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News In Brief

More law, less justice.- M T Cicero

CBSE 10th Result 2019 Expected TodaySRINAGAR: CBSE Class 10 result is likely to be announced on Sunday i. e. 5th May, 2019. As per the latest updates, CBSE board will declare the Class 10 Result 2019 on Sunday on its official website cbseresults.nic.in. The speculations surrounding the CBSE 10th Result date have also been propelled by the surprise declaration of Class 12 Results earlier. The CBSE, on 2nd May, declared the results for nearly 13 lakh students suddenly, without any prior intimation, which was rather unlikely. To top it all, several CBSE top officials have been quoted in the media More On P8

Gaza-Israel Hostilities Flare Up NEW DELHI: An Israeli air strike killed one Palestinian gunman as hostilities flared up across the border for a second day.The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were injured by Gaza gunfire near the border, Reuters reported. The Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.On Saturday Israel hit Gaza with air strikes and tank fire after Palestinian militants fired more than 90 rockets toward Israeli cities and villages. The Israeli military said it had targeted rocket launchers and More On P8

EC Clean Chit To Modi NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Saturday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Patan speech in which he claimed that his government had kept Pakistan on toes for safe release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman.The commission concluded that Modi has not violated the model code or its advisory on armed forces in his speech in Gujarat's Patan city on April 21. This is the sixth speech of the prime minister which has been cleared by the EC.

Army Commander Visits Ladakh SRINAGAR: Army Commander, Northern Command, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh Saturday visited Ladakh region where he was briefed on the operational preparedness of the force in the sector.The GOC-in-C Northern Command visited the headquarters of Fire and Fury Corps, a defence spokesman said.The Army commander was briefed by Lt Gen Y K Joshi, General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps, on the operational readiness being maintained in the Ladakh sector, he said.

Parliamentary Polls in J&K End Tomorrow In Last Phase, Shopian, Pulwama To See Voting Along With Ladakh

NEET Aspirants Get NTA Relief But Highway Troubles Remain

Mehbooba Appeals GoI for Ramazan Ceasefire

Some Parties Using Police To Pick Up Youth, Release Them For Votes: Omar

SRI LANKA SUICIDE ATTACK

Bombers Visited Kashmir For ‘Training': Lankan Army Chief

‘Official Records’ Belie Lankan Army Claim NEW DELHI: There is no record to suggest that any of the suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka had visited Kashmir as claimed by the Army chief of the island nation, officials of central security agencies said here Saturday.One of the officials said immigration records were re-visited after the terrorist attacks and none of the bombers had visited Kashmir. More On P8

HC Notice To GoIEnsure Treatment Of J&K Cancer Patients

Observer News Service

SRINAGAR: The campaign pro-cess ended on Saturday for the last phase of the Lok Sabha polls in Anantnag and Ladakh con-stituencies scheduled for May 6.

Poll officials said over 6.97 lakh voters would decide the fate of 22 candidates in Anantnag and Ladakh constituencies in the last phase of parliamentary elec-tions in Jammu and Kashmir.

"In the last phase, Ladakh parliamentary constituency and Pulwama-Shopian dis-tricts of Anantnag parliamen-tary constituency are going to polls with aggregated electoral strength of 697,148 voters -- in-cluding 357,879 males, 335,799 females, 3,456 service voters (3,401 male and 55 female) and 14 transgender voters.

"To ensure smooth conduct of polls, 1,254 polling stations have been established by the Election Commission," an EC statement said.

The twin districts of Pul-wama and Shopian are spread over six Assembly segments

-- Tral, Pampore, Pulwama, Ra-jpora, Wachi and Shopian.

On the last leg of the three-phased elections for Anantnag constituency, the two southern Kashmir districts Pulwama and Shopian are also going for polls.

"The twin districts More On P8


SRINAGAR: PDP president Me-hbooba Mufti on Saturday ap-pealed the Centre and the mili-tants to announce ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir for the Mus-lim fasting month of Ramzan so that the "people get some relief".

"The month of Ramzan is starting after a couple of days and so, I appeal the Government of India that ours is a Muslim-majority state and people here are facing difficulties.

"It is a month of prayer and so I request them (Centre) to announce a ceasefire like

the last year so that crack-downs, search operations and encounters are stopped and people get some relief, the for-mer Jammu and Kashmir chief minister told reporters here.

She also asked the militants to stop attacks on security forces.

I also want to tell militants that they should understand that this blessed month is a month of prayer and repen-tance and so they should not carry out any attacks in this month, she said.

Ramzan is likely to com-mence from Monday or Tuesday.

The Union More On P8


SRINAGAR: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Satur-day said that some leaders from other parties are using police to pick up youths and later get them released on the assurance of votes from their families.

Addressing the rally, Abdul-lah said the election in Anantnag seat was "unique" as the polling in one constituency was being held in three phases.

"First time I have seen that some of the leaders decided to quit campaigning (in Pulwama and Shopian districts) four days before the close of official cam-paign period," he said in an ap-parent reference to PDP president

Mehbooba Mufti, who is contest-ing the polls from Anantnag.

Nearly 200 metres away from the venue of the National Confer-ence rally, the BJP had organised a rally at Pulwama Townhall.

The National Conference lead-

er reiterated that the present election was about safeguarding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution of India as guaranteed by Ar-ticles 370 and 35-A.

"We have fielded More On P8

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited Kashmir, Bangalore and Kerala for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intel-ligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

Nine suicide bombers, in-

cluding a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April

21, killing 253 people and injur-ing over 500 others.

In an interview to BBC, Lieu-tenant General More On P8

Why Is This Non Kashmiri Contesting Election From South KashmirShamas Khwaja Says, there is a breakdown of the Constitution in KashmirObserver News Service

Shamas Khwaja, a supreme court lawyer, is the first non-state subject candidate

to fight an election in J&K. He is a candidate from volatile South Kashmir parliamentary constitu-ency of Anantnag. A resident of New Delhi, Khwaja's grand father Khwaja Abdul Wajid was the asso-ciate editor of Al-Balagh, an Urdu weekly published by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

In an interview with the Kash-mir Observer, Khwaja says he was moved to contest from J&K after seeing the inability of the local leaders to properly repre-sent and articulate the situation in the state.

Q. You are the first non-state subject who has chosen to con-test election in Kashmir. Why?

A. I am a constitutional expert and I was moved by the inability of the current Kashmiri leaders

to fight the constitutional break-down in Kashmir. At the same time I don't think that those con-testing polls in the state are the real leaders of KashmIr. They, like me, are little more than scare-crows. The real leaders are behind jails now. Take for example Shabir Shah, Yasin Malik, Asiya Andrabi or for that matter Geelani Saheb.

I believe that an idea should be battled with an idea. You must release all jailed leaders and let them express their ideas. And then their ideas can be contested by people like me and the other leaders. Let people then decide. So, why jail them.

Q.You have not been a politi-cian before?

A. No, I have not been a real

politician. I have only had a politi-cal interest. Before, contesting for Anantnag I have fought an elec-tion from a constituency in Ut-tarakhand. I don't want to say it for reasons of modesty, I am from a distinguished freedom fighter's family. My late father AA Khwaja was in Indian administrative ser-vice. My grandfather Khwaja Ab-dul Wajid was an associate editor of Al-Balagh, an Urdu weekly edit-ed by Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad.

The weekly was later succeed-ed by Al Hilal.

I am a lawyer by profession. Currently, I practice in the Su-preme Court of India.

So, I am a constitutional expert. I have done Masters in Biosciences, M. Phil in nanotechnology, PG Di-

ploma in Science journalism and a Masters in Law. My current area of research is developing jurispru-dence for nanotechnology for de-veloping nations including India.

Q. This hardly explains your decision to contest from Kash-mir and that too from troubled South Kashmir.

A. My contesting in Kashmir is not about a personal fight and it is not a fight against a person or a politician. It is against a think-ing process, a mindset. I think Kashmiris have more or less concluded that the Constitution of India cannot deliver for them. And there are reasons for it. The Constitution of India is not fol-lowed in Kashmir. In fact there is a breakdown of the More On P8


SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has issued a notice to Government of India through Secretary to Govern-ment Health and Family Wel-fare Department for ensuring treatment of cancer patients in the Jammu and Kashmir.

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation, a bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice Tashi Rabstan passed the orders after perusing a

response filed by the state functionaries, disclosing that the required steps for ensur-ing treatment of cancer pa-tients has reference to release of funds by Health and Family Welfare Department, Govern-ment of India. The counsel appearing for the petitioner— Rabia Khurshid seeks implead-ment of Union of India in the array of respondents.

“In view of the above, we deem it proper to implead Union of India More On P8

How Was Unauthorised Absence Of JKPCC MD Overlooked?Govt Hands Over Probe To Crime Branch


SRINAGAR: Based on the re-port of the Fact Finding Com-mittee looking into various aspects of Jammu and Kash-mir Projects Construction Corp (JKPCC), the Govern-ment has decided to hand over to the Crime Branch of JK Police the matter relating to the manner in which the unauthorised long absence of Vikar Mustafa Shonthu was regularised. As the mat-ter is a serious one, the Gov-ernment has also decided to refer this matter to the Cen-tral Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for thorough investiga-tion and action.

This is a major step of the Government in cleaning up the functioning of JKPCC by stopping and eliminating backdoor appointments and rule violation and bringing in a culture of transparency and probity in the organisation.

Earlier, after receiving

numerous complaints from many quarters about the functioning of JKPCC, particu-larly relating to corruption in civil contracts, illegality in ap-pointments at multiple levels including at very senior posi-tions, etc., the government appointed a Fact Finding Committee to look into all these complaints. Based on the report of the Fact Find-ing Committee chaired by the Principal Secretary (Plan-ning), the Government had handed over the investiga-tion of all works executed or contracted out by the JKPCC after the issuance of the Gov-ernment Order of November, 2015 to the Crime Branchof Police (Srinagar).The ap-pointment of Mr. Vikar Mus-tafa Shonthu as Managing Director which was seen as ab initio illegal, was also re-ferred to the Crime Branch of Police, Srinagar immediately for lodging an FIR and taking further action. More On P8


SRINAGAR: In a much-needed relief for students, set to appear in na-tional level competitive exam, the National Testing Agency (NTA) al-lotted four additional exam centres to Kashmir for NEET aspirants last month. However, the students are set to face inconvenience owing to ban on movement of civilian traffic on Srinagar-Jammu highway tomor-row even as Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmed Khan ordered that the admit cards and roll number slips of the candidates appearing for NEET examinations shall be treated as travel passes for the days of exami-nation. The NEET exams are sched-uled for Sunday and day after it.

As per official figures More On P8

BJP Leader Shot Dead In AnantnagObserver News Service

SRINAGAR: District Vice Presi-dent of BJP was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his home in Nowgam village of Verinag in Anantnag district.

BJP state spokesman Altaf Thakur cinfirmed the news and said Gul Muhammad Mir (60) son of Abdul Karim Mir was fired upon by suspected militants at his home Saturday evening.

"He received four bullets and was brought dead to hos-pital," said Thakur and termed the killing as barbaric

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Vice District President of Anantnag district was shot dead by suspected militants at Verinag area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag dis-trict on Saturday.

BJP senior leader and former MLC Sofi Yousuf said that Gul Mohammad had unsuccess-fully contested assembly elec-tions for Dooru assembly seg-ment in 2008 and 2014.

A police officer More On P8

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CALL +91-194 2502327To place an advertisement

Office Of The RegiOnal TRanspORT OfficeR KashmiR

NoticeWhere as an application for trans-fer of ownership has been received from sumeera majid D/o abdul moajeed R/o Tulsibagh sriangar (Transferor) of alto 800 bearing registration no. JK01af-8534 cha-

sis no: 92410 engine no: 5949875 model 2018 in favour of sayak sidiq Wani s/o mohamad sidiq Wani R/o namchibal fathekadal (Transferee). now, therefore, it is notified for the information of the general, public that representation/ Objection, if any in connection with proposed transfer will be received within 7 days from the date of publication of this notice in the daily newspaper Kashmir Observer to the address of un-dersigned.no, representation/ objection shall be considered unless it is made writing it is made in the aforesaid period.nOJK-RTOK 1198 sd/-Dated: 04/05/2019 Regional Transport Office, Kashmir

Office Of The Assistant Regional Transport Officer Budgam

nOTiceWhere a application has been recieved from one.shri : mohd adil pirzada Qadris/O: abdul ahad pirzada QadriR/o: magraypora Khanda chadoora Bud-gam for issuance of duplicate driving li-cense. D.l. no JK0420150026245 Dated:24/04/2015now therefore it is notified for the infor-mation of the general public that objec-tions if any to the issue of duplicate driv-ing license in respect of D.l no JK0420150026245 shall be filed in writing in the office of the assistant Regional Transport office aRTO Budgam within a period of 07 days from the date of publication of this news. no submission /request shall be entertained after the expiry of sipulated period of time. no. aRTO/ BUDgam.388 Dated 04/05/2019

Assistant Regional Transport officer Budgam Kashmir

Sunday| 05-05-2019Monday - Saturday (9am - 6pm)No 1- Dal Lake Boulevard Srinagar, 190001, Kashmir

bazar Observer

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public noticei have lost the fitness of my vehicle Taveera bearing reg-istration no JK01s- 2347 somewhere. now i have applied for the duplicate of the same if anybody having any objec-tion in this regard he/she may file his/her objection in the office of the aRTO Budgam within a period of seven days from the date of publication of this notice. after that no objection shall be entertained.

Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat S/o Showkat Ahmad Bhat

R/o Chattabal Srinagar

Government of Jammu & Kashmir OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (R&B)

RIGHT RIVER CIRCULAR ROAD DIVISION, SRINAGAR ABBREVIATED TENDER NOTICE

NIT No: -05/RRCR/440-46 , DATED: -03-05-2019

For and on behalf of the Governor, J&K State, e-tenders (In Single cover system) are invited on item rate basis from approved and eligible Contractors registered with J&K State Govt., CPWD, Railways and other State/Central Governments for the following works:-

Position of AAA/TS Authorized Position of funds Committed 1. The Bidding documents Consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, specifications, Drawings,

bill of quantities (B.O.Q), Set of terms and conditions of contract and other details can be seen/downloaded from the departmental website www.jktenders.gov.in as per schedule of dates given below:-

Executive Engineer,

Right Riv.Cir.Rd. Div.Sgr.

S.No Name of Work Est. Cost (Rs. In Lacs)

Cost of T/Doc.

(Rs. In Lacs)

Earnest Money

(Rs. In Lacs)

Time of completion

Time & Date of Opening

of Bid

Class of Contractor

Major Head of Account

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1.

Improvement / Upgradation of Noorbagh Palpora Gundi Roshan road in stretches (km 1st to 5th) from Noorbagh to Goripora Palpora Bund and (Km 11th to KM 14th) from Bangladesh to Takenwari by way of P/L of 75mm thick wetmix, 50mm thick bituminous macadam and 25mm thick Semidense with 6mm thick seal coat . (Machine mix to be laid with paver).

Rs. 69.00 lacs (Incld., c/o bitumen)

0.016 1.38 15 days 13-05-2019

“AAY” Class with HMPH

Or HMPH

State Sector (C&T)

2.

Improvement to leftover/ wornout stretches of KZP road by way of P/L of 75mm thick wet mix, 50 mm thick bituminous macadam (at required spots only) and 40mm thick dense bituminous concrete in stretches from Khanyar to Nallabal Nowshera (RD 0-RD 5000). (Machine mix to be laid with paver).

Rs. 39.29 lacs (Incld., c/o bitumen)

0.011 0.7858 15 days 13-05-2019

“AAY” Class with HMPH

Or HMPH

State Sector (C&T)

1. Date of Issue of Tender Notice 03-05-2019 2. Period of downloading of bidding documents From 03-05-2019, 5.00 P.M to 10-05-2019 4.00 P.M

3. Bid submission Start Date 03-05-2019 from 6.00 P.M

4. Bid Submission End Date 11-05-2019 upto 4.00 P.M

5. A copy of same should be uploaded by the tendered in reference to Order No. OM.No.A/24/(2017)-651,Dt: 07-06-2018.

The cost of tenders should be collected by introducing e-challan or simply uploading a copy of necessary treasury challan/ receipt.

6. Date & time of opening of Bids (Online) 13-05-2019 at 11.00 A.M in the Office of the Executive Engineer R&B Right River Circular Road Division Sgr.

DipK-1056/19

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Office Of The RegiOnal TRanspORT OfficeR KashmiR

Notice

Whereas, a joint application has been received from shri moham-mad Yaqoob mattoo s/o ghulam Rasool mattoo R/o Tanga Bagh Rainawari sgr ( Transferor) and shri imran ahmad Kaloo s/o mo-

hammad Yousuf Kaloo R/O hD colony Batamaloo sgr (Transferee) for transfer of pick Up Open Body carriage route permit no --covering Vehicle no JK01V- 9403. now, therefore, it is notified for general information that objections, if any to the proposed transfer of the said route permit / vehicle shall be filled in writing in the office of the Regional Transport Officer, Kashmir. Within a period of 7 days from the date of publication of this notice in the daily news paper Kashmir Observer.seller and purchaser identified by the authorized repre-sentatives of m/s new JK Road Ways Transport company namely mr. mohammad Yaseen nO: JK/RTOK /1201 sd/-Dated: 04/05/2019 Regional Transport Office, Kashmir

The Jammu and Kashmir State Board Of School Education

sub-Office anantnagAttention Please

The applicant/ candidate whose photograph is published in this notice and claiming to have lost his/ her marks certificate of class 10th issued BY BOse under registration no n1040040039With following particulars:- name shanaz maqbool parentage mohd maqbool lone R/o hardv shichen Roll no 138453 class 10th Year and session annual 2012

now the candidate has applied for their duplicate. anybody (if) having any objections in this regard may please file the same be-fore the undersigned within (07) days from the date of publica-tion of this notice. Besides the above referred marks certificate treated as cancelled

sd/- assistant secretary sub-Office anantnag

fKRz a

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siKenDeR neWs angencY amiRaKaDal RasheeD gazala lal chOWK

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fOR anY QUeRY, call ciRcUlaTiOn DepTT. : 0194-2502327

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Published Since 1997

Needleless Vaccine Can Help Protect Children From Dangerous VirusesAccording to a new research published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers have developed a novel oral vaccine that can prevent kids from hepatitis B.

a team of research-ers found that oral administration of hepatitis B

vaccine protects children against dangerous viruses and have also delivered a ‘recipe’ called virologists to improve the vaccine drops. The study was published in scientific Reports. millions of people are infected with hepatitis B every year and particularly small children are at risk. Due to the high cost and the stable environmental condi-tions required for vaccine storage, many people in developing countries are not vaccinated against this dangerous virus.”getting rid of needles being poked into the arms of little children is an advantage in itself. it also eliminates any need to sterilize needles and possible side effects such as swelling and infection. and, unlike the

vaccine in use today, this type of vaccine needn`t be refrigerated.

as such, costs will be reduced and the vaccine`s administration will be eased,” explained martin K. Rasmussen, one of the main authors. as such, researchers have been working to produce a drop or powdered form of the oral vaccine. Oral vac-cinations are cheaper and more easily administered than injections. however, developing a sufficiently effective oral hepatitis B vaccine has so far eluded researchers.”We have used a technology commonly used in solid-state physics to explore how the vaccine behaves within a particular type of encapsulation.This has yielded crucial informa-tion that would not other-wise have been achievable. When we scientists venture beyond our comfort zone

and deploy each other`s knowledge across disci-plines, entirely new pos-sibilities can emerge,” said heloisa Bordallo, one of the main authors.

a major challenge of making an oral vaccine is to encapsulate it in a material that can endure the harsh conditions of our digestive system, to protect the vaccine from being destroyed before it reaches its intended destination in the body. The research team`s collaborative partners in Brazil have long known that the silica-ma-terial sBa-15 is well-suited to encapsulate a hepatitis B vaccine. however, they did not know exactly how the material protected the vac-cine. nor were they certain about why their vaccine was not always completely effective.

