PNS n AMARAVATI

The State government is large-ly dependent on debts for pay-ment of salaries to staff. TheRevenue Department has bor-rowed around Rs 2,700 crorein November this year fromvarious sources. The gov-ernment is spendingmoney only on imple-mentation of'Navaratnalu', paymentof salaries and pensionsas well as on emergencyexpenditure. The govern-ment has been making optimaluse of the Special DrawingFacility (SDF) extended byRBI for States to draw Rs1,500 crore per month.

While the governmentneeds Rs 5,500 crore to meetits financial needs everymonth, in November it pro-cured half the amount throughSDF and Ways and Meansroute, the remainder amount

was met from therevenue earnedby it. While theCentre has per-mitted the State

government toborrow Rs 29,000

crore from April toDecember in 2019, the latterhas already mobilised Rs28,000 crore. The State govern-ment can mobilise the remain-ing Rs 1,000 crore throughloans. According to sources,the State government is doingits best not to exceed the bor-rowings prescribed by theCentre. As part of this exercise,the government is using the

Green Channel PD Account.This facility was not availableat the time of presentation ofVote-on-Account budget.Then the bills were paidthrough bank accounts.

Special Secretary of theFinance Department KVVSatyanarayana on Tuesdayissued a circular to HODs tomake payment of bills throughGreen Channel PD Account.The advantage of the system isthat all unused funds wouldcome under the control of theFinance Department whichcan allot the same to variousdepartments from time to timeas per need.

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RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

According to sources, the State government is doingits best not to exceed the borrowings prescribed bythe Centre. As part of this exercise, the government isusing the Green Channel PD Account

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated November 11, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Kartik& Shukla PakshaPanchangamTithi : Purnima 07.04 pmNakshatram: Bharini: 08:52 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 02:48 pm – 04:12 pmYamagandam: 09:11 am – 10:35 am

Varjyam: NIL

Gulika: 12:00 pm - 01:24 pmGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 03:45 pm - 05:27 pmAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:37 am - 12:22 pm

VIJAYAWADAWEATHERForecast: Isolated ThunderstormsTemp: 32/23Humidity: 89%Sunrise: 06.19Sunset: 05.40

18 INDIANS KILLED IN LPG TANKER BLAST IN SUDAN

CENTRAL SANSKRIT UNIVERSITIESBILL SOON: JAVADEKAR

CENTRE APPROVES GAS PIPELINEPROJECT FOR ANDHRAAMARAVATI: Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Rajya Sabha said that Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL)has entered into an agreement with thegovernment to supply cooking gas throughpipeline to nine lakh and 9,29,000 houses in threedistricts of North Andhra. The Union Minister saidthe Petroleum and Natural Gas RegulatoryAuthority (PNGRB) has the authority todevelop the City Gas Distribution Network(CGD) in designated areas.

KHARTOUM: At least 18 Indian workerswere killed, while many have beenseriously wounded in a major blast at aceramic factory in the Sudanese capitalKhartoum. India has set up anemergency hotline, while an Embassyrepresentative has rushed to the site.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankartweeted: "Have just received the tragic news of a major blast in aceramic factory "Saloomi" in Bahri of the capital Khartoum in Sudan.

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the CentralSanskrit Universities Bill and it will be be introduced in Parliament,Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said. ThreeSanskrit deemed to be universities will be convertedinto central universities, he added.The HRDMinistry has drafted a bill to convert the threeSanskrit institutions into central universities.Sanskrit scholars and academia had since long beendemanding grant of central university status to thethree Sanskrit institutions.

MOBILE PHONES BANNEDAROUND LORD AYYAPPA TEMPLETHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Use of mobile phones hasbeen banned around the area near the sanctumsanctorum of the Lord Ayyappa temple inSabarimala, official sources said on Wednesday.The decision was taken at a meeting of theTravancore Devaswom Board (TDB), whichadministers the hill shrine, here on Wednesdayin the backdrop of pictures of the highly securedsanctum sanctorum being circulated widely in thesocial media recently.

Pawan Kalyan signalsrealignment of AP politicsL VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

Jana Sena president PawanKalyan on Wednesday createda flutter in Andhra Pradesh pol-itics by stating that he is with theBJP and never distanced him-self from the saffron party.Pawan went on to say thatYSRCP should be indebted tohim for coming to power in APin Assembly elections in Maybecause he did not unite TDP-BJP-Jana Sena like he did in2014 and chose to contest inde-pendently.

Pawan clarified that he onlydiffered with BJP on the issueof BJP's refusal to grant specialstatus to AP and never severedties with BJP totally. Paw an ' scomments fuelled speculationsof possible realignment of polit-ical parties in AP to put up aunited Opposition fight againstruling YSRCP in the upcomingpolls.

The TDP too is sending feel-ers for quite some time now of

restoring ties with BJP againwhen TDP chief reportedlyregretted snapping ties withBJP before Assembly polls whileaddressing an internal party

meeting. Few TDP MPs too aremaking positive statements onModi and Amit Shah and meet-ing them frequently in Delhi.

"If Jana Sena repeated

alliance with BJP and TDP in2019, then Jagan would nothave become Chief Ministerand no way the YCP leaderscould become Ministers andMLAs now. Jagan would haveremained the main oppositionleader for the second consecu-tive term. The YCP would bestruggling for its existence bynow," Pawan remarked whileaddressing a press conferene inTirupati on Wednesday.

Pawan also showered prais-es on BJP national presidentand Union Home MinisterAmit Shah saying that politi-cians like Amit Shah are apt totackle present day politics.Pawan said, "I have respect forAmit Shah but YSRCP fearsAmit Shah'. Meanwhile, BJPnational spokesperson and MPGVL Narasimha Rao welcomedPawan's comments saying thatthe party is ready to work withany regional party which sup-port BJP's policies.

Continued on Page 3

Pawan’s comments fuelled speculations ofpossible realignment of political parties in AP to put up a united Opposition fight against rulingYSRCP in the local body polls

CM to open KIA Motorsplant in Anantapur todayThe new facility will provide employment to around 10K people

PNS n AMARAVATI

Anantapur district is all to getan industrial boost as ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy will inaugurate themanufacturing unit of KIAMotors India at Erramanchivillage in the district onThursday. The Chief Ministerhas already made it clear toextend single-window clear-ance for industries and is par-ticular on inviting industries inbackward areas which willgenerate economic activity.

In tune with the govern-ment's policy of developingbackward areas with industri-alisation and providing 75%reservation for locals in jobs,the KIA Project will generateemployment for 4,000 perma-nent employees and 7,000 tem-porary employees with 100%employment to local people forits unskilled labour require-ment.

Continuing the State policyof preparing a competentworkforce to suit the needs ofthe industry, the Korean Motormanufacturing unit will part-ner with the state in upgradingthe skills of the workforce

from locals to suit the require-ments of industries. KIA, itsvendors and affiliates, haveemployed 12,835 workers ofwhom 10,887 hail from theState.

Of them, 7,029 are fromAnantapur district. With theinitiative of the government,

the region from Anantapur toBengaluru is bound to devel-op as an economic hub. TheState government is settingup Skill Development Centresin Engineering Colleges at allthe 25 Parliamentary con-stituencies and is setting up aSkill Development Universitywhich will be the umbrella forthe centres.

The Centres of Excellencewill impart training to thestudents in tune with thechanging times and require-ments of industries and willbring in a government-acade-mic-industry interface formutual benefit.

Continued on Page 3

l Says he is with BJP, never distanced from BJP totallyl Friends-turned-foes (TDP, BJP, Janasena) inching closer to take on YSRCP

Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan addressing a press conference at Tirupati

PNS n AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh DeputyChief Minister Pushpa Srivaniand Home MinisterMekathoti Sucharitha lam-basted Jana Sena presidentPawan Kalyan for his com-ments on punishing culpritsof Disha and sought an apol-ogy from him for the deroga-tory remarks.

Speaking to media here onWednesday, the Ministers saidthat the Jana Sena chief owesan apology to the women forhis derogatory comments thathurt sentiments of women orwithdraw his comments.Pawan Kalyan stating thatthe rapists in the Disha caseshould be given two lasheswith the cane is not correct.

'Will the offences be con-trolled if they are punishedwith two whacks with acane?' they questioned. Itwas evident that Pawan

Kalyan lacks respect towardswomen and he should speakwith responsibility. Whilenation-wide protests arebeing held on Disha's issue,how can Pawan Kalyanmake such comments? theysaid adding that what kindof protection can such aman provide to women withsuch an attitude.

Continued on Page 3

‘Pawan owes anapology to women’

Government relies on loansto keep schemes alive

After 20 yrs, Govt revisesInsurance scheme for cops PNS n AMARAVATI

The State government hasrevised the group insurancescheme for police personnelafter 20 years and increasedthe policy amount. At areview meeting onWednesday, the govern-ment decided toincrease thegroup insuranceamount for con-stables from Rs13 lakh to Rs 20lakh, for Sub-Inspectors andInspectors, theamount has beenhiked to Rs 35 lakh, forDeputy Superintendents ofPolice (DSPs) and highercadre officials the amount hasbeen increased to Rs 45 lakh.

The State government haspaid Rs 4.74 crore to aninsurance company for thepurpose. The amount to bepaid for unnatural/accidentaldeaths was increased to Rs 30

lakh and it was raised to Rs40 lakh for deaths in terror-ist attacks. As many as 64,719police personnel will be cov-ered under the scheme.

Home Minister MekathotiSucharitha, DGP Gautam

Sawang and AdditionalDG Ravishankar

Iyengar and theI n s u r a n c ecompany offi-cials were alsopresent at the

review meet-ing. The PoliceO f f i c e r s '

A s s o c i a t i o nthanked Chief

Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy for

the government's interest inthe welfare of police families.

They said the weekly offfor police personnel hasbrought happiness to 64,000police families and acciden-tal policy, police group insur-ance has strengthened theirbelief.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onWednesday granted bail toCongress leader PChidambaram in a moneylaundering case related to INXMedia and directed that hecould not leave the countrywithout its prior permissionnor speak to the media.

Chidambaram, who hasbeen in custody for 105 days,should neither try to influ-ence witnesses nor tamperwith evidence, the court saidwhile setting aside the DelhiHigh Court November 15verdict denying the formerUnion finance minister bail

A three-judge bench, head-ed by Justice R Banumathi,granted the relief to the 74-year-old Congress leader on apersonal bond of Rs 2 lakh

with two sureties of the likeamount. The bench, alsocomprising Justices A SBopanna and Hrishikesh Roy,restrained Chidambaramfrom giving any press inter-view or making any state-ments with regard to the case

The top court, which

observed that economicoffences are grave in nature,said "grant of bail is rule andrefusal is exception"

Chidambaram has beencustody since August 21 whenhe was arrested by the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI)in the INX Media corruptioncase. On October 16, theEnforcement Directoratearrested him in the money-laundering case. Six days later,on October 22, the apex courtgranted him bail in the caselodged by the CBI.

The bench said its orderwould not have any bearingon other accused in the caseand Chidambaram wouldhave to join further investiga-tions if asked by the probeagency.

Continued on Page 3

Centre asks states to halt online drug salesPNS n NEW DELHI

India's drugs regulator hasasked all states to enforce acourt directive prohibitingonline medicine sales, a seniorgovernment official said onWednesday, raising industryconcerns it could disrupt someonline businesses.

India is yet to finalize regu-lations for online drug sales, ore-pharmacies, but the growth ofseveral online sellers such asMedlife, Netmeds, Temasek-backed PharmEasy and SequoiaCapital-backed 1mg has threat-ened traditional drug-storebusinesses. The Delhi HighCourt in December last yearsaid the government mustensure online sales are prohib-ited for the time being, as itheard a petition from a doctorwho alleged unregulated onlinesales could lead to abuse ofmedicines. K. Bangarurajan, a

senior official at the CentralDrugs Standard ControlOrganisation (CDSCO), saidthe federal agency had askedstates earlier this year to com-ply with the court's order, anda reminder had now beenissued to all authorities. "Statedrug controllers are the regulat-

ing authority, they have toimplement this ... and if anyoneis dealing (in online sales) theyneed to take action,"Bangarurajan said.

The CDSCO's directive wassent on Nov. 28 to all states,according to a copy seen byReuters. It was not immediate-

ly clear what subsequent actionstates would take. SreenidhiSrinivasan, a senior associate atlaw firm Ikigai Law, said theDelhi court order had raisedconcerns in the industry andany bans by state drug con-trollers could hurt online sell-ers. Trader groups have protest-ed for years against e-pharma-cies, saying they challenge theirbusinesses and could allowmedicines to be abused by beingsold without proper verification.

Continued on Page 3

FIROZABAD: A 20-year-old girl was gangraped byfour men and thrown at asecluded spot in UttarPradesh's Firozabad district,police said on Wednesday.

The girl, hailing fromneighbouring Agra, was onher way to a coaching centresituated under the HariParvat police station area.

The accused told the vic-tim that her brother had metwith an accident and askedher to accompany them intheir car. They then took herto Atamadpur where she wasgangraped, SP, City PrabalPratap Singh said.

They later threw her at asecluded spot near Galib vil-lage under the Pachokharapolice station area and fled,police said, adding that onregaining consciousness thevictim approached the police.

Girl gangrapedby four men inUP's Firozabad

We locatedcrashed Vikramlander first:ISRO chiefJAIPUR: Indian SpaceResearch OrganisationChairman K. Sivan has saidthat its own orbiter had locat-ed the crashed Vikram landeron the lunar surface.However, "ISRO will notrefute the claims made by theNASA," he said, speaking tomedia on the sidelines of thesixth convocation of theCentral university ofRajasthan in Ajmer onTuesday.

"You can see on our web-site that we have alreadyidentified the crashed lander,however, "We don't want torefute the claims made byNASA," he added further.

Sivan was speaking withreference to NASA's claimmade on twitter saying: "The#Chandrayaan2 Vikram lan-der has been found by our@NASAMoon mission, theLunar ReconnaissanceOrbiter. See the first mosaicof the impact site."

SC grants bail to ChidambaramINX MEDIA MONEY LAUNDERING CASE

The CDSCO's directivewas sent on Nov 28 toall states, according to a copy seen by Reuters.It was not immediatelyclear what subsequentaction states would take

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VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 5, 2019 vijayawada 02

‘Ensure comprehensive reply to every question in House’PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chairman of AP LegislativeCouncil Mohammad AhmadSharif has directed the ChiefSecretary and the Secretariesof various departments tooffer prompt reply to ques-tions asked by members of theAP Legislative Assembly andAP Legislative Council.

He was speaking at a meet-ing organised to review pend-ing issues in the Assembly andCouncil attended by AssemblySpeaker Tammineni Sitaramin the Council Hall.

Sharif said so far replieswere given to only 85 of the348 questions asked in theLegislative Council. Statingthat 34 sessions were held sofar, he said the 35th sessionwould be held soon.

Replies to 2,206 starredand 40 unstarred questionsasked in the sessions held tilldate are yet to be filed. Theanswers given to certain ques-tions are incomplete, he said

and asked the Secretaries toensure that comprehensivereplies are filed to every ques-tion.

The Chairman of theCouncil said several com-plaints were being received onprotocol violations and calledupon the Secretaries to takeimmediate action in this

regard. Special officers shouldbe appointed to solve variousissues related to LegislativeCouncil or Legislat iveAssembly.

Sharif directed the ChiefSecretary to issue instructionsto Secretaries and Collectorsto respond when AssemblySpeaker, Deputy Speaker,

Council chairman or DeputyChairman calls them over thephone to seek clarification oncertain issues.

Assembly SpeakerTammineni Sitaram said theAssembly session would beheld from December 9 andobserved that the people'sconfidence in the government

is dependent on how well thesession is conducted. Heappealed to Secretaries of var-ious departments to submitwritten replies to issues that donot come up for discussionduring the session. "Replies areyet to be given to severalstarred and unstarred ques-tions asked during the last ses-sion.

Answers for 368 starredand unstarred questions, 14questions asked under RuleNo. 51 and 6 under Rule No.344 are yet to be filed," he saidand added that about 60 ques-tions asked during the ZeroHour are yet to be answered.

Chief Secretary NeelamSawhney said steps would betaken to see that replies arefiled to all questions. A reviewmeeting would be held withSecretaries of all departmentssoon in this regard. AssemblySecretary PBalakrishnamacharya andSecretaries of various depart-ments were present.

Chairman of AP Legislative Council Mohammad Ahmad Sharif at a meeting with secretaries of various departments

IANS n SYDNEY

Parents, take a note.Researchers have found thatexcessive use of social media,particularly platforms with astrong focus on image postingand viewing such as Snapchatand Instagram, is associatedwith eating disorder in youngadolescents. For the study,published in the InternationalJournal of Eating Disorders,researchers examined data on996 grade 7 and 8 adolescents.

"While a range of studieshave focused on the impact ofsocial media on body image,this is the first to examine therelationship between specificsocial media platforms anddisordered eating behavioursand thoughts," said study leadauthor Simon Wilksch fromFlinders University in

Australia. Also, most otherstudies had focused on olderadolescents or young-adultwomen, he said. The study onassociations between disor-dered eating and social mediause among young adolescentgirls and boys suggested thatmuch more needed to be done

to increase resilience in youngpeople to become less adverse-ly impacted by social mediapressures, Wilksch added.

During the study, theresearch team found behav-iours related to disordered eat-ing were reported by 51.7 percent of girls and 45 per cent of

boys, with strict exercise andmeal skipping being the mostcommon. Of these, 75.4 percent girls and 69.9 per centboys had at least one socialmedia account, and Instagramwas the most common.

According to the study,greater number of social media

accounts and greater timespent on them were associatedwith a higher likelihood of dis-ordered eating, thoughts andbehaviours. The researchersare launching an Australia-wide trial of the Media SmartOnline programme designed tocombat such pressures.

Social media use linked to eating disorder in children

PNS n NEW DELHI

At a time when an enragedIndia is demanding 'capitalpunishment' for those whoraped and murdered a 25-year-old veterinarian inHyderabad, a new book retellsthe stories of 11 high-profilecriminal cases that culminat-ed in a death sentence.

'Hang till Death', written byadvocate Prateek Jain, delvesdeeper into the history ofdeath penalty in India beforetaking the readers throughdetailed accounts of convictsand the crimes they commit-ted to face the harshest pun-ishment. It begins with the1948 case of NathuramVinayak Godse, who assassi-nated Mahatma Gandhi, alongwith co-conspirator NarayanApte, and covers all the casestill the most recent one onYakub Abdul Razak Memon,who was executed by hangingon 30 July, 2015 in Nagpur jailfor his involvement in the1993 Bombay bombings.

"Each story is meticulous-ly researched and traced fromthe beginning, including factswhich have never beenrevealed, and with the perpe-trator's circumstances andmotivations analysed," pub-lishers Bloomsbury said in astatement. The cases narrat-ed chronologically in thebook include stories of SuchaBassi, Baldev Singh andNahar Singh, who assassi-nated Punjab's former ChiefMinister Pratap Singh Karion;Ajmal Kasab, who was behindthe 26/11 terror attack inMumbai; Afzal Guru, convict-ed for 2001 Parliament attackand Dhananjoy Chatterjee,

charged with the rape andmurder of 14-year-old HetalParekh.

According to the author,the book also answers somepertinent questions on capi-tal punishment -- be it aboutthe convict, the crime or thelegal system of India. "Justicemay be delayed, but it willnever be denied, irrespectiveof what obstacles lie in thepath. These 11 stories provethis fact. The book is expect-ed to hit the stands onDecember 18.

‘HANG TILL DEATH'

Book narrates 11stories of capitalpunishment in India

SUMIT ONKA n VISAKHAPATNAM

Lammasingi is known fordrawing tourists for its singledigit temperature and breath-taking views. However, thelocals of Lammasingi, Tajanjiand few other areas inChintapalle Mandal in VizagAgency are not happy with thetourists visiting the area. Theyurged the tourists to keep theplaces clean by avoiding use ofplastic and dumping the emptyliquor bottles on the roads.

With the cold weather anddense fog conditions during thewinter season, tourists havebeen thronging to Lammasingi,Tajangi, Chintapalle and fewother places in Vizag Agencyfor past few weeks.

However, plastic glasses,plastic plates, empty liquor,

and water bottles and few oth-ers are found littered every-where at Lammasingi andTajanji and they are spoiling the

beauty of the spots and alsoaffecting the birds and animals,complained local residents.

"We are not against the vis-

itors but some are simplythrowing the waste on roadsand farm fields by creatingtroubles to others," said K

Ram, a youngster. FormerSarpanch of LammasingiPanchayat K Raghunath saidbroken liquor bottles, leftoverfood, plastic carry bags, glass-es, and few others are a com-mon sight from Lammasingi toTajanji areas during the winterseason as some youngstersunder the influence of spiritthrew the empty liquor bottlesand plastic waste on the rods,farm fields and few otherplaces.

The village volunteers havebeen playing a great role byappealing the visitors not to usethe plastic and threw the wastein the dustbins only. The vol-unteers are also organisingawareness drives with the sup-port of the locals to keep thesurroundings clean and mini-mize the usage of plastic,Raghunath said.

Compared to the previousyear, the inflow of the touristshas been increasing this year,thanks to some private agenciesand locals who have facilitatedcamping facilities in andaround Lammasingi. "We arealso expecting that the visitorsto avoid use of plastic and keepLammasingi and Tajangi areasby putting the waste in thedustbins," said Raju V, a resi-dent of Tajangi.

Ever since Lammasingi orLambasingi hamlet underChintapalle Mandal in VizagAgency hit the headlineswhen the locals claimed thatLammasingi is the coolestarea in Andhra Pradesh dur-ing the winter, has been wit-nessing huge rush of touristsfrom Vizag city and also partsof Andhra Pradesh,Telangana.

Plastic menace irks Lammasingi localsLOCALS URGE TOURISTS TO KEEP LOCALE CLEAN BY AVOIDING USE OF PLASTIC AND DUMPING OF LIQUOR BOTTLES

PNS n CHENNAI

Were they really the debris ofIndian moon lander Vikram asannounced by the US spaceagency on Tuesday, wondereda senior official of the Indianspace agency. Interestingly, theIndian space agency IndianSpace Research Organisation(ISRO) is maintaining a soundsilence on the matter as thereis no mention of the findingsof NASA on its website or onits social media sites.

Releasing images of thelunar surface taken by itsLunar Reconnaissance OrbiterCamera (LROC), the US spaceagency National Aeronauticsand Space Administration(NASA) confirmed that thedebris of Vikram have beenfound. The NASA had credit-ed a Chennai based softwareprofessional ShanmugaSubramanian for positive iden-tification of Vikram's debris.Meanwhile, Tapan Misra,Senior Advisor at ISRO study-ing the images released by theUS space agency said: "TodayNASA released LRO images ofChandrayan2 crash landingsite. Very interesting images.Changed many conventionalideas, I had in my mind."

He said Vikram with par-tially burnt fuel must have hada mass of 700-800 kg (originalweight was 1,471 kg), similarto that of a sedan car or a smallaircraft. And as per ISROdata, it was travelling at aspeed of 534 km per hour,speed of a jet aircraft. "Withthis impact like jet crash onlunar regolith, a very fine dustof 0.5 m to 5-6 m thick cover-

ing of lunar surface, I expect-ed a great upheaval in the firstimpact site, spreading around10 m or more across." "Almostlike a small crater or dent. Infact, the dust or debris couldjump up much more than onthe earth, as lunar gravity isone sixth of that of the earth.But, surprisingly not a singlechange in dent one can see,except local brightness varia-tion," Misra said.

Citing the unspent fuel onthe lander, Misra expectedsome dark patches of burntsigns on the lunar surface as thefuel could have spilt on impactand burnt for a while sinceboth -- fuel and oxidizer -- werepresent. "But nothing like thisis seen. Also, I expected somedebris left behind at the firstimpact site. But, I could seenone," Misra pointed out.

On the debris front, Misraalso made another interestingpoint saying all the debristended to get strewn, domi-nantly along a linear patchinstead of getting strewn allaround, considering random-ness in rebounding of brokenpieces after the first crash."During first impact at highspeed, lander would have gotcompressed and broken. Thestored energy because of com-pression would have gotreleased next, by throwingaway the broken pieces oflander in different arbitrarydirections." "Further all space-craft components and struc-ture elements are black paint-ed. But looks like all the debrisidentified are shiny. I thoughtthey should appear dark,"Misra said.

‘Were they debrisof Indian moonlander Vikram?'

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Prakasam DistrictSuperintendent of PoliceSiddharth Kaushal haslaunched the 'Abhay Vehicles'scheme in the district onWednesday. Under thescheme, four cars were allot-ted to Ongole Sub-division,two to Chirala Sub-divisionand one each to Kandukur andMarkapur sub-divisions. The

vehicles will be made availablefor women from 9 am to 5 am.

The Superintendent ofPolice has called upon womenand girls to make use of thesevehicles in protecting them-selves. Women should dial100 when they perceive anythreat to their safety wherev-er they are. "Once they dial100, the 'Abhay vehicles' willimmediately reach them tocome to their help."

Prakasam SP launches‘Abhay vehicles'

Online sale oftickets forIndia-WI ODIfrom tomorrowPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The online sale of tickets forthe second One DayInternat ional matchbetween India and WestIndies to be held onDecember 18 at Dr. YSRACA-VD CA CricketStadium, Visakhapatnam,wil l be opened onDecember 6. According toa press release issued by theAndhra Cricket Association(ACA) M/s EventsNow arethe authorised ticketingagency for the AndhraCricket Association. Thetickets will be available forsa le onl ine atwww.eventsnow.com. Theyare priced at Rs 500, Rs1,200, Rs 1,600, Rs 2,000, Rs4,000 and Rs 5,000, thepress release said. Book delves

deeper into thehistory of deathpenalty beforetaking thereaders throughaccounts ofconvicts andcrimes theycommitted toface punishment

During the study,the researchteam foundbehavioursrelated todisorderedeating werereported by 51%of girls and 45 %of boys

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Senior leaderNeelakhanthampasses awayPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Former corporator andsenior Congress leader BNeelakhantham passedaway here on Wednesday.He was 61. Neelakhantamwas the first from the fish-erman community to getelected to the municipalcorporation under the may-orship of Sabbam Hari.

He was a close aide offormer Chief Minister YSRajasekhara Reddy. Soonafter YS RajasekharaReddy's death,Neelakhantam joinedYSRCP Congress but didnot last long due to the dif-ferences he had with otherlocal leaders.

He later joined TeluguDesam Party but neversought any nomination.Slowly he became inactiveand distanced himself fromthe politics and social activ-ities.

His health deterioratedand died on Wednesday.Political leaders of all theparties condoled his death.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Several members of'Gurudwara Sadh Sangat' areappealing the top leaders toend the group rivalry andrestore its past glory, peace andtranquility. Around 500 well-to-do families are members ofthe Gurudwara Sadh Sangat,located in the prime locality ofSeethammadhara in the city.Gurudwara Sadh Sangat wasregistered as Sadh Sangat Truston September 14, 1981.

Some ugly incidents tookplace this summer and evenpolice had to intervene to pre-vent any untoward incidents.Senior member of the SangathSattinder Sing Sethi, who wasthe secretary on two occasions,alleged that the elections heldlast three terms were not con-ducted as per the previouspractice of secret ballot whichincludes publication of mem-bers / voters list and submis-sion of annual financial report.

He said regarding this year'selections, a notice dated June25 2019 was put by the currentpresident Dishah Singh Anandin which he mentioned that allmembers will be called for andelection will be held by show

of hands. All this was done just5 days before the general bodymeeting and the process defiedany precedent.

"No list of eligible memberswas given nor was electioncommissioners appointed. OnJune 30, busloads of non-members were brought in andelections were held by show ofhands. Signatures of peoplepresent were taken on looseleafs of papers and no signa-tures were taken from peopleopposing him including meand many others who werepresent throughout," Sethi said.He also alleged that the fundsof the Sadh Sangat were beingmisused by the present man-agement which also tarnished

the image of the Sangat.By floating another trust in

the name of GurunanakCharitable Trust, Anand alsorerouted the funds. Anandrefused to answer these allega-tions when this correspon-dent tries to contact him.

He said some cases werepending in the court (notrelated to elections) and hencehe would not put his answerson record. But on phone hesaid all the three electionsheld since 2015 were free andfair and held by raising handsin the general body meeting."This precedent was set bySattinder Singh Sethi himselfin the past," Anand told thiscorrespondent on Wednesday.

Row over rivalry in Gurudwara escalates

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 5, 2019 vijayawada 03

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

With the growing demandfrom various people to increasethe number of flights atVisakhapatnam Airport, localMember of Parliament MVVSatyanarayana has urgedDefence Minister RajnathSingh to seek additional slotsfor commercial flights duringthe peak hours.

According to the MP, theUnion minister has respondedpositively for his request. Theairlines have been facing chal-lenges in introducing new flightsat the airport as the EasternNaval Command (ENC) oper-ates its flights at the same air-base. The flying slots were notavailable for new flights partic-ularly in the peak hours.

When asked about the same,ENC flag officer commanding-in-chief vice admiral AtulKumar Jain told reportersonboard INS Jalashwa onTuesday: "The airlines want theflying slots in evening hours.We have restrictions as this isa unidirectional airport. When

an aircraft comes here, it takessix minutes to clear and secondflight to land at the airport. So,a maximum of 10 flights canvisit in an hour."

"Around 30-40 flights comein an hour at other airports,where parallel tracks are avail-able. To improve the situation

in Vizag airport, the ENC pro-posed a new track apart fromthe one under construction bythe Airports Authority of India(AAI). We are seeking fundsfrom the government. It maytake 2-3 years to complete it,"he informed.

Currently, N 3 and N 4 taxitracks at the city airport arehandling 10 movements per anhour. The AAI had spent Rs 23crore on the construction of anadditional track N 5 to accom-modate new flights.

This is likely to open in acouple of months. However,the ENC has no plans to revivethe disused airstrip at Badangiin Vizianagaram district.Thank you for the informa-tion.Thanks for your informa-tion.Thank you for your mail.

Navy not ready to allow eveningslots for civil aircraft at Vizag airport

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Bomb burst, skydiversdescending over the venuefrom high altitude, helicopterflying past over the viewersclosely and landing over thenaval ships, rescue operationsand coveted operations andother brave activities were notfor faint hearted to view atRamakrishna Beach here onNavy Day.

The RK Beach reflected awar zone as well as a touristspot with thousands ofVizagites lining up the beach towatch the annual operationaldisplay of the Eastern NavalCommand's might of IndianNavy on Navy DayCelebrations (December 4).

The Eastern NavalCommand (ENC) has dis-played its maritime, air andonshore capabilities, puttingforth the might of its fleet.Chief Minister of Andhra

Pradesh YS Jaganmohan Reddywas the chief guest for the eventon Wednesday.

On display were IndianNavy's premier warships carry-ing Indian flags onboard andlaunching dinghies with navalcommandos who subsequent-

ly launched a mock attack onreaching the shore, reminiscingone of the September 26 attackon Mumbai and the IndianNavy's capability to repulsesuch an attack.

These commandos werejoined in the sea by a few more

orange-dressed naval com-mandos who were airdroppedby a naval helicopter, makingfor a visual feast to the thou-sands of spectators at thebeach. A huge blast close to theshore had drawn the attentionof the public, even as the

smoke emanating from theblast went up in a perfect ring.

The Surya Kiran team ofnaval pilots drew huge applausefrom the public for their aero-batics. They started off with themore normal moves movingon to the visual intersections of

the jets amidst the jubilant criesof the viewing public. Thencame the naval seacraft carry-ing tanks, which rolled outfrom the seacraft, and were fol-lowed up by a stream of sol-diers who again staged a tank-backed ̀ attack' on the ̀ enemy'.

Meanwhile, naval heli-copters flew over the beach ata low level, close to the view-ing public, leaving them inawe. The chief of ENC, Vice-Admiral Atul Kumar Jain saidon Navy Day, December 4,every year, the ENC was show-casing the Indian Navy's oper-ational capabilities and activ-ities that the Navy undertakeson the high seas with anOperational Demonstration.The Navy Day operationdemonstration gives an oppor-tunity for the public to have acloser glimpse at the multi-furious activities of the Navyand the challenges that navalpersonnel experience at sea.

Thousands turn up at RK Beach to behold Navy Day fete

22 DSPs promoted as ASPsPNS n AMARAVATI

The State government hasapproved the promotion of22 Deputy Superintendentsof Police (DSPs) as AssistantSuperintendents of Police(ASPs). The issue has beenpending since 2014. The

newly-promoted ASPsthanked Chief MinisterJaganmohan Reddy at thecamp of f ice here onWednesday. All eligible offi-cials from all categories wereapproved based on theirqualifications without anypartiality. They assured the

Chief Minister that theywould work with full dedica-tion to protect the people.Home Minister MekathotiSucharitha, DGP GautamSawang and Additional DGRavishankar Iyyenar werealso present at the campoffice.

Centre asks statesto halt...

Continued from Page 1

They also allege e-pharmaciesmake it easier to use one prescrip-tion to buy medicines multipletimes. Steep online discountshave also hit offline businesses,which according to industry esti-mates recorded $18.4 billion inretail sales in 2018-19. Salesgrowth has averaged only 8.2% ayear since 2015-2016, when salesgrew by 12.3%. "Online retailershave been offering discountsmore than our margins," saidYash Aggarwal, legal head ofSouth Chemists and DistributorsAssociation in New Delhi. Someare not worried, however. PradeepDadha, CEO and founder ofonline e-pharmacy Netmeds, saidhis firm was complying with allIndian laws and regulations andbusiness was continuing as usual."All our partner pharmacies alsohave the required licenses," Dadhasaid.

CM to open KIA Motorsplant inAnantapur todayContinued from Page 1

The aim is to redraftand review the curricu-lum and include job ori-entation in the academ-ic studies and preparethe youth with skills thatthe industry is lookingfor.

Industr ies and ITMinister MekapatiGoutham Reddy recent-ly announced that thegovernment has allocat-ed 120 acres of land to abus company cal ledVeera Vahan UdyogPrivate Limited and theyare going to manufacturebuses and their invest-ment is about Rs 1,000crore in the first phase inAnantapur district.

‘Pawan owesan apology towomen’

Continued from Page 1

"Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy wasdeeply saddened on Disha'sissue and has decided to takestringent action against pre-venting such incidents," saidand added that stringent lawswould be brought to curbviolence against women.

Meanwhile, in a separatepress conference at YSRCPcentral office Party, MLAKoramutla Srinivasulu said,"people were confused andsurprised by Pawan Kalyan'scomments on punishing rapevictims. On one hand, hementions his anger and run-ning home to fetch a sword tokill the unruly people whoragged his sister when he wasyoung and on the other hesays that the Disha culpritsshould be let off with twosmacks."

Pawan Kalyansignalsrealignmentof AP politics

Continued from Page 1

He said both TeluguDesam Party and Jana Senaleaders are making favor-able comments on BJP andBJP national leadership. Heoffered to help TeluguDesam Party and Jana Senaif they come forward with'merger proposal' with BJP.

But at the same time,Narasimha Rao cautionedPawan that it will be amistake if he thinks that hecan fight Jagan in the nameof BJP. GVL reminded howhe sought merger of JanaSena with BJP prior toAssembly p ol l s whichPawan refused.

Earlier, Pawan said thatadhering to values, JanaSena did not contest pollsin alliance with the BJP.

Continued from Page 1

Holding that the high courtwas justified in considering thegravity of offence while deny-ing Chidambaram bail, theapex court disapproved of themanner in which the highcourt had made observationswith regard to merits of thecase

It said the gravity of theoffences are to be examined bythe court on the basis of factsand circumstances of eachand every case

The bench said it was ini-tially not inclined to open thesealed cover material placedbefore it by the ED. But sincethe high court had perused thematerial, it was imperative forthe top court to go through thedocuments, it said

After pronouncing the ver-dict, it directed the apex courtregistry to return the sealedcover material back to the ED

The apex court made itclear that its order would notbe construed to be the findingson merits of the case

The court said the allegedcomplicity of Chidambaram inthe case would be examinedduring the trial

The apex court passed thejudgement on the appeal filedby Chidambaram challeng-ing the November 15 DelhiHigh Court verdict

During arguments in the

top court, the ED claimed thatChidambaram continued towield "substantial influence"on crucial witnesses in the caseeven while in custody. TheCongress leader said theagency cannot "destroy" hiscareer and reputation by mak-ing baseless allegations

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for the ED,said economic offences likemoney laundering are grave innature as they not only affectthe nation's economy but alsoshake people's faith in thesystem, especially when it iscommitted by people in power

R e p r e s e n t i n gChidambaram, senior advo-cates Kapil Sibal and A MSinghvi countered Mehta'ssubmissions and said therewas neither any evidence link-ing Chidambaram directly orindirectly with the allegedoffence nor any material toshow that he had influencedwitnesses or tampered withany evidence

The CBI had registered itscase on May 15, 2017, allegingirregularities in a ForeignInvestment Promotion Board(FIPB) clearance granted tothe INX Media group forreceiving overseas funds of Rs305 crore in 2007 duringChidambaram's tenure asfinance minister. The EDlodged a money launderingcase after that.

SC grants bail toChidambaram

PNS n AMARAVATI

The Union Government'sMinistry of MSME willorganise 10 mega events and100 district-level eventsthroughout the country. Thedistricts in each State will beclubbed for one eventdepending on their size andindustrial activity.

These 'District Samagams'will be held towards the endof December. The national-level 'Udyam Samagam' will beheld in New Delhi in January,2020. According to a pressrelease, the district-level com-mittee, under the chairman-ship of the District Collector,will do the planning, approvaland implementation of theproposals. Director, MSME-DI, will coordinate the event.Similarly, a State-levelCommittee will formulateproposals for Marketing Haatsand packaging consultancy

to the MSME clusters withpotential for exports. The pro-posals will be submitted to theUnion Government by theend of December, 2019, sothat additional funds may beobtained by the end ofJanuary, 2020.

For the Government ofAndhra Pradesh, the Directorof Industries will prepare anaction plan and submit pro-posals to the Government ofIndia within the stipulatedtime, as desired by the Addl.Industrial Advisor, Ministry ofMSME.

Centre moots MSME events

Pawan slams YSRCP govt over‘mass religious conversions'PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Jana Sena president PawanKalyan on Wednesday camedown heavily on the YSRCPgovernment over the 'massreligious conversions.'

Addressing the mediahere, he questioned in arather angry tone, "What thegovernment has been doingwhen religious conversionsare taking place in PushkarGhat in front of the GoddessDurga temple. Can't theChief Minister see over 42persons belonging to a par-

ticular faith getting convert-ed to other faith," he saidquestioning who is behindthe exercise.

Further, he sought to knowwhat the EndowmentsDepartment has been doing?What the officials and elect-ed people's representatives,who are supposed to upholdthe Hindu Dharma andregion, have been doing?, hequestioned. Claiming himselfto have been prepared toface the worst, at whosebehest the religious conver-sion are taking place, he ques-

tioned. "What the Hindu elected

people's representatives inother parties are doing whenthe conversions are takingplace blatantly? Why did theykeep mum when Hindu faithcomes under severe stress?Does it not amount violatingthe Constitution? Why thegovernment has been notraising an accusing fingeragainst such pseudo secular-ist practices? Is it not due topracticing the vote bank pol-itics, he questioned in a ratherangry tone.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

General Manager of the SouthCentral Railway (SCR) GajananMallya inspected Duvvada -Rajahmundry Section onVijayawada Division onWednesday. Commencing fromDuvvada Railway Station, theinspection covered all the majorRailway Stations en route tillRajahmundry. P Srinivas,Divisional Railway Manager,Vijayawada Division, accompa-nied the General Managerthroughout the inspection.

The inspection commencedwith the inspection of MannedLevel Crossing Gate betweenThadi and Anakapalle stations andcarried out a thorough examina-tion of the essential safety equip-ment available at Gate Cabin,approach roads, track visibility and

first aid availability etc. The GeneralManager inaugurated 1KwP SolarPower Plant towards green initia-tive at Level Crossing Gate.

Gajanan Mallya inspectedpremises, circulating area, plat-forms, Station Manager's Officeetc at Anakapalle Railway Station.

He inaugurated 'Train GuidanceDisplay System' and'Commercial ManagementSystem' Apps in the station. Healso interacted with media per-sonnel and briefed them ondevelopmental plans in theregion. G Amaranath, MLA,

Anakapalle and B NagaJagadeeshwara Rao, MLC, metthe General Manager and dis-cussed various rail developmen-tal issues and submitted memo-randums. Later, Mallya inspect-ed Major Bridge betweenAnakapalle - Bayyavaram sta-tions. He also conducted a speedtest between Narsipatnam Roadand Tuni Railway stations.

At Tuni, the General Managerinspected station premises, plat-forms, passenger amenities, yard,Health Unit and Permanent WayOffice. He interacted with gang-men and enquired about thesafety equipment provided tothem. He inaugurated FreightManagement Module, Children'sPark. He also interacted withPassenger Associations, TradeUnions and received representa-tions from them.

SCR GM inspects Duvvada-Rajahmundry sectionLord Venkateswaratemple in Vizag soonPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The State government hasproposed to build LordVenkateswara temple inVisakhapatnam. Executiveofficer of TTD Anil KumarSinghal arrived in the city onWednesday and met theMinister for Tourism andCulture MuthasetthiSrinivasa Rao.

The duo, after having dar-shan of Nrusimha Swamy atSimhachalam vis itedRushikonda, where theyidentified a vacant land nearGITAM University.

