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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA

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MONEY 8FIN MINISTER DISCUSSES REFORMS IN

INDIA WITH CORPORATE LEADERS IN US

ANALYSIS 7MAKING SENSE OF A

SOCIALIST’S LIFE JOURNEY

SPORTS 12‘THANK YOU’; KOHLI PENS HEARTFELTPOST AS RCB BOW OUT OF IPL 2021

}‘WORKING FOR

MAHA SAMUDRAM

WAS A BLISSFULEXPERIENCE’

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HYDERABAD, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

Raids on contractorsyields I-T sleuths Rs 750 crore PNS n NEW DELHI

The Income Tax Department hasdetected undisclosed income ofabout Rs 750 crore after it raidedthree major Bengaluru-based con-tractors engaged in the executionof irrigation and highway projects,the CBDT said on Tuesday.

The searches were launched onOctober 7 at 47 across four States.These groups suppressed their incomeby resorting to bogus purchases,inflation of labour expenses, bookingof bogus sub-contract expenses etc,the CBDT said.

HHYYDDEERRAABBAADDWWEEAATTHHEERR

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated OCTOBER 12, 2021 5:00 PM

FFoorreeccaasstt:: Mostly sunnyTTeemmpp:: 31/21HHuummiiddiittyy:: 60%SSuunnrriissee:: 6:08 amSSuunnsseett:: 05:56 pm

AALLMMAANNAACC

TTOODDAAYY

Month & Paksham:

Ashwin & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Ashtami 20:07

Nakshatram : Purva Ashadha 10:19

Time to Avoid : Time to Avoid (Bad

time to start any important work)

Rahukalam : 12:02 pm - 1:29 pm

Yamagandam : 7:39 am - 9:07 am

Varjyam : 6:04 pm - 7:37 pm

Gulika : 10:34 am - 12:02 pm

Good Time : (to start any important work)

Amritakalam : 3:23 am - 4:56 am

Abhijit Muhurtham : Nil

PNS n HYDERABAD

State Energy Minister G JagadishReddy on Tuesday ruled out thescope for any power cutsin the State at a timeshortage of coalsupplies is imp-acting powergeneration inthermal plantsin many States.

The Minist-er said the wor-risome situationabout coal suppliesis due to the decisionsof the Centre. “Some expertsobserved that the artificial scarci-ty of coal was created to hand overState-owned power plants to theprivate sector,” I feel it may be true,”he said.

KRMB to ask TS, AP to handover Srisailam, Sagar projectsML MELLY MAITREYI n HYDERABAD

The stage is set for implementingthe gazette notification on thejurisdiction of Krishna andGodavari River Management Boardfrom October 14.

KRMB Chairman MP Singh andother officials met officials of theIrrigation Department of Telanganaand Andhra Pradesh at Jal Soudhaon Tuesday and proposed to takeover the common projects ofSrisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar inthe Krishna Basin for regulatorypurposes.

The Board, which heard theconcerns of both the States relatedto utilisation of water and genera-tion of power from the two com-mon projects, decided to regulatethe release of water. “It requestedTelangana and Andhra Pradesh to

hand over the two contentiousprojects so that it can guide theStates on the operational proce-dure,” said Telangana Irrigationofficials.

Telangana Irrigation DepartmentSpecial Chief Secretary RajatKumar, who attended the meetingalong with the Engineer-in-Chief

and other officials, said thatTelangana has requested the Boardto delay the implementation ofnotification for some time till theconcerns raised by it, particularlyregarding 50:50 allocation ofKrishna water, were addressed.

At present Telangana gets 299tmc ft and AP 512 tmc ft.

The Board, keeping theTelangana State’s request, is believedto have said this would be a tran-sition period and implementationof the gazette notification would bein a phased manner.

The KRMB would formally writeto the State governments about itsproposal to regulate the release ofwater from both Srisailam andNagarjuna Sagar projects and thegeneration of power from the hydelpower stations.

The report of the KRMB wouldbe discussed with Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao and theTelangana government woulddeliberate on the proposals ofKRMB and submit its comments.“The process of dialogue and fur-ther discussions will continue withthe Board,” officials said.

Stage set for implementation of gazette notification on KRMB, GRMB jurisdiction

No power cuts in TS,reassures MinisterJagadish Reddy holdsUnion govt responsible forshortage in coal supplies

Centre tells State not tostarve own consumersof power for profits

In view of the looming powercrisis due to shortage of coal

supplies, the Union governmenthas instructed States to utilisethe unallocated power of the

Central Generating Stations tomeet the power requirement

of their own consumers. Ina statement, the Ministryof Power said that it hasbeen brought to theirnotice that some Stateswere not supplying power

to their consumers andimposing load shedding.

At the same time they werealso selling power in the powerexchange at a high price.

NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

At the current pace of operations,a complaint filed under the Rightto Information Act in Telangana inJuly 2021 would not be disposed ofby the State Information Commi-ssion (SIC) at least until 2025.

Despite being a hub for IT,analysis by transparency watchdogspaint a dismal picture for Telanganawhich doesn’t even have an onlineRTI filing service.

Telangana is among the top fivestates in the country where dispos-ing RTI appeals takes the longesttime. At the current pace, it wouldtake four years and five months foran appeal/complaint filed on July1, 2021 to be disposed of by theTelangana SIC. This means, an

appeal filed in July 2021 will be dis-posed in November 2025 inTelangana, as per a report releasedby rights organisation SatarkNagrik Sangathan.

Consequently, the backlog ofappeals / complaints is steadily

increasing in ICs. Telangana had10,814 appeals as backlog inDecember 2020 which increased to11,207 in June 2021. Telangana isat sixth position in the country interms of backlogs.

This was calculated using data on

the backlog of cases in ICs and theirmonthly rate of disposal, the timeit would take for an appeal/com-plaint filed with an IC on July 1,2021 to be disposed was comput-ed assuming appeals and com-plaints are disposed in a chronolog-ical order.

Tuesday marks 16 years since theRTI Act came into force on October12, 2005, which has been a tool forcitizens to demand accountabilityin governance.

In Odisha, SIC would take 6years and 8 months to dispose ofa matter, while the Goa SICwould take 5 years and 11months, in Kerala 4 years and 10months and in West Bengal 4years and 7 months.

SIC headless, TS takes years to dispose pleasSW monsoon beginswithdrawal in StatePNS n HYDERABAD

After bringing bountiful rains,the southwest monsoon has begunits withdrawal from Telangana; onTuesday, it had already withdrawnfrom some parts of the State.

As per the IMD, conditions arebecoming favourable for furtherwithdrawal of southwest mon-soon from some more parts ofMaharashtra and Telangana andparts of Karnataka during thenext two days.

The IMD said: “As on Tuesday,the withdrawal line of southwestmonsoon now passes throughLatitude 24.0°N/longitude 93.0°E,

Lengpui, Kolkata, Baripada,Malkangiri, Hanamkonda,Aurangabad, Silvassa and Latitude20.0°N/Long. 70.0°E.”

For people of Huzurabad, everyday is Dasara day these daysSNCN ACHARYULUn HYDERABAD

For those who reside in HuzurabadAssembly constituency limits, th-ese days, every day is Dasara day.

For those who partake, liquor iseasy to obtain and the atmos-phere is such that instead of gettingstern looks, an intoxicated staggeris acknowledged with an under-standing shrug.

A politician from Huzurabadtold this correspondent that thedaily expenditure on supplyingliquor and non-vegetarian food,

especially mutton dishes, as well asnew clothes, is ranging from Rs5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh andthis will continue tillpolling day.

This by-election isset to be the costliestaffair yet for themain political par-ties, the politiciansaid.

According to theElection Commission, thetotal expenditure for eachcandidate is limited to Rs 38.80lakh. By the end of the campaign,

crores would have been spent, butthe accounts would show other-

wise.Distribution of money

has become the normrather than the excep-tion in elections thesedays. In the oldendays, the money dis-tributed to each voter

was in hundreds, thattoo it was a one-time

affair carried out justbefore the polling date.

Tuesday marks 16years since the Right

to Information Actcame into force onOctober 12, 2005,which has been atool for citizens to

demandaccountability in

governance.

Govt asks CIL to raisecoal supply to powerplants during Puja

P8

PNS n HYDERABAD

Actor Prakash Raj has said thatthere is a ‘deeper meaning’ behindhis resignation from Tollywood'sinfluential industry body, MovieArtists Association (MAA).

Thanking the members whohad supported him and his panelin the just-concluded MAA elec-tions, the acclaimed characteractor tweeted: "Hi my dear MAAmembers who stood by us ...There is a deeper meaning behindmy resignation from the MAA."

Prakash Raj lost to actor-pro-ducer Manchu Vishnu in a bitter-ly contested election and thenannounced on Monday that he was

quitting the MAA. "We willNEVER let you all down ... willexplain very soon ... you will beproud of us," he added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

An expert panel of India's Centraldrug authority has recommend-ed granting emergency use autho-risation to Bharat Biotech'sCovaxin for children and adoles-cents in the 2 to 18 years agegroup with certain conditions,sources said on Tuesday.

If approved by the DrugsController General of India, it willbe the second Covid-19 vaccineafter Zydus Cadila's needle-freeZyCoV-D to receive EUA for usein those below 18 years.

PNS n HYDERABAD

With polling date barely twoweeks away, allegations andcounter allegations between theTRS and the BJP are getting incr-easingly harsh in Huzurabad.

The TRS on Tuesday lodged acomplaint with the ElectionCommission, accusing BJP can-didate Eatala Rajender and theparty itself of an ‘attempt’ to foista false case against TRS MLABalka Suman.

TRS complains toEC against Eatala’s‘falsehoods’

Emergency useof Covaxin for2-18 age grouprecommended

Prakash Raj says ‘there’s a deepermeaning’ behind quitting MAA

PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC president A Revanth onTuesday blamed Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao for the back-wardness of Palamuru (Mahabubn-agar) district and alleged that KCRprovided an opportunity to AndhraPradesh to brand the pending irri-gation projects of the district ‘illegal’.

TPCC president A Revanth Reddy, right, waves to the massive crowd, left, that attended theVidyarthi Nirudyoga Jung Siren public meeting in Amistapur, Mahabubnagar on Tuesday.

Indian economy to growat 9.5% this year: IMFPNS n WASHINGTON

India's economy, which contract-ed by 7.3 percent due to theCovid-19 pandemic, is expectedto grow by 9.5 percent in2021 and 8.5 percent in2022, according to latestprojections released bythe InternationalMonetary Fund onTuesday.

India's growth projec-tion released by the latestWorld Economic Outlook remainsunchanged from its previous WEO(World Economic Outlook) update

of July this summer but is a three-percentage point in 2021 and 1.6percentage point drop from itsApril projections.

According to the latest WEOupdate, released ahead of

the annual meeting ofthe IMF and the WorldBank, the world isexpected to grow at 5.9percent in 2021 and 4.9

percent in 2022.The United States is

projected to grow at six per-cent this year and 5.2 percent thenext year.

Revanth holds KCR responsiblefor backwardness of Palamuru

‘Vidyarthi Nirudyoga JungSiren' public meeting evokes

massive response in Amistapur

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AMIT SHAH, NEW ERA NOW IN J&KBECAUSE OF YOU, SAYS NHRC CHIEF

Union Home Minister Amit Shah propelled a "new era inJammu and Kashmir", the country's human rights bodychief Arun Mishra said today. At an event addressed by

both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, JusticeArun Mishra also said it had become the "norm" to accuseIndia of human rights violations, spurred by internationalforces. "It is for you, Shah, that a new era has now begun inJammu and Kashmir," Justice Mishra said, speaking at thestart of the event to mark 28 years of the National HumanRights Commission (NHRC), which he heads.

ISRAEL URGES UNITED NATIONS TO HOLDIRAN TO ACCOUNT FOR NUCLEAR MOVES

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called Tuesday on theUnited Nations Security Council to take action against Iranover its escalating nuclear programme. Bennett spoke at a

conference in Jerusalem, where he suggested that Iran'sconduct is every nation's problem, and subject to globalaccountability. After talks between Tehran and world powers onreviving the nuclear deal stalled earlier this year, Iran hasbreached limits set by the accord. It has been enriching smallamounts of uranium to its closest-ever levels to weapons-grade purity as its stockpile continues to grow.

BJP’S MANOJ TIWARI HURT IN PROTESTOUTSIDE ARVIND KEJRIWAL'S HOME

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari was injured this afternoon in aprotest outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal'shome. Visuals showed the 50-year-old BJP leader

surrounded by supporters who were trying to help him.Tiwari was examined and treated by doctors at the Safdar-jung Hospital and was discharged after he was found to benormal. Tiwari was protesting against the Delhi governm-ent over the ban on Chhatth gatherings in the city. Beforethe protest, his office had posted a video where he is seenappealing people to join the demonstration.

PAK TERRORIST ARRESTED IN DELHI,‘BIG PLAN FOILED,’ SAYS ASTHANA

Ahead of the festive season, the Delhi Police Special Cellfoiled a big terror plan with the arrest of a Pakistaninational from Laxmi Nagar today and seized an AK-47 rifle

from his possession. According to the police, the accused wasliving with a fake identification of an Indian national and hadobtained the Indian identity cards through forged documents.The special cell operation was monitored by the Commissionerof Police Rakesh Asthana. "It is a good catch by special cellahead of the festive season. A big terror plan has been foiledby our team," Asthana said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Retail inflation fell to a five-month low of 4.35 percent inSeptember from 7.27 percentin the year-ago period as pricesof vegetables and other itemsdeclined, according to govern-ment data released on Tuesday.

The moderation in Consu-mer Price Index-based infla-tion is in line with the assess-ment of Reserve Bank Govern-or Shaktikanta Das whorecently projected substantialsoftening of retail inflation.

The CPI inflation was at 5.3percent in August and at 7.27percent in September 2020.Previously, the CPI was low at4.23 percent in April 2021.

As per the data released bythe NSO, the inflation in foodsegment eased to 0.68 percentin September, significantlydown from 3.11 percent in thepreceding month.

The data showed that infla-tion in the vegetables basketcontracted 22.47 percent in Se-ptember compared to a declineof 11.68 percent in August.

Retail inflationfalls to 4.35% in September

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hyderabad 02HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 13, 2021

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RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀33..9988

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(IN HYDERABAD)

It has been a long battlefor supremacy over thetinsel world among

major castes in the Telugustates. For, such suprema-cy is considered essentialto influence the generalpublic for political pur-poses.

The just-concluded elec-tions of the Movie Artistes'Association (MAA) have clear-ly sent a message that the tin-sel town too is under thetremendous influence ofcastes. Although MAA elec-tions were held on Telanganasoil, the outcomes are signifi-cant for the future of politicsin the neighbouring AndhraPradesh.

As for the latest MAA elec-tions, there were two groupsthat challenged each other:one, backed by mega star K.Chiranjeevi; and the other,propped by dialogue king M.Mohan Babu, considered to bea 'sweet enemy' of Chiranjeevi.Both have been shadow-box-ing for years against eachother.

The 'non-local' feeling wasinjected into the minds of900-plus members of MAAwith the sole intention of tar-geting Prakash Raj, who has

drawn accoladesfrom all quarters for

his stellar performanceson the silver screen allthrough his career. He

had to swallowbitter pills in the form ofpersonal accusations made

by opponents just because hewas fielded by Chiranjeevi.The opposite side's nomineewas Vishnu Manchu, son ofMohan Babu. Groups opposedto Chiranjeevi united andvowed to defeat Prakash Rajunder any circumstances.

It is pertinent to note herethat Chiranjeevi's brother,Pawan Kalyan, is currentlyperceived in political circles asan arch rival of AndhraPradesh Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy.

Pawan Kalyan has neverhesitated to bare his desire tounseat Jagan at the next avail-able opportunity. The personwho was pitted against PrakashRaj for the president's post ofMAA, Vishnu Machu, is avery close relative and son-in-law of paternal uncle of APCM Jaganmohan Reddy. Thepresence of brother-in-law ofthe Chief Minister in the fray,and that too againstChiranjeevi's man, generated

much heat in the film world aswell as among the generalpublic.

The media's attention toowas focused on these electionsas if it were on par with theGeneral Elections or theAssembly polls. Chiranjeevi(Kapu caste) has been target-ed by two other dominantcastes Kamma & Reddy.Mohan Babu belongs toKamma caste, but his sonVishnu is married to a Reddygirl from YSR's family. Hewas considered to be the rep-resentative of both castes byvirtue of being son-in-law of aReddy family.

The fielding of Vishnu isseen by observers as a strate-gic move to defeat the contes-tant backed by Chiranjeevi --

an iconic film personalitybelonging to Kapu caste.

Three political parties viz.YSRC, TDP and Jana Sena inAP are engaged in politicalgames, each driven by its ownstrategy.

The Kapu community,comprising other groups aswell, is considered to be a verybig force that could draw theattention of its own people. Butit lacks leadership that is strongenough for the community tomount the political ladder. Astrong force comprising theaforesaid groups could regis-ter its presence in the 2024elections and thereafter with apossible political combinationof 'anti-YSRC' political forces.

Sensing possible dangerfrom a unified Kapu commu-

nity in polls hereafter, bothYSRC and TDP are movingforward strategically to fore-close such options. The YSRChas initiated scathing attackson Jana Sena chief PawanKalyan on select issues, includ-ing allegations relating topolygamy in his personal life.The Jana Sena cadre registeredtheir protests against the rul-ing party's campaign.Noticeably, three ministersviz. K. Kanna Babu,M.Srinivas Rao (AvanthiSrinivas )and VellampalliSrinivas were MLAs of thePraja Rajyam Party (PRP),founded by Chiranjeevi, elder

brother Pawan Kalyan, in2009. Those three MLAs hadworked also with Pawan, whoheaded the youth wing of PRPin those days and his contribu-tion in their victories was notruled out by them. AfterChiranjeevi merged his partywith then ruling Congressparty, they continued in thatparty for a while, but laterjoined YSRC founded by YSJaganmohan Reddy. Giventheir past, they are deemed thebest weapons against Pawan.YSRC needs to dilute unityefforts in the Kapu communi-ty, though currently it enjoysmaximum support from thesame caste.

In the case of TDP, the sit-uation may be slightly differ-ent. The TDP too had enjoyedsupport of the same caste dur-ing its rule.

This implies that the partygetting the support of theKapu caste would most likelyemerge victorious at the hus-tings. TDP has to garner sup-port from the Kapu caste onlyin the wider context of defeat-ing YSRC 'for the sake of thestate'.

The Reddy and Kammacastes have ruled the combinedAP for decades and those two

parties strongly want the samesituation to continue forever byhaving a secret understanding:'either me or you, but no oneelse between us'.

On the same lines, MAAelections reflects the politicalsituation in AP.

The Kapus' influence overthe tinsel town has been min-imised by this outcome astwo strong castes are at thewinning side! The same situ-ation may play out on a larg-er canvas by the time of theelections in AP in 2024.

The influence of castes overthe film world down the linemakes an interesting reading.The Reddy caste ruled theTelugu film field during theinitial decades of the filmindustry. Film personalitieslike H.M.Reddy, B.N.Reddy,B.Nagi Reddy and K.V.Reddyleft their own impressions onthe field. Slowly, the situationturned to let Kammas takecontrol.

Since then the Kammacaste has been ruling theTelugu film industry. Theinfluence of the Kapu castesuddenly encircled the filmworld with the emergence ofpopular hero Chiranjeevi.

So, it has been feeling of

getting the lost glory for theKamma caste with the thump-ing victory of VishnuManchu, while the 'non local'tag worked against PrakashRaj.

Legendary actor and thefirst actor in south Indian filmindustry who took one rupeeper film in the early '40s,Chittoor V. Nagaiah headedthe Nadigar Sangham(filmactors' association) in Madrasthen.

A simple call given by abeloved leader in whom peo-ple repose confidence willyield the desired results. Afterbeing disturbed by theCongress regime in the early'80s, then Chief Minister ofKarnataka RamakrishnaHegde made a humble appealto the people of the state, ask-ing them to either give himmajority seats if they want hisrule or defeat him withouthesitation.

The electorate ofKarnataka responded over-whelmingly to this call andgave him majority seats in theKarnataka Assembly. In thatway, the bells of BasavanaGudi (the Assembly seat fromwhich he contested) rang in aresounding manner!

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

The Reddy caste ruled the Telugu film

field during the initial decades. Film

personalities like HM Reddy, BN Reddy,

B Nagi Reddy and KV Reddy left their

own impressions on the field. Slowly,

the situation turned to let Kammas ta-

ke control. Since then, Kammas have

been ruling the Telugu film industry.

PIN

POINT

Will the caste factor of MAA elections play out in AP's future politics?

PNS n HYDERABAD

Government is keen to pro-mote development of socialinfrastructure in the East,South and North of the city inPPE format, which in turn willpromote development of otherphysical infrastructure inHyderabad, according toITE&C Principal SecretaryJayesh Ranjan.

Speaking at the curtain rais-er event of HYSEA'sInfrastructure Summit, JayeshRanjan said, "Telangana Statehas been successful in enablingcost-effective IT Infra and it isprecisely the reason why sev-eral tech giants have chosenHyderabad for their campus-es/offices."

He said that infrastructure inthe State is continuously evolv-ing and the government has

not stopped with the ORR."Several new initiatives are inthe offing, including RegionalRing Road, Metro Phase 2, theGRID policy and many more,"he said.

HYSEA InfrastructureForum organises the annualevent which features thoughtleaders and policymakers whoshare their expertise aboutfuture evolution of smart andsustainable infrastructure, spe-cific to IT/ITES Industry.

This year, the theme of theevent will be 'a Quest forLegacy: The Nextgen Infra'with focus on Smart Mobility,energy and workplace. Morethan 300 leaders from IT /ITES Industry, IT infraproviders, consultants, gov-ernment and R&D institutionsare expected to participate inperson in the event this year.

