fc=h cg - the pioneer · days after the supreme court- ... in the national capital region (ncr),...

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O n a day when pollution levels in the national Capital peaked to a three-year high on Sunday with the Air Quality Index (AQI) 625 recording in several parts of Delhi with residents breathing extremely polluted air, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister on Sunday hold a meeting where it was decided that Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba will monitor the alarming pollution situation in Delhi and neighbouring States on a daily basis. The meeting was attended by senior officials from Punjab, Haryana and Delhi through video-conferencing just two days after the Supreme Court- mandated EPCA declared Health Emergency in the national Capital and the National Capital Region (NCR). The Chief Secretaries of these States have been asked to monitor the situation in various districts of their respective States round-the-clock. The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet held the high-level meeting on Sunday evening to discuss the issue of deteriorating air qual- ity in Delhi-NCR, officials said. PK Mishra, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, reviewed the situa- tion arising out of severe air pollution in the NCR, and other parts of north India. “About 300 teams have been deployed in Delhi to reduce air pollution. Necessary machinery for this work has been distrib- uted to the States. Main focus is given on seven industrial clus- ters and major traffic corridors in the NCR. The Government is keeping a close watch on pol- luting units and burning of wastes besides the construction activities,” the Government of India said in a statement. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the national Capital’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 494 at 4 pm on Sunday, the highest since November 6, 2016 when it was 497. Twenty-one of the 37 air quality monitoring sta- tions recorded the AQI between 490 and 500 with air quality sensors at Aya Nagar, Ashok Vihar, Anand Vihar and Aurobindo Marg peaked out at 7 pm. In the National Capital Region (NCR), Faridabad with AQI 493, Noida (494), Ghaziabad (499) and Greater Noida (488), Gurugram (479), residents choked on toxic air. Continued on Page 4 P ollution caused a major disruption at Delhi airport on Sunday as 32 flights were diverted to other airports due to heavy smog, officials said. The flights were diverted to Amritsar, Jaipur, Mumbai and Lucknow airports. While Air India said it has diverted 12 flights since 9 am, a Vistara spokesperson said the airline has diverted five flights after 10 am due to smog at Delhi airport. “Five flights each were diverted to Jaipur airport and Amritsar airport, two flights were diverted to Lucknow air- port,” said an Air India spokesperson. The Vistara spokesperson told PTI that while four flights — which were coming from Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Goa — were diverted to Amritsar airport, one that was coming from Kochi was diverted to Mumbai airport. “The diversion began post 10 am today due to smog,” he added. At around 1 pm, airport officials said, “Total 32 flights have been diverted from Delhi airport on Sunday morning due to bad weather.” The Air India spokesperson said, “Bad weather affected flight operations since morning 9 am in T3 airport (Delhi). Twelve flights diverted to Jaipur, Amritsar and Lucknow.” When asked if it can be said “bad weather” is actually the pollu- tion, the Air India spokesperson replied in affirmative. Five Air India flights that were coming to Delhi from Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad and London were diverted to Jaipur airport on Sunday. Moreover, five flights of the national carrier that connect Singapore, Surat, Bahrain, Bhopal and Nagpur with Delhi airport were diverted to Amritsar airport on Sunday. Noida/Ghaziabad: In the wake of spike in the pollution level, all Government and private schools up till Class XII in Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida will remain closed on November 4 and 5, officials said on Sunday. The administrations of Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad said the decision was taken as the levels of par- ticulate matter 2.5 and 10 have been excessive in the air since Diwali. SR New Delhi: The odd-even scheme will kick in from Monday morning to fight severe air pollution in the national Capital, officials of the Delhi Government said on Sunday. The odd-even scheme will begin from 8 am to 8 pm on Monday till November 15 with only even numbered non-transport vehicles allowed on Delhi roads on the first day of the exercise. Strict action has been planned for violators. They will be pun- ished with a fine of 4,000, said officials. SR T he deployment of Israeli spyware Pegasus issue turned complex with the Congress on Sunday claiming that party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had received a mes- sage from WhatsApp informing that her phone was suspected to have been hacked. The main Opposition party also sought to know from the Narendra Modi Government whether it spied on citizens and political leaders ahead of the 2019 parliamentary election. The party, however, did not say exactly when Priyanka received the message. The BJP hit back at the Co- ngress saying the Opposition party is imagining things. In a tweet, BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya said, “Haven’t we seen Congress imagining things that don’t exist?” Last Friday Priyanka had demanded an explanation from the Government after several noted activists and journalists were notified about the security breach in the app and won- dered whether the current dis- pensation has engaged Israeli agencies to snoop into the phone of key persons including politi- cians which she said was “a gross violation of human rights with a grave ramifications on national security”. Now on Sunday the Con- gress said Priyanka like other political leaders including Mamata Banerjee and Praful Patel has received WhatsApp’s communication about her account being hacked. A day ago the West Bengal Chief Minister claimed her phones were being tapped and sought a probe into charges of “snoop- ing” on activists and scribes. Continued on Page 4 P akistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday shared pictures of the Kartarpur complex and the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, saying the revered venue is ready to welcome Sikhs pilgrims for the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak. The pictures were shared by Khan on his Twitter account ahead of the planned inaugu- ration of the Kartarpur corri- dor on November 9. The year 2019 marks the 550th birth anniversary year of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, whose birthplace is Sri Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. In another tweet, he con- gratulated his own Government for completing the construction work on time. “I congratulate our Govt for readying Kartarpur, in record time, for Guru Nanakji’s 550th birthday celebrations,” he said. Earlier, the Prime Minister had said Indian Sikh pilgrims coming to Kartarpur would not need a passport, while also waiving the service fee of $20 dollars for those coming for the inaugural cer- emony and on the 550th birth anniversary of the Sikh Guru on November 12. The proposed opening of the corridor coincides with the presence of tens of thousands of protesters in the capital Islamabad. Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman had demanded the resignation of Khan as a con- dition to disperse peacefully. Meanwhile, Ahsan Iqbal, leader of the Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz (PML-N) and an ally of Rehman, on Saturday criticised Khan’s move to allow Sikhs from India to enter Pakistan. Iqbal said the Kartarpur opening was a good gesture but “lifting the condition of a pass- port for foreigners like Indians was a blunder”. The Kartarpur Corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just 4 kilometres from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province. Notwithstanding a chill in bilateral ties over Kashmir, after tough negotiations Pakistan and India signed a landmark agreement last week to operationalise the historic Kartarpur Corridor to allow Indian-Sikh pilgrims to visit the holy Darbar Sahib in Pakistan. The two countries decided that 5,000 pilgrims can visit the shrine everyday and that addi- tional pilgrims will be allowed on special occasions, subject to the expansion of facilities by the Pakistani side. India and Pakistan have also decided that the corridor will be operational through the year, seven days a week and that pilgrims, except children and elderly persons, will have a choice to visit it as individu- als or in groups. I n the ongoing game of polit- ical uncertainty in Maharashtra, the “belligerent” Shiv Sena — relying apparent- ly on the likely support from the Congress and the NCP — played its ace on Sunday, by claiming that it enjoyed the support of 175 MLAs in the 288-member State Assembly and its president Uddhav Thackeray would take a final call on forming next Government with its leader as the Chief Minister. With no end in sight to the impasse between the BJP and the Shiv Sena over the sharing of power, Shiv Sena MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut, who has virtually become the face of his party, created a sensation in the State by claiming that the Sena man would be sworn as the Chief Minister at “Shiv Tirth” — better known as Shivaji Park in north-central Mumbai. “Till yesterday, our strength was 170 MLAs and now the fig- ure has touched 175... I can tell you with certainty that our Chief Minister will be sworn in at Shiv Tirth. As far as options are concerned, Uddhavji has already said that our options are open. Of the options before us, the talks on one option have nearly ended. Uddhavji is about to take a decision on this option,” said Raut, slamming the BJP for browbeating Sena MLAs. Declining to spell out as to what was the option that the Sena had settled onto, Raut said: “Uddhavji will himself talk to the media in this regard”. Raut’s strong statement came a day ahead of NCP chief Sharad Pawar meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi to discuss the changing political equations in Maharashtra and explore the possibility of the two parties extending their support to the Shiv Sena to form a new Government in the State. Continued on Page 4 A day after clash between Delhi Police personnel and lawyers inside Tis Hazari court complex in North Delhi, the Delhi High Court on Sunday ordered a judicial enquiry by one of its retired judges into the incident. On the basis of the findings in a preliminary enquiry con- ducted by a police team head- ed by Special Commissioner of Police (Intelligence) Praveer Ranjan, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Kanta Prasad has been suspended for allegedly drag- ging an advocate inside the court lockup and beating him up. Also, departmental action has been taken against ASI Pawan Kumar who allegedly fired at the lawyers The HC also directed Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik to transfer Special Commissioner of Police Sanjay Singh and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Harinder Singh during pen- dency of the investigation. The court also made it clear that no coercive action would be taken against any lawyer. On Sunday, a Bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar took suo motu’ cognisance of the media reports of the incident and said the former High Court judge justice (retired) S P Garg would hold a judicial enquiry into the matter. The court also directed the Delhi Government and the Centre to provide best treat- ment to injured lawyers, including those who received gunshot injuries, preferably in AIIMS. Continued on Page 4 A s soon as the Congress trig- gered a row by claiming that party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had been a target of the snooping through WhatsApp, the ruling BJP hit back saying the grand old party is “imagining” things. “Remember them claiming that Rahul Gandhi’s life was in danger when a green light, off a video camera, flashed on his face during a media briefing. Well, that’s the level of their leaders’ credibility in public life,” BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted. Malviya was referring to an incident in the thick of election in April when the Congress had termed flashing of a green light on Rahul’s face as a “seri- ous security breach”. But it turned out to be an embar- rassment as the light was found to be emanating from a cam- era person’s mobile who was working for the AICC. The Home Ministry spokesperson had clarified, “The Director (SPG) has informed it that they have gone through the video clip- ping of the incident. The “green light” shown in the clipping was found to be that of a mobile phone used by the AICC pho- tographer, who was video- graphing the impromptu Press interaction of Rahul Gandhi near the collectorate at Amethi.” Continued on Page 4

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Page 1: FC=H CG - The Pioneer · days after the Supreme Court- ... In the National Capital Region (NCR), Faridabad with AQI 493, Noida (494), ... Delhi Police personnel and lawyers inside

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On a day when pollutionlevels in the national

Capital peaked to a three-yearhigh on Sunday with the AirQuality Index (AQI) 625recording in several parts ofDelhi with residents breathingextremely polluted air, thePrincipal Secretary to thePrime Minister on Sundayhold a meeting where it wasdecided that Cabinet SecretaryRajiv Gauba will monitor thealarming pollution situationin Delhi and neighbouringStates on a daily basis.

The meeting was attendedby senior officials from Punjab,Haryana and Delhi throughvideo-conferencing just twodays after the Supreme Court-mandated EPCA declaredHealth Emergency in thenational Capital and theNational Capital Region (NCR).

The Chief Secretaries ofthese States have been asked tomonitor the situation in variousdistricts of their respectiveStates round-the-clock. ThePrincipal Secretary to the PrimeMinister and the Cabinet heldthe high-level meeting onSunday evening to discuss theissue of deteriorating air qual-ity in Delhi-NCR, officials said.

PK Mishra, the PrincipalSecretary to the PrimeMinister, reviewed the situa-tion arising out of severe airpollution in the NCR, andother parts of north India.

“About 300 teams have been

deployed in Delhi to reduce airpollution. Necessary machineryfor this work has been distrib-uted to the States. Main focus isgiven on seven industrial clus-ters and major traffic corridorsin the NCR. The Governmentis keeping a close watch on pol-luting units and burning ofwastes besides the constructionactivities,” the Government ofIndia said in a statement.

According to the CentralPollution Control Board(CPCB), the national Capital’s24-hour average air qualityindex (AQI) stood at 494 at 4pm on Sunday, the highestsince November 6, 2016 whenit was 497. Twenty-one of the37 air quality monitoring sta-tions recorded the AQIbetween 490 and 500 with airquality sensors at Aya Nagar,Ashok Vihar, Anand Viharand Aurobindo Marg peakedout at 7 pm.

In the National Capital

Region (NCR), Faridabad withAQI 493, Noida (494),Ghaziabad (499) and GreaterNoida (488), Gurugram (479),residents choked on toxic air.

Continued on Page 4

����� /01�+023'

Pollution caused a majordisruption at Delhi airport

on Sunday as 32 flights werediverted to other airports dueto heavy smog, officials said.

The flights were diverted toAmritsar, Jaipur, Mumbai andLucknow airports. While AirIndia said it has diverted 12flights since 9 am, a Vistaraspokesperson said the airlinehas diverted five flights after 10am due to smog at Delhi airport.

“Five flights each werediverted to Jaipur airport andAmritsar airport, two flightswere diverted to Lucknow air-port,” said an Air Indiaspokesperson. The Vistaraspokesperson told PTI thatwhile four flights — whichwere coming from Bengaluru,Ahmedabad, Chennai and Goa— were diverted to Amritsarairport, one that was comingfrom Kochi was diverted to

Mumbai airport. “The diversionbegan post 10 am today due tosmog,” he added. At around 1pm, airport officials said, “Total32 flights have been divertedfrom Delhi airport on Sundaymorning due to bad weather.”

The Air India spokespersonsaid, “Bad weather affectedflight operations since morning9 am in T3 airport (Delhi).Twelve flights diverted to Jaipur,Amritsar and Lucknow.” Whenasked if it can be said “badweather” is actually the pollu-tion, the Air India spokespersonreplied in affirmative. Five AirIndia flights that were comingto Delhi from Kolkata, Mumbai,Chennai, Ahmedabad andLondon were diverted to Jaipurairport on Sunday.

Moreover, five flights of thenational carrier that connectSingapore, Surat, Bahrain,Bhopal and Nagpur with Delhiairport were diverted toAmritsar airport on Sunday.

�������������� ������� ������������

Noida/Ghaziabad: In thewake of spike in the pollutionlevel, all Government andprivate schools up till ClassXII in Ghaziabad, Noidaand Greater Noida willremain closed on November4 and 5, officials said onSunday.

The administrations ofGautam Buddh Nagar andGhaziabad said the decisionwas taken as the levels of par-ticulate matter 2.5 and 10have been excessive in the airsince Diwali. SR

����������������������������������������������'�$ New Delhi: The odd-even

scheme will kick in fromMonday morning to fightsevere air pollution in thenational Capital, officials ofthe Delhi Government saidon Sunday.

The odd-even schemewill begin from 8 am to 8 pmon Monday till November 15with only even numberednon-transport vehiclesallowed on Delhi roads on thefirst day of the exercise. Strictaction has been planned forviolators. They will be pun-ished with a fine of � � 4,000,said officials. SR

���(�'���&��)������

����� /01�+023'

The deployment of Israelispyware Pegasus issue

turned complex with theCongress on Sunday claimingthat party general secretaryPriyanka Gandhihad received a mes-sage from WhatsAppinforming that herphone was suspected to havebeen hacked.

The main Opposition partyalso sought to know from theNarendra Modi Governmentwhether it spied on citizens andpolitical leaders ahead of the2019 parliamentary election.The party, however, did not sayexactly when Priyanka receivedthe message.

The BJP hit back at the Co-ngress saying the Oppositionparty is imagining things. In atweet, BJP spokesperson AmitMalviya said, “Haven’t we seenCongress imagining things thatdon’t exist?”

Last Friday Priyanka haddemanded an explanation fromthe Government after severalnoted activists and journalistswere notified about the securitybreach in the app and won-dered whether the current dis-

pensation hasengaged Israeliagencies to snoopinto the phone of

key persons including politi-cians which she said was “agross violation of human rightswith a grave ramifications onnational security”.

Now on Sunday the Con-gress said Priyanka like otherpolitical leaders includingMamata Banerjee and PrafulPatel has received WhatsApp’scommunication about heraccount being hacked. A dayago the West Bengal ChiefMinister claimed her phoneswere being tapped and soughta probe into charges of “snoop-ing” on activists and scribes.

Continued on Page 4

����� ' 2�,���+

Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan on Sunday

shared pictures of theKartarpur complex and theGurdwara Darbar Sahib, sayingthe revered venue is ready towelcome Sikhs pilgrims forthe 550th birth anniversarycelebrations of Guru Nanak.

The pictures were sharedby Khan on his Twitter accountahead of the planned inaugu-ration of the Kartarpur corri-dor on November 9.

The year 2019 marks the550th birth anniversary year ofSikhism founder Guru NanakDev, whose birthplace is SriNankana Sahib in Pakistan.

In another tweet, he con-gratulated his ownGovernment for completingthe construction work on time.

“I congratulate our Govt forreadying Kartarpur, in recordtime, for Guru Nanakji’s 550thbirthday celebrations,” he said.

Earlier, the PrimeMinister had said Indian Sikh

pilgrims coming to Kartarpurwould not need a passport,while also waiving the servicefee of $20 dollars for thosecoming for the inaugural cer-emony and on the 550th birthanniversary of the Sikh Guruon November 12.

The proposed opening ofthe corridor coincides with thepresence of tens of thousands ofprotesters in the capitalIslamabad. Leader MaulanaFazlur Rehman had demandedthe resignation of Khan as a con-

dition to disperse peacefully.Meanwhile, Ahsan Iqbal,

leader of the Pakistan MuslimsLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) andan ally of Rehman, on Saturdaycriticised Khan’s move to allowSikhs from India to enterPakistan.

Iqbal said the Kartarpuropening was a good gesture but“lifting the condition of a pass-port for foreigners like Indianswas a blunder”.

The Kartarpur Corridorwill connect the Dera Baba

Nanak shrine in India’s Punjabwith Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur,just 4 kilometres from theInternational Border, located atNarowal district of Pakistan’sPunjab province.

Notwithstanding a chill inbilateral ties over Kashmir,after tough negotiationsPakistan and India signed alandmark agreement last weekto operationalise the historic Kartarpur Corridor toallow Indian-Sikh pilgrims tovisit the holy Darbar Sahib inPakistan.

The two countries decidedthat 5,000 pilgrims can visit theshrine everyday and that addi-tional pilgrims will be allowedon special occasions, subject tothe expansion of facilities bythe Pakistani side.

India and Pakistan havealso decided that the corridorwill be operational throughthe year, seven days a week andthat pilgrims, except childrenand elderly persons, will havea choice to visit it as individu-als or in groups.

������������� ,(,��'

In the ongoing game of polit-ical uncertainty in

Maharashtra, the “belligerent”Shiv Sena — relying apparent-ly on the likely support fromthe Congress and the NCP —played its ace on Sunday, byclaiming that it enjoyed thesupport of 175 MLAs in the288-member State Assemblyand its president UddhavThackeray would take a finalcall on forming nextGovernment with its leader asthe Chief Minister.

With no end in sight to theimpasse between the BJP andthe Shiv Sena over the sharingof power, Shiv Sena MP andspokesperson Sanjay Raut, whohas virtually become the face of

his party, created a sensation inthe State by claiming that theSena man would be sworn asthe Chief Minister at “ShivTirth” — better known asShivaji Park in north-centralMumbai.

“Till yesterday, our strengthwas 170 MLAs and now the fig-ure has touched 175... I can tellyou with certainty that ourChief Minister will be sworn inat Shiv Tirth. As far as optionsare concerned, Uddhavji hasalready said that our options areopen. Of the options before us,the talks on one option havenearly ended. Uddhavji is aboutto take a decision on this option,”said Raut, slamming the BJP forbrowbeating Sena MLAs.

Declining to spell out as towhat was the option that the

Sena had settled onto, Rautsaid: “Uddhavji will himself talkto the media in this regard”.

Raut’s strong statementcame a day ahead of NCPchief Sharad Pawar meetingCongress president SoniaGandhi in New Delhi to discussthe changing political equationsin Maharashtra and explore thepossibility of the two partiesextending their support to theShiv Sena to form a newGovernment in the State.

Continued on Page 4

���&&����������� /01�+023'

Aday after clash betweenDelhi Police personnel and

lawyers inside Tis Hazari courtcomplex in North Delhi, theDelhi High Court on Sundayordered a judicial enquiry byone of its retired judges intothe incident.

On the basis of the findingsin a preliminary enquiry con-ducted by a police team head-ed by Special Commissioner ofPolice (Intelligence) PraveerRanjan, Assistant Sub Inspector(ASI) Kanta Prasad has beensuspended for allegedly drag-ging an advocate inside thecourt lockup and beating himup. Also, departmental actionhas been taken against ASIPawan Kumar who allegedlyfired at the lawyers

The HC also directed DelhiPolice commissioner AmulyaPatnaik to transfer SpecialCommissioner of Police Sanjay

Singh and Additional DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP)Harinder Singh during pen-dency of the investigation. Thecourt also made it clear that nocoercive action would be takenagainst any lawyer.

On Sunday, a Bench ofChief Justice D N Patel andJustice C Hari Shankar took‘suo motu’ cognisance of themedia reports of the incident

and said the former High Courtjudge justice (retired) S P Gargwould hold a judicial enquiryinto the matter.

The court also directedthe Delhi Government and theCentre to provide best treat-ment to injured lawyers,including those who receivedgunshot injuries, preferably inAIIMS.

Continued on Page 4

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

������ /01�+023'

As soon as the Congress trig-gered a row by claiming

that party general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi had been atarget of the snooping throughWhatsApp, the ruling BJP hitback saying the grand old partyis “imagining” things.

“Remember them claimingthat Rahul Gandhi’s life was indanger when a green light, offa video camera, flashed on hisface during a media briefing.

Well, that’s the level of theirleaders’ credibility in publiclife,” BJP’s IT cell chief AmitMalviya tweeted.

Malviya was referring to anincident in the thick of electionin April when the Congress hadtermed flashing of a greenlight on Rahul’s face as a “seri-ous security breach”. But itturned out to be an embar-rassment as the light was foundto be emanating from a cam-era person’s mobile who wasworking for the AICC.

The Home Ministryspokesperson had clarified,“The Director (SPG) hasinformed it that they havegone through the video clip-ping of the incident. The “greenlight” shown in the clipping wasfound to be that of a mobilephone used by the AICC pho-tographer, who was video-graphing the impromptu Pressinteraction of Rahul Gandhinear the collectorate atAmethi.”

Continued on Page 4

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Page 2: FC=H CG - The Pioneer · days after the Supreme Court- ... In the National Capital Region (NCR), Faridabad with AQI 493, Noida (494), ... Delhi Police personnel and lawyers inside

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������������ /01�+023'

As Delhi's air pollution rises to alarm-ing levels, the infamous 'paddy straw'

burning by the farmers of Haryana,Western Uttar Pradesh and Punjab hasaggravated the ever-deteriorating pollu-tion level in the national Capital and itsperipheral areas.

On Friday, the Supreme Court-man-dated Environment Pollution (Preventionand Control) Authority (EPCA) declareda public health emergency, followingwhich the Delhi Government decided toshut all schools. The EPCA also bannedconstruction activities in Delhi and itsperipherals till November 5. The odd-even vehicle rationing scheme of DelhiGovernment will roll out from Monday.

The Pioneer carried out a fact checkin the fields of Haryana to know the rea-sons behind paddy straw burning by thefarmers year after year.

"Farmers prefer to burn stubble andpay penalty rather than weed out the stub-bles. And the reason for this is that thecost of stubble burning is cheaper aspenalty works out to be around �2,500 peracre. But if they don't burn it then thestubble processing cost comes around�6,000-7,000 per acre. The cost of stub-ble processing includes rent of machin-ery, diesel charge and labour charges.However, farmers contend that access tostraw management equipment comes ata higher cost than environmental com-pensation. Straw management equip-ment is beyond the means of a small andmarginal farmer", said a farmer inKurukshetra but did not wish to be iden-tified.

Moreover, the cost does not end atacquiring equipment only. Farmers say,running the equipment in the fieldsmeans spending additional money ondiesel and labour. Hundreds of thousandsof farmers in Haryana and Punjab, wheremuch of the region's paddy is grown, settheir rice fields on fire to clear left-overstraw after harvesting paddy to make wayfor wheat.

According to farmers in Haryana, therental cost of combine harvester is �3,500to �5,000 per acre which includes trans-portation charge. The cost of diesel is alsoborne by the farmer. Four to five litrediesel needs per acre. If the cost of labour,crushing of straw cost and other costsincluded, it will come around �6,000 to�7000 per acre in Punjab and Haryana,"said Sewa Singh, a farmer and memberof Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) inKarnal adding that's was the reason theGovernment incentive failed to attractfarmers.

�����)����������������There are three machines which can

be used to deal with the residual wastes

on a field as a farmer goes from harvest-ing to planting the next crop. "These arethe Bailer, the Mulcher and the HappySeeder. They costs in lakes each and nosingle farmer can be expected to blockthat amount of money. So, as mechani-cal solutions go, these machines need tobe shared to be affordable," said InderjeetSingh Ahlawat, leader of All India KisanSangh, Haryana.

The Bailer cuts the wastes and makesbales which can then be sold, mostly asfodder. The Mulcher cuts and spreads thewastes on the fields so that they serve asmulch and nourish the soil. The HappySeeder plants the seeds of the next cropin between the stubble left behind fromthe harvest and over time the stubble itselfbecomes mulch.

"The problem is that no machine hasuniversal application. The Happy Seederhas received the most attention, but it hasits limitations depending on the height ofthe stalks. Also, it won't work if the nextcrop is potato and not wheat," saidAhlawat.

�I�������������Farmers burn crop residue to plant

next crop, mostly in the cycle of rice fol-lowed by wheat. The farmers are mostlypressured for time between crops.Removing the residue is a cost involving

the hiring of labour or renting ofmachines.

"Burning the residue, for most farm-ers and particularly the smaller ones, isthe cheap and easy way out. It has somebenefits too like adding carbon to the topsoil and killing off pests and weeds. Onthe other hand, there is the downside ofmicronutrients being destroyed by theburning," said an expert on Environment.

"Farmers need access to appropriatemachinery and training to implementchange to discourage burning. Using cropresidue in a sustainable and eco-friend-ly manner could benefit all stakeholders,"he said, adding that only 15 per cent ofrice residues can be used as fodder, fueland industrial raw materials.

�������������)����������������'��

Farmers in Haryana's Karnal, Kaithal,Kurukshetra and Ambala districts toldThe Pioneer that stubble burning waslargely because the subsidy for machineswasn't covering the costs of the equipmentand the labor involved. It was still muchcheaper and easier to burn the residue.

"Farmers know about the repercus-sions of burning crop stubble and that'swhy you won't come across a singlefarmer who really wants to continue withthe practice. But the cost of disposing of

crop residue is so prohibitive that mostfarmers are forced to set the stubble onfire," said Arvind Kumar, a farmer atPundri village near Kurukshetra.

The farmers also complainedabout the lengthy bureaucraticprocesses to claim the subsidies forthe machines. "The fact thatGovernment officials want us touse expensive machines clear-ly shows that they are farremoved from reality and inHaryana 70 per cent ownsland less than 10 acres,"said Vijay Kumar, afarmer in Madina vil-lage near Meham inHaryana.

Other farmersalso complainedabout a sharp fall in theprices of their produce andthe rising cost of diesel,widely used in tractors andfarm equipment. With theirincomes under strain, theysaid they have less capaci-ty, and enthusiasm, toaddress environmentalissues.

���������'���&������������

The message from Haryana andPunjab could be disconcerting for theGovernment of Prime Minister NarendraModi, whose office has been activelyinvolved in framing policies and takinginitiatives to help avoid the repeat of lastyear's dangerous spike in pollution lev-els.

Holding authorities responsible fornot taking abrupt steps for farmers to stopstubble burning, Dr Baljit Bhyan, FormerHorticulture officer in Haryana said thatgovernment can encourage farmers byproviding compensation and pushingfarmers to decompose stubble.

"But that takes times and due to smallland pieces availability farmers opposethis practice. One major factor whyfarmers don't decompose stubble is thatthey fear the insect in rice may destroytheir next crop in field and decomposingstubble also takes time. Farmers alsooppose decomposing stubble as it requiresmachines which they cannot afford," saidDr Bhyan adding that Governmentshould setup an institution to decomposestubble.

"There are others method too toutilise stubble in making of cardboardsand it can also be used to make gas andfuel but these are only on papers noth-ing have come so far practically," said DrBhyan.

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Supreme court in its order in monthof February this year, said that the

stubble burning, the key reason forthe rising air pollution in Delhiand NCR, was not going to stopmerely by issuing directionsand asked Punjab and HaryanaGovernments to consider

granting some kind of sub-sidy to the farmers.

A bench compris-ing Justices AK Sikri,SA Nazeer and MRShah said the courtwas of the view thatthe problem ofstubble burningin Punjab andHaryana is notgoing to stop onits own by mere-

ly issuing directionsand advisory.

"We ourselves aresaying that this (direc-tions and advisory) isnot going to work...The farmers do nothave any cheapermethod to deal withthe issue of stubble.

You consider grantingsome kind of subsidy to

them so that crop burning can stop," thebench had said.

The bench said the farmers will notdo it on their own and they should begiven some kind of incentive to ensurethat stubble burning stops.

"Despite Apex court order nothingwas done by State Governments ofPunjab and Haryana for farmers. Iffarmers are given compensation thestubble burning will reduce with greateffect," said Rajendra Singh, former agri-culture officer in Haryana and memberof Haryana Vigyan Manch.

��������������������According to Chandar Veer Singh, an

Environmentalist, the farmers are not tobe blamed for pollution in Delhi. "InHaryana and Punjab, stubble burning isyet to kick start. I agree there is a con-tribution, around 8-10 per cent, to pol-lution by stubble burning but there areother reason that contribute most to risein pollution level in Delhi which areneglected by the Government wholeyear," said Singh.

"In Delhi, why Government doesn'tstarts using water sprinklers. TheGovernment can use treated water andwith use of water tankers, treated water canbe sprayed over in Delhi on dust pointsincluding roads where most of the dust isfound," he said.

"Government can plant saplings andthey can impound diesel vehicles over 10year and petrol vehicles over 15 years,which are in lakhs and still running onroads," said Singh adding that these thingswill reduce 70 per cent of city pollution.

���������������������������According to data from Punjab and

Central Pollution Control Boards, the Statehas recorded a whopping increase of 7,842fires — from 12,027 on October 27 to19,869 on October 30.

Haryana recorded an increase of 476cases — from 3,735 on October 27 to4,211 on October 30. "There is a drop inthe number of stubble burning cases ascompared to last year. In Haryana, morethan 500 FIRs have been registered by thepolice against farmers involved in stub-ble burning," said Aditya Dabas, DeputyDirector, Agriculture department inKarnal.

"In Karnal, to reduce stubble burningand create awareness, Government haslaunched five farmer producer organisa-tion, 257 customer hiring centers openedand 1,000 farmers have been given subsidyon farm equipments," said Dabas.

"Since last one and a half year, KarnalAgriculture Department is organisingnuked-nataks, cultural events, camps in vil-lages and city to create awareness amongfarmers regarding stubble burning andprofit of using machines," said Dabas.

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Pollution levels of the millen-nium city of Gurugram

entered the danger zone due tothe burning of crops in ruralareas of the State.

Gurugram recorded 364cubic meters percolate matter 2.5(PM 2.5), higher than normaldays.

Gurugram has two moni-toring stations at Vikas Sadan inthe Civil Lines and Gwal Paharito check air and noise pollution.

Haryana State PollutionControl Board (HSPCB) officialsare preparing a report on theincrease in pollution on Diwaliand it will be available withintwo or three days.

On Saturday, the maximumlevel of PM 2.5, which has a per-missible limit of 60 microgramsper cubic metre (μg/m ),increased to 365 μg/m . Last yearpost-Diwali, the maximum PM2.5 level was recorded at361μg/m .

Also, the report of theGurugram's air quality index onOctober 28 was at 377 (verypoor level), a day after Diwalifestival.

Meanwhile, the officials ofthe department claim that thisyear the pollution levels will bedecreased, "We are expectinglower air and noise pollution thistime, due to the ban on crack-ers. The initial figure currently

indicates that pollution wasdown but the final figure will berevealed on Monday," saidKuldeep Singh, regional officer(North zone) of the HaryanaState Pollution Control Board.

The officials also said due toexcessive use of firecrackersduring Diwali and stubble burn-ing in rural areas of Haryana, theair quality index (AQI) of themillennium city of Gurugramalso entered the dangerous zone.

On the other hand, somehospitals in Gurugram haveeven reported a 25 to 30 per centrise in visits by patients due toconditions linked to hazardousair quality after Diwali.

Doctors have warned thateven though the impact of airpollution may not be immedi-ately visible, it may have long-term effects, especially for preg-nant women and their unbornbabies.

"The increased pollutioncaused by sulphur and charcoalin the air forces less oxygen sup-ply to the mother who may getasthmatic and bronchospasms asshe is not breathing pure oxygen.This affects the oxygen supply tothe baby in the womb as welland may cause growth restric-tion. To protect yourself and kidsclose all the doors and windowsof the room and use an air puri-fier," said Chetna Jain, Head,Obstetrics & GynaecologyApollo Cradle Hospital,Gurugram.

����� /01�+023'

The Central Industrial SecurityForce (CISF), the designated para-

military for securing vital installations,including the airport and the DelhiMetro besides Government buildingshere, has issued masks to thousands ofits personnel in view of the 'severe' cat-egory air quality in the national Capitalregion.

The paramilitary has providedN95-grade masks to its personneldeployed for securing vital governmentinstallations like the North and Southblocks, the Indira Gandhi InternationalAirport, Delhi Metro stations, Red Fortand other locations like the CentralGovernment Office (CGO) complex asalso various government buildings.

Pollution levels in the national cap-ital and satellite towns like Ghaziabadand Noida on Sunday deteriorated andair quality was recorded to be of'severe plus' category.

CISF spokesperson HemendraSingh said the force's Director GeneralRajesh Ranjan has directed all com-manders of units deployed in theDelhi and national capital region toensure that the masks are provided andare used by the personnel who remainin the open for hours as part of theirroutine duties.

"The CISF personnel will wearthese masks till air quality improves.The force will also render medicalassistance to its personnel deployed atDelhi-NCR having breathing troubles,"Singh added.

The CISF has over 25,000 person-nel deputed in the Delhi-NCR regionwith the maximum, about 13,000,deployed to secure the facilities of theDelhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC).

���&&����������� /01�+023'

Over 40 per cent residentsof Delhi and NCR want

to move to another citybecause of bad air qualitywhile 16 per cent want totravel during the period,according to a new survey.

The survey with over17,000 respondents fromDelhi and NCR region hasfound that 13 per cent resi-dent believe that they have nooption but to cope with risingpollution levels.

"Over 40 per cent resi-dents said they would like toleave Delhi NCR and movesomewhere else while 31 pcsaid they would stay in DelhiNCR and would equip them-selves with air purifiers,masks, plants etc," accordingto findings of the surveydone by online platform

"LocalCircles"."While 16 per cent peo-

ple said they would stay inDelhi NCR but travel duringthis period of toxic pollution,

13 pc said they would stayhere and have no option butto cope with rising pollutionlevels," it added.

When asked, how the

pollution affected them andtheir family in the past week,13 per cent respondents saidone or more of them have vis-ited a hospital already while29 per cent said one or moreof them have visited a doctoralready.

"44 per cent respondentssaid they were having healthproblems related to pollutionbut have not visited a doctoror hospital and only 14 pcpeople said they have had noimpact of pollution on theirhealth," according to the sur-vey.

The air quality in Delhiremained under severe cate-gory despite some parts of thecity receiving rain on Sundaymorning. As per CentralPollution ControlBoard(CPCB) data, the airquality index(AQI) of Delhiwas 486 at 11 AM. Higher

levels of AQI were reportedfrom Pusa (495), ITO (494),Mundka (493) and PunjabiBagh.

On Friday, the SupremeC o u r t - m a n d a t e dEnvironment Pollution(Prevention and Control)Authority declared a publichealth emergency, followingwhich the Delhi governmentdecided to shut all schools.

The EPCA also bannedconstruction activities inDelhi-NCR till November 5.The odd-even vehiclerationing scheme of Delhigovernment will roll out fromMonday.

An AQI between 0-50 isconsidered 'good', 51-100 'sat-isfactory', 101-200 'moderate',201-300 'poor', 301-400 'verypoor' and 401-500 'severe'.Above 500 falls in the 'severeplus' category.

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���&&����������� /01�+023'

With pollution level in the nation-al Capital crossed dangerous

mark; people took on social media tosuggest measures to curb pollutionwith some venting out their anger,saying that the Government has failedto take timely action to prevent it.

#DelhiAirEmergency and#DelhiPollution were among the toptrends on Twitter on Sunday.

"What are we doing to this plan-et? Checked AQI for Delhi NCRtoday. It's beyond than what we canever think of. I can see only growingnumber of masks on people's face yearby year," wrote another user.

Some users even criticised teenageSwedish environment activist GretaThunberg for not tweeting anythingon the rising pollution levels in Delhi.

"All offices in Delhi and NCR

should ask all employees to do workfrom home til l this situationimproves. It will help reduction inpollution level to some extent.

#DelhiAirEmergency," tweeted oneuser.

"Well, these are not fog, these arethe blankets of smog engulfed Delhi-

NCR increasing overnight. The levelof air pollution spiked on Diwalinight after firecrackers were beingburst by people despite a ban alreadyon place," said a twitter user.

The pollution in Delhi, however,did not stop some users from creat-ing some very relevant and yet funnymemes.

"Nahi bachega mai idhaar, marjayega main," read the caption of animage showing actor NawazuddinSiddiqui from the Netflix series"Sacred Games".

Several other users pointed to thehealth risks of breathing toxic air.

"I'm saying this again, and I will,till things improve, we really needto tackle #pollution in Delhi-NCR,or we're simply just raising a gen-eration with unhealthy lungs and alifetime of breathing issues," wroteone user.

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���&&����������� /01�+023'

The Government was notindulging in "blame game"

but looking for solutions topollution caused by stubbleburning, Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal said on Sunday,adding that the issue of pollu-tion should not be "politicised".

In a video message, Kejriwalcalled on all neighbouringStates and the Centre to "sittogether" and deliberate onhow to prevent stubble burningas the air quality in the nation-al Capital deteriorated to alarm-ing levels.

"The media is telling us notto play the blame-game. But Iwant to tell them that we do notwant to play the blame-game.We are not blaming anybody,we are saying that all the peo-ple should come together andfind a solution," he said.

"There should be no politics. It is a matter of graveconcern for all of us, our healthis at stake. What will we get by playing a blame-game? We are just saying that thesmoke in Delhi is due to stub-ble burning and we have to stopit collectively," he said in avideo message.

Kejriwal further questionedthe pace at which the Centre isdistributing straw managementmachines to farmers to stopstubble burning.

"Till now 63,000 machineshave been made available tofarmers in Punjab and Haryana.There are 27 lakh farmers inthese states. How long would ittake to distribute thesemachines to all these farmers.For how long do we have tobear this pollution," he said.

Kejriwal called on allneighbouring states and theCentre to "sit together" anddeliberate on solving the pol-lution caused in Delhi due to

stubble burning. The Chief Minister also

appealed to people to follow theodd-even road rationingscheme beginning Monday.

"I urge people to use to car-pooling when they are not ableto drive their car during thisscheme. I will also be followingthe scheme strictly," he said.

He advised people to usemasks when they have troublebreathing. "I am sending youmasks through school students,and I shall advise you to usethem when you are havingtrouble breathing. I am veryconcerned about the two crorepeople of Delhi, and I pray to

God that you all remain in goodhealth. Let's all come togetherto fight pollution," he said.

He claimed that till a fewyears back, Delhi used to bepolluted all year long.

"But the people of Delhihave taken several measures tobattle pollution in the state. Wehave 24-hour electricity in Delhiand the diesel generators are nolonger in use which has reducedpollution considerably in Delhi.We have carried out afforesta-tion on 600 acres of land, whichhas increased the forest cover inthe state thereby reducing pol-lution," he said, listing out someof the initiatives.

He further said that theCentral Government has con-structed the East-West periph-eral highway outside Delhi,which has stopped the trucksentering the capital in the nightto transport goods from onelocation to another.

"We have done whatever wecould to reduce pollution in thestate in the rest of the year. Thesmoke from stubble burninghas been causing pollution inDelhi from the last 20 days," hesaid.

Addressing the media,senior party leader Atishi said

AAP wants to ask five questionsto Union Environment MinisterPrakash Javadekar.

"Having this portfolio it ishis responsibility to answer thequestion how his Govt. Is work-ing to combat the air pollutionsituation in India," Atishi asked.

"What the central govt hasdone to curb stubble burning inPunjab and Haryana. As per affi-davit f i led by CentralGovernment to the SC, it isnoted that they have distributedonly 63,000 machines as analternative to stubble whereastotal number of farmers isapprox 22 lakh," she said.

Atishi said according to theNASA satellite images all thenorth Indian states are reelingaround thick smog and the air-quality has reached emergencylevel. "Why central governmentin last five days has not calledany emergency meeting on thisissue with all environment min-isters of all concerned states,"she asked.

"My fourth question iswhen the central governmentwill call an emergency meetingwith all the environment min-isters of north Indian states andI want to know the answertoday," she asked.

���&&����������� /01�+023'

Thousands of devotees paidobeisance to the rising sun

on Sunday morning along theghats on the Yamuna banks andwater bodies in the city, mark-ing the culmination of ChhathPuja.

Many among devotees wereseen on ghats wearing mask tobeat hazardous pollution andrain. However, the devoteeswere deprived a view of the ris-ing sun due to thick smog cov-ering the skyline of the city. The'Arghya' was offered around6.35 am. As per the astrologicaltiming of the sunrise, with pour-ing of cow milk on the basket offruits and other items carried byfasting women.

Political bigwigs includingDelhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal and Delhi BJP presidentManoj Tiwari, also attendedChhath Puja offering "Arghya"to the Sun god in the earlymorning. The chief minister ina series of tweets said it was a

matter of pride that the Chhathfestival was celebrated on sucha large scale in Delhi.

Earlier, Purvanchali people

had to go far for Chhath but theGovernment this time preparedghats near their houses, he said.

The Delhi government had

set up over 1,100 ghats along theriver Yamuna as well as in parksand other public places acrossthe city.

"Sought blessings for ourDelhi family by offering Arghyato the rising Sun. May ChhathMaiya fulfil wishes of all, andbless them with health andprosperity," Kejriwal said in atweet.

With Delhi going forAssembly polls early next year,the political parties -- AAP, BJPand Congress -- engaged them-selves closely with the festivalcelebrated by Purvanchalis, thenatives of Eastern UP and Bihar.

Delhi BJP chief Tiwari vis-ited many ghats and offered'Arghya' to the rising sun. Healso rendered Chhath songs inBhojpuri, joining in the festivi-ties.

The elaborate four-day-long Chhath Puja begins with'Nahay-Khaye' with womenpreparing traditional food withemphasis on cleanliness. The fastbegins on the third day whenthey visit ghats to pay obeisanceto the setting sun. The fast is bro-ken with 'Arghya" to the risingsun on the fourth day.

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���&&�����������/01�+023'

The Police Control Room(PCR) unit of Delhi Police

has reunited a kidnapped childwith his family in Ghitorni areaon late Saturday night.

According to SharatKumar Sinha, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), PCR, on Saturdaynight, the police team on MultiPurpose Vehicle (MPV) waspatrolling near Ghitorni GaonMetro Station where theynoticed a 10-year-old boy indistressed condition wander-ing alone on the road.

"During enquiry, the boyrevealed that when he was

returning from tuition in theevening, three persons kid-napped and took him away.Later on, they dropped him inNathupura village and fled. Onthe basis of information pro-vided by the boy, his parentswere contacted who told thata kidnapping case has alreadybeen registered at Vasant Kunjsouth police station. Later thechild was handed over to thefamily," the DCP added.

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���&&����������� /01�+023'

The six km long 'SignatureBridge' connecting

Wazirabad to East Delhi will becompletely closed for 10 daysfrom Monday due to theremoval of temporary plat-forms and tower crane. Thedecision was taken by the DelhiTraffic police following therequest of Tourism department.

Delhi Traffic Police onSunday also issued an adviso-ry asking the commuters toavoid the said route. Accordingto the advisory, SignatureBridge will be completely closedfrom November 4 midnight toNovember 14 midnight.

"As requested by Delhi

Tourism Department andTransport DevelopmentCorporation (DTDTDC),Signature Bridge will be com-pletely closed from 4thNovember to midnight of 15thNovember till the 12:00 am forthe removal of temporary plat-forms and cranes. Due to thisthe Old Waziarbad BridgeKhajuri Chowk and Majnu ka

Tila will be highly congested,"read the advisory. It furtherread, "Thus, the general pub-lic and road users who want togo to trans Yamuna areadvised to use alternate routes-Yamuna Bridge, KashmereGate, Lohe ka Pul, GeetaColony flyover, Vikas Marg,National Highway (NH-24)to reach their destination."

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���&&����������� /01�+023'

A47-year-old woman wasarrested for allegedly

killing her 81-year-old motherfollowing a quarrel at her housein west Delhi's Hari Nagar.

The deceased has beenidentified as Santosh Bagga(81) and her daughter NeeruBagga, who works as an assis-tant personnel officer at apower discom has been arrest-ed in connection with thekilling.

According to a seniorpolice official, on Saturday apolice control room (PCR) callwas received regarding anabandoned woman with headinjury sitting in front of a res-idence at KhazanBasti,

Mayapuri."On reaching spot, a

woman identified as NeeruBagga, was found in a hysteri-cal state and was unable tospeak properly. Police con-soled her and tried to calm her.Later, the woman told policethat she stays along with hermother Santosh Bagga in Hari

Nagar and said that she had aquarrel with her mother afterwhich she hit her mother onthe head and left the house,"said the senior police official.

"Another police team wassent to her residence at HariNagar to verify the details.Meanwhile, a police officialalong with Neeru reached thehouse and found the body ofher old mother lying in a poolof blood with injuries on herbody," said the police official.

"At the house, the bloodstained clothes of the accusedNeeru were also found whichhave been seized and taken intopossession. A case of murderhas been registered and theaccused was arrested," thepolice official added.

���&&����������� /01+023'�

Afake advisory in the nameof Deputy Chief Minister

Manish Sisodia were doingrounds on the social media bysome unidentified person say-ing 'a health emergency hasbeen declared by theGovernment due to which allthe schools and colleges shouldbe closed and mid-term exam-inations has been postponed'.However, Sisodia confirmed itas a fake circular being circu-lated by his name.

"Fake letter circulating onsocial media regarding school,college closure till November8. So far schools have beenclosed till November 5; anyfurther decision shall be com-municated through properchannels only. All are advisednot to believe on such fake let-

ters or news," Sisodia tweeted. The advisory was full of

spelling mistakes and hadwrong address and pin codenumbers. However, schools,colleges and students got con-fused with the fake letter doingrounds in the social media sitessuch as FaceBook (FB)Instagram, Whatsapp andTwitter.

The circular read, "Ahealth emergency has been

declared in Delhi by the envi-ronment pollution authoritydue to non-tolerate levels of airpollution making Delhi a gaschamber. In the interest ofhealth and safety of children,it has been decided to keep allthe schools and colleges in theNCT of Delhi closed tillDecember 8 and also educa-tion minister decided to post-pone all the school and collegeexams till December."

The letter which was withfull of wrong sentence andspelling mistakes wereassumed to be drafted somestudents, said government offi-cials.

"Official Notice has beenissued to all the schools andcolleges. Directorate of educa-tion to issue necessary notifi-cation immediately and ensuredue publicity is given to this,"the fake advisory read further.

���&&����������� /01�+023'

The Delhi Transport Minister on Sundayissued a notification saying that the elec-

tric vehicles/cars are exempted from the odd-even scheme. This is to clear the confusionamong the commuters, especially the e-carusers. The road rationing scheme will berolled out from Monday to 15th November.Also, women with children of 12 years ageand two wheelers are exempted during thisperiod.

"Odd-even restrictions shall be in placeduring the period November 4, 2019 toNovember 15, 2019 (except SundayNovember 10, 2019). As Delhi is a capitalcity and offices of Government of India aswell as Diplomatic Missions are located inDelhi, certain high ConstitutionalFunctionaries as well as vehicles driven bywomen have been kept outside the purviewof odd-even restrictions," said the transportMinister in the notification.

"While considering exemptions to cer-tain categories of vehicles, issue of enforce-ment on Delhi roads has been of paramountconcern. It is, however, noted that there areonly less than 1,000 non-transport electriccars registered in Delhi. There may not bemany enforcement issues if these cars arekept outside the odd-even restrictions.Their presence on Delhi roads is not like-ly to cause any congestion and consequentpollution. It has, therefore, been decided to

exempt the electric vehicles from the odd-even restrictions," it read further.

However, this year the CNG vehicles arenot exempted from the odd even scheme.The odd even scheme was implemented in2016.

The Transport Minister also inspectedthe training and briefing of 5,000 CivilDefence volunteers who will be deployedacross the city at traffic intersections and redlight to generate awareness among thecommuters about the road rationing scheme.The scheme was implemented in the year2016.

"Civil defence volunteers played animportant role during the last Odd Even pro-grammes in Delhi. They assist the trafficpolice and guide the public. The Governmentrecognises and admires their role. To ensurebetter implementation of this scheme, jack-ets, placards and other relevant material hasbeen handed over to these volunteers, whichis required for their duties during this roadrationing campaign," said Gahlot.

Apart from this, the Government hashired 2,000 additional buses to facilitate themovement of commuters and Delhi Metrowill also have additional 61 trips during theroad rationing scheme. Further, the stag-gered timings have also been implementedfor the all the Government officials exclud-ing the private companies. Some section ofofficials will come at 9:30 am and others at10:30 am.

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���&&����������� /01�+023'

Delhi Congress presidentSubhash Chopra and sev-

eral other leaders of the partywere detained by the police onSunday during a protest atChief Minister ArvindKejriwal's residence against thealarming levels of air pollutionin the national Capital.

The protesters weredetained after they attempted tosit on a dharna outside Kejriwal'sCivil Lines residence. BesidesChopra, former Delhi Congresspresident JP Agarwal, partyspoke person Jitender Kocharand other senior leaders weredetained and taken to the CivilLines police station. Around 40protesters were detained andreleased subsequently, a DelhiPolice officer said.

"People are facing severe airpollution due to the inactionand failure of the AAP gov-ernment in Delhi and the BJP-ruled Centre as well as the city'smunicipal corporations,"

Chopra said during the demon-stration. Chopra said that Delhihas become a virtual "gaschamber" and people now

dread to come out of theirhomes due to air pollution.

He said that hospitals inDelhi have witnessed the num-

ber of lung and respiratorycases going up exponentially inthe last couple of weeks, as theAAP Government has not

taken any step to stem the tideof pollution levels soaring high.

" Kejriwal Governmentshown the same sort of enthu-siasm in implementing theodd-even scheme for control-ling air pollution in Delhi in thelast five years, then people inDelhi would have breathedclean air," he added.

Former MP Jai PrakashAgarwal said that the fact thatthe Delhi Govt is once againresorting to the odd-evenscheme proves that vehicularpollution was a major con-tributing factor in fowling theair quality in Delhi.

Ajay Maken accused theAAP and the BJP of indulgingin shadow boxing instead oftaking some concrete steps tocombat alarming pollution.Maken said that Kejriwal wastrying to gain cheap politicalmileage by blaming neigh-bouring states for the spike inair pollution in Delhi.

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���&&����������� /01�+023'

In view of the severe air pol-lution in the national Capital,

the Delhi Government issueda health advisory on Sunday,asking people to avoid outdooractivities as much as possible,especially during the morningand late evening hours.

Air pollution had reachedthe severe level and asked peo-ple to follow the dos and don'tsas mentioned in the advisory,Delhi Health Minister SatyendarJain said in a statement.

The advisory said the airpollution might cause respira-tory problems in healthy peo-ple on a prolonged exposureand pronounced respiratoryor other serious illnesses for thevulnerable population even ona short exposure.

"The general public is,therefore, advised to avoid out-door physical activities, espe-cially during morning and lateevening hours," it stated.

The vulnerable populationwas advised to strictly avoidoutdoor activities, remainindoors and keep activity lev-els low.

Traffic police personnel,rickshaw-pullers and roadsidevendors were advised to takeextra precautions.

The dos and don'ts askedpeople to remain indoors andreschedule their outdoor activ-ities, consult doctors in case of

breathlessness, giddiness,cough, chest discomfort orpain and irritation in the eyes.

Using N95 masks, avoidingheavy traffic and polluted areas,keeping doors and windowsclosed in the morning and lateevening were also advised bythe Government.

It also asked people to usepublic transport, avoid dri-ving two-wheelers and othervehicles, and stop smoking.

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Satya Pal Malik, who was sworn in asthe governor of Goa on Sunday, said

he successfully dealt with the issues inKashmir, which is known as a “prob-lematic place”, and looks to spend histenure in the costal State in a peacefulway.

Jammu & Kashmir is peaceful nowand is on the path of progress, Malikwho was the last governor of the erst-while state said.

Bombay High Court Chief JusticePradeep Nandrajog administered theoath of office to Malik at the Raj Bhavanhere.

“I have come from Kashmir whichis known to be a very problematic place.I have dealt there successfully and han-dled all issues. Jammu & Kashmir is apeaceful and good place now which ison the path of progress.

The leadership there is non-con-troversial. They are doing their work

very well, so I feel that I would bespending time here in much peacefulway,” he said.

“People here are good. The chiefminister is talking less but Goa has aname across the world,” he added.

Malik, 73, replaced Mridula Sinhawho was holding the Goa governor’spost since August 2014.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawantwas amongst the prominent digni-taries who attended the swearing-inceremony.

Jammu & Kashmir ceased to be aState from October 31 after the Centrewithdrew its special status under Article370 on August 5 and split it into UnionTerritories of Jammu & Kashmir, andLadakh.

On Thursday, Radha KrishnaMathur and G C Murmu took oath asthe first Lt Governors of the UnionTerritories of Ladakh and Jammu &Kashmir, respectively.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday presented

a brief blueprint for furtherexpansion of India’s multi-sec-toral engagement with theAssociation of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN), one of themost influential groupings fortrade and investment globally.

In his opening address atthe India-ASEAN summit, theprime minister said enhancingsurface, air and maritime con-nectivity between India and 10nations of the bloc will signif-icantly boost regional trade

and economic growth.Modi said there was oppor-

tunity for boosting cooperationin the maritime security sphereand blue economy as well as inareas of agriculture, engineer-ing, digital technology and sci-entific research.

The Prime Minister alsowelcomed convergence ofviews between India andASEAN for cooperation in theIndo-Pacific region.

“India’s Act East policy isan important part of our Indo-Pacific vision and ASEAN liesat the core of it. Integrated andeconomically vibrant ASEAN

is in interest of India,” Modisaid in presence of leaders ofASEAN countries.

The 10-nation Associationof Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) is considered one ofthe most influential groupingsin the region and India andseveral other countries includ-

ing the US, China, Japan andAustralia are its dialogue part-ners.

The ties between India andASEAN have been on anupswing. The ASEAN regionalong with India together com-prises combined populationof 1.85 billion people, which isone fourth of the global popu-lation and their combined GDPhas been estimated at overUSD 3.8 trillion. Investmentfrom ASEAN to India has beenover USD 70 billion in the last17 years accounting for morethan 17 per cent of India’stotal FDI.

The Prime Minister arrivedhere on a three-day visit onSaturday to attend ASEAN-India, the East Asia and theRCEP summits.

The annual ASEAN sum-mit, a grouping of 10 influen-tial countries, is taking placeamid China’s aggressive behav-iour in the disputed SouthChina Sea as well as in theIndo-Pacific region.

The 10 member countriesof ASEAN are Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines,Singapore, Thailand, Brunei,Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar andCambodia.

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Thousands of students havefilled and submitted online

applications for pre and postmatric scholarships at specialkiosks set up by Srinagaradministration, an official saidon Sunday.

These include studentsfrom other districts and thosewho have applied for minori-ty scholarships adding up to atotal of over 7200 applications,the spokesperson said.

He said some 65 comput-er-with-internet kiosks were setup to ensure the facilitation ofall students approaching thefacilities to register and applyfor the scholarships.

The Srinagar administra-tion also approached the man-agement of schools and collegesin the district in order toensure that no interested or

deserving student missed outon the chance to apply, the offi-cial said.

Deputy Commissioner ofSrinagar Shahid IqbalChoudhary has instructed theNational Informatics Centre(NIC) to set up these kiosksand ensure that all studentsapproaching these facilities areaccommodated and assistedin all manners possible, headded. He said the last date forsubmission of applications wasextended up to November 15after the government took upthe matter with the Centreand requested for an extension. All Internet servicesremain suspended acrossKashmir since August 4 —hours before the Centreannounced the abrogation ofArticle 370 and bifurcation ofJammu & Kashmir into twoUnion territories.

Hyderabad: Employees of Telangana StateRoad Transport Corporation (TSRTC) contin-ued their strike on 30th day on Sunday, a dayafter Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao setfinal deadline for them to return to work.

The Chief Minister while announcing pri-vatisation of 5,100 TSRTC routes had askedemployees to return to work by November 5midnight, failing which remaining 5,000 routeswill also be privatised.

Joint Action Committee (JAC) of strikingemployees on Sunday ruled out calling off thestrike without the government meeting theirdemands.

JAC convenor Ashwathama Reddy askedemployees not to be scared. He advised them tobe courageous and not to compromise on theirself-respect.

Recalling that the employees had notreturned to work despite the earlier deadline setby the Chief Minister, he said this time toonobody will join the duty.

He said the Chief Minister had no right todismiss any employee.

Meanwhile, another TSRTC employee diedof cardiac arrest. JAC leaders said conductorRavinder of Warangal district died due todepression. About 10 employees have died sincethe strike began on October 5. IANS

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From Page 1The NCP and Congress

have for the past several daysbeen mulling over the need tokeep the BJP out of power inMaharashtra, an objective thatcan be realised by extendingtheir support to the Shiv Senawhich is showing clear signs ofbreaking away from the BJPand forming its Governmentwith the support of the twomajor Opposition parties in theState.

Amid blitzkrieg unleashedby the Shiv Sena in the mediaabout its likely victory in theongoing power strugglebetween the saffron alliance,Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis expressed hope thatthe impasse between the BJPand Shiv Sena would soon endand a new Government wouldbe formed soon. “I feel that thepolitical impasse would endsoon. Ultimately, all of us haveto work in the interest of theState. Currently, the unsea-sonal rain-hit farmers are fac-ing serious hardships. Underthe circumstances, it is essen-tial that a new Government isformed at the earliest. In theinterest of the State, I am opti-mistic that a new Governmentwill be formed in the Statesoon,” Fadnavis said, whiletalking mediapersons afterstudying the situation andholding a review meeting withdistrict in Akola on Sundaymorning.

Speaking separately tomediapersons at Nashik innorth Maharashtra, BJP leader

and Water Resources MinisterGirish Mahajan said: “Theterm of the current StateAssembly will end onNovember 9. There is no needto worry much aboutGovernment formation. OnNovember 9, Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis will meetthe Shiv Sena leaders. I am con-fident that at the November 9,a solution will be found to thestalemate between the BJP andSena over the formation of newGovernment in the State”.

Interestingly, Raut scotchedthe speculation doing rounds inthe social media since Saturdaynight that as part of the emerg-ing political “deal” being“reached” among the Sena,NCP and Congress, Pawarwould become the ChiefMinister of the State and AdityaThackeray would be theDeputy Chief Minister in thenew Government. “SharadPawar will not come to theState politics. His stature is big-ger than that of the ChiefMinister’s post,” he said.

Raut’s comments shouldbe seen in the context of anarticle he has written in hisSunday column in the Sena’sofficial mouthpiece Saamana,in which he has spoken aboutfive political options for for-mation of a Government inMaharashtra. Of the fiveoptions, he has stressed on twooptions: First, the BJP andSena should take four stepsbackward, come together andform an alliance Governmentin the State by sharing between

them the Chief Minister’s postfor period of two and a halfyears each. Raut writes that thisis a good alternative but it is notpossible because of the “arro-gance” of the BJP.

In the second option -based on which the Senaspokesperson appeared to havehis statement on Sunday, Rautsays that if the BJP - being thesingle largest party -- fails towin the confidence vote in theState Assembly, the Shiv Senacan stake a claim to form a newGovernment in the State.

“The combined strength ofShiv Sena (56), NCP (54),Congress (44) and others goesup to 170. In that case, the ShivSena can have its ChiefMinister heading theGovernment. The three partieswill have to prepare a commonminimum programme and runthe Government. Like ABVajpayee ran the Governmentin New Delhi, the Sena willhave to run the Government bytaking the two other partiesalong with it. This option is inthe interest of Maharashtra,”Raut writes.

Like in the past few days,Raut slammed Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis for reneg-ing on its promise of giving theChief Minister’s post to theSena for a period of two and ahalf years each and said that theSena deserved to have its manas it Chief Minister. “We havespoken about sharing the ChiefMinister’s post. The discussioncan happen between the twoparties only on this issue. If theBJP does not agree to ourdemand, then the Shiv Senawill form the Government on

its strength... Why can’t theSena man become the ChiefMinister?. The people of theState want the Sena man as theChief Minister. The people ofthe State want those individu-als who lie should be made tosit at home. The people wantsuch individuals to be thrownout of politics. The politics oflies has never succeeded inMaharashtra. Late BalsahebThackeray always believed inpolitics of truth,” the Senaspokesperson said.

Replying to a question,Raut said it was “mystery” as towhy BJP’s national presidentAmit Shah had not intervenedin the party’s impasse with theShiv Sena. “The issue of shar-ing of Chief Minister’s post ona rotational basis had takenplace in the presence of AmitShah. Uddhav Thackeray hasalready spoken about what hadtranspired in that meeting.Had Amit Shah met Uddhavji,the two leaders would have dis-cussed the issue and sorted outthe matters. But, Amit Shah’ssilence is mysterious,” Rautsaid.

Asked especially aboutAmit Shah, Raut said: “AmitShah is country’s HomeMinister. Our relations withAmit Shah are cordial eventoday”. He, however hastenedto add that it was for the BJPto initiate the talks.

In remarks that may fur-ther damage the alreadystrained relations between theSena and BJP, Raut charged thatthe ruling BJP was “misusing”the official machinery to estab-lish contact with MLAs andform a Government in the

State. “The kind of meansbeing used by the ruling BJPdoes not augur well for tradi-tions of Maharashtra. I have fullinformation about this. I don’ttalk without information....Whoever has so far missed offi-cial machinery have not suc-ceeded and their plans haveboomeranged on them. Thesekinds of things could go onfour to five years inMaharashtra, but these thingsdo not work now”.

In another serious chargeagainst the BJP, Raut said: “Ihave also seen one more thing:Some criminals and goondaswho are out of jail and enjoythe patronage of theGovernment, have for the last10 days attempted to put pres-sure on our MLAs. Butgoondagardi did not continuefor a long time. Even thesegoondas have gone into hidingnow... I will expose all thesethings in the near future. Wehave the details of how was theofficial machinery being mis-used, who all the goondas weremeeting and what they weretelling the MLAs concerned”.

Meanwhile, an SMS mes-sage received by senior NCPleader and former DeputyChief Minister Ajit Pawar fromRaut, when the latter was talk-ing part in a meeting of bothvictorious and defeated partyMLAs became a talking pointin the State political circles.“Through this small message,Raut has indicated that hewants to talk to me. I don’tknow what he wants to tell me.But, I will talk to Raut once Iam through with the things onhand,” Ajit Pawar said.

���������� ��.�;;;

From Page 1The Ministry of Earth

Sciences’ air quality monitor,SAFAR, said the city’s overallAQI reached as high as 708around 5 pm, which is 14times the safe level of 0-50.

An AQI between 0-50 isconsidered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘sat-isfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’,201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘verypoor’ and 401-500 ‘severe’. AnAQI above 500 falls in the‘severe plus’ category.

Meanwhile, the DelhiGovernment on Sunday issueda health advisory to help peo-ple fight the severe air pollutionlevel plaguing the national cap-ital for the past few days.

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal said the issueof pollution should not be“politicised” and called on allneighbouring states and theCentre to “sit together” anddeliberate on how to preventstubble burning as the air qual-ity in the national capitaldipped to alarming levels.

Keriwal said his govern-ment was not indulging in“blame game” but looking forsolutions to pollution caused bystubble burning.

Concerned over the level of

pollution, the CentralIndustrial Security Force(CISF) has issued masks tothousands of its personnel inview of the ‘severe’ category airquality in the national capitalregion.

Meanwhile, Punjab ChiefMinister Amarinder Singh onSunday said that the Punjabgovernment has acted againstnearly 3,000 of its farmers forburning stubble. He accused hisDelhi counterpart ArvindKejriwal of doing little beyond“playing” politics to address theproblem.

“Instead of addressing theproblem, Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal is playingpolitical games,” said Singh,asking what the AAP leader hasdone on the ground to resolvethe issue.

The Punjab chief ministersaid the state authorities haveinitiated action against a totalof 2,923 farmers in 20,729cases of stubble burningreported till November 1.Punjab government expectsabout 10 to 20 per cent declinein the number of such casesthis year as against 2018 as aresult of the intensified drive byit, he added.

Elaborating on actionsagainst farmers, Singh onSunday said against a total ofaround 49,000 cases of stubbleburning last year, this year thestate government has so farreceived reports of 20,729cases, with more than 70 percent of the paddy crop alreadyhaving been harvested, he said.

Singh on Saturday hadproposed a “stubble manage-ment bonus” of Rs 100 for aquintal of farming produce bythe Centre, while seekingitsintervention to chalk out aninter-state strategy to curb themenace of air pollution. Singhfurther said that the enforce-ment teams has visited 11,286fire incidents sites tillNovember 1, 2019 and envi-ronment compensationamounting to Rs 41.62 lakh hasbeen imposed in 1,585 caseswith FIRs registered in 202cases against defaulting farm-ers. According to someexperts, this level of pollutionis equivalent to smoking 33 cig-arettes a day. In the highest pol-lution reading yet this season,the US embassy recorded PM-2.5 level of 802 at 1 p.m. Thepollution level has been risingsince 1 a.m.

From Page 1Raising of the April inci-

dent by Malviya to rubbish theCongress snoopgate claim hastriggered a verbal duel betweenthe two parties and theCongress is now expected tocounter it. The BJP’s reactioncame minutes after Congressspokesperson Randeep SinghSurjewala held a Press confer-ence and claimed, “The illegalspyware ‘Pegasus’ was used tohack cell phones in the run-upto the 2019 general elections.The BJP Government was fullyaware of it. Despite repeatedreminders from Facebook, theGovernment didn’t act.”

.”

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From Page 1“I want to tell that Priyanka

Gandhi also received a similarmessage from WhatsApparound the same time,”Congress chief spokespersonRandeep Surjewala said,responding to a question aboutPraful and Mamata receivingmessages from the messagingplatform. Facebook-ownedWhatsApp has over 1.5 billionusers globally, of which Indiaaccounts for about 400 million.

Priyanka received the mes-sage around the same timewhen WhatsApp was sendingsimilar messages to those whosephones were allegedly hacked,Surjewala claimed.

This comes after WhatsApprevealed last week that Indianjournalists and human rightsactivists were among roughly1,400 users globally spied uponby unnamed entities using anIsraeli spyware, Pegasus.

The messaging platformhad said it sent special messagesto all the affected users statingthat it had “reason to believethey were impacted by thisattack to directly inform themabout what happened.”

WhatsApp had informedthe Indian Government inSeptember that 121 Indianusers were targeted by theIsraeli spyware Pegasus, butthe Information TechnologyMinistry has contended that theinformation received was notcomplete.

Sources at WhatsApp saidthe messaging platform hasnow responded to theGovernment’s last week’s queryseeking an explanation on thePegasus spyware incident thatallegedly snooped on journal-ists and human rights activistsacross the world, includingIndia.

Surjewala asked whetherthose sitting in the echelons ofpower are guilty of criminaloffences and whether theGovernment knew of the ille-gal spyware being deployed tospy on key persons.

“Shocking facts in#WhatsAppSpygate - Was theBJP Government spying oncitizens and political leaders inthe run up to 2019 elections.Did the Government know ofthe illegal spyware since May2019? Are those sitting in ech-elons of power guilty of crimi-nal offences,” Surjewala asked.

Describing the entire

WhatsApp snooping episode asworrisome, Congress leaderAnand Sharma, who chairs theparliamentary standing com-mitting on home affairs, saidthis issue will be taken up at thepanel’s next meeting onNovember 15.

The Home Secretary isscheduled to brief the panel onthe situation in Jammu &Kashmir in the next meeting.“In that meeting this issue willalso be discussed and we willseek details from the Secretary,”Sharma said.

Concerned about thisdevelopment, Shashi Tharoor,who heads the parliamentarystanding committee on infor-mation technology, said thepanel would share its concerns.He said he will consult othermembers by email on the mat-ter.

“In any case cybersecurityis a major issue on our agendaand we are definitely going totake this up under that rubric.And we will be seeking clarifi-cations from the Government,”Tharoor said.

He said as the WhatsAppNSO issue has emerged in theopen it is important to ensurethat no other social media plat-form can be similarly used, and

the panel will seek to learn howexactly the Government canensure that.

“It is vital that as a democ-racy, India remains vigilantabout the risk of our freedomsbeing eroded by technologicalmeans. We must not, at anyprice, become a surveillanceState like China,” he said.

Meanwhile, West BengalGovernor Jagdeep Dhankharon Sunday said many people hehas met here have raised con-cerns over breach of privacy.Dhankhar, however, clarifiedthat he was not aware of theinformation available withMamata on the matter, drawingreactions from TMC secretarygeneral Partha Chatterjee, whoquestioned “the Governor’sneed to comment on everythingthe Chief Minister has said”.

Meanwhile, the WhatsApphad said it was suing NSOGroup, an Israeli surveillancefirm, that is reportedly behindthe technology that helpedunnamed entities hack intophones of roughly 1,400 users.

These users span acrossfour continents and includediplomats, political dissidents,journalists and senior govern-ment officials.

��������666�

From Page 1The Delhi Government was

also directed by court to providelump sum ex-gratia of Rs 50,000,25,000 and 10,000 respectively toadvocates Vijay Verma, RanjitMalik and Pankaj Dubey whoreceived gunshot injuries, .

During the hearing, DelhiPolice told the bench that aSpecial Investigation Team (SIT)of the Crime Branch has beenformed to look into the clashand probe the matter. Police saidthat four First InformationReports (FIRs) have been lodgedin connection with the incidentunder relevant sections, includ-ing charges of attempt to mur-der.

“The cases were registeredon separate complaints of thedistrict judge of Tis Hazaricourt, two advocates, and aDelhi Police constable who wasinjured in the incident. On thecomplaint of the district judge,a case has been registered on thecharges of obstructing publicservant in discharge of publicfunctions, assault and rioting,”said police.

“Two cases have been reg-istered against police personnelon the complaint of two advo-cates, including a woman, on thecharge of attempt to murder, vol-untarily causing hurt, wrongfulconfinement, criminal intimi-dation, theft and use of criminalforce on woman with intent tooutrage her modesty. Anothercase was filed on the complaintof a police constable, who wasinjured in the incident, on thecharge of obstructing publicservant in discharge of publicfunctions, assault, attempt tomurder, rioting and robbery,”said police. Advocate RahulMehra, representing the DelhiPolice, told the bench that oneassistant sub inspector has beensuspended and another trans-ferred for alleged involvement inthe clash. He said that 21 policeofficials and eight advocateswere injured in the clash.

Lawyers, however, saidmore of their colleagues wereinjured than the number

claimed by the police. Theyalso claimed that two advocateswere injured in police firing, butpolice said they fired in the air.

Registrar General (RG)Dinesh Kumar Sharma said aclosed-door meeting was heldon Sunday morning by the chiefjustice and senior most judges ofthe high court.

“The meeting was alsoattended by senior police officersand additional chief secretary ofthe Delhi Government. After themeeting, the court decided tohold a hearing at 1 pm. Duringthe 1 pm hearing, the highcourt issued notices and soughtresponses of the Centre, theDelhi Police commissioner andthe chief secretary on the clashbetween lawyers and police. Italso asked the police officers,who were allegedly involved inthe clashes, to be present in thecourt at 3 pm,” said Sharma.

Tension prevailed inNational Capital’s Tis Hazaricourt complex on Saturday after-noon after a scuffle broke outbetween lawyers and DelhiPolice personnel over parking inthe complex. Around 21 vehiclesincluding Police Control Room(PCR) vans, prison vans and 12private bikes were set on fire andvandalized by lawyers.

The lawyers also allegedthat the police had opened firedon them in which two advocateshave sustained bullet injuries.Several police personnel includ-ing Additional DCP, North dis-trict also sustained injuries in theincident. The agitated lawyersalso burned the prison lockerroom and generator room in thecourt complex. According topolice, around eight to ten policepersonnel sustained injuries inthe incident. “Jarnail Singh,Station House Officer (SHO),civil lines police station sustainedserious injuries and is said to becritical. Rajeev Bharadwaj, SHOof Kotwali police station, sus-tained head injury and is under-going treatment. HarinderSingh, Additional DCP, Northand the operator of DCP, Northare also among the injuredpolice officials,” said the seniorpolice official.

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Gwalior : Three civic officials in Gwalior in MadhyaPradesh were suspended onSunday after a video of StateMinister Pradyumn SinghTomar entering a drain toclean it went viral on socialmedia.

The video shows MP Foodand Civil Supplies MinisterTomar cleaning the drainwhile standing in waist-highwater after residents of BirlaNagar repeatedly complainedabout the drain slush enteringtheir homes.

“The women residentscomplained several times butwhen no civic staff responded,I entered the drain to clean iton Sunday morning.

People are falling sickbecause of drain water enteringtheir homes,”

Tomar said, adding that hewould go out to more suchareas to carry out cleaningworks. PTI

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Ahome in the heart ofCochin, the commercial

capital of Kerala, was a dreamSaira Banu nurtured for years.This dream came true in 2007when she booked a flat atGolden Kayaloram, a 15-storeybuilding standing tall on a 19-acre plot of land in MaraduPanchayat of Ernakulam district.

But one fine day, 12 yearslater, the world around hercame crashing down.

On May 8 this year, theSupreme Court directed demo-lition of the entire building,housing 40 flats, citing viola-tions of laws relating to coastalregulation zone (CRZ).

This came as a shock toSaira Banu and other families

like hers in Golden Kayaloram,who are on the brink of losingtheir dream homes.

Saira Banu, a resident ofFlat 2-B, says, “We invested ourentire life’s savings to buy thishouse. For 12 years, no authority ever made a whisperof an objection that our build-ing falls in the coastal zone. Infact, the only water body nearour building is a man-madecanal separated by a publicroad. Authorities have told usthat a canal is exempted underthe CRZ notification. Thenwhy is our building beingdemolished?”

Commodore (Retd)Mathew Varghese, president ofthe Golden Kayaloram resi-dents association and whosefamily was among the first tomove in, says, “We are shocked

at the decision of the SupremeCourt. It has been passed without hearing us or noticingthe fact that we do not fall inthe CRZ category. Our lawyerstold us that the court clubbedour case with that of three otherresidential buildings in the

vicinity — Holy Faith Builders,Alfa Ventures and Jain Builders.These projects were given showcause notice in June 2007 forCRZ violations. But that is notthe case with us as we wereserved notice from MaraduMunicipality for zonal

violations under the KeralaMunicipal Building Rules.There was not a whisper ofCRZ.”

A closer look at the claimsof the residents and the recordsshow that construction for theGolden Kayaloram project

started in 1995.The CRZ Management

Plan was prepared by theKerala Government a year later— in September 1996. By then,the project had obtained no-objection certificate fromthe Maradu Municipality forconstruction. There is a municipality school adjoiningthis housing project and severalbuildings have come up subsequently in the vicinity.

Thomas Kariath, secretaryof Kayaloram ResidentsAssociation, feels the court hasbeen misled. He says, “Anybodyvisiting the area will get a clearpicture that our building doesnot violate any law, otherwise how does oneexplain the 9000-odd structures constructed within aone-kilometre radius from ourbuilding.”

“This is a developed urbanarea and if at all CRZ were toapply, we will fall under CRZ-II category, which permits suchconstruction. But the mistake

has been committed by theEnquiry Committee constitut-ed by the court. This commit-tee never visited us or spoke tous and wrongly placed us inCRZ-III category without anyenquiry. As a result, our landhas been declared a ‘no-con-struction area’, which is imprac-tical. Now even the court haspassed a decision without hear-ing our side. We are con-strained to knock the doors ofthe Supreme Court as naturaljustice requires we must beheard once.”

Varghese, who is also thepresident of the GoldenKayaloram Residents WelfareAssociation, has moved a cura-tive petition along with 17other residents seeking anopportunity of hearing fromthe top court before court’s order is implemented.

Advocate EMS Anam, whois leading the residents’ case inthe top court, said, “TheEnquiry Committee has playeda fraud on the court and we

want that the court must orderan investigation into how sucha miscarriage of justice tookplace.

The curative petition hasbeen filed by residents ofGolden Kayaloram projectalone and not by residents ofthe other three projects as thisproject stands on a differentfooting and got wronglyclubbed with the rest.”

The Supreme Court hasnot yet fixed a date for hearingthe curative petition. However,Anam got intimation from theSupreme Court Registry thatthe case is to be listed nextweek.

The petition will be heardin chambers by a bench ofChief Justice of India RanjanGogoi, Justices SA Bobde andNV Ramana besides the twojudges who passed the demo-lition order.

The 40-odd residentsmaintain their faith in judiciary and believe that thewrong done to them will be undone.

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The US has said the Lashkar-e-Tayaba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-

Mohammad (JeM) continued tobe a threat to India and slammedPakistan for granting legitimacyby allowing candidates affiliatedwith the LeT front organisations to contest the country’s last general elections.

The US has, however, not tar-geted the LeT and JeM master-minds who operate freely acrossPakistan. Washington has noteven taken any action againstAmerican companies that areproviding server services to theseterror groups or uploading radi-cal contents online which areoften used for radicalizing andrecruiting gullible minds into ter-ror fold, according to officialsfrom the covert agencies, addingWashington also did not object torelease of funds of LeT chiefHafiz Sayeed by the UnitedNations Security Council follow-ing a request from PakistanGovernment.

“Country Reports onTerrorism 2018’ published by the

US State Department on Fridayalso lambasted Islamabad for itsfailure in uniformly implementingthe Financial Action Task Force(FATF) Action Plan on moneylaundering and counter-terrorismand the UN sanctions related todesignated entities and individu-als like LeT and its affiliates,which continued to make use ofeconomic resources and raisefunds.

The report said, “Regionallyfocused terrorist groups alsoremained a threat in 2018. Forexample, Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — which was responsi-ble for the 2008 Mumbai attacks— and Jaish-e-Mohammad main-tained the capability and intent toattack Indian and Afghan targets.In February (2018), operativesreportedly affiliated with JeMattacked an Indian army camp atSunjuwan, in the state of Jammu& Kashmir, killing seven.”

The LeT and the JeM, bothsponsored by the Pakistan Army-ISI combine were responsible fora series of terror attacks in India that includeattack on Parliament, leading todeath of scores of innocent peo-

ple and security personnel.Pakistan Government has

failed to significantly limit the LeTand the JeM from raising money,recruiting and training inPakistan, and “allowed candi-dates overtly affiliated with theLeT front organisations to contestthe July general elections”, thereport said.

In June, the FATF placedPakistan on the “grey list” for defi-ciencies in its Anti-MoneyLaundering and CounteringFinancing of Terrorism(AML/CFT) regimes, includingthe failure to implement the UNsanctions related to designatedentities.

The US State Departmentsaid as a member of the

Asia/Pacific Groupon MoneyLaundering (APG),Pakistan has agreedto implement inter-national standards tocombat money laun-dering, terrorismfinance, and prolifer-ation finance but itsi m p l e m e n t a t i o nremained “very

poor”. “Pakistan criminalises ter-

rorist financing through the Anti-Terrorism Act, but implementa-tion remains uneven. In June2018, the FATF placed Pakistan onits ‘grey list’ for deficiencies acrossits AML/CFT regimes, specifical-ly citing concerns over Pakistan’sfailure to fully implement theUN Security Council ISIL (Da’esh)and al-Qa’ida sanctions regime.“The FATF noted that UN-listedentities, including the LeT and itsaffiliates, were not effectively pro-hibited from raising funds inPakistan, or being denied finan-cial services,” the report said.

“Pakistani authorities failedto uniformly implement UN sanc-

tions related to designated entitiesand individuals such as LeT andits affiliates, which continued tomake use of economic resourcesand raise funds,” it said.

The US report said Pakistan’s2015 National Action Plan tocombat terrorism includes effortsto prevent and counter terroristfinancing, including by enhancinginter-agency coordination oncountering the finance of terror-ism.

However, the Pakistani lawsrelating to anti-money launderingare essentially weak and thegroups and individuals banned byIslamabad can even access frozenfunds from bank accounts.

The law designates the use ofunlicensed ‘hundi’ and ‘hawala’systems as predicate offences toterrorism and requires banks toreport suspicious transactions toPakistan’s FIU, the (Pakistan)State Bank’s Financial MonitoringUnit, it said.

“These unlicensed moneytransfer systems persistedthroughout the country and wereopen to abuse by terroristfinanciers operating in the cross-border area,” the report added.

������������ � /01�+023'�

Emergence of a new terror groupunder the banner of Al Hind Brigade

comprising former leaders of banned out-fit Students Islamic Movement of India(SIMI) has set alarm bells ringing in thesecurity establishment as the outfit aims to target right wing Hinduleaders.

The outfit had in a post in its inter-nal communication network recentlyhailed the killing of Hindu leaderKamlesh Tiwari in Lucknow last monthas a new beginning.

The development assumes signifi-cance as the crucial verdict on theRamjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid disputeis expected to be delivered by theSupreme Court before November 17.

Initial assessments suggest the out-fit could have linkages with the AlQaeda and Pakistan sponsored terrorgroup Jaish-e-Mohammad, both of whichhave been seeking expand their footprint,especially in the wake of abrogation ofArticle 370 of the Constitution thatgranted special status to Muslim-major-ity Jammu & Kashmir, sources said.

Regrouping of the SIMI that wentunderground over a decade back with thearrest of top leadership could pose majorchallenge for the security agencies andforces which are already stretched due tothe enhanced responsibilities in tacklinglaw and order situation in Jammu &Kashmir and taking preventive measuresacross the States in the wake of impend-ing SC judgment on Ayodhya.

The new outfit might also be gettingsupport of the sleeper cells of JeM in thehinterland which might be activated tofoment major communal discord fol-lowing verdict on the sensitive Ayodhyaissue, sources said.

Following Centre’s decision to scrapArticle 370 and bifurcate the erstwhileState of Jammu & Kashmir into theUnion Territories of Jammu and Kashmirand Ladakh has rattled Pakistan as themove negates Islamabad’s position thatthere is a dispute over the State.

Having failed to gain any supportfrom the international community on itsopposition to the rescinding of the spe-cial status of J&K, Pakistan has been seek-ing to use its terror proxies to carry outhits in the Valley as well as the Indian hin-terland, sources added.

��� � /01�+023'

In an effort to furtherstrengthen defence ties, India

and Uzbekistan have signedthree pacts on cooperation insecurity ties after a meetingbetween Defence MinisterRajnath Singh and his Uzbekcounterpart Major GeneralBakhodir NizamovichKurbanov. Singh is Uzbekistanon a three-day visit there end-ing on Sunday.

The two Defence Ministersjointly presided over the cur-tain raiser of the first-everIndia-Uzbekistan army jointexercise “Dustlik 2019.”Incidentally, it the first visit byIndian Defence Minister toUzbekistan in more than 15years.

Giving details of the pactsinked, Defence Ministry saidhere on Sunday, Singh, who isattending Council of Headsand Governments (CHGs) of

the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation as the specialenvoy of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in Tashkent,held talks with his Uzbek coun-terpart on Saturday.

“Following the meeting,the two sides concluded amemorandum of understand-ing(MOU) on cooperation inthe field of Military Medicinebetween the armed forces ofthe two countries. In the com-ing days, the sides will contin-ue discussions at the expertlevel to further enhance theirexchanges in this sphere,” astatement by the DefenceMinistry said.

The MoU is a byproduct ofinteractions emanating fromthe MoU on MilitaryEducation signed between thetwo countries in October 2018,it said. Two Institution-to-Institution MoUs on trainingand capacity building betweeninstitutes of higher military

learning of the two countrieswere also signed, the statementsaid.

The Defence Ministersagreed that the two sides wouldcontinue to work together tofurther raise their level ofengagement in the defencesphere in keeping with strate-gic partnership between Indiaand Uzbekistan,” it said.

In the coming days, the

statement said, the two sideswill continue discussions atthe expert level to furtherenhance their exchanges inthis sphere.

The two DefenceMinisters also witnessed thefirst-ever exchange over avideo-link between College ofDefence Management inSecunderabad, Telangana, andArmed Forces Academy of

Uzbekistan in Tashkent. This would be based on

higher level of mutual trust andrespect between the two coun-tries and on their shared viewsand approaches on a range ofregional and internationalissues, including promotingregional stability and securityand combatting extremism andterrorism, the statementsaid.

During the meeting, bothsides expressed satisfaction atthe enhanced level of defenceengagement between India andUzbekistan. “This enhancedlevel of engagement is reflect-ed in the first ever meeting ofthe Joint Working Group onDefence Cooperation inFebruary 2019, visit of DefenceSecretary of India in March2019 and the first-everDefence-Industry Workshoporganised in Tashkent inSeptember 2019,” the state-ment said. India has offered a

concessional line of credit ofUSD 40 million for procure-ment of goods and services byUzbekistan from India.

The direct exchanges relat-ed to training, capacity build-ing and education between thearmed forces on both the sideshas also witnessed a significantupswing.

As regards the first everjoint exercise, the defence min-istry said it will be conductedfrom November 4-13, 2019, atChirchiq Training Area nearTashkent and will be focusedon counter-terrorism, an areain which the two countriesshare a common concern.

In the exercise, an IndianArmy contingent will trainalong with Uzbekistan Army.The exercise will enable shar-ing of best practices and expe-riences between the armedforces of the two countriesand would lead to greater oper-ational effectiveness.

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As Delhi gasps for fresh air anddoctors here equate bad air

with new tobacco, a new researchfrom King’s College London hasjust substantiated the fear as itwarned that high air pollution cancause extra heart attacks, higherrate of stroke and new asthmacases particularly in children.

The study Personalising theHealth Impacts of Air Pollution,analysed data from British cities,included London, Birmingham,Bristol, Derby, Liverpool,Manchester, Nottingham, Oxfordand Southampton.

The study said, “Each year onaverage, higher air pollution daysin London are responsible for 87more cardiac arrests outside hos-pital than lower air pollutiondays.” The researchers found thatroadside air pollution inBirmingham stunted lung growthin children by 7.7 per cent, whilecutting air pollution in London byone-fifth would increase chil-dren’s lung capacity by around 4%.

Worldwide, an awareness ofthe dangers of air pollution isgrowing. The World HealthOrganization (WHO) estimatesthat air pollution kills 7 millionpeople each year — equivalent to13 deaths every minute.

Globally, says the WHO, morethan 90 per cent of childrenunder 15 breathe air that puts theirhealth at serious risk. The youngare especially susceptible, becausetheir lungs are still developing andtheir breathing is faster thanadults’, so they take in more pol-lutants relative to their bodyweight. One of the most commonailments that results is asthma.Poorer children are still morevulnerable, since their schools

tend to be near busyroads.

Dr PrashantSaxena, Head OfDepartment , pul-monology and sleepmedicine, Max SmartSuper SpecialityHospital, Saket said,“there is no doubt that

poor air quality poses a greatthreat to survival. We have seen asubstantial increase in the num-ber of patients complaining of res-piratory diseases like COPD, asth-ma, bronchitis and their flare-ups.

“There is also an increase incardiac problems like heart attacksand chest pain etc. Associatedallergic problems like nasal dis-charge/sneezing, headache, eyeburning, sore throat etc have alsobeen observed, especially in chil-dren. Moreover, maternal expo-sure can cause fatal growth retar-dation, fatal deaths and retardedgrowth of child post-delivery.”

Dr Dharminder Nagar, ParasHealthcare added, “Statistics haverepeatedly proved that Delhi’s air

is indeed the most toxic in theworld followed with the unprece-dented public health emergencydeclared in Delhi this year too.Worrisomely, over 660 millionIndians live in areas that floutingthe standards of safe exposure toPM 2.5. It is evident that air pol-lution has emerged as the singlemost hazardous threat to thehealth of Indians — especiallychildren whose underdevelopedlungs put them at severe risk ofrespiratory disorders.

Exposure to toxicants in theair is not only associated with res-piratory disorders but has wideranging and dreadful implica-tions including increased risk ofcardiovascular diseases, neu-ropsychiatric complications, skindiseases, as well as cancer.

Air pollution is also consid-ered as an environmental risk fac-tor in the incidence and progres-sion of diseases such as asthma,lung cancer, autism, Alzheimer’sand Parkinson’s diseases. In short,air is the new tobacco”, Dr Nagarsaid.

��� � /01�+023'

Chief Justice of India (CJI)Ranjan Gogoi on Sunday

strongly defended the currentexercise of National Register ofCitizens (NRC) in Assam, say-ing it would be a base docu-ment for future and wasurgently needed as prior to itthere was “guesswork” on thenumber of illegal immigrantsin the State that had fuelled fearand a vicious cycle of violence.

Justice Gogoi, who is head-ing an apex court bench whichis monitoring the process ofNRC in Assam, was also criti-cal of “arm chair commenta-tors” who, he said, are not onlyfar away from the ground real-ity but also present a highly dis-torted picture due to which thestate and its development agen-

da have taken a hit. The CJI,who hails from Assam, said thatNRC is neither a “new or anovel idea” as it found expres-sion as early as in 1951 and thecurrent exercise is an attempt toupdate the 1951 NRC.

