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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

Established 1864VIJAYAWADA, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2019; PAGES 12 `3

Published FromVIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR

CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 1*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

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CAPSULE

Subramanya Swamyhomam commencesVIJAYAWADA: As a part of week-long Karthika HomaMahotsavams, SubramanyaHomam commenced at SriKapileswara Swamy temple inTirupati on Friday. At Yagashala,'Laghupurnahuti', 'Nivedana','Harati' were performed in themorning followed bySahasranamarchana, ViseshaDeeparadhana in the evening.Subramanya Homam will beconducted for three days, whichwill conclude on November 3.On Saturday, November 2, SriValli Sri Devasena Sametha SriSubramanya Swamy Kalyanamwill be performed between 6 pmand 8 pm. Grihasta pilgrims cantake part in the homam onpayment of Rs 500 per ticket onwhich two persons will beallowed.

Red sanderssmuggler heldVIJAYAWADA: Task Force policeseized 14 red sander logs andarrested smuggler in Kancharlaforest area on Thursday latenight. The accused wasidentified as Y MallikarjunaReddy (35) of Tuvvapalli villagein Mydukuru mandal. Accordingto RSI K Ravi Kumar, on a tip-offTask Force police conductedraids in Kancharla forest areaand found 15 smugglerscarrying red sander logs.However, 14 managed to fleefrom the spot by pelting stonesat police. However, police able toarrest local smugglerMallikarjuna Reddy. Task Forcepolice registered a case andremanded him in custody.

Tondepu is WalkersInternational chiefVIJAYAWADA: Walker TondepuVenkata Hanumantha Rao hasbeen elected the President ofKrishna district unit of WalkersInternational. In the electionsconducted for the post, Raopolled 24 votes, seven morethan his rival Wr V MuraliMohana Rao, who secured 17votes, according to a pressrelease.

Integrity Pledgeadministered inTirumala-TirupatiVIJAYAWADA: The IntegrityPledge has been administered inTirumala and Tirupati as a part ofthe Vigilance Awareness Weekon Friday under the aegis ofVigilance Department of TTD.All the employees working inTTD administrative building,educational institutions,hospitals have taken the IntegrityPledge, including the students inTirupati. While the departmentsin Tirumala administered oathwith their employees in thepresence of the respective HoDs.

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PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former minister and TDPleader Sujaya Krishna RangaRao alleged that in the name of'Mission Build AP' the Stategovernment is planning to doreal estate business by puttingup government lands for sale.While the government says ithas no land for distribution tothe poor, it has unveiled a planto sell the land to industrialists.

Addressing a press confer-ence at the TDP State office inGuntur on Friday, he said it'sa great misfortune of the peo-ple that the State governmentis going ahead with its agendato dole out lands to YSRCPsupporters.

He alleged that thousands ofacres of land were allotted toVANPIC during the YSRajasekhara Reddy's rule, hesaid the present JaganmohanReddy government had failedto take action in this regard.

Ranga Rao alleged that theChief Minister was trying toallot lands to those who hadhelped him financially duringthe elections. "It if for theChief Minister to answer fromwhere he would get the landsfor taking up developmentworks in the future if they arenow given to industrialists," hesaid.

He expressed concern sayingthat the State government hadturned into a real estate com-pany. The government hadfailed to create assets from nat-ural resources available in theState. "It should be ashamed ofspending the proceeds fromsale of government lands on

the welfare schemes," heobserved.

The TDP leaders praisedhis party chief N ChandrababuNaidu saying the latter was suc-cessful in implementing wel-fare schemes despite financial

problems. He was also instru-mental in wooing industrialiststo the State. "But, the investorsare running away from theState after seeing the gover-nance of Jaganmohan Reddygovernment," he added.

He alleged that the AdaniGroup, which had come for-ward to set up Rs 70,000-croreindustry in Visakhapatnam, isshifting the same toHyderabad. Kia Motors ismoving its units to Karnatakaand Tamil Nadu, he said andadded that Rs 24,000-crorepaper mill mooted inPrakasam district is also mov-ing out of the State. Similarly,the world-renowned LuluGroup, which had plannedtourism projects inVisakhapatnam and BR ShettyGroup, which wanted to investRs 12,000 crore in the educa-tion sector, are also droppingtheir plans, he pointed out.

‘Govt doing realty business by putting govt lands on sale'

n Former minister andTDP leader SujayaKrishna Ranga Raoalleged thatthousands of acres ofland were allotted toVANPIC during the YSRajasekhara Reddy'srule, he said thepresent JaganmohanReddy governmenthad failed to takeaction in this regard

n Sujay expressed concernsaying that the Stategovernment had turned intoa real estate company

n The government had failedto create assets from naturalresources available in theState. "It should be ashamedof spending the proceedsfrom sale of governmentlands on the welfareschemes," he observed

Sujaya Krishna Ranga Rao

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Rashtriya Ispat NigamLimited (RINL), the corpo-rate entity of VisakhapatnamSteel Plant, launched mid-daymeal scheme to the poor andneedy children studying inVisakha Vimala Vidyalayas atUkkunagaram andPedagantyada under CSR ini-tiative of RINL.

KC Das, Director(Personnel) RINL, graced theoccasion and served food tostudents and had lunch withthem. PK Mohapatra,Executive Director (Law,General Administration andTown Planning ), RINL, andother senior officials partic-ipated.

KC Das said that RINLbelieved in inclusive growth,which is imbibed in its CSRand sustainability policy. Healso expressed his happinessin seeing the needy childrenof surrounding villages get-

ting nutritious and hygienicmeal every day. RINL hastied up with Akshaya Patra

Foundation, the householdname in the mid-day mealsector, for providing hot andnutritious mid-day meal tothe needy children in boththe Visakha VimalaVidyalayas for a period ofone year.

RINL since its inceptionhas been playing a vital rolefor promotion of education byproviding quality education tochildren belonging to BPLfamilies from the surroundingvillages of plant and minesthrough the schools undertheir control. Furthermore,the project is also in linewith the Central governmentguidelines to focus on schooleducation, nutrition andhealth as the thematic areasfor CSR expenditure for theyear 2019-20.

The programme was attend-ed by senior officers of RINL,representatives of trade unionsand associations and officialsof CSR Department.

KC Das, Director (Personnel) RINL, serving food to schoolchildren in Visakhapatnam on Friday while PK Mohapatra,Executive Director looks on

RINL launches mid-daymeal for schoolchildren

n KC Das said that RINLbelieved in inclusivegrowth, which isimbibed in its CSR andsustainability policy. Healso expressed hishappiness in seeing theneedy children ofsurrounding villagesgetting nutritious andhygienic meal every day

n RINL has tied up withAkshaya PatraFoundation, thehousehold name in themid-day meal sector, forproviding hot andnutritious mid-day mealto the needy children inboth the Visakha VimalaVidyalayas for a periodof one year

PNS n NEW DELHI

As Indians break their headsover WhatsApp spygate wherean Israeli bug infected selectusers' smartphones to accesstheir personal details, the masssurveillance technology hastruly come of age and now thegovernments just need to makea missed call to install an"exploit link" into the device ofa person they want to bug andlisten in.

From the days when surveil-lance methods involved buggingthe phone or cable wires to tapphones (remember Radia tapes!)to track a person's vehicle byinstalling a tracking devicebeneath the car, cyber criminalsand hackers have devised mod-ern and untraceable tools tohack into your systems.

The most popular mass sur-veillance programme is'PRISM' - under which the USNational Security Agency(NSA) collects user's personalcommunications from variousUS internet companies-'PRISM' allegedly collectsstored Internet communica-tions based on demands made

to internet companies.The NSA can use PRISM

requests to target communica-tions that were encrypted whenthey traveled across the internetbackbone, to focus on storeddata that telecommunicationfiltering systems discarded ear-lier, and to get access to data.

Its existence was leaked byNSA contractor and whistle-blower Edward Snowden, who

warned that the extent of massdata collection was far greaterthan the public knew.

US President Barack Obama,during a visit to Germany,stated that the NSA's datagathering practices constitute "acircumscribed, narrow systemdirected at us being able to pro-tect our people".

According to Amnesty.org,NSA and UK's Government

C o m m u n i c a t i o n sHeadquarters (GCHQ) aremonitoring you with codenames.

'Muscular' is one such pro-ject that "intercepts user data asit passes between Googleservers". Yahoo! was also saidto be affected.

Between December 2012and January 2013, 'Muscular'collected 181 million records

but "Google has now strength-ened security between theirservers since then.

Another tool called 'OpticNerve' allowed secret access to

Yahoo! webcam chats. In asix-month period, it spied on1.8 million Yahoo! users andtook one still image every fiveminutes of video per user.

"GCHQ targeted Belgacom,Belgium's largest telecommu-nications provider with spy-ware called Regin, a maliciouspiece of software designed tobreak into Belgaom's networks.The purpose of the GCHQhack was to spy on phones andinternet users using theBelgacom network".

Since then, the technologyhas evolved to such an extentthat just a missed call is enoughto snoop on anyone, anywhere.

Citizen Lab, a laboratorybased at the Munk School ofGlobal Affairs and PublicPolicy of the University ofToronto, has identified over 100cases of abusive targeting ofhuman rights' defenders andjournalists in at least 20 coun-tries across the globe via thenew piece of Israeli spywarecalled Pegasus.

Once Pegasus is installed, itbegins contacting the operator'scommand and control (C&C)servers to receive and execute

operators' commands, and sendback the target's private data,including passwords, contactlists, calendar events, text mes-sages, and live voice calls frompopular mobile messaging apps.

"The operator can even turnon the phone's camera andmicrophone to capture activi-ty in the phone's vicinity, anduse the GPS function to tracka target's location and move-ments," said Citizen Lab.

The spyware can be placedon phones using multiple vec-tors, or means of infection. TheWhatsApp exploit from May2019 was one such vector.

In 2017, the wife of a mur-dered Mexican journalist wassent alarming text messagesconcerning her husband's mur-der, designed to trick her intoclicking on a link and infectingher phone with the Pegasusspyware.

In 2018, a close confidant ofJamal Khashoggi was targeted inCanada with a fake packagenotification, resulting in theinfection of his iPhone. CitizenLab has tracked more than twodozen cases using similar tech-niques.

Mass surveillance tech just needs a missed call to hack youn 'Muscular' is one such

project that "interceptsuser data as it passesbetween Googleservers". Yahoo! wasalso said to be affected.

n Between December2012 and January 2013,'Muscular' collected 181million records but"Google has nowstrengthened securitybetween their serverssince then.

n Another tool called'Optic Nerve' allowedsecret access to Yahoo!webcam chats. In a six-month period, it spiedon 1.8 million Yahoo!users and took one stillimage every five minutesof video per user

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Additional Director GeneralVirender Singh Pathania tookover as Coast GuardCommander (EasternSeaboard) in Visakhapatnamon Friday. A 50 men guardwas presented at an impres-sive parade held at headquar-ters, Eastern Seaboard,Visakhapatnam. The flag offi-cer will exercise operationaland administrative controlover east coast from WestBengal to Tamil Nadu. He hastaken over from AdditionalDirector General KRNautiyal.

The flag officer has servedthe organisation in variousassignments over the past threeand half decades. In his lastappointment, the Flag Officerwas holding the charge ofDeputy Director GeneralPolicy and Plans at CoastGuard Headquarters, NewDelhi. He has held several keyappointments both afloat andashore, prominent amongthem are Commander CoastGuard Region (North West)

and Commander Coast GuardRegion (West). He has alsocommanded all class of ships-Inshore Patrol VesselRanijindan, Offshore PatrolVessel 'Varaha' and AdvancedOffshore Patrol Vessel 'Sarang'.

He is an alumnus of theDefence Services Staff College,Wellington and NationalDefence College, New Delhi.The flag officer is a qualifiedhelicopter pilot and holds aMaster's Degree in Defence

and Strategic Studies from theUniversity of Madras. He hasalso undergone specialisationin search and rescue and portoperations with the US CoastGuard.

Pathania is a recipient ofPresident's Tatrakshak Medalfor distinguished service,Tatrakshak Medal forGallantry Service and alsobeen commended withDirector General Indian CoastGuard Commendation.

Pathania takes charge as newCommander of Coast Guard

(Left) Additional Director General Virender Singh Pathania taking charge as thenew Commander Coast Guard, Eastern Board, from Additional Director General KR Nautiyal in Visakhapatnam on Friday

Google, Amazon keento hire women at job fair

PNS n BENGALURU

Several top-notch tech firms willbe part of 50 recruiters toencourage and hire women invarious tech roles at a job fairand technology conference hereon November 6-8, a non-profitorganisation, said on Friday.

Google, American Express,Amazon, Goldman Sachs,Western Digital, Wells Fargo,NetApp, Oracle, SAP, CreditSuisse and Adobe are part of therecruiters. The recruiters are alsowilling to support and hire work-ing mothers and women whotook breaks to raise families, saidthe non-profit dedicated toadvancing women's representa-tion and growth in technology.

Computing, IT and engi-neering professionals and stu-dents can directly interact withthe leading global technology

brands at the job fair.The event will have discus-

sions on emerging technologieslike Artificial Intelligence (AI),Data Analytics, DevOps,Internet of Things (IoT),Computing and ProductEvolution, among others.

The event is part of "GraceHopper Celebration India 19"(GHCI 19), named after pio-neering woman computer scien-tist and former US navy employ-ee Grace Hopper.

The event is part of "GraceHopper Celebration India-19" (GHCI- 19), named afterpioneering womancomputer scientist andformer US navy employeeGrace Hopper

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In a thrilling match, Vidarbhabeat Uttar Pradesh by two runsin BCCI Senior Women's T20Super League-cum-Knock-Out tournament match at DrGokaraju Laila GangarajuACA Cricket Complex,Mulapadu, on the city out-skirts on Friday.

Vidarbha 106/7 in 20 overs(Bhagthi 45, Kruthika 24,Meghana 2/8, Aditi 2/25) beatUP 104/5 in 20 Overs(Muskan 33, Nishu 38).

In an other match in themorning, Railways beatHimachal Pradesh by 67 runs.

Railways 153/2 in 20 overs(Muzhat 93 not out, SnehaRana 32) beat HimachalPradesh 86 in 19.4 overs(Shivani 21, Sobhana 4/5,Sneha Rana 2/10, Swagathika2/12). In the afternoon match-es, Bengal beat Andhra by 12runs. Bengal 106/8 in 20 oversbeat Andhra 94/8 (Anushka20, E. Padmaja 22, RumeliDhar 2/9, Gayathri 2/15).

In the second match in theafternoon session,Maharashtra beat Jharkhandby two runs. Maharashtramade 81 in 19 overs, (Anagha21, Priyanka 21, Nidhi 5/80 tobeat Jharkhand 79 in 20 overs.

Vidarbha beatUP in a thriller

Muzhat (Raiways 93 Not Out) Nidhi (Jharkhand )

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPALRAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 1*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

}AMALATO PLAY SHARWA'S

MOTHER

Page 11

PNS n HYDERABAD

In a setback to Andhra ChiefMinister Y.S. Jagan MohanReddy, the Special CBI Courthere on Friday dismissed hispetition for exemption frompersonal appearance beforethe court during the hearingsof the alleged illegal assetscase.

The court, which hadreserved its order on his peti-tion on October 18, pro-nounced it on Friday.

Jagan had sought the exemp-tion from personal appear-ance in the court on theground that he is holding aconstitutional post and needsto attend several importantprogrammes.

However, the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI)had opposed the ChiefMinister's plea, saying there isa change only in personalcapacity of the petitioner andnot in the circumstances of thecase. The federal agency hadalso argued that Jagan mayinfluence the witnesses.

Jagan now has to be presentin CBI court every Friday forhearing related to the casesfiled against him in 2011.

He has not appeared in thecourt since he became ChiefMinister in May as he wasgranted exemptions for thesame on a week-by-week basis.

Andhra Pradesh High Court

in 2017 had rejected Jagan'splea to exempt him fromappearing in the Special Court.He had pleaded for exemption,citing his duties as a legislatorand leader of opposition.

The high court, however,had ruled that he could applyfor exemption on a week-by-week basis.

The CBI, in its counter affi-davit, alleged that the petition-er approached the court with'unclean hands and by sup-

pressing material facts.'It submitted to the court that

the exemption from personalappearance would give him 'anunsolicited liberty to do what-ever he wants and influence thewitnesses behind the iron wallof political, money and musclepowers.' Jagan sought exemp-tion on various groundsincluding his new status as theChief Minister, bifurcation ofAndhra Pradesh and the poorfinancial condition of the state

government."In all the 11 chargesheets,

the petitioner stands accused inhis individual capacity and asa representative of his private-ly owned companies, andtherefore should attend thecourt as such," said the CBI.

"Any reference to the rev-enue and financial condition ofthe government of AndhraPradesh is only an attempt todeviate the attention of thecourt from the real issues andtherefore cannot be given anycredence," it added.

"It is submitted that it isalmost six years from date offiling of last chargesheet in thecase, but the trial proceedingsare yet to start. This is an indi-cation that the accused hasbeen able to procrastinate theproceedings on one pretext orother."

In what is called the 'quid-pro-quo' cases, Jagan wasaccused of getting investmentsinto his businesses by firms andindividuals in return for theundue favours by the govern-ment headed by his father Y. S.Rajasekhara Reddy between2004 and 2009.

However, the YSRCP leaderdenied all the charges andtermed them as politicalvendetta.

The CBI arrested Jagan andsent him to jail on May 27,2012. After 16 months in jail,he was granted bail.

CBI had opposed Jagan's plea saying there is achange only in personal capacity of thepetitioner and not in the circumstances of thecase. Jagan, who has not appeared in the courtsince he became CM in May, now has to bepresent in CBI court for hearing every Friday

Plea dismissed, CM Jagan toappear in CBI court in DA case

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Income Tax Departmentof Telangana and AndhraPradesh has withdrawn 969appeal cases involving anamount of Rs 403 crore fromTelangana High Court, APHigh Court and Income TaxAppellate Tribunals (ITAT)for financial year 2019-20.

The move comes afterCentral Board of DirectTaxes (CBDT) issued a circu-lar raising the threshold offiling cases in ITAT, HighCourt and Supreme Court.

The cases were dismissedon the basis of a recent cir-cular issued by CBDT onAugust 8, 2019, raising thethreshold for filing cases inITAT from Rs 20 lakh to Rs50 lakh.

Similarly, in high courts,the limit has been doubledfrom Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 croreand in case of SupremeCourt, the revised limit forf i l ing appeal has beenincreased from Rs 1 crore toRs 2 crore.

The entire exercise ofwithdrawal of cases, on thebasis of an order issued onAugust 8 for enhancement ofmonetary limits for filing of

appeals in tribunals (ITAT)and courts (HC and SupremeCourt), is stipulated to becompleted by October.

The I-T department of APand TS clarified that it willnot file appeals in ITAT if thetax amount involved is lessthan Rs 50 lakh, not fileappeals in High Court ifamount involved in less thanRs 1 crore and not fileappeals in Supreme Court ifamount involved is less thanRs 2 crore.

Continued on Page 4

BONANZA FOR BUSINESSMEN

n CBDT issues circular in Augustraising threshold to file cases inITATs, HCs, SC

n Cases falling below newthreshold withdrawn

n 892 cases filed in 2018-19 alsowithdrawn

Public healthemergencyin Delhi,schools shutNEW DELHI: An unprece-dented public health emer-gency has been declared inDelhi and nearby areas by thepollution control body man-dated by the Supreme Court,as the region has been trappedin a toxic smog since Diwali.Schools in Delhi will be closedtill Tuesday, November 5,Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal tweeted.

Schools in the capital havebeen asked to stop all outdooractivities and sports tillNovember 5 to minimiseexposure of children to pollu-tion. The EnvironmentPollution (Prevention andControl) Authority (EPCA)has also banned constructionactivity till November 5 as thepollution level in the regionentered the "severe plus" or"emergency" category lateThursday night, the first timesince January.

The pollution authority hasalso banned the bursting ofcrackers during the winterseason.

Chief Minister Kejriwaltoday described the city as a"gas chamber" while distribut-ing masks to schoolchildren.He also blamed the neigh-bouring states of Haryana andPunjab, where thousands offarmers at this time of yearburn crop stubble, sendingvast clouds of smoke driftingacross northern India.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Expressing happiness over sus-pension of a lower court'sstay order on Polavaram pro-ject works by the High Court,Minister for Water ResourcesAnil Kumar Yadav has said thegovernment has started theworks with the Bhoomipuja asdeclared earlier by ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy.

The minister said the ChiefMinister is taking up all theprojects in the right earnestand with a positive approach.He said the new agency, whichhas been given the contract toundertake the Polavaram pro-ject works, would commencethe works.

Addressing the media atthe YSRCP central office hereon Friday on the occasion ofState Formation Day, the min-ister said the High Court ver-dict is a vindication of the gov-ernment stand and dismissedthe aspersions cast by theOpposition leaders on thePolavaram project as beingpolitically motivated. He saidthe project work would becompleted in the stipulatedtime and so is the case with allother projects taken up by thegovernment. He said all theprojects launched by formerChief Minister YS RajasekharaReddy would be completed by

his son Jaganmohan Reddy.He said that the previous

TDP government had boastedof completing the Polavaramproject, but had done nothingbetween 2014 and 2017 andonly completed the spillway inthe past two years and kept ontelling lies that it had complet-ed the whole project.

Continued on Page 4

Minister for WaterResources Anil KumarYadav said the HighCourt verdict is avindication of thegovernment standand dismissed theaspersions cast by theOpposition leaders onthe Polavaramproject as beingpolitically motivated

Anil Kumar Yadav

Polavaram will becompleted on time: Min

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy has released a posterheralding the extension of YSRAarogyasri services to 130 hos-pitals in Hyderabad, Chennaiand Bengaluru. The hospitalswill provide services for 716identified medical procedures at17 super specialty departments.

The Chief Minister in a videoconference from his camp officeon Friday spoke to a few YSRAarogys Sri beneficiaries anddoctors at MIOT hospital inChennai, Fortis Hospital inBengaluru and MedcoverHospital in Hyderabad.

Dr Krishna Prasad,Medcover Hospital, in conver-sation with the Chief Ministerassured of dedication in deliv-ering YSR Aarogya Sri servicesand said that this service hasgiven a new lease of life to sev-eral people.

Later, the Chief Ministerspoke to Nettikuntaiah, YSRAarogya Sri beneficiary. Heenquired about the facilitiesbeing provided at the hospitaland said 'All the best' toNettikuntaiah.

The Chief Minister alsospoke to a one-year-oldLokeshwar, Aarogya Sri benefi-ciary, who is suffering from asmall intestine illness. He spoketo his parents and enquiredabout the facilities at the hospi-

tal. Dr Raghavan, MIOTHospital, Chennai, explainedabout Lokeshwar's treatmentprocedure. The CM said, "Ourpeople have come to your hos-pital with a confidence," andinstructed doctors to take goodcare of them.

In the video conference withpatients and Fortis Hospital,doctors from Bengaluru, theChief Minister spoke to apatient B Sumitra and enquiredabout the facilities at the hospi-tal. "She is suffering from kid-ney-related illness. We are start-ing a shockwave procedure toremove stones from kidney,'' DrShakir Tabrez explained to theChief Minister. The doctors

and the Chief Ministerexpressed their dedicationtowards providing YSR AarogyaSri services to the people ofAndhra Pradesh.

"As many as 130 hospitalshave been empanelled to pro-vide improved services toAarogya Sri beneficiaries," theChief Minister said.

During YS JaganmohanReddy's Padayatra, several peo-ple have mentioned the absenceof Aarogya Sri services in otherState hospitals and he has givenassurance to the people that theservices will be made availableto AP people in other State hos-pitals.

Continued on Page 4

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy in avideo conference from his camp office onFriday spoke to a few YSR Aarogyasribeneficiaries and doctors at MIOT hospital inChennai, Fortis Hospital in Bengaluru andMedcover Hospital in Hyderabad

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddyreleases a poster heralding the extension ofYSR Aarogya Sri in Vijayawada on Friday

PNS n WASHINGTON

A US-based software engineer,whose name was listed in theGreen Card backlog, died sud-denly and as a result, his preg-nant wife has been renderedout of status resulting in herinevitable return to India, amedia report said.

Shiva Chalapathi Raju, whowas based in North Carolina,died suddenly on Tuesday,'The American Bazaar' report-ed on Thursday.

Because the family was inline for Green Card, Raju'ssudden death would meanthat his pregnant wife, BobbySowjanya, was now renderedout of status and would haveno choice but to travel back toIndia.

Raju had been working withOracle as a developer client inHigh Point, North Carolina. Inthe past, he had also workedfor Wipro and BritishPetroleum in Michigan andIllinois.

Meanwhile, many Indiansexpressed their outrage atIllinois Senator Dick Durbin'sopposition to Fairness forHigh Skilled Immigrants Act2019.

The Indian Green Cardbacklog community took toTwitter on Thursday anddescribed the plight of anoth-er Green Card backlog fami-ly on the micro-blogging plat-form by using the hashtag#DurbinWidow and#DurbinOrphan.

Continued on Page 4

Shiva Chalapathi Raju

Raju was working inOracle as a developerclient in High Point,North Carolina. Hiswife, BobbySowjanya, will haveno choice now totravel back to India

His pregnant wife now rendered ‘outof status' in US, may have to return

Telugu techie in GreenCard backlog dies

G RAVI KIRANn VIJAYAWADA

Political leaders never leave anopportunity to put their oppo-nents in a fix. Seasoned politi-cians, too, will be caught offguard sometimes, as they failto predict consequences, whichwould earn them public wrath.

Though former ChiefMinister N ChandrababuNaidu has been firing salvosagainst Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy time andagain, political novice PawanKalyan earned brownie pointsby announcing long-marchagainst the YSRCP govern-ment on the sand crisis.

Jan Sena Chief 's long-marchprotest, which is slated forNovember 3 inVisakhapatnam, against the

sand crisis is going to be acomeback for him after disas-trous results in recent hustings.Taking a step forward at theright time where all sections ofpeople are suffering from sandshortage, Pawan Kalyan will getan advantage for sure, JanaSena circles opined.

He is not only planning the

protest, but also calling allopposition parties to supporthis protest and it may lead tothe unity of opposition parties.TDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu supported Pawan Kalyanand stated that their partysenior leaders will participate inthe march. BJP State PresidentKanna Lakshminarayana sup-ported the march, butexpressed inability to take partin it. Left parties supported it,but wanted to keep aloof as theBJP extended its support toPawan Kalyan.

It may be recalled that theJana Sena had faced drubbingin 2019 elections and PawanKalyan, too, was defeated intwo places, where he had con-tested. Later, he has conduct-ed only review meetings in afew districts. But, onSeptember 14, he has releasedan Experts' Committee reporton 100 days ruling of YSJaganmohan Reddy and lam-basted the decisions taken byChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy.

Continued on Page 4

PNS n MUMBAI

The BJP-Shiv Sena standoffover power-sharing inMaharashtra, which has stalledgovernment formation for overa week, took a dramatic turnon Friday with reports emerg-ing of Sena chief UddhavThackeray talking to SharadPawar, the opposition stalwartwho can facilitate a reconfig-uration of alliances.

Reports suggest UddhavThackeray and the NationalistCongress Party (NCP) leaderhave spoken on the phone.Sharad Pawar, say sources,will fly to Delhi to meet withCongress president SoniaGandhi.

These reports have con-

tributed significantly to spec-ulation that the Shiv Sena hassent feelers to the NCP-Congress combine, upset withits ally BJP for not accepting itsdemand for rotational chiefministership and a "50:50" deal

for power sharing.Buzz about the Sena flirting

with its rival became louderwhen its leader Sanjay Rautmet with Mr Pawar last after-noon.

Continued on Page 4

SAND CRISIS HITS HARD CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

Pawan on comeback trail with long-march

Uddhav Thackeray Sharad Pawar

I-T dept withdraws969 cases worth Rs 403 cr in TS, AP

GST collectionfalls 5.3% toRs 95,380 crNEW DELHI: Revenue fromGoods and Services Tax fell5.3 per cent year-on-year toRs. 95,380 crore in October.However, on a monthly basisthe revenue from GST rose3.76 per cent from Rs. 91,916crore in September, officialdata released by Ministry ofFinance showed.

Central GST (CGST) col-lections stood at Rs. 17,582crore, State GST (SGST) col-lections came in at Rs. 23,674crore and Integrated GST(IGST) came in at Rs. 46,517crore (including Rs. 21,446crore collected on imports),according to press releaseissued by the FinanceMinistry.

TRAI fixesmobile ringtime at 30 sec NEW DELHI: The TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(TRAI) on Friday fixedmobile phone call ring timeat 30 seconds and 60 secondsfor landline phones, in casethe call is neither answerednor rejected by the sub-scriber.In an amendment toquality of service norms forbasic telephone service andcellular mobile telephone ser-vice, the TRAI said, "With theenactment of these amend-ments, Access Provide wouldhave to maintain the timeduration of alert for anincoming voice call, which isneither answered nor reject-ed by the called party, to thir-ty seconds for CellularMobile Telephone Serviceand sixty seconds for BasicTelephone Service."

5-phase pollin Jharkhandfrom Nov 30

Sunil Arora

NEW DELHI: The ElectionCommission of India onFriday announced a 5-phasepoll for Jharkhand Assemblyelection from November 30.

While date of polling forfirst phase is November 30,second phase polling willtake place on December 7.The third, fourth and fifthphases of polling will takeplace on December 12, 16and 19, respectively.

Counting of votes will betaken up on December 23,Chief Election CommissionerSunil Arora announced onFriday.

n Jan Sena Chief’s long-marchprotest, which is slated forNovember 3 in Visakhapatnam,against the sand crisis is going to bea comeback for him after disastrousresults in recent hustings

n Taking a step forward at theright time when all sections ofpeople are suffering from sandshortage, Pawan Kalyan will getan advantage for sure, Jana Senacircles opined

Uddhav calls Pawar, raisespolitical heat in Mumbai

Aarogya Sri services extended toHyd, Bengaluru, Chennai

{

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated November 01, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Kartik& Shukla PakshaPanchangamTithi : Shashthi: 01:31 am (Next Day)Nakshatram: Purva Ashadha: 11:02 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 09:08 am – 10:34 amYamagandam: 01:24 pm – 02:50 pm

Varjyam: 07:56 am- 09:37am

Gulika: 06:18 am - 07:43 amGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 06:00 pm - 07:41 pmAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:36 am - 12:22 pm

VIJAYAWADAWEATHERForecast: Partly CloudyTemp: 32/24Humidity: 85%Sunrise: 06.13Sunset: 05.45

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 2, 2019 vijayawada 04

CAPSULE

Nodal Officer to assist judicial panelAMARAVATI: To make the AndhraPradesh Infrastructure(Transparency through JudicialPreview) Act-2019 successful,the State government on Fridayissued an order stating that aNodal Officer, Sumit Kumar, hasbeen appointed to coordinate andassist the Judicial Commissionand he is instructed to providefurther necessary support whichmay arise from time to time. TheChief Secretary will conductfortnightly reviews with theSpecial Chief Secretariesconcerned, Principal Secretaries,Secretaries to the Governmentand HoDs of the departmentswhere projects costing more thanRs 100 crore are envisaged andensure that they are sent forjudicial preview. All Special ChiefSecretaries, Principal Secretaries,Secretaries to the Governmentand HODs of the departmentsshould nominate ExpertCommittee members immediatelyto render necessary assistance tothe Judicial Commission, failingwhich they will be personally heldaccountable. The order furthersays that Additional Secretary toCM, K Dhanunjaya Reddy, willclosely monitor and coordinatefrom the Chief Minister's Officefor achieving the objectives.

Skit on integrity at DRM officeVISAKHAPATNAM: A skit ‘OmShanthi Ohm' was organised bythe Divisional CulturalAssociation depicting the illeffects on personal and social lifeof a government servant, who donot follow the right path. Thiswas part of Vigilance AwarenessWeek (VAW) being observedevery year.

SIT begins accepting petitionsPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The SIT on day one received 79petitions from the people. Ofthem, only 14 fall under thepurview of the SIT. An officialsaid four received fromAnandapuram, one each fromBhimili and gopalapatnam,three from Paravada, two fromPendurthi and three fromVisakhapatnam Rural.

Former IAS officer YVAnuradha and retired judgeBhaskar Rao were present. Thechairman of the SIT Dr K Vijay

Kumar and another retired IASofficer were not present. He isexpected from November 4.The team members said theywill close on November 7.

The session was held atVMRDA Children Arena wherefive help desks were created toreceive the petitions from thepeople. It was decided to acceptthe petitions from 13 divisionsonly. Special deputy collectorSesha Sailaja has been appoint-ed as the coordinator to overseethe functioning of the helpdesks.

Pawan on comeback trail...Continued from Page 3

The sand issue, which hasruined the livelihood of lakhs ofbuilding workers, has givenscope to Pawan Kalyan to showwhat he is. YSRCP leaders andMP Vijayasai Reddy lashed outat Pawan and stated that he isjust acting at the behest of NChandrababu Naidu. Politicalcircles opined that Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy didn'tcare about the TDP's protestsand comments. But, it seems hetook long-march seriously.

PNS n AMARAVATI

The three-day Andhra PradeshFormation Day celebrationsbegan on an optimistic notewith Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy expressinghope that there will be a silverlining ahead as we emulate theideals of great leaders, whostrived for the nation andmove forward with develop-ment agenda.

Speaking at the main func-tion held at the Indira GandhiStadium here on Friday, theChief Minister said, "Despiteshortcomings, we will put theState on the development pathaccording priority to educa-tion, medicare and agriculturebesides other sectors and moveforward with the Navaratnasagenda by emulating the spir-it of the great freedom fighters,who sacrificed their lives forthe country and the state.

The fruits of our efforts andhard work were left behind atMadras and Hyderabad in1953 and 2014 and we have tostart afresh the process ofdevelopment and we will goforward and shape a newAndhra Pradesh, he said.

Potti Sriramulu had becomea martyr after fasting for 58 daysto uphold the Telugu pride. "Hissacrifice will ever remain etchedin our hearts. We are proud tocelebrate the Formation Daysince 1956 and recall the con-tributions made by great per-sonalities like Alluri SitaramaRaju, Tangaturi Prakasam,Pattabhi Seetharamiah, Gouthu

Lachchanna and many othereducationists, reformists, jour-nalists and who laid the socialfoundation of our state. From2014, we started the journeyafresh as our contribution andhard work was left behind andthe residuary state of AndhraPradesh with 13 districts has tomove forward."

When Dr YS RajasekharaReddy was alive, no one imag-ined that the State would bebifurcated. "Among the 29States, we have been leftbehind. We will go ahead withthe Navaratnas and fightagainst social evils to root out

illiteracy, poverty and help thedowntrodden to give them abetter future and plan for thegeneration next."

The Formation Day is beingcelebrated after a gap of fiveyears, the Chief Minister saidand added that he was proudto honour the family membersof freedom fighters. PottiSriramulu became a martyrafter 58 days of fastingdemanding separate Andhra.

Earlier, the family mem-bers' freedom fighters werehonoured on the occasion.Granddaughter of PottiSriramulu, Prof Revathi

thanked the government forthe recognition and recalledthe sacrifice made by hergrandfather who became amartyr and recalled the proudmoment of her life when shesat in the lap of MahatmaGandhi. Family members ofPingali Venkaiah, whodesigned the national flag,Tangaturi Prakasam panthulu,Alluri Sitharama Raju,Kanneganti Hanumanthu,Gadicherla Hari SarvothamaRao, Damodaram Snjeevaiah,Tenneti Viswantham wereamong those who were hon-oured on the occasion.

We will put State ondevelopment path: CM

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy lighting the lamp to inauguarte the APFormation Day celebrations in Vijayawada on Friday. Governor Biswa BushanHarichandan and others look on

n Governor BiswabhusanHarichandan, in hisaddress, traced thehistory of Andhra and thecontribution of Telugupeople during thefreedom struggle and DrSarvepalli Radhakrishnanbesides the importanceof Vijayawada during themovement

n Granddaughter of PottiSriramulu, Prof Revathithanked the governmentfor the recognition andrecalled the sacrificemade by her grandfatherwho became a martyrand recalled the proudmoment of her life whenshe sat in the lap ofMahatma Gandhi

n Family members of Pingali Venkaiah, who designed thenational flag, Tangaturi Prakasam panthulu, Alluri SitharamaRaju, Kanneganti Hanumanthu, Gadicherla Hari SarvothamaRao, Damodaram Snjeevaiah, Tenneti Viswantham wereamong those who were honoured on the occasion

CPM demands ‘healthemergency’ in VizagPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The district unit of CPMdemanded clamping of healthemergency in the district as thecommunicable diseases haveincreased manifold and the gov-ernment agencies have not takenenough preventive or curativemeasures.

District secretary KLokanadham said due to the fail-ure of the public health system,mosquito menace has increasedin rural, agency and city areas ofthe district and as a result malar-ia, dengue and typhoid caseshave shown abnormal spurt.Lokanadham demandedremoval of silt and quick evac-uation of garbage from thestreets of Visakhapatnam.Fogging should also be taken upregularly in all the habitats.

He said so far 903 denguecases have been reported in thedistrict and a prominent profes-sor of Andhra Medical Collegedied of dengue two days ago. Inlast October only 95 cases werereported where as in October thisyear 230 cases were reported.

The senior Left leader suggest-ed that the GVMC authoritiesnot only take up preventive mea-

sures, but also improve the healthservices at the community healthcentres and PHCs. Testing facil-ities should be available in all thegovernment and GVMC hospi-tals and later treatment.

As there is not enough med-ical staff at government hospitals,patients were being forced to taketreatment at private and corpo-rate hospitals paying heavymoney. Families of patientswould run into huge debts if thegovernment failed to come totheir rescue.

Lokanadham appealed to thegovernment to bring dengueunder Arogya Sri scheme so thatthe poor patients could availtreatment at corporate hospitalsand save the lives of their wards.

Andhra Pradesh is the sixthhighest in the country in dengue

cases reported in 2018. As perthe data available at NationalVector Borne Disease ControlProgramme (NVBDCP) recordsas many as 3,159, 3,417, 4,925dengue fever cases were report-ed from Andhra Pradesh in2015, 2016 and 2017 respective-ly. Sources said Visakhapatnamtopped in the State in denguecases in AP last year.

n 903 dengue casesreported this year

n Andhra Pradesh is thesixth highest in the countryin dengue cases reportedin 2018

n As per the data available atNational Vector BorneDisease ControlProgramme (NVBDCP)records as many as 3,159,3,417, 4,925 dengue fevercases were reported fromAndhra Pradesh in 2015,2016 and 2017respectively

n Sources saidVisakhapatnam topped inthe State in dengue casesin AP last year

Continued from Page 3

Mr Pawar's NCP placed thirdin the Maharashtra election with54 seats, just two behind the ShivSena. The Congress won 44.

The BJP and Sena's ties,mended just before the state elec-tion after a long period of bitter-ness, soured again when UddhavThackeray brought up the "50:50arrangement" he said was dis-

cussed before the national elec-tion earlier this year.

"It is time to remind the BJPabout the formula arrived atwhen BJP chief Amit Shah vis-ited my home. We had decidedon a 50:50 formula," UddhavThackeray told the media onOctober 24, the day of theMaharashtra poll results.

With the BJP ending up withfewer seats than in the 2014 state

election, the Sena believes itdeserves an equal timeshare inpower, which means two-and-a-half years for a chief ministerfrom each party. The BJP's ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis,who is eyeing another full term,has denied such a deal. OnThursday, Uddhav Thackerayreportedly told his party MLAshe was disappointed with MrFadnavis's stand.

Uddhav calls Pawar, raisespolitical heat in Mumbai

Telugu techie inGreen Cardbacklog diesContinued from Page 3

Many held him directly respon-sible for the uncertain fate of a num-ber of such families, who were hav-ing to reconsider their lives due totheir long wait to obtain a GreenCard in the US.

The Piedmont Area TeluguAssociation (PATA) has started aGoFundMe page to help Raju'sfamily, The American Bazaar saidin its report. The GoFundMe pagesays: "We (PATA) have started afuneral fundraiser to help cover thecost of his funeral expenses totransport his body to India. Hisfamily was not prepared for the highcost of a funeral, and during this dif-ficult time we are reaching out to thecommunity for help."

I-T dept withdraws969 cases worth Rs 403 cr in TS,Andhra Pradesh Continued from Page 3

The I-T department haswithdrawn 87 cases worth Rs35 crore from AP High Court,452 cases worth Rs 219 crorefrom TS High Court, 407cases worth Rs 119 crorefrom ITAT and 23 casesworth Rs 29 crore fromSupreme Court. The I-Tdepartment has also with-drawn 892 cases pertaining toprevious financial year 2018-19 in TS and AP. It has with-drawn 33 cases from SupremeCourt, 441 cases from HighCourts and 418 cases fromITATs in Telugu States.

Aarogyasri servicesextended to Hyd,Bengaluru, ChennaiContinued from Page 3

Keeping his promise,as per the directive ofthe Experts Committeeappointed by the gov-ernment for reforms inthe health sector,Aarogyasri services willapply to 122 proceduresin cardiac and cardio-therapy, 10 in cardiolo-gy, eight in critical care,13 in endocrinology, 22in gastroenterology, 64in genetic urinary surg-eries, 79 in medical

oncology, 6 in nephrol-ogy, 12 in neurology, 69in neurosurgery, three inorgan transplantation,66 in paediatric surgery,35 in plastic surgery, 13in radiation oncology, 6in rheumatology, 57 insurgical gastroenterolo-gy and 131 in surgicaloncology. In all, 716medical specialties in 17super-specialty hospi-tals, these services willbe avai lable inHyderabad, Chennaiand Bengaluru.

PNS n KAKINADA

The CPI East Godavari unitunder the aegis of its state unitstaged a massive protest at theCollectorate here on Friday overscarcity of sand in the State.Protesters, including CPI States e c r e t a r yK Ramakrishna and districtunit secretary T Madhu withbegging bowls appealed topeople to donate for the cause ofconstruction workers, whobecame jobless due to non-availability of sand.

Speaking on the occasion,Ramakrishna expressed solidar-ity with Pawan Kalyan for hisinitiative to organise long marchin Vizag on Sunday. The veter-

an CPI leader said that due tonon-availability of sand becauseof wrong policies of YSRCPgovernment constructionworkers have been facing star-vation for the past four months.Some of the construction work-ers staged the mock suicideprotest by hanging their neckswith ropes stating that they haveno other option except to hangthemselves, unable to copewith the starvation due to lackof work because of non-avail-ability of sand .

Construction workers, whoturned out in large numbers,raised slogans demanding thatthe government make sandavailable immediately and savetheir families from starvation.

SAND CRISIS IN STATE

CPI stages massive protest in support of construction workers

CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna, along with party leaders and workers, seeksalms in Kakinada on Friday as a part of protest against the government for sandcrisis. Construction workers staging a mock suicide bid by hanging their neckswith ropes

Polavaram willbe completedon time: MinContinued from Page 3

The minister said 86% ofthe projects in the State arebrimming with water,thanks to copious rainfallfor the past three monthsand that the governmentwould take the best avail-able options for completingall the projects.

He said that the previousTDP government hadboasted of completing thePolavaram project, but haddone nothing between 2014and 2017 and only completed the spillway inthe past two years and kepton telling lies that it hadcompleted the whole pro-ject.

The minister said 86% ofthe projects in the State arefilled to the brim, thanks tocopious rainfall for the pastthree months and that the government wouldtake the best availableoptions for completing allthe projects.

Only Central govt canenforce laws to controlPress, says Perni Nani

Somireddy hailsrejection of Jaganplea by CBI Court

Rs 10 cr fora facelift to VisakhaMuseumPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Commissioner of GreaterVisakhapatnam MunicipalCorporation Dr G Srijanasaid Rs 10.8 crore would bespent for renovation ofMaritime Museum andVisakhapatnam HeritageMuseum.

The Commissioner visitedboth the museums located onthe Beach Road, along withthe technical officials, officersand inspected the ceiling andthe age old monuments.Staring at the damaged ceil-ing of the Maritime Museum,she asked the executive engi-neer to repair the ceiling forwhich the engineer said itwould cost Rs 40 lakh. Thecost would cover the electri-cal works and other minorrepairs to the building. TheCommissioner told the tech-nical staff to improve thelighting and air conditioningas the number of tourists tothe museum has increasedover the years.

Curator of the museumMAN Patrudu said theMaritime Museum buildingconstructed by the Dutchwas more than 200 years andit needed periodical repairsand maintenance to keep it ina shape. She told the curatorthat repairs would be takenup immediately after the gov-ernment approves the pro-posals.

PNSn AMARAVATI

Minister for Information PerniVenkataramaiah (Nani) said thatonly the Central government hasthe right to implement laws tocontrol the press and nowhere inthe country has any State govern-ment made laws to do so.Whether it is to give a licence toa newspaper or a TV channel, itis within the jurisdiction of theCentral government.

He said according to Article19 clause-1, sub-clause-A of the

Constitution, there was no threatto freedom of the press and in thedissemination of informationto the people by the government.The GO issued by the State gov-ernment on October 30 statesthat if any section of the pressmakes baseless statementsagainst a department in thegovernment, the departmenthead has to give a factual rejoin-der. The newspaper or the TVchannel has to disclose therejoinder to the people.

He said in case the newspaperor the TV channel does not dis-close the rejoinder, the govern-ment would issue a legal noticeand go to the court on the issue.This was the crux matter of theGO. What is wrong in this andwhere was the government muz-zling the freedom of the press,the minister asked. What thegovernment wants is that themedia should have proof whenit is making allegations and theyshould not be baseless.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Senior TDP leader and formerminister SomireddyChandramohan Reddy onFriday hailed the CBI Courtverdict on a petition filed byChief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy in hisDisproportionate Assets (DA)case, seeking exemption frompersonal appearance in thecourt every Friday.

Addressing a press confer-ence in Nellore on Friday, hesaid rejecting JaganmohanReddy's petition, the courtobserved that everybody -high or low - is equal beforethe law. He observed thatthere is no change inJaganmohan Reddy or hisaccomplices and saidJaganmohan Reddy had sub-mitted a wrong affidavit stat-ing that it would cost theexchequer Rs 60 lakh for hispersonal appearance in thecourt. "

Chandramohan Reddy saideven if Jaganmohan Reddyengages a specilial flight, itwould not cost him morethan Rs 5 lakh and the cost ofhis security would not exceedRs 2 to Rs 3 lakh. He shouldtake the responsibility for fur-nishing false affidavit in regard

to the expenditure, he felt.Jaganmohan Reddy should

have resigned owning moralresponsibility after the CBICourt pronounced its judge-ment, Chandramohan Reddysaid recalling former ChiefMinister Neelam SanjeevaReddy quitting his post whenthe court gave its judgementagainst the government's deci-sion on nationalisation of busservices. "If a Chief Minister,who represents five crore peo-ple, has to stand in court, itmeans he has not given impor-tance to values," he said.

Though the Supreme Courthad delivered a judgement tosettle cases pertaining to peo-ple's representatives withinone year, the order is notbeing followed, he added.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Family members of freedomfighters, who were honouredon the occasion of the StateFormation Day on Friday,expressed their gratitude andhappiness on being felicitated and recalled theirmemories of their elders whotook part in the freedomstruggle.

Granddaughter of PottiSriramulu Prof T Revathy,said that her family distinct-ly remembers their grandfa-ther and his association withMahatma Gandhi. NRGuptha and AnanthaLakshmi, parents or Revathy,are also freedom fighters andparticipated in hunger strikealong with Potti Sriramulu.

"Till now, we have beenrecognised only at the district

level. We are very happywith the decision of YS JaganMohan Reddy to felicitate thefamily members of freedomfighters. We feel very hon-oured," she said.

Pingali Susheela, wife ofPingali Dasaradharam who isgrandson of Pingali Venkaiahwho designed the NationalFlag was honoured on theoccasion. She l ives inVijayawada.

The kin of Alluri SitaramaRaju also said that they feltgreat for the recognition.Sr i R ama R aju, son ofSatyanarayana Raju, who isthe brother of Alluri SitaRama Raju, was felicitated.He lives in Rajhmundry andretired from DRDL. RamaRaju's father SatyanarayanaRaju is close associate ofAlluri Sita Rama Raju.

Family membersof freedomfighters honoured

Deputy Chief Minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose garlanding the statue of Potti SriRamulu in Kakinada on Friday on the occasion of AP Formation Day

FLORAL TTRIBUTES

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 2, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

Pawar visits Nashik,rues govt apathy forrain-hit farmersMUMBAI: NCP chief SharadPawar on Friday visited Nashikdistrict in north Maharashtra toreview crop losses due to rains.Withdrawing monsoon rainshave damaged crops in manyparts of the state. "The farmerssaid they have lost crop,suffered heavy losses and arefaced with question whether tolive or die. No one from thegovernment has approachedthem the farmers said," Pawartweeted. The former Unionagriculture minister said hevisited Take Ghoti village inIgatpuri tehsil. A partystatement said Pawar will alsovisit the Marathwada region fora similar inspection onNovember 6.

Narayanasamy'sremarkunparliamentary: Bedi

17 girls rescued inOdisha, suspectedtrafficker heldKORAPUT (ODISHA): Nov 1(PTI) A group of 17 teenagedgirls have been rescued from abus in Odisha's Koraput district,police said on Friday. Oneperson, who wasaccompanying the girls, hasbeen arrested on the charge oftrafficking, a police officer said.Acting on a tip-off, a policeteam rescued 17 girls from abus at Jeypore bus stand andnabbed the 26-year-old man onWednesday night, Jeypore Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO)Varun Guntupalli said. "We hadspecific information that thegirls were being trafficked fromRaighar in Nabarangpur districtto Visakhapatnam in AndhraPradesh in a bus. Accordingly,we stopped the vehicle atJeypore bus stand," he said.The accused revealed duringinterrogation that fromVisakhapatnam, he would havetaken the girls, all fromNabarangpur district, toChennai in Tamil Nadu toengage them in constructionwork, the SDPO said. All thegirls are in their teens, he said,adding that steps are beingtaken to hand over the rescuedgirls to their parents. "A racketis suspected to be operationalin the region, members ofwhich are trafficking children toother states by promising themlucrative jobs," Guntupalli said.Awareness campaigns havebeen launched in the area tomake people cautious abouthuman traffickers, he added.

PUDUCHERRY: LieutenantGovernor of Puducherry KiranBedi on Friday said ChiefMinister V Narayanasamy'sremark on her was'unparliamentary, uncalled for,uncivilised and uncouth, andunacceptable.' The ChiefMinister had on Thursdaycalled Bedi a demon, who wasposted in the Union Territory bythe Centre, because she hadallegedly been impedingimplementation of welfareschemes decided upon by theterritorial cabinet. The formerIPS officer aired her outrageagainst the Chief Minister in herwhatsapp message. She said,"Demons do not work for thelarger good and demons wanteverything for themselves andalso scare people." The ChiefMinister made the remark whileaddressing a meetingorganised by the rulingCongress to observe the 35thdeath anniversary of formerPrime Minister Indira Gandhi.

PNS n BENGALURU

Chief Minister B SYediyurappa on Friday calledupon people from differentregions living in Karnataka tolearn Kannada to strengthentheir bonding with the state,its culture and people.

He was addressing a gath-ering at Kanteerava Stadiumwhere the 64th KarnatakaRajyotsava, the foundationday of the State, was celebrat-ed in a grand manner.

He said the history ofKannada language is morethan 2,000 years, which wasenriched by great litterateurssuch as Pampa, Harihara,12th Century AD socialreformer Basavanna andKuvempu. Right from ancientliterature to medieval era lit-erature, renaissance, avant-garde, revolutionary litera-ture and Dalit literature con-tributed significantly toKannada, he added.

He pointed out that thestate is credited with havingeight Jnanapith awardees.

Prior to his address, hehoisted the Kannada flag alongwith the Indian tri-colour.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Shiromani Akali Dal presi-dent Sukhbir Singh Badal onFriday urged PM Modi toacquit Sikhs who had desert-ed the Army in the aftermathof the Operation Blue Star ofall charges, and treat them asex-servicemen by restoringall benefits to them.

In a letter to the primeminister, Badal also said jus-tice continued to elude thevictims of anti-Sikh riots of1984. "I am writing to you tobring to your notice the sagaof appalling injustice to theSikh community.... The guiltyare still at large and victimfamilies are wailing for jus-tice," he said.

Indian Army conductedOperation Blue Star to flushout militants from GoldenTemple in 1984. After theoperation, Badal said, 309Sikh soldiers left their barrackin a state of shock and laterthey were court-martialledand punished.

PNS n NEW DELHI

India and Germany haveresolved to intensify bilateraland multilateral cooperationto deal with the threats of ter-rorism and extremism, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi saidon Friday after holding wide-raging talks with GermanChancellor Angela Merkel.

After the two leaders co-chaired the fifth Inter-Governmental Consultations,India and Germany signed fivejoint declarations of intentand inked 11 pacts in fieldssuch as space, civil aviation,maritime technology, medi-cine and education.

"We have vowed to build'new India' by 2022 and exper-tise of technological, economicpowerhouses like Germanywill be useful for it," Modi saidin his press statement after themeeting.

"We have resolved to inten-sify bilateral and multilateralcooperation to deal with ter-rorism and extremism," headded.

India and Germany willcontinue cooperation to expe-dite reforms in UN SecurityCouncil, Modi said.

He said that India has invit-ed Germany to take advantage

of opportunities in defenceproduction in the defence cor-ridors in UP and Tamil Nadu.

"We have decided to tapcooperation possibilities in e-mobility, smart cities, cleaningof rivers and environmentalprotection," Modi said.

PNS n SRINAGAR

The PDP expelled its RajyaSabha member Nazir AhmadLaway from the party onFriday for "anti-party activi-ties", after he had attended theswearing-in ceremony of thenew Lieutenant Governor ofJammu and Kashmir.

"The member of RajyaSabha, Nazir Ahmed Laway,has been expelled from thebasic membership of the party,"a Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) spokesman said in astatement here.

The decision, he said, hasbeen taken by the party lead-ership in view of Laway's par-ticipation in the swearing-inceremony of the newlyappointed Lieutenant

Governor in Srinagar under-mining the party's stand.

He said that the participa-tion of the MP was in contra-vention to the party's standregarding the current politicalsituation and the revocation ofJammu and Kashmir's special

status under Article 370 of theConstitution.

G C Murmu was onThursday sworn in as lieu-tenant governor (L-G) ofJammu and Kashmir. Theunion territories of Jammuand Kashmir, and Ladakh,

have been carved out of thestate of Jammu and Kashmir, inaccordance with the govern-ment's August 5 decision torevoke the special status of thestate under Article 370 andbifurcate it into two UTs.

This is not for the first timethat Laway has gone against thedirectives and instructions ofthe party, the spokesman said.

Prior to this, Laway hadabstained from voting againstthe triple talaq bill in RajyaSabha this year.

Laway had torn a copy of theConstitution, along with PDPMP Mir Mohammed Fayaz, onAugust 5 before Union HomeMinister Amit Shah laid theJammu and KashmirReorganisation Bill in RajyaSabha.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court wasinformed Friday that formerfinance minister PChidambaram, lodged in Tiharjail in the INX Media moneylaundering case, is fine anddoes not require hospitalisa-tion.

Solicitor General TusharMehta read out the report ofAIIMS Medical Board, set upon the court's order to exam-ine Chidambaram's health con-dition, and said the Congressleader does not require a ster-ile environment.

Justice Suresh Kait, who washearing Chidambaram's inter-im bail plea, directed the Tiharjail superintendent to provideclean and hygienic surround-ing to the 74-year old Congressleader as also home-cookedfood, mineral water, mosquitoprotection net and repellant.

The court also directed thatChidambaram's medical checkup be done regularly.

The court disposed of the

plea after senior advocate KapilSibal, representingChidambaram, said they donot require any further direc-tion.

The court had on Thursdaydirected the AIIMS director toconstitute a medical board togive opinion on the health ofChidambaram, who is suffer-ing from Crohn's disease.

Crohn's disease refers to theinflammation of the digestivetract leading to abdominalpain, diarrhoea and also weightloss.

The high court had saidthat the Hyderabad-based gas-troenterologist NageshwarReddy, who has been treatingthe Congress leader, be includ-ed in the board to give his opin-

ion on Chidambaram's medicalcondition.

Chidambaram has soughtinterim bail in the case, filed bythe Enforcement Directorate(ED), on medical grounds say-ing his condition is deteriorat-ing and he needs to be in a ster-ile environment.

He has sought interim relieffor six days to enable him toconsult and get examined byhis regular doctor, Reddy, at theAsian Institute ofGastroenterology (AIG) inHyderabad.

He has claimed that he needs"urgent medical treatment forthe acute and persistentabdominal pain being experi-enced" by him since October 5

due to Crohn's disease whichhe was diagnosed with in 2017.

The court was informed thatChidambaram's weight hasreduced from 73 kg to 66 kg,which showed that his condi-tion was deteriorating in cus-tody.

The court in its order direct-ed the AIIMS medical board togive opinion onChidambaram's condition,especially on whether herequires admission in sterileenvironment at the hospital.

It asked the AIIMS directorto constitute the board by 4 pmand the team of doctors willinclude Reddy.

The court made it clear thatthe board will meet at 7 pm and

if Reddy is unable to reach herefrom Hyderabad, the board willsit on Friday at 10 am and giveits opinion.

The interim bail applica-tion was filed inChidambaram's pending bailplea which is listed for hearingon November 4.

According to his interimbail plea, he was examined atthe All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS) onOctober 7 and was prescribedan antibiotic and painkillersafter which the abdominalpain subsided.

Thereafter, the problemrecurred on October 22 and hewas examined on October 23at AIIMS and prescribed anew set of medicines. However,there was no relief from thepain, the application has con-tended.

Subsequently, he was exam-ined again at AIIMS onOctober 24 and October 26and tests were conducted atRam Manohar Lohia Hospitalon October 28.

INX case: Chidambaram fine, govt advocate tells HC

PNS n JAIPUR

Toll tax collection from privatevehicles on state highways hasbegun again from Friday mid-night in Rajasthan, 18 monthssince it was revoked by the pre-vious BJP-led government inthe state.

Private vehicles wereexempted from paying toll taxon state highways in April lastyear in Rajasthan, but theCongress government in thestate decided to reverse thedecision for maintenance andrepairing of roads.

A notification for toll taxcollection was issued by thegovernment on Thursday, fol-lowing which the exercise wasstarted from midnight.

The state government, in astatement, said repairing andmaintenance of the highwayswere being affected due to theprevious regime's decision,which was taken "hurriedlyand without consideration",adding that this was being

done in public interest and toensure that the exchequer wasnot burdened.

Since the former BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) regime, ledby Vasundhara Raje, exempt-ed private vehicles from pay-

ing toll tax on 55 state high-ways, it led to a loss of Rs 172crore in toll tax collection, ascompared to financial year2017-18, which had an adverseimpact on road repair and con-struction works, according tothe statement.

Before the exemption wasaccorded to private vehicles,toll tax collection on variousstate highways fetched Rs 851crore annually and these high-ways were being properlymaintained, the governmentsaid. The collection of toll taxfrom commercial vehicles willcontinue.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Ahead of the Ayodhya case ver-dict, senior member of the AllIndia Muslim Personal LawBoard Maulana KhalidRasheed Firangi Mahali onFriday said imams shouldadvice Muslims to repose faithin the Constitution and judi-ciary and maintain communalharmony.

Chief Justice of India RanjanGogoi is expected to deliververdict in the Ayodhya casebefore his retirement onNovember 17.

In a statement here MaulanaKhalid said, "As media reportssuggest the Supreme Court'sjudgement on Ayodhya isgoing to come soon. You areaware of the fact that theAyodhya case is the biggest andmost sensitive case of inde-pendent India. The entirecountry and global communi-ty is looking towards the judge-ment. Hence, it is the respon-

sibility of every citizen to hon-our the judgement of the courtand maintain peace."

"My appeal is to every imamof various mosques to makeappeal that Muslims need notto feel afraid, but they shouldrepose faith in country'sConstitution and judiciary, andwhatever the judgement comes,we should honour it," he said.

Maulana Khalid alsoappealed to people not to

indulge in any type of celebra-tion after the judgement isout, not to indulge in sloga-neering nor undertake protests.

"No issue should be raisedwhich may hurt religious sen-timents. The fabric of commu-nal bonhomie and Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb should not beallowed to be damaged," hesaid.

A 5-judge Constitutionbench headed by the CJI had

reserved the verdict on October16 after concluding the 40-day-long hearing in the politicallysensitive case

Fourteen appeals have beenfiled in the apex court againstthe 2010 Allahabad High Courtjudgment, delivered in fourcivil suits, that the 2.77-acreland in Ayodhya be partitionedequally among three parties --the Sunni Waqf Board, theNirmohi Akhara and RamLalla.

It is theresponsibility ofevery citizen tohonour thejudgement of thecourt and maintainpeace, PersonalLaw BoardMaulana KhalidRasheed said

Pvt vehicles wereexempted from tollon state highwaysin April last year,but Congress govthas decided toreverse decision

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta read outthe report of AIIMS Medical Board, setup on the court's order to examineChidambaram's health condition, andsaid the Congress leader does notrequire a sterile environment

Kerala Congress (M) power tussle:Court dismisses Jose Mani's pleaPNS n KOTTAYAM (KER)

In yet another setback to JoseK Mani, a court in Idukki dis-trict on Friday upheld a lowercourt's order restraining himfrom officiating and discharg-ing any function as the chair-man of the Kerala Congress(M). The Munsiff court hadearlier issued an injunctionorder preventing Jose Manifrom officiating as the chair-man of the KC(M).

Challenging this, the Jose KMani faction filed an appealbefore the sub-court inKattappana in Idukki district.

The court dismissed the

plea observing there was noneed to intervene in thematter at this stage. Rival PJ Joseph faction in theKC(M) had secured a stayorder from the local courtagainst the election of Rajya

Sabha MP Jose K Mani asthe party chairman on June16.

Joseph, the working chair-man of the party, had declaredthe election as invalid andsaid it was against the partyconstitution.

The Jose K Mani faction hadclaimed that out of 437 statecommittee members of theparty, 325 attended the meet-ing which elected the newparty chairman.

Hailing the court's decisionon Friday, veteran leaderJoseph said Jose Mani has noposition in the party as he didnot agree with its constitution.

R’than restores toll on pvtvehicles on state highways

Narendra Modi

India andGermany willcontinuecooperation toexpedite reformsin UN SecurityCouncil, PMModi said

Mani faction hadclaimed that 325state committeemembers hadattended ameeting electednew partychairman

AIMPLB asks Muslims torepose faith in Constitution

PNS n BERHAMPUR (ODISHA)

Over 20 families in Ganjam dis-trict have not been given rationsupply after a panchayat bodydecided to stop the benefitsfrom reaching people who werefound defecating in open.

According to a decisiontaken at a panchayat meetingon October 20, the distributionof ration under the public dis-tribution system (PDS) wasstopped to over 20 families inlast 11 days, Sushant Swain, thesarpanch of Goutami pan-chayat in Sanakhemundi block,said.

However, Ganjam districtcollector Vijay Amruta Kunagesaid, the benefits underNational Food Security Act(NFSA) and State FoodSecurity Act (SFSA) to anyperson should not be curtailed.

If anyone was found defe-cating in open, particularly onroadside, the panchayat bodywill instruct the dealer con-cerned to stop giving ration tosuch people for a month, Swainsaid.

The move is aimed at mak-ing people aware of the need to

use toilets, he said.Around 300 women, all

members of a self-help group(SHG), patrol the open spacesin the panchayat from 3 AM to5 AM and 5 PM to 7 PM tokeep vigil on the violators, thesarpanch said.

"If they find anyone defecat-ing in the open, they inform thepanchayat. The women do thework voluntarily," he said.

Initially several villagers hadopposed the decision of thepanchayat but the number of

people defecating in the openwas now gradually reducing, heclaimed.

Those who do not have toi-lets in their houses have beenasked to build toilets in the nexttwo months under SwachhBharat Mission (SBM), Swainsaid.

Goutami panchayat hasaround 2,000 households witha population of 4,563. Of these,Of these, 180 families do nothave toilets in their houses atpresent, the sarpanch said.

Yedi urgespeople fromother states tolearn Kannada

Badal for Sikhdeserters tobe treated asex-servicemen

PDP expels MP for attending L-G Murmu’s oath

AYODHYA VERDICT AHEAD

India, Germany sign 17MoUs on maritime, agriPNS n NEW DELHI

Seventeen agreements havebeen signed between Indiaand Germany in the fields ofagriculture, maritime tech-nology, ayurveda and yogaamong others, the ExternalAffairs Ministry said.

Five joint declarations ofintent were also exchangedbetween India and Germany,the ministry said in a state-ment. The joint declarationsof intent included coopera-

tion on strategic projects,partnership for green urbanmobility, research and devel-opment on artificial intelli-gence and cooperation in thefield of prevention of marinelitter, it said.

German Chancel lorAngela Merkel, who is on atwo-day visit to India, saidthe agreements prove that tiesbetween the countries aremarching ahead in the area ofnew and advanced technolo-gy.

India, Germany to deepenterror combat ties: ModiNo ration to 20 Odisha families

for defecating in open

US President Donald Trump’sover-enthusiastic and cinemat-ic description of the end ofIslamic State (IS) leader AbuBakr al-Baghdadi notwithstand-

ing, the global reaction to the latest counter-terror operation was more nuanced and bal-anced. The global “war on terror”, which offi-cially started in the aftermath of the 9/11attacks, has continuously evolved and mutat-ed to include the likes of the IS and has sub-designated subsequent operational initiatives.Take for example, Operation InherentResolve.

Irrespective of nomenclature and terrororganisations involved, the “war on terror”has been conducted with numerous interna-tional powers, regional nations and sectar-ian militias, who often worked at cross-pur-poses. This chessboard-like landscape fre-quently distracted various forces fromfocussing on the principal terror organisa-tion ie, IS and, instead, checkmated eachother, while delaying the decimation of theIS’s infrastructure and leadership. Such anunaligned environment compromised on theoperational efficacy of the “war on terror”and most importantly allowed social justi-fications to the terror organisations to per-petuate their perverse logic.

The capture of Osama bin Laden in 2011did not automatically amount to neutralis-ing the very idea of Al Qaeda, which has sincesurvived in various metastasising inspirationsand formats across the world. Ironically, AbuBakr al-Baghdadi was himself taking coverin a territory in the Idlib province that wascontrolled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham(HTS), which itself is an affiliate of Al Qaeda.Even the demise of Bin Laden eight years ago,the subsequent naming and shaming of hisatrocities and the emergence of the moredominant IS formation could not complete-ly obliterate the “idea” of this terroristorganisation. In the fight against terror, themaxim, “one terrorist killed gives rise to twonew terrorists”, holds true unless the “idea”of terror itself is addressed and not just thefoot-soldiers of the “idea.” Many Al Qaedaaffiliates today bear little resemblance or con-nection with each other, let alone any formof coordination. Yet, the “idea” has inspiredterror organisations in West Africa, NorthAfrica, Somalia, Spain, the Afghan-Pakregion to organisations as far as thePhilippines.

Former US President Barack Obama wasmore restrained, realistic and clinical in han-dling the “taking out” of Osama bin Ladenas he presumably realised both the enormi-ty of the act and yet the limitations of thesame in ending the “war on terror” thatnecessitated a more fundamental change ofsocietal perceptions. Obama had recognisedthe importance of remaining “inclusive” andnot giving into blustering rhetoric when hepresciently stated that “his (Osama’s) deathdoes not mark the end of our effort. There’sno doubt that Al Qaeda will continue to pur-

sue attacks against us.” He saga-ciously added, “We must alsoreaffirm that the US is not —and never will be — at war withIslam. I’ve made clear, just asPresident Bush did shortly after9/11, that our war is not againstIslam. Bin Laden was not aMuslim leader; he was a massmurderer of Muslims. Indeed, AlQaeda has slaughtered scores ofMuslims in many countries,including our own. So hisdemise should be welcomed byall who believe in peace andhuman dignity.”

No such reassuring tone oremotion was at display inTrump’s moment whenBaghdadi was killed. He gloat-ed inelegantly about the terror-ist “crying, screaming and whim-pering” besides adding thatBaghdadi “died like a dog.” In apolarised world, increasing voic-es of “us versus them” played outopenly. This conveniently andunfairly lumped people togeth-er by virtue of their religiosity,nationality or even the topicalstatus as US “allies.” In thisbackdrop, the opportunity tohonour the moment by talkingabout the regressive “idea” thatbesets terrorism in a sensitiveway was lost to the usual urgencyof self-aggrandisement byTrump.

While the end of Baghdadi

is an important milestone, it wasalmost foretold with his organ-isation getting diminished con-siderably in the recent past.Importantly, the genesis of boththe Al Qaeda earlier and IS laterwas based on extreme anti-Americanism, a sentiment thathad festered in the region forlong and one that was exploitedby these terror organisations.

In 1997, Osama bin Ladenhad said, “As a result of an arro-gant atmosphere, the US hastoday set a double standard, call-ing whoever goes against itsinjustice a terrorist.” A potentmix of the prevailing sense ofinjustice, ignorance and reli-gious benefaction was mali-ciously invoked by such-likeforces, ably aided by the belliger-ence of the US actions that per-sisted with the “us versus them”divide. This fundamental battleof perceptions between the US’efforts and the locals in conflictzones is an age-old one withAmerica repeatedly displayingvery limited and selfish objec-tives, then bolting out immedi-ately on achieving them andleaving a dangerous vacuumthat is often filled by the likes ofIS. This selfish short-sightednessof the US is what germinated theTaliban after it vacatedAfghanistan in the early 1990sand this is exactly what germi-

nated the IS when it vacated Iraq(after Saddam Hussein’s hang-ing) at the hands of sectarianmilitias.

As the most dominant inter-ventionist in global conflicts, theUS has to tackle the battle of per-ceptions in negating the “idea”that gives rise to forces like theTaliban, IS or Al Qaeda. The not-so-subtle mention of the“Muslim ban” during the presi-dential question and answersession following Baghdadi’skilling was exactly the sort ofcontextualisation that is unhelp-ful, unwarranted and unfair.

All the historical injustices,discrimination and double-stan-dards that were committed bythe colonists earlier and by theUS more recently, are the criti-cal closure-points that can negatethe “idea”, rather than just theelimination of terrorists. Historyof all successful counter-insur-gency closures in the worldpoint out the change in percep-tion of the locals, which thenresults in the suffocation of anylocal support system for the ter-ror infrastructure to survive.Till that happens, the killing ofany terrorist, however senior inranking, is still just a statistic.

(The writer, a military veter-an, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islandsand Puducherry)

The dragon will continue to spew fire andspeak in a forked tongue. All of India’s effortsto contain China vis-a-vis Pakistan through

“informal” and “friendly summits” and engagein the practical context of economics beyond pol-itics have yielded little result. For China again blewhot on the Union Territory status given to Ladakhand termed the reorganisation of Jammu andKashmir “unlawful and void.” It went even fur-ther to claim that Ladakh now “includes” someof China’s territory in its administrative jurisdic-

tion. Not only this, it said the FATF (Financial Action Task Force), the money laun-dering watchdog, had no business to blacklist nations but should help them counterterrorist funding and networks. As the statements were issued in rapid succes-sion, China proved that Pakistan would be its all-weather friend and a potent coun-terweight against India. The Government understands the need for such postur-ing and accommodates China despite that. It doesn’t even officially commenton China’s own controversial moves and decisions and has been clarifying thatthe upgraded status of Ladakh didn’t automatically mean a change on the Lineof Actual Control (LAC). So this constant needling was impetus enough to givea strong rejoinder to Beijing and ask it to refrain from commenting on our inter-nal matters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, has been facing heat from theOpposition for not raising with Chinese President Xi Jinping the pro-democracyprotests being muzzled in Hong Kong, human rights violations in Xinjiang, con-tinued oppression in Tibet and Beijing’s shenanigans in South China Sea. So thisresponse showed that we have a backbone at least and won’t allow walkovers.

It is surprising that China, which till now had been more nuanced, resortedto provocation so soon after the Modi-Xi summit. India must raise China’s occu-pation of about 38,000 sq km of Aksai Chin and 5,800 sq km in Shaksgam Valleyof Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and question vehemently its claims overlarge parts of Arunachal Pradesh. China approached the Security Council despiteviolating its principles. It violated the status quo by annexing a part of Kashmirin 1963, building the Karakoram highway through what it calls “disputed” terri-tory for its convenience and more recently the corridor project in PoK. Thoughthe bilateral relationship has been swinging from cooperative to competitive bouts,New Delhi would do well to parry Beijing’s diplomatic blows with its own strate-gic ones, like excluding Huawei from 5G. Our market force will neutralise hypocrisy.

Information warfare is winning elections,changing regimes and recasting people’sopinions and policy across the world. And

social media platforms have emerged as thefavoured tools given their porosity and vulner-abilities. Hackers are being used to spread mal-ware across the information highway, commis-sioned by vested interests, corporations andeven governments, to mine sensitive data.Clearly, social messaging platform WhatsApphas not been able to proof itself from hackerswho have injected 1.5 billion phones with sur-

veillance software despite an update in May. Many experts then had even warnedthat the military-grade software transmitted through something as basic as a missedcall could now be used by less sophisticated hackers. So it is no surprise thatthe messaging company has now confirmed that an Israeli spyware, called Pegasus,was used by operators to spy on journalists and human rights activists in India.It said it was aware of those targetted and had reached out to them but refusedto put out a number though it claimed it was “not insignificant.” Although theGovernment has sought a response from WhatsApp and the company itself issuing NSO, the Israeli firm behind the snooping technology, there are questionsabout the nature and intent of the operation. NSO claims that it usually works withGovernments and its agencies across the world as their big brother. The 1,400affected users span four continents and include diplomats, political dissidents,activists, journalists and senior government officials. Which means that the estab-lishments of nation states were involved in some way. The spyware itself is veryeffective in profiling a person on both his private and public domains and, there-fore, most relied upon as a watchdog. If the user clicks on an exploit link, it allowsthe operator to penetrate security features on the phone without the user’s knowl-edge. It can then control the phone and gain access to information like passwords,contact lists, calendar events, text messages, mails and percolate to other appsloaded on it. Given this pattern, could the India episode really have an official endorse-ment of sorts as is being feared? The names of those targetted certainly seemto confirm doubts considering that they are all critics of mainstream discourseand have been rights champions. Besides stifling dissent has not been restrictedto the cyberspace but is now common across India. Apart from journalists whohave been critical of the Government, the list includes activists who are Left-lean-ing, sympathetic to the Dalits in the Bhima-Koregaon case and even those work-ing at the grassroots in Chhattisgarh. Looking back at the harsh crackdowns onactivists of Bhima Koregaon and charging them with something as serious as sedi-tion, the takedown and trolling of anybody who is a truth-seeker, ruining the careerfate of journalists daring to present an alternative perspective, it takes no rocketscience to conclude that the move could have been politically motivated. Besides,the process is costly. If not the Government then at least the ruling BJP comeswithin the arc of suspicion. Perhaps, that’s the reason Union Communicationsand IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, too, took a swipe at surveillance drills in theUPA era, saying they did not even spare former President Pranab Mukherjee. Butwhataboutery in no way dilutes the bigger picture that regardless of the politicalestablishment of the day, each regime, both at home and around the world, iscreating an Orwellian matrix, chipping away at free speech and thinking and track-ing you down to scare you from exercising basic human rights. The democracythat social media has so far guaranteed is actually at most threat on its own turf.

According to the US-based Forrester report, India is in the list of countrieswhere government surveillance has become a major concern from a data pri-vacy perspective. Come January 2020, a new set of rules for platforms that allowpeople to send and share messages will mean that they can be monitored andintercepted in the name of national security and controlling misinformation. It nowwants WhatsApp to use automated tools for messages so that, like China, it cantake down specific messages and even trace them back to the original sender.It is this that has sparked fears of a witch-hunt. State-sponsored snooping maynot affect the common man so much, except for mapping his lifestyle and behav-ioural choices, but clearly discourages the expression of a thinking mind. TheSupreme Court had said that privacy is “the constitutional core of human digni-ty.” But given the targetted breaches, that dignity has been compromised.

Breach most foul

Kashmir saga

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Unwelcome visit” (October30). Post the abrogation of Article370, a clampdown in the Valleywas in order but it cannot be pro-longed beyond a point. TheBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) per-haps feared a political whiplashand adverse impact on itsprospects in the Maharashtraand Haryana Assembly elections.Its political bravado was evi-dently short-lived.

But having now felt the grow-ing national unease through theAssembly election results, theBJP must realise the futility ofextending the siege in the Valley.The visit of MPs from theEuropean Union (EU) to get a“first-hand feel” of the ground sit-uation or any other ploy will onlyhelp to the extent of buying time.Otherwise, it will compound theburden of remedy.

International opinion is fick-le; though it is favourable today,it can abruptly change tomorrow.The sooner we move on to thenext phase the quicker we can putthe Kashmir episode behind us.

R NarayananMumbai

Simplify GST norms

Sir — Recent media reports havementioned the steps taken tocheck large-scale evasion of theGoods and Services Tax (GST) by

way of false claim of input taxcredit (ITC), which includes cap-ping the number of invoices intune with business turnover.

The Government has alreadyamended the rules to restrict theITC to 20 per cent of the eligible

amount for an entity in case thesupplier has not uploaded rele-vant invoice.

All such steps will rather fur-ther complicate the already-cum-bersome GST system. A simplerway may be to retain the ITC sys-

tem only for trade activities, abol-ishing it from manufacture andservice sector. In such a scenario,only two basic GST rates of 10 and25 per cent can replace the vari-ous GST slabs. Increasing the GSTfor gold, silver and diamonds to10 per cent may not result in dou-ble taxation. Cess should bereplaced by additional GST slabs;petrol and diesel should alsocome under the GST system.

Madhu AgrawalDelhi

Irresponsible leader

Sir — It isn’t surprising thatCongress leader Rahul Gandhi willskip the 10-day agitation organisedby his party to protest against keyissues under the ModiGovernment. The timing of hiscurrent “meditation trip” has raisedeyebrows. That Rahul will miss outon a golden opportunity to con-front the Modi Government speaksvolumes not only about his polit-ical inexperience but also hisinability to lead the party.

SwetaVia email

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op nionVIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 2, 2019

06

War on terror not over yet

BHOPINDER SINGH

While Baghdadi has been eliminated, the US has to tackle the battle of perceptions innegating the idea that gives rise to forces like the Taliban, IS or Al Qaeda

We don't want to be in such aweather outside in the field forsix or seven hours. Threehours a game we are playingand three hours of practice.

Bangladesh coach—Russell Domingo

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

Gurudas Dasgupta: A doyen of trade union

With the demise of communist leader GurudasDasgupta, the Indian trade union movement haslost a doyen. Known for his oratory skills,

Dasgupta spent three terms in the Rajya Sabha and twoin the Lok Sabha. As the general secretary of the All IndiaTrade Union Council (AITUC), he transformed the lesser-known trade union into a major force, even surpassing theCommunist Party of India (Marxist)’s Centre of Indian TradeUnions (CITU) in membership. He was the man whobrought unity of all trade unions, including the BharatiyaMazdoor Sangh (BMS) and the Indian National Trade UnionCongress (INTUC) during the UPA Government and organ-ised a nation-wide strike that saw the participation of morethan 20 crore workers from the public sector.

As far as his parliamentary career is concerned,Dasgupta’s turning point came in the early 1990s whenhe raised the Harshad Mehta scandal in Parliament, expos-ing several irregularities. The scam shook the securitiesmarket and forced the then Narasimha Rao Governmentto set up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probethe issue. He was a member of the JPC on the securitiesscam that was headed by Congressman Ram NiwasMirdha. His party colleagues still recall his fiery interro-

gation of bureaucrats in the committee along with lateCPI(M) leader Somnath Chatterjee. Unhappy with the con-clusions of the JPC, Dasgupta even wrote an alternativereport, naming a couple of individuals which the officialreport left out. The alleged 2G scam saw the best ofDasgupta as a lawmaker. He was the most active mem-ber of the JPC on 2G, the first Left leader, who accusedformer Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of “derelictionof duty” and finally gave a long dissent note as the PCChacko-led panel’s report was favourable to theGovernment.

Abhijit RoyJamshedpur

IT WAS THESELFISH SHORT-

SIGHTEDNESS OFTHE US THAT

GERMINATED THETALIBAN AFTER

IT VACATEDAFGHANISTAN IN

THE EARLY 1990SAND THIS IS

EXACTLY WHATGERMINATED THE

IS WHEN ITVACATED IRAQ

(AFTER SADDAMHUSSEIN’S

HANGING) AT THEHANDS OF

SECTARIANMILITIAS

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Bold reproachWhen our athletes representour country in a foreignland, more Indians shouldvisit these events to cheerfor them, to motivate them.

Bollywood actor—Amitabh Bachchan

As WhatsApp tries to undo its shame of snooping malware,questions arise about why civil society was targetted

China has been poking the elephant all too much.The MEA statement was rightfully strident Taxi companies have been

directed to not surge prices during the odd-even drive. I alsourge all auto-rickshaw drivers tostrictly run by meter.

Delhi Chief Minister—Arvind Kejriwal

All Opposition parties havegathered at one platform togive a message to PM Khanthat the time has come forhim to step down.

PML-N president—Shehbaz Sharif

Govt must learn to let PSUs go

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

In the Budget presented on July 5, UnionFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanannounced disinvestment of the

Government’s shareholding in public sectorundertakings (PSUs) to a level below 51 per centon a “case-by-case” basis. The Cabinet Committeeon Economic Affairs (CCEA) is expected toapprove this policy soon.

The 51 per cent threshold is very crucial asshareholding at this level or above enables theGovernment to have majority ownership andcontrol over the undertaking. If the holding isreduced to below 51 per cent, this will lead torelinquishment of majority ownership and con-trol, or privatisation in plain words. This will betransformative — a bold reform indeed. But, holdyour breath, there is a caveat appended to it.

In the Budget speech, Sitharaman hadexplained that the intent was to change the extantpolicy of the Government “directly” holding 51per cent or above in a PSU to one whereby itstotal holding, “direct” and “indirect,” is main-tained at 51 per cent. This caveat changes theentire complexion of the stated intent. So, whatis “indirect” holding?

To illustrate, let us take the case of the IndianOil Corporation Limited (IOCL). In addition toits direct shareholding of 51.5 per cent, the UnionGovernment has majority shares (above 51 percent) in a number of other PSUs which in turn,hold shares in IOCL. Thus, Life InsuranceCorporation (LIC), which is 100 per cent ownedby the Centre, holds 6.5 per cent shares in IOCL.The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)which is 63 per cent owned by the Government,holds 14 per cent shares in IOCL. Likewise, OilIndia Limited (OIL) which is 60 per cent ownedby the Government, holds 5 per cent shares inIOCL.

The “indirect” shareholding of the UnionGovernment in IOCL via its holdings in the threeother PSUs, viz LIC, ONGC and OIL, works outto 18.3 per cent (6.5x1 + 14x0.63 + 5x0.6).However, when it comes to control or ability toinfluence decisions of IOCL, the “indirect”contribution will be 25.5 per cent (6.5x1 + 14x1+ 5x1) as the predominant view of the majorityshareholder, that is the Centre in LIC, ONGC andOIL, would prevail. Including “indirect,” the effec-tive control of the Union Government in IOCLis 77 per cent (51.5 per cent+25.5 per cent).

With these numbers in the backdrop, whatthe Finance Minister is alluding to is that the“direct” shareholding of the Government in IOCLcan be reduced from the existing 51.5 per centto 25.5 per cent. With this, technically thoughit may have changed its status to that of a minor-ity shareholder with a mere 25.5 per cent hold-ing, including the “indirect” control will still giveit a majority share of 51 per cent.

Thus, contrary to what one may infer froma plain reading of the numbers that the ModiGovernment has taken a bold decision to priva-tise IOCL, in reality it is not so. With theGovernment continuing to retain overarchingcontrol, the very purpose of the exercise — whichis to entice a strategic investor to come and trans-form the way an enterprise is run, make it growfaster and enhance its competitiveness in anincreasingly challenging world — will be defeat-ed.

True, with the Government’s shareholding

dipping below 51 per cent and theundertaking stripped off the PSU tag,it can avoid coming under the scannerof the statutory watchdogs like theCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI),Central Vigilance Commission (CVC),Comptroller and Auditor General(CAG). But, continuous interference bythe political brass and bureaucratscan’t be ruled out. Hence, the strategicinvestor will think many times beforetaking the plunge.

A major reason as to why last yearthe sale of Air India could not gothrough had to do with theGovernment’s decision then to retain 24per cent shareholding, which discour-aged bidders (this anomaly has nowbeen corrected with the offer of 100 percent of its shareholding under the saleplan during the current year).

With change of policy stance toretain 51 per cent shareholding (albeitdirect plus indirect) in PSUs up forstrategic sale — the reluctance amonginvestors will be even greater. This willalso affect the Government’s ability tofetch a good price though this can’t byitself be an objective of strategic sale.

Collateral damage has to do withthe Government losing policy spacewith regard to its future course of actionon undertakings whose continuedmajority ownership is necessary forexercising “indirect” control over thesaid PSU (IOCL is an example) to therequired extent.

If, at some future point of time, itwants to undertake privatisation of sayOIL, it won’t be able to do it as that willhave the inevitable effect of losing con-trol over IOCL as well.

A decision with regard to an under-

taking should be made taking intoaccount the circumstances facing it andin the overriding interest of maintain-ing its health, competitiveness andgrowth. Its fate can’t be tied to that ofany other PSU which the Governmentwants to control.

The very concept of looking at indi-rect control to arrive at a decision ondisinvestment militates against thisfundamental tenet.

The instinct of the Government toretain control even while executing itsstrategic disinvestment plans is dis-cernible even in its previous actions.During 2017-18, it sold 51.11 per centof its shareholding in HindustanPetroleum Corporation Limited(HPCL) to ONGC. In 2018-19, it sold52.63 per cent of its shareholding inRural Electrification Corporation(REC) to Power Finance Corporation(PFC).

Though touted as good examples ofstrategic sale, in reality it was not so, aseven after relinquishing 51 per cent plusshareholding, the Government contin-ues to exercise full control (albeit indi-rectly) over HPCL/REC by virtue ofbeing majority owner in the acquirernamely, ONGC/PFC.

During the current year also, it iscontinuing with this strategy as reflect-ed in its decision to sell all of its 100 percent stake in North Eastern ElectricPower Corporation (NEEPCO) and 75per cent in THDC India Limited.

These shares will be picked up byNational Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC) and NHPC Limited respective-ly which are majority owned by theGovernment. So, post-divestment, theownership and control of NEEPCO and

THDC India will remain with theUnion Government (albeit indirectly).

The only case where the ModiGovernment has shown gumption to gofor strategic disinvestment in the truesense of the term is in its decision to sellall of its 53.29 per cent shareholding inBharat Petroleum Corporation Limited(BPCL) — the refiner and retailer ofpetroleum products — to a privateinvestor. This will result in transfer ofthe ownership and management con-trol — lock, stock and barrel — to theacquirer.

This has generated huge interestamong all global energy majors likeSaudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia), Total SA(France), ExxonMobil (USA), RoyalDutch Shell (UK/Netherlands), BP Plc(UK) and so on.

Post-acquisition by any of thesegiants, BPCL will become an integralpart of the global supply chain and willbe able to operate free from all encum-brances, take quick decisions and runefficiently as per global standards fordelivering low cost and best qualityproducts.

The Government should follow theBPCL model for undertaking disinvest-ment of all other PSUs. Its instinct toretain control, by hook or by crook,should give way to wholesome trans-fer of ownership and authority to pri-vate investors.

While being in the best interest ofthe undertaking, this will also garnerrequired resources for the exchequer ata time when it is facing a huge short-fall in tax collection even as expendi-ture continues to grow.

(The writer is a New Delhi-basedpolicy analyst)

Privatisation and controls can’t go hand-in-hand. The Centre’s instinct to retain its hold on PSUsindirectly should give way to wholesome transfer of ownership and authority to private investors

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

A vital foreignpolicy tool

SOURAJIT AIYER

UTTAM GUPTA

THE ONLY CASEWHERE THE MODI

GOVERNMENTHAS SHOWN THE

GUMPTION TO GOFOR STRATEGIC

DISINVESTMENT INTHE TRUE SENSE

OF THE TERM IS IN ITS DECISION

TO SELL ALL OF ITS

53.29 PER CENTSHAREHOLDING

IN BHARATPETROLEUM

CORPORATIONLIMITED TO A

PRIVATEINVESTOR.

THIS WILL RESULTIN TRANSFER OFTHE OWNERSHIP

ANDMANAGEMENT

CONTROL —LOCK, STOCK AND

BARREL — TO THEACQUIRER

Climate change has woven itself into India’s foreign policy inrecent years, right from its leadership to operationalise theInternational Solar Alliance (ISA), to Prime Minister Narendra

Modi raising the climate threat at the World Economic Forum (WEF),and the UN General Assembly (UNGA), or the Indian Navy posi-tioning itself as a relief-services provider during natural disastersin the region. Historically, economic growth had been critical fornations with large populations, given the massive burden of jobcreation that they have. However, due to its susceptibility to cli-mate risks owing to the diverse ecology and geography, India wascompelled to take cognisance of environmental degradation andclimate change that arise due to our current model of economicgrowth. Moreover, participating in global climate discourses notonly gives the country resources to tackle those risks, it also givesIndia an opportunity to enlarge its role on the world stage.

India’s foreign policy outreach itself has seen a renewed boostunder its current Government, focussing on a multi-polar engage-ment model. It deepened its ties with larger global powers like Russia,the US, Japan and China while also taking firm steps of friend-ship with the middle-level powers like Australia, the European Union,the ASEAN under its ‘Act East’ policy, South Asia under its‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, the Middle East under its ‘Link West’policy and with Africa, by setting up the India-Africa Forum. Climatechange cooperation has been on the agenda on many occasionsin the bilateral meets with most of these countries. One of the objec-tives for this was to convey India’s pro-activeness in taking theclimate discourse forward, especially as it was presumed this rolewould be largely limited to the developed countries. It also reaf-firms India’s standing as a responsible global actor, ultimately augur-ing well for its role on the world stage.

India is positioned to leverage climate change-related policyin furthering its geopolitical outreach with the developed countries,especially those making concerted efforts to address this risk. Thatwould give it better mileage to deepen those bilateral ties into fur-ther areas of strategic cooperation, be it investment, trade, defenceor counter-terrorism. In short, climate can be the fodder to cre-ate further dividends from those relationships. A pertinent exam-ple is India’s ties with France, which strengthened across multi-ple sectors following their cooperation to set up the ISA.

Apart from developed nations, the fight against climate changegives India leverage with the developing countries as well. Sinceit could never match China’s wallet when it came to funding hardinfrastructure in low-income nations in Asia, Africa or Latin America,New Delhi resorted to soft infrastructure building in key areas likehealth and education with such partners.

Climate change cooperation now offers the country anotheravenue in this soft diplomacy approach and expands its geopo-litical influence with the developing world. At the global climate nego-tiations, India has pursued a policy of common but differentiatedresponsibilities when it comes to emissions, the aim being to holdthe developed countries more responsible owing to their decades-long industrialisation drive. Thus, just like it was a flag-bearer ofthe developing world during the Cold War era’s Non-AlignedMovement (NAM), it is now seen as a flag-bearer for the devel-oping countries at the global climate table.

An issue that remains in this context is the intertwining of India’sglobal climate agenda with energy security, to meet the energy needsof its billion-plus population. While energy poverty is as impor-tant an issue as economic growth to India, its climate agenda mustbecome more expansive. Other sectors should be part of the coun-try’s agenda in its climate negotiations. One example is agricul-ture, critical for a country where a large proportion of the work-force is still farm-dependent. It is also a major cause of emissionsand a victim of climate risks. In conclusion, climate change is nowa vital tool in India’s geopolitical efforts. It gives the country anopportunity to broaden its sphere of influence and deepen its bilat-eral ties in various strategic areas. Moreover, it allows it to achieveforeign policy gains without the commensurate need to alwaysexpand the security domain, which had traditionally been one pil-lar for expanding foreign relations. As climate negotiations becomemore enmeshed in global geopolitics, it would help India furthersolidify its brand as a responsible global actor. But the true testfor India would be the quantum of climate finance flows it is ableto win from the developed countries. The largest multilateral cli-mate fund, the Green Climate Fund, has a limit for India which isfar dwarfed by its actual requirements to address climate risks.Time will tell how much dividend was realised by leveraging cli-mate change in India’s geopolitical strategy.

(The writer is an author and consultant with a leading business insights portal)

India, along with China, is amongthose nations that have good rela-tions with both Saudi Arabia and

Iran. This helps them to diversifytheir oil imports, especially after theUS withdrew sanctions waivers foroil imports from Iran. Energy secu-rity is a crucial aspect of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s visit toSaudi Arabia. India gets 18 per centof its crude oil and 22 per cent of itsLiquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)requirements from the kingdom.

A memorandum of understand-ing (MoU) was signed betweenAramco and Indian StrategicPetroleum Reserves Limited(ISPRL). Aramco can sell Indianrefiners a portion of the 4.6 millionbarrels of oil stored at the ISPRL

facility in Padur, Karnataka. Theseinvestments are a way to rope in bigIndian refiners as customers. Indiahas huge energy needs and Gulf pro-ducers like Saudi Arabia are keen tohelp satisfy this demand.

Ellen R Wald, president ofTransversal Consulting, says, “SaudiAramco is a major supplier of oil toIndia. The sanctions on Iranianshave only increased Saudi Arabia’simportance as a reliable source of oilto the growing Indian market. At thesame time, Aramco sees India as animportant growth area and is look-ing to grow its investment in thecountry in the refining sector.”

Hasan Alhassan, associate fellowon Gulf-South Asia relations at theInternational Institute for StrategicStudies, says, “By inviting PrimeMinister Modi to deliver the keynoteaddress at its apex economic sum-mit, Saudi Arabia wants to showcaseto the world the strength of its grow-ing relations with India, a keyemerging power. In return, the visitwill enable Modi to claim that hisGovernment’s controversial deci-

sion on Jammu & Kashmir has donenothing to harm India’s relationswith Muslim countries.

“On the economic front, Modiis probably hoping to inject momen-tum into planned Saudi invest-ments in India’s refining and petro-chemicals sector, reportedly worthtens of billions of dollars. SaudiAramco is negotiating the purchaseof a sizeable portion of RelianceIndustries’ refining and petrochem-ical business, while teaming upwith Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc to set up amassive refinery in Maharashtra.

“Moreover, Modi’s visit — pre-ceded a few weeks earlier byNational Security Advisor (NSA)Ajit Doval’s appearance in Riyadh —also appears to carry a security com-ponent in the form of joint navalexercises and cooperation agree-ments in the area of defence pro-curement.” Against the backdrop ofthe drone-and-missile attacks onSaudi Aramco in September, NewDelhi is anxious to avoid militaryescalation in the Gulf, a region thatsupplies India with almost two

thirds of its oil imports and is hometo millions of NRIs.

Saudi Arabia as a leading Islamicnation and the custodian of the twoholy mosques, Harmain Shareefainand Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, can offerIndia its support on the Kashmirissue.

Ashok K Behuria, senior fellowand coordinator of the South AsiaCentre at New Delhi-based thinktank Institute for Defence Studiesand Analyses (IDSA) says this pointof view is flawed. He says that “weshould stop looking at India-Saudirelations from the narrow prism ofKashmir or Indo-Pak relations.India and Saudi Arabia are enhanc-ing strategic dialogue. The India-Saudi relationship is a multi-layeredstrategic relationship with energy,investment and defence cooperationin its purview.”

Qamar Agha, retired professorof West Asia Studies at Jamia MilliaIslamia University, says that “untilnow, Saudi Arabia looked at Indiathrough the Pakistan prism butthat’s in the past now. Globalisation

is forcing India and Saudi Arabia tocome closer. Ideology and politicsare in the back seat and economicsis the driver of the relationship.”

Bilateral trade is $27.5 billion,mostly in petroleum products, infavour of Saudi Arabia and $5 bil-lion in favour of India. Saudi Arabiais now looking to invest $100 billionin India, a country with a huge mid-dle-class of 250-300 million people.

Though at present the GrossDomestic Product (GDP) growthrate of the India has slipped to fiveper cent in the first quarter of thefinancial year, the lowest in over sixyears, there are hectic efforts beingmade by the Government to ensureeconomic recovery through concert-ed fiscal reforms.

The Indian economy is at the$2.7 trillion mark and FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanexpects it to grow to $5 trillion by2024-25. Also, over 2.6 millionIndians work in Saudi Arabia andsend home remittances to the tuneof $10 billion or more annually.

The main driver in India-Saudi

Arabia relations might not be ener-gy ties or search for legitimacyfrom the country that is custodianof the two holy mosques. It is strate-gic cooperation and defence ties.

The Strategic PartnershipCouncil chaired by Modi and Saudicrown prince Mohammad binSalman was established during thisvisit. India and Saudi Arabia willhave their first-ever joint navalexercise in December. An MoU oncooperation in defence productionwas also signed.

Talmiz Ahmad, former Indianambassador to Saudi Arabia, Omanand the UAE, says, “The strategicdimension of the ties is important.India-Saudi ties have been institu-tionalised. A strategic platform fordialogue between the NSAs hasbeen created. The relationship hasmoved from one dependent onenergy sales.”

An MoU has even been signedconcerning collaboration in militaryacquisition, industries, research,development and technologybetween Saudi General Authority of

Military Industries (GAMI) andDepartment of Defence Production,Ministry of Defence.

Cooperation in civil aviation wasalso discussed and Saudi Arabialooks to increase business to its flagcarrier Saudia.

Colby Connelly, research asso-ciate at the Arab Gulf States Institutein Washington, who works on thepolitical economy of the GCC States,says, “The Indian civil aviationmarket is huge for Saudi Arabia’sefforts to make Saudia, its nationalcarrier, profitable by 2020. Saudia’sacquisition of more than 60 newfuel-efficient Airbus A320 family air-craft will surely bolster its capabili-ty to compete in this market. Asidefrom the enormous amount of directair traffic between the kingdom andIndia on a daily basis, Saudia mayalso seek to compete with QatarAirways and UAE-based airlines asa transit point for journeys betweenIndia and North America.”

(The writer is a journalist whospecialises in geopolitics of India’sneighbourhood and cyber security)

A friendship fuelled by energy and regional securityWhile energy security is a crucial aspect of India's relationship with Saudi Arabia, the cooperation between

the two nations has now progressed to strategic cooperation and defence ties

AVEEK SEN

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 2, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

INDIA ANNOUNCED ESTABLISHMENT OF J&K AND LADAKHUNION TERRITORIES WHICH INCLUDED SOME OF CHINA'S

TERRITORY INTO ITS ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION.—CHINA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN

GENG SHUANG

IT (CHINA) HAS ALSO ILLEGALLY ACQUIRED INDIANTERRITORIES FROM POK UNDER THE SO-CALLED CHINA-PAKISTAN BOUNDARY AGREEMENT OF 1963.—EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON RAVEESH KUMAR

India’s climate change fight gives it an opportunityto broaden its global sphere of influence anddeepen bilateral ties in many strategic areas

VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 2, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

TVS Motor salesdown 19 pc inOctoberNEW DELHI: TVS Motor Co onFriday reported a 18.83 percent decline in total sales inOctober at 3,23,368 units. Thecompany, which primarilymakes two-wheelers andthree-wheelers, had sold3,98,427 units in the samemonth last year, TVS MotorCompany said in a statement.Total two-wheeler sales duringthe month stood at 3,08,161units as against 3,84,307 unitsin October 2018, down 19.81per cent. Domestic two-wheeler sales stood at2,52,684 units last month ascompared to 3,38,988 units inOctober 2018, a decline of25.45 per cent, it added. Totalexports increased 20 per centto 69,339 units last month ascompared with 57,926 units inOctober 2018.

GST collectionsremain subdued atRs 95,380 cr in OctNEW DELHI: The Goods and

Services Tax (GST) collectionin October declined to Rs95,380 crore, as against Rs1,00,710 crore in the samemonth a year ago, as pergovernment data released onFriday. This is the thirdconsecutive month when GSTmop-up remained below theRs 1 lakh crore mark, despiteOctober being a festive month.The revenue collection inSeptember stood at Rs 91,916crore. "The gross GST revenuecollected in the month ofOctober, 2019 is Rs 95,380crore of which CGST is Rs17,582 crore, SGST is Rs23,674 crore, IGST is Rs46,517 crore (including Rs21,446 crore collected onimports) and Cess is Rs 7,607crore (including Rs 774 crorecollected on imports)," thefinance ministry said in astatement. It further said thetotal number of GSTR 3Breturns (summary of self-assessed return) filed for themonth of September (up toOctober 30) was 73.83 lakh.

VE CommercialVehicles total salesdecline 37 pc in OctNEW DELHI: VE CommercialVehicles Ltd, a Volvo Groupand Eicher Motors jointventure, on Friday reported a37.2 per cent decline in totalsales at 3,755 units inOctober. The company hadsold 5,980 units in Octoberlast year, VE CommercialVehicles Ltd (VECV) said in astatement. Eicher brandedtrucks and buses recordedsales of 3,681 units in Octoberas compared to 5,826 units inthe same month last year, adecline of 30.8 per cent, itadded. Volvo Trucks recordedsales of 74 units last month asagainst 154 units in October2018, down 51.9 per cent.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Sanjeev Nandan Sahai hasassumed charge as Secretary ofthe Power Ministry on Friday."Sanjeev Nandan Sahaiassumed charge as Secretary,Ministry of Power here today.Prior to this, he was serving asthe Special Secretary in theMinistry of Power," the ministrysaid in a statement.

Sahai is a UT cadre IAS offi-cer of 1986 batch. He has alsoserved as Additional Secretaryin the Ministry of Power fromMay,2018 to July, 2019, accord-ing to the statement.

Along with these, Sahai hasheld several other importantpositions in the Union as well asstate governments. These includeDG(Additional Secretary equiv-alent) and Additional Secretaryin the Ministry of Commerceand Industry, Principal Secretaryin the Home Department,Chairman and MD of DelhiTransport Corporation,Secretary-cum-CommissionerTransport for Delhi

Government, Chairman of theChandigarh Housing Board,Finance Secretary in theGovernment of NCT of Delhi,among others. Sahai has suc-ceeded Subhash Chandra Garg,who retired on Thursday. Garg,who is a former finance secretaryhad sought voluntary retire-ment, which was approved bythe government. Garg was toretire on October 31, 2020.

Garg was transferred fromthe Finance Ministry to thePower Ministry as Secretary.

PNS n BEIJING

China's three major state-runtelecom operators have unveiledtheir superfast 5G networkacross the country, as theCommunist giant aims atbecoming the global leader innext generation telecom tech-nology surpassing the US andother western nations.

State-owned carriers ChinaMobile, China Unicom andChina Telecom unveiled their5G data plans on Thursday asChina and the US are embroiledin a power struggle over tradeand technology.

The three firms in simulta-neous moves unveiled theirmonthly 5G plans with pricesranging from 128 yuan (aboutRs 1,289) to 599 yuan (Rs6,030). Subscribers will be ableto enjoy connections way fasterthan 4G and less expensive dataper gigabyte, state-run Xinhuanews agency reported.

5G is the next generation cel-lular technology with downloadspeeds stated to be 10 to 100times faster than the current 4GLTE networks.

The 5G networking standardis seen as critical because it cansupport the next generation ofmobile devices in addition to

new applications like driverlesscars. The 5G commercial ser-vices are now available in 50cities, including major citieslike Beijing, Shanghai,Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Shanghai had activated11,859 5G base stations by mid-October, which will support

the 5G network coverage acrossthe city's key outdoor areas, thereport said.

The three major mobile oper-ators have already registeredover 10 million 5G users beforethe official commercialisationlaunch, it said.

Beijing, which is embroiled in

a trade and technology warwith Washington, is hoping towoo India and other countrieswith its 5G telecom technology.

China and the US have beenfighting for leadership in thetechnology sector in recentmonths, with Chinese tech giantHuawei at the centre of theirpower struggle.

The Trump administrationhas blacklisted Huawei, arguingthat it poses a national securityrisk. The US has also lobbiedallies to shun the Chinese com-pany from their 5G networks.

Huawei denies this charge,and many in China see the USactions as part of its efforts tocurb the rise of the world's sec-ond largest economy.

According to an estimatemade by the China Telecom, thecountry is expected to be afront-runner in the adoption of5G services with over 170 mil-lion 5G subscribers by nextyear.

China rolls out nationwide 5G telecom services

PNS n NEW DELHI

Automobile manufacturers,including Maruti SuzukiIndia, Mahindra & Mahindraand Toyota Kirloskar Motor,on Friday reported improvedsales in October driven by fes-tive season demand amid aprolonged slowdown in thesector.

The country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India(MSI) posted a growth of 4.5per cent in its domesticwholesales at 1,44,277 units inOctober as against 1,38,100units in same period last year.

This is the first time in thelast seven months that thecompany has seen an increasein its domestic sales.

Despite being in the nega-tive territory, Mahindra &Mahindra managed to arrestdecline in sales, posting 11 percent dip at 49,193 units last

month as compared to 55,350units in October 2018.

In September the companyhad reported a decline of 21

per cent in domestic sales at40,692 units.

"The festive month ofOctober was excellent forMahindra, with retail volumeexceeding wholesale byapproximately 40 per cent.This robust retail performancewas contributed by both pas-senger and commercial vehi-cles," M&M Chief of Sales andMarketing, AutomotiveDivision, Veejay Ram Nakrasaid.

Similarly, Toyota KirloskarMotor reported 6 per centdecline in domestic sales at11,866 units as compared to

12,606 units in the corre-sponding month last year.

Toyota Kirloskar hadreported total sales of 10,203units in September this year.

Commenting on the salesperformance, TKM DeputyManaging Director N Rajasaid customer demand wit-nessed a spike in the festiveseason, especially duringDhanteras and Diwali.

"The boost in customersentiments has enabled anupward trend in our salesperformance as compared to

the last few months of slow-down. It was quite encourag-ing to see the markedimprovement in customerorders on account of festiveseason," he said.

New entrant MG MotorIndia reported retail sales of3,536 units of its SUV Hectorin October.

In the two wheeler segment,Bajaj Auto reported a dip of 13per cent in the domestic salesat 2,78,776 units as against3,19,942 in October last year.Similarly, TVS MotorCompany reported 25.45 percent decline in domestic two-wheeler sales at 2,52,684 unitsas compared to 3,38,988 in theyear-ago period.

Commercial vehicle makerAshok Leyland reporteddomestic sales of 9,074 unitslast month as compared to14,341 units in the year-agomonth, down 37 per cent.

PNS n NEW DELHI

India's offer of seven oilblocks on revamped licenceterms attracted just eight bidsfrom state-owned f irmsincluding six single bids inthe latest licensing roundignored by both private andforeign companies.

The Directorate General ofHydrocarbons (DGH) in astatement said state-owned Oiland Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC) bid for all the sevenblocks while Oil India Ltd(OIL) put in an offer for oneblock at the close of bidding onThursday.

The block in Rajasthan sawcompetition from ONGC andOIL but the five in MadhyaPradesh and one in WestBengal saw single bids fromONGC, DGH said.

"Seven onland blocks wereon offer (in the fourth round ofOpen Acreage LicensingPolicy) with an area of approx18,500 sq km," DGH said. "Theresults demonstrate continuedinterest of established players inIndian E&P (exploration andproduction) with bids receivedfor all 7 blocks. The evaluation

of the bids would be under-taken in a time-bound man-ner."

The fourth round of biddingunder OALP had the lowestnumber of blocks. While thefirst round got 110 bids for 55blocks, the second roundattracted 33 bids for 14 blocks.The third round saw 42 bidsfor 23 blocks. In the previousthree rounds together, 87blocks have been awarded cov-ering an area of 1.18 lakh sqkm.

"Expression of interest sub-mission window for the OALP-V bid round is open tillNovember 30, 2019, and com-

panies have another opportu-nity to take part in the blos-soming Indian exploration andproduction sector," the DGHsaid in the statement.

OALP-IV was the first roundon revamped terms approvedin February 2019.

DGH said that unlike previ-ous rounds where blocks wereawarded to companies offeringa maximum share of oil and gasto the government, blocks in lit-tle or unexplored category-IIand III basins will be awardedto companies offering to domaximum exploration pro-gramme.

While blocks in Madhya

Pradesh fall in the Vindhyanbasin which is a category-IIbasin, Bengal Purnea basin iscategory-III area where noexploration has happened sofar.

Under OALP, companies areallowed to carve out areas theywant to explore oil and gas in.Companies can put in anexpression of interest (EoI) forany area throughout the yearbut such interests are accumu-lated thrice in a year. The areassought are then put on auction.

The fifth cycle of submittingEoIs is currently going on tillNovember 30, 2019, and wouldbe followed by the sixth cyclefrom December 1, 2019, tillMarch 31, 2020, DGH said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government is likely torelease the first index to rankstates and Union territoriesbased on their preparedness topromote exports, an officialsaid.

The exercise would help inpromoting healthy competi-tion among states and UTs towork on parameters for pro-moting the country's exports,which is one of the key indi-cators for boosting economicgrowth.

The index will rank themon some key parameters suchas business environment,infrastructure, transport con-nectivity, access to finance,export infrastructure andtrade support, the official said.

Both the Niti Aayog and thecommerce ministry is workingon this index.

Besides overall ranking, itwill also be there for coastalstates, landlocked states andhilly states.

According to experts, theexercise would help in givinga direction to states and UTsto work on their policies andinfrastructure to attract bothinvestors and exporters.

"It would give an empiricaltool to states and UTs forintrospection for their exportpreparedness. Exporters willalso get a direction and guide-line," Professor at IndianInstitute of Foreign Trade(IIFT) Rakesh Mohan Joshisaid.

PNS n NEW DELHI

JSW Energy on Friday post-ed about 12 % rise in consol-idated net profit at Rs 353crore for the September quar-ter of this fiscal mainly due tolower fuel and finance cost.

The company had reporteda profit of Rs 316 crore in theyear-ago period, a BSE filingsaid. The profit in April-September also rose to Rs597.36 crore from Rs 545.13crore a year ago.

Total revenue during thequarter under review fell 13per cent to Rs 2,232 crorefrom Rs 2,568 crore in theyear-ago period mainly due todecline in fuel cost.

The fuel cost for the quar-ter fell 26 per cent year-on-year to Rs 983 crore primari-ly due to moderation in theimported coal prices, the com-pany said.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Laurus Labs Ltd on Fridayannounced that its profit aftertax (PAT) for the quarterended September 30, 2019was up by 249 per cent to Rs56.6 crore against Rs 16.2crore during the correspond-ing period last fiscal.

The total revenue grew by 21per cent to Rs 712 crore againstRs 588 crore during Q2 FY' 19,a statement issued by the citydrug-maker said.

CEO of Laurus LabsSatyanarayana Chava said inthe statement that the perfor-mance during the quartershows the ability to execute thelong-term strategy of the com-pany with enhanced revenuefrom formulations businesscontributing positively to bothtopline and margins.

"We have recorded robust gowth across most of our divi-sions. The API (active phar-

maceutical ingredient) divisionshowed a strong growth dur-ing the quarter on the back ofincrease in new product addi-tions, with oncology and syn-thesis maintaining theirgrowth momentum. With theimpending shift in the treat-ment regimen in South Africa,we are witnessing a slowdownin sales in ARV (anti-rabiesvaccine) API business for FY

'20," he said.On the regulatory side, the

drug-maker received EIRs(establishment inspectionreport) for Units 1 and 3. Unit4 successfully completed itsmaiden USFDA (United States

Food and DrugAdministration) audit with nilobservations and also receivedEIR during the quarter, therelease said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Amid instances of fraudsterscollecting investors' infor-mation, the NSE has askedtrading members to takesteps to safeguard data of theclients registered with themand not to share such datawith unauthorised persons.

The move comes after Sebicommunicated to the NSEthat certain fraudsters arecollecting data of clients whoare already into trading inexchanges and send thembulk messages on the pretextof providing investment tipsand lure them to invest intheir bogus firms by promis-ing huge profits. Sebi, further,said there is a need to createawareness among investorsabout such incidents.

Consequently, NSE askedall members "to sensitise theirclients and create awareness"on the issue. "Further, mem-bers are advised to take nec-essary steps to safeguard dataof clients/investors registeredwith them and not to share orreveal such data to unautho-rised persons," it added.

The block inRajasthan sawcompetition fromONGC and OIL butthe five in MadhyaPradesh and one inWest Bengal sawsingle bids fromONGC, DGH said

Maruti ups sales in Oct; M&M, Toyota to do well

1st export preparednessindex to rank states,UTs likely in January

NSE asksmembers tosafeguardinvestor data

JSW Energyprofit up 12 pc at Rs353 cr in Q2

India, Germanyfor resumingtalks for freetrade with EUPNS n NEW DELHI

India and Germany haveagreed to deepen efforts toresume stalled negotiationsfor a free trade agreementbetween India and theEuropean Union (EU), a jointstatement said on Friday.

The statement was issuedafter the meeting betweenPrime Minister NarendraModi and GermanChancellor Angela Merkelhere. "Both sides confirmed theimportance of a balanced freetrade agreement between Indiaand the EU and agreed todeepen efforts to restart nego-tiations between the EU andIndia on the Bilateral Tradeand Investment Agreement(BTIA)," the statement said.

Talks for the pact have beenheld up since May 2013 asboth sides failed to bridge gapson crucial issues.

Laurus Labs' PAT jumpsto Rs 57 crore in Q2

Oil block bid under revamped rulesalmost flops; gets 8 bids for 7 blocks

Sanjeev Nandan Sahai

Sanjeev NandanSahai takes chargeas Power Secretary

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) posted agrowth of 4.5 per cent in itsdomestic wholesales. This is thefirst time in the last seven monthsthat the company has seen anincrease in its domestic sales

China and theUS have beenfighting forleadership inthe technologysector in recentmonths, withChinese techgiant Huawei atthe centre oftheir powerstruggle

DBS, Nasscom open digitalliteracy centrePNS n NEW DELHI

DBS Asia Hub 2 (DAH2) inpartnership with Nasscomfoundation inaugurated thefirst DAH2 Digital LiteracyCentre in Hyderabad. Thecentre supports the NationalDigital Literacy Mission ini-tiative by the Government ofIndia and is located inMehdipatnam.

It will serve the commu-nities of Gudimalkapur,Rethibowli, and nearby areasand aims to facilitate train-ing infrastructure that willbenefit close to 1,000 peoplein the underserved commu-nity. It will help beneficiarieslearn the basics of comput-ers and other digital devices,communicate via emails,engage on social media and

leverage the power of theinternet.

Alex Woo, CEO, DBS AsiaHub 2 said, the centre alignstheir larger ethos of beingpurpose-driven and makinga positive impact on lives.Jayesh Ranjan, PrincipalSecretar y, Industr ies &Commerce and InformationTechnology, Electronics andC o m m u n i c a t i o n sDepartment, said, "ThroughDigital Telangana, we are

creating a digital ecosystemto ensure advanced e-com-merce, e-health, e-gover-nance and e-education facil-ities in Telangana but gov-ernment programmes alonecannot boost updation todigital".

Nasscom foundation hastrained 10,000 people inTelangana including 300 per-sons with disabilities in dig-ital literacy and employabil-ity skills.

AS PETEX IS IN TOWNIT'S ‘PET'TASTIC

Pet owners and lovers are in for an awesome treat this weekendwith Petex India kicking off in the city, reports K RAMYA SREE

ave you ever felt thatyour dog does notget to mingle enoughwith people or otherpets? Well, you are

not alone. Petex Hyderabadedition is in town to solve justthat and is holding a three-day event starting Friday. Thishas helped many pet loversand product manufacturerscome for a furry day out.

However, as it was a week-day, the first day did not pickup steam until late in theafternoon. Various stallsincluding grooming, healthservices and much more wereon display, making this placea one stop shop for B2B andB2C services.

The show inaugurated byRaman, GM of Hyderabad-based Pet Food Company,MARS, opened with twotypes of grooming competi-tions — freestyle and purebreed class —organised byPune-based ABK Imports.

Elaborating further, organ-iser Manvi, who is a groomerherself said, “In freestyle,people generally groom theirpets in the salon and they arenovices. Grooming itself is ata very nascent stage in Indiaand is picking up only now.We are trying to give a plat-form to the groomersthrough this show and helpthem get motivated by look-ing at other people.”

As many as 40 doggroomers from across Indiaparticipated in the freestylecompetition. Sunny Baid andSushil Boath from Mumbaiand Rajkumar fromBengaluru bagged the awardsalong with a cash prize of Rs75,000, 50,000 and 30,000respectively.

This was followed by a dogobedience competition wheredogs who followed instruc-tions and were obedient to its

owners have been felicitated.The dogs were made to runthrough an obstacle courseguided by their owners.While some perfected theroutine flawlessly, the rebelsdid what they pleased muchto the amusement of theaudience. Obedient or not, alldogs were given equal loveand attention by everyone.

A representative of PerfectCompanion Group (PCG),Hariprasad, who has been apart of pet shows for over 12years said, “While the infra-structure and facilities provid-ed were not up to the markearlier, there seems to be amarked improvement now.”

He added, “The number ofpeople coming out to attendsuch shows may have wit-nessed a dip as people areeither not aware or the num-ber of pet owners hasdropped due to nuclear fami-lies and people preferring tolive in apartments.”

Dr Sheeba Verghese fromPentorse seconds him andsaid, “We witnessed a mixedcrowd this year and this isearly in the day. We couldwitness more people in theevening.”

Talking of her product shesaid, “Lot of pet parents haveliked our products and thefeedback was good. We havebeen a part of two editionspreviously in Delhi andMumbai and our product isaimed at mainly relievingjoint pains for pets. It is aniche product right now.”

Unlike last year, the firstday of Petex 2019 also wit-nessed a drop in the numberof feline pets.

Chakravarthy, a pet parentand owner of a four-year-oldGerman Shepherd said, “I amvisiting the pet expo for thefirst time and really liked theset up. I went through thewebsite before coming here toget an idea of what exactly isavailable here. The variety ofproducts available are reallygood for pet owners.”

People wanting to traintheir dogs were not let downeither as CommandoTrainer, a group whichtrains dogs, was also pre-sent to showcase thetricks that trained dogscan do. Vijay, a trainersaid, “People comehere with their

dogs to look at the way wetrain them. We start off witha basic three-month obedi-ence training and graduallyincrease the intensity.”

When asked if the responsefrom pet owners has beengood he said, “We have gotmany customers through thisshow. People witness howobedient these dogs are andget impressed.”

An awareness programmeis also being conducted toincrease responsible dogownership and to educatepeople about the importanceand benefits of having pet.

Ananya, a dog lover and apet owner said, “Today beinga weekday might have damp-ened the spirits of stall own-ers here, but am sure it willpick up tomorrow. I did notsee as many people as lastyear today. The stalls provid-ed pet owners with a widevariety of products that suitall breeds and overall I wouldsay this is the best implemen-tation of a pet show.”

While many visitors werehappy with the set up, somewere disappointed with veryfew food stalls for pets inplace. Some felt that the placecould've been more friendly ifthey had live kitchen thatmade pet food to treat theirfurry ones. The event willalso feature some rare breedssuch as Anatolian Shepherd,Bullmastiff, Dogo Argentino,Dogue De Bordeaux, Mastiff,Miniature pinscher, among

others.

H

Dogs that walked the ramp at the event Sunny Baid, Sushil Boath and Rajkumar, winners of grooming competition Dog performing at the obedience competition

Phot

os bb

ySV

Char

y

SaturdayNovember 2, 2019

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

INGREDIENTS:

White Barley: 50 gmQuinoa: 35 gmBaby beet: 75 gmGranny smith apple: 40 gmBaby Arugula: 50 gm

Lemon: 1Dejon Mustard: 2 gmPommery mustard: 2 gmA pinch of sea saltBlack pepper: To tasteMicrogreens assorted: 20 gm

10

Vijayawada Saturday November 2, 2019

TURNING VEGAN?NOVEMBER MIGHT BE

YOUR MONTHorld Vegan Day ishere, and marksthe beginning ofvegan month cele-brated eachNovember. While

it may seem like a task toturn vegan, many Indian andinternational celebrities havedone it. Know some cool,easy-to-make recipes forthese vegan dishes by ChefIrfan Sayyed. — IANS

W

METHOD:

Make the dressing with lemonjuice, dujon, pommery, saltand pepper and keep aside.Soak barley a day in advanceand boil for 20 mins drain andchill. Boil quinoa for 20 min-utes check for doneness andstrain. Boil baby beets, peeland chill in refrigerator.

Slice the granny smith

apples just before combiningwith vinaigrette. For platingwash the arugula in chilledwater so that the leavesbecome crisp. Place thearugula on the plate so as toform a bed for the salad, light-ly toss the remaining ingredi-ents with vinaigrette, checkfor seasoning and place on abed of arugula. Garnish withmicro greens and serve.

BBQ(BARLEY,

BEETS,QUINOA)

SUPER GRAINS/LEMON

VINEGAR/MICROGREENS

METHOD:

Soak barley overnight and cook nextmorning till soft but not mushy, strainand refrigerate. Set baby beats to softstage and, cool and cut into thin slices.Bring water to boil add salt and Quinoaturn off the heat cover with lid andleave for 20 mins, strain and chill. Tossquinoa, sliced apple, diced beets andbarley lightly with vinaigrette andarrange on a plate. Dice the gorgonzolacheese and arrange on top of salad.Sprinkle moringa powder and garnishwith microgreens or cilantro.

(Inputs by Chef Irfan Sayyed, Executivechef, Lake View Cafe, Renaissance

Mumbai)

BBM(BARLEY, BEETS,

MORINGA)INGREDIENTS:

White Barley: 60 gmBaby beets: 50 gmQuinoa: 50 gmGreen Apple sliced:50 gm

Gorgonzola Cheese:30 gmMoringa powder: 5gmLemon vinaigrette: 25 mlMicrogreens: 15 gm

FENNEL SCENTED SWEETBANANA FRITTERSINGREDIENTS:

Wheat flour: 200gms Bananas: 100 gmsJaggery: 80 grams(less than 1/2cup)Fennel seed : 1 tspMilk/Wate: 1 cupOil or Ghee to fry.

METHOD:

Filter flour in a utensil using a strainer. Put jaggery inmilk/water and dissolve it, sift flour in this sweetmilk/water and add mashed ripened bananas. The mix-ture for fritters has to be thick. Cover the mix and keepin cool dry place overnight allowing the flour to fer-ment. Now whisk this mix properly. Add Fennel seeds.Pour oil in a pan and heat. When oil is sufficiently heat-ed then take little amounts of mixture at a time and putit in hot oil and fry till golden brown. Enjoy with tea.

FUN TIME

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?

ilmmaker V.N. Aditya, who lastdirected the comedy Mugguru in2011, is back on the director’s chairwith Vallidari Madhya which is goingto be a love story. Produced by

Arjun under Vedhamsh Creative Works, thefilm features fresh faces, Viraj Ashwin andNeha Krishna, in lead roles.

Speaking about the film, which is 90 percent through with its shooting, Aditya, whomade super hits like Manasuntha Nuvve andNenunnanu in the last decade, said, “ByDecember 1 will complete the film. Humanrelations are not the same anymoreand the film dwells on this point. It’sa love story between a male and afemale villain,” he noted.

Viraj pointed out that the film isa great opportunity for him. “I’mlearning a lot from Aditya. Thefilm is being made with a youngand a passionate team, and itscoming out well. As someone whodoesn’t boast of a love story in mylife, I could connect to the film’s

story. It has a strong message to the youth,”the actor opined.

Neha said that although she pursued acareer outside arts, the passion to get into theindustry and prove herself as an actress neverdied. “I was looking for an opening and I con-tacted V.N. Aditya at the right time. I didsome different things in the movie that not alot of newcomers would be doing in their firstfew films. I consider myself lucky in thataspect,” she said.

fter roping in RituVarma to castalongside NagaShaurya for hermaiden direc-

torial, debutante direc-tor Souujanya Med-arametla has signedon music composerVishal Chandrasekharand cameraman Div-akar Mani too. “Vishalis on board while there’sa slight issue withDivakar’s dates. He willshoot the first schedule thatwill kick off on November 15but his dates in December are yetto be confirmed. He is also the camera-man of Venu Udugula’s Virata Parvam and if thatfilm doesn’t have a schedule next month, he willwork on Souujanya’s film,” mentioned a source.

Souujanya’s film, a love story, traces the jour-ney of an honest and principled couple. Themakers have also initiated talks with Nadhiyafor a key role. “She has expressed her desire tobe a part of the film after endorsing the storyand her part in particular. She will be seen asRitu’s mother in the film,” added the source.

Besides Hyderabad, the as-yet-untitled SitharaEntertainments production will also be shot in Vizag,Kerala, Darjeeling and Dehradun. —NG

Vijayawada Saturday November 2, 2019

11

tollywood

JAGAPATHI AND RAMYAboard VARUN TEJ'S boxing drama

Kiran Korrapati is leaving no stoneunturned for his debut movie bycasting A-listers for the supporting

roles. NAGARAJ GOUD finds outmore about the sports dramawhose shooting schedule

will kick offsoon

ebutant directorKiran Korrapati,who is helmingVarun Tej’s next, acommercial sportsdrama, is getting the

cast together. While he hasample time to start the film,that will begin shooting onNew Year, he is ensuring thathis supporting actors’ dates areblocked. The Pioneer has exclu-sively learnt that he has signedon Jagapathi Babu and RamyaKrishnan for pivotal roles.While Jagapathi is a busy actorhere, Ramya has beenextremely selective of late,choosing roles that offerstrong characterisations. “It’searly to talk about their role

in Varun’s film but theyare playing full-length

roles for sure. LikeVarun’s coach,

whose cast-ing

is yet to be finalised, their out-ings will be spoken at lengthonce the film opens,” said asource close to the develop-ment.

The source further addedthat Varun, who will be seen asa pugilist (a professionalboxer), has begun his prepara-tion for the part in Hyderabadand in another 10 days, he willhead to Mumbai for furtherprep. He will also be requiredto sport a well-toned body forthe film. “The first schedulefor 15 days will kick off inHyderabad, followed by amonth-long schedule inVisakhapatnam. Hyderabadwill again host the third sched-ule, while the fourth will takeplace in and around theNational Capital Region (NewDelhi),” added our source.

A joint production venturebetween Sidhu Mudda andAllu Venkatesh, the film willbe shot by cinematographer

George C. Williams, whileS.S. Thaman is the tune-

smith.

D

IN THE FILM, VARUN WILL BE SEEN AS A PUGILIST (A PROFESSIONAL BOXER) AND WILL SPORT A WELL-TONED BODY. HE WILL BEGIN TRAINING IN HYD ANDTHEN CONTINUE TO MUMBAI AS WELL

he first look of Anjali from Anushka and Madhavan-starrer Nishabdam was unveiled by the productionhouses People Media Factory and Kona Film

Corporation on Friday. In the horror thriller, directed byHemanth Madhukar, the actress will be seen as Maha, acrime detective posted in Seattle.FI

RST

LOO

K T

s part of his prepa-ration for Ruler, hisnext with K.S.Ravikumar,Nandamuri

Balakrishna has lost oodlesof weight in 40 days. Theactor has been criticised forhis weight issues in the pastbut with Ruler, he has gonethe extra mile to shed somekilos. “In Ruler, the actorwill be seen in a role withdual shades. “To play therole of the cop, Ravikumarhas asked him if he can loseweight to show variations ofthe two types of characters,the other being a suave cor-porate guy, he will play inthe film. The actor obligedreadily. He hasn’t missed asingle day at the gym forpast two months and hasalso been keeping a tab onwhat he eats. As of now, helost eight kilos,” said asource.

The fact that BoyapatiSreenu, his next director,told the actor that his filmalso requires him to cut alean frame, Balayya felt it’sthe best time to get back intohis best shape, according tothe source.

Ruler, which is the actor’s105th film, is a productionventure of C. Kalyan underhis Happy Movies. Also star-ring Sonal Chauhan, Vedika,Jayasudha and Prakash Raj,it will open in cinemas onDecember 20.

BALAYYA

loses 8 kgfor RulerA

F

A

More familiar namesjoin SHAURYA'S next

Aditya ready for comeback

AMALA to playSharwa's mother

fter making a comeback to films with Life IsBeautiful, actress Amala Akkineni has beenextremely picky about her roles. The latest abouther film stint is that she has signed Sharwanand’snext with debutant director Shree Karthick. The

film is a Telugu-Tamil bilingual produced by Tamil produc-tion house, Dream Warrior Pictures. The makers say that,impressed with her part, Amala hopped onboard. She haseven joined the second schedule, which has commenced onFriday in Hyderabad. Ravi Raghavendra will be seen as herhusband, while Sharwa will be playing her son. Sequencesinvolving the family are being shot in this outing.

The untitled film, co-starring Nassar, Vennela Kishore andPriyadarshi in supporting roles, deals with inseparablebonding in friendship and love. Filmmaker-turned-actorTharun Bhascker has penned the Telugu dialogues. Themakers are planning to release it next summer. Jakes Bejoy isthe film’s music director.

A

AFP nMELBOURNE

Australia cruised past Sri Lankato clean-sweep their three-

match T20 series on Friday, with anin-form David Warner grindingout a third successive half-centuryin the seven wicket win.

The home team have beendominant throughout, winning by134 runs in Adelaide and by ninewickets with seven overs to spare inBrisbane ahead of the clash inMelbourne.

Sri Lanka’s batting had beeninsipid until now, but they finallyposted a competitive score of 142 forsix, with Kusal Perera hitting 57.

However their bowlers, led byLasith Malinga, have been no matchfor a quality Australian batting line-up, spearheaded by Warner who hasnow scored 217 in three inningswithout losing his wicket.

“It was pretty clinical once wegot into a routine,” said Australiacaptain Aaron Finch.

“The way the bowlers set it upfor us over the last two games, it wasoutstanding.

“Every game is a different chal-lenge and a different surface, so it’simportant to bring in your best, in

terms of preparation and mental sideof the game too.”

Warner, who scored an unbeat-en 100 and 60 not out in the open-ing two games, brings up his 50 off

44 balls to end the match unbeatenon 57, aided by Ashton Turner whochipped in with 22 as Australiareached 145 for three with 14 ballsto spare.

sport 12VIJAYAWADA | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 2, 2019

PTI n KOLKATA

Cheteshwar Pujara can’t wait for India’sfirst ever Day/Night Test despite all

the talk of it being a challenge as he is con-fident that the country’s formidable bat-ting line-up will have no trouble adapt-ing to the pink ball.

The prolific batsman topped the runcharts (453) with two daddy hundreds,including a 256 not out for India Blue inthe Duleep Trophy more than threeyears back when pink ball was experi-mented with for the first time by theSourav Ganguly-led BCCI technical com-mittee.

Now, after taking over as the BCCIpresident, Ganguly has convinced theBangladesh Cricket Board and both thecountries will play their maiden pink ballTest at Eden Gardens from November 22-26.

“It’s going to be exciting...What weplayed was a first-class match, this is goingto be a Test match. I’m sure all the play-ers are excited about it,” the Indian TestNo 3 said.

Pujara said pink ball could pose someproblems during the twilight period.

“In the twilight period, I feel thatmaybe, sighting the ball could be a littlechallenging. (But) the more you play, you

AFP n CHRISTCHURCH

Amaiden half centuryfrom James Vince

powered England to a con-vincing seven-wicket victo-ry over New Zealand in theopening T20 match inChristchurch on Friday.

Vince top-scored forthe tourists with 59 asEngland chased down NewZealand’s 154-run targetin 18.3 overs to take a 1-0lead in the five-matchseries.

While Vince’s man-of-the-match performancecaught the eye, captainEoin Morgan was also fullof praise for his bowlers,who laid the platform forvictory by restricting theBlack Caps to 153 for five.

“The game was wonand lost in the firstinnings... James Vinceplayed outstanding wellbut all credit to the bowlers

today,” he said.A three-wicket haul

from spinner MitchellSantner was not enough torescue the Black Caps,whose batting line-up failedto fire after Morgan wonthe toss and sent them in.

New Zealand’s regularcaptain Kane Williamson isout of the series with a hipinjury and the Black Capssorely missed his batting

prowess. Stand-in skipperTim Southee said there isroom for improvement inbowling, batting and field-ing.

“We were probably alittle bit off in all threeareas,” he said.

“We got a score on theboard that we felt we coulddefend but we were a littlebit off with the ball and inthe field, which didn’t help.”

RANCHI: Openers Shubman Gilland Mayank Agarwal smashedspectacular hundreds beforeJalaj Saxena took a career-bestseven-wicket haul, steering IndiaC into the final of the DeodharTrophy with a massive 232-runwin over India A on Friday.

India C skipper Gill (143 off142) and Mayank Agarwal (120off 111) shared a 226-run standbefore a special knock fromSuryakumar Yadav (72 not outoff 29) propelled the team to366 for three in 50 overs.

India A were neverin the chase and off-spinner Saxena (7/41)ran through theirbatting line-upwith a memo-rable spell. Itwas India A’ssecond suc-cessive defeatin as manydays, knockingthem out ofthe tourna-ment.

India C and India B, whobeat India A on Thursday, willplay the final on Monday beforemeeting each other in the finalleague game today.

India C effectively battedIndia A out of the game withAgarwal and Gill piling up theruns. Gill hammered as many ashalf a dozen sixes besides 10fours on way to his highest score

in List A cricket.Agarwal carried

his stellar Test forminto the 50-over for-mat, collecting 15fours and a six.

Following theopeners’ double cen-

tury stand,Suryakumar gotinto the act and

showed why he isconsidered as a dan-gerous white-ball

batsman. The Mumbai cricketerclobbered nine fours and foursixes in his exhilarating knock,providing a perfect finish toIndia C innings. PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

Bangladesh coach Russell Domingoexpects the recent ban on ShakibAl Hasan will affect the team’s per-

formance against India in the upcom-ing T20 and Test series but is hopeful thathis players will step up to the challengeagainst the formidable hosts.

Bangladesh build-up to the three-match T20 and two-match Test assign-ment was dealt a huge blow when Shakibwas banned for two years, one year sus-pended, for failing to report three cor-rupt approaches from a suspected Indianbookie, a day before the team’s departure.

Ahead of the first T20I here at ArunJaitley stadium tomorrow, Domingoaddressed the issue and was candidenough to admit that the dressing roomis still recovering from the shock.

“He has been a big player forBangladesh and is close friends with alot of players. So it has obviously affect-ed a few players. Obviously he has madea mistake and he is paying the price forit,” Domingo said during a press meetafter a training session.

“There’s not much we can control.Obviously it affects the team’s perfor-mance but we need to be focused on theseries and the World Cup (T20),” headded.

Since Domingo took charge just amonth back, he didn’t really get achance to work with Shakib but what theSouth African understands is that theworld’s No 1 all-rounder commandshuge respect in the change room.

“I haven’t had a chance to know himpersonally but players have a greatrespect for him. But as I said, he hasmade a mistake and paid the price forit.”

The coach admitted that Shakib’sdual skills, which fetched him more11,000 runs and over 500 wickets acrossthree formats, will be sorely missed.

“He bats at No 3. Often, he opensthe bowling, bowls first change, bowlsfour overs in every game, he is one of ourleading batters. So you need to decidewhether you replace the batsman or doyou replace the bowler.

“Because you can’t replace both asit is very difficult to get players who pro-vide both skills. So you might find your-self short in some department andstrengthened in one department,”Domingo explained.

He is fully aware of his team’s lim-ited resources as Tamim Iqbal is also outdue to personal commitments andwants to make optimal use of the talent

he has at his disposal.“It will depend on conditions. If the

pitch is flat, we will have an extra bowlerand if the pitch does a little, may be havean extra batsman. It is very difficult tofill Shakib’s shoes but those availableshould try their best to get those num-bers,” he said.

Domingo, however, is not sure howShakib’s reintegration will happen afterone year.

“One year in cricketing terms is along time and I haven’t thought aboutit. How Shakib will be integrated in theteam has neither crossed my mind northe players’ mind,” he said.

IANS n NEW DELHI

Be it a Test match, an ODI, a T20Ior an Indian Premier League

game, the square at the ArunJaitley Stadium has over the yearsalways been a talking point. Andwhile it has often been on the linesof how it doesnt let batsmen playtheir shots freely, things havechanged for the better in the lastfew years under curator AnkitDatta. And on Friday the Indianteam management was pleasantlysurprised to see freshness on thewickets.

Speaking about it, a member of

the team management said that itwas indeed a pleasant sight as T20wickets are expected to be onewhere there are plenty of runs onoffer and bowlers also get goodbounce and carry.

“It was the freshness whichpleased both the coaching staff ledby Ravi Shastri and stand-in skip-per Rohit Sharma. In fact, thewhole square looks very fresh,” themember said.

While a senior Delhi andDistrict Cricket Association(DDCA) official said that Ankitdeserves credit for keeping thewicket fresh and ready for thegame.

“Over the years, we have seena hundred games being played atthe Kotla through the year and nei-ther does Ankit get time to work onthe square, nor do the pitches getbreathing time. You cannot getquality wickets if non-stop match-es are played. But this time, heensured that the wickets weren’tused and they retained the fresh-ness,” the official said.

‘Shakib episode will affect Bangla performance’Tigers head coach admits it will be hard to fill skipper’s void but is confident of good show against India

Bangladesh players wear masks to protect themselves from air pollution as they practice at the netsahead of their first T20I against India in New Delhi on Friday AP

Need to identify core playersfor T20 WC: Rathour

PTI n NEW DELHI

The prevailing smoggyconditions in the nation-

al capital are not perfect,admitted Russell Domingobut said “no one is dying” aspollution is an issue in theircountry as well.

Domingo said gettingexposed to poor quality air inIndia was not as big a shockfor them as it is for someother countries.

Bangladesh players AlAmin, Abu Hider Rony and

team’s spin consultant DanielVettori were seen wearingmasks during their fieldingsession this morning.

“We know the SriLankans struggled last timeand look there’s a bit of pol-lution in Bangladesh as well,so it’s a not a massive shockunlike some other countries.The players have just got onwith the game and haven’tcomplained too much aboutit,” Domingo told reporters.

As the situation got bet-ter, the players removed their

masks, except Vettori andother non-Bangladeshi sup-port staff.

“It’s only three hours soit’s going to be easy. Theremaybe scratchy eyes, sorethroat but that’s ok. No oneis dying,” Domingo added.

He admitted that the sit-uation is not ideal and it’ssame for both teams.

“There’s no breeze butobviously not perfect weath-er with the smog. But itsame for both teams. Notperfect, not ideal but you

can’t complaint about and geton with the game,” the coachsaid.

When India’s battingcoach Vikram Rathour’sresponse was sought on pre-vail ing conditions, hesaid,”You are asking thewrong person.

I have played all mycricket in North India(Punjab and HimachalPradesh). Basically nothingspecial. There is pollutionbut a game has been sched-uled and we have to play.”

‘Conditions not ideal but no one will die’

Team India impressed withfreshness in Kotla wicket

Rohit survives injury scarePTI n NEW DELHI

India captain Rohit Sharma, who washit on his left abdomen during a net

session, has been declared “fit andavailable” for the first T20.

Rohit, who will leadIndia in the three-matchseries in Virat Kohli’sabsence, received the blowearly into the net sessionwhile taking throw-downs.

After a few throw-downs, one sharp deliv-ery hit Rohit on the insideregion of jios left thigh.

He immediately left the netsand it was visible that he wasn’thappy with the pace at whichthe throwdown delivery washurled at him.

“Rohit Sharma was hit onthe left side of his abdomenwhile batting in the nets.The BCCI medicalteam has confirmedthat he is fit and avail-

able for the first T20 after assess-ment of his injury,” the BCCImedia manager issued a state-ment on behalf of the team.

The Indian team has adesignated a left-armthrowdown expert in SriLanka’s Nuwan to counterleft-arm seamers in theopposition, MustafizurRahaman in this particu-lar series.

The practice ses-sion was a goodenough indicator thatSanju Samson will

not be keeping wickets ashe was seen fielding withothers and number onechoice Rishabh Pant wasseen devoting extra

time to his glove work.All eyes were on

big-hitting Mumbaiall-rounder ShivamDube who was seentalking to head

coach Ravi Shastri.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Getting the core of play-ers right without too

much tinkering will beIndia’s priority going intothe 2020 T20 World Cup,batting coach VikramRathour said on Friday.

India will start theirthree-match T20 campaignagainst Bangladesh heretomorrow with an aim totest young players likeShivam Dube and SanjuSamson.

Rathour said thatexperiments can happenbut he is not in favour offrequent chop and change.

“You can’t be changingtoo much as well. I agree.But a big tournament iscoming so we need toknow the core of our teamand we need to maintainthat core,” Rathour saidduring the media confer-ence.

“And in between, tryout new players who arecoming through. If theywork out good for ourcombination, it will work

for our team,” saidRathour.

The former openingbatsman said that winningmatches while batting firstis one area the team needsto improve on.

“In the last series, wedeliberately batted first inone game which we lost.That’s one are we need towork on. We need to batbetter when we bat first.We chase pretty well,”explained Rathour.

He is happy with thekind of talent pool avail-able in Indian cricket.

“Extremely excitingtimes when you see young-sters coming through,doing well in domesticcricket and come into theIndian team,” he said.

T20 is perhaps oneformat where teams don’tmiss their star playersmuch, he said.

“Missing out top play-ers of course makes a dif-ference but T20 is the onlyformat where you don’tmiss them too much,” headded.

India head coach Ravi Shastri & batting coach Vikram Rathour chat during nets PTI

Adapting to pink ball only challenge in D/N Test: Pujara

Arun Jaitley stadium engulfed in smog aheadof India’s 1st T20 against Bangladesh PTI

get used to it. It’s always about experience andknowing how the ball is behaving,” he said.

Pujara had complained about sighting the ballunder lights in the 2016-17 season but he claimsto be better-prepared now.

“The more we play, the more we gain expe-rience of how to tackle the ball. Every ball has itschallenges. I don’t think it will require a hugechange to shift from red ball to pink ball. The rea-son is it’s the same format. We are still playing afive-day match,” the 31-year-old said.

“Yes, under lights, it will be different. But it’sabout getting used to the pink ball. That’s whatI feel. Rest, I don’t think will be a major differ-ence. Once we play some Test matches, we willbe able to know the exact difference and canimprovise.”

Apart from Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, RishabhPant, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami andWriddhiman Saha, from the current Indian Testsquad, have the experience of playing with a pinkball at the domestic level.

Summing up the mood in the camp, he said:“We won’t have any issue. Most of the guys haveplayed in Duleep Trophy and for the ones whohave not played, it would be a good learning curvefor them.”

“The help for the bowlers could come at a dif-ferent times unlike the traditional Tests. It couldbe under lights or without lights. Once we play,we will get to know about all such things. We willhave to adapt to it as quickly as possible.”Ravi Shastri gives tip to Cheteshwar Pujara during SA Test series PTI

217 NOT OUTWarner remains unbeaten in three gamesas Aussies clean-sweep SL in T20 series

India C enter Deodhar Trophy final Eng draw first blood in T20 series

Eoin Morgan, left, and Pat Brown celebrate after winning first T20 AP

STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

Ahead of scheduled T20 match in cap-ital tomorrow, the South Delhi

Municipal Corporation (SDMC) hasdeployed a huge manpower to control airand dust pollution near stadium situatedin Central Zone of the civic body.

The civic body has taken a slew ofmeasures including 12 water sprinklersand 10 mechanical sweepers to controldust pollution. Besides, the civic body hasalso deployed approx 50 safai karamcharisto ensure sanitation and cleanliness tocombat dust pollution.

As per the instructions of theCommissioner, patrolling teams havebeen constituted to take instant actionagainst violators in the areas around thestadium, the civic body said in a statement.

“The Licensing department has beenauthorized to take strict action againstburning of garbage, construction activi-ties, ‘Construction and Demolition’ wastedumping etc,” it said.

The move came after EnvironmentPollution (Prevention and Control)Authority (EPCA) declared a publichealth emergency in the Delhi in the wakeof rising level of pollution.

SDMC effortsfor 1st T20