Later speaking to thereporters, Singhal said thatthe temple was being built

on the directions of the Stategovernment and an amountof Rs 5 crore was needed.Minister Srtinivasa Rao saidthe temple would boost thetourist footfall in the city andis likely to be completed inthree to four months' time.

Chairman of VMRDADronamraju Srinivas, TTDmember and ElamahchiliMLA UV RamanamurthyRaju (Kannababu),Paykaraopeta MLA GollaBabu Rao and local YSRCPleaders were also present. Theengineer-in-chief of TirumalaTirupati Devasthanam GRamachandra Reddy accom-panied the executive officerSinghal.

PNS n AMARAVATI

Panchayat Raj and RuralDevelopment MinisterPeddireddy RamachandraReddy has called upon theDistrict Collectors to immedi-ately take up works under theNation Rural EmploymentGuarantee Scheme (NREGS).

Participating in a video con-ference with District Collectorsat the Secretariat onWednesday, he said adminis-trative sanction for the worksshould be accorded byDecember 15 and technical

clearance by December 18.Peg marking should be done byDecember 21 and FTO offloadby December 31.

He said five types of worksshould taken up in the order ofpriority. They are:Construction of VillageSecretariat buildings, CCdrainages, leveling works at thehouse-sites to be distributed tothe poor on the Ugadi day, con-struction of compound wallsfor government schools underthe Nadu-Nedu programmeand construction of CC roadsin villages.

Stating that Rs 15 crore hadbeen already sanctioned foreach constituency,

Ramachandra Reddy said thegovernment would see to it thatthe bills for the works would

not be kept pending. He saidbills would be paid promptly tothe contractors carrying out theworks properly and asked themnot compromise on quality. Hesaid funds were being sanc-tioned for taking up worksunder the Nadu-Nedu pro-gramme. Overhead tanksunder the control of the RuralWater Supply (RWS)Department would be painted.

He called upon theCollectors to arrange check-posts as part of the implemen-tation of the new sand policyand asked them to coordinate

well with district SPs.Disclosing that 91 check-postshad been already set up in theState, the Minister said 242more are yet to come up.

The government is providingfunds for carrying out all devel-opment works, he said andcalled upon the DistrictCollectors to coordinate withother officials and implementthe government schemes effec-tively. Panchayat RajCommissioner Girija Shankarand Collectors of various dis-tricts participated in the videoconference.

Take up NREGA works at once, Peddireddy tells Collectors

What the governmenthas been doing whenreligious conversionsare taking place inPushkar Ghat in frontof the GoddessDurga temple. Can'tthe CM see over 42persons belonging toa particular faithgetting converted toother faith, he said

General Manager of SCR Gajanan Mallya and P Srinivas, Divisional RailwayManager, Vijayawada Division, inspecting the railyway tracks on Wednesday

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 5, 2019 nation 04SHORT READS

ED questions formerHaryana CM Hooda inChandigarh in moneylaundering case NEW DELHI: Former Haryanachief minister and Congressleader Bhupinder Singh Hoodaon Wednesday appeared beforethe Enforcement Directorate inChandigarh in connection with amoney laundering probe in aland scam case, officials said.They said Hooda wassummoned for grilling and hisstatement will be recordedunder the Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA). Thefederal agency is probingHooda's role in multiple criminalcases of money laundering,including the Manesar land caseand the Associated JournalLimited (AJL) land case.

J-K faces powershortage of 408 MW

Youth Congress groupsclash in PunjabLUDHIANA: Two groups of theYouth Congress clashed whenthe polling to elect the officebearers of the district youthbody was in progress at theModel Town community centrehere on Wednesday. Someworkers said shots were firedin the air during the clash butpolice said they were verifyingit. The groups, led byParminder Singh Lapran andMahraj Singh respectively,blamed each other for the clashand the firing incident. DeputyCommissioner of Police (Lawand Order) Ashwani Kapoorsaid loud sounds were heardduring the clash between thetwo groups. "But it is yet to beverified whether it was thesound of bullets or crackers,"he said. Some Youth Congressleaders alleged that one of theworkers was injured in thefiring incident. The reasonbehind the clash was yet to beascertained.

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmiris witnessing a shortfall of 408megawatts (MW) of powersupply during the thick ofwinter, officials said onWednesday. The union territoryis getting only 1,959 MWelectricity against a demand of2,367 MW, Commissioner-Secretary of PowerDevelopment DepartmentHirdesh Kumar said. Againstthe average yearly restricteddemand of 938 MW in Jammuregion, the departmentprovided 819 MW electricity,resulting in a shortfall of 120MW, he said. In Kashmirregion, the departmentprovided 1,140 MWs againstthe restricted demand of 1,328MW. Kumar said theunrestricted power demand ofJammu and Kashmir regions is1,024 and 1,490 MWrespectively. The two unionterritories of Jammu andKashmir, and Ladakh arewitnessing severe cold waveconditions with nighttemperature staying belowfreezing point in most areas inLadakh and Kashmir.

MP mulls 5%quota forsportspersonsin jobsPNS n BHOPAL

The Madhya Pradesh govern-ment would introduce a billin the Legislative Assembly toearmark five per cent reser-vation to sportspersons instate jobs, Sports and YouthWelfare Minister Jitu Patwarisaid on Wednesday.

Patwari was speaking toreporters after scaling a 40-feet-tall rock wall at the sportsground of the BarkatullahUniversity here.

"We are going to bring abill in the Assembly to pro-vide five per cent reservationto sportspersons in govern-ment jobs," he said, addingthat an insurance schemehas also been launched forthem. Apart from these ini-tiatives, the government alsoplans to establish a careerdevelopment centre forsportspersons and a world-class sports university.

PNS n NEW DELHI

As many as 234 prisonersbelonging to Jammu andKashmir are currently lodged indifferent jails of Uttar Pradeshand 27 other inmates in prisonsin Haryana, Union minister GKishan Reddy informedParliament on Wednesday. Healso said a total of 3,248 prison-ers are lodged in the jails ofJammu and Kashmir and thetotal number of prisonersbelonging to Jammu andKashmir, within the state as wellas outside, is 3,509.

In 2019, up to November,altogether 234 prisonersbelonging to Jammu andKashmir are in jails in UttarPradesh and 27 in Haryanaprisons, Reddy said, replying toa written question asked bymember M P VeerendraKumar in the Rajya Sabha.

In 2018, as many as 2,728people were in the jails ofJammu and Kashmir, while 41other inmates from the statewere in the jails of Haryana, headded.

These prisoners includethose detained after the Centre,on August 5, announced abro-gation of Jammu andKashmir's special status underArticle 370 of the Constitutionand bifurcation of the state intoUnion territories, undertrialdetainees and convicts.

The cases against thoselodged in various jails wererelated to murder, attempt tomurder, culpable homicide notamounting to murder, rape,theft, burglary, dowry death,kidnapping and abduction,

cheating, those registeredunder the Prevention ofCorruption Act, Arms Act,Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances(NDPS) Act, UnlawfulActivities Prevention Act(UAPA), besides preventivedetention, Reddy said.

He added that the govern-ment of Jammu and Kashmirhad reported that in order toprevent commission ofoffences involving breach ofpeace, activities prejudicial tothe security of the state and

maintenance of public order,5,161 people, including stone-pelters, overground workers,separatists etc. were taken intopreventive custody in theKashmir Valley since August 4.

"Of them, 609 are under pre-ventive detention. Since, thesepeople have been detainedunder statutory provisions bythe magistrates concerned,based on their satisfaction ineach case, it is not possible forthe government to give anytimeline for their release," theminister said.

PNS n GHAZIABAD

The police on Wednesday arrest-ed the brother-in-law of busi-nessman Gulshan Vasudeva,who had jumped to death alongwith his wife and anotherwoman after killing his teenagechildren in Indirapuram on theoutskirts of Delhi.

"Rakesh Verma, the brother inlaw of Vasudeva, has been arrest-ed for abetting suicide, while hismother Phoola Verma is alsoaccused in the case is on the run,"Senior Superintendent of Police,Ghaziabad, Sudhir Kumar Singhtold PTI. Vasudeva (45), his wifeParveen and manager Sanjanajumped to their death in the earlyhours of Tuesday from the eighthfloor of their apartment block inKrishna Apra society inIndirapuram.

Before jumping to death,Vasudeva had killed his sonHrithik (14), daughter Hrithika(18) by slitting their throats at

around 3.30 am on Tuesday andalso killed their pet rabbit, thepolice said.

According to the police,Vasudeva had invested money ina property scheme on the behestof Verma, who had assured himgood returns but instead put himin debt. "Verma had duped sev-eral people by offering themgood returns on investment inproperty. He lured Vasudeva aswell into investing Rs 1.09 crorein a property and also made him

convince his friend and char-tered accountant Praveen Bakshiinto investing the money in hisplan around five years ago.

"He promised to pay themback an additional interest of fiveper cent on the principal money,"Singh said. Verma told the policethat he had returned Rs 98 lakhto Vasudeva as interest, butBakshi and Vasudeva were ask-ing for the rest of the amount,which was Rs 1.39 crore withinterest, Singh said.

GHAZIABAD DEATHS

Brother-in-law held forabetting suicide

3,169 ultras surrendered from2016 to Nov 15, 2019: ReddyPNS n NEW DELHI

As many as 3,169 Left WingExtremists have surrenderedtill November 15 this yearfrom 2016 and there has alsobeen a decline in violencerelated to extremism, UnionMinister G Kishan Reddy saidin Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Besides there has been ashrinkage in geographicalspread of extremism, Ministerof State for Home Affairs,Reddy said during QuestionHour.

Reddy said a total of 1,442extremists surrendered in2016, followed by 685 and644 in 2017 and 2018 respec-tively besides 398 this year tillNovember 15.

He said a total of 3,368incidents of violence have beenreported between 2016 andNovember 15, 2019. "The LWErelated incidents of violencebetween May 2014 to April2019 have been 43 per centlesser while compared with thepreceding 5 years period. Thedecline trend continues in2019," he said.

In 2018, LWE related vio-lence has been reported in 60districts, he said and added

that, however, 90 districts in 11states are covered underSecurity Related Expenditure(SRE)/LWE scheme for thepurpose of reimbursement ofexpenditure incurred by statesto encounter LWE operations.

Enunciating steps for devel-opment of affected areas,Reddy said 16 lakh land titledeeds were distributed amongtribals while separate projectshave been taken for inhabitantsof the area.

He said of the 5,422 km ofhighways sanctioned in affect-ed areas, 4,832 km have beenbuilt while work on 1,082 kmof roads has been completedout of 5,065 sanctioned underrural development.

Also he said that 2,332mobile towers were completedagainst 4,072 in areas while 26ITIs were set up besides 55 skilldevelopment centres.

To uplift education in theareas, Reddy said 7 centralschools have been sanctionedin addition to 6 JawaharNavodaya schools besides 869ATMs and 1,678 post officeshave been working there.

When Vishwambhar PrasadNishad (SP) said he was unsat-isfied with the answer, HomeMinister Amit Shah, who wasin the House, said the govern-ment has answered what stepsit has taken for developmentand it cannot answer what themember wants.

Court acquits man as woman lodges rape complaint after 3 monthsPNS n NEW DELHI

A Delhi court has acquitted aman of the charge of allegedlyraping his maid on the groundsthat the victim "contacted thepolice after three months" andshe continued working thereeven after the incident.

The court noted that afterlodging of the FIR, when she wasmedically examined by the doc-tors, she did not name heremployer as the assaulter.

"No lady, who had been rapedrecently by the employer, wouldagain join him because it wouldsend a clear signal to the employ-er that she was ready and willingin that kind of activity. Suchreturn would definitely makebelieve an employer that the girlwas desirous of indulging in sex-

ual activities with him,"Additional Sessions Judge UmedSingh Grewal said.

The court said the woman,who was allegedly raped in 2010,did not disclose the incident toany of her acquaintances for a

long time nor did she lodge anFIR for three months.

Besides saying that there was"no explanation for the delay", thecourt also observed that thewoman, who had continuedworking in the same house after

the incident, did not fall in thecategory of 'sterling quality' evi-dence. The woman had againjoined the duty after one or twodays.

According to the complaint,the victim started working as a

maid in a house in Rohini inNovember 2009. She wasemployed through placementagency 'Domestic Help Services'.

The woman alleged in hercomplaint that after five or sixdays, she was allegedly raped byher employer's father. The victimran away from their home onMarch 14, 2010 and told her rel-atives about the incident afterwhich the accused was arrestedon March 16 that year and sub-sequently an FIR was lodged.

However, according to theman, the woman had left thehouse on March 14 without anyprior information and later, hewas demanded Rs 5 lakhs for notbeing implicated in a false case.The court noted that the womanhad sufficient opportunity tocomplain but she kept mum.

PNS n JAISALMER

The Indian Army's week-daymilitary exercise SindhuSudarshan concluded onWednesday in the desert sectorof Jaisalmer. During the drill thatstarted on November 28, anumber of vital concepts indeserts were validated to furtherstreamline the Army's opera-tional plans on the westernfront, defence spokesperson ColSombit Ghosh said.

The integrated exerciseinvolved the use of mecha-

nised forces, infantry, artilleryand other force multiplierslike drones and electronicwarfare systems. Army'sindigenous armed advancedlight helicopters, Rudra, werealso employed alongside theIndian Air Force helicopters ina fully integrated manner, theofficer said.

Southern Army commanderLt Gen S K Saini reviewed theexercise on Monday andTuesday and he was briefed bySudarshan Chakra corps com-mander Lt Gen Yogendra Dimri.

Army's Sindhu Surdarshanexercise concludes in Jaisalmer

PNS n MUMBAI

Opposition BJP in Maharashtraon Wednesday dubbed as a"blatant support to naxalism" theruling NCP's demand to with-draw cases related to the 2018Koregaon-Bhima caste violence.

NCP leader and MLADhananjay Munde had onTuesday demanded withdrawalof cases related to Koregaon-Bhima violence, claiming theprevious BJP-led NDA govern-ment had slapped "false" casesagainst those named in the inci-dent, including social activists.

In his letter to Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray, Munde hadalso said the erstwhile govern-ment had "harassed" intellectu-als, activists, social workers andordinary citizens who had raisedtheir voice against injustice, andhad labelled several of them as"urban Naxals". The NCP is a keyconstituent in the Shiv Sena-ledMaharashtra Vikas Aghadi(MVA) government, of whichthe Congress is also a part.

"The NCP's demand forwithdrawal of cases is a blatantsupport to naxalism. Even the(Pune) court has admittedthat there has been some pri-mary evidence against theaccused persons, which is thereason the court did not accepttheir bail applications," BJPstate chief spokesperson

Madhav Bhandari said."Chargesheets have been filed

in the case. How can one simplywithdraw the cases?" Bhandariquestionned. Violence had erupt-ed at Koregaon-Bhima village inPune district on January 1, 2018,a day after alleged inflammato-ry speeches were made at a con-clave, 'Elgar Parishad, organisedto commemorate 200 years of afamous battle between thePeshwas and the East IndiaCompany. A subsequent bandhcalled by Dalit outfits to protestthe violence as well as what theyclaimed was police high- hand-edness also saw incidents ofvandalism and damage to pub-lic property, leading to more peo-ple being booked.

CM Thackeray had said theearlier Devendra Fadnavis gov-ernment had already issuedorders to withdraw the casesagainst persons facing minorcriminal charges related to thecaste riot.

Incidentally, some of theactivists arrested by the Punepolice in connection with theElgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhimacase have been accused of hav-ing links with Naxal outfits,including the bannedCommunist Party of India(Maoist).These Left-wingactivists have been booked underthe stringent Unlawful ActivitiesPrevention Act (UAPA).

‘NCP's demand to quashcaste riot cases amountsto support of naxalism’

PNS n MUMBAI

The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi(MVA) government is in favourof granting relief to those whowere falsely framed in casesrelated to the 2018 Koregaon-Bhima violence, state ministerand NCP leader Jayant Patil saidon Wednesday. Patil, however,said the right to take decision inthis connection rests with ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeray asportfolios are yet to be allocat-ed to ministers.

"We have received memoran-dums from several peopleclaiming they were falselyframed in connection with theKoregaon-Bhima (violence).Such steps were taken in thepast too," Patil told reportershere.

"The government wants tosee nobody faces injustice...thegovernment does not want totrouble anyone...the govern-

ment's view is to give relief tothose who were falsely framedin cases," he added.

Patil said the government willnot support anyone who playedany intentional role in the vio-lence that had erupted atKoregaon-Bhima village inPune district on January 1,2018, a day after alleged inflam-matory speeches were made ata conclave, 'Elgar Parishad,organised to commemorate 200years of a famous battle betweenthe Peshwas and the East India

Company."But there is no need to cre-

ate confusion and more impor-tantly, I have not become thehome minister of Maharashtrayet. All the rights are with thechief minister till the portfoliosare allocated," he said.

Notably, NCP MLADhananjay Munde had onTuesday demanded withdraw-al of cases related to Koregaon-Bhima violence, claiming theprevious BJP-led NDA govern-ment had slapped "false" casesagainst those named in theincident, including socialactivists.

In his letter to Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray, Munde hadalso said the erstwhile govern-ment had "harassed" intellectu-als, activists, social workers andordinary citizens who hadraised their voice against injus-tice, and had labelled several ofthem as "urban Naxals".

In favour of withdrawal of falseKoregaon-Bhima cases: Patil

PNS n KOLKATA

The West Bengal governmenthas placed an order for 800tonne of imported onions withthe NAFED for delivery byDecember-end to support thesupply of the staple at a fairprice, an official said onWednesday. The state govern-ment placed the order at a land-ed cost of Rs 55/kg at Mumbaiport with the NationalAgricultural CooperativeMarketing Federation of India(NAFED), which has been taskedto distribute the vegetable.

"We have placed orders for 200tonne per week, totalling 800tonne for delivery withinDecember. The landed cost ofonion at Mumbai port is Rs 55per kg and in Kolkata it will beat least Rs 65 a kg, taking freightinto account," a senior state gov-ernment official told. The onionsare being imported from Egypt.Following reports that wholesale

prices of top grade onion jumpedto Rs 5,400 per 40 kg bag at Nasik,a week-old onion stock at the city'sPosta wholesale market rose to Rs125 a kg on Wednesday, sourcestold. This indicates that bestquality onions in the retail mar-ket is inching closer to the Rs 150per kg-mark. Though state agen-cies are keeping a close watch onthe wholesale markets, they donot propose to put a cap on theprice, at least for now, as officialsfear it will worsen availability. IfNAFED is successful in deliver-ing the onions in time, the stategovernment has a proposal to dis-tribute these through fair priceshops, a source said.

WB orders 800 tonneimported onion as pricestouch Rs 150 per kg

Chinese Foreign MinisterWang Yi visiting India

234 J&K prisoners in UP jails, govt tells RS

PNS n NEW DELHI

Chinese Foreign Minister andState Councillor Wang Yi is setto visit India later this month tohold boundary talks withNational Security Advisor AjitDoval, diplomatic sources saidon Wednesday.

Doval and Wang are the des-ignated Special Representatives(SRs) of the two countries for theboundary talks. Besides hold-ing boundary talks with Doval,he will have an extensive dia-logue with External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar.

It will be the first visit by asenior Chinese leader to Indiaafter the informal summitbetween Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and ChinesePresident Xi Jinping inMamallapuram in October.

During Wang's visit, the twosides are likely to review imple-mentation of decisions taken atthe summit. "The Chinese for-eign minister is visiting India thismonth," said a source.

Wang was to visit India for the

SR talks in September but thetrip was postponed then. Thetwo sides have already heldover 20 rounds of talks under theframework of SR dialogue whichwas set up to find an early solu-tion to the border dispute.

The India-China borderdispute covers 3,488-km-longLine of Actual Control. Chinaclaims Arunachal Pradesh aspart of southern Tibet whileIndia contests it.

Both sides have been assert-ing that pending the final res-olution of the boundary issue,it is necessary to maintainpeace and tranquillity in theborder areas.

The court said thewoman, who wasallegedly raped in2010, did notdisclose theincident to any ofher acquaintancesfor a long time nordid she lodge an FIRfor three months

The cases against thoselodged in various jailswere related to murder,attempt to murder,culpable homicide notamounting to murder,rape, theft, burglary,dowry death, kidnappingand abduction, cheating

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 5, 2019 nation 05

SHORT READS

Doctor, employeefound dead in car with gunshot woundsNEW DELHI: Bodies of a doctorand his employee with gunshotinjuries were found from a carin Dehli's Rohini Sector 13 onWednesday morning, policesaid. The deceased wereidentified as O P Kukreja andSutapa Mukherji, an officersaid. Police were informedabout the incident at around7.45 am. Preliminaryinvestigation suggested that thedoctor shot the woman with hislicensed weapon and later shothimself, the officer said.

Cabinet nod foramendments to senior citizens law

Twitter representativesappear beforeparliamentary panelNEW DELHI: Top officials fromTwitter India appeared before aparliamentary committeeexamining the issue of cybersafety and security of womenon Wednesday. The TwitterIndia representatives areexpected to make apresentation on the issue beforethe parliamentary panel onwomen empowerment.The panel, headed by BJP MPHeena Gavit, has all womenmembers. It has also calledFacebook, WhatsApp andInstagram representatives toappear before it on Thursday.

AIUDF writes to AmitShah requestingwithdrawal of CABGUWAHATI: The All IndiaUnited Democratic Front(AIUDF) wrote to Union HomeMinister Amit Shah onWednesday, requesting him notto introduce the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill in Parliamentas it is "against the interest ofpeople of Assam and the wholecountry". The AIUDF hasopposed the bill as it will have"severe impact on the socio-economic and political aspectsof the country", the letter said."We appeal to you to initiatenecessary measures so that thebill which goes against theinterest of the people ofAssam and the whole country,is not brought on the floor ofParliament," it said.

‘Over 98% of 4,204water samples collectedfound fit to drink’NEW DELHI: The Delhi JalBoard on Wednesday said itcollected over 4,200 watersamples for testing in the last10 days from across thenational capital and more than98 percent of them were foundfit for drinking. "We collectedwater 4,204 samples from theentire city in the last 10 days. Ofthem, 4,128 were foundsatisfactory," DJB vice chairmanDinesh Mohaniya said at apress conference. He claimedthe Bureau of Indian Standardsreport that said Delhi's waterwas unfit for drinking was"meant to create chaos ahead ofthe elections in the city".

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabineton Wednesday approved a billto amend a law which governsthe welfare of senior citizens.The Maintenance and Welfare ofParents and Senior Citizens(Amendment) Bill, 2019provides basic needs, safetyand security to senior citizens.The bill proposes registrationand maintenance of minimumstandards of senior citizens'care homes, besidesregistration of homecare serviceagencies. Prakash Javadekarsaid the bill was cleared by theUnion Cabinet and would bebrought in Parliament.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The CBI cannot take refuge inthe exemption clause under theRight to Information (RTI)Act to deny information relat-ed to corruption cases, theCIC has said.

Hearing a case filed bywhistleblower bureaucratSanjiv Chaturvedi, the trans-parency watchdog said thecentral public information offi-cer (CPIO) has "grossly erred"in invoking the veil of section24 of the RTI Act mechanical-ly without assessing the natureof information sought and thesame is viewed adversely by thecommission.

Section 24 of the RTI Actexempts certain intelligenceand security organisations fromthe ambit of the transparencylaw except for information"pertaining to the allegations ofcorruption and human rightsviolations".

Citing a verdict by the DelhiHigh Court as well as on thebasis of proceedings during thehearing, the Commission isconvinced regarding the "alle-gation of corruption" in theinstant matter and the respon-dent cannot take refuge in sec-tion 24 of the RTI Act for deny-ing information, InformationCommissioner Divya PrakashSinha said.

"Keeping in view the totali-ty of circumstances discussedabove, the Commission directsthe CPIO to provide informa-

tion as sought in the RTI appli-cation to the appellant free ofcost within 15 days from thedate of receipt of this order,"

Sinha said in a recent order.Chaturvedi had sought cer-

tified copies of all the file not-ing/documents/ correspon-dences related to the investi-gation done by the CBI on thebasis of corruption complaintsat the All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS) here.

He had enquired about thesecorruption cases during histenure as the chief vigilanceofficer (CVO), who acts as adistant arm of the CentralVigilance Commission to dealwith corruption cases, duringJuly 2012 to August 2014, atAIIMS, Delhi. Chaturvedi had

then forwarded these corrup-tion cases to the CBI, seekinginvestigation.

The CPIO of CBI, mandat-ed under the transparency actto deal with RTI applicationsand is the first appellate author-ity, denied the information,claiming exemption under sec-tion 24 of the RTI law.

Aggrieved by the response,Chaturvedi approached theCIC.

Chaturvedi has also askedthe commission to impose themaximum penalty on theCPIO, CBI, for denying infor-mation without applying theproper exemption clause stip-ulated in the RTI Act.

"As regards, appellant'srequest for imposition ofpenalty, based on the strengthof material on record as well asproceedings during hearing,Commission does not findany mala fide intention on thepart of the CPIO in denyinginformation sought in the RTIapplication. No action is war-ranted under section 20 of theRTI Act in the matter," Sinhasaid.

He cited the Delhi HighCourt's order in the matter ofIntelligence Bureau (IB) andChaturvedi on the applica-bility of exemption clauseunder section 24 of the RTIAct.

CBI can't take refuge in exemption clause in graft casesDENYING INFORMATION UNDER RTI ACT

Section 24 of the RTI Act exemptscertain intelligence and securityorganisations from the ambit of thetransparency law except for information"pertaining to the allegations ofcorruption and human rights violations"

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Cabinet onWednesday approved a pro-posal to extend reservation forSCs and STs in the Lok Sabhaand state assemblies for 10years, but is learnt to have doneaway with a similar quota forthe Anglo-Indian community.

The reservation for thesecategories in the Lok Sabhaand assemblies was to expireon January 25, 2020.

The government will bringa Bill to extend the reservationtill January 25, 2030 in theongoing winter session.

Sources aware of the provi-sions said the reservation formembers of the Anglo-Indiancommunity has been doneaway with "for the time being".

The government was of theview, the sources said, that thecommunity is doing well and

does not need reservation inthe legislature. If need be, thereservation can be reconsid-ered later. When askedwhether reservation for theAnglo-Indian community hasalso been extended, Unionminister Prakash Javadekartold reporters that once the Billis introduced, the details willbe known.

The minister said there are84 members from theScheduled Caste and 47 from

the Scheduled Tribe commu-nities in Parliament.

In state assemblies acrossIndia, there are 614 SC mem-bers and 554 ST members.

As on today, there is a pro-vision to nominate two mem-bers of the Anglo-Indian com-munity in the Lok Sabha butthey have not yet been nomi-nated, according to Lok Sabhawebsite. Including the Speaker,Lok Sabha has 543 members ason December 4.

SC/ST RESERVATION IN LS, STATE ASSEMBLIES

Union Cabinet approvesextension for 10 years

Truth finally prevails, Congsays after SC bail to PCPNS n NEW DELHI

The truth has finally prevailed,the Congress said onWednesday after the SupremeCourt granted bail to seniorparty leader P Chidambaram inthe INX-Media money laun-dering case.

Former Congress chief RahulGandhi said Chidambaram'sover 100 days of incarcerationwas "vengeful and vindictive",while expressing confidencethat he will be able to prove hisinnocence in a fair trial.

Chidambaram's son Kartiheaved a sigh of relief, tweeting,"Phew. At last after 106 days."

Later, talking to reporters, hesaid, "I am very happy that myfather is coming home. It hasbeen a long wait, it has been anunwanted incarceration."

Several party leaders wel-comed the order granting bail tothe former Union minister withChidambaram's lawyer andCongress colleague AbhishekManu Singhvi describing theruling as "excellent light after arather long tunnel".

"Truth finally prevails#SatyamevaJayate," tweeted theparty from its official handle.

Senior Congress leaderShashi Tharoor was more cir-cumspect and said "justicedelayed is justice denied",

adding the bail should havebeen granted much earlier.

A three-judge bench, headed by

Justice R Banumathi, granted bailto the 74-year-old former Unionfinance minister, who has been in

custody since August 21 when hewas arrested by the CBI in theINX-Media corruption case. TheEnforcement Directorate hadarrested him on October 16 in themoney laundering case.

Singhvi termed the order"balanced", "nuanced" and"comprehensive" and a greatorder in favour of human rightsand balanced jurisprudence.

The BJP took a dig at theCongress's reaction followingthe Supreme Court bail, sayingthat Chidambaram has joinedthe "Out On Bail Club".

Asked about the BJP's allega-tions against his father, Karti tolda TV channel, "If they have evi-dence, they must take it to thecourt and put it before us and nothide behind this sealed cover tac-tic... Nobody is saying we won'tface trial. I'm happy to face trial."

He also said thatChidambaram will be inParliament on Thursday at 11AM. Rajasthan Chief Ministerand senior Congress leaderAshok Gehlot echoed the partyto say truth had prevailed.

Congress leader in Lok SabhaAdhir Ranjan Chowdhury alsowelcomed the Supreme Courtdecision, while deputy leader ofopposition in Rajya SabhaAnand Sharma said quest fortruth has been vindicated andjustice has finally prevailed.

He will attend Rajya Sabha aftertaking care of health: WifeNEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's wife Nalinion Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court's order granting himbail in the INX Media money laundering case and said he will attendParliament's winter session. He is likely to be released from theTihar Jail in the evening, she told PTI over phone. Nalini, who is asenior lawyer, said she was happy that her husband got the bail. Hewill start attending Rajya Sabha proceedings after taking care of hishealth, she said. The winter session of Parliament will end onDecember 13. The former Union finance minister's son and LokSabha member from Sivaganga Karti Chidambaram also welcomedthe apex court's order. P Chidambaram has represented Sivagangain the Lok Sabha several times and now, he is member of the UpperHouse from Tamil Nadu.

Cabinet approves developing5-star hotel at Pragati MaidanPNS n NEW DELHI

The government on Wednesdayapproved transfer of 3.7 acres ofland at Pragati Maidan here toITDC and ITPO on a 99-yearlease for Rs 611 crore to set upa five-star hotel.

The decision for monetisa-tion of land at Pragati Maidanto build a five-star hotel wastaken up at the Union Cabinetmeeting chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

Giving details, Informationand Broadcasting MinisterPrakash Javadekar said IndiaTrade Promotion Organisation(ITPO), which manages thePragati Maidan, will undertakea mega project to redevelop theland into a world-classInternational Exhibition andConvention Centre.

The approval has been givenfor "transfer of 3.7 acres of landat Pragati Maidan on a 99-yearfixed leasehold basis at a priceof Rs 611 crore in favour of thespecial purpose vehicle (SPV),which will be formed by IndiaTourism DevelopmentCorporation (ITDC) andIndian Railway Catering andTourism Corporation (IRCTC)for development and operationof a five-star hotel".

The implementation of the

International Exhibition andConvention Centre (IECC) pro-ject is in full swing and sched-uled to be completed in the year2020-21, said an official release.

In order to ensure completionof the hotel project in a fast trackmode, the SPV will take neces-sary steps including selecting asuitable developer and operatorthird party through a transpar-ent competitive bidding processto construct, run and manage(directly or through a profes-sional brand) the hotel on along-term fixed lease basis.

Throughout the world, ahotel facility is an integral partof any Meetings, Initiatives,Conferences and Exhibitions(MICE) hub/destination, therelease said.

"Hotel facility will add valueto IECC project and promoteIndia as a global destination fortrade and commerce along withemployment generation," it said.

The International Trade Fairwhich has lakhs of visitors andsmall traders participating everyyear will also benefit from thetransformation of PragatiMaidan, it said.

Increased facilities and mod-ern amenities will greatly ben-efit the participating traders,entrepreneurs and visitors.

This will ensure higherturnout at the trade fair, revi-talising it and providing avibrant platform to expandtheir business horizons andpromote Indian goods and ser-vices, it added.

‘UP's image,identitychangedunder YogiPNS n GORAKHPUR (UP)

The image and identity ofUttar Pradesh has changedsince Yogi Adityanath tookcharge as chief minister andthe state is looking forward tobecome the "growth engine"of the country, HimachalPradesh Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur said here onWednesday.

Thakur was addressing thefounder's week celebrationsof Maharana Pratap ShikshaParishad at Adityanath'spolitical home turf.

Thakur said educationalinstitutions are being estab-lished and the infrastructureis being strengthened in thestate. "The chief minister'ssacred background is makingUttar Pradesh feel proud inthe world," he said.

PNS n JAIPUR

Questioning the logic behindthe custom of "ghoonghat" ina progressive society, RajasthanChief Minister Ashok Gehloton Wednesday said a cam-paign was needed to eradicateit and the participation of menwas needed more than thewomen.

In a male-dominated soci-ety, the role of men was impor-tant in doing away with suchcustoms that had no logicalground in today's world, thechief minister said.

"The custom of ghoonghat isstill prevalent in the society.

What is the wisdom in keep-ing a woman in a veil in a pro-gressive society? We are livingin the era of science. The timehas come to put an end to thiscustom," he said.

Stating that a campaign wasneeded to do away with thecustom, Gehlot said, "Womenshould come forward but morethan women, men shouldcome forward because womenhave to do this (covering theirfaces with a veil) due to pres-sure from men in a male-dom-inated society."

He asserted that there wasno place for "ghoonghat" orburqa in modern times.

The chief minister wasspeaking at a "keertan darbar"programme organised as partof the 550th birth anniversarycelebrations of Guru NanakDev at his residence here.

Campaign needed to do away with 'ghoonghat': Ashok Gehlot

Gowda to voters:Defeat disqualifiedMLAs in Dec 5 by-pollsPNS n BENGALURU

A day after public campaign-ing ended for bypolls in 15Assembly constituenciesof Karnataka, JD(S)patriarch H D DeveGowda onWednesday urgedvoters to defeatthe disqualifiedlegislators, anduphold the dignityof the state.

People of the statehave got absolute authoritytogive their verdict againstthe disqualified MLAs, whodefected from the party for thesake of moneyand power, the

former Prime Minister said."People of the country have

their attention on the verdictthat the people of Karnataka

will give.I request them togive a verdict that

upholds the digni-ty of thes t a t e , w i t h o u tfalling for anya l l u r e m e n t s , "

Gowda tweeted."In the bypolls

that will be held tomor-row, Irequest you to vote for

JD(S) candidates and blessthem. #DefeatTheDisqualified#RejectDisqualifiedMLAs," headded.

Industrialistheld forthreateningbank official PNS n COIMBATORE

A city industrialist has beenarrested on charges of threat-ening and injuring a seniorofficial of a nationalised bankallegedly for not sanctioningloan to him, police said onWednesday. According topolice, K Vetrivelan ofSomayampalayam, hadapplied for Rs one crore loanwith the Canara Bank here inMarch as promised by a man,who claimed that he knewChief General ManagerChandrasekhar.

Vetrivelan came to thebank on Tuesday afternoonsince he was denied the loanand noticed the man talkingwith Chandrasekhar.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Stating that NanjangudWayanad Nilambur rail-way line has been inthe pipeline for sever-al years now, Congressleader Rahul Gandhion Wednesday askedthe Centre to lend sup-port to the Kerala gov-ernment to take up the cru-cial infrastructure project.

Speaking in Lok Sabha, the

Wayanad MP said that the railwayline "has been a dream of the

people... unfortunatelythe project has been

in the pipeline forseveral years now".The poor rail con-nectivity, he said,coupled with night

traffic ban on NH766 has severely

reduced mobility andrestricted inter-state trade and

commerce.

Rahul asks Centre tohelp speed up project

NANJANGUD-WAYANAD-NILAMBUR RAILWAY LINE

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government is tighteningthe noose round illegal immi-grants and instructions havebeen issued to states to sensi-tise law enforcement and intel-ligence agencies for their iden-tification and deportation,Union Minister NityanandRai said in Rajya Sabha onWednesday.

During Question Hour, Raisaid instances of illegalmigrants who came as trav-ellers, tourists or traders over-staying between 2014-17 wasonly 1,000 as compared to 1.34

lakh between 2008 and 2013.He said illegal migrantsintruded through variousmodes including as touristsand 29 lakh people camebetween 2008 to 2013 whilethe number of such peopleswelled to 56 lakh between2014 and 2017. He said inKarnataka process is on todeport 58 or 59 such persons.

"Illegal immigrants enterthe country without validtravel documents in a clan-destine and surreptitiousmanner," he said and addeddetection, detention anddeportation of such illegally

staying foreign nationals,including Bangladeshinationals, is an ongoingprocess.

The minister said theCentral government is vestedwith powers to detain a foreignnational staying illegally in thecountry under the ForeignersAct and deport such a foreignnational.

"These powers to detainand deport illegally stayingforeign nationals have alsobeen entrusted under Article258 (1) of the Constitution ofIndia to State governments,"he said.

Govt tightening noose around illegal immigrants

Afew months ago, a board wasplaced outside a monastery inTibet; it stated thatGovernment officials and com-munist cadres were not allowed

to enter the premises of the gompa as theChinese State was atheistic. One canunderstand that the Communist Party ofChina (CPC), which religiously follows theprecepts of its founding fathers, is not infavour of any spiritual practices. Morerecently, the CPC issued a notice banningretired Tibetan Government employeesfrom taking part in any religious activities.

According to Human Rights Watch, thenotice required “all Tibet AutonomousRegion (TAR) Government and retiredGovernment employees — regardless ofwhether those retirees are party members —to submit a list by August 18 of any ‘retiredpersonnel performing the kora’, the Tibetanpractice of circumambulating a sacred site.”Though the People’s Republic of China isatheist by definition and does not believe inthe return of a soul, it now wants to controlthe reincarnation of the Tibetan Lamas. Readthe “management measures for the reincar-nation of living Buddhas in TibetanBuddhism” notified by the State Council onJuly 13, 2007, and you will understand.

Article 1 spoke of “protecting religiousconcord and social harmony and protectingthe normal order of Tibetan Buddhism.” Itasserted: “Reincarnating living Buddhasshould respect the religious rituals and his-torically established systems of TibetanBuddhism.” It insists on an old ritual rarelyused, the Golden Urn, which can easily bemanipulated. Further, “Reincarnating livingBuddhas shall not be interfered with or beunder the dominion of any foreign organi-sation or individual.” In other words, the DalaiLama is not allowed to be reborn in India.

Is China an atheist or a religious State?The answer is: It depends on the interests ofthe party. When it is convenient, it follows theMarxist orthodoxy but when its interests dif-fer, the CPC becomes an expert in religiouspractices, particularly in the “reincarnation”process. Already in 2015, Padma Choling, thethen Chairman of the Standing Committeeof the TAR People’s Congress and then theonly “ethnic” Tibetan and a member of theCPC’s Central Committee, created a flutterwhen he declared: “It’s not up to the DalaiLama to decide about his own reincarnation.”He objected to an announcement by the Lamathat “his traditional religious role should ceasewith his death.” Choling affirmed that theLama’s renouncement was against “theTibetan Buddhism tradition as the soul of asenior Lama is [always] reincarnated in thebody of a child on his death.”

Marx would have shuddered in histomb had he heard Choling utter this blas-phemy. But this does not disturb theCommunist leaders “in the new era.” Today,they argue that one can be Marxist and cap-italist at the same time. A recent development

brought some clarity. OnNovember 29, the Dalai Lamaaddressed the issue of his rein-carnation at a three-day TibetanReligious Conference, a gather-ing of 117 Tibetan Buddhist andBon senior leaders, inDharamsala. During the closingceremony, the Tibetan spiritualleader told the Rinpoches thatthere was no hurry to talk abouthis reincarnation. He affirmed,“I am fine physically and men-tally — is there any hurry to talkabout my reincarnation?” Headded that he will consult hisadvisors to decide on his rein-carnation when he turns 90.

This is a welcome changefrom some contradictory state-ments he had made earlier, par-ticularly those like he was notkeen to “return”, that the systemwas “medieval” or that he wouldcome back as a woman.

On the first day of the con-ference, the assembled Lamaspassed an important three-pointresolution to counter China. Thefirst point mentioned was theKarmic bond between the DalaiLamas and the Tibetan people,which is “unbreakable.” It addedthat all Tibetans “genuinely wishfor the continuation of the insti-tution and reincarnation of theDalai Lama in the future.” TheLama was supplicated to “comeback.”

The second point made itclear that “the authority of deci-

sion concerning the way and themanner in which the next rein-carnation of the 14th DalaiLama should appear solely restswith His Holiness, the 14thDalai Lama himself. NoGovernment or otherwise willhave such authority.” It was thebest way to counteract Beijing’sstance (and new religious “skills”).

The third point the monks’gathering urged was that “thesame unique Tibetan tradition-al method, which has beencontinuously used until now,will be followed.”

Though it says that thismethod conforms to “the basicphilosophy and tenets of theBuddha dharma and originatedin Tibet over 800 years ago,” nodetails were provided, leavingthe door open to possiblemanipulation by China.Incidentally, it is regrettablethat among the 117 seniormonks, the feminine gender wasnot represented. This is proba-bly one of the reasons why theDalai Lama terms the system as“medieval.”

The Chinese are aware thatthe reincarnation system is notpurely a religious affair; it hasalways had a political angle. Onehistorical example is the strifebetween the ninth Panchen andthe 13th Dalai Lama, whichrevolved around taxes to be paidby the Panchen Lama estate tothe Dalai Lama’s Government.

