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Noida/DelhiCity Edition

24 pages O ₹��10.00

Prime Minister NarendraModi has called for constructive engagement withPakistan, sources confi��rmedon Monday. In a letter to hisnewly swornin Pakistanicounterpart Imran Khan,Mr. Modi called for buildinggood neighbourly ties for security and prosperity in theSouth Asian region.

“PM expressed India’scommitment to build goodneighbourly relations between India and Pakistan andpursue meaningful and constructive engagement for thebenefi��t of the people of theregion,” said an offi��cialsource.

Counters QureshiThe Indian response camesoon after the newly appointed Pakistani ForeignMinister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Mr. Modi had indicated at dialogue in his letterthat was sent on August 18.

However, the offi��cial saidIndia had not called for dialogue so far and said, “PrimeMinister wrote of constructive approach or engagement for the benefi��t of thepeople, by which he meantPakistan should create aconducive atmosphere.”

Mr. Modi’s call for engagement comes in the backdropof recent Indian insistencethat Delhi will hold talks only if Pakistan acts against terror suspects and outfi��ts.

The PM also reminded Mr.Khan to rid the region of violence, the source hinted,saying, “He recalled their te

lephone conversation, inwhich they spoke of theirshared vision to bring peace,security and prosperity inthe Indian subcontinent, inorder to make it free of terror and violence, and to focus on development”.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Aff��airs later clarifi��edMr. Qureshi’s statement andsaid the Indian leader hadsought “constructive

engagement”.Mr. Qureshi, in his fi��rst re

marks after taking charge,said he would remove thetrust defi��cit with neighboursand try to build new bridges.“We know the issues aretough and will not be solvedovernight, but we have toengage,” he said.

Modi letter calls forpositive engagementWrites to Imran Khan of shared vision for South Asian peace

Kallol Bhattacherjee

NEW DELHI

Pakistan’s new ForeignMinister Shah MahmoodQureshi on Mondayextended the hand offriendship to India soonafter taking oath by off��ering“uninterrupted” dialogue toresolve all outstandingissues. Mr. Qureshi stressedthat it was the “only wise

course” as the twocountries could not aff��ordany “adventurism”.

Speaking to the media atthe Ministry of ForeignAff��airs after being sworn in,Mr. Qureshi said Islamabadwants to rebuild ties witheastern and westernneighbours and createpeace in the region.

Pak. Minister off��ers‘continued dialogue’Press Trust of India

Islamabad

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POLITICAL PARTIES IN J&K

BACK DIALOGUE A PAGE 10

The United Kingdom hasconfi��rmed to the Indianagencies that Nirav Modi, involved in the ₹��13,578crorePunjab National Bank fraudcase, is staying there.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought hisdetention and initiation ofextradition proceedings.

“In response to our diff��usion notice, issued throughthe Interpol, we receivedconfi��rmation a couple ofdays ago about Mr. Nirav Modi’s presence in the U.K. Therefore, based on the InterpolRed Notice issued againsthim in June, we have soughthis detention,” said a CBIoffi��cial.

The agency has also sentthe extradition request tothe Union Home Ministry tobe forwarded to the U.K.

authorities through the External Aff��airs Ministry.

The Enforcement Directorate had earlier moved an extradition request in connection with its moneylaundering cases, to be sentto the United Kingdom andthe United Arab Emirates, asMr. Nirav Modi’s exact whereabouts were not established then.

Mr. Nirav Modi, his wifeAmi, who is a U.S. citizen,brother Neeshal, a Belgiancitizen, and uncle MehulChoksi, had left the countryin the fi��rst week of January,days before the bank lodgeda complaint with the CBI. Onthe request of investigatingagencies, his passport wasrevoked in February.

Since then, there were re

ports that he had been spotted in several countries, including the U.K. It is allegedthat he had also attempted toget permanent residency inSingapore.

Multiple remindersThe CBI had sought the helpof its counterparts in as many as six countries to determine his location. Multiplereminders were sent to theInterpol coordination agency in the U.K.

Mr. Choksi, who was earlier in the U.S., has taken refuge in Antigua. He had applied for Antiguancitizenship in May last yearand got it about six monthslater.

India has approached theAntiguan government seeking cooperation in getting hiscustody to ensure that hefaces trial in the case.

U.K. confi��rms Nirav’s presenceCBI seeks his detention and initiation of extradition proceedings

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Indian benchmark equityindices rose to new highs onMonday as investor sentiments were lifted on account of a positive trendacross most leading Asianmarkets and a recovery inthe rupee against the dollar.

The 30share Sensexgained 330.87 points or0.87% to close at a new highof 38,278.75 with 23 of itsconstituents gainingground.

Auto and metal majorslike Tata Steel, Tata Motors,Bajaj Auto and Vedantawere among the top gainersof the day.

Infosys, meanwhile, wasthe fi��rst performer amongthe Sensex pack on Monday,shedding over 3% or ₹��46.15to close at ₹��1,385.20 afterthe company’s chief fi��nancial offi��cer M.D. Ranganathresigned on Saturday.

The broader Niftybreached the 11,500markfor the fi��rst time, gaining 81points to close at 11,551.75.

Among other major Asianmarkets, Hang Seng gained385 points.

The benchmark indicesof South Korea, Indonesiaand Taiwan also gainedground amid hopes that theU.S. and China would soon

resolve trade disputes. Nikkei, however, lost marginalground on Monday.

Back in India, the overallmarket breadth also remained slightly on thestronger side with 1,437 advances against 1,307 declines. The broader BSEMidcap gained over 1%while the BSE Smallcap alsomoved marginally up onMonday.

Stocks gaining groundMidcap and smallcapstocks have been gainingground in the last few trading sessions.

“Despite the correctionthis year, we still believethat midcap stocks are expensive,” said Mukul Kochhar, Head InstitutionalSales, Investec CapitalServices.

“The only diff��erence now(versus a few months back)is that politics looks morestable – prospects of an Opposition coalition are looking a little shaky,” he said,while adding that rupee remains at risk and that couldhelp technology companies.

The rupee opened stronger on Monday compared toits previous close of 70.16 adollar and appreciated0.47% or 33 paise to closethe day at 69.83 a dollar.


Mumbai

Rupee’s recovery spurs stock marketSensex, Nifty close at new highs

A battered Kerala beganpicking up the pieces onMonday as the rain abatedand water began recedingfrom fl��oodaff��ected areaseven as the Central government said the situation in theState had been categorisedas an L3 level disaster underthe National Disaster Management Guidelines. (L3 isthe highest disaster categorisation by scale and population of the devastated area. )

As many as six deathswere reported in the State onMonday, taking the toll sinceAugust 8 to 223. A total of10,28,073 people, including1,01,049 children, werehoused in 3,274 relief camps.Road, rail and air traffi��c were

partially restored. Eff��orts were on to resume

communication services andpower and water supply. Distribution of relief materialwas stepped up, even as people began returning to theirhouses. Local collectiveswere constituted to help residents clean up their housesand disinfect water sources.Medical teams began fanning out across the districts.

Domestic fl��ights from Kochi began from the naval airbase on Monday with carriers using small aircraft. Amedical team began an arduous trek to Palakkad’s Nelliyampathy hill station, whichwas cut off�� by landslips.

Road, rail services partially restored in Kerala Domestic fl��ights begin from Kochi naval air base; focus on communications, power & water supply

Long way to normality: A girl having breakfast at a relief camp opened in a government school in Ernakulam on Monday. * THULASI KAKKAT


Thiruvananthapuram

MORE REPORTS ON A PAGE 7

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10

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CMYK

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tuesday, august 21, 2018

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Plea opposes droppingof case against U.P. CM NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on

Monday sought the Uttar

Pradesh government’s

response on a petition

challenging the dropping of

the 2007 Gorakhpur riots

case against Chief Minister

Yogi Adityanath.

NATION A PAGE 6

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NEARBY

https://www.visionias.net https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official

YKA ND-NDE

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NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU

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0DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested toverify and make appropriate enquiries tosatisfy themselves about the veracity ofan advertisement before responding toany published in this newspaper. THGPUBLISHING PVT LTD., the Publisher &Owner of this newspaper, does not vouchfor the authenticity of any advertisementor advertiser or for any of the advertiser’sproducts and/or services. In no event canthe Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Director/s, Employees of this newspaper/company be held responsible/liable inany manner whatsoever for any claimsand/or damages for advertisements inthis newspaper.

DELHI Timings

Tuesday, Aug. 21

RISE 05:54 SET 18:55

RISE 15:23 SET 00:37

Wednesday, Aug. 22

RISE 05:54 SET 18:54

RISE 16:11 SET 01:21

Thursday, Aug. 23

RISE 05:55 SET 18:53

RISE 16:57 SET 02:07

d Padmanabhan (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

In an attempt to jointly tackle the drug menace in thecountry’s northern region,six States Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Delhi and the Union Territory ofChandigarh on Monday decided to set up a centralisedsecretariat at Panchkula (Haryana) where nodal offi��cersfrom each State will be deputed for sharing intelligence and information.

The decision was taken atthe regional conference ofthe Chief Ministers organised here by the Haryana government on the issue of“Drug menace, challengesand strategies”.

A joint statement, released after the conference,said that it was agreed thatthere was a need for moreproactive and quick information exchange on drugtrends, cases registered andpersons named, wanted orarrested.

Video conferencingThe meeting was attendedby Haryana CM Manohar LalKhattar, Uttarakhand CMTrivendra Singh Rawat, Punjab CM Amarinder Singhwhile their Himachal Pradesh counterpart JairamThakur joined them throughvideoconferencing. Senioroffi��cials representing Rajasthan, Delhi and Chandigarhalso participated.

“We hope to ‘deliver asone’ with the full might ofthe law in a crusadelikemanner to break and demolish the supply chains. Weagreed on setting up of a permanent secretariat for thisin Panchkula. That therewould be monthly meetingof our special task forces andquarterly meetings at the level of Home Secretaries tobuild interagency trust,”said the statement.

It was also decided to invite the Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister and senior offi��cersfrom Jammu and Kashmir infuture and involve them inthe antidrug strategyimplementation.

Mr. Thakur said that theHimachal government wascontemplating evolving amechanism for regular medical checkups in schools todetect early signs of drug

abuse. “Longterm strategyshould also be chalked outto engage youth in constructive activities. Besides, parents should also keep aneye on abnormal behaviourof their teenage children,”he said.

Mr. Rawat stressed onstrengthening the intelligence network, saying thatinformation and data sharing was critical to makingthis fi��ght a success.

Capt. Amarinder calledfor eff��ective sealing and surveillance along the international and the State borders.

He suggested strengthening of Border Security Forcepresence and intensifi��cationof its patrolling by makinguse of technical gadgets tomake its surveillance eff��ective, especially during nighthours and the foggy season.

Plan centralised secretariat at Panchkula to share intelligence

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHANDIGARH

Chief Ministers of Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand ManoharLal Khattar, Amarinder Singh and Trivendra Singh Rawatrespectively taking part in an interState regional conferencein Chandigarh on Monday to tackle the drug menace. * SPECIAL

ARRANGEMENT

Northern States come togetherto fi��ght drug menace

In the wake of the Muzaff��arpur shelter home rape caseand Aasra shortstay homecase in Patna, NonGovernment Organisations managing the governmentfunded110 such homes in Bihar areoff��ering to surrender theircontract with the State’s Social Welfare Department.

The CBI, investigating theMuzaff��arpur sexual abusecase, has speeded up theinvestigation.

TISS reportEarlier, in its 100page report, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) hadraised fi��ngers at severalNGOs running shelter andshortstay homes in diff��erentdistricts of Bihar where instances of sexual and physical abuse with the inmateswere reported.

Besides Muzaff��arpur, theTISS social audit report hadredfl��agged 14 other suchhomes for abuse.

Among the several NGOswhich have off��ered to surrender their contract withthe State Social Welfare Department is the one managed by Padma Shri award

winner Sister Sudha Varghese. Sister Varghese runs anNGO to manage a shelterhome for traffi��cked womenand girls in the border district of Purnia.

“I’ve written to the SocialWelfare Department that Iwant to surrender my contract for Purnia shelter homeas I feel it is diffi��cult to manage that from Patna… if something unpleasant happens, I cannot reach therebefore 8 hours… so I decidedto surrender my contract,”Ms. Varghese told local journalists.

The Purnia shelter homerun by her keeps about 65girls, some of them traffi��cked, some mentally challenged and sick. Ms. Vargh

ese was awarded the PadmaShri in 2006 for her pioneering work with the marginalised section of society. Shealso runs an adoption agency in Danapaur locality, nearPatna.

23 contracts cancelled“Until now, six NGOs have offered to surrender their contracts with the Department… this has come in thewake of the Muzaff��arpurshelter home and Aasrashortstay home controversies,” said Department Director Raj Kumar.

The Department, he said,has also cancelled contractsof 23 NGOs running shelterhomes for girls, boys andbeggars in the State in the

past few months. He addedthat some Department offi��cials too have been trying toget transferred to other departments.

“We’ve asked the NGOs tocontinue till alternative arrangements are being madeand we’ve also fl��oated tender for a new setup managed by the government,” hesaid.

Earlier, the State government had announced that itwould run all shelter andshortstay homes.

Meanwhile, the CBI hasspeeded up its probe andconducted searches at several places and questioned many people.

State Urban DevelopmentDepartment Minister SureshSharma, though, has refusedto resign from his post as demanded by the OppositionRJD leader, Tejaswi Yadav.Mr. Yadav also ‘threatened’to ‘expose’ if Mr. Sharma didnot resign.

“I’ll fi��le a defamation suitagainst Tejaswi Yadav fordragging my name into theMuzaff��arpur shelter homerape case,” said Mr. Sharmawho represents the Muzaffarpur Assembly seat on aBJP ticket.

Shelter home rape case: NGOsoff��er to surrender contractsCBI speeds up investigation, conducts searches and questions many people

Amarnath Tewary

Patna

Offi��cers of the CBI and the Central Forensic ScienceLaboratory at the shelter home in Muzaff��arpur. * FILE PHOTO PTI

The Indian National Lok Dalon Monday announced thatit would observe a ‘HaryanaBandh’ on September 8 topress for early constructionand completion of the SutlejYamuna Link (SYL) canal

and the DadupurNalvicanal.

“We have decided to observe a Statewide bandh onSeptember 8. We want earlycompletion of the SYL andDadupurNalvi canals,” saidAbhay Singh Chautala, leader of the Opposition.

INLD calls for ‘HaryanaBandh’ on September 8 SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHANDIGARH

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s muchpublicised ‘Gaurav Yatra’ hasseemingly lost its steam afterGujjars’ threat to disrupt it inBharatpur division and theHigh Court’s notice on a public interest litigation alleging that public money wasbeing spent on it.

The Yatra was suspendedlast week following the deathof former Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee.

BJP State president MadanLal Saini has announced thatthe Yatra’s second leg willstart in Jodhpur division onAugust 24. The Yatra will bypass the Assembly segmentsin eastern Rajasthan whereGujjars have been holdingprotests demanding 5% reservation and withdrawal ofpolice cases against the community members who weredetained during the previousagitations.

‘Joint struggle’Ahead of the Yatra in theJodhpur region, Gujjar supremo Kirori Singh Bainslavisited the city on Sundayand addressed events wherethe demand for reservationfor Rebari and Rajput com

munities was raised. Col.Bainsla said the sociallybackward communitieswould wage a “joint struggle” to get their rights and accused the ruling BJP of goingback on its promises.

Amid indications that theBJP has skipped the Bharatpur division fearing Gujjars’protest, Col. Bainsla said theYatra would be opposed inJodhpur as well. The Stategovernment had earlier invited Gujjars to Jaipur to discuss their demands with aCabinet subcommittee, butonly a splinter group led byHimmat Singh attended thetalks, adding to the prevailing confusion.

The Congress, whichplans to start its own ‘Sankalp Yatra’ from Chittorgarhon August 24, has launched a

frontal attack on Ms. Raje’sYatra and demanded its immediate cancellation, alleging that it is misusing the government funds. PradeshCongress president SachinPilot said on Monday thattenders were being invitedfor the ‘Gaurav Yatra’ programmes even after the matter had gone to the HighCourt.

‘Unethical march’While Mr. Pilot described theYatra as Ms. Raje’s “unethicalmarch” when the farmers inthe State were committingsuicide, AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot said themisuse of public moneythrough government offi��cials, engineers and contractors was unprecedented.

The PIL in the High Courthas been listed for hearingon Tuesday. After the Stategovernment informed thecourt that the orders issuedon August 1 to the PWD tomake arrangements for theYatra had been withdrawn,the court has asked the BJPto submit the details of expenses incurred.

Meanwhile, Rajputs andthe Jats are planning to holdparallel events in Jodhpur division.

CM Raje’s ‘Gaurav Yatra’ losessteam after PIL, Gujjars’ protest Rajputs, Jats to hold parallel events in Jodhpur on Aug. 24

Mohammed Iqbal

JAIPUR

Vasundhara Raje. * FILE PHOTO

Man gets death penaltyfor raping, killing minor SAGAR (M.P.)

A court here on Monday

sentenced a man to death for

raping and killing a 14year

old girl in December last year.

Rabbu alias Sarvesh Sen (22)

and a minor accused entered

the house of the victim in

Deval village here and raped

her on December 7 last year,

Additional District

Prosecution Officer M.D.

Awasthi said. When the victim

resisted, the accused poured

kerosene and set her afire,

Mr. Awasthi said. The girl died

of burn injuries on December

14. PTI

Passersby at Hazratganj in Lucknow on Monday look at an old building that collapsed partially, crushing six twowheelersparked below. * RAJEEV BHATT

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Risky business


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THE HINDU NOIDA/DELHI

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EAST

The Gauhati High Court onMonday rescheduled the caseof Dinesh and Sarita Prajapati, settlers from Ballia districtof Uttar Pradesh, who are inseparate detention camps forforeigners after having beendeclared doubtful or Dvotersmore than three months ago.

The Akhil Assam BhojpuriParishad, an umbrella organi

sation of Hindispeakers inAssam, has been pegging thiscase as an example of discrimination against the community and misuse of the system for detecting anddeporting foreigners.

Final rites“The case of our uncle andaunt was numbered 46, butthe High Court could hear only up to case number 35 on

Monday. Our case has beendeferred to Friday, when itwill hopefully be disposed of.We have been told my unclecan perform his mother’s fi��nal riteson August 26,” SurajPrajapati, Dinesh’s 22yearold nephew, told The Hindu.

Dinesh’s mother ChhotkiDevi, 70, had died on August16. She had stopped eating after the authorities took awayher son and daughterinlaw

and lodged them in detentioncamps.

The Dvoter tag on Dineshand Sarita was the reasonwhy all 17 members of thePrajapati family, settled forthree generations at No. 6Pakhorijan village in easternAssam’s Tinsukia district,were left out of the completedraft of National Register ofCitizens that was publishedon July 30.

Case of U.P.origin ‘foreigners’ deferredAkhil Assam Bhojpuri Parishad, a body of Hindispeakers in Assam, up in arms


GUWAHATI

Marine fi��shermen in Odishacoast have alleged that theracket in misappropriationof subsidy money for provision of boats, nets and boatengines was still continuing.

There are fi��shermen inGanjam, Puri and Khurdadistricts who have not re

ceived new boats, nets or engines. But loans with subsidyhave been sanctioned intheir name for it. The ironyis that banks are deductingmoney from their savings accounts towards repaymentof these loans. It is allegedthat through loans providedon pen and paper, largeamount of subsidy money

has been misappropriated.In 2015, former manager

of Gopalpur branch of UCObank V. Kamma and Chintamani Behera, Additional District Fisheries Offi��cer (ADFO) of Ganjam district inOdisha, had been arrestedby the police on charges ofmisappropriation of subsidymoney.

Staff Reporter

BERHAMPUR

Odisha: Fishermen allegebungling in subsidy money

Floodprone Assam haspledged ₹��3 crore in aid tofl��oodhit Kerala. This followsthe ₹��1 crore announced byNagaland, where rainfallinduced landslides have cut off��many areas.

Announcing the fi��nancialaid on Monday, Assam ChiefMinister Sarbananda Sonowal said he could feel the suffering of the people of Kerala. “I represent Majuli, anAssembly constituency thatexperiences fl��ood up to fourtimes a year. I can very wellempathise with what thefl��oodaff��ected people in Kerala are going through,” Mr.Sonowal said.

Large-scale devastation “Looking at the largescaledevastation caused by thefl��ood, our contributionmight look meagre. But wesincerely feel the intense sufferings caused to the peopleand the mammoth task ofrehabilitation that Kerala faces. We can very well internalise the pain perpetrated bythe fl��ood to the people ofKerala as the people of Assam face such kind of fury every year,” he said.

His Nagaland counterpartNeiphiu Rio said: “We standin solidarity with the peopleof Kerala. Even as both the

States battle with calamitiescaused by heavy rain, maywe fi��nd comfort in knowingthat the rest of India standswith us. The people of Nagaland pray for you.”

Mr. Rio represents the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, a ruling ally of theBharatiya Janata Party.

‘Bond of Indianness’His gesture earned applausefrom BJP’s national generalsecretary Ram Madhav. “Gesture by a State which itself isfacing nature’s fury. Remember Nagaland is at the othercorner of India and struggling with rain. What connects is the bond of Indianness and a heart that goes

out for the suff��ering,” hesaid.

The All Assam Students’Union (AASU) has appreciated Prime Minister NarendraModi’s instant package of₹��500 crore for fl��oodhit Kerala. But it resented the “stepmotherly treatment” by NewDelhi towards Assam, whichhas been experiencing fl��oodsregularly since 1950.

‘Look at us too’“The VicePresident [Ven

kaiah Naidu] is believed tohave said that the government has declared the Keralafl��ood as a calamity of a severe nature given its intensityand magnitude. That’s goodfor Kerala, but the govern

ment should look at us too,”Lurin Jyoti Gogoi, AASU general secretary, told The Hin-

du. “Floods have destroyedAssam’s agriculturebasedeconomy and thousands ofpeople have lost land due toerosion. Former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had comeout with an advertisement adecade ago saying the Centrehas acknowledged Assam’sfl��oods as a national problem,which was proved to be untrue,” Mr. Gogoi said.

“Assam has perhaps suffered more than the rest ofIndia on account of fl��oods.But it seems the Centrethinks we are too used tofl��oods to be given attentionto,” he said.

Assam pledges ₹��3 crore to KeralaHailing from a fl��oodprone State, I can feel the suff��ering of the people: CM Sonowal

RAHUL KARMAKAR

GUWAHATI

Flood-ravaged: Villagers move towards a safer place from a fl��ooded village in Morigaon districtof Assam. * FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

The East Khasi Hills districtadministration on Mondaylifted night curfew fromMeghalaya capital Shillongin view of improvement inthe law and ordersituation.

The curfew was imposed 80 days ago on June1, a day after a quarrel overthe parking of a bus in Punjabi Lane or Harijan Colonysnowballed into a communal standoff�� between theDalit Sikhs of the area andlocal tribal people.

Night curfewin Shillong lifted aftereighty days


GUWAHATI


CMYK

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WEST

Former Shiv Sena councillor from Jalna Shrikant Pangarkar, arrested in connection with the seizure ofexplosives and arms, wasremanded in MaharashtraAntiTerrorism Squad (ATS)custody till August 28 by acity court on Monday.

Additional Sessions JudgeVinod Padalkar remandedMr. Pangarkar in ATS custody for further probe. Hewas arrested by the ATS onSunday in connection withthe seizure of crude bombsand weapons from diff��erentparts of the State betweenAugust 9 and August 11.

Arguing for his remand,the prosecution said Mr.Pangarkar’s link to the seizure of arms needs to be

probed. A pen drive, harddisks and some incriminating documents were recovered from his residence inJalna district, the prosecution said. Prime facie hewas funding the other threeaccused, arrested earlierthis month following seizure of a large cache of explosives, the prosecutionsaid, adding that Mr. Pangarkar’s bank transactionsalso need to be probed.

On August 10, VaibhavRaut, Sharad Kalaskar andSudhanwa Gondhalekarwere arrested by the ATSfrom Palghar and Pune districts in connection withthe seizure of a large num

ber of bombs and weapons.All three men are in ATScustody till August 28.

The ATS had alleged thatthe accused were planningto carry out blasts in theState ahead of Independence Day and BakriEid. Italso said it would probe ifthe accused had any connection with the killings ofrationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare,and journalist Gauri Lankesh. The accused havebeen booked under relevant provisions of the Explosives Act, the ExplosiveSubstances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Arms seizure: Jalna Senaleader in ATS custody Former councillor was funding accused in explosives seizure, alleges prosecution

Press Trust of India

Mumbai

Shrikant Pangare.

The killing of antisuperstition crusader NarendraDabholkar fi��ve years agohasn’t stop the expansion ofhis citybased organisation,which has spread to severalStates, including Assam.The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti(MANS) has intensifi��ed itsactivities, a functionary saidon Monday.

Dabholkar, a doctor whogave up his profession totake up the rationalistcause, was shot dead bygunmen here on August 20,2013. Today is his fi��fth deathanniversary. Milind Deshmukh, state chief secretary,MANS, said till 2013, the organisation had around 250branches. In the last fi��veyears, this count has goneup to 350 with fulltime volunteers increasing everyyear, he said.

Mr. Deshmukh said,“When Dr. Dabholkar wasalive, besides Maharashtra,we had branches in Goa andKarnataka, but now we havebranches in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Assam andAndhra Pradesh. Now, dueto our work and outreachprogrammes, several organisations in States like Punjaband Haryana are invitingour members for guidanceon issues such as superstition and social boycott.”

He said MANS is nowcampaigning for an antisuperstition and black magiclaw at the Central level.

Nandini Jadhav, Pune district executive president,MANS, said social mediaoutreach, too, has increased with over 80,000followers. “This year, 5,000new people, mostly youthand college students, haveassociated with MANS.”

5 years afterDabholkarkilling, MANSmore popular


Pune

Despite being promised power connections within twomonths of applying, morethan 2.5 lakh farmers in theState have been waiting forover two years for one. Withthe Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution CompanyLtd (MSEDCL) saying itdoesn’t have the funds to giveconnections, there appearsto be no early solution totheir problem.

Last month, Ramdas Narayanrao Wanjari, a farmerfrom Nagpur, was awarded₹��15,000 as compensation under the Elecricity Act, 2003,by the Electricity Ombudsman. Mr. Wanjiri had applied for an electricity connection on August 7, 2016. Asper the Act, farmers are entitled to compensation if thepower utility is unable to provide a connection within twomonths of applying for one.

Confi��rming the high pendency, Arvind Singh, Principal Secretary (Energy, Industries and Labour), said, “Ason March 31, 2018, there areone lakh applications pending from Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, and 1.5lakh applications from therest of Maharashtra. However, we have provided 4.5 lakhnew connections in the pastthree years.”

Mr. Singh said the State government will be inviting bidsthis month to clear this backlog of 2.5 lakh agriculturalpower connections through ascheme in two years.

While rejecting similar arguments made by P.N. Lande,Executive Engineer (operations and maintenance),MSEDCL, Electricity Ombudsman Chitkala Zutshi penalised the power utility for thesituation being faced byfarmers.

Her order issued on July 20stated, “Lande argued thatthe application for agricultural connection of Wanjari wascomplete and he was placedon the “paid (but) pendinglist” and the connection willbe given to him in duecourse, as per the senioritylist. Wanjari completed allformalities and still remains

deprived of power for almosttwo years. It is clear he willremain so deprived for afurther period, that is notspecifi��ed. For this harassment being caused to him,for the mental agony and thecost he has incurred for litigation and travel, he is entitledto compensation.”

Ms. Zutshi also rejectedMr. Lande’s argument thatcompensation was timebarred as per Rule 12.2 of theMaharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC).She said exceptions have tobe formally endorsed by theMERC, and no such endorsement was provided on recordin Mr. Wanjiri’s case. She hasordered MSEDCL to compensate Mr. Wanjiri by chequeimmediately, and submit acompliance report in 30days.

No money, says MSEDCL; power regulator unimpressed

Renni Abraham

Mumbai

Long wait: Farmers need power connections to runagricultural pumps. * FILE PHOTO

2 years on, 2.5 lakh farmersawait power connections

The Goa government onMonday fi��led an application before the MahadayiWater Dispute tribunal inNew Delhi, seeking actionfor disobedience againstKarnataka for breach ofthe tribunal’s order of in

junction dated April17,2014.

In January, Karnatakahad built earthen bunds toblock the fl��ow of the Mahadayi river’s water into Goa,for which the latter hadfi��led an contempt application before the tribunal.However, Karnataka fi��led

an affi��davit saying it won’tdivert the water. Followingthis, Goa withdrew thecontempt application. However, in July, it was noticed that on account of thegradient slope that Karnataka built, the Mahadayiwater was fl��owing to theMalaprabha basin.

Mahadayi dispute: Goa approaches tribunal


Panaji

Braving showers, a coalitionof civil rights activists, commoners, artistes and intellectuals congregated on Monday under the banner of theMaharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS)on Monday to question thedelay in the State government bringing the culprits tojustice.

The Jawab Do campaignmarked the fi��fth anniversaryof Dr. Dabholkar’s murderwith a protest march fromOmkareshwar bridge, wherethe eminent rationalist wasgunned down on August 20,2013. It saw participation byMegha Pansare, daughterinlaw of slain Communist leader Govind Pansare, KavithaLankesh, sister of Gauri Lankesh, actors Amol Palekarand Sonali Kulkarni, activist

Baba Adhav and TusharGandhi, the greatgrandsonof Mahatma Gandhi.

Dr. Dabholkar’s daughterMukta Dabholkar said,“While there is some satisfaction that the wheels of theinvestigation have begungrinding at last, it is not

enough to stop at a couple ofarrests. We know that allfour murders are linked. So,there is a major plot thatneeds to be unraveled.”

In a counterprotest, supporters of radical Hindutvaoutfi��ts including the SanatanSanstha and the Hindu Jana

jagruti Samiti held a demonstration against MANS in Kolhapur city in support thosearrested in the Dabholkarcase.

Arrest Athavale: Cong.Demanding that the State government ban the SanatanSanstha, the Congress calledfor the arrest of Dr. JayantAthavale, who heads theHindutva outfi��t.

Speaking in Mumbai, senior Congress leader Radhakrishna VikhePatil said,“If the State government isreally intent on fi��nding outwho masterminded the murders of rationalist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, Communistleader Govind Pansare,scholar M.M. Kalburgi andjournalist Gauri Lankesh,then it must arrest and question Athavale.” said , speaking in Mumbai.

Dabholkar murder: probe delay questioned Arrest Sanatan Sanstha chief, outlaw outfi��t, demands State Congress

Shoumojit Banerjee

Pune

Hundreds of MANS supporters take out a protest march, inPune on Monday. * MANDAR TANNU


CMYK

A ND-NDE

SOUTHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



Gold seized frompassenger from DubaiVISAKHAPATNAM

Customs officials at the

Visakhapatnam International

Airport have arrested a

passenger from Dubai on

charges of smuggling gold

weighing 1.2 kg valued at

₹��33.74 lakh. The passenger

arrived by an Air India flight

on Sunday. The passenger

allegedly tried to smuggle

the gold by concealing it in

the shoes and wrapping

around waist in the form of

paste, Commissioner of

Customs D.K. Srinivas said on

Monday.

IN BRIEF

Woman falls into Tirupativalley, rescued TIRUMALA

A woman, Neeraja of

Jaggayyapeta in Krishna

district, slipped and fell into a

valley at Avvacharikona while

trekking up to Tirumala hills

on Monday. The other

pilgrims who noticed this

immediately alerted the local

police, who rushed to the

spot along with special

parties equipped with ropes.

In a brief operation that

lasted 30 minutes, the police

pulled her up from a depth of

about 150 feet, said Deputy

Superintendent of Police

Eswar Reddy.

2 girls rescued, childtrafficker arrested YADADRI-BHUVANAGIRI

Continuing the crackdown on

trafficking of children in

Telangana’s Yadagirigutta, the

Rachakonda police rescued

two more girls and arrested

an accused on Sunday.

According to Yadagirigutta

police, it was conducting raids

to curb prostitution in the

temple town, and in the

process rescued two girls

bought from professional

mediators at ₹��40, 000 each.

A woman named Kamsani

Jyothi, “habitually trafficking

innocent women and running

brothels”, was arrested.

Fishermen returning to the coast as dark clouds hover on the horizon due to the presence of a low pressure area, at Jalaripeta inVisakhapatnam on Monday. * K.R.DEEPAK


Back to safety

The Karnataka governmentis busy browsing throughcourt orders and legislationto fi��nd out whether all government employees can bemandated to send their children to governmentschools.

Last week, offi��cials of theDepartment of Primary andSecondary Education metKrishna Byre Gowda, Lawand Parliamentary Aff��airsMinister, who said that offi��cials had been asked to examine if any other laws orcourt rulings are to be considered before framing thelegislation.

An offi��cial of the Department of Public Instructionsaid the meeting was convened to discuss the prosand cons of this rule andwhether introducing such

an Act would run into legislative hurdles.

The issue came to light inNovember last year when G.Raghu Achar, CongressMLC, introduced a privateBill in the State legislature tomake it mandatory for government employees andelected representatives tosend their children to government schools.

He had pointed out thatthe move would help improve the quality of government schools in the Stateand enrolments in government schools.

21 recommendationsThe Kannada DevelopmentAuthority, which had submitted 21 recommendationsto improve the State of government schools, had alsorecommended this measure.

V.P. Niranjan Aradhya,fellow at the Centre forChild and Law, NationalLaw School of India University, Bengaluru, welcomedthe move and said the Allahabad High Court had recently passed a similar order as they felt that theeducation department offi��cials were not owning up tothe government schools.

“The situation is thesame across the countrywhere a majority of the children go to private schoolsand government offi��cialsand elected representativesare not worried about thepublic school system,” hesaid.

Once made mandatory, itwould eventually be thefi��rst choice for them later asthe quality of the schoolswould eventually improve,he said.

Offi��cials told to examine laws and court rulings

Tanu Kulkarni

Bengaluru

Karnataka mulling law asking offi��cialsto send children to govt. schools

As the spectacle of destruction unfolds in the fl��oodravaged district of Kodagu,where more than 5,000people have been evacuated to relief centres, thosedisplaced are waking up tothe reality of a new crisis,the magnitude of which isyet to sink in: their livelihood in the future.

The camps are teemingwith owners and workersdependent on coff��ee plantations, many of which nolonger exist.

Having lost their property, the owners have to startfrom scratch. “The entireswathe of land around myhouse, and the property ofmy aunt and the staff�� quarters, have been fl��attened,and there is nothing leftatop the hills,” said Ganapathi of Iggodlu near Madapura, who evacuated hisfamily members and workers in the nick of time.

Recalling the dance ofdestruction, he said: “Itwas terrifying as the entirehillock seemed to rolldown, the earth split wideopen as a torrent of mudslid down at tremendousspeed.”

There is largescale devastation of coff��ee and cardamom plantationsaround Makkandur, Mukudlu, Mandalpatti, Hattihole, Kandankolli, Madapura, Madenad, Sampaje,Kiggodlu and other places,where the estates are asgood as lost for ever.

Kodaguplantationsdisappear

R. Krishna Kumar

SUNTIKOPPA

With the water level in theGodavari increasing steadily,the revenue and the policeoffi��cials of the East and theWest Godavari districts wereon high alert on Monday andshifted their attention to relocating the residents of lowlying areas to safer places,restoring the road traffi��c andpower supply in the vulnerable places.

By Monday evening, thewater level was 14.3 feet atthe Dowleswaram barrage,prompting the offi��cials to retain the second warning level. In all, 13.71 lakh cusecswas discharged into the Bayof Bengal from the barrage.Movement of vehicular traffi��c was suspended on thebarrage since the morning.

Washed awayA farmer was washed awayin the Godavari while 19managed to swim back tothe shore near Mummidivaram in the morning, when agroup of farmers left for Gu

rajapulanka island to takecare of their cattle.

The countrymade boat inwhich they were travellingcapsized in the return journey. A major tragedy wasaverted since the boat wasclose to the shore and all ofthem knew swimming. NallaBuchi Maheswara Rao, however, was washed away in

the currents and eff��ortswere on to locate him.

This incident promptedthe offi��cials to suspend theoperations of countrymadeboats all over the district. Inthe absence of mechanisedboats, residents in the lowlying areas and island villages faced severe hardshipduring the day.

Water level in the Godavaricontinues to increase steadilySteps on to relocate residents of lowlying areas to safer places

Staff Reporter

KAKINADA

Falling apart: A bridge that was damaged due to fl��oods at Tadavai village in West Godavaridistrict on Monday. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Nearly 650 devoteestrapped in fl��oods at the Gubbala Mangamma temple inButtayagudem village inWest Godavari district wererescued by the National Disaster Response Force, the10th Battalion, the A.P. StateDisaster Response and FireServices, the ITDA and thepolice on Monday.

The devotees visited thetemple on Sunday and were

trapped there due to fl��ashfl��oods in the Kondavagu andother rivulets which were inspate due to continuousdownpour in the hilly areas.

As the water did not recede till late in the night, thepilgrims stayed put at thetemple. Offi��cials could nottake up any rescue operations immediately due tothe heavy rain.

On Monday, they reachedthe temple by boats and rescued the devotees.

650 devotees trappedin temple rescuedRAJULAPUDI SRINIVAS

VIJAYAWADA

Seeking its rightful share forKarnataka in water allocation as part of river interlinking, Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar onMonday said that the Statehad been facing water stressfor decades on account ofdemands for drinking waterand irrigation.

Speaking during the 15thmeeting of the Special Committee for Inter Linking ofRivers held in New Delhi, hesaid that the State had beendenied of its rightful sharefrom the transferred water —from surplus basins underthe Inter Linking of RiversScheme. He said that theState had a large Droughtprone Areas Programme(DPAP) and Desert Develop

ment Programme (DDP)areas which have been facing water stress for decades.“The situation had risen because demand is more thanthe allocations to the Stateby various river water tribunals,” he said.

He cited examples of howthe State got lower alloca

tions, including from theKrishna basin, where it got907 tmcft against the 1,012tmcft it demanded, Cauverybasin (284.75 tmcft against ademand of 465 tmcft) andMahadayi basin (13.42 tmcftagainst a demand of 36.55tmcft).

Mr. Shivakumar said thatto the government’s surprise, the State was completely left out in the 2010 report on assessment ofsurplus water for transfer todefi��cit river basin under Peninsular River Developmentby National Water Development Agency.

“The State government inseveral letters to Ministry ofWater Resources and National Water Development Agency has been persistently urging them to restore its share

in the diverted/transferredwater from links under thePeninsular River Development.

In the modifi��ed link proposal of the MahanadiGodavariKrishnaCauveryVaigaiGundar river, the State wasagain not considered for allocation. The allocationmade by National Water Development Agency withoutconsulting all basin states ofthe Cauvery and the Krishnais arbitrary,” he said.

The State would be forcedto approach the Union government for the constitution of a tribunal if its interests were not taken care ofby the National Water Development Agency in decidingwater share under the riverinterlinking proposals, hesaid

River interlinking: Karnataka seeksrightful share in water allocationState had been facing water stress for decades, says Water Resources Minister

D.K. Shivakumar

Staff Reporter

Bengaluru

The continuing rescue andrelief operations in Kodagudistrict have reached theirlast phase with the Armyand National Disaster Response Force personnelsearching isolated villageseven as the authorities confi��rmed the death toll at 12 inthe district.

Multiple agencies involved in the operationshave so far rescued 4,320people.

A team of experts fromthe National Geophysical Research Institute, headed byH.M.S. Prakash, former Deputy DirectorGeneral of Geological Survey of India, hasstarted geotechnical studiesin areas where there havebeen landslips.

Sanitation driveRelief Commissioner Gangaram Baderia said the districtadministration is working oncombating the outbreak ofdiseases and is ensuringcleanliness and hygiene.

For the sanitation drive,additional staff�� have beendeployed from other cities,including 300 pourakarmikas from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, besides seven healthinspectors and engineers.

Toilets rushedBiotoilets and mobile toiletsare being rushed to reliefcentres while the district administration has taken measures to ensure supply ofclean drinking water to thevillages.

A decision has been takento provide employment opportunities for the displacedunder the MGNREGAscheme and also involvethem in clearing debris.

Rescue teams reach isolatedvillages in Kodagu districtDeath toll put at 12 as multiple agencies remove 4,320 people to safety


MYSURU

In tough terrain: Karnataka State Reserve Police involved inrescue in Kodagu district on Monday. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A video clip of KarnatakaPublic Works Minister H.D.Revanna throwing biscuitpackets to fl��ood victims atRamanathapura in Arkalgudtaluk has gone viral.

As the video went viral onsocial media platforms, many people took serious exception to his conduct. TheMinister has been accusedof being insensitive and arrogant. Mr. Revanna, who isalso Minister in charge ofHassan, visited a reliefcentre at Ramanathapuraon Saturday and providedpackets of milk, biscuits andother products to the victims. In the video clip, theMinister is seen throwingbiscuit packets at fl��oodaffected people gathered in a

relief centre. Around 200 families of Ramanathapuraare aff��ected by the fl��ood.

A.T. Ramaswamy, Arkalgud MLA, who was also present at the relief centre, expressed regret over theincident on Monday. “It wasunintentional. That day Mr.Revanna was in a hurry toleave for Kodagu to monitorrelief work,” he said.

BJP demands apology The Opposition BharatiyaJanata Party has demandedthat Mr. Revanna apologisefor allegedly showing “disrespect”.

In a press release here,BJP State general secretaryN. Ravi Kumar said the Minister would not have actedin this manner if he reallyhad concern for the victims.

Revanna throws biscuitsto victims, lands in a rowSpecial Correspondent

Hassan

India’s fi��rst communityradio station, SanghamRadio, owned and run by5,000 poor, mostly Dalitwomen in one of India’smost underdeveloped areas,is on the verge of closingdown, unless itscrowdfunding campaignraises enough funds.

Self-help groupsThe radio station, aninitiative of the DeccanDevelopment Society (DDS),a local grassrootsorganisation, was started in1998 in Machanoor village inTelangana’s Sangareddydistrict. It caters to theSanghams (selfhelp groups)of underprivileged, ruralwomen. It got its licence tobroadcast in 2008, and hasbeen in operation for 10

years. The programmecontent is generated entirelyby the 5,000odd women,largely agricultural workers.

“When it was born 20years ago and was ‘licensedto broadcast’ 10 years ago,Sangham Radio heralded anew media space for theunderprivileged, ruralpeasant women of India,”notes the appeal on the

crowdfunding webpage,https://milaap.org/fundraisers/ddssanghamradio.

The radio station’sfi��nancial crisis stems in largepart from the upaid duesfrom the government foradvertisements aired on thestation. “Dues to SanghamRadio over the last threeyears has gone up to ₹��3.25

lakhs,” states the appeal. “We could not collect

donations from outsideIndia as we have to run thecommunity radio on ourown,” said M. Narsamma,one of the two women whorun the station.

“Some of our listenershave been asking us whythey cannot hear ourbroadcasts. We told themthat we need newtransmitters and each onecosts about ₹��3 lakh. This isthe reason we are trying toraise money.”

“As the fi��rst authenticcommunity radio in India,Sangham Radio has put thesmall and marginalisedwoman at the frontier ofcommunication... anyextinction of this radiostation would be a travesty,”said P.V. Satheesh, director,DDS.

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Crowdfunding plea to save Dalit women’s radio

R. Avadhani

MACHANOOR

Sangham Radio, India’s fi��rst community radio station, is struggling to stay alive

Ears to the ground: The content for Sangham Radio isgenerated entirely by around 5,000 women. * MOHD ARIF

After a fi��veyear gap, thefruit rot disease, or ‘kole roga’, has become a cause forconcern again in the arecanut plantations of DakshinaKannada. When the diseasestruck a large tract of plantations in 2013, the Karnataka government had to declare a compensationpackage of ₹��30 crore foraround 25,000 hectares. Inthe 2007 monsoon, it affected about 20,000 farmers, for whom the government subsequentlydeclared a compensation of₹��4.59 crore. Manchi Srinivasa Achar, president of theAllIndia Areca Growers’Association, Puttur, saidthat the disease was nowsevere between 30% and60% of the plantations.

Diseasestrikesarecanutagain

Raviprasad Kamila

Mangaluru





YKA ND-NDE

NATION

Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)

Forecast for Tuesday: Heavy/very heavy rain is likely at isolatedplaces over Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Konkan & Goa,Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, subHimalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, Jharkhand, HimachalPradesh, Uttarakhand, east Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, centralMaharashtra, coastal Andhra Pradesh and coastal Karnataka

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala..................4.... 33.4.... 26.4 Kozhikode .............7.6.... 31.1.... 23.4

Ahmedabad........19.7.... 32.5.... 24.8 Kurnool .................0.1.... 31.0.... 24.8

Aizwal ................... —.... 29.8.... 12.9 Lucknow................1.2.... 33.9.... 25.4

Allahabad ..........39.9.... 33.2.... 27.8 Madurai................... —.... 37.0.... 26.2

Bengaluru .............. —.... 26.5.... 20.2 Mangaluru.............1.6.... 28.5.... 23.4

Bhopal.................2.2.... 28.5.... 23.8 Mumbai...............15.9.... 29.0.... 24.2

Bhubaneswar .......3.4.... 30.2.... 26.0 Mysuru.................... —.... 28.3.... 18.8

Chandigarh ............ —.... 32.5.... 27.8 New Delhi ...........40.5.... 35.7.... 27.0

Chennai ................. —.... 35.1.... 28.0 Patna ....................0.2.... 33.8.... 27.2

Coimbatore............ —.... 31.4.... 22.6 Port Blair ..............5.3.... 31.0.... 25.8

Dehradun...........48.8.... 32.2.... 23.7 Puducherry.............. —.... 35.6.... 25.0

Gangtok...............7.9.... 22.7.... 18.0 Pune ........................3.... 26.1.... 21.4

Goa .....................8.3.... 29.5.... 24.0 Raipur ...................0.4.... 31.7.... 25.1

Guwahati ............... —.... 35.5.... 26.5 Ranchi.................13.2.... 28.3.... 22.6

Hubballi................. —.... 25.0.... 21.0 Shillong................... —.... 26.9.... 19.0

Hyderabad .........19.6.... 27.2.... 20.5 Shimla..................... —.... 23.6.... 16.6

Imphal.................1.9.... 30.3.... 22.0 Srinagar .................. —.... 32.9.... 18.4

Jaipur ................26.6.... 32.4.... 22.7 Trivandrum ...........1.9.... 30.5.... 23.6

Kochi...................2.4.... 30.4.... 23.2 Tiruchi .................... —.... 36.5.... 26.6

Kohima.................. —.... 29.0.... 19.6 Vijayawada ..........85.4.... 27.0.... 24.4

Kolkata..............12.5.... 32.1.... 26.6 Visakhapatnam .....57.4.... 32.0.... 24.0

(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

In observation made at4.00 p.m., Ghaziabad,Uttar Pradesh recorded anoverall air quality index(AQI) score of 174indicating a moderatelevel of pollution. Incontrast, Nashik,Maharashtra recorded ahealthy AQI score of 29

Ahmedabad ...... ..— .73 ...9 ....55 .....— ....*

Bengaluru......... 10 .38 .89 ....53 .112 ....*

Chennai ............ 32 .25 .50 ..178 .....— ....*

Delhi ................ 11 .19 104 ..209 .191 ....*

Hyderabad ........ ..9 .16 .13 ....49 ...79 ....*

Kolkata............. ..2 .29 .60 ....23 ...23 ....*

Lucknow........... 10 .34 .33 ....96 .....— ....*

Mumbai ............ 14 .26 .47 ....42 ...74 ....*

Pune................. 34 .13 .56 ....37 ...24 ....*

Vishakhapatnam ..— ..— .53 ..... — .....— ....—

Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)

SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,

making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air

particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues

and monuments.

NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by

reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.

CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to

critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,

nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced

lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and

premature death in people with heart or lung disease

Seven dead in landslidein Jammu and KashmirKISHTWAR

Seven persons, including a

policeman, were killed and 12

others injured on Monday as

the two vehicles they were

travelling in came under a

massive landslide on Doda

Kishtwar highway, a senior

police officer said. A mini bus

and a car plying on the road

were hit with massive

boulders and debris. An ex

gratia relief of ₹��4 lakh has

been announced for the next

of kin of the deceased. PTI

Bengal’s focus onrenewable energy KOLKATA

The Bengal government is

drawing up several schemes

to promote solar power and

other sources of renewable

energy, CM Mamata Banerjee

said on National Renewable

Energy Day on Monday. She

made a reference to

‘Aloshree’, a scheme taken up

to fit solar panels in all

government offices and

educational institutions. PTI

IN BRIEF

Huge quantity ofexplosives seized PAKUR (JHARKAHND)

A huge quantity of explosives

has been seized from a village

in Pakur district. Based on a

tipoff, a police team

conducted a surprise raid on

the house of one Bhagat

Murmu and seized 10,000

detonators, 5,000 power gel

and 65 sacks of ammonium

nitrate. Murmu, however,

managed to escape. PTI

The All India Federation ofUniversity and CollegeTeachers’ Organisations (AIFUCTO) on Monday wrote atwopage letter to Union Human Resource DevelopmentMinister Prakash Javadekardemanding a highlevel inquiry into the attack on anassistant professor of Mahatma Gandhi Central University of Bihar and “forged” documents submitted by theuniversity’s vicechancellor.

“On behalf of AIFUCTOwe express our concern overthe brutal attack on the assistant professor of the Mahatma Gandhi Central University at Motihari, Sanjay Kumar,and also over corruption andtyranny of the ViceChancellor Prof [Dr.] Arvind Agrawalwho has been made VC onthe basis of false and fabricated statements and testimonials in his application forthe post,” said AIFUCTO let

ter, a copy of which is withThe Hindu.

‘False information’In the letter undersigned byAIFUCTO general secretary,Prof. Arun Kumar, and president, Prof. Kesab Bhattacharya, the organisation has

alleged that the VC , ArvindAgrawal, has furnished“false information that hehas been awarded PhD fromHeidelberg University, Germany, in 1989, whereas hehas been awarded the degree by the University of Rajasthan under the supervi

sion of Professor N.K. Sanghiin 1992”. “Such a corruptVC... can only spread corruption,” said the letter.

Protest against V-C A large section of the university teachers have been protesting against the “fascistsand dictatorial attitude” ofthe VC since May 29. On August 17, Prof. Kumar, whohad also been protestingagainst Prof. Agrawal, wasdragged out of his thirdfl��oorfl��at by a mob and beaten upfor making a comment on social media on the demise offormer Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee. The attackers allegedly also tried to setProf. Kumar on fi��re afterpouring petrol on him.

“The attackers were, infact, goons sent by the VC toteach us all protesting teachers a lesson… The social media post was just an excusefor the attack,” said Mritunjay Kumar Yadavendu, a col

league of Prof. Kumar.The injured professor was

fi��rst admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital butlater on Monday he was shifted to the All India Institute ofMedical Sciences in Delhi ashe complained of some eyesight problem.

The police said two persons have been arrested forthe attack so far. Earlier,Prof. Kumar had lodged acase against 12 persons forattacking him at the townpolice station in Motihari inEast Champaran district.

State BJP leader and Tourism Minister Pramod Kumar alleged that ProfessorKumar was a part of the “divisive forces” as his comment on Vajpayee on socialmedia was not acceptable.The Opposition party leaders and students’ organisations have extended theirsupport to Professor Kumar,while demanding removal ofthe ViceChancellor.

Teachers fume over attack on Bihar prof.Write to Union HRD Minister seeking high-level inquiry into incident; allege ‘forgery’ by university V-C

Amarnath Tewary

Patna

Up in arms: RJD leaders sitting on a dharna in protest againstthe assault on Assistant Professor Sanjay Kumar, in Patna onMonday. * RANJEET KUMAR

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Uttar Pradesh government’s responseon a petition challenging thedropping of the 2007 Gorakhpur riots case againstChief Minister YogiAdityanath.

A Bench of Chief JusticeDipak Misra and JusticesA.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y.Chandrachud issued noticeand sought a reply from theState government in fourweeks.

“Issue notice. Let a copyof the petition be served onthe caveator. Counter affi��davit be fi��led within four weeks

hence. Rejoinder, if any, befi��led within two weeks therefrom. List after six weeks,”the Bench said.

On January 27, 2007, anFIR was lodged at Kotwalipolice station in Gorakhpuragainst Mr. Adityanath, thena Member of Parliament,and several others on charg

es of promoting enmity between two groups. It was alleged that several incidentsof violence were reported inGorakhpur on that day afteran alleged hate speech byMr. Adityanath.

On February 1, the Allahabad High Court had upheldthe quashing of a magistrate’s order that had takencognisance of a chargesheetagainst Mr. Adityanath inconnection with the riotcase. The HC had dismissedthe petition against the Sessions Court verdict fi��led byParvez Parwaz, at whose instance the FIR was registered against Mr. Adityanathand others.

Apex court seeks reply from State government in four weeks


New Delhi

Yogi Adityanath

SC notice to U.P. on plea opposingdropping of riot case against CM

A group of Kanwariyas onMonday allegedly set a truckon fi��re in the Shahjahanpurdistrict after they suspectedthat the vehicle was carrying prohibited meat.

According to the police,early on Monday, a truck laden with animal parts overturned near a Kanwad Melain the Kalaan area ofShahjahanpur.

Irked by the stench coming from the truck, someKanwariyas, who were passing by, allegedly set the vehicle on fi��re.

While the offi��cial Twitterhandle of the Shahjahanpurpolice said the truck was set

on fi��re by Kanwariyas, Indrajeet Singh Bhadauria,Station House Offi��cer of Kalaan blamed “antisocial elements” among the yatris forthe incident.

“Some antisocial elements created a ruckus thatthe truck was carryingmeat. So 1015 of these antisocial elements set the tyresof the truck on fi��re,” Mr.Bhadauria told The Hindu.The fi��re was doused by fi��retenders and no injurieswere reported.

The truck was found to beladen with dried tails of animals, most likely buff��aloes,said Mr. Bhadauria.

The samples will be sentfor testing in a laboratory.

Truck carrying animalparts set afi��re in U.P.‘Kanwariyas suspected prohibited meat’


LUCKNOW

Dalit student killed fornot withdrawing caseSEONI (M.P.)

A 23yearold Dalit student

was killed here on Monday by

a man who was allegedly

putting pressure on her to

withdraw a sexual harassment

complaint against him. She

was dragged by her hair and

her head was smashed with a

stone, the police said, adding

that the accused has been

arrested. PTI





CMYK

A ND-NDE

NATION

Sitting on a verandah of theSDV School for Boys in Alappuzha, Omana Raveendran,65, is listening carefully to avolunteer who is readingloud the names of peoplefrom a list. Inside the room,women, children and the elderly are picking clothesclosest to their size from acollection donated by generous people and voluntary organisations.

“We came to the reliefcamp with just the clotheswe were wearing. Our housewas submerged and we tooka small country boat to escape drowning,” says Ms. Raveendran. She along withher son, daughterinlaw andgranddaughter are among538 people from diff��erentparts of Kuttanad living under one roof for the past fourdays.

In Kuttanad, the rice bowlof Kerala, normal life hascome to a standstill for a second time in a month owingto the fl��oods.

Of the 2.5 lakh populationof the region, a majority ofthe people have been movedto relief camps in Alappuzha

and Kottayam districts. A fragile Sarojini, 68, walk

ing with heavy steps past agroup of children who areplaying after a meal of fi��shcurry from the food distribution centre in the compound, says: “The people ofKuttanad are destined to livein relief centres.” She was re

ferring to the recurringfl��oods in the region.

‘Nothing left at home’Ms. Sarojini is sharing spacewith 16 others in a classroom, and sleeps on a matprovided by the government.“I am happy with the facilities provided here. What else

can I expect in a diffi��culttime like this? They are providing enough food, waterand clothing. But there isnothing left in my home. Myhouse at Kainakary is completely submerged,” shesays, wiping a tear.

Apart from Kuttanad, thefl��oods also badly hit Chen

gannur where, at the reliefcamp at the Christian College, Sajini’s little daughter isasleep on her shoulder. “Sheis tired after being strandedon the terrace of our house(at Kallissery) for four days,”says Ms. Sajini. “We can gothrough this ordeal, but ourchildren can’t. But the big

gest thing is that we are allalive.”

All though there were issues regarding toilet facilitiesin some of the camps, offi��cials said biotoilets had beenset up in most camps. Over2.7 lakh people are staying in662 relief camps in the district.

In Kerala’s rice bowl, life moves on in campsMajority of the 2.5 lakh population of Kuttanad have been moved to relief camps in Alappuzha and Kottayam districts

Sam Paul A.

Alappuzha

Picking up the pieces: Checking out new clothes at a camp in Alappuzha and, right, food being distributed at a camp in Ernakulam. * SURESH ALLEPPEY & THULASI KAKKAT

Kolkata Malayalis cancelOnam celebrationsKOLKATA

Seventeen groups under theConfederation of KolkataMalayali Organisations(CKMO) have cancelled theirproposed Onam celebrationsand decided to contribute tothe Kerala Chief Minister’sDistress Relief fund.“Relatives of many Kolkatabased Malayalis are now inrelief camps. How can wecelebrate Onam at a time likethis?” said CKMO convener K.Vasu Mani.

The largehearted eightyearold schoolgirl fromVillupuram, who brokeopen her piggy banks tocontribute to the fl��oodrelief in Kerala, wasrewarded on Monday forher generous gesture witha brand new bicycle.

Hero Cycles gifted abicycle to S. Anupriya, aClass II student, whodonated her piggy banksavings of the last fouryears.

Daughter of K.C.Shanmuganathan andLalitha of K.K. Road inVillupuram, Anupriya hadbeen saving her pocketmoney to buy a bicycle.

On Sunday, a Twitterpost about the child’sgesture caught theattention of Hero Cycleswhich promptly retweeted

the post, appreciatingAnupriya’s gesture.

“Anupriya, pranam toyou. You are a noble souland wish you spread thegood around. Hero is toopleased to give you onebike every year of yourlife. Pl share your contacton my account. Love youand best wishes. Prayersfor Kerala,” Pankaj M.Munjal, chairman andmanaging director of HeroCycles, said in a tweet.

Hero for a little heroS. PRASAD

VILLUPURAM

Hot wheels: Anupriya withher bicycle on Monday.

Flight connectivity to Kochiresumed on Monday as AirIndia subsidiary Alliance Airoperated three fl��ights to thenaval airbase, which wasokayed for commercialfl��ights last week after the local airport was shut due tofl��ooding on August 15.

IndiGo announced threefl��ights connecting the citywith Bengaluru and Chennaifrom Tuesday.

The ThiruvananthapuramInternational Airport, whichbecame a beehive of activityfollowing the closure of theKochi airport, operated 18rescheduled fl��ights in the international sector, andanother nine in the domestic

sector on Monday.The Railways commenced

services on the ErnakulamThrissurShoranur section,and the Kerala State RoadTransport Corporation(KSRTC) was able to ply buses on all routes, except to thehill station of Munnar.

Rush on trainsWith Onam and Bakridround the corner and educa

tional institutions remainingclosed for Onam, bus stations and railway stationshave become busy.

Unprecedented rush is being witnessed on longdistance trains.

With the Railways restoring traffi��c on the ErnakulamThrissurShoranur section,trains can run from Kasaragod to Kanniyakumari viaShornur and Palakkad, Er

nakulam, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Nagercoil junction. The only corridor in therailway network of the Statethat is out of bounds fortrains is PunkunnamGuruvayur, where restorationwork is on in full swing.

In the Palakkad railway division, 90% of trains havebeen restored. The holdingup of rakes belonging to theThiruvananthapuram division in Palakkad due to suspension of trains in the ErnakulamShoranur section isleading to full restoration oftrains, a Railways spokesperson said, adding that thiswould take days.

Out of the 91 Mail and Express trains handled daily atThiruvananthapuram, 75were restored on Monday.“Cent per cent trains will beback in two to three days,”Divisional Railway ManagerShirish Kumar Sinha toldThe Hindu on Monday.

Three fl��ights land at Kochi naval baseIndiGo to operateBengaluru,Chennai services

Back in the air: Passengers of an aircraft from Bengaluru thatlanded at the Kochi naval airbase on Monday. * THULASI KAKKAT


New Delhi,

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Maldives grants $50,000as flood relief assistanceCOLOMBO

The Government of Maldiveswill donate $50,000 (roughly₹��35 lakh) towards flood reliefin Kerala, authorities said.“India is our closestneighbour. Any naturaldisaster or calamity thatstrikes our neighbour has anemotional impact onMaldives. This donation is asmall gesture to a neighbourand friend who has alwaysstood by Maldives in need,”Ambassador of the Maldivesto India Ahmed Mohamedtold The Hindu on Monday.

Trekking to safety: People who were trapped in Nelliyampathy, a hill station in Palakkad district, following landslips and fl��ashfl��oods being guided by rescue workers to Nenmara on the foothills on Monday. * K. K. MUSTAFAH


Crossing hurdles

Keralite in Oman losesjob for social media post THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

A Keralite working in asupermarket in Oman hasbeen terminated from his jobfollowing a highly insensitivepost he wrote in the wake ofthe floods in the State. RahulC. Palayattu, who worked ascashier at the LuluHypermarket, Bousher, washanded his termination letterthat stated that the action isprompted by his highlyinsensitive and derogatorycomment in his post. IANS

Rajya Sabha Chairman M.Venkaiah Naidu and LokSabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Monday urgedMembers of Parliament togenerously contribute fromtheir MPLADS funds for relief and rehabilitation worksin Kerala, besides considering donating a month’ssalary.

Both the Presiding Offi��cers of Parliament took thelead by announcing theirdecision to donate amonth’s salary for reliefwork. The two issued a jointappeal after a meeting at Mr.Naidu’s residence.

Guidelines for aidThe guidelines of Membersof Parliament Local AreaDevelopment Scheme hasprovision that in the eventof a ‘calamity of severe nature’ in any part of the country, an MP can recommendworks up to a maximum of₹��1 crore for the aff��ected dis

trict. The guidelines furthersay that from the day an MPmakes such contribution,concerned authorities haveto identify relief works inone month and the sameshould be implementedwithin eight months.

“We appeal to all theMembers of Parliament tocontribute generously fromtheir MPLADS funds for relief and rehabilitation worksin the aff��ected areas of Kerala, as permissible under theMPLADS guidelines accordingly,” Ms. Mahajan said.

The two Presiding Offi��cers will also be writing letters to individual membersof both the Houses with thisrequest.

Use MPLADS funds tocontribute, MPs toldVenkaiah Naidu,Mahajan give amonth’s salary


New Delhi

Sumitra Mahajan

The 25 judges of the Supreme Court will contribute ₹��25,000 each for relief and rehabilitationeff��orts in the aftermath ofthe fl��oods in Kerala.

“We are also makingsome contributions to theKerala fl��ood relief. Judgesof this court individuallywill give to the relief effort,” the CJI Dipak Misrasaid.

The apex court highlighted how, besides theimmediate relief work, the“daunting challenge of rehabilitation, reconstructionand restoration of infrastructure” lay ahead for theState and its people.

“In this hour of need,even a small contributionwould go a long way in thequick rehabilitation ofthose aff��ected,” the Supreme Court said.

SC judges contribute₹��25,000 each

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

The CPI(M) on Monday hitout at the selective social media hate campaign fromrightwing affi��liated organisations, persons asking notto donate to the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fundsince the money may go tominorities, and those callingthe Kerala fl��oods the wrathof god for the ongoing case in

the Supreme Court to allowwomen to enter the Sabarimala shrine. The party saidsuch instances showed utterinhumanity.

“A newly appointed RBIboard member, known forhis close contacts with theSangh Parivar, has posted on

social media that the fl��oodsin Kerala are a refl��ection ofgod’s anger on the Sabrimalacase. Others who have carried out campaigns on socialmedia against donations tothe CM’s relief fund havebrought in their communalpolitics, saying don’t donateto the CM relief fund becausethe money will go to minorities alone. This kind of campaign, which is not refutedor criticised by a single leader of the BJP and the RSS,shows their utter inhumanity,” CPI (M) Politburo member Brinda Karat said.

religion or own problemshave been pitching in.

“Some organisationsstand out in their toxic hateful lies and false claims. TheSangh Parivar and the SewaBharati are asking people notto donate [to the] CM’s distress relief fund. The CPI(M)refuses to engage with theirlowlevel politics. For theparty and thousands of Leftvolunteers, the only aim isrescue, relief and rehabilitation. People of Kerala willanswer those who indulge inpolitics of division amidstsuff��ering,” she added.

Ms. Karat’s commentscame after a recent tweet byRBI board member S. Gurumurthy on August 18. “Supreme court judges may liketo see if there is any connection between the case andwhat is happening in Sabarimala. Even if there is one in amillion chance of a link people would not like the casedecided against Ayyappan,”he tweeted.

Ms. Karat said such hatecampaigns should be compared to the rescue workdone by the fi��sherfolk in Kerala, who regardless of their

CPI(M) slams hate campaign on social mediaIt shows utterinhumanity, saysBrinda Karat


New Delhi

Brