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VIJAYAWADA 9HYDERABAD ENTERS

INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE

ANALYSIS 7LESSONS FROM GANDHI’S HOME

SPORTS 12INDIA COMPLETE

HAT-TRICK OF WINS

VIJAYAWADA, MONDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2019; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

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VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPALRAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

*Late City Vol. 1 Issue 335*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

PNS n NEW DELHI

Several hundred prisoners, whohave not been convicted formurder, rape and corruption,will be released from jails acrossIndia on October 2 to com-memorate the 150th birthanniversary of MahatmaGandhi, officials said on Sunday.

The number of prisoners tobe released on Gandhi Jayanticould be around 600 and thefinal list is being prepared bythe Union Home Ministry inclose coordination with stategovernments and the unionterritory administrations.

According to a HomeMinistry official, under thescheme for special remission toprisoners to commemorate150th birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi, so far 1,424prisoners have been released bystates and Union territories in

two phases -- on October 2,2018 and April 6, 2019.

The third phase of release isdue on October 2 and theaction is underway by statesand UTs, the official said.

Prisoners, including politi-cians, who have been convict-ed in cases of murder, rape orcorruption, will not be releasedas part of the amnesty schemeannounced by the government

last year for theyear-long celebra-tions to mark the150th birthanniversary of MahatmaGandhi.

Women convicts aged 55years and above and male con-victs of 60 years or more, whohave completed half of theirsentence, and a few other cat-egories of prisoners in jails

across the country will bereleased under the amnestyscheme, the official said.

Transgender convicts of 55years of age and above, whohave completed half of theiractual sentence period, withoutcounting the period of gener-al remission earned by them,physically challenged or dis-abled convicts with 70 percent disability and more, duly

certified by a medical board,who have completedhalf of their actualsentence period will

be eligible for release.However, the special

remission is not to be grantedto persons convicted for anoffence for which the sentenceis death penalty or where deathsentence has been commutedto life imprisonment.

The other categories of pris-oners who will not be consid-

ered for amnesty are: personsconvicted for an offence forwhich punishment of death hasbeen specified as one of thepunishments, persons con-victed for an offence for whichpunishment of life imprison-ment has been specified as oneof the punishments.

Those convicted under thePrevention of Corruption Act,The TADA, The Prevention ofTerrorism Act, 2002 (POTA),Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, 1967(UAPA), The Protection ofChildren from Sexual OffencesAct, 2012 (POCSO),Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act, 2002, ForeignExchange Management Act,1999 (FEMA), Black Money(Undisclosed Foreign Incomeand Assets) and Imposition ofTax Act, 2015 will not bereleased.

Several hundred prisoners to be released 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF MAHATMA GANDHI ON OCT 2

PNS n KAKINADA

The East Godavari police havesought the cooperation of kinof the deceased in theSeptember 15th tourism boatmishap to ensure proper iden-tification of some of the bod-ies recovered lately.

According to East GodavariSP, Adanan Nayeem Asmi, inthe last two days five morebodies surfaced in riverGodavari at different places,nearer the spot where theboat went down, but theywere all beyond recognition.The boat capsized atKuchhuluru in Devipatnammandal of East Godavari.

Of the total five bodies,one was that of a female,found at Kotturu village inPolavaram Mandal of WestGodavari; the second one wasthat of male at Vadaaplli inriver Godavari; the third onewas that of a male atChigurlanka at Kovvur inWest Godavari; the fourthone was that of a male body atPottilanka in Kadiyam mandalof East Godavari, and the fifthone was that of a male foundat Yedurlanka in Polavaram in

East Godavari district.The SP said that cases had

been filed in the police stationsconcerned as unnatural death.

As these bodies are beyondrecognition, the police, inorder to preserve some DNAprofiles, are sending samplesof these bodies to the APState Forensic Laboratory.

The SP, therefore, requestedat least two of the kin of the

deceased, be it mother, broth-er, sister, son or daughter, togive their blood samples formatching DNA profiles andidentifying the deceased.

In addition, they will haveto provide two colour passportsize photographs and addressproof to Rajamahendravaramurban police Officer RajaniKumar with mobile number94407-96395.

Jagan to giveletters to V/WSecretariestodayVIJAYAWADA: ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy will inaugurate thedistribution of appointmentletters to candidates selectedfor the Village/WardSecretariats at a function hereon Monday. District CollectorMD Imtiyaz Ahmed, JointCollector Madhavi Latha,Joint Collector-2 MohanKumar, VMC CommissionerV Prasanna Venkatesh andother officials visited thepremises and inspected thearrangements. Imtiyaz saidthat almost 11,025 candi-dates were selected n Krishnadistrict. About 4,000 out ofthe total 11,025 have beeninvited to Monday's pro-gramme. Jaganmohan Reddywill hand over the appoint-ment letters to a few candi-dates, he said.

India has over 6L roguedronesNEW DELHI: India has anestimated over 6 lakh rogue orunregulated unmanned aeri-al vehicles (UAVs) and secu-rity agencies are analysingmodern anti-drone weaponslike 'sky fence' and 'drone gun'to counter terror or similarsabotage bids by these aerialplatforms, official sourcessaid on Sunday. An officialblueprint prepared by centralagencies has been accessed byPTI that states unregulateddrones, UAVs and remotely-piloted aircraft system are a"potential threat" to vitalinstallations, sensitive loca-tions and specific events anda "compatible solution" isrequired to counter them.

Chava Kiranmayi

TDP fieldsKiranmayeefor HuzurnagarPNS n HYDERABAD

The T-TDP is fielding ChavaKiranmayi from Huzurnagarin the ensuing by-election. Ineffect, it sent a message thatthe party will maintain equaldistance from all politicaloutfits.

T-TDP president LRamana on Sunday gave theB-form to Kiranmai, whowill file her papers onMonday.

The TDP had allied withthe Congress in Telanganaduring the Assembly elec-tions but stayed away for theLok Sabha elections.

In what is a multi-corneredcontest, Kiranmai will lockhorns with TRS party'sSaidireddy, Congress candi-date Padmavati Reddy andBJP's Kota Rama Rao. TheTRS is trying to wrest the seatfrom Congress and is strivinghard to have alliance with theCPI.

The TDP is said to havetaken the decision as therecovery of Congress is notfeasible in the near future.

Monsoonends, butrainfall active NEW DELHI: The four-month monsoon season isofficially ending on Monday,but it is unlikely that it willwithdraw in the comingweek, IMD Director GeneralMritunjay Mohapatra saidon Sunday. The monsoonseason officially begins onJune 1 and ends onSeptember 30. It reachesGanganagar in westRajasthan, the last post for themonsoon in the country, onJuly 15 and starts retreatingfrom September 1. However,the monsoon has not shownsigns of withdrawal. Instead,active monsoon still prevailsover parts of Rajasthan, Biharand Uttar Pradesh. Parts ofGujarat and Rajasthan aregetting rainfall due to a lowpressure area and this couldcontinue until October 5,Mohapatra said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Concerned over rising onionprices, the Centre on Sundaybanned the export of the keykitchen staple and imposed astock limit on traders toimprove the domestic avail-ability of the commodity andprovide a relief to consumers.

Retailers can stock oniononly up to 100 quintals andwholesale traders are allowedto keep up to 500 quintals, theConsumer Affairs Ministrysaid adding that the state gov-ernments have been directedto take stringent steps to pre-vent hoarding.

The reported export belowminimum export price (MEP)to Bangladesh and Sri Lankawill be stopped immediatelyand strict action will be takenagainst violators, it added.

The move comes amidsharp increase in retail pricesof onion since August despitethe government's several mea-sures to boost the supply andcontain prise rise. Currently,retail onion prices are rulingat around Rs 60-80 per kg inthe national capital and someother parts of the countrydue to supply disruption fromflood-affected growing states

like Maharasthra andKarnataka.

"In view of sustained highprice of onion in the market,the central government todaytook several steps to contain itsprices, namely imposition ofstock limit on traders, ban onexports, and sate governmentswill take strict measures toprevent hoarding," theConsumer Affairs Ministrysaid in a statement.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Union Minister of State forHealth and Family WelfareAswini Kumar Choubey onSunday said that the NDAgovernment at the Centre wasfocusing on health sector in abig way and the country willhave an additional two lakhdoctors by the end of nextyear.

Addressing a public meet-ing after inaugurating emer-gency heart-care center atGayatri Vidya ParishadMedical College at Kommadion the occasion of WorldHeart Day, the Minister saidthe deaths due to heart dis-eases had increased over theyears to change lifestyles andfood habits. Deaths due toheart diseases were 19 percentin 1990 and had shot up to 30percent as per the latest data.He said during 2017-2019over 2.3 crore people sufferedfrom heart diseases.

He said due to AyshmanBhava, about 50 crore peoplewould be benefited. He addedthat 75 more medical collegeswould be established underthe government sector in theensuing years so that thehealth services could reach far

corners of the country.Later, talking to the

reporters after inaugurating ahealth center in Vizianagaram,the Minister said that AIIMSMangalagiri would becomeoperational next year and theoutpatient ward would beopened by March. He said thegovernment has spent Rs 1,680crore on it.

He said TB would be erad-icated from the country by2025 though the WHO set thetarget for 2030.

"We are devising variousschemes to eradicate TB fromIndia,'' he said.

IDENTIFICATION OF BOAT MISHAP VICTIMS' BODIES

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government may seek aninterim dividend of about Rs30,000 crore from the RBItowards the end of the finan-cial year to meet its fiscaldeficit target of 3.3 per cent ofGDP for 2019-20, sourcessaid.

Government finances havecome under pressure due tomoderation in revenue col-lection and a slew of measurestaken to lift growth from a six-year low of 5 per cent in thefirst quarter of the current fis-cal.

"If required, the govern-ment may request the ReserveBank of India for interim div-idend of Rs 25,000-30,000crore during the current fis-cal," an official said.

The assessment in thisregard would be made in early

January, the official added.Apart from the RBI divi-

dend, there are other means ofbridging any shortfall, includ-ing mop up from disinvest-ment and higher utilisation ofNational Small Saving Fund(NSSF), sources added.

In the past, the govern-ment has taken the route ofseeking interim dividend fromthe RBI to balance its account.Last fiscal, the RBI paid Rs28,000 crore as interim divi-dend.

Union Govt bansexport of onion

The reported exportbelow minimumexport price toBangladesh and SriLanka will be stoppedimmediately andstrict action will betaken againstviolators

The Minister said thatAIIMS Mangalagiriwould becomeoperational next yearand the OP ward byMarch

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh is witnessingundeclared power cuts as ther-mal power projects in theState have run out of coalstocks.

Understanding the precari-ous situation, Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy urgedTelangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao to increasesupply of coal from SingareniCollieries. He also wrote toUnion Minister for CoalPralhad Joshi seeking anincrease in coal supply to theState.

APTransco CMD Srikanthsaid that as against the regularpower production of 3,500MW from APGenco thermalpower projects, only 1,500MW is being produced nowbecause of shortage of coalstocks.

Only 45,000 MT of coal iscoming to the State as againstthe regular requirement of75,000 MT, he added.

Andhra Pradesh has twosources for coal - MahanadiCoal Fields Limited, located inOdisha and Singareni ColleriesCompany Ltd (SCCL).Mahanadi Coal fields used tosupply 17.968 million MT ofcoal to the State. But, due to the15-day strike by workers at theMCL plant, the production has

come down and the supply tothe State too dipped as a con-sequence.

As much as 8.88 million MTof coal is expected fromSingareni, but due to continu-ous rains, the production hasreceived a jolt, affecting sup-plies to thermal projects inAndhra Pradesh.

Because of these two prob-lems, thermal plants in AP,which have a combined capac-ity of 5010 MW, are badlyaffected.

There is no alternativepower supply to the State as thegovernment has shut down theprocess of receiving powerfrom solar and wind powercompanies, allegedly becauseof irregularities in PowerPurchase Agreements (PPAs).

The High Court has

instructed those companies toresume power supply andasked review of PPAs beforeAPERC. But, the State gov-ernment is yet to accept powerfrom those companies.

Meanwhile, the TeluguDesam Party (TDP) has beenwondering why the govern-ment is implementing unde-clared power cuts in the Stateeven in the rainy season.

Former minister AlapatiRajendra Prasad, speaking tothe media in Guntur onSunday, said YSRCP, whichhad promised uninterruptednine-hour power supply, isunable to overcome the short-age of power supply.

He said the TDP govern-ment had overcome the powerproblem within two monthsafter coming to power in 2014.

POWER CUTS RETURN TO STATE

PNS n NEW DELHI

Union minister Amit Shahtoday claimed there is norestriction in Jammu andKashmir any longer and theopposition was just spreading"misinformation" about thesituation. The minister alsosaid that the government'smove to end Jammu andKashmir's special status underthe Article 370 and bifurcatethe state into two UnionTerritories has been acceptedby the international commu-nity as an internal matter ofIndia.

Accusing the opposition ofspreading false information,Mr Shah said prohibitoryorders have been lifted from196 police stations inKashmir. Only in nine policestation areas, prohibitoryorders, under which largegatherings are banned, arestill in place.

"Where are the restrictions?It is only in your mind. Thereare no restrictions. Only mis-information about restric-tions is being spread," hesaid, addressing a seminar onnational security in Delhithis afternoon.

"People are free to movearound anywhere in Kashmir.Many journalists from rest ofIndia are also visit ingKashmir regularly," he said.

Citing Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's recent visitto the United Nations General

Assembly, Mr Shah said allthe world leaders have sup-ported India's move onArticle 370. "All world lead-ers had gathered for sevendays (in New York). Not a sin-gle leader has raised the issue(of Jammu and Kashmir).This is a big diplomatic vic-tory of the Prime Minister,"he was quoted as saying bynews agency Press Trust ofIndia.

"The decision on Article370 will strengthen the unityand integrity of India," he

said, adding the situation inJammu and Kashmir will becompletely normal soon.

After announcing its movein August, the governmenthad taken a series of measures- including posting anunprecedented number ofsecurity forces, switching offphone and internet connec-tions and keeping the state'spolitical leaders' under arrest.

Pakistan has been repeat-edly flagging the issue atinternational forums, withoutmuch success.

Accusing the opposition of spreading falseinformation, Mr Shah said prohibitory orders havebeen lifted from 196 police stations in Kashmir.Only in nine police station areas, prohibitoryorders, under which large gatherings are banned,are still in place

The SP said that cases had been filed in the policestations concerned as unnatural death. As thesebodies are beyond recognition, the police, in order topreserve some DNA profiles, are sending samples ofthese bodies to the AP State Forensic Laboratory

Centre may seek Rs 30K crinterim dividend from RBI

{

Aswini Kumar Choubey

‘AIIMS Amaravati OPwing from March’

Thermal plants run out of coal stocks

No curbs in J&K: Shah ‘OPPOSITION SPREADING MISINFORMATION’

Cops seek cooperation of kin for DNA tests

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated September 29, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Ashwini& Sukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Dwitiya : 04:49 pm

Nakshatram: Chitra : 04:29 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 07:38 am – 09:07 pm

Yamagandam: 10:36 pm – 12:06 pm

Varjyam: 09:35 pm - 11:03 pm

Gulika: 01:35 am - 03:04 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 10:47 am - 12:13 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:43 am - 12:29 pm

VIJAYAWADAWEATHERForecast: Isolated ThunderstormsTemp: 32/25Humidity: 87%Sunrise: 06.06Sunset: 06.06

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 region 02A born democrat is a born disciplinarian.Democracy comes naturally to him who is

habituated normally to yield willing obedience toall laws, human or divine.

— MAHATMA GANDHI

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

A study and report preparedby District Women and ChildDevelopment Agency, LabourDepartment, Integrated ChildProtection Scheme, NationalChild Labour Project andNGOs, states that 60 slums arefree from child labour inVisakhapatnam.

The child labour-free zonestatus given to these slums isa result of a comprehensiveresponse to the issue of childlabour by Sravanti - Plan Indiafor over three years and assess-ment of four indicators onchild labour free zones engag-ing the members of PanchayatRaj Institution), ChildProtection Committees andChildren facilitated bySravanti and Plan India andlater validated by a committeecomprising officials fromwomen and child develop-ment agency, labour depart-ment, ICPS and NCLP. Thecommittee was formed by thedistrict collector.

The joint collector II MV

Suryakala, formally declared60 slums as child labour-freezones in the presence ofKesali Apparao, member APSCPCR (State Commissionfor Protection of ChildRights), N Sitamahalakshmi,Project Director - DW&CDAand G Yellaji, Assistant

Labour Officer at an eventrecently.

Speaking on the occasion,the Joint Collector II saidthat arriving at such deci-sions requires continuousintervention and monitoringby the government, NGOsand community members.

Dharmananda Sudaray,project manager from PlanIndia mentioned that inVisakhapatnam, over the lastsix years, Sravanti and PlanIndia intervened in 240 vil-lages/slums rescuing or pre-venting 7,263 children atrisk of child labour (712

child domestic labours) andrehabilitated them througheducation and economicempowerment of their fam-ilies.

Till date, they have facili-tated the processes of declar-ing 140 villages/slums asbeing free of child labour.

60 slums child labour-free: Report DSNLU holds seminaron child labour in the cityPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Child and Law Center ofDamodaram SanjivayysNational Law University con-cluded its two-day seminar onILO and Child Rights in thecampus near here on Sunday.

Speaking on the occasion,Director of KIIT School ofLaw, Bhubaneswar ProfSubhash Chandra Rainaemphasized that law should beread in light of ethics to builda good society.

An expert in criminal law,Prof Raina explained about thedistinction between a child andan adult. He established thedifference based on the abili-ty to understand.

"Any person who canunderstand his actions and itsconsequences is an adult andwhen someone is not able tounderstand the consequencesof his actions, he remains achild, despite his age,'' he said.

Apart from age, the under-

standing ability plays animportant role in identifying asto who would qualify to becalled as a child, he added.

He further explained as tohow the ILO functioned andit's achievements plus the areasin which further research anddevelopment should take place

The seminar report was pre-sented by Prof MLakshmipathi Raju, seminarconvenor and adjunct profes-sor, DSNLU, Visakhapatnam.

The valedictory address wasdelivered by Vice-Chancellorof DSNLU, Prof S SuryaPrakash.

HC UPADHYAY n HYDERABAD

Although the Constitution ofIndia ordains responsibility forprotecting sovereignty of India,the internal security too, is equal-ly important. For the latter,unstinted support of people isnecessary.

In this context, outbursts ofPakistan's Prime Minister ImranKhan at the recent meeting of theUN General Assembly (UNGA)cannot be ignored, though, fordiplomatic reasons, our PrimeMinister must have chosen tokeep the 50 minutes' mono-logue of his Pakistani counterparton the fringe. However, subse-quent rejoinder by our side hasappropriately dealt a solid blowto the baseless allegations andhollow threats by Pakistan.

Notwithstanding the trashirresponsibly thrown over Indiaby Pakistan, one thing becomesquite clear that it derives maxi-mum support from the IndianNational Congress party, theoriginal edition of which containsglorious chapters of patriotismand national integration. ThePakistani prime minister freelyused the name of Congress in avain bid to buttress his irrespon-sible diatribe.

Indeed, this does not augurwell for the country as itsmention by the head of theenemy country in support of itsfalse allegations before theglobal audience, lends somesort of credibility. It is true thatthe Congress at home is not thereal Congress of pre-Independence era just as theBJP of today is not the same as

the erstwhile Bharatiya JanaSangh. People at home onlyknow that these impersonatingparties of the present day arejust cashing in on the past gloryof genuine parties.

After losing badly at therecent hustings, Congress hasbeen making last-ditchattempts to survive. In its fran-tic moves, it has lost a sense ofproportion. While nobodydisputes its right to dissent, anywords or action detrimental tonational integration cannot betolerated. Sadly, such irrespon-sible behaviour of the Congress

gets cajoled by other smallerparties and splintergroups, whose only agen-da is to weaken thecountry.

Therefore, inorder to protectIndia from with-in and outsidea g g r e s s i o n ,immediate effec-t ive measuresshould be taken.This is theC o n s t i t u t i o n a lobligation of the governmentand the need of the hour.

Karimnagar CP, otherssentenced

Justice Sanjay Kumar ofTelangana High Court has sen-tenced the Karimnagar PoliceCommissioner VB KamalasanReddy, Assistant CommissionerTirupati and SHO ShashidharReddy to six months' jail forrepeatedly raiding PushpanjaliCountry Resort, despite a

restraint order. The courtalso imposed exem-plary costs of Rs.

10,000 and penalty ofRs.2,000 each for civil con-tempt.

Unfortunately, for peoplein power, flouting courtorders has become a routineaffair. In a country whose

prime minister describes himselfas the 'Pradhan Sevak', the

menials in the administration feela false air of superiority in theirminds. Considering the blatantmisuse of statutory powers bypeople in authority and increas-ing contempt of court orders,there is urgent need to amend thepresent law of the Contempt ofCourts Act so as to make it morestringent and effective.

Advocates Strike IllegalChief Justice Ramesh

Ranganathan and Justice AlokKumar Varma of theUttarakhand High Court haveruled that strikes and boycottsof court by advocates are illegaland such actions amount tomisconduct. The court furtherheld that the Bar Associationspassing resolutions for goingon strike are also liable forstringent action.

LEGALROUNDUP

However, subsequent rejoinder by ourside has appropriately dealt a solidblow to the baseless allegations andhollow threats by Pakistan

Accord priority to defence and internal security

Ornamental gold moves up, silver declines Double for Kajol SunarPNS n HYDERABAD

Following reconciliatory pos-tures by Chinese authoritiestowards the US on trade issues,hopes for normalisation oftrade links between these superpowers have brightened.Consequently, US dollargained more strength,which impacted theprice of the yellowmetal considered asthe all-time safeinvestment.

Alhough goldremained upbeat;no newerpeaks werescaled by it. Itclosed at US$ 1,496.84 (per ounce), whilesilver followed suit and closedat $ 17.53 (per ounce).

Platinum and Palladium alsomarched forward and closed at$.933.05 (per 10 gms) and $1,685.25 (per 10 gms) respec-tively.

Other economic parametersremained firm. Brent closed at

US$ 61.77 (per barrel),while Crude oil was quot-ed at Rs.3,934 (per barrel).

