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SPORTS 12FANS OUT AS INDIAN SPORTSGO BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

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HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA

TRS nominatesKK, SureshReddy to RSPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Rashtra Samitisupremo and TS ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao on Thursday announcedthe party's candidates for thetwo Rajya Sabha seats beingfilled from the state -- a daybefore the March 13 deadlineto file nominations.

KCR has re-nominatedparty's senior leader and sit-ting Rajya Sabha member KKeshava Rao, popularlyknown as KK, and brought informer speaker of theLegislative Assembly in undi-vided AP, KR Suresh Reddy.

There are two Rajya Sabhavacancies in Telangana.Polling is scheduled to beheld on March 26.

Kitne aaye bolo? Kitne, kiske baap ke aayeKCR ON FUNDS FROM CENTRE

PNS n HYDERABAD

TS Chief Minister KChandrashekar Rao onThursday came down heavilyon the BJP-led central govern-ment for depriving the state ofits rightful share of funds andbehaving as if it was doing afavour by devolving constitu-tionally mandated funds.

Over the past five years, theCentre had not released evenRs 10,000 crore every year.

Shredding BJP legislatorRaja Singh's speech on Budgetin the Assembly on Thursday,KCR said:"The funding fromCenter in the last 5 years

never touched Rs 10,000 crore;it is just below Rs 10,000crore. In a year, Rs 5,000crore, Rs 6,000 crore, Rs 7,000crore and that too after send-ing utilization bills, recom-mendations, after our leadersvisit Delhi 400-500 times and

spend on flight tickets, we getthat money. For that, they dopropaganda; and try to deceivethe country. BJP is acting likegrandfather of Congress inbad propaganda."

Raja Singh had sought toquestion the state govern-

ment over the money receivedfrom Central government forschemes like KCR Kits, 2BHK,among others. He said,"People keep asking us howmuch we got fromCenter…nothing. (you say)Kitne aaye bolo? Kitne, kiskebaap ke aaye. This country isfor everyone. From localleader to home minister,whenever they (BJP leaders)come to state or even inParliament, they say 'We gaveyou so much'. We don't under-stand, who are you to give?The term 'central devolution'is wrong.

Over the pastfive years, theCentre hasnot releasedeven Rs10,000 croreper year

PNS n MUMBAI

With the BSE Sensexplunging and NSE Niftynose-diving, the calami-tous crash on Thursdayrepresented the biggestone-day fall in absoluteterms as Covid-19 rattledglobal markets.

All Sensex componentsended in the red. SBI wasthe top loser, followed byONGC, Axis Bank, ITC,Titan, Bajaj Auto, TCSand IndusInd Bank.

Global markets reeledafter the World HealthOrganisation (WHO)termed the coronavirusoutbreak as a pandemic,and expressed deep conce-rn over the "alarming le-vels of inaction".

US President DonaldTrump suspended all trav-el from Europe, excludingthe UK, to the US for thenext 30 days to stop thespread of the virus.Countries across the worldare imposing travel restric-

t i o n s ,fuelling fearsof a global eco-nomic recession,analysts said.

In line with the bearishtrend in global markets,Indian stocks opened atsignificant lower levels asinvestors remained anx-ious about the economicimpact of the coron-avirus outbreak, saidNarendra Solanki, astock market expert.

A selloff across sectorsalong with panic selling inthe broader markets hurtinvestor sentiment, hesaid.

Besides a selloff in glob-al equities, massive plungein international oil pricesand depreciating rupeeadded to the volatility,traders said.

Elsewhere in Asia,bourses in Shanghai dro-pped 1.52 per cent, HongKong 3.66 per cent, Seoul3.87 per cent and Tokyocracked 4.41 per cent.

Markets in Europecrashed up to 6 per cent inearly trade.

In overnight trade, theDow fell into a bear mar-ket and futures pointedThursday to another routin New York andEurope.Investor wealthworth over Rs 11 lakhcrore was wiped off onThursday as stockscrashed amid a globalequity selloff after theWorld HealthOrganization declared thecoronavirus outbreak apandemic.

Global stocks plunge into bear market asTrump stuns with Europe travel banGlobal stocks plunged into a bear market and oil slumped on

Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump banned trav-el from Europe to stem the coronavirus, threatening more dis-

ruption to the world economyWith the pandemic wreaking havoc on the daily life of

millions, investors were also disappointed by the lack ofbroad measures in Trump's plan to fight the pathogen,prompting traders to bet on further aggressive easing bythe Federal Reserve.

"He (Trump) did not announce any new concretemeasures such as a large-scale payroll tax cut to bufferthe economy against the impending coronavirus slow-down," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst.

MANIC GLOBAL SELLOFF CRASHES MARKETS

India faces revenue fall ascoronavirus bites economyIndia faces a sharp decline

in government revenuesand economic growth for atleast two quarters as thecoronavirus hits economicactivity and a fall in investorsentiment impacts privatiza-tion plans, government andindustry sources said.

Officially, the governmentis still sticking to the targetof achieving 6-6.5% in thenext financial year begin-ning April, while hopingthat a fall in crude oilprices could help it garnermore revenue and containa fall in revenue fromother sectors.

But economists andbankers are turning increas-ingly downbeat about India'seconomic prospects, espe-

cially as the governmentis betting on filling itscoffers through ill-timed asset sales."We are going to miss

the revised revenue targets forthe current fiscal year, andwill have to lower next year'stargets as well," said a seniorgovernment official withdirect knowledge of budgetestimates.

He said receipts from amuch-delayed privatizationof India's second-biggest oilrefiner, Bharat PetroleumCorp , could be lower by atleast $2 billion against initialestimates.

The government suspend-ed almost all visas to thecountry till April 15to prevent thespread ofcoronavirus ascases acrossthe regioncontinue torise..

Total casesin the countryrose to 73 onT h u r s d a y ,

according to the government.Another senior finance

ministry official said some ofthe proposed share-shaleplans in companies like CoalIndia, Steel Authority of IndiaLtd, NMDC and IRCONhave been deferred.

The government nowexpects to raise about 500 bil-lion rupees against down-wardly revised target of 650billion rupees for the ongoingfinancial year ending inMarch, the official said.

Another senior official inthe tax department said

receipts have been hitdue to fall in con-sumer demand as

reflected in thelower sales ofautos, pas-senger traf-fic, hotelbookings ,

and retailsales.

n Brentcrude futures, the

global oil benchmark, fell5.53% to USD 33.81 per barrel.

n Indian basket ofcrude oil also droppedsharply by nearly 28per cent to USD 34 per

barrel, easing forexoutflow concerns due

to a weak Rupee.

$2 billion `11,000 crore(USD 1.548 billion) pulled out by foreign inves-

tors from India's markets. FPIs withdrew awhopping Rs 33,163 crore (USD 4.46

billion) from Indian capital mark-ets so far this month as

coronavirus threatenedto derail the global

economy.

in US Dollars to besold by the RBI infirst tranche aspart of the buy-sellswap to increasedollar availabilitywith banks andease pressure on

the Rupee.

The Indian rupee onThursday weakened to a

17-month low of 74.34 perUS dollar as global marketsslumped after the WorldHealth Organisation declaredcoronavirus as a global pan-demic.

It has however, somewhatrecovered from the lows totrade around 74.14 pergreenback.

The rupee hit itsrecord low in October,2018, when it was 74.48.

The concerns of thecoronavirus outbreakseverely impairing theglobal economy have offlate weighed on theinvestor sentimentsacross markets.The declarationof the disease as apandemic late onWednesday has fur-ther deepened the concerns.

With the Covid-19 bomb nowticking as WHO-endorsed‘pandemic', and nations placingunprecedented in-bound and out-bound travel curbs, the globaleconomy is going into a tailspin.Markets across the globe fell likenine pins, wiping off Rs 11 lakh-crinvestor wealth in Dalal Street onThursday alone. The 30-shareBSE Sensex plummeted 2,919.26points and the broader NSE Niftyslumped 868.25 points. As leaderstake difficult decisions, peoplehave no choice but to remaininsulated from one another.

Rupee hits 17-month lowat 74.34/$

IPL BEHIND CLOSED DOORS? The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is discussing the

possibility of holding the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020behind closed doors as a fallout of the Coronavirus outbreak, aboard official said . The government issued fresh advisory with a banon all existing foreign visas, except a few categories like diplomatic andemployment, till April 15 in the wake of new positive cases of novel coronavirus in thecountry.

n This was the biggest dropfor the benchmarks inabsolute terms, eclipsingthe previous record

one-day fall onMarch 9.

n RBI may look beyondinflation and starteasing rates to 65bps by June

3

PNS n NEW DELHI

Countries outside China willlikely see a peak in coronavirusinfections in the May-June pe-riod before recovering towardsnormal by the end of third qua-rter and beginning of fourthquarter (October), a newreport warned on Thursday.

The new coronavirus infec-tion rate in China is decelerat-ing.

"This is good newsand should allow mostfactories outside theHubei province tomove back towardnormal, seasonalactivity levels by thebeginning of the sec-ond quarter," said PeterRichardson, Research Dir-ctor, Counterpoint Research.

In other countries, however,the picture is less positive with

more than 25,000 newcases reported in the

last week, he added."Countries' abil-

ity to contain theoutbreak nowlooks challenging

with the emphasisshifting to managing

the impact as best theycan," said Richardson.

The pattern of infection andrecovery is becoming clearer.

The infection spreads rapid-ly through a population, reach-ing a peak and then subsidingalmost equally rapidly oncethere are no new people toinfect.

"By locking down areas andcurtailing socializing, the poolof potential virus recipients isreduced, causing the outbreakto moderate more quickly,"said the report.

Coronavirus to peak in May-June outside China

3

World walls off with worsening viral pandemic PNS n BANGKOK

People around the worldbecame increasingly closedoff from one anotherThursday as sweepingtravel bans accelerated,walling regions apart asa viral pandemicunfolds and financialmarkets plunge.

It was an outbreakmoving, at once, bothglacially and explosive-ly, with a virus firstdetected three months agoin China creeping acrossborders and producing erup-tive outbreaks that have crip-

pled areas. Even for a crisis thathas brought no shortage ofheadlines, dizzying develop-

ments were flashing acrossscreens: An official desig-

nation of "pandemic"from the World HealthOrganisation, a dra-matic halt to muchtravel between the USand 26 European coun-tries, and infectionsamong beloved

Hollywood stars, sportsluminaries and political

leaders.All of it came against a

backdrop of plunging worldeconomies that left not only

Wall Street investors but peo-ple from all walks of life hurt-ing.

"We will see more cases andthings will get worse than theyare right now," said DrAnthony Fauci, director of theUS National Institute ofAllergy and InfectiousDiseases.

President Donald Trump,who had downplayed the virusfor days, suddenly struck a dif-ferent tone, delivering a som-bre Oval Office addressannouncing strict rules ontravel from much of Europe tobegin this weekend.

3

HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated March 12, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Magha & Shukla PakshaPanchangamTithi : Chaturthi 08:50 am

Panchami :06:16 am (Next Day)Nakshatram: Swathi: 01:59 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 10:56 am - 12:25 pm Yamagandam: 03:23 pm – 04:52 pmVarjyam: 07:12 pm - 08:41 pmGulika: 07:58 am - 09:27 amGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 04:08 am - 05:37 am Abhijit Muhurtham:12:01 pm - 12:49 pm

Forecast: Partly CloudyTemp: 33/22Humidity: 65%Sunrise: 06.25Sunset: 06.25

3

MAYHEM WIPES OFF RS 11 LAKH-CR INVESTOR WEALTH

Karnataka alerts TSover Covid-19 deathDeceased visited pvt hospital in TS PNS n HYDERABAD

The Karnataka governmenthas alerted the Telangana gov-ernment over the death of a76-year old man fromKalburgi who passed away onTuesday after having contract-ed coronavirus and seekingtreatment in TS.

The Karnataka governmentinformed the Telangana gov-ernment that the deceasedhad visited a private hospitalin Telangana. However,according to reports, he visit-ed several private hospitals inHyderabad. India has thusregistered its first confirmedcase of death due to novelcoronavirus. Doctors hadsuspected that the man hadcoronavirus; however, the ini-

tial test had not confirmed it.In an official notification,

Dr Suresh Shastri, a seniorhealth official in Karnatakagovernment said that lab testhad confirmed that thedeceased man had Covid-19.

"The 76-year-old man fromKalburgi who passed awayand was a suspected COVID19 patient has been confirmedfor COVID 19. The necessarycontact tracing, isolation andother measures as per proto-col are being carried out.Telangana government hasalso been informed since hewent to a private hospitalthere," Dr Suresh Shastri said.

However, there were nodetails about which place andwhich private hospital he hadvisited. 3

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HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2020 hyderabad 02

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Telangana State hasabsolute rights ondefence land. No won-

der, Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao told theState Legislative Council onMarch 7, 2020 that the BisonPolo Ground, as a matter offact, belonged to TelanganaState.

The third Nizam, inresponse to a request made byBritain, had allotted BisonPolo Ground for the BritishArmy to stay without official-ly transferring ownershiprights. After the Police Action,the Indian Army took controlof it.

KCR took this to the noticeof the Prime Minister, theHome Minister and theDefence Minister. When lateArun Jaitley was DefenceMinister, there was communi-cation from the Centre"accepting in principle" thatthe land belongs to TelanganaState.

An interesting piece ofinformation, recorded on 10th

October 1926 by Sir WilliamBarton, a former Resident inHyderabad (available in IndiaOffice Library, London) ispertinent here. The reportstates that the Government ofIndia did not acquire any landfrom the State government orthe erstwhile HyderabadNizam government for estab-lishing the SecunderabadCantonment. The inferencecould be that the defenceestablishment at Secunderabadis in occupation of state andprivate lands without a validownership right.

There is no land inSecunderabad which absolute-ly belongs to the Governmentof India. The lands actually inmilitary occupation, like bar-racks and Parade Grounds,had been handed over only formilitary purposes.

After formation ofSecunderabad, the Nizam hadallotted the land north ofHussain Sagar to set up theBritish Cantonment. It wasfounded as a BritishCantonment after the NizamAsaf Jah II was defeated at thehands of the British East IndiaCompany and forced to signthe Treaty of SubsidiaryAlliance in the year 1798.

The Residency House, nowknown as the Rashtrapathi

Nilayam, was constructed in1860. The area aroundSecunderabad changed handsamong various rulers and bythe 18th century, the area waspart of Nizam's Hyderabad.

Under the Treaty of 1768,the British government under-took to provide the Nizamwith two battalions andsepoys. Later, a Resident wasappointed at Hyderabad andyear after year, the battalionswere increased, which reached

eight and by 1806 the BritishGovernment resolved to sta-tion its troops in Hyderabad.During the year 1903, theBollaram Cantonment wasabolished and merged with theCantonment of Secunderabadand the land held by it was

occupied by the militaryauthorities free of cost.

Thus, for lands given to theBritish Army at differentpoints of time starting 1806,there was no transfer of own-ership rights. Most of thelands had been requisitionedby the British Army from theNizam Government to meetthe exigencies of the SecondWorld War and for six monthsthereafter.

A resolution of theSecunderabad CantonmentBoard meeting held on 21stJune 1968, to which all theDefence Authorities andOfficers of the SecunderabadSub-Area were signatories,makes it clear that the defenceauthorities never owned anyland in the SecunderabadCantonment. Further, landthat had been requisitioned

temporarily for military pur-poses was restored to theNizam's government onDecember 1, 1945, since it wasno longer required for militarypurposes. The resolution spec-ified that in the Cantonmentof Secunderabad, unlike inCantonments elsewhere, theapplicable laws were thoseprevailing in the Jagirs and theGovernment of Nizam and notthe British Indian laws.

Starting from 1806, landwas handed over to the mili-tary authorities from theNizam's government on vari-ous occasions always upon acondition that it would have tobe restored to the Nizam's gov-ernment when no longerrequired for military purpos-es. A case in point is theSecunderabad Town, whichwas restored to the Nizam's

government.The Supreme Court too has

held that the Nizam ofHyderabad was the supremelegislature, the supreme judi-ciary, and the supreme head ofthe executive with no bar onhis authority to act in any ofthese capacities.

So, upon integration ofHyderabad in the IndianUnion, the land initially givenfor military purposes by theNizam and later restored to theNizam government automat-ically becomes the state gov-ernment land with absolutepowers. Any part of this landin the Cantonment area, be itin Secunderabad orHyderabad, belongs to theTelangana State governmentand it has an absolute right tomake use of it as it deems fit.

The corollary is that at anypoint of time it would bewithin the power of theTelangana State government totake possession of any of theso-called defence land inCantonment.

VANAM JWALA NARASIMHA RAOCPRO to Chief Minister

There is no land in Secunderabad whichabsolutely belongs to the Government ofIndia. The lands actually in militaryoccupation, like barracks and ParadeGrounds, had been handed over only formilitary purposes.

TS has absolute rights on defence land

PNS n HYDERABAD

Congress MP from BhongirKomatireddy Venkat Reddy islikely to be the next TelanganaCongress Congress Committee(TPCC) president. Accordingto sources in Delhi, the partyhigh command may announcehis name in a few days.

The AICC interim chief,Sonia Gandhi has summonedKomatireddy to his residenceon Thursday and discussedvarious issues including partysituation in Telangana. It islearnt that Sonia Gandhi askedKomatireddy on the steps to betaken to strengthen the partyin Telangana besides severalissues.

After the meeting,Komatireddy said, "I soughtSonia Gandhi's appointment afew days ago. However, shegave me time on Thursday."The MP said that issues relat-ed to current political situationand the measures to be takento strengthen the party in the

state came up during the dis-cussion.

"I told Sonia Gandhi that theCongress will have good daysin future. Before Municipalelections, Uttam Kumar Reddyhimself announced that hewill quit from TPCC chiefposition. I requested madam totake a decision on next TPCCchief very soon. TelanganaState was formed just becauseof her. I urged her to give

TPCC chief position to theleader who is loyal to the partyand made it clear that theparty would be strengthened atany cost," he said. Komatireddyalso said that Revanth Reddy'sissue didn't come up duringdiscussion with Sonia Gandhi.

Stating that he will work asa party's common activist ifgiven the TPCC chief post,Komatireddy said that herequested Sonia Gandhi to set

up new TPCC team with work-ing party activists.

It may be recalled that sev-eral leaders, includingKomatireddy Venkat Reddy,Malkajgiri MP A RevanthReddy, Manthani MLA DSridhar Babu, MLC T JeevanReddy, senior leaders - VHanumantha Rao, MarriShashidhar Reddy, DamodaraRajanarsimha, SA SampathKumar and several other lead-ers were in the race for TPCCchief position.

The present TPCC chief NUttam Kumar Reddy has alsolobbied with the high com-mand to retain his position.According to sources, ARevanth Reddy's name was infirst place till municipal elec-tions for next TPCC chief.Several leaders from the stateand Delhi extended their sup-port to Revanth. However,some senior leaders of theparty openly opposed RevanthReddy's candidature as he hadjoined the party two years ago.

Before Municipalpolls, Uttamannounced that hewill quit fromTPCC chiefposition. Irequested SoniaGandhi to take adecision on nextTPCC chief verysoon: Bhongir MP

KOMATIREDDY LIKELY TOBE NEXT TPCC CHIEF

‘Centre gave nod to raiseoil palm in 18,100 hectares' PNS n HYDERABAD

Agriculture Minister SNiranjan Reddy said thatTelangana is suitable for culti-vation of oil palm and the cen-tral team said that 2.78-lakhhectares in the state are suitableto raise the crop.

Replying to a question onencouragement of oil palmcultivation in the state,Niranjan Reddy said that oilpalm is the only crop forwhose transportation chargesare being paid to the farmer.

Appreciating the foresight ofthe Government of Telangana,the Centre permitted to culti-vate oil palm in 18,100hectares, he said. The MSP forthe crop is put at Rs 16,000 pertonne. The yield would bearound 25 to 30 tonnes perhectare. The unique feature ofthe crop is that it absorbs 20tonnes of carbon dioxide andreleases 22 tonnes of oxygeninto air, the Minister elaborat-ed.

There is no need for thefarmer to worry about MSP for

oil palm, the higher the cropyield, the lesser would bedependence on palm oilimports, he said. He told theHouse that the governmentwould consult agricultural uni-versity scientists to set up aresearch station on oil palm.

To another question, theAgriculture Minister said thatover 400 national and interna-tional companies have set uptheir processing plants andstoring the seeds produced inother states. The TelanganaSeed Development

Corporation and many moreunits have been playing a cru-cial role in seed industry in thestate, he said.

The state supplies 18 lakh to22 lakh quintals of seeds to 10-12 states in the country. Of thetotal requirement of 35 lakhtonnes of seeds, 22-24 lakhtonnes are supplied fromTelangana alone.

The state produces Rs 3,200crore paddy seeds, includingthe OPV seeds, are being pro-duced in the state, while theerstwhile Mahbubnagar dis-trict produces 8 crore tonnes ofground nut seeds worth Rs 200crore.

In Jogulamba district, 40,000farmers produce 12,000 tonnesof cotton seeds in 30,000 acresworth Rs 700 crore. The statemeets one-third of the cottonseeds demand.

Through the OECD certifi-cation scheme, thousands ofquintals of paddy, maize, sun-flower and so on are beingexported to countries likeSudan, Egypt, Philippines,Russia and Italy.

TRS nominates KK, Suresh Reddy to RSContinued from Page 1

However, no polling will berequired in Telangana as TRSenjoys absolute majority in theLegislative Assembly. TRSwinning both the seats handsdown is now a foregone con-clusion. For, none of the oppo-sition parties has the requirednumbers in the Assembly evento field their candidates, letalone win the seats.

Interestingly, both KK andSuresh were strong leaders inthe Telangana Congress earli-er.

While KK served asTelangana Pradesh CcongressCommittee chief, SureshReddy was speaker of the APLegislative Assembly.

KK quit Congress in 2012and joined TRS in 2013. Heserved as the Rajya Sabha

member, belonging to theCongress, from 2006 to 2012.

The TRS nominated him toRajya Sabha in 2014. His termis going to expire in April.

KK is also secretary gener-al of TRS. With K

Chandrashekhar Rao nomi-nating him to Rajya Sabhaagain, KK has achieved a 'hattrick' of sorts.

However, KCR opting forSuresh Reddy has come as abig surprise in some circles.

Because Suresh Reddy joinedTRS just before the May 2019Lok Sabha polls.

KCR invited him into TRSwith an aim to help his daugh-ter K Kavitha to win theNizambad Lok Sabha seat.However, Kavitha lost to BJP.

KCR's close aide andNamasthe Telangana Telugudaily owner Damodar Rao,Khammam former Lok Sabhamember Ponguleti SrinivasReddy, who sacrificed hisseat for Nama NageshwarRao in 2019 LS polls, formerdeputy Chief MinisterKadiam Srihari, former homeminister Nayani NarasimhaReddy, Hetero Drugs ownerParthasarathi Reddy, formerKarimnagar Lok Sabha mem-ber B Vinod Kumar etc were inthe race for the Rajya Sabha seat.

TRS leaders fromNizamabad had urged KCR tonominate his daughter KKavitha to the Rajya Sabha.

Still, KCR chose SureshReddy.

The tenure of the two RajyaSabha members fromTelangana, Garikapati MohanRao (who defected from TDPto BJP recently) and Dr KVPRamachandra Rao (Congress),will come to an end on April9. Although both hail fromAndhra, they were allotted toTelangana, after the bifurcationof the erstwhile AndhraPradesh in 2014.

The term of K Keshava Rao(TRS) will also end on April 9.KK was allotted to AndhraPradesh, following bifurca-tion of the state. He will nowrepresent Telangana in theRajya Sabha.

Coronavirusto peak inMay-Juneoutside ChinaContinued from Page 1

"This is what happened inChina. But a rapid lockdownit is not what has happenedin Iran, Italy and many otherparts of Europe, and theUnited States".

The US is most concerningand evidence from Seattlesuggests the existence ofcoronavirus in the communi-ty as far back as earlyFebruary. "But the Centers forCDC was not able to effec-tively test for the virus at thatstage and even preventedsome research laboratoriesfrom reporting their ownpositive test results," claimedthe report. "We continue toexpect a rapid increase ininfections in Europe, the USand many other countriesover the next eight to 12weeks before returningtowards normal during 3Qand with an expectation oflargely normal levels of eco-nomic activity by the yearend," Richardson noted.

World walls offwith worsening...Continued from Page 1

The State Department followedwith an extraordinary warningto Americans to "reconsidertravel abroad" too. Local lead-ers warned things would onlyget worse.

"This will be a very difficulttime," said Dr Jeff Duchin a toppublic health official for theSeattle area, which has one ofthe biggest US outbreaks.

"It's similar to what youmight think of as an infectiousdisease equivalent of a majorearthquake that's going toshake us for weeks and weeks."

Across the US, where casesnow number more than 1,300,a sense of urgency was perva-sive.

Nursing homes turned awayvisitors, schools emptied ofstudents and workplace cubi-cles went vacant. A rite ofspring, college basketball'sMarch Madness, was set to pro-ceed in empty arenas, whileprofessional basketball won'tplay at all.

Joyous, booze-filled, green-splashed celebrations of StPatrick's Day were called off.TV shows taped without audi-ences, rush-hour crowds inNew York subway cars disap-peared, and families hunkereddown wondering what wouldcome next.

"If we avoid each other andlisten to the scientists, maybe ina few weeks it will be better,"said Koloud 'Kay' Tarapolsi of

Redmond, Washington, whohas two children whose schoolswere being closed beginningThursday.

As the pandemic gripsEurope and the US, it contin-ues to ebb in China, where thefirst cases of COVID-19emerged in December. Itreported a record low of just 15new cases Thursday and wascautiously monitoring newarrivals who were returningwith the virus from elsewhere.

More than three-fourths ofChina's patients have recov-ered. Most people have onlymild or moderate symptoms,such as fever and cough,though symptoms can besevere, including pneumonia,especially in older adults andpeople with existing healthproblems. Recovery for mildcases takes about two weeks,while more severe illness maytake three to six weeks, WHOsays. More than 126,000 peoplein more than 110 countrieshave been infected. But WHOemphasized the vast majorityare in just four countries: Chinaand South Korea where newcases are declining and Iran andItaly, where they are not.

"We have called every day forcountries to take urgent andaggressive action," said WHO'sleader, Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus. "We have rungthe alarm bell loud and clear."

High-profile announcementsof infections made the alarmseven louder.

Manic globalselloff ...Continued from Page 1

The carnage on Dalal Streeteroded investor wealth worthRs 11,27,160.65 crore, takingthe total market capitalisation(m-cap) to Rs 1,25,86,398.07crore on the BSE.

Traders said incessant for-eign fund outflows alsoweighed on the markets.

On a net basis, foreigninstitutional investors soldequities worth Rs 3,515.38crore on Wednesday, dataavailable with stockexchanges showed.

On the BSE, 2,243 scripsdeclined, while 224 advancedand 106 remainedunchanged.

The equity selloff intensi-fied after the World HealthOrganization (WHO), late Wednesday night, termedthe new coronavirus out-break as a pandemic, andexpressed deep concern overthe "alarming levels of inaction".

Revanth filestwo petitionsin High CourtPNS n HYDERABAD

Congress MP from MalkajgiriA Revanth Reddy onThursday approached theHigh Court and filed two sep-arate petitions. In the first peti-tion, the MP sought bail in thecase filed against him byNarsingi Police under sections188,287, 109, 115, 201, 120(b)of IPC and Sections11(A)R/W5A of the AIR CRAFT ACT.In another petition, he urgedthe HC to quash the casefiled against him besidesgranting a stay on all furtherproceedings in the same case.The petitions were filed byHigh Court senior advocateT Rajinika-nth reddy. In hisbail plea, Revanth told the HCthat the Sub inspector ofNarsingi police station hadarrested him without anynotice u/s 41 Cr.PC anddenied him the opportunityeven to meet his lawyer.

Uttam demands bullet trainbetween Hyd and VjayawadaPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) presidentUttam Kumar Reddy onThursday demanded theCentral Governnment to con-sider starting a high-speed orbullet train betweenHyderabad and Vijayawada.

Speaking on the RailwayBudget in Lok Sabha , Uttamreminded the Centre that anassurance was given toTelangana State under AndhraPradesh Reorganisation Act ofestablishing a Railway CoachFactory at Qazipet. However,he said the promise hasremained unfulfilled duringthe last six years. While askingthe Railway Minister to clari-fy the Centre's stand on theissue, he said for some reasonif the government does notwant to invest in the projectdue to shortfall of funds, thenit might look at PPP model. He

said that AP ReorganisationAct was passed by both theHouse of the Parliament andtherefore, it was essential for theCentre to honour the promis-es made in the Act so as to cre-ate employment and also tohonour the sanctity of the Act.

Uttam Kumar Reddy saidthat the railway route betweenHyderabad, Telangana's capi-tal, and Vijayawada, one of thecapitals of AP, from the Britishtime, takes the travel time ofnearly six hours.

Kitne aaye bolo? Kitne,kiske baap ke aayeContinued from Page 1

It is share of state in taxes col-lected by the Government ofIndia, it is not alms, but con-stitutionally bestowed right."

KCR noted that never inhistory had budgetary devolu-tion been removed. "Even theCentral devolution that has tocome into state's accountthrough RBI is not coming.Instead of giving more thanRs3,900 crore committed inthe Budget, the Center hasgiven us permission to takeloans to the tune of Rs1,400.KCR said, "You ask Kya aaya,ye aaya. The Center is not sit-ting in sky; it is in Delhi. TSis one of the top three stateswhich is building itself andparticipating in nation-build-ing process by contributing inthe form of taxes; rest allstates are begging. If we giveRs 50,000 crore, we get max

Rs24 000 crore. Center se kyaaaya,kuch atha nahi, don't gointo that. This is not a placewhere uneducated stay, this isTelangana and Hyderabadeverybody knows what's hap-pening. At least, now BJPshould change the bad atti-tude."

KCR said that BJP andCongress were utter flop par-ties and that BJP could neverbe trusted.

You ask Kya aaya, yeaaya. The Center isnot sitting in sky; it is in

Delhi. TS is one of the topthree states which is buildingitself and participating in nation-building process by contributingin the form of taxes; rest allstates are begging

K CHANDRASHEKHAR RAOChief Minister

S Niranjan Reddy

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2020 hyderabad 03

RIMEORNERC

PNS n HYDERABAD

IT Minister and TRS workingpresident KT Rama Rao assert-ed that the future of civil avi-ation in the country is brightdespite temporary setbacks,and that investments in part-nerships will hold the industryin good stead.

Inaugurating the 8-bay pilottraining facility on Tuesday atthe Flight SimulationTechnique Centre (FSTC), apremier aviation trainingestablishment offering highquality training endorsed byDGCA and EASA, theMinister said, "This facility isa great opportunity forHyderabad and will result in alot of business and trainingopportunities for the region."

Top officials from Ministryof Civil Aviation, DGCA andairline partners participate inthe function. Three bays of thefacility are already occupied byan A320neo, BombardierDash-8 and ATR72-600 simu-lator and with five simulatorsalready positioned at theGurugram facility, the totalnumber of simulators withFSTC as on date are eight.

Stating that FSTC was one ofthe preferred training partnersfor various Indian andInternational airlines basedout of South East Asia region,the Minister said the facility

was the most advanced FullFlight Simulation trainingcompany in India today withtraining facilities in Gurugramand Hyderabad.

The Minister, stating thatjourney started back in 2011

with a dream to establish Indiaas a regional training hub foraviation, said the first twosimulators - Airbus A320 andBoeing B737 were inducted in2012 and that by itself broughtin quite a relief to airlines in

India as industry was experi-encing a conservative growthat that time.

"Due to our commitmenttowards being a quality train-ing institute, in 2013, we wereable to secure TRTO qualifica-tion from DGCA, and in 2014we signed a contract withBoeing & MDS to position C-17 simulator at the premiseadding value to the country'sdefence capabilities," he said.Soon after, in July 2015, thefacility achieved another mile-stone by securing EASA qual-ification, thereby expanding itsfootprint globally.

‘Despite setbacks, futureof civil aviation is bright’

PNS n HYDERABAD

The four-day civil aviationbusiness exhibition and airshow, Wings India 2020, tout-ed to be Asia's biggest event,began in Hyderabad onThursday.

The biennial event beingorganised by Federation ofIndian Chambers of Commerceand Industry (FICCI) alongwith Ministry of Civil Aviationand Airports Authority of Indiawill be on till March 15 at theBegumpet airport. IT MinisterKT Rama Rao will inauguratethe event on Friday.

The business exhibition willfeature the participation ofaviation majors includingAirbus, Boeing and others inthe Business to Business andBusiness to Government meet-ings taking place during theevent. The business exhibitionwill also feature the dazzlingaerobatics twice a day, to beperformed by two teamsnamely "Sarang", the helicopteraerobatics team of Indian AirForce and "Global Stars" ofBritish pilots on fixed wing air-

crafts. More than 1000 dele-gates from across the world areexpected to participate in theevent.

"India is at the forefront ofglobal aviation growth andAirbus is proud to partner it asthe country's aircraft of choice.With our world-class engi-neering and training centresand our 45-strong suppliernetwork, Airbus' industrialfootprint in India has set newstandards among internation-al aircraft manufacturers.Today, every Airbus commer-

cial aircraft is partly made inIndia and we are working todouble our sourcing volumesfrom the country to morethan US$1 billion by 2025,"said Anand Stanley, Presidentand Managing Director, AirbusIndia & South Asia.

The event will also hostconferences between variouscompany heads and a CEO'sforum. In the last edition of theevent, about 1000 delegatesfrom across the world areexpected to take part in thefour-day event.

n IT Minister inaugurates FSTC Hyderabad Training Facility

2018 was a landmark year withFSTC laying the foundation stone for an 8 bay Hyderabad facility,securing EASA ATO certification and getting the management rightsof Gujarat Flying Club

Cyberabad ‘tops’ in fatal road accidents PNS n HYDERABAD

As per data tabled in theTelangana Legislative Councilon Thursday, a total of 21,588accidents cases reported in theyear 2019, out of which 6,800were fatal.

The data was publishedbased on a report collectedafter analysing accidentsbetween January 2019 andDecember 2019. The headcount of injured individualswas said to be 22,265.

The report further said thatas many as 1,43, 933 vehicleswere seized for flouting trafficnorms and 15,123 drivinglicences were suspended.

A majority of the accidentstook place in Cyberabad,Rachakonda, Warangal,

Medak, and Sangareddyamong other areas. Officialsattribute the dip in fatalitiesand road accidents to a seriesof initiatives taken up for thesafety of pedestrians andmotorists.

The Telangana Police, in anattempt to bring down the num-ber of road accidents in the state,is now conducting an analysis ofevery fatal road accident occur-ring in the state. TS DGP MMahender Reddy ordered the

DSP/ACP rank officials to visitthe spot of accident and conducta joint inspection along withofficials from the Traffic police.The inspection should be able toidentify the error that caused theaccident.

"After visiting the place, areport is being prepared imme-diately about the road condi-tions and possible engineeringdefects and the same is for-

warded to the DCP or the SP,who if necessary, will visit thespot again and take up neces-sary measures to prevent fur-ther accidents" police said,adding that measures will betaken in coordination withdifferent authorities includingthe local municipality, NationalHighway Authority of India orState Roads and BuildingDepartment.

The data was published based on areport collected after analysingaccidents between January 2019 and December 2019. The head countof injured individuals was said to be 22,265

Bike thief held, two vehicles recovered PNS n HYDERABAD

The West Zone team of the Commissi-oner's Task Force apprehended an automo-bile offender and recovered two stolen bikesfrom his possession on Thursday.

The accused identified as Mohd Sameer,46, is a resident of Hayathnagar.

Sameer, a habitual offender, committedrobberies, chain snatchings and automo-bile thefts. In October 2019, the DundigalPolice arrested him for stealing a bike andremanded him. Even after being releasedfrom jail, he continued to commit thefts.He wandered in colonies during nights andused to commit offences during the day. Heuses the bike by changing number plates.In the last three months, Sameer stole twobikes from Vanasthalipuram and Adibatla.

Previously, he was arrested for five cas-es in the limits of Jeedimetla and DundigalPS. On Thursday, Sameer was roaming ona stolen bike to sell it off when the TaskForce team apprehended him along withthe vehicle. The accused person along withthe recovered property was handed over toSHO Vanasthalipuram Police for furtherinvestigation.

Man rapes 2-month-old calf for 4 daysPNS n HYDERABAD

A 24-year-old man was arrest-ed for allegedly sodomising atwo-month-old calf at his dairyfarm in Basheerbagh in the cityon Thursday.

According to animal rightsactivist, the assault on the ani-mal was going on for the lastfour days and was noticed byone of the volunteers whoalerted the team. On the tip off,the volunteers of GreaterHyderabad Society for thePrevention of Cruelty toAnimals (GHSPCA) andPeople For Animals (PFA)reached the place onWednesday night and record-ed the sexual assault on the calf.

They informed theNarayanguda Police whoreached the spot. "The policeinitially did not believe it.However, when we showedthem the recording, they wereaghast and reacted immediate-

ly," said the volunteer.The police along with the

volunteers entered into thedairy farm and caught theaccused Mahesh. He was takento the Narayanguda police sta-tion while the calf was shiftedto the animal shelter of thePeople For Animals.

Inquiries revealed that hehad raped the calf multipletimes in the past week.

"Our volunteer who staysnear the dairy farm informed

us about the beastality. On lateWednesday night, we caughtMahesh sodomising the calf.The cops took our complaintand arrested the accused," saidSoudharm Bhandari fromGHSPCA.

A case under Section 377(whoever voluntarily has car-nal intercourse against theorder of nature with any man,woman or animal) of IndianPenal Code was registeredagainst the accused.

The assault onthe animal wasgoing on for thelast four daysand was noticedby one of thevolunteers whoalerted theGHSPCA team

SwaminathanAward forPJTSAU V-C PNS n HYDERABAD

Vice-Chancellor of ProfessorJayashankar Telangana StateAgricultural University Dr VPraveen Rao to be conferredthe 7th Dr MS SwaminathanAward.

This award instituted bythe Retired ICAR Emplo-yees Association and Nuzive-edu Seeds Limited recognis-es and rewards the work ofagricultural scientists andprofessionals who made greatcontribution towards the pro-gression of agricultural sector.

The award selection com-mittee, headed by Dr RS Par-oda, Former Director Gene-ral, ICAR selected Dr VPraveen Rao among the 13candidates from the fields ofagriculture, horticulture andveterinary sciences.

Exam malpractices: TSto disqualify candidatesPNS n HYDERABAD

To deter candidates taking part in competitiveexams from committing malpractices, the stategovernment has been toying with the idea of pro-hibiting the guilty of committing malpractice fromtaking any future exams.

It may be recalled that even B Tech qualifiedcandidates have been appearing for exams likepolice constable, forest beat officer and others.

But some candidates have been resorting to mal-practices erroneously greasing palms of the per-sonnel. The officials are keen on recommendingthe government to disqualify such candidates fromappearing for any future competitive exams.