As a result of the dispute, thePanchen took refuge in Chinain 1923; he was well-looked afterby the Kuomintang, who had aneye on Tibet. A Chinese schol-ar recently wrote that “the treat-ment of the ninth PanchenLama was further enhanced inresponse to [China’s] needs onthe border [with India]. In June1931, the National Governmentappointed the ninth PanchenLama as an Ambassador and setup an agency which was givena hefty monthly budget of15,000 yuans.”

The Panchen Lama himselfreceived 120,000 yuans month-ly. It was not a salary, said thescholar, but “for his personalexpenses and the living expens-es of his followers and monks.”

The fact that the USCongress recently passed a Billon the succession or reincarna-tion of the Dalai Lama andother Tibetan Buddhist leadersshows that it is still a highlypolitical issue today. TheTibetans should be left alone todecide their spiritual futurebut even if India does notinterfere, New Delhi does havehigh stakes in the issue, partic-ularly in connection with theHimalayan region whereBuddhism has so far played astabilising role. The Dalai Lamais hopefully aware of this.

(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations)

The world may not run on Made in Indiacars or necessarily wear clothes madein an Indian textile mill or even use Indian

weapons but almost every citizen has beentouched by software and hardware engineeredby an Indian. Now, the news that Sundar Pichai,the boss of Google, is about to become thetop dog at Alphabet, Google’s parent compa-ny, is something that should be celebrated. He,of course, will not be the first Indian to headone of America’s top companies. That hon-our went to Satya Nadella, who has quietly and

surely been heading Microsoft for five years now. Nobody really knows the secretsauce that makes Indian engineers and managers such great corporate leaders.At one level, it is depressing that Indians have to go to the US and to a lesserextent the UK, to discover their ultimate potential. While the success of peoplelike Nadella and Pichai is a matter of great pride for Indians, it is also an awfulindictment of the Indian system where mediocrity rules the roost because suc-cess is not encouraged through a competitive format or celebrated.

This is evident in a system, where churning out millions of graduates is seenas more important than the concept of excellence, where education for educa-tion’s sake matters more than the actual results. One has to encounter a com-ical situation where you have an apparent doctorate holder applying for a peon’sjob. This isn’t an indictment of the lack of jobs but one where the education sys-tem has failed us. Because mediocrity is celebrated at the cost of excellence.India continues to suffer immense brain drain because the best and brightesthave little choice but to go abroad to fulfill their potential. Of course, India hasmany ills that the system is aiming to correct, particularly the caste system andthe lack of social inclusion but social mobility will come not just from reserva-tions. A serious audit must be done on the reservations in educational institu-tions even though the idea itself is an anathema to any mass politician. We haveto look at the conclusions of the education system and not just the stories ofPichai and Nadella. We have to question why they had to leave the country?And why neither a Nadella or Pichai couldn’t be heading a global top-100 out ofIndia instead. Of course, the US will continue to attract the best and brightestfrom across the world. That is what makes that country great. But in celebrat-ing Pichai, we should not miss the opportunity to introspect.

They say one can never trust SharadPawar, the politician, no matter how large-hearted and generous a host he is on

home ground at Baramati. Call him a pragma-tist, negotiator, bargainer or flipper, theNationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief is onthe high table of all politicians. He may havebroken away from the Congress over ideolo-gy but knows his mantras are no good with-out a practical module to execute them. Thatexplains his opportunistic alliances to have ashot at power, aligning with the Congress even

though he rebelled against it or even supporting the polar opposite of the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP). So when he crafted a series of interviews, detailing how hewas offered a deal on Maharashtra by Prime Minister Narendra Modi no less, itseemed contrary to his level-headed neutrality. In fact, it seemed too much ofan aberrant behaviour. For exposing the BJP, currently being battered over its con-stitutional misadventure in that State, is one thing, implicating Modi quite the other.That too spilling the beans on a private conversation where the tradeoff was clear-ly spelt out — cooperating with the BJP at the State level in return for a CentralMinistry for Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule. He has also demanded reopeningthe Sohrabuddin encounter case and judge Loya’s death, both of which can putHome Minister Amit Shah in a spot. Going by past vindictiveness of the Modi-Shah duo, why would Pawar risk burning his bridges with the BJP leadershipthat he had bailed out before? On the face of it, it could be read as his game ofone-upmanship, one where he was avenging the BJP’s games of poaching onhis turf and engineering defections in the NCP before the Assembly polls. Thenthere was the slew of corruption cases stacked up against his kin. Pushing 80,probably the Maratha warrior thought that he had to fight his last political battlezealously and morally. And he did, winning the bypolls in Satara, the seat ofChhatrapati Shivaji, where he campaigned under the rains and ensured the defeatof his rebel and Shivaji’s descendant Udayanraje Bhonsle. The verdict meant are-anointment of Pawar as a true keeper of the Marathi legacy, one that drewhim to Shiv Sena’s local-centric and cultural vision. In fact, Pawar was carefulenough to clarify that Sena was always upfront about Hindutva, too, but did notbring that to governance and administration, carefully separating it from the BJP’simpassioned politics of nationalism. He even reiterated that the Maharashtra VikasAghadi Government was committed to the Common Minimum Programme. TheSena daily, Saamna, became his spokesman noting how Modi called the NCPas a “Naturally Corrupt Party” and Amit Shah questioned Pawar’s contributionto Maharashtra before the State polls. Its editorial asked, “If all that was true,then what kind of benefit was the BJP anticipating from NCP’s experience?”

However, revenge would be too easy an explanation when it comes to Pawar.He is not explosive but Machiavellian. And at the end of the day, everybody believesthat Ajit Pawar’s palace coup was probably stage-managed to build some momen-tum in the Congress camp to shed inhibitions and join the government. Or givenBJP MP Anant Hegde’s wild claim that the temporary swearing-in was done toaccess `40,000 crore of funds and divert them, making Ajit a fall guy wouldseem perfect, assuming this hypothetical scenario did happen. Also, contraryto constant rebuttals of the bhakt brigade, it is rather odd that no denial has comefrom the BJP leadership on Pawar’s expose. Can this, therefore, mean that thedeeper understanding of the old warhorses continues while a divergence of opin-ions is being highlighted on the surface? After all, it is only Pawar who needsto convey that he is indeed worthy of trust. Particularly for the Congress, whoseadvisers have time and again been warning their chief Sonia Gandhi that sheneeds to be wary about him and not go in for the Aghadi experiment at all. ButSonia did give in ultimately to the State legislators, who wanted to be relevantand shore up their bases. Are the interviews, therefore, Pawar’s attempt to clearthe clouds over his integrity and appear righteous? This serves him both ways,he can still be considered as a strong anchor of the Opposition and by somepublic shaming, rein in the BJP from getting adventurous about toppling the Aghadicoalition. At least he will be the helmsman till his next masterstroke or chicanery,depending on which side of the prism you are looking at.

New Pawar play

Hard economic truths

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“India Inc worried” (December 4).Industrialist Rahul Bajaj is prob-ably the most outspoken voice ofIndian Inc. He has always beenforthcoming with his views on keyissues affecting the economy. Sowhen he asked if the presentGovernment was open to criti-cism and that there was a sense offear among entrepreneurs andbusinessmen, it’s really worthpondering over. It was hearteningthat Home Minister Amit Shahacknowledged his concerns andpromised that indeed if what hesaid was true, then hisGovernment would work on theissue. However, it was surprisingthat Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman said that Bajaj’s com-ment could hurt national interests.

Our economy grew at 4.5 percent in the last quarter of the pre-sent financial year, the slowest inthe last 26 quarters. This is proofthat something is seriously wrongin the way the economy is beingmanaged. Some external factorsmay be the reason but we can’thave an ostrich-like approach.

Bal GovindNoida

The other perspective

Sir — This refers to the article,“Historic leap of faith” (December3) by Priyanka Chaturvedi. It istrue that the BJP showed haste informing a Government inMaharashtra. Perhaps it could notread through the hollow claims ofNationalist Congress Party (NCP)

leader Ajit Pawar, who said he hadthe backing of his party’s MLAs.Thus, the BJP became vulnerableto onslaught from all sides.

However, I do not subscribeto the writer’s viewpoint thatthere is no analogy between theway Governments were formed inKarnataka and Maharashtrarespectively. The writer is of theview that in Karnataka, the JD(S)

and the Congress, who werefighting elections separately,formed the Government out ofconvenience. On the other hand,she has opined that inMaharashtra, the public wantedthe Shiv Sena-Congress-NCPcombine to form theGovernment. Does this not soundludicrous? Rather, the oppositeholds true. The public had given

the mandate to the BJP-ShivSena combine. Had the BJP notacted in haste, it would haveproved itself cynosure of all eyesamong the public.

It is also true that if the pre-sent Uddhav Thackeray-ledGovernment falls, how will itface the public if mid-term pollsare held, a fact ignored by theSena. Moreover, can the ShivSena afford to ignore or dilute itsHindutva ideology if it contin-ues to enjoy power for full term?

Sagar SinghMuzaffarnagar

Forest for the tiger

Sir — It’s encouraging that thetiger population in the countryhas increased by 750 in the lastfour years to 2,976. However, thisshould also mean a correspond-ing increase in the number ofpeople visiting the forest areas.With the rise in their numbers, itis also essential to expand andbuild new sanctuaries so that thebig cats have roaming privileges.

SunitaVia email

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

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op nionVIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 5, 2019

06

Politics of reincarnation

CLAUDE ARPI

Tibetans should be left alone to decide their spiritual future but even if India does not interfere,it does have high stakes in the issue, particularly in connection with the Himalayan region

The big directors didn't takeme, so I had to work with thenew ones. When big peopledon't take you, you have tostart your own journey.

Actor—Akshay Kumar

We want to help other coun-tries follow the Indian modelof transitioning from beingan aid recipient to a partnerand then to a donor.

USAID Administrator —Mark Green

S O U N D B I T E

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

A reminder of terrorist threats

Friday's knife attacks in London have sent shockwavesacross the world. They have demonstrated, once again,the increasing vulnerability of the civilised world vis-

a-vis brainwashed, bloodthirsty terrorists. Risking theirlives, some brave British citizens restrained the terroristbefore the arrival of the police. That should be the spir-it. The terrorist was identified as 28-year-old Usman Khan,a British citizen born in London and of Pakistani origin.A terrorist is a terrorist and his origin should be of noaccount. Yet the attack raises an important question: Howwas a convict, who had spent jail time and whose pro-clivities for terrorism had been well established, left toroam free without any surveillance?

The British police shot the young terrorist dead afterhe was restrained. They obviously did not want to takeany chance. But had such an incident happened in India,the policeman, who would have pulled the trigger, wouldhave incurred national and international opprobrium forshooting a suspect and the country would have been cen-sured in Geneva. The London Bridge wouldn’t have been

safe for civilians but for the Islamic State. There's no suchthing as a good terrorist. All terrorists are savages andthey must be treated as such. The same holds true fortheir backers, who flaunt socio-political causes in a bidto justify mindless violence as justice.

JS AcharyaHyderabad

THE SPIRITUALLEADER

ANNOUNCED THATTHERE WAS NO

HURRY TO TALKABOUT HIS

REINCARNATION.THIS IS A

WELCOME CHANGEFROM SOME

CONTRADICTORYSTATEMENTS HEMADE EARLIER,PARTICULARLYTHOSE LIKE HE

WAS NOT KEEN TORETURN, THAT THE

SYSTEM WASMEDIEVAL OR THAT

HE WOULD COMEBACK AS A WOMAN

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

India's greatest exportThe custom of ghoonghatis still prevalent in society.We are living in the era ofscience. The time has cometo put an end to this.

Rajasthan CM—Ashok Gehlot

By exposing the BJP, the NCP leader is warning it againsttopple moves and at the same time reassuring Cong, Sena

‘Make in India' might be in the ICU but as Pichai’selevation shows, Indian brains are still in demand

The Government will notbe a postman on the issueof appointment of judgesbut be a stakeholder andhave a say.

Union Minister —Ravi Shankar Prasad

Ecstasy fades as reality bites

OUR FORMER FINANCE MINISTER P CHIDAMBARAMHAS NO ANSWER TO THE (GRAFT) ALLEGATIONS

LEVELLED AGAINST HIM.—BJP MP

RAKESH SINHA

CHIDAMBARAM’S 106-DAY INCARCERATION WASVINDICTIVE. I’M CONFIDENT THAT HE WILL BE ABLETO PROVE HIS INNOCENCE IN A FAIR TRIAL.—CONGRESS LEADERRAHUL GANDHI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Time changes fast and so does the mood ofthe people. The initial euphoria over theabrogation of Articles 35A, 370 and division

of the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K)into two Union Territories is dying and stark real-ity is staring the people in the face. They are dis-appointed by the fact that the situation is wors-ening and not improving. Unemployment, corrup-tion, poor governance, red tape and a non-respon-sive administration continue to haunt the people.

While officialese like “large projects requirea gestation period”, “large investments will taketime to flow in”, “no loss of lives is paramount” and“there will be no compromise on security” is wellunderstood by the people, it is the widening dis-connect between the citizens and the administra-tion that is worrying.

Though the post-August 5 dynamics areentirely different in Jammu & Kashmir, there is onecommonality and that is the need to win the con-fidence of the people. Nothing much has been donein this respect either by the Central Governmentor the UT administration headed by the newly-appointed Lieutenant-Governor. Lofty announce-ments made by the last Governor of the formerState remain on paper and have yet to be imple-mented.

Pakistan was a nuisance then and it contin-ues to remain so even today. The figures tabled inthe Parliament by the Minister of State for HomeAffairs do not project a positive picture as far aslaw and order is concerned. As per him, there were361 cases of stone pelting/law and order disrup-tion up to August 4 and 190 from August 5 toNovember 15. Going purely by statistics, whilethere were 51 cases per month prior to August 4,the figure went up to 54 cases per month afterAugust 5. Not a very rosy picture, despite thechanged circumstances and the increased deploy-ment of security forces.

Though there have been no civilian deaths dueto retaliation by the security forces, Pakistan-spon-sored terrorists have been able to create fearthrough random killing of civilians and migrantlabourers associated with the industry and theapple trade. The speed at which procedures werecarried out during “Operation All Out” to flushterrorists has decelerated and “Operation CleanUp” has yet to gain momentum, though in win-ters it is easier to track down and eliminate ter-rorists as they are forced to vacate their hideoutsin the upper reaches.

The crusade launched against graft by the pre-vious Governor received an overwhelmingresponse and people were happy when the corrup-tion in the J&K Bank was exposed. But after theinitial hullabaloo nothing much has happened tilldate, creating a doubt in the people’s mind overthe Government’s sincerity in dealing with the cor-rupt.

More than a dozen proven cases of corruptionpertaining to prominent politicians, including ex-Ministers, have been languishing for more than adecade, with no forward movement at all underthe present dispensation, too. No action has yetbeen taken against those involved in scams in theJ&K Cricket Association and the Roshini scheme.Many other cases of corruption, including a fewinvolving former Chief Ministers exposed by theprevious Governor, have yet to be investigated. Themuch talked about Employees Group Insurance

scam seems to have been buried, too.This has disappointed the citizens whowere anxiously looking forward to actionagainst the corrupt. Gradually, the con-fidence in the system is getting eroded.

Grassroot-level democracy wasintroduced in the State with much fan-fare and the people participated in thepanchayat and local body elections inlarge numbers, defying terrorist threats.But nothing seems to have changedthereafter. These bodies are still cryingfor empowerment and financial indepen-dence and promises made to them haveyet to be fulfilled. The lukewarmresponse to the Back to Village initiativeto reach out to the people at the grass-roots level as compared to its first ver-sion will certainly be a cause of worry forthe new L-G.

The promise of providing 50,000Government jobs to the youth remainsunfulfilled and there is no indication ofthe Government even putting the processinto motion. Though there were certainrecruitments made by the police but thepeople belonging to the West Pakistanrefugee community and other deprivedcommunities were denied entry as theydid not possess a Permanent ResidenceCertificate, which should have becomeirrelevant post abrogation of Article 35A.The much-awaited domicile laws haveyet to see the light of day adding to theprevailing feeling of disappointment.

After abrogation of Article 370, thepeople were hoping that the policy of onenation, one tax would be implementedhere as well but the levying of toll tax onselect goods entering the UT throughLakhanpur has added to the list of woes.

The lack of internet for over 100 dayshas not gone down well with the people

as it has become a necessity not just foraccessing Government services but alsofor running businesses, trades, offices,hospitals and hotels. Security is para-mount but blanket denial of this facili-ty amounts to collective punishment.Mass punishments seldom resolve theproblem but in fact add to it because ofcollective annoyance. It is not onlyadversely affecting students and busi-nesses, it is also adding to theGovernment’s revenue loss due to non-filing of various mandatory returns.

However, every dark cloud has a sil-ver lining. The fall in the number of localyouth joining the militant ranks is veryheartening. Long queues seen at therecruiting rallies of the police, IndianArmy and Central Armed Police Forcesare even more heartening. But theGovernment has to provide moreavenues of employment to the youth tokeep them away from militancy becausethe adverse effects of conflict-relatedstress can easily make them rebellious.There is a need to give a fillip to tradi-tional sectors like horticulture, handi-craft, tourism, handloom, animal hus-bandry and agriculture.

The people of Jammu had welcomedthe abrogation of Article 370 with openarms and has countered the propagan-da launched by the status-quoists. Butnow, the prevailing view in Jammu is thatwhile de jure Jammu has been rid ofKashmiri hegemony, de facto it contin-ues to remain subservient to theKashmir-centric approach of the bureau-cracy. This anomaly needs to be set rightby the administration.

The big question in the mind of mostof the people is “what has changed”?Nothing can change as long as the

administration remains cast in the samemould as it was during the era of 370.The raja (king) and praja (citizen)approach has to give way to the sevak(worker) and praja system to gain theconfidence of the people.

Revival of tourism is crucial to winpeople’s confidence because it affectsboth the regions. Special “Leave TravelConcession” packages for CentralGovernment employees for visitingKashmir during winters are likely toincrease the footfall of civilian touriststoo.

Exclusive fast track courts need to beset up to try corruption cases and inves-tigations must be speeded up. Deadwoodshould be got rid of or sent on postingsto some distant UTs.

To save the youth from further rad-icalisation, not only the madrasas butschool education needs a thoroughoverhaul. The Jammat cadre, which hasbeen rehabilitated under the Rehbar-i-Taleem scheme, is doing greater harmthan the teachers of the madrasas.

Genuine grievances of the peopleneed to be considered sympatheticallyand disposed of without the baggage oferstwhile State politics. The administra-tion needs to engage the aggrieved sec-tion in a dialogue and close their griev-ances. This will help win the confidenceof the people in the short-term so thatthey become willing partners in ensur-ing the success of long-term measures,as envisaged in the new narrative. Thisis essential to bring peace, stability, devel-opment and happiness for the people ofthe Union Territory of Jammu-Kashmir.

(The author is a Jammu-based vet-eran, political commentator, analyst,columnist, security and strategic analyst.)

Now that the initial excitement over abrogation of Article 370 has died, peopleare waking up to the harsh truth that nothing much has changed on the ground

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

Save that groundyou walk on

RAJESH AGGARWAL

Though agrochemicals have ushered in a GreenRevolution, their overuse remains a threat.

Let’s introspect on World Soil Day

ANIL GUPTA

THOUGH THEPOST-AUGUST 5DYNAMICS ARE

ENTIRELYDIFFERENT INJAMMU AND

KASHMIR,THERE IS ONE

COMMONALITYAND THAT IS THE

NEED TO WIN THECONFIDENCE OF

THE PEOPLE.NOTHING MUCHHAS BEEN DONE

IN THIS RESPECTEITHER BY THE

CENTRALGOVERNMENT OR

THE UTADMINISTRATION

HEADED BY THENEW

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.

LOFTYANNOUNCEMENTS

MADE BY THELAST GOVERNOROF THE FORMER

STATE REMAIN ONPAPER AND HAVE

YET TO BEIMPLEMENTED

This year has been an eventful one, for who would have thoughtthat our protective guards, the Amazon rainforest, would beravaged with fire. This is, however, not an isolated incident as

burning forests to create land for agriculture is an age-old practice.Slash and burn agriculture is a widely-used method in which wildor forested land is cleared by cutting trees and any remaining veg-etation is burnt. The resulting ash is said to provide the newly-clearedland with a nutrient-rich layer that acts as a fertiliser for the crops.Every year, people in north and west India battle smog and poorair quality only because farmers in the region opt for burning thestubble instead of using more scientific methods to dispose the bio-mass. They do this as they find burning crop residue to be morecost-effective. But such unscientific methods do more harm to thesoil quality and to agricultural yields in the long run than the farm-ers can imagine.

