murder, father kills self depressed over daughter’s (˜!˚)! · 1 day ago · the kid was...

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In a tragic turn of events, thefather of Aadhya -- the five-year-old girl whose throat wasfatally slit in a fit of anger byone of her mother's paramourstwo weeks ago in Ghatkesar -- allegedly committed suicideby jumping in front of a mov-ing train near the BhongirRailway Station on Saturday.

The deceased was identifiedas Suraneni Kalyan Rao (37),village secretary in AthmakurMandal of Yadadri district.Police suspect that he took theextreme step as he wasdepressed over the death of hisdaughter.

The kid was previously doneto death due to sexual jealousy

among two men who haddeveloped illicit relations withAnusha, after she, citing herdelicate health, had allowedthem to stay with them as'caregiver' during her hus-band's absence.

The circumstances under

which Aadhya was done todeath make a chilling reading.

Kalyan Rao and Anushahad fallen in love and gotmarried in 2011. They wereblessed with a daughter,Suraneni Aadhya Rao.

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The Telangana government isspending Rs 6000 croretowards road infrastructurein the city under theStrategicRoadDevelopmentPlan (SRDP), Minister ofMunicipal Administration andUrban Development K TRama Rao said on Saturday.

Rao along with UnionMinister of State for HomeAffairs G Kishan Reddylaidthe foundation stone forconstruction of elevated cor-ridors, an official release said.He said under SRDP, construc-tion of Skyways, flyovers, under-passes will be undertaken inorder to ease traffic congestion.Also, to provide better facilities

for the public, maintenance of709 Kms of roadlength in thecity was given to the privateagencies.

On Covid-19 management,the Minister said the Greater

Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation is doing its best andlauded the service of Sanitationand Entomology wings of thecivic body in controlling thespread of the virus.

TS spends Rs 6,000 cr onHyd city road infrastructure

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The Government of Telanganaon Saturday alleged that the APGovernment has misled theGodavari River ManagementBoard on diversion of 3 tmc ftof water through the proposedGodavari-Pennar interlinkingproject.

In a latest letter addressed tothe Godavari RiverManagement Board secretary,the Telangana irrigation engi-neer-in-chief said that therewas no correlation whatsoev-er between what was said bythe AP Government onGodavari-Pennar interlink-ing, Chintalapudi andPattiseema projects during adiscussion on new projects atthe recent board meetingsand what was taking place onthe ground.

The Government of AP isincreasing capacity ofPolavaram right canal to meetthe needs of farmers ofKrishna Delta, NagarjunasagarRight Canal ayacut,

Rayalaseema region andNellore district, he alleged. Henoted that the Government ofAP made a statement on thefloor of the State LegislativeAssembly during a discus-sion held on June 16.

“The Government of APhas been misleading the boardintentionally to denyTelangana its due share ofriver water diverted throughPolavaram and Pattiseemaproject,” the letter said,demanding the Board to seekdetails of all projects pertain-ing to diversion of Godavariwater into Krishna river.

AP misled GodavariBoard, alleges TS

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The Central Board ofSecondary Education (CBSE)may declare the results ofClass X and Class XII boardexaminations 2020 byWednesday, July 15. Thistime, in order to minimisehuman contact, the board hasdecided to upload the mark-sheets on digital platforms,including UMANG andDigiLocker apps.

The CBSE said that itwould provide digitally-signed copies of the mark-sheets so that students canuse them for submission dur-ing the admission process incolleges and universities.

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The Covid-19 pandemic hasnot only confined mosthumans to their homes a la ani-mals in zoos, but also adverse-ly hit animal centres, rescuers,boarding kennels and othersinvolved in caring for or rear-ing pets.

Only stray cases of peoplegoing to the rescue of strayshave been reported during andpost lockdown.

Says Priyanka Samyukta,para veterinary worker andanimal rescuer,"It is getting a

bit difficult for animal welfarecentres in the city, as there areno takers for the dogs. Most of

the people who work for ani-mals are individuals who alsohave their own work/business.

They do this as they love ani-mals. Now that people havestopped coming out of theirhomes, it's quite difficult forthese centres to pay the salariesfor staff that take care of thepets or even their food. Wehave been putting money outof our pockets, but that cannotgo on for ever."

Boarding kennels, for whichMarch to July is the peak timefor business, too have beenstruggling to stay open.

Archana Bhairav, who runsa pet boarding kennel inYapral, shares that she hasalready incurred Rs 3,00,000loss.

Pets starve as animal centres struggle to stay afloat

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Prominent Muslim leaders ofTelangana have demandedcriminal action against thoseresponsible for the demolitionof two mosques in the old sec-retariat premises.

Reacting to Chief MinisterK. Chandrashekhar Rao'sstatement expressing regretover the incident, the leadersled by AIMIM chief andHyderabad MP AsaduddinOwaisi said expressing regretalone is not enough and thoseresponsible for the demolitionshould be brought to book.

The leaders in a joint state-ment said a First InformationReport (FIR) should be regis-tered against officials, depart-ments and contractors respon-sible for demolition of themosques.

The leaders targeted StateWaqf Board's silence over thedemolition of the mosquesand for not taking any legalaction after the incident.

Meanwhile, Waqf BoardChairman MohammedSaleem welcomed the Chief

Minister's announcement.Saleem's statement cameunder sharp criticism fromvarious Muslim groups, whoheld the Waqf Board respon-sible for demolition.

Owaisi called for appointinga competent person as theWaqf Board chairman. "Wehave nothing against the cur-rent Chairperson, but theBoard must be led by someonewho can actually manage themany responsibilities & dutiesthat come with the office of theChairperson," the MP tweeted.

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Having weathered criticismfor 'low testing rate' inTelangana, the state govern-ment on Friday, for the firsttime, conducted more than10,000 tests in a day -- high-est ever in the state. Of the10,354 samples tested; 1,278proved positive. With this, thestate currently has 32,224 pos-itive cases. There are 12,680active cases, while 19,205 peo-ple have been discharged tilldate. Only 39 per cent of thecases are active; 60 per centof the patients have been dis-charged till date, and 1 percent succumbed to the virus.On Friday, eight personssuccumbed to the virus, tak-ing the death toll to 339.

Of the 12,680 active cases,83 per cent are asympto-matic, 13 per cent have mod-erate symptoms, and 4 percent have severe symptoms. Inall, 461 persons in the state areexhibiting severe symptoms.

India's COVID-19 recoveries cross 5-lakh mark, recovery rate at 62.78 pc %�� F@�%F:�#

The number of COVID-19 patients who haverecovered in the coun-try crossed the five-lakh mark onSaturday, the UnionHealth ministry said andattributed it to a number of

measures taken by the Centreand the state governments,

including implementationof containment zones andsurveillance activities.

India's COVID-19tally surged to 8,20,916

on Saturday while thedeath toll climbed to 22,123

with 519 people succumbing to

the disease in 24 hours, accord-ing to the health ministry'sdata updated at 8 am.

A series of proactive, preemp-tive and coordinated measureshave been taken by the Centreand the state governments forcontainment and prevention ofCOVID-19, it said.

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President Donald Trump isworking on an executive orderto establish a merit-basedimmigration system in theUS, the White House has said.

The White Housestatement camesoon after Trump,in an interview with

Spanish-language TelemundoNews channel, said he is work-ing on an executive order on

immigration that willinclude a "road to cit-izenship" for recipi-

ents of the DeferredAction for Childhood

Arrivals (DACA)programme.

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Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao onSaturday instructed officialsconcerned to ensure that thebenefits of Rythu Bandhuscheme reach every singlefarmer in the State.

Describing it as a ‘goodaugury’ that farmers haveaccepted the regulatory farmingpolicy as a whole, KCR said thatthis would be a new foundationfor a greater victory in future.He announced an ultra-moderncold storage to be constructed ata cost of Rs 25 crore to storagethe seeds produced by the StateSeed development Corporation.

The CM also instructed offi-cials to ensure construction ofRythu Vedikas at all the clustersby Dasara. KCR was address-ing a high-level review meetingat Pragati Bhavan here onSaturday on Rythu BandhuScheme help, and other agricul-ture related issues.

Ministers S Niranjan Reddy,Vemula Prashanth Reddy, Rythu

Bandhu State president PallaRajeshwar Reddy, Chief Advisorto the Government RajivSharma, Chief Secretary SomeshKumar, Principal Secretaries BJanardhan Reddy, RamakrishnaRao, Narsing Rao, SeedCorporation MD Keshavulu,Agriculture Joint Director VijayKumar, DDA Shailaja, CMPSecretary Smita Sabharwal andothers participated.

“Though the state’s economyis not in good shape due to thecoronavirus, the StateGovernment, with a view tostand by farmers,has released theRythu Bandhuscheme benefits tofarmers. Officers withtheir coordinated effortshave ensured that thebenefits reach the farm-ers. Information

is that as on date, 99.9 per centof the farmers have received thehelp,” KCR said. He said that itmust beensured thateach andevery eli-g i b l efarmer getsthe benefit.

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Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, D.No. New 3-88, Old 3-22, Chandra Theatre, Gosala, Penamaluru Mandal, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh - 521 151, Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

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The Telangana Secretariathas been razed and allthat remains is dust, rub-

ble, some buildings awaitingdemolition and nostalgia formany.

In place of the ten blocks thatstraddled the 25-acre spacewill rise a structure six storeyshigh but enormous in lengthand depth.

The design has drawn unfaircomparisons with the Palace ofVersailles, France, and amosque though to some itappears closer to St. Peter’sBasilica in Vatican with all itsdomes and tall pillars.

But, it is way more soberthan the garish, gold-platedcomplex originally planned atthe Bison Polo Grounds in2017. Had the Ministry ofDefence handed over the landin Secunderabad, we wouldhave to live with that monstros-

ity. The Ministry did not relentand Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao decided todemolish the existingSecretariat.

The speed, the secrecy andthe opacity that surroundeddemolition of the 4.5 lakh sq.ftoffice space after the HighCourt’s ruling in the govern-ment’s favour is breathtaking.The media was not allowedwithin one km radius and evensmartphones of staff and work-ers were prohibited inside toprevent photography.

The design of new Rs 500crore Secretariat were instant-ly made public along withsketchy details stating that itwould be an integrated com-plex. KCR zeroed on this designafter vetting several blueprintssubmitted by Chennai-basedarchitects Oscar and PonniConcessao.

Ever since he took over,KCR has been very keen toleave his imprint on the fledg-

ling State not merely in termsof new programmes and mega-projects like Kaleswaram liftirrigation project, MissionBhagiratha and MissionKakatiya.

Indeed, all Chief Ministerspursue efforts to make them-selves immortal in history butKCR’s ambition is a few notch-es higher. Never mind if hisplans involve a bold step likeredesigning the Pranahita-Chevella project, pulling downheritage structures likeOsmania General Hospital andErrum Manzil or allowing oth-ers like the 132-year-old Gblock in the Secretariat to

become decrepit.A rough calculation shows

that the buildings in theSecretariat have an average lifeof 30-35 years, keeping asidethe G block and the stonestructure used by the ElectricityDepartment. Oldest amongthese is the K block built in1954 while the newest wasreceiving finishing touches in2015. To describe their demo-lition as a waste of moneywould be missing the point asTelangana is a rich State whichearned Rs 672 crore from liquoralone out of a total Rs 5,962crore revenue in June 2020.

It exposes a medieval mind-

set of present day rulers whojustify their wanton extrava-gance either because a partic-ular project was included in theparty’s election manifesto or outof a sense of entitlement aris-ing out of their thundering elec-toral mandate.

History is replete withinstances of how conquerors,after demolishing palaces built

by the vanquished, built theirown structures depicting theirculture and architectural style.The Qutb Minar in Delhi wasbuilt as a tower of victory by thefirst Sultan of Delhi QutbuddinAibak over Jain temples whosepillars can be seen even today.

The Rs 20,000 crore CentralVista Project of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in Lutyen’sDelhi and AP Chief MinisterJaganmohan Reddy’s 3-capitalplan scrapping Amaravati fallinto this slot.

Modi’s plan is to put hisstamp by demolishing build-ings housing various Ministriesalongside the Rajpath, con-structing a new integratedSecretariat, a new ParliamentHouse and residences for theVice-President and PM by 2025to coincide with the RSS cen-tenary.

KCR must be extra cautiousto see that his pet project is notlikened to the Central VistaProject which is being panned

for destruction of national her-itage. The project has dismayedurbanists for its lack of trans-parency and absence of consul-tations with urban planners.

It would be a tall order toexpect openness in the designand construction of the newSecretariat judging by the blan-ket of secrecy surrounding thedemolition.

KCR himself was caughtunawares when a temple and amosque were wrecked, forcinghim to apologise.

Here, the broader point isselection of the right design, itscompatibility with the sur-roundings, particularlyHussainsagar, its harmony withTelangana’s Kakatiya andDeccani culture and the wis-dom of having 6-7 lakh sq.ft ofoffice in one gigantic buildingjust to give its façade an impres-sive appearance.

The reasons assigned fordemolishing the Secretariatsuch as inadequate parking

space, old electrical wiring,non-compliance with fire safe-ty norms were unconvincing.So did the excuses by theCentre for abandoning theParliament house that techupgradation and retrofittingcould save. The Writers’Building in Kolkata, and FortSt. George in Chennai are veryold structures but continue toserve as the Secretariats ofWest Bengal and Tamil Nadurespectively. Buildings are notgiven up due to their age alone.

The nub of the matter isKCR’s strong belief in Vaastushastra. Oscar and Ponni havesaid the building was designedto meet his belief in Vaastu.

We must hope that his grandSecretariat complex will syncwith his successor’s beliefs sothat he does not venture intobuilding a new one. A publicbuilding should be safe, func-tional, technologically mod-ern and not an exercise in van-ity.

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Prof Jayashankar TelanganaState Agriculture Universityresearch centre recommend-ed increase in the area undercoarse variety of paddy cul-tivation in next Yasangi sea-son due to its high demand inthe market. The coarse vari-ety of rice is useful in pro-duction of value-added prod-ucts like idli rava, rice flourand rice flakes whose traderuns into several thousandsof crores. Traders at thenational-level have beendemanding coarse rice, whilethe fine variety of rice enjoysdemand in Telugu statesalone.

To achieve 2.10 crore paddyoutput, the AgricultureDepartment suggested raisingpaddy in 40 lakh acres, includ-ing cultivation of fine variety ofrice in 25 lakh acres. Therefore,the university research centresuggests increasing the areaunder coarse variety of paddyin rabi since the area of culti-

vation under this variety hascome down during currentYasangi.

Annually, the Centredeclares the MSP for paddy forA grade and ordinary variety.The MSP for grade-A varietyof paddy (Coarse variety)declared during 2020-21 wasRs 1,888 a quintal, while thesupport of the fine variety wasdeclared as Rs 1,868. The MSPfor coarse variety is higher byRs 20 a quintal. According to

a conservative estimate, the lossto farmers who cultivate finevariety of paddy would sustaina loss of at least Rs 100 croreas the area under the finevariety of paddy duringYasangi is put at 25 lakh acres.

Agriculture university scien-tists say that milling of coarsevariety of paddy would yieldone kg more compared tomilling of the fine variety of thepaddy. The fine variety ofpaddy enjoys higher price in

retail market, but neither thegovernment nor the traders arewilling to pay more for thisvariety of paddy.

In fact, coarse variety ofrice constitutes 50 per cent ofthe Rs 50.36 lakh tonnes ofordinary variety of rice export-ed to other countries last year.The state government hasasked the agriculture universi-ty scientists to undertakeresearch on the varieties of ricewhose grain length is 6.2 mmand more.

Dr Jagadishwar, head of theResearch Department of theuniversity, said that the tradersare willing to buy coarse vari-eties like Tella Hamsa,Surekha, Kunaram 118 as thegrain length is more than6.2mm. He said that threevarieties of rice are underresearch and their grain lengthis 6.97mm. If the seeds of theseunder research grains are cul-tivated the demand for paddygrown in Telangana multi-plies, he added.

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The last batch of Indians, whowere stranded in South Africadue to the global travel restric-tions, will return home onSunday. More than 50 of the183 passengers are IT employ-ees from Bengaluru who werestuck in the country after theircontracts were ended prema-turely due to the coron-avirus pandemic.