NRI dies in US due torespiratoryproblemAsoftware engineer hailing

from Kamareddy districtdied at Houston in the US onWednesday due to respiratoryproblem. The victim identifiedas Boorla Arun Kumar, 41,hails from Bhiknoor mandalheadquarters in the district.The techie went to the US 16years ago and settled down inHouston. Family members saidArun Kumar was sufferingfrom respiratory problems inthe past few days and died onWednesday. Arun Kumar issurvived by wife Rajini and afive-year-old son. His father isa businessman at Bhiknoormandal headquarters. Thefamily is trying to makearrangements to bring Arun'sbody from the US.

Man gets lifeterm for wife's dowry deathAlocal court at LB Nagar on

Thursday has sentenced aman for life for immolating hiswife and setting her on fireafter harassing her for dowry.The accused Katika Ravi, 29,is a resident of Srirangavaramin Medchal. He got married in2015. At the time of marriage,his in-laws gave gold, silver,other household articles andRs 50,000 cash to Ravi asdowry. A week after themarriage, Ravi starteddemanding his wife to arrangeadditional dowry of Rs threelakhs. His wife told him thathe would not be able toarrange the amount, to whichRavi became furious andstarted torturing her alongwith his mother and brother.Soon, they started humiliatingher. His wife then went to herparent's house and informedthem about the inhumantorture she was facing. Thenthe village elders stepped inand settled the issue amicablyand warned Ravi not to repeatthis again and asked thevictim to go back to her in-law's place. On the 21st ofSeptember, 2015, Ravi lit hiswife's saree of fire. She thencaught fire and her hands andlegs got completely burnt. She was shifted to GandhiHospital where shesuccumbed to her injuries aday later. Ravi was arrestedand sent to judicial custody onNovember 25, 2015. Aftercompletion of investigation, acharge sheet was filed in thecourt. During the trial onThursday, the court sentencedRavi to life Imprisonment andfined him an amount of Rs1,000.

SK Goel takescharge as DGof IRISET

IT Minister to participate in string ofdevelopmental activities on Mar 24 PNS n HYDERABAD

Municipal AdministrationMinister KT Rama Rao willtake part in a string of devel-opment activities in andaround the city on March 24.

The Minister is scheduled toinaugurate the Rs 7 crore mul-ti-sports complex built at Sana-tnagar welfare grounds. KTRwill also launch the VDCCroad construction works inMondamarket division. Later,the Minister will inaugurate asports complex and librarybuilding built in Adayya Nagar.

KTR will also inaugurate the2BHK houses built in Jiyaguda.

The Minister will inspect theRs 7 crore fly-over bridge wor-ks under way at Fateh Nagar

and the Sanatnagar industrialpark-Narsapur cross roadsRUB works along with Railwayauthorities.

He asked the officials to setup equipment in sports com-plex and computers in thelibrary at Adaiah Nagar.

PNS n HYDERABAD

SK Goel has taken charge asdirector general of IndianRailways Institute of SignalEngineering & Telecommu-nications, premier centralisedtraining institute on IndianRailways imparting trainingin railway signalling andtelecommunicationson. Hebelongs to 1982 batch ofIndian Railway Service ofSignal Engineers (IRSSE).

SK Goel happens to be thefirst DG appointed to takecharge of IRISET. On assum-ing charge, he called upongeneral manager of SouthCentral Railway GajananMallya on Thursday at RailNilayam in Secunderabad.

Narayana studentsscore big in NSOPNS n HYDERABAD

Narayana students have performed bril-liantly in the NSO & IMO (National Scie-nce Olympiad & International MathsOlympiad) Stage-2 and covered themselveswith glory in the annual competitions.

There was keen competition among stu-dents from 14 nations and Narayana stu-dents bagged 1st and 5th ranks in the top10 international ranks. Narayana studentsalso secured 7 ranks in the top 50 ranks and62 ranks in top 500 ranks. The students alsobagged 150 ranks in the top 100 zonalranks in the stage 2 results.

MD of Narayana Group Dr SindhuraNarayana expressed happiness at the sen-sational success of students. Narayana Sch-ools had unique distinction of having thelargest number of students selected to theStage 2 of National Science Olympiad.

Covid-19 prevention:HC lauds Telangana PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Court onThursday appreciated the effortsmade by the state government for theprevention of the spread of deadlycoronavirus in the state.

It directed the state gov-ernment to take steps forconduct of awarenessprogrammes in schoolsand colleges on the dis-ease forthwith. A divisionbench of the High Courtcomprising of the ChiefJustice of the state Justice RSChauhan and Justice A AbhishekReddy also directed the governmentto inform whether it has constitutedspecial teams to monitor the facili-ties and treatment being provided in

the private hospitals of the state. The Court further directed both

the state and Central governments tosubmit status report and file detailedaffidavit on the issue before March23,2020. The Court passed theseorders while dealing with a batch of

Public Interest Litigation (PILs)filed on coronavirus and othervector borne diseases. Theadvocate general of the statetold the HC that they hadcorona virus testing Centers

at fever hospital of Hyderabadand MGM hospital officials

Warangal. He also told the HCthat they would launch another test-ing Center at Osmania general hos-pital on Friday. The HC lateradjourned the matter till March 24,2020 for further hearing.

GHMC SANITATION WORKERSTOLD TO WEAR SAFETY GEAR HYDERABAD: Mayor BonthuRammohan held a reviewmeeting with the GHMCCommissioner LokeshKumar, AdditionalCommissioners, ZonalCommissioner andHODs on Thursday andinstructed them to alertand keep vigilance on coron-avirus and asked the officials to

ensure all the sanitation workerswear jackets, gloves and masks

while in field and makesupervisors, field assis-tants responsible for this.Bio-Metric attendance willbe taken between 5 am

and 6 am for sanitationworkers and sweeping should

be completed at an early as peo-ple will come out from 7 am.

‘Wings India' flies high

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre's decisionto suspend all visas

to India till April 15, bar-ring those given to gov-ernment officials due tothe outbreak of coron-avirus is expected to trun-cate airlines' internationaloperations.

According to industryinsiders, several airlines

have already reduced inter-national operations to China

and Southeast Asia, furthertruncation is expected in thecoming days.

"The decision taken by thegovernment today (Wednesday)will have a far reaching impact onthe industry," a senior airline offi-cial told IANS on the condition ofanonymity.

"Currently, passen-ger load factors are al-

ready very low on ma-ny international routes,

coupled with suspension ofvisas will leave no passengers

to board these flights."Most airlines that

IANS approached saidthey will take a call onwhether or not to oper-ate services on several

international routes in the coming days.However, airlines might not fully suspend

international flights due to existing global avi-ation regulators that govern the use of airportslots.

At present, the rules governing the use the air-port slots provide that airlines must operate atleast 80 per cent of their allocated slots undernormal circumstances.

However, in exceptional circumstances, reg-ulators can relax this requirement.

Around 43 per cent of all passengers departfrom over 200 slots coordinated airports world-wide.

According to Aloke Bajpai, CO-founder &CEO, ixigo: "This is a bold but a necessary moveto prevent a mass pandemic in India. This willhave a major impact beyond just aviation andthe hospitality sector."

"Indian carriers will be forced to continue tocancel or temporarily suspended internationalflights for the time being. FTA growth which sawthe slowest growth in 4 years in the first half ofcalendar 2019, will be severely hit this year aswell in lieu of the global economic slowdown."

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2020 04

Tourist inflows intoIndia drop by 30%

PNS n HYDERABAD

India is witnessing a 25 per cent to 30per cent drop in inbound internation-al visitors to the country in recent

months in the backdrop of novel coron-avirus fears, Civil Aviation Joint SecretaryUsha Padhee said on Thursday.

There has been a drastic reduction innumbers (visitors to India) of internation-al travellers, I was told that it has comedown by 25 to 30 per cent. Because ofthe quarantine by every country,both (inbound and outbound) havegot severe impact, she told reportershere.

She was speaking onthe sidelines of civil avi-ation show 'WingsIndia 2020' whichbegan here onThursday. The offi-

cial said there has been a reduction in thenumber of domestic travellers also as peo-ple with business purpose or emergencyrequirements were only travelling. Indiahas on Wednesday

announcedsuspension ofall tourist visastill April 15 in a bidto contain the spread ofthe virus. All incoming trav-ellers, including Indians, arrivingfrom or having visited China, Italy,Iran, Republic of Korea, France,

Spain and Germany after February15 will be quarantined for a mini-mum period of 14 days, the Centrehas said.Replying to a query, Padheesaid the situation was purely tem-porary in nature and there hadbeen a turn around in China, thegenesis of the viral fever that killedover 3,000, "which is a good sign".

On the impact on the 'WingsIndia 2020', the official said the

event was expected to be attend-ed by only one third of the antic-

ipated 1,500 delegates. Accordingto her, Civil Aviation MinisterHardeep Singh Puriwill partici-pate with industry leaderswherein the current situationwill be discussed.

CORONAVIRUS IMPACT

Therehas been a

drastic reductionin numbers(visitors to India) ofintern-ationaltravellers, I was told

that it has comedown by 25

to 30%

RBI to sell US $2bn tocalm down forex market

PNS n MUMBAI

The Reserve Bankwill sell USD 2 bil-lion worth of Amer-ican currency to ba-nks to infuse liquid-ity in the domestic

forex market roiledby mounting concerns

over coronavirus pandem-ic and crash in global oil prices.

The RBI also stressed it isclosely and continuously mon-itoring the rapidly evolvingglobal situation and spillovers.

Also, it stands ready to takeall necessary measures to ensurethat the effects of the COVID-

19 pandemic on the Indianeconomy are mitigated, andfinancial markets and insti-tutions in India continue tofunction normally.

The level of forex reservesat USD 487.24 billion as on

March 6, 2020 remains com-fortable to meet any exigency,the central bank added.

As part of its efforts to soothe

the forext market, the RBI willundertake 6-month US Dollarsell/buy swaps. The swaps willbe conducted through the auc-tion route in multiple tranches.The auctions will be multipleprice based -- successful bidswill be accepted at their respec-tive quoted premiums.

"On a review of current fin-ancial market conditions andtaking into consideration therequirement of US Dollars inthe market, it has been decid-ed to undertake 6-month USDollar sell/buy swaps to provideliquidity to the foreign exch-

ange market," the RBI said.In the first tranche, the RBI

will sell American dollars worthUSD 2 billion on Monday.

The swap will be in thenature of a simple sell/buy for-eign exchange swap from theReserve Bank side.

A bank will buy US Dollarsfrom the RBI and simultane-ously agree to sell the sameamount of US Dollars at theend of the swap period.

Financial markets worldwideare facing intense selling pres-sures on extreme risk aversiondue to the spread of COVID-19.

India's tourist industry seescrisis looming from visa ban

PNS n NEW DELHI

Indian hotels and travel operators saidon Thursday their industry would be

hurt by the government's decisionnot to issue visas for visitors in orderto combat the spread of coronavirus.

With just 73 confirmed cases of thevirus and no deaths, India, a countryof 1.3 billion people, has so farfared better than elsewhere inAsia, Europe and NorthAmerica.

But experts say India'salready overstretched med-ical system would struggleto deal with a major rise inserious cases.

New Delhi said onWednesday it wouldcancel almost all visasuntil April 15, a move thatcould damage an industry thatcaters to about 10 million foreigntourists a year.

"Everything has been cancelled,"Rachna Singh, CEO of the Federationof Hospitality and Tourism ofRajasthan, a popular destination forvisitors with its forts and palaces, say-ing many people who had booked tovisit next month had abandoned plans.

She said four in 10 people relied insome way on tourism in Rajasthan,where some of the first cases of coro-

navirus in India were reported lastmonth among a group of Italian visi-tors."All our members are suffering at

the moment,"s a i d

Chetan Gupta,general secretary of

the Association of Domestic TourOperators of India, adding that the visaban risked taking tourism and businessactivity to an "all time low".

Sooraj Nair, director of the five-starCrowne Plaza hotel in Kochi, a city in south-ern India famed for its spices, said occupan-cy at his hotel had dropped to 20%.

Average hoteloccupancy in India

in 2019 wasaround twothirds.

Governmentand industry

sources said onThursday they expect-ed economic growth toslide for at least twoquarters.

Share prices of Indianairlines tumbled onThursday, as the visa banprompted ticket discount-ing in an already depressedair travel market.

Other regional nations alsotook steps to combat the virus.The Maldives archipelagodeclared a public health emer-gency giving the government extrapowers to ban pubic gatherings and SriLanka ordered schools closed for morethan five weeks.

New Delhi said on Wednesday itwould cancel almost all visas untilApril 15, a move that could damagean industry that caters to about 10million foreign tourists a year

International flight opsto be truncated further

Petrol, dieselprices cutfurtherFuel prices were further reduced

on Thursday due to slump indemand after the coronavirus wasdeclared pandemic. The price ofpetrol was reduced by 15-16 paiseand that of diesel by 12-13 paiseacross all major cities in thecountry. Petrol now costs Rs 70.14per litre in Delhi, Rs 75.84 per litrein Mumbai, Rs 72.83 a litre inKolkata and Rs72.86 per litre inChennai after theprice cut.Similarly, dieselcosts Rs 62.89a litre in Delhi,Rs 65.84 a litre inMumbai, Rs 65.22 alitre in Kolkata and 66.35 per litre inChennai, according to Indian OilCorporation website.Internationalcrude oil prices fell on Wednesdayafter Saudi Arabia and the United ArabEmirates vowed to boost production,escalating a global price war betweenOPEC and its allies. Brent was tradingat $33.86 per barrel, down by $1.98or 5.52 per cent.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Gold exchange-traded fundswitnessed an all-time high

net inflow of Rs 1,483 crore inFebruary, as slowdown in glob-al economy amid coronavirusoutbreak led investors to opt forthe instrument as a safe haven.

This also marks the fourthconsecutive monthly net inflowin gold ETFs.

The latest inflow comes amida sell-off in broader market andsharp plunge in internationalcrude oil prices.

According to the latest dataavailable with the Associationof Mutual Funds in India(Amfi), a net sum of Rs 1,483crore was pumped in into gold-linked ETFs in February ascompared with the 7-year highof Rs 202 crore in the preced-ing month.

Prior to that, the safe-havenasset saw an infusion of Rs 27crore in December and Rs 7.68crore in November. However, ithad seen a net pull-out of Rs

31.45 crore inOcto-ber.

In Septe-mber2011, GoldETFs hadattracted a totalinvestment of Rs988 crore.

"With globaleconomy staring at amajor slowdown ascoronavirus epidemic tighten-ing its grip across the globe,gold has emerged as the go-toasset class as it regains its safe-haven appeal. Consequently,the gold ETF category receiveda staggering net inflow inFebruary," said HimanshuSrivastava, senior research ana-lyst (manager research),

Morningstar InvestmentAdviser India.Alok Agarwala,head (research and advisory) atBajaj Capital, said, "During tur-bulent times, gold is consid-ered a safe haven anda store of valuefor thei n v e s -tors.

Prior to that, the safe-haven asset saw aninfusion of Rs 27 crore inDecember and Rs 7.68crore in November

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi government onThursday declared coron-

avirus an epidemic andannounced that all schools, colleges and

cinema halls in thenational capital

will remainshut till

March 31.T h e

decis ionwas takenat a high-l e v e lm e e t i n g

attended byDelhi Chief

M i n i s t e rArvind Kejriwal,

LG Anil Baijal andtop government officials.

"The city government has declaredcoronavirus an epidemic," Kejriwal said.

He said disinfecting all public places,including government and private offices

and shopping malls has been made com-pulsory.

The national capital has so far record-ed six cases of coronavirus.

The number of coronavirus patients inthe country has risen to 73 with 13 freshcases, including nine from Maharahtraand one each from Delhi, Ladakh andUttar Pradesh as well as one foreignnational, the Union Health Ministry saidon Thursday.

VIRUS-HIT IRAN ASKS IMF FOR ITS FIRST LOAN SINCE 1962

TEHRAN: Iran said on Thursday that it hassought financial assistance from theInternational Monetary Fund, whichhas not lent it money since 1962, to

help it combat the novelcoronavirus. "Our central bankrequested access" to the IMF's

Rapid Financing Instrument(RFI), Iranian Foreign Minister

Mohammad Javad Zarif said onTwitter, urging the fund's board

to respond to the request"responsibly".

Gulf stockmarkets slide onvirus, oil fears

AFP n DUBAI

Stock markets in energy-rich Gulfstates tumbled on Thursday with

Saudi shares down more than 4.0 percent following worldwide losses amidfears over the coronavirus pandemicand an oil price war. Dubai FinancialMarket dived more than 7.0 per centat the open on the last trading day ofthe week. Abu Dhabi shares dropped6.0 per cent. Stocks in gas-rich Qatardropped 5.2 per cent, while bourses inBahrain and Oman were down 3.5 percent and 2.2 per cent, respectively.The stock market in Kuwait wasclosed as authorities announced ashutdown of government offices fortwo weeks and cancelled internationalflights in a bid to prevent the spreadof the coronavirus. Oil prices, themainstay of Gulf economies, fellsharply on Thursday with Brenttrading below USD 34 a barrel andWTI just above USD 31 a barrel. Gulfstock markets have sustained heavylosses this week after OPEC and itsallies, led by Russia, failed to reach anagreement on addition oil productioncuts to support prices.

The central bankalso stressed it isclosely andcontinuouslymonitoring therapidly evolvingglobal situation andspillovers.

Schools, colleges,cinema halls in Delhi

shut till March 31

This is a bold but a necessarymove to prevent a mass

pandemic in India. This will havea major impact beyond just

aviation and the hospitality sector —ALOKE BAJPAI

CO-FOUNDER & CEO, IXIGO

Inflows into goldETF hit all-time high

Workers in protective suits disinfect Istanbul Palace over coronavirus concerns in Turkey.

Thedecision was

taken at a high-levelmeeting attended byDelhi Chief Minister

Arvind Kejriwal, LG AnilBaijal and topgovernment

officials

SHORT READS

Where are we supposedto go, ask Indians atairports in ItalyTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM:"Where are we supposed togo?," a woman, stranded at anairport in Italy, who had bookedher tickets to Kerala, was heardsaying in a video which hasgone viral in the social media.Many like her stranded atairports in Italy can be heardmaking desperate pleas forbeing airlifted to their homestate of Kerala. "You tell uswhere we are supposed to go?We have come from Kerala towork here in Italy. We areexpatriates. We have left ourjobs and homes. You tell uswhat we are supposed to do.Where will we go other thanour state," another womanpassenger asked. Smallchildren and pregnant womenare among the 300-oddstranded Indians in the airportsin Italy, where 827 people havedied in the last two weeks dueto coronavirus. Anotherpassenger said EmiratesAirlines and the Italianauthorities were prepared totake them to India, but it wasthe Indian government whichwas insisting on the certificate,they said. The General of CivilAviation had recently issued acircular stipulating that people"travelling from or havingvisited Italy or South Korea"and desirous of entering India"need to obtain certificates ofhaving tested negative forCOVID-19" from the designatedlaboratories authorised by thehealth authorities of thosecountries.

8 injured as groupsclash over playing ofsongs in UP

Woman jumpsbefore train with 3children

BALLIA (UP): A clash brokeout between two groups inMalakhpur village here onThursday over playing ofsongs by DJ, resulting ininjuries to eight people, policesaid. The incident took placewhen one of the groupsrequested for not playing thesongs to facilitate morningprayers, they said. Thoughplaying of songs was stopped,one person was beaten upleading to clashes between thegroups, SHO ShashimauliPandey said. Eight people,including a woman, wereinjured in the clashes, he said.Five persons have been takeninto custody in this regard, theofficial said, adding thesituation is under control.Additional force has beendeployed as a precautionarymeasure in the village, policeadded.

JAIPUR: A woman along withher three children allegedlycommitted suicide byjumping before a train inRajasthan's Sirohi district onThursday. The incident tookplace in the Pindwada policestation area where 30-yearold Kanya along with herdaughter Leela (8), sonsKishna (6) and Montu (5)jumped before the train onthe Pindwada-Phalna railwaytrack, police said. The bodieswere sent to a localgovernment hospital forautopsy.

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2020 nation 05

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian economy was suf-fering from "coronavirus", theCongress said on Thursdayand demanded a detailedstatement in Parliament fromPrime Minister NarendraModi on the economic declineof the country.

The opposition party alsoalleged that the State Bank ofIndia's (SBI) slashing of inter-est rates on savings bankaccounts and fixed depositswas aimed at funding therevival of Yes Bank which wasreeling under loan defaults by"friends of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi".

Congress' chief spokesper-son Randeep Surjewala saidthe Sensex has crashed by2,700 points and caused a lossof Rs 11 lakh crore forinvestors on Thursday.

"Those who invested inshare markets and mutualfunds will have to bear thebrunt. In 72 hours, small andmedium investors have lost Rs18 lakh crore. This moneylargely belongs to the salariedclass and small investors," hetold reporters outsideParliament.

"The economy is sufferingfrom coronavirus, but theprime minister and FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman

are silent," Surjewala said.Equity benchmark Sensex

crashed over 2,700 points andthe broader Nifty sank below9,700 (intra-day) on Thursdayafter WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, spiking fearsof a global economic reces-sion.

Taking a dig at the primeminister, Surjewala also tweet-ed, "Congratulations to PMModi. USD 1= Rs 75.16.Rupee has now joined theranks of 'MargdarshakMandal'."

BJP's 'Margdarshal Mandal'includes leaders above 75

years of age.The international prices of

crude oil have fallen to lessthan USD 35 per barrel butpetrol remains over Rs 70 perlitre, Surjewala said.

"When in 2004 November,prices of crude oil had fallento USD 35, then petrol pricesin the country was Rs 37.84per litre.

Now when it is at less thenUSD 35, petrol prices areover Rs 70. You (Modi gov-ernment) are pocketingmoney while impacting thepocket of the common man,"Surjewala said.

NPR not to mark anycitizen ‘doubtful':Amit ShahPNS n NEW DELHI

Allaying fears over theNational Population Register(NPR), Home Minister AmitShah on Thursday said no cit-izen will be marked 'D' or'doubtful' during the updatingexercise and no documentsneed to be furnished to provecitizenship.

Also, it is not compulsory toprovide any information notavailable with an individual, hesaid. Shah gave the clarifica-tion during his reply to adebate on communal riots inDelhi which he said were trig-gered by alleged hate speech-es made after passing of thenew citizenship law that gavenon-Muslim illegal migrantsfrom neighbouring nationsIndian citizenship.

The updating of the NPR isto be done during six monthsbeginning April 1 with enu-merators seeking demograph-ic and other particulars of eachfamily and individuals.

On Delhi riots, Shah saidthe guilty, irrespective of polit-ical or religious affiliation,will not be spared. The guiltywill be punished with theobjective of instillingfear of law.

"No one fromminority communityshould have any doubtregarding CAA andNPR," he said.

"I want to setthe recordstraight. Nod o c u m e n twill be

required to be furnished in theNPR exercise. It wasn't done inthe past and it won't be now."

Also, people will be free toprovide whatever informationthey have, he said.

"No one will be required togive information which is notthere," he said on apprehen-sions of residence of parentsbeing asked in the NPR andabsence of it casting doubts.

"No 'D' will be marked" foranyone not providing infor-mation, he said.New Delhi,Mar 12 (PTI) Allaying fearsover the National PopulationRegister (NPR), HomeMinister Amit Shah onThursday said no citizen willbe marked 'D' or 'doubtful'during the updating exerciseand no documents need tobe furnished to prove citi-zenship.

Also, it is notcompulsory to

provide anyi n for m at i onnot availablewith an indi-vidual, he said.

"The US and Australia have given aspecial stimulus package (in the wakeof the coronavirus impactingeconomy), but the PM is silent.

Rawat slamsplans tocelebrate 3years of BJPPNS n DEHRADUN

Former Uttarakhand chiefminister Harish Rawat onThursday slammed theplans to celebrate threeyears of the BJP governmentin the state amid the coro-navirus scare.

Alleging that the stategovernment was spendingover Rs 10 crore on the cel-ebrations, he said the moneyshould have been spent oncreating medical infrastruc-ture needed to deal with thedeadly virus.

"The prime ministeradvises avoiding crowds tofight coronavirus. Peoplelike me cancel Holi Milanprogrammes in response.But the state governmenthas more courage.

It plans to spend Rs 11-12crore on the celebrations tomark the completion ofthree years in office," Rawatsaid in a Facebook post.

Oppn warnsGovt againstprivatisationof railwaysPNS n NEW DELHI

The Opposition on Thursdaydemanded that the govern-ment not undertake privati-sation of railways and comeout with a separate RailBudget to better analyse theperformance.

Participating in a discus-sion on demands for grants ofthe Ministry of Railways inLok Sabha, M K Raghavan(Cong) said the BJP govern-ment has shown consistentapathy towards railways inthe last 5 years and the dis-mal performance is visible inthe high operating ratio,which is the worst in last 10years.

"Railways is a services sec-tor. BJP is unaware of reasonsfor establishment of railways.Railway is not an engine to beauctioned off to the highestbidder, it is for poor man'sservice," he said. Raghavansaid the focus of the UnionBudget on railways is curso-ry and reveals neglect. Thereis a drive to sell off publicassets and a collosal failure inits management, he said.

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The Kerala Assembly onThursday passed a unani-mous resolution against theCentre's circular barring thereturn of Indians from coro-navirus-hit countries such asItaly unless they produce acertificate that proves theyhave tested negative for theinfection.

The resolution moved byChief Minister PinarayiVijayan said the circular was"inhuman" and was akin to"cruelly abandoning" theexpatriate Indians.

Vijayan had on Tuesdaywritten a letter to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi seek-ing his intervention to with-draw the circular issued byDirector General of CivilAviation (DGCA).

The circular stipulated thatpeople "travelling from orhaving visited Italy or SouthKorea" and desirous of enter-ing India "need to obtain cer-tificates of having tested neg-

ative for COVID-19" fromthe designated laboratoriesauthorised by the healthauthorities of those countries.

"Because of this circularthe Indians, includingKeralites, are unable to boardany flight even with a con-firmed ticket. This is creatinggreat difficulties to them.

We came to know from thecentral government that therewere no much facilities in Italy

for the medical examinationof all those stranded there,"Vijayan said in the resolution.

The Chief Minister furthersaid the foreign authoritieswere not ready to test peoplewithout symptoms as theywere already overloaded withpatients.

The resolution pointed outthat the students from Wuhanin China was airlifted earlierand was housed separately

until their medical reportswere out. "Those without anysymptoms of infection wereallowed to leave for their res-idence. This was very effec-tive.

But this circular was inhu-man and it was akin to cruel-ly abandoning the expatriateIndians," it said.

"We have asked the Centreto allow those in Italy to trav-el to India and they can bekept in quarantine in case theytest positive on arrival,"Vijayan said.

The state government alsosought the assistance of theCentre to help the expatriateusing diplomatic interventionto extend the Visa, leave ofthose who are in the country.

"Many expatriate who had

reached the country for vaca-tion are finding it difficult toget back and join their workplaces abroad due to restric-tion in air travel.

The state government hassought Centre's diplomaticintervention in extending theVisa period and joining dateof those NRIs," the CPI(M)leader said.

The plight of Indians inItaly came to light after Hima,a woman from Kerala, strand-ed at an airport in theEuropean nation released avideo showing their hard-ships.

"We are being treated assmugglers. People have com-mented on the video put upon Facebook asking us why wewant to come back to Kerala.

The Chief Minister further said theforeign authorities were not ready totest people without symptoms as theywere already overloaded with patients.

Manapprehendedfor murder ofIB stafferPNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi Police's SpecialCell on Thursday appre-hended a man in connectionwith the killing of IB stafferAnkit Sharma during theriots last month in thenational capital's northeastdistrict, police said.

The accused has beenidentified as Salman aliasNanhe, they said.

Sharma's body was foundin a drain near his home innortheast Delhi's ChandBagh area on February 27, aday after he went missing.

Earlier, police had arrest-ed suspended Aam AadmiParty (AAP) councillorTahir Hussain in the case.

After outbreak inKozhikode, bird fluaffects MalappuramPNS nMALAPPURAM

In less than a week after bird fluwas detected in two poultryfarms in Vengeri and westKodiyathoor in Kozhikode dis-trict, the disease has been con-firmed in Malappuram, whichis 47 km away.

Collector Jaffer Malik saidthe disease has been confirmedat Palathingal in Parappangadiin the district and culling activ-ities in one-km radius of theaffected area would begin fromSaturday, he told reporters.

An urgent meeting of theofficials of the district AnimalHusbandry, Health and civicbodies was held here onThursday. Suspecting the out-break in the farm after a fewhens were found dead, theAnimal Husbandry officialshad on Sunday last collectedviscera samples from the farmand sent them for investigation

at the National Institute forHigh Security Animal Disease,Bhopal, and the test turned pos-itive.

Meanwhile, the culling anddisinfecting of one-km radius ofthe two farms where the out-break of bird flu was detectedin Kozhikode last Saturdayentered its second phase.

PNS n MUMBAI

The Bombay High Courthas lifted the suspen-sion of the TikTokaccounts of three'influencers', ninemonths after theywere blocked forallegedly posting a"hate-mongering" video.

The ban was lifted last weekby the division bench ofActing Chief Justice B PDharmadhikari and Justice NR Boarkar.

The TikTok accounts ofFaisu, Hasnain and Shadanwere blocked in July 2019 asper the direction of the cybercell of Mumbai Police basedon a complaint.

It was alleged that the videouploaded by them could causeenmity between religious

groups and harm peace andharmony of the society.

The trio had beengranted anticipatory

bail by the high courtin August 2019.

However, theiraccounts continued

to remain suspendedtill date causing a dent

to their ability to earn alivelihood, their lawyersRanbir Singh and PriyankaKhimani said.

The high court, in its order,held that the cyber cell did nothave the power to directTikTok to block the influ-encers' accounts under Section91 of the Code of CriminalProcedure.

TikTok is a social media appthat lets users create and edittheir own short videos andshare them with people.

PNS n PUDUCHERRY

Chief Minister of PuducherryV Narayanasamy on Thursdaysaid Lieutenant GovernorKiran Bedi has no unfetteredpowers and cannot reject thedecisions of the Council ofMinisters or modify them.

Addressing reporters here,he said this had been "lucid-ly clarified" by the MadrasHigh Court order delivered onWednesday in a public inter-est litigation filed by Congresslegislator K Lakshminarayanan.

The court order upholdsthe Constitution, the UnionTerritory Act 1963, Business

Rules governing the adminis-tration and also the Council ofMinisters, Narayanasamy said.

Reading out the highlights

of the judgement, he saidBedi should accept the deci-sions of the Council ofMinisters on matters of rou-tine administration.

The court orderupholds theConstitution, theUnion Territory Act1963, BusinessRules governing theadministration andalso the Council ofMinisters,Narayanasamy said.

Meanwhile, theculling anddisinfecting of one-km radius of thetwo farms wherethe outbreak ofbird flu wasdetected inKozhikode lastSaturday enteredits second phase

‘Bedi can't sit on decisionsof Council of Ministers'

HC lifts suspensionof TikTok accountsof three influencers

7,300 killed in Maharoad accidents in 2019PNS n MUMBAI

As many as 7,310 peoplelost their lives in road acci-dents in Maharashtra in thefirst nine months of 2019,Home Minister AnilDeshmukh told theLegislat ive Counci l onThursday. He revealed thisinformation in a writtenreply to a query by Congresslegislator Anant Gadgil.

"A total of 24,262 accidentswere reported from Januaryto September 2019, in which7,310 people lost their lives,"

Deshmukh said. As compared to the num-

ber of accidents that tookplace in 2018, there was adrop of 10 per cent in 2019,he said.

People violating speed lim-its and driving vehicles atexcessive speed are to beblamed for the fatalities,Deshmukh said. He also saidthat a road crash analysiscentre has started function-ing in Mumbai, which focus-es on the measures to beundertaken for avoiding fatalaccidents.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi Police onThursday arrested two mem-bers of the Popular Front ofIndia for their allegedinvolvement in anti-CAAprotests and northeast Delhiriots, officials said.

The accused have beenidentified as PFI presidentParvez and secretary Illiyas,they said.

The two were arrested bythe Delhi Police's SpecialCell, the officials said.

ECONOMY SUFFERING FROM‘CORONAVIRUS': CONGRESS‘PM MUST GIVE STATEMENT IN PARLIMENT’

Kerala adopts resolution against Centre's circular

Two PFImembersarrested forrole in riots

The updating of theNPR is to be doneduring six monthsbeginning April 1 withenumerators seekingdemographic andother particulars ofeach family andindividuals.

US defence secretary'strip to India called off PNS n NEW DELHI

US Defence Secretary MarkEsper's visit to India on March15-16 has been called off dueto the coronavirus threat,Defence Ministry officials saidon Thursday.

The trip, during which Esperwas supposed to meet hisIndian counterpart RajnathSingh, is among the severalevents being postponedbecause of the coronavirusinfection.

A two-day conferenceorganised by the ManoharParrikar Institute of DefenceStudies and Analysis (IDSA),which was to start fromThursday, has also been post-poned due to the COVID-19threat. The defence ministerand Home Minister Amit Shahwere scheduled to attend theconference, which includedseminars on a range of securi-ty issues in Asia.

"Due to the prevailing glob-al situation with regard toCOVID-19, it has been decid-ed to postpone the 21st AsianSecurity Conference (ASC) toa later date. Fresh dates for the

Conference will be conveyed indue course," the Ministry ofDefence think tank said in anemail to the participants.

The conference organised byIDSA, now rechristenedManohar Parrikar Institute ofDefence Studies and Analysis,was to be attended by partici-pants from countries such asthe US, Russia, Australia,Vietnam, Sweden, Belgium,Japan and the UK.

Besides this, Milan-2020,the largest multilateral exercisehosted by the Navy to be heldfrom March 18 to 28 inVisakhapatnam, was indefi-nitely postponed as a precau-tion. Another military drill --India Egypt Joint Special Forcesexercise 2020 -- which wasscheduled to be held at Jodhpurfrom March 11 to 13, has beenpostponed as well.

The number of coronaviruspatients in the country hasrisen to 73 with 13 fresh cases,including nine fromMaharahtra and one each fromDelhi, Ladakh and UttarPradesh as well as one foreignnational, the Union HealthMinistry said.

It’s obvious to anyone, who has seen thevideos and read the first-hand accountsof residents in the troubled north-eastarea of Delhi, that what happened therewas a bloody Hindu-Muslim commu-

nal riot. Tensions were building up ever sincesome citizens launched a nationwide protestagainst the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA), which often turned violent and dis-rupted normal life in many Indian cities forover two months. Videos shot in the affect-ed areas of Delhi show huge pile of petrolbombs, acid, bricks and stones on the terracesof Muslim residents, including that of a Delhilegislator, burqa-clad women thrashing hap-less policemen and joining the lynch mob.Such was the ferocity of the attacks that sev-eral senior officers suffered grievous injuriesand a Hindu Intelligence Bureau (IB) officialwas hacked to death by his Muslim neigh-bours. He is said to have been stabbed sev-eral hundred times. One had heard of suchbarbarity during the Moplah uprising in 1921and the Kolkata riots after MA Jinnah’s callfor “direct action” on August 16, 1946, tosecure an Islamic nation. It was a blood bath.

This is not to say that the Hindus innorth-east Delhi were silent and innocentspectators. They were not and as much guilty.Seeing the build-up in the Muslim mohallas,they stocked up, too and, therefore, when theriots broke out, the streets resembled a bat-tle field. One had not seen such hatred andviolence between the two communities in along time. So, what triggered this timearound?

One, having got used to a standard dietof appeasement for seven decades, theMuslims find the “no-appeasement” policyof Prime Minister Narendra Modi unaccept-able and, therefore, there has been simmer-ing discontent in the community, which onlyneeded a trigger to explode. Some leaders ofthe community added fuel to the fire by cit-ing the abrogation of the special status ofJammu & Kashmir last August and theSupreme Court’s judgment in the RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case as develop-ments that hurt the Muslims. The commu-nity was, therefore, looking for a cause andthe CAA came along. Then, the riots hap-pened and it found a chance to play the vic-tim card again.

It must also be said that this timearound, there is gross miscalculation amongthe Muslims about the response of Hindus totheir assertiveness and violence. Havingwatched the sociological transformation of theHindus over many decades, it must be saidthat the Hindu of the 1950s or 1960s, whowould stoically bear with the demands of thisaggressive minority in the hope that eventu-ally things would settle down, no longer exists.The attitude of the Western media and itsIndian cohorts, who are busy spreading Hinduphobia, has proved to be highly provocative.They are actually promoting hatred and vio-lence among these communities. The role ofsocial media and the videos in circulation is

the new-age fuel for communalconflagration. Both communitieshave to factor in the new attitudesthat govern them. The Muslimshave to realise this and arrive ata new equation for peaceful co-existence. The Hindus have tounderstand the anxieties plagu-ing this religious minority andfind ways to restore harmony.Both communities must nowaccept that the old equation hascollapsed.

Following Partition, theMuslims of India on this side ofthe border had the option toeither cross over and become partof an Islamic State or stay put andbecome citizens of a secular,democratic India. Around 35million of them chose to stayback and live in a democraticnation. They constituted about 10per cent of the 350 million peo-ple in India after Partition. Latestestimates indicate that theMuslim population has swelledto 175 million over the last sevendecades and this community iswell spread out across the lengthand breadth of this country.

The integration of theMuslims into a secular, democ-ratic nation that emerged in1947 would have been easy if onlythe then Government, headed byPrime Minister JawaharlalNehru, had given them theoption of either living in an Indiawith a common civil code thatwould be uniformly applicable toall citizens across communities or

to cross the border and live in anIslamic State. Nehru’s Muslimappeasement policy encouragedthe hotheads among the Muslimsto such an extent that even afterPartition and the creation ofPakistan, some Muslim membersof the Constituent Assemblydemanded separate electoratefor the Muslims in democraticIndia. Sardar Patel and otherleaders felt that this demand waspreposterous.

The concession Nehru madeto the Muslim clergy after inde-pendence is indeed the timebomb that is ticking away andthreatens to destroy India’s unityand integrity. After Nehru, hisdaughter Indira Gandhi, in orderto muster the Muslim vote aftershe split the Congress in 1969,continued to molly-coddle theulemas. The Congress got thebest opportunity to wash away itssins vis-à-vis Muslim appease-ment when the Supreme Courtdelivered the historic judgmentin the Shah Bano case anddeclared that divorced Muslimwomen were entitled to mainte-nance like other divorcees, as pro-vided for in Section 125 of theCode of Criminal Procedure. Thecourt took the opportunity todraw the country’s attention toArticle 44 of the Constitution,which committed the State tobring in a Uniform Civil Code.It said such a code would help thecause of national integration.

While this judgment was

hailed across the country, theMuslim clergy was up in armsagainst the apex court’s decision.Even though Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi had won the biggestmandate ever in the country’sparliamentary elections — over410 seats — he was unable orunwilling to stand up to the mul-lahs and brought in a law to undothe top court’s verdict. This law,the Muslim Women (Protectionof Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986,declared that Muslim men hadno obligation to pay maintenanceto their divorced wives like othermen.

