@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

CELEB TALKS 14VIOLA DAVIS TO BE AWARDED LIFE-TIME ACHIEVEMENT AT ROME FEST

OPINION 8CHEQUE BOOKDIPLOMACY

SPORTS 16DEBUT BYROHIT 2.O

HYDERABAD, THURSDAY OCTOBER 3, 2019; PAGES 16 `3

}KALYAAN DHEVIN TALKS WITH

SREENIVASS REDDE

Page 13www.dailypioneer.com

{

RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 1 ISSUE 360*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

CM KCR to meetPM Modi tomorrowFirst meeting after Modi assumed office for second term inMay. Both are meeting after a gap of nine monthsPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao will meetPrime Minister NarendraModi in New Delhi onOctober 4. It would be thefirst meeting between themafter Modi assumed office fora second term in May thisyear.

After assuming office asChief Minister of Telanganafor a second term onDecember 13, 2018, KCR metModi only once -- onDecember 26 last year. Thus,KCR is meeting Modi after agap of more than nine months.

KCR had skipped Modi'sswearing-in ceremony in theevening on May 30 this year inNew Delhi, as he was delayedin Vijayawada where heattended Jagan's swearing-in asAP Chief Minister in themorning. KCR's special flight

was not given permission toland at New Delhi airportdue to technical reasons andhe had to return to Hyderabadfrom Vijayawada.

Subsequently, KCR skippedNITI Aayog meeting con-vened by Modi with ChiefMinisters of all states in June,citing busy schedule due to theKaleshwaram project inau-gural function.

After the LS results were outin May, TRS and BJP havebeen engaged in a fierce polit-ical one-upmanship. BJPupped the ante against TRSsince the saffron party couldbag four Lok Sabha seats aftertrouncing TRS and defeatingeven KCR's daughter Kavita inthe process. Thereafter, BJPhad been projecting itself as analternative to TRS inTelangana.

Continued on Page 2

NIZAM'S FUND BELONGS TO INDIA, RULES UK COURT Dismisses Pakistan’s claim over £ 35mn bank depositePNS n LONDON

In a major setback forPakistan, the UK High Courton Wednesday ruled in favourof India in a decades-old legaldispute with Islamabad overfunds belonging to the Nizamof Hyderabad at the time ofPartition in 1947 and deposit-ed in a London bank account.

The Nizam's descendants,Prince Mukarram Jah the tit-ular eighth Nizam ofHyderabad and his youngerbrother Muffakham Jah, hadjoined hands with the Indiangovernment in the legal bat-tle against the Pakistan gov-ernment over around 35 mil-l ion pounds lying withNatWest Bank plc here.

In his judgment handeddown at the Royal Courts ofJustice in London, JusticeMarcus Smith ruled that the"Nizam VII was beneficiallyentitled to the Fund and thoseclaiming in right of NizamVII the Princes and India areentitled to have the sum paidout to their order".

"Pakistan's contentions ofnon-justiciability by reason ofthe foreign act of state doc-trine and non-enforceabilityon grounds of illegality bothfail," the verdict notes.

The dispute revolves

around 1,007,940 pounds andnine shillings transferred in1948 from the then Nizam ofHyderabad to the high com-missioner in Britain of thenewly-formed state ofPakistan. That amount hassince grown into 35 millionpounds as the Nizam'sdescendants, supported byIndia, claimed it belongs tothem and Pakistan counter-claimed that it is rightfully

theirs. "We are delighted thattoday's judgment recognisesHis Exalted Highness the VIIINizam's rights to funds whichhave been in dispute since1948. Our client was still achild when the dispute firstarose and is now in his 80s. Itis a great relief to see this dis-pute finally resolved in hislifetime," said Paul Hewitt,partner in Withers LLP, whohave acted for the VIII Nizam

since Pakistan issued pro-ceedings in 2013.

"Justice Smith's judgmentcovers a complex historicaland legal set of issues, inter-preting facts and events thatoccurred 70 years ago toestablish that the funds, whichnow amount to 35 million,were always held in trust forour client's grandfather, theVII Nizam. The judgmentalso makes important findingson justiciability and whethera nation state can be a trustee,he notes.

In 2013, Pakistan hadwaived sovereign immunityby issuing a claim for the fundthat opened the way for thecurrent case to proceed. ThePakistan government's legalteam had claimed the fund ontwo alternative bases.

One, referred to as theArms for Money Argument ,claimed that funds were trans-ferred to compensate/reim-burse/indemnify Pakistan forassistance provided in procur-ing/facilitating the supplyand/or transportation ofweapons. The second groundwas that the funds were trans-ferred in order to keep themout of the hands of India,referred to by the judge as theSafeguarding Argument.

Continued on Page 2

PNS n HYDERABAD

RTC Workers' JAC leaderAswadhdhama Reddy hasmade it clear that the corpora-tion employees would go onstrike from Oct 5 as scheduled,as negotiations with the gov-ernment- appointed three-member committee headed byspecial chief secretary SomeshKumar have failed.

Addressing media personsafter talks with the committeehere on Wednesday, Reddysaid that JAC would fight forgetting their 26 demands ful-filled, particularly merger ofRTC employees with govern-ment staff. He called upon RTC

workers to launch the strikewith a missionary zeal. JAC hadbeen striving to find a solutionto workers' problems and want-ed the state government also todo its part in resolving theirproblems.

Reddy pointed out that com-mittees appointed in the past toexamine their problems did notsubmit their reports to thegovernment. The present com-mittee had sought additionaltime to resolve their problems,he said, citing comments of thecommittee members. He want-ed the committee members tothink of a solution from theworkers' perspective.

Continued on Page 3

No headway in talkswith JAC of RTC staff

RTC union leaders displaying placards with their demands, following failure ofJAC's talks with government-appointed panel headed by special chief secretaryon Wednesday

RTC workers to go on strike asplanned from October 5

PNS nWASHINGTON

President Donald Trump is soimpatient to stop immigrationin the United States that he sug-gested the border wall be elec-trified with spikes on top thatcould pierce human flesh, andproposed that it should be for-tified with a "water-filled trench"with "snakes or alligators", dur-ing a March meeting with theWhite House advisors in theOval Office, The New YorkTimes reported. He also askedhis advisors to shut down theentire 2,000-mile border withMexico by noon the next day.Trump also advised thatmigrants be shot in their legs.

The New York Times report

is based on interviews withmore than a dozen White Houseadministration officials involvedin the events during the week ofthe meeting. The article pub-lished Tuesday was adaptedfrom "Border Wars: Inside

Trump's Assault onImmigration," a book to bepublished on October 8 by thepublication''s reporters MichaelShear and Julie Hirschfeld Davis.

The 30-minute meeting wasextended to two hours as"Trump team tried desperatelyto placate him."

The meeting was attended byKirstjen Nielsen, the homelandsecurity secretary at the time;Mike Pompeo, the Secretary ofState; Kevin K McAleenan, theCustoms and Border Protectionchief at the time; and StephenMiller, the White House aidewho, more than anyone, hadorchestrated Trump's immigra-tion agenda. Mick Mulvaney, theacting chief of staff was also

there, along with Jared Kushner,the president''s son-in-law, andother senior staff. Trump wasfurious with Nielsen andPompeo over their soft approachover the immigration issue. Hehad routinely chided Nielsen asineffective and, not tough-look-ing enough. The President wasangry with Pompeo for havingcut a deal with Mexico to allowthe United States to reject someasylum seekers.

Trump believed that the com-plete shutdown of the borderwas the only solution. Nielsontried to make the presidentunderstand that building a wallwill not solve the problem aspeople will still be permitted toclaim asylum.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Prices of onions and tomatoescontinue to skyrocket, makingthem unaffordable for the poor. Till Tuesday, onion was the onlypricey vegetable. With tomatotoo becoming scarce due toreduced supplies to the city, itsprices have moved up sharply.The decline in supplies is attrib-uted to shortage caused byfloods in neighbouring states,from where tomato is sourced. According to reports from thecity's main markets, supplies oftomato to Gudimalkapur, LBNagar, Bowenpally,Madannapet, Mehdipatnam,Yerragadda, Kukatpally, Alwaland LB Nagar markets havecome down drastically. Asagainst 100-150 truck-loads oftomatoes received a week ago,supplies have come down to 60-

80 truckloads cur-rently.

Traders attributethe decline in suppliesto failure of variouscrops, including tomato,due to spells of heavy down-pour across the state witnessedduring the past 7-10 days

The impact of heavy rains ontomato crops has been high inRangareddy, Medak, Siddipet,Nizamabad and Mahabubnagar

districts, according to officials ofmarketing department.

Moreover, tomatoes comingto the market are found to be ofsub-standard quality. Besides,unripe tomatoes have flooded

the market. Yet, they arecommanding high

prices. In the

w h o l e s a l emarket, a kgof tomatoesis being soldat Rs 25-30.

Retailers areselling it at Rs

40-50 per kg.Sourcing of toma-

toes to city from Maharashtra,Karnataka and Rajasthan is notin line with the demand.Traders attribute this phenom-enon to hike in prices of toma-toes.

Onion, tomato prices rule high

L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

There was a time when theAndhra Pradesh governmentused to feel the pinch of deci-sions taken by the Telanganagovernment post 2014 bifur-cation. Five years down theline, the situation seems tohave reversed, with AndhraPradesh showing the way atleast to disaffected sections ofpeople. This explains why TSChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao winceswhenever his AP counterpartJaganmohan Reddy takes apolicy decision in keeping thepromises made by YSRCP dur-ing his pre-poll padayatra.

Several crucial decisionstaken by KCR between 2014and 2018 nettled the AndhraPradesh government headedby TDP chief and then CM NChandrababu Naidu. It wasthen not an issue for KCR as,upon bifurcation of undividedAP in 2014, Telangana became'revenue-surplus', while resid-ual AP became 'revenue-deficit'.

Flush with funds, KCRannounced highest fitment(basic pay hike) of 43 per centto State government employeesin February 2015.Chandrababu was forced tofollow suit. He yielded to thedemand of AP employees thatthey be given hike matchingthat of TS employees. Withinthree months, KCR followed it

up by announcing 44 per centfitment to TSRTC staff. Naiducould not help succumbing tothe demand for 43% fitment byAPSRTC staff, though he wasdisinclined to go beyond 25per cent hike.

Subsequent decisions ofKCR relating to hike in hono-rarium or salaries, as the casemay be, for home guards,police constables, ASHA work-ers, Vidya volunteers etcfuelled demands for compara-ble hikes from AP staff. Naiduhad to virtually sign on thedotted line just to keep upappearances and to avoid beingseen as a leader who was nomatch to KCR.

In spite of being derided forcopying TS scheme, Naiduadopted and adapted KCR'sRythu Bandhu. He intro-

duced "Annadata Sukhibhava",though with a few restric-tions.

However, the change ofguard in AP, following TDP'srout in the Assembly polls inMay this year and YSRCPascent to power with a thump-ing majority, has seenJaganmohan Reddy take finan-cially challenging decisionsjust to keep the promises hehad made during his statewidepadayatra. These decisionshave begun to haunt KCR.

A case in point is the strikeby TSRTC employees fromOctober 5th. This is a conse-quence of Jagan's recent deci-sion to merge all the employ-ees of APSRTC with the stategovernment staff. This is a tallorder for KCR. This demandhas been there since the 1980swhen late NTR was CM. Yet,none of the CMs could dare toaddress this demand becauseof the complications involvedin absorbing a perenniallyloss-making organization. Itwas Jagan who blazed a trail inthe changed circumstancesand against odds.

Continued on Page 2

Jagan's moves put KCR in a fix

DD officialsuspended fornot telecastingPM speechCHENNAI: Indian publicbroadcaster Prasar Bharati hassuspended R. Vasumathi,Assistant Director(Programme) of Doordarshan(DD) allegedly for not allow-ing live telecast of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi'sspeech at the Singapore-IndiaHackathon 2019 on DDPodhigai on September 30.

The Singapore-IndiaHackathon 2019 prize distrib-ution function was held atIndian Institute of Technology,Madras (IITM) here onMonday. The broadcaster iscontemplating disciplinaryproceedings against Vasumathiof the Tamil channel.

600 prisonersacross Indiareleased onGandhi JayantiNEW DELHI: Nearly 600prisoners, convicted ofoffences other than murder,rape and corruption, releasedfrom 150 jails across thecountry on Wednesday, the150th birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi. All theseprisoners will be releasedunder a special remissionscheme.

However, around 80 con-victs selected from jails inMaharashtra and Haryana,will have to wait for theirrelease. With the announce-ment of Assembly elections inthe state and the model codeof conduct coming into force,their release date has beenshifted till the elections getover. Of the five prisonersnamed , the Tihar jail admin-istration will release onlythree.

PM proposes‘EinsteinChallenge'NEW DELHI: In a tribute toMahatma Gandhi on his150th birth anniversary,Prime Minister NarendraModi has penned an op-edpiece in The New YorkTimes, calling Gandhi as the"best teacher" and proposedan "Einstein Challenge".

Enumerating his govern-ment's work in the field ofsanitation, eliminating pover-ty and renewable energy,Modi invited thinkers, entre-preneurs and tech leaders tobe at the forefront of spread-ing Gandhi's ideas throughinnovation, as part of the"Einstein Challenge".

We know Albert Einstein'sfamous words on Gandhi:"Generations to come willscarce believe that such a oneas this ever in flesh andblood walked upon thisearth."

Trump wanted electrified border wall fortified with snakes, alligators

PNS n TRICHY

Two masked robbers havemade away with jewels worthseveral crores at a branch of thepopular Lalithaa Jewellery inTamil Nadu's Trichy district.When employees entered thestore on Wednesday just before9 am, it was discovered that anentire section of jewellery man-nequins had their valuablesmissing with the protectivecovering undone. These con-sisted of gold and diamondnecklaces. Even as a policeinvestigation is underway, thelatest estimates suggest thatthese jewels weighing approx-imately 100 kg could be worthmany crores. CCTV footagecaptured at the store shows twomen - one wearing a dog maskand another a cat mask - enter-

ing the ground floor of the storewith duffel bags in hand. Thestore is located near the busyChathram bus stand area of thecity. However, the store bordersan empty plot of land throughwhich the thieves are suspected to have drilled ahole for passage.

Continued on Page 3

The masked men in the jewellery store they robbed

Men wearing masksrob Lalithaa Jewellery

l Jagan'ssops toAPSRTC stafffuelledTSRTC strikefrom Oct 5

l KCR dominatedChandrababu with sops tovarious sections in his first

terml Now Jagan lands KCR introuble with his sops in AP

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

AP Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy will meetPrime Minister NarendraModi in New Delhi onOctober 5. The CM is expect-ed to take up pending bifur-cation-related issues concern-ing AP with the PM.

Interestingly, Jagan is meet-ing a day after his Telanganacounterpart K ChandrasekharRao is meeting Modi onOctober 4. Jagan is expected tourge Modi again on grantingspecial category status to AP,as promised by the Centre atthe time of bifurcation of uni-fied Andhra Pradesh in 2014.

Besides, Jagan is likely toseek special financial assis-tance to AP to bridge revenue-deficit and enhance share toAP in central grants.

He is also likely to seekCentre's help in early comple-tion of Polavaram irrigationproject across Godavari riverand funds for construction ofcapital city.

AP CM Jaganto meet Modion Oct 5

In the wholesalemarket, a kg oftomatoes is beingsold at Rs 25-30.Retailers areselling it at Rs40-50 per kg

The hole made by the robbers to gainentry into the shop

The dispute revolved around 1,007,940 pounds andnine shillings transferred in 1948 from the then Nizamof Hyderabad to the high commissioner in Britain ofthe newly-formed state of Pakistan

HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated October 02, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Ashwini& Sukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Panchami : 10:11 am

Nakshatram: Anuradha : 12:10 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 01:33 pm – 03:02 pm

Yamagandam: 06:10 am – 07:38 am

Varjyam: 05:49 pm - 07:38 pm

Gulika: 09:07 am - 10:36 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 03:28 am - 05:05 am

Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:41 am - 12:28 pm

Forecast: ThunderstormsTemp: 31/23Humidity: 90%Sunrise: 06.06Sunset: 06.03

PNS n HYDERABAD

Vice-President M VenkaiahNaidu has called for translationof great literary works from dif-ferent languages into as manylanguages as possible, Indian aswell as foreign. He said that ina country such as ours, trans-lations would also play animportant role in promotingnational integration.

Addressing a gatheringafter releasing the Englishtranslation of epic Telugunovel 'Veyipadagalu' writtenby 'Kavi Saamraat 'Viswanadha Satyanarayana inHyderabad on Wednesday, hesaid such steps would enablereaders across the globe to notonly enjoy good creative liter-ature, but also expose them todifferent cultures and ways oflife.

The Vice-President said thatthere was an urgent need todigitise and preserve works indifferent literary forms inIndian languages and promotetheir translations. He saidtranslation of such workswould enable the readers toknow about the traditions, cul-ture, customs, values, and ideasof the author and his immedi-ate world.

The Vice-President alsowanted universities and col-

leges to set up separate depart-ments to promote translations.He also urged all states tomake mother tongue manda-tory up to primary education.

Talking about the genius ofViswanadha Satyanarayana,Naidu said that the legendarywriter had articulated issuessuch as education, family,society, economy, politics, cul-ture, poverty and such otherpressing problems in his writ-

ings with remarkable fore-sight.

Naidu said that the writersaw a crucial differencebetween reading and educa-tion, adding that educationmust empower individualsand instill good conduct, dis-cipline and calibre in stu-dents.

Saying that good books suchas Veyipadagalu transpose thereader into a new world and

enrich his or her understand-ing of the many facets of life asnarrated by the author, Naidusaid that the great works havethe power to leave an everlast-ing impression on the minds ofthe readers.

The critically acclaimednovel was earlier translatedinto Hindi by former PM PVNarsaimha Rao as 'SahasraPhan'.

The Vice-President also pre-sented Viswanadha SahityaAward to Dr C Mrunalini forLiterary Criticism and VelchalaKeshava Rao Award to DrVaidehi Sashidhar for BilingualPoetry. The chairman ofViswanadha Sahitya PeetamDr Velchala Kondal Rao, chair-man of Shanta Biotechnics DrKI Varaprasada Reddy andothers were present on theoccasion.

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Phone: 040-23322341, Hyderabad Office: F-502, Diamond Block, Lumbini Rockdale, Somajiguda, Hyderabad - 500 082. Telangana. Printed at JagathiPublications Ltd, D 75, E 52, Industrial Estate, Balangar, Hyderabad -500 037, Medchal -Malkajgiri District, Telangana. Chief Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any

damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement before

responding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019 hyderabad 02

SPREADING FFRAGRANCE OOF FFLOWERS

Govt releases Rs 83 cr forAnganwadi staff salary

PNS n HYDERABAD

At the request of Women andChild Welfare MinisterSatyavati Rathode, ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao on Wednesday released Rs83 crore towards payment ofwages to Anganwadi teachersand helpers before Dasara fes-tival. The finance departmentissued a GO for the purpose.

Generally, wages are paid toAnganwadi staff towards theend of the month.

On Tuesday, leaders ofAnganwadi teachers and Ayahscalled on Satyavati Rathodeand urged her to request theCM to get the salaries releasedin advance to enable them tocelebrate Dasara. The ministertook the Anganwadi employ-ees' problems to the notice ofthe CM, who agreed.

Satyavati Rathode recalledhow the CM has been respond-ing positively to resolve theproblems of Anganwadi work-ers. She pointed out that theTRS government hiked thewages of Anganwadi workerstwice, which is unprecedentedin the country.

In an indirect reference toerstwhile TDP regime headedby Chandrababu Naidu, shepointed out how that regime

got Anganwadi workers, whohad staged a massive protest,trampled upon by mountedpolice. In sharp contrast, shesaid that the TRS governmentwill hold the Anganwadi work-ers close to its chest. Within 24hours of placing the request,the government acted withalacrity and released salaries,she said calling the TRS gov-ernment as prof-women gov-ernment. The incident timeand again proved that it givestop most priority to protectinterests of women.

On Huzurnagar by-election,Satyavati Rathode said thatthe women are strongly withthe TRS and predicted TRSnominee SanampudiSaidireddy winning the seatwith a thumping majority.

Further, she said that the peo-ple were in no mood to believewhat the opposition says.

Several welfare schems forwomen and child welfare sincea woman's conception to hergirl child's marriage are beingimplemented by the TRS gov-ernment, which is unique toTelangana, she pointed out.

Further, she elaborated thathouse-site pattas are beinggiven in the name of womenand noted that her governmentenacted many laws forwomen's protection and imple-menting them.

Anganwadi teachers andAyahs association leadersBhikshapamma thankedSatyavati Rathode for hon-ouring the association requestimmediately.

n WAGES PAID EARLY ON ACCOUNT OF DASARA

Welfare MinisterSatyavatiRathode recalledhow the CM wasrespondingpositively toresolve problemsof Anganwadiworkers

Implement30-day plan:Etela to mandalsPNS n KARIMNAGAR

Medical and Health MinisterEtela Rajender on Tuesdayexhorted mandal officials ofHuzurabad to take up clean-liness drive under the 30-daydevelopment plan with a con-certed approach.

The minister was takingpart in Huzurabad mandalparishad's general body meet-ing. Speaking on the occa-sion, the minister said clean-liness in villages would min-imize disease risk. He said theHuzurabad hospital would bedeveloped on par with MGMhospital in Warangal in com-ing days.

Panchayat Rajofficial commitssuicide

Village manfined forremoving plantsPNS n MEDAK

Chilukoti Rajireddy, a villagerof Appanapalli gram panchay-at in Dubbaka mandal ofSiddipet district, was finedRs19,000 by the village secre-tary for removing saplingsplanted as part of HarithaHaram.

Village secretaryVishnuvardhan issued thefine notice to Rajireddy asprovided for in the 30-daycomprehensive plan for ruraldevelopment. He was chargedwith the offence of removing40 saplings planted in thegreen drive. The accusedpaid the fine to Panchayat.

PNS n JAGITYAL

A Panchayat Raj executiveengineer committed suicidein Venkatraopeta ofMedipalli mandal onTuesday. The deceased wasidentified as Sandhya.Reasons for her taking theextreme step have not beenknown yet. Police got aninquest done and shifted thebody to a government hospi-tal here for post-mortem.

Communist cadres upset withCPI joining hands with TRSPNS n NALGONDA

Communist party cadres inSuryapet district haveexpressed disappointmentover the CPI leadership'smeeting with the TRS highcommand. The Huzurnagarcadre felt it was a 'strategiclapse by the party leadership'in taking the decision to joinhands with the TRS.

Members of CPI as well asCPM in the Huzurnagar seg-

ment had been resenting anysuch move by their leaders forthe past few days, although theCPI had not spelled out clear-ly its decision on supportingthe TRS nominee in the by-poll.

Venkat Ramaiah, a seniorcommunist cadre inHuzurnagar segment saidthe CPI's "meek surrender"in the crucial by-electionhad projected the party inbad light, adding that the

decision would cost the com-munist party dearly in theregion.

The general sentimentamong communist cadres inSuryapet district was that theirparty must remain focusedon opposition unity on publicissues.

The rejection of CPM can-didate Shekhar Rao's nomina-tion was also viewed as setbackfor the communists inHuzurnagar.

V-P calls for translation of greatliterature into many languages

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu releases an English translation of epic Telugu novel ‘Veyipadagalau’ in Hyderabad on Wednesday

n Calls forsteps to digitiseand preserveworks indifferent literaryforms in Indianlanguages

n All states should makemother tongue mandatory upto primary education

n Releases Englishtranslation of epic Telugunovel 'Veyipadagalu'

n Also presents Viswanadha Sahitya Award &Velchala Keshava Rao Award

CHIPS ARE DOWN FOR COMMUNIST PARTIESPV KONDAL RAOn WARANGAL

Communist parties in northand south Telangana districtshave been facing an acuteresource and manpower crunchfor the past few years, which isbeginning to affect the moraleof the remaining cadres even intheir previous strongholds suchas Khammam and Nalgonda.

Though the two communistparties, CPI and CPM, havecontested the elections as twodifferent political fronts, theirpresence has reduced to negli-gible in the villages. Cadre andtrade union activists of theparties could not get motivationand funding from their partyleadership in the districts forsome years now. Full-timers onwhom the party relied till dateare unable to garner the support

of the public on the issues con-fronted by them from time totime.

The weakening of commu-nist influence is not restrictedto politics in Telangana statethough, their presence hasreduced in trade union pockets

such as Singareni CollieriesCompany Limited in Telanganaand the industrial areas ofHyderabad and its suburbs inthe recent years.

The main groups of commu-nists parted ways and embracedtwo different lines during the

statehood struggle ofTelangana. At that time, the CPIsupported the separateTelangana state struggle tobecome a part of Telanganastate political JAC. On theother hand, the CPM favoureda Unified Andhra Pradesh stateand it supported theSamaikyandhra movement.Since the Telangana statehoodmovement was a stronger enti-ty, the JACs and political par-ties supporting that strugglecould mobilise resources fortheir struggles and at that cru-

cial point only their fundsmobilisation process suffered aserious setback.

At the same time, the full-time party members of CPI andCPM, who used to motivateand guide their cadre, werereduced in number in certainpockets where the party lost itscrucial influence, which led tofurther erosion of morale tomotivate the support base toundertaking people's struggles.

The resource base at thiscrucial juncture was captured bythe statehood struggle of

Telangana which diverted atten-tion from all other popularmovements for at least fiveyears till 2014. In the subsequentyears, the communists main-tained a wait-and-watch stancein the new state of Telanganawhile reacting to the issuesconfronted by the state.

Later when Telangana move-ment torch-bearers becameleaders in all aspects, includingpolitical leadership, the publictoo were diverted to that groupwhile the communistsremained mute spectators onmany occasions in the subse-quent period.

Ever since, their presence andparticipation in public affairshas reduced further. The now-weakened communists couldno longer attract the workingclass in rural parts and the partybases suffered further dents.

Currently, the two commu-nist parties find themselves asa mere reflection of their formerimage in bastions likeKhammam and Nalgonda.They were compelled to playsecond fiddle to the main par-ties in the successive elections.Even in trade union elections,their presence is unlikely todraw much support in the faceof competition from TRS andthe national ruling party BJP,which have started focusing onentities like RTC and regionslike the Singareni belt.

Although leaders of the twomain communist parties differwith this view, the mandal levelactivists and full-timers of onetime strongly suggest the chipsare down and their party highcommand need to do intro-spection in order to regain lostground.

n MANDAL LEVEL CADRES SAY THE SLIDE IS SEVERE, LEADERS OF CPI, CPM FEEL THINGS ARE NOT SO DIRE

Telangana Jagruthi founder Kalvakuntla Kavitha meets Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan Bathukamma good wishes in the cityon Wednesday

PNS n HYDERABAD

Minister KTR stated thatTelangana Jagruthi played akey role in taking theBathukamma festival to aninternational level. He appre-ciated TelanganaJagruthi founder andp r e s i d e n tK a l v a k u n t l aKavitha for herefforts in bringingworldwide famefor Telangana'sstate festivalBathukamma.

Minister KTR mentionedthat when the earlier gov-ernment had imposed a ban

on ce lebrat ingBathukamma atTank Bund, it wasT e l a n g a n aJagr ut h i w hich

appealed to theHig h C our t and

brought orders to cel-ebrate Bathukamma. Healso stated that TelanganaJagruthi played a signifi-

cant ro le dur ing theTelangana movement.

KTR said that the state gov-ernment is distributingBathukamma sarees to womenin Telangana and the pro-gramme is aimed at increasingthe income of weavers. Heextended Bathukamma greet-ings to all women ofTelangana.

Telangana Jagruthi lauded forpopularising Bathukamma globally

Though the two communist parties,CPI and CPM, have contested theelections as two different politicalfronts, their presence has reduced tonear-negligible in the villages

KTR appreciated Telangana Jagruthifounder and president KalvakuntlaKavitha for her efforts in bringingworldwide fame for Telangana's state

festival Bathukamma

Jagan's moves putKCR in a fix

Continued from Page 1

Compounding KCR's woes,Jagan enhanced the retire-ment age of employees ofAPSRTC, from 58 years to 60years, two days ago. This hasgenerated a lot of goodwill forhim among RTC employees inboth TS and AP.

Now, TSRTC employeeshave decided to go on strikefrom October 5, demandingmerger of corporationemployees with the govern-ment staff and enhancementof retirement age. It is not easyfor KCR to answer their ques-tion: "If AP can do it, why notTS?"

They point out that thosewho had been their colleaguesuntil five years ago are nowgovernment employees andthat too with enhanced agelimit of 60 years in AP.

The pressure being felt byKCR can be gauged from thefact that he had to discuss thisissue for over five hours dur-ing Tuesday's cabinet meeting.KCR has bought time by con-stituting a committee withsenior IAS Officers to exam-ine the demands of RTCemployees. The committee,comprising Somesh Kumar,special chief secretary, aschairman and principal secre-tary Ramakrishna Rao andprincipal secretary SunilSharma as members, will dis-cuss with RTC employees.After examining theirdemands thoroughly, they willsubmit a report to the govern-ment as early as possible.

Even this had a false start onWednesday. For, the firstround of talks held with RTCstaff failed, with employeessticking to their guns.

CM KCR tomeet PM...Continued from Page 1

KCR is expected to cite eco-nomic recession and seekfinancial assistance to statesfrom the Centre, consideringthe dwindling revenues ofvarious state governments andcuts in central grants to states.

KCR is expected to also takeup pending bifurcation-relat-ed issues concerningTelangana such as the settingup of steel factory inBayyaram, railway coach fac-tory in Kazipet, changes inzonal system in the wake ofcreation of two more districtsin TS this year, faster disbur-sal of pending funds from theCentre, Rs 24,000 crore finan-cial assistance to MissionBhagiratha and MissionKakatiya as recommended byNITI Aayog three years agoand according 'national pro-ject' status to one of the irriga-tion projects in Telangana etc.

Nizam's fund belong...Continued from Page 1

Pakistan had made two fur-ther arguments that the factsof this case were such as torender it non-justiciablebecause the original transferwas governmental in natureand that India's annexationof Hyderabad in 1948 was anunlawful act, which taintedIndia and Nizam VIII'sclaim.

The UK High Court, duringa trial earlier this year, hadbeen asked to determine thecentral question of who exact-ly is the beneficial owner of thefunds belonging to the lateNizam, Osman Ali Khan.While the Nizam, who facedthe quandary of joiningPakistan or staying with India

at the time of the funds trans-fer back in 1948, had laterreportedly sought the return ofthe funds.

NatWest Bank has sinceheld on to the funds deposit-ed into the London bankaccount of then Pakistan HighCommissioner Habib IbrahimRahimtoola in safekeepinguntil its rightful legal owner isestablished.

While acknowledging thatthere was evidence of the sup-ply of arms by Pakistan toHyderabad around this peri-od, the judge said he had notbeen persuaded by Pakistan'sArms for Money argument.He notes there was no evi-dence linking the funds in theNatWest bank account to thesupply of arms.

RIMEORNERC

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019 hyderabad 03

National Thermal Power Corporation Limited and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials, accompanied byhundreds of volunteers, conducted a cleanliness drive at Charminar on Gandhi Jayanti in the city on Wednesday

PRACTISING WWHAT WWAS PPREACHED

Curtain drawn over muck, Musi, Esi for VIP visits

PNS n HYDERABAD

Many places on the routetaken by Governor TamilisaiSoundararajan and ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao to reach Bapu Ghat atLangar House were covered onthe sides by large temporarysheets for the 150th GandhiJayanti event.

Officials of the tourismdepartment made thearrangements at Bapu Ghatbefore the notables arrived topay tribute at Mahatma'smemorial where his asheswere immersed at the conflu-ence of rivers Musi and Esi.

Residents of Langer Housewere overwhelmed to have aspic and span ambienceovernight. The civic body hadcovered up unseemly sights on

the VIP with temporary blinds.Luminaries who paid floral

tributes to Gandhi's Memorialcompletely failed to get aglimpse of Musi and Esi flow-ing adjacent to venue. The areais partially encroached, high-ly polluted, hyacinth borneand littered with human exc-reta.

"Till a week ago, the memo-rial was covered with grimeand the river bank was full ofrubbish. But yesterday, theplace was done up with flow-

ers and DDT was sprayedeverywhere to keeps theswarms of mosquitoes away,"said Raj Kumar, an engineer-ing student and resident ofBapu Ghat area.

After paying the floral trib-ute, the governor and chiefminister and other dignitarieswent to the building whichdisplays photographs of thefreedom struggle. The photomuseum is open only twice ayear i.e. on 2nd October and30th January.

n GANDHI JAYANTI EVENT AT BAPU GHAT SEES HYD'S UNDERBELLY SHROUDED FROM GUV, CM'S SIGHT

Officials of the tourism departmentmade arrangements at Bapu Ghatbefore the VIPs arrived to pay tributeat Mahatma's memorial near theconfluence of rivers Musi and Esi

Sept rains leave behind3,606 potholes in city PNS n HYDERABAD

The Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) said that it had iden-tified 3,606 potholes after therecent rains that lashedHyderabad in September.

"Due to recent heavy rains,the damaged roads are beingrepaired at a rapid pace by theEngineering Department ofthe GHMC...the repair worksare being taken up with themonsoon teams and tempo-rary arrangements have beenmade for smooth movement ofcommuters," a press note stat-ed.

The GHMC said that morethan 200 monsoon teams hadbeen deployed to re-carpet theroads wherever necessary, withtheir focus being on mainroads and arterial roads.

"On Tuesday, 556 potholeswere identified out of which134 potholes were repaired.This included 48 in LBNagar zone, 72 in

Charminar zone, 127 inKhairatabad zone, 127 inSerilingampally zone, 53 inKukatpally zone and 168 inSecunderabad zone," theGHMC press note stated.

"From June to September,the number of potholes iden-tified are 21,471 and most ofthem were repaired," the

municipal body added.During September,

Telangana received 241 mmrainfall against normal of 163.9mm, an excess of 47 percent.

Despite nearly 40 percentdeficit in June due to thedelayed monsoon and its slug-gish movement during July,heavy rains during the subse-

quent months helpedTelangana overcome the short-fall.

.The excess rainfall inHyderabad during Septemberwas 116 percent. The cityrepeatedly received heavy rainsover the past few weeks, whichinundated low-lying areas andaffected normal life.

GHMC saidmore than 200monsoon teamshad beendeployed to re-carpet theroads wherevernecessary, withprimary focusbeing on mainroads andarterial roads

PNS n HYDERABAD

Osmania University in-chargevice-chancellor Arvind Kumaron Wednesday inauguratedLED lights installed near theladies' hostel in the universi-ty campus at a cost of Rs 10lakh under a corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) initiativeby MB IlluminationEngineering company.

Arvind Kumar said that theLED bulbs were installed in aradius of 1.75 km aroundladies hospital to illuminatethe ladies hostel cluster. Hethanked the company for itsgesture.

CCTV cameras and electricfences have been installed forprotection of inmates of theladies' hostel. The in-charge V-C asked university officials todraw up plans to illuminateOU Arts College premisesand university library premis-es so as to lend beauty to thesestructures.

He said university horticul-

ture department officialsworking jointly to improvegreenery in the universitycampus. He wanted the uni-versity officials to pay attentionto creation of basic amenitiesin the university.

Registrar Prof Ch GopalReddy, principals of OU Artsand Science Colleges PrincipalRavinder and OU ScienceCollege Prof Pratap Reddyand others took part in theceremony.

City dogs ‘join'Delhi Policesquad!PNS n HYDERABAD

Five retrievers bought from akennel in Hyderabad by DelhiPolice a few months ago are setto be inducted into the caninesquad of the Delhi Police.

The 12 to 15 months oldCongo, Zendra, Krisi, Kosbiand Kamat were born inHyderabad got trained for sixmonths in a dog training cen-tre run by the BSF inTekanpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Retrievers are known fortheir intelligence, agility anda keen sense of smell thatmakes them popular amonglaw enforcement agenciesacross the world. The fivenew Delhi Police recruits candetect any bomb or explosivelike RDX. Officers told thereporters that the dogs areready for their induction andhave been trained and med-ically examined.

GHMC hikesads rates by 50% PNS n HYDERABAD

In a move to boost revenue,the Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) on Tuesdayannounced a revision inadvertisement rates.

The move will lead to anincrease in advertisement ratesof around 50%. GHMCCommissioner DS LokeshKumar said that the newadvertising rates would beapplicable for the current fis-cal year.

Advertisement fee is one ofthe key sources of revenueGHMC and every year it earnsabout Rs 40 crore throughadvertisement hoardings onover 2,600 hoardings and alsothe ad boards on several cen-tral dividers, uniforms, neonglossine boards, bus shelters,wall paintings, glass posters,

pillar boards, shop shutters,balloons, umbrellas, slides,short films, auto backs, buses,and cabs.

Their revenue is likely todouble, and the ads are likelyto reduce. The corporationsaid the advertisement fee hasnot been revised for over fouryears.

GHMC said, Because thecity is rapidly expanding,becoming a global city andmaking significant strides inthe IT and industrial sectors,it has been decided to increasethese advertising charges by 50per cent.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A flexi banner of a privateschool carrying photos of stu-dents of nursery, LKG andUKG as 'toppers' has invitedthe wrath of netizens after avideo of the banner went viralon Internet.

The banner was put up by aprivate institution, PriyaBharati school, in the city.The school banner showedranks and gradings of pre-KG,LKG and UKG students. Itproudly declared as 'toprankers' of the school. Photosof 44 such students figured onthe flexi.

Academicians are breathingfire at the school managementfor awarding ranks to suchsmall children. World over,education is imparted to nurs-ery students in a pleasantatmosphere, free from com-petition. Pushing them intocompetition at a tender age isunfortunate, said many acad-emicians.

Several netizens posted

similar opinions on socialmedia. Suneesha, one of therespondents on social media,expressed her dislike anddescribed the phenomenonas unfortunate. India 'sambassador in France DrMohan Kumar in a message

tweeted saying that the coun-try's primary education is fullof loopholes. Another neti-zen Dheeraj Singla demand-ed derecognizing suchschools for forstering com-petition in kids from a ten-der age.

School draws flak forobjectionable hoarding

Five pickpocketsnabbed

The Commissioner's TaskForce, West Zone Team

apprehended a five-membergang of pickpockets andrecovered net cash of Rs91,020, a car and seven cellphones from their possession.The accused were identifiedas Vemula Raju, 28, JalachitraNageshwar Rao, 42,Janapareddy Kondal Rao, 35,J. Naga Raju, 23, andSathupati Nagaraju, 45, whocommitted offences in thelimits of Banjara Hills inHyderabad and Alair ofRachakonda, said the police.Raju's mother, Kondamma, isa notorious pickpocket and isinvolved in several cases inHyderabad and Cyberabadlimits. Raju is kingpin of thegang and is working as cardriver in Hyderabad. As perhis plan, he engaged theothers, who were previousoffenders on commissionbasis, said the DCP,Commissioner's Task Force, P.Radhakrishna Rao. "As pertheir plan, on September 27,the gang went to Alair in a car,bearing the number TS 07 FT3463, for a meeting of oathtaking ceremony of AlairAgriculture Market CommitteeChairman at ANR Garden.They picked pockets of peoplein the said place and fled withmore than Rs 1 lakh in thecar. Again on September 29,they went to City Center busstop at road number 1 BanjaraHills, and picked Rs 9,000from a person's pocket whilehe was waiting for the bus"said the official. Their modusoperandi is to wear white toappear neat and decent. Theyusually go to political partiesand other meetings bywearing white shirts and parktheir vehicle closeby. Theyidentify the target andsurround him to commitoffence. On Monday, when thegang came to Banjara Hillsarea in their car, the WestZone Task Force teamapprehended them andhanded them over to theBanjara Hills police for furthernecessary action.

Property offenderarrested

The Cyberabad policearrested an automobile

thief and recovered sixmotorcycles worth Rs 2.5 lakhfrom his possession.According to the police, theoffender,identified asP Dattu,22, anauto-rickshawdriverfromHafeezpet inMiyapur and a native of PeddaShankarampet in Sangareddydistrict, recce residentialcolonies in secluded placesand targeted parkedmotorcycles. Using aduplicate key, he unlocked thebikes and fled with them,police said. Cases werebooked against him inBachupally and KPHB policestations. He was producedbefore a court and remandedin judicial custody.

Gang-rapeaccuseddetainedunder PD Act PNS n HYDERABAD

In the ongoing drive againsthabitual offenders to ensuresafety, security to the gener-al public and to preservepublic order in Rachakonda,the police commissionerMahesh Bhagwat hasdetained four gang rapeoffenders under PD Act.

The four men, identified asRahul Maaji, 25, ManojSamrat, 23, Durga Samrat, 20,and Dhaya Nidhi Maji, 20,and the victim women hailedfrom Odisha state and arelabours by profession.

"Since two months, theywere working as a labour atJMB Brick Kilns at NDThanda, Maheshwaram. Onthe night of August 16, whilethe victim women went toattend nature's call, they fol-lowed her from backside andtook her to an isolated placeunder the cover of bushes andraped her and fled the place"said the official, adding thatthe Maheshwaram Policearrested the gang on August22 and remanded them tojudicial custody.

Detention orders wereinvoked against them byRachakonda Commissionerof Police on October 1.

Sweets shop finedRs 20k over hygienePNS n HYDERABAD

Acting tough against violationof Swachh activitiesin the city, GHMCimposed a fine of Rs20,000 on 'SweetMagic' restaurant atKPHB on Wednesday.

The civic bodyimposed the fine formaintaining unhy-gienic conditions,usage of plastic and for notsegmenting dry and wet waste,which is an offense under

many sections of HMC Act1955.

Corporation officials saidthat the fines arebeing imposed todeter individualsand establishmentsfor impeding theSwachhata pro-grammes and'behaving irrespon-sibly,' and not toboost the revenue

of civic body. They said theoperations for inspections onrestaurants will continue.

World over, education is imparted tonursery students free from stress.Pushing children into competition at atender age is unfortunate, said many academicians in the city

Workers hang up cloth sheets to cover up the sides of the route to Bapu Ghat

Arvind Kumarsaid that theLED bulbs wereinstalled in aradius of 1.75km aroundladies hospitalto illuminate thehostel cluster

LEDs put up nearOU ladies' hostel

OU in-charge V-C Arvind Kumar inaugurated LED lights installations at thevarsity's ladies' hostel on Wednesday

Continued from Page 1

The hole remained partiallyhidden from view thanks tothe compound wall.

The incident is said to havetaken place between 2 amand 4: 30 am in the wee hoursof Wednesday. The robbery,which appears to have beenmeticulously planned, alsosaw the burglars wear gloves inorder not to leave their fin-gerprints at the crime scene.According to reports, thecriminals had also sprinkledmolagapodi (chilli powder)to throw the sniffer dogs offtheir scent. Though manymovies have popularised thistrick, many experts believethat other than distractingthe sniffer dogs for some-time, it will not wipe away the

human scent.The district police has

formed seven special teams tonab the thieves. In addition toexamining CCTV footage ofthe area, the police has alsoreportedly sought a log ofguests at nearby lodges andhotels.

No headway intalks with JACof RTC staffContinued from Page 1

Earlier, Somesh Kumar saidthat JAC of RTC workers hadbeen advised against observingstrike during the Dasara festi-val. He told them that ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao had focused his attentionto resolve the workers' prob-lems. Briefing media sepa-rately about the outcome ofthe meeting with JAC lead-ers, Somesh said the discus-sions centered on threeissues. Another round oftalks would be held soon. Acomprehensive report wouldbe submitted to the Stategovernment on measuresthat could be taken tostrengthen RTC. The com-mittee was armed with acomprehensive plan on howto deal with the situation inthe event of the strike, he said.

The robbery,which appears tohave beenmeticulouslyplanned, also sawthe burglars weargloves in order notto leave theirfingerprints at thecrime scene

Men wearing masksrob Lalithaa Jewellery

BHARAT SHARMAn VISAKHAPATNAM

Batting all-rounder SenuranMuthusamy on Wednesdayrealised his dream of playinginternational cricket for SouthAfrica and he could not behappier that his debut is againstthe country of his origin: India.

Though his family moved toSouth Africa from Tamil Nadugenerations ago, the 25-year-old from Durban is no strangerto India, having toured herewith South Africa A last year.

He has been born andbrought up in South Africa, butsays they are like "any otherSouth Indian family" backhome. "Our roots are fromChennai. I have still got fami-ly in Nagapattinam (about 300

km from Chennai). Many gen-erations have passed through,but the Indian connect is verymuch there and our culture isvery much Indian,"Muthusamy said ahead of thefirst Test.

"My parents were ecstaticwhen they found out about myselection (for South Africa)and my debut tour againstIndia makes it even more spe-cial."

Talking about his Indian

lineage, Muthusamy said: "I doyoga back home in Durbanwhich has the largest Indianpopulation in South Africa. Wevisit temples regularly andsome of my family even speaksTamil. Unfortunately I don'tbut I am slowly starting tolearn the language."

With Keshav Maharaj,another South Africa cricketerof Indian origin, and DanePiedt certain to feature in theeleven as the specialist spin-ners, left-arm spinnerMuthusamy was not sure abouthis selection. However, thedry conditions here forcedSouth Africa to rethink theirplans and they includedMuthusamy as the third spe-cialist spinner, who considershimself more of a batsman.

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019 region 04

GMR's Hyd airport launchesbreath analyser test facilityPNS n HYDERABAD

On the occasion of the 150thbirth anniversary of MahatmaGandhi and in compliancewith the latest directive givenby the Director General ofCivil Aviation (DGCA) to

enhance safety at airportsacross the country, GMRHyderabad InternationalAirport Ltd. (GHIAL) onWednesday inaugurated thebreath-analyser examinationfacility at the Airport MedicalCentre (AMC).

The facility was inauguratedin the presence of senior offi-cials from GHIAL, DGCA andvarious other stakeholdersfrom the airport community.The breath-analyser examina-tion is being conducted incollaboration with ApolloHospitals, which runs theHyderabad Airport Medical

Centre. The breath-analyserexamination has been man-dated by DGCA for the per-sonnel engaged in aircraftmaintenance, Air TrafficControl (ATC) services, aero-drome operations, ground

handling services for detectingconsumption of alcohol.

GHIAL is committed to safeworkplace operations and hasa zero tolerance policy towardsunsafe work practices and thelatest initiative by the DGCAfurther strengthens GHIAL's

efforts towards this.The DGCA circular man-

dates at least 10% of the indi-viduals employed in theirrespective organisationsengaged in safety sensitivefunctions pertaining to airsideoperations are randomly sub-

jected to breath-analyser exam-ination on a daily basis, whenthey report for

duty at the airport.Disciplinary action will betaken by DGCA on personnelfound to be in breach of regu-lations.

n Step has been mandated by DGCA to enhance safety at all airportsn Congress leaders had tied up with Kodandaram

Gudur thanks TJS for backingCongress in Huzurnagar

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) treasurerGudur Narayana Reddythanked the Telangana JanaSamithi (TJS) for extending itssupport to Congress party inthe by-elections forHuzurnagar Assembly con-stituency.

Gudur Narayana Reddy,along with other Congressleaders, had successful negoti-ations with TJS President ProfM Kodandaram with the latteragreeing to support Congresscandidate Padmavathi Reddyin the bye-elections to be heldon October 21.

Speaking to media personslater, Gudur Narayana Reddysaid that the Telangana Statehas been facing severe agri-culture, financial and healthcrisis. In this situation, the bye-elections for Huzurnagar seatcould make a huge impact notonly on the present govern-ment but also on the overallpolitical scenario. While theTRS Government was trying todownplay the crisis, people ofHuzurnagar could send astrong message to ChiefMinister K. ChandrashekharRao with their votes in favourof Congress party. Therefore,the support of TJS to Congressparty at this juncture was cru-cial for the entire TelanganaState as it strengthens thevoice of opposition, he said.

Gudur Narayana Reddy saidthat the Congress party wasquite strong in Huzurnagarand with TJS joining hands itsvictory was imminent. He saidalthough Huzurnagar bye-elec-tions were being fought in aconstituency, but it would

change the entire politicalcourse in Telangana. "KCRhas tried to ransack democra-tic structure by engineeringdefections in opposition par-ties. However, the victory ofCongress party in Huzurnagarwould revive the democracyand re-establish the impor-tance of opposition inTelangana. I'm thankful toProf Kodandaram and his

team of office bearers for turn-ing the bye-elections into afight between people ofTelangana with an arrogant,negligent and dictatorial gov-ernment," he said.

He hoped that the TJS sup-port to Congress party wouldact as an impetus in the processof revival, survival andstrengthening of democracy inTelangana State.

Kodandaram vows support PNS n HYDERABAD

TJS President ProfKodandaram on Wednesdaypledged the TJS full supportto Congress in the by-elec-tions to the Huzurnagarconstituency.

Addressing media at theTJS office here, he said thatthe party would expose theanti-people's policies of thegovernment, charging thegovernment with lootingthe natural resources to meetthe vested interests of some.

She directed his anger atthe TJS for illegally arrest-ing the village Sarpanchs.He charged the wholeCabinet has embarked on asingle-point agenda ofworking for TRS success inHuzurnagar.

The CPI extending sup-port to the TRS is a historicblunder, he felt. Congressleader Gudur NarayanaReddy offered sweet to ProfKodandaram for havingextending the TJS support tothe Congress.

PRIMARY EDUCATION

Niti Aayog gives Telangana poor ranking

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Niti Aayog has rankedTelangana State 18th in termsof primary education andobserved that the state is lag-ging in the quality of primaryeducation.

Telangana ranks 18th inthe rankings announced byNiti Aayog for states basedon various criteria. RajivKumar, vice-chairman of NitiAayog, Amitabh Kant, CEO,and Reinare, secretary ofschool education, releasedthe memorandum onMonday.

According to Niti, Telanganaranks third from below. Itscored 49.78 in Learning

Outcomes, 60.98 in AccessOutcome and 20.49 forInfrastructure and 29.96 forEquity Outcome in the Aayog'sreport.

Kerala is at the top of the listof states while Uttar Pradesh

ranks last. The neighbouringstate of Andhra Pradesh wasranked 4th. The governmentand authorities need to wakeup and take measures to devel-op primary education in thestate.

The state ranked numberthree in single-teacher schoolscategory and figured at the bot-tom of the list in outcomes per-formance and also at the bot-tom in imparting training toteachers. It showed 3 per centimprovement in providingamenities but lagged behind incomputer education.

It figured at the 19th positionin catering to education needsof out-of-school children. Italso failed in teacher recruit-ment. While the number ofstudents attending primaryschools showed a declination,those joining high schoolsfrom upper primary schoolsincreased.

The state ranked number three insingle-teacher schools category andfigured at the bottom of the list inoutcomes and imparting training to teachers. It showed 3 per centimprovement in providing amenities

Tributes paid to Mahatma GandhiPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana GovernorTamilisai Soundararjanand Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao paidfloral tributes and attend-ed a programme ofMahatma Gandhi 'sfavorite bhajans to markthe 150th birth anniver-sary of Father of theNation at Bapu Ghat onWednesday.

Ministers and local lead-ers also garlanded Gandhistatues located in differentparts of the city on the occa-sion. Defence Researchand DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO)chairman G Satheesh Reddyled a cleanliness drive at agovernment school atMallapur and its surround-ing village at Hyderabad.

No headway in scientist’smurder; flat lacked CCTVPNS n HYDERABAD

Local residents of Ameerpetwere shocked to learn about thedeath of 56-year-old S SureshKumar, an employee withISRO's National RemoteSensing Centre (NRSC) onTuesday. Suresh Kumar's neigh-bours in AnnapurnaApartments described him as areserved and quiet man.

Suresh lived in a flat on thesecond floor of the complex,which lacks a CCTV camera,while his wife lives and worksin Chennai. His family who hadbeen trying to reach him sinceMonday evening and alsorequested the neighbours tocheck on him on Tuesday. Hisbody was found lying in a poolof blood by the police, whowere alerted by the neighbourswhen they found the houselocked around 11.30 am. Heseemed to have suffered froma blow to his head and wasfound lying face down. Thebody was taken to GandhiHospital for post mortem, theresults of which are still await-

ed, sources said. The watchman and neigh-

bours said that in the past fewweeks a young man had oftenvisited Suresh at his apart-ment. "We did notice a youngman visiting him at timesrecently. Suresh told us that theyouth was someone known tohim and works at a diagnosticscentre," said a neighbour.

West Zone DCP B Sumathisaid that the police are inves-tigating the case but have notidentified any suspects. Theofficer neither confirmed nordenied the presence of a youth

as reported by the neigh-bours.

"We are investigating thecase as murder. There were norelationship or financial issuesinvolved in the death. As ofnow, we have no suspects butare working things out, give us24 hours," she said.

Suresh is a native of Keralaand had been living inHyderabad for 20 years. Hiswife was also earlier worked inthe city but was transferred toChennai in 2005. Their son issettled in the US while theirdaughter lives in Delhi.

TelanganaGovt appoints18k eduvolunteersPNS n HYDERABAD

The TRS government hasappointed 18,178 educa-tion volunteers for the aca-demic year 2019-20 to usetheir services till vacantposts in schools are filled. AGO has been issued in thisregard.

The services of the educa-tion volunteers will be usedto make up for leave vacan-cy, regular and vacant postsand also in primary andupper primary schools toteach Telugu.

Over 16,870 have beenappointed in leave vacancies,regular and vacant posts,1308 have been posted asTelugu teachers.

The newly recruited willresume work in June 2020and draw an honorariumof Rs 12,000. Earlier, thegovernment appointededucation volunteers butdefaulted payment of hon-orarium to many forcingunions to take to thestreets.

The watchmanand neighbourssaid that in thepast fewweeks a youngman had oftenvisited Sureshat hisapartment

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Rachakonda Police cele-brated the third anniversarycelebrations of family coun-selling centre at Kushaigudawhich is run by AnkuramOrganization and Rachakondapolice on Wednesday.

In this, nearly 468 familiesgot reunited, 491 family mat-ters were addressed and coun-selling was done. A further 314criminal cases were registeredin different Police stations ofMalkajgiri Zone, said thepolice commissioner ofRachakonda, MaheshBhagwat.

"Counselling centre wasinaugurated on Dussehra, 2016as a social responsibility theRachakonda Police inCollaboration with AnkuramOrganisation has started theAnkuram family counsellingcentre in Kushaiguda PoliceStation for counselling the vic-tims of domestic violence casesin RachakondaCommissionerate. With theCo-ordination of AnkuramCounselling Centre, employeesin 2,757 cases of variousdomestic violence cases per-tains to RachakondaCommissionerate were dealtwith during the

Three year period. TheCounseling Centre works from10.30 am to 05.00 PM duringthe working days for coun-selling of domestic violence

cases. Because of this coun-selling centre the domesticviolence cases are reducedduring the above period" saidthe official.

During the three yearsperiod, the counselling centredealt with 223 cases of domes-tic violence due to dowry, 335cases of alcohol addiction,164 cases of harassment by in-laws for petty reasons, 165cases of violence due to thesuspicious nature of husband,164 cases of husband negli-gence with his family, 186

cases of violence due to extra-marital affairs, 14 cases of vio-lence due to the birth of a girlchild, 46 cases of male com-plainants, 18 cases of inter-religion marriages and livingtogether relationships andfour cases of PoCSO, all per-tains to RachakondaCommissionerate.

"All the victims of domesticviolence living in Malkajgirizone are requested to utilizethe services of this Counsellingcentre" concluded theRachakonda commissioner.

Family counselling centrecompletes three years

In the last three years, as many as468 families got reunited, 491 familymatters were addressed

PNS n HYDERABAD

Anticipating an excessivenumber of passengers andaccompanying non-travelersduring Dasara festival season,SCR has doubled the plat-form ticket rate at Kachegudaand Secunderabad railwaystations from Rs 10 to Rs 20temporarily. The increase inticket price is to regulate theflow of people who enter theplatforms and to avoid incon-venience to the travellers.

Hyd, Sec'badplatform ticketrates hiked too

Biker ramsinto electricpole, dies PNS n HYDERABAD

Helmet-less driving has costhis life for a 30-year-old manwho had the protective gearlatched onto the bike whilespeeding up and ramming hisvehicle on an electricity poleat Mailardevpally on Sundayevening.

The deceased, PulijalaVijay, and pillion rider, AnilKumar, aged about 28 years,were travelling from Attapurto Katedan on a bike bearingnumber TS 13 EM 8214, saidthe police.

"They fell down from thebike at Aramghar Underpassand hit an electrical pole onthe divider and both receivedmultiple injuries and therider Vijay died on the way tohospital due to head injuriesand Anil is undergoing treat-ment. A case was registeredwith the Mailardevpallypolice and the investigation ison to ascertain the causes ofthe accident" said the police.

On observation, it wasfound out that the helmetwas hung to the bike at theback side instead of beingworn by the rider, said theCyberabad police commis-sioner, V. C. Sajjanar, addingthat the chances of the riderdying due to the accidentwould have been very less ifhe had put on the helmetproperly.

"Every year, hundreds ofprecious lives are lost inCyberabad limits on differentroads due to head injuries tobike riders without wearingproper helmets during acci-dents. Hence, the CyberabadTraffic Police advise the pub-lic to mandatorily wear agood quality helmet whileriding or pillion riding a twowheeler / motor cycle alwayson all roads to be safe.

n Report says state failed in recruiting enough teachers; student strength also declined

India-origin SA cricketer makes dream Test debut

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019 nation 05

SHORT READS

Cattle smuggler heldafter exchange of firein UP's MathuraMATHURA: A cattle smugglerwas held after an exchange offire here, an official said onWednesday. The incident tookplace on Tuesday night, theofficer added. "A countrymadepistol, three live cartridges and amotorbike were recovered fromhim," SP (Rural) Aditya KumarShukla said. He said on a tip-offfrom a reliable source, inter-statecattle smuggler Robin, a residentof Palwal district in Haryana,was nabbed. He was admitted toa hospital after suffered a bulletinjury on the leg. He was tryingto escape with his associate afterbeing chased by police followingthe exchange of fire, Shukla said,adding that his associate Mohd.Tarif managed to flee under thecover of darkness. Tarif is aresident of Mahamadka village inHathin of Palwal. Wanted in 14cases, Robin carried a reward ofRs 25,000, the SP said.

NEW DELHI: The Congressneeds to take the "Gandhianapproach" of public service andget 5,000 workers in everydistrict dedicated to the causeof helping people to get itsmojo back, technocrat-turned-politician Sam Pitroda said onWednesday. He said allCongress leaders must spendsix months studying the fatherof the nation on his 150th birthanniversary to be ideologicallyequipped. Pitroda, a long-timeadviser of the Gandhi familyand head of the IndianOverseas Congress, said thecountry is facing a "majorconflict" for the idea of India.The Congress needs to keeptalking about this ideologicalbattle and take its message tothe people, the 77-year-old saidover phone from Chicago. "Weare perhaps not doing enoughof that. We need to educate ouryoung. Need to learn Gandhi.Understand the real history ofIndia and not through soundbites and WhatsApp," he said,adding that all young leaderscoming into the Congress needto read about the father of thenation. He said the challengefor the party is to rebuild itscadre and have about 5,000Congress workers in everydistrict. "Everybody wants towork in Delhi, nobody wants towork in the districts, everybodywants a ticket.

Those who don't understand Gandhi talk about NRC: CongPNS n KOLKATA

West Bengal Congress presi-dent Somen Mitra lashed out atthe BJP-led government at theCentre on Wednesday, sayingthose who do not understandthe principles of MahatmaGandhi talk about NRC anddriving out the Muslims fromthe country.

The BJP was quick to retort,saying the Father of the Nationis not the personal property ofthe Congress.

Mitra, who participated in amarch from the SubodhMullick Square to the Gandhistatue at Mayo Road to markthe 150th birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi, said boththe TMC government at thestate and the BJP-led govern-

ment at the Centre do notunderstand the principles ofMahatma Gandhi.

"Hence, they should stoppretending to respect Gandhiji

and his struggle. Only those(political parties) who do notunderstand Gandhiji talk aboutabout the National Register ofCitizens (NRC), driving out

Muslims and communal dividein the country," Mitra toldreporters.

The West Bengal Congresspresident said, MahatmaGandhi had fought for com-munal harmony throughouthis life but those in power at theCentre and the state are deter-mined to destroy that harmo-ny to serve their political pur-

poses. Reacting to Mitra's state-ment, BJP national secretaryRahul Sinha said, "MahatmaGandhi is the Father of theNation. The Congress shouldstop behaving as if Gandhiji isthe personal property of theparty and the Nehru-Gandhifamily."

Sinha said that sinceIndependence, the Congress

had tried to create the impres-sion as if Gandhiji and theparty were synonymous, butthat is not true.

"We don't need to takelessons on Gandhiji from theCongress," he asserted.

Marches and commemora-tive events marked the 150thbirth anniversary of MahatmaGandhi across the state onWednesday.

Chief Minister MamataBanerjee had earlier in the daysaid, the renovated GandhiBhavan in Beleghata area inthe eastern part of the city,where Mahatma Gandhi hadstayed for over three weeksduring Independence to calmdown rioters, would be inau-gurated as a museum on theoccasion.

Somen Mitra

PNS n LUCKNOW

Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav lashed out atthe BJP on Wednesday say-ing those who neverwalked onM a h a t m aGandhi's path oftruth, non-vio-lence and socialharmony arenow celebratinghis 150th birthanniversary.

Participating in hisparty's programme atGPO park on the occasion ofGandhi Jayanti, he said this isonly a part of the saffronparty's politics to hiding theirwrong deeds.

"The BJP and its people are

miles away from the principlesof Mahatma Gandhi.... Theynever walked on the path oftruth shown by Father of the

Nation. They want to adoptLohia, Bhimrao

Ambedkar andS w a m iVivekananda.The partywhose peoplebelieve in vio-lence are today

c e l e b r a t i n gGandhi's birth

anniversary," Yadavsaid. SP chief spokesper-

son Rajendra Chowdhurysaid, "Gandhi believed in theideology of truth, non-vio-lence and social harmony inthe country, and honour forlabour."

Cong needs Gandhianapproach to get mojoback: Pitroda

PNS n NEW DELHI

India has no extraterritorialambitions and does not wantto "transplant" its ideology onothers, Army Chief Gen BipinRawat has said, asserting thatthe country will fulfil itsregional and global securityobligations as a responsibleemerging power.

In an address to strategicaffairs experts and defencepersonnel in Maldivian capi-tal Male, Rawat also saidinstability in energy-rich WestAsia has the potential to sig-nificantly increase global ten-sions and trigger unrest andthat the tension between theUS and Iran was "worrisome".

Without naming Pakistan,the Army Chief said Indianarmed forces are countering aproxy war in Jammu and

Kashmir on a daily basis andthat India reserves the right toacquire military capabilities tocounter any security threatsemanating from its neigh-bourhood. The Army Chief,who is on a five-day visit toMaldives, held extensive talkswith the country's top defencebrass to expand bilateral mil-itar y cooperation. OnWednesday, Gen Rawat calledon Maldivian PresidentIbrahim Mohamed Solih."Our strategic culture flowsfrom two cardinals — wehave no extraterritorial ambi-tions and no desire to trans-plant our ideology on others,"the Army Chief said.

At the same time, he saidIndia continues to retain itscommitment to strategic inde-pendence and autonomy indecision making as well as

acquiring military capabilitiesto counter the security threatsand challenges emanating inits neighbourhood. "We seekto fulfil our regional and glob-al security obligations, as aresponsible emerging power,"he said. Gen Rawat identified"unending threat of terrorism"as the principal challenge fac-

ing the entire world while call-ing proliferation of weapons ofmass destruction and increas-ing assertion of power overinternational norms as otherkey challenges.

"Instability in West Asiawhich affects energy securityof majority of the nations inthe world is another major

factor. It has the potential toadd significantly to globaltensions and create unrest,"the Army Chief said. GenRawat observed that the glob-al security environment isincreasingly becoming com-plex and uncertain, and thatmany nations are increasing-ly resorting to nationalism.

"I am certain that if we workwith friends, we can mitigatethe hazards to regional peace,"he said. "Even in this uncer-tain security environment,economic interdependence,quest for common resourcesand depth of global engage-ments drive strategic rela-tionships. As protectionismrises, complex global interde-pendencies are likely to

remain," he said.Talking about challenges in

the maritime domain, he saidany disruption of trade routesin the Indian Ocean Regionwill be a major security chal-lenge for both India andMaldives.

"The Indian Ocean Regionis the lifeline to both ournations," he said. Gen Rawatsaid India's strategic vision hasbeen in harmony with its tra-ditional character as a peace-ful and responsible nation."Our vision of being a sover-eign, socialist, secular anddemocratic republic isenshrined in the preamble ofour Constitution. We havealways played a constructiverole in international relations.

"India's national securityaim is to ensure a conduciveinternal and external environ-ment for unhindered eco-nomic progress and socio-

political development so thatwe can secure all our citizensand assume our rightful placein the emerging world order,"he said.

The West Bengal Congress president said,Mahatma Gandhi had fought forcommunal harmony throughout his lifebut those in power at the Centre and thestate are determined to destroy thatharmony to serve their political purposes

PNS n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath blamed theopposition parties that ruledthe state from 1977 to 2017 onWednesday for their "zerocontribution" in checkingencephalitis, which took thelives of over 50 thousand chil-dren in this 40-year period.

"The encephalitis patientswere first seen (in UttarPradesh) in 1977. No initiativewas taken by any governmentto check its spread to 38 dis-tricts of eastern UP, includingVIP constituency Raebareli.Between 1977 and 2017,50,000 children aged betweenone and 15 years died due toit and the opposition, whichruled the state then, had zerocontribution to check it," thechief minister said in hisaddress in the state Assembly.

Among those died, 70 to 90per cent were Dalits orbelonged to minority commu-nities, he said, adding that heraked up the issue when hefirst became an MP in 1998.

Citing figures, the chiefminister said while in 2016,there were 2,900 cases ofAcute Encephalitis Syndrome(AES) accounting for 491

deaths, there were 3,911 AEScases and 641 deaths in 2017.

Till August 30 in 2019, 938AES cases were detected and35 deaths reported due to it,

he said, adding that his gov-ernment was trying to controlthe spread of the diseasethrough team work and focuson cleanliness.

Claiming that unlike insome neighbouring states,there was no spread of anyvector-borne disease in UttarPradesh, Adityanath said,"There is no spread of dengue,malaria, filariasis, encephali-tis, chikungunya. This is dueto our focus on the SwacchBharat campaign, on whichthe state has got an award forits attempts." He said on the150th birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi, BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) MLAs par-ticipated in an anti-plasticcampaign in different wards ofthe state capital here.

"I urge the MLAs to launcha similar campaign in theirrespective constituencies alsoand ensure the success of theSwachh Bharat campaign.Those MLAs, whose con-stituencies turn out to be thebest, can be awarded also," thechief minister said.

Yogi blames oppn parties for ‘zerocontribution' to check encephalitis

MAHA POLLS

BJP nominee Lodha declaresassets worth Rs 441 crorePNS n MUMBAI

Mumbai BJP president MangalPrabhat Lodha, who is contest-ing the upcoming MaharashtraAssembly elections fromMalabar Hill seat here, hasdeclared assets worth over Rs441 crore in his poll affidavit.

The 63-year-old MLA, whois seeking a sixth consecutiveterm from the posh MalabarHill Assembly seat in southMumbai, filed his nomina-tion papers here on Tuesday.

As per the affidavit submit-ted by Lodha along with thenomination form, he and hiswife have movable assets worthover Rs 252 crore and immov-able assets of about Rs 189crore. The MLA also owns aJaguar costing Rs 14 lakh andhis other investments are inbonds and shares.

He also has liabilities worthabout Rs 283 crore.

Lodha, whose family is intoreal estate business, has fiveresidential flats in southMumbai and a plot inRajasthan.

Both Lodha and his wifealso own a house in theMalabar Hill area.

Besides, his wife also ownsanother flat and a commercialproperty in south Mumbai.

As per the affidavit, Lodhahas five pending criminal casesagainst him.

The Maharashtra Assemblyelections will be held onOctober 21 and counting ofvotes will take place onOctober 24.

Police seekpermission toattach MLA’spropertyPNS n MUZAFFARNAGAR

Police have sought permis-sion from a court in UttarPradesh's Shamli district toinitiate property attachmentproceedings against abscond-ing SP MLA Nahid Hasan,who was booked for misbe-having with an officer anddriving a vehicle withoutvalid documents, officialssaid on Wednesday.

The court has fixedOctober 5 as the date forhearing on the police's appli-cation, they said.

According toSuperintendent of Police AjayKumar, the Kairana MLAwas facing a non-bailablewarrant and had not yet sur-rendered in the court.

On September 9, the offi-cer had stopped Hasan's SUVfor checking but he alleged-ly misbehaved with him.

Later, it was found that theMLA's vehicle was not regis-tered, Kumar said.

MUMBAI: Former Maharashtrachief minister Narayan Rane onWednesday said his son NiteshRane will contest the upcomingstate Assembly polls fromKankavli seat on BJP'sticket. He claimed hisson's name willfigure in thesecond list of theBJP. Nitesh Ranewon the 2014Assembly pollsfrom Kankavli seatin Sindhudurgdistrict on Congress'ticket by defeating the then BJPMLA Pramod Jathar.The ruling BJP on Tuesdaydeclared its first list of 125candidates for the October 21state polls, including names ofChief Minister DevendraFadnavis and state unit

president Chandrakant Patil, buthigh-profile figures EknathKhadse and Vindo Tawdemissing from it. "Nitesh's namewill figure in the second list andhe will contest from Kankavli,"

Narayan Rane said. Onspeculations of

merging hisMaharashtraSwabhiman Partywith the BJP, he said,"It is likely to happen

in a week's time." Theformer state chief

minister was earlier in theShiv Sena, which he quit in2005 and joined the Congress.He remained with the Congresstill 2017 following which heformed his own political outfitand became an ally of the rulingBJP. He is currently the RSmember on BJP's ticket.

Nitesh will contest Maha pollson BJP ticket: Narayan Rane

Khattar takes part in Swachhtacampaign in GurugramPNS n GURGAON

Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar onWednesday took part in a'Swachhta' campaign here andasked people to take a pledgeto keep the country clean.

Paying tributes to MahatmaGandhi on his 150th birthanniversary, Khattar said, "Hetaught us the best way toknow oneself is to immerseoneself in the service of oth-ers".

"Let us pledge to follow hisfootsteps on the path to avibrant India...To realise the

dreams of the Mahatma, wewill have to take a pledge tokeep our surroundings andour country clean in the samemanner we like to keep our

homes clean," he said. He saidit was Mahatma Gandhi'sdream to see countrymenjoin hands to keep surround-ings and the country clean.On the occasion, Khattar alsopicked up a broom to pro-mote the cause of cleanliness.He was accompanied amongothers by his Minister RaoNarbir Singh, sitting MLAfrom Badshahpur, who hasbeen denied ticket for theOctober 21 assembly pollsfrom the seat. Khattar alsopaid tributes to former PrimeMinister Lal Bahadur Shastrion his birth anniversary.

Lodha,whose familyis into realestatebusiness,has fiveresidentialflats in southMumbai anda plot inRajasthan

‘BJP miles away fromGandhi's principles yetcelebrating his birth anniv’

Khattar said it wasMahatma Gandhi'sdream to seecountrymen joinhands to keepsurroundings andthe country clean

PNS n VADODARA,

A nine-feet-long pythonstrayed into the backyard of ahouse in Gujarat's Vadodaradistrict where it gobbled up achubby cat, but later coughedit out. The reptile was rescuedby a forest guard with the helpa local NGO.

The python ventured intothe backyard of a house locat-ed in Vejalpur village onTuesday. It chanced upon a catthere and tried to swallow it,forest guard Vijay Parmar said.

Some locals spotted thehuge snake and alerted the for-est department followingwhich Parmar and a volunteerfrom local NGO Wildlife

Rescue Trust rushed to thespot.

"The python, which washiding behind a heap of wood,tried to swallow the cat, butthen found it too big and spatit out," Parmar said.

After hectic efforts for aboutan hour, the reptile was res-cued and later released into aforest, he added.

9-ft-long python gobbles upcat in Guj village, rescued

3 killed in wallcollapse due toheavy rainsPNS n AMETHI

A 25-year-old woman andher two minor sons died aftera portion of a wall at their res-idence in Mohanganj area col-lapsed on Wednesday follow-ing heavy rains, police said.

Madhuri, her two sonsAryan (6) and Arush (4), andone other were injured in theincident, Tiloi SDM SunilTrivedi said. All the injuredpersons were rushed to a com-munity health centre, whereMadhuri and her two sonswere declared brought dead bydoctors, he added.

Between 1977 and 2017, 50,000 children agedbetween one and 15 years died due to it and theopposition, which ruled the state then, had zero

contribution to check it— YOGI ADITYANATH, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister

INDIA HAS NO EXTRATERRITORIAL AMBITION, SAYS GEN RAWAT Gen Rawat identified ‘unending threatof terrorism’ as the principal challengefacing the entire world while callingproliferation of weapons of massdestruction and increasing assertionof power over international norms asother key challenges

‘WILL FULFIL REGIONAL AND GLOBAL SECURITY OBLIGATIONS’

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019 nation 06SHORT READS

MUMBAI: Suburban trainservices were briefly affected asa local train coach derailedbetween Kings Circle andMahim stations here onWednesday, officials said.The incident took place on theCSMT-Bandra route where aBandra-bound train derailed ataround 11.30 am. The wheel ofthe front trolley of a coachderailed, officials said.There are no reports of anyonesustaining injuries in theincident, officials said.

Oppn boycottsUP legislature’sspecial session

Why Modi didn'tobject to Trump’scomment: GehlotJAIPUR: Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot onWednesday took a swipe atPrime Minister Narendra Modi,questioning his silence on USpresident Donald Trump callinghim "the father of India" duringa recent visit to that country.He asked why the PM did notobject to it if he had any regardfor Mahatma Gandhi, who wasknown as the "Father of theNation". "Today, on GandhiJayanti, I want to put myobjection regarding the USpresident calling Modi thefather of India and Modi notobjecting to what Trump said.Why did Modi remain silent ifhe had any regard for MahatmaGandhi," he said. "If Modi trulyrespected Mahatma Gandhi,then he should have correctedthe US president there thatIndia has only one Father ofNation and his name isMohandas Karamchand Gandhiand no one else could take thisplace," Gehlot added.

LUCKNOW: The special 36-hour session of the UPlegislature to mark MahatmaGandhi's birth anniversary gotunderway on Wednesday, withChief Minister Yogi Adityanathflaying the opposition'sdecision to boycottproceedings as not only an"insult" to the Father of theNation but also a "contempt" ofthe House. The simultaneoussessions of the state assemblyand legislative council begun at11 am and will continue tillThursday night without a break."I am astonished that theopposition, which had in an all-party meeting agreed todiscuss issues concerning thepoor, has boycottedproceedings. The opposition'sdecision to stay away fromconstructive discussion to forma concrete policy fordevelopment is not only aninsult to Mahatma Gandhi butalso a contempt of the House,"he said addressing the stateassembly. The special sessionwill see leaders deliberate on16 sustainable developmentgoals to mark MahatmaGandhi's 150th birthanniversary.

PNS n MUMBAI

In today's era of blinding-fasttechnology when news spreadsacross the world in seconds, itis hard to imagine that evenwell-connected journalists infaraway Indian towns foundout about Mahatma Gandhi'sassassination, a global news-break, more than an hour later.

Walter Alfred, who turned99 last month, was a journal-ist for Press Trust of Indiabased in Nagpur when Gandhiwas shot dead by NathuramGodse on January 30, 1948. In recalling that fateful day,Alfred provided insight intohow news travelled, virtually atsnail's pace, in those days.

"January 30, 1948 was a leanday for all of us... I might have

filed a few news stories tillevening. The office phone rangaround 6.30-7 pm and that'swhen I got to know about theassassination of MahatmaGandhi,” recalled Alfred, whonow lives in Mira Road nearMumbai.

A colleague from Mumbaiwas at the other end, inform-ing him about the fatal attackon the Mahatma in NewDelhi's Birla House at 5.17p.m. while he was his way forhis evening prayers. Alfred,who says he was born on

September 21, 1920 inMangalore, remembers the col-league's name only as Ponkshe.

Those were the days whentelex and teletypewritermachines were cutting-edgetechnology, which were used totransmit written material overtelegraph lines. A 300 wordstory would take a few minutesto be typed automatically and

appear on the machine.But even these were not

available in Nagpur at the time.The office of the newly-mint-ed PTI in Nagpur was justbeing set up and new technol-ogy had not yet been intro-duced.

Mumbai, then known asBombay, was the other bigcentre for PTI besides New

Delhi. In those days, non-urgent news was sent from theheadquarters to smaller PTIoffices by telegram. Thetelegrams were then tran-scribed by local PTI journalistsby hand, and copies were dis-tributed by messengers to localnewspaper subscribers of thenews agency.

If urgent, journalists at HQwould be deployed to maketrunk telephone calls to col-leagues in smaller bureaus todictate the breaking news,which would then be copied byhand to make PTI dispatches.

Ponkshe, who was apparent-ly a sub-editor in Mumbai, wasdirected by his chief reporter tocall Nagpur on phone and dic-tate the urgent news ofGandhi's death to Alfred.

Those were the days when telex andteletypewriter machines were cutting-edge technology, which were used totransmit written material over telegraphlines. A 300 word story would take a fewminutes to be typed automatically andappear on the machine

Google lists 57K publictoilets in 2,300 cities in IndiaPNS n NEW DELHI

Google Maps has listed over57,000 public toilets in over2,300 cities across the country,a company statement said onWednesday. The initiative waslaunched in 2016 as a pilot inthree cities — New Delhi,Bhopal and Indore — in col-laboration with the SwachhBharat Mission and UnionHousing and Urban AffairsMinistry. In the statement,Anal Ghosh, Senior ProgramManager, Google Maps said,"With Google Maps, our aimhas always been to help peopleas they navigate and explore

the world, wherever they are."We believe that making

information about public san-itation facilities easily accessi-ble to people is a key elementfor social good — one that alsoconstitutes the cornerstone ofthe government's SwachhBharat campaign to promoteclean habits and hygiene,Ghosh said.

According to the company,users can simply type 'publictoilets near me' on GoogleSearch, Google Assistant orGoogle Maps and get results.

In addition, the Google 'MyBusiness' platform helped theHUA take ownership of theselistings on Google Maps so thatthey could monitor visits, rat-ings, reviews among others.

Mumbai suburbantrain services hit ascoach derails

According to the company, users cansimply type 'public toilets near me' onGoogle Search, Google Assistant orGoogle Maps and get results

PNS n NEW DELHI

On Mahatma Gandhi's 150thbirth anniversary today, UnionHome Minister Amit Shahgave a clarion call to shun sin-gle-use plastic while urging cit-izens to take an initiative tomake this a mass movement.

After flagging off the party's'Gandhi Sankalp Yatra' onGandhi Jayanti, Amit Shah,along with Delhi BJP leaders,undertook a 'padyatra' amidtight security.

Before participating in themarch, Amit Shah, in a meet-ing highlighted the perils ofsingle-use plastic, saying ittakes nearly 400 years for theplastic to degrade.

Amit Shah said even ani-mals are adversely affecteddue to single-use plastic.

"It is the responsibility of BJPworkers and people of countryto make it a mass movement.Single-use plastic is dangerousto the country and the world,"he said.

Mr Shah said the NarendraModi government has organ-ised several events to mark the150th birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi to re-estab-lish his values and principles inthe country.

"Today is the 150th birthanniversary of Mahatma

Gandhi ji who not only playeda vital role in getting the coun-try its Independence but healso displayed to the world thepower of satyagrah," the HomeMinister said.

"Mahatma Gandhi was theambassador of cleanliness andafter independence, PM Modiis the only Prime Ministerwho has made it a mass move-ment," Mr Shah said.

He said PM Modi hasworked to take the concept ofcleanliness to the grassrootslevel.

Amit Shah said the party'selected representatives willundertake the 'padyatra' forthe next 15 days to take for-ward Mahatma Gandhi's val-ues and principles among themasses.

Delhi BJP chief ManojTiwari and Union MinisterHarsh Vardhan were also pre-sent at the event. The BJP hadearlier said the party's MPs,MLAs, other elected represen-tatives and office-bearerswould join the march in dif-ferent parts of the country.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Railway and CommerceMinister Piyush Goyal onWednesday said that the pas-sengers travelling in thenational transporter no longerhave to "suffer" as the quali-ty of services has improved inthe last five years, and Indiain the coming years willbecome the world's biggestcoach manufacturing hub.

Goyal said this whilereleasing the station cleanli-ness report on Wednesday atthe New Delhi railway sta-tion, and later inaugurated anexhibit ion on MahatmaGandhi on his 150th birthanniversary.

During his address Goyalsaid: "In the last five years theexperience of travel in rail-ways has changed. Now peo-ple don't have to suffer any-more and they complete their'safar' (travel) with comfort."

Goyal said that cleanlinesshas an important place in ourlife. "And the way in whichpeople adopted PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's call

for a clean Bharat, is thebiggest tribute to Bapu on his150th anniversary."

He said that several pro-grammes highlighting thecleanliness drive have beenorganised at over 6,500 sta-tions across the country to

create awareness.Highlighting the works ofthe Railway Ministry, he said:"In the last few years we haveshifted our focus from theIntegral Coach Factory (ICF)coaches and have decided toadopt the safer Linke

Hofmann Busch(LHB)coaches."

"Currently, all the coachmanufacturing units are pro-ducing over 8,000 coachesannually, and in the comingyears this will go up. Similarly,manufacturing of bio toilets isalso on the rise as we are mak-ing highest number of bio toi-lets. So, I can say that in thecoming years, India willbecome world's biggest coachmanufacturing hub," Goyalsaid. The Railway Minister,who is also a Rajya Sabha MP,said: "When we think of Bapu,we can recall that he was thebiggest critic of railways."

"We are open for criticism.From criticism we get thechance to learn," he said.

He said that the IndianRailways as per the instruc-tions of the Prime Ministerhas formed 150 nurseries inthe vacant railway lands adja-cent to the tracks.

Goyal also made a surpriseinspection at the New Delhirailway station and also inter-acted with the passengers inthe waiting room.

‘PASSENGERS NO LONGERSUFFER IN RAILWAYS’

PNS n PATNA

At least 42 people have died inrain-related incidents in Biharfollowing a torrential spellthat took place betweenSeptember 27 and 30, author-ities said.

The state continued totrudge towards normalcy onWednesday with intensifiedrescue and relief operationsand water being pumped outof submerged localities.

With a let up in the show-ers since Monday, restorationwork was on in full swing.

Supervising rescue andrehabilitation work in Patnaon late Tuesday night, ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar urgedpeople to "have patience".

According to a releaseissued by the state disastermanagement department, 42casualties have been reportedso far from the districts affect-ed by the heavy rainfall,though a district-wise break-up was not yet available.

The release put the totalnumber of people affected bythe devastating spell at 17.09lakh.

The districts hit by the dis-aster were Patna, Bhojpur,Bhagalpur, Khagaria,Samastipur, Begusarai,Lakhisarai and Vaishali situ-ated on either side of theGanga besides Arwal, Nawadaand Nalanda in the Magadhregion and Darbhanga andKatihar in Mithila.

BIHAR RAIN

Toll rises to 42, rescueoperations intensified

PNS n LUCKNOW

Taking a swipe at the BJP,Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi onWednesday said it shouldfirst pursue the path of truthshown by Mahatma Gandhiand then talk about him.

She made the remarksbefore participating in a silentmarch organised here by theCongress on 150th birthanniversary of MahatmaGandhi.

"It was the order ofGandhiji to pursue the pathof truth. First, the BJP shouldpursue the path of truth andthen talk about Gandhiji," theCongress leader said.

The silent march is alsobeing viewed as a show ofstrength by the Congresswhich has been on the side-lines of state politics for along time.

About 80 Congress work-ers were arrested on Mondayat a public meeting ahead ofa march they planned in sup-port of the student who hasaccused BJP leader SwamiChinmayanand of rape.

In an informal chat withmedia persons just beforeembarking on the march, she

said, "Atrocities are beingcommitted on women andwhen they raise their voice tofight against them, they arebeing crushed. We will defi-nitely struggle against it."

The silent march whichstarted from Shaheed Smarakhere will culminate at theGPO park, where Congressleaders will pay floral tributesto the father of the nation.

The Congress, along withother opposition parties, haveboycotted the 36-hour spe-cial session organised by theUttar Pradesh governmenton the occasion.

Later, Priyanka Gandhi isalso scheduled to interactwith party workers and lead-ers at the UPCC headquartershere.

BJP must pursue path oftruth and then talk aboutMahatma: Priyanka

It is the responsibility of BJP workers and people ofcountry to make it a mass movement. Single-useplastic is dangerous to the country and the world

— AMIT SHAH, Union HHome MMinister

Experts blame climate change, unplanneddevelopment for floods in UP, BiharADITI GUPTA n NEW DELHI

As heavy rains pound severalstates across India throwing lifeout of gear, environment expertshave blamed climate changeand rising global temperature foran erratic rainfall pattern whichhas claimed over 100 lives.While some experts stress onreducing carbon footprint, somefeel it is not a natural phenom-enon but a result of unplannedconstruction. Several parts ofIndia are currently facing severeflooding as a result of unusual-ly heavy monsoon rain, with thestates of Uttar Pradesh andBihar particularly affected.

Nearly 110 people have died

in the last five days. While 79people have died in UP, 28 liveshave been lost in Bihar.

Tarun Gopalakrishnan, cli-mate policy researcher at theCentre for Science andEnvironment, said there was aneed to reduce carbon emissionsas climate change was resultingin erratic rains. "Climate change

is resulting in more erratic rain-fall patterns, including a largeportion of seasonal rainfall beingconcentrated in a limited num-ber of days, leading to flooding.Limiting the human cost of thistrend will require drasticallycutting carbon emissions aroundthe globe, while investing inadaptation for the new climate

reality," he said. Scientists on theIntergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC) believethat the rise in global and localtemperatures have contributedto the observed anomalies inrainfall. "Parts of Bihar and theUttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand beltalready exhibit a rising trend interms of the number of heavyrainfall events. Though we can-not pinpoint each event to climatechange unless we do in-depthattribution study, it is likely thatthe rise in global and local tem-peratures have contributed toobserved anomalies in rainfall,"said Roxy Mathew Koll, Co-Author of IPCC's special reporton oceans and cryosphere.

Climate change is resulting in moreerratic rainfall patterns, including alarge portion of seasonal rainfall beingconcentrated in a limited number ofdays, leading to flooding

Honey-trap case: SITchief replaced againPNS n BHOPAL

The Madhya Pradesh govern-ment has removed SanjeevShami as chief of the SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) setup to probe the honey-trap and black-mail-ing racket busted inthe state lastmonth.

Shami has beenreplaced by cybercell 's SpecialDirector GeneralRajendra Kumar,according to an order issuedby the state Home departmentlate Tuesday night.

With this, the SIT has been

re-constituted for the secondtime in nine days.

Besides Kumar, who is a1985-batch IPS officer, theSIT will have two other mem-bers - cyber cell's Additional

Director General (ADG)Milind Kanaskar and

Indore's SeniorSuperintendent ofPolice RuchiVardhan Misra, theorder said.

It did not men-tion any reason for

reconstruction of the SIT.Last week, CID Inspector

General Sreenivas Verma wasreplaced by ADG Shami as theSIT chief.

PNS n NEW DELHI

As the four-month rainfallseason ended with "above nor-mal" monsoon, initial predic-tions by the IndiaMeteorological Departmentand the private forecasterSkymet Weather were found tobe contrary to the outcome.

While IMD in April hadsaid the country would receive96 per cent of the Long PeriodAverage, Skymet had predict-ed 93 per cent of the LPA.

Both had given an errormargin of plus or minus fiveper cent. Ninety-six per cent ofLPA falls on the border line of

"below normal" and "normal"rainfall. Skymet had cited ElNino as the reason behind apossible below normal rain-fall.

However, as the rainfallseason ended, IMD recordeda whooping 10 per centmore rainfall.

Mohapatra, director-general of IMD, saidthe department woulddo a detailed analysis.

He, however, addedthat IMD was able togauge the trends like ElNino turning neutraland the Indian Ocean Dipoleturning positive. Mohapatra

said the IMD also did notchange the forecast even when

June ended with 33 percent deficiency.

"We will carry out ananalysis on this," he said,adding that there has

been a significantimprovement in

seasonal forecast.Mohapatra saidseveral globalmodels had pre-dicted below nor-mal monsoonbecause of the ElNino but IMD

stuck to its predictionand did not revise it.

Monsoon outcome belies initial,forecast of IMD, Skymet

At 99, scribe recounts his coverage of Gandhi assassination

several programmes highlighting the cleanlinessdrive have been organised at over 6,500 stationsacross the country to create awareness. Highlighting

the works of the Railway Ministry— PIYUSH GOYAL, Railway aand CCommerce MMinister

‘Modi only PM who madecleanliness a mass movement’

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019 world 07

TROTTINGTROTTINGGLOBE

XI, PUTIN HAIL 70TH YEAROF DIPLOMATIC TIESBeijing: Chinese President Xi Jinpingand his Russian counterpart VladimirPutin on Wednesday exchangedcongratulatory messages on the 70thanniversary of the establishment of thetwo countries' diplomatic ties.

25 SOLDIERS KILLED IN MALIMILITANT ATTACKBamako: At least 25 Malian soldierswere killed and 60 others were missingafter militants attacked two armyoutposts, the government said. Campsin the towns of Boulkessy andMondoro near the border with BurkinaFaso came under attack on Monday,the BBC reported on Wednesday.

5 ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTSKILLED IN AFGHANISTANKabul: At least five Islamic State (IS)militants have been killed in a NATO-ledcoalition drone strikes in Afghanistan'sNangarhar province, an official said onWednesday. "The coalition pilotlessplanes fired missiles on two militants'compounds in Wazir Tangai locality ofKhogyani district on Tuesday, killingfive IS militants," Xinhua reported citinga statement by the Nangarharprovincial government.

IRAN WELCOMES DIALOGUEWITH SAUDI ARABIATehran: Iranian Parliament Speaker AliLarijani has welcomed Saudi Arabia'sproposal for holding talks to resolvemutual issues, Tasnim news agencyreported. "We welcome (Saudi CrownPrince) Mohammed bin Salman beingquoted as saying he wants to resolveissues through talks with Tehran,"Larijani said on Tuesday.

Baghdad: Two demonstratorswere killed and more than 200people injured Tuesday, healthofficials said, in clashes withsecurity forces during protestsin Baghdad and the provincesthat mounted the first challengeto Iraq's fragile one-year-oldgovernment.

More than 1,000 protestershad descended on the capitalbefore security forces dispersedthe crowds with a volley of gun-fire and tear gas.

Protests in Baghdad leftone dead and 200 wounded,including 160 civilians, thehealth ministry said withoutproviding further details.

According to medical andpolice sources, most of themneeded treatment for tear gasinhalation and some wereinjured by rubber bullets.

A health official in DhiQar later said that one protest-er was killed and two otherswere wounded in the southernprovince.

With Iraqi flags drapedover their shoulders or wrappedaround their foreheads, thedemonstrators had gathered inthe iconic Tahrir Square, with a

wide range of grievances butapparently without a unifiedleadership.

"Those thieves robbed us!"they cried out in condemnationof the political class in Iraq, con-sidered the 12th most corruptcountry in the world byTransparency International.

"The problem is that par-liament is a bunch of gangs thathave divided up everythingamongst themselves," saidAbbas Fadel, a 30-year-olddemonstrator.

Some were on the streets toprotest at the lack of public ser-vices, including rampant powercuts, water shortages and unem-ployment, particularly amongyouth.

"Show us what you can do:show us paved roads, a city thatfunctions, reconstruction, work,public services. We have noneof that," said Mustafa Khaled,34.

And others carried por-traits of Staff Lieutenant GeneralAbdulwahab al-Saadi, who wasthis week removed from his postin Iraq's Counter-TerrorismService in a shock move.

Demonstrators were cleared

from Tahrir Square a first timebut then regrouped, facing asteady volley of live shots, watercannons and tear gas fromsecurity forces.

More shots were fire evenafter the crowds had dispersedinto adjacent neighbourhoods.

Three young men could beseen carrying a woundeddemonstrator wearing a check-ered white-and-black scarf toprotect him from the tear gas.

Some protesters made theirway towards Al-JumhuriyahBridge, which leads into thehigh-security Green Zone thathouses government offices andforeign embassies.

Police had set up metalbarricades and stationed trucksat the mouth of the bridge toprevent protesters from cross-ing, and a security source insidethe zone told AFP that rein-forcements were requested.

The gathering was thebiggest demonstration againstPrime Minister Adel AbdelMahdi since he came to powerin late October 2018, justmonths after demonstrationsthat engulfed the southern cityof Basra last summer. AFP

Taipei: Five bodies have beenrecovered from under a col-lapsed bridge in Taiwan, res-cuers said Wednesday, as thesearch continued for the lastperson missing after the struc-ture smashed onto fishing boatsmoored underneath.

Taiwan's National FireAgency said the deceased werefishing workers from Indonesiaand the Philippines whosebodies were found in watersnear two damaged boats lateTuesday and earlierWednesday.

"The search and rescuemission continues," transportminister Lin Chia-lung toldreporters, adding evidence wasbeing collected for an investi-gation.

The Philippines labourministry confirmed that two ofits nationals were killed whileone remained missing and fiveothers were injured in the inci-dent.

The ministry pledged assis-tance to the affected workersand their families. DramaticCCTV footage captured themoment the 140-metre (460-foot) long single-arch bridge

came crashing down early onTuesday morning inNanfangao, on Taiwan's eastcoast.

In the video, a verticalcable at the centre of thebridge's steel arch suddenlysnaps.

The road then collapsesinto the water, crashing downon three fishing boats as apetrol tanker, which nearlymade it across, also plungedinto the water.

Twelve people wereinjured, including six Filipinoand three Indonesian fishingworkers, the Taiwanese driverof the petrol tanker, and twocoastguard personnel. Thepetrol tanker burst into flamesat some point after it hit thewater, sending a thick plume ofblack smoke into the air.

The local landmark wascompleted in 1998 andspanned a small fishing port. Itwas featured in a number of TVdramas and commercials.

Taiwan was skirted by atyphoon on Monday night,which brought heavy rains andstrong winds to parts of the eastcoast. AFP

AFP n HONG KONG

Spontaneous flash-mob ral-lies broke out in Hong Kong

on Wednesday as angermounted over police shootinga teenage protester whoattacked officers in a dramaticescalation of the violent unrestthat has engulfed the territoryfor months.

A few thousand demon-strators, including office work-ers in shirts and suits, musteredin a park and then beganmarching through the city'scommercial district in anunsanctioned rally, chantinganti-police and anti-govern-ment slogans.

Hours earlier, hundreds ofstudents staged a sit-in at theschool of 18-year-old TsangChi-kin, who was shot in thechest by a policeman as he anda group of masked protestersattacked officers with umbrel-las and poles.

The international financehub has been left reeling fromthe shooting, the first time a

demonstrator has been struckwith a live round in nearly fourmonths of increasingly violentpro-democracy protests.

Hong Kong was batteredby the most sustained politicalclashes of the year on Tuesdayas China celebrated 70 years ofCommunist Party rule with amassive military parade inBeijing.

The spiralling violenceunderscored seething publicanger against Beijing's ruleand shifted the spotlight fromChina's carefully choreo-graphed birthday party, whichwas designed to showcase itsstatus as a global superpower.

Running battles raged forhours across multiple loca-tions as hardcore protestershurled rocks and petrol bombs.

Police responded for themost part with tear gas, rubberbullets and water cannon.

Police said the officer firedat Tsang because he feared forhis life on a day that saw hiscolleagues fire five warningshots from their pistols

throughout the city."In this very short span of

time, he made adecision and

shot the assailant," police chiefStephen Lo said.

But protest groups said theofficer charged into the meleewith his firearm drawn andcondemned the increasing use

of live rounds."The people of Hong Kong

are sick and tired of havingmere words of condemnationas their only shields againstlethal bullets and rifles," amasked protester said at apress conference near Tsang'sschool.

The shooting was capturedon video that quickly wentviral.

Opinion towards theshooting has largely cementedalong ideological divides withpro-democracy activists con-demning the police and estab-lishment figures calling it a jus-tified use of force.

Tsang, who was filmed try-ing to strike the officer with apole as he was shot, was takento a nearby hospital in a criti-cal condition but authoritiessaid his condition had sinceimproved.

A friend and classmate ofTsang, who gave his first nameMarco, said the 18-year-old wasa keen basketballer who wasinfuriated by sliding freedoms

in Hong Kong and the policeresponse to the protests.

"If he sees any problems oranything unjust, he would faceit bravely, speak up against it,instead of bearing it silently,"Marco told AFP.

Police said 25 officers wereinjured in the National Dayclashes, including some whosuffered chemical burns froma corrosive liquid that wasthrown at them by protesters.The liquid also wounded somejournalists.

Hospital authorities saidmore than 70 people wereadmitted on Tuesday.

Police made some 160arrests throughout the day.

On Wednesday, 96 pro-testers arrested during clasheswith police on Sundayappeared in court charged withrioting, according to courtdocuments. Their ages rangedfrom 14 to 39.

The majority were stu-dents in their early twenties butother occupations listed includ-ed a waitress, a teacher, a doc-

tor, an advertising executiveand a cook.

Hong Kong's protests wereignited by a now-scrapped planto allow extraditions to themainland.

But after Beijing and localleaders took a hardline theysnowballed into a wider move-ment calling for democraticfreedoms and police account-ability. With Hong Kong leaderCarrie Lam seemingly unwill-ing or unable to find a politi-cal solution, police have beenleft to battle increasingly radi-calised protesters.

Sentiment is hardening onall sides.Protesters and somelocal residents routinely shout"triads" at officers who oftenrespond by calling demonstra-tors "cockroaches".

The protest movement'smain demands are an inde-pendent inquiry into policeactions, an amnesty for thosearrested and universal suffrage.

But Beijing and Lam havesaid they are unwilling to meetthose demands.

HK flash-mob rallies erupt as anger mounts over shot protester

Protesters throw petrol bomb outside the Tsuen Wanpolice station in Hong Kong on Wednesday AP

Five bodies found, onestill missing afterTaiwan bridge collapse

Two dead, 200 injured inclashes at Iraq protests

AFP n WASHINGTON

Donald Trump on Tuesdaydenounced the impeach-

ment inquiry threatening hispresidency as a "coup," as hisadministration pushed backhard against the investigation.

Trump's comments cameafter Secretary of State MikePompeo pressed to prevent ordelay five former or currentState Department staffers fromtestifying in the investigationprobing accusations thatTrump abused his office byseeking dirt from Ukraine ona 2020 election rival.

"As I learn more and moreeach day, I am coming to theconclusion that what is takingplace is not an impeachment,it is a COUP," Trump tweeted.

It is "intended to take awaythe Power of the People, theirVOTE, their Freedoms, their

Second Amendment, Religion,Military, Border Wall, and theirGod-given rights as a Citizen ofThe United States of America!"he wrote.

Pompeo meanwhileaccused three DemocraticHouse committee heads con-ducting the impeachmentinquiry of "an attempt to intim-idate, bully and treat improp-erly the distinguished profes-sionals of the Department ofState."

But Democrats accusedthe top US diplomat of"stonewalling" the investigationand, according to mediareports, scheduled interviewswith at least two of the diplo-mats who both had directinvolvement in the Ukrainematter.

It was the first major clashof the days-old impeachmentprobe, pointing to a dramati-

cally mounting political andlegal siege as Trump battles tosave his presidency.

Trump faces the possibili-ty of becoming only the thirdpresident ever impeached byCongress, which could lead tohis going on trial in the Senate.

Democrats decided lastweek to seek impeachmentafter a whistleblower com-plaint, supported by a WhiteHouse call transcript, showedTrump pressuring UkrainePresident Volodymyr Zelenskyto supply him with politicallyuseful information onDemocratic former vice pres-ident Joe Biden.

Biden is the most likelyDemocrat to challenge Trump'sreelection bid next year.

The first move of the threepowerful House Democrats --Adam Schiff of the IntelligenceCommittee, Eliot Engel of the

House Foreign AffairsCommittee and ElijahCummings of the OversightCommittee -- was to subpoe-na Pompeo and Trump's pri-vate lawyer Rudy Giuliani fordocuments and to summon thefive diplomats to testify.

"Secretary Pompeo wasreportedly on the call when thePresident pressed Ukraine tosmear his political opponent,"

they said.Pompeo's letter suggested

that the committees could beforced to subpoena the fivediplomats, and that the StateDepartment and White Housecould seek to limit what theycan talk about.

"I will use all means at mydisposal to prevent and exposeany attempts to intimidate thededicated professionals whomI am proud to lead," Pompeosaid.

But news reports said theState Department's former spe-cial envoy to Ukraine, KurtVolker, would testify Thursdayand that the ex-ambassador toKiev, Marie Yovanovitch, wouldappear behind closed doors onOctober 11. Volker had beensought by Giuliani to helppressure Zelensky, whileYovanovitch was removed ear-lier this year as ambassador

after she reportedly resistedthat effort.

The three committee headswarned Pompeo in a statementTuesday that any effort to pre-vent witnesses from speaking tothem was "illegal and will con-stitute evidence of obstructionof the impeachment inquiry."Trump's personal lawyer RudyGiuliani suggested he mightnot comply with a House sub-poena issued on Monday.

Giuliani spent months ear-lier this year contactingUkraine officials to encouragethem to investigate Biden,whose son had business ties toUkraine.

While Pompeo andGiuliani battled the Housecommittees, Trump alsostepped up his personal attackson Schiff, the leader of theimpeachment investigation, aswell as the anonymous whistle-

blower."Why isn't Congressman

Adam Schiff being brought upon charges for fraudulentlymaking up a statement andreading it to Congress," heasked.

On Monday, Trump saidthe White House was trying toget more information on thewhistleblower, whose identity isprotected by law.

But politicians from bothparties warned the presidentagainst threatening or attempt-ing to unmask the whistle-blower, who was reported to bea CIA analyst.

"This person appears tohave followed the whistle-blower protection laws andought to be heard out and pro-tected," said RepublicanSenator Chuck Grassley.

"Folks just ought to beresponsible with their words."

Trump denounces impeachment enquiry as ‘coup'

Seoul: North Korea fired whatappeared to be a "submarine-launched ballistic missile", Seoulsaid Wednesday, a day afterWashington and Pyongyangannounced they would resumestalled nuclear talks.

Pyongyang frequently cou-ples diplomatic overtures withmilitary moves, as a way ofmaintaining pressure on nego-tiating partners, analysts say, andmay believe this weapons systemgives it added leverage.

A proven submarine-basedmissile capability would take theNorth's arsenal to a new level,allowing deployment far beyondthe Korean peninsula and a"second-strike" capability in theevent of an attack on its militarybases.

The South's Joint Chiefs ofStaff said it detected a ballisticmissile early Wednesday firedaround 450 kilometres (280miles) in an easterly direction ata maximum altitude of 910kilometres.

The missile was "believed tobe one of the Pukkuksong mod-els", the JCS said in a statement,referring to a line of submarine-

launched ballistic missiles(SLBM) under development bythe North.

"Such actions by NorthKorea to raise tensions are nothelpful to efforts to ease tensionson the Korean peninsula and weurge it again to stop immedi-ately," it added.

The North carried out a suc-cessful test of the Pukkuksong-1, also known as KN-11, inAugust 2016 which flew around500 kilometres.

The United States said it wasmonitoring the situation on theKorean peninsula.

One of the projectiles fellinto waters within Japan's exclu-sive economic zone -- a 200-kilometre band around Japaneseterritory -- Tokyo said.

"The launching of ballisticmissiles violates UN SecurityCouncil

resolutions and we strong-ly protest and strongly con-demn it," Prime Minister ShinzoAbe told reporters.

The North is bannedfrom ballistic missile launchesunder UN Security Council res-olutions. AFP

AFP n MANCHESTER

Prime Minister BorisJohnson will submit "final"

proposals for a new Brexitagreement on Wednesday, offi-cials said, warning that if theEuropean Union did not engagewith them, Britain would leavethe bloc this month with nodivorce deal.

Johnson will provide detailsof what his Downing Streetoffice said was a "fair and rea-sonable compromise" duringhis closing speech to hisConservative party's annualconference in Manchester.

But a statement issued lateTuesday stressed this was a"final offer" and Johnson wouldbe keeping his pledge to leavethe EU on October 31, with orwithout a deal. Johnson himselftold The Sun newspaper that hehad "10 days" to listen to EUcounter-offers and find a com-promise.

"If there's a deal to be done,it could be done in that time,"said Johnson. "If there isn't, thenwe'll know. That's the truth."

Johnson, a leading "leave"campaigner in the 2016 EU ref-erendum, took office in Julyvowing to deliver Brexit at theend of this month in all cir-cumstances. But like his pre-decessor Theresa May, he hasstruggled against a hostile par-liament and the complexities ofuntangling four decades of EUintegration.

Johnson has pledged torenegotiate the exit terms Mayagreed with Brussels, whichwere rejected by the British par-liament three times.

He is now focused onreplacing the controversial"backstop", a longstandingsticking point that aims to keepan open border between BritishNorthern Ireland and EUmember Ireland after Brexit.

May's proposal would have

done this by keeping Britain inan effective customs unionwith the EU, which criticsargued would force London toabide by the bloc's rules indef-initely.

The Daily Telegraph news-paper reported that Johnsoninstead wants to keep NorthernIreland in the EU's single mar-ket until 2025, but in a customsunion with the rest of Britain.

This would potentially cre-ate two new borders -- regulatorychecks between mainland Britainand Northern Ireland along theIrish Sea, and customs checks onthe island of Ireland itself.

After that, a new power-sharing authority in NorthernIreland would decide whetherto keep the region aligned withEU or UK standards, the news-paper said.

Johnson had earlier denieda media report that he waslooking at installing customsposts along the Irish border,

amid outrage from Dublin.The issue is hugely controver-sial, as the removal of borderposts was seen as key to bring-ing peace to Northern Irelandafter three decades of violenceover British rule that left thou-sands dead.

But Johnson said it was a"reality" that there would haveto be checks somewhere afterBrexit.

Ireland's inital response toJohnson's latest reported offerwas strongly negative."Certainly, the reports we'rehearing are concerning, to putit mildly," Irish Deputy PrimeMinister Simon Coveney saidlate Tuesday.

Coveney said Ireland couldnot accept a time limit to anyborder solution because therewas no guarantee that a newand permanent EU-UK tradeagreement dealing with thefrontier could be reached with-in a specific timeframe.

North Korea firesballistic missileahead of nuclear talks

Johnson prepares to unveil ‘final' Brexit offer

Washington: NASA has releasedrecordings of eerie sounds onMars picked up by one of its mis-sions to the Red Planet, theInSight lander.

Far below the human rangeof hearing, these recordings hadto be speeded up and slightlyprocessed to be audible throughheadphones, NASA said onTuesday.

The spacecraft's exquisitelysensitive seismometer, called theSeismic Experiment for InteriorStructure (SEIS), can pick upvibrations as subtle as a breeze.

The instrument was pro-vided by the French spaceagency, Centre National d'EtudesSpatiales (CNES), and its part-ners.

The instrument wasdesigned to listen for quakes onMars, known as marsquakes.

Scientists want to study howthe seismic waves of these quakesmove through the planet's inte-rior, revealing the deep innerstructure of Mars for the firsttime.

But after the seismometerwas set down by InSight's robot-ic arm, Mars seemed shy. It didnot produce its first rumblinguntil this past April, and this firstquake turned out to be an oddduck.

It had a surprisingly high-frequency seismic signal com-pared to what the science teamhas heard since then.

Out of more than 100 eventsdetected to date, about 21 arestrongly considered to be quakes,NASA said.

The remainder could bequakes as well, but the scienceteam hasn't ruled out othercauses. IANS

NASA's InSightlander ‘hears'strange soundson Mars

Police officers demonstrate to denounce bad working conditions, lack of equipment and dilapidated police stations, in Paris onWednesday. Police unions point out overwork due to the Yellow Vests anti-government protests and say officers are exposed toexcessive violence AP

The Chinese have either deployed“intimidation” or their famedcheque book diplomacy to “win”over other nations towards theirown purposes. Both as an undis-

puted military and an economic powerhouse,the options for Beijing vary from flexing itsmilitary muscle (as done in the South ChinaSeas) or by ensnaring nations into econom-ic bondage by pouring billions of dollars. Takethe example of the China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC), where a nation-sustaininginvestment of up to $60 billion has been madeto Pakistan, whose economy is cash-starvedtoday. Often, there is a hybrid model inbetween that entails the overlapping of thecommercial-military footprint through strate-gic investments by China.

The attempt to stitch together Chinesepresence along the crucial sea routes, pursuantto the “String of Pearls” policy, is an ostensi-bly commercial initiative, one that will sub-sequently evolve into the invariable presenceof Chinese military’s boots on civilian portssuch as Djibouti. Wherever physical distancestill challenges the Chinese “supply chain abil-ities” to maintain a viable military presence,it can dominate the narrative by out-fundingother donor nations or organisations andchampion these distant lands, such as in theAfrican hinterland or Latin America.

By punting in these distant lands, notonly does Beijing sustain captive sources forraw materials and a ready market for itsChinese end-products but also guaranteesinvaluable political and diplomatic influence.The importance of having such beholdennations can be gauged from the fact that inthe high tables of international diplomacy,like the United Nations, each country’s votecounts as “one.” This theoretically makes thevote of a country like Nauru, that has a pop-ulation of less than 15,000 people, matteras much as that of China with a populationof 1.5 billion.

One global theatre that was spared theChinese radar of urgency was the islandregion of Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesiain the Pacific Ocean. The sheer distance, frag-mentation and “non-threatening” idyll ofthese small island nations ensured an isolat-ed tropical paradise that was bereft of anymajor geo-political or geo-strategic postur-ing till now. In an increasingly interdependentand interconnected global waterway of the21st century, three factors have driven a sud-den interest in this region of less than 2.5 mil-lion inhabitants.

First, the growing domestic aspirationswithin these nations. Second, the strategicrelevance of individual nation “vote” in mul-tilateral fora. And third, with increasingreach of the Chinese military-economicmight, these nations offer a breakoutopportunity from the supposed “encir-clement” of China, pitchforking theseisland nations into the competitive calcu-lus of Chinese hegemonic instincts. Eventhese nations are creatively leveraging their

geographical position to“counter-balance” the predom-inant and historical Australiantilt and influence in this regionto extract the maximum atten-tion and benefit of competitivebidding among regional powers.

However, among the fore-most considerations for Chinesediplomacy is also the need to iso-late and “compress” Taiwan inter-nationally by “winning over”those nations that still recogniseits official status. This ongoingChinese concern and project toget nations to switch sides on theTaiwan issue has accelerated inrecent times. A record sevencountries switched sides since2016.

These Pacific island nationshave historically held a pro-Taiwan position and they hadmade a sizeable part of the 25-odd countries that recognised ittill recently. Today the number todo so is a mere 15 countries. Thelatest ones to fall prey to theChinese “buyout” were theSolomon Islands and Kiribati,who were openly assured of“unprecedented developmentopportunities” in order to greasethe deal. The then Prime Ministerof Solomon Islands was candidenough to admit that Taiwan was“completely useless to us”, bothpolitically and economically.

As part of the “switchover”conditions, Kiribati had to severties with Taiwan and re-establishdiplomatic relations with China.

Meanwhile, credible rumoursabound in Kiribati about theChinese largesse in the pipeline,which includes very soft loansand a Boeing 737 to boot. TheTaiwanese are left high and dry,fuming at the obvious play of theChinese cheque-book diploma-cy that brooks no moral, histor-ical or positional consideration.

Traditional dominance offormer colonial powers, likeAustralia, the US, France, NewZealand and Japan in the region,is increasingly diminished as theChinese go about hunting onenation after the other. Beijing’sflush treasury comes handy asdoes the dispatch of an occasion-al bomber flying overhead thesehapless countries.

The Chinese footprint is vis-ible in the under-developed oil-fields of Sudan and as investmentin freight train infrastructure inBolivia. Now the Pacific Islandcountries are its new domain ofattention. All eyes are now in theneighbouring rim of the remain-ing Taiwanese allies in Palau,Tuvalu, Nauru and MarshallIslands to see if they, too, wouldbe enticed or coerced into aban-doning Taipei and joining theChinese “bloc.”

That the Chinese “generos-ity” never comes without stringsattached is something that thesenation states will invariably dis-cover. The Sri Lankan experiencewith Chinese investments todevelop the Hambantota Port

ultimately led to the surrender ofthe same to Chinese authoritiesfor a lease of 99 years. TheChinese bankrolling was also ableto overturn the Filipino bitternessthat had earlier led Manila tolodge a case against China in theInternational Court of Justice andwin the same. Almost immedi-ately, the PhilippinesGovernment incredulouslyembraced the Chinese hand andreneged on its historical relation-ship with the US.

Expectedly, large sums ofChinese investments wereassured and all portents of tradi-tional animosity buried. In reces-sionary times like now, wherecash is the king, the ability ofChina to impress the benefits ofjoining its “bloc” via gargantuancarrots like the “Belt and RoadInitiative” are immense. Thisallows it the freedom to indulgein profligate chequebook diplo-macy that wins it an ever-increas-ing kitty of vassal nations to doits bidding.

Counter-moves like theQuadrilateral meet (QUAD),enjoining the China-warynations like Japan, Australia,India and the US, have yet to gobeyond the conceptual frame-work and discussions as thetransactional dragon ensnares all,anyhow and anywhere.

(The writer, a military veter-an, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islands andPuducherry)

With mounting political and societalpressure and given the vulnerabilityof Dalits across the country, the

Supreme Court has recalled its earlier orderdiluting provisions of arrest under theScheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The ver-dict last year had done away with the clauseof immediate arrest of the accused withoutproper investigation and provisioned for bail,both of which were found to be easy to playaround with and intimidate the victims of hate

crimes. Dalit anger has been simmering since and the atrocities against themhave spiralled out of control, an abuse being committed against a ScheduledCaste (SC) member every 15 minutes by some estimates. Last year, the apexcourt had sought to clarify the application process of the law so that it was notsubject to misuse by either the offender or the complainant and was not seenas an automatic and instant disbursal of justice. So it made a judgement call byinsisting that “immediate arrest” be replaced by “arrest only after preliminaryenquiry,” thereby eliminating the “heat of the moment” factor and fixing the cul-pability of the real offender indulging in atrocities against Dalits. But in keepingto legal niceties, it ignored the perception that was created, that the provisionsempowered the accused and weakened the complainant. There were fears thatthe latter would not report atrocities or wrong-doing if the provision of unquali-fied, non-bailable arrest was done away with, encouraging coercive hit-backsduring inquiry. As it is, Dalits find it very difficult to register a simple FIR and withsome time lag implied in last year’s verdict, the probe itself was feared to becompromised badly. As of now, conviction rates in crimes against Dalits andtribals add up to 23.8 per cent and 16.4 per cent compared to the 40.2 per centin general criminal cases. Besides, the court, as it rightly admitted this week,had, under the veneer of fair play, assumed that SC/ST community memberscould cook up false cases, that they could be “a liar or crook.” The judge regret-ted that the umbrella assumption was against “basic human dignity” and couldbear heavy on an exploited people, who are already at the receiving end of uppercaste authoritarianism. To that extent, the court did well to take a holistic viewof sensitivities, one that had been subverted by looking into technicalities.

For the ruling BJP, this comes as a big relief, considering Dalits have beenagitated over the death of Rohith Vemula, the beating of Dalit youths at Una inGujarat, the demolition of the press of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the riots in BhimaKoregaon. In fact, in Maharashtra, Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar hasbeen leading a convincing charge against the current regime and is spearhead-ing a renewed movement for legitimacy. With Assembly elections due in the State,the new verdict could not have come at a better time for the BJP. Consideringthat nearly a fourth of Dalit voters voted for the BJP back in 2014, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi believes in consolidating that vote pie and turn it into an assetbase with his welfarist schemes. But after Vemula’s suicide and the attacks inMaharashtra, it is the new-age Dalit voter who is questioning his/her choice andis at the forefront of new assertive agitations. But a movement is still scatteredand not coalesced enough and BJP would like to stem that hereon.

There is little doubt that India is in the mid-dle of an industrial slump with statisticsshowing that both growth and jobs are

declining. The fact that the Government hadto reverse its decision to ban single-use plas-tics because it did not want to cause moreindustrial disruption is founded on pragmatism.However, this should not stop it or the soci-ety’s efforts to use less plastic. In fact, a grad-ual phasing out of its production, re-introduc-tion of alternatives and a sectoral approachcould be the executive’s view, considering its

widespread use in pharmaceuticals and hospitals for example, but we shouldall work towards eliminating single-use plastics from our lives. We do not havethe luxury to look at excuses provided by a Government decision. It is impossi-ble to imagine modern society without plastics. Indeed, from toys to cars andeven the carbon-fibre reinforcement that forms the fuselage of modern aircraft,plastics are everywhere. Everywhere means everywhere, as trash piles have beenfound at the bottom of the deepest trenches of the Pacific Ocean and the highsof Himalayan peaks. And single-use plastics like glasses, straws, plates, bot-tles, cutlery and bags are entirely within the domain of individual behaviour andlifestyle change. Unfortunately, while India generates about 9.4 million tonnes ofplastic waste a year, it recycles only about 60 per cent of it. Studies by The EnergyResources Institute (TERI) on landfills found that 10.96 per cent of the wastewas only plastic and of these, the non-recyclable kind accounted for 9.6 per cent.

We should all start adapting and be mindful about daily life, use bags madeout of jute or even reuse our plastic bags more than once. If we can avoid usinga straw or buying a plastic bottle of water, we would have done our best to clearthe heap. Paper cups and metal cutlery will help as well. One shouldn’t blamethe industry for not providing options because until we ask for alternative prod-ucts and create a demand swell, we will not get them. That said, we should alsoknow if the replacement products turn out to be as damaging or possibly worsethan the plastics they replaced. What we think are “woven paper” bags are actu-ally made from long plastic polymers, wood fibre products, which mostly haveplastic elements in them as well. And because both are not pure plastics, theyactually do not bio-degrade like some modern variants. So our attempts to bealtruistic to the environment should not end up damaging it instead. It is alsoimportant that the plastics industry continues its work towards developing lessenvironmentally damaging products. On this front, the industry has been veryproactive and is moving fast. Laws, too, have been framed. The Plastic WasteManagement Rules, 2018, call for producing industries to collect a fixed per-centage every year. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, make it crys-tal clear that it is the duty of all — producers, importers and brand owners —to adopt a give-and-take policy where it is their responsibility to ensure that theycollect back as much of the filth as they introduce into the environment. The sameAct also bans plastic bags that are less than 50 microns in thickness. The cruxof the matter is that all such laws have been ineffective due to the sheer lack ofenforcement. So the big change has to come from us as enforcers if we wantto ensure that we leave the next generation a viable ecosystem. To channel GretaThunberg, “How dare we not change?” We can’t imagine a life without plasticand it is unlikely that it will disappear from our lives. But we must reduce ourdependence on it whether the Government orders it or not.

Plastic problems

What is the law?

Sir — It was shocking to learnabout the two Dalit children, whohad to relieve themselves on aroad in Madhya Pradesh becausethey had no toilet at home andwere beaten to death by twoupper caste men. This happenedat a time when the Centre waspreparing to declare India open-defecation free.

It is a fact that the two chil-dren belonged to a poor family,who could not afford getting a toi-let constructed inside their house.The panchayat had apparentlysanctioned a house with a toiletfor the family but the sarpanch,a relative of the accused, had scut-tled the proposal. Then who isreally at fault here? The authori-ties or the children? Is it not theresponsibility of the authorities toensure that the poor have accessto basic facilities?

This incident has also tar-nished India’s reputation. Further,one of the accused reportedlydeclared that he had killed thechildren as in his dreams, god hadcommanded him to kill“demons,” justifying monstrosityin the garb of faith. Urgent stepsmust be taken to educate people

who are falling prey to blind faith.Open defecation is an old habit,especially among those living inrural areas. I recently discoveredthat in Tamil Nadu, even well-offfamilies in villages consider itunhygienic to have a toilet with-in the premises of the house andprefer open grounds for defeca-tion. Clearly, a lot more needs tobe done to explain to the people

the need to change this practice.TK Nandanan

Chennai

Prepare for the worst

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Tame the flood fury” (September1). The wrath of mother nature issuch that nobody, the rich or the

poor, is spared from the horrorsof climate change. That BiharDeputy Chief Minister SushilKumar Modi and his family werestranded and had to be rescued inlifeboats depict just that.

The extended monsoon thisyear has left behind a trail ofdestruction with 1,685 deathsbeing reported by 14 States tillSeptember 30 and hundreds

still missing. Although there is no available

data on the extent of economicdamages, such episodes pose aheavy economic burden for thecountry. Urban planning is in amess, infrastructure is in sham-bles and above all, there is nodearth of governance. If indeed wehave to minimise our losses, wemust start preparing for suchweather events that bring onlydestruction.

AnandVia email

Celebrating Gandhi

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Whither Gandhi? (September2). It is indeed ironical that we arecelebrating Gandhi even as weare busy destroying everything hebelieved in and stood for. It istime for us to reflect on why ourcountry has changed so drastically since Independence.Only by ensuring that Gandhi’sideals come true can we truly cel-ebrate him.

Manisha Via email

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

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionHYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019

08

Cheque book diplomacy

BHOPINDER SINGH

China’s ability to impress upon nations the benefits of joining its bloc is notunknown. Counter-moves like the Quad need to be strengthened

Those doing politics offalsehood will not understand MahatmaGandhi’s philosophy ofnon-violence.

Congress interim chief—Sonia Gandhi

You can’t be a hero all yourlife. Everyone has to gothrough this transition phasewhere you have to do character roles.

Actor—Sanjay Kapoor

The new era calls for both Indiaand the US to press the refreshbutton of their relationship asthe really important relationshipsare the less transactional ones.

Foreign Minister—S Jaishankar

S O U N D B I T E

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

Wake up to the disaster before it’s too late

This refers to the editorial, “Tame the flood fury”(September 1). By now it is pretty clear that floodshave become a recurring phenomenon. The present

deluge in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is among the worstin 25 years. Despite rescue efforts, floods have killed140 people. Disasters are caused due to natural factorsthat are beyond our control but human activities can cer-tainly rein in the impact with adoption of better man-agement practices. Interestingly, the current floods wereattributed to the planets by a political leader, remindingus of the old ways of looking at natural calamities aspunishment by God and negating both science andhuman intervention and greed.

Stark images of cities under knee-deep waters warnus of the scale of the disaster. Water stagnating with-out receding and inundated homes are examples of thecollapse of drainage systems. The blockage of naturaldrainage channels, caused by accumulation of construc-tion cement and other impermeable materials, soil andsand, is silting up river delta and catchment areas.

Denuded forests and rampant mining and quarrying meanthe top soil is losing holding capacity. In the past, weused to receive “light to moderate” rains for a numberof days. Nowadays, we get “heavy to very heavy, evenextremely heavy” rainfall for fewer days. We cannot affordto be fatalistic or complacent that this, too, shall pass.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

HOWEVER, AMONGTHE FOREMOST

CONSIDERATIONSFOR CHINESE

DIPLOMACY IS THENEED TO ISOLATEAND ‘COMPRESS’

TAIWANINTERNATIONALLY

BY ‘WINNING OVER’THOSE NATIONS

THAT STILLRECOGNISE ITS

OFFICIAL STATUS. ARECORD SEVEN

COUNTRIESSWITCHED SIDES

SINCE 2016

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

SC recall

The BJP and its people are milesaway from the principles of theMahatma…The party, whosepeople believe in violence, arecelebrating his birth anniversary.

Samajwadi Party chief—Akhilesh Yadav

The Government's U-turn on the ban of single-use plasticsmay be temporary but we should all ease up on its use

By rescinding the provision that diluted clauses of theSC/ST Act, the top court has prioritised societal sensitivities

The storm ahead

THE BIHAR GOVERNMENT ISSUED AN ALERT ASKINGTHE PEOPLE TO BE ON GUARD. BUT WAS IT ON

GUARD ITSELF? WE OWE THE PEOPLE AN APOLOGY.—UNION MINISTER

GIRIRAJ SINGH

IS WATER IN SOME PARTS OF PATNA THE ONLYPROBLEM WE HAVE? WHAT HAPPENED IN AMERICA?NO ONE IN THE GOVERNMENT IS SITTING IDLE. —BIHAR CHIEF MINISTERNITISH KUMAR

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Hai maujazan ek kulzum-e-khoon, kaash yahi ho.Aata hai abhi dekhiye, kya kya merey aage.(A turbulent sea of blood is before me. But seewhat is coming ahead.)

—Mirza Ghalib

Iam in my sunset years (I just crossed 73) andmy remaining time will be spent on educat-ing my fellow Indians (including non-resi-

dent Indians in America — where I am livingat present — who though very good in theirtechnical jobs, are gullible in other respects).

The crux of what I teach is this: There arereally two worlds. One is that of the developed,highly industrialised countries like the US,Europe, Japan, Australia and China and secondis that of the under-developed countries, includ-ing India (which is perhaps the most developedof the underdeveloped nations).

Our national aim must be to transform Indiafrom the second world to the first. In otherwords, from being an under-developed country,we must make it a developed, highly industri-alised one. This is necessary if we wish to abol-ish poverty, unemployment, malnourishment,lack of healthcare and good education and so on.Because only a high-level and widespreadindustry can generate the wealth needed to pro-vide for the welfare of our people and create mil-lions of jobs to wipe out unemployment.

But how is this to be done ? We no doubthad a limited degree of industrialisation after1947 but then the process stalled. And of late oureconomy has tanked; the Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) has declined to five per cent,there have been massive retrenchments in theauto, Information Technology (IT) and otherindustries while real estate and power sectors arein the dumps. In fact, it is to divert attention fromthis economic crisis that the Government hasresorted to gimmicks like cow protection,building the Ram temple, Yoga Day, SwachhBharat Abhiyan, abolition of Article 370, HowdyModi in Houston and so on. But economic slow-downs cannot be wished away by such gimmicksand stunts.

One can win elections on the plank ofHindutva (as happened in the 2019 Lok Sabhaelections) but one can’t live off it. One has to eatfood and to get food, one must have a job. Butjobs are getting less (as the National SampleSurvey, a Government of India organisation,admitted recently). Twelve million Indian youthare entering the job market every year but oppor-tunities are drying up (due to manufacturingdecline). Consequently many Indian youths willend up as criminals, beggars, hawkers or will endtheir lives. I submit that the Indian people mustnow make a choice: Either keep living in theirmiserable conditions characterised by poverty,unemployment, malnourishment (the highest inthe world, with every second Indian child mal-nourished, as stated by the Global Hunger Index,UNICEF), farmers’ distress and the consequentunabated suicides, poor healthcare and educa-tion for the masses, discrimination againstminorities, Dalits and so on. Or else, sacrificeabout 10 per cent of the 1,350 million popula-tion in a gigantic, historical people’s revolutionwhich alone can destroy backwardness, the feu-

dal casteist and communal mindsetsand practices among our people. Thishydra-headed monster was obstruct-ing any progress and keeping uschained to poverty and other socialevils.

Many would say I am presenting ahorrible choice between the devil andthe deep sea and a cruel prognostica-tion and augury. Do we really want our135 million men, women and childrento rise up and set off a revolution? I amnot a bloodthirsty person and I wishthis great historical transformationcould take place peacefully. But unfortunately that is not how historyoperates.

Consider the experiences so far.The transformation of feudal Europeof the 16th century to a modernEurope of the 19th century was notaccomplished peacefully. It witnessedwars, revolutions, chaos, massacres,social churning, intellectual fermentand so on. It was only after goingthrough that fire that modern societyemerged in Europe.

Similarly, after the ChineseRevolution was completed in 1949, theChinese authorities made an investiga-tion about how many people werekilled in this churning (which lasted fora quarter of a century, from 1924 to1949). It was found that about 10 percent of the then 550 million Chinesepeople, which is about 50 million, werekilled. Similarly, about four of the then40 million Vietnamese people werekilled in the liberation war in Vietnam,which lasted from 1945 to 1975. So it

can be assumed that about 10 per centof the people are killed in a revolution.For, after all, what is a historical rev-olution? It is a period when the oldsociety and its values are being uproot-ed and torn apart but new values havenot yet replaced them. Everything is inferment, in chaos.

Can this be a peaceful affair? Notat all. The reactionary elements in theold order will fiercely oppose anychange, as happened in France in theperiod prior to the 1789 Revolutionand even during the one in Vendee in1793. And many of the ordinary peo-ple in society, being conservative bynature, will oppose any fundamentalchange. In India, most people still havecasteist and communal mindsets, andto replace that by modern minds is 10times more difficult than changing thephysical environment.

In India, all our State institutionshave collapsed and become hollow andempty shells. We adopted the parlia-mentary system of democracy butthis has degenerated into caste andcommunal vote banks, as everyoneknows. Casteism and communalismare feudal forces, which must bedestroyed if India is to progress butparliamentary democracy furtherentrenches them. So we have to replaceparliamentary democracy by anothersystem which enables us to rapidlyprogress.

Today, India has two of the threepre-requisites to becoming a modernindustrial giant, like China, namely ahuge pool of technical talent (our IT

engineers are manning Silicon Valley,and many Indians are professors inScience, Maths and EngineeringDepartments in AmericanUniversities), and immense naturalresources. What it lacks is the third pre-requisite — a modern, patriotic polit-ical leadership. Without this, ourtransformation from the second to thefirst world is impossible.

Unfortunately, the political leadersin India today rely either on caste orreligion for winning elections. Takingadvantage of the fact that our societyis still semi-feudal, with rampantcasteism and communalism, theypolarise society further and spreadcaste and religious hatred to get votes.Being mostly corrupt, they have noidea of how to solve our massive eco-nomic problems but are experts inmanipulating caste and communalvotebanks. Obviously such people areunfit to transform India into a mod-ern, highly industrialised country.

It is only modernist, selfless andpatriotic leaders who can solve India’smassive socio-economic problems.Who these movers will be, when willthe revolution which they will leadoccur, what form it will take is impos-sible to predict. But about one thingthere can be no doubt: The next twodecades in our country will be very tur-bulent and bloody. As the great Urdupoet Mirza Ghalib said, “Aata hai abhidekhiye kya kya mere aage. (I wonderwhat lies ahead of me.)”

(The writer is a former judge of theSupreme Court of India)

The worst drag in life is poverty, so Indians must now choose whether they wish tocontinue living in poverty or sacrifice 135 million people for a gigantic revolution

analysis 09F I R S T C O L U M N

Relevance of the Mahatma

HIRANMAY KARLEKAR

Reversing the civilisational slide will require ashift towards a need-based economy, whose

cornerstones are just morality and justice

MARKANDEY KATJU

UNFORTUNATELY,THE POLITICAL

LEADERS IN INDIATODAY RELY

EITHER ON CASTEOR RELIGION FOR

WINNINGELECTIONS.

TAKINGADVANTAGE OFTHE FACT THAT

OUR SOCIETY ISSTILL

SEMI-FEUDAL,WITH RAMPANTCASTEISM AND

COMMUNALISM,THEY POLARISE

SOCIETYFURTHER AND

SPREAD CASTEAND RELIGIOUSHATRED TO GET

VOTES. BEINGMOSTLY

CORRUPT, THEYHAVE NO IDEA OF

HOW TO SOLVEOUR MASSIVE

ECONOMICPROBLEMS BUTARE EXPERTS INMANIPULATING

CASTE ANDCOMMUNALVOTEBANKS

Mahatma Gandhi’s message and the way of living havea special relevance in the world today given the direc-tion in which the dominant global civilisation is unfold-

ing and the impact of its economic infrastructure on values.The contemporary dominant global civilisation increasing-

ly owes its character, direction and thrust to market capital-ism. As its name suggests, this latest phase in the evolutionof capitalism derives its surplus for survival and growth fromthe market through sales. The latter is a result of demand, whichsince the days of primeval societies, has been the result of exis-tential human activity and the desire to possess. The processwas very simple to begin with. The issue was survival, whichrequired, in its most basic form, security (the need to live), food,shelter and clothing. Thus, the perception of the need for bet-ter weapons for hunting and warding off attacks by wild ani-mals and other human groups might have led to devising ofsharper stone spearheads.

Satisfaction over their use would have led todemands for more of these, and per-haps, also for even better weapons,leading to their invention and pro-

duction. The search for such and otheritems led to the emergence of technolo-

gies. Jacques Ellul, who uses the words “tech-nique” and “technology” almost synonymously, writes in hisclassic, Technological Society, that the latter “is nothing morethan means and the ensemble of mean.” The technical oper-ation, he adds, “includes every operation carried out in accor-dance with a certain method in order to attain a particular end.It can be as rudimentary as splintering a flint or as complicat-ed as programming an electronic brain. In every case it is themethod which characterises the operation.”

The application of technology on the available resourcesled to the invention and manufacture of products and the emer-gence of services that were felt to be necessary. This, shornof trappings, was the basic process. The growing diversity, com-plexity and sophistication of economic, societal and politicalactivity through centuries and the concomitant evolution of insti-tutions, weltanschauungs and practices through millennia, hasled to the evolution of the primeval barter economy to the pre-sent information technology and financial capital-based mar-ket economy, which as we have seen, derives the surplus forits survival and growth from sales in the market. Market cap-italism does not just respond to demands; it creates thesethrough seductive marketing and sales strategies whose cut-ting edge is advertising, which has emerged as a major high-profile industry.

Advertising seeks to boost sales through multiple strate-gies that, in bare essentials, is tantamount to projecting the pos-session of certain goods and the enjoyment of certain servicesas an end in themselves and the measure of a person’s worth.For example, X is an outstanding person because he/she wearsa certain brand of clothing and a certain make of watch, ownsa certain make of car and, if a woman, wears a certain brandof make-up. People consume not only because they want todo so but to show others that they can afford to do so or aresuperior people who can do so.

The result is competitive and not just conspicuous con-sumption, causing the alienation of those who cannot indulgein it and social tension and violence. The other result is aggra-vation of climate change as the increasing levels of greenhousegas emissions are a result of economic activity to cater to spi-ralling consumer demands. As is increasingly clear, the twoprocesses taken together can mean the extinction of humankind.

Mahatma Gandhi stood for a need-based economy whosecornerstone was morality and justice. The first part of it is encap-sulated in his famous, of-quoted statement, “The world hasenough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.” Theubiquitous conspicuous consumption of our time was absentin his, but the statement underlined his strong disapproval ofunnecessary, self-indulgent consumption and was in keepingwith his belief that an economy should be guided by principlesof universal morality. He wrote in The Veins of Wealth (SelectedWorks Vol III), “The real value of acquired wealth depends onthe moral sign attached to it, just, as sternly as that of a math-ematical quantity depends on the algebraical sign attached toit. Any given accumulation of commercial wealth, may be indica-tive, on the one hand, of faithful industries, progressive ener-gies and productive ingenuities; or on the other hand, it maybe indicative of mortal luxury, merciless tyranny, ruinous chi-canery.”

Inequality, to him, was not condemnable per se. He wrotein The Veins of Wealth, “Inequalities of wealth, unjustly estab-lished, have assuredly injured the nation in which they exist dur-ing their establishment; and unjustly directed, injure it yet moreduring their existence. But inequalities of wealth, justly estab-lished, benefit the nation in the course of their establishment;and nobly used, aid it yet more by their existence.”

Mahatma Gandhi was against competition, which led toexploitation and low wages and for cooperation. The objectiveof acquiring wealth was not consumption and self-indulgence.According to him, “The final consummation of all wealth is inthe producing as many as possible full-breathed, bright-eyedand happy-hearted human beings.” (Veins of Wealth).

Here the view of the aim of economic growth is very dif-ferent from what is prevalent. It, however, does provide a counterto the frenetic celebration of consumption latent with disastrousconsequences.

(The writer is Consultant Editor, The Pioneer, and an author)

Indo-Bangladesh relations will geta boost with the visit of our neigh-bouring country’s Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina to India, beginningtoday. This will be the first visit byHasina after the National DemocraticAlliance (NDA) formed theGovernment for the second consec-utive time at the Centre. The visitcomes at a time when the relationsbetween the two neighbours are a bitstrained over the National Register ofCitizens (NRC) in Assam andBangladesh nurturing defence tieswith China. There are concerns thatsuch issues will affect the relationshipbetween the two nations who havehistoric linkages.

Hasina’s visit provides both NewDelhi and Dhaka the opportunity to

dispel any prevailing doubts about thefuture of the relationship and highlightthe importance India gives to itsfriendship with Bangladesh. Indo-Bangladesh relations made significantprogress under Hasina’s decade-longrule that began with her second termas Prime Minister in 2009. At present,except for some minor irritants, thealliance between New Delhi andDhaka is said to be at an all-time highand India considers Bangladesh atrusted friend and partner in theneighbourhood.

After the Uri attacks, ourGovernment used all possible avenuesto try and isolate Pakistan diplomat-ically. As part of that strategy, itrefused to attend the 2016 SAARCsummit in Islamabad and was sup-ported by Bangladesh. Dhaka wasalso the first nation to back NewDelhi’s entry as an observer in theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperationin 2018, a club open only to Muslim-majority countries.

Recently, after the promulgationof Article 370 and the anti-India pro-paganda by Pakistan and radicalgroups, Bangladesh echoed our stance

that Kashmir was our internal matter.Again, on the NRC, an initiative pri-marily undertaken to identify infiltra-tors from Bangladesh into Assam, theHasina government refrained fromindulging in any negative commentsin public.

India and Bangladesh share adeep sense of bonhomie, especiallyat the Governmental level.Nevertheless, rising scepticismamong the people, particularly inBangladesh, cannot be overlooked.It is an area that demands in-depthintrospection as the importance ofpublic opinion in influencingGovernment policies is established.

In Bangladesh, reasons for appre-hensions among the masses includethe pendency of the Teesta Riverwater-sharing agreement since 2011.India refrained from signing it duringformer Prime Minister ManmohanSingh’s visit after West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee objected tothe draft agreed upon by the twocountries. The delay in the signing ofthe agreement substantially hurtIndia’s credibility in the eyes of com-mon Bangladeshis.

Again, India’s initial reluctance intaking a firm stance on Rohingyarefugees, a vital issue for Bangladeshinundated by the influx of refugees,further dented public perception.India being a regional power, expec-tations from it are always high and anyfall from them leads to resentmentamong the people. The most promi-nent and recent case is India’s disjoint-ed response on the NRC, where oneof the arms of the Governmentassured that none would be deport-ed to Bangladesh while anotherrepeatedly expressed its resolve todeport Bangladeshis and referred tomigrants as a security threat. Besides,the venom spewed againstBangladeshis by some political lead-ers close to the ruling dispensation,who equated them to “termites”, hasadded to the people’s apprehensions.

Similarly, people in India havebeen watching Bangladesh’s growingties with China closely, especially indefence cooperation. In particular,Bangladesh’s recent contract toChina for construction of a subma-rine dockyard has raised eyebrows inIndia because the feeling on the

ground is that such contracts alwayshave some strategic consideration.This unease is despite the fact thatduring her July visit to China, SheikhHasina categorically mentioned thather nation’s relationship with Beijingis economic and with New Delhi, itis organic and cannot be measuredby any monetary benefits.

In the backdrop of these nigglingissues, Hasina’s visit signifies the spe-cial relationship the two countriesshare. During her stay, she will bediscussing a wide range of issues ofbilateral, regional and internationalimportance with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

A deepening economic cooper-ation is also an important aspect asHasina will be accompanied by alarge delegation of businessmen. Inaddition, she will participate in theIndia Economic Summit, organisedby the World Economic Forum. Soone hopes that the two neighbourswill put a salve on any wounds beforethey fester.

(The writer is a Senior Fellow at theObserver Research Foundation andviews expressed are personal)

Time to put salve on woundsBangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India comes at a time when the

relations between the two neighbours are a bit strained

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

JOYEETA BHATTACHARJEE

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019 money 10

CAPSULE

NoBroker.comraises $ 50 mn forbusiness expansionNEW DELHI: Realty platformNoBroker.com has raised USD50 million from investors,including Tiger GlobalManagement, for businessexpansion. The company saidin a statement that it has raisedUSD 50 million in Series DFunding. "This brings the totalfunding raised by NoBroker toUSD 121 million," it added. Theround was led by Tiger GlobalManagement and includedparticipation from existinginvestor General Atlantic.NoBroker.com is a tech-basedbrokerage-free real estateplatform that makestransactions seamless andefficient. NoBroker currentlyoperates across six cities:Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune,Chennai, Hyderabad andGurgaon. More than 30 lakhproperties are alreadyregistered on NoBroker andmore than 70 lakh individualshave used its services."This current funding will helpus provide the NoBroker serviceto more customers across thecountry and also accelerate ourdeal closure growth," said AmitKumar, CEO and Co-Founder ofNoBroker.com.

Bank of Barodasigns MoU withIndian Army NEW DELHI: Bank of Baroda(BoB) has signed aMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withIndian Army under which thebank would offer customisedservices along with a host offacilities to account holders.The MoU includes handsomefree personal accidentinsurance cover, free airaccident insurance cover of Rs15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh and anoverdraft facility up to threetimes of monthly net salary,the public sector bank said ina statement. The features arealso applicable for pensionersof Indian Army up to the ageof 70 years, it said. Thesecond largest public sectorbank with more than 9,500branches will providecustomised bankingexperience for serving andretired personnel of IndianArmy, it added. The agreementwas signed by Lt Gen HarshaGupta of Indian Army and BoBExecutive Director VikramdityaSingh Khichi, it said.

‘Indian banks fail on climate, human rights policies'PNS n NEW DELHI

Most Indian banks fail on poli-cies of environment andhuman rights and this inactionleaves the Indian banking sec-tor vulnerable to investmentrisks arising due to climateemergencies, according to thefirst edition of Fair FinanceGuide India scorecard.

The scorecard, that analysedenvironmental, social and gov-ernance (ESG) policies, dis-closures and commitments ofvarious banks in India, notedthat Indian banks have policieson financial inclusion and cor-ruption, but are found wanti-ng on social, environmentaland human rights issues intheir investment policies.

Fair Finance Guide India is

a group of civil society organ-isations to create an ecosystemamongst financial sector actorsto recognise the ESG risks intheir investments.

The scorecard is an assess-ment of policy disclosures of asample of eight Indian banks

(public and private) -- StateBank of India, Federal Bank,Punjab National Bank, Bank ofIndia, Indian Overseas Bank,IDFC Bank, HDFC Bank andYes Bank.

The assessment covers tenthemes across ESG domain --

Nature and Climate Change,Labour Rights, Human Rights,Gender Equality, FinancialInclusion and Arms,Transparency andAccountability, Corruption andTax.

As per the Fair FinanceGuide India scorecard, threeout of eight Indian banks havescored high on parameters offinancial inclusion and cor-ruption.

However, seven out of eightbanks scored zero on thethemes of climate change andenvironment. The banks alsoscored poorly on the themes oflabour rights and humanrights.

"Indian banks demonstratetheir leadership on issues offinancial inclusion and tacklingcorruption. However, theirinaction to deal with climateemergency and human rights

issues is very worrying," saidNamit Agarwal, private sectorengagement lead at OxfamIndia.

Agarwal further noted that"this inaction leaves the Indianbanking sector vulnerable toinvestment risks arising due tothe climate emergency. Thesector is also likely to be direct-ly or indirectly linked tohuman rights violations causedby the companies they finance".

As per the report, banks canhave a positive impact on theenvironment and reduce risksof climate change by screen-ing for companies that arecommitted to protecting bio-diversity, reducing theirgreenhouse gas emissions andsupporting a low carbon econ-omy.

Fair Finance Guide India is a group ofcivil society organisations to createan ecosystem amongst financialsector actors to recognise the ESGrisks in their investments

‘Student housing, retirementhomes, new realty drivers’PTI n NEW DELHI

Confident about real estatesector doing well as long asthere are "right developers,right pricing and right unitsize", eminent banker DeepakParekh has said a number ofnew growth drivers are alsoemerging in form of studenthousing, retirement homesand co-living projects.

He also said foreigninvestors have also been invest-ing in a big way in good com-mercial projects, while ware-housing is another segmentwhere they are showing keeninterest.

"Student housing is a verybig growth area and it hastaken off well. Many universi-ties, colleges and educationalinstitutions are now in fact sell-ing their own housing to raisemoney to build more classes,facilities etc," Parekh told PTIin an interview.

"The other growth area rightnow is co-living. People, includ-ing foreign investors, have alsostarted talking about rentalhousing. And many are alsobuilding projects for senior cit-izens, including some beingbuilt by people themselves. Weare funding some of them actu-ally," the chairman of the coun-try's biggest housing financecompany HDFC Ltd said.

Retirement homes are likehostels with all kinds of facil-ities available for senior citi-zens, including medical facil-

ities, and places like Delhi-NCR, Bangalore and Mumbai-Pune region have started see-ing such projects.

According to a recent studyconducted by News Corp andSoftbank-backed realty portalPropTiger, the co-living spacehas emerged as a "real estategoldmine" that remains large-ly untapped and has potentialto become USD 93 billionmarket annually on risingdemand from students andprofessionals.

"This is evident from the factthat the supply by organisedplayers in co-living is current-

ly limited to over one lakh beds.Assuming they earn ?1.44 lakh(USD 2,021) per annum perbed, organised players in thissegment are currently USD206 million," the study said.

The report further said thatthe co-living sector has totaluntapped demand of about46.3 million beds, out of which8.9 million is from studenthousing.

Among the existing players inthe segment are RentMyStay,Rentroomi, SimplyGuest andFlathood. Other players such asNestAway, Stanza Living, Zolo,Placio and CoLive have recent-

ly entered this sector and raisedfunds to spread the business.

On the other hand, the co-working space is also seeinghuge growth.

According to property con-sultant Knight Frank, co-work-ing operators have leased 4million sq ft of office spaceacross eight major cities dur-ing the first half of 2019 tomeet rising demand of suchflexible area from corporatesand startups. This marks agrowth of 42 per cent over H1-2018.

Asked whether foreigninvestors, mostly private equi-ty players, are also keen oninvesting in residential pro-jects, Parekh said, "They aregoing big on commercial pro-jects, malls etc. A large num-ber of them are getting intojoint ventures."

"They are also getting intowarehousing, including forfood, data, commodities etc.Warehousing is a big businessnow," he said.

He said some foreign play-ers are also keen on residentialprojects and they would bekeen to buy parts of a projectif they get good discounts andthis can be of significant ben-efit for developers who haveunsold projects.

Earlier in his annual letter toshareholders, Parekh had saidthe housing market in Indiahas been so far been looked atfrom the lens of the country'syoung demographic profile.

Student housing is a very big growth area and it hastaken off well. Many universities, colleges andeducational institutions are now in fact selling their own

housing to raise money to build more classes, facilities etc—DEEPAK PAREKH, eminent banker

RCEP trade ministers to meet in Bangkok PTI n NEW DELHI

Trade ministers of 16 RCEPcountries, including India andJapan, will hold a crucial meet-ing in Bangkok next week totake stock of the negotiationsthat are in the last phase, anofficial said.

Commerce and IndustryMinister Piyush Goyal willattend the eighth RCEP(Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership)Ministerial Meeting being heldin Bangkok from 10-12October.

The official said that thiswould probably be the lastministerial-level meeting asonly a few issues like rules oforigin are pending for finali-sation.

The RCEP agreement isbeing negotiated among 10ASEAN members (Brunei,Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore,Thailand, and Vietnam) andtheir six trade partners --Australia, China, India, Japan,Korea and New Zealand.

According to the official,India is expected to reduce oreliminate duties on about 74-80 per cent of goods import-ed from China under the pro-posed agreement. Bilateraltalks are still going on with theneighbouring country, withwhich India has a trade deficitof over USD 50 billion.

Similarly, India may cut cus-toms duties on 86 per cent ofimports from Australia and

New Zealand, and 90 per centfor products imported fromASEAN, Japan and SouthKorea, with which Indiaalready has a comprehensivefree trade agreement, the offi-cial added.

The cut or elimination ofthese duties could be imple-mented over a period of 5, 10,15, 20 and 25 years.

Negotiations are also onfor an auto-trigger mecha-nism, wherein India wouldhave the option to increasecustoms duties i f therewould be a sudden surge inimports of a particular prod-

uct particularly from Chinato protect the domesticindustry.

India wants to use thismechanism for about 60-65products being imported fromChina. However, China wantsit for around 20 items.

The negotiations for theRCEP deal has reached at afundamental phase as themember countries are target-ing to conclude the talks byNovember.

As many as 28 rounds oftalks have been held at chiefnegotiators level and no morerounds are scheduled now.

The official said that this wouldprobably be the last ministerial-levelmeeting as only a few issues like rulesof origin are pending for finalisation

PMC's suspended MD blames‘superficial auditing' for messPTI n MUMBAI

The suspended managingdirector of Punjab andMaharashtra Cooperative(PMC) Bank, Joy Thomas, hasblamed the auditors for themess at the bank, accusingthem of only "superficiallyauditing" the books of the nowcrippled lender due to "timeconstraints".

In a five-page letter to theReserve Bank of India (RBI)dated September 21 after aboard member blew the lid onthe fraud at PMC, which isamong the top ten urban coop-erative banks, Thomas hasconfessed to the role of the topmanagement, including a fewboard members, in hiding theactual NPA numbers and alsothe actual exposure to thebankrupt HDIL, which is stat-ed to be around Rs 6,500 crore

or over 73 per cent of its totalloan book of Rs 8,880 crore.

While Thomas has notnamed any auditor in the let-ter to the RBI written two days

before the regulatory clampdown which PTI has reviewed,according to its annual reportfor FY19, the bank had threeauditors -- Lakdawal & Co,Ashok Jayesh & Associatesand DB Ketkar & Co sinceFY11.

Emails from PTI sent to allthese auditors did not elicit anyreplies even after 24 hours.

The shallow auditing of thebooks of PMC by its statutory

auditors was done as the 'bankwas growing', Thomas claimedin the letter.

The letter of Thomas ispart of the first informationreport (FIR) filed by theEconomic Offence Wing ofthe Mumbai Police onMonday. The FIR namesThomas, PMC chairmanWaryam Singh and the pro-moters of the HDIL and relat-ed entities.

ICAI to checkrole of auditorsNEWDELHI: Charteredaccountants' apex bodyICAI has sought informa-tion from the RBI and otherauthorities on the PMCBank crisis to checkwhether any auditor wasinvolved in the allegedfinancial irregularities atthe lender.

Taking note of the "enor-mity of the matter", theICAI on Wednesday said ithas triggered its disciplinarymechanism and has writtento the bank as well as regu-latory agencies concerned.

The Institute ofChartered Accountants ofIndia (ICAI) has written tothe Vigilance Department ofthe RBI and theCommissioner ofMaharashtra Co-operativeSocieties.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The first phase of 'Loan Mela',an outreach programme forproviding credit to retail cus-tomers and MSMEs, will beginfrom Thursday across 250districts across the country tomeet demand during the fes-tival period.

During the four days begin-ning October 3, loans will besanctioned for retail, agricul-ture, vehicle, home, MSME,education and personal cate-gories on the spot.

All banks, including StateBank of India (SBI), PunjabNational Bank (PNB), Bank ofBaroda (BoB), andCorporation Bank have gearedthemselves up to take advan-tage of festival season demand.

SBI is the lead banker in 48districts across the country.Likewise, BoB is the leadbanker in 17 out of 250 dis-tricts in the first phase.

Simultaneously, it is holdingBaroda Kisan Pakhwada dur-ing which most of its branch-es would focus on promotingfarm loans, BoB said in astatement.

During the annual perfor-mance review earlier thismonth, public sector banksdecided to undertake out-reach exercise in identified 400districts. Later, the privatesector too expressed their will-

ingness to join the initiative.This is part of the system-

atic bank reform processwhich envisioned taking banksto doorsteps of customers.

These camps will providea one-stop destination forMSMEs, small retail busi-nesses and end customers toaccess all bank services, espe-cially loans in auto, home,personal and business sec-tion.

While at one level it willhelp businesses to gear upfor the festive season, itwill also provide ready cashin the hands of consumers.

This is part ofthe systematicbank reformprocess whichenvisionedtaking banks todoorsteps ofcustomers

UK retail kingTesco says CEO to stepdown in 2020AFP n LONDON

Britain's biggest retailer Tescosaid Wednesday that CEODave Lewis will step downnext year, and will be replacedby Walgreens Boots Allianceexecutive Ken Murphy.

Lewis, who has overseen aradical overhaul of Tescosince his appointment in2014, added that the group'sturnaround was "complete"and he desired to move ontonew challenges.

"My decision to step downas group CEO is a personalone," he said in a group state-ment issued alongside first-half earnings.

"I believe that the tenure ofthe CEO should be a finiteone and that now is the righttime to pass the baton.

"Our turnaround is com-plete, we have deliveredall the metrics we set forourselves. The leadershipteam is very strong, ourstrategy is clear and it isdelivering."

Former Unilever directorLewis was parachuted intoTesco in July 2014 to helpturn around the group.

More than 10,000 jobshave been cut in a far-rang-ing cost-cutting drive atTesco, since Lewis tookcharge with the brief to save1.5 billion pounds.

He took the reins just asthe group was rocked by cri-sis in October 2014 afteroverstating profits in anaccounting error.

PTI n NEW DELHI

India has the potential to becomeone of the largest electric vehi-cles (EVs) markets in the world,with the government pushing forthe segment in order to curb pol-lution and reduce reliance onimport-dependent fossil fuel,says a report.

However, the uptake of EVshas been slow in the countrydue to the high upfront as wellas lifecycle costs cost but long-term investment in researchand development (R&D) willcreate sustained growth,according to the report by theWord Economic Forum andOla Mobility Institute.

Apart from investment,government backing anddirection will be crucial foraccelerating adoption anddeployment of electric mobil-ity, it added.

The report said there are10 states and union ter-ritories (UTs) that areleading the way inbuilding production,infrastructure and ser-

vices to increase the momen-tum of EV usage in India.

These states and UTs areAndhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi,Karnataka, Kerala,Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu,Telangana, Uttarakhand andUttar Pradesh. "Consideringthe strong governmental pushtowards EVs, India has a hugepotential to become one of thelargest EV markets," thereport noted.

These states andUTs are AndhraPradesh, Bihar,Delhi, Karnataka,Kerala,Maharashtra, TamilNadu, Telangana,Uttarakhand andUttar Pradesh

India can be major electricvehicles markets: Report

Water supply to firms stopped in LaturPTI n LATUR

Water supply to theMaharashtra IndustrialDevelopment Corporation(MIDC) area in Latur districthas been stopped due to insuf-ficient reserves in the Manjaradam and other resources afterpoor rainfall this monsoon, anofficial said on Wednesday.

With companies in Latur'sMIDC already troubled due tothe industrial slowdown, thestoppage of water supply sinceTuesday has come as a doublewhammy for factories, special-ly pulses and cement units, alocal industry body said.

The Manjara dam, consid-

ered as the lifeline of Latur city,currently has 4,000 millionlitres of water against its totalstorage capacity of 2.24 lakhmillion litres. The require-ment of the indus-trial zones inLatur, locatedin the peren-n i a l l ydrought-hitMarathwadaregion, isaround 3 mil-lion litres ofwater per day,an official said.

In view of this watercrisis, the district administra-tion and industry stakehold-

ers held a meeting a monthago, Collector G Shrikant toldPTI.

"The industr ies thendemanded that the decision

to stop water supply bepostponed t i l l

October 1 againstthe earlier plan ofSeptember 1. Butnow, since theManjara dam andother reser veshave ver y low

storage, the watersupply to MIDC has

been stopped sinceTuesday after taking own-

ers of the industries intoconfidence," he said.

‘Infra investmentkey to boost jobs’PTI n NEW DELHI

The government can create alarge number of jobs by mak-ing infrastructureinvestment its prior-ity and roping in pri-vate sector in it, areport has said.

India faces a cru-cial policy challengeof ensuring accessto adequate employ-ment for its 473 million strongworkforce, an IDFC Institutereport on "InfrastructurePriorities for Job Creation in

India" has said. "By prioritising infrastruc-

ture investment, governmentscan provide direct employ-

ment in large num-bers. And they canenable the private sec-tor which is impededby absent or poorinfrastructure," thereport said.

It also said that adynamic private sec-

tor is essential for meetingthis challenge and the statehas an equally critical role toplay.

Banks to holdloan fairs across250 districts

hort videosharing plat-form TikTok’sinitiativeEduTok, is get-ting rave

reviews all over the worldfor enabling users createand share content onthemes like education,motivation, safety, health,wellness and more.EduTok was launched asan effort to empowerTikTok users to createmeaningful and inspiringcontent.

Having received anoverwhelming responsefor EduTok, the campaignhas enabled Indian usersto not only share theirinspiring stories andknowledge, but also builda unique identity forthemselves. EduTok hasempowered Indian usersto reach a global audiencewho have similar interestsand has allowed creatorsto bring a change in thesociety by sharing theirknowledge.

Nitin Saluja, director,public policy, TikTokIndia, said, “The cam-paign has given our usersa diverse set of themesand topics to explore,which has led to a greatappetite of content gener-ation and consumption.We’ve seen a great engage-ment on EduTok on avariety of subjects. Frommotivation, language

lessons to career advice,EduTok has allowed usersto showcase their talent,knowledge and creativityfrom even the mostremote towns in thecountry.”

He informed that theEduTok initiative has over40 billion views since May2019. He shares, “Weallow users to post 15 sec-ond videos and encouragethem to showcase theircreativity in unique ways.This has worked wellamongst our users. Theformat also encouragescreativity and pushes cre-ators to more effectivelyshare their thoughts withthe world.”

He added that EduTokhas been well received byusers and has been trend-ing consistently withviews reaching close tothe 40 billion mark.

Awal Madan, one of thecontributor said, “I createshort lessons on Englishlanguage with explana-tions in Hindi. I covereverything about English,from grammar to vocabu-lary. What’s unique is thatI teach in a funny andinteresting manner,through sketches, mimic-ry, role-plays, etc., insteadof the traditional white-board method. My objec-tive is to help people learnconversational Englishand not just bookishEnglish.”

He adds, “Though peo-ple understand that learn-ing English is a profes-sional requirement forjobs, they tend to give upat times. I try to keepthem motivated. My view-ers include students whowant to understand gram-matical concepts, thosewho are employed andself-employed individualswho want to enhancetheir spoken Englishskills. Even the elderlywho want to chat withtheir grandchildren intheir style watch myvideos sometimes.”

Another EduTok user,Geet, says, “I create moti-vational videos and rela-tionship advice videos.Occasionally, I also post avideo where I am dancingon a trending song. I alsoteach English vocabulary,sentences we use daily,grammar, etc. Isoon plan tocover topicslike motiva-tion, cli-mate

change, clean India,domestic violence andmore.”

Paras Tomar, whomostly covers health andwellness said, “Most of mycontent has informationabout skincare and well-ness. The USP of thesevideos is that I use naturalingredients. The responseis heart-warming as withevery new thing I’ve tried.The incredible part aboutthe people who start fol-lowing you is that theybecome a part of your life.They're so aware whenyou're working out, whenyou're cooking and evenwhen you're unwell.These are people who seeevery facet of you.”

Mahendra Dogneysays, “I create motivation-al content which largelyfocuses on the problemsfaced by youth these days.I create videos in the formof stories and coupletswhich make it engagingfor my audience. The top-ics I cover through myvideos include careerinformation, awareness,education and health. As Ihail from a small town, Iunderstand the miscon-ceptions people haveabout life in a small town.My videos work towardschanging this perceptionand making people realisethat talent sees no bound-

aries.”

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/

dailypioneer

I create shortlessons onEnglish languagewith explanationsin Hindi. I covereverything about English,from grammar to vocabulary.What’s unique is that I teach ina funny and interesting manner,through sketches, mimicry,role-plays, etc., instead of thetraditional whiteboard method.

AWAL MADANONE OF THE CONTRIBUTOR

I create motivational contentwhich largely focuses on the

problems faced by youth thesedays. I create videos in

the form of storiesand couplets

which make itengaging for my

audience.MAHENDRA

DOGNEY

The campaignhas given ourusers a diverse

set of themes and topics toexplore, which has led to agreat appetite of contentgeneration andconsumption. We’ve seen agreat engagement on EduTokon a variety of subjects.NITIN SALUJA

ThursdayOctober 3, 2019

More than 200school-goingchildren took

part in a 50-kmcycling event

that was held inthe city to spreadawareness on Fit

India campaign

ver since the firstbiker embraced theopen roads insteadof the noisy metrolife, bikers havealways beencom-

bininga popular pastime witha sense of duty: travellingacross the country and spread-ing awareness about impor-tant social causes. Keeping up

with the tradition, NovotelHyderabad Airport (NHA)hosted the ‘DistinguishedGentleman’s Ride’ (DGR) atthe hotel. The event wasattended by over 300 bikersfrom across the city who cametogether for spreading aware-ness about prostate cancer andsuicide prevention. Around70,000 bikers in 550 cities

globally participate in theDGR each year. TheDistinguished Gentleman’sRide was founded in Sydney,Australia by Mark Hawwa.The first ride in 2012 broughttogether over 2,500 ridersacross 64 cities. PunjabEnfield Group (PEG Mc)Hyderabad is the official hostfor DGR 2017 Hyderabad.

WHEN SOCIAL MEDIABECOMES THE TEACHER

Social media has changedlives for the better.

Barring a few instanceswhere it has been misused,

it has been a boon for peoplefrom all over the world

sharing information abouttopics like motivation,

education, health, safety,wellness and more. EduTok,

a short video sharingplatform, helps people share

their work and spread theirknowledge, finds

V SATEESH REDDY

S

Most of mycontent hasinformation about

skincare and wellness. TheUSP of these videos is that Iuse natural ingredients. Theresponse is heart-warmingas with every new thing I’vetriedPARAS TOMAR

I create motivationalvideos and

relationship advicevideos. Occasionally, I

also post a video where I amdancing on a trending song. I

also teach English vocabulary,sentences we use daily,

grammar, etc.GEET

E

GEAR UP FOR AGOOD CAUSE

Cycling to spread ‘Fit India' campaign

n 150th birthanniversary ofMahatmaGandhi,HyderabadCyclists Group is

organised a 50-km ride withmore than 200 cyclists fromacross the city taking part init to spread about Fit Indiacampaign. The ride wascheered with various slo-gans by promoting variousIndian campaigns like MakeIn India, Digital India andFit India.

Ravinder Nandanoori,founder of HyderabadCycling Group said thatthey started HCG with justtwo members and now thereare more than 600 activemembers. He says, “Wewanted to do something dif-ferent on Gandhi Jayanthi.Hence, I thought why notwe involve school-goingchildren to spread the mes-sage on Fit India campaignstarted by Prime MinisterNarenderModi.”

Ravinder informed that

students of St MartinsSchool of Chintal andBalanagar participated inthe event.

When asked about involv-ing students in 50-km ride,Ravinder says, “For manydays, we have been practis-ing with school children for

Single Line Moving Bycyclesevent. During the practisesessions, we realised thatthese kids could easily com-plete long rides like 50-kmand after speaking to schoolauthorities we conductedthis event.”

Recently, the Hyderabad

Cyclists Group also com-pleted a Guinness WorldRecord fete of ‘the longestsingle line bicycle parade’ byat Outer Ring Road.

He adds, “We are alsofighting against pollution inthe city by conducting vari-ous cycling events. Cycling

helps one to lead a happyand peaceful life,” Ravinderinformed that many stu-dents are very happy forcompleting the race andtold him that the race gavethem the confidence toreach their goals.

— V Sateesh Reddy

O

PARTY

12

Hyderabad Thursday October 3, 2019

CHUHALl Kissago Theatre isstaging a play Chuhalon October 12 atLamakaan from 8pm.The story begins whenSudheer comes to ‘see’Aarti for marriage andgoes on to evaluate,through these two characters, the existentialisttussle between what one has to be vs what onewants to be, how one chooses to live vs howone wishes to live.

MAHABHARATA - THE EPIC TALEl All historyand mythologyis based oncause andeffect.Mahabharata -The Epic Tale...in-depth dealswith theprimaryemotional andpsychologicalcauses that were the genesis of this destructivewar. The planet has witnessed destruction basedon the whims of a few people. Till October 6, multiple venues.

lThis is a show wherecomedian AnubhavSingh Bassi will tell youan honest story abouthis career choices andlifestyle. ‘Bas Kar Bassi’is what he said tohimself when he wasfired from his last job.The show will be held

till October 16 atKulapati Munshi

Sadan, KingKoti, BasheerBagh.

THEATRE

CITY GUIDE

PISINARI / MANCHAM MEEDA MANISHI

lThe fifth edition ofthe IndianPhotographyFestival will be heldtill October 20 atvarious locations inHyderabad. IPF is aninternationalphotography festivalwhich showcasesvarious events,including talks,discussions andmore.

EXHIBITION

ART AAND CCULTURE

EMERGING PALETTES lA group art exhibition, aplatform for emergingartists to display their work,has organised its 11thedition in collaboration withGoethe-Zentrum. The eventwill be held till October 6 atShrishti Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills.

COMEDY

l SamahaaraWorkshopProductions iscoming up withtwo plays onOctober 4 and 5titled Pisinari andMancham meedaManishi. Pisinari iswritten by Moliere and translated into Telugu byVinayamani. While Mancham meeda Govindamis a satire written by Appalachari. Both plays willbe held at Lamakaan, Banjara Hills.

lSamahaara Workshop Productions presents aplay, The Re-turn, on October 5 at Phoenix Arenafrom 7.30 pm onwards. This story reveals a tearfultruth of our life. Although, we human beings areconstantly growing and have made a subsequentprogress in the field of science and technologytoday, we are losing ourselves. The tendency ofpeople wishing that good things should happen tothem as per their convenience and the entire focusshifting towards the results is extensive these days.

GET YOUR EVENT LISTED: To get your events listed, please send your detailsalong with a poster and contact number to features.pioneer@gmail.com

BAS KAR BASSI

FUNNY BUZZNESSlFunny Buzznessis a well knowncomedy gig seriesby Buzz KyaEntertainment andhas beeninstrumental inbringing up artistslike — AmitTandon, SorabhPant, SumukhiSuresh andNaveen Richards.October 20 at 6pm HICC.

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

FUN TIME

THE RE-TURN

INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

what’s brewing?

A LABEL OFLUXURYAce couturier Gaurav Gupta unveiled

the brand’s debut Couture store inHyderabad recently. Located in the

posh Banjara Hills, the first ever GauravGupta Franchise store, is an experientialretail space unraveling the couturier'sdreamscape, with an added focus on hautecouture and customisation. Several high-profile celebrities like Pinky Reddy, ShriyaSaran and Shruti Hassan graced the event.

l Lakshmi Rana

l Sony Kaur

l Khushbool Sonalika

lSh

riya

Sara

n

lSh

ruti

Hass

an

lPi

nky

Redd

yPh

otos

bby

SVCh

ary

nown for his hospi-tality in the filmcircles, Jr NTR hastreated KGF 2 starsSanjay Dutt andYash at his resi-

dence in Hyderabad earlierthis week. The shoot of theperiod action-drama has

shifted to Hyderabad from

Bengaluru last month and theactor upon knowing the pres-ence of Sanjay in town,extended an invitation to himalong with Yash. Both werehappy to accept it anddropped by Tarak’s residenceon Monday evening. Theywere treated to a sumptuousdinner over a spread of cock-

tails and the topics all threediscussed varied from currentpolitics to respective filmindustries, a source says.Sanjay, impressed with theway Tarak showered love onhim, told him to make it apoint to visit his residence inMumbai if he lands there forwork or otherwise.

ilmmaker RanaSunil Kumar Singh,who has producedand directedwww.meenabazar.,states the film is a

true documentation of whathe saw in life. “In bazar, every-thing is available. Likewise,our film has all emotions-love,crime, drama-woven into theproceedings. In short it’s amulti-genre film. The ideabehind the title is toattract viewers.Also, it carries alot of significanceattached to thestory,” SunilKumar, who

comes from theatre back-ground, informs.

He adds that the Telugu-Kannada bilingual, featuringhimself, Vaibhavi Joshi, SrijitaGhosh, Madhusudhan andRajesh Nataranga, has no storyas such. “The film is the jour-ney of five principal characterand the conflicts theyencounter with each otherresult in the formation of astory in the end. That’s the

USP. All the five charactershave equal importance,”he points out, adding

that it’s definitely not aregular film and theidea behind going in

with new faces is

that they will not carry anyexpectations. “Noted facesmeans the film will carryexpectations, which I didn’twant. If the audience watchesthe film devoid of expecta-tions, they will be awed by it.It’s a director’s film all the way.We’ve conducted a workshopfor the actors for three monthsbefore going to shoot.”

He further informs that thefilm, shot in 75 days, with out-ings in Hyderabad, Bengaluru,Mangalore and Kodachadri,has been cleared with ‘U/A’certificate and they are plan-

ning to arrive laterthis month.

— NG

‘There is no story inwww.meenabazar’

hile the status of hisfilm with debutantdirector Puli Vasu,announced last year,is unclear, KalyaanDhev, Megastar

Chiranjeevi’s son-in-law, hasinitiated talks with other film-makers for his next. To thisend, we’ve exclusively learntthe actor is in advanced talkswith director Sreenivass Reddefor a new film. The director,who is known for his comedyentertainers BommanaBrothers Chandana Sisters,Tata Birla Madhyalo Laila andAdirindayya Chandram, ispresently awaiting the releaseof his comeback film Ragala24 Gantalalo, starring EeshaRebba and Satyadev.

A source close to the devel-opment shares, “Redde has

met Kalyaan with a full-length commercial

drama with dollopsof humour some-time back lastmonth. There’s

also a love story integratedinto the script. The actor tooka strong fancy to the story andhis part. He believes it is theright story for him to attractmasses and find his footholdin the industry. He might,however, seek the inputs of hisuncle before he gives his greensignal. The result of Redde’s

film Ragala 24 Gantalalomight also have a bearing onhis decision.”

Kalyaan Dhev debuted lastyear with Vijetha, directed byRakesh Sashi.

Although the film failed tolight up the box-office, hereceived fairly decent reviewsfor his acting chops.

Hyderabad Thursday October 3, 2019

THEY WERE TREATED TO ASUMPTUOUS DINNER OVER ASPREAD OF COCKTAILS AT TARAK’S RESIDENCE

FK

13

tollywoodKALYAAN DHEVIN TALKS WITH SREENIVASS REDDERedde had met Kalyaan with a full-lengthcommercial drama with dollops of humour sometimelast month, finds NAGARAJ GOUD

W

Success smiles!ith Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy opening to fairly positive reviewsand good word-of-mouth, Megastar Chiranjeevi decided to show-er his love on son Ram Charan who produced the film on a mas-sive scale. The veteran actor also met producers NV Prasad andDVV Danayya at his residence in Hyderabad and received theircongratulations on the film’s earth-shattering opening. The likes

of SS Rajamouli, Harish Shankar and Anil Ravipudi were some of the notedfaces who praised the film on Twitter.

W

n what is a handsomedeal for AKEntertainments chiefAnil Sunkara,Gopichand-starrerChanakya, which is mak-

ing decent buzz, has made close toRs 15 crore from non-theatricalavenues, making it the best deal forthe actor till now. According to a

marketing source close to the unit,the film’s lion share of Rs 9 crore-ofthe ancillary revenue came fromHindi dubbing rights alone. Telugudubbed action films have alwaysfound viewers on prominent generalHindi entertainment channels andthe film's theme-of a RAW agent’scovert operation in Pakistan-meantthat the interest party paid big bucks

to snatch the rights fromSunkara. On the other hand, thedigital rights have been baggedby steaming giant Amazon forRs 2 crore while a leadingTelugu GEC acquired the satel-lite rights for Rs 4 crore, takingthe total tally to Rs 15 crore. Thefilm, directed by Thiru, is sched-uled to release this Saturday.

CHANAKYA makes handsomerevenue from non-theatrical rights

I

warna master, who has choreographed songs for more than850 films, has turned producer and director with Adi OkaIdhi le. A love story laced with family emotions, it featuresnewcomers Savyasachi and Radhika Preeti in the leadroles. Its trailer was unveiled by leading producer Dil Rajuin Hyderabad recently. "The trailer is nice. The film looks

like a cute love story in the backdrop of an apartment," he said, beforeextending his best wishes to the unit. Savyasachi said, "From story ses-sions, workshops to actual shoot, the film's journey has been nothingshort of a dream. I consider myself lucky to have worked with somebig technicians."

Choreographer Swarnaswitches tracks

S

TARAK treats SanjayDutt and Yash

ollywood director Ava DuVernay is set toa direct a futuristic drama set during anAmerican civil war series for the networkHBO. The When They See Us and QueenSugar multihyphenate and Westworldexecutive producer Roberto Patino are

developing a series based on DC Comics title DMZ,a futuristic drama set during an American civil war.The project has a pilot order at the WarnerMediastreaming platform, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

Based on the critically hailed Brian Wood-Riccardo Burchielli comic, DMZ is set in a near-future where America is embroiled in a bitter civilwar. The island of Manhattan has become a demili-tarised zone separating the two sides, largelydestroyed and isolated from the rest of the world.

The series will follow a fierce femalemedic who saves lives while desperately

searching for her lost son. As she con-tends with the gangs, militias, dema-

gogues and warlords who now con-trol the lawless island, she becomesthe unlikely source of what every-one there has lost: hope. Filmingon the pilot is slated to begin in

early 2020.The pilot order comes a day

after US President DonaldTrump, facing an impeach-ment inquiry in Congress,

tweeted a quote fromFox News contribu-

tor RobertJeffress refer-

ring to a“Civil War-like fracture”if Trump isremovedfromoffice.

ollywood superstar Matt Damon has revealed that he has lost a chance to makehuge profits by turning down a role in James Cameron’s sci-fi blockbuster, Avatar.

“Cameron offered me Avatar and when he offered it to me, he goes, ‘Now, listen.I don’t need anybody. I don’t need a name for this, a named actor. If you don’t takethis, I’m going to find an unknown actor and give it to him, because the moviedoesn’t really need you. But if you take the part, I’ll give you 40 per cent of...’,”

Damon said, in an interview to a men’s magazine.When the interviewer asked if he was implying whether Cameron had “offered you 10 per

cent of the Avatar profits”, Damon replied: “I told John Krasinski this story when we werewriting Promised Land, and he goes, ‘what?!’ And he stands up and he starts pacing in thekitchen. He goes, ‘OK. OK. OK. OK. OK!’ He goes, ‘If you had done that movie, nothing inyour life would be different; nothing in your life would be different at all — except that, rightnow, we would be having this conversation in space’.”

“So, yeah. I’ve left more money on the table than any actor actually. That sucked and that’s stillbrutal. But my kids are all eating. I’m doing OK,” said Damon, according to a report in a British

news agency.

H H

Hyderabad Thursday October 3, 2019

14

celeb talks

MATT DAMON REVEALS HEHAD TURNED DOWN AVATAR

fourth season of the mas-sively popular Netflixshow is on the way, thestreaming companyannounced Monday. Noword on a release date for

the fourth season of the show, whichlast left the pubescent heroes ofHawkins victorious against theirsupernatural supermonster, theDemogorgon, but without their port-ly leader, Sheriff Jim Hopper (DavidHarbour). A final scene from thethird season hinted that the evilsthey faced in the first three seasonsmight not be limited to quaintHawkins. And a teaser trailer

released by Netflix on Mondayseemed to confirm that hint.

“We’re not in Hawkins anymore,”the trailer read with an ominousscene from the Upside Down.

Still, a statement from the DufferBrothers assured fans that they won’tbe leaving the beloved town entirely:“We can’t wait to tell many more sto-ries together — beginning, of course,with a return trip to Hawkins!”

The show’s third season, whichpremiered at the start of the longfourth of July weekend, broughtNetflix an unprecedented amount ofbinge-watchers. The streaming com-pany tweeted at the end of that week-

end that “40.7 million householdaccounts have been watching theshow since its July 4 global launch —more than any other film or series inits first four days. And 18.2 millionhave already finished the entire sea-son.”

Given that, the upcoming deal isbound to be sizable. Deadline reportsthat the Duffer Brothers could standto nab a multiyear pact similar to theone Netflix signed with Game OfThrones’ David Benioff and DBWeiss. We can only hope that Steve‘The Hair’ Harrington’s godawfulbowl cut will not be making anappearance in the fourth season.

ANETFLIX SHOW STRANGER THINGSTO RETURN WITH SEASON 4

AVA DUVERNAYTO DIRECTAMERICAN CIVILWAR SERIES

ctress Viola Davis is set tobe honoured with a lifetimeachievement award at thisyear’s Rome Film Festivalscheduled to run betweenOctober 17 to October 27.

The Oscar, Emmy and Tony-winningactress will attend the festival to

take her prize besides participat-ing in a ‘Close Encounter’ on-

stage conversation, in whichshe will speak about her

career across film, theatreand TV, reported

Deadline.“Viola

Davis is an extraordinary actress, whohas transformed sincerity and dignityinto sublime thespian art. It is a greathonour for me, and for the Rome FilmFest, to celebrate her formidable talentand deep humanity,” the outlet quotedAntonio Monda, Rome’s artisticdirector.

Rome will award two lifetimeachievement awards this year.Previously, Bill Murray wasannounced as the recipientof the other award andWes Anderson willpresent the awardto Murray.

VIOLA DAVIS TO BE AWARDED

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTAWARD AT ROME FILM FESTIVAL

A

ctors Micheal

Sheen and Anna

Lundberg have

officially con-

firmed the birth

of their first

child together and the cou-

ple have named their new-

born daughter, Lyra.

The Good Omens star

revealed that the child was

born on September 23.

“Happy to say that at

8:41 am on Monday

September 23rd our beauti-

ful daughter Lyra was born.

Thank you so much to

Louise and all the brilliant

midwives at both the

Singleton and Neath Port

Talbot Hospitals,” Sheen

wrote on Twitter.

“On behalf of Anna and

myself thanks to everyone

for your lovely messages of

congratulations. It’s been a

wonderful, bleary-eyed

week full of love and kind-

ness and extraordinary poo.

#NotReferringToMyself,” he

added.This is a second child for

Sheen, who also shares

daughter Lily (20) with for-

mer partner, actor Kate

Beckinsale.

A

MICHAEL SHEEN REVEALS

NAME OF NEWBORN

DAUGHTER

AFP nMILAN

Israeli forward ManorSolomon scored a dramatic

winning goal deep into stoppagetime as Shakhtar came frombehind to beat Atalanta 2-1.

The sides looked set toshare the spoils as the gamemoved into a fifth minute ofadded time, but then the

Brazilian Dodo found fellowsubstitute Solomon in the boxand neither Atalanta goalkeep-er Pierluigi Gollini nor defend-er Timothy Castagne could stophim from scoring.

It was cruel on Atalanta,who had been denied byShakhtar Donetsk goalkeeperAndriy Pyatov on several occa-sions and remain without a

point in Group C.Hammered 4-0 by Dinamo

Zagreb in their first ever matchin the Champions League groupstage, the side from Bergamonow face a daunting double-header against Manchester Citynext.

Shakhtar had been beaten 3-0 at home by Pep Guardiola’sside in their opening game butthis result gives the Ukrainianchampions a massive lift intheir bid to reach the last 16.

MOSCOW: Portuguese teenagerJoao Felix scored his firstChampions League goal onTuesday as Atletico Madridrecorded a precious 2-0 winaway to Lokomotiv Moscow.

The 19-year-old Felix,Atletico’s club-record signing,put the visitors ahead threeminutes after half-time in Russiaand helped set up ThomasPartey for the second goal on thehour. Diego Simeone’s side sitlevel on four points at the top of

Group D with Juventus, whoeased to a 3-0 victory at home.

“I’m delighted to score myfirst Champions League goal. Itwas a great game, and theimportant thing was that wecame away with the threepoints,” said Felix.

Atletico rallied from twogoals down a fortnight ago in a

2-2 draw with Juventus, but theytook the lead here on 48 minuteswhen Felix stabbed in a reboundafter his first effort was parriedby Guilherme.

Felix, who last seasonbecame the youngest player toscore a hat-trick in the EuropaLeague while with Benfica, cre-ated the second goal with a sear-

ing break from deep.Atletico cleared a corner

and Felix surged into theLokomotiv half before floatinga cross-field ball towards Costa,who unselfishly squared for asliding Partey to tap home on 58minutes.

Jan Oblak then producedtwo sublime stops as Atleticoremained unbeaten in seventrips to Russia, winning for thefourth time in five visits toMoscow. AFP

AFP n MANCHESTER

Manchester City manager PepGuardiola said Phil Foden’s lack

of minutes for the English championsis “unfair” as the 19-year-old came offthe bench to score in a 2-0 win overDinamo Zagreb.

Foden has been limited to justone start, in the League Cup againstPreston, so far this season as thereturn of Kevin De Bruyne and sign-ing of Rodrigo has seen the Englandunder-21 international fall furtherdown the pecking order.

But he made the most of barelya few minutes on the field against theCroatian champions after being intro-duced as a substitute in stoppage timeto fire home after fellow sub RaheemSterling had opened the scoring.

“I know he deserves to play. Iwant to give him minutes, every timehe doesn’t play I am completelyunfair to him, I’m sorry,” saidGuardiola.

“But Kevin De Bruyne is there,David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Rodri,(Ilkay) Gundogan. It’s what it is.

“I know the best way to grow upis play minutes and minutes, but heis so young.

“I don’t know how many playersof that age played as many minutes inthe recent past he played in theselast seasons with us.

“He is going to be anincredible future player for usbecause we count on himand we trust a lot in him.”

Sterling even hopesFoden will get enoughchances to shine to makea late run to be included in theEngland squad for next year’sEuropean Championship.

“I am buzzing for Phil and I wanthim in the national team,” saidSterling. “If he keeps going he will bethere.”

However, City’ local hero Fodenis happy to play a patient game withsuch an array of midfield talent to

compete with.“You have to show the manager

what you can do each day in training,”said Foden. “Every young kid wantsto play but you have to keep patient.”

City enjoyed 71 percent posses-sion and had 19 attempts on goal, buthad to wait until 24 minutes fromtime to make the breakthrough whenSterling rounded off an excellentteam move.

The English champions havemaximum points from their openingtwo games with back-to-back match-es against bottom-of-the-groupAtalanta to come.

“It was good. We didn’t concedeone shot on target, with our huge pos-session we created enough chances toscore earlier, but we were patient,”added Guardiola.

“We need two more victories toqualify for the last 16 and hopefullywe can make against Atalanta almostthe definitive step to be there.”

“Nobody is going to give us any-thing,” said Guardiola. “We did it our-selves and that’s top. That’s why I lovethis team.”

AFP n LONDON

Serge Gnabry scored four second-half goals as Bayern Munichembarrassed Tottenham 7-2 on

Tuesday — the biggest-ever marginof defeat suffered by an English teamat home in any European competi-tion.

The Bundesliga champions fellbehind to an early Son Heung-mingoal but then clicked into gear,producing a ruthless display of fin-ishing in the north London rain asSpurs fell apart.

Harry Kane briefly gave thehome side hope with a penalty toreduce the deficit to 4-2 but thatwas merely the prelude to anoth-er masterclass in finishing from thefive-time European champions.

“It was a great evening for

Bayern Munich and for German foot-ball,” said Bayern boss Niko Kovac.“Playing this way here in England isreally unique.”

“I have compassion for my col-league (Spurs boss MauricioPochettino),” he added, praising the“amazing” Gnabry and Manuel Neuerfor his display in the Bayern goal.

Spurs, who reached the ChampionsLeague final in June, where they lost toLiverpool, also had a sluggish start tothe competition last year, winning a sin-gle point from their first three games.

But Pochettino faces a huge tasknow to lift the team after this humblingat their new ground following anunconvincing start to the season.

The Spurs boss urged his side tostay together despite the traumaticdefeat, saying the timing of Bayern’s sec-ond goal just before half-time was ahard blow.

“The most important thing is tostay calm, no rushed analysis, norushed judgement, no rushed assess-ment,” he said, praising the clinical fin-ishing of Bayern, who had 11 shots ontarget.

“You need to show your quality likea man first,” he added. “To face it likea professional. This type of situation youhave to show your quality, how you arestrong.”

The early exchanges gave no clueabout the carnage to come.

Tottenham’s deserved early lead waswiped out 194 seconds later by Joshua

Kimmich but the home side went toeto toe with Bayern for most of the firstperiod.

Bayern forged ahead on the strokeof half-time, though, thanks to a superbfinish from Robert Lewandowski, whopicked up the loose ball at the edge of thearea and swivelled to fire into the bottomcorner.

GNABRY STRIKESThe second half belonged to former

Arsenal man Gnabry, who struck fourtimes as the visitors completed a rout.Lewandowski also scored a second.

It was the first time Spurs had con-ceded seven goals in a home match in anymajor competition.

The result leaves Bayern in pole posi-tion in Group B with two wins from twomatches while Spurs have just one pointafter seeing a 2-0 lead wiped out in theiropening game against Olympiakos.

But despite their poor start they arejust two points behind second-placedRed Star Belgrade, who beat Olympiakos3-1.

Bayern extended their advantageeight minutes after the break as Gnabrybroke at pace down the left and burst intothe box before drilling into the bottomcorner.

Spurs’ misery was compounded asGnabry struck again two minutes later,capitalising after Harry Winks lost pos-session.

Pochettino’s men were handed a life-line as the referee pointed to the penal-ty spot for a foul on Danny Rose, withKane reducing the deficit to 4-2 on thehour mark.

But Gnabry sealed his hat-trick forBayern in the 83rd minute after racingbeyond the Spurs defence and slottingpast Lloris from 15 yards.

There was still time for Lewandowskito side-foot home a sixth for the Germangiants and Gnabry was able to add hisfourth, and a seventh for Bayern, in the88th minute.

sport 15HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019

AFP n MADRID

Casemiro’s late header res-cued Real Madrid from an

embarrassing defeat at homeagainst Club Brugge on Tuesdayas Zinedine Zidane’s side camefrom two goals down to salvagea 2-2 draw.

Madrid were run ragged inthe first half by a brilliantBrugge and their speedy strik-er Emmanuel Dennis, whoscored twice at the SantiagoBernabeu and should have com-pleted his hat-trick shortly afterthe interval.

Instead, Madrid camestorming back as Sergio Ramosheaded in, before Casemiroclaimed a dramatic equaliser inthe 85th minute, seconds afterBrugge’s Ruud Vormer had beensent off for a second yellow card.

“I would like to keep thesecond half and forget the first,”said Zidane afterwards. “Thegoals we conceded were laugh-

able.”“The match was historic,

the point was historic and theway we played was as well,” saidBrugge coach Philippe Clement.

After losing 3-0 to ParisSaint-Germain two weeks ago inwhat was Zidane’s worst everloss as coach, Madrid will berelieved to have avoided anoth-er defeat that would have leftthem facing their first evergroup-stage exit in this compe-tition.

But there were no celebra-tions at the final whistle fromthose in white shirts after achaotic performance checkedany morale and momentumgained following three consec-utive victories in La Liga.

“I am not worried aboutanything,” Zidane said. “Weknow we are in a worse situationin the Champions League butwe keep going.”

“We have to do more, wehave to do better,” added Ramos.

AFP n TURIN

Cristiano Ronaldo scoredhis first goal in this season’s

Champions League, sealing a 3-0 win for Juventus over BayerLeverkusen in their Group Dgame in Turin.

Ronaldo blasted in thethird goal in the 89th minute toextend his record to 127 strikesin the competition to add toGonzalo Higuain and FedericoBernardeschi’s earlier efforts.

Juventus move top of theirsection, level on four pointswith Atletico Madrid, whodefeated Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 in Russia.

The Italian champions hadbeen held 2-2 by the Spaniardsat the Wanda Metropolitano intheir opener.

“We had a good matchagainst a team who love posses-sion and are not easy to dealwith,” said Juventus coachMaurizio Sarri.

“They took a lot of energyout of us in the first half. Afterthe break, they slowed down alittle and we took control.”

Leverkusen face an uphill

battle after their shock 2-1defeat at home againstLokomotiv Moscow and arerooted to the foot of the table.

“It was a clear defeat,” saidLeverkusen coach Peter Bosz.“We played well in the first halfeven if we didn’t have chances,and then we made the mistakewhich led to the first goal.

“It’s the difference betweena team who has experience inthe Champions League andone that is beginning its jour-ney at this level.”

Juventus next hostLokomotiv and Leverkusentravel to Atletico on October 22.

“It was an importantmatch, after the draw inMadrid we had to win to getcloser to the qualification,” saidHiguain.

“Now we head to Sunday,because another battle awaitsus,” added the Argentine ofnext weekend’s Serie A clashwith leaders Inter Milan.

AFP n ISTANBUL

Mauro Icardi scored hisfirst Paris Saint-

Germain goal as the Frenchchampions beat Galatasaray1-0 to move four points clearat the top of their group A.

Argentina forwardIcardi, who joined PSG onloan from Inter Milan lastmonth, opened his accountfor the club to maintain theirperfect start to theirEuropean campaign afterdowning Real Madrid 3-0two weeks ago.

The Turkish championssit third in the standingswith a single point from thedraw at Club Brugge onSeptember 18 and have notregistered a win in fourgames in all competitions.

PSG were withoutNeymar, serving the lastmatch of his European sus-pension for abusing a refer-ee on social media, Edinson

Cavani due to a hip injury,and Kylian Mbappe whostarted on the bench as hecontinues to recover from athigh injury as Icardi led theattack in Istanbul.

“It wasn’t the hardestgoal to score but it came fromexcellent build-up play. He’sworked a lot,” coach ThomasTuchel said.

Next for PSG is a trip toClub Brugge,whileGalatasaray host the Spanishgiants on October 22.

7Bayern Munich scored 7 goals in a ChampionsLeague away match for the second time, theydid so in October 2014 before (7-1-win at AS

Roma)

4Serge Gnabry is the 2nd German to score 4 ormore goals in a Champions League match, thathas only been achieved by Mario Gomez

before, also for Bayern Munich (4 goals versusBasel in March 2012, 7-0-win)

5Tottenham's 2-7 defeat to Bayern Munich wasthe biggest ever margin of defeat by an Englishteam at home in any European competition

7Tottenham Hotspur are the first English side toconcede seven goals in any Europeancompetition since Tottenham Hotspur lost 0-8

to FC Koln in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in July 1995

5Harry Kane has scored more ChampionsLeague goals versus German teams (5) than hehas versus sides from any other nation

13Robert Lewandowski has scored 13 goalsin just 10 appearances in all competitionsfor Bayern Munich this season, more than

any other player in the big-five European leagues

194There were just 194 seconds betweenSon Heung-Min's opener forTottenham Hotspur and Joshua

Kimmich equalising for Bayern Munich

18Raheem Sterling has been directly involvedin 18 goals in his last 16 homeappearances in the Champions League for

Man City (11 goals, seven assists), scoring orassisting at least once in 12 of his last 13 suchmatches

0Before Atalanta, the last Italian side to loseeach of their first two games in a ChampionsLeague group stage were Inter, in 2006-07 —

the Nerazzurri progressed that stage

10Sergio Ramos has scored in a 10thdifferent season in the Champions League,becoming just the second defender to do

so in the competition after Gerard Pique (also 10)

3Real Madrid have conceded 2+ goals in threeconsecutive home games in all Europeancompetitions for the first time in their history

0Real Madrid have failed to win their openingtwo games to a Champions League season forthe first time ever (D1 L1)

19Aged 19 years and 325 days, João Félixhas become Atlético de Madrid's youngestever goalscorer in UCL, overtaking Sergio

Agüero (20y 106d against PSV in September 2008)

33Cristiano Ronaldo has scored to the joint-most different teams in ChampionsLeague: 33, equalling the record of Raúl.

26Paris have scored a goal in each of theirlast 26 games in CL, only Real Madrid(34) and Barcelone (29) have done a

longest streak in the history of the competition

FIGURATIVELY

North Londonis

Former Gunners boy Gnabry netsfour as German champions batter

Spurs 7-2 at White Hart Lane

RED

} }IT’S DIFFICULT TO PUT THIS INTO WORDS,WINNING 7-2. NONE OF US WOULD HAVEIMAGINED THIS. TO HAVE SCORED FOUR GOALSIS ALSO AN AMAZING FEELING. I IMAGINE ALLTHE ARSENAL FANS ENJOYED THAT ONE!

Zi-done?Casemiro spares Real's blushesagainst brilliant Brugge

“In football it can happen. Every singletouch went in. We are verydisappointed and very upset but wehave to stay together.”

— MAURICIO POCHETTINO(Tottenham Hotspur coach)

“It was a great evening for Bayern Munichand for German football. Playing this way

here in England is really unique.”— NIKO KOVAC

(Bayern Munich coach)

“I would like to keep the second half andforget the first. The goals we concededwere laughable.”

— ZINEDINE ZIDANE (Real Madrid coach)

“The match was historic, the point washistoric and the way we played was aswell.”

— PHILIPPE CLEMENT(Club Brugge coach)

“We need two more victories to qualifyfor the last 16 and hopefully we can makeagainst Atalanta almost the definitive stepto be there.”

— PEP GUARDIOLA(Manchester City manager)

“It really hurts to lose a few secondsfrom the final whistle.” — GIAN PIERO GASPERINI(Atalanta coach)

“I am very happy because the team did whatwas needed. It was hard but it was deserved.”

— THOMAS TUCHEL (PSG coach)

“We had a good match against a teamwho love possession and are not easyto deal with. They took a lot of energyout of us in the first half. After thebreak, they slowed down a little and we

took control.”— MAURIZIO SARRI(Juventus coach)

“I’m delighted to score my firstChampions League goal. It was agreat game, and the important thingwas that we came away with the threepoints.”

— JOAO FELIX(Atletico winger)

City close on last 16

Gnabry was born in Stuttgart,but joined Arsenal's

academy as a teenagerbefore moving back toGermany for spells at

Werder Bremen, Hoffenheimand then Bayern recruited

him as replacement for ArjenRobben in 2017

Old Lady still strong Icardi off the mark

First of many Extra time winner

Emmanuel Dennis celebrates after scoring Club Brugge’s opening goal against RealMadrid during UCL match day 2 at Santiago Bernabeu UEFA/Twitter

PTI nMARLOW

The Indian women’s hockey teamtasted its first defeat on England

tour when it went down 1-3 againstGreat Britain in the fourth match hereon Wednesday.

Great Britain took an early leadthrough Hannah Martin (5th minute)but India’s Neha Goyal (18th) scoredthe equaliser.

However, a goal before half-timefrom Charlotte Watson (29th), and onein the last quarter through GiselleAnsley (50th) meant that Great Britainsecured their first win of the tour, snap-ping India’s unbeaten run.

World No 9 India had notched upa 2-1 win in the first match, beforedrawing the next two games 1-1 and

0-0 respectively.The hosts dominated possession

in the early stages and won their firstpenalty corner in just the 3rd minute,but India’s goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpuproduced a fine save to deny the hostsearly on.

However, the visitors could notdeny the hosts on the second occasionas they took the lead through a fieldgoal by Hannah in the 5th minute.

India gradually came into thegame, and had a few chances of theirown in the latter stages and with themomentum on their side, the Indianteam combined well at the start of the

second quarter, and pressed for theequaliser, which eventually came in the18th minute as Neha produced a slickfinish to make it 1-1, and put the pres-sure back on the host nation.

It was in the 29th minute at thestroke of half-time that Great Britaincreated a great chance through com-bination play by their forwards, andmanaged to take a 2-1 lead into half-time as Charlotte Watson scored theirsecond.

Neither team could create any realopportunity in the third period, andwere battling it out in midfield. TheIndian team tried to attack theiropponents more in the last quarter, butit was Giselle Ansley, who made it 3-1 in the hosts’ favour via strike frompenalty corner.

AFP n KARACHI

Recharged openerDanushka Gunathilaka

scored a career best centuryto lift Sri Lanka to a challeng-ing 297-9 against Pakistan inthe third and final day-nightinternational against Pakistanin Karachi on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old left-han-der knocked a 134-ball 133with 16 boundaries and a sixfor his second hundred whichlifted Sri Lanka after theywon the toss and batted on aflat National stadium pitch.

Gunathilaka, suspendedtwice for breaches of disci-plines in the last two years,held the innings togetherwith stands of 88 with skip-per Lahiru Thirimanne (36)for the second, 50 for thethird with Angelo Perera (13)and 74 with debutant MinodBhanuka (36) for the fourthin a brilliant display of bat-

ting. He was finally dismissedin the 45th over, bowled bypaceman Mohammad Amirwho was the best Pakistanibowler with 3-50.

It was Amir who gavePakistan an early break-through when he had Avishka

Fernando caught behind forfour by Sarfaraz Ahmed, lead-ing Pakistan for the 50thtime in an ODI.

Gunathilaka def iedPakistan's bowling with gutsand determination, improv-ing his previous ODI best of

116 he made againstZimbabwe at Hambantota in2017.

Thirimanne hit fourboundaries off 54 balls whileBhanuka had two sixes in his39-ball knock.

Allrounder DasunShanaka hit a quick 24-ball 43with five boundaries and twosixes as Sri Lanka added 50 inthe last five overs.

Pakistan, who leads thethree-match series 1-0 onwinning the second match by67 runs, brought Abid Ali andMohammad Nawaz forImam-ul-Haq and ImadWasim.

For Sri Lanka, SadeeraSamarawickrama, IsuruUdana and Oshada Fernandomade way for Bhanuka,Lakshan Sandakan andPerera.

The f irst match wasrained off, also in Karachi, onFriday.

sport 16HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 3, 2019

PTI n VISAKHAPATNAM

Rohit Sharma’s Test careergot a new lease of life ashe struck an unbeaten

115 in his first innings as anopener to take India to a com-manding 202 for no loss againstSouth Africa before rainwashed out the final session ofthe series-opener, here onWednesday.

There was an 80 percentchance of rain on the openingday but it only arrived duringthe tea break with India com-fortably placed after 59.1 oversof play.

Mayank Agarwal was oncourse for a maiden Test hun-dred, having played extremelywell for his 183-ball 84.

Thunderstorm, followedby a heavy spell of rain, ensuredno play was possible after thetea break.

Before weather playedspoilsport, Rohit stole the showin what could be a careerchanging knock for him.

While South Africanbowlers did trouble the Indianbatsmen on a few occasions inthe first session, they seemedtoothless in the second sessionwhere Rohit and Agarwalscored at a brisk rate.

Rohit, who got to his fiftybefore lunch, shifted gears andwas particularly harsh on thespinners.

He hammered off-spinnerDanie Piedt for successive sixesover deep midwicket to get intothe nineties before completinghis fourth Test ton with a sin-gle off debutant spinner

Senuran Muthusamy.The entire dressing room,

including skipper Virat Kohli,stood up to laud Rohit's feat.His 174-ball unconqueredinnings contained 12 fours andfive sixes.

At the other end, Agarwalwas cruising towards his maid-en Test ton. He too lookedassured at the crease and playedhis shots.

Early into the afternoonsession, he brought up his halfcentury with a spectacular sixover extra cover off KeshavMaharaj.

Clouds gathered over thestadium towards the end of thesession and thunderstormsforced the umpires to take thetea break eight minutes beforescheduled time.

Earlier, Rohit and Agarwalplayed out 30 overs in themorning session after safelynegotiating the South Africanpacers Kagiso Rabada andVernon Philander, taking Indiato 91 for no loss.

India, who had namedtheir playing on the eve of thefirst Test, opted to bat on a drysurface with skipper Kohli call-ing his decision a "no brainer."

Expecting the pitch to turn,South Africa picked three spin-ners in Maharaj, Piedt andMuthusamy, who is more of abatting all-rounder.

All eyes were expectedlyon Rohit whose stop-start Testcareer has taken a new direc-tion with the managementaccommodating him at the topof the order.

He left the first ball he

faced before driving Rabadapast backward point with min-imal feet movement for a four.

His second scoring shotwas also a boundary as hepunched Philander towardsbackward point. The pitchoffered very little to the pacersand spinners in the first twohours of play.

What worked for Rohitwas standing outside the creasewhen Philander was bowlingto negate any little swing thatwas available.

Rabada has the expresspace but he did not test theIndian openers as much asPhilander.

Rohit and Philander’s bat-tle in the first hour was absorb-ing. Philander, who got the bet-ter of Rohit in the warm-upgame, challenged Rohit bymoving the ball both ways inhis opening spell of four overs.

After a few play and miss-es, Rohit chose to walk downthe pitch before South Africaskipper Faf du Plessis askedwicketkeeper Quinton de Kockto stand up to the stumps.

After getting the measureof the surface, Rohit went forhis strokes like he does inwhite-ball cricket.

His first big hit was a typ-ical one as he gently steppedout of the crease to smashMaharaj over long-on. A littlelater, he played a similar shortoff Piedt and this time the ballflew well above the long-onfielder.

Rohit completed his 11thTest half-century towards theend of the session.

PTI n ULAN UDE

Six-time champion M C MaryKom’s seemingly endless reser-

voir of experience makes her astrong medal contender yet againbut the spotlight will also be onsome youngsters when Indiatakes guard at the World Women’sBoxing Championship startinghere today.

Mary Kom was onWednesday seeded third andhanded a bye into the pre-quar-terfinals. She will begin her cam-paign on October 8 against a yetto be decided opponent.

In all, five Indians got first-round byes into different stagesdepending on the size of the draw.No Indian will be in action on theopening day of the mega-event.

The 36-year-old Manipurihas been an ambassador of thesport not just in India but also theworld over. However, there is aminor blemish in her magnificentrecord — the lack of a world titlein the 51kg category.

She would be aiming to set itright in this Russian city. This isnot to say she hasn’t done well inthe hard-fought category— MaryKom has the Olympic Bronzemedal and the Asian GamesGold to her credit in the division.

Former champion and MaryKom’s contemporary L SaritaDevi (60kg) is another one towatch out for after she defeatedlast edition’s Bronze-winner anda much younger Simranjit Kaurin the trials. Sarita, seeded fourth,has also got a bye but into theround of 32.

Outside the ring, the eight-time Asian medallist is in the run-ning to become a member of theInternational BoxingAssociation's (AIBA) first everathletes commission, the voting

for which will take place duringthe mega-event here. She isexpected to make the panel asthere hasn’t been any other nom-ination from the Asian block.

Previous editionks Bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain hasmoved up a division to 69kg thistime. She is seeded third andgiven a bye into the pre-quarter-finals.

India Open Gold-medallistsNeeraj (57kg) and Jamuna Boro(54kg) are among the five boxers,who will be making their debutsat the big event and can beexpected to create a flutter. Neeraj,a former national champion, hasgot a bye into the round of 32.

In the 75kg category, formerAsian champion Saweety Boorawill be keenly watched. She wasa Silver-medallist in the 2014 edi-tion of the marquee tourna-ment.

“This squad is a nice mix.Last time we had four medals,let’s see how the debutantsrespond to the challenge thistime. Fingers crossed,” nationalcoach Mohammed Ali Qamarsaid.

“Before coming here, we hada fruitful training stint in Italywhere we got to spar with theChinese, which is not some-thing that happens quite often.They hardly travel elsewhereand they are the biggest force inwomen’s boxing,” he added.

In the 48kg category, whichMary Kom made her own,Strandja Cup Silver-medallistManju Rani will be fighting it outthis time. A debutant at theworld championship, Rani got abye into the pre-quarterfinals.

“She has shown a lot ofpromise and hopefully, it wouldtranslate into a medal here,”Qamar said.

AFP n BEIJING

Exhausted Andy Murray bat-tled into a singles quarter-

final for the first time in a yearon Wednesday — and thenimmediately grabbed a snooze.

The former world numberone outlasted fellow BritonCameron Norrie 7-6 (8/6), 6-7(4/7), 6-1 over nearly three gru-elling hours in hot and hazyBeijing.

The 32-year-old, nowranked a lowly 503, will play topseed Dominic Thiem in the lasteight of the China Open onFriday.

On the mend after a career-saving hip operation in January,Murray looked all in afterwards,and walked gingerly in and outof the post-match press confer-ence.

Blowing out his cheeks sev-eral times, the three-time GrandSlam champion said he hadslept in the 90 minutes betweenhis victory and talking toreporters.

“I’m tired, I just had a sleepbefore coming. I mean, I’m real-

ly tired,” he said.The hard-fought triumph

over 69th-ranked Norrie meanshe reaches the last eight in sin-gles on the ATP Tour for the firsttime since Shenzhen inSeptember last year.

Also into the quarter-finalswas Russian fourth seed KarenKhachanov, a 7-6 (7/0), 7-6

(7/5) winner over France’sJeremy Chardy. He faces theItalian Fabio Fognini.

BARTY ADVANCESIn the women’s draw, world

number one Ashleigh Barty willface Czech seventh seed PetraKvitova in the quarter-finals.

The top-ranked Australian,23, beat home hope Zheng Saisai6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, but wasunhappy to have been forced tothree sets.

“I think I was pretty loose, Iplayed a pretty stupid (second)set,” said Barty.

“I made far too many errors,let her back in the match welland truly.

“I think too many times Igave away cheap service games...when I did have my opportuni-ty, I didn’t take it.

“A bit of a frustrating one.”Teenage US Open champion

Bianca Andreescu reached thelast 16 with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) vic-tory over Belgium’s unseededElise Mertens.

Andreescu meets JenniferBrady of the United States.

AFP n TOKYO

Novak Djokovic stepped up a gear atthe Japan Open on Wednesday,

fending off a tough challenge fromJapanese wild card Go Soeda 6-3, 7-5 toadvance to the quarterfinals.

The world number one said he hadno problems with the injured shoulderwhich forced him out of the US Openas he looked to face French fifth-seedLucas Pouille at the Ariake Colosseum.

Djokovic was cruising to a victoryuntil late in the second set when the 35-year-old Japanese player put up a tena-cious fight as the Serb began missingmany of his first serves, reducing his 5-3 lead to 5-5.

But Djokovic snapped back in formand took the final two games without

giving a single point away, ending thematch in just over 90 minutes.

“Obviously, I was pleased to get thatdone in two (sets),” Djokovic said. “Wemust give credit to Go Soeda, whoplayed a really good match, fought hard,made me work for my win today.

“For my side, I am really pleased.Probably I played even on a higher levelthan the first round. So the game isgoing in the right direction for sure,” hesaid.

“I played now three days in a row,”he said. “Everything is fine.”

Elsewhere, third-seed David Goffincame from behind in a dramatic first-round victory against Pablo CarrenoBusta 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-0.

Djokovic’s next opponent Pouilledefeated Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1, 6-2.

American Reilly Opelka squeezedpast Gilles Simon 7-6(4), 7-6(2)

Australian qualifier John Millmandefeated Adrian Mannarino of France4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Japanese qualif ier YasutakaUchiyama beat Radu Albot 6-7(2), 6-3,6-4.

Lloyd Harris of South Africa edgedpast Australian eighth-seed Alex deMinaur 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(8).

Debut 2.0Rohit scores hundred on his maiden game as Test opener PTI n VISAKHAPATNAM

Emphasising that opening the batting suitshim, Rohit Sharma said he was mentally

prepared to make the switch as he scored anunbeaten 115 in his first Test innings as open-er and with his assuring knock, India seized theinitiative on day one of the series opener againstSouth Africa.

Asked about his mindset in the lead up tothe series, India’s limited overs vice-captain saidhe kept things simple in his head.

“The talk (of him opening in Tests) wasgoing on for a long time. In the West Indies (inAugust), they told me clearly it is going to hap-pen now. I was prepared for the past two years.At some stage, I was aware that I might haveto open so I was ready,” said Rohit after scor-ing his fourth Test ton.

He was part of the squad for West Indiesseries but could not final place in the middleorder.

“Of course, opening the batting is a differ-ent ball game in red ball cricket. Mentally youhave to train your mind more than anythingelse. At the same time, you do need to look intosome technical aspects of batting but more thanthat you have to challenge yourself mentally toplay the new ball and take the game forward.

“Those are the things I kept in mind whenI went out to bat. There was no confusion abouthow I wanted to approach the innings.”

In ODIs too, Rohit used to bat in the mid-dle order but he became a white-ball great onlywith his stupendous success at the top of theorder.

“I think it (opening) just suits my game, justwear the pads and bat. It was a waiting game,when I used to bat at five or six. I won’t say itdidn’t suit my batting. Your mind is fresh, weknow we have to play the new ball. You knowthe bowlers who will bowl the new ball, thesewill be the fielders, so the game plan is easierfor you.

“At number six, the ball is reversing, fieldplacement is different and you need to keep allthose things in mind. That game of wearing thepads and going in to bat suits me more,” saidthe maker of more than 10,000 runs in limit-ed overs cricket.

Opening suitsRohit’s game

Young boxers eyeglory at Worlds

Gunathillaka takes SL to 297-9

AFP n KARACHI

Pakistan Wednesdayrecalled trouble-making

opener Ahmed Shehzadand middle-order batsmanUmar Akmal for the three-match Twenty20 seriesagainst Sri Lanka startingthis weekend.

It will be the first timethe 27-year-old Shehzadwill represent Pakistan sincea four-month ban for afailed dope test last year.

Shehzad played the lastof his 57 Twenty20 interna-tionals in Scotland in Junelast year.

Umar, 29, played the

last of 82 Twenty20 interna-tionals in 2016 against theWest Indies.

The three Twenty20internationals will all beplayed in Lahore onOctober 5, 7 and 9.

Chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq announced thechanges to the squad.

"From the ODI sideagainst Sri Lanka there arethree changes. Shehzad,Umar and Faheem Ashrafhave replaced Abid Ali,Mohammad Rizwan andImam-ul-Haq," saidMisbah.

Sarfaraz Ahmed willlead the Twenty20 squad.

Shehzad, Umar for T20s

Indian Eves suffer 1-3 defeat

Murray reaches Beijing quarters Djoker continues winning run