CBRE is the exclusiveknowledge partner for thissummit.

Arvind Kumar, IAS, SpecialChief Secretary, MA&UD andDirector General (NIUM),Govt of Telangana, will be theChief Guest.

Arindam Banerrji, EVP andManaging Director, WellsFargo, India and Philippinesalso addressed the media at thecurtain raiser.

He said, "The challengeahead of us today is to getemployees back to work in asafe manner and create a high-ly engaged workforce whichwill in turn spawn innovation.As we work towards this, infra-structure will play a critical rolenot only in our growth, but inretaining our talent base andcreating a sustainable world".

Bharani Aroll, President,

HYSEA and CEO, Infopeers,said that, "As the industryslowly contemplates gettingback to work from offices,HYSEA Infrastructure summitwill be an excellent opportuni-ty to brainstorm workplacetransformation post pandem-ic, smart transportationsoptions and last mile connec-tivity issues and a host of sus-tainability topic to secure ourfuture".

Bharani also shared thatHYSEA may potentially beentering into a MOU on greenpower with the Department ofEnergy, TS government at theInfra Summit, thus aligningwith the government policy toreduce the carbon footprintand encourage the develop-ment of green power (solar)generation in and around thecity.

Govt to promote social infra in PPE format: Jayesh Ranjan

No permission forRGV’s Konda rally PNS n HYDERABAD

Tollywood director RamgopalVarma has started the shoot ofhis new film Konda atVanchanagiri, the village ofCongress senior leader andformer minister KondaSurekha and her husbandKonda Murali. The shootstarted on Tuesday after apuja performed at Bodrai.Konda Murali, Surekha, theirdaughter Susmitha Patel andother family members werepresent. On the occasion, RamGopal Varma talked aboutthe film shooting atVanchanagiri in Geesugondamandal and particularly about

Konda Murali's character. Thecharacter is one who will sac-rifice his life for those who lovehim and kill anyone whoopposes him, RGV said.

Konda Surekha said thatKonda Murali always standsby the side of the poor.However, some people tried tosuppress him and MinisterErrabelli Dayakar Rao is oneamong them. RGV tweeted onTuesday, "I thank the police fornot giving permission to ourKONDA movie RALLY there-by giving us more publicity". Healso tweeted "Telangana People..please come to watch theKONDA RALLY at 9AM onWednesday".

Man set ablazeby estrangedson-in-law diesPNS n HYDERABAD

A 55-year-old man, who wasset on fire allegedly by hisson-in-law last week, suc-cumbed to his injuries at astate-run hospital here onTuesday, police said.

The man had suffered 60percent burn injuries whilehis wife sustained around 30percent burns after their son-in-law allegedly set themablaze at their house here onSaturday night, they said.

Complaintlodged against Eatala PNS n HYDERABAD

A woman namedShivakumari lodged a com-plaint with the Civil SuppliesOffice on Tuesday againstformer Civil Supplies MinisterEatala Rajender, alleging thatEatala was involved in aRs.2000-crore scam. Shedemanded that the govern-ment order an inquiry intothe scam and punish Eatalaseverely. She said that she hadalso lodged a complaint withChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao.Shivakumari said that shewould meet Chief SecretarySomesh Kumar and KCR per-sonally seeking justice.

Later, speaking to themedia after lodging the com-plaint with the Civil SuppliesOffice, Shivakumari said thatshe has been supplying turdal to the ration shops since2011.

KRMB to ask TS, AP to hand...Continued from page 1

In the meeting held with theGRMB on Monday, both theStates agreed for the Board tak-ing over Peddavagu mediumirrigation project inKhammam with an ayacut of2,000 acres in Telangana andabout 13,000 acres in AndhraPradesh.

The Board’s mandate isadministration, operations andmaintenance but the projectwould be under the control ofthe State governments for now.The States would continue tooperate the project with theirown staff.

Meanwhile, KRMB said that

all the direct outlets underSrisailam and Nagarjuna Sagarin the second schedule wouldbe brought under its jurisdic-tion and it requested the Stategovernments to come forwardto hand over the direct outlets.

The KRMB subcommitteewhich studied the projects inthe Krishna basin said that inthe first phase 29 outlets underfive projects could be broughtunder the purview of theboard. In other areas, theStates have objections and sothey could not be taken overimmediately. It also prepareda detailed note with project-wise staff, offices, machineryand equipment.

The direct outlets underSrisailam in Telangana are LeftBank Power House,Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigationfirst pump house, NagarjunaSagar Head Works, Right andLeft canal, main hydel electricstation, AMRP lift, NagarjunaSagar Tail Pond, Head Worksand electricity block,Pulichintala Head Works, elec-tricity block, Sunkesula underKC Canal and cross-regulatorunder BRDS and TummillaLift Irrigation.

In AP, these are SrisailamSpillway, Right Bank powerhouse, Pothireddipadu, HNSSpump house andMucchumarri pump house.

Revanth holds KCR...Continued from page 1

Addressing a massive'Vidyarthi Nirudyoga JungSiren' public meeting inAmistapur, Mahabubnagar,Revanth Reddy said thatPalamuru had given greatleaders like Suravaram PratapReddy, Burgula RamakrishnaRao, Mallu Ananta Ramulu,Mallikarjun Goud and JaipalReddy who became ChiefMinister, PCC presidents andUnion Ministers. “However,TRS leaders defamed thisgreat with the illegal activitiesof land grabbing and sandmafia,” he alleged.

Revanth Reddy said when

the Krishna water was beingtaken to Rayalaseema thro-ugh Pothireddypadu Projectin 2004, half-a-dozen TRSleaders were part of the YSRCabinet. He said one TRS mi-nister was in charge of theKadapa district when Tela-ngana's water was being plun-dered. He alleged that KCRremained mum when Pala-muru was being plundered.

Stating that KCR never hadthe support of the people ofTelangana, Revanth Reddysaid that when TRS Legislat-ors resigned in 2008 to forceby-elections, the party couldretain only seven Assemblyand two Lok Sabha seats.

Raids on contractors...Continued from page 1

"Investigation found that oneof the groups has bookedbogus sub-contract expensesin the name of about 40individuals of no means andunconnected to the construc-tion business," the CentralBoard of Direct Taxes, thepolicy-making body for thetax department, said in astatement.

It added that these individ-uals have admitted to the saidmanipulation.

SIC headless, TS takes years to...Continued from page 1

Of the 6,041 appeals and com-plaints filed, 2,310 were dispos-ed of by passing orders betweenAugust 1, 2020 and June 30,2021. Since April 2019, penal-ties to the tune of Rs 1,14,000in 54 cases were imposed in TS.

Telangana, Manipur,Nagaland have no ChiefInformation Commissioners.After the CIC demitted office inAugust 2020, an existing com-

missioner is holding the addi-tional charge, though there is nosuch explicit provision in thelaw.

As many as 21 of the 29 ICs(72 percent), includingTelangana, have not publishedtheir annual report for 2019-20.The SICs of Andhra Pradeshand Telangana have not pub-lished their annual report sincethe constitution of the respec-tive SICs in 2017 after bifurca-tion.

No power cuts in TS, reassures...Continued from page 1

At least now the Centre shouldnot trample upon the rights ofStates, Jagadish Reddy said.

Telangana has coal reservesto last for 200 years and theState government has madeplans to supply the powergenerated throughout the Stateto Hyderabad and from thereto various districts. The gener-ation of hydel power was alsogood, the Minister said.

“The power generated inSrisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar,Ramagundam, Bhupalpally,Kothagudem and Manuguruwould be sufficient forTelangana. Last year thedemand touched 16,000 MWand the State could generatepower at the same level,” the

Minister reminded.He clarified that for now,

Telangana has no problemsbecause of the decisions takenby Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao with a lotof foresight. “However, legisla-

tions brought by the Centrecould create problems for theState and it might face powercuts in future,” Jagadish Reddysaid. For this Centre wouldhave to own full responsibili-ty, he said.

Centre tells State not to starve own consumers...Continued from page 1

As per the guidelines for allocation of power, 15 percent power fromthe Central Generating Stations (CGS) is kept under ‘unallocatedpower’ which is allocated by the Union government to needy Statesto meet the requirement of consumers in their area. The Ministrysaid it was the responsibility of the distribution companies to supplypower to the consumers and they should first serve the consumerswho have the right to receive power 24x7. Thus, the distributioncompanies should not sell the power in the power exchange andstarve their own consumers. In case of surplus power, the Stateswere asked to intimate the Union government so that it could be re-allocated to other needy States.

For people of Huzurabad, every day is Dasara day these daysContinued from page 1

But now, thousands of rupeesare handed to each voter in addi-tion to arranging food for themright from the last stages of cam-paign to polling date.

In the past, a political partywas confident of getting votesafter distributing money, butnow there is no such guarantee

as voters have become wiser andtaking money from all candidatesand finally casting their votesaccording to their wish. However,this is limited to neutral voters.

The local-level leaders have apretty good idea about whichvillage and which caste willvote for which party. In a major-ity of the villages, voters aredivided on party-lines and this

is an advantage for the leaders. They distribute money only to

those who they are sure wouldvote for their party or candidate.But neutral voters, who inciden-tally are more in number, are theworrisome factor for politicalparties. All main political partiesdistribute money to these neur-al voters, hoping that this woulddo the trick. In other words,

political parties cannot risk notgiving money to these neutralvoters since the voters mayfavour their rivals.

In any case, no political partycan guarantee that the voters willback them since the voter ulti-mately would consider the can-didate and take in other factorsbefore casting the vote.

Political parties are spending

more in this by-election thanthey generally do in one con-stituency in the GeneralElections, since Huzurabad by-poll has become a matter ofprestige for the contestants. Theunfortunate result is that elec-tions have become a costly affairand contesting in any poll hasbecome a distant dream for thecommon man.

The reality is such that mostpolitical parties now tend toconsider the financial positionof an aspirant and his willingnessto spend money like water forgiving the ticket.

In some cases, parties dospend money in reserved con-stituencies for candidates whoare financially poor but have agood image among the voters.

SW monsoon begins withdrawal...Continued from page 1

The monsoon this year hadbeen vigorous, with the Stateaverage cumulative rainfall (June1 to October 12) being 1,041.5

mm against the normal of 776.2mm, a 34% deviation. In fact, theaverage cumulative rainfall inGHMC limits in this period was827.5 mm against the normal of634.1 mm, a 31% deviation.

Emergency...Continued from page 1

Hyderabad-based Bharat Bi-otech, which completed thephase 2/3 trials of Covid-19vaccine Covaxin for use inchildren aged between 2 and18 years, had submitted thedata to the Central Drugs St-andard Control Organisationfor verification and subs-equent approval for emer-gency use authorisation forthe jab in the beginning ofthis month.

The Subject Expert Comm-ittee on Covid-19 deliberatedon the EUA application onMonday.

"After detailed delibera-tion, the committee recom-mended grant of marketauthorisation of the vaccinefor the age group of 2 to 18years for restricted use in em-ergency situations subject tothe certain conditions," theSEC recommendations stated.

Indian economy...Continued from page 1

China, on the other hand, theIMF said is projected to growat 8 percent in 2021 and 5.6percent in 2022.

Gita Gopinath, ChiefEconomist of the IMF, saidthat compared to their Julyforecast, the global growthprojection for 2021 has beenrevised down marginally to 5.9percent and is unchanged for2022 at 4.9 percent. However,this modest headline revisionmasks large downgrades forsome countries.

Prakash Raj...Continued from page 1

The actor had quit the tradebody because he was upsetover what he perceived as"regionalism" during the elec-tion and the 'tukde tukde'gang issue being raked up inthe campaign.

A native of Karnataka, themulti-lingual actor said hewould remain a "guest" in theindustry because that is whathis rival panel and its sup-porters want him to be.

During the bitter cam-paign, the Vishnu panel and

TRS complains to...Continued from page 1

The TRS complained thatthe BJP candidate has beencarrying out false propa-ganda against the TRS andits candidate Gellu Srinivasto gain benefit in the elec-tion.

It also complained aboutan attack on TRS studentwing leader Jagan by BJPleaders. “Eatala Rajenderhad been organising road-shows in violation of electioncode,” TRS leaders said intheir complaint.

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 13, 2021 hyderabad 03

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Chief SecretarySomesh Kumar on Tuesdayexuded confidence that theState will achieve the target of100 per cent Covid vaccinationof population above 18 years innext one month.

He said with 3 to 4 lakh peo-ple being administered thevaccine every day and improve-ment in the vaccine supply, thestate health department willachieve the target next month.

He was talking to reportersafter visiting mega vaccinationcentre at GHMC SportsComplex at Khajaguda inHyderabad. Authorities havemade arrangement for vacci-nation from 7 am to 11 pmevery day. Special countershave been arranged for womenand senior citizens.

The chief secretary directedthe officials to undertake widepublicity in the area to informpeople about the vaccinationfacility. He asked them toespecially focus on migrantlabourers. He said six moremega vaccination centres willbe set up in the city to furtherimprove the vaccination cov-erage. The chief secretary saidthe state has so far adminis-tered 2.8 crore doses. A total of

2.02 crore people have takenthe first dose.

He pointed out that supplyof Covid vaccines to the statehas improved. "This month thestate will receive one croredoses," he said

Somesh Kumar said vaccina-tion was underway in all thedistricts. He said in districtswhere the pace of vaccinationis slow, he would speak to thedistrict collectors concernedand ask them to expedite theprocess.

The officials are focusing ondistricts where the vaccinationcoverage is less than 72 percent. Only around 50-55 percent of people have taken thefirst jab in six districts.Telangana has a population of4.1 crore, of which around 2.8crore are above the age of 18years. Officials said 71.42 per

cent eligible beneficiaries havetaken the first dose. Accordingto director of public health GSrinivasa Rao, 2.02 crore peo-ple have taken the first dose,and 78 lakh the second dose.

However, around 25 lakhpeople who were due for sec-ond dose have skipped itdespite completing the pre-scribed time interval betweentwo doses. Of them, 15 lakhtook the first dose ofCovishield and the remainingtook Covaxin.

Only 32 per cent of thosevaccinated have taken thesecond dose. Authoritiesattributed this to misconcep-tion that the pandemic isover. He appealed to peopledue for second dose to imme-diately approach the nearestvaccination centre and takethe second jab.

T'gana aims to achieve 100%Covid vaccination in a month

G RAVI KIRAN

n HYDERABAD

A number of youngsters aregetting involved in drunk-dri-ving cases, which ends upspoiling their future. Despitethe strong measures in placeand regular drives conductedby the police officials, theyouth continue to drive ininebriated state, which isexposed by the cases regis-tered every week. They startto feel the heat only whenthey apply for a passport andvisa for studying abroad.

Drunk driving was a crim-inal offense as per the MotorVehicle Act, 1988. However,as per the new Motor VehicleAct in 2019, the punishmentfor the offence was madestrict and strong. The policeofficials had always warnedthe students and youngstersthat imprisonment for drunkdriving may affect theirchances of going abroad. Thatwarning has become realnow.

Every week, hundreds aregetting imprisonment as pun-ishment by the court for theoffence. Earlier, they had to

pay fines only. Now, whoev-er is caught during the specialdrive conducted by police isbeing imprisoned by the courtbased on the alcohol percent-age registered in the test.

A final semester engineer-ing student participated in aparty given by his friend,who had got the chance togo to the USA on a studentvisa. At that party, he dranktoo much. He was caught bythe police while riding histwo-wheeler in the drunkenstate. The reading was morethan 250.

"I haven't felt peace sincethat day. Months have passed.Now, I have to apply for apassport and student visa tothe USA. But, the case ispending. If I get imprison-ment in court, then thechances of getting a visa willbe affected. The same is thecase of passport. The casewould come to light duringthe verification process. I willnever repeat that mistake.But I cannot undo what isalready done. I appeal to allthe youngsters to not takedrunk driving easy," he says.

Joint Commissioner ofPolice AR Srinivas said, "Wedon't want to ruin anyone'slife. But, if these punish-ments are not there, theywill not bother to followrules. Many have beenapproaching us urging toremove the cases, which is notpossible. Once a case is reg-

istered, they will be in trou-ble."

Not only students, IT pro-fessionals who try for workvisas will also get in troublewith the drunken drivingcases. These cases are regis-tered as criminal records andshared with all the depart-ments.

Drunk driving cases ruining dreamsof youths planning to study abroad

85 persons jailed for drunk driving in Cyb PNS n HYDERABAD

A total of 85 persons, whowere caught by theCyberabad Traffic Police oncharges of drunk drivingand without drivinglicences, have been sent tojail for durations rangingfrom one day to 26 days.

According to the trafficpolice, the 85 persons whowere sentenced to imprison-ment were among 209 per-sons caught for drunk dri-ving and without drivinglicence during regular vehi-

cle checking betweenOctober 4 and 8 at variousplaces across the CyberabadPolice Commissionerate andproduced before the court.The court imposed a totalfine of Rs 2 lakh on violatorsof the drunk driving ruleand Rs 1.2 lakh on thosewithout a driving license.

The driving licenses of allthe persons caught drunkwere being sent to theRegional TransportAuthority concerned forsuspension of the license,officials said.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Dissipating the confusionover the conduct of SaddulaBathukamma, the TelanganaVidwat Sabha on Tuesdaydecided to celebrate the lastday of the floral festival onWednesday after meetingrenowned priests.

A delegation of TelanganaVidwat Sabha, on Tuesday,met renowned priests anddecided to celebrate the lastday of the festival on October13. This year, confusion hasbeen prevailing over the dateof Saddula Bathukammasince Ashtami is falling on the8th day of the nine-day flo-ral festival.

According to KamalakaraSiddhanti, Bathukamma iskept for 7 days in Vemulawada

and 13 days in some parts ofthe Adilabad and Mahabu-bnagar districts. He says thataccording to most pundits,Saddula Bathukamma shouldbe held on October 13.

According to the priest atWarangal Bhadrakali temple,the festival begins withEngilipula Bathukamma andis celebrated for 5, 7, or 9 daysaccording to the local customs

and traditions in the area. Theacademy has already decidedto hold the SaddulaBathukamma on October 13.

However, TelanganaArcha-kas' Federation pres-ident Gangu UpendraSharma says that SaddulaBathukamma will be cele-brated on October 14.

Bathukamma is the floralfestival for women celebrat-ed in Telangana. It is symbol-ic of the beauty and eternalglory of Goddess Gauri - theultimate patron of woman-hood. It is celebrated for ninedays in the month of Ashwin.

The festival starts onBhadrapada Amavasya orMahalaya Amavasya andends with SaddulaBathukamma on the 9th dayof ashtami.

Saddula Bathukamma to be celebrated today

PNS n HYDERABAD

A youngster involved in acheating case fell to his deathfrom a building, reportedlywhile he was trying to escapefrom the police at Asifnagaron Tuesday morning.

According to the Police,the man, a resident ofAsifnagar, was involved in acase at Dundigal police sta-tion. He had collected moneyfrom some persons on thepretext of sending them toDubai. A police team fromDundigal had come to arresthim on Tuesday.

On noticing the police,the man reportedly tried toescape and fell of the build-ing. He died on the spot.

Youth falls off building trying to evade cops

PNS n HYDERABAD

The State government ofTelangana on Tuesday sus-pended Shadnagar municipalcommissioner D Lavanya aftertwo daily wage laborers whowere working on an under-ground drainage project diedafter loose soil at the worksitecaved in on them atChatanpally on the outskirts ofHyderabad on Monday. Thelaborers, Srinivas andKrishnaiah, were working forthe contractor BRR construc-tions laying a drainagepipeline. A case has been reg-istered against the contractor.

The above incident shows alack of supervision on part ofD Lavanya, municipal com-

missioner, ShadnagarMunicipality in the mainte-nance of safety measures whileexecuting engineering works.Therefore, after careful exam-ination of the facts, it wasfound necessary to place theservices of the municipal com-missioner under suspensionwith immediate effect untilfurther orders, pending fur-ther inquiry in the matter, saidDr N Satyanarayana, directorof Municipal Administrationin the suspension order.

He also ordered that duringthe period of suspension shewill be paid subsistenceallowance and she shall notleave the headquarters duringthe suspension period withoutprior permission.

DEATH OF TWO LABOURERS

TS suspends Shadnagar municipal commissioner

PNS n HYDERABAD

A local court at Bhongir onTuesday convicted a manaccused of abetting a teenag-er's suicide and sentenced himto undergo three years rigor-ous imprisonment.

According to the police, theaccused, Cheruku Harikanth,25, was a neighbour of thedeceased 19-year-old girl. Theteenager used to help herfather in his shop atYadagirigutta, whileHarikanth, who used to workin an adjacent shop used totease and flirt with the teensaying that he is in love withher and would marry her.

"When her parents got toknow this, they reprimandedhim on several occasions.Despite warnings, he contin-ued harassing the girl, claim-

ing that he was in love with herand would marry her, to whichthe girl nurtured a soft spottowards him," said the inves-tigating officer, S RajashekarReddy.

However, Harikanth mar-ried another girl while keepingthe teen at bay. On September,13, 2016, when the teen ques-tioned him as to why he mar-ried another woman,

Harikanth reprimanded herand called her shameless forstill waiting on him, addingthat it was better she killed her-self.

Vexed on her life, she wentto her house, doused herself inkerosene and set herself ablaze.Neighbors rushed her to thearea hospital, Bhongir whereshe informed the police, thereason behind her suicide. Onthe same day, she succumbedto her burn injuries.

The Yadagirigutta Policearrested the accused andremanded him to judicial cus-tody. On completion of inves-tigation, a charge sheet wasfiled in the court and duringtrial on Tuesday, the courtjudge, convicted the accused,Harikanth, to undergo threeyears RI and imposed a fine ofRs 1,000 on him.