Given this history, the viciouspropaganda unleashed byMuslim communalists in theinternational media against Indiais bunkum. India was and is theworld’s biggest secular, democra-tic nation and its Hindu major-ity is very proud of it. TheMuslims must acknowledge thisand be wary of the false narrativebeing spread my mischief-mak-ers. For once, the UnionGovernment has begun to assertitself to correct the follies ofNehru and his progeny. This isthe only way by which we canpreserve the core values of ourConstitution and protect India’sunity and integrity. The majori-ty cannot allow some malcon-tents among a minority to wreckthis.

(The writer is an author spe-cialising in democracy studies.Views expressed are personal.)How the mighty have fallen and what a

victory it has been for the #MeToomovement. The once influential and now

disgraced Hollywood film producer, HarveyWeinstein, has been found guilty of rape andsexual assault and will now spend 23 yearsin prison after the New York Supreme Courtheld him accountable for committing a crim-inal sexual act in the first degree and third-degree rape. This verdict should serve as awarning to all predators that they are not abovethe law; they can’t just get away with it.

Hopefully, it will lead to deterrence in workspaces around the world and strictergender justice codes. Of course, this is not the last we are hearing of it becausethe sentence only ends Weinstein’s New York trial, which began on January 6.He is yet to face other rape and sexual assault charges in Los Angeles. For hisconviction on the first-degree count of criminal sexual act, Weinstein was given20 years in prison plus five years of supervised release. On the other convict-ed charge, third-degree rape, he was given three years in prison. The judge decid-ed to make the sentences consecutive, rather than concurrent, to prolong hispain. To add to the movie mogul’s well-deserved shame, the court will also for-mally register him as a sex offender. The legacy that the 67-year-old hot-shotfilm-maker would have liked to leave behind was a repertoire of well-made moviesthat would be viewed and appreciated for all times to come. Instead, Weinstein’swill be a lifetime of shame that he and his family, which has since then left himalone, will have to face due to the verdict. His legacy is now clouded by abuse,harassment, rape and intimidation of over 100 hapless women and the lifelongscars and trauma they had to live with after he sexually assaulted them.

One hopes that this verdict brings a sense of justice and closure to his vic-tims and gives other women around the world, who are facing abuse — at home,work or elsewhere — the courage to call out their tormentors. It has reassuredwomen that they are not to be blamed for their condition. It was not their “ambi-tion”, “dress”, “make-up”, “location” or “that hour of the night”, which was respon-sible for their plight but sexual predators like Weinstein, who must be held respon-sible for their actions. That it was this global calling out that got the producersuch a major sentence is something even his lawyers have admitted to. If any-thing, the Indian criminal justice system must take a few lessons from the Weinsteinepisode: How to expedite such cases, convict criminals speedily and not let thecase drag on for years. The Nirbhaya case is yet to be closed as the convictsare trying every trick on the rule book to defer their hanging. Culprits must notbe given the liberty to make a mockery of the legal system and exploit everylacunae to subvert justice. We also need to learn not to let power and moneyinfluence the way the case goes, not to indulge in victim shaming and insteadput the perpetrator on trial, not the victim.

The National Basketball Association (NBA)is one of the richest and most success-ful global sports leagues in the world.

Almost every teenager in the world is awareof superstars like LeBron James, StephenCurry and Kawhi Leonard. But after one of itsplayers tested positive for COVID-19 virus, theleague suspended its games indefinitely. It evenabandoned an ongoing match. Only a day ear-lier, the league had suggested that some gamesbe played behind closed doors, with just theplayers and no fans. But as the player tested

positive the very next day, he forced the NBA’s hand. This episode holds lessonsfor other such spectator sports or events that call for mass gatherings to notwaste time and take a firm and quick decision, even if it comes at the expenseof entertainment or money. Rightly so, with the Coronavirus death toll crossingthe 4,000 mark across the world, nations have become cautious and are tak-ing every step to eliminate the possible dangers of “mass gatherings.” It’s com-mon sense that these increase the chances of transmission of respiratory pathogensand, thus, large gatherings of people are generally inadvisable in such situations.Summits, conferences, festivals and sporting events are all getting truncated,cancelled or postponed across the world. The F1 season-opening Australian GrandPrix in Melbourne may be cancelled anytime soon. The Indian Wells tennis tour-nament has already been called off. In light of this, what fate does India’s festi-val of professional sport, the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s leadingprofessional cricket league, hold? The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has alreadysuggested that this IPL season be postponed. With the Government imposingvisa restrictions until April 15 to contain the threat, a vast number of foreign play-ers, including coaches, staff, broadcast crew and even cheerleaders, may notbe allowed to enter the country even if they have valid work visas or are quar-antined. While one may see the foreign players and commentators as the faceof the IPL, the broadcast of a global event has a globalised workforce and with-out them, a viable IPL is impossible.

The Government has done its bit in giving sage advice to not hold the IPLbut the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been digging its heelson this issue for a while. Following the MEA’s advisory, it was quick to rule thatthe next two matches of the India-South Africa series will be played behind closeddoors. A panic economy and self-curfew have anyway resulted in a poor spec-tator turnout. But the BCCI seems to be worried about a hit on the micro-IPLeconomy that depends a lot on ticket sales, a felt experience, a bit of glamourand drama. Undoubtedly, stakes are really high: The cricketing body has alreadypocketed massive sponsorship revenues — such is its popularity and viewer-ship that the IPL is today valued at $6.7 billion. Star TV has already paid ̀ 16,000crore to acquire media and digital rights for five years. Players are all too well-compensated. With the season on, more than 200 brands advertise on primeslot. This makes it clear why it is a hard ball game for the BCCI. The problem isthat the IPL season cannot be postponed either but cut down. But because thewindow is carved out by cricket authorities across the world, the IPL 2020 alreadylooks like a lost cause. If it is cancelled, the losses will be humongous for allstakeholders but can public health be jeopardised? Matches behind closed doorsmay lack colour and fire but at least some recovery can happen through broad-cast fees? We must take a page out of Italy, which has confirmed that all sport-ing events would be staged behind closed doors until April 3. Even back home,for the first time, a full-fledged sporting event — with an Olympic qualifier sta-tus to boot — will be played behind closed doors. This is entirely do-able: Peoplecan enjoy the action at home. With no mass gatherings, the risk can be avert-ed. Some money can be made yet. Hope the vaccine is out next season.

Cricket shutdown?

Shifting ideologies

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Just another Scindia” (March12). It was more than clear thatJyotiraditya Scindia was at oddswith his party ever since he wasdenied the rightful place he wasaspiring for. Both in Rajasthanand Madhya Pradesh, theCongress high command reliedheavily on the old guard and didnot pay heed to the leadershipcapability of the young Turks.

The Congress was able toform a Government in MadhyaPradesh with support from lead-ers like Kamal Nath, DigvijayaSingh and Scindia. Yet therewards weren’t apportioned fair-ly. Scindia was naturally infuriat-ed for being ignored. Politicalanalysts have expressed theiropinion that such a crisis, thoughnot entirely unexpected, couldhave been averted had the grandold party addressed mountingdiscontent among its leaders. Butis Scindia a mass leader as is madeout to be? Is it so easy to changeparty ideology? Having politicalambitions is one thing but com-prising on ideology another.

Vinod C DixitAhmedabad

Regional strength

Sir — This refers to the article,“Uddhav doing a tightrope walk”(March 12) by Kalyani Shankar. Ifthe past is any indication, coali-

tion Governments have had ashort shelf-life. Notwithstandingthis, political parties are compelledto fall back on regional parties,which time and again keepreminding the Central leadershipof their compulsions and vulner-

abilities. A tripartite alliancepremised starkly on different ide-ologies, like the one inMaharashtra of the Shiv Sena, theNationalist Congress Party (NCP)and the Congress, is yet anotherexperiment in this series. Verily

speaking, keeping its partners ingood humour while adhering tothe Hindutva plank is an uphilltask for Sena supremo UddhavThackeray.

The writer’s observation thatthe Sena, NCP and Congressshould keep their respective pub-lic images intact in order toretain their electorate holds goodeven as Uddhav has admitted thathe doesn’t want a Hindu Rashtra.As long as utopia prevails, nobodyminds — happiness flowing frompeace, communal harmony, tol-erance and respect for one and all,irrespective of faith, religion,region, language caste and creed.

Azhar A KhanRampur

The last saviour

Sir — The State Bank of India (SBI)is perhaps the best shock absorberin the banking sector. But with sev-eral enterprises experiencing stressand surge in bad loans, how longcan it retain its elasticity is a mat-ter of grave concern.

ShantanuVia email

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

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op nionHYDERABAD | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2020

06

A ticking time-bomb

A SURYA PRAKASH

Both the Hindu and Muslim communities have to factor in new attitudes that govern themsince the old equation has collapsed. A new formula is needed to co-exist peacefully

You (the BJP) can do anything to protect cowsbut not human beings? Dowe need to bring anotherArticle to ensure the pro-tection of human beings?

Congress leader—Kapil Sibal

Some countries are not approach-ing this threat (Coronavirus) withthe level of political commitmentneeded to control it. The idea thatnations should shift from contain-ment to mitigation is wrong.

WHO director-general—Tedros A Ghebreyesus

While I cannot take responsibility for anyone, Ido believe as much as a person has the right tospeak, he has an equal right to remain quiet.

Lyricist —Swanand Kirkire

S O U N D B I T E

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

Congress’ own doing led to present crisis

This refers to the editorial, “Just another Scindia” (March12). It’s true that the Congress is suffering from anacute leadership crisis. It was Rahul Gandhi’s inabil-

ity to stand for his people that led to Jyotiraditya Scindia’sexit from the party. It was known that the party’sGovernments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were sur-viving on wafer-thin majority, dependent on outside sup-port of independents and smaller parties. At the root ofthe problem are developments which took place soon afterthe Assembly elections in both States. Scindia and SachinPilot had played a major role in securing the win and therewere talks that both, who belonged to the new generationof leaders, would be made the Chief Minister. Both lead-ers were also close to Rahul Gandhi. But the Congress scionremained a mute spectator, while nominees of the old guardwere chosen to lead both States. Ever since the formationof the Government, the rift between Kamal Nath and Scindiain Madhya Pradesh and between Ashok Gehlot and SachinPilot in Rajasthan over leadership was all too evident. BothScindia and Pilot found themselves and their leaders side-lined and they began speaking against their ownGovernment.

Scindia’s resignation from the Congress has provedthat the present leadership of the party is incapable of man-

aging party affairs. The Gandhi family has been an alba-tross in the party’s neck. Once again, rumours are on tohand over the reins of the party to Rahul Gandhi, who doesnot even have the courage to take on the senior leadership.If indeed there’s disagreement within the party, things couldget more complicated in the future. The rank and file of theparty is demoralised. It is high time that the Congress lead-ership wakes up and gets a new chief in place who under-stands the pulse of the Indian masses, has nationwideacceptability and is energetic and communicative.

MC JoshiLucknow

THE CONCESSIONNEHRU MADE TO

THE MUSLIMCLERGY AFTER

INDEPENDENCE ISINDEED THE TIME

BOMB THAT ISTICKING AWAY

AND THREATENSTO DESTROY

INDIA’S UNITYAND INTEGRITY.

AFTER NEHRU,HIS DAUGHTERINDIRA GANDHI

USED IT FORVOTEBANK

POLITICS

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Weinstein in prison

Railways is a services sector.The BJP is unaware of the reasons for its establishment.It is not an engine to be auc-tioned off to the highest bid-der; it is for the poor man.

Congress leader—MK Raghavan

With sports leagues taking drastic measures across theworld, it is time for the IPL to study what to do next

The verdict serves as a warning to sexual predatorsthat they aren’t above the law; they can’t get away

Better to be safe than sorry

HE (JYOTIRADITYA SCINDIA) WAS THE ONLY CHAPWHO COULD ENTER MY HOME ANYTIME. HE WAS

WITH ME IN COLLEGE.—FORMER CONGRESS CHIEF

RAHUL GANDHI

SCINDIA WAS TRYING TO MEET RAHUL FOR MONTHS;NO APPOINTMENT WAS GIVEN. IF HE DID NOT WANT TOHEAR US, WHY DID HE BRING US TO THE PARTY?—FORMER TRIPURA CONGRESS CHIEFPRADYOT MANIKYA DEBBARMAN

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

If one were to look at the headlines dominat-ing our news channels and the print mediathese days, the COVID 19 pandemic would

be a distant third, behind the political upheavalin Madhya Pradesh following JyotiradityaScindia’s departure from the Congress Party andthe collapse of Yes Bank amid allegations of fraudand deceit by its former chairman and founder,Rana Kapoor and his family. We would do wellto remember that the former two issues, whileimportant, are certainly not life-threatening. Theglaring fact is that till about the third week ofFebruary, Italy had just about the number of casesthat we have today. These crossed the 12,000mark, with over 600 fatalities, in just a matter ofa fortnight. There is of course the possibility thatthe Coronavirus may not impact us as badly forany number of reasons, ranging from high tem-peratures that are usually prevalent at this timeof the year to the fact that we may be God’s cho-sen people. It may even be that because gener-al hygiene is not exactly our strong suite and wehave a better immunity because of it, we mightbeat any impact the Coronavirus might other-wise have on us. However, if these are the ratio-nales that we prefer to exercise to ignore theimminent danger that the Coronavirus poses,then we may well be in for a rude shock.

Megan McArdle, The Washington Postcolumnist and author, uses this old brain teaserto explain the spread of the Coronavirus pandem-ic. “You have a pond of a certain size and uponthat pond, a single lily pad. This particular speciesof lily pad reproduces once a day, so that on daytwo, you have two lily pads. On day three, youhave four and so on. If it takes the lily pads 48days to cover the pond completely, how long willit take for the pond to be covered halfway?” Theanswer is of course 47 days and not 24 as someof us may well conclude but more importantlyeven as late as day 40, one will barely know thelily pads are there as the numbers will still be quitesmall.

Now here’s the catch. Events in both Wuhan,where the virus is said to have originated, andItaly suggest that the number of people infect-ed by the virus doubles every four-five days,which means a ten-fold increase every fortnight.But since there is no preventive anti-virus drugavailable yet, leaving aside some rather fancifulsuggestions, our complete population is clearlyat risk. This obviously implies that if appropri-ate preventive measures are not adopted, ourhealthcare system, which has inherent flawsalready, is at great risk and is bound to be over-whelmed in a relatively short period of time, oncethe threshold is crossed. The threshold is thepoint at which we would just not have therequired infrastructure, i.e. the doctors, nurses,beds or even the ventilators essential for treat-ing those affected.

That in turn would have its own repercus-sions because once that occurs, the doctors wouldhave to play God and select and treat only thosepatients who have the best chance of survival.Triage, as it is known in military circles, is alleged-ly already happening in Italy and may well havebeen resorted to in China. Without doubt, thiswould be the rational choice as one would rather

provide the necessary medical facilitiesto a 20-year-old with better chances ofsurvival and a brighter future ahead ofhim, than to a 65-year-old whosechances of making it are infinitely less.However, make no mistake, that if andwhen such a situation occurs, themedical fraternity will find itself underthe spotlight, facing a great deal ofscrutiny and controversy for the choic-es that they will make, given thatthese will greatly impact social cohesionfor reasons not too difficult to visualise.

Therefore, when the PrimeMinister and the Health Minister, him-self a doctor, tell us not to panic, theyundoubtedly make eminent sense, butfor the fact that we do not really see thekind of drastic measures being initiat-ed here as we have seen in China, Italy,Hong Kong or even Singapore. This isnot a political issue and just talk of“being prepared” or “screening” cannotbecome the buzzword to suggest thatthe Government is in control. The sadfact is that in this specific case, for nofault of the Government, it is theCoronavirus that is in the driver’s seatand we, the people, are on the back foot.Fortunately, the Government has takenthe important step of cancelling all visasissued for entry into the country for onemonth. While this will certainly help,whether it goes far enough in prevent-ing infections remains to be seen.Because more than worrying about thevirus being transmitted by those com-ing from the affected regions, we alsohave to take into account its transmis-sion from within our own communi-ties. The Government thus has littlechoice but to be ahead of the curve and

cannot wait to be overwhelmed beforeit initiates the necessary curbs onmovement and other such drastic mea-sures to firewall the spread of theCoronavirus. Undoubtedly, this will addto our economic burdens, along witha host of other issues. But, that will befar lesser than if we wait till some pre-determined numbers are affected, bywhich time it will be too late to halt thespread of the Coronavirus exponential-ly. As some experts have suggested, thetime for mere containment is gone andwe need to look at measures that willhelp in mitigation.

In this context, the Governments atthe State and Centre would do well toremember that we have problems thatare peculiar to us, which will greatlyimpact our ability to effectively imple-ment the measures that they may putin place. For one, we have an extreme-ly large part of our population that isignorant about matters such as person-al hygiene and what is worse, lackingthe necessary infrastructure requiredlike toilets and piped water. Issueswhich are of critical importance here.Moreover, many among us are whollylacking in the understanding of theirown civic responsibilities and tend tobe even less inclined to fulfil themunless forced.

That apart, hyperbole, superstitionand plain idiocy have run amok andthere are those, including prominentpolitical and religious leaders, who havemade bizarre and scientifically-unproven claims about how to counterthe Coronavirus. Unfortunately, theirviews receive uncalled for publicitythanks to social media and add to the

confusion. Second, unlike China, we neither

have the ability nor the self-disciplineto ensure that measures such as lock-downs can be effectively implementedby our police force. If we are to controlaccess and prevent gatherings ofcrowds, especially for religious events,then there is an urgent need for theGovernment to mobilise the CentralArmed Police Forces and the militarywith the necessary protective clothingand the requisite training. Mobilisationand training take time, as does deploy-ment, something we are very short of.Therefore, it is absolutely essential thatthe Government acts now and movesthe required forces so that they can beeffective as early as possible. There isin fact no time for a separate Plan B, itneeds to be implemented concurrent-ly.

Finally, there is no space for poli-tics here because the Coronavirus killswithout bias and does not respectboundaries, caste or creed. If we are tohalt its spread, we will have to worktogether and hard decisions will haveto be taken now, regardless of theirrepercussions. Just as the Reserve Bankof India was forced to declare a mora-torium on Yes Bank to prevent a run onthe bank, the Government must takedrastic action now if we are to controlthis pandemic. It would do well toremember that it is always better to besafe than sorry.

