˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛...2020/10/19  · Facebook page and YouTube channel. Some...

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S ending a strong message to China by brushing aside its objection, the Malabar series of naval exercises this year will see the participation of Australia too, a clear signal about the forging of closer cooperation among the Quad nations against the backdrop of Beijing’s expansionist designs. So far, only India, the US and Japan used to take part in the annual exercise. Australia had participated in the exercise in 2007 as a non-permanent member. But, subsequently, China claimed that with Australia joining the exercise, the Quad is getting militarised and may pose a threat to Chinese interests especially in the Pacific region. Given Beijing’s reserva- tions, India had been with- holding Australia’s participa- tion since then despite the lat- ter’s keenness. Not anymore. The Defence Ministry on Monday made it clear: India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and in the light of increased defence cooperation with Australia, “Exercise Malabar 2020” will see the participation of the Australian Navy. It also said that the mem- bers collectively support a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and remain committed to a rules-based international order. The “non-contact — at sea” format-based exercise is expected to be held in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. Sources said it was likely to be held in two phases in the first week of November and then after a fortnight. The proposal for Australian participation was mooted three years back and since then talks were on at var- ious levels of the Government. The exercise will strengthen the coordination between the Navies of the participating countries, officials said. The exercises started in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy- US Navy exercise. Japan joined the exercise in 2015. The move to include Australia comes at a time when India and China are engaged in a military stand-off for the past more than five months at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. The two sides have held several rounds of talks to break the stalemate but no success so far. Moreover, the announce- ment comes days after Foreign Ministers of Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue or Quad met in Tokyo. The issue of Australia’s inclusion in the Malabar exer- cise had come up for discussion there between S Jaishankar, Mike Pompeo (US), Marise Payne (Australia) and Toshimitsu Motegi (Japan). Japan and the US had been pressing for Australia’s inclu- sion for the past few years. Also, the nod for Australian participation by India comes days before the annual 2+2 talks between the Foreign and Defence Ministers of India and US are likely to take place in New Delhi on October 26-27. In his opening remarks at the Quad meeting on October 6, Jaishankar had said New Delhi is committed to peaceful resolution of disputes, rules based world order and respect for territorial integrity. He also said the four democratic countries favour a free and open India-Pacific region. Jaishankar, however, refrained from naming China. This was the second Minister level meeting of the Quad countries in the last two years. Moreover, the two-day conclave was the first against the backdrop of ongoing ten- sion between India and China at the LAC in Ladakh and coro- navirus pandemic. Jaishankar had held a two- hour long bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on September 10 in Moscow to end the logjam at the border. Spelling out India’s stand, he said it was for advancing the security and economic interests of all countries having legiti- mate and vital interests in the region. “It is a matter of satis- faction that the Indo-Pacific concept has gained increasingly wider acceptance,” he said. Highlighting the growing importance of the Quad, he also said the fact that the four Foreign Ministers were meet- ing in person, despite the glob- al pandemic, is “testimony to the importance that these con- sultations have gained, partic- ularly in recent times”. He added, “Our world is signifi- cantly different today than what it was when we last met in New York in September 2019.” T he row over veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath referring to Imarti Devi, his former party colleague and now a Minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP Government, as an “item” esca- lated on Monday with his refusal to tender an apology for his statement, claiming he did not insult anyone. The National Women’s Commission “strongly con- demned the irresponsible and disparaging statement made by Nath, Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly”. It sought an expla- nation from the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and forwarded the matter to the Election Commission for further action. Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani slammed Nath for trying to justify his utterance and the Gandhi family for remaining silent while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Jyotiraditya Scindia sat on a “silent dharna” in Bhopal. Chouhan appealed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to immediately remove Nath from all party posts. Devi is the State’s Women and Child Development Minister and was one of the 22 MLAs loyal to Scindia and who resigned in March, bring- ing down the Nath-led Government in Madhya Pradesh. She subsequently joined the BJP and is now a party candidate for the bypoll in Dabra, a seat reserved for Scheduled Caste candidate. “I said something… it was- n’t to insult anyone... I just did- n’t remember the (person’s) name...this list (in his hand) says item no.1, item no.2, is this an insult? Shivraj is looking for excuses, Nath doesn’t insult anyone, he’ll only expose you with truth,” Nath brazened it out on Monday. Addressing a rally in Dabra on Sunday, the Congress leader had allegedly called Devi an “item” leading to a massive backlash ahead of the keenly- contested bypolls to be held on November 3. “Suresh Raje is our candi- date and is not like her... What’s her name? You know her bet- ter and should have warned me earlier... What an item!,” Nath had said in Hindi. While Devi said she was targeted for being a Dalit, Union Minister Irani said, “I can’t find any justification that Nath (former MP CM) can give for using such derogatory word against a woman political leader. I don’t think Gandhi family will take action against him. Be it Nath or Digvijaya Singh, these are the people who keep fire burning in Gandhi family’s kitchen.” For their part, while Chouhan held a two-hour protest in Bhopal, Scindia and other party members protest- ed in Indore. The BJP has also complained about Nath to the Election Commission. “With your cheap state- ment, Congress’ crooked and despicable mentality has come to the fore again. You have not just disrespected Devi, but each and every girl and sister of Gwalior-Chambal region,” Chouhan tweeted. He also slammed Nath for his “feudal” mindset. “Devi is the daughter of a farmer who began doing labour in her vil- lage and has since emerged as a public representative in build- ing the nation. First, Congress called me ‘hungry and ill-clad’ and now she has been called an ‘item’. This shows the feudal mindset of Nath,” the Chief Minister said. A t a time when the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains tense, the Indian Army on Monday appre- hended a Chinese soldier in the Chumar-Demchok area of Eastern Ladakh and took him in custody. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sol- dier will be returned to the Chinese Army “as per estab- lished protocol after following due procedure”, the Army said here. It also said in a statement that the soldier identified as Corporal Wang Ya was pro- vided medical assistance including oxygen, food and warm clothes “to protect him from the vagaries of extreme altitude and harsh climatic conditions.” Sources said the soldier inadvertently strayed into India, he was questioned thoroughly as to how he crossed over. The Army said it also received a request from the PLA about the whereabouts of the missing soldier. As per established proto- cols, he will be returned back to Chinese officials at the Chushul - Moldo meeting point after completion of for- malities, the Army said. K eeping in mind Covid-19 pandemic, Durga Puja in the national Capital is going to be different with online dar- shan, home delivery of prasad and virus test for priests and cooks. These are some unique measures that Durga Puja organisers have come up with to safely host the festival. Talking to The Pioneer, S Bhattacharya, one of the mem- bers of puja committee at CR Park, said no idol puja will be organised this year. “We have decided to hold Kalash Puja but no visitors will be allowed to attend it,” he said. It has tied up with a DTH service provider and a local cable operator so that devotees can have a darshan of Durga idol from their houses. The temple society also has plans to facilitate online darshan on its Facebook page and YouTube channel. Some organisers said they will rope in two priests to avoid any last-minute scram- bling if the main priest gets infected with Covid-19, while others plan to maintain a record of visitors for easy con- tact-tracing.Most Durga Puja committees in Delhi have decided not to allow entry of people and limit physical dar- shan to their members only. The Chittaranjan Park Kali Mandir Society, which organ- ises one of the biggest Durga puja festivals in Delhi, has decided not to allow entry of general public to the temple premises this year due to Covid-19. “Around 2.5 lakh people attend our Durga Puja. Due to Covid-19, we have decided to organise the festival in a sim- ple manner this year. Only a few members of our manage- ment committee will be in attendance. We have hired cer- tified cook to prepare prasad and he has to show negative Covid-19 report. As devotees will not be allowed, we will deliver prasad at their doorsteps within a 2- km radius for which an agency has been engaged,” Society Joint Secretary Prodip Ganguly said. B SF and police personnel on Monday unearthed a Maoist ammunition dump and recovered huge quantity of explosives near the Koraput- Malkangiri border. The explo- sives were seized during a joint combing operation carried out by the BSF and the Koraput District Voluntary Force (DVF). Koraput SP Mukesh Bhamoo said, “Based on an intelligence input on the move- ment of nearly 15 to 20 armed Maoist cadres, an operation was launched by a joint team of BSF and Koraput DVF. On spotting the security personnel, the Red rebels fled.”Later, the security personnel stumbled upon the explosive dump. T he Commissionerate police on Monday seized a huge quantity of ganja and arrested two youths in Tamando area of city. Getting inputs, Quick Action Team (QAT) along with Tamando police conducted a joint raid near Behera Dhaba under Tomando police station. Bijay Kumar Mohapatra of Bolagarh in Nayagarh district and Kartika Chandra Sahoo of Bhadrak Sadar were nabbed with one quintal of contraband. Also, an Indigo car and three mobile phones were seized from the duo’s possession. A s many as 17 Covid-19 deaths were reported from 10 districts of the State on Monday, pushing the total toll to 1,152. While three each died in Khordha and Cuttack districts, Balangir, Subarnapur and Jharsuguda registered two deaths each. One each suc- cumbed to disease in Nuapada, Mayurbhanj, Bargarh, Boudh, and Jagatsinghpur.The deceased in Khordha were a 75-year-old man, a 65-year-old man and a 54-year-old man (all of Bhubaneswar) The Cuttack deaths were of a 41-year-old man, a 47-year-old man and a 60-year-old man. Te casualties in Balangir were a 70-year-old man and a 55-year-old man. The deceased in Subarnapur were a 62-year-old man and a 71-year-old man. The fatalities in Jharsuguda were a 54-year- old man and a 47-year-old man. The other deceased were an 82-year-old man of Jagatsinghpur, a 40-year-old man of Boudh, a 52-year-old man of Bargarh, a 45-year-old man of Mayurbhanj and an 82- year-old man of Nuapada. Meanwhile, 1,982 new pos- itive cases were recorded on day from all 30 districts and State pool, taking total tally to 2,70,346.Of new cases, 1,156 were detected from quarantine and 826 were local contacts.Khordha recorded the highest 300 cases followed by Cuttack 145, Angul 119, Mayurbhanj 107, Sundargarh 98, Balangir 88, Baleswar and Jajpur 86 each, Puri 72, Kendrapada 65, Bhadrak 63, Keonjhar 59, Dhenkanal and Jagatsinghpur 55 each, Nabarangpur 52, Jharsuguda 50, Bargarh 46, Subarnapur 45, Kalahandi 43, Koraput 42, Malkangiri 41, Sambalpur 38, Nuapada 37, Nayagarh 33, Ganjam 24, Kandhamal 23, Deogarh 14, Boudh 11 and Gajapati and Rayagada 10 each. Besides, 65 positive cases were detected from State pool.With 38,740 Covid tests done during period, the cumu- lative tests rose to 40,82,063.However, another 2,738 patients recovered on day, taking total recoveries to 2,49,575. W ith an aim to provide effi- cient, time-bound and transparent service delivery to the electricity consumers, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched a portal ‘Mo Bidyut’ and a mobile app and announced that the electricity services would be brought under the purview of ‘Mo Sarkar’. Patnaik launched the bilin- gual online electricity inte- grated consumer service portal, www.mobidyut.com and said this is one more transforma- tional initiative under the 5T mechanism. “Ministers and senior offi- cials will be in touch with con- sumers for their feedback,” he said, adding that the initiative would benefit over 89 lakh electricity consumers. Besides, the mobile app developed for this facility would soon be available in the Google play store for down- load.The consumers can avail services pertaining to: i) New power connection up to 5KW for domestic, gen- eral purpose, specified public purpose like irrigation, pump- ing and agriculture purpose within 48 hours; ii) bill pay- ment; iii) grievance redressal. As a uniform online facil- ity for all four power utilities, TPCODL, NESCO, WESCO and SOUTHCO, the portal is also equipped with proper esca- lation matrix and dashboard facility to ensure smooth flow of service disposal, status updating and enforcing accountability of utility officials towards consumer issues. T he declining trend of Covid-19 positive cases continued in capital city Bhubaneswar with 213 new cases being registered on Monday.With this, total posi- tive cases reached 27,441, which included 2,830 active cases. Of the new cases, 145 were local contacts and 68 were quarantine cases,Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.The local contacts includ- ed eight cases each from Baramund and Patia, seven from Nayapalli, six from Old Town, five each from Jagannnath Nagar and Mancheswar and four each from Kolathia, Pallaspalli, Patrapada, Badagada and Hansapala. The quarantine cases included ten from Chandrasekharpur, seven from Jharpada and three each from Old Town and Nayapalli. Meanwhile, three more patients succumbed to disease in city, taking total toll to 140. The city also registered 307 recoveries on day. With this, total recoveries reached 24,450.

Transcript of ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛...2020/10/19  · Facebook page and YouTube channel. Some...

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Sending a strong message toChina by brushing aside its

objection, the Malabar series ofnaval exercises this year will seethe participation of Australiatoo, a clear signal about theforging of closer cooperationamong the Quad nationsagainst the backdrop ofBeijing’s expansionist designs.

So far, only India, the USand Japan used to take part inthe annual exercise. Australiahad participated in the exercisein 2007 as a non-permanentmember. But, subsequently,China claimed that withAustralia joining the exercise,the Quad is getting militarisedand may pose a threat toChinese interests especially inthe Pacific region.

Given Beijing’s reserva-tions, India had been with-holding Australia’s participa-tion since then despite the lat-ter’s keenness. Not anymore.The Defence Ministry onMonday made it clear: Indiaseeks to increase cooperationwith other countries in themaritime security domain andin the light of increased defencecooperation with Australia,“Exercise Malabar 2020” willsee the participation of theAustralian Navy.

It also said that the mem-

bers collectively support a free,open and inclusive Indo-Pacificand remain committed to arules-based international order.

The “non-contact — atsea” format-based exercise isexpected to be held in Bay ofBengal and Arabian Sea.Sources said it was likely to beheld in two phases in the firstweek of November and thenafter a fortnight.

The proposal forAustralian participation wasmooted three years back andsince then talks were on at var-ious levels of the Government.The exercise will strengthen the

coordination between theNavies of the participatingcountries, officials said.

The exercises started in1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy-US Navy exercise. Japan joinedthe exercise in 2015.

The move to includeAustralia comes at a time whenIndia and China are engaged ina military stand-off for the pastmore than five months at theLine of Actual Control (LAC)in Eastern Ladakh. The twosides have held several roundsof talks to break the stalematebut no success so far.

Moreover, the announce-

ment comes days after ForeignMinisters of QuadrilateralStrategic Dialogue or Quadmet in Tokyo.

The issue of Australia’sinclusion in the Malabar exer-cise had come up for discussionthere between S Jaishankar,Mike Pompeo (US), MarisePayne (Australia) andToshimitsu Motegi (Japan).Japan and the US had beenpressing for Australia’s inclu-sion for the past few years.

Also, the nod forAustralian participation byIndia comes days before theannual 2+2 talks between the

Foreign and Defence Ministersof India and US are likely totake place in New Delhi onOctober 26-27.

In his opening remarks atthe Quad meeting on October6, Jaishankar had said NewDelhi is committed to peacefulresolution of disputes, rulesbased world order and respectfor territorial integrity.

He also said the fourdemocratic countries favour afree and open India-Pacificregion. Jaishankar, however,refrained from naming China.

This was the secondMinister level meeting of the

Quad countries in the last twoyears. Moreover, the two-dayconclave was the first againstthe backdrop of ongoing ten-sion between India and Chinaat the LAC in Ladakh and coro-navirus pandemic.

Jaishankar had held a two-hour long bilateral meetingwith his Chinese counterpartWang Yi on September 10 inMoscow to end the logjam atthe border.

Spelling out India’s stand,he said it was for advancing thesecurity and economic interestsof all countries having legiti-mate and vital interests in the

region. “It is a matter of satis-faction that the Indo-Pacificconcept has gained increasinglywider acceptance,” he said.

Highlighting the growingimportance of the Quad, healso said the fact that the fourForeign Ministers were meet-ing in person, despite the glob-al pandemic, is “testimony tothe importance that these con-sultations have gained, partic-ularly in recent times”. Headded, “Our world is signifi-cantly different today thanwhat it was when we last metin New York in September2019.”

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The row over veteranCongress leader Kamal

Nath referring to Imarti Devi,his former party colleague andnow a Minister in the ShivrajSingh Chouhan-led BJPGovernment, as an “item” esca-lated on Monday with hisrefusal to tender an apology forhis statement, claiming he didnot insult anyone.

The National Women’sCommission “strongly con-demned the irresponsible anddisparaging statement madeby Nath, Leader of Oppositionin Madhya Pradesh LegislativeAssembly”. It sought an expla-nation from the formerMadhya Pradesh ChiefMinister and forwarded thematter to the ElectionCommission for further action.

Union Women and ChildDevelopment Minister SmritiIrani slammed Nath for tryingto justify his utterance and theGandhi family for remainingsilent while Madhya PradeshChief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan and JyotiradityaScindia sat on a “silent dharna”in Bhopal. Chouhan appealedto Congress president SoniaGandhi to immediately removeNath from all party posts.

Devi is the State’s Womenand Child DevelopmentMinister and was one of the 22MLAs loyal to Scindia andwho resigned in March, bring-ing down the Nath-ledGovernment in MadhyaPradesh. She subsequentlyjoined the BJP and is now aparty candidate for the bypollin Dabra, a seat reserved forScheduled Caste candidate.

“I said something… it was-

n’t to insult anyone... I just did-n’t remember the (person’s)name...this list (in his hand)says item no.1, item no.2, is thisan insult? Shivraj is looking forexcuses, Nath doesn’t insultanyone, he’ll only expose youwith truth,” Nath brazened itout on Monday.

Addressing a rally in Dabraon Sunday, the Congress leaderhad allegedly called Devi an“item” leading to a massivebacklash ahead of the keenly-contested bypolls to be held onNovember 3.

“Suresh Raje is our candi-date and is not like her... What’sher name? You know her bet-ter and should have warned meearlier... What an item!,” Nathhad said in Hindi.

While Devi said she wastargeted for being a Dalit,Union Minister Irani said, “Ican’t find any justification thatNath (former MP CM) can givefor using such derogatory wordagainst a woman politicalleader. I don’t think Gandhifamily will take action against

him. Be it Nath or DigvijayaSingh, these are the people whokeep fire burning in Gandhifamily’s kitchen.”

For their part, whileChouhan held a two-hourprotest in Bhopal, Scindia andother party members protest-ed in Indore. The BJP has alsocomplained about Nath to theElection Commission.

“With your cheap state-ment, Congress’ crooked anddespicable mentality has cometo the fore again. You have notjust disrespected Devi, buteach and every girl and sisterof Gwalior-Chambal region,”Chouhan tweeted.

He also slammed Nath forhis “feudal” mindset. “Devi isthe daughter of a farmer whobegan doing labour in her vil-lage and has since emerged asa public representative in build-ing the nation. First, Congresscalled me ‘hungry and ill-clad’and now she has been called an‘item’. This shows the feudalmindset of Nath,” the ChiefMinister said.

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At a time when the Line ofActual Control (LAC)

remains tense, the IndianArmy on Monday appre-hended a Chinese soldier inthe Chumar-Demchok areaof Eastern Ladakh and tookhim in custody. The People’sLiberation Army (PLA) sol-dier will be returned to theChinese Army “as per estab-

lished protocol after followingdue procedure”, the Army saidhere.

It also said in a statementthat the soldier identified asCorporal Wang Ya was pro-vided medical assistanceincluding oxygen, food andwarm clothes “to protect himfrom the vagaries of extremealtitude and harsh climaticconditions.” Sources said thesoldier inadvertently strayed

into India, he was questionedthoroughly as to how hecrossed over.

The Army said it alsoreceived a request from thePLA about the whereabouts ofthe missing soldier.

As per established proto-cols, he will be returned backto Chinese officials at theChushul - Moldo meetingpoint after completion of for-malities, the Army said.

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Keeping in mind Covid-19pandemic, Durga Puja in

the national Capital is going tobe different with online dar-shan, home delivery of prasadand virus test for priests andcooks. These are some uniquemeasures that Durga Pujaorganisers have come up withto safely host the festival.

Talking to The Pioneer, SBhattacharya, one of the mem-bers of puja committee at CRPark, said no idol puja will beorganised this year. “We havedecided to hold Kalash Puja butno visitors will be allowed toattend it,” he said.

It has tied up with a DTHservice provider and a localcable operator so that devoteescan have a darshan of Durgaidol from their houses. Thetemple society also has plans tofacilitate online darshan on itsFacebook page and YouTubechannel.

Some organisers said theywill rope in two priests toavoid any last-minute scram-bling if the main priest getsinfected with Covid-19, whileothers plan to maintain arecord of visitors for easy con-tact-tracing.Most Durga Pujacommittees in Delhi have

decided not to allow entry ofpeople and limit physical dar-shan to their members only.

The Chittaranjan Park KaliMandir Society, which organ-ises one of the biggest Durgapuja festivals in Delhi, hasdecided not to allow entry ofgeneral public to the templepremises this year due toCovid-19.

“Around 2.5 lakh peopleattend our Durga Puja. Due toCovid-19, we have decided toorganise the festival in a sim-ple manner this year. Only afew members of our manage-ment committee will be inattendance. We have hired cer-tified cook to prepare prasadand he has to show negativeCovid-19 report.

As devotees will not beallowed, we will deliver prasadat their doorsteps within a 2-km radius for which an agencyhas been engaged,” SocietyJoint Secretary Prodip Gangulysaid.

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BSF and police personnelon Monday unearthed a

Maoist ammunition dump andrecovered huge quantity ofexplosives near the Koraput-Malkangiri border. The explo-sives were seized during a jointcombing operation carried outby the BSF and the KoraputDistrict Voluntary Force(DVF).

Koraput SP MukeshBhamoo said, “Based on anintelligence input on the move-ment of nearly 15 to 20 armedMaoist cadres, an operationwas launched by a joint team ofBSF and Koraput DVF. Onspotting the security personnel,the Red rebels fled.”Later, thesecurity personnel stumbledupon the explosive dump.

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The Commissionerate policeon Monday seized a huge

quantity of ganja and arrestedtwo youths in Tamando area ofcity.

Getting inputs, QuickAction Team (QAT) along withTamando police conducted ajoint raid near Behera Dhabaunder Tomando police station.

Bijay Kumar Mohapatra ofBolagarh in Nayagarh districtand Kartika Chandra Sahoo ofBhadrak Sadar were nabbedwith one quintal of contraband.Also, an Indigo car and threemobile phones were seized fromthe duo’s possession.

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As many as 17 Covid-19deaths were reported from

10 districts of the State onMonday, pushing the total tollto 1,152.

While three each died inKhordha and Cuttack districts,Balangir, Subarnapur andJharsuguda registered twodeaths each. One each suc-cumbed to disease in Nuapada,Mayurbhanj, Bargarh, Boudh,and Jagatsinghpur.Thedeceased in Khordha were a75-year-old man, a 65-year-oldman and a 54-year-old man (allof Bhubaneswar) The Cuttackdeaths were of a 41-year-oldman, a 47-year-old man and a60-year-old man. Te casualties

in Balangir were a 70-year-oldman and a 55-year-old man.The deceased in Subarnapurwere a 62-year-old man and a71-year-old man. The fatalitiesin Jharsuguda were a 54-year-old man and a 47-year-oldman.

The other deceased werean 82-year-old man ofJagatsinghpur, a 40-year-oldman of Boudh, a 52-year-oldman of Bargarh, a 45-year-oldman of Mayurbhanj and an 82-year-old man of Nuapada.

Meanwhile, 1,982 new pos-itive cases were recorded onday from all 30 districts andState pool, taking total tally to2,70,346.Of new cases, 1,156were detected from quarantineand 826 were localcontacts.Khordha recorded thehighest 300 cases followed by

Cuttack 145, Angul 119,Mayurbhanj 107, Sundargarh98, Balangir 88, Baleswar andJajpur 86 each, Puri 72,Kendrapada 65, Bhadrak 63,Keonjhar 59, Dhenkanal andJagatsinghpur 55 each,Nabarangpur 52, Jharsuguda50, Bargarh 46, Subarnapur 45,Kalahandi 43, Koraput 42,Malkangiri 41, Sambalpur 38,Nuapada 37, Nayagarh 33,Ganjam 24, Kandhamal 23,Deogarh 14, Boudh 11 andGajapati and Rayagada 10 each.

Besides, 65 positive caseswere detected from Statepool.With 38,740 Covid testsdone during period, the cumu-lative tests rose to40,82,063.However, another2,738 patients recovered onday, taking total recoveries to2,49,575.

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With an aim to provide effi-cient, time-bound and

transparent service delivery tothe electricity consumers, ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik onMonday launched a portal ‘MoBidyut’ and a mobile app andannounced that the electricityservices would be broughtunder the purview of ‘MoSarkar’.

Patnaik launched the bilin-gual online electricity inte-grated consumer service portal,www.mobidyut.com and saidthis is one more transforma-tional initiative under the 5Tmechanism.

“Ministers and senior offi-cials will be in touch with con-sumers for their feedback,” hesaid, adding that the initiativewould benefit over 89 lakhelectricity consumers.

Besides, the mobile app

developed for this facilitywould soon be available in theGoogle play store for down-load.The consumers can availservices pertaining to:

i) New power connectionup to 5KW for domestic, gen-eral purpose, specified publicpurpose like irrigation, pump-ing and agriculture purposewithin 48 hours; ii) bill pay-ment; iii) grievance redressal.

As a uniform online facil-ity for all four power utilities,TPCODL, NESCO, WESCOand SOUTHCO, the portal isalso equipped with proper esca-lation matrix and dashboardfacility to ensure smooth flowof service disposal, statusupdating and enforcingaccountability of utility officialstowards consumer issues.

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The declining trend ofCovid-19 positive cases

continued in capital cityBhubaneswar with 213 newcases being registered onMonday.With this, total posi-tive cases reached 27,441,which included 2,830 activecases.

Of the new cases, 145 werelocal contacts and 68 werequarantine cases,BhubaneswarMunicipal Corporation (BMC)said.The local contacts includ-ed eight cases each fromBaramund and Patia, sevenfrom Nayapalli, six from OldTown, five each fromJagannnath Nagar andMancheswar and four eachfrom Kolathia, Pallaspalli,Patrapada, Badagada andHansapala.

The quarantine casesincluded ten fromChandrasekharpur, seven fromJharpada and three each fromOld Town and Nayapalli.

Meanwhile, three morepatients succumbed to diseasein city, taking total toll to 140.The city also registered 307recoveries on day. With this,total recoveries reached 24,450.

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Niranjan Sahu, IAS, is cur-rently working as the RDC

Northern Division with head-quarters at Sambalpur. Prior tothis, he served as districtCollector of Khordha andJharsuguda.

Cool, calm, poised andcontemplative, he is widelyperceived as an Aam Aadmiofficer championing the causeof the common man. In aninterview to The Pioneer, Sahuspoke to Sugyan Choudhuryon the scenario of the Covid-19 pandemic in the ten districtsof the Northern Division.

What about the Covid-19treatment scenario in yourdivision?

The Government ofOdisha had planned well inadvance how to handle theupcoming Covid-19 scenariofrom the month of March.

People working outside theState returned in large numbersand there were appropriateprovisions of quarantine facil-ity for them.

Almost all schools wereconverted to TMCs(Temporary Medical Camps)with facilities of bed, mosqui-to net, water, electricity and toi-lets for the returnees.

There was also checking ofhealth conditions of thereturnees in the TMCs.Dedicated Covid Care Centreswere created with better facil-ity of healthcare. At the districtlevel, dedicated CovidHospitals were organised withICU beds and ventilators totake care of serious patients.

Huge manpower wasdeployed at these health centresand the staffs were trained oninfection prevention control(IPC). Testing facilities weredeveloped and RRTs (RapidResponse Teams) were organ-ised to have contact tracing andidentify persons with ILI andSARI symptoms.

Since the asymptomaticpatients comprise 90% of thetotal positive cases, they arekept under home isolation asper protocol but are being con-stantly counselled and moni-tored by groups of officials. Inthe event anyone developingsymptoms, he/she is shifted tothe Covid Hospital.

There are reports aboutthe gross neglect of Covidpatients, especially in Bargarhand Balangir districts. Whatare the measures undertakenthrough your officers to meetthe situation?

The neglect of Covidpatients in Balangir andBargarh districts is not basedon facts. Balangir district alonehad received over two lakhreturnees who were earlierworking in other States.

Their number of positivecases is comparatively low andthis was because of good man-agement of quarantine in theTMCs.

Since Balangir has aMedical College & Hospital,there was superior medicalsupervision of the patients.Similarly in Bargarh district,Bargarh subdivision is veryclose to VIMSAR, Burla.

Besides, there are suffi-cient beds in the district CovidHospital and Covid CareCentres. There is also a multi-speciality private hospital atBargarh, which caters to theneed of the patients comingfrom higher economic back-ground.

Since a lot of feedbacks arebeing taken by my office andthe Collector’s office and myselfas well, whenever any adversecomment comes, we always actupon the same and ensure thatsuch things don’t happen infuture.

And in the process, wehave been able to bridge thetime between testing of apatient and his future treat-ment.

It is alleged that patientssuffering from other diseasesare not taken care of by hos-pitals, What’s your response tothis?

This allegation appears tobe exaggerated. Fact is thenumber of patients of other dis-eases has come down duringthe pandemic which can beverified from the records.

As per the protocol, whensomebody is to get admittedinto any hospital, Covid testingis mandatory; and in theprocess, if he is found positive,he has to be admitted to theCovid Hospital.

In the initial days, theCovid Hospitals were not thor-oughly equipped for treatmentof other patients; but over thetime, specialists from differentdepartments have beenengaged in the Covid Hospitalsto take care of the patients suf-fering from other diseases.Doctors and paramedics havebeen well-organised.

Doctors in the CovidHospitals are not entrustedwith duty in non-Covid hos-pitals to avoid infections.

What are theGovernment’s plans to bridgethe regional divide of westernOdisha in the sphere of edu-cation, health and other areascompared to the coastalregion?

The Government ofOdisha has been very keen ongiving additional funds to thewestern Odisha districts underthe WODC to overcome thehistorical mindset.

Several national institu-tions are located in this region.Indian Institute ofManagement,Sambalpur hascome up to boost managementeducation. The BPUT head-quarter is functioning inRourkela. Engineering College,Burla has been upgraded to thestatus of a university. VSSMedical College & Hospital,Burla has been upgraded touniversity status and renamedas VIMSAR, Burla.

Similarly, GangadharMeher (Autonomous) College,Rajendra (Autonomous)College and Government(Autonomous) College,Bhawanipatna have beenupgraded to university status.

A new medical college hascome up at Balangir. Some ofthe districts are under KBK;and they were also gettingadditional funds under long-term and short-term plans.

To arrest distress migra-tion, the Government has comeup with a package of Rs 500crore to boost employmentopportunities for the people sothat there is no distress migra-tion.

The District Mineral Fundsin Keonjhar, Angul andSundargarh have been utilisedto create a lot of infrastructuresand also for livelihood activi-ties. The Jharsuguda airporrthas become functional and ittakes just 45 minutes to reachthe State capital.

The railway link betweenKhordha and Balangir is goingon speedily and will be a greatfactor of integration in thecoming days. Thus, thereappears to be no regional dividein real terms.

How are the borders withJharkhand and Chhattisgarhlooked after in the State’slarger interest?

The Northern Divisionborders the State of Jharkhandand Chhattisgarh. I have visit-ed bordering villages ofSundargarh, Keonjhar andBargarh districts. There areno much border disputes withour neighbours.

Minor issues have beenresolved at local level and thepeople in the bordering areashave cordial relationship withtheir counterparts of the neigh-bouring States.

You will find a fusion ofcultures. A change of course ofriver Baitarani will require ajoint inspection betweenOdisha and Jharkhand whichcan resolve the new confusionamicably.

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The Orissa High Court (HC)on Monday gave green sig-

nal to nine Puja Committees inCuttack city that have con-structed Durga idols taller thanfour feet stipulated by the StateGovernment as part of theguidelines for the upcomingfestival.

The court gave its approvalwhile responding to theAdvocate General’s statusreport on the Puja Committeesthat have constructed talleridols of the deity.

Representatives of threePuja Committees, Balu Bazar,Upar Telenga Bazar and FiringiBazar, were present in thecourt during the hearing.

The court also asked allPuja Committees to ensuresmooth conduct of the festivalin adherence to all otherrestrictions imposed by theGovernment. However, theadministration would make all

arrangements for immersion ofthe idols, the court said. Earlier,the Government in its guide-lines for Durga Puja celebra-tions had restricted the size ofthe idols to four feet.

The Government has alsorestricted public participationduring the festival and immer-sion procession in view of theCovid-19 situation.

The guidelines also saythat Puja Pandals/Mandapsshall be covered on three sides.The fourth side will be coveredin a way not to allow any pub-lic view of the idols.

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The Orissa High Court onMonday sought clarifica-

tion from the StateGovernment over the recom-mendation of school fee reduc-tion in private schools.

Hearing an interventionpetition filed by some privateschool managements opposingthe Government’s recommen-dation on reduction of schoolfee during the Covid-19 pan-demic, the court rejected thepetition and directed theGovernment to make its standclear within seven days.

The next hearing will takeplace after the Governmentsubmits its reply.Earlier, a jointcommittee of School & MassEducation Department offi-cials and parents had submit-

ted a report in the court rec-ommending reduction ofschool fee in seven differentslabs.

The panel had recom-mended reduction of 7.5% feein the schools chargingbetween Rs 6.000 and Rs12,000 per year.

It also recommended feecut up to 15% and 20% in theschools charging Rs 24,000-Rs48,000 and Rs 48,000-Rs72,000, respectively.

The committee had rec-ommended 25% fee cut for theschools charging between Rs72,000 and Rs 1 lakh and forthose charging more than Rs 1lakh.

However, the committeemade no recommendation forfee cut in the schools chargingup to Rs 6,000.

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Following a decline inCovid-19 positive cases in

Puri, the district administra-tion decided to lift the restric-tion on cremation of bodiesfrom outside Puri district atthe Swargadwar with effectfrom Monday.

“After reviewing the Covidsituation, we have withdrawnthe restriction imposed atPuri Swargadwar on crema-tion of bodies belonging toother districts,” informedCollector Balwant Singh.

He made it clear that onlythe bodies of persons, who diedue to other diseases or rea-sons than Covid, would beallowed for cremation. Therestrictions would continue

against cremation of persons,who die of Covid, at theSwargadwar.“More than 20persons at a funeral will not beallowed at Swargadwar.

Wearing mask, use ofsanitiser and maintainingsocial distancing are manda-tory during the funeral cere-mony at the crematorium asper the Government’s adviso-ry,” Singh informed media.

Notably, the districtadministration had imposed aban on cremation at theSwargadwar for people ofother districts when Puri dis-trict was at its Covid peak inthe last three months.

Recently, the authoritieshad extended the restriction aswell as immersion of ashes atthe sea till October 31.

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Keonjhar BJD MPChandrani Murmu has

written to the Lok SabhaSpeaker seeking breach ofprivilege proceedings againstnews channel OTV.

The country’s youngestparliamentarian has accusedOTV reporters of circulatinga morphed and obscene videoof her with an intention ofdefaming, harassing and tor-turing her.

“Police during investiga-tion arrested an OTV juniorreporter along with others.The OTV junior reporternamed Ramesh Rath as theperpetrator of the crime.

But when the policeexamined Ramesh Rath on15th October, OTV attempt-ed to subvert the truth,”Murmu said in the letter.

“Several false and fakenews programmes were runon OTV from 15th October,2020 onwards stating thatRamesh Rath was questioned

since he had published a storyon the Chief Minister ofOdisha and not because of themorphed, obscene video ofmine which was viral.

This attempt to changethe narrative of the truththrough false and fake pro-grammes is unfortunate andsad.

It is aimed at concealingthe truth that Rath is one of

the perpetrators of the crimeagainst me. I will not dwell onthe criminal investigation partand criminality as the privi-lege proceedings are notmeant to look into that,”Murmu mentioned.

“However, my privilege asa Member of the Lok Sabhahas been grievously affectedand violated.

OTV has launched (a)vicious and malicious propa-ganda with an ill intention toderail the investigation.

I am tendering this noticeto you, seeking your protec-tion to ensure that the OTVbe restrained from airing suchfake and false stories to saveits reporter Ramesh Rath,” shesaid.

“I am ready to appear asa witness in this case and pro-vide the facts to you and/orthe Privileges Committee.

I look forward to yourkind consideration and initi-ating a Breach of PrivilegeProceedings against OTV atthe earliest,” she concluded.

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The BMC on Sunday closedcoaching institute

Benchmark Classes, located atNageswar Tangi here, over vio-lation of Covid-19 guidelines.

The Benchmark Classeswas conducting a felicitationprogramme for its studentswho had successfully clearedthe NEET.

Over 50 students alongwith their parents and teachershad congregated. Getting infor-mation, BMC officials reachedthe spot along with police andclosed the coaching centre.

While students and theirparents were asked to leave thepremises immediately, the insti-tute was to remain closed untilfurther orders by the BMCCommissioner.

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The Commissionerate policesealed a resto-bar on the

Infocity Road of the capital cityon Sunday night for hosting abirthday party violating socialdistancing guidelines and otherCovid-19 restrictions

The bar owner was alsoserved a notice in this connec-tion.Acting on a tipoff, a policeteam conducted a surprise raidin the bar and found a hugecrowd partying and diningthere. The patrons were alsofound violating social distanc-ing norms and many werewithout masks.

In another incident, theenforcement squad of theBhubaneswar MunicipalCorporation (BMC) and policeconducted raids at MarketBuilding here and sealed manyshops and shopping malls vio-lating pandemic norms

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Education activists and CSOshave opposed the State

Government’s move to closeschools with low studentstrength as it will increasedrop-outs among children,especially in the tribal andbackward regions where chil-dren mostly depend onGovernment schools for theireducation.

Due to the Government'smove, 14,339 primary andupper primary schools in theState Government will faceimminent closure.

Though School and MassEducation Minister SamirRanjan Dash had told themedia that no schools would beclosed and admission wouldresume in all the schools,media reports have raised ques-tion over the Government’shiding agenda as the schoolclosure is going on in the State.

Therefore, activists andcivil society members haveurged to rethink on it, as it willhave a bearing on the publiceducation system and mostimportantly, it violates the spir-it of ensuring free and com-pulsory elementary educationto all children as per the Rightto Education Act 2009.

“With the school far awayfrom their village, parents oftenhesitate to send off their kids tothe neighbourhood school asthey find it difficult to keep atab on them,” said AnilPradhan from the Odisha RTEForum. The forum has sent aletter to the Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik to reconsiderthe school closer policy.

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Union MinisterDharmendra Pradhan on

Monday claimed that the ModiGovernment at the Centre hasprovided Rs 1,656.8 crore toOdisha in the last three yearsfor empowering people belong-ing to tribal and other vulner-able communities.

He thanked Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Union STWelfare Minister Arjun Mundafor their continued supportfor welfare of ST people inOdisha and other States of the

country. He said residentialschools have been constructedto provide quality education toST students in Odisha.Ekalavya Adarsha ResidentialSchools (EARS) have beengame changes in providingquality education to tribal stu-dents in remote areas, saidPradhan.

During the last 3 years,more than 16,700 studentshave studied in EkalavyhaSchools, he said. More than6.36 lakh pre-Matric studentsand 5.54 post-Matric studentshave got Central stipends, he

said. More than 3.37 lakh ben-eficiaries from the ScheduledTribes section in Odisha ben-efitted from grant-in-aid pro-vided by the Modi Governmentto voluntary organisationsworking for the welfare of STsand several thousands of peo-ple benefited under otherschemes for tribals.

“We are committed to pro-vide equal opportunities to thepoor and the disadvantagedand aid for their all-rounddevelopment under theAatmanirbhar Bharat,” saidPradhan.

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An FIR was lodged at theChandahandi police sta-

tion in Nabarangpur districtagainst a person for postingderogative remarks againstMahatma Gandhi in hisFacebook account on Sunday.

According to reports, oneSatya Brata Samal of Umarkoteposted several obscene andsarcastic comments againstMahatma Gandhi in the socialmedia. Unhappy over it, manylocals led by lawyer KhamrajBagh rallied to the police sta-tion and lodged an FIR againstSamal.

“The comments are con-demnable. The man deserves tobe punished,” Bagh said.Baghalso said Samal had earlieralso posted obscene commentstargeting a particular religionand persons.

But neither the districtadministration nor the policehave taken any action againsthim. “This time, he dared topass obscene comments againstthe Father of the Nation.

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In view of possible increasein footfall in railway sta-

tions and trains during thefestival season, the RailwayBoard launched “Meri Saheli”to provide better safety andsecurity to women passen-gers.

The init iat ive wouldrespond effectively to anysecurity related issue faced orseen by women passengers.

Under the guidance of MSambha Siva Rao, DivisionalSecurity Commissioner,Khurda Road, the RailwayProtection Force (RPF) offi-cials initiated “Meri Saheli”programmes at Bhubaneswarand Puri railway stations.

An independent squad of

trained women RPF staff hasbeen constituted at Puri andBhubaneswar.

They interacted withwomen passengers in everycoach of of the 02823Bhubaneswar-New DelhiRajdhani special fromBhubaneswar, 08425 Puri-Durg and 02202 Puri-Sealdahspecial trains from Puri.

All women passengerswere asked to dial securityHelp line No 182 in case ofany security issues. This

squad will remain in touchwith a specified number ofwomen passengers through-out the journey throughDivisional/Zonal SecurityControl.

During the campaign,special announcements weremade at stations for safety-related issues like snatching,drugging and no sharing ofeatables.

They also requested pas-sengers to follow Covid-19norms during the journey.

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In a move to improve qualityof education and facilitating

a technology centric and inno-vation driven initiative, theOdisha Government will betaking up the implementationof the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States(STARS) project with a cost ofnearly Rs 1,000 crore.

A State Level Committeechaired by DevelopmentCommissioner Suresh ChandraMohapatra has cleared theSTARS project, which will beimplemented with a total pro-ject cost of Rs 976.38 crore withthe financial support of theWorld Bank.

Principal Secretary Schooland Mass Education SatyabrataSahu outlined the details andsaid the STARS aims at childfriendly classroom, curricu-lum supported by standardizedTeaching and LearningMaterial (TLM) kits, increasein students achieving mini-mum proficiency in grade 3language, improvement in sec-ondary school completion rate

and in governance index scores.It will be strengthening plan-ning and management capac-ities for decentralized man-agement by training of BRCsand CRCs, strengthening ofschool management by trainingof head teachers and Principalsfor improved education servicedelivery.

The STARS will usher ingovernance reforms, learningenhancement strategies andwill adopt ICT enabledapproach.

There will be improve-ment in education manage-ment by using technology andeffective teacher managementwill be taken up. The projectwill have intervention for softskilling and enhancing entre-preneurship with job experi-ence.

The STARS would beimplemented as a newCentrally Sponsored Schemeunder Department of SchoolEducation and Literacy,Ministry of Education from2020-21 to 2024-25 throughthe Department of School andMass Education.

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The East Coast RailwayMazdoor Union has

demanded that the Railwayauthorities pay bonus toworkers before Dussehra, orelse they would stage anationwide demonstration onOctober 28.

The union made thisdemand while observing the“Chetabani Saptaha” (warningweek) from October 10 to 16cal led by the Bharat iyaMazdoor Sangha at all divi-sions, branches, Mancheswarworkshop and zonal head-quarters.

The union also demand-ed cancellation of pay limitimposed in cases of nightduty allowance. Railwayworkers submitted memo-randum to the RailwayMinister, General Manger and

Chief Factor y Manager,Mancheswar Workshop. Allrai lway employees atKalupadaghat, Paradip,Cuttack, Khurda Road,Sambalpur, Vishakhapatnam,Mancheswar and Rail Sadanwere informed about theMazdoor’s demand.