This is where the team of physicists came into the

picture. Using a special technique that combines x-ray and neutron imaging, researchers at the niels Bohr institute were able to produce 3D images of the inside of the sBa-15 silica. it marked a crucial step in the use of this technique to develop pharmaceuti-cals. The imagery allows researchers to see how the vaccine behaves inside the silica, right down to the particle scale. among other things, they were able to see that the vaccine had a tendency to clump within the silica, making it less effective.”now we know what makes the vaccine less effective, and how to optimise it.

We know exactly how much vaccine should be put in the silica capsule for it to work best in the body and the clinical trials can be better interpreted,” explained Bordallo.

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HIGHWAY STATUS• Sgrr-Jammu highway - (Open)

• Mughal Road - (Open)• Srinagar- Leh- (Open)

This Day in History• 1260 - Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis

Khan, becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire• 1494 - On 2nd voyage to New World

Christopher Columbus sights Jamaica, landing at Discovery Bay

• 1640 - English Short Parliament rises• 1646 - King Charles I surrenders in Scotland• 1762 - Russia & Prussia sign Treaty of Saint

Petersburg ending the Seven Years War• 1789 - French Estates-General meets

for the first time since 1614 at Versailles, summoned King Louis XVI

• 1862 - French army intervenes in Puebla, Mexico: Cinco de Mayo

• 1864 - Battle between Confederate & Union ships at mouth of Roanoke

• 1864 - Battle of Wilderness, Virginia (Germanna Ford, Wilderness Tavern)

• 1877 - Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles

• 1920 - German-Latvian peace treaty signed• 1920 - Polish troops occupy Kiev• 1921 - Miniature newspaper published

(Brighton Gazette 10 x 13 cm)• 1932 - Japan & China sign a peace treaty• 1936 - Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa• 1942 - US begins rationing sugar during WW II• 1943 - Postmaster General Frank C Walker

invents Postal Zone System• 1944 - Mahatma Gandhi freed from prison• 1945 - Netherlands & Denmark liberated

from Nazi control• 1945 - Uprising against occupying SS

troops in Prague• 1945 - World War II: Admiral Karl Dönitz,

leader of Germany after Hitler's death, orders all U-boats to cease offensive operations and return to their bases

• 1955 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada test Site

• 1955 - West Germany is granted full sovereignty by its three occupying powers

• 1956 - World championships of judo are 1st held in Tokyo

• 1957 - Adolf Scharf elected president of Austria

• 1964 - Separatists riot in Quebec• 1965 - First large-scale US Army ground

units arrive in South Vietnam• 1972 - Alitalia DC-8 crashes west of

Palermo Sicily; killing 115• 1976 - Train collision at Schiedam,

Netherlands, kills 24• 1979 - Voyager 1 passes Jupiter• 1980 - Siege at Iranian Embassy in

London ends as the SAS and police storm the building

• 1986 - Hall of Fame & Museum announced to be built in Cleveland

• 1987 - Congress begins Iran-Contra hearings

• 1987 - France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll

• 2005 - Tony Blair's Labour Party is re-elected for a third consecutive term in UK general election

• 2006 - The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army

• 2012 - Japan shuts down its nuclear reactors leaving the country without nuclear power for the first time since 1970

• 2012 - 17 people are killed and 47 missing after a flash flood in Nepal

A MAN SITS UNDER THE SHADE OF AN UMBRELLA along the banks of Jhelum river in Srinagar as the sun shone on Saturday following days of rainfall in Kashmir ( Photo: Kashmir Observer)

HIJRI CALENDAR

29 SHABAN-

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MAGRIB7:20ISHA8:51

KU Controller Exams dies after fall


SRINAGAR- Controller of Examinations in Kashmir university Dr Abrar Hussain Khan today reportedly fell to his death from third floor of a building during an inspection on the campus at Hazratbal here, official sources said. Khan was inspecting (he third floor of a building, under construction and to be used as H store for examina-tion material Mien he walked over a fragile fibre glass which broke down, the sources said. They said Khan hit the cupboards before hitting the concrete floor and died on the spot. Police has taken cognizance of the incident and investigation has been initiated in this regard, a senior-police official said.

Kashmir University will remain closed for the day on Thursday to mourn the untimely death of Dr Abrar.

Dr Abrar Hussain who was professor of law had acted earlier in the capacity of Dean Faculty of Law.

He had also served the university in various other capacities including as its Registrar and Chairman Distance Education

(Kashmir Observer, 05 May, 2005)

IGP visits Civil SecretariatSrinagar: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir zone, Swayam Prakash Pani along with senior Police and CRPF officers Saturday visited Civil Secretariat and reviewed arrangements made for the

opening of offices at Civil Secretariat Srinagar. IGP Kashmir accompanied by DIG CKR, SSP Srinagar and CAPF officers went around the Civil Secre-tariat and inspected various security check-points established inside the Secretariat premises and Assembly complex. Pani directed the officials to ensure the common citizens visiting Secretariat for redressal of their grievances are allowed during the meeting hours fixed by the authorities without putting them to any inconvenience. IGP also reviewed the facilities available for the common citizens at the check-point. Moreover, he directed the officials to duly follow the security protocols with due regard to decency and respect of common citizens. According to a police spokesman, he was briefed by the concerned territorial officers about

various security measures adopted inside the Secretariat premises for the safety and security of employees working there. He also interacted with the jawans posted at the Secretariat. While appre-ciating their commitment towards the duties, IGP Kashmir stressed on the jawans to remain vigilant while discharging duties so that the security of premises always remain intact.

Pakistani wives of ex- Kashmiri militants seek citizenship

Malik a respected leader, not a criminal: Rashid


Srinagar: Pakistani wives of for-mer Kashmiri militants, who returned from across the Line of Control under a rehabilita-tion scheme for surrendered

militants, Saturday appealed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to either grant them citizenship or deport them. The women sought the interven-tion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to end their plight.

"It is our right to have the citi-zenship of the state. We should me made citizens here as is the case with women who marry men in any country. We appeal the Government of India and

the state government to either grant us citizenship or deport us," one of the protesters, Zeba, told reporters here.

These women arrived in Kashmir during the past decade along with their husbands. They

allege that the state government was denying them travel docu-ments to visit their families in Pakistan and Pakistan-adminis-tered Kashmir (PaK).

"Ours is a humanitarian issue. We were promised many things, but nothing was fulfilled. We have no identity here. Many of us are going through depression. There should be initiatives for us like the Karavan-e-Aman (Sri-nagar-Muzaffarabad) bus service so that we can visit our families," another woman Safia said.

The Karavan-e-Aman (peace

caravan) bus service runs be-tween Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in PaK. The bus service was start-ed in 2005 on fortnightly basis as a confidence building measure between India and Pakistan. The distressed women also appealed

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and human rights organisa-tions to take note of their ordeal.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had in 2010 an-nounced a rehabilitation policy for former Kashmiri militants, who had crossed over to Paki-stan from 1989 to 2009.

Hundreds of Kashmiris, who had crossed the Line of Con-trol (LoC) for arms training, re-turned along with their families through Nepal border till 2016, after which the policy was dis-continued by the Centre.

“OURS IS A HUMANITARIAN ISSUE. We were promised many things, but nothing was fulfilled. We have no identity here. Many of us are going through depression. There should be initiatives for us like the Karavan-e-

Aman (Srinagar-Muzaffarabad) bus service so that we can visit our families”


Srinagar: Former legislator from Langate constituency in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district Sheikh Abdul Rashid Saturday said the Centre would be respon-sible if anything bad happens to JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik who is in Tihar Jail.

"Malik is not a criminal. He is a leader, a soldier of the people who respect him. Whether we like his ideology or not, we warn New Delhi not to play with fire... If anything bad happens to Malik, the responsi-bility will be on the Government of India," Rashid told reporters here.

A Delhi court last week sent Ma-lik to judicial custody till May 24. He was arrested in a case related to alleged funding of separatists and militant groups in Jammu and Kash-mir. Rashid, who heads the Awami

Ittehad Party (AIP), said the low poll percentage in parliamentary polls should make New Delhi understand that the separatist leadership "has its routes deep in masses and their voice cannot be muzzled by force".

"Be it banning Jamaat-e-Islami or JKLF, nothing will change on the ground unless New Delhi realizes significance of resolving Kashmir issue," he said.

The former MLA said his party would take out a protest march out-side Civil Secretariat on Monday the day it opens in the summer capital here as part of the bi-annual darbar move -- against the alleged failure of the government to provide ba-sic immunities to people, arrest of youth, "state suppression against pro-resistance leadership" and for seeking revocation of ban on the Ja-mat-i-islami and the Jammu Kash-mir Liberation Front (JKLF) .

Announces protest on Secretariat opening, says Delhi playing with fire


Srinagar: Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan Satur-day conducted an extensive tour of Srinagar city to inspect all arrange-ments and face lifting works be-ing put in place for ensuing Durbar Move. He visited Secretariat road, Jehangir Chowk, Lal Chowk, M.A Road, TRC, Raj Bagh, Lal Mandi, Iqbal Park, Ram Bagh, Barzullah, Hyder-pora, Airport Road and other places to review arrangements put in place. The Div Com was told that the face lifting, including white wash, paint, laying of tiles and renovation of pathways, besides landscaping of open spaces was in full swing. Divi-sional Commissioner enjoined upon the officers to complete the repair, renovation and other maintenance works before opening of the offices so that the departments could func-

tion in a hassle free manner. Khan asked the executing agencies to keep their activities at maximum to complete the works on Sunday morning. The Divisional Commis-sioner stressed the concerned offi-cers to further gear up men and ma-chinery on double shifts for timely completion of all repair and renova-tion works. Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Chief Engineer R&B, Addi-tional Commissioner SMC, SSP Traf-fic, SP (South) Srinagar, RTO Kash-mir, Engineers from ERA, and other concerned officers were accompa-nying the Divisional Commissioner.

Div Com reviews Durbar move arrangements

Geelani undergoes checkupSrinagar: Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman, Syed Ali Geelani was read-mitted in SKIMS Soura for cardiac checkup and pacemaker assessment on Saturday morning. “Generator of his pacemaker was changed by a team of cardiologists headed by HoD cardiology Professor Dr. Nisar Tramboo,” a statement issued by the Hurriyat faction here said, adding that proce-dure lasted for about one and a half hour and was “uneventful.” “Geelani is under strict intensive care observation and recovering by the grace of Almighty Allah, sincere and professional care and good wishes of the people,” the statement added.

........NEET 2019 EXAMS

Admit cards to be treated as travel passesSrinagar: Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmed Khan Saturday said that the admit cards and roll number slips of the candidates appearing for NEET examinations shall

be treated as travel passes for the days of examina-tion. The NEET exams are scheduled for 5 - 6 May 2019. The Ladakh Parliamentary Constituency and Pulwama-Shopian districts of Anantnag Parliamen-tary Constituency (PC) are going to polls on May 6.Last month , the National Testing Agency had allot-

ted four additional exam centres to Kashmir for NEET aspirants, in a much-needed relief for students, set to appear in national level competitive exam.

NEWS Sunday| 05-05-2019 4I r a n F M I n S y r I a

Making Sense Of The World Around U s

n E W S M a K E r S

Agencies

New Delhi: One of the two election commissioners had given a dissenting view in the decision of the ‘full Election Commission’ to give a clean chit to Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi in the two speeches made in Maharashtra last month, highly-placed sources aware of the development said on Friday.

In the last three days, the Elec-tion Commission gave its decision on as many complaints by the Con-gress against Modi, alleging viola-

tion of the model code of conduct.One of the election commis-

sioners, according to the sources, gave a dissenting view in the Election Commission’s decision to give a clean chit to Modi on his speech at Wardha on April 1 where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from minority-dominated Way-anad seat and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Bala-kot air strikes and the Pulwama

martyrs in Latur on April 9.The ‘full commission’, which

takes such decisions, comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

Since it was not a quasi-judi-cial decision, the dissent was not recorded. It was a view verbally presented in the meeting, a func-tionary explained.

The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transac-tion of Business) Act, 1991 states that if the chief election commis-

sioner and other election com-missioners differ in opinion on any matter, such matter shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority.

The Election Commission transacts its business by hold-ing regular meetings and also by circulation of papers. All election commissioners have equal say in the decision making of the com-mission.

US Appoints War Czar as New Envoy to Saudi

Israel-Gaza tension soars after four Palestinians killed in air strikes

Agencies

Washington: Retired general John Abizaid, who led US Central Command during the Iraq war, has arrived in Ri-yadh as the new American ambas-sador to Saudi Arabia.

The retired general arrived in the Saudi capital on Thursday, ac-cording to an embassy statement.

“Saudi Arabia and the United States work together every day to protect the security of our two coun-tries, promote prosperity and eco-nomic development, and build the people-to-people ties that keep our relationship strong,” the statement quoted Abizaid as saying.

Washington has not had any ambassador in Riyadh for more than two years since United States President Donald Trump took office.

Last year, US President Donald Trump nominated the re-tired general for the position and earlier this month, Abizaid’s nomination was approved by Senate.

As a highly decorated army officer, the retired general took over many important consulting positions after retiring from the US military, including on the president’s Intelligence Ad-visory Board.

Abizaid is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

In 2016, the he was appointed by the US secretary of de-fense as a senior adviser to the Ukrainian defense minister as Kiev faced an ongoing conflict with pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The appointment of the senior military official and adviser, specifically a former US Central Command chief, to lead the US mission in Saudi Arabia comes as the kingdom is mired in a four-year-long war against Yemen.

It reflects Washington’s focus on reaping the windfall of Saudi Arabia’s military engagements in the region and the kingdom’s bellicose policies under its young heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman.

Agencies

Jerusalem: Devdiscourse News Desk Tel Aviv Israel Updated: 04-05-2019 15:34 IST Created: 04-05-2019 13:51 IST Israel-Gaza tension soars after four Pales-tinians killed in air strikes

Besides this, 51 others have suffered bullet injuries. Israeli forces struck the Gaza strip after two of its soldiers got injured while battling with Palestinian protestors. Image Credit: Wikimedia

Escalating the tensions in the region, Gaza on Saturday launched rockets towards Israel after the latter’s forces killed four Palestinians in southern Gaza Strip on Friday, reported Al Jazeera. Reportedly, Israeli de-fence forces are intercepting rock-ets through its Iron Dome missile.

According to Gaza health ministry, while two civilians were killed in the firing by Israeli forces, two others died in air strikes. Besides this, 51 others have suffered bullet injuries. Is-raeli forces struck the Gaza strip after two of its soldiers got injured while battling

with Palestinian protestors.Meanwhile, Israel Defence

Forces spokesperson said, “Some roads and sites along the Gaza border, including the Zi-kim beach, would be closed off after Friday’s incident, which comes as Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials are in Egypt in an attempt to bring about calm in the border.” Military activities have increased at the Israel-Ga-za border in the past few days as nearly 5,000 Palestinians hit the streets for a weekly protest.

As a part of the “Great March of Return” or weekly pro-test which started last year, pro-testors are demanding rights to return to their home which they had to flee following the forma-tion of Israel in 1948. The Gaza health ministry has said that the Israeli army since last year has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others.

Israel has waged three of-fensives on the Gaza Strip since December 2008, destroying its infrastructure completely and killing thousands. After the last war in 2014, the United Nations warned that the strip would be “uninhabitable” by 2020.

Cyclone Fani Kills Several People In India, Enters Bangladesh

Agencies

KABUL: An Afghan grand council convened by President Ashraf Ghani ended on Friday with a resounding call for peace with the Taliban and a promise from the president to free 175 Taliban pris-oners ahead of Ramazan.

The council known as Loya Jirga brought together more than 3,200 politicians, tribal elders, prominent figures and oth-ers to hammer out a shared strategy for future negotiations with the Taliban.

Ghani had sought to project a unified stance with the council but several prominent Afghans boycotted the gathering, includ-ing Ghani’s partner in the government, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, exposing the deepening rifts in the administration.

“I want to say to the Taliban that the choice is now in your hands,” the president said at the closing ceremony in Kabul. “Now it is your turn to show what you want to do.”

Ghani said the message of the five-day gathering was clear: “Afghans want peace” and offered a ceasefire, though he stressed it would not be unilateral.

In a statement on Friday, the Taliban rejected a ceasefire,

saying attacks would continue during Ramazan but said “fight-ers are very careful of civilians during any operation”.

The group has rejected ceasefire proposals saying US and Nato troops must withdraw from the country first.

The Taliban called the Loya Jirga an attempt by Ghani to shore up his popularity and criticised it for not mentioning the latest United Na-tions report, which said the US and Afghan forces killed more civilians in the first three months of this year than the militants.

The grand council produced a 23-point list for peace talks with the Taliban, including a truce for Ramazan. The Loya Jirga also urged the government to form a strong negotiating team and said at least 50 of its members should represent victims of wars. The council also backed women’s rights, in keeping with the te-nets of Islam.

Kabul Proposes Truce, But Taliban Reject Offer

Complaints Against Modi

Differences In EC Over 2 Clean Chit Decisions

Fani, Mala, Helen, nargis: How are cyclones named? Mumtaz death rumour: She is alive and fine, confirms family

MUMBAI: Dismissing reports of veteran actor Mumtaz’s death, a family member said Friday the

yesteryear star is fit and fine.There were reports on social media

that the actor passed away Friday. “She is alive, fit and fine. she wants to know why everybody is spreading false news,” a fam-ily member told PTI.