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

If we are to halt the spread of the Coronavirus, we will have to work together andhard decisions will have to be taken now, regardless of their repercussions

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

The way aheadfor Israel

GWYNNE DYER

Benny Gantz’s willingness to admit Israeli Arabsto the country’s coalition politics is grudging atbest. Yet, it might be the Govt that Israel needs

DEEPAK SINHA

THE GLARINGFACT IS THAT TILLABOUT THE THIRD

WEEK OFFEBRUARY, ITALYHAD JUST ABOUTTHE NUMBER OFCASES THAT WE

HAVE TODAY.THESE CROSSED

THE 12,000 MARK,WITH OVER 600

FATALITIES, INJUST A MATTER

OF A FORTNIGHT.IF WE ARE TO

CONTROLACCESS AND

PREVENTGATHERINGS OF CROWDS,

ESPECIALLY FORRELIGIOUS

EVENTS, THENTHERE IS AN

URGENT NEEDFOR THE

GOVERNMENT TOMOBILISE THE

CENTRAL ARMEDPOLICE FORCES

AND THEMILITARY WITH

THE NECESSARYPROTECTIVE

CLOTHING ANDTHE REQUISITE

TRAINING

Benjamin Netanyahu, or “Bibi” as everyone calls him, is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Israel’s history and still in office althoughhe has failed to win three elections in a row. Last June, last

September, and again early this month, Israeli voters split their votesin ways that made it almost impossible to put together a newGovernment. Bibi declared a victory but he has already failed to forma coalition with a majority in the 120-member Knesset (Parliament).He failed despite promising to annex all the Jewish settlements in theWest Bank. Even the unstinting support of US President Donald Trump,whose “vision” for a permanent peace settlement reads like a check-list of the territorial demands of the Israeli far Right, didn’t do the trick.The “two-State solution” — Jews and Arabs living peacefully side-by-side in separate sovereign States — has been dead for a long timeand Trump’s “peace plan” just drove a stake through its heart. Butthe only alternative is the one-State solution, where the Arabs whoare Israeli citizens and the considerably larger number who live in theoccupied territories form a Palestinian near-majority within the expand-ed single State of Israel. That Israel could be a democratic State, whereevery citizen has an equal say or an apartheid State where most Arabsare subjects, not citizens, but it can’t be both. The major obstacle toforming a majority coalition is the fact that Bibi goes on trial later thismonth on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Even if he isfound guilty, he could technically stay in office until his last appeal isexhausted, a process that could take years. This prospect is under-standably unattractive to the leading Opposition party, Benny Gantz’sBlue and White Party. Gantz will only consider a power-sharing left-right coalition with Bibi’s Likud party (which would command a major-ity) if Gantz gets to be the Prime Minister for the first two years. ThenNetanyahu could take his turn if he is absolved by the courts; other-wise not.

This deal is equally unattractive to Bibi: The safest place for himto be at the moment is in the Prime Minister’s chair. Stalemate. A fourthelection looms because Bibi can go on calling them and meanwhilethe Israeli State drifts aimlessly: No legislation, not even a proper bud-get. What is to be done? So a few days ago Benny Gantz broke therules of Israeli politics by asking for the support of the Joint List, theumbrella organisation of all of Israel’s Arab political parties. The JointList wouldn’t actually be in the coalition Government but the votes ofits 15 Knesset members would put the Jewish Opposition parties overthe top and make Benny Prime Minister. Presumably they would expectsome concessions in return, which alarm those Jewish Israelis whosee their Arab fellow-citizens as traitors and potential terrorists. Buttalks between the parties started on March 11. This ground-break-ing deal may never be consummated — the odds are against it —but it is nevertheless a turning point. For the first time, the real Israelof today is showing through the cracks in its hidebound politics.

Five years ago President Reuven Rivlin — “Ruvi” to his friends— made a startling speech in which he pointed out that barely halfthe children now in Israeli primary schools will grow up to be Zionists.Right down to the end of the 20th century, a large majority of the pop-ulation was secular Zionists, mostly of Eastern European origin andeverybody else was clubbed as “minorities” but that time is gone.Only 38 per cent of the children in primary schools today are secu-lar Zionists. Another 15 per cent are “national-religious”, observantJews who nevertheless share the Zionist vision. But a quarter of thechildren are Haredim: Ultra-Orthodox Jews who do not recognise thelegitimacy of the Jewish State, regarding it as a rebellion against God— and another quarter are Arab and mostly Muslim. Few people inthe latter two groups will even serve in the army.

These four very different “tribes”, as Ruvi calls them, have to shareIsrael, like it or not. Moreover, the “one-State” Israel that implies, extend-ing from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean, will have to includeall the Arabs in the occupied territories as well. Learning to live togeth-er, given all the bitter history, may be well-nigh impossible, but thereare no other options.

However, such a bid remains a long-shot effort as two right-lean-ing members of Gantz’s party, MKs Yoaz Hendel and Zvika Hauser,have openly rejected it and vowed to oppose it, and it remains unclearwhether the Joint List and Blue and White could reach an agreement.One of the demands previously raised by the Arab alliance has beenGantz’s rejection of Trump’s peace plan.

This is certainly not a vision that Benny Gantz shares: His will-ingness to admit Israeli Arabs to the country’s coalition politics is grudg-ing at best. “This is not the Government we wanted,” he said. Andyet, it might be the Government that Israel needs.

(Gwynne Dyer’s new book is Growing Pains: The Future ofDemocracy and Work)

While presenting the UnionBudget 2020-21, FinanceMinister (FM) Nirmala

Sitharaman proposed setting up fivenew smart cities to attract investmentand drive economic growth. Unlikethe metropolises under the SmartCities Mission (SCM) modelled aslight house with area-based and pancity development, the new smartcities will embrace full-fledged newdevelopment like GIFT city, SpecialEconomic Zones and so on.

However, a closer look at theprogress of the SCM reveals some dis-appointing trends. As of July 25, 2019,of the total approved projects ofunder ̀ 3 lakh crore, only 18 per centhave been completed; work ordershave been issued for 37 per cent pro-

jects; tenders have been issued for 16per cent and 29 per cent of proposedprojects are still at the “detailed pro-ject report” stage. Moreover, theSCM’s progress has been lopsided as54 per cent of the completed projectshave come from just four States —Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujaratand Uttar Pradesh. At the city level,10 cities (New Delhi, Belagavi, Surat,Indore, Varanasi, Raipur, Tumakuru,Vadodara, Ajmer and Ahmedabad)account for 48 per cent of the com-pleted projects. And 34 smart cities donot have evidence of even a singlecompleted project.

Even the holistic improvement ofthe cities seems to be unrealistic as,on average, the Area BasedDevelopment projects account for upto 80 per cent of the funds but don’tbenefit even five to 10 per cent of thecity’s population. However, theMinistry of Housing and UrbanAffairs (MoHUA) and the SCMnever leave any stone unturned tohighlight cosmetic achievements andannounce new measures like pairingsister towns on the basis of best andworst 20 performing cities or estab-lishing a Smart City Observatory. Tomany observers, the SCM’s initiatives

have become futile. For instance, theEase of Living Index report thatMoHUA started for all smart cities in2018 could not be furnished in 2019despite floating tenders for the sameover six times. Moreover, it was alsoreported that a SCM 2.0 will belaunched in 2020 that would cover allthe 4,302 cities in India. Hence, giventhe Centre’s continued and renewedfocus on smart cities, it is imperativeto understand the constraints plagu-ing the SCM since its inception.

Given the capacity problem at thecity level, leading private firms arebeing engaged as consultants and asProject Monitoring Units (PMUs) bythe Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)for the preparation of the concept planand execution of the smart city pro-jects. Further, their aim is to create asustainable revenue model to attractprivate investment, but, this turns outto be abysmally low.

The SCM guidelines state that the“rights and obligations” of the city willbe transferred to the SPVs withoutspecifying the exact terms of the rela-tionship and hierarchy between them.The SPVs, headed by a CEO and reg-ulated by the Companies Act 2013,consist largely of bureaucrats with

only a small representation of elect-ed representatives or any experts. Themajor decision-making powers restswith the SPV and its board of direc-tors. Hence, many of their policychoices are guided by centrally-for-mulated guidelines. Quite contrary tothe ethos of decentralisation andempowerment of city Governments,the SPV-led process of implementingthe SCM becomes more bureaucrat-ic and technocratic. Even though it ispragmatic to allow the SPVs to workon smart proposals, that should be inconsonance with and not to theexclusion of elected representatives ofcity Governments.

Public participation has beenvirtually limited to consultationsonline on social media or websiteswith public responses in the form ofmultiple choice answers. This, inturn, increases the risk of makingthese proposals more elitist, leavingbehind the voices and needs of poorand marginalised citizens. In fact,there is evidence showing preferencefor costlier infrastructure over thebasic needs of majority urban resi-dents. Nearly 40 per cent of trans-portation projects are focussed onroads and parking lots, while only 20

per cent of the budget is focussed onpublic transportation and only twoper cent on buses.

Regarding the financing of SCM,studies have indicated a clear patternof not only heavy dependence on pub-lic funds for financing the mission, butthere has been a movement awayfrom market-oriented sources offunding like public-private partner-ships (PPPs) and loans, especially insmaller cities.

The FM’s proposal to develop fivenew smart cities highlights collabo-ration with States in a PPP mode.However, the contribution of suchPPP projects in value terms as well asthe sourcing of revenue from munic-ipal bonds continues to be ambigu-ous. In the absence of robust econom-ic, legal, financial and project viabil-ity, the municipal projects are rarelyperceived to be commercially viable.For this, funds can be arrangedthrough PPPs or by accessing the cap-ital market. With the banking systemcurrently under stress with bad debts,the SCM might not receive the nec-essary investments from the privatesector, at least, in the short term.

Nonetheless, some cities havemade significant progress in terms of

implementation of PPP (Nagpur,Vadodara) while some other citieshave taken specific measures (e.g.appointment of transactional advi-sors) for generating revenue frommunicipal bonds. Pune, Hyderabad,Indore, Bhopal and Amaravati havesuccessfully launched municipalbonds to finance some of their urbandevelopment projects. Emphasis hasalso been placed on land monetisa-tion as another important source forfinancing the SCM.

However, since land is a State sub-ject, city Governments cannot exer-cise their control over it and thus lackthe autonomy to use land indepen-dently to increase their revenues.Further, the use of land especially inthe SCM era has prompted concernsabout forced evictions in many citiesand raised concerns on the inclusiveideals of the SCM. Solutions to theabove problems are well-known andhave been recommended by expertsmany times. The real issues constrain-ing the functioning of cities are age-old in which the SCM has been stuck.City Governments will have to acquiregreater capability in raising resourcesfrom conventional sources (e.g., prop-erty tax, user fee and so on). This

would make them attractive forpotential private investors.

With the global urban populationpoised to grow in the coming decades,Indian cities will be enormouslyresponsible for “global growth andwell-being.”

Simply trusting specific sectorslike manufacturing or services forgrowth seems outdated for the 21stcentury, unless the governance ofcities is fixed.

In essence, into its fifth year ofimplementation, the SCM has turnedout to be inherently unsmart. Itneeds to change its course of actionif it aims to achieve inclusive growthand sustainable development. Forthis we need to draw lessons from fail-ures and build upon the SCM’s suc-cesses.

The Government must demon-strate its commitment towards localeconomic development, sustainabledevelopment and ease of living byinviting experienced countries topartner in the execution of the SCMand tackle the persisting challengesassociated with it in India.

(Soumyadip is Visiting SeniorFellow at IMPRI and Kumar isDirector, IMPRI)

Not such a smart move after allThe Smart City Mission needs to change its course of action if it aims to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development.

For this we need to draw lessons from failures and build upon the mission’s successes

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

SOUMYADIP C A KUMAR

PNS n PARIS

Investors in coal plants risk los-ing more than USD 600 billionas power from renewablesproves cheaper than electricitygenerated from new coal pro-jects, market watchdog CarbonTracker said Thursday.

In a new analysis of the costof coal power across the world,it found that more than 60 per-cent of the existing supply isalready more expensive thanelectricity from renewables suchas solar and wind.

Coal is the most pollutingfossil fuel, and experts from theUnited NationsIntergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC) saypower derived from it must falldrastically if the world has anyhope of meeting the Paris cli-mate goals. Yet nearly 500gigawatts of new coal power isunder construction or beingplanned, at a total cost of 638billion (560 billion euros).

Sriya Sundaresan, co-head ofpower and utilities at CarbonTracker and co-author of thereport, titled "How to WasteOver Half a Trillion Dollars",said this represented a substan-tial stranded asset risk as coalplants typically take 15-20 yearsto cover costs. "Building newrenewables is cheaper than

building coal in almost everymarket," she said.

"And over half of the oper-ating coal fleet actually cost

more to run than it would beto build renewables." TheInternational Energy Agency(IEA) said last month that

greenhouse gas emissions frompower generation had flattenedin 2019, largely due to a fall incoal use in North Americaand Europe.

However coal use in Asiaincreased by roughly three per-cent year-on-year as energydemand there soars.

Carbon Tracker found thatChina alone had 158 billion atrisk, with 100 GW of coalpower in construction andmore than that planned.

China's current coal fleet hasa capacity of 982 GW — 71 per-cent of which costs more to runthan building new renewableswould, according to the analysis.

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

3,635 URLs blockedin 2019: PrasadNew Delhi: Over 3,600 URLs(uniform resource locators)were blocked in 2019, up from2,799 in the previous year,under a specific provision ofthe Information TechnologyAct, 2000, Parliament wasinformed on Thursday. In awritten reply to a query in theRajya Sabha, Electronics andIT Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad said Section 69A of theIT Act provides for blocking ofunlawful and malicious onlinecontent in the interest ofsovereignty and integrity ofIndia, defence and security ofthe country, friendly relationswith foreign states or publicorder or for preventingincitement to the commissionof any cognisable offencerelated to these. "Under thisprovision, 1,385, 2,799 and3,635 URLs were blockedduring the years 2017, 2018and 2019, respectively," headded.

Power demandgrows 2.1% inApril-FebruaryNEW DELHI: Power demandin the country grew 2.1 percent in April-February thisfiscal to 1190.74 billion units(BU) from 1166.08 BU in thesame period a year ago,Parliament was informed onThursday. During 2018-19, thepower demand grew 5 percent to 1274.59 BU from1213.32 BU in the previousfiscal, Power Minister R KSingh said in a written reply tothe Lok Sabha. The powerdemand grew 6.2 per cent in2017-18. The ministerinformed the House that therehas been no decline inelectricity demand as a wholeand the overall energyrequirement has been growingwith commensurate growth inenergy supplied also. Theelectricity supply grew 2.2 percent to 1184.67 BU in April-February this fiscal from1159.17 BU in the sameperiod of 2018-19.

CCI approvesacquisition of addlequity shares inHero FinCorpNEW DELHI: The CompetitionCommision of India (CCI) hasapproved acquisition ofadditional equity shares in HeroFinCorp Ltd by Otter Limitedand Link Investment Trust,according to the Ministry ofCorporate Affairs. As per a jointnotice filed with CCI, HeroFinCorp, Otter, Link and certainother subscribers entered intoa share subscription agreementin January, pursuant to whichOtter and Link propose toacquire certain additional equityshares in Hero FinCorp.Otter is a Mauritius-basedinvestment company while LinkInvestment is a private trustregistered in India and isengaged in makinginvestments, as per a Ministryof Corporate Affairs release.

However coal use inAsia increased byroughly threepercent year-on-yearas energy demandthere soars. CarbonTracker found thatChina alone had 158billion at risk, with100 GW of coalpower inconstruction andmore than thatplanned

Coal investors face $600 bnloss to renewables: Report

SBI board okays sharepurchase in Yes BankPNS n NEW DELHI

The State Bank of India (SBI)on Thursday said that itsExecutive Committee ofCentral Board (ECCB) hasapproved the purchase of 725crore shares in Yes Bank at Rs10 per share, which adds up toan investment of Rs 7,250crore.

In a regulatory filing, thebank said that its shareholdingin the private lender willremain within 49 per cent ofthe paid up capital.

"Executive Committee ofCentral Board (ECCB) at itsmeeting held on 11.03.2020accorded approval for pur-chase of 725 crore shares in YesBank Ltd. at a price of Rs 10per share subject to all regula-tory approvals. Our share-holding in Yes Bank Ltd willremain within 49 per cent ofthe paid up capital of YesBank," it said.

As per the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) draft reconstruc-tion scheme for the crisis-hitprivate lender, the SBI will takeup 49 per cent in the bank.

Last week, the RBI placedYes Bank under moratoriumand capped the withdrawallimit at Rs 50,000 till April 3.

SBI Chairman RajnishKumar has said the moratori-um may be lifted by the end ofthis week.

The RBI last week also

superseded Yes Bank's board ofdirectors and appointed for-mer SBI CFO Prashant Kumaras administrator.

The new board of directorswill stand constituted fromthe appointed date. It willcomprise a CEO and MD,non-executive chairman andnon-executive directors. TheSBI will have nominee direc-tors appointed on the board of

the reconstructed bank. TheRBI may appoint additionaldirectors to the board, whoshall continue in office for oneyear, or until an alternateboard is constituted by YesBank.

The SBI will not reduce itsholding below 26 per centbefore completion of threeyears from the date of infusionof the capital.

The new board of directors will standconstituted from the appointed date. It willcomprise a CEO and MD, non-executivechairman and non-executive directors. TheSBI will have nominee directors appointed onthe board of the reconstructed bank

PNS n NEW DELHI

Nita Ambani, the owner ofMumbai Indians cricket teamfranchise, has been named in thelist of 10 most influential womenin sports for 2020 alongside likesof tennis superstar SerenaWilliams and gymnast SimoneBiles.

Sports business network,iSportconnect releasing its'Influential Women in Sport' listfor 2020 said: "After beginningwith an original shortlist of 25,it has now been whittled downto a top 10 following receivingopinions from our panel ofexperts."

The panel included Anna

Lockwood, Head of Global Sales– Telstra; Sally Hancock,Managing Partner, Y Sport and

Former Chair of Women inSport; Aarti Dabas, former headof Media Rights for the ICC, and

iSportconnect Chief ExecutiveOfficer Sree Varma.

"Ambani has led her MumbaiIndians franchise to becomingthe most successful in IPL his-tory and has been involved inmany sports projects across dif-ferent sports in the country," itsaid.

Others on the list includedgymnast Simone Biles who was

described as "one of the great-est athletes in the world and anever-growing voice for womenin sport", and footballer MeganRapinoe "who is never afraid tospeak her mind and talk aboutsocial issues".

Tennis stars Serena Williamsand Naomi Osaka also figure onthe list that included EllieNorman, Director of Marketing

and Communications, Formula1, Cathy Engelbert,Commissioner, WNBA, FatmaSamoura, Secretary-General,FIFA, Mary Davis, CEO, SpecialOlympics, and Clare Connor,Managing Director – Women'sCricket, ECB.

Nita is the wife of the richestIndian Mukesh Ambani and hasbeen on the board of RelianceIndustries since June 2014.

Her Mumbai Indians (MI)team has won the IndianPremier League (IPL) fourtimes. iSportconnect said theoriginal shortlist included Indiantennis player Sania Mirza andMithali Raj, captain of Indianwomen's cricket team.

Nita Ambani features in 10 most influential women in sports"Ambani has led her Mumbai Indiansfranchise to becoming the most successfulin IPL history and has been involved inmany sports projects across differentsports in the country," it said

PNS n LONDON

The UK Budget tabled byIndian-origin Finance MinisterRishi Sunak is set to make thecost of long-term visas toBritain higher with a majorhike in the compulsory healthfee charged on migrants fromcountries, including India.

Sunak, born in the UK to ageneral practitioner father andpharmacist mother,announced that theImmigration Health Surcharge(IHS) would be hiked from400 pounds to 624 pounds.

"Migrants benefit from ourNHS. And we all want them todo so – but it's right that whatpeople get out, they also putin," the 39-year-old Chancellorof the Exchequer said in hisBudget statement in the Houseof Commons on Wednesday.

"There is a surchargealready, but it doesn't proper-ly reflect the benefits peoplereceive. So, as we promised inour manifesto, we are increas-ing the Immigration HealthSurcharge to 624 pounds, witha discounted rate for chil-dren," he said.

The hike was expected as itwas in the December 2019General Election manifesto ofthe Boris Johnson-led gov-ernment, but its timing is nowconfirmed as this year.

A new discounted rate of470 pounds has been incorpo-

rated for children aged under18 but the lower rate for inter-national students is also set fora rise — from 300 pounds to470 pounds.