Union zonal general sec-retary Sachita Nanda Biswalthanked all ECoR workersfor making the ChetabaniWeek a success.

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AFlipkart delivery boy wasattacked when unidenti-

fied miscreants attempted toloot cash from him atPanposh here in broad day-light on Monday.

The Flipkart deliveryagent Pinku Suna had col-lected cash of over Rs 20lakh from his office at around1.30 pm and gone to depositit in the Axis Bank.

While on his way to thebank, two bike-borne mis-creants chased him andattacked him with a sharpweapon. Pinku suffered severeinjuries in his ear.

However, the miscreantsfled the spot after failing toloot the money. Some localsrushed to Pinku’s rescue andadmitted him to the RourkelaGovernment Hospital.

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Denizens of Baleswar townwoke up to a pleasant sur-

prise on Monday morningwhen they saw TourismMinister Jyoti PrakashPanigrahi distributing news-papers in some areas.

Riding a bicycle, theMinister along with his sup-porters visited many house-holds at Kacheri Bazar, NuaBazar and Ranipatna of thetown and distributed newspa-pers. He apprised the residentsabout the reopening of touristspots across the State and sug-gested them to visit theseplaces.Locals were surprised to

see the new avatar of Panigrahiwhile many of them clickedphotos with him.Askedwhether his act was part of thecampaigning for the BJD aheadof the Baleswar Sadar Assemblyby-election, Panigrahi denied it

and said it was his responsibil-ity as the Tourism Minister toinform people about the touristspots. “I didn’t seek votes forthe party while distributingnewspapers,” he tried toexplain.

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Ayouth here after getting Rs22,000 from road called the

man, whose money it was andhanded over the same to him.

Bibek Malik (20) ofTaparia Kandakuda inHemgiri block works in a clothstore as a helper to earn hislivelihood. He goes to college inmorning and after returningfrom college in afternoon, hegoes to work in that clothstore.

Since the college is closednow due to Covid-19 pan-demic, Bibek works in theshop from morning to evening.On October 14 at around 11am, when Bibek came out ofthat shop for some work, hesaw a bunch of currency notesfalling on road. First of all hecould not believe but when hewent nearer, he saw the money.

He picked up those cur-rency notes and saw alongwith them, a bill. Bibek imme-diately informed the owner ofthe shop. Thereafter Bibekcounted the amount and foundtotal amount was Rs 22000.

Bibek thought the person fromwhose pocket or purse thecash might have fallen, must bevery much worried and there-fore Bibek immediately dialeda mobile number which he sawon the bill. A man picked upthe call and said to Bibek, hewas immediately reaching nearthe shop.

After few minutes, the manreached there and Bibekshowed him first the bill. Whenthe man confirmed thatunknowingly the bill andmoney had fallen from hispocket, Bibek handed over thecash to him.

After getting the moneyfrom Bibek, the man becameemotional and he not onlythanked him but also huggedhim. He also praised Bibek a lotthere.

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With the organisation ofthe Kalash Pooja, the

Shardiya Navaratri celebra-tions began in Jharsuguda dis-trict on Saturday with devoteespaying their obeisance to thefirst avatar of Goddess Durga- Maa Shailputri in temples andtheir homes.

The Garvagruhas of sever-al temples only have openedacross the district in strictadherence to Covid 19 guide-lines,urging devotees to wearmasks and follow social dis-tancing.

The devotees were seenwearing masks and those whodid not were instructed to doso immediately.

Kalibadi Durga PujaCommittee president TapasKumar Ray Choudhury saidthat the puja was being held forthe sake of rituals.

There are guidelines to thepuja committees to keep idolsheight at maximum 4 feet andensure that no more than sevendevotees are allowed simulta-

neously to visit the pandals. Prasad distribution and

any kind of offering are also notallowed.

There is some disappoint-ment due to these guidelinesamong devotees and organis-ers, sources informed.

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Aone-day virtual summit ofglobal scientists was organ-

ised by ICAR-CIFA here underVaibhav-2020 on October 16.

The Vaishwik BharatiyaVaigyanik (Vaibhav) summit isa collaborative initiative by allS and T and academic organi-sations of India to enable delib-erations on thought process,practices and R&D culturewith a problem solvingapproach for well-definedobjectives.

The theme was 'Modernfisheries, aquaculture and seedproduction.' A total number of18 speakers deliberated on cut-ting edge science and research

needs for India in aquacultureand fisheries field. Eminent sci-entists from eight differentcountries (France, Norway,Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia,Thailand, Hongkong,Thailand) took part in theevent.

The Vaibhav summit onaquaculture emphasized onthe need for infusing modernaquaculture such as biofloctechnology (BFT), re-circula-tory aquaculture (RAS), nutri-tion research, artificial intelli-gence in aquaculture, machinelearning, fish catch using mod-ern gear and super-intensiveaquaculture.Earlier the summitwas inaugurated by Directorand ICAR-CIFA Dr Saroj

Kumar Swain. At the outset DrP Routray, Nodal Officer, wel-comed the panellists and par-ticipants and flagged issuesthat needed attention and glob-al handshake in scientificresearch in aquaculture.

The session was chaired byDeputy Director General,ICAR, New Delhi Dr JK Jenaand co-chaired by Professor ofAquaculture, NORDUniversity, NorwayProf KironViswanath.

The meeting ended withvote of thanks offered by SeniorScientist, ICAR-CIFA,Bhubaneswar, Dr NK Barik.Scientist and IT coordinator DrI Sivaraman organised the pro-gramme.

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With heavy to very heavyrains expected to lash

Ganjam district under theinfluence of a possible lowpressure likely to form over thecentral Bay of Bengal in next 24hours, the district administra-tion has directed concerneddam authorities to release 75per cent water so that a possi-ble f loods can be

averted.Incessant rains lastweek have already swelled allreservoirs in the district. Asheavy to very heavy rains areexpected in the next few days,the administration has takenthis advance step.

Following the direction,waters from Daha, Bhanjanagarand Baghua dams were releasedinto rivers and canals.Meanwhile, Sub-CollectorRajendra Minz visited all thedams and took stock of the sit-uation.

On Monday morning, thewater level of Russelkondareservoir at Bhanjanagar stoodat 94.64 metre this morningagainst its capacity of 96 metre.Similarly, Soroda and Daha

reservoirs were having water ata height of 92.31 and 117.90metre against their capacities of91.30 metre and 113.85 metre,respectively.As an impact, thereleased water has floodedagriculture lands at differentplaces in the district.

Ganjam DRDA PDDattatraya Bhausaheb Shindevisited Sorada and Baragadaareas to take stock of the inun-dation.

Later he, the Sub-Collectorand other officials discussedabout preparatory arrange-ments. Concerned officialswere asked to ensure availabil-ity of medicines and dry foodsfor people residing in low-lay-ing areas.

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Acting on complaints ofamassment of assets dis-

proportionate to his knownsources of income by Gajapatidistrict’s Gurandi MinaketanCollege Lecturer G NageswarRao, Vigilance officers onMonday conducted raids on hishouses at seven different placesto detect assets possessed byhim and his family members.

The officers conductedsimultaneous searches at hisresidence atRadhagovindanagar Line-2, hisfather’s residence atBadabrahmin Sahi and a mar-ket complex at Betaguda inParalakhemundi, his paternalhouse at Burujang village under

Rayagada police limits inGajapati district, his father-in-law’s house at Chipurpali vil-lage in Srikakulam district ofAndhra Pradesh and his collegeoffice. Searches were still on. Bythe time of filing of this story,the Vigilance teams arebelieved to have detected assetsworth over Rs 2 crore.

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While the beauty of birdsaddresses our aesthetic

sensibility and creates love forthem, it’s important to lovebirds for more than just theirbeauty.

Everybody should nurturelove for birds as it can go a longway to protect nature andensure species diversity, saidDelhi based bird enthusiastfrom Odisha Gargi Mishra.

She was in conversationwith convenor of WaterInitiatives and Senior Fellowof Foundation for EcologicalSecurity (FES) Ranjan Pandaon the Wild Bird Day duringa webinar titled “Birds ofMahanadi”.

The webinar is the secondin the “Human& EcologyConversation Series” beingorganised by the Mahanadi

River Waterkeeper, WaterInitiatives and FES. Gargi, inconversation with Ranjan, dis-cussed on the importance ofbeing a bird enthusiast in con-servation of rivers, other wet-lands and biodiversity.

Keeping in line with thedesign of the conversationseries, Gargi narrated, in astory telling manner, how shedeveloped an interest in birds.

“Being a city-dweller, Inever thought of to be in anintimate relationship withbirds. But, as we have plantedas much trees as possible in ourbalcony garden in Delhi, birdsstarted visiting it.

We kept food grains andwater for the winged guestsand they became our regularvisitors. As a baby, my daugh-ter fell in love with them. Asshe grew up, her love for thespecies too grew and so did

mine,” she said.“I started read-ing books of celebratedornithologist Salim Ali just toreply to my inquisitive daugh-ter’s series of questions andgradually delved deep into theworld of avian beauties.

Whenever we visit ourhome at Sonepur, which is onthe bank of river Mahanadi,which hosts a wide species ofcolourful species we explorethe birds, their features, names,ecological significance, food,habitat and nature.

We started documentingthe birds of Mahanadi and dis-cussed with experts for moreknowledge,” pointed out Gargiwhile describing in detail aboutmany species she and herdaughter Athiya have docu-mented from the Mahanadibasin.Birds are very importantin maintaining the health ofrivers and other wetlands.

While they help keep the waterclean, they also keep the cropfields healthy by preying oninsects that would otherwisehave destroyed the crops.Birds are also scavengers andhelp our surroundings clean.

However, we are exposingthem to serious pollution, saidRanjan Panda while respond-ing to some of the participants'queries.

"Our wetlands are shrink-ing at an alarming rate andthat’s not at all a healthy sign,"he lamented further.

Gargi added, "If we wish toprotect these avian diversity,we need to protect their habi-tats.

Pollution of rivers, waterbodies and other areas is pos-ing a great threat to the sur-vival of these species.

Besides industrial pollu-tion and urban wastes, micro-

plastic pollution is emerging asa huge problem for our birds."She further said about 150 birdspecies have gone extinct justin the last decade and that is nogood news.

All of us, especially theyoung generation, need todevelop the hobby of birdwatching so that they canexplore their values for ourown survival further, addedRanjan Panda.

The webinar series willinvite more such guests fromdifferent fields and we willhave conservation with themin an informal story tellingmanner to develop the interestof common people, especiallythe youths, in conservation ofnature and developing thehuman-ecology relationshipfor building a sustainableworld, informed RanjanPanda.

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Police on Sunday arrested theManaging Director of chit

fund company BinodiniProjects Limited, DhirenKumar Swain on charges ofduping depositors of morethan Rs 68.83 lakh in Odishaand outside the State.

Swain was arrested underdifferent sections of IPC andSection 6 of the OPID Act 2011and forwarded tocourt.Promising higher returnsSwain collected money fromdepositors through branchoffices of Binodini ProjectsLimited in Ganjam districtand Surat of Gujarat in 2010.

However, after repeatedfollow ups when investors didnot get their money theylodged a police complaint atBaidyanathpur police station inMarch 2018 against companyand its managing director.

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Electrical cable repairingwork on an electric pole,

which was not done by a con-cerned official in RajgangpurMunicipality for ten days afterrepeated complaints by aretired teacher.

However, same was doneon Thursday last after retiredteacher went to RajgangpurMunicipality office and gar-landed person incharge of elec-trical work.

According to sources, SarojRanjan Das(75) , a retiredteacher has a grocery shopand wheat flour mill in SBMGanguly lane. There is an elec-tric pole in that lane near hisshop and also there is anotherelectric pole in square there.There was complete darknessin that locality since there was

some fault in cable in both elec-tric poles and lights of electricpole were not functioning.Das had first informed con-cerned Junior Engineer andthereafter had requested onePurnachandra Dilla, Inchargeof electrical work inRajgangpur Municipality, torectify defects.

Dilla had given his nod todo the job but did not do. Dasthereafter everyday remindedDilla of the work but his com-plaint and request went futile.

When 10 days passed off,Das went to RajgangpurMunicipality office onThursday with a small garlandand when he saw Dilla wastalking to some other officialsthere, he put garland in hisneck, which was a great embar-rassment of official.After Dasreturned from office ofMunicipality to his groceryshop, he saw that electricalrepairing job was done. andlights of the electric poles wereready to function.

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Even though the Union andState Governments and the

district administration havetaken the decision separately attheir own levels to allow reli-gious and spiritual perfor-mances and celebration of tra-ditional Pujas, but the recentdenial to accord permission tovarious Puja Committees hastriggered discontentment.

When the PujaCommittees had agreed to cel-ebrate the event with limitedpersons by following Covid-19guidelines and 5T norms of theState Government and accord-ingly paid advance to eachstakeholder for the purpose,why the permission to thesecommittees was denied by thedistrict administration at thelast moment, former Ganjamdistrict BJP president KanhuCharan Pati questioned.

Such deviation from theGovernment stand is againstthe public sentiment and hasgrossly disheartened the devo-tees, he added.

When the preparationwork of mandap and installa-tion of idols were on, policeraided the Mandaps and force-fully stopped the puja workwhich is highly unjust anduncalled for, Pati said.

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The second Sainik School ofthe State has started func-

tioning at Basantpur, near here.There was long demand for

a Sainik School in Sambalpurand the then MP (LS) AmarPradhan had taken up thematter directly with PMManmohan Singh and the lat-ter had sanctioned it.

Former Collector PradiptaPatnaik had allotted land for itin hundred acres in Basantpurvillage, the area which hasnow become part of the cityafter new Mahanadi bridge atthe collectorate. The first classof the first batch was begunonline amidst Corona restric-tions recently.

100 students-both boysand girls have taken admissionin the first batch in Class VI. Atthe same time, classes on theline of requirement of the stu-dents as per the modern tech-nology including digital class-es are in place for the students.Out of the new 100 students, 39are from Odisha and the restare from other parts of thecountry, the school authoritiesinformed.The students fromSC, ST categories have alsobeen given admission as per theGovernment norms.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday urged

students to use their knowledgeobtained through education atvarious stages of their real life.Modi termed real life as agreat university which teachesvarious ways for applicability ofknowledge. He also said hisGovernment is concentratingon the infrastructure creationand structural reforms in theeducation sector reforms andthe National Education Policywould give new direction andnew strength to the reforms inthe education sector.

The Prime Minister wasspeaking at the centenary con-vocation ceremony of MysoreUniversity through video con-ference from New Delhi.

The PM said the Universityof Mysore is the centre of thegreat education system ofancient India, the aspirationsand capabilities of future Indiaand has realised the vision of“Rajarshi” Nalvadi KrishnarajaWadiyar and M Visvesvaraya Ji.He referred to stalwarts likeBharat Ratna Dr SarvepalliRadhakrishnan, who taught atthe University. “Education

throws light at difficult times inlife,” Modi said quoting thegreat Kannada writer andthinker Goruru RamaswamyIyengar.

He said continuous effortsare being made so that India'sEducation system caters to theneeds of the 21st centurywherein infrastructure creationand structural reforms weregiven special focus. He said tomake India a Global Hub forHigher Education and to makeour youth competitive, effortswere made qualitatively as wellas quantitatively.

He said even after so manyyears of independence, in 2014,there were only 16 IITs in the

country. In the last 6 years, onan average, a new IIT has beenopened every year. One ofthem is also at Dharwad,Karnataka. He also said as of2014 there were only 9 IIITs, 13IIMs and 7 AIIMSs in thecountry whereas in the subse-quent 5 years, 16 IIITs, 7 IIMsand 8 AIIMSs were eitherestablished or in the process ofbeing created.

Modi said efforts in high-er education over the last fiveto six years are not limited toonly opening new institutionsbut work has also been done ongovernance reforms in theseinstitutions to ensure genderequality and social inclusive-

ness. He said the first IIM Act

gave more rights to IIMs acrossthe country. The NationalMedical Commission has beencreated to bring more trans-parency in medical education.Two new laws are also beingenacted for bringing in reformsin Homeopathy and otherIndian medical practices. PMexpressed happiness that at alllevels of education in the coun-try, the Gross Enrolment ratioof girls is more than boys.

Modi said the focus of theNational Education Policy ismultidimensional to make ouryouth competitive through aflexible and adaptable educa-

tion system. He said Skilling,Reskilling and Upskilling arethe greatest need of the hour.Being one of the best educationinstitutes in the country, thePrime Minister urged theUniversity of Mysore to inno-vate according to the newemerging situation. He urgedthe institute to focus onIncubation Centres,Technology DevelopmentCentres, “Industry-academialinkage” and “Inter- discipli-nary research”. He requestedthe University to promoteresearch on Local Culture,Local Art and other socialissues along with related glob-al and contemporary issues.

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The CBI has booked BSPMLA Vinay Shankar Tiwari

and his wife Reeta Tiwaribesides two private firms inconnection with an allegedbank fraud to the tune of Rs 754.24 crore and conduct-ed searches at their premises on Monday.

Besides the MLA and hiswife, a private individual AjeetPandey as also two privateentities arraigned as accusedare Gangotri Enterprises Ltdand Royal Empire MarketingPvt Ltd.

The agency conductedsearches at the residence ofChillupar (Gorakhpur) MLATiwari, who is son of former minister and astrongman from Gorakhpur,Hari Shankar Tiwari, and the office of the Lucknow-based company, GangotriEnterprises Ltd.

Officials said the searcheswere also spread out in Noidaat the premises of another

accused firm, Royal EmpireMarketing Pvt. Ltd, and another accused director inGangotri Enterprises, AjeetPandey.

“The Central Bureau ofInvestigation has registered acase on a complaint from Bankof India against two privatecompanies based atLucknow/Noida (UttarPradesh), its Directors andunknown others on the allega-tions of committing misap-propriation, cheating and caus-ing loss of Rs 754.24 crore(approximately) to the consor-tium of banks,” the CBI said ina statement.

“It was alleged that the pri-vate company having its cor-porate office at Mahanagar,Lucknow (Gangotri EnterprisesLtd) was engaged in the construction of roads,bridges and flyovers etc. It wasfurther alleged that the company availed credit facili-ties from a consortium of banks led by Bank of Indiafrom time to time,” the

agency said.It was also alleged that the

company was supposed to routeall its transactions through theTrust & Retention Account andthe company was not doing thesame. It was further alleged thatthere were irregularities in thefinancial statements of the com-pany, it said.

Searches were conductedon Monday at the premises ofthe accused/company at Noidaand Lucknow which led torecovery of several incriminating documents.Investigation is continuing, it added.

After scrutiny of the seizeddocuments, the agency willsoon summon the accusedpersons for questioning in con-nection with the probe.

Based on the recovery ofthe property documents of theaccused and tallying them withtheir Income Tax returns, theagency may register a separatecase for possession of dispro-portionate assets against them,officials added.

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Without giving a firm date-wise time-table for Haj

2021, Union Minister ofMinority Affairs MukhtarAbbas Naqvi on Monday saidthe holy pilgrimage will dependon national-internationalProtocol Guidelines due toCovid-19 pandemic conditions.The Union Minister said awhole set of procedures for theHaj would change on account of

the pandemic.While chairing Haj 2021

review meeting here, Naqvisaid Haj is scheduled for June-July 2021, but the final decisionregarding Haj 2021 will betaken in due course keeping inview necessary guidelines to beissued by the Saudi ArabiaGovernment and theGovernment of India in view ofcorona pandemic to ensurehealth and well-being of thepeople.

Naqvi added HajCommittee of India and otherIndian agencies will formallyannounce Haj 2021 applica-tion process and other relatedpreparations after a decision istaken by the Saudi ArabiaGovernment on Haj 2021.

The Minister said the entireHaj process might witness a sig-nificant change in view of nec-essary guidelines.

“These include accommo-dation, transport, health and

other facilities both in India andSaudi Arabia”, he said.

Naqvi said health and well-being of the pilgrims is of theutmost priority for theGovernment due to coronapandemic.

The Indian agencies willensure necessary arrangementsin this regard. The IndianGovernment and HajCommittee have started neces-sary preparations to ensurehealth and well-being of the pil-

grims. The Minister said due to100 per cent digital Haj processof India, Rs 2,100 crore havebeen returned through DBTmode, without any deduction,to 1,23,000 people after cancel-lation of Haj 2020 due to coro-navirus.

The Saudi ArabiaGovernment has also returnedabout Rs 100 crore regardingtransportation.

Secretary, Minority AffairsMinistry PK Das and other

senior officials of the Ministry;Joint Secretary, External AffairsVipul; Joint Secretary CivilAviation Ministry SK Mishraattended the review meeting.Besides, Dr Ausaf Sayeed,Indian Ambassador to SaudiArabia; Y Sabir, Acting ConsulGeneral in Jeddah; MA Khan,CEO Haj Committee of Indiaand other officials from HealthDepartment, Air India etcattended the meeting throughvideo conferencing.

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As part of the Atma NirbharBharat Package to revive

the rural and agriculture econ-omy, as many as 1.5 crorefarmers, including fishermenand dairy farmers, have been benefited with sanctionedcredit limit of Rs 1.35 lakhcrore under the Kisan CreditCards (KCC).

In May this year, the UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman announced a con-cessional credit boost worth Rs2 lakh crore to 2.5 crore farm-ers through KCC issued by thegovernment.

It is expected that the samewill help in reviving the ruraleconomy and accelerating agri-cultural growth. The schemeprovides an additional liquid-ity of Rs 5 lakh crore in thehands of farmers, who are suf-fering from the recent down-turn of economy.

The KCC scheme waslaunched to prevent farmersfrom getting loans on highinterest rates charged viamoney lenders in the unor-ganised sector.

Under the scheme, farmerscan avail a loan as and whenthey require. The scheme waslaunched in August 1998 andwas prepared by National Bankfor Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (NABARD).

The Government providesinterest subvention of 2 percent and Prompt RepaymentIncentive of 3 per cent to thefarmers, thus making the cred-it available at a very subsidisedrate of 4 per cent per annum.