Youth gets 3 years in prison for abetting minor's suicide

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Metropolitan Sessionscourt here on Tuesday sen-tenced a man to undergo lifeimprisonment for kidnap andrape of a minor girl on June25, 2018.

The convict identified asYedla Ramesh, 47, a residentof Adarsh Nagar in Saifabadhas kidnapped a minor girlfrom the same locality andraped her. A case was regis-tered and he was sent toremand. During the investi-gation, the accused foundguilty and the same wasproved in the court by inves-tigation officer and SaifabadACP Venugopal Reddy. Theadditional MetropolitanSessions Judge has sentencedhim to undergo life imprison-ment and ordered him to paya fine of Rs 20,000.

Man gets life term for rape and murder

The Statue of Equality project which is set to be inaugurated onFebruary 2 wherein the President of India Ram Nath Kovind and

Prime Minister Narendra Modi are likely to participate, is adedication to the great icon of Equality, Sri Ramanujacharya

Swamiji. He had created ripples in society 1,000 years ago withHis revolutionary thoughts and brought the neglected on the same

platform on par with the elite when society was gripped withsocial evils of untouchability and class-based discrimination. Themain feature of the project is the 216 feet of Sri Ramanujacharya.

Underneath it, there will be the sanctum Sanctorum with a life-size120 kilograms of gold and a ‘pancha loha' statue of Sri Ramanuja.This statue would be consecrated and daily puja and rituals as per

the tradition would be performed.

STATUE OF EQUALITY

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Narsingi Police appre-hended a head constable whoconned innocent people byclaiming to provide govern-ment jobs and collected Rs1.68 crore from victims.

The arrested person hasbeen identified as Boya ShaikShavali, 42, a head constable,residing at Gandipet.

According to the police,Shaik claimed that he wasclose to former and the presentChief Minister of AP andshowed his pictures with theCMs. "He used this as hismodus operandi to con inno-cent people who are in searchof government jobs and tookhuge amounts of money," saidthe Narsingi Police.

Police officials received acomplaint from a victim whopaid Shaik Rs 10 lakhs after hewas promised a job in APGENCO. Shaik took theamount through cash andonline transfer to his wife'saccount as well. However,when the victim asked him forprogress on his promise, Shaikkept dodging the questionand finally stopped answeringhis calls. Later, the victimlearnt that he was one ofmany victims of Shaik, whowere cheated in a similar way.

Based on his complaint, theNarsingi Police registered acase and began an investiga-tion. Shaik was arrested andduring interrogation, officialslearnt that he collected Rs1,68,00,000 from his victims.

Head constable bookedfor cheating job seekers

PNS n HYDERABAD

Tax inspector and bill collec-tor of GHMC circle-12,Mehdipatnam were nabbedby the sleuths of ACB onTuesday for demanding andaccepting bribe of Rs 5,000 todo official favours.

According to the officials,the complainant MamidiGnaneshwar has approachedthe tax inspector KoushikaSuresh Kumar to process ahouse mutation file. To do thework, the tax inspector hasdemanded Rs 5,000 fromGnaneshwar, who hasapproached the ACB.

As per the directions of theofficials, the complainant hashanded over chemical-applied Rs 5,000 notes to thebill collector PallepagaRajeshwar at the office.

The ACB sleuths has con-ducted the raids and arrest-ed the duo. They have beenproduced before the specialcourt of ACB with evidence.

2 GHMC officials land in ACB trap

PNS n HYDERABAD

NITI Aayog and UNDP India,in a handbook launched topromote sustainable manage-ment of plastic waste in thecountry, listed Hyderabad'swaste management practices asa case study.

The report, titled 'NITIAayog-UNDP Handbook onSustainable Urban PlasticWaste Management', says thatHyderabad has streamlinedthe process of waste collectionthrough "digitisation andstrong documentation".

Hyderabad generates 9,965Metric Tonnes (MT) of wasteper day from different sources,and approximately 15 percentis plastic waste. In 2018, real-izing the role that technologyand digitisation can play inmanaging waste, the GreaterHyderabad Municipal

Corporation (GHMC) enteredinto an agreement with theRamky Foundation to docu-ment all waste transactions astraceability and data manage-ment play a key role in the cir-cular economy.

In the report, the NITIAayog said, "For transparencyand traceability, new monitor-ing systems were introduced totrack data along the wastevalue chain. These monitoringsystems included record-keep-

ing, data management andother improved documenta-tion practices. SOPs wereimplemented to streamline thedata at every stage. Thisenabled the tracking of wasteinflow at every stage, includingat the Material RecoveryFacility (MRF). It also helpedidentify the source of waste andthe concerned waste pickers"

The monitoring system atthe MRF follows a three-stepreporting process to ensure the

integrity of the entire system:registration of data also knownas the Field MonitoringRegisters; Datasheet whichconsists of sub-sheets wheredaily data is recorded andreporting formats with stan-dard monthly, bimonthly, quar-terly reports that are sharedand verified by the field team.

During registering data, thefirst inward register capturesthe volumes procured fromvarious sources daily. Thetransactions are recorded in theregister and supported by thepurchase invoices/bills.

The outward register cap-tures data, which is processedand further sent to recyclers,aggregators, etc.

The data is recorded in theregister with supporting saleinvoices/bills. The details of theassets are captured in a specif-ic format and updated month-

ly. Waste picker register: Thisregister records the on-board-ing of new waste pickers and isupdated regularly.

The impact of the model is100 percent compliance due toa strong understanding ofprocesses and a committedteam.

Other impacts include,"Availability of metrics forinward and outward volumesof material. Availability of resincode-based classification ofvolumes of material. Such datais useful for effective planningof volumes and effective imple-mentation of programmaticactivities. Excel-based digitiza-tion of registered data providesfor analytics and smart datamanagement, empowering theMRF operations. Proper recordand documentation of wagespaid to waste pickers and otherrelated details."

City's waste transactions are a case study for NITI Aayog

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Cyberabad Police, inves-tigating the multi-crore SunPariwar pyramid schemescam, has formed an auctioncommittee to sell the proper-ties of the group.

The police said that thecommittee would auction theproperties of the group anddistribute the sale of the pro-ceeds to the depositors of theSun Pariwar group.

Officials asked the mem-bers to furnish their individ-ual data as required by thecommittee when called uponto do so. The police also saidthat the members couldproactively call or furnish thedetails through WhatsAppon 7901099438, 7901125032and 7901125120.

On December 14, 2018,the Cyberabad police arrest-ed Ravinder, a governmentteacher-turned CEO of SunPariwar and P Mounika, adirector of the company, forallegedly defrauding about1,500 victims in the name ofan investment scheme thatoffers over 6 percent month-ly interest on the principalamount.

Cops form panel to oversee auction of Sun Pariwar assets

04HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 13, 2021

PNS n MULUG

Panchayat Raj MinisterErrabelli Dayakar Rao onTuesday distributed clothesamong college going girls atTadwai for Bathukamma cele-brations.

The dresses were donated bynoted social scientist ProfSurepalli Sujata.

The Minister explained thecultural significance of thefestival for the people of thestate. He blessed the girl stu-dents who welcomed him withflowers of different hues.

He said that the forest areain Tadwai is home for bio-diversity. Later, he unveiled anessay titled ‘Telangana BathukuPanduga’, authored by AsnalaSrinivas, principal of the col-lege. He felicitated the princi-pal, who has been striving fordevelopment of education inAgency areas of Tadwai, forwinning the best principalaward. The principal hailedErrabelli Dayakar for visitingthe college. ZP chairmanJagadish, vice-chairpersonBade Nagajyoti, market com-mittee chairman Ramanayyaand others were present.

Errabelli distributes clothes among girls for Bathukamma

Minister pays tributes to noted communist leader PNS n WARANGAL

Panchayat Raj MinisterErrabelli Dayakar Rao paidrich tributes to noted com-munist leader BR BhagawanDas along with CPI stateexecutive memberTakkallapali Srinivasa Raoand Government Chief WhipVinaya Bhaskar by garlandingstatue of Bhagawan Das atAsoka Junction here on theoccasion of the 18th deathanniversary of the great soul.

Dayakar Rao said that heregards Bhagawan Das as hispolitical guru. The TRS,under the leadership of ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao, is progressing in tunewith the ideology ofBhagawan Das.

Had Bhagawan Das alivetoday, he would have beenvery happy, he said.

Though a communistleader, Bhagawan Das, cuttingacross his political affilia-tions served the poor.

PNS n SANGAREDDY

Villages under the NyalakalPrimary Health Centreachieved 100 per cent vac-cination. He wanted otherPHC staff to work with thesame zeal deriving inspira-tion from the NyalakalPHC, District CollectorHanumanta Rao said in astatement on Tuesday.

In all, 17,933 persons liv-ing in 24 villages under thePHC limits were vaccinated,he said.

He said the target wasreached with the coopera-tion from the PHC in-charge medical officer DrGanapati, para medical staff,ASHA workers, villagesarpanches and other elect-ed representatives.

He appreciated DMHODr Gayatri Devi, DrGanapati of the PHC, para-medical staff, ASHA work-ers, sarpanches anothers onthe occasion.

PNS n JAGTIAL

In response to a call given bythe Joint Action Committeeof farmers, farmers took outa huge rally in Metpalli townin the district on Tuesdaydemanding revival of sugarfactory at Mutyampet inMallapur mandal and pro-curement of maize and paddyby the government at theminimum support price(MSP). They also soughtminimum support price of Rs15,000 to turmeric.

Later, they staged a sit-inon the national highway atthe old bus station affectingthe movement of traffic onthe road for nearly threehours.

The police have beefed upsecurity for the rally to ruleout any untoward incidents.It may be recalled that thefarmers rally last year creat-ed tension in the region.

Politicians did not takepart in the rally as the farm-ers asked the politicians to

keep themselves away fromthe demonstration.

The farmers' associationleaders demanded the stategovernment of Telangana toimplement their demandswith immediate affect, other-wise they threatened to stepup their agitation.

Ryots take out rally for revival of Mutyampeta Sugar Factory

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

Finance Minister T HarishRao has dared former Ministerand BJP candidate forHuzurabad by-poll EatalaRajender to prove that theState government-imposed taxof Rs 291 is included in theprice of the LPG cylinder oth-erwise asked him to bow outof the Huzurabad race.

Addressing an electionmeeting in support of TRScandidate Gellu Srinivas hereon Tuesday, Harish Raoaccused Rajender of discour-aging the people to attendTRS meetings by offering them

inducements of Rs 300 perhead and wondered what kindof culture is this. Rajendershould say that he should

specifically say that he woulddo this, if elected. But, prevent-ing people from attending TRSmeetings was objectionable, hesaid.

If he truly loves people, hewould have built 4,000 2BHKsfor the poor allotted by theChief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao, he saidadding that Eatala did notcare for the poor when inpower.

The people would not suc-cumb to inducements like Rs300 to confine them indoors,they would break loose even iftied with ropes and vote for theTRS, he predicted.

Harish dares Eatala to prove govt levied Rs 291 tax on LPG cylinder

PNS n NALGONDA

Founder and president of YSRTelangana Party YS Sharmilaalleged that Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao, who haspromised ‘Bangaru Telangana’,has brought ‘bar and beerTelangana’.

Addressing a press confer-ence at Mahatma GandhiUniversity in Nalgonda onTuesday, Sharmila said formerChief Minister late YSRajashekhar Reddy was thereason for the construction ofMG University. The universi-ty was established to provideeducation to the poor, now lieswithout professors, Sharmilasaid adding that the universi-ty was running with only 50per cent of the staff, with theother half of the posts vacant.

"Does the Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao has anyidea about the future of the stu-dents?" she questioned andalleged that the TRS leadershave now concentrated on theuniversity lands.

Warning Chief Ministeragainst critisising her father,Sharmila said that she wouldspeak about the corruption ofTRS leaders.

KCR promised Bangaru T'gana, but brought bar and beer TS: Sharmila

K VENKATESHWARLU

n HYDERABAD

It's 'emotion vs. promotion' inthe Huzurabad by-poll cam-paign. While former HealthMinister Eatala Rajenderdepends on 'emotion' to gath-er votes, TRS party candidateGellu Srinivas Yadav has gonefor 'promotion' of governmentschemes. However, Congresscandidate Balmoor VenkatNarsing Rao has chosen 'crit-icism' of both the other partiesas his campaign tool.

It is a well known factor thatthe two main political partiesin the state - TRS and BJP -have taken the election serious-ly as the election was necessi-tated following the dismissal ofEatala Rajender from theCabinet by Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao.

Subsequently, EatalaRajender not only tenderedhis resignation as an MLA,but also quit from primarymembership of TRS. For boththe Chief Minister and theformer Minister, the by-elec-tion is a prestige issue. Both

the parties launched theircampaigns immediately afterthe resignation of EatalaRajender from MLA post.

Eatala soon joined the BJPand is contesting the electionas that party's candidate.

Eatala Rajender has been

delivering emotional speech-es to win the election at anycost. The six-time MLA iscashing in on his image andspeaks about how the TRSparty and the Chief Ministertreated him. It's not surewhether his speeches wouldearn him votes, but that hasbeen Eatala's strategy from thebeginning.

On the other hand, KCR hasbeen promoting his welfareschemes to ensure the victoryof his candidate Gellu SrinivasYadav, who is contesting theelections for the first time.During the campaign, the TRSparty has been talking aboutthe schemes introduced by theTRS government like 'DalitBandhu', thereby promotingits candidate as well.

Meanwhile, the late entrantinto the election campaign -

Congress candidate BalmoorVenkat Narsing Rao - hasbeen vehemently criticisingboth the TRS and the BJP,terming them 'two sides of thesame coin'.

"They are doing nothing atthe Centre (BJP) and at thestate (TRS) and both the par-ties have deceived farmers,unemployed youth and sever-al other sections of the soci-ety," he says.

However, a voter fromVeenavanka mandal in theHuzurabad constituency,Naresh, said that the votersare tired of the long campaign."I don't know for whom Iwould cast my vote on the D-day as I have lost interest inthe election due to the cam-paign that has been going onfor the past five-and-a-halfmonths," he said.

It's emotion vs promotion in Huz'bad

After Kavitha, now Sharmila releases Bathukamma songPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao's daugh-ter K Kavitha releases videosongs to mark Bathukammafestival every year. This year,she associated with legendarymusician and Oscar winnerA R Rahman and eminentdirector Goutham VasudevMenon for the Bathukammasong, which is already a hit.

However, former AP ChiefMinister late Dr YS Rajasek-hara Reddy's daughter YSSharmila, who launched YSRTelangana Party, too hascome up with a Bathukammasong this year.

The song was produced byYSRTP culture wing. YSRTPofficial spokesperson EpuriSomanna has written andsung the song. Sharmila,party leaders and artists haveacted in the video song,which is filled with criticismagainst the TRS government.

Kavitha, too, appears inalmost all her Bathukammavideo songs. The video songshows Nirudyoga Deekshas,cops arresting her and theleader consoling the familiesof unemployed youth whocommitted suicide. The songends with the line: “We doanother fight for the realBathukamma festival.”

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

Returning officer forHuzurabad by-polls RVKarnan on Tuesday, in a meet-ing with bankers, asked themto submit details of bankaccounts that transacted cashmore than Rs 1 lakh.

Taking part in the meetingwith poll expenses observer SHElamurugu, he said that with-drawal of huge amounts frombanks is likely to induce vot-ers in Huzurabad Assemblyconstituency.

Therefore, he asked thebankers to submit him detailsof bank accounts whichremained dormant with notransactions for over several

months, but received hugeamounts of money recently. Heasked them to send details ofsuspected bank accounts ondaily basis. The election offi-cials will take suitable action.

He also asked the bankers tosend him details of creditingmoney through UPI, GooglePay, Phone Pay and otherapplications from a singleaccount. SBI, TelanganaGrameen Bank, Union Bank ofIndia, Indian Bank and otherbank officials took part in themeeting.

PNS n NIZAMABAD

The Sri Ram Sagar Project(SRSP) is getting heavyinflows from the upstreamareas. The authorities haveissued a warning to the agrar-ian sector of the downstreamfields regarding release of 2lakh cusecs of water fromWednesday onwards.

An alert has been issued tothe farmers about stoppage ofrelease of water through thedam gates from 6 am to 3 pmon Wednesday, so the farm-ers can take their motors tothe shore. Also, the authori-ties have requested shep-herds, cattle caretakers etc. tomaintain vigilance at theSRSP canal sites. SuptdEngineer Srinivas, IrrigationCircle, and M Chakrapani,Executive Engineer, releasedthe joint statement from thedam sit.

Officials to release 2 lakh cusecs water from Sri Ram Sagar

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana State govern-ment on Tuesday begun theexercise to address the issueof 'Podu' lands, or lands inforests tilled by tribals, witha meeting chaired by ChiefSecretary Somesh Kumar dis-cussing the modalities.

Following the recent deci-sion of Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao to launchan action plan to settle thedisputes over Podu land, themeeting decided to receivethe applications from thethird week of October.

The meeting of SomeshKumar with the heads of thedepartments concerned todecide on the modalities of

action plan discussed thedetails like model of applica-tion process to be followed,committees at various levelsand issues to be included inthe application such as forestboundary coordinates, and

participation of the citizensfor the conservation of forest.

It is proposed to conductmeetings with districtCollectors, Division ForestOfficers, Conservators ofForests and others.

There has been a row overthese between the tribals andthe Forest Department, anddisputes in some places haveled to clashes between tribalsand forest personnel in recentmonths.

Following appeals fromelected public representa-tives, the Chief Minister onOctober 9 directed the offi-cials to launch an action planto settle the issue.

He made it clear that oncethe podu land issue comes toa logical end, the officialsshould take all measures toensure that even an inch offorest land is not encroachedand there should be an end tothe land grabbing in the for-est areas.

The CM said the state gov-ernment would not hesitate totake any stringent measure toprotect the forests in thestate. He said if need be, anall-party meeting would beconvened as part of finding asolution to the podu landsissue and he would demon-strate and practically showwith evidence to the leaderson how forest land is beingencroached upon.

He instructed the officialsto prepare guidelines toappoint the Forest ProtectionCommittees. The CM saidthe Podu cultivation which istaking place in the middle ofthe forest would be shifted tothe edge of the forest areasand land would be allotted.

TS begins exercise to address ‘Podu' lands issue

PNS n MAHABUBNAGAR

Minister for Excise, Sports,Culture and Tourism Dr VSrinivas Goud has said thatcelebrations will be organisedon a grand scale onWednesday on the mini tankbund here as part of theBathukamma celebrationswith the participation of alarge number of women.

In fact, 300 performingartistes and woman take outa rally at 5 pm fromYellamma temple in the townand culminate in a major cul-tural event at the mini tank

bund. Fire crackers have been

specially requisitioned fromMumbai for the event,

Srinivas Goud said asking theauthorities to decorate thevenue with electric lamps. Hetold them to sensitise peopleof the town on the carnival,lighting arrangements andBathukamma celebrations.The boat in the tank bundwould be decorated a la theswan for the event. Similarly,a food festival is on the cardson the tank bund, he added.

Festoons and ModelBathukammas decoratedstreet corners, he said appeal-ing to women, youth andartistes to take part in theevent on a grand scale.

Grand Saddula Bathukamma on cards

PNS n KAMAREDDY

Assembly Speaker PocharamSrinivas Reddy on Tuesdaysaid there is no shortage of coaland power in the state andthere will never be any short-age in the future.

The TRS government wouldextend Dalit Bandhu to allDalits across Telangana infuture and said that he wouldbe able to derive job satisfac-tion serving the public withimplementation of welfare anddevelopment programmes byKCR administration, he said.

Pocharam Srinivas Reddy

inaugurated 33 2BHK housesin Srinagar village and per-formed bhumi puja for anoth-er 38. He laid the foundationstone for Madiga DandoraBhavan with Rs 15 lakh.

He also laid foundation

stone for community hall atVakeel Farm. UndividedNizamabad DCCB PresidentPocharam Bhaskar Reddy, localelected people's representa-tives and officials took part inthe programmes.

He was taking part in vari-ous development programmesheld in Srinagar andVakeelfarm villages of Warnimandal on Tuesday.Addressing grama sabha on theoccasion, he said that the stateand the country at large wouldhave been developed long backif there are Chief Ministers likeK Chandrashekhar Rao.

The CM has been develop-ing the state exploitingresources at hand, he saidadding that the new state ofTelangana set example forother states to emulate in termsof welfare and development.

PNS n NAGARKURNOOL

District Collector UdayKumar has directed the dis-trict officials to identify landsof tribals and develop them aswet lands under Giri Vikasamscheme. Under the scheme,mandal development offi-cials will identify not less thanfive acres belonging to trib-als and sink a bore well, fix amotor pump and energise thepump free of cost.

The Collector was review-ing the progress of GiriVikasam scheme withMPDOs, APDs, APOs at theCollectorate Hall here onTuesday along with Jala SaktiAbhiyan, NREGS works,Haritha Haram, establish-ment of plant nurseries andthe report submitted byUnion Rural DevelopmentMonitoring Committee.

If the land is unfit for cul-tivation, the authoritieswould take measures to makeit cultivable, he said askingthe officials to identify trib-als' lands and where they arelocated and submit him areport. He asked officials tosensitise villagers to havecommunity rainwater har-vesting structures and per-sonal harvesting structures.

Collector: Turn lands of tribals into wet lands

PNS n JAYASHANKAR

BHUPALAPALLY

District Collector KrishnaAditya has assured displacedpersons of the SingareniCollieries Company Limited(SCCL) to resolve their prob-lems and take measures forpayment of compensation asearly as possible.