The IHS was introduced inApril 2015 and fromDecember 2018 it was hikedfrom 200 pounds to 400pounds per year. It is imposedon anyone in the UK on awork, study or family visa forlonger than six months inorder to raise additional fundsfor the country's state-fundedNational Health Service

(NHS). The British Associationof Physicians of Indian Origin(BAPIO), the UK's largest rep-resentative body for Indian-origin doctors, has been lobby-ing the UK Home Office for arethink over the charge as itwould have an adverse impacton their attempt to recruitmore healthcare professionalsfrom India to meet staff short-ages in the NHS.

Indian industry warned thatfurther hike would mean anadded burden on already highvisa fees.

Rishi Sunak's Budget tomake cost of UK visa higher

NEW DELHI: Parliament on Thursday passed a bill that will removeend-use restrictions for participating in coal mine auctions and openup the coal sector fully for commercial mining for all domestic andglobal companies. The Mineral laws (Amendment) Bill was passed inRajya Sabha with 83 MPs voting in its favour and 12 against. TheLok Sabha has passed the bill last Friday. Replying after a briefdiscussion on the bill, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said the legislationwill help in bring more FDI in the coal and mining sector, and boosteconomy. The minister said the bill was important as India should beusing its own natural reserves, instead of importing coal worth Rs2.7 lakh crore. "We have to produce coal and reduce imports," hesaidadding more domestic output would lead to more electricitygeneration and also cut oil import bill.

Parliament passes law to opencoal sector for commercial mining

Airtel acquires stake in fitness start-up SpectacomPNS n NEW DELHI

Telecom major Bharti Airtel onThursday said it has acquireda strategic stake in SpectacomGlobal under its Airtel Start-upAccelerator Program that sup-ports early-stage start-ups inIndia.

The company, however, didnot disclose the quantum ofstake picked and the financialdetails of the transaction withSpectacom.

Spectacom, which producesdigital content that allows peo-

ple across languages, geogra-phies and fitness levels to con-nect with each other andexplore health and fitness train-ing programmes, is the brain-child of Adnan Adeeb andZeba Zaidi -- creators of theDevils Circuit military-styleobstacle races.

Spectacom is the secondcompany to join the AirtelStart-up Accelerator Programafter Bengaluru-based Vahan.

"Airtel will work closely withSpectacom to help increaseawareness and adoption of its

cutting age health & fitnessplatform and encourage indi-viduals to overcome mental

barriers and achieve their fullpotential," a statement said.

Spectacom will cater toIndia's growing interest in stay-ing fitter and healthier by cre-ating training and nutritionvideos along with live extremesporting events, it added.

Spectacom will also carry theexclusive digital rights for thepromotion of all content forbrand Devils Circuit, includingthe new seasons of its popularshows, The College Frenzy &The Corporate Challenge, thestatement said.

"We believe that X Sports,which are all about fitness,aligns beautifully with ourbrand. Thanks to the deeppenetration of mobile internetin India, the potential to growthe adoption of Devils Circuitstyle X Sports amongst India'syouth is immense," BhartiAirtel Chief Product OfficerAdarsh Nair said.

This also fits into Airtel'sstrong focus on connectingwith the youth and providingthem digital platforms to ful-fil their aspirations, he added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The National Company LawAppellate Tribunal onThursday set aside the govern-ment's plea to supersede theboard of 63 MoonsTechnologies (formerly knownas Financial Technologies(India) Limited).

An NCLAT bench headedby Chairperson Justice S JMu k h op a d h ay a ,however, upheldthe directions ofthe Chennaibench of theN a t i o n a lC o m p a n yLaw Tribunal(NCLT) toappoint threegovernment nomi-nees on the board of 63Moons. The appellate tribunalalso dismissed the plea of thecompany's three directors,which include Jignesh Shahand Divang Narela, challeng-ing their disqualification.

"The directors (includinggovt nominees) would remainon the board," the NCLATsaid. Earlier, on June 2018, theNCLT had set aside theCentre's plea to supersede 63Moons.

The NCLT has, instead,allowed the government to

nominate three directors to theboard of 63 MoonsTechnologies to take care ofthe interest of all stakeholdersas well as protect the compa-ny's investments in its sub-sidiaries. It had also barredJignesh Shah and nine othersfrom holding directorship in63 Moons.

The government hadmoved to the NCLT to take

over the board of thecompany under sec-

tion 397 and 398 ofthe Companies Actafter Rs 5,600-crore NSEL scamcame out. NSEL isa subsidiary of 63

Moons.Commenting on

the development, 63Moons MD & CEO S

Rajendran said, "We areextremely happy to note thatthe NCLAT has rejectedMCA's prayer to supersede theboard of 63 Moons in connec-tion with the payment defaultcrisis that occurred at one ofour subsidiaries, National SpotExchange Ltd (NSEL) in 2013.

"The order has also given aclean chit to the current Boardof 63 Moons of any allegedmisconduct or wrongdoingagainst the interest of its share-holders," he added.

NCLAT sets asides govtplea to supersede 63Moons Technologies

PNS n NEW DELHI

The telecom department willcarry out reassessments on thebasis of documents submitted bytelcos on self-assessment ofAGR dues as per licence agree-ment, and issue revised demandnotices, Parliament wasinformed on Thursday.

Telecom Service Providers(TSPs) have been directed tomake payments on the basis ofself assessment and submit req-uisite documents for compli-ance, Minister of State forCommunications Sanjay Dhotresaid in a written reply to theRajya Sabha.

"Following this, Departmentof Telecom (DoT) will carry outreassessments on the basis ofdocuments submitted by TSPsin accordance with the licenceagreement and issue reviseddemand notices," he said.

Dhotre was replying to aquestion on whether DoT is yetto work out final figures ofAdjusted Gross Revenue (AGR)liabilities towards the serviceproviders due to variationdetected in accounting practices,and steps that the governmenthas taken to rework the dues. Toanother question on whether thegovernment is considering towork on relief package for TSPsand if a Committee ofSecretaries has been constitutedin this regard, the minister said,"no such proposal is under con-sideration by the government."

On another AGR-related

query, Dhotre said after theSupreme Court judgment ofOctober 24, 2019, the dues werecrystallised and telcos havemade some payments (totallingRs 25,901 crore).

DoT has also directed theoperators to make remainingpayments through letters on13.11.2019, 20.01.2020,14.02.2020 and 04.03.2020, hesaid.

Communications MinisterRavi Shankar Prasad, replying toa question on industry's demandto raise telecom tariffs, said a fewmajor private TSPs have repre-sented to the governmentregarding the financial stress inthe telecom sector.

"They have also representedto the Telecom RegulatoryAuthority of India (TRAI). Thetariff regulation is under thepurview of TRAI. Presently, thefixing of tariffs is under forbear-ance and TSPs decide theirrespective tariffs," he said.

Qatar's Black CatEngineering picks TCSPNS n NEW DELHI

TCS said on Thursday it hasbeen selected by BlackCat Engineering &C o n s t r u c t i o n ,Qatars largest EPCand maintenancecontractor for theupstream oil andgas industry, as thestrategic partner todrive the latter's digital trans-formation and co-innovationstrategy.

TCS (Tata ConsultancyServices) is enabling BCEC to

reimagine its end-to-end busi-ness processes from tenderingto construction, incorporating

EPC industry best prac-tices, to design and

implement an agileand intelligent multi-functional and multi-service solution onOracle Cloud ERP,

TCS said."The seamless enter-

prise-wide system integratesmultiple disparate businessfunctions and eliminates dataduplication and redundancy,"a TCS statement said.

The hike was expected as it was in theDecember 2019 General Election manifesto ofthe Boris Johnson-led government, but itstiming is now confirmed as this year

On another AGR-related query, Dhotresaid after theSupreme Courtjudgment of October24, 2019, the dueswere crystallisedand telcos havemade somepayments (totallingRs 25,901 crore)

TELECOM DUES

DoT to reassess basedon AGR documents

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dailypioneer

FridayMarch 13, 2020

CONFLUENCE OFART, DESIGN & CALLIGRAPHY

ChattaBazaar:Indian

weddingsepitomisegrandeur andthis characteristichas made themfamous worldwide.Weddings are a big deal foreveryone and with the marriageseason nearing, people are tornover last minute arrangements like thetype of invitation cards to be printed andso on. The pressing question invariably iswhether the card should be as grand asthe wedding itself, or a simple affair.No matter what, choosing theright invitation card is a task initself. For those worryingover this, Chatta Bazaaris the place to go to,says K RAMYASREE

nceupon atime,ChattaBazaar,an inte-gral part

of the

OldCity

used to behome to sta-

bles. Over time,it changed and is

now one of the oldestbazaars in Hyderabad. It

was the first bazaar withorganised rows of shops that

provided a closed cover for bet-ter storage.

Presently, Chatta Bazaar isknown as one of the main marketsfor printing invitation cards withexquisitely designed calligraphy,both in Urdu and English scripts.

Local folklore claims that thestables were turned into a tobaccohub before the printing pressesmade their way. It’s now been overseven decades, and the fame ofthis place as a printing and callig-raphy hub continues to grow.

Mohammad Ahmed of TimesGraphic has a version of howthings changed. “Once, this areaserved as barracks for the Nizam’sArmy. But in 1908, whenTughyani (the great Septemberfloods) inundated the area, every-thing was destroyed. Later a chatt(roof) was built as a protectivecover, giving the place the name‘Chatta Bazaar’.”

The bazaar used to house Asia’slargest printing presses. But due tothe digital revolution — cardswere printed using stone and yel-low paper before that — many

who couldn’t afford the costs haveshut shop in search of greenerpastures.

In spite of that, this place hasmanaged to maintain its glory andlegacy and the prevalence of com-puters and a huge array of fontsand design tools are now beingused by the printers to theiradvantage.

Currently, about 250 shops,right from small 8ft x 8ft ones

to huge air conditioned ones,are neatly tucked into the

by-lanes. Raw material,especially the paper,is sourced from

Delhi, Bengaluru,Mumbai and also locally

from Hyderabad.Mohd. Raees of Decent Card

Gallery, who set up shop about 55years ago, said, “Chatta Bazaar isfamous for all kinds of printing,especially wedding cards, stamps,banners, bill books and posters.”He used to print notebooks for 30years, but due to the increasingchallenges, shifted to printingwedding cards.

When asked about the differ-ence between the cards made hereand the ones available elsewhere,Raees said, “The biggest advantagehere is that Laad Bazaar andPattargatti are nearby. People visitthese places for their weddingshopping and find it convenient tostop on their way to give ordersfor the cards.”

Although all kinds of weddingcards are printed here, the clien-tele is mostly Muslims as calligra-phers skilled in Urdu script havemade the place their home. Localssay that Gowliguda is the place forHindus to get wedding invitationsas the variety of images anddesigns of idols is more there.

Speaking of the process of mak-ing these cards, Raees said, “Aftertaking the order, we make a sam-ple and send it over to the cus-tomer for approval. It is only afterthis that we get to printing on thefinal material.”

After the ink dries, the womentake over. They place the cards inthe correct order and packagethem. Sales are high right afterRamzan up until Muharram.Other than wedding cards, whichare printed only in the weddingseason, other stationery like bill

books, naming ceremony cards,stamps and banners keep theshopkeepers and their staff busythrough the year.

People from other states alsovisit Chatta Bazaar due to the lowprice and availability of designs.

“Some of the printing presses,namely Dayaraa Press, LuckyPress and Aijaz Press, have beenhere for 100 years,” MohammadAhmed said who has been follow-ing his parents and before that hisgrandparents in the trade.

Mohammad Ahmed howeverlaments the fact that there is nosupport from the government.“We don’t get any subsidies fromthe government despite this beinga small scale industry. No onehere is literate enough to approachthe government and demand sub-sidies and benefits. We need aleader,” Ahmed adds.

It is safe to conclude that thisplace is a one-stop shop for peoplelooking for cards of all shapes andsizes in the price range of Rs 8 toRs 100. This ensures that ChattaBazaar is not just famous for itsdesigns, but also for affordability,with the cost of getting the invita-tion cards printed working out toabout 40 per cent lower than else-where.

(How to reach: Take Metro tillImlibun and hire an autorickshaw

till Chatta Bazaar. Or hop onto anybus that goes to Charminar and get

down at Darushifa bus stop)

O

Brewing art from COFFEErt knows noboundaries andyoungsters thesedays are experi-menting moretechniques to

reach larger audience. Likemany experimental artistes,Hyderabad-based RajaShekar is using coffee powderas his canvass and portrayingvarious contemporary issuesthrough it to create aware-ness among people.

Raja Shekar is a self-taughtartist and got into arts afterhis graduation. He is alsoworking as a manager inVizag steel plant. Speaking toThe Pioneer, Raja Shekarsays, “Before making coffeeart, I used to work on variousmediums of art and por-trayed many social issues.Once, a shopkeeper advisedme to work on coffee art as itreaches to more people with-in no time. I did my firstpainting of Charminar usingcoffee powder. It inspired meto work more as every coffeebrand gives new shade. Later,I started doing art using vari-

ous coffee brands.”He also made paintings for

cancer patients of MahatmaGandhi Cancer Hospital inVizag to inspire them to leada normal life. He made thepaintings with the title,Survive and Thrive. Thepaintings are exhibiting inthe hospital premises toinspire cancer patients.

He shares, “Art has becomemy stress buster and a medi-um to express myself. I lovepainting memories. I getinspired from various sourceslike people, places, humanemotions, conversations,movies etc. My paintingshave been exhibited at vari-ous national-level art exhibi-tions and have won variouscompetitions.”

Raja Shekar also made artabout Pulwama attacks topay tribute to Indian soldiers.He says, “Soldiers are sacri-ficing their lives to save us.Pulwama attack is an unfor-tunate incident and we lostmany soldiers in it. I wantedto show the greatness of sol-diers and made painted their

journey. My work reaches tolarger audience throughsocial media and I havereceived positive response forit. I also made paintings onatrocities against women tocreate awareness among peo-ple. Disha incident is verysad. I made various coffeepaintings to explain theimportance of girl child.”

Raja Shekar also createdmovie posters using the coffeeart. Manu movie makers cre-ated a poster competition forartistes and Shekar emerged asthe winner by making Manumovie poster with coffee. Themovie team used his posterfor promotions. He alsodesigned mascot for the 42ndMasters National BadmintonChampionship in 2018.

He shares, “I displayed allmy paintings at RavindraBharati recently. IT ministerKT Rama Rao sir visited theexhibition and appreciatedmy work on social issues.KTR sir advised me to workon various contemporaryissues. I’m planning to workon various social issues soon.”

AHyderabad-based artist RajaShekar is making paintingsabout contemporary issuesto create awareness among

people by using coffeepowder, finds

V SATEESH REDDY

Art hhas bbecome mmy sstress bbuster aanda mmedium tto eexpress mmyself. II llovepainting mmemories. II gget iinsppiredfrom vvarious ssources llike ppeople,places, hhuman eemotions,conversations, mmovies eetc. MMypaintinngs hhave bbeen eexhibited aatvarious nnational-llevel aart eexhibitionsand hhave wwon vvarious ccompetitions.

RAJA SSHEKAR ,, ARTIST

PARTY

10

Hyderabad Friday March 13, 2020

l Laila Khan

l Manisha

l Kushbu

Photos bby SV Chary

CITY GUIDE

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

EVENTS

l Hyderabad Readers and Writers Group ishosting a book reading session on March 21 atPhoenix Arena from 6 pm.

BOOK READING

lLamakaan, Banjara Hills is conducting a painting workshop on its premises on March 22from 11:30 am. The artistes will provide step by stepinstructions on how to paint.

PAINTING WORKSHOP

l Savera, a music concert will be held onMarch 15 at Lamakaan from 10.30 am. MorningRaagas rendered by Aradhana Karhade. RahulDeshpande and Vivek Kayal accompany her onharmonium and tabla.

l Artist Bharati Shah’s latest art exhibition‘Metamorphosis’ will be on preview at StateGallery of Art, Madhapur today at 4.30 pm. Theexhibition is a bouquet of her recent paintingsthat reflect the concept of evolution and will beon till March 17 between 10 am and 7.30 pm.

ACRYLICS ON CANVAS

PUPPETRY DAY

COMEDY NIGHTSlStand-up comedian Vivek Muralidharan ishosting his new stand-up show ‘VivekMuralidharan Live’ on March 22 at PhoenixArena from 5 pm. In this weekly show, he willspeak about various societal issues.

MUSIC CONCERT

lNori Art and Puppetry Centre is conducting WorldPuppetry Day Celebrations on March 21 at Lamakaanfrom 6.30 pm.

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

what’s brewing?

ALLFORhairstyle

Kerasoul haslaunched CRYO— the world’s

first-ever hairtreatment — recentlyin Hyderabad. Theorganisers informedthat the detoxtreatment is a solutionfor all hair-relatedissues. Fashionistasand models attendedthe event and enquiredfrom the stylists aboutthe latest hairstyletrends.

lM

anish

a Ch

opra

l Komal l Monika l Savio John Pereira

l Vashika

ollywood filmmakerTharun Bhascker is allset to hit the televisionwith his latest talk showNeeku Maatrame Chepta,which will be broadcast-

ed in a Telugu entertainmentchannel from tomorrow.

Produced by Praja Prabhakarand Sreekanth, the talkshow is directed bySharath.

Revealing the details ofthe show, Tharun Bhascker

says, “This is my newattempt for the people who

always supported me in theindustry. In the show, one director interviewsanother; it is something I felt interesting todeal with. I have learned new things whileworking in television. This show has a lot ofimpact and it changed me. I believe it leavesbig impacts viewers as well.”

Tharun said that his opinions changed ondirectors after some episodes. He adds, “Iliked the concept of the show and said yes toproducers Prabhakar and Sreekanth. This isthe first season and we have already shot a

few episodes.”Speaking of films, Tharun will begin

shooting for his next with Venkateshsoon. He is also working on a web series

for Netflix in which Manchu Lakshmi playsa key role. It will be releasing soon.

fter deliveringback to back flops,BellamkondaSrinivas tasted apinch of successwith his lastest,

Rakshasudu, an investigativethriller drama. The actor isnow busy shooting for hisnext with Santosh Srinivas.

It is learnt that the filmhas been titled AlluduAdhurs. The makers of the

film revealed thetitle

Alludu Adhurs on Thursdayby releasing a new poster.

It is being heard thatBellamkonda Sai Srinivaswill flaunt his eight packbody in Alludu Adhurs. TheAlludu Seenu star main-tained a strict diet and donerigorous workouts togain a well-built

body. According to sources,Santosh Srinivas ofKandireega and Rabhasafame has penned an actiondrama thatrequires

Bellamkonda to performsome daredevil stunts.

The film, bankrolled by GSubrahmanyam underSumanth Movie Productions

Banner, will see NabhaNatesh and Anu

Emmanuel play thefemale leads.

Popular cine-matographerDudley whoworked forfilms likeSingham ishandling thecinematogra-

phy.

Team Annapurna got a wind thatOrey… Bujjigaa has come out

exceptionally well from technicianswho worked on the film in the

post-production phase, finds NAGARAJ GOUD

he Pioneer was the firstone to tell you thatAnnapurna Studios,which was to produce

Raj Tarun’s next with SrinivasGavireddy (SeethammaAndalu Ramayya Sitralufame), has decided to press

a pause button on theproject (Jan 4), after

the actor’s Christmas release Iddari LokamOkate sank without a trace at the box-office.To this end, the latest we hear is thatAnnapurna has revived the project. And ithas something to do with the actor’s Orey…Bujjigaa with director Vijay Konda.

Major post production works of Orey…happened at Annapurna Seven Acres, whichis owned by Nagarjuna. Team Annapurna gota wind that Orey… Bujjigaa has come outexceptionally well from technicians who wor-

ked on the film in the post-productionphase. The team was also told that it hasgood chances to click at the box-office. So,without wasting any time, they decided tobegin the pre- production of the untitledfilm again. It will go to floors later thismonth and a major part of the shooting willtake place in Bhimavaram,” said a source.