The Government has takenmajor farmer friendly steps byextending the benefits of KCCwith interest subvention in2019 to Animal Husbandryincluding Dairy and Fisheriesfarmers for their working cap-ital requirement and raising theexisting limit of collateral freeagriculture loan from Rs 1lakh to Rs 1.60 lakh.

“While ensuring conve-nient and cost-effective creditdelivery to farmers, the ongo-ing campaign will also beinstrumental in driving therural economy and furtheraccelerating agricultural pro-duction and allied activities,besides enhancing the incomelevel of farmers. This will alsogo a long way in fulfilling theobjective of food security forour country,” the Ministry saidin a statement.

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With the Covid-19 pan-demic bringing into

focus the urgent need to boosthealthcare facilities in ruralareas, a unique scheme,“Ayushman Sahakar”, wasunveiled on Monday. It offerseasily-accessible low-interestloans to cooperatives and star-tups keen to venture into anarray of health related facilitiesthat would ensure last-miledelivery of healthcare servicesacross the country.

The apex autonomousdevelopment finance institu-tion, National CooperativeDevelopment Corporation(NCDC), under the UnionAgriculture Ministry, hasalready created a loan kitty ofRs 10,000 crore for the purposeaiming to boost the provisionof healthcare services by coop-eratives which largely com-prise farmers in the country.

Launching the schemeonline, Union Agriculture

Minister of State ParashottamRupala said that AyushmanSahakar would revolutionise theway healthcare delivery takesplace in rural areas. He also gavea call to the existing cooperativesto take up healthcare services asan activity for farmers.

Talking to media, SundeepNayak, Managing Director ofNCDC, said, “This schemealigns itself with the focus ofthe National Health Policy,2017, covering the health sys-tems in all their dimensions-investments in health, organi-zation of healthcare services,access to technologies, devel-opment of human resources,encouragement of medical plu-ralism, affordable health care tofarmers etc.”

In fact, co-operatives arealready playing an increasing-ly important role in various sec-tors such as fisheries, sugar,dairy, textile and agri-process-ing among a few others. In thehealth sector, the NCDC has sofar financed a few hospitals run

by cooperatives across thecountry.

“The idea is to expand theumbrella particularly at a timewhen there is an imminentneed to strengthen healthcarefacilities in the rural area in thewake of Covid-19 outbreak.The scheme has comprehen-sive approach-hospitals, health-care, medical education, nurs-ing education, drug stores,paramedical education, healthinsurance and holistic healthsystems such as AYUSH.Ayushman Sahakar schemefund would also assist cooper-ative hospitals take up med-ical/Ayush education,” heexplained.

“Even if doctors cometogether to form a cooperativeand start a hospital or a centrewith physiotherapy services,we would be able to supportthem,” he said.

Talking about the eligibili-ty for availing the loan, Nayaksaid, “As our original guidelinesgo, a cooperative has to be

three years old for gettingNCDC finance, for this start-upscheme. So, this is a greatscheme for start-ups. Besides, ifthese start-ups are founded bywomen or those with disabili-ties, they would get an interestsubvention of 2 per cent.”

Any Cooperative Societywith suitable provision in itsbyelaws to undertake health-care related activities would beable to access the NCDC fund.The NCDC assistance will floweither through the StateGovernments/UT administra-tions or directly to the eligiblecooperatives. Subsidy/ grantfrom other sources can bedovetailed, the official added.

Nayak pointed out that theco-operative is a complete busi-ness model that competes inthe market like any other andexisting cooperatives hospitalshave shown that they havebeen earning good profits whilereinvesting in improving ser-vice quality, so ensuring its sus-tainability.

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Ahead of festivals and thewinter season, the World

Health Organization (WHO)on Monday cautioned againstany relaxation of responseactions following the recentslight decline in Covid-19 casesin the South-East Asia Region.It said the pandemic continuesunabated and our response onlyneeds to be strengthened furtherto curtail virus transmission.

The co-circulation of sea-sonal influenza and Covid-19in the winters may presentchallenges for health systemsand health facilities, since bothdiseases present many similarsymptoms, according to thehealth experts. “There shouldbe no complacency in view ofthe declining numbers in recentweeks. The Region still reportslarge numbers of Covid-19cases. We need to continue todo our very best to curtail thepandemic,” said Dr PoonamKhetrapal Singh, RegionalDirector WHO South-East AsiaRegion in a statement here.

The upcoming festival sea-son and the approaching win-ter/cold season threatens toaggravate the situation if we letour guards down, she said.

Member countries havebeen making concerted effortsscaling up capacities for time-ly detection, testing, tracingcontacts, isolating the affectedand providing hospital care tothose who need it. “Our relent-less efforts need to continuewith more vigor,” the RegionalDirector said.

This festive season we mustcontinue to take responsibility

as individuals of the need tomaintain physical distance,hand hygiene, cough etiquetteand wear a mask when andwhere needed. People mustremember the three Cs —avoid crowded places, avoidclosed settings and avoid con-fined and enclosed spaces withpoor ventilation.

Many of the same mea-sures that are effective in pre-venting Covid-19 are also effec-tive for preventing influenza,including physical distancing,hand hygiene, covering coughs,ventilation and masks.

For the third week in a row,the WHO South-East AsiaRegion has registered 6 - 8 percent decline in the number ofCovid-19 cases, mainly due toa decrease in reported casesfrom India and Bangladesh.

Home to one-fourth of theworlds' population, the Regionhas reported over 8 million ofthe nearly 40 million casesglobally, mostly from the mostpopulous countries which alsoface unique demographic andgeographic challenges.

In India, the number ofnew coronavirus infectionsreported daily dropped below60,000 for the second timethis month, while the numberof fresh fatalities registeredacross the country dippedbelow 600 almost after threemonths, the Union HealthMinistry data said.

The total cases mounted to75,50,273 with 55,722 infec-tions being reported in a day while death toll climbedto 1,14,610 with 579 fatalitiesbeing registered in a span of 24 hours.

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Aplea has been filed in theSupreme Court seeking

direction to the Centre toframe model pacts for builderand agent buyers to protect cus-tomers and bring in trans-parency in the realty sector intune with the Real EstateRegulatory Authority (RERA)Act 2016.

The plea filed by 62 homebuyers has also sought a direc-tion to all the states to enforce‘Model Builder BuyerAgreement’ and ‘Model AgentBuyer Agreement’ and to take steps to avoid “mental,physical and financial injury”to customers.

The plea has madeMinistry of Housing and UrbanAffairs, DLF Southern Homes

Pvt. Ltd.(Begur Omr Home PvtLtd) and Annabel Builders &Developers Pvt. Ltd as partiesin the case.

“Promoters, Builders andAgents use manifestly arbi-trary one-sided agreementsthat do not place customers atan equal platform with them,which offends Articles 14, 15,21 of Constitution. There havebeen many cases of deliberateinordinate delays in handingover possession and customerslodge complaints but policedon’t register FIRs, citing arbi-trary clauses of the agreement.

“Builders issue reviseddelivery schedule again andagain and adopt arbitraryunfair restrictive trade prac-tices. All this amounts to crim-inal conspiracy, fraud, cheating,criminal breach of trust, dis-

honestly inducing delivery ofthe property, dishonest misap-propriation of property andviolation of corporate laws,” said the plea, filedthrough advocate AshwaniKumar Dubey.

Due to deliberate excessivedelays in possession, real estatecustomers are not only suffer-ing from mental and financialinjury but also from brazen vio-lation of their right to life andlivelihood, the plea said.

The PIL contended thatmany developers across thecountry still follow a common practice of pre-launching a project withoutsecuring requisite approvalsfor the project from the author-ities, and term it as ‘soft launch’or ‘pre-launch’ etc. thus, open-ly violating the law but no

action has been taken againstany builder till date.

“It is necessary to statethat registration of the projectwith the regulatory authorityhas been mandatory before it is launched for sale,and for registration, the basicpre-requisite is that the devel-oper must have all the requisiteapprovals.

“Thus the buyer is pro-tected as the project is ring-fenced from the vagaries ofnon-approvals or delays inapprovals which are one of themajor causes of delay for theproject,” the plea said.

The plea has also soughtdirections to compensate thebuyers for losses incurred dueto inordinate delays on the partof Promoters-Builders and torecover their money.

New Delhi: A plea has beenmoved in the Supreme Courtseeking urgent hearing of thePIL seeking directions to gov-ernment authorities for imple-menting top court’s directionsregarding appointment ofInformation Commissionerswithin a stipulated time and ina transparent manner.

An application has beenfiled by RTI activist AnjaliBhardwaj for urgent listing ofthe PIL filed by her on fillingup of vacancies in CentralInformation Commission(CIC) and the StateInformation Commissions(SICs), in view of top court’sDecember 16, 2019, order.

On December 16, last year,the top court had directed theCentre and state governmentsto appoint information com-missioners within three monthsin the CIC and the SICs, andsaid there was a need to evolveguidelines to stop misuse of theRight to Information Act.

The urgent hearing appli-cation of Bhardwaj said that theDecember 16, last year order hasnot been complied with and thenumber of vacancies at the CIChave now increased to six andeven the post of the ChiefInformation Commission hasbeen vacant since August 27,2020, “frustrating the order ofthis Court as well as citizens fun-damental right to information”.

It said that as of October15, 2020, the number of pend-ing appeals/complaints beforethe CIC is more than 36,600.

The application said, “It isfurther submitted that it appearsthe UOI is resorting to issuingfresh advertisements instead of

filling all the advertised vacantposts in a bid to cause unduedelay in the appointments there-by frustrating peoples’ right toinformation”.

It said that no reasons havebeen furnished by the Centreas to why four vacancies werenot filled pursuant to the adver-tisement dated December 12,2019 and the order of this courtdated December 16, 2019. Itclaimed that Centre after fillingone vacancy at the CIC hasnow put out a new advertise-ment dated July 12.

The application claimedthat even the State governmentsfailed to comply with the direc-tions given by this court videJudgment dated February 15,2019. “The State InformationCommission (SIC) ofMaharashtra is functioning withonly five commissioners andthere is a backlog of nearly60,000 appeals/complaints asof July 31, 2020”, it said, addingthat these vacancies were notfilled despite direction from thetop court given in its February15, last year verdict. The apexcourt, in its February 15, last yearverdict, had said that selectionof information officers shouldinclude people of eminencefrom various other fields and notbe limited to bureaucrats and theexercise be conducted in a trans-parent manner.

It had also directed theCentre and eight states -- WestBengal, Orissa, Maharashtra,Gujarat, Nagaland, AndhraPradesh, Kerala and Karanataka— to fill up the vacancies of ICsin the CIC and SICs without anydelay within a period of onemonth to six months. PTI

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The Supreme Court onMonday asked the

Maharashtra State DisasterManagement Authority(SDMA) to decide on the rep-resentation by Nanded gurud-wara management board seek-ing to hold Dusshera processionamid Covid-19 pandemic.

A bench headed by JusticeL Nageswara Rao, whichassembled during the Dussheravacation of the apex court tohear the matter, said the deci-sion will have to be taken onthe basis of ground situation.

The bench, also compris-ing Justices Hemant Gupta andAjay Rastogi, asked the gurud-wara management to file itsrepresentation with the SDMAby Tuesday.

The gurdwara manage-ment board can move theBombay High Court if it is notsatisfied with the decision ofthe SDMA, it said.

The top court was hearing aplea by ‘Nanded SikhGurudwara Sachkhand ShriHazur Abchalnagar Sahib Board’seeking permission to carry outthe customary procession onaccount of the 300-year oldevent — ‘Dusshera, Takht Isnan,Deepmala and Gurta Gaddi’ —with certain conditions. Theplea has said that “GurdwaraTakhat Shri Hazur Abchalnagaris a pious place of world fame forbeing the last place of tenth SikhGuru Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Maharaj, where he grantedholy seat of Guru to theGurugranth Sahiv ji before goingto Sachkhand”.

The MaharashtraGovernment has told the apex

court that allowing Nandedgurudwara to hold Dussheraprocession will not be a “prac-tically feasible option” amidCOVID-19 and the state hastaken a conscious decision ofnot allowing religious functionsto check the spread of virus.

During the hearing onMonday, the advocate appear-ing for the petitioner said thatthe Centre has issued guide-lines on the issue and the statetoo has not raised objection tolimited gatherings. Referring tothe guidelines, he said for mar-riage 50 people are allowed andthe gurdwara managementboard is not asking for “publicparticipation” and there will beonly as many people and on alimited route.

“Your contention that thestate government is not oppos-ing the procession is wrong,”the bench said, adding that 40-50 people in the procession isokay but who will control thecrowds if the gatheringbecomes bigger on the road.

The petitioner’s counselsaid the management hasreduced the procession route to1.5 km and its timing can befixed in the evening to ensurea small congregation; more-over, the proceedings would betelecast. “State is saying there isa health risk,” the bench said.

Senior advocate DevduttKamat, who appeared forMaharashtra along with state’sstanding counsel Sachin Patil,referred to the number ofCOVID-19 cases and deaths inthe state as well as in Nandedarea and said that authoritieshave not allowed any kind ofreligious gatherings amid thepandemic.

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KOCHI/CHENNAI: Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan claimed on Mondaythat Kerala was doing exceedinglywell in controlling the Covid-19 pan-demic. “Union Health Minister HarshVardhan was praising Kerala for theeffective methods deployed by us incontrolling Covid-19. Our perspectiveis that he was praising the State,” saidVijayan during his media briefing onMonday.

The Union Health Minister duringhis weekly interaction on Sunday hadcriticised the Kerala government for itsfailure to sustain the initial momentumof the preventive measures to containCovid-19. “The union minister is notaware of what happened in Kerala after-wards. There were certain people inKerala who wanted to derail the Coronapandemic preventive measures whichwere being implemented by the Kerala

Government,” said Vijayan.Viijayan disclosed that on Monday,

5,022 new persons were diagnosedwith Covid-19. “There are 92,731Covid-19 patients undergoing treat-ment in various hospitals,” he said. Butthe number of samples tested onMonday were just 36,599 samples.

Neighbouring Tamil Nadu sus-tained its Covid-19 control measuresfor the third week in succession. Thebulletin released by the directorate ofpublic health and preventive medicinestated that 3,536 new persons werediagnosed across Tamil Nadu onMonday while 49 persons succumbedto the pandemic. The number of activepatients in the State as on Monday were38,093. Chennai tested 885 positivecases while the number of patients test-ed positive in Coimbatore came downto 290. PNS

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The gold smuggling scam andthe unauthorised Quran and

date import cases are destined tofizzle out in the coming months, asenior member of the probe agencytold The Pioneer on condition ofanonymity.

“The investigation process isslow because of the non-coop-

eration by some of the suspectsand those who have been arrest-ed. Though it is known that the toppolitical leadership in the State isinvolved in these scams, docu-mentary evidence is slow to comeas this involves many agencies. Ason date, we are not in a positionto interrogate the ConsulateGeneral office staff because of theirdiplomatic immunity,” said theofficial.

He said though Fasal Fareedand two more members werequestioned by the NIA team inUAE, it will take a long time for theextradition of these people.“Though they are in the custodyof the UAE Police, we are in thedark why these persons are notbeing dispatched to India. TheUAE authorities have their owninterests,” said the official.

Meanwhile Kerala HighCourt on Monday asked theCustoms and EnforcementDirectorate not to arrest MSivsankar, the former principalsecretary to Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan, till Friday.

While hearing a plea movedby Sivsankar who sought antici-patory bail from the arrest byCustoms , the judge asked theCustoms Department whether it

had any documentary evidencelinking the petitioner with smug-gling and terrorist related activities.Sivsankar is alleged to have linkswith gold smuggling scam, moneylaundering charges and Quranimport cases.

Senior lawyer K Ramkumarrepresenting the CustomsDepartment told the court that theCustoms needed some more timeto explain and furnish its stance inthis case to which the judge askedthem to come with the same onFriday when he would hear thecase.

Sivsankar who had beenadmitted to the Medical CollegeHospital because of “severe back-pain” was discharged from thehospital and left forThiruvananthapuram when hewas told about the court directive.

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The Hathras incident hasnot cooled down yet that

such a shocking incident hascome to light again in Aligarh.A six-year-old child has beenaccused of raping a girl of sameage in the kwarsi area. The inci-dent is said to be six days old.The police got into actionwhen the parents of the girlcomplained to the police.Shortly, the girl was sent formedical examination.

Also, the police went to thehouse if accused child andquestioned him. At themoment, a lawsuit has beenfiled. A medical examination

will be conducted on the age ofthe accused child. Only thenwill the further action be decid-ed.

A man living in an area of??Anoopshahar Road in Kwarsiarea has three children. Themiddle child is six years old.Her mother reached the policestation and told that her daugh-ter had been raped by a neigh-bour. She told that the incidenttook place on October 12 ataround 3.30 pm.

The girl was playing at thedoor of the house. Then herball went to the neighbor'shouse. When she went to getthe ball, she was caught by thechild of the family living there.

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Acocktail of Press and socialmedia made an impact in

Kerala at an unbelievable speed.The Pioneer in its Monday editionhad carried a report with photo-graph of how high-end low floorbuses of Kerala State RoadTransport Corporation weredumped in the garage uncared andunattended for months. The entirefleet of buses were covered withshrubs and wild growth of bushesgrown around the parking space.

Kuttan Pillai, a farmer in theState drew the attention of ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan onSunday through a tweet about thecondition of these public sectorvehicles. He had offered to launchcultivation of snake gourds in thespace between the buses on alease basis and this found manytakers.

It is not known whether themessage received the chief minis-

ter. But the management of KSRTCtook instant action and removedthe entire bushes, shrubs and wildgrowth around the buses. By noon,

the garage at Ernakulam CentralBus Station wore a new look devoidof even a grass.

The management felt that

growing snake gourds in the garagemay bring in some money to thefarmer and the government. Butthey do not want the hundreds of

employees attached to the garagebeing thrown out of their liveli-hood. The staff of the loss makingcorporation thought that theyshould not allow the “fence itself toeat the crop”.

“We got an order from theheadquarters atThiruvananthapuram this morningto get rid of the entire wild growthand clean the garage whatever thecost may be. Till yesterday, nobodyhad uttered anything about thisgarage but the entire situationchanged overnight. The companymanagement rang up many timesto find out what was happening,”a staff member told this newspaper.

Kuttan Pillai was all praise forthe report. “I never knew theKSRTC runs this fast. We areindebted to The Pioneer ,” he saidin a tweet on Monday.

Thanks to Pillai’s uncondi-tional offer catalyzed by the report,the powers that be saw the writingon the wall of the garage.

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At a time when agitations in support ofjust one capital at Amaravati have

crossed 300 days, some people and Dalitorganisations are also protesting in supportof the capital city trifurcation.

Dalit organisations are carrying outprotests at Mandadam and Tallayapalem inTullur Mandal, demanding decentralisa-tion.

Vadithya Shankar Naik, a Dalit rightsleader criticized former Chief Minister NaraChandrababu Naidu that he is only work-ing for the progress of one section of thepeople.

“He never did justice to north Andhraand Rayalaseema regions,” said Naik. Hesaid Naidu is blocking the sanction of the

land to the poor people in the capital region,which demonstrates his so-called lovetowards the poor.

Parisapogu Srinivasa Rao, AP MadigaReservation Porata Samiti (MRPS) leaderquestioned the Left parties as to why theyare supporting Naidu, who is allegedlyobstructing the sanction of free land to thepoor.

Amaravati region MRPS convenorMallavarapu Nagayya Madiga, Chette Raju,state Mala Mahanadu leader Satta YohanRaju and other leaders protested in supportof three capitals for the southern state.

Earlier, several minority rights organ-isations' representatives have also protest-ed in Mandadam, in support of the threecapitals, not very far from where the localpeople are demanding one capital.

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Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh): Acase of gangrape has beenlodged against jailed MLAVijay Mishra, his son VishnuMishra and another relative inBhadohi, the police said.

A woman, in her mid-thirties lodged the report at theGopiganj police station onSunday, alleging that Mishrasexually assaulted her severaltimes at gunpoint in 2014. Shesaid that his son Vishnu Mishraand his relative Vikas Mishraalso raped her.

Krishnanand Rai, inspectorof Gopiganj police station, said

the case was registered againstVijay Mishra, his son VishnuMishra and relative VikasMishra under sections 376D(gang-rape), 342 (wrongfulconfinement) and 506 (crimi-nal intimidation) of the IndianPenal Code (IPC). The allegedvictim has been sent for amedical examination.

A senior police officer saidthe woman, who belonged toVaranasi, alleged that she wascalled for campaigning inBhadohi during the 2014 gen-eral election. She alleged thatwhen she tried to resist rape,

the accused threatened to killher.

The officer said the womanmoved to Mumbai feelingthreatened by the MLA fear butcame back to the state to file thecase when she learnt that hewas in jail in another case.

Vijay Mishra was arrestedin August in an alleged case ofproperty grabbing and is cur-rently in Agra jail.

Mishra won the 2017assembly election as a candi-date of the Nirbal IndianShoshit Hamara Aam Dal(NISHAD) party. IANS

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Ayouth in Meerut district attacked his father andslashed his neck with a knife when the latter asked

him not to play PUBG, a Chinese gaming app which hasbeen banned by the Centre, police said on Monday.

The father was severely injured in the incident andlater, the accused, identified as Amir, also stabbed him-self with the knife. Both, father and son have been admit-ted to the Meerut Medical College.

According to reports, the incident took place onThursday in Jamnanagar in Kharkhoda town of the dis-trict but was not reported to the police immediately.

The youth attacked his father, Irfan, after he askedhim to refrain from spending long hours at gaming. Upsetwith his father's criticism, Amir picked up a knife andslashed his father in the neck multiple times. Later, healso slashed himself in the neck.

Circle Officer Devesh Singh said the youth slashedhis father's neck when he asked him not to play the game.The youth is also in critical condition.

The family of the youth said he was addicted to drugsand was undergoing treatment, said Inspector ArvindMohan Sharma.

