women, the
Vice-President said promoting literacy among
rural women and nurturing the spirit of en-
trepreneurship among them would pave the
way for their economic empowerment.
He also called for giving equal rights to
women in ancestral property, including that of
the agriculture land and said that there was an
urgent need to bring in uniformity in laws
across the country in this regard.
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarara-
jan was among the dignitaries who were
present.
Earlier in the day, the Vice-President at-
tended the Women’s Day celebrations organ-
ised by Durgabai Deshmukh Mahila Sabha
(Andhra Mahila Sabha) here.
Addressing the gathering at the event, he
called upon the youth to draw inspiration from
the life of visionary leaders such as Durgabai
Deshmukh who dedicated her life in the serv-
ice of nation at a tender age of 12. – PTI
‘Economic empowerment,education vital for women’
ined situation in the 70-year-long his-
tory of free India, a full-fledged state,
enjoying an enviable position among
its sister states, was demoted to a
Union Territory”.
On August 5 last year, the Centre
withdrew special status of the erst-
while state of Jammu and Kashmir,
and bifurcated it into union territories
Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The union territories came into
existence on October 31 last year.
“Though unpleasant and bitter, it is
an undeniable reality that the develop-
ments which took place in August 2019,
particularly the deprivation of statehood,
has badly affected the self-esteem, pride
and confidence of the people across Jam-
mu and Kashmir,” Bukhari said.
Bukhari, who was a minister in the
PDP-BJP government, said the devel-
opments have resulted not only in the
complete breakdown of political insti-
tutions but has also stalled the result
oriented and purposeful developmen-
tal activities.
“Hence, a sense of aggressive dis-
contentment on one side, and an atti-
tude of complete indifference prevails
across Jammu and Kashmir on the
other, which at any cost, cannot be left
unattended and unaddressed,” the
businessman-turned-politician said.
The people have every reason and
right to conceive and envision every
shade and aspect of a fully developed
and civilized democratic society, a so-
ciety where they can live in harmony
and peace, free from discrimination,
exploitation and prejudices of any kind
or manner under a democratic sys-
tem, Bukhari said.
“Our people have had huge sacrific-
es to their credit for nurturing the dem-
ocratic spirit and an ever evolving polit-
ical process in the region. Unfortunate-
ly, we never witnessed the desired re-
sults of our toil and efforts and instead,
we were failed time and again by a par-
ticular vested interest class,” he said.
“The result is that we are in a situ-
ation where we should have not been,”
the former Jammu and Kashmir fi-
nance minister said.
The present circumstances war-
ranted the formation of a new political
party comprising those who all along
had identified and related themselves
to the social needs of multiple factions
of society, Bukhari said.
He said that the situation demanded
“a party that could respond to rational
aspirations of the people without prom-
ising them the moon or stars”.
“We are not here to sell dreams or
fantasies to our people, instead shall
always be pragmatic, honest and fair
in our approach,” Bukhari asserted at
a press conference.
On abrogation of Article 370,
Bukhari said the special status had
been eroded and was reduced to a
frame only in the last 50 years. “The
matter is before the Supreme Court
and hence, we have to wait for the
verdict,” he said.
“However, restoration of state-
hood, domicile rights in land and jobs,
beside a holistic and an equitable de-
velopment of all regions and sub-re-
gions of Jammu and Kashmir forms
the core agenda of the party (JKAP),”
Bukhari said. The JKAP will seek to
ensure that the destiny of Jammu and
Kashmir is driven by the people while
preserving its identity, secure the res-
toration of statehood and protect dom-
icile rights, especially with respect to
disposition of land and employment in
government services, he said.
Bukhari said that the party will also
seek dignified return of Kashmiri Pan-
dits, empowerment of youths and
women, and achieving sustained and
regionally balanced economic growth.
The JKAP will also articulate other
popular demands of the people that
have a bearing on their wellbeing, he
said. – PTI
Ex-PDP leader Altaf Bukhari floats new politicaloutfit, vows to work to restore J&K’s statehood
NEW DELHI, March 8: The
Delhi government has ordered
DTC and cluster buses, metro and
hospitals to be disinfected on a reg-
ular basis as a precautionary meas-
ure to deal with the novel corona-
virus, Chief Minister Arvind Ke-
jriwal said on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference,
Kejriwal said that three cases of
coronavirus have been reported in
Delhi so far and one case is still
under investigation.
The chief minister said that 168
isolation beds have been set up at
25 hospitals for coronavirus pa-
tients.
He appealed to the people in Del-
hi that if anybody from their neigh-
bourhood had returned from foreign
countries in the past 14 days, they
should inform the government.
The chief minister, who chaired a
state task force on Sunday, said the
government was fully prepared to
deal with the novel coronavirus, add-
ing that people do not need to panic.
“An order has been issued to disin-
fect DTC, cluster buses, Delhi Metro
Coronavirus: Buses, metro in Delhito be disinfected on regular basis
and hospitals every day,” he said.
“Three cases of coronavirus
have been reported in Delhi so far.
One case is still under under in-
vestigation. I want to tell this to
everyone that the Delhi govern-
ment is worried about it but we
are fully prepared to tackle it.
There is no need to panic and
we need everyone’s cooperation,”
he said.
After examining the three cas-
es, it was learnt that the first in-
fected person came in contact with
105 people, second came in con-
tact with 168 in the last 14 days
while the third person came in con-
tact with 64 people, he said.
“All those who came in contact with
them are being isolated and their
samples are being collected and
checked for symptoms,” he added.
Healthy people need not wear
mask and there is no need to stock up
masks at your homes either, he said.
He also urged people to wash
their hands frequently with soap
and water.
All passengers at the airport are
being screened. Forty doctors of Del-
hi Government hospitals are de-
ployed at the airports for the purpose.
All those passengers who under-
go thermal screenings at the air-
port once they go home, especially
those from Delhi, are being kept
under watch for 14 days to check
for symptoms.
“1,40,603 passengers have been
screened at the airports so far and
have been put on surveillance,” he
said.
Kejriwal also appealed to em-
ployers to give paid leave to those
quarantined so that their livelihood
is not affected.
The chief minister said that now
25 hospitals have the facilities
where one can submit the samples.
Out of the 25 hospitals, six are
private hospitals while others are
those of the Delhi Government.
“We are making separate facili-
ties for collection of samples and
treatment in these hospitals so that
if any patient arrives there, they
don’t come in contact with others,”
he said. – PTI
for them to make the offering
in their hotel itself, Thiru-
vananthapuram district Col-
lector K Gopalakrishnan said.
The Pongala festival cannot
be avoided. Those who have
come from the virus affected
nations should offer pongala
at their homes, instead of jo-
ing people in the ritual at tem-
ples, the collector said.
Twenty-three teams will
be kept ready at various plac-
es during the pongala with 12
ambulances.
Residents’ association
members have also been in-
cluded in the teams at vari-
ous places.
This will help in tracing
those with fever and cold and
those who have come from
affected countries, he said
adding awareness camps
would be held at Railway sta-
tions, bus stands and temples.
Video clippings of those
participating in the festival
would also be taken.
This would make things
easier to get in touch with
persons in case of any issues,
Shailaja said. – PTI
‘Attukal Pongala’ to beheld on Monday, fresh
guidelines issued
Kalavati Devi receives ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar 2019’ on International Women’s Day from President Ram Nath Kovind as First Lady Savita Kovind, Union Ministers
Smriti Irani and Nirmala Sitharaman look on, at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Center in New Delhi on Sunday. Devi, a lady mason, has been a driving force towards
reducing open defecation in the district of Kanpur. She is responsible for building more than 4000 toilets in villages. – PTI
People wear protective masks during a campaign by Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee to distributemasks in the wake of novel coronavirus scare in New Delhi, on Sunday. – PTI
Over 700 cases filed, nearly 2,400held for northeast Delhi violence
NEW DELHI, March 8: The Delhi Police on Sunday said it has filed over 700 cases and
nabbed nearly 2,400 people in connection with the recent communal violence in northeast
Delhi.
In total, 2,387 people have been either detained or arrested in relation to the violence that
broke out last month in northeast Delhi, they said.
According to police, out of the 702 cases filed, 49 have been registered under the Arms Act.
They also said 283 meetings have been held with the Aman Committees in violence-hit
areas of northeast Delhi. – PTI
8 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020STATE
Youth tests negative for coronavirus
BONGAIGAON, March 8: A youth of Bongaigaonsuspected of having coronavirus has tested negative. DrRatna Basumatary, Joint Director of the District HealthServices said, “The youth does not have coronavirus andthat has been confirmed after conducting medical tests.”
The youth had arrived here on March 3 from Dubaiafter winding up his business tour. He was having mildfever and cough after reaching home. The DistrictHealth Department as per protocol collected his bloodsamples. – Correspondent
Int’l Women’s Day observedMORIGAON, March 8: International Women’s Day
was observed here today. Under the auspices of AsomMahila Sangha, the day was observed at its Morigaondistrict office amidst a huge gathering.
The programme started with the flag hoisting byGanga Devi Khatoniar, president, Morigaon district unitof Asom Mahila Sangha. This was followed by smrititarpan offered by several senior members of the AsomMahila Sangha. Addressing the open meeting held on theoccasion, Anu Baruah, general secretary, Morigaon ZilaMahila Sangha appealed to the women organisations tofight unitedly against all injustices committed against thefair sex. She said that in a male-dominated society, equalrights for women is a mere slogan, when crimes againstthem are on the rise. The BJP Mahila Morcha, Morigaondistrict unit also observed the day with a series of
programmes. – Correspondent
Teachers trainingDIPHU, March 8: Around 5839 teachers of both East
and West Karbi Anglong districts were imparted trainingunder the National Initiative For School Heads’ andTeachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) pro-gramme. The training programme, which was conductedat Howraghat English Medium High School, concludedhere on Saturday.
The programme was formally inaugurated by Son SingTokbi, Block Mission Coordinator (BMC).
Around 5839 head and assistant teachers from primary,upper primary and secondary level teachers were providedtraining under the programme. Altogether, nine resourcepersons and 45 key resource persons were engaged for the
training in the two hill districts. – Correspondent
Holiday declaredBONGAIGAON, March 8: Bongaigaon and Chirang
district administrations have declared local holiday onMarch 10 on the occasion of ‘Doul Jatra’. An officialnotice has been issued in this connection.– Corre-
spondent
Blood donation camp heldTEZPUR, March 8: The Indian Red Cross Society,
Sonitpur chapter in association with the TezpurSalonbari-based Regional Training Centre and CompositeHospital organised a blood donation and awareness campat the Salonibari SSB camp here yesterday. Theprogramme was formally inaugurated by the DIG, SSB,Salonibari, Dr Akhil Karmakar.
Participating in the function, the head of the Sonitpurdistrict chapter of Indian Red Cross society, Dr AtulKumar Kalita gave a brief sketch on the activities of RedCross Society. Altogether 58 persons donated blood inthe programme. Besides, other dignitaries, Red CrossTreatment sub-committee president, Dr AparajitaBaruah, vice-president of Youth Red Cross society, ProfManash Patgiri, Dr P Joshi, Dr DK Das, senior physicianand social worker, Dr Hemendra Kumar Bora, DrBasanta Hazarika, Dr Jitumoni Bezbaruah attended theprogramme. In the programme, the doctors also spoke on
HIV cases. – Correspondent
Dharna stagedUDALGURI, March 8: Along with other district
headquarters of the State, the anganwadi workers ofUdalguri district also staged a three-hour dharna here atUdalguri town recently and decried the State govern-ment’s apathy towards anganwadis, ASHA workers andcooks.
Later, a procession with banners and placards marchedtowards the Deputy Commissioner’s office and submitteda copy of the memorandum to the Chief Minister of Assamwhere the organisation under the banner of ShramajeeviMahila Samanvayrakhi Samiti placed a six-point charter ofdemands for the welfare of the working women andchildren in the working places. – Correspondent
Section 144 CrPC in HailakandiHAILAKANDI, March 8: Smearing of coloured water,
cow dung, mud and toxic substances during Doul Jatra(Holi) on unwilling persons and security personnel onduty has been prohibited in the entire Hailakandi district.An order under Section 144 CrPC was issued by DistrictMagistrate Keerthi Jalli on Saturday. The order wasissued for maintenance of peace and public order duringthe ensuing Doul festival, which will be celebrated fromtomorrow. – Correspondent
Removal demandedDIGBOI, March 8: Demanding the immediate removal of
Sandeep S John, the incumbent Executive Director of AODDigboi, disgruntled contractors affiliated to the IOC-AODContractor Association staged a sit-in here in front of theadministrative complex main gate recently demanding hisremoval for being biased against the bonafide sentiments ofthe Assamese people here.
According to Phunu Borgohain, the president of theassociation, the ED concerned and GM (HR) HitharthaBhattarchjee have always been biased against the cause of thecontractors and have never bothered to coordinate with thecontractor association in the corporate dealings. Allegationshave also been made that John spends funds in developingchurches using AODs funds while local Assamese religiousinstitutions like naamghars have beeen neglected.” The localBJP MLA Suren Phukan and MP Rameswar Teli have alsosupported our cause and has assured of joining the nextagitation in case the end is not realised immediately,”informed Phunu Borgohain.– ANN Service
Vultures atop a Simalu tree at Sivasagar, on Sunday. –UB Photos
There are some people
who lead a simple life, but
leave an indelible mark on
others. Prasanna Kumar
Baruah was such a person.
Born at Jorhat in the year
1939 – he breathed his last
on February 28, 2020 leaving
behind his wife Ilu Devi
Baruah, herself a short story
writer of repute and two
sons.
Despite his busy schedule
as a responsible officer of SBI
he could find time to dabble
at writing, mostly dramas and
proved his mettle in the field
of drama. It is a well-known
fact that publication of drama
is well-nigh impossible in As-
sam. But he had the credit of
publishing a collection of
some of his dramas, both one
act and full length, titled
Prasanna Kumar Baruah’s
Kaikhonman Mancha Safal
Nat. He was the livewire be-
hind establishment of Jyoti
Theatres, a leading cultural
organisation of Jorhat under
the banner of which several
Prasanna Kumar Baruah: a tribute
dramas penned by Baruah,
were staged in different plac-
es of the State and won many
laurels. Had there been a
proper evaluation of his dra-
mas he would have been
placed in a higher echelon in
the sphere of Assamese dra-
ma. He had also tried his hand
in direction and during the
sixties, a number of plays
were staged successfully un-
der his able direction.
In the year 1976, Jyoti The-
atres produced an Assamese
film Dharmakai under the
banner of Jyoti Chitra Sama-
bai, another of Baruah’s
brainchild. The story, screen-
play and dialogues of the film
were penned by Baruah. It
may be mentioned that Dhar-
makai was a trendsetter in
Assamese film industry.
Baruah also contributed quite
a number of stories articles,
satirical pieces etc., to vari-
ous journals and periodicals
including Asom Bani, Dainik
Asam, Amar Asom, Agradoot
and Janambhumi.
A silent worker, he never
hankered after publicity. He
was always happy and con-
tented as the Assamese
meaning of his first name
suggests. His inherent insou-
ciance got reflected on his
perosona. He will always be
remembered for his qualities
of head and heart by admir-
ers. His demise is an irrepa-
rable loss to Assamese cul-
ture and literature.
On the auspicious occasion
of his adyashraddha today, I
pray to the Almighty for eter-
nal peace of the departed soul.
– Partha Pratim Baruah
Our birth is a testament to
our death– even after know-
ing this fact, we find it so
harsh to accept the reality. I
felt a similar kind of pain at
the unforeseen loss of my
dear grandmother, Nikunjala-
ta Bora, as she breathed her
last at the Nemcare Hospital
on February 28, 2020.
My grandma was born into
a humble family at Na-Bhe-
ta, Golaghat. Daughter of a
school headmaster, she was
the second child among four
daughters and three sons.
She had done her schooling
from Betioni High School. At
the age of twenty, she tied the
knot with my grandfather,
Late Nandeswar Bora and
thence, became the beloved,
Nikunjalata Bora
eldest daughter-in-law of the
then gaonburha of Rajabahar
Gaon, Dergaon.
Thereafter, they shifted to
Guwahati in 1964 and had
since then, watched the city
develop from lowlands to
high rise buildings. At first,
they had settled in the ASTC
quarters in Paltanbazar and
later made a home of their
own in Srimantapur, Bhanga-
garh, where she became an
eminent part of the Sriman-
tapur Namghar.
Amidst much economic
struggle, she tried hard to
provide the best of the oppor-
tunities to her son and two
daughters. She was a bold
lady full of positivity and was
a source of inspiration for all
of us. She was the axis
around which our homes re-
volved and was a loving
grandmother to her five
grandchildren.
Today, on the occasion of
her adyashraddha, I mourn
her death and pray for her
departed soul.
– Indrani Das Bora
Lawyers seek MP’s interventionDELAY IN NH-15 BYPASS PROJECT
CORRESPONDENT
MANGALDAI, March 8: Irked over
the slow progress of the NH-15 bypass
construction on the outskirts of Man-
galdai town, a group of five lawyers of
the Mangaldai Bar, led by senior lawyer
Jayanta Deka have once again urged
Mangaldai MP Dilip Saikia to take nec-
essary steps for the completion of the
survey work by April 15 next.
Bringing the matter to the notice of
Saikia on the basis of the relevant infor-
mation collected under the RTI Act, the
group of lawyers in their petition, ex-
pressed doubts over the completion of
the project in the next seven or eight
years. This was stated by the lawyers’
group in a letter to the media recently.
Justifying their apprehension, they
stated that according to the information
provided by the concerned government
authority PWD, NH, Rangiya Division
on February 12 last, only the inception
report including Quality Assessment
Plan (QAP) and Draft Feasibility Study
(FS) report have been submitted to the
Chief Engineer, PWD, NH (Works).
However, the approval of the draft fea-
sibility report for alignment is still await-
ed. The submission of Preliminary
Project Report (PPR) and Detail Project
Report (DPR) are to follow before the
sanctioning of the proposed bypass from
the Ministry of Road Transport & High-
ways (MORT&H), Government of In-
dia. In such a situation, it is apprehend-
ed that it will take another four years
for completion of the survey and there
is hardly any indication that the pro-
posed bypass project could be complete
by 2028.
It may be mentioned here that Chief
Engineer, PWD (NH) Works issued the
work order to Allianz Engineers of
Chandmari, Guwahati on June 10, 2016
for survey of the proposed project in
between village Boina-oja under Man-
galdai Police Station on the west and
Khatania-para under Dhula Police Sta-
tion on the east.
The petitioners which included four
other lawyers – Nirod Deka, Jatin Nath,
Kalpana Deka and Nayanmani Deka
pointed out how the nearly 12-km
stretch of NH 15 passing through the
busy Mangaldai town has been causing
traffic congestion, and inconvenience to
the pedestrians particularly school chil-
dren, women and senior citizens and
early construction of the bypass on the
outskirts of Mangaldai has been a long-
time demand of the people of Mangaldai.
It has been also urged in the petition
that in the event of failure on the part of
Alliance Engineers and Consultants to
submit the complete survey report with-
in the said time line, appropriate coer-
cive action should be initiated against
it. Separate copies of the petition were
also submitted to the Chief Engineer,
PWD, NH and Commissioner Secretary,
Department of Public Grievances, Govt
of Assam.
Talking to this correspondent, senior
advocate Jayanta Deka said that after
three months they will follow the mat-
ter up with another RTI petition and in
case there is no satisfactory progress,
the matter will be brought before the
high power Petition Committee of the
State Assembly. Meanwhile, a source in
the PWD, NH Department informed
this correspondent on Friday that works
of detail survey and land acquisition
have gained momentum in the last few
days and joint teams of staff from Man-
galdai and Dalgaon revenue circle offic-
es and the consultancy firm have been
formed for its quick functioning.
CORRESPONDENT
DIPHU, March 8: The
Chief Executive Member
(CEM) of Karbi Anglong Au-
tonomous Council (KAAC)
Tuliram Ronghang presented
Rs 38.97-crore deficit budget
for the year 2020-21 for the
council. The budget also pro-
posed an estimated expendi-
ture of Rs 225 crore for the
fiscal to carry out develop-
mental activities.
During his budget speech,
he touched upon various
schemes for the welfare of
the Karbi people by way of
utilising its own resources.
“The Council’s main sources
of revenue are derived
mostly from forest products,
entry tax, professional tax,
trade callings, land revenue,
share of motor vehicle tax,
sale proceeds from weekly
markets, ghats, fisheries and
cattle pounds,” Ronghang
said in his budget speech. In
order to increase the revenue
kitty, the CEM also proposed
new fee hike on trading li-
cense, transfer of land and
other trades. He also in-
formed the house that the
KAAC is likely to receive an
amount of Rs 50 crore of ad-
ministrative charges and
share of motor vehicle tax
from the state government.
“Similarly, the KAAC would
receive excise and export
revenues from 2021,” he said,
adding that the MAC devel-
opment fund has been in-
creased to Rs 30 lakh from Rs
15 lakh. Further, he also in-
formed that the state govern-
ment has assured that the
excise and export revenues
will be handed over to the
KAAC fully and the amount
may touch Rs 100 crore from
April next year.
KAAC chiefpresents deficit
budget
CORRESPONDENT
GOALPARA, March 8: The Deputy Com-
missioner of Goalpara district, Varnali Deka
took part in the deliberations of a one-day
conference on ‘Implementation of Corporate
Social Responsiblity (CSR) by CPSEs in
aspirational districts’ organised by the De-
partment of Public Enterprises on March 3,
2020 in New Delhi and also shared her expe-
riences during a panel discussion in a sepa-
rate conference on ‘Enhancing Women’s Eco-
nomic Empowerment through financial inclu-
sion’ organised by NITI Aayog in collabora-
tion with Microsave Consulting (MSC) on
March 4 there.
Deka said that the objective of the first
conference was to share best practices on im-
plementation of theme-based CSR projects
adopted during 2018-19 and 2019-20 in school
education and the issues faced by the CPSEs,
district administration and implementing
agencies. She informed that she took part in
the technical session on ‘Scalable Best Prac-
tices: School Education’ where deliberation
was made on the improving learning out-
comes in the aspirational district which were
successfully achieved with the help of all key
stakeholders and the CPSE.
She also took part in the event on ‘En-
hancing Women’s Economic Empowerment
through financial inclusion’ on March 4 and
shared her experiences as the head of the
aspirational district of Goalpara in a panel dis-
cussion on ‘Women’s financial health for
impactful women’s economic empowerment
– what it will take? Since the district has been
doing consistently well in the financial inclu-
sion thematic area, amongst the other 112
aspirational districts in the country, Deputy
Commissioner Varnali Deka said that the
focus was on realising the potential of the
digital financial services to link women to the
market in order to facilitate greater control
of their earnings and savings, raised income
and reduction of poverty– all crucial ele-
ments. She also informed that an e-commerce
portal, ‘Goalmart’ was launched recently in
the district to promote and sell online local
products of Goalpara district in the global
market which can have many amazing ben-
efits like boosting demand of different prod-
ucts, women selling their wares at intelligent
pricing directly without the help of middle-
men, increase in entrepreneurial activities,
attracting investment and increasing eco-
nomic activities in the district.
Moreover, Deka also said that this was a
wonderful opportunity and personally re-
warding experience for her as deliberations
and presentations covered a wide range of
topics.
Meet on CSR implementationin aspirational dists
NEWS IN BRIEF
CORRESPONDENT
DHUBRI, March 8: In
view of outbreak of corona-
virus (COVID-19), the Dhu-
bri Civil Hospital has taken a
slew of initiatives to combat
the situation.
Speaking to the media, the
Superintendent of Civil Hos-
pital, BK Das informed that
a rapid response team for
screening of coronavirus sus-
pected cases at Dhubri Civil
Hospital and various river
ghats in the district has al-
Steps taken to prevent outbreakof coronavirus in Dhubri
ready been put in place. The
six-member rapid response
team led by Dr Rafiqul Islam
is eqipped with pathologist,
microbiologist, lab technician
and two infection control
nurses. The team has been
instructed to remain alert all
the time for future action.
The civil hospital authori-
ties also informed that they
have kept ready an isolation
room, where two doctors and
two nurses have been en-
gaged.
It was informed that the
Civil Hospital authorities
have already provided pro-
tective gears and masks to
the doctors and nurses of the
hospitals and they have been
instructed if symptoms of the
coronavirus infected person
is found, that person will be
immediately shifted to the
isolation room.
“By adopting a few simple
hygiene and cleanliness hab-
its, the infection can be avoid-
ed”, said Das. He also ap-
pealed to the people to wash
their hands regularly.
Devotees performing naam prasanga to save their residences from massive erosion of river Brahmaputra at Salmara inMajuli district, on Sunday. – UB Photos
DC interactswith studentsTIHU, March 8: Deputy
Commissioner of Nalbari dis-
trict, Bharat Bhusan Dev
Choudhury organised an in-
teraction programme with
the students of class X under
Sankalpa yesterday at Tihu
High School. The pro-
gramme saw participation of
around 300 students from
Tihu Girls’ High School, Ba-
santi High School, Namati
Vidyapith, Namati Balika Vi-
dyalay, Bali High School,
Bharati High School, and
Jatiya Vidyalay Tihu. During
the interaction, Deputy Com-
missioner gave tips about
exam preparation.
The two-hour long interac-
tion immensely benefitted
the pupils of the schools. The
DC was accompanied by
Krishna Kanta Mahanta, sec-
retary, Adhividya Parishad.
The programme was attend-
ed by Manju Talukdar, head-
master of the school, Laban-
ya Deka, headmistress of
Tihu Girls’ High School, and
many others. – ANN Service
OBITUARY
Sumanta DasCORRESPONDENT
TEZPUR, March 8: Suman-
ta Das, AP member (council-
lor) of Bandarmari Gaon Pan-
chayat, and an inhabitant of
Khelmati area, passed away on
Friday night at around 9.30 pm.
He was under treatment at
Mission Hospital here. As his
condition worsened, he was
shifted to Guwahati for further
treatment. However, he
breathed his last on the way.
He was 32.
A young, dynamic and social-
ly active person, late Das got
involved in politics joining the
the BJP in 2016. In the last pan-
chayat election, he was elected
as AP member of Bandarmari
Gaon Panchayat under Bihaguri
Development Block in Sonit-
pur district. He was also an ac-
tive member of the All Assam
Tea Tribe Students’ Association
(AATTSA). His untimely death
cast a pall of gloom in the local-
ity. He leaves behind his wife,
two daughters besides a host
of relatives.
THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI 9MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020
STATE
SILVER SCREEN
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At 9.45 am, 3.30, 6.30 & 9.30 pm
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INOX MOVIES – JORHAT
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At 9.35, 11.05 am, 12.35, 3.35, 5.00, 6.40
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2nd Floor Sumitra Shopping
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6th March to 12th March 2020
At 9.30 am, 12.15, 3.00, 5.45 & 8.30 pm
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At 11.00 am 2.00 & 5.00 pm
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CINEMA PROGRAMME
CORRESPONDENT
DHUBRI, March 8: With
various organisations conducting
events to celebrate and honour
womanhood, International
Women’s Day was also celebrated
here with fervour and enthusiasm.
Under the aegis of Dhubri
District Women Congress
Committee (DDWCC), the day
was observed at Rajiv Bhawan
here with a day-long programme
where prominent women from
various walks of life were
felicitated.
The programme was presided
over by Baby Begum, president of
DDWCC in the presence of Jasmin
Sarkar, secretary of Assam
Pradesh Women Congress and
Mohua Das, district chairman of
Women Congress Legal Cell.
An NGO named Vivek Kalam
also observed the day at Jhagrar-
par Gram Panchayat office. The
proceedings were attended by
Parvin Sultana, Assistant Professor
Int’l Women’s Day celebrated in Dhubri, Dhemaji
of PB College and Juhi Das, Head
of the Assamese Department at
Dhubri Girls’ College, as chief
guests.
IN DHEMAJI: The Rural
Volunteers Centre (RVC), which is
a leading Dhemaji–based NGO in
association of Gramya Unnayan
Manch and Murkongselek Block
State Rural Livelihood Mission
celebrated International Women’s
Day at Jonai Town Club today, our
Correspondent adds.
Attending the celebrations, Jonai
Assistant Commissioner Pritam
Kumar Das urged the womenfolk
to be aware of their rights and
legal protections. Stating that the
government was putting topmost
priority on women’s welfare, he
urged the womenfolk to be aware
of their rights and legal opportuni-
ties.
RVC Director Luhit Goswami
explained about women and
children’s rights and appealed to
the womenfolk to fight against
social evils.
President of Jonai Kalyankami
Mohila Somity Juvati Doley
appealed to the women to come
forward in order to eradicate
social evils and reform the society.
Women SHGs having a good
track record were awarded with
memento, citation and certificates.
Earlier, the women took out a
procession through the roads of
Jonai town and shouted slogans in
support of their rights and
sensitised the common people
about women’s rights.
The day was also celebrated by
different schools and colleges at
Dhemaji, Gogamukh, Silapathar
and Jonai areas within the district.
130-year-old
Royal Doul Utsav
under way at CoochbeharCORRESPONDENT
GAURIPUR, March 8: The 130-year-old Doul Utsav of
Coochbehar Royal Estate got under way today at the historic
Madan Mohan Temple situated in the heart of Coochbehar
town and established by Maharaja Nripendra Narayan in 1889
and inaugurated by Rajmata Nishimayee Devi in 1890.
The idol of Lord Krishna, popularly known as Madan Mo-
han, will be carried from the temple in a dola in a colourful
procession to the Mela Maidan at Silver Jubilee Road. After
performing religious rituals, the Bhelaghar will be ceremoni-
ally burnt.
On March 9, puja of the deity will be performed and bhog
prasad will be distributed among the devotees. On the follow-
ing day, dolas from the adjoining areas will assemble at the
temple premises and subsequently proceed to the Mela Maidan
with the brightly decorated dola of Lord Krishna.
The devotees chant Madan Mohan Ki Jai and sprinkle gulal
on each other and return to the temple at night. Thousands of
devotees usually participate in this annual event.
Commemorating International Women’s Day, sanitary napkins and clothes being distributed among poor women inMariani, on Monday. – UB Photos
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
JORHAT, March 8: In view of the
global corona virus scare and the US
tourist who visited Jorhat and also
Majuli briefly last month and tested
positive for COVID 19 in Bhutan on
Friday, the district administration of
the Brahmaputra river island here
has urged all foreign tourists visting
the island to get health check-up done.
Majuli Deputy Commissioner
Bikram Kairi told The Assam Trib-
une that the US tourist with the sur-
name Hewitt had disembarked at Ma-
juli on February 25 and had watched
a private Bhaona function for two
hours before leaving.
The Deputy Commissioner said
that there was no record of Hewitt’s
contact with any person during the
brief stay.
Kairi said that the district admin-
istration as part of precautionary
measures undertaken to prevent
spread of coronavirus in the island,
all foreign tourists visting Majuli have
been urged to visit the hospital and
health centres in order to avail med-
ical screening facilities.
He said the administration has di-
rected all hotels, lodges and home-
stay facilities to inform the foreign
tourists to get their health check-up
done at the island’s hospitals and
health centres in order to get
screened and prevent any possible
spread of the COVID 19 virus.
The Deputy Commissioner said
that all necessary steps were taken
by the health department to treat any
person found to be affected by coro-
navirus. Further, awareness drives
too were initiated about maintaing
hygiene and sanitation by the people
across the Brahmaputra island to pre-
vent getting affected by the virus.
He said a control room has been
opened by the district administration
to keep a watch on the situation.
Meanwhile on Saturday, the Jorhat
district administration quarantined
for seven days, i.e., from Saturday,
the crew and passengers of luxury
CORRESPONDENT
HAILAKANDI, March 8: On the
eve of Holi, the Festival of Colours,
the district administration here held
a review meeting with the Health
Department officials with an objec-
tive to chalk out a strategy to coun-
ter the coronavirus threat.
Reviewing the preparedness and
monitoring mechanism of the Health
Department to combat the spread
of coronavirus at a meeting held at
her Conference Hall here on Sun-
day, Deputy Commissioner Keerthi
Jalli asked the Health Department
to initiate steps for sensitising all
government officials from the dis-
trict headquarter to the panchayat
level as well as health workers on
the coronavirus threat and the ur-
gent need for adopting precaution-
ary measures.
The Deputy Commissioner di-
rected the Health Department offi-
cials to carry out awareness activi-
ties among the people by engaging
field-level functionaries of the de-
partment.
“A detailed meeting with health
officials concerned and doctors from
Silchar Medical College and Hospital
was held on Sunday to chalk out a
strategy,” Jalli said, adding “the health
authorities have been instructed to
make adequate arrangements to
counter the spread of the disease.”
In the meantime, the health offi-
cials advised people to avoid close
contact with people who are sick,
avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth
with unwashed hands, to frequently
wash hands with water and soap and
to visit the civil hospital or nearest
primary health centre if they devel-
op any symptoms, or in case they
want to report any suspected case of
coronavirus.
A health official informed that as an
outcome of today’s meeting, a place
has been identified at the SK Roy
Civil Hospital for setting up an isola-
tion ward for treating person(s) af-
flicted by the coronavirus disease.
Majuli district admin urges foreigntourists to get health check-up done
cruise ship MV Mahabahu which was
anchored at Nimatighat on Friday
night. Five employees of the resort
where the US tourist had spent a
night before leaving Jorhat on the
cruise ship, were isolated.
The district administration has
curbed the tourists and crew mem-
bers of the vessel from disembark-
ing during the said period of stay.
The action comes in the wake of
the American tourist testing positive
for COVID 19 in Bhutan on Friday
after he halted a night on February
22 here and travelled through Jorhat
to Guwahati on MV Mahabahu on
February 23.
Jorhat Deputy Commissioner Ro-
shni A Korati while addressing me-
diapersons here on Saturday evening
said that all the 56 persons (22 for-
eign tourists and 34 crew members)
on board have been kept isolated on
the ship.
She said that a medical team from
JMCH comprising eight microbiol-
ogists, one epidemiologist, one WHO
doctor from Dibrugarh and para-
medical staff were taken on a boat on
Saturday to the ship which has been
docked at a sapori (sandbar) in the
Brahmaputra near Nimatighat.
Korati said that the team after car-
rying out thermo-scanning and oth-
er necessary tests found no sign of
coronavirus infection.
However, the DC said that the
team collected a throat swab of a
crew member after he volunteered
the information that he had suffered
from slight fever last night.
An elderly foreign tourist suffer-
ing from heart ailment was shifted to
the Jorhat Medical College and Hos-
pital’s Isolation Ward along with her
daughter-in-law and a paramedic of
the ship for better care and neces-
sary treatment. Korati informed that
since Friday night the district admin-
istration after identifying the five staff
who came in contact with Hewitt
were kept isolated at the Thengal
Manor resort near Titabor. Fortu-
nately, tests on them too proved neg-
ative.
“Now, as the 14-day incubation pe-
riod of the virus has passed and all
were found to be asymptomatic, no
one else were swabbed, but are un-
der watch. Replying to a query, the
DC said that efforts were on to trace
the taxi drivers who had brought
Hewitt to the Thengal Manor from
the airport and again dropped him at
Nimatighat the following day.
Korati said that the Government
was also tracking all the co-passengers
of Hewitt who had travelled with him
on the ship back to Guwahati and those
who had travelled by the same plane.
Urging people not to panic, she said
the district administration had taken
all precautionary measures, includ-
ing holding of awareness pro-
grammes and cancellation of Holi
congregations.
A team from Jorhat Medical College and Hospital screening people forcoronavirus infection on board MV Mahabahu tourist ship off Nimatighatin Jorhat district, on Saturday.
Hailakandi reviewscoronavirus situation
A Rapid Response Team under the
Health Department is being consti-
tuted together with a control room
to tackle any situation.
“The Deputy Commissioner asked
everyone to brace up for any eventu-
ality even if there is no risk in
Hailakandi district so far," said Moni-
ka Das, District Media Expert.
“People have been advised to un-
dergo medical test, if they develop
Severe Acute Respiratory Illness
(SARI) and Influenza Like Illness
(ILIs), including COVID-19,” said
Das.
She added that Surveillance Work-
ers, ANMs and ASHAs at the field
level will closely monitor for any kind
of symptoms associated with coro-
navirus, including travel history of a
person.
SP, ADCs, COs, Joint Director of
Health Services, Superintendent of
SK Roy Civil Hospital, incharge of
PHCs, DPMUs, IDSP and BPMs
were present in the meeting. Dr Ar-
ijit Dey, Community Medicine, Sil-
char Medical College and Hospital
sensitized the gathering about coro-
navirus through power point pres-
entation.
Following instructions from Dispur
and advisory from Delhi to avoid pub-
lic gatherings in order to contain the
spread of COVID-19, the district ad-
ministration has decided to cancel all
public meetings. The elected repre-
sentatives as well as other organis-
ers have been advised accordingly in
view of this public health emergency.
Programmes associated with Inter-
national Women’s Day today were
therefore cancelled by the Social
Welfare Department.
COVID-19, first identified in Wu-
han province of China has so far af-
fected 80 countries, including India.
A high alert has been sounded across
Assam after a person tested positive
for coronavirus in Bhutan, after trav-
elling from Assam.