Gold MCX stood atRs.37,750 (per 10

gms) and SilverMCX atRs.45,517 (per

kg). Sensex andNifty 50 closed

at 38,822.57and 11,512.40p o i n t srespectively.

Leading foreign currencies'exchange rates were: US $:Rs.70.56, British Pound: Rs.

86.86, Euro: Rs. 77.33,Singapore $: Rs.51.16,Canadian $: Rs.53.35, SwissFranc: Rs.71.33, Australian $:Rs.47.81, Saudi Rial: Rs. 18.84,Kuwaiti Dinar: Rs.232.28,Omani Rial: Rs. 183.55 andUAE Dinar: Rs.19.24.

At home, traders havedecked up their shops for theDassera and Diwali sales. Thefestivities start from thebeginning of Navaratri i.e.September 29 and would con-tinue up to well over a month.As a positive signal for theupcoming bonanza, goldrecorded an increase of Rs.360, while silver declined byRs.1,100. Standard gold (24carats) closed at Rs.38,060(per 10 gms). Ornamentalgold too, moved up in tandemand was quoted in the range

of Rs.36,130 - 36,230 on theclosing day. Silver (0.999),on the other hand, declinedand closed at Rs.45,400 (perkg). The sentiment in goldand silver is expected toremain strong during the fes-tive season.

COMMODITIESThe sentiment in principalwholesale commodity marketsin the twin cities was moder-ate. The business in RythuBazars and the various com-modity markets located inBegum Bazar, Kishangunj,Mukthyargunj, RisalaAbdullah, Mir Alam Mandi,Dilsukhnagar, Kukatpally,Bowenpally, General Bazar wasadversely affected due to theheavy rains which marked theretreat of monsoon season.

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

Prof Subash Chandra Raina (extreme left) addressing a seminar at DSNLU inVisakhapatnam on Sunday. Vice-Chancellor Prof S Surya Prakash (center) isalso seen

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

A 35-year-old man became thelatest cybercrime victim in Vizagregion. M Naidu, a native ofRajam area under Butchaiahpetamandal in Vizag district fell preyto e-commerce fraud andcoughed up Rs 28,000 to acheat, who promised to sellhim a bike on online application.

As per reports, Naidu cameacross an advertisement in thee-commerce site that the bikeworth Rs40,000 were being soldfor Rs 28,000. Naidu immediate-ly contacted the seller, whoclaimed that he wanted to sell hisbike and to purchase anotherbike.

As per the instructions of theseller, Naidu paid the amountthrough PhonePe app. Afterreceiving the payment, the sell-

er sent the images of theRegistration Certificate of thebike and also assured that he willsend the bike through a parcelservice.

However, Naidu did not getthe bike from the man and triedto reach him over the phone buthis efforts were in vain as theseller switched off the mobilephone. Later Naidu realizedthat the seller posted fake adver-tisement and also sent fake RCof the vehicle to him. The vic-tim approached the local policestation and lodged a complaint.

Police sources said that thecyber-crooks are now using thereputed e-commerce sites tocon the gullible. Everything inthe e-commerce sites are foundfake, the advertisement, thename, address and bankaccounts.

Man falls prey to e-commerce fraud

Joint Collector IIMV Suryakala,formally declared60 slums as childlabour-free zonesin the presence ofKesali Apparao,member APSCPCR, NSitamahalakshmi,Project Director -DW&CDA and GYellaji, AssistantLabour Officer atan event recently

Blot on RINL hurts State CPI PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

A series of investigations andrecommendations by the cen-tral agencies has been causingdamage to the reputation ofRINL, the corporate entity ofthe Visakhapatnam Steel Plant,alleged local CPI leaders.

In a release here on Sunday,the CPI leaders said CBI inves-tigated the question paper leakin the test conducted forrecruitment in 2017, this wasfollowed by another investiga-tion into issue of R Cards in2018 and this year the CBIsought action against 16 seniorofficers for the scandal in pro-motion of executives.

The present CMD PK Rathhad a row with NMDC oversupply of ore and recovered Rs200 crore. As a result, theNMDC reduced supply of oreto the steel plant. As there wasshort supply of ore, RINLentered into agreement withthree private firms from Odishafor supply of ore. They areRadha Damodar Exports andSuppliers and JeykeyEnterprises and RS Minerals. Itwas agreed that the ore wouldhave 62 percent of FE contentbut it was found that the FEcontent was less than 52 per-cent, the CPI alleged.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Minister for Tourism MSrinivasa Rao and local MPMVV Satyanarayana inaugurat-ed the much awaited Yaradabeach front for the public hereon Sunday.

Speaking on the occasion,Rao said that the project was builtat a cost of Rs 2 crore in an areaof 5 acres along the coast of Bayof Bengal. He stated that theYarada beach had been neglect-ed earlier, but would get a betterfootfall under the aegis of the pre-sent State Government, whichhad decided to develop the beachfront on all aspects required forboth domestic and internation-al tourists. The Minister furthersaid that he would talk to theRTC and other transport officialsto ply the required number ofbuses to the tourism spot to easetransport problems.

Speaking to reporters, APTourism DevelopmentCorporation (APTDC) RegionalDirector J Radhakrishna Murthy

said that the TourismDepartment had started devel-oping the project three monthsago and that it was now com-plete and ready for inauguration.A memorandum of understand-ing (MoU) was also madebetween Andhra PradeshTourism DevelopmentCorporation (APTDC) andGreen Park hotels at Hyderabadfor operation and maintenancefor a lease.

According to Murthy, theannual lease for the project is Rs18 lakh and it comprises of anair-conditioned restaurant, sixbig huts, eight huts with bench-es and 10 umbrella huts placedat the coast, apart from whichthere would be a performancearena.The APTDC would checkthe performance of the leaseholder quarterly and give itsfeedback to the government.The APTDC would also take theresponsibility of promoting thebeach front in its tourism pack-ages, marketing works and on itswebsite.

PNS n KAKINADA

Kajol Sunar achieved a majes-tic double by clinching theyouth and junior girls singlestitles in the AP State rankingtable tennis tournament, underthe aegis of East GodavariDistrict Table TennisAssociation, at District SportsAuthority Indoor Stadium hereon Sunday.

Meanwhile, the men andwomen championship clasheswent according to the scriptwith A Jagadesh Krishna andSailu Noor Basha pocketingthe respective titles.

Results: All finals: Women:Sailu Noor Basha bt BNagasravani 9-11, 8-11, 11-6,11-7, 11-6; Men: A JagadeshKrishna bt Pavan Kumar 6-11,11-9, 12-10, 11-13, 11-9 11-7;Youth girls: Kajol Sunar bt

Nazirabi Noor Basha 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9; Junior girls: KajolSunar bt Aarshitha 11-6, 11-2,12-10; Junior boys: T Surya Tejavs Datta Avinash 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10; Sub-junior girls: BShreshtha bt T.Aashritha 11-8,

11-6, 11-7; Sub-junior boys:MV Karthikeya bt SVN Krishna11-1, 11-3, 8-11, 17-15; Cadetgirls: Siri Pavani bt P Hasini 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8; Cadet boys:CH Vijayadhar bt Chv Abhiram10-12, 11-9, 11-4, 11-3.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Dasara celebrations began in thecity with pandals being erectedon the first day, also known asPadyami. One of the main fea-tures of the festival , unique tothe southern states is theBommala Koluvu by women,which again commences on thevery first day and lasts till thefinal day of the celbrations.

The Dasara Bommalakoluvuis a festival that cuts across castebarriers.

Special pujas are also per-formed at various temples on thefirst day. The most popularGoddesses temples in the city areSri Kanaka Mahalakshmi,Kanyaka Parameswari Templeand the Durgalamma Temple.

In the KanakamahalakshmiTemple, the festival began withthe Adi Lakshmi Alankarana, inthe Kanyaka-Parameswari tem-ple, the Goddess was worshippedin the form of Bala TripuraSundari Devi, the entire Purnamarket traders association partic-ipated in the Padyami Puja at theDurgalamma temple in the Purnamarket, where the Goddess wasdecked in full armour, after which

the Kavachalankruta Puja wasperformed.

All those performing the Pujatake a break from eating non-vegetarian food, which is servedonly on the final day, the ViayaDashami.

Speaking on the occasion,Vedic scholar Susarla VenkataSastry said, "No matter whichcaste or sect people belong to andtheir differences, in the mannerpeople worship the Goddess, atthe end of the day it is a festivalthat symbolises the triumph ofgood over evil. More important-ly Durga also embodies thepower of all the deities who com-

bine their powers to triumphover evil." Sastry further added,"Vijayadashami is one festivalthat is celebrated by theVaishnavaites, Shaktas andShaivaites. It brings together thevarious Hindu sects and com-munities together."

Festivities also began in SteelTownship and other placeswhich include Kali Badi atRailway Station andUkkunagaram and Kali Templeon the beach road. The city hasa sizeable Bengali population anda lot of tourists from WestBengal descended in the city forthe Durga Pooja.

Winners of the AP State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament in Kakinada on Sunday

Dasara celebrations beginon a grand note in Vizag

Yarada beachfront openedfor the public

Women performing dandiya as part of Dasara festivities in Visakhapatnam on Sunday

Seemantham forpregnant womenPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

As a good gesture and part ofthe ensuing 94th birth anniver-sary celebrations of SatyasaiBaba, the women wing ofUkkunagaram Sri Sathya SaiSeva Samiti performed'Seemantham' of 21 poor preg-nant women from the areas ofAganampudi, Duvvada,Rajeevnagar, Vada cheepuru-palli, Devada, Desapatruni-palem, Pharma City Colony,Paravada, Lankelapalem,Kurmannapalem at Sri SatyasaiMandir, sector-2, Ukkuna-garam township here onSunday.

These women were identi-fied with the help ofAganampudi Sevadal(SriSatyasai volunteers) and hos-pital staff of AganampudiGovernment Hospital.

Printed and Published by B Krishna Prasad on Behalf of CMYK Printech Limited. Printed at Jagati Publications Limited, Sakshi Press, Door No. 5-625, Vadlamudi Road, Atmakuru Village, Mangalagiri Mandal, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh.Published at Door No. 40-4-11, Flat No.501, Sujatha Citadel, Jasti Venkataratnam Street, Behind DV Manor Hotel, Vijayawada, Krishna District, AP. Resident Editor B Krishna Prasad RNI title Code no. APENG03628. Phone No. 0866-2479001.

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Govt cleansingTDP sins: Balineni PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Energy Minister BalineniSrinivasula Reddy has statedthat the present StateGovernment was cleansing thepower sector, which had beenburdened with dues up to Rs20,000 crore by the previousTDP government.

In a press note on Sunday,he said that the JaganmohanReddy government was clear-ing the dues to cleanse the sinscommitted by the Naidu gov-ernment. He said that theChief Minister was focusingon the power sector andexpressed the confidence thatvery soon the production atthermal plants in the Statewould be stabilised by takingappropriate steps for steadyflow of coal stocks.

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 vijayawada 03

CAPSULE

Raghuveera Reddyrenders Shramdaan ANANTAPUR: Andhra PradeshCongress Committee president N Raghuveera Reddy on Sundayrendered Shramdaan, along withfarmers, to plug the breach tothe Gangalavai Palyam tank inthe district. He wore a headturban a la farmer and carriedsand bags on his head workinghand-in-hand with farmers. Dueto heavy rains, Rayadurgam,Yadiki and Madakasira mandalshave been affected by floods.Because of the floods, theGangalavai Palyam tank bunddeveloped breach and water hasbeen flowing out of the tank.When locals, farmers andothers worked together to plugthe breach, the APCC president,moved at their plight, joinedhands with them. He carried thesand bags on his head andrendered Shramdaan till thebreach was completely filledthereby he earned the plauditsfrom one and all.

KIMS Saveeracompletes 7,000cardiac proceduresANANTAPUR: KIMS SaveeraHospital in Anantapur hassuccessfully completed over7,000 cardiac procedures sinceits inception in 2015. On theoccasion of World Heart Day onSunday, hospital CEO DrSrinivasa Prasad andcardiologists Dr M Sandeep, DrRakesh Naik and Dr SandeepReddy met District CollectorSatyanarayana. The hospital wasestablished with the sole aim ofproviding advanced superspecialty medical services to theresidents of Anantapur districtand surrounding areas. Overtime it has grown into a premiercardiac centre of the area.Around 30,000 patients from thedistrict have been screened and7,000 procedures completed in ashort period of time.

Be more attentivewhile dischargingduties: TTD EOTIRUMALA: TTD EO Anil KumarSinghal called upon the vigilancesleuths, Srivari Seva volunteers,Scouts and Guides to rededicatethemselves in the service ofmultitude of pilgrims, who takepart during the mega religiousevent. Addressing a massivegathering of TTD Vigilance cops,volunteers and scouts, who aredeployed for Brahmotsavams,which are going to commencefrom September 30 onwards,the EO said everyday is a testingday in Tirumala as the hill towngrabs attention across the globedue its popularity. "Thereputation and image of theinstitution is dependent on yourservices. So not onlyBrahmotsavams or VaikunthaEkadasi, but every day is atesting day for all of us. You allhave been rendering impeccableservices day and night keepingaside your families. I urge you allto be more attentive whiledischarging duties as even asmall issue become viralbecause of social media", hecautioned.

Ministers Avanti Srinivas and Vellampalli Srinivas and APTDC Managing Director Praveen Kumar presenting AndhraPradesh Tourism Excellence Award-2019 to Sabbella Sivannarayana Reddy at a function at Tummalapalli Kalakshetramin Vijayawada

SABBELLA RRECEIVES TTOURISM EEXCELLENCE AAWARD

When people come into possession of political powers, the interference with thefreedom of the people is reduced to a minimum. In other words, a nation that runs

its affairs smoothly and effectively without such state interference is truly democratic.Where such a condition is absent, the form of Government is democratic in name.

— MAHATMA GANDHI

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Sarasnnavaratri celebrationsbegan on a grand note at SriDurga Malleswara SwamyVarla Devasthanam top theIndrakeeladri here on Sunday.

Soon after the'Snapanabhishekam' ritual at 9am, devotees were allowed tohave darshan of the presidingdeity.

Adorned with dazzling goldornaments and sporting the tri-dent in one of Her eight hands,the Goddess blessed the devoutwhile seated majestically onHer throne.

The holy precincts of thesecond most popular shrine inthe State reverberated with thechants of 'Jai Durga' and JaiJanani'. Thousands of devoteestook part in celebrations on thefirst day. The temple was burst-ing at its seams with a sea ofhumanity descending on thecity to catch a glimpse ofGoddess Durga.

Devotees were seen waitingin serpentine queues on theGhat Road, Ravi Chettu Centreand Vinayaka temple. Milkwas distributed to children inthe queue lines.

All 'Arjitha Sevas' were can-celled in view of Navratri cel-ebrations.

Showers were arranged on

various ghats of the RiverKrishna so that devotees canhave a holy bath.Arrangements have beenmade at various places for

devotees to have tonsure tofulfil their vows.

Sunday being a holiday, alarge number of devoteesturned up for the darshan with

their families. Special arrange-ments were made for VIPs atthe Punnami Ghat.

Heavy bandobust was inplace in and around the tem-ple surroundings. Minister for

Animal Husbandry MopideviVenkata Ramana andVijayawada Commissioner ofPolice Ch Tirumala Rao haddarshan of the Goddess on thefirst day.

G RAVI KIRANn VIJAYAWADA

Stepping up his attack againstthe YSRCP government, TDPchief N Chandrababu Naidu isholding review meetings andvideo conferences daily withparty leaders. Apart meetings,he reportedly directed theparty leaders to make use ofevery platform and opportuni-ty to expose misdeeds of thegovernment.

Political analysts say that theissues raised by TDP willattract the urban middle class,who form a major chunk of theTDP's vote bank. The party isnot trying to woo back theBackward Classes (BCs),Scheduled Castes (SCs) andScheduled Tribes (STs), whonow have become a strong votebank for the YSRCP.

But, Naidu is still harping onabout power reforms and tech-nical details from thePolavaram project, which aremostly not understood by thecommon man. He seems to bepolitically upbeat after the

'Chalo Palnadu' programme, ashe has accelerated his partyactivities. With this agitation,he somehow managed to enlistthe support of all leaders andthe cadre in at least a few dis-tricts. After that, he has beenconducting press meets on aregular basis to up the anteagainst the government.

He has also been spendinghours addressing the media.Even party leaders are address-

ing the media at the Stateoffice of the party every day.They keep on repeating thecharges against the govern-ment.

According to ThotaTrimurtulu, who had joinedthe YSRCP after quitting fromthe TDP, "Naidu is still tryingto convince the educated andintellectual sections with hisPowerPoint presentations. But,the TDP has lost the vote

bank of the masses, whichinclude the BCs, SCs, STs andminorities. The party has toreview why the BCs have dis-tanced themselves from it. IfNaidu wants to do anything, hehas to try for the support ofthese backward sections."

Naidu's long press confer-ences have lost their charm, buthe is continuing with themeven after the disastrous resultsat the previous elections, a TDPleader commented.

"The TDP has to increasethe confidence of the partycadre by exposing the mistakesof the ruling party. The deci-sions taken by the govern-ment on the Polavaram project,PPAs and Bandar port haveforced Naidu to focus only onthose issues. At this juncture,I think he is struggling tobuild confidence among theparty cadre and wants toexpose the mistakes of theYSRCP government. But now,the TDP cannot get back thesupport of the weaker sec-tions," said political analystLakshmi Narayana T.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

BJP State President KannaLakshminarayana claimed thatthe people are gravitatingtowards their party as they arevexed with the TDP and theYSRCP. Mallikarjuna Murthy,who had contested fromMydukuru constituency inKadapa district on a Congressticket, joined the party, alongwith 10 advocates from theHigh Court, in his presence onSunday. Krishna District JanaSena convenor Paladugu DavidRaju also joined the party.

Addressing a party meetinghere on Sunday,Lakshminarayana said that the

BJP is the only party, which hasa large membership across theworld. He stated that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andHome Minister Amit Shah putthe country on the path ofdevelopment. "Corruption andirregularities have been increasedamong regional parties in theState. The people are convincedthat the TDP and the YSRCP areuseless and that the State canmake progress only with the BJPgovernment," he said.

Former minister RavelaKishore Babu, former RTICommissioner Vijay Babu,National Secretary of MinorityWing Sk Baji and other leaderswere present on the occasion.

MLA refutesNaidu's remarks

A Village Volunteer helping a sickorphan to board an ambulance atDharmasagaram village

PNS n AMARAVATI

Chilakaluripeta MLA VidadalaRajini on Sunday lambastedformer Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu over hisremarks against the VillageVolunteer system and felt thatwhat he had said against thevolunteers was insulting.

It may be recalled that Naidubelittled the job of carryingbags of rice and other staples tohouseholds and even went to theextent of claiming that the vol-unteers would harass the wom-enfolk of the house while themale members of the house wereaway at work. Rajini, in hertweet, posted a message, alongwith a photo of Village VolunteerBoyalamma helping a sickorphan board the 108 ambu-lance at Dharmasagaram village.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former minister and TDP leaderAlapati Rajendra Prasad allegedthat the State government is try-ing to dilute the case of the mur-der of former minister YSVivekananda Reddy.

Speaking to the media at theparty's state office in Guntur onSunday, he said that ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddy,who had demanded a CBIinquiry into the murder beforethe elections, had failed to crackthe case even after four monthsof his party's rule. He stated thatthe murder took place 198 daysago and 121 days had alreadyelapsed since JaganmohanReddy assumed power. Even thesuicide by Srinivasa Reddy, whowas quizzed in the case and the

police failure in disclosing whatwas contained in the two letterswritten by the deceased stillremains a mystery. Even DGPGautam Sawang went to Kadapaand enquired about the case, butnothing concrete has come out,Alapati added. He recalled themurder of Paritala Ravi and thedeaths of the accused in jail andalleged that the present situationin the case of the murder of YSVivekananda Reddy was reflect-ing the same. He questionedSunitha Reddy, daughter of YS

Vivekananda Reddy, on whyshe has not addressed even a sin-gle press meet after the elections.

Week-long feteto mark ‘VahanaMitra' launchPNS n VIJAYAWADA

YSRCP leader P GautamReddy said that the YSRCPgovernment under the lead-ership of YS JaganmohanReddy has taken up measuresfor the welfare of workers.

Speaking to the media hereon Sunday, he stated that aweek-long celebration willbe conducted to mark thelaunch of 'Vahana Mitra', ascheme meant to offer finan-cial assistance to auto and taxidrivers across the State. Thescheme would be implement-ed from October 4, the reg-istration process for whichhas already begun.

He appealed to trade unionleaders affiliated to theYSRCP to take the initiativein making the programmesuccessful. Rallies, meetingsand felicitation programmesshould be organised duringthe celebrations, he added.

Reddy stated that therecruitment of volunteersand Village/Ward Secretariatemployees, which would beprovided jobs for aroundfour lakh people, was arecord.

Granted that dark glassesmake a style statement. Youoccasionally also need to

wear it for medical reasons i.e. outof necessity and not by choice. Andingenious people like Congresssenior leader V Hanumantha Raomake a virtue out of necessity andwear it with aplomb. VH, whorecently underwent an eye surgeryand has been sporting shadesever since, doesn't bat an eyelidbefore allowing anyone to drawcomparisons with some very bigpolitical giants of the recent past.Late MG Ramchandran was thelikeness that immediately came toreporters' mind. "TelanganaRamchandran," said one scribe.That compliment sounded likepoetry to VH, donning dark glass-es. "Plan a film on me 'cause I looklike a hero," said VH, who by nowwas also wearing a grin on his face."A biopic would be best," thereporter chuckled.

MP who's all over the placeNewly-elected MP from

Visakhapatnam MVVSatyanarayana is seen all over thecity attending almost all functionshe is invited to. He really wants tobe seen in the media. The recentinauguration of a double-deckertrain linking Vijayawada washighlighted as a feather in the capfor the new MP. While locals doappreciate his enthusiasm, butalso wonder if he has the pulse ofground realities and can actuallydeliver the goods. The builder-turned-politician was houndedby the law enforcement agenciesfor certain violations allegedlycommitted in the past. No won-der then that soon after winning

in the LS elections, he toldreporters that he joined politics tocounter a certain political partythat had made it its mission todestroy him as a builder andtherefore filed cases against him.