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Agra: After months of hiatus due to Covid-19 pandemic,secondary schools from class 9 to class 12 havereopened in Agra in compliance with strict measuresand protocols. An official said that special teams havebeen constituted to inspect the schools premises andalso to review the arrangements of sanitisation and socialdistancing norms inside the classrooms.

Students have been asked to bring their own foodand water bottles, along with consent letters from par-ents. Meanwhile, the recovery rate in the city has nowgone up to 90.78 per cent. The samples' positivity rateis 2.84 per cent. The number of active cases is 485.

The famous Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan willremain shut 'indefinitely' from Monday, barely two daysafter it was reopened for devotees.

The temple had reopened on Saturday, the first dayof 'Navratri', after a seven-month closure due to the lock-down. More than 25,000 devotees turned up to offerprayers at the famous temple. IANS

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party hasstarted preparing for the 2022 Assemblyelections in Uttar Pradesh.

Party President Akhilesh Yadav hasinvited applications from potential can-didates for the Assembly polls.

Aspiring candidates can submitapplications from Monday until January26, 2021 at the party's state headquartersin Lucknow. The 47 Assembly segmentsthat were won by the SP in 2017 and theseven seats where by-elections are sched-uled to be held on November 3, areexempted from this process and appli-cations for these constituencies will notbe accepted, said party spokesmanRajendra Chaudhary.

This, party sources said, implies thatalmost all the sitting MLAs of the partywill be re-nominated for the next

Assembly polls.Meanwhile, the decision of the

party to invite applications from aspir-ing candidates, has put those sittingMLAs of other parties -- who were plan-ning to switch over to the SP for the nextelections -- in a dilemma.

A two-term BJP MLA, who spokeon condition of anonymity, said, “It is dif-ficult for me at this stage to join the SPbecause that would deprive me of myAssembly membership and there is stilla one-and-a-half-year term left. I willhave to negotiate with the SP leaders andthen decide what is to be done. There aremore than a dozen sitting MLAs fromvarious parties who want to contest the2022 elections on the SP ticket.”

Meanwhile, the SP has alreadyrevamped its party organisation and the

frontal units Akhilesh Yadav has beenworking during the lockdown, con-necting with party workers virtually.

“The party is busy consolidating theorganisation at the booth level and partypresident has asked leaders and work-ers to connect to the people at the grass-roots level and understand and addresstheir problems,” said Chaudhary.

The Samajwadi Party has alreadyannounced its decision to go it alone inthe next Assembly elections though itmay opt for seat adjustment with small-er parties. In the ongoing by-elections forseven Assembly segments, the party hasleft the Bulandshahr seat for theRashtriya Lok Dal. Akhilesh has alreadyannounced that he would leave theJaswantnagar seat for uncle ShivpalSingh Yadav. IANS

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Parties at Goa's night clubs shouldnot start right away, but tourism

activity should be conducted bymaintaining social distancingnorms, Chief Minister PramodSawant said on Monday.

Sawant's comments came a dayafter photographs of dance-floors ofleading night clubs in Goa packedwith party-goers went viral onsocial media.

The Chief Minister also saidthat in light of the viral photos, theGoa Home Department would beissuing instructions to the clubs tomaintain social distancing.

“Home department will giveinstructions to maintain social dis-tancing. Right now, parties shouldnot start.

Tourism activity should be car-ried out with social distancing,”Sawant told reporters on the side-lines of a function in Panaji.

Goa is one of the leading beachand nightlife tourism destinationsin the country, whose nightclubslocated along the coastal belt, arepopular with locals as well astourists.

The state currently has report-ed a total number of 40,746 con-firmed cases out of which 3,283 areactive.

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The Centre is determined toimplement Citizenship

Amendment Act and it will takeplace at any cost, BJP nationalpresident JP Nadda said onMonday.

Nadda who promised a wholelot of things in a meeting of partyworkers in Siliguri said that “ourGovernment is different fromthe one led by Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee whoseTrinamool Congress oppressesthe people for four years andoffers doles in the last one yearbefore the elections … we per-form that we promise. So CAA issure to happen and the process ison,” complaining how the“Hindus were discriminatedagainst by the Chief Minister

earlier on and now realising thatit had backfired she is trying tobefool them with small conces-sions.”

Speaking about the delay of itsimplementation he said “due tocorona situation the process gotdelayed but it is very much in theGovernment’s agenda and will beimplemented … for which rulesare being framed and soon theprocess will start.”

Saying that the NarendraModi Government had per-formed on most promises he saidhow 8 crore people had been ben-efited from the Prime MinisterKisan Sanman Nidhi which was“unfortunately stopped frombeing implemented in Bengal byChief Minister Mamata Banerjee,”adding, “now it is your responsi-bility to throw the TMCGovernment and bring in the BJP

so that all the schemes can beimplemented.”

Attacking the TrinamoolGovernment, Nadda said how theChief Minister had not onlyblocked one central scheme “butall the central projects like theAyushman Bharat that has bene-fited 55 crore people have beenstopped from coming to Bengal…It is for the people to take a vowthat after the next April the BJPGovernment will be in place inBengal so as to implement all suchpeople’s schemes.”

The Modi Government hadbrought a whole lot of reforms soas to improve the quality of livesof the people of India he saidadding how2.2 crore people gotelectricity in their houses. “In yourstate about 1000 villages have nopower and the BJP is determinedto reach power to their houses,” he

said recounting how alarge number of reforms had

been carried out by the ModiGovernment.

“In the case of labour laws wehave done away with many ofthem like the Plantation LabourAct. We have now added it with the Minimum Wages Actso that even the plantation work-ers will get the wages like theirother counterparts,” he saidpromising projects for theGorkhas, Rajbanshis and othergroups residing in NorthBengal.

Saying that various aspira-tions of the people of NorthBengal related to Railway con-nectivity will be addressed soonhe said that Railway MinisterPiyush Goyal will soon sit with theMPs of North Bengal and addresstheir issues.

Srinagar: Jammu& Kashmir onMonday reported427 new Covid-19 cases, takingthe UnionTerritory's coron-avirus tally to88,369, while ninedeaths in the past24 hours took theUT's Covid deathtoll to 1,388.

A statementissued by the Information andPublic Relations Departmentsaid that of the 427 positivecases reported on Monday, 169were from Jammu division and258 from Kashmir division.

Out of the total cases,78,667 have recovered com-pletely. On Monday, 781

patients, 417 from Jammu divi-sion and 364 from Kashmirdivision, were discharged fromdifferent hospitals.

The number of active casesin the UT stands at 8,314 now,of which 3,189 are from Jammudivision and 5,125 fromKashmir division. IANS

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In what came as a huge reliefto the state health authorities,

the Covid 19-triggered deathsdropped to 125 and the inflec-tions plummeted to 5,984 inMaharashtra on Monday, evenas the total number of infec-tions in the state crossed a grim16 lakh milestone.

A day after the state logged150 deaths, the Covid-19 curveappeared to be flattening, as thedeaths came down to as low as125 and infections dropped toa low of 5984. Both the fatali-ties and infections recorded onMonday were the lowest dur-ing the last four months.

With 125 fresh deaths, thetotal number of deaths mount-ed from 42,115 to 42,240.

Similarly, with 5984 freshinfections, the total number ofinfections breached the 16lakh-mark as the total casesincreased from from 15,95,381to 16,013,65.

Of the total 125 deathsreported on Monday, Mumbaiaccounted for a maximum of43 deaths, followed by 15 inPune and 14 in Thane.

In the lower range, therewere seven deaths in inSolapur, 6 each in Amravatiand Nagpur, 5 in Jalna, 4 eachin Ahmednagar, Sangli andNanded, 3 in Kolhapur, 2 eachin Raigad, Nashik and Sataraand one death each in Palghar,Jalgaon, Ratnagiri,Aurangabad, Akola, Yavatmal,Chandrapur and Gadchiroli.

With 43 deaths, the Covid-

19 toll in Mumbai rose from9,785 to 9,819 while the infect-ed cases went up by 1,234 totrigger a jump in the totalnumber of infections in themetropolis from 241,935 to2,43,169.

On a day when 15,069people were discharged fromvarious hospitals in the state,the number of people dis-charged from various hospitalsafter full recovery since the sec-ond week of March this yearwent up to 13,84,879. Therecovery rate in the state rosefrom 85.86 per cent to 86.48per cent.

Meanwhile, the mortalityrate in the state stood at 2.64per cent. The number of “activecases” in the state droppedfrom 1,82,973 to 1,73,759.

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The Tamil Nadu government onMonday announced �10 crore aid

to Telangana for relief works in flood-affected Hyderabad and other districts.

Chief Minister E.K. Palaniswamiconveyed in a letter to his Telanganacounterpart K. Chandrasekhar Raothat he has ordered immediate con-tribution of �10 crore from the ChiefMinister's Public Relief Fund as a tokenof support.

The Tamil Nadu government willalso send blankets and mats as reliefmaterials to the affected families.

Palaniswami wrote that the heavyrains and unprecedented floods in thecity of Hyderabad and in certain dis-tricts of Telangana have caused exten-sive damage to property and have takena toll on people's lives.

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Page 6: ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛...2020/10/19  · Facebook page and YouTube channel. Some organisers said they will rope in two priests to avoid any last-minute scram-bling if the

The recent judgement ofthe Supreme Court onthe petitions pertainingto the three-monthprotests, held in Shaheen

Bagh in South Delhi earlier this year,should clear the air in respect of theprevailing debate on how far one cango while exercising the right to dis-sent. The key point is that the occu-pation of public thoroughfares whileregistering a protest is not acceptableindefinitely.

This judgement will have long-term implications on how politicalbattles will henceforth be foughtwhen they spill out onto the streets,because if the right to protest is anuntrammelled right, the constitu-tional scheme could get disturbed.

The judgement of the three-judge Bench, comprising JusticesSanjay Kishan Kaul, AniruddhaBose and Krishna Murari, said thatArticle 19 was one of the corner-stones of the Constitution whichconferred two treasured rights oncitizens — the right to freedom ofspeech and expression under Article19(1)(a) and the right to assemblepeacefully without arms underArticle 19(1)(b). “These rights, incohesion, enable every citizen toassemble peacefully and protestagainst the actions or inactions of theState. The same must be respectedand encouraged by the State, for thestrength of a democracy such as ourslies in the same.” However, it notedthat these rights were subject to rea-sonable restrictions. Referring to anearlier judgement of the court, itsaid, “each fundamental right, be itof an individual or of a class, doesnot exist in isolation and has to bebalanced with every other contrast-ing right. It was in this respect, thatin this case, an attempt was made byus to reach a solution where therights of protesters were to be bal-anced with that of commuters”.

The court declared that democ-racy and dissent go hand in hand,but then the demonstrationsexpressing dissent have to be in des-ignated places alone. “The presentcase was not even one of proteststaking place in an undesignated area,but was a blockage of a public waywhich caused grave inconvenienceto commuters. We cannot accept theplea of the applicants that an inde-terminable number of people canassemble whenever they choose toprotest.” The blockade had resultedin the closure of the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, including theOkhla underpass, from December

15, 2019, onwards.The central argument of those

who objected to the ShaheenBagh protest, including Dr NandKishore Garg, who petitioned thecourt, was that the protesters hadblocked an important thorough-fare and caused enormous incon-venience to commuters. Theright to protest should not resultin the infringement of the rightto free movement of other citi-zens. Dwelling on this issue, thecourt said: “We have, thus, nohesitation in concluding thatsuch kind of occupation of pub-lic ways, whether at the site inquestion or anywhere else forprotests, is not acceptable and theadministration ought to takeaction to keep the areas clear ofencroachments or obstructions.”

The court recalled the historyof protest during the freedommovement. It said: “What mustbe kept in mind, however, is thatthe erstwhile mode and mannerof dissent against colonial rulecannot be equated with dissent ina self-ruled democracy. Our con-stitutional scheme comes withthe right to protest and expressdissent but with an obligationtowards certain duties.” This is asignificant observation by theapex court. In fact, Dr BRAmbedkar, who headed theConstitution DraftingCommittee, dwelt on this veryissue in his concluding remarksin the Constituent Assembly onNovember 25, 1949, before theAssembly put its final stamp ofapproval on the Constitution.

In that speech, Dr Ambedkarmade two observations, whichare very relevant to the presentdebate on democracy and dissentin the country. He said: “The con-

demnation of the Constitutionlargely comes from two quarters,the Communist Party and theSocialist Party.” The commu-nists do not like it because theywant a Constitution based on theprinciple of dictatorship of theproletariat. “They (the commu-nists) condemn the Constitutionbecause it is based on parliamen-tary democracy.” The Socialistswant to nationalise all privateproperty without payment ofcompensation. Second, they wantfundamental rights in theConstitution to be absolute andwithout any limitations, “so thatif their party fails to come intopower, they would have theunfettered freedom not merely tocriticise, but also to overthrow theState”.

Just substitute the Congressparty for the Socialist Party andit will appear as if Dr Ambedkaris talking about what is happen-ing in India in the year 2020where political parties, whichhave been rejected by the elec-torate, want to foment trouble onthe streets to disturb the demo-cratic process. Let us not forgetthat the Congress party’s voteshare has crashed to less than 20per cent and the vote share of thetwo communist parties has hitrock bottom and touched a lowof 2.50 per cent.

The second aspect DrAmbedkar highlighted relatesto the modes of protest. He toldthe citizens what they must do ifthey wish to maintain democra-cy not merely in form but also infact. The first thing we must dois to hold fast to the constitution-al methods to achieve our socialand economic objectives. “Itmeans we must abandon bloody

methods of revolution. It meansthat we must abandon themethod of civil disobedience,non-cooperation and satyagra-ha.” These methods were okaywhen there were no constitution-al methods of protest. “But whereconstitutional methods are open,there can be no justification forthese unconstitutional methods.These methods are nothing butthe grammar of anarchy and thesooner they are abandoned, thebetter for us.”

The Shaheen Bagh mode ofprotest falls into the categorymentioned by Dr Ambedkar —organising a blockade to preventpeople from using an importantpublic thoroughfare and dis-rupting normal life. And letthere be no confusion about theprimary intent of those whopromoted this “grammar of anar-chy” — their dissatisfaction withthe peoples’ verdict of 2014 and2019 — more than anything else,and their desire to unsettle a dulyelected Government. The objec-tions to the CitizenshipAmendment Act were just afaçade.

Instead of promoting suchchaos for several months, itwould have been better for theprotesters to move the SupremeCourt against the law made bythe Parliament. That would bethe appropriate constitutionalresponse that would have passedmuster with Dr Ambedkar.

Hopefully, the apex court’sjudgement should put an end tothe Shaheen Bagh mode ofprotests and restore some orderin the way we express dissent.

(The writer is an author special-ising in democracy studies. Viewsexpressed are personal)

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���������� �����Sir — Maharashtra GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari’s letter toChief Minister UddhavThackeray on re-opening tem-ples in the State was meant toserve two purposes — to drawthe Hindutva concept of religiousidentity back to the discussion,and the other, to bolster the corepitch of the BJP. In truth, hiswords give credence to the sus-picion that the values enshrinedin the Constitution of India areunder siege indeed. The Frenchadage, “the legislator becomes thetransgressor”, aptly describes theGovernor’s epistle, as he hadcome close to denouncing theConstitution.

Koshyari’s letter unsettles eventhe ardent believers of Hinduism.He declares one is not a Hinduuntil and unless he or sheembraces the Hindutva doc-trine. Koshyari told Thackeraythat the latter had become a “sec-ular” Hindu, and thus, forsakenhis claim to be in the Hindutvastable. The country is now in direneed of a collective Oppositionforum and a stable, cogent leaderto save the very fabric of democ-racy.

Haridasan RajanKozhikode

��� ��� �������Sir — New Zealand’s PrimeMinister Jacinda Ardern deliv-ered the biggest election victoryfor her Labour party in half acentury. With all votes tallied,Ardern’s party won 49 per cent,bringing 64 seats and an outrightparliamentary majority. This isthe highest result that any partyhas achieved since the current

political system was introducedin 1996. On the other hand, theopposition National Party wasable to secure only 26.8 per centand just 35 seats in the 120-seatAssembly. The resounding victo-ry is due to Ardern’s progressive,democratic governance, her lead-ership in successfully curbing thespread of COVID-19 in thecountry, as well as her handlingof the massacre of 51 worship-

pers at two Christchurchmosques and a fatal volcanoeruption. Having a solid interna-tional following with her promo-tion of issues, including women’srights, social justice and multilat-eralism, Ardern has become arole model to many. However,there has been some criticism ofher economic policies. Also, asummer season with no interna-tional tourists will be a major test

for her. For now, she is ready toform a Government within threeweeks but has declined to com-ment on whether she wouldrule alone or form a coalition.

Khushboo VedUjjain

���������������Sir — With the onset of winterbegins the yearly theatrics of whois responsible for the rising pol-lution in Delhi. While the BJPclaims that there is more pollu-tion due to local factors, the StateGovernment blames the rulingparty at the Centre and Congressof forming an alliance to allowstubble burning. Amid all thispolitical gamble, the rising airpollution continues to affect thequality of life and subsistence ofthe city’s inhabitants. The Centreshould initiate a joint plan withthe support of the StateGovernments of Delhi, Haryana,Punjab and Uttar Pradesh tomake Delhi pollution-free. Theyshould also have a permanentban on firecrackers and not justfor the festive season.

Amit Singh KushwahaSatna

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The United Nations’ SustainableDevelopment Goal (SDG) 7.1aims to ensure universal access

to affordable, reliable and modernenergy services by 2030. India’s jour-ney so far has been remarkable inachieving near-universal access toelectricity in the last one decade. Asper the “Saubhagya” dashboard, 99.9per cent of rural households in thecountry have been electrified and lessthan 20,000 homes lacked electricityaccess as of March 2019, but as perNSS-76, more than six per cent house-holds in rural areas and one per centin urban areas had no access to elec-tricity till December 2018.

A majority of the States haveabove 97 per cent access, but larger

States such as Uttar Pradesh (UP),Jharkhand and Odisha still lag behindthe national average. Rural areas of UPand Jharkhand are most deprived with80 and 85 per cent access to electric-ity respectively.

According to the National FamilyHealth Survey (NFHS)-4, in 2015-16,Bihar ranked at the bottom of all Stateswith just 60 per cent of its householdshaving access to power. Since then, ithas made significant progress inexpanding its electricity access tonear-universal coverage in the lastthree years. But despite attainingnear-universal electrification for themajority of States, securing continu-ous and quality supply of power toremote villages and poorest house-holds still remains a big concern.

Compared to electricity access,larger variations can be observed in theaccess to clean fuel among the States.Meghalaya, West Bengal, andEmpowered Action Group (EAG)States, excluding Uttarakhand, still lagin providing universal access to cleancooking fuels, and every secondhousehold has no access to it. This sig-nificantly low national average posesa core developmental and health chal-

lenge. Even Kerala, despite its high liv-ing standards, has witnessed glaring-ly low progress in this aspect. Also, asper NSS-76, there exists a blatant,countrywide rural-urban divide in theaccess to clean fuel.

On average, the beneficiaries ofthe Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY) go for only 3.1 LPG cylinderrefills in a year. For the year 2019-2020,around 4.14 crore families neveropted for a refill of more than threecylinders. Madhya Pradesh, UP andRajasthan fared the worst in thisregard. According to the informationgiven in the Rajya Sabha recently, sincethe beginning of the new financial yearin April till August, around 1.84 crorefamilies refilled their LPG cylindersonly once. This information came ineven as the Government claimed ofproviding free cylinders to the poorduring the lockdown. Hence, thechallenge further remains to not onlyincrease the access to cleaner fuels forhouseholds, but to increase the over-all consumption per family.

Energy production of all typescontributes to about 70 per cent of car-bon dioxide (CO2) emissions acrossthe globe. Energy-related CO2 emis-

sions grew 1.7 per cent in 2018 toreach a historic high of 33.1 gigatonsof CO2 globally. It was the highest rateof growth since 2013, and 70 per centhigher than the average increase since2010. However, the global energydemand in the first quarter of this yeardeclined by 3.8 per cent relative to thefirst quarter of 2019, resulting in fiveper cent lower CO2 emissions as well.But this seemingly desirable change,that was mainly caused by the nation-al lockdowns, may not continue formore than a few months.

To sustainably move towards abetter future, it is now essential thatwe cope with our energy needs, giv-ing due consideration to the environ-ment that has been long neglected andcontinues to be so. The energy tran-sition from conventional to renewablesources is the biggest need of the hour.Owing to this, SDG target 7.2 aims toincrease the share of renewable ener-gy in the global energy mix by 2030.

Among the BRICS nations, Brazilhas been leading the way in the shareof renewable power in its total ener-gy mix, drawing advantage from itshigh potential of electricity productionfrom wind and solar energy sources.

India’s share of renewable energy in itsfinal energy consumption stands at32.2 per cent as of 2017 and has beensuffering a decline for the last manyyears. Even though India’s share ofrenewable energy is higher than coun-tries like Russia, the US, China, Japanand Europe, the decline in this sharemust be controlled. Whereas forcountries mentioned above, in orderto be able to sustain the share ofrenewables in their total energy mix,intense efforts for increasing thatshare must be realised too.

The Energy Statistics 2020 hasreported a substantial growth in therenewable energy share in the totalinstalled electricity generation from13.4 per cent (2015-2016) to 17.7 percent (2017-2018), owing to significantinvestments and expansions made inwind and solar power generation. Arecent International Energy Agencyanalysis shows that in 2018, India’sinvestment in solar energy was greaterthan in all fossil fuel sources of elec-tricity generation put together. SDG-7.3 aims to double the global rate ofenergy efficiency by 2030. Energyintensity indicates the amount ofenergy needed to produce one unit of

the GDP, where a smaller value isalways desirable, as it points towardsgreater energy efficiency.

India has made significantprogress in delivering energy efficien-cy. It has done better than majoreconomies, namely China, the US,Russia and several European countries.It has showcased exemplary perfor-mance on this front and achieved anenergy intensity level of 4.1 to 5.1megajoules per US dollar (MJ/$) thatis even lower than the global averageof 5.4 MJ/$. Energy efficiency andincreasing share of renewables are fun-damental in achieving several othersustainable development goals.Without accelerated clean energyinnovation and transition towardsrenewables, the 2030 agenda seemsfar-fetched.