Fourteen South Africans,who could notreturn to theirworkplace in India,will also travel. Thisis the second privaterepatriation f lightarranged by India Club,an ethnic, socio-cultural

group. The first one was toHyderabad on June 21. Theflight has not been filled tocapacity, suggesting that thereare no more stranded Indiansseeking urgent repatriation.

This

repatriation assignment hasgiven us a different opportuni-ty and satisfaction. Despitehaving normal day jobs, we didnot mind the late night workone bit and it is a different feel-ing when we are of help tosomeone, especially in suchunprecedented times, said JohnFrancis, Vice President of IndiaClub.

As the passengers preparedahead of the boarding onSunday, a visibly overcomewoman, who asked not to beidentified, shared her story ofa double misfortune during herfirst visit to South Africa. This

is the most horrific peri-od of my life. As I was

preparing for a surgery, Igot a call that my father has

passed away.It was devastating. The fact

that I could not meet him onelast time will pain me for therest of my life, she said. Francissaid that the test is mandato-ry for all the passengers as afilter mechanism to assist inidentifying the Covid-19cases. The passengers, whowill continue to destinationsacross India, will be subject tothe quarantine rules pre-scribed by the Government ofIndia and state governmentsafter they reach Bengaluruon Monday. The Indian gov-ernment has so far operatedthree Vande Bharat missionflights from South Africa,repatriating over a thousandpeople.

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“Ministers and MLAs shouldfind out whether the RythuBandhu benefits reached thefarmers in their constituenciesand any one left behind andaccordingly take action. Somefarmers though they are culti-vating the lands, due to own-ership rights they may faceproblem to receive the RythuBandhu scheme benefit.District Collectors shouldidentify such farmers andresolve their problems. Theyshould conduct spot inquiry toestablish the ownership rights,”the Chief Minister said. Heasked officials to enquire withthe neighbouring farmers andtransfer the rights. “Solve prob-lems of everyone. Take help ofthe local Rythu Samiti and rep-resentatives of local bodies.Once the problem is solvedthere will not be any issue later,”the CM made it clear.

KCR cited the example ofLaxmapur village in Medchaldistrict that has no land

records. “Due to the initiativetaken by Minister from the dis-trict Malla Reddy, the govern-ment conducted survey in theentire village. The land owner-ship is established. This shouldhappen in other places too,” hesaid.

“To extend Rythu Bandhu

benefits to farmers, the govern-ment will not bother about theexpenditure. There is no timelit to extend the Rythu Bandhuhelp. Don’t rest till the last ben-eficiary farmers get the help.The government’s aim is thateach and every farmer shouldget the benefit. No farmer in

the state should complain thathe or she did not get the RythuBandhu benefit,” the CM said.

“Submit a report on howmany received the RythuBandhu benefit? Are there anyone who did not get the ben-efit. Get reports cluster-wisefrom MEOs. Get reports fromRythu Bandhu Samitis. If any-one did not receive the bene-fit help them immediately.Register sale and purchase ofland details,” the CM instruct-ed.

He said that the governmenthas suggested regulatory farm-ing policy only to help farmersget a good price for their pro-duce. All farmers in the stateare cultivating this Monsoonseason under the policy. Whenthe government said thereshould not be any cultivationof maize in this season, thefarmers followed it. “This is agreat change. It is also a greatdevelopment that farmers wentfor cultivation following theregulatory farming methodcent percent.

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AP misled GodavariBoard, alleges TSContinued from Page 1

Till such time, the Boardwas urged to rein in AP fromgoing ahead with interlinkingof Godavari with Pennar river.In another letter sent earlier tothe Krishna RiverManagement Board chairman,irrigation principal secretaryRajat Kumar asked the Boardto give a transparent anddetailed project report on theprojects proposed to be carriedout by AP. Rajat Kumar’s let-ter made it clear that the irri-gation projects in Telanganaare not new but conceivedbefore bifurcation of the state.

These include Kalwakurti,Nettempadu and the projectconceived to increase capaci-ty of the Srisailam Left Bankcanal. “If the KRMB needsDPRs on these projects, thematter would be taken to thenotice of the Government ofTelangana for suitable action,”Rajat Kumar said in his letter

to the KRMB chairman. The letter asked the KRMB

to make suitable changes in its12th Board Meeting held onJune 4. The Government ofTelangana urged the KrishnaRiver Management Board toamend its minutes to theextent that the Srisailam LeftBank Canal project capacityhas been increased fro 30 tmcft to 40 tmc ft within thepurview of the allocationsmade to Telangana.

“Moreover, this is not anew project just because itstunnel work is underway.Therefore, DPR is not neededfor studying by the KRMB.The government of Telanganawants the minutes to beamended thus, Rajat Kumar’sletter said. The Nettempaduproject is almost ready, but dis-tributary canal work is pend-ing. The extent of the ayacutto be irrigated under the pro-ject has been increased inundivided AP, he wrote.

Pets starve as animalcentres struggle to...Continued from Page 1

"We rent spaces to peoplefor their pets when they go outon vacation, and with thesame money help put up res-cued pets for free. Right now,due to the pandemic, we haveno business. I have a few res-cue dogs with me and also acouple of dogs whose parentsare stuck abroad. With zeroincome, I have to put inmoney from my pocket tomaintain the dogs, feed them,and also pay the salaries formy staff, which includestrained caretakers for ani-mals. Such is the situation thatI will have to raise money for

the dogs' food." VasanthiVadi, founder of PFA, shares,"Soon after the lockdown, westarted facing issues since peo-ple didn't step out of theirhomes at all. Looks like thepandemic became all abouthumans, and people didn'tcare much about animals. Wecouldn't organise fundraisers,had no donation." In whatseems like a silver lining,Vasanthi, shares, "While thereis lesser donation, after fewdays of lockdown we did seepeople feeding local stray dogs.In fact, a gentleman alsohelped us with his vehicle as hewasn't using it during thelockdown."

��"$&;!4$"$-�)!$�;+)+$�2 ��:"%!!$===Continued from Page 1

The board has advisedstudents to access the mark-sheet by downloadingDigiLocker app on theirphones. Students can usetheir registered mobile num-bers as password for theaccounts that the board hasalready created for them.This will generate an OTP.Once they enter the OTP, thesystem would prompt thestudents to create a securitypin. Students have to use thelast six digits of their CBSERoll Number as the securitypin.

Upon logging in, studentscan check and downloadtheir CBSE Digital Marksheetfrom list of documents on thedashboard itself.

Alternatively, students mayalso register normally usingtheir Aadhaar card numberand following the instruc-tions.

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Three years ago the couplemigrated to Ismailkhanguda,near Ghatkesar, for theirdaughter’s studies.

Aadhya was killed by one ofher mother's paramours,Karunakar, on July 2. Anushahad befriended Karunakarthree months ago and devel-oped a relation with him. Shehad made a cuckold of Raoafter requesting her husbandto allow Karunakar to staywith them as her 'caretaker' inhis absence, considering shewas prone to dizziness due toher low BP and brain tumourproblems.

In due course, whileKarunakar and Anusha werehaving an affair, the formerintroduced his close friend,Raja Shekhar, to Anusha.Subsequently, both Karunakarand Raja Shekhar began fre-quenting her house together.After a few days, once whenRaja Shekhar went to herhouse alone, Anusha request-ed him to stay with her as her

'caretaker' when her husbandis at work.

Anusha then learnt thatKarunakar had come intocontact with a girl namedLalli. Upset over this, Anushaallegedly stopped callingKarunakar and blocked hisnumber. Karunakar then sus-pected that Anusha andRajashekhar were having anaffair. He decided to killRajashekhar.

After the incident,Karunakar attempted to killhimself with the blade by slit-ting his throat. Upon intima-tion by neighbours, the policearrived at the spot and shift-ed Karunakar to OsmaniaGeneral Hospital for treat-ment. As Karunakar was notable to speak due to his throatinjuries, the police arrestedhim after he was discharged onMonday. He was taken intocustody and brought to thepolice station for further inves-tigation. On Saturday, policeretrieved Kalyan Rao’s bodyfrom the tracks near theBhongir Railway station.

4��A��BC4D2�1�� %= �� :::Continued from Page 1

Coupled with effectiveimplementation of contain-ment zones, surveillanceactivities, timely diagnosisand effective clinical manage-ment of COVID-19 cases, thecumulative total number ofrecovered cases amongCOVID-19 patients hascrossed the 5-lakh mark onSaturday, the ministry said.

A total of 5,15,385COVID-19 patients haverecovered so far with 19,870patients having been curedand discharged in the last 24hours till 8 am.

There are 2,83,407 activecases and all are under med-ical supervision, with severecases being admitted in hos-pitals and pre-symptomaticpatients and those showingmoderate symptoms inhome isolation, the min-istry said.

Continued from Page 1

He said the ruling partyTRS was free to appoint theirown person but due attentionshould be paid to their abil-ity and skills. "Had a compe-tent person been at the helmthis issue wouldn't havearisen. I am sure that it'll notbe difficult for the govern-ment to find a more capableperson to appoint."

The MP suggested thenames of retired IPS officerAK. Khan Aor MalikMotasim Khan for the post.

He said AIMIM would besubmitting a draft amend-ment empowering WaqfBoard with summary evic-tion powers similar to HinduEndowment Boards.

Owaisi said after seekingappropriate legal opinion,the Chief Minister must con-sider superseding TelanganaWakf Board in the interest ofprotecting Waqf properties.

#�� $�%%&'��Continued from Page 1

Of the 1,278 fresh cases --lowest in July -- 762 werefrom GHMC. However, casesin Rangareddy are increasingwith 171 cases being report-ed on Friday. In all, 85 caseswere reported in Medchal, 36in Sangareddy, and 32 inNalgonda. In all, 27 of the 33districts in the state havereported cases.

With the TS governmenttaking up rapid tests, suchmassive number of testscould be conducted. Thestate has so far conducted1,51,109 tests, of which1,18,885 proved negative. Ason Friday, the bed occupan-cy is 9.5%.

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The DACA programmeprovides for work permitsand other protections forpeople brought to the US aschildren by undocumentedparents. It affects an estimat-ed 700,000 young people,many of whom are Indian orSouth Asian descent.

Trump said his action onthe DACA is going to be partof a much bigger bill onimmigration.

"It's going to be a very bigbill, a very good bill, and amerit-based bill and it willinclude DACA, and I thinkpeople are going to be veryhappy," said the president.

"One of the aspects of thebill is going to be DACA.We're going to have a road tocitizenship," Trump said.

President Trump had triedto cancel the Obama-era pro-gramme, but the SupremeCourt last month said itcould stay in place.

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With weddings leading tofunerals amidst Covid-19pandemic, several youngstersare wary of disclosing if theyare infected by Coronavirus.Some of the Covid-19 sur-vivors didn't want to revealtheir identities fearing thatthey cannot find a suitablematch for their marriage.

A resident doctor fromHyderabad on condition ofanonymity said, "It 's allbecome too scary, especiallyfor parents. I informed myparents about being infectedwith virus, but they gave meclear instruction not to dis-close it to anyone, especiallywhen they are actively search-ing for potential brides.Moreover, recently severalmarriages have led to deathsas the infection spread atweddings. Despite speakingabout stigma, my parents arejust not ready to tell it to any-one."

Stigmatising of Covid-19patients and their families isaf fecting future plans.Another female doctor whogot engaged earlier in Januarysaid, "I informed my would-be husband about beinginfected with Coronavirus at

hostel. He being a doctorunderstood my situation.However, since parents mightpanic, we did not informabout it to our parents. Eventhough I am cured, we justdon't want it to become a talk,as I am the first one in boththe households to be infected.We aren't sure if relatives andneighbors would support orend up stigmatising our fam-ily."

Several Covid-19 survivors,despite defeating the virusare hiding the details fearingsocial ostracism. People aremore afraid of the social con-sequences of getting the virusthan they were of the poten-

tial health risks. A doctorposted in Gandhi Hospitalsaid, "I didn't inform my par-ents that I am infected evenafter I was cured. They are invillage and I am not sure howthey will react and the sur-rounding environment willbehave with them. I just don'twant to scare them, that toowhen I am not at home to givethem affirmations."

Survivors have lots of rea-sons for wanting to remainanonymous - one of the mainreasons being ruckus causedby neighbours and the otheris stigma and discriminationamong other reasons.

A senior professor working

in a government hospital whodidn't inform to his neigh-bours that he was infectedwith Coronavirus said, "If Idisclose the details, there willbe a huge scene in my apart-ment. I wanted to spend these14 days in peace, not beingharassed by security guardsand other occupants of theapartment. I completed myhome isolation and I am backto work and nobody evenknows that I was infected. Mywife and kids were given pro-phylaxis and even they didn'twant me to disclose anything.Until a vaccine comes out, Idon't intend to disclose."

There is an increased senseof emotional isolation, feelingguilty and anxiety amongthose stigmatised. Accordingto MOHFW, "Due to stigmaand discrimination, peopleare concealing symptoms,hesitating to take medicalcare. In some cases, it is wors-ening pre-existing psychiatricillness like depression. In thesituation of distress, thepatient and family need sup-port and co-operation."

The guide by MOHFWsuggests people to be a well-wisher to those in isolation. Italso urges people to celebrateif people in their surround-ings recover from Covid-19.

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IT employees working fromhome brought perceptiblechange in the attitude of the ITunits who are cancelling leaseagreements for office spacesunlike the earlier.

Earlier, office spaces inMadhapur area were sold likehot cakes. The situation ismore or less the same inKondapur as well.

While those who are in theprocess to acquire office spaceare cancelling the lease agree-ments, those who already havethe office space are findingsprawing office space asredundant and vacating them.

There are many IT majorslike Microsoft, Google,Amazon and other companiesthat have set up their units inHyderabad. In all, 6.5 lakhwork force is employed in1,550 companies. In fact, 90per cent of the employees areworking in major units. Hugedemand for office space hasbeen created as existing ITunits are expanding their unitsand new companies are evinc-ing interest to set up shop inHyderabad.

In 2019, Hyderabad rankednumber one with IT compa-nies acquiring 12.8 millionsquare feet in the city. Thisyear the demand for office isgoing to be increased further.In fact, 90 per cent of the ITemployees are working fromhome for over three-and-a-half months ever since thepandemic.

Google, Deloite and otherprominent companies haveextended the work from home

facility for their employeesfrom December.

The companies are eitherreducing the area of officespace leased or deciding tolook for alternative office spacewith less plinth area.

In fact, 30 per cent of therevenue of the IT companiesis being spent for mainte-nance of the office space.

Now the expenditure comesdown, the IT companies con-template.

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The Sub-Inspector of BanjaraHills Police Station K RamiReddy, who joined the depart-ment back after fightingCovid had shifted his familyto native place back in May asa precautionary measure tokeep them safe.

Speaking to this newspaper,the 37-year-old official said,"Since cases were piling up inthe police department, I askedmy family members to moveout and let me live alone as itwas risky for them to bearound. I was tested positivefor Coronavirus on June 17and went for a 17 day isola-tion," said Reddy, adding thathe was in a private hospital tillJune 26 after which he went

for home isola-tion.

"I don't nothave any healthconditions and didn'tshow any symptoms before Iwas tested positive. However,once I got my medical report

back, I went for isolation atNature Care Hospital. As pre-scribed, I was taking vitaminC tablets, warm water steamand other necessary proce-dures during my isolation,"said the official.

As a message to the publicfearing the infection, the offi-cial said, "There is absolutely

no need to panic. Bementally strong and

make sure you get agood dose of fruits,dry fruits and pro-tein to keep yourimmunity high.Maintain social

distancing and useface masks to avoid

infection," said the offi-cial, who joined back for dutyat Banjara Hills police stationon July 4.

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In the present pandemic situ-ation of Covid-19, to combatwith virus the medical depart-ment of South Central Railwaywith 5 major hospitals and 44health units spread over theZone is putting forth contin-uous efforts to render medicalassistance in the hour of need.

Accordingly, CentralHospital at Lallaguda has pro-vided isolation cum Covidwards duly imparting neces-sary training to the doctors andpara medical staff about theprotocol procedure for treatingthe Covid-19 related patients.In addition, all the requiredmedical infrastructure andequipment is being suppliedfor the safety of medical staffto facilitate necessary treat-ment to the patients. Further,based on the approval from thestate government, CentralHospital at Lallaguda has start-ed treating the Covid-19

patients showing mild andvery mild symptoms.

Further, South CentralRailway has taken initiative toengage additional medical staffat Central Hospital, Lallagudato further strengthen the med-ical team at this hospital.Accordingly, a notification hasbeen issued for hiring 9 spe-cialist doctors, 16 general dutymedical officers, 31 nursing

superintendents, 4 lab assis-tants and 50 attendants towork at Central Hospital ontemporary basis.

The last date for submissionof applications is July 15 andinterviews will be conductedthrough online mechanism.The eligible candidates shouldapply online through the weblinks provided separately foreach post.

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The West Zone task forcepolice on Saturday busted aracket of illegal sale of oxygencylinders and seized 34 cylin-ders from two gangs. Withtheir arrest, some startlingrevelations also surfaced asthey were found to be sellingeach oxygen cylinder for awhopping Rs 1 lakh, exploit-ing the shortage caused dueto the Covid-19 pandemic.The seized cylinders havebeen handed over to theMedical and HealthDepartment.

Based on a tip-off, the taskforce police raided the basesof two gangs selling oxygencylinders illegally and seized34 cylinders from their pos-session. Police found thatthey were selling oxygencylinders to several clinics,hospitals and individuals.

"The person was conduct-ing the business without avalid license issued by the

Drug Control Authoritiesand the Controller ofExplosives," said P RadhaKishan Rao, DCP ofCommissioner's Task Force,adding that a case wasbooked against the person atthe Golconda police station.

Three days ago, the policecaught one person atGowliguda and seized threeoxygen cylinders from him."Our teams are gatheringinformation about personswho are illegally dealing inthe sale of oxygen cylinders,"the DCP said.

Meanwhile, ChiefSecretary Somesh Kumarreviewed the supply of oxy-gen to hospitals in the stateon Friday. The governmentconstituted joint teams ofofficers from Drug ControlAdministration, Task Force ofHyderabad City Police,Director of Public Healthand Deputy Chief Controllerof Explosives to conductinspections.

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After various protests onTwitter and messages sent toauthorities, Student Federationof India (SFI), Telangana StateCommittee, has written a let-ter to Ramesh PokhriyalNishank, Minister of HumanResource Development, urg-ing the authorities to withdrawrecent UGC Guidelinesreleased on July 6.

"With the growing cases ofCovid-19 all over the country,the feasibility of conductingexamination stands oblivi-ous," stated the letter, adding,"The advisory also contra-dicts the very federal structureon education, where severalstates have already stated theirconcerns and inability to con-duct the end-semester exam-ination. This not only ignoresthe actual ground condition ofthe pandemic in different

states but also creates uncer-tainty regarding the probabil-ity of conducting examina-tion."

"It provides an undoubtedleverage to the students whohave infrastructure and facil-ities to take part in an onlinemode of assessment. Theworst affected section of thesociety in the pandemic is themarginalised and vulnerablepopulation. This method ofevaluation will again discrim-inate and exclude the stu-dents belonging to these sec-tions, who are already pre-vented from access highereducation due to differentsocio-economic hurdles andbarriers."

Concluding the letter, SFIdemanded that aforesaid stu-dents should be promotedwithout conducting examina-tion and alternative method ofevaluation should be adopted.

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The Hyderabad City Police,on Saturday, issued orders forthe closure of wine and toddyshops located under certainpolice stations of Central andNorth Zone of the policecommissionerate for theBonalu festival.

According to theCommissioner of Police,Hyderabad city, AnjaniKumar, wine and toddy shopsunder Gopalapuram,Chilkalguda, Lalaguda,Tukaramgate, Mahankali,Market, Marredpally,Karkhana, Begumpet,Tirumulgherry, Ramgopalpetand Gandhinagar Police sta-tion limits are to be closedfrom 6 AM on Sunday to 6AM on Monday morning, inlieu of the Sri UjjainiMahankali Jathara, alsoknown as Bonalu festival.

The official said that theorder was passed in the inter-est of public peace and tran-quility under Section 20 ofthe Excise Act.

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Outsourcing nurses working atGandhi Hospital staged protestfor the second consecutiveday on Saturday, demandingregularisation of their jobs aswell as a salary hike.

More than 220 nurses boy-cotted their duties at the hos-pital on Saturday. A NurseDhanalakshmi said, "I amworking on outsourcing basisin Gandhi Hospital over thepast 14 years. We are strikingsince Friday. We are paid15,000 and it is getting difficultto meet the ends. If our fam-ilies are suffering, how will weserve Covid-19 patients?"Nurses added that they

worked during the times ofswine flu, ebola and now inCovid-19 duties and it is bareminimum that governmentcan do for them. Nurses in TSsaid that Andhra Pradesh gov-ernment is paying its nursesmore than what Telangana ispaying to the outsourced staff.Nurses in Andhra are gettingaround Rs 20,000 and someeven get Rs 35,000.

Megha Bellapurla, the pres-ident of outsourcing nursingstaff association at Gandhihospital said that 80 nurseshave been detained by thepolice on Friday and laterreleased when they went togive representation of theirdemands to the DME.

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The Alumni Association ofUniversity of Hyderabad(UoH) organised an onlineinteractive session with a dis-tinguished alumnus ofUniversity of Hyderabad,Syed Akbaruddin on July 11.

The session was attendedby faculty and students.

Taking a walk down thememory lane, Akbaruddinshared his memories of beinga part of the university as astudent of Political Science.He said, "My passion forlearning and understandingInternational Relations ignit-ed here in HCU. For someonelike me who always wanted tostudy about state issues andmy professors made merealise that one doesn't needto feel alienated from theirroots when they learn moreabout international relations.

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Telangana Recognised SchoolManagements Association(TRSMA) hasapproached ChiefMinister KC h a n d r a s h e k a rRao, to help themwith financial aid torun the school.

The officialsaddressed a letter to theChief Minister, which high-lights the financial problemsbeing faced by 9,000 budgetschools, across the state. "Thecrisis of Covid-19 has strickenfinancial condition of the pri-vate schools. Now the man-

agements are unable to paysalaries to their teaching andnon-teaching staff," the letter

said, adding, "We humblyrequest your kind self

to look deeply intothis serious matterand take a favorabledecision by allot-ting funds to private

schools to enablethem to pay salaries."Talking about the

issue, SN Reddy, GeneralSecretary of TRSMA, shares,"We are struggling financially.Most schools have monthlyexpenses including buildingrent, maintenance, bank loaninstallments, vehicle EMIs,

electricity and water bills, taxesand in addition to theseexpenses we also have salaries."

He adds, "Over 9,000schools that come underTRSMA started budgetschools, where we charge min-imum fees to the students'parents, for classes. Ourthought was to impart educa-tion even at the time of pan-demic, without it being a bur-den on the middle class.Initially, we were able to man-age our expenses with the lit-tle saving there were. However,now it's getting difficult. Hencewe have approach the ChiefMinister seeking funds for ourschools."

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Male infertility refers to a con-dition where a man is unableto cause pregnancy in a fertilewoman. In all the couplesexperiencing infertility almostone third is due to male factors.Fertility issues are rampant incities where people are leadingstressful lives. Inadequatenutrition coupled with con-sumption of alcohol in excess,smoking, low fitness can alllead to decrease in the fertili-ty level in men.

There is a staggering lack ofawareness about the problem.Women often bear the blamefor not bearing a child andmale fertility issues are ignored.According to the All India

Institute of Medical Sciencesover 12-18 million couples inIndia are diagnosed with infer-tility every year. WHO in itsreport has stated that of all

infertility cases in India, 50 percent are due to ‘male factor’infertility. Both men andwomen can experience infer-tility and have equal chances of

facing conception issue due toinfertility.

Speaking about the issue DrChandana Lakkireddi, FertilityConsultant in Hyderabad said“Unfortunately, there is a seri-ous stigma associated withmale infertility and this leadsto men shying away from shar-ing these issues as there is lackof awareness and acceptance.So, when faced with the issuesof infertility people tend tothink it must be the womanwho is having a problem. Butmale Infertility is a major fac-tor in most cases that we comeacross. We encourage coupleswho are trying to get pregnantbut are facing issues to seekproper treatment. They shouldmake every effort to find the

right help for both the partners.We especially want to encour-age the men to seek treatmentand consult with an androlo-gist. Fertility issues can bedraining, frustrating and cantake an emotional toll. But withproper guidance we want tohelp as many couples as we canto experience the happiness ofparenthood”

Male Infertility cannot beattributed to a single factor. Butaround 15-20 per cent of malefertility issues are due to a con-dition called ‘Azoospermia’ i.e.the absence of viable sperms inthe semen.

Sperm quantity, quality andmotility are major factors thatdetermine the ability to con-ceive a child.

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The Covid-19 has cast itsshadow on government offices.'Praja Vaani', a public griev-ances redressal programmehas been cancelled in all dis-tricts and the people are urgedto drop their representation inboxes. The officials are attend-ing to the most urgent of therepresentations.

The most-affected officesare the office of the Tahsildar,municipal offices, MPDOoffices. In spite of the Covid-19, people continue to visitTahsildar offices to get theirland problems resolved.Tahsildars are asking the peo-ple to solve their problems withthe help of the VROs. They areasking the VROs to stay put invillages. Revenue officials arehesitating to survey the lands.

In case anyone is testedpositive in an office, allemployees are being subjectedto Coronavirus test. Offices arebeing closed temporarily. Theyare being opened only aftersanitising them, affecting pub-lic services. For example, the

municipal office in Sangareddywas closed for 10 days. Theemployees say they have noalternative except proceedingon leave.

A Tahsildar in Karimnagardistrict said that the people arevisiting his office even afteradvising them not to come tothe office unless it is mosturgent. Employees are workingunder severe anxiety andworry. If forced to work, theyare applying for leave, the offi-

cial said. A crucial official inPeddapalli district tested pos-itive for the virus. Since then,the revenue officials are hesi-tating to meet public. Themain door of the Tahsildaroffice at Peddapalli has beenclosed. The people visiting theoffice were asked to drop theirrepresentations in specialboxes. Most of the revenueand municipal authorities givepriority to online redressal ofproblems.

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The Telangana State RoadTransport Corporation(TSRTC) is caught in a severefinancial crisis. The corpora-tion is unable to pay salaries tothe employees on time, default-ing payments to cooperativecredit society and not able toclear PF dues of employees.

As per the Payment ofWages Act of 1936, the RTC issupposed to pay wages toemployees on first of everymonth. But the employeescomplain that they did notreceive salaries even till July 9.Hitherto, the RTC used to paysalaries on 6th or 7th of everymonth, let alone paying wageson the first of every month.Now it was dragged further, theemployees said.

The RTC management isforced to spend from Rs 600crore loan availed fromAndhra Bank to make anypayments. The RTC salary billruns up to Rs 120 crore everymonth. For the last one year,the RTC was not able to paysalaries on the first of every

month. The occupancy ratio in4,000 odd buses being run inthe state now is not more than40 per cent, curtailing its dailyrevenue from Rs 4-5 crore tomere Rs 3 crore.

The amount is sufficient tomeet payments of dieselexpenses and payment of MVTax. The RTC is yet to creditRs 635 crore in the employeescooperative credit society. Itmay be recalled that the HighCourt at the time of the strikeasked the management to cred-it at least Rs 200 crore in thesociety accounts. The RTC

availed a loan of Rs 600 croreloan from Andhra Bank tocredit into the society account.The RTC paid salaries ofemployees in March, April andMay from this fund only. TheRTC wants to adjust thesalaries for June also from thisloan amount. If the salaries areadjusted from the amount, itwould leave the RTC withonly Rs 280 crore. The RTCstill has to pay Rs 880 croretowards its share of PF ofemployees, pay Rs 635 crore tothe cooperative society.

The RTC has to clear dues of

Rs 71 crore towards hirecharges payable to owners ofover 3,140 buses hired by theRTC. The RTC has to pay Rs31 crore in March, Rs 10 crorein May and Rs 30 crore in June.The hire bus owners associa-tion president Prabhakar saidthat they are not able to paysalaries to drivers and cleanersbecause of the delay in clear-ing bills.

Also, the recent spike ofdiesel price has also dealt alethal blow to TSRTC, which isalready in the losses. With theprice rise, the corporation hasto shell out an additional Rs172 crore per annum. Thecorporation consumes aboutsix lakh litres of diesel per day.Normally, it operates 10,000buses daily. The only solace toTSRTC management is that itis not operating all its 10,000-bus fleet. Bus services have notbeen resumed in GreaterHyderabad. Even diesel con-sumption is only three lakhlitres per day. So, the corpora-tion is spending Rs 25 lakhmore per day towardsenhanced fuel prices.

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The Prisons Departmentof Government ofTelangana has proposed toshift remand prisoners toDistrict jail at Sangareddyinstead of sending them toChanchalguda andCharlapalli jail. The movecomes in the backdrop ofrising number of Coronapositive cases in theHyderabad limits.

A senior official in thePrisons Department, whowished to remain anony-mous, said that the pro-posal would be imple-mented soon if the stategovernment gives its nod

to it. The officials pro-posed to use SangareddyDistrict Jail as the quaran-

tine centre of prisoners. Ifan accused in presentedbefore magistrate, he or

she would be sent to judi-cial remand for 14 days. Ifthey get bail in the mean-time, they would bereleased from the remand.

The proposal suggestsgovernment to keep theremand prisoners for 28days at Sangareddy dis-trict jail. If the remandprisoner did not get bail,they would be sent to therespective prisonersdepending on the policestation where the case hasbeen registered. The pro-posal suggests to govern-ment to send remandprisoners in Hyderabad,Cyberabad, Rachakondapolice commissionerates

to Sangareddy district jail.Currently, the proposal iswith the State HomeDepartment.

On account of precau-tions being taken by thePrisons Department, nota single prisoner con-tracted the virus. Theproposal has been for-mulated to continue thegood work further. InSangareddy district jail,here are 180 inmates,including 13 women.There is facility to lodge400 prisoners in the jail.It is regarded as one of thebest jails in the entirecountry as far as its con-struction is concerned.

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The Congress has decided to organ-ise state-wide protest against thedemolition of places of worship inthe Secretariat complex. The deci-sion was taken in a meeting chairedby former Minister Mohammed AliShabbir at Gandhi Bhavan onSaturday.

The meeting, convened byHyderabad City CongressCommittee Minorities Departmentchairman Sameer Waliullah wasattended by senior leaders includ-ing TPCC vice president ZafarJaweed, TPCC spokesperson SyedNizamuddin, TPCC general secre-tary SK Afzaluddin, NampallyIncharge Feroz Khan and others.

Addressing a press conferenceafter the meeting, Shabbir Aliinformed that the Congress wouldorganise state-wide protest againstthe demolition of two mosques anda temple in the Secretariat complex.He said that the demolition wastotally illegal and aimed at hurtingthe sentiments of all communities.He said that the Chief Minister wastreating the entire Telangana as hispersonal 'jagir' and he needs to betaught a lesson. He alleged that CMwas destroying the heritage ofTelangana without giving any

respect to the sentiments of otherpeople.

In the first phase of protest,Shabbir Ali announced that theCongress would appeal its cadreand other common people to hoistblack flags at their residences. Theywill also wear black masks andbadges. He said this would beorganised at a massive scale andpeople of all communities would beinvolved in the protest.

He said that the mode of protestin the second phase would bedecided after consulting the partyHigh Command. He said sinceAICC President Sonia Gandhi hada video-conference with the partyMPs and other senior leaders today,PCC President Uttam KumarReddy and other senior leaderscould not be consulted on theissue. He said a meeting would be

held soon to finalise the agitationschedule in the second phase.

Shabbir Ali rejected the apologytendered by the Chief Minister overdemolition of places of worship inthe Secretariat and described it asfake and deceptive. He said thatKCR's claim that he was ignorantabout the demolition was a joke andthe biggest lie. He also rejectedKCR's offer for construction of anew mosque and said that both themosques 'Masjid-e-Hashmi' and'Masjid-e-Moatamadi' in theSecretariat complex should be re-constructed immediately. He saidthere was no question of shifting themosques to any other places. Hesaid that the Muslim communitywould never agree to shift anymosque even if the Chief Ministeroffers to build it 100 times biggerwith gold and diamonds.

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CLP Leader Bhatti Vikramarkaon Saturday slammed the stategovernment over spread ofCovid-19 in the state, especial-ly in Hyderabad. He allegedthat private hospitals are notadmitting Corona infectedpatients and are looting thecommon man by asking themto deposit lakhs of rupees fortreating them. Instead of con-taining the spread of virus,TRS government is focusingon other issues, he said andadded that Telangana statehas registered 31,000 Coronacases so far whereas AndhraPradesh reported 25,000 cases.

"For each 10 lakh popula-tion, Andhra Pradesh state isdoing 20,498 tests whereasTelangana is conducting 3,430tests," he claimed. As far asCorona positivity rate is con-cerned, it is 2.88 per cent inAndhra Pradesh whereas inTelangana, it is 22 per cent. Thenational average is 7.14 percent. These numbers showthat Telangana governmenthas failed in containing thespread of Corona," he said. Inthe case of private hospitals,they are looting the commonpeople in the name of Coronatreatment, he alleged. Wedemand the government toidentify the areas with greater

number of positive cases arereported. And the people whohave Corona symptoms shouldbe tested and isolated immedi-ately. Those who tested posi-tive and have other healthissues should be admitted tohospital and the rest with mildsymptoms should be treated athome. "Corporate Hospitalshave become money grabbingmachines. The governmentshould take 50 per cent of bedsin all the private hospitals underits purview for at least fourmonths. The allocation of thosebeds should be provided in aseparate new online platformwith utmost transparency.There should be an app exclu-sively dedicated to the real-timeupdated information about thevacancy of beds in various hos-pitals, so that people may easi-ly find and visit the hospital," hesaid. "The expenditure of thepatients from the general wardshould be borne by the govern-ment itself.,” he said.

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Congress MP from BhongirKomatireddy Venkat Reddyon Saturday urged AICC pres-ident Sonia Gandhi to saveTelangana from Covid crisis.The MP requested SoniaGandhi to address a letter toPrime Minister NarendraModi on behalf of the peopleof Telangana. The TRS govern-ment is maintaining silence inregard to Corona, he alleged.

He was speaking during avideo conference of CongressMPs organised by SoniaGandhi. On the occasion,Komatireddy said that SoniaGandhi realised the dream of4 crore people by accordingstatehood. "You (SoniaGandhi) accorded Telanganastate reacting to the sacrificesof students. However, KCRpushed the state into debttrap even though the state wasa surplus," he alleged.

KCR has pushed the stateinto Rs 3 lakh crore debtswith his anarchic rule, he saidand added that the TRS gov-ernment is not conductingCorona tests properly result-ing in spike in Corona posi-tive cases. He urged her tosave Telangana from Coronawhile addressing a letter tothe Prime Minister on behalfof Telangana people.

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TPCC chief N Uttam KumarReddy on Saturday allegedthat the state governmentfailed to contain the spread ofCoronavirus in the state. “Ascompared to other states, thestate government is conduct-ing fewer Corona tests. Thepoor are facing severe trou-bles with non availability oftreatment. The people havelost hopes on treatment ingovernment hospitals. Privatehospitals on one hand are col-lecting huge sums in the nameof Corona treatment. But thestate government is not both-ered about that,” he alleged.The TPCC chief demandedthe government to providefree treatment to poor andcharge nominal fees for mid-dle class people. Uttam alsodemanded the government toinclude journalists and policeunder insurance cover on parwith the government staffworking as frontline warriors.

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After uproar over relatives ofa deceased Coronavirus-infected patient allegedly car-ried his body in their ownautorickshaw for burial,Nizamabad hospital superin-tendent said a committeeappointed to investigate theincident has submitted itsinterim report.

On Saturday, a picture ofCovid-19 victim, wrapped inPPE went viral on socialmedia. According to the inter-im report of the inquiry com-mittee, three Covid-19 deathsand one casualty was report-ed at Nizamabad GovernmentGeneral Hospital on Friday.According to preliminaryinquiries, two corpses werefirst sent in ambulances.

But the relatives of theBhingal resident pressurisedthe mortuary staff to let themtake the body in the autorick-shaw they own and performedfinal rites in graveyard atNizamabad. The hospital super-intendent said that memo hasbeen issued to the mortuary

staff and strict action will betaken against those involvedafter receiving the full report. Hesaid strict security measures willbe taken to prevent such mis-takes from happeningagain.DME Dr Ramesh Reddyordered for a detail inquiry asto how a Covid positive bodywas handed over to relativesinstead of following standardprotocol of Covid dead bodydisposal. “The superintendent isinstructed to file criminal caseson those staff who wereinvolved in handing over thebody. All the Hospital superin-tendents are instructed to strict-ly follow the guidelines and suchincidents should not be repeat-ed in public interest,” he said.

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AIMIM president and Hyderabad MPAsaduddin Owaisi on Saturday under-went COVID-19 test to create public aware-ness in his constituency about the need toundergo the test. He visited the GovernmentNizamia General Hospital near the historicCharminar to give his samples for testing.

"Got my antigen& RT PCR tests donefor COVID-19 today.My antigen testresults were negative,Alhamdulilah. Thereare 30 odd centres inthe South ofHyderabad whereantigen testing isbeing conducted, I

encourage all of you to not hesitate & gettested," he later tweeted. He also visited thehospital also known as the CharminarUnani Hospital on Thursday to take stockof the situation. He had also visited KingKothi and Sarojini Devi Eye Hospitals whereCOVID-19 tests are being done.

Owaisi also spoke to Health MinisterEatala Rajender and urged him to increaseRT PCR testing in each centre to at least1000 a day. He appealed to the governmentto make Charminar Unani a first referralhospital to ensure that COVID-19 patientshave better access to healthcare.

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Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee Treasurer GudurNarayana Reddy demandedthe State Government toimprove facilities for theCovid-19 patientswho are undergoingtreatment at theirhomes under quar-antine.

He alleged that over15,000 Coronaviruspatients and thousands of oth-ers who have been quaran-tined under suspicion were notbeing provided proper health-care. He said that the Covid-19

Home Quarantine Kit was inad-equate as it does not havemandatory Oximeter and otherlife saving medicines. He askedOximeter was essential not onlyfor confirmed patients, but also

for the suspects to checkoxygen saturation levels atregular intervals. In theabsence of an Oximeter,it would be difficult forthe patients or suspect to

know whether or not theyneed oxygen support.

However, he said that the StateGovernment has completelyneglected this essential elementfrom the Home QuarantineKit.

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Veteran Congress leaderDigvijaya Singh on Saturdayasserted that the party leadershipmust take up the challenge ofbuilding the party organisationunder the "dynamic" leadershipof Rahul Gandhi and PriyankaGandhi. He said both have theguts and courage to take on theinvincible duo of PM NarendraModi and Union Home MinisterAmit Shah. "The Congress lead-ership must take up the challengeof building the party organisationbrick by brick. This is where weneed the dynamism of Rahul jiand Priyanka ji. I am sure bothof them have the guts andcourage to take on Modi-Shahtwins," Singh said in a series oftweets. Hailing the aggressivestand taken by Rahul andPriyanka over a range of issues tocorner the BJP-led government,Singh said that the formerCongress chief had virtuallyemerged as the main challengerto Modi in 2019. "I personallysupport the aggressive standwhich Rahul ji and Priyanka ji are

taking on issues of national inter-est in India and UP. If this is notappreciated by some leaders inCongress then why are they inCongress?" he questioned.

Commenting on the recentsetting up of an inter-ministeri-al committee to probe variousalleged violations of legal provi-sions by the Gandhi family's RajivGandhi Foundation, RajivGandhi Charitable Trust andIndira Gandhi Memorial Trust,the Congress leader said, "Modi-Shah are under a misconceptionthat they can browbeat NehruGandhi family by threats of

ED/IT/CBI. Their whole familyhave fought the British fearless-ly, spent years in jail and are abrave lot. So don't be under anyillusion Modi-Shah ji."

Once again echoing thedemand that Rahul Gandhi againbecome the party president, hesaid, "No one and no one inCongress party is opposed tohim. This perception is more inyou people in the media thanreality. The people in Congresswho want to go soft on PM musthave the courage to speak theirmind either within the party orif they have guts say publicly."

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Arvind Kejriwal may have cometo power riding on his popularfree electricity scheme in Delhiup to 200 units, but it is the elec-tricity bills now that the BJP isusing it against him.

BJP's Delhi unit Chief AdeshGupta has written to Kejriwalseeking time to discuss "griev-ances of entrepreneurs, traders,school-hospitals, religious placesand fellow citizens, who aretroubled by the huge electricitybills due to fixed and othercharges".

The BJP leader has writtenthat he has received complaintsfrom many quarters about fixedcharges, average billing on elec-tricity bills that are inflated.

"Delhi's businesses and mar-kets are shut since March. Butdue to fixed charge and steepcommercial rates and taxes, theyare getting charged steeply. Forthose who were forced to stay athome due to the lockdown havealso received high electricitybills. Due to higher bills, they are

not being able to avail their sub-sidies," Gupta has complained inhis letter.

Reminding that it is the "duty"of the government to pay heedto the problems of the people,which the BJP Delhi presidentclaimed Kejriwal has ignored. Healso cited example of MadhyaPradesh and Haryana -- bothBJP ruled states, which haveextended benefits to people fortheir electricity bills during thelockdown.

Gupta said that it will opposethe policies of a government thatcame to power on the promiseof "Pani maaf aur bijli half" (Nowater taxes and half electricitybills) promise. In run up to theDelhi Polls, this January Kejriwaltweeted a testimonial saying,"This morning a man from a vil-lage in UP came to meet me. Hesaid, 'We get electricity bills inour village but no electricity.Delhi gets electricity for 24hours but not bills'".

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Taking aim at the BJP, NCP pres-ident Sharad Pawar has said thatpoliticians should not take vot-ers for granted as even powerfulleaders like Indira Gandhi andAtal Bihari Vajpayee had beendefeated in elections.

Criticising formerMaharashtra CM DevendraFadnavis over his 'Mi punha yein'(I will come back) refrain dur-ing the last year's assembly polls,Pawar said voters thought thisstance smacked of arrogance andfelt that they should be taught alesson. He also said that thatthere was not an "iota of truth"in reports about differences inthe three ruling allies- Shiv Sena,NCP and Congress- that are partof the Uddhav Thackeray-ledMaha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) gov-ernment.

The veteran leader said he was

neither the headmaster nor theremote control of the MVA andmade it clear that Thackerayand his ministers were runningthe government.

The former Union ministersaid this in an interview by ShivSena leader Sanjay Raut, who isalso the Executive Editor ofparty mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

The first of the three-part inter-view series was published in theMarathi daily on Saturday.

This is for the first time thata non-Shiv Sena leader has fea-tured in a marathon interviewseries in this newspaper. In thepast it had published such inter-views of late Bal Thackeray andUddhav Thackeray.

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The Enforcement Directoratehas seized Rs 3.57-crore cashafter raiding tours and travelfirms and their CAs in Delhi-NCR to probe alleged irregu-larities in processing of e-visaapplications for foreignerswishing to travel to India.

The central probe agencysaid on Saturday it raidedeight locations in Delhi andGhaziabad on July 9 under theForeign ExchangeManagement Act (FEMA).

The raids were carried out atthe residences and offices ofdirectors of several tour andtravel companies and theirchartered accountants and Rs3.57-crore cash along withincriminating documents anddigital records were seized,the agency said in a statement.

The ED had received "spe-

cific inputs" that these entitieswere involved in unauthorisedreceipt of foreign remittancethrough payment gateways inthe name of providing e-visaservices to foreigners, it said.

The agency said the prelim-inary probe found "two suchentities received foreign remit-

tance of more than Rs 200crore for processing Indian e-visa applications of foreignerswithout any authorisationfrom the government."

"These entities were alsoinvolved in high value suspi-cious transactions," it said.

It was also found that "cer-tain chartered accountantsplayed a key role in managingthe affairs of these entitiesand were behind the suspicioustransactions carried out bythem."

"The seizure of unaccount-ed cash during the raids hasraised further suspicion aboutthe operations of such entitiesand blatant violation of statu-tory requirements," the EDsaid.

A probe is underway andthe directors and executives ofthese firms will be questioned,a senior agency official said.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday appreciatedthe efforts of the Centre, stateand local authorities in con-taining the COVID-19 situa-tion in Delhi and directed thatsimilar approach be adoptedwith other state governmentsin checking the pandemic inthe entire NCR area.

He made these remarks at ameeting to review the coron-avirus situation in the country,a statement from the PrimeMinister's Office said.

The prime minister reiter-ated the need to observe per-sonal hygiene and social disci-pline in public places.

Modi said the awarenessabout the pandemic should bedisseminated widely and acontinuous emphasis on pre-venting the spread of the infec-tion should be laid.

He said there is no room forany complacency in this

regard, according to the state-ment. Modi also directed thatreal-time national level mon-itoring and guidance should beprovided to all affected statesand places with high test pos-itivity rate.

"The prime minister appre-ciated the concerted efforts ofthe Centre, state and localauthorities in containing the

pandemic situation in Delhi,"the statement said. "He fur-ther directed that a similarapproach should be adoptedwith other state governmentsin containing the COVID-19pandemic in the entire NCRarea," it said.

The review meeting wasattended by Union HomeMinister Amit Shah, Health

Minister Harsh Vardhan andthe cabinet secretary amongothers.

During the meet, the "suc-cessful example" of surveillanceand home-based care through'Dhanvantri Rath' inAhmedabad was highlightedand it was directed that it maybe emulated in other places, thestatement said.

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India's only individual Olympicgold medallist Abhinav Bindraon Saturday stressed on theimportance of high performanceprograms for producing cham-pions in a "structured andaccountable format".

"Champions have to be builtthrough systems and processes,"said Bindra during the onlinelaunch of High Performanceleadership program organised byELMS Sports Foundation andAbhinav Bindra Foundation."It requires a detailed and relent-less pursuit of greatness. At theend of the day, when every ath-lete has been trained to the hilt,it is the small things that sepa-rate the good from the excellent."

Talking about the HighPerformance leadership pro-gram, Bindra said it is an "ini-tiative linked at creating advo-cates and architects of High-Performance Sport in the coun-try, laying the groundwork for arobust Indian sport ecosystemthat continuously generateschampions by design and not by

chance. "High-Performancesport is simply attention todetail in recruiting, training,and creating champions in astructured and accountable for-mat," the ace shooter said.

Over 50 participants fromacross the country have beennominated for this course, whichwill be attended by leaders fromthe SAI, state governments,national sport federations andprivate sector enterprises.

"High performance has beena possibility not just because ofgreat athletes and coaches butalso due to sports leaders. Theseleaders not only created an ath-lete centric approach but alsoexecuted plans with perfection,"Bindra said.

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Delhi government has decidedto cancel all forthcoming semes-ter and final exams of universi-ties under it due to the COVID-19 situation, Deputy CMManish Sisodia said on Saturday.

Sisodia said these state univer-sities have been asked to pro-mote their students and awardthem degrees adopting a "pro-gressive method of evaluation".

He said CM Arvind Kejriwalhas written a letter to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,requesting him to replicate Delhigovernment's decision for allcentral universities across thecountry to end uncertaintyamong students regarding theexams. Sisodia said Delhi gov-ernment's decision did not con-cern Delhi University, JawaharlalNehru University and othercentral universities in the nation-al capital. The state universitiesunder Delhi governmentinclude National Law University,Delhi Technological University,Ambedkar University, GuruGobind Singh Indraprastha

University, Netaji SubhasUniversity of Technology andIndira Gandhi Delhi TechnicalUniversity for Women.

The deputy chief ministerwho is also Delhi's Educationminister said studies in the uni-versities were disrupted due tothe pandemic, and it was notpossible to conduct examina-tions. Unprecedented timesrequire unprecedented deci-sions, Sisodia said. "The issuewas complex since no studies orany other academic activitiestook place in the semester. So wehave asked universities to cancelexams and promote students tonext semester on the basis of pastresults or some other progressivemethod of evaluation," he said.