He was addressing the SCCLKTL Open Cast Mine-3 affect-ed village of Dharmaraopeta inGhanpur mandal along withSCCL directors Balaram Naikand Chandrasekhar when hemade the assurance.

Reviewing the land acquisi-tion and payment of compen-sation with them, he said,responding to a complaintfrom the villagers, he said thatmeasures would be taken togive jobs to the Open CastMine-3 to the affected farmersand people.

Underlining the need for theSCCL coming to the rescue ofthe displaced persons whohave parted their land for theSCCL expansion, he attributedthe delay in payment of com-pensation to the land disputesrelated to pattadar andKabzadar/Anubhavadar lands.

With the help of revenue offi-cials, the true land owners arebeing identified. Similarly, asurvey of houses would beundertaken and their valuewould be assessed. The meet-ing also discussed about theprogress in coal production inBhupalapally area, safeguard-ing SCCL assets, labour welfareand development of neigh-bouring villages.

Earlier, the villagers com-plained to the collector that theSCCL management is givingjobs to outsiders in the OpenCast Mine-3 instead of givingjobs to the displaced persons.

Justice assured to SCCL DPs

Ahead of by-election, bank accounts transacting more money under lens

Speaker rules out coal shortage in Telangana

Nyalakal achieves 100% vaccination

nation 05HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 13, 2021

Most colleges in Pune remain closed;await instructions from Maha govt

Most colleges in Maharashtra's Pune city remained closed on Tuesday, despite the orderissued by the civic authorities permitting them to reopen for physical classes, an officialsaid.Colleges are exercising caution and waiting for clear instructions from Savitribai Phule

Pune University (SPPU) and the state government, the official said. The Pune MunicipalCorporation (PMC) had last week issued an order allowing physical classes at colleges in its limitswith students and staffers who have been fully vaccinated. "We are waiting for clear instructions

from the state higher education department and SavitribaiPhule Pune University, as most colleges are affiliated to it,"said Sudhakar Jadhavar, general secretary of MaharashtraState Principals Federation. The number of students who havetaken both doses of the vaccine is less, he said, adding thatthere are at least 450 colleges in the PMC limits. "We haveasked all colleges to conduct a survey of students who havebeen fully vaccinated. We have also asked educationalinstitutions to sanitise college campuses and complete thepreparatory work, as we are expecting a circular from the stategovernment about reopening of colleges," Jadhavar said.

West Bengal on Tuesday soaked in the festive spirit of Durga Puja on 'Mahasaptami', asdevotees began the day with traditional rituals and revellers made a beeline for popularmarquees across the state. Since early morning, banana plantains - 'Nabapatrika'

(symbolising Lord Ganesha's wife) - were taken for a ritual dip to water bodies, with mostpreferring the river Ganga.Worshippers then offered 'Pushpanjali' (floral libations) to GoddessDurga amid chanting of ‘mantras' (hymns).However, COVID-19 protocols went for a toss at mostplaces, as people were seen thronging Durga puja pandals in the city and neighbouring Salt Lake,

doing away with sporting face masks and maintaining socialdistancing. The West Bengal government had recently issuedadvisories, asking revellers to maintain health safetyguidelines to prevent a rise of Covid cases. Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee, who inaugurated several community DurgaPuja pandals over the last few days, had also urged people towear masks. The Calcutta High Court has ordered that allDurga Puja pandals in West Bengal be made no-entry zonesfor the public, as was directed last year, to curb the spread ofCOVID-19 due to crowding.

Durga Puja: Bengal celebrates‘Mahasaptami' with customary rituals

Maha: 34 people fall sick afterchemical vapours leak out of factory

At least 34 people fell sick after vapours of a chemical leaked from an industrial unitin Ambernath town of Maharashtra's Thane district on Tuesday morning, anofficial said. Following the leakage, a number of people residing near the chemical

factory complained of breathlessness, irritation in eyes, nausea and other health issues, ThaneMunicipal Corporation's regional disaster management cell chief Santosh Kadam said. Thesulphuric acid leaked around 10 am in the unit located in the Maharashtra Industrial Development

Corporation (MIDC) of Ambernath, he said.Later, 34 people, who complained ofbreathlessness and other health issues, wererushed to the Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar,the official said. They are currently beingtreated at the hospital and are out of danger,he said. After being alerted, local policeand firemen rushed to the site and theleakage was plugged, the official said. Aprobe was on to ascertain the cause of thechemical leakage, he added.

INDIA

CORNER

PNS n NEW DELHI

Slamming those who engage in"selective interpretation" ofhuman rights with an eye onpolitical gains and loss, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi saidon Tuesday that such conductharms human rights as well asdemocracy.

Speaking at the 28th founda-tion day of the NationalHuman Rights Commission(NHRC), Modi said the coun-try should be wary of such peo-ple who try to dent its image inthe name of raising the issue ofhuman rights violations.

In his speech, Modi high-lighted a number of measurestaken by his government toempower the poor, womenand persons with disabilitiesand prevent injustice againstthem, before launching ascathing criticism of those whochoose to see human rightsviolations in some incidentsand not in others.

“There is another aspectassociated with human rightswhich I want to speak abouttoday. In recent years, somepeople have begun interpreting

human rights in their ownways prioritising their interests.

"They see human rights vio-lation in one incident but can-not see it in another incident ofsimilar nature. Such mindsetharms human rights a lot,” hesaid.

He added, “Human rightssuffer a great deal when theyare looked at through a polit-ical prism and consideredaccording to political gainsand loss. Such selective conductharms democracy a great dealtoo.” Though Modi did not

name any person or organisa-tion, the ruling BJP has beencritical of a section of humanrights groups, including thosewith a global presence, claim-ing they have highlighted casesof alleged rights violationsselectively and in a one-sidedmanner to target the govern-ment. The prime ministerstressed that duties are equal-ly important as rights and theyshould not be discussed sepa-rately as they complement eachother.

Highlighting his govern-

ment's efforts during COVID-19 to help the poor, includingproviding free grains and cashtransfer to the elderly andother vulnerable sections, Modisaid a pandemic in such a bigpopulation has triggered insta-bility in society in the past butIndia proved all apprehensionswrong with its work for therights of the common man.

"India on the one hand hasbeen courageously fighting aonce-in-a-lifetime global pan-demic while on the other it hasensured that the basic rights ofevery individual are respected,"Modi said.

"I feel proud that even at thepeak of COVID-19, 80 croreIndians got access to free foodgrains," he said, adding that themantra of 'sabka saath, sabkavikas, sabka vishwas, sabkaprayas' guarantees humanrights to every person.

He also touched on pro-farmer steps like cash transferand crop insurance and saidproduction of crops hit arecord during the crisis due tothese efforts as farmers are nolonger forced to take debtsfrom others.

He cited a number of mea-sures taken by his governmentduring the last seven years todeliver basic needs like toilets,cooking gas, electricity andhomes to the poor and said thisgives rise to their aspirationsand makes them more aware oftheir rights.

Modi said the concept ofhuman rights is closely relatedto the dignity of the poor andwhen their basic needs like toi-lets, housing, bank accounts orcooking gas are taken care of,then they also grow moreaware of their rights.

He said by making a lawagainst 'triple talaq', his gov-ernment has bestowed newrights on Muslim women.

While noting that his gov-ernment has provided 26-week maternity leave toworking women, a right notavailable in many developedcountries, opened more sec-tors for them to work andenacted a more stringent lawagainst rape, he also spokemeasures taken for trans-genders, children andnomadic and semi-nomadiccommunities.

PM Modi slams ‘selective'interpretation of human rights

PNS n NEW DELHI

Social service organisationsand human rights defendersshould strongly condemnpolitical violence and terrorismas apathy on this issue engen-ders "fundamentalism", NHRCChairperson justice (retd)Arun Kumar Mishra said onTuesday.

In his address during anevent at Vigyan Bhawan here tomark the foundation day of theNational Human RightsCommission (NHRC), he alsounderlined that it has becomevery common for externalforces to level false allegationsagainst India of human rightsviolations and this should be

opposed.Noting that a large number

of people have lost their livesto political violence globally inthe last century, he said itwas unfortunate thatpolitical violence has"still not stopped" inthe country andabroad.

The event wasattended by PrimeMinister NarendraModi, Union HomeMinister Amit Shahand other dignitaries.

"India has the spirit of'Sarvadharma Sambhav' (har-mony of religions). Everyonehas freedom to build a templeor mosque or a church. But in

many countries, such libertiesare not there," the NHRC chiefsaid.

Lamenting that humanswere hell-bent on

d e s t r o y i n ghumanity, he

said, in the20th century alarge numberof people havedied due to

political vio-lence globally."It is unfortu-

nate that politicalviolence has still not

stopped in the country andabroad ('Desh-videsh mey raj-naitik hinsa aaj bhi samaptnahin hui hai')," he said.

The NHRC chairperson alsosaid that "killers of innocentpeople cannot be glorified".

"Calling such... terrorists,freedom fighters is inappropri-ate, ('Aise... aatankwadiyon koswatantra senani kehna anuchithai')," he said, without elabo-rating.

"Social service organisationsand human rights defendersshould strongly condemnpolitical violence and terror-ism. Apathy on this issue,engenders fundamentalismand history will never forgiveus for this," Mishra said.

Time has come, when "weshould resolutely oppose it"and at least raise a voice againstthis violence, he said.

PNS n LAKHIMPUR KHERI (UP),

Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra joineda large gathering of farmersfrom various states in Tikoniavillage here on Tuesday as partof last prayers in honour of thefour deceased farmers and ajournalist, who were killed inthe recent violence.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha andBKU leaders, including RakeshTikait, Darshan Singh Pal,Joginder Singh Ugrahan,Dharmendra Malik besideslocal farm union leaders alsoarrived in the village to paytributes during the 'antimardas' to the deceased, whowere mowed down by speed-ing vehicles on October 3 dur-ing a protest. Vadra along withother Congress leaders reachedthe venue around 1 pm.

Samajwadi Party leaders,including district presidentRampal Singh Yadav, Dr R AUsmani and others were alsoamong those who reached topay tributes and RLD presi-dent Jayant Chaudhary isscheduled to arrive later in theday. No political leader has

been allowed to share thestage, as announced earlier.

On the stage set up at thesprawling ground, familymembers of deceased farmerDaljeet Singh and GurvinderSingh of Bahraich district,Nachhatar Singh andLavpreet Singh of Kheri dis-trict, brother and daughter ofdeceased journalist RamanKashyap of Nighasan (Kheri)sat holding photographs ofthe deceased persons. Heavysecurity arrangements havebeen deployed in and aroundthe programme venue.

Lucknow Commissioner,ADG, IG and other seniorofficers were camping inTikonia monitoring the pro-gramme.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The BJP launched ascathing attack on RahulGandhi and Priyanka GandhiVadra on Tuesday over theirsilence on atrocities againstDalits in Congress-ruledstates. Citing allegedincidents of atrocitiesagainst members of theScheduled Caste (SC)communities in Rajasthan,Maharashtra andJharkhand, the BJP saidthose who projectthemselves as championsof Dalit rights are ignoringsuch incidents. Addressinga press conference at theparty headquarters here,BJP spokesperson SambitPatra said, "Both RahulGandhi and Priyanka GandhiVadra project themselves aschampions of Dalit rightsbut why are they silent onatrocities against scheduledcastes in Rajasthan andother states?" He wonderedwhy the leaders fromvarious political parties,who went on "politicaltourism" in Uttar Pradesh inthe wake of the LakhimpurKheri incident, do not visitthe Congress-ruled stateswhen incidents of atrocitiesagainst Dalits are reportedfrom these states.

BJP hits out atRahul, Priyanka

PNS n LAKHIMPUR KHERI

The Uttar Pradesh Police tookMoS Home Ajay Mishra's sonAshish to the Crime Branchoffice here on Tuesday forinterrogation in the LakhimpurKheri violence case, a day aftera court sent him to three-daypolice custody, an official said.Chief Judicial MagistrateChintaram on Monday hadgranted three-day policeremand, with the conditionthat Ashish Mishra would not

be harassed and his lawyerwould remain present duringinterrogation. He was arrestedon Saturday night inconnection with the October 3Lakhimpur Kheri violence inwhich eight people, includingfour farmers, were killed. Thepolice had demanded a 14-dayremand of Ashish, but got athree-day remand beginningOctober 12 and it will end onOctober 15, senior prosecutionofficer (SPO) SP Yadav hadtold reporters.

Ashish Mishra taken to CrimeBranch office for interrogation

Call to condemn political violence, terror

PNS n SRINAGAR

There is no requirement foradditional troops or lessen-ing their numbers at theLine of Control (LoC) inJammu and Kashmir andthe Indian Army is vigilantand will not allow any infil-tration into the valley, asenior Army officer saidhere on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters atthe Sher-i-KashmirInternational ConventionCentre (SKICC) here afterthe send-off ceremony for300 students from Jammuand Kashmir who willattend various courses inthe Mewar University inRajasthan under OperationSadbhavana, General offi-cer Commanding (GoC) ofthe Srinagar-based 15Corps Lt Gen. D P Pandeysaid militants across theborder will try to make last-ditch efforts to infiltrateinto the Indian side beforethe onset of winter. "This isa last-ditch opportunity forour inimical agents across(the LoC) to ensure thatthey can push terroristsand terrorist groups. Wehave been getting inputs.There have been two infil-tration attempts in Uri andRampur sectors, whichwere not only foiled, butthey were neutralised andeliminated.

PNS n NEW DELHI

It is "unprofessional" and"unbecoming" for a lawyer torefuse to attend the court dueto a strike or boycott by the BarAssociations as they cannotdisrupt court proceedings andput the interest of their clientsin jeopardy, the Supreme Courthas said.

The top court furtherobserved that an advocate is anofficer of the court and enjoysa special status in the society.

A bench of Justices M RShah and A S Bopanna madethe observation while hearinga case in which the advocatesin the Rajasthan High Courtwent on strike on September27, 2021.

"...it is unprofessional as wellas unbecoming for a lawyer torefuse to attend the court evenin pursuance of a call for strike

or boycott by the BarAssociation or the Bar Council.It is further observed that anAdvocate is an officer of thecourt and enjoys a special sta-tus in the society; Advocateshave obligations and duties toensure the smooth functioningof the court; they owe a duty totheir clients and strikes interferewith the administration of jus-tice," the bench said.

"They cannot thus disruptcourt proceedings and put theinterest of their clients in jeop-ardy. Despite the law laid downby this Court in the aforesaiddecisions and even the concernexpressed by this Court againstthe strikes by the lawyers, thingsdid not improve...," it said.

The apex court took note ofthe submission of Bar Councilof India Chairman MananKumar Mishra that BCI hasissued the notice to the Bar

Association of the High Courtof Rajasthan at Jaipur.

The senior advocate statedthat there was a call to boycottonly one court.

The apex court said eventhat also cannot be tolerated.

"To boycott only one courtwill hamper the independenceof the judiciary and there may

be a pressure on the particularjudge whose court is boycottedand it may lead to demoraliza-tion of the judiciary," the benchsaid. The bench issued noticeto the President, Secretary andthe Office Bearers of the BarAssociation of the High Courtof Rajasthan at Jaipur to showcause why contempt proceed-

ings may not be initiatedagainst them.

The matter is listed for nexthearing on October 25.

The apex court directed theRegistry to serve noticesthrough the Registrar Generalof the High Court of Rajasthanat Jaipur.

"The Registrar General ofthe High Court of Rajasthan atJaipur is directed to see that thenotices upon the office bear-ers/President/Secretary of theBar Association of the HighCourt of Rajasthan at Jaipur isserved upon them well intime," the bench said in itsOctober 4 order.

Referring to its earlier deci-sions, the top court said that togo on strike by the BarAssociation and the lawyers isabsolutely contemptuous andjust contrary to the earlierdecisions of this Court.

PNS n JAMMU

A wreath-laying ceremony washeld in Rajouri on Tuesday topay tributes to the five soldierswho were killed in a fiercegunfight with terrorists inPoonch district of Jammu andKashmir. Naib Subedar (JuniorCommissioned Officer)Jaswinder Singh, Naik MandeepSingh, Sepoys Gajjan Singh,Saraj Singh and Vaisakh H werepart of an Army search party thatcame under attack from theterrorists during the operationon Monday.All five were criticallyinjured and later succumbed totheir injuries. A solemn

ceremony was held at a militarycamp at Rajouri where wreathswere laid by senior Army officersand civil dignitaries to payhomage to the fallen soldiers, adefence spokesperson said.The Indian Army salutes thesacrifices of its soldiers who laiddown their lives in the service ofthe motherland, he said."The nation will always remainindebted to our bravehearts fortheir supreme sacrifice anddevotion to duty," he said.The spokesperson said that themortal remains of the fivesoldiers will be sent to theirrespective hometowns onWednesday.

J&K: Wreath-laying ceremony held for5 soldiers killed in Poonch encounter

PNS n BENGAL

A fire broke out on Tuesdayon the 14th floor of Nabanna,the West Bengal secretariat,where Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee's office issituated, an official said.

Four fire tenders werepressed into service to put outthe "smoke, which was firstspotted around 11.55 am", hesaid. The smoke was believedto have originated from atelephone tower equipment,the official said. The statesecretariat was closed on theoccasion of Durga Puja.

Fire breaksout at BengalSecretariat

PNS n COIMBATORE

The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) was carryingout searches in the houses ofsuspected supporters ofMaoists here and nearbyPollachi, police said onTuesday.

According to police, NIAsleuths conducted thesearches at the house ofDinesh, a dentist who wasarrested by the Kerala Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) inFebruary last for his suspect-ed Maoist connections andlodged in a prison in theneighbouring state sincethen.

Similarly searches were

carried out at the residenceof Danish, who was alsoarrested for his allegedinvolvement in variousUAPA cases and has beensince jailed in Kerala, policesaid. Further, NIA officialssearched the house ofSanthosh, reportedlyinvolved in Maoist activitiesand absconding for the lastfive years, at Angalakurichiin nearby Pollachi, they said.

A good number of policepersonnel were posted infront of the houses where thesearches were on.

Searches were also beingconducted in other locationsin the state including inTheni.

PNS n JAMMU

Security forces continued amassive search operation onTuesday in a forest area con-necting the twin border dis-tricts of Rajouri and Poonchin Jammu and Kashmir,where five soldiers includinga Junior CommissionedOfficer (JCO) were killed ina gunfight the previous day,officials said.

There was no fresh contactwith terrorists during theongoing operation in thedense forest areas ofSurankote in Poonch andnearby Thanamandi inRajouri, the officials said.

PNS n BENGALURU

Ahead of the working com-mittee meeting, clamourseems to be growing for RahulGandhi to take over asCongress president, as itsKarnataka unit chief D KShivakumar on Tuesday said itis the unanimous voice of theparty workers from across the

country."Whole country, Congress

workers, want Rahul Gandhito take up the responsibility.We have been putting pressureon him since he resigned. Theunanimous voice of theCongress workers from acrossthe country is Rahul Gandhi(should take up the mantle ofthe party)," Shivakumar said.

‘Party workers wantRahul to be Cong prez’

NIA raids premises of‘Maoist supporters’

Massive searchops to neutraliseterrorists hidingin J&K

Lakhimpur violence: Priyanka, farmerunion leaders take part in 'antim ardas'

Lawyers can't disrupt court proceedings: SC

‘No need for more troops orlessening their numbers at LoC’

India along with its sharehold-ing in Air India ExpressLimited (AIXL) and 50 percentin the ground handling jointventure AISATS will pass on tothe new owner. TheGovernment will absorb thebalance debt of `46,262 crore,which will be transferred to aspecial purpose vehicle (SPV)set up by it — Air India AssetsHolding Limited. When adjust-ed against non-core assets suchas land and buildings worth`14,718 crore that will also beparked in the SPV and the cashamount of `2,700 crore fromTatas, the net liability on thegovernment comes to `28,844crore.

Apart from 141 planes andcontrol of 4,400 domestic and1,800 international landing andparking slots at domestic air-ports, as well as 900 slots at air-ports overseas, Tatas will alsohave the ownership of iconicbrands like Air India, IndianAirlines and the Maharaja.

Tata Sons owns 84 percent share in Air Asia whichhas a market share of 5.2 per-cent, and 51 percent stake inVistara which has a marketshare of 8.3 percent. Togetherwith Air India's market share of13.2 percent, Tatas could be incontrol of 26.7 percent marketshare and be the second biggestplayer after IndiGo.

Years after it earned the tag

of 'The Maharaja', Air India'sfortunes plummeted and itstarted incurring heavy losses.Air India has been in losses eversince its merger with domesticoperator Indian Airlines in2007. According to theMinistry of Civil Aviation,since 2009-10, the Governmenthas pumped in `1.10 lakhcrore to support Air India.During 2019-20, the airlineincurred an operational loss of`8,743.59 crore. In 2020-21, AirIndia reported a provisionaloperational loss of `6,555.66crore.

Air India (originally TataAir Services) was convertedinto a public company after theWorld War II and renamed AirIndia Limited in 1946.International services startedbetween Bombay (Mumbai)and Cairo, Geneva, andLondon, and Air IndiaInternational Limited wasformed in 1948. This is the yearwhen the Nehru Governmentpurchased a 49 percent stake inthe company. India nation-alised all Indian airlines andcreated two corporations —one for domestic services andthe other for international.

Senior Tata was deeplydistressed by the decision of theNehru Government to nation-alise the Air India "through theback door" and even suspect-ed that the airline was deliber-

ately bad-mouthed so that itcould be acquired after itsvalue came down, letters writ-ten by JRD Tata reveal. He shotoff a telegram to Nehru, whichsaid. "I can only deplore thatsuch a vital step should havebeen taken without giving usa proper hearing.

