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2 RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

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Page 1: ˘ˇˆ˙˘˝˛˚˚˜ - The Pioneer · in 10 States — Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Jharkhand, and Goa —

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Page 2: ˘ˇˆ˙˘˝˛˚˚˜ - The Pioneer · in 10 States — Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Jharkhand, and Goa —

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Page 3: ˘ˇˆ˙˘˝˛˚˚˜ - The Pioneer · in 10 States — Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Jharkhand, and Goa —

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The Union Government onThursday announced a

�2.50 a litre cut in petrol anddiesel prices, factoring in exciseduty reduction of �1.50 per litreand asking oil companies toabsorb another �1 as the BJPand the NDA-ruled Statesdecided to slash oil prices bymatching the Central cut.

Soon after the announce-ment, the NDA Governmentsin 10 States — Uttar Pradesh,Assam, Himachal Pradesh,Gujarat, Maharashtra, MadhyaPradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura,Jharkhand, and Goa — fol-lowed the Centre’s footstepsannouncing a cut of �2.50 perlitre in fuel prices. Governor-ruled J&K too has slashed fuelprices �2.50 per litre.

As Centre’s cut wasmatched by these States, thecombined relief to the con-sumers would be to the tune of�5 per litre. The reduction fol-lowed petrol and diesel pricestouching new highs.

However, the BJP-JD(U)alliance Government in Biharhas not followed suit. BiharDeputy Chief Minister SushilKumar Modi on Thursdayremained non-committal onwhether the State Governmentwould reduce tax on petrol anddiesel in view of the Centre’sappeal in this regard.

The Opposition ruledStates are yet to decide on cut-ting their shares of VAT onpetrol and diesel; Karnatakahas refused to cut the prices.

Karnataka Chief MinisterHD Kumaraswamy ruled outany further cut in fuel prices as

it had already done it a fort-night ago. The StateGovernment had slashed thepetrol and diesel prices by �2per litre on September 17 inview of the public outcryagainst spiralling fuel prices.

Union Finance MinisterArun Jaitley said it will be atest for those States whoseleaders were only tweetingand indulging in lip service.“What will they do now? Lasttime also only BJP and NDA-led State Governmentsreduced VAT. This time ifother State Governments donot do it then people will askthem,” he said.

The Finance Minister saidthe excise duty cut would havean impact of �10,500 crore onCentral Government’s tax rev-

enues. He also asked StateGovernments to follow suit bycutting a sales tax or VAT by asimilar amount.

Jaitley said the move fol-lowed Brent crude oil touch-ing four-year high of $86 abarrel on Wednesday andinterest rates in US reachingseven-year high. The relief toconsumers will be in threeparts — Centre will cut exciseduty by �1.5, and oil market-ing companies (OMCs) willfactor in �1 in their pricing,and States have been asked tocut VAT as they have raked inwindfall gains due to ad val-orem nature of the levy thatresults in higher realisationwhenever rates move up, theFinance Minister said.

Inflation in India, howev-

er, is still moderate at less than4 per cent and higher direct taxcollections give comfort withregard to fiscal deficit, he saidadding domestic macroeco-nomic indicators are strong andstable, except for currentaccount deficit (CAD).

In Delhi, where the fuelprices are the lowest among allmetros and most State capital,petrol is sold at �84 per litreand diesel at �75.45.

Soon after the Centraldecision, Gujarat announcedreduction of petrol and dieselprices by �2.50 per litre.

In effect, the reductionwill be to the tune of �5 per litrein Gujarat. Today’s petrol pricein Ahmedabad was �83.21 perlitre while that of diesel was81.02 per litre.

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It is a historic day forRajnandgaon. The dream of

the Medical College having allfacilities in the district is gettingfulfilled, Chief Minister RamanSingh said on Thursday.

The residents of the districthad given me the responsibil-ity as a Legislator from theregion and I feel that to someextent their wishes had beenfulfilled, he said while address-ing a programme after dedi-

cating the newly-constructedbuilding of ‘Atal BihariVajpayee MemorialGovernment Medical College’here as part of ongoing State-wide ‘Atal Vikas Yatra’.

“Rajnandgaon is on fasttrack for development of edu-cation, health and sports sec-tors . On a single day, the res-idents got new building ofMedical College, renovatedDigvijay Stadium, CentralSchool Building and RailwayPlatform and Godown atRajnandgaon Railway station,”he said.

He further said that takingassistance from Tata MemorialInstitute at Medical College, thescreening of cancer patientswould be done and primarytreatment would be extended.

In Medical College premis-es, a 500-seat stadium would beestablished while it has beenbrought under ChhattisgarhAutonomous Medical College

Education Model Service Rule2018. This would help toreduce the shortage of facultyin Medical Colleges of theState, Singh said.

The Chief Minister high-lighted the expansion of healthfacilities, as the number ofmedical colleges went up fromjust two to 10 includingAIIMS, while number of nurs-ing institutes have increasedfrom just one to a dozen.

He highlighted theAyushman Bharat Scheme ofPrime Minister Narendra Modiand how a beneficiary canavail medical health servicesupto Rs 5 lakh per family.

In Medical College premis-es at Rajnandgaon, the hostelbuilding, girls hostel, nurseshostel, men and women juniorresident doctors hostel, menand women interns hostel isunder construction. TheMedical College would have500 bed hospital.

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Raipur: In a prompt responseto appeal of Union FinanceMinister Arun Jaitely to statesfor slashing VAT and reducingpetrol and diesel prices by�2.50 per litre , the ChhattisgarhGovernment on Thursday cutVAT on petrol and diesel by 4per cent respectively effectivemidnight of Thursday.

Officials informed that themove would have the State los-ing �378 crore in revenue forthe remaining period of thecurrent financial year.

In fact, three BJP-ruledstates mainly Maharashtra,Chhattisgarh and Tripura hadimmediately responded to theFinance Minister’s call to reduceVAT on petrol and diesel.

This comes as a major relieffor consumers who would getoverall relief �5 on fuel pricesand this could also have its pos-itive impact on gradual lower-ing of commodity prices linkedto transportation by road.

Hailing the decision, the BJPNational President Amit Shahtold reporters in Jaipur, ``theCentral government has takenanother decision in interest ofthe people so that they can getrelief. We welcome this decisionand thank Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on behalf of thepeople and BJP workers. By tak-ing such a decision the PrimeMinister has shown the sensi-tiveness of the governmenttowards people."

The BJP National Presidentis scheduled to visit the poll-bound Chhattisgarh on Friday.

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Page 4: ˘ˇˆ˙˘˝˛˚˚˜ - The Pioneer · in 10 States — Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Jharkhand, and Goa —

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On the initiative of ChiefMinister Raman Singh,

Raipur and Korba residents willhave new train service by thename of ‘Hasdeo Express’ fromOctober 6 this year.

Union Railway MinisterPiyush Goyal has approvedthe proposal to provide Raipur-Korba and Korba-Raipur trainservice.

The Chief Ministerthanked Railway Minister foraccepting the proposal.

The South East CentralRailway (SECR) officials onThursday intimated that trainnumber 18801/18802 Raipur-Korba-Raipur Hasdeo Expresswould run four days in a week.

The train number

18803/18804 Raipur-Korba-Raipur Hasdeo Express wouldrun three days a week. Thetrain would be flagged off onOctober 6.

The new train would ben-efit passengers travelling toKorba, Champa, Naila-Janjgir,Akaltara, Bilaspur, Bilha,Bhatapara, Tilda and Raipur.

The train between Korba

and Raipur would be maderegular from October 7, 2018, officials said.

Train number 18801 wouldply on Thursday, Friday andSaturday from Korba to Raipurand the Train number 18802would run from Raipur toKorba on Wednesday,Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Officials said, similarly,train number 18803-- Korba toRaipur would run on Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday whiletrain number 18804 will makethe trip from Raipur to Korbaon Monday, Tuesday andSunday. Train number18801/18802 will have 12coaches while train number18803/18804 will have 18coaches. They would be simi-lar to Janshatabdi Express.

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Chhattisgarh had beenranked among top three

states in the Eastern zone‘National Swachh SurvekshanGrameen 2018’ commissionedby Ministry of Drinking Waterand Sanitation. The other twostates are West Bengal andJharkhand.

The districts of Surajpurand Surguja had been amongtop three districts at the levelamong Hazarbagh inJharkhand.

Prime Minister NarendraModi gave awards to topRanked State, District and Statewith maximum citizen partic-ipation based on the NationalSwachh Survekshan Grameen2018 commissioned byMinistry of Drinking Waterand Sanitation. The awards byPrime Minister were given atthe concluding session ofMahatma Gandhi International

Sanitation Convention atRahtrapati Bhawan CulturalCentre, in New Delhi onThursday.

Haryana was ranked asthe best State while SataraDistrict of Maharashtra wasranked as the best district asper the ranking undertaken bySwachh Survekshan Grameen2018. Uttar Pradesh wasrewarded for maximum citi-zens’ participation.Later, UmaBharti, Union Minister forDrinking Water and Sanitationgave awards at Pravasi BhartiyaKendra, New Delhi to topthree States and Districts fromall the zones of the country.

The Ministry of DrinkingWater and Sanitation had com-missioned “SwachhSurvekshan Grameen-2018”(SSG 2018) through an inde-pendent survey agency todevelop ranking of all districtsof India on the basis of quan-titative and qualitative sanita-

tion (Swachhata) parameters.This ranking was done basedon a comprehensive set ofparameters including surveysof public places like schools,Anganwadis, PHCs, Haat/

Bazaars, Panchayat and citizen’sperception of Swachhata andtheir recommendations forimprovement of the programand data from the SBM-GIMIS.

As part of SwachhSurvekshan Grameen, 6786villages in 685 Districts acrossIndia were covered. A total of27,963 public places namelyschools, Anganwadis, publichealth centres, haat/bazaars/religious places in these6786 villages were visited by anindependent agency for survey.

Around 182,531 citizenswere interviewed for their feed-back in villages on SBM-Grelated issues. Also, citizenswere mobilised to provide feed-back on sanitation relationrelated issues online using anapplication developed for thepurpose. The collection of datafrom Direct Observation werebased on physical observationof the sanitation status in pub-

lic places by the survey agency.The survey agency used mapsand simple handhelddevice/recording formats torecord their observations andfindings along withPhotographs/videos, wherevernecessary.

Feedback from people wereobtained using Communitywide open meetings,PersonalInterviews and FocussedGroup Discussions. FGDs wereconducted in each village. Morethan 1.5 crore people partici-pated in the SSG 2018 and pro-vided their feedback.

The SSG 2018 turned outto be massive mass mobilisa-tion exercise with communitiesin each village undertakingspecial drives to improve thegeneral cleanliness in their vil-lages. Gram Panchayats invest-ed funds from their local areadevelopment fund to augmentthe sanitation situation in pub-lic places.

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Bilaspur: A crucial meeting ofBahujan Samaj Party (BSP)was held here at the districtheadquarters on Thursday.

Chhattisgarh In-charge ofthe party and Rajya Sabha MP DrAlok Siddharth chaired the meet-ing and tried to pacify angry lead-ers over seat sharing with party'scoalition partner Janata CongressChhattisgarh (JCC) (J).

Siddharth in the meetingtried to calm down the dis-senting leaders who were angryover giving seats of their rep-resentation to JCC (J).

He clearly stated in the meet-ing that they have to assist JCC(J) in their share of seats and BSPis not confined to 35 seats but arecontesting from all the 90 assem-bly constituencies of the state.SR

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On his maiden visit to Durgdistrict, Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP) National PresidentAmit Shah will participate inparty’s State-level Women'sConvention titled 'MaatruSammelan' to be organized atCharoda Dusherra ground onFriday (October 5), said BJPNational General Secretary andRajya Sabha MP Saroj Pandey

on Thursday.Addressing a press confer-

ence here, she said that aroundone lakh women would partic-ipate in the event.

“BJP has given priority andplatform to women, who canalong with their family be partof political,social and culturallife and contribute towards wel-fare of society,” Pandey said.

The BJP has been encour-aging participation of women inpolitical arena and ensuring 50percent reservation in the three-tier panchayats and 33 percentreservation in civic bodies, shesaid.

“BJP is the lone party whichhas given reservation forwomen in the party organiza-tion also”, Pandey said.

She further said that underleadership of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and ChiefMinister Raman Singh, recordworks have been done in last 15years in Chhattisgarh. “Onesuch example is the UjjwalaScheme that has providedsmoke-free kitchen for women.”

Pandey listed out schemes

like smart phone distributionunder CG-SKY, Beti BachaoBeti Padhao, making womenhead of family in ration card

distribution, two per centrebate in land registrationstamp duty, marriage scheme,bicycle scheme among othershave played key role in empow-ering women of the state. In theState Civil Services examwomen can appear till 45 yearsof age.

Cultural events would alsobe organized while culturalteam dressed in local tradition-al dresses would accord wel-come to National Party Chief.

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Page 5: ˘ˇˆ˙˘˝˛˚˚˜ - The Pioneer · in 10 States — Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Jharkhand, and Goa —

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Washington: The US hasdecided to withdraw from theoptional protocol on disputes ofthe Vienna Convention,National Security Adviser JohnBolton said Wednesday, citinga Palestinian lawsuit challeng-ing America’s move to shift itsembassy from Tel Aviv toJerusalem as the reason.

The announcement by theWhite House came soon afterSecretary of State MikePompeo announced to termi-nate the 1955 Treaty of Amitywith Iran. PTI

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Iran’s Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khamenei

vowed Thursday “never” toallow the Islamic Republic tobow to the demands of its ene-mies, at a time of increased ten-sions between Tehran andWashington.

“To entertain the idea, asdesired by the enemy, that theonly solution is to hand our-selves over to the enemy, is theworst act of treason towards theIranian nation, and that will nothappen,” Khamenei said in anaddress to tens of thousands ofmembers of the Basij, anIslamic volunteer militia, broad-cast live on state television.

“With God’s help, so long asI am alive and retain my capac-ities and with your help, I willnever allow such a thing to hap-pen,” he said in the speech atTehran’s Azadi stadium.

For Iran’s clerical estab-lishment, enemy refers firstly tothe United States which isdubbed the “Great Satan” and

with which relations have beensevered since the aftermath ofits 1979 Islamic revolution.

Khamenei played downthe impact of economic sanc-tions reimposed on Iran by theUnited States in August afterWashington pulled out of the2015 nuclear accord betweenTehran and world powers.

“Our national economycan overcome the sanctions,and, with the help of God, wewill overcome them, and thisdefeat will signal the defeat ofAmerica and a new slap forAmerica from the Iraniannation,” he said.

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The US has rejected Pakistan’s plea to facilitate talkswith India and pressed for the bilateral engage-

ment between the two South Asian neighbours,Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said.

Pakistan wants the US to facilitate talks with Indiaas the two nations are not engaging bilaterally, the topPakistani diplomat told a Washington audience onWednesday. “When we asked the US, to play facili-tating role...Why do we ask?

Simply because we are not engaging bilaterally.And that bilateral disengagement is…a distraction,”

Qureshi said in response to a question at the USInstitute of Peace, a US Congress-funded topAmerican think-tank.

“We want to focus, we want to move on the west-ern side of the border, which we are not being ableto because we have to watch our back from easternside (of the border with India). That is not a healthysituation to be in,” he said.

“Now can you (United States) facilitate (the talks)?The answer from them is no. They wanted bilateral-ly. But there is no bilateral movement,” Qureshi said,a day after he had meetings with Secretary of StateMike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John

Bolton, during which he raised the issue only to bepushed back by the Trump administration.

India is opposed to any third country mediationin its relations with Pakistan. Pakistan has continu-ously sought mediation to sort out the differences,including over Kashmir.

Qureshi warned that the absence of bilateral talkswith India could lead to escalation of tensionbetween the two countries. “If that lack of facilitationleads to escalation and some of the statements thathave come out of late have not been very helpful,” thePakistani foreign minister said in an apparent refer-ence to the remarks by Indian leaders.

Istanbul: Saudi Arabia’sAmbassador to Turkey was onThursday summoned to theforeign ministry after a promi-nent journalist critical ofRiyadh went missing, a Turkishdiplomatic source said.

Jamal Khashoggi, a con-tributor to the WashingtonPost, went to the Saudi con-sulate on Tuesday to receive anofficial document for his mar-riage and has not appearedsince then.

His Turkish fiancee report-ed him missing after the jour-nalist, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the US sincelast year to avoid possible arrest,was not seen after he enteredthe consulate on Tuesday after-noon for marriage procedures.

After an initial period ofsilence Saudi Arabia said theconsulate was working withTurkish authorities “to uncov-er the circumstances of the dis-appearance of Jamal Khashoggiafter he left the consulatebuilding”. AFP

Islamabad: Ignoring the role ofmadrassas in Pakistan andequating them with terrorismwas unfair, Prime MinisterImran Khan has told the coun-try’s top clerics as he under-lined that improving the edu-cation system was his govern-ment’s top priority.

Khan made the remarksduring his first meeting with aprominent delegation of Ulema(clerics), who called on him atthe Prime Minister Office todiscuss madrassa reforms andother related issues, mediareports said Thursday. PTI

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For an Asian region of peace, prosperitywww.dailypioneer.com

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Aremarkable initiative organisedannually in Latin America by theGlobal Embassy of Activists forPeace (GEAP) is a conference enti-tled, ‘The Peace Integration

Summit’ with the acronym of CUMIPAZ.Earlier this week, the 2018 Summit was held inGuatemala at which this writer delivered thekeynote address. What is particularly signifi-cant about the GEAP is the fact that this bodyconsists largely of academics and intellectuals,with a remarkable thinker Dr William SotoSantiago, as the prime mover. The GEAP hasvery lofty objectives: “Work towards theimprovement, welfare, happiness and peace ofthe human family and Mother Earth, promot-ing a global formation of the integral humanbeing and the formation of activists for peacein the framework of universal values and prin-ciples, for the defense of Human Rights and the

Rights of Mother Earth, through the develop-ment of programmes, projects and campaignsaimed at different areas in which humans oper-ate and interact.”

Significantly, we have no initiative of simi-lar profile in Asia, which fortunately does not haveconflicts such as those in several other parts ofthe world. But tensions are on the increase in theregion, as manifested by the recent near collisionbetween the US and Chinese naval ships in theSouth China Sea. Since Asia now has a growingnuclear arsenal, it is extremely important that weserve the future of humanity by creating anatmosphere and philosophy of peace that guidesrelations in this region. It was in recognition ofthis challenge, which Mahatma Gandhi foresaw,that India hosted the Asian Relations Conferenceduring March-April 1947, with leaders from allacross Asia as participants.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, then the interimPrime Minister of undivided India, stated onthat occasion, “Asia is again finding herself ...one of the notable consequences of theEuropean domination of Asia has been the iso-lation of the countries of Asia from one anoth-er...Today this isolation is breaking downbecause of many reasons, political and other-wise...This Conference is significant as anexpression of that deeper urge of the mind andspirit of Asia which has persisted...In thisConference and in this work there are no lead-

ers and no followers. All countries of Asia haveto meet together in a common task.” The AsianRelations Conference was clearly a visionary ini-tiative, which for several reasons has not beenfollowed up in substance by the nations in Asia.

Perhaps a greater focus on the Asian iden-tity and creating a region of mutual trust, con-nected by common concerns and objectives, isnow extremely important. It would also be use-ful to recall that 40 years later in 1987, theGovernment of India held the Asian RelationsCommemorative Conference, which also drewparticipants from all across Asia. One of the majoroutcomes of that conference was a consensus tocoordinate energy policies across the continent.As a result, with the initiative of a remarkableForeign Secretary, Muchkund Dubey, the AsianEnergy Institute was established under the lead-ership of Dr Ali Shams Ardekani, later the DeputyForeign Minister of Iran, and this writer.

The Asian Energy Institute, which was anetwork of energy institutions across Asia, tookup as its first challenge the development of aplan for a pipeline to transport the enormousquantity of surplus natural gas from Iran toPakistan, India and later Nepal as well. This wasan extremely attractive option because Iran hadfound large reserves of natural gas, and theIranian Government was willing to provideattractive terms and low prices to Pakistan,India and Nepal for gas supply over a long peri-

od. Unfortunately, this visionary initiative wasblocked by mutual suspicions and mistrust. Hadit been pursued Iran’s place in the global com-munity would have been different and relationsbetween India, Pakistan and Nepal would havebeen much healthier.

Now that we are in the year of MahatmaGandhi’s birth anniversary, India has a uniqueopportunity to give substance to the memoryof that world apostle of peace. It would be rel-evant to create a zone of peace on the Asian con-tinent and convene a follow up of the AsianRelations Conference during its diamondjubilee year in 2022. There are, undoubtedly,growing tensions which must be contained andwill need to be channelled in the direction ofpeace, good neighbourly conduct and friend-ship. It would be extremely valuable to take theexample of CUMIPAZ and draw on the acad-emic community, forward-looking thinkers andactivists in Asia and elsewhere who believe thathuman society in the 21st century must relent-lessly pursue peace in this century.

Preparations should be taken in hand onGandhiji’s birth anniversary in 2019 by the IndianGovernment with political leaders, captains ofbusiness, academics and think-tanks acrossAsia to organise a major event that must have animpact on the thinking and actions of societiesacross Asia so that we become a region of stablepeace. In order to ensure that such an event is

not merely a talk shop but results in crucial under-standing in critical areas of human endeavouracross the world and certainly in Asia, it will beuseful to structure the diamond jubilee of theAsian Relations Conference into a set of very con-crete areas of cooperation.

This means that the next four years haveto be spent in adequate preparation by whichwe not only ensure clarity in defining the areaswhere cooperation and constructive engage-ment would be essential, but also involve majorAsian leaders such as the presidents ofIndonesia, South Korea and Kazakhstan, theprime ministers of Japan, Malaysia andSingapore and others in joining hands withIndia as partners in the conference.

Perhaps the best way to get started with thiswould be for a compact but diverse committeeto be set up which may be given the responsi-bility of coming up with a clear plan of action tobe debated and discussed by all the stakehold-ers. Once a plan is in place then action can beinitiated perhaps by the middle of next year,which will allow three full years for an initiativeof this nature, placing India at the centre of peacein Asia. Also, this will be held as a fitting tributeto Gandhiji’s vision and commitment, which haseven greater significance and relevance today.

(The writer is former chairman,Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2002-15)

���������Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Tothe rescue” (October 3). TheGovernment’s takeover of the keymanagement of infrastructure lenderInfrastructure Leasing & FinancialServices (IL&FS) raises hopes of its sur-vival and is the appropriate decision inthe given circumstances. IL&FS is fac-ing an enormous debt worth �91,000crore and is facing severe liquidity cri-sis. It is unfortunate that the checks andbalances were not in place as a resultof which IL&FS ran into this enormousdebt because of loan defaults.

Now that the Government hastaken over the reins, one expects thatthe projects delayed and not complet-ed would be completed, and as aresult, money would flow back to thecompany thus raising the prospects ofits survival.

Devendra KhuranaBhopal

��� ������������Sir — There can be no second opinionthat the Supreme Court, by allowingwomen of all ages to enter theSabarimala temple, has not only upheldthe rights of women to enter any tem-

ple, but also has dealt a death blow onthose who want to deny darshan ofLord Ayyappa to women.

This they do, harping on their con-demnable assertion that women areunclean due to menstruation, a biolog-ical manifestation.

They also conveniently forget thatParvati, wife of Lord Shiva for whomShiva gave half of his body was also awoman.

After all, the entire humanity owesits existence only to women and it is notonly inhuman and uncharitable but alsoa blatant exhibition of ungratefulnessto deny women their rights, including

in religious practices.Shalini Gerald

Chennai ��������������Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Moment of pride” (October 4). NobelPrize-winning scientist Dr DonnaStrickland’s breakthrough in laser is amoment of celebration for everywomen laureates. One cannot deny thepoor track record of gender gap orracial discrimination prevading theNobel Prize.

What’s more shocking is that evenafter Strickland’s work towards produc-

ing the shortest and the most intenselaser pulses that revolutionised laserphysics around the world, she did nothave a Wikipedia page until theannouncement. Earlier, an Italian sci-entist at the CERN particle physics lab-oratory in Geneva had sparked contro-versy over his statement “physics wasbuilt by men”. Strickland’s victory is anapt answer to the role of gender in sci-entific accomplishments.

Palak KwatraLudhiana

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We are against the concept of drugs. I amagainst it (the proposal to grow opium)

and Punjab will not do it. —Punjab Chief Minister

CAPTAIN AMARINDER SINGH

Cultivation of poppy and opium should belegalised. My uncle used to get opium as

medicine from hospital. He lived a long life. —Congress leader

NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU

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Infrastructure Leasing &Financial Services (IL&FS),originally promoted by HDFC,Central Bank of India and UnitTrust of India in 1987, operat-

ing via 169 subsidiaries, special pur-pose vehicles and joint ventures, haspioneered the infrastructure revolu-tion in more than one way, with path-breaking projects such as the Zoji Latunnel Pass, Delhi-Noida toll bridge,GIFT, Gujarat International FinanceTec-City and umpteen others. LIC,Orix Corporation of Japan and ADIA,Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, thathold 25.34 per cent, 23.54 per cent and12.56 per cent each in IL&FS, aretoday its top three shareholders.

Congress president RahulGandhi, who has been tweetingfeverishly in the last few days, ques-tioning the need for any potential bail-out by LIC, has conveniently forgot-ten that it was under the erstwhileCongress-led dispensation that LICacquired significant stakes in IL&FSin 2005, 2006 and, picking up as manyas 19.34 lakh shares in 2010. The factthat LIC pumped in �41,000 crore in2007-08 and �35,000 crore in 2008-09, with its outstanding exposure tothe Indian equity markets at a whop-ping �20,0000 crore by January 2009,amidst the Lehman meltdown, is atestimony to the fact that LIC used itsreinvestible surpluses to stabilisemarkets, then.

If anything, a series of measuresby the Narendra Modi Governmentto instill confidence in the moneymarkets, which had seen commercialpaper (CP) yields rising by 20-40bpsfor even top-rated issuers, in the after-math of the IL&FS imbroglio, deservepraise. For instance, the interbank liq-uidity deficit was addressed by allow-ing banks to carve out 15 per centholdings from their statutory liquid-ity reserves, against the earlier 13percent to meet liquidity coverage ratio(LCR) requirements, thereby boost-ing systemic liquidity by an addition-al rupees two lakh crore.

This, coupled with an open mar-ket operation’s (OMO) announce-ment of �36,000 crore for the monthof October by the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI), calmed the bond mar-kets, with benchmark 10-year bond

yields retracing from 8.23 per cent lastweek to 7.99 per cent on October 1.Three group companies of IL&FS arelisted on the Indian bourses, name-ly, IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd,IL&FS Engineering and ConstructionCompany Ltd and, IL&FSTransportation Networks Ltd.Importantly, many mutual funds,banks, insurance companies, nonbanking financial companies (NBFC)and housing finance companies, havedirect or indirect exposure to IL&FS.

Hence the National CompanyLaw Tribunal’s (NCLT) decision toallow the Government to take-overIL&FS and supersede the erstwhile 10member board, vide Article 241(2) ofthe Companies Act 2013, is a promptand timely one that saved the Indianfinancial system from any potentialcascading effects, limiting the collat-eral damage, if any. The alacrity, deci-siveness and sheer professionalismwith which the Modi Governmenttook charge of IL&FS, is unmatchedin Indian financial history.

The current embattled statewhich IL&FS finds itself in, thanks togross mismanagement by the erst-while board, is a temporary one aris-ing out of asset liability mismatch(ALM). In sharp contrast, the Lehmancrisis in 2008, with Lehman filing forChapter 11 Bankruptcy on September15, 2008, was one of the insolvencies.Hence, desperate attempts by a dis-jointed Opposition to draw parallelsbetween IL&FS and Lehman, smackof ignorance and a vested agenda todiscredit the Modi Government thathas been repeatedly praised by thelikes of the IMF and the World Bankfor turning around the Indian econ-omy into the sixth largest, globally,from a fragile state it had beenpushed to in 2012-13.

Do note, the size of debt assetsunder management of mutual fundsin India is over �18 lakh crore, withroughly 17per cent of that invested inNBFCs. Hence, IL&FS is simply toobig to fail. Again, IL&FS is a huge bor-rower accounting for two per cent ofthe outstanding CP market, one percent of the debenture market androughly 0.7per cent of banking sys-tem loans. Interestingly, despite thesheer scale of numbers involved, theresilience of the Indian financial sys-tem shone through, with IndiabullsHousing Finance raising more than�500 crore at 8.36 per cent via CPmarket, and a Tata group companyraising �3,488 crore via non convert-ible debentures (NCD) for the firsttime in 10 years at a rate of between8.70-9.1per cent last week, even as the

IL&FS issue raged on.Coming back to the IL&FS fias-

co, what triggered nervousness was adefault by IL&FS on repayment of a�1,000 crore short-term loan fromSmall Industries Development Bankof India (SIDBI) on September 5,2018, followed by a series of defaults.The fact that in less than a month ofthe IL&FS crisis and barely within 48hours of the IL&FS Annual GeneralMeeting that was held on September29 this year, management take-overhad been affected by the ModiGovernment by October 1, 2018,speaks volumes of the currentGovernment’s commitment to themillions of retail investors who haveparked their money in debt funds thatinvariably have some kind of exposureto IL&FS.

Do not forget that in a rather sim-ilar incident in 2009 wherein a pro-moter, Ramalinga Raju of SatyamComputers was summarily removedfor defrauding and cooking up thecompany’s books. The erstwhileCongress-led UPA Government backthen had allowed the entire Satyamcrisis to fester for seven long monthsfrom January till July 2009, beforereaching a tentative solution, doingirreversible damage to the Indianfinancial markets in the bargain.

The IL&FS issue, however, rais-

es questions about ‘conflict of inter-est’ plaguing credit rating agencies. Inthis entire issue, while the ModiGovernment and the RBI showedexemplary nimble-footedness in lim-iting collateral damage, the credit rat-ing agencies had assigned investmentgrade ratings till as recently as August,2018, which was then reduced to junkstatus by September 2018 in a classicknee-jerk reaction.

That the IL&FS group was over-leveraged and rumoured to haveborrowed between 10-18 times itsequity, to fund its infrastructure pro-jects, most of which bring in returnsover 20-25 years, was known to thecredit rating agencies. They simplyrefused to even blink till thingsreached an inflexion point.

Making things worse, IL&FS’borrowings were all repayable in theshort to medium-term of roughlyeight to 10 years. What abetted theasset liability mismatch was costoverruns and inability to roll overshort-term obligations. However, asthings stand now, on October 31,2018, the new board will submit a res-olution plan to the NCLT. That couldinvolve monetisation of unviableassets, reducing stakes in 25 odd pro-jects being operated by the company,possible Rights/NCD issues, raisingauthorised capital, deleveraging the

balance sheet by 38 per cent orroughly �30,000 crore, bringing innew partners for some projects andthe like.

At the core, IL&FS is an inherent-ly strong company with assets worth�1,15,815 crore as of fiscal 2018, witha standalone reported gearing ratio of3.04 and a regulatory gearing ratio of2.30. It has umpteen profit-makingsubsidiaries like the Khed SinnarExpressway, Amravati ChikhliExpressway, Barwa Adda Expressway,Fagne Songadh Expressway and oth-ers. Thanks to the Narendra Modi dis-pensation, by choosing not to hide theIL&FS issue by fraudulently ever-greening its loans, but by tackling theproblem head-on, including orderingan Serious Fraud Investigation Officeprobe to get to the bottom of things,the confidence in money markets hasbeen restored.

Needless to add, the big messagefor companies and investors from theIL&FS issue is, not to go overboardin “borrowing at the short end andlending at the long end of the mar-ket”, as asset-liability mismatches canbe a vicious cycle. That said, thoseindulging in fear-mongering by say-ing that IL&FS’ lenders will have totake a haircut of �15,000-20,000crore in a bid to save it, are complete-ly wrong. IL&FS has deep pockets,strong capital base with good opera-tional parameters, net assets higherthan net liabilities, and all it needs is,the renewed confidence of its share-holders and investors, to tide over thetemporary liquidity crunch.

If push comes to shove, even sell-ing a minuscule stake in one of its sub-sidiaries, from the umpteen profitableones it has in its kitty, can replenishits net worth and generate between�20,000-30,000 crore, giving it the fire-power to have the cash flows to ser-vice its debt obligations, without ero-sion in its core capital base.

And once market sentiment sta-bilises, given its excellent track recordin executing and financing some ofthe toughest infrastructure projects inthe country, IL&FS, with a newboard at the helm, should be able tocontinue to access the financial mar-kets at competitive rates and get backto doing what it does best... (—)pow-ering India’s superlative infrastructuregrowth story with projects like theChennai-Nashri road tunnel project,that is a befitting example of whatpolitical will under the NarendraModi dispensation has been able toaccomplish.

(The writer is an economist andchief spokesperson for BJP, Mumbai)

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Aweek or so ago, I happened to comeacross a rather intriguing poster. Whiledriving back from work in the evening,

I saw it wrapped around an electricity pole. Ithad a photoshopped image of Pakistan PrimeMinister Imran Khan in a sherwani and aJinnah cap. He was mounted on the back of awhite horse. His left hand held the reins andhis right hand stretched forward as if he wastelling people (or the horse) where he wasgoing. Over him flew a rather angry-lookingeagle. Apart from being unique, the intrigu-ing bit is that it is a continuation of a traditionintroduced by Field Marshal Ayub Khan.

I have, in my collection, two posters whichwere printed sometime in the early/mid-1960sduring the height of the Ayub Khan regime(1958-69). One shows a profile of his face infront of a painting of the great MughalEmperor Akbar. According to LawrenceZiring’s 1971 book, The Ayub Khan Era: Politicsin Pakistan, 1958-69, Ayub was a great admir-er of men such as Turkish nationalist leaderKemal Atatürk, the iconic French leaderCharles de Gaulle and Emperor Akbar.

Ayub often explained himself as a ‘mod-ernist’ Muslim. So probably he used the above-mentioned poster to subtly equate his ideolog-ical disposition with that of Akbar’s, who,according to Dr Mubarak Ali’s Ulema, Sufis &Intellectuals (1996), was one of the most “open-minded” Muslim rulers of India. The otherAyub Khan poster shows the field marshal ona white horse. He is wearing a three-piece suitand a Jinnah cap. The text in Urdu describeshim as a soldier of progress and a man of vision.Also in my collection is a similar poster of ZABhutto. It shows Bhutto in a three-piece suitand Jinnah cap, riding a white horse. He ispointing towards the sky. The text in Urdudescribes him as a soldier of Islam — a kindof Saladin of socialism.

In the early 1980s, the intransigent Zia-ul-Haq’s dictatorship (1977-88) published postersof Gen Zia riding a white horse in his militaryattire and charging towards a Soviet tank,almost like the eccentric Don Quixote charg-ing towards a windmill in Cervantes’ famous

17th-century novel. Unfortunately, I have mis-placed this poster. It described Zia as a cham-pion of the Muslim Ummah and the scourgeof Soviet communism. In 2003, paintedposters showing Gen Musharraf riding a gal-loping white horse, flanked by two fighter jets,appeared. I can’t recall what the text on theseposters said. So where do all these images ofPakistani leaders on white horses keep com-ing from? The roots of this tradition lie in asocio-political phenomenon which emergedin South Asia before Pakistan’s creation in 1947.

According to Markus Daechsel’s study ofSouth Asia’s middle-class milieu, The Politicsof Self Expression, various Muslim and Hinduactivists and thinkers — between the end ofthe First World War in 1919 and the 1940s —were smitten by the idea of the Übermenschdeveloped by the brilliant but controversial19th-century German philosopher, FriedrichNietzsche. The concept of the Übermensch iscomplex. So to put it in the most simplisticterms, it is about an imagined man who, aftertranscending and even rejecting the moralityof religion and the prevailing value systems,becomes an ‘overman’ (the Übermensch).Nietzsche believed that religious morality andprevailing human values limit the scope ofhuman creativity and intellectuality.

However, during the rise of radicalGerman nationalism in the early 20th centu-ry, the idea of the Übermensch was adoptedby racist German nationalists who describedGermans as a biologically and intellectuallysuperior race which was not (or shouldn’t be)circumscribed by the notions of convention-al religious morality and universal human val-ues. This was a clear distortion becauseNietzsche’s atheistic concept of the Übermen-sch was not at all racist. German nationalistsaltered Nietzsche’s ideas to make the Übermen-sch a biologically superior race of Germansinspired and led by a pure-blooded ‘Aryan’ whowas uninhibited by conventional morality andvalues. Adolf Hitler became such a man.

Markus Daechsel writes that radicalHindu nationalists, such as Vinayak Savarkar,and Muslim activists, such as InayatullahMashriqi, Ibrahim Chishti and Abdus SattarNiazi, lapped up the Nazis’ understanding ofthe Übermensch. Thus, Savarkar rejected thepacifism of Mahatma Gandhi and idealised theHindu nation and individual as having strongphysical qualities inspired by a ‘history’ ofHindu conquest, and unhindered by ritualswhich neutralised the Hindu nation’s ‘inher-ent’ masculine qualities. One such Hindu that

Savarkar admired was Maratha emperor BajiRao. There’s a statue of Baji Rao riding a horsewith a spear in his hand in Pune.

Mashriqi, who entered politics in the 1930sby forming the quasi-fascist Khaksar Tehreek,rejected the intellectually robust ‘Islamicmodernism’ of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan andMuhammad Allama Iqbal. JM Baljon, in his1961 book, Modern Muslim Interpretations,writes that Mashriqi visited Berlin in 1930 andmet Hitler. Baljon quotes Mashriqi as sayingthat Hitler’s Nazi movement inspired Mashriqito form the Khaksar Tehreek. According toDaechsel, Mashriqi claimed that those Muslimmen of action were required who were unde-terred by wasteful intellectual and spiritual pur-suits — “a true believer who is willing to severall ties to society at large and ready to becomea soldier.” Such a man became Mashriqi’s Über-mensch.

Not surprisingly, it was during this peri-od that photographs of Mashriqi gallantly rid-ing a horse emerged. In the late 1930s, youngIslamic scholars Abdus Sattar and IbrahimChishti published a pamphlet called “Scheme”.In it they put forward the idea of a “KhudaMard”. This Übermensch was to appear afterMuslims would ‘cleanse’ themselves from with-in and ‘renew their mission for world domi-nation’. The Khuda Mard had no issues in call-ing people of other faiths, “worse than animals”.Sattar and Chishti issued maps, flags and animage of the Khuda Mard mounted on a whitehorse and standing on top of a globe.

Perhaps the only Muslim thinker whomanaged to comprehend Nietzsche’s philos-ophy outside the Nazi perceptions of the same,was poet and philosopher Iqbal. Bilquees Darin her essay, “Perfect Man vs Superman”, inthe August 2013 issue of Journal of English &Literature, writes that Iqbal was critical ofNietzsche’s atheism, but appreciated hisinsight. Iqbal wrote: “Nietzsche’s mind was ofa disbeliever, but his heart is a believer.” Theidea of the Übermensch clearly inspired Iqbal’sidea of the qalandar (and later, theshaheen/eagle); ie a Muslim man who was astaunch individualist and then achieved thestate of ‘khudi’ after getting rid of the cobwebsof religious obscurantism and intellectuallethargy to form a robust community ofMuslims driven by a refreshed, dynamic andprogressive Islam. Iqbal’s shaheen appears invarious places in Pakistan. And it was last seenhovering over Imran Khan in the afore-men-tioned poster.

(Courtesy: Dawn)

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Hacked Facebook accounts are being sold on the‘dark net’ days after the company admitted that 50million of its users had been compromised. Mediareports speak of Facebook accounts being sold for aslittle as three dollars on this section of the Internetaccessible only with specialised software. Brave newdigital world, anyone?

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Page 7: ˘ˇˆ˙˘˝˛˚˚˜ - The Pioneer · in 10 States — Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Jharkhand, and Goa —

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TRS Government’s plan todistribute 95 lakh sarees

among the Telangana womenon the occasion of“Batukamma” festival has beengrounded with the ElectionCommission of India puttingits foot down. Batukamma, tobe celebrated from October 9to 17 is a festival of flowers,which was being celebrated asa State festival since the for-mation of Telangana.

The election body hasrefused permission to theState Government for distri-bution of sarees saying it vio-lated the model code of con-duct enforced in view of theforthcoming State assemblyelections.

After the State ChiefElectoral Officer Rajath Kumarsought clarification on whetherthe caretaker Government cango ahead with the distributionof sarees, the CEC sent a com-munication that it would be aviolation of model code ofconduct. The CEC noted thatthough the scheme was old, itwould amount to influencingthe voters.

Rajath Kumar had soughtthe clarification after the mainopposition Congress partyobjected to the plans of freesaree distribution. Congressswung in to action after seniorMinister K Tarka Rama Raoannounced that the sareeswould be distributed onOctober 12.

CEC’s directive came just as

the State administration wasgearing up for the massive dis-tribution of sarees at a cost of�280 crores. The StateGovernment was making prepa-rations for the distribution of thenew cloths among women forthe past many months and theorders for the supply of sareeswere placed with the handloomweavers across the State. About50 lakh sarees were already keptready in the district headquar-ters while the remaining stockswere also being readied.

The program was a greathit last year as the ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao’s Government justified thedistribution of sarees sayingthat its objective was to ensurethat every woman in the Statewas able to celebrate the“Batukamma” festival.

However in view of thecomplaints that the sareessourced from Gujrat were notof good quality, the StateGovernment had decided toensure that only handloomsarees made in Telangana bythe weavers would be distrib-uted this year.

Similarly another pro-gram of distribution of checksamong the farmers under the“Rythu Bandhu” schemes wasalso l ikely to meet the same fate.

Taraka Rama Rao had saidthat the second phase of dis-tribution of cheques of �4,000per acre incentive to the farm-ers will be held in Novemberfirst week. CEC sources saidthat a decision will be taken onthe issue within a week.

The opposition Congresshad opposed the handing overof the cheques to the farmers bythe ministers of caretaker gov-ernment or the TRS leaders.They suggested that it shouldbe done by the StateGovernment officials.

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Amid the continuing rowover the electoral rolls of

Telangana, the Supreme Courton Thursday directed theHyderabad High Court to hearthe matter on Friday and if anyirregularities were found it canextend the date of publicationof the final list of voters.

A division bench headed byJustice AK Sikri also ruled thatthe High Court had the powersto stay the conduct of elections.On a petition filed by the seniorCongress leader MarriShashidhar Reddy questioningthe early elections in Telanganaand alleging irregularities in thepreparation of electoral rolls theSupreme Court asked theHyderabad High Court to hearthe case on Friday.

In his petition MarriShashidhar Reddy complainedthat a large number of genuinevoters were deleted from therolls and 65 lakh bogus nameswere include in the voters’ listin Telangana. He pleaded thatwithout correcting the mistakesholding the elections will not becorrect.

Counsel for the petitionerAbhishek Manu Singhvi drew

the attention of the apex courtthat because of the early final-ization of electoral rolls as manyas 18 lakh youth will not be ableto vote as they will attain the ageof 18 years by January 1.

The counsel for petitionerargued that because of theearly elections a large numberof first time voters would bedeprived on their right to voteas the electoral rolls were beingfinalized much ahead of theoriginal schedule.

After hearing the argu-ments the Supreme Courtdirected that the High Courtshould hear the petition alongwith four other petitionsalready pending before it on thesame issue.

Briefing the reporters laterpetitioner’s counsel JhandyalaRavi Shankar said that a writpetition would be filed in theHigh Court in Hyderabadtomorrow. He said that theSupreme Court referred thematter to the High Court onlyafter it was satisfied with the peti-tion. In case the irregularitieswere found in the electoral rollsthe Supreme Court has autho-rized the High Court to delaythe publication of the finalrolls beyond October 8.

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Karnataka which producesmore than 70 per cent of

the nation’s coffee is witnessinga storm in the cup. The after-math of nature’s fury inKodagu, the coffee land,destroyed coffee plantationswhich has affected the pro-duction and coffee growersare staring at a bleak future.

The widespread destruc-tion of coffee across the hill dis-trict of Kodagu and part ofChikkamagaluru has put thefarmers in hardship andrequires many years to nor-malise situation.

According to availablestatistics Karnataka alone pro-duced 2.22 lakh tonnes, or 70per cent, of the national pro-duction of 3.16 lakh tonnes in2017-18. It’s followed byKerala that contributes 20per cent and Tamilnadu 5 fiveper cent to the national production.

The preliminary damageassessment has come up witha combined figure of 82,000tonnes of cof fee beansdestroyed in three southernStates, with the maximumloss in Karnataka.

According to CoffeeBoard director of research YRaghuramulu in Karnataka’shill district Kodagu alone

1500 hectares of coffee plan-tations has been affectedbadly due to landslides andheavy rains.

“The soft soil has beenwashed away in many areasour teams visited. Entire cropshave been lost in many areasmaking it a long-termimpact,” he said adding manyareas would take around 10years to grow new crops. Hesaid “Only the final damageassessment that is underwaywill give us a clear picture ofthe loss, which could be morethan our initial estimate.”

According to coffee boardsources many teams of expertsare currently working inKodagu and Chikkamagalurumaking the assessment thatwould help evaluate the quan-tum of compensation to thefarmers.

For Coffee growers inthese parts it’s from heavento hell situation. They areworried over its long impacton the economy of coffeegrowing which in turn affectsindividual grower.

BS Jairam, president ofKarnataka Growers’Federation said “but for someheavy rainfall and relatedlandslides in the early 1960s,we have never witnessed thiskind of crop loss.”

According to him the pre-

liminary assessment on thepart of the planters point at�1,500 crore crop losses inKodagu, Hassan andChikmagaluru districts.

“Kodagu suffered themost as many estates havebeen destroyed. We don’t evenknow the condition of manyplantations as they were cutoff when roads got destroyedin landslides,” said Jairamwho owns a plantation inSakleshpura in neighbouringHassan district.

Seventeen of the 28 villagesin Kodagu have been badly hitby the disaster. “At least a 3000people (mostly farm workers)are still in relief camps inKodagu,” he said.

While Karnataka’s share ofthe Indian coffee sector standsaround 70 per cent, plantationsin Kodagu alone has a share of40 per cent of the national production.

Kodagu alone produced19,550 tonnes of Arabica and97,000 tonnes of Robusta in2017-18.

CK Belliappa, secretaryof Codagu Planters’Association said that the eventhe preliminary assessmentpoints at the worst ever loss ofproduction. He says the farm-ers are staring at the biggestloss ever due to the fury of rains.

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Bihar Government has urgedthe 15th Finance

Commission for making somechanges in its formula andparameters for extendingfinancial assistance to thedeveloping States includingBihar so that the revenuereceipts and grant in aid forthese States is increased.

Briefing media about thecharter of demand submittedto the Finance Commissionchairman NK Singh onWednesday evening, DeputyCM Sushil Kumar Modi, whoalso holds finance depart-ment, said that Centre hasconceded long pendingdemand of making 2011 cen-sus as basis for the panel’s rec-ommendations instead of1971 census which was prac-ticed ti l l 14th FinanceCommission.Modi said the Bihar’s share incentral taxes has been declin-ing since 12th FinanceCommission and it hasdropped to 9.66 per centwhereas the share of devel-oped States has been increas-ing. Bihar got a share in cen-tral taxes in 13th FinanceCommission �1,72,944 crorewhich increased to � 4,09,489crore in 14th FinanceCommission with an incre-

ment of 136 per cent, but atthe same time the incrementin shares of Punjab,Maharashtra, Kerala,Karnataka and Gujarat washigher than Bihar.

“We have demanded thatdensity of population should bemade a parameter instead oftotal geographical area andforest cover. Bihar’s density ofpopulation is higher in thecountry, 1,106 persons per sqkm, and it was a major con-straint in moving ahead fordevelopmental projects becauseland acquisition is a majorissue in densely populatedareas,” said Modi.

For disaster managementtoo Bihar is getting less centralaid as against Maharashtra,Rajasthan, Odisha and MadhyaPradesh. Despite the fact thatBihar faces floods and droughtevery year it received grant ofonly �2,591 crore in 2015-20while the State spent an addi-tional �3,796 crore on disastermanagement from its ownresources.

Bihar also demandedincreasing the State share indivisive pool from 42 per cent

accorded by the 14th FinanceCommission to 50 per cent by15th Finance Commission.

The Government memo-randum to the Commissionstated that backwardness ofBihar implied extremely limit-ed fiscal capacity of StateGovernment and it wasmarkedly dependent on theCentral Government to sup-plement its limited revenuereceipts. More than threefourths of the total revenuereceipts are accounted for bycentral transfers. “The quantum of such centraltransfers is projected by thesuccessive FinanceCommissions but the actualtransfers often fail to match theprojections. There was a dropin Bihar’s share of central taxeswhich has seriously affected thedevelopment activities of StateGovernment and upset thedelivery of required pubic ser-vices,” it stated.

The memorandum saidthat in spite of the phenome-non of widening regional dis-parity, the successive FinanceCommissions have been reluc-tant to recommend higherdevolution o poorer States,including Bihar.

“The protagonists of‘competitive’ federalism try tojustify this unfair distributionpattern by maintaining thatgovernance in poorer States isweak and that they are inca-pable of utilising the resourcestransferred to them. Thisindeed is an unfair criticism,especially in the context of Bihar.”

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Kottayam (Kerala): The NairService Society (NSS), a body ofKerala's influential NairCommunity, Thursday said itwould file a revision petition inthe Supreme Court against itsorder permitting women of allage groups to enter the LordAyyappa temple at Sabarimala.

Since the NSS had been aparty to the case from thevery beginning itself, it hasdecided to file a revision peti-tion in the Supreme Court inthe matter, NSS general secre-tary G Sukumaran Nair said ina statement here.

Nair termed as "disap-pointing" the stand taken by theKerala Government and theTravancore Devaswom Board(TDB) that they would not filea review petition in the apexcourt against its verdict.

Slamming the TDB over theissue, the NSS said the board,which is an independent bodymanaging Lord Ayyappa templeand 1200 other temples, has theresponsibility to protect customsand traditions of these shrines.

These temples are managedby using the offerings beingmade by the devotees and notusing money contributed by theGovernment, it said.

The NSS, which had joinedas a party to the case in theapex court, also alleged that theState Government was showingunnecessary hurry in imple-menting the court order.

This stand of theGovernment and board hasforced the faithful to take neces-sary steps to protect their faith,it said. The NSS also urged theGovernment to take steps toamicably resolve the issue.

His statement comes a dayafter the Government rejectedthe opposition demand to filea review petition in the apexcourt against its order andsaid it would implement theverdict in the coming pilgrim-age season itself.

A high-level meeting of theTDB has also decided to makenecessary arrangements forwomen pilgrims visiting the hillshrine when it opens for theannual pilgrimage season onOctober 16.

The Sabarimala temple hadrestricted the entry of womenbelonging to the age group of 10-50 as part of its age-old tradition.

On October 28, a five-judgeconstitution bench, headed bythe then Chief Justice DipakMisra, lifted the ban on entry ofwomen of menstrual age into theshrine. PTI

Mumbai: Amid the competingpolitics over Ram temple, theShiv Sena on Thursdayannounced that its chiefUddhav Thackeray will visitAyodhya after Dussehra toreaffirm his party’s commit-ment to the issue.

The announcement came aday after Ram JanmabhoomiTrust chief Janmejay SharanjiMaharaj met Thackeray at theparty's headquarters SenaBhawan here.

Sharanji Maharaj invitedThackeray to visit Ayodhya,telling him that the trust need-ed the Sena's assistance for theconstruction of Ram temple,Shiv Sena sources said.

Thackeray will announcethe date of his visit to Ayodhyaat the party's annual Dussehrarally to be held in Mumbai onOctober 19, senior Sena leaderand Rajya Sabha MP SanjayRaut said.

He said his party has beenmaintaining that only the ShivSena has the "courage" to builda Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Shiv Sena is of the viewthat if the Ram temple is notconstructed now, then it cannotbe constructed ever, he added.

Thackeray had recently saidthat the BJP would once again rakeup the emotive issue of Ram tem-ple in the run-up to the 2019 polls.

Ram temple construction

in Ayodhya has been one of thecore issues of the BJP, which isan ally of the Shiv Sena.

The Sena, which hasresolved to go solo in the futureelections, has often targeted theBJP for "delaying" the construc-tion of Ram temple in Ayodhyadespite having a majority.

"The Sena has always cham-pioned the cause of Ram templein Ayodhya. The BJP, despitebeing in power for four years, hasnot yet fulfilled its commitmentof building a grand Ram templethere," Raut said Thursday.

Sharanji Maharaj said hetold the Shiv Sena chief that hisfather late Bal Thackeray hadcontributed to the demolition ofthe Babri Masjid (on December6, 1992), he should now con-tribute to the construction ofthe Ram temple there. With theLok Sabha polls less than a yearaway, the pitch for contructionof Ram temple in Ayodhya hasbeen intensifying lately withinthe BJP, even as the matter issub-judice.

Senior Sena leader ArvindSawant said that before the2014 Lok Sabha polls, theNDA had given three assur-ances to people -to abrogateArticle 370 of theConstitution, construction ofRam temple in Ayodhya andto solve the Kashmir issue.

PTI

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Page 8: ˘ˇˆ˙˘˝˛˚˚˜ - The Pioneer · in 10 States — Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Jharkhand, and Goa —

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ACentral relief of �2.50 onsky-rocketing petro prices

was less than peanuts for thetoiling masses of the country,Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee on Thursday saidasking the Narendra ModiGovernment to reduce oilprices by at least �10.

“The Government is givingthe people a small relief whenrising petroleum prices hasdriven the market crazy. Everyitem in the market: From foodto other products of daily is onfire. A relief of �2.50 is but ajoke,” Banerjee said adding theCentre would have done theleast by reducing the price byat least �10 per litre.

“You (the Centre) haveimposed huge production cesson petroleu driving the marketcrazy,” Banerjee said adding areduction of �10 at this juncturewas the least the Governmentcould have done. She was react-ing to the appeal made byFinance Minister Arun Jaitley tothe State Governments toreduce the oil prices propor-tionately after the Central relief.

Bengal had alreadyreduced oil price by �1 about

a month ago.Attacking the Modi

Government for making loudpromises but only adding topeople’s misery, Banerjee said“instead of giving relief to thepeople they are trying to ter-rorise the people.”

Referring to the encounterdeaths in UP and lynching ofminorities in other States sheasked “why will the people beafraid of you?” adding “thisGovernment is only trying torule by terror. “A trueGovernment is one that adds

value to people’s lives and notadds fear to it. In India we havehigh regard for joint family sys-tem. But in such families themembers live with each otherpeacefully. But here you (cen-tre) are trying to create schismamong them.”

Attacking the Centre forruining the Indian economythrough demonetization shesaid “they imposed note bandiwhich yielded nothing. It onlyfilled the coffers of somepoliticians and political parties.

34��'4��-�(��� �"!��$�"

Hizbul Mujahdeen outfithas threatened terrorist-

turned-BJP worker FarooqAhmad alias Saifullah whorecently filed nominationpapers to contest urban localbodies election from capitalSrinagar. Warning postersagainst Farooq and severalother contestants have goneviral on social media sites.Farooq had earlier challengedmilitants to prove him wrong.

The outfit’s unknown“Divisional Commander AbuUmair Al Hizbi” has also issuedwarning to a political workerImran Zargar alias Imran Billawhom Hizbul Mujahideendescribes “a turncoat workingat the behest of intelligenceagencies for helping differentcandidates to win elections inlieu of millions of rupees”.

Meanwhile, unknown per-sons attacked the residences oftwo candidates in old Srinagarcity who are contestingMunicipal elections forSrinagar MunicipalCorporation (SMC) with petrolbombs last evening.

Unknown persons hurled apetrol bomb on the house of aBhartiya Janta Party candidateat Gojwara in old city. Reportssaid that the door of the houseof Shoukat Raja of Gojwaraarea of old city caught fire dueto the attack. Raja was not pre-sent at his home at the time ofincident.

In another incidentunknown persons targeted carof an independent candidateNisar Chudisaz at KakaMohalla in Rainawari area ofold Srinagar. The car wasparked outside his house andits tyres caught fire. Nisar wasalso not at home at the time ofthe incident.

On the other side, Jointresistance leadership (JRL), anamalgam of separatist politicalparties, comprising of Syed AliGeelani, Mirwaiz Umar Faroand Yasin Malik called for acomplete shutdown in Jammu& Kashmir on October 8 toprotest against the com-mencement of municipal andPanchayat elections. A state-ment issued to media askedpeople to “observe subsequentprotest shutdown in their ownrespective areas as per the poll

schedule on 10th, 13th and16th October and show theircomplete disassociation andresentment against it.”

The arrest of JKLF chair-man Yasin Malik and thearrest of dozens of Hurriyatactivists and youth and raidson their homes, has beenresented by JRL.

The State Government hasformulated unprecedentedsecurity plan for the smoothconduct of upcoming UrbanLocal Bodies (ULB) andPanchayat elections in the State.The plan covers safety andsecurity of both contestants andthe voters in most sensitiveareas in Kashmir and else-where in the State.

The panchayat electionsare being held on non-partybasis. Additional 400 compa-nies of central security forceswould be deployed in the Stateover and above the securityforces already stationed.

The ULB elections arebeing conducted in four phas-es from October 8 andPanchayat elections in ninephases beginning November17. This would be a massiveexercise to elect more than 39,500 representatives.

In an unprecedented move,the Government employeesdeployed on election dutywould be paid a month’s addi-tional salary.

The two main regionalpolitical parties NationalConference and PeoplesDemocratic Party have decid-ed to boycott the elections asthey have asked the CentralGovernment to clear its standon the issue of Article 35-A andtake steps for its protection.The Communist Party of India(CPI) also decided not to par-ticipate in the polls keeping inview the prevailing situation inthe valley.

Meanwhile, a BorderSecurity Force man wasdetained along-with anotherperson as Police busted anOver Ground Workers(OGWs) module of terroristoutfit Hizbul Mujahideen thatwas operating in Lolab area ofnorth Kashmir’s Kupwara.

Security sources said thattwo locals of Tekipora Lolabarea in the district weredetained on the basis of specificinput who after sustained inter-rogation confessed to be OverGround Workers of HizbulMujahideen.

The arrested persons wereidentified as Shakir AhmadWani and Ghulam MustafaSheikh.

Sources said Shakir is a BSFman who is posted in North East

and was providing arms trainingto local terrorists. He hadreturned home on vacations.

Sources said a pistol wasrecovered on their disclosure.

The module was engagedin providing logistic support toterrorists apart from luringmore youth into militancy.

A case under relevant sec-tions of law has been registeredand further investigation initi-ated into the matter.

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Kolkata: A former IAS officerwas on Thursday interrogatedby the CBI in the Sharada chitfund case. The former officerwas asked to explain aGovernment order a few yearsago that apparently favouredthe Sharada group.

The former bureaucrat,then secretary in the HomeDepartment was in charge ofaffairs when the BengalGovernment had issued acircular asking the Statelibraries to keep newspapersof the Sharada group in their

study halls.The former official was

asked to disclose the facts thatled to the stated order. He wasasked to explain upon whosedirections his department hadissued such circulars that final-ly benefited the Sharada group,sources said. PNS

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Srinagar: The authorities inJammu & Kashmir have barredSpecial Police Officers (SPO) tobe detailed on personal securi-ty of protected persons. Thedecision has been taken after anSPO decamped with huge cacheof arms and ammunition froma legislator’s official residencebefore joining HizbulMujahideen outfit.

The SPOs are working onmonthly honorarium and theirservices are confirmed afteryears of ‘satisfactory work’.

The order to this effect wasissued by Additional DirectorGeneral, Security and Law &rder Muneer Ahmad Khan.The ADGP ordered that no unitor SSP shall deploy any SPO forPSO duties and all SPOs exceptSPO drivers, presently attachedwith protected persons beimmediately withdrawn.

The Order observed thatSPOs performing PSO dutieswith the protected personswas not in accordance withthe security norms as SPOswere not trained to performPSO duties.

A Special Police Officer(SPO) Adil Bashir Sheikhdeployed as Personal SecurityOfficer (PSO) of PDP legislatorrepresenting Wachi constituen-cy in south Kashmir's Shopiandistrict, decamped with 07 AK47 rifles alongwith ammunitionof police personnel deployed forthe security of the State

Assembly Member at his officialresidence at Jawahar Nagar insummer capital SrinagarSeptember 28. The SPO alsotook away one licensed pistol ofMLA. Security sources saidsince MLA was in Jammu, hisall seven PSOs had gone to theirrespective homes on leave, leav-ing their weapons in a trunk atJ-11 quarters at Jawahar Nagar.

On Thursday, Aijaz Miralleged that police officialsinvolved in the investigation ofthe weapon loot case werecompelling the family membersof his former PSOs to speakagainst him. The police havenot reacted to the allegation.Mir was quizzed by Police &NIA sleuths for at least threestraight days after commis-sion of act by SPO by lootingarms. Around a dozen otherPSOs deployed in MLA secu-rity unit were also questionedat legislator's official residencelast September 29.

Seven Police cops whoserifles were looted by SPO havebeen suspended. Officials saidthey were suspended for theircallous attitude towards dutiesand put under investigationnet. The suspended police per-sonnel continued to remainunder police detention facingseries of questioning sessionsby Police officials and sleuthsof National InvestigationAgency (NIA) and other inves-tigating agencies. PNS

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Gopalganj/Patna: Two cops have been arrest-ed in Bihar's Gopalganj district for allegedlyselling seized liquor, a of the alcohol ban inthe State, a senior officer said on Thursday.

The two policemen were arrested onWednesday following complaints by local resi-dents that they saw a liquor-laden truck leave the

Baikunthpur police station on the interveningnight of September 30 and October 1, GopalganjSuperintendent of Police Rashid Zaman said.

SHO Laxminarayan Mahto and ASISudhir Kumar were interrogated and the truckdriver, Kanhaiya Sharma, was also arrestedfrom the neighbouring Saran district, the SP

said.Mahto and Kumar have

been placed under suspen-sion.

Zaman said it is suspectedthat liquor seized during anoperation was not shown inthe records and later sold offby the accused in collusionwith others. PTI

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