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Meghalaya on Saturdayreported its highest single-day spike of 76 COVID-19cases, taking the total to 312in the state. There are 215active cases in the state at pre-sent and of these, 132 are BSFpersonnel posted at its fron-tier headquarters here, offi-cials said.

"Seventy-six more individ-uals have tested positive forCOVID-19 in Meghalaya,"Chief Minister Conrad KSangma said. So far, 45 peo-ple have recovered from thedisease, while two have died.

The state has recorded 170new COVID-19 cases in thelast two-three days, an officialsaid. The number is likely togo up further during the dayas more reports are expectedin the second half, he added.

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As Arjun Kapoor returned tothe sets on Saturday after stay-ing home for four months dueto the coronavirus-inducedlockdown, the actor urged peo-ple to try and adjust to the “newnormal”. Production on films,television and digital projectswere put on hold in mid-Marchto vbhelp curb the spread of thenovel virus. On May 31, theMaharashtra government issuedguidelines for producers andfilmmakers to resume the shoot-ing of films, TV shows and webseries in non-containmentzones, emphasizing safety andsecurity norms. "Everyone of uswill have to adjust to the newnormal and slowly resettingour lives. My work life restart-ed and I shot for the first timein four months. Everything ischanged. Accepted," Arjun said.

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With the WHO lauding theefforts taken to contain thespread of the COVID-19 inMumbai's Dharavi, one of theworld's largest slums, the localcivic body said proactivescreening with the assistance ofprivate doctors and communi-ty support helped it in the fightagainst the disease.

World Health Organisation(WHO) Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,had said during a virtual pressconference in Geneva onFriday that there were manyexamples from around theworld that have shown thateven if the outbreak is veryintense, it can still be broughtback under control.

"And some of these exam-ples are Italy, Spain and South

Korea, and even in Dharavi -a densely packed area in themegacity of Mumbai," he hadsaid. The Asia's largest slum,which was once declared aCOVID-19 hotspot, has man-aged to flatten the curve of theviral spread.

Talking to PTI on Saturday,Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant

Commissioner of the G Northward of the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC)said the civic body had tochange its traditional approachof waiting for patients, contacttracing, isolation and homequarantine to begin proactivescreening instead.

"Proactive screening helped

in early detection, timely treat-ment and recovery," he said.

At least six to seven lakhpeople have been screened inDharavi, while 14,000 personswere tested and 13,000 wereplaced in institutional quaran-tine with medical facilities andcommunity kitchen for free,"the senior official said.

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With security personnel com-prising a substantial chunk of theCOVID-19 cases in Sikkim, thestate government has decided toallow only those jawans to enterthe Himalayan state who testnegative for coronavirus, a seniorhealth official said on Saturday.

Rapid antigen tests will beconducted exclusively on secu-rity personnel, including thosefrom the Army and the paramil-itary forces, at the Rangpo bor-der check-post from Saturdayonwards, he said.

The Rangpo check-post alongthe Sikkim-West Bengal borderis one of the major entry pointsto the Himalayan state.

"Those testing positive forCOVID-19 during the rapidantigen tests will not be allowedto enter Sikkim and will be sentback to quarantine centres fromwhere they came," said Director

General-cum-Secretary of theHealth Department, Dr PembaT Bhutia. The measure comesafter more than three dozensecurity personnel posted in theHimalayan state, borderingChina, tested positive forCOVID-19.

Earlier, thermal screening wasconducted on everyone includ-ing security personnel enteringthe state through the bordercheck-posts. The rapid antigen

tests, that give results faster, willbe conducted for free for the first15 days, he said.

Meanwhile, eight more peo-ple have recovered fromCOVID-19 in the state, the offi-cial said. Of the 121 COVID-19cases in the state, 41 are activeand 13 patients (Army person-nel) have migrated to neighbour-ing West Bengal, while theremaining people have beencured of the disease, he added.

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The Indian economy has start-ed showing signs of returningto normalcy in response to thestaggered easing of lockdownrestrictions, RBI GovernorShaktikanta Das said onSaturday.

He further said the need ofthe hour is to restore confi-dence, preserve financial stabil-ity, revive growth and recoverstronger.

"The Indian economy hasstarted showing signs of gettingback to normalcy in responseto the staggered easing ofrestrictions," Das said at the 7thSBI Banking and EconomicsConclave. Indian companiesand industries respond betterin a crisis, he noted.

Das, however, said it is stilluncertain when supply chainswill be restored fully, how longit will take for demand condi-tions to normalise, and whatkind of durable effects thepandemic will leave behind onpotential growth. According tohim, targeted and comprehen-sive reform measures alreadyannounced by the governmentshould help in supportinggrowth. Possibly in a vastlydifferent post-COVID globalenvironment, reallocation offactors of production withinthe economy and innovativeways of expanding economicactivity could lead to somerebalancing and emergence ofnew growth drivers, Dasadded.

The central bank, he said,strives to maintain the balancebetween preserving financialstability, maintaining bankingsystem soundness and sus-taining economic activity.

"Post containment ofCOVID-19, a very careful tra-jectory has to be followed in

orderly unwinding of counter-cyclical regulatory measures,"he said. The financial sectorshould return to normal func-tioning without relying on theregulatory relaxations as thenew norm, he added. He saidthe MPC has reduced policyrates by 250 basis points sinceFebruary 2019 to supportgrowth.

The conventional andunconventional monetary pol-icy and liquidity measures byRBI have been aimed at restor-ing market confidence, allevi-ating liquidity stress, easingfinancial conditions, unfreez-ing credit markets and aug-menting the flow of financialresources to those in need forproductive purposes, he said.

"The broader objective wasto mitigate risks to the growthoutlook while preservingfinancial stability," he added.

Das said despite the substan-tial impact of the COVID-19pandemic, the country's finan-cial system, including all thepayment systems and financialmarkets, are functioning with-out any hindrance.

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Market regulator Securitiesand Exchange Board of India(SEBI) may soon allow futurestrading in auto fuels petrol andfiscal giving an opportunity tobulk consumers of these petro-leum products to hedge theirrisks from a volatile marketwhere there is a sudden spurtin prices.

Sources said that petroleumministry has approved theplan to allow trading of petro-leum products in the derivativemarket and the commodityexchanges would be able tolaunch petrol and diesel futuressoon after SEBI releases itsfinal regulations in this regard.

Futures are financial con-tracts which help the buyer topurchase a commodity, or theseller to sell the commodity, ata predetermined future dateand at a predetermined price.In the case of petrol and diesel,the derivative product wouldinvolve buying a specifiedquantity of the at a specifiedprice with delivery set at aspecified time in the future. Ina rising market where prices offuel is going up, the futuresproduct would protect theparticipant from losing out asthe financial product wouldhedge the risk and ensure uni-form pricing of the commodity.

"It is a good development as

it will allow industrial and bulkconsumers of the two petrole-um products to hedge theirrisks. But in current marketconditions, in the absence of abig pick up in demand oilprices are either stable orfalling, hedging would workagainst the interest of partici-pant as it would add up to thecost of hedging," said an oilsector analyst asking not to benamed.

Currently futures trading isallowed in crude oil givingopportunity to refiners tohedge their risks against fre-quent price fluctuations. Theaddition of petrol and dieselwith give them another instru-ment to hedge their refiningmargins.

Sources said that as currentmarket conditions may not beconductive for a futures mar-ket in petroleum products, it

may wait before intruding thenew product in the market.

Petrol and diesel futures inany case will not benefit retailcustomers as the quantum offuel used by them would below. SEBI may allow derivativeproducts with a floor of say 100litre of petrol and diesel. Thiswill be too high a level for retailcustomers to participate inthe futures market.

Futures contract in petroland diesel are expected to beideal for refiners, transportcompanies, petrol pump own-ers, etc. In India a part fromvolatility in international mar-kets, petrol and fiscal prices arealso impacted by frequentchanges in government duties,both at central and state levels,on the two products. Thefutures contract can helpagainst these unforeseen priceincreased too.

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Airline major SpiceJet onSaturday said it will operateflights from across four sta-tions in India to Ras Al-Khaimah (Dubai) betweenJuly 12th and 26th for eligible'Identity and Citizenship(ICA) approved UAE resi-dents'.

Accordingly, the airline willoperate flights from Delhi,Mumbai, Kozhikode andKochi to the UAE.

"These flights will carryonly those passengers whoare destined for UAE," the air-line said in a statement.

"From the Ras Al-Khaimahairport, SpiceJet will also beproviding coaches, free ofcost, for passengers travellingto Dubai, Sharjah and AbuDhabi."

According to the airline, allpassengers will be required toundertake a polymerase chainreaction (PCR) test conduct-ed not more than 96 hours

prior to the departure whilealso carrying the Covid-19negative test result to be eligi-ble to board the flight.

"Passengers must also havethe Al-Hosn UAE App down-loaded on their respectivemobile phones. It is alsomandatory for passengers tosubmit the health declarationform and quarantine under-taking form before boardingthe flight," the statement said.

The airline has helped repa-triate over 45,000 people in thelast 45 days from UAE, SaudiArabia, Oman and Qatar byoperating 'Special CharterFlights' and by participatingactively in the Vande Bharatmission.

"We will operate more repa-triation flights in the comingdays and we are fortunate toacquire another opportunity toserve and fly back people tothe UAE to their families or forwork," Shilpa Bhatia, ChiefCommercial Officer, SpiceJet,was quoted as saying in thestatement.

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State-run electricity giantNTPC on Saturday said Unit-1 of its Singrauli power planthas emerged as the country'stop-performing unit in thefirst quarter of this fiscal.

The unit has registered aplant load factor (PLF) orcapacity utilisation of 101.96per cent in the April-Juneperiod. "NTPC Singrauli Unit1, the oldest Unit of NTPChas emerged as the top-per-forming Unit in the country inthe first quarter of the finan-cial year, as per the datareleased by Central ElectricityAuthority (CEA)," NTPC saidin a statement. The first unitof the station started generat-ing electricity on February13, 1982. NTPC Singrauli hasan installed capacity of 2,000MW, with five units of 200MW each and two units of 500MW each. Three units (1,4and 5) of 200 MW haveachieved PLF of 101.96 percent, 101.85 per cent and100.35 per cent respectively inQ1 FY2021 among the coal-fired units in the country, thestatement said.

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Realty firm Signature Globalwill invest Rs 225 crore overthe next four years to devel-op a new affordable housingproject in Gurugram,Haryana.

The project, comprising852 units, will be developedunder the Haryana govern-ment's affordable housingpolicy. Signature Global saidin a statement that the projectcost is estimated at Rs 225crore.The selling prices of theunits range from Rs 14.46lakh to Rs 25.80 lakh.

"The demand for afford-able housing has increasedmanifold. The realisation ofthe importance of one's homehas dawned on people whilestaying and working fromhome, as many of them havefaced challenges," SignatureGlobal Group Founder &Chairman Pradeep Aggarwalsaid.

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The Coimbatore chapter of theConfederation of Real EstateDevelopers Associations ofIndia (CREDAI) on Saturdayrequested Tamil Nadu ChiefMinister K Palaniswami tolook into the association'sdemands.

In a representation listingthe 14-point charter ofdemands, CREDAI presidentSurender Vittel sought speci-fied time of clearance of build-ing projects since the currentapproval process takes a min-imum of six months to oneyear. Presently, the approvalprocess goes through LocalPlanning Authority (LPA) andDirectorate of Town andCountry Planning (DTCP),Corporation, and that takestime, he said.

Such long approval timemakes the designs obsolete, soCREDAI has been seeking aspecified time of clearance, hesaid. The spread of COVID-19has limited the travel of peo-

ple in Coimbatore to Chennaiand at present every file of15,000 sq.ft of building andabove has to go to DCTP-Chennai for approval, he said.

In the current circumstancedue to the pandemic, CREDAI,Coimbatore, has requestedapprovals of upto 2 lakh sq ftin the city's LPA itself whichwould reduce unnecessarycommute and contact/physicalinteraction, Vittel said.

At present, various no objec-tion certificates (NOCs) haveto be obtained along with rec-ommendation from local

Panchayats and the procedureis unclear leading to unethicalpractices in various depart-ments,he said. An online sin-gle-window application andtracking system should allowthe status of the application atLPA, DTCP, Corporation orany central or state govern-ment department linking allapprovals thereby making thesystem seamless and efficient.

"Currently, we face delays ateach department making thereal estate industry opaquewith incremental cost of com-pliance," Vittel said.

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American Airlines is warningBoeing that it could cancelsome overdue orders for thegrounded 737 Max unless theplane maker helps line up newfinancing for the jets, accord-ing to people familiar with thediscussions.

American's stand comes asairlines are finding financingincreasingly difficult andexpensive as the coronaviruspandemic has crippled theiroperations.

American had 24 Max jetsbefore they were grounded inMarch 2019. It has orders for76 more but wants Boeing tohelp arrange financing for 17planes for which previousfinancing has or will soon

expire, according to three peo-ple who spoke Friday on con-dition of anonymity to discussprivate talks between the com-panies.

If the companies can't reachan agreement, American coulduse Max financing that is about

to expire to pay for jets fromBoeing's archrival Airbus, oneof the people said.

Chicago-based Boeing saidin a statement that it is work-ing with customers during “anunprecedented time for ourindustry as airlines confront a

steep drop in traffic," but didnot comment on the talks withAmerican. The Fort Worth,Texas-based airline declined tocomment. News of American'sthreat to cancel some orderswas first reported by The WallStreet Journal. The situationunderscores the strain facingairlines during the coronaviruspandemic. It has grown moredifficult and expensive for

them to finance planes.American's negotiating stancedoesn't reflect a loss of confi-dence in the plane's safety, thesources said. The Max wasBoeing's best-selling planebefore crashes in Indonesiaand Ethiopia killed 346 peopleand led regulators around theworld to ground all Max jets.

The coronavirus pandemichas compounded Boeing's

problems by causing a sharpdrop in air travel and a loss ofinterest in new planes. Nearly40% of the world's passengerjets are idled, according toaviation data supplier Cirium,as most airlines have moreplanes than they need untiltravel recovers.

The 17 planes in disputewere supposed to have beendelivered to American at leasta year ago. That has given theairline the option of cancelingthe order without penalty andrecovering its down paymentsnow, according to one of thepeople familiar with the mat-ter. The deliveries have beendelayed while Boeing works tofix a flight-control system sus-pected of playing a role in thecrashes.

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Marico Innovation Foundation(MIF) on Saturday said it hasselected three innovations toprovide affordable ventilatorsolutions amid COVID-19 cri-sis for funding.

MIF will help the selectedinnovators by providing accessto business opportunities, men-

torship and guid-ance on businessoperations, so thatthey can reach theright pockets ofIndia.

Concluding its

#Innovate2BeatCOVID chal-lenge, MIF has selected three

innovations in'Ventilators and OtherRespiratory Solutions'and offered Rs 85 lakhgrants, it said in a

statement.MIF has already

announced the threewinners for providing

innovative solutions in'Personal Protective Equipment

(PPE)' category, where it haddistributed Rs 1.60 crore ingrants.

In March, MIF, A T EChandra Foundation andMarico Chairman HarshMariwala in his personalcapacity launched a nationwidehunt for innovative solutions tohealthcare challenges duringCOVID-19 crisis.

They had offered a grant ofRs. 2.5 crore for cost-effectiveand innovative solutions tocombat a short supply of ven-tilators and personal protectiveequipment.

The challenge had receivedover 1,500 interests from acrossthe country during the 20 days- from March 29 to April 182020, it said.

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The Centre has taken varioussteps to control locust swarms,and carried out operations inover 1.5 lakh hectares areasince April 11 to prevent croplosses.

"As per the instructions ofAgriculture Minister NarendraSingh Tomar, continuousaction is being taken to con-trol locust swarms," an officialstatement said on Saturday.

Starting from April 11 tillJuly 9, control operations havebeen done in 1,51,269 hectaresarea in Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh, Punjab, Gujarat,Uttar Pradesh and Haryana byLocust Circle Offices (LCOs),it added. The control opera-tions have also been done in1,32,660 hectares area inRajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Punjab, Gujarat, UttarPradesh, Maharashtra,Chhattisgarh, Haryana andBihar by state governments.

