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12
In a peculiar turn of events in TS, the daily count of fresh Covid-19 positive cases becomes a 'record' and stays so for a day only to be toppled the very next day! No wonder, on Thursday Telangana saw its biggest-ever single-day spike, with 920 people testing Covid-19 pos- itive. TS reported 891 cases on Wednesday, 879 on Tuesday and 872 cases on Monday. With the addition on Thursday, the coron- avirus cases count in the state has mounted to 11,364. Besides, the death toll went up to 230, with five more virus-related fatali- ties being reported in the state. There are 6,446 active cases in the state, while 4,688 patients have been discharged upon recovery. On Thursday, 327 persons were discharged. TPCC working president and MP from Malkajgiri A Revanth Reddy has sought to know from the state government whether it will give top posts in the Police Department only to those who hail from the community to which Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao belongs and are willing to work as KCR's 'private army' in the Commissionerates. He alleged that KCR's private army has been working in the Commissionerates under Hyderabad limits. Citing what he believes are instances of KCR giving priority to mem- bers of his community, Revanth demanded to know from the state government whether there are no efficient employees among BCs, SCs, STs and other community peo- ple in the Police Department. In the absence of an officially determined fee structure, some of the corporate colleges have begun collecting extortionate fee from Intermediate students in the name of providing online classes without prejudice to the students' long-term interests. The colleges are subjecting parents to emotional blackmail by raising the spectre of their wards lagging in education should they compromise on online classes. Left with no alternative, parents end up paying hefty fees in advance. Across the state, over 4.80 lakh students join junior col- leges for the first year of Intermediate course. About 2.50 lakh of these students opt for corporate colleges. The Board of Intermediate Education has washed its hands off the whole issue by saying that junior colleges should not start online coaching classes without its permission. However, corpo- rate colleges wink at this diktat. They are conducting online admissions as well as classes. The colleges provide links to online instruction only if tuition fee is paid. In some cases, the colleges give links only to remove them later ahead of the weekly tests. Principals of colleges have announced discounts to those who got 10 GPA, anticipating ranks in NEET and Eamcet in the first year. However, going by experience, as the students enter the second year, the prin- cipals begin collecting fees in full without bothering about discounts offered. So, parents of senior students are now advising those seeking admissions for junior Intermediate to first obtain a clear picture on the second year tuition fees too. There are also instances of colleges that have changed the campus for second year students, forcing students to undertake long-distance travel. A corporate college which started online classes in May collected normal tuition fees, though the student does not reside in hostels. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has said that the state government imposed cuts in salaries and pensions for employees and retired staff from March to April with the aim of mobilis- ing funds for Rythu Bandhu scheme. The Chief Minister stated that the state government could release nearly Rs 5,300 crore for Rythu Bandhu amid the coro- na crisis due to funds mobilised by imposing pay and pension cuts, reflecting his government's commitment towards farmers and the agriculture sector. Singing a different tune, KCR claimed that Telangana continues to be "financially sound and a rich state" and suggested that the present lock- down-induced financial crisis facing the state was temporary. He said the state government's financial condition had been improving gradually with the easing of lockdown restric- tions since June 1 and hence the state government had decided to restore payment of full salaries and pensions from this month. Addressing a meeting after launching the sixth phase of "Telangana ku Haritha Haram" (TKHH) programme in Medak district on Thursday, the Chief Minister slammed wood smugglers (whom he called "Kalapa Dongalu" for looting Telangana forests. He expressed his concern over the fast depleting tree cover in the state and attributed it to the activities of wood smugglers. Stating that there was a sys- tematic exploitation of forest wealth in Telangana, the Chief Minister said his government would crack down on wood smugglers. Corporate colleges collect extortionate fee for online classes A 12-year-old minor girl was allegedly raped by her rela- tive, who is a police consta- ble. The Bowenpally Police have booked a case against the man. The victim had approached NGO Balala Hakkula Sangam, along with her mother, with whom she had shared her plight. "Our NGO immediately informed the issue to Additional Commissioner of Hyderabad Police Shikha Goel and she assured us that action will be intiated promptly. She also told us she alerted the DCP of North Zone as the area of the crime comes under Bowenpally Police Station limits and the accused and victim's family are neighbours," said Achyuta Rao, president of the NGO. The accused, Varadaraj Sudesh Umesh, 33, a police constable with the Ramgopalpet Police Station, took advantage of the lock- down and approached the victim when she was alone at home. "He also threatened her that if she informs any one about the assault, she will be killed," said the police. Telangana reports 920, highest-ever, cases West Godavari sculptors gave finishing touches to Col Santosh Babu statue which will be installed near old bus stand in Suryapet town. Telangana drivers crushed under financial burden In view of the devastation caused by Covid-19, many of the drivers engaged by cab aggregators are putting in addi- tional hours of work; yet, they are making less than half their usual daily income. Hence, some of them have taken up side jobs to supplement their earnings. Janardhan, a four-wheeler driver, who is the lone bread- winner of the family of five, is earning half of what he used to earn before the COVID pan- demic hit, despite working extra hours. Reaching out to New Delhi after raising tensions in eastern Ladakh to a fever pitch, China on Thursday said it was ready to work with India to proper- ly deal with the military stand- off, and asked it to meet the halfway, asserting that "suspi- cion and friction" was a wrong path that goes against the fun- damental aspirations of people of the two countries. Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong said India and China are able to properly manage their differences, but at the same time put the onus on New Delhi to ease the tension, and called upon it to avoid taking actions that may "complicate" the situation in eastern Ladakh. "We hope the Indian side meets the Chinese side halfway, avoids taking actions that may complicate the border situation and takes concrete actions to maintain stability in the border areas," he said and went on to add that at present, the overall situation in the China-India border areas is "stable and controllable." The Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last six weeks, and the tension escalated manifold after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15. The Chinese ambassador said "mutual respect and sup- port" is a sure way and meets the long-term interests of both countries, but asserted that the onus was not on China to ease tensions in the region. "China and India are both large developing countries and emerging economies with more than one billion people, and both have the historic mission of realising our own development and revitalisa- tion," he said. ‘Capital’ Covid care model that is people-friendly At a time when corona patients in many states are subject to (ill-)treatment at astronomical costs under a cloak of criminal secrecy; the Delhi government is now offering free services alongside its largest facility without requiring patients to visit quarantine centres and has made it possible for family members to converse with Covid-19 patients through dedicated video calling facility in every ward. All of this makes the capital's Covid care model stand out in the country for its people-friendly, largely zero-cost features, though Delhi is n o w next only to Maharashtra in terms of caseload and fatalities. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday launched a video calling facility for coro- navirus patients admitted to the LNJP Hospital to talk to their relatives. While interacting with doc- tors and patients in the hospi- tal through the video calling facility, he said: "Tablets have been installed in every ward of the hospital. Salary cuts were to raise funds for Rythu Bandhu: KCR Revanth Reddy alleges favouritism by KCR

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Page 1: ˚,1(.23.:,3’#&++#(51. ’.8’;033+&’,.$

����� ���������

In a peculiar turn of events inTS, the daily count of freshCovid-19 positive casesbecomes a 'record' and stays sofor a day only to be toppled thevery next day!

No wonder, on ThursdayTelangana saw its biggest-eversingle-day spike, with 920people testing Covid-19 pos-itive. TS reported 891cases on Wednesday, 879on Tuesday and 872cases on Monday.

With the addition onThursday, the coron-avirus cases count inthe state has mounted to11,364. Besides, thedeath toll went up to 230, withfive more virus-related fatali-ties being reported in thestate. There are 6,446 active

cases in the state, while 4,688patients have been dischargedupon recovery. On Thursday,327 persons were discharged.

����� ���������

TPCC working president andMP from Malkajgiri ARevanth Reddy hassought to know fromthe state governmentwhether it will givetop posts in the PoliceDepartment only tothose who hail from thecommunity to whichChief Minister K ChandrasekharRao belongs and are willing towork as KCR's 'private army' inthe Commissionerates. He

alleged that KCR's private armyhas been working in theCommissionerates under

Hyderabad limits. Citing what he believes

are instances of KCRgiving priority to mem-bers of his community,Revanth demanded toknow from the state

government whetherthere are no efficient

employees among BCs, SCs,STs and other community peo-ple in the Police Department.

����� ���������

In the absence of an officiallydetermined fee structure, someof the corporate colleges havebegun collecting extortionatefee from Intermediate studentsin the name of providing onlineclasses without prejudice to thestudents' long-term interests.

The colleges are subjectingparents to emotional blackmailby raising the spectre of theirwards lagging in educationshould they compromise ononline classes. Left with noalternative, parents end uppaying hefty fees in advance.

Across the state, over 4.80

lakh students join junior col-leges for the first year ofIntermediate course. About

2.50 lakh of these students optfor corporate colleges.

The Board of Intermediate

Education has washed its handsoff the whole issue by saying thatjunior colleges should not startonline coaching classes withoutits permission. However, corpo-rate colleges wink at this diktat.They are conducting onlineadmissions as well as classes. Thecolleges provide links to onlineinstruction only if tuition fee is

paid. In some cases, the collegesgive links only to remove themlater ahead of the weekly tests.

Principals of colleges haveannounced discounts to thosewho got 10 GPA, anticipatingranks in NEET and Eamcet inthe first year. However, goingby experience, as the studentsenter the second year, the prin-

cipals begin collecting fees infull without bothering aboutdiscounts offered.

So, parents of senior studentsare now advising those seekingadmissions for juniorIntermediate to first obtain aclear picture on the second yeartuition fees too. There are alsoinstances of colleges that havechanged the campus for secondyear students, forcing students toundertake long-distance travel.

A corporate college whichstarted online classes in Maycollected normal tuition fees,though the student does notreside in hostels.

����� ���������

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao has saidthat the state governmentimposed cuts in salaries andpensions for employees andretired staff from March toApril with the aim of mobilis-ing funds for Rythu Bandhuscheme.

The Chief Minister statedthat the state government couldrelease nearly Rs 5,300 crore forRythu Bandhu amid the coro-na crisis due to funds mobilisedby imposing pay and pensioncuts, reflecting his government'scommitment towards farmersand the agriculture sector.

Singing a different tune,KCR claimed that Telanganacontinues to be "financiallysound and a rich state" andsuggested that the present lock-down-induced financial crisisfacing the state was temporary.He said the state government's

financial condition had beenimproving gradually with theeasing of lockdown restric-

tions since June 1 and hencethe state government haddecided to restore payment of

full salaries and pensions fromthis month.

Addressing a meeting after

launching the sixth phase of"Telangana ku Haritha Haram"(TKHH) programme inMedak district on Thursday,the Chief Minister slammedwood smugglers (whom hecalled "Kalapa Dongalu" forlooting Telangana forests. Heexpressed his concern over thefast depleting tree cover in thestate and attributed it to theactivities of wood smugglers.

Stating that there was a sys-tematic exploitation of forestwealth in Telangana, the ChiefMinister said his governmentwould crack down on woodsmugglers.

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Corporate colleges collect extortionate fee for online classes ��������������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������

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A 12-year-old minor girl wasallegedly raped by her rela-tive, who is a police consta-ble. The Bowenpally Policehave booked a case againstthe man.

The victim hadapproached NGO BalalaHakkula Sangam, along withher mother, with whom shehad shared her plight.

"Our NGO immediatelyinformed the issue toAdditional Commissioner ofHyderabad Police ShikhaGoel and she assured us thataction will be intiatedpromptly. She also told us shealerted the DCP of NorthZone as the area of the crimecomes under BowenpallyPolice Station limits and theaccused and victim's familyare neighbours," said AchyutaRao, president of the NGO.

The accused, VaradarajSudesh Umesh, 33, a policeconstable with theRamgopalpet Police Station,took advantage of the lock-down and approached thevictim when she was alone athome. "He also threatenedher that if she informs anyone about the assault, she willbe killed," said the police.

������������������������������������

Telangana reports 920,highest-ever, cases

���� ���������� ���������������������������� ���������

West Godavari sculptors gavefinishing touches to ColSantosh Babu statue whichwill be installed near old busstand in Suryapet town.

Telangana drivers crushedunder financial burden��,�&����(�&��(�� ���������

In view of the devastationcaused by Covid-19, many ofthe drivers engaged by cabaggregators are putting in addi-tional hours of work; yet, theyare making less than half theirusual daily income. Hence,some of them have taken upside jobs to supplement theirearnings.

Janardhan, a four-wheelerdriver, who is the lone bread-

winner of the family of five, isearning half of what he used toearn before the COVID pan-

demic hit, despite workingextra hours.

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Reaching out to New Delhiafter raising tensions in easternLadakh to a fever pitch, Chinaon Thursday said it was readyto work with India to proper-ly deal with the military stand-off, and asked it to meet thehalfway, asserting that "suspi-cion and friction" was a wrongpath that goes against the fun-damental aspirations of peopleof the two countries.

Chinese Ambassador SunWeidong said India and Chinaare able to properly managetheir differences, but at thesame time put the onus on NewDelhi to ease the tension, andcalled upon it to avoid takingactions that may "complicate"the situation in eastern Ladakh.

"We hope the Indian sidemeets the Chinese side halfway,avoids taking actions that maycomplicate the border situationand takes concrete actions tomaintain stability in the border

areas," he said and went on toadd that at present, the overallsituation in the China-Indiaborder areas is "stable andcontrollable."

The Indian and Chinese

armies are locked in a bitterstandoff in multiple locations ineastern Ladakh for the last sixweeks, and the tension escalatedmanifold after 20 Indian soldierswere killed in a violent clash inGalwan Valley on June 15.

The Chinese ambassadorsaid "mutual respect and sup-port" is a sure way and meetsthe long-term interests of bothcountries, but asserted thatthe onus was not on China toease tensions in the region.

"China and India are bothlarge developing countries andemerging economies withmore than one billion people,and both have the historicmission of realising our owndevelopment and revitalisa-tion," he said.

‘Capital’ Covid care modelthat is people-friendly

����� ���������

At a time when corona patientsin many states are subject to(ill-)treatment at astronomicalcosts under a cloak of criminalsecrecy; the Delhi governmentis now offering free servicesalongside its largest facilitywithout requiring patients tovisit quarantine centres andhas made it possible forfamily members toconverse withCovid-19 patientsthrough dedicatedvideo callingfacility in everyward.

All of thismakes the

capital's Covid caremodel stand out inthe country for itspeople-friendly,largely zero-costfeatures, though

Delhi isn o w

n e x tonly

to Maharashtra in terms ofcaseload and fatalities.

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Thursday launcheda video calling facility for coro-navirus patients admitted to theLNJP Hospital to talk to theirrelatives.

While interacting with doc-tors and patients in the hospi-tal through the video callingfacility, he said: "Tablets havebeen installed in every ward ofthe hospital.

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Salary cuts were to raise funds for Rythu Bandhu: KCR������������������ ��������������������������������������������

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Revanth Reddy allegesfavouritism by KCR

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Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Phone: 040-23322341, Hyderabad Office: F-502, Diamond Block, Lumbini Rockdale, Somajiguda, Hyderabad - 500 082. Telangana. Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, Plot No.19, IDA Balanagar , Hyderbad-500037, Medchal -Malkajgiri District, Telangana. Chief Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

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Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao onThursday launched the sixthphase of Haritha Haram pro-gramme by planting a BlackPlum (Neredu) sapling in theNarsapur forest area in Medakdistrict. The Chief Ministerinaugurated the NarsapurUrban Forest Park, which wasdeveloped in 636 acres. TheChief Minister has personallyexamined the Forest and Forestrevival programme beingimplemented in Narsapur for-est area.

He went by foot and inspect-ed the forest revival programmeworks. He also examined theworks related to natural Forest,Rock fill Dam, Water harvest-ing. From the Watch Towerbuilt on a hill, the CM had theview of the entire forest area.The Chief Minister said thatforest is there in the river val-ley regions like combinedKhammam, Warangal,Karimnagar and Adilabad dis-tricts. Other than these districts,Narsapur is the only area wherethere are thick forests. He urgedthat the more importanceshould be given to protect theforests and afforestation shouldbe done in the deforested areas.

Forest Minister A IndrakaranReddy, Finance Minister T.Harish Rao and senior officialsattended the programme. TheForest Minister said about 30crore saplings would be plant-ed during the sixth phase ofHaritha Haram. The Medakdistrict administration is plan-ning to plant 50 lakh saplings.

Increasing the green cover to33 per cent and achieving greenTelangana are the objectives ofHaritha Haram, started in 2015.During the drive, forest,

Panchayat Raj and RuralDevelopment, MunicipalAdministration and otherdepartments plant saplingsacross the state every year.KCR had asked officials toadopt the Yadadri model, which

was based on the Miyawakimethod of growing thickforests. He asked them to set upplant nursery at every 30 km onall state and national highwaysand continue the plantationprogramme on their sides.

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Energy Minister G JagadishReddy on Thursday com-menced the sixth phase ofHarita Haram by launchingplanting of over 1,050 saplingsin ninth ward of the townmunicipality and attributedthe generation of awarenessamong the people during thepast six years on plantingsaplins to Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao. He saidheralding of greenery on eitherside of the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highwayto the CM planting saplingslong back there as part of theplantation drive.

The CM fixed targets forgrowing plants to overcomeenvironmental problems, hesaid adding that the environ-mental problems are majorproblems that human raceencounters. He said that it is

targeted to plant 83-lakhsaplings in Suryapet districtduring the current phase ofHarita Haram.

ZP Chairperson G DeepikaYugandhar Rao, Rajya Sabhamember Badugula LingaiahYadav, Huzurnagar MLA SSaidireddy, Suryapet municipalchairman P Annapurnamma,District Collector VinayKrishna Reddy, SP Bhaskaranand others took part in theplantation drive.

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ABB Power Grids India hassigned a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withthe National Institute ofTechnology, Warangal(NITW) for cooperation todrive smart electric grid tech-nology education, skillsdevelopment and researchactivities. India's electric gridis transforming with the pen-etration of renewables andneed for reliable power underthe 'One Nation -One Grid -One Frequency' roadmap.

The government is strivingto provide 24x7 power for allthe households, while honor-ing its climate commitmentsand Sustainable DevelopmentGoals. A smart grid can helpbalance facilitating a safe,cost-effective, clean and reli-able power network. Fordeveloping smart electric gridof the future India's educationsystem and its talent in tan-dem play a vital role. In rec-ognizing this need, ABBPower Grids India has part-nered with the Department ofElectrical Engineering ofNITW for starting India'sfirst-ever Master ofTechnology (M.Tech) pro-gramme in Smart ElectricGrid (SEG) from the currentacademic year.

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"I am not joining politics andwant to be among the commonpeople," claims IPS officerVinoy Kumar Singh, whileaddressing the rumours afterhis declaration of seeking pre-mature retirement. "My letterto the Union Home Secretaryabout my seeking prematureretirement, has led to manyquestions, suppositions andconjectures in the mind of thepeople and Police officers, saidthe official.

Director of Telangana StatePolice Academy, VK Singh, anIPS officer of 1987 batch, haswritten a letter to ChiefSecretary Somesh Kumar onhis official letter head optingfor a premature retirement onWednesday. "No, I am notgoing to join politics at all. Ifirmly believe that no politicsor politicians can make anystate a golden one, only peoplecan do. While constitutional-ly people are the king-makers,in reality they are the puppetsin the hands of the powerfulpeople. We should not hold

politics and politicians at allresponsible for this. They arenot at fault. Fault lies with thepeople. So, I want to workamong people following thelines of Swami Vivekanand,Subash Chandra Bose andMahatma Gandhi. I want tomove among people and try tocarry forward the work ofAnna Hazare" he said.

Singh has reportedly writtento state Chief SecretarySomesh Kumar that though hewas empanelled for the post ofdirector general of police(DGP) three months ago, thegovernment had still not takenup the matter of his promo-

tion."I firmly believe that any

state could be made goldenthrough good governance andwe have wisdom and resourcesto beat any foreign country inprogress. It is being shown inTSPA progress. It is true thatmy children are not settled butI am not shifting my respon-sibility of family. I want towork in the field of educationtoo post quitting the service.Once the government of Indiagives permission to quit, I willunfold my plan as to how Iwant to work among people.Being in service, it is notdecent and dignified to be aloudmouth. Hope it will putthe doubts to rest in the mindsof my friends and the people,"he concluded. He was empan-elled for a promotion to DGPrank in February. But the gov-ernment has not yet promot-ed the IPS officers of 1987batch, despite the posts beingvacant. In the last threemonths, two officers of DGPrank Tejdeep Kaur Menonand T Krishna Prasad haveretired from the service.

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Three gunmen and two dri-vers working with BJP MLAfrom Goshamahal T RajaSingh tested positive forCovid-19. The legislator con-firmed the news and at thesame time, expressed disap-pointment over test results ofother staff members beingdelayed. All the five whotested positive were put underquarantine and officials aretracing and examining theirprimary and secondary con-tacts for symptoms of Covid-19. Five more gunmen allot-ted to the legislator had alsoundergone the test andaccording to Raja Singh, theirresults were delayed. “Testreports of five gunmen arepending. Why is this delay. It’salready been five days now.This will increase the chanceof the virus spreading fur-ther,” he said.

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Since June 16th, sampleshave been collected on a largescale in special camps, due towhich there is a heavy backlogwith a sizeable number ofresults yet to be declared.Health officials now want toclear the pending samplesbefore resuming the process oftesting again. Hence, for thenext two days, samples won'tbe collected in special camps.

Over the past 10 days,36,000 samples have been col-lected as per Telangana’sHealth Department. Results of8,253 of these samples arestill awaited. Sources indicat-ed that there is a shortage ofnot only manpower, but alsomachines to test. Moreover,the state has been doing onlyRT-PCR tests as it doubts the

efficacy of results of rapidantibody tests or TruNat test-ing kit.

According to TS DirectorPublic Health & FamilyWelfare Dr G Srinivasa Rao“Each sample has to be testedwithin 48 hours of collection;until then, it needs to bemaintained at designated tem-perature. Due to the specialcamps for sample collection,many samples have piled up inlabs. If we continue to takesamples without clearing thepending ones, we will facetrouble in storing the samplesat designated temperature.”

Maintaining that there is noneed to worry, the directoradded, “We have stopped col-lection of samples from specialcollection centers. Over thenext two days, the pendingsamples will be tested.”

TS halts testing

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Continued from Page 1

It may be recalled that thebrave heart became a martyron June 26 in a clash withChinese soldiers. Also mar-tyred were 19 soldiers on theoccasion. The death tollincreased as a soldier VikramMore of Malegoan succumbedto injuries in Maharashtra.

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The family members canvisit the hospital and talk to thepatient through video confer-encing."

Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia suggested thatthe use of these tablets wouldbe beneficial to doctors and theadministration as well to be inregular touch with the patients,instead of physically beingpresent which exposes them tothe risk of coronavirus.

The video calling facilitycame after the relatives ofsome patients showed discon-tent with regard to informationconcerning patients providedto them.

Kejriwal told the media later,"LNJP was declared a COVID-

19 hospital on March 17. It isthe country's largest COVID-dedicated hospital, and sinceMarch 17, it has successfullytreated 2,700 COVID positivepatients and sent them home.It is the only COVID-19 hos-pital in the country with 2,000beds."

All coronavirus patients inDelhi will not have to visit aquarantine centre for evalua-tion, the government said onThursday, with LieutenantGovernor Anil Baijal with-drawing his order after strongprotests from the Aami AadmiParty administration.

Kejriwal had requested theCentre to withdraw the direc-tive, saying that the order was"not correct" and likened it to"15-day detention".

Under the old system, whichwill be followed once again,health workers would visit thehomes of those testing positivefor coronavirus and conduct aclinical and physical assess-ment to see if the patientshould stay at home under iso-lation or be shifted to a govern-ment facility.

This is the second time inrecent weeks that LieutenantGovernor Anil Baijal, whorepresents the Centre, with-drew an order linked to thecoronavirus pandemic. Lastweek Baijal ordered mandato-ry five-day institutional quar-antine for all patients. TheDelhi government pointed outthis would need over 90,000beds, which was virtuallyimpossible at this time.

Continued from page 1

"The onus is not on China.The Indian side crossed theLAC (Line of Actual Control)for provocation and attackedthe Chinese border troops.The Indian forces seriouslyviolated agreements on borderissues between the two coun-tries," he said.

In the course of the inter-view, Sun repeated the Chinesegovernment's stand -- whichhas been rejected by India --that Indian troops are respon-sible for the Galwan Valleyclashes, and indicated thatthe onus was on India toimprove the situation in east-ern Ladakh. At a weekly mediabriefing, External AffairsMinistry SpokespersonAnurag Srivastava held Chinadirectly responsible for theborder standoff saying it hasbeen has been amassing alarge contingent of troops and

armaments along the LACsince early May and conductof the Chinese forces has beenin complete disregard of allmutually agreed norms.

Srivastava also said thedeployment of large body oftroops and changes in behav-ior has also been aggravated by"unjustified and untenableclaims" including over theGalwan Valley.

Emphasising that the pathof "suspicion and friction"was wrong and goes againstthe fundamental aspiration ofthe two peoples, the ambas-sador said,"China and Indiaare willing and able to prop-erly manage differences."

In the last few weeks, bothsides have held a series ofdiplomatic and military talksto cool down temperatureeven as Chinese military hasincreased its presence in allsensitive areas along the 3,500km LAC, the de-facto border.

Continued from page 1

A resident of Nallkuntawent to a corporate college toenrol his nephew in a corpo-rate college. The college col-lected Rs 10,500 towards feesfor online classes. In addition,he has to cough up Rs 9,000for text books.

An assistant engineer in agovernment department puthis son last year in BPC groupin a corporate college nearJNTU-H. Last year, the feequoted by the college was Rs

3 lakh and at last bargained forRs 2.25 lakh. When the engi-neer went to the college to paythe fees, the management saidthat the concession was lim-ited to first year and askedhim to pay full fees -- Rs 3lakh for the second year. Hehas to cough up an addition-al Rs 1 lakh for online class-es. He paid Rs 12,500 for textbooks. The principal said thatthe parent has to pay an addi-tional Rs 60,000 for enablingthe student to undergo onlineclasses.

Continued from page 1

For, the Chief Minister hasput in key posts employeeswho retired 15 years ago justbecause they belong to hiscommunity, he told the mediahere on Thursday.

Revanth claimed that'KCR's relative' and formerRTC MD Ramanarao hadmisused his power during histenure as RTC MD by sanc-tioning petrol bunks and flex-es to their community per-sons. KCR appointed retiredSP Raghava Rao in the PoliceAcademy. ACB SPVenkataramana Rao has filedcases against persons who

dared to speak against KCR.Kukatpalli ACP Sanjeeva Raoand NIMS director DrSheshagiri Rao were caught inACB raids. However, KCRgave them a clean chit, insteadof sending them to jail,because they are his relatives.

KCR appointed SandeepRao as SOT and appointedShyamsunder Rao asMadhapur ACP, Surender Raoin Kukatpalli, Prudvinder Raoin LB Nagar and Bhujangaraoin Rachakonda as they havebeen tasked with settling landissues. Bhujangarao was busysettling issues concerningNayeem lands, Revanthalleged.

Continued from page 1

Of the 920 fresh cases, 737were reported from GHMClimits. While 86 cases werereported in Rangareddy,another 60 were reported inMedchal. Eighteen of the 33districts in the state reportedcases.

Sixteen PGs and internstested positive inMGM,KMC,Warangal, whilenearly 85 doctors in OMC test-

ed COVID-19 positive. InNIMS, 76 doctors tested pos-itive for the virus.

The Health Departmentfound abnormalities inCOVID-19 test resultsuploaded on the portal by pri-vate labs due to technical issueswith regard to testing.

As per the media bulletin,“On Thursday, a team of spe-cialists have inspected variousprivate labs to check the avail-ability of infrastructure, trained

manpower, procedure of test-ing, and quality control. Basedon the reports, an ExpertCommittee will evaluatewhether the testing protocolsin these labs are as perICMR standards or not.Accordingly, a view will betaken on further course ofaction.”

As of now, 6.34 per cent ofthe available bed strength, or1,083 of 17,081 beds, areoccupied in the state.

‘Capital’ Covid care model,that is people-friendly

Revanth Reddy allegesfavouritism by KCR

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“They are kalapa dongalu.The smugglers will not bespared,” he warned. Heinstructed the forest depart-ment to post officials to pro-tect Telangana’s forests.

“Unless we crack a whip onthese smugglers, our HarithaHaram programme will have

no meaning. We will growtrees, and these smugglerswill fell them and plunder ourwealth. We should take harshmeasures to protect ourforests. There should be zerotolerance to smuggling of tim-ber from our state. Medakshould restore and rejuvenatethe lost 92,000 acres of forest,”he said.

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"We received the com-plaint by the minor victimgirl at Bowenpally police withcontents of sexual assault bya police constable. Basing onher statement, a case was reg-istered under section 376(3)and 506 of the IPC and sec-tion 5(a) read with 6 ofPoCSO Act. We immediate-ly placed the accused policeconstable under arrest," saidthe DCP of North Zone,Kamaleshwar.

Continued from page 1

"I used to bring home near-ly Rs 1,800-2,000 every day tilllockdown started, and thatwas when I worked for 15-18hours daily. Now, even when Iwork for 20 hours, I hardlymake Rs 600-700. Plus, nowthat the diesel rates are so high,I doubt whether I will makeeven that much. Thus, I havestarted working at a construc-tion site to feed my family,"

shares Janardhan.Thousands of four-wheeler

drivers, who are working forOla, Uber or running indepen-dent cabs, are struggling tomake ends meet, despite gov-ernment announcing the eas-ing of lockdown.

No help from cab aggregatorsShaik Salauddin, national

general secretary of the IndianFederation of App BasedTransport Workers (an

umbrella body of several Olaand Uber unions across thecountry), shares that the cabaggregators are not helpingdrivers with income at all."Even after they started the ser-vices in different parts of thecountry, drivers have had towait for hours to get any book-ing. And, from the little busi-ness they get, the companiesare cutting their usual 25% ascommission."

So bad is the situation that

many drivers are forced to trytheir luck at other businesses tosupport their family.

Syed Zakir Hussain, whowas working with one of thecab aggregators, shares, "Theinsurance of my vehicle lapsedon June 16. Despite theTransport Minister NitinGadkari extended the validityof transport documents tillSeptember 30, 2020, the cabaggregator company refused tocontinue my permit. “

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China reaches out toIndia; says ‘meet...

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The Metro Rail Executioncompany Larsen & Toubro(L&T) has written to the stategovernment to either com-pensate for the loss of revenueto the tune of Rs 150 crore forconfining Metro trains todepots or to extend the 35-year-contract to operate theservices by another 4 to 6months in case if the state gov-ernment is not in a position tomake good the loss, it is learnt.

Though the Metro Railauthorities would not confirmthe news, news about L&Twriting to the state governmentto make good the loss has beenleaked to the public.

As per the agreement withthe L&T, the constructioncompany is given license to col-lect train fare, generate revenuethrough commercial and busi-ness advertisements, develop-ment of real estate projects togenerate revenue.

Due to the lockdowninduced by the Coronavirus,

Metro trains were confined todepots since March 22 and theL&T sustained revenue loss tothe tune of Rs 150 crore forthree months till now.Moreover, maintenance of sta-tions, trains, wages to employ-ees and other overheadsbecame burdensome for thefirm.

The cost of the project esca-lated to Rs 17,000 crore fromRs 14,000 crore and the project

was executed till 2017 from2011, two years beyond theschedule. It may be recalledthat the L&T had written to thestate government to pay theincreased cost of the project.The Metro Rails in Delhi,Chennai, Bangaluru andMumbai are being run by set-ting up separate corporationsunlike Hyderabad which isimplementing the Metro Railproject under the public-pri-

vate partnership basis. It is thebiggest such projects to beimplemented in Asia.

The L&T company find itselfdevastated because of theCovid-19 impact at a time thefirm is about to reach thebreak-even point. What thestate government would do isnot yet known. Will the gov-ernment pay the compensationor extend the contract dura-tion?

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The Coronavirus has severelyparalysed food business forcingsome of the tea, tiffin and otherstreet vendors to close down theirbusiness.

Attributing the cause to therestrictions imposed in publicspots in view of the novelCoronavirus scare, the vendorsalso complained that the peoplekeep off their food products overrumours that they would contractthe infection from such items soldon the streets.

The most affected businessesare sweet vendors, tiffin centres,tea shops as they wear a desertedlook all day during theCoronavirus pandemic situation.However, food takeaway busi-nesses have picked up their busi-ness recently.

The people are particular abouthaving home food. In many sweetshops, the eatables prepared priorto lockdown have been damagedcausing huge loss to the vendors.

A street vendor said that heused to prepare 'mirchi bajji,jilebi' daily and used to sell to cus-tomers hot and fresh. Prior to theCoronavirus, the business is very

high. Comparing the businessduring pre-Coronavirus, it isalmost nil now, he remarked.

The tea vendor shops in KalojiCentre wore deserted look.

The Irani Café which used tosell 1,200 teas a day prior toCoronavirus, sells less than 100teas a day. The traders, burdenedwith rent, loss of business andother overheads, say that theyhave to dump the tea into the gut-ters as there are no takers for it.

Pappu Singh, another 'paanipuri' vendor, also left for hisnative village amid lockdown.

"I used to earn Rs 10,000 to Rs12,000 every month and lived ata rented room with my sons. Icame back when business startedsuffering," he said.

"I am penniless since the lasttwo months. There is no water orwork in my village. I have been

surviving on roti-mirchi (flatbread and chilly)," he said.

Anil Mesram, a sweet shopowner said that the business wasgood prior to the lockdown as heused to sell at least 150 sweetpackets per day. He used to sell 30varieties of sweets. There is nobusiness at all. The customers arenot buying more than quarter kgof sweets now. It is very difficultto sell at least 40 packets per daynow. The shop is not making newvarieties of sweets. Only 15 vari-eties of sweets that are in demandare being sold.

A chat bhandar vendor, Venkat,said that he used to transact abusiness of at least Rs 10,000 priorto the lockdown. He used to havesurplus after deduction of allexpenses. He said that he is notable to do a business of Rs 2,000for three days.

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Municipal Administrationand Urban Developmentminister KT Rama Raolaunched the sixth phase ofthe Haritha Haaram pro-gramme by planting saplingsat the Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) Park in Bhoigudaon Thursday.

The Minister along withAnimal Husbandry ministerTalasani Srinivas Yadav andHyderabad Mayor BonthuRammohan also inauguratedthe children's theme parkwhich was renovated with anestimated cost of Rs 20 lakh.

He kick started the sixthphase of the green marathonby planting a sapling in thepark. He congratulated thelocal residents and childrenin particular on getting a newpark.

As per the new MuncipalAct brought out by the stategovernment, if the plantssurvival rate is less than 85per cent action would betaken against those responsi-ble for it, he said.

GHMC zonal officials andsenior police officials werepresent.

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Heaps of bodieswrapped in plastic bagsin deplorable condi-tion, showcasing thepathetic condition ofdead bodies in mortu-ary at Osmania GeneralHospital have surfaced.

The videos havegone viral on socialmedia. Hospitalauthorities claim thatthe video is misleadingas it showcases theprocess of packing thedead bodies after post-mortem.

Apart from bodiesin Hyderabad, uniden-tified bodies of thosewho died in surround-ing areas are preservedin the mortuary. Thedead bodies will behanded over to relativeswithin 10 to 15 daysand those unidentified

will be handed over toGreater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) for burial.

Responding to this,superintendent of thehospital, Dr BNagender denied theaccusations in the videoand condemned theinformation of the bod-ies depicted in thevideo.

He said that legalaction will be takenagainst those who postsuch videos without fullknowledge and permis-sion. He said that theywill report to the topauthorities for under-mining the hospital'sreputation.

Those who are mak-ing such videos are try-ing to intimidate thepublic and asked peoplenot to believe the mis-leading video.

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Telangana State general secretary ofSocialist Party Dr Lubna Sarwath,president of VOICE- Voice of IndianCitizens Everywhere, Hyderabad VSai Prasad Sastry IRS, Nationalpresident of United Citizens ForumJanab Maqbool Mateen have writtento the government requesting themto promote all the Telangana openschool students enrolled for exam-inations of April 2020.

"This is a totally biased approachcontrary to the stated objectives ofmainstreaming education for thosewho have missed education due tofinancial and social backwardness,"states the letter. They demanded thatthe government should declare pro-moted all open school students.Grades may be allotted as per thetutor marked assignments or by allauthorised study centers.

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Governor Tamilisai Soundararajanon Thursday called upon the agricul-tural scientists to carry out researchin immunity-boosting crops so as toprevent the ill-effects of viral out-breaks on the humankind.

"Despite the factthat our older gen-

eration ate riceand lived longer,We need to comeup with new

varieties of rice,"she said. Exhorting

the agricultural scien-tists to carry out research on Palmyratrees, which the Governor termed asthe 'kalpa vriksha' of a kind, she stat-ed that every part of the Palmyra isuseful. "Neera, tender palm water, isone product that is highly nutri-tious," the Governor said.

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The Greater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation is now turning to the Internetto track vehicle mounted fogging machines(VMFs) and portable fogging machines(PFMs).

The distance covered by fogging machinesand petrol consumed will also be tracked.The corporation has taken up the pilot pro-ject to ensure that the fogging machines areutilised to their full capacities and entire fog-ging operations are monitored by the offi-cers. The pilot project for installation andoperation of devices for a period of 1 yearon 74 fogging machines is on board.

With the intention of state government toencourage start-ups, the pilot project isassigned to T-Hub based Marut DronetechPrivate Limited. As per the pilot project thedistance covered in a day and week by onefogging machine is captured on a map. Aweekly report or map in which the totalroads covered in that week would be shownin green colour and roads which aren't cov-ered should be shown in red color.

GHMC standing committee on Thursdayapproved, the services of Marut Drones areengaged to implement the tracking mech-anism to with an amount of Rs. 15,10,636.

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With the people fretting to go nearCovid-19 patients due to fear of con-traction, Hyderabad-based Nucleonixhas developed a service robot that candeliver food, medicine, water andother items to the people infectedwith Coronavirus.

Inaugurating the robot and UVsanitiser, Health Minister EtelaRajender said, "At a time when theentire humanity is under tremendousstress, Nucleonix has come up withultra violet rays technology-basedproducts for sanitisation. They can beutilised at homes, offices and crowd-ed places as well. Family members arestaying away from Coronaviruspatients. Whether it is UV sanitisersor robots, I wish that such technolo-gies are made available to the publicand hope that they are available inaffordable costs."

The company showcased all theequipments including UV conveyorsystem, UV sanitisers, robot andsanitiser. The Minister enquired aboutthe safety of UV rays on humans.

Demonstrating that UV rays do notcome out of the equipment with thehelp of UV meter, the directors ofNucleonix explained the safety mea-sures taken in all the products.

When asked how UV rays killCovid-19, Nucleonix MD J NarenderReddy explained, "There is a certainamount of UV radiation 7 J/m2above which Covid-19 is killed. It isa well-established and proven technol-ogy for sanitisation used globally fromseveral years to kill various microbes.Now it is being used on Covid-19."

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Chinese goods have revolu-tionised all sectors of economyin the country. The irrigationprojects are no exception to this.The State of Telangana importsmotors from China to fix themto various lift-irrigation pro-jects. Because of the tensions atthe India and China borders,whether the pump sets wouldreach on time or not has becomea big worry for the engineers andproject executing agencies.

The migrant workers have leftthe state affecting the irrigationprojects' execution schedule.Now, the import of motors andpumps is likely to affect theschedule. Almost all equipmentneeded to execute Srirama Sagarproject are needed to be import-ed from China. The projectreceived six pumps with a capac-ity of 40 MW each for execution

of the first package of works. The workers are nearing com-

pletion. To execute the fifthpackage of works, six pumps andmotors each with a capacity of 40MW are needed to be fixed to theLI scheme. Main equipmentreached here. However, ancillaryequipment is yet to be imported.

To execute the sixth package ofworks too, five pumps and motorseach having 40 MW capacity andtwo pumps with 30 MW capaci-ty needed to be fixed.

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Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) presidentN Uttam Kumar Reddyinformed that all Congress lead-ers and workers would pay silenttributes to 20 martyrs of IndianArmy who were killed in clash-es with Chinese Army in a pro-gramme 'AmaraveerulakuCongress Salaam' to be organisedon Friday at 11 am.

Uttam Kumar Reddy, alongwith AICC Incharge R.C.Khuntia, urged all Congressleaders to participate in thesilent tribute to martyrs in all dis-trict and Assembly constituencyheadquarters on Friday at 11 am.They will carry national flags andobserve an hour-long 'MounaDeeksha' (silent dharna) to con-demn Chinese occupation onour land and demand its restora-tion. He said that the Congressworkers have been directed towear masks, maintain physicaldistance and follow other Covid-19 guidelines.

Similarly, Uttam said that theCongress party would organisedharna at all district headquar-ters on June 29 in protest againstthe hike in the prices of petroland diesel. He said these two pro-grammes were being organisedon the instructions of AICCPresident Sonia Gandhi andsenior leader Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing the video-confer-ence, Uttam requested the leadersto organise the programme for onehour at the statues of MahatmaGandhi or other national leadersand pay tributes to Col. SantoshBabu and other martyrs. Later, theyshould organise 'Speak Up' pro-gramme to demand China to leavethe Indian territory, he said.

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Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) TreasurerGudur Narayana Reddy onThursday said that the Centraland Telangana Governmentswere going too slow on plasmatherapy to treat Coronaviruspatients. Narayana Reddy, whohas just recovered from Covid-19, said that the trials of plasmatherapy conducted last monthwere reportedly successful withmany critical patients gettingrecovered from Coronavirus. Hesaid that the Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR) hasapproved 38 institutions for par-

ticipating in a randomised con-trolled study to assess the safetyand efficacy of convalescentplasma to limit complicationsassociated with COVID-19. Hesaid the ESIC and GandhiMedical College were amongthe institutions which had ICMRapproval to conduct plasma ther-apy trials. The Congress leadersaid that in the absence of vac-cine or medicine to treat Covid-19, the results of plasma thera-py, so far, have been highlyencouraging. Therefore, he saidthat the authorities should focuson increasing the scale of plasmatherapy. In medical terms, in

plasma therapy, the plasma of a

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As per the instructions issued bythe Ministry of Home Affairs,the state government has issuedfresh guidelines on complete andclear display of the State Emblemof India. Principal Secretary togovt (Political) Vikas Raj statedthat all the government agencieswhich are using the StateEmblem of India on their sealsmust ensure that the seals arereplaced before they are wornout so that the impression of theseals on papers may be clear andprecise. It has therefore asked allthe departments to take suitablesteps in this regard.

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Congress senior leader DrNagam Janardhan Reddy allegedthat the Corona situation in thestate turned from bad to worsedue to the negligent attitude ofthe state government. He allegedthat the government has totallyfailed to tackle the spread of thevirus. The Chief Minister alsofailed to infuse confidenceamong the people, he said. Hedemanded the government to setup Corona hospitals in all dis-tricts. He also demanded thestate government to conductdoor-to-door survey and distrib-ute medicines.

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person who hasrecovered fromCovid-19, is drawnand transferred topeople who havefreshly contractedthe disease as thesame has sufficientantibodies to fightthe disease. However,he said that theauthorities were notfinding enough plas-ma donors.

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Police here in Maharashtraregistered an FIR against BJPMLC Gopichand Padalkar onThursday in connection withhis remarks against NCP chiefSharad Pawar, an official said.

Padalkar on Wednesdaytermed Pawar as "corona" thathas infected Maharashtra.

NCP's Baramati unit office-bearer Amar Dhumal subse-quently lodged a complaintagainst Padalkar.

The Baramati police inPune on Thursday registeredan FIR against the MLC underIndian Penal Code Section505(2) (creating or promotingenmity, hatred or ill-willbetween classes), DeputySuperintendent of policeNarayan Shirgaonkar said.

Dhumal in his complaintalleged that Padalkar spreadrumours, fear and hatred in

the society through hisremarks.

"His statements are objec-tionable, false and sought tocreate rift in the community,"Dhumal said in the complaint.

The Pune unit of NCP alsostaged a protest on Thursdayto condemn Padalkar'sremarks and demanded thathe apologise to Pawar.

The NCP workers burnt aneffigy of Padalkar and beat hisphotos with footwear.

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The Congress on Thursdayasked Prime Minister NarendraModi why has not India gainedanything from the "strange bon-homie" which it claimed heshared with China.

Seeking to turn the tables onthe ruling party, Congressspokesperson Pawan Khera saidthe BJP also shared bonhomiewith the Communist Party ofChina (CPC) with several party-level exchanges taking place inthe past. He sought to knowwhether India's borders havebecome safe after theseexchanges in the last many years.

The Congress leader askedwhat has the country gained outof these exchange delegationsand why are the borders insecuredespite the bonds that the tworuling parties of India and Chinashare with each other.

"There is a strange kind ofbonhomie between NarendraModi and China, a two decadeold bonhomie. Why doesn't the

country get the benefit of thatbonhomie," he asked at a virtu-al press conference.

Khera said all that theCongress will continue to ques-tion is about the political will thatjust does not get visible when itcomes to China.

"Whatever is happening onthe border today, is it despite thebonhomie which you have withChina, or is it because of the bon-homie which you have with

China. The country needs toknow," he asked.

"We do want to ask you, if aspresident of the party, RajnathSingh, Nitin Gadkari and AmitShah have been sending delega-tions, strengthening the bondsbetween the Communist Partyof China and the BJP. What hasthe country gained out of thesebonds? Why are the bordersinsecure despite these bondsthat you have," he also asked.

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Uttar Pradesh Assembly HridayNarayan Dixit recalls how ajailor at Unnao prison changedhis tone towards him as theresults of the 1977 Lok Sabhaelections came in, toppling IndiraGandhi after two years ofEmergency. The jailor hadcaught him listening to the pollresults as they came in early inthe morning on a transistorradio he had “somehow man-aged” to bring into the jail's bar-rack number 21.

The jailor used abusive lan-guage and warned that he maybe shifted to the Naini CentralJail. Dixit turned down the vol-ume. Two hours later, when itbecame clear that Gandhi hadbeen defeated, the same officialwas referring to Dixit in arespectful manner, even callinghim ‘maananiye”.

“Abey sey hum sir ho gaye,” hetold PTI, remembering how

instead of the derogatory "abey",he was being called “sir”.

Dixit, 74, was the generalsecretary of Jana Sangh's Unnaounit general secretary whenEmergency was declared in 1975.He spent almost its entire dura-tion in jail. Recalling his experi-ence on the 45 anniversary of theEmergency, the politician equat-ed it with the suspension of per-sonal liberties in Nazi Germany,

claiming that the then primeminister Indira Gandhi tookher cue from Adolf Hitler. Heappeared to refer to the EnablingAct passed in Germany in 1933,giving Hitler dictatorial powers.

"In 1933, Hitler imposedEmergency in Germany, and thetorture, which he unleashedthere, the same was done in Indiaduring the Emergency,” he said.

“Indira Gandhi got the moti-vation from Hitler,” he said.Dixit did not agree with theopposition charge that anEmergency-like situation pre-vailed now in the country.

"At this point of time, there isan India-China stand-off, andSonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi andother leaders are speaking what-ever they want to speak. Themedia is writing whatever itwants. During the 1975Emergency, there was a completeban on the press. How can therebe an Emergency today? This isonly a political statement,” he said.

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Senior BJP leaders slammedthe Congress on the 45thanniversary of Emergency onThursday, alleging it still suf-fered from the "Emergencymindset" and the interests of"one family" prevailed overthose of the party and thecountry.

While Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, who has oftencriticised Congress for impos-ing Emergency in 1975, madeno mention of the party in histweet but lauded the peoplewho fought against it, HomeMinister Amit Shah and otherBJP leaders launched a broad-side against the Congress.

Modi said the sacrifice ofpeople who fought for democ-racy and suffered torture dur-ing Emergency will never beforgotten by the country.

Shah said the interests of"one family" prevailed over theparty and national interests,and questioned why the

"Emergency mindset" stillremained in the Congress. Hesaid the "sad truth" was thatleaders were feeling suffocat-ed in the Congress.

"On this day, 45 years agoone family's greed for powerled to the imposition of theEmergency. Overnight thenation was turned into aprison. The press, courts, freespeech...all were trampledover. Atrocities were commit-ted on the poor and down-trodden," he said in a series oftweets. Former Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi had imposedEmergency, which suspendedcivil rights and elections, onJune 25, 1975, and it continuedtill March 21, 1977.

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Coronavirus essentials likemasks, gloves, sanitisers, bedrollkits will now be sold at the multi-purpose stalls at railway plat-forms, railway officials saidThursday. The stalls, run by pri-vate contractors, carry mostitems that travellers couldrequire, like toiletries, books,medicines and packed eatables.The stalls will now also be ableto sell essential items required toprotect passengers from coron-avirus infection, according to aset of instructions issued by theRailway Board.

"Mindful of the fact that pas-sengers travelling during thesetimes might need certain essen-tial items which they wouldneed to buy in case they forgetto get it from home, we havedirected our multipurpose stallsto sell them. "However, we havesaid that they have to be sold atMRP and no profiteering will be

allowed through it," said a seniorrailway official.

The official said bedroll kits,which are no longer provided onboard trains due to fear of thecoronavirus spread, will also beavailable at these stalls. They willbe sold as a kit -- with pillow, pil-low covers, blankets, face towel-- as well as separately.

"Since we have stopped givingthese items because of the pan-demic, passengers can buy either

the entire kit or any item sepa-rately," the official said.

The order issued last weekstated that the emphasis was onmaintaining hygiene and fulfill-ing needs of the passengers.

"These takeaway bedroll andother protective items should beof good quality and not exceedthe MRP," the official said, clar-ifying that the stall owners arenot bound to sell these itemsmanufacturing by the Railways.

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Pakistani troops on Thursdayviolated ceasefire along theLine of Control (LoC) inMacchil sector of Jammu andKashmir by firing mortar shellstowards Indian positions, Armyofficials said here. They said theIndian Army gave a befittingresponse to the ceasefire viola-tion. No casualties were report-ed in the incident.

"On 25 June 2020, Pakistaninitiated an unprovoked cease-fire violation (CFV) along theLoC in Macchil sector by fir-ing mortars," the officials said.

There has been a sharpincrease in ceasefire violationsalong the Line of Control overthe past two weeks.

Security officials maintainthat Pakistan is resorting toceasefire violations to providecover for infiltration of militantsinto the valley.

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On the occasion of the 45thanniversary of Emergency,Prime Minister Narendra Modion Thursday paid tributes to thepeople who fought for the pro-tection of democracy in India,saying the country will never for-get their sacrifices.

In a tweet in Hindi, Modi said,"Emergency was imposed on thecountry exactly 45 years ago. Atthe time, people who fought forthe protection of India's democ-racy, suffered torture, I salutethem all! The country will neverforget their sacrifices."

He also attached one of theepisodes from his monthly pro-gramme 'Mann ki Baat' held lastyear, where he spoke at lengthabout the Emergency.

The announcement ofEmergency was made on June25, 1975, days after theAllahabad High Court foundformer Prime Minister IndiraGandhi guilty of electoral mal-practices and disbarred her as aparliamentarian for six years.

For much of the Emergency

period, most of Indira Gandhi'spolitical opponents were jailedand the press was muzzled.

Modi's remarks came afterUnion Home Minister AmitShah took a swipe at IndiraGandhi, saying one family's"greed for power" led to theimposition of Emergency 45years ago when the country wasturned into a prison.

In a series of tweets, Shahsaid, "On this day 45 years ago,one family's greed for power ledto the imposition of Emergency.Overnight the nation was

turned into a prison. The press,courts, free speech... all weretrampled over. Atrocities werecommitted on the poor anddowntrodden."

He said that due to the effortsof lakhs of people, theEmergency was lifted."Democracy was restored inIndia, but it remained absent inthe Congress. The interests ofone family prevailed over partyinterests and national interests.This sorry state of affairs thrivesin today's Congress too," Shahsaid in another tweet.

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The proposed Indian NationalSpace Promotion andAuthorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) could be turned intothe sectoral regulator oncenecessary legal structure arethere, according to K. Sivan,Secretary of the Department ofSpace (DoS) and Chairman ofthe Indian Space ResearchOrganisation (ISRO).

On Wednesday the UnionCabinet, chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, gaveits nod for opening up thespace sector and for setting upof IN-SPACe to promote pri-vate sector's participation.

The IN-SPACe will alsoensure a level-playing field forprivate firms to use Indianspace infrastructure. It willhand hold, promote and guidethe private industries in spaceactivities through encouragingpolicies and a friendly regula-tory environment.

Speaking to IANS, Sivansaid, "We are on the job of get-ting ready the Space ActivitiesBill. It will define the spaceactivities, liabilities and otheraspects." According to Sivan, anew navigation policy is alsobeing proposed. Suitablechanges in the remote sensingdata policy as well as SATCOMpolicy are on the anvil to alignthem to an open and inclusivespace sector.

Pointing out the role envis-aged for IN-SPACe and thedemand for a sectoral regulator,when queried whether the pro-posed body could be convertedinto the space sector regulator,Sivan said, "IN-SPACe could beturned into a regulatory bodywhen the necessary laws andregulations are in place."

Speaking to IANS earlier,Narayan Prasad, ChiefOperating Officer, satsearch

said, "The best is to establish anindependent regulator -- SpaceRegulatory Authority of India(SRAI) -- which will create alevel-playing field for many ofthe emerging players."

Establishing an indepen-dent regulator could allow asystematic review and reformson a continuous basis ratherthan one-off announcements,Prasad said.

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Federation of Western IndiaCine Employees (FWICE), CineAnd TV Artistes' Association(CINTAA) and the Indian Filmand TV Producers' Council(IFTPC) on Thursday said theyhave "amicably resolved" issuesregarding insurance cover andsalary for their members torestart filming activities imme-diately.

Last month, Maharashtragovernment allowed shooting offilms, TV serials and web serieswith certain conditions.

All the production activitiesin the city were suspended inmid-March in the wake of thecoronavirus pandemic.

There were reports that CIN-TAA and FWICE called offshootings of some TV shows,

which were scheduled to startfrom Tuesday, after IFTPC failedto meet their demands for insur-ance cover.

In a virtual meeting heldamong the three bodies, IFTPCagreed to provide two sets ofinsurance coverage.

A death cover of Rs 25 lakh

due to COVID-19 and hospital-isation cover of Rs 2 lakh will beprovided uniformly across allhierarchy of the cast and crew.

"Apart from the insurance,IFTPC also assured that everyprecautions as per the govern-ment's guidelines will be put inplace to ensure utmost safety

for the entire cast and crew,"read a joint statement from thebodies.

The 90-day cycle for paymentin the TV industry has oftencome under scanner with manyin the industry asking for it to bedone away with, especially amidthe coronavirus pandemic.

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A 36-year-old man wasarrested in South Delhi'sMehrauli area for allegedlyselling drugs, police said onThursday.

The accused, Jitender, aresident of Chattarpur Pahariarea, was caught carrying 2.5kg cannabis, they said, addingthe drug has been seized.

Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (South) Atul KumarThakur said, "We receivedinformation on June 24 thata drug seller carryingcannabis would come at 60Futa Road, ChattarpurPahari. A trap was laid and hewas apprehended." A casewas registered and he wasarrested, the DCP said.

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The Jammu and Kashmiradministration has orderedstrengthening of the securitysetup in south Kashmir by estab-lishing seven new police unitsand upgrading three other withthe deployment of over 271additional police personnel.

South Kashmir has become ahotbed of terrorism in the pastfew years and has seen large-scalerecruitment by terrorist outfits aswell as terror strikes includingthe Pulwama attack in 2019 inwhich 40 CRPF personnel werekilled.

"Sanction is accorded to theestablishment of the office ofAdditional Superintendent ofPolice (ASP), highway, withheadquarters at Qazigund inKulgam district," an order issuedby the Home department on

Thursday, said. It also gave sanc-tion to setting up an office ofSub-Divisional Police Officer(SDPO) at Pampore.

The department gave nod forupgrading the police post atBehibagh in Kulgam district topolice station and regularisationof the police posts at DK Poraand Sangam.

It also ordered setting up ofthe five new police posts at

Hillar and Dakshum inAnantnag district, Hatipora andNillow in Kulgam district and atoll plaza at Chursoo inAwantipora, it said.

For the strengthening of thesecurity grid, the governmenthas ordered the deployment ofone ASP, one deputy SP, aninspector, 19 sub-inspectors andnine ASIs among 272 police per-sonnel at these security units.

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Ever since independence,India’s stated objective inthe South Asian region hasbeen to pursue friendlyrelations with its immedi-

ate neighbours. An official foreignpolicy planning document pub-lished by the Congress regime inearly 1992 states that India respectsthe territorial integrity of its neigh-bours and intends to work formutual cooperation on a bilateralbasis. Our attempts to build a solidand constructive relationship withneighbouring nations have been suc-cessful. India shares land and mar-itime boundaries with nine coun-tries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China,Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistanand Sri Lanka and Afghanistanfrom Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK). In particular, Pakistan andChina have come to challenge India’ssovereignty on a regular basis. Thetraditional friction between Indiaand Pakistan in my estimation is theprincipal threat to regional stabili-ty in South Asia. Mutual distrust andlingering hostility have provokedfour wars between the two countriessince 1947. However, India holdssuperiority in military strength in theforeseeable future. A major stum-bling block to long-term improve-ment in relations with Pakistan is itsinfiltration into Kashmir and regu-lar proxy wars here in cohorts withvarious terrorist organisations.

On the other hand, for India,China, too, has been a long-termthreat. Our security concerns withit begins at the Himalayas and ourforces have steadfastly resisted allattempts of invasion by the People’sLiberation Army (PLA). In recenttimes, China appears to be less inter-ested in resolving boundary issuesand has instead become moreassertive about claiming variousregions of Ladakh and the North-east. First came an attempted inroadinto Doklam and more recently theface-off at the Galwan Valley. Allsuch skirmishes have necessitated arelook at India’s Tibet policy. In par-ticular, two unilateral concessionshave been made: First, we support-ed the One-China policy. And sec-ond, we accepted China’s sovereign-ty over Tibet. However, during theBritish era, Tibet was an indepen-dent nation and the BritishGovernment was the guarantor of itsindependence from China. Therights India retained in Tibet underthe Simla Convention of 1914 wereadequate for us to insist upon themaintenance of its autonomy. Britainpreserved all these rights in Tibet asan autonomous region was vital forBritish India’s safety and security.However, in 1954, Nehru conceded

Tibet to China to “maintainregional stability.”

The Indo-Bhutan Treaty ofPeace and Friendship of 1949 andthe 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty ofPeace and Friendship were signedin continuation with similarpacts issued by British India. The1816 Treaty of Sugauli withNepal, the Treaty of Punakha in1910 with Bhutan and the Simlapact of 1914 with Tibet contin-ued after India’s independenceand it was former Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru’s duty touphold the listed treaties. Thus,Nehru’s decision to forego Tibet’ssovereignty and boost China’simperialistic mindset was illegal.

On multiple accounts, Indiafollowed the “Panchsheel” prin-ciples, an agreement solelyresponsible for bringing instabil-ity to South Asia and the growthof China’s imperialistic mindset.The two mistakes Nehru com-mitted in violation of thePanchsheel Agreement were:First, in 1954, he supportedChina’s claim to Tibet and theAksai Chin to “maintain region-al stability.” Second, in 1955, in anattempt to befriend the USSR,Nehru supported its claim overHungary at the UN.

These two decisions havehad drastic effects on India’s for-eign policy, its relations withother countries and its ability tomaintain sovereignty. WhenChina attacked India in 1962, theUSSR did not come to India’s aidas Nehru had expected. Thisbecause China was a communist

state. The rest of the world did nothelp India since it had support-ed the USSR at the UN againstNATO and its allies.

China followed a three-pronged approach to destabilisethe region in the early 1950s.

Economically: China is thebiggest trading partner for anumber of neighbouring coun-tries. This helps it gain politicalleadership in the South-Asianregion. This is evident from theway it deals with Pakistan, SriLanka, Myanmar, Nepal andAfghanistan. All these nationshave been provided with fundsworth billions of dollars for thecompletion of key projects, to set-tle border disputes and use theirsovereign land for China’s mili-tary outreach.

Militaristically: Chinainvaded Tibet in the 1950s andhas unsuccessfully attempted asimilar approach with India andBhutan during the past half-cen-tury or so. It has mocked the mar-itime sovereignty of other coun-tries by expanding its borders inthe South China Sea and restrict-ing the ability of countries likeJapan, Taiwan, Philippines andVietnam to conduct trade.

Intimidation: Chinaattempts to resolve border issuesonly when it feels insecure. Thedemarcation of the borderbetween Russia and China start-ed after an agreement in 2004and the projects were completedin 2009 after war-like threats.Likewise, China and Vietnamcompleted demarcation of their

border in 2009 in a similar fash-ion.

It is time that India supportsTibet’s claim of being an indepen-dent nation. Since China has notbeen acting in accordance withthe international treaties signedby it (the Chinese agreed to grantHong Kong autonomy till 2047),why should India act in accor-dance with any bilateral agree-ment it has with China? India canpropose a Himalayan economiczone comprising Tibet, Xinjiang,Nepal, Bhutan and the IndianHimalayan regions. CommonBuddhist heritage should be afactor in the creation of this eco-nomic zone. India can encouragetourism to Buddhist sites inIndia and build closer defencerelations with Japan, Myanmarand Vietnam. Our plannersshould increase defence opera-tions in Arunachal Pradesh,Ladakh, Sikkim and the jointAndaman and Nicobar as adeterrent to the Chinese movesin the Himalayas and Bay ofBengal in retaliation to India’snoble efforts.

The pace of socio-econom-ic activities in South Asia willaccelerate if India becomes a keyfactor of this change. The otherproblem in the region is uncon-trolled population growth. Thepopulation of South Asia is set toincrease from about 1.8 billion toover 2.5 billion by 2050. This willcause tremendous stress on thealready stretched resources andcreate highly concentrated areas,incapable of sustaining human

populations. This will alsoundoubtedly lead to mass starva-tion and inhuman living condi-tions. We should accelerate theprocess of economic cooperationand involve other nations inregional integration projects. Inthe light of these changes, India’sforeign policy would face sever-al challenges and would requirea broader approach.

Domestic factors willincreasingly influence foreignpolicy and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is aware of this.He is attempting to protect theinterests of the people in India’sbordering nations. He has notonly been hearing and under-standing people’s issues but hasalso addressed them. Terrorism,organised crime, human traffick-ing, cybersecurity and Weaponsof Mass Destruction proliferationcontinue to pose challenges toIndian security. Dealing withsuch challenges requires an effec-tive counter-terrorism policy. Aforward-looking approach oncooperation with neighbours tomanage the borders, cybersecu-rity, science and technology, agri-culture, education, culture andcapacity-building is needed. Thiswill meet the challenges of terror-ism and of non-traditional secu-rity.

On various fora, India hascreated committees dedicated toresolving issues regarding nation-al security and regional peace.South Asia cannot remainimmune to the developments inthe extended neighbourhoodand the world in general. Thus,our neighbourhood policy isbound to be affected by develop-ments elsewhere. It is vital thatIndia connects with the Gulf,Central Asia, South-East Asia,and the Indian Ocean islands toensure that its neighbourhoodpolicy remains unaffected.

If India is able to createregional stability in the regionand raise the demand of Tibet’sindependence in accordancewith the Simla Pact, especiallywhen resentment against Chinahas increased owing to theCOVID-19, it will be able tomuster the support of Westernand South-East Asian powersalike in its attempt to abolishChina’s imperialist mindset. Inthe coming years, China will alsofind itself in the midst of an eco-nomic crisis due to numerousbusinesses shifting to either Indiaor other South Asian nations. Atwo-pronged approach will forceChina to resolve border dis-putes with India. In the game ofcricket, there is a saying, offenceis the best defence. India shouldinitiate the offensive againstChina for its territorial defenceand for stability in South Asia.

(The writer is a BJP leaderand Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha. Views expressed arepersonal.)

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Sir — In India, the nationalistchorus is “boycott China” whilein America, it is “boycottIndians” via the temporary sus-pension of the H-1B visas. USPresident Donald Trump hasexercised his sovereign right toscrap work visas to saveAmerican jobs. During the2016 presidential polls, he hadpromised a manufacturingrenaissance that would bringback millions of jobs toAmericans. As the next roundof election is knocking at thedoor, it appears that all suchpromises were nothing butrhetoric. With a second term atstake for Trump, economistsand industry representativessay the President has a mixedrecord on job creation that fallswell short of his promises.

By putting a stay on H1-Bvisas, the Trump administrationbelieves it can open up employ-ment opportunities forAmericans in an economy thathas reported record job losses.Trump has made it clear that hesees restricting immigration asa key poll plank; it is likely thatas the election draws closer, theworld will see further action on

the issue. Considering this,Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not justPrime Minister Narendra Modi’srhetoric but the need of the hour.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

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Sir — In an election year, USPresident Donald Trump hasunleashed a brahmastra from his

executive powers by suspendingH-1B and other work visas untilDecember. Trump is obviouslyappealing to a domestic con-stituency facing job losses dur-ing the pandemic by pointing

fingers at the immigrants. Thesuspension until December willhave limited impact on Indian ITcompanies given travel restric-tions that are in place. Moreover,the paradigm shift to work fromhome has accelerated offshoringprocesses aided by cloud ser-vices. The hit will be takenlargely by the US technologyindustry and international stu-dents hoping to stay on aftergraduation.

N Sadhasiva ReddyBengaluru

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Sir — A Bill has been intro-duced in the US Congress toconsider Tibet as an indepen-dent country, just like they didfor Hong Kong. The worldorder has changed. Beforeannouncing Tibet as an inde-pendent country, India musteither match the economicequation with China or engagein a military pact with ASEANor NATO. NAM has lived itslife. It is time to bid it farewell.

Harpreet SidhuVia email

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Symmetric to global trends, urbanisation inIndia has spread rapidly. This has led to thereordering of the urban periphery through

complex processes of displacement of the cen-tral population to the margins and the creationof new functional nodes away from the tradi-tional core. Adaptation to such realities came toa grinding halt when the pandemic hit the coun-try. As has been evident, people of urban India— especially those living in slums and peri-urbanareas — are more vulnerable to the rapidspread of COVID-19. This has brought to thefore the importance of the ways in which citygovernments are working to combat the spreadof the virus. There is no denying that the inter-related dimensions of mobility and demo-graphic change, infrastructure and governanceinfluence the preparedness of urban India in out-break management, right from disease preven-tion to mitigation and possible responses.

The dynamics of demography in the citiesand COVID-19: High population densities incities are major factors influencing the spreadof disease. According to the Census 2011, Indiaexperienced a 37.14 per cent decadal growth inthe number of slum households with 104 mil-lion people living in ghettoes in 2013, as per thedata of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA). Almost two-thirds of statutorytowns in India have slums.

An overwhelming majority of the familiesliving in the densely-populated areas of slumsand peri-urban areas are migrant workers whoare engaged in urban informal activities char-acterised by low wages, severe competition, ten-uous job security with the need to travel dailyto the city core to earn their livelihoods. Lackof work opportunities during the lockdownforced many of them to return to their villages.Such mobility patterns, owing to myriad socialand political economic factors, bear the risk ofspread of contagious diseases to the peripheries.

This points to the fact that infrastructuredevelopment for the benefit of this section of theurban population has not been adequate. A vastmajority of the urban population, living in slumsand peri-urban areas, lacks access to basic urbanservices, including water, electricity, sanitation,solid waste management and housing facilities.As per the estimates of the Technical Group onUrban Housing Shortages (2012-17) housingshortages are projected to increase to 34 millionby 2022. According to the 2012 National SampleSurvey (NSS), slums are incredibly packedspaces where three-fourths of India’s slum ten-ements are cramped within two hectares.

In such a situation, an outbreak ofCoronavirus in places with unsafe and precar-ious living conditions, where even the basic pre-ventive measures like social distancing and fre-quent hand-washing are impossible to achieve,could easily turn into a grave public health emer-gency. Indeed, the outbreak of contagious dis-eases is less of a “natural” disaster but emergesalongside social and spatial inequalities inhousing and access to basic services.

Governance deficits: The deplorable stateof urban services is typically attributed to poorfinancial health and lack of planning, which inturn are linked to weak institutional capacitiesand the absence of effective governance struc-tures in Indian cities. The 74th ConstitutionalAmendment Act (1993) promised to improve the

delivery of basic services by devolvingresources and decision-making powersto local governments. Political empow-erment is weakened by infrequentelections of Urban Local Bodies (UBL)and most States rest the executiveauthority of city governments on theState-appointed Commissioner, withthe Mayor and city Councillors havingvery little authority over management,let alone on emergencies like COVIDat the city level.

Although, city governments areexpected to have complete authority tocarry out functions, including watersupply, sanitation, solid waste manage-ment, public health and slum improve-ment, yet the actual devolution ofresponsibility to the municipalities,even after 25 years of decentralisation,can at best be described as partial.

State Governments control keyhealthcare infrastructure such as hos-pitals, clinics and primary healthcarecentres and even these institutionslack human resources, including med-ical officers and skilled staff.Overlapping institutional roles andresponsibilities raise questions as towho should deliver urban basic servicesand the problems become far severe incase of managing and preventingpotential outbreaks. This is very evidentin the recent war of words between theDelhi Government and municipal bod-ies over inadequate beds in hospitals forthe treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Capacity constraints: Infirm finan-cial health of the ULBs has a regressiveimpact on their capacity to providebasic services. Assignment of financesis completely left to the discretion of theState Governments and ULBs can levyand collect only those taxes that arespecified by the States. Municipalfinances are in a grossly unsatisfacto-ry state as they collect far less revenue

than what is necessary to cover even thecost of providing urban basic services,let alone tackling any health emergen-cies. Lack of adequate skilled staff at theULB level is another major drawbackas there is far less emphasis on the insti-tutional capacity of the local govern-ment. Appropriate institutional capac-ity enables ULBs to make policy deci-sions and implement them, in the man-ner they want, to produce the outcomesthey desire.

The way forward: In essence, spa-tial and structural characteristics ofurban India indicate that cities, espe-cially slums and the suburbs, are like-ly to remain hotspots for diseases likeCOVID-19 in the coming months. Anability to monitor rural, urban andinter-urban migration will be crucial tomitigate the spread of thisdisease.Therefore, it would be useful toplan and implement a slew of short-term measures, including aggressiveand affordable testing, tracing andquarantining of infected people, provi-sion of door-to-door drinking waterand mobile toilet facilities in densely-populated slum and peri-urban areas.

This pandemic provides an oppor-tunity for genuinely empowering ULBsthat should not go to waste. Cities withwell-functioning governance and healthinfrastructure are better placed tomanage pandemics and excess mortal-ity than those that do not. In otherwords, the governance conundrumalong with poor planning and weakhealthcare systems can undermine theefforts to combat the pandemic andbuild upon the confusion, fear andpanic.

Interestingly, in November 2019,the Global Parliament of Mayors metin Durban and the members commit-ted to develop regional and local net-works to advance the dissemination of

trusted public health information.They also pledged to promote informa-tion sharing and communication mea-sures in and between cities to preventand reduce the international spread ofinfectious diseases.

In the medium and long-term, it ispertinent to identify the lacunae in cityplanning and the underlying socio-eco-nomic determinants of public healthand resilient cities. This would help tostreamline resource flows to vulnera-ble areas more effectively. It is equallyimportant to create a city-level pandem-ic preparedness index, using details ofa ward/locality/neighbourhood-wisevulnerable population and hospital-wise beds and ICU capacities. It willserve as an evaluation tool (similar tothe Rapid Urban Health SecurityAssessment Tool developed byGeorgetown University) to assess city-level public health preparedness andresponse capacities.

It is important to support the citygovernments to prioritise, strengthenand deploy strategies that promoteurban well-being and health security.This pandemic provides a rare oppor-tunity to work in tandem with the ULBsand genuinely empower them to dis-charge their functions.

Building municipal capacity toprepare action plans in advance for bet-ter preparedness on the ground, pro-viding emergency response trainingand improving coordination with otherkey departments, like the NationalDisaster Response Force, should featurein any national urban policy frameworkand has to be necessarily embedded inthe cities of a ‘New India.’

(Chattopadhyay is an AssociateProfessor of Economics at Visva BharatiUniversity, Shanti Niketan and a VisitingSenior Fellow at IMPRI and Mehta isCEO and Editorial Director, IMPRI)

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Last week, the US imposed newsanctions on Syria. This is partof a “sustained campaign of

economic and political pressure” toend the nine-year war by forcingPresident Bashar al-Assad to UN-bro-kered peace talks where he wouldnegotiate his departure from power.Assad’s wife was already cross aboutnot being able to shop at Harrods orBergdorf Goodman, so he shouldcrumble any day now.

Other things are crumblingalready. Ordinary people’s incomesare collapsing (down by three-quar-ters since the beginning of the year).

The price of food in Syria has dou-bled. Lebanon next-door, already ina financial meltdown, is now seeingits large trade with Syria vanish aswell. Even those Syrians who supportthe regime — around a third of thepeople who have not fled the coun-try — will have a much harder time,but they won’t desert the regime.

The more prosperous onesdepend on Assad’s regime for theirincome and the poorer ones aremostly minorities who fear they willbe slaughtered if the jihadis win.

The US decision to raise the pres-sure on Assad is probably a randomby-product of President DonaldTrump’s obsessive campaign againstIran (which has been helping theSyrian regime stay afloat). If Trumpeven knows that the remaining rebelgroups in Syria are by now all led byfanatical Islamists linked to the al-Qaeda, the group that organised the9/11 terrorist attacks on the TwinTowers, he doesn’t care.

The Syrian tragedy is mainly dueto endless foreign interventions. TheSyrians, who called for an end toAssad’s regime in the ‘Arab Spring’ of2011, were just like the young menand women who started demandingthe fall of Egyptian dictator HosniMubarak at the same time. They wereboth genuinely popular movements,not fronts for jihadis.

The Egyptian protesters won,there was a free election and then thearmy struck back in 2013, slaughteredseveral thousand people in the streetsof Cairo and put General AbdelFatah el-Sisi in power, where heremains to this day. Egypt is at peace,although hundreds more have prob-ably died in Sisi’s prisons since thenand thousands have been tortured.

The Syrian protesters didn’t getthat far. They were driven from thestreets — but then various foreignpowers started organising the rebelsand giving them arms. The war haslasted another eight years and some-

where between 4,00,000-7,00,000Syrians have been killed. Five millionSyrians have fled abroad and anoth-er five million are displaced withinSyria.

So here’s the question: Would youprefer Egypt’s fate or Syria’s? Bothcountries are still tyrannies but oneis literally in ruins, with half the pop-ulation out of their homes, and theother had a few thousand deaths. It’sa no-brainer, isn’t it?

The Syrian power struggle wouldprobably have ended in an Assad vic-tory around the same time thatGeneral Sisi took over in Egypt if theUS, Turkey and Saudi Arabia hadn’tbegun sending the Syrian rebels armsand money. The US motives weremixed but the Turks and the Saudis,both led by different kinds of militantMuslims, just saw an opportunity toreplace a secular regime with a hard-line Islamist one. They would prob-ably have succeeded if Russia had notintervened to save Assad in 2015 and

Syria would probably be dividedtoday between al-Qaeda and theIslamic State. The groups linked to al-Qaeda absorbed or destroyed all theothers and today they rule over a sin-gle province in north-west Syriaunder Turkish protection. But still thewar drags on.

If any of these outside players hadbeen willing to put its own troops inthe ground, the war would at leasthave ended years ago (though itmight have ended badly). But none ofthem were willing to risk their ownsoldiers’ lives — not even theRussians, who stick to air strikes. Andnow the US is hitting Syria with evenbigger sanctions.

When governments impose sanc-tions, they usually explain that theyhad to “do something” but the newsanctions will hurt ordinary Syriansvery badly. They might be justified ifthere was a reasonable chance thatmore sanctions could bring Assad’sregime down but there’s no chance of

that and everybody knows it. In a famous paper in 1997,

Robert Pape of the University ofChicago showed that out of 116cases of international sanctions beingimposed during the 20th century, inonly six cases did the targetGovernment yield to the demands ofthe country imposing the sanctions.The success rate has not improvedsince. It has been 70 years since theUS imposed sanctions on NorthKorea and the Kim family is still inpower. It is 60 years since it put sanc-tions on Cuba and the Communistsstill rule. It has been 40 years sinceWashington slapped sanctions onIran and the Ayatollahs still rule. Notto mention Zimbabwe (sanctionssince 2003), or Venezuela (2006), orRussia (2014).

“Doing something” feels good butit doesn’t usually do much good.

(Gwynne Dyer’s new book is‘Growing Pains: The Future ofDemocracy and Work.’)

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A USD 11 billion businessempire spread over 38 coun-tries that includes banks,India's second-largest truckmaker and lubricant makingfirms is at the heart of a legaldispute in the Hinduja familythat is now playing out in aLondon court.

Four Hinduja brothers --Srichand, Gopichand, Prakashand Ashok -- had in 2014signed on a document sayingthe assets held by one brotherbelong to all, and that each ofthem will appoint the others astheir executors.

But now family patriarch

Srichand Hinduja, 84, and hisdaughter Vinoo want the letterto be declared of "no legaleffect" and the family's assets beseparated as per his wish of2016.

Hinduja Group has presencein auto, financial services, IT,media, infrastructure, energyand chemicals and healthcaresectors.

Differences among the

brothers, who shot into promi-nence in the 1980s when theywere accused of taking a com-mission from Swedish firmBofors to secure a defencecontract of procuring heavy

artillery for India, cropped upover control of a bank thegroup has in Switzerland.

The four brothers have beeninseparable, putting up jointappearances in the Bofors caseinvestigation and court hear-ings. However, the chargesagainst them could not beproven in court.

Gopichand, Prakash andAshok tried to use the 2014 let-ter to take control of HindujaBank -- an asset that was inSrichand's sole name, resultingin the legal battle.

Vinoo and Srichand Hindujanow want the court to agreethat the document has no legalstanding and can be revoked.

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The country's exports are like-ly to witness a 10-12 per centyear-on-year decline duringthe ongoing fiscal, if the cur-rent trend persists, due to thecontraction in global demandon account of the COVID-19pandemic, FIEO said onThursday.

Federation of Indian ExportOrganisations (FIEO)President S K Saraf saidalthough exporters are receiv-ing a lot of enquiries fromcountries where anti-Chinasentiments are high, demandin employment intensive sec-tors like gems and jewellery,apparels, footwear, handicrafts,and carpets is still a challenge.

"Initially, looking into thelockdown challenges and pro-jected decline in global trade,we expected 20 per cent declinein our exports. However, twodays back, the WTO (WorldTrade Organisation) trade esti-mates for the second quarterputs the contraction only at 13per cent," Saraf told reportersduring a video conferencebriefing.

"...We do not expect muchimprovement in demand.Therefore, we expect around10 per cent-12 per cent declinein India's exports in the currentfiscal," he added.

However, in case of a secondwave of the pandemic, thecontraction in exports mayreach 20 per cent, Saraf said.

India's exports contracted bya record 60 per cent in Apriland 36.47 per cent in May.

Saraf also suggested the gov-ernment to focus on conclud-ing free trade agreements withcountries like the EuropeanUnion, Australia and NewZealand.

"The government shouldalso look at ways to re-starttalks on mega trade dealRCEP (RegionalComprehensive Partnership

Agreement). It is a good timeto involve in RCEP with fullyprotecting the national inter-ests," Saraf said.

To push exports further,he suggested the export com-munity to focus on countrieswhich are providing demandstimulus like the US and theUK, and explore opportunitiesin countries having anti-Chinasentiments like the EU, Japan,South Korea, Australia, NewZealand, and Canada.

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Equity benchmarks Sensexand Nifty ended marginallylower on Thursday after avolatile session amid expiry ofmonthly derivative contracts.

Weak cues from global mar-kets also weighed on investorsentiment here, traders said.

After swinging 581.83 pointsduring the day, the 30-shareBSE Sensex settled 26.88points, or 0.08 per cent, lowerat 34,842.10. It touched anintra-day high of 35,081.61 anda low of 34,499.78.

Similarly, the NSE Niftyslipped 16.40 points, or 0.16per cent, to close at 10,288.90.During the day, it hit a high of10,361.80 and a low of10,194.50.

Asian Paints was the toploser in the Sensex pack, shed-ding over 3 per cent, followedby Infosys, HCL Tech, M&M,ONGC, NTPC, IndusInd Bankand TCS.

On the other hand, ITC,

Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank andHUL were among the gainers.

According to NarendraSolanki, Head- EquityResearch (Fundamental),Anand Rathi, market openedlower tracking negativeovernight cues from the USmarkets and subdued Asianmarkets as IMF slashed its eco-nomic forecasts again onWednesday.

The IMF said the globaleconomy will shrink 4.9 percent this year, significantlyworse than the 3 per centdrop it had estimated in its pre-

vious report in April.Also, the expiry day for

monthly futures and options(F&O) contracts fuelledvolatility in the market as itsee-sawed at crucial levels, headded. Further, rising numberof COVID-19 cases in theworld is offsetting the opti-mism over reopening ofeconomies, spooking equityinvestors globally, traders said.

Bourses in Japan and Seoulended up to 2.27 per centlower, while those in Shanghaiand Hong Kong were closedfor public holidays.

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Housing sales are estimatedto decline by 81 per cent to12,740 units during April-June period of this calendaryear due to COVID-19 pan-demic and subsequent lock-down, property consultantAnarock said on Thursday.

As many as 68,600 unitswere sold during April-June2019 across seven major cities- Delhi-NCR, MumbaiMetropolitan Region(MMR), Pune, Bengaluru,Hyderabad, Chennai andKolkata, Anarock said in areport.

New launches may plungeby 98 per cent to only 1,390units as against nearly 69,000units in the correspondingperiod of 2019.

"A massive drop in bothnew launches and housingsales were, of course, expect-ed on the back of a completelockdown for most of thisquarter," Anarock PropertyConsultants Chairman AnujPuri said.

The nationwide lockdownwas imposed on March 25 tocurb the spread of coron-avirus disease, bringing theconstruction as well as salesactivities to a grinding halt.

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Budget carrier AirAsia Indiahas operated 25 charter flightstill date, carrying over 4,000migrants to 15 various destina-tions since it commenced char-ter operations on May 28under an initiative, the airlinehas said.

On Wednesday, it flew 158seafarers from Mumbai to Goaon its 25th charter flight underthe 'Ummed Ki Udan' initia-

tive. Of the over 4,000 migrants

flown by AirAsia India duringthe period, the maximum

2,815 were from Mumbai, theairline said in a statement toPTI.

As part of the 'Umeed

KiUdan' initiative, the airlinehas operated charter flights at15 different destinationsincluding Mumbai, Ranchi,Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Orissa,Goa, Hyderabad, Guwahati,Kolkata, and Imphal, it said.

The initiative is aimed atsupporting migrant communi-ties stranded outside theirhome states due to the lock-down and travel restrictionsamid coronavirus pandemic,said the airline.

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Drug major AurobindoPharma is developing a rangeof products including 14biosimilars as it looks toexpand its product portfolio inthe US and EU markets,according to a top companyofficial.

The firm is developing eightinhalers and six nasal sprays,out of which two productshave already been filed,Aurobindo Pharma ManagingDirector N Govindarajan saidin an analyst call.

He was responding to aquery on company's productpipeline for the US market.

"As far as the topicals are

concerned, 37 products are inthe pipeline at various stage ofdevelopment and we are devel-oping eight transdermal patch-es," he added.

Besides developing a rangeof biosimilar products for USand EU markets, the companyis focusing on five products,Govindarajan said adding that“ultimately our overall portfo-

lio will have 14 products".Currently, five products are

under development, out ofwhich the first two productswould be filed towards the endof this year or early next year,he noted.

Those products would befiled for Europe, which has afixed timeline of 210 days forapproval.

“If everything goes well, inthe subsequent year, these aregoing to get launched and weare also progressing with theophthalmic product. Weexpect to start the phase IIIclinical trial early next year andsubsequently the file for bothEU and US," Govindarajansaid.

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Some exporters have raisedconcerns over consignmentsbeing held back by Hong Kongand Chinese customs inresponse to a similar actionbeing taken by Indian author-ities at Chennai port, FIEO saidon Thursday.

The matter assumes sig-nificance in the wake ofborder tensions betweenIndia and China at GalwanValley in eastern Ladakh.

"We have been given tounderstand that customs isphysically examining allimports from China whichi s d e l ay i ng c l e ar an c e ,a d d i ng t o t h e c o s t o fimports , " Federat ion ofIn d i an E x p or tO rg an i s at i ons ( F I E O )President S K Saraf said ina l e t t e r t o C om m e rc eSecretary Anup Wadhawan.

Saraf urged the CommerceMinistry to take up the mat-ter with Central Board ofIndirect Taxes and Customs(CBIC) to see whether anyofficial communication hasbeen sent to Indian customsregard ing s cr ut iny ofChinese consignments here.

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Export Import Bank of India(Exim Bank ) on Thursdaysaid its profit after tax rose by51 per cent to Rs 124 crore infinancial year ended March 31,2020.

The development financeinstitution had reported aprofit after tax of Rs 82 crorein 2018-19.

“In the year gone by ourbusiness and financial perfor-mance have been encouraging.The loan portfolio has grownby about 6-7 per cent. We havelooked strongly at building theloan assets,” Exim Bank'sManaging Director DavidRasquinha told reporters.

Its loan portfolio grew 6.23per cent to Rs 99,446 crore in2019-20 as against Rs 93,617crore in the preceding finan-cial year.

Non-funded portfolio grew

by around 13 per cent to Rs15,869 crore in the year fromRs 14,096 crore in 2018-19.

“The growth has come pri-marily from the project guar-antees,” he said.

Gross non-performing ratiostood at 8.75 per cent while netNPA was at 1.77 per cent.

In the year, the provisioncoverage ratio was up 400basis points (bps) to 89 percent. The capital to risk assetsratio was up 106 bps to 20.13per cent.

It raised foreign currencyresources aggregating USD1.91 billion equivalents in2019-20.

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Sports nutrition supplementsmaker Fullife, which sellsproducts under the 'Fast&Up'brand, on Thursday said ithas raised fresh funding of Rs50 crore, from investorsincluding ace stocks traderRakesh Jhunjhunwala.

The investment round alsosaw participation from SixthSense and Amansa CapitalCEO Akash Prakash, whohas come onboard as a newinvestor, the company said ina statement.

The new funding will bethe basis for expanding tonew markets, including theUSA and Europe as well asintroducing new productlines, it added.

"This year, we are going tofocus on increasing our prod-uct portfolio while catering tothe required expanded capac-ity to cater to growingdemand as well," Fullife Co-founder Varun Khanna said.

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FMCG major HindustanUnilever on Thursday said itwill remove the word 'Fair'from its popular skin carebrand 'Fair & Lovely', as partof a rebranding exercise in thewake of growing voicesagainst racial stereotypes.

The company said its otherskincare portfolio will alsoadopt a new holistic visiontowards beauty that cares foreveryone and celebrates allskin colours.

"Taking forward the brand'sjourney towards a more inclu-

sive vision of beauty, thecompany will stop using theword 'Fair' in the brand name‘Fair & Lovely'. The newname is awaiting regulatoryapprovals and we expect tochange the name in the nextfew months,” HindustanUnilever Ltd (HUL) said in astatement.

As part of the rebranding,the company will also beannouncing the new name forthe 'Fair & Lovely'Foundation, set up in 2003 tooffer scholarships to womento help them pursue theireducation.

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The supply of coal by CIL tothe power sector declined23.9 per cent to 61.84 milliontonnes in the April-May peri-od of the current financialyear.

The development comes ata time when Coal India Ltd(CIL) is beset with tepiddemand for coal, with mostof its customers, like thepower sector, shying awayfrom lifting adequate quanti-ties.

The supply of coal by CILto the power sector in April-May, 2018-19 was at 81.29million tonnes (MT), accord-ing to recent governmentdata.

Last month, the supply ofthe dry fuel was at 30.15 MT,a decline of 25.3 per centfrom the year-ago period,the data showed.

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Power and New & RenewableMinister R K Singh said onThursday said his ministryhas proposed basic customduty (BCD) on solar equip-ment in the range of 15 to 25per cent in first year whichwould eventually increase upto 40 per cent.

On Tuesday, Singh had toldindustry representative aboutthe Ministry of New andRenewable Energy (MNRE)proposal to impose BCD onsolar cells, modules and inver-tors from August this year ina virtual conference.

Singh on Thursday in a vir-tual press conference toldreporters :"The ministry hasproposed to impose 20 to 25per cent BCD on solar mod-ules which would be raised upto 40 per cent subsequently in

second year." The ministerfurther said "the ministry hasproposed 10 to 15 per centBCD on solar cells in first yearwhich would be raised up to 40per cent subsequently in sec-ond year onwards." Currently,there is no BCD on solarequipment. However, a 15 percent safeguard duty (SGD) isapplicable on solar cells thatwould be zero or nil from July30, 2020. In July 2018, Indiaimposed SGD on solar cellsimports from China andMalaysia for two years to pro-tect domestic players fromsteep rise in the inbound ship-ments of the products.

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To mark the 'Day of theSeafarer', leading maritimebodies on Thursday said theyare transporting 734 Indianseafarers through charteredflights from Mumbai and NewDelhi to Doha and back onThursday.

The bodies MASSA andFOSMA have alreadyannounced that they havejoined hands to transportabout 4,000 Indian seafarers tillJune 30 in chartered flights as

a non-profit mission to enablecrew change across the globe.

On June 25 on the ‘Day ofthe Seafarer', the MaritimeAssociation of ShipownersShipmanagers and Agents

(MASSA) and The ForeignShip-owners Representativesand Ship ManagersAssociation (FOSMA) saidthey will transport 734 Indianseafarers through charteredflights from Mumbai and NewDelhi to Doha (Qatar) andback on Thursday.

MASSA CEO Capt ShivHalbe told PTI: "We believethis is the largest movement ofseafarers serving on cargoships in a single day and it isindeed an historic occasion forIndian ship manning sector."

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hile most of ushave the option towork from home,our domestichelpers don’t.Neither do they

have full access to basicnecessities like sanitisers,masks, soaps, etc. for theirsafety. A home-grown outfit-ter named Sukhvir Kaur isdoing all that is needed toprocure the safety of ahouse-helper so that theycan continue to work amidlockdown. “I witnessed thatmany housemaids wereworking, sorting outgarbage, sweeping, andcleaning but did they knewabout the hazardous effectsof Coronavirus? I felt theneed to make them aware ofprecautions they can main-tain while handling work atdiverse homes. Hence, Icame up with an idea of afully covered robe to keepthem safe,” says Sukhvir.

Initially, she made only afew pieces and donatedthem to the needy but soonstarted receiving ordersfrom nearby colonies rang-ing from homes of Defencepersonnel to store owners.With two children to takecare of, depending on a bareminimum, she also makeshome-made masks for a liv-ing, amid the lockdown.

Telling us that she likesinvesting all her energy inthe spirit of solidaritytowards the country’s front-line workers, Sukhvir Kaurhas a special regard fordomestic workers who are

continuing to work whilethere’s a virus outbreak.

“I have realised, realitydiffers and we all must con-tribute in our own ways toovercome it. I am workingon the production of masks

and protective apparelbecause I would like to helpmore,” she says.

As domestic workers re-enter the lives of middle-class people, it’s a moment of reflection for them. They aren’t the carrier ofthis disease because it’s notthe disease of the poor.Domestic workers are equal-ly vulnerable to catching thevirus from people in thehomes that they work, asthey need to move aboutmany different homes.Hence, it’s time to care,unpaid and under-nurturedcare will only lead to a glob-al crisis.

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

FridayJune 26, 2020

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he ongoing crisishas led to large-scale anxietiesabout the futureof cinema. Manylivelihoods rely on

it. The lockdown will even-tually be relaxed at somepoint as can be seen in dif-

ferent parts of the countrybut many are of the opinionthat this pandemic will sig-nificantly impact our filmviewing behaviour and othereconomic decisions aroundit. Amidst all this, for thefirst time ever, I & BMinister Prakash Javadekarinaugurated the Cannes FilmMarket 2020, and that toovirtually! An esteemed panelof cine gurus ranging fromKabir Khan, Anand L Rai,Shekhar Kapur, etc. joinedthe highly anticipated webi-nar speaking about theimpact of COVID-19 onmedia and entertainmentfraternity and how OTT

platforms can be a game-changer hosted by VikramChandra, founder of EditorjiTechnologies.

This year India at Cannesis leading its way towardshow the movie business canbe back on the track! Cannesholding its first-ever virtualsession underlines thesweeping change we are wit-nessing which is the newnormal today as a result ofthe pandemic. The new normal includes having no more than 100 people in any area of filming perday, no intimate scenes,presence of an ambulance onthe set, etc. but how long

will this continue?“It’s very surreal as I have

always been a part of theCannes Film Festival in Parisand never envisaged myselflike this although, some inthe entertainment industryhave been quick to react tothe new normal by workingremotely. I guess lockdownin India has been a blessingin disguise for OTT plat-forms as people are bingingon streaming platforms likeNetflix, etc. Employment is amatter of concern as of now,

more skill will be required,”says Ms Vani Tripathi, theyoungest member of theCensor Board of Film certi-fication.

Emphasising how enter-tainment was perceived inthe earlier years, ShekharKapur tells that entertain-ment came from simple pur-suits of storytelling, and nowwe have the birth of stream-ing platforms. They offer theoption of downloading so wecan keep consuming enter-tainment. Anticipating the

rapid changes audiences areadapting to, the filmmakerconsiders technology to bethe main catalyst in thisdystopian world we areentering into. “Money isn’tmade out of theatricalreleases but instead from thespin-off. To have a successfulvirtual experience, gameplaying and OTT has tocome together. It’s happen-ing — everybody is goingonline. From the premiere ofGulabo Sitabo, Penguin,Aarya, to Choked, etc. it

acquired a huge amount ofviewership,” adds Shekhar.Every new leap in technolo-gy means the opening up ofnew possibilities for usersgiving them wholesomeexperiences. The market ison the upswing, digital plat-forms are changing thebinge-watching experiencewhich may result as a dentfor theatres when they open.Audiences have a choicenow!

“It’s a tough time for ourindustry, movie spaces can

be locked down but not thetalent. The industry is facingan uncertain economic crisistoo. There are a lot ofefforts, resources, and ener-gy that go into films, I wouldlike people to enjoy it on thebig screen as opposed to anOTT platform. We are mov-ing into an inclusive, sus-tainable, and innovativefuture of films. My sportsdrama — ’83 is waiting torelease when a sense of com-fort prevails,” Kabir Khantells us.

Talking about the new vir-tual experiences, the directorof Sharukh Khan-starrerZero says, “Taking the cur-rent example, if we weren’ton a zoom call right now Iwould have received a reallywarm hug from Shekhar sirin reality, so I am missingout on that. The pandemichas made us feel distant, thesole reason we went to the-atres was that it was a com-munity viewing experience.Theatres won’t die, especiallyin a country like Indiabecause they will fight backfor their existence. There arestill starving audiences whowant to have a gasp of a cin-ematic experience in a the-atre. A good thing aboutOTT is, so many excellentproductions have been made available online that’sreaching parts it never didbefore.”

All the filmmakers arecollectively looking forwardto a universal and safe envi-ronment of films in thefuture!

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he fear of an infec-tion coupled with acountrywide closureof most institutionsfor kids, has chil-dren sheltering at

home with little outdoorplay or activity.

A team from theUniversity at Buffalo stud-ied overweight childrenfrom Italy throughoutMarch and April when thecountry was forced to gointo lockdown in a bid tostop the spread of coron-avirus. They found thatchildren ate an additionalmeal per day, slept an extrahalf hour per day, addednearly five hours per day infront of screens and dra-matically increased theirconsumption of red meat,sugary drinks and junkfoods.

With no clear timeline ofwhen the schools willopen, Indian parents aredoing all they can to

ensure their children stayfit. One of the steps thatmany parents have taken isto have a joint familyworkout session whichincludes the kids as well.

“The regular pre-lock-down routine was usefulwhen it comes to fitness asmy child would go out andplay every day. The situa-tion is different now, asschools have moved online,restricting every kid totheir homes,” says Rupali, aPune-based mother of a12-year-old kid, who hasenrolled her child for dailyworkout sessions onHealthifyStudio.

HealthifyMe, a leadinghealth and fitness app, sawparents getting their kidsto join the online homeworkout sessions. This wascommon across batcheswith both fathers andmothers getting theiryounger ones to exercisealong with them. Now the

company has launchedpersonalized sessions forthe kids themselves owingto the massive demandthey were witnessing forsuch a session from par-ents.

In a month since thelaunch, over 1000 kids havealready worked out viaHealthifyStudio, withbookings for kids constitut-ing 5 percent of the totalbookings. Also, thedemand for the children'sbatch is rising rapidly withthe number of sessions get-ting doubled from 45 to 90in just 30 days, the brandsaid.

Another parent, PriyaNarayan from Pune said,“The prolonged lockdownhas started taking a toll onthe health of my child. My7-year-old who was veryenergetic is now just con-fined within the house withrestricted movements andphysical activities. As she

was already overweight, ithas now become even moreimportant to indulge her insome form of physicalactivity. HealthifyMe’sonline home workout ses-sion is one way to ensurethat she stays healthy with-out compromising fun.”

“Over the past month,we have witnessed anincreased interest fromparents getting their kids tojoin the online home work-out sessions. In one monthof launch, over 1,000 kidshave already worked outvia HealthifyStudio. Thedemand for the children’sbatch is rising rapidly. Mostof the surge is coming fromcities Bengaluru, NewDelhi, Mumbai, Pune, andVadodara. Kids are reallyenjoying workout sessionsin routines like DanceFitness and Aerobics on theplatform,” Tushar Vashisht,Co-founder ad CEO,HealthifyMe said.

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bhay Deol hasbeen sharing hisjourney inBollywood onInstagram, onefilm at a time. He

is now celebrating his 2012film Shanghai which hebelieves is “extremely relevanttoday”.

Sharing the poster of thefilm, Abhay wrote, Shanghai,released in 2012. A contem-porary Indian take on theGreek novel Z by authorVassilis Vassilikos. Directedby Dibakar Banerji this filmputs systemic corruption inpolitics front and center, withdevastating impact.Extremely relevant today.Looks like these days onecould make a film about thecorrupt practices ofBollywood!”

He also went on to applaudthe various Bollywood actors,

singers and filmmakers whohave again started the nepo-tism debate after the death ofactor Sushant Singh Rajput.“By the way, not sure if thecurrent outrage will giverise to an independentHindi film and musicindustry, without theunoriginal tag of“Bollywood”, but itsure feels good to hearloud voices fromwithin the industry,risking their careersfor the bigger ‘pic-ture’ (pun intended),”he wrote.

Sharing a messagefor Shanghai pro-ducer PriyaSreedharan, headded, “(@priyas-reedharan we gottamake another movie!What’s WasimKhan’s Instagram

handle?) #makingwhatbolly-wouldnt.”

Shanghai was a politicalthriller directed by Dibakar

Banerjee. It alsostarred Emraan

Hashmi, KalkiKoechlin and

Prosenjit Chatterjee.Abhay Deol had recently

slammed award functionsand lobby culture inBollywood. He told a popularmedia house during an inter-view, “People planting falsestories about you, paid-forreviews being deliberatelynegative, people gaslighting

you within the industry tosabotage you, people rob-bing you of a nominationor a win at an awardshow — these are someof the ways in whichyou make another per-son’s failure your suc-cess. Now, imagine aperson with a men-tal illness beingthrown in this toxicenvironment. For

sure, it would takea toll. They are,after all, morevulnerable.”

ndian starPriyanka Chopraand filmmakerAnurag Kashyapare among the 50celebrated film-

makers and actors invited asthe ambassadors of aslimmed down TorontoInternational Film Festival(TIFF) this year. The festival,slated to run from September10 to September 19, will beopting for digital screeningsand virtual red carpets forthe first time due to the coro-navirus pandemic, making it“tailored to fit the moment”.Chopra and Kashyap will joinOscar winners and celebratedinternational names includ-ing filmmakers MartinScorsese, Alfonso Cuaron,Taika Waititi, Ava DuVernay,Rian Johnson, DenisVilleneuve, and actors NicoleKidman, Nadine Labaki, RizAhmed, Isabelle Huppert,Zhang Ziyi to help TIFFdeliver a strong gala this year,the organisers said in a pressstatement.

The 45th edition of the fes-tival plans to screen 50 filmsduring its first five days inphysical theatres through

socially-distanced screenings.Physical screenings will needthe approval from the healthauthorities of the city as it isdependent on province’sreopening framework toensure that festival venuesand workplaces practice,meet, and exceed publichealth guidelines. Festivalgoers can also opt for drive-

ins to experience cinema.For the first time in its his-

tory, TIFF will launch a digi-tal platform for the festival,hoping to connect with audi-ences beyond Toronto byhosting digital screenings, aswell as numerous talks andspecial events.

“We could never haveanticipated the global seismic

changes we would be facingin 2020. We tapped into theoriginal spirit of the Festivalfrom when it began in 1976as our guiding light. The dis-tilled edition of TIFF 2020reflects a deep love of film,passion for our loyal audi-ences, commitment to theindustry, and a whole lot ofheart,” said Joana Vicente,

executive director and co-head, TIFF.

“The pandemic has hitTIFF hard, but we’ve respond-ed by going back to our origi-nal inspiration — to bring thevery best in film to the broad-est possible audience,” saidCameron Bailey, artistic direc-tor and co-head, TIFF.

“Our teams have had torethink everything, and openour minds to new ideas. Incountless video calls over thepast three months we haverebuilt our Festival for 2020drawing on our five decadesof commitment to strongcuration, support for film-makers, and engagement withaudiences,” added Bailey.

The festival’s annual TIFFTribute Awards event, whichacknowledges and celebratesoutstanding contributors inthe film industry, is going vir-tual this year as well.

Screenings for the pressand industry will also moveonline.

A number of internationalcultural events, includingCannes and Tribeca film fes-tivals, had to be cancelleddue to the pandemic thisyear.

ormer beautyqueen and actressUrvashi Rautela isexcited about herinternationaldebut with

Aislados and says it is a greathonour for her to representnot only India but all of Asiain the film.

“I’m truly grateful andblessed, and it is a greathonour for me to representnot only India but the entireAsia and to be the only sin-gle actor representing Asia. I

collaborated with reallyfamous internationalartistes, so that was very ful-filling,” Urvashi said.

Aislados, a Spanish-English mini-documentary,is about a health crisis. It isdirected by LuisitoComunica and JuanpaZurita. The mini-documen-tary has released in 30 coun-tries in Spanish and Englishon Youtube originals.

“This documentary willshow life around the worldin the face of the health cri-

sis, from testimonies tocities that seem to havecome out of an apocalypse.This documentary will trav-el around 30 countries andreflect on the new lifestylein these months. This is afour-part mini-documentaryseries that really encapsu-lates the highly contrastedrealities that we are goingthrough right now, it showsthe strength hope andresilience of the human raceduring these hard times,”she said.

Urvashi had earlier sharedher excitement for the filmon social media.

“It’s surreal my firstInternational film projecttitled AISLADOS out soon! Ihave been representingIndia from the very begin-ning. It started with theMiss Tourism World stagein 2011 China, Miss AsianSupermodel in South Koreaand Miss Universe stage2015 in Las Vegas,” theactress tweeted on June 10.

She added, “I’m glad thatmy efforts have been appre-ciated and recognised. I’m aproud Indian and wear thaton my sleeve. It’s humblingto be on the receiving end ofsuch love, support andacceptance for me as anentertainer in new geogra-phies.”

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diti Rao Hydari, who is awaiting therelease of V in Telugu, says SufiyumSujatayum is a special film becauseit marks her debut as a leading lady

in Malayalam cinema.“Sufiyum Sujatayum is a special

film for me. I’ve been lucky to work with someincredible people across India, and this film

marks my debut as the leading lady of aMalayalam film,” said Aditi.

“The film is an innocent love story, wherelove is unburdened by prejudices and discrimi-

nation. The movie is a drama and narratedwith a lot of sensitivity and honesty,” she added.

Looking back at her experience of working onthe movie, Aditi said: “I had a great time work-

ing on the movie, it was challenging to workwith some very brilliant colleagues and crew

members. I’m really looking forward to theaudience’s response. I hope they get immersedin the world of Sufi and Sujata like I did and Ihope everyone makes their own special con-

nection to the characters and the story.”The film narrates a story of a mute girl Sujata

(Aditi) who is in love with her neighbour, a Sufipriest (Dev Mohan) but her father gets her married off to a NRI

in Dubai. After 10 years, her husband (played by Jayasurya)decides to bring her back to the village. What follows, forms the

crux of the musical love story. The trailer released on Wednesday.Directed by Naranipuzha Shanavas, the film premieres on Amazon

Prime Video on July 3.

hile A1 Express still has hisunwavering attention, SundeepKishan has recently green-lit anew film with Drishti directorRam Abbaraju. The script,

written by Bhanu Bhogavarapu,has been locked as well, with

pre-production in full-swing.Speaking about his new team,the actor told us, “Ram is afilmmaker with great poten-tial. He’s worked with me forDK Bose as an assistant direc-tor previously. He and Bhanuremind me of watchingRaghuvaran B.Tech live.Extremely talented and gen-uine people who are fighting

to make a place for themselvesin the industry… They came up

with a phenomenal script and I’mnot saying for the heck of it.

I don’t know how theyconceived it in the

first place. It’ssuch a feel-

good film. However, we haven’t decidedon a production date yet.”

Sundeep also has an “ambitious pro-ject” lined up, which he wouldn’t wantto discuss at this juncture. “It’s a pan-India film with a very talented film-maker who is also a dear friend,” henoted.

Right now, the actor, havingalready lost 12 kilos, is sheddingsome more weight for the climaxhockey portions and a trainingsong of A1 Express,which will be wrappedup in a schedule of16 days once theunit decides onresuming shoot-ing. Co-starringLavanyaTripathi, MurliSharma,Priyadarshi,RahulRamakrishnaand SrinivasAvasarala,the film, asportsenter-tainer,marksthedirectorialdebut ofVizag ladDennisJeevanKan-ukolanu.

— NG

ctress AdahSharma hasresumed workafter the strin-gent lockdown.She says it was

like going to a battlefield.She has shot for a com-

mercial for a coffee brand.The script was tweaked abit to make the shoot possible.

Sharing a photo of herwith the full protective gear on, she tweeted, “Backon set! my first shoot afterthe lockdown’s lifted. shoot-ing for an ad commercial,with a crew of less than 20people all sanitised with

masks and shields. it feelslike we’re going on a battle-field but we’re all on thesame side, all of us againstCORONA! sharing videos.stay tuned.”

Talking about her lock-down period, theCommando star had earlier said, “From slicingwatermelons to doing cart-wheels, reading scripts andlearning to mimic all thebird whistles — this lock-down has been quite pro-ductive.”

Shooting for Adah’s nextfilm Man To Man, whereshe plays a man, is almostdone.

ooja Jhaveri is a“little disappoint-ed” with the factthat her next, 47Days, is droppingon an OTT plat-

form bypassing theaters. Atthe same time though, she ispleased that the film is finallygetting a release — more thanone year after the trailer firstreleased. “I have mixed feel-ings about the release,” shesmiles talking to us.

When debutant directorPradeep Maddali, who is aprotégé of Puri Jagannadh,approached her to play akey role in 47 Days, athriller, after seeing heraudition tape at his men-tor’s office more than a

couple of years ago, theactress was not sure.“The role was different

from what I’ve played tillthen, which is why I was notcertain. But Pradeep narratedit with so much convictionthat I had to accept it,” shemaintains.

Pooja is tight-lipped abouther part as there is “mysterysurrounding it”. She, however,reveals, “A major part of thefilm revolves around my partJuliet. She is mostly serious,doesn’t converse much andhas a dark side to her. As aperson, I’m someone who isbubbly in nature. Whatever Ido, there is a small smilebeneath it. So I had to tonedown it to meet the role’srequirement. That was onlydifficult part of the role.”

With Telugu not being hermother-tongue, Pooja’s prepgenerally involves getting herdialogues in advance. “I don’tlike prompting, so I need tounderstand the meaning ofevery line of my dialoguebefore I reel it. I also ensurethat I get my diction right,”she informs, adding that herlearning curve from the 47Days is that she should chal-lenge herself with differentroles because she believes thatshe “did justice to Juliet”.

Pooja, who has done a web

series for aha, believes OTTplatforms are here to stay.“Cinema halls don’t offer thekind of content OTT does.That said, watching a movieevery week with your familyis truly a magical experience.It is something which cannotbe replaced. However, OTTplatforms are offering a widerange of extremely good con-tent and from across theworld. They were the saviorsduring the pandemic,” shestates.

She admits to have been“up to many things” duringthe past three months. “WhenI’m not shooting, I’d love tospend time at home. I’m notinto parties. Yes, there werehighs and lows during thelockdown but overall thequarantine was nice to me.I’m attracted to cooking andbaking these days. I’ve startedpracticing yoga all over again,as I’m taking online tutorials.I’m reading a lot of fictionand spiritual stuff. Right now,I’m going through Herman

Hesse’s Siddhartha which isbased on the life of a saintwho is on a spiritual path ofself-discovery. I’ve completedreading Romeo and Juliet andI’m also reading Gita as well,”she shares.

Despite featuring in astring of films in Telugu,Pooja is yet to enter the bigleague. Does it concern her?“Not really. Acting is my pas-sion but it’s not the only pro-fession I look forward to inlife. I’m fortunate that I’vedone more than eight films ina span of five years. I had arelease almost every year forthe past five years except for2018. I believe it’s a goodnumber. Of course, we alllove to have big projects inour kitty but I’m happy withthe way I’m doing otherthings. I’m into interiordesigning and choreography,so they take my time whenI’m not acting,” Pooja, whosenext releases include BangaruBullodu and Kitty Party,points out, signing off.

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n extremely private person who sel-dom gives a peek into his life or forthat matter his daily routines onsocial media, Naga Chaitanya sur-prised one and all when he recentlylisted out the shows that he has

binged in the past three months. The showsinclude global favourite Chernobyl, sci-fithriller Devs, the thriller Dark, spy thriller TheFamily Man and a documentary seriesFormula 1: Drive to Survive. “My lockdownfavorites ! Some brilliant performances , writ-ing and production values .. really inspiring tosee this content out there .. check it out if youhaven't already ..(sic),” the actor wrote onInstagram.

On the big screen, Chaitanya will be nextseen in Sekhar Kammula’s Love Story,which is 15 days away from a wrap up.He is romancing Sai Pallavi in thefilm. He also has films lined up withVikram Kumar, Nandini Reddy andKalyan Krishna.

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Title-chasing Lazio sufferedtheir first Serie A defeat in

nine months, falling 3-2 atAtalanta on Wednesday to stayfour points behind leadersJuventus after surrendering atwo-goal lead.

Lazio, playing their first gamesince February 29 after the coro-navirus lockdown, thanked aMarten De Roon own-goal forputting them ahead after six min-utes in Bergamo with SergejMilinkovic-Savic adding a superbsecond from distance five minuteslater. But Robin Gosens headedfourth-placed Atalanta back intothe game seven minutes beforethe break with RuslanMalinovskyi rifling in the equalis-er on 66 minutes. Jose Luis

Palomino then sealed the homewin 10 minutes from time.

Lazio — bidding for theirthird Serie A title after 1974 and

2000 — have lost just three timesin the league this season.

Their most recent defeatbefore Wednesday was 1-0 at thehands of Inter Milan onSeptember 25.

“We knew that returningagainst Atalanta was one of theworst opponents to have,” saidLazio coach Simone Inzaghiwhose side were held 3-3 by theBergamo side in Rome inOctober.

“Unfortunately the title racegets more complicated and weregret this, because we’re comingoff a long series of unbeatengames. “I don’t like losing and thelads are a little down.”

Atalanta are four pointsbehind third-placed Inter Milan,who were held 3-3 at homeagainst Sassuolo.

Elsewhere, Roma stay fifth,six points behind Atalanta, aftera hard-fought 2-1 win over rele-gation-threatened Sampdoriathanks to a second-half EdinDzeko brace — two volleys, onewith his left foot and the otherwith his right.

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Liverpool are on the brink ofclinching the Premier Leaguetitle after the leaders powered

to a 4-0 win against Crystal Palace,while Anthony Martial hit a hat-trickin Manchester United’s 3-0 victoryover Sheffield United on Wednesday.

Jurgen Klopp’s side took controlthanks to first-half goals from TrentAlexander-Arnold and MohamedSalah behind closed doors at Anfield.

Fabinho and Sadio Mane nettedafter the interval and Liverpool willbe crowned champions if ManchesterCity fail to beat Chelsea at StamfordBridge on Thursday.

If second-placed City win in westLondon, then Liverpool could wrapup their first English title for 30 yearsin their next game — against PepGuardiola’s side at the EtihadStadium on July 2.

“Imagine if the stadium couldhave been full and people could haveexperienced that Live. It would havebeen amazing,” Klopp said.

“The atmosphere on the pitchwas incredible. That was the bestcounter-pressing game I have everseen behind closed doors. The atti-tude the boys showed was amazing.”

Asked if he would be watchingwhen City face Chelsea,Klopp added: “Tonight wasa big step, that’s clear. I haveto watch the game tomorrowbecause we play them oneweek later. That’s being pro-fessional and doing my job.”

After a drab goallessdraw at Merseyside rivals Everton onSunday, the champions-elect were farmore vibrant and Alexander-Arnoldopened the scoring with a superbfree-kick in the 23rd minute.

Salah doubled the lead in the44th minute, taking Fabinho’s loftedpass and guiding in his 21st goal of

the season.Fabinho scored with a

thunderous 30-yard strike inthe 55th minute and Manecapped a fine move in the 69thminute as Liverpool moved 23points clear of City.

����������������� �United are still far off challeng-

ing again for titles at the top of thetable, but there are growing signs ofmomentum for Ole Gunnar

Solskjaer’s men as they extendedtheir unbeaten run to 13 games.

Martial produced two predato-ry first-time finishes before half-timeto put United in command at OldTrafford.

The hosts could have piled onmuch more pain after the break, butwere content with one more goal asMartial completed his first careerhat-trick with a cheeky chip fromMarcus Rashford’s pass.

�����������Fifth-place could still be good

enough for a place in next season’s

Champions League depending onthe outcome of City’s appeal againsta two-season ban from Europeancompetition.

And Wolves remain level onpoints with United in fifth after con-tinuing their perfect restart with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth.

Just as in a 2-0 victory at WestHam on Saturday, Adama Traore andRaul Jimenez combined to break thedeadlock as the Mexican poweredhome a header for his 24th goal ofthe season.

Defeat leaves Bournemouth stillin the bottom three on goal differ-ence and there are now three teamstied on 27 points as Aston Villastruck late to claim a 1-1 draw atNewcastle.

While any hope of Norwichhauling themselves out of troublenow looks forlorn as the Canaries fellto a second home defeat in a week.

Michael Keane scored the onlygoal as Everton won 1-0 at CarrowRoad to move above Arsenal into10th. Norwich remain rock bot-tom, six points adrift of safety.

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Sergio Ramos’ sensational free-kick helped Real Madrid

move back above Barcelona tothe top of La Liga as they defeat-ed Real Mallorca 2-0 onWednesday.

Ramos brushed asideGareth Bale to take the shot andjustified his claim with a curlingstrike into the top corner after19-year-old Vinicius Junior hadput Madrid in front in the firsthalf.

Madrid’s victory at theAlfredo di Stefano Stadiummeans they are level again onpoints with Barcelona but sitabove their title rivals in the tabledue to a superior head-to-headrecord.

“There are seven finals left,”said Ramos. “There will be onlyone league in the year of coro-navirus and we want to win it forthe fans.”

Bale has been hardly usedsince La Liga resumed onJune 11 but ZinedineZidane continued his rota-tion policy and handed theWelshman his first startsince February 16.

Yet an underwhelming dis-play is unlikely to push Bale backinto Zidane’s preferred eleven asVinicius enhanced his case withanother lively, if erratic, perfor-mance.

The Brazilian also hit thecrossbar in the first half.

“I’m very happy with theteam’s performance and myown,” said Vinicius.

“I worked very hard athome to get in this shape. Thisrun of matches is like a WorldCup, you have to be in the rightshape every three days and fired

up.” Ramos, though, stole theshow with his brilliant free-kick,taking his personal tally to acareer-best eight goals for theseason, after he became La Liga’shighest ever scoring defender onSunday by scoring a penaltyagainst Real Sociedad.

The only worry for Madridwas that Eden Hazard was taken

off shortly after the hour,raising doubts overwhether the Belgian isfully fit or completelyconfident in his trouble-some ankle.

There was also time at theend for history to be made asMallorca’s Luka Romero becamethe youngest player ever to playin La Liga, aged 15 years and 219days.

Earlier, Real Sociedad suf-fered a third consecutive defeatat home to Celta Vigo to leavetheir challenge for ChampionsLeague qualification in tatters.

Iago Aspas’ penalty on thestroke of half-time was enoughto seal a 1-0 victory for CeltaVigo, who move eight pointsclear of Mallorca in 18th.

�@��%��- Cleared of dopetaint, two-time Common-wealth Games Gold-winningweightlifter Sanjita Chanu willfinally get the coveted Arjunaaward which has been onhold since 2018.

A Sports Ministry sourceconfirmed that Chanu will beconferred with the Arjuna asper a 2018 Delhi High Court

order, which directed theselection committee to consid-er her and keep the decisionin a sealed cover to be dis-closed only if she was absolvedof the doping charges.

“Sanjita (Chanu) isabsolved of all the dopingcharges by the Internationalfederation, so we will have toabide by the Delhi High Court

order and consider her for theArjuna award,” the ministrysource said.

After she was ignored forthe 2017 Arjuna Awards,Chanu had filed a writ petitionbefore the Delhi HC challeng-ing the decision to exclude herfrom the list of those recom-mended for the coveted hon-our. During the pendency ofthe case, she tested positive fora banned substance in May2018.

Indian WeightliftingFederation secretary generalalso confirmed the develop-ment. “It’s confirmed, Sanjitawill get her 2018 Arjunaaward,” he said without gettinginto details.

The 26-year-old had wonback-to-back Gold medals inthe 2014 and 2018Commonwealth Games in the48kg and 53kg categoriesrespectively. PTI

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Star England pacer JofraArcher was on Thursday

cleared to join his teammates atSouthampton’s Ageas Bowlahead of the three-Test seriesagainst West Indies after he wastested Covid-19 negative forthe second time.

The 25-year-old Archerdid not join the team’s train-ing earlier after a member ofhis household fell ill. Hehad tested negativefor Covid-19 thefirst time too butthe decision to go

through another test was a pre-cautionary measure.

“Jofra Archer has testednegative for Covid-19. He willjoin the England camp at AgeasBowl later today and will be freeto start training tomorrow withthe rest of the group,” theEngland and Wales Cricket

Board (ECB) tweeted onThursday.

Besides Archer, all otherEnglish cricketers vying for

places in the squad forthe upcoming Test

series also returnednegative forCovid-19.

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Images of players hugging atthe net, playing basketball

together and partying at NovakDjokovic’s charity exhibition inSerbia and Croatia were “disap-pointing” and tennis must learnits lesson, outgoing Wimbledonchief Richard Lewis has said.

Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov,Borna Coric and Viktor Troickicontracted the novel coron-avirus after playing in the AdriaTour, which drew big crowdsand saw players pose for pic-

tures. Lewis, who will stepdown as the CEO of AllEngland Lawn Tennis Club inJuly, told British media he

hoped everyone made a speedyrecovery but that the mistakesof the event must not be repeat-ed.

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Disappointed at being leftout of Western Australia’s

contract list, Australia pacerNathan Coulter-Nile said he islooking to prove the decisionmakers wrong representing anew state team for the upcom-ing season.

The 32-year-old, whograbbed 17 wickets at 18.94 toguide West Australia to theirthird title in six years in the lastsummer’s Marsh Cup, didn’treceive a contract renewal afterhe decided to focus his atten-tion on white-ball cricket.

Coulter-Nile, who hastaken 86 wickets in limitedovers cricket for Australia,said he is now “fired up” to faceWestern Australia.

“I'’d love to face WesternAustralia, I’d definitely be firedup for it,” he toldcricket.Com.Au.

“I know the boys hadnothing to do with the decisionand a few of them openly saidthey were disappointed with it,but any chance I get to provethe decision-makers wrong,I’d definitely take that oppor-tunity.”

Coulter-Nile said he isconfident of his bowling andwill take up any opportunitythat comes his way before theMarsh Cup.

“I want to play. I was theleading wicket-taker last year,I feel like I’m bowling alright.I feel like I’ve still got plenty tooffer,” said the pacer, who took82 wickets at 21.96 in 39 one-day games for WA since mak-ing his debut in 2009.

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������������ “We’ve worked hard for thisover the past few years and as asquad this is what we’ve dreamedof. We’re in a good position sohopefully we’ll be able to getacross the line pretty soon.”— TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD

“Since I came here I said Iwant to win the Premier Leaguewith the team. The city didn’t winit for a long time, so it was theright time.”

— MOHAMED SALAH

“It was the best counter press-ing behind closed doors ever. Theattitude we showed tonight, thepassion we showed, was excep-tional and we played some out-standing football.”

— JURGEN KLOPP

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-��������������@����,�%��-� Inter Milan defenderMilan Škriniar was suspendedfor three matches on Thursdayfollowing his red card in thematch against Sassuolo.

Škriniar was shown a sec-ond yellow card onWednesday and was given anautomatic one-match ban forthe sending off but was furtherpunished for “making an offen-sive remark to the referee alongwith a blasphemous exclama-tion.”

Inter coach Antonio Contewill also be suspended forSunday’s match at Parma afterpicking up his fifth booking ofthe season. AP

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Former England captainClare Connor is set to

become the first female presi-dent of the Marylebone CricketClub (MCC), guardian of thelaws of the game, in its 233-yearhistory.

Connor was on Wednesdaynamed as the successor to cur-rent chief Kumar Sangakkara,who steps down from the postnext year.

The nomination of Connor,

who is currently the ECB’smanaging director of women’scricket, was made bySangakkara himself duringWednesday’s Annual GeneralMeeting.

Connor will take up thepost on October 1 next year,pending approval by the club’smembers, as Sangakkara hasbeen invited to remain in therole for a second twelve-monthtenure due to the impact ofCovid-19 on the cricketinglandscape.

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