As many as 127 people who had
come in contact with the US tourist
are being quarantined.
Assam bandhcalled onMarch 12
CORRESPONDENT
MORIGAON, March 8: The All
Tiwa Students’ Union (ATSU) has
vehemently criticised the State gov-
ernment for not exempting the Tiwa
tribal-populated areas falling under the
Tiwa Autonomous Council in Kamrup
and Morigaon districts.
In a press meet held yesterday,
leaders of ATSU, Tiwa Yuva Chatra
Parishad and Tiwa Sahitya Sabha said
that the State Capital Extension Act–
2017 included areas under the Tiwa
Autonomous Council and Rabha Au-
tonomous Council.
Only after a long-drawn agitation by
the Tiwa and Rabha people did the state
government opine that all such areas
will be exempted from the Act. But dur-
ing the ongoing Budget session of the
Assam Assembly, Finance Minister Dr
Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that
areas of Rabha Autonomous Council will
be exempted from the Act. At the same
time, Tiwa areas were not exempted
from the Capital Extension Act-2017,
the Tiwa leaders added.
In order to register protest against
the Capital Extension Act– 2017,
the ATSU and other Tiwa organisa-
tions have called a 24-hour central
Assam bandh on March 12.
Kevin Pietersen inbetween wicketsat Diffloo Pathar!
SANJOY KUMAR HAZARIKA
DERGAON, March 8: South African-born former
British cricketer Kevin Pietersen was seen in between
the wickets not in England, but in Assam’s Diffloo Pathar
High School on Saturday.
The world-famed
cricketer and nature
lover arrived at the
Kaziranga National
Park on Wednesday
and was subsequent-
ly busy shooting for a
documentary on the
wild denizens of KNP,
with special emphasis
on rhinos.
On Saturday, he
played cricket at Dif-
floo Pathar High
School with the stu-
dents. In a tweet, the
nature activist and
right-handed bats-
man said he played
only in the legs.
In a tweet on Insta-
gram, he said, “Boundary 4. I just keep scoring runs
through the leg side...!” The zapped students, without
doubt, were delighted beyond measure.
Kevin was busy at Agaratali Range of KNP today,
shooting for his documentary.
Mahouts, safari driver in KNPexamined for coronavirus
KAZIRANGA, March 8: A
medical team from Golaghat
district opened a special isola-
tion ward for any coronavirus-
affected patient at Kohora
Model Hospital today.
It may be mentioned that an
American tourist, who was lat-
er found to be infected with
coronavirus in Bhutan, had tak-
en jungle safari in Kaziranga
National Park as a result of
which some elephant mahouts
along with a Gypsy driver who
came in contact with the par-
ticular American tourist were
examined by a team of medi-
cal experts today.
SDO (Civil) of Bokakhat,
Vivek Syam informed that all
possible measures to control
the spread of coronavirus had
been taken and foreign tour-
ists staying in Kaziranga were
monitored and examined by
the medical team.
Meanwhile, fearing con-
tamination, there was appre-
hension among a section of
socially conscious citizens
here over the constant
visit of foreign tourists to
Kaziranga. – Correspondent
NORTH EAST10 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020
Forecast for North Eastern
States : Rain/thundershower is
very likely to occur at many
places over Arunachal Pradesh
and at a few places over Assam,
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur,
Mizoram and Tripura.
Warning: Thunderstorm with
lightning is very likely to occur
at isolated places over
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam
and Meghalaya.
Temperatures :
Max (°C) Min (°C)
Dibrugarh 20.5 15.6
Tezpur 28.3 17.5
Silchar 29.2 17.6
Dhubri 28.0 18.8
Jorhat 25.0 15.4
N Lakhimpur 23.0 16.4
Shillong 20.1 5.2
Cherrapunjee 18.5 10.1
Aizawl 22.1 10.7
Kohima 18.2 9.5
Pasighat 18.8 16.4
Itanagar 23.5 16.3
Imphal 23.9 10.5
Agartala 31.4 17.2
WEATHER
NORTHEAST
ITANAGAR, March 8: A
society where there is respect
for women, there is peace and
progress, Arunachal Pradesh
Governor Brig (Dr) BD
Mishra (retd) said on Sunday
on the occasion of Internation-
al Women’s Day.
Participating in the celebra-
tions at Raj Bhavan in Itana-
gar, the Governor urged the
people to take men and wom-
en as equal in the growth and
advancement of the society,
stated a press release issued
by Raj Bhavan. The women
employees of Raj Bhavan led
by first lady Neelam Misra or-
ganised the programme.
Quoting the oldest Indian
legal treatise by ancient juris-
prudence luminary Manu, the
Governor said that providing
rightful positions to women in
society is the national objec-
tive and the present govern-
ment is sincerely doing it.
He said the flagship pro-
gramme of ‘Beti Bachao Beti
Padhao’, provision of toilets in
each house, cooking gas, aboli-
tion of triple talaq and death sen-
tence for rape of minor girls are
a few examples of the efforts of
the government led by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
The Governor called upon the
women of Arunachal Pradesh to
‘Respect for women leads to peace and progress’
fight against drug abuse, which
he said, was a challenge for eve-
ry Arunachali citizen. He exhort-
ed the women to motivate and
encourage their daughters to join
the Indian armed forces and air
hospitality sectors.
On the occasion, the Gover-
nor felicitated women achiev-
ers of the state, including Taba
Yall Nabam (music), Joya Tasung
Moyong (social service), Licha
Ampi (entrepreneur), Nachat
Munham (music), Dr Jamuna
Bini (literature) and Onilu Tega
(sports).
Niharika Rai, Secretary
(Women and Child Develop-
ment), highlighted the govern-
ment projects and schemes for
empowerment of women.
A short documentary Bunai
Ke Rangin Duniya, conceptual-
ized by the first lady was also
screened, while a play, Ek Par-
ampara, Ek Pechan, showcas-
ing the indigenous textiles of
Arunachal Pradesh was present-
ed by the members of the Oju
Welfare Association, Naharla-
gun. Ake Deekshitha present-
ed a Kuchipudi classical dance,
while Manami Moyir Gamlin
presented a Kathakali dance.
Our Imphal Correspond-
ent adds: International Wom-
en’s Day was celebrated in a
befitting manner in Manipur
on Sunday.
In Imphal, the Manipur Bap-
tist Convention (MBC) women’s
department in collaboration with
the MBC Centre Church ob-
served the day under the theme
‘Each for equal’. The All Manipur
Working Journalists’ Union ob-
served the day by honouring
women journalists of the state.
In the Bishnupur district
headquarters, 30 km south of
Imphal, the administration cel-
ebrated the day under the ae-
gis of the Integrated Child De-
velopment Scheme (ICDS)
Cell as part of the Beti Bach-
ao, Beti Padhao scheme.
Bishnupur Deputy Commis-
sioner Neeta Arambam admin-
istered the Poshan Pakhwada
Pledge in presence of Superin-
tendent of Police Priyadarshini
Laishram and District Pro-
gramme Officer Th Shantibala
Devi of the ICDS Cell. The
programme was attended by
officers, students, and Angan-
wadi workers. Various cultural
items, dance, skit play and oth-
er entertainment items were
presented during the function.
In the Tamenglong district
headquarters, 150 km west of
Imphal, Deputy Commission-
er Armstrong Pamei also ad-
ministered the Poshan Pakhwa-
da Pledge. The event was or-
ganised by the district admin-
istration with the United Wom-
en Organisation, Tamenglong.
Tamenglong Autonomous
District Council members in-
cluding G Apoukhui and Ramn-
ing Pame attended as special
guests, while Dr KC Grace
Darling, associate professor at
Banaras Hindu University,
spoke as the resource person.
The Thoubal Battalion of the
9 Sector Assam Rifles organ-
ised awareness programmes
for women to commemorate
International Women’s Day at
Salampatong village in Kang-
pokpi district.
Talks on preparation of nu-
tritional dishes and nutritional
gardens introducing the bio-
fortified seed varieties marked
the International Women’s Day
celebration at the Indian Coun-
cil of Agricultural Research
(ICAR) complex in Imphal.
The event was organised by
the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, was
attended by Imphal West Ad-
hyaksha RK Taruni Devi as the
chief guest and ICAR North
East Hill Region, Manipur Cen-
tre, Joint Director Dr Naren-
dra Prakash. The speakers
highlighted the role of women
in shaping the society and also
lamented that the problems
faced by women in Manipur
were not being addressed.
Somishon Keishing, assist-
ant professor at GP Women’s
College, gave a presentation
on ‘Nutri-Thali’, highlighting
the importance of maintaining
a healthy lifestyle by choosing
low-cost and locally available
vegetables, fruits and cereals.
Assistant Chief Technical Of-
ficer K Lily Rangnamei of Kri-
shi Vigyan Kendra, Imphal
West, spoke on how to set up
a ‘nutri-garden’.
(Left) Women achievers during the felicitation ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Itanagar on the occasion of International Women’s Day on Sunday, and (right)
officials celebrating the day at the ICAR Manipur Centre. – Photos: Raj Bhavan, Itanagar, and Imphal Correspondent
CORRESPONDENT
DIMAPUR, March 8: The Nagaland gov-
ernment has directed government offices
and schools to provide hand sanitisers in
view of the spread of coronavirus.
In a circular, Chief Secretary Temjen
Toy asked all government offices and
schools, including private educational in-
stitutions, to provide hand sanitisers in
all biometric device stations for hand san-
itisation before and after use of the de-
vices, with immediate effect.
On Friday, the Chief Secretary held a
video conference with the Deputy Com-
missioners and Commissioner of Naga-
land at his office in Kohima to ensure
that the state is prepared to tackle the
spread of COVID-19.
He emphasised on the importance of
precautionary measures through pre-
ventive action and the preparedness of
the state in the event of detection of
COVID-19.
Toy also directed the departments to
AIZAWL, March 8: The Mizoram
Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC)
on Sunday asked the state government
to seal the Indo-Myanmar border to pre-
vent the spread of coronavirus.
Mizoram shares a 510-km internation-
al border with Myanmar.
A statement issued by the media cell
of the Congress said that the Indo-My-
anmar border in Champhai district should
be immediately sealed to prevent the
spread of coronavirus. The statement al-
leged that many commuters and traders
from China and other southeast ASEAN
countries enter Mizoram through My-
anmar without undergoing screening,
which can be a big danger for the state in
view of the coronavirus outbreak.
While lauding the state government
for sealing the Indo-Myanmar border in
Man bookedfor posting
misleading infoon Facebook
ITANAGAR, March 8: A
man was booked in Arunachal
Pradesh’s East Siang district
for posting misleading infor-
mation on social media re-
garding coronavirus, officials
said on Sunday.
A case was lodged against
Subu Kena Tsering based on a
complaint filed by district
medical officer Kaling Dai on
Friday at Pasighat Police Sta-
tion, they said.
Tsering posted in a Facebook
group that coronavirus has
reached Pasighat and two pa-
tients have been referred to
Dibrugarh in Assam, officials
said. He is yet to be arrested,
they said.
The virus that first
emerged in China in Decem-
ber last year has spread to 97
countries and has infected
102,180 people, according to
the Johns Hopkins Coronavi-
rus tracker. More than 3,500
people have been killed due to
the virus so far. – PTI
Media tour toMyanmarcancelled
CORRESPONDENT
IMPHAL, March 8: A pro-
posed tour of media persons,
organised by the Information
and Public Relations (IPR) de-
partment, Government of
Manipur, to Mandalay and Ba-
gan in Myanmar, has been can-
celled due to present threat of
coronavirus (COVID-19), an
official said on Sunday.
IPR Director H Balkrishna,
in an official communication
note to media houses, asked
all the applicants to collect
their passports and documents
submitted to the office.
ensure availability of personal protective
equipment like N-95 masks and thermal
scanners.
The school education department
asked all schools to sensitise students and
teachers on precaution and preparedness.
Schools and colleges have been asked to
display information and communication
material in their institutions on the do’s
and don’ts.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Toy said
people in Nagaland lack basic civic sense,
especially in the remote areas.
He made the comment while inspect-
ing the newly installed hydraulic bailing
press machine and material recovery fa-
cility unit at Chumukedima on Saturday.
“There is an urgent need for the people
to learn civic sense,” he said, adding that it
is not just the job of the government to
achieve a green and clean Nagaland.
Noting that solid waste management
has not been given much attention in the
state, Toy said treatment of sewage has
become a big issue today. “Time has come
to be more responsible, for which the
urban and municipal departments will
initiate a number of actions,” he said.
Toy lauded the Chumukedima Town
Council for taking the leadership in waste
management and asked it to continue its
efforts.
Toy also assured of addressing the
problems faced by sanitation workers.
He appreciated the role of the sanitation
workers for working with dedication de-
spite health hazards and assured the peo-
ple that the authorities will look into their
welfare in the form of insurance, health
and housing.
Principal Secretary (urban develop-
ment and municipal affairs) Himati Zhim-
omi, who accompanied Toy, called for re-
cycling of biomedical waste on an urgent
basis. “Recycling of biomedical waste must
be accorded top priority,” he asserted.
“No matter what we do, unless civic sense
comes in and people participate in this ven-
ture, we will not achieve green and clean
Nagaland,” he added.
International Women’s Day celebrated
Govt offices, schools in Nagalandtold to provide hand sanitisers
Mizoram Congress asks govtto seal Indo-Myanmar border
south Mizoram’s Siaha district, the Con-
gress said the main Indo-Myanmar bor-
der in Champhai and other districts
should also be sealed immediately.
The Congress also expressed concern
about the absence of laboratory and coro-
navirus detecting machine in the state.
“We ask the state government to imme-
diately install machine and laboratory for
sample testing and early detection of sus-
pected coronavirus patients,” the state-
ment issued by Congress media cell sec-
retary C Lalhriatpuia said.
Meanwhile, health department officials
said that the state government is making
massive efforts to prevent the spread of
novel coronavirus in the state. Till date,
no suspected case of coronavirus has been
detected in the state, they said.
The government has set up more than
seven screening counters along the na-
tional and international borders, includ-
ing Lengpui airport. So far, more than
14,600 people have been screened and
at least 41 people are being put under
home isolation to prevent the spread of
the deadly disease, officials said.
The government has also set up a 32-
bed isolation ward at the state’s premier
medical college – Zoram Medical Col-
lege (ZMC) and 5-bed wards in each dis-
trict hospital to treat any suspected pa-
tients.
Besides, the state government has also
set up laboratory sample collection cen-
tres at Aizawl Civil Hospital, ZMC and
Lengpui community health centre. – PTI
Coronavirus scare
Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig (Dr) BD Mishra (retd) conducting a high-level meeting in Itanagar on Sunday with senior officials of the armed forces,
police and district administration to discuss the menace of extortion by insurgent groups in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts. The Governor said
extortion activities will not be tolerated in the state and it was the responsibility of all the officials to ensure a unified response in rooting out the menace. He
advised the officials to increase the frequency of their interaction with the local population, spend more time in the field and connect with the masses in
order to instill a sense of confidence among the people. – Photo: Raj Bhavan, Itanagar
Opium fieldsdestroyed inArunachal’sLohit district
CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR, March 8:
Launching a major crackdown
on illicit opium cultivation, a joint
team of the Lohit district admin-
istration and the Central Bureau
of Narcotics, Gwalior, recently
destroyed more than 2,500 hec-
tares of illegally cultivated opi-
um fields in the district.
During the five-day opera-
tion, more than 1,500 hectares
of opium fields were de-
stroyed in Khado area, Tezu
station Reserve Forest and
Denning Reserve Forest un-
der Tezu circle, and around
1,000 hectares in Turung Re-
serve Forest under Wakro cir-
cle of the district.
During the drive, many opi-
um cultivators fled the area
except a few at Turung Re-
serve Forest, according to an
official press note issued here.
It said two cases were filed
against the growers who ob-
structed the operation on
March 5.
The joint operation in
Khado area was launched by
the Lohit and Namsai district
administrations. “Reports of
more illegal opium cultivation
have been received in the dis-
trict, which will be destroyed
soon,” Lohit Deputy Commis-
sioner Prince Dhawan said.
The Deputy Commissioner
appreciated the authorities for
initiating the opium destruc-
tion drive in Tezu in February.
It may be mentioned here that
the state government has
been suggesting alternative
crops for opium cultivators
since the last few years.
2 held for drugpeddling
CORRESPONDENT
TURA, March 8: Police in
Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills
have arrested two persons in
two separate cases of drug ped-
dling and recovered narcotics
from them. The duo has been
booked under the NDPS Act.
In the first case, police arrest-
ed Chanbelrak T Sangma (27)
from Goanang at Araimile here
and seized 2.4 grams of heroin.
In the second case, Aniruddha
Koch (36) of Diringgagre, Da-
kopgre, was arrested along with
4.16 grams of drugs. Efforts are
on to nab the kingpins, West
Garo Hills Superintendent of
Police Dr MGR Kumar said.
Isolation wardset up in Tura
hospitalCORRESPONDENT
TURA, March 8: The West
Garo Hills district administra-
tion has set up an isolation ward
at the Tura Civil Hospital with
dedicated staff to handle patients
with history of travel to corona-
virus-affected countries and
symptoms like high fever and
breathlessness. West Garo Hills
DC Ram Singh stated that pa-
tients with travel history or
symptoms should call 108 or
contact the primary health cen-
tres so that required testing can
be done at their doorsteps.
Our leaders don’t believein climate change: 8-yr-old
Manipuri activistIMPHAL, March 8: Eight-year-
old climate activist Licypriya Kan-
gujam, who turned down Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s honour
of joining the #SheInspiresUs
campaign, said that she rejected
the offer because nobody paid heed
to any of her demands over the
years.
Speaking to PTI, Kangujam said
that initially she was both happy and sad to learn about the
honour, but eventually decided to turn it down since politi-
cians never take the issue of climate change seriously.
“Over the years, they haven’t listened to any of my de-
mands despite protesting continuously in front of the Parlia-
ment and many other places across the country with thou-
sands of children and youths,” she lamented.
She recalled that in June 2019, seven MPs of the Rajya
Sabha, after her protest in front of the Parliament House,
moved a Calling Attention Motion on the issue, but Minister
for Environment and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said
that India would not bow down to international pressure on
climate change. The minister’s response was not up to her
expectations, she said.
Kangujam is known as Indian ‘Greta’, after being com-
pared to award-winning Swedish teenage environment ac-
tivist Greta Thunberg, for her passion towards the fight
against climate change. Ever since her foray into climate
activism, Kangujam, who was conferred the Rising Star by
Washington DC-based Earth Day Network last year, made
her demands clear – that the government should enact a
climate law to regulate carbon emissions and other green-
house gases. Such a law will bring in transparency, she said.
She also demanded that climate change should be made a
compulsory subject in schools because she believes that it
will help in the fight against climate change from the grass-
roots level. “It will also help in educating our leaders as they
would learn about the issue from their children and grand-
children,” she said, adding that the leaders just cannot be-
lieve that science and climate change is real.
Planting of at least three trees by a student to pass their
exam will lead to the plantation of at least 3.5 billion trees a
year as “we have 350 million students”, asserted Licypriya
who believed it will make the country green in five years.
She is certain that the policies would “help fight climate
change and also to change the system of the world”.
The #SheInspiresUs is a social media campaign dedicated
to women “whose life and work will help ignite motivation
in millions”. – PTI
Night curfew liftedin Shillong
SHILLONG, March 8: Night curfew, which was in force in
Meghalaya capital Shillong for more than a week, has been
withdrawn following improvement in the law and order sit-
uation, officials said on Sunday.
Night curfew was imposed in Shillong and nearby areas
after violence erupted in East Khasi Hills district on Febru-
ary 28 following the death of a Khasi Students’ Union (KSU)
member during an anti-CAA rally at Ichamati that also de-
manded the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP).
“Night curfew has been totally lifted in the whole of Shillong
and its adjoining areas with effect from Sunday,” Assistant In-
spector General of Police (AIGP) Gabriel Iangrai said in a state-
ment here. Not a single incident of violence has been reported
from anywhere in the state and the situation has become nor-
mal, the AIGP said. However, night curfew imposed in Shella,
Sohra and Ichamati under Sohra subdivision will remain in force.
At least two persons have died in separate incidents at
Iew Duh market in Shillong and Shella when unidentified
miscreants attacked them following the death of a KSU mem-
ber Lurshari Hynniewta on February 28 during an anti-CAA
rally at Ichamati. Eight persons were arrested in the case
and mobile internet was shut for seven days in six Khasi and
Jaintia Hills district since the night of February 28.
Police has transferred all violence-related cases to the
Criminal Investigation Department for a thorough investi-
gation and a magisterial inquiry has been initiated to probe
the violence at Ichamati. – PTI
Licypriya Kangujam
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI 11BUSINESS & ECONOMY
AS per the latest auction sale (No10) of Guwahati Tea Auction Centre(GTAC) held on March 3, the totaltea offerings were 8,921 packages,out of which 78 per cent was sold.There was good demand for mostlyreprinted teas on offer which wereabsorbed at generally easier rates asper quality. The plainer sorts of end-season teas witnessed sluggish de-mand with some withdrawals. Major
blenders were selective with support from upcountrybuyers. The auction average price for this week stood atRs 139.58, lower by Rs 9.12 from last year.
Secretary, Guwahati Tea Auction
Buyers Association (GTABA)
Top garden prices
BOP Price BOPSM/BP Price OF/PF Price
HANDIQUE 201 HALMARI 311 GHILLIDARY 191
BHERGAON 201 DUKLINGIA 211 HANDIQUE 188
HAROOCHARAI 183 HANDIQUE 201 OATING 171
DUKLINGIA 180 HAROOCHARAI 189 DOYAPORE 171
BANAMALIE 176 BHERGAON 186 NEW PURUPBARI 162
Dinesh Bihani
NEW DELHI, March 8: The NITIAayog today conferred awards on 15women from different areas for theirground-breaking endeavours anddisplaying role as change-makers.
These women from different walks oflife were felicitated by Defence MinisterRajnath Singh here on the occasion ofthe International Women’s Day.
Since 2018, the awards have beenhosted under the aegis of NITI Aayog’sWomen Entrepreneurship Platform(WEP) with special focus on entrepre-neurship.
The Defence Minister emphasisedthe role of women in the workforce incontributing to economic growth of thenation, the Aayog said in a release.
“Today’s awardees have overcome
NITI Aayog confers awards on women change-makersInternational Women’s Day
NEW DELHI, March 8: Large en-ergy consumers, including India and
China, may head for an oil bonanza
with the world’s largest oil producerSaudi Arabia looking to ramp up pro-
duction to well above 10 million bar-
rels from next month in a clear decla-ration of war against the collapse of
OPEC plus that includes major oil
producers such as Russia.Oil cartel OPEC along with other
large oil producers were looking at
extending and expanding the ongo-ing production cuts beyond March
to counter low oil prices and slug-
gish demand conditions in an over-supplied market.
The Saudis who account for almost
a fifth of India’s oil imports on Satur-day started an all-out price war by
slashing prices for its crude by the
most in more than 30 years. State
energy giant Saudi Aramco is offer-ing heavy discounts on crude in mar-
kets such as Asia, Europe and the US
to entice refiners to use Saudi crude.For India, these discounts mean
unprecedented gains as the country
imports nearly 83 per cent of its oilrequirements. Each fall in dollar in
price of crude reduces the import
bill by almost Rs 3,000 crore. A dis-count of about 10 per cent on crude
price of just about $45 a barrel now
would help the country save morethan $2 billion.
In a tweet Kotak Mahindra Bank
Managing Director and CEO UdayKotak said: “Amidst turbulence and
the virus, some good news: oil at $45/
barrel. Recent $20 drop saves India$30 billion per annum. Also global in-
terest rates have collapsed making
money cheap. Let’s leverage these
for policy to boost growth.”This would, however, depend on
current prices holding up for the rest
of the year. Analysts said that oil mayremain under pressure for a long time
and may range between $50-60 a bar-
rel in FY21.A cut by the Saudis is expected to
be followed by other oil producers
looking to protect their market. Ana-lysts said this could trigger a price
war much to the gain for India.
For oil producers already facingdemand squeeze in the wake of coro-
navirus spread, the Saudi price cut
could only add to their woes puttingthe entire oil market into chaos. Sau-
di Arabia has already indicated it could
raise production much higher if need-ed, even going to a record 12 million
barrels a day.
Aramco’s unprecedented pricing
move came just hours after the talksbetween the Organisation of Petro-
leum Exporting Countries and its al-
lies ended in dramatic failure. Thebreak-up of the alliance effectively
ends the cooperation between Saudi
Arabia and Russia that has under-pinned oil prices since 2016.
This also resulted in a crash of stock
markets across the Gulf. Saudi Ara-bia’s stock exchange, the Tadawul, was
down 7.7 per cent in afternoon trad-
ing. The Abu Dhabi index fell 5.8 percent, Dubai’s Financial Market Gen-
eral Index was down 7.47 per cent.
Shares of Saudi state oil giant Ara-mco traded below their original IPO
price for the first time today, at 30.90
riyals ($8.24) in Riyadh compared tothe listing price of 32 riyals in De-
cember. That’s down 6.36 per cent
on the day. – IANS
Oil war triggered by Saudi price cuts tobenefit India immensely
Union Minister for Defence Rajnath Singh presenting the Women Transforming India
Awards 2019, at a function organised by NITI Aayog, in New Delhi on Sunday. – PIB
financial and societal challenges not justto redefine the word entrepreneurshipbut also refine it. I congratulate theNITI Aayog and WEP for providingwomen entrepreneurs with a platformto share their dreams, failures andvictories with each other and growfrom them,” Singh said.
The awardees included PriyankaMokshmar, Co-Founder of Vaayu HomeAppliances that provides affordable andenvironmentally feasible alternatives totraditional AC units across India.
It also includes Ramya Venkatara-man’s Centre for Teacher Accreditation(CENTA), which creates a certificationframework for assessment of teachers’skills and competency; Shilpi Kapoorfor BarrierBreak, a company focused on
the accessibility of technology for thosewith disabilities; Rinka Banerjee’sThinking Forks for a consultingorganisation, with expertise in the foodand nutrition industry.
The awardees also included, amongothers, Nidhi Pant for combating issuesaround waste and farmer livingstandards, through her Science forSociety’s innovative idea of sellingdehydrated vegetable snacks; AnupriyaBalikai’s Spookfish Innovations forstandards of products and qualitycontrol assurance for food packaging.
Praveen Nair was given the specialjury award for Salaam Baalak Trust thathas successfully worked in rehabilitat-ing over 81,000 destitute and homelesschildren. – PTI
MUMBAI, March 8: Allaying con-cerns raised by many after Yes Bank fi-asco, the Reserve Bank today reiterat-ed that depositors’ money is safe and itis closely monitoring all banks.
The RBI further said that concernsabout the safety of deposits in banks arebased on a flawed analysis.
“Concern has been raised in certainsections of media about safety of depos-its of certain banks. This concern is basedon analysis which is flawed. Solvency ofbanks is internationally based on Capitalto Risk Weighted Assets (CRAR) andnot on market cap,” the central bank
Depositors’ money safe in banks: RBIsaid in a tweet.
“RBI closely monitors all the banks andhereby assures all depositors that there isno such concern of safety of their depositsin any bank,” its second tweet said.
Earlier, echoing similar sentiments,Chief Economic Adviser KrishnamurthySubramanian said Indian banks are wellcapitalised and there is no reason toworry, adding that it is a wrong methodto assess a lender’s health based on theratio of deposit to m-cap (market capi-talisation).
“What I want to emphatically statethat the m-cap ratio is a totally incorrect
metric for assessing the safety of thebanks. No banking sector expert or bank-ing regulator uses this measure,” Sub-ramanian said.
A day after imposing a 30-day mora-torium on Yes Bank and capping with-drawal limit at Rs 50,000, the RBI onFriday evening had issued a draft recon-struction scheme for the private sectorlender.
As per the RBI’s draft reconstructionscheme, State Bank of India will pick up49 per cent stake in the crisis-ridden YesBank under a government-approved bail-out plan. – PTI
Yes Bank debitcards can beused at otherbank ATMs also
NEW DELHI, March 8:Yes Bank announced lateSaturday that its debit cardscan be used for withdraw-ing cash at other bankATMs also.
The move comes afterlong queues were seen atYes Bank ATMs andbranches and numerouscomplaints by customersthat they were not beingable to withdraw anymoney.
Earlier, the governmenthad announced a moratori-um that only up to Rs50,000 can be withdrawn.
“You can now makewithdrawals using your YesBank debit card both at YesBank and other bankATMs. Thanks for yourpatience,” the bank said onTwitter.
The recent crisis on YesBank has revived thememories of demonetisa-tion which brought thewhole nation into queuesoutside the banks andATMs.
People were seen standingin queues outside the ATMsto take out their hard earnedmoney which has got lockedup with the bank followingthe crisis. – IANS
Special, differentialtreatment for developing
countries on agendaNEW DELHI, March 8: Special and differential treatment
for developing countries like India will figure prominently inthe World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) 12th MinisterialConference in June in Kazakhstan, an official said.
The Ministerial Conference is the highest decision-mak-ing body of the 164-member WTO.
Trade ministers of all the member countries participate inthe deliberations. The 12th Ministerial Conference will takeplace on June 8-11 this year at Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan.
“This time, besides fishery subsidies, special and differ-ential treatment and investment facilitation will figure in themeeting,” the official said.
As part of reforms at theWTO, the US wants the formu-lation of some guidelines thatcountries with high economicgrowth are prevented from tak-ing benefits of special and dif-ferential treatment (S&DT), which is meant for developingand poor nations.
The S&DT allows developing countries to enjoy certainbenefits, including taking longer time periods for implement-ing agreements and binding commitments, and measures toincrease trading opportunities for them.
Currently, any WTO member can designate itself as adeveloping country and avail these benefits.
The US had submitted its suggestions to the WTO thatstates that self-declaration puts the WTO on a path to failednegotiations and it is also a path to institutional irrelevance.
India is of the view that the matter needs to be negotiatedcomprehensively in the WTO and a consensus-based deci-sion needs to be taken on S&DT.
Further, on fishery subsidies, India wants an equitable andbalanced outcome in the negotiations as the country pro-vides support to its small and marginal fishermen who de-pend on the sector for sustenance. – PTI
WTO Ministerial
Conference in
Kazakhstan
NEW DELHI, March 8: State-ownedBSNL and MTNL have told the sectorregulator TRAI that tariff fixation shouldbe applicable only on telcos with morethan 15 per cent subscriber base in aservice area, while those with loweror negligible user base should be ex-empt from the purview of minimumfloor price.
It is pertinent to mention here thatBharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL),which operates telecom services acrossIndia except Delhi and Mumbai circles,has about 10.3 per cent market share inall India mobile subscriber base. Ma-hanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL),present in Delhi and Mumbai, has 0.29per cent mobile market share, as perthe latest TRAI data.
Exempt telcos with under 15%market share: BSNL-MTNL to TRAI
Reliance Jio leads the India mobilesubscriber market with a share of 32.1per cent, while Bharti Airtel and Voda-fone Idea have 28.43 per cent and 28.89per cent share respectively on an allIndia basis.
In their suggestions to TRAI, the twopublic sector operators have acknowl-edged that the telecom industry is fac-ing heat due to the sudden and unex-pected entry of “capital-rich telecomservice providers” offering free andultra-low tariffs, leading to closure ofmany players and that the situation hasgot compounded by companies beingrequired to make huge adjusted gross
revenue (AGR) payouts after the Su-preme Court order.
“...the telecom industry needs a help-ing hand – at least in the immediate shortterm – from the Authority to survive ,”the two companies have told TRAI innearly identical submissions.
The two have batted for fixing of floorprices by Telecom Regulatory Authori-ty of India (TRAI) but with a rider.
“...the fixing of floor price should belimited and applicable to telecom serviceproviders (TSPs) having a minimum sub-scriber base of 15 per cent in that LSA(licensed service area) otherwise floorprice may wipe out the prospective newTSP/TSPs having small customer basefrom the telecom business altogether,”BSNL and MTNL have said. – PTI
Floor price norms
Honda plans localproduction of premiumbikes from next fiscal
NEW DELHI, March 8: Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India(HMSI) plans to locally produce some of its imported premiumbikes from the next fiscal to make such products more affordableand thereby garner volumes, according to a top company official.
The company, which sells only CB300R bike in the mid-dle-weight category right now, plans to bring in more mod-els in the up to 500 cc segment as part of plans to scale up itspremium bike business in the country.
The two-wheeler major is also looking to have a separatesales network for the premium bikes as it looks to establishthe business as a sustainable standalone vertical going ahead.
“If we want to have sustainable expansion of this business,it is very important that we need to have a good range ofproducts, not only from the branding point of view but therehave to be certain key models which are going to bring involumes in the future,” HMSI Senior Vice-President (Salesand Marketing) Yadvinder Singh Guleria told PTI.
The company has identified the middle-weight categorybike segment (up to 500 cc engines) to do well in the coun-try going ahead, he added. “So this is one area where we arelooking at for expansion of the product range,” he added.
The company currently has only one premium model be-low the 500 cc mark – the 350 cc CB 300 R, which waslaunched last year and has done well in terms of sales. – PTI
VW expects SUVsto account for 60%
sales by 2024MUMBAI, March 8: European auto major Volkswagen
expects at least 60 per cent of its sales in India to comefrom the SUV segment by 2024 amid the market globallymoving away from sedans.
Volkswagen, which launched the 7-seater premium SUVTiguan Allspace on Friday as part of its India Project 2.0, isplanning to roll out three more such vehicles in the next12-18 months.
The world’s largest car-maker is trying to revive itsfortunes in the domestic automobile space, in which it hasa meagre around 1 per cent market share with Skoda-ledIndia 2.0 plan.
“I think we will be (selling) around 60 per cent SUVsgoing forward. Globally, we have today about 42 per cent ofall our cars in SUVs.
“I would assume, in India, it could go even up to 70 percent by 2024,” Volkswagen Passenger Cars India DirectorSteffen Knapp told PTI.
Knapp said this would also depend on what is happeningin the market, adding, “I believe that all around the world,we are going into 70-75 per cent... So, there will be anoth-er category coming, the SUV and CUV (cross utility vehi-cle), as higher seating position is the future. Because it(market) is moving away from sedans.”
Volkswagen sells hatchback Polo, sedan Vento andTiguan SUV in the domestic market along with TiguanAllspace now. – PTI
Women memberpresence on cos’
boards
India ranks
12th globally,
says studyMUMBAI, March 8: With
more and more organisationsin the country realising the im-portance of gender parity, a re-cent study has revealed that In-dia ranks 12th globally in wom-en member presence on board.
According to a recent studyon ‘Women on Board 2020’ byglobal recruitment tenderingplatform MyHiringClub.comand Sarkari-Naukri.info, Indiaranked 12th worldwide in wom-en member presence on board.
This study was done on-line amongst 7,824 listedcompanies across 36 coun-tries, including India.
In India, 628 listed employ-ers participated in this study.
The study revealed thatamong these 628 listed com-panies, 55 per cent have wom-en directors, which is 14 percent higher than last year.
Overall, it found that wom-en’s director on board per-centage is 14.87 per cent,more than double comparedto the last two years.
Among them, 29 per centof the boards have two wom-en directors, 63 per cent ofthese boards have only onewoman director each, it said.
The average board life ofmale directors in India isthree years, more than theirwomen counterpart whileglobally it is only about twoyears, it pointed out.
Further, it said that the gapbetween the maximumboard tenure of men andwomen directors is veryhuge, with 46 per cent mem-bers of fairer sex being a di-rector for less than one year.
Around 54 per cent of em-ployees in Asia and 39 per centin India are women, but only afraction of that number makesit to middle and senior man-agement level, it added.– PTI
Mumuso toexpand footprint
in NE marketBUSINESS REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 8:Keeping in view the grow-ing market trends, globalfashion and lifestyle brandMumuso has announced plansto expand its footprint in theEast and North-east regionsof the country by openingover 15 stores by this year.
As part of this strategy, thebrand expanded its presencein the North-east with thelaunch of its second store inGuwahati recently.
The new store at RadhaBhawan, RG Baruah Road,houses accessories, station-ery, small electronic goods,lifestyle items, cosmetics,beauty tools, home essen-tials, children’s products,footwear, jewellery, etc.
Addressing the media atthe launch event, AbhinavAgarwal, Marketing Manag-er, Mumuso India, said, “Weare very excited to launch oursecond store in Assam. Therehas been a high demand forthe trendy and affordableproducts as far as lifestyle isconcerned. Mumuso brand al-ways adheres to the principleof selling high-quality prod-ucts at affordable prices...”
In his speech, Amit KrSharma, Retail Sales Head,Mumuso India, said, “Whenit comes to lifestyle products,India has seen a sharp rise inthe demand in recent years.Our expansion strategy is toset up outlets all over Indiaalong with entering the e-commerce market...”
Researchers have 3D-printed a complex brain
tumour to closely model what happens inside
the fast-growing tissue, an advance that may lead to
better ways of testing and developing drugs against
the malignant disease.
The scientists, including those from Northeast-
ern University in the US, explained that glioblasto-
mas are complex, fast-growing ma-
lignant brain tumours which are
made up of various types of cells.
They said even with aggres-
sive treatment, which often in-
cludes surgery, radiation, and
chemotherapy, glioblastomas
are difficult to treat, leading
to an average survival of 11-
15 months.
The study, published in
Science Advances, de-
scribes a methodology that
combines the 3D printing and
imaging of glioblastoma cells
in a cost-effective way to more
closely model what happens in-
side the human body.
“There is a need to understand the biology and
the complexity of the glioblastoma,” said study
co-author Xavier Intes from Rensselaer Polytech-
nic Institute in the US.
“What’s known is that glioblastomas are very
complex in terms of their makeup, and this can
differ from patient to patient,” Intes said.
In the study, the researchers made bio-inks out of
patient-derived tumour cells, and printed them
along with blood vessels. They said the blood ves-
sel network in these cells allowed the printed tis-
Cyber-criminals are spreading malicious ac-
tivities through several spam campaigns per-
taining to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus
and virus-themed domains are emerging as 50
per cent more malicious, says a new report by
cybersecurity firm Check Point Research.
According to Check Point Research’s ‘Global
Threat Index’ for January 2020, cyber-criminals
are exploiting the interest in the global epidemic
to spread malicious activities with several spam
campaigns relating to the outbreak of the virus.
As the virus spreads across the globe, people
are searching online for the latest information
and updates on how it might affect them and what
they can do to protect themselves and their fam-
ilies, and cyber-criminals are quick to take advan-
tage of these concerns for their own gain.
“Since January 2020, over 4,000 coronavirus-
related domains have been registered globally. Out
of these websites, 3 per cent were found to be
Musk rapped for playingdown corona panic
Mathematician Nassim Nicholas Taleb took to the Twitter to re-
spond to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweet about what he called a
panic over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Elon made a controversial tweet recently regarding the coronavirus
scare. According to him, the panic over coronavirus is ‘dumb’.
Responding to Musk, the mathematician tweeted, “Saying the coronavi-
rus panic as dumb is what’s dumb.”
Taleb is the author of the Incerto, a five volume
philosophical essay on uncertainty published be-
tween 2001 and 2018 of which the most known
books are The Black Swan and Antifragile.
Meanwhile, there was a range of comments with
people reacting to Musk’s tweet. A user wrote:
“I’m totally amazed that somebody who owns
a company where employees can’t work
from home would call taking steps to
protect workplaces from a highly-in-
fectious disease dumb.”
Another said: “Elon should take his
wife to Italy this weekend and go walk-
ing around the cities.”
The post has been retweeted more
than 3,12,000 times, and liked 1.5 mil-
lion times. Another post read: “Billion-
aires should not exist. And this kind of
senseless disregard for the wellbeing
of vulnerable members of our society
helps prove why.” – IANS
Amazon working oncommon cold cure
After disrupting the retail business, Amazon is set to find a cure for
common cold that can cause a runny nose, cough, sore throat, sneez-
ing and low-grade fevers, among other symptoms.
The Jeff Bezos-led company has engaged more than 100 people in a
top secret effort called ‘Project Gesundheit’ for finding a treatment for
common cold, says a CNBC report.
The team which includes scientists and technologists exists under a
research and development group called Grand Challenge within Ama-
zon’s Cloud division, Amazon Web Services (AWS).
While the focus of the team is on developing a vaccine, it is also
exploring several other approaches to the problem of common cold,
said the report, adding that the group is run by Babak Parviz, who was
earlier associated with Google’s parent company Alphabet’s research
and development effort.
Amazon is yet to publicly acknowledge the Grand Challenge group
which is tasked with finding solution to big problems which can have a
major impact on humanity, according to CNBC.
But healthcare is not the sole focus of the group, which has some-
times been known by its code-name ‘1492’, said the report. – IANS
Women-led ‘Ideathon’ todrive tech innovation
Makers Lab, the research and development arm of IT major Tech Ma-
hindra on Sunday launched a women-led ‘Ideathon’ aimed at solving
real world challenges through technology, especially in the defence space.
Announced on International Women’s Day, the Ideathon will run for
four weeks and will end on April 7.
“The mission of Tech Mahindra’s research and development arm,
Makers Lab, is to promote technology innovation and provide a com-
mon platform where academia and industry can come together to cre-
ate disruptive solutions to solve real world problems,” Nikhil Mal-
hotra, Global Head of Makers Lab, Tech Mahindra, said in a statement.
“This women-led Ideathon is a first among a series of Ideathons and
hackathons which are planned across the year in Tech Mahindra, to
encourage women professionals especially to innovate and leverage
technology towards betterment of society and world at large,” Mal-
hotra said. – IANS
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 202012 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI
BEYOND FRONTIERS
With the help of an improved sight-correcting
system, self-driving cars could learn just by
observing human operators complete the same task,
researchers have found.
The team implemented imitation learning, also
called learning from demonstration.
In this, a human operator drives a vehicle outfitted
with three cameras, observing the environment from
the front and each side of the car.
The data is then processed through a neural net-
work – a computer system based on how the brain’s
neurons interact to process information – that allows
the vehicles to make decisions based on what it learned
from watching the human make similar decisions.
“Having a reliable and robust vision is a mandato-
ry requirement in autonomous vehicles, and convo-
lutional neural networks are one of the most suc-
cessful deep neural networks for image processing
applications,” explained Saeid Nahavandi, Chair of
Researchers have identified the brain network
which emerges in infants around four years of
age and enables them to predict what others think,
an advance that may lead to better understanding of
developmental disorders like autism.
According to the scientists, including those from
the University College London in the UK, infants
use two different nerve networks in their brains,
which mature at different rates, to predict others’
behaviour by taking on their perspective.
The study, published in the journal PNAS, referred
to these brain structures as regions for implicit and
explicit ‘Theory of Mind’, which mature at different
ages to fulfil their function.
According to the scientists, a region called the su-
pramarginal gyrus that supports non-verbal action
Cardiac rehabilitation is not a
“men’s club” anymore and
modern women living with heart
disease need flexible options for
lifestyle programmes that fit their
busy schedules, find researchers.
Enjoyable physical activity such
as Zumba, group walking, tai chi,
qigong, technology-based balance
exercises (Wii Fit), dancing and
Nordic walking are some of the
modern lifestyle methods that can
keep the heart in good shape for
women.
“Women tend to prioritise oth-
ers before themselves,” said sen-
ior study author Dr Jennifer Reed
of the University of Ottawa Heart
Institute, Canada.
“The realities of modern life
require women to address multi-
ple family, community, social and
work-related demands. As a re-
sult, many feel they do not have
time for cardiac rehabilitation,”
Reed added.
Cardiovascular disease is the
leading cause of death in women
worldwide; in 2015, it accounted
for one-third of all female deaths.
However, approximately 10-20
per cent fewer women than men
participate in cardiac rehabilitation,
and women are more likely to
drop out (35 per cent of women
quit versus 29 per cent of men).
In contrast, women are high us-
ers of local exercise classes: many
women attend at least 70 per cent
of the sessions on offer.
“We are experiencing a shift in
family responsibilities towards
more equality, but today’s women
with heart disease are still more
likely to be a caregiver than men,”
said Sol Vidal-Almela of the Uni-
versity of Ottawa Heart Institute.
Multiple class options through-
out the day may particularly ben-
efit younger women who report
lack of time, family and work com-
mitments as barriers to attend-
ing cardiac rehabilitation, said the
study published in the European
Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
To reach this conclusion, the au-
thors reviewed a decade of litera-
ture to identify what stops women
with heart disease from attending
cardiac rehabilitation. – IANS
Consumer watchdog ‘Which?’
has claimed that more than
one billion Android phones and
tablets are vulnerable to hackers
as they are no longer supported
by security updates.
According to the research re-
port, the most at-risk phones are
any that run Android 4 or older,
and those smartphones running
Android 7.0, which cannot be up-
dated, are also at risk.
Based on data from Google an-
alysed by Which?, two in five an-
droid device users around the
world are no longer receiving the
important updates. Currently,
those devices are unlikely to have
issues, but the lack of security
leaves them open to attack.
“It is very concerning that ex-
pensive Android devices have
such a short shelf life before they
lose security support, leaving mil-
lions of users at risk of serious
consequences if they fall victim to
hackers,” Kate Bevan editor
Which? said in a statement.
“Google and phone manufactur-
ers need to be upfront about secu-
rity updates with clear information
about how long they will last and
what customers should do when
they run out,” Kate added. – IANS
At a time when India is battling
air pollution, especially in the
national capital and adjoining Ghaz-
iabad, which have been designat-
ed as one of the most polluted cit-
ies across the globe as studies
suggest, Prakriti E-Mobility Pri-
vate Limited is soon to launch an
app-based Electric Vehicle (EV)
cab services called ‘Evera’ in Del-
hi-NCR. Focussed on offering af-
fordable, clean and comfortable
rides to consumers, Evera offers
one-of its kind, 100 per cent elec-
tric cab service in Delhi.
The cab service provider
Prakriti has entered a partnership
with Tata Motors to soon deploy
500 Tigor Electric Vehicles in
Coronavirus-themed domainsmore likely to be malicious
Scientists 3D-printcomplex brain tumour,test drug effectiveness
Cardiac rehabilitation not a ‘men’s club’
Various unwanted behaviour
traits in dogs like fearfulness
and aggressive behaviour often
occur simultaneously, depending
on the breed, according to a study
which may lead to early interven-
tions for comorbid conditions in
the canines.
Researchers, including Hannes
Lohi from the University of Hel-
sinki in Finland, used an owner-
reported survey to examine sev-
en anxiety-like traits and prob-
lematic behaviours in 13,700 Finn-
ish pet dogs.
Their findings, published in the
journal Scientific Reports, suggest-
ed that noise sensitivity is the most
common anxiety trait, followed by
fear. “We discovered an interest-
ing connection between impulsivi-
ty, compulsive behaviour and sepa-
ration anxiety. In humans, obses-
sive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
often occurs together with atten-
tion deficit and hyperactivity disor-
der (ADHD), but this is the first
time the same has been seen in
dogs,” said Milla Salonen, study co-
author from the University of Hel-
sinki. The scientists found that 72.5
per cent of the dogs showed prob-
lematic behaviours such as aggres-
sion and fearfulness.
Noise sensitivity was the most
common anxiety with 32 per cent
of dogs found to be fearful of at least
one noise, and 26 per cent of the
canines being afraid of fireworks,
specifically.
The researchers added that fear
was the second-most common
anxiety, found in 29 per cent of dogs,
including fear of other dogs (17 per
cent), fear of strangers (15 per
cent), and fear of new situations
(11 per cent). They said noise sen-
sitivity – especially fear of thunder
– increased with age, along with
fear of heights and surfaces, such
as walking on metal grids or shiny
floors. According to the study,
younger dogs more often damaged
or urinated on items when left
alone, and were also more often
inattentive, hyperactive, or impul-
sive and chased their tails more
than older dogs.
Male dogs, the study said, were
more often aggressive and hyperac-
tive or impulsive than female dogs,
which were more often fearful. The
scientists also reported differences
between breeds. “Problems appear
to be quite breed-specific. For ex-
ample, in Border Collies we ob-
served more compulsive staring and
light or shadow chasing – behaviours
that occurred more rarely in all oth-
er breeds,” Lohi said. – PTI
Unwanted behaviour common, varied in dogs
Brain network that helps infantspredict others’ behaviour found
prediction matures earlier.
They said this region is also involved in visual and
emotional perspective taking.
“This enables younger children to predict how
people will act,” said study co-author Charlotte
Grosse Wiesmann from the Max Planck Institute for
Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Germany.
“The temporoparietal junction and precuneus
through which we understand what others think –
and not just what they feel and see or how they will
act – only develops to fulfil this function at the age of
four years,” Wiesmann added.
The study said there’s already another mecha-
nism for a basic form of perspective taking by
which very young children simply adopt the oth-
er’s view. – PTI
Self-driving cars can easilymimic human drivers
engineering and director for the Institute for Intelli-
gent Systems Research and Innovation at Deakin
University. The processing system is specifically a
convolutional neural network, which is mirrored on
the brain’s visual cortex.
By reducing the visual information, the network
can quickly process changes in the environment: a
shift of dots appearing ahead could indicate an obsta-
cle in the road. – IANS
Electric cabs to helpDelhi breathe better
Delhi-NCR. The company in as-
sociation with Tata Power is set-
ting up 30 slow chargers and five
fast chargers in Delhi-NCR, the
largest charging infrastructure in
India currently, that will enable the
taxi drivers to charge the batter-
ies of the car at 35 charging points
across the city at places like Great-
er Kailash, Khan Market, Moti
Bagh, Connaught Place, Chanakya
Puri and Jor Bagh.
These electric cabs, which emit
zero carbon dioxide during their
lifespan, will help curb air pollu-
tion and Delhiites will eventually
be able to breathe easy without
worrying about toxic fumes from
the exhaust pipes. – IANS
Over a billion Androiddevices vulnerable
Lettuce grown in space as nutritious as ones on Earth
malicious and an additional 5 per cent suspicious.
Coronavirus-related domains are 50 per cent more
likely to be malicious than other domains regis-
tered during the same period, and also higher than
recent seasonal themes such as Valentine’s Day,”
the cybersecurity firm said in a statement.
Many of these domains will probably be used
for phishing attempts.
As of now, Check Point Research has already
spotted and protects online users
from many websites known to be re-
lated to malicious activities that lure
the victims to their websites with dis-
cussions around the virus, as well as
from scam websites that claim to sell
face masks, vaccines and home tests
that can detect the virus.
In addition, a widespread targeted
coronavirus-themed phishing cam-
paign was recently spotted targeting
Italian organisations, hitting over 10 per cent of
all organisations in Italy with the aim of exploit-
ing concerns over the growing cluster of infec-
tions in the country.
While clicking on ‘enable editing’ and ‘ena-
ble content’ on emails infected with such mali-
cious files, users would be led to the download
of ‘Ostap Trojan-Downloader’, which is known
to be a Trickbot downloader. – IANS
sue to live and mature, enabling researchers to study
it over a matter of months.
The bio-printed blood vessels also provided chan-
nels for therapeutics to travel through – in this case,
the cancer drug Temozolomide.
According to the study, drug delivery to glioblas-
toma cells in the body is especially complicated be-
cause of the blood-brain barrier – a
wall of cells that blocks most sub-
stances from reaching the brain.
Due to this hurdle, the re-
searchers believe that their
new method may provide a
more accurate evaluation of a
drug’s effectiveness than di-
rectly injecting the therapy
into the cells.
“That’s the unique part of
the bio-printing that has been
very powerful. It’s closer to
what would happen in vivo,”
Intes said. To see if the drug
was making it to the glioblast-
oma cells and working, Intes and
his team developed a special technique to quickly
take images of the bio-printed tissue at the cel-
lular level using as little light as possible, so as
to not damage the cells.
“We developed a new technology that al-
lows us to go deeper than florescence micro-
scopy. It allows us to see, first, if the cells are
growing, and then, if they respond to the
drug,” Intes said. According to the scientists,
the novel technique may allow researchers to
evaluate the effectiveness of multiple drugs
at the same time. – PTI
Researchers have found that the
salad crop, red romaine lettuce, grown
on board the International Space Station
(ISS), is as nutritious as counterparts grown
on the Earth, an advance that may help as-
tronauts grow safe, fresh food during space
missions.
According to the study, published in the
journal Frontiers in Plant Science, the
space-grown lettuce is free of disease-caus-
ing microbes and safe to eat, and is at least
as nutritious as the Earth-grown plants.
The researchers, including Christina
Khodadad from NASA’s Kennedy Space
Center in the US, said that the lettuce is
nutritious despite being grown under low-
er gravity and more intense radiation than
on Earth.
Traditionally, astronauts in space live on
processed, pre-packaged space rations such
as fruits, nuts, chocolate, shrimp cocktails,
peanut butter, chicken, and beef to name a
few, they said.
Apart from a welcome diet change, the
researchers said, the fresh produce may pro-
vide astronauts with additional potassium as
well as vitamins K, B1, and C –nutrients that
are less abundant in pre-packaged rations,
and degrade during long-term storage.
Khodadad and her team believe that
growing crops onboard may
be especially useful on long-
distance space missions
such as the upcoming Ar-
temis-III missions, sched-
uled to land humans on the
lunar South pole by 2024,
and NASA’s first crewed
mission to Mars, planned for
the late 2020s. “The ability
to grow food in a sustaina-
ble system that is safe for
crew consumption will be-
come critical as NASA moves toward long-
er missions. Salad-type, leafy greens can
be grown and consumed fresh with few
resources,” Khodadad said. – PTI
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI 13
LEISURE & LIFESTYLE
14:00 Biyolir Headline
16:00 Abelir Khabar
16:30 Superfast Prime Time100
17:00 City18
18:00 Prime Time18
19:00 Dintur Shironam
20:00 Porjyobekhyon
21:30 Aparadh Nama
22:00 North East Scan
22:30 Noixo Xironam
15:00 Chah Gachar Maje Maje
15.30 Yuba Darpan
16:00 Abelir Batori
16:05 Tezaswini (Epi-65)
16.30 Geetmala
17:00 Nimishote Batori
17:02 Rong Birong
17:30 Rupali Dhou
18:00 Dharabahik
18:30 Batori
18:45 NE News
12:00 Oggy And The Cock...
15:00 Roll No. 21
16:00 Oggy And The Cock...
19:00 Roll No. 21
20:00 Oggy And The Cock...
21:00 Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
22:00 Courage The Cowardly...
23:00 Ben 10
23:30 Teleshopping
12:00 Chhota Bheem
12:30 Grizzy And The Lemm...
13:30 Chhota Bheem
14:30 Grizzy And The Lemm...
15:30 Chhota Bheem
16:00 Chhota Bheem Chatpat
16:30 Grizzy And The Lemm...
17:30 Chhota Bheem
18:00 Chhota Bheem Chatpat
18:30 Chhota Bheem And The...
20:00 Super Bheem
21:00 Grizzy And The Lemm...
22:00 Mr. Bean: The Animated...
23:00 M.A.D.
23:30 Teleshopping
LOCKHORNS
THE PHANTOM ® By Lee Falk
HAGAR THE HORRIBLE
BLONDIE
Know your DAYBy JACQUELINE BIGAR
HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Monday, March 9, 2020:
This year, you could be versatile and capable of doing the unexpected. You
can see both sides of an issue more clearly than in the recent past. Others
see this multifaceted perspective as you become wiser. If you are single, you
could meet several intriguing people. You also could witness others transform
in front of your eyes. If attached, your ability to see multiple perspectives
helps you avoid conflicts and find solutions. Your sweetie could be taken
aback by this behavior. Help them open up to new perspectives. VIRGO could
irritate you easily but also might be interesting to work with.
The Stars Show the Kind of Day You’ll Have: 5-Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-
Average; 2-So-so; 1-Difficult
ARIES (March 21-April 19)HHH Much energy and thought bubbles below the surface.You might want to talk through some of the ideas that keep
popping up. You might feel pushed in the opposite direction. Do noth-ing if possible. Tonight: Opt for an early bedtime.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)HHHHH Without awareness, you could be pushed in twoseparate directions. Do not fight the inevitable, yet be willing
to walk down a new path. Aim for what you want without beingintimidated. Tonight: Add more spunk to the moment.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)HHH You could feel as if you are stuck in a certain direction.You might not see a choice immediately, but there is one. Play
it low-key for now. Information will be forthcoming, especially aroundyour personal life. Tonight: Relax; follow your instincts.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)HHHH Your feelings run high no matter what type of situa-tion, conversation or idea you run into. Clear out a misun-
derstanding if need be. You might be surprised at how much youand others take for granted. Tonight: Express your thoughts.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)HHHH Be careful when dealing with finances — yours andothers. If you are involved with another par ty financially,
use caution. You cannot afford to take this person or agreementsyou make with him or her for granted. Tonight: Pay bills first.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)HHHH You might be unusually strong-willed about whatyou want. You could be hard to stop once you decide on a
certain path. Remain responsive to others, but don’t make unnec-essary adjustments. Tonight: Open and share with a key person.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)HHH You might be swallowing some anger or frustrationcurrently. Flow with the moment, and be more aware of the
different aspects of a discussion. Know that you do not need toparticipate and can head in another direction. Tonight: Draw yourfriends together.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)HHHH Do not hesitate to zero in on what you want. A keyperson does not share a lot or might even refuse to reveal his
or her thoughts or needs. Your creativity emerges when dealing with aloved one or child. Tonight: You can have what you want.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)HHH Your fiery personality emerges. You have a lot to sharebut the timing could be off, no matter how much you eye a
certain issue. Step back and remain sure of yourself. Tonight: Bringfriends together.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)HHHH Return calls, and catch up on news as well. Youmight want to evaluate what you are hearing. Brainstorm
with a fr iend who seems to know more about this topic. You willgain another perspective. Tonight: A conversation could be moresignificant than you realize.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)HHHH Attempt to break through a partner’s resistance. If youdo, you will gain significant understanding about the possibili-
ties that surround you. A far-fetched idea could help you break past ahassle. Tonight: Use caution with spending.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)HHHHH You might feel unusually sure of yourself. Others mightapproach you with their thoughts, but they are not as dynamic
as you expected. Be open to other viewpoints. Be open to explainingyour thoughts in different ways. Tonight: As you like.
H H H
Thought for the day
People who are in high and responsible positions, if they go againstrighteousness, righteousness itself will get transformed into a destroyer.
– APJ ABDUL KALAM
___ law, ____ injustice – Latin proverb
(7,.,7) (same word twice)
Words:Melee, fifer, mystic, exiled.Answer: Extreme law, extreme injustice– Latin proverb
Given below are four jumbled words. Solvethe jumbles to make proper words and movethem to the respective squares below. Selectthe letters in the shaded squares and jumblethem to get the answer for the given quip.
JUMBLED WORDSHEALTH CAPSULES®
by Bron Smith
Health Capsules is not intendedto be of a diagnostic nature.
CROSSWORD - 6839
Across: 3 Ad-lib, 8 Idiom, 10 Nears, 11 Hop, 12 Lupus, 13
Non-user, 15 Romeo, 18 Lip, 19 Retina, 21 Carried, 22 Purr,
23 Inch, 24 Assuage, 26 Levity, 29 Kin, 31 Leech, 32 Re-
moved, 34 Hewed, 35 Rim, 36 Nixon, 37 Beams, 38 Raids.
Down: 1 Ad hoc, 2 Popular, 4 Dour, 5 Inured, 6 Besot, 7
Preen, 9 Ion, 12 Leprosy, 14 Sir, 16 Milne, 17 Oaths, 19
Rebuked, 20 Spill, 21 Crave, 23 Ignores, 24 Athena, 25 Aim,
27 Eerie, 28 Ichor, 30 Jemmy, 32 Read, 33 Via.
SOLUTION
12:00 Savage Kingdom
13:00 Wild Families
14:00 The Hidden Kingdoms Of...
15:00 Survival Of The Fittest
16:00 Hostile Planet
17:00 Secrets Of Wild India
18:00 World’s Deadliest Killers
19:00 Wild Pals
20:00 Survival Of The Fittest
21:00 Deadly Game
22:00 Out There With Jack...
23:00 Dangerous Encounters
12:45 Shipping Wars
13:15 Pawn Stars
13:45 Storage Wars
14:15 Food Tech
15:10 OMG! Yeh Mera India
16:05 Forged In Fire
17:00 Storage Wars
17:30 Shipping Wars
18:00 Modern Marvels
19:00 Car Jackers
11:00 Assamese news
11:30 Assamese news
12:00 Mid Day Live
13:00 Assamese Feautre film
16:30 Discussion Show (R)
17:30 Guwahati Bisesh
18:00 Guwahati Live
18:30 Breaking @ 6:30
19:00 Assamesse Prime Time
20:00 Discussion Show (R)
21:00 Kotha Barta
21:30 Talk Time
22:00 Live at 10
22:30 Noixo Guwahati
23:00 Noixo Batori
16:00 Upasona
17:00 Devotional Slot
1730 B2B Music
18:00 North East Diva GF
20:00 Rang Blockbuster
23:00 B2B Music
12:00 UFC 248
16:00 NBA Weekly
16:30 UEL 2019/20
17:00 UCL 2019/20 HLs
18:00 NBA 2019/20 HLs
18:30 Serie A 2019/20 HLs
19:00 UFC 2020
20:00 Kick-Off!
20:30 Serie A HLs
21:30 The Emirates FA Cup...
22:00 Serie A 2019/20 HLs
22:30 Kick-Off!
23:00 Serie A 2019/20 Live
12:00 SA vs Eng 2019 Test HLs
13:00 Aus vs India 2019 ODI HLs
14:00 BBL Rewind
14:30 SA vs Aus 2020 T20I HLs
15:00 Colour Me Blue
15:30 BBL Rewind
16:00 Eng vs India 2018 T20 HLs
17:00 Olympic On The Record
17:30 Colour Me Blue
18:00 BBL Rewind
18:30 Unforgettable Moments
19:00 Can’t Stay Down
19:30 SL vs WI 2020 ODI HLs
20:00 Colour Me Blue
20:30 SA vs Eng 2020 ODI HLs
21:00 Olympic On The Record
21:30 BBL Rewind
22:00 SA vs Aus 2020 ODI HLs
22:30 Can’t Stay Down
23:00 Aus vs NZ 2019 Test HLs
16:30 T20 Decoded @ Select...
17:00 VIVO IPL Close Encounters...
17:30 Colors Of Vivo IPL 2019
18:00 Hero Indian Super League...
18:30 Follow The Blues
19:00 ICC Women’s World...
19:30 Hero ISL Countdown 2019/20
14:10 Saajan Chale Sasural
17:10 Makkhi
19:55 Waah! Tera Kya Kehna
22:55 Rajaji
12:00 Percy Jackson: Sea OfMonsters
14:20 Dragon Blade17:05 Resident Evil: The Final
Chapter19:05 Underworld: Rise Of The
Lycans20:55 Moana23:10 The Hunger Games
12:00 Shooter
14:10 Shazam!
16:30 Mission: Impossible -
Fallout
19:15 The Hangover Part III
21:00 Into The Wild
23:45 Shaolin Soccer12:30 Batman Forever
14:35 Pain & Gain
16:35 Winter’s Tale
18:35 A.I. Artificial Intelligence
21:00 Superman III
23:05 Red Dawn
13:05 Titanic
16:25 Night At The Museum
18:15 Black Panther
20:50 Iron Man 2
23:10 Fantastic Four: Rise Of
The Silver Surfer
STAR GOLD
19:55 Bajrangi Bhaijaan
ZEE CINEMA
14:55 Dilwale
UTV MOVIES
14:10 Saajan Chale Sasural
STAR MOVIES
18:15 Black Panther
12:45 Samba
15:30 Bindas Rani
18:05 Hitler Raja
20:00 Roadside Rowdy
22:35 Shiva The Super Hero
13:55 Kick17:05 The Great Veera19:55 Bajrangi Bhaijaan23:25 Lion The King
12:00 Barrister Babu
12:30 Naati Pinky Ki Lambi Love...
13:00 Choti Sarrdaarni
13:30 Barrister Babu
14:30 Fear Factor Khatron Ke...
16:30 Choti Sarrdaarni
17:00 Naati Pinky Ki Lambi Love...
17:35 Pavitra Bhagya
18:00 Barrister Babu
18:30 Shubharamabh
19:00 Vidya
19:30 Choti Sarrdaarni
20:00 Shakti Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki
20:30 Barrister Babu
21:00 Shubharamabh
21:30 Naati Pinky Ki Lambi Love...
22:00 Pavitra Bhagya
22:30 Mujhse Shaadi Karoge
12:00 Kick-Ass
14:00 Love Island UK
15:00 The King Of Queens
17:00 Love Island UK
18:00 Penny Dreadful
19:00 Everybody Hates Chris
20:00 Love Island UK
21:00 World Of Dance
22:00 Penny Dreadful
23:00 Love Island UK
13:00 Kundali Bhagya
13:30 Qurbaan Hua
14:00 Rang Malang
15:00 Choti Bahu
16:00 Pavitra Rishta
17:00 Kumkum Bhagya
17:30 Kundali Bhagya
18:00 Tujhse Hai Raabta
18:30 Qurbaan Hua
19:00 Manmohini
19:30 Dil Ye Ziddi Hai
20:00 Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega
20:30 Tujhse Hai Raabta
21:00 Kumkum Bhagya
21:30 Kundali Bhagya
22:00 Qurbaan Hua
22:30 Ishq Subhan Allah
23:00 Kumkum Bhagya
23:30 Qurbaan Hua
13:00 Best Of Crime Patrol
19:00 Mere Sai - Shraddha Aur...
19:30 Vighnaharta Ganesh
20:00 Isharon Isharon Mein
20:30 Patiala Babes
21:00 Beyhadh 2
21:30 Mil Jate Hain Jo Bane Ek...
22:00 Mere Dad Ki Dulhan
SOLUTION TO TRIBUNE CROSSWORD – 6839
14:55 Dilwale17:55 Chennai Vs China21:00 Geeta Govinda
12:45 A..Aa...2
15:30 Hichki
18:00 Jersey
20:55 The Digital Thief
Across
3 Improvise a per-formance or aspeech, etc. (2-3)
8 Form of speech(5)
10 Approaches (5)11 Leap on one foot
(3)12 A bacterial dis-
ease of the skin(5)
13 He fails to exer-cise a right (3-4)
15 Tragic Montague(5)
18 Facial feature(3)
19 Eye part (6)21 Conveyed or
bore (7)22 Cat’s noise (4)
23 Move slowly (4)24 Relieve (7)26 Frivolousness (6)29 Family (3)31 Blood-sucker (5)32 Took away (7)34 Cut, chopped (5)35 Outer edge (3)36 Former US presi-
dent (5)37 Smiles broadly or
sunnily (5)38 Rapid surprise at-
tacks (5)Down
1 For a special pur-pose (2,3)
2 Widely liked (7)4 Austere (4)5 Hardened (6)6 Stupefy with drink
(5)7 Primp (5)9 Charged atom (3)
12 Hansen’s disease
(7)
14 Knight’s title (3)
16 Winnie the Pooh
creator (5)
17 Vows (5)
19 Scolded, admon-
ished or berated
(7)
20 Tumble or splash
(5)
21 Long for (5)
23 Disregards (7)
24 Greek counterpart
of Minerva (6)
25 My ___ in life : my
purpose or inten-
tion in life... ? (3)
27 Very strange (5)
28 Watery humour (5)
30 Burglar’s tool (5)
32 Pore over (4)
33 By way of (3)
19:30 Pawn Stars
20:00 OMG! Yeh Mera India
21:00 Forged In Fire
22:00 Pawn Stars
22:30 Storage Wars
23:00 Forged In Fire
12:40 Just Animals
13:25 Animals Unleashed
13:45 How Do Animals Do That?
14:10 Deadly Bites
14:55 Fierce Fighters
15:55 Zambia Untamed
16:55 Expedition Mungo
18:00 World Of The Wild
18:30 Super Senses
19:00 Animal Planet Exclusives
20:00 Wildest Survival
21:00 The Lion Kingdom
21:30 Jewels Of The Natural World
22:00 Wild Frank
23:00 Killer Instincts
23:30 The Cute Ones
13:00 Adventure: Primal Survivor
14:00 Snakes in The City
15:00 Science: Science of Stupid
15:30 Wildlife: Animal Fight Club
16:00 Running Wild With Bear...
17:00 Airport Security: Colombia
18:00 Running Wild With Bear...
19:00 Science: The Big Picture...
19:30 Science: Science of Stupid
20:00 Earth Day: 50 Days 50...
21:00 Adventure: Primal Survivor
22:00 Running Wild With Bear...
23:00 Seconds From Disaster
Director Anubhav Sinha is satisfied with the
box office showing of his critically ac-
claimed latest release, Thappad. While
Thappad is yet to be declared a hit despite start-
ing an important conversation, other women-
led movies this year – like Deepika Padukone’s
much publicised Chhapaak and Kangana Ranaut-
starrer Panga – are far from successful.
The grim Chhapaak, managing a paltry Rs
32.48-crore haul since its January 10 release,
has been declared a losing proposition, accord-
ing to the trade website koimoi.com. Panga
failed to cash in on Republic Day zest, earning
only Rs 25.64 over the past weeks since its Jan-
uary 24 release.
The bright side is that the slow show of these
films is not dampening the enthusiasm of filmmak-
ers as well as Bollywood buffs. The next few months
overflow with interesting projects that cast spot-
light firmly on the female protagonist, and cele-
brate Indian womanhood across societal strata.
Among the most talked-about female-centric
projects this year is Shakuntala Devi, a biopic of
mathematics wizard Shakuntala Devi that casts
Vidya Balan in the title role. “I am greedy. I
think it’s very interesting time in Hindi cinema.
I really look forward to this decade. As a female
actor at the age of 41, I am amazed at the variety
of roles and kinds of films I am being offered,”
the Kahaani actress had said earlier this year.
The Janhvi Kapoor-starrer Gunjan Saxena:
The Kargil Girl will show that sky is the limit for
women. It is a biopic of Indian Air Force combat
pilot Gunjan Saxena, who entered the war zone
during the 1999 Kargil War.
Psychological suspense will be the mood for
Parineeti Chopra, when she returns to the Bol-
lywood screen, with her starring role in The
Girl On the Train. The film, also featuring Aditi
Rao Hydari and Kirti Kulhari, is a remake of the
2016 Hollywood thriller of the same name, which
in turn was adapted from Paula Hawkins’s 2015
novel of the same name.
After featuring in one of the biggest block-
busters of 2019, Kabir Singh, actress Kiara Ad-
vani will lead the cast of Indoo Ki Jawani. It will
definitely have more scenes and dialogues than
what was given to her in Kabir Singh, which
was slammed for its “toxic masculinity”.
Kangana, who never wanted to be a hero’s
sidekick, will be seen as late former Tamil Nadu
chief minister J Jayalalithaa in the latter’s biopic
Thalaivi. The actress also has Dhaakad which
Kangana had defined as a “one of a kind female-
led action film”.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawa-
di will have Alia Bhatt as its protagonist. Ac-
cording to reports, the film revolves around a
brothel owner and matriarch.
The year 2020 surely looks like it will belong
to the heroine in Bollywood.
(Source: IANS)
Year of the heroine2020 will see several women-centric films from Bollywood
22:30 Crime Patrol Satark
23:30 Best Of Crime Patrol
13:00 Yehh Jadu Hai Jinn Ka!
13:30 Kasautii Zindagii Kay
14:00 Nazar
14:30 Dil Jaise Dhadke...
15:00 Diya Aur Baati Hum
16:00 Saath Nibhaana Saathiya
17:00 Mann Ki Awaaz...Pratigya
18:00 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai
18:30 Sanjivani
19:00 Dil Jaise Dhadke...
19:30 Dadi Amma.. Dadi Amma...
20:00 Kasautii Zindagii Kay
20:30 Yehh Jadu Hai Jinn Ka!
21:00 Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum
21:30 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai
22:00 Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke
22:30 Yeh Hai Chahatein
23:00 Nazar
23:30 Yehh Jadu Hai Jinn Ka!
20:00 VIVO IPL Countdown
20:30 Colors Of Vivo IPL 2019
21:00 Vivo IPL Rivalries 2019
21:30 Football United 2019/20
22:00 Cricket Countdown 2020
22:30 ICC Women’s World...
23:00 VIVO IPL - Themed 2019 HLs
12:00 WWE Special Elimination...
16:00 Olympic On The Record
17:00 WWE SmackDown
19:00 WWE Special Elimination...
23:00 Kick-Off!
23:30 Formula E 2020 Street...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10
11 12
13 14 15 16 17
18 19
20 21
22 23
24 25
26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33
34 35
36 37
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14 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020INTERNATIONAL
Medical workers wearing protective gears moving a patient infected with the coronavirus from an ambulance to ahospital in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday. – AP/PTI
Participants taking part in the women’s ‘Beauty Run’ in Minsk, Belarus, on Sunday.About 5,000 participants took part in the event in connection with InternationalWomen's Day, which is an official holiday in Belarus. – AP/PTI
Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, alongside the Massed Bands of Her Majesty’s Royal Marinesattending the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall in London, on Saturday. – AP/PTI
Greek refugeecentre ablaze as
tensions escalateATHENS, March 8: A fire
ripped through a refugee cen-
tre on the Greek island of Les-
bos as tensions over a surge in
migrants from Turkey have
continued to escalate.
Flames engulfed the One
Happy Family centre, near
the island’s capital Mitilini, on
Saturday, the BBC said in a
report, adding that it was not
immediately clear how the
blaze started.
No causalities have been
reported.
Hundreds of migrants have
attempted to reach the island
since Turkish President Re-
cep Tayyip Erdogan an-
nounced last week that he
was “opening the doors” for
refugees to enter Europe.
But on Saturday, Erdogan
partially reversed his posi-
tion and ordered the Turkish
coastguard to stop migrants
from crossing the Aegean Sea
to Greece because it was
unsafe to do so, the BBC re-
port said.
Amid the escalating tense
situation, clashes have also
erupted at the land border
between Greece and Turkey.
While Turkey’s Interior
Ministry said 149,000 had left
the country for Greece, Ath-
ens said only 252 had made it
across and all were detained
and returned, reports Efe
news. – IANS
‘Govt to givePakistani cinemastatus of industry’
ISLAMABAD, March 8:
The Imran Khan government
has announced that Pakistani
cinema will be given the full-
fledged status of an industry, a
top official said.