Elaborating on the actions,the Agriculture Ministry saidthat in the intervening night ofJuly 9-10, control operationswere carried out at 16 places

in 8 districts - Barmer,Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner,Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, andKarauli of Rajasthan, 2 placesin Bhuj district of Gujaratand at 1 place each in Auraiyaand Etawah districts of UttarPradesh by LCOs. Besidesthis, respective state agricul-ture department/s also carriedout control operations at 1place in Alwar district inRajasthan; and at 1 place eachin Auraiya and Etawah dis-tricts of Uttar Pradesh againstsmall groups and scatteredpopulation of locusts. Further,five companies with 15 dronesare deployed at Barmer,Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagaur andPhalodi in Rajasthan for effec-tive control of locusts on talltrees and in inaccessible areasthrough spraying of pesticides.

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She loved to compete with theboys in her area and do one bet-ter. She was in primary schoolwhen the neighbourhood boysbought themselves BMX cycles

and she had no intentions to be leftbehind and insisted that here father buyher a cycle as well. She got a girl bikewhich she rejected on sight. She wantedthe one that the boys were riding. Whenshe was in Class VIII they graduated tomotorbike and she also wanted one. Sincethen there has been no stopping this 26-year-old — the country’s first motovlog-ger. Meet Vishakha Fulsunge who hasthree Indian Book of Records to hername for her feat. The first, India’s firstwoman motovlogger. Second, firstwoman to ride solo to Andaman andNicobar Islands. The third is on the way.

For those who don’t know who orwhat a motovloger is, he is a person whoshoots a video log while riding a motor-cycle. While her parents may haveindulged her and told her to follow herpassion, it was not very easy for Fulsungeto reach where she is today. She tells youthat it is tough to be a rider in this coun-try especially if you are a woman.

There have been a couple of instanceswhere Fulsunge has had to resort tothreats to get a room in a hotel. “I ridealone. When I am all geared up peoplecan’t tell whether I am a man or a woman.But the minute I take off the helmet, thereis no hiding. Sometimes I ride long hoursbut other times I take short breaks. As awoman rider I can’t pitch a tent any-where. When I went to this hotel andasked for a room, he refused. I under-stood that he thought that since I was awoman and alone, he could take me fora ride and I would beg. Instead, I threat-ened him and told him that I wasrecording whatever he had said. He hadnot expected that and finally relented andgave the room,” Fulsunge recounts.

Another time, she ended up gettingthe fright on her life while taking aparikrama of the Narmada River. It hadgot late and she took a wrong turn andit took her on a narrow kuccha narrowlane. Soon she reached a dead end andrealised there were three men squattingand staring at her, walked up to her andasked: Aur chhori kahan ja rahe hai.“That really scared me but I knew if Ishowed fear they would pounce so Icalmly without looking at them turnedthe bike, it took a bit of back and forthsince there was no space and rode out ofthere like there was a fire on my trial. Itwas dark and on a bike the headlightsgive light only in front. In a jungle onedoesn’t know from where the danger cancome,” Fulsunge tells you.

Then there is the whole issue of toi-lets. “It is not easy to leave all the gearon the bike and go to the washroom. Ittakes ages to take off all the protectivegear and wear it again Also, when I takea break to eat, I have to park the bikewhere I can see it all the time or pick asnack I can eat on the go.” Fulsunge says.

Then there have been some seriousaccidents that she has met with. An acci-

dent last year put her in the ICU. Hermother was a pillar of strength. Whilepeople told her that maybe her ridingdays were over, it was her mother whotold her that her bike whom she hasnamed Kashish is waiting for her athome. It was only once Fulsunge washome, after three months, that her

mother broke down and cried. Sincethen, she has a few people who are imme-diately contacted if her bike falls. Thereis an app that she has synced to her phoneand any jolt sends a message to peoplelisted as emergency contacts.

There are safety measures that shedevised. One of them is a ponytail that

she has attached to her helmet which haspink ponies to let people know she is awoman rider and not to touch her. Atnight, the ponytail is out for the same rea-son — she doesn’t want people to knowshe a woman rider.

It is not just about people giving herstrange looks because she is a woman

rider. “When I first started to go on ridesall alone, buying the gear was a challenge.To begin with, you just can’t get onto anybike and become a rider. Your machineand you have to get used to long hoursof being on the road. For this the bike hasto be in pristine condition and so shouldyou be, to be able to take long hours ofriding,” Fulsunge says.

She also had to get used to wearingall the protective gear. It took her twoyears before she could buy proper ridinggear. This includes a jacket and we allknow the price of a good quality jacketin the country. In a country like India,where it is hot nine out the 12 months,the jacket that she has to wear has to bespecial, that which has can withstandextreme heat and extreme cold since shehas traveled the length and breadth of thecountry excluding North-east which is onher wish list and she all set to go therewhen the lockdown was announced. Herplans have had to be put on hold but notfor long, she tells you.

“Back then, it was extremely difficultto get quality products in the market. Iwould ask my friend or acquaintancewho would travel abroad to get me thegear that I needed,” she tells you.

More so, because Fulsunge haddecided she would pursue her passionunder her steam and not borrow moneyfrom her parents. For this, even she wasstill a teenager, she took up jobs that cameher way.

“When I was in college, I used to earnmoney by asking people to fill coupons.I would save up for months on end to buywhat I needed. I was also very confidentand could chat with people easily. I amalso unlike most bike riders. I am petite.People take to me easily. There was anevent at a mall in Mumbai where I wasworking when I saw that the organiserswere a bit agitated. I came to know thattheir host had not turned up. I told themI could do it. It was the best event thatthe company had had in a long time andI walked away with Rs 4000. Slowly, myearnings increased and bought my gearand then started vlogging. Today, thereare many companies that cater to womenriders and it has become easy to sourcethe protective gear. It is still expensivethough,” Fulsunge says.

Then there are knee-high boots withspecial soles to protect the feet from allthe grit that hits when you ride. Thelength of the boot is to protect the legsfrom road burns if she falls. Riding pantsand gloves are just as important. She tellsyou that a riding jacket costs �25,000depending on the level of protection,pants �18,000, a helmet �22,000, gloves�5000 and boots another �25,000.

Interestingly, before she started herchannel, she completed her integratedMBA. “In our country, people giveimportance to a degree and not skillsets.I wanted to pursue a degree. But I alsoknew that I was the kind to be tied to a9 am to 5 pm job. I love what I do. Yes,there are perils that come with it but thefreedom that it gives me, makes mehappy,” Fulsunge says.

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At an age, when most peoplefocus on their career andyearn for name and fame,

this leading lady thought of givingit back to Nature. When childrenare busy playing around with mudand building sand castles, thisyoung heart realised the impor-tance of preserving and respectingMother Nature.

Meet a 33-year-old socialactivist, environmentalist, young-preneur, film producer and dancer,Arushi Nishank. It is not easy forNishank to don several hats, it tookyears of effort, hard work and notto mention eternal dedication.

Having been born in Kotdwar,Uttarakhand, Nishank always feel

that she has a moral responsibili-ty towards River Ganga, and thatis how she came on board asNational Ambassador of SparshGanga, a campaign that aimed atrestoring and conserving the holyriver.

“The Sparsh Ganga Campaignwas started by my father, RameshPokhriyal, in 2009. People hailingfrom Uttarakhand realise that it istheir duty to protect and conserveGanga ji. The whole world looks upto the river as moksh giver, they seeit with a lot of aastha and a wholelot of feelings are attached with theholy river. This is what got usthinking and in 2009 under theguidance of Dalai Lama, several

dharam gurus and Hema Malini jiwe started the campaign inRishikesh. At that time, my fatherwas the Chief Minister ofUttarakhand at that time and thecampaign was a Government pro-ject. However, there was no sure-ty that the next Chief Minister willhave the same feelings for the cam-paign, so we privatised it. And now,more than 5.5 lakh people fromaround the world are associatedwith this campaign,” Nishank tellsyou.

What is even more interestingis that people associated with thecampaign do it out of free will andwithout any pays or funding. “Allthese people organise a weekly sun-day cleaning drive. This has nowbecome a ritual. This doesn’t meanthey only clean River Ganga,instead they get together and cleanany river that is there in the prox-imity or for that matter evencolonies and drains,” Nishankexplains.

This is not it. In 2016, she alsoboosted the Clean Ganga Initiativethrough her Kathak shows GangaTujhe Salam in Dubai and UAE.The purpose of these shows waseducating the NRI’s about theimportance of River Ganga and itscleanliness. Even, her composi-tions and choreography like GangaAvataran, a story of GoddessGanga coming to earth, and Sajda,a classical Kathak dance perfor-mance are based on the Sufiyanatheme.

“Being from the young gener-ation, I know that the best way togive out a social message is to doit in an entertaining way. I havestudied in Toronto, and have hada lot of friends from India andabroad. Whenever we conversed,I realised that it is not like our gen-eration isn’t concerned about any-thing, they do care about our cul-ture and environment. But the factis they don’t want to see it in the

old traditional way. This got methinking and I started walking onthis road. I tried utilising mydancing skills and came up withseveral compositions that talkedabout our culture. Also, I am atrained Kathak dancer and if Istarted doing typical Kathak, noone would have understood it.Therefore, I experimented with ita lot and came up with the com-positions,” she says.

Her passion for Kathak camefrom her mother. “My mother wasa Kathak dancer. She left all of usat an early age. Seeing her photoswhere she is all dressed up in clas-sical attire and performing Kathak,I got interested in the dance formand started pursuing it when I wasin Class VIII. The thought thatsome day I would also look thatbeautiful in the classical attire,excited me a lot. Also by God’sgrace, my family has that values andvirtues that we are automaticallyinclined towards Indian cul-ture,” she tells you.

Nishank is also associ-ated with various socialreform programmesaimed at upliftingwomen all over theworld. Off late, shechaired theInternational WomenE m p o w e r m e n tProgram (IWEP) inDubai, and for hercontribution to socialwork and womenempowerment, shewas featured inForbes Middle East.She is also globallyactive to promote Beti BachaoBeti Padhao, a Governmentinitiative to save Girl Child. Shealso founded the HimalayanAyurvedic Medical Collegeand Hospital in Dehradun,Uttarkhand in 2006. She tookthe step to educate the youth

about the benefits of Ayurveda andto create employment.

The sense of empathy strikeNishank at an early age, all thanksto her being the eldest daughter ofthe family. “I have two younger sis-ters, and everyone knows that theeldest in the family is automatical-ly more responsible towards thefamily. That was the case with me.As I grew up, I became responsibletowards my career and when Iachieved that, I realised that I amresponsible to bring in good thingsto our society as well. That is howI started doing all the social work,”she tells you.

What made her play an activerole in women empowerment, shesays, is the reason that a woman’sgreatest enemy is a woman. “We allhave heard the saying once in awhile, but somehow we neverunderstood its depth and essence.Gradually, when you grow up andface a lot of politics in your respec-

tive fields, you realise how trueit is. I faced a lot of difficul-ties in my life. Sometimeswhen you are pretty, you arebullied, you are pushedaround by other girls andpeople are judgementalabout you because of whoyour parents are. Havingfaced all this, since a veryyoung age, I always hadthis thing in the back ofmy mind that one dayI will create a societywhere women will becreating synergy witheach other and whereone plus one will notbe two but 11,” shesays.

She adds thatin Uttarakhandwomen are thebread earners ofthe family. “Thesewomen are thebest example of

women empowerment. They are somentally and physically strongthat no one can even dare totouch them. To help these womeneven more, we with the help ofother women from different coun-tries came up with policies atIWEP in Dubai,” she tells you.

With the help of NGOs inUttarakhand, Nishank also helpedin generating more employmentopportunities for these ladies. “Weused Vimal tree’s bark to make a fab-ric out of it. The bark was also usedby these women to make baskets.This not only created employmentopportunities for 800 women ofUttarakhand, but also acted as a sub-stitute for plastic. Then we used theflowers and petals that were drainedinto Ganga to make scent sticks, thisfurther gave employment to around200 women. The numbers are smallbut we plan to grow even more,”Nishank tells you.

She recalls a story that she sayswas the introduction of womenpower to her: “It was my school daysand I was in Rajasthan. One day, Isaw a member of the hostel staff wholived nearby, she made her toddlersit on a charpayi/khat and placed atub underneath it. She then bathedher son and utilised the water towash her clothes and gave theremaining to the animals. She did-n’t waste a single drop of water. Wehave been using the ornamentalwords like reuse and recycle fordecades now, but the real essence ofthese words is known by our womenwho are doing it since eternity. Thatwas a wake up call for me to under-stand a woman’s brain.”

Being a film producer, therewere certain Bollywood films onNishank’s cards which are now onhold. “Keeping in mind the currentsituation, all those projects are nowon hold. But we are eyeing the dig-ital space at the moment. We shallcome up with something soon,” shetells you.

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Lockdown is being gradually easedout. People are trying to resumenormal activities, but the problems

confronting us are not yet over. It willtake some time before things settle down.As nature goes through unforeseen twistsand turns, we are faced with unprece-dented situations. We can’t changenature’s course. But how we respond isdefinitely in our hands. If we negotiatewith the challenges coming our way withfortitude and intelligence, we may be ableto contain the damage. We faced similarpandemic during 1918-1920 in whichmore than 50 million people lost theirlives, which included 2.25 millionIndians. This time, however, the recoveryrate is higher and death toll so far hasbeen much lesser. It is not that world’sdestiny has taken a different turn. Itneeds to be appreciated that it is theresult of human endeavour that medicalscience has grown substantially and weare better equipped today.

In life too, we are often confrontedwith challenging situations, many ofthem beyond our control. Many of usbecome a victim of our own making alsobecause of our flawed perceptions. Buthere again, what matters the most is how

we respond to the situation. Someamongst us are able to face the situationbravely, intelligently negotiate the chal-lenges and keep marching ahead instrength. But many, particularly the weak,come under great pressure, that is diffi-cult to withstand, often at times callingfor medical intervention. The questionnow is: Why given a similar situation, dif-ferent people respond varied ways?

The answer lies in the unique charac-ter of each being, coming as it may asone’s karmic carryover from the past. Inone’s life time, we would have learnt andunlearned many a things, acquired skillsets, developed habits and attitudes,acquired virtues and attributes, and alsohave unfulfilled desires left. Theirimprints get carried over in the form ofthought seeds to our successive incarnatebody-mind organism. As and when thethought-seeds get a congenial ground,they come into play involuntarily. Thatmay be to our advantage or detriment,depending on the character and contentof the thought-seeds. To sum up, we areall invariably born with a preconditionedmind, which sets the premise of one’sthought process — the basic fabric ofindividual mind-frame — on which our

future life takes off. Accordingly, eachmind involuntarily develops its individualspecific defining principles that guide allactions on our part — the desires nursedand pursued, the initiatives we take, orhow we respond or react to a particularsituation. That, of course, is subject tofurther modification as we go throughlearning lessons during ongoing life. Withsuch a preconditioned mind, our scope ofvision comes under restriction. Thatdoesn’t let us look at the issues in handwith an open mind, and so often fail toperceive things in the right perspectivedue, and evidently to our detriment.

The beauty of human mind, however,is that it can self-reflect upon its owntrends and could respond to fresh educa-tive inputs also. That empowers us towatch our thought-trends and make nec-essary amends through conscious efforts.The paradox, however, is that seldom dowe remain conscious about using theabove exclusive privilege. Often, our egoalso plays spoil sport, as it doesn’t let usidentify and acknowledge our fault lines.Here comes the role of Astrology, whichcan dispassionately read your personalitytrends. For, it reads your individual ener-gy signature with a fair amount of preci-sion. And energy knows no bias.

Here is the case of a person whocame seeking guidance on how to comeout of acute stress he is undergoing. Lookat his astrological pointers. The Sun con-junct Saturn in the lagna, a fixed sign,both opposed to Jupiter conjunct mis-chievous Neptune. That speaks of a hard-ened negative mindset. Second, he isstuck to his self-defined delusionarybeliefs and perceptions . Third, has aswaggering ego, who wishes to live exclu-sively on his own terms. All the morebecause mind signifying Moon occupiesa dual sign Gemini and afflicted by boththe sign lord Mercury and lagna lordVenus. That clouds his vision and inter-personal relationship skill. If all thatwould not be enough, fiery Mars con-junct erratic Rahu, lock horns with bothMercury and Venus. He, thus, has arestive and a cynic mind, who habituallyfinds fault with others for all the wronghappening. I wish, he unlocks his precon-ditioned mind, and things will definitelyturn better.