“(Former Tata Steel CEORussi) Modi and I were calledby (then CommunicationsMinister) Jagjivan Ram only tobe informed of theGovernment's decision tonationalise the industry.Although I told him that I hadprepared and brought withme an alternative scheme,which in my humble judge-ment was better calculated toachieve the Government'sobjective, the minister soughtour advice only on questions ofcompensation and the like,” hesaid.

Tata continued as chair-man of Air India till 1978,when his services were uncer-emoniously terminated by thenPrime Minister Morarji Desai.Desai sent a terse letter to Tatainforming him of theGovernment's decision toappoint former Air ChiefMarshal PC Lal as the chair-man of Air India.

(The writer is a SpecialCorrespondent with ThePioneer. The views expressed arepersonal.)

RENEWABLE ENERGY A REALITYSir — The world is facing an energycrunch as the supply of natural gas, coaland other energy sources fails to ade-quately satisfy demand. Natural gasprices have risen multifold. India’s powerplants are also running on critically lowcoal stocks. As a developing country,India's leadership role in sustainableenergy and water security has toucheda new high. The state-of-the-art technol-ogy is taking shape and the world'sbiggest Hybrid Renewable Energy Parkin Gujarat's Kutch is one such step in theright direction.

In the coming years, energy storagewill play a key role in making renewableenergy a firm source of power and fur-ther reducing the landed cost of renew-able electricity. Additionally, with theadvent of electric vehicles, using renew-able energy in the charging infrastruc-ture will further boost the growth of theindustry. With the Government’s sup-port, developers getting long term visi-bility in terms of project pipeline andactual off-takers witnessing value inadopting solar electricity, India is poisedto secure its renewable future. It will betough going for industries to survive withlimited stock of coal until the suppliesare restored.

CK Subramaniam | Mumbai

CANNOT AFFORD ANOTHER CONFLICTSir — The 13th round of corpse com-mander-level talks between India andChina did not yield any creative solutionto the ongoing border tussle between thetwo countries. The mounting tension onthe border keeps us all on tenterhooks.It is quite sad and disheartening to readthe news of the uncertainty prevailing atthe Line of Actual Control (LAC) inLadakh. Indians who live near the bor-der have always been bearing the bruntof the border clashes. Most of them havebeen living under fear and discomfort.The cold and contemptuous attitude ofChina in initiating the process of genuinedisarmament and disengagement seemsto ruin the hope of reviving peace and

harmony on the border.Mobilising more troops and weapons

systems on the LAC and blaming eachother will not help both sides to evolvea creative and lasting solution for thisongoing face-off. Both sides will have torealise the fact that an aggressive militaris-tic move will not yield a permanent solu-tion for this ongoing scuffle. If a warbreaks out between the two countries itwill have devastating and irreparabledamage on both sides. The Governmentsof both the countries and some samari-tans from their military wings must comeforward to augment the process of estab-lishing peace and harmony at the border.

Prabhakaran Vallath | Kozhikode

SAVE THEM BEFORE THEY’RE GONESir — Assam's Kaziranga National Parkis home to the one-horned rhinoceros.These animals are on the brink ofextinction. It is common knowledge thatpoaching is the biggest threat to any ani-mal — endangered or otherwise. Thehorns of Rhinoceros are thought to beof medicinal use, and the one — horned

rhinos are considered exclusive to India.India is home to approximately 80 percent of the world's Rhino population.Recently, nearly 2,500 horns of the rhi-nos that were stored by the AssamGovernment’s treasuries were put to fireby the authorities in Kaziranga, and theevent was given wide publicity.

Rightly so because apparently theGovernment wanted to send a messageor two to the poachers that if it can burnso many horns at once, then it onlymeans the horns have no medicinal orornamental value whatsoever. Thesehorns were seized from poachers andfrom the deceased rhinos. Countries likeChina have revoked the ban on the useof “medicinal parts” of Rhinoceros longago. The problem lies in India's closeproximity to China. The wholeNortheast and northern part of WestBengal are always on high alert becauseof their international borders.

Ganapathi Bhat | Nagpur

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The Tatas have companies like Tata Engineering, Taj Sats and IHCL amongothers, which can benefit from Air India’s infrastructure, assets and slots

THE TATAS WILLNEED TO PUT INTHOUSANDS OF

CRORES OFCAPITAL TO CLEAN

UP THE BALANCESHEET; PAY OFF

LIABILITIES AND REVIVE THE AIRLINE

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

RAJESH KUMAR

Film buffs are overcome with grief at thepassing of actor Nedumudi Venu. The voidleft by his passing will never be filled.

Nedumudi Venu was looked up to as a cul-tural icon. He was a versatile actor who playeda variety of parts; he has made an impres-sion. The ease with which he acted was aston-ishing. A born actor, Nedumudi Venu had quitean unlimited range; the memorable roles heplayed in over 500 films in an acting careerspanning 50 years presented a range of

human conditions and experiences. He hadthat indefinable something that made him anactor par excellence. True-to-life acting washis forte and nuance of expression was histrademark.

He had a twinkle or a glint in his eyedepending on the traits of the character, theskin of whom he entered and infused with life.His chuckle struck a chord with the audience.He excelled in popular box-office hits and ‘par-allel cinema’ alike. As Siddhan Aashan inSarvakalashala, Chellappanasari in Thakara,Andrews in Irakal, Maharaja Udayavarma in HisHighness Abdullah, Sreekrishnan in ThenmavinKombathu, Appukkutty Nair in Devasuram,Bhagavathar in Sargam, Ravunni Nair in OruMinnaminunginte Nurunguvettam and ashundreds of other characters, NedumudiVenu has immortalised himself and lives amongus and will live among posterity.

G David Milton | Maruthancode

Veteran actor bids adieu

Air India lands withits original parents

It is indeed a “Ghar Wapsi” forthe debt-laden Air India after68 years as Tata Sons has wonthe bid to take over 100 per

cent of the Government’s stake inthe national carrier. The formal-ities to complete the handover toTata is expected to be completedby December this year. The realtest of Ratan Tata’s business acu-men will be to bring back the air-line on track but it won't be easyeven though there are synergiesbetween group companies and theIndian airline. The ailing airlinewas originally launched as Tata AirServices under the leadership ofphilanthropist Jehangir RatanjiDadabhoy Tata in 1932. A fewyears after India’s independence in1953, the Government purchaseda majority stake in the airline com-pany. And thus Air India wasnationalised.

To be fair, Air India has goodassets, infrastructure, slots andbilateral agreement. The Tatashave companies like Tata engi-neering, Taj Sats and IHCL amongothers which can benefit with AirIndia. The Tata’s will need to putin tens of thousands of crores ofcapital to clean up the balancesheet; pay off liabilities that comewith the airline; and to fix, grow,and bring the airline to a pointwhere it can be a meaningful andan effective global competitor.

This was the third attempt tosell the national carrier and thistime the Centre went all out,deciding to offload its entire stakelock, stock and barrel to the high-est bidder. Initial attempts to dis-invest the carrier faced trouble, fol-lowing which the process wasstarted again in January 2020 butthe COVID-19 pandemic createdhurdles. In April 2021, theGovernment asked potential bid-ders to put in financial bids. As thebidders were unenthusiastic aboutcertain clauses, the Governmenthad in October last year amend-ed the clause relating to the trans-fer of Air India's debt to the newinvestor, giving bidders flexibili-ty to decide on the quantum ofhumongous debt they want toabsorb.

Of the `18,000 crore, theGovernment will get ̀ 2,700 crorein cash, while the remainingamount will be debt transferred tothe new entity. With this, the entire100 per cent shareholding of Air

SOUNDBITEOur worst fears arecoming true. WithPakistan-backedTaliban taking overAfghanistan, terror-ism is increasing in Kashmir.

Former Punjab Chief Minister

—Amarinder Singh

From November,international visitorsmay enter Thailandwithout quarantineif they are fully

vaccinated and arrive by airfrom low-risk countries.

Thailand Prime Minister —Prayut Chan-o-cha

I hope I can continuethe grand legacy ofthe mainstream menof Hindi cinema onnational television.

Actor—Ranveer Singh

Modi ji, why are you silent? We needjust one word ofsympathy from you.That should not bedifficult!

Congress leader —Kapil Sibal

We are humanbeings who are giv-ing out our best eachand every day. Trybeing a decent per-

son instead of spreading abuse.

RCB batsman —Glenn Maxwell

Despite all the big talk on girl child welfare, especially by loudmouth politi-cians, 60 girls die of child marriage every day around the world, six of themin South Asia. These shocking revelations come from a report by 'Save the

Children', which was released on October 11, the International Day of the Girl Child.The study claims that young girls married at an early age succumb to pregnancy

and childbirth. According to the report, in South Asiaalone, 2,000 young girls die every year and 22,000globally. Beyond South Asia, the number of suchdeaths in East Asia and the Pacific is 650 a year.In Latin America and the Caribbean, 560 girls dieof early childbir th issues. The situation is worse inWestern and Central Africa where child marriageis the norm. Almost half of the deaths are report-ed from there. This is despite the fact that due tothe collective effort of the United Nations and theGovernments around the world, 80 million child mar-riages have been prevented in the last 25 years. The

report warns that 10 million girls are now at risk as they are expected to marryby 2030 in their early years.

This is a side-effect of the Coronavirus pandemic, which has stripped people oftheir sources of income. They are thus marrying off their daughters early. The younggirls are also at the risk of domestic violence as they are often burdened with house-hold chores and punished for minor mistakes. The report notwithstanding, the plightof the girls getting married early is far worse. Often such marriages are a compro-mise where the groom is much older than the girl. They often face violence and sex-ual exploitation from their family members. Even if they survive the pregnancy andchildbirth, their health takes a heavy toll often leading to lifelong weakness and men-strual disorders. In India, especially in States like Rajasthan and Haryana, the situ-ation is much worse and with the skewed sex ratio, girls are pushed into the mar-riage at an early age. The Prime Minister had rightly taken up the cause of ‘Beti BachaoBeti Padhao’, but not much happened after that as the drive lost steam somewhereon the way. The campaign just ended being a slogan on the truck backs. It is hightime to start it with renewed vigour and in right earnest.

The current power crisis is entirely man-made and eminently avoidable if planningand efficiency had been the buzzwords. The situation is alarming, with coal stocksrunning low and Coal India and NTPC and Indian Railways putting their heads togeth-

er to reach coal to the power companies. It is no secret why the crisis came upon thecountry. The Covid-19 lockdown anyway witnessed a surge in demand. The subse-quent unlock added to it, not only for residential but industrial power as well. In August2021, India consumed 124 billion units of power, an escalation of 17 per cent over 2019.Two, India’s coal imports in the last two months fell by a third, on account of interna-tional prices of coal increasing because of higher demand from China. As a result, powerplants using imported coal stopped or curtailed generation. Three, thermal power plantsdid not accumulate adequate coal reserves in the first two quarters of the current finan-

cial year. Four, heavy rainfall in coal-bearing areas inAugust and September added to the woes by reduc-ing the supply of coal from the mines. India plungedinto a crisis. On October 4, for instance, the powerMinistry reported a gap of over four gigawatts betweenpeak demand and available power supply.

Who shoulders responsibility and why was thereno advance planning in April-May anticipating ademand surge and problems on account of the com-ing monsoon? It is Coal India's primary responsibil-ity because it has the job of overseeing the supply ofcoal. Coal extraction is a tricky business. The com-

panies just cannot excavate coal and sit on it. The production has to be moderated accord-ing to offtake because coal cannot be stockpiled. There is a risk of it catching fire. Extendedmonsoon or heavy rains can affect offtake from open-pit mines; that is what happenedin the last few weeks. Coal India’s track record in this regard has never been outstand-ing. It has grown reliant on shallow, open-pit mining for most of its production. It mustright away update its expertise in deep-mining techniques. Issues related to efficiencyended up in coal blocks allocated to CIL being given away to private players. It has alsoto adapt to new realities like the changing economics of coal power as renewable ener-gies become cost-competitive and coal faces growing scrutiny as the prime source ofpollution. On the other hand, the States’ din over power scarcity is not matched by theirindifference to clearing outstanding coal dues. The State boards and generation com-panies owe Coal India Rs 21,619.7 crore. Some States also make questionable deci-sions like refusing to extend power purchase agreements with thermal power plants andpurchasing expensive power from spot exchanges. The power plants that did not antic-ipate coal supply problems and failed to stock up are equally to blame. The coal inven-tory will gradually improve but the power situation may stabilise early next year provid-ed the lessons from the current mishap are learnt in time.

Crisis lurks

Marriage perilsUnless the perception of a girl child being ‘paraya

dhan’ is disposed, kid marriages will continue

PICTALK

Devotees celebrate Durga Puja at the 112-year-old samiti in Kashmere Gate RANJAN DDIMRI/ TTHE PPIONEER

The anticipated demand surge was not dealt with beforehand, leading to an energy crunch

Making sense of asocialist’s life journey

A DALIT WAS BEATEN TO DEATH IN

RAJASTHAN. WHY IS THE CONGRESS HIGH

COMMAND SILENT OVER IT?

—BSP CHIEF

MAYAWATI

FIVE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HELD IN

CONNECTION WITH THE CASE. GET UP FROM

SLEEP BEHEN JI.

—CONGRESS LEADER

ALKA LAMBA

Jayaprakash Narayan (popularly called‘JP’) was one of the most charismat-ic leaders of India. He represented arare confluence of selflessness and

courage of conviction. In his Marxistyears, the followers saw JP as ‘Lenin ofIndia’ after the Quit India movement of1942. In the evening of his life, studentsand youth conveyed their admiration bycalling him ‘Loknayak’. It is due to hisunparalleled roles in Indian politics andsociety for five decades from 1930s to1979 that the life-journey of JP continuesto provide a fascinating narrative acrossgenerations of activists and scholars.

At the same time, it has been a per-plexing fact that Jayaprakash was alwaysperceived in contradictory ways. Forexample, Acharya Vinoba Bhave andother Sarvodaya associates called him asaint , while DK Barooah, the presidentof Congress (Indira) characterised him afascist with corrupt supporters.

‘The Dream of Revolution - A biog-raphy of Jayaprakash Narayan’ by BimalPrasad and Sujata Prasad (2021, Gurgaon,Penguin Random House) is an out-standing book about a worshipper of free-dom and revolution for at least four rea-sons. First of all, the father (an eminentacademician) — daughter (a distin-guished senior bureaucrat) team, repre-senting two different generations and twodifferent orientations, knew JP intimate-ly for decades.

Secondly, it contains distillation ofseveral volumes of works about the ideasand initiatives of JP in a readable book ofjust ten short chapters. Thirdly, it address-es some of the most controversial aspectsof JP’s ideas and initiatives with severalauthentic texts and letters. Finally, it sig-nifies the inter-play between a) the teach-ings of Gandhi and Vinoba; b) politics ofJawaharlal Nehru, the socialists andIndira Gandhi; and c) changing impera-tives of democratic nation-building inshaping the lives of Jayaprakash andPrabhavati.

The book is worth reading becausethe two authors have set an admirableexample of objectivity and self-restraint.They have not shied away from a criticalassessment but remained quite moderatewhen it comes to discuss the qualities ofJP in comparison with other historians.

Reading ‘Dream of Revolution’ was anilluminating experience for an activist ofthe JP movement days like me as it is nota hagiography of ‘Bharatratna LoknayakJayaprakash Narayan’. It is a well-docu-mented life-story of JP — the rebel-extra-ordinarily written in a unique style whereoften just a single sentence evokes a fewhundred images. Let me present a fewexamples of the power of prose from thisbook. Here are three such lines from threeseparate chapters about his socialist pol-itics days: 1) ‘One of the most trenchantcritiques of Jayaprakash Narayan’s poli-tics came from his wife Prabhavati.’ (Ch.4, p. 53); 2) ‘Jayaprakash viewed the tran-

The book addresses some of the most controversial aspects of JP’sideas and initiatives along with several authentic texts and letters

IT IS IMPORTANTTO CONVEY THAT

AFTER GETTINGTO KNOW

JAYAPRAKASHNARAYAN WITH

THE HELP OF THIS BOOK, ACONCERNED

READER MAY BETEMPTED TO ASK

WHY THERE HAS BEEN

SUCH UNFAIRPORTRAYING

OF GENTLEJAYAPRAKASH BY

A NUMBER OF HIGHLY

INFLUENTIALPEOPLE

Don’t bother your pretty head about it’ is the prevailing mediatake on the risk of the volcanic eruption on La Palma in the CanaryIslands turning into a mega-tsunami disaster. The media defi-

nitely over-hyped that risk when it was first suggested twenty yearsago, so now they have to work the other side of the street. But theoriginal story still has legs. The eruption is now more than two weeksold, but the explosions and lava flows are still increasing. Part of themain cone of Cumbre Vieja (old summit) collapsed some days ago.La Palma and its neighbour El Hierro, the westernmost islands of theCanaries, are so volcanic that similar cone collapses have removedabout half of their above-water mass during the past million years.The volcanoes constantly rebuild the islands, too, so massive land-slides are a normal part of their geology. That’s why volcanologistJoan Martí, when asked if the flank of Cumbre Vieja might slide intothe sea and cause a huge tsunami, replied that "it is possible, but itis not likely." But there will eventually be another collapse on La Palmaand then a tsunami, maybe tomorrow, maybe in 100,000 years or

so. The original scientific article warning of a possible mega-tsuna-mi from La Palma was written by Steven Ward and Simon Day in 2001.

They estimated that the giant waves generated by a flank collapsewould hit the Moroccan and Spanish coasts in two to three hours,and make it all the way across the Atlantic to strike the Brazilian, USand Canadian coasts in nine hours. Hundreds of metres high at first,the tsunamis waves would probably be down to one hundred metresby the time they reached Spain, and perhaps only 25 metres high whenthey struck the North American coast from Florida to Newfoundland.But that’s still a lot. Or so Ward and Day estimated — whereuponother scientists immediately piled in to insist that they had got thegeology wrong, or the volcanology, or the rate at which tsunami waveslose height over long distances. What the media have missed is thatall the basic facts were correct: the relatively frequent massive slides(one every 100,000 years in the Canaries, on average), the tsunamisthat follow, and the immense damage they do. The odds that this par-ticular volcanic eruption will cause a mega-tsunami are less than onein a hundred, maybe one in a thousand. Even if a tsunami from LaPalma did reach the Americas, the wave height might be less thanone metre. But the risk of unpredictable, life-altering events is real.We can do nothing about flank collapses on volcanic islands excepthave a good early warning system, but they are only common in theHawaiian Islands, the Canary Islands, and the Indonesian archipel-ago. Then there’s asteroid strikes, global plagues, nuclear winters,but let’s stick with volcanoes. Just east of the Rocky Mountains inthe west-central United States, Yellowstone has staged three long-lasting ‘super-eruptions’ at 2.1 million, 1.3 million and 631,000 yearsago. Each time it covered the surrounding states with volcanic asha metre thick, coated the entire continent with enough ash to kill mostgreen plants, and boosted over a thousand cubic km. of pulverisedrock and gas into the atmosphere. That blocked much of the incom-ing sunlight for the next six to ten years and caused a ‘volcanic win-ter’, with 3 or 4°C lower average global temperature. If that happenedtoday, it would cause global crop failures and mass starvation.

(Gwynne Dyer’s new book is ‘The Shortest History of War’.The views expressed are personal.)

In politics, certain poignantmoments give incrediblesupport to the opposition

parties and adversely affect theruling party in a state. TheSingur moment for TrinamoolCongress chief MamataBanerjee, former Tamil Naduchief minister J. Jayalalithaa’slavish spending on her adopt-ed son’s wedding in 1995 forthe DMK, the Belchi momentfor Indira Gandhi, and RajivGandhiji’s insult to AndhraPradesh chief minister T.Anjaiah are some examples.

The recent Lakhimpurincident where eight people,including four farmers, werekilled is one such moment thathas come at a most inconve-nient moment for the UttarPradesh chief minister YogiAdityanath just five monthsbefore the Assembly polls.

The Supreme Court has takena suo motu notice of the inci-dent as an added support forthe opposition.

The opposition has beenfanning the year-long farmer’smovement against the threefarm laws passed byParliament last year. The UPgovernment has come intothe firing line because of Yogi’sreluctance to take concreteaction against the alleged cul-prits, including the UnionMinister of State Ajay Mishra’sson Ashish, the primaryaccused. One of the four farm-ers was allegedly shot dead bythe minister’s son. The othershave been reportedly run overby the vehicles of his convoy.

Further, the decision of theUP government to detain theopposition leaders, includingCongress General Secretary

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, SatishMishra of BSP, and AkhileshYadav of Samajwadi Party,among others, has given a talk-ing point to the opposition.

Former Congress chiefRahul Gandhi vented his frus-tration by tweeting: "All theinstitutions of this countryhave been hijacked by theRSS-BJP. While no action hasbeen taken against the homeminister’s son, there is a sys-tematic attack on farmers ofthe country. Opposition lead-ers are not allowed to even visit

Lakhimpur Kheri. Only in adictatorship, such things hap-pen." Many other leaders,including West Bengal CMMamata Banerjee, Tamil NaduChief Minister MK Stalin,NCP chief Sharad Pawar,Chattisgarh CM BhupeshBaghel, and others, also criti-cised the State Government.

The political fallout is like-ly to be heavy for the BJP if theopposition parties manage tosustain the Kheri movementuntil the elections early nextyear. Opposition parties andthe BKU plan to intensify theagitation by building a narra-tive around the LakhimpurKheri violence. SamajwadiParty president AkhileshYadav has announced theparty’s ‘victory rath yatra’ fromOctober 12. BSP chiefMayawati has directed the

party cadre to reach out to thefarming community.