“The NRC is not withoutcontestations. Let me take thisoccasion to clarify. The NRCis not a new nor a novel idea.It founds expression as early asin the year 1951 and in partic-ular context of Assam in year1985 when the Assam accordwas signed. In fact, the currentNRC is an attempt to updatethe 1951 NRC,” said JusticeGogoi, who was addressing agathering here during inaugu-ration of book ‘Post ColonialAssam (1947-2019)’ authoredby veteran journalist MrinalTalukdar.

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If implemented, the draft legislation,Medical Devices (Safety,

Effectiveness and Innovation) Bill,2019 which has been put up for con-sultation within Ministries will ensurethat pharma majors are bound to paycompensation in case their implants ormedical devices are found to haveadverse effects.

The proposed law comes on theheels of a controversy surrounding hipimplants marketed by US medicaldevice giant Johnson & Johnson,which was found faulty and toxic topatients using them. Affected patientshad to move to court to get the com-pensation for the disability they suf-fered due to the faulty devices.

Currently, India does not have anylegal provisions to compensate patientsfacing health problems due to faultymedical devices.

The draft law proposes a penaltyof up to �1 crore and jail term extend-ing three years to the manufacturers orimporters for faulty medical deviceshaving adverse impacts on patients.

As per the new regulatory frame-work proposed by the Government

think tank Niti Aayog, patients suf-fering from adverse effects of faultymedical devices and implants will beable to demand compensation fromthe manufacturer or the firm import-ing them. The draft legislation aims atregulating all locally-made and import-ed medical devices. It has suggesteda jail term extending up to three yearsor fine up to �50 lakh or both for plac-ing a medical device in the marketwithout a valid certificate of confor-mity, obtaining a registration andwithout complying with conditions asmay be specified under the proposedAct.

“Any person who has sufferedharm or injury as a result of any vio-lation of any provision of this Act, rulesor regulations, such person shall havethe right to seek compensation fromthe manufacturer or other economicoperator committing a violation in

respect of that device,” the proposedlaw reads.

The draft legislation also proposeda separate regulator under theDirectorate General of Health Servicesto monitor the medical devices sector.

Currently, both drugs and med-ical devices are regulated by theCentral Drugs Standard ControlOrganisation (CDSCO).

It has also proposed registration ofall medical devices in the NationalRegister of Medical Devices beforebeing placed in the market and puttingan unique identification number(UID) to be displayed on the label ofa product.

All foreign manufacturers “mustcomply with conformity assessmentrequirement in accordance with theprovisions of this Act, obtain a con-formity assessment certificate andregister their device in the NationalRegister of Medical Devices prior tothe commencement of export intoIndia unless exempted from suchrequirement by the administration”.

The draft bill also has penalty pro-vision including imprisonment foroffences related to clinical trials andsale of medical devices.

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Inspector General of Police,Jammu Zone, Mukesh Singh

on Sunday reviewed the secu-rity situation on the eve of thefirst ‘Darbar Move’ underwhich offices including theCivil Secretariat— the seat ofJammu & KashmirGovernment— will bereopened here.

Singh chaired a meeting ofJammu based officers of police,security and traffic, andreviewed the deployment madeby different wings in andaround the Civil Secretariat,Raj Bhawan and vital routes, apolice spokesperson said.

Under the bi-annual‘Darbar Move’, the governmentof Jammu & Kashmir functionsfor six months each in Srinagarand Jammu.

This is the first ‘DarbarMove’ after the state’s bifurca-tion into UTs —Jammu &Kashmir, and Ladakh — whichcame into existence on October31.

The Civil Secretariat and

other government officesclosed in Srinagar on October25-26 and will reopen herealong with the Raj Bhavan onNovember 4.

The officers present in themeeting briefed the IGP aboutthe arrangements they havemade for enhancing the secu-rity and law and order arrange-ments during the functioningof ‘Darbar’ in Jammu, thespokesperson said.

While briefing the offi-cers, Singh directed them to putin their best for ensuring ade-quate security and law andorder arrangements during thefunctioning of the administra-

tion in Jammu.He also issued detailed

instructions to SSP Traffic cityJammu to improve the regula-tion of traffic system and pre-vent frequent jams in the cityduring peak hours especiallyduring the movement ofVVIPs, the spokesman said.

The IGP also directed juris-dictional Superintendents ofPolice of Jammu district to pro-vide necessary assistance totraffic police where traffic jamsare frequent for regulation oftraffic as and when the needarises so that no inconvenienceis caused to the common man,the spokesperson said further.

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Aday after Mamata Banerjeeaccused the Centre and

some other State Governmentsof taping her telephone a freshwar of words broke out onSunday between senior BengalGovernment functionaries andGovernor Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Reacting to reports ofpolice inaction in complyingwith the orders of NationalGreen Tribunal banning ChhatPuja at environmentally sen-sitiveplaces like the pic-turesque Rabindra Sarobarlake, considered “lungofKolkata,” the Governorexpressed doubts over theState Government’s intentionto comply with court orders.

“I have been informed abouthow for years many court ordersare not being implemented,”Dhankhar said circuitouslyaccusing the Government forinaction in preventing the devo-tees of Chat Puja from pollutingthe 192 acre lake and garden areareplete with a variety of flora andbird species.

Ignoring an National GreenTribunal ban on performing

Chat Puja at Rabindra Sarobarthousands of devotees onSaturday evening and Sundaymorning broke open the gatesperformed religious rites, burstcrackers and polluted the waterseven as the police disappearedfrom the area.

Reminding theGovernment of its duties toimplement court orders theGovernor said “law should beobeyed by the people andimplemented in right perspec-tive by the Government orelse there will be anarchy andno democracy,” adding when“the law wants you to paytaxes you have to pay it, whenthe law fixes a limit for you oneshould not cross it.”

Reacting to his commentssenior Trinamool Congressleader and Minister ParthoChatterjee said “he is talking notlike a Governor but a BJP leadermore so the State BJP presidentDilip Ghosh. It seems that Dilipbabu is speaking behind theveneer of the Governor.”

Another Minister andKolkata Mayor Firhad Hakimsaid “a Governor should alsoknow his limits. It seems he

does not carry a book on ‘dosand don’ts’. He has always beenpartisan and does not check outon facts,” adding the Governorwas acting not like an impar-tial person but an agent of theBJP-led Central Government.

Incidentally referring to adifferent kind of victimizationChief Minister MamataBanerjee had on Saturdayalleged that the Centre andsome States including one ruledby the BJP had been taping hertelephone calls demanding aprobe into the matter.

“Where is our freedom ofspeech? What independence dowe have now that we cannoteven talk freely over the phone?Somebody is listening to every-thing we say,” Banerjee saidadding she used to think that“WhatsApp messages can’t beintercepted but even that has-n’t been spared. Neither land-line phones nor mobilesphones are safe. It is total espi-onage,” and “this is very seri-ous.”

She said that she wouldrequest Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to getthe mat-ter probed.”

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Kolkata: A day after WestBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee claimed her phoneswere being tapped and soughta probe into charges of “snoop-ing” on activists and scribes,Governor Jagdeep Dhankharon Sunday said many people hehas met here have raised con-cerns over breach of privacy.

Dhankhar, however, clari-fied that he was not aware ofthe information available withBanerjee on the matter, draw-ing reactions from TMCSecretary General ParthaChatterjee, who questioned“the Governor’s need to com-ment on everything the ChiefMinister has said”.

Iterating that her calls werebeing tapped regularly by theCentre, the TrinamoolCongress supremo alleged onSaturday that the NarendraModi-led Government was“fully aware” of the securitybreach on messaging platformWhatsApp.

F a c e b o o k - o w n e dWhatsApp had said earlier this

week that Indian journalistsand rights activists were amongthose globally spied upon byunnamed entities using anIsraeli spyware ‘Pegasus’.

“Now that we are talkingabout the right to privacy, letme say that I have met heremany important people fromthe field of politics, business,other functionaries who havetold me that their privacy wasbeing compromised with,” theGovernor said on sidelines ofa programme here.

Asked about the CM’s alle-gation against the Centre, hesaid, “I am not aware what spe-cific information she has inpossession, based on whichshe levelled the charges.”

T h i r u v a n a n t h a p u r a m :Opposition Congress- led UDFin Kerala on Sunday demand-ed the resignation of ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan overslapping of UAPA against twoCPI(M) student activists whowere arrested for allegedly dis-tributing pro-Maoists pam-phlets, even as CPI(M) leadersblamed the police for the deci-sion.

Chennithala told reportersthat Vijayan, who also holds theHome portfolio, should resignas there was no other option.

The student activists ofthe CPI(M), in their early 20s,were arrested in Kozhikodeon Saturday morning under theUnlawful Activities PreventionAct (UAPA) for allegedly beingMaoist sympathisers and hav-ing some pamplets andbrochures with them.

The parents of the two —Thaha Fazal and Allan Shuhaib—have rubbished police claimsthat they are Maoist sympa-

thisers.Describing UAPA as a

‘double-edged sword’, LawMinister A K Balan, said itshould not be used as a weaponto annhilate the innocent andactivists working as per demo-cratic norms.

When an FIR is registered,lot of caution is needed.

“We will examine if in thiscase the FIR was registered asper rules,” he told reporters.

CPI(M)’s Kannur districtsecretary M V Jayarajan was ofthe view that the Governmentwould act and rectify the deci-sion to arrest the studentsunder the ‘dreaded’ UAPA.

With criticism mountingagainst the State Governmentand police over the decision toinvoke UAPA on the studentactivists, DGP Loknath BeheraSunday directed two seniorpolice officers to conduct animpartial probe and takeappropriate action.

Necessary instructions inthis regard have been issued toADGP Law and Order and IGP(North Zone), a press releasesaid.

“At present only a prelim-inary investigation has beendone. All aspects of the caseneed to be taken into accountand evidence collected. Onlyafter a detailed probe will it beclear if UAPA will stand in thiscase,” the release said.

Meanwhile, Justice P SGopinathan, heading the gov-ernment-appointed UAPAcommittee for granting per-mission for prosecution, toldreporters in Kochi that UAPAcannot be imposed solely on

the basis of recovery ofbrochures from the accused.

“Only if there is evidence,UAPA will be valid”, he saidadding there have been sever-al instances earlier when thecommittee had denied per-mission to impose UAPA forlack of evidence. UAPA wouldbe valid only if there was evi-dence, he said.

Actress Sajitha Madathil,who is the aunt of Shuhaib, saidthe police action to registerUAPA was ‘shocking’.

A group of 25 police per-sonnel came to the house in theearly hours of Saturday andsearched the house.

“He is not a Maoist. Whathas he done to attract UAPA?”,she asked.Police did not findanything from the house, andthey only took his mobilephone was taken away, shesaid.Allan’s mother Sabitha saidpolice had told them that herson had Maoist links, which isnot right. PTI

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Ahmedabad: Severe cyclonicstorm Maha is likely to makelandfall along Gujarat coastbetween Dwarka and Diu onthe night of November 6 andbring heavy to very heavy rainstill the next day, the IndiaMeteorological Departmentsaid on Sunday.

It is likely to intensify intoa very severe cyclonic storm inthe next six hours before mak-ing landfall, it added.

“Severe cyclonic stormMaha lay centered at 580 kilo-metres southwest of Diu and550 kms southwest of Veraval.It is most likely to intensify intoa very severe cyclonic stormand make landfall betweenDwarka and Diu onWednesday night or earlyThursday morning with windspeeds of 120 kilometres per

hour,” said regional IMD direc-tor Jayanta Sarkar.

“The storm will causeheavy to very heavy rains inSaurashtra and south Gujaraton November 6-7. It is movingtowards Oman but will recurvetowards Gujarat coast onMonday,” Sarkar informed.

Officials said ports acrossSaurashtra have been asked tohoist danger signal numbertwo to warn vessels and fish-ermen have been advised not toventure into the sea. PTI

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ABihar Minister’s son wasbeaten up by a group of

people in Madhepura districtin the early hours of Sunday,police said.

Bihar Sugarcane IndustriesMinister Bima Bharti’s sonRaj Kumar and his cousinSanjay Kumar were beaten upby a group of people nearBhatgama vil lage of the district, Superintendent ofPolice, Sanjay Kumar said.

Both have been admittedto Chausa primary health cen-tre for treatment, police saidadding that an FIR has beenlodged.

As per the FIR, Raj Kumarwas returning to his home after dropping his

friend at Sripur village whenthree persons stopped his SUV and thrashed him and his cousin with the butt of a revolver.

Raj Kumar alleged in hiscomplaint that he wasthrashed by relatives and menof Sushil Yadav, a former village head.

The Minister demandedthe immediate arrest of thoseinvolved in beating her son.She also demanded that strictaction be taken against the culprits.

“Is it the way a child isbeaten up? Is there any ban todrive a vehicle on the road?,” Bharti, a JD(U) MLAfrom Rupauli in Purnea district told reporters.

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Congress general secretaryand Rajasthan incharge

Avinash Pandey said onSunday that the party wouldhold Statewide protests fromNovember 5-15 over unem-ployment and against the“wrong” economic policies ofthe Centre.

“An important meeting inNew Delhi chaired by AICCpresident (Sonia Gandhi) washeld in which it was decided toprotest against the situationwhich has arose due to wrongpolicies of the Centre, includ-ing derailing the country’seconomy, unemployment andundeclared emergency,” Pandeytold reporters in Jaipur.

“A countrywide protest willbe lodged from November 5-15,” the Congress leader said,adding that memorandumswould be presented and a State-

level protest in Jaipur would bealso be held.

Pandey was here to attend ameeting of the State Congressahead of the civic body elections.

He said the municipal elec-tions were important forground workers of the partyand the organisation, addingthat the Congress would makeevery effort to touch the max-imum number of people andwin the polls.

Chief Minister AshokGehlot, Deputy Chief MinisterSachin Pilot and Bahujan SamajParty legislators who hadrecently defected to theCongress were also present inthe meeting.

Lucknow: Concerned overspike in air pollution, the UttarPradesh Government onSunday warned that action willbe taken against those burninggarbage, polythene and stubblein the field.

“Stubble burning in thefield results in massive air pol-lution. Therefore, farmersshould be encouraged andmade aware of the conse-quences of burning straw intheir fields. Officials shouldensure straw is mixed in the soilto make compost,” chief secre-tary Rajendra Kumar Tiwarisaid in a directive to officersconcerned.

Apart from this, arrange-ments should be made toensure sprinkling of water atconstruction sites, he said.

Keeping in view theupcoming winter, Tiwari saidsufficient arrangements of shel-ter homes should be made forthe homeless so that no desti-

tute is forced to sleep in theopen.

In order to distribute blan-kets to the poor, he said time-ly action should be taken forpurchasing blankets.

He also directed the offi-cers to take effective steps forthe release of the funds soon forbonfire in all the 75 districts inthe State. PTI

Chennai: Vice President MVenkaiah Naidu on Sundaybatted for cost-effective desali-nation initiatives to fulfill thecountry’s drinking water needsand favoured more research toaddress the issue.

Addressing the silverjubilee celebrations of theNational Institute of OceanTechnology here, he lauded theinstitution for its sustainedefforts in six key areas of blueeconomy including fisheriesand aquaculture, renewableocean energy, offshore hydro-carbons, and marine biotech-nology.

These were all very impor-tant for the progress of thenation, the Vice President said.

The blue economy will aidin achieving the 14th of UNsustainable development goals,which is “life below water”.Itstates “conserve and sustainablyuse the oceans, seas and marineresources for sustainable devel-opment,” he said.

There is a need to give astrong thrust to research activ-ities and innovation in theareas of ocean energy, marine

biology and biotechnology forthe nation to become a leaderin those sectors and NIOTcan be a forerunner for achiev-ing the milestone, he said.

On NIOT’s technologiesfor societal applications like thedesalination plants, he said, “Iam sure in the coming days,this process of desalinationwill get further impetusbecause I am worried that wemay face water problem andwater challenges.”

Pointing to indicationsfrom some people that “theremay be water wars across theglobe,” he said and added “wemust try to utilise available seawater and for that you need todo more and more research.”

Naidu further said “youalready found some solutionsbut it has to be cost-effectivebecause converting saline waterto potable water; sweet water isa very good thing that will solvethe the problem to maximumpossible extent but the questionis at what cost and that is theissue.”

Noting that scientificresearch was on around theworld on this issue, he saidsome of the countries that hevisited depended only ondesalination plants for its waterneeds.

“We are a huge countrywith 130 crore population andour requirement is also huge;we have to focus our attentionon future challenges along withpresent challenges.”

Observing that the nationhas a “galloping population,” hesaid “...We are not focusingenough attention on popula-tion planning; family planningand population planning.”

In his characteristic wittystyle, he said this issue was a“little sensitive,” for politicianswho may feel that it could lead

to “political family planning,”for them apparently referring tolikelihood of political implica-tions.

He indicated that they maynot feel so, since the initiativewas only for the people’s wel-fare since resources like landand water were just the samewhile population was on therise alongside challengesincluding climatechange.Hence, planning offamilies and the populationgains significance to take careof the future, he said.

Naidu launched the“Coastal Flood WarningSystem (CFLOWS-Chennai)App,” for Chennai developed bythe Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Earlier, he viewed exhibitson the cutting edge and social-ly relevant technologies devel-oped by NIOT and released aspecial postal cover to mark itssilver jubilee.

The vice president gaveaway awards to student winnersof competitions conducted bythe institution to mark NIOT’ssilver jubilee. PTI

Panaji: Satya Pal Malik was onSunday sworn in as theGovernor of Goa.Chief Justiceof the Bombay High CourtJustice Pradeep Nandrajogadministered the oath of officeto Malik at Raj Bhavan.

Malik had earlier served asthe Governor of Jammu andKashmir, which has been bifur-cated into two union territories.

Malik, 73, replacedMridula Sinha who was hold-ing the Goa Governor’s postsince August 2014.

Chief Minister PramodSawant was amongst theprominent dignitaries whoattended the swearing-in cer-emony.

“I have come fromKashmir which is known to bea very problematic place. Ihave dealt there successfullyand handled all issues. J&K isa peaceful and good place nowwhich is on the path of

progress. The leadership there is

non- controversial. They aredoing their work very well, soI feel that I would be spendingtime here in much peacefulway.

“People here are good. TheCM is talking less but Goa hasa name across the world,” Maliksaid on the occasion.

Jammu & Kashmir ceasedto be a State from October 31after the Centre withdrew itsspecial status under Article 370on August 5 and bifurcated itinto Union Territories of Jammu& Kashmir and Ladakh. PTI

Lucknow: The Uttar PradeshGovernment and theOpposition were engaged in ablame game over the invest-ment of over �2,600 crore of theState power corporationemployees’ provident fund inscam-hit housing finance firmDHFL.

The AdityanathGovernment accused the pre-vious Akhilesh Yadav dispen-sation of “opening the gate ofcorruption” by taking the“dubious” decision of investingpart of the Uttar Pradesh PowerCorporation Ltd (UPPCL)employees’ provident fund(EPF) in DHFL.

The Samajwadi Partyaccused the BJP of diverting theattention of the public by blam-ing party chief and formerChief Minister Akhilesh Yadav,while the Congress demandedthe resignation of State Energy

Minister Shrikant Sharma.

According to Sharma,UPPCL director (finance)Sudhanshu Dwivedi andPraveen Kumar Gupta, thethen secretary of the Statepower employees trust andUPPCL provident fund trust,began the actual investment inthe DHFL from March 2017without bringing the matter tothe knowledge of the powerutility’s managing director.

Sharma said the two offi-cials began investing theUPPCL’s EPF in the DewanHousing Finance CorporationLtd (DHFL) despite a clearanceto deposit the money for a fixedperiod in the Punjab NationalBank (PNB).

Gupta and Dwivedi havealready been arrested and anFIR was registered at the

Hazratganj police station inLucknow.

Adityanath had onSaturday recommended a CBIprobe into the investment of�2,631.20-crore EPF of theUPPCL in DHFL.Incidentally,the DHFL promoters were alsorecently grilled by theEnforcement Directorate fortheir alleged links with a frontcompany of Iqbal Mirchi, a for-mer aide of fugitive gangsterDawood Ibrahim.

Detailing chronology ofthe investment decision,Sharma said: “During theAkhilesh Yadav’s regime onApril 21, 2014, it was decidedthat if there are options of get-ting more interest, the amountof EPF and GPF (general prov-ident fund) can be investedthere (DHFL).”

“By taking this decision,the gates of corruption were

opened (during the SPregime),” the minister said.

“The process of invest-ment was carried forward in2016 and, on December 17,2016, the trust’s secretary(Gupta) and UPPCL’s financedirector (Dwivedi) were autho-rised for this,” he said. “Afterthis, from March 2017, theprocess to investment of theEPF money in DHFL began.”

According to Sharma, acommittee was constitutedwithin two days after getting acomplaint of the “dubiousinvestment” on July 10 thisyear. The report was submittedon August 29 and the govern-ment had initiated strict actionon the basis of its recommen-dations.The Minister pointedout that the energy departmentportfolio was with Yadav at thattime.

“He (Akhilesh) is trying to

put our Government in thedock alleging corruption, buthe should reply why his gov-ernment prepared the groundfor corruption. Was not theentire matter going onAkhilesh’s directions?” Sharmaasked.

The Samajwadi Party hitback at the BJP and dubbed theallegations “false”.

“The ruling party, which isneck deep in corruption, isdiverting attention of the pub-lic. It is levelling false allega-tions due to politics of hatred,”it tweeted. “BJP ministerSharma ji who has taken adonation of �20 crore fromDHFL must answer ‘yeh rish-taa kya kehlaata hai’ (what is relationship is called)?”

Taking a dig at Congressleader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra,Sharma said: “She (Priyanka),

too, should tell the people whyher husband (Robert Vadra)grabbed land of farmers inBikaner and Haryana.”

The Minister’s responsecame after Priyanka Gandhiaccused the BJP-led dispensa-tion of investing the money ofUPPCL’s employees in “dubi-ous” companies.

“Whose interest was to beserved by investing more than�2,000 crore of the employees’hard-earned money in such acompany? Is it justified to playwith the future of the employ-ees?” Priyanka Gandhi hadasked in a tweet.

Slamming the Congressand the SP, Sharma said: “It’slaughable that the parties,whose names are synonymouswith corruption, have levelledallegations against theGovernment of a ‘sanyasi’.” PTI

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Mumbai: Senior Shiv Senaleader Sanjay Raut on Sundaysaid the political impasse overformation of new Governmentin Maharashtra was like a“chariot stuck in the mud ofarrogance”.

In his weekly column inSena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’,Raut dared the BJP to imposePresident’s rule in the state, say-ing such a step would be theparty’s “biggest defeat of thecentury”.

His remarks came againstthe backdrop of the BJP’s standthat it will not share the ChiefMinister’s post and ministerSudhir Mungantiwar’s com-ments that the state may headfor President’s rule if the newGovernment is not in place byNovember 7.

Raut said the BJP, whichwon 105 seats in the lastmonth’s state polls, would nothave got more than 75 if it didnot have an alliance with theShiv Sena.

He also said the situation

wouldn’t have worsened hadChief Minister DevendraFadnavis visited Shiv Senapresident Uddhav Thackeray’sresidence ‘Matoshree’ “with alarge heart”, and begun talkssoon after the Assembly pollresults were announced onOctober 24.

Deliberating on five sce-narios that could emerge out ofthe current political situation inthe state, he said the “best alter-native” would be if the BJP andSena come together and formthe Government.

“But it is not possiblebecause of arrogance,” Rautsaid without taking any names.

“Despite (BJP, Sena) con-testing the elections in allianceand getting mandate for gov-ernment formation, the wheelof the chariot is stuck in themud of arrogance,” the RajyaSabha member said.

Raja Harishchandra gaveup his kingdom to fulfil acommitment made in hisdream while Lord Ram went to

exile to honour the word givenby his father to his step-moth-er, he pointed out.

“But in Kalyug, the BJP hasfulfilled a task of going back onits commitment,” Raut, who isthe executive editor of‘Saamana’, said in sarcasticremarks in the Marathidaily.

Admitting that govern-ment formation is stuck on theissue of the Chief Minister’spost, he said despite DevendraFadnavis declaring that he willreturn to the top post andPrime Minister Narendra Modiendorsing his candidature, the“wheels of the chariot arestuck”.

“It is a mystery that BJP’strouble-shooter Amit Shah has-n’t intervened to revive thechariot,” Raut said.

“Political discussions havestopped as the situation inMaharashtra is similar to Delhiwhere politics revolves aroundonly one person, rest all areonly for show,” he quipped.

It is a strange coincidencethat Fadnavis has no rival orcontender for Chief Minister’spost in the BJP, he added.

Raut further said the“agreements” made beforefinalising the alliance areimportant.

“Fadnavis is not ready togive the chief minister’s post toShiv Sena for two-and-a-halfyears. He on record agreed toequal sharing of posts andresponsibilities and now deniesthis and attempts to form gov-ernment with the help ofpolice, CBI, ED and Income

Tax,” the Sena leader alleged.It is surprising that this

should be done by those whostill observe imposition ofEmergency by Indira Gandhi asa ‘black day’, he said.

Discussing five scenariosamid the ongoing bitter battleover sharing of power, Rautsaid the BJP can form govern-ment without the Shiv Sena,but in that case it will lose thetrust vote as it needs 40 moreMLAs (to prove majority in the288-member House).

In the second scenario,Raut said, like in 2014,the NCPcould support the BJP in returnfor “posts” for Supriya Sule atthe Centre and Ajit Pawar inthe state.

However it is unlikely thatSharad Pawar will make the“mistake” that he committed in2014, he said.

Raut said in the third sce-nario, the Sena with its 56MLAs, and the oppositionNCP and Congress with 54 and44 legislators, respectively,

come together to formGovernment.

“The Shiv Sena will have itschief minister and the partyshould have the courage therun the Government. Sincethree different parties will be inpower, there will be a need fora ‘Common MinimumProgramme’ and taking every-one along which will be in theState’s interest,” he said.

“In the fourth scenario,the BJP and Shiv Sena couldcome together out of compul-sion, and both will have to takesome steps backward. The chiefminister’s post will have to beshared,” Raut said.

“This is the best alternative,but not possible due to arro-gance,” Raut said.

“In the fifth scenario, theBJP will have to break other par-ties using threat of investigativeagencies. But, considering howvoters have treated defectors, itwill be difficult and will hurt theimage of Prime Minister Modi,”he added. PTI

�����������������������/�������/��� ����������8�-�/��� ���������$�� ��� �����,����,������������+��� ��������� ���Mumbai: Amid an impasse onGovernment formation inMaharashtra due to a tusslebetween allies BJP and ShivSena and unseasonal rainsdestroying crops, ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnaviswill head to Delhi on Mondayto meet Union Home MinisterAmit Shah.

The BJP won 105 seats inthe Assembly polls, results ofwhich were declared onOctober 24, while the Sena got56.

However, the two parties,which fought the polls inalliance, have got caught in astalemate over the chief min-ister’s post, with the Senademanding equal division ofthe top post’s tenure and theBJP rejecting it.

Sources, however, said themeeting with Shah will be to

discuss aid from the NationalDisaster Relief Fund (NDRF)to farmers affected by unsea-sonal rains across the State.

While the StateGovernment announced a �10,000 crore package foraffected farmers, ally Sena aswell as opposition Congressand NCP called it inadequateconsidering the several lakhhectares of crops that havebeen damaged.

The State Government hadearlier put the crop area damaged at 54.22 lakhhectares.

Incidentally, earlier in theday, the Sena’s Rajya Sabha MPSanjay Raut had raised the“mysterious silence” of Shah,who heads the BJP, on thedeadlock over formation ofGovernment. PTI

J a m m u :S ec ur ityf o r c e srecovereda cache ofarms andammuni-tion froma terroristhideout in Jammu &Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Sunday, officials said.

No arrest was made dur-ing the operation, the officialssaid.The hideout wasunearthed in Sheri area ofMughal Maidan by a jointsearch party of the RashtriyaRifles and Special OperationsGroup of local police, theysaid.

During the search, aChinese pistol, two maga-zines with two rounds, oneAK magazine with 27 rounds,8.1 kg explosives, 10 electronic detonators and fiveswitches with battery used intr iggering improvised explosive devices were seized. PTI

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Atotal of 30 people includ-ing 18 children died in sep-

arate incidents of wall col-lapse, stampede and drowningin different parts of Bihar dur-ing the ‘Chhath’ festival thatconcluded on Sunday, policesaid.

Two women were killed ina wall collapse, two childrendied during a stampede while26 others, including 16 chil-dren, drowned in different dis-tricts of the state since Saturday.

The two women whoobserved the Chhath ritualsdied and four others wereinjured when a portion of thewall of a Kali temple collapsedthis morning at Badgaon villagein Samastipur district.

The wall collapsed ataround 6.30 am, when thedevotees were preparing toleave the ghat after offering‘arghya’, Hasanpur police

station SHO ChandrakantGauri said.

The injured devotees havebeen admitted to Hasanpurprimary health centre, he said.

In another incident, twochildren aged seven years andfour years were killed in astampede that took place nearSuryakund at Deo block.

in the evening,Aurangabad District MagistrateRahul Ranjan Mahiwal said.

Official sources said thestampede occurred as theturnout at Deo’s Surya templefor Chhath Puja was “beyondthe expectation” of the localadministration.

In drowning incidents, a35-year-old man died after heentered a pond at Khajuri vil-lage in Samastipur district,Sarairanjanj BDO GangasagarSingh said.

Three children drowned inponds while two others weresaved by the divers at separate

Chhath ghats under S Kamaland Mufassil police station areas of Begusarai district.

Four persons drowned andone has gone missing in dif-ferent ponds on Saturdayevening in Bhagalpur district.Four bodies have been fishedout while efforts are on to find out the fifth one, official sources said.

Eighteen others including10 minors also drowned inVishali, Purnea and Khagariadistricts during the festival,the sources saId.

Seven, six and five peopledied in Purnea, Vaishali andKhagaria districts respectively.

The ‘Chhath’ festival endedon Sunday as lakhs of devoteesthronged the banks of theGanga and other water- bodiesacross the state this morningand offered ‘arghya’ to the rising Sun god.

Vadodara: A mob in Gujarat’sAmreli district has beenbooked for rioting for demand-ing that a suspected man-eaterleopard be put down, policesaid on Sunday.

The leopard had killed twopeople near Sudavad village inBagsara tehsil recently, afterwhich the forest department setup 10 cages in the vicinity andmanaged to trap it on October31.While the leopard was beingtaken away by forest depart-ment officials to a rescue cen-tre as per wildlife protocol, acrowd of over 400 peopleassembled and obstructed theirwork, an official said.

“The crowd demanded thatthe leopard be shot. They evenclimbed on the cage in whichit was kept. We had to resort tomild cane charge to dispersethem. It took us six hours to getthe crowd to give way,” AmreliSuperintendent of PoliceNirlipt Ray said. PTI

Agra (UP): The NationalHighways of India (NHAI) ofIndia has been fined �6.84crore for polluting air due toconsistent construction activ-ity in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra, offi-cials said on Sunday.

The authority has also beeninstructed to sprinkle waterwherever construction work isbeing undertaken around Agra,they said.

A fine of �6.84 crore hasbeen imposed on NHAI forcausing air pollution throughconstruction activities, saidBhuvan Yadav, Regional Officerof the Uttar Pradesh PollutionControl Board in Agra.

Also, directions have beenissued to Agra Nagar Nigam tocarry out mechanized sweepingwork to help reduce air pollu-tion, he said.

The anti-pollution boardhas also instructed brick kilnsaround the city using old tech-nology to switch over to Zig-Zag technology to help reduceair pollution.

Various government agen-

cies such as the AgraDevelopment Authority, AwasVikas and the PWD, have beeninstructed if they carry out con-struction activities, they have touse dust suppressant, the offi-cial said.

In addition, all the demo-lition and construction wasterules have to be followed likesprinkling of water, establish-ing green cover, covering rawmaterials, among others, Yadavadded. PTI

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India’s ambition to send mento the deep sea in a sub-

mersible vehicle appears to beone step closer to fruition withISRO successfully developing adesign for its crew module, asphere shaped capsule.

“The design for themanned submersible’s spherehas been successfully devel-oped by ISRO. Now it has to becertified and then we will goahead with the fabrication,”Secretary, Ministry of EarthSciences, Madhavan NairRajeevan said.

Interacting with journalistson the sidelines of the silverjubilee celebrations of theNational Institute of OceanTechnology here, the top offi-cial said that designing thesphere (intended to be builtusing titanium) involved com-plex technology.

“ISRO has developed thedesign and it will be sent to aninternational agency for certi-fication,” he said, adding thatthe Indian space agency hastaken up both designing as wellas fabrication -at a later stage-of the sphere.

A three member crew canbe accommodated in thesphere, one of the key compo-nents of the manned sub-mersible vehicle.

“Work is already on for thedeep ocean mission and scien-tific and technical work hasstarted,” he said.

An MoU has already beensigned between the ISRO andNIOT on development of themodule.NIOT is tasked withaspects like electronics andnavigation for the mannedsubmersible.

Also, multiple agencies,including the Goa basedNational Centre for Polar andOcean Research, Centre forMarine Living Resources andEcology at Kochi and Indian

National Centre for OceanInformation Services(Hyderabad) are involved inthe initiatives.

The submersible vehicle isexpected to travel to a depth ofapproximately 6,000 metresunder the sea for various stud-ies, whereas submarines canreach only about 200metres.This initiative is a partof the Deep Ocean Mission.

As part of the ambitious Rs10,000 crore Deep OceanMission, India will also studyclimate change in the deepoceans.Studying climatechange, marine biodiversityand survey for compounds likehydrocarbons and minerals arepart of the deep ocean mission. PTI

Lucknow: A BJP leader inUttar Pradesh on Sundayadvised the Government toperform yajnas to please raingod Lord Indra as many partsof northern India have beenbattling high pollution levelsdue to stubble burning andbursting of crackers on Diwali.

Sunil Bharala, the chair-man of the State LabourWelfare Council, said stubbleburning is an “age-old practice”.

A Supreme Court man-dated panel on Friday declareda public health emergency inthe Delhi-National CapitalRegion and banned construc-tion activity till November 5 aspollution levels have enteredthe “severe plus” category.

According to official fig-ures, the pollution levels inLucknow in Uttar Pradesh andPatna in Bihar were worse

than in Delhi on Saturday. He said, “The Government

should perform yajnas to pleaseLord Indra. He will set every-thing right”.

Barla said sprinkling waterby helicopters will not endpollution, rather “we must seekdivine intervention”.

To back his argument,Bharala said, “It was around1991-92, when there were no

rains in Meerut and nearbyareas, a community yajna of 40-50 villages was held and as soonas it was over, rains started”.

He said holding farmersresponsible for the spike in pol-lution levels was “unfortunate”.

“Stubble burning hasalways been done, since thoseitems burnt are waste materi-al. It is a natural system prac-tised by farmers. The attack onfarmers over this is very unfor-tunate,” he said.

Responding to those whowere questioning the scien-tificity of his statement, Bharalasaid, “It is their thought andway of thinking. They do notfollow the Hindu dharam andits culture. They do not believein scientific ways nor do theybelieve in yajnas.”

Thirteen cities of the coun-try had an average Air Quality

Index (AQI) above 400, whichfalls in “severe” category, withseven of them in Uttar Pradesh,five in Haryana and one inBihar, according to the CentralPollution Control Board’s(CPCB) Saturday 4-pm bul-letin.

According to the bulletin,the average AQI in Delhi was399. During the same period,Fatehabad recorded the worstaverage AQI at 493, while it was428 in Patna and 422 inLucknow.

In Uttar Pradesh,Ghaziabad had the worst aver-age AQI of 453, followed byBulandshahr (446), Hapur(444), Greater Noida (438),Baghpat (435), Noida (432),Lucknow (422), Kanpur (379),Meerut (371) and Varanasi(328), the CPCB data showed. PTI

Bengaluru: Karnataka ChiefMinister BS Yediyurappa onSunday charged the Congresswith distorting his statement ina leaked audio clipping onrebel MLAs, even as theOpposition party announcedState-wide protests over his‘confession’ on the BJP leader-ship’s involvement in it.

The Congress also saidthey would mention the mat-ter before the Supreme Courton Monday.

Yediyurappa said thosewho resigned (disqualifiedMLAs) had done so for theirown reasons and the party didnot have anything to do with it.

“What has to be done nextour party will decide, ournational president will decide-this is what I said, nothing else,”Yediyurappa said, defending his

statement in the leaked audiotape.Speaking to reporters here,the Chief Minister denied hav-ing said that he would give tick-ets to those who resigned andsaid matters were being unnec-essarily distorted “to create con-fusion in the Supreme Court.”

“....There is no meaning toit... Demanding Amit Shahsresignation is foolishness. Thisis false propaganda...Peoplewill teach a lesson (to theCongress) in the by-election.

Yediyurappa said what hehad stated in the clipping wasthat the whole country wasaware that the disqualifiedMLAs were in Mumbai.

“What does Amit Shahhave to do with it..(distortion ofstatement) is being done forpublicity. I condemn this con-duct of Siddaramaiah,” he

added.A purported audio clip-ping of Yediyurappa expressinganguish against leaders at arecent party meeting inHubballi over their oppositionto giving tickets to disqualifiedCongress-JD(S) MLAs for theDecember 5 assembly bypolls in15 assembly constituencies hadsurfaced on Friday.In the audio,he can be heard saying that therebel Congress JD(S) MLAs,who were later disqualified,were kept in Mumabi duringthe final days of the coalitiongovernment under BJP nation-al President Amit Shah’s watch.

He had hit out at partyleaders for lack of support in“saving” the BJP governmentand not recognizing their “sac-rifice”, behind party coming topower.Following the audio taperelease, a Congress delegation,

led by Siddaramaiah, had metthe Governor on Saturday andsubmitted a memorandum tothe President through him,demanding dismissal of the

Yediyurappa led BJPGovernment and removal ofAmit Shah from the unioncouncil of ministers.RejectingYediyurappas allegations ondistortion of his statement,stateCongress chief Dinesh GunduRao argued that it was BJP’sinternal meeting and the audioclipping would have beenreleased by someone whoattended it.Noting thatYediyurappa has agreed that itwas his voice, Rao said it wasclear that it was a ‘conspiracy’by him and the union HomeMinister to bring down thethen coalition Governmentthrough defections. PTI

Jammu: Over 44,000 aspirantsfrom three districts of Jammuregion have registered them-selves to serve the country asthe Army on Sunday com-menced a 10-day recruitmentrally in Samba district to pro-vide employment to the localyouth.

This is the first majorrecruitment rally in the newlycreated Union Territory andthe second in the past threemonths after the Centre abro-gated Article 370 provisions onAugust 5.Earlier in September,a seven-day recruitment rallyby the Army in Reasi districtsaw participation of over 29,000local youth.

“As many as 44,117 aspi-rants from Jammu region haveregistered and likely to bescreened for their physical andmedical fitness during the 10days long recruitment rally inSamba,” Jammu-based ArmyPRO Lt Col Devender Anandsaid.

He said the recruitmentrally through Army recruit-ment office in Jammu com-menced at Samba and wouldcontinue till November 12.

This rally is being con-ducted to provide employmentto youth from three districts ofJammu, Samba and Kathua.

On the first day, 3,067 can-didates from Jammu districtappeared for physical fitnesstests, the officer said.He saidthe vacancies are open for sixcategories, including soldiergeneral duty, soldier technical,soldier technical nursing assis-tance (Army Medical Corps)and soldier technical nursingassistance veterinary, soldierclerk and soldier tradesman.

“The recruitment processis divided into several cate-gories and rounds whichinclude physical fitness test,medical test and written test.The recruitment process istotally computerised and isabsolutely transparent,” Lt ColAnand said.He said specialemphasis is being made tomake all the prospective can-didates understand this processso that they do not fall prey totouts.

“Selected candidates will beinducted into the various armsand services of the Army,” hesaid. PTI

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Amid the ongoing powertussle between the saffron

alliance partners, Shiv Senapresident Uddhav Thackreyon Sunday picked a bone withChief Minister DevendraFadnavis over the “too less”relief of �10,000 croreannounced by the latter for thefarmers hit by the unseasonalrains and demanded that theaffected farmers be given�25,000 per hectare ofdestroyed crop immediately.

Talking to media persons atAurangabad after touring theunseasonal rains-hit parts ofMarthwada, Uddhav also tookpot shots at Fadnavis, by citingoft-repeated statement duringhis election rallies “Me PunhaYain (I will return as the ChiefMinister)” and comparing itwith rains that lashed the stateduring this year. “The recurringrains seem to tell us: Me PunhaYain. I dread such a prospect”.

Taking one more jibe at thechief minister, Uddhav said:“The farmers have sufferedhuge loss due to unseasonal

rains. But, one should notundertake a study of the situation from an helicopter”.

A day after the DevendraFadnavis Governmentapproved �10,000 crore asimmediate relief to the farmersaffected by the recent unsea-sonal rains, Uddhav said theShiv Sena was with the farm-ers in their hour of crisis causedby unseasonal rains.

“It is water all over theplace. The unseasonal rainshave created a slush in theiragricultural fields but also intheir lives. The farmers needhelp to tide over this crisis. The�10,000 crore relief announcedby the Maharashtra govern-ment is too less. The StateGovernment and the Centreshould immediately declarewet drought in the state andannounce a relief of �25,000per hectare of damaged crop”.

Uddhav also hit out at theInsurance companies for theinordinate delay in clearingcrop insurance claims made bythe farmers. “The insurance

companies should reduce theirpaper work and extend help tothe affected farmers. Like theinsurance companies, thebanks should simplify theirprocedures meant for extend-ing help rto the farmers,” theSena president said.

Uddhav hit out at theCentre for the delay in extend-ing help to the affected farm-ers in the state. “The Centreshould rush its men and reliefmaterial to farmers inMaharashtra. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi should also payattention to the situation aris-ing out of the unseasonal rainsin the state”.

Meanwhile, chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis reviewedthe situation in various parts ofAkola district in easternMaharashtra where unseasonal rains have playedhavoc damaging standing cropson huge tracts of agriculturalland.

Fadnavis, who surveyedthe situation in Lakanwada,Chikalgaon and Maisapur vil-lages in Akola district, said:“The rains that lashed this dis-

trict during October havedestroyed the crops of soy-abean, Jowar, cotton andMoong pulses in a big way”. Heassured the farmers of imme-diate relief.

After it approved �10,000crore relief to the farmersaffected by the unseasonalrains on Saturday, theMaharashtra Governmentannounced that it was writingto the Centre for relief. Asmany as 325 talukas have beenaffected by the unseasonalrains.

Speaking at a Cabinet sub-committee meeting held inMumbai on Saturday, the chiefminister said that relief mea-sures were being implementedas quickly as possible in theaffected areas.

“Without waiting for arelief from the Centre, theState government is releasing�10,000 crore towards reliefwork.We are also asking theinsurance companies to speedup the insurance process sothat the distressed farmerscould get relief at the earliest,”Fadnavis said.

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Page 8: FC=H CG - The Pioneer · days after the Supreme Court- ... In the National Capital Region (NCR), Faridabad with AQI 493, Noida (494), ... Delhi Police personnel and lawyers inside

Even as controversies surroundingthe office of the Speaker and theanti-defection law have againcome into sharp focus, theminority judgment in Kihoto

Hollohan vs Zachillhu And Others (1992)appears to have become the central pointof debate. The fundamental issue, whichquite a few of the Speakers have not beenable to address, is not all that complex. Ithas so become in view of an inherent con-flict of interest. Since the Speakers, afterassumption of the high office, do not severtheir links with their parent parties, a con-flict of interest manifests in differentforms, including bias, in several cases underthe anti-defection law.

The minority view in this landmarkcase of 1992 was that assigning powers ofadjudication to the Speaker was against thebasic structure doctrine and the separationof powers between the judiciary, legislatureand the executive. Further, it was contem-plated that adjudication of such a disputeshould be done by an independent author-ity outside the House, namelyPresident/Governor, and in accordancewith the opinion of the ElectionCommission of India (ECI) — all ofwhom are high Constitutional functionar-ies.

The matter pertaining to the order offormer Speaker of the Karnataka LegislativeAssembly, KR Ramesh Kumar, is yet to bedecided by the Supreme Court. In accor-dance with his orders, disqualified MLAshave been barred from contesting the elec-tions till the end of the current legislativetenure, ie, till 2023. Although the law doesnot specify any limits, the Speaker can pro-nounce his judgment on disqualificationin view of defections, based on his discre-tion and fairness.

But such a duration of disqualification,as in the instant case, has been unprece-dented. It will be worth recalling here thatin 2011, when 13 MLAs of the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) were disqualified by theSpeaker on the ground that they hadretracted their support from theYeddurappa Government, the SupremeCourt held that, “Not only did the Speaker’saction amount to denial of the principlesof natural justice but also revealed a par-tisan trait in the Speaker’s approach in dis-posing of the disqualification applicationfilled by Respondent No 1. If the Speakerwished to rely on the statements of a thirdparty, which were adverse to the appellants’interests, it was obligatory on his part tohave given the appellant an opportunity ofquestioning the deponent as the veracityof the statements made in the affidavit. Thisconduct on the part of the Speaker is alsoindicative of the ‘hot haste’ with which theSpeaker disposed of the disqualificationpetition as complained by the appellants.”

The Speakers of the Lok Sabha as wellas those of the State legislatures are elect-

ed on the tickets and symbolsof a political party. Unlike theHouse of Commons, fromwhere our parliamentary sys-tem has drawn inspiration, ourSpeakers continue to retaintheir links with their respectiveparties. While the routine con-duct of the proceedings in theHouse does not pose any seri-ous challenge, the situationgets complicated when theSpeaker assumes the role of anadjudicator under the anti-defection law as s/he is proneto decide cases as per partyaffiliations.

So much so that in theinstant case, the new Speaker ofKarnataka, who is from a dif-ferent political party, hasoffered to review the orders ofthe previous Speaker, which isagainst the letter and spirit ofan apex court judgment,according to which, a Speaker’sorder is final and cannot bereviewed, except by a judicialauthority.

In some previous casesfrom Tamil Nadu, Telangana,Goa, Andhra Pradesh andUttar Pradesh, the role of theSpeaker has been quite debat-able. It is quite obvious thatsome of them have not beenable to live up to the piousthoughts besides moral as well

as ethical principles, whichformed the basis of the major-ity judgment in KihotoHollohan.

It went on to state:“Accordingly, we hold that thevesting of adjudicatory func-tions in the Speakers/Chairmenwould not by itself vitiate theprovision on the ground of like-lihood of political bias isunsound and is rejected. TheSpeakers/Chairmen hold a piv-otal position in the scheme ofparliamentary democracy andguardians of the rights andprivileges of the House. Theyare expected to and do take far-reaching decisions in the func-tioning of parliamentarydemocracy.”

It is a different matterthough that the author of theseviews, former Chief Justice ofIndia, MN Venkatachaliah,revised his stand while chairing the commission toreview the working of theConstitution and supportedan independent agency likethe ECI to decide on the pro-ceedings under the anti-defec-tion law. This was, however, notaccepted.

A case in point is the reluc-tance of the Speakers as well asDeputy Speakers to avail of theexemption provided for in

Section 5 of the anti-defectionlaw, which is quite embarrass-ing as it clearly indicates thatthey wish to retain their linksto their parent political parties.

As early as 1951, the con-ference of presiding officers oflegislative bodies in India hadrecommended that a conven-tion should be established thatthe constituency of the Speakershould not be contested and heshould be returned unopposed.

Further, he should not takepart in party politics. Suchwas indeed the situation beforeIndependence as the presidingofficers from Vithalbhai Patelonwards dissociated themselvesfrom their parties.

Now, in order to compre-hensively address this problem,we do not necessarily have toresort to the use of minorityjudgment. In fact, besides theamendments to the anti-defec-tion law, we also need to con-sider strengthening the office ofthe Speaker and ensuring hisneutrality by following a con-vention where in the subse-quent elections to theParliament, he is returnedunopposed.

(The writer is a formerGovernor and a Senior advisorat the Pranab MukherjeeFoundation)

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Sir — This refers to the report,“J&K off-limits, India reprovesChina” (November 1). China hasdescribed the bifurcation ofJammu & Kashmir into twoUnion Territories as “unlawful”and “void.” It seems Beijing has noqualms or misgivings about thearea of India that it already occu-pies. Instead of a sense of remorse,China seems inclined to meddlein the internal affairs of India.

New Delhi should display afirmer resolve than it has dis-played until now to deal withChina on this issue. We have beenhesitant and reluctant with Chinain the past on the issue of bound-ary dispute with the neighbour-ing country.

Devendra KhuranaBhopal

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Breach most foul” (November2). It is outrageous that Israeli spy-ware Pegasus has targetted over1,400 WhatsApp users, includingover 100 Indian journalists,human rights activists, lawyers

and professors of the DelhiUniversity. As the modus operan-di of the spyware to target thedevices seems inescapable, itsoutbreak ought to be containedby social media giant WhatsAppwithout any delay. On top of that,

the firm must roll out an upgrad-ed and secure version of its appto curb spyware from affectingmore devices in the future.

Breaching one’s privacy is aserious offence. People may becompelled to migrate to other

messaging apps if WhatsApp failsin its efforts to restrain itself frombeing misused by malware. Butthen there’s no guarantee that oth-ers would be safe.

Tushar AnandPatna

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Sir —This refers to the article,“War on terror not over yet”(November 2) by BhopinderSingh. Although the death ofIslamic State (IS) group chief AbuBakr al-Baghdadi must have dealta major blow to the IS, it is farfrom the end of the road for theterrorist organisation.

We must not be lulled into afalse sense of complacency as withthe appointment of a new chief,the IS may go all out to carry outa spectacular attack in retaliation.There is need for concertedefforts from countries across theworld to finish the IS in all itsregional hubs.

Cutting off the sources offunding for the IS and other ter-ror organisations will be the bestway of doing this. The world mustunitedly work towards ending themenace of terrorism. The US andother global powers cannot abjurefrom their moral duty from exe-cuting a piecemeal solution toroot out terrorism.

Ramesh G JethwaniBengaluru

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The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) juggernautseems to have hit two unexpected speedbreakers and is suddenly starting to look vul-

nerable as it failed to win a decisive mandate ineither Maharashtra or Haryana. It is beside the pointthat it has gone on to form a Government inHaryana with the support of odds and ends andmay probably do so in Maharashtra too after pan-dering to the whims of the Shiv Sena. It is indeedironic that a driverless, confused and demoralisedCongress has been able to dent Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s armour, putting the BJP on thedefensive. It also dispels the myth that the Congresscannot win without the Nehru-Gandhi dispensa-tion at the wheel, and in fact, proves just the oppo-site, that the salvation of the grand old party liesin becoming “dynasty-free.”

Incidentally, the recent Assembly poll resultsalso put paid to the BJP’s hope of a “Congress muktBharat”, an undoubtedly catchy but ridiculous slo-gan, which only shows up the saffron party’s owninsecurities and an unarticulated wish for usher-ing in single-party rule. Of course, these resultswould not have been possible without the complic-ity of the BJP itself, in that it lost little time in scor-ing own-goals. Its support to crooked and foul-mouthed legislators, an inability or unwillingnessto control hate-spewing karyakartas (workers) andthe general perception that it is a party that is will-ing to cut off its nose to spite its face seem to havebrought it to this pass.

Its leaders, it appears, are so enthralled by theirown spin on issues that they end up living in analternate reality. For example, even the most igno-rant among us understand that the economy hascrashed and burnt, yet that has only now beenacknowledged by the Government’s top echelons,though they have attempted to reduce their ownculpability by blaming it on a global downturn.

However, the most interesting aspect of theseelections is the fact that unlike the Pulwama-Balakot incident, which won Modi his second term,attempts to ratchet up tensions against Pakistanprior to the voting, with cross-border artilleryattacks against alleged terror mounting bases, nei-ther drew nationalist fervour of the kind that theBJP had hoped for, nor benefit it at the ballot box.What is worse, it has exposed the Army Chief toridicule and loss of credibility for having added tothe confusion with his bombastic statements.

What makes this result even more significantis that both Haryana and Maharashtra have a fair-ly high percentage of military veterans and serv-ing personnel among the electorate, who under nor-mal circumstances, tend to vote conservatively espe-cially when national security is at stake. Indeed thehypocrisy surrounding this Government’s constanthyperbole on “nationalism” is finally unravelling,as the average citizen sees through the hype, some-thing that most in the military have been aware offor quite some time now. It will be interesting tosee how their votes impact forthcoming electionsin Bihar and Jharkhand, which have substantialnumbers of serving and retired military personnel.

It is indeed astonishing that a Government thatconstantly harps on nationalism has not spared anyeffort to degrade and destroy its own armed forces,those very people who sacrifice their all to keep thecountry safe and secure. One could easily be fooledby Modi’s showmanship; his push for the construc-tion of the National War Memorial or his spend-ing time with troops at the Line of Control (LoC)

during Diwali, all exemplary initiatives inthemselves, until one realises that they arejust an image- building exercise bereft ofany higher motivation. The string of bro-ken promises, too numerous to count andthe continued degradation of the military,almost on a daily basis, show him and hisGovernment up as just another motleybunch of power-hungry politicians benton using the military to project them-selves as great leaders.

Take the case of One-Rank, One-Pension (OROP), a controversy thatrefuses to disappear. The scheme wasnotified by the Government onNovember 7, 2015 with the proviso thatit would be effective from July 1, 2014 andthat equalisation of pensions would becarried out every five years. This impliesthat the next equalisation of pensionsshould have been implemented by July2019. The Government’s interpretation ofOROP was vastly different to thatapproved by the Parliament, leading tomuch heartburn, but yet grudginglyaccepted by the vast majority of veterans.Though there is a segment of veteranswho, while continuing to undertake arelay hunger strike, have also approachedthe Supreme Court for justice.

Incidentally, given the large numberof anomalies that emerged in its imple-mentation, the Government was forcedto set up a one-member JudicialCommission under Justice NarasimhaReddy. The commission submitted its rec-ommendations on October 26, 2016 butthese have yet to see the light of day.

However, what really takes the cakeis that in June 2019, the ControllerGeneral of Defence Accounts (CGDA)suddenly woke from his slumber andopposed implementation of OROP in itspresent form, a task he was mandated tohave completed by July 1, 2019 as perexisting orders. Remarkably, let alone tak-ing umbrage at his commitments notbeing honoured, Modi decided to set upanother committee to go into the issues

raised by the CGDA under the chairman-ship of the CGDA himself. One isreminded of Marx’s well-known quotethat history repeats itself “first as tragedyand then as farce.”

Actions really do speak louder thanwords but in truth the treatment of vet-erans is only just a minor side-show.While the Defence Minister was conduct-ing his own Shastra Puja at the inductionceremony for the first Rafale aircraft beinghanded over to the Indian Air Force (IAF)in France, his Ministry was busy issuingwritten instructions barring the issuanceof official passes to military officers of therank of Colonel and below to theRepublic Day Parade, that ironically isorganised by the military itself.

Incidentally, the notification hides amore sinister purpose as it attempts tolegalise the downgradation of Colonelsand equivalents by the simple expedientof stating that only Directors and abovewill be issued passes. The contradictionis that as per existing norms Lieutenant-Colonels are equivalent to Directors. Itseems to have escaped their attention thatissuing a similar letter of equivalence in2016 had to be finally withdrawn inJanuary 2018 because of the widespreadfurore that it created within the military.

Similarly, one may recall the contro-versy that erupted over the then DefenceMinister’s move of arbitrarily and unilat-erally opening up access to MilitaryCantonments to the general public,thereby causing widespread consternationwithin the military community withregard to security issues. TheGovernment has now initiated the nextphase of its plan. It has now decided toundertake measures to amend theCantonment Act so that houses withinCantonments that had been given on 99years’ lease to civilians can no longer betaken back on completion of the leaseperiod as their ownership will now begiven to existing tenants. As is well-known, Cantonment land has been a

lucrative target of the land mafia fordecades and this Government seems tobe emboldening such elements.

One is forced to ask why would anavowedly nationalist party eviscerate itsown armed forces? One rationale maywell be that the Government is extreme-ly insecure because the military, given itsethos and method of functioning, tendsto be an independent institution, isolat-ed from political issues that may beswirling around. Not something that willplease an autocrat like Modi. Or thisGovernment may well be attempting toremodel the military in its own ideolog-ical image and hopes to bring about suchchange in a top-down manner, just asPandit Nehru attempted. The introduc-tion of the concept of “deep selection” forhigher ranks, wherein factors other thanan individual’s service record or senior-ity, which can be easily measured, are alsogiven importance would assist in ensur-ing the promotion of “suitable” officers.

In the past few years, two of ourService Chiefs have been appointed forreasons other than seniority, leading tosome turbulence within the system.Politicisation of the hierarchy, if it is hap-pening, is a rather dangerous road to take.While the present crop of officers may bewilling to be ordered about by their polit-ical masters, it is only a matter of timebefore a fresh crop will demand to betreated commensurate to the power thatthey wield. If this Government is so keento bring the military closer into our polit-ical governance structure, it may just aswell allow the Army to contest elections.Given the unpopularity of our politicians,one would not be surprised if the Armywon the people’s mandate to rule. That,as we can see in Pakistan, would spell dis-aster in the long run.

(The writer, a military veteran, is aconsultant with the Observer ResearchFoundation and a Senior Visiting Fellow with The Peninsula Foundation,Chennai)

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The “revolution” season is uponus again. Or at least the seasonin which many swear that rev-

olution is “just around the corner.”Last week, large protests and riots hitvarious cities in Asia, Europe, SouthAmerica and the Middle East. But, ofcourse, a riot or a series of riots donot make a revolution.

Political turmoil in the shape ofriots and protests is largely about asystem correcting itself. And this self-correction mechanism often goesthrough teething problems. Yet,activists and the media are alwaysmisinterpreting such tumultuousperiods of self-correction as “revolu-tionary.” This perception that somesort of a revolutionary awakening is

sweeping a society or revolutionarychange is just around the corner is notmore than half a century old. Its rootsare in the “counter-culture move-ments” which emerged in the US andEurope in the 1960s.

In the 2008 issue of The CriticalJournal of Social Sciences, British soci-ologist Colin Barker writes that,between 1968 and 1969, almostsimultaneously, violent student riotsbroke out in well over a dozen coun-tries across the globe, includingPakistan.

There are plenty of quotes doc-umented by the era’s media of youthleaders and activists claiming that“revolution is just around the corner.”According to the October 2016 edi-tion of Big Mouth, the British onlinemagazine of cultural criticism, “In the1960s, more people changed theirtrousers than ideologies.” The articlegoes on to ask, “Did people reallywant a revolution or did they justwant to throw the biggest party in his-tory?” Yet, most historians, politicalscientists and sociologists studyingthe global turmoil of the late 1960s

agree that — even though there wasreally nothing revolutionary about theuproar — the annoyance that trig-gered mass-scale agitation by youngmen and women in the late 1960s wasnot only about the youth trying tohave a wild party in which portraitsof Che Guevara, Chairman Maoand Karl Marx were simply situation-al props.

Most economies in the post-World World-II period enjoyed a sus-tained boom. This meant an expand-ing urban middle-class and an influxof young men and women joiningcolleges and universities, more thanever before.

However, according to the histo-rian Michael Burleigh, in Blood andRage (2008), educational institutionscould not accommodate the influxand this led to some serious logisti-cal issues, leaving the students feel-ing agitated and disrespected.

This feeling spilled over and wasexpressed through various “revolu-tionary” and “radical” ideas, eventhough, as Barker points out in hisessay, the economy was booming and

unemployment was low.Commenting on the commotion,

Neil Smelser, the American socialpsychologist in 1968’s Essays in SocialExplanation writes that youthfulrebellion against an institution takesthe place of rebellion against thefather. He added that it was a “bio-logical urge” of the adolescent toassert him or herself.

The turmoil of the late 1960s inthis context contributed to thestrengthening of various social andcivil rights movements and con-cepts. But it was really about a robustpolitical-economic system correctingitself after failing to accommodate theinflux and aspirations of a whole newgeneration.

That’s why, by the mid-1970s,“the revolution” was over. The systemhad successfully appropriated andaccommodated the new generationby building more educational insti-tutions and then, from the late 1970sonwards, offering more lucrativeeconomic opportunities to younggraduates.

In 1990, when the Berlin Wall

came down and the Soviet Union col-lapsed, these were revolutionaryevents, almost at par with actual rev-olutions such as the 1917, 1949 and1958 Communist revolutions inRussia, China and Cuba and the 1979revolution in Iran. Yet, there are thosewho claim that the events that led tothe fall of Communist regimes inEastern Europe were, again, moreabout a system correcting itself.

In a May 25, 1987 article for TheNew York Times, the Czech journal-ist Jiri Pehe predicted a “majorrealignment of class power” in theSoviet Union and its satellite commu-nist states in East Europe. Two yearsbefore the Berlin Wall came down,Pehe wrote that more and moremembers at the top of the region’s rul-ing Communist parties were assum-ing “middle-class values.”

Many latter-day analysts haveeven gone to the extent of suggestingthat, till the early 1970s, Communismactually raised the living standards ofthousands of people in Communistcountries. These lifestyle improve-ments led to the desire among peo-

ple to espouse middle-class ideals. Soeven when Communist economicsbegan to crumble, middle-class aspi-rations and ideals brewing withinthese societies continued to grow.Thus, as Pehe put it, Communist par-ties, too, began to embrace middle-class values as a survival tactic.

So one can suggest, here, too, itwas the system readjusting or re-set-ting itself. Of course, Western medianever stopped calling these as the“democratic revolutions” of the cen-tury. They really weren’t, as the riseof illiberal and authoritarian regimesin many former Communist regionsshould suggest.

But the tradition of excitedlydescribing such readjustments asrevolutions (sometimes amping themup by giving them a colour) contin-ues in the Western media.

Starting with the so-called VelvetRevolution (1989) in the erstwhileCzechoslovakia, there was the RoseRevolution (Georgia, 2003), TulipRevolution (Kyrgyzstan, 2005), theOrange Revolution (Ukraine, 2005)and so on. Each one of these was

course-correction, not revolution.The 2011 “Arab Spring” in variousMiddle-Eastern countries, too, wasexactly that — course-correction.

And what is happening today in,say, Hong Kong or Lebanon, may beexciting the Western media again butthese are course-corrections as well.

Revolutions are rare. Course-cor-rections are not, even though manyare mistaken and sometimes peddledas revolutions. The 1960s’ Pakistaniactivist Lal Khan in The Other Storydescribes the movement against theAyub Khan regime as a revolution. Itwasn’t for the reasons already dis-cussed. It was course-correction bythe system, as was the movementagainst Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1977and the Lawyers’ Movement againstGeneral Musharraf.

And if there is to be a movementagainst the current regime, (given therecent rallies and calls for PrimeMinister Imran Khan to step down)that, too would be the system correcting itself to adjust to newerrealities.

(Courtesy: The Dawn)

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India is rolling out “facelesstax assessment” system to

forestall any discretion orharassment in tax collection,Prime Minister Narendra Modisaid on Sunday as he high-lighted major reform initiativeslaunched by his Government inthe financial sectors in the lastfive years.

Hard-selling India as one ofthe most attractive investmentdestinations globally, Modi alsosaid the country has stoppedworking in a routine, bureau-cratic manner and was under-going “transformative changes”in its march towards econom-ic and social development.

The Prime Minister wasspeaking to a select group oftop business leaders at an eventto mark golden jubilee of theAditya Birla Group’s opera-tions in Thailand.

Modi also asserted thatIndia now has one of the mostpeople-friendly tax regimes inthe world and that efforts areon to further improve

taxation system.

Modi specifically men-tioned about how rolling out ofthe Goods and Services Tax hasresulted in the economic inte-gration in the country, addinghis Government was workingtowards making it more peo-ple-friendly.

“In the last five years, wehave lowered the tax burden onthe middle class considerably.We are now starting faceless taxassessment so that there is noscope for discretion or harass-ment,” the PM said.

There has been criticism bythe Congress party that tax offi-cials in the Modi Governmenthave been harassing business-es and political leaders criticalof the ruling establishment.

In August, Finance minis-ter Nirmala Sitharaman con-veyed to India Inc. That theywill not face any harassment asa new system is being put inplace to make officials account-able for their actions.

“In today’s India, the con-tribution of the hard workingtax payer is cherished. One areawhere we have done significantwork is taxation. I am happy

that India is one of the mostpeople-friendly tax regimes,”Modi said.

Talking about variousreform measures, Modi said thedirect benefit transfer (DBT)has ended the culture of mid-dlemen and inefficiency. “It hasleft little scope for error. TheDBT has saved over USD 20billion so far.”

In his address, Modi alsotalked about cut in the corpo-rate tax rates.

“You would already haveheard of India’s decision to cutthe corporate tax rates. OurGST has fulfilled the dream ofeconomic integration of India.We want to work towards mak-ing it even more people-friend-ly,” the Prime Minister said.

The PM said it was the besttime to be in India and thatmany things such as foreigndirect investment, ease of doingbusiness, ease of living and pro-ductivity are rising while taxrates, red -tapism, corruption,cronyism are on a decline.

“All of what I have said justnow makes India one of theworld’s most attractive

economies for investment.India received USD 286 billionFDI in the last five years. Thisis almost half of the total FDIin India in the last 20 years,”Modi said.

The Prime Minister alsoreferred to India’s dream to become a five trillion dollareconomy.

“When my Governmenttook over in 2014, India’s GDPwas about USD 2 trillion. In 65years, USD 2 trillion. But in just5 years, we increased it tonearly USD 3 trillion,” he said.

Modi said India has seenmany success stories in the lastfive years in various sectors andthe reason for it is not only theGovernment but also the peo-ple. “India has stopped work-

ing in a routine, bureaucraticmanner. Transformativechanges are arising due toambitious missions undertak-en. When these ambitious mis-sions are energised by the part-nership of people, they becomevibrant mass movements. And,these mass movements achievemiracles. Things that were sup-posed to be previously impos-sible have now become possi-ble,” he said.

The PM also elaborated onsteps being taken by hisGovernment to improve ease ofdoing business in the countryand their impact reflected inseveral ratings about the Indiagrowth story.

“India has jumped 79places in the World Bank’s

‘Ease of Doing Business’ rank-ings in five years. From 142 in2014 we are 63 in 2019. This isa massive achievement. Forthe third year in row, we areamong the top 10 reformers.The variables for doing busi-ness in India are many,” he said.

“We are a large and diversenation. There are the central,State and local Governments.In such a context, a direction-al shift shows our commitmentto reforms. The people andGovernment came together tomake the business environ-ment better,” the PM said.

Modi said India was receiv-ing substantially more touristsin the last few years, which hesaid, meant that “our efforts onthe ground are bearing fruit.The fact that India has betterroads, better air connectivity,better cleanliness and better lawand order is bringing the worldto India.” In his address, Modialso congratulated the AdityaBirla group for its commend-able work in Thailand, sayingit is creating opportunities andprosperity for many in thecountry.

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Led by India, South Asia ismoving towards becoming

centre of global growth andcould contribute about one-third of the world’s growth by2040, according to a latestresearch by the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF).

Notably, under the IMF’sgeographical division of theworld, South Asia does notinclude Afghanistan andPakistan. For IMF, South Asiaincludes India, Bangladesh,Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Maldives.

Under a substantial liber-alisation scenario, supported bystepped-up efforts to improveinfrastructure and successful-ly harness South Asia’s youngand large workforce, the regioncould contribute about one-third of global growth by 2040,argues the IMF paper ‘Is South

Asia Ready for take Off? A sus-tainable and inclusive growthagenda,’ to be released in NewDelhi on Monday.

“Looking at it both fromthe growth trajectory that wesee and the development else-where in Asia, we see SouthAsia as moving towards beingmuch more of center of globalgrowth,” Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, Deputy Director, Asia andPacific Department, IMF toldPTI ahead of the release of the

report. Previewing some keyaspects of the IMF research,Gulde-Wolf noted that based ondemographic trends, more than150 million people in the regionare expected to enter the labourmarket by 2030.

“We have a region with amassive potential for demo-graphic dividend. (This is), aregion that has been seen overthe recent past significantgrowth spurt,” she said.

This young and large work-

force can be South Asia’sstrength, if supported by a suc-cessful high-quality and job-richgrowth strategy, leveraging allsectors of the economy in a bal-anced way. The IMF paper says.

Although policy recom-mendations remain country-specific, for many South Asianeconomies these shouldinclude: further progress inrevenue mobilisation and fiscalconsolidation; greater tradeand foreign direct investment(FDI) liberalisation; and invest-ment in people, the paper notes.

What can India do to har-ness the potential demograph-ic dividend and to avoid pitfallsof rapid growth that we haveseen in other areas, she asked.The IMF is looking at sustain-able growth, avoiding massiveecological problems that couldbe associated with this kind ofimbalanced prose.

That’s why IMF sees India

needing a multiprongedapproach that leverages theadvantages that the countryalready has, she said.

“The country has already anexcellent tertiary education sys-tem, built a on high value-added services. So, in no way,should any strategy devalue thataspect,” she said. But it needs tobe complemented with areas likemanufacturing sector, whereinIndia is below what would oneexpect from a country with thatlevel of development, she saidadding that the issue is how toinvolve private sector to increasethe manufacturing base. India,she noted, needs to create a bet-ter environment for private sec-tor growth which looks at aproduct market, labour markets,land is a particular issue andobviously some of the impetushas to come from foreign directinvestment, the top IMF officialsaid.

Indore: Over 3,400 branches of26 public sector banks (PSBs)have been either closed ormerged during the last fivefinancial years due to mergerunder the consolidation exer-cise in the banking space,revealed an RTI query.

Of this, 75 per cent of theaffected branches belong tothe country’s biggest lenderState Bank of India (SBI).

To a query under the Rightto Information (RTI) Act filedby a Neemuch-based activistChandrashekhar Gaud, theReserve Bank of India (RBI)informed that 26 PSBs of thecountry either closed ormerged 90 branches during FY2014-15, 126 branches in 2015-16, 253 branches in 2016-17,2,083 branches in 2017-18 and875 branches during 2018-19.

The RTI information cameout at a time when the Centreis planning to consolidate 10PSBs into four mega state-

owned lenders. According toRTI reply, the maximum 2,568branches of the SBI were affect-ed due to merger or closure inthe last five financial years.

The RBI informed thatBharatiya Mahila Bank, StateBank of Bikaner and Jaipur,State Bank of Hyderabad, StateBank of Mysore, State Bank ofPatiala and State Bank of Travancore were mergedwith SBI with effect from April1, 2017. In addition, the mergerof Vijaya Bank and Dena Bankwith Bank of Baroda came intoeffect from April 1 this year.

Meanwhile, employeeorganisations of public bankshave opposed to the govern-ment’s new plan to consolidatethe banking space.

All India Bank Employees’Association (AIBEA) GeneralSecretary CH Venkatachalamtold PTI that at least 7,000branches of these banks likelyto be affected, if the govern-

ment forms four big banks outof the ten state-owned banks inthe country.

Most of these affectedbranches will be from the met-ros and cities, he added.Venkatachalam expressedapprehensions that the pro-posed merger would decline thebusiness of the PSBs concerned.It is generally seen that cus-tomers stop banking with thebranch, once it was closed ormerged with another one.

However, economistJayantilal Bhandari said thatmerger of PSBs is the need ofthe hour. “The state exchequerwill benefit after creation of bigbanks by merging smaller pub-lic sector banks. In addition, thelarge state-run banks will be ableto distribute relatively moreloans to the common peopledue to their strong financialcondition, which will spur theeconomic growth in the coun-try,” he said. PTI

Mumbai: Yes Bank, whichreported a surge in NPAs in theSeptember quarter, feels itsstressed loans situation couldhave been much better but for“torpedos” that hit the privatesector lender.

These “torpedos” whichhit his ship include exposuresto Cafe Coffee Day, AlticoCapital, CG Power and Coxand Kings, the bank’s chiefexecutive Ravneet Gill has said.

“Every torpedo that gotfired hit us,” he told a selectgroup of reporters over theweekend. He said theseaccounts itself led to a �4,000crore bloating of the belowinvestment grade book to�31,000 crore from the �29,000crore in the preceding quarter.

Gill exuded confidencethat the bank does not see anyjump in this book in the future,but conceded that it was keep-ing a similar outlook earlier as well. PTI

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Private sector lender YesBank is aiming to finish a

USD 1.2 billion (about �8,462crore) equity raising exercise byDecember and willing to givenew investors a board seat,according to a top official.

The bank, which hasclaimed that it is in discussionswith potential suitors who arewilling to pump in up to USD3 billion (around �21,156 crore)collectively, said it may raise themoney either through the NorthAmerican family office, whichhas made a binding offer topump USD 1.2 billion, orthrough a combination ofinvestors. The other investorsinclude private equity funds,domestic mutual funds, domes-tic financial investors and alsodomestic family offices.

“We have to inform theNorth American family officeby end of November. We will

raise USD 1.2 billion by end ofDecember and it may be eitherfrom them or a combination ofinvestors,” its chief executiveRavneet Gill told a select groupof reporters over the weekend.

He said the money raisedwill suffice the bank for twoyears, after considering its aimto expand the loan book to“high-teen” levels, Gill said,asserting that the asset qualityissues are under check now.

The newly appointed head,who replaced promoter-chiefexecutive Rana Kapoor whoseconduct had raised RBI’s con-cerns, said the binding offerwas received last Thursday overemail and chose to disclose it toexchanges as it was advised thatit was price sensitive. As part ofthe offer, the family office hasalso attached a letter from amajor US bank with which it hasa long relationship, affirming theformer’s ability to pay thepromised sum, Gill said.

������ /01�+023'

Reliance Jio has written toTelecom Minister Ravi

Shankar Prasad stating inunequivocal terms that the pro-posed telcos bailout would becontempt of the Supreme Courtjudgment and an illegal triggerto widespread precedent.

In a strongly worded letterto Prasad, Mukesh Ambani’sReliance Jio for the first time inthe current telecom war, namedAirtel and Vodafone Idea,whose interests the CellularOperators Association of India(COAI) is trying to push.

Reliance Jio has desistedfrom naming Airtel andVodafone Idea in earlier mis-sives to the Telecom Ministerand other government func-tionaries. This direct attackindicates an escalation of hos-tilities and that the gloves were

off now.“At the outset, we would

once again like to place onrecord our dismay and wedeplore continued acts of omis-sions of the COAI of not tak-ing RJIL comments on record,which indicates its continueddeliberate and wilful motivat-ed agenda to only perpetrateinterests of two select members— Airtel and Vodafone Idea.”

Lashing out at the COAI,Jio said: “In order to help its twoselect members get a financialwindfall from the Government,COAI is in fact canvassing forgoing against the decision of theHon’ble Supreme Court judge-ment.” Jio has bluntly said thata relief package for telcos wouldbe against the apex court judge-ment asking them to pay�92,000 crore for governmentlevy on Annual Gross Revenues(AGR).

Objecting to any kind ofrelief package, Jio has told thegovernment: “We are of theview that the Government doesnot have the option of goingagainst the Supreme Courtjudgement and provide any ofthe reliefs sought by COAI.”

It is evident from the factsand circumstances of this case,that the claimed inability tomeet the payment obligationswas not on account of any rea-sons or an event or an effect thatthe parties could not have antic-ipated or controlled, the lettersaid. “Rather, the position thatemerges from a plain reading ofthe judgment is that the licenseeshave indulged in abuse of theprocess of Court and deliberatelydelayed payment of dues on friv-olous and legally untenablegrounds,” Jio said questioningthe telecom operators.

Jio has cautioned that forthe government it would not belegally tenable to provide arelief in light of the SupremeCourt judgment. “Having part-ed with spectrum on agreedterms crystallized in theLicense Agreement, any actionon the part of the Governmentof India to modify or waivecontractual provisions per-taining to interest and penaltyon unpaid dues would not belegally tenable specially whensame has been dealt in thejudgement of the Hon SupremeCourt specifically,” it added.

������ /01�+023'

State Bank of India will auc-tion NPAs worth �700 crore

this month to recover its duesfrom those borrowers.

There will be three auc-tions in the month and the totalamount outstanding is �700.34crore, according to SBI’s auction plan .

Ludhiana-based RegencyAqua Electro & Hotel ResortsPvt. Ltd. and Kolkata-basedLovely International Pvt. Ltd.will be auctioned on November18 while on November 29, thee-auction will take place ofSankalp Engineering & Pvt.Ltd. and Anjanay Rice Mill Pvt.Ltd. among others.

On November 7, e-auction

of Bhopal-based Bhatia GlobalTrading Limited (BGTL) whichhas a due of �177 crore . It willbe among several other assetsis scheduled to be auctionedthat day. As per Bank’s revisedPolicy on Sale of FinancialAssets, SBI places accounts forsale to ARCs/ Banks/ NBFCs/FIs, on the terms and condi-tions indicated there against.

All these accounts are to beauctioned under “SwissChallenge Method”, based onan existing offer in hand, whowill have the right to match thehighest bid.

In the latest Q2 results,SBI’s Fresh slippages halved to�8,800 crore from �16,000crore on a quarterly basis.

The asset quality of the

bank improved with gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratiocoming in at 7.19 per cent,down 276 bps yearly and 34 bpssequentially.

Net NPA ratio was at 2.79per cent, down 205 bps YoYand 28 bps QoQ.

The bank was holding totalprovisions of �22,399 crore,which was 89.63 per cent oftotal outstanding, as ofSeptember 30.

����� /01�+023'

With just two months to gofor the year-end, draft

papers for nearly 125 mutualfund schemes have been filed byasset management companieswith Sebi so far in 2019, muchlower than 211 such docu-ments submitted in entire 2018.

Fund houses attributed thefewer NFOs (new fund offers)in 2019 to tepid investors’ sen-timent and liquidity crisis indebt funds. Fixed maturityplan, exchange traded fund(ETF), retirement, sustainableequity fund and business cyclefund are some of the themes forwhich the mutual fund hous-es have filed the applications.

Interestingly, many mutualfund companies are also lookingat index funds and global funds.The draft documents for 125NFOs have been submitted withthe Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi) so far in2019 (till October 31), accord-ing to the markets regulator.

Of these, some of theschemes have already been

launched after getting regulato-ry clearances. “We have seen thetrends from past as well as thatthe number of NFOs are high-er when the markets are goodand lower when sentiments arebad,” said Omkeshwar Singh,head of mutual fund distributionbusiness at Samco.

“During last year-and-half,except for the past few funds,most of the equity funds haveunder-performed, especially inthe mid and small caps and also there has been lots ofbad news in debt funds.Therefore the NFOs have beenlower,” he added.

In recent months, themutual fund industry has beengrappling with redemptionpressures in the wake of debtcrises at various groups, includ-ing IL&FS, Essel and DHFL.

Axis Mutual MF, ICICIPrudential MF, UTI MF, SBIMF, Aditya Birla Sun Life MF,Edelweiss MF and RelianceMF are among the fund houses that have approachedSebi with the offer documentsfor NFOs.

Beijing: India will be one of the“Guest of Honour Country” atChina’s second InternationalImport Expo (CIIE) to beopened at Shanghai onNovember 5 where it plans tomake a strong pitch for exportsof its Pharma, IT and agricul-tural products among others.

An Indian business delega-tion headed by CommerceSecretary, Anup Wadhawan,would take part in the importexpo which is aimed at enablingcountries from the world overto showcase products toenhance their export to China.In this year’s expo to be inau-gurated by Chinese President XiJinping, India is among the 15Guest Countries of Honour.

The others are Cambodia,the Czech Republic, France,Greece, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan,Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Peru,Russia, Thailand, Uzbekistan,and Zambia.

A number of Europeanleaders — including FrenchPresident Emmanuel Macronand incoming EU trade com-

missioner Phil Hogan wouldtake part in the expo whichwould be held from November5 to 10 for businessmen. Laterit would be open for public tillNovember 20.

Guests and representativesfrom more than 170 countriesand regions have been invitedto attend the expo, ViceMinister of Commerce, WangBingnan, told the media aheadof the fair. More than 500,000buyers and visitors from homeand abroad are expected at theexpo, he said.

The expo is composed ofthree parts — country exhibi-tions, business exhibitions andthe second HongqiaoInternational EconomicForum. It covered a total areaof 30,000 square meters, thecountry exhibitions will host 64countries and internationalorganisations, with uniquelydesigned pavilions to showcasethe countries’ developmentachievements, business envi-ronment and special industries,Wang said. PTI

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Telecom Minister RaviShankar Prasad has direct-

ed the ailing telecom PSUs,BSNL and MTNL, to start adialogue with their employeeson the terms and conditions ofthe voluntary retirementscheme (VRS) and prepare aroadmap for its successfulimplementation, higly placedsources said.

The Union Cabinet hadlast month approved a revivalpackage for BSNL and MTNLwhich includes a voluntaryretirement scheme (VRS) fortheir staff. The aim is to reducethe employee cost of the twocompanies by offering VRS totheir staff aged 50 years andabove based on the Gujarat model with some modifications.

The Government has setJanuary 31, 2020 as the last datefor employees opting for VRS.It will give �17,160-crore forVRS settlements and another�12,768 crore towards retire-ment liabilities.

BSNL has 1.76 lakhemployees, of which some 1.06lakh are over 50 years of age.The telco is keen that 80 percent of the employees shouldopt for the VRS.

MTNL has around 22,000employees. BSNL’s employeecost is 75 per cent of its totalincome and MTNL’s employeecost is 87 per cent of its totalincome.

The financial health ofboth PSUs depend on the suc-cess of the VRS, the imple-mentation of which would takea minimum of 90 days.

“The Minister on Fridaymet the boards of both BSNLand MTNL and conveyed tothem that the scheme must be implemented with aproper dialogue with theemployees, and by presentingthem with questions andanswers,” sources said.

“He told the boards of thetwo PSUs that it was the finestVRS announced by any PSU,and BSNL and MTNL must beproactive to make it a success,”said the sources.

Employees above the age of53.5 years will get 125 per centof their salary, which theycould have earned in balanceperiod of their service.Employees in the age bracket of50 to 53.5 years opting for theVRS will get benefit in therange of 80 to 100 per cent ofthe remuneration to be paid inthe balance period of theirservice.

For employees currentlymore than 55 years of age, onopting for VRS, the pensionwill be commuted only whenthey attain 60 years of age (thecurrent retirement age). For theemployees, currently of age 55years and less, on opting forVRS, the pension will be commuted in the sixth year2024-25.

Prasad also asked the PSUsto take proactive measures tomonetise their assets and com-plete everything in a time-bound manner.

“He said there will be strictmonitoring, and BSNL/MTNLwill have to deliver,” sourcespointed out.

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Page 12: FC=H CG - The Pioneer · days after the Supreme Court- ... In the National Capital Region (NCR), Faridabad with AQI 493, Noida (494), ... Delhi Police personnel and lawyers inside

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Iran’s Supreme Leader said onSunday that his country has

outmaneuvered the UnitedStates in the four decades sincethe 1979 Islamic Revolution.Ayatollah Sayyid Ali HusseiniKhamenei said Iran has“trapped the other party in thecorner of the ring in manycases,” adding that US aggres-sion toward Iran has onlygrown “wilder and more fla-grant” over the years.

Ayatollah Khamenei wasquoted on his official website ina speech to thousands of stu-dents, a day before the 40thanniversary of the US Embassytakeover in Tehran.

Tensions have been highbetween Washington andTehran following US PresidentDonald Trump’s decision over ayear ago to unilaterally pull outof the 2015 nuclear deal withIran and other world powers.

The US has sought to rollback Iran’s influence acrossthe region by imposing sanc-tions and providing militaryand other aid to its adversaries.Those sanctions have kept Iranfrom selling its oil abroad andhave crippled its economy. Iranhas since begun breaking termsof the nuclear deal.

Khamenei, who has final sayon all state matters, repeated hisopposition to talks with the USIn October, he had said negoti-ations with the US would nottake place unless Washingtonreturned to the nuclear deal bylifting its sanctions.

“A ban of negotiation withthe US is one of the most impor-tant instruments for closing the

path for their intervention inIran,” Khamenei said Sunday.

Iran routinely accuses theUS of interfering in its internalaffairs. It now points to theTrump administration’s “max-imum pressure” policy, whichit describes as trying to toppleits Islamic Republic.

The West Asia is currentlywitnessing anti-governmentdemonstrations in Lebanon andIraq. While those protests arefueled by local grievances andmainly directed at political elites,they also pose a challenge to Iran,which closely backs both gov-ernments as well as powerfularmed groups in each country.

Iran and its allies haveexpressed support for some of

the protesters’ demands, buthave also accused the US andother Western countries ofmanipulating the demonstra-tions to sow chaos.

Iran has expanded its influ-ence in neighboring Iraq fol-lowing the 2003 US-led inva-sion, which empowered thecountry’s Shiite majority. Iraqhas a number of powerful Iran-backed militias that were ini-tially mobilised to battle theIslamic State (ISIS) group.

Iran also backs theLebanese militant group

Hezbollah, which sent thou-sands of fighters to neigh-bouring Syria to help defeat theuprising against SyrianPresident Bashar Assad, anoth-er key Iranian ally.

The US has thrown itsweight behind Iranian rival SaudiArabia and other Gulf Arabmonarchies, which funded anumber of opposition groupsbattling Assad in Syria’s eight-yearcivil war. Assad’s government hassince all but won the war mili-tarily with the help of Russia andIran. The US also blames Iran fora September 14 attack key onSaudi oil infrastructure, whichtemporarily halved the king-dom’s production.

Tehran denies it launched

the cruise missiles and dronesused in the assault.

Yemen’s Houthi rebelsclaimed responsibility, but ana-lysts say the weapons usedwouldn’t have the range to

reach their targets from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

A Saudi-led and US-backed military coalition hasbeen fighting the Iran-backedHouthis since 2015.

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The television station ofLebanon’s powerful Shi’ite

Islamist movement Hezbollahprotested on Saturday thatmost of its Twitter accounts hadbeen suspended.

Al-Manar accused the US-based social media platform ofgiving in to “political pressures”.

“Account suspended,” onesuch Arabic-language account,@almanarnews, read lateSaturday.

“There is no place onTwitter for illegal terroristorganisations and violentextremist groups,” a Twitterspokesperson told AFP.

The accounts in English,French and Spanish were alsonot available, but the Twitterhandles of specific televisionshows seemed to be function-ing.

Iran-backed Hezbollah isdesignated a “terrorist” groupby the United States and severalof its officials are under US

sanctions, but it is also a keypolitical player in Lebanon.

The group held three min-isterial posts and a majoritywith its Christian allies beforeLebanon’s cabinet fell this weekafter 13 days of mass anti-graftprotests.

Hezbollah is the only groupnot to have disarmed afterLebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war,and it fought Israeli troops whooccupied southern Lebanonuntil 2000.

It has also been a key allyof Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the neighbouringcountry’s eight-year conflict.

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Sri Lanka’s Tamil NationalAlliance (TNA) on Sunday

said they will support the coun-try’s ruling party candidate,Sajith Premadasa, in theNovember 16 presidential election.

“After our central commit-tee meeting held in Vavuniyatoday, we have decided to backSajith Premadasa,” TNAspokesman and legislator MASumanthiran told reporters.

“His manifesto will bemore acceptable to Tamils(compared) to other candi-dates,” Sumanthiran said.

In his manifesto,Premadasa has pledged “max-imum devolution of powerwithin an undivided and indi-visible Sri Lanka”.

Sumanthiran said TNAleader R Sampanthan wouldconsult other parties in theTamil alliance before officiallyannouncing the TNA’s stand toback Premadasa.

Samanthiran said the 13-point plan of the Tamil politi-cal parties’ had not been pre-sented to any of the presiden-tial candidates.

The 13 points included thedemand to permanently mergenorth and eastern provinces,granting Tamils political auton-omy in a federal solution.

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Beijing said on Sunday it is“ready to work” with

Southeast Asian nations on acode of conduct in the flash-point South China Sea, whereit is accused of building up mil-itary installations and bullyingfellow claimants.

China claims most of theresource-rich waterway, amajor global shipping routethat has long been a source oftension in the region.

For years, the 10-memberAssociation of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) has beenlocked in talks for a code ofconduct for the sea, whereChina is accused of deployingwarships, arming outposts andramming fishing vessels.

The agreement, set to befinished in 2021, will lay outconduct guidelines for the seaalong with conflict resolutionparameters.

On Sunday, China’s premierLi Keqiang said the first read-ing of the document -- a chancefor all members to comment onthe draft terms -- was “a very

important landmark”.“We stand ready to work with

ASEAN countries building on theexisting foundation and the basisto strive for new progress” on theguidelines, he said.

He added that China want-ed to “maintain and upholdlong-term peace and stability inthe South China Sea”.

The Philippines -- whichhas sparred with China in thesea -- said Sunday that Beijingis committed to the code, despiteits broad claims to the waterway.

“It recognises the fact that

if it doesn’t agree to a code ofconduct then there will be tur-moil in the region,” presiden-tial spokesman Salvador Panelotold reporters in Bangkok onthe sidelines of ASEAN.

The Philippines in 2016filed a case with a UN-backedtribunal, which ultimatelyrejected Beijing’s assertions inthe sea.

Tensions in the waterwayhave flared in recent weeksbetween China and Vietnam,one of Beijing’s most vocalcritics on the issue.

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China on Sunday launchedGaofen-7, a new Earth

observation satellite, which willplay a major role in land sur-veying and mapping, urbanand rural construction andstatistical investigation, accord-ing to the China NationalSpace Administration (CNSA).

The Gaofen-7 was China’sfirst civil-use optical transmis-sion three-dimensional sur-veying and mapping satellitethat reaches the sub-metrelevel, Xinhua reported.

The satellite and carrierrocket were developed by theChina Academy of SpaceTechnology and the ShanghaiAcademy of SpaceflightTechnology under the ChinaAerospace Science andTechnology Corporation.

Along with Gaofen-7, threeother commercial and scientificexperiment satellites, includingone developed for Sudan, werealso launched into space.

The development of theGaofen-7 has achieved a break-through in sub-meter level 3Dmapping camera technology,meeting the highest mappingaccuracy requirement amongthe Gaofen series Earth obser-vation satellites, according to CNSA.

