HYDERABAD, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 6, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

www.dailypioneer.com

RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 3 ISSUE 78*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

MONEY 8PM'S ENERGY ROADMAP: MORE THAN DOUBLE

NATURAL GAS SHARE, DIVERSIFY ENERGY SOURCES

ANALYSIS 7MUCH ADO

ABOUT NPAS

SPORTS 12ROHIT TO REPLACE

MAYANK IN XI

}I WANT TO BE THE

FEMALE VIJAYSETHUPATHI:

NIVETHA PETHURAJPage 11

{

HYDERABAD

WEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated January 5 , 2021 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Margashirsha & Krishna Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Ashtami: 02:05 am (Next Day)

Nakshatram: Hasta: 05:09 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 12:22 pm – 01:44 pm

Yamagandam: 08:14 am – 09:36 am

Varjyam: 12:41 am – 02:12 am

Gulika: 10:59 am - 12:22 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 11:27 am – 12:58 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: NIL

FFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 27/18Humidity: 80%Sunrise: 06:47 amSunset: 05:56 pm

CENTRAL VISTA PROJECT GETS SUPREMECOURT’S GO-AHEAD IN 2:1 VERDICT

BORIS JOHNSON CANCELS REPUBLIC DAYVISIT TO INDIA OVER COVID CRISIS IN UK

VIETNAM PURCHASED INDIAN RICE FORFIRST TIME IN DECADES, SAY OFFICIALS

INDIA'S S-400 MISSILE DEAL WITHRUSSIA MAY TRIGGER US SANCTIONS

The construction of the new parliamentcomplex near Delhi's India Gate can go

ahead, the Supreme Court said today inresponse to petitions that challenged theCentral Vista project in terms of permissionsand clearances. "We hold that there are noinfirmities in clearances given, change inland use," a three-judge bench of the courtsaid in a majority verdict. The newparliament building is the centerpiece of the? 20,000-crore Central Vista project, whichaims to build and refurbish the governmentbuildings on part of the 4-km stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan toIndia Gate, located at the heart of the national capital.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnsoncancelled his visit to India, sources said,

hours after he announced a fresh lockdownin the United Kingdom over the new strain ofcoronavirus that has affected thousands ofpeople in the UK. Mr Johnson was to be thechief guest at this year's Republic Day paradein New Delhi, which was also to be his firstbilateral visit after the UK's departure fromthe European Union in December. He hadaccepted the invitation last month. "The primeminister spoke to Prime Minister Modi thismorning, to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India laterthis month as planned," Downing Street said.

Vietnam, the world's third biggest exporter ofrice, has started buying the grain from rival

India for the first time in decades after local pricesjumped to their highest in nine years amid limiteddomestic supplies, four industry officials toldReuters. The purchases highlight tighteningsupplies in Asia, which could lift rice prices in 2021and even force traditional buyers of rice fromThailand and Vietnam to switch to India - theworld's biggest exporter of the grain. Indian tradershave been contracted to export 70,000 tonnes of100 per cent broken rice for January and Februaryshipments at around $310 per tonne on a free-on-board basis, the industryofficials say."For the first time, we are exporting to Vietnam," an official said.

India's multi-billion dollar deal to purchase theRussia-made S-400 air defence system may

trigger US sanctions on New Delhi, a USCongressional report has warned. TheCongressional Research Service (CRS) - anindependent and bipartisan research wing of USCongress - in its latest report, said India is "eagerfor more technology-sharing and co-productioninitiatives, while the US urges more reforms inIndia's defence offsets policy and highe rFDIcaps in its defence sector." Prepared formembers of the Congress to take informeddecisions, the report says: "India's multi-billion dollar deal to purchase theRussia-made S-400 air defence system may trigger US sanctions on India."

TS on bird flu alertMinister to review situation today

VENKAT RAM REDDY LAKKADIn HYDERABAD

The Telangana governmenthas put the state administrationon high alert concerning thepossible outbreak of avianinfluenza (bird flu).

The Animal HusbandryDepartment has been asked tosensitise staff about handlingpossible outbreak of avianinfluenza in the state, thoughefforts would be made to pre-vent an outbreak in the firstplace.

Poultry industry inTelangana had suffered hugelosses due to previous out-breaks of bird flu, especially theone in 2015 that necessitatedculling lakhs of birds.

Presently there is bird flu

scare in at least five states, withKerala issuing a high alert onTuesday after declaring theoutbreak as a state-specificdisaster. The Karnataka stategovernment too declared ahigh alert on Tuesday. Straybird flu cases have been report-

ed in Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh,Himachal Pradeshand Haryana.

Bird flu is a disease whichcan spread to humans throughgenerally poultry birds. Thevirus does not directly infect

humans normally. Minister for Animal

Husbandry Talasani SrinivasYadav has convened a high-level meeting on Wednesday totake stock of the situation inTelangana. "We will discuss the

steps that should be taken upon a war-footing to pre-

vent the outbreak ofbird flu in Telanganain tomorrow'smeeting. An actionplan will be devisedfor the purpose,"

Yadav told ThePioneer."A circular has

already been sent to thedistricts to alert staff about therisk of outbreak.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The chances of picking upSARS-CoV-2 in air are directlyrelated to the number of Covid-19 positive cases in a room orhospital ward. And in suchplaces the virus can be found inair for more than two hourseven farther than two metres,according to the findings of anew study on the air-bornenature of Covid-19.

The study findings, yet to bepeer-reviewed, suggest that fol-lowing hygiene protocols suchas regular hand-washing, usingmasks effectively, and prevent-ing symptomatic people frompublic mixing can help restorenormalcy more comfortably.Detecting and isolating the pos-

itive cases early on can help pre-vent the spread among otherfamily members in a home set-ting too, the study found.

Two CSIR units - Centre forCellular and Molecular Biology(CCMB), Hyderabad andInstitute of MicrobialTechnology (IMTech),Chandigarh conducted the

study and released their data onthe air-borne nature of novelcoronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Fortheir study, scientists workedwith six hospitals (three inHyderabad and three inChandigarh) to find if the virusparticles could be found in airsamples in the hospital wards.They used an air sampler that

can collect the virus particles,and then looked for their pres-ence using RT-PCR.

In this study, the virus wasfound in air samples from Covid-19 wards in hospitals but notfrom non-Covid -19 wards. Thissuggests that demarcation ofzones in hospitals has been aneffective strategy. The study also

showed that the chances of pick-ing up SARS-CoV-2 in air aredirectly related to the number ofCovid-19 positive cases in theroom, their symptomatic status,and the duration of exposure.Further, when Covid-19 individ-uals spent longer hours in aroom, the virus was found in airfor more than two hours evenfarther than two metres fromtheir seating places. But forasymptomatic cases, they showedthe virus does not spread fartherfrom them when they are seat-ed in a room without perceivedair flow due to a fan or AC.

"Till the vaccines are available,social vaccine i.e. wearing maskis the best prevention," said DrSanjeev Khosla, Director,IMTech.

The study showed the chances of picking up SARS-CoV-2 in air is directly related to number of Covidpositive cases in the room, their symptomaticstatus and the duration of exposure. When Covidindividuals spent longer hours in a room, the virusis found in air for more than 2 hours even fartherthan 2 metres from their seating places

Corporators-elect belonging to BJP unitin Hyderabad tried to lay siege toPragathi Bhavan on Tuesday, before theywere bundled away by the police

Bandi Sanjay sets ‘poll agenda' in APPNS n HYDERABAD

BJP Telangana president BandiSanjay has set an agenda of‘aggressive Hindutva’ as the by-poll for the Tirupati Lok Sabhaseat in neighbouring AndhraPradesh looms.

Thanks to Bandi Sanjay, theentire by-poll is now centredaround the acts of desecrationof temples in AP. The TS BJPchief had on Monday urgedvoters to choose between theBhagavad Gita and the Bible,effectively calling the rulingYSRCP a ‘Christian party’ and

the BJP as a ‘Hinduparty’.

Sanjay's aggressiveHindutva agenda duringthe recent GHMC polls cen-

tred around theBhagyalaxmi tem-

ple. The move cer-tainly benefited the BJP

electorally. While it remains to

be seen whether this repeats inTirupati, the BJP is hoping thatthe predominantly Hindu vot-ers in the temple town wouldsit up and take notice.

For the record, Sanjay’saggression helped the BJPupend the calculation of theTRS and help the saffronparty win 48 seats. Sanjay’saggressive campaigningharped on the ‘friendly’ tiesbetween the TRS and AIMIMand succeeded in polarisingHindu votes in BJP's favour.

Covid vaccine shots from Jan 13PNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre on Tuesday said itwas ready to roll out the vac-cine within a period of tendays from the time the regu-lator granted emergencyauthorisation to Covishieldand COVAXIN.

That translates to a potentialrollout within eight days sincethe EUA was granted onJanuary 3, and ten days fromthen would come to January13. “We are ready to roll outthe vaccines within ten days ofgrant of EUA which was rec-ommended on January 2 andgranted on January 3. Theexact date of rollout will bedecided by the government,”Health Secretary RajeshBhushan said today.

He said the pilot dry run infour states went off successful-ly with no major operationalchallenges for Co-WIN, thedigital platform the govern-ment will use for vaccine deliv-ery with one vaccination team

trained to administer the jaband address adverse eventsfollowing immunisation.

The government also saidthere was no export ban on theapproved vaccines with bothSerum Institute and BharatBiotech, the producers ofCovishield and COVAXINtoday using a joint statementsaying vaccines are global pub-lic goods and they would stand

by their commitment to sup-ply vaccines globally.

The government said 30crore priority health groupswould be vaccinated by Julyand of them one crore healthworkers and two crore front-line workers would not need toself register on Co-WIN astheir bulk data is availableand uploaded already.

BJP corporators ‘laysiege to’ CM’s residencePNS n HYDERABAD

Corporators-elect belongingto Bharatiya Janata Party inHyderabad tried to lay siege tothe Telangana Chief Minister'sofficial residence, PragathiBhavan, on Tuesday protestingthe 'delay' in the formation ofthe Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation coun-cil. The corporators gatherednear Pragati Bhavan and raisedslogans against the TelanganaRashtra Samithi (TRS) govern-ment. They said though amonth had passed since dec-

laration of results of theGHMC polls, the governmenthad not taken steps to form thecouncil. Carrying party flagsand placards, they questionedthe delay in issuing a notifica-tion to constitute the council.

The corporators' grouse isthat, despite having been elect-ed to GHMC, they are unableto undertake any works intheir wards. They said corpo-rators elected in the 2016 elec-tions were virtually acting assitting corporators.

Rates forexporters' dutyrefund scheme tobe notified soon

WB denies thatBJP leader’s deathwas ‘political murder’

58

Bharat Biotech,Serum Institutedeclare trucePNS n HYDERABAD

After their ugly public spat,Serum Institute of India andBharat Biotech on Tuesdayburied the hatchet and issueda joint statement saying theywill work together to develop,manufacture and supply theCovid vaccines globally.

In the statement posted ontheir twitter accounts, thecompanies said SerumInstitute Chief ExecutiveOfficer Adar Poonawalla andBharat Biotech ChairmanKrishna Ella communicatedtheir combined intent to devel-op, manufacture and supplythe Covid vaccines.

They said the more impor-tant task in front of them wassaving the lives and liveli-hoods of populations in Indiaand the world.

TS police seekRBI, others'help in probe

APP-BASED LENDERS

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana police as partof the probe on cases againstinstant app-based lendersaccused of harassing bor-rowers over repayment havesought data from ReserveBank and other agencies, asenior police official said onTuesday.

The police are also engag-ing experts for data analysisfor studying the voluminousdata as a preliminary inves-tigation into the financialtransactions of the onlineloan app firms revealed 1.4crore transactions worthnearly Rs 21,000 crore, theofficial said.

Police earlier said thetransactions took place overvarious payment gatewaysand bank accounts linked tothese companies and a largenumber of internationaltransactions have also beenidentified through bitcoins.

Bulk of transactions hadtaken place over the last sixmonths and further investi-gation is continuing.

"We have addressed lettersto different agencies includ-ing RBI seeking data as partof the further investigationincluding to find out the webof financial transactions," theofficial said.

CCPArecommendsBudget sessionfrom Jan 29PNS n NEW DELHI

The Cabinet Committee onParliamentary Affairs(CCPA) has recommendedthat the Budget session ofParliament be held in twoparts from January 29 toApril 8, and all COVID-related protocols includingthe shift system are likely tobe followed as was done dur-ing the Monsoon session.

According to theCommittee's recommenda-tion, Part 1 of the Budget ses-sion would be held fromJanuary 29 to February 15,and Part 2 from March 8 toApril 8.

President Ram NathKovind would address thejoint sitting of the two Housesof Parliament on January 29,a Friday, and the UnionBudget wold be presented onFebruary 1, sources said cit-ing the CCPA recommenda-tions.

The Economic Surveywould be tabled in the LokSabha on February 29 afterthe President's address, thesources said.

DOUBLE DELIGHT ON BIRTHDAY

Festive atmosphere nearJeevan Reddy’s homeT KARUNAKARn JAGITYAL

For senior Congress leaderTatiparti Jeevan Reddy, it wasan extended birthday cele-brations on Tuesday, with afestive atmosphere prevailingat his residence in Jagityal inview of feelers from the partyhigh command that he couldbe appointed as the nextTPCC president.

To his double delight, theparty's leaders as well as therank and file gathered in large

numbers to greet him at hisresidence. They includedprominent leaders like TPCCworking president PonnamPrabhakar.

Several aspirants to theTPCC president post had lob-bied with the high commandin Delhi, following the resig-nation of the incumbentTPCC president, who ownedmoral responsibility for theparty's poor show in theDubbak bypoll and theGHMC elections.

2 2 2

222

2

2

Corona may be air-borne but doesn’t spread far away

Bill Gates praises India's‘decisive action’ in virus fightPNS n NEW DELHI

Global leaders have lauded India'sleadership in scientific innovationand decisive action to combat theCOVID pandemic, as the countrygets set to begin the world's largestvaccination drive against the novelcoronavirus.

Will Jagan goagainst his owndecisions in 2021?

2

2

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

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.

EGG

RATES

` 52, 360 (10 gm)

` 760

GOLD

` 74, 100 (1kg)

` 2100

HYDERABAD 495

VIJAYAWADA 516

VISAKHAPATNAM 505

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀44.. 9955

SILVER

HYDERABAD

BULLION RATES

`̀//110000

CHICKEN

RATES

Dressed/With Skin `158

Without Skin `180

Broiler at Farm `109

`̀//KKGG

(IN HYDERABAD)

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 6, 2021 hyderabad 02

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Chief SecretarySomesh Kumar on Tuesdaydirected the district collectors tocomplete the promotions inrespect of all cadres working inthe districts by January 31 andto take up compassionateappointments without anydelay.

During a video conferencewith collectors, the chief secre-tary informed them that ChiefMinister K. ChandrasekharRao has given directions tocomplete the promotions onpriority basis.

Kumar directed the collec-tors to conduct a meeting atdistrict level with all the depart-ments to arrive at number of

vacancies to be filled upthrough promotions. He askedto conduct a meeting on everyMonday and complete theprocess of promotions andcompassionate appointmentsby January 24.

The video conference washeld a day after the state gov-ernment issued an order toexpedite the process of carry-ing out promotions to all cate-gories of posts in all depart-ments at all levels.

The chief secretary issuedorders to the special chief sec-retaries, principal secretaries,secretaries, other heads ofdepartments and district collec-tors to immediately initiate theprocess and complete it byJanuary 31, as per recent direc-

tions of the Chief Minister.The heads of all the depart-

ments were instructed to takeup promotions in all aspectsduly completing the depart-mental promotion committees(DPCs) procedures by January31 and submit category-wisestatus report to the chief secre-tary in this regard. Proposalspertaining to promotions ofthird level gazetted officers andabove ranks, should be submit-ted by the Secretaries con-cerned duly compiling informa-tion from their HoD offices toGeneral AdministrationDepartment (Services) for con-vening of DPC by January 11.

Similarly, all Secretariat pro-motions also should beprocessed by GAD and DPCs

should be completed byJanuary 24 to issue necessarypromotion orders beforeJanuary 31.

Promotions and compassion-ate appointments are the latestin the series of announcementsmade by the government forgovernment employees. OnDecember 13, the ChiefMinister announced that allvacancies in governmentdepartments will be filled. Thereare an estimated 50,000 vacan-cies in several departments.

On the New Year, the ChiefMinister announced salary hikefor over nine lakh employees.He also declared that retire-ment age of employees will beenhanced from existing 58years.

Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar in a video conference with collectors on Tuesday

State orders promotion of employees by January-end

Writer, lyricist Vennelakanti passes awayPNS n HYDERABAD

Popular lyricist and dialoguewriter Vennelakanti passedaway in Chennai on Tuesdayfollowing a cardiac arrest.He was 63.

Born in Nellore in 1957,Vennelakanti debuted as alyricist with the film Sri RamaChandrudu (1986) and in acareer spanning 34 years; hepenned nearly 1500 songs,while writing dialogues forover 300 movies. He was thefirst writer who was given thetask to pen dialogues forHollywood films that weredubbed into Telugu. Some ofhis famous songs includeRaasaleela Vela (Aditya369),Mavayya Anna Pilupu(Muddula Mavayya),Maatarani Mounamidi(Maharshi), HrudayamEkkadunnadhi (Ghajini) andNee Yadalo Naaku (Awara).He even dabbled in acting onthe stage, performing forJandhyala's plays.

In the second half of hisyear, Vennelakanti was most-ly associated with writingdialogues for Tamil films thatgot dubbed into Telugu, untilhis son Shashank took overthe mantle from him.Panchatantram, Pothuraju,Prema Chadarangam,Dasavatharam andManmadha Banam weresome of his notable dubbingworks. His younger sonRakendu Mouli too works inthe industry, as a writer andactor.

TS on bird flu alertContinued from Page 1

Besides, sensitisation mea-sures to ground-level staff,we will soon start randomlycollecting blood samples frompoultry in areas where theindustry is clustered," he said.

The State government hassounded an alert in districtsnear Hyderabad and issued anadvisory to the neighbouringAndhra Pradesh.

However, officials claimedthat the current rate of mor-tality in states which havereported bird flu cases doesnot seem to be alarminglyhigh and the situation was"under control".

In 2015, the State govern-ment culled nearly 3 lakhbirds, after the outbreak of birdflu was confirmed in RangaReddy district on the outskirtsof Hyderabad.

The government had then

issued a culling order aftersamples taken from Thoroorvillage of Hayatnagar mandaltested positive for H5N1 avianinfluenza virus. Samples weretested by the High SecurityAnimal Disease Laboratory(HSADL) in Bhopal and theoutbreak was confirmed onApril 13, 2015.

Several teams of RapidResponse Force were pressedinto the culling exercise inThoroor. The culling opera-tion went on for five days. Thefarm where the virus had bro-ken out had about 80,000birds. There were another45,000 birds in the neigh-bouring farm. About 18 vil-lages surrounding this villagehad poultry farms. Thoughonly the birds in the firstfarm were affected, cullingwas done in neighbouringfarms too as a precautionarymeasure.

Bill Gates...praises India's‘decisiveaction’ in...Continued from Page 1

The Drug Controller Generalof India on Sunday approvedthe Oxford COVID-19 vac-cine Covishield, manufacturedby the Serum Institute andindigenously developedCovaxin of Bharat Biotech, forrestricted emergency use inthe country, paving the way fora massive inoculation drive."It's great to see India's leader-ship in scientific innovationand vaccine manufacturingcapability as the world worksto end the COVID-19 pan-demic," Bill Gates, co-chair ofthe Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation, said in a tweet onMonday, tagging the PrimeMinister's Office.

Bandi Sanjay sets ‘poll agenda' in APContinued from Page 1

The BJP in Andhra Pradesh,which has been struggling toprove its existence in the statedue to its inconsistent stand onYSRCP, has got the much-needed booster dose withSanjay’s remarks.

Hitherto, the party had beenin a state of indecisiveness oncontesting the by-election toTirupati Lok Sabha seat, neces-sitated by the death of sittingYSRCP MP Balli Durga PrasadRao. It has so far not come toan understanding with itsalliance partner Jana Sena on

who should contest the by-poll.Before Sanjay’s ‘war cry’, thegeneral feeling was that the BJPmight not put up a strong fightin Tirupati because the party'sstate president Somu Veerraju’sfriendly attitude towards theYSRCP.

BJP watchers feel that unlessthe party goes all out againstJagan, it cannot expect to fightthe elections, let alone win. TillSunday, the feeling was that theBJP’s soft stand might benefitthe Telugu Desam Party.

However, Sanjay going allout against the YSRCP andJagan by raising religious pas-

sions in the temple town hasbrought in a change.

“Will you vote for the peo-ple holding a Bible or will youvote for the people holding theGita,” Sanjay asked the peopleof Tirupati.

He also questioned themwhether they wanted to votefor the party which allegedlydescribes the presiding deity ofTirumala as ‘rendu kon-davalavada govinda’ (God oftwo hills) or they will vote forthe BJP which is for ‘yedu kon-dalavada Venkataramanagovinda’ (God of seven hills).

“You have to give a slap in the

face of pseudo-secular people,”claimed the MP about the vot-ing power of the Telugu people.

Political observers opinethat Sanjay’s comments defi-nitely stirred the emotions ofthe Hindus in Tirupati andgave the much-needed boost tothe BJP cadres in the state.

BJP leaders and cadre inTelangana now feel that therewill be no surprise if the BJPhigh command entrusts Sanjaywith the responsibility of lead-ing the campaign in Tirupatiby-elections when the ElectionCommission issues the notifi-cation.

Covid vaccineshots fromJan 13Continued from Page 1

So far as the 27 crore priori-ty groups consisting of 50plus and those under 50 withco morbid conditions goes, agovernment committee isworking on criteria aroundwhich co morbidities to beincluded to determine bene-ficiary criteria.

The committee report isexpected in two days.

The government willadminister free vaccines tohealth and frontline workers.Asked when the vaccineswould be available for gener-al populations, chairman ofvaccine task force VK Paulsaid “right now the publichealth objective is to vacci-nate the most vulnerable andprevent deaths”.

BJP corporators lay...Continued from Page 1

After meeting at a hotel nearPragati Bhavan, they tried toproceed towards PragatiBhavan to lay siege. However,police swung into action.They detained the corporatorsand later bundled them awayin police vehicles.

Recently the corporators hadmet Governor TamilisaiSoundararajan to complain thatthe State Election Commission(SEC) had not issued a gazettenotification constituting theGHMC council.

Elections to the 150-mem-ber GHMC were held onDecember 1 and the results

declared on December 4. Theruling TRS emerged as the sin-gle largest party by winning 56seats, but fell short of a clearmajority, while the BJP put upan impressive show to emergeas the second largest partywith 48 seats. The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM)finished third with 44 seats.The election of Mayor andDeputy Mayor will take placenext month after the issue ofgazette notification constitut-ing the council.

The council will have 191members, including 41 ex-offi-cio members. The TRS has 30ex-officio members, while theBJP has only two.

Continued from Page 1

The names of PonnamPrabhakar and Duddila SridharBabu were also bandied aboutfor the post of the TPCC pres-ident. However, the party highcommand is stated to haveweighed the pros and consbefore zeroing in on the nameof Jeevan Reddy, who was noteven in the race. If anyone inthe race is given the party pres-ident's post, it could fuel discon-tent in the party to the detri-ment of its long-term interests,the high command felt. Hence,it settled for Jeevan Reddy,sources said. The party's eldersin Delhi considered him to be"acceptable to all groups in theparty".

When contacted, JeevanReddy refused to comment onthe talk of his selection or oth-erwise for the TPCC presi-dent's post. He dismissed mediapersons' queries as hypothetical.

He said that he would not givepriority to posts. It was his dutyto discharge whatever task theparty assigned to him. "Myduty is to serve people as per theparty's policies, whatever bethe post I am occupying," heobserved.

The responsibility beforeeveryone was to fulfil the desiresof Dalits, minorities, women,students and the unemployed,he said.

Contrary to the expectationsof the unemployed youth thatthey would get jobs in the newstate of Telangana, there were noencouraging results in thisregard over the past six years,throwing the youth into a stateof despair, he said.

Jeevan began his politicalcareer as Panchayat Samitipresident in 1981and has beenelected to the Assembly fromthe Jagityal seat six times. Hecontested twice from theKarimnagar Lok Sabha con-

stituency unsuccessfully. Herepresents the KarimnagarGraduates' constituency in theLegislative Council.

During the regimes of theTDP and Congress, he servedas Excise Minister and Roadsand Buildings Minister.

He was elected to theAssembly on the TDP ticketfrom Jagityal in 1983. He heldthe portfolio of Excise Ministerin the TDP regime. In 1984 hequit the TDP, following differ-ences with NTR and joined theCongress. He was elected to theAssembly from Jagityal in 1989,1996, 1999, 2004 and 2014. In2019, he was elected to theLegislative Council from theKarimnagar Graduates' con-stituency. Karimnagar, whichhas emerged as the focal pointfor creating political sensation,once again hogged the limelightas a majority of the leaders of thepolitical parties hail from thisdistrict.

Festive atmosphere near Jeevan...

Bharat Biotech...Continued from Page 1

The vaccines were a globalpublic health good and havethe power to save lives andaccelerate the return to eco-nomic normalcy at the earli-est, the statement said.

We are fully aware of theimportance of vaccines forthe people and countries alike,we hereby communicate ourjoint pledge to provide globalaccess for our COVID-19 vac-cines, it said. The DCGI onSunday approved Oxford vac-cine Covishield, manufacturedby the Serum Institute, andCovaxin of the city-basedBharat Biotech for restrictedemergency use in the country.

CCPA recommendsBudget session from....Continued from Page 1

All COVID-related protocolswould be followed during thesession. Like the Monsoonsession, the upcoming Budgetsession is also likely to be heldin two shifts -- morning andevening -- with each Housesitting in one shift using boththe chambers.

Each House is likely to sitfor 5 hours on a working dayduring the Budget session,according to sources. TheLok Sabha is likely to sit in the

evenings (3 pm to 8 pm) andthe Rajya Sabha in the morn-ings (9 am to 2 pm).

However, for the presiden-tial address and on budgetday, the Lok Sabha is likely tobe held during the first partof the session and on otherdays it will be the Rajya Sabhafirst.

The standard operatingprocedures related to thecoronavirus pandemic suchas compulsorily wearingmasks and maintaining socialdistancing will be followed

during the session and allexpected attendees includ-ing MPs and staff of the sec-retariats of both Lok Sabhaand Rajya Sabha are likely toundergo RT-PCR tests forCOVID-19.

Sanitisation of cars andother vehicles entering theparliament complex, files andother equipments will also bedone.

The final decision on thecommencement of the Budgetsession will be taken by theUnion Cabinet of Ministers.

TS police...Continued from Page 1

"On the financial transactionswe received data from one ofthe payment gateways; wehave asked two other paymentgateways to give transactiondetails. We found out a list ofthe bank accounts and we arein the process of seeking thatdata from the banks.Information was sought onwhere the money came fromand went to and who are themain beneficiarieswho haveopened these accounts," theofficial said.

It would indeed be a bigembarrassment for apopular leader who

had won a massive man-date (86% seats in theAssembly or 151 out of175) to go against hisown decisions. Whatwould happen to his imageas a Chief Minister who wouldnever go back on his word? YSJaganmohan Reddy, ChiefMinister of Andhra Pradeshfaces this dilemma, havingrecently completed yet anoth-er calendar year in the five-year term as CM he got 19months ago.

Two firm decisions taken byhim appear set for 'inevitablereversal': Complete change inthe composition of the cabinetand scrapping of the APLegislative Council. This isbecause Jagan simply cannotafford to follow his decisions,which were taken with an emo-tional touch in the beginning.

Jagan stormed to power in

Andhra Pradesh afterstruggling for eight yearsin his individual politicalcareer. Earlier, he waselected to the Lok Sabha

from the Kadapaconstituency, which has

been the family’s bastion fordecades. Following the suddendeath of his father and then chiefminister Dr.YS RajasekharaReddy, Jagan faced much 'suffo-cation' in the Congress at thebehest of party's leadership fordefying its diktats. He came outof the Congress and floated theYuvajana Sramika Rythu Partyand got approval from people ofthe state by attracting Congresscadre. It was strange to see thatthe party which had takenutmost care of YSR to make himchief minister despite internalopposition had to lose his sonJaganmohan Reddy who hadshown some promising signs.Jagan outrightly rejected theproposal placed before him bythe Congress high command

that he would be made CM aftersubsequent election and that heshould work meanwhile as amember in the Union council ofministers besides accepting PCCleadership. He insisted onimmediate 'coronation' as CM,considering that the then rulingCongress unit was thrivingbecause of the hard work doneby his father. Although Congressaccepted YSR's labours in bring-ing the Congress to power, it dis-approved of Jagan's demandfor immediate chief minister-

ship. Jagan, having emerged as an

unmatched leader in the statewith 151 legislators in APAssembly, delivered an emotion-al speech in the first-ever meetof his party's legislature wing. Heannounced that all the twodozen ministers will be changedupon completion of half oftheir five-year tenure. Thatgrand occasion will approachhim by the end of this year.

Now, what would be the pri-ority for Jagan for implementa-

tion his own agenda? Wouldremoval of the entire cabinet befeasible? It is unlikely. Such arare political development tookplace in the unified state ofAndhra Pradesh exactly 31years ago during the regime ofTDP founder president N. T.Rama Rao. At the fag end of hissecond stint, he got his entirecabinet of 31 members to resign

owing moral responsibility forleakage of annual budget pro-posals. This political sensationwas witnessed on 8 February,1989. Following political distur-bances NTR faced in the wakeof murder of Congress' MLA V.M. Ranga Rao (Vijayawada-East), he was believably told byhis astrologers to go for subse-quent elections with complete-ly new faces in cabinet. This ele-ment had worked like a guidingforce for NTR to seek theremoval of all of his 31 col-leagues in the cabinet. Onlythree days later he came out withanother 31 new faces in his newteam.

If Jagan wants to keep his ownword of replacing his entire teamafter completion of half periodof his tenure, he will have to fol-low in the footsteps of NTR!Tense moments have alreadybegun for some ministers, neg-atively impacting administra-tion.

Another crucial issue is brin-

ing the curtains down on the APLegislative Council, for whichthe AP Assembly has unani-mously resolved and sent theresolution to the Union govern-ment for follow-up action.Providing anyone an opportu-nity in the council is nothing buta way of quenching the flamesof dissidence for leadership.Cabinet aspirants, potential tick-et seekers and important func-tionaries in the party would gen-erally find place in the UpperHouse of Legislature at thebehest of leadership. Jagan gotannoyed and became furiouswith the Council coming in wayof getting his ambitious three-capital project approved.Principal opposition partyTelugu Desam is having amajority in council, which shat-tered his dreams.

Following this bitter experi-ence, the Jagan governmentdecided not to have upper housein state's legislature. The stategovernment put the responsibil-

ity on the shoulders of uniongovernment to see the end of thecouncil. But interestingly it hascome to the notice of rulingparty that it would get majori-ty in upper house by 2021. Ifonly the ruling party could waitpatiently for some more time, itcould have the last laugh in get-ting the bills approved inCouncil too! So, if Jagan goes forscrapping of council, it will begoing against the ideology of hisfather late YSR who got thecouncil revived after strenuousefforts and lobbying at Centre.

Jagan could not digest theopposition's majority in thecouncil. He decided to followNTR who had seen the end ofcouncil for the same reasons in1985. Political benefits thatcould follow continuation of thecouncil may influence Jagan inthis regard as dissidence too caneffectively be tackled.

One has to wait and seewhether Jagan acts with wisdomor yields emotional feelings!

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

Jagan, having emerged as an

unmatched leader with 151 legislators

in AP Assembly, delivered an

emotional speech in the first-ever

meet of his party's legislature wing.

He announced that all the ministers

will be changed upon completion of

half of their five-year tenure

PIN

POINT

Will Jagan go against his own decisions in 2021?

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 6, 2021hyderabad 03

Doctors at a Hyderabad hospitalremoved a bulb from a nine-year-old boy's lungs after he

had accidentally swallowed it.Prakash of Mahabubnagar inTelangana had accidentallyswallowed the toy bulb whileplaying on Monday. He was rushedto Medicover Hospitals withsymptoms of profuse cough anddifficulty in breathing. According todoctors, the CT scan of his chestrevealed a foreign body in the right main bronchus extending on tothe lower bronchus. If left unattended, it could have led to seriouslife-threatening complications as the toy bulb (foreign body) wasobstructing the airway if it migrates proximally. A decision wastaken to perform Pediatric Rigid Bronchoscopy and the same wasdone under general anesthesia by Raghu Kanth, a senior consultantInterventional Pulmonologist along with the anesthetist team lead byVijay. The team successfully removed the toy bulb and alsoconducted bronchoscopy to check foreign body remnants.The boy was absolutely fine post-operatively, and was dischargedthe same day without any complications. "Ingestion of foreignbodies is a relatively common problem encountered in paediatricage group. Children tend to explore the environment by insertingobjects into their mouths; Most of these items can be inevitablyswallowed," said Raghu Kanth, doctor. "Ingestion of foreign bodiesis also a significant cause of parental anxiety. Foreign bodyinhalation is a potentially serious problem that peaks in children."The phenomenon of foreign bodies' inhalation is a worldwide problem.Many patients who have inhaled foreign bodies are symptomatic andsometimes life risk if it is in major airways," he added.

CITY LIGHTS

Doctors remove toy bulb from 9-yr-old boy's lungs

Practically, a product of3rdFlix Visual Effects Pvt Ltd,on Tuesday announced that it

has raised $4 million in a pre-Series B round. The round wasled by Siana Capital, a deep techinvestor, with participation fromexisting investors YourNestVenture Capital and ExfinityVentures. The company had previously raised Series A funding of$5 million in 2019. The funds will be invested in expanding theoperations of Practically, the Hyderabad-based start-up announced.Practically is an intelligent, interactive and immersive learning appfor students of classes 6-12 with a focus on STEM learning. It is theonly experiential learning app that brings learning alive throughimmersive videos, interactive augmented reality and 3D simulations.

Hyd-based Practically raises $4 m in a pre-series B round

The University ofHyderabad (UoH) hasdecided for a phased

return to 'in-person'classes for postgraduatestudents starting thismonth. UoH Vice-Chancellor Prof. AppaRao Podile has approvedthe Task Forcerecommendation topermit about 148 terminal semester students of the ScienceSchools and SN School to return to the campus for completion oflaboratory/practice courses that have either been left incompletefrom the last semester or have been postponed to the finalsemester, the university said in a press release on Tuesday.The TaskForce, headed by Prof. Vinod Pavarala, has been monitoring thecurrent state of prevalence of Covid-19 (including the new variant)and the potential roll-out of vaccination besides following the Unlockguidelines."Further, taking into consideration the risk of the outbreakof pandemic on campus (on the lines of IIT-Madras), our ownlimited facilities for quarantine/isolation of students, and UGCguidelines on hostel accommodation, the Task Force has plannedfor a phased return of students to the campus," it said.

UoH to start ‘in-person' classesfor students in phased manner

DURGA PRASAD SUNKUn HYDERABAD

The tri-commissioneratespolice are in forefront in imple-menting Prevention Detention(PD) Act against the habitualoffenders which has beenyielding results in the form ofdecreasing in crime rate. Over350 habitual offenders werebooked under PD Actthroughout the state and 78 percent of them were bookedunder Hyderabad, Cyberabadand Rachakonda Commission-erates in the previous year.

"We have invoked PD Actagainst 350 repeat offendersduring last year to deal therepeated offenders with ironfist," said Director General ofpolice M Mahendar Reddy.

"To curb illegal activitiesand to prevent crime, we areconcentrating more on habit-ual offenders and successfullyusing PD Act against theoffenders," said HyderabadPolice Commissioner AnjaniKumar.

For the first time, Hyderabadpolice have booked one cybercrime offender and one landgrabber under PD Act. The actwas invoked against 109offenders including drugoffenders, property offenders,history-sheeters, burglars, rob-

bers, white collar offendersand others. Especially, to curbthe menace of drugs, 21 ped-dlers were booked under PDAct. Highest PD Act cases hadbeen invoked against 34 prop-erty offenders followed by 23history-sheeters.

Seconding the same,Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat said,"Invoking PD Act has acted asa deterrent for the offenders tocommit any crime."

As many as 82 offenderswere detained under PD Act

under Rachakonda PoliceCommissionerate limits. Thehighest PD Act cases wereinvoked against drug offendersand immoral traffic offenderswith 15 members each, fol-lowed by 13 dacoity offenders,9 house burglars and others inRachakonda limits.

In Cyberabad, PD Act hasbeen invoked against 83 off-enders. Of the 83 cases, high-est PD Act cases were bookedagainst history-sheeters fol-lowed by 16 sexual offendersand others last year.

Data analysis of the threeCommissionerates showed thatPD Act has been invokedagainst around 274 offenderswhich amounts to 78 per centof the total PD acts invoked.

This has played a vital roleto decrease the crime rateunder two police Commiss-ionerates - Hyderabad andRachakonda.

However, the crime rate inCyberabad Police Commiss-ionerate has been slightlyincreased when compared toprevious years.

PD Act proves to be deterrent

Unwilling to give up theirfight to save KBR, a largegroup of activists, walkers

and representatives ofNGOs resumed theProtect KBR park

movement at the mainentrance of Kasu

Brahmananda ReddyNational Park in Jublee

Hills. They tied theirresolutions and messages

to trees and resolved toprotect the ecosystem of

Hyderabad from theunplanned andunsustainable

development taken up bythe civic authorities

SAVE THESAVIOUR

ANUSHA PUPPALAn HYDERABAD

Parents and students of St.Francis College in Hyderabadcry foul as students are forcedto write offline exams. Despiteseveral requests by both par-ents and students, the collegemanagement conducted thefirst scheduled exam onMonday. Students and parentsalleged that despite demandingto conduct online exams, col-lege is forcing students to writeoffline exams.

They are worried that ifthousands of students fromdifferent parts of the city gath-er and write the exam togeth-er it might increase the Covidspread. The students, whoappeared for exams also com-plained of lack of precaution-ary measures by the collegeauthorities.

One of student said, “Mytemperature wasn’t taken. Theteacher wore a shield and amask but later took it off. Shewas coughing and sneezing allthe time. I wasn’t even allowedto sanitise my table and chair.The entire class was anxious asthe teacher and the lady whohelped her coughed loudly. My

table had a crisp layer of duston it which indicates that itwasn’t even cleaned. No socialdistancing was maintained.This experience made me soanxious that I finished mypaper half-an-hour early to runout of that atmosphere. Myparents are diabetic and I can'trisk taking any virus home. Idon't know how the conversa-tion with the principal wentbut I lost a lot of marks becauseof this constant fear."

"I am not willing to send myward for offline exams. It'sbecause of the risk it entails astransportation is the problem.

I as a working woman can'tdrop and pick my daughter forevery exam and neither can mydaughter drive. The college hassuccessfully conducted threeonline exams since October.We as parents are not able tounderstand the need for offlineexams now when Covid isstill at its peak," questioned oneof the parents.

However, the college author-ities stated that they tried con-ducting online examinationsbut they had to face some tech-nical glitches through onlinemode that's they chose offlinemode for the exams.

PNS n HYDERABAD

To commercially exploit thevast railway land lying vacantin many parts of Hyderabad,the Railways has identifiedsites which are likely to fetcharound Rs 500 crore as leasepremium, top sources inRLDA said.

The Rail Land DevelopmentAuthority (RLDA), a statuto-ry authority under the min-istry of railways responsiblefor the development of vacantrailway land, has identifiedsites of at least 10 acres incommercial areas includingMoulali, Mettuguda, Lalaguda,Chilakalaguda and otherplaces of the city, that can begiven on lease.

The Railways has entrustedsites across the city which are

not required for operationalpurpose in the near future.

Besides, it has had also plansto give the G+1 quarters built

enroute to Rail Nilayam inSangeet Cross roads ofSecunderabad.

These quarters are locatedon a four-acre site and meantfor the SCR officials. Thesequarters are given to seniorofficers who have put in a ser-vice of at least 10 years, besidesthe General Manager andAdditional General Manager ofthe South Central Railways(SCR). The quarters have allfacilities, including out housesfor servants, maids and drivers.The quarters were built during1965-70 period.

The Rail Land DevelopmentAuthority has now set its sighton these quarters located onprime land and decided toraise at least Rs 150 crore

alone by giving these quarterson lease to private parties onbuild and operate basis.

Earlier, the RLDA wanted togive the sites on lease for 39years. But no builder evincedkeen interest. Therefore, it isreliably learnt that the author-ity has decided to increase thelease period to 99 years.

The authority has been con-stituted three years ago to gen-erate additional income to therailways by identifying railwaysites and giving them on leaseto the private parties for 99years. The authority will nowgive the prime land inSecunderabad for buildingmajor shopping complexes andbusiness establishments onbuild and operate basis.

RLDA eyes Rs 500 cr lease income from vacant sites

PNS n HYDERABAD

For the fourth consecutiveday, Hyderabad recorded lessthan 100 new Covid caseswhile daily count of infectionscontinued to see a decliningtrend across Telangana, healthofficials said on Tuesday.

Greater Hyderabad record-ed 61 new cases during the last24 hours. The state capital hadrecorded 60 cases on Sundayand 81 on Saturday. On thefirst day of the New Year, thedaily count was 72. For thefifth time in a week less than100 new cases were recordedin the limits of GHMC.

Warangal Urban districtreported 20 new cases whileMedchal Malkajgiri logged in18 new infections. Out of 33districts in the state, only fivereported new cases in doubledigits. According to the direc-

tor of public health and fam-ily welfare, only 253 caseswere reported during the last24 hours, pushing the tally to2,87,993. Three persons suc-cumbed to the virus duringthe last 24 hours, taking thedeath toll to 1,554.

The fatality rate remained0.53 per cent against thenational average of 1.4 percent. The officials said 44.96per cent of the deaths occurreddue to Covid while 55.04 percent had comorbidities.

The fresh recoveries tookthe cumulative number to2,81,400.

PNS n HYDERABAD

In a decoy operation, SpecialOperations Team (SOT) ofMalkajgiri Police busted anonline inter-state human traf-ficking racket at Dammaigudaunder Jawaharnagar PoliceStation limits on Tuesday. Theofficials apprehended oneinterstate woman traffickerand rescued two victims.

The organiser identified asSunitha Mondal, a native ofKolkata, West Bengal hastaken one house on rent atDammaiguda area about fewmonths back and organisingonline prostitution racket.

Sunitha Mondal havingcontacts with other traffickersat Kolkata, Hyderabad andprocuring young girls fromKolkata on contract basis bypaying meagre amount to thevictims as advance and pro-viding them shelter in herhouse and earning money byindulging victims into com-mercial and sexual exploita-tion. Explaining the modusoperandi, Rachakonda Police

Commissioner Mahesh MBhagwat said, "Sunithauploaded attractive pictures ofyoung girls in social mediaplatform to attract young boysand men by providing hermobile number to contact herfor providing females for pros-titution by charging Rs 5,000from the customers."

Based on credible infor-mation, Malkajgiri SpecialOperations Team organiseddecoy operation and appre-hended the main organiserSunitha Mondal, one cus-tomer from Kukatpally andrescued two victims from herpossession.

City sees less than100 Corona cases

Flesh trade racketbusted, 1 arrested

Parents and students of St. Francis College cry foul over offline exams

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Metro Rail services onthe Ameerpet - Assemblystation route were affected forsome time following techni-cal snags in the system.

Metro commuters com-plained that services wereinterrupted for over 20 min-utes from around 11.30 amon Tuesday. Many passengershad to switch to autos andcity buses to reach their des-tinations.

Metro officials informedthat trains were running nor-mal now after the snags wererectified. The signal switchwas rectified in 10 minutesbut trains were made to runin manual mode for sometime as all checks had to bedone and operations had tobe put back in CBTC auto-matic mode gradually, theysaid.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A fire broke out in a TVrepair shop in Kukatpallyhere on Tuesday evening. Nocasualties were reported butelectronics and other furni-ture were damaged in the fire.A short circuit is suspected tohave led to the mishap, policesaid.

Local residents noticed thefire and thick smoke emerg-ing from the premises, whichis surrounded by residentialcolonies. They alerted the firedepartment and Kukatpallypolice immediately and twofire engines rushed to thespot and put the fire out.

Officials said the cost of theproperty damaged was yet tobe estimated.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Special Operations Teamof Shamshabad on Tuesdayarrested 11 people for alleged-ly forging insurance policies inthe name of various insurancecompanies and selling them topeople.

The gang is involved in thepreparation of fake vehicleinsurance policies in the nameof reputed and popular banks.

The accused persons havebeen identified as G Ramesh,T Sairam, G Govardhan, GRamesh, G Raju, A Praveen, GSudheer Kumar, G Krishna, MShankar, Ravi, all pollutiontesting vehicle owners andJeethender, a car driver.

The matter came to lightafter the area manager ofGeneral Insurance lodged acomplaint with CyberabadPolice.

Based on the complaint,police started investigationand apprehended the accusedon Tuesday.

Briefing about the modusoperandi, Cyberabad PoliceCommissioner VC Sajjanarsaid, "The gang used to oper-ate pollution testing vehicles onhighways and near RegionalTransport Authority offices.When a vehicle came for pol-lution testing, they wouldenquire with the owner oninsurance policies and if theydid not have one, they would

convince vehicle owners tobuy an insurance policy on thespot."

Taking advantage of the ruleof RTO offices that it is com-pulsory for all the vehicles toinsurance policies to get reg-istered, the accused roped inRTO agents promising themcommission and throughthem, got vehicle owners tobuy insurance, theCommissioner said addingthat the accused charged thevehicle owners anywherebetween Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.

Three cases were registeredagainst the gang - two in RGIApolice station and one inMedchal police station.

During the raids againstaccused, the police seized 1,125fake insurance policies andRs 57,000 cash.

Further, police also seizedthree pollution testing vehicles.

Fire breaks out intelevision repairshop; electronics,furniture gutted

Cops bust fake vehicle insuranceracket; 11 held, 3 vehicles seized

Glitch delaysMetro Railservices in city

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 6, 2021 hyderabad 04

CAPSULE

PNS n MEDCHAL

Satish of Hiren Enterprisesdonated 291 sanitisers and10,000 disposable masks toRachakonda Commissioner ofPolice Mahesh Bhagwat atNeradmet PoliceCommissionerate. These willbe distributed among policepersonnel of Rachakonda. TheCommissioner of Police hasappreciated Satish, owner ofHiren Enterprises, for hisgenerous act for frontlinewarriors.

SANITISERS

DISTRIBUTED

PNS n MEDCHAL

The Hi-tech Foundation hasdonated mattresses, blankets toSannidhi Home for SpeciallyChallenged Children, run byShankar Foundation at Kohedaof Abdullapurmet mandal.Rachakonda Commissioner ofPolice Mahesh M Bhagwat wasthe chief guest. Fazal of Hi-techFoundation and Dr Sridevi fromSannidhi Home were alsopresent. The Commissioner ofPolice has appreciated theFoundation's gesture.

GESTURE WINS

ACCOLADES

A CHANDRASHEKHAR RAO

n SANGAREDDY

Doctors warned the people tobe cautious as another mutantstrain of Covid-19 was discov-ered in the United Kingdom.

Hence, countries across theworld intensified efforts toprevent the transmission of anearlier mutated strain of thevirus.

People, who heaved a sigh ofrelief with the slowdown of thevirus, are yet again panickedwhile doctors asked the peopleto take preventive measuresdue to cold weather.

“There is no second wave ofCorona in the erstwhile Medakdistrict. Cases are also report-ed below. However, 34 people,who arrived from the UK,had come to Sangareddy dis-trict. All of them were tested,but only one was tested posi-tive. But, it was not the mutantstrain of the virus. Precautionsmust be taken as the cold

intensity is high. One shouldwear the mask and maintainsocial distance,” said Dr MRRathod, DMHO, Sangareddydistrict.

Rumours are abuzz over thespread of a mutant strain ofvirus not only in the media butalso on social media. It may berecalled that nearly 10,000Corona positive cases havebeen registered in Medak and

Sangareddy districts till date.Most of them recovered at

their respective homes.However, 38 people, who aresuffering from chronic diseasesand the elderly died of thevirus. Hundreds of Coronavictims are currently undergo-ing treatment in both dis-tricts.

Though, the Central andState governments are confi-dent of the arrival of the vac-cine soon as the tests are goingon. However, the outbreakappears to have been exacer-bated during July, August andSeptember, but declined inOctober and November.

However, with the end of themonsoon and the onset ofwinter, the climate isfavourable for the spread of thevirus. Both the Central andState governments are con-cerned about the spread of thesecond wave of the virus.

Daytime temperatures aredropping for days a week inboth the districts. The mini-mum temperature was record-ed at 12 degrees. Medak dis-trict has recorded one of thelowest temperatures in theState. There have beeninstances where minimumtemperatures of 7-9 degreeshave been recorded in the

past.Concerns have beenraised that such changes in theclimate could lead to season-al diseases even more danger-ous if combined with theCoronavirus. Symptoms suchas fever, cold and cough aremore common in winter. Withthis, one cannot differentiatebetween the common coldand the Corona. People withasthma, high blood pressure,diabetes and other chronic ill-nesses need to be extra vigilant.As temperatures began todrop, the winter solstice beganin the district.

Already, people are shun-ning wearing masks and notmaintaining social distanceassuming that threat of Covidwas over. Public transport hasbecome normal and the use ofsanitisers also declined. Peopleseem to be busy without tak-ing the minimum precautions.Doctors are warning to remainvigilant for another month asthe threat is not yet over.

MUTANT STRAIN OF COVID

Doctors remind people to be vigilant People, who heaved a sigh of reliefwith the slowdown of the virus, areyet again panicked while doctorsasked the people to take preventivemeasures due to cold weather

PNS n HYDERABAD/WARANGAL

The State finances are in direstraits under the TRS govern-ment, alleged State BJP unitchief Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

He questioned the ChiefMinister to tell as to why hehad failed to distribute Rs10,000 in Warangal when thepeople were affected due tofloods.

He predicted thatHyderabad results would berepeated in WarangalMunicipal Corporation polls,too. Even surveys are in favourof the BJP, he opined.

He pointed out that theCentre has allocated Rs 196crore for the Warangal devel-opment, however, the Stategovernment diverted the fundsby spending only Rs 40 crorefor the development. He asked

Warangal MLAs and ministersto tell whether they will cometo Bhadrakali temple to takeoath on Warangal develop-ment. He alleged thatWarangal TRS leaders areindulging in land encroach-ments. He questioned KCR to

tell as to what happened to onelakh jobs.

The BJP is the only alterna-tive to the TRS in the State, hereiterated. He said that KCRwill be in the Chief Minister’spsot for three more years.However, people would see the

end of the KCR family rulesoon, he predicted. He made itclear that the BJP is the onlyparty, which can face the TRSin the State, and it was provedwith the victories in Dubbakand GHMC elections, and itindicates the party’s populari-

ty among people.BJP leaders accorded a grand

welcome to Bandi Sanjay atJangaon on his way toWarangal on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, healleged that KCR is trying tolure the voters with cash where-as the Centre is allocatingfunds for the development ofTelangana. However, peopleare rejecting the TRS as theyare aware of the party's wrong-doings, he said.

He made it clear that theBJP will make the corruptpractices of the KCR familypublic soon. He alleged thatthe TRS leaders have startedluring the voters to win theforthcoming WarangalMunicipal Corporation elec-tions. However, people areready to reject the efforts ofTRS leaders in Warangal city,

he said.In a statement, he con-

demned the police lathi-charge on BJP Yuva MorchaState president Bhanu Prakashwhen the latter staged a dhar-na at Paradise inSecunderabad demandingthat the government ban the‘Dirty Hari’ movie, which wasreleased on Aha OTT plat-form, as it is objectifying theobscenity. He alleged thatpolice caned Bhanu Prakashdespite complaining of chestpain and detained him at theBollaram Police Station.

Bhanu Prakash’s plea for anambulance fell on deaf ears, healleged. The government isusing police force when theBJP is staging protests peace-fully as it is scared of BJP’sincreasing popularity amongpeople, he pointed out.

State finances in dire straits: Bandi Sanjayn Party president Bandi

Sanjay condemned thepolice lathi-charge on BJPYuva Morcha Statepresident BhanuPrakashwhen the latter staged adharna at Paradise inSecunderabad demandingthat the government banthe ‘Dirty Hari’ movie,which was released onAha OTT platform, as it isobjectifying the obscenity

n He made it clear that theBJP is the only party, whichcan face the TRS in theState, and it was provedwith the victories inDubbak and GHMC polls,and it indicates the party’spopularity among people

D BHASKAR RAO

n KHAMMAM

The Saffron party, which isknown for its dynamic decisionsand was unchallenged across thecountry, is suffering from organ-isational blues in Khammamdistrict as the party has a fewactivists and there are no pop-ular leaders.

In spite of the BJP’s popular-ity in the country, the party posi-tion is at its worse in Khammamdistrict. There is no leaderworth the salt in the district tolead the party. The party’s exis-tence in the district is question-able in the district despite itsexistence dating back to sever-al decades. Utter confusion pre-vailed in the district cadre onwhom should they meet andwhich leader would be able toboost their morale when thechips are down.

Many do not know about theexistence of the BJP in the dis-trict. The party activists andleaders show enthusiasm onlyduring the Assembly elections.Afterwards, they cannot be seenin any of the programmes.Several leaders from otherplaces contested on the BJP tick-

et from here unsuccessfully.The party activists are not tak-ing active part in the party pro-grammes since the contestingleaders are inaccessible in thenormal times but accessibleonly at the time of elections.The BJP did not implementnoted programmes in the dis-trict. The district unit leadershipis found wanting in winning theconfidence of the active partycadre in the district.

The sympathisers of the partyare attracted by the State andnational level leadership, but notthe local leadership. The peo-ple of the district have beeneagerly waiting to have a polit-ical alternative, but the BJP

does not even match the think-ing of the people. There is noeffective leader to implementany party programme in the dis-trict.

Ponguleti Sudhakar joinedthe BJP recently, but his servicesto the party are unlikely tostrengthen the saffron party inthe district.Out of the BJP con-testants in 10 Assembly con-stituencies in the district, onlySridhar Reddy who contestedfrom Palair seat is able to get1,171 votes, while Uppala Sarada,contestant from Khammam seat,got only 2,325 votes.

The municipalities ofMadhira, Wyra, Sattupalli,Kothagudem, Palwancha,Manuguru, Bhadrachalam andIllandu are going to polls soon.The TRS has begun an exerciseto identify suitable candidates.The party has strong cadre atdivision and ward levels. But, theBJP is lagging behind the TRS inthe preparations for the polls. Itdid not hold any meeting tobring all leaders on to a commonplatform. For the party to per-form impressively at the groundlevel, it should have a strong lead-ership at division level. The BJPis not taking steps to identify suit-able leaders.

But, Vice-president of BJPState Kisan Morcha KondapalliSridhar Reddy, said, "There areno groups in the party and wehave provided shelter to thosewho were evacuated by the gov-ernment living on the banks ofGollapadu canal with the help ofNational BC Commission.”

Party district general secretaryRudragani Pradeep said the BJPworkers would fight together forvictory in the forthcomingCorporation elections and thereare no intra-party squabbles inthe party.PNS n RAJANNA SIRCILLA

District Collector KrishnaBhaskar and Superintendent ofPolice Rahul Hegde said that‘Operation Muskan’, the sev-enth instalment, has beenlaunched in the district onJanuary 1 and will continue tillthe end of this month. TheDistrict Collector and theSuperintendent of Policeattended the ‘OperationMuskan’ coordination meetingheld under the auspices of theDepartment of Child Welfareat the meeting hall of theCollectorate and gave instruc-tions to the officers concernedand police.

The Collector here onMonday said child labourers,beggars, street children, miss-ing children and abused chil-dren under the age of 0-18would be identified and res-cued. ‘Operation Muskan’ res-cued 351 children in the dis-trict since January 1, 2017.Health officials were instruct-ed to rescue the children as perCovid regulations and also toconduct Covid tests for them.The Collector pointed out thathuman development is possi-ble only through the protectionof the rights of the children

and to that end, the authoritiesshould take steps to eradicatethe unplanned child laboursystem in coordination.

Rahul Hegde said he wouldextend full cooperation to theofficers on behalf of the policedepartment. He said theywould look into appointing anodal officer to provide fullinformation on how manypeople are identified per day.Authorities were instructed tocarry out the rescue process inaccordance with Covid regula-tions. If any child labour isfound, call Dial 100 andrequest information. He saidthat a team of four constables,including a female constable,deployed in each sub-divisionfor making the programme asuccess.

Komurayya, chairman ofthe Child Welfare Committee,

said the rescued childrenwould be taken care of in awelfare building with quaran-tine facilities in the presence ofthe Child Welfare Committeeand counselling would be con-ducted for the children andtheir parents.

PNS n PEDDAPALLI

Ramagundam Commissionerof Police V Satyanarayanasaid that the Dial 100 facili-ty was useful for timely res-olution of peace and securi-ty issues in Peddapalli andMancherial districts underthe Ramagundam PoliceCommissionerate.

The Commissioner saidthey were receiving informa-tion about fights, attempt tomurders, suicides, road acci-dents and anti-social activi-ties on Dial 100 and that theywere able to resolve the issuesimmediately.

The Commissioner said97 cases related to attemptsand 2,489 cases related toother offenses were resolved.He said that the people areavailing of the facility.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Minister for Education SabithaIndra Reddy said that promo-tions to teachers should becompleted by the end of thismonth following the directive ofthe Chief Minister. She con-vened a meeting with ChiefSecretary Somesh Kumar andother senior officials of the edu-cation department on Tuesdayand held detailed discussions onvarious issues pertaining to thedepartment.

The Education Departmentofficials were directed to preparean action plan to complete thepromotions of various cate-gories of teaching and non-teaching staff. The issues relat-ed to transfers, mid-day meals,TET examination, the openingof educational institutions werealso discussed. The ministerwill finalise these steps after

holding discussions with theChief Minister.

Speaking on the occasion, theChief Secretary reiterated theChief Minister’s instructions tocomplete all promotions by theend of this month in accordancewith the existing system that isin place for promotions.

Special Chief Secretary ChitraRamachandran, PrincipalSecretary Vikas Raj, SecretaryIntermediate Education Jaleel,Commissioner Technical andCollege Education Navin Mittaland Commissioner SchoolEducation Devasena were pre-sent.

PNS n WARANGAL RURAL

MRPS Telangana StateNational president MedipalliPapaiah and State presidentVangapalli Srinivas, alongwith others, staged a dharnain front of the WarangalRural District Collector'sOffice here on Tuesday. Theydemanded that the SCCorporation grant loans toSCs immediately not lessthan Rs 5 lakh. TheCorporation has been askedto extend the date for apply-ing for loans. Later, they sub-mitted a memorandum toDRO Hari Singh.

PNS n MEDCHAL

M e d c h a l - M a l k a j g i r iCollector Shweta Mohantysaid that all the activitiesrelated to the ArmyRecruitment Rally atHakimpet in Medchal dis-trict would be conducted asper the Covid norms.

Addressing the media atthe Collectorate here onTuesday in connection withthe Army recruitment rally,which is slated from March5 to 24 in Hakimpet, shesaid that the SecunderabadArmy Recruitment Officehas directed the officersconcerned and staff to takecare of all the rules and reg-ulations regarding the rallyto be held at Hakimpet.

The Collector said that asper the instructions of theCentral and State govern-ments, necessary arrange-ments will be made for

those coming from acrossthe State following theCovid norms.

She said that the districtadministration wouldextend its support to theTelangana Sports School inHakimpet.

She released the brochurefor the Army RecruitmentRally. Colonel Manoj, DROLinganayak, officials of thedepartments concerned andothers were present.

PNS n JAYASHANKAR BHUPALAPALLY

The government teachers lenta helping hand to the poorgirls, who are facing difficultiesin attending to online classes,as they have been deprived ofsmartphones. Togari Sindhujaand Triveni of Kataram man-dal headquarters, are studyingClass X in the GovernmentSchool for Tribal Girls.Triveni's parents died of AIDSfive years ago and she was stay-ing with her grandparentswhile Sindhuja's father diedrecently due to illness.

The girls have been studyingthere for the past five years.Karimnagar SatavahanaUniversity Prof Sujatha andTirupati Reddy, who works asa government teacher, afterlearning about this, he reachedDhanwada village on Tuesdayhanded over two smartphonesto the girls.

Army recruitmentrally from March 5

Medchal-Malkajgiri Collector ShwetaMohanty addresses a press conferenceat the Collectorate in Medchal on Tuesday

A toymaker giving finishing touches to a product on the pavement of a road in Hyderabad. Many like him from acrossthe country arrive in the city and put up their products for sale on thoroughfares. They eagerly wait for customers sothat they can fend for themselves and their families. Though Corona wreaked havoc, the situation is slowly limping

back to normalcy as one can see footpath vendors getting back to business

– SV Chary

Saffron party faces organisationalblues in Khammam district

Vice-presidentof BJP StateKisan MorchaKondapalliSridhar Reddy,said, “The partyleaders areunited andstriving tostrengtheningthe party”

‘Make Operation Muskan’ asuccess, appeals Collector

n The programme willcontinue till Jan 31

n The Collector said childlabourers, beggars,street children, missingchildren and abusedchildren under the ageof 0-18 would beidentified and rescued.

n ‘Operation Muskan’rescued 351 children inthe district sinceJanuary 1, 2017

Dial 100facilityuseful: CP

BJP State unit chief Bandi Sanjay waves to the crowd in Warangal on Tuesday

Officials told to prepare action plan for promotions

Minister for Education Sabitha Indra Reddy convenes a meeting with Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and other senior officials of the educationdepartment in Hyderabad on Tuesday

Girls getmobiles foronline classes

Dharna stagedfor loans

Ramagundam Commissioner of PoliceV Satyanarayana

Collector Krishna Bhaskar Superintendent of PoliceRahul Hegde

Dr MR Rathod, DMHO, Sangareddy district

TOY MAKERS GETBACK TO BUSINESS

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 6, 2021 nation 05

BJP nominee Dayashankar Tiwariwas on Tuesday elected as themayorof the Nagpur Municipal

Corporation, a civic official said. Theelection was held after the previousmayor,Sandip Joshi, resigned fromthe post last month and announcedthe name of senior BJP corporatorTiwari as his successor for theremaining tenure of 13 months.Earlier, after Nanda Jichkar completed her two-and-a-half-year termas mayor, the BJP had split the remaining tenure of 26 monthsbetween Joshi and Tiwari. Joshi took charge as mayor on November19, 2019. The BJP is currently ruling the Nagpur MunicipalCorporation (NMC) with 107 seats in the 151-member house. Tiwaribagged 107 votes in the election, a civic official said. The electionwas held through video-conferencing during a special general bodymeeting on Tuesday.

INDIA CORNER

Agunfight broke out between thesecurity forces and Naxals inChhattisgarh's insurgency-hit

Bijapur district on Tuesday,following which a firearm, bowsand arrows and some Maoist-related materials wererecovered,police said. No casualtieswere reported in the skirmish thattookplace around 6.30 am inGangaloor police station area, inspector general of police (Bastarrange) Sundarraj P said.A joint team of the Central Reserve PoliceForce (CRPF), its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion forResolute Action) and the district force was out on an anti-Naxaloperation in the area, the official said. While the patrolling team wascordoning off Hirmagunda village forests, a group of armed rebelsopened fire, prompting the security forces to retaliate, he said.Maoists soon escaped into deep forests when the security personnelstarted zeroing in on them, he said. A single-barrel muzzle loading(SBML) gun, a couple of bows and arrows and a cache of materialsof daily use were recovered from the encounter site, the IG said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The National Green Tribunal-appointed Yamuna MonitoringCommittee has asked theCentral Pollution ControlBoard (CPCB) to identify pointsources of pollution leading tohigh levels of ammonia in theriver in Delhi and submit areport by January 10.

The directions from the two-member green panel cameafter the Delhi Jal Board (DJB)alleged that Haryana has notyet stopped discharging indus-trial pollutants in the riverdespite repeated reminders,and urged the CPCB to takeimmediate remedial measures.

The committee cited a mediareport that said ammonia lev-els in the Yamuna at Wazirabadrose to 7 parts per million(ppm) against the permissiblelimits of 0.8 ppm.

“It has also been reportedthat the reason primarily is theindustrial effluent/untreateddomestic sewage entering riverYamuna through Drains no. 6and 8 and through the Rohtakregulator,” the panel, compris-

ing former Delhi ChiefSecretary Shailaja Chandra andretired NGT expert memberB S Sajwan, said.

The incidence of highammoniacal nitrogen concen-tration is sporadic in natureand is generally reported dur-ing the winter months ofDecember-February almostevery year, the committee said.

“Considering the recurringnature of the problem, it isincumbent upon the CPCBand Haryana State PollutionControl Board (HSPCB) toput in place a robust surveil-lance system, particularly dur-ing the critical winter months,for monitoring the activities ofthe industries and the func-tioning of STPs and also take

coercive action against thedefaulting units,” it said.

The panel asked the CPCBto associate with HSPCB anddepute a team to identify pointsources of pollution leading tohigh levels of ammoniacalnitrogen in the Yamuna andsubmit a report by January 10.

The YMC has also taken upthe matter with the Chief

Secretary of Haryana, request-ing him to direct authorities totake immediate action to pre-vent flow of untreated sewageand industrial effluent fromHaryana into river Yamuna.

The DJB had recently said itwill consider moving courtagainst the "apathetic" Haryanagovernment as it is yet to stopthe discharge of pollutants inthe Yamuna which affectsdrinking water supply in thenational capital.

The utility said it will soonstart work to install ozonationunits at the Chandrawal andWazirabad plants to treat highlevels of ammonia. High levelsof ammonia in the Yamunahave prompted the DJB toreduce or stop water produc-tion at its plants at least fivetimes this year. According toofficials, the DJB's water treat-ment plants can treat up to 0.9parts per million ammoniaconcentration in the riverwater. If the ammonia contentis higher than this, the rawwater is diluted with freshwater from the Upper GangaCanal or the Munak Canal.

NGT panel tells CPCB to identifysources of pollution in Yamuna PNS n NEW DELHI NEW DE

West Bengal government hasdenied in the Supreme Courtthe allegations that death ofBJP leader Debendra NathRoy, who was found hangingin July last year, was a “politi-cal murder” and said thatprompt and efficacious inves-tigation has been conducted inthe matter by the state CID.

In its reply affidavit filed inthe apex court, which is hear-ing a plea seeking transfer ofinvestigation in the case to theCBI, the state has said thatWest Bengal criminal investi-gation department (CID) hasinvestigated all aspects of thecomplaints as well as possiblecauses of death and has alreadyfiled a charge sheet in the com-petent court.

It claimed that the petition-ers, while raising “unfoundedallegations” against state policeauthorities, have relied on thetweets by high-ranking publicofficials to wrongly assumethat the incident was pre-planned or that state machin-ery was involved.

“It is denied that the deathof Debendra Nath Roy was a

political murder or that thestate machinery was used orwas an accomplice or involvedin any manner in causing suchdeath and it is denied this wasa shame on society and violat-ed the right to life guaranteedto the citizens of this nationunder Article 21 of theConstitution,” said the replyaffidavit filed by Dy.SP CID,Malda zone.

Roy was found hanging nearhis home in Hemtabad area ofNorth Dinajpur district onJuly 13 last year. He was elect-ed as an MLA in West Bengalfrom CPI (M) in 2016 and hadlater joined the BJP in 2019.

The plea came up for hear-ing on Tuesday before a benchcomprising Justices AshokBhushan, R S Reddy and M RShah.

The petitioners, ShashankShekher Jha and SavioRodrigues, sought time torespond to the affidavit filed bythe state.

The bench posted the mat-ter for hearing after two weeks.

In its reply affidavit, the statehas sought dismissal of the pleaand said that “allegations andspeculations” by the petition-ers that Roy was first killed andthen hanged is false and with-out any basis.

WB denies that BJP leader’sdeath was ‘political murder’

Maharashtra: Dayashankar Tiwarielected Mayor of Nagpur

Security forces engage in gunfightwith Naxals in Chhattisgarh

Vishwa Hindu Parishadand Bajrang Dalmembers were detained

by police during a protest onTuesday over the demolitionof a Hanuman temple atChandni Chowk in Delhi.The temple was demolishedon Sunday by the North DelhiMunicipal Corporation in accordance with court orders as part of theongoing Chandni Chowk beautification plan. The protesters, carryingsaffron flags and raising slogans, took out a march from the GauriShankar Mandir to the site where the temple existed. They werestopped by police at a barricade. According to VHP spokespersonMahendra Rawat, around 15-20 workers and leaders, including itsDelhi unit president Kapil Khanna, vice president Surendra Gupta,secretary Ravi and Bajrang Dal state convener Bharar Batra weredetained during the protest. A senior police official said 27protesters who gathered near the Gauri Shankar temple on Tuesdaywere detained owing to COVID-19 guidelines. They were taken to anearby police station and released later. These protesters belongedto Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal outfits, the official said.

VHP, Bajrang Dal workersdetained during protest

Atotal of 389 cadets,including 19 cadets fromfriendly foreign countries,

enrolled in the 144th course ofthe National Defence Academy(NDA) in 2020, a top officialsaid on Tuesday.This clarification came from LtGen Asit Mistry, Commandant,NDA, after a few fake socialmedia posts quoted himsaying that the intake at the premier institution had come down."A total of 370 Indian cadets and 19 foreign cadets, that is, total 389cadets have joined the last course i.e. 144th NDA course,” Lt GenAsit Mistry said. "Unverified social media posts quoting me on poorintake in NDA are fake and malicious," he added.

389 cadets enrolled in 144th NDAcourse in 2020: Commandant

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi government hasdirected all schools in thenational capital to sensitiseparents against driving of vehi-cles by underage students andabout its legal consequences.

Schools have also been askedto ensure that no student whois underage be allowed to com-mute to and from school dri-ving any vehicle.

"Incidents of offences byjuveniles while driving vehiclesare on the rise. In this context,attention of all parents andheads of schools of Delhi isbrought to the Section 199 A (1and 2) and 199 B of 'TheMotor Vehicles (Amendment)

Act, 2019'...," the Directorate ofEducation (DoE) said in a let-ter to school principals.

The law states that if an

offence has been committed bya juvenile, "the guardian of orthe owner of the motor vehi-cle shall be deemed to be guilty

of the contravention and shallbe liable to be proceededagainst and punished accord-ingly", it said.

"Students and their parentsshould be made aware of theabove provisions of the law and

penalties and consequences oftheir violations through class-room instructions, schoolassembly (whenever schools re-open), online instructionalmediums used by the teachers,parent teacher meetings, schoolnotice board," the DoE said.

Help of school managementcommittee members can alsobe taken to spread awareness inthis regard, it said.

Schools have been directedto sensitise parents to ensurethat no student who is under-age and does not hold a validdriving license be permitted todrive any vehicle or commuteto and from school driving anyvehicle, according to the DoEletter.

‘Sensitise parents against driving of vehicles by minors’ Schools have beendirected to sensitiseparents to ensure thatno student who isunderage and doesnot hold a valid drivinglicence be permitted todrive any vehicle

PNS n CHENNAI

Heavy rains lashed Chennaiand its suburbs since earlyTuesday, prompting authori-ties to gear up for releasingsurplus water from theChembarambakkam Reservoir here and alert people liv-ing on the banks of Adyar riverto be on the vigil.

The incessant rains, whichreturned to the city after abreak of several weeks, led towater logging in several roadsand motorists and others faceda tough time reaching theirdestinations. The Met officehere issued an alert for heavyrain (7 cm to 11 cm) at isolat-ed places over Villupuram,Chengal pattu, Chennai,Kancheep uram, Cuddalore,

Nagapatti nam and Tiruvannamalai districts in Tamil Naduand Puducherry on Tuesday.

Officials said about 500cusecs of surplus water wouldbe released from Chem-barambakkam Reservoir, oneof the major sources of themetropolis' water require-ments, into Adyar River.

"In the first phase, 500cusecs of surplus water will bereleased from Chembaramb-akkam reservoir," an officialrelease here said.

Authorities advised peopleliving close to the banks ofAdyar River and other chan-nels that carry the surpluswater from the reservoir to notget close to the river or otherwater bodies and stay at safeplaces.

Heavy rains lashChennai, suburbs

PNS n HATHRAS (UP)

Four people, including twochildren, have died and fivewere injured when a truckcollided with their car andoverturned on it in UttarPradesh's Hathras district,police said on Tuesday.

Nine people from Alwar inRajasthan were headingtowards Kasganj to take a dipin the Ganga. The accidentoccurred on the Mathura-Bareilly road on Mondaynight, Sikandra Rao policestation incharge PraveenKumar said.

A crane was used toremove the truck that hadfallen on the SUV. Thedeceased have been identifiedas car driver Ram NiwasMeena (26), Ram Bakshi(35), Juliebai (10) and AnandMeena (5), Kumar said.

The bodies of the deceasedhave been sent for post-mortem, the officer said.

Four die in car-truckcollision

PNS n MUMBAI

The Maharashtra governmentwill seek some clarificationsfrom the Centre on the twoCOVID-19 vaccines approvedfor the restricted emergencyuse before launching a massinoculation drive in the state,Health Minister Rajesh Topesaid on Tuesday.

Addressing reporters, Topealso said a dry run will be con-ducted across Maharashtra onJanuary 8 to check the pre-paredness of the mechanismrolled out for the vaccinationexercise.

On the availability ofCOVID-19 vaccine, Tope saidthe Centre might inform thestate government in the next 10days about the largescale avail-ability of the dosages.

He said cold storage facilitiesand supply chains are being set

up in Maharashtra, which hesaid is ready to launch the massvaccination.

"There are some clarifica-tions we are seeking from theCentre about the approvedvaccines, as they have beencleared for use citing the emer-gency situation. Maharashtrawill raise its concerns about thevaccines during national videoconference with Union healthminister scheduled on January7," Tope said.

A dry run to assess thereadiness of the mechanismlaid out for the COVID-19immunisation drive, which isexpected to begin soon, wasconducted in four districts ofMaharashtra on Saturday.

"Maharashtra will join thenationwide dry run on January8 which will be conducted inevery district of the state. Themock drill will be helpful for

the state to see whether the sys-tem developed for mass vacci-nation is working properly onnot," Tope said.

On Sunday, the DrugsController General of India(DCGI) approved OxfordCOVID-19 vaccine Covishield,manufactured by the SerumInstitute, and indigenouslydeveloped Covaxin of BharatBiotech for restricted emer-gency use in the country,paving the way for a massiveinoculation drive.

Commenting on the cost ofa vaccine, Tope said that theCentre should provide a vac-cine free to those living underbelow the poverty line.

"Two doses (of a vaccine)will cost Rs 500 as every per-son needs to take two doses.However, I am of the opinion

that the Centre should bearthe cost of purchasing vaccines

and supplying them toMaharashtra".

He said that poor people canstill find it difficult to pay Rs500 for a vaccine.

"As the Centre has alreadystopped the supply of masks,ventilators and RT-PCR kits,the Maharashtra government isprocuring these items byspending from the state exche-quer.

The state cannot ignore itsduty when the help from theCentre is shrinking," Tope said.

The state health ministeralso expressed his concernsover the possibility of resump-tion of flights between Indiaand the UK, where a newstrain of coronavirus hasemerged.

India had suspended all pas-senger flights connecting thetwo countries from December23 to January 7.

‘Maha wants clarifications from Centre’

PNS n NEW DELHI

India's COVID-19 active case-load, which has been fallingsteadily, stands at 2,31,036 andaccounts for a "paltry" 2.23 percent of the total infectionsreported so far, the UnionHealth Ministry said onTuesday.

This has been made possi-ble as daily recoveries are out-numbering new infections for39 days in a row, the ministrystated.

"Against 29,091 people whorecovered in a 24-hour win-dow, India reported only16,375 new cases, maintaininga steady level of testing.

"A net decline of 12,917

cases has been recorded in thetotal active cases in a day," theministry said.

India's cumulative recover-ies are inching closer to the 1-crore mark. The tally of recov-

ered cases stands at 99,75,958as of now.

The ministry said 82.62 percent of the 29,091 new recov-eries were contributed by 10states and union territories.

PNS n KOLKATA

BCCI chief and former TeamIndia captain Sourav Ganguly,who underwent angioplastyfollowing a mild heart attack,is now stable with no com-plaint of chest pain or breath-ing issues, noted cardiologistDr Devi Shetty said onTuesday, after monitoring thecricket icon's health.The former Indian skipperwill be discharged from hos-pital on Wednesday, he said.

Ganguly was diagnosedwith three blocked coronary

arteries on Saturday, fol-lowing which a stent wasinserted in one to remove theblockage.

Dr Shetty, who flew downto the city in the morning tocheck on the BCCI president,said the 48-year-old is an"asset" to the nation, and themild heart attack that heexperienced did not causeany damage to his health.

The cardiac surgeon, fol-lowing his meeting with ateam of 13 doctors atWoodlands Hospital here,also said that the battinggreat can return to normal, as"his heart is as strong as itused to be when he was 20years old".

Coronavirus: India's activecaseload down to 2.31 lakh

PNS n KOLKATA

West Bengal Minister of Statefor Youth Services and SportsLaxmi Ratan Shukla resignedfrom his post on Tuesday,sources in the state secretari-at said.

Shukla sent his resigna-tion letter to Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee and a copyof it to Governor JagdeepDhankhar, they said.

The former cricketer's res-ignation came almost a fort-night after state transportminister Suvendu Adhikarihad left the party and joinedBJP. Repeated calls to Shukla'smobile went unanswered.

WB Minister Ratan Shukla resigns

‘Mild heart attacknot to have impacton Ganguly's well-being’

PNS n NEW DELHI

Top MP government officialson Tuesday apprised the ECon the action initiated againstthree IPS officers and otherswhose alleged role in the useof black money during the2019 Lok Sabha polls came tothe fore after the I-TDepartment raided formerchief minister Kamal Nath'sclose aides.

State Chief Secretary IqbalSingh Bains informed thatthe state Economic OffenceWing has registered PE (pre-liminary enquiry) in the mat-ter. He also sought twoweeks' time to apprise theElection Commission (EC)of further action in the mat-ter, a commission spokesper-son said.

State Additional ChiefSecretary (Home) RajeshKumar Rajora was also pre-sent at the meeting.

MP officialsapprise EC ofaction against 3 IPS officers

APPROVED COVID VACCINES

Apprehensions have beenexpressed that the BJP’sideology will get mixedup, if not downright viti-

ated, by the entry of politiciansbrought up in alien thought process-es. The probability of such confu-sion is very low for the simple rea-son that most of the new membersjoining the BJP happen to beHindus. There would, therefore, beno contradiction between theirown private lives and what shouldbe projected in their public life andpolitical expression. In contrast, ifa person like me were to join, say,the Revolutionary Socialist Party(RSP) at the age of 50, for a year ortwo, I would not know whether Iam coming or going; it would besomewhat traumatic.

I have been brought up in thebelief of karma and, in the RSP, Iwould need to switch over and starthaving faith in a PermanentRevolution as preached by LeonTrotsky, Vladimir Lenin’s favouritenumber two until he lived. Thisfavourite leader wanted to go onwith the revolution until he hadconverted the whole world to com-munism. If I read the Das Kapital,the Bible of Marxism, I would comeacross the foundational tenet: Fromeach according to his ability, to eachaccording to his need. These wordsare simple but the message behindthem could take an average politi-cian some exercise in mental diges-tion.

A similar challenge had facedBR Ambedkar who had resolvedthat he would not like to die aHindu. In that case, the questionarose, which religion should he andhis many followers convert to?Babasaheb adopted the thinkingmethod of reductio ad absurdum.First, he took up Christianity andrejected it because it was of a for-eign origin; it would, therefore, havea denationalising effect on his fol-lowers. Moreover, by having moreChristians, Ambedkar felt that theywould add to supporters of theBritish rulers. Islam also had a for-eign origin; more Muslims couldmean greater support to the creationof Pakistan. Thus reasoning, hiseventual choice fell on Buddhism.

For politicians, joining the BJPis like coming home; what theyshould have politically believed in,and are now believing in. If they arecommitted to secularism, they cancontinue down that path. The ques-tion of Church and State being sep-arate or otherwise does not arise inthe case of the Temple. Virtuallyevery temple can follow its own rit-ual of worship; how can it theninfluence the Government? In any

case, Hinduism has never had ahabit or tradition of dabbling inpolitics. State governance was theexclusive function of the ruler.But the fact is that since the earlysun rose in the mists of time, theIndic ethos has been Hindu (orcall it Sanatan or Vedic). Thatcame through in the reasoning ofAmbedkar as discussed above.

Traditionally, in the West,especially in America, the com-mon folk identified all Indians asHindus and then enquiredwhether one was a HinduMuslim or Hindu Christian orHindu Hindu! To them, thesound of the word “India” firstrang the bell of the American RedIndian. Some Nehruvians mighthave been embarrassed but, mostof the time, the identity of Indiahas been Hindu. The birth ofPakistan intensified this trend.

The Hindu Mahasabha wasfounded in 1915, incidentallyafter the Muslim League was created by Lord Curzon in Dacca(now Dhaka) in 1906 after induc-ing Nawab Salimullah of Daccawith a loan of £1,00,000. TheBharatiya Jana Sangh came intobeing under the leadership ofSyama Prasad Mookerjee in1951. The RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS)helped him with some full-timeworkers. In 1977, to fight the gen-eral elections immediately afterthe end of the Emergency, theJana Sangh — like several otherparties — merged with a newcombine called the Janata Party.In 1980, the Jana Sanghis left this party to form the BharatiyaJana Sangh; to start with, its manifesto was based aroundGandhian Socialism.

The centre point of theparty’s ideology is “nation aboveall else”. It is the anti-thesis of the

supranationalist communism.The Islamic supremacy of theummah above the nation is sim-ilarly disapproved. Care as muchas possible but even socialism isnot favoured as it contradicts thefaith in karma as the decisiveinfluence in life. The Hinduview of life sees a contradictionbetween liberty and equality;the latter causes levelling downof liberty to achieve it. How can

one control anyone’s betterkarma? Welfare for all, yes, butforced equality, no.

Imperialism and theexploitation of other countries arewrong. It is equivalent to robbery.Collective unity of one’s own peo-ple in order to dominate othersis wrong. Instead, the Hindublessings are with those whostrive to actualise themselvesand, thus, bring out the best inthemselves. Killing of animalsand birds is not desirable and theJains, in particular, are sensitiveto the destruction of even vege-tation that is grown below theground. The worship of thepeepal tree is symbolic of theHindu respect for ecology. Mostof the ills that one sees are theresult of centuries of rule by oth-ers over Hindustan.

There is not a great deal ofpolitical or ideological literature.Nevertheless, Veer Savarkar firstdefined Hindutva or Hindunessin a single volume. It is valuablefor those who wish to study thetheoretical aspects of the ideol-ogy. After that, there is a volumecalled The Saffron Book and, it isreported, a book called TheGrammar of Hindudom is underpublication. It is noteworthy thatit is the only ideology which isAsia’s own, unlike all other polit-ical theories which are foreign orrather European.

Ideology is essentially aWestern phenomenon, just aspolitical science is a Europeanpreoccupation. In sharp contrast,we in India have so far to ourcredit only two theses on this sub-ject: One, the famousArthashastra written more than2,500 years ago; and the second,published only two years ago,titled Krishna Rajya. Hindu Indiahad only one history book,

Rajatarangini, by Kashmiri schol-ar Kalhana, which again wasmany centuries ago.

On the other hand, theEuropean political parties areguided by their ideologies, whichare many; beginning with com-munism on the extreme Left, towhat is understood as fascism onthe extreme Right. Take Britain,for example; only recently, JeremyCorbyn was an extreme socialist.Earlier, there was Aneurin Bevan,who incidentally designed andimplemented Britain’s famousNational Health Service. HaroldWilson, who was the PrimeMinister, had the reputation ofbeing a Leftist. Comparatively,Clement Attlee was a middle-of-the-road politician while hiscontemporary Hugh Gaitskellwas looked upon as a liberal. Yet,all these men belonged to theLabour Party.

On the Conservative Partyside, Sir Anthony Eden was aRightist and went to war againstEgypt in 1956 over the SuezCanal. Yet earlier, there wasEnoch Powell who declared that“rivers of blood will flow in England as a result of immi-gration”. Later, Margaret Thatcherwas a Right-winger and anti-socialist. Even fascism, consid-ered Right extremism, did notspare British politics. Sir OswaldMosley, a son-in-law of LordCurzon, openly admitted tobeing a fascist. Despite all thesedifferences in ideology, leaders —even eminent ones — occasion-ally did change their parties.Winston Churchill, who waslooked upon as a dire conserva-tive, had for a few years crossedover to the Liberal Party.

(The writer is a well-knowncolumnist and an author. Theviews expressed are personal.)

There are exactly two weeks to go before JosephBiden is sworn in as the 46th President of theUnited States (US) on the steps of the US

Capitol in Washington DC. His predecessor DonaldTrump is, however, not giving up and recent reve-lations about a phone call that he made to theSecretary of State in the US State of Georgia is asbizarre as it is frightening. In a recording made avail-able to the US media outlets, Trump is heard ask-ing the Georgia officials to “find” 11,780 votes sothat he can overturn Biden’s narrow win in that State.American constitutional and legal experts believe thatTrump’s phone call was inherently illegal and couldland him in trouble once his presidency ends. The

45th President of the US, ironically the man who is trying to thwart democracy itself,sounds increasingly desperate when he proclaims that he would “fight like hell” tohold on to the presidency; the fact that all the 10 living former Defence Secretariesrecently wrote in an Op-Ed that “the time for questioning the results has passed”,notwithstanding. But as if matters were not bad enough, a whole host of US law-makers and the Congress and Senate — many of whom owe their political careersto Trump — have said that they will try to delay the certification of the results. Thisdespite the fact that Biden not only won enough US States to win the convolutedElectoral College, he also won a plurality of votes.

The 2020 US Election had the highest turnout in history and while Trump is rightin claiming that he polled more votes than any incumbent US President in history, itwas more a function of the higher turnout and an increased population. Biden wonthe popular vote by over seven million, having a margin of 4.4 per cent over Trump.Trump’s attempts to overturn this election are a little different from the protesters’who cried “Not My President” when Trump won in 2016. Sowing the seeds of doubton the electoral process, just like sore losers do in India when they blame the elec-tronic voting machines, is the worst possible thing to do to build confidence in democ-racy. The US elections prove that it is a deeply divided country and Biden and hisVice-President Kamala Harris have a tough task uniting a country that talks in termsof ‘Blue’ States and ‘Red’ States. If the world is to look up to the US and not China,the 46th President has to be less divisive and become the Uniter-In-Chief.

Finally, India@75, the hashtag and sloganthat’s being touted as the Narendra ModiGovernment’s crowning glory in perpetuating

a new idea of nationhood, is a reality. For, its sym-bolic representation — a new Parliament buildingand a redone Central Vista — has received theSupreme Court’s nod. Of course, the top court, whileclearing the redevelopment initiative and settlingquestions regarding changed land use and environ-ment compliance raised in a clutch of pleas, has putin several riders to avoid any runaway ambitions orcreativity. It has clarified that the Government will

need the clearance of the Heritage Committee before beginning the project. But thefact that a dissenting judge in the three-member Bench expressed concerns aboutthe Government’s lack of public consultation doesn’t quite assuage anxieties overthe tampering with what is considered Delhi’s cultural landmark and iconic identi-ty. The Bench has even made smog towers mandatory as part of the constructionprocess to keep pollution in check. And the Central Vista revamp is massive as itenvisages a new triangular Parliament building with a seating capacity for 900 to1,200 MPs and synergised administrative blocks, to be completed by August 2022.On its part, the Government has been arguing for a makeover of this part of Lutyens’Delhi for its functionality and efficiency, claiming that it would create spaces for amore streamlined operation of Ministry offices and free up more citizen-friendly spaces.But the purpose is entirely political, an attempt at rewriting history and concretis-ing a political legacy. It is the Modi regime’s attempt to overwrite our Colonial pastand redesign an institution as wholly Indian, as representative of its people and epoch-making simply because no Government had thought of this before. Proponents ofthis line of thought cite examples of democracies overturning Colonial legacies, beit the Capitol building in the US or Australia’s current Parliament building in Canberra,which opened in 1988 and became a source of Australian pride. They argue thatas the world’s most populous democracy, there needs to be a new sense of own-ership about our institutions. Does that mean that we are doing away with all Colonial-era markers and rituals, or simply making a point to show the transformative intentof a naya Bharat? In short, it is a power statement that overlays the Modi regimeas a change-making moment in history which is, in fact, an expensive indulgenceof political egoism than the Spartan commitment to our Constitution.

Yet, tradition has been sitting easily with modernity in Delhi, where each suc-cessive ruler lives through relics and monuments that have never overshadowedeach other. Delhiites themselves have never denied heritage its place — Rajput,Islamic, European or Colonial — and made it a part of their living history, one whereLutyens’ Delhi is a key chapter. There is no question of outdoing the elegance andclassicism of design — the green pavilions, perches, cupolas and the islands arethe only democratic spaces where citizens can move and roam around freely, catch-ing the afternoon sun in the middle of winter and the gentle breeze of a summerevening. The cluster of offices would undoubtedly change the skyline as we knowit and their ramped-up security would rob us of an indulgent spread in the heartof the city. Shouldn’t the Government be wiser to leave a legacy of policy and gov-ernance instead of seeking a place-based identity? And shouldn’t the Governmentbe more concerned about upholding the dignity and respect for as well as inde-pendence of institutions in its pursuit of legacy? Prime Minister Narendra Modi does-n’t quite like the “Lutyens’ world” and the power structures and codes embeddedin it. “I am a representative of the non-elite world. For me, everything is about thepeople of India,” he had said earlier. But in the name of breaking elitism, one can-not justify point-scoring as a historical imperative. Or even the political economyit will generate — the project is expected to run into multi-crore tenders. There arefruits of preservation; they serve as reminders of what was and, as a referencepoint, help us learn lessons. There are no gains of demolition, forcibly reconstruct-ing the past to suit our narrow ends. Given the secrecy around the makeover pro-ject, one hopes that the least the Government can do is to keep it transparent, con-sultative, reasonable and synchronise its character with the aspiration of Delhiitesto be the citizens of a world heritage city. The city’s application, which was sub-mitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in 2013,lists Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone along with Shahjahanabad (old Delhi) as the ratio-nale for seeking the tag. That sure will have a longer legacy than proving a pointfor the BJP’s election manifesto in 2024.

SC nod to makeoverP 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 | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 6, 2021

06

Finding democracy

Top court greenlights Govt’s Central Vista project with caveats but will it be another symbolic ritual?

The United States will find it hard to sell democracy if its leaders can't fix their own

Jumping shipPoliticians of other hues joining the BJP begs the question if its ideologywill be obscured. But, as history shows, there's no reason for such doubt

PRAFULL GORADIA

IDEOLOGY ISESSENTIALLY A

WESTERNPHENOMENON,

JUST AS POLITICALSCIENCE IS A

EUROPEANPREOCCUPATION.

INDIA IS IN SHARP CONTRAST

Jab safety concernsSir — The approval for emer-gency use of COVID-19 vaccineshas been given only on the basisof safety data which have not yetbeen made public. Any doubtsregarding the safety and effica-cy of the vaccines will adverselyaffect the proposed large-scalevaccination programme.

Such doubts regarding thelack of transparency and reason-ing in the approval process haveraised many eyebrows. Theminutes of the meeting of theSubject Expert Committee arealso not in the public domain.In such a situation, people areapprehensive because of thehurry and opacity in rolling outthe vaccine when data from thephase III trials are perhaps nomore than a few weeks away.

In other countries, toppolitical leaders, including theUS President-elect and the VicePresident-elect, have taken thejab in public to inspire confi-dence among people. Similarly,our Prime Minister should alsoinstill confidence among thepeople by taking the dose of theCovaxin in its approved trialmode.

Shovanlal Chakraborty Kolkata

Need to be cautious Sir — It is heartening to knowthat all the players involved inthe restaurant episode havetested negative for COVID-19.The Indian cricket team hasbeen under scrutiny of theAustralian media ever since avideo surfaced of five Indianplayers dining inside aMelbourne restaurant on Friday.

Team India is already facingmany problems with injuries toits bowlers like MohammedShami and Umesh Yadav, whohave been declared unfit toplay the rest of the Test series.

Virat Kohli, who was onpaternity leave after theMelbourne Test, is also notavailable for the remainder of theseries. There is already a lot of

hue and cry regarding the fourthTest and quarantine rules havebeen imposed in Brisbane.Already, much of the sportingactivity has been lost to the pan-demic. Hence, it is the respon-sibility of all the players to actmore responsibly and not breachthe bio-secure bubble.

V Nagendra Kumar Hyderabad

Let the birds liveSir — It is really heart-wrench-ing to see the pictures andvideos of hundreds of birdslying dead on the roads andpavements of Rome, Italy. Thedeaths occurred due to fireworkdisplays on New Year’s eve.

Animal rights groups havecalled it a massacre. Many are ofthe opinion that the birds diedafter getting knocked against oneanother or they hit the electriclines and windows out of fear.

Not only in Rome but evenin India and elsewhere, we seeanimals and birds panickingand running haphazardly dur-ing such displays of firework.

The birds are an integralpart of the food chain and foodweb and their mass destructionwill disrupt the balance ofnature. Once disturbed, thisbalance is hard to restore.

Animal rights organisationsand Governments across theglobe must take urgent measuresto prevent such incidents infuture and should create moreawareness among citizens.

M PradyuKannur

It’s time to abolish Legislative Councils

The State Legislative Councils or Vidhan Parishadsshould be abolished as they are just white elephantsand nothing more than a rehabilitation centre for

politicians and their favourites. The Vidhan Parishads(Upper Houses) have turned out to be a huge burdenon the exchequer and become a refuge for the politi-cians who lose in the elections.

The practice of horse-trading is common in theStates having bicameral legislature. The VidhanParishads were gradually abolished by many States afterIndependence. The existence of a State LegislativeCouncil has proved to be politically controversial and anumber of States, that have had their Upper House dis-solved, have subsequently requested for its re-estab-lishment. As of now, only six out of 28 States have aState Legislative Council. There is rampant misuse ofthe Vidhan Parishads for political and personal favoursin States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Karnataka.Moreover, the State Legislative Council plays no role inthe passage of the money Bills.

Similar demands have also been raised in Britainfor abolishing the House of Lords; yet the Upper House

of Indian Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, must be retainedas it still serves some fruitful purpose. However, strin-gent rules regarding the attendance of members, theirmedical fitness and against the misuse of money andpower should be enforced. Our democracy cannot letthe Rajya Sabha become a club of billionaires and celebri-ties. Those who have lost elections to the Lok Sabhaor Assemblies must not be allowed to become mem-bers of the Rajya Sabha for the next six years.

Madhu AgarwalDelhi

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

India...their greatest strengthover the last couple of series hasbeen their (bowling's) discipline;they have been so disciplined.Ashwin is bowling very well.

Australia coach

Justin Langer

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

Reality shows can be a greatstarting point. It was a greatexperience for me as well. Havingsaid that, I did have to establishmy solo career on my own. Ithink it's a great stepping stone.

SingerNeha Bhasin

We will have to adopt the BJPmodel but with slight change.We need to accommodateHindutva philosophy also. We will form 10-member committees at all booths.

JD(S) leaderHD Kumaraswamy

It is the triumph of justice. I commend England's actionbecause WikiLeaks founderJulian Assange is a journalistand he deserves a chance.We will give him protection.

Mexican PresidentAndres Manuel Lopez Obrador

S O U N D B I T E

Much ado about NPAs

THESE JUMBO COMMITTEES SERVE NO PURPOSE. 32

VPS, 57 GS, 104 SECRETARIES. NONE WILL HAVE ANY

AUTHORITY WHICH MEANS NO ACCOUNTABILITY.

—CONGRESS MP

KARTI CHIDAMBARAM

MANY HARD-WORKING PEOPLE HAVE MADE IT TO

THE COMMITTEE. THOSE (WHO) BECAME MPS

BECAUSE OF THEIR FATHER DON'T UNDERSTAND.

—CONGRESS GENERAL SECRETARY IN TN

K MAHENDRAN

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

As we step into the new decade, the woes ofthe last decade seem to have spilled overinto the new one, especially where the

beleaguered banking sector is concerned.According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s)estimates, the Gross Non-Performing Assets(GNPAs) of banks may increase from 8.5 per centin March 2020 to 12.5 per cent by March this year.For public sector banks (PSBs), the deteriorationis estimated to be more problematic and theGNPAs could be anywhere between 11.3 to 15.2per cent under the “baseline scenario.” SomeCassandras warn that the situation could be worse.Their relentless scaremongering could potential-ly hurt economic revival that requires a majorincrease in bank lending.

In December 2020, scheduled commercialbanks had total outstanding deposits of`145,91,773 crore while their outstanding loansand advances added up to only ̀ 105,04,536 crore.A bank’s primary function is to lend againstdeposits and earn enough to make profits afterservicing deposits. Data show that banks haveenough money to lend more and they must behelped to give more loans. However, a lot of goodborrowers are out of the banking net. Banks nodoubt face certain risks especially in the prevail-ing situation due to the pandemic but there is noneed to panic. But first, we need to answer thequestion, what is an NPA? For a bank, an NPAis the amount of loan or an advance for whichrepayment of any due instalment of principal ordue amount of interest is not cleared within 90days of the “due date.” Interestingly, for agricul-tural loans it is “within two crop seasons for shortduration crops” or within “one crop season forlong duration crops.”

If default of payment continues beyond oneyear of the due date, the NPA is called“Substandard Assets.” If a NPA default continuesbeyond two years of the due date the NPA is called“Doubtful Assets.” If auditors find that the NPAis due to an incurable default, they classify it as“Loss Assets.” Does anyone expect a business toalways make a profit? The answer is an emphat-ic “no.” Because this is an unrealistic expectationand every business will face a loss or just aboutbreak even, many times in its years of existence.This is because how a company makes its moneydepends a lot on external factors. Likewise, lend-ing is also a business and a bank always runs therisk of a loan or a part of it or the interest not com-ing in. A bank hoping to lend money only to safeborrowers will not run for long because 100 percent safe borrowers generally don’t need to takeloans or are disinclined to do so.

Past efforts for resolution of Stressed Assetsseemed to be showing results because, after reach-ing a peak of 11.5 per cent at the end of March2018, the GNPAs of scheduled commercialbanks came down to 8.5 per cent by the end ofMarch 2020. So the first thing to note beforeresorting to scaremongering is that more than 90per cent of bank loans and advances are being ser-viced with a delay of 90 days at the most. It doesnot mean that the remaining bank loans wheredebt servicing is delayed beyond 90 days are adead loss for banks because they have enoughsecurities to cover most of these balance loans suf-fering from problems in debt servicing.

As a pandemic relief measure, all borrowerswhose loan accounts were classified as standardas on February 29, 2020, were allowed a mora-

torium till August 31. This was done toensure that this period was not count-ed in the 90 days’ default period and wasnot classified as an NPA account.

The Supreme Court had inSeptember 2020 directed that no bankaccount should be declared an NPAuntil the disposal of pleas seeking anextension of the moratorium period.The final verdict on this is expectedsoon.

What perhaps escapes attention isthat the concerns regarding NPAs or badloans in popular parlance are exagger-ated due to the conservative approachof the RBI. Banks are told to classifyloans as performing or non-performingonly on the basis of timely repaymentsof loans and interest, even when thereis no erosion in the availability and valueof the security or net worth of the bor-rower/guarantor.

The 90 days’ default rule to tag aloan account as an NPA is a rough andready, easy to implement, blunt regula-tory tool. It indicates an income impair-ment of the borrower or liquidity riskbut certainly not solvency risk. The“income impaired” borrower may ormay not be “asset impaired.” Therefore,if we create a new subclass of NPAsbased on the 90-day rule, with an assess-ment of solvency risk, then it should bepossible to refine capital adequacynorms and evolve a differential capitaladequacy requirement for NPAs whereunderlying securities are not material-ly impaired. Betting on the banking sec-tor’s NPA level once the loan morato-rium is lifted amounts to betting on theextent of the pandemic’s impact on eco-nomic growth and on the incomes ofborrowers. Such betting is not econom-ics or mathematics but politics.

If the banks have enough securitybehind the loan they have given out(house, vehicle, gold, shares, bonds and

so on) and the borrowers are not allcrooks, the loans will be serviced.There might be some delay, some re-scheduling or loan restructuringrequired, but eventually the bank willget its money back, with interest. Thereis no need to press the panic button.Heavens will not fall merely becausesome loans, interest or equated month-ly instalments (EMIs) are not paid with-in 90 days of the due date.

The Government and the RBI haveto take some steps to see that the loansand advances of good borrowers areproperly restructured and the debtrecovery process becomes efficient interms of time and value recovered.Banks need to raise additional capitalto meet regulatory requirements,depending upon what kind of NPAsemerge. Banks also need liquidity sup-port to service the deposits during theperiod the borrowers face liquidityproblems but have sufficient assets tocover their loan liability.

Every code and every rule book hasenabling clauses to deal with exception-al situations. Rules of normal times don’tapply in abnormal times. The pandem-ic is the time to invoke these exception-al powers to fine-tune the regulatorypolicy on recognition of a bad loan andthe level of additional capital needed bybanks to cover definite loss fromirrecoverable loans due to the lack anderosion of underlying securities.

The impact of the contagion on theeconomy is temporary and low inflationhas softened what would have otherwisebeen a harder blow. Assessments andperceptions about population segment-wise distribution of pain may varyaccording to commentators but it isabundantly clear that at an aggregatelevel, the nation will recover from thecrisis fast enough. A high recovery andlow fatality rate, fast resumption of eco-

nomic activity in several sectors, bothformal and informal, as evidenced byseveral high frequency indicators, arevery good signs. Hence, loan servicingwill happen albeit with some delay.

By and large, Indian banks are pret-ty conservative and most of the loans areheavily secured, backed by good valu-able securities. The problem comes inenforcing the security because the legalsystem does not allow it so easily. Whatwe need is a system of vigilance and dili-gence on the assets mortgaged for theloans and advances. The genuinenessand continued existence of assets mustbe watched and digital tools can bedeployed for this.

There is no harm in giving borrow-ers providing adequate security anextended moratorium. But what weneed is a system that will protect thebanks’ securities during the moratori-um period so that these are not dilut-ed or alienated or encumbered further.We require a robust system of oversighton these securities. This is particularlyso for small borrowers below `2 crorewho have been helped by theGovernment based on the RajivMehrishi Committee report.

In India, the credit-to-GDP ratio isjust 50 per cent. Many good borrowerslike households and businesses dependon informal channels of finance. Indianbanks are not lending enough and theyare being far too risk-averse. Banks needto use modern digital tools to improveloan surveillance and lend more byusing digital technologies to improvecredit product design, pre-sanctionappraisal and post-sanction oversight onend use. This will help boost the econ-omy of the country in the long run.

(The writer is former SpecialSecretary, Ministry of Commerce and

Industry. The views expressed are personal.)

There might be a delay, some re-scheduling or loan restructuring may be required buteventually the bank will get its money back with interest. There is no need to panic

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

Stock markets infor a rough ride

HIMA BINDU KOTA

The new year is full of hope. Investors expect thissentiment to be mirrored on the bourses but they

might end up being disappointed

SUBHASH PANDEY

INDIAN BANKSARE NOT LENDING

ENOUGH ANDTHEY ARE BEING

FAR TOO RISK-AVERSE.

BANKS NEED TO USE

MODERN DIGITALTOOLS TOIMPROVE

LOANSURVEILLANCE

AND LEND MORE BY USING

DIGITALTECHNOLOGIES

TO IMPROVECREDIT PRODUCT

DESIGN, PRE-SANCTION

APPRAISAL ANDPOST-SANCTIONOVERSIGHT ON

END USE

The year 2020 was one of lost lives, livelihoods, businessesand shattered economies. However, the new year has broughtthe hope that the march of the virus would be contained through

mass inoculation and result in the global economy recovering fromthe onslaught of the contagion. Usually, fiscal recovery is led by arevival in the stock markets and the bourses show improvementmuch before the actual economic upturn. This is because stockprices are forward-looking and investors buy scrip based on theirexpectations of the future and not on past data or present informa-tion. So what do the bourses have in store for us this year?

Both the benchmark indices, Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex, start-ed the year with a bang, ending on record highs with Nifty 50 end-ing above the 14,000 mark and the BSE Sensex above the 48,800levels. The sentiment was boosted by the expectation of econom-ic revival. So, will the markets continue to rise further? Since thepandemic broke out in India at the end of March 2020, the Nifty50 rose to double its level from 7,500 to above 14,000 as on January1. In the US, the NASDAQ Composite index, too, rose from the 7,000range in March 2020 to almost touch the 13,000 mark on the lastday of the year. Nikkei 225, the benchmark index of Japan too,showed the same trend and gained 66 per cent to reach the 27,444mark at the end of the year. This worldwide phenomenon of con-tinuous stock market rise during the most difficult times in livingmemory shows that the bourses have already incorporated and pricedin the news of positive results of the COVID-19 vaccination and earn-ings revival.

A trendline typically confirms the direction of the market by con-necting the troughs and the peaks. An upward trend connects allthe troughs and creates a support line. The strength of this upwardtrend and the support line is tested by the numerous times it is ableto stop a price breach. Historically, looking at the last 10 years, therehas been an overall primary uptrend in the Nifty 50 from the levelof 2,700 in 2009 to 12,000 in January 2020, with minor secondarydownturns in 2010-2011 and 2015-2016. After a steep drop in March2020, Nifty 50 started another uptrend which lasted the entire year.At the current levels of above 14,000, the sentiment still remainsbullish and there is a strong possibility of the markets moving past14,500 in the near future. However, the upward trend during thelast year shows that all the positive news about economic revivalhave already been reflected in the prices. On the downturn, Niftymay find support levels in the range of 11,000-13,000.

Options are considered information channels for the markets,which eventually result in stock price changes. As options marketsare the preferred trading markets for informed investors, volumeand open interest play an important role as predictive tools to fore-cast the movement of the underlying stocks as they can developan early earning mechanism for any market crisis. They also rep-resent the strength and potential of price change of the underlyingasset. Therefore, an important indicator to consider is the put-calloptions volume ratio.

This contrarian-sentiment investment measure is one of themost important tools to predict the market’s direction by trackingthe daily and weekly volume of puts and calls in the stock marketand gauging the sentiments of the investors. Puts are generally boughtas an insurance against a market decline, whereas calls are boughtas a directional bet for bullish markets. So when put volume increas-es, expectation of the market decline increases and when call vol-ume increases, expectation of market uptrend increases. The put-call ratio for the options in Nifty with various expiry dates from Januaryto February this year is increasing steadily, from 1.17 for Nifty optionsexpiring on January 7 to two for Nifty options expiring on February4. This shows that the put options volume is steadily increasing,showing a possibility of a short-term downtrend.

The new year is full of expectation of positivity and hope. Investorsexpect this sentiment to be reflected in the stock markets but theyhave to understand that bourses are leading indicators and last year’srally has already incorporated the economic revival. The uptrendmay continue till the 14,000-15,000 levels. However, these levelshave a psychological barrier and we may see a market correctionsoon. Support levels can come in the range of 11,000-13,000. Thenew year may not see just an uptrend but would also witness someprofit booking. Any downtrend due to profit booking could be anopportunity for people to invest for the long-term. This year couldalso see increased earnings as most of the companies were ableto reduce their operating costs last year during the pandemic. Thismay help them to increase their earnings this year. A revival of earn-ings would go a long way in improving stock market returns. Overall,there is hope for economic revival this year. However, since the infor-mation has already been reflected in the stocks last year, this yearthe markets may see a bumpy ride.

(The writer is Associate Professor, Amity University, Noida.The views expressed are personal.)

The Uttar Pradesh (UP)Government’s decision toinclude a khadi fashion show in

UP Day celebrations is recognition ofthe sector’s role in inclusive develop-ment and its employment potential.Khadi and handloom fabrics are asintegral to our cultural heritage as zariis to a trousseau. The Rigveda, theMahabharata and the Ramayanaexpound upon the art of spinning andweaving. Woven cloth, bone needlesand spindles were found in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Block-printedfabrics, mainly of Gujarati origin, dis-covered in Egyptian tombs, exhibit thedemand of Indian cotton textilesabroad and their export since the 19th

century B.C. This tradition of excel-lence has been preserved by genera-tions of skilled artisans and weavers.Today, the khadi-handloom sectoremploys over four million weavers andallied production workers. The textilesector is the second-largest employerafter agriculture in India. However, the2010 Handloom Census revealed thatthe number of weavers was decliningat a rate of seven per cent per annum,the count of handlooms was dwindlingand a weaver earned a meagre `3,400per month as against the all India aver-age of ̀ 4,500 per month for any otherworker. With the next generationbeing sceptical and disinterested in thecraft, the Indian handloom industryis on the verge of becoming extinct.

The need of the hour is to segre-gate the sector into subsectors andwork on the strengths of each. Indiaoccupies an enviable place in the worldas 85 per cent of the global handloomproduction occurs in the country.Other handloom producing nationslike Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh,Cambodia and Indonesia manufacturea very limited range of products,

which is mainly for domestic use. Indiahas the capability to meet the demandfor handmade products across theglobe due to its demographic advan-tage and cultural heritage. We need toalign our rich legacy with the demandsof the modern era by incorporating lat-est designs. A Benarasi or Chanderiweaver can earn more if s/he contem-porises the sari and diversifies intoexportable accessories like stoles,scarves, ties, belts, bags and so on. Thisproduct development calls for a strongcollaboration between weavers anddesigners. Another crucial dimensionin the value chain is marketing, thatneeds to be understood, appreciatedand exploited. Premium handloomproducts like the Patan Patola,Baluchari, Jamdani, Ikat and Kanineed to be projected as niche products.With their unique designs and distinctweaving techniques, they should betargeted only at the affluent so thatweavers get high returns.

However, this strategy is intend-ed only for highly skilled weavers withwhom designers associate. They con-stitute only 20 per cent of the hand-

loom weavers who produce 80 per centof the high-value items. The remain-ing 80 per cent of the weavers wouldneed to be dealt with differently.

Handloom textiles face a seriousthreat in the marketplace when pow-erloom cloth is clandestinely sold ashandloom. As a layman cannot distin-guish a powerloom product fromhandloom, the Handloom Mark is aguarantee to the buyer that the prod-uct is genuinely handwoven. However,there is a need to generate awarenessamong the people about theHandloom Mark. Something as sim-ple as a one-line commercial duringthe daily soaps on television could beinstrumental in enlightening the tar-get group. Plus, only products carry-ing the Handloom Mark should beexhibited at Government-sponsoredexhibitions in India and abroad. Apartfrom raising awareness, this would alsoensure that only genuine handloomweavers derive benefit from the salesat such expos and Governmentschemes.

However, we must not lose sightof the fact that the sector provides

direct and indirect employment to overfour million people, all of whom can-not be trained immediately to makeintricate, high-end products. They arethe durrie makers, the gamchha andtowel manufacturers. They needGovernment support of a differentkind. Apart from reservation of arti-cles for production only on hand-looms, they need subsidised yarn andcredit. Credit is available to the sectorat six per cent interest rate. If imple-mented in earnest, this can provide themuch-needed working capital to spin-ners and weavers, apart from helpingthem in putting up facilities for dye-ing, processing and finishing of hand-spun and handwoven fabric. TheHank Yarn Obligation makes itmandatory for spinning mills to pro-duce certain percentage of their yarnin the hank form required for hand-looms. The need is to strengthen theimplementation machinery and ensureeffective enforcement in the field sothat every producer who manufacturesyarn for powerloom or mill consump-tion, packs at least 30 per cent of thatin hank form.

If small units in the sector have totake up spinning and weaving on acommercial scale, this would requiremodification of the workstations.They should be ergonomicallydesigned to produce more and betterquality threads and fabrics at a fasterpace. They should be modular, easy toassemble and transport. A solar pow-ered spinning wheel is the need of thehour. A semi-automatic loom could bea good solution wherein the motivepower is provided by the weavermanually and various other motionsare synchronised to obtain betterspeed and productivity. These couldalso be coupled with an automatictake-up and let-off mechanism.Technological innovations can createnew possibilities for design develop-ment and the production process.There is a strong need for focusedincentive schemes towards khadi andhandloom research.

For both couture and mass pro-ducers, there is a need to generate asense of pride with the occupation.Hand spinning as well as weavingneeds to be treated as a modern pro-

fession. As a first step, professionalinstitutes like Industrial TrainingInstitutes, polytechnics, the NationalInstitute of Fashion Technology(NIFT) and the National Institute ofDesign (NID) can start impartingtraining in khadi and handloom clus-ters. A NIFT or NID certificate willinstill a sense of pride apart fromupgrading skills of weavers and spin-ners. Acquiring these standardised,employable and marketable skills willearn them due recognition in the jobmarket and society. In a world increas-ingly inclined towards standardisationand mass production, khadi and hand-loom provide a refreshing changebecause of their uniqueness, flexibil-ity and versatility. The sector representsthe country’s traditional craft that hasbeen patronised and promoted sincetimes immemorial. We must never for-get that the sector has been sustainedby transferring skills from one gener-ation to another and it is crucial to keepGen Next in the profession.

(The writer is Additional ChiefSecretary, UP Government. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

Time to give a modern touch to an ancient skillAs a first step, professional institutes like the ITIs, polytechnics, NIFT and NID can start imparting training in khadi and handloom clusters

MONIKA S GARG

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 6, 2021

www.dailypioneer.com analysis

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 6, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

UltraTech Cement on Tuesdaysaid it has raised Rs 1,000 crore

through allotment of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) onprivate placement basis. OnDecember 26, the company said itis considering a proposal to raise

funds by issuance of 10,000 rated, listed, non-convertible,redeemable, unsecured NCDs of Rs 10,00,000 each aggregating toRs 1,000 crore on private placement basis on or after December 30,2020. “The company has approved the allotment of unsecuredredeemable non-convertible debentures amounting to Rs 1,000 croreon private placement basis," UltraTech said in a regulatory filing.These NCDs have a coupon rate of 4.57 per cent per annum and willbe listed on National Stock Exchange of India. Tenure of the NCDs istwo years 358 days, the company added.

Infrastructure developer DilipBuildcon on Tuesday said it has

incorporated a special purposevehicle (SPV) for road projectworth Rs 882 crore in Gujarat. "The company has incorporated aspecial purpose vehicle (SPV) for anew HAM (hybrid annuity mode)

project named as Dhrol Bhadra Highways as a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of Dilip Buildcon," the company said in a regulatory filing.The product is for four laning of Dhrol-Bhadra Patiya section of NH-151A and Bhadra Patiya-Pipaliya Section of NH151A in Gujaratthrough public private partnership on design, build, operate andtransfer (the DBOT annuity or hybrid annuity) basis. In November2019, the government approved the HAM for building NationalHighways to speed up the construction of roads in the country.

CMS Info Systems will set up3,000 ATMs by March for State

Bank of India (SBI) as thecountry's largest lender looks toexpand the outsourced model. Theoutsourced model or Brown LevelATM (BLA) is managed by the

service provider on behalf of bank. Most of these ATMs are offsiteATMs. "CMS has received mandate from SBI for a deployment of3,000 ATMs. As a part of the term sheet, CMS will select the site,deploy ATMs, provide cash management services, regularmaintenance, and upkeep of ATMs," CMS Info Systems PresidentManjunath Rao told PTI. With this, he said, total number of BLAsunder CMS Info Systems would increase to 5,000.

CMS Info Systems to set up3,000 ATMs for SBI by March

UltraTech Cement raises Rs 1,000 crore via NCDs

The New York Stock Exchangesays it is withdrawing plans to

remove shares of three Chinesestate-owned phone carriers underan order by President DonaldTrump. The exchange cited “furtherconsultation” with U.S. regulatorsbut gave no other details of itsdecision in a notice issued lateMonday. The NYSE earlier

announced plans to remove China Telecom Corp. Ltd., China MobileLtd. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. after Trump's order inNovember barring Americans from investing in securities issued bycompanies deemed to be linked to the Chinese military. Hong Kong-traded shares in the three companies surged Tuesday. China Telecomrose 5.7 per cent, China Mobile jumped 5.5 per cent and ChinaUnicom surged 6.7 per cent. Shares in all three have fallen recently.The Chinese government has accused Washington of misusingnational security as an excuse to hamper competition and haswarned that Trump's order would hurt U.S. and other investorsworldwide. Political analysts expect little change in policy underPresident-elect Joe Biden due to widespread frustration with China'strade and human rights records and accusations of spying andtechnology theft. US officials have complained that China's rulingCommunist Party takes advantage of access to American technologyand investment to expand its military, already one of the world'sbiggest and most heavily armed.

Dilip Buildcon incorporates SPVfor road project worth Rs 882 cr

NYSE withdraws plans to delist three Chinese phone carriers

PNS n NEW DELHI

A committee set up under thechairmanship of former unionsecretary G K Pillai to fixceiling rates under a dutyrefund scheme - RoDTEP - forexporters is expected to sub-mit the complete report in thenext few weeks, a top govern-ment official said.

Finance Secretary AjayBhushan Pandey said thatimmediately after getting thereport, the RoDTEP(Remission of Duties andTaxes on Exported Products)rates would be notified.

"The G K Pillai committeehas given a part report. Nowthe remaining report is expect-ed within the next few weeksand as soon as the reportcomes, we will be able to noti-fy RoDTEP rates. But thoserates will be effective fromJanuary 1, 2021," he said.

The scheme would refundto exporters the embeddedcentral, state and local dutiesand taxes that were so far notbeing rebated or refunded andwere, therefore, placing India''sexports at a disadvantage.

The refund would be cred-ited in an exporter's ledgeraccount with customs and

used to pay basic customsduty on imported goods. Thecredits can also be transferredto other importers.

An exporter desirous ofavailing the benefit of theRoDTEP scheme would have

to declare his/her intention foreach export item in the ship-ping bill or bill of export.

Availability of benefitsunder tax refund scheme -RoDTEP - for exporters wouldbe subject to the conditions,

restriction, ineligibility andfulfilment of proceduralrequirements as notified by thegovernment. The new schemeis replacing the MEIS(Merchandise Export fromIndia Scheme). In March, thegovernment had approved theRoDTEP scheme for reim-bursement of taxes and dutiesto exporters, with a view togive a boost to the country'sdwindling outbound ship-ments. The country's exportsdeclined by about 16 per centto about USD 200 billion dur-ing April-December this fiscal.

Rates for exporters' duty refundscheme to be notified soon

Availability ofbenefits forexporters wouldbe subject tothe conditions,restriction,ineligibility andfulfilment ofproceduralrequirements asnotified by thegovernment

PNS n TOKYO

Asian shares were mixed onTuesday as Japanese sharesechoed pullbacks on Wall Streetwhile other regional indexesrecouped earlier losses amidcontinuing worries about surg-ing coronavirus cases.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei225 shed 0.4% to 27,159.27 asthe government was preparingto declare a state of emergencyin Tokyo and several surround-ing areas.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200inched down less than 0.1% to6,681.90. South Korea's Kospigained 1.0% to 2,975.05, whileHong Kong's Hang Seng added0.4% to 27,577.74. The ShanghaiComposite climbed 0.5% to3,521.75.

Japan's prime minister hassaid the government is consid-ering declaring a state of emer-gency to help curb the spread ofinfections. The move is expect-ed this week. Tokyo GovernorYuriko Koike and the governorsof Saitama, Chiba and

Kanagawa asked the nationalgovernment over the weekendto declare the emergency afterthe capital saw a daily record of1,337 cases on New Year's Eve.

US stocks pulled back fromtheir recent record highs, as bigswings return to Wall Street atthe onset of a year where thedominant expectation is for apowerful economic rebound tosweep the world.

“With the seven-day averagenew cases still hanging in the600 K zone globally, few are like-ly expecting the market to bespared the resurgence ofCOVID-19 fears,” said JingyiPan, senior market strategist atIG in Singapore.

“Certainly, with the amalga-mation of factors ranging fromthe UK's third nationwide lock-down announcement, US hos-pitalisations surging to a recordand Tokyo mulling a state ofemergency, these had all beenevidence of the still raging pan-demic inducing the risk-offmood to start the year for USindices," Pan said.

The S&P 500, which ended2020 at an all-time high, slid1.5% after earlier dropping asmuch as 2.5%. It was the bench-mark index's biggest decline

since late October. Technologycompanies accounted for a bigshare of the sell-off, along withindustrial, communication ser-vices, health care and other

stocks. Only the S&P 500'senergy sector managed to ekedout a gain.

The selling comes as coron-avirus cases keep climbing atfrightening rates around theworld, threatening to bringmore lockdown orders thatwould punish the economy.

The worsening numbers alsoraise the possibility that WallStreet has been overly optimisticabout the big economic recov-ery it sees coming because ofCOVID-19 vaccines. Tuesday'supcoming runoff elections todetermine which party controlsthe Senate may also be con-tributing to the volatility.

“We've got a wobbly start tothe year here,” said Lindsey Bell,chief investment strategist atAlly Invest. “Investors are look-ing for a reason to lock in prof-its. The selling is probably a bitoverdone.”

The S&P 500 fell 55.42points to 3,700.65. The DowJones Industrial Average also fellfrom its record set last week,shedding 1.3%, to 30,223.89. At

one point, it was down 724points. The tech-heavy Nasdaqcomposite lost 1.5%, to12,698.45.

Small company stocks, whichhave been notching solid gainsin recent weeks, also fell. TheRussell 2000 index of smallercompanies dropped 1.5%, to1,945.91. Investors have beenhoping that vaccines will allowdaily life around the world toslowly return to normal. That'shelped spark a recent recoveryfor stocks of travel-related busi-nesses, smaller companies andother industries left behind formuch of the pandemic.

In the United States, regula-tors have already approvedtwo other vaccines. China lastweek gave the greenlight for itsfirst domestically developedvaccine. Others are also beingtested.

In energy trading, bench-mark US crude lost 20 cents to$47.42 a barrel in electronictrading on the New YorkMercantile Exchange. It shed 92cents to $47.62 on Monday.

Asian stocks mixed after Wall St retreat as virus cases rise

US stocks pulled back from theirrecent record highs, as big swingsreturn to Wall Street at the onset of ayear where the dominant expectationis for a powerful economic rebound tosweep the world

PNS n NEW DELHI

Enunciating his energyroadmap, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Tuesdaysaid the share of natural gas inIndia's energy basket will bemore than doubled, energysources diversified and thenation will be connected withone gas pipeline grid to helpbring affordable fuel to peopleand industry.

Inaugurating a 450-km nat-ural gas pipeline betweenKochi in Kerala to Mangaluruin Karnataka, he said Indiaunder his government is see-ing unprecedented work onhighways, railway, metro, air,water, digital and gas connec-tivity which will aid econom-ic development.

The government has an"integrated approach to ener-gy planning. Our energy agen-da is all-inclusive," he said.

While on the one hand, thenatural gas pipeline network isbeing doubled to about 32,000km in 5-6 years, on the other,work on the world's biggesthybrid renewable plant com-bining wind and solar powerhas started in Gujarat.

Also, the emphasis is beinglaid on manufacturing biofuelsas well as electric mobility, hesaid.

These measures will helpIndia move away from beinghighly dependent on pollutingcoal and liquid fuels for meet-ing its energy needs.

As much as 58 per cent of allenergy consumed in the coun-try currently comes from coalwhile petroleum and otherliquids make up for 26 per centof the energy basket. Share ofnatural gas is just 6 per centwhile that of renewables is lessthan 2 per cent.

Modi said the share of nat-ural gas, which is cleaner andcan be transported throughpipelines thereby cutting vehic-ular movements needed forother fuels, is targeted to beraised to 15 per cent by 2030.

By the same time, petrol willbe doped with as much as 20per cent of ethanol extractedfrom sugarcane and other agro

products, he said.This would help cut reliance

on imports for meeting oilneeds as well as reduce carbonemissions.

Also, the focus on renewableenergy by using abundantenergy from the sun and windto generate electricity and pro-moting the use of battery-operated electric vehicles willhelp India meet its COP-21commitments for cutting car-bon emissions.

The Prime Minister said thegovernment is working with avision to connect the entirenation with one-pipeline gridthat will help improve cleanenergy access as well as also aidin the development of city gasprojects.

The new pipeline inaugurat-ed on Tuesday is part of thatplan, he said.

This new line will help takethe fuel to industries such aspetrochemical plants and fer-tiliser units as well as providefuel for city gas projects forsupply of CNG to automobilesand piped cooking gas tohouseholds in cities along theroute, he said.

It will also help a 5 milliontonnes a year liquefied natur-al gas (LNG) import terminalat Kochi to achieve full capac-ity. The terminal has beenoperating at less than 10 percent of the capacity for last fewyears as there was no pipelineto take the gas to users.

Outlining the work done byhis government in the energysector, Modi said 900 CNG sta-tions were set up till 2014 fromthe advent of CNG as fuel forautomobiles in the countryaround 1992.

PM's energy roadmap: More than doublenatural gas share, diversify energy sources

As much as 58 per cent of all energyconsumed in the country currentlycomes from coal while petroleum andother liquids make up for 26 per centof the energy basket. Share of naturalgas is just 6 per cent while that ofrenewables is less than 2 per cent

n The scheme would refund to exporters the embeddedcentral, state and local duties and taxes that were so farnot being rebated or refunded and were, therefore,placing India''s exports at a disadvantage

n The refund would be credited in an exporter's ledgeraccount with customs and used to pay basic customsduty on imported goods. The credits can also betransferred to other importers

PNS n MUMBAI

The Exim Bank has started thenew year on a high note rais-ing USD 1 billion through adollar-bond sale to interna-tional investors, offering just2.25 per cent for the ten-yearmoney, setting a new low inpricing.

The issue was oversub-scribed four times or worthUSD 4 billion as against USD1 billion on offer, managingdirector David Rasquinha said,adding that in Asia the issuewas oversold within threehours of the launch with theorder book hitting USD 1.75billion Monday morning.

"At 2.25 per cent (US trea-sury+145 bps), the coupon isa record low for any 10-yearbond issuance out of the coun-try," he said.

The issue has many a firsts,Rasquinha said, pointing tothe lowest coupon (2.25 percent per annum) ever for alarge USD bond offering by adomestic issuer, and is also thefirst investment-grade dollarbond sale from Asia ex-Japanin 2021 and also the largestfrom Asia ex-Japan in theyear.

Again, this is the first EMBIeligible 144a/RegS bond fromAsia ex-Japan in 2021.

Regulation S/144a bondsare issued by foreign issuers inthe US debt market and aredenominated in US dollars.

I-bankers are expectinghigher debt money to come todomestic shores this year giventhe record low interest rates.Companies will also be raisingmoney to meet the likely capexneed or repayment demandsas the economy returns to nor-malcy after the year-long pan-demic.

In January 2020, the Exim

Bank had raised USD 1 billionin 10-year dollar money offer-ing US Treasury plus 1.70bps. Normally, the bank issues5, 7 and 10-year debt to meetits project export needs.

For Exim Bank, the currentissue saw the largest orderbook and over-subscription(four times) for a RegSissuance.

The Exim Bank, with a sub-stantially dollarised balancesheet, is one of the largestdomestic issuers of long-termdebt in international debt cap-ital markets and its paper istreated as quasi-sovereign asthe bank is fully owned by thegovernment.

The funds from the sale willbe used to support projectexports, overseas investmentby way of long-term credit andits export lines of credit port-folio, the bank said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Gaming firm Nazara Techn-ologies Ltd on Tuesday saidPlutus Wealth ManagementLLP and its associates haveacquired shares worth overRs 500 crore of the companyfrom WestBridge.

Plutus Wealth Managem-ent LLP & its associates haveacquired shares worth overRs 500 crore in Nazara fromWestBridge Ventures IIInvestment Holdings, a fundmanaged by WestBridgeCapital in a secondary trans-action between the parties, astatement said.

"This transaction marksthe complete exit fromNazara by WestBridgeVentures, which had been anearly investor in Nazara since2005," it added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Public procurement portalGeM is using high-end tech-nologies such as ArtificialIntelligence and blockchain tomake the portal more dynam-ic and help both buyers andsellers for smooth transac-tions, a senior official said.

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal waslaunched in August 2016 foronline purchases of goods andservices by all the central gov-ernment ministries and depart-ments.

GeM CEO Talleen Kumaralso said the number of star-tups registered with the portalhas more than doubled to7,900 in 2020 on account ofsteps being taken by the plat-form to attract budding entre-

preneurs."As on December 31, 2020,

there are 7,900 startups nowwith cumulative transactionvalue of Rs 2,256 crore com-pared to 3,849 startups with acumulative order value of Rs938 crore a year ago," he said.

He added that overall, thereare over 49,000 buyers, 9.36lakh sellers and over 20 lakhproducts at the platform.

About use of modern tech-nology tools, he said in theprocurement of drugs or med-icines by government organi-

sations, GeM has identifiedblockchain as the go-to tech-nology to introduce a safe, dis-tributed infrastructure for sup-ply chain.

Procurement of drugs ormedicines in bulk is currentlynot available on GeM as trace-ability and authenticity in thesupply chain for drugs areparamount in the procure-ment by government organisa-tions.

“A blockchain project forProof of Concept for showcas-ing product supply chain visi-bility and traceability in pro-curement of medicines in bulkin two districts of UttarPradesh...and by establish-ments under the DirectorGeneral, Armed ForcedMedical Services (DGAFMS)is currently underway," he said.

Exim Bank sells bondsworth $1 bn to globalinvestors at dirt low rate

GeM using AI, blockchain tech: Kumar

Plutus Wealth,associates buyNazara sharesworth `500 cr

Impose special duty on retailers:Traders’ body urges governmentPNS n KOLKATA

Owners of small businesseshave demanded imposition ofa special tax of five per cent ononline retailers and lowering ofincome tax rate to 22 per centon partnership and LLP firmsin the next Union budget tohelp them survive, a traders'body said on Tuesday.

Traders and retailers, whohave been going through atough time in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic, con-tribute about 22 per cent to thecountry's GDP and providesemployment to lakhs of people,Federation of All India VyaparMandal (FAIVM) claimed inits budget proposal to theUnion Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman.

"The traders' community ofIndia has been in a miserablecondition after the demoneti-

sation and the complex GSTsystem were implemented. Thegrowing e-commerce businesshas further raised the questionof survival of nation's brick andmortar trade. So it is veryimportant to impose a specialtax of five per cent on the totalbusiness of online retailers,"FAIVM general secretary V KBansal said.

The traders' body alsoclaimed that the online retail-ers have experienced a surge in

their revenue and reportedsales of USD 4.1 billion in aweek of October 2020 duringthe festive season.

"An income tax on partner-ship firms and limited liabili-ty partnership entities shouldbe levied at 22 per cent, insteadof 30 per cent at present. Thiswill bring it at par with incometax applicable to corporate," hesaid.

The FAIVM has alsorequested the government tooffer an interest subventionscheme for loans being provid-ed to traders so that they cancontinue their businessesunder the present circum-stances.

Service sector retail busi-nesses should also be given allbenefits which are beingextended to MSMEs, includingthe issuance of UdhyogAdhaar.

Service sector retailbusinesses should begiven all benefits whichare being extended toMSMEs, including theissuance of UdhyogAdhaar

The funds from thesale will be used tosupport projectexports, overseasinvestment by wayof long-term creditand its export linesof credit portfolio

Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

WednesdayJanuary 6, 2021

ven though it has been achallenging year for varioussectors, including the tattooindustry, we have seen a fairshare of tattoo trends thistime. As minimalistic trends

were on the rise, we could see themicro pieces of ink popped up every-where. Right from the neck tattoos tomatching pieces shared amongfriends, there were plenty of optionsto take inspiration from. Just like tat-toos, we also saw some piercingtrends. While some people choosemakeup or outfit as a means ofexpressing their style, some prefer todo this through various accessories —and ear piercings are one of the mostvisible ways to do so.

The year 2021 is upon us, and thereare various emerging tattoo and pierc-ing trends to try this year. Here’s a listto choose from:

Realistic

These tattoos are characterised bymaximising the life-like quality ofanything we see in the world — mon-uments, animals, flowers etc. It canalso be categorised as a “3D” tattoowith accurate representations of real-life imagery.

It is important to note that a real-ism tattoo done by an inexperiencedartist or someone who isn’t trained inthat particular style can be a disaster.But if done right, it will surely makeyou stand out. Tattoo expert, LokeshVerma, founder of Devil’z Tattooz, isknown for his coloured realism andportraits style of tattooing that is mas-tered by only a few people across theworld.

Sternum

Also known as chest tattoo, thesetattoos are considered among one ofthe best chest tattoos for womenbecause it looks great aesthetically andgives a feminine feel.

“People are crazy over these charm-ing sternum tattoos; it is done over anintimate place which means it’s not foreveryone to see all the time. Theunder breast area is a sensitive spot,closer to your bones so you can defi-nitely expect this one to hurt. Theamount of pain will also depend onthe kind of design and style you havechosen and the kind of artist you arewith. So, go for a rather simple designif you are a first timer,” says celebritytattoo artist, Vikas Malani, co-founder, BodyCanvas Tattoos.

Soundwave/TalkingA new, revolutionary way to

immortalise voices or your favouritetune through body art is the futuristic,latest invention in the world of tattoo-ing. “Soundwave tattoos are a newtechnology and it’s really cool. Youcan have the messages or sound ofyour special one and hear it anytimeyou want. This is more like a codedmessage which no one else can know,but whenever you feel like hearingtheir sound you can just scan the tat-too and playback,” says Lokesh Verma,who is known for pioneering sound-wave audible tattoos in India.

Here is how it works: Record anaudio clip between five to 30 secondsof your loved ones and send it to yourtattoo studio. They will create asoundwave of that audio clip and inkit on your skin permanently which

you can playback by scanning it withyour mobile phone whenever youwant to hear their precious voice.

So, if you want to tattoo the sound-wave of your baby’s first words, a mes-sage from your partner or the voicemessage in memory of your lategrandparent/loved one, then go forthis tattoo.

Armband

These are for people who want boldtattoos. While they are mostly popularamong men, it has also gained a lot offemale attention nowadays. Armbandsare usually like a bracelet usually doneon arms as the name itself suggests.They can be of different types - solidblack or with a theme like tribal, man-dala, polynesian, nature-related orspace-related. These tattoos can lookvery cool and aesthetically pleasingwithout taking up too much space onthe forearm or bicep.

Portrait

These are mostly rendered in a real-istic style that portrays head shot of aperson. Portrait tattoos are usually fortattoo lovers who want to memorialisean important figure or person. Theytypically represent something orsomeone extremely meaningful -could be of a loved one who recentlypassed away, a newly born baby, a petor your favourite musician.

Minimal

“Less is more” is the word on thestreet. Too much makeup, too manyaccessories, loud clothing, etc. is nomore in trend and might lose anyone’sattention. People simply don’t haveany clue where to look first. The sameapplies to tattoos. Often, it’s the daintytattoos that have a huge influence onyour style. Want to convey across apowerful message in a subtle way?Then small tattoos characterised withclean lines are the way to go.

Miniscule tattoos are one kind oftattoos that are super discreet, incredi-bly detailed, pretty and aren’t likely todate. That is why the millennials,especially women still haven’t growntired of the tiny trend.

Smiley && iindustrial ppiercing

A piercing through the upper lipfrenulum is sometimes called a “smi-ley,” because it is usually only visiblewhen smiling. Similarly, the lower lipfrenulum piercing is sometimesreferred to as a “frowny.” Originallycalled an “Upper Lip FrenulumPiercing,” people soon began calling ita “scrumpur.”

Vikas says, “Since ages, piercingshave always been in trend but thestyle changes over the period of time.Smiley piercings have managed tobecome one of the hottest piercingtrends of the year. Due to its increasein popularity and demand, youngstersin the city have been very open to get-ting a smiley piercing; mostly becauseof its location.”

An industrial piercing, also calledas scaffold piercing or constructionpiercing, is any two pierced holes con-nected with a single straight piece ofjewellery or a bar. However, it typical-ly refers to a double perforation of theupper ear cartilage specifically andlooks like a connecting bridge. This isone of the unique ear piercings andthe most trending too.

Ink yourstyle

South biggies' road to Bollywood

As we enter the new year, aline-up of big names fromthe Telugu and Tamil filmindustries are gearing up tomake their debut inBollywood. And no, theseare no ordinary debuts —they're all big stars downSouth, most of themknown outside theirdomain. So check out thislist of stars whose actingprowess and glamouraudience all over India willsoon experience

VIJAY DEVERAKONDA

The Telugu superstar is already knownto pan-Indian audiences as the titularhero of Arjun Reddy the original of theBollywood hit Kabir Singh. Vijay, whomade his name with his Rowdy brand ofacting in Telugu hits like Taxiwala, NOTAand Geetha Govindam, is all set for hisdebut Bollywood project. The PuriJagannath directorial will co-star AnanyaPandey, and be bankrolled by KaranJohar.

PRIYAMANI

Audiences across the countryhave already seen her in the web-space on season one of The FamilyMan, as well as prop roles inRaavan (2010) and Rakht Charitra 2(2010), besides the hit dance num-ber 1 2 3 4 Get On The Dance Floorin Chennai Express (2013). Thisyear the talented actress makes herdebut as a bona fide Bollywoodheroine in Amit Sharma’s Maidan,alongside Ajay Devgn.

RASHMIKA

MANDANA

ThisKannadiga girl,dubbed the“national crushof India” is tak-ing a big leapthis year, as sheentersBollywoodwith a bang.Rashmika,whose brandhas alwaysbeen that of thegirl next doorgirl, has givenhits such asGeethaGovindam,Dear Comradeand more. SheentersBollywood asSidharthMalhotra’s co-star in MissionMajnu, a spythriller.

SAMANTHA AKKINENI

She is one of the most sought-after femalestars not only in Tollywood but Kollywood too.Her work down South includes back to back hitslike Oh! Baby, Rangasthalam, Mahanati, andTheri. This year, Samantha will be seen in herfirst Hindi project, The Family Man 2. The sec-ond season of Raj and DK’s web series is keepingthe audience waiting with bated breath for both,the curiosity of what happens next and her debut!While the details of her role have been kept underwraps, fans and critics await this show

he year 2020saw everythingwe love, shutdown — the-atres, pools,gymnasium,

and yes, theme parks too.As all of these seem to beopening at snail’s pace,Hyderabad’s most lovedamusement parkWonderla is set to reopenin Hyderabad fromJanuary 9, 2021 onwards!But that’s not the bestnews yet. Before openingthe park to the public,Wonderla decided tothank COVID-19 front-line workers for all theirefforts during the pan-demic through the CovidWarriors days. A sweetgesture, isn’t it?

Wonderla is invitingover 5,000 Covid-19frontline workers from

the state with their fami-lies to the HyderabadPark for a fun-filled day.The park will exclusivelybe open to them onJanuary 8 and 9, 2021.The frontline workersalong with their familieswill get free entry to thepark with access to all thedry/land rides and freelunch, tea, and snacks.The selected invitees willinclude doctors and nurs-es, attendees, ambulancedrivers, police, bankers,delivery executives,teachers, journalists, etc.

Speaking more aboutthe gesture, ArunChittilapilly, ManagingDirector, WonderlaHolidays Ltd, said, “Wewill kick start our opera-tions here by thankingour frontline heroesthrough COVID

Warriors days. As weenter into the New Year,we look forward to offer-ing COVID-19 warriorsand the general public anopportunity to unwindand relax the Wonderlaway, with the necessaryprecautions and safetymeasures in place.”Visitors of all age groupscan enjoy the park at Rs.699 inclusive of GST,with access to all waterand dry/landrides. Thetheme park will be openevery day during festiveperiod from January 9 to17 from 11am onwards.The amusement parkencourages visitors tobook their entry ticketsonline frombookings.wonderla.comin accordance with theguidelines and best prac-tices.

VIJAY SETHUPATHI

The Tamil superstar is knownfor his acting chops, and garneredacclaim beyond his home turfwith the OTT-released film SuperDeluxe last year. He started theyear with a bang, announcing hisBollywood debut. The actor willstar in Santosh Sivan’sMumbaikar, a Hindi remake ofthe 2017 Tamil super hit,Maanagaram.

New Year ignites in us the passion to usherin some sort of change. It could be adifferent daily routine, for some, their

hairstyle or colour, and for others, a tattoo. The Pioneer brings to you a few tattoo and

piercing styles that are likely to emerge in2021. Take a look!

E

t

Wonderla to dedicatefirst two days tofrontline workers

10

Hyderabad Wednesday January 6 2021what’s brewing?

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

FUN

ollywood actressJahnvi Kapoor hadreportedly boughtan expensive housein Mumbai’s JuhuVile Parle Scheme

area for a whopping Rs. 39crore. Janhvi, daughter of lateactress Sridevi and filmmakerBoney Kapoor has been livingwith her dad and sister KhushiKapoor in Mumbai’sLokhandwala neighbourhood.According to the report, theGunjan Saxena: The KargilGirl actress’ swanky apartmentis spread across three floors(14th, 15th and 16th) in abuilding named Araya. Theactress reportedly finalised thedeal on December 7 and regis-tered the apartment with theDepartment of Registrationand Stamps three days later,on December 10. Astamp duty of Rs. 78lakhs was paid by theactress, sources stat-ed.

If the report is tobe believed, theDhadak girl will

have neighbours likesuperstar AmitabhBachchan, Ajay Devgn,her uncle Anil Kapoor,Hrithik Roshan amongothers.

Janhvi Kapoor has,on her Instagramfeed, gave usglimpses ofLokhandwalahouse a fewtimes. Fanshope to havea sneakpeek intoher newhometoo.

Janhvi buys a swankyRs.39 cr home in Juhu

ational beauty pageant DiademMiss India and Mrs IndiaLegacy focussed on womenempowerment and spreadingawareness about menstrualhygiene with the launch of its

campaign #Masiksatya.“Diadem comes with a social message

and this year also we wanted to highlightimportance of menstrual hygiene. Notonly this, with the help of our social wel-fare partner Signature Global, we hadorganised medical camps for 1,000 work-ers before the show. It is an overwhelming

feeling to know that girls across Indiabelieve in social development and want tojoin hands with us in this social cause,”says its founder and Director AmishaChoudhary.

Nikita Jagdev was crowned DiademMiss India 2020 while Priyanka Junejawon the title of Mrs. India Legacy 2020title at the grand finale recently held inDelhi NCR. The event was choreo-graphed by Mumbai-based choreographerKhizar Hussain. The jury includedFilmmaker and Music Producer BadraanSingh, International film producer Dr

Mike Berry, Rita Gangwani, groomingexpert and pageant coach who trainedMiss World Manushi Chillar and MissDeaf World, Vidisha Baliyan, among oth-ers.

Choudhary added: “I am delighted toshare that we have successfully completedour third season of Diadem Miss and MrsIndia Legacy 2020. All the contestantshave been absolutely amazing andempowering and each year. I congratulateall the winners and I am sure we will allbe able to bring a good change towardsthe society together.”

Beauty pageant spreads awarenessabout menstrual hygiene

ctor Priyanka Chopra took toTwitter to announce that herrecent Netflix film We Can BeHeroes, is getting a sequel. Shesaid that the work on the

sequel was in development.Sharing the news, she wrote: “Heroics

Headquarters projection: 44 MILLIONFAMILIES will have suited up for WE

CAN BE HEROES in its first 4weeks!! And….BREAKING

NEWS: The Heroics arecoming back for round

two. Sequel is in devel-opment with@rodriguez and@Netflix !#WeCanBeHeroes.”

We Can Be Heroesstars Priyanka in anegative role. Thefilm was a Christmasrelease and opened tomixed reviews.

Writing about it,the Hindustan Timesreview said:“Priyanka Choprahams it up as Ms

Granada, who is essentially a power-suit-wearing manifestation of corporateAmerica. She’s the evil CEO of Heroics, ateam of superheroes who’re kidnapped bytentacled aliens in the film’s opening scenes.With the planet under attack and their par-ents in peril, it falls upon their children, ledby Missy Moreno (YaYa Gosselin) to rescuethem from the aliens and save the world.”

Rodriguez, also known for directingfilms like Mexico trilogy — El Mariachi,Desparado, Once Upon a Time in Mexicoand Alita: Battle Angel, has produced thefilm.

At the time of sharing the trailer of thefilm, Priyanka had written: “Power comesin all sizes and it arrives on Christmas Day!These amazing kids have a secret weapon— Teamwork. It brought a different energyon set and is the life of this film. So whileyou wait for Santa, it’s time to sit back andlet these incredible kids show you how tobe a HERO! Are you in? We Can Be Heroes,directed by Robert Rodriguez is now com-ing to Netflix globally this Christmas.”

The actor has been stationed in Londonfor the shoot of her upcoming film, Text forYou. Her husband, singer Nick Jonas is alsowith her.

Priyanka Chopra announcesWe Can Be Heroes sequel

ower can be evil orunjust at times, and aftera powerful teaser that leftcustomers intrigued andimpressed, let’s welcomethe New Year by unveil-

ing the highly anticipated originalseries of Amazon Tandav!

Produced by Himanshu KishanMehra and Ali Abbas Zafar, Tandavmarks the digital directorial debut ofthe latter! The 9-episode engrossingpolitical drama is written by GauravSolanki and features a stellar ensem-ble cast including Saif Ali Khan,Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover, DinoMorea, Gauahar Khan, AmyraDastur, Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub , andKritika Kamra among others. Alongwith the director, Tandav also marksthe digital debut of actresses DimpleKapadia and Kritika Kamra and pre-sents actors Saif Ali Khan, ZeeshanAyyub and Sunil Grover in never-seen-before avatars.

The trailer took its viewers behindthe closed and chaotic corridors ofpower and politics. Set in the capitalof the world’s largest democracy, theseries is a gripping, fictional dramathat showcases the lengths to whichpeople go in the pursuit of power!Talking about his character inTandav, Saif Ali Khan said, “Theentertainment industry in India isgoing through a renaissance and sto-

ries like Tandav are at the forefrontof this change. As an actor, for me agood piece of dramatic writing and acompelling creation featuring greycharacters is always exciting. As Iread about the complexities of mycharacter Samar and dove deeperinto the world of Tandav, I knewthat I had to play this character.”

The star power is shining in theseries and watching a senior actresslike Dimple Kapadia wearing theproper cape of politics is marvellous!The show will have Saif Ali Khan,Dimple Kapadia and Zeeshan Ayubbattling the war of politics, desper-ately wanting to be one of the

prominent leaders of the nation.With a parallel story playing out —the idealistic campus activistZeeshan Ayub who becomes anovernight youth icon as he shines ata political event — everyone ispower hungry in the series.

“Tandav is a political thrillerdrama,” said actress DimpleKapadia. “It is a fiction that perhapsgives you a vivid insight into back-room politicking and what goes onin the country’s power corridors.Anuradha is the kind of characterthat I have never played before and Iam glad to be making my digitaldebut into digital streaming with ashow that is backed by a crediblecast and crew. With multiple layersand so many characters, I hope thisseries intrigues and engages theaudience.”

B

P

A

N

Ab hoga ‘Tandav’

I debuted in Tamil andwithout giving muchthought into scripts, Isigned eight films. Iregretted that. Iunderstood the reachof a good role after myturns in MentalMadhilo andChitralahari. I'mchoosier now. InChandoo Mondeti'sweb film, I will be seenin a full-length role.

11

Hyderabad Wednesday January 6, 2021 tollywoodDirector Pawan has got his own style of making: Rahul

Rahul Vijay speaks to NAGARAJ GOUD onmaking his digital debut with Pawan

Kumar's Kudi Yedamaithe for Telugustreamer aha, how he landed the project

and working style of Pawan

is first threefeature filmsmight havetorpedoedat the turn-stile but

Rahul Vijay’s talent wasvisible for everyone tonotice. And it is thisspark that helped himbag Lucia and U-Turndirector Pawan Kumar’sweb series, KudiYedamaithe, starringAmala Paul, for aha.Rahul is playing themale lead in the series,which has completed aschedule of 20 days.“When Pawan was onthe lookout for a malelead, my name was sug-gested to him my mul-tiple people, informinghim that I was talentedactor who is yet to get abreakthrough. Hisexecutive producerLakshmi rang me laterand wanted to knowwhether I was interest-ed to work with Pawan.I said yes pronto. Soonafter I met Pawan atBengaluru and our con-versation went on foran hour. He saw someclips of mine from myprevious films and so,didn’t propose the needof auditioning me,”Rahul reminisces in aconversation with ThePioneer.

Rahul admits that hewas skeptical of a digi-tal debut before Marchlast year but with peo-

ple consuming a lot ofOTT content duringthe lockdown; he feltthe digital plunge willbe a “nice step in hiscareer”. “Multiplexaudiences are the oneswho watch a lot of con-tent on OTT platforms.So, I thought if I cancrack the OTT space, itwill help my featurefilms to register goodopenings. I was alsosure that KudiYedamaithe was theperfect project to makemy foray into OTTspace and if I say no toit, I’d be a fool,” henotes.

Rahul doesn’t want todivulge any detail aboutthe storyline or hischaracter as of now,saying that the projectis a fantasy thriller andprimarily revolvesaround the parts playedby him and AmalaPaul. “It will consist ofeight episodes witheach episode running

into 30-40 minutes.The next schedule willcommence inHyderabad afterSankranti and we arelooking to wrap up theentire shoot byFebruary-end,” heinforms.

Admittedly, Rahul isin awe of Pawan’s work-ing style as a director.“He is amazing and has his own style ofmaking. Last month,we shot five scenes atone location from 7 am to 2 am. To myshock he took almost160 shots. For regularTelugu films involvingA-list actors, a director generally takes 25-30shots for a scene in aday. That way, Pawan isvery fast and is clearabout what he wants.Also, it is a difficultscript to handle as adirector but he isgoing about his jobwith precision,” the actor ends.

H

I want to be the female VijaySethupathi: Nivetha Pethuraj

or NivethaPethuraj, releaseof Red forSankranti is a“big deal”, espe-cially after Ala

Vaikunthapuramlo, whichgraced cinema halls lastSankranti, took the box-office by storm. “At first,the makers informed thatthey were planning torelease Red on December21 but when they later saidit will debut duringSankranti I couldn’t behappier,” the actressinforms, beaming.

The actress plays a copin Red, which is the officialremake of Tamil hitThadam. An investigativethriller peppered with fam-ily emotions and romance,the film narrates the con-fusion that arises among afew cops when they findout that the one accused inthe murder of a youngsterhas a look-alike. All it tookfor her to have boarded theproject was a call fromdirector Kishore Tirumalawith whom she collaborat-ed for Chitralahari earlier.“I didn’t watch the original,

keen on my perfor-mance not get-

ting influ-enced.

Kishoresir

transformed me into therole. He would explain methe expressions andnuances he was lookingfrom me. I’ve just wentwith his vision. He hasextremely clarity aboutwhat he wants, so it’s easyto work with him,” sheinforms, admitting that,along with Kishore, VivekAthreya is another directorwhose films she wouldsign without even listeningto the script because of hertrust in them.

While there are twoother female characters inthe film, Nivetha says shewas keen on playing thecop because of the impactit has on the overall narra-tive. “She is fierce outsidebut innocent inside. I willenter the story in the 31stminute and will be presenttill it ends. I want to playsuch roles. To put it simply,I want to be the femaleversion of VijaySethupathi. He essays theprotagonist, heroine’sfather role, villain andwhat not. Why can’t anactress be like him? It alsohelps the actress to have along run in the industry,”she notes.

This is the first time thatNivetha has teamed upwith Ram. Reflecting onher experience of workingwith him, she says he isextremely professional andhas a weird sense ofhumour. “As everyoneknows he plays dual rolesin the film. He would takeonly five minutes tochange his clothes for theother role and slip into theemotional aspect of itstraightaway. He is very

normal on sets and hetold me that playingsuch roles give him ahigh. Guess it is thereason why he iswaiting to sign aproper project upnext. Also, it doesn’ttake much time forhim to come out ofthe character he isplaying,” she points

out.The actress admits

that her thought-process to sign a filmhas changed over timethanks to experience. “Idebuted in Tamil andwithout giving muchthought into scripts, Isigned eight films. Iregretted that. I under-stood the reach of a goodrole after my turns inMental Madhilo andChitralahari. I’m choosiernow. In ChandooMondeti’s web film, I willbe seen in a full-lengthrole,” says the actress, whowill complete Mondeti’sfilm in another five work-ing days. She admits thatKarthikeya 2 makers haveapproached for the femalelead part, while revealingthat she has also green-lit

a Tamil film. — NG

hile a new still of Prabhasfrom his next, RadheShyam, was released onJanuary 1st, it seems theactor’s fans want more.With pressure from the

legion of the actor’s fans increasingday by day for a teaser, film’s directorRadha Krishna Kumar took to Twitteron Tuesday to advise them to bepatient as an update is on the way.Radha Krishna posted, “Teaser updateis on the way guys!! Very very soon,till then just be patient!!! I promiseyour wait be worth a million smiles.#radheshyam (sic).”

However, this isn’t the first timethat Prabhas’ fans have expressedtheir disappointment in productionhouse UV Creations not offering

enough updates about the film. LastApril, they trended #BanUVCreationsafter the production house failed tohonour their promise of unveilingPrabhas’ first look from the film ontime.

A romantic drama set in Europe,Radhe Shyam, progressing presentlyin Hyderabad, is being shot in Teluguand Hindi simultaneously, while itwill be dubbed into Tamil andMalayalam. The film also marks vet-eran actor and Prabhas’ uncle UVKrishnam Raju’s daughter Praseedamaking her debut as a producer. Sheis jointly producing it along with UVCreations’ Vamsi and Pramod. She isrepresenting her dad’s banner GopiKrishna Movies, the productionhouse of which is presenting the film.

Radhe... teaser waitwill be worth a millionsmiles: Radha Krishna

ctress RakulPreet Singhshared herNew YearResolutionwith fans on

Instagram, along with amonochrome picturerecently. In the image,Rakul sports a shortbob.

“You can’t go backand change the begin-ning but you can startwhere you are tochange the ending.#NEWYEAR#NEWYOU#NEWRESOLU-TIONS,” Rakul wrotealongside the image.

The 30-year-old hasresumed shooting forMay Day after being inquarantine for a weekfollowing testing posi-tive for COVID-19.The film also starsAmitabh Bachchan,Ajay Devgn and AngiraDhar, and it marksAjay’s return to direc-tion after Shivaay andU Me Aur Hum. Herupcoming Telugureleases include Krish’sKondapolam (tentativetitle), where she plays avillage belle, andChandrasekhar Yeleti’sCheck, where she willbe seen as a lawyer.

A

W Rakul sharesher New Year

resolution

ith Tamil Nadugovernment onMonday givingconsent to the-atres and multi-

plexes to operate at 100 per-cent occupancy, Telugu FilmProducers Council too shotoff a letter to the govern-ments of Telangana andAndhra Pradesh, requestingthem to increase the seatingcapacity to 100 percent fromthe existing 50 percent. Theletter, signed by Hon.Secretaries T PrasannaKumar and MohanVadlapatla, mentionedabout the losses thetheatre man-agements

are incurring due to operat-ing at 50 percent whileadhering to StandardOperating Procedure.Interestingly, C Kalyan,president of the Council,didn’t sign it.

On the other hand, starslike Ravi Teja and Ram whohave releases lined up forSankranti haven’t spokenabout favoring 100 per-cent occupancy either.

W

F

Producer's Councilrequests 100

percent occupancy

sport 12HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 6, 2021

PTI n SYDNEY

The Indian team manage-ment is weighing itsoptions for the third

pacer's slot with ShardulThakur and Navdeep Saini incontention but Rohit Sharma iscertain to replace MayankAgarwal at the top of the orderagainst Australia in the thirdTest starting here on Thursday.

While Agarwal's axing wasonly a matter of time afterseven failures in last eight Testinnings, the choice for thethird pacer's slot has got a bittricky with divergent opinionsemerging on who could fit therole best in absence of aninjured Umesh Yadav.

A few days back, Mumbaiseamer and useful lower-orderbatsman Shardul Thakur wasconsidered a favourite but it islearnt that there are somesenior players, who feel thatSaini, India's fastest bowler bya distance, could be used tounsettle the wobbly Australianbatting line-up with his rawpace.

The Indian team had a netsession at the overcast SydneyCricket Ground on the day andall eyes were on Rohit Sharma,who looked pretty comfortableagainst both pace and spin.

The decision on the thirdpacer has been primarilydelayed because on Tuesday,the SCG centre strip was cov-ered due to overcast conditions.

On Wednesday, a look atthe strip and the conditions willprobably help them make adecisive choice.

If the conditions are over-cast and there is bit moremoisture on the strip, thenThakur is expected to be pre-ferred.

If the track is on the flatterside, Saini, with his pace andability to reverse the old ball,could prove to be a handfulagainst a batting order that isstruggling to put up even 200runs on the board.

If Saini plays, it will be hisdebut in the longest formatwhile for Thakur, it would belike a debut as he couldn't even

finish his first over when it wasofficially his debut two yearsback.

There is a third angle tothe pacer's debate and that isThangarasu Natarajan, whohas had a meteoric rise in thepast four months and is readyto be handed the red cherry inwhites as his tweet afterMonday's photo-shoot sug-gested.

Natarajan has 20 first-classgames to his credit and his lastlonger format appearance wasin January, 2020 againstRailways on a rank-turner atthe Chepauk where Railwayswere all-out for 76 and 90largely due to the exploits ofspinners Ravichandran Ashwinand R Sai Kishore.

Natarajan bowled a total of11 overs in that game withthree wickets. WhetherNatarajan is ready for thearduous bump and grind ofTest cricket is the biggest ques-tion.

India Expected Squad

(from 12 in batting order):Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill,Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya

Rahane (captain), HanumaVihari, Rishabh Pant (wk),Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran

Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj,Jasprit Bumrah, ShardulThakur/Navdeep Saini.

VVS EXPECTS CENTURY FROM ROThe Australian wickets suit

Rohit Sharma’s batting style andif he can see off the pacers withthe new ball, the Indian vice-captain can conjure a big centu-ry in the Sydney Test, reckonsformer India batsman VVSLaxman.

An injury during the IPLforced Rohit to miss a major partof the Australia tour, whereIndia lost the ODI series, wonthe T20 assignment and the Testseries is locked at 1-1.

“The Indian cricket teamwill be very pleased to haveRohit Sharma back, especiallywhen Virat is not there. Youwant more experience in theIndian dressing room, becausenow is the perfect opportunityfor us to go 2-1 in Sydney andthen probably win 3-1," Laxmansaid on Star Sports' show CricketConnected.

"Rohit Sharma himselfwould like to showcase his talent,because I always feel that his styleof batting and talent is very suit-ed for the Australian wicket.

"So, if he gets his eye in, ifhe sees through the new ball, I'msure that a big hundred is on thecards as far as Rohit's batting isconcerned," he added.

PTI n SYDNEY

A'warrior' that he is, DavidWarner has done every-

thing to be ready and is likely tocompete in the third Test againstIndia, Australia head coachJustin Langer said on Tuesdayand assured that lack of four-daycricket for the opener in the lastfew months is not a concern.

Langer also announced thatyoung batsman Will Pucovskiwill make his Test debut onThursday.

Both Warner and Pukovski,who was primed for Test debutin Adelaide, missed the first twoTests of the series due to a groininjury and concussion-relatedissues respectively.

"Very hopeful that Davidwill be ready to go (for the thirdTest), he is a bit of a warrior, isn'the? I have said this since day onethat he is doing everything pos-sible to be ready," Langer said ata virtual media conference.

"He is moving pretty well.He is very determined to play.He loves the competition and heloves playing Test cricket. Wewill get some final eyes on himat training this afternoon and wewill make a discussion on that.But I would say, he (Warner) islooking very likely to play theTest match," he added.

Langer also announced that22-year-old Pucovski, who washit on the head during thewarm up game against India A,has been cleared to play.

"He has been cleared by allthe medicos. He has beencleared and that will be veryheartening for him and for hisfamily and everyone involved init," Langer said.

Langer sought to allay con-cerns that Warner hasn't playedfour-day cricket for about 12months, saying the immenseexperience that is behind theopener will help him jump intotraditional format without anyfuss.

"He has played a lot ofwhite-ball cricket recently, a bitlike Steve Smith. Davey hasn'tplayed any four-day cricket forabout 12 months but he is a mas-ter of the game. He has playeda lot of cricket, his experience

will help him, no doubt aboutthat," said Langer.

The coach said they willkeep Warner in the slips to helphim save energy though he mayfeel some discomfort while field-ing.

"He is going to play withpain though and it is not somuch in the muscle but in thetendon area. Like (a) lot ofcricketers, who play through dif-ferent levels of pain, he is will-ing to take that on and hopeful-ly won't hamper him too much,"he added.

Warner had himself lastSaturday said he was "highlydoubtful" about attaining full fit-ness ahead of the third Test,though he would possibly dorespond to a desperate selectionand team management's call.

However, Langer assuredthat if the Australians felt thatthere was any risk of re-injuringWarner, then they would havecertainly not rushed his return.

"He has had a good rehab,as I said he might be littlerestricted in the field, he mightget that area little-bit fatigued,because he hasn't played Testcricket for a while but we would-n't take that risk if we thoughthe would re-injure himself,"said Langer.

New Delhi: Former India pacerAshish Nehra believes that NavdeepSaini should be the “first choice” forthe third fast bowler’s slot in theupcoming third Test against Australiabecause of his extra pace and abilityto extract disconcerting bounce.

While Shardul Thakur and TNatarajan are also in contention, theformer left-arm pacer feels the selec-tion of Saini for the Sydney Test, start-ing Thursday, is a no-brainer if onegoes by pure cricketing logic.

“If you look at squad composi-tion, Saini was first choice andShardul and Natarajan both came inas replacements for MohammedShami and Umesh Yadav,” Nehra saidon Tuesday.

“So if Saini was ahead of themduring initial Test squad selection, Idon’t see any reason why he would slipdown in the pecking order. Youselected him first, so obviously youbelieved he was better than other two.Isn’t it,” Nehra, known for his plainspeaking, said.

He gave his points as to why Sainiwould be better suited for Sydney.

“Navdeep’s biggest asset are

bounce and extra pace. This is a Testmatch. How does Natarajan normal-ly gets his wickets? When people aretrying to hit him. Also, you haven’ttested Natarajan by playing him forIndia A like you did with Siraj, whohas risen through the ranks,” saidNehra.

“Similarly, Navdeep has also comeup the ranks having been on multi-ple red ball tours of India A. In Test

matches, batsmen normally don’t getout. You have to get them out. That’sthe difference.”

The white-ball games that wereheld in Sydney indicated that the deckwas a flat one and express pacecomes in handy on such surfaces.

“On Sydney pitch, you willrequire a bit more pace and Navdeephas that. There shouldn’t be anydebate as such. Sydney pitches whatI saw during white ball games, it wasvery flat.

“So when kookaburra seam willflatten out after some time, you will,require that extra pace that Navdeephas and also he can get a bit of reverseswing,” said one of his India’s finestexponents of swing bowling.

The other factor is the currentAustralian team's inability to playshort-pitched bowling.

“Also this Australian team is sus-ceptible to short-pitched bowling.Navdeep can be used better as hebowls a mean bouncer compared toa Natarajan or Shardul.” “His averagespeed is around 140 but out of thethree, Navdeep is best suited to playthe Sydney Test match.” PTI

AFP n CHRISTCHURCH

Kane Williamsonunderscored his

ranking as the world's premier batsman with a mas-terful double century on a landmark on Tuesdayas New Zealand took control of the second Testagainst Pakistan.

In between the showers at Hagley Oval inChristchurch, Williamson was in classic form, bat-ting for nine hours 33 minutes for his 238 and lead-ing New Zealand to an imposing 659/6 declaredto lead Pakistan by 362.

At stumps, the tourists were already in trou-ble at one down for eight, with Kyle Jamiesonadding to his five-wicket haul in the first inningsby removing Shan Masood for a duck.

Should New Zealand win the Test it will con-firm their ranking as the number one side in theworld for the first time - to go with Williamson'spromotion as the number one batsman - and keepalive their chance of making the World TestChampionship final.

It was a relentless performance fromWilliamson who became only the second NewZealander after Brendon McCullum to score fourdouble centuries.

He should have been out for 177 on the firstball after the first of two rain stoppages, but as hashappened several times in the Test the chance wasput down - this time by Azhar Ali, who earlier inthe day had dropped Henry Nicholls short of hiscentury.

Williamson and Nicholls had rebuilt theinnings after New Zealand were reduced to 71/3on Monday's second day.

By the time Nicholls was dismissed early in theafternoon session for 157, the pair had put on 369,the third-best all-time partnership for NewZealand and a record for the fourth wicket.

Along the way his record inningsWilliamson followed Ross Taylor andStephen Fleming to become only thethird New Zealander to pass 7,000runs. The end came for Williamsonthree overs before tea when he skieda short ball from Faheem Ashraf andwas caught in the deep by Masood. Infour innings from three Tests in thepast month Williamson hasscored 251, 129, 21 and 238.

Nicholls, dropped on92 and 133, was hamperedby a calf strain which lefthim hobbling between thewickets.

But he was still able toattack, with boundaries pro-ducing 48 of his 68 runs onday three, before he top-edged a short ball fromMohammad Abbas and wascaught at deep fine leg.

Daryl Mitchell clobbered102 off 112 balls withWilliamson delaying thedeclaration until the all-rounder posted his first cen-tury.

AFP n JOHANNESBURG

Dimuth Karunaratne’s centu-ry could not prevent South

Africa from completing a 2-0series win on the third day of thesecond Test against Sri Lanka atthe Wanderers Stadium inJohannesburg on Tuesday.

South Africa won by 10wickets after Sri Lanka werebowled out for 211 in their sec-ond innings. Set to make 67runs to win, the hosts sealedtheir victory half an hour afterlunch.

Karunaratne, the SriLankan captain, made 103 afterstarting the day on 91. His dis-missal started a collapse inwhich Sri Lanka lost their lastsix wickets for 35 runs. LungiNgidi took 4/44 and fellow fastbowler Lutho Sipamla rippedthrough the tail to take 3/40.

Karunaratne and NiroshanDickwella started brightly afterSri Lanka resumed on 150/4.Karunatne went to a 123-ballcentury with two successiveoff-side boundaries off AnrichNortje but an attempted pull offthe same bowler looped off a top

edge to backward square leg.Ngidi followed up with the

wicket of Dickwella in the nextover when a leading edge car-ried to mid-off and there wasminimal resistance from the restof the batting.

Aiden Markram battedaggressively at the start of thefinal innings but escaped whenhe edged a loose drive againstVishwa Fernando with his scoreon 14 in the last over beforelunch. Kusal Mendis dived for-ward from second slip andappeared to take a good catch

but a television review showedhe had taken the ball on thebounce.

Markram finished on 36not out while Dean Elgar fol-lowed up his 127 in the firstinnings with 31 not out. Playerof the Series Elgar made 253runs in the series and was onlydismissed twice.

It was South Africa’s firstTest series win since they defeat-ed Pakistan 3-0 in South Africain 2018/19. A surprise 2-0 homedefeat against Sri Lanka in thesame series started a sequenceof three successive series losses.

Sri Lanka were hit hard byinjuries in South Africa. Fourplayers were injured during thefirst Test and could not play inJohannesburg, while leadingfast bowler Suranga Lakmaland opening batsman OshadaFernando were unable to play ineither match because of injuries.

Captain Quinton de Kockhailed South Africa’s first serieswin in almost two years andpraised a young bowling line-upwho kept Sri Lanka under pressure for most of the twomatches.

AFP n SOUTHAMPTON

Jurgen Klopp admittedLiverpool are suffering a “rusty

moment” after a 1-0 defeat atSouthampton extended thedefending champions’ winlessrun in the Premier League tothree games. Danny Ings’s stun-ning second-minute goal earnedthree points which movedSouthampton into sixth and ledto Saints manager RalphHasenhuttl breaking into tears ofjoy on the final whistle.

Liverpool remain top of thetable on goal difference overManchester United, but havenow played a game more thanthe Red Devils, who they face intheir next league game at Anfieldon January 17.

“That’s a rusty moment wehave to admit it,” said Klopp,whose side last failed to win inthree straight Premier Leaguegames back in May 2018.

A first league defeat in threemonths may hasten Liverpool’ssearch for a centre-back in theJanuary transfer window.

Without the injured Virgilvan Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel

Matip, Klopp started two of hisfirst-choice midfielders fromtheir title-winning campaign,Fabinho and Jordan Henderson,together at the heart of hisdefence.

Southampton had notscored in their last three gamesto temper their hopes of a pushfor European football, but tookjust two minutes to break thedeadlock in style through formerLiverpool striker Ings.

Trent Alexander-Arnold didnot deal with James Ward-Prowse’s angled free-kick intothe box and Ings perfectlyhooked his shot over Alisson

Becker into the far corner.Southampton had key

absentees themselves with goal-keeper Alex McCarthy missingdue to a positive test for coron-avirus, while Oriol Romeu,Jannik Vestergaard and CheAdams were out injured.

Fraser Forster was makinghis first Saints appearance sinceMay 2019, but the formerEngland international was rarelytested to earn his clean sheet.

The visitors could easilyhave found themselves 2-0 downbefore the break whenSouthampton substitute NathanTella was inches away from his

first senior goal.If Klopp’s men were too pas-

sive in the first-half, they start-ed the second-half with theintensity they have made theirtrademark in recent seasons asSouthampton were pinnedinside their own half.

Sadio Mane was the visitors’biggest threat on his return to StMary’s as Jack Stephens made alast-ditch challenge to block hisroute to goal before Kyle Walker-Peters was lucky to escape with-out conceding a penalty forobstructing another burst fromthe Senegalese into the box.

Thiago Alcantara was mak-ing just his second Liverpoolstart since a much-anticipatedmove from Bayern Munich, buteven the Spaniard’s range ofpassing could not cut throughSouthampton’s determineddefence. “I started believing wecan do it in the 92nd minute, notearlier,” said Hasenhuttl. “Theyare so strong in front you alwaysbelieve something can happen.We had to have a perfect game-plan today and luck. Withoutluck against such a team youcannot win.”

PTI n BANGKOK

India's Saina Nehwal on Tuesdaylashed out at Badminton World

Federation for denying the athletes,among other things, access to trainersand physios ahead of the upcoming tour-naments in Thailand and urged BWF toaddress the issues at the earliest.

In a series of tweets, OlympicBronze-medallist Saina expressed herdispleasure at the restrictions imposed

by BWF as part of its Covid-19 proto-cols for the bio-security bubble.

“The physios and trainerscannot meet us during theentire tour after all (al) of ushave tested negative? @bwfme-dia @bwf_ac. 4 weeks of thishow is it possible to maintainourselves. We want to play thetournament in good condi-tion. Please sort this @bwf-media,” Saina tweeted.

With March being thecut-off date for Tokyo

Olympics qualification, Saina isworried that the lack of propertraining might have an impact onher performance. The formerworld number one said she tried

contacting the BWF, but to no avail.“Practice only for an hour

everyday for the entire team? Gym tim-ings the same ... Considering Marchbeing the important Olympic qualifica-tion period this is not good enough tobe in good shape.” An Indian contingentis currently in the Thai capital to takepart in the BWF World Tour Finals andtwo Super 1000 events.

In another tweet, Saina wrote, “NoTime for warm ups / taping / cool downs/ stretches..We are talking about the bestplayers in the world competing isn’t it?

“We’ve spent a lot of money gettingthe physios and trainers along with us.If they can’t help us then why was thisnot told before?”

Rohit to replace Mayank in XI

Rahul out with sprained left wristPTI n SYDNEY

India batsman K L Rahul wason Tuesday ruled out of the

remaining two Tests againstAustralia after sustaining awrist injury during training inMelbourne, the BCCI said.

Rahul had not played anymatch of the ongoing series inwhich the third Test starts onThursday.

"KL Rahul sprained his leftwrist while batting in the netsat the MCG during TeamIndia's practice session onSaturday," the BCCI said in astatement.

"The wicketkeeper-bats-man will not be available forthe remaining two Tests of theBorder-Gavaskar Trophy as

he will need about three weekstime to recover completelyand regain full strength," it

added.It has been learnt that the

stylish right-hander suffered a

sprain while facing one of thethree throwdown specialists atthe nets and had to call off histraining session.

For the time being, hewill not be able to add to his36 Test matches although ViratKohli, before the start of theTest series, had stated that theywere looking at Rahul as amiddle-order batsman.

Rahul had accompaniedthe squad to Sydney and onTuesday left for India.

He will head to theNational Cricket Academy inBengaluru for rehabilitation.

The injury also puts himin doubt for the four-matchhome Test series againstEngland, which beginsFebruary 5.

Warner, Pucovski willplay in Sydney: Langer

2nd Test. Day 4Live from 3:30am IST

FANCODE APP

Williamson's 238gives NZ big lead

Saini's extra pace makes himbetter choice at SCG: Nehra

Proteas complete series sweep

Dean Elgar with Man of the match andMan of the series trophy AP

Ings' stunner down LiverpoolSaina unhappy with BWF curbs