Secondly, the Kheri inci-dent will emerge as a poll issuehurting the BJP, which won amassive mandate in 2017. Italso depends on how quicklythe BJP manages the damagecontrol before the polls.

UP is very crucial as theBJP won a massive mandate in2017. The incident happenedwhen Yogi was trying to takesome pro-farmer steps such aswithdrawing stubble burningcases and a substantial increasein sugar cane prices. But theKheri incident appears to havewashed away the gains. TheUP Government has constitut-ed a one-member judicialcommission.

Lakhimpur is the largestdistrict of UP’s Terai regionwith the dominance of the

Sikh farmers’ community thatsettled there after migratingfrom Pakistan. It is 80 per centrural, with most of the popu-lation surviving on sugarcanefarming. The district is dom-inated by Brahmins, followedby Muslims and Kurmisamong non-Yadav OBCs.

Thirdly, the farmer’s agita-tion is likely to spread to moreareas. Opposition parties andthe BKU plan to intensify theagitation by building a narra-tive around the Lakhimpurviolence. So far, it has impact-ed the UP border, but now ithas spread to Central UP.Thirdly, the UP Congress hasbeen looking for an opportu-nity for revival. The Kherimoment is one such that couldhelp if Congress plays its cardswell. The party has been out ofpower since 1989 and has a

feeble presence in the State.The negative side of this is thatCongress’ revival may hurtother players like the SP andthe BSP, thus further dividingthe Opposition parties. Theimpact would be dramatic ifthe opposition came togetherand planned a collective actionagainst the BJP. Right nowthere are too many oppositionblocks.

Fourthly, this is an oppor-tune moment for the Gandhisiblings to prove their leader-ship. If they can improve in UP,their overall fortune mightalso become better.

The Lakhimpur incidentwill continue to be a develop-ing story until the Assemblypolls. Defeating the BJPdepends on how the opposi-tion plays its cards or it wouldbe a self-goal.

The political fallout is likely to be heavy for the BJP if the Opposition manages to sustain the protest against the violence until elections

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 13, 2021

07

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FIRSTCOLUMNVOLCANIC ISLANDS AT BOILING POINT

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

(The writer is a retiredprofessor of sociology at

Jawaharlal NehruUniversity. The views

expressed are personal.)

The Lakhimpur Kheri moment

KALYANI SHANKAR

(The writer is a senior journalist. The views

expressed are personal.)

GWYNNE DYER

sition to socialism not a straightroad, but a tangle of conflictingpaths.’ (Ch. 5, p. 83); and 3) ‘Therecriminatory atmosphere in partymeetings singed Jayaprakash.’(Ch.6, p. 113).

Here are three other sentencesabout his orientation towardssome systemic challenges: 1)‘Jayaprakash’s utopia was not pred-icated on the idea of party-lessdemocracy alone, but on a newkind of economic structure basedon voluntary limitations of wants.’(Ch. 7, p. 131); 2) ‘Through therumble of history and politics,Jayaprakash’s life oscillated con-stantly between the quotidian andthe monumental — and that’swhat makes it so special.’ (Ch. 7,p. 143); and 3) ‘Stripping away theaccretions of myth enveloping theNaxalite movement, Jayaprakashargued that the ground for violencewas prepared by persistence ofmerciless exploitation, chronicpoverty and accumulated injus-tices.’ (Ch. 8, p. 156).

Now we can move to read sim-ilar power-packed lines about themost crucial period just beforehisepoch-making leap for ‘TotalRevolution’ (1974): 1) ‘Indira’scarefully drafted reply to the issues

raised by Jayaprakash was patient,conciliatory, even a little wistful.’(Ch. 8, p.167); 2) ‘One wonders ifa sense of dread shot throughIndira upon Prabhavati’s death. Forwith her death, the voice of mod-eration in Jayaprakash’s life alsodied.’ (Ch. 8, p.169); and 3) ‘Theyear 1973 closed not with a revo-lution but certainly the intimationsof one.’ (Ch. 9, p. 170).

Let us conclude this exercise byunderlining a few examples fromthe last two chapters — ‘Hope inDark Times’ (Ch. 9) and ‘TheDeath of a Dream’ (Ch. 10): 1)‘November 1974 was a definitivemonth in the history of the move-ment.’(p.185); 2) ‘Friends ofJayaprakash and Indira tried tobring about a truce, but failed.’(p.187); 3) ‘It took some amountof persuasion to coax Jayaprakashback to Delhi to champion theanti-Indira front.’ (p. 195); 4)‘Indira handed over control toSanjay and his hand-picked cabalof pugnacious bullies.’ (p. 196); and5) ‘As the storm clouds gathered,no one bothered to seekJayaprakash’s opinion. In a sense,it was history repeating itself, withhis predicament not very differentfrom Gandhi in 1947.’ (p. 215)

It is important to alert thatafter getting to know JP with helpof this contribution of BimalPrasad and Sujata Prasad, a con-cerned reader may be tempted toask why there has been suchunfair portraying of gentleJayaprakash by a number of high-ly influential people. Why was helabelledas a person with ‘woollythinking’, a confused mind leadinga frustrated life,’ hazy, naive, andunrealistic thinking’, ‘a poor judgeof Indian politics and politicians’,giving respectability to Hinducommunal forces, and head offorces of counter-revolution.

In any case, the evaluation ofJP by the father-daughter team isclose to the mesmerizing descrip-tion of Sisyphus by Albert Camus.Sisyphus (a rebel in the Greekmythology) was condemned bygods to roll a rock up to the top ofa mountain, only to have the rockroll back down to the bottom everytime he reaches the top. But didSisyphus smile when he reachedthe top with the rock? I have seenour Sisyphus smiling without prideof power or arrogance of successbefore passing away to becomeundeletable part of the collectivememory of the people of India.

ANAND KUMAR

We can do nothing about flank collapses,except have a good early warning system

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 13, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Gold in the nationalcapital on Tuesdayrose by Rs 129 to

Rs 46,286 per 10 gramamid rally in internationalprecious metal prices andrupee depreciation,according to HDFCSecurities. In theprevious trade, theprecious metal hadsettled at Rs 46,157 per10 gram. In contrast,

silver dipped Rs 120 to Rs 60,369 per kilogram from Rs 60,489 perkilogram in the previous trade The Indian rupee depreciated 6 paiseto 75.42 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday. In theinternational market, gold was trading higher at USD 1,757 perounce and silver was flat at USD 22.56 per ounce. "Gold pricestraded firm with spot gold prices at COMEX trading 0.19 per cent upat USD 1,757 per ounce on Tuesday," according to HDFC Securities,Senior Analyst (Commodities), Tapan Patel.

Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Salaeyes Rs 1,000-cr topline

The 120-year-oldKottakkal

Arya VaidyaSala, amongstthe mostpopularnameplates inthe world ofAyurvedasystem, has setan ambitiousgrowth targets

for the next two years with revenue more than doubling from last yearlevel and touching Rs 1,000 crore-milestone by FY'24. The ayurvedafirm - the largest in terms of name, brand recall and revenue - expectsto close FY'22 with revenue of over Rs 500 crore, a growth of over 25per cent over the pandemic-hit last year and more than double the netincome at around Rs 45 crore. "We entered the FMCG space after a lotof market research, after which we piloted a fully Ayurveda-based toiletsoap under the label of Vibha which was a runaway success. Thisprompted us to expand the soap range with a slew of variantsincluding baby soaps beauty soaps; shampoos, sanitisers, hand-washes, pain killer sprays, choornams, among others with over twodozen SKUs," chief executive GC Gopala Pillai told PTI at hisheadquarters in Kottakkal. On the revenue front, he said the the secondwave has massively increased demand for Ayurveda medicines leadingto higher production and sales, while revenue from services plungeddue to the pandemic. The institution runs a 191-room nursing homenearby with 300 beds facility. He said currently room occupancy hasimproved to around 60 per cent as travel curbs are still in force insome for or other -- a low number for an institution where waiting wasover six months on peak monsoon season.

Gold jumps Rs 129; silverdeclines Rs 120

PNS n NEW DELHI

Airlines can operate domes-t ic f l ights without anycapacity restriction fromOctober 18 onwards, theMinistry of Civil Aviationannounce d on Tues daykeeping in mind the "pas-senger demand for air trav-el".

The carriers have beenoperating 85 per cent oftheir pre-COVID domesticservices since September18, according to the min-istry's order.

The capacity cap stood at7 2 . 5 p e r c e nt b e t we e nAugust 12 and September18, 65 per cent betweenJuly 5 and August 12 and50 per cent between June 1and July 5.

On October 9, the Indiancarr iers operated 2,340domestic flights, which is71.5 per cent of their totalpre-COVID capacity.

The ministry stated in itsorder that "it has been

de c ide d to re s tore t hescheduled domest ic airoperation with effect fromOctober 18, 2021, withoutany capacity restriction".

The order noted that thedecision was taken "after areview of the current statusof s c h e du l e d d om e s t i coperations viz-a-viz pas-senger demand for air trav-el".

When the government

resumed the scheduleddomestic flights on May 25last year after a two-monthbreak, the ministry hadal lowed the carr iers tooperate not more than 33per cent of their pre-Coviddomestic services.

The cap was graduallyincreased to 80 per cent byDecember 2020.

T h e 8 0 - p e r c e nt c apremained in place till June

1 this year.The May 28 decision to

bring down the cap from80 to 50 per cent fromJune 1 onwards was taken"in view of the suddensurge in the number ofact ive COVID-19 casesa c r o s s t h e c o u nt r y,decrease in passenger traf-fic and the passenger load(occupancy rate) factor",the ministry had said.

PNS n BOSTON/WASHINGTON

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman discussed invest-ment opportunities, reforms inIndia and other related issuesduring her meeting with lead-ers of global corporations, whosaid they were upbeat aboutinvesting in the country.

Sitharaman arrived in theUS on Monday to attend theannual meet of the WorldBank and IMF in Washingtonas well as G20 FinanceMinisters and Central BankGovernors (FMCBG) meet-ing.

During the official visit tothe US, Sitharaman is expect-ed to meet US TreasurySecretary Janet Yellen.

After arriving in New York,Sitharaman travelled to Bostonwhere she will meet investorsduring a roundtable hosted byFICCI and US-India StrategicPartnership Forum (USISPF)and executives of global corpo-rations and also address stu-dents at Harvard University.

Prominent among thosewho met the minister inBoston were JohnConnaughton, co-managingpartner, and Stephen Pagliuca,

co-chairman, Bain Capital;Edmund DiSanto, ExecutiveVice President, ChiefAdministration Officer andGeneral Counsel of AmericanTower Corporation (ATC);Prahlad Singh, President andCEO of Perkin Elmer and DrJohn Ardill and Senior VicePresident of ExxonMobil.

Expressing their confidencein the Indian economy and theongoing reforms, the corporateleaders said that they wereupbeat about investing in thecountry.

Sitharaman also attended adinner hosted by LawrenceSummers, former Treasury

Secretary, along with othereminent experts in the fields ofeconomics, public policy,finance, and development.

The finance minister eluci-dated the intent of the countryto be more inclusive in devel-opment and growth, PrahladSingh said after his meetingwith Sitharaman in Boston.

In a wide-ranging discussionwith the minister, Singh statedthat some of the best sciencegraduates and skill sets thatPerkin Elmer as a companyleverage, come out of India.

Singh said that India'shealthcare industry is ripe forinvestment.

Singh added that amid theCOVID-19 pandemic, prod-ucts that have been developedin the company's facilities inGoa are being used and export-ed outside the country for usefor COVID-19 testing.

So that's really a very goodexample of how we can use andleverage the inclusive growththat the Finance Ministerpointed out and what the coun-try has been doing for using thecapabilities and skill sets fromIndia for our development as acompany but also from thecountry's perspective.

During the meeting,Sitharaman mentioned gov-ernment incentives and initia-tives towards promoting inno-vation in life sciences andresearch and development inthe pharma sector.

In her meeting with DiSanto,the minister highlightedreforms including NationalMonetisation Pipeline (NMP)for private sector investmenttowards new infrastructurecreation in brownfield infra-structure assets.

Opportunities in India steer-ing foreign collaborations andattracting Foreign DirectInvestment in the next five

years under NMP throughinvestment in strategic sec-tors, including telecom, formedpart of discussion, the financeministry said.

ATC, which has 76,000 tow-ers in India, aims to expandoperations in the telecommu-nications sector by addinganother 4,000 towers.

So we'll make an incremen-tal investment in the ordinarycourse even in the pandemicthat'll bring us to 80,000 (tow-ers), he said.

ATC India is among thepassive telecom infrastructureproviders in India and is anindirectly-held subsidiary ofAmerican Tower Corporation.

"I see that the moves that thegovernment of India has maderecently has sent a very pow-erful message to the world ofwestern investors, indicating anew receptivity and a new sys-tem that I think does encour-age the opportunity," DiSantossaid after his meeting withSitharaman.

The reforms, cast India in avery favourable light and wel-coming light when it comes tobringing in investment,onboarding businesses,"DiSanto said.

Fin Minister discusses reforms inIndia with corporate leaders in US

India calls for IPR waiver in WTOPNS n NEW DELHI

Commerce and IndustryMInister Piyush Goyal onTuesday called for waiver ofIntellectual Property Rights(IPR) in World TradeOrganisation (WTO) and dis-mantling new trade barriers inthe global fight against theCOVID-19 pandemic.

In October 2020, India andSouth Africa had submittedthe first proposal, suggesting awaiver for all WTO memberson the implementation of cer-tain provisions of the Trade-Related Aspects of IntellectualProperty Rights (TRIPs)Agreement in relation to theprevention, containment ortreatment of COVID-19.

In May this year, a revisedproposal was submitted by 62co-sponsors, including India,South Africa, and Indonesia.

The agreement on TRIPcame into effect in January1995. It is a multilateral agree-ment on intellectual property(IP) rights such as copyright,industrial designs, patents andprotection of undisclosedinformation or trade secrets.

Our response to the pan-demic needs to ensure equi-table access to vaccines andother COVID-19 related

health products by ensuringquick resolution of the supplyside constraints. One of theways to demonstrate this is byaccepting the TRIPS waiverproposal, Goyal said, in hisaddress to the G20 Trade andInvestment MinisterialMeeting in Naples, Italy.

He also pitched for activelyresolving new trade barrierslike vaccine differentiationsor COVID passports, whichimpose mobility restrictionsand impede the movement ofpersonnel needed for deliver-ing critical services.

COVID-19 crisis is a pow-erful reminder of our inter-connectedness, and the need

for a coordinated global strat-egy to overcome such anunprecedented public healthsituation, he said.

The minister also said thatbesides focusing on facilitatingfree flow of goods, G20 coun-tries should make health ser-vices accessible and moreaffordable by the citizens of theworld by enabling free flow ofhealth services. Commentingon the ongoing talks in WTOabout fisheries subsidies, Goyalsaid countries engaged in dis-tant water fishing should stopsubsidizing their fishing inhigh seas and gradually reducetheir fishing capacities, partic-ularly, for overfished stocks.

No curbs on domestic flights from oct 18

Govt asks CIL to raise coal supplyto power plants during PujaPNS n NEW DELHI

The government has askedstate-owned Coal India Ltd(CIL) to augment the coalsupply to power producers to1.55-1.6 million tonnes (MT)per day around the DurgaPuja period, and to furtherscale it to 1.7 MT per day afterOctober 20, according to asource.

The development assumessignificance in the wake of thecountry's power plants grap-pling with coal shortages in thecountry at a time when the fes-tival season has already begun.

"Yesterday (Monday), therewas a meeting in Delhi andCoal India was asked to do(supply of) 1.55-1.6 milliontonnes (of coal to power sec-tor) per day around Puja time;and after October 20, the pub-lic sector undertaking is sup-posed to do 1.7 MT per day,"the source privy to the devel-opment said.

The coal dispatches by CILto the power sector on Mondaystood at 1.615 MT.

In a country where 69 percent of the total electricitygeneration is coal-based, CILempowers the nation's powersector. Around 80 per cent ofCIL's total supplies are catered

to the power sector, accordingto a recent report of the firm.

The source said the powerplants are getting the amountof coal that is required for gen-eration but the stocks are notbuilding up as they did notreplenish them.

The coal stocks at powerplants will start building upfrom November 1 onwards, thesource said.

"They (power plants) didn'treplenish their stocks. Many ofthem took that risk. So, theyare paying for it now," thesource added.

Coal India Ltd (CIL), hesaid, had 100 million tonnes ofthe fuel stock at the end of thefinancial year 2020-21.

"Why did that stock accrueis because people (powerplants) did not take their des-ignated supplies. They thoughtthat why to waste money rightnow when there is no require-ment," he said. CIL had onMonday said it has scaled upthe supply of coal to power util-ities across the country to 1.51MT per day during the pastfour days of the current month,and stressed that it is buildingup adequate evacuation logis-tics to transport the dry fuel.

The average supply to coal-fired power plants duringOctober so far has been 1.43MT per day, which has nowbeen augmented to 1.51 MT inthe past four days.

Rupee declines16 paise to 75.52PNS n NEW DELHI

Falling for the third day in a row,the rupee weakened further by16 paise to end at 75.52 againstthe US currency on Tuesday,weighed down by a stronggreenback in the overseas mar-ket and firm crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the local cur-rency opened at 75.41 and wit-nessed an intra-day high of75.16 and a low of 75.66 againstthe US dollar in the day trade.The local unit finally settled at75.52 a dollar, down 16 paiseover its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee slid by37 paise to close at a 15-monthlow of 75.36 against the US dol-lar.

Brent crude futures, the glob-al oil benchmark, advanced0.29 per cent to USD 83.89 perbarrel.

The dollar index, which

gauges the greenback'sstrength against a basket of sixcurrencies, was trading 0.02per cent up at 94.33.

"The Indian rupee toucheda low of 75.67, a level last seenon June 25, 2020. The dollarindex stayed calm while dol-lar demand from oil importersand hedgers dragged the rupeelower. Market participantsshould keep eye on crude oil,Dollar index and US Treasuryyields for short term move-ment," said Dilip Parmar,Research Analyst, HDFCSecurities.

Parmar further said thatthe medium-term trend forUSD/INR remains bullishwhile short-term profit book-ing can't be ruled out after ver-tical rise. "The pair is havingsupport in the area of 75.30 to75, while continue to faceresistance in the range of 75.90to 76," he noted.

Govt promoting ethanol productionPNS n NEW DELHI

Road Transport and HighwaysMinister Nitin Gadkari onTuesday stressed on the needto divert excess sugar stock forethanol manufacturing as pro-vision of subsidies on exportsof sweetener will not be per-missable after December 2023under the WTO regime.

Addressing a webinar onalternative fuels organised byindustry body ISMA, the min-ister said the government ispromoting ethanol manufac-turing in a big way and assured

that it will procure all ethanolproduced in the country.

With increased supply ofethanol, Gadkari said thegovernment plans tointroduce flex fuelengine vehicles inthe country.

With the rolloutof flex-fuel vehicleson 100 per cent bio-ethanol, the demandfor ethanol will immediate-ly jump by 4 to 5 times, headded.

The minister also askedsugar mills to set up their own

ethanol pumps, which arebeing permitted by the govern-ment. "It is under our purview

that we can take thedecision for making

mandatory flexengine for thepetrol vehicles.So, that canincrease the

demand of ethanolin Indian market,"

Gadkari said.Stating that the government

is giving permission for theethanol pump, the ministertold sugar mills that they can

establish their own pumps."Now there is a policy and

my own sugar factory, also myson has taken the permission,"he added.

Gadkari said the govern-ment is providing export subis-dy to the tune of Rs 3,000 to Rs6,000 crore to sugar mills forliquidating surplus sugarstocks.

"Due to our commitments tointernational organisationssuch as WTO, these subsidieswill not be permissable afterDecember 2023," he pointedout.

Government accords Maharatna status to PFC PNS n NEW DELHI

The government has accordedthe 'Maharatna' status to state-owned Power FinanceCorporation (PFC), a move thatwill pave the way for the com-pany's greater financial andoperational efficiency, accord-ing to a company statement.

"Government of Indiaaccorded the prestigious'Maharatna' status to state-owned Power FinanceCorporation (PFC), thus givingPFC greater operational andfinancial autonomy," the com-pany said in the statement.

An order to this effect wasissued on Tuesday by theDepartment of PublicEnterprises, under the Ministryof Finance.

Incorporated in 1986, PFC isthe largest infrastructurefinance company dedicated tothe power sector under theadministrative control of theMinistry of Power.

The grant of 'Maharatna'status to PFC will impartenhanced powers to PFC'sboard while taking financialdecisions.

The Board of a 'Maharatna'

CPSE can make equity invest-ments to undertake financialjoint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries and under-take mergers and acquisitionsin India and abroad, subject toa ceiling of 15 per cent of thenetworth of the concernedCPSE, limited to Rs 5,000 crorein one project.

The board can also structureand implement schemes relat-ing to personnel and humanresource management andtraining. They can also enterinto technology joint venturesor other strategic alliances.

Union Power and New &Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh congratulated andremarked that the "confermentof the 'Maharatna' status is thereflection of the government'sconfidence on PFC's strategicrole in the overall developmentof the power sector and anendorsement of its sterling per-formance."

He added that this newrecognition will enable PFC tooffer competitive financing forthe power sector, which will goa long way in making availableaffordable and reliable 'PowerFor All 24x7'.

Official: Concorstrategic salenot happeningthis fiscalPNS n NEW DELHI

The strategic sale ofContainer Corporation ofIndia (Concor) is not hap-pening in the current fiscal asthe railway land usage poli-cy is yet to be finalised, asenior official said.

Department of Investmentand Public AssetManagement (DIPAM)Secretary Tuhin KantaPandey said it takes about ayear from the date of issue ofExpression of Interest (EoI)for the conclusion of anystrategic sale.

For Concor, the post pri-vatisation rail land usage pol-icy is yet to be finalised by theMinistry of Railways andhence the EoI could not beissued.

Container Corp is not hap-pening this year. Fromexpression of interest to con-clusion, it takes about ninemonths to one year. We werehoping that the expression ofinterest will be issued but thatis linked to the land policy.

Grip Invest inks US$ 5 million asset financing deal with HoK PNS n NEW DELHI

Grip Invest, a digital platformfor facilitating new-age asset-backed investments, onTuesday said it has enteredinto a USD 5 million (about Rs37.7 crore) asset financingdeal with House of Kieraya(HoK), known for furnitureand lifestyle rental brand,Furlenco.

The deal will enable HoK toaccess additional furnitureassets to support the rapidgrowth they are witnessing in

terms of new users, a state-ment said. Furlenco hasrecently formed HoK, a corpo-rate brand that includesFurlenco and its sub-brand -UNLMTD, along withFurbicle - a re-manufacturedfurniture brand.

"We are seeing unprece-dented growth that hasexceeded our expectations.Our partnership with Grip willhelp fuel the asset demand thatis coming on the back of ouraggressive growth and expan-sion plans.”

AISHWARYA D

ave you ever wonderedif robots are a versatileinvention that humansmade? No doubt theyare one of the best cre-ations made. Today,

robots can be seen assisting notonly in restaurants but also in themedical field. They especiallycome in handy for the ‘recon-struction’ procedure.

Dr. Mallikarjun Reddy, SeniorConsultant, Urology at theCitizens Specialty Hospital, speaksexclusively to The Pioneer regard-ing the emerging problems ofPediatric Urology. He gives usspecific insights on UretericReconstruction Surgery.

So what exactly is reconstruc-tion? It is a process through whicha tube is connected to the kidneyand the bladder during surgery.This can be done to either one orboth kidneys.

The process is a significantlycomplex one that needs a lot ofevaluation and identification ofthe problem before beginning thereconstructive surgery. Most ofthe time, these problems pick upin the foetus when the child isinside the womb.

Dr. Reddy performed a RoboticUreter

ReconstructiveSurgery on

an 18-

month-old baby boy recently, whowas diagnosed in the utero withleft hydronephrosis, a conditionwhere swelling occurs on a kidneydue to a build-up of urine when itcannot drain out from the kidneyor bladder due to a blockage. It isone of the most common urologi-cal problems seen in the agegroup.

The baby was allowed to feedorally just 4 hours after thesurgery and was discharged in 48hours.

The doctor explains, “It was avery critical surgery as the organsin children are very small, 1/4thto that of adults. An importantpoint to be noted for RAS is mini-mal or no scarring, as scars fromurological procedures can affectthe child physically and mentally,given they have their whole lifeahead of them”.

The first general precaution tobe taken after the child is born, isto check him or her appropriately.Second, if the child is older, anddevelops symptoms like regularstomach ache, has a high fever,urinary infection, PUJ obstruc-tion, ureteric obstruction at thebladder level, where children tendto leak urine without their knowl-edge and always wets their under-pants, parents must be prompt inseeking medical opinion. Thenthe child’s kidneys and bladder arechecked, to see if it’s a result ofchronic constipation or kidneytumors.

All these things need to belooked at, before going ahead withthe surgery. These kinds of prob-lems need to be corrected to func-tion and stabilise the kidney prop-erly, once the child tends to grow.Robotic surgery would be of greathelp here.

When asked about the experi-ence working with robotic assis-tance, Dr. Reddy says, “I havebeen part of pediatric urology forthe past 20+ years now. Earlier, itwas open surgery, then camelaparoscopic, and now we havefurther refinements of roboticssurgery. This robotic-assistedsurgery comes from a da Vinci XIrobot that actually has an instru-ment inside, which makes surgerymuch easier than laparoscopic.With the help of a robot, theresults of the surgery are muchaccurate and successful. Now theinstruments have become smaller,because of which we can operateon much smaller children withease. The surgical outcome of thechildren from these robots aremuch superior to laparoscopic”.

The question now arises if it'stime we all shift to robotic surg-eries. Well, robotic surgery is usedin the last part of the treatment.The doc says, “The first and themain thing would be to take anultrasound which is reasonableand quite effective. The cost of therobotic procedure may be higher,but the success rate is much high-er than normal surgery: with arobot, you can have one surgeryinstead of two possible surgeries.The recovery of the child is muchfaster in robotics in comparisonto any kind of open surgery.”

After shifting to robotics, it wasnoticed that the children havemuch lesser pain and they recoverin a day or two, which is fasterthan laparoscopic. “The reasonsare unknown, but the kind of pre-cision we get when we do thesurgery with a 3D magnificationgives much more precision to thesurgery so that the childrenimprove much faster than throughany other surgical modality. So itis worthwhile that everyonemakes use of robotic surgery,especially for children.” However,the doctor says, until and unless aneed for such a surgery arises,care must be taken to avoidsurgery if it is not necessary.

On a concluding note, he says,“There were no actual challengesfaced when compared to laparo-scopic surgery, because this makesthe surgery easier, the outcomesare better, and the child recoversfaster. There will be 2-3% sideeffects, which are inevitable —whether it is open, laparoscopic orrobotic — because it is an inher-ent problem, apart from the surgi-cal issue.”

He believes that with theadvanced technologies availabletoday in India, children sufferingfrom such issues can get the latestmedical treatments, and there is aneed to sensitise parents about theearly detection and timely treat-ment of such diseases.

SHIKHA DUGGAL

n social psychology,the idea of the ‘sur-vival of the fittest’ isa theory that hasmany names. Itapplies Darwin’s

theories of the jungle. BearGrylls’ Into the Wild is alsolike a highly competitive jun-gle where only the ‘fittest’ andcompetent are likely to sur-vive. From the very own PMof our country, NarendraModi, the ‘thalaiva’ of thesouth industry, Rajinikanth,and the best action-hero thatis ever there, Akshay Kumar— all three lived to tell thetale. Now it was time for AjayDevgn to excel!

Life in the jungle is full ofsurprises and the Singham

actor Ajay Devgn of the enter-tainment industry got to feel itup close. While on this adven-turous journey in Discovery+exclusive, the actordeveloped rou-tines at site,just as wewould athome. Torainfor-est,milesawayfromthenearesttown intheIndianOcean, boththe explorerswere in extremelyremote areas. Theynavigated in the jungle, and

now give us some coolinsights on the trailer launchwith the forest expert himself— Ajay and Bear take us on a

petite jungle voyageof their own.

We got toknow that

there wasa DIYraft thatboththe sur-veyorshad tomakeuse of.

How didthat hap-

pen?“Believe it or

not, we didn’tfind a raft. There

was only one way totravel by water and we decid-

ed to make one. Whatever rawmaterials we could find, weused it. I had no clue aboutwhat I was doing on earth!”recalls Ajay.

Usually, when one imaginesif he or she is let alone on anisland, the answer is moreoften than not romantic, how-ever, Devgn cries out the ex-soldier’s name, as it was onlyhe who knew all the nitty-grit-ty of the tropical forests.Shooting action sequences fora movie and shooting live fora tropical rain forest mission,drastic difference, explains theactor. “Well, you can see, thereare no re-takes and rehearsals.We were taking chances onthe spot! You are in theunknown, in the wild — any-thing could have happened.Bear knew something about it;I was completely alien aboutwhat was going on. A fright-ening yet fun episode wasshot,” he added.

An experience of a lifetime,Bear Grylls chose to travelaround India due to its assort-ment, its civil liberties, therocky terrains, etc. They setout to venture on a one-of-its-kind island that was nothinglike a ‘paradise’- there were alot of reefs and very little freshwater. The climate was so hot!Bear revealed there were timeswhen the circumstances in thejungle would get too intimi-dating, however, Ajay Devgnnever backed off!

While watching the trailerwe hear a scary line from theexpert stating — if you see ashark, stay calm and don’tmove’. That was how randomit got in the waters of theIndian ocean for both the voy-agers. Yet, Grylls makes itknown to us that the superstarstill had the humility for thewild, despite countering suchalarming situations. His ner-vousness didn’t turn into ego,said Bear. “I may not havememories of wild, clingingback to my childhood, howev-er, since the time I have joinedthe movies, I have shot inrainforests, backwaters andthe mountains – that has beenmy fondest memories fromthe untamed till date,” Ajaysigns off.

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WednesdayOctober 13, 2021

What’s new!

City-based NGO, HelpingHand Foundation, whichhas been working for the

economically weaker sections inthe health domain for over twodecades, has now forayed intobudget community health homecare services in a non-profit modelunder the brand HHF Health.

According to the NGO, post-Covid, there has been a spurt indemand for several community-level home health care services.

Many patients are looking atend-to-end health services at thedoorstep for ease of access and thefear and anxiety of visiting hospi-tals and clinics in the pandemic. A survey was done by the NGOlast month, in which family mem-bers of about 200 plus patients,who underwent critical care treat-ment were interviewed and theresult has revealed that 80% of thepatients are looking for cost-effec-tive home care solutions as theyare financially exhausted by thetime the patient is discharged fromthe hospital.

HHF Health will bring to thedoorstep a wide range of low cost,

high-quality community healthservices with compassion, whichwill include doctor on call or visit,nursing and bedside care, physio-therapy, labs and diagnostics (In-house), pharmacy, ambulances,medical equipment, rehabilitationcare, mainly targeting the middleand lower-middle-class segments.

Under Home Care services doc-tors will provide both online andon-site services, apart from nurs-ing, bedside care and physiothera-py too. The nursing care will helppatients who need IV fluids andInjectables, wound dressing, bedsore care, foley catheter replace-ment, riles tube feeding and otherroutine bedside care right fromseasonal diseases to chronic ones.

The home care initiative will beparticularly beneficial to patientssuffering from Covid under homeisolation, post-Covid, stroke, trau-ma, and patients who need dailydressing to wounds and infectivelimbs like diabetic foot, gangrene,cellulitis, patients who have devel-oped bedsores, and others who areincapacitated due to chronic ill-ness.

LOW-COST HEALTHCARE

AT HOME IS HERE

Designers Shivan and Narreshunveiled #IconoScapeSeriesthrough an evocative display of

their latest collection that romanticisesa whimsical reverie and exacerbateselegance for the new world. The annu-al showcase brings to life five diverseprints namely Farrago, Jaiscape,Iconomash, BotanEye, and Wilding.

Designed for the global millenniaand the effervescent, the latest seriesblossoms into freedom through fash-ion as it narrates a distinct design lan-guage defined by Purity, Art, and Sextranslated into the brand’s five iconicholiday lifestyles: Swim (snail), Resort(peacock), Cruise (dolphin), Safari(elephant) and Ski (reindeer). Anunderlying sentiment of escapismevokes the passionate desire for traveland fashionable joie de vivre, even athome, as each design brings to life thethriving vision of the brand through apotpourri of powerful and playful sil-houettes in rich, earthy undertones.

ICONIC DESIGNSFOR

THE NEW NORMAL

Bahwan CyberTek (BCT)Group announced its uniquecareer relaunch programme

that will provide women oncareer breaks with full-time jobopportunities. The program willpromote diversity in the technolo-gy space and encourage womenwho put their careers on hold forvarious reasons to re-enter theworkforce.

Candidates selected throughthis program will have access tomentors and other opportunitiesto upskill and learn on the job.BCT has also developed family-friendly HR policies and intro-duced flexible work schedules tohelp women balance their person-al and professional commitmentswith ease.

CAREERRELAUNCH FOR

WOMEN LOOKINGTO RE-ENTERWORKFORCE

The city witnessed the gala launch ofthe most promising made in IndiaCrypto exchange, BITSZ, earlier this

week. Popular Actress Niddhi Agerwaljoined Team BITSZ for the grand launch,along with other notable personalitiesfrom the city.

Addressing the audience at the launch,Niddhi Agerwal said, “As a business stu-dent myself, I completely understand thebenefits of investing in cryptocurrencies.BITSZ, as a platform, stands out for usersdue to the concept of providing 100%insurance. I learnt today that despite beingindependent, 33% of women alwaysinvolve a man in their family to makedecisions in investments. I would like toencourage both men and women to comeforward and invest in cryptocurrencies. Itis a safe and great investment to make. Iam excited to be part of the launch of thisunique platform.” Congratulating TeamBITSZ, Niddhi wished them all successahead.

SAFE CRYPTOEXCHANGEPLATFORM

LAUNCHED INHYDERABAD

Nutreco India, a globalleader in animal andaqua nutrition in

association with the RobinHood Army (An NGO)organised a unique initiativeon the occasion of WorldFood Day to ‘Feed theFuture’ providing nutritiousbalanced food to underprivi-leged children in Hyderabad.As a part of this programover 100 underprivilegedkids were provided withhealthy food in the slum areain Miyapur, Hyderabad. Theevent was attended by Dr.Saurabh Shekhar, GeneralManager – Nutreco SouthAsia; Dr. Chandani Parihar,Marketing Head; Ms. RoopaKandi, Mr. SrikrishnaGouda, and Ms. SanthosiReddy.

Every year, Nutreco Indiacelebrates World Food Dayto raise awareness about the‘future of food’ addressingthe most basic human need.In line with their purpose ofFeeding the Future, the ini-tiative aims to provide peoplewith nutritious and protein-rich food while safeguardingthe essential food cycle.Nutreco India works relent-lessly towards the purpose ofFeeding the Future most sus-tainably. The company isrunning a 2-week campaignfocusing on reducing foodwastage in the country andensuring balanced protein-rich food for all.

FEEDINGTHE FUTURE

The Covid pandemic has takenthe lives of many, leaving sever-al families devastated. Many lost

their breadwinners, making their lifecome a sudden halt.

To help such families, AquaSecurity, an Israel-based leadingpure-play cloud-native securityprovider with Indian operations atHyderabad, has recently concluded its

first-ever Aquathon, a global employ-ee well-being initiative.

Proceeds of the initiative will godirectly to Covidrelief support forIndia, focused on helping the familieswhose breadwinners have succumbedto Coronavirus.

Aquathon aims to give back to thecommunity while building a strong,healthy, and united workforce. Aqua

employees across the world raisedfunds for an Indian non-profit organ-isation by registering their step-countfor seven days and to raise funds forCovid relief in India.

The initiative drove phenomenalparticipation from the Aqua Securityteam across 12 countries. Over 150employees participated in the initia-tive and clocked over 11 million

steps. Aqua Security matched thefunds raised by employees. and raiseda total of rupees 6 Lacs, to be donatedto Nirmaan Organisation (a non-profit entity) and its Covid reliefefforts in India.

Nirmaan supports the underprivi-leged in education, skill development,entrepreneurship, and social leader-ship.

SUCCOUR ANDSTRENGTH TO

FAMILIES RAVAGEDBY COVID

VENTURING, CAPTURINGAND CONQUERING THE WILD

“THEREWERE NO

RETAKES, WE WERETAKING CHANCES ON THE

SPOT! BEAR KNEWSOMETHING ABOUT IT; IWAS COMPLETELY ALIEN

ABOUT WHAT WASGOING ON.”

ROBOTICS MAKINGCOMPLEX SURGERIES

PAINLESS ANDSUCCESSFUL

I

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Ph

oto

s b

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V C

ha

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Agrand party was hosted on the occasion of the first birthday ofPrincess Samaira Fatima, the granddaughter of Nilofur and AteeqSiddiqui, and the daughter of Akasha and Meeran Ahmed. Guests

at the event had a beautiful evening as they were treated toscrumptious royal food.

ROYAL BASH

l Mohammad Mahmood Ali and Shabeer Ali

l Geeta Reddy, Jaber Patel and Kabeer Khanl B.B. Patil

l Adnam and Khaliq ur Rehman

l Mehboob and Furquan l Pallam Raj and Sarvey Sathyanarayana

l Farooq Hussain

10

what’s brewing?

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

FUN

The launch ofSutraa'sfestive and

wedding specialexhibition was agrand affair. Theevent that beganon Tuesday, atHotel Taj Krishnain Banjara Hills,will go on tillThursday. Theexhibitionshowcasesunique designerwear,accessories,jewellery, andmore.

TRADITIONAL TRANCE

Hyderabad Wednesday October 13, 2021

l Hani Reddy

l S.Yashaswini

l Tanishal Umesh

l Yashwasi Shetty

ollywood singer Shaan,actor and reality TV judge,who gave iconic hits likeTanha Dil, Jab Se TereNaina, Chand Sifarish, andmore, has joined the cast

of Ilaiyaraaja’s Hindi-Telugumusical Music School.

Bollywood actorsSharman Joshi andShriya Saran have beenroped in to play thelead roles in the film.Shaan, we’re beingtold, has signed up toplay the role ofSaran’s character’sex-boyfriend in thefilm, and will also

be singing a song! The movie covers the pressure of

the unimaginative education systemon children, which aims only tomake them doctors or engineers,leaving no time for art or sport.

Ilaiyaraaja, the prolific composerand lyricist has written 12 originalsongs for the project.

It is being produced by YaminiFilms. We also know that Broadwaychoreographer Adam Murray is onboard.

Actors Suhasini Mulay, BenjaminGilani, Prakash Raj, Telugu comedi-an Brahmanandam, Vinay Varma,Mona Ambegaonkar, GracyGoswamy, and Ozu Barua will beseen playing pivotal roles in the film.

11

Hyderabad Wednesday October 13, 2021 tollywoodTEAM MAHA SAMUDRAM TAKES

PART IN GREEN INDIA CHALLENGE

he unit of Maha Samudram planted saplings at the JRCconvention Center, Jubilee Hills, ahead of the film’srelease on October 14.

Actors Siddarth, Aditi Rao Hydari, director Ajay Bhupati, RaoRamesh, and others took part in the challenge.Appreciating the efforts of Rajya Sabha MP Joginpally SantoshKumar for initiating and taking forward GIC, they encouragedtheir fans and well-wishers to take this novel initiative forward.Meanwhile, GIC co-founder Raghava presented the film unit withthe Vruksha Vedam book.

T

K RAMYA SREE

he film Most EligibleBachelor is all set to hit bigscreens on October 15 andAkhil, the lead actor of thefilm, seems to be the mostexcited one of the lot, as his

film will be releasing after two wholeyears.

Recently, Naga Chaitanya, PoojaHegde, and Akhil assembled togetherfor the promotion of Most EligibleBachelor. The event was also graced byAllu Arvind and Allu Bobby.

Most Eligible Bachelor, written anddirected by Bommarillu Bhaskar, pro-duced by Bunny Vasu and Vasu Varmaon GA2 Pictures, is a romantic comedyfilm. Both Pooja and Akhil will be seenin new avatars that they haven’t triedearlier. The plot follows the relationshipbetween Harsha (Akhil), an NRI, andVibha (Pooja), a stand-up comedian.

In this film, Akhil faces all the prob-lems an eligible bachelor face in his life.Speaking about his character and thefilm, Akhil shares, “Everyone wants tohave a better life. The film opens upyour mind as it discusses why there is acommunication gap between a couplein their married life, and where oneneeds to put in real efforts. The contentstemmed from the experiences ourdirector had gone through.”

Akhil says he genuinely feels there isa Harsha in every boy, "who goesthrough this journey from a boy to aman, in search of what his soul wantsand the age where he attains maturity.This film covers all those aspects,” heshares.

MEB is all set to have a grand releasethis week across Telugu states. An elat-ed Akhil shares, “A film of mine isreleasing after a two-year gap. I feellucky to release my film on an auspi-cious day — Dasara. This is a filmwhere you can laugh out loud. It is alight-hearted entertainer that will toucheach soul with its climax.”

When asked what kind of storiesimpress him the most and how he over-comes the confusion while finalisingscripts, he says, “I will okay a story thatinterests me at that moment. I might beconfused between an action or a love

story, but I always go withmy instincts. In the cre-ative process, if weconnect to something,we have to do it, iswhat I believe in. Ilike action films alot, but I connect-ed to the story ofMEB, that’s why Itook up this pro-ject. I wouldn’tconsider that asconfusionbetween anaction film ora love story, Iwould con-sider that asa connec-tion withthe script.”

Akhilsays healwayswanted todo a goodfilm withcomedy and a lovestory, and that he was ableto fulfill this wish with MEB.“The film is not a romanticdrama, it also drives home amessage. That is the biggeststrength of this film and allthat credit has to go to ourdirector,” says he.

Speaking about hisweaknesses andstrengths and how hetries to improve him-self as an actor, Akhilshares in a conclud-ing note, “If we wantto progress as anactor, looking atyour weakness ismore importantthan overloadingstrengths. For me, Ihave to performwhatever the directorwants. The responsi-bility in this industryis very high and Ihave to work 10times harder to provemyself.”

T

Working for MahaSamudram was a blissful

experience: Aditi he much-anticipated October 14 release of MahaSamudram has got Aditi Rao Hydari, who plays thecharacter ‘Maha’ in the Ajay Bhupathi film, allprepped up for the anticipated rounds of promotionsthat the cast is expected to do.

Aditi told a news agency that her character is “asimple, bubbly girl who is all easy”. “Maha,” she added, “teachesdance to children and is the sole bread earner of the family.”

Speaking about what attracted her to the film, Aditi said: “Iwas approached by my director. I was greatly impressed by hisconviction. His story narration made me realise his vision. Icould not say no at all, as he had been too good to me. WhenI said I had some prior commitments, he assured me this

movie was going to be made only with me. I almost criedwhen he followed up for my dates.”

About the film’s other cast members, Aditi said theyincluded seasoned actors such as Sharwanand,

Siddharth, Rao Ramesh and Jagapathi Babu. “I amso lucky to have them share the screen in such agreat project,” said the actress, who was mostrecently seen on Netflix in the Hindi mysterythriller, The Girl on the Train.

How was it to working with Sharwanand andSiddharth? “What I like the most about both isthat they do not appear like stars at all,” Aditisaid. “Siddharth is such a talented person. He

has a deep knowledge of all the departmentsof filmmaking. He does his homework, helooks into the direction and music and stillis so humble. Sharwa is a calm and peace-

ful person, and so positive all the time.”On whether she felt stressed duringthe shoot, Aditi said: “Apart from

the pandemic tension, the shootwas all fun. Siddharth, Sharwa,Ajay, all of us had a great andpositive time together. The tech-nical team was so good thatthey arranged our sets within alimited time. It was blissful forus all to work for this movie.”

There’s also talk doing therounds that Aditi is signinganother movie with AjayBhupathi. Without going

into the specifics, Aditisaid: “With all my directors,I have acted in two of their

films. So, I hope it hap-pens with Ajay too. I

would love to bedirected by him

again.”

n some heart-breaking news,Telugu producerMahesh Konerudied of cardiacarrest on Tuesdayat his residence

in Hyderabad. MaheshKoneru was known to be aclose confidant of theNandamuri family includ-ing, Jr NTR, Kalyan Ramand Bala Krishna.According to reports, hewas just 40 years old. Underhis production companyEast Coast Productions,Mahesh had producedrecent Telugu films like 118,Thimmarusu, and MissIndia. Mahesh started hiscareer as a film journalistand quickly became a pub-

licist and marketing strate-gist for Telugu films Kancheand Baahubali series.Besides this, he was also thedistributor of Tamil hitsnamely Bigil and Master inTelugu states.

After hearing news ofMahesh’s demise, Jr. NTRtook to Twitter to share hisgrief at the death of hisfriend. He wrote: “With theheaviest of heart and inutter disbelief, I am lettingyou all know that my dear-est friend @smkoneru is nomore. I am shell shockedand utterly speechless. Mysincerest condolences to hisfamily and his near anddear (sic).”

In August, Mahesh’s latestTelugu project Sabhaku

Namaskaram was officiallylaunched. The film will starAllari Naresh in the leadrole. Shocked by the suddendemise, several Telugucelebrities took to Twitterto offer their condolences.Raashi Khanna wrote: “Lifeis so unpredictable. Rest inpeace @smokenru garu(sic).” Filmmaker HarishShankar wrote: “It’s unbe-lievable. Such a wonderfulfriend and a human being.We always had plans ofworking together and this isnot fair buddy. Don’t knowwhat to say for this sadden-ing and shocking news RIP@smkoneru (sic).” Reactingto the news, Rakul PreetSingh wrote that it’s veryterrible and sad.

T

I

Producer Mahesh Koneru dies ofcardiac arrest, Tollywood shocked

“SIDDHARTH

IS SUCH A TALENTED

PERSON. HE HAS A DEEP

KNOWLEDGE OF ALL THE

DEPARTMENTS OF

FILMMAKING. SHARWA IS A

CALM AND PEACEFUL

PERSON, AND SO

POSITIVE.”

Akhil: MEB is a light-hearted storythat drives home a message

B

B-wood singer Shaan joins Ilaiyaraaja’s Music School

PTI n SHARJAH

Eyeing a maiden IPL title,the fancied DelhiCapitals will face anoth-er litmus test in the form

of a Kolkata Knight Riders unitbrimming with optimism whenthe two sides lock horns in thesecond qualifier here onWednesday.

Delhi Capitals failed in theirfirst big test when they lost toChennai Super Kings in the first

qualifier and another defeat willmean there will be no moreexamination for the strongsquad, led by India wicketkeep-er Rishabh Pant.

Two-time winners KKRwill no doubt take confidencefrom their victory against RoyalChallengers Bangalore inMonday’s eliminator that dashedVirat Kohli’s hopes of winningan IPL title with his longstand-ing franchise. If the emphasis ison momentum and peaking at

the right time then KKR willdefinitely fancy their chances intheir next outing, notwithstand-ing their opponents’ resourcesand depth in lineup.

DC, who topped the leaguestage with as many as 10 wins fora total of 20 points, are wellaware of the task that awaitsthem. Since Australian greatRicky Ponting took over as theircoach, Delhi Capitals havegrown from strength to strengthas they finished second runners

up in the 2019 edition beforereaching the summit clash lastyear.

This year there aim is to doone better and win the title.

They are one of the mostbalanced sides in the tourna-ment with a formidable battingline-up and a potent pace attackthat is aided by seasonedspinners includingRavichandran Ashwin.

In Shikhar Dhawan,Prithvi Shaw and ShreyasIyer, Delhi boast of a solidtop order. Pant, along withShimron Hetmyer, look afterthe middle order, even as theymissed the injured MarcusStoinis’ prowess.

Dhawan (618) was the sec-ond highest run-scorer in 2020and has already raked up 551this season. His opening part-ner Shaw is also coming off agood game against CSK.

On the bowling front, theSouth African pace duo ofKagiso Rabada (2020 purple capwinner) and Anrich Nortje hasproved to a dream pair, havingscalped 52 wickets together in2020.

Then there is speedsterAvesh Khan, who has taken 23wickets so far in this season ofthe tournament, and he will backhimself to add to his tally againstKKR.

DC have posted five wins inthe UAE leg of the tournamentbut one of their defeats here hascome against KKR, and whatbetter opportunity for them toexact revenge than in the IPLplayoffs.

It is easier said than donethough, with Eoin Morgan’sside enjoying a massive reversalof fortunes in the Gulf afterenduring a disastrous first halfin India earlier this year.

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 13, 2021 sports 12

INDIA FACE MALDIVES IN SAFF’SHIPS MATCHMale: Unbeaten still but hugely disappointing sofar, a beleaguered India face hosts Maldives in theirlast round-robin league match of the SAFFChampionships here on Wednesday, knowing wellthat nothing less than a win will save them fromelimination. A draw or a loss will send India out ofreckoning for the final of the regional tournamentand that will be the worst result for India in recentmemory, which could also raise questions abouthead coach Igor Stimac’s continuation at the helmof affairs.The worst performance for seven-timechampions India before this edition was the third-place finish in 2003 and the country has either wonor finished runners-up in 11 previous editions.

INDIA QUALIFIED FOR UBER QUATERFINALS Aarhus (Denmark): Indian women teamprogressed to the quarterfinals of the Uber Cupwith a convincing 4-1 victory over Scotland asshuttlers Aditi Bhatt and Tasnim Mir registeredconfident singles wins, here on Tuesday. India arenow sitting second in Group B with two wins fromas many matches. The Indian team had beatenSpain 3-2 on Sunday when top player SainaNehwal was forced retire from her match due to agroin issue. Taking the court first, Malvika Bansodlost to Kirsty Gilmour 13-21 9-21 before Aditi gotthe better of Rachel Sugden 21-14 21-8 to level thescores.

THAKUR PARTICIPATES IN CLEAN INDIA DRIVENew Delhi: Sports Minister Anurag Thakurparticipated in the Clean India drive at thepremises of the Humayun’s Tomb along withvolunteers here on Tuesday morning.Organised aspart of the pan-India month-long cleanlinesscampaign by the sports ministry to collect andremove garbage (mainly plastics), the drive hasbeen initiated to mark ‘Azadi ka AmritMahotsav’.Speaking on the occasion, Thakur saidthrough this campaign “we are not only organisingclean India drive but also generating awarenessabout clean and healthy surroundings.”

AMANDEEP LEADS STRONG FIELDChandigarh: Amandeep Drall leads a strong fieldof Indians who are fresh from their Europeansojourn as they tee off in the 10th leg of the HeroWomen’s Pro Golf Tour at the Chandigarh GolfClub here on Wednesday. Amandeep, who has hada good season on the Ladies European Tour AccessSeries with a few Top-10 finishes, will be joined byVani Kapoor, who had a modest season. GaurikaBishnoi had some very good finishes too, whilePranavi Urs and rookie Durga Nittur are also backafter playing in Europe..

KHALIN JOSHI LEADS AT JAIPUR OPENJaipur: Khalin Joshi sank an eagle and nine birdiesto fire a scorching nine-under 61 for the firstround lead at the Jaipur Open, here on Tuesday.The Bengaluru golfer had two bogeys. RookieKartik Sharma of Gurugram and M Dharma,another Bengaluru-based pro, struck error-freerounds of eight-under 62 consisting of an eagleand six birdies each to hold joint second position.Joshi sank some tough par putts at the start whichenabled him to judge the speed of the greens. Hegot going with consecutive birdies on the 12th,13th and 14th before recovering from the bunkerfor a birdie on the 17th followed by another birdieon the par-5 18th. After making the turn at animpressive four-under, Joshi pushed ahead with abirdie from close range on the second. His bogeyon the third was negated by birdies on the fifth,sixth and seventh, all converted from a range ofeight to 15 feet. The icing on the cake in hisextraordinary round was the eagle on the par-5eighth hole where he drained a 10-footer.

SINGLES

PTI n NEW DELHI

Former captain Mahendra SinghDhoni will not charge any fee for

mentoring the Indian cricket team dur-ing this month’s T20 World Cup in theUAE and Oman, BCCI PresidentSourav Ganguly told PTI on Tuesday.

The iconic former captain wasbrought in as mentor by the BCCI lastmonth when it announced the squadfor the mega-event, scheduled to startOctober 17. “Dhoni will not chargeanything to mentor the Indian team,”Ganguly said. The 40-year-old Dhoniretired from international cricket lastyear, his last India game being the 2019World Cup semi-final, which the team

lost to New Zealand.It is believed that Dhoni was

brought in for his experience in devis-ing near-perfect white ball strategies. Heled his franchise Chennai Super Kingsinto the IPL finals on Sunday.

One of the most successful captainsin the history of Indian cricket, the enig-matic wicketkeeper-batter led India totwo world titles -- the 2007 T20 WorldCup in South Africa and the 2011 ODIWorld Cup in India.

The reticent player’s retirement,announced by him through an insta-gram post on August 15 last year, hadtaken the cricket world by surprise andhe has not spoken even once about itafter that.

IANS n NEW DELHI

After Royal ChallengersBangalore’s IPL 2021

campaign came to an end fol-lowing a loss to KolkataKnight Riders in theEliminator at Sharjah, outgo-

ing captain, Virat Kohli onTuesday posted an

emotional messagefor the RCB fans.

Kohli hadannounced beforethe start of the UAEleg of the leaguethat this will behis last seasonas leader of thefranchise.

“Not theresult we wanted but

I am so proud of thecharacter shown by theboys throughout thetournament. A disap-pointing end but wecan hold our headshigh. Thank you toall the fans, man-agement & the sup-port staff for yourconstant support,”Kohli wrote on

Twitter.Despite stepping

down as RCB captain,Kohli reiterated that hewill continue playingfor the franchise aslong as he plays in theIPL.

On Monday,Royal Challengersfailed to defend the138 runs their bats-men managed, whichextended their

long wait to lift anIPL trophy.

The closestthey came towinning the tro-

phy in recent times was in 2016 whenthey lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad inthe title decider. Overall, Kohli led

RCB in 140 matches in the last 11years. He won 66 of those games andlost 70 as skipper of the franchise.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Delhi Capitals speedster Avesh Khan hasbeen asked by the BCCI to stay back

in the UAE after the IPL to join India’s T20World Cup squad as a net bowler.

The 24-year-old is the second fastbowler, after Kashmiri pace sensationUmran Malik, who has been asked to jointhe team and if BCCI sources are to bebelieved, the lanky fast bowler could wellmake it to the standby list by the timeWorld Cup starts on Sunday. India willopen their campaign on October 24 againstPakistan. “The national selectors havedecided to also include Avesh in the mix.As of now, he will be a net bowler but ifthe team management feels, he can beupgraded,” a BCCI source close to the selec-tion committee told PTI on Tuesday.

Avesh bowls at an express pace and inthis edition of the IPL, he has picked 23wickets for the Capitals with DC still alivein the competition.

PTI n DUBAI

Indian opener Shafali Vermadropped a place to be second

among batters while her com-patriot Smriti Mandhana isstatic at the third position in theICC Women’s T20 rankingsreleased on Tuesday.

Verma has 726 ratingpoints in her kitty whileMandhana has 709 points.

Australia’s Beth Mooneyclimbed a spot to top the chartwith 754 points.

The Australians dominatethe ranking chart as besidesMooney, two other from thecountry -- skipper MegLanning and Alyssa Healy (6th)-- feature in the top 10.

New Zealand’s SophieDevine and Suzie Bates are fifthand seventh respectively.

After the first T20I againstIndia was washed out, Mooneyreturned with scores of 34 and61 as Australia emerged victo-rious in the multi-format series.

Mooney was originally notpart of the squad but came in

as a replacement for RachaelHaynes, who had to bow outowing to an injury.

Mooney’s teammate SophieMolineux too made signifi-cant gains in the latest rankingsupdate, breaking into the top 10

for bowlers after climbing 12spots to be placed at No. 9.

Molineux scalped threewickets in the series at aneconomy of 5.60 that helpedrestrict India to below-parscores in the last two games.

Among other Indians,Rajeshwari Gayakwad, whoended up as the leading wick-et-taker of the series with fivewickets in two innings, rose tothe 12th spot. AshleighGardner broke into the top 10to occupy the 10th spot in theall-rounders’ list, thanks to herfine display with the ball thatsaw her finish the series asAustralia’s leading wicket-taker.

Georgia Wareham, whofinished with three wicketsand 23 runs in the three games,jumped 14 spots to a career-high 48.

AP n INDIAN WELLS

Top-seeded KarolinaPlisova was upset by

Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3 7-5 at the BNP Paribas Open.

Haddad Maia got intothe main draw as a luckyloser. She lost in the finalround of qualifying and gotin when No 29 seed NadiaPodoroska withdrew with athigh injury. Haddad Maiainherited Podoroska’s first-round bye and then beatMayir Sherif in the secondround.

Ranked 115th, theBrazilian reached the roundof 16 at a WTA 1000 event

for the first time.On a windy day at the

Indian Wells Tennis Gardne,Pliskova held serve to tie the

second set 5-5. Haddad Maiaheld and then broke Pliskovain the final game to wrap upthe win in just over twohours.

No 10 Angelique Kerberdefeated 20th-seeded DariaKasatkina 6-2 1-6 6-4.

No 16 seed BiancaAndreescu, the 2019 cham-pion, lost to 18th-seededAnett Kontaveit 7-6 (5) 6-3.

On the men’s side, No 6Casper Ruud outlasted LloydHarris 6-7 (4) 6-4, 6-4 andNo 10 Diego Schwartzmanbeat Daniel Evans 5-7 6-4 6-0. No 16 Reilly Opelka lost to23rd-ranked GrigorDimitrov 6-3 6-4.

PTI n BENGALURU

Sports companies GamePlay andAarka Sports on Tuesday

announced the launch of the M SDhoni Cricket Academy (MSDCA)in Bengaluru.

The academy, which has beenset up in Kada Agrahara inBidarahalli will commence opera-tions from November 7 and regis-trations are currently open, officialsof the companies said at a press con-

ference. Deepak S Bhatnagar, ownerof GamePlay, said, “With the launchof the M S Dhoni Cricket Academyin Bengaluru, children who aspireto make it big in cricket will have thebest of the infrastructure and world-class coaching facilities to pursuetheir dreams.”

With this alliance, children inthe region will get an opportunity tolearn modern coaching methodol-ogy from MSDCA and their accred-ited BCCI coaches, Bhatnagar said.

Mihir Diwakar of Aarka Sportssaid the MSDCA was formed withthe sole objective to provide plat-form to aspiring cricketers in thecountry through a structured pro-gramme that equips our playerswith the skills they need to succeedin cricket and in life.

“Our unique and groundbreaking coaching programme isbuilt around the core values ofintegrity, teamwork, enjoyment,professionalism and adaptability,”Diwakar said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Ayush Dabas of Haryana and 16-year-old Rupal Chaudhary of Uttar

Pradesh emerged as the fastest maleand female quarter-milers in the thirdNational Open 400m Championshipshere on Tuesday.

Dabas ran his second sub-47 sec-ond one-lapper in a fortnight, backingup his 46.58 second effort in NationalU-23 Championships here onSeptember 28 with a victory in 46.86seconds in the men’s final on Tuesday.

He was pushed by Tamil Nadu’sSurendar Selvamani who was the onlyother sprinter to stop the clock below

48 seconds. Yet, it was 16-year-oldRupal who was the cynosure of all eyes,with her girls U-18 triumph coming ina personal best time of 53.73 seconds.She bettered her previous best of55.37 seconds, clocked during theNational Junior AthleticsChampionships in Guntur in 2019.

There was also an emotional winfor Jammu and Kashmir’s AbrarChoudhary in the boys U-20 final.With a determined effort, he turned thetables on Pankaj (Rajasthan), who wasthe fastest in the heats. There was someconsolation for Rajasthan as RahulKumar Githala claimed the boys U-18crown in 48.33 seconds.

‘Thank you’; Kohli pens heartfeltpost as RCB bow out of IPL 2021

PTI n DUBAI

Virat Kohli has given RoyalChallengers Bangalore the kind

of profile that very few cricketers cangive even though he couldn’t end hisleadership stint the way he wouldhave liked, feels the legendary SunilGavaskar.

Kohli’s dream of winning an IPLtitle with RCB ended in heartbreakafter Kolkata Knight Riders beatthem by four wickets in the elimina-tor on Monday.

Gavaskar said not all scripts arewritten in the manner players wantthem to. Kohli had announced thathe would step down as RCB skipperafter the end of the 14th edition of thelucrative league.

“He has given RCB that kind ofprofile, that brand recognition thatvery (few) cricketers have given totheir franchise,” Gavaskar told ‘StarSports’.

The former India captain com-pared Kohli’s last match as RCB skip-per with Donald Bradman andSachin Tendulkar farewells.“Everybody wants to finish on a high.But these things never always happenaccording to your or fans’ wishes.Look at what happened to Sir DonBradman. Just four runs were need-ed in his last innings and he gets outfor a zero.

“Sachin Tendulkar would havewanted to finish with a hundred, hegot 79 (Tendulkar scored 74) in

Mumbai, his 200th Test match. 79 isnot bad but somebody who is usedto making hundreds would havewanted to get those extra 21 runs andthen end his Test career there,”Gavaskar added.

Sharing his thoughts on Kohli’sfailure to lift an IPL trophy, Gavaskarsaid Kohli had an ever-lasting impacton the team and mentioned the 2016season when he amassed close to1000 runs in a single edition. “Thescript is not always written that way.Not everybody has this great fortuneof going on a high. But can one everdispute what he has done for RCB?He has done magnificently.

“There was one year when he got973 runs, 27 runs short of 1000 runs.Nobody has done it, nobody lookslike ever getting to 1000 runs.”

Since taking over as RCB’s cap-tain in 2013, Kohli has led the teamto the play-offs four times, includingthe last two seasons, and the final in2016.Kohli led RCB in 140 matches,winning 66 and losing 70. Fourgames did not produce any results.

ROAD TO QUALIFIER 2

HEAD TO HEAD:

Matches: 27Kolkata Knight Riders won: 15Delhi Capitals won: 11Tied: 1

vDelhi Capitals beat KolkataKnight Riders in Super Over aftermatch ended in a tie

THIS SEASON’S MATCHES:

vDelhi Capitals defeated KolkataKnight Riders by 7 wickets atAhmedabadvKolkata Knight Riders beatDelhi Capitals by 3 wickets atSharjah

FOR THE RECORD:

vVarun Chakravarthy with 16wickets in 15 matches is theleading wicket taker for KolkataKnight Riders this season.vShikhar Dhawan with 198 sixesin 299 innings of 3, needed justtwo more sixes to become theninth Indian and 63rd batsmanoverall to complete a doublecentury of sixes in Ywenty-20cricket.vDelhi Capitals have won three,lost two in the last five matchesplayed against Kolkata KnightRiders.

DELHI CAPITALS:

vBeat Chennau Super Kings by 7wickets at MumbaivLost to Rajasthan Royals by 3wickets at MumbaivBeat Punjab Kings by 6 wicketsat MumbaivBeat Mumbai Indian by 6wickets at ChennaivTied with Sunrisers Hyderabadat Chennai (won in Super Over)vLost to Royal ChallengersBangalore by 1 run atAhmedabadvBeat Kolkata Knight Riders by 7wickets at AhmedabadvBeat Punjab Kings by 7 wicketsat AhmedabadvBeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by8 wickets at Dubai vBeat Rajasthan Royals by 33runs at Abu DhabivLost to Kolkata Knight Ridersby 3 wickets at SharjahvBeat Mumbai Indians by 4wickets at SharjahvBeat Chennai Super Kings by 3wickets at Dubai vLost to Royal ChallengersBangalore by 7 wickets at DubaivLost to Chennai Super Kings by4 wickets at Dubai ( first qualifier)

KOLKATA KINGHT RIDERS:

vBeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by10 runs at ChennaivLost to Mumbai Indians by 10runs at ChennaivLost to Royal ChallengersBangalore by 38 runs at ChennaivLost to Chennai Super Kings by18 runs at MumbaivLost to Rajasthan Royals by 6wickets at MumbaivBeat Punjab Kings by 5 wicketsat AhmedabadvLost to Delhi Capitals by 7wickets at AhmedabadvBeat Royal ChallengersBangalore by 9 wickets at AbuDhabi vBeat Mumbai Indians by 7wickets at Abu DhabivLost to Chennai Super Kings by2 wickets at Abu DhabivBeat Delhi Capitals by 3 wicketsat SharjahvLost to Punjab Kings by 5wickets at Dubai vBeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6wickets at Dubai vBeat Rajasthan Royals by 86runs at SharjahvBeat Royal ChallengersBangalore by 4 wickets at Sharjah(Eliminator)

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