As the nation faces the grim eco-nomic impact of the pandemic, ener-gy efficiency offers several opportuni-ties to provide the much-neededboost to the economy in the form ofemployment generation and so on,although a great deal of uncertaintyexists with regard to SDG-7.

(The writers are researchers,International Institute for Population)

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The Finance Ministry is building pressure on the15th Finance Commission (15th FC) to allowgreater flexibility while fixing the fiscal deficit

(FD). It wants to adopt a flexible, range-bound FDtarget instead of a fixed number. With this aim inmind, the Modi Government is reviewing the FiscalResponsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.The issue was discussed at the Economic AdvisoryCouncil (EAC) of the 15th FC, wherein the chair-man, NK Singh, cited a similar practice followed bythe Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) with +/- two percent inflation target while deciding its monetary pol-icy. The immediate prompt for this is the sharp con-traction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) byabout 24 per cent in the first quarter of the currentfinancial year (FY) and a corresponding steep reduc-tion in tax collections even as the expenditure com-mitments are on the upswing (courtesy the two stim-uli already given). As a result, on May 8, theGovernment raised its gross market borrowing tar-get for the FY 2020-21 to �12,00,000 crore, up fromthe �7,80,000 crore provided for in the Budget onFebruary 1.

Of this, the Government had already borrowed�7,66,000 crore during the first half of the currentFY and plans to borrow the remaining �4,34,000crore by January 2021. At �12,00,000 crore, the bor-rowing limit is already set at about 5.8 per cent ofthe GDP — 2.3 per cent higher than the budgetedFD target of 3.5 per cent. With this and demand foryet another Stimulus III gaining ground, it is not sur-prising that the Finance Ministry is building pres-sure on the 15th FC. During the current year, we havean extraordinary situation, so one can understandthe desperation. But it is important to recall here thatin his budget speech for 2016-17, the then FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley had announced theGovernment’s intent to review the FRBM Act(2003) with a view to make the target flexible (thatthe announcement was made following the year2015-16, when it had achieved the FD target of 3.9per cent, sounds a bit anomalous). He had set up acommittee under NK Singh (it included among oth-ers, the then Chief Economic Adviser, ArvindSubramanian, and the then Deputy Governor, RBI,Urjit Patel) to examine the issue.

The committee recommended a “glide path” forthe next six years, beginning 2017-18. It recommend-ed a FD target of 2.5 per cent, revenue deficit 0.8 percent, combined Centre-State debt ceiling of 60 percent and a Central debt ceiling of 40 per cent for2022-23. Further, it fixed three per cent FD to beachieved during 2018-19. It also allowed theGovernment to breach the target — by up to 0.5 percent — in case of “far-reaching structural reformswith unanticipated fiscal implications.”

In the amendment to the FRBM Act videFinance Bill 2018-19, even while retaining the “escapeclause” to cover unanticipated events, theGovernment adopted the glide path of achievingthree per cent FD by 2020-21 instead of 2018-19mooted by the committee. Further, it set the debt limitof 40 per cent for the Centre to be reached by 2024-25 instead of the committee’s mandate of 2022-23.

This cherry-picking may be seen in the back-drop of the Government missing the FD target for2017-18 by 0.3 per cent and seeing no hope of achiev-ing three per cent during 2018-19 as recommend-ed by the committee. While presenting Budget 2020-21, Sitharaman has already invoked the escape clauseof the FRBM Act to relax the FD targets for FY 2019-

20 from 3.3 per cent Budget Estimate (BE)to 3.8 per cent in the Revised Estimate(RE) and for FY 2020-21, from three percent as per the glide path required underthe Act to 3.5 per cent. The one big thingthat she did last year was reducing theCorporate Tax rate, which meant a rev-enue loss of close to �1,50,000 crore annu-ally. The reform was far-reaching andstructural but one wonders whether thiswas an event not anticipated by theGovernment.

Ironically, the above numbers do notgive the true picture of the FD as a lot ofexpenses, despite being a liability of thesovereign Government, are kept off its bal-ance sheet. These are deferred subsidy pay-ments (DSPs) and extra-budgetaryresources (EBRs), a nickname for borrow-ings by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)and other agencies of the Government onits behalf. Including these off-balance sheetitems, the FD for 2017-18 and 2018-19would be about 5.9 per cent and 5.7 percent respectively. For 2019-20, includingDSPs alone, FD would be 5.1 per cent. AddEBRs and the deficit will gallop. For 2020-21, the likely deficit of 5.8 per cent is exclu-sive of DSPs and EBRs.

There is a short provision in theBudget: Food subsidy about �1,03,000crore and fertiliser subsidy around �80,000crore. Plus, there will be a huge shortfallin proceeds from disinvestment by at least�1,50,000 crore as big ticket sales such asBharat Petroleum Corporation Limited(BPCL) and Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) are unlikely to go through duringthe current year. This adds up to two percent, taking the total to 7.8 per cent.Including EBRs, the FD could touch 10 percent. Already, under the existing dispen-sation of FD being a fixed number, the

Government has a lot of leeway — explic-it as well as not so explicit. On the explic-it side, we have seen the fiscal consolida-tion glide path made fairly liberal to suitthe budget math as also the revised FDbeing significantly higher than the target— yet going unpunished (for instance,during 2008-09, the actual FD was six percent against the target of three per cent asper the FRBM Act, 2003). On the not soexplicit side, DSPs and EBRs have beenused to camouflage the true deficit.

If the FD range gets embedded in theFRBM Act, this will amount to giving legalsanction to slippages. It will defeat the verypurpose of fixing a target which is to oblig-ate the Government to keep the excess ofits expenses over revenue within a spec-ified limit. The moment the law itself pre-scribes a range, say of three per cent-3.5per cent, even the most discerningGovernment will take the higher end ofthe range as the benchmark as from a legalstandpoint, violation will happen onlywhen the actual exceeds 3.5 per cent.

To put it differently, providing for arange is a more subtle and sophisticatedway of embedding in the legislation a morerelaxed target without catching the atten-tion of the not so discerning eye.

The comparison with inflation target-ing under the monetary policy to justifyFDI range is not all fours. While, the FDtarget has a direct bearing on budgetingby the Centre (a swing of 0.1 per centeither way makes a difference of �20,000crore in its borrowing limit), inflation tar-geting by the RBI does not impact thefinances of banks. For a proper compar-ison, we need to look at the RBI mandat-ed “provisioning” for a loan that becomesan NPA. That is a fixed number, say 25 percent (for an account remaining unpaid for

up to one year), not a range. It is argued that a range brings an ele-

ment of predictability in knowing how farthe Government can go in expanding itsborrowing programme and the resultantimpact on crucial parameters like bondyields, interest rate; hence helpful inboosting investor confidence. This is a friv-olous argument. Whether it is one fixednumber or a range, there is predictabili-ty in both the scenarios. The difference isnotional as in a range, one looks at theupper end. Unpredictability arises whenthings such as DSPs/EBRs are done out-side the FRBM framework; sadly, those areswept under the carpet.

Another argument in support ofrange is what some experts describe asreinforcing “counter-cyclical” objectives.Put simply, when the economy is on adownswing, then the Government needsto undertake major investment to rein inthe slide and put the economy back on thegrowth trajectory. It is primarily to tack-le extraordinary situations such as duringthe current year that a 0.5 per cent cush-ion is permitted as per the 2018-19amendment to the FRBM Act.

The incorporation of FD range doesnot offer anything better than what isalready there in the FRBM law—fixednumber FD target plus escapeclause—unless it is the intent of mandarinsin the Finance Ministry to have both,namely range as well as the escape clause.That would be disingenuous. The 15th FCshould refrain from going for a range-bound FD. The extant arrangementshould continue with suitable increase inthe permissible breach under the escapeclause. All hidden slippages such as DSPsand EBRs should be prohibited.

(The writer is a policy analyst)

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Page 8: ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛...2020/10/19  · Facebook page and YouTube channel. Some organisers said they will rope in two priests to avoid any last-minute scram-bling if the

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Bangkok: Thai authoritiesworked Monday to stem agrowing tide of protests callingfor the Prime Minister to resignby threatening to censor newscoverage, raiding a publishinghouse and attempting to blockthe Telegram messaging appused by demonstrators.

The efforts by PrimeMinister Prayuth Chan-ocha’sgovernment to drain the stu-dent-led protests of supportand the ability to organisecomes as they have grown inthe capital and spread aroundthe country, despite an emer-gency decree, which bans pub-lic gatherings of more thanfour people in Bangkok, out-laws news said to affect nation-al security and gives authori-ties broad power to detainpeople.

The mostly young protest-ers have gathered en masseacross Bangkok the past sixdays to push their demands,which also include a contro-versial call for reform of themonarchy.

The protesters charge that

Prayuth, an army commanderwho led a 2014 coup, wasreturned to power unfairly inlast year’s general electionbecause laws had been changed

to favour a pro-military party.The protesters say a constitu-tion written and passed undermilitary rule is undemocratic.

But their more recent

demand for checks and bal-ances on the monarchy hasdeeply angered conservativeThais — and broken a taboosince the monarchy is consid-

ered sacrosanct and tough lawsprotect it from insult.

It has also raised the risk ofconfrontation in a countrywhere calls for political changehave a history of being metwith military intervention oreven violence.

Authorities are nowincreasingly turning to cen-sorship to try to clamp downon the demonstrations afterprotesters heckled a royalmotorcade last week in a onceunthinkable scene.

With protesters starting togather for three new rallies inBangkok on Monday evening,a top official with the NationalBroadcasting andT e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n sCommission confirmedreports that the agency hadbeen ordered to block access tothe messaging app Telegram.

Suthisak Tantayothin saidit was in the process of talkingwith internet service providersto discuss doing so, but so farthe encrypted messaging appfavored by demonstrators theworld over was still available in

the country.Police also searched the

office of a publishing house thathandles books by Thai and for-eign scholars with sometimescontroversial perspectives.

Same Sky publishing housesaid police took away copies ofthree titles that had been soldat a recent book fair in a bun-dle it called Monarchy Studies,and asked their publisher tocome for questioning at theirstation.

Deputy police spokesmanKissana Phataracharoen alsoconfirmed an order signed bythe chief of police that couldallow officials to block access tonews sites that give what hecalled “distorted information.”

Under existing laws, theNational Broadcasting andT e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n sCommission and the Ministryof Digital Economy and Societyare empowered to ban broad-casts and block internet con-tent. Police themselves canalso do so under the emergencydecree, which went into effectOctober 15. AP

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New York: Democratic presi-dential candidate Joe Biden isnot good for India as he couldbe soft on China, US PresidentDonald Trump’s son said at anevent to celebrate the “success”of his book that talks about graftallegations against the Bidens.

Trump Jr is leading the re-election campaign of his 74-year-old father. The presidentialelections in the US are slated tobe held on November 3.

“We have to understand thethreat of China and no oneknows that probably better thanIndian-Americans,” Trump Jr,told a select group of support-ers from the community at theevent in Long Island, New York.

In his book “LiberalPrivilege”, he has documentedallegations of corruption againstBiden’s family, particularlyagainst his son Hunter Biden.

“When you look at our

opponents in this race… youthink the Chinese gave HunterBiden $1.5 billion … because hewas a great businessman, orbecause they knew the Bidenscould be bought, and thereforesoft on China,” he said.

Trump Jr was referring tothe latest allegations of corrup-tion against the Biden family asrevealed by The New York Post.

“Therefore, (Joe Biden is)bad for India,” he said in hisaddress at the meet and greetevent along with KimberlyGuilfoyle, who is leading thefund-raising efforts of Trump’sre-election campaign.

The book, signed copies ofwhich were handed out to par-ticipants of the event, reflects,according to Trump Jr, on the“corrupt practices” of the Bidenfamily. PTI

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New York: DescribingPresident Donald Trump asIndia’s “good friend”, a groupof Indian-Americans haveurged the community mem-bers across the country tosupport and vote for theRepublican leader in theNovember 3 elections.

Al Mason, co-chair of theTrump Victory IndianAmerican FinanceCommittee, on Sunday saidthe Indian-American com-munity has emerged as aforce to reckon with for thefirst time in the history of theUS presidential election.

“Your support will con-tribute to President Trump’swin,” he said.

“This is a historical elec-tion where we all e have tomake a simple choice. Do wewant better economy, lesstaxes and smaller govern-ment, then let’s re-electPresident Trump? You want tohave a good friend for India,first time ever, let’s electPresident Trump,” said emi-nent Indian businessmanChintu Patel. PTI

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London: The number of con-firmed COVID-19 cases acrossthe planet has surpassed 40 mil-lion, but experts say that is onlythe tip of the iceberg when itcomes to the true impact of thepandemic that has upended lifeand work around the world.

The milestone was hitMonday morning, according toJohns Hopkins University,which collates reports fromaround the world.

The actual worldwide tallyof COVID-19 cases is likely tobe far higher, as testing hasbeen variable, many peoplehave had no symptoms andsome governments have con-cealed the true number ofcases. To date, more than 1.1million confirmed virus deathshave been reported, althoughexperts also believe that num-ber is an undercount.

The U.S., India and Brazilare reporting by far the high-est numbers of cases — 8.1 mil-lion, 7.5 million and 5.2 millionrespectively — although theglobal increase in recent weeks

has been driven by a surge inEurope, which has seen over240,000 confirmed virus deathsin the pandemic so far.

Last week, the World HealthOrganization said Europe had areported a record weekly high ofnearly 700,000 cases and said theregion was responsible for abouta third of cases globally. Britain,France, Russia and Spainaccount for about half of all newcases in the region, and countrieslike Belgium and the CzechRepublic are facing more intenseoutbreaks now than they did inthe spring.

WHO said the new mea-sures being taken across Europeare “absolutely essential” in stop-ping virus from overwhelmingits hospitals. Those include newrequirements on mask-wearingin Italy and Switzerland, closingschools in Northern Irelandand the Czech Republic, closingrestaurants and bars in Belgium,implementing a 9 pm curfew inFrance and having targeted lim-ited lockdowns in parts of theU.K. AP

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that it has complained toCanada for allegedly condon-ing anti-China comments thatappeared in Canadian mediafollowing controversial remarksmade by the Chinese ambas-sador.

Ties between the coun-tries are at their lowest point inyears amid China’s outrageover Canada’s detention of a topexecutive of Chinese telecomsgiant Huawei. Last week,China’s ambassador to Canada,

Cong Peiwu, branded pro-democracy protesters in HongKong as violent criminals andsaid if Canada grants them asy-lum it would amount to inter-ference in China’s internalaffairs.

“If the Canadian side real-ly cares about the stability andthe prosperity in Hong Kong,and really cares about the goodhealth and safety of those300,000 Canadian passport-holders in Hong Kong, and thelarge number of Canadian

companies operating in HongKong SAR, you should supportthose efforts to fight violentcrimes,” Cong said last week ina video news conference fromthe Chinese Embassy inOttawa.

Cong was asked whetherhis remarks amounted to athreat, to which he replied,“That is your interpretation.”On Saturday, the Toronto Sunpublished an editorial callingon Cong to either apologize orleave Canada. AP

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Athens: A prosecutor onMonday recommended that allformer lawmakers of Greece’sextreme right Golden Dawnparty who have been convict-ed and sentenced to prison forleading or participating in acriminal organisation shouldbe allowed to remain freeuntil their appeal has beenheard.

Prosecutor AdamantiaEconomou argued that none

of the former lawmakers wasa flight risk or at risk of re-offending while they remainout of jail, and said most hada clean criminal record priorto this.

A f inal decision onwhether the sentences will besuspended pending appeal isto be made by the panel ofjudges trying the case follow-ing summations by defenselawyers, and is expected either

Monday night or Tuesdaymorning.

The lengthy sentencingprocedure caps a marathon,politically charged five-yeartrial that involved 68 defen-dants, dozens of lawyers andencompassed four cases,including the fatal stabbing ofa left-wing Greek rap singer,and physical attacks onEgyptian fishermen and left-wing activists. AP

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Karachi: Pakistan’s deposedprime minister Nawaz Sharif ’sson-in-law Capt (retd)Muhammad Safdar was onMonday briefly arrested fromhis hotel room in Karachi, a dayafter he staged a protest at thetomb of the country’s founderand attended a joint oppositionrally.

“Police broke my roomdoor at the hotel I was stayingat in Karachi and arrested CaptSafdar,” said Safdar’s wifeMaryam, who addressed thelarge anti-government rally inthe port city on Sunday.

She said she was asleepwhen the police “barged in” herhotel room where he was stay-ing with her husband.

Safdar was arrested a dayafter he raised slogans atPakistan’s founder MohammadAli Jinnah’s (Quaid) mau-soleum just before the secondrally of the PakistanDemocratic Movement’s(PDM) – an alliance of 11opposition parties.

After much hue and cry onthe political scenario with the

Pakistan People’s Party-ruledSindh government distancingitself from the arrest, Safdar wasreleased by a judicial magistrateagainst surety bonds of Rs100,000.

Maryam told reporters thatshe would leave Karachi withher husband as he had beenreleased on bail.

“Aboard the f light toLahore. Thank you Karachi!You won me over,” she tweet-ed.

Maryam said theOpposition parties will con-tinue their protests until PrimeMinister Imran Khan isremoved from power.

Safdar was arrested after afirst information report (FIR)was registered against him,Maryam and 200 others forviolating the sanctity of theQuaid’s mausoleum.

Complainant WaqasAhmed alleged that the PML-N leaders, along with 200 oftheir followers, reached theQuaid’s grave where Safdarjumped over the grill sur-rounding it. PTI

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Paris: French police onMonday raided the homes ofdozens of suspected Islamistterrorists three days after thebeheading of a teacher whohad shown his pupils car-toons of the ProphetMohammed, the interior min-ister said.

The raids came a day aftertens of thousands of peopletook part in rallies country-wide to honour teacherSamuel Paty and to defendfreedom of expression.

Gerald Darmanin said theswoop on Islamist networkswas designed to send a mes-sage that “enemies of theRepublic” would not enjoy “aminute’s respite”.

He said over 80 investiga-tions had been launched foronline hate speech following theattack, which has drawn paral-lels with the 2015 massacre atCharlie Hebdo satirical maga-zine, where 12 people weregunned down for publishingthe Mohammed cartoons.

That attack -- the first ina string of assaults that havekilled over 240 people inFrance -- brought over a mil-lion people onto the streets ofParis to denounce extremism.

On Sunday, people againcongregated on Place de laRepublique in Paris, whereworld leaders had marchedalongside the French in 2015.

Some in the crowd chant-ed “I am Samuel”, echoing the2015 “I am Charlie” rallyingcall by supporters of freespeech.

Paty, 47, was murdered onhis way home from the schoolwhere he taught in a suburbnorthwest of Paris on Fridayafternoon.

A photo of the teacher anda message confessing to hismurder was found on themobile phone of his killer, an18-year-old Chechen manAbdullakh Anzorov, who wasshot dead by police.

Eleven people are beingheld over the attack, includinga known Islamist terrorist andthe father of one of Paty’spupils who had railed againsthim online and called for hisdismissal.

Darmanin accused the twomen of having issued a “fatwa”against Paty, using the term foran Islamic edict that wasfamously used to describe the1989 death sentence handeddown against writer SalmanRushdie by Iran’s AyatollahKhomeini.

“They apparently launcheda fatwa against the teacher,” theminister told Europe 1 radio.

Anzorov’s family arrivedin France when he was sixfrom the predominantlyMuslim Russian republic ofChechnya. AFP

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The Supreme Court isagreeing to review a

Trump administration policythat makes asylum-seekerswait in Mexico for U.S. Courthearings.

As is typical, the court didnot comment Monday inannouncing it would hearthe case. Because the court’scalendar is already fullthrough the end of the year,the justices will not hear thecase until 2021. If Joe Bidenwere to win the presidentialelection and rescind the pol-icy, the case would becomelargely moot.

Trump’s “MigrantProtection Protocols” policy,known informally as “Remainin Mexico,” was introduced inJanuary 2019. It became a keypillar of the administration’sresponse to an unprecedent-ed surge of asylum-seekingfamilies at the border, draw-ing criticism for having peo-ple wait in highly dangerousMexican cities.

Lower courts found thatthe policy is probably illegal.But earlier this year theSupreme Court stepped in toallow the policy to remain ineffect while a lawsuit chal-lenging it plays out in thecourts.

More than 60,000 asy-lum-seekers were returnedto Mexico under the policy.

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Investments in key compo-nents of 5G network on mid

or low-band spectrum withpan-India coverage is estimat-ed to be about �1.3-2.3 lakhcrore, according to a report byMotilal Oswal FinancialServices.

The total capital expen-diture or capex requirementwhen it comes to 5G rollout forMumbai alone is seen at�10,000 crore, and �8,700 crorefor Delhi, it said.

According to the tele-com report from Motilal OswalFinancial Services, for midband or low band spectrum,overall capex requirement forpan-India coverage wouldhover at �1.3-2.3 lakh crore.

Based on the TRAI’s lat-est reserve price, capexrequirement for obtaining 100MHz mid band spectrum inMumbai would be about�8,400 crore, which could go

up further if the bidding priceis higher than the base price.

Assuming about 9,000sites would be required for cov-erage, the total capex require-ment for the sites would be�1,800 crore - taking the totalcapex to �10,000 crore, it said.

Similarly, capex estimatefor 5G rollout in Delhi wouldbe �8,700 crore – assuming100MHz mid band spectrum atbase price.

The Indian telecomindustry is seeing capex peakout - particularly for Bharti andReliance Jio - and increased freecash flows (FCF), the reportsaid but added that risks have,however, started emerging dueto the increased costs toward5G upgrade and the upcomingspectrum renewal.

Investments in three keylarge components for a 5Gnetwork – spectrum, sites andfiber on mid/low band spec-trum with pan-India coverage– would stand at �1.3-2.3 lakh

crore which should reduce to�78,800 crore and 1.3 lakhcrore, for coverage of onlymetros and category ‘A’ circles,it said.