Mumtaz, 70, lives in London with her family. Last year in April, there were

rumours about her demise which Mum-taz’s younger daughter Tanya had denied on social media. One of the popular ac-tresses in the 1970s, Mumtaz featured in films such as “Mela”, “Apradh”, “Nagin”, “Bramachari”, “Ram Aur Shyam”, “Do Raste” and “Khilona”.

Facebook bans US black leader, conspiracy theorists

SAN FRANCISCO: Face-book has banned contro-versial black leader Lou-

is Farrakhan, far-right icon Alex Jones and several others in a heightened crackdown on “hate content” at the leading social network.

“We’ve always banned in-dividuals or organisations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” Facebook, which has been under intensifying pressure to curtail controversial content, said in a statement on Thursday.

Among the most prominent figures to be banned, Farrakhan, the head of the Nation of Islam, is known for spreading anti-Semit-ic and black supremacist views.

Far-right conspiracy theo-rist Jones is best known for call-ing the 9/11 attacks an inside job and for describing the Sandy Hook school massacre as a hoax. His organisation Infowars was also banned by Facebook.

Others blocked from Face-book and Instagram were Milo Yiannopoulos, a high-profile right-wing provocateur; Paul Nehlen, a political candidate espousing white supremacist views; and conspiracy theo-rists Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer.

Facebook said those being banned had violated policies against “dangerous individuals and organisations”.

“Individuals and organisa-tions who spread hate, or attack or call for the exclusion of others on the basis of who they are, have no place on Facebook,” a spokes-woman for Facebook said.

Agencies

DHAKA: Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest storms to hit the Indian subcontinent in decades, has bar-relled into Bangladesh after leav-ing a trail of deadly destruction across the eastern coast of India.

At least 16 people died in In-dia, mostly in the worst-hit eastern state of Odisha, Al Jazeera’s Scott Heidler said on Saturday, citing lo-cal Indian media reports.

Meanwhile, police in Bangla-desh told AFP news agency that nine people had died even before the eye of the storm rumbled over the bor-der on Saturday morning. The dead included a minor in Bangladesh’s Barguna district on the coast and five others killed by lightning.

Over a million people were moved to safety, Bangladeshi of-ficials said.

“We are mooring our boat be-cause it’s the only means of income for us. Only Allah knows when we can go back to fishing again,” Ak-bar Ali, a fisherman near the town of Dacope in Bangladesh, told AFP while battling surging waves to tie his boat to a tree.

With the storm weakening but still packing a punch, winds of up to 70km an hour and heavy rain battered the Indian state of West Bengal, including the Sundarbans mangrove forest area.

Reporting from New Delhi, Al Jazeera’s Heidler said the priority for Indian authorities is to reach the areas hit by the monster cyclone.

“The biggest concern now is clearing the roads so that they can

get to the communities that are cut off,” he said, adding that the hardest-hit areas are without electricity.

Heidler said there are also fears over Fani (“snake’s hood” in Bengali) triggering a heavy rain-fall or storm surge along the east-ern Indian coast.

“It’s a total mess in islands of the Sunderbans as the cyclone has destroyed everything in its path, fuelling fears rivers could burst their banks and leave vast areas underwater,” said Manturam Pak-hira, Sunderbans affairs minister.

Mamata Banerjee, West Ben-gal’s chief minister and a key figure in India’s ongoing general election, cancelled all political rallies and set up an improvised control room in a hotel in the path of the storm.

Kolkata’s international air-port was ordered closed. Train ser-vices were also halted.

Odisha state worst hitWorst hit was the state of Odi-

sha where Fani made landfall on

Friday, packing winds gusting up to 200km an hour, sending coconut trees flying, knocking down power lines and cutting off water and tele-communications.

While not confirming any deaths, Odisha disaster manage-ment official Prabhat Mahapatra told AFP there were about 160 peo-ple injured in the Hindu pilgrim-age city of Puri alone.

“It just went dark and then suddenly we could barely see five metres in front of us,” said one Puri resident.

“There were roadside food carts, store signs all flying by in the air,” the man told AFP. “The wind was deafening.”

As Fani headed northeast, Odisha authorities battled to re-move fallen trees and other debris strewn over roads and to restore phone and internet services.

Electricity pylons were down, tin roofs were ripped off and the windows of many buildings were smashed.

“Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed,” Odi-sha’s chief minister Naveen Pat-naik said.

Puri’s famous 12th-century Jagannath temple escaped dam-age, however.

The winds were felt as far away as Mount Everest, with tents blown away at Camp 2 at 6,400 me-tres and Nepali authorities cau-tioning helicopters against flying.

Ports have been closed but the Indian Navy has sent warships to the region to help if needed. Hun-dreds of workers were taken off offshore oil rigs.

Boeing 737 slides, falls into Florida river with 136 people on boardAgencies

Florida: A Boeing 737 commercial jet with 136 people on board slid into the St John’s River near Jack-sonville, Florida after landing on Friday, a spokesman for Naval Air Station Jacksonville said.

The flight arriving from Naval

Station Guantanamo Bay went into the river at the end of the runway at about 9:40 pm local time, the air station said. The mayor of Jacksonville said on Twitter that everyone on board the flight was “alive and accounted for” but that crews were working to con-trol jet fuel on the water.

“The plane was not submerged.

Every person is alive and account-ed for,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.

The flight was arriving from Cuba, the air station spokesman said. Emergency response person-nel were on the scene.

No further details were imme-diately available.

Vehicles ply on road following Cyclone Fani in Khordha district, in Odisha. The cyclonic storm has now weakened into a deep depression and lay centred over Bangladesh and expected to weaken further into a depression. (r. narendra / rEUTErS)

MALA, Helen, Nargis and Nilofer may sound like the names of yesteryear Bollywood actors,

but they are, in fact, lethal cyclones that have brought violent winds, heavy rains and wreaked destruction.

As Cyclone Fani pounded the Odi-sha coast on Friday, the name, which was suggested by Bangladesh, also evoked curiosity.

Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director general of the India Meteorologi-cal Department (IMD), said Fani, pro-nounced as ‘Foni’, means a snake’s hood.

But how are cyclones named?The World Meteorological Organisa-

tion/Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Panel on Tropical Cyclones, at its twenty-seventh session held in 2000 in Muscat, Oman, agreed to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.

After long deliberations among the member countries, the naming of tropi-cal cyclones over north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004.

The eight countries along the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea suggest names that are sequentially listed. The nations

suggest names alphabetically -- Bangla-desh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The Regional Specialised Meteoro-logical Centre (RSMC) based here gives a tropical cyclone an identification from the names list. The identification system covers both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

So, for instance, Bangladesh sug-gested ‘Onil’ the first in the list. Onil originated in Arabian Sea, off the Guja-rat coast between September to October 2004. It made landfall in the state, but im-

pacted both India and Pakistan.Cyclone Phetai, suggested by Thai-

land, originated in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, rav-aging the coastal districts in December last year. The next cyclone, whenever it originates, will be named ‘Vayu’, sug-gested by India.

Of the 64 names suggested by these eight countries, 57 have been utilised.

Some of the names suggested by India are Agni, Jali, Bijli, Akash, while Mala, Hel-en and Nilofar were suggested by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively.

It’s a total mess in islands of the

Sunderbans as the cyclone has destroyed everything in its path, fuelling fears rivers could burst their banks and leave vast areas underwater,

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil arora and fellow Election Commissioners ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra

Sunday | 05-05-2019 05NewsObserver News Service

Srinagar: Department of Edu-cation has taken a serious note of the reports that male and female students from govern-ment schools are bunking classes and spending time at a park here in Kashmir capital Srinagar. Chief Education Offi-cer, Srinagar, Malik Naseer has issued a notice to the heads of education institutions directing

them to take strict measures against the students who bunk the classes and inform their parents, a local news agency reported on Saturday. “It has come to the notice that stu-dents are bunking their classes and are found mostly in the Jehlum Park. The students have been identified and reported to be the students of Government Boys and Girls Schools,” reads the notice. “This adverse act on

part of the students has to be stopped as they are befooling their parents as well as teach-ers. It is a serious threat to their academics and future prop-erty.” Chief Education Officer in his notice has directed all the Heads of the institutions to take necessary measures against the erring students found in the act in order to stop this kind of ex-ercise in future and check regu-lar attendance of students.

Notice to govt schools over students bunking classes


Bandipora: The market checking squads of Municipal Committee Bandipora, Legal Metrology, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumers Af-fairs, and Food and Safety lead by Assistant Commissioner Revenue (ACR) Reyaz Ahmad Beigh Satur-day conducted market checking of Bandipora town and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 from erring shop-keepers under different Acts.

During the inspection several shopkeepers were fined for violat-ing Food Safety norms and a fine of Rs 10,000 were realized from the

erring traders.Beigh also directed the officers

to intensify market checking to curb black marketing, profiteering and hoarding of essential com-modities. He directed the officers to constitute seven special market checking squads who would be equipped with latest testing and weighing machines to check any violation of set norms.

During the inspection, ACR vis-ited Nussu, New Bus stand, Nishat Park, Neberpora, Old Jamia, Gou-sia Market, Gulshan Chowk, Jamia Jadeed and Nowpora to inspect the traffic scenario in the town.

Erring traders fined Rs 10,000


Srinagar: In view of holy month of Ramzan, the Divi-sional Commissioner Kash-mir Baseer Ahmad Khan today directed all Deputy Commissioners to start in-tense market checking across the valley on daily basis and take strict legal action against profiteers and black marketers. The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir made these directions in a review meeting to ensure proper arrangements for the month of Ramzan.

The Deputy Director FCS&CA informed the meet-ing that adequate stock of es-sential commodities like rice, flour and sugar are available in the valley, besides addi-tional quota of sugar is being provided to the consumers. Div Com said that all Deputy Commissioners would en-sure the availability of essen-tial commodities in the Val-ley, besides ensuring display of rate list in their shops.

He also exhorted upon the SMC authorities to provide better sanitation arrange-

ments, besides installation and repairing of street lights in the city and other impor-tant religious places. He di-rected PDD and PHE officials to ensure the uninterrupted power and water supply dur-ing the holy month. Div Com stressed for round the clock transport facilities to the devotees visiting Hazratbal and other religious places.

He also asked all Deputy Commissioners of Valley to prepare adequate route plan with traffic department so that better transport facil-ity is provided to the people during these auspicious days and asked the traffic depart-ment to publicize the route-plan through media. Deputy Commissioners will consti-tute a joint control room at all DC offices in coordination with concerned departments and publicize their contact numbers through media.

He urged the officials of the Health Department to en-sure better health care facili-ties at all hospitals. Animal Husbandry department was asked to deploy mobile vans for sale of chicken at vari-

ous places in the Valley and publicize the rates through media for the convenience of consumers. The Divisional Commissioner stressed con-cerned departments to work with dedication and synergy so that people do not face any inconvenience during the holy month.

The meeting was at-tended by Deputy Commis-sioner Srinagar, Additional Commissioner Kashmir, Secretary J&K Muslim Wakf Board, SSP Traffic, GM JK-SRTC, Chief Engineers R&B, PHE, Regional Transport Officer Kashmir, Additional Commissioner SMC, Direc-tors of Urban Local Bodies, Animal Husbandry, Sheep Husbandry, Deputy Direc-tor Health, Joint Director Fire & Emergency Services, SSP Traffic, Deputy Direc-tor FCS&CA, Joint Controller LMD besides senior officers of different departments were also present in the meeting while all the in Deputy Commissioners of the valley participated the meeting through video con-ferencing.

Admin reviews Ramzan arrangements, directs daily market checking

Step-2: Read the instructions carefully and click on “Proceed” tab.

Step-3: Click the Programmes tab and select the desired Programme(s) & Preferences (wherever applicable).

Step-1: Login to University Website www.islamicuniversity.edu.in and follow the link Admissions 2019.

Step-4: Enter the required details very carefully.

ADMISSION NOTIFICATION No. 1 of 2019 On-line applications are invited from eligible candidates for admission to below mentioned programmes for the Academic Session 2019-20. The candidates are advised to peruse the Prospectus 2019 (available on the University website) & go through the Admission Notification thoroughly to check the eligibility criteria/other details before filling and submitting their application forms On-line:

Programme Duration Eligibility

B.Tech. (Civil Engineering / Electronics & Communication Engineering / Computer Science Engineering / Electrical Engineering / Mechanical Engineering)

4 Years

Having passed 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics subjects from the J&K State Board of School Education or from any other recognized board with 50% marks.

Having appeared in JEE Main (Paper-I) 2019 and obtained a positive score.

B.Tech. Food Technology 4 Years Having passed 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology or Mathematics from J&K State Board of School Education or from any other recognized board with 50% marks.

B. Voc. (Medical Lab & Molecular Diagnostic Technology)

3 Years Having passed 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology from J&K State Board of School Education or from any other recognized board with 45% marks.

B.Sc. Actuarial & Financial Mathematics 3 Years Having passed 10+2 with Mathematics as one of the subjects from the J&K State Board of School Education or from any other recognized board with 45% marks.

B.A (Hons) in English 3 Years Having passed 10+2 from the J&K State Board of School Education or from any other recognized board with 45% marks.

MBA (5-Year Integrated) 5 years Having passed 10+2 from the J&K State Board of School Education or from any other recognized board with 50% marks.

Diploma in Civil Engineering / Electrical Engineering / Mechanical Engineering

3 Years Having passed 10th class or equivalent examination (with Science and Math subjects) from a recognized Statutory Board with 40% marks.

Note: There shall be 5% relaxation in minimum percentage of marks required for eligibility in case of reserved categories (the list of which is reflected in the University Prospectus), for all programmes except Diploma Engineering programmes in which case the relaxation shall be 3%. I) IMPORTANT DATES:

Availability of Online Application Forms 07-05-2019

Last Date for submission of Online Application Forms 20-05-2019

Last Date for deposition of application fee 21-05-2019

II) SUBMISSION OF ONLINE APPLICATION FORMS

The candidates are advised to follow the below mentioned steps for filling the details in their On-line Application Forms:

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under the title Tuition Fee Waiver Scheme (TFW) in the University Prospectus. Candidates applying under NRI sponsored quota shall upload marks card of the qualifying examination, undertaking as per the

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Deputy Registrar (Academics) No: IUST/Acad/Adm_Notification/19/86 Dated: 04-05-2019

PUBLIC NOTICE

I have lost my driving license (JK- 0 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 3 2 2 3 9 ) somewhere. Now I am applying for the duplicate of the same. Anybody having objections in this regard, he/ she file his/ her objection in the office of Regioneal Transport Officer( RTO) Srinagar within a period of seven days from the date of publication of this notice. After that no objection shal be entertained.

Parvaiz Ahmad DarS/ O Bashir Ahmad DarR/ O Maisuma Srinagar

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICER ANANTNAG

N O T I C EWhereas an application has been received

from one Mr.Sumy Jan W/O D/O Farooq Ahmad Bhat R/O Manzmoh Qzigund Anantnag Owner of Vehicle No.JK03D-2018 for Endorsement of Hire Purchase agreement with JK Bank Chowgam Kulgam. Now it is therefore notified for General information that objection if any to the proposed cancellation / Endorsement of Hire Purchase Agreement shall be filled in writing in the Officer of ARTO Anantnag within a period of seven days from the publication of this notice in Kashmir Observer News Paper.

Assistant Regional Transport Officer Anantnag


P U B L I C N O T I C EI have lost my RC Bearing Registration No.

JK03C-8918.Now applied for its duplicate if anybody has any objection in this regard may file at ARTO Anantnag within Seven (7) days after that no objection shall be entertained.

Name:-Gulzar Ahmad Waza S/O Mohd Shafi Waza R/O Arwani Anantnag


P U B L I C N O T I C EI have lost my RC Bearing Registration No. JK03D-5001.Now

applied for its duplicate if anybody has any objection in this regard may file at ARTO Anantnag within Seven (7) days after that no objection shall be entertained.

Name:-Hilal Ahmad S/O Gh Mohi ud din R/O Sarnal Anantnag


N O T I C EWhereas joint application has been received by this

office from Mr.Mohd Abdullah Malik S/O Gh Mohammad Malik R/O Sarnal Anantnag{Party No.1st) as Transferor, (Seller) Owner of the Vehicle Bearing Regd. No.JK03C-0319(Commercial/ Non-Commercial) covering under R/P No. 2658/MC/ANG.and Mr.Irfan Ahmad Padder S/O Gh Qadir Padder R/O Nanil Anantnag(Party No.2nd) as Transferee (Purchaser) requesting for transfer of R/C & R/P of the above noted Vehicle from party No 1st and 2nd. And Cancellation of hire purchase agreement with Nill. Before the case is disposed off on its merit, anybody have any objection regarding the proposed transfer Amy file his objection within ( 7) days from the publication of this notice to the office of the undersigned. No any representation / objection shall be entertained after stipulated period.

Assistant Regional Transport Officer Anantnag

PHE, PDD told to ensure uninterrupted water, electricity supply


Srinagar: A Right To Infor-mation (RTI) activist from Magam area has alleged that his father was harassed on Friday by “two local goons” in the main market at the behest of a Municipal Committee Magam official. J&K RTI Foun-dation in a statement said its branch office Magam had filed an RTI application re-lated to public issues includ-ing dumping site of Municipal Committee located on Feroz-pora river bank at Magam.

“The application was filed in the office of Executive Of-ficer Municipal Committee Magam by Chairman J&K RTI Foundation Er. Irfan Banka which was not replied on time by the PIO and the case pro-ceedings are going on since then in the State Information

Commission who is the 2nd Appellate Authority under State RTI Act,” the statement said. A notice has been is-sued to the PIO, municipal Committee Magam to appear before the State Information Commission with relevant documents on May 14, 2019, for hearing of the complaint under J&K RTI Act 2009.

“This infuriated the offi-cials who went and caused breach of harmony in the society. In the process, local goons were mislead which lead to the physical harras-ment of Nissar Ahmad Banka father of RTI activist Er. Irfan Banka,” the statement said.

“Unfortunately, to hide the realities, an employee name-ly Fayaz Ahmad had mislead these goons with wrong facts regarding RTI Applica-tion filed against them. The

application was related to the issues because of Munic-ipal Committee Magam and these goons were nowhere in the debate. They unnec-essarily harassed and mand-handled my father at Magam inside his business unit. The physical harassment was based on the reporting by the employee of Municipal Committee Magam who has misused his official posi-tion. J&K RTI Foundation had held a protest in 2018 against dumping issue of Magam which remained unad-dressed by the authorities on ground level since last many years. Complaint against the employees creating prob-lems against RTI Applicants has been filed in the police station Magam and the SHO Magam has assured action “ said Irfan Banka RTI activist.

RTI activist says father ‘harassed’ at official’s behest

Man held for 2 cars with same registration numberObserver News Service

Jammu: Two private cars of same make, colour and bearing identical registra-tion number were seized in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. A police spokesman said they have arrested a man in this connection.

The person was arrested after the owner of one of the cars lodged a complaint with the Lakhanpur police station that another car of the same make, colour and registration number is ply-ing in the town.

He also said he had pur-chased his car from a person named Mohammad Rafiq, a

resident of Broindhai Hatli village in Kathua. Police said Rafiq was arrested after it came to light that he recently purchased a brand new car and intentionally used the same registration number.

The spokesman said a case has been registered and po-lice are seeking clarification from authorities concerned.

EVER SINCE terrorism — specifically the jihadist variety — has stalked the globe, a common refrain has been that radicalised young men need to be educated and giv-

en job opportunities to steer them away from the murderous path they have chosen.

But as we have learned in attack after attack, many of those responsible have been not just edu-cated, but well-to-do. The mantra of ‘education and jobs’ rang particularly hollow in the aftermath of the recent mayhem that took place in Sri Lanka a fortnight ago: all the suicide bombers involved in the terror attacks were from well-off families, and some had gone abroad to study.

Of course the classic example of well-heeled, well-educated terrorists remains the group of 19 (mostly Saudi) Arabs who flew the commercial jets into New York’s World Trade Centre, as well as the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

In Pakistan, we have the case of Omar Saeed Sheikh who confessed to kidnapping and behead-ing the American journalist, Daniel Pearl, in 2002. Educated at Lahore’s exclusive Aitchison College and the London School of Economics, he confessed to his crime in court and was sentenced to death. Seventeen years later, he’s still in jail, with his ap-peal yet to be heard.

All the men involved in the Sri Lanka attacks were from well-off families.

Saad Aziz of Karachi is another example of a rich, well-educated and highly placed young man who chose terrorism over the good life. Owner of a successful restaurant, he has a de-gree from the Institute of Business Education, Pakistan’s leading business school. Apart from

leading the attack on a bus in which 54 Ismailis were slaughtered, he also assassinated Sabeen Mahmud, the gifted young woman who created the liberal space popularly known as T2F in Ka-rachi. Recently, he was convicted of attempting to kill an American professor.

There are many others in the Muslim world who fall into the category of educated, well-off killers. Two brothers who blew themselves up re-cently in Colombo, together with scores of victims, were members of the Sri Lankan elite, and sons of a billionaire.

In many of these cases, the young men in-volved know little about Islam as they follow the teachings of violent men and their calls for jihad. In Sri Lanka, the little-known National Thowheed Jamath apparently had the support of the militant Islamic State group. According to experts, many jihadist groups help each other in carrying out complex operations.

Along with the elements of money and educa-tion that link these individuals, the other common thread is adherence to Wahabism and its more ex-treme form, Salafism. Both are propagated by Sau-di Arabia through the vast network of madressahs and mosques it supports across the world. From Jakarta to Johannesburg, clerics often paid by Riyadh preach sermons full of hate towards non-Muslims.

Sri Lankans have often complained of the way Saudi Arabia is radicalising young Muslims. Who funded the recent attacks — not a cheap undertak-ing — remains a mystery. But it is a fact document-ed by foreign observers and journalists that the kingdom (together with Kuwait, Turkey and sev-eral Western powers) supplied extreme Islamist groups with arms and cash during the bloody Syr-ian civil war.

Despite the clear evidence of the links between extremism and Saudi money, the West remains

oblivious to reality. When a tub is overflowing, the normal instinct is to shut the tap, not place buck-ets to catch the water as it drips over the top. But as we learned in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Saudi Arabia occupies a special place in the heart of the American establishment. Hours after the Twin Towers came down, a special flight picked up a number of Saudi VIPs across America to fly them home. This was at a fraught time when all commercial flights had been grounded.

Members of Pakistani religious groups like the Tablighi Jamaat have been visiting Sri Lanka for years, trying to convert Buddhists. On a flight from Colombo to Karachi a few years ago, I found myself seated next to one of them who, assuming I was Sri Lankan, offered to give me a brief lesson about religion. He shut up when I snapped at him in Urdu that I didn’t need any lectures from him.

Soon, he and his companions took over the space between the seats to pray, causing great inconvenience to passengers wanting to use the toilets. But when the speaker system broadcast the call to prayer in the luggage hall after we had landed, not one of them bothered to pray.

However, we are faced with a conundrum: ex-perts are unanimous in suggesting that education and jobs are the answer to jihadist radicalisation. But as we have just seen, some of the deadliest at-tacks have been carried out by well-educated and well-off men. So how do we remove the poison that has infected them?

---Dawn

Sunday| 05-05-2019

Sunday Observer

Send your write ups and feedback at [email protected]

No Holds Barredk a s h m i r

Editor-in-Chief : Sajjad Haider

Legal Counsel: Tasaduq KhwajaSwitchboard: (0194) 2106304Editorial: (0194) 2502327Email editorial: [email protected] & Published by Sajjad Haider on behalf of the Kashmir Observer LLPPublished from: # 1- Boulevard, Srinagar-190001Printed at: KT Press Pvt. Ltd, Rangreth Ind Area, Srinagar.RNI Registration No: 69503/98Postal Registration No-L/159/KO/SK/2014-16

...

Surendra in ‘The Hindu’

Think!Opinion, Analysis, Essays

We live in a country where foreigners like Akshay Kumar, Tarek Fatah, Frawley and that Farzi Nostradamus give lectures about patriotism but genuine Indian citizens are told to go to Paki-stan just for belonging to a particular religion or for having an opinion

Aditya MenonKashmiris exercise their political mandate in the funerals of their fallen martyrs. Not in the polling booths of India’s farcical democracy.

Nilim Dutta

Colonialism is never dead; it has only changed in the Outlook.Third world is controlled by our own, serving the interest of colonial powers.Big decisions taken in colonial cabinets, endorsed by stooges.

Syed Arshad

All in A dAys work

.....

Rich & RestlessSri Lanka bombings throw the refrain that lack of

education leads to terrorism out the windowIrfan HusaIn

In Search Of The Yeti Theatre Of The Absurd

Murtaza sHIblI

A day before the month of April folded, the Indian Army made a startling claim of having found the footprints of the fa-

bled snowman – Yeti – near the Makalu Base Camp, close to the eastern Hima-layan region bordering Nepal and Chi-na. The area is near the Makalu-Barun National Park, Nepal’s eighth national park established in 1992 and is interna-tionally protected under an agreement between China and Nepal.

The Makalu base camp is at an altitude of 5000 meters “with abundant wildlife including the endangered red panda and musk deer as well as the ghoral, Himala-yan Tahr and leopard”. While the folklore of the region is thronged with ghostly sketches of an enormous ape-like creature lurking about the snow-bedecked peaks, it is for the first time that some ‘documenta-ry’ evidence has been produced.

The Indian Army official Twitter ac-count produced three pictures of a “Yeti footprint” claiming it was for the first time that “an #IndianArmy Mountaineering Ex-pedition Team has sited (sic) Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast ‘Yeti’”. While giving the measurement of the imprints as 32 inches by 15 inches, the tweet added that the “elusive snowman has only been sighted at Makalu-Barun National Park in the past”, referring to a similar but dubi-ous claim of spotting on the western side of Mount Everest that was advanced by Eric Shipton, a British explorer, in 1951. Ac-cording to a latest CBS story, the forensic results of previous samples of the creature have proved to be from prehistoric bears and that “most scientists have written the creature off as a centuries-old myth origi-nating in Tibet”.

So far, the only ‘credible’ evidence to support the existence of the snowman has come from Kyrgyzstan. On May 19, 2016, the official Kyrgyz Express Post is-sued two stamps depicting the Yeti – to celebrate his legend which, according to an official statement, was “well-known around the world”. In the first stamp, the Yeti, all dressed in white fluffy fur and a red checkered muffler around his neck, is enjoying at the Karakol ski resort. The second one depicts the Yeti with a white towel hemmed with red stripes vacation-ing by the Issyk-Kul Lake in the northern Tian Shan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyz-stan. The Kyrgyz acknowledgment and depiction of the Yeti, according to official sources, was “intended to attract the at-tention of as many people from the Kyrgyz Republic and from other countries … to compliment the great touristic potential of our country”. In contrast, the rationale

behind the latest release of the ‘Yeti foot-print’ pictures was to “excite a bit of a scientific temper”, as one Indian military official told AFP. However, he spoke on condition of anonymity.

The serious claim was marred by spell-ing mistakes, typographical errors and much more. The tweet, issued from the Indian Army’s Directorate General of Pub-lic Information misspelled ‘sighted’ with ‘sited’, capitalised ‘Mysterious Footprints’ that were supported with photographic evidence and yet called the Yeti a ‘mythi-cal beast’. The statement while contradict-ing his presence produced documentary evidence to suggest its existence. If the Yeti was ‘mythical’, as declared, it was unlikely to leave anything behind let alone a trail of footprints. Besides, upon close observa-tion, the photographs seem to show that the so-called beast might be one-legged. Well-known Kashmiri-civil-servant-turned-politician Shah Faesal mocked the claim by linking it to the equally fabled Balakot air strike that, regardless of the rich Indian claims of killing hundreds of mythical ter-rorists, was confirmed to have caused only one killing of a middle-aged black crow. “Foot-print suggests that this Yeti is one-legged. Looks like he lost his other leg in

Balakot air strike”, wrote Faesal.There were many more who poured

scorn on the claim but Tarun Vijay, a BJP affiliated intellectual, journalist and for-mer parliamentarian showed uncanny optimism and delight at the claim. “Con-gratulations, we are always proud of you. Salutes to the #IndianArmy Mountaineer-ing Expedition Team”, he wrote. However, in line with the BJP’s old tradition to re-invent beasts as humans, Vijay reminded the army that they were Indian and, there-fore, they should show respect towards the Yeti and refrain from designating him as a beast. “But please, you are Indian, don’t call [the] Yeti as beast. Show respect for them. If you say he is a ‘snowman’”. It is obvious that Vijay’s praiseworthy tweet would also benefit from quite some help from a dedicated English teacher.

A day after the Yeti declaration, on Tuesday, on my way to the airport, I was stuck in a flash traffic jam near Pampore, the town synonymous with producing fa-mous Kashmiri saffron. Although it was not the officially designated day that bars civilian traffic on the roads, a ban effected in response to the Pulwama attack that killed more than 40 military personnel, there was a massive movement of para-military Central Reserve Police Force ve-hicles, grinding us to an unwelcome halt. The on-duty personnel suggested we take the old road as they claimed the jam was quite large and unwieldy. However, they feigned ignorance about the reason for the sudden gridlock.

I looked towards a fellow driver for an explanation. Brandishing a cheeky grin, he suggested there was a lookout notice for the Yeti as he was rumoured to have moved into Kashmir. Another driver wad-ed in with a counsel to thank God for the Yeti was not spotted along the LoC. “Oth-erwise, he would have been designated as a terrorist and even possibly trigger threats of war amid demands that Paki-stan should arrest and hand him over to India”. Thanks to the Yeti, our torturous trail produced some original entertain-ment to scaffold our sanity.

Post-script: The hoopla, it seems, might come to end without a whimper as the Nepalese Army has discredited the claims. Brigadier General Bigyan Dev Pandey, the Nepalese Army spokesperson, claimed the so-called Yeti footprints belonged to a wild bear “that frequently appears in that area”. Thankfully, Nepal is no Pakistan. Therefore, rest assured, there will be no ‘Yeti wars’ – on the ground or in the studios of the Indian television channels that are usually programmed to fan nationalistic passions on everything, from the killing of unsuspecting crows by air strikes to ar-resting spy pigeons who dare to cross the border from Pakistan.

adItya sInHa

FroM ugliness the Indian parliamentary election has entered the silly season, capped by a newsday this

week in which a top story was the army's discovery of a footprint of a Yeti, the Himalayan "abominable snowman" of Tibetan folklore. To many his fame comes from Tintin in Tibet, which notably features pan-els from the Yeti's point of view. To India's literary-minded he also fea-tured in 2018's Latitudes of Longing, Shubhangi Swarup's novel in which the Earth's geological nature is also a character: in it, an Indian scientist working in the Himalayan glaciers hallucinates (or is it hallucination?) about a yellow-eyed Yeti wandering about elusively on the ice outside.

The Yeti leaped from fiction to the front pages the same day that the Election Commission was deciding whether or not Prime Minister Narendra Modi had violated the "model code of conduct" with his questions about Congress president Rahul Gandhi's choice of Wayanad in Kerala for contesting. (The EC said not.) Also that day, former Supreme Court staffer withdrew from an inquiry into her sexual harassment charges against Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. Also that day, China indicated it is no longer going to block at the UN the listing as a global terrorist of Yeti-like Masood Azhar, who India accused in the February 14 attack in Pulwama, Kashmir.

We can thank the Indian army which saw the footprint back on April 9. An army mountaineering expedition team in the Barun Valley, near the Makalu base camp, measured it at nearly three feet long and over a foot wide. However, the army's photo showed only a single footprint in track, leading naturalists to speculate that it may have been of a Tibetan brown bear walking in its own track. The army officially claimed that evidence for the Yeti included "on-the-spot narration", though presumably the Yeti wasn't narrating.

The Yeti caused an avalanche on In-dian social media. It comes in a late surge of internet parody: though Indian liter-ary authors are too cautious to satirise the modern situation, particularly the last five years, the current election has inspired much creativity. For instance, following a "non-political" interview of Modi by Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, there is a YouTube parody by comedian Shyam Rangeela whose mimickry is uncanny and also ROFL.

Several posts on social media claim that the Indian election mirrors the current

global box office rage, Avengers: Endgame: they say Modi is like the powerful and ar-rogant Thanos, and the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) opposing him are like the collection of meta-humans comprising the Avengers. Similarly, after last weekend's Game of Thrones episode, several on Indian twitter likened Modi to the Night King, mainly because his followers behave like an Army of the Dead; about Arya Stark, though, your guess is as good as mine. And I haven't even begun to mention the innu-merable Indian TikTok videos.

The Yeti got a lot of mileage: former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav tweeted that though Modi's much-promised acchhe din (good days) had still not been spotted, a Yeti had; someone posted photos of large potholes and called it evidence of the Yeti visiting Srinagar; another claimed that the Yeti had come down to vote but could not find his name on the electoral rolls . Rightwingers were incensed that anyone should poke fun at the army's claim, no matter how spurious the claim was in the eyes of naturalists around the world who have been search-ing for the Yeti since 1832. (Rightwingers likened it to the unpatriotic questioning of the body-count in India's retaliatory airstrikes in February-end.)

The Yeti sighting was only margin-ally more absurd than maverick BJP MP Subramanian Swamy's petition to the Home Ministry to look into the allegation that Rahul Gandhi, an MP since 2004, was a British citizen (and hence be barred from elections). This al-legation was dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2015, and has been repeatedly ignored by Parliament's ethics commit-tee, headed by former deputy PM LK Advani. The Home Ministry began an inquiry into the allegation, though a red-faced Home Minister Rajnath Singh explained that it was routine procedure for his ministry to probe any allegation made by a parliamentarian.

It was so pointless a distraction, and so cheap a shot, that a foreign academic who writes on Indian history tweeted that Swamy ought to be investigating the citizenship of the Yeti, while a journalist tweeted that Swamy's next claim would be that Rahul Gandhi was the Yeti. (Not so outrageous: in 2014, Swamy claimed that by 2019, the rupee would equal a dol-lar. It now stands at 70 to a dollar.) It all only goes to show that a long, drawn-out, high-stakes election in India's searing heat can bring out the silliest in us all.

Aditya Sinha is a senior journalist in India, and author, most

recently, of 'India Unmade: How the Modi government broke the economy'

---Khaleej Times

A day after the Yeti declaration, on Tuesday,

on my way to the airport, I was stuck in a flash traffic jam near Pampore, the town synonymous with producing famous Kashmiri saffron. Although it was not the officially designated day that bars civilian traffic on the roads, a ban effected in response to the Pulwama attack that killed more than 40 military personnel, there was a massive movement of paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force vehicles, grinding us to an unwelcome halt. The on-duty personnel suggested we take the old road as they claimed the jam was quite large and unwieldy

Sunday| 05-05-2019Think!Opinion, Analysis, Essays

Unfortunately we have used the pulpit, the mosque and the madrassa to propagate promote and practise patriarchy under the

guise of dogma while boasting and often gloating that our faith was the first to invest women with rights including the right to inherit.

Begum Samru From KashmirThe 18th century dancer who grew to rule a principality and rescue the Mughal emperor

It was the end of the 18th century, otherwise known as gardi ka waqt, or a time of trouble. the Mughal Empire, which had been at its greatest geographi-cal spread at the time of Emperor Aurangzeb’s

death in 1707, was now in a shambles, weakened by years of internecine warfare and plunder by external raiders like Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali. It is said that by the end of the 18th century, the Mughal ruler Shah Alam II’s rule only extended from Delhi to Palam in the suburbs of Delhi, leading to the saying: Badshahat e Shah Alam, az Dilli ta Palam. He barely had 5,000 troops: a sad comedown from the lakhs com-manded by his ancestors.

With no strong central power, Matsya Nyaya (the law of the jungle) prevailed, with everyone scrambling for a piece of the pie. Erstwhile Mughal governors had declared themselves rulers of their own provinces; na-tive groups like the Rajputs, Marathas and Sikhs, long suppressed, were trying to create their own empires; and the British, French and other European powers began to morph from traders to the far more profitable role of rulers, inspired by the singular success of Rob-ert Clive in Bengal. the British had gained control of Bengal after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and forced the Mughal emperor Shah Alam to grant them the diwani of Bengal, the right to collect taxes, when they captured him after the Battle of Buxar in 1764.

Indeed, anyone with a brave heart and a few sol-diers at his disposal began to dream of carving out his own kingdom. Unsurprisingly, therefore, it was also the heyday for European mercenaries, who led troops of a few thousand men trained in European technology and organisation, and offered their services to the high-est bidder. Many of these mercenaries were French, like the legendary Benoît de Boigne, who made his for-tune in India with the Marathas.

Into this thick soup of intrigue entered Walter Reinhardt Sombre in 1750, an Austrian mercenary who had been part of the French army in India.

In his account of Sombre, James Skinner, a mili-tary adventurer in the East India Company, who later came to be known as Sikandar Sahib, says that Sombre had originally been a carpenter. In 1760, Sombre of-fered his services to Mir Qasim, the nawab of Bengal – then chafing under British dominance – to aid him in his efforts to reoccupy Patna. Sombre’s troops car-ried out the massacre of about 150 Englishmen, which earned him the soubriquet “the Butcher of Patna”. Soon afterwards, Sombre fled from British retribution to Oudh (in western Uttar Pradesh), where he contin-ued his career as a mercenary.

In 1765, at the age of 45, Sombre dropped into Kha-num Jan’s kotha (brothel) in Chawri Bazar in Delhi for an evening of entertainment. there he encountered the charming 15-year-old Kashmiri dancer, Farzana. Her ori-gins are uncertain; she is variously considered to be the offspring of a Mughal nobleman, or even a child picked up by the kotha’s owner from the street. Enchanted by Farzana, Sombre soon moved her to his zenana, or ha-rem. He already had children from a previous concubine, Barri Bibi, but this was not unusual. Many Europeans at the time maintained large harems. Sir David Ochterlony, the British resident in Delhi in the early 19th century, for instance, had 13 bibis, or concubines, whom he would promenade every evening down the main thoroughfare of Chandni Chowk, seated on elephants.

The quick-witted and astute Farzana became Sombre’s com-panion and comrade in arms as he offered his military ser-vices to various nobles, including the Jat rulers of Deeg, who were then occupying Agra.

Surajmal Jat had grown very powerful in the after-math of the third Battle of Panipat in 1761. In 1773 the Mughal forces under Najaf Khan, a vizier in the court of Shah Alam II, fought the Jats and expelled them from Agra. Even though the Jats had lost this battle, Najaf Khan was so impressed by the fighting prowess of Som-bre’s troops that he invited him to join the Mughals.

In those fickle times, Sombre had already changed 14 masters. He and his troops gladly joined the Mu-

ghals. Over the next three years, while living in Delhi, Sombre and Farzana, now called Begum Samru (from Sombre), entrenched themselves in the affairs of the Mughal court, becoming favourites of both Shah Alam II and Najaf Khan. this was often attributed to the be-gum’s ability to make friends and influence people.

the couple became so influential that not only did they manage to escape being handed over to the venge-ful British, but were also granted the rights to the rich jagir (territory) of Sardhana, which yielded around 6 lakh rupees in revenue per annum (equivalent to about 30 crore rupees today) in 1776, with a royal sanad, or deed, from Shah Alam II. And so, these penniless ad-venturers became rulers. Sombre was also made the civil and military governor of Agra.

However, Sombre did not live long to enjoy his good fortune; he died just two years later, in 1778. Skinner is not very flattering in his assessment of Sombre.

Sumroo appears to have been a man whose evil propensities far outweighed the good; he was stern and bloody-minded, in no degree remarkable for fidelity or devotion to his employers...hard, unscrupulous, and reckless, though bold, military adventurer. He is said to have despised show, dressing in the plain Moghul garb, and never disowning his low origin: one of his most marked traits is a cautious prudence, which at length amounted to a suspicious jealousy that rendered his life entirely a burthen.

As per norm, his son from Barri Bibi, Zafaryab Khan, though considered feeble-minded, was next in line to inherit the jagir. But Begum Samru was not about to give up her rule without a fight. She managed to get Sombre’s troops to support her and used her in-fluence with Najaf Khan, her patron, to get Sardhana allotted to her. Zafaryab continued to live in luxury in Delhi, leading a life immersed in poetry and the arts, funded by Begum Samru.

The begum began her career as the supreme commander of about 4,000 troops which she had inherited from Sombre, which included 100-odd European officers and soldiers.

She held court in Sardhana, wearing a masculine turban and smoking a hookah. Inexplicably, she con-verted to Catholicism in 1781 and took the name of Joanna, though she maintained Mughal dress and eti-quette. Occasionally, however, she would shed purdah and dine with her European officers.

She would lead her troops in battle, even coming to

the rescue of the hapless Mughal emperor Shah Alam many a time. He started calling her his “beloved daugh-ter” and gave her the title zebunnisa, or ornament among women. She was a skilled diplomat and negoti-ated many deals for the emperor. One instance of this was in 1783, when the Sikh military general, Baghel Singh, occupied Delhi, and camped with 30,000 Sikh soldiers in an area which henceforth came to be called “tis Hazari” (or 30,000 in Hindi). A petrified Shah Alam II, who thought he would lose his throne, asked Begum Samru to negotiate. She managed to get rid of them rel-atively cheaply, in exchange for the right to build eight gurdwaras in Delhi and a percentage of the revenue col-lected for just that year.

In another instance, the Rohilla chieftain Ghulam Qadir occupied Delhi in 1788. the Rohillas were a pow-erful Afghan clan and they controlled a substantial re-gion in Uttar Pradesh, later called Rohillakhand. the story goes that Ghulam Qadir had been captured and abused by the Mughals as a child. Widely considered a psychopath, Ghulam Qadir tortured the Mughal royal family to get them to reveal the whereabouts of their treasures and, in a fit of rage, blinded his erstwhile tor-mentor, the emperor Shah Alam II, by personally goug-ing out his eyes.

the begum meanwhile came to the emperor’s res-cue, “rejecting contemptuously that powerful miscre-ant’s [Ghulam Qadir’s] offer of marriage and equality of power”, in the words of Skinner. Faced with her ar-tillery and troops, Ghulam Qadir fled Delhi. He was later captured by Mahadji Scindia at the behest of the emperor and tortured to death. It is said that his eye-balls were sent in a box to the now blind Shah Alam II to feel with his fingers.

Though the begum was known for her judgement and fore-thought, there is an instance where she let her heart rule her head, and paid a high price for her actions.

this tale of high drama and romance begins with George thomas, an Irish dockworker turned Indian mercenary, who joined her troops in 1787 after her husband’s death. A bold fighter, he was the head of her troops and, by many accounts, her lover. He was known as “Jahazi Sahib”, a corruption of the name “George”.

their partnership flourished and the begum and thomas won many a battle together, but things changed. A dashing and sophisticated French adven-turer, Armand Le Vassoult, joined the begum’s troops in 1790 and the 40-year-old begum fell madly in love with him. She secretly married the Frenchman, and a furiously jealous George thomas left with some sol-diers loyal to him and joined a Maratha adventurer. Le Vassoult was very high-handed and wanted to maintain a court in the grand “roi soleil” style. He managed to alienate the begum’s previously loyal troops, who now, under a discontented Belgian, called upon her stepson Zafaryab Khan to lead a revolt against her.

the lovers fled, chased by the begum’s soldiers. they had made a suicide pact and just as they were about to be captured, the Begum, in her palanquin, stabbed herself. Seeing her blood-soaked clothes, in a scene reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, Le Vassoult shot himself, though he could possibly have escaped on his horse. the begum, however, did not die, and her sol-diers dragged her and tied her to a cannon.

George thomas, the begum’s former lover, had meanwhile heard about the revolt, and came to her res-cue post-haste. He restored her to power. Begum Sam-ru, thereafter, placed her stepson under house arrest in Delhi, where he continued with his poetic endeavours and died ten years later in 1803. She rewarded George thomas by marrying him off to a lady-in-waiting and he left again on his adventures. Between 1798 and 1801 thomas briefly ruled the small kingdom of Hansi, in modern Haryana, and was that rarest of things in In-dia, a white “raja”. He built the Jahaz Kothi in Hisar, which is still standing. the grateful begum looked after his wife and children after he died.

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The status and stature of Maulana Rumi is accepted and acknowledged across the world. Scholars and intel-lects have been studying Jalaluddin

Muhammad Rumi’s words and been analys-ing his thoughts which reveal a deeper mysti-cal meaning to his thought process, cognitive prowess and his comprehension of the human ego, will and mind.

Regarded as one of the greatest poetical intel-lects, Rumi remained an Islamic dervish during most parts of his life while striving to unearth the secrecies of human life and soul. As a Sufi mystic, Rumi is known worldwide and is the most-read poet in the United States.

Authors have penned books discussing Rumi’s life and work and the way he did decode, through his poetry, the hidden meaning of life. these in-clude “Rumi – the path of love” by thomas Moore, Camille Helminski, Camille, Kabir Helminski; “Unseen Rain” by John Moyne’ “Rumi’s Daugh-ter” by Muriel Maufroy; “A little book of mystical secrets” by Maryam Mafi; “Rumi – the book of love” by Coleman Barks among others.

One such book on Rumi is Mawlana Rumi – Bridge of East & West edited and annotated by M Ikram Chaghatai. Published by Sang-e-Meel Pub-lications, Lahore, the book comprises 36 chapters each written by a different author displaying their innate opinion on how Rumi affected the many fac-ets of life he pondered upon.

In the preface, M Ikram Chaghatai explores how the Western powers, especially the colonial powers of Europe, used orientalism to expand

their political supremacy. He mentioned Edward Said’s “Orientalism” and Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall’s “Mines of the Orient” in this connec-tion. Chaghatai expressed the willingness of the Western authors to bridge the East and the West by reading Rumi and finding commonalities per-taining in the Eastern and Western thought. the preface is a fitting opening piece to this book on Rumi for his poems and teachings have, to a liter-ary extent, bridged the East and the West.

Published by Sang-e-Meel Publications, La-hore, the book comprises 36 chapters each written by a different author displaying their innate opin-ion on how Rumi affected the many facets of life he pondered upon

While each of the books 36 chapters are sig-nificant for they dwell on Rumi’s teachings among which some noteworthy include “the Religious thought of Mawlana Rumi” by Alessandro Bausani;

“Perfect man in the eyes of Rumi and Muhammad Iqbal” by Prof. Dr. Erkan turkmen; “the Concept of Knowledge in Rumi’s Mathnawi” by Muham-mad Este’lami; “Devil in the triangle of Rumi, Goethe and Iqbal” by Dr. Javid Iqbal; “Bridges of Love” by Mursel Derkse and others.

It is important to note that intellects and scholars from the West clearly understand Rumi’s poetic proficiency, idea, philosophies, thoughts, and views on spirituality as described in Math-nawai. Indeed, Rumi carefully studied the concept of love, humanity, and knowledge with profound philosophical and intellectual thought that en-compasses the views to bridge the East with the West hence transcending borders, cultures, and civilizations. Consider Rumi as the East’s spokes-man on philosophical thought in the West for his works still resonate across the US and Europe. the priceless eternal wisdom shared by Rumi fo-

cuses on the reality of life and links the reader’s mind with the Sufi tradition. the book “Mawlana Rumi: Bridge of East and West” also dwells on how the Western authors investigate into Rumi’s analysis the very simplest of life’s details and turning them into symbols of poetic expression to describe life’s mysteries. For instance, Robert Bly, an American poet, and essayist, who wrote a book’s chapter, “the Wild Image in Rumi: Rumi and the Second Road” writes, “When I first met the poems of Rumi, I felt as if I were approaching some old home that I had known very well some-time in the past. I began to recognize the trees along the road, the large house with many porch-es, the orchard nearby, the animals, sheep, and goats cavorting in the orchard. And the sound of a few Sufis singing on the back porch did not dis-turb my image of some house remembered from my childhood.” Similarly, Franklin D. Lewis, As-sociate Professor of Persian Language and Litera-ture, and Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, writes the chapter “Rumi in the Mus-lim World” and says, “Rumi’s impact on Sufism and Islam in Iran and countries where Persian was formerly spoken, read or written is impos-sible to measure and difficult to overstate.” Lewis mentions of the views on Rumi by Arthur John Arberry, a British scholar of Arabic, Persian, and Islamic studies, who in “Rumi, Poet and Mystic” write that “Every Sufi after him (Rumi) capable of reading Persian has acknowledged his (Rumi’s) unchallenged leadership.”

ArchAnA GArodiA GuptA

B o o k s

Exploring The Life Of Maulana Rumi

Authors have penned books discussing Rumi’s life and work and the way he did decode, through his poetry, the hidden meaning of life

MuhAMMAd oMAr iftikhAr

In 1765, at the age of 45, Sombre dropped into

Khanum Jan’s kotha (brothel) in Chawri Bazar in Delhi for an evening of entertainment. There he encountered the charming 15-year-old Kashmiri dancer, Farzana. Her origins are uncertain; she is variously considered to be the offspring of a Mughal nobleman, or even a child picked up by the kotha’s owner from the street. Enchanted by Farzana, Sombre soon moved her to his zenana, or harem. He already had children from a previous concubine, Barri Bibi, but this was not unusual. Many Europeans at the time maintained large harems. Sir David Ochterlony, the British resident in Delhi in the early 19th century, for instance, had 13 bibis, or concubines, whom he would promenade every evening down the main thoroughfare of Chandni Chowk, seated on elephants.

Sunday | 05.05.2019 08Myntra Appoints Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma As First Brand AmbassadorsNEW DELHI: Flipkart-owned fashion e-commerce platform Myntra n Friday an-nounced that it had appointed celebrity couple Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma as its first brand ambassadors.

The platform declined to reveal the brand deal size or period of associa-tion. According to celebrity manage-ment sector estimates, Myntra may be shelling out upwards of ₹10 crore for the couple as brand endorsement fee.

This is would be the couple’s second big brand endorsement deal after men’s ethnic wear brand Manyavar, which they have been associated with since 2017.

Myntra has launched an integrated campaign called ‘Go Myntra-la-la’ which will be promoted across television, print, digital and outdoor. The televi-sion campaign, created by advertising agency McCann Worldgroup, Bengaluru, features the couple sporting a variety of apparels and accessories from the site.

This was Myntra’s biggest campaign so far through which it was target-ing reaching 100 million consumers through various media platforms, said Amar Nagaram, head, Myntra-Jabong. “The association of Bollywood and sports with fashion needs no intro-duction and hence having Virat and Anushka as the face of this new cam-paign will enable us to build strong brand salience and establish the joy and convenience of shopping on Myn-tra," he added.

With a total brand value of around $200 million, Kohli and Sharma are

emerging as a power couple who col-lectively endorse around 40 brands such as Head and Shoulders, Pepsi, Celkon, Boost, Audi, Fastrack, Nivea, Puma, American Tourister and Uber.

According to the 2018 Duff & Phelps celebrity brand valuation re-port, Kohli and Sharma, or ‘Virushka’ as they are popularly known, are the biggest ‘power couple’ it terms of brand promotions after Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.

The report defines a power couple as a relationship consisting of two individu-als who are both successful and influen-tial and states that the concept is increas-ingly becoming popular in the country.

According to Manish Porwal, man-aging director, Alchemist Marketing & Talent Solutions, such partnerships bring some amount of entertainment value as well as a chance for viewers

to peek into the lives of popular celeb-rities. However, it is a high risk, high return strategy because if the relation-ship sours the brands bear the brunt.

“Virushka bring together the top two passions of the country -- en-tertainment and cricket. Brands have more media to select, both from films as well as cricket properties, especially if they have big budgets. They bring a lot of freshness and youthful exuber-ance to a brand. Both these personali-ties individually are also doing well in their respective careers, which fur-ther elevates their appeal as a couple. Brand endorsements have a youth bias where deals are unfairly stacked up towards young celebrities and, therefore, Virushka also have an edge as they are both young professionals with a fair number of years on their side," he added.

FROM FRONT PAGE

News

Parliamentary Polls...of Pulwama and Shopian are spread over six As-

sembly segments comprising Tral, Pampore, Pul-wama, Rajpora, Wachi and Shopian," the EC state-ment said.

As many as 695 polling stations have been es-tablished across the districts for the smooth con-duct of elections. These south Kashmir districts have 522,530 electors including 271,127 males, 250,735 females, 657 service electors (646 males and 11 females) and 11 transgender voters.

Pulwama district has 351,314 electors includ-ing 181,259 males, 169,508 females, 541 service electors (533 male and eight female) and six transgender voters. 450 polling stations have been set up across the district.

Similarly, Shopian district has 171,216 electors including 89,868 males, 81,227 females, 116 ser-vice electors (113 male and three female) and five transgender voters. The EC has set up 245 polling stations across the district.

"The candidates in the fray are Hasnain Masoodi of Jammu Kashmir National Confer-ence, Sofi Yousuf of BJP, Ghulam Ahmad Mir of Congress, Mehbooba Mufti of Jammu Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party, Nisar Ahmad Wani of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, Choudhary Zaffar Ali of Jammu Kashmir People's Conference, Sanjay Kumar Dhar of Manav Adhikar Party, Surinder Singh of Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) and Independents Imtiyaz Ahmad Rather, Ridwana Sanam, Riyaz Ahmad Bhat, Zubair Masoodi, Shams Khwaja, Ali Mohammad Wani, Ghulam Mohammad Wani, Kyasir Ahmed Sheikh, Manzoor Ahmad Khan and Mirza Sajad Hussain Beigh.

"The Anantnag and Kulgam districts of Anant-nag constituency went to the polls on April 23 and April 29, respectively. The vote timing has been fixed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. in these districts.

"Ladakh constituency comprises two districts of Leh and Kargil. The Kargil district consists of two Assembly segments -- Kargil and Zanskar -- while Leh district includes Nubra and Leh As-sembly segments.

"The Ladakh constituency has an electoral strength of 174,618 voters . Out of total vot-ers, 86752 are males, 85,064 females, 2,799 are service voters (2755 male and 44 female) and 3 transgender voters," it said.

"The EC has set up 559 polling stations across the constituency for the smooth conduct of the electoral exercise."

"Kargil district has 87,781 electors including 44,057 males, 42,405 females, 1,318 service elec-tors (1,315 male and 3 female) and a single trans-gender voter.

"For smooth polling, the EC has set up 265 poll-ing stations across the district," the statement said.

"Similarly, Leh district has 86,837 electors in-cluding 42,695 males, 42,659 females, 1,481 ser-vice electors (1,440 male and 41 female) and two transgender voters.

"The election authorities have established 294 polling stations across the district to ensure smooth polling," the statement said.

"The EC has established two polling stations in Leh (Gaik) and Nubra (Washi) segments having only seven voters each while polling station with the highest number of voters (1,301) has been set up at Leh (Shynam).

"The highest polling station, Anlay Pho (Changthang), has been set up in Leh district at an altitude of 15,000 feet. The booth is barely 50 meters from the Line of Actual Control (LAC)," the statement said.

The candidates in the fray are Rigzin Spalbar of the Congress, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Asgar Ali Karbalai and Sajjad Hussain, both Independents.

The vote timing has been fixed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for Ladakh constituency.

NEET Aspirants...around 9250 NEET aspirants from Kashmir are

appearing in the exam, out of which 5750 students were allotted centres in Kashmir.

“But now the additional exam centres will ac-commodate 3500 students,” an official said.

Mehbooba Appeals...government had in May last year directed secu-

rity forces not to launch operations in Jammu and

Kashmir during Ramzan to help Muslims observe the holy month in a "peaceful environment". Me-hbooba was at that time heading a PDP-BJP coali-tion government in the state and had requested the Centre to announce the ceasefire.

However, the ceasefire was ended by the Cen-tre exactly after a month as militant attacks con-tinued during the period. Soon after the BJP with-drew support to the PDP.

Mehbooba said Ramzam ceasefire would be an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prove that he was following former prime minis-ter A B Vajpayee's policy of "insaniyat', jhamoori-yat' and Kashmiriyat".

Modi keeps on saying that he wants to follow Vajpayee's policy of insaniyat, jhamooriyat and Kashmiriyat and I feel that announcing a Ramad-haan ceasefire will be the biggest proof of democ-racy and humanity, she said.

The former chief minister said while elections were going on in the country, the Centre has turned Jammu and Kashmir "into a battlefield" and slammed decisions like ban on Jamaat-e-Is-lami and JKLF, suspension of cross-LoC trade and the closure of highway for civilian traffic for two days a week.

The PDP president said since the elections started, youths have been arrested "in the name of stone-pelting" especially from south Kashmir where from she is contesting the Lok Sabha polls.

Asked if anti-militancy operations like the Fri-day's in Shopian would have any impact on the polling in the two districts of Shopian and Pulwa-ma in the last leg of the three-phased polls in the Anantnag parliamentary constituency, Mehbooba said naturally, it will have an impact.

How Was Unauthorised...

The Fact Finding Committee had been asked to separately look into the irregularities regarding the manner in which the unauthorised long absence of Mr. Vikar Mustafa Shonthu was overlooked and regularised, and submit a supplementary report fixing responsibility on individuals for any viola-tions/ irregularities. Based on the committee’s report, the Government has decided to hand over this matter also to the Crime Branch (Srinagar) of JK Police to examine and inquire into all the irregu-larities in the unauthorised absence of Mr Shonthu from JKPCC and JKTDC, the manner in which it was overlooked and take action as per law against the individuals. Crime Branch has also been directed to examine the role of the Chairman & MD of JKPCC and the Administrative Secretaries in the matter and take action as per law. Keeping in view the seriousness of the matter, the Government has de-cided to refer the case to CBI also for a thorough investigation and action.

Some Parties...Hasnain Masoodi because his judgement on

Article 370 still holds legal sanctity and he will be able to put forth our viewpoint in Parliament better. This is not an easy battle (to protect special status).

"We will fight this in the (Supreme) court and in Parliament as well. And only a legal luminary like Masoodi can do it in Parliament," he said.

Abdullah asserted that his National Conference was not power hungry and had offered uncondi-tional support to the PDP after the fractured man-date in the 2014 Assembly elections for govern-ment formation in order to keep the BJP away.

"When late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed entered into talks with BJP, we offered him unconditional support but he joined hands with the BJP, which was followed by daily crackdowns and encoun-ters.

"During our (NC-Congress) government, partial revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was under consideration. But today the situation has turned so bad that one cannot even think of these things," he said.

The National Conference vice president ap-pealed to the people of Pulwama to come out to vote.

"NC will scrap the Public Safety Act and review cases against the youth accused of pelting stones (during law and order situations)."

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was harping on the Pulwama attack and subsequent air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot to hide his failures on economic front, job creation and alleviating

agrarian distress.The former chief minister said while Kashmir

was no more an election issue in Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Modi who focussed his election campaign on the situation in the valley.

"There was a time when Jammu and Kashmir used to dominate elections in Pakistan but now it is PM Modi who is going to town with J&K in the election campaign.

"The prime minister is raking up Balakot and Pulwama terror attack to hide his government's failures on economic front, employment gen-eration and the agrarian distress in the country," Abdullah told reporters after addressing an elec-tion rally in this militancy-infested town in An-antnag Lok Sabha constituency.

Pulwama and Shopian districts are going to polls on May 6 in the third leg of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency where the Na-tional Conference has fielded former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi.

Masoodi, while addressing the rally, said Ar-ticle 35-A guarantees that the land and govern-ment jobs of Jammu and Kashmir belong only to people of the state.

Senior National Conference leader Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan appealed to his party work-ers to carry out door-to-door campaign for ensur-ing Masoodi's victory.

Bombers Visited...Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army,

divulged some details on the movements of the suspects in the region and also international links.

"They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to Kerala state. Those are the information available with us," he said.

Asked what activities they were doing in Kash-mir and Kerala, the Army chief said: "Not exactly, but definitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country".

The Islamic State terror group claimed the at-tacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

Sri Lanka banned the NTJ and arrested over 100 people in connection with the blasts.

About the possibility of an involvement of a foreign group, the Commander said that by look-ing at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some out-side involvement of some leadership or instruc-tions.

‘Official Records’...About a dozen Sri Lankan nationals had come to Kashmir Valley this year and their credentials have been re-checked after the April 21 bombings in three churches and three luxury hotels killed 253 people and injured over 500 others, he said.However, there could be a possibility of the bombers visiting the state using pseudonym, the official said, adding if Sri Lanka hands over some evidence, it can be verified from the ground.

Why Is This...Constitution in Kashmir. As a constitutional ex-

pert, it hurts me. It hurts me when Burhan Wani (slain Hizbul Mujahedeen militant) who hasn't fired a bullet, hadn't killed any security personnel was cordoned off and killed. In the subsequent unrest 98 people were killed and the eyes of 4000 people were damaged by pellet guns, many of them completely losing the sight. And I don't think that the leaders in Kashmir are articulat-ing this reality correctly. If I become the MP I will raise these issues.

Q. You have said your family has a Kashmiri lineage?

A. Yes my family has a Kashmiri origin. Our an-cestors had moved to plains of India around 400 years ago just like the family of Moti Lal Nehru which had similarly migrated from Kashmir. Part of my family had settled in Kolkata with whom we have lost the connection and part in Kanpur where we rose to become Nawabs. I now live in Hauz Khas in South Delhi and have the residence and office at Noida also. So, I can say I basically come from Kashmir.

Q. Article 370 and 35A which give J&K a spe-cial status and enable it define its citizenship laws has become the central issue in the ongo-ing election campaign in Kashmir. This is be-

cause BJP wants to do away with them if it is re-elected?

A. My position is that constitution of India has given these articles to J&K. What is constitution of India? It is like making of India. Much like you make, say a table. It involves joining the wood in different shapes and sizes to give it a form. This happened with India too and different states became a part of it in different ways. Some like Kashmir had a special constitutional arrange-ment. Some merged and some acceded. Now if you say you don't accept this constitutional ar-rangement, that of Kashmir with India, and want to undo it, then it breaks the original bond that tied the state to India.

Article 370 and 35A are integral parts of the In-dian constitution. We got different states together on mutual terms. But the way J&K has been joined to Union of India, no other state has been. The Union of India under the signature of PM incor-porated J&K with special guarantees. So, it was a different kind of bonding.

Also, this bonding rested on the promise made by the prime minister of India Jawahar Lal Nehru that the people of J&K will be allowed to exercise their right to self-determination. It was a commit-ment by the Government of India. So asking for fulfilment of this right is not unconstitutional.

Q. If you win what are you going to do as a representative of your constituency?

A. My idea of doing something for my constitu-ency is different. Even people have asked me this question but I told them that my primary job will not be to provide roads and drains but to em-power them. It will be to put strength in their feet and hands. This is what I promise. I will be there standing with them on the road when they pro-test and when there is a crisis..

Also, I want to set up a Constitutional Protec-tion Network comprising the lawyers and other socially conscious people of my constituency which will keep tab on the arrests of the youth in the area and provide quick legal help. Even if one person is picked up, the Constitutional Protection Network will be informed. It will then check if arrestee has been kept at a police station. In that case it will work to ensure he is produced before the magistrate within 24 hours. If the arrested person has been put into judicial custody, well and good. If in police custody, it will take care he isn't tortured.

Q. Would you remain involved in the affairs of Kashmir even after the Parliament election?

I would. In fact, I plan to launch a party which will contest the Assembly election in Kashmir too. Even if we manage to pull off a seat or two

it makes a lot difference in a state where a party (PDP) with just 16 seats managed to rule the state in a coalition with Congress. For now I am in the process finding the good candidates in Kashmir who will contest the election.

Ensure Treatment...through Secretary to Government Health and

Family Welfare Department as party respondent,” the court said and issued notice to the govern-ment of India.

The Notice was waived by Tahir Majeed Shamsi, the ASGI. The court ordered listing of the PIL on 07 June 2019. For setting up the State Cancer Institute, the Government of India is paying 90 percent of the money and J&K Government the rest 10 percent.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that about 50 cancer patients are waiting for surgeries but the cancer institute lacks operation theatres.

Earlier the court had called for a status report from authorities indicating therein the cost of construction on the new block for treatment of cancer patients, the time frame fixed for comple-tion of construction, amount earmarked, number of operation theatres in the institute especially for surgery of cancer patients, number of therapy centres in place and number of general wards, payment wards and VIP wards in the institute.

BJP Leader Shot...also confirmed the killing and said that the Gul

was taken to District Hospital Anantnag where doc-tors declared him brought dead on arrival. A senior doctor said that Gul had suffered five bullet wounds, three of them in chest and two in the abdomen.

CBSE 10th Result ...saying that the Class 10 Result of CBSE Board will also be announced suddenly and will come across as a surprise to many students.

Gaza-Israel...Hamas posts.The flare-up, which prompted Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu to convene his security council, comes days before Muslims begin the holy month of Ramadan and Israelis celebrate Independence Day.

Israel and Hamas have managed to avert all-out war for the past five years. Egyptian mediators, credited with brokering a ceasefire after a Hamas rocket attack north of Tel Aviv in March triggered a burst of intense fighting, have been working to pre-vent any further escalation of hostilities.

A small armed pro-Hamas group in Gaza, The Protectors of Al-Aqsa, said one of its men was killed in an air strike on Saturday.

Walmart Senior Executive Lauds Flipkart TeamBENGALURU: World's retail gi-ant Walmart International Chief Executive Judith McKenna on Friday lauded its Indian e-tail subsidiary Flipkart team for get-ting more customers to shop on-line and make their lives better.

"The leadership of the Flip-kart team for its commitment to bringing e-commerce to more Indian consumers is com-mendable," Judith told the em-ployees at an interaction on her 4-day visit to the company and its e-tail fashion arm Myntra.

Marking the first year of Walmart acquiring majority equity stake in the city-based e-tailer for a whopping $16 billion in May 9, 2018, Judith hailed the creativity and pas-sion of the team to leverage innovation and technology for bringing the next 200 million Indian shoppers online.

Launching Myntra's first kiosk for pick up, returns, instant trial and alteration, Judith said she was impressed with how the team was using technology and mak-ing a difference to the ecosystem, including sellers and manufactur-ers across the country.

Flipkart Chief Executive

Kalyan Krishnamurthy said the e-tailer's partnership with Walmart was helping the group to serve customers bet-ter and accelerate its growth with products and solutions.

"The supply-chain infra-structure that is disrupting the industry benefits local con-sumers, suppliers and manu-facturers," Krishnamurthy said on the occasion.

Myntra and Jabong Head Amar Nagaram said the kiosk offered shoppers value-added

services such as flexible pickup and drop, returns, trial room and free alteration of products.

"The kiosks will be set up in tech parks and big educational institutions to enhance the on-line shopping experience for customers," said Nagaram.

Myntra plans to open 30 service kiosks in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Judith also visited a fulfil-ment centre to assess the sup-ply chain efficiency and met

akiranas' (owners of provision stores) that are Myntra's ex-tended network.

Walmart India Chief Execu-tive Krish Iyer also met Judith and updated her on how the cash-and-carry business was changing the lives of kiranas.

Walmart International Chief Financial Officer Richard May-field and International Strat-egy and Business Development Head Leigh Hopkins also inter-acted with the leadership and the employees.

Sunday | 05.05.2019Life & Times 09

PHYSICAL WELLNESSAgenceis

WASHINGTON: People who demonstrated high mental well-being at the age of 42 were more physically active at the age of 50 com-pared to those who got lower scores in mental well-being at age 42, suggests new research.

The findings show that mental well-being is capable of predicting leisure-time physical activity in midlife.

Different exercise activities are related to the different dimensions of well-being in midlife, the recent study that used data gathered at ages 42 and 50 by question-naires and interviews for the research by Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla. As part of the study, mental well-being was investigated through three dimensions: emotional, psychological and social well-being.

Emotional well-being indicates overall satisfaction with life and a tendency to have positive feelings. Psychological well-being refers to experiences of personal growth and the purpose of life. Social well-being tells about relationships with other people and the community.

It was a surprise that leisure-time physi-cal activity did not predict later mental well-being or subjective health, but mental well-being predicted physical activity. "It seems that mental well-being is an impor-tant resource for maintaining a physically active lifestyle in midlife," said Tiia Keka-lainen, lead researcher of the study pub-lished in the Journal of Applied Research in Quality of Life.

Investigation of various leisure-time physical activities revealed that different activities are associated with the dimen-

sions of well-being in 50-year-old men and women. Walking was related to emotional well-being, rambling in nature to social well-being and endurance training to sub-jective health.

"Although exercise did not predict later mental well-being or subjective health in this study, exercise is important for current mental well-being and health," Kekalainen says.

These associations were found among both men and women, but additionally, rambling in nature was linked to both emo-tional well-being and subjective health, but only among men.

"It is possible that rambling in nature means different things for men and women. For example, it correlated with the frequen-cy of vigorous exercise only among men," Kekalainen says. (Agencies)

Directly Linked To Mental Well-Being?

ALTHOUGH EXERCISE DID NOT PREDICT later mental well-being or subjective health in this study, exercise is important for current mental well-being and health."

Study Shows People Love Coffee For The Buzz, Not Taste

Scholarships This WeekKashmir Observer in association with Buddy4Study presents scholarships available for the meritorious students of Jammu & Kashmir.

Ist ScholarshipCategory: Merit BasedScholarship: British Council GREAT Education Full

Scholarships, September 2019Description: British Council India is providing scholar-

ships to Indian students who wish to study in the UK for Un-dergraduate or Masters courses. 35 Scholarships will be pro-vided under this program to attract Indian talent for pursuing higher education in the UK.

Eligibility: Indian students who have completed their Class 12 or equivalent, or graduation and are applying to recognised UK universities. Students must clear required language proficiency exams as stated by respective course/institution’s eligibility criteria.

Prizes & Rewards: Selected Undergraduate Schol-ars will be provided with complete tuition fee waiver for the course duration and Master’s Scholars will be provided com-plete tuition fee waiver for the first academic year (two-year courses) or whole academic term (for one-year course).

Last Date to Apply: May 15, 2019Application Mode: Apply onlineShort Source URL: http://www.b4s.in/observer/

BCGE254

2nd ScholarshipCategory: Talent BasedScholarship: Physical Research Laboratory Essay Com-

petition for School Students 2019Description: Physical Research Laboratory, Department

of Space, Government of India invites school students of India to submit their essay entries and win scholarships. Students will submit essay entries on topics related to space explora-tion to win scholarship awards.

Eligibility: Students may submit their essay entries in two categories, Class 8 to 10 (category 1) and Class 11 to 12 (category 2).

Prizes & Rewards: Various awards ranging from ₹2,000 to ₹20,000 for Category 1 and ₹2,500 to ₹25,000 will be given to top entries for this competition

Last Date to Apply: May 15, 2019Application Mode: Submit online entriesShort Source URL: http://www.b4s.in/observer/

PRLES254

3rd ScholarshipCategory: Talent basedScholarship: Green Talents Competition 2019Description: German Federal Ministry of Education and

Research invites applications from scientists working in fields of environment conservation to apply for this competition with their project ideas. Winners will get financial assistance for research and opportunities to collaborate with global sci-ence community at prestigious forums.

Eligibility: Indian applicants pursuing a Master’s de-gree, Doctoral degree, Post-Doctoral qualification or already awarded with such qualifications may apply for this competi-tion. Young professionals with maximum 3 years of experi-ence may also apply.

Prizes & Rewards: Selected scholars will be granted complete funds for research studies (up to 3 months) at an in-stitution of choice in Germany. They’ll also be given a chance to attend the 2-week Green Talents Science Forum 2019 with all expenses covered.

Last Date to Apply: May 22, 2019Application Mode: Online applications onlyShort Source URL: http://www.b4s.in/observer/GTC3

WASHINGTON: Fancy yourself a coffee connoisseur with a love for dark roasts? Or maybe hoppy pale ales are more your thing? The truth may be that our preferences for caffeine or alcoholic beverages — or indeed sugary sodas — derive not so much from the way they taste but how they make us feel, according to a new study by genetic scientists at North-western University that was published in Human Molecular Genetics on Thursday.

In her latest work, Marilyn Cornelis, who has published previously on the genetics of coffee consumption, set out to determine which taste genes are responsible for what we drink, she said.

But to her and the team’s surprise, people’s preferences weren’t based on variations in

taste genes but rather the genes that are related to the beverages’ mind-altering effects. “The genet-ics underlying our preferences are related to the psychoactive components of these drinks,” said Cornelis. “People like the way cof-fee and alcohol make them feel. That’s why they drink it.”

“Taste may be a factor,” Cor-nelis said, but “it’s an acquired taste.” Coffee, because of its bit-terness, “is something which we should be avoiding on an evolutionary level,” she said. “But we’re consuming it be-cause we learned to equate the taste with the caffeine effect.”

Sugary beverages are linked to obesity and a variety of related conditions. Alcohol, meanwhile, is related to more than 200 diseases and respon-sible for about six per cent of global deaths. (Agencies)

Websites To Dissipate Suicidal ThoughtsWASHINGTON: Research-ers claim to have developed a website which could be beneficial in decreasing suicidal thoughts.

Researchers asked more than 3,000 website visitors how they felt before they got to the site compared to a few minutes on the website. Nearly one-third were sig-nificantly less suicidal, and the intensity of their negative emotions had also decreased, according to the study pub-lished in the Journal of Medi-cal Internet Research.

Lead author Ursula Whi-teside, said," the results offer hope for people struggling to cope. The site exposes visi-tors to dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), a form of psy-chotherapy that combines behavioural science and Bud-dhist principles on mindful-ness and acceptance."

"We set out to build a free resource based not only in science but also with the voices and stories of people who had experienced sui-cidal thoughts. We wanted clinicians to feel empow-ered to help those who are

struggling," she added.The home page presents a

panel of video-linked images of individuals with relatable experiences on suicide and negative emotions and re-sources to explore DBT skills. Users were asked to rate their suicidal thoughts or negative feelings on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most sui-cidal or negative).

"The vast majority of peo-ple who die by suicide never receive specialised mental health care," Whiteside said. Researchers noted that nearly half of all people who die by suicide see some type of healthcare provider in the month before their death.

They said newly released screening and care guidelines have the potential to increase the number of suicidal pa-tients detected in healthcare settings. Unfortunately, they said, most providers - partic-ularly those in primary care settings, where the majority of patients are seen before death by suicide - have no relevant training and lack im-mediate resources to support patients. (Agencies)

Researchers Create Embryonic Stem Cells From Skin CellsScientists have found a "groundbreak-ing" method to transform skin cells into the three major stem cell types that comprise early-stage embryos.

The study, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, has significant im-plications for modelling embryonic disease and placental dysfunctions, as well as paving the way to create whole embryos from skin cells.

Researchers from the Hebrew Uni-versity of Jerusalem in Israel discov-ered a set of genes capable of trans-forming murine skin cells into all three of the cell types that comprise the early embryo: the embryo itself, the placenta and the extraembryonic tissues, such as the umbilical cord.

In the future, it may be possible to create entire human embryos out of human skin cells, without the need for sperm or eggs, researchers said.

The discovery also has vast implica-tions for modelling embryonic defects and shedding light on placental dys-functions, as well as solving certain infertility problems by creating human embryos in a petri dish, they said.

In 2006, Japanese researchers dis-covered the capacity of skin cells to be "reprogrammed" into early em-bryonic cells that can generate an en-tire foetus, by expressing four central embryonic genes.

These reprogrammed skin cells, termed "Induced Plutipotent Stem Cells" (iPSCs), are similar to cells that develop in the early days after fertili-sation and are essentially identical to

their natural counterparts.These cells can develop into all foe-

tal cell types, but not into extra-em-bryonic tissues, such as the placenta.

The latest study found a new combi-nation of five genes that, when inserted into skin cells, reprogramme the cells into each of three early embryonic cell types -- iPS cells which create foetuses, placental stem cells, and stem cells that develop into other extraembryonic tis-sues, such as the umbilical cord.

These transformations take about one month, researchers said.

The team used new technology to scrutinise the molecular forces that govern cell fate decisions for skin cell reprogramming and the natural pro-cess of embryonic development.

To uncover the molecular mecha-nisms that are activated during the formation of these various cell types,

the researchers analysed changes to the genome structure and function inside the cells when the five genes are introduced into the cell.

They discovered that during the first stage, skin cells lose their cellular identity and then slowly acquire a new identity of one of the three early embryonic cell types, and that this process is governed by the levels of two of the five genes.

Recently, attempts have been made to develop an entire mouse embryo without using sperm or egg cells.

These attempts used the three early cell types isolated directly from a live, developing embryo. However, the study is the first attempt to cre-ate all three main cell lineages at once from skin cells, researchers said.

These findings mean there may be no need to "sacrifice" a live embryo to create a test tube embryo, they said. (Agencies)

Cranberry Compounds That Prevent Urinary Tract Infection IdentifiedWASHINGTON: Scientists have identi-fied active compounds in cranberries that help prevent urinary tract infec-tion (UTI) in humans, a finding that may pave the way for treating the painful condition. Many people have heard that drinking cranberry juice can help prevent UTIs.

Although clinical trials of this popu-lar folk remedy have produced mixed results, some studies have shown that drinking cranberry juice can keep bac-teria that cause UTIs from sticking to cells lining the urinary tract.

Researchers from University of Mis-sissippi and University of Georgia in the US identified cranberry oligosaccharides in the urine of cranberry-fed pigs that could be responsible for this activity.

Doctors usually prescribe antibiotics to treat UTI, but this could contribute to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

To enable better UTI prevention strat-

egies, researchers wanted to identify ac-tive compounds from cranberries that end up in urine and potentially keep bacteria from adhering to human cells.

They fed female pigs dried cranberry powder, collected their urine and used chromatography to separate it into fractions of differently sized molecules.

Then, they screened the samples for anti-adhesion activity against the

E coli bacteria that cause UTIs.Researchers found that proantho-

cyanidins, the compounds previ-ously proposed to be responsible for cranberry's apparent UTI prevention properties, were absent from the ac-tive urine fractions.

Instead, the researchers detected oligosaccharides called arabinoxylo-glucans in those samples.

Sunday | 05-05-2019 10SPORTS

“IT’S GREAT TO WIN THE $9 MILLION but I just don’t want to lose to him and give him the satisfaction because the bragging rights are what is going to be even worse than the money,” Mickelson

I WAS JUST NINETEEN, and not sixteen like they claim. I was born in 1975. So yes, the authorities stated my age incorrectly,”

JUVENTUS FORWARD CRISTIANO RONALDO (C) scored his 21st league goal this season.

Ronaldo breaks Torino hearts in 1-1 derby draw

Agencies

Cristiano Ronaldo headed in a late equaliser to spoil Torino's dream of a first win at city rivals Juven-

tus in nearly a quarter of a cen-tury and frustrate their bid to move into the Champions League places. Sasa Lukic had fired To-rino ahead after 17 minutes in a match brought forward a day to avoid clashing with Saturday's 70th anniversary of the air disas-ter that wiped out the all-con-quering 'Grande Torino' team of the 1940s. But Ronaldo headed in for 1-1 after 84 minutes to leave

Torino in sixth place, two points off the Champions League berths with three games left to play.

Juventus have already sealed the Serie A title for the eighth season in a row, but Torino still have all to play for as they target a first-ever qualification for elite European competition.

Torino have not won at Juven-tus since 1995 with their only win since then against their city rivals at home in April 2015. Ron-aldo -- who had scored the only goal with a penalty in the reverse fixture in December -- was part-nered up front by teenage striker Moise Kean.

Kean threatened early along with Torino captain Andrea Be-lotti. But Serbian midfielder Lu-kic broke through following a Miralem Pjanic error to slot in his first goal for Torino.

Ronaldo came close to an equaliser soon after with his powerful strike just wide with Salvatore Sirigu denying Blaise Matuidi. But Juventus increased the pressure after the break with Ronaldo rising hightest to latch on a Leonardo Spinazzola cross to beat Sirigu and deny Torino a third consecutive victory.

It was Ronaldo's 21st league goal this season and moves him

two behind Sampdoria's Fabio Quagliarella, who leads the Serie A scoring charts.

For Juventus it was a second consecutive stalemate after af-ter last weekend's 1-1 draw against Inter Milan. Juventus are nevertheless 19 points ahead of second-placed Napoli, who host Cagliari on Sunday.

Inter Milan, eight points be-hind Napoli, will look to con-solidate third position and their Champions League berth on Saturday at Udinese.

Torino stay sixth, one point behind Roma, and two adrift of fourth-placed Atalanta.

'Surprise package' - Pakistan's 150kph teen with World Cup in his sights

Agencies

Four years ago, two-time World Cup winner Steve Waugh predicted young fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain

would one day make a name for himself on the international stage. ow the 19-year-old can prove Waugh right after his blistering pace earned him a call-up to Pakistan's squad for the World Cup. Pakistan's chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, a mem-ber of the country's first and only victorious World Cup squad in 1992, called the young bowler a "surprise package", while legendary paceman Waqar Younis says he sees shades of himself in the ultra-quick, destruc-tive teen. Tall and with a wide smile, Hasnain has turned heads after first arriving on the national scene in 2015 and sending down balls at a blistering 150kph (93 mph). Has-nain's rise to Pakistan's senior squad has been similarly rapid -- he made his one-day international debut within a week of leading the Quetta Gladiators to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) title.

"It's a great honour to represent Pakistan and the honour multiplied when I was named in the World Cup squad," Hasnain told AFP.

"I am on cloud nine and ready to make batsmen struggle with my speed. I love to bowl fast and that is my strong point."

Hasnain made his way to the in-ternational stage from the dusty pitches of sun-bleached Hyderabad in southern Pakistan, where he was mentored by renowned cricketing coach Iqbal Imam. "Hasnain played Under-16 and Under-19 for Hyder-abad and right from the start his pace has been impressive," recalled Imam, a former first-class cricketer who had played alongside Inzamam.

In 2015, he was selected in Paki-stan's Under-15 team to tour Austra-lia. "I remember that at the Bradman ground near Sydney, Steve Waugh came to watch his son Austin and he saw Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasnain in action. He predicted that the two boys will make an impact at the international level," said former coach Mohammad Masroor.

Shaheen played for Pakistan in all three formats last year and is also in the World Cup squad, meaning both players can now seize their oppor-tunity at the tournament in England

and Wales. He could also feature in Sunday's one-off T20 clash against England in Cardiff.

- 'Shivers down your spine' -Soon after his 12 wickets in the

PSL's fourth edition, Hasnain was picked to play for Pakistan against Australia in a one-day series in the United Arab Emirates.

Although he took just two wickets

in three games, Australian batsmen were troubled by his pace -- a trait Pakistan's head coach Mickey Arthur said could be a game-changer for his squad. "His pace is the most impres-sive and he has the potential of an international player," said Arthur.

"He could be the X-factor for us."Former great Waqar also lauded

Hasnain's pace, as well as his grit."He is very talented, has pace and

bounce and the determination," said Waqar. "I have told him not to lose his pace, which is his strong point. I wish him the best of luck."

Inzamam says Hasnain has the potential to keep the competition off-balance and the ability to sur-prise any team. "I think he could be the surprise package and can at any time win us a match. He has express pace and can damage and can sur-prise any team," said Inzamam.

"I have faced 150kph in my career and it's not easy. It sends shivers down your spine." Hasnain will first get his chance to shine in the five-match one-day international series against England -- starting on May 8 -- ahead of the World Cup.

"I didn't know much about Steve Waugh when we met," he said.

"But later I got to know that he was a World Cup winner, a great batsman and a shrewd captain.

"His words were inspiring and I want to prove him right. I know the England series is a big chance for me and then the World Cup. I will do my best to make a name for myself.

"I will, definitely," he added.

Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hasnain has turned heads with his raw pace

Afridi reveals real age, was 19 when hit 37-ball 100Afridi’s claim that he was 19 at that time is confusing as he would be 21 if he was born in 1975 like he has written in book titled Game Changer

Agencies

New Delhi: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has finally ended the mystery around his age, revealing that he was born in 1975 and not 1980 as the of-ficial records state. The revela-tions in his autobiography mean that Afridi was not 16 when he smashed a record-breaking 37-ball hundred against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996.

“I was just nineteen, and not sixteen like they claim. I was born in 1975. So yes, the authori-ties stated my age incorrectly,” Afridi has written in book titled Game Changer. Afridi’s claim that he was 19 at that time is confusing as he would be 21 if he was born in 1975 like he has

written. He played 27 Tests, 398 ODIs and 99 T20Is.

Tiff with Waqar YounisThe former captain, who re-

tired from international cricket after the 2016 World T20, also slammed bowling great Waqar Younis in his book. Younis was the team’s coach in the 2016 World T20 held in India. “Un-fortunately, he hadn’t let go of the past. Waqar and I had a his-tory, dating all the way back to his tiff with Wasim Akram over the captaincy crown. He was a mediocre captain but a terrible coach, always micro-managing and getting in the way, trying to tell the captain — me — what to do… It was a natural clash and it was bound to happen,” he wrote. — PTI

Ireland captain Porterfield unhappy with Foakes stumping

Agencies

Ireland captain William Porterfield has blasted England's Ben Foakes for his delayed stumping of Andrew Balbirnie during England's one-day-international win in Dublin, say-ing matches could last "15 hours" if every wicket-keeper waited as long to try to effect a dismissal. Balbirnie was on 29 at the Malahide ground on Friday when he missed an intended sweep off spinner Joe Denly.

Foakes gathered a wide delivery down the legside but, rather than whip the bails off immediately, he waited for Balbirnie to raise his back foot slightly -- thereby making the batsman out of his ground -- before breaking the stumps.

Third umpire Aleem Dar gave Balbirnie out after studying televi-sion replays, despite Porterfield con-vinced the appeal should have been dismissed as the delay meant the ball was "pretty much dead".

"How long do you wait? We'll be playing 15-hour games if you wait that long," Porterfield said. "You can say it was great wicketkeeping or you can say it's a bit of a grey area of how long he takes.

"The ball was pretty much dead. The batsman wasn’t going anywhere or overbalanced. It wasn't like he

had fallen over."The keeper has waited for three

or four seconds, if we do that all day it's going be a pretty long game."

The move divided pundits, with some saying that it went against the

spirit of cricket, but one-day inter-national debutant Foakes had a dif-ferent view. "It was quite wide down leg, but I got it back to the stumps," he said. "When it's a sweep you think they might fall over and I just saw he lifted his foot and nicked them off."

- 'Spirit of cricket' -Ireland were eventually dismissed

for 198 but then reduced England to 66 for five before man-of-the-match Foakes struck an unbeaten 61 to help see the visitors to a four-wicket win.

But it was his stumping rather than his batting that provoked plenty of debate, with former county bowler turned internation-al broadcaster Alan Wilkins urging the International Cricket Council

to take action. "If the @ICC wishes to maintain its 'Spirit of Cricket' as part of the modern game, then the Ben Foakes 'stumping' in Malahide today should not be endorsed as 'within the Spirit of the Game'," Wilkins said on Twitter. But there are many who feel the uncertainty surrounding what the 'Spirit of Cricket' means, as opposed to the precise nature of the sport's rule-book or Laws, makes the concept more trouble than it's worth.

Uncapped Salt gets England call-up for Pakistan T20

Agencies

(Reuters) - England have called up uncapped Sus-sex batsman Phil Salt to replace Dawid Malan for Sunday’s one-off Twenty20 match against Pakistan, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Saturday.

The 22-year-old opener comes into the squad for the game in Cardiff after Malan suffered a groin in-jury while batting during Friday’s scrappy four-wick-et one-day international victory over Ireland. Salt scored 355 runs in England domestic T20 competition last year as Sussex reached the final. He joins the wider pool of players out-side England’s provisional squad for the 50-overs World Cup after scoring an unbeaten 137 off 106 balls in Sussex’s domestic one-day win over Kent last month.

Zidane downplays Madrid move for PogbaZinedine Zidane has played down speculation linking Real Madrid with a summer move for Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba. Zidane said in March he knew Pogba personally and likes him "a lot" before adding Madrid could be his next club "when his experience in Man-chester comes to an end".

Pogba had also added to the doubts surrounding his future by saying that "all players dream of playing for Real Madrid".

But ahead of his team's La Liga game at home to Villarreal on Sunday, Zidane appeared to downplay the chances of Pogba moving to the Santiago Bernabeu.

"I said Pogba was a good player but I could say the same about other players," Zidane said at a press conference on Saturday.

"I know him but nothing more. If you ask me about Pogba, I say he is a very good player but he plays for Manchester United.

"At the end of the season we will see which players come here, and who leaves, but I did not say 'We are going to sign Pogba,' nothing like that.

"I will not say anything until the deals are done."

Madrid sit third in La Liga, 18 points behind champions Bar-

celona and with little hope of catching Atletico Madrid in sec-ond. Zidane's team have deliv-ered a series of underwhelming performances, most recently in a 0-0 draw with Getafe and 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano.

"I was very angry the other day, so were the players, they didn't enjoy it either," Zidane said. "Sometimes nothing goes your way." Madrid fans have vented their frustration towards a number of players, in particu-lar Gareth Bale, but Zidane said supporters cannot assume any-one will leave. "The season is what it is but the fans must think about next season. There will be changes but many of these play-ers will stay," he said.

"The fans will be the same, and most of the players too so we must stick together.

"We are going to have time to prepare for next season. Until August 31 anything can happen, so it will be a long summer."

Vinicius Junior has been one of the few positives to come from Madrid's season and he could re-turn against Villarreal after two months out with a hamstring injury. "Vinicius is training much better and ready to be in the squad," Zidane said.

"He is very good, he is an im-portant player for this team and the future. He is 18 years old and we have to be patient.

"But he deserves to be here and next year, we will see how we can make the best of him."

Female hockey players in action during a match at Government Women's College in Srinagar on Saturday. ...Pic Abid Bhat

11 | Sunday | 05-05-2019

BusinessSENSEX

GOLD

J&K BANKNIFTY

SILVER

HDFC BANKAXIS BANKICICI BANK

38,963.26

32,845.00

DOLLAR POUNDKUWAITI DINAREURO YUAN SAUDI RIYAL69.10 82.58 238.13 91.36 10.48 18.54

60.5011,712.25

36362.00

2,365.00754.90402.75

−18.17 (0.047%) −0.100 (0.17%)

+9.20 (0.39%)

+2.55 (0.34%)

+7.20 (1.82%)

−12.50 (0.11%)

55.00 ((99.9%)

-272.00 (-0.74%)

Agencies

Bengaluru: The outlook for India’s rupee has deteriorated from just a month ago as the outcome of a more than month-long national election draws near, according to foreign ex-change strategists polled by Reuters.

While the rupee pared some of 2018’s losses early this year, it has re-mained under pressure. It lost about 1 per cent against the dollar last month due to a significant surge in fuel prices - India’s largest import - and a strengthening US currency.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also cut the main repo rate twice in the run-up to the election, put-ting it at 6.0 per cent, 50 basis points lower than where it was at the start of the year. India’s multi-stage na-tional election started on April 11 and will end on May 19. The result, due on May 23, will decide who gov-erns the world’s biggest democracy for the next five years. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling alli-ance - which got the biggest mandate

in three decades in the previous elec-tion - is widely expected to win again, but with a thinner majority, accord-ing to an average of four opinion polls recently by different agencies.

“The Indian rupee is at a cross-roads. Recent developments, includ-ing higher global oil prices, a strong US dollar and historical seasonality patterns point to downward pres-sure on the rupee in the near-term,” noted Khoon Goh, head of Asia re-search at ANZ. “The general election result has the potential to either am-plify the weakness or push against the seasonal weakness as it did in the previous two elections.”

The latest Reuters survey of nearly 50 strategists taken April 26 - May 2 predicted the rupee will weaken nearly 2 per cent to 70.67 per dollar in six months from Thursday’s 69.36. It will then strengthen slightly to 70.50 in a year. But those forecasts were downgraded from a survey conducted a month ago when con-tributors expected the currency to trade at 70.00 and 70.38 per dollar

over the six- and 12-month horizon, respectively. “Overall, we see scope for the rupee to recover in the second half of the year. This is based on our view that inflation will remain stable, the monetary policy stance will stay dovish, growth will start to recover, and fiscal policy will show restraint,” ANZ’s Goh added.

Other analysts point to a surge in the price of oil, India’s biggest import, as a potential threat to the rupee given the wide trade deficit. Denomi-nated in dollars, when the dollar rises, it means more rupees have to change hands to pay for the oil India needs. Oil prices have jumped over 30 per cent this year and are ex-pected to remain elevated over the coming year, a separate Reuters poll showed. “The expiration of U.S. waiv-ers on Iran oil sanctions on May 2 forces India to look for other sources of oil in order to compensate for the estimated drop in Iranian oil imports by a third to 80-100 thousand barrels per day,” noted Lee Hardman, cur-rency strategist at MUFG.

Politics to decide rupee's near-term fate: Poll

Last Year, One Million Indians Applied For Tourist Visas To Visit Europe

Ananya Bhattacharya

NEW DELHI - Last year, Indians wanted to travel to Europe more than ever before. In 2018, over a million applications were filed in India for short-stay visas to the continent’s Schengen Area, a 17% increase from the previous year. The number has almost doubled since 2014, data from the web por-tal Schengen visa info show.

The Schengen visa allows tour-ists to travel through 26 European countries with a single document. These countries are Austria, Bel-gium, the Czech Republic, Den-mark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ice-land, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein,

Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Indian applicantsMost Indian applicants for the

visa in 2018 came from the coun-try’s capital city.

“The Swiss consulate in New

Delhi received 161,403 applica-tions, topping the list as the busi-est Schengen consulate in India,” Schengen visa info noted. “Next, are listed the French consulate in New Delhi and Mumbai which re-ceived over 140,000 applications together.” Of the million-plus ap-plications from India, less than 10% – 100,992 – were rejected.

World viewIndia is listed as the third-larg-

est source of Schengen visa ap-plications in the world, data from Schengen visa info shows. Only Russia and China clocked more applications at 3.6 million and 2.8 million respectively.

Last year, India replaced Turkey, which had ranked third for years.

“The transcontinental country is lagging behind [India] with only 879,238 applications filed in 2018, with no important increase or de-crease in the last five years,” the data found.

Nationals of 62 countries do not need a visa for short stays in Eu-rope. (Quartz)

Dangerous to let viable companies close down: Bankruptcy board chief

Press Trust Of India

NEW DELHI - Committees of Creditors (CoCs) should provide all relevant information and share their vision for companies under the insolvency process, a senior official said Saturday as he assert-ed that it will be dangerous to let viable firms to close down.

Amid rising number of stressed assets being referred for resolu-tion under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), IBBI chief M.S. Sahoo said the law also gives opportunities to rectify the mis-takes during the insolvency pro-cess. The objective of the law is to rescue viable companies and close down unviable ones, he said.

"If due to incompetence (of market participants) the reverse happens, then it is dangerous," Sa-hoo said here. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairperson also noted that CoCs must provide all relevant infor-mation to resolution applicants so that they find interest in the com-panies. "Commercial decisions are not black and white. There is no mathematical formula to say that a company is unviable and anoth-er is viable. It depends on so much considerations and it depends on who is looking at it," he noted.

Speaking at an event, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya said that finan-cial creditors should not play foul while going through the viability and commercial aspects of a reso-lution plan. Citing examples, he

indicated that operational credi-tors should also be getting money and not just the financial creditors in a resolution process. Respond-ing to a query on whether op-erational creditors are not getting their dues, Sahoo cited data till December 2018 to say that both operational and financial credi-tors "on average, got about 48 per cent each of their claims".

About haircuts taken by credi-tors, he wondered what can be done if the resolution process started very late.

"Today about 370-380 compa-nies have been ordered into liqui-dation. Most of them, 80 per cent, were in BIFR (Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction)

or defunct companies. So when there is nothing to really recover, when the liquidation value almost zero, you will have to take hair-cut," he noted. According to him, it also needs to be seen how much one gets in comparison to his claim and in comparison to the liquidation value.

"Up to March data, creditors have got about 195 per cent of the liquidation value. That means companies have been rescued and thereafter creditors have got 195 per cent of the liquidation value. Anything above liquidation value is bonus and that has come be-cause of the IBC," he said.

National Company Law Tribu-nal (NCLT) President and Chief Justice (Rtd) M M Kumar said that 32 more members would be joining the tribunal, which would help in stabilising the system. OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER SUB

TRANSMISSION DIVISION SOPOREFax No:-01954-222626 email: [email protected]

NIT No. STDS/04 of 2019-20 Dated: 02-05-2019

TENDER INVITING NOTICEe-INVITATIQN:-For and on behalf of the Governor, Jammu and Kashmir State, e-Tenders (In Two Cover System) are hereby invited from

registered A class Electrical Contractors registered with Inspection Agency of JKPDD or any other relevant Government agency enlisted with CPWD, MES, Railway, DGBRO of appropriate class for SITC OF Stabilization of 33KV line from Grid Station Delina to Baramulla 1st , Kanlibagh and Sheeri as per terms, conditions, technical specifications and schedules forming part of this tender document. Intending bidders are requested to submit their offer along with terms, conditions, technical specifications and annexures forming part of this tender document 1. The tender document is available at website http://jktenders.gov.in. Interested bidders may view, download the e-Bid document, seek clarification and submit their e-Bid online up to the date and time mentioned in the table below:

A Date & Time of down loading of Standard Bidding Document

2nd of May 2019; 04:00 pm

B Sale of Bid Document (Start) 2nd of May 2019; 04:30 pmC Sale of Bid Document (End) 16,thofMay 2019; 03:00 pmD Clarifications start date 2nd of May 2019; 04:30 pmE Clarifications end date 7th of May 2019; 02:00 pmF e-Bid submission (start) date &

time(Submission of e-tender fee, EMD and other supporting documents in PDF/XLS format)

7th of May 2019; 03:00 pm

G e-Bid submission (end) date & time(Submission of e-tender fee, EMD and other supporting documents in PDF/XLS format)

16th of May 2019; 03:00 pm.

H Online Bid opening and Technical e-Bid opening date & Time

17th of May 2019; 03:00 pm

I Online Financial opening date & Time 20th of May 2019; 02:00 pmJ Online financial e-Bid opening date &time (Only

of the Commercial &Will be communicated to the Commercial & Technical Qualified Bidders

K Venue of opening of technical & financial e-Bids Office of the Executive Engineer Sub Transmission Division Sopore

L Cost of e-Bid document Rs. 1000.00 (Rupees one Thousand only) (Non-refundable)M Amount of Earnest Money Deposit Rs 50000.00 (Rupees Fifty Thousand only)N Estimated amount Rs. 2500000.00 (Rupees Twenty Five lacs only)

1.The bidders need to submit the proof/cost of e-Bid document as stated in the above table through Demand Draft (Preferably State Bank of India/J&K Bank) pledged to Executive Engineer Sub Transmission Division Sopore, payable at Sopore. The scanned copy of the Demand Draft must be enclosed along with the e-Bids but the original Demand Draft should reach the office of Executive Engineer Sub Transmission Division Sopore up to 16th of May 2019 ; 03:00 pm. All the e-Bids must be accompanied by the scanned copy of EMD in the form of CDR/FDR/Bank Guarantee only, pledged to the Executive Engineer Sub Transmission Division Sopore,. No Interest would be payable on Earnest Money deposited with the .

a. Hard Copy of original instrument of EMD shall be submitted to the office of the Executive Engineer Sub Transmission Division Sopore, 16th of May 2019 ; 03:00 pm.b. The date and time of opening of Financial-Bids shall be notified on Web Site http://jktenders.gov.in. This is conveyed to thp qualified bidders automatically through an

e-mail message on their e-mail address. The Financial-bids shall be opened accordingly online on the same Web Site at Executive Engineer Sub Transmission Division Sopore.2. The e-Bids will be electronically opened in the presence of bidder's representatives, who choose to attend at the venue, date and time mentioned in the above table or any

subsequent day to the convenience of the Tender Opening Committee. An authority letter of bidder's representative will be required to be produced.3. The. reserves the right to cancel any or all the e-Bids/ the e-Bid process without assigning any reason thereof. The decision of will be final and binding.4. The bidder has to upload the successful completion certificates from last three years duly verified, including this Division if any, by the DDO / Executive agencies along

with the details of the works currently under execution. The certificates to the effect that the bidder has completed the work to the satisfaction of the department and is not a defaulter.

5. In the event of date specified for e-Bids opening being declared a holiday for's office then the due date for opening of e-Bids shall be the following working day at the appointed time and place.

6. All the required documents excluding Price Schedule/BOQ should be uploaded by the e-Bidder electronically in the PDF format, whereas Price Schedule/BOQ should be uploaded electronically in the same BOQ sheet provided with the SBD.

7 To participate in e-bidding process, bidders have to get 'Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)' class III(b) as per Information Technology Act-2000, to participate in onlinebidding. 8. Hard copy of Technical and Commercial bid documents (complete) must be delivered to the office of Executive Engineer Sub Transmission Division Sopore in two sealed

16th ofMay 2019; 03:00 pm.9. One sealed cover shall be super scribed as "PART-I COMMERCIAL BID AGAINST NIT NO: STDS/04 of 2019-20 Dated 02-05-2019And another sealed cover shall be super scribed as "PART-II TECHNICAL BID AGAINST NO: STDS/04 of 2019-20 Dated 02-05-2019.The name of the bidder and NIT No. shall be clearly written on the cover.It may be noted that the hard copy should be an exact replica of the uploaded offer documents. For evaluation purposes the uploaded offer documents will be treated as

authentic and final. The hard copy shall be used only for reference purpose. Any documents submitted in hard copy but not uploaded on the website shall be treated as irrelevant.

DIPK-1064/19Executive Engineer, Sub.

Transmission Division Sopore

Agencies

MUMBAI: India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves increased by $4.368 billion during the week ended April 26, official data showed on Friday. According to the Reserve Bank of India's weekly statistical sup-

plement, the overall forex reserves rose to $418.515 billion from $414.147 bil-lion reported for the week ended April 19. India's forex reserves comprise Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), gold reserves, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and India's reserve position with the In-ternational Monetary Fund

(IMF). On a weekly basis, FCAs, the largest compo-nent of the forex reserves, edged higher by $4.387 billion to $390.421 billion. Besides the US dollar, FCAs consist of 20-30 per cent of the other major global currencies. The RBI's weekly data showed that the value of the country's gold reserves was stagnant at $23.303 billion. However, the SDR value inched lower by $5.9 million to $1.449 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF slipped by $13.6 million to $3.341 billion.

India's forex reserve rises over $4 billion


New Delhi - Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) said Saturday it has stationed a dedicated emergency road service team to support the Fani cyclone affected customers or vehicles in the states of Odisha and West Bengal. The 'Hyundai Relief task Force' would enhance services for vehicle-owners af-fected by Cyclone Fani.

"Hyundai has stationed a dedicated emergency road ser-vice team to support the Fani Cyclone affected customers/ vehicles along with 26 flatbed trucks and 21 Towing Trucks to assist the customers," HMIL said in a statement. In order to

ensure the availability of ser-vices in every part of the city, Hyundai has activated a toll free number (0124- 4343937 ) for towing the vehicles and over 40 technicians will assist the ve-hicle owners by offering timely delivery. Special discounts on parts are being offered on re-pairs/ restorations of cyclone-affected vehicles along with 50 per cent discount on deprecia-tion on insurance claims.

Cyclonic storm 'Fani' has rav-aged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people. The cyclone bar-relled through Odisha on Friday, unleashing copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph.

Hyundai starts emergency road service to aid cyclone affected customers


New Delhi: Instant messaging app What-sApp on Friday told the Supreme Court that it is conducting a trial run of its payment service and will comply with RBI norms on data localisation before launching the full service. The trial run is likely to be completed by July end this year, WhatsApp said. A bench of Justices R F Nariman and Vineet Saran was hear-ing a plea filed by an NGO, Centre for Ac-countability and Systemic Change (CASC), which has claimed that WhatsApp has not fully complied with RBI's circular which prescribed data localisation norms.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arvind Datar, appearing for the messenger app owned by US-based Facebook, told the bench that they are only having a trial run which is likely to be completed by July and it will not launch payments services without fully complying with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms.

"We cannot launch the product with-out complying with the norms," Sibal said. Advocate Virag Gupta, appearing for the NGO, said that WhatsApp was allowed to run the trial of its payments services with one million users.

Relying on the Reserve Bank of In-dia's circular of April 6, 2018, he said that trial data of users cannot be al-lowed to be kept outside India.

"This may be violative of permission granted by National Payment Corpo-

rations of India (NPCI) to Whatsapp," he said. Sibal said there was no formal agreement between WhatsApp and NPCI till now. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that What-sApp was not complying with data locali-sation norms which is evident from the affidavit filed by the RBI.

To this, the bench said that if norms laid down by RBI are not followed by Whatsapp, then it can be prosecuted.

"Don't worry our arms are long enough.

They cannot escape the law," it said and added that the issue requires detailed hearing and listed the matter in July. On February 1, the apex court had sought re-sponse from RBI on the plea of NGO. On January 14, the top court had allowed the NGO to implead RBI has party in the case.

In its petition, the NGO has sought di-rection to restrain the instant messaging platform from proceeding with its pay-

ment service unless it fully complied with the provisions of the RBI.

The Centre and WhatsApp had earlier told the court that a grievance officer for India has been appointed by the instant messaging service company.

However, the NGO has claimed that grievance officer has been appointed in the United States of America, which is "preposterous and against the sover-eignty of India".

In its plea, the NGO has referred to

IT (Intermediary) Rules of 2011 and IT (reasonable security practices and pro-cedures and sensitive personal data or information) Rules 2011 wherein provi-sion is made for appointment of griev-ance officer. It has also said in its affi-davit that it would be a paradox if data localisation norms are prescribed in In-dia but companies are allowed to keep data officers in USA.

Will abide by norms for payments launch: WhatsApp

CM

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CM

YK

SUNDAY 05052019 Kashmir Observer12 Observer Outpost

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Wednesday01 MAY 2019

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9

Is OrganizingAwareness Programme Regarding

AWARENESS, PREVENTION & DETECTION OF VARIOUS

TYPES OF CANCERS ON

04TH-MAY-2019 AT 11:30 AM.Venue: - A.A.A DEGREE COLLEGE BEMINA, (AUDITORIUM)

CANCER SOCIETY OF KASHMIRIn collaboration with

STATE CANCER INSTITUTESher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura

ANDA.A.A DEGREE COLLEGE BEMINA

Issued in Public Interest byCANCER SOCIETY OF KASHMIR

CANCER SOCIETY OF KASHMIR4-Bagh-i-Islam Colony Lal Nagar, Chanapora Srinagar 190 015 TeleFax 0194-2441899/2430899

Website: www.cancersocietykashmir.org E-mail: [email protected]

PRESS NOTE

Awareness Camp held by Cancer Society of

Kashmir at Abdul Ahad Azad Memorial Degree

College Bemina1. Cancer Society of Kashmir in collaboration with State

Cancer Institute of S K I M S and A.A.A Memorial Degree College Bemina organised an awareness camp regarding early detection and prevention of various types of cancers. Students and faculty members of the degree college Bemina attended the event.

2. In her welcome address Principal A.A.A. Memorial Degree College Bemina highlighted the importance of such endeavours and assured the organisers that college students will provide all support and cooperation for such programs and will work as ambassadors for CSK’S activities.

3. Prof. (Dr.) Nazir Ahmed Khan Radiation Oncology Department of S K I M S (Joint secretary of Cancer Society of Kashmir) gave a comprehensive presentation on different types of cancers. He advised the audience not to underestimate any kind of biennial change in the body. He gave the importance of early detection as in that case this dreaded disease is curable.

4. The session was followed by interaction between students and experts. Managing committee member Prof. G. M Untoo in his concluding remarks highlighted the scope of such awareness programmes and involvement of youth for its success.

UN Report Shows Nature At Death’s DoorAgenceis

PARIS: A landmark UN report on the state of Nature makes for grim reading, show-ing how humanity has wreaked havoc with the environment.

The 1,800-page draft document, set to be finalised after a biodiversity summit in Paris this week, depicts a planet rav-aged by rampant overconsumption and drowning in pollution, where hundreds of thousands of species risk extinction.

Here is a rundown of the report’s key findings, which read like a charge sheet against history’s most destructive crea-tures: ourselves.

Earth’s population has doubled in 50 years. Not only are we living longer than ever before, we are also consuming more. Today, humans extract around 60 billion tonnes of resources from Nature each year — a rise of 80 per cent in just a few decades.

And we are leaving our mark in other ways. Since 1980, manmade greenhouse gas emissions have doubled, adding at least 0.7C to global temperatures. We

dump up to 400 million tonnes of heavy metals, toxic sludge and other waste into oceans and rivers each year.

The report, compiled from more than 15,000 academic papers and research publications, estimates that 75 per cent of land, 40 per cent of oceans and 50 per cent of rivers “manifest severe impacts of degradation” from human activity.

The document, the first of its kind in 15 years, paints a picture of rife inequal-ity, with richer nations consuming vastly more per capita than poorer ones bat-tling to retain their natural resources. Indeed, per capita demand for materials is four times more in high- than in low-income economies.

In Europe and North America, humans now consume several times the recom-mended intake of meat, sugar and fat for optimal health, while 40 percent of the world’s people lack access even to clean drinking water.

The inequality gap is huge and widen-ing: GDP per head is already 50 times larg-er in wealthy nations than in poor ones.

Industrial fishing is destroying our oceans, according to the report. It found that 70,000 industrial fishing vessels oper-

ate in at least 55 percent of the world’s high seas. Nearly three quarters of major ma-rine fish stocks are depleted or exploited

to the limit of sustainability, despite efforts from the fishing community to implement quotas and drive down overfishing. On land, the situation looks even bleaker.

A third of all land is now given over to agriculture and 75 per cent of freshwater resources is dedicated to food production. In all, at least a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions come from land clearing, crop production and fertilisation, the vast majority of which comes from animal-based food production.

Agribusiness expansion has also led to the disappearance of vast swathes of CO2-absorbing forests: Earth has lost 290 million hectares — around six per cent — of its forests since 1990.

Fertiliser use, which degrades the soil’s ability to grow plants and suck in green-house gases, has risen four-fold in just 13 years in Asia and doubled worldwide in the same period.

Scientists estimate there to be roughly eight million species of plants and ani-mals on Earth, though only a fraction of them have so far been identified.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) “Red List” catalogues some 100,000 species, around a quarter of which are classed as in danger of extinction.

An IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Eco-system Services) report goes much fur-ther, however, projecting that between 500,000 and one million species could face oblivion due to pollution and habitat degradation. Its authors stress that what-ever losses humans inflict on Nature will in turn be inflicted upon us.

More than two billion people still rely on wood as their main energy source, and up to half of all medicines come from plants and animals.

What’s more, the world’s oceans and forests absorb more than half of our greenhouse gas emissions, which are still climbing year on year.

“At current trends, we risk drastic deg-radation, with drops in contributions critical for societies and uneven distribu-tion of losses,” the report states. “Basic needs and luxuries depend on Nature.”

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