The right crop for the soil type: India has various types of soil,ranging from the fertile alluvial of the Indo-Gangetic plains to theblack and red soil of the Deccan Plateau. For instance, in the Stateof Tamil Nadu, soil in the fields in Salem and Periyar districts is redwhile that in the fields of Coimbatore and Ramanathapuram is black.Different kinds of soil are suited to growing different types of cropsthrough their unique physical, chemical and biological properties.Alluvial soil is a fertile soil, rich in potassium and is suitable for agri-culture, especially for crops such as paddy, sugarcane and plan-tain. Red soil has high iron content and is fit for crops like red gram,Bengal gram, green gram, groundnut and castor seed. Black soilis rich in calcium, potassium and magnesium but has poor nitro-gen content. Crops like cotton, tobacco, chilli, oil seeds, jowar, ragiand maize grow well in it. Sandy soil is low in nutrient content butis useful for growing trees such as coconut, cashew and casuar-inas in areas with high rainfall. However, with better irrigation andtreated seeds, factors like these have seemingly become irrelevantto the farmers. To force a land fit for jowar and ragi to produce paddyby using fertilisers indiscriminately is not only a waste of resources,it adversely impacts the soil health and may affect the future growthof crops too.

Repeating single crop cultivation over the years: Traditionally,farmers chose to cultivate a number of crops on a piece of landand even left it uncultivated so as to allow it to regain fertility. Thisrotational farming helped the soil regain the nutrition that it had lostin the previous crop cycle. Both land-use change and intensifica-tion of agricultural production on existing croplands can have sig-nificant adverse impacts on soil but these impacts depend critical-ly on farming techniques.

Inappropriate cultivation practices can reduce organic matterand increase erosion by removing permanent soil cover. The removalof plant residues can reduce nutrient contents and increase green-house gas emissions through loss of soil carbon. However, fallowland is more of a compulsion today than a choice — keeping landuncultivated means financial loss, something farmers can ill-affordat a juncture when they are battling poor prices. Though theGovernment has been working in this direction but the responseto the same has been lukewarm.

Lack of knowledge: The variety of crops cultivated earlier isgone as, in pursuit of more income, farmers cultivate only thosecrops that tends to fetch good prices. As a result, a piece of landis used for cultivating the same crop cycle over and over for yearstogether. Farmers also choose specific crops, also known as cashcrops, over food crops in order to get a better price for their pro-duce. However, their sustained cultivation harms the soil health asit naturally drains it of its fertility. To cope with it, farmers have touse large amounts of fertilisers. This jeopardises soil health all themore. To counter this, farmers must be made aware of the rightkind of agrochemicals needed for their crops and how they mustbe used judiciously.

The fact remains that agrochemicals have ushered in the GreenRevolution in India and turned the country from a food-deficient nationto a food grain-surplus country. According to the Ministry ofAgriculture, use of technical grade pesticide in India has gone upfrom 47,000 tonnes in 2001 to 53,000 tonnes in 2017. Schemeslike soil health card and various irrigation projects have only addedto India’s capacity to remain self-sufficient in terms of its food require-ment. Yet, the dangers of overuse of these chemicals and fertilis-ers remain a real threat to India’s future food security, the environ-ment and soil health. These issues need to be countered throughawareness, education and long-term policy decisions and not knee-jerk reactions.

(The writer is managing director of an insecticides manufac-turing firm)

In India and south-east Asia, we havetraditionally and culturally celebrat-ed transgender people from time

immemorial. With colonisation andother cultural shifts, the idea of a diver-sity mosaic, which was intrinsic to theDNA of our existence, seemed to fadeway in time.

A struggle started in 2014 with theNALSA Vs Union of India case andcontinues till today, where the legisla-ture has a chance to undo the atroci-ties the trans community has been sub-jected to over time, much like what theSupreme Court (SC) did for theSection 377 verdict in September2018.

Can we imagine a world withoutseparation and labels? I wonder what

that would be like? A Bill, meant to pro-tect the trans-community, stands on thevery foundation that evokes the idea ofdiscrimination. The TransgenderRights Bill treats gender in a fixed bina-ry, which goes against the basic prin-ciple that trans-rights activists havebeen fighting for. The concept ofrequiring certification to prove one’sgender is draconian. It not only stemsfrom the idea of discrimination but alsoprovides a doorway for increased cor-ruption. An already ostracised and eco-nomically weak community will be fur-ther humiliated and exploited to enablethis said process of certification.According to a trans-activist, the 2014NALSA judgment stated that transgen-der people had the right to gender self-identification and that a trans-personcould choose to identify as a male,female or third gender.

The Government’s Bill says thatone has to go through a DistrictMagistrate (DM) to receive a certificateapproving one’s identity as a trans-per-son. However, to be identified as maleor female, one will have to undergosurgery and then get the certificaterevised.

Protection is the right of everymarginalised community but the ulti-mate aim is to get them on par in soci-ety. The provisions of the TransgenderRights Bill passed by the Parliament failon all accounts.

No legal protection against rapeand sexual assault: The new Bill doesnot fill the legal gap by laying out anymuch-needed, specific provisions orpunishments to deal with the rampantissue of sexual violence, rape andassault of trans-people. The Bill onlystates, whoever “harms or injures orendangers the life, safety, health, orwell-being, whether mental or physi-cal, of a transgender person or tendsto do acts including causing physicalabuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emo-tional abuse and economic abuse,shall be punishable with imprisonmentfor a term which shall not be less thansix months but which may extend totwo years and with fine”, as opposed toa minimum seven-year jail term in theIndian Penal Code for sexual assault ona woman. This implies that it is “okay”to violate the bodies of transgenders,or it is less of a crime to force yourselfon a trans-individual.

No job reservation: As far asaddressing economic equality, whatexactly is the road map for the integra-tion and protection of the trans-com-munity? In the NALSA judgment, theState and Central Governments wereasked to extend reservations to trans-people in education and public employ-ment. However, there is no mention ofa reservation in the Bill. It is creatingroadblocks in terms of employmentand education. As per the directions ofthe SC, trans people were to be includ-ed in the Other Backward Class (OBC)quota for jobs and education. The Billhas disregarded that directive.

Parenthood: How can one over-look the cumulative effects of theSurrogacy Bill and the TransgenderRights Bill. Put the two together andtrans people, who are either single orun-operated, can bid the idea of sur-rogacy and therefore parenthood,goodbye.

A study of the Bill makes it clearthat those drafting it neither have sen-sitivities for the community nor arequalified to undertake the task. The Billidentifies transgender and intersexpersons together. There is no distinc-

tion between biological sex and gen-der. What’s more bizarre and disap-pointing is that stakeholders were notconsulted while drafting or amendingthe Bill. After there have been numer-ous protests by the community acrossthe country regarding the irksome pro-visions of the Bill, ignoring the com-munity’s reservations shows the apathyof the Government and its insincerityin protecting the rights of trans-indi-viduals. The Bill has flouted basichuman rights, the directions of the apexcourt and the guidelines set by inter-national bodies like the World MedicalAssociation and the World ProfessionalAssociation for Transgender Health.What we do get instead are some cos-metic changes like district screeningcommittees and dilution of the beggingprovision.

The Bill violates the fundamentalrights of transgenders. The trans-community believes that the Bill makesa mockery of their personhood, com-munity, rights and only adds to every-day humiliation and violation. I con-cur. In its current state, the Bill is pro-moting transphobia. The need of thehour is to support the community and

listen to the voices emerging from it.Unless we figure out the root of a leak,it is impossible to stem the flow ofwater. Similarly, if we don’t understandthe issues plaguing the community, anyBill will only work as a superficial ban-dage without providing any real heal-ing.

As my activist friend Zainab sum-marises, “Instead of protecting and pro-moting our rights and entitlements, theGovernment has taken away our rightto self-determine our gender, forceful-ly rehabilitated us with biological fam-ilies. It has willfully remained silent onissues of reservation and watereddown punishment for hate crimes andassaults on us.”

The authorities concerned need tointeract with trans-community mem-bers and take their point of view intoaccount. I am not one to despair andlose hope but the Parliament’s approvalof this Transgender Rights Bill doesmake me understand the enormity ofthe task in front of us. It is upon us, thepeople, to assert what we desire thefuture of our nation to be.

(The writer is Executive Director,The Lalit Hotels)

Whose rights is the Trans Bill protecting?The concept of requiring certification to prove one’s gender is draconian. It not only stems from the idea of discrimination

but also opens the door for increased corruption and humiliation of an already ostracised community

KESHAV SURI

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 5, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

British Prime Minister BorisJohnson uses conservative socialpositions to encourage poorvoters to betray theireconomic interests. BrexitBritain pines for the past.Yet a century ago the freemarket created squalidslums and soup kitchens.Today we have tent citiesand food banks. It must be a concern for thecountry that if he wins,Johnson’s campaignnostalgia is likely to becomeprophecy.

(The Guardian editorial)

PLAN TO SPREADPOVERTY WIDELY?

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 5, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

Ramco Systems bags5-year deal from

Middle East-based MNCNEW DELHI: Ramco Systemson Wednesday said itssubsidiary in the Middle Easthas bagged a five year order,for an "undisclosed sum", froma large independent family-owned multinational companyto implement its logisticssolution. The city-basedcompany, in a filing to the stockexchanges said Ramco SystemsFZ-LLC, Dubai would implementRamco Logistics ERP to theentity, which has presenceacross Middle East, NorthAfrica, Europe and Asia and hasa 4,000 strong workforce. TheGulf-based group wouldimplement Ramco WarehouseManagement System, part ofRamco Logistics Software, forits logistics division offeringfreight forwarding and end-to-end multimodal supply chainsolutions to effectively managestorage space, open yard storagefacility, the notification said.

Shilpa Medicare getsEIR from USFDA forRaichur facilityNEW DELHI: Pharma firmShilpa Medicare onWednesday said it hasreceived an establishmentinspection report (EIR) fromthe US health regulator for itsRaichur facility in Karnataka.An EIR is given to a unit onsuccessful closure of aninspection conducted by theUnited States Food and DrugAdministration (USFDA). Thecompany announcedsuccessful closure of theinspection conducted at itsactive pharmaceuticalingredient (API) manufacturingsite at Raichur with the receiptof EIR from the USFDA, ShilpaMedicare said in a filing to theBSE. The inspection wasconducted from July 22-26,2019 , it added. ShilpaMedicare stock was trading atRs 292, up 0.69 per cent fromthe previous close, on the BSE.The inspection was conductedfrom July 22-26, 2019 , itadded.

Punjab & Sind Bankseeks to mop up Rs 500 cr via QIPNEW DELHI: TState-ownedPunjab and Sind Bank (PSB)seeks to raise up to Rs 500crore through qualifiedinstitutional placement (QIP)route. The bank's board willmeet on December 6 toconsider and approve thefundraising, according to a BSEfiling on Tuesday. "A meeting ofBoard of Directors of Punjab &Sind Bank is scheduled forDecember 6, 2019 at NewDelhi...to revalidate the approvalfor a further period of 12months to issue of equity sharesby way of QIP up to an amountof Rs 500 crore," the filing said. The bank's stock was trading atRs 20.15, up 0.50 per cent fromthe previous close, on the BSE.

Google CEO to head Alphabet also asparent company founders step downPTI n WASHINGTON

Sundar Pichai, Google's CEOwill also become the chief ofthe parent company Alphabetafter the internet giant's co-founders Larry Page andSergey Brin stepped downfrom their executive roles,making the India-born techwizard one of the world's mostpowerful corporate leaders.

Page and Brin are steppingdown as CEO and President,respectively, of Alphabet, thecompany announced onTuesday.

Pichai, 47, the current CEOof Google and a longtime exec-utive at the company, will takeover as CEO of Alphabet inaddition to his current role.

"I'm excited about Alphabet'slong term focus on tackling bigchallenges through technology.Thanks to Larry & Sergey, wehave a timeless mission, endur-ing values and a culture of col-laboration & exploration - astrong foundation we'll con-tinue to build on," Pichai tweet-ed after the announcement ofhis elevation.

"The move confirms theascendancy of Mr. Pichai, asone of tech's most powerfulpeople," The New York Timescommented.

"Now he is the sole execu-tive in charge of a companythat has giant businesses in

search, advertising, maps,smartphone software andonline video, as well as a vari-ety of fledgling bets in far-offareas like drone deliveries andinternet-beaming balloons," itsaid.

Considered as a significantshakeup in the Silicon Valleycompany, the shuffle comes ata time when Google is facingmounting scrutiny over itssize, data privacy practices andpotential impact on society.

With Alphabet now well-established, and Google and'Other Bets' operating effec-tively as independent compa-nies, it's the natural time tosimplify our management

structure, the two Google co-founders, who are both 46,wrote in a public letter.

"We've never been ones tohold on to management roleswhen we think there's a betterway torun thec omp a -ny," theysaid.

" A n dAlphabetand Google no longer need twoCEOs and a President. Goingforward, Sundar will be theCEO of both Google andAlphabet. He will be the exec-utive responsible and account-able for leading Google, and

managing Alphabet's invest-ment in our portfolio of OtherBets," said Page and Brin.

The co-founders will con-tinue to serve on Alphabet'sboard of directors.

"We are deeply committed toGoogle and Alphabet for thelong term, and will remainactively involved as Boardmembers, shareholders andco-founders. In addition, weplan to continue talking withSundar regularly, especially ontopics we're passionate about!"they wrote.

Page and Brin, who found-ed theinternetg i a n tover twodecadesago, tookl e s s e r

roles in day-to-day operationsin the company in 2015 whenthey turned Google intoAlphabet.

In his statement, Pichaimade it clear that the transitionwill not affect the Alphabet

structure or the work they doday-to-day.

"I will continue to be veryfocused on Google and thedeep work we're doing to pushthe boundaries of computingand build a more helpfulGoogle for everyone," he wrote.

"At the same time, I'm excit-ed about Alphabet and its longterm focus on tackling bigchallenges through technolo-gy," he said in his email.

Pichai took over as CEO ofGoogle in 2015 as part of thecompany's broader corporaterestructuring to createAlphabet. Prior that, Pichai hadheld a variety of roles at thecompany, including overseeingChrome, product chief ofGoogle and head of theAndroid operating system.

Endorsing the leadership roleplayed by Pichai ever since hewas made Google CEO, Pageand Sergey said the Indian-American IT expert bringshumility and a deep passion fortechnology to their users, part-ners, and employees every day.

Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai)I'm excited about Alphabet's long term focus on

tackling big challenges through technology. Thanks to Larry &Sergey, we have a timeless mission, enduring values and aculture of collaboration & exploration - a strong foundationwe'll continue to build on

KARVY CASE

SAT refusesimmediate reliefto lendersPNS n MUMBAI

The Securities AppellateTribunal on Wednesdayrefused any immediate relief totop lenders who had peti-tioned against the transfer ofsecurities held with KarvyStock Broking Ltd back to theclients.

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bankand IndusInd Bank had con-tended that many of thesesecurities have been used toborrow money from themand had asked the tribunal toeither get back the securities tothem or freeze them in anescrow account.

The case pertainsto the securities heldby Karvy, which wereallegedly used by thebrokerage for borrow-ing courtesy the powerof attorneys that theyhad. The securities held byover 83,000 clients were givenback to them on Monday,forcing Bajaj Finance to moveSAT and secure an interimrelief on further transfers.

The private sector banksjoined the petition on Tuesdayand there was a lengthy hear-ing.

On November 22, Sebibarred KSBL from taking new

clients in respect of its stockbroking activities and alsoprevented it from using the

power of attorney(PoA) given by clientsafter the broker wasfound to have alleged-ly misused clients'securities.

On Wednesday,SAT bench comprising

members -- C K G NAIR andJustice M T Joshi -- said nofurther relief can be granted tothe lenders beyond the orderin the Bajaj Finance plea.

They asked the lenders toapproach Sebi by December 6with a fresh plea. A WholeTime Member of the regulatorwould give a personal hearingto the aggrieved parties andpass an order by December 12.

The case pertainsto the securitiesheld by Karvy,which wereallegedly used bythe brokerage forborrowingcourtesy thepower ofattorneys thatthey had

Cabinet approves exchange traded fundfor bonds; likely to hit mkt this monthPNS n NEW DELHI

After exchange traded fund forequities, the Union Cabinet onWednesday approved thelaunch of exchange tradedfund (ETF) for bonds to createan additional source of fund-ing for Central Public SectorEnterprises (CPSEs) and state-owned financial institutions.

The New Fund Offer (NFO)of this ETF is expected be tolaunched during Decemberitself. Bharat Bond ETF wouldbe the first corporate bondETF in the country.

"With the creation andlaunch of umbrella ETF wehope to diversify investorbase," Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman toldreporters after the Cabinetheaded by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi gave in-prin-ciple approval to bond ETF.

It will help deepen bondmarket as was announced inthe Budget, she said.

ETF will be a basket of bondsissued by state firms or any gov-ernment organisation, and willbe tradable on exchange, she

said, adding that the unit sizewill be of Rs 1,000, allowingsmall investors to invest.

Each ETF will have fixedmaturity date and will trackunderlying index on riskreplication basis, she said,adding that for now it willhave two maturity series -- 3

and 10 years -- with a low costof 0.0005 per cent.

Speaking to reporters,Department of Investment andPublic Asset Management(DIPAM) secretary TuhinKanta Pandey said, "we are hop-ing to launch the NPO duringthe month".

The New FundOffer (NFO) of thisETF is expectedbe to launchedduring Decemberitself. BharatBond ETF wouldbe the firstcorporate bondETF in the country

Gold jumpsRs 332 onpositiveglobal trendPNS n NEW DELHI

Gold prices on Wednesdayjumped Rs 332 to Rs 39,299per 10 gram in the nationalcapital, tracking a positiveglobal trend, according toHDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, theyellow metal had closed at Rs38,967 per 10 gram.

"Spot gold for 24 Karat inDelhi rose by Rs 332, reflectingovernight buying in globalgold prices. The spot rupee wastrading 3 paise weaker againstthe dollar, which was quite sup-portive for gold prices duringthe day," HDFC SecuritiesSenior Analyst (Commodities)Tapan Patel said.

The rupee opened on aweak note and fell 12 paise to71.78 against the US dollar inearly trade on Wednesday.

Silver prices also zoomedRs 676 to Rs 46,672 per kgfrom Rs 45,996 per kg.

In the global market, goldwas trading higher at USD1,483 per ounce, while silveralso quoted higher at USD17.27 per ounce.

"Gold prices witnessedbuying after US President(Donald Trump) said that thetrade deal with China maytake place after November2020 elections which fuelledbuying in safe haven overeconomic recovery con-cerns," Patel added.

Ahead of talks, OPEC nations grapple with oversupply of oilPNS n DUBAI

The world may be heading foran even greater oversupply ofoil, and that possibility —which could drive down fueland energy prices — is hang-ing over members of the OPECcartel as they head into nego-tiations Thursday.

The oil-producing nationswill decide whether to stickwith production cuts they'veendured for the past threeyears, relax them or deepenthem in the hopes of proppingup prices.

They're negotiating througha tangle of tensions drivingmembers in competing direc-tions.

Saudi Aramco's stock marketdebut, which is expectedFriday, has put Saudi Arabia ina precarious position as it betson what volume of oil produc-

tion will hit a sweet spot forprices, with the added pressureof considering the interests ofthe state-run oil giant's share-holders. The nation is alreadybearing the burden of thelargest share of OPEC's pro-duction cuts.

But some nations such as

Iraq have been ignoring theagreement and producing morethan their allotted amount.

“If people are already notcomplying to the current agree-ment, what's the point to thosethat are complying cuttingmore? So the others can go oncheating?” said Bhushan

Bahree, executive director ofglobal oil at research group IHSMarkit.

“I think the Saudi position isthey're willing to cut more ifneeded, but they want bettercompliance.” Brent crude oilhovered around $61 per barrelWednesday afternoon. Priceshave fluctuated throughout theyear, reaching nearly $75 perbarrel in April after US sanc-tions on Iran and Venezuelalimited world supply, but lin-gering trade tensions between

the U.S. and China dampenedeconomic expectations, push-ing prices back down.

West Texas Intermediate,the U.S. benchmark crude, wastrading at around $56Wednesday afternoon, and itsprice followed a similar trajec-tory throughout the year.

As it stands, OPEC nationshave agreed to cut productionby 1.2 million barrels per daythrough March 2020, and mostanalysts expect OPEC nationsto extend those production

cuts until at least summer.“If they just keep the exist-

ing situation, then you get thismassive oversupply,” saidJacques Rousseau, managingdirector at Clearview EnergyPartners.

Rousseau believes OPECnations will cut production byan additional 400,000 barrelsper day to keep supply anddemand in balance during thefirst half of next year, with thecuts made mainly by Kuwait,Saudi Arabia and the UnitedArab Emirates. But substantialcuts may be difficult to achievewith some OPEC membersfollowing their own agendas.

“Iraq has exceeded its pro-duction target every month thisyear,” Rousseau said. “Granted,there's some unrest going on inthe country, but I don't thinkthey'll voluntarily reduce.”

Meanwhile, Russia, which is

not part of OPEC but has beenfollowing its lead on produc-tion limits in recent years, hasindicated it wants its oil pro-duction re-calculated in a waythat's in line with OPECnations. That could enable it toproduce more oil.