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The world has come to a standstilland the global economy has takenthe worst hit in history. Right fromthe negative pricing of crude oils tothe worldwide lockdown, it has

brought the global economy to its knees, look-ing for the road to recovery. With the globalcases mounting up to 8 million, the impact ofthe grave pandemic can be witnessed acrossgeographies. This has resulted in a major shiftof leading lives and the whole world is comingto terms with the new normal. As the famoussaying goes, ‘Every crisis brings an opportuni-ty’ and this pandemic has provided an oppor-tunity for businesses to be creative and adaptan innovative approach to sustaining the tide.Most of the countries — whether developed ordeveloping — are actively pursuing opportuni-ties to become completely self-reliant to battlethe situation and also prepare for any futuredisruptions.

�� The labour-intensive manufacturing sector

has been one of the hardest-hit due to thecoronavirus. According to a business publica-tion, the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit IndiaManufacturing Purchasing Managers Index(PMI), a reflection of the health of the manu-facturing economy, fell to 27.4 in April, from51.8 in March this year.

Like the rest of the world, India, too, isexperiencing a major outbreak of the Covid-19virus and has slowly reached the second phaseof the pandemic. According to the WorldBank, India was the world’s sixth-largest man-ufacturer at the end of 2018. However, havinga labour-intensive manufacturing sector hasresulted in the sharpest deterioration in busi-ness conditions in the last 15 years, with theseasonally adjusted IHS Markit IndiaManufacturing Purchasing Managers Index(PMI) — a reflection of the health of the man-ufacturing economy — falling from 51.8 inMarch 2020 to just 27.4 in April.

As the current unlocking phase across thenation takes place, social distancing, stringenthygiene measures, and remote working haveall become a part of the new normal. Themanufacturing sector, however, is one of thefew places where online meetings can only doso much. After all, the majority of the natureof the work is on-site, physical, and time-sen-sitive, so work-from-home is not always anoption.

�� The ground reality is that Covid-19 is not

expected to abate anytime soon, so our dailylives must instead incorporate the right mea-sures to prevent the risk of contagion.According to Forrester analytics, we are step-ping in the second stage of the pandemic,which steers us to ‘Adapt and Overcome’ thesituation. To stay afloat, the industry needs toadjust to the new normal and strategise how to

accelerate recovery from the losses incurred sofar, optimising efficiency and encouragingself-dependency.

��

While the government’s Aatma NirbharBharat Abhiyaan initiative is a significant steptowards restart the operations and encourag-ing various sectors to stabilise themselves, it isvital that manufacturers recognise the need tojoin hands with technology and embraceautomation. In fact, a study by EY found that41% of employers across the world are fast-tracking automation plans in an endeavour tomake up for lost productivity and also preparefor the post-crisis world. Normalising the alle-giance of employees and technology will pavea path that will lead the sector to growth, sta-bilising Indian business and enabling self-suf-ficiency.

Rewiring an industry and making it tech-friendly comes with its own challenges. Someof the obstacles faced by the manufacturingindustry include an abundance of unskilledlabour, a lack of space on the shop floor, andthe lack of technical expertise to operate com-plex new technology. Collaborative robots, or“cobots,’’ are a niche robot technology thatpresent the perfect solution by addressing allthese challenges, offering an easy automationsolution for Indian manufacturers.

��

While industrial robots have been aroundfor years, collaborative robots are a muchnewer technology. Cobots are an advancedrobotic arm that — unlike their industrialrobot predecessors — were created to sharethe same workspace as humans, without theneed for any cumbersome caging or fencing

(subjectto application

risk assessment). Thisis thanks to their advanced

safety features, backed up by 65patents, including a protective stop that isenabled when an obstacle blocks a cobot’s pathof motion, ensuring that a person that maycome in contact with a cobot is not harmed.By simply changing the end-of-arm-tooling ona cobot, it can be used for a variety of tasks,ranging from the tending of CNC and othermachines, dispensing, quality inspection, pickand place, screwdriving, and much more. Thismakes them versatile to use in a multitude ofapplications across virtually every industry.

Cobots can handle tasks that require highrepeatability, precision, and quality, as well asjobs that pose ergonomic risks. Humans arethen free to cater to tasks that require mentalefforts and human ingenuity, often leading tothe upskilling of labor. In a crucial time likethis, it has become a priority for industry lead-ers to not just utilise their workforce wisely tohandle tasks that need human intervention,while cobot can handle work that could causephysical and mental stress to people.

Human Robot Collaboration is one of thekey drivers of Industry 4.0 and, in fact, a studyon a BMW assembly plant, conducted andpublished in MIT Technology Review foundthat there is a whopping 85% reduction in theidle time of workers when they collaboratewith robots. Cobots, thus, can empowerdomestic production and facilitating the Makein India mission. In the Covid-19 era, whenmanufacturers are facing issues of labor uncer-tainty and recognising the need to automatebut unsure how to start, cobots are one of thequickest solutions on the market, addressingmany common barriers to automation facedby Indian manufacturers.

� �� Social Distancing: By allowing humans

and cobots to work side-by-side, cobots reducethe need for contact between human workers,ensuring that they maintain safe social dis-tancing standards. This is especially vital incrowded assembly lines and worker-dense fac-tory floors, which will have to take measuresto ensure that distance is maintained betweenindividuals but no efficiency is lost. In essence,this enables businesses to optimise productivi-ty while also helping flatten the curve ofCovid-19 contagion.

Partial Automation: Complex automationwith heavy machinery is expensive, space-con-suming, and difficult for most manufacturersto carry out. Cobots, however, enable theautomation of specific applications instead ofan entire plant, thereby reducing capitalexpenditure significantly. This partial automa-tion means that manufacturers can start smalland identify applications that involve high pre-cision, monotony, or potential ergonomic risk

for humans, and usecobots to handle these

instead. For example, atBaxter Lab, one can see that

the cobots are placing bottles inboxes, while the man is manually

holding the boxes open for the cobot todo so. Both are thus, working together and

the process is only partially automated to opti-mise efficiency.

Quick Deployment and FlexibleRedeployment: Their ease of use and setupmeans that cobots are one of the fastestautomation solutions currently in the mar-ket. While traditional automation solutionscan take months to deploy, a cobot can be setup for a simple application within a singleday, even by first-time robot users. Plus, acobot can be programmed time and again fordifferent tasks, functioning like a lightweight“tool’’ with many uses. In this uncertainenvironment, many manufacturers need torepurpose their assembly lines to focus ondifferent products based on the urgency ofrequirements and changing consumerdemands. Cobots are flexible and easy to re-station as needed, enabling high mix/lowvolume production.

�� As you can see from the USPs highlighted

above, collaborative robots are easy and quickto set up, have a low footprint, and enable flex-ible redeployment. This, combined with theHuman Robot Collaboration facilitated bycobot, make it possible for manufacturers ofall sizes to deploy this Industry 4.0 technologywith ease. Cobots lower the barriers forautomation faced by Indian manufacturers,allowing them to use robotic technology with-out having to make drastic changes to theirexisting shop floors. As SMEs are the buildingblocks of the Indian economy, it is vital thatthey are able to automate to meet global stan-dards of quality to achieve their Make in Indiadreams.

To sum it up, the Covid-19 virus hascaught the world unprepared, taking business-es by storm and showing no sign of abatinganytime soon. If anything, the pandemic hasshown us all the unpredictability of life andthe need to invest in smart decisions to pre-pare for the possibility of any future disrup-tions.

With the spotlight on India as the newdestination for global manufacturing, indus-tries need to prepare for a prolonged recoveryperiod where it has become of paramountimportance to learn how to manage humancapital and production capabilities. Cobotsallow manufacturers of all sizes to automateareas previously considered too small or tooexpensive to automate, lowering the barriers toautomation through USPs that traditionalrobots and automation solutions simply can-not provide. They enable manufacturers toincrease agility to cater to rapidly changingdemands.

The writer General Manager,South Asia, Universal Robots

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Atense mood had surrounded our household,as our family braced up for a monumentalchange in their lives. My husband had just

got his transfer order, which would entail us tomove back to Delhi from Dubai in one of therepatriation flights, since we were diplomats.Undertaking such a massive transfer process alongwith the four hour journey in the midst of theCovid-19 pandemic got me anxious for quite a fewdays. However I maintained my calm, and feltstronger by reassuring myself that this time wouldsoon pass.

Finally, when all the boxes were packed andthe rooms rendered empty, it was time for us toleave. As I started packing my final bags, I realisedthat it was time to say goodbye to Dubai, the placewhere I had spent 5 and a half golden years of mylife. We were finally done with our final shoppingin the region, and were getting braced up to travelduring these trying times. Obviously, our maintravel essentials were going to be Sanitisers, PPE,Masks, Face Shields, Disinfectant Sprays, and thelike: as opposed to the usual earphones and a goodbook to read.

As advised by various acquaintances, wewrapped our entire check-in luggage in cello-phane wraps. This would allow us to just open anddiscard them as soon as we reached our destina-tion, allowing the main baggage to not be contam-inated, and eliminating the need to disinfect thesame. We reached the DXB airport at 10.00 hours(UAE time), and saw quite a meticulous arrange-ment of people waiting for their health checkupbefore moving on to the usual airport protocol. Avivid depiction of responsibility and unity wasportrayed before our eyes as we saw every singleperson wear masks, gloves, maintain social dis-tance, and follow all the new rules and regulationsduring the pandemic throughout the airport.

We passed our Covid health screening at theairport, and moved on to the usual airport proce-dure. We got our boarding passes, gave our check-in baggage, took care of some over-sized baggagesince we were moving on a transfer basis, andmoved on through the X-Ray area to the gates,where we would wait until boarding started. AirIndia also gave us Face Shields, Sanitisers, andextra Face Masks for use during the journey. Theywere also giving out PPE kits to everyone sitting inthe middle seat. However, upon seeing two kids

traveling with me, they decided to give PPE kits toall of us. Even the security at the airport allowedall kinds of sanitisers and sprays to be taken onflights during this pandemic, which was strictlyforbidden in the past.

Finally, our flight’s announcement was calledout and it was time for us to suit up in our PPEkits, Face Shields, Masks, and Gloves. We allresembled astronauts on a field mission in our facemasks and shield combo. We boarded a bus andentered our airplane as usual, but were informedsoon that there would be no food or drinks servedin this flight. Contrasted with the old times, airhostesses were giving out hand sanitisers instead ofrefreshments. On top of all the security measurestaken by the airport and the airline, we also madeit a rule of thumb to spray disinfectant everywherewe went and everything we came in contact with.

A small box of food and a water bottle werealready kept on everyone’s seats, but we chose tokeep it on the ground and ignore it. Owing to ourfear and alertness, we did not eat or drink any-thing throughout the journey, and realised later onthat it was everybody on the flight who did thesame. It was pretty uncomfortable for all of us towear masks and shields, and to add on to theinconveniences, the flight was already running anhour late. Living such a surreal moment, I wasreminded of John Milton’s poem, “On HisBlindness”, where he thought that god was testinghim during every single moment of his life.

The 3 hour journey seemed much longer thanit actually was, but we soon made it to the IndiraGandhi Airport in New Delhi. However, asopposed to what everyone believed, this wasnowhere close to the end. We were told to remain

seated inside the plane until further notice, and toalso download the Aarogya Setu app on oursmartphones, which was a contact tracing app cre-ated by the Government of India in order for citi-zens to protect themselves from the Coronavirus.The plane was being sanitised from the outside,and soon the air hostess started calling out seatnumbers on the PA system, upon which therespective passengers stood up and left the plane.

Upon entering the New Delhi airport, we wereinformed that a flight from Melbourne had justlanded and the airport authorities were conductingtheir due procedures with passengers of theMelbourne flight first. Once all the passengersfrom that flight were cleared out, we proceeded toour checkups, and kept all our documents ready.Firstly, our temperatures were taken and our self-declaration health forms were checked, and

stamped. This allowed us to carry on to the nextprocess, which was the standard immigrationprocess, upon which our health forms werechecked once again. Notably, they also kept a copyof the same for their own records. We followed thestandard airport process since and moved to theconveyer belts, where the luggage was kept by theside of the belts instead of on the belt, owing to thevery few amount of flights operating. We lookedfor our luggage and gathered it, all while maintain-ing social distancing and using disinfectant spraythroughout.

After all standard procedures were over; wemet yet another medical official at the airport whochecked our Blood Pressure, temperature, andoxygen levels. Then, we went outside of the mainairport building to a small makeshift office madeby the airport authorities. The purpose of thisoffice was to rule out if we had the Coronavirus ornot, and would suggest the necessary means ofprecaution tailored to each person’s health situa-tion. We cleared all formalities, and were declaredCovid negative. There was an SDM to check ourquarantine documents, and we availed due per-mission to use our personal vehicle to get to ourhotel, which was our designated quarantine center.It was now 21.30 hours (IST): almost 12 hourssince we had started our journey from Dubai.

As soon as we reached, the hotel staff disin-fected our luggage. We were taken to our roomquickly, where we removed our masks, took abath, and felt like we were in paradise. It wasalmost after 13 hours now, when we had the sec-ond meal of our day. It truly was pure bliss tofinally see this journey come to an end successful-ly, and we were grateful that we made it safe.

To conclude, I would like to preface by sayingthat travelling anywhere during this pandemic isobviously not an easy thing to do. Ranging fromthe various documents needed to be kept in orderprior to the journey, to all the procedures and pos-sible mishaps that could occur at the airport, trav-elling feels like a daunting mission nowadays.However, throughout this experience, I would liketo mention that the airports were well equippedand very cooperative, and all essential measureswere taken to ensure that all passengers travel safe-ly with the least amount of hassle possible.

The writer is a lawyer by profession and philan-thropist by heart

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You step out in Mumbai andhumanity is at your feet,almost all revealed. There ismuch squalour with someglitz. There is chaos and also

the calm of the sea. You either move orget pushed down by the crowds. Peopleand constructed spaces in this city flowlike opium, filling up your senses. I havefound maximum city Mumbai to be asoverwhelming as life can get. It is thesecrowds and deeply socialised nature ofthe city that eventually played a strongrole in augmenting the reproductiveratio of Covid-19 here leading to winningthe race in India that no one wants to win— of having the most number of activeCovid-19 cases until recently.

Mumbai could have been more pre-pared. In a note authored by ProfessorDhaval Monani and myself, that wesubmitted to the Prime Minister’s Officeon April 2, 2020, we had proposed thesetting up of temporary hospitals with-in vacant community halls, marriagehalls, office spaces. But it was not untilend of April that BMC decided to takeover vacant spaces to create temporaryhospitals for Covid-19 patients and forquarantining those at risk. BMC’s searchalso included the wrong spaces — maid-aans, warehouses — which are not onlyexpensive to convert in to Covid-19recovery facilities, but also dusty andtherefore detrimental to the condition ofthe patients. For setting up facilities atscale, we needed to keep the per-bed costas low as possible. Instead, most of thefacilities used expensive steel beds andequipment that was not needed.

Never waste a good crisis — I wasdismayed to see this as the motto of sev-eral government officials to make aquick buck in procurement, of politicianswho would be more interested in presscoverage rather than getting any workdone, and people in the private sectorwho overnight became dealers of testingkits at huge margins. I also watched (furi-ously) how CSR was at times used as agarb for profiteering off the crisis. Myteam’s efforts come free of cost. However,for-profit ventures for social good are alsoexcellent as this builds in incentives to dogood so that it is sustainable — but whendoing so the model needs to be transpar-ent. Mumbai, a city where dreams arerealised as fast as they are crushed, waseven during a pandemic using its elbowsto get ahead in the crowd.

Large private sector companies havenot stepped up. While elsewhere incities like Pune, companies like Wipro setup temporary hospitals within their

office buildings or the Serum Institute ofIndia who is collaborating with univer-sities to create a vaccine, where are thecorporate giants of Mumbai? CSR is notenough, but even that has been inade-quately spent to help Mumbai cope withthe virus.