Meanwhile, Orey… Bujjigaa, which iscarrying decent buzz, will open in cine-mas on March 24.

Hyderabad Friday March 13, 2020

THE FILM WILL GO TO FLOORSLATER THIS MONTH AND AMAJOR PART OF THE SHOOTINGWILL TAKE PLACE INBHIMAVARAM

A

11

tollywood

Orey…Bujjigaa

revives RajTarun's next

ctor Sai DharamTej who is enjoy-ing the successof Prati RojuPandage after aseries of flops, is

now on a signing spree.Currently, he has multipleprojects in his kitty. One ofthem is a social drama thatwill be helmed by DevaKatta who had also directedthe critically acclaimedPrasthanam. The makershave roped in NivethaPethuraj to play the leadinglady.

The latest is that PowerStar Pawan Kalyan clappedthe muhurtam board forthe untitled film during apuja ceremony onThursday.

Allu Arvind, BVSNPrasad, and VamshiPaidipally attended thelaunch event.

Produced by Bhagawanand Pulla Rao, the makershave roped in Devi SriPrasad to render tunes.According to sources, the yet to be titled film is a gritty social drama and

Sai Dharam Tej will play an intense brooding charac-ter that will test his mettleas an actor. It’s differentfrom anything thatChitralahari star has everattempted before.

On the other side, SaiDharam Tej is busy withthe promotional activitiesof his upcoming film SoloBrathuke So Better.

The entire shoot of thefilm has been wrapped upexcept for a song. SaiDharam Tej has also starteddubbing activities.

PK claps boardfor Sai Tej's next

T

A

T

Bellamkonda is Alludu Adhurs

‘NeekuMaatrame

Cheptachanged me'

Varun Tej wraps upVizag schedule

ctor Varun Tej who playsa boxer in his upcomingfilm, tentatively called#VT10 has wrapped up

the Visakhapatnam schedule ofthe film.

Varun took to Twitter, wherehe shared a photograph of him-

self sitting on a bench with thesea

in the background.“Wrapped up the vizag sched-

ule! Had a great time shootingthere... #VT10,” he captioned theimage.

#VT10 is a boxing dramahelmed by debutant directorKiran Korrapati.

The yet to be titled film is themaiden production venture of

Sidhu Mudda and AlluVenkatesh. The film has musicby Thaman S. and cinematog-

raphy by George C Williams.

A

PTI n RAJKOT

Bengal’s ‘Man Friday’ AnustupMajumdar stood between

Saurashtra and Ranji Trophy witha defiant unbeaten 58 as the sum-mit clash entered a tantalisingfinal day with the visitors needing72 runs more.

Bengal ended the fourth day at354 for six as Majumdar added 91runs for the unbroken seventhwicket stand with Arnab Nandi (28batting, 82 balls), who showed a lotof courage despite getting hit onthe finger by Jaydev Unadkatdelivery.

Majumdar, who had bailedBengal out of a precarious positionin the quarter as well as semi-final,was the saviour again and gotmuch needed support from Nandias the duo batted out the entire

evening session to keep the matchevenly poised going into day five.

The home team was guilty ofpoor fielding and allowing easyruns to Bengal in the final sessionwhere 90 runs were scored.

Harvik Desai at first slipdropped a regulation catch ofMajumdar, who was on 10 at thattime, and it proved to be a costlymiss.

On an absorbing day four,Bengal won the morning andevening session while Saurashtrastayed in the game by taking threewickets in the afternoon.

By day three, it had becomeclear that final will be decided bythe first innings lead and both

teams were locked in a fierce bat-tle on day four.

Resuming the day at 134 for 3,Sudip Chatterrjee (81 off 241) andWriddhiman Saha (64 off184) kept Bengal’s fightgoing with a 101-run part-nership, consuming 49overs in the process. Theyfrustrated Saurashtra inthe wicket-less morning ses-sion, scoring 89 runs in 29overs. Saurashtra found a much-needed breakthrough in the eighth

over after lunch when against therun of play, Chatterjee was caughtat short leg off Jadeja.

That allowed Saurashtra tobuild pressure on the oppositionand soon after, Saha’s stay in themiddle finally ended after playedon to his stumps off mediumpacer Prerak Mankad. It was a

thick edge which just kissedthe off-stump to dislodgethe bails.

Towards the end of theafternoon session, left-armpacer Chetan Sakariya

crashed through ShahbazAhmed’s stumps to make it 263

for six. It was just the kind of ses-sion Saurashstra wanted as they

conceded only 46 runs in 28 oversand more importantly took threewickets.

PTI n DHARAMSALA

The first ODI between India andSouth Africa was on Thursday aban-

doned without a ball being bowled dueto incessant rain here.

It was the second match in less thansix months to be abandoned at the pic-turesque Himachal Pradesh CricketAssociation (HPCA) Stadium because ofinclement weather.

Incidentally, that match was also anIndia-South Africa clash in Septemberlast year.

The first ODI of the three-matchseries was always in doubt after theweatherman forecast widespread rainsand thundershowers over the region onThursday and Friday because of freshwestern disturbance over north Pakistanand adjoining Jammu and Kashmir.

Fans and organisers had offeredprayers at the Indrunag Temple in thehills overlooking the stadium in anattempt to appease the rain gods.

Heavy rain had also lashed the hilltown just after the two teams’ practice ses-sions on Wednesday, forcing the organ-

isers to cover the entire playing area.If that was not enough, it rained the

entire night on the eve of the match.It was overcast for major part of the

day and heavens opened up just beforethe start. It rained on and off after that,forcing the toss to be delayed and bring-ing ground staff into action.

The rain was not that heavy but wasenough for water to accumulate, forcingorganisers to press three super-soppersinto action.

But despite working tirelessly, theground staff failed to clear the ground,forcing the on-field umpires to call off thematch.

The cut-off time for a 20-over gamewas 6.30pm (IST) but the on-fieldumpires made their final inspectionand decided to abandon the matchmuch before that.

The novel coronavirus outbreak andadverse weather conditions affected tick-et sales as well.

sport 12HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2020

Ranji Trophy finalLive from 9:30am ISTSTAR SPORTS 2 NETWORK

PTI n NEW DELHI

The remaining two one-dayersbetween India and South Africa

will be played in empty stadiums inLucknow and Kolkata due to thedreaded novel coronavirus pandemic.

The matches are scheduled to beheld in March 15 (Lucknow) andMarch 18 (Kolkata).

While the Uttar Pradesh CricketAssociation (UPCA) confirmed thatLucknow ODI will be held behindclosed doors, the Cricket Associationof Bengal (CAB) has also put ticketsales on hold with immediate effect, anindicator of things to come.

“The BCCI is in receipt of thesports ministry’s advisory. Obviously,if we are advised to avoid large gath-erings, we will have to abide by it,” aBCCI source said.

UPCA secretary Yudhveer Singhconfirmed the development to thereporters in Lucknow on Thursday.

“After receiving the governmentadvisory, we had a discussion withBCCI officials and then decided thatspectators will be barred from enter-ing the stadium during second ODIbetween India and South Africa onMarch 15,” Yudhveer said.

The Cricket Association of Bengal(CAB) has decided to put ticket saleson hold, informed president AvishekDalmiya, who also met Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee at the state secretari-at in Kolkata to discuss the prevailingsituation.

“I met our honourable CM at thesecretariat. We would like to adhere tothe government directive that hasbeen issued today and we are stoppingall ticket sales with immediate effect.We will wait till further directive,”Dalmiya said from Kolkata.

So, isn’t it a foregone conclusionthat the matches will be played inempty stadiums?

“I wouldn’t like to make any pre-mature comment. As of now, we willstop ticket sales till further directive.That’s how it stands as of now,”Dalmiya said.

In case, the matches are heldbehind closed doors, then only TVcrew, commentators and journalistswill be allowed inside the stadium,apart from the players and supportstaff.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The money-spinning IPLmulled a closed-door edition

in a desperate bid to avoid can-cellation as the deadly COVID-19 sent Indian sports into quar-antine after a government direc-tive asked for fans to be keptaway from all action to preventthe pandemic from spreading.

“...Ensure that no publicgathering takes place in anysporting event. In the event thesporting event cannot be avoid-ed, the same could be done with-out allowing gathering of people,including spectators,” read anorder from the Sports Ministrywhich caused quite an upheavalthrough the day.

The directive ensured thatthe remaining two ODIsbetween India and South Africain Lucknow and Kolkata, theIndian Super League footballtournament final in Goa, and thelast day of the Ranji Trophy sum-mit clash in Rajkot will beplayed in front of empty stadi-ums, an unprecedented turn ofevents in Indian sports.

On the IPL, the BCCI main-tained a stoic silence but theSports Ministry dropped enoughhints that the glitzy T20 tourna-ment could be held in empty sta-diums too due to the health cri-sis even as foreign players wereruled out till April 15 followinggovernment-imposed travelrestrictions. The event is due tostart on March 29 in Mumbai.

The Ministry of ExternalAffairs has also advised theBCCI to “not do it at this timebut if the organisers want to goahead, it is their decision”.

In another major develop-ment, the All India FootballFederation said that the remain-ing 28 matches of the I-League,

including the marquee Kolkataderby between championsMohun Bagan and East Bengal,are likely to be played in emptystadiums.

This came a day after organ-isers of badminton’s India Open,starting March 24, decided theywon’t allow spectators this year.

Besides, the national tennisfederation and the ParalympicCommittee of India decided toput on hold all national andstate-level championships tillApril 15, keeping in mind gov-ernment directions.

The Athletics Federation ofIndia, on the other hand, with-drew invitations to foreign com-petitors for the Federation Cupbut said that the event itself willgo ahead in Patiala from April10-13.

The IPL’s fate would be upfor discussion at the event’sGoverning Council meeting onSaturday and the BCCI hasdecided to adopt a wait andwatch policy till then. SportsSecretary Radhey ShyamJulaniya said that events cancontinue but without the pres-ence of crowds.

“We have asked all theNSFs, including the BCCI, tofollow the Health Ministry’slatest advisory, which says pub-lic gatherings should be avoid-ed in all events, including sport-ing activities,” Julaniya said.

“The sporting events can goon but the advisory needs to befollowed,” he added.

The government onWednesday suspended all visas,barring a few categories likediplomatic and employment, inan attempt to prevent the spreadof coronavirus as cases acrossIndia rose to more than 70.

The outbreak, declared apandemic by the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) onWednesday, has led to morethan 4,000 deaths and left over100,000 infected globally.

In India, Karnataka and

Delhi have declared COVID-19epidemics. The two states arehome to IPL teams RoyalChallengers Bangalore (led byVirat Kohli) and Delhi Capitals.

The shooting World Cupand the Indian Open golf tour-nament are so far the biggestevents to have been postponedin the Indian sporting calendar.

Meanwhile, the Indian box-ing team, returning from theAsian Olympic Qualifiers inJordan, will be asked to stay“home-quarantined” eventhough all the members havegot the necessary health clear-ances.

A total of 13 boxers andalmost an equal number ofcoaching staff arrive back onThursday after clinching anunprecedented nine Olympicslots in the qualifiers whichconcluded on Wednesday inAmman.

“They will be asked to quar-antine themselves at theirhomes or hostel rooms for a fewdays. They have, however, beengiven the necessary health clear-ances by the Jordanian Olympicassociation,” Boxing Federationof India’s Executive Director RK Sacheti said.

The coronavirus outbreakhas also led to speculation overthe fate of the Tokyo Olympicsthis year. The InternationalOlympic Committee (IOC),however, has insisted that theGames will be held as scheduledin July-August.

PTI n BIRMINGHAM

Rising Indian shuttlerLakshya Sen was knocked

out of the All EnglandChampionships after losing instraight games to VictorAxelsen here on Thursday.

Lakshay went down to theworld number seven Dane 17-21, 18-21 in a hard fought sec-ond round battle which last-ed 45 minutes.

The 18-year old Indian,who won five titles last season,had defeated Hong Kong’sCheuk Yiu Lee 17-21, 21-8 21-17 in the opening round.

On Wednesday night, starIndian shuttler Saina Nehwal’s

chances of qualifying for theOlympics took a hit after shemade a first-round exit, fol-lowing a loss to Japanesenemesis Akane Yamaguchi.

Up against world numberthree Yamaguchi, it was atough opening round for

Saina, who lost 11-21, 8-21 injust 28 minutes.

Saina is placed 20th onthe BWF rankings with 46267points and the 2012 LondonOlympics Bronze-medallistneeds to enter the top-16bracket by April 28 to makethe cut for the 2020 TokyoGames.

She now needs strongperformances to pocket cru-cial ranking points.

The 29-year-old is sched-uled to compete at the SwissOpen (March 17-22), IndiaOpen (March 24-29) andMalaysia Open (March 31-April 5) in the followingweeks.

PTI n MUMBAI

The Road Safety World Series, featuring crick-et greats such as Sachin Tendulkar and Brian

Lara, have been cancelled for the time being in viewof the rising coronavirus threat in Maharashtra.

The organisers said the series have been calledoff for the safety of the players and the public.

“In the interest of public safety and security,and following the advisory issued by Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare, the organising bodyhas unanimously agreed to reschedule the remain-ing matches of the series to a later date,” a mediarelease said.

“The remaining seven matches in the serieswill now be played when the situation is conduciveto hold public events with large gathering and thereare no travel restrictions,” the statement added.

NEW DELHI (PTI): The gov-ernment has made it clearto the Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI)that any sporting event thathas to be held amid theongoing coronavirus out-break will have to be behindclosed doors and the fran-chises are okay with the ideaof the IPL being held withempty stands. But they wishfor their foreign players tobe made available from thestart of the season.

Speaking to IANS, anofficial of one of the fran-chises said that with thegovernment making itsstance clear and the WorldHealth Organisation(WHO) declaring the coro-navirus outbreak a “pan-demic”, there is no otheroption than to play thematch behind closed doors.

“See, the gate money isno issue as these things areinsured. As for the fans, itis disappointing, but wedon’t really have much of anoption as we have to abideby the diktat of the centralgovernment and evenWHO has declared the out-break a “pandemic”.

“This makes it clearthat if we have to have anIPL this year, it has to bebehind closed doors. Sonow, would we rather wantan IPL where fans canwatch the games on televi-sion or we don’t want anIPL in 2020? So, we are okaywith that, but the BCCImust sit down and speak tothe central government tomake an exception andallow the foreign players tocome in before April 15 asthe IPL loses its sheen oth-erwise,” the official said.

While there have beenrumours that the league

could be started in the sec-ond week of April, anotherofficial said that was a strictno-no as that would meanmissing the foreign starsgoing into the business end.

“The internationalcommitments that the play-ers have cannot be toyedwith and the host broad-casters have already made itclear that they are not tookeen on double headers. So,keeping the interest of allparties in place, the bestoption is to have an IPLbehind closed doors. Thefranchises will have to bearthe loss that comes withmerchandise sales, but thatis a nominal amount ascompared to the losses thatwill be incurred if the IPLdoesn’t happen in 2020,” theofficial said.

An official of anotherfranchise made it clear thatthe BCCI must ensure thatthey sit down with the con-cerned governmentaldepartments and ensurethat at least the foreignplayers are handed permis-sion as they are alreadytouring around the world.

“See, the Proteas arealready in the country, so asper the directive, they caneasily stay back. Also, if yousee, the Englishmen arealready in Sri Lanka and theKiwis are playing theAussies in Australia, so theyare anyway on the road. Wejust need the BCCI to sitdown with the governmen-tal departments and get usthe clearance so that we canhave the IPL with foreignplayers. The whole tourna-ment will lose its charm ifthe foreign players are notthere. It is the biggest crick-et carnival in the world fora reason,” the official said.

IANS n NEW DELHI

West Indies legend Brian Lara feelsthat India are still the best trav-

elling team in Test cricket despite theirrecent 2-0 defeat in New Zealand. Indiahad lost the first Test by 10 wickets andthe second by seven with their battinglineup looking all at sea in all fourinnings.

Lara considers what happened inNew Zealand an “aberration.”

“I think India have been travellingvery well in the last ten or so years.What happened in New Zealand, I

think it's more of an aberration, I thinkcoming off so much one-day and T20cricket, it might have been tough forthem in the Test arena outside of India.But I think India is still maybe the besttravelling team in the world,” Lara toldESPNCricinfo.

Lara said that West Indies and Indiawould be two teams that Australia willbe worried about the most at the T20World Cup later in the year. “In termsof a team, obviously I want to see theWest Indies go all the way and win,” saidLara.

“India, with the fact that they pro-

duce so much international cricketersthrough their league (Indian PremierLeague) has enhanced every single play-er who plays for India. I mean KL Rahulis my favourite player in the world, Ilove watching him and I think India isgoing to be a force to reckon with.

“Australia at home… it’s not goingto be an easy World Cup for anyone.Australia is going to be worried aboutIndia and the West Indies, West Indiesare going to be worried about every-body because of their inconsistencysometimes. So it’s going to be a greatWorld Cup to look at.”

PTI n DHARAMSALA

Flamboyant India all-rounderHardik Pandya has revealed that he

felt a lot of “mental pressure” when hisefforts to recover fast from his backinjury did not fructify.

The 26-year-old had undergone asuccessful surgery in October last yearto treat an acute lower-back injury,which kept him out of action for sixmonths.

“I missed this atmosphere inthese past six months, playing for Indiaand the feeling that you get wearing the

team’s colours. That had becomemental challenge and there were a lotof setbacks,” Pandya said during hisappearance on Chahal TV ahead of theseries-opener.

“I was trying to get back to full fit-ness quickly but that did not work outand there was a lot of mental pressureat that time. But everything went fine,the rehabilitation went well and a lotof people helped me,” he added.

Last month, he was ruled out ofthe Test series against New Zealandafter failing to regain full match fitnessbut was included

He finally made comeback tocompetitive cricket by featuring in theReliance 1 team in the DY Patil T20Cup, an invitational tournament.

He scored two centuries, the sec-ond of which was an unbeaten 55-ball158 in which he smashed 20 sixes.Pandya said it was an “importantinnings” for him.

“I had not played a single game forsix and a half months. I wanted tomake an international comeback so itwas very important for my confidence.No matter how much you practice thematch situation is always different.”

“So I just kept on playing, my con-fidence kept improving and the sixeswere coming of well. I though if theyare coming off well, why should I stopand I keep going. But I never thoughtthat I will hit 20 sixes in an innings,”he added.

Kolkata Knight Riders Andre Russell & Sunil Narine KKR/Twitter

Okay with closed-door league,want foreign stars: IPL franchises

Fans out as Indian sports go behind closed doors

Mahendra Singh Dhoni during Chennai Super Kings practice session CSK/Twitter

Spectators react to the cameras at the HPCA stadium AP

Rain washes out 1st India-SA ODI

No fans allowedfor Lucknow,Kolkata ODIs

Anushtup keeps Bengal in hunt

Bengal players in action during Ranji final

Day five behind

closed doors RAJKOT: The final day of theRanji Trophy summit clashbetween Bengal and Saurashtrawill be played without any spec-tators due to the COVID-19 pan-demic, the BCCI said onThursday.

“No public will be allowed onthe final day. Only the players,match officials, officials from thehost association and media areallowed,” BCCI general managerSaba Karim, who is in charge ofdomestic cricket, said. PTI

Pandya felt mental pressureduring rehabilitation period

Hardik Pandya during nets session PTI

India still best travelling team in Test: Lara

Sachin Tendulkar & Brian Lara PTI

Road Safety WorldSeries cancelled

Lakshya out of All England