Even assuming rolloutstarting from FY23, a stag-gered deployment over thenext 4-5 years - in line with 4Ginvestment trend - may insu-late the impact to a largeextent.

The expiry of spectrumfor Jio’s 115MHz quantity in the800MHz band acquired/sharedfrom RCOM in 19 circles,Bharti’s 57 MHz quantity in the1,800 MHz band and VodafoneIdea’s 37.8MHz/6.2Mhz quan-tity in the 1,800MHz/900MHzband are “attractive good qual-ity spectrum” and would be upfor renewal over the next 6-12months, Motilal Oswal reportnoted. This would costJio/Bharti/Vodafone Idea Rs28,000 crore/Rs 12,900 crore/Rs8,300 crore at reserve price, itsaid.

Katra: Dr Jitendra SinghHon’ble Minister of State(Independent Charge) of theMinistry of Development ofNorth Eastern Region, Ministerof State in the Prime Minister’sOffice, Minister of State in theMinistry of Personnel, PublicGrievances and Pensions todayinaugurated 09 days “NavratraFestival” at Katra. The inaugural function wasattended by Sh.K.K.Sharma, Hon’ble Advisorto Lieutenant Governor, Sh.Sanjeev Verma, DivisionalCommissioner, Jammu,Sh. Ramesh Kumar, CEO, ShriMata Vaishno Devi ShrineBoard, Smt. Indu Kanwal Chib,Deputy Commissioner, Reasiand Sh. R.K.Katoch, Director

Tourism, Jammu. While speaking on the

occasion, the Hon’ble Ministerappealed the stakeholders ofTourism Sector to come for-ward and work in synergy forthe revival of the TourismIndustry.

This will help to boost theeconomy of the UnionTerritory of J&K which is stag-nated due to COVID -19 pan-demic.

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Equity benchmarks made awinning start to the week

on Monday as banking andfinancial counters saw robustbuying amid largely positivecues from global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensexended 448.62 points or 1.12 percent higher at 40,431.60. Thebroader NSE Nifty surged110.60 points or 0.94 per centto finish at 11,873.05.

ICICI Bank was the topgainer in the Sensex pack,jumping 5.33 per cent, fol-lowed by Axis Bank, NestleIndia, SBI, HDFC, IndusIndBank, ONGC and Kotak Bank.

On the other hand, BajajAuto, TCS, M&M, Bharti Airteland Maruti were among thelaggards, shedding up to 2.12per cent. In the Sensex pack,23 constituents logged gainswhile seven closed in the red.

The domestic marketopened on a positive notetracking largely positive cuesfrom global markets, traderssaid. During the afternoon ses-sion markets held on to open-

ing gains with sustained inter-est seen in banking, financial,oil and gas, metals and realtystocks. Bourses in Hong Kong,Tokyo and Seoul ended on apositive note, while Shanghaiclosed lower after the release ofChina’s GDP numbers.

China’s economic growthaccelerated to 4.9 per cent overa year earlier in the latest quar-ter as a shaky recovery from thecoronavirus pandemic gath-ered strength. The economy“continued the steady recov-ery”, China’s National Bureau ofStatistics said in a report.However, it warned that “theinternational environment isstill complicated and severe”. Italso said China still faces “greatpressure” to prevent a resur-gence of the virus.Meanwhile,stock exchanges in Europeopened on a positive note.“Domestic markets witnessedsharp recovery in the backdropof strong rebound in heavy-weight financials space, whichwas in focus today led bystrong numbers reported byHDFC Bank and positive com-mentary by the management.

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To attract potential suitors,the Government will ease

asset valuation norms for AirIndia by allowing bidders to putin offers on an enterprise valuebasis, a source said on Monday.

To begin with, the govern-ment is likely to further extendthe deadline for putting in apreliminary expression of inter-est for the loss-making nation-al carrier to December 15. Thesource said bids will be soughton an enterprise value basis -a popular valuation methodol-ogy for takeover deals.Enterprise value (EV) is a mea-sure of a company’s total value,often used as a more compre-hensive alternative to equitymarket capitalization.

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The head of the EuropeanCentral Bank says that the

economic recovery “risks los-ing momentum” due to the sec-ond wave of coronavirus infec-tions and that the chief mone-tary authority for the eurocountries could add more stim-ulus if that becomes necessary.

Christine Lagarde wasquoted as saying in an inter-view with the French newspa-per Le Monde that “the secondwave of the pandemic in

Europe, notably in France,and the resulting new restric-tions are adding to the uncer-tainty and weighing on therecovery. “ “Since therebound we saw over the sum-mer, the recovery has beenuneven, uncertain and incom-plete and now risks losingmomentum,” she said in theinterview published Monday inEnglish on the ECB’s website.

Lagarde said that “theoptions in our toolbox have notbeen exhausted. If more has to

be done, we will do more.” TheECB is already supporting theeconomy with a pandemicemergency program of bondpurchases that are pumping1.35 trillion euros (USD 1.58trillion) in newly createdmoney into the economy.

Analysts think the bankmay eventually add more stim-ulus due to weak inflation andslowing growth from theupsurge in infections, alongwith any new restrictions ontravel and activity that may beimposed by governments toslow the spread.

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Stressing the need for capitalexpenditure (capex) by

Central Public SectorEnterprises (CPSEs), UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman has said that theyneed to scale up their capexboth in the current and thenext financial year.

The Minister also said thatbetter performance of CPSEscan help the Indian economy ina big way to recover from theimpact of COVID-19.

During a videoconferencemeeting with Secretaries of theMinistries of Petroleum andNatural Gas and Coal, along

with the CMDs of 14 CPSEsbelonging to these ministries, toreview the capex in this finan-cial year, Sitharaman told theSecretaries concerned to close-ly monitor the performance ofCPSEs in order to ensure thecapital expenditure to the tuneof 75 per cent of the capital out-lay by the end of Q3 of FY 2020-21 and make appropriate planfor it. She noted that that morecoordinated efforts are required

at the Secretary-level in theministries and CMDs in CPSEsto achieve capex targets.

In FY 2019-20, against thecapex target of Rs 1,11,672crore for these 14 CPSEs, theachievement was Rs 1,16,323crore -- 104 per cent.

The capital expenditure tar-get for 2020-21 is Rs 1,15,934crore. Mentioning the signifi-cant role of CPSEs in giving apush to the growth of the Indianeconomy, the Finance Ministerencouraged the CPSEs to per-form better to achieve their tar-gets and to ensure that the cap-ital outlay for FY 2020-21 isspent properly and within time,said an official statement.

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State Governments’ deficit isseen higher at 5 per cent, up

from earlier estimate of 4.5 percent of gross state domesticproduct (GSDP) as Covid-19continues to suppress eco-nomic activities resulting inlower resource mobilisationand higher state expenditure,Kotak Institutional Equitiessaid on Monday.

In a research report onpublic finance, the brokeragesaid that finances of state gov-ernments remain weak with asample of 16 states suggestingthat revenue receipts fell 11.4pet cent during 4MFY21, withbulk of the decline comingfrom tax revenue (23 per cent).

During the April-July peri-od, tax collection on 16 iden-

tified states stood at Rs 2,90,900crore as against Rs 3,79300crore in the same period of pre-vious year, a drop of over 23 percent. The biggest fall has beenin GST collection that fell fromRs 1,14,600 crore in April -Julyof FY20 to Rs 84,200 crore inthe four month period of FY21,a drop of 26 pet cent. The stateshave also witnessed a sharpdecrease in sales tax revenueduring the period during toslowing down of economicactivities across sectors. Thelower revenue has come at atime when Covid-19 hadincreased the need to spend tokeep the wheel of the economymoving amidst the pandemic.

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While the NationalCompany Law Tribunal

(NCLT) is yet to give theirassent to the bid submitted byKalrock Capital and MurariJalan for Jet Airways, the factthat the lenders voted for thedeal means that approvals fromNCLT and other governmentauthorities might come soon.Sanjay Mandavia, a former JetAirways pilot who had thelosing bid has congratulated thewinners although mediareports have emerged where heclaims that his plan was better.However, submitting a winningbid for whatever assets remainof the once storied airline,there is no guarantee that theairline will fly again. The win-ning bidders have promisedlenders not just some money,although the banks will take a

massive haircut on theiradvances to Jet Airways butalso some equity.

How the winning bidderswill get Jet Airways flying againis however a mystery and whilethey will come up with moreconcrete plans in the comingweeks, there has been onemassive change in the eighteenmonths since Jet Airways’ col-lapse, the Coronavirus and thesubsequent collapse in air trav-el. At the same time, assumingthat ‘brand loyalty’ remainstowards Jet Airways and oldflyers will come streaming backto the airline should not bemade. Jet’s most loyalty high-tier passengers on major met-ropolitan routes have allswitched their loyalties over toVistara, if they still care aboutservice, but increasinglyIndiGo, because the behemothof Indian skies has built a rep-

utation for reliability. Jet Airways did not even

control their frequent flyerprogram, which has now beenrebranded ‘InterMiles’, thehigh-end passenger data pos-sibly does not even reside withthe airline. Even more impor-tantly, Jet’s demise in 2019 waspreceded by the airline losinghundreds of large corporatedeals, these massive deals forthousands of seats annuallyinjected a lot of money into theoperations. Corporates willwait for Jet Airways 2.0 toestablish themselves beforeeven considering coming back.With most of India’s top 500companies having huge con-tracts with IndiGo whose net-work and frequency meansthat it will be increasinglyunlikely for them to be weanedoff.

No large airline in the

world, and Jet was a large air-line with almost 140 aircraft inits fleet at the peak, has recov-ered from bankruptcy afterclosing operations. And not justin aviation, where the revival oficonic brands like Pan Amhave failed, resurrectingbrands, particularly servicebrands is not easy. It might haveworked in a situation where airtravel was still growing, but airtravel has taken a massive tum-ble during the past few monthsand even as things slowly startgetting back to normal, pas-senger numbers are down mas-sively. In September 2020, thenumber of daily departuresstood at 1,311 daily, less thanhalf the 2,874 departures inSeptember 2019 and load fac-tors, while rising over the pastfew months, was still belowtwo-thirds. After the collapse ofJet Airways last year, the

remaining airlines had madehay as planes ran full and faresskyrocketed. Now, it appearsthat the financial situation atmost Indian airlines with theexception of IndiGo is dire, andthere is a good chance that one,maybe even two airlines mightnot survive the pandemic.

That said, there are somepositives for the new owners ofJet Airways. The collapse inpassenger demand is notlocalised to India and is aworldwide issue, as a resultthere are hundreds of relative-ly young aircraft parked on theground, not even includingthe 500 or so Boeing 737 MAXplanes that were groundedbefore the pandemic. It isunlikely that air travel willrecover for another 18-24months even if a vaccine isapproved tomorrow. So thenew owners of the airline will

be able to find some good leasedeals on aircraft. At the sametime, Jet Airways, if it indeedrestarts, will also be able to findslots at crowded airports likeDelhi and Mumbai becausedemand is heavily down. Ofcourse, this depends on theability of the new manage-ment to convince airports andthe Ministry that they meanbusiness. Landing and take-offslots belong to the public justlike telecom airwaves and bybuying Jet Airways’ assets itdoes not mean that old slotscan be magically restored. Butif Jet Airways gets off theground soon, they might beable to pick up some primeslots, like the airline once hadin Mumbai.

It may not be a bad idea forJet Airways 2.0 to begin as amore regional-focussed carri-er as the airlines collapse

removed service to severalsmall cities, particularly fromMumbai and rivals have notreally plugged those gaps, forexample, Jet Airways had astrong network of flightsbetween Mumbai and severalmedium-sized towns in Gujaratand Maharashtra.

Alternatively, Jet owns afew long-haul planes, in factthey sold their building inBandra-Kurla Complex to buyout six Boeing 777’s and pos-sibly the rise of non-stop trav-el post-pandemic could seethem transform into a boutiqueinternational airline. Going upagainst IndiGo’s reach on mostsectors as well as Vistara’s ser-vice standards will not be easyand as sentimental as somepassengers might be about thebrand, that will not be enoughto fill the planes or make a prof-it. But one hopes for the best.

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The rupee slipped by 2paise to close at 73.37

against the US currency onMonday due to some dollardemand and uncertaintyrelated to the US fiscal stim-ulus and presidential elec-tions.

The local unit openedat 73.38 against the US dol-lar at the interbank forexmarket and moved in a nar-row range of 73.35 to 73.42in the day trade.

Meanwhile, the dol-lar index, which gauges thegreenback’s strength againsta basket of six currencies, wastrading 0.17 per cent lower at93.52.

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New Delhi: Keeping in mindglobal environmental issues,particularly climate change,Mangalam Cement Limited,one of leading cement manu-factures, has launched envi-ronment friendly premiumquality cement MangalamPromaxX.

The eco-friendly PPCcement with an advanced i-PSD technology will result indense concrete with higherstrength, leading to lower heatof hydration, water conserva-tion and sustainable durabil-ity of structures, said compa-ny president (operations)Sunil Sachan.

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Page 10: ˘ ˇ ˆ˘ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚ ˆ ˆ˛˛...2020/10/19  · Facebook page and YouTube channel. Some organisers said they will rope in two priests to avoid any last-minute scram-bling if the

Heartburn, indiges-tion, and acidityare one of themost uncomfort-

able situations that resultfrom many causes. Doctorsusually recommend usingantacids for a short period oftime to overcome this. Butare these antacids harm-less? Yes, they are harmlessif the consumption is limit-ed to the extent that it doesnot trigger their side effectsin the body. What are theside effects of frequent andlong-term use of antacids?Read on to get an answer tothis.�What is acidity?

The stomach is respon-sible for digesting the foodthat you eat. In order todigest all the componentspresent in food, the stomachsecretes gastric juice. One ofthe components of this juiceis Hydrochloric acid.Although the acid is neces-sary for digestion, if itsamounts raise in the stom-ach, you suffer from acidity.When this acid enters differ-ent organs of the body (otherthan the stomach), it canlead to conditions like heart-burn and GERD.� The role of antacids andacid reducers in curingacidity

Antacids are over-the-counter medications thatneutralise the acid producedin the stomach. Antacids aregenerally composed of salts

of minerals like sodium,calcium, magnesium, andaluminium. These salts havethe potential to neutralisethe acid. Similar to antacidsare the acid-reducers thatreduce acid production byinhibiting acid production.� Side effects of long-termuse of antacids

When antacids were dis-covered, several researchesconducted on the effects oftheir long-term use statedthat they could only be usedfor a short time to subsidethe acidity. Thus, the use ofantacids must be restrictedto a limited time period(according to your doctor’sprescription). Here are theseven side effects that arisedue to prolonged use ofantacids:� Impaired bowel move-ments

Overuse of antacid cancause constipation as well asdiarrhoea according to thetype of antacid you con-sume. Calcium and alu-minum-containing antacidshave been known to causediarrhoea if consumed forthe long-term. Magnesiumcontaining antacids can alsolead to recurrent diarrhoeaas a result of their pro-longed consumption.�Muscle and nerve func-tion impairments

Antacids are packedwith minerals like calcium,magnesium, and phospho-rous. These minerals are

released in the bloodstreamthrough antacids. Whenthere is an imbalance ofthese electrolytes in theblood, it directly affects thenerve and muscle functions.This can result in muscleweakness, tenderness, and

pain. The symptoms canget severe with long-termuse of antacids.� Elevated blood pH

Antacids containingbicarbonate salts of calciumand sodium can make theblood alkaline by elevatingits pH when absorbed in thebloodstream. In order tocompensate this alkalinitybody slows down respirationthat leads to severe fatigueand tiredness due to raisedlevels of carbon dioxide inthe blood.� Increased risk of GI tractinfection

As antacids reduce thestomach's acid, its prolongeduse can affect one of theimportant host defensemechanisms of the body.They can also change the pHof the stomach and affect thegut microbiota. This canlead to frequent GI tractinfections like gastroenteri-tis and diarrhea as a result ofthe infection caused by awide range of pathogenicbacteria. � Impaired digestion andmineral absorption

Prolonged use ofantacids can lead to adecreased amount of acid inthe stomach. Hence, thefood you eat does not getdigested properly, and it canenter the esophagus result-ing in nausea and vomiting.Apart from this, overcon-sumption of acid blockerscan impair the absorption of

minerals like zinc, iron, andmagnesium.�Kidney stones

The hard, crystallinemineral depositions in thekidneys are termed as kid-ney stones. The higher theconsumption of antacids,the higher is the amount ofcirculating minerals in theblood that further deposit inthe kidneys. These stonescan lead to severe back painand bleeding during urina-tion.�Vitamin B12 deficiency

Long-term consump-tion of acid blockers canreduce the absorption ofvitamin B12 in the body.Moreover, it also affects thegut microbiota that isresponsible for the produc-tion and absorption of vita-min B12 in the body. Nervefunction can get affecteddue to Vitamin B12 deficien-cy, which may lead to con-ditions like dementia

Although antacids arenow available over-the-counter, it is not advisable toconsume them for a longerperiod of time. Prolongeduse of them can lead tounimaginable damage to thehuman body if the amountsand frequency are not regu-lated. Do not consider aone-time prescription as alifelong prescription forantacids.

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������� ��� ��4�&The year 2020 has brought in its wake a new and widespread prob-

lem of infection with deadly Coronavirus. Even though the dis-ease is continuing to take millions of lives worldwide, unfortunate-ly, there is no cure on the horizon and vaccines are still in pipeline.As is said, every problem teaches us something new. This globalpandemic has taught us to take greater care of our health. Thanksto the technology and a widespread media coverage, every personwas aware of the important role of strong immunity in mitigatingthe effects of the virus.

There are many myths regarding ways to boost up our immuneresponse, particularly in our country. Medically, on the contrary,this has been still a matter of curiosity among scientists all overthe world. People not only took vitamins and probiotics, but alsostarted using supplements, herbs and many indigenous nuskhasin the hope to improve their immunity. The rationale for the ram-pant use of these products is based on the common belief that theseproducts are natural and hence safe. Even many members of themedical community are advocating regular use of vitamins and sup-plements as preventive tool.

There is an increase in Gastrointestinal (GI) complaints seenin recent times. Though, there is now data showing COVID-19 pre-senting with GI symptoms like diarrhoea, loss of appetite,nausea/vomiting and abdominal pain as the major complaints. But,many of these symptoms were seen even in those not infected withthe virus. Restricted movement, lack of exercise and increased stressbecause of lockdown arefew of the most important factors seen in

these patients. Many patientsshared a renewed interest incooking during the lockdownperiod which led to not onlyincrease intake of starchy foods,but also binge eating at times.These alterations in lifestyle ledto increase in dyspeptic symp-toms and poor digestion inmany patients. It also led toincrease in fatty liver in manypatients.

There are still a large chunkof patients, who were very par-ticular of their eating habitsand were regular in home exer-cise/yoga sessions, but still facedsimilar complaints. Few weeksback, a young male of around 32years age, came to my OPD with

complaints of bloating, non-specific pain abdomen, nausea andbelching. There was also history of disturbed bowel symptoms. Hewas physically fit and was doing regular yoga throughout this lock-down period. His investigations were also grossly normal.Subsequently, we came across many similar patients. Few of thesepatients even had mild liver injury. On retrospective analysis, wefound one similar history in all these patients. There was increaseintake of so called immune boosters, including kadas, green tea,turmeric and other indigenous products. Though, there is dearthof data regarding the true prevalence of drug injury in India; butthere are reports of liver injury from the use of Ayurvedic herbalmedicines procured from local stores or on the internet that havebeen published or presented. Thus, a strong suspicion came to mind,that the use of these seemingly harmless products, in excess, maycause damage. There was similar experience among many othermedical providers, who attested to its occurrence. The exact patho-physiological mechanism behind these symptoms in COVID timesis however uncertain.

There is a real need to educate the Indian population that theseindigenous products are not without side effects, and thus shouldbe taken (if needed) in a controlled manner. A regular physical activ-ity, balanced diet, avoidance of starch and carbs, relaxation ther-apies and the use of immune boosters only in moderation may nothelp improve your immune system but also keeps your digestivesystem healthy.

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� ��������� Thegrapefruit is a citrus fruitwith a flavour that can rangefrom bittersweet to sour. It islow in calories, yet high innutrients. It is known for itshigh content of Vitamin C,which has antioxidantproperties known to protectyour cells from harmfulbacteria and viruses.Thus, it can alsohelp to boostyour immunesystem.

It alsohelp in aid-ing weightloss. It con-t a i n sfiber,

which helps with appetitecontrol by promoting fullnes,thereby managing weight.

Eating grapefruit regular-ly may have the potential toprevent insulin resistance,which can lead to Diabetes.

It can also improve hearthealth by reducing risk factorsfor heart disease, such as highblood pressure and choles-

terol.

All of us have had aheadache sometimeor the other. The

throbbing and the pain thatcomes with it is unbearable.Some of it can be stressand tension relatedand here is whatone can do.

Drink plen-ty of water.Dehydration is acommon causeof tensionheadaches andmigraines. Drinkingwater has been shownto relieve headache symp-

toms within 30 minutes tothree hours.

If you wear your hairin a tight ponytail, try

loosening the hair. Believeit or not, it does work.

Have some tea or coffee.If you catch the headacheearly, it could ease your

headache pain.A few minutes of mas-

saging neck and temples canhelp ease a tension headache,

which may result fromstress.

Eat gingeror better havetea and putginger in itto ease thepain.

S o m etimes, people

get headachesdue to sleep

deprevation. Getpropper sleep.

If you are prone toheadaches try and avoid eat-ing processed foods, eatingcold food like ice cream anddairy products like butter-milk, sour cream, and yogurt.

Apply or inhale lavenderessential oil. This can easemigraine pain.

Headaches are a commonoccurrence, especially if one is

stressed. Given the presentpandemic, popping pills may

not be the right thing to do.ROSHANI DEVI shares tips

that can help ease the pain

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It has been more than half a year since theworld stopped due to the lockdown. The

intensity of the pandemic is so drastic thatthe whole globe is facing the repercussions.Not only personal lives, even the professionsof all sorts are affected. From big companiesand conglomerates to medium and smallenterprises including the disorganised sector.