And even if members of thecartel cut production, there'smore oil coming online fromnon-OPEC nations includingthe U.S., Canada, Brazil,Norway and Guyana, whichwill more than make up for anydrop in production, accordingto IHS Markit.

The dynamic to watch willbe whether Russia and SaudiArabia will come to an agree-ment on production levels inthe early and middle parts ofnext year, said HeatherHeldman, managing partner atLuminae Group, a geopoliticalintelligence firm.

As it stands, OPEC nations haveagreed to cut production by 1.2 millionbarrels per day through March 2020,and most analysts expect OPECnations to extend those productioncuts until at least summer.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government onWednesday said personal dataof 20 WhatsApp users out ofthe 121 users targeted usingPegasus spyware may havebeen accessed by the attacker.

Facebook-owned Whatsapphad said that Indian journal-ists and human rights activistswere among those globallyspied upon by unnamed enti-ties using Pegasus spyware.

"WhatsApp continues toreview the available information.It also mentioned thatWhatsApp believes it is likelythat personal data within theWhatsApp app of approximate-ly twenty users may have beenaccessed out of approximately

one hundred and twenty oneusers in India whose devices theattacker attempted to reach,"Prasad said in Lok Sabha.

On May 20, WhatsAppreported an incident to coun-try's cyber security watchdogCert-In, stating that it hadidentified and promptly fixed avulnerability that could enablean attacker to insert and executecode on mobile devices.

CSB Bankmakes strongdebut, sharesskyrocket 54 pcPNS n NEW DELHI

Shares of CSB Bank made astrong debut at the bourses onWednesday and closed theday with a sharp premium of54 per cent, against the issueprice of Rs 195.

The scrip debuted at Rs 275,up 41 per cent on the BSE.During the day, it climbed57.43 per cent to Rs 307. Itlater closed at Rs 300.10,showing a sharp gain of 53.89per cent from the issue price.

On the NSE, the scrip set-tled at Rs 300.35, a jump of54 per cent. In intra-daytrade, it touched a high of Rs306.80 and a low of Rs 275.

A total of 40.27 lakh sharesof the company were tradedon the BSE and 3.7 crore unitson the NSE during the day.

‘India needs tariff reforms to boostconsumption of renewables'PNS n NEW DELHI

India needs to reform its tariffregime to reduce dependenceon discoms and bring newelectricity procurement modelsto boost consumption ofrenewables by commercial andindustrial (C&I) consumers,according to an industry expert.

As per a report by WWF-India, C&I consumers accountfor 51 per cent of the total elec-tricity consumption in India,which is equivalent to 1,130TWh per annum.

"Concerted governmentaction is required to growpenetration of renewablepower for these consumers.There are two broad areas of

action required. First, we needtariff reform to reduce finan-cial dependence of discoms onC&I consumers. Second, newprocurement models need tobe enabled,” said Bridge to

India MD Vinay Rustagi at aCII event here.

WWF-India report ‘GlobalCorporate Renewable PowerProcurement Models: Lessonsfor India' was also released atthe event.

According to the report,C&I consumers' powerdemand is met principally bygrid power (63 per cent) andonsite captive generation (27per cent, mostly coal fired).

Only 4 per cent is met bylong-term open access (OA)sources. C&I consumers'share of direct RE (renewableenergy) procurement includ-ing rooftop solar is estimat-ed at only 3.2 per cent for fis-cal 2018.

Ashok Leylandlists non-workingdays for DecCHENNAI: Hinduja Groupflagship Ashok Leyland onWednesday said the com-pany proposes to observenon-working days in a fewplants in December to alignproduction at its facilities inline with market demand.

"We hereby inform you thatin order to align production inline with the market demandfor our products, the compa-ny proposes to observe non-working days ranging 2-12days in few plants during Dec2019", Ashok Leyland said ina filing. The city-based com-mercial vehicle maker hasbeen adjusting production atits facilities over the last fewmonths following the auto-mobile slowdown.

Ajay Tyagi says noquestion of ‘turf wars'

SEBI ACTION AGAINST AUDITORS

PNS n NEW DELHI

Capital markets regulator Sebion Wednesday said its actionsagainst auditors forfaulty audits arewithin its"Parliamentarymandate", andthere is no ques-tion of "turfwars" on thisissue.

Sebi ChairmanAjay Tyagi said thewatchdog is working only toprotect the interests ofinvestors and limiting itsactions to auditors of publicly

listed firms.In 2018, the regulator

banned Price Waterhouse fortwo years from auditing any

listed firm for its role inthe Satyam Computer

Services scam.However, the auditfirm had success-fully challengedthe same in theSecurities Appellate

Tribunal and got theorder quashed.

In November, theSupreme Court stayed a SATorder which had held thatSebi does not have the powerto bar auditors.

‘Personal data of 20WhatsApp users mayhave been accessed’

PEGASUS SPYWARE

n artist drawsinspiration fromjust about any-thing. ChagantiSrinivas found hisinspiration among

grains of sand. Srinivasturned towards sand as hismedium of art purely by acci-dent but ever since he hasonly gained further acclaimfor his talent and skill.

“Sand is an extremely beau-tiful medium of art to indulgein. The details that can beachieved by sand are exquisitein their own way. One thing Ibelieve is extremely importantin art, irrespective of themedium, is the fact that theartist must strive for quality,and not rush it for a deadline.The deadline is temporary butthe work of art will live onand it’s this quality of workthat determines the recogni-tion it will receive in thefuture,” says ChagantiSrinivas.

Srinivas was born andraised in a small village calledKoochavaram in the Medakdistrict. He established hisown institute called theChaganti Institute exclusivelyfor sand art about two yearsago and has 20 young artistslearning the same. Growingup, he illustrated sketches forseveral popular magazinestoo.

Srinivas had already experi-mented with pencil sketching,water painting and the like.He felt the urge to exploremore means of art when he

came to know about the SiriInstitute for Art, where hestayed for a brief period ofthee months.

But, in those three monthshe had experienced art as anentirely new frontier. He triedhis hand at oil and acrylicpainting and eventuallyrealised that sand was his

medium. In response to whatsand art means to him,Srinivas says, “Sand flows cre-ating its own path and it ismeditative process to align iton canvas. It took me abouttwo to three months toresearch sand art as a medi-um and experiment with it bymixing it with fevicol and lin-ing it with oil paint. By then Irealised I had discovered myown niche.”

“During my childhood, myuncle Sri Venkatadri garu wasmy primary support systemand the guru that led my wayinto art. He was the one whotaught sketching and paint-ing. Once I joined the SiriInstitute my fellow colleaguesused to come over and tell mehow my work inspired them.All these small gestures ofappreciation went a long way

in finding my direction,” hesays about the encourage-ment he received to pursuehis passion.

Chaganti Srinivas is therecipient of several awards inthe past, including theKonaseema S.H Raza awardand Konaseema ChitrakalaParishad Sri Ankala VenkataSubba Rao Award.

“Sand art is a unique and apeaceful form of art that canhelp the kids, youth andadults alike. Parents shouldencourage their child tocome forward and participatein such art forms as it wouldbe crucial in shaping theirminds to develop a calmerapproach to things in life.This is one of those art formswhere one may not see astime passes by. Thus, I believethat people of any age can

benefit from this. The city isyet to see more and morepeople being aware of sandart as an art form,” Srinivasadded.

We are currently working on various issues.Whenever one of our members comes up with an

idea about any problem, we discuss it and gatherfunds for the cause. Many youngsters want tobe a part of social activities and they don’thave a platform for it. I hope Maarpu

Foundation is the platform for themK. RAGHU VAMSISOCIAL ACTIVIST

BBA studentK. Raghu

Vamsi from thecity is guiding

manyyoungsters into

social workwith his NGO,

MaarpuFoundation,

findsV SATEESH

REDDY

e have seen manypeople and organi-sations conductingsessions aboutwomen empower-ment, gender

issues and hygiene on variousoccasions. Discussing womenissues with women is impor-tant but what I believe is dis-cussing the same with menwill give them an opportunityto understand the problemswomen face in society. Forthis, we organised counsellingsessions many all-boysschools and colleges explain-

ing the need for men to sup-port women in variousissues,” said K. Raghu Vamsi,founder, Maarpu Foundation.

Raghu’s father is an Armyman due to which Raghu hadtravelled many areas in thecountry. He always lived in asituation where he would geteverything he wanted.

But, after his father’s retire-ment, Raghu started noticingthe various issues plaguingsociety and wanted to dosomething about it.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Raghu says, “My NGO,

Maarpu, is for young changemakers who are vigorouslyworking to bring a change inthe lives of people. We gohand-in-hand in taking a stepat a time to eradicate diversesocial issues. Through ourNGO, we dispense compre-hensive and varied assistanceto each and every executorwho has a vision for bettertomorrow.”

Raghu said that iron flexisand banners, erected on trees,are damaging them as theiron particles slow down theirgrowth and eventually kill the

trees. “Every weekend,Maarpu group members driveto various places in andaround the city to removethese iron flexis and provideproper fencing for trees. Onpavements too, we can seemany trees whose bases arecovered with cement, restrict-ing their growth. The treesdon’t even get water. We aremaking way for water toreach the roots by removingthe cement around the trees.We have also conveyed thesame message to others andasked them to join in on our

cause,” said Raghu who is aBBA second year student atthe Loyola College, Alwal.

Raghu, along with his team,also collect food that getswasted at hotels and functionhalls, and distributes it inslum areas.

Maarpu Foundation hasexpanded its operations toTamil Nadu, Bangalore, Delhiand Gujarat.

Raghu is also striving hardto save heritage sites andbuildings by explaining topeople the stories behindthese monuments.

Raghu shares, “Recently, wecompleted a 10-day trip toRani Ki Vav, a stepwell locat-ed in Patan in Gujarat state.The site has been listed as oneof UNESCO’s World HeritageSites since 2014. The stepwellis divided into seven levels ofstairs with sculptural panelsthat has more than 500 prin-ciple sculptures and over athousand minor ones thatcombine religious, mythologi-cal and secular imagery. Nowit is in a dilapidated state andin our 10-day tour to theplace, we at length explained

the locals about its historyand the need of developingtourism there.”

Maarpu team has morethan 100 active volunteers inHyderabad. Raghu shares,“We are working on variousissues. Whenever our mem-ber comes up with an ideaabout any problem, we dis-cuss it and gather funds forthe cause. Many youngsterswant to be a part of socialactivities and they don’t havea platform for it. I hopeMaarpu Foundation is theplatform for them.”

W

Teaching youth about

SOCIAL WORK

Art as part of our EARTH

ChagantiSrinivas calls

creation ofhis sand art a

meditativeprocess. His

lines in thesand, perfect

to the lastgrain, haveearned him

accoladesfrom all over,

findsANUSHKAPRADEEP

A

Sand art is aunique and apeaceful form

of art that can help thekids, youth and adultsalike. Parents shouldencourage their childto come forward andparticipate in such artforms for a calmerapproach to life

CHAGANTI SRINIVASSAND ARTIST

WOMENwriters unite!

riting has been aform of self-expressionthroughout his-tory and womentoday are not

afraid to pen down theirstories, create new ones,and share their intellectthrough books, blogs orpublications.

In this light,SheThePeople.TV hasannounced the first editionof the Women Writers’Festival 2019 in Hyderabadin association with FICCIFLO Hyderabad.

The fest will provide aforum for women writersfrom varied fields to cometogether and discuss issuesthat are important to thecultural and social fabric ofthe city of Hyderabad.

The diverse range of par-ticipants in each panel willmake for rich discussionson the feminine and thefeminist voice in fiction, theculture of Hyderabad, foodtrends, blogging, nutritionand fitness, contemporarywomen’s writing, poetryand more, and is sure to

inspire change. The carefully curated

panel discussions bringtogether fierce and fire-brand names from the filmand TV fraternity to offerinsights on issues concern-ing us all.

Speakers joining in forthis fab festival are PinkyReddy, Elahe Hiptoola,Lakshmi Manchu, Volga, DrT. Vijay Kumar, MickeyMehta, Sonia Singh, TaraDeshpande, Shaili Chopra,Kadali Sathyanarayana,Shajahana, Shilpa Suraj andmore.

“As I see it, women writ-ers are breaking newground as writers, scriptwriters, micro fiction blog-gers, authors, graphicartists, storytellers. It’s theendeavour of the WomenWriters Fest to connect,engage and elevate thiscommunity and create anemerging platform of ideas,”says Shaili Chopra, FounderSheThePeople.TV.

The SheThePeople.TVWomen Writers Festivalwas held across Delhi,Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru,

Ahmedabad and Kolkatalast year.

Kiran Manral, co-curatorand Ideas Editor,SheThePeople.TV, says“With this inaugural editionof the SheThePeople.TVWomen Writers Fest inHyderabad, we would liketo showcase the writingfrom women from the cityacross fiction, non fiction,poetry, which reflects therich culture, and showcasewhat makes the city and thewriting that emerges fromit, so very diverse andvibrant.”

W

THE DIVERSE RANGEOF PARTICIPANTS INEACH PANEL WILLMAKE FOR RICHDISCUSSIONS ONTHE FEMININE ANDTHE FEMINISTVOICE IN FICTIONAND THE CULTUREOF THE CITY

ThursdayDecember 5, 2019

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10

Vijayawada Thursday December 5, 2019 what’s brewing?

cientists at theNational Institutesof Health foundthat women whouse permanenthair dye and

chemical hair straightenershave a higher risk of devel-oping breast cancer thanwomen who don’t use theseproducts. The study pub-lished online Dec. 4 in theInternational Journal ofCancer and suggests thatbreast cancer risk increasedwith more frequent use ofthese chemical hair products.

Using data from 46,709women in the Sister Study,researchers at the NationalInstitute of EnvironmentalHealth Sciences (NIEHS),part of NIH, found thatwomen who regularly usedpermanent hair dye in the

year prior to enrolling in thestudy were 9% more likelythan women who didn’t usehair dye to develop breastcancer. Among AfricanAmerican women, using per-manent dyes every five toeight weeks or more wasassociated with a 60%increased risk of breast can-cer as compared with an 8%increased risk for whitewomen. The research teamfound little to no increase inbreast cancer risk for semi-permanent or temporary dyeuse.

“Researchers have beenstudying the possible linkbetween hair dye and cancerfor a long time, but resultshave been inconsistent,” saidcorresponding authorAlexandra White, Ph.D.,head of the NIEHS

Environment and CancerEpidemiology Group. “Inour study, we see a higherbreast cancer risk associatedwith hair dye use, and theeffect is stronger in AfricanAmerican women, particu-larly those who are frequentusers.”

An intriguing finding wasthe association between theuse of chemical hair straight-eners and breast cancer. Dr.White and colleagues foundthat women who used hairstraighteners at least everyfive to eight weeks wereabout 30% more likely todevelop breast cancer. Whilethe association betweenstraightener use and breastcancer was similar in AfricanAmerican and white women,straightener use was muchmore common among

African American women.Co-author Dale Sandler,

Ph.D., chief of the NIEHSEpidemiology Branch, cau-tioned that although there issome prior evidence to sup-port the association withchemical straighteners, theseresults need to be replicatedin other studies.

When asked if womenshould stop dyeing orstraightening their hair,Sandler said, “We areexposed to many things thatcould potentially contributeto breast cancer, and it isunlikely that any single fac-tor explains a woman’s risk.While it is too early to makea firm recommendation,avoiding these chemicalsmight be one more thingwomen can do to reducetheir risk of breast cancer.”

HAIR DYE, STRAIGHTENERSMAY INCREASE BREAST CANCER RISKS

razilian healthauthorities haveapproved regula-tions for the reg-istration and saleof marijuana-

based drugs in pharmacies.The decision by the

Brazilian HealthRegulatory Agency(Anvisa) on Tuesday willtake effect in 90 days andwill be subject to a reviewafter three years.

The objective of the mea-sure is to find a way to guar-antee access, by way of phar-maceutical assistance, and toensure a minimum guaran-tee for users of the products,Anvisa said in a statement,

Efe news reported.The regulatory frame-

work creates a new class ofcannabis-based products,which will be subject tohealth surveillance, thatmust be sold only in phar-macies and have to be pre-scribed by a doctor.

These new rules alsospecify the procedures forobtaining different permitsfrom Anvisa for the manu-facture and importation ofthese types of drugs, aswell as establishing therequirements for theircommercialisation, pre-scription and control.

The regulation approvedon Tuesday requires com-

panies interested in manu-facturing marijuana-basedmedicines to obtain a cer-tificate of good practices,issued by Anvisa.

Those who choose toimport the cannabis sub-strate for the manufactureof the product mustimport the semi-finishedraw material and cannotimport the plant or partof it, according toBrazilian authorities. Tobetter monitor the batchesof cannabis-deriveddrugs, Brazil limited theentry points of the prod-ucts in its territory.

Brazilian legislationprohibits the growing,

harvesting and use ofcannabis, except in spe-cific cases for medicinaland scientific purposesthat also had to beendorsed by authorities.

Until now, patients whowanted these types ofdrugs were using oils andextracts based oncannabidiol, a substancefound in cannabis, knownfor its therapeutic effectsand which neededAnvisa’s endorsement toimport them. There issome evidence it can beused to treat certain typesof epiletic seizures,chronic pain and improvesleep.

BRAZIL

APPROVES

SALE OF

MARIJUANA-

BASED

MEDICINES

B

spirin can beconsidered aneffective and safeoption to other,more expensivemedications to

treat acute migraines as wellas prevent recurrent attacks,a new study suggests.

The review, published inthe American Journal ofMedicine, includes evidencefrom 13 randomised trialsof the treatment of migrainein 4,222 patients and tens ofthousands of patients in pre-vention of recurrent attacks.

The findings suggestthat high-dose aspirin, indoses from 900 to 1,300milligrams given at theonset of symptoms, is aneffective and safe treat-ment option for acutemigraine headaches.

“Our review supportsthe use of high dose

aspirin to treat acutemigraine as well as lowdose daily aspirin to pre-vent recurrent attacks,”said study researcherCharles H Hennekensfrom Florida AtlanticUniversity in the US.

“Moreover, the relativelyfavourable side effect profile ofaspirin and extremely low

costs compared with otherprescription drug therapiesmay provide additional clini-cal options for primary healthcare providers treating acuteas well as recurrent migraineheadaches,” Hennekens added.

Common symptoms ofmigraine include aheadache that oftenbegins as a dull pain and

then grows into a throb-bing pain, which can beincapacitating and oftenoccurs with nausea andvomiting, and sensitivityto sound, light and smell.

Migraines can last any-where from four to 72 hoursand may occur as manytimes as several times aweek to only once a year.

“Migraine headaches areamong the most commonand potentially debilitatingdisorders encountered byprimary health careproviders,” said study firstauthor Bianca Biglione.

Approximately 36 millionAmericans suffer frommigraine headaches and thecause of this disabling dis-order is not well under-stood. There is a higherprevalence in women (18per cent) than men (nineper cent).

Aspirin can be safe optionfor migraines: StudyA

FUN TIME

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

arthikeya starrer-90 ML, whichwas supposed to open in screensThursday, has been deferred by aday. As the film’s makers couldn’tget clearance from the regionalcensor board, the makers were left

with no option but to hold the release for aday. Karthikeya’s interactions with mediatoo were cancelled over this. “The makersapplied for the censor certification threeweeks ago in the hope of getting a cer-tificate issued earlier this week.However, with the Telangana HighCourt last week asking the board towatch Ram Gopal Varma’s AmmaRajyamlo Kadapa Biddalu and issue acertificate within seven days, 90 ML’scensor date couldn’t be met. Themembers watched the film onWednesday. The film will mostlyrelease on Friday or Saturday,” said asource in the know.

A commercial entertainer, 90 MLmarks the directorial debut of SekharReddy Yerra. Ravi Kishan has playedKarthikeya’s bête noire, while the likes ofRao Ramesh, Ajay, Posani Krishna Murali,Praveen and Ali will be seen in key support-ing roles. Newbie Neha Solanki is cast oppo-site Karthikeya in the film, a production ven-ture of Ashok Reddy.

fter a lot of dilly-dallying for overtwo months, pro-ducer Suresh Babuon Mondayannounced that

Venky Mama, starringVictory Venkatesh and NagaChaitanya, will open in cine-mas on December 13. At apress conference attended bythe film’s principal cast andcrew in Hyderabad onWednesday, Suresh recalledhow the film, directed by K.S.Ravindra aka Bobby, tookshape.