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The UN chief on Sundayurged Myanmar to ensure

the “safe” return of Rohingyarefugees driven out by armyoperations, a plea made infront of Aung San Suu Kyimore than two years since hercountry cracked down on theMuslim minority.

Speaking at a summit ofSoutheast Asian leaders inBangkok — with Myanmar’s defacto head Suu Kyi in the room— Antonio Guterres said heremains “deeply concerned”about the plight of theRohingya.

Violence in Rakhine state in2017 forced more than 740,000Rohingya to flee, most seekingrefuge in overcrowded camps inneighbouring Bangladesh, inwhat UN investigators sayamounted to genocide.

Myanmar does not recog-nise the Rohingya as citizens.

The country says it wel-comes back those who agree toa bureaucratic status belowfull citizenship, and if theyagree to live under tight guardafter their villages were incin-erated.

Guterres said Myanmar isresponsible to “ensure a con-ducive environment for thesafe, voluntary, dignified andsustainable repatriation ofrefugees”. Suu Kyi sat in theroom expressionless asGuterres spoke.

Only a few hundredRohingya have returned to

Myanmar so far, with manyfearing further persecution inthe Buddhist-majority country.

The secretary-general alsocalled on Myanmar “to ensurehumanitarian actors have fulland unfettered access to areasof return”.

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Leaders from fast-growingSoutheast Asian economies,

China and other regional pow-ers vowed Sunday to tran-scend conflicts over trade poli-cies and territorial disputes forthe sake of stronger economiesand regional stability.

President Donald Trumpskipped the summit of theAssociation of Southeast AsianNations and instead sent hisnational security adviser,Robert O’Brien.

Last year, Trump sent VicePresident Mike Pence. Bothnow are busy campaigningback home, and analysts saytheir absence will leave roomfor China to further raise itsprofile and clout in the region.

The ASEAN meeting’shost, Thai Prime MinisterPrayuth Chan-ocha, said thegroup aims to reach a basicagreement on plans for whatmay become one of the world’sbiggest trade blocs.

The proposed RegionalComprehensive EconomicPartnership aims to level tradebarriers between the 10ASEAN members and six othercountries in a bloc encom-passing nearly a third of allglobal trade.

Prayuth and other officialssaid the aim was to have a final

deal by next year. ASEAN alsohopes to set a code of conductwith China regarding disputedwaters in the South China Sea,he said. Chinese Premier LiKeqiang told other leadersattending that Beijing was com-mitted to forging such anagreement and to ASEAN’scentral role in the region.

“Given the complexity inthe international and regionalsituation, our cooperation isbuilt on a stable structure andmoving forward in a positivefashion,” Li said.

“This is beneficial to theregion and all parties involved.”“We support stability in theregion and by doing so we havebeen able to cope with theinstability elsewhere in theworld,” he said.

On the troublesome issueof the South China Sea, Li wel-comed progress on negotiatinga code of conduct aimed attaming aggressive actions thatcould set off armed confronta-tions in one of the world’smost disputed regions.

After being accused ofdelaying the start of talks foryears while building artificialislands with military outpostson contested reefs, Chinaagreed to commence negotia-tions and both sides announcedthat the first of three expectedrounds was concluded in July.

Baghdad: Iraqi authorities havereduced the curfew in Baghdadto four hours from six, as anti-government protests continuedacross the capital city.

A statement on Saturday byBaghdad OperationsCommand (BOC), responsiblefor the security of Baghdadprovince, decided to set the newcurfew from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.,while the previous one imposed

on October 28 started frommidnight, Xinhua news agencyreported on Sunday.

The curfew reduction isintended to give more time forthe protesters to return home,the statement said.

Since October 25, at least82 people have been killedand more than 3,000 injured inclashes between protesters andsecurity forces.

These new wave of protestsfollows the initial demonstra-tions that erupted on October1, which spread through thecapital and other regions of Iraqdue to outrage over the lack ofpublic services and employ-ment opportunities.

At least 157 people died inthe ensuing unrest, includingeight members of the securityforces. IANS

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Iran said on Saturday it hassent Iraq and Arab states of

the Gulf the text of its securi-ty and cooperation projectknown as Hormuz Peace Planfirst unveiled by PresidentHassan Rouhani at the UN inSeptember.

Rouhani “sent the full text(of the initiative) to the heads”of the Gulf CooperationCouncil and Iraq and “asked fortheir cooperation in processingand implementing it”, the for-eign ministry said.

The GCC is a six-nationbloc that groups Saudi Arabia,the United Arab Emirates,Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar andOman.

Ties have been tensebetween Iran and GCC mem-bers Saudi Arabia and theUAEnited Arab Emirates, bothallies of the United States andleading members of a militarycoalition battling Iran-backedHuthi rebels in Yemen.

In September, Rouhaniproposed in a speech at the UNGeneral Assembly a “Coalitionfor Hope” that would unite allregional countries in a pledge of

non-aggression and non-inter-ference in each others’ affairs.

It came after a string ofmysterious attacks on oiltankers in the Gulf and Saudioil installations, which theUnited States blamed onTehran. Iran denied anyinvolvement in the attacks.

“The security of the regionshall be provided whenAmerican troops pull out,”Rouhani said at the GeneralAssembly.

“In the event of an incident,you and we shall not remainalone. We are neighbours witheach other and not with theUnited States,” he added.

Tensions between Tehranand Washington have escalat-ed sharply since US PresidentDonald Trump unilaterallywithdrew last year from the2015 Iran nuclear deal.

He has since reimposedunilateral sanctions as part ofits “maximum pressure” cam-paign.

The arch-foes came to thebrink of a military confronta-tion in June when Iran downeda US drone and Trump orderedretaliatory strikes before can-celling them at the last minute.

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Portland: A federal judge inPortland, Oregon, on Saturdayput on hold a Trump adminis-tration rule requiring immi-grants prove they will havehealth insurance or can pay formedical care before they can getvisas.

US District Judge MichaelSimon granted a preliminaryinjunction that prevents the rulefrom going into effect Sunday. It’snot clear when he will rule on themerits of the case.

Seven Us citizens and anonprofit organization filed thefederal lawsuit Wednesday con-tending the rule would blocknearly two-thirds of all prospec-tive legal immigrants.

The lawsuit also said the rulewould greatly reduce or eliminatethe number of immigrants whoenter the United States withfamily sponsored visas.

“We’re very grateful that thecourt recognized the need toblock the health care ban imme-diately,” says Justice Action Centersenior litigator Esther Sung, whoargued at Saturday’s hearing onbehalf of the plaintiffs.

“The ban would separatefamilies and cut two-thirds ofgreen-card-based immigrationstarting tonight, were the ban notstopped,” he said.

The proclamation signedby President Donald Trump inearly October applies to peopleseeking immigrant visas fromabroad — not those in the USalready. It does not affect lawfulpermanent residents. It doesnot apply to asylum-seekers,

refugees or children.The proclamation says

immigrants will be barred fromentering the country unless theyare to be covered by healthinsurance within 30 days ofentering or have enough finan-cial resources to pay for any med-ical costs. The rule is the Trumpadministration’s latest effort tolimit immigrant access to pub-lic programs while trying tomove the country away from afamily based immigration systemto a merit-based system.

The White House said in astatement at the time the procla-mation was issued that too manynon-citizens were taking advan-tage of the country’s “generouspublic health programs,” and saidimmigrants contribute to theproblem of “uncompensatedhealth care costs.”

Under the government’s visarule, the required insurance canbe bought individually or pro-vided by an employer and it canbe short-term coverage or cata-strophic.

Medicaid doesn’t count, andan immigrant can’t get a visa ifusing the Affordable Care Act’ssubsidies when buying insur-ance. The federal governmentpays for those subsidies.

According to the MigrationPolicy Institute, a nonpartisanimmigration think tank, 57% ofUS immigrants had privatehealth insurance in 2017, com-pared with 69% of US-born, and30% had public health insurancecoverage, compared with 36% ofnative-born. AP

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Tens of thousands of pro-testors at a massive protest

camp in Pakistan’s capitalawaited a Sunday deadline setby their leader calling for theprime minister resign.

Authorities in Islamabadstrengthened security aroundthe camp as the protest enteredits third day, including walls ofshipping containers blockingroads leading into and out ofthe protest area, as well asdeploying riot police andparamilitary forces.

Firebrand cleric MaulanaFazlur Rehman had led a car-avan of supporters toIslamabad last week in a bid topressure Imran Khan to stepdown, calling him an “illegiti-mate” ruler.

He claims the 2018 electionthat brought Khan to powerwas rigged, and has implied —without naming names — thatPakistan’s powerful army sup-ported Khan. The militarydenies the allegations, saying itremains impartial.

Rehman, who heads theJamiat Ulema-e-Islam party,has agreed with authoritiesthat the protesters will notleave the Government-desig-nated area.

But he has also hinted he

could lead a march on the “RedZone,” the seat of Pakistan'sgovernment, to force Khan'sresignation. The PrimeMinister says he has no plansof quitting.

It's unclear what Rehman'snext move will be once hisdeadline expires Sundayevening.

Negotiations to defuse thestandoff were taking placebetween members of Khan'sgovernment and oppositionlawmakers.

Authorities have said theywon't try to stop the protests aslong as they remain in the des-ignated area, which stretchesover a kilometer (mile) along ahighway and into an openarea.

Some protesters in the all-male encampment seemed pre-pared for a long stay, and hadeven begun turning the ship-ping containers into livingspaces.

“I want the Government tobring more of these containers,they're now serving as our lit-tle homes here, as the weatheris getting colder every night,”said Gul Aman, a protesterfrom the western Baluchistanprovince. Others were seencooking meals and washingclothes outside their tentsSunday.

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������������� In 1980s Tokyo, an enigmatic expat is suspected of

killing her friend, who's gone missing in the wake of theirlove triangle with a local photographer. Starring AliciaVikander, Riley Keough and Naoki Kobayashi, the filmreleases on November 15 on Netflix.

���� ���������Mehdi gets out of prison, planning to settle old scores. But

first, he must reconnect with his gang, now living in an idyllicbeach resort in Thailand. Starring Sami Bouajila, Tewfik Jallaband Mélanie Doutey, the film releases on November 8 on Netflix.

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ing the friendships, love lives and futures of several high school seniors.Starring Isabela Moner, Shameik Moore and Kiernan Shipka, the filmreleases on November 8 on Netflix.

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Nerve-wracking,” was Neil NitinMukesh’s exact feeling when heproduced his forthcoming film

Bypass Road. And for the first time, he hasdonned several other hats too — that of anactor, screenplay writer and playbacksinger. He says, “Creativity shouldn’t haveany boundaries. This is what I was taughtsince childhood. As I come from an artistfamily, it’s very important for me to keepmy forefathers name flying high. The con-stant effort to push the envelope from myend proves my overambitious nature.”

The drama-thriller revolves around ayoung successful fashion prodigy, Vikram(played by Neil), who is the prime suspectin a murder. Slowly and gradually the plotgets intense as a sudden turn of eventsmakes the protagonist a victim of an acci-dent.

Thriller is such a broad genre that thereare many aspects to it which can be furtherdivided into sub-genres such as psycholog-ical thriller, horror thriller, crime thriller,revenge thriller and many others. The sub-category of horror genre is home invasion,which Neil feels is unexplored in our coun-try. It has a story whose thematic and plotelements deal with the forceful entry of oneor more individuals into an occupiedspace. He says, “We have home invasionsas one of the prime spots. When I realisedthat there’s a major dearth of home inva-sions in India, I started writing one.”

He recalls an incident that lead to theideation of the film. “Four years ago whileI was travelling back from Dubai, I read inthe paper that OTT platform would cometo India. I knew the moment they come,they are going to dominate the market bigtime. Before that it was important to edu-cate our audience about the genres. So, Idecided to make a home invasion filmbecause the content needed to be developedsoon to give the audience the best of boththe worlds — digital and cinema.

The genre is popular in the Westbecause people there are aware about itsnuances. But in India it’s not easy to bringa novelty like this because the audienceneeds to be educated about it first. “Theaudience in the West don’t need a story orback story to understand the film, theyunderstand it naturally. But here I knew ifI left the plot the way it is, many questionswould be thrown at me. For example, whois the man behind the mask? or why doeshe want to kill the protagonist? (scenes inthe trailer). When these questions poppedup in my mind I thought it’s important toaddress them and develop a sub plot thatleads to home invasion. So, the first halfexplains each character and develops itgradually so that it helps the audience under-stand the plot in a better way. Each charac-ter has been given great amount of impor-tance,” he adds. The film is an amalgamationof the murder mystery and the home inva-sion territory which blends in smoothly.

The film’s song So Gaya Yeh Jahaan isvery special for the actor as it was initiallysung by his father Nitin Mukesh in the 1989classic Tezab. Neil says, “Recreating this songis a big honour for me. I couldn’t have askedfor more. This is the smallest touch from myend to give back to my family.”

Talking about the genre the actor saysthat he hasn’t seen a good murder mysteryafter Badla. But he adds on that even that wasa remake and questions, “What about an orig-inal idea?” He then talks about his film say-

ing it is original and will keep the audienceconstantly on the edge guessing who is play-ing what?

There are many films which are quitepredictable from the trailer. But that is notthe case with this one. Here it seems as if thestory is running multi dimensionally. It ishard to connect the dots. Is it a consciousmove? “There’s so much happening simul-taneously the audience will stay hooked. Youcannot say it was planned but yes, we wereprepared for it. In our screenplay we haveconsciously and seamlessly made an effort tomake sure that the audience gets back ontrack if they feel deviated. Though, I don’tintend to spoon feed them,” says he. He addsthat he wants the audience to understand theprotagonist and see the film from his perspec-tive.

The actor feels that one should alwaysmake the film from the audience point ofview and not have an individualisticapproach. Neil says, “I question myself first.‘Would I want to see a film like this?’” As amaker he feels its his derogative to give theaudience their money’s worth.

Talking about the challenges as a writerNeil says, “Writing the script in a controlledbudget was tough. While writing I can havegreat visual sense and can write the sequencesseamlessly. But being realistic to my budgetwas difficult. As an actor I can be selfish andask for 25 safaris in a scene. But when youare a producer you know what you can affordand what you can’t.”

The script was initially written in a waythat the scenes would look glorified on thescreen but when Neil actually had to act, itwas very difficult. He recalls a bath tubsequence where he was suspended on a har-ness and taken to bath. The scene shows thatthe harness falls into water and Neil startsdrowning. “It was scary. Imagine yourselfbeing submerged upside down into water andthere you have to perform with your handstied up with chain. Talking about it is scar-ing me again. It was more scary because mycrew wouldn’t know that whether I am act-ing or I am actually in danger. That was a bigfear point,” he says.

The protagonist, Vikram has manyshades of human elements. He is initially afashion prodigy in a glamorous world but his

life changes after he is injured in an accidentand is completely restricted to a wheel chair.This helplessness was challenging and madethe actor bite the character strongly. “It is asubtly nuanced film. It is not unnecessarilymelodramatic but instead tries to evoke someemotions naturally,” says he.

There’s a dialogue in the film, “Zindagiaur raaste kis mod pe badal jaaye kisi ko nhipta.” (No one knows when life or its pathchange). The actor says that it is so ironic thatthe moment you start taking yourself too seri-ously, life has a way of getting you back ontrack. Same happens with Vikram. His lifechanged very unexpectedly after he met withan accident.

As more actors turn producers, Neil says,“It’s superb. Most of the actors are doing itbecause they are confident about their craft.How long will you wait for somebody else totrust you with something that you know youcan trust yourself with? How long will I waitfor that perfect script and role to come myway? And especially when I know that I havethe acting skills in me.”

He recalls how his debut film, JohnnyGaddar, shocked the audience but worked.But then it began to be repeated thematical-ly. So Neil wants to be a clutter-breaker ratherthan become a stereotype. For Neil, filmmak-ing is slightly larger than life. He loves the factcinema has got that power to teleport theaudience into the world it wants to. Citingthe example of Steven Spielberg, he wondershow he made us believe in both Jurassic Parkand ET: The Extra-Terrestrial.

This quest for breaking moulds hasmeant that Neil has made a mark with char-acter roles too. “I am not one of those whoalways wants to be the lead. If the role isimportant, be it of a driver in the film, I’ll doit. The only thing that matters is that heshould be important in the story. If he is thenit doesn’t matters if it’s an ensemble film orthe character is grey or he is the protagonist.In Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Salman (Khan)was the lead but it doesn’t mean that mineor any other actors’ character was not essen-tial to the storytelling. Also, now the audi-ence is accepting and equally giving impor-tance to diverse characters of the film,” saysNeil.

(The film releases on November 8).

People of Delhi-NCR have becomeaccustomed to deteriorating air

quality and prone to various respirato-ry and heart diseases over the last 10years. While there are ways to curb thesevere effects of pollution on yourbody like staying indoors, using airpurifiers, limiting exercises in the openand wearing pollution masks, people arehardly aware of the benefits that comewith it, especially the last. Wearing anti-pollution masks might bring a little bitof reassurance but how does it decreaseexposure and protect you? And whatquality should one look for in a mask?

As per experts, a three-layered sur-gical mask or an N95 mask is usuallysuggested to patients with breathingissues. The label stands for the maskability to filter out at least 95 per centof the airborne particles, which are larg-er than 0.3 microns. However, sensitivepersons should consider using the N99version of those masks, which stands for

filtering more the 99 per cent of air-borne particles. Among other things arenasal filters, which are useful for peo-ple who are at high risk or going to areaswhere pollution level is very high.

Various companies, working toensure a pollution-free lifestyle, are pro-ducing anti-pollution products likemasks, which can be looked at and com-pared for their different qualities andbenefits.

The Prana air mask has an N95 fil-ter and a fan inside that maintains theairflow, allowing one to breathe effort-lessly. It features six-layer air purifica-tion that includes two layers of activat-ed carbon to prevent harmful gases, a

layer of pre-white filter to stop all par-ticles larger than 0.10 microns, and twolayers of HEPA to stop all PM 2.5 andPM 1 particles larger than 0.3 microns.Its purification efficiency is 99.95 per

cent. It has a rechargeable battery thatlasts over five hours.

Another one that has been rated oneof the most used is the AtlantaHealthcare Cambridge N99 air pollutionmask. Well, this one adds to fashion toowith its designed cover. The maskcomes in three different models — one,no valve; two, 1 valve; and three, twovalves. You can get any but having twovalves is good for running and work. Itcomes with an adjustable nose clip fora perfect fit. It also offers variousdesigns to choose from. The mask canbe used for 250 to 300 breathing hours.So, you can use it for months.

Vogmask Masks N99 are anotherdesigner masks that filters 99 per centof airborne particles of 0.3 microns andlayers, carbon filter and exhales valve.The Vogmask 8-bit single valve masksare available at Nirvana Being. One suchis also Repeller N99, which comeswith an N99 carbon filter that eliminates

up to PM 2.5 particles. It has adjustablestraps and is washable. If you use it for12 hours a day, it can last for around twomonths.

Keeping the importance of exerciseand sports in mind, there are idMaskmasks by Nirvana Being as well, whichcan be used while running or any out-door sport activity. They are made forthe physically active community in away that they are comfortable evenwhile engaging in a tiresome exercise.

Even though these masks mightcome to our rescue, their proper usageis important to make them fully help-ful. Else, the mask is of no use. Fittingit tight might cause discomfort. And tobe really efficient, the masks should beused and worn properly to ensure agood ‘fit’ with the face. But they are cer-tainly important. Even Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal distributedaround 50 lakh anti-pollution masks toschool-goers recently.

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Discipline is vital to every living being and espe-cially to social beings, because without it mankind

will be ruined. To live a peaceful life in the society, itis a pre-requisite. However, it can neither be acquiredfrom books, nor can it be learnt from anyone. It canonly be inculcated if one includes it in their routine,right from the moment of waking up to the time ofgoing off to sleep.

As per the dictionary discipline means ‘Trainingto act in accordance with rules; activity, exercise ora regimen that develops or improves a skill’. It directsus towards positive emotions, actions and thoughts.Hence, wherever we go, weneed to carry disciplinewith us and inspire others todo the same if they areunaware of its value.We canlead a very systematic life ifwe learn to be disciplined inever ything we do. Weshould go to bed and wakeup at the right time everyday. We should eat a bal-anced diet to stay healthy,and get the right amount ofexercise to stay fit. We mustinhale fresh air everyday tohave a peaceful mind.

In the present milieu,indiscipline or lack of core human values is consid-ered to be a major factor for the downfall of our civil-isation. It is a known fact that no country can rise with-out a sense of discipline among its nationals.Indiscipline shows that there is a sense of frustrationor absence of control in the society, which further leadsto restlessness of mind and a tendency to disobey andoverthrow the code of conduct. This roughness inbehaviour and the spirit of revolt is not really a thirstfor freedom but an attempt to earn recognition. Allthese are symptoms of a mind which is void of peaceand contentment.

The need of the hour is to engage the youth in con-structive activities and channelise its energies in a pos-itive way for the benefit of the society. If parents can-not inspire their progeny by their love, sacrifice, char-acter, good behaviour and a spirit of understanding,then youngsters, who have a superfluous physical ener-gy become restless and tend to rebel against the sys-tem which the elders have set up. However, on oneside we cannot hold only children responsible for thisbehaviour. If the parents are of high character andintegrity, then there would be no reason why theywould not be respected. But on the other side this doesnot mean that children are not at fault. It’s a knownfact that many of them are misguided by their owntroublesome friends whom they consider to be theirleaders.

However, the most potent factor that is respon-sible for the restlessness and indiscipline among thechildren is the absence of moral and spiritual educa-tion in schools and colleges and lack of inspirationfrom their elders at home. It is spiritual educationwhich gives a person self-control and values like tol-erance, patience, sobriety, humility and respect for theelderly. It transforms him from a restless person to aperson with contentment, dedication and spirit of sac-rifice. Hence, it is important to impart moral valuesto our children during the formative years. Such habitswere being cultivated since generations and were nur-tured as culture and heritage, but somewhere it stoppedpercolating down due to massive western cultural inva-sion that happened during the last few years. What wesee today is a reflection of the alien culture that we havebeen blindly following. It is not the value system thatour forefathers had been meticulously fostering. So,let us go back to our roots, our immaculate founda-tion and revive our “original Indian cultural heritage”that got lost in the maze of so called modernisation.Only then would we be able to create a new path ofchange for the generations to follow.

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Seven-year-old Aryan Singh couldhave met the same fate as hiscousin, who died seven years ago

because the nearest hospital was toofar.

When Aryan returned home fromschool with a low-grade fever inmid-September, his mother initiallydismissed it as seasonal, worrying onlywhen his temperature shot upovernight. She hopped on her hus-band’s motorbike with her son cling-ing to her, riding through the ruttedroads of their village in India’s north-ern state of Uttar Pradesh beforereaching a rural government healthcare center at around 2 am.

Doctors hospitalised Aryan afterhe was diagnosed with scrub typhus,a bacterial infection spread by rats andmites that accounts for nearly 40 percent of identif iable causes ofencephalitis — potentially fatal brainswelling that is rare globally butprevalent in parts of South Asia andsub-Saharan Africa.

A vaccine for one strain of the dis-ease, Japanese encephalitis, is avail-able, but there is no guard against thestrains caused by bacteria. The sur-vival rate is high if the disease is treat-ed early. “The boy is on the path ofrecovery,” said Dr KP Yadav, in chargeof primary health at the center. “Thecredit goes to the parents who did notwait till morning and brought thechild to the hospital.” His mother saidAryan’s cousin wasn’t so lucky. He diedbecause the closest well-equippedhospital was 85 kilometers (53 miles)from their village.

Acute encephalitis syndrome,including Japanese encephalitis, iscaused by several different viruses,bacteria, fungi, parasites, spirochetes,chemical and toxins. The outbreak ofJapanese encephalitis coincides with

the June-October monsoon seasonand the post-monsoon period whenthe density of mosquitoes increases.It typically spreads from pigs to peo-ple via mosquitoes, and is easily iden-tified through testing. It infects manypeople in childhood.

Years of recurring outbreaks andhigh fatality rates among children insome of India’s poorest regions haverevealed the cracks in the country’shealth care system. Between 2007 and2016, almost 75,000 cases were report-ed from 22 states and union territo-

ries in India, according to the NationalVector Borne Disease ControlProgramme.

Nearly 25,000 children in Indiahave died from encephalitis since1978. By contrast, there were about7,300 children admitted to US hospi-tals with encephalitis from 2004 to2013, according to a 2016 study of anational pediatric health database. Ofthose, 230 children died.

But things are changing in UttarPradesh — India’s most populousstate, with millions of rural poor.Encephalitis cases in have droppedsharply because of a new network ofrural clinics, doctors and state govern-ment officials. Uttar Pradesh’s easternportion experienced India’s worstencephalitis outbreak in 2005, withover 1,500 deaths reported at state-runBaba Raghav Das Medical College inGorakhpur, 230 kilometers (143miles) southeast of Lucknow, thestate capital.

But a massive immunisation andcleanliness drive launched in 2017 inthe seven districts with the highestcaseloads is sharply bringing down thefatality rate, said Yogi Adityanath, thestate’s top elected official. In the past,the patients had to travel at least 100

kilometers (60 miles) to reach a well-equipped government hospital, witha large number of them dying on theway.

Small hospitals are now being setup within a distance of 10 kilometers(6 miles) from the most disease-prone villages, said Dr Mahima Mittal,head of the pediatrics department atthe public BRD Hospital.

Before taking over the state’s topstate position two years ago,Adityanath, who is also a Hindumonk of a revered temple inGorakhpur, represented the region inIndia’s Parliament for 25 years. Hefaced flak for not doing enough tocontrol the outbreak of the dreadeddisease.

When his Bharatiya Janata Partywon state elections in 2017, he rose topower. Adityanath immediatelyordered the strengthening of healthservices in seven encephalitis-endem-ic districts. More than 100 encephali-tis treatment centers and pediatricsintensive care units were set up closeto villages. More than 1,00,000 doc-tors and paramedics were given spe-cial training to treat encephalitispatients. Over four million childrenwere given vaccines against Japaneseencephalitis between January andMarch this year. Last year, 3.5 millionchildren were vaccinated against thedisease, Adityanath said.

The state government claims asteady decline in encephalitis fatalitiesin the last two years. In 2017,encephalitis took the lives of 748 peo-ple. The death toll dropped to 278 in2018. Up to August 31 of this year,only 38 children had died of the dis-ease. Dr RN Singh, who has battledthe disease in the state for the last 25years, said there was no way to inde-pendently verify the government’sclaims, but that a decline in encephali-tis cases was visible. “Earlier, I used toexamine two to three encephalitiscases in a week, but now one casecomes in a month or so,” he said.

His non government organisationtargeted Holiya, a vi l lage inGorakhpur district, providing accessto toilets and safe drinking water, vac-cinations, mosquito spraying andmosquito nets. Garbage disposal hasbeen taken up by local elected bodies.Tens of thousands of toilets have beenbuilt in the region to stop people fromdefecating in the open, according to stateofficials. Dr. Shishir Roy, a pediatricianin a rural dispensary, said besides mas-sive immunisations, the state govern-ment also launched a campaign calledDastak, or Door-Knock, in the sameseven encephalitis-prone districts.

State government workers knock atthe doors of every village, educating res-idents about the symptoms of encephali-tis, the need for clean drinking waterand how to keep their living spaces freefrom mosquitoes and other insects. “Ifyou ask me, it is the knock on the doorproject which has knocked theencephalitis out of this endemic region,”Roy said.

A'�

Greta Thunberg, Sweden’s 16-year-old climate-change

activist, joined fellow teenagersfrom throughout Californiatelling a cheering crowd of hun-dreds at a Los Angeles rally thatthey can and will fight to savetheir planet from global warming.

Thunberg, who has beentraveling across the United Statessince delivering a passionatespeech in New York in Septemberthat demanded world leaders domore to combat global warming,spoke at a rally organised byYouth Climate Strike Los Angeles.

The group of young peopleused the rally at California’s oil-extraction industry to call for aphaseout of wells and othermeans of withdrawing petroleumfrom California’s earth.

Before Thunberg spoke shejoined a crowd of about 1,000 inmarching from the lawn in frontof City Hall to GovernmentGavin Newsom’s Los Angelesoffice to demand that oil drillingshould be stopped.

“I will never understand howthey can put short-term interestsabove our lives, future and abovethe planet’s future,” Thunbergsaid of businesses that producefossil fuels and other products thatcontribute to global warming.

“But we young people havehad enough. We say no more.And if our parents won’t speak upfor us, we will,” she added to thun-derous applause from the crowd,which, although it leaned towardthe young side, contained a cross-section of ages.

She said that she believesyoung people like herself arebecoming more prominent in theclimate-change movementbecause, with almost their wholelives ahead of them, they recog-nise how great the danger is totheir generation.

“Many young people areaware that they will be verymuch impacted by what we aredoing now and that their futurewill be destroyed,” she said. “Weknow what is at stake in a way thatmany older people maybe don’t.”

The rally’s lead organiser,17-year-old college freshmanKailynn Cruz, agreed. “I think it’s

fear,” she said when asked whatmotivated her and other teenagersto begin dedicating so muchtime to fighting climate change.“We thought we’re going to havea future, but we found out it wasbeing taken from us.”

That realisation, she said,got her to begin studying global

warming and led to her getting toknow like-minded youth likeThunberg, who arrived in the USfrom her native Sweden in an eco-friendly sailboat earlier this yearand crossed the country by trainand electric car.

Thunberg said she’s been inclose touch with members of

Youth Climate Strike Los Angelesduring her trip across the coun-try, adding that she was honouredto be invited to speak. She hastaken a year off from her highschool studies to advocate forending global warming and plansto travel to Spain in December toattend another United Nations cli-mate summit.

The diminutive teen is sur-prisingly soft-spoken in personbut not afraid to raise her voiceto rally others to the cause, as shedied in September when sheeviscerated world leaders in apassionate speech at the UnitedNations in New York. There, sheaccused them of taking away herchildhood and endangering herfuture by making promises toattack global warming and notfulfilling them.

She returned to that themeas she concluded her speech inLos Angeles.

“The older generations arefailing us. They are failing futuregenerations, but future genera-tions do not have a voice and thebiosphere does not have a voice,”she said. “So, we will be the voicethat speaks up for them.

“Do you think they are lis-tening to us?” she asked. “No,”the crowd shouted loudly, towhich she replied equally loud-ly, “Well, we will make them lis-ten.”

The protest is part of aneffort to pressure the state to shutdown oil extraction, especially indensely populated urban neigh-borhoods like those dotting LosAngeles and surrounding cities.

Eventually, organisers say,they’d like to see California, oneof the nation’s largest oil-produc-ing states, get out of the extrac-tion business to reduce climatechange.

A'�

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Matthijs de Ligt madesure Juventus kepthold of top spot in

Serie A after his first goal forthe club saw off local rivalsTorino, leaving Inter Milan insecond despite RomeluLukaku taking his league tallyto nine with a brace in a 2-1win at Bologna.

Inter had briefly led inItaly after Lukaku slottedhome a 92nd-minute penaltyto snatch the three points atBologna on Saturday, but Juveretook first place thanks to DeLigt, who smashed home theony goal of the game in Turinwith 20 minutes remaining.

Maurizio Sarri’s side staya point ahead of Inter thanksto a hard-fought derby winthat saw both sides exchangeblows in a bruising contest.

“I am really happy, ofcourse. It was a really impor-tant game, as Inter won also.We won 1-0 and it was my

goal, so really special,” DeLigt told DAZN.

De Ligt has had a shakystart to life in Italy and couldwell have given away an earlypenalty when he touched theball with his arm early in thefirst half, but was let off by ref-eree Daniele Doveri and theVAR officials.

However the Netherlandsinternational, who had alreadybeen denied by a superbSalvatore Sirigu stop justbefore the break, came uptrumps in the 70th minutewhen he met substituteGonzalo Higuain's pull backjust after the Argentine hadforced a corner with a sizzlingvolley.

“Obviously, when youcome to a new club, it’s alwaysgoing to be hard. It’s goingwell, the guys made me feelwelcome and I think I’mimproving every game,” addedDe Ligt.

The win maintains Juve’sunbeaten start to the season

and keeps them on course fora ninth straight league title,while Inter have to contentthemselves with seconddespite Lukaku’s match-win-ning display.

The Belgian became thefirst player since Ronaldo in1997/98 to score at least ninegoals in his first 11 Serie Amatches as an Inter player after

a 75th-minute tap-in whichcancelled out RobertoSoriano’s deflected opener anda stoppage time spot-kick win-ner.

“I’m pleased to have hadsuch a good start, but I am 26years old and I need to growevery day, along with thewhole team,” Lukaku told SkySport.

��������������)����Inter have been tipped as

the principal challengers forJuve's Serie A title but had tobe saved from a lacklustredisplay by their star summersigning, who arrived fromManchester United for 65 mil-lion euros (USD 73 million).

His form will be a bigboost going into Tuesday’shuge trip to BorussiaDortmund, which could makeor break their ChampionsLeague campaign with bothsides level on four pointsbehind Group F leadersBarcelona.

Inter are also six pointsahead of Roma, who movedthird in Serie A on Saturdayafter their 2-1 win over wob-bling Napoli.

Rising star Nicolo Zanioloopened the scoring midwaythrough the first half with hisfourth goal in as many gamesin all competitions beforeJordan Veretout sealed thepoints from the penalty spot

10 minutes after the break andstretched Roma's unbeatenleague run to six games.

“I’m very pleased withmy current form, I hope tocontinue like this and to scoremany more goals,” Zaniolotold Sky Sport.

Arkadiusz Milik’s fifthgoal in four games closed thegap for Napoli, but the defeatsees them drop down to sev-enth, level on 18 points withLazio and Cagliari and 11behind Juve after winningjust one of their last five inSerie A.

Paulo Fonseca's Romameanwhile are on a fine recentrun despite an injury crisisthat kept a host of first teamstarters out of action over thelast few weeks.

They are set to have fur-ther selection problems nextweek after Mert Cetin, whoreplaced suspended FedericoFazio, was sent off for twobookable offences deep instoppage time.

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Frank Lampard said “sloppy”Chelsea need to be more

clinical after they survived atense finish to climb to thirdplace in the Premier League witha 2-1 victory at lowly Watford.

Lampard’s side bouncedback from their midweekLeague Cup defeat againstManchester United to make itfive successive league wins onSaturday.

The Blues have won eight oftheir past nine matches in allcompetitions as Lampard con-tinues to make a good impres-sion in his first season in charge.

His decision to go withunproven youngsters likeTammy Abraham, who openedthe scoring, has been a shrewdmove, while Christian Pulisic,scorer of the second, is justify-ing his hefty price tag after start-ing the season on the bench.

Gerard Deulofeu’s late VAR-awarded penalty came too lateto stop Chelsea recording a sev-enth successive away win in allcompetitions.

They are just two pointsbehind second-placedManchester City despite beingunable to sign players in thesummer due to a transfer ban.

But with a trip to Citylooming and Champions Leagueties against Ajax and Valencia onthe schedule, November willprovide much sterner tests ofChelsea’s progress than thisstroll in the autumn chill atVicarage Road.

“We played really well, ourmidfield was outstanding, butwe just cannot have that sloppybit near the end,” Lampard said.

“It was a terrible 10 minutesconsidering how the game hadgone. We need to be more clin-ical, we got a bit sloppy.

“We rely on our goalkeep-er for those moments at the endof the game and he did what weneeded him to do.”

Despite his frustration atChelsea’s nervous finish,Lampard praised their impres-sive start.

“I’m happy with how theplayers are playing. It’s great towatch,” he said.

Watford could have lost bya much bigger margin and theyremain bottom of the table,without a win in the league thisseason.

Chelsea made a blisteringstart that reaped an immediatereward when Abraham acceler-ated on Jorginho’s sublime pin-point pass and lifted a cool fin-ish over Ben Foster.

It was Abraham’s 10th goalof his breakthrough campaignending a five-game goal droughtfor the young England striker,who has scored seven goals inaway games this season.

Just as significantly,Jorginho’s role in the goal indi-cated the Italy midfielder'simproved form in his secondseason with Chelsea.

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Only Foster stoppedChelsea’s dominant displayyielding more goals.

Foster kept out Abrahamwith a fine save, then fromWillian's corner, Pulisiclooped a header that forced aneven better stop by theWatford keeper.

Having won their previ-ous six games on the road inall competitions, Chelsea werein confident mood and MasonMount was inches away fromtheir second goal when hislong-range blast was pushedonto the bar by Foster’s finesave.

Chelsea had lost just oneof their last 58 league gameswhen leading at half-time, atWolves in December 2018.

Foster was all that stoodbetween the Blues and anoth-er away-day success as the 36-year-old denied Mount withanother superb stop early inthe second half.

Pulisic had scored a hat-trick in last weekend’s win atBurnley and the United Stateswinger was back on the score-sheet to put the result beyonddoubt in the 55th minute.

Abraham was the providerwith a low cross and Pulisicevaded Watford's dozingdefence to tap in from closerange.

����� /01�+023'

The Indian women’s team suf-fered a 0-3 defeat against hosts

Vietnam in the first of the twoFIFA international friendly match-es in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sunday.

Thi Nhung (8th minute), ThiVan (82nd) and Thi Thuy Hang(89th) scored a goal apiece for the

hosts to secure the comfortablewin.

Aditi Chauhan pulled off aterrific save in the 12th minute todeny Vietnam from doubling thelead.

At the stroke of the half-hourmark, Bala Devi unleashed asuperb shot from centre only tosee it missing the target by a

whisker.Coach Maymol Rocky

opted to make an early substi-tution in the form of Daya, whoreplaced Sumitra in the 32ndminute.

Aditi was unarguably at thetop of her game, as she kept Indiain the fight till the 80th minute,before Vietnam rammed back-

to-back goals to seal the tie.After the changeover, Thi

Van tucked in the hosts’ secondgoal before Hang convertedfrom a corner-kick with a minuteof regulation time left on theclock.

The two sides will face-offonce again in their secondfriendly on Wednesday.

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World number oneAshleigh Barty spectacu-

larly ended her jinx againstdefending champion ElinaSvitolina to win the WTAFinals on Sunday and scoop therichest prize in tennis history.

Barty, who had never beat-en Svitolina in five previousattempts, won 6-4, 6-3 in onehour and 26 minutes at theShenzhen Bay Sports Centre.

The Australian claimed arecord-setting US$4.42 mil-lion paycheque —the largestsum ever awarded in men's andwomen's tennis.

Barty's only loss was to latereplacement Kiki Bertens andshe became the fifth debutant

to win the lucrative round-robin tournament.

“It’s been the most incred-ible year for me,” Barty saidafter the match.

Svitolina has not won a tro-phy since claiming the WTAFinals in Singapore last year,which remains the biggest titleof her career. She had lost justone set before the final to be ontrack to claim a maximumprize of $4.725 million beforefalling short in the decider.

The Ukrainian had taken aliking to the slow indoor hardcourt, which has been criticisedby other players, with hermethodical counterpunchingoverwhelming opponents —but she was thwarted by anirresistible Barty.

“It definitely was a greatweek for me,” Svitolina said.

“(Barty) had a great tour-nament and an amazing year.”

Both players, who servedstrongly in Shenzhen, comfort-

ably held service until Bartyfaced trouble in the ninthgame, but she saved a breakpoint and dug deep when itmattered most to fend offSvitolina’s relentless defensive

prowess.An increasingly confident

Barty then attacked Svitolina'sserve in the 10th game andclaimed the set with a sizzlingforehand winner.

The Ukrainian hit backearly in the second set and wasgifted a break in the thirdgame through a Barty doublefault but could not consolidateon serve.

Svitolina’s title defenceappeared in tatters when shedouble faulted to lose serve inthe sixth game but courageous-ly broke back.

The see-saw continued

when Barty captured anotherbreak in a gruelling eighthgame before serving it out tocap off a momentous season,which also includes a FrenchOpen crown and the year-endnumber one ranking.

Barty’s season is set tocontinue when she spearheadsAustralia's Fed Cup title hopesagainst France in the final onNovember 9-10.

It was the first WTA Finalsplayed in Shenzhen after afive-year run in Singapore andthe competition will be basedin the southern Chinese cityuntil 2028.

The event's move to Chinawas highlighted by an eye-watering total prize pool of $14million.

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Novak Djokovic eased to arecord-extending fifth Paris

Masters title by brushing asideCanadian youngster DenisShapovalov in Sunday's final,boosting his hopes of taking theyear-end world number onespot.

The top seed claimed adominant 6-3, 6-4 victory overhis 20-year-old opponent, wholooked nervous after being thebeneficiary of Rafael Nadal'swithdrawal before their sched-uled semi-final.

Djokovic will lose top spotin the rankings to Nadal nextweek, but could still equal PeteSampras' record by finishing asixth year as the world's bestplayer.

The 33-year-old Nadal is afitness doubt for the ATP TourFinals, which start in London onNovember 10, due to an abdom-inal muscle strain, whileDjokovic has won the season-ending championships fivetimes.

Djokovic, who lost toRussian Karen Khachanov inlast year's Bercy final, saved theonly break point he faced as hesealed his fourth win from asmany matches against the worldnumber 28 Shapovalov.

The 16-time Grand Slamchampion has now won 34Masters titles, moving to with-in one of Nadal at the top of theall-time list, and 77 on the ATPTour in total.

It was Djokovic's fifth tro-phy of the season after previoustriumphs at Wimbledon and theAustralian Open, as well as atthe Madrid Open and in Tokyo.

His success adds to his pre-vious Paris Masters titles from2009 and 2013-2015.

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Djokovic, playing in his50th Masters final, wasted notime in making a statement,serving an ace on the first pointen route to a hold to love.

Nerves were clearly affect-ing Shapovalov, as he giftedDjokovic an early 2-0 lead witha series of unforced errors.

Shapovalov found hisrhythm on serve to get on theboard, but the first-set momen-tum had already been seized byhis illustrious opponent, whoeased 5-2 in front.

The comfortable openingset for the world number onewas wrapped up at the first timeof asking with a forehand vol-ley after just 28 minutes oncourt.

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Spain’s Maverick Vinales stormed toa dominant victory in the Malaysian

MotoGP Sunday as world championMarc Marquez fought his way fromnear the back of the starting grid to fin-ish second.

Ducati rider Andrea Doviziosocame in third but there was disappoint-ment for French rookie FabioQuartararo, who only managed a lack-lustre seventh-place after starting frompole.

Vinales’ second win of the seasonwas a major boost following last week’s

Australian MotoGP, wherehe crashed out after leading for muchof the race — and compatriot Marquezwent on to win.

The Monster Energy Yamaha ridersaid the victory felt “amazing” after hisdisappointing performance in PhillipIsland.

“In Phillip Island, I felt like I hadthe victory in my hands but I made amistake and I crashed,” he told reportersat the Sepang circuit following thepenultimate race of the season.

“Here all weekend I’ve been veryconsistent. I knew if I got first place Ihad a chance to push, push and push.”The 24-year-old surged into an earlylead at Sepang after starting second onthe grid and never looked threatened.

By the halfway mark, he hadopened up a two second lead over sec-ond-placed Marquez, and was overthree seconds ahead of him when hecrossed the finish line.

Fighting from the back Marquez’s performance was even

more astonishing, however, after hestarted 11th on the grid following a ter-rifying crash in qualifying that saw himthrown from his bike.

Within a few laps the RepsolHonda rider, who was crowned worldchampion for the sixth time last month,had smashed his way through the packand was trying to chase down Vinales.

While he did not manage to catchhis compatriot, Marquez neverthelessopened up a sizeable gap with the restof the field and cruised to a comfort-able second place.

The 26-year-old said the first lap,which catapulted him to the front, was

"incredible" and congratulated his teamfor the good result.

“We started from 11th, and we can-not forget that here normally we strug-gle a lot,”he said.

As well as the rider’s title, Marquezhas helped secure the constructor'schampionship for Honda this season.

And on Sunday, he added anoth-

er record to his list — the most pointsscored in a season in motorcycling’s pre-mier class.

He has now racked up 395, high-er than the previous record of 383 heldby three-time world champion JorgeLorenzo.

There was a tough fight for thirdplace between Italy’s Dovizioso, who

won at Sepang in 2016 and 2017, andnine-time world champion ValentinoRossi.

Rossi managed to push pastDovizioso on several occasions, only forthe Ducati rider to snatch the lead backand finish just ahead of his compatri-ot.

Quartararo had dominated allweekend going into the MotoGP, top-ping the timesheets in practice andsmashing the Sepang lap record, beforeseizing his fifth pole position of the sea-son.

The 20-year-old Petronas Yamaharider had been aiming for his maidenMotoGP victory — but in the event, hewas no match for his more experiencedrivals and fell to the back right at thestart.

The MotoGP in tropical Malaysiahas often been disrupted by torrentialdownpours in previous years but therain stayed away this year for the wholeweekend.

In the Moto2 class, Alex Marquez— Marc’s younger brother — wascrowned world champion after finish-ing second in his race Sunday.

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Endeavouring to accomplishan “unfinished” task at the

Tokyo Olympics, Indian men’shockey team coach GrahamReid wants strikers with incred-ible finishing skills and a strong-ly fortified defence.

The Australian oversawIndia’s entry into next year’squadrennial extravaganza withvictories over Russia in FIH’sQualifiers.

Reid was part of the teamthat won silver at the 1992Barcelona Olympics but, as acoach, he had a disastrous cam-paign at the 2016 Rio Games, asthe Kookaburras crashed out inthe quarterfinals.

“Obviously, I have an unfin-ished business. You alwaysdream of an Olympics podiumfinish. I was lucky to win one asa player and those memories arethings you hold on to,” said Reidafter India confirmed theirplace at the Tokyo Games onSaturday.

Eight-time champions Indiaqualified after thrashing Russia7-1 in the second game to winthe double-leg FIH OlympicQualifiers 11-3 on aggregate atthe Kalinga Stadium here.

“That’s what we need to

bring to this team and give it abig shot (in Tokyo),” the 55-year-old coach said.

“I told the players just nowthat we have nine months(before Olympics). Just get bet-ter and better, that’s our plan.Focus on the process, result willtake care of itself.”

Reid said his players willlook to polish their game in thecoming months.

“I think for me what we

need to get better in is finishing.We are creating a lot of oppor-tunities, which is great. But weneed to get more returns.

“Also in deep defence, wehave to get tighter. We are stillgiving away too many oppor-tunities (to opponents),” hesaid.

After opting out of theinaugural edition last year,India will make their debut inthe FIH Pro League against the

Netherlands in January nextyear.

After Netherlands, Indiawill host Belgium and Australiain February before embarkingon overseas tours.

Reid believed playingagainst top teams will be handyfor his side in its preparationfor the Games.

“That’s one of the thingsthat Pro League does, that itsets up competition schedulebetween now and Olympics,”he said.

"It’s great that we have asquad of 33, which may have tobecome 32. Pro League is a bigopportunity, to work out forthe Olympics and there are alot of games during that peri-od.

“If all of them play allthose games, they will be intheir best shape to play at theOlympics,” Reid added.

India captain ManpreetSingh congratulated their femalecounterparts, who too havesealed an Olympic berth bybeating USA 6-5 on aggregate.

“It’s quite good that thewomen too have qualified. Theydid a lot of hard work and gotthe goal in the final minutesafter being down 0-4. Theydeserve it,” he said.

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The safe hands of Colin deGrandhomme proved cru-

cial as New Zealand drew levelwith England 1-1 in theirTwenty20 international series inWellington on Sunday.

While de Grandhommewas pouching all four skied ballsthat went his way, Englandwere left to rue an uncomfort-able day in the field with sixspilled chances including threeby James Vince.

New Zealand, who suffereda seven-wicket loss in the firstmatch on Friday, were sent in tobat first and made their most ofthe errant fielding to post 176for eight.

Martin Guptill at the top ofthe innings clouted 41 off 28deliveries, while JimmyNeesham belted 42 off 22,including four sixes, before hewas removed on the final ball ofthe innings.

De Grandhomme alsopushed the pace, facing only 12balls for a whirlwind 28.

England in reply lookedcomfortable at 91 for four in the11th over before New Zealandremoved the remaining sixwickets to end the innings with

a ball to spare.Mitchell Santner claimed

three for 25 while Tim Southee,Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhitook two wickets apiece.

England captain EoinMorgan said it was easy toanalyse the reasons for the loss,and the issues were repairable.

“We dropped catches andwe continued to lose wickets,"he said.

“We need to keep theattacking positive mindset. Ithink it’s important to makemistakes, but I think the mostimportant part is to learn fromthem.”

After England lost JohnnyBairstow first ball, and Vince inthe second over, Morgan (32)and Dawid Malan (39) set aboutrebuilding the innings.

But when Morgan gave deGrandhomme his first catch, thewickets fell regularly with onlyChris Jordan (36 off 19) provid-ing any solid resistance at thelower part of the batting order.

Malan fell to an exception-al diving catch by Guptill whoalso accounted for the wicket ofJordan in a polished NewZealand fielding performance.Game three in the series is inNelson on Tuesday.

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Pakistan were saved by therain Sunday as persistent

showers halted a rampantAaron Finch as Australiaheaded for victory in theiropening Twenty20 interna-tional.

The visitors managed107 for five in a reduced 15overs due to the weather atthe Sydney Cricket Ground,with Australia set a target of119 under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method.

With dark clouds loom-ing, Finch plundered 37 offthe first 3.1 overs, leavingDavid Warner, who scored217 without losing his wick-et in his previous threeinnings, a mere spectator atthe other end. He finishedSunday not out on two.

But the heavens openedagain, with Australia, freshfrom a 3-0 whitewash of SriLanka, stranded on 41 with-out loss when the match wasabandoned, with no resultdeclared.

“It’s frustrating,” said theAustralian skipper.

“But you can’t do toomuch about the weather. Weplayed really well. To restrictthem to 107 off 15 overs wasa great effort and then to be

on track to get them wasnice.”

A valid result would havebeen declared if 11 more ballshad been bowled under DLS,but a 20-minute breakbetween innings, when itwasn't raining, prevented thisfrom happening.

“If you’re cutting oversoff the game and you stillhave a 20 minute break itdoesn't make much sense tome,” said Finch.

“But it’s part of the rulesand you can’t do much aboutit.”

Pakistan came into theseries as the world's leadingteam in the short format, butwere also reeling from anembarrassing 3-0 homeseries loss to Sri Lanka lastmonth.

They removed skipperSarfaraz Ahmed anddumped several other play-ers in a bid for a fresh start,

with opener Babar Azamhanded the captain’s arm-band.

The world’s top-rankedTwenty20 batsman led fromthe front, stroking a classyunbeaten 59 after they weresent into bat, with the 25-year-old smacking five foursand two sixes in his 38-ballknock.

It was a decent recoveryby the visitors after openerFakhar Zaman was out firstball, hitting a swingingMitchell Starc deliverystraight to Steve Smith atbackward point.

That brought HarisSohail to the crease, but hemade a poor decision ingoing after Kane Richardsontoo early, top-edging to Smithto leave the visitors strugglingat 10 for two.

But Azam andMohammad Rizwan steadiedthe ship and began buildinga solid partnership, pushingthe scoreboard along withclever running and qualityshots.

They reached the 10-over mark at 64 for two butRizwan soon fell for an enter-taining 31 after trying to clearthe boundary rope off spin-ner Ashton Agar, only for PatCummins take an easy catch.

������/01 +023'

Three-time World Junior WrestlingChampionships medallist Sajan

Bhanwal (77kg) missed out on winninga bronze medal in Greco-Roman catego-ry at the UWW Under-23 WorldChampionships 2019 in Budapest,Hungary on Saturday. Turkey’s SerkanAkkoyun proved too strong and won 10-1 by Superiority in the bronze medal con-test.

The Indian contingent will, howev-er, still have one final chance to win abronze as Ravi reached the repechage in97kg. Ravi’s run had earlier ended in thepre-quarter-finals when he was blanked8-0 by Georgian grappler, Giorgi Melia.But with the latter making it to the final,Ravi was presented with yet anotherchance to fight for a medal.

Ravi now needs to win just one boutin repechage to enter the bronze medalplay-off on the final day of the competi-tion.

Among other results of the day,Arjun Halakurki lost his 55kg repechagebout 2-10 to Norayr Hakhoyan ofArmenia. In 87kg, Sunil Kumar raisedhopes of a bronze when he emerged vic-torious by 5-3 in his first repechage boutagainst Aleksandar Georgije Stjepaneticof Sweden. However, his hopes weredashed in the second repechage boutwhen Croatia’s Ivan Huklek beat him 6-3.

None of the other Indians could man-age to win a round. In 60kg qualifiers,Sachin Rana was shown the door in a 5-2 win by China’s Liguo Cao while Rahulwas blanked 0-8 by Russia’s MagomedYarbilov in the same round of 72kg.Neeraj too failed to make any impact ashe went down 1-10 to Serbia’s BrankoKovacevic in the qualifying bout in 82kg.

Ravinder (67kg) started his campaignfrom the pre-quarter-finals but could notovercome the first hurdle as he was edged2-1 by Haci Karakus of Turkey.

������ �3(��/0 1�6

The Indian women’s hockey team hasconfirmed a place in the Tokyo

Olympics after surviving an extraordi-nary fightback from the US in the sec-ond leg of their Olympic qualifier at theKalinga stadium even as an elated skip-per Rani Rampal on Sunday credited herteam members, coaches and supportstaff for the achievement.

In their game against the US, theopponents fought back from a 5-1deficit in the first leg to level the score5-5 in the first half. However, India putup an improved performance in the sec-ond half with skipper Rani Rampal scor-ing what turned out to be the winning

goal in the 49th minute on Saturday.Taking to Twitter, the India skipper

also said her team will give their best inthe preparations for the mega event inTokyo next year.

“With a collective effort of our teammembers, coaches & support staff wehave qualified for Tokyo Olympics butwe will work hard for next 8 months toperform our best in Tokyo 2020,” shetweeted on Sunday.

The skipper also thanked the UnionSports Minister and the national feder-ation for showing faith in her team.

“Thanks to Hockey India, KirenRijiju Sir, Sports Authority of India(SAI), friends, family and fans forbelieving in us,” she added.

����������� /01�+023'

Senior-most campaigner available forthe tough tour, Mushfiqur Rahimtakes the center stage for crisis-hit

Bangladesh and give them some breath-ing space in smog hit capital during thefirst Twenty 20 International of the three-match series here at Arun Jaitley stadiumon Sunday, beating Rohit Sharma-ledIndian team by 7 wickets.

In the 1000th Twenty 20 internation-al game, defying all odds and breaking theduck of eight defeats, Tigers finally gottheir moment in front of close to 25 thou-sand people gathered here at Feroz ShahKotla ground.

Chasing the target of 149 runs to win,the visitors never looked in trouble dur-ing the chase and reached the target in19.3 overs.

Former skipper Rahim, who failed totake his side past the finish line in the 2016T20 World Cup match at M Chinnaswamy,kept his nerve calm this time and made fulluse of the dropped catch by KrunalPandya in the third ball of 18th over to fin-ish the game.

He remained not out on 60 runs from43 balls which included 8 fours and 1 six.

In reply to hosts 148, Bangladesh toosuffered an early setback like India in thefirst over, as opening batsman Liton Daswas caught by KL Rahul for 7 runs in fourballs off Deepak Chahar.

But his opening partner MohammadNaim (26 runs in 28 balls, 2 fours and 1six) and one-down Soumya Sarkar (39runs in 35 balls, 1 four and 2 sixes) thenadded 46 runs for the second wicket in 42balls to lead the side back into the gamebefore the young debutant was caught byShikhar Dhawan in Yuzvendra Chahal’sfirst over.

Mushfiqur Rahim enters the field tobat at four and he along with Soumya

Sarkar played some good cricketing shotsto take visitors close to the first-ever T20I victory over India in nine games.

The duo added 60 runs in 55 balls forthe third wicket and then after Sarkar’s dis-missal (bowled by Khaleel), the experi-enced wicket-keeper batsman took the leadrole and make the most of droppedchance by Krunal Pandya near the bound-ary line to script Tigers’ one of the mostmemorable wins in the shortest format ofthe game.

He hammered Khaleel Ahmed for fourback to back boundaries in the penultimateover to put his side on the cusp of victo-ry and with 4 runs needed off the last over,skipper Mahmudullah finished the busi-ness with a six between the mid-wicket andlong-on in the third ball.

For India, Chahar, Chahal and Khaleelgot a wicket each for 24,24 and 37 runsrespectively.

Earlier batting first after losing toss,Indian batsman failed to impress in slowKotla track but an astonishing late fireworkby two left-handed bowling all-roundersKrunal Pandya (15 runs from eight balls,one four and one six) and WashingtonSundar (14 runs from five balls, two sixes), lift India to fighting total of 148 runs forloss of 6 wickets.

India started in style with skipper RohitSharma (9), who is now the leading run-scorer for Men in Blue in this format of thegame and also the most capped player,scored boundary in the first ball of thematch but the right-handed batsman wasout lbw by Shafiul Islam in the last ball ofthe same over, giving hosts an early setback.

KL Rahul came to bat at number threeand he along with local boy ShikharDhawan keep the scoreboard ticking but theduo struggles to get boundaries.

At the end of the first six overs, Indiawas 35 for 1, with only three boundariescoming to the five overs.

Bangladesh introduced right arm leg-break 19-year old Aminul Islam in the firstover after the powerplay and the young leg-gie got rid of KL Rahul (15 runs in 17 balls,2 fours) in the third ball of his spell, theKarnataka opener was caught by Tigers cap-tain Mahmudullah Riyad.

Shreyas Iyer enters the field to bat atfour and he gets into action straight awayhitting a flat six over deep extra cover in thelast ball of Aminul's over.

India’s first fifty runs came in 7.4 overswhen Shikhar Dhawan punched a four onthe short fine leg to Soumya Sarkar.

Shreyas was looking in good touch andin the ninth over of innings, he again ham-mered Aminul to a big six, this time straightdown the ground to pace up India’s scor-ing rate.

By the end of 10 overs, India managedto reach 69 runs for the loss of two wick-ets.

In the eleventh over of the innings,Shreyas Iyer once again tried to go for a bighit against Aminul Islam but this time theBangla teenager got lucky and theMumbaikar was caught near the boundaryline by debutant Mohammad Naim.

He scored 22 runs in 13 balls whichincluded one four and 2 big sixes.

After his departure, Rishabh Pantcame to the crease and all the attention shift-ed to the two local lads to take India for-

ward, but the duo could only manage to add26 runs in 25 balls for the fourth wicket.

Dhawan was the fourth to get out. Inan attempt to steal a single, he was sent backto the pavilion by Mushfiqur Rahim, whomade no mistake to quickly dislodge bailsat the striker's end after a good throw byMahmudullah.

Shikhar got out in the second last ballof 15th over. He made 41 runs in 42 balls(3 fours and 1 six).

After his departure at India’s total of 95runs, Shivam Dube enters the field for thefirst time in international cricket, but hisstay was short-lived and he was sent backto the pavilion by Afif Hossain, who tooka brilliant catch of his own bowling. Dubeplayed just four balls in his maiden outingand scored one run.

India’s 100 runs came in 15.4 overs andat the end of 16, India's scorecard was stuckat 102 for the loss of five wickets.

It was an ideal condition for RishabhPant to prove his worth in the nationalcolours as he was the only recognized bats-man left at the crease, but he again disap-pointed and was caught out for 27 runs in26 balls near the boundary line in secondball of the penultimate over.

With only 10 balls left in the innings,it was time for Krunal Pandya andWashington Sundar to play some short butimportant cameo. And they did the sameby scoring 28 runs in the last 10 ballsremaining.

The left-hand duo hammered ShafiulIslam for 14 runs in the 19th over, in whichSundar smashed six at mid-wicket.

And then produce 16 runs from the lastover bowled by Al Amin Hossain. KrunalPandya finished the proceedings with a bigsix over mid-wicket in the last ball of theinnings.

For the visitors, 19-year old leg spin-ner Aminul Islam and pacer Shafiul Islamgot two wickets each for 22 and 36 runsrespectively. While Afif Hossain impressedin his spell of three overs, giving just 11 runsand getting rid of Shivam Dube.

Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullahused eight bowlers for the allotted 20 overs.

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