“To positively highlight Pa-
kistan’s image in the interna-
tional arena, it has become of
the utmost urgency to revive
its cinema,” The News Inter-
national quoted Special Assist-
ant to the Prime Minister on
Information and Broadcasting
Firdous Ashiq Awan as saying
on Saturday.
Awan said the decision was
taken as it has become a prior-
ity to highlight Pakistan’s cul-
ture, values, and traditions with
the aid of the film industry.
She assured the media that
no policy will be formulated
without the input of all stake-
holders.
Awan called on film produc-
ers to play their role in the
economic progress of the coun-
try and pledged the govern-
ment’s role in making every
effort for the revival of Paki-
stani cinema.
Pakistan is home to several
film studios centres, primari-
ly located in Karachi and La-
hore. – IANS
NEW YORK, March 8:
New York Governor Andrew
Cuomo has declared a state
of emergency as the number
of confirmed coronavirus cas-
es in the northeastern state
rose to 76.
At a press conference on
Saturday, Cuomo said New
York City, the most populous
metropolis in the country, has
11 cases, and Westchester
county now has 57, an increase
of 23 overnight, reports Xin-
hua news agency.
Long Island’s Nassau coun-
ty has four cases, while Rock-
land and Saratoga counties
have reported two each.
All cases in Westchester
were related to the state’s
second confirmed case, which
involves an attorney who
worked in Manhattan.
“Westchester is an obvious
problem for us,” the Gover-
nor said. “They talk about the
contagion in clusters and the
clusters tend to infect more
and more people,” added the
Governor.
However, Cuomo repeat-
edly urged the public to stay
calm, noting that about 80 per
cent of the COVID-19 patients
will self-resolve.
As to the 20 per cent who
have to be hospitalized, Cuo-
mo said most of them are sen-
ior citizens and those with un-
derlying health issues.
“If you are a senior citizen
or immune-compromised, I
would think seriously about
attending a large gathering,”
he said, adding: “Now I’ve
said that to my mother.”
Meanwhile, the state has
started aggressively testing
residents, especially among
suspected populations.
“The more tests, the bet-
ter. The more positive you
find, the better. Because then
you can isolate them and you
slow the spread,” said Cuo-
mo. The state of emergency
declaration will speed up the
purchasing of supplies and the
hiring of workers who could
assist local health depart-
ments, especially in monitor-
ing those who are self-quar-
antined, according to the gov-
ernor.
Thousands in the state are
currently under self-quaran-
tine, including over 2,700
people in New York City.
Many of them have just re-
turned from a country or a
region where there is a COV-
ID-19 outbreak.
Cuomo urged those who
are under voluntary quaran-
tine to comply with specific
rules, saying violating those
rules is disrespectful to mem-
bers of the community and
maybe putting people in dan-
ger. The governor also
warned businesses that price-
gouging at a situation of emer-
gency is not allowed.
“It is not worth it to the
store owner. You can lose
your license. And we are
very serious about this,” he
added. As of Saturday night,
more than 420 cases of
COVID-19 were reported in
the US with 17 deaths, ac-
cording to the Center for
Systems Science and Engi-
neering at Johns Hopkins
University. – IANS
State of emergency in NYover COVID-19 outbreak
AndrewCuomo
DUBAI, March 8: Hindu
temples in Dubai have can-
celled the upcoming Holi cel-
ebrations and advised against
playing with colours to pre-
vent the spread of the novel
coronavirus, it was reported.
This is in addition to other
preventive measures such as
a reduction in prayer times
and providing sanitisers as
part of preventive measures
to protect the devotees and
the larger community, the
management of both Shiva and
Krishna temples told Gulf
News on Saturday.
“The Holi celebrations
have been cancelled. We are
taking precautionary steps in
line with DHA (Dubai Health
Authority) instructions,” said
Gopal Kokani, general man-
ager of the Guru Darbar Sin-
dhi Temple (Shiva temple).
“We usually have the cele-
bration of burning cow dung
cakes on the first day of Holi
on March 9 (Monday). We
have already put up a notice
informing the cancellation to
all devotees,” he said, adding
that the daily opening hours
of the temple have also been
reduced.
Lalit Karani, chairman of
the Sreenathji (Krishna)
Temple run by the Mercan-
tile Hindu Community of
Thatta, told Gulf News that
the Holi celebrations sched-
uled for Monday and Tuesday
have been cancelled in the in-
terest of public health safety.
“The Holi Utsav and Dhol
Utsav will not be celebrated
for public,” the temple man-
agement said in a notice to
devotees which is being cir-
culated on social media as well.
“We request all to avoid
unnecessary gatherings in or-
der to limit the spread of in-
fection. Avoid throwing col-
ours (wet/dry) in the temple
premises and compound
area,” added the temple man-
agement.
Karani said the bonfire on
Monday and the splashing of
colours on Tuesday will be
held only as offerings for Lord
Krishna.
Other Holi events in Dubai
had also been cancelled earli-
er. – IANS
Holi celebrations cancelled in Dubaidue to COVID-19
6 killed in Chinaquarantine
building collapseBEIJING, March 8: At
least six people were killed in
China after a multistorey ho-
tel used as a quarantine centre
for coronavirus victims col-
lapsed, the media reported on
Sunday.
Authorities had reported
that 71 people were trapped
under the rubble of the build-
ing after it collapsed on Satur-
day evening in Quanzhou city,
Fujian province, Efe news
quoted the media reports as
saying.
On Sunday, Xinhua news
agency said 42 people had been
pulled out by 10.30 am. More
than 20 were still feared
trapped under the rubble.
Rescue teams consisting of
around 1,000 personnel contin-
ue to look for victims at the site.
Video footage aired by local
broadcasters showed the
building destroyed on one side
with a large dust cloud engulf-
ing the area.
The structure has been
identified as Hotel Xinjia,
which along with other large-
scale hospitality and sports
facilities in the country had
been turned into an observa-
tion centre for monitoring
suspected COVID-19 pa-
tients from nearby areas.
The reasons for the hotel’s
collapse were not immedi-
ately clear, while the police
have summoned its owner
for questioning, according to
the official Global Times
newspaper.
China has enforced a se-
ries of stringent measures
to check the spread of the
coronavirus epidemic, which
has killed at least 3,097 peo-
ple and infected 80,695 in
the country. – IANS
JERUSALEM, March
8: The Israeli political
deadlock has continued days
after a third general
election ended in similar
results to the previous two
polls, with incumbent
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and his rival
Blue and White leader
Benny Gantz each ruling
out the other.
Speaking to supporters
on Saturday night, Netanya-
hu, the country’s longest-
serving Prime Minister,
said he was “not going
anywhere”, reports Xinhua
news agency
He also dismissed a bill
being proposed by the Blue
and White party aimed at
disqualifying him from
forming a government
saying the opposition was
“trying to steal the
elections through deceit
and anti-democratic
legislation”.
Netanyahu is scheduled
to appear in court in less
than two weeks as a
defendant on charges of
bribery, fraud and breach of
trust.
According to the current
Israeli law, an indicted
Prime Minister is allowed
to remain in office until a
final ruling by the supreme
court is handed down.
But the Blue and White
was looking to change that.
Gantz vowed not to sit in
the same government with
an indicted leader.
In a separate press
conference held immediate-
ly after Netanyahu’s, Gantz
said he would not disclose
the details of his sensitive
negotiations but he intends
to form a government in
the immediate future.
“The Netanyahu era is
over,” he told reporters.
Netanyahu leads the
right-wing bloc which has
58 seats of the 120 seats in
the Israeli Parliament, the
Knesset.
The bloc opposing
Netanyahu has 62 mem-
bers, but is incohesive and
it is difficult to see how
Gantz will be able to form a
stable coalition. His
potential partners are
staunch rivals hawkish
Avigdor Lieberman who
heads the Yisrael Beiteinu
party and the Joint List of
Arab parties.
Chances of cooperation
between these two parties
are slim.
However, the fact that
they hold a majority of
Parliament increases their
ability to pass legislation
that would end Netanyahu’s
reign. – IANS
Israeli politicaldeadlock continues
BEIJING, March 8: Chinese
health authorities said on Sun-
day that the number of new
coronavirus cases in the main-
land had dropped to less than
50, which marked a new low
since the outbreak was first
reported last December.
The National Health Com-
mission said 44 new cases had
been reported by the end of
Saturday – all from the capital
of Hubei province Wuhan, the
epicentre of the outbreak, ex-
cept for three imported cases,
of which two were in Beijing
and one in Gansu in the north-
west, reports the South Chi-
na Morning Post newspaper.
No new infections were re-
ported in the rest of Hubei
province outside Wuhan.
The Commission said were
27 new fatalities, all in Hubei,
taking the overall death toll in
the mainland to 3,097 with a
total of 80,695 cases.
On Saturday, Italy, which has
registered the most deaths
from COVID-19 outside of
China, began locking down of
much of its northern Lom-
bardy region due to the rapid
spread of the coronavirus that
has caused 233 deaths and in-
fected 5,883 others in the
worst-hit European country,
Efe news reported.
The measure to fight a “na-
tional emergency”, announced
by Prime Minister Giuseppe
Conte, puts in isolation some
16 million people of the quar-
antined red zone that includes
Milan and Venice.
On Sunday, South Korean
authorities reported 367 new
cases of the virus, bringing the
number of infected people to
7,134 in the second worst-hit
country after China. The death
toll has increased to 50 in the
country.
According to figures re-
leased by the South China
Morning Post on Sunday, the
countries which have regis-
tered coronavirus cases be-
sides China are South Korea
(7,134), Italy (5,883), Iran
(5,823), Japan (1,159, includ-
ing 696 from Diamond Prin-
cess), France (949), Germany
(639), the US (over 420, in-
cluding 21 in Grand Princess),
Spain (374), the UK (209),
Netherlands (188), Switzer-
land (181), Singapore (138),
Belgium (109), Hong Kong
(108), Sweden (101), Malay-
sia (93), Norway (86), Austral-
ia (74), Greece (66), Kuwait
(58), Bahrain (56), Austria (55),
Canada (51), Egypt (48), Thai-
land (47), Taiwan (45), the UAE
(45), India (39), Iraq (26), Ice-
land (26), San Marino (23), Vi-
etnam (21), Denmark (18), Al-
geria (17), Oman (16), Leba-
non (16), Israel (15), Ecuador
(14), Ireland (13), Brazil (13),
Finland (12), Czech Republic
(12), Macau (10), Croatia (10),
Portugal (nine), Georgia
(nine), Qatar (eight), Palestine
(seven), Chile (seven), Roma-
nia (six), Slovenia (six), Bela-
rus (six), Pakistan (six), Peru
(six), Philippines (six), Mexi-
co (five), New Zealand (five),
Russia (four), Indonesia (four),
Senegal (four), Azerbaijan
(three), Hungary (three), Es-
tonia (three), Malta (three),
Dominican Republic (two)
among others. – IANS
China’s new coronaviruscases continue to drop
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI 15SPORTS
Originating from Japan,
‘su do ku’ is a mind game
and a puzzle that can be
solved with proper
reasoning and logic. Fill
the grid with digits in such
a manner that every row,
every column and every
4 x 3 box accommodates
the digits 1 to 9 without
repeating any.
Solution of last problem
SU DO KU
LONDON, March 8: Liv-
erpool moved to within nine
points of claiming the Pre-
mier League title by coming
from behind to beat Bourne-
mouth 2-1 as Tottenham and
Wolves missed the chance to
put pressure on Chelsea for
a top-four finish.
Sheffield United were the
big winners in the race for a
place in the Champions
League next season with a 1-
0 win over Norwich to move
up to sixth, while Arsenal
moved to within five points
of the top four by beating
West Ham 1-0.
Liverpool had suffered
three defeats in four games
in all competitions, including
their first in the Premier
League for 45 matches at
Watford last weekend.
Callum Wilson’s controver-
sial early opener threatened
another major upset. But all of
Liverpool’s setbacks of late
have come away from Anfield
and they set an English top-
flight record for 22 consecu-
Liverpool bounce back, Arsenal close gap on top fourtive home league wins as two
quickfire goals from Moham-
ed Salah and Sadio Mane
turned the game around.
The runaway league lead-
ers still needed a miraculous
goal-line clearance from
James Milner to deny Ryan
Fraser an equaliser, but de-
feat keeps Bournemouth ma-
rooned in the bottom three.
“There’s nothing good in
losing football games but it
makes you aware of how
special it is to win football
games. That’s what we had
in the last 10 days or two
weeks when we lost games,”
said Liverpool manager Jur-
gen Klopp.
“I was absolutely happy
about the result, the three
points and the performance
because I knew it would be
tricky for different reasons.”
The spread of the corona-
virus could have a big impact
on the Reds’ title celebrations
in the weeks to come with the
possibility of games being
played behind closed doors.
But the abandonment of
the normal pre-match ritu-
al of handshakes was the
only disruption to the Pre-
mier League calendar this
weekend.
Despite the coronavirus
risk there was no halt to play-
ers celebrating wildly with
each other and Arsenal play-
ers piled on top of Alexandre
Lacazette after a long VAR
review of the Frenchman’s
winner at the Emirates.
Mesut Ozil was originally
flagged offside as he latched
onto Pierre-Emerick Au-
bameyang’s deflected shot
and headed down for Laca-
zette to sweep home.
But the goal was finally
given after a delay of sever-
al minutes to move Arsenal
to within five points of the
top four.
“They deserved more be-
cause of the chances they cre-
ated. This is football, some-
times you don’t get what you
deserve,” said Lacazette.
Spurs halted a run of four
straight defeats in all compe-
titions with a 1-1 draw at
Burnley to stay a point ahead
of their north London rivals
despite Jose Mourinho fol-
lowing through on his threat
to rest players ahead of Tues-
day’s trip to Leipzig in the
Champions League.
Tottenham got off to the
worst possible start at Turf
Moor when Chris Wood bun-
dled home after Hugo Lloris
spilled Jay Rodriguez’s shot.
However, Mourinho intro-
duced Giovani lo Celso and
Lucas Moura at the break
with club record Tanguy
Ndombele hooked.
The visitors got an imme-
diate reward when Dele Alli
stroked home from the pen-
alty spot after Ben Mee
chopped down Erik Lamela
and Mourinho was scathing
of Ndombele’s contribution.
“He is a player with a great
talent and he has to know that
he has to do much better,”
said Mourinho.
“I cannot keep giving him
opportunities to play.”
Wolves missed the chance to
move into the top four as a
disappointing 0-0 draw at
home to Brighton left them
still two points adrift of Chel-
sea in fifth.
Sheffield United moved
above Manchester United
and Tottenham to further
their dreams of Champions
League football next season
thanks to captain Billy Sharp’s
winner to beat bottom-of-
the-table Norwich 1-0.
“The wheels haven’t fall-
en off again today,” said
Blades boss Chris Wilder.
“They show no signs of
(doing so) at the moment.”
Roy Hodgson celebrated his
new contract as Crystal Pal-
ace boss with a 1-0 win over
Watford as the Eagles moved
into the top half of the table.
Newcastle also secured
the win that should guaran-
tee their survival courtesy of
Allan Saint-Maximin’s strike
to beat 10-man Southampton
1-0. – AFP
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (L) vies with Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser during the Premier
League match at the Anfield in Liverpool.
BARCELONA, March 8:
Quique Setien insisted Bar-
celona have not lost their
confidence, despite needing
a dubious late penalty, con-
verted by Lionel Messi, to
scrape past Real Sociedad 1-
0 on Saturday inside a frus-
trated Camp Nou.
Messi’s 24th goal of the sea-
son, and fifth in four games, was
enough to save Barca, despite
a drab display that threatened
to bring more disappointment
following last weekend’s loss
against Real Madrid.
As tension grew inside
Camp Nou, some of the home
fans whistled to express their
dissatisfaction, which Jordi
Alba then seemed to con-
front when celebrating a late
goal, ruled out for offside, by
putting his fingers in his ears.
“We have not lost confi-
dence in what we are doing,”
Barcelona confidence unaffected by fan frustration, says SetienMadrid drop to second in
the table but can restore
their one-point advantage at
the top by winning away at
struggling Real Betis on Sun-
day night.
Their Clasico victory at the
Santiago Bernabeu put the
pressure back on Barcelona,
whose response was hardly
resounding, with Setien’s
side ultimately reliant on
VAR to spot a handball in the
81st minute from Robin Le
Normand.
The lack of appeal and the
chunk of play that passed be-
fore VAR intervened made
the decision all the more sur-
prising and la Real’s players
were still shaking their heads
at the final whistle.
Yet the win was all-impor-
tant for the Catalans at the
end of another week domi-
nated by headlines surround-
ing problems off the pitch.
Setien said he had apolo-
gised to the squad after his as-
sistant Eder Sarabia was re-
corded launching into a
number of foul-mouthed rants
against his own players during
the game against Madrid, even
if there were chants in sup-
port of Sarabia before kick-off.
“When the club is in a mo-
ment of weakness, these
kinds of things come out,”
said Gerard Pique.
“It’s normal for an assist-
ant coach, with the adrena-
line high, to express himself.
We see it as normal.”
Barcelona created a hand-
ful of openings during the first
half and Martin Braithwaite,
making his first start, was at
the heart of most of them,
with his willingness to run in
behind offering a good alter-
native in attack. – AFP
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in action during the La Liga match against Real Sociedad in Barcelona.
said Setien.
“The fans sometimes don’t
expect the opposition to re-
strict you but you have to
take into account that Real
Sociedad are a great team.”
On his own reaction, Alba
said: “I respect the fans but
the fans have to respect me.
Nobody likes to be whistled,
and even less after 15 min-
utes at 0-0.”
BERLIN, March 8: An in-
spired performance by Thor-
gan Hazard against his
former club helped Borussia
Dortmund claim a crucial
three points in the title race
with a 2-1 win away at Borus-
sia Monchengladbach on Sat-
urday.
The match was tense
throughout and featured a
Bundesliga season-high 10
yellow cards, with players
from both teams needing to
be pulled away from each
other by Dortmund coach
Lucien Favre at full-time.
“It was a difficult game.
Gladbach are efficient and our
first half wasn’t great,” said
Favre.
“But after it was 1-1, we
played well – and that was
good, very good.”
Dortmund took the lead
inside 10 minutes when ex-
Gladbach midfielder Hazard
took a pass from Erling Braut
Haaland and shrugged off
three defenders to curl a
floating shot into the top left-
hand corner of the net.
Gladbach equalised in the
50th minute when Lars Stin-
dl tapped in a shot from Alas-
sane Plea to score his fifth goal
from his past four games.
The turning point for Dort-
mund came in the 66th
minute when Jadon Sancho –
who started on the bench
ahead of Dortmund’s crucial
trip to Paris Saint-Germain
in midweek – was intro-
duced.
Sancho’s assist, his 15th of
the season, put Achraf Haki-
mi in acres of space on the
right wing, with the Real
Madrid loanee beating Yann
Sommer through his legs.
The win saw Dortmund
leapfrog Leipzig into second
place, trailing leaders Bayern
Munich by a point.
After the match, Hazard
praised Haaland’s efforts in
letting other Dortmund play-
ers get on the scoresheet.
Ankita shines with twowins as India creates
Fed Cup historyDUBAI, March 8: The Indian Fed cup team created his-
tory by progressing to the play-offs for the first time ever
with Ankita Raina leading the side to a 2-1 win over Indo-
nesia, here.
Ankita on Saturday night pulled off a crucial singles win
against talented Aldila Sutjiadi to lock the tie 1-1 after
Rutuja Bhosale suffered a crushing defeat against an un-
ranked Priska Madelyn Nugroho.
Up against the 16-year-old Indonesian, who is ranked
15th on the ITF junior circuit, Rutuja lost 3-6, 6-0, 3-6 in
one hour and 43 minutes in the opening singles. Ankita,
who lost her previous two singles, demolished the chal-
lenge of Sutjiadi 6-3, 6-3 in the second rubber.
She then combined with seasoned Sania Mirza to beat
Sutziyadi and Nugroho 7-6 (4), 6-0 to seal India’s place in
the play-offs where they will take on either Latvia or the
Netherlands in April.
They overcame a sluggish start as they were trailing 1-
4 but regrouped to dominate the decisive set.
India finished second in the six-team Group with four
wins in a row after losing the opening tie to China, who
remained unbeaten in the tournament.
Since earning their place back in Asia/Oceania Group I in
2016, India has remained in the regional group.
With the rise of Ankita, things began to improve.
Rutuja also played a key role as she provided winning
starts in a few ties, sharing the burden with Ankita.
Sania’s return to Fed Cup after four years also helped as
her inspirational presence and guidance helped the side
immensely. India’s non-playing captain Vishal Uppal is de-
lighted with the result.
“It’s a historic moment and to be part of it feels surreal.
I am proud of each and every member of our team – the
players, physio, coach, manager. We all came together and
worked towards a common goal,” Uppal told PTI.
Hazard inspires Dortmund towin over former side Gladbach
Thorgan Hazard of Borussia Dortmund celebrates after
scoring against Borussia Monchengladbach during the
Bundesliga match in Monchengladbach, Germany.
“I think he needs to give
more assists, because he scores
too much. I gave him one last
time and now he’s given me
one – we’re 1-1 – but next time
it’s my turn to give him an as-
sist again,” said Hazard.
Dortmund captain Mats
Hummels said the recent
additions of Haaland and
Emre Can had helped them
find the right balance.
“Right now we’ve got the
perfect mix between artists
and workers – or folks that
can do both,” said Hummels.
RB Leipzig dropped points
for the second weekend run-
ning after labouring to a 0-0
draw at Wolfsburg.
Leipzig missed the goal
threat of Timo Werner, who
started the game on the
bench after overcoming a
muscular problem during
the week.
Despite being subbed on
in the 60th minute, Werner
– who has 21 goals in the
Bundesliga this season – failed
to make an impact in a dour
encounter with few chances
for either side, marking just
the third time this season
that Leipzig have failed to get
on the scoresheet.
Leipzig manager Julian
Nagelsmann said the per-
formance did not bode well
ahead of Tottenham’s visit to
Germany on Tuesday.
“A draw was the right re-
sult as we weren’t good
enough to win. We were la-
boured and slow in our build-
up,” he said. – AFP
MELBOURNE, March 8:
India skipper Harmanpreet
Kaur on Sunday said she has
full faith in her team to do
well in future even after Aus-
tralia outclassed her side by
85 runs in the summit clash
of the ICC Women’s T20
World Cup here.
Unbeaten throughout the
tournament, India were out-
played in all departments of
the game by the defending
champions Australia who
clinched their fifth title.
“The way we played in the
league games was outstand-
ing. I still have a lot of faith in
my team,” Harmanpreet
said after the match.
“It’s part of the game,
sometimes you win and
sometimes you lose. You
have to keep learning. But I
trust this team,” she added.
Kaur, however, rued the
dropped chances of Australia
openers Beth Mooney (78
not out) and Alyssa Healy
(75), who set up their team’s
victory. She said that the team
needs to work in the fielding
department and learn from
the mistakes.
“Today, it was unfortunate
that we dropped those catch-
es. The upcoming one-and-
MANCHESTER, March 8:
Pep Guardiola admitted he
never imagined that he
would be quite so dominant
over Manchester United as
Manchester City manager
ahead of his side’s trip to Old
Trafford on Sunday.
Since Guardiola came to
England in 2016, City have fin-
ished above United every sea-
son with a combined points
difference of 60 over that time.
Even though City are 25
points behind Premier
League champions-elect Liv-
erpool, they still hold a 15-
point advantage over their
I have full faith in my team:Harmanpreet Kaur
a-half years is very impor-
tant. We need to focus, espe-
cially in fielding,” she said.
Playing in their maiden fi-
nal, India wilted under pres-
sure as they were bowled out
for 99 in 19.1 overs while
chasing 185 for a win, and
Kaur reckoned her side need
to learn how to win high-
stakes clashes.
“If we talk about the last
T20 World Cup, we got to
the semis, and this time to
the final. I think we’re on the
right path. Every year we are
improving. We just need to
think of how we play with
focus in the main games.
Sometimes we don’t manage
that,” the skipper said.
She spoke highly of the
domestic IPL style Women’s
Challenger tournament, say-
ing that the event has helped
spot talented players for the
national team.
“This year we are hoping
for some more games in the
Women’s Challenger, that
tournament is very important
for us because it is high quali-
ty. From there we already got
two good players, and hope-
fully in the upcoming tourna-
ments we can get more.”
Australia captain Meg Lan-
ning was delighted by her
team’s performance through-
out the tournament.
“I’m just really proud of this
group of players and staff.
We’ve had everything thrown
at us, ups and downs. It was
tough, definitely, especially af-
ter we lost that first game.
There was a lot of expectation
on us, inside and out. Definitely
some tough times in there but
we stuck with each other, had
each other’s backs,” she said.
Australia were dealt with
major blows when star all-
rounder Ellyse Perry and
pacer Tayla Vlaeminck were
ruled out of the tournament
and Lanning said the ab-
sence of the duo affected the
team’s plans. – PTI
Guardiola surprised by City’s dominance over Man Utdcity rivals.
And last Sunday’s League
Cup success was a sixth ma-
jor honour for Guardiola in
England, compared to two for
United in the same period.
“I never expected when I
arrived in England to have
this distance over United in
these three or four years,”
said Guardiola.
“There are no doubts
about United’s quality and I
appreciate a lot the manager,
and he represents the club in
an exceptional way.
“When you analyse their
players in an individual and
collective way, they are so
good. That’s why I did not
expect this gap.”
City are looking for a
fourth consecutive win at Old
Trafford, but United are en-
joying their best moment of
another turbulent season on
a nine-game unbeaten run.
“What United expect is to
get closer to the teams above
them,” added Guardiola.
“But at the same time as
United are working to im-
prove, Manchester City won’t
sit still and at the end of the
season, the distance is what it
is and reflects the quality.
“So if we are also 22 points
behind Liverpool, it’s because
they have been much better
than us.” However, the
former Barcelona and Bayern
Munich boss recognises the
work Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
is doing at United. – AFP
I neverexpected
when I arrivedin England to
have thisdistance over
United inthese three or
four years.– Pep Guardiola
“
16 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATISPORTS
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020
Printed and published by Ganesh Ch. Das on behalf of Assam Tribune Pvt. Ltd. at the Tribune Press, Tribune Buildings, P.O.- Assam Tribune, M.R.D. Road, Chandmari, Guwahati-781003. Tel. 0361-2660102 (EPABX), 0361-2661360, 0361-2668807 (News Desk), FAX 0361-2666396. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]. Editor: Prafulla Govinda Baruah
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CORRESPONDENT
GUWAHATI, March 8: Del-
hi Blaster and 22 Yards Glory
won their respective matches
in the 2nd T20 Challenge Tro-
phy in memory of Jagat Chan-
dra Das at the Mangaldai DSA
Stadium on Sunday.
In the first match, Delhi
Blaster thrashed City Crick-
et Club (B) by 93 runs while
in the second match of the
day, 22 Yards Glory outplayed
Delhi Blaster, 22 YardsGlory register win
BNC Cricket Academy by
six wickets.Brief scores: Delhi Blaster 168
for 7 in 20 overs (Sachin Singh 66,Mayank Rawat 28, Saini Saini 22n.o.; Sanjib Barman 2/11, PrattoyrajDas 2/39). City Cricket Club (B) 75all out in 18.5 overs (Sanjib Bar-man 21; Roshan Kumar Madhav 5/15, Akash Maurya 3/12).
BNC CA 94 for 9 in 20 overs(Adhik Sarkar 27; Jyoti Medhi 2/5,Bhaskar Kalita 2/14, Tauhid Ali Taluk-dar 2/17). 22 Yards Glory 95/ 4 in13.3 overs (Apurba Das 28, KaushikOja 25, Rajiv Kalita 21 n.o.; NoorAmin 1/12, Foridul Islam 1/14, Har-ish Prasad 1/14).
SPORTS REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 8:
Assam State Electricity
Board Sports Club (ASEB
SC) and Royals Club regis-
tered victories in their re-
spective matches of the Ser-
vo 27th Guwahati Challenge
Trophy at the Latasil play-
ground here today.
Due to overnight rainfall
the match had to be curtailed
into a 12 overs a side affair.
In the first match, ASEB
ASEB, Royals Club winSC got the better of Phoenix
XI by 55 runs while in the
second match of the day, Roy-
als Club thrashed Legal Ea-
gles by eight wickets.Brief scores: ASEB SC 176 for
no loss in 12 overs (Paral Thaku-ria 101 n.o., Dipjyoti Borah 51 n.o.).Phoenix XI 121 for 7 in 12 overs(Debashish Kashyap 44, PrasantaBaruah 43; Samit Saha 2/6).
Legal Eagles 48 all out in 11.4overs (Harshbardhan Basumatary19; Kishan Singh 3/8, AbirChakraborty 2/8, Akash Sengupta2/10). Royals Club 49 for 2 in 6.1overs (Sandip Pal 27; Hiranya Das1/5, Ranjit Saloi 1/12).
GUWAHATI, March 8:
The Grappling Association of
Assam announced the play-
ers and officials for the All
India University Grappling
Tournament (AIU) which will
be held at Jammu Universi-
ty, Gujarbasti, Jammu from
March 13 to March 16.AIU technical official: Nur Alom
Sarkar. Players from Cotton Uni-
versity: Rituraj Bora, Kailash Do-
Grappling team namedley, Samujjal Patir, Jem Hrankhol,
Dhanjyoti Rajbangshi, Pritamraj
Mili, Hrishikesh Kalita, Biswajit Mili;
(Coach) Nur Alom Sarkar, (Manag-
er) Trinayan Boruah. Players from
Gauhati University: Jayraj Shyam,
Mukut Das, Ranmoyjyoti Sharma,
Hirakjyoti Rabha, Karan Patar, Gau-
rav Kr Gupta; (Coach) Bhaben
Baishya, (Manager) Dipjyoti Bora.
Players from University of Sci-
ence and Technology Meghalaya:
Dibakar Nath; (Coach) Mukut Das,
(Manager) Bishal Talukdar.
SPORTS REPORTER
GUWAHATI, March 8:
Assam registered their first
victory in the Women’s Un-
der 19 One Day Trophy
against Haryana by seven
wickets at the Judges Field
here today.
Put in to bat, Haryana bats-
Assam beat Haryanawomen could only manage
137 for the loss of two wickets
in 43 overs. In reply, Assam
put up 138 runs for the loss of
three wickets in 37 overs.Brief scores: Haryana 137/2 in
43 overs (Versha Bhatiwal 47, So-
nia Mendhiya 28 n.o., Nitika 25
n.o.; Karabi Bhakta 1/24). Assam
138 for 3 in 37 overs (Pori 66 n.o.,
Anamika Bori 31 n.o.).
Assam teambag 11 medalsBAIHATA CHARIALI,
March 8: The Assam team of
State forest department put
up a good show by clinching
11 medals in the 25th All In-
dia Forest Sports Meet (AIF-
SM) held at Bhubaneswar
from March 3 to 7.
Rabin Baishya won two gold
and one bronze medal in sen-
ior veteran, veteran and open
category of weightlifting re-
spectively. Diganta Bora won
one gold in shot put in the sen-
ior veteran category while Bi-
jay Chetia Patra won a gold in
shot put in the veteran sec-
tion. He also won one silver in
discus throw and a bronze in
hammer throw. Nayan Moni
Saikia and Shankar Bora won
a silver each in weightlifting.
Ajijul Hoque and Dambaru
Adhikari won a bronze medal
each in the 100m and 1500m
race respectively.
With a total of 11 medals in
the meet, Assam occupied the
16th position. – ANN Service
MELBOURNE, March 8:
India saved their worst for the
last as a brutal Australian side
outclassed them by 85 runs
for an unprecedented fifth
T20 World Cup triumph in a
final that promised much but
delivered very little here on
Sunday.
Batting first after the coin
landed in Meg Lanning’s fa-
vour, Australia came out in
scintillating fashion with their
openers Alyssa Healy (75 off
39 balls) and Beth Mooney
(78 off 54 balls) laying the foun-
dation with a 115-run partner-
ship in double quick time.
Stirred up by the grand
occasion, their onslaught
fired Australia to a formida-
ble 184 for four in the stipu-
lated 20 overs.
Overwhelmed by the occa-
sion, India crumbled to 99 all
out in front of a turnout of
86174 at the iconic Melbourne
Australia outclass India in T20 WC final
Cricket Ground, a record in
women’s cricket history.
What worked in the home
team’s favour was that their
openers easily neutralised
the threat posed by the in-
form spinner Poonam Yadav
(1/30 in 4 overs) with per-
centage game while taking
the likes of medium-pacer
Shikha Pandey and Deepti
Sharma to the cleaners.
On the day, Pandey was
smashed for 52 runs in her
four overs. Half the battle
was won there for the formi-
dable Australians, who, in
stark contrast to India, saved
their best for the last.
The manner and magnitude
of the defeat, including a few
sub plots, were reminiscent
of the 2003 men’s World Cup
final when Ricky Ponting’s
Australia thrashed Sourav
Ganguly’s India in an anti-cli-
mactic title clash. – PTI
AHMEDABAD, March 8:
Bruised and battered in New
Zealand, India’s ODI squad
on Sunday got a major boost
as a fit-again Hardik Pandya
returned for the three-match
series against South Africa,
having successfully recuper-
ated from a back surgery.
Along with Pandya, open-
er Shikhar Dhawan and seam-
er Bhuvneshwar Kumar will
also add depth to the 15-
member squad, selected un-
der the chairmanship of Su-
nil Joshi.
However, it could be cur-
tains for veteran Kedar Jad-
hav as Shubman Gill’s return
in the white-ball fold is a good
enough indicator.
Vice-captain Rohit Shar-
ma is yet to fully recuperate
from his calf muscle injury
and is expected to return to
action during the Indian Pre-
mier League later this
month. Thus, Prithvi Shaw
retained his place in the ODI
squad, while Mayank Agar-
wal, after a dismal New Zea-
Fit-again Hardik, Dhawan,Bhuvneshwar back
land tour, had to make way
for Dhawan.
The Mumbai duo of Shar-
dul Thakur and Shivam Dube
paid for their shoddy show-
ing in New Zealand as Pan-
dya and Bhuvneshwar right-
fully got their places back.
Dhawan had dislocated his
shoulder during the final
ODI against Australia at
home and missed the New
Zealand series.
Bhuvneshwar, on the oth-
er hand, had a sports hernia
surgery but has successful-
ly completed his rehabilita-
tion at the National Cricket
Academy.
But the biggest news was
Hardik’s comeback, which,
though, was on predictable
lines.
Pandya’s last ODI was
against New Zealand in the
World Cup semifinal in Man-
chester and the last interna-
tional game was a T20 against
the Proteas in Bengaluru in
September.
His absence affected the
balance of the ODI side as
Dube’s underwhelming
show in the 14 chances he got
showed that he is still not cut
out for international cricket.
Pandya’s performances at
the DY Patil Corporate Cup
was not about the 150 odd
he scored or the wickets he
took but was about how fit
he looked out there in the
middle.
At the same time, the
soon-to-be-35 Jadhav, who
has literally stopped bowling
in ODIs and is also not doing
well batting at the No. 6 slot,
has been finally dropped
from the side.
With the next 50-over
World Cup in 2023 when Jad-
hav will be 38, it is highly
unlikely that he will add to
his 73 ODIs.India’s ODI squad: Shikhar
Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli(C), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey,Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant,Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja,Bhuvneshwar Kumar, YuzvendraChahal, Jasprit Bumrah, NavdeepSaini, Kuldeep Yadav, ShubmanGill. – PTI
SCORECARD
AUSTRALIAHealy c Krishnamurthy b Radha 75Mooney not out 78Lanning c S Pandey b D Sharma 16Gardner st T Bhatia b D Sharma 2Haynes b P Yadav 4Carey not out 5Extras: (B-1,W-2, NB-1) 4Total: (For 4 wkts in 20 overs) 184Fall of Wickets: 115-1, 154-2, 156-3, 176-4.Bowling: D Sharma 4-0-38-2, S Pan-dey 4-0-52-0, Gayakwad 4-0-29-0,Poonam 4-0-30-1, Radha 4-0-34-1.
INDIAShafali c Healy b Schutt 2Smriti c Carey b Molineux 11Taniya retd hurt 2Jemimah c Carey b Jonassen 0Harmanpreet c Gardner b Jonassen 4Deepti c Mooney b Carey 33Veda c Jonassen b Kimmince 19Richa c Carey b Schutt 18Shikha c Mooney b Schutt 1Radha c Mooney b Jonassen 1Poonam c Gardner b Schutt 1Rajeshwari not out 1Extras: (LB-1 W-5) 6Total: (All out in 19.1 overs) 99Fall of Wickets: 1-2, 2-8, 3-18, 4-30, 5-58, 6-88, 7-92, 8-96, 9-97.Bowling: Schutt 3.1-0-18-4, Jonas-sen 4-0-20-3, Molineux 4-0-21-1, Kim-mince 4-0-17-1, Carey 4-0-22-1.
Australian players celebrate after winning the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup final against
India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, on Sunday.