The city has woken up to ran-domised testing far too late. This weekthe BMC has removed the earlier orderfor the need of prescription to get aCovid-19 test and has introduced a newrule that does not require a prescription.People can now get a test done at any hos-pital. Right from the start of the spreadof the pandemic, there should havebeen no need to make it so darned dif-ficult to get tested! After the initial hic-

cups, Covid-19 tests were available inabundance. Numerous experts criedhoarse advising the government to maketesting easier, but it was to no avail. Panicearly, Mumbai.

Communications from the govern-ment has been confusing and damaging.At first, there was fear induced amongstpeople against Covid-19 which led tosevere stigmatisation against patients.And then economic interests took overthe concern for health, which suddenlymade it alright for certain sectors to openup. Ironically, now as numbers of activecases of the Coronavirus soar, it has neverbeen easier during this pandemic to beout and about in the city. There has beenextreme short-sightedness on the part of

the government, in at first believing thatsocial distancing would work in a coun-try where 1 of 6 urban dwellers live inslum zones. In most cases — and moreso in a health disaster — we can not copy-paste solutions that have worked for othercountries on to the unique context inIndia. Economy and health needs to bebalanced, but it should have been bal-anced very differently than done. Mumbaicould have adopted different policies indifferent districts depending on the localconditions. The epidemic could have beencontained in some areas where it wasrampant, and certain unaffected dis-tricts could have been opened up.

There is hope. We have role modelswho have led the fight against the pan-

demic in India. These leaders haveemerged because of their genuine inter-est in helping people out, their intellect,and by being proactive.

For example, I was introduced toAmin Patel when we were making ourfirst Covid-19 quarantine centre inMumbai in early May 2020. Those werethe days when my team at my companySustain Labs and at the Anant Centre forSustainability a think-teach-do tank thatI established two years ago, was manu-facturing equipment and moving trucksacross India amidst a complete nationwide lockdown. Amin is a three termMLA from the Mumbadevi constituen-cy in Mumbai, but his concern was forall of Mumbai. He set up a 200 oxygencylinder bank for everyone to use inMumbai — this is refreshing as often thechallenge for democracy is populism, andthat too combined with a narrow visionof pleasing the constituency for votes.

When Covid struck, Amin’s firstreaction was to send ration to theKamthipura area where overnight sexworkers saw their incomes disappear dueto social distancing rules in place. Heonce told me, “Even if one family any-where in Mumbai needs ration I send atempo with food.” His sleep routine ishighly unrecommended — he sleeps at1 am; is awake from 3.30 am to 6 amanswering distress calls that he wouldhave received while asleep and takingaction on them; then he goes back tosleep from 6 am until 8 am.

While setting up the Covid-19 recov-ery facility with the help of Amin, one ofthe partners in the project had a demandfor 10% of project cost as managementfee to which Amin’s reaction is one thatI will never forget. He was appalled at thedemand and said, “10% of project costcan make 20 beds and save 20 lives everyfortnight! We will refuse to pay that!” Itis only too common for government offi-cials and politicians to be in a hurry toget things done just to look good to thehigher ups and the voters.

Why is it so difficult to help the gov-ernment in India? This could well be thetitle of my next book as there is so muchto reflect upon and write about this. Inthe meantime, all power to those govern-ment representatives on the frontline whoare genuinely and effectively fighting forthe rest of us.

The writer is CEO of Sustain Labsand Adjunct Professor at SciencesPo

Paris. She is also a columnist andauthor of the 2019 bestseller IndianInstincts — essays on freedom and

equality in India

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ntimes ofCOVID-19and the lock-down, most peoplehave been staying indoors

and levels of activity havedecreased significantly. Workfrom home has become the newnorm and we may see more of iteven if the COVID-19 pandemicresolves.

For online classes, studentshave to sit for long hours in frontof laptops or mobiles, oftenmaintaining an incorrect postureon the bed rather than using atable and chair. Sitting at the deskor on the sofa watching TV for along time weakens and tightensmuscles, stiffening the back,shoulders and neck.

Dr Kaushal Malhan, DirectorOrthopaedics and JointReplacement surgeon at FortisHospital Mulund points out: “Asurvey conducted at UK’sInstitute for Employment Studies(IES) found that more than halfof those who responded, saidthey were experiencing new neck,shoulder or back pain.Maintaining a healthy diet andexercise plummeted over a fort-night since, with 60 percent say-ing they are exercising less, athird eating less healthily and 20percent saying they were con-suming more alcohol. Almosttwo-thirds (64 percent) of the 500respondents said they were sleep-ing less, while 48 percent saidtheir new working life involvedincreased and irregular hours.”

Dr Malhan notes the commoncauses of muscle pain we seenowadays include:

Muscle cramps: Muscle crampis a sudden contraction of one ormore muscles. This can beintense and sometimes even leadto muscle injury. Sitting for longhours in a particular posture canlead to muscle cramps along theupper back, shoulder blade andcalf muscles. These can be treatedby gentle stretching exercises,massage, hot fomentation and

goodhydration.

Musclestrains: Musclestrains are injuries dueto sudden strenuous contrac-tion of the muscles or a vigoroussudden stretching of the muscleleading to damaged muscle fibres.These are often seen due to unac-customed or incorrectly doneexercises. People are adoptingnew exercises by watching videoswithout proper supervision andpreparation, resulting in muscleinjury. These are treated by rest,ice fomentation, splintage andanti-inflammatory medications.

Overuse injuries: Overuseinjuries or repetitive stressinjuries are due to a small strainbeing applied very frequently.This happens due to bad posturewith excessive repetitive pressureon a particular muscle orindulging in a particular motionfrequently thus causing excessivelocalised muscle strain. An exam-ple is that of a tennis elbow whenan individual may develop per-sistent pain along theouter side of theelbow becauseof some sim-ple repetitiveactivity suchas doinghouseholdchores likelifting, repeti-tive wrist exten-sion, etc. To treat,one needs to rest thepart, and couple itwith UltrasonicTherapy with aPhysiotherapist and anti-inflammatory medicine.

It is most important to cor-rect what you are doing wrong

andperformthe repetitiveactivities in a man-ner which will not bestrenuous for the muscle.This can be done by correct posi-tion of joints e.g. keeping a softsupport under the wrist joint soas to reduce the extension at thewrist while typing. Correct pos-ture at the work station withelbows rested and back supportedwill reduce the risk of neck andshoulder pain.

Muscle pain due to arthritis inadjacent joints: A number ofpatients with knee arthritis whosemobility levels have decreased aresuffering from pain, not just inthe knee joint but also the mus-

cles of the thigh and thecalf.

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ost womenknow the signsof menopausewhich happensaround the ageof 50. But there

is another phe-nomenon

calledperi-

menopause which manyare unaware of and tend toignore.

Perimenopause - Theterm means "aroundmenopause", is a timewhen your hormonesundergo changes in prepa-ration of menopause,points out Dr Asha Baxi,Consultant Obstetrician &Gynaecologist,

Motherhood Hospital.Here, the level

of estrogen(the

female hormone) falls andwomen may also begin tohave cycles where they donot ovulate (release anegg). Most women begintheir perimenopause peri-od at some point aftertheir mid-40s. Many couldalso skip this stage entirelyand directly experiencemenopause. But there arealso cases when peri-menopause could hit youas early as in your mid-30s, she adds.

The symptoms of peri-menopause can be subtle,they come on graduallyand many women fail

either to notice it orjust tolerate the

changes. Thisphenom-

enon

is generally ignored bymost people. But it is veryimportant that wheneveryou experience changes inyour menstrual cycle thatinterfere with your day today life and well-being thatyou go see a doctor asthese symptoms may indi-cate perimenopause, DrBaxi says. If experienced atan early age like in your30s, perimenopause willcause problems in conceiv-ing and can cause infertili-ty.

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Periods are irregular:The length of timebetween periods will startto vary as a woman startsexperiencing peri-menopause. Ovulation

becomes irregular andyou may have a

space of 60days or

more

between periods.Hot flushes & night

sweating: You may sud-denly feel feverish duringperimenopause. Hot flash-es may also be accompa-nied by redness of skinand excessive sweating.Your sleep patterns arealso likely to be affected.

Fertility decreased: Dueto irregular ovulation, youmay experience problemsin conceiving. The levels ofestrogen, progesterone andother essential hormonesdecrease during peri-menopause. The quality ofthe egg decreases leadingto infertility.

Mood swings: Due tochange in sleeping patternsand hot flashes, womentend to get irritable anddepressed during peri-menopause.

Problems related to theVagina and the bladder:Low levels of estrogen willlead to loss of lubricationand elasticity in the vagi-na. Due to this intercoursemay be painful. Libido

also decreases.Diminishing

estrogen lev-els will

make women more sus-ceptible to urinary andvaginal infections.

Decrease in Bone Mass:Estrogen is the hormonethat protects the bones inwomen. During peri-menopause, as estrogenlevels fall leading to boneloss. This also makeswomen more vulnerable toosteoporosis. This is a dis-ease where your bonesbecome so brittle that asimple fall or even mildbending/stretching maylead to fractures.

When should you see adoctor?

She replies: Irregularperiods are quite commondue to multiple reasonsand most often than notwomen tend to generallyignore them. However, it isimportant to pay attentionif this becomes a regularoccurrence and schedulean appointment when oneexperiences the belowsymptoms:

Extremely heavy bleeding or if the

bleeding has clotsSpotting between

periodsBleeding last for more

than 7 daysSpotting after

intercoursePainful bleeding

or painful intercourse

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It is very important to consult a gynaecologist to plan thecourse of medication. It is very easy to ignore mild symptoms likeirregular periods or mood swings but remember these may allindicate underlying perimenopause. Detecting perimenopauseand offering treatment in time provide a window of opportunityfor long term benefits in conditions like protection against cardio-vascular disease or osteoporosis. Talk to your doctor about theoptions available, check for risks and benefits and then make aninformed decision.

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��.�$$��& ��"�)))y entire childhood was spent inChallagariga village in Warangal district.I studied till Class X in that village. Thereused to be a temple near my home wherebhajan programmes were held everyMonday. I used to sing there during my

childhood. I also used to read a lot of novels in thelibrary near my house. That’s how I developed an inter-est towards music, poetry and writing, although noone from my family was into the seven arts. My vil-lage laid the foundation stone for my career, I can say.

��"��$�)))I used to be a notorious as a child. I used to seek

newness in everything. I was different from other chil-dren of my age. I always wanted to do something dif-ferent from others and think unique. I didn’t want tofollow the path everyone else treads. Sometimes,my experiments would turn a disaster and I usedto get a good thrashing from my parents. Not justmusic, I used to take part in everything, includ-ing sports. My creativity and unique thoughts Ihave had since childhood, have helped me in mycareer in the cinema industry. I put all my thoughtsin the form of lyrics.

��!�!��)))I used to run a handwritten newspaper named

‘Vartha Vahini’ during my school days. I used towrite random news articles about what’s happen-ing in the village. My mother, K Madanamma,would go to farm work and my father, KNarsaiah, would go to school. When theyreturned home, I used to hear their conversationsabout what is happening around me and I wouldpen them down as either a news article or a poem,and drop the paper in the library of the village.All the elders in my village would first read mypaper before other established ones.

:��$��" ��"�"��$�)))

One day I was out of fresh news. I didn’t knowwhat to do. There used to be a stamp inmy house that had a cow and calfon it. When I tried to stampit on my newspaper towrite a poem onthem, because of thewrong way I did it,the cow and thecalf looked mal-n o u r i s h e d .Immediately, Igot a differentnews angle andwrote a story head-lined “PasuvulaVaidyashala Vunna Kuda,Bakka Chikkina Avu Dheenagaadha” (The story of a malnourished cow, despite hav-ing veterinary hospital in the village). The elders in thevillage read the article and were enjoying what I hadwritten. The doctor of the veterinary hospital too waspresent while they were reading the article. The elderstried to tease the doctor with the headline I gave. Thedoctor felt bad and complained to my father after hereturned from school.

My father beat me up and scolded me for writingsuch an article. I was in Class 6 or 7 then. The nextday, I wrote another story, “Due to some unforeseenreasons, I’m shutting down this newspaper.Apologies.” My tryst with newspapers ended there.

:��"��$ ��"��$��"�.�)))

I come from a lower middle class family. When I

used to do all kinds of naughty stuff, my mom wouldprotect me from my father and she would support me,saying I was too young to know what is correct andwhat’s not. They didn’t know much about films. Writingfor films was not considered well-paying, accordingto them. For them, becoming an engineer or a doc-tor was considered as a proper and cushy job. I ini-tially couldn’t tell them that I wanted to write for films.They used to think the heroes used to write the lyricsfor their films. They had no idea about the departmentthat writes songs, dialogues etc for any film.

�" ��"��!��"��)))Back then there were no cell phones, and there was

no telephone too in my village. The onlycommunication wasthrough let-

ters.When I wrote

my first song, I wrote a let-ter to my parents, saying thatI have written this song.They didn’t take me seri-ously. I decided not togo home until I provedmyself. One day, anarticle on me was pub-lished in Sitara maga-zine. One of the shop-keepers in my neighbour-ing village handed over themagazine to my father, sayingyour son’s photo appeared in it. Myfather felt very happy about what I have achieved andhe immediately reached out to me and expressed hishappiness. That is when I went to my village and metmy parents after more than a year.

��.�� )))When I was doing my engineering, I used to look

for opportunities in films. I was good in studies too.In my fourth year of engineering I got my first oppor-tunity to write for a film Taj Mahal. I gave my finalyear exams and wrote for the film at the same time.The cinema was a success and I got an engineeringdegree too. I was in a dilemma over the choice at hand.My friends suggested that I choose films as I got anopportunity there. I have wanted to write for filmssince childhood. So I set a year’s deadline for myselfto test my fate in the industry. I told myself that if Idid not succeed, I would return and appear for AEposts. I soon got an opportunity to write for PelliSandadi, which too was a huge hit and I started receiv-ing offers on a regular basis. I didn’t even realise whenthe years passed by.

:��"��.��)))

During my engineering days when I used to gofrom pillar to post, looking for opportunities in thefilm industry. I got turned down for various reasonsbefore I bagged my first job. Some turned me downbecause I was just an engineering student. Some sug-gested that I do MA Telugu literature, while a few oth-ers turned me down because I don’t have a musicalbackground and that I was too young. Finally, myfriend Srinath Anna, took me to some directors andwith his help I met director Muppalaneni Shiva garu

who launched me in the industry. I came tothe industry in 1995 and I have completed 25years here. I have done 840 films and writ-ten 3,400 songs so far.

:��5��"��)))Writing every song is like a yagna. I worked

for two years and wrote all songs for KomaramPuli. When the first set of cassettes were out,my name was not printed on it. I cried for twoto three days and was very upset. But when thesecond set of cassettes were released, the crewrectified the mistake and my name was print-ed. This is something I can never forget,because we all look for recognition.

��" ��$��")))My wife, Suchitra Chandrabose, is a chore-

ographer. I met her on a flight. We were work-ing on a film and were returning fromChennai. She happened to sit beside me in theflight and recognised me. She introduced her-self and appreciated my work and she said afew lines from my song she worked on. I wasvery impressed with it. Generally choreogra-phers speak about the beats in the song andnot the meaning, especially in depth. I felt shehad an artistic heart and really liked her. Ourfriendship turned into love and we have beenmarried for 21 years now. We are parents totwo beautiful kids, a son, Nanda Vanamali,and a daughter, Amrutha Varshini.

��""��$� � ��"��"��)))

When I was in the US, one day I was walk-ing towards the conference hall from my hotel

room. While I was on my way, many peoplegreeted me, but there was one guy who

touched my feet and left. I wasshocked and I stopped him andasked why he touched my feet.He said, “You are like aSwami Vivekananda in mylife. I was very upset aftermy visa was rejectedtwice. I wanted to giveup, but I heard yoursong “Chamataneeru chindaga...”and took someinspiration fromit and appliedfor the visaa g a i n .Fortunately,my visa wasapproved onthe thirdattempt. Ifit wasn’tfor yoursong, Iwouldn’t behere enjoy-ing all theluxuries.”

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