A Colossusmoves on

By Chandan Mitra

To describe him as a Titan would be an under-statement. Apart from all his achievements —

politician, Prime Minister, poet, coalition-maker,nation-builder, statesman — Atal Bihari Vajpayeewas above all a magnificent human being; roman-tic at heart with nerves of steel. He towered over hiscompatriots which is probably why he bore no mal-ice towards anyone and most of them unquestion-ingly accepted his leadership despite adhering to rivalideologies.

He emerged as a leader in a relatively uncompli-cated era, in which politicians were largely princi-pled and respected divergences of opinion. A keenlearner who empathised with common people, hegrew to deal successfully with most complex domes-tic and international issues. A liberal in the true senseof the term, Vajpayee was nevertheless a man ofutmost conviction and steely resolve evident fromhis courage to go ahead with the Pokhran nuclearexplosions in the face of severe odds. He had thedetermination to swim against the tide and stuck tohis guns when he invited General Pervez Musharraffor talks at Agra, despite the widespread criticism ofhis decision. Failure never daunted him, neither didsuccess make him delusional with self-praise.

He strived all his life to build an inclusive soci-ety, something that even born-again left-wing sec-ularists were forced to admit. A democrat to the corehe bore the brunt of Indira Gandhi’s authoritarianstreak, suffering many months behind bars duringthe Emergency. But he rose to his full stature to com-pliment Mrs Gandhi as a modern-day Durga afterthe Indian Army vanquished Pakistan and helpedliberate the oppressed people of Bangladesh.

Once, till the early seventies, he was lamented asthe best Prime Minister India never had. He dis-proved the doomsayers and triumphantly adornedthat chair thrice, beginning 1996, even if for two shortspells before he led the 26-party National DemocraticAlliance to a full five-year term in office in 1999. Hisresilience in politics was truly remarkable for he tookhis party out of its nadir after 1984 when it was downto an abysmal two seats in the Lok Sabha. Despitehimself losing his seat in that poll in the wake of theemotional outpouring over Indira Gandhi’s assassi-nation, Atal Bihari led his party to an emphaticnationwide triumph in 12 years.

This he achieved along with his lifelong com-panion and political cohort, Lal Krishna Advani,whose selfless association with Atalji is a rare instanceof political camaraderie. But then, Atal BihariVajpayee was respected universally across the polit-ical spectrum. Starting from Jawaharlal Nehru, whoonce praised him for a characteristically movingspeech in Parliament by predicting he wouldbecome Prime Minister one day, leaders of all shades,even his bitter political critics, heaped praise on hisability to accommodate diverse opinions, despite hisbackground as a Swayamsevak, usually known fortheir ideological rigidity. So much so that one-timerabid Socialist Trade Union leader George Fernandesbecame a convert to Atalji’s philosophy of an inclu-sive India and vocally defended the Pokhran blasts.

A spell-binding orator, the likes of whom Indiahad never seen before and unlikely to see after, Ataljiwas a master craftsman with words. His love for andmastery over Hindi enabled him to connect with peo-ple with incomparable aplomb. His remarkable abil-ity to merge humour with serious content enabledAtalji to get his point across without appearing to pon-tificate or gnash his teeth. He was never in the goodbooks of many in his own party who disparaged hislifestyle and loathed his eclectic tastes. But Atalji wasfar beyond their stentorian jealousies; he knew heenjoyed peoples’ love and trust to the full and couldafford to ignore recriminations of lesser men.

It will always be a mystery as to why he lost the2004 elections despite near-unanimous predictionsof a BJP landslide. Some blame the party’s over-con-fidence reflected in the “Shining India” slogan, whileothers point to predictable anti-incumbency. Thereis every reason to suggest that the nation regrettedits electoral choice for India was bereft of his guid-ing hand and benign but powerful supervision. Butthen, history is full of ifs and buts. And the teacher’sson from remote Bateshwar Ghat in Uttar Pradeshwas destined to rise to global acclaim and make Indiaproud on the world stage. He accorded the deservedstatus to his beloved language by speaking at the UNGeneral Assembly in his mother tongue, being thefirst Indian leader to do so, long before this becamefashionable.

Finally, on a personal note, I must recall his open-ing words at the launch of The Pioneer’s Hindi week-ly. “Shri Chandan Mitra aur mitron...” he began,sending the audience into peels of merriment. Hiswords were always telling. But sometimes even histrademark silences had even deeper meaning.Sadly, the country will have to live with his eternalsilence from now on. May his soul rest in peace.

PNS I n LUCKNOW

Paying homage to formerPrime Minister Atal Bihari

Vajpayee, Chief Minister YogiAdityanath said that death ofpolitical stalwart, who alwaysadvocated building a strongnation full of passion, zeal andcommitment to excel in allwalks of life, was an irreparableloss.

“We have lost a deep-root-ed mass leader, prolific thinker,accomplished writer and a stal-wart whose life was devoted tothe welfare of the poor and themarginalised. He was steadfast-ly committed to the welfare ofpeople and ensured that theirvoices are heard effectively,”

Yogi said in a written statementissued here on Thursday.

He added: “Vajpayeeji wasfirmly committed to democra-tic ideals and his strong oppo-sition to muzzling the voices ofthe poor will always be remem-bered.” The governmentdeclared holiday in all officesand educational institutions tomourn the death of the formerPM. Earlier, Yogi cancelled allprogrammes scheduled for theday and rushed to New Delhi tovisit All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS). Hewas accompanied by DeputyCMs Dinesh Sharma & KeshavPrasad Maurya and UP BJPpresident Mahendra NathPandey.

“Atalji was in politics forover six decades. But hisunblemished political career isa big lesson for all of us. The baseof his good governance waspolitical values and high prin-ciples. This is the reason healways advocated rashtra dhar-ma. For him, nation came firstand he followed this principle tillhis last breath,” the ChiefMinister said.

Earlier in the day, the gov-ernment cancelled all the engage-ments of the CM. The BJP alsocancelled its programme to holddistrict level working committeemeet slated on Thursday. Thevisit of Union Home MinisterRajnath Singh to Lucknow onThursday was also cancelled.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The last rites of former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari

Vajpayee will take place atRashtriya Smriti Sthal here onFriday at 4 pm. Expressingcondolence, Union Cabinetchaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Thursdayevening decided to announceseven-day State mourning as amark of respect for the formerPrime Minister.

The body of the BJP veter-an will be kept at his officialresidence 6A Krishna MenonMarg till Friday morning toallow people to pay theirhomage. It would be taken tothe BJP headquarters at DeenDayal Upadhyay Marg by 9 amand will be kept till 2pm. Thebody will be taken in proces-sion to Shanti Van area via ITO.

In a circular, the HomeMinistry said national flagwould be flown at half mastfrom Thursday for seven daysacross India and a State funer-al would be accorded toVajpayee. “As a mark of respectto the departed dignitary, it hasbeen decided that seven days ofState mourning will beobserved throughout Indiafrom August 16 to 22, both

days inclusive. All CentralGovernment offices and CPSUsacross the country, and DelhiGovernment offices in NCT ofDelhi will observe half day hol-iday in the afternoon of day offuneral. National flag shall alsofly half mast till August 22 inall Indian Missions/HighCommissions of India abroad,”said Home Ministry.

Continued on Page 5

Atal’s mortal remains to be

consigned to flames at 4pm

Irreparable loss, says Yogi

PNS n NEW DELHI

Aswathe of gloom enveloped the nation as Indialost one of its most loved political stalwarts on

Thursday evening when former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee breathed his last at All India Instituteof Medical Sciences in the national Capital. The endcame at 5.06 pm, but sensing that life was fast ebbingaway from his ailing body, the country had slippedinto mourning mode hours before.

The former PM was admitted to hospital on June11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infec-tion, low urine output and chest congestion.

In temple, churches, mosques and households, thecommon man of the country prayed since early morn-ing for the health of the great son of India who wasuniversally loved across caste and religious divides.Vajpayee may have been bedridden and out of pub-lic life for nearly a decade, still the fact that he wasaround was a great source of solace for millions of hisfollowers and others. When the TV channel broke thenews, people wept and cried, and sadness engulfedthe nation like never before in the recent history.

Even when he presided over the BJP as its tallestpillar and was fully involved in power politics,Vajpayee was respected by even his bitter rivals. Theoutpouring of emotion on his death showed that a trueleader can transcend the boundaries of his party andideologies to carve a place for himself in the heartsand minds of the entire political spectrum.

From north to south, east to west, and Bollywoodto sportsmen, separatists to security forces, Vajpayeewas a leader who was loved and admired by all.

Kashmir separatists like Hurriyat Conference’sMirwaiz Umar Farooq, Abdul Gani Bhat and othershave described him as “great man” and a rare leaderwith “humaneness” who sought a resolution of theissues related to Kashmir.

Celebrities from film industries across the coun-try joined in to express their sorrow over the deathof Vajpayee.

Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar wrote,“Rishitulya purva pradhan mantri Bharat Ratna AtalBihari Vajpayee ji ke swargwas ki vaarta sunke mujheaise laga jaise mere sar par pahaad toota hai, kyo kimain unko pita samaan maanti thi aur unhone mujheapni beti banaaya tha. Mujhe wo itne priya the ki mainunko dadda kehke bulaati thi. Aaj mujhe waisa dukhhua hai jaise mere pita ji ke swargwas ke samay huatha. Ishwar unki aatma ko shanti de.”

Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra took to themicro-blogging site to say that the ‘nation will alwaysremember’ the former Prime Minister, “Former PrimeMinister Shri #AtalBihariVajpayee’s visionary ideasand contributions for India were truly remarkable. Thenation will always remember... #RIP My thoughts andcondolences to the family.”

Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi tweeted, “A true

legend, respected statesman, phenomenalpoet, tall leader beyond stature, respectedby even his strongest critics andrivals...#Atalji passes on. Leaving behinda legacy of greatness that will inspire gen-erations forever! #AtalBihariVajpayee”

Tamil star Dhanush wrote, “Deeplysaddened to hear about the passingaway of Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji.Heartfelt condolences to the familyand dear ones of the great man.”

Superstar Rajinikanth tweeted,“I’m saddened to hear the demise ofa great statesman Shri Vajpayee ji.May his soul Rest In Peace.”

But it was the reaction of the com-mon man, who never had personally metthe former PM, but known him throughhis speeches and poems that showedhow deeply the country loved him ata time when there is great deal ofhostility and division towards thepolitical class.

Tears welled into the eyes of any-one who was approached for reac-tions by TV journalists in differentparts of the country. At hundreds ofplaces, people offered prayers andperformed various rituals to seekdivine intervention to save theirbeloved leaders. But the man whoonce wrote the famous lines: Kaal kekapal par likhta-mitata hun, geet nayagaata hun, geet naya gaata hun” lostout to “ Kaal” after a decade ofintense battle.

Led by Prime Minister NarendraModi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, politicos and admir-ers of Vajpayee drove to AIIMS for hislast glimpse.

Several Government events were eitherpostponed or cancelled as a health bulletinfrom the premier hospital in the morning saidVajpayee’s “condition continues to be the same”.

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, HomeMinister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj, Congress president Rahul Gandhi,Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and NationalConference leader Farooq Abdullah were among themany leaders who visited Vajpayee in the hospital. BJPpresident Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker SumitraMahajan and other several BJP leaders like ShahnawajHussain, Manoj Tiwari, Anurag Thakur, Vijay Goyal,Udit Rai, Prakash Javadekar, Harsh Vardhan were atthe hospital.

Continued on Page 5Related reports on P2, 4, 6, 7

A TITAN’S

Do din mile uphar mein

Ghaaton ke vyaapar

mein; Kshan-kshan ka

hisaab loon,

Yaa nidhi shesh

lutaoon mein?

Raah kaun si

jaaon

main?

Atal Bihari VajpayeeInspecting the nucleartest site in Pokhran onMay 20, 1998

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14 VIVACITY

journey ends

Pall of gloom descends on LucknowPNS I n LUCKNOW

Apall of gloom descendedon the streets of Lucknow

when television channels con-firmed the death of Atal BihariVajpayee on Thursday evening,with people saying it was theend of a long association whichthe former Prime Minister hadwith his ‘karmabhoomi’Lucknow.

“With his death, I have losta valued visitor of my shop,”said Basant Kumar Tripathi,owner of Raja Thandai atChowk, in a choked voice.“Innumerable times he came to

my shop to have ‘masaledarthandai’ and every time he leftwith a promise to come backagain,” he recalled. “‘Phiraayunga’,” used to be his part-ing shot.

“I had a hope that he wouldcome one day. Now, I know wewill not meet ever,” Tripathisaid.

Last time Vajpayee hadcome to Raja Thandai was in2006. “He was Prime Minister.He did not allow the SPG to gofor security check of thethandai and had it with LaljiTandon and left,” he said.

People across party lines

remember Vajpayee for hissimplicity, oratory and fond-ness for simple joys of life likecracking an innocent joke,sharing tea and sweets withanyone who was with him,playing with children andabove all, remembering peopleeven after long passage of time.

Atal’s death was the talk ofthe town in old Lucknow’sChowk locality where manypersons have had long andnon-political association withVajpayee. A visit to the narrowlanes of Chowk also broughtout many little-known facets of

Continued on Page 5

Schools, officesclosed todayPNS I n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath

on Thursday declared sevendays’ state mourning as a markof respect to former PrimeMinister, late Atal BihariVajpayee. During this period,the national tricolour will beflown at half mast at govern-ment offices in all districts. Thegovernment also declared clo-sure of all offices, schools andcolleges on Friday as a mark ofrespect to Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Chief Minister, YogiAdityanath also said that spe-cial functions would be organ-ised in the memory of the latePrime Minister at Bateshwar.He also said that the ashes ofthe great leader would beimmersed in all prominent rivers of the state.

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PNS n LUCKNOW

An unparalleled leader, for-mer Prime Minister Atal

Bihari Vajpayee’s bond withLucknow grew stronger withevery electoral victory. Hewill be remembered for hisinimitable style in time tocome. His association withthe state capital, its culture andits histor y remainedunchanged even after he tookoath as PM thrice. Heremained accessible to thepeople of Lucknow andanswered the most uncom-fortable of questions that themedia invariably posed tohim. More often than not, hetook all the questions withease and wit. He rememberedhis friends from Lucknow –from Lalji Tandon to formermayor late SC Rai — andtreated them with affection

and respect even after hebecame the PM. At a timewhen in-fighting in the BJPwas at its peak during theKalyan Singh regime,Vajpayee made sure that hedid not take sides and it wasthis posture that finally helpedthe party wade out of troubledwaters. Vajpayee was one ofthose rare leaders who did notallow his security cover to dis-tance him from the party andpeople.

Vajpayee did not have aniota of bitterness even for hisseverest critic or rival. No mat-ter how hard the media tried,it could not get Vajpayee toutter even a single word againstthe then Samajwadi candidateRaj Babbar, who was locked ina high-profile electoral battlewith the BJP leader in Lucknowin 1996. Moreover, his popular-ity, especially among Shia

Muslims, was such that theyoverruled their opposition andcame out in large numbers to

vote for the BJP. His over 7-decade association withLucknow will always be cher-

ished as people fondly remem-bered how he used to describeLucknow as his karma bhoo-mi. He never hesitated in enjoy-ing Lucknow’s famous chaat,kulfi, Raja ki thandai in thecongested Chowk locality.Whenever he visited Lucknow,his close friend, former minis-ter Lalji Tandon would invitehim over for the mouth-water-ing chaat and kulfi party.Tandon ensured that somesenior journalists were alsoinvited. A maverick orator,Lucknowites remember howthey used to throng to listen tohis speeches during the electiontime irrespective of the facewhether they belonged to theBJP or the Opposition. Eventhe most serious of his speech-es were laced with couplets.Friends and foes would alwaysreturn home appreciatingVajpayee’s’ gift of gab.

With each victory, his bond with Lko became ‘Atal’

File photo former PM AtalBihari Vajpayee showinghis inked finger aftercasting his vote inLucknow in 2004

PNS n LUCKNOW

Former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee is credited

for not only building the futureof the country but also groom-ing future of many politicalleaders and the list includesUnion Home Minister RajnathSingh and former minister andMP from Lucknow LaljiTandon. In 1991, when KalyanSingh was the Chief Minister ofUttar Pradesh, Vajpayee playeda key role in making RajnathSingh Education Minister inUttar Pradesh. Though histenure remained controversialfollowing implementation ofanti-copying law, Singh wasable to make his mark as anadministrator.

When Atal Bihari Vajpayeebecame the Prime Minister, heentrusted Singh with the taskof constructing quadrilateralhighway and in 2003 Singh wasmade Agriculture Minister.

“He (Atalji) had immensefaith on me. As AgricultureMinister, I suggested hike inMSP and he agreed withoutquestioning my decision,”Singh told this reporter.

Vajpayee played a similarrole in building the politicalcareer of Lalji Tandon. “Ataljiwas a great inspiration for theentire nation. He used to tellme ‘chhote mann se koi badanahi hota, toote tan se koikhada nahi hota.’ This defineshis personality,” an emotionalLalji Tandon said. Vajpayeehad campaigned for Tandon inearly 1960s when the latter wascontesting for the post of cor-porator from Chowk area ofthe city. Tandon was intro-duced to Vajpayee by the thirdmayor of Lucknow, Dr PDKapoor. Atal had ensuredTandon’s victory by campaign-ing extensively for him.

Their relationship grew.When Atal was MP fromLucknow, Tandon was appoint-ed his representative and heensured construction ofScientific Centre at Chowkfrom MP Local Area

PNS n LUCKNOW

It was a memorable momentthat will remain etched for-

ever in the memory of formerprincipal of LucknowChristian College BP Masih,who sat next to former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayeeduring the famous bus jour-ney to Lahore in February(1999). It was for the cause ofpeace and goodwill betweenthe two neighbouring coun-tries.

Recalling the journey,Masih said like all other pas-sengers, he got a chance tointeract with the then PrimeMinister and used the oppor-tunity to request him to re-visit his college, to whichVajpayee responded with agentle smile. Masih said it wasa historic journey for the sakeof friendship and amitybetween India and Pakistan. “Iwas selected for the journeyon the suggestion of LaljiTandon as I was a prominentmember of the Christian com-munity. People from differentreligions were selected fromacross the country,” he recol-lected.

Recalling Vajpayee’s earli-er visit to the college, he said

that the former PrimeMinister had come for a bookrelease function in February1997. “At that time, the formerPrime Minister had come toLucknow for filing nomina-tion papers and on his visit tothe Christian College, he had

said he was very impressedwith the manner in which thecollege was being managed”.

Masih said he made anattempt to meet the formerPrime Minister at his resi-dence in Delhi in 2015, but inDelhi at his residence but in

vain. “ I did not get the per-mission to meet him then. Ifelt very sad to hear about hisdemise because he was a manwho thought about the down-trodden and was committedto the cause of humanity,” headded.

Development (MPLAD) Fund.After Atalji fell ill, Tandon wasgiven ticket to contest fromLucknow in 2009.

“What I am today isbecause of Atalji. I was MPfrom 2009-14 but I was likeBharat who ruled Ayodhya bykeeping ‘khadaun’ (of LordRam on throne). I served thepeople of Lucknow not as MPbut as representative of Atalji,”Tandon said. Another manwho considers himself asblessed because he consideredhimself to be fortunate to haveworked with him is Dr DineshSharma. “I entered electoralpolitics because of Atalji. Heasked me to contest the may-oral election. I contested withhis ‘aashirwad’ (blessing) andwon the election not once buttwice,” said Dr Sharma, who isnow Deputy Chief Minister inYogi Adityanath Cabinet.

Vajpayee’s political associ-ation with Lucknow basicallystarted in 1991 when he con-tested the Lok Sabha elections.It was the time of Ram templemovement.

The man who groomedmany political leaders

Lucknow (PNS): The man knownfor his one-liners, former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayeewould be remembered for hishumbleness besides his friendshipand respect for others, includingthe media.“I am tired not retired” – the one-liner in the 2004 general electionleft his stamp of supremacy in theparty. This one-liner sent the entireparty and ‘sangh’ in a spin and allgot back firmly behind Vajpayeefor the next LS election. There areseveral instances of humblenessof the great leader during his fiveelection campaigns in Lucknow. In1998, filmmaker Muzaffar Ali wascontesting against him. During acampaign, the cavalcades of boththe leaders came face to face at

Bakshi-Ka-Talab and there was asort of confrontation amongworkers of both the leaders aswho should pass first. ButVajpayee got out from his car andsaid Ali deserved to pass first andhe waited as Ali’s cavalcadepassed through. Similarly, duringelection campaign for Assemblypolls in Lucknow, Atalji was alsocampaigning for his party as hewas the MP from Lucknow. Therewere reports that the BJP waslosing two Assembly seats. In hisspeech, Vajpayee said: “You(people) have given me the kurta.Now I hear you all plan to givepyjama to someone else.”Meaning you have made me a MPand want to give the Assembly toSamajwadi Party. The statement

changed the mood in BJP’sfavour. When Rajiv Gandhi died,Atalji was in Lucknow. He was sosaddened by the news thateyewitnesses recall he sat ingloom for long and said:“Apurniya kshati (unbearableloss).” During his first electionfrom Lucknow in 1991, anewspaper published a surveysaying that Atal was losing toCongress’ lesser-known candidateRanjit Singh. The BJP workerswere agitated and even the mediafelt that Atalji would now respondwith anger. But Vajpayee againsurprised all. While addressing theworkers he said, “A survey hascome saying I am losing. Nowplease get up to work and ensurethat I go forward.”

HUMILITY PERSONIFIED

Masih remembers bus journey with Atal

Principal of Lucknow Christian College BP Masih with the former PM during bus journey to Lahore in February (1999)

PNS n LUCKNOW

It’s an old world charm thatlooms large in one’s face as

one steps into the SanskritiBhawan which houses theRashtradharm Prakashan atRajendra Nagar. Close-knitcubicles with rows of boundbooks on the shelf carry thewhiff of bygone days whenwritings were fuelled by the souland connecting with millionswith the right idea was consid-ered a national religion orrashtriya dharm.

Amongst the maze ofrooms there is one which car-ries the mundane board thatannounces the editorial roll callsince the time the magazineRashtriyadharm was first start-ed in 1947. Old timers associ-ated with the Bhawan admit thatthough much has changed at theplace, this room was the onewhere former Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee sat and car-ried out the work associatedwith the magazine with whichhe wanted to get a cultural con-nect with the youth across thecountry after its Independence.

He was the first editor of themagazine. So strong is the auraof legends like the former PrimeMinister that even his passingaway cannot erase the feel of hispresence from the room andone can almost hear his softtwinkling laughter as he brain-stormed with others and chis-elled words that could pierce theminds of the youth like sharp-edged knives.

Manager ofRashtriyadharm magazine,Pawanputra Badal, says thatAtal’s passion could be gaugedfrom the fact that he broughtout the first magazine merelysixteen days after India attainedIndependence — on August 311947. “This was certainly anachievement in its own way. Hebrought out the magazine inassociation with Pandit DeenDayal Upadhyaya and he wrotehis first ever editorial for themagazine, which is consideredhistorical even today,” he said.Incidentally, the former PrimeMinister would operate theprinting machine manually onhis own from the same buildingwhich grew into a complete

infrastructure by 1949. “Thefirst edition that came out onAugust 31 had 3,500 copieswhich went across the entirecountry and this figure swelledto almost 8,000 copies in thesecond edition and 12,000copies in the third edition — abig figure at the time when evenreputed magazines published

merely 500 copies a month,” hesaid.

Admitting that Atal’s asso-ciation in a way branded themagazine which is still beingpublished, Pawan categoricallypoints out that it was not a polit-ical bandwagon and Atal’s aimwas to focus on the moral val-ues with the magazine being a

cultural curry that containedpoems and literary articles.

“The mandate was clearand well known and eminentpersonalities from all fieldscontributed to the magazine.They included DrSampurnanand, the secondChief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,social and political leader DrRam Manohar Lohia, and liter-ary giant Vasudev Aggarwal.Atal would apart from penningthe editorials also enrich themagazine with his poems andarticles. The magazine touchedevery state of the country,” hesaid. It was a much awaitedmagazine and apart from Indiait also made its way to eightcountries that included England,Canada, America, Mauritius,Japan and West Indies. Atal’sbreak with the magazine camein 1951 when he started work-ing for the Jan Sangh. “However,he continued his associationwith the Rashtriyadharm bycontributing articles to the mag-azine and inspiring us. His lastvisit was in 1989 when he cameto unveil the statue of PanditDeen Dayal Upadhyaya,” he

His cultural connect with nation started from here

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pays tribute to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his Krishna Menon Marg residence in New Delhi on Thursday PTI

No. : KNN/PROJECT/Namami Gangey/01/18-19 Date: 14/08/2018The Municipal commissioner, Kanpur Municipal Corporation invites Online proposals for the fol-lowing work:-

S. Name of project Nature of Tender Earnest Date & Time Last DateNo. the Project Fee non- Money of Pre-Bid & Time of

refundable Deposit Meeting submission(Rs.) (Rs. in Lacs)

1. Cleaning/Sweepiing Ghatwith collection and Cleaningdisposal of Solid programme 5000/- 6.91 24.08.2018 06.09.2018Waste from the banks under +18% GST At Up toof river Ganga on Namami 11.00 A.M. 03.00 P.M.Ghats at Kanpur. Gange.

1. Tender documents will be available and can be downloaded from the website of Kanpur MunicipalCorporation, i.e. https://etender.up.nic.in and http://kmc.up.nic.in from 16/08/2018.

2. The Hard Copies of the Tender Documents need to be submitted by the Last Date, mentionedabove at the Office of the Chief Enginieer, Kanpur Municipal Corporation, 1st Floor, Nagar NigamMukhyalay, Moti Jheel, Kanpur.

3. The last date for submission of pre-bid queries is 22/08/2018 till 4:00 PM through e-mail onmckanpur@yahoo.com and Pre-bid meeting will be held on 24/08/2018 at 4:00 P.M. at theConference Hall, Nagar Nigam Mukhyalay, 1st Floor, Moti Jheel, Kanpur.

4. The responses to the pre-bid queries will be uploaded on the website of kmc.up.nic.in i.e.https://kmc.up.nic.in on 26/08/2018.

5. Other details can be seen in the RfP document.

Municipal CommissionerKanpur Municipal Corporation

Kanpur

Kanpur Municipal CorporationNOTICE INVITIING TENDER (e-Procurement)

03LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018the pioneer

city 04LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018

U.P. Rajya VidyutUtpadan Nigam Ltd,Obra Tharmal PowerStation, OBRA-

Sonebhadra, -231219 NoticeInviting e-Bid Tender No. TO-1 2 9 2 / S E ( M M C - I ) / C P D -II/ATPS/18-19 Online e-Bids areinvited for the Caustic Soda Lyeconcentration 47% for 'Obra'Thermal Power Station, Obra,Sonebhadra (U.P). e-tender hasbeen uploaded on 04/06/2018 at09:00 AM on UP Gov!. e-tenderporta https://etender.up.nic.inLast date of e-bid subm ission on20.08.2018 at 06:00 PM &Technical Bid (Part-I) will beopened on 21.08.2018 at 06:00PM or later. Estimated Cost ofsupply will be approximatelyRs. 55.00 Lac (Rs Fifty Five Lac)Only. The E.M.D and Tender costfor e-bid submission is Rs.55,000/- and Rs.1180/-respec-tively. Total Quantity of supplytender specification and otherterms & condition is as per ten-der document available on the e-tender portal. It may please benoted that this is online bid andshall be accepted online only onwebsite https://etender.up.nic.information related to extension indue dates and corrigendumifany shall be uploaded only onthe above website. Bidders areadvised to visit the website onregular basis in order to keepthemselves update.Superintending Engineer,MMC-IE-TENDER NOTICE NAME OFWORK : Shift wise routinecheeking and mechanical main-tenance of auxiliaries of CoalHandling Plant, BTPS, of ObraTheral Power Project. TENDERNO. : T-16/SE-II/FHMD-II/ BTPS/2018-19 ESTIMATED COSTOF WORK : Rs. 25,07,550.00(Rs. Twenty Five Lacs SevenThousand Five Hundred Fifty)Only LAST DATE AND TIMEFOR SUBMISSION OF E-BIDS(TECHNICALAND FINANCIAL)AT E-PROCUREMENT WEB-SITE http://etender.up.nic.in :05.09.2018 up to 18:00 hrs.LAST DATE AND TIME FORSUBMISSION OF TENDERFEE AND EMD : 06.09.2018 upto 17:00 hrs. DATE AND TIMEOF OPENING OF E-BIDS :07.09.2018 up to 16:00 hrs.PLACE OF OPENING OF E-BIDS : Office of SuperintendingEngineer-II, 'B'TPS, Obra,Sonebhadra ADDRESS FORCOMMUNICATION :Suprintending Engineer-II,'B'TPS, Obra, Sonebhadra, U.P.-231219 E-MAIL ADDRESS:sameerbhatnagar16@gmail.com BID DOCUMENT COST : Rs.1,180.00 (WITH GST)EARNEST MONEY : Rs.50,000.00 (Rs. Fifty Thousand)Only Note: - Tender specificationis available on e-tender websitehttps:/ /etender.up.nic. inTenders will be accepted onlineonly. Superintending Engineer-II 'B' Thermal power station,No. 195 Date 10.8.2018 "SAVEELECTRICITY ENHANCENATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY"

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On behalf of BSNL, Item ratee-tenders are invited for NITNo. 07/2018-19/TCD-II/KP/174 for the work "C/o40 m Ground Base Towerfoundation against Phase-VIIat Koyala Nagar-II, Kanpur.(UPE-8226)". The last date ofsubmission of bids online willbe 23.08.2018 by 18.00 Hrs.Other details/information canbe seen on website www.tenderwizard.com/BSNL

BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED

PNS n LUCKNOW

The aura surrounding AtalBihari Vajpayee was so

overpowering that his appealeven forced a hijacker tosurrender even whenVajpayee was not the PrimeMinister of the country. Thishappened when Vajpayeewas just a Member ofParliament and was electedto Lok Sabha from Lucknowfor the first time.