All the workload has shifted on the dig-ital space with a new term quite in trend iswork from home. In this phase, a lot haschanged. And it is axiomatic that lifestylehabits will be affected too.

Everything from eating to waking uphas changed dramatically. People havebeen more careless than ever. And it hasstarted to affect their performance of worktoo. It is already very difficult to thrive insuch situations and work normally when sit-ting in a closed space. And the unpleasantchange in the lifestyle just makes it more dif-ficult.

One thing that has been affected in thelifestyle on a much greater level is the sleepschedule and timing. A good quality sleepis the need of the hour

Studies have shown that good sleepenables decision-making and complexthinking. You function better and you areable to give a hundred percent when itcomes to your work.

Also, lack of sleep can make some vac-cines less effective. With the vaccineslaunch-ing anytime now, we don't need anythinggoing against us now.

Here are some tips for a better and ful-filling sleep:

A sleep schedule is must: Create a rou-tine and follow it. It gives a sense of nor-malcy and calms the overall self. A consis-tent sleep schedule cannot be ignored.Follow the same wake-up and lie-downtime. Once your body gets into the habit ofa sleep schedule, you will have a fulfillingsleeping experience.

Sleep hygiene: Check your sleepingenvironment and get rid of things that candisturb your sleep. A good sleeping envi-ronment includes:� Cool temperature� Minimal light� A comfortable mattress and pillow� No digital devices around� Using the bed for the sole purpose ofsleeping

Relax yourself physically and mental-ly: Thousands of thoughts are one of themain causes of sleep delay at night. In sucha scenario, the relaxation of the overall bodyis a must. Try deep breathing, yoga, guid-ed meditation, reading,or calming music torelax yourself. Also stay away from the news.It creates negativity. Restrict yourself to afew trusted resources, so that you don'tcompletely cut off from the outside world.

People have been taking sleep forgranted by abusing the sleeping pattern andit has begun to influence their work.Also,bad quality sleep affects the overall func-tioning of the body and degrades mental &physical wellness. So keeping in mind theconsequences, everyone should focus ongood quality sleep for their wellbeing.

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Keeping in mind the importance of highimmunity today, Plix has come upwith handpicked products will boost

your immunity, nourish your body and fuelit with wholefood multivitamins. Boost yourVitamin C naturally, get the goodness of greensfrom 21 superfoods, manage your weight withapple cider vinegar and strengthen your bodywith Plant protein.

The box consists of Plix Apple CiderVinegar — it’s the world’s first effervescent one,Plix Green Elixir — the effervescent tablets andone stop solution for getting all your proteins,antioxidants and multivitamins all in a deli-cious drink, Plix Vitamin C — which consistsof 1000mg of amla Vitamin C and 10 mg zincand it has no added sugars or preservatives andPlix Strength Plant protein which is a great wayto recover after your workout is by refuelingyourself with a post workout protein shake andwhat better then drinking the natural good-ness. It contains digestive enzymes Bromelain(pineapple) and papain (papaya) that resultsin fast protein breakdown, better digestion,and good gut.

Overall Benefits of the immunity box:�Detoxifies body�Stress Relief�Weight loss�Alkalizes and balances pH�Makes your skin glow�Better gut health�Helps balance sugar levels�Decreases inflammation�Increased energy levels�Nourishes body.

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>1��� In line with its motto of ‘Educating and

Advocating for Well Being of CommonMan’ the AHPI has recently established the‘AHPI Patient’s Grievance Redressal Forum’,with a view to educate as well as listen tothe grievances of patient as consumers,while availing services from private health-care providers. Along with patients’ rightsas consumers, medical, negligence is someof the issues that need to be resolved withsome mediation, as legal complexities ofsuch grievances are generally out of the basicunderstanding of the patients and their fam-ilies.

The AGRF will provide them guidanceand help; it will work as a mediatorbetween concerned hospitals and patientsand keep them well informed which willhelp to make the process smooth withoutunwanted delays and save precious time ofboth parties. Dr Devi Shetty, Patron, AHPIinaugurated the forum in the presence of

Dr Alexander Thomas, President,AHPI,Cdr Navneet Bali, National Convener,AHPI, RP Singh, Secretary General ofQuality council of India (QCI), Dr VenkatRao,Chairman, AHPI Patients GrievanceRedressal Forum and Dr Girdhar Gyani,Member Secretary, AHPI. All AHPI statechapter representativesalso participated inthe programme.

Dr Devi Shetty said that: “The nationbuilding exercise basically depends uponmultiple institutions like Court of law,Government, Educational institutions.Today we may take such institution forgranted but back in time some people hadstarted some of the institutions with viewof making our lives comfortable, and overthe years such institutions became essen-tial. Initially every great institution startswith a crazy idea. Some people believe init and some may not, but it makes historyif it honestly adds to the value of mankind.”

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If you are missing pandal-hopping, justgo online where Kolkata’s extravagantshowcases of artistry and imagination

are being live-streamed daily. If you aremissing pushpanjali, then sign up withcommittees online which will guaranteethat the priest offers it on your behalf whileyou chant mantras in your room. If youmiss the cuisine, look around your neigh-bourhood. Community women are turn-ing home chefs to deliver Bengali delica-cies. As for dressing up and flashing a mil-lion watt smile, there’s Zoom, where youcan change the backdrop to that of a pujaof your choice. As for the cultural pro-grammes, those too have been recorded foryou to tune into. This is the puja in the newnormal but if we really want to imbibe theessence of the goddess, then we must realisethat she is dynamic herself.

During this time, Durga Puja organ-isers around the city, every year, are seenworking round the clock on the decor, andsetting up idols and pandals, making theNavratris a cause-oriented festival throughdistinctive and relevant themes. One couldeasily spot people playing the dhunuchinaach, doing pandal-hopping till latenights, playing dhaakis, sindoor khela andtaking part in many other cultural activi-ties, revelling in the festivities. This timethere is more heart and devotion minus thefrills.

Robin Bose, General Secretary of theDelhi Durga Puja Samiti (the oldest intown), also known as the Kashmere GateDurga Puja, shares that this year, pandalsare being set up within the prescribed size.“We are only doing the kalash puja and notthe murti puja this time so that there is alesser crowd. We are doing only 10 per centof what is done every year. You can verywell imagine the difference now. I reallyhaven’t seen any such thing happen in ourlifetime. This is the very first time we arewitnessing festive celebrations to be so low-key given that we wait for this season all

year,” he says, pointing towards the pan-demic as the major reason. “Another issuewas that of sponsors. We didn’t have any.Even the active members were not willingto participate this time. You can blame itall on the economic slowdown. While someare facing pay cuts, some don’t have jobs,”adds he.

Although the Central governmentgave a green signal for conducting scaleddown celebrations a few days back, therewas little or no time left to put everythingtogether. “Planning and organising DurgaPuja is a huge responsibility, which takesat least a months time. Even the oldestRamlila committees have backed outbecause they didn’t have enough time. Timeconstraints are big,” Bose says.

Celebrations in the famed ChittaranjanPark are being confined to the Kali Mandironly. “We don’t have a pandal. We will wor-ship the goddess inside the temple with anearthen pot and coconut and camphor onits top. The celebration will be on a smallscale and with the priests only. They willcarry all the procedures of the puja system-atically,” confirms an organiser.

As COVID-19 has changed our veryway of living, festivities are also going dig-ital. “Everything is majorly going to beonline this time. We are live streaming thepuja proceedings. People can registerthemselves beforehand so that they cansimultaneously carry out their rituals athome, following the priest who will per-form the rituals at the temple. We will doFacebook live, Instagram live and Zoom forour committee members and the public atlarge,” says Durga Puja organiser andfounder member of Paschim Vihar BengaliAssociation, Mahadeb Das, who feels thatdigital is the only way out this year as itsdifficult to ensure people follow the nec-essary precautions and social distancingnorms in a festive mood.

Even at the Antaranga Durga Puja atMayur Vihar, in order to avoid large social

gatherings, there won’t be any typical pan-dal set-up with big idols. Suvankar Mitra,general secretary of the committee, sharesthat the organisers are just going to do thekalash puja in a very limited area. It’s allgoing to be live, he says. “We’ll post every-thing live on our social media pages. Wehave also planned a cultural programmebut that too online. We have requested fora subscription of �500 from our members,”adds he.

“I’m honestly very scared about what-ever is happening in Kolkata. The celebra-tion seems to be on a very grand scale there.It’s very dangerous. Remember theCOVID-19 situation in Kerala after Onam?The state was doing just fine but then thefestival came and the numbers just doubledup. Hence, we discussed this with our man-agement committee, where some suggest-ed completely stopping the puja. However,we decided to do it remotely and online,

which could turn out to be helpful in fol-lowing all the precautionary measuresand government guidelines. We are try-ing to deliver the personal touch virtu-ally,” Mitra tells us.

Colonel Basu, Dwarka Puja head,Dwarka, feels that it would have beenreally difficult to mount the traditionalset-up. For him, the major challengewould have been to train the volunteersto guide people, who tend to be indisci-plined, without being rude. He tells usthat he was ready with three plansbefore the government’s decision andguidelines came out. However, post theorder issued on Sunday, Basu finallydecided to go with his first plan. Says he,“This plan includes a small pandal ofthree feet. There is seating arrangementtoo, which keeps the social distancingnorms in check. We will live-stream thepuja proceedings on giant screens. There

will be e-pushpanjali, pre-packed bhogand only the residents of the society willbe allowed to take part in the celebra-tions.”

Das shares about the arrangementsmade at the temple in case people try toforcibly come inside. “There are two dif-ferent lanes for entry and exit, where onlyone person can be present at any giventime. There are barricades beyond whichpeople can’t go. No entry is allowed with-out face masks. Social distancing must bemaintained at all times. Thermal screen-ing, sanitisation and other such safetymeasures — everything has been keptready,” adds he.

Since this year there is no extravagantaffair, which in turn means fewer fundsused, while many have not taken anydonations at all, Das is utilising his pujafunds to help the COVID-affected. Nowthat offering would redeem us indeed.

Written, directed and pro-duced by Akbar and Azam

Quadri, the film Shahzada Ali isbeing released for the first time tothe public. The film has had pre-miers at various film festivals.

In the film, Ali is played byIzhaar Khan, Gangs of Wasseypur

fame. Nidhi Bisht of The ViralFever plays the role of a parent.

The film is a moving tale of aninnocent boy who wants to enjoyand explore life but is curbed toplay outdoor with other kidsbecause of his physical ailment. Aliloves cricket and insists his father

to buy him a bat. But any form ofphysical activity is detrimental tohis health. So his mother makes upa story and tells him that the kidswho play outside their home anddon’t obey their parents areattacked by the devil. She tells himthat the evil soul resides in theirheart and makes them sufferthroughout their life. On the con-trary, children who listen to theirparents are blessed by god.

Speaking on the story of thefilm, Akbar and Azam said, “Thefilm was shot in Chhatarpur,Delhi, and is based majorly on theviewpoint of a child and the worldhe sees around him. There was atime when there used to be filmsmade from the viewpoint of chil-

dren but that’s not the case any-more. It is an attempt to give voiceto that viewpoint that even thoughyou watch the film from the view-point of a children, there’s somuch more to it.”

Speaking about the main plotthe brothers said that children livein the world of stories which theyare told. The story of the film isabout a child who believes andlives in the stories told to him.”

The process of filmmakingwas a tedious one for them as itwas their first film. They sharedabout the burden of managingeverything right from produc-tion to the creative part to work-ing with a child actor. (The film isstreaming live on MXPlayer.)

THE GODDESS BEAMS INTO YOUR HOME�;D25� 25�:0� ���������=�������6�������������������������������������������������!����� ���������!�������������������������������

Actors Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol starrerDilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ),

directed by Aditya Chopra, completes 25years today and the film’s leading lady opensup about why the film is hailed as a lovedromantic film.

Kajol says, “I think the film is timelessbecause everybody identifies somewhere downthe line with Simran (played by Kajol) and Raj(played by Shah Rukh). People like these char-acters.”

The character Simran made an attempt toredefine the portrayal of women on screen. Shewas traditional yet modern in her outlook andpeople could relate to her hugely. Says Kajol,“Honestly, I thought Simran was a little bor-ing but I realised that there’s a glimpse of thatcharacter in almost everybody we know. Youwant people to instill confidence in you thatyou are doing something right. So, yes Simranwas like that. She was a little old-fashioned butcool.”

The actor adds, “While we were shootingfor this film, we never thought that we weremaking something that will be recalled evenafter 25 years. We just thought we are going tomake a cool film together and hopefully, it willbe a hit film. I don’t think anyone of us everrealised the kind of impact the film would haveon people when they see it.”

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The nail-biting winover defending

champions MumbaiIndians was certainlya morale-lifter but the inconsis-tent Kings XI Punjab haveanother tough battle at handwhen they take on table lead-ers Delhi Capitals here onTuesday.

Having lost two tight gamesthey should have won at thestart of the season, KXIP man-aged to get on the right side ofthe results in the last couple ofgames, although it was tooclose for comfort by their ownadmission.

Needing seven off the lasttwo overs with nine wickets inhand, they should havewrapped the game against RCBmuch before the last ball andeven in the IPL’s first doubleSuper Over against MumbaiIndians on Sunday night, the KL Rahul-led side could haveclosed it out in regulation time.

Death bowing and the formof star player Glenn Maxwell ina shaky middle-order remain aconcern for a team that needsto win its remaining five gamesto make the play-offs.

The fact that KXIP havestruggled this season despitehaving tournament’s top tworun-getters in openers Rahul(525) and Mayank Agarwal(393) best sums up their errat-ic run.

On a positive note, thesuccessful return of Chris Gaylehas reduced the burden on theshoulders of the star openers,

especially allowingRahul to play morefreely.

Nicholas Pooranhas shown his lethal-ness time and again

but is yet to play a match-win-ning knock and the pressure isincreasing on Maxwell the bats-man, who is proving to be moreuseful as a spinner operating inthe powerplay.

However, the team is like-ly to stick to him in the gameagainst Delhi Capitals.

Delhi are clearly the teamto beat in the tournament andhave gained in confidence witha close win against ChennaiSuper Kings on Saturday.

While Prithvi Shaw needsto be back among the runs aftera couple of ducks, his openingpartner Shikhar Dhawan ele-vating his game bodes well forthe team that has won sevenout of the nine matches it hasplayed.

Axar Patel has shown hisutility not just with the ball butalso with the bat. His three sixesoff Ravindra Jadeja helpedDelhi get over the line in thefinal over finish against CSK.

With an envious bowlingline-up, Delhi Capitals haveshown they can defend evenbelow-par totals. Playing inthe absence of an injuredRishabh Pant, time is runningout for Ajinkya Rahane tomake an impact.

The match went into aSuper Over last time the twoteams met and more thanDelhi, KXIP will be hoping thatit doesn’t come to that again.

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Rajasthan Royals produced afine bowling effort to restrict

three-time champions ChennaiSuper Kings to a modest 125 forfive in an Indian Premier Leaguematch here on Monday.

Opting to bat, CSK never gotgoing and lacked the fire powerto put up a decent score afterbeing reduced to 56 for four in 10overs.

Ravindra Jadeja top-scoredfor CSK with a 30-ball unbeaten35 and skipper Mahendra SinghDhoni, playing in his 200th IPLgame, made a run-a-ball 28 whileadding 51 runs for the fifth wick-et.

Jofra Archer (1/20) was ter-rific with the new ball but hewould be disappointed with hisouting on the field.

Besides Archer, the spin duoof Shreyas Gopal (1/14) andRahul Tewatia (1/18) were eco-nomical in the middle overs,

while young Kartik Tyagi (1/35)too was impressive. Dhoni’s deci-sion to bat first backfired as RR

picked up wickets at regular inter-vals to make life difficult forCSK.

CSK lost the in-form Faf duPlessis (10) in the third over,caught by Jos Buttler off Archerand then an over later, ShaneWatson was sent back by Kartik.

Opening the batting again,Sam Curran made 22 off 25 ballsbefore being dismissed by Gopal.

After that, a lot depended onAmbati Rayudu but he too disap-

pointed, perishing in the next overoff Tewatia’s bowling as CSKslumped to 56 for four.

Dhoni and Jadeja tried theirbest to resurrect the innings andthen up the ante, but it proved tobe too little too late.

Dhoni was run out in searchof a double in the 18th over.

Kedar Jadhav continued tostruggle with the bat as RRbowlers didn’t give the CSK bats-men any leeway.

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MATCHES 25KINGS XI PUNJAB 14DELHI CAPITALS 11

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Chennai SuperKings’ match

against RajasthanRoyals on Mondaymarked the 200thappearance of MahendraSingh Dhoni in IPL but, asis his wont, the skipperplayed down the mile-stone and said he wasoblivious to it.

“You spoke about itand that’s how I got to know,”CSK skipper Dhoni told pre-

senter DannyMorrison at the toss.

The two-timeWorld Cup winning

captain added, “Itfeels good but at thesame time it’s just anumber. I feel fortu-

nate to play for sucha long time without manyinjuries.”

Dhoni has been thecaptain of CSK since the

inception of IPL in 2008.When the franchise was

suspended for two years,

the veteran represented RisingPune Supergiant.

Earlier this month, heovertook Suresh Raina (194games) to become the playerwith most appearances.

In 199 games, the formerIndia captain amassed 4,596runs, which includes 23 fifties,with a highest score of 84 notout. With 215 maximums,Dhoni also ranks third in thelist of big-hitters in the tourna-ment after Chris Gayle (333sixes) and AB de Villiers (231sixes).

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Liverpool’s Premier Leaguetitle defence was rocked on

Sunday when the club con-firmed key defender Virgilvan Dijk has suffered knee lig-ament damage amid reportsthe Dutchman could miss therest of the season.

Van Dijk, who will requiresurgery, hobbled off after ashocking challenge fromEverton goalkeeper JordanPickford in a 2-2 draw in theMerseyside derby on Saturday.

“The centre-back dam-aged knee ligaments followingan incident involving Bluesgoalkeeper Jordan Pickfordafter six minutes at GoodisonPark,” Liverpool said in astatement. “Van Dijk wasrequired to be substituted andfurther assessment on theinjury has revealed an opera-tion will be needed. “No spe-cific timescale is being placedupon his return to action atthis stage.”

It will at the very least bemonths before Liverpool’s tal-ismanic presence at the backreturns, leaving Jurgen Kloppwith a major problem to solveto keep the Reds’ season ontrack.

Van Dijk struck an upbeatnote in a statement released onsocial media, saying: “I’m nowfully focused on my recoveryand will do everything I can tobe back as quickly as possible.

“Despite the obvious dis-appointment, I’m a firmbeliever that within difficultylies opportunity,” he contin-ued, adding: “I’m going tomake sure I return better, fit-ter and stronger than everbefore.”

Van Dijk has been pivotalto Liverpool’s resurgence sincemaking a then world record£75 million move for a defend-er from Southampton inJanuary 2018.

The 29-year-old has start-ed the last 94 league games tobring a defensive solidity thatwas lacking during Klopp’sfirst two years at Anfield.

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The big-hitting Chris Gaylerevealed that he felt “angry

and upset” going in to the SuperOver after Kings XI Punjabwere in a comfortable positionto win the IPL match againstMumbai Indians in regulationperiod.

Chasing 11 runs in the sec-ond Super Over, the UniverseBoss cracked a six off the first ballbefore opener Mayank Agarwalsmashed successive fours togive KXIP their second consec-utive win. “No, I wasn’t nervous.I was a bit more angry and upsetthat we got ourselves in this posi-tion. But it’s a game of cricketand these things do happen,”Gayle told Agarwal andMohammad Shami during apost-match show forIPLT20.Com.

“Even when we were goingout to bat (in the second SuperOver) you asked me ‘who isgoing to face the first ball’. I waslike ‘Mayank you really askedthat question? It has to be theboss who faces the first ball’,”Gayle added.

For Punjab, Shami bowleda brilliant first Super Over,defending five runs which wasfollowed by Chris Jordan con-ceding 11 runs in the second.

“Shami is the man of the

match for me. To defend six runsagainst Rohit (Sharma) and(Quinton) de Kock, that’s fantas-tic. That’s a great job.”

“I have faced you in the netsand I know that you can nailthose yorkers, and nail themwell. Today he came and deliv-ered and brought it home for us,”Gayle added.

Shami, who nailed his york-ers in the Super Over to allowMI to only equal KXIP’s score,said with the margin of errorbeing so less he just focussed onwhat he knew he could do best.

“It was very difficult. Whenyou get 15-17 runs to defend inthe Super Over, it’s a differentmatter altogether. You believe atthe back of your mind that youcan do it.

“But when the margin oferror is so less, you focus onwhat you can do best. I believea lot in myself. When I was goingback on the top of my markevery ball, I was saying to myself,‘This last ball was great. The nextball will be great too’. I repeatedthat six times,” Shami added.

Kings XI Punjab captain KLRahul lauded his pace spearheadMohammed Shami for his abil-ity and clarity of thought to bowlsix yorkers in the Super Overwhile defending just five runs intheir dramatic IPL match againstMumbai Indians.

“He (Shami) was very clearhe wanted to go with six york-ers. He has been phenomenal,and keeps getting better everygame. It is important that seniorplayers win the games for theteam,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation.

Rahul, who was named manof the match for his 77,expressed happiness at the vic-tory but said his side would notwant to make a habit of winninglike this. Even in the last gameagainst RCB, KXIP could havefinished the job earlier than theyeventually did.

“It is not the first time. Butwe don’t want to make a habitout of it. We will take the twopoints in the end. It doesn’talways happen the way youplan so you don’t really knowhow to stay balanced.

“I was just hoping we getover the line because the boyshave been working really reallyhard. In the games that we havelost, even then we have playedwell and just not been able to getover the line.”

On his side winning twoback-to-back close matches,he said, “We still want to takeit one game at a time. It is sweetafter the kind of matches wehave lost but the talk in thedressing room is to focus on theprocess.