“A couple of years ago, pro-ducer Vivek Kuchibotla nar-rated a story penned byJanardhana Maharashi. Iliked it as it had some goodelements. After Bobby wassigned on to be the director,he gave his own touch to thestory. I liked it more as it wasemotional, entertaining andhad a lot of love and sacrifice.We immediately went tofloors. Each one of us has an

uncle who is dear to us, andthe film deals with the bondbetween a mama and hisalludu. The film has beenshot in Hyderabad, Rajah-mundry and Jammu andKashmir. We shot for 25 daysin Kashmir in some riskylocations like Pahalgam,Gulmarg and Sonmarg butnever faced a single problem.People were very nice, sowere the government mac-hinery and the Army person-nel. In fact they want morepeople to shoot films there.I’ve travelled across the worldbut Kashmir is one of theprettiest places. It’s unfortu-nate that we are not able toenjoy it,” the producer said.

Raashi Khanna who is castopposite Chay in the filmsaid she is a big fan of Venkyand that she considers herselflucky to have shared screenspace alongside him.

“I have a lot of scenes withhim. Everybody knows howgood he is with his comic

timing and there were occa-sions where I couldn’t controlmy laughter seeing him enactsome of the comedy scenes.Not only he is great actor, heis a wonderful human beingas well,” the actress said.

Director Bobby admittedthat there was a discomfortto meet the demands ofSuresh Babu to begin with,but he soon understood theproducer’s intention of mak-ing a family entertainer thatticks all the boxes.

“I learnt a lot from himover the course of makingthis film,” he said.

He added that whenVenkatesh was narrated thescript, the actor gave his votebut wanted to know if he canwork on Naga Chaitanya’scharacter more. “Similarly,Chay wanted his mama’s roleto be etched to perfection,”he informed.

Naga Chaitanya said therelease date discussions,which were going on for past

one week, wereakin to that of athriller. “Nonetheless,December 13 is the bestrelease date. It’s a solo releaseand we will get to exhibit it ina number of theatres. VenkyMama, like Manam, is animportant film for me.Irrespective of the number ofhits I deliver in the future,the memories of working inboth these films can never bereplaced. Which is why, Iwant the best for VenkyMama. For a small issue,Suresh mama thinks 100times and I’m sure he must’vethought about the releasedate more than 100 times.When I rang him recentlyabout the release date, he toldme, ‘I’ve never been this con-fused in my whole life.’ It hasbeen my wish to do a SureshProductions film since longand though it happened latein the day, the best film didhappen,” Chay said.

Taking a dig at himself,

Venkatesh said while theyounger lot has learnt tospeak better on stage, stagefear continues to haunt him.About the film, he men-tioned, “I’ve did a number ofa films in my career butVenky Mama is a dreamcome true. I’ve been waitingto work with my nephewsRana and Chay since a longtime and Venky Mama gaveme the opportunity to workwith Chay. It was a wonderfulmoment for my family. Myfather would’ve enjoyedwatching the film if he wasalive. The family waskeen on a good film. I’mglad that Chay’s roleshaped up well. For meafter F2, this is a differentfilm. It’s a wholesomefamily entertainer pep-pered with a ton ofemotions.”

Vijayawada Thursday December 5, 2019

A

11

tollywoodVenky Mama is one of the most anticipated

movies of this year. NAGARAJ GOUDwrites about the journey of the film's castand crew in creating a family entertainer

VENKY MAMAis a ‘dream come true' for Venky

Summer startfor Rana'sHiranya

et to join the sets of Venu Udugula’sVirata Parvam 1992 later this month,Rana Daggubati has set his eyes onmythological Hiranya next. Yes, it is thesame project that took off on a comput-er more than a couple of years ago. The

actor hasn’t committed to any other Telugu film-maker after wrapping up Virata Parvam. He wassupposed to start Gruham director Milind Rau’saction thriller sometime back but with him gettingtreated for a kidney ailment in the US, Rau has

moved to a Tamil film. There’s no newsabout its revival. So Rana has decided

to start Hiranya, directed byGunasekhar, in the summer of 2020as soon as he wraps up Udugula’s

film. To be made on a mam-moth budget, first of its kindfor his home banner SureshProductions, a Los Angelesbased VFX Company willhelp with the film’s visualeffects. SP might join with a

Bollywood company to pro-duce the film. Rana has togain considerable weight toplay the part.

S

arshakudu directorHari Prasad Jakka’sPlayback, which hasgone to floors onAugust 5 inHyderabad, has been

wrapped up in 35 days flat. The film is a cross time con-

nection murder mystery featur-ing Ananya (of Mallesham fame),Dinesh Tej (Husharu fame),

Arjun Kalyan and SpandanaPalli in lead roles.

Its teaser was unveiled byJakka’s best friend Sukumar inHyderabad on Tuesday evening.

Speaking later, Sukumar said,unlike old times, concept-drivensmall films have a market now.He added that Playback has agreat story like 1: Nenokkadine.“It’s a script that I would’ve

directed. Hari Prasad worked onthe script for almost two yearsand I’m sure the film will be ahit. He will find his footing inthe Telugu film industry as adirector with the film,” Sukumarsaid.

Hari Prasad, who wrote thescript of 1: Nenokkadine andscreenplay of 100% Love, hassaid that Dinesh Tej has put in a

lot of effort to play his role,while Ananya will be seen in arole with different variations.

“I could complete the film in35 days because of cameramanBujji. TV5 Murthy is a playing agood role,” he added.

The film is a production ven-ture of P.N.K. Prasad Raounder Sri Venkateswara ArtCreations banner.

Connecting past with presentD

SUNDEEP'Snew business

interestt has been a pro-ductive year forSundeep Kishanon many accounts.While his thrillerNinu Veedani

Needanu Nene ended hispoor streak at the box-office,his turn as an Army Major inRaj-DK’s The Family Manreceived good accolades. Hewould’ve expected TenaliRamakrishna BA BL to havedone a little better than whatit did but the fact that it land-ed producers in profits beforethe release must’ve made hima happy man. Rounding offthe year on a successful note,the actor has now acquiredQBS Salon franchise inAmaravati.

The actor is also into therestaurant business as hisoutlet Vivaha Bhojanambu isa major success with branch-es in different parts ofHyderabad. Just recently, hegifted his parents a luxuriousBenz GLE 350D.

On the work front, he willbe next seen in A1 Express,which is remake of this year'sTamil hit Natpe Thunai.Debutant Dennis JeevanKanukolanu is directing it.The film will tell the story ofan international hockey play-er who has chosen to leavethe sport, staging a comebackto save the ground of a localteam. It is a joint productionventure between G. VishwaPrasad, Abhishek Agarwal,Sundeep Kishan and DayaPannem.

I

90 ML release postponedK

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 5, 2019 sport 12

PTI n DUBAI

India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesdayregained the top spot in the International

Cricket Council’s (ICC) Test rankingsafter Australian Steve Smith slipped a rungin the latest list issued.

Kohli, who had struck a fine 136 in theday-night Kolkata Test against Bangladeshlast week to reach 928 points, is now fivepoints clear after Smith’s knock of 36in the Adelaide Test against Pakistansaw him slip to 923 points from 931before the match.

Cheteshwar Pujara has heldon to his fourth spot, whileAjinkya Rahane has come downa spot to sixth in the latestupdate.

Among the bowlers, JaspritBumrah is the highest-placedIndian at the fifth position.Senior off-spinner R Ashwinwas also static at ninth inthe rankings.

“Australia openerDavid Warner’s epic335 not out has liftedhim 12 places to thefifth position whileM a r n u sLabuschagne is inthe top 10 for thefirst time after beingranked as low as110th at the start of

the year,” the ICC said in a statement.Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc

is another Australia player to gain in thelatest rankings, he moved up four placesto 14th after grabbing seven wickets in theAdelaide Test.

Pakistan’s Babar Azam has moved uptwo places to 13th, thanks to his fight-

ing knock of 97 in the first innings,while left-handed opener ShanMasood has gained 10 places toreach a career-best 47th position.

England captain Joe Root isback in the top 10 after spending a

week outside it, his innings of226 pulling him up to seventhfrom 11th. Rory Burns’ sec-

ond Test ton has pushed himinto the top 40 for the first time.

For New Zealand, RossTaylor has gained two places toreach 16th among batsmen andTim Southee has moved up one

place to 13th among bowlers.West Indies captain Jason

Holder’s five wickets have helped himmove up one slot to third place with

a career-best 830 rating points andhe has also consolidated his posi-tion at the top of the all-

rounders’ list.Rahkeem Cornwall has

broken into the top 50 with a10-wicket haul whileShamarh Brooks rises 68places to 62nd.

PTI n COLOMBO

Seasoned SouthA f r i c a n

Mickey Arthur isset to take over asSri Lanka’s newnational cricketcoach on a two-year contractwith GrantFlower andDavid Sekar ashis support staff. According to a report inESPNCricinfo, Flower will be Sri Lanka’s bat-ting coach for the limited-overs format,while Sekar will be their new bowling coach.

Australian Shane McDermott hasalready been roped in as team’s new field-ing coach.

“They will all be joining on two-yearcontracts,” Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley DeSilva was quoted as saying.

The 51-year-old Arthur, who has servedas South Africa and Pakistan’s nationalcoach, will be Sri Lanka’s 11th coach in thelast eight years.

His first assignment will be a tour ofPakistan later this month.

Flower was until recently head coach ofBangladesh Premier League (BPL) sideRangpur Rangers, while Saker, who has beeninvolved with the likes of England andAustralia, was bowling coach of USA.

PTI n KARACHI

After creating flutter during his Testdebut in Australia, 16-year-old

Pakistan pace sensation Naseem Shahwill now spearhead the national under-19 team’s bowling attack in next month’sICC youth World Cup in South Africa.

The head coach of the Pakistanjuniors Ejaz Ahmed confirmed onWednesday that he has asked chief selec-tor and national bowling coach WaqarYounis to release Naseem from thesenior outfit for the youth World Cup.

“Like I said before he will be ourmain weapon in the mega event and Iwant him to join the training camp withthe junior players at the NationalCricket Academy in Lahore,” he said.

The former Test captain, whorecently guided the Pakistan Emergingside to the Asian Emerging Nations Cuptitle, said once Naseem joined thejunior team the pace attack would lookvery menacing.

Naseem made his debut in the firstTest at Brisbane and impressed with hispace but was then sidelined for the sec-ond day and night Test in Adelaide withWaqar insisting that it was a decisionbased on workload management. Hetook one wicket his debut Test.

Ejaz also said that defending cham-

pion India is the team to beat in theYouth World Cup.

“Naseem will add a lot of potencyto our attack as we have some other verygood young pace bowlers and spinners,”he said.

The defeated Pakistan squad is dueto return from Australia by Thursdaynight and a source said Ejaz will meetwith Misbah and Waqar the next day toconfirm on Naseem joining the campand take a progress report about his fit-ness.

PTI n HYDERABAD

Young all-rounder Shivam Dube says he is notaiming to replace Hardik Pandya in India’s T20

squad but is certainly looking to make the mostof the opportunities that are coming his way.

Pandya has been out of the team for more thana month because of a back injury that needed asurgery in England. He is currently undergoingrehabilitation and that has paved the way forShivam to make the team and he is now gearingup for the upcoming limited-overs series againstthe West Indies.

Asked whether he is looking to oust Hardikfrom the team, Shivam said: “I don’t think it’s anopportunity to replace Hardik but I think I havegot a chance and I will try to do well for my coun-try. I have got a job for my country and I will tryto do that better.”

Primarily a bowling all-rounder, who can hitbig shots, Shivam will be aiming to assert him-self more in the upcoming T20 games .

In the three matches he has played so far,Shivam hasn’t done anything remarkable, exceptfor that three-wicket burst against Bangladesh, butthe lanky all-rounder said he enjoys the supportof skipper Virat Kohli and the team management.

“Everyone is supporting me. The support fromcaptain and the team management was really goodfor me. They gave me a lot of confidence. So, I feelreally happy and relaxed in the dressing room,”he said.

Insisting that fitness is key to success for anall-rounder, Shivam said he is confident about hisbowling skills.

“It’s always difficult being an all-rounder. Mostimportant for me is to maintain my fitness levelsbecause as an all-rounder, you need to both batand bowl. So, maintaining fitness is really a dif-ficult job,” he said.

“I am very confident of my bowling. In T20games, every bowler gets a bad as well as a goodgame. So, I try to prepare myself in very good sit-uations and I feel that I can be a proper bowlerwho can bowl four overs. I have done that job,”he added.

Shivam rated the West Indies as a good T20side but said he is confident of India pocketingthe series easily.

“They (West Indies) have got a good T20 sidebut we have prepared very nicely. I think India isthe best team in world cricket and we will win theseries,” he said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Former West Indies speedsterIan Bishop says the foundationof India’s “another level” fast

bowling unit was laid by the likes oflegendary Kapil Dev and built on bycurrent captain Virat Kohli, whobelieves in the attack.

He said Kohli’s passion to puttogether a strong fast-bowling unithas made it easier to build on thefoundation that Kapil laid.

“Let’s remember that this groupof bowlers did not emanate rightnow. The foundation was laid — ifyou go back to Kapil (Dev) anddown the line, Javagal Srinath,Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel,Sreesanth,” Bishop said in an inter-view with ESPNCricinfo.

“Now it’s been built on with acaptain who likes fast bowlers, whobelieves in them. But also the factthat you’ve found a generational tal-ent in Jasprit Bumrah.

“Generational because he playsall formats of the game very well.And (Mohd) Shami has taken hisgame to another level. Ishant(Sharma) has also gone up anotherlevel,” he added.

The 52-year-old Bishop, whotook 161 wickets in 43 Tests between1989 and 1998, said he couldn’t havepredicted that India’s fast bowlerswould come to the Caribbean anddo to the West Indians what they didto others so many decades ago.

“So credit to Bharath Arun, thebowling coach, and the administra-tors and captains. I couldn’t see thismuch (improvement), but I thoughtthere was a great deal of promise inhaving guys who could bowl closeto, or over, 90mph,” he said.

He, however, refused to com-pare the Indian unit to the fearsomeWest Indians of the past.

“Well, they (Indians) have beenperforming that well that the com-parisons are going to come. I wouldwant to stay away from it, becauseI don’t know how you measure it.

“When people talk about(Michael) Holding and (Joel) Garnerand (Malcolm) Marshall and (Colin)Croft and (Andy) Roberts — whobowled together for so many years— how do you compare with that?”he asked. Bishop was also reluctantto pick the best among the currentcrop of fast bowlers in the world.

“There are so many. JofraArcher. I almost feel when he’s onsong that it’s the perfect streamlinedtechnique. Naseem Shah. JaspritBumrah. Mohammed Shami — ohgod, I love Shami! That whole coregroup of what India bring, where Idon’t want to pick anyone and say,‘This one more than the other’.

“If I had to pick the best tech-nique right now, Jofra Archer whenhe’s firing. But, I am salivatingabout world cricket (because of fastbowling talent). That is exciting.”

Bishop also named uncapped21-year-old Uttar Pradesh pacerShivam Mavi and 19-year-oldRajasthan’s Kamlesh Nagarkoti as thefuture prospects for India.

“I’m eagerly waiting to see ifShivam Mavi and KamleshNagarkoti can be fit and continuetheir progress. Nagarkoti, in partic-ular.”

Describing India as a “cauldron”and dominant force in world crick-et, Bishop said a T20 World Cup tri-umph does not mean that the WestIndies can beat Virat Kohli’s menduring the limited-overs seriesbeginning tomorrow though there’s

always a hope to do so.“Well, you always have a chance

of winning. (But) How many peo-ple come to India and beat India? It’sa cauldron. My expectation andhope is for them (West Indies) towin — but if they don’t, I’m notgoing to be put off.

“This is what I want people inthe Caribbean particularly to under-stand: India are a dominant force inthe world game. West Indies can’t gofrom winning one World Cup gameto beating a team that got to thesemi-finals of that World Cup withassurance.

“The fans will want to see vic-tory, but what I’m saying is, maybethis Indian tour is a bridge too soon.If it doesn’t happen, all is not lost.”

He said West Indies’ limitedovers tour of India will serve as agood preparation for next year’s T20World Cup.

“Victory will be important, butif it doesn’t happen against thisdynamic Indian team, it is not,‘Break the house down and build itover’. It is about fine-tuning theirgame for the T20 World Cup nextyear and then in 2021.”

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Indian cricket team’straining drills have

undergone marked change inrecent years and now there isa new fun drill introduced inorder to enhance “runningspeed” of the players alongwith a sense of being able towithstand pressure.

During the first trainingsession of the team ahead ofthree match T20 seriesagainst the West Indies inHyderabad on Wednesday,the Indian players were seendoing the usual short sprintstuff simultaneously in twobatches standing one behindthe other.

At times, the queue infront had a handkerchiefplaced on the back of theirshorts and those in the sec-ond line would try to chasedown and pluck it out.

It is learnt that the Indian

team’s new strength and con-ditioning (trainer) coachNick Webb has introducedthis drill where the playersnot only develop speed butcan also deal with pressurethat there is someone hot onhis heels chasing.

“Players either chasesomeone or be chased whichincreases sprinting intent,” asenior IPL team trainer, who

has trained manyInternationals in the past,explained.

“If I can understand afterwatching the video posted onthe BCCI website, the pur-pose of the drill is to enhancerunning speed developmentand enhancing the trainingenvironment through com-petition,” the trainerexplained.

The short video postedhad players changing theirstarting positions from con-ventional ‘on your mark’, ‘getset’, ‘go’ to doing stretchingexercises and suddenly get-ting up and sprinting.

Then during one suchset, players had one hand‘virtually tied’ to the backwhile sprinting.

“Changing different

starting positions adds morechaos and challenges move-ment patterns,” the trainerexplained.

Since the time ofShankar Basu, the Indianteam’s training methodschanged drastically and thereare times fun elements wereintroduced in order to makemundane sessions interest-ing.

Kieron Pollard chats with coach Phil Simmons PTI

Our bowlers can’tbe scared ofKohli: SimmonsPTI n HYDERABAD

West Indies coach Phil Simmons sayshis bowlers will have to avoid being

“too scared” of Virat Kohli when they takeon India in a limited-overs series as it willmake the already difficult task of gettingthe Indian skipper out, tougher.

Stating that Kohli is a “difficult propo-sition” to dismiss, Simmons jovially listedsome out of the box ideas to get the pro-lific batsman out.

“One, I can make him bat with astump. Two, we can sign a book and in theODIs, we can give him a 100 and bowl atthe rest of the players or we can make surethat our plans to him are spot on,” he saidwhen asked what are his plans to deal withKohli.

“We can make sure that the bowlersdon’t get too scared of him. But in the end,may be two can bowl at him at the sametime. You never know what can happen butit’s a difficult proposition to get Virat Kohliout,” he added.

Admitting that India are not an easyteam to beat anywhere in the world, the56-year-old former all-rounder called onhis players to utilise their past experiencesto get the better of Kohli and his men.

“Last year we had some T20s and ODIsin India and we weren’t miles apart. We hadone game where I think we were tied. Sowe weren’t that far apart,” Simmons said.

“We have to look back at what we didthen and see how much we can add to thatnow because they have added things totheir games. We have to make sure that wehave to get better than last time becauseIndia is not easy. India is India,” he toldESPNcricinfo.

Bumrah is generational talent: BishopFormer Caribbean pacer heaps praise on Jasprit for consistent show in all three formats

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah prepares to bowl against Sri Lanka during ICC World Cup 2019 group stage match at Headingley BCCI/Twitter

Monty joins WIas batting coachPTI n HYDERABAD

The West Indies on Wednesdaynamed Monty Desai as their

batting coach ahead of the limited-overs series against India.

Desai, who has been handed atwo-year contract, has joined theteam here before the the first T20.

He has held coaching roleswith Afghanistan, Nepal, Canada,Indian regional teams and IPL sidesRajasthan Royals and Gujarat Lionsin a career of over 12 years.

“Desai joined the West Indiesahead of the start of the T20International Series against India,which bowls off on Friday,December 6 at the Rajiv GandhiStadium in Hyderabad,” the WestIndies Cricket Board said.

West Indies head coach Phil

Simmons said: “I have workedwith Monty before and he is anexcellent coach. He has proven hehas the ability to get players toimprove on their talent and also toperform better in matches.

“He has vast knowledge of thegame and it is good he is startinghere with us in India. I look forwardto seeing him work with our bats-men in all formats as we look to getbetter in all areas.”

Desai, on his part, said he islooking forward to being part of ajourney to create a winning workenvironment.

“I am eager to join forces withHead Coach, Phil Simmons andDirector of Cricket, Jimmy Adams,and our Captains, such that I maycontribute in every possible way tothe success of our team.”

Shivam Dube poses for photo with India’s T20 cap BCCI

Dube not lookingto replace Hardik

David Warner posts photo with Brian Lara in Instagram on Wednesday withthe caption that says one day he’ll get another chance to break Lara’s record

Team India's new drill: Chase or Get Chased

Indian players during a practice session ahead of their T20 match against West Indies at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday PTI

Kohli regains No1 spot Arthur to benew SL coach

Mickey Arthur in a file photo AP

Naseem will representPakistan in U-19 WC

Naseem Shah poses for photo with bowling coachWaqar Younis after receiving Test cap ICC/Twitter