It happened on January22, 1992 when the thenDistr ic t Magistrate ofLucknow Ashok Priyadarshi

entered the room of Vajpayeewhen he was about to starthis lunch and his old timeassociate Lalji Tandon waswith him. Priyadarshi toldVajpayee that a man hadhijacked a plane en route toDelhi and he claimed to becarrying a chemical bomb.The DM also disclosed thatthe hijacker wanted the planeto be brought back toLucknow where he wanted to

meet Vajpayee. The planewas carrying 48 passengers.The ATC had started com-munication with the hijack-er and had kept the plane inthe air for over an hour.However, when the pilotsinformed the ATC that theywere running out of fuel, theaircraft was given permissionto land at Amausi airport inLucknow and the senior offi-cials were discussing how to

defuse the situation.Recalling the incident,

Tandon said: “Atalji then saidif the man who had hijackedthe plane wanted to meethim he would go to the air-port and meet him.” The offi-cials initially did not allowthis. They argued that thehijacker could be carryingweapon and could hurtVajpayee. So, it was decidedthat Vajpayee should be taken

to the ATC from where hecould speak to the hijacker.“Vajpayeeji boarded the carand reached the airport. Hestraightaway went to ATCand spoke to the hijacker,”Tandon recalled. But thehijacker could not recogniseAtalji’s voice. Vajpayee thenboarded a gypsy and wenttowards the plane. The offi-cial there tried to initiatecommunication between the

hijacker and Vajpayee. But thehijacker did not respond. Hewanted Atalji to enter the air-craft. With no option left,Priyadarshi gave permissionto Atalji to enter the aircraft.The DM entered the planefirst and when he gave signal,Vajpayee entered the aircraftalong with Lalji Tandon. “Thehijacker touched the feet ofAtalji and surrendered,”Tandon said.

Vajpayee’s overpowering aura

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

A7-year-old boy, who wasreported missing on killed

by his elder brother in Madiaonafter their father termed him avagabond and threatened not togive him a share in family prop-erty. The stunning revelationssurfaced during the probe of thecase involving Yashu Singh (7)of Faizullahganj locality ofMadiaon. Yashu was reportedmissing on August 14 night andlater his body was recoveredfrom a water body in Yasin KiBaghia in the locality on August15. Police first treated the inci-dent as a case of drowning.However, when the autopsyreport ascertained that Yashuwas strangled to death and thenhis body was thrown into thepond, the police started theprobe afresh following SSPKalanidhi Naithani’s instruc-tions. Police recovered a pair ofslippers and a knife.

During scanning of aCCTV footage, Yashu and hiselder brother Sooraj Singh (22)were seen going towards YasinKi Baghia around 9:22 pm onAugust 14. Sooraj was later seenreturning alone around 10:11pm. “This made Sooraj a suspectand he was rounded up for inter-rogation,” ASP, trans-Gomti,Harendra Singh said, addingthat Sooraj owned up his crimeduring interrogation. As perSooraj’s confession, he felt insult-ed after being admonished byhis father for being jobless. Hisfather also warned Sooraj that hewould not give an inch of hisproperty to him and Yashuwould get his share too.Vijendra’s warning irked Soorajto such an extent that he instant-ly decided to kill Yashu. Around8:30 pm on August 14, he luredYashu into going for an outingand took him to a chaat shop. Helater took him to Yasin KiBaghia where he smotheredYashu to death.

7-year-oldkilled byelder bro

PNS n LUCKNOW

Independence Day wascelebrated with great

enthusiasm and patrioticfervour in the city. At theCommissioner’s office thenational flag was hoisted bythe Commissioner, AnilGarg, and at theCollectorate by the DistrictMagistrate, Kaushal RajSharma. The 72ndIndependence Day was cel-ebrated with gaiety andenthusiasm in RDSO.Margoob Hussain, itsDirector General, hoistedthe flag in a colourful cer-emony amidst a large gath-ering of officers, staff andtheir families in the RDSOStadium. The RPF paradewas followed by a culturalprogramme based on thenational theme by the chil-

dren of the KendriyaVidyalaya and ManaknagarRailway Inter College, RDSO.Addressing the gathering,Margoob Hussain, DG,RDSO, highlighted severalmajor achievements anddevelopmental initiatives ofthe RDSO.

The day was celebratedwith great enthusiasm at

CSIR-CDRI. Director TapasKumar Kundu greeted allthe scientists, research schol-ars and employees. “We areborn in independent Indiabut for attaining this inde-pendence our freedom fight-ers and ancestors sacrificed alot. So it’s our moral duty torespect this independence,”he said. Meanwhile, SKD

Academy portrayed gloriousyears of India in unique style.Students of all the fivebranches of SKD Academydisplayed their creativity onAugust 15 and took part indif ferent cultural pro-grammes on the occasion.

Meanwhile, ExcelliaSchool celebratedIndependence Day with gaiety

and fervor. Students gavebeautiful performances in thecultural extravaganza. The pro-gramme began with the unfurl-ing of tricolour by chairmanDS Pathak. He also announcedthe AD Pathak memorialscholarship to Kanishka Mittalof class 7. The children alsoplanted saplings in the schoolgrounds.

Patriotic fervour marks I-Day celebrations

(Clockwise from top) Independence Day celebrations at CDRI, Bal Vidya Mandir, SKD Academy, and Excellia School

Kids’ Campus International Pre-School (Gomti Nagar) celebrated Independence Day by organising a drawing and colouringcompetition. The students enthusiastically participated in the contest. Principal Niharika Singh and social activists Rituja SinghBaghel, Rekha Singh, Seema Sahi and Manu Singh Chauhan distributed colours, chocolates and other gifts among the kids

Lucknow (PNS):Depression claimed the livesof three youths in separateincidents reported fromGudamba and Thakurganjon Thursday. A youth, iden-tified as Alok Bajpai (28) ofJankipuram (sector-G)under Gudamba police sta-tion, hanged himself fromthe ceiling on Thursdaymorning. His father is aretired employee of NagarNigam. Police said Alok wasdepressed and he ended hislife during a bout of depres-sion. “As his family membersare in a state of shock, policecould not talk to them. Nosuicide note was recoveredfrom the room,” police said.

In Thakurganj, a 36-year-old Nagar Nigam san-itation worker, identified asAshish Kumar Singh, endedhis life at his house. He wasfound hanging from ceilingwith a dupatta tied aroundhis neck. Police spokesmansaid Ashish was underdepression. In another inci-dent in Thakurganj, a 36-year-old man, identified asRam Sewak Sharma ofSangam City, hanged him-self to death on Wednesdaynight. Report said RamSewak was found hangingfrom ceiling around onWednesday night. His wifeNeetu told the police thatshe, along with her children,had gone out for some workand on her return, she foundRam Sewak hanging. Policesaid Ram Sewak ended hislife during a bout of depression.

Three persons

commit suicide

LOOTTwo unidentified bike-

borne miscreants looted amobile froman intern of anews channelin VibhutiKhand policestation area onWe d n e s d a ynight. As per reports,Manju Pandey of NehruEnclave in Gomti Nagarwas going to office around11:30 pm on Wednesdaywhen the miscreantsstopped him near NTPCoffice. They frisked him atthe gun-point and laterlooted his mobile phonebefore leaving the scene. Apolice spokesman said thepolice were scanning theCCTV forages to trace themiscreants. “A case of loothas been registered,” hesaid, adding that Pandeywas a native of Varanasi.

ROOF COLLAPSEAmberganj police out-

post incharge ShrawanSingh and five of his col-leagues had a providentialescape after the roof of theoutpost collapsed onWednesday afternoon. Apolice spokesman saidSingh, three constables andtwo homeguards were atthe outpost when themishap occurred. “Thepolicemen ran to safetyafter one of the walls col-lapses and thus had a nar-row escape.

CRIMELINE

All 18 campuses of City Montessori School celebrated Independence Day withenthusiasm. Cultural items, patriotic songs, dances, elocution, speech contests etcmarked the celebrations

city/nation 05LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018

PNS n LUCKNOW

The state government removed theSuperintendent of Police of Deoria in

compliance with the directive of theAllahabad High Court and attached himwith the DGP office.

The government also shifted BastiRange DIG Rakesh Shanker, who was theSP of Deoria before being posted to Basti.

The government had already removedthe District Magistrate of Deoria andcharge-sheeted him after controversy brokeout at a girls and children’s shelter home thismonth but had spared the district policechief.

After the High Court direction to actagainst the police, the state government onWednesday shifted Deoria SP Rohan P Kanayand attached him with the DGP office.

Basti Range DIG Rakesh Shanker wasalso shifted.

A report said that the government hadalso ordered a departmental probe againstthe two IPS officers.

On Friday, the High Court had given48 hours’ time to the state government toact against the police officers in the Deoriashelter home incident.

The state government ordered transfersof five IPS officers, posting SP of Mahoba,N Kolanchi, as the new district police chiefof Deoria.

DIG, Anti-Corruption Organisation,Lucknow, Ashutosh Kumar, has been madeBasti range DIG, replacing Rakesh Shanker,who has been attached with the DGP office.

SP, ATS at Lucknow, Kunwar AnupamSingh, has been posted as the new SP ofMahoba.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The state government onThursday ordered a magisteri-

al probe and suspended sevenemployees of the government juve-nile home in Allahabad after seveninmates escaped from there.

State Women and ChildWelfare Minister Rita BahugunaJoshi, while ordering the magiste-rial probe, sent a three-memberhigh-level off icial team toAllahabad to investigate the inci-dent. Joshi also asked theAllahabad District Magistrate totake stern action against the secu-rity personnel deployed at thejuvenile home.

Meanwhile, seven employeesof the juvenile home were suspend-ed after being prima facie heldguilty. The suspended employeesinclude two police constables, twohome guards, a caretaker and twoclass four employees.

A FIR has also been lodged withthe Khuldabad police station inAllahabad in this connection.

Joshi said the probe team hadbeen asked to check the CCTVfootage and get details of the incident.

She has also ordered transfer ofthe juvenile home superintendentand district probation officer andinitiated departmental proceedingsagainst them.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Even when the cops were onhigh alert in the wake of

Independence Day celebra-tions on Wednesday, unidenti-fied assailants brutally killedtwo priests of a temple and crit-ically injured one other inAuraiya while in Sant KabirNagar, three youths belongingto the minority communitywere found dead under myste-rious circumstances.

Both the incidents tookplace on Independence Day eveand the cops are groping in thedark for clues.

At both the places, thelocal residents staged violentprotests to register their ireagainst the local police. Thestate government also actedtough in the Auraiya case bysuspending the local stationhouse officer and a constable.

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath gave a 48-hourultimatum to the cops to workout the case or be ready to facethe music.

Reports from tension-gripped Auraiya said twopriests of a temple in Vidhunaarea were brutally hacked todeath after being tied to theircots while their colleague wasfound critically injured earlyWednesday morning.

The deceased were identi-fied as Lajja Ram (65) andHalke Ram (50). Both werestaying in the Bhayanaknathtemple under Kundarkot policeoutpost of Vidhuna police sta-tion. The third priest, RamSharan (55), admitted to thePGI at Saifai, is still battling forhis life.

The news of the murder ofthe two priests spread like awildfire and hundreds ofHindu activists gathered at thespot, alleging that some crim-inals involved in cow-slaughterhad orchestrated the killing.They said that as the priests hadtipped-off the local policeabout the gang involved incow-slaughter last weekendand four persons, including apolice constable, was detainedin the matter, both were killedto settle score.

The protesters went on therampage. They torched sever-al establishments and damag-

ing vehicles after indulging inheavy stone pelting. The situ-ation could be brought undercontrol after a heavy policeforce reached the spot andsenior officers announced sus-pension of the local cops.

Reports also confirmedthat to control the situation, thepolice used force and firedseveral rounds in the air andalso fired rubber bullets todisperse the mob.

Shocked by the murder ofthe two priests, Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath expressed griefover their deaths andannounced ex gratia of Rs 5lakh each to the families of thedeceased.

The Chief Minister said ina statement here on Wednesdaythat the Director General ofPolice had been directed toarrest the assailants within thenext 48 hours. He alsoannounced Rs 1 lakh aid for theinjured priest.

The Chief Minister said thegovernment would not toleratesuch criminal acts.

In Sant Kabir Nagar, thebodies of three youths werefound lying in the bushes nearthe railway tracks onMokhlispur road underKalilabad Kotwali area onWednesday morning.

The bodies of all the threevictims bore injury markscaused by some blunt object onthe head and limbs. It appeared

that they were murdered some-where else and their bodieswere dumped at the spot.

The local police tried tohush up the case, saying itappeared to be a case ofmishap. Reports said the situ-ation worsened when the iden-tities of the victims were estab-lished.

The locals gathered at thespot kept the bodies on roadand staged a massive protest.The mob also went on the ram-page and damaged public prop-erty. The situation was broughtunder control by district policechief Shailesh Pandey whopacified the protesters, sayingthat a murder case would beregistered and the accusedwould be arrested.

The victims were identifiedas Ubaidullah Khan (22),Shanu (17) and Barkat Ali(17), all residents of PathanTola area of Khalilabad.

Meanwhile, four childrendrowned in a pond filled withrain water in Barhi village ofPilibhit district. Manoj (12),Ajay (12), Jeetu (10) and Pradip(8) drowned in the pond onWednesday, police said. Seniorpolice and administrative offi-cials reached the spot and thebodies were fished out.

Additional DistrictMagistrate Brij Kishore saidthat all help, as per norms,would be extended to thebereaved families.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister YogiAdityanath said that UP

was marching ahead in theBharatiya Janata Party rule inthe last one and half years andthis had never happenedbefore.

Addressing a gatheringafter unfurling the tri-colour atVidhan Bhawan on the 72ndIndependence Day, the CMsaid, “We have done a lot in thisshort period but still more isrequired to make governmentschemes and project reach thelast person of society.”

He said as UP was the high-est populated state of the coun-try, more responsibility lay on theshoulder of the government.

Reiterating Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s commitmentto give all people employmentand house by 2022, YogiAdityanath said UP on its parthad already constructed over 12lakh houses, including eightlakhs in the rural area alonewhile in the MSME sector, thestate would generate 25 lakhjobs in the next five yearsthrough its One District, OneProduct (ODOP) scheme.

The CM said that in thepast five months, UP hadachieved a big milestone byattracting investments of over`60,000 crore which would pro-vide additional two lakh jobs inthe state.

The CM also mentionedabout the benefit of the skilldevelopment programme whichwas helping youths in gettingjobs of their like.

Yogi also thanked 83,000people of the state for surrender-ing government houses for thepoor and claimed that the statehad topped in construction oftoilets under Swachh BharatAbhiyaan.

The CM said theIndependence Day should notbe seen as individual or politi-cal independence but indepen-dence of the entire population,particularly those standing atthe last line of development.

Yogi pointed out that UPwas the front-runner in theIndependence movement andasked youths of the state to takeinspiration from the freedomfighters to serve the nation.

In the presence of severalstate ministers and senior offi-cials, the CM awardedMukhyamantri Utkrisht Seva

Police Medals to six police per-sonnel of the state.

The police personnelawarded the medal includedADG (Meerut zone) PrashantKumar, DIG (Law and Order)Praveen Kumar, SSP (STF)Abhishek Singh, Inspector from

Agra Ms Alka Thakur, consta-ble from Kushinagar AjayKumar Singh and constablefrom Lucknow Sudeep KumarKatiyar.

Moreover, the release of 72prisoners lodged in various jailsof the state was also announced.

Meanwhile, Governor RamNaik hoisted the national flag atthe Raj Bhawan in Lucknow,Deputy Chief Minister KeshavPrasad Maurya at BJP stateheadquarters and SamajwadiParty president Akhilesh Yadavat his party’s state office.

UP marching ahead in BJP rule: Yogi

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath salutes to the national flag at on Independence Day in Lucknow on Wednesday Pioneer

Two priests murdered

Inmates escape fromAlld juvenile home Magisterial probe ordered

Deoria district police

chief transferred

Treason case against

3 madarsa teachers

PNS n LUCKNOW

Acase of treason has beenregistered against three

teachers of a madarsa inMaharajganj district after avideo clip, which purported-ly showed them stopping chil-dren from singing the nation-al anthem during theIndependence Day function,went viral.

The local police laterclaimed to have arrested oneof these teachers on Thursday.

The video clip of MaulanaZubaid Ansari of MadarsaArbia Ahle Sunnat stopping

children from singing thenational anthem during theIndependence Day functionafter unfurling of the nation-al flag, went viral in the districton Wednesday.

District MagistrateAmarnath Upadhyaya orderedan inquiry by district minori-ties officer Prabhat Kumarand a report was lodgedagainst three teachers undervarious sections of the IndianPenal Code, including treason.

One of the teachers hadbeen arrested and a hunt wason to nab the remaining two,police said.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Abusinessman was foundinjured under mysterious

circumstances at his officeopposite Saharaganj shoppingmall in Hazratganj onThursday afternoon. Policesaid the businessman attempt-ed suicide by slitting his throatas he was under depressiondue to business losses.

As per reports, AlokSikarwar of Rajendra Nagar inNaka deals in stationery itemsand photocopy machines andhas his office situated on thefourth floor of Sapna Complexopposite Saharaganj. Around3 pm, some of his employeesfound him injured in hischamber and alerted thepolice. When the cops reachedthe scene, Alok was foundlying on the ground withblood oozing out from histhroat. He was rushed to theKGMU Trauma Centre wheredoctors stitched his wounds.

Giving details, Saharaganjpolice outpost incharge RahulSonkar said Sikarwar wasunder depression due to loss-es in business. “He had askedhis employee to look for jobelsewhere as he would startwinding up his business fromAugust 31,” Sonkar said.

He said that the familytold police that Sikarwar hadbeen facing trouble for the lasttwo years and could not boosthis business despite investinghuge sum. Sonkar saidSikarwar locked the doorsfrom inside after he sent theemployees for different works.

“However, some of theemployees stayed in the recep-tion to make preparationsbefore leaving for their assign-ments. Meanwhile, Sikarwarshrieked in pain and theemployees tried to open thedoors, but found it boltedfrom inside. They later calledhis wife Nirupama Bhatnagarand also informed the police

after which I immediatelyreached the spot. The doors ofthe chamber were opened inpresence of Sikarwar’s wifeand he was found lying in apool of blood,” Sonkarexplained. He added that ablood-stained sharp-edgedweapon was recovered fromthe scene. A police spokesmansaid Sikarwar’s wife was anadministrative officer in theIncome Tax department whilethe couple have two sons —Vikrant and Prakhar — whoare students. Sikarwar wasdischarged from the TraumaCentre on the request of hisfamily members.

As the news spread, ahuge number of employeesworking there flocked to thescene. Hazratganj circle officerAbhay Kumar Mishra alsoreached the place to overseethe investigations. Ruling outthe possibility of foul play, theCO said: “It looks to be a caseof suicide attempt.”

PNS n LUCKNOW

Asecurity guard was founddead in the house of a

retired Jal Nigam official underGazipur police station onThursday. His semi-clad bodywas recovered from a room inthe house. As per reports, thedeceased, identified as BrijeshKumar Shukla (60) of Sitapur,worked with a security agencylocated in Vibhuti Khand.Shukla was hired by OPSrivastava, who retired as a JalNigam official and lives inIndira Nagar (sector B) underGhazipur police station.

Investigation officerKamlesh Kumar Raid saidSrivastava had gone to meet hisson in New Zealand leavingBrijesh and his son Ram BabuShukla in the house. OnWednesday, Ram Babu left forhis native house in Sitapurleaving Brijesh all alone.

“On Thursday, securityagency supervisor AnubhavAsthana informed Ram Babuthat Shukla was lying in an

unconscious state in the house,”the IO said. “Ram Babu told thepolice thatShukla wasa alcoholicand ganjaaddict. Hisbody wasfound cov-ered by ab e d s h e e twhile he was wearing only avest,” he added. Rai said thepolice could not contactSrivastava as yet. “One of hissons is an army officer whileanother is employed in NewZealand. They have beeninformed about the incident,”the IO said. He added thatShukla might have died ofliquor overdose. “Doctors haveruled out the possibility offoul play,” he explained.

7 YOUTHS HELD FOR ATTACKING CONSTABLE

Seven boisterous youthswere arrested for attacking aconstable and attempting toloot his service weapon in

Aliganj on Wednesday night.As per reports, the constable,identified as Qadir Ali, postedin Aliganj, told the police thathe was on duty when he got acall about a brawl betweentwo groups near a restaurant atKapoorthala crossing. “I wentthere, tried to stop the warringgroups and also passed on themessage on wireless. DeepakPandey of Bada Chandganjand his aides confronted meand attempted to snatch myservice weapon. However, aspolice force reached the spot,they fled the scene. When I waschasing them, one of the twohit me with a wooden plank,”he alleged.

“On the complaint of theconstable, the police registereda case against the accused andnabbed them,” a spokesmansaid. He added that thosearrested were identified asDeepak Pandey, Rahul Singh,Ankit Srivastava, Vikas Yadav,Vipul Singh, Ankit Prajapatiand Manjeet Kumar (all ofAliganj).

Bizman found injured in

mysterious conditions

Security guard found dead

A TITAN’S JOURNEY...Senior BJP leader LK Advani, who

along with Vajpayee expanded theparty’s base in 1990s, also visited theformer PM. Rajasthan Chief MinisterVasudhara Raje and Chhattisgarh CMRaman Singh paid visit to Vajpayee’sward in the institute. A number ofother Chief Ministers, includingMadhya Pradesh’s Shivraj SinghChouhan, West Bengal’s MamataBanerjee, Bihar’s Nitish Kumar andAssam’s Sarbananda Sonowal,Maharashtra Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis, and Haryana CM ManoharLal Khattar were on way to see the ail-ing former Prime Minister. Nobelprize winner and child rights activistKailash Satyarthi was also seen visit-ing Vajpayee. A large crowd of medi-apersons and others gathered outsidethe hospital to get updates on Vajpayee’sheath, affecting movement of traffic onthe road since Thursday afternoon.Policemen were deployed to managethe crowd and traffic inside and out-side the hospital. Long after Vajpayeeis gone, those lines, his gestures, hisarticulation, his one-liners will remainetched in the mind of the nation, whichknows that no one ever replace Atal ji.

PALL OF GLOOM...Vajpayee’s life. Vajpayee’s fondness ofsweets is well-known. He had a weak-ness for ‘pedas’ from a shop in Chowk.Anyone who went from Lucknow toDelhi to meet Vajpayee used to take apackage of ‘pedas’ from the shop, saidDilip, a worker in the shop. BJP gen-eral secretary Sunil Bansal recalled thatVajpayee would never forget to men-tion national interest in whateverorganisational activity was takingplace. “He was nationalist to the coreand the interest of India was alwaysuppermost in whatever he spoke ordid.” Asif Rizvi, whose father AizazRizvi was a minister in a former BJPgovernment in the state, and an asso-ciate of Vajpayee, said he and manyothers like him felt sad that Atalwould never come again. In BJP office,people spoke in hushed tone aboutVajpayee’s contribution in taking theparty to new heights. “From just twomembers in Lok Sabha to a whoopingmajority in the lower House shows thecommitment and political acumen ofthis man. We have lost a fatherly fig-ure,” said BJP general secretary VijayBahadur Pathak.

ATAL’S MORTAL...“At 9 am tomorrow (Friday) his

mortal remains will be taken to BJPheadquarters and at 1 pm his last jour-ney will begin. Funeral will be held at4 pm at Smriti Sthal,” said BJP PresidentAmit Shah, while talking to media fromVajpayee’s home.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

PNS n NEW DELHI

Expressing condolencesover the demise of the

ideologically Opposite for-mer Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee, the Left par-ties on Thursday said he wasa true believer of multi-partydemocracy and valued obser-vations of Opposition parties.Left leaders, who were other-wise strong critics of the for-mer Prime Minister’s ideol-ogy, said Vajpayee alwayskept open the lines of consul-tation when he was inGovernment and reachedout to Opposition partiesbefore taking important deci-sions. “When the US invad-

ed Iraq and asked India to bea part of the coalition forces,Vajpayee had called Left lead-ers — CPI leader A BBardhan and CPI(M) leaderHarkishan Singh Surjeet — atan all-party meeting to dis-cuss the matter. “Left leadershad raised objection to Indiasupporting the US. Vajpayeetold the Left leaders that ‘jaobahar jake jor se bolo’, mean-ing they should raise theirvoice against the US onstreets. Next day. Parliamentpassed a resolution statingIndia will not be part of thecoalition forces,” said CPIleader D Raja.

CPI(M) said the veryfact that such an important

issue was brought toParliament, displayed thatVajpayee valued the observa-tions of Opposition parties.

“There are otherinstances where he displayedcharacter which is very differ-ent from today’sGovernment. That is - ideo-logically or politically therecan be issues of confronta-tions, but when it comes topersonal rapport with otherleaders or parties there wasdifference that we don’t seetoday. That is why he wasacceptable to a large sectionof people. Whatever face hehad he had good relationswith all parties,” CPI(M)leader Sitaram Yechury said.

Though the Left partiesused to call Vajpayee a“mask” of the RSS, hiding hisparty’s links with Hindugroups, they, however, agreedthat he openly disagreed withhis party’s line on severalissues. “Vajpayee’s trustedlieutenant L K Advani andmost BJP politicians sup-ported the demolition ofBabri Masjid but Vajpayeecondemned the attackunequivocally,” Raja said.

Noting that the formerPrime Minister had takenpolitical positions accordingto the BJP-RSS agenda, thetwo Left leaders said he nevershowed the aggressive politicsof the BJP present today.

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Describing A B Vajpayee’s death asa major setback for the

Parliamentary democracy in the coun-try, Shiv Sena president UddhavThackeray said here on Thursday thatVajpayee’s attitude of taking everyonealong helped the BJP-led NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA) remainstrong all the latter’s tenure as the PrimeMinister. Mourning the passing awayof Vajpayee, Uddhav said: “He had risenabove negative qualities like ego, con-ceit and power-triggered stubborn-ness. He was simple and innocentpolitician. Being a Prime Minister of thecountry for three times, Vajpayee tookall the smaller and bigger parties alongwhen he ran the Government”.

Uddhav, whose late father BalThackeray had a close rapport with AB Vajpayee, said: “I had the opportu-nity to meet Vajpayee on several occa-sions. He would treat me like a son. Hisclose friendship with my late father isknown to one and all. He would talk tomy father on varied subjects. Becauseof his attitude to take every one, theNDA remained strong”. “The passingaway of Vajpayee is a major setback tothe Parliamentary democracy in thecountry. After the death of my father,we have lost another Bhishma of Indianpolitics,” Uddhav said.

Averring that he did not believeVajpayee was no more, Uddhav said:“I cannot believe that Vajpayee is nomore. He remains in our hearts andwill continue to do so..... On behalf ofthe Shiv Sena parivar, I bow before thistowering leader and pay my sincerehomage to him. No one will be able to

fill the vacuum created by Vajpayee’sdeath”. Describing Vajpayee as one ofthe greatest Parliamentarians of India,NCP president Sharad Pawar said thatthe passing away of the former PrimeMinister was a “personal loss” to him.

“His (Vajpayee’s) passing away is apersonal loss, having spent numerousyears in our parliamentary life togeth-er, and an irreparable loss to our coun-try. I pray eternal peace for his depart-ed soul, “Pawar said.

“With the sad demise ofBharatratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, wehave lost a great soul, an eloquent poet,orator par excellence, an excellenthuman being and one of the greatestParliamentarians of India,” the NCPchief said. Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis said that Vajpayee’sdeath was a “personal loss” to him.“One of the greatest leaders ever Ataljiis no more! It was Shraddheya Atal ji,whose footsteps are followed by manylike me. He is an inspiration to millions& encouraged and taught us how wecan serve the last man with the weapon

of democracy. Shat Shat Naman!”“I have many fond memories…

right from childhood to recent visit tohis residence in New Delhi.. My firstinteraction of life with Shraddhey Atalji with Late Pramod ji Mahajan…@BJP4India meetings and conven-tions … his continuous guidance there-after for decades,” Fadnavis tweeted.

“Atalji was a loving leader for oneand all and was determined to makeour Nation strong. He devoted hisentire life by all means, for BharatMata.It is always a pleasure to listen to him,be it in the Parliament or in the pub-lic meetings, “ Fadnavis tweeted.

“We are in deep pain by the demiseof the Former and one of the best PrimeMinisters of India, an ocean of knowl-edge, an excellent orator, a greathumanitarian and everyone’s idol, “ thechief minister added. Senior Congressleader and former chief minister AshokChavan said that in Vajpayee’s death,India had lost a leader who was “an epit-ome of high moral values in public life”.

Chavan said that Vajpayee duringhis 50 years of public life and threetenures as the prime minister was a tallleader who was widely respected acrossthe party lines. “He immensely con-tributed towards transformation ofour country, as a Member ofParliament, as Leader of Opposition, asUnion Minister and as Prime Minister.Apart from being a great orator inParliament, he was also a great and sen-sitive poet,” the Congress leader said

“My late father and former UnionHome Minister Shankarao Chavanwas close to Vajpayeeji. His sad demiseis an irreparable loss to the Nation,”Chavan said.

‘NDA was stronger because of Atal’

Vajpayee was believer of multi-party democracy: Left

Uddhav Thackeray

the pioneerLUCKNOW | FRIDAY

AUGUST 17, 201806

1924-2018

STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

With the formal announce-ment of the demise of

former Prime Minister andBJP stalwart Atal BihariVajpayee, the North DelhiMunicipal Corporation (NMC)has started to prepare for thelast rites of the leader to be heldaround 4 pm at RashtriyaSmriti Sthal, Vijay Ghat in thenational Capital.

“As per directions fromthe Ministry of Defence, NMChas started making arrange-ments for last rites near Vijay

Ghat. Further, proper sanita-tion would also be maintaineden-route,” a release issued bythe corporation said.

In a medical bulletinreleased by All India Instituteof Medical Science (AIIMS) itstated, “It is with profoundgrief that we inform about thesad demise of former PrimeMinister of India, Atal BihariVajpayee at 5:05pm today.Vajpayee was admitted inAIIMS on June 11 and wasstable in the last 9 weeksunder the care of a team ofAIIMS doctors.

Gwalior: Long before AtalBihari Vajpayee became PrimeMinister, he used to visit thehomes of his childhood friendsriding a bicycle, much to thesurprise of many here inMadhya Pradesh, his nieceKanti Mishra said.

Kanti said Vajpayee washumble in his conduct despitebecoming a towering person-ality in the Indian politics.“Years ago, Atalji used to takemy son Nitin Mishra’s cycle andoften visited his childhoodfriend Deepak, a Kashmiri, tofar off Murar area,” Kanti said.

He used to cycle down tothe homes of other childhoodfriends in the city also, she said.

The 75-year-old lives next

door to the former PM’s housein Kamal Singh Ka Bagh area,which plunged into grief after thenews of Vajpayee’s death came.

“On hearing about his hum-ble gesture, BJP patriarchRajmata Vijaya Raje Scindiaonce told my Chachaji that if he(Vajpayee) just informs her abouthis movements in Gwalior, shecan send a chauffeur-driven carfor him to go around,” saidKanti Mishra, taking a trip downthe memory lane.

“He was a jewel in thecrown of India,” she said,adding he was the last man ofhis generation in their familytree. “Chachaji had three broth-ers, including my father SadaBihari Vajpayee’ and as many

sisters — all of them are nomore,” she said.

“I don’t have words toexpress the grief of our family.Chachaji was too fond of me,”she added. Kanti said she vis-ited the BJP stalwart four yearsago in New Delhi.

“I had visited him fouryears ago. It was painful to seehim lying on the bed. Beforethis, I had always seen himhappy and full of life,” sherecalls. “My husband OPMishra rushed to Delhi thisafternoon after getting to knowthat Chachaji was critical,” shesaid. Kanti said Vajpayee lastcame to Gwalior, his nativetown, around 12 years ago.

PTI

PNS n NEW DELHI

President Ram Nath Kovind,Vice-President Venkaiah

Naidu besides their predeces-sors Pranab Mukherjee andHamid Ansari on Thursdayexpressed their condolenceson the death of former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

“Extremely sad to hear ofthe passing away of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, our formerPrime Minister and a trueIndian statesman. His leader-ship, foresight, maturity andeloquence put him in a leagueof his own. Atalji, the GentleGiant, will be missed by oneand all,” he tweeted.

In his condolence mes-sage, Naidu said Atal BihariVajpayee was a friendly andlovable Prime Minister. Naidudescribed Atalji as a colossal

political leader as welll as astateman.

“He is an inspiration tomillions of Indians, he said. “Asthe Prime Minister, Vajpayeehad brought in an era of devel-opment of technology andprogress in the country,” Naiduobserved. He said in his pass-ing away, India has lost a multi-faceted ‘Ratna. The VicePresident said, Vajpayee’s lifewas an open book and guidefor aspiring young politicians.Describing him as a visionarythinker, writer, poet andphilosopher, he said, the formerPrime Minister’s 70 years ofpublic life and parliamentarycontributions are now part ofIndia’s history.

Kovind’s predecessorPranab Mukherjee alsoexpressed his “deepest condo-lences” on the death of formerPrime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee at the All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences.

“No doubt that the coun-try will be poorer in the loss offormer Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who waslike a colossus for almost sixdecades. I pay my deepestregards for this great son ofIndia,” Mukherjee said.

“Though he was sufferingfor a long time I did not believethat the end will come. Fatesnatched him away from us. Hecarried conviction with every-body,” Mukherjee added. .

Calling Vajpayee a “rea-

soned critique” and a “democ-rat”, Mukherjee said in Twitterthat India has lost a great son.

“Deeply saddened at thepassing away of Shri Atal BihariVajpayee. A reasoned critiquein opposition and a seeker ofconsensus as PM, Atal Ji was ademocrat to the core. In hispassing away, India has lost agreat son and an era has cometo an end. My deepest condo-lences,” he wrote.

Expressing his condo-lences, former Vice-Presidentof India Mohd Hamid Ansarisaid that former Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee was aneminent statesman known forhis wisdom moderation intact.“His way of communicationwas unique & made himextremely popular. This kind ofa person comes once in a bluemoon. He will be rememberedfor a long time,” Ansari said.

BIRTH: DECEMBER 25, 1924Vajpayee was born in Gwalior and did his schooling from the SaraswatiShishu Mandir. He graduated with distinction in Hindi, English andSanskrit from Gwalior’s Victoria College. He completed his post-graduation with an MA in Political Science from DAV College, Kanpur.

1942: TRYST WITH POLITICS

In August 1942: Vajpayee and his elder brother were arrested forparticipating in the Quit India Movement. This incident is known to behis first encounter with politics.

1951: FOLLOWING SYAMA PRASAD MOOKERJEE

In 1951, he was seconded by the RSS, along with DeendayalUpadhyaya, to work for the newly formed Bharatiya Jana Sangh, aHindu right-wing political party associated with the RSS. He wasappointed the national secretary of BJS in Delhi and became a followerof party leader Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

1953: MOOKERJEE’S DEATH

In 1953, Vajpayee accompanied Mookerjee when the latter went on afast-unto-death in Kashmir to protest against ‘inferior’ treatment of non-Kashmiri visitors to the Valley. Mookerjee passed away in prison duringthis strike.

1957: NEHRU PREDICTS VAJPAYEE’S FUTURE AS INDIA’S PMHaving contested the Lok Sabha polls on three seats, Vajpayee lost toRaja Mahendra Pratap in Mathura, and also in Lucknow. But he waselected to the Lok Sabha from UP’s Balrampur. Vajpayee took oath as aMember of Parliament that year and impressed Jawaharlal Nehru withhis excellent oratory skills. Nehru predicted that Vajpayee wouldsomeday become India’s PM.

1968: BUILDING THE JANA SANGH

Vajpayee was made the national president of the Jana Sangh in 1968after the death of Deendayal Upadhyaya. In the years that followed, heworked with Lal Krishna Advani, Nanaji Deshmukh and Balraj Madhokto make Jana Sangh’s presence prominent in Indian politics.

1973: THE FAMOUS BULLOCK CART ENTRY

Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived at Parliament House in a bullock cart toprotest against the increase in petrol and kerosene prices on November12, 1973.

1975-1977: THE DIFFICULT EMERGENCY YEARS

Vajpayee spent months in prison when Indira Gandhi imposedEmergency in June 1975. When the Janata Party took office in 1977,dethroning the Congress for the first time, he became the Minister ofExternal Affairs in Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s government. Asforeign minister, Vajpayee that year became the first person to deliverspeech at the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi.

1980: BIRTH OF THE BJPVajpayee, along with Lal Krishna Advani and Bhairon Singh Shekhawatfounded the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980 and was appointed itsfirst president.

1984-1989: THE DOWNFALL OF BJP AND VAJPAYEE

In the 1984 elections, following the assassination of the then PM IndiraGandhi, BJP won only two seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha. Thisdefeat hit Vajpayee particularly hard; he himself lost the polls from hisbirthplace Gwalior. He worked tirelessly to build the party and in thenext parliamentary elections, in 1989, the BJP won 88 seats.

1991: BJP’S EMERGENCE AS MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY

By 1991, the BJP had emerged as the principal Opposition party, havingwon 120 seats in the 1991 parliamentary elections.

1992, 1994: A SHINING LIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan for hiscontribution to the country in 1992. That year, when Hindu mobs razedthe Babri mosque, his was a lone voice among Hindu nationalists thatdidn’t sound happy. He called the incident the ‘worst miscalculation’. In1994, he was awarded as the best Parliamentarian.

1996: THE FIRST PRIME MINISTERSHIP

Vajpayee’s first stint as the prime minister in 1996 lasted only 13 days,from May 16 to 28. In his reply to Parliament during the no-confidencemotion, Vajpayee said, “Political parties will come and go, but India’sdemocracy must live on”.

1998: REALISING THE NUCLEAR DREAM, AND THE DELHI-LAHORE BUS SERVICE

On May 11, 1998, the world was caught unawares when India did itsfirst official nuclear tests in Rajasthan’s Pokhran. The underground testsnot only demonstrated the country’s scientific capacity but alsoreflected the courage of Vajpayee’s leadership.In the same year, he launched the Sada-e-Sarhad, a bus servicebetween New Delhi in India and Lahore in Pakistan, and symbolic ofpeace initiatives that he wanted to pursue with the neighbouringcountry. The service was, however, suspended after the 2001 terrorattack on the Indian parliament that nearly led to war between India andPakistan.

HIS SECOND TERM AS PM RAN FOR 13 MONTHS, FROM MARCH 19, 1998

1999: THE KARGIL WAR, AND THIRD TERM AS PMThe Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was inpower at the Centre during the time theKargil War was fought. India’s victorybolstered Vajpayee’s image, and hewas praised for supporting thearmed forces and clearlyarticulating India’s stand at theworld stage. After the war,he was elected the primeminister for a thirdtime. This termwould makeVajpayee India’sfirst non-CongressPrime Minister tolast a full five-year term.

2005: VAJPAYEE HANGS

UP HIS BOOTS

When he failed toreturn to power afterthe 2004 generalelections, though hewas given to believehe would, itpractically markedthe end of his longand eventful politicalcareer. A year later,he left active politics.

IN 2015, VAJPAYEE WAS

CONFERRED THE BHARAT

RATNA

DEEPAK K UPRETI n NEW DELHI

It was a friendship that hadblossomed when the chips were down andremained intact when the

party ascended to power andwitnessed “achchhe din” atRaisina Hills.

The two-some-winsomeVajpayee-Advani partnershipof seven decades snapped onThursday when the former,three years senior to Advani,breathed his last at the AllIndia Institute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS).

Adavni, 90, had no reasonnot to feel lonesome asVajpayee finally stepped outand said adieu to the worldthat had substantially changed.

“I am at a loss of words toexpress my deep grief and sad-ness today as we all mourn thepassing away of one of India’stallest statesmen, Shri AtalBihari Vajpayee. To me, Ataljiwas more than a senior col-league-in fact he was my clos-est friend for over 65 years,”said the BJP veteran who wasappointed Deputy PrimeMinster, besides union HomeMinister, by Vajpayee in 2002.

“I cherish the memories ofmy long association with him,right from our days asPracharaks of the RSS, to the

inceptionof BharatiyaJana Singh,the struggleof the darkmonths duringthe Emergencyleading to theformation ofJanata Party andlater the emergenceof the BharatiyaJanata Party in 1980,”said Advani in his condo-lence message.

“Atalji will be remem-bered as the pioneer of thefirst ever stable non-Congresscoalition government at theCentre and I had the privilegeof working as his deputy for sixyears. As my senior, he always encouraged and guid-ed me in every possible man-

ner”, he said.“His captivating leader-

ship qualities, mesmerisingoratory, soaring patriotismand above all, his sterlinghumane qualities like com-passion, humility and hisremarkable ability to win overadversories despite ideologicaldifferences have all had a pro-found effect on me in all myyears in public life”, he saidadding “I will miss Ataljiimmensely…,” Advani said.

Advani had differed withVajpyee on the resignation ofthe then Gujarat ChiefMinister Narendra Modi andbacked the latter.

Vajpayee favoured GujaratChief Minister NarendraModi’s resignation after the2002 post-Godhra riots but histhen deputy Advani wasagainst such a move. In hismemoir ‘My Country My Life’,

Advani for the firsttime admitted thathe had differ-ences withVajpayeeo n

Modi’s resigna-tion as he feltthat the GujaratChief Ministerwas “unfairlytargetted”.

The “differ-ences” , howev-er, never spoiledthe mutual trustand respect for

each other. It isoften said that in

politics there are nopermanent friends and

no permanent enemy.Vajpayee-Advani sought

set to change the maximthrough the decades.

ATAL'S DEPARTURE LEAVESADVANI LONELIEST

Education, in the truest self of the term, is aprocess of self-discovery. It is the art of self-sculpture. It trains the individual not so much inspecific skills or in specific branch of knowledge,but in the flowering of his or her latent intellectual,artistic and humanist capacities. The test ofeducation is whether it imparts an urge forlearning and learnability, not this or that particularset of information ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE

Delhi civic body begins

preparation for last rites

When Vajpayee rode cycle to meethis childhood friends in Gwalior

Kovind, Pranab expresses grief

Do din mile uphar meinGhaaton ke vyaapar meinKshan-kshan ka hisaab loon,Yaa nidhi shesh lutaoon mein?Raah kaun si jaaon main?

Toote hue sapnon ki kaun sunesiski,Antar ki cheer vyatha palakon parthithkiHaar nahi maanoonga,Raar nahi thanungaKaal ke kapaal pe likhta mitata hoon,Geet naya gaata hoon, geet nayagaata hoon

Kyon na main kshan-kshan ko jioon?

Kan-kan mein bikharesaundarya ko pioon?

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, aconnoisseur of poet-ry and music, was agreat fan of Bhupen

Hazarika and once requestedthe iconic singer-composer tosing a famous Assamese songwhen he was performing in thenational Capital.

Hazarika was on the stageat the Ramlila ground in thelate 90s when he received asmall chit with Vajpayee’s namewritten beneath it. KamalKataki, Hazarika’s long-timeassociate who played the gui-tar at that concert, recalls thatthey were about to pack upwhen a man came with a smallpiece of paper.

“On it was writtenBhupenda’s popular song ‘Moieti jajabor’ (‘I am a wanderer’)and beneath it was Atalji’sname,” he recounts.

“On Atalji’s request,Bhupenda sang the song. Lateron when we met him, he saidthat he was sitting in the frontrow waiting to hear that num-ber,” Kataki told PTI.

“Woh gana sunne ke liyetadap raha tha isliye ye requestbheja (I was dying to hear thatsong, so I sent the request),” hequoted Vajpayee as having toldthe singer. PTI

A song that ex-PM

requested Bhupen

Hazarika to sing!

Tu dabe paun, chori chipe se naaa, Saamne se waar kar phirmujhe aazma,Maut se bekhabar, Zindagi ka safar, sham har surmai, raatbansi ka swar

Baat aise nhi ki koi gam hi nhi, dard apne-paraye kuch kam bhi nhiPyaar itna paraiyon se mujhko mila, Na apon se se baki hai koi gila

Chaats, kebabs andprawns, gastronomeVajpayee loved a good platter

Such was Atal BihariVajpayee’s love for foodthat it once took a wilyplan by his aides to

deploy Bollywood starMadhuri Dixit to draw himaway from gulab jamun at anofficial lunch. As Vajpayeebreathed his last today, closeaides and journalists recalledhis fondness for gastronomicaldelights particularly sweets andsea food, his favourite being aplatter of prawns. Senior jour-nalist Rasheed Kidwai remem-bered how while attending anofficial lunch, Vajpayee, washeaded for food counter eventhough he was on a strict diet.

Anxious aides then struckon a plan. They immediatelyintroduced him to Dixit whowas in attendance, and soon thefilm buff in Vajpayee took overas two went on to talk aboutmovies.

Gun can solve no problem;brotherhood can. Issuescan be resolved if we moveforward guided by the threeprinciples of Insaaniyat(humanism), Jamhooriyat(democracy) andKashmiriyat (Kashmir’s ageold legacy of amity)

Jujhne ka mera irada na tha,mod par milenge iska vaada natha,Raasta rok kar khadi ho gyi, yunlga zindagi se badi ho gyi.

Maut ki umar kya hai? Do palbhi nhi, Zindagi silsila, aaj kal kinhiMai ji bhar jiya, Mai man semaru, lautkar aunga, kooch sekyu daru?

Persecution on account of one’s beliefs andinsistence that all must accept a particularpoint of view is unknown to our ethos

the pioneerLUCKNOW | FRIDAY

AUGUST 17, 201807

PNS n NEW DELHI

Opposition leaders led by former Prime MinistersManmohan Singh

and HD Deve Gowda expressedprofound sorrow over thedemise of Atal Bihari Vajpayeewith Singh remarking that hispredecessor was a great PrimeMinister of India and an excel-lent public servant. Singh instatement said that Vajpayeewas a great patriot and amongmodern India’s tallest leaderswho spent his whole life serv-ing the country.

Gowda said with his pass-ing a vacuum has been createdin polity and with the death ofVajpayee, the country lost astatesman and politician whobelieved in the country’s diverseculture. Former Vice Presidentof India Md Hamid Ansari

said that Vajpayee’s communi-cation was unique and madehim extremely popular andthat such a person comes oncein a blue moon.

While Singh said the for-mer premier was an excellentorator and an impressive poet,Congress chief Rahul Gandhisaid India has lost a great son.

In a letter to Vajpayee’sadopted daughter Namita KaulBhattacharya, Singh saidVajpayee was a “great patriot”and people from all walks oflife, irrespective of their polit-ical leanings, loved and respect-ed him.

He said Vajpayee proved hisability both nationally andinternationally and helpedIndia improve its ties withmany countries, including itsneighbours. “Vajpayee ji stoodamong the tallest leaders ofmodern India, who spent his

whole life serving our greatcountry. His services to ournation will be remembered fora long time to come,” Singh saidin his condolence statement.

“His ability and personali-ty were such that people fromall walks of life, irrespective oftheir political leanings, lovedand respected Vajpayee ji. Hisservices to our nation will beremembered for a long time tocome,” Singh said in his letterto Bhattacharya.

At the backdrop of disrup-tions in Parliament makingnews, Gowda said Vajpayee did not allow theHouse to be disturbed duringhis 11-month tenure as theprime minister.

Offering his condolences toVajpayee’s family and admirers,Rahul Gandhi said the formerprime minister was loved andrespected by millions. “Today

India lost a great son. FormerPM, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, wasloved and respected by millions.My condolences to his familyand all his admirers. We willmiss him,” Rahul said onTwitter.

Former Union Ministerand NCP Chief Sharad Pawartoo joined in expressing hisdeep condolences to Vajpayee.Former Union Minister andRJD president Lalu Prasad alsoexpressed grief over formerPM’s demise.

“With death of Vajpayee jiI have lost a friend and aguardian. He was the last pillarof type of politics in which evenleaders of rival ideologies couldenter into dialogue with easeand in a dignified manner...Itsmatter of pride that his namealso had ‘Bihari’...You will beremembered,” Lalu said in histweet.

Saddened by the demise of Atalji,unquestionably one of the tallestleaders of India. His contributionto India and India’s democracy willbe always remembered. His vision,oration, poetry, blended with hisnational commitment earned himrespect from both friends andopponentsSENIOR BJP LEADER AND UNIONMINISTER ARUN JAITLEY

In Atalji’s demise the nation haslost a stalwart who was known forstatesmanship and astuteleadership. Atalji was a true‘Ajatshatru’ (man with no enemies)who had many friends across thepolitical spectrum. He believed inpolitical consensus and his beliefshad consequential effect on IndianpoliticsUNION HOME MINISTERRAJNATH SINGH

Atal ji was like a star in the sky ofpolitics, which shone brighter thaneveryone else. He had the uniqueability to bring everyone together.Even if you ask the opposition theyhold a sense of respect for himLOK SABHA SPEAKER SUMITRA MAHAJAN

The greatness of a man ismeasured by the way he treats thelittle man MINISTER OF STATE FOR HOMEKIREN RIJIJU

The Minister of State for YouthAffairs & Sports RajyavardhanSingh Rathore extended hiscondolences

An extraordinary leader of India’sfreedom movement who, amonghis great achievements, thrustedIndia into the nuclear club, ShriAtal Bihari Vajpayee ji will beremembered forever as man ofgreat talents yet a simple andhumble demeanourUNION MINISTER DHARMENDRA PRADHAN

The country has lost the tallestpolitical leader, a charismaticpersonality, poet, orator, writer andthinker. Vajpayee always stood tosafeguard democratic valuesJD(U) PRESIDENT AND BIHARCHIEF MINISTER NITISH KUMAR

BY PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI

In times of turbulenceand disruption, a nationis blessed to have a leaderwho rises to become itsmoral compass and guid-

ing spirit, providing vision,cohesion and direction to hispeople. And, in such a momentat the turn of the century,India found one in Atal BihariVajpayee, who was gifted inspirit, heart and mind.

For those of us who knewhim, he was, first, the rarest ofhuman beings, who touchedand inspired everyone he met.He was compassionate to thecore, generous in spirit, warmbeyond measure and kind to afault. He was deeply respectfulof others and gifted with a raresense of humour that he oftenturned upon himself.

Orator without parallel, hecould switch from disarminghumour to a lofty vision withease, with a rare ability to con-nect with people naturally, to stirthem to self-belief and to a high-er cause. Sharply perceptive, hecould summarise the most com-

plex issues and discussions in asingle sentence or question.

Born into a family of mod-est means and high ideals, hehailed from a small town inMadhya Pradesh. His youth wasdefined by academic excellenceand quest for public serviceduring the gathering momentumof freedom struggle. Starting asan ordinary Karyakarta in theJana Sangh, he organised theonly truly national-level party tobe formed in independent India- the BJP - and helmed itsorganisation work after the pass-ing away of Shri Syama PrasadMookerjee and PanditDeendayal Upadhyaya.

Through the four decadesof leadership in Parliament, thestruggle against Emergency(who can forget that memorablerally in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidanwhen his speech became theroar of the nation), the clarity torepresent his party with passionbut always speak for the nation,he defined the spirit of democ-racy in India. Firm in his polit-ical beliefs, but always accom-modating and respectful ofother points of view, he set thestandards of debate in

Parliament. In his simplicity andintegrity, in his dignity andempathy, and a sense of per-sonal non-attachment to theoffice, he became an inspirationfor a nation of youth.

He rescued the economyfrom morass of mid-1990s,when political instability athome and an uncertain globalenvironment had threatened toderail a still incipient econom-ic reforms process. He sowedthe seeds of much of econom-ic success that we have experi-enced over the past two decades.For him, growth was a means toempower the weakest and

mainstream the marginalised.It’s that vision that continues todrive our Government’s policy.

It was Atalji who preparedthe foundations of an India thatis ready to take on the mantleof global leadership in the 21stcentury. The futuristic eco-nomic policies and reforms ofhis Government ensured pros-perity for several Indians. Histhrust on next-generationinfrastructure particularlyroads and telecom contributedto our country’s economic aswell as social empowerment.

Atalji irreversibly changedIndia’s place in the world. He

overcame the hesitation of ournation, the resistance of theworld and threat of isolation tomake India a nuclear weaponspower. It was not a decision hetook lightly, but one he knewwas of paramount importancein the face of mounting chal-lenges to India’s security. Nolonger would India’s security bevulnerable.

At that moment of surge innational pride, his was a voiceof restraint and responsibility.And, the world listened to thewisdom of the man of peace.

Equally important, he thenbrought to bear his extraordi-

1924-2018

A LEADER FOR AGES — AHEAD OF HIS TIMES

Led by Prime Minister, theentire ruling party and its alliespaid tribute to former PrimeMinister Atal Behari Vajpayeecalling his death as the end ofan era.

PNS n NEW DELHI

CONDOLENCES

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

Acquaintances fromKolkata includingBengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee

remember late former PrimeMinister Atal Behari Vajpayee asaman with a difference whose“thoughts and pattern of work-ing was verydifferent from howthose up there, work today.”

Sample the emotions ofGhanshyam Beriwal a closefriend from the RSSdays. Heremembers Vajpayee a sweetaficionado who was also veryfondof “macher jhol” (fishcurry of Bengali type) as a per-son who alwayshad a statementor two extra to make after thefinal statement on anissue hadbeen made.

“One dead of night, dis-

cussing politics lying in mybedroom: when Itold him thatnot a single Muslim would votefor him he paused for a minuteand then asked “then how haveI been winning all these years?I have to get the Muslims alongwith me to be a successfulPrime Minister.”

Beriwal’s son depicts a dif-ferent Vajpayee in a differentmood. “My father being so

close a friend of his we had topay him a visit when in Delhi.Even as a Prime Minister hewas quite careful about tend-ingto his guests. Once when wewere at residence he asked usto sit for awhile and wentinside. After 15 minutes whenhe did not reappear.”

“One day he even doned aPathan Suit and not the usualDhoti Kurta to evade getting

detected and took us to amovie,” said a daughter-in-lawof the household while her hus-band reported how Vajpayee“watched Rekha’s Umrao Jaanthrice in a night because heloved the film so much. He wasa great admirer of classicalmovies and whenever he camewe would get video cassettes ofgood films in his honour UmraoJaan was one of them.”

He watched Umrao Jaan thrice in a night

OPP LEADERS MOURN DEMISE

nary understanding of worldaffairs and formidable diplo-matic skills to gain globalacceptance of new realities.Indeed, it is the combination ofhis legacies of creating strate-gic capabilities, promotingstronger economic growth,undertaking multi-directionaldiplomacy and harnessing ofdiaspora energies that is todaythe basis for the respect wecommand across the world.

He transformed fivedecades of estrangement withUSA into an enduring strategicpartnership in the course of fiveyears. He also steered India todeep friendship with a newpost-Soviet Russia through astrategic partnership in 2000. Ihad the privilege of accompa-nying him on a visit to Russiain November 2001 when weconcluded a sister provinceagreement between Gujaratand Astrakhan.

With China, he made theboldest move for peace in aneffort to overcome the burdensof a difficult past by establish-ing the mechanism of SpecialRepresentatives for boundary

talks. Atalji’s conviction thatthese two ancient civilisations— which are rising powers —can work together to shape theglobal future continues to guidemy thinking.

A person of grassroots, ourneighbours was his priority. Inmany ways, he was the inspira-tion for, and even pioneer of, ourNeighbourhood First policy. Hewas unwavering in his supportas an Opposition leader towardsBangladesh’s liberation. He wentto Lahore in search of peace.With persistence and optimismthat was his nature, he continuedto search for peace and heal thewounds in Jammu and Kashmir.But, he was resolute in winningthe Kargil War. And, when ourParliament was struck, he madethe world recognise the truenature and source of cross-bor-der terrorism against India.

Personally, Atalji was anideal, a Guru, and role modelwho inspired me deeply. Itwas he who entrusted me withresponsibilities both in Gujaratas well as at the national level.It was he who called me oneevening in October 2001, and

told me to go to Gujarat as theChief Minister. When I toldhim that I had always workedin the organisation, he said hewas confident I would fulfill thepeople’s expectations. The faithhe had in me was humbling.

Today, we are a self-assurednation, brimming with theenergy of our youth and resolveof our people, eager for changeand confident of achieving it,striving for clean and respon-sive governance, building futureof inclusion and opportunity forall Indians. We engage theworld as equals and in peace,and we speak for principles andsupport the aspirations of oth-ers. We are on the path thatAtalji wanted us to take. He wasahead of the times, because hehad a deep sense of history, andhe could peer into the soul ofIndia from his grasp of ourcivilisational ethos.

A life is to be judged notjust by the extent of grief thatfollows when its light goes out.It is also to be measured bythe lasting impact on the livesof people and the course oftime.

P

rime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on the North-East during his

Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort could hard-

ly be missed. Proudly, he spoke about the rapid strides made by the

region in the last four years and what it meant for its people. There has been

massive spurt in highways, waterways, airways and information-way (i-way).

The region that faced neglect and apathy over the decades suddenly seemed

to have come to life. It is now on the cusp of a historic change. The August

15 pronouncement of Prime Minister said it all.

“There was a time when the North-East used to feel that Delhi is very

distant. Within four years, we have brought Delhi to the doorsteps of North-

East,” the Prime Minister said. That Tripura, Meghalaya and many districts

of Arunachal Pradesh are finally out of the purview of the Armed Forces (Special

Powers) Acts (AFSPA), is a big achievement. There has also been a spurt

in enterprise and economic activities in the State — be it the setting up of

BPOs or the emergence of new educational institutions, said the Prime Minister.

The region has also become a hub for organic farming. The setting up of a

new sports university will further unleash the sporting potential of the region,

the Prime Minister highlighted.

All such developments have helped the region earn rich political dividends

and the BJP-led NDA, which has formed Governments in many States in the

region, has registered significant gains. Except Mizoram, the BJP today plays

an active role in all States, either as the ruling party or as a coalition part-

ner. The political formation of the North-East Democratic Alliance, led by Assam

Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is a formidable force. The process of the BJP’s

ascendancy, which began with the party’s impressive victory in Assam, cul-

minated in its historic win in Tripura this year that saw quarter of a century’s

rule of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) collapse like a pack of cards.

The NDA Government restored people’s faith and kickstarted a series of

development projects in the region. Until 10 years ago, Tripura was not con-

nected by rail link. And when it did in 2008, it was through a metre-gauge line.

The NDA Government started the process of conversion of all tracks into board

gauge and has covered 900 km till date. Two new trains, viz the Rajdhani

Express and the Tripura Sundari Express between Agartala and New Delhi,

were flagged off last year. The Government also signed a deal with Bangladesh

to develop a rail link between Tripura and Chittagong. In fact, the Government

of India is executing 15 new rail line projects of 1,385 km length at a cost of

over `47,000 crore. Two years since the NDA came to power, then Railway

Minister Suresh Prabhu in 2016 laid the foundation stone for the ̀ 2,315 crore,

88-km Dhansiri-Kohima railway track, connecting Kohima to the national rail-

way network. The Government has also started several railway projects to con-

nect Imphal, Aizawl and Shillong. Over two dozen new trains have been intro-

duced in the region.

That the North-East faced Herculean connectivity problems, which ham-

pered its growth and stunted its potential, is a known. All thanks to Prime Minister

Modi, who worked on a pragmatic policy prescription in what he called

‘Transformation by Transportation’, exemplified in a series of activities. More

than 3,800 km of national highways with an investment of ̀ 32,000 crore have

been sanctioned in the region in the past three years. Nearly 1,200 km of roads

have been constructed, according to Government data.

In December 2017, Modi announced that his Government would invest

another `60,000 crore under the Special Accelerated Road Development

Programme in the North East, and `30,000 crore under the Bharatmala pro-

ject over a period of three years. In 2017, the Prime Minister also dedicated

to the nation a 271-km two-lane national highway connecting Tura in west-

ern Meghalaya to Meghalaya’s capital Shillong.

Airports in the North-East, though not in the best shape, are up for a facelift

with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) allocating ̀ 3,400 crore for its upgra-

dation. An estimated work worth ̀ 950 crore is complete and the rest is expect-

ed to be done in another two to three years. Aviation projects include re-car-

peting of Silchar and Lalbari runways and an aviation manpower training insti-

tute; development of Rupsi airport; a new integrated airport and an engineering

workshop at Agartala; expansion and revamp of existing terminal building and

runway at Dimapur; installation of an instrument landing system (ILS) at the

Shillong airport; and operationalisation and development of the Tura airport.

An important strategic push to the North-East is because of what Prime

Minister calls the Act East policy. Through this the NDA Government is work-

ing on strengthening economic and strategic relationships with 10 ASEAN

(Association of South East Asian Nations) countries. The Government also

proposes to strengthen the North-East as an economic hub to serve the fledg-

ling $2.6 trillion economy comprising 662 million people. Achhe Din for the

North-East is certainly in place.

(The writer is a strategic communications professional)

If as fans of the gentleman’s game we have been disheartened by the Indianteam’s dismal showing in England, then we should seek solace from theone man who taught us the art of the possible — Ajit Wadekar. The man

with the Midas touch, he was the first Indian cricket captain to lead his sideto maiden Test wins in West Indies and England in 1971. The West Indianwin was particularly significant considering it was a Gary Sobers’ XI, all ofwhom were titans in their own right. And though comparative statistics maynot always weigh in his favour, fact is Wadekar’s captaincy proved that hewas not just a one-timer but could repeat wins or extract draws from the mostchallenging or unfavourable situations. Lest anybody had any doubt abouthis consistency, he pulled another series victory consecutively against Englandin a five-match series in 1972-73. And he could groom and polish talent; thelikes of Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Vishwanath, S Venkatraghavan and BS Bediflurished under him and bloomed to their true potential. Even as Team Indiacoach in later years, he formed a formidable alliance of minds with MohammadAzharuddin, wrapping up a neat unbeaten 14 Tests.

Wadekar’s legacy is inspiring simply because it restores the fundamen-tals of a game that tend to get lost these days in a pile of statistics and num-ber-crunching, the most important being that of strategy, tactics, studyingthe opponent and practice. Nobody else has perhaps been able to fox the oppo-nent with a robust mix of spinners and fielders in his arsenal. There were SVenkataraghavan, Erapalli Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi, BhagwatChandrashekhar and Eknath Solkar. He would vary his spin attacks and keepthe batsman closed in tightly with a ring of fielders. A left-handed batsman,he could be quick when the situation demanded as evidenced by his perfor-mance in India’s ODI debut in 1974. Long before the aggression of SouravGanguly and Captain Cool Dhoni dominated our consciousness, Wadekar com-bined both in an elegant manner that was not brash. He was disarminglyapproachable, not arrogant at all, witty and convivial, something that helpedhim bond with the team and make them willingly respond to his vision. Suchleadership skills are rare these days. As is the genteel approach to life. In thedays when brand endorsements weren’t an economic diversion or govern-ment jobs weren’t treated as an easy entitlement, Wadekar was true to thebrand he worked for — the SBI — famously saying he was “married” to it.For legions of fans, it is this grain of humanity and grace that will be citedacross message boards. Team India needs to look at his life for some lessons.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has outlined an ambi-tious plan to not just launch many more satellites in the coming years,but has also said that India plans to have a man (or woman) up in space

by 2022. This was also one of the many announcements made by PrimeMinister Modi during his Independence Day speech at the Red Fort this week.According to ISRO chief K Sivan, technologies to send astronauts to spacehave already been developed. This is not a new plan, it has been in the processsince 2004 and the Planning Commission okayed the project in 2009 whichhas a budget outlay of `10,000 crore. This is a huge outlay of funds for acountry that is in desperate need for social projects and infrastructure build-out. However, there is no doubt that sending an Indian astronaut into thespace will grab headlines and will make us an undoubted leader in space tech-nology, not something to be sneezed at. This assumes that India is not alreadya leader in space technology. We have sent some incredible missions up tospace, including the impressive Chandrayaan mission, which will be followedup this January, if there are no more delays, with the Chandrayaan-II mis-sion that aims to land a robotic rover on the moon. Elections be damned,ISRO has more up its sleeve. Solar probe Aditya (obviously) takes off justmonths after American space agency NASA’s daring Parker solar probe. Thereare an estimated 31 launches scheduled from now until the end of 2019 andthe manned space mission by 2022 is an icing on the cake. Sivan believesthat over 15,000 highly skilled jobs will be created through this mission.

There is no doubt that in the US at least, the manned space missionsand the later Apollo programme initiated by President John F Kennedy hada massive impact. Not only in making the US a leader in space exploration— the Americans are the only nation to have had probes go into deep space— but in supercharging that nation’s high technology industry thanks to devel-opment of computer technology. Can India’s concentration on space do thesame for us? Yes, it can and that is why it is important. Technology can solvemany problems and India cannot remain to be a net importer of technolo-gy; we need to develop our own systems, hardware and software. If donesmartly, there will be a flow of technology from ISRO to India’s private sec-tor. To cite an example, ISRO has offered its lithium-ion battery technologyto interested car manufacturers as the world shifts to electric vehicles. Makeno mistakes, India is a leader in space technology. And while we might oneday join the Americans, Russians and the Chinese in having sent an astro-naut into space, we are far ahead of the rest. The world is jealous of us, notablein that racist cartoon in The New York Times mocking us, and the Daily Mail

in the UK railing against the fact that a one-time dominion is so far ahead ofBritain’s moribund space industry. Sure, we are still a country with millionsof poor and malnourished and the ironies apparent in a high-technology pro-gramme while open defecation and illiteracy remain a problem are not loston anyone. But India’s space programme can weirdly help us lift many outof poverty, directly through improved satellite technology and indirectly bythe boost it will give our economy, let alone the booster shot of pride.

Going to space

India is doubling down on its space mission and that is a

good thing. There are many more miles to achieve

Cricket’s gentleman

The Indian team, which is reeling under tough times, must

look nowhere but at Wadekar, the master strategist

India: Independent but not freewww.dailypioneer.com

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

Even as India celebrated its 72nd Independence day this week, a glance at the current state of media regulation will reveal how Press freedom is constrained in small and large ways

This week, India celebrated its 72ndanniversary of independence. PanditJawaharlal Nehru on the midnight ofAugust 15, 1947, spoke words befittingthe occasion when he said, “At the

stroke of the midnight hour, when the worldsleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”Pandit Nehru in his immortal words clearlyrecognised the intrinsic link between indepen-dence and freedom. This month, however, iron-ically threw in tragic juxtaposition the lack of free-dom in independent India.

Since this week led up to the anniversary ofIndia’s independence, I went back to examine therole of media during the freedom struggle. TheBritish introduced some horribly restrictivelaws, which limited the freedom of the Press,including the Vernacular Press Act, 1878,through which the British Government aimed toestablish an iron-like grip over vernacular pub-

lications like Amrita Bazar Patrika, and requiredsuch publications to ensure that nothing was writ-ten against them. This was also the time whenpublications like Amrita Bazar Patrika wereheroes. The Press was an amplifying voice of therising whispers against an evil empire. The Pressby reporting on horrifying incidents of misgov-ernance, like the treatment of indigo farmers andby disseminating the message of MahatmaGandhi and co, helped provide the much-need-ed tailwind to the Indian freedom movement,leading up to our independence in 1947.

Fast forward to today, what used to be theprimary medium to speak truth to power, hasnow been badgered by the present Governmentinto something unrecognisable. While there is anenvironment of fear and trepidation in the coun-try, which stems from the top, there are a fewexamples that are disconcerting. Of these, the res-ignation of Punya Prasun Bajpai from ABP Newsis fresh and possibly most troubling. Reasons forBajpai’s resignation are frighteningly Orwellian.In a letter penned by him, he explained the eventsleading up to his resignation. As the host ofMaster Stroke, prime-time news telecast on ABPNews, Bajpai hosted the news, exposing theheights that this Government has gone to frompreventing the truth from coming out.

For example, the news coverage inChhattisgarh, where Master Stroke reportedthat a woman farmer, during her video interac-tion with Prime Minister Modi, had been

tutored to make false claims that her income haddoubled. The report showed how, in fact, her con-dition had in reality become worse. Almostimmediately, the BJP jumped to discredit thechannel and Master Stroke. What was even morebizarre and terrifying was the disturbance inABP’s satellite link, which conveniently startedacting up during the exact time that Master Strokewas telecast and returned to normal after theshow had finished. This ‘disturbance’ allegedlycontinued for days. Simultaneously, advertisersstopped their ads to ABP, allegedly due to pres-sure from outside entities. This was coupled withother restrictions on journalistic freedom, suchas instructions to try to reduce references to PrimeMinister Modi and limit his appearance on thenews when discussing failings of the Government.This all-out offensive unfortunately but almostinevitably led to the resignation of Bajpai fromABP. When faced with the might of the entireGovernment for reporting on its failings, itseemed there was little else that he could do.

This, of course, is not the only example. Ingeneral, the current environment in India is oneof hate and polarisation. Where intellectualismis treated with disdain and accountability as anattack. The Government in power has nurturedthis environment and the message is clear: Goagainst the BJP Government and face the wrathof the powerful. The problem is that when youcreate such an environment, you open doors youcannot shut. Whether it’s the vile attacks by trolls

on various prominent journalists or the attacksout in the open on Umair Khalid or the lynchmobs that act without reason or fear.

The problem is that the Prime Minister is atthe centre of this approach towards the Press.Recently, I was a panelist on a news channel alongwith a spokesperson of the BJP and the questionswere: Why Prime Minister Modi has not yet helda single Press conference in four years? For allthe allegations that the BJP threw at ManmohanSingh for being a silent Prime Minister, Modijiand the BJP would do well to remember that theformer Prime Minister did three Press confer-ences in New Delhi and always took questionsfrom journalists on his trips abroad.

When faced with this question, the responseby the BJP spokesperson was as per the script,breaking into a monologue about the greatnessof the supreme leader, saying that “Modiji is lovedby all”, “Modiji talks to everyone” etc. I feared thatthe spokesperson was just moments away frombreaking into a Modi! Modi! Modi! chant. I don’tblame the BJP spokesperson though. What canyou do when you don’t have an answer to thissimple question? The fact is that Prime MinisterModi believes in one-sided conversations,whether it’s his monologues or Mann ki Baat, theconversation has to be filtered so that it doesn’thurt the image of the Prime Minister. Thisbecause the BJP is aware that this carefully builtimage stands on a house of cards, one where asingle unfiltered/unedited question to the Prime

Minister is enough to make the entire house fall. Inevitably, criticism of the Government

regarding the state of the Press today is met withwilful ignorance. In the alternate universe thatthe BJP resides, everything seems hunky-dory.But it surely doesn’t feel that way, does it? Andfacts bare this disconnect. On the world Pressfreedom index, for example, India ranks lowerthan Haiti, Niger and Sierra Leone. If the stateof the Press is so great, why doesn’t the groundreality reflect this sentiment and why then is theGovernment dead against news channels show-ing references to Prime Minister Modi when poli-cies of the Government fail? This is especiallystrange because the face of the Prime Ministeris on every scheme and he announces almost allmajor policies of the Government. It seems thatIndia is stuck with a Prime Minister who ironi-cally loves the limelight but shies away from crit-icism that comes with it. It is tragic, then, whenyou look at the state of the country today and itssimilarities with Orwell’s seminal novel, 1984. Init, Orwell, describes how information manage-ment was the primary system of control employedby the authoritarian regime to keep its subjectssubjugated. We must not forget that a free, inde-pendent Press is an antidote against such author-itarianism. Therefore, though India is celebrat-ing its 72nd independence day, I am sad to saythat it’s surely starting to feel a lot like 1984.

(The writer is Jharkhand PCC president, for-mer MP and IPS officer. Views are personal)

DETERIORATING CASE

Sir — This refers to the report, “I ammarried to Cong, says Rahul” (August15). Congress chief Rahul Gandhi onceagain revisited his obsessive politicalpositions, primarily targeting PrimeMinister Modi. For instance, Rahul hasrepeatedly predicted that Modi will bedefeated in 2019.

One is bewildered by RahulGandhi’s electoral certitude, drasticallydifferent from media surveys of the nextyear’s poll prospects, favouring Modi.Rahul talks of Opposition alliance inUttar Pradesh and Bihar to “stop the BJP

in its tracks” without spelling out hisparty’s role; media reports refer only tothe Samajwadi Party and the BahujanSamaj Party coalition. Even these twoparties did badly in Uttar Pradesh elec-tion, as also in 2014 Lok Sabha poll.

Further, look at Rahul’s highlyexaggerated figures of employmentprovided by China in 24 hours, in com-parison to India: Fifty thousand peo-ple against India’s 458. Rahul fails torealise that the Congress’ plight willmake Modi’s success in 2019 generalelection a lot more easier.

M RatanVia mail

SETTING THE TONE

Sir — This refers to the report, “I amimpatient agent of change: PM” (August16). Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s lastspeech in his present term was a polit-ically significant one in the run-up to the2019 election, both in terms of what hesaid and what he didn’t.

Perhaps the Prime Minister’sIndependence Day speech clarified thechallenge for his remaining term inoffice. Consciously harping on inclu-siveness, avoiding any hint of majori-tarianism and stressing gender parity, hesought to blunt the Opposition’s intol-

erance campaign.Projecting himself as an impatient

agent of change, he as usual, castigatedthe UPA for its ‘governance failure’ andpromised housing, power, water, sani-tation and healthcare for all in his mis-sion to take the country to new heights.At the Red Fort, the Prime Minister ges-tured to a high ground. He must nowensure that his party and Governmentstep up to it. The next six months willdecide whether he can recapture themood of 2014, or whether the Congresscan script another 2004.

KS Jayatheertha Kolkata

CONDITIONS FOR TRADE

Sir — This refers to the article, “Imran:A pawn in the hands of troika” (August16) by Anil Gupta. Trade between Indiaand Pakistan as also growth and prosperity of the region will be possi-ble only when the two countries devel-op mutual trust. This will remain adream until Pakistan remains state-sponsor of terrorism.

ShubhamVia email

Send your feedback to: letterstopioneer@gmail.com

The BJP-led NDA’s march into

the North-East has seen the

region leverage its untapped

potential to emerge as one of

the fastest growing markets

In the eyes of Grindel and his

supporters, I am German when we win,

but I am an immigrant when we lose.

—Former Germany team-mate

MESUT OZIL

Ozil’s claims of racism in German

camp are nonsense. We are always

committed to diversity and integration.

—Germany midfielder

TONI KROOS

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The ever-changing spacefor urban anthropologyentails mixed experi-ences of significant dis-crimination for the

female strata in the ‘public’ sphereof political gatherings, religiousperformance and economicexchange. The study of gender dis-parity has captured a focal place inthe debate of sociology in a newera. The gravity of the issue is sosevere that it has reserved a placein the Indian Economic Survey(2017-18). Ironically, women’smobility is still controlled and re-negotiated in many societies,except their confined roles to dis-pense domestic duties.

Traditional ideology behindthe ‘protected environment’ actu-ally intends to suppress their indi-vidual temperament. As per arecent World Bank report, Indiaand China are the only two nationsin the world where infant mortal-ity rate for females is still higherthan males even in the 21st cen-tury.

What is gender? In sociolog-ical and feminist thought, genderindicates the cultural constitution— comprising notions, perceptionsand premises — concerning fem-ininity and masculinity and theways in which these ideologiesmaintain gendered identities(Mishra, 2014).

The intensity and magnitudeof ‘gender conflicts’ vary demo-graphically across the globe.Unfortunately, supporting statisticsconfirm that Indian society haswitnessed complete marginalisa-tion of the female strata in all fields.This despite proven researches ontheir power and capacities in cre-ating a prosperous future economyvia Gross Domestic Product(GDP) and productivity push.Additionally, the gender gap inlabour workforce has crucialmacro-economic inferences aswell.

Women in development — acritical analysis: There is prodi-gious evidence that the effect ofeconomic growth on genderinequality is inadequate and inco-herent (Kabeer 2016, Duflo 2012).Even revised contemporary dis-cussions about the new wealth ofvarious nations contain the crucialrole of women of Indian society.Besides, many researchers haveestablished the demand-side bar-riers as to how this section is often

loomed to gain from ‘economicdevelopment’ (equitable access tojobs, skills development, and fairearnings).

Though employment of womenis seen as a vital aspect attached totheir respective independence, thereare missing links in connecting thenation’s growth with female labourforce participation. As proposed bySarker (2006), Women inDevelopment (WID) approach —that emerged in the 1960s with anemphasis on the need to includethem in the development mix —was able to harness their truepotential in order to achieve equal-ity for women in socio-economicand political platforms.

As per the World Bank report(2012), though global femalelabour participation rate hasimproved from 50.2 per cent in1980 to 51.8 per cent in 2009(resulting in narrowing genderdifferential from 32 per cent to 26per cent), there still exists sub-stantial under-utilisation and mis-allocation of women’s skills and tal-ents.

Regrettably, supply-side con-straints (particularly those associ-ated with fertility, marriage, andchild-rearing) dominate the forti-tude of a female’s workforceinvolvement. Recent reports oneconomic well-being indicatedirect linkage where the well-being of an economy could be anatural driver of female workforceparticipation.

U-shaped linkage: A U-shaped hypothesis simply revealsthe linkage between the econom-ic growth and women labour forceparticipation. It is proposed thatwomen labour force participationrates first decline and then increaseas the country fosters.

Women labour force input is aprincipal driver as well as a keyoutcome of economic growth anddevelopment. Therefore, partici-pation rates necessarily reflect acountry’s potential to advancemore rapidly. As per theInternational Labour Organisation(ILO), India ranks 121 out of 131nations in Female Labour ForceParticipation (FLFP), which is theworst in the world.

According to evidence fromvarious studies, it was also estab-lished that increasing womenworkforce contribution causesincome disparities to lower down.On the contrary, the composition

of transfers from rural to urbanareas primarily is male-dominat-ed and thereby leaves lowerwomen’s work involvement.

Global stance: By interna-tional standards, women’s labourforce participation in Indiaremains low and it is much lowerthan that of men. The same hasdropped from 33.8 per cent in 2000to 26.8 per cent in 2015 while malelabour force participation saw ajump from 66.2 per cent in 2000to 73.2 per cent in 2015, therebyaveraging to a substantial gendergap of around 46.4 per cent in2015. This downward trend hasbeen largely elucidated by increas-ing urbanisation and structuraltransformation: As householdsprogressed from rural to urbanareas, husbands moved out of theagricultural sector, ensuring a dis-engagement of females from thelabour force (exhibiting women’sincreased involvement in domes-tic duties).

The predominance of tradi-tional views of women’s role with-in households further confinestheir prospects to participate inpaid work and entrepreneurialactivities. In addition, women areprofoundly exemplified in the

informal economy where theirvulnerability to exploitation isusually high and they have theslightest formal protection.Further, evidence on broaderinclusion of women into conven-tional finance is thwarting.

Move towards gender equal-ity: It implies that women and menare on equal footing in terms ofcore functioning (education,health, and nutrition) as well as forgeneration of livelihood. Greatergender equality can boost eco-nomic productivity and improvedevelopment outcomes for thenext generation. This is rather anintrinsic than an instrumentalgoal, explicitly valued as an end initself than being an instrument forachieving other goals. Currentstatistics on India’s GenderInequality Index (given by WorldEconomic Forum) show we are atthe 131st spot, which is undoubt-edly very low.

It would be anybody’s guessthat India needs to make progresstowards gender equity, towardsattaining economic well-being.Gender disparities remain even ascountries develop, which call forsustained and focussed publicaction. As gender equality evolves,

development proceeds. The strug-gle for parity is far from over.

According to the OECDEmployment Outlook 2017,though gender gaps in the labourmarket and educational attain-ment across emerging economieshave shrunk, progress is stilluneven with India being countedamong the countries experiencingno change in the gender partici-pation gap at a high level.

Way forward: As per the recentWorld Bank report, the explosionof impressive attempts to increasewomen’s political participation,gender disparities have remaineddeep and persistent in India despitepromising economic growthprospects. It compels synchro-nised social policies and long-term steps to challenge a socially-embedded problem like genderinequality.

Women work participationavenues to decent jobs are ele-mentary and indispensable con-stituents of a sustainable develop-ment approach. Substantialresearch has revealed that capital-ising women’s complete economicpotential is critical for increasedproductivity and economic growth.In addition, mitigating gender bar-riers to decent work is essential tostimulate women’s economicempowerment. The current sce-nario calls for an immediate strin-gent policy involvement to takecare of several aspects like aware-ness on female education andtraining programmes, simplifyingthe burden of household chores,greater well-being of women withprivate sector work opportunitiesin industries et al.

There has to be a provision forfair rule applicability, irrespectiveof the gender (like equal pay forequal work). A pivotal carrier ofeconomic growth over the past cen-tury is the increased and extendedrole of women. Empowering half ofthe prospective workspace couldhave sizeable demographic pay-backs beyond just endorsing gen-der equality. The process is not easyat all. It is difficult to undo thedeep-rooted decadal condition-ing, particularly in a society as con-servative and regressive as ours.

But as indicated by Collins:“Women move, world improves.”Time to get moving.

(The writers are Senior DoctoralScholars, Faculty of ManagementStudies, University of Delhi)

NAVNEETANAND

AJOY KUMAR

Replying to a debate in Parliament onJuly 20, 2018, during the no-confi-dence motion against his

Government, Prime Minister NarendraModi gave a comprehensive account of thevarious schemes, reform measures andachievements during the last four years ofhis stint. A prominent reform measure list-ed by Modi was the Goods and Services Tax(GST) launched on July 1, 2017.

Dwelling on the contentious issue of fivehydrocarbon products: Natural gas, crude oil,petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel, heopined that under the UPA, these productswere excluded under their version of theConstitution (Amendment) Bill, 2010. If thatBill were to be enacted into a law, there wouldhave been no possibility to include them inthe near future. On the other hand, in thelaw enacted by the present Government,these have been included.

Under the erstwhile dispensation, theeconomy was not only burdened with highrates (excise duty, VAT, service tax and overa dozen other local taxes), they also had acascading effect (tax-on-tax). For instance,nearly 50 per cent of the retail price of petroland diesel were accounted for by taxes alone.With their inclusion under the GST, one hadexpected a substantial dilution of the taxcomponent, thereby leading to corre-sponding reduction in price. But that did nothappened because these products are ‘zero’rated. What it means is that taxation forthese products continues to be governed bylaws of the erstwhile dispensation. In otherwords, it is business as usual even as indus-tries bear the brunt of all the ills germaneto that regime which this path-breakingreform (GST) was intended to get rid off.

So, what has changed? And on whatbasis does team Modi claim that GST hasbrought substantial improvement in the waythese products are to be treated? The dif-ference is that unlike the UPA version of thelaw, which would have continued with a levyof ED/VAT/service tax (besides local taxes)ad infinitum, henceforth, these levies will be

replaced by the GST. But when will this hap-pen? This decision vests with the GSTCouncil — the body created vide theamendment Act — which will determine thedate of transition to rating under the GSTand the category under which each of theseproducts will be put for levy of tax. Primafacie, this may appear to be a better scenario,compared to ‘no hope’ offered by the UPAregime but from all available indications,there is a long road ahead.

Even before the launch of the GST,Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, whois also the chairman of the Council, hadopined that the inclusion of natural gas intothe ambit of GST would be taken up for con-sideration in its 18th meeting held just beforeits launch. Since then, it has been more thana year and the wait is only getting longer.

Revenue to States from levy of salestax/VAT on natural gas is a pittance whichstands at `6,000 crore (2016-17) as againsttaxes on petrol, diesel and aviation turbinefuel that fetch a whopping `166,000 crore.If there is so much of dilly-dallying withregard to taxing the former under GST, onecan imagine the intensity of resistance that

States will mount to make the transition inthe case of the latter.

The crux of the matter is that States, whoare used to mountain revenue garnered fromhigh VAT, as also bonanza from tax-on-tax(nearly one-third of their revenue comes byway of VAT on excise duty), are simply notin a mood to let it go. This, despite full com-pensation promised to them for any loss ofrevenue vis-à-vis the 14 per cent guaranteedgrowth over 2016-17 level. Even the UnionGovernment may be having vested interestin continuing with status quo as its revenuefrom levies on petroleum products is huge.During 2015-16 to 2017-18, it collected`650,000 crore — a major chunk came fromexcise duty on petrol and diesel. During thecurrent year, the collection (including roadand infrastructure cess on petrol and diesel)is projected at `258,000 crore.

In this backdrop and given that theCouncil takes all decisions by consensus,it is most unlikely that it will give a greensignal for a switch-over. Even if these prod-ucts were to be brought under the highestslab of 28 per cent (which is illogical anduntenable as by any stretch of imagination,these cannot be treated as luxury/de-merit products), this itself would be a steepreduction from the current high level of 45-50 per cent. Hence, status quo is inevitable.

In a bid to prevent erosion in revenue,the Council may allow States to retainpower to levy some tariff/duty (under someother nomenclature, if not VAT) in addi-tion to GST (this idea has already foundplace in its deliberations on the subject).If it happens, this will not only militateagainst the basics of the new tax regime butwill also undermine its efficacy.

The continuation of ED/VAT or theirreincarnation in some other form onpetroleum products is out of sync with theunderlying philosophy of GST. The formermust go for the latter to be meaningful andeffective. But that sounds like a day-dream. To conclude, the inclusion of oil andgas products in the ConstitutionAmendment Act has not made any mate-rial difference to the situation on ground,except that it has generated some hope,besides giving some brownie points to teamModi in its ongoing 20:20 match with thegrand old party.

(The writer is a freelance journalist)

GST: An unfinished project

INEVITABLY, CRITICISMOF THE GOVERNMENT

REGARDING THE STATEOF THE PRESS TODAYIS MET WITH WILFULIGNORANCE. IN THE

ALTERNATE UNIVERSETHAT THE BJP

RESIDES, EVERYTHINGSEEMS HUNKY-DORY.

BUT IT SURELYDOESN’T FEEL THAT

WAY, DOES IT?

House deities or working angels?

It is difficult to undo the deep-rooted decadal conditioning when it comes to gender disparity, particularly in a society as

conservative and regressive as ours. But we must keep trying, say MEGHA JAIN & AISHWARYA NAGPAL

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A note of caution in Prime Minister’s speech

This refers to the report, “I am impatientagent of change: PM” (August 16).During his address, Prime Minister Modi

unveiled his vision of India, made promis-es and announced new schemes and ini-tiatives. Through his repeated invocations toMother India (2014), Team India (2015),Young India (2016) and now New India(2018), he made “reform, perform and trans-form” his mantra. During his tenure, he ini-tiated a motley of economic and socialreforms, travelled extensively to leverage

India's soft power and attracted buyers forits growth story on foreign shores.

This year, Modi spoke not just of poli-cy but vision; not merely the speed of work,but the actual experience of progress. Hebroke through citizen’s predilection towardspessimism by listing the Government’sachievements in all sectors of the economy.Modi’s desire to undertake a manned mis-sion to space by 2022 is bound to encour-age the emerging generations to undertakeresearch and development at indigenous lev-

els. By announcing the launch of PradhanMantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan, he set the stagefor 2019 poll. However, the subtle anxiety inhis tone was a clear manifestation of the real-isation that citizens cannot be taken for a rideby words. One hopes that the Governmentupholds the spirit of democracy by embrac-ing ideologically different ideas than instill adeep current of majoritarianism by drummingup nationalist fervour.

Shreyans JainDelhi

WOMEN LABOURFORCE INPUT IS

A PRINCIPALDRIVER AS

WELL AS A KEYOUTCOME OFECONOMIC

GROWTH ANDDEVELOPMENT.

THEREFORE,PARTICIPATIONRATES REFLECT A COUNTRY'S

ADVANCEMENTS

THE PIONEERLUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 20188

Submerged completely, Kerala is undergoing its worsthumanitarian crisis in 100 years. Besides loss of propertyand displacement of lakhs of families, it is unimaginablethat the Kochi airport will remain closed until August 26as it lies under water. While Army-driven rescue effortsare laudable, a Herculean task awaits in rebuilding andcontrolling epidemics after flood waters recede.

THE PIONEERLUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018 9

50WORDEDIT

COMMENT & ANALYSIS

Kerala’s human crisis

UTTAMGUPTA

It’s encouraging that the regime contains provision for the inclusion of petroleum products

but it’s harrowing that the Government is reaping benefits without full implementation

North-East: The new

engine for growth

nation 10LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018

PNS n NEW DELHI

The CBI has registered twomore FIRs against the

office-bearers of Bihar-basedSrijan Mahila Vikas SahyogSamiti Limited and others forthe alleged diversion and mis-use of Government funds. Theagency has lodged 18 cases sofar. According to CBI, branchmanagers and employees of aBhagalpur branch of the IndianBank, some unidentified offi-cers of Bank of Baroda and allthe Srijan (Sabour unit) offi-cials have been booked forcriminal conspiracy, cheatingand alleged illegal transfer andmisuse of funds fromGovernment accounts.

The second FIR has beenregistered against the thenLand Acquisition Officer ofBihar's Banka, Nazir, branchmanager of the BhagalpurCentral Cooperative BankLimited, branch managers of

the Bank of Baroda and theIndian Bank, besides all Srijan(Bhagalpur) office- bearers.

It is alleged that there wasillegal transfer and misuse offunds from Governmentaccounts in Bhagalpur district ofBihar to accounts of the 'Samiti'through a conspiracy hatchedbetween Government officialsand office bearers of the NGO.

CBI officials said theagency has received the refer-ence from the Centre to takeover the investigation and nec-essary documents have beenreceived from the BiharGovernment.

The Bihar Police hadalleged the involvement of thesecretary of 'Srijan', PriyaKumar, and her husband forallegedly swindling over `950crore of Government money inBhagalpur. Priya Kumar is thedaughter-in-law of ManoramaDevi, the founder of the NGO.

Manorama Devi died early

last year after which the NGOwas being run by Priya Kumarand Amit Kumar, son ofManorama Devi, StateGovernment officials had said.

It is alleged that the 'Samiti',which was working towardsimparting training to women,had pilfered Government fundsin connivance with the bankofficials and State Governmentofficials between 2003 and 2014.

An initial probe by localpolice revealed that the 'Samiti',based at Sabour in Bhagalpurdistrict, allegedly procuredcheque books from banks andforged signature of the districtmagistrate to transferGovernment funds to itsaccount.

The probe had also point-ed to the involvement ofnationalised banks andGovernment officials in thefraudulent withdrawal of fundsin three districts of Bhagalpur,Banka and Saharsa.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The National CrisisManagement Committee

(NCMC) headed by CabinetSecretary on Thursday decid-ed to scale up relief and rescueoperations in flood-hit Keralaby involving the three defenceservices and other agencies,besides providing essentialcommodities to maroonedpeople in worst-affected dis-tricts.

The high-level meetingconvened by Cabinet SecretaryPK Sinha was attended bychiefs of the three services, sec-retaries of home, defence andothers, the National CrisisManagement Committee(NCMC) took stock of theprevailing situation in Keralaand directed all concerned toensure continued assistance tothe State Government to meetthe crisis, a Home Ministryspokesperson said.

Prime Minister Narendra

Modi has directed the NCMCto monitor the relief and rescueoperations in Kerala on regu-lar basis and coordination withState agencies. The CentralGovernment has been provid-ing full support to Kerala andhas launched massive reliefand rescue operations in thestate, the spokesperson said.Kerala Chief Secretary and histeam also participated throughvideo conference.

In the meeting, the Cabinetsecretary pressed into serviceall the forces — Army, AirForce, Navy, Coast Guard,National Disaster ResponseForce and other central armed

police forces (CAPFs) anddirected that all possible assis-tance be provided to Kerala forrelief and rescue operations.

The Cabinet secretary alsodirected that relief materialincluding supply of drinkingwater, dry food packets andpowdered milk should also bemade available to Kerala, thespokesperson said. For properreservoir management inMullaperiyar Dam, the NCMCconstituted a committeechaired by Chairman ofCentral Water Commissionand engineers-in-chief of TamilNadu and Kerala.

As of now, 18 teams ofNDRF, 9 columns and 8 teamsof Engineering Task Force(ETC) of the Army, 22 teams ofCoast Guard, 24 diving teamsof Navy along with helicopters,aircrafts, boats, equipment, lifejackets, etc., have been dis-patched to Kerala in rescueoperations as well as evacuationof stranded people.

Besides these, medicalassistance is also being pro-vided by the NDRF, the Army,the Navy including in specialmedical camps. So far, 2,182people have been rescued, 968stranded people have beenevacuated through promptaction of the forces.

The NCMC meeting wasalso attended by secretaries ofUnion Water ResourcesMinistry and chiefs of theCoast Guard, the NDRF,Member, National DisasterManagement Authority(NDMA), Chairman, CentralWater Commission (CWC)and other senior officers.

The NCMC will meetagain tomorrow to review thesituation. The Prime Ministerspoke to Kerala Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan this morningand discussed with him theflood situation.Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh toohad a telephonic conversationwith the Kerala Chief Minister.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onThursday voiced concerns

over the health of the 123-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam situatedin Kerala and directed theCentre and States of TamilNadu and Kerala to immedi-ately take steps to bring downthe water level from the present142 feet to 139 feet. The Court,which described the flood sit-uation in the State to be "grave"demanded a disaster manage-ment plan to be put in place sothat the population staying thedownstream of the dam are notmade to live in constant fear.

The direction from theCourt came on an urgent men-tioning by a Kerala residentRussel Joy who stated thatnon-cooperation betweenTamil Nadu and KeralaGovernments had defeated ear-lier decisions by the SupremeCourt requiring both States tohave a CoordinationCommittee to tackle disasters,and a plan to be put in place todeal with any disasters as aresult of damage to the dam orexcess water stored in the dam.

The bench of Chief Justice

Dipak Misra and Justice InduMalhotra, holding an emer-gency hearing on Joy's applica-tion, directed both States alongwith the Sub-Committee forReservoir Management and theNational Crisis ManagementCommittee (NCMC) to imme-diately convene meeting onFriday and take measures tobring down the water level at

the dam to 139 feet. This wasalso requested by the KeralaGovernment in view of theheavy downpour witnessed bythe State over the past fewweeks. The officers from Keralawill have the option to remainpresent in the meeting viavideo conferencing.

"An effort has to be madeto bring down the water level

of the Mullaperiyar dam to 139feet so that the people livingdownstream do not live inconstant fear," the bench said.The Court required a disastermanagement plan for areas inand around the dam so thatpeople living downstream arenot taken by surprise. Thematter will be heard by Courton Friday.

Reduce Mullaperiyar dam water level: SC directs 2 States

KERALA RAIN FURY

Flood victims are evacuated to safer areas in Kozhikode, Kerala on Thursday AP

The Prime Minister

spoke to Kerala

Chief Minister

Pinarayi Vijayan this

morning and

discussed with him

the flood situation

Relief, rescue operations stepped up

PNS n NEW DELHI

With over 40 lakh peoplefinding no place in the

Assam National Register ofCitizens (NRC), the SupremeCourt on Thursday directedthe Assam NRC Coordinatorto provide district-wise per-centage of population whostood excluded from the draftNRC. The information will besupplied in a sealed cover to theCourt on August 28, the nextdate of hearing.

At the same time, theCourt said that claims andobjections by the excluded per-sons will begin by August 30.As per the rules, the period forreceipt of claims and objectionsshould be 30 days. To facilitatethis process, a copy of draftNRC shall be supplied to allpanchayat offices.

The Centre has alreadyprepared a Standard OperatingProcedure (SOP) on how todeal with the objections with-in timelines. The bench ofJustices Ranjan Gogoi and RFNariman invited response fromall the stakeholders includingAll Assam Students Union, AllAssam Minority StudentsUnion and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on the Centre's SOP byAugust 25 and will according-ly fix timelines on the next dateof hearing. No plea by politicalparty will be entertained, thebench added.

"At this stage without com-menting on any of the modal-ities suggested on behalf of theUnion of India in consultationwith the Government ofAssam, Registrar General ofIndia and State Coordinator forNRC, we are of the view that

the stakeholders ought to begiven time until August 25 toindicate their views in the mat-ter," the judges said.

IN preparing the draftNRC, out of 3.29 crore personswho applied, 2.89 crore wereincluded in the draft NRCwhile 40,70,707 people foundno place. Of these, 37,59,630names were rejected andremaining 2,48,077 had beenput on hold. However, theapex court had clarified thatsince this is only a draft NRC,it shall not be the basis for anygovernment or department totake any coercive action againstthose who were excluded.Assam has been facing a con-stant influx of people fromBangladesh and the effort forrevising NRC was to identifypersons who entered the Stateafter March 24, 1971.

Submit dist-wise percentage of excludedpeople, NRC coordinator told

Srijan scam: CBI files 2 more FIRs

OMER FAROOQ n HYDERABAD

With heavy rain poundingmany parts of the State

and weather office forecastingmore of it in next couple of days,the Telangana Government hasput the administration on a highalert specially in the worstaffected Adilabad andKarimnagar districts.

Chief Minister KChandraskhar Rao afterreviewing the situation askedthe official machinery toremain alert. He spoke to theChief Secretary S K Joshi andDirector General of policeMahinder Reddy.

The rains were the result ofdepression over the NorthwestBay of Bengal along the coastof Odisha. IndianMeteorlogical Centre in

Hyderabad said that thedepression lay centered 120kms east-southeast ofBrahmapuri and was likely tomove in north-northwesterlydirection over the next 24hours and weaken in to a lowpressure area. Under its influence many parts ofTelangana, neighboringChhattisgarh, Viudarbha,Jharkhand, Odisha and WestBengal will receive heavy tovery heavy rains, the IMDsaid. The parts of coastalAndhra Pradesh were likely toreceive moderate rains.

Heavy to very heavy rainsover the next 24 hours wereforecast from Adilabad,Nirmal, Mancherial, KumaramBheem, Nizamabad,Kamareddy, Rajanna Sricilla,Jagtiyal and Medak districts.

Heavy rain lashes parts ofTelangana, alert soundedin worst-hit two districts

T N RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

In a most pleasant develop-ment, India’s first Humboldt

penguin chick was born at theBMC-run Veermata JijabaiBhosale (VJB) Udyan and Zooat Byculla in south Mumbaicoincidentally on theIndependence Day.

Announcing the birth of aPenguin chick, VJB Udyan andZoo director Dr Sanjay Tripathisaid here on Thursday: “AHumboldt penguin chickhatched from the egg at 08.02pm on Wednesday. It appearedto be active and the mother flip-per was trying to feed it too”.Elated by an addition to thePenguin family at the Zoo, theVJB Udyan authorities releasedphotographs and a short videoof the newly-born chick.

After mating in captivitywith male Penguin Molt, thefemale Penguin Flipper deliv-ered had delivered an egg lastmonth at the VJB Udyan andZoo. For Penguins, there are twomating seasons: March-Apriland October-November. TheHumboldt penguins pair upduring the entire mating peri-od. In the case of Molt andFlipper, the mating happenedbetween March and April, thefemale penguin laid eggs in amonth and a half, and both par-ents took turn to incubate them.

Last month, the caretakersat the Byculla Zoo found that thenest built by the penguin pair —Molt and Flipper — had an egg.The zoo caretakers, vets andothers kept strict vigil for near-

ly 40 days. Finally, a small fluffychick walked out of the egg tofreedom in the nest inside theair-conditioned enclosure builtby the Zoo authorities where theall Penguins have been kept.

While Molt is the youngestmale, Flipper is the oldestfemale in the zoo Penguincolony which attracts thou-sands of visitors everyday.

The first chick was born atthe VJB Udyan and Zoo morethan a year after eightHumboldt penguins – Donald,Daisy, Popeye, Olive, Flipper,Bubble, Mr Molt and Dory –were brought here from Seoulin South Korea.

Of the eight importedPenguins, female Dory suc-cumbed to some illness onOctober 23 last years, aftershowing symptoms of dullness,inappetance, greenish stoolsand laboured breathing andwas diagnosed with Gram neg-ative bacteria. The Penguinshave been kept in a specialenclosure where the tempera-ture was in the range of 16 to 18degree C. The penguins feed onfish including the Indian mack-erals. Water quality is monitoredat regular intervals and there areseveral support systems that hasbeen created

The eight Humboldt pen-guins, which arrived in theMumbai zoo from the SouthKorean capital on July 26, 2016,were aged anywhere betweenone year and three years. Theywere 12 to 15 centimetres inheight and they weigh any-where from 1 kilogram to 2.5kilograms.

India's first HumboldtPenguin born in Mumbai’sByculla Zoo on I-Day

STAFF REPORTER n

NEW DELHI

Known for eloquence andgenerous persona, former

Prime Minister Atal BihariVajapyee was rememberedamong scribes. On Thursdaywhen nation was mourning,veterans and young journalistsacross India shared grief onthe death of Vajapayee.

Recalling schoolsdayswhen science, cartoons andmovie channels werefavourites among children,Sanaya Sharma switched toRajya Sabha channel just tohear poetry of Vajpayee.

Sharma, a professionalfilm maker, said, "I was hard-ly aware about political devel-opments during my child-hood days, but I specially setRajya Sabha channel to listenhis poetry.. he truly inspired

me , after listening to hispoetry during parliament ses-sions, I have developed a habitof poetry. And now sometimesI use my own written lines infilm scripts.. all thanks toVajpayee sahab!”

Besides fiction writers,young journalists took micro -blogging site — twitter to con-dole his death. "When Chinaaccused the Indian Army in1965 of stealing 800 sheepfrom the Sikkim-Tibet border,an MP named#AtalBihariVajpayee respond-ed by driving a herd of sheepto the gates of the ChineseEmbassy in Delhi. Point made,”tweeted Ananth Krishnan.

When a big tree falls, theground shakes — quote byRajiv Gandhi makes totalsense today.#AtalBihariVajpayee: BhaavnaArora tweeted.

An ambulance carrying the body of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayeearrives at his residence in New Delhi PTI

Supporters hold a photo as they pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee outside AIIMS hospital in New Delhi on Thursday PTI

Scribes mourn Vajpayee’s demise on twitter

With Nawaz Sharif With George Bush IIWith Vladimir Putin

❝ The Pokhran-2 nuclear tests wereconducted neither for self-glorification,nor for any display of machismo. But thishas been our policy, and I think it is alsothe policy of the nation, that there shouldbe minimum deterrence, which shouldalso be credible. This is why we took thedecision to conduct tests

❝ You can change friends but notneighbours

❝ One cannot wish away the fact that

before good neighbours can truly

fraternise with each other, they must first

mend their fences

❝ If I break the party and forge new

alliances to come to power, then I will

not like to touch that power even with a

pincer

❝ We should strive hard to ensure that

every R&D rupee brings greater benefits

to the nation

❝ Mutual suspicions and petty rivalrieshave continued to haunt us. As a result,the peace dividend has bypassed ourregion. History can remind us, guide us,teach us or warn us; it should not shackleus. We have to look forward now, with acollective approach in mind

❝ We in India are inheritors to a greatcivilisation whose life chant has been"Shanti" – that is, Peace – and "Bhaichara"– which means, Brotherhood. India has

never been an aggressor nation, acolonizer or a hegemon in her longhistory. In modern times, we are alive toour responsibility to contribute to peace,friendship and cooperation both in ourregion and around the world

❝ Poverty is multidimensional. It extendsbeyond money incomes to education,health care, skills enhancement, politicalparticipation at all levels from the local tothe global, access to natural resources,

clean water and air, and advancement ofone's own culture and social organisation

❝ The freedom of the press is an integralpart of Indian democracy. It is protectedby the Constitution. It is guarded in amore fundamental way by our democraticculture. This national culture not onlyrespects freedom of thought andexpression, but also has nurtured adiversity of viewpoints unmatchedanywhere in the world

money 11LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018

New Delhi (PTI): Urea production is likely to increase 1.6 percent to 24.4 million tonne (MT) in 2018-19 financial year on smoothfunctioning of units, a senior Fertiliser Ministry official said onThursday. Urea production stood at 24.02 MT in 2017-18, as perthe official data. There was a slight drop in urea output last yearas some units were shut because they were taking steps to enhancetheir efficiency but this year all units were expected to functionsmoothly,” the official said, adding the overall urea output wasexpected to reach 24.4 MT in the ongoing financial year. Local pro-duction of urea was still short of annual demand of 30 MT, he said,adding the import would be in the range of 5-6 MT.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Chinese handset makerVivo on Thursday said ithad ramped up the man-

ufacturing capacity of itsGreater Noida facility and hadinvested about `200 crore.

The company, which hasalready invested about `300crore in the plant, has alsoadded surface-mount technol-ogy (SMT) lines to the unit.

“The facility has increasedproduction to more than 2 mil-lion units per month, reiterat-ing Vivo’s commitment to‘Make in India’. The newlyadded SMT lines are catering to

the growing demand for Vivosmartphones in the country,including flagship devices likeNEX and X21,” Vivo said in astatement.

With more than 5,000employees, the plant has anannual capacity of manufac-turing 25 million products.Besides manufacturing, thefacility houses a ‘Test Lab’where the products undergomore than 1,000 stringent lev-els of quality and durabilitytests.

“Our latest flagship — theNEX — has been manufac-tured at this facility which hasbeen made possible through

our consistent efforts and com-mitment towards making theregion a manufacturing hub forour smartphones,” Vivo Indiachief marketing officer JeromeChen said.

Besides X21 and NEX, Vivowill continue to manufactureand assemble smartphones inIndia across its category andprice segments, it said.

According to research firmIDC, Vivo ranked third in theIndian smartphone market interms of shipments with 12.6per cent share, after Xiaomi(29.7 per cent) and Samsung(23.9 per cent) in June 2018quarter.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Country’s largest carmakerMaruti Suzuki India (MSI)

today hiked prices of its vehi-cles by up to `6,100 in order topartially offset increase in com-modity and distribution costsand adverse foreign exchangerates.

The price change variesacross models and is up to`6,100 (ex-showroom Delhi),the company said in a statement.

The new prices are effectivefrom Thursday, it added.

The MSI sells a range ofvehicles from entry level Alto800 to mid-sized sedan Ciaz.These were priced between`2.51 lakh and `11.51 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) before thehike.

Earlier this month, MSIsenior executive director (mar-keting and sales) R S Kalsi hadsaid the company had beenanalysing the adverse move-ment of commodity priceswhich were going towards thehigher side.

German luxury carmakerMercedes-Benz on Thursdayalso announced to hike pricesof its vehicles across models byup to 4 per cent fromSeptember.

Other companies such asMahindra & Mahindra, TataMotors and Honda Cars Indiahave also announced pricehikes from this month citingrising input cost.

PTI n NEW DELHI

JSW Steel has submitted a res-olution plan of ̀ 19,700-crore

to the Committee of Creditorsof debt-laden Bhushan Powerand Steel Ltd, a source in theknow of the matter said.

Besides JSW Steel, TataSteel and Liberty House havealso submitted bids to acquirethe special steel maker BhushanSteel and Power Ltd (BPSL)which is under the insolvencyprocess.

The bids were submittedfor the second time to theCoC late night on August 13.Now the CoC will inform theNCLAT on Friday about thebids received by the interestedparties.

“JSW Steel has submitted`19,700 crore (resolution) planto the CoC. The entire amountis upfront amount,” the source

said.According to reports, Tata

Steel has made an offer of`17,000 crore and LibertyHouse’s resolution plan is ofaround `19,000 crore.

Email queries sent to threecompanies seeking theirresponse remained unan-swered.

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel,Tata Group firm Tata Steeland UK-based Liberty Houseare competing with each otherto acquire BPSL.

BPSL owes about `45,000crore to its lenders. It wasamong the 12 non-performingaccounts referred by theReserve Bank of India forNCLT proceedings.

BPSL with a productioncapacity of 3.5 million tonneper annum (MTPA) is a lead-ing manufacturer of flat andlong products.

Lucknow (PTI): WalmartIndia, a wholly-owned sub-sidiary of Walmart Inc, onThursday activated unifiedpayments interface (UPI) for allits registered members. Thispayment solution will enablemembers, especiallykiranas/resellers, who shoponline at Walmart India’s B2Be-commerce site www.best-price.in, to make direct andsecured payments online fromtheir bank account withoutsharing bank details, the glob-al retail giant said in a pressrelease today.

“This will especially bene-fit kirana members who neitherhold any credit/debit card norhave the time to visit banks formaking RTGS payments. UPIis in addition to various other

payment modes such as cred-it card, debit card, net bankingand e-wallets that WalmartIndia offers to its members,” itsaid.

The company’s chief cor-porate affairs officer RajneeshKumar said, “This initiativereiterates our commitment toenable small businesses, espe-cially kiranas, prosper. Thispayment solution will help ourmembers spend more timewith their customers and servethem better as they do not haveto step out of their stores to visitbanks for making payments.”

Kumar said that with theexpectation that the UPI sys-tem would boost online trans-actions, the initiative wouldcertainly complement efforts tomake India a digital economy.

PTI n NEW DELHI

India has exported tobaccoworth ̀ 1,447.80 crore in the

first quarter of the current fis-cal, an increase of 7 per centsince last year, mainly toEurope and South East Asia,according to the TobaccoBoard.

In volume terms, the exportof both tobacco and its productsrose by 2.65 per cent to 53,213tonnes during the April-Junequarter of the 2018-19 fiscal.

In the year-ago period, the

country had exported 51,802tonnes valuing `1,352 crore.

Much of the exports werein unmanufactured form espe-cially flue-cured virginia (FCV)tobacco — a variety used in cig-arettes — followed by smallquantities of tobacco productslike cigarettes, bidis, hookahtobacco paste, cut tobacco,snuff and cigars, the board’sdata showed.

Export of FCV tobaccodeclined to 32,687 tonnes in theApril-June period of this fiscalfrom `33,401 tonnes in the

year-ago. However, in valueterms, the shipments rose to`814.37 crore as against ̀ 791.46crore in the said period.

However, the export of non-FCV tobacco rose to 12,620tonnes valued at `202.77 croreduring the first quarter of thisfiscal from 10,043 tonnes valuedat `137.07 crore in the samequarter previous fiscal.

Belgium, Philippines, Nepal,Korea, Germany and the UAEare the major markets forunmanufactured tobacco.

The board data showed a

decline in exports of tobaccoproducts in volume terms to`7,906 tonnes during the firstquarter of this fiscal from 8,358tonnes in the year-ago. In valueterms, it stood at `430.66 croreas against `423.49 crore in thesaid period last year.

Among tobacco products,the country exported 4,442tonnes of chewing tobacco(zarda), 1,812 tonnes of ciga-rettes, 1,077 tonnes of hookahtobacco paste, 507 tonnes of cuttobacco, 61 tonnes of bidis, 6tonnes of cigars and one tonne

of snuff during the first quarterof this year. Panama, the UAE,Saudi Arabia, Libya, Sudan,South Africal, Afghanistan,Thailand, Indonesia, and Israelare major markets for export oftobacco products.

During the full 2017-18 fis-cal, the country had exported2,12,916 tonnes worth ̀ 5,539.94crore of tobacco and its prod-ucts. While exports are rising,the government is encouragingfarmers to shift to alternativecrops so that production andarea of tobacco remains lower.

Vivo pumps in `200 cr to

expand Gr Noida facility

Walmart India activates UPI onits B2B e-commerce platform

India’s tobacco exports rose 7 pc in Apr-Jun

Maruti Suzukihikes prices byup to `6,100

JSW Steel makes `19,700-crore

offer for Bhushan Power, Steel

Urea production likely toincrease 1.6 pc in FY ‘19

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BAJAJFINSV 7077.3 4.2 0.06BAJAJHLDNG 2982.7 -2.55 -0.09BAJFINANCE 2857 28.3 1BALKRISIND 1394.5 59.25 4.44BALMLAWRIE 219 -1.55 -0.7BALRAMCHIN 71.65 -0.65 -0.9BANKBARODA 142.9 -3.4 -2.32BANKINDIA 88.95 -1.4 -1.55BASF 1941.4 -14.65 -0.75BATAINDIA 1007.95 7.2 0.72BAYERCROP 4129.8 -61.05 -1.46BBTC 1541.1 7.7 0.5BEL 114.85 -2.7 -2.3BEML 796.25 2.25 0.28BERGEPAINT 329.35 5.7 1.76BHARATFIN 1209.1 -9.9 -0.81BHARATFORG 617.6 -2.35 -0.38BHARTIARTL 372.05 5.55 1.51BHEL 72.4 0.1 0.14BIOCON 596.9 7.65 1.3BIRLACORPN 739.65 -16.45 -2.18BLISSGVS 180.25 0.65 0.36BLUEDART 3637.85 13.25 0.37BLUESTARCO 693.7 10.55 1.54BOMDYEING 252.25 -7.7 -2.96BOSCHLTD 18825.6 -301.15 -1.57BPCL 378 0.45 0.12BRITANNIA 6486.9 21.15 0.33CADILAHC 339.85 -0.2 -0.06CANBK 268.45 -2 -0.74CANFINHOME 313.25 -0.8 -0.25CAPF 608.7 12.25 2.05CAPPL 402.85 -0.35 -0.09CARBORUNIV 350.05 -1.35 -0.38CARERATING 1259.7 -26.55 -2.06CASTROLIND 153.8 -1.05 -0.68CCL 260.65 4.45 1.74CEATLTD 1436.7 0.15 0.01CENTRALBK 68.5 -0.2 -0.29CENTRUM 52.45 0.1 0.19CENTURYPLY 225.95 -1.4 -0.62CENTURYTEX 911.75 -1.65 -0.18CERA 2722.75 -76.35 -2.73CESC 913.4 2.4 0.26CGPOWER 59.2 -0.45 -0.75CHAMBLFERT 141.7 4 2.9

CHENNPETRO 302.25 -7.2 -2.33CHOLAFIN 1464.8 -5.75 -0.39CIPLA 647.4 5.45 0.85COALINDIA 282.45 0.95 0.34COCHINSHIP 435.8 -5.35 -1.21COFFEEDAY 239.65 -5.2 -2.12COLPAL 1141.25 10 0.88CONCOR 644.05 2.4 0.37COROMANDEL 422.3 -4.35 -1.02CORPBANK 28.25 -0.05 -0.18COX&KINGS 210.85 -2.3 -1.08CRISIL 1802.05 3.8 0.21CROMPTON 263.05 -0.05 -0.02CUB 182.75 -2.05 -1.11CUMMINSIND 670.5 -1.65 -0.25CYIENT 731.05 16.5 2.31DABUR 444.9 -8 -1.77DALMIABHA 2531.8 -61.65 -2.38DBCORP 246.8 -0.25 -0.1DBL 852.35 8.2 0.97DCBBANK 165.35 0.05 0.03DCMSHRIRAM* 375.1 -3.5 -0.92DEEPAKFERT 251.9 -11.65 -4.42DEEPAKNI 279.6 0.45 0.16DELTACORP 258.4 -1.9 -0.73DENABANK 16.55 -0.25 -1.49DHANUKA 548.4 4.95 0.91DHFL 648.3 -10.2 -1.55DISHTV 68.6 1.5 2.24DIVISLAB 1163.15 8.05 0.7DLF 206.85 3.95 1.95DMART 1562.9 -12.6 -0.8DRREDDY 2347.95 68.75 3.02ECLERX 1109.5 -35.25 -3.08EDELWEISS 275.05 -7.75 -2.74EICHERMOT 28734.1 -195.65 -0.68EIDPARRY 219.1 -0.9 -0.41EIHOTEL 173.6 -5.55 -3.1ELGIEQUIP 286.4 -0.75 -0.26EMAMILTD 554.05 -19.7 -3.43ENDURANCE 1455.3 -25.35 -1.71ENGINERSIN 120.35 0.6 0.5

ENIL 689.45 -15.2 -2.16EQUITAS 139.4 -2.6 -1.83ERIS 692.4 -14.75 -2.09ESCORTS 869.15 -5.85 -0.67ESSELPRO 106.3 -0.7 -0.65EVEREADY 237.15 -1.55 -0.65EXIDEIND 290.7 -1.4 -0.48FCONSUMER 44.85 -0.3 -0.66FDC 250.25 2.75 1.11FEDERALBNK 89.65 1.05 1.19FINCABLES 592.85 -0.55 -0.09FINOLEXIND 613.8 5.95 0.98FLFL 436.5 6.9 1.61FORBESCO 2528.95 46.5 1.87FORCEMOT 2463.85 -32.3 -1.29FORTIS 148.2 2.15 1.47FRETAIL 512 17.15 3.47FSL 65.1 0 0GAIL 393.7 14.8 3.91GDL 182.1 -3.45 -1.86GEPIL 781.5 1.95 0.25GESHIP 300 -9.3 -3.01GET&D 279.55 -0.1 -0.04GHCL 243.6 -0.65 -0.27GICHSGFIN 342.4 0.4 0.12GICRE 338.5 3.7 1.11GILLETTE 6530.8 -19.35 -0.3GLAXO 3283.5 -11.8 -0.36GLENMARK 583.2 -0.2 -0.03GMDCLTD 118.85 -0.55 -0.46GMRINFRA 17.6 -0.2 -1.12GNFC 404.55 -2.3 -0.57GODFRYPHLP 839.75 -3 -0.36GODREJAGRO 607.1 1.3 0.21GODREJCP 1331.2 32.6 2.51GODREJIND 610 5.4 0.89GODREJPROP 705.2 -12.65 -1.76GPPL 107.85 -1.8 -1.64GRANULES 106.5 1.8 1.72GRAPHITE 1106.7 8.8 0.8GRASIM 999.05 10.95 1.11GREAVESCOT 150.7 2.85 1.93GREENPLY 195.1 -2.35 -1.19GRINDWELL 511 5.7 1.13GRUH 316.95 -5.7 -1.77GSFC 110.6 -0.95 -0.85

GSKCONS 6722.05 -59.15 -0.87GSPL 197.35 -2.75 -1.37GUJALKALI 553.3 -1.45 -0.26GUJFLUORO 812.25 43 5.59GUJGAS 778.8 6.4 0.83GULFOILLUB 840 -12.8 -1.5HATSUN 704.4 27.85 4.12HAVELLS 681.15 -3.35 -0.49HCC 12.43 0.72 6.15HCLTECH 996 -0.5 -0.05HDFC 1890.9 -50.75 -2.61HDFCBANK 2075.6 -13.55 -0.65HDFCLIFE 461.65 -6.35 -1.36HDIL 30.75 4.75 18.27HEG 4200.1 10.7 0.26HEIDELBERG 157.3 -3.05 -1.9HERITGFOOD 587.7 -1.5 -0.25HEROMOTOCO 3286.1 23.1 0.71HEXAWARE 482.5 -0.55 -0.11HFCL 24.35 0.1 0.41HIMATSEIDE 278.55 -5.15 -1.82HINDALCO 216.25 -5.15 -2.33HINDCOPPER 60.4 -1.1 -1.79HINDPETRO 266.3 -3.75 -1.39HINDUNILVR 1735.2 -11.9 -0.68HINDZINC 276.15 -9 -3.16HSCL 133.1 -3.6 -2.63HSIL 308.9 -6.45 -2.05HUDCO 54.6 -0.2 -0.36IBREALEST* 146.25 -3.8 -2.53IBULHSGFIN 1259 -34.5 -2.67IBVENTURES 757.55 12.9 1.73ICICIBANK 334.45 2.15 0.65ICICIGI 787.45 7.7 0.99ICICIPRULI 387.5 -11.7 -2.93ICIL 79.7 3.35 4.39ICRA 3610 -51.85 -1.42IDBI 61.4 1.1 1.82IDEA 50.55 -1.55 -2.98IDFC 49.85 -0.05 -0.1IDFCBANK 45.25 0.75 1.69IEX 1641.4 21.75 1.34IFBIND 1196.85 46.95 4.08IFCI 16.05 -0.2 -1.23IGL 276.95 -7.9 -2.77IL&FSTRANS 33 -1.3 -3.79INDHOTEL 123.85 -1.1 -0.88INDIACEM 111.95 0.95 0.86INDIANB 337.75 -3.95 -1.16INDIGO 1051 1.25 0.12INDUSINDBK 1983.15 -14.95 -0.75INFIBEAM 197.7 -1 -0.5INFRATEL 282.55 -1.05 -0.37INFY 1425.3 16.55 1.17INOXLEISUR 230.2 -5.4 -2.29INOXWIND 100 3.95 4.11INTELLECT 249.65 2.8 1.13IOB 15.34 -0.22 -1.41IOC 158.55 -2.05 -1.28IPCALAB 732.7 -4.55 -0.62IRB 190 -0.35 -0.18ISGEC 6192.05 5.5 0.09ITC 306.8 -0.45 -0.15ITDC 394.6 -7.65 -1.9ITDCEM 134.2 0.45 0.34ITI 85.75 -1.95 -2.22J&KBANK 57.4 -1.4 -2.38JAGRAN 115.75 0.6 0.52JAICORPLTD 153.85 -3.3 -2.1JAMNAAUTO 82 -0.75 -0.91JBCHEPHARM 310.75 1.25 0.4JCHAC 2019 -46.9 -2.27JETAIRWAYS 300.45 17.15 6.05JINDALSAW 78 -1.4 -1.76JINDALSTEL 192 -7.7 -3.86

JISLJALEQS 75.85 -7.35 -8.83JKCEMENT 777.4 -0.5 -0.06JKIL 221.4 -0.15 -0.07JKLAKSHMI 320.9 -3.45 -1.06JKTYRE 129.75 1.2 0.93JMFINANCIL 125.25 0.35 0.28JPASSOCIAT 13.11 0.11 0.85JSL 62.4 -0.05 -0.08JSLHISAR 128.4 -3.5 -2.65JSWENERGY 68.6 -0.3 -0.44JSWSTEEL 328.3 -12.1 -3.55JUBILANT 721.75 6 0.84JUBLFOOD 1509.65 3.1 0.21JUSTDIAL 574.35 0.7 0.12JYOTHYLAB 221.9 -0.45 -0.2KAJARIACER 409.1 -6.45 -1.55KALPATPOWR 365.6 2.85 0.79KANSAINER 507.1 -2.45 -0.48KEC 296.1 -4.35 -1.45KEI 407.8 14.35 3.65KIRLOSENG 248.55 -2.5 -1KNRCON 228.9 0.75 0.33KOTAKBANK 1244.9 -46.7 -3.62KPIT 297 1.85 0.63KPRMILL 618.7 -6.3 -1.01KRBL 350.45 -4.55 -1.28KSCL 615.2 -4.9 -0.79KTKBANK 118.5 -0.5 -0.42KWALITY 22.31 1.06 4.99L&TFH 176.25 -2.8 -1.56LAKSHVILAS 92.9 0.2 0.22LALPATHLAB 968.05 4.15 0.43LAOPALA 250.2 -1.3 -0.52LAURUSLABS 440.3 -7.05 -1.58LAXMIMACH 7041.25 -78.1 -1.1LICHSGFIN 551.35 4.7 0.86LINDEINDIA 416.9 0.2 0.05LT 1232.95 -20.55 -1.64LTI 1800.3 26.4 1.49LTTS 1535.1 0.65 0.04LUPIN 849.35 16.85 2.02LUXIND 1825.85 -63.1 -3.34M&M 949.2 -2.85 -0.3M&MFIN 473.85 -13.85 -2.84MAGMA 137.4 -2.35 -1.68MAHABANK 12.86 0.03 0.23MAHINDCIE 253.1 -1.9 -0.75MAHLIFE 491.85 -1 -0.2MANAPPURAM 102.75 -0.75 -0.72MANPASAND 138.05 6.55 4.98MARICO 362.85 -1.2 -0.33MARUTI 9201.95 72.1 0.79MAXINDIA 90.25 4.95 5.8MCX 858.3 2.65 0.31MEGH 90.8 0.1 0.11MFSL 465.15 -2.75 -0.59MGL 928 -12.6 -1.34MHRIL 259.35 -6.55 -2.46MINDACORP 152.75 -1.6 -1.04MINDAIND 416.2 -0.85 -0.2MINDTREE 1037.05 30.5 3.03MMTC 32.25 -1.15 -3.44MOIL 171.25 -1.35 -0.78MONSANTO 2885.15 -4.7 -0.16MOTHERSUMI 300.45 2.6 0.87MOTILALOFS 891.25 -12.65 -1.4MPHASIS 1187.3 20.5 1.76MRF 73070.8 -756.3 -1.02MRPL 80.3 -0.6 -0.74MUTHOOTFIN 412.1 1.85 0.45NATCOPHARM 752.15 -0.85 -0.11NATIONALUM 68.05 -2.35 -3.34NAUKRI 1426.9 -48.8 -3.31NAVINFLUOR 671.5 -0.55 -0.08NAVKARCORP 123.35 -3.5 -2.76

NAVNETEDUL 123.1 0.65 0.53NBCC 75.25 2.9 4.01NBVENTURES 124.6 1.7 1.38NCC 101.35 1.55 1.55NESTLEIND 10868.2 -16.95 -0.16NETWORK18 42.15 -0.95 -2.2NH 248.25 2.55 1.04NHPC 24.9 -0.1 -0.4NIACL 270 2.35 0.88NIITTECH 1314.55 -20.4 -1.53NILKAMAL 1825.05 29.1 1.62NLCINDIA 75.25 -2.65 -3.4NMDC 101.5 -0.3 -0.29NOCIL 173.05 0.4 0.23NTPC 158.25 1.3 0.83OBEROIRLTY 470.4 -9.2 -1.92OFSS 4018 1.85 0.05OIL 205.05 -2.85 -1.37OMAXE 220.9 -0.55 -0.25ONGC 164.1 -2.25 -1.35ORIENTBANK 76.75 -1.1 -1.41ORIENTCEM 115.1 -1.1 -0.95PAGEIND 33241.35 1.25 0PARAGMILK 292.4 -8.5 -2.82PCJEWELLER 98.95 -2.1 -2.08PEL 2711.05 -126.2 -4.45PERSISTENT 868.5 0.15 0.02PETRONET 218.65 -3.5 -1.58PFC 81.25 -2.05 -2.46PFIZER 3031.25 135.9 4.69PFS 16.65 0.15 0.91PGHH 10608.7 -202.35 -1.87PHILIPCARB 252.6 -11.2 -4.25PHOENIXLTD 634.55 -16.9 -2.59PIDILITIND 1120.5 -2.2 -0.2PIIND 771.05 -11.3 -1.44PNB 81.7 1.8 2.25PNBHOUSING 1261.75 -17.05 -1.33PNCINFRA 166.7 -0.7 -0.42POWERGRID 187.3 0.1 0.05PRESTIGE 252.75 -0.3 -0.12PRSMJOHNSN 108 2.6 2.47

PTC 83.35 0.25 0.3PVR 1292.95 -20.4 -1.55QUESS 1011.45 -7.45 -0.73RADICO 403.65 -13.95 -3.34RAIN 218.55 10.4 5RAJESHEXPO 643.95 -26.45 -3.95RALLIS 190.45 -2.95 -1.53RAMCOCEM 657.55 -8.35 -1.25RATNAMANI 842.65 -7.05 -0.83RAYMOND 770.85 8.45 1.11RBLBANK 572.25 8.35 1.48RCF 68.35 0 0RCOM 18.54 -2.15 -10.39RECLTD 108.9 -3.45 -3.07REDINGTON 92.9 2.6 2.88RELAXO 836.05 -9.3 -1.1RELCAPITAL 427.2 -9.6 -2.2RELIANCE 1200.2 -10.75 -0.89RELINFRA 402.65 -6.35 -1.55REPCOHOME 603.2 -8 -1.31RNAM 236.45 6.15 2.67RNAVAL 17.16 -0.9 -4.98RPOWER 32.2 -0.6 -1.83SADBHAV 267 -3.2 -1.18SAIL 74.35 -2.9 -3.75SANOFI 6334.55 -12.9 -0.2SBILIFE 649.2 -9.05 -1.37SBIN 292.7 -2 -0.68SCHAEFFLER 5324.55 -68.65 -1.27SCHNEIDER 97.45 4.15 4.45SCI 57.8 -0.45 -0.77SFL 1646.8 45.75 2.86SHANKARA 1651.9 14.05 0.86SHARDACROP 387.2 4.1 1.07SHILPAMED 438.8 16.1 3.81SHK 203.1 -1.65 -0.81SHOPERSTOP 550.2 7.55 1.39SHREECEM 17004.95 -271.7 -1.57SHRIRAMCIT 2014.9 8.4 0.42SIEMENS 1006.3 -1.05 -0.1SIS 1103.2 0.8 0.07SJVN 29.55 0.15 0.51SKFINDIA 1719.95 7.25 0.42SOBHA 470.75 -23.25 -4.71SOLARINDS 1228.8 -18.95 -1.52SOMANYCERA 468.2 -9.45 -1.98

SONATSOFTW 356.9 31 9.51SOUTHBANK 18.05 0.1 0.56SPARC 387.45 3.5 0.91SPICEJET 86.75 -1.95 -2.2SREINFRA 47.35 -2.7 -5.39SRF 1960.95 28.55 1.48SRTRANSFIN 1320.25 0.05 0STARCEMENT 112.6 1.4 1.26STRTECH 360.75 -2 -0.55SUDARSCHEM 432.3 -1.7 -0.39SUNCLAYLTD 3976.55 -168.45 -4.06SUNDRMFAST 648.05 3.9 0.61SUNPHARMA 619.6 17.95 2.98SUNTECK 460.6 -2.3 -0.5SUNTV 786.25 6.35 0.81SUPPETRO 271.5 -3.05 -1.11SUPRAJIT 247.35 -10.85 -4.2SUPREMEIND 1182.3 2.25 0.19SUVEN 230.35 -6 -2.54SUZLON 7.18 0.01 0.14SWANENERGY 159.75 1.9 1.2SYMPHONY 1069.1 -21.85 -2SYNDIBANK 37.85 -0.75 -1.94SYNGENE 576.15 -1.2 -0.21TAKE 206.7 -1.45 -0.7TATACHEM 695 21.8 3.24TATACOFFEE 110.5 -0.3 -0.27TATACOMM 557.65 -8.45 -1.49TATAELXSI 1435.6 1.25 0.09TATAGLOBAL 239.1 1.55 0.65TATAINVEST 793.9 -3.05 -0.38TATAMETALI 619.45 -1.1 -0.18TATAMOTORS 251.15 2.45 0.99TATAMTRDVR 134.6 -0.8 -0.59TATAPOWER 67.2 -1.55 -2.25TATASTEEL 568.1 -10.8 -1.87TCS 2008.75 7.5 0.37TEAMLEASE 2539.6 -13.55 -0.53TECHM 667.1 -4.05 -0.6TEJASNET 282.95 -1.8 -0.63TEXRAIL 72.85 2.4 3.41THERMAX 1019.55 -15.55 -1.5

THOMASCOOK 249.15 -7.2 -2.81THYROCARE 610.3 -2.4 -0.39TIFHL 609.15 -1.65 -0.27TIMETECHNO 143.4 -1.95 -1.34TIMKEN 712.9 3.5 0.49TITAN 919.25 -6.65 -0.72TNPL 320.6 34.4 12.02TORNTPHARM 1699.15 -14 -0.82TORNTPOWER 230.85 2.45 1.07TRENT 367.6 8.4 2.34TRIDENT 59.3 0.15 0.25TRITURBINE 117.15 -1.7 -1.43TTKPRESTIG 6237.2 70.3 1.14TV18BRDCST 47.25 -0.65 -1.36TVSMOTOR 519.3 -0.05 -0.01TVSSRICHAK 2885.35 8.3 0.29TVTODAY 439.45 4.65 1.07UBL 1395.35 60.45 4.53UCOBANK 19.15 0.35 1.86UFLEX 303.7 8.8 2.98UJJIVAN 343.25 -1.7 -0.49ULTRACEMCO 4212.55 -83.7 -1.95UNICHEMLAB 218.45 -1.8 -0.82UNIONBANK 84.65 -0.65 -0.76UPL 610.5 0.45 0.07VBL 794 10.55 1.35VEDL 208.55 -6.55 -3.05VENKYS 2973.25 -10.95 -0.37VGUARD 215.2 0.5 0.23VIJAYABANK 61.8 0.7 1.15VINATIORGA 1327.2 -26.65 -1.97VIPIND 581.25 1.8 0.31VMART 2875.8 3.35 0.12VOLTAS 606.7 -8.25 -1.34VSTIND 2947.15 -43.2 -1.44VTL 1134.4 -18.2 -1.58WABAG 390.65 -5.7 -1.44WABCOINDIA 6714.15 -32.25 -0.48WELCORP 126.1 -0.8 -0.63WELSPUNIND 61.8 -1.25 -1.98WHIRLPOOL 1730.55 -24.2 -1.38WIPRO 279.85 -4.55 -1.6WOCKPHARMA 618.35 8.4 1.38YESBANK 378.7 -3.05 -0.8ZEEL 501.2 -12.45 -2.42ZENSARTECH 1423.1 163.7 13ZYDUSWELL 1404.05 -11.35 -0.8

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGEGAIL 379.7 399.4 379.1 393.5 13.7DRREDDY 2,275.35 2,361.45 2,270.85 2,357.60 79.15SUNPHARMA 610 621.7 602.2 621 19.2LUPIN 833.9 851.7 826 849.2 12.45INFY 1,414.95 1,434.90 1,411.25 1,429.00 20.7BHARTIARTL 366.55 374 365.2 372.3 5.3GRASIM 986.65 1,009.95 981.75 1,000.20 13.6NTPC 156.9 159 156.15 159 2.1TATAMOTORS 245.8 252.8 245.25 251.8 3AXISBANK 614.9 635 611.25 625.3 7.25CIPLA 644.7 660 634.25 649.95 7.2ICICIBANK 329.55 339.2 328.75 335.85 3.4BAJFINANCE 2,832.00 2,908.00 2,822.05 2,856.20 26HEROMOTOCO 3,262.00 3,304.45 3,235.10 3,295.00 28.65MARUTI 9,124.00 9,235.95 9,085.00 9,202.20 69.6BAJAJ-AUTO 2,640.00 2,678.00 2,630.00 2,665.90 19.5BPCL 380 384 375.25 378.3 1.65TCS 2,000.30 2,020.05 1,995.00 2,009.10 5.55ASIANPAINT 1,401.00 1,410.00 1,387.00 1,398.95 3.85M&M 945 965.25 944 950.7 0.25COALINDIA 280 286.3 280 282.6 -0.05ITC 307.9 308.5 305.1 307.45 -0.45UPL 612 621.9 607.15 609.5 -0.95HINDUNILVR 1,741.00 1,751.95 1,730.60 1,740.95 -3.3POWERGRID 187.4 190 187.1 187.45 -0.45HCLTECH 997.8 1,014.80 992.3 997.3 -2.4TECHM 675 680.7 664.25 669 -3.8BAJAJFINSV 7,090.00 7,200.00 7,046.10 7,071.05 -41.65INDUSINDBK 1,987.55 1,994.90 1,974.15 1,985.00 -12.6SBIN 293.5 298.4 290.25 293 -1.9TITAN 924 929 917 919.6 -6HDFCBANK 2,083.00 2,086.70 2,066.40 2,075.40 -13.7ADANIPORTS 372 374.1 367.3 370.05 -3.1EICHERMOT 28,900.00 29,470.00 28,609.05 28,750.00 -242.35RELIANCE 1,203.25 1,216.00 1,195.50 1,200.00 -10.6YESBANK 381.2 384.85 374.2 378.95 -3.55INFRATEL 282 283.45 279 280.9 -3ONGC 165.9 166.6 163.85 164.35 -1.9IOC 161.6 162 158.15 158.7 -2HINDPETRO 273.8 273.85 265.25 266.4 -3.65LT 1,247.90 1,262.65 1,226.00 1,233.00 -20.25WIPRO 285 285 278.05 279.5 -5.55TATASTEEL 570 576.7 563.25 567.6 -11.35ULTRACEMCO 4,285.00 4,285.05 4,200.05 4,212.05 -87.05HINDALCO 217.6 218.3 213.5 216.35 -5.1IBULHSGFIN 1,280.25 1,286.95 1,251.35 1,258.60 -32.45HDFC 1,936.50 1,936.50 1,888.55 1,892.20 -49.3ZEEL 513 515 493.2 500.65 -13.3VEDL 208 210.9 205.35 209 -6.1KOTAKBANK 1,270.00 1,272.00 1,242.75 1,245.00 -48

SE 500B

VITAL STATS

GOLD SILVERMumbai 31176 40900Delhi 30588 40900Kolkata 31208 40900

BSE: SENSEX

Open

High

Low

Current value

Previous close

Change (Pts)

Change (%)

70.23

89.37

79.97

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LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018 world 12

PTI nWASHINGTON

Donald Trump has revokedthe security clearance of

former CIA director JohnBrennan, one of the USPresident’s staunchest critics,accusing him of “lying” and forhis “erratic conduct and behav-iour.” The 62-year-old former topintelligence official served in theprevious Obama administration.He was the Central IntelligenceAgency (CIA) director from2013 to 2017.

White House Press SecretarySarah Sanders read out a state-ment from Trump during a pressbriefing in which the Presidentsaid he has decided to revokeBrennan’s security clearance sincehe recently has “leveraged his sta-tus as a former high-ranking offi-cial with access to highly sensi-tive information to make a seriesof unfounded and outrageousallegations, wild outbursts on theInternet and television, about thisadministration.”

Brennan tweeted that hissecurity clearance being revokedis part of a broader effort byTrump to “suppress freedom ofspeech and punish critics. Itshould gravely worry allAmericans, including intelli-gence professionals, about thecost of speaking out. My princi-ples are worth far more thanclearances. I will not relent.”

Just a day before, Brennanstrongly criticised Trump forusing derogatory words againstformer White House aideOmarosa Manigault Newman.

When Trump addressedNewman as “that dog” in atweet, Brennan replied it is“astounding how often you fail tolive up to minimum standards ofdecency, civility and probity.Seems like you will never under-stand what it means to be presi-dent, nor what it takes to be agood, decent and honest person.So disheartening, so dangerousfor our Nation.” Trump said inthe statement that historically,former heads of intelligence andlaw enforcement agencies havebeen allowed to retain access to

classified information after theirgovernment service so that theycan consult with their successorsregarding matters about whichthey may have special insightsand as a professional courtesy.

“Neither of these justifica-tions supports Brennan’s contin-ued access to classified informa-tion. First, at this point in myadministration, any benefits thatsenior officials might glean fromconsultations with Brennan arenow outweighed by the risksposed by his erratic conduct andbehaviour.

“Second, that conduct andbehaviour has tested and farexceeded the limits of any pro-fessional courtesy that may havebeen due to him,” the Presidentsaid.

Trump added Brennan hasa “history” that calls into questionhis “objectivity and credibility.

He cited a 2014 incidentwhen Brennan had denied toCongress that CIA officials,under his supervision, hadimproperly accessed the com-puter files of congressionalstaffers and had told the Councilof Foreign Relations that the CIAwould never do such a thing.

However the CIA’s InspectorGeneral had contradictedBrennan directly, concludingunequivocally that agency offi-cials had indeed improperlyaccessed congressional staffers’files.

More recently, Trump saidBrennan told Congress that theintelligence community did notmake use of the so-called Steeledossier in an assessment regard-

ing the 2016 election, an assertioncontradicted by at least two othersenior officials in the intelli-gence community and all of thefacts.

“Brennan’s lying and recentconduct, characterised byincreasingly frensied commen-tary, is wholly inconsistent withaccess to the nation’s most close-ly held secrets and (facilitates) thevery aim of our adversaries,which is to sow division andchaos,” Trump said.

The President said he hasalso begun to review the moregeneral question of the access toclassified information by gov-ernment officials and is evaluat-ing action against former direc-tor of national intelligence JamesClapper, former FBI directorJames Comey, former head of theNSA Michael Hayden, formeracting attorney general SallyYates and former presidentBarack Obama’s NSA Susan Riceand others.

“Security clearances for thosewho still have them may berevoked, and those who havealready lost their security clear-ance may not be able to have itreinstated,” Trump said in thestatement read out by Sanders.

Asked if Trump is targetinghis political critics by revokingtheir security clearances, Sandersreplied in the negative.

“No. If there were oth-ers that weren’t, that we deemednecessary, we would certainlytake a look and review those aswell,” Sanders said when asked ifTrump is going after his politicalopponents.

Trump revokes security

clearance of ex-CIA dir

Trump’s war on mediadraws editorials innearly 350 US outletsPTI n WASHINGTON

In an unprecedented move,nearly 350 media outlets today

launched a coordinated cam-paign decrying US PresidentDonald Trump’s frequent attackson journalists and his attempt toportray some news organisa-tions as enemies of the Americanpeople. Trump has stepped up hisattacks on the media in recentweeks and the White House lastmonth barred a CNN reporterfrom covering a public event aftershe asked Trump an “inappro-priate” question.

The Boston Globe made thecall last week for a nationwidedenouncement of PresidentTrump’s “dirty war” against themedia, using the hashtag#EnemyOfNone. Each newspa-per participating in the effortwrote its own separate editorialagainst the US President’s anti-media comments.Trump has fre-quently derided unfavourablemedia reports as “fake news” andattacked journalists as “enemiesof the people”.

The Trump Twitter Archivesays he has tweeted 281 times sofar using the term “fakenews”.Replacing a free mediawith a state-run media has alwaysbeen a first order of business forany corrupt regime taking overa country, The Boston Globesaid in its editorial.

“Today in theUnited States we have apresident who has cre-ated a mantra thatmembers of the mediawho do not blatantly sup-port the policies of the cur-rent US administration arethe “enemy of the people.”This is one of the many lies thathave been thrown out by thispresident much like an old-time charlatan threw out“magic” dust or water ona hopeful crowd,” thestinging editorial com-mented. The EditorialBoard of The NewYork Times noted

that this year, some of the mostdamaging attacks came fromgovernment officials. “Criticisingthe news media — for under-playing or overplaying stories, forgetting something wrong — isentirely right. News reporters andeditors are human, and makemistakes. Correcting them iscore to our job.

“But insisting that truthsyou don’t like are “fake news” isdangerous to the lifeblood ofdemocracy. And calling journal-ists the “enemy of the people” isdangerous, period,” it said. Theseattacks on the press are particu-larly threatening to journalists innations with a less secure rule oflaw and to smaller publicationsin the United States, alreadybuffeted by the industry’s eco-nomic crisis, the influential papernoted.

The New York Post - hard-ly a left-leaning paper - answeredthe Globe’s call by saying “Whoare we to disagree?” adding: “Itmay be frustrating to argue thatjust because we print inconve-nient truths doesn’t mean thatwe’re fake news, but being a jour-nalist isn’t a popularity contest.The Philadelphia Inquirer said itscity was the birthplace of USdemocracy, writing: “If the pressis not free from reprisal, punish-ment or suspicion for unpopular

views or informa-tion, neither is the

country. Neither areits people”.

Chinese official to visit US toresume talks to end trade warPTI n BEIJING

Amid a stalemate in thetrade war with the US,

China will send a top official toWashington this month toresume the high-level dialogueto resolve the deadlock overPresident Donald Trump’sdemand to drastically reducethe USD 375 billion tradedeficit.

Wang Shouwen, vice-min-ister of commerce, will lead adelegation to the US at the endof August to discuss bilateraltrade issues with a team led byDavid Malpass, secretary oftreasury for internationalaffairs, the Chinese CommerceMinistry said in a statement onThursday.

The initiative to resumetalks followed a spate of tit-for-tat tariffs slapped by both thecounties.

China, which has a tradesurplus of USD 375 billion inits USD 636 billion bilateraltrade with US, is trying to retal-iate in the same measurethough its officials maintainthat Beijing is reluctantly fol-lowing the suit.

China has been reiteratingthat it opposes unilateralismand trade protectionism of

Trump and will not accept anyunilateral trade restrictions.

“China welcomes dialogueand communication on thebasis of equity, equality andintegrity,” the official state-ment added.

Chinese Vice Premier LiuHe held talks with USCommerce Minister WilburRoss in Beijing in June.

The visit of the Chinesedelegation headed by the ViceMinister unlike in the pastwhen it was led by VicePremier Liu comes in the back-drop of the end of annualinformal consultative meet-ings between top Chinese lead-ers at summer resort Beidaihe.

The leaders of the rulingCommunist Party of Chinameet every year around Augustto discuss a host of majorissues.

Beijing and Washingtonstarted the trade war in July thisyear each imposing 25 percent tariffs on USD 34 billionof each other’s exports.

Washington is due toimpose tariffs on another USD16 billion of Chinese goods onAugust 23, and China haswarned that it will retaliate tothat move.There have been nohigh-level talks between the

two sides since July, but HongKong-based the South ChinaMorning Post quoted officialsas saying that that the twocountries made unofficial con-tact late last month to explorethe possibility of resumingtalks. Liu Weidong, a US affairsexpert at the Chinese Academyof Social Sciences, said a keyaspect ofWang’s visit was tocheck whether further formaldialogue between the twonations was possible.

“The main purpose is tosee whether both sides arereally interested in having fur-ther dialogue. If both sides areinterested, then there will befollow-up actions,” Liu toldthe Post.

Wang Yiwei, a professor atRenmin University’s interna-tional studies, said Wang’s tripfollows the Communist Party’sannual closed door meeting atthe Beidahe resort, where thetrade war was likely to havebeen one of the main topics ofdiscussion.

“It is possible that Chinamay stress to the US that Chinawill continue reform,” he said.“China realises how serious thetrade war with the US is anddoes not want a more seriousconfrontation,” he said.

US blacklists Russian and Chinese

companies for breaking N Korea

Washington (AFP): The US Treasury announcedsanctions on Russian and Chinese companies forviolating the economic embargo on North Koreaas Washington seeks to maintain pressure onPyongyang over its nuclear program. The Treasuryaccused China-based Dalian Sun Moon StarInternational Logistics Trading Co and itsSingapore-based affiliate, SINSMS Pte, of falsify-ing documents to facilitate shipments of alcoholand cigarettes to North Korea.

Those shipments helped fuel what the Treasuryalleged was a huge “illicit” cigarette trade earningthe Pyongyang regime USD 1 billion a year. It alsoblacklisted Russia-based Profinet Pte for violatingUN sanctions by providing loading and refuelingservices to sanctioned North Korean-flaggedships at three eastern Russia ports.

Also named was Profinet director generalVasili Aleksandrovich Kolchanov, whom theTreasury said “was personally involved” in deals

with the North Koreans. “Treasury reminds theshipping industry... of the significant risks posedby North Korea’s shipping practices,” the Treasurysaid in a statement on Wednesday.

The Chinese trading company acknowledgedthat it has shipped cigarettes and alcohol to NorthKorea but denied any wrongdoing. “We shippedthem through China customs clearance, it’s all legal,and we have all the necessary legal formalities,” thedirector of Dalian Sun Moon Star InternationalLogistics Trading, Liang Ye, told AFP by telephone.“We can only suspend our business now,” Liangsaid.

“The company might go bankrupt. The sanc-tions have a huge impact on us.” Despite havingopened direct talks with Pyongyang, Washingtoncontinues to enforce the embargo on trade withNorth Korea in order to put pressure on the coun-try to end its nuclear weapons and ballistic mis-sile programme.

Malaysia court rules North Koreaassassination trial can proceedAFP n SHAH ALAM

AMalaysian court ruled onThursday the murder trial

of two women accused ofassassinating the half-brotherof North Korea’s leader canproceed — in a blow to theirfamilies who insist the pairwere tricked into carrying outthe dramatic hit. After hearingprosecutors’ case, Judge AzmiAriffin said there was sufficientevidence to support a murdercharge against Siti Aisyah fromIndonesia and Doan ThiHuong from Vietnam, accusedof murdering Kim Jong Namwith nerve agent VX at KualaLumpur airport.

“I must therefore call uponthem to enter their defence ontheir respective charges,” thejudge said in his ruling to theShah Alam High Court, out-side Kuala Lumpur. Thewomen looked shocked andtearful as the ruling was hand-ed down.

If the judge had decidedthe evidence was not sufficient,he could have chosen to acquitthe women.

Aisyah’s lawyer Gooi SoonSeng told reporters: “We aredeeply disappointed with theruling... We will do our best atthe defence stage.” Their fam-ilies insist the women weretricked into carrying out theCold War-style killing, andhad been hopeful they wouldbe acquitted, although stateprosecutors insisted they had

a strong case.The women are accused of

killing Kim Jong Nam — onceseen as an heir to the NorthKorean leadership and a rivalto current leader Kim Jong Un— by smearing toxic VX on hisface in February last year as hewaited to board a flight toMacau.The pair, who facedeath by hanging if foundguilty, claim they fell victim toan elaborate plot hatched byNorth Korean agents andbelieved they were taking partin a prank for a reality TVshow when they attacked Kim

with a chemical classified as aweapon of mass destruction.

But describing the murderas like something out of aJames Bond movie, prosecu-tors argued the pair were well-trained assassins who knewexactly what they were doing.

During months of hear-ings, the court has been toldthat four North Koreans —who are formally accusedalongside the women of com-mitting the murder — recruit-ed the pair and were the mas-terminds, providing them withthe poison on the day of the

murder before flying out of thecountry. The defence teamshave argued the women aresimply scapegoats, with theauthorities unable to catch thereal killers, the North Koreans,and therefore desperate tosecure some kind of convictionin the case.

Despite the evidenceagainst them, the women’slawyers believed that prosecu-tors had not shown theyintended to kill Kim, who hadbeen living in exile for a decadesince falling out of favour withthe North’s ruling family.

Gooi Soon Seng, lawyer for Indonesian defendant Siti Aisyah speaks during a press conference after a court hearing at Shah AlamHigh Court in Shah Alam, Malaysia on Thursday. AP

Ibrahim Keita re-elected

Mali Prez with landslide

Bamako (AFP): MalianPresident Ibrahim BoubacarKeita has been re-elected for afive-year term after winning67.17 per cent of the vote in arunoff, the governmentannounced on Thursday.

Opposition challenger andformer finance ministerSoumaila Cisse, who also ranagainst Keita in 2013, won32.83 per cent on Sunday,Local Government MinisterMohamed Ag Erlaf said onnational television, giving pro-visional figures.

Turnout was low, at 34.5%.

Violence, low public enthusi-asm and accusations of fraudmarred the vote. Cisse, 68, onMonday said he would rejectthe results. Keita, 73, will takeoffice on September 4, withhopes he can strengthen a2015 peace accord betweenthe government, government-allied groups and formerTuareg rebels.

Mali, a landlocked nationhome to at least 20 ethnicgroups where the majority ofpeople live on less than USD 2(1.76 euros) a day, has battledjihadist attacks and intercom-

munal violence for years.Islamist attacks have spread

from the north to the centreand south of the vast countryand spilled into neighbouringBurkina Faso and Niger, ofteninflaming communal conflicts.

On Wednesday, the oppo-sition claimed a technicianworking for Cisse was tor-tured while detained by secu-rity forces for three days.

Internet access was cut onmobile networks in Bamakotoday ahead of the announce-ment, AFP journalists wit-nessed.

IS claims responsibilityfor deadly Kabul attack AP n KABUL

The Islamic State grouphas claimed responsibili-

ty for the horrific suicidebombing the previous daythat targeted a Shiite area ofthe Afghan capital, killing 34students.

The claim of responsibil-ity was posted today on theIS-affiliated Aamaq newsagency.

IS says its bomber, iden-tified as “martyrdom-seek-

ing brother Abdul Raouf al-Khorasani” carried out theattack, allegedly killing orwounding more than 200 stu-dents. Afghanistan’s HealthMinistr y has released arevised casualty toll, saying 34students were killed and 57were wounded.

Afghanistan’s IS affiliate isknown as The Islamic State inKhorasan Province. Khorasanis the ancient name for anarea that encompassed partsof present-day Iran,Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Afghans pray during the funeral of a victim who died in Wednesday's deadly suicide bombing that targeted a training class in aprivate building in the Shiite neighborhood of Dasht-i Barcha, in western Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday. AP

In this Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018 file photo, Malian incumbent President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, arrives to cast his ballot duringthe Presidential second round election in Bamako, Mali. AP

Two mosquesattacked withcatapults in UKLondon: Two mosques in Britain’sBirmingham were targeted withheavy-duty catapults and ball bear-ings overnight, police said onThursday. Armed police officershave been deployed outside themosques, they said. West MidlandsPolice were called to MasjidQamarul Islam in Small Heath areaof the city at around 10pm (localtime) and then to Al-Hijrah mosquenearby around 20 minutes later.

Police said they had recoveredsome ball bearings which appearedto have been fired from catapults,which smashed windows duringevening prayers. “Firearms officerswere deployed as a precaution, butthe bearings recovered are thoughtto be from a heavy-duty catapult,”West Midlands Police said in a state-ment.

“The reason for the attacksaren’t clear at this stage, but officersare continuing to patrol the area toreassure worshippers and local res-idents,” the statement said.ImamUsman Hussain, from MasjidQamarul Islam, said people were“frightened” as windows weresmashed.

“Worshippers thought theywere under attack by someone witha gun. We heard a loud bang, peo-ple were very frightened, there wasa sense of panic, but we don’t knowwhat the motive was,” he said.Theincidents come in the wake of 29-year-old Sudanese-origin BritishMuslim, Salih Khater, being arrest-ed on suspicion of terror offencesin London after he smashedthrough security barriers outsideParliament in London on Tuesday,injuring three people.

‘World’s oldest cheese found inside ancient Egyptian tomb’

Cairo (PTI): Scientists claimto have discovered the world’s old-est cheese inside an Egyptiantomb dating back over 3,000 years.

Archeologists from theUniversity of Catania in Italyfound broken jars inside the tombof Ptahmes - mayor of Memphisin Egypt during the 13th centuryBC - which was initially unearthedin 1885. After being lost underdrifting sands, the tombwas rediscovered in 2010,according to the studypublished in the journalAnalytical Chemistry. Onejar contained a solidified

whitish mass, as well as canvas fab-ric that might have covered the jaror may have been used to preserveits contents. Enrico Greco, from theUniversity of Catania, and col-leagues from Cairo University inEgypt, analysed the whitish sub-stance to determine its identity.

After dissolving the sample,the researchers

purified itsprotein con-stituents andanalysed themwith liquidchromatogra-

phy and mass spec-

trometry. Liquid chromatographyis a technique used to separate asample into its individual parts,while as mass spectrometry mea-sures the masses within a sample.The peptides detected by thesetechniques show the sample was adairy product made from cow milkand sheep or goat milk.

The characteristics of the can-vas fabric, which indicate it wassuitable for containing a solidrather than a liquid, and theabsence of other specific markers,support the conclusion that thedairy product was a solid cheese,researchers said.

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018 world 13

Asia Pacific Group asks Pak

to curb terror financing

PTI n LAHORE

An international delegationmonitoring Pakistan’s com-

mitments to the global financialwatchdog FATF has urgedIslamabad to make terrorfinancing and money launder-ing extraditable offences, amedia report said on Thursday.

The Asia Pacific Group(APG) on Money Laundering,which is currently in Pakistan,will submit a report to the Paris-based Financial Action TaskForce (FATF) which placedPakistan on its ‘grey list’ in June.The APG’s Mutual Evaluationreport can play a critical role inretaining or removing Pakistanfrom the list after Septembernext year.

Islamabad needs to complyby the end of September nextyear with a 10-point action planit committed to the FATF inJune to combat terror financingand money laundering to getout of the grey list or else fallinto the black list.

Placement on the grey listhurts a country’s economy aswell as its international stand-ing.The Express Tribunereported that delegation yes-terday urged Pakistan to enactappropriate laws, enabling localofficials to act upon requests offoreign countries to freeze ille-gal assets and extradite thoseinvolved in terrorism financingand money laundering.

The delegation met officialsof the Financial MonitoringUnit (FMU) of the State Bankof Pakistan, Securities andExchange Commission ofPakistan (SECP), NationalCounter Terrorism Authority(Nacta), Federal InvestigationAgency (FIA) and representa-tives of the ministries of foreignaffairs and interior.

It urged the country tomake terror financing andmoney laundering extraditableoffences.Highlighting deficien-cies in Pakistan’s legal frame-work, the visiting APG teampointed out that this couldhamper Pakistan’s effectiveresponse on requests of mutu-al legal assistance by foreign

countries in money launderingcases, officials said.

Stressing the need forstrengthening domestic legalframework by October, mem-bers of the APG team an on-siteinspection would be carried outby the regional body after thisperiod.

It also urged the authoritiesconcerned to give predicateoffence monitoring powers tothe Securities and ExchangeCommission of Pakistan(SECP) and NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB).

The group’s other areas ofconcerns were activities bynon-profit organisations, nar-cotics trafficking and proceedsof crimes.

The team comprises offi-cials from the US, Turkey,China and the UK. Officialsfrom the US Treasury and theUK’s New Scotland Yard arepart of the delegation.

Discussions are takingplace on technical groundswhere Pakistani authorities aretrying to address the APG’sconcerns.

During its third day ofvisit, the AGP team discussedthe status of implementation ofthe FATF recommendationson supervision of financialinstitutions, challenges posed by

beneficial ownerships andtrusts, the targeted financialsanctions against terrorism andproliferation of weapons ofmass destruction and mutuallegal assistance and extradition.

After discussions, the AGPwill prepare the second draft oftechnical compliance reportbefore October, which can beimproved upon during themutual evaluation on-site visit,scheduled for October.

Pakistani authorities wereof the view that each depart-ment had its own mutual legalassistance arrangement, whichcould meet the needs of othercountries. However, they saidthat this did not fully persuadethe APG team.

Pakistan is also not a sig-natory to mutual legal assis-tance treaties with countriessuch as the US, the UK,Canada, the UAE, Malaysiaand Thailand.

Officials said that the APGteam also expressed concernsabout implementing recom-mendations on extradition ofcriminals involved in moneylaundering and terrorismfinancing.

The FATF makes it manda-tory for member countries todeny safe havens to individualscharged with financing of ter-

rorism, terrorist acts or terror-ist organisations.

Various departments gavepresentations to the APG ontheir role in curbing moneylaundering and terrorismfinancing. The visiting expertswere largely satisfied with theperformance of Anti NarcoticsForce, SECP and NAB. But theysought improvements in theskill sets of the FinancialMonitoring Unit and NationalCounter Terrorism Authority(NACTA).

Discussions were also heldon effective supervision offinancial institutions to ensurethat the secrecy laws did nothamper implementation of theFATF recommendations.

The visiting experts alsostressed that beneficial owner-ships should not be used to pro-tect the proceeds of crimes.

They also discussedPakistan’s legal and regulatoryregimes on beneficial owner-ships and trusts, which could beused for launderingmoney.Pakistani authorities arelearnt to have informed theAPG team about measurestaken by the country to complywith the United NationsSecurity Council resolution1267 and 1373, targeting finan-cial sanctions against terrorists.

Pak to elect next Prez onSeptember 4: Poll bodyPTI n ISLAMABAD

Pakistan will hold presiden-tial elections on September

4 to elect President MamnoonHussain’s successor at the endof his five-year-tenure, theelection commissionannounced Pakistan’s presidentis elected indirectly by themembers of Parliament and thefour provincial assemblies.

“Presidential election willbe held on September 4,” theElection Commission ofPakistan (ECP) said as it issuedthe schedule of the election.

The candidates can file nomi-nations by August 27 and thefinal list of contesting candi-dates will be issued on August30, it said.

The polling will be held inthe buildings of the federal par-liament and provincial assem-blies.

In Pakistan, the Presidentis considered as a symbol of thefederation and head of thestate and exercises all powerson the recommendations of theprime minister.

Hussain, elected inSeptember 2013, was a nomi-

nee of the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) led byjailed former prime ministerNawaz Sharif.

Hussain’s parents migratedfrom Agra and settled inKarachi after partition.

A tough competition isexpected between nomineesof the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI) led by Prime Minister-in-waiting and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and thejoint opposition forged by thePML-N, the Pakistan PeoplesParty and the MuttahidaMajlis-i-Amal.

Pakistan telecom authoritythreatens to ban TwitterPTI n ISLAMABAD

Twitter has been warned byPakistan’s telecom author-

ity that the micro-bloggingsite could be banned in thecountry for not complyingwith its directive to blockobjectionable content, accord-ing to a media report.

There have been severalinstances in the past also whensocial media were banned inPakistan. Facebook was bannedin the country twice in 2008and then again in 2010. InSeptember 2012, the Pak­istanTelecommuni­cation Authority(PTA) blocked access toYouTube throughout the coun-try for over two years.

The PTA informed theSenate Standing Com­mitteeon Cabinet Secre­tariat thatwhile Facebook, YouTube andother social media platformscomplied with requests fromthe government to block objec-tionable content, Twitter didnot oblige, the Dawn Newsreported on Thursday.

“Out of a hundred requestsfrom Pakistan to block certainoffensive material, roughly fiveper cent are entertained.Twitter ignores all the remain-ing requests,” Director Generalof PTA’s Internet Policy andWeb Analysis, Nisar Ahmed,told the committee. The com-

mittee had met for a briefing onpenalties fixed by the PTAagainst ‘derogatory’ commentsrelated to Pakistan spreadingthrough social media, thereport said.

Informing the com-mittee about Islamabad HighCourt’s recent directive to thePTA to ask Twitter to respondto requests from Pakistan orface the risk of being blockedin the country, Ahmed said,“The PTA has conveyed thecourt’s concern to Twitter, buthas not got a response. The reg-ulatory authority will imple-ment court orders if Twitterdoes not respond to the finalnotice.”

“The court is determinedto teach Twitter a lesson — they

will lose business,” he added. Meanwhile, Pakistan

Tehreek-i-Insaf informationsecretary Fawad Chaudhry hassaid that his party was againstany kind of censorship on freemedia, the report said.

“Those who do not wish tosee objectionable and offensivecontent should not search forsuch content. Social media isnot just for recreation andentertainment.

There are jobs and house-holds associated with the busi-ness. Blocking social mediawebsites will have both socialand economic impacts,”Chaudhry, who is tipped tobecome information ministerin the new government led byPTI chief Imran Khan, said.

White Housesays Turkishsanctions‘regrettable’Washington: The WhiteHouse has said that Turkey’stariff hikes on US products inretaliation for sanctions againstAnkara were “regrettable” andagain called for the immediate

release of American pastorAndrew Brunson.

“The tariffs from Turkeyare certainly regrettable and astep in the wrong direction,”White House press secretarySarah Sanders said, while stop-ping short of announcing freshretaliatory measures.

The White House defend-ed a slew of tariffs and sanc-tions that have substantiallyweakened Turkey’s currencyand forced regulators to takesteps to curb financial flowsout of the country.

“The tariffs that the UnitedStates placed on Turkey wereout of national security inter-ests. Theirs are out of retalia-tion,” said Sanders yesterday.

She added that even ifpastor Andrew Brunson wasreleased, tariffs would remainin place on steel.

Sanders lamented thatTurkey had treated Brunson,“who we know to be a verygood person and a strongChristian who has done noth-ing wrong, very unfairly, verybadly.” When asked about theimpact of the US spat withTurkey on the country’s cur-rency, the spokeswoman saidWashington was “monitoringthe situation.”

But she added: “Turkey’seconomic problems - those area part of a long-term trend,something of its own makingand not the result of anyactions the United States hastaken.” AFP

PTI nNEW YORK

The iconic Empire State Buildingand Niagara Falls were illumi-

nated with the tricolour to markIndia’s 72nd Independence Daywith the Indian diaspora in the UScelebrating the occasion, showcas-ing the country’s rich cultural her-itage and history in a series of events.

A special ceremony was organ-ised at the world-famous sky-scraper in New York’s midtownManhattan for lighting it up in saf-fron, white and green.

“Happy India Day from NewYork City! Together with theFederation of Indian Association,we’re honouring India’sIndependence Day by recreatingthe Indian flag in lights tonight,” thetwitter handle of the Empire StateBuilding, the 1,454 feet-tall build-ing with 102 stories, said in a tweet.

Consul General of India inNew York Sandeep Chakravortyaccompanied by Srujal Parikh,president of the Federation ofIndian Associations (FIA) - NewYork, New Jersey, Connecticut andsinger Mickey Singh attended theevent yesterday.

The Niagara Falls, arguably theworld’s most breathtaking waterfallsand one of the most visited touristspots globally, was also illuminat-ed in saffron, white and green tomark India’s Independence Day.

The Indian diaspora in the UScelebrated the Independence Daywith patriotic fervour and zeal,showcasing the country’s rich cul-tural heritage and history in a num-ber of events across America.

In Washington, the IndianEmbassy organised a flag-hoistingceremony at the embassy premis-

es. The ceremony was attended bymembers of the Indian communityin large numbers.

India’s Ambassador to the USNavtej Sarna unfurled the tri-colour, after which those presentsang the National Anthem.

Sarna then addressed theguests and as a custom, read outPresident Ram Nath Kovind’saddress to the nation.

He also handed out prizes tothe children of the Indian diaspo-ra who participated in singing ofpatriotic songs and speech com-petition on the topic ‘India of MyDreams’, organised by the Embassyas part of ‘India@70’ celebrations.Abrief cultural programme involvingrendition of patriotic songs byschool children was also organised.

India’s permanent mission tothe UN and the Indian consulatein New York also hosted events tomark the occasion.

Bollywood actor AnupamKher attended the festivities.

India’s envoy to the UNAmbassador Syed Akbaruddinhosted the festivities at thePermanent Mission of India to theUN. Following the unfurling of thetricolor at India’s Consulate inNew York, Consul GeneralChakravorty addressed the gath-ering.The event was attended byabout 200 people including promi-nent members of the Indian com-munity and local dignitaries includ-ing Congresswoman Grace Meng,Assemblyman David Weprin,Assemblyman Raj Mukherjee andSenator Vin Gopal.

A short cultural programmewas also organised by the BhartiyaVidya Bhavan, including singing ofpatriotic songs and poetry recita-

tion. The Indian Council forCultural Relations (ICCR) spon-sored a seven-member group con-sisting of acclaimed Kathak dancers- Sandip Mallick and group withAnuj Mishra and group that pre-sented a Kathak performance at theconsulate.

The team in collaborationwith the Consulate and the famedBattery Dance Company per-formed in the city later in theevening. Independence Day cele-brations were also held at India’sConsulates in Chicago, Houston,Atlanta.

On August 19, the FIA willorganise the 38th India Day Paradethat will run through several streetsof Madison Avenue in the heart ofManhattan, featuring tableaux byvarious Indian-American groups,marching bands, police contingentsand cultural performances byyoung Indian-American children.

Actor and politician KamalHaasan, his daughter ShrutiHaasan, Kher and legendary crick-eter Vivian Richards are expectedto lead the parade.

Parikh has said that he expectsabout 150,000 people to attend thisyear’s cultural extravaganza, whichwill feature 35 floats and 30 march-ing contingents and dance perfor-mances such as Bihu and Lavanishowcasing India’s regional diver-sity. He said the parade’s centralmessage will be ‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam - the world is onefamily’ and bring together for thefirst time communities from otherSouth Asian and Caribbeannations. Ministers and diplomatsfrom nations such as Antigua, SriLanka and Nepal are expected toattend the parade.

Empire State Building, Niagara Falls light up in tricolour for India’s I-Day

Italy collapse points to difficulties with aging bridgesAP n NEW YORK

The bridge that collapsed inthe Italian port city of

Genoa was considered a feat ofengineering innovation whenit was built five decades ago,but it came to require constantmaintenance over the years. Itsdesign is now being investi-gated as a possible contributorto its stunning collapse.

The Morandi Bridge wassevered in its midsection dur-ing a heavy downpour Tuesday,killing at least 39 people. Italianprosecutors focused theirinvestigation into possibledesign flaws or inadequatemaintenance of the 1967bridge. Engineering expertssaid the disaster points to thechallenges of maintaining anyaging bridge, regardless of itsdesign.

“What the general publicdoes not comprehend is thatbridges have been traditional-ly designed in the past for a lifespan of 50 years,” said NeilHawkins, a professor emeritusof engineering at the Universityof Illinois, who specializes inreinforced and prestressedconcrete design.

“The environment inwhich the bridge exists canhave a major effect on howmuch it can last beyond that50-year design life span.” Thestructure is a cable stayedbridge designed by Italianengineer Riccardo Morandi,who died in 1989. A m o n gits unusual features were itsconcrete-encased stay cables,which Morandi used in sever-al of his bridge designs insteadof the more common steelcables. There are two similarbridges in the world, in Libyaand Venezuela.

Experts have said a num-ber of factors could have con-tributed to the collapse, includ-ing wear and tear from weath-er and traffic that surpassedwhat the bridge was original-ly built to sustain.

“Genoa is a port city sothat there can be marine effectsand also it is a major industri-al center so that there can beair pollution that impairs theconcrete,” Hawkins said in ane-mail. “Whether any ofthese effects, or other majordeficiencies in the founda-tions, were present I have noknowledge. But all can con-

tribute to a bridge failure.” Antonio Brencich, a pro-

fessor of construction at theUniversity of Genoa, said thedesign lent itself to swift cor-rosion and the bridge was inconstant need of maintenance.

Most recently, a 20 mil-lion-euro ($22.7 million) pro-ject to upgrade the bridge’ssafety had been approvedbefore its collapse, with publicbids to be submitted bySeptember. According to thebusiness daily Il Sole 24 Ore,the improvement workinvolved two weight-bearingcolumns that support thebridge — including one thatcollapsed Tuesday.

But Brencich, who warnedtwo years ago that the designof the bridge was a failure, saidthe structure should have beendestroyed rather than be sub-jected to more repairs.

The Genoa bridge, alongwith the two similar bridges inLibya and Venezuela, havedeteriorated at “unimaginablespeeds,” Brencich told SkyNews Italian television stationWednesday.

“Since this bridge wasunder constant maintenance,the time had come to consid-er a replacement for thebridge.”

The Italian CNR civil engi-neering society said structuresas old as the Morandi Bridgehad surpassed their lifespans.It called for an ambitious planto repair or replace tens ofthousands of Italian bridgesand viaducts built in the 1950sand 1960s, citing a series ofcollapses in recent years, not allfatal. The collapse of a freewaybridge in Minneapolis in 2007drew similar alarm bells aboutaging infrastructure in theU.S.

The Interstate 35W bridge,whose collapse into theMississippi river killed 13 peo-ple, was also built in the 1960s,though federal investigatorsultimately concluded that poormaintenance wasn’t the maincause of the disaster.

Instead, they pointed to adesign defect, saying crucialgusset plates that held thebeams together were only halfas thick as they should havebeen.Since then, there hasbeen a push to improve bridgedesigns and make changes tothe way they are inspected.

2nd night of rescue efforts afterdeadly Italy bridge collapseAFP n GENOA

Rescue workers toiledthrough a second night on

Thursday in a desperate bid tofind survivors in the rubble ofa Genoa bridge which caved induring a heavy rainstorm,killing at least 39 people andinjuring 16 more A vast span ofthe Morandi bridge collapsed inthe northern port city onTuesday, sending about 35 carsand several trucks plunging 45metres (150 feet) onto railwaytracks below.

Italy’s government hasblamed the firm that operatedthe collapsed bridge for the dis-aster and announced a state ofemergency in the region.

Children aged eight, 12and 13 were among the dead,Interior Minister Matteo Salvinisaid, adding that more peoplewere still missing. Sixteen peo-ple were injured.

The driver of a green lorryleft precariously close to theedge told Italian media how hehad escaped the “hell” of thebridge collapse.

“It was raining very hardand it wasn’t possible to go veryfast,” he told the Corriere dellaSera daily.

“When a car overtook meI slowed down... (then) at a cer-tain moment everything shook.The car in front of me disap-peared and seemed to be swal-lowed up by the clouds. Ilooked up and saw the bridgepylon fall,” he said.

“Instinctively, findingmyself in front of the void, I putthe van into reverse, to escapethis hell,” he added.

Three Chileans, who live inItaly, and four French nationalswere also killed.The tragedy hasfocused anger on the structur-al problems that have doggedthe decades old Morandi bridgeand the private sector firmAutostrade per l’Italia, which iscurrently in charge of operatingand maintaining swathes ofthe country’s motorways.

Deputy prime ministerLuigi Di Maio said the tragedy“could have been avoided”.“Autostrade should have done

maintenance and didn’t do it,”he alleged.

Prime Minister GiuseppeConte also confirmed that hisgovernment would push torevoke the company’s contractfor the A10 motorway, whichincludes the bridge, whileTransport Minister DaniloToninelli said the companyshould be fined up to 150 mil-lion euros ($170 million).

The firm, which said thebridge had been undergoingmaintenance work, however,released a statement refutingaccusations of underfunding ofmotorway infrastructure.

“In the last five years (2012-2017) the company’s investmentin the security, maintenanceand strengthening of the net-work has been over one billioneuros a year,” it said. Survivorsrecounted the heart-stoppingmoment when the bridge buck-led, tossing vehicles and hunksof concrete into the abyss.Davide Capello, a former goal-keeper for Italian Serie A clubCagliari, plunged with his carbut was unscathed.

“I was driving along thebridge, and at a certain point Isaw the road in front of me col-lapse, and I went down with thecar,” he told TV news channelSky TG24.

As cars and trucks tumbledoff the bridge, Afifi Idriss, 39,a Moroccan truck driver, justmanaged to stop in time.

“I saw the green lorry infront of me stop and thenreverse so I stopped too, lockedthe truck and ran,” he told AFP.

While around a dozenapartment blocks that stand inthe shadow of the viaduct werelargely spared the impact of thefalling concrete, the Liguriaregional government said some634 people had been evacuat-ed.

Interior Minister MatteoSalvini said the homes wouldhave to be pulled down.

The incident is the latest ina string of bridge collapses inItaly, a country prone to dam-age from seismic activity butwhere infrastructure generallyis showing the effects of a fal-tering economy.

In this Sept. 4, 1967 black and white photo, then Italian President Giuseppe Saragat,standing in the car waving, inaugurates the Polcevera viaduct, also known as theMorandi Bridge, after its construction, in Genoa, Italy. The bridge collapsed Tuesday,killing at least 39 people on the eve of Italy's biggest summer holiday. AP

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018 vivacity 14

Today, Hampi lies silent anddeserted in the wake of its

own departed magnificence.Simultaneously, a new city isrising out of the rural soil calledNew Town in the neighbourhoodof Kolkata. Photographer RajibDe showcases the stark contrastbetween the both in his exhibi-tion, A Tale of two cities: Hampiand New Town. In the first, we seethe past perfections frozen instone and in the other, we witnessthe emergence of the forces ofchange.

“I have been taking the pic-tures of New Town since the year2010 just for my collection. A fewyears later I saw Hampi. I cap-tured many more pictures ofboth the cities and used to lookat them daily. Then the ideapopped up in my mind that I canshowcase the stark contrastbetween these two magnificient

cities,” De said. “There is astrong relation

between these two cities. Hampiwas an urban city in the 12th cen-tury. It was the capital of theVijayanagara empire. At thattime, it was just like modernDelhi. And now, it’s a desert townwith ruins.”

This exhibition provides avisual binary of a great Indian cityof the sleeping past and a futurecity waking into shape. Using thevisual effect of black and whitepanoramic photographs, De’swork narrates the power of timeand a city’s gradual rise to itsprime, and then its inevitabledownhill journey.

“All of my pictures are inpanoramic format, as I’m fond ofblack and white. If some of themwere in colour and the rest inpanoramic format, viewers

might not get the essence of thework,” said he. “One is about the12th century and the other about21st, still there lies a powerfulconnection between both theperiods and civilisation,” he said.

The photographer, whobelongs to Kolkata,acknowledges that hiscity is known forits colonial

architecture. He’s also exhibitedhis works on Kolkata inSingapore earlier.

Hard, solid lines, roughtexture and greyfacades are the quin-

tessential ways one imaginescement, which makes thebackbone of a building, but tosee it in an art exhibition andindoors isn’t common nortried before. While plastic andsteel have been reimagined tobe used in art installations andfabrics, such experiments withcement are unheard of. Theminds behind the art exhibi-tion, Craft Béton – Cement.Reimagined., also had to fightoff the image that cement isboring and stiff to make it pos-sible.

To create the exhibition,Craft Village made a residen-cy where international artistsalso took part. Their differentapproaches and thoughtprocesses fuelled this explo-ration.

Founder of Craft Village,Iti Tyagi’s piece titled Audreyis flowy with drapes, anunusual sight when it comes tocement. “‘Paris is a good idea’,the iconic Hollywood actressAudrey Hepburn once said.Inspired by her words, thistable Audrey is a delicate taletold in the French Louis XVStyle,” she said. “When we’reworking with cement, one ofthe biggest challenges is thatpeople think it can go only inthe moulds and people canwonder how can somebodyplay with it with hands? Ithought why not try and breakthat idea and try somethingglamorous with drapes andflowy. I did hand-sculptingand took five to six hours towork on the drapes becauseafter that when cement driesyou don’t have much choice,”said she.

“I am a product designerand I had not worked with thismaterial before. Also, I haveworked in textile, product andmaterial. So I gathered myknowledge to work with onematerial — cement — to dosomething beyond what peo-ple think is possible. Peoplethink cement is mundane, dryand it can break. I startedthinking of inspirations andgave them shape with cement.We are open to more ideas andchallenges in the future, ifother brands want to workwith us too,” said she.

The co-founder of CraftVillage, which was approachedby Dalmia Cement for theexhibition, Somesh Singh, saidthat the objective of the pro-ject was to bring cement to thehome and make it a part of thelifestyle.

While cement is alreadypart of our lives, since it is amaterial used to make some-thing as essential as ourhomes, it had not beenreimagined as other infra-structural material had been.

“We looked at it as a newmaterial. Plastic and steel haveevolved. Cement, despite hav-ing fantastic quality, neverevolved because nobody

applied their mind to it orlooked at how one can inno-vate. The Melissa, my art-work, is inspired by BhajjuShyam’s Gond art. One of hisstyles is to paint bees, I wasvery inspired by his paintingwhich was called the ring. Itwas almost impossible to showair but the way he patterned ityou feel the air. From two-dimensional, I thought that Ishould reinterpret and createsomething three-dimensionaland thus made this permanentwall installation,” said Singh.The piece has been a hit withpeople ordering it for theirhomes. Singh added that peo-ple are excited to see the newavatar of cement. The piecesexhibited can be reproduced,even at a bigger scale.

“We don’t want just a sin-gle owner,” he added. But therefashioning was no child’splay.

Beginning with playingwith the material, experiment-ing with it and trying newcombinations to check theideal temperature, conditionsand mix, they did everythingbefore the piece was created.The Melissa took 30 days tomake from scratch.

“One of the best process isthat you have to play with thematerial and fall in love withit to be able to imagine thingsusing it. The other interestingchallenge was that this piecealso needed the drama oflighting. Shadow plays aninteresting and integral role.We created an interesting tex-

ture and when you see it youcan see a honeybee and a hon-eycomb,” said he.

This collection by sixinternational designers fea-tures contemporary lifestylepieces for the home and func-tional art for walls, floors andeven bathrooms. It is a celebra-tion of nature, art, life andabstract forms, from where thedesigners find their inspira-tion.

Dr Alka Pande, artisticdirector and curator who hasconceptualised and envisionedHabitat Photosphere, of whichCraft Beton is a part, said, “Thedesign philosophy of the col-lection dovetails beautifullyinto the over-arching philos-ophy driving Photosphere.The beauty which is inherentin cement and is recreated byDalmia Bharat through thecreativity of human interven-tion is truly spectacular. Thisis an astonishing collaborationof production and consump-tion. It’s a rare feast for theeyes.”

One of the other design-ers who were part of the exhi-bition, Cynthia Rodriguez,who made the pieceAntheneum , said, “Sinceknowledge is an unfathomableocean, these bookends are adramatic way to literallyexpand your mind. The moreyou read the more you know,and the more your mindexpands.”

She added about Monarca,“Just as a butterfly is re-bornthis magazine rack celebratesthe metamorphosis that a per-son undergoes when he stepsinto the wonderful world ofreading.”

Another piece,GanasDeux, by Alan Saga,symbolises both the Chac, along-nosed god worshiped bythe Mayans of Mesoamerica,and the Hindu god Ganesha.And, designer Miroslaw Baca’spiece Birth is a representationof a mother’s womb and isreminiscent of the first touchwe have all experienced.

One of my former editors oncewarned me, ‘never, ever make

absolute statements unless you can backit up.’ So I will not state that all Indiansare woeful drivers. A large number ofmy fellow countrymen are, however,pretty bad drivers, and while theyknow how to change gears and how toget the car moving, when it comes toparking and basic etiquette like indica-tors or even lane adherence, even youwill admit that they are pretty bad. Thebig thing that I have to adapt to when-ever I am driving abroad is not usual-ly to do with driving on the left-handseat but to remind myself that I am notin India and road markings matter, andthat I have to follow every rule. In India,let us be honest, sometimes you haveno option but to break a few rules whiledriving because everyone around youis doing the same. That is no excuse forpoor driving, I admit, but the failure isprimarily of enforcement. While sometraffic police, such as those in NewDelhi and Mumbai, are better thanmost, traffic management and rules donot seem to exist in places like Noidathat abuts the capital.

So it is not surprising that over 1.5lakh people died on Indian roads lastyear according to official statistics, thenumber could well be much higher.

That is over ten per cent of global traf-fic fatalities, a lower proportion thanIndia’s global population share buthigher than India’s share of the globalvehicular population. While eliminat-ing traffic accidents and fatalities are apipe dream, reducing them is indeedpossible through better driving habitseven if enforcement of rules lagsbehind. Using indicators, helmets andlane discipline by themselves will helpreduce accidents even if vehicles are notequipped with modern safety aidssuch as anti-lock brakes (ABS) whichwill be mandatory on all vehicles fromApril next year.

But the reason many of us havepoor driving habits is primarily one ofpoor training. You tend to pick up dri-ving habits from your trainers and yourfamily, and poor driving habits, such asincessant honking, can be proven to bepassed down from generation to gen-eration. To be fair, driving schools havecome a long way since I learnt to driveat the age of 16; my trainer was, for lackof a nicer word, a glorified tout. Thatsaid, I was not prepared for theadvanced driver training imparted byMaruti-Suzuki at their Institute ofDriving and Traffic Research (IDTR) atDelhi’s Sarai Kale Khan, located right

next to the exit from the Barapullah ele-vated road. Maruti-Suzuki, which hasestablished several IDTRs across thecountry, many in collaboration withstate governments, has set up severalMaruti Driving Schools at several of itsdealerships.

Of course, it is Maruti’s interest toestablish so many driving schools,after all that will grow the pool of poten-tial customers for the carmaker. But Iwas quite surprised to see the Aritra sys-tem that it has installed. This is a sys-tem that uses cameras to gauge a dri-ver’s abilities on the road. The track atthe IDTR is a very tight and twistingone and I must admit that the trainingis pretty intense, and I did not do par-ticularly well in the Reverse-S turn, thatis to reverse the car through a ‘S’ bendwhile keeping six-inches of margin oneither side. And on this front, I have toadmit that I have been spoiled as a dri-ver, because almost all the cars that Idrive nowadays have a reversing cam-era and if not that, reversing sensors.

And here is the thing; a friend ofmine who is an airline pilot told meonce that every year he has to gothrough ‘refresher’ training and whilehe is flying the same A320 family air-craft, he has to spend time in the sim-ulator practising worst-case scenarios

and even more basic things. The train-ing he has to go through keeps his skillsup-to-date even though he flies a planethree-times a week on average. The factis that as drivers it is not a bad idea forus to go through similar refreshercourses once in a while, to undertakethe same training that some beginnershave to go through. It reminds us thatdriving, as natural as it has become forus, and for some of us, much more thanothers, is not something that we did reg-ularly as humans a century ago. Andtraining also teaches us that we all havesome bad driving habits and canremove them.

I am actually glad that I went to seeand experience the system at IDTR, itwas important for me to learn that I dostill have some flaws and I must con-tinue to learn. None of us is perfect andwe must always keep learning and putour egos aside. I hope Maruti-Suzukitakes this system across the country andother manufacturers whether they aretwo-wheeler or commercial vehiclemanufacturers install similar systemsacross the country. Training betterdrivers may not be the only solution toreducing the chaos and the number offatalities on Indian roads but it is a startand an impressive one at that.

KUSHAN MITRA

CEMENT,REIMAGINEDThe building material is seen asmundane and essential only forinfrastructural needs but a group ofartists has transformed it into lifestylepieces. By ASMITA SARKAR

The Melissa, an art installation inspired from Bhajju Shyam’s Gond art, by Somesh Singh

The Audrey, inspired by the Hollywood actress, Audrey Hepburn, by Iti Tyagi

An architectural ruin in Hampi

The value of trainingThe ‘Aritra’ camera and computer-based training systeminstitutionalised by Maruti-Suzuki at some of its drivertraining institutes will go a long way in improving drivingabilities in India

Past vs presentPhotographer RAJIB DE explores thevisual narratives presented by the ruinedcity of Hampi and the emerging NewTown. By AYUSHI SHARMA

Say a prayerfor ArethaQueen of soul, who beganplaying piano at the age ofeight, passes away at 76

The undisputed “Queen of Soul,” ArethaFranklin, who sang with matchlessstyle on classics like Think, I Say a Little

Prayer and her signature song, Respect, andstood as a cultural icon around the globe, diedat the age 76 after suffering from pancreaticcancer.

Publicist Gwendolyn Quinn said thatFranklin died on Thursday in the morning at9.50 am at her home in Detroit.

The family added, “In one of the darkestmoments of our lives, we are not able to findthe appropriate words to express the pain inour heart. We have lost the matriarch and rockof our family. The love she had for her chil-dren, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, andcousins knew no bounds.”

The statement continued: “We have beendeeply touched by the incredible outpouringof love and support we have received fromclose friends, supporters and fans all aroundthe world. Thank you for your compassion andprayers. We have felt your love for Aretha andit brings us comfort to know that her legacywill live on. As we grieve, we ask that yourespect our privacy during this difficulttime.”

Funeral arrangements will be announcedin the coming days.

A professional singer and an accomplishedpianist by her late teens, a superstar by hermid-20s, Franklin had long ago settled anyarguments over who was the greatest popu-lar vocalist of her time. Franklin had record-ed hundreds of hit tracks over the span of halfa century, including 20 that hit one on the R&Bcharts. Her records sold millions of copies andthe music industry couldn’t honour herenough. Her reputation was defined by anextraordinary run of top 10 smashes in the late1960s, from the morning-after bliss of (YouMake Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, to the

wised-up Chain of Fools to her unstoppablecall for Respect.

She won 18 Grammy awards, becomingthe first woman to be inducted into the Rockand Roll hall of fame in 1987.

Clive Davis, the music mogul who broughther to Arista Records and helped revive hercareer in the 1980s, said he was “devastated”by her death.

He added, “She was truly one of a kind.She was more than the Queen of Soul. She wasa national treasure to be cherished by everygeneration throughout the world. Apart fromour long professional relationship, Aretha wasmy friend. Her loss is deeply profound and myheart is full of sadness.”

Fellow singers bowed to her eminence andpolitical and civic leaders treated her as a peer.The Rev. Martin Luther King Junior was alongtime friend, and she sang at the dedica-tion of King’s memorial, in 2011. She per-formed at the inaugurations of Presidents BillClinton and Jimmy Carter, and at the funer-al for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. Clintongave Franklin the National Medal of Arts.President George W. Bush awarded her thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’shighest civilian honour, in 2005.

Bill and Hillary Clinton issued a statementmourning the loss of their friend and “one ofAmerica’s greatest treasures.”

Franklin’s best-known appearance with apresident was in January 2009, when she sangMy Country ’tis of Thee at President BarackObama’s inauguration. She wore a gray felt hatwith a huge Swarovski rhinestone-borderedbow that became an internet sensation andeven had its own website. In 2015, shebrought Obama and others to tears with a tri-umphant performance of “Natural Woman”at a Kennedy Center tribute to the song’s co-writer, Carole King.

The musician married actor GlynnTurman in 1978 in Los Angeles but returnedto her hometown of Detroit the following yearafter her father was shot by burglars and leftsemi-comatose until his death in 1984. She andTurman divorced that year.

Aretha began learning piano at the age ofeight. Her most acclaimed gospel recordingcame in 1972 with the Grammy-winningalbum Amazing Grace, which was recordedlive at New Temple Missionary Baptist Churchin South Central Los Angeles and featuredgospel legend James Cleveland, along with herown father (Mick Jagger was one of the celebri-ties in the audience).

“Music is my thing, it’s who I am. I’m init for the long run,” she said in 2008. “I’ll bearound, singing, What you want, baby I gotit. Having fun all the way.”

—AP

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018 sport 15

SAHARA STATES WIN TOURNY

Sahara States scored a winning solo goal against Ex-SportsCollege & Men’s United Academy in the final District FootballLeague at Chowk Stadium on Thursday. The solo goal of thematch was scored by Sudeep in the 13th minute. On the occa-sion, Head-Corporate Communications Abhijit Sarkar, said: “Weare thankful to Saharasri Subrata Roy Sahara for his support inall forms of sports from grassroots to national level. Sahara IndiaPariwar is committed to the development of sports at all levels.”

ARUN, KAJAL CHAMPS

Arun Kumar andKajal Sharma won the 5-km race in the men’s andwomen’s categoryrespectively organisedon the occasion ofIndependence Day atKD Singh ‘Babu’Stadium on Thursday.IOA treasurerAnandeshwar Pandeygave away the prizes.On the occasion director(sports) RP Singh plant-ed the saplings.RESULTS:(Men’s) 1-Arun Kumar,2-Ravi Kumar Pal, 3-Suryansh Pratap Singh,4-Ankit Kumar, 5-Abhishek Kumar, 6-Rakesh Yadav;(Women’s) 1-KajalSharma, 2-PushpaYadav, 3-Nisha, 4-ShikhaGupta, 5-Sapna Rai, 6-Nidhi Singh.

AP n TALLINN, ESTONIA

Atletico Madrid finally gotthe better of Real Madridon the European stage,

scoring twice in extra time towin 4-2 in the UEFA Super Cupfinal on Wednesday in theirrival's first game withoutCristiano Ronaldo.

Atletico got off to a flyingstart with Diego Costa scoringthe competition's fastest goal just50 seconds in, but Madrid cameback to take a 2-1 lead as LosBlancos tried to prove they canstill win trophies withoutRonaldo and with a new coach.

But Costa equalised late inthe match with his second goalbefore Saul Niguez and Jorge"Koke" Resurreccion sealed thevictory in extra time on a coolnight in Estonia's capital.

Atletico's victory over theircrosstown rivals had added sig-nificance after they lost twoChampions League finals toMadrid in 2014 and 2016. DiegoSimeone's team was also elimi-nated by Madrid in the 2017semi-finals.

"I'm elated," Costa said."Real Madrid have always beat-en us in these finals. It was ourturn to win a final."

The loss leaves new Madridcoach Julen Lopetegui still hav-ing to prove that there is life afterRonaldo, who scored 450 goalsin 438 matches before joiningJuventus this summer andhelped lead the club to threestraight Champions Leaguetitles.

"I'm sad. I'm frustrated. It'sa final that we lost," Lopeteguisaid. "But I also know that wewill have to wake up and prepareourselves for our first leaguematch and start the season onthe right foot."

Gareth Bale showedglimpses of his pace and skill, butcouldn't mimic Ronaldo's abil-ity to decide a game on his own.

Instead, Costa was the onewho dominated at the LillekulaStadium in Tallinn. He over-powered Madrid's center backs

in the first minute after a longball from Stefan Savic, first win-ning a header against SergioRamos and then muscling pastRaphael Varane to cut into thearea where he beat goalkeeperKeylor Navas at the near post.

Karim Benzema equalisedin the 27th minute, heading ina pinpoint cross from Bale, whowas able to break away fromLucas Hernandez on the rightand curl the ball into his fellowforward's path. Bale, who wasgiven a freer role than he's usedto, caused trouble for Atletico'sdefence in the first half as heswitched between wings. Hewas Madrid's main creativespark at that point, with histeammates constantly trying tofeed him the ball.

He faded in the secondhalf, but Lopetegui was pleased

with Bale's performance."Gareth has played very

good. In this moment of theseason, all the players are notin the best physical way," thecoach said. "We are happy withhis performance and we hopehe's going to put in deservedperformances in the nextmatches."

Sergio Ramos scored apenalty in the 63rd minute afterJuanfran Torres handled in thearea as the ball flew over himfrom a corner.

Juanfran made up for it inthe 79th by taking the ball offMarcelo near the touchlineand then passing to AngelCorrea. The substitute thenskipped past a couple ofMadrid defenders and cut theball back from the byline toCosta, who poked the ball into

the roof of the net.In extra time, substitute

Thomas Partey set up the deci-sive goal when he stripped theball off Varane and played aone-two with Costa beforedribbling toward the byline.Partey then cut the ball back toSaul Niguez, who volleyed theball first-time to send the ballpast Navas to make it 3-2 in the98th. Koke finished Madrid offwith a cool finish in the 104th.

Lopetegui, who joinedMadrid in controversial fash-ion and was fired as Spaincoach just before the WorldCup, will need to show that hecan build on the success of pre-decessor Zidedane Zidane andcan win with new tactics.

At times, Madrid lookeduncomfortable playing underthe new possession-based sys-

tem and seemed to missRonaldo's flair and proficien-cy. "We need to improve on theall the phases of the team,"Lopetegui said. "We don't liketo make mistakes."

Madrid had to play with-out new goalkeeper ThibaultCourtois, as the formerAtletico player didn't evendress for the match. Spanishmedia reports said the teamdidn't register him in time withUEFA following his transferfrom Chelsea.

For Atletico, the victorygives the team a boost beforethe season starts, Simeonesaid. "The club is growing.We have a new stadium," hesaid. "We have players whowant to join us, players whodon't want to leave us. I thinkthis speaks volumes."

VIJAYANAGAR: VeteranIndian wrestler Geeta Phogatsays the razzmatazz of aBollywood blockbuster on herlife and a prolonged injurybreak took away her focusfrom the sport and she is nowtrying to recover lost ground.

Geeta and Babita Phogat,both Commonwealth Gamesmedallists became householdnames after their life story wasbrought alive on the silverscreen in blockbuster 'Dangal'.

However, the two wrestlershaven't been in the best offorms for a while now withinjury still keeping Geeta awayfrom action.

"I think staying away fromwrestling for two years withinjury and the movie, I lost myfocus. Now I am concentratingjust on wrestling," Geeta saidon the sidelines of the launchof JSW's Inspire Institute ofSports here.

The 29-year-old scriptedhistory by becoming the firstIndian woman wrestler to qual-ify for Olympics in 2012.However, she was axed fromthe national camp ahead of theAsian Games owing to disci-plinary issues. She had alsoclaimed a gold medal at the2010 Commonwealth Gamesin Delhi.

"My comeback on the mathasn't been good. I am traininghard to get back into the team.No sport is easy, if you spendtime away it will be difficult tomake a comeback," she said.Asked about Indian wrestlers'Asian Games campaign, Geetasaid she expects women grap-plers to return with moremedals than last time. "Womenwrestlers got only two (medals)last time but their performancehas been good. I observedthem in the national camps.Vinesh, Sakshi, and Pooja they

seemed confident. This timethey will get more medals,"Geeta said.

The 14-member Indianwrestling contingent will bespearheaded byCommonwealth gold-medallistVinesh Phogat and Olympicbronze-medallist Sakshi Malik."The team has prepared well,both the women and men haveperformed well at recent tour-naments.The confidencelevel of the team is also veryhigh."

Indian wrestlers will lookto replicate their performanceat Gold Coast, where all 12grapplers returned home withmedals. Bajrang Punia, whowon gold medals at the CWG,Tbilisi Grand Prix and YasarDogu International, and twotime Olympic-medalist andreigning Asian Games cham-pion Sushil Kumar will alsolook to bag the yellow metal.

PTI n PALEMBANG

Miffed at not getting a"specialist" men's dou-

bles partner, veteran tennisstar Leander Paes onThursday pulled out of the18th Asian Games starting onSaturday.

The 45-year-old Indian,winner of 18 Grand Slams,was asked to team up withstruggling singles player SumitNagal after All India TennisAssociation (AITA) agreed topair country's top doublesplayers Rohan Bopanna andDivij Sharan in the men'sdoubles, on their request.

Paes was already miffed athis exclusion from TOPScheme but had made himselfavailable for the Asian Games,where he has won eightmedals, including five Gold.

"It is with a heavy heartthat I have to say that I will notbe playing the upcomingAsian Games in Indonesia,"Paes said in an issued state-

ment."Despite my repeated

requests, from so many weeksin advance, it is sad that wehave not been able to put adoubles specialist in the teamfor a credible second doubles

pairing for the Asian Games."With Sharan and Bopanna

deciding to play together, cap-tain Zeeshan Ali had nochoice but to pair Paes withNagal or RamkumarRamanathan.

While Ramkumar is pri-marily a singles player andplays doubles occasionally,Nagal is in terrible form. Hehas lost nine straight firstround matches on the Pro cir-cuit, coming into the AsianGames.

Paes has questioned whyAITA didn't field two spe-cialist doubles teams.

"Ramkumar Ramanathanis a very good player, and Iwould love to play doubleswith him. But consideringthat he has a golden chance towin the singles medal, it is notfair to distract him from hisbest event," Paes said furtherin the statement.

Paes was to return to theGames after missing the pre-vious two editions.

AFP n ORLANDO

World tennis chiefs onThursday approved a

radical Davis Cup revamp thatwill overhaul the 118-year-oldcompetition, condensing theannual worldwide showpieceinto an 18-team, week-longevent. The shake-up for themen's team tournamentreceived 71.43 per cent supportfrom about 120 delegates at theInternational Tennis Federationannual meeting in Orlando,well ahead of the two-thirdsmajority needed for approval.

ITF president DavidHaggerty supported therevamp proposed by Kosmos,a group led by Barcelona foot-ball star Gerard Pique — whoflew in from Spain for the vote— and backed by Japanese bil-lionaire Hiroshi Mikitani, thathas vowed USD 3 billion over25 years to support the newevent. Haggerty called thereform plan "key to ensuringthat the ITF and its membernations will guarantee a brightfuture for the sport."

Also backing the reconsti-tuted event is US billionaireLarry Ellison, who hopes hisIndian Wells tennis facilitywould host the 2021 edition ofthe finals after the first twowere played in Europe.

The current Davis Cup

format is a knockout eventplayed February, July,September and November athome and away venues aroundthe globe, best-of-five matchties following Grand Slamevents until the final round.

Many top players haveskipped it in recent years toease their schedule load.

The reform plan will createa November finals with 18teams: 12 winners from 24-team home and away qualify-ing in February, the prior year'sfour semi-finalists and twowild-card nations. Round-robin groups of three wouldsend six group winners and tworunners-up into knockoutround playoffs. The finalswould feature two singlesmatches and one doublesmatch each day, all cut to best-of-three sets. Haggerty saidthe arrangement would provideabout $25 million annually fornational tennis associations toinvest in grassroots level sup-port, with the United States,France and Spain among thosethought to support the move.

Opponents of the planinclude Tennis Australia andBritain's Lawn TennisAssociation (LTA), with AussieDavis Cup captain LleytonHewitt calling it a "moneygrab" and too great a departurefrom the current format.

The other champions from Madrid

Atletico rally to outplay sans-Ronaldo Real in UEFA Supercup Final

Lost focus due to injury, movie: Geeta

Paes pulls out of Asiad dueto lack of ‘specialist’ partner

Major Davis Cupshake-up approved

Players and members of Atletico Madrid celebrate with the trophy after the UEFA Super Cup final against Real Madrid at the Lillekula Stadium in Tallinn, Estonia AP

LOCAL EVENTS

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | AUGUST 17, 2018 sport 16

DE BRUYNE INJURES KNEE IN TRAININGmanchester: Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruynecould face a lengthy layoff with a knee injury that forced him toattend an event using crutches on Wednesday. De Bruyne andhis City teammates attended the premiere of a documentaryseries about the team hours after the midfielder injured hisright knee in a training session. "Kevin is a great player and it'sjust unfortunate that it's happened to him in training but there'smore than enough depth in the squad," defender Kyle Walkersaid. City said it was unclear how long the Belgian will besidelined because "the extent of the problem is not yet known"and that more tests on the knee are needed.

LAHM TO BE HEAD IF GERMANY HOST EURO 2024berlin: Former World Cup winner Philipp Lahm will be thehead of the organising committee if Germany win the bid tohost Euro 2024, it was confirmed on Thursday. Germany andTurkey are the only two candidates bidding to host theEuropean championships in six years time with a decision byEuropean football's governing body UEFA set to be made onSeptember 27. "From the beginning of my work as anambassador for the European Championship 2024, it was mydesire to take responsibility in the long term," said Lahm.

REGULAR-SEASON LA LIGA GAME TO COME TO USmadrid: A regular-season Spanish league game is coming tothe United States, possibly as early as this year, but a "clasico"between Real Madrid and Barcelona is pretty much out of thequestion. The league said on Thursday that it is planning toplay a match across the Atlantic as part of a new 15-yearpartnership with sports and entertainment group Relevent topromote football in North America.

SARIN RELIEVED AFTER GM TITILE WINabu dhabi: All of 14, India's latest Grandmaster Nihal Sarinsays he is more relieved than ecstatic about achieving the featas the build-up to it was distracting."...Sometimes due to thesenorm issues, it is scary to experiment. I am relieved that thispart of my chess life is done and dusted," Sarin said afterbecoming India's 53rd GM attaining his third and final norm inthe Abu Dhabi Masters.

INDIA IMPROVE TO NO 96 IN FIFA RANKINGSnew delhi: Indian football team on Thursday improved a spotto be placed at the 96th position in the latest FIFA worldrankings. India, who were ranked 97th in the previous week,currently share the 96th spot with Georgia after FIFAimplemented a new ranking system called ELO where pointswill be added or subtracted to a national team's alreadyexisting total before a match. Agencies

SINGLES

SUNIL GAVASKAR

Sunil, sorry, he is no more'. Those devas-tating words conveyed to me that 'my cap-

tain' Ajit Wadekar had passed away. Just alittle while earlier, I was trying to help puthim in the car to rush him to the hospitalsince the ambulance was going to take anoth-er 15 minutes to arrive and even then itlooked like it was a hopeless battle.

Ajit Wadekar was my captain when Imade my debut for Mumbai in the RanjiTrophy and he was my skipper when I gotmy India cap. So for me he was always 'cap-tain'.

That he was from Shivaji ParkGymkhana and I was from Dadar UnionSporting Club the great rival clubs thenmade no difference as I was a fan first. Thosedays there was hardly a single weekendwhere you didn't read that Wadekar had gota century.

He was so prolific in local and RanjiTrophy cricket that it was a surprise to manythat he made his India debut as late as 1966against Garry Sobers' West Indies team.

Five years later it was against GarrySobers' team that he led India for the firsttime and went on to win the series, beatingWest Indies for the first time.

A couple of months after that he ledIndia to another historic win when India beatEngland in England for the first time.

He was unkindly called a lucky captainby those who couldn't stomach the fact that

he had replaced the charismatic Mansoor AliKhan Pataudi as the skipper.

The then Chairman of selectors, battinglegend Vijay Merchant was also pilloried by

some for it was his casting vote that madeWadekar the new Indian captain then.

Even after these twin wins and anotherin India a year later neither Vijay Merchant

nor Ajit Wadekar got the credit theydeserved for bringing India those hat-trickof wins.

Ajit retired from Test cricket suddenlywhen he was left out of the West Zone teamfor the Duleep Trophy by a committee ledby another Indian great, Polly Umrigar andthereafter concentrated on his bankingcareer and also cricket administration withthe Mumbai Cricket Association.

He also was a successful manager/coachof the Indian team in the early '90s. Whensome of us sportspersons requested theMaharashtra Government for a plot of landto build an apartment block, it was Ajit whotook the lead and there was Umrigar also inthe society formed showing that he har-boured no hard feelings towards his senior.

Being the promoter, he got the top floorof the building when it was built and sinceI was on the floor immediately below himhe used to always joke, 'I am the only oneon top of Sunny'.

In recent times with my travel schedule,we hardly met but whenever we did, hewould as usual come up with a joke in hiseasy drawl.

There's hardly been a day when I haven'tmimicked his 'arre kay re' at least once andnot just me but even Sachin Tendulkar toldme that he too says the same at least once aday.

My captain is no more but he will alwaysbe with me when I say, ' arre kay re'

RIP, Captain. PTI

PTI n NOTTINGHAM

Under-fire India coach RaviShastri on Thursday calledon his struggling batsmen to

show more discipline and grit whenthe third Test against England getsunderway at Trent Bridge onSaturday.

He said that despite tough con-ditions, the need of the hour is toshow resolve and play gritty crick-et. England lead the five-matchseries 2-0 after winning the first twoTests in Birmingham and Lord's.

"Conditions have been toughright through this series. But that'swhere character and discipline comeinto play. The resolve to knowwhere your off stump is, leave a lotof balls, be prepared to look ugly anddirty and show some grit," saidShastri.

"I don't think its fair to singleout any one player," he added, whenasked about Ajinkya Rahane's strug-gles on this tour.

"Batsmen from both teams havestruggled. When the occasiondemands, it's a case of mentalresolve — how you put mind overmatter. Mental discipline will be thekey as far as batsmen are con-cerned going forward in this Testmatch. Rahane is one of our pillarsand he will remain so."

There is some good news aheadof the must-win Test for India.Skipper Virat Kohli is near full fit-ness ahead of the game as he battedwithout any discomfort and alsotook slip catching. Jasprit Bumrah,R Ashwin and Hardik Pandya have

already been declared fit for thegame.

India will be looking to find theoptimal combination for the game,

and the coach admitted that theyhad made a mistake going with anextra spinner at Lord's.

"Kohli is feeling much better.

You saw him in the nets — he ismoving much better and improvingby the day.

"In hindsight, picking a secondspinner was an error. We shouldhave gone, seeing the conditions,with an extra seamer. It might havehelped. Then again, you didn'tknow how much it would rain,whether a match could go into thefinal day where just in case a secondspinner is needed and the ball startsto turn, would we have needed him?

"But in hindsight, the way thingspanned out, the amount it rained,the time we lost, a seamer couldhave been a better option," saidShastri.

England are on the cusp ofwrapping up the series with victo-ry at Trent Bridge, and the only wayIndia can avoid that is to registeronly their second win in six overseasTests in 2018.

Shastri said that the team knowshow to do it because they have beenin this position before.

"Just believe in your self," hesaid, when asked what he has toldthe team post defeat at Lord's.

"You have been in this positioncouple of times before and you haveresponded. There is no reason why.One thing for sure in this unit, thereis no negative bone.

"Despite what happened in thelast Test match, conditions favouredEngland but that is no excuse what-soever. It can happen to any side. Weare here without a negative bone andwanting to play to win, as simple asthat."

England have a selection

headache at hand with the return ofBen Stokes. Shastri said that Indiasee no problem in why he should-n't be playing this game, and reject-ed the idea that any on-field chat-ter could be used to rile Stokes upor indeed used against India giventheir loss in the previous game.

"We focus on cricket. Stokes isa terrific cricketer, and we would liketo play against top cricketers. If thecourts have cleared him, what's thereason for him not to play? If I werein England's position I would havewanted him to play.

"This team is not worried aboutwho winds whom up. It will give youback as good as it gets, as simple asthat. It doesn't matter if the oppo-nent is England, Australia or SouthAfrica. We kept it very simple — ifit is a vocabulary I understand, I willgive it back in that vocabulary, oth-erwise in the vocabulary I knowbest," he said.

Last but not the least, the Indianteam paid its respect to late formerskipper Ajit Wadekar before prac-tice. The players and entire supportstaff observed two minutes ofsilence.

"Very sad. On behalf of thewhole Indian cricket team, we wouldlike to offer condolences to hisfamily. I knew Ajit very well from avery young age. He lived in the samebuilding as I do and all I will say isthat he was one of our finest captainsand a great manager.

"When it came to man man-agement skills, he was as shrewd asanyone you will ever get as a cap-tain," said Shastri as he signed off.

PTI n MUMBAI

Opening in shorter for-mats proved to be a boon

for Rohit Sharma, who saidthat he will not mind taking ashot at it in Test matches too,if the team management everconsiders that as an option innear future.

The 31-year-old hasscored 1479 runs at shadeunder 40 per innings in 25Tests with three hundredsand nine half centuries but iscurrently out of favour as faras longest format is con-cerned.

With the trio of KL Rahul,Shikhar Dhawan and MuraliVijay struggling, Rohit wasposed a question if he wouldlike to open the innings in Testmatches too.

"Look, I have never been

offered to open a Test inningsyet but I am open to anythingas in whatever the team man-agement wants,” he said.

PTI n MUMBAI

England coach Trevor Bayliss on Thurdaywelcomed Ben Stokes back in the nation-

al team's fold after he was cleared of affraycharges but said the troubled all-rounder isnot assured of an automatic selection for thethird Test against India.

Stokes was acquitted of affray at a trialin Bristol on Tuesday. Due to the trial, hehad missed the second Test which Englandwon by an innings and 159-run win at Lord'sto take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

"It's good to have him back around thesquad. I'm happy for Ben that's all over. Itwas a collective decision (to bring him backinto the side so quickly). It was basicallythought that for his own wellbeing, it wasgood to get him back around cricket," Baylisssaid.

However, the coach said Stokes is notassured of an automatic selection for thethird Test starting here on Saturday.

"There's nothing automatic about selec-tions and we'll see how he is mentally as wellas physically. He hasn't played for a coupleof weeks. He's been a guy that in the pastwho has been able to come in and performwithout having played a lot of cricket. We'lltake that into consideration.

"But also, sometimes it's a little bit likewhen someone gets injured, someone elsecomes into the team and does well, it's a bitdifficult for that injured played to come backin. This is a similar situation. It's a difficultdecision to make," he added.

Sam Curran was man-of-the-match inthe first Test at Birmingham, while ChrisWoakes, who replaced Stokes in the secondTest, won man of the match at Lord's.

Given the problem of plenty, Bayliss saidwhoever misses ought to consider himselfunlucky.

"It's a good position to be in from that

point of view. Whether he plays or not, we'vegot some guys in form in the team. It's goingto be a difficult decision to make whoevermisses out, whether it's Ben or someoneelse," he said.

"It's a position we've been trying to getinto in the Test team for a while. The one-day team is a difficult team to select. The Testteam, it's been difficult for other reasons. Butwe're starting to get some good young play-ers into the team, which makes it a difficultjob for selectors. Whoever misses out,whether it is Ben or someone else, they willbe very unlucky," he said.

Bayliss said he was impressed by Root'scaptaincy as England managed to turnaround their poor Test form againstAustralia, New Zealand and Pakistan.

PTI n DINDIGUL

The 2018-19 domestic season begins hereon Friday with the Duleep Trophy,

which will provide a platform to the aspi-rants to shine and challenge the establishednames, who are away on national duties.

The tournament will be staged at thepicturesque NPR College ground atNatham.

Three teams — India Red, India Blueand India Green — comprising a mix ofexperienced players and talented youngsterswill battle it out in the 57th edition of thetournament, which would be played underlights with a pink ball.

While the three round-robin matcheswould be four-day affairs, the final, to beheld from September 4, would be playedover five days.

The first match is between IndiaGreen and defending champion IndiaRed.

The tournament would serve as anopportunity for the players who have beenpart of the national squad at various pointsbut find themselves on the fringes now.

Players and staffmembers of teamIndia on Thursdayobserved a twominute silence tocondole the saddemise of formerIndia Captain AjitWadekar prior totheir training sessionat Trent Bridge inEngland

Photo: BCCI

‘I’ll be ready if offeredopening slot in Tests’

‘Stokes not assured

automatic selection’

‘SHOW SOME GRIT!’

Team India coach Ravi Shastri calls for his batsmen to put up a more disciplined and spirited show

PTI n LONDON

West Indian fast bowlinggreat Michael Holding

feels Hardik Pandya is not yetthe all-rounder India wantshim to be, because he is inef-fective as a bowler and also notscoring enough runs with thebat.

"The (Indian) attack has notbeen the right balance.Apparently they are playingHardik Pandya as an all-rounder to help out with thebowling. When he bowls heisn't as effective as he shouldbe," Holding was quoted assaying by ESPNcricinfo.

"If he was a good batsman,if he was getting runs — 60s,70s, not even regular hundreds— at the number at which hebats and then he bowls and getstwo or three wickets, happy,hallelujah.

"Happy with that. But he isnot getting the amount of runsthat can then allow him to geta wicket or two in the Testmatch. That doesn't work."

Pandya made his Test debutlast July in Sri Lanka, scoring afifty in Galle and followed itwith his maiden Test century inPallekelle in his third Test.

He has played nine Tests sofar and, barring the home seriesagainst Sri Lanka for which hewas rested late last year, he hasbeen the only constant in theIndian Test XI along with cap-tain Virat Kohli.

Before the Lord's Test,Pandya had gone wicketlessfor four Tests, starting from thesecond match in South Africain January, and Holding said hedid not have many skills.

"I don't think he does a lotwith the ball. That is numberone," he said.

"He is not consistent. Hedoes not have the control thatputs batsmen under pressureconstantly.

“He will bowl a couple ofgood deliveries, yes, but youneed to have the control to putbatsmen under pressure con-sistently. And he doesn't havethat,” Holding said.

Holding: Pandya not scoringenough runs, lacks control

Duleep Trophy kicksoff domestic season

‘My captain no more, but will always be with me’

India’s coach Ravi Shastri, right, with captain Virat Kohli during a nets session in England AP

Ben Stokes arrives for a nets session in Nottingham onThursday AP

Rohit Sharma during his Test debutagainst West Indies in 2013 File photo