Pharma, medicines comewith a warning

Pharma City slated to come upin Hyderabad will be providedsubsidised electricity, water supplyand such other sops. A majorpharma hub like that in the Capitalis likely to provide employment tothe teeming skilled and semi-skilled workers as also our dailywage earners. Even otherwise,Hyderabad is perhaps better offthan other places for jobs are stillavailable here despite the econom-

ic slow-down. However, there is this littlething about environmental dam-age that we also need to look atwhile inviting large business toinvest in the state. The upcomingPharma City will be spread over amassive 19,000 acres inRangareddy district, which arelikely to house scores of chemicaland drug-making units. These, bytheir very nature, happen to causelarge-scale land and water pollu-tion. It'd be good if the necessary

preventions like efficient dispos-al of air and water pollutants andeffluent treatment plants are alsocoming up on a commensuratescale.

Cong-BJP pow-wowTalking of pollution and STPs

(solid waste treatment plants),politicians in the Opposition scrubthe surface hard to dig up dirt onruling regimes. And sometimesalso end up rubbing each other thewrong way. The other day,Congress and BJP leaders togeth-er visited dysfunctional STPs tohighlight their sorry state of affairs.Former MP from Congress CKVishweshwar Reddy and BJP leaderG Vivek were part of the joint del-egation. To put together a strong

case, Vishweshwar Reddy did a lotof homework and research, and ledthe delegation to highlight how thedsyfunctional STPs have become abreeding-place for mosquitoes andcausing an epidemic of viral feversin Hyderabad. "No matter howhard you Congress people work totake on KCR, it's BJP that will getthe credit for fighting against TRS,"said G Vivek, trying to get underthe Congress man's skin. "You(BJP) may get all the credit in Delhiand even Houston, but not here inTelangana," Reddy shot back.

Tweet twists the taleA tweet posted recently by TDP

young gun and former AP MinisterNara Lokesh has created a flutterand spiraled into quite a debate -

a far-removed and far-fetched one,though. What's happening now isa tangy sling match between abunch of Andhra Pradesh votersand TRS youth wing leaders fromHuzurnagar. The topic is polls butthe debate is centered aroundwhether a voter from a neighbour-ing state can contest Assemblyelections in polls across the stateborders without being on its voterlist. A pretty tough proposition thathas no easy answers? Some villagelevel leaders have it all sorted it out:How else did a certain well-knownleader get into fray from the GramPanchayath level to become thePresident of India? they ask inrhetoric. Go figure.

(Contributed by Kolishetty Venkateshwarlu,

KMP Patnaik, Mayank Tiwari,

Deepthi Nandan, Bakka Tennyson )

REPORTERS’

D ARY

Light moments with VH in dark glasses

Navratri fete off to a grand start

Entrance of Durga temple in Vijayawada illuminated as part of Navaratricelebrations, which started on a grand note on Sunday

Goddess Kananakdurga adorned with dazzling gold ornaments and sporting thetrident

BJP State President Kanna Lakshminarayana addressing a press conference inVijayawada on Sunday

n 'Jai Janani' chantsreverberate Durga templeprecincts

n Adorned with dazzlinggold ornaments andsporting the trident inone of Her eight hands,the Goddess blessed thedevout while seatedmajestically on Herthrone

n Heavy bandobust was inplace in and around thetemple surroundings

n Minister for AnimalHusbandry MopideviVenkata Ramana andVijayawadaCommissioner of PoliceCh Tirumala Rao haddarshan of the Goddesson the first day

Alert staff avertmajor fire mishapPNS n VIJAYAWADA

In an inauspicious incident, agas leak took place in theprasadam-making unit mar-ring the otherwise grand startto the festivities on the templepremises. Panic spread acrossthe temple when a gas pipe inthe room where 'pulihoraprasadam' was being madewas found leaking. About 40to 50 cylinders were inside theroom at that time.

However, the alert staffaverted a major fire mishap byreporting the incident to theauthorities, who immediatelyresponded and took steps toplug the leakage.

Preparation of 'pulihoraprasadam' was stalled at thetemple following the incident,upsetting devotees.

The incident is being seenas the fallout of lack of prop-er supervision of preparationsprior to the start of the Naratrifestival.

Executive Officer of theDurga temple Suresh Babuinspected the unit where thegas leaked.

Naidu's attack on YSRCPgovt lacks sting, charm

n Political analysts saythat the issues raised byTDP will attract theurban middle class,who form a majorchunk of the TDP's votebank

n The party is not tryingto woo back theBackward Classes (BCs),Scheduled Castes (SCs)and Scheduled Tribes(STs), who now havebecome a strong votebank for the YSRCP

n The TDP leader statedthat the murder tookplace 198 days ago and121 days had alreadyelapsed sinceJaganmohan Reddyassumed power

n Even the suicide bySrinivasa Reddy, whowas quizzed in the caseand the police failure indisclosing what wascontained in the twoletters written by thedeceased still remains amystery

Govt diluting probe intoViveka murder: Alapati

AnkurarpanamperformedPNS n TIRUMALA

The festival of sowing ofseeds, Ankurarpanam wasperformed as a prelude toannual Brahmotsavams onSunday. As a part of it,Senadhipathi Utsavam wasconducted where, theUniversal Commander inChief of Lord, SriVishvaksenulavaru, was takenon a celestial procession.

Later, the seed sowing fes-tival was carried out as per thetenets of Vaikhananasa Agamaby the priests of the temple.TTD Trust Board Chief YVSubba Reddy, Executive offi-cer Anil Kumar Singhal,Additional EO AV Dharma,CVSO Gopinath Jatti, ACVOSivakumar Reddy and otherstook part.

People vexed withregional parties: Kanna

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 telangana 04Love and Ahimsa are matchless in their effect. But, in their play there is nofuss, show, noise or placards. They presuppose self-confidence which in its turn

presupposes self-purification. Men of stainless character and self-purification willeasily inspire confidence and automatically purify the atmosphere around them.

— MAHATMA GANDHI

PNS n HYDERABAD

Employees of the TelanganaState Road TransportCorporation (TSRTC) onSunday decided to go on indef-inite strike from October 5 topress for their demands, themain being the merger of theunit with the government.

The Joint Action Committee(JAC) of various employeeunions said they were forced togo on strike by the "unhelpfulattitude" of the StateGovernment, which failed toaddress the long-pendingdemands even after beingserved the strike notice.

The unions want the TSRTCto be merged with the govern-ment. The demand cropped upafter the loss-making AndhraPradesh State Road TransportCorporation (APSRTC) wasmerged with the governmentin the neighbouring state earlythis month.

Beside the merger, theTSRTC employees unions are

demanding pay revision, jobsecurity, payment of dues bythe government and filling upof vacancies.

The unions, which claim torepresent about a lakh employ-ees, half of them working oncontract basis, also demandedan increase in the bus fleet.

The union leaders allegedthat there is tremendous workpressure on the employees as

they were being forced to do"double duty".

They said not even one newemployee was recruited in theTSRTC during last five years.

Telangana Mazdoor Union(TMU) General SecretaryAshwathama Reddy said theywere demanding that the gov-ernment fulfill the assurancesgiven by a cabinet sub-commit-tee last year. He alleged that the

government is not even com-ing forward to discuss theirissues.

He said if the governmentfailed to respond to theirdemands in next six days, theywould be left with no optionbut to go on strike.

The union leaders said thegovernment would be respon-sible for the hardships to befaced by the people due to thestrike during Dussehra holi-days. They pointed out that thegovernment has not paid duesrunning up to Rs 1,000 croreto the TSRTC. According tothem, the losses of the corpo-ration mounted to Rs 3,380crore.

The proposal to merge theAPSRTC with the governmentwas mooted in 2013 in the thenundivided Andhra Pradesh.

Fulfilling his poll promise,Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy earlier this monthapproved the merger ofAPSRTC with the government.

RTC employees to go on strike from Oct 5 PNS n HYDERABAD

The by-election to HuzurnagarAssembly seat next month islikely to be a multi-corneredcontest as the Telugu DesamParty (TDP) announced itscandidate for the October 21poll.

Hoping to revive his party'sfortunes in Telangana, partyPresident N ChandrababuNaidu decided to field a can-didate in the by-election.

TDP's Telangana unitPresident L Ramana onSunday announced that ChavaKiranmai will be the party can-didate. She is the party'sOrganisation Secretary in theState.

The TDP's decision is sur-prising since it had stayedaway from Lok Sabha electionsearlier this year.

The Huzurnagar by-poll willbe the first election to be con-tested by the TDP in Telanganaon its own. In the December2018 Assembly elections, ithas pre-poll alliance with theCongress.

The four-party alliance facedhumiliation as it could win just21 seats in the 119-memberAssembly. The TDP hadbagged two seats and one ofthe legislators subsequentlydefected to the rulingTelangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS).

After the failed experience,the Congress and the TDPsnapped the alliance, thoughofficially they did not makeany announcement. Naidutook the decision to field partycandidate for the Huzurnagarby-election after consultationwith the party leaders fromNalgonda district.

The leaders impressed uponNaidu the need to contest theelection to make the party's

presence felt in the state. Theysaid contesting the polls wasnecessary to send a message tothe party cadre at the grass-root level that the party is stillalive and kicking.

"We will give answer tothose who ask where is theTDP in Telangana," seniorTDP leader R ChandrashekharReddy said. He is confidentthat the TDP's revival in theState will start fromHuzurnagar.

The TDP, which had leftHuzurnagar for Congress in2018, had bagged over 25,000votes and finished fourth in the2014 elections.

The by-poll has been neces-sitated by the resignation of sit-ting Congress member UttamKumar Reddy from theAssembly, following his elec-tion to Lok Sabha fromNalgonda. The Congress hasfielded Uttam Kumar Reddy'swife Padmavathi Reddy. She

had lost the Assembly electionfrom Kodad constituency inthe same district.

The TRS has named S SaidiReddy as its candidate. He lostto Uttam Kumar Reddy inDecember 2018.

The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) too has decided to enterthe fray. Party's state unitPresident K Laxman onSunday said K Rama Rao willfile his nomination as theparty candidate on Monday.

Meanwhile, the TRS leaderscalled on Communist Party ofIndia state Secretary ChadaVenkat Reddy to seek hisparty's support for the TRScandidate.

As the Left parties had goodsupport base in the undividedNalgonda district, TRS leadersK. Keshava Rao and G Vinodmet the CPI leader and soughthis support. Venkat Reddysaid his party would soonannounce its stand.

The Communist Party ofIndia-Marxist has also decid-ed to contest the by-electionwhile the Telangana JanaSamithi, which had alliancewith the Congress, the TDPand the CPI in previousAssembly polls, is likely to takea decision on Monday.

The TRS, which won 88seats to retain power, increasedits tally to over 100 by luring15 MLAs, including 12 of theCongress, to join its ranks. Itis looking to wrest Huzurnagarfrom the Congress.

The by-poll is battle of pres-tige for the Congress as UttamKumar Reddy was electedfrom here three consecutivetimes. Political analysts say bywinning the by-election, theCongress would like to provethat the TRS act of merging its12 MLAs with the ruling partywas unethical.

n Govt urged to emulate AP merger precedentn Lament KCR govt's 'unhelpful attitude'

TDP's entry peps up Huzurnagar by-poll

The Huzurnagar by-pollwill be the first electionto be contested by theTDP in Telangana onits own. In theDecember 2018Assembly elections, ithad pre-poll alliancewith the Congress

A fun way to learn traffic rules drawn upPNS n KARIMNAGAR

Ministers Puvvada Ajay Kumarand Gangula Kamalakar inau-gurated a children traffic-train-ing park here on Sunday.

The District transport offi-cials established the traffictraining park to educate chil-dren about traffic rules andreduce road accidents.

Speaking on the occasion,Transport Minister AjayKumar said the vehicular traf-fic in the state is increasingrapidly. He said that over 1.2crore vehicles, including two-wheelers are plying on theroad.

"Road security is the primeobjective of the governmentand hence the government hasinitiated an awareness drive,"the Minister said and addedthat the government was cre-ating awareness among thepublic with an expenditure ofRs 14 crore.

Kamalakar said that childrenin the city would be taughtabout the traffic symbols andtraffic rules comprehensively.He suggested the school man-

agements in the city to guidetheir wards in the park aboutthe traffic rules.

It may be recalled that, in thewake increasing road accidentseach year, Telangana govern-ment had constituted a sub-committee to study the issue in2016. The then MunicipalAdministration Minister KT

Rama Rao proposed to estab-lish children traffic awarenessparks. Following this, theTelangana Motor VehicleInspectors Association cameforward to establish childrentraffic training park by bearingthe cost and finalizedKarimnagar DTO office.

Though there are similar

parks in the country, the onehere is the biggest spread overtwo acres land along with allmodern facilities to educatechildren about traffic rules.

Besides 20 feet wide roads,traffic signals, a market, a hos-pital zone, a school zone, petrolbunk, foot over bridge, parkingzone, bus shelters, unmanned

railway crossing, zebra crossingand others are part of the park.

A three-staged training cur-riculum has been designed andinitially, children below 15years will be allowed to enterinto park through a footpathand occupy seats in 100 seatedcapacity auditorium where theywill get theoretical knowledgeabout traffic rules. The onehour-length theory class com-prises of power point presenta-tion and short films on roadaccidents and safety norms.

In the second phase, chil-dren will get practical knowl-edge. They will be allowed toenter into real time road trackalong with bicycles.

They will be explained howto observe traffic, take turns byfollowing traffic sign boards,park cycles at parking lots,measures to be taken at petrolbunks, school zones and hos-pitals. They also explainedabout fines if they violate traf-fic rules. On the other hand,children below seven yearswill be trained about trafficrules in enclosed road track onwhich they can ride tricycles.

Awareness drive ondrunken drivingPNS n MAHABUBNAGAR

The Mahabubnagar police havelaunched a unique drive ondrunken drive in the ruralareas here on Sunday. As partof the drive, the officials took upthe task in about fifteen villages,went to each village, and guid-ed the people about the conse-quences of drunken driving.

The drive was initiated inAnnasagar village of the dis-trict and the villagers were

called to the village squarewhere the police personnelimparted training and orienta-tion to the youths and villagersabout the drunken driving.

Drunken driving is leadingto accidents and this is causingagony to the families, policeofficials said. MahabubnagarSP Rema Rajeshwari chalkedout this unique concept andthey hope that the concept islikely to yield results in thecoming days.

NIRDPR seeksproposals forrural tech parks PNS n HYDERABAD

The National Institute ofRural Development andPanchayati Raj (NIRDPR)has invited proposals from allstate governments to establisha rural technology park ineach state, its DirectorGeneral W V Reddy said onSunday.

These rural technologyparks (RTPs) will be estab-lished to train rural people sothat they can earn their liveli-hood and become self depen-dent, he said. At present,there is only one RTP inNIRDPR in Hyderabad. Itprovides training and trans-fer of technology throughlive demonstrations, and alsoprovides outlets to sell theirproducts, Reddy said.

"The training is given tointerested budding entrepre-neurs in the RTP for theirskill up-gradation. And theyare also assisted to start theirown enterprises," he said.

PNS n NIZAMABAD

District Collector M RammohanRao said people littering villagestreets will be penalised as thatis the only way to prevent themfrom turning villages into opengarbage dumpyards. TheCollector was inspecting 30-day Action Plan in Jankampet,Yedapalli, Minarpally, Bodhanmandal headquarters and othermandals in the district. InBodhan Municipality, theCollector expressed dissatisfac-

tion after seeing garbage heaps,piles of plastic items in drains andsought an explanation from san-itary inspector Ramakrishna.He ordered an immediate clean-up of the drainages and soughtphotographic evidence of thework done. Rao also orderedRDO Gopiran to immediatelyconduct a meeting with alldepartments to clean the town.If the current situation was wit-nessed again, disciplinary actionwould be taken against employ-ees responsible, he added.

People littering streetsto be penalized

PNS n HYDERABAD

In an oblique reference to ESImedicine scam that rockedTelangana, the speakers at theconvocation of AdministrativeStaff College of India's PostGraduate Diploma in HospitalManagement (PGDHM) ofBatch-12 (2017-19) under-lined the importance of prac-ticing ethics in hospital admin-istration.

Delivering the ConvocationAddress before giving awaycertificates at a glittering func-tion at ASCI's College ParkCampus here on Sunday, theChief Guest Richard BSaldanha, a corporate manage-ment expert, said: "Life is aspiritual journey. We are nothere to make money but we arehere to serve society. Createvalue by holding on to values."

Richard called upon to-bethe managers of hospitals todedicate their lives to serve thepatients with utmost care anddedication. "Build your repu-tation around the nobility ofthe profession and don't playzero sum game. Focus onadding and multiplying but not

subtraction and division," hesaid.

Dr KS Ratnakar, Director,Global Medical Education andResearch Foundation, in hisKey Note address said thathealthcare managers are thecustodians of ethics in hospi-tals. "Please don't resort to ESIkind of scams because it isutter disgrace to the nobleprofession."

Founder-Director of NIMS,Prof Kakarala Subba Raoobserved that 'healthcare rev-olution' is in the offing in thecountry and asked youngsters

to make use of the opportuni-ties created by it. Narmadawon the gold medal, institut-ed by Prof Subba Rao, by top-ping the batch while Dr. ParuSrivastava won silver for scor-ing second highest marks. Thedignitaries gave away awardsand certificates to the stu-dents. ASCI Director GeneralProf Nirmala Apsingikar, Deanof Training Programmes ProfValli Manickam, ProgrammeDirector, Dr SubodhKandamuthan and facultymember Dr Saswat KishoreMishra also spoke.

Practice ethics, ASCI graduates exhorted

PNS n HYDERABAD

NCC cadets of AndhraPradesh and Telangana havedone their States proud bywinning the overall secondplace including four trophiesand 33 individual medals inthe recently concluded AllIndia Thal Sainik Camp (TSC)competition at New Delhi.Launched after rigorous train-ing for two months in eventslike obstacle training, mapreading, health and hygiene,tent pitching, judging distanceand firing, the team compet-ed against sixteen other StateDirectorates to achieve theseexemplary results.

In honour of AndhraPradesh and Telangana TSCContingent, a high tea wasorganised at NCC Directorate,Secunderabad on Sunday. AirCommodore NN Reddy,Deputy Director General,

Andhra Pradesh and TelanganaDirectorate welcomed the NCCcontingent comprising 40 girlcadets and 49 boy cadets andcomplimented them forexcelling in the competition andindividually felicitated all medalwinners. The DDG furtherstressed the importance of hardwork, total dedication and com-mitment in all aspects toachieve better results in allother forthcoming NCC events.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Upping the ante against the rul-ing TRS, Congress MP fromBhongir, Komatireddy VenkatReddy has leveled serious alle-gations against the pink party'snominee S Saidi Reddy alleg-ing that the latter is a 'non-local'.

He described the by-electionas the war between 'dictator'and 'Telangana woman'. Heexuded confidence that thepeople would stand by theside of Congress ensuring itsvictory in this war. He hopedthat the people would teach a

lesson to the 'dictator' ChiefMinister

K Chandrasekhar Rao. On Sunday in a statement,

Komatireddy said that he andCongress activists fromBhongir would participate inhuge numbers on the occasionof filing nominations by UttamPadmavathi Reddy. "Later, Iwill convene party activistsmeeting at Huzurnagar to dis-cuss on the strategy to beadopted in Huzurnagar by-elections", he informed.

He exuded confidence thatUttam Padmavathi Reddy willwin with huge majority. He said

that he would participate in by-elections campaign to exposethe KCR's dictatorial attitude.Komatireddy alleged that ChiefMinister insulted formerDeputy Speaker and Medak

MLA Padma Devender Reddyby not allowing inside PragathiBhavan. He asked the people ofHuzurnagar to teach a lesson toKCR by ensuring the victory ofKCR.

People need Congress'victory: Ponnam

Former MP and TPCCworking president PonnamPrabhakar and senior leaderMedipally Sathyam haveopined that the people need-ed the victory of Congress inHuzurnagar. Arrogance ofTRS will increase if it wins inHuzurnagar constituency. The

people have to bring down theTRS from sky by defeating itscandidate in the elections,they said alleging the rulingparty is afraid of Huzurnagarby-election.

Ponnam said that PowerMinister G Jagdish Reddywould have committed suicideimmediately after assigningMLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddyas in-charge of Huzurnagarby-elections. Wondering atHome Minister MahamoodAli's statement that he does-n't know the arrest ofSapranches, union presidentBhumaiah, Ponnam said that

the Sarpanches are imple-menting 30-days plan by sell-ing their ornaments.

Both the leaders fromKarimnagar have demandedthe state government to orderan inquiry into the corruptiontook place in Mid-Manairproject with High Court sit-ting judge.

They said that the people ofChoppadandi and Karimnagarconstituencies were in doubtsthat Mid-Manair leakage willsubmerge their areas. Thegovernment has the responsi-bility of clearing their doubtsimmediately.

Cadets from TS, APshine at Sainik Camp

Prevent TRS win, urge Komatireddy, Ponnam

PNS n HYDERABAD

The British Council inHyderabad has been a knowl-edge centre and learning spacefor Hyderabad's students, pro-fessionals and families for thelast two decades. Keeping upthe expectation, BritishCouncil - in association withthe Reading Agency, UK -hasbrought the 'ReadingChallenge' to India.

Celebrating '50 years ofhumans landing on the moon'as this year's theme of SpaceChase, this global challenge isbased on the principle ofencouragement and motiva-tion and inspires children toread for pleasure, thus improv-ing their English, developingtheir reading skills, and build-ing their con?dence.

The six-week challenge,open to children from theage of 5 to 11, will com-mence from tOctober 1. TheReading Chal lenge inHyderabad will encourage

the participating children toread six or more books oftheir choice over the compe-tition period of 6 weeks.The British Council willorganise multiple workshopsfor participants to help themimprove reading speed andacquire storytelling and cre-ative writing skills.

The Reading Challengewill culminate in a megaaward ceremony at theBritish Council Hyderabad,where winners from each agegroup will be felicitated andawarded certificates. BritishCouncil Library membersand non-members can enrolfor the Reading Challenge.The Brit ish Counci l inHyderabad stays true to itspromise of creat ing anunconventional space whichis safe and child friendly. Thefamily membership of thelibrary entails a lot of bene-fits, providing an environ-ment that nurtures learningand growth.

British Council brings global ‘Reading Challenge' to Hyd

30-day actionplan yieldingresultsPNS n KHAMMAM

As part of the 30-day actionplan for village development,burial grounds and dumpingyards have been identified inmany villages. DistrictCollectors RV Karnan(Khammam) and Rajat KumarSaini (Bhadradri-Kothagudem)have been undertaking fieldvisits and motivating officialmachinery to implement theaction plan, which will come toan end by Oct 5.

The people are jubilant astheir demands for dumpyards and burial grounds arebeing fulfilled as part of theaction plan. Earlier, theirrequests fell on deaf years.Thanks to the action plan.

In both the districts, thepeople have gathered plasticat a place in the village. Theplastic gathered from house-holds was sent to six process-ing centers in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district-Bhadrachalam, Aswaraopeta,Kothagudem, Paloncha,Illendu and Manuguru. Theplastic is likely to be routed toeither a cement unit or apaper unit for processing.

Jagadish batsfor protectingmother tonguePNS n SURYAPET

Minister G Jagadish Reddy hascalled upon people to tightentheir belts as it is time to safe-guard mother tongue Telugu.Participating as chief guest in thealumni association of govern-ment high school at Gottipartiin Tungaturti constituency inconnection with centenary cel-ebrations of the school, he saidthat the priority to Telugu isdecreasing because of the fad forlearning English.

Launched afterrigorous training fortwo months in eventslike obstacle training,map reading, healthand hygiene, tentpitching, judgingdistance and firing

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

Cong announcescandidates for bypollsin Bihar, UP, RajasthanNEW DELHI: The Congressreleased a list of its candidateson Sunday for bypolls to a LokSabha seat and variousAssembly constituencies inBihar, Uttar Pradesh andRajasthan. "Congress presidentSonia Gandhi has approvedproposals for the candidatureof Ashok Kumar forSamastipur-SC Lok Sabhaconstituency," a party statementsaid. She has also approved thecandidatures of Sayeeda Banufrom the Kishanganj Assemblyseat in Bihar, Rita Chaudharyfrom Mandawa in Rajasthan,Harendra Mirdha from theKhinwsar Assemblyconstituency in Rajasthan andMannu Devi for the Balha-SCAssembly constituency in UttarPradesh, it added.

SP declarescandidates for fiveassembly seats

3 of family jump into river with pet dog MANGALURU: In what appearsto be a suicide pact, a womanand her two adult children,along with their dog, jumpedoff the new bridge acrossNethravati river in DakshinaKannada district, police said.Local people on Saturday sawthe three taking the plunge andtried to rescue them, but couldonly pull the elderly woman outof the waters, the police said.She, however, died while beingtaken to hospital, they said.Search is still on for the twoothers, they said. The deceasedhave been identified as KavitaMandanna (55), her sonKaushik (22) and daughterKalpitha (20), they said. Thefamily belonged to Virajpet inKodagu district, the police said.The trio, travelling in a car,stopped the vehicle on thebridge on the Mangaluru-Bengaluru national highwayand jumped into the river, alongwith the dog, they said, quotingeye-witnesses. The reasonbehind the extreme step wasnot immediately known, thepolice added.

LUCKNOW: With barely a dayleft for filing nominations forby-elections in Uttar Pradesh,the Samajwadi Party on Sundaydeclared candidates for fiveassembly seats going tobypolls, voting for which will beheld on October 21. In a tweet,the SP said, "Sudhakar Singhwill be party's candidate fromGhosi, while Nirbhay SinghPatel will be SP candidate fromManikpur. The party has giventicket to Gaurav Kumar Rawatfrom Zaidpur. Subhash Rai willbe SP candidate from Jalalpur,while Brijesh Verma Patel willbe party candidate fromPratapgarh." Last week, theElection Commission hadannounced that polling for 11Assembly seats in UP mostlybelonging to MLAs who hadwon the Lok Sabha polls andresigned as members of stateassembly will be held onOctober 21. Assemblyconstituencies going to bypollsare Gangoh, Rampur, Iglas(SC), Lucknow Cantonment,Govindnagar, Manikpur,Pratapgarh, Zaidpur (SC),Jalalpur, Balha (SC) and Ghosi.The Ghosi seat became vacantfollowing the resignation ofsitting MLA Phagu Chauhanafter he was appointed as theGovernor of Bihar.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The EC on Sunday reducedSikkim Chief Minister PremSingh Tamang's disqualifica-tion period by almost fiveyears under a provision of theelectoral law, paving the wayfor him to contest the stateassembly elections.

His disqualification periodof six years, during which hewas barred from contestingpolls, began on August 10,2018 -- the day he completeda year's jail term in a corrup-tion case. It was to end onAugust 10, 2024.

But the ElectionCommission (EC) on Sundayreduced it to one year and onemonth.

Tamang, whose SikkimKrantikari Morcha party wonthe state assembly electionsheld in April, took over as chiefminister on May 27. However,

he could not contest the elec-tions due to his disqualifica-tion.

He has to contest assemblypolls within six months ofbecoming the chief minister tohold the office.

Tamang was found guilty ofmisappropriation of govern-ment funds in a cow distribu-

tion scheme while he was theminister of animal husbandryin the 1990s.

A case was registered in2003 under the Prevention ofCorruption Act that was sub-sequently repealed. Tamanghas served the full sentence.

The EC order said Tamang'sdisqualification stands reducedto one year and one month. Inother words, his disqualifica-tion period ended onSeptember 10 this year and hecan contest polls to continue aschief minister.

In July, Tamang had request-

ed the poll panel to waive hisdisqualification period underSection 11 of theRepresentation of the PeopleAct.

Under the provisions of thelaw, the EC can reduce orremove a person's disqualifi-cation.

Section 11 of the RP Actstates, "The ElectionCommission may, for reasonsto be recorded, remove any dis-qualification under thisChapter 1 (except under sec-tion 8A) or reduce the periodof any such disqualification."

EC cuts Sikkim CM's disqualificationperiod, paves way for him to contest

PNS n MUMBAI

The Congress is likely to havean "upper hand" in alliancewith the NCP for next month'sMaharashtra Assembly pollsand may contest more seatsthan the '125 each' formulaearlier agreed upon, stateCongress chief BalasahebThorat hinted on Sunday.

It will take some more timeto work out an "acceptable for-mula", he said.

"The NCP admits that theCongress will have an upperhand. Going by the number ofcandidates and capacity to putup a challenge, the Congress isof the opinion of contestingmore seats than the earlier for-mula of 125 seats each," Thorattold reporters here.

He was speaking after ameeting held at the residenceof NCP leader DhananjayMunde.

"It will take some more timeto work out an acceptable for-mula. The first list of around50 candidates can come out by

October 2," Thorat said.He said another meeting

between the two parties isscheduled on October 2 whichis expected to bring moreclarity on the seat-sharingscenario.

The state goes to polls onOctober 21 and counting ofvotes will be held on October24.

Speaking on other issues,Thorat lashed out at theCentre for banning onionexports and termed it as a

decision "not in favour offarmers".

"It is double standard onpart of the Centre. When theonion prices crash, it doesn'tdo anything, but imposes a banwhen prices rise and there isscope for farmers to earnmoney. The Centre is moreinterested in keeping the onionprices low than helping farm-ers," he alleged.

On speculation that formerstate chief minister NarayanRane may join the BJP, Thoratsaid the ruling party was prob-ably delaying it with the inten-tion of inducting him on anauspicious day like the GandhiJayanti (October 2).

PNS n THANE

The Shramjeevi Sanghatana,an outfit working for tribalwelfare, which supported theBJP in past elections, hasdecided to contest some seatson its own in the next month'sMaharashtra Assembly polls.

Despite the Sanghatana, ledby former MLA Vivek Pandit,supporting the BJP all along,the ruling party has "not doneanything for tribals", the out-fit's general secretary Balaram

Bhoir told reporters onSunday.

"We will surely contest all sixAssembly seats in Palghar dis-trict and at least four seats in

Thane," he said.At a meeting of the

Sanghatana office-bearersfrom Thane, Palghar, Nashik,Raigadh and Mumbai held

here on Saturday, there was aunanimous demand that thistime it should contest polls onits own, Bhoir said.

"The members were of theopinion that the Sanghatanashould neither support anyonenor take support from anyone,"he said.

They also pointed out thatmost of the demands of trib-als were pending for years,with the ruling party only giv-ing assurances and not goingbeyond that, he said.

"It was on account of oursupport that the BJP nomineescould get elected in Parliamentelections from Thane andPalghar, but this time we aresure to win at least a couple ofseats and even ensure defeat ofcandidates put up by the rul-ing party in some constituen-cies," Bhoir said.

Pandit, who currently headsa committee on tribal welfare,has been accorded the status ofa Minister of State by theMaharashtra government.

PNS n CHENNAI/SALEM

DMK president M K Stalin onSunday alleged Rs 350 crorecorruption in the tender forprocurement of communica-tion equipment for the policeforce in Tamil Nadu, a chargedismissed by Chief Minister KPalaniswami as 'a lie'

Stalin, the Leader of oppo-sition in the Assembly, alleged"corruption in the Rs 350 croretender for buying communi-cation equipment includingcamera, CCTV, and digitalmobile radio for the TamilNadu police" and demanded afair probe by the Vigilanceand Anti-Corruption wing.

It was "anguishing that thespectre of AIADMK regime'scorruption," has not evenspared the police department,the DMK leader alleged in astatement.

In Salem, Palaniswamirejected the allegation as "a lie".

"When he (Stalin) has notmade such allegations? He hasbeen making such claims sinceI took over as Chief Minister,what have they proved ?...it isa deliberate attempt and a lie,"he told reporters when askedabout Stalin's charge.

The corruption claims of themain opposition were "nothing

new and are lies," and suchcharges were levelled againstthe government in respect of aroad sector project too, hesaid.

While the DMK found faultwith every scheme of the gov-ernment, people knew theextent of "irregularities andcorruption" during their pre-vious regime, Palaniswami said.

Citing the Veeranam drink-ing water scheme during theDMK's rule in the past, healleged the project was miredin corruption and networkpipes were abandoned.

Through the New VeeranamProject, drinking water wasbrought to Chennai from theVeeranam lake, about 200 kmfrom the state capital, only bylate Chief Minister JJayalalithaa, he said.

PNS n BENGALURU

Amid reports that the phone ofNirmalananda Swamiji, aninfluential seer of the dominantVokkaliga community was alsotapped during the coalitiongovernment led by him, formerChief Minister H DKumaraswamy Sunday ruledout any involvement in it.

He also said the allegationhas caused him "unbearablepain."

The JD(S) leader saidunnecessarily his name wasbeing linked to the case, andthe seer was a moral supportand guide for him.

"The reports about tappingof Nirmalananda Swamiji'sphone during my administra-tion and statements by politi-cal leaders regarding it hascaused unbearable pain to myheart.

Above all this might haveupset Swamiji has increasedmy pain," Kumaraswamy saidin a tweet.

In multiple tweets inKannada, he said,Nirmalananda Swamiji was amoral support for him andguided him under the shelterof his social works.

Swamiji even prayed forhim to lord Kalabhirava.

"Is it possible for me take

suspicious step regarding him?Absolutely not," he said.

"Unnecessarily my name isbeing linked to this case.

Asoka (Minister) has goneahead of every one and hassought an apology for a mis-take that has not happened. Idon't know what he gainedfrom this. I feel pity for his hur-ried move...." he added.

Chief Minister B SYediyurappa had last monthhanded over the alleged phonetapping case to CBI probe, asthe scandal gained politicalsteam.

Several political leaders hadaccused Kumaraswamy ofbeing behind the episode tosave his government, which

was then rocked by dissidencewithin.

However, the JD(S) leaderhad strongly denied it, and saidhe was ready for any probe.

CBI sleuths had onThursday had carried outsearches at the residence of for-mer Bengaluru PoliceCommissioner Alok Kumarin connection with allegedphone tapping of politiciansand bureaucrats during thetenure of the Congress-JD(S)government headed byKumaraswamy.

Deputy Chief Minister C NAshwath Narayan and RevenueMinister R Ashoka, who hailfrom Vokkaliga communityhad sought to corner the for-

mer Chief Minister and hisadministration by raking upthe alleged phone-tapping ofNirmalananda Swamiji of theAdichunchunagiri Mutt.

Ashoka had gone a step fur-ther and apologised to theseer, whose phone was tapped,on behalf of the system, andsaid, "it is a mistake, no gov-ernment should do it.. whoev-er did it, must face punish-ment, our government willtake all necessary action."

Kumaraswamy too belongsto Vokkaliga community,which is considered as hisparty- the JD(S) strong votebank.

Vokkaligas are dominant inthe old Mysuru or SouthernKarnataka region, where BJP istrying to make further inroads.

PNS n BHUBANESWAR

The BJP on Sundayannounced the name of SanatGartia as its candidate forBijepur Assembly by-electionscheduled to be held onOctober 21.

The bypoll in Bijepurassembly seat in Bargarh dis-trict was necessitated afterBJD president and ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaikresigned from the seat andretained the Hinjili assemblysegment in Ganjam district.Patnaik had won twoseats in the lastassembly elec-tions.

G a r t i a ' sname hasbeen finalisedby the centralelection com-mittee of theBJP, a party state-ment here said.

Gartia had unsuccess-fully contested the Assemblypolls held earlier this year asa BJP nominee from Bijepurbut lost to BJD president andChief Minister NaveenPatnaik. He lost to Patnaik bya margin of 57,122 votes in theassembly polls held along withthe Lok Sabha elections.

With BJP naming its candi-date, battle lines are nowdrawn for Bijepur located inBargarh district in WestOdisha as both the rulingBJD and opposition Congresshave already announced theirnominees for the bypoll.

While BJD has named RitaSahu as its candidate for the

by-election, Congress hasannounced the name of DillipKumar Panda. With the three

major political partiesannouncing the

names of the can-didates, Bijepur isall set to witness atriangular con-test.

While Patnaikhas said the

assembly segmentwould be in the

"focus for welfare anddevelopment", BJP and

Congress leaders are of theview that local issues andfarmers' problems will play amajor role in the by-election

Rita Sahu had contested aby-election in 2018 as the rul-ing BJD candidate and wonthe Bijepur seat after the deathof her husband and thenCongress MLA Subal Sahu.

The last date for filing nom-ination papers is Mondaywhile the scrutiny will be heldon October 1.

The counting of votes willbe held on October 24.

There are 2,32,005 eligiblevoters in 285 polling booths inthe assembly constituency.

PNS n RAIPUR

The BJP on Sundayannounced the name ofLachhuram Kashyap as itscandidate for the ChitrakotAssembly bypoll to be heldon October 21.

The bypoll was necessitat-ed after Congress MLADeepak Baij was elected tothe Lok Sabha from Bastarconstituency.

Kashyap, an MLA from2003-08, lost to Baij in the2018 Assembly polls fromChitrakot by a margin of17,770 votes.

"Kashyap's name wasfinalised for Chitrakot bypollby the BJP's Central ElectionCommittee on Sunday inNew Delhi," a ChattisgarhBJP spokesperson said here.

He is pitted against theCongress's Rajman Benzam,a new face, and both candi-dates are expected to filetheir nominations onMonday.

Congress spokesperson RPSingh said his party was con-fident of retaining Chitrakotas people are happy with thework of the Bhupesh Baghelgovernment, and cited thevictory in DantewadaAssembly bypoll, the result ofwhich was declared onSeptember 27, to back hisassertion.

PNS n CHANDIGARH

Two women candidates figurein the Bahujan Samaj Party'slist of 41 candidates releasedon Sunday for the October 21Haryana Assembly polls.

Out of the first list of 41candidates for the polls, 12candidates have been namedfrom the reserved constituen-cies.

The two women --Shakuntala Bhatti and SunitaDhull -- have been fieldedfrom Shahbad (SC) andPundri segments, respective-ly, according to the list releasedby BSP's state unit presidentPrakash Bharti.

The list has been cleared byBSP supremo and formerUttar Pradesh chief ministerMayawati, he said.

The BSP had called off itsalliance with the fledgling

Jannayak Janata Party recent-ly and decided to contest thepolls to the 90-memberAssembly independently.

Meanwhile, the LoktantraSuraksha Party (LSP) led byformer Kurukshetra MP RajKumar Saini, which is alsocontesting the assembly polls,on Sunday announced namesof 16 candidates for the assem-bly polls.

The list includes party'sstate unit chief Bharat SinghChhokar, who will be con-testing from Samalkha.

While the main contest forthe next month's polls is seenbetween the ruling BharatiyaJanata Party and the mainopposition Congress, otherplayers in the poll ring includethe Indian National Lok Dal,JJP formed after a verticalsplit in the INLD, AAP, SwarajIndia party and the LSP.

HDK rules out involvementin phone tapping of seer

In multiple tweetsin Kannada, he said,NirmalanandaSwamiji was amoral support forhim and guidedhim under theshelter of hissocial works.

Prem Singh Tamang

Tamang, whose Sikkim KrantikariMorcha party won the state assemblyelections held in April, took over aschief minister on May 27. However, hecould not contest the elections due tohis disqualification

PNS n BALLIA

The Samajwadi Party will con-sider withdrawing its applica-tion for Shivpal Singh Yadav'sdisqualification as MLA if heagrees for a merger with theAkhilesh Yadav-led party,senior SP leader Ram GovindChaudhary said on Sunday.

On September 13, the SPhad moved the applicationseeking Shivpal Yadav's dis-qualification from the UttarPradesh assembly under theanti-defection law.

Shivpal Yadav was electedfrom the Jaswantnagar assem-bly constituency on an SPticket in the 2017 state elec-tions. In 2018, he floated a newparty -- PragatisheelSamajwadi Party (Lohia) --after falling out with SP chiefand his nephew AkhileshYadav.

"If Shivpal Singh Yadav dis-solves his party and merges itwith the Samajwadi Party, thenthe party will consider with-drawing the application seek-ing his disqualification as MLA

of UP Legislative Assembly,"Chaudhary told reporters here.

The Leader of Opposition inthe Uttar Pradesh Assemblysaid the SP has shown utmostpatience in dealing withShivpal Yadav.

"Despite giving statementsagainst party presidentAkhilesh Yadav and the feud inthe party, he was given a tick-et in the 2017 UP Assemblyelections. In 2019 Lok Sabhaelections, he contested againsthis nephew Akshay Yadav

from Firozabad on aPragatisheel Samajwadi Party(Lohia) ticket," Chaudharysaid.

On September 20, AkhileshYadav had hinted that the SPmay withdraw the applicationseeking the disqualification ofhis estranged uncle.

"Whosoever wants to come,we will include them in theparty," the SP chief had said.

Shivpal Yadav had then said,"There is full scope of unity inthe family and there is fullscope from my side as well. Butsome people are hatching con-spiracies to not let the familyunite."

The Leader ofOpposition in theUttar PradeshAssembly said theSP has shownutmost patience indealing withShivpal Yadav

Sanat Gartia'sname has beenfinalised by thecentral electioncommittee of theBJP, a partystatement heresaid

Shivpal Singh Yadav

SP may withdraw plea for Shivpal'sdisqualification if he agrees for merger

MAHA POLLS

Cong may contest morethan 125 seats, says Thorat

Balasaheb Thorat

M K Stalin

Sanat Gartia BJP’sBijepur candidate"We will surely

contest all sixAssembly seats inPalghar district andat least four seatsin Thane," he said

HARYANA POLLS

2 women figure in BSP'slist of 41 candidates

Stalin claims graft ingadgets tender, CMrefutes allegation

CHITRAKOT BYPOLL

BJP's Kashyapto take onCong's Benzam

HP bypoll:BJP fieldsnew faces PNS n SHIMLA

The ruling BJP on Sundaydeclared candidates for thebypolls to two assembly seg-ments of Himachal Pradesh, aparty spokesperson said.

The party fielded formerSirmour Zila Parishad memberReena Kashyap from Pachhadconstituency (SC) and VishalNehriya from Dharamshalaseat, the leader said. The twoseats fell vacant after sitting BJPMLAs Suresh Kashyap(Pachhad) and Kishan Kapoor(Dharamshala) were elected tothe Lok Sabha. Reena Kashyapand Nehriya are contesting theVidhan Sabha elections forthe first time. While ReenaKashyap is the co-convenor ofthe IT cell of the state BharatiyaJanata Mahila Morcha(BJMM), Nehriya is state sec-retary of Bharatiya Janata YuvaMorcha (BJYM).

Reena Kashyap has been pit-ted against veteran Congressleader Gangu Ram Musafir,whose candidature wasdeclared by the Congress onSaturday.

Pro-tribal outfit to contest Maha polls

It will take some moretime to work out anacceptable formula.

The first list of around 50candidates can come out byOctober 2

BALASAHEB THORAT Congress chief

All true art is an expression of thesoul. The outward forms have value

only in so far as they are expression ofthe inward spirit of man.

— MAHATMA GANDHI

Over the past week, I musthave received several for-warded messages onWhatsApp and other mes-saging services. Some of

them were really silly memes making funof our politicians, irrespective of one’spolitical leanings. One must really appre-ciate the creative and sharp minds behindsome of them. Of course, there are more“good morning” messages than I chooseto recall. After two decades into the jour-nalism profession and being spammed, Ihave become fairly adept at ignoringpointless messages after just reading theheader. I have some 10,000 unread emailsfor a reason after all, possibly because Iprocrastinate deleting them. That, how-ever, is not the point I want to make inthis column.

The moot issue is that while the for-wards received by me instantly activatedmy bullshit filters, a couple of them wereparticularly egregious. On a school group,where classmates keep cribbing about thecurrent economic slowdown, one messagein the form of an image popped upwherein it was claimed that after 72 years,the Indian Rupee had weakened againstthe Bangladeshi Taka.

Surprisingly, there were no facts toback up this assertion that can so easilybe countered not just by a Google search— the search string would be “INR/BDT”in case one keeps wondering. Don’t lookat “INR/USD” though. But there is alsothe rather simple fact that Bangladeshdidn’t even exist as a sovereign nationuntil 1971, 48 years ago.

While I may doubt the general knowl-edge level of the public at large, everyIndian schoolkid knows of 1971 as thefinest hour of the Indian Army. We allalso know that the Bangladesh war wasfought to stop the genocide being perpe-trated by the Pakistani Army and its allies.The 1971 war resulted in the creation ofBangladesh. Yet, I got this forward andwhile I have started to hold my tongue onmost such groups, I had to pipe in andthankfully, so did several others, doubt-ing the veracity of the information.

Now, the person who forwarded thismessage is not the smartest individual inthe world. He was not in school and heisn’t now, as this message proves. But itwas his reaction to the angst that this mes-sage raised, which was truly shocking.While I did not expect him to be apolo-getic, his reaction was, and I quote,“Dude, I don’t check messages, I just for-ward them.” Can we wonder how what wedescribe as “fake news” spreads? Justbecause we see a meme or even read a for-ward that subscribes to our views, we can-not immediately take it to be the gospeltruth. If indeed something sounds fishy,we owe it to the people to whom the mes-sage is being forwarded to at least do a

cursory check of the factsinvolved. We already have asmartphone for heaven’s sake.

This forward was, howev-er, badly thought up and eas-ily disproven. The next mes-sage was a bit off not justbecause of the facts itespoused but also the rosyfeel-good blanketing it camewrapped in. The worse still,this came on a group of pro-fessionals. We have all readthose lovely feel-good sto-ries, the ones where oneshould never lose hope or oth-ers where something unex-pected led to an invention.Two decades of adulthoodhave taught me that life real-ly isn’t like that but these sto-ries make for a nice read.

The problem is that mostof them are made-up facts andpure fiction. This forwardspeaks of how a particularproduct was invented, men-tions real companies and givesseemingly real dates. It alllooked so believable until onejust checked a single fact andit all fell apart. You mightargue that if one assertion outof 10 in the forwarded mes-sage was wrong, it does notdisprove it.

Let me assure you that onesingle mistake can ruin themost comprehensive inves-

tigative story and one misstepby the prosecutor can keep amurderer free. This urbanlegend had far too manyerrors and mistakes for it tohave been true, no matterhow good it sounded.

Every single fact couldhave been searched easilyonline. If it had come from thesort of person who sent thefirst forward, I would have, Iregret to say, ignored it. Butbecause this came from some-one with more than a mod-icum of intelligence, it waspossibly more dangerous thanthe first, although there wasno immediate malice involvedunlike the political nature ofthe first forward.

I am sure that over theyears, I might have receivedthousands of such forwardsand genuinely, I did not havethe time or the energy toignore them properly. Butthese two instances wereshocking and it makes onerealise how quickly misinfor-mation can spread, thanks tothe callous nature of people.

Sometimes it is the firstperson who sends the sameforward to 50 different peopleand turns fiction into fact. Thesecond case is where someoneyou trust not to send you mis-information does exactly that.

I called out both the cases andwhile the first individual wasunapologetic, which is a bitscary, the second at least apol-ogised and assured me that hehad sent the message in “goodfaith.” I did ague that “goodfaith” barely exists anymore.

While one should notdraw inference from thesetwo instances, we all knowhow much misinformationfloats around WhatsApp.Sitting with journalists andtechnologists at discussions, itmight look like a slipperyslope into an idiocracy. But weshould all start doing our bit.

The fact is that in a coun-try where expectations of jus-tice are minimal, misinforma-tion can kill. It is contingenton those of us, who considerourselves well-read andinformed, to correct mistakesor call misinformation onsocial media platforms.

Just like Afroz Shah gottired of the apathy and beganthe successful movement toclear the Versova Beach inMumbai, something that haspaid massive dividends withthousands of turtles hatchingon the once trashy beach, wehave to do the same on socialmedia.

(The writer is ManagingEditor, The Pioneer)

With the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Council approving some majorstructural reforms relating to the per-

formance of its students, it may well havesaved itself the embarrassment of those drop-ping out midway. Of several measures, themost sought after decision was to ensure an“honourable” exit for weaker students, whohad to abruptly discontinue the coursebecause they could not cope with the pro-gressive pressure it entailed. Now they canget a BSc after three years even if they sign

up for a four-year BTech degree and opt out. Although those who qualify forIITs have a certain standard, many are not able to peak as is expected withcourse challenges becoming tougher. This often leads to mental breakdowns,depression, a loss of self-worth among young hopefuls. Now engineering stu-dents will stand to benefit as they can use their IIT experience and sign up forjob-ready courses. Besides, the new rules will address the colossal problemof college dropouts. Excellence is of worth only when there is commensuraterewards in the job sector and dropouts certainly don’t make the cut either way.Now they have an option. This, coupled with a tenure-tracking system for fac-ulty members, which calls for the institutes to hire teachers/professors direct-ly for five to six years instead of the age-old practice of confirming their rolesafter year-long probation, may as well bring the institute at par with its globalpeers. The decision, however, has been completely left to individual IITs.

Figures pertaining to dropouts in engineering colleges are worrisome. Ofthe 9,00,000 students who appear for the JEE main exam, only 13,500 actu-ally get into IITs in 16 cities. Despite the struggle in getting a coveted seat,according to data from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, as manyas 2,461 students dropped out of their courses in the past two years. Whilethe dream may have come intuitively to some, they fail to perceive its rigour.This, coupled with a rigid grading system, often throws them askew. It is timeto drop the one-size-fits-all formula. We may have a skilled workforce but thenit should have enough readiness and aptitude for new sunshine sectors andapplication-oriented pursuits. Micro entrepreneurs will need to be encouragedas will new service sectors. Till we figure out the end use of knowledge andmap it ahead, we will never be able to encash our demographic dividend.

Normally, speeches by heads of States atthe United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) are really about taking notes for

a global idea bank of the future. It is testimo-ny to their leadership in meeting challengesunique to their own and presenting the lessonslearnt to the world. On that count, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi made full use of that brief in hisspeech and in the process recast India’s storyas that of an emergent world power. So he tran-scended the binaries surrounding Pakistan andKashmir, that one issue that has been whipped

about as the only magnet of international attention, and talked about a multilater-al world that ought to deal with shared concerns together. In this narrative, heshifted focus to India’s attempts at meeting UN development goals and how thesecould become a template for other developing countries, be it in managing resources,the most precious being water, climate change, hygiene and healthcare for thepoor. Invoking the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or “the world is one fami-ly”, he argued why we no longer “have the option to confine ourselves within ourboundaries.” In fact, he built up India’s social experiments as political capital, empha-sising how we were at the forefront of the battle against climate change althoughour past contribution to global warming was very low. In fact, his commitmentto combat single-use plastic at a practical level was suitably applauded. One mayargue that Modi converted only the flagship projects of his Government as glob-al selling points but, of course, you cannot deny him smart diplomacy by exe-cuting issues in real time that were mostly in the realm of intent so far, and align-ing them with millennial goals. In fact, he linked the need for a harmonious soci-ety with the absence of terrorism. Invoking both the compassionate spirit of Buddhaand quoting Swami Vivekananda’s vision of peace, he graduated India’s fight againstterrorism as a common cause with other member-states, arguing that they shouldunite simply because terrorism undermined the reason for the UN’s existence. Inthe process, he reduced Kashmir to a subset of many conflicts around the worldand seized the upper hand by not mentioning it at all. Besides, this stand is alsoconsistent with the Indian position that the abrogation of Article 370 was withinits Constitutional space and since it was its internal matter, it need not figure onthe world stage. Modi also smartly referred to a democracy of 1.3 billion andhow he won the biggest mandate, dispelling any apprehension of heavy-hand-edness and underpinning his worth as representative of the will of a nation. Soyes, as far as optics is concerned, he did appear to display some statesmanshipand maturity, claiming a space that Pakistan doesn’t have, making its pitch lookshort-sighted, predictable and parochial.

The latter’s Prime Minister Imran Khan actually was right in admitting that “forthe world, India is a market.” And from the Pakistani perspective, he had no optionbut to go blazing guns on Kashmir, pressing all the buttons —Islamophobia, nuclearthreat and a potential conflict — all with a huge dose of self-pity of a smaller nationdefenceless against a big neighbour and ignoring his nation’s history of geno-cide. Coming after Modi’s speech, this provocation clearly didn’t have a contextand fell flat. Except for China, which raised Kashmir as a “dispute from the past”,there were no echoes. But, of course, China should remember that its very actof pushing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through Pakistan-occu-pied Kashmir was in contravention of UN principles. Besides, as US diplomatspointed out, if Pakistan staked claim to the championship of the Islamic world, itshould raise the persecution of the Uyghurs Muslims by China. Of course, Modihas won this round and staved off overt US interest by getting a historic energydeal signed between Tellurian and Petronet. However, there is the moral victorythat is still elusive, one that he himself set the bar for by repeatedly emphasisingdiversity, harmony and democracy. If he doesn’t want the tide of world opinionto swerve away, he has to address the lockdown in the Valley. While the worldat large may have made peace with the legality of the changed situation in Kashmir,they are perturbed about a humanitarian crisis. It has been over 50 days and mil-itant attacks have begun in spurts. The only way to counter this is by restoringa semblance of normalcy in civilian life there and allow voices to be heard. EvenKashmiris know that Article 370 had all but lost teeth and had remained a tokenism.But the muzzling of reactions fired them up and can erupt with volcanic fury.

Takeaways from UN

Mind your business

Sir — Instead of criticising theGovernment’s actions in Jammu& Kashmir (J&K), theOrganisation of IslamicCooperation (OIC) can do a lotbetter by playing a crucial role inpreventing and eradicating terror-ism, which is spreading like darkclouds across geographies. Afterall, the OIC is the second largestinter-governmental organisationin the world after the UnitedNations. In fact, the OIC group’sstatement, calling on India to“rescind its actions revokingArticle 370”, was given on thebasis of religion rather thanhuman values and ethics. Theorganisation must take into con-sideration how miserably andmercilessly Kashmiri Pandits andother Hindus were compelled toleave the Valley a few decades ago.

Moreover, it has no businessto give a communal colour to J&Kwhen its own record of conflictresolution between member statesis poor. India, too, must show itto the world that its Kashmir pol-icy is in the interest of theKashmiris.

J Akshobhya Mysuru

Trump in soup

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Another Trumpcard”(September 28). Allegations lev-elled by the Democrats that USPresident Donald Trump hadabused the power of his office tohelp with his re-election are veryserious. Trump might seek to put

a bold face on the Ukrainian issueand pretend that he is safe but hemust be having sleepless nightsfor the prospect of an ignomin-ious impeachment is too hard tobe shrugged off.

The Democrats are deter-mined to head him off at the pass.They have got something to beathim with and they are sure tomake the best use of it to hurt

him. The impeachment dramapresages a full-blown political warbetween President Trump and theHouse of Democrats in the timesto come. How the present turmoilwill impact America remains tobe seen. A clash between the exec-utive and the legislature plungesa country into chaos.

JS Acharya Hyderabad

Laws that bring change

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Survivor’s rights” (September27). Earlier in March this year, arape victim from Maharashtrathreatened to kill herself after theBombay High Court granted bailto the accused. Thankfully, due topolice intervention, an untowardincident was averted.

Indeed, it is very traumaticfor rape victims to hear theordeal of their cases beingrecounted in court premises inthe presence of the accused them-selves. It is equally dishearteningthat the accused get the bailwithout any consent from the vic-tim. The Delhi High Court’sdecision to ensure that rape sur-vivors get a chance to have a sayin providing bail to the accusedis a significant move that will goa long way to empower them.Such a move, however, must bereplicated in other courts as well.Slowly but surely, the laws arechanging for the betterment ofsociety.

JhanviVia email

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

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

op nionVIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

06

Wildfire syndrome

KUSHAN MITRA

There is so much junk floating on the internet and social media that it is our civicduty to clean it up and follow the way citizens rescued Mumbai’s Versova beach

I am living my dream ofworking with the people Iwant to work with. I am really secure with what I am doing and I am gettingto do the work I want to do.

Actor—Kartik Aaryan

Will Pakistan acknowledgethat it is the only Governmentin the world that providespension to an individual listedby the UN in the Al Qaedaand Daesh sanctions list?

India’s UN official—Vidisha Maitra

S O U N D B I T E

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

Trump has the edge

This refers to the editorial, “Another Trumpcard”(September 28). The whistleblower complaint filedagainst US President Donald Trump by a nation-

al security official and the transcript of telecon betweenhim and the Ukrainian President, where the former dis-cussed about ex-Vice-President Joe Biden, allegedlyto influence the latter to investigate the business deal-ings of Biden’s son, Hunter, reveals much. This hasled to an inquiry into impeachment proceedings againstTrump. But whether all of this will lead to any mean-ingful progress is the moot question.

Proceedings in the committee ended up more asa preview to the presidential campaign with visible par-tisan grandstanding. The Democrats are hoping to dentTrump’s image in the run-up to the 2020 presidentialelection. At least 140 House Democrats are in favourof an impeachment proceeding against Trump for lean-ing on a foreign power to meddle in domestic poli-tics. The US President, on the other hand, is engagedin keeping his flock together in the House, the Senate

as also a highly loyal electorate. Trump is not a lameduck President. He has an upper hand, particularly asthe line-up of hopefuls from the Democrats are nei-ther famed for oratory or have a very high standingin competitive politics.

R Narayanan Navi Mumbai

IN A COUNTRYWHERE

EXPECTATIONS OFJUSTICE ARE

MINIMAL,MISINFORMATION

CAN KILL. IT ISCONTINGENT ON

THOSE OF US,WHO CONSIDER

OURSELVESWELL-READ AND

INFORMED, TOCORRECT

MISTAKES OR AT LEAST CALLMISINFORMATIONON SOCIAL MEDIA

PLATFORMS

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

IIT’s exit planWe also wanted that theworld should see India andthe RSS as one and thesame, and not two separateentitles. Our Imran sahabhas done this job very well.

RSS functionary—Krishna Gopal

Modi has clearly won this round at UNGA but has to restorenormalcy in J&K to ensure that the goodwill stays with us

No need to drop out, you can get a BSc degreeafter three years at the premier institution

While our progressivesteps in J&K are receivingglobal support, Imran Khanhas been running around door-to-door and creatingcontent for cartoon makers.

Union Defence Minister—Rajnath Singh

analysis 07

Lessons from Gandhi’s home

NO ACTIONS THAT UNILATERALLY CHANGE STATUSQUO SHOULD BE TAKEN. CHINA HOPES TO SEE THE

(INDO-PAK) DISPUTE EFFECTIVELY MANAGED. —CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER

WANG YI

OTHERS MUST RESPECT INDIA’S SOVEREIGNTY ANDDESIST FROM EFFORTS TO CHANGE STATUS QUOTHROUGH THE ILLEGAL CPEC IN POK.—SPOKESPERSON, MEA RAVEESH KUMAR

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Eighty kilometres to the east of Nagpur liesBapu Kuti, a historic site in Sewagram, the“village of service”, nestled in the serene rus-

tic surroundings close to the Wardha district.This was the humble abode of Mahatma Gandhifrom 1936 to 1948 and was the epicentre of theIndian freedom movement. During the 12 yearsGandhi lived here, Wardha became the de factonationalist capital of India. A motley array of for-eign delegations — politicians, pacifists, religiousleaders and do-gooders of all complexions — reg-ularly found their way to Sewagram. In July 1942,the Quit India resolution was passed here andin 1946, Gandhi left the ashram, never toreturn.

By 1931, Gandhi was already famous. He hadtravelled to Europe, where he had drawn eagercrowds and journalists and where he had met aroster of the famous and the powerful that includ-ed the British monarch, Benito Mussolini,Charlie Chaplin and Romain Rolland. Gandhiwrote to Jamnalal Bajaj, an Indian industrialist,a philanthropist, and Indian independencefighter, that he wanted to live alone in a hut ina small village. However, his presence alone wasenough to draw scores of votaries as well as vis-itors from across the country and around theworld as Jawaharlal Nehru came several times.Soon, there was a road and one hut became acluster. The British set up a telephone so that theycould communicate with the Mahatma. However,Gandhi’s attempt to disconnect from the worldfailed just like his attempt to change India fromoutside did. It, however, did quicken the courseof the trajectory towards independence.

One does not have to be a Gandhi devoteeto be able to appreciate the austere beauty of theashram’s premises. Gandhi shared these thoughtsabout who should consider residing in it: “Healone deserves to be called an inmate of theashram who has ceased to have any worldly rela-tion — one involving monetary interests — withhis parents or other relatives; who has no otherneeds save those of food and clothing; and whois ever watchful in the observance of the 11 car-dinal vows. Therefore, he who needs to make sav-ings should never be regarded as an ashraminmate.”

Bapu Kuti is nothing short of a museum. Aquaint bath, an elderly, dignified telephone boxand neat little alcoves shyly peeping from thewalls, all serve to create an inexplicable nostal-gia for a past that we were not even part of. Thereare some bare relics: Glasses, a spoon, a pocketwatch and a pumice stone to scrub his body. Thekitchen contains the flour grinder Gandhi putto use occasionally. His cot and massage tablehave also been retained. The sacredness of theplace is preserved by the several sombre trees thathave themselves withstood the passage of histo-ry and ravages of time. The practice of dailyprayers in the open continues. The campus glowswith humility evoking memories of its master.

The structures were to be simple enough fora small group of ordinary people to build andmaintain on their own. Indeed, the modest scaleof the lodgings comes as a surprise to many vis-itors. The cottages are well-crafted with thickmud-brick walls, clay roof tiles and palm leafthatching. The most important of these historicstructures are Adi Niwas, Ba Kuti and Bapu Kuti.

Adi Niwas was the first house built atSewagram and was the place where thefirst ashram members lived together.Bapu Kuti and Ba Kuti are the cottagesof Mahatma Gandhi and his wife,Kasturba Gandhi, respectively.

Originally determined to live in anisolated hut, Gandhi decided that hisown house should be open from allsides in order to let natural elementsand his visitors circulate freely. Thebuilding’s design, though looselyinspired by traditional village houses,was an idealised design from Gandhi’simaginary village “in my mind” as hewrote in his famous exchange of letterswith Nehru in 1945.

Bapu Kuti is a sparse and austeremud-walled cottage. The buildingremains as a symbol of the Mahatma’sdedication to a mode of living thattreads lightly on the land and is acces-sible in its material simplicity to eventhe poorest. Three of Gandhi’s originalpossessions are highlighted in thebuilding today: His iconic round-shaped spectacles, his pocket-watch andhis two cross-strapped slippers. Thesethree have taken on a symbolic valuein the commemoration of the greatleader. The first enabled him to see theworld around him with clarity and thesecond helped him keep and respecttime — that of others as much as hisown — and the third symbolised hislight but unmistakable footprint on theIndian landscape.

A number of Gandhi’s other sparsepossessions are exhibited at Bapu Kuti:A walking stick, a portable spinningwheel, a paperweight, an inkpot, a pen-cil stand, a bowl, prayer beads and asmall statue of three monkeys amongother things. The cottage is partitionedinto separate rooms, which left somespace for Gandhi to write, meet visitorsand for guests to sleep. It also containsa latrine connected to a septic tank witha note informing visitors that Gandhi

cleaned it himself. Bamboo shelvinghangs from the ceiling for storage. Foraesthetic effect, Mirabehn herself drewsimple ornamental designs on the wallsof palm trees, an “Om” symbol and aspinning wheel.

The food was also prepared accord-ing to rule number four of Gandhi’s(Sabarmati) ashram rules. According toGandhi, the first step to control sexu-al appetite — that is essential for curb-ing one’s selfish impulses — was toeliminate the pleasure of eating: “Foodmust, therefore, be taken like medicineunder proper restraint.” Fischer notedin his diary that he didn’t like the mushthat was served and after the third day,he declined to eat any more of it.

The peace of village life was bitter-sweet. Sewagram’s calm was, in fact,due to the absence of any real, livingactivity. Today, the ashram is preservedin time in the manner of an old sepiaphotograph but the idealised life itdocuments is now dead. Sewagram isno longer a vibrant place inhabited bythe indefatigable Gandhi and hisdevoted votaries. It is a shell of whatit was, a time capsule fondly andpainstakingly preserved but devoid ofits living inhabitants and shorn of itsoriginal aura.

The site is at once stimulating andsoothing, haunting yet peaceful. It is asif the aura of the man himself hoversabove it. Part of the reason, of course,is that the ashram simply doesn’tattract that many visitors as Gandhi’simportance and pertinence to ordinaryIndians fades.

Gandhi had warned in 1928 that ifIndia took to industrialisation after themanner of the West, “it would strip theworld bare like locusts.” We disregard-ed him and adopted energy andresource-guzzling technologies ratherthan seeking more sustainable alterna-tives. The results are there for all to see.Many of our rivers are biologically dead.

The chemical contamination of the soilis immense and possibly irreversible.Sewagram continued to nurtureGandhi’s vision of a sustainable world.

Gandhi infused India with a revo-lutionary blend of politics and spiritu-ality. He called his action-based philos-ophy satyagraha or the truth force. ForJawaharlal Nehru, the defining imageof Gandhi was: “Many pictures rise inmy mind of this man (Gandhi) ...but thepicture that is dominant… is as I sawhim marching, staff in hand, to Dandion the Salt March in 1930. Here was thepilgrim on his quest of truth, peaceful,determined and fearless, who wouldcontinue that quest and pilgrimage,regardless of consequences.”

Gandhi’s impact was indelible. Heguided India to independence andforced his countrymen to question theirdeepest prejudices about caste, religionand violence. His ideas continue to res-onate across the world and he hasinspired generations of great leaders. AsEinstein summed up in his tribute:“Generations to come will scarce believethat such a one as this ever in flesh andblood walked upon this earth.”

Yet the true reality is that Gandhi’slegacy is in shreds. It had already start-ed waning immediately after his death.His vision of villages as the most fer-tile ground for India’s progress nowseems like a utopian dream. TheGovernor-General of independentIndia, C Rajagopalachari, gave a disen-chanted verdict in the years that imme-diately followed Gandhi’s death. It stillrings true: “The glamour of moderntechnology, money and power is soseductive that no one — I mean no one— can resist it. The handfuls ofGandhians, who still believe in his phi-losophy of a simple life in a simple soci-ety, are mostly cranks.”

(The writer is Member, NITI Aayog’sNational Committee on Financial Literacyand Inclusion for Women)

The Mahatma’s impact on social transformation has been indelible. Yet, his true legacy is in shreds. There’s a lack of understanding of his beliefs today

F I R S T C O L U M N

Much ado, butnot much done

The first-ever UN Youth Climate Summit is nowover. Will the self-proclaimed masters of theworld at least attempt a global climate plan?

MOIN QAZI

SEWAGRAM,WHICH WAS

GANDHI'SRESIDENCE FOR

NEARLY 10 YEARS,IS NO LONGER AVIBRANT PLACE

INHABITED BY THEINDEFATIGABLE

LEADER AND HISDEVOTED

VOTARIES. IT IS ASHELL OF WHAT IT

WAS, A TIMECAPSULE

FONDLY ANDPAINSTAKINGLY

PRESERVED BUTDEVOID OF ITS

LIVINGINHABITANTS AND

SHORN OF ITSORIGINAL AURA

September 24 has come and gone without the most ardent ofclimate activists recognising in any significant manner that theyhad no views on the Youth Climate Summit at the United Nations

(UN). The three-day-long United Nations Climate Action Summit cul-minated on September 23 and thousands of young people alsomarched and rallied for urgent corrective action.

The Youth Climate Summit was the first time that the UN gotinvolved with a generational issue. The debate was not just aboutdevelopment, equity or climate change, it was and remains aboutsomething much deeper. It continues to deal with paradigms of humanwelfare, development and one could add, happiness.

The global leaders of so-called significant economies meet everso often in different exotic locations to discuss issues which theyconsider grim. What these dialogues achieve is a well-kept secretbecause the statements post these events are full of claptrap, self-approving, ambiguous and trite phrases. No country seems to bekeen to reduce its own carbon emission. The stronger ones urgethe weaker ones (who depend upon them for economic support)to behave themselves and help the globe. No significant breakthroughin industrial strategising, of say, even the permanent members ofthe United Nations Security Council, is ever evident. The outcomesare there for all to see.

The newspapers report that the Santiago Climate ChangeConference that will be held in Chile from December 2, 2019, willheed the recommendations of the Youth Climate Summit. From theday this writing appears in the columns, the Climate ChangeConference will once again be charged to take bold and concretesteps.

In the meanwhile, an individual called Greta Thunberg has becomea global sensation, surely, a heady experience for a teenage girl. Theslogan is about future generations. In the meantime, the world rocksalong and the rich and the powerful count the booty without recog-nising that even the identified paradises of recreation and indulgencemay soon be needing not just bottled water but possibly bottled air.

The Youth Climate Summit had all the trappings of an extrav-aganza. Words like “unveiling” and even “act now platform” werethrown up. Interestingly, the UN Secretary General’s envoy on youthis Jayathma Wickramanayake and she was, as would be expect-ed, quite upbeat. No prizes for guessing how the rhetoric unfolded:rising temperatures were cited and impact of climate change on var-ious facets of life was reported. The World Meteorological Organisationwas quoted and heat waves and record-breaking fires were cited.The truth is the changing climate has not only affected ease of liv-ing but the food chain itself.

Ever since, Glacier ‘OK’ (Okjokull) disappeared in Iceland dueto climate change, the talk of warming gained attention. Interestingly,even a monument was placed at the site, in memory of the glaci-er that disappeared. As of today, the rainforests of Amazon are onfire and nations are proclaiming their sovereignty on the Amazonregions in their territory. A political blame game is on, full throttled.Jair Messias Bolsonaro, the Brazilian President, even proclaimed inhis address at the UN that the Amazon is no heritage of humanityand further, the rainforests were not the lungs of the world.

He called it all sensational reporting. In the meanwhile, air pol-lution from the Indonesian forest fires is currently putting nearly tenmillion children at risk. The blazes were reported to be releasing vastamounts of greenhouse gases. Could all this be mere sensational-ism or is something really amiss? The media has it that about 10million people under the age of 18 live in Sumatra and parts of Borneo,where this will have a major effect.

In Sri Lanka, dryness and rising temperature have caused seri-ous erosion of potential soil moisture. This is going to affect irriga-tion requirements for field crops, including paddy.

Will the self-proclaimed masters of the world at least attempta global climate plan? To do this, however, one need not come faceto face with a genuine crisis in several parts of the world of nearlyirreversible environment depredation.

One wonders how science has been used. It is no prudishnessto point out what the ‘Shanti Paath’ of Yajurveda — in a free trans-lation — has to say on this: “Peace to all. Peace to the sky and theouter space, the Earth, water, medicinal plants, all other plants, thegods of the world, creation and rebirth. May peace come to me.”In another reference, the Rig Veda wishes “The winds to bring sweet-ness for the truthful and rivers to bestow sweetness.”

The plants were seen as having some consciousness and theanimals were known to co-exist with the humans. That is India’sheritage thought on climate, culture and nurturance.

(The writer is a well-known management consultant)

On September 15, the Haripurdistrict education officerissued a notification directing

school principals to ensure that girlstudents don an abaya. Such instruc-tions continue to be issued, eventhough on several occasions educa-tional institutions have been forcedto withdraw these directives after fac-ing severe criticism on social media.

Dress codes for female studentsin most Pakistani educational insti-tutions are already sufficiently mod-est. Yet, there have been cases inwhich women students have beenasked to enhance their modestywith articles of clothing that arethought to be even more morallycorrect — as if the shalwar kameez

and dupatta were not good enough.The reason such moves now attractmore debate is because they havebecome anachronisms. They seemout of place. Indeed, they found moretraction back in the 1980s, but theforces that encouraged such enforcedmorality in Pakistan are now in theprocess of rolling back their previ-ous ideas of morality. Therefore, suchinstructions and acts whenever theycrop up now, look like relics of a dif-ferent time.

Let me explain. Morality projectsnavigated by the State and certainpolitical and social groups inPakistan were largely influenced bytwo Muslim-majority countries:Saudi Arabia and Iran. In October2017, Saudi crown prince,Mohammad bin Salman, who hasbeen spearheading an unprecedent-ed campaign of social reform in thekingdom, told the UK newspaperThe Guardian that the Saudi monar-chy introduced “rigid doctrines”and laws in Saudi Arabia due to thefallout of the Islamic Revolution inIran of 1979.

It is true that Saudi Arabia wasnot a bastion of liberalism before1979 but Prince Salman is correct inpointing out that the country had fol-lowed a more “moderate” strand ofIslam before the Iranian Revolution.So, today, when the Saudi regime isallowing women to drive cars, isreopening cinemas and gradually tol-erating the presence of women with-out abayas in public, it is simplyreverting to what was tolerated in thekingdom before 1979.

The Iranian Revolution was notthe only reason why Saudi Arabiaslapped numerous bans in thisrespect. King Faisal Abdulaziz, whoruled the oil-rich kingdom between1964 and 1975, initiated many socialreforms, mainly in response to themanner in which the secular Arabnationalist Gamal Abdel Nasser ofEgypt had taunted Saudi Arabia ofbeing “backward.” Nasser, at the time,was one of the most popular leadersin the Muslim world. In her 2005book on Saudi Arabia, ProfessorSherifa Zuhur writes that in a bid toovertake Nasser’s Egypt in this con-

text, Faisal rang in a series of socialreforms in Saudi Arabia, whichincluded the introduction of televi-sion and cinema. He also encouragedthe entry of women in workplacesand ordered the construction of anopera house. Women were notrequired to wear the abaya and spe-cial areas were designated for for-eigners to enjoy their alcohol.

However, parallel to this, Faisalalso patronised members of theconservative Muslim Brotherhood(MB) who had been expelled byNasser from Egypt. Faisal was assas-sinated in 1975. But despite the factthat his reforms had drawn criticismfrom the kingdom’s religious estab-lishment, Faisal’s successor, KingKhaled, continued the reforms.

The Middle East expert DilipHiro, in his 2018 book Cold War inthe Islamic World, writes that bothFaisal and Khaled ignored the grow-ing influence of the Sahwa move-ment, which had opposed Faisal’sreforms.

The MB members living in exilein Saudi Arabia radicalised this

movement. In 1979, inspired by itsrhetoric and also by the criticism ofthe religious establishment, a groupof Saudi militants captured theGrand Mosque in Mecca. Hundredswere killed, and this happened justmonths after a radical Islamic regimeestablished itself in Iran.

Hiro writes that, even though theleaders of the group were executed,the Saudi religious establishmentlamented that the group’s concernswere justified because the monarchyhad “moved away from real Islam.”This, coupled with similar criticismaimed at the Saudi monarchy byIran’s newly-formed IslamicGovernment, suddenly saw the king-dom rapidly rollback the reforms.

According to Hiro, thus began arace between Iran and Saudi Arabiain which both tried to outdo eachother and prove they were more“Islamic” than the other. Iran bannedvarious activities in the countrythat it deemed “un-Islamic.” It alsointroduced a dress code for women.A religious police force was formedwhose job it was to enforce the dress

code and prevent the public minglingof unrelated men and women. SaudiArabia responded by closing downcinemas, increasing religious pro-gramming on TV, banning musicand entertainment outlets, and great-ly reducing the number of women onTV, radio and offices. Women wererequired to wear abayas in public andhusbands and wives were asked tocarry their marriage certificates. Aspecial force, the Mutawa, wasformed to impose these rules.

Interestingly, it was also in 1979that so-called “Islamic” laws wereintroduced in earnest in Pakistan.The General Zia dictatorship cameto power in 1977, but it took twoyears to introduce the country’s firstmajor set of religious laws.

Happenings in Iran and SaudiArabia in 1979 clearly encouragedthe Zia regime to take this step. Thefact that Pakistan eventually becamea battlefield of proxy wars betweenIran and Saudi Arabia also con-tributed, with the Zia regime tryingto make Pakistan equally “Islamic”in this strange new race.

Zia did manage to introduce cer-tain unprecedented laws (in thename of Islam), but when he tried toreplicate ideas such as introducingdress codes and forming a moralpolice force, they failed to take root.

In his book Social and CulturalTransformations in a Muslim Nation,MA Qadeer writes that what beganin Pakistan as a State-backed moral-ity project from above was eventu-ally adopted by various social groupsbelow. These groups began to con-duct moral policing by making useof certain laws introduced throughordinances by the Zia regime.

That’s why, even decades afterZia’s demise and the revival ofreform in Saudi Arabia, one still seescertain segments in Pakistan decree-ing instructions based on their ideasof morality. Such decrees now do nothave direct Government backing.Yet, they still manage to create someawkward problems because the lawsthat these decrees base their justifi-cation on, are still present, like theelephant in the room.

(Courtesy: The Dawn)

The archaic elephant in the roomDecades after General Zia’s demise and even after the revival of reforms in Saudi Arabia, certain segments in Pakistan

are still forcing their ideas of morality upon others based on their ideas and laws that exist in the books

NADEEM PARACHA

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

VINAYSHIL GAUTAM

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

Balmer Lawrie likelyto miss revenuetarget this fiscalKOLKATA: Diversified PSUBalmer Lawrie & Co is likely tomiss the corporate planrevenue target for the currentfiscal as it is expecting a "flatgrowth" in turnover, a seniorcompany official said.Although the business verticalsof the Mini Ratna, under theMinistry of Petroleum andNatural Gas, are "immune tothe current slowdown" of theeconomy, some strategicbusiness units such as logisticsand industrial packaging (IP)have been marginally affecteddue to the downturn, BalmerLawrie CMD Prabal Basu toldPTI. "The company will missthe 2020 corporate planrevenue target for the currentfinancial year," Basu said. Thecity-headquartered firm isexpecting a "flat growth" thisfiscal as the net turnover islikely to be in the range of lastyear's figure of Rs 1,857 crore,he said. The public sectorenterprise had recorded Rs1,796 crore of net turnover in2017-18. It had hiredconsulting firm Strategy& tochart out its 2020 corporateplan. The logistics division hasbeen "marginally hit" due to dipin export-import activities,while barrel sales of the IPdivision have fallen owing todecrease in mango pulpexports, Basu said.

Grofers to add 700kirana stores ontonetworkNEW DELHI: Softbank-backedGrofers aims to cross the USD1 billion revenue mark by theend of the year, helped bystrong growth in both itsonline and offline businesses.The company had startedoperations as an onlinegrocery platform. Earlier thisyear, it had said it is workingwith brick-and-mortar stores inDelhi-NCR to convert theminto its own branded outlets."In the first phase, weassociated with 100 stores andcurrently we have 300 storesunder the program and thiswill be scaled to 1,000 by year-end, all in Delhi NCR region,"Grofers founder SaurabhKumar told PTI. The plan isalso to expand this programmeto Mumbai and Bengaluru bythe end of the year, he added."We are aggressively growingour business and aiming toclock USD 1 billion in revenueby end of 2019 with asignificant focus on our in-house brands in 2019. Our G-brands contribute 40 per centto our current revenue, and weplan to increase it to 60 percent in the coming years,"Kumar said.

‘RBI may go for another rate cut on Oct 4’PTI n MUMBAI

The RBI may cut the key pol-icy rate again on Friday, thefifth in row, to complement thegovernment's measures likereducing corporate tax andpromoting credit offtake tospur economic activity duringthe festive season amid range-bound inflation.

The RBI GovernorShaktikanta Das headedMonetary Policy Committee(MPC) will announce thefourth bi-monthly monetarypolicy for 2019-20 on Friday,October 4, after its three-daymeeting.

The central bank has alreadyslashed the repo rate (short-term borrowing rate) fourtimes aggregating to 1.10 per-

centage points since January.At its previous meeting in

August, the MPC had reducedthe benchmark lending rate byan unusual 35 basis points to5.40 per cent.

The upcoming MPCmeeting comes inthe backdrop ofthe RBI's man-date to banksto link theirloan productsto an externalbenchmark, likerepo rate, forfaster transmissionof reduction in policyrates to borrowers fromOctober 1.

Ahead of the meeting, theDas-headed Financial Stabilityand Development Council

(FSDC) sub-committee tookstock of the prevailing macro-economic situation.

Earlier, the RBI Governorhad said the government haslittle fiscal space, giving hopes

that the RBI may providemore monetary stimulus

to prop up the econo-my.

The government'sfiscal space has beensqueezed on accountof cut in rates of cor-

porate tax as well aslowering of GST on

various goods. Revenuecollection too has been belowthe Budget estimates.

Experts opined that anoth-er rate cut is on the cards as thegovernment's hands are tiedand the onus of taking initia-

tives now rests with the centralbank.

Anshuman Magazine,Chairman and CEO, India,South East Asia, Middle Eastand Africa, CBRE, said the gov-ernment has taken a series ofmeasures in the last few weeksto drive structural changes inthe Indian economy.

However, most of these areenabling provisions to easesupply side pressures while

the key challenge ofreigniting demandremains.

'Thus, we are hopingthat the central bank tocut the key signalling rateof repo by 25 bps to 5.15per cent next weekto complementthe government'sfiscal stimulus,"he said.

S u y a s h

Choudhary, Head (FixedIncome), IDFC AMC was ofthe opinion that the global andlocal context is weak enough toargue yet for some (though notsubstantial) incremental role

for monetary easing."...we were expecting

before and wouldexpect the repo rateto bottom out inthe 5 to 5.25 percent area,"Choudhary said.

W h i l e

economic activities are show-ing sings of sluggishness, thepolicy makers are drawingsolace from the fact that retailinflation remains in the com-fort zone of the central bank.

Retail inflation inched up to3.21 per cent in August butremained within the RBI'scomfort level. The RBI hasbeen mandated by the govern-ment to ensure that inflationremains at 4 per cent, withdeviation of 2 per cent oneither side.

Experts and industry arehoping low inflation providesenough headroom for the RBIto further lower the policyrate, especially when festive

season has just started. Peoplemake huge purchases duringNavratras and Diwali.

The RBI Governor Shaktikanta Dasheaded Monetary Policy Committee(MPC) will announce the fourth bi-monthly monetary policy for 2019-20on Friday, October 4, after its three-day meeting

Engineers body AIPEF demandsdiscussion on proposed electricity billPTI n NEW DELHI

All India Power EngineersFederation (AIPEF) hasdemanded detailed discussionon draft ElectricityAmendment Bill saying thegovernment intends to priva-tise the power sector in thename of giving more rights orfacilities to consumers.

The government has beenpitching separation of carriageand content businesses in thepower distribution, whichwould eventually facilitate con-sumers to switch serviceproviders as they do in case ofmobile telephone service.

"AIPEF has noted with con-cern that the power ministry isdrafting a new Electricity Act toreplace the existing ElectricityAct 2003 and demands thatgovernment of India should dis-cuss the proposed amendmentsin detail with power engineersand employees before issuingthe draft bill for comments ofall stakeholders," an AIPEFstatement said.

Shaliender Dubey ChairmanAIPEF condemned the moveof government to privatise the

power sector in one go. The billis aimed to facilitate privatehouses in the name of con-sumers, he added.

Padamjit Singh Chief patronAIPEF said the proposal of sep-arating carriage and content istoo premature and impractical,and should not be introduced.

This concept was introducedin those countries which hadhuge surplus of generationcapacity, and had developedthe metering and IT systemsfor energy accounting.

He further said that Ministryof Power must get compre-

hensive data and documentson franchise and privatisationexperiments since 2003 andanalyse them with engineersand employees and then onlyshould finalise the draft pro-posals for electricity bill.

AIPEF is of the view thatIndia's power sector is cur-rently reeling under financialstress. The overall cost of elec-tricity has increased in manyparts of the country because of"must run" renewable energyprojects and long-term powerpurchase agreements.

These must be renegotiated

for the survival of power sec-tor. The financial stress in thepower industry cannot beblamed on Discoms alone andthis needs to be analysed indepth, it said.

There is widespread appre-hension amongst power pro-fessionals that sweepingchanges proposed by Ministryof power would cause furtherdeterioration and collapse ofState power utilities across thecountry. The proposed billaims to dilute the role andresponsibilities of the stategovernments, it added.

This concept wasintroduced inthose countrieswhich had hugesurplus ofgenerationcapacity, and haddeveloped themetering and ITsystems forenergy accounting

TELCOS WAR

COAI hopes industry's IUC talks will be reasonablePTI n NEW DELHI

With regulator's review on callconnect charges polarising tel-cos, industry body COAI hasconceded that the issue hasalways been a contentious one,even globally, and hoped thatplayers will engage in reasonableand rational discussions by look-ing at the situation "objectively".

The Cellular Operators'Association of India (COAI)said different players may takevaried position based on theiroperational, strategic and com-mercial interests and assertedthat majority and minorityviews are part and parcel ofworking of any institution orindustry body.

The comments assume signif-icance as the industry has erupt-ed into a war of words over thelast few days, with the IUC issue

back on the regulator's radar.COAI Director General

Rajan Mathews told PTI thatthe association's governancestructure dictates that the posi-tion taken by it is commensu-rate with the majority view ofits membership (since it rep-resents majority of telecomsubscribers too) while ensuring

that "minority view does notget brushed under the carpet".

Mathews said historicallythe majority view on intercon-nect usage charges (IUC) hasbeen that zero terminationcharge is not acceptable in acalling party pays regime.

"We are in the process ofaggregating inputs from our

members but until such time,I can only reiterate historicalposition taken by a majority ofour members that in a callingparty pays regime, interconnectcannot be free and globally toothere has always been a costattached to it," Mathews said.

At the last estimate, the major-ity operators believed that cost tobe 14 paise for a voice call, Mathewssaid adding that minority view ofone operator had been informedby the association to the telecomregulator last time the IUC dis-cussions took place in the sector.

"We respect Trai's intentionof looking at the issue and seek-ing feedback. Our membersmay look at things that havechanged in terms of traffic, somembership will give it a dueconsideration. We are in theprocess of soliciting all of that,to provide inputs to Trai,"Mathews said.

Asked how the associationexpected to balance the inter-est of its warring members,given the stark division in theindustry on the issue, the COAIsaid different companies may

take different position based ontheir operational, strategic andcommercial interest and that itshould not come as a surprise.

"In any institution, we mustagree to disagree courteously andwith respect for one anotherposition, we should notdemonise anyone by virtue of thefact that they have taken a par-ticular position," Mathews said.

With the regulator, last week,inviting public comments toreview mobile call terminationrate deadline, the old and newtelcos have once again lockedhorns over the issue.

Airtel has accused RelianceJio of "gaming" the system ofpaying for calls to rival net-work, and Jio has returned firearguing that incumbents arecharging high voice tariffs andmanipulating the system tothe detriment of their users.

The comments assume significanceas the industry has erupted into awar of words over the last few days,with the IUC issue back on theregulator's rada

DHFL lenders maycomplete debtresolution plan soonPTI n NEW DELHI

State Bank-led lenders of cri-sis-hit Dewan HousingFinance Ltd (DHFL) areexpected to complete a debtresolution plan quickly so thatfresh funds start flowing in,sources said on Sunday.

"The banks led by SBI, areexpected to move quickly tocomplete the debt resolutionproposal so that fresh lendingstarts to move into the com-pany and turnaround of asystemically large retail finan-cial enterprises is donesmoothly," they said.

Earlier on Saturday, thecompany had announced theappointment of Vaijinath MG,a former Chief GeneralManager of State Bank ofIndia as its CEO, and alsofloated draft debt resolutionplan according to which, it hasassumed a price of Rs 54 pershare for debt conversion intoequity by lenders to acquire 51per cent in the company.

The plan is subject toapproval of investors andbankers.

After the appointment ofthe CEO, the firm is set to geta CFO and additional nomi-nee directors on board,sources said.

The companywants to have atimely exe-cution ofthe debt reso-lution plan,and especiallythe pro-

moters have shown resolveand commitment over the lastfew months, they added.

The debt-laden housingfinance company has sold itsstrategic investments, even incore retail financial servicesfirms like Avanse, Aadhar,DHFL Pramerica AMC tobring liquidity.

DHFL said, the company, inthe past 12 months has repaidobligations of nearly Rs 45,000crore, which is nearly 40 percent of its current balancesheet size.

The company is expectingconsent of its shareholders byMonday for expanding theboard capacity to induct addi-tional nominee director/s.

Once these take place, thecompany will be run by the

team of professionalsincluding the chief

experience officers(CXOs) already in

place and the manage-ment will report

to theboard.

The plan is subjectto approval ofinvestors andbankers

NTPC's Larapower unit tobe operationalfrom Oct 11PTI n NEW DELHI

State-run power giant NTPCon Sunday said its 800 MWUnit-I of Lara Super ThermalPower Station inChhattisgarh will becomecommercially operational onMonday midnight.

Earlier last week, the com-pany had said the unit wouldbe commercially operationalfrom Sunday midnight.

"In partial modification ofour disclosure on September27, 2019 regarding ...we here-by inform that, Unit-1 of800 MW of Lara SuperThermal Power Station (2 x800 MW) will now bedeclared on commercialoperation w.e.f 00:00 Hrs ofOctober 1, 2019 instead of00:00 Hrs of September 30,2019," a company statementsaid.

With the addition of thisunit, the commercial capac-ity of Lara Super ThermalPower Station, NTPC andNTPC Group will become800 MW, 47,325 MW and55,786 MW, respectively, itadded.

The second 800 MW unitof Lara power project isunder construction and isexpected to go on stream inthe next financial year.

NTPC currently operates53 power stations (22 coal, 7combined cycle gas/liquidfuel, 2 hydro, 1 wind and 11solar projects). Further, ithas 9 coal and 1 gas station,owned by joint ventures orsubsidiaries.

STPI to create 28 centresPTI n BHUBANESWAR

Software Technology Parks ofIndia (STPI) will set up 28 cen-tres of excellence (CoE) in thecountry at a cost of Rs 400crore to boost softwareexports, its Director GeneralOmkar Rai said.

The CoEs would act asunique platforms to provideappropriate eco-systems andopportunities to budding tal-ents and entrepreneurs forlaunching innovative ventures,Rai said.

The objective of creating thecentres would be to transformIndia into a product nationfrom an IT services country.

The STPI has also chalkedout strategies to raise the vol-ume of exports by STP unitsfrom around Rs 4.16 lakhcrore in 2018-19, by 12 to 14per cent during the current fis-cal, Rai told PTI during a visitto Odisha.

"Concrete steps have beentaken to open the 28 CoEs inemerging technologies in dif-ferent parts of the country inthe next 18 months. Some ofthese centres are already in theprocess of being operational,"he said.

Four of the centres would be

established in Odisha.Noting that more than Rs

400 crore will have to be inject-ed to start these state-of-the-art centres, Rai said, it is a col-laborative venture as invest-ments for the projects willflow from the concerned stateGovernments, UnionElectronics and IT Ministry,industries and STPI's ownfunds.

The STPI DG said, the CoEsare being set up in places suchas Chennai, Bengaluru,

Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, Patna,Mohali, Hyderabad andGurgaon.

Over half-a-dozen such cen-tres will be opened in thenorth-eastern region, he said.

While establishing thesecentres, the focus will be onemerging technologies likeartificial intelligence (AI),medical electronics, legal tech-nologies, Internet of Things(IoT), IoT in agriculture andautomotive electronics, hesaid.

The objective of creating the centreswould be to transform India into aproduct nation from an IT servicescountry.

Post iron ore mining ban, Goa minersstruggle to make both ends meetPTI n PANAJI

Little did 39-year-old SantoshM Thambi know that his des-tiny had this in store for him.After marrying off histhree sisters, theplans for his wed-lock were shat-tered as he lost hissource of incomewith the halt ofmining opera-tions in Goa.

Now, not only heis unable to find amatch for himself, he hasbeen rendered penniless and isstruggling to make his bothends meet.

Thambi -- a machine oper-ator with Chowgule andCompany Ltd -- is one amongthose unfortunate 1.1 lakh

people who were renderedjobless after mining

came to a standstillin Goa in Marchlast year after theSupreme Courtquashed 88 leas-es and bannedextraction of

fresh iron ore.Another victim

of the halt of miningoperations is Yeshwant R

Satgaonkar. He says that he isalways haunted with the sui-cidal thoughts as in stark con-

trast to earlier days when hewas withdrawing a salary of Rs30,000 as a plant operator in amining firm, he does not earnanything.

Sandeep M Nirlekar is thesole bread earner in his five-member family. The old age ofhis father and the default of thepersonal loan which he hadtaken during his marriageadds to his woes.

The body representing min-ing dependents Goa MiningPeople's Front (GMPF) saidthat it has been over a year nowthat the mining in Goa hasstopped and the governmentshould resolve the issue andcommence the mining.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The government will soonconstitute a working group onthe proposed new industrialpolicy which is aimed at pro-moting emerging sectors,reducing regulatory hurdlesand making India a manufac-turing hub, an official hassaid.

Earlier, the Department forPromotion of Industry andInternal Trade (DPIIT) hadprepared the policy and sent itfor the Union Cabinetapproval, but certain new sug-gestions have been made withregard to the policy.

The working group willrework on it and submit thesame to the DPIIT, the officialsaid.

The group will have mem-bers from different govern-ment departments of theCentre and states, as well asfrom industry chambers,including the Confederation ofIndian Industry (CII).

This will be the third indus-trial policy after the first in1956 and the second in 1991.It will replace the industrialpolicy of 1991 which was pre-

pared in the backdrop of thebalance of payment crisis.

The DPIIT had initiatedthe process of formulation ofa new industrial policy inMay 2017. The new policy willsubsume the NationalManufacturing Policy (NMP).

A consultative approachhad been taken for policy for-mulation wherein six themat-ic focus groups had been usedto obtain inputs.

The six areas include man-ufacturing and MSME; tech-nology and innovation; ease ofdoing business; infrastructure,investment, trade and fiscalpolicy; and skills and employ-ability for the future.

It was proposed that thenew policy would aim at mak-ing India a manufacturinghub by promoting Make inIndia.

Govt to set up workinggroup on proposednew industrial policy

Consumer durablefirms bank onfestive salesPTI n NEW DELHI

The consumer durable indus-try, hopes to have double-digitgrowth during the festive sea-son sales, despite concerns ofeconomic slowdown.

Although, the industry isstruggling for growth in somesegments like TV panels, man-ufacturers expect factors likegood monsoon and recent stim-ulus measures by the govern-ment will have positive impacton sales. Pinning up their hopes,the makers have lined up newmodels and product rangesand are investing substantiallyon branding, besides providingbuyers lucrative financial dealsand cashback offers on premi-um high-end models.

ctor DaggubatiVenkateshunveiled the jerseyof Hyderabad FC,the new entrant inthe Indian Super

League for 2019 that hasmixed with classic black andyellow colours, on Sunday.Echoing the desire to revivethe rich and illustrious soccerculture of the city, the jerseyof Hyderabad FC is designedto reverberate the heritageand pride of the city.

The event was graced bythe co-owners of HyderabadFC, Varun Tripuneni andVijay Madduri, former Indiancricketer MohammadAzharuddin, head coach PhilBrown along with players ofHyderabad FC. The jerseysports a contemporary lookand is inspired by the tradi-tional Nizami Sherwani andcity’s architecture. The boldcolours make it classy andrepresent the upbeat mood ofHyderabadi’s and their brightculture. During the event, theclub also introduced theHyderabad FC team who willbe representing the city in theHero India Super League2019-20.

The team was very excited

to make its debut in theHyderabad league andreignite the passion for thesport in the city. HyderabadFC will be headed by headcoach Phil. With a strongbunch of players, the teamwill focus on consolidating itsposition in the league andmake an impression in itsvery first season on October20 at Kochi.

Hyderabad city has a histo-ry with football and theHyderabad FC will revive andstrengthen the soccer culturein the city. Hyderabad, onceupon a time used to be thefootball hub, which con-tributed significantly to theIndian soccer team from early1920s until the late 1950s.With Hyderabad FC, the cityis all set to witness a eupho-ria, which will engulf thewhole city with soccer fever.

Varun Tripuraneni, co-owner, Hyderabad FC says,“We are very excited to unveilour new jersey that representsthe rich culture of the city.The team is all geared up tohit the field and face chal-lenges like true sportsmen.”

Venkatesh Daggubati, says,“It feels so overwhelming tohave our team fighting to

revive and strengthen thesoccer culture in the city.Hyderabad is the city, whichencourages sportspersonsacross the disciplines. Wehave produced the best foot-ball teams and had the hon-our of having 8 players in the1956 Olympic team that fin-ished 4. We hope that withHyderabad FC we will be ableto revive the passion for thesport and replenish the lostglory to the city and thecountry.”

The 25-member team com-prises of seven foreignersincluding each two from TheUK, Spain, Brazil and onefrom Austria.

I’ve been making games eversince I was seven years old. Oneof my first games was ‘CaptainAarnie: Lost in The Hell’, but as Igrew up I understood the biggerimpact video games leave onpeople. When my schooldiscussed this idea with me, Ijumped into it knowing the socialimpact the game can have andeven if one person gets to learnsomething positive from mygame, I’ll be extremely happy

AARNAV OJHA

hat would be thedaily routine of a16-year-old?Playing with gad-gets and thinkingabout their stud-

ies, right? But theHyderabad-based AarnavOjha, an intermediate stu-dent of OakridgeInternational School, hasother plans. Aarnav has comeup with an innovative way ofinculcating civic sense inpeople by creating a game formobiles called “Give way toambulance”.

“Everybody knows thatmany people loose battle tolife inside an ambulancewhile being transported tothe hospital as it gets stuck inthe chaotic traffic. Therehave many recordedinstances of women givingbirth in ambulances due to

delay in reaching the hospi-tal. If everybody is aware thatthey should immediately giveway to an ambulance thenmany lives can be saved,” saysAarnav.

He said that the Oakridgeschool is already running acampaign about giving way toambulances. He added thatwhile discussing the issuewith Hema Madabushi, dep-uty Dean-SupplementalEducation at Oakridge, theidea of a mobile gamepopped up. Aarnav came upwith the game design andcoded the game entirely. Forthe artwork, he relied onHyderabad’s leading gamecompany, Gamitronics. Thegame is completely in 3D andoffers two types of ambu-lances and the objective is tolet anambulance reach thehospital in 90 seconds

through traffic. In simplerwords, the game is likeSubway Surfer but instead ofcontrolling the character i.e.ambulance, you control thetraffic which is quite a freshtake. The game teaches play-ers to give way to the ambu-lance when it’s approachingfrom behind keeping in mindnot to get the ambulancestuck in traffic. The player-losesif a proper way out ofthe traffic is not made for theambulance.

Aarnav shares, “I’ve beenmaking games ever since Iwas seven years old. One ofmy first games was ‘CaptainAarnie: Lost in The Hell’, butas I grew up I understood thebigger impact video gamescan leave on people. Whenmy school discussed this ideawith me, I jumped into itknowing the social impact

the game can have and evenif one person gets to learnsomething positive from mygame, I’ll be extremelyhappy.”

The game is developed byUnity3D game engine formobile gaming whose gam-ing market is the largest inIndia. Aarnav will be partici-pating in the Serious GamesChallenge being organised asa part of the leading simula-tion, training and educationconference (I/ITSEC) inOrlando, Florida, where hehopes to showcase the gameat a global stage. The 16-year-old is also planning toapproach hospitals and gov-ernment agenciesto get spon-sorship for his game.

Arnav says that he wantsto solve real world problemsusing AI and robotics, he fin-ishes with a smile.

GAMING TO

Sixteen-year-old Aarnav Ojha is spreadingawareness about the importance of giving way to

ambulance through his video game, finds V SATEESH REDDY

wSAVE LIVES

any NGOs andother agencieshave startedprogrammessimilar to thestate govern-

ment’s flagship pro-gramme, Haritha Haram,in order to increase thegreen cover in the state.Many agencies have gonefurther by attempting tospread this awarenessnationwide to get morepeople involved in the ini-tiative. For this, thousandsof practitioners ofHeartfulness across 13states in the country dili-gently went about plantingtrees and shrubs to markthe 64th birthday of theHeartfulness Guide,Kamlesh Patel. In all,

64,000 saplings were plant-ed across 64 cities in a sin-gle day. Ace badmintonplayer P.V. Sindhu wasamong the dignitaries whoparticipated in the event.

The plantation drivehappened in Hyderabad,Agra, Allahabad, Chennai,Coimbatore, Coorg, Delhi,Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jalandhar,Jodhpur, Kanpur, Kota,Lucknow, Madurai,Moradabad, Mysore,

Nagpur, Patiala, Roorkee,Satkhol, Sholapur, Siligiri,Trichy, Trivandrum, Ujjain,and Vizag amongst others.All the 6,400 saplingsplanted at Kanha ShantiVanam are indigenous, andsome are rare and criticallyendangered.

“Tree plantation is oneof the several conservationefforts and one of the coreactivities of Heartfulnessacross all our ashrams.

This year we are inspiredby the UN theme ‘ClimateAction for Peace’ and theIndian government’sJalshakti initiative to con-serve water, and we areconcentrating our effortsin that direction to mark avery important day in ourorganisation’s evolution asa social and ecologicalchange maker,” saidSaravanan from Kanha’snursery and tree plantation

operations.This plantation drive

was a milestone and addsto the ongoingHeartfulness Green initia-tive to enrich the naturalenvironment and lessenthe destruction caused byhuman activities.

The Heartfulness Greeninitiative emphasises theneed to grow ecologically,economically and socio-culturally important nativespecies. More than 2.5 lakhtrees and shrubs havealready been planted atKanha Shanti Vanam andthe vision is to reach 10lakhs. The Heartfulnessvolunteers across Indiahave also committed tocultivating 6,40,000 sapli-ngs by the end of this year.

Ecological initiatives go beyond an individualexercise and have become a collective phenomenon.

Heartfulness organised one such event by planting64,000 trees in 64 cities in one day

m

A MASSIVE EFFORT TO

GO GREENWITH A STRONGBUNCH OF PLAYERS,THE TEAM WILLFOCUS ONCONSOLIDATING ITS POSITION IN THE LEAGUE ANDMAKE AN IMPRESSIONIN ITS VERY FIRSTSEASON

HYDERABADENTERS INDIANSUPER LEAGUEHyderabad FC is all set to begin its journey in

Indian Super League and unveiled its jerseywhile introducing the players

A

MondaySeptember 30, 2019

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dailypioneer

10

anadian rapper Drake

has received a sort of

warning after he report-

edly sent a private mes-

sage to the wife of rap-

per Kanye West’s former manag-

er Don C. The Hotline Bling hit-

maker’s Hidden Hills home and

OVO store were recently van-

dalised in the middle of the

night. Some vandals spray-

painted the store and Drake’s

house and recorded a video of

them telling him to leave Los

Angeles, reports aceshow-

biz.com.

However, it’s not

clear who was

behind this, but

according to

a portal

Hollywood Unlocked which first reported the

news, Drake’s father Dennis Graham is also

“being surveilled” for whatever the 32-year-old

star did that has angered the culprit.

Drake’s representatives, however, deny that his

home was spray-painted and say it was only his

store that was vandalised. Drake has not spoken

up on the vandalism and it’s currently unknown

if he has reported it to police.

Don C and Drake used to be considered friends.

Don’s wife Kristen Noel Crawley is a designer of

founder of KNC Beauty. She often posts on her

Instagram page photographs of her modelling

clothes and promoting her beauty products.

On the work front, Drake may soon work on

the collaborative album with rapper Lil Wayne

that they have teased for years.

“Were both doing what we do, but he already

know,” Wayne recently said about the long-await-

ed project.

He added, “We still text and send songs here

and there, change a verse because he killed me or

change a verse cuz I killed him. It’s still the same

competition.”

ollywood star Jason Momoa has urged world lead-ers to take serious actions on climate crisis in hisUnited Nations (UN) speech.

The actor and ocean activist spoke up for “allisland nations” at the UN, and demanded moreaction from delegates, listing the issues that

threaten some of the world’s most beautiful places andclaiming the people of the South Pacific, in particular,are suffering more, insisting they are at the “critical tip-ping point” of a crisis that could kill the planet.

“As a native Hawaiian born to a mother from Iowa,I have seen how one place can be oblivious to anoth-er,” he said. “The issues facing an island can feel sofar removed from that place that is landlocked in themiddle of our country. However, with a foothold intwo worlds, I quickly began to see how a problemfor one will soon become a problem for all....”

He added, “We, the island nations and all coastalcommunities, are the front lines in this environ-mental crisis. The oceans are in a state of emer-gency, entire marine ecosystems are vanishing withthe warming of the seas, and as the waste of theworld empties into our waters, we face the devas-tating crisis of plas-tic pollution.”

e gained instant stardom by belt-ing out hits such as MainSharabi..., Angrezi beat... andLungi dance.... Punjabi rapper YoYo Honey Singh, who has openlyspoken about his struggles with

bipolar disorder and alcoholism, says he hasemerged stronger after his battles with hisdemons. Singh was missing from the lime-light around 2016-2017. He made a stun-ning comeback with songs like Dil chori...and Chhote chhote peg... in the film Sonu KeTitu Ki Sweety. He even featured in musicvideo after four years with the singleMakhna.

Has he come out stronger? “I havebecome stronger now. I never faced suchproblems in life but when it happened Ihad my family to support me and helpme fight and get out of it,” Singh toldIANS.

Singh, who real name is HirdeshSingh, says he was sick and hence

his career got a little slow duringthat phase.

“I was sick and when Irecovered I chose to stay in

the studio, and I think Imade around more

than 35 songsfrom 2017

to 2019.All

these songswill come out soon.”

Singh can be labelled as the faceof Punjabi pop in the late 2000s.His tracks became Bollywood spe-cials, often a film’s main ingredi-ent, as he started giving one hitafter the other in movies such asCocktail, Chennai Express, Khiladi786 and Boss. However, Singh has

faced his share of brickbrats as hiswork has been perceived as misogy-

nist by many.How does he deal with the criticism?

“I just keep working. I think an artisteshould keep working. Many people might

feel bad about several things but my inten-tion has never been to hurt anyone. I justmake music. Whether it works or not, and ifit is liked or not or if anyone is hurt... I can’tdo anything about it,” he said.

This year Singh was named Best MusicDirector for the film Sonu KeTitu Ki Sweety.

He finds winning awardsas motivation.

“It is a big thing forme. In fact, any awardan artiste wins becomesa big inspiration forthem. They may saythat awards don''tmatter, but I feelwinning an awarddoes matter to anartiste. It motivatesto do more goodwork,” he said.

Now. since hehas made apowerfulcomeback,what canhis fansexpectfromhim?

“Lots ofthings arecoming. There isa song by me for thefilm Pagalpanti'. Thereis a single featuringSidharth Malhotraand NushratBharucha. I haveanother singlecoming up inDecember. It isa christmas gift.It is a crazy song,”he winds up.

LIFE FOR ME IS ABOUT FEARS MASHED WITHEXCITEMENT: HRITHIK ROSHAN

e may have defined thequintessential Bollywoodhero, but Hrithik Roshansays he has been pushinghimself as an artiste withatypical choices since the

beginning of his career.The 45-year-old actor, who reached

the heights of stardom with his veryfirst film Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, sur-prised his fans with his decision to dooff-beat films like Fiza and MissionKashmir following the humongous suc-cess of his debut movie.

In an interview with PTI, Hrithiksays he has always looked for parts

which have the power to “transformhim and bend him into something

better”.“I only look to find amovie where I can juice

out my entire potential.I like to be in spaces

where I am pushedto the edge. Thestruggle and

search to findyour edge,

how farcan I

lean

over my edge and still survive that iswhat I continuously do.

“True joy is when you live on theedge. The adrenaline rush, the insecuri-ty, the fears mashed with the excite-ment is what life should be about,” hesays.

Hrithik says from playing a mentallydisabled man in Koi... Mil Gaya to aparaplegic in Guzaarish, Mughalemperor Akbar in Jodhaa Akbar, a visu-ally-impaired man out for revenge inKaabil to a mathematician in Super 30,he has always picked characters thatimpact him.

“When I did Akbar, it impacted me.It excited me that I really went into it.Similarly the characters in Koi... MilGaya, Super 30, Kaabil, impacted me. Itdepends on how much impact thecharacter has made on me.

“I have also done films way in thepast, where they had set-model charac-ters and I have enjoyed doing that aswell. But it doesn’t become worthremembering. I hope to keep findingroles that impact me,” he adds.

The actor says he receivesboth positive and negativereactions for his moviechoices but for himquality alwaysmatters overquantity.

“I do few films but I like doingthat, it is my style, I have to acceptit. I put everything that I have and Irisk it. It is about having courage inyour instincts,” he adds.

Hrithik, who has had fair share ofups and downs in his life, says thebiggest lesson his journey has taughthim is that one should have thecourage to face their weaknesses andturn them into their strengths.

“No single person in the world haseverything. If you look closer, you willsee shortcomings and minuses ineverything that is beautiful in thisworld. Especially a human being. Ahuman being is made up of courageand to walk with the flaws is whatmakes a human being beautiful andthat is what Ihave,” he said.

H

H

H

Vijayawada Monday September 30, 2019celeb talks

PREGNANTKALKI KOECHLIN

PLANS WATERBIRTH IN GOA

alki Koechlin is pregnant with her first child. The 35-

year-old actress, who is five months pregnant now,

has her due date in December. She is planning to

deliver her baby through water birthing in Goa.

The Made in Heaven actress is pregnant with her first

child with boyfriend Guy Hershberg, who is an

Israeli classical pianist, reported HT Brunch. Kalki is now spend-

ing time listening to Guy’s music, going for walks with him and

doing yoga. She has also reduced the use of mobile phone.

“I already feel the changes in the way I react to things. I am

more deliberate, slower, more patient. When motherhood comes

eventually, it brings with it a new consciousness to your sense of

person. I still want to work but it is less about the rat race and

more about nurturing oneself through one’s work. It becomes

about infusing concentration and energy inward,” she said.

If reports are to be believed, Kalki herself was born through the

process of water birthing and hence the decision to give birth to

her little one in a similar way.

K

I'VEBECOME

STRONGERNOW:

HONEYSINGH

JASON URGES WORLDLEADERS TO ACT ONCLIMATE CRISIS

RAPPER DRAKE'S HIDDEN

HILLS HOME VANDALISED

C

Big B: Taapsee Pannuan accomplished artist

egastar AmitabhBachchan hasexplored many gen-res, but says workingin mystery thrillerBadla has been the

most rewarding experience forhim.

After working on SujoyGhosh’s Badla, Big B will teamup with actor Emraan Hashmifor yet another mystery thriller.

“Working on this mysterythriller has been a mostrewarding experience for me.Sujoy Ghosh, the director of thefilm, needs to be given creditfor putting this intricate tale ina most exciting and watchablemanner,” Big B said.

“Taapsee Pannu, who hasworked with me before, is a

most accomplished artist, andit has been a joy to be workingwith her again. The writing,the screenplay and the camerawork need special men-tion — they are responsible ingiving this film its immensevalue,” the veteran actor said.

Badla also stars AmritaSingh, Tony Luke, Manav Kaul and Tanveer Ghani. It isabout an interview betweena lawyer and a businesswoman, in which the latterinsists that she is beingwrongfully framed forthe murder of her lover.Badla will have itsWorld TVPremiere on ZeeCinema onSunday.

Vijayawada Monday September 30, 2019

AFTER WORKING ON SUJOY GHOSH’SBADLA, BIG B WILL TEAM UP WITHACTOR EMRAAN HASHMI FOR YETANOTHER MYSTERY THRILLER

M

11

tollywood

n a recent turn of events

Megastar Chiranjeevi has

shown interest and bought the

filming rights of the

Malayalam blockbuster movie

Lucifer.

The film directed by Prithviraj

Sukumaran had made ripples at the box

office. The Mohan Lal starrer is an

intense political drama which drew

acclaim from several film critics across

the country. “Please give me an opportu-

nity to act under your direction,”

Chiranjeevi is quoted as asking Prithviraj

at the pre-release event of Sye Raa

Narasimha Reddy in Kerala on Sunday.

Chiranjeevi was seen fondly remarking

at how ‘handsome’ he found Prithvi to

look, since the first time he saw Prithvi in

Bollywood movie Aiyya. Prithviraj was

initially meant to star in Sye Raa… but he

couldn’t make it as he was preoccupied

with shooting for his upcoming

Malayalam survival drama

Aadujeevitham.

Speaking at the event, Prithvi said,

“Chiranjeevi sir has bought the remake

rights of Lucifer. Hope he does that.”

The actor might reprise

the role of Mohan Lal

in the intense political

drama which drew

acclaim from several

critics across the

country

I

CHIRU ACQUIRES LUCIFER

TELUGU RIGHTS

Chiranjeevi was seen fondly remarking at

how ‘handsome’ he found Prithvi, since

the first time he saw Prithvi in Bollywood

movie Aiyya. Prithviraj was initially meant

to star in Sye Raa… but he couldn’t make

it as he was preoccupied with

shooting for his upcoming

Malayalam survival drama

Aadujeevitham

ward-winningfilmmakerBhavani Shankaris coming up withhis new venturetitled as Climax.

The film produced underKaipas Film Productionsbanner stars Dr RajendraPrasad, Prudhvi Raj, ShivaShankar, Sasha Singh,Ramesh and Chandu in keyroles. Bhavani Shankar’s pre-vious film Dream has wonseven awards at variousinternational film festivalsand appreciated by film fra-ternity all over the world.

One of the producers ofClimax, P Rajeshwar Reddy,said that the film revolvesaround a murder mystery.

He says, “This film has acomplete different screen-play. There are only limitedcharacters in the movie,with every character givenimportance. Now, we are inthe final stage of shoot-ing and planning tomake a song in a hugeset in Ramoji Film City.”

Director BhavaniShankar said, “In themovie, Rajendra Prasadsir character name wasModi and you wouldknow the reason behindthe name after watchingthe movie. We took utmostcare for specs and tattoosfor Modi character. We aresure of the film would dowell at the box office.”

Chasingthe

mysteryBhavani

Shankar'sClimax, which

was completelyshot in

Hyderabad,revolves around

a murdermystery

A

tylish star AlluArjun’s latestmovie AlaVaikunta puramlo’s

first singleSamajavaragamana,which was released onSaturday, has crossed sixmillion views within aday. Directed byTrivikram, the song waswritten by SirivennelaSeetharama Sastry and themusic was composed bySS Thaman. The song thatwas sing by Sid Sriram hasgot six million views and3,13,000 likes in a day.

Recordviews forBunny’snew song

S

omedian and actorY Srinivasa Reddyhas turned produc-er-cum-directorwith movie BhagyaNagara Veedullo

Gammattu. The first look ofthe movie that was released onSunday received goodresponse from the audience.Srinivasa Reddy, Satya andShakalaka Shankar will beseen in lead roles. The filmbeing under Making on thePlying Colours Entertainmentbanner, is scheduled to hit theatres in October.

C

Bhagya NagaraVeedullo

Gammattu's firstlook released

sport 12VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

AFP n SEOUL

Top-ranked Kento Momota of Japanclinched the men’s singles title at the

Korea Open badminton tournament onSunday with a win over number twoChou Tien-chen of Taiwan.

The 25-year-old downed Chou 21-19,21-17 in a final that lasted 53 minutes.

In the women’s final, China’s HeBingjiao defeated Ratchanok Intanon ofThailand 18-21, 24-22, 21-17.

South Korea dominated the women’sdoubles, with Kim So-yeong and KongHee-yong beating compatri-ots Lee So-hee and ShinSeung-chan 13-21, 21-19,21-17.

Indonesian pair FajarAlfian and MuhammadRian Ardiantod e f e a t e dTakeshi Kamuraand KeigoSonoda of Japan21-16, 21-17 toclinch the men’sdoubles title.

PTI n KARACHI

Sri Lanka’s interim headcoach Rumesh Ratnayake

feels his side’s trouble-free lim-ited overs tour of Pakistan willencourage other nations tosend their sides to this part ofthe world.

The Sri Lankan teambegan its tour of Pakistan onFriday, after 10 of its main play-ers refused to travel citingsecurity concerns.

The Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) had initially invit-ed Cricket Sri Lanka to playtwo Tests of the ICC TestChampionship in Karachi andLahore but the Islandersinstead opted to play a limit-ed-overs series of three ODIsand as many Twenty20 match-es.

The PCB is now looking atthis tour to pass off successful-ly and have the Tests inDecember in Pakistan.

“This will be a precursorfor that (Test) tour (inDecember). I’m sure this willcertainly encourage the others(SL player, who refused totravel) to take decisions, wecan’t enforce it on them,”Ratnayake told a media confer-ence.

“They have taken a deci-sion and we have to respectthat, but certainly, if things gowell, this series will be a hugething for the future, not onlyfor them but for all other

countries to be here.”Much to the disappoint-

ment of the players and fans,the opening ODI was washedout due to rain and Ratnayakesaid the downpour has affect-ed the team’s training as well.

“We have had only a day’straining outside and today isanother. The preparation has-n’t been all that good but that’snot going to be an excusewhich I will give because theyare all professional players,”Ratnayake said.

PTI n VIZIANAGARAM

South Africa pacerVernon Philander wantsthe team’s senior players

to take responsibility andthrow the “first punch” at “bigdogs” India in the upcomingthree-match Test series start-ing October 2.

The opening Test againstIndia will mark the start ofSouth Africa’s ICC WorldTest Championship cam-paign and Philander said it isgoing to be a tough battle firstup.

“It’s a tough start … play-ing India in India but I don’tthink the South Africanswould have wanted it anyother way … take the bigdogs in their home ground,”he was quoted as saying bythe ICC.

“All of us are looking for-ward to this challenge andthere are a lot of player-to-player challenges as well.”

It will be first Test seriesfor South Africa since theretirements of experiencedplayers such as Hashim Amlaand Dale Steyn.

“Spotlight will be on a lotof big players to make astatement. Our job is to comehere and give the first punchas India is obviously expect-ed to do well,” said Philanderafter the conclusion of thefinal day of the practice game.

“We are known as a teamwho starts slow so this timearound we have to start well.There is a lot of pressure onplayers (but then) it’s interna-tional cricket and you want tokeep it that way.”

Philander, who hadpicked up 15 wickets duringSouth Africa’s last Test seriesagainst India in 2018, wantsthe senior players to leavebehind a legacy for theyoungsters.

“We have lost somesenior players and there arenew players coming in andwe want them to learn quick-ly.

“Hopefully we can usethe experience of the seniorplayers that are still aroundand mold this into a goodTest side for the years tocome. That’s the most impor-

tant part, to lay a good foun-dation for players to take for-ward,” he said.

Philander, who made hisTest debut in 2011, geared upfor the opening Test by tak-ing two wickets and scoring48 during the drawn three-day warm-up game betweenBoard President’s XI andSouth Africa here.

“It’s always good to havesome time out in the middle.Fortunately for me, I camehere a couple of days earlierto join the A side… to get abit of a game time,” said the34-year-old, who has taken214 wickets at an astoundingaverage of 21.64.

“Mainly it’s just aboutgetting a feel for the wickets.It is going to be a tough series,obviously, so the more timeyou spend out there in themiddle, the better.”

Talking about the WorldTest championship, Philandersaid: “The Test championshipbrings in a new dimension. Itis a new sort of excitement forplayers. Also knowing thatyou will be playing againsttop teams more often (isgreat).

“We are obviously pre-pared to do well. When we dowell, it gives you that betterconfidence and I’ll take thatconfidence with me. It’s beena long winter for me and I amfeeling in really good nick.”

PTI n NEW DELHI

Ashish Nehra, who knows a thing or two about injurymanagement, on Sunday insisted that India’s pre-

mier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s stress fracture has gotnothing to do with his unorthodox action.

Bumrah was recently ruled out of both South Africaand Bangladesh series owing to a stress fracture on hislower back, with a recovery time period of two monthsdue to early detection.

Former India left arm speedster Nehra is confidentthat Bumrah will be as lethal post his comeback as hewas prior to injury.

“Stress fracture is unrelated to action and we mustget our concepts clear. He doesn’t need to change hisaction and if he tries to do that, it won’t be great. Letme assure you when he comes back, he can bowl withsame action, intensity and pace,” Nehra said.

“His action is not that unconventional as it is madeout to be. The alignment of his body at the time of deliv-ery is perfect.

“The only aspect that is not copy book is his lefthand (works like a pivot), which doesn’t go up. Eventhen, his action is 10 times better than Malinga.Malinga’s knees, back leg bends giving a look of a javelinthrower,” said Nehra, known for his in-depth techni-cal knowledge.

For someone whose career was plagued byinjuries, Nehra feels that it’s not always prudent to seta time frame.

“In case of stress fracture there is no time frame.Jasprit might feel good in next two months and maynot feel good even after six months. So only the play-er knows when his body is feeling cent percent matchready,” he said.

The rehabilitation is very important as this is a typeof back injury that doesn’t involve any surgicalprocess.

“Stress fracture doesn’t have medication. It’s onlyproper rest and rehabilitation unlike disc injury or anynerve tissue injury,” he said.

Nehra feels that an injury like stress fracture cannever be apprehended and Bumrah’s was the classic case.

“He had a month’s break post World Cup. He did-n’t play white ball game and came for Test matches. Butthat means workload was well managed but still he hadthat fracture. Now can you explain why?” he asked.

Nehra elaborated, “Had they not done scans, theywouldn’t even had figured as players wouldn’t imme-diately figure out they have stress fracture.

“Stress fracture is detected through bone scans andnot MRI. In bone scan plates, you will see doctors point-ing at various spots. These are stress spots.

“Now fast bowling is a strenuous activity and doa bone scan of any bowler and you will see those spots.Do you stop playing? It’s just that you have to manageit well as some injuries are chronic,” he said.

Nehra elaborated, “Had they not done scans, theywouldn’t even had figured as players wouldn’t imme-diately figure out they have stress fracture.

He said that too much noise is made out of work-load management and according to Nehra, the morethe player plays, the better he gets.

“At this stage of his career, the more he plays, bet-ter he will get at it. Jessi is only 26 years old. He is play-ing international cricket for three years and he knowshis body well. He will come back stronger and the pacein his deliveries will remain intact,” he concluded.

INDIAN JR BOYS WIN BRONZE INTTMumbai: Indian junior boys Raegan Albuquerqueand Yashansh Malik paired with Netherlands' LodeHulshof to win the Bronze medal at the Serbia Juniorand Cadet Table-Tennis Open. The team put up a bigfight before going down 2-3 in the semi-finals to theCzech Republic trio of Radek Skala, Tomas Martinkoand Ondrej Kveton. Starting the proceedings,Raegan lost 2-3 to Radek but Lode got them backinto the tie, beating Martinko 3-2. Yashansh thenincreased the lead in his team's favour and beatOndrej 3-1. With just a win away from entering thefinal, Raegan and Lode went down by identical 0-3margins to Tomas and Radek to end their campaign.

C GARH CONTINUE WINNINGRUNBengaluru: Chhattisgarh continued its winningrun in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, beating Andhra by 56runs in the Elite Group A game on Sunday. Asked tobat first, Chhattisgarh, who had stunned defendingchampions Mumbai on Saturday, crawled to 268/9in their allotted 50 overs at the Alur cricket stadiumII near here. Opener Chandrakar (54) and one-downAshutosh Singh (75) rallied the innings beforeShashank Singh made a quick- fire 45 off 25 balls,with two fours and four sixes, to ensure that histeam got past the 260-run mark. And thenChhatisgarh bowlers kept taking wickets at regularintervals and the Andhra innings eventually foldedup at 212, way short of their target. In another EliteGroup A match at Alur, Kerala defeated Hyderabadby 62 runs. While in third game at Just Cricket, Goadefeated Jharkhand by 42 runs to bag four points.

INDIA U-18 CLAIM MAIDEN SAFFTITLENew Delhi: The Indian football team lifted the SAFFU-18 Championship for the first time when theydefeated Bangladesh 2-1 in the title clash on Sunday.India surged ahead as early as the 2nd minute whenVikram Partap Singh sped past his marker andbanged it in. The match-winner came in injury timewhen the nippy Ravi Bahadur Rana scored off ascreamer from about 30 yards. Yeasin Arafatreduced the margin for Bangladesh in the 40thminute. “I had maintained that it will take a momentof brilliance to end this SAFF Championship, and itwas fitting that Ravi finished it off with a wonderfulstrike,” head coach Floyd Pinto stated momentsafter the final whistle. “We were not just the bestfootballing team in the tournament, but also themost effective team. I am really happy for the boys.They earned it,” he added.

DE MINAUR WINS THIRDCAREER TITLEZuhai: Alex de Minaur of Australia won his thirdATP title of a breakout year with victory over France'sAdrian Mannarino in the final of the inaugural ZhuhaiChampionships on Sunday. The 20-year-old, whodefeated former number one Andy Murray in the last16, won 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in a little over two hours.Ranked 31 in the world, De Minaur has beenimperious in southern China all week and broke thelower-ranked Frenchman in the 10th game of thesecond set to seal his victory. De Minaur addsZhuhai to titles in Atlanta and Sydney this year.

BEKELE MISSES RECORD BY 2SECSBerlin: Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele won his secondBerlin Marathon on Sunday in a time of two hoursone minute and 41 seconds, just two seconds shortof the world record. Bekele left it late to hit the lead,overtaking countryman Birhanu Legese on the 38thkilometre before hitting top speed as he chased theworld record of 2:01:39 set in Berlin last year byKenyan Eliud Kipchoge. Bekele was more than aminute behind the world record time with 10kilometres to go, but finished in a flurry to better hispersonal best of 2:03:03 set at the 2016 BerlinMarathon. Legese finished second with fellowEthiopian Sisay Lemma in third. Ashete Bekere, alsofrom Ethiopia, was the fastest of the women,finishing just eight seconds ahead of countrywomanMare Dibaba in a time of 2:20:14, highlighting theAfrican nation's dominance in the sport.

PUNERI PALTAN OUT OF PKLSESON 7Panchkula: Naveen Kumar was once again the starfor Dabang Delhi KC as they ousted Puneri Paltanfrom the Pro-Kabaddi League with 60-40 victory onSunday. Naveen, the talented raider picked upanother Super 10 (his 17th consecutive) as Delhiproduced a near-flawless performance to end thepaltan campaign in the cash-rich league. Delhi, asexpected, started on the front foot, with their raider-in-chief Naveen Kumar looking unstoppable. Punewere badly missing the services of their raiderPankaj Mohite, who missed out due to a fever. Theirraiders struggled as Ravinder Pahal (completed 50tackle points for the season) and Joginder Narwal,the corners for Delhi, also got into the game withsuccessful tackles. Naveen kept adding to his pointstally as he clinched a personal record of becomingthe fastest player to secure 400 raid points in thePKL history.

DHARMAMER WINS MALDIVESCHALLENGEMale: Indian shuttler Kaushal Dharmamer clinchedthe men's singles title at the Maldives InternationalChallenge with a straight-games win over SirilVerma on Sunday. The 23-year-old from Mumbai,who won the Myanmar International Series earlierthis month, registered a comfortable 21-13, 21-18victory over his compatriot in a match that lasted 35minutes. The final day of the competition sawIndians competing for the title in four of the fiveevents. AGENCIES

SINGLES

AFP n DOHA

US sprinter ChristianColeman stamped his

mark on world sprinting onSaturday with a dominant per-formance to sweep to theglobal 100 metres title and sug-gest the heir to retiredJamaican icon Usain Bolt hasarrived.

The 23-year-oldAmerican, who escaped a dop-ing ban earlier this month ona technicality, swept over thefinish line in a world-leadingpersonal best of 9.76sec to

claim his first major outdoorchampionship Gold medal.

Defending championJustin Gatlin took Silver in9.89sec at the age of 37 whileCanada’s Andre De Grasseclaimed Bronze in 9.90sec.

It completed a flawlesschampionship campaign forColeman, who had been theonly man to duck under 10seconds in both Friday’s open-ing rounds and Saturday’ssemi-finals.

He let out a roar of tri-umph as he crossed the linebefore punching the air in jubi-

lation after a performancewhich makes him the sixthfastest man in history.

“It is an incredible time, itis a PR for me. I think the sky’sthe limit, I think I still have alot of things I can work on andimprove, I think I can keepdropping my time,” the indoor60 metres world record hold-er said.

There were also first worldtitles for Ethiopia-born natu-ralised Dutch distance runnerSifan Hassan in the 10,000mand DeAnna Price of theUnited States, who celebrated

victory in the women’s ham-mer.

Price, 26, has only one kid-ney and suffered several seri-ous injuries down the years.

“I didn’t even think I wasgoing to compete this year,”Price said after her win. “I wasin a lot of pain. I couldn’t eventhrow over 70 metres.”

OLDEST MEDALJamaica’s Tajay Gayle upset

the form book to strike men’slong jump Gold, producing theleap of his life to defeatfavourite Juan Miguel

Echevarria.The 23-year-old Gayle

launched himself 8.69m withhis fourth attempt while Cuba’sEchevarria only managed8.34m for Bronze.

Day two concluded with50km walk races.

The men’s race was won byYusuke Suzuki, who becamethe first Japanese athlete to winthe 50km men’s race.

The women’s race saw aChinese 1-2 with Liang Ruitaking Gold in 4hr 23min26sec and Li Maocuo theSilver.

PTI n ANTWERP

Dr a g f l i c k e rHarmanpreet Singh

yet again scored a brace asIndian men’s hockey teamthrashed Spain 5-1 fortheir third consecutivewin, here on Sunday.

Harmanpreet (41’,51’) and RamandeepSingh (35’) scored in thesecond half afterAkashdeep Singh (5’) andSV Sunil (20’) had putIndia ahead at the half-time.

It was not a great startfor the Indian teamthough, as they went agoal down in the thirdminute through Spain’sopening attack. IglesiasAlvaro scored the open-ing goal of the match toput the pressure on the

Indians.However, high on

confidence from their twowins in the opening twomatches, India respondedwith a quick equalizer inthe fifth minute asAkashdeep Singh scoreda field goal to make it 1-1.

SV Sunil marked hisreturn to the team with awonderful strike in thesecond quarter to giveIndia a 2-1 lead. In the20th minute the forwardran inside from the rightflank, and struck the ballpast Quico Cortes.

The Indian team

started the third quarterwith a flurry of goodopportunities inside theSpanish circle, and it wasin the 35th that they ben-efited from it as forwardRamandeep Singh scoredIndia’s third goal of theafternoon.

Harmanpreet con-verted a penalty corner tomake it 4-1 in India’sfavour.

The last quarter saw asimilar tale as India pro-duced some outstandingteam moves with theirpressing and quick pass-ing. They scored theirfifth goal of the matchwhen Harmanpreet stepup yet again to convertanother penalty corner.

India will face worldnumber two Belgium onTuesday.

‘Seniors should throw first punch’Philander wants experienced Proteas players including him to make statement in Tests

Vernon Philander, right, chats with Kagiso Rabada during South Africa’s training session ICC/File Photo

Stress fracture has gotnothing to do withBumrah’s action: Nehra

Ashish Nehra chats with Jasprit Bumrah BCCI/File Picture

‘Successful SL tour will encourageother countries to play in Pak’

Indian players listen to coach Reid’s instruction during half-time HI/Twitter

Momota takes Korea title India complete hat-trick of wins

Coleman roars to 100m title

PTI n KARACHI

The Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) has set

June 2020 as deadline forthe Indian Cricket Board toconfirm its participation inAsia Cup, scheduled inSeptember next year.

“We need to see if Indiaagrees to come to Pakistanfor the Asia Cup. There isstill some time till nextyear’s September but byJune, we have to knowwhere we are going with thisand if it can’t be hosted herebecause of a lack of involve-ment of India,” PCB CEOWasim Khan said.

However the final deci-sion to shift the tournamentwill be Asian CricketCouncil’s prerogative.

“But that is a decisionfor the Asian CricketCouncil and ICC to make.We are ready to have Indiain the Asia Cup,” Khan said.

Khan howeveracknowledged the practicalproblems in having anybilateral cricketing ties withIndia in the prevailing stren-uous relationship betweenthe two neighbours.

“Board to board level,we share a good relationwith India but they have alot of government interfer-ence and we can’t keep onrunning after them to playa bilateral series. If theywant to play they will haveto tell us and give us a firmcommitment. We have noissues playing at a neutralvenue,” Khan said.

PCB to wait for India’s Asia Cupconfirmation till June 2020

PTI n SURAT

The third women's Twenty20International between India

and South Africa was abandonedon Sunday, without a ball beingbowled due to heavy downpourhere.

Persistent rain meant even thetoss could not take place. The gamewas supposed to start at 7 pm localtime but after inspecting the con-ditions at 7:30 pm, the umpiresdecided to call off the game.

This is the second consecutivematch in the series which hasbeen washed out. The second T20was also abandoned due to rain onThursday.

India lead the five-match series1-0.

The fourth T20 is scheduledhere on Tuesday.

Spotlight will beon a lot of big

players to makea statement. Our

job is to comehere and give the

first punch asIndia is obviouslyexpected to do

well—Vernon Philander

Heavy rainfall in Surat washes 3rd T20 gamebetween India and South Africa women BCCI

Third women'sT20 washed out

Christian Coleman, left, crosses the finish line to win men's100 meter race ahead of Silver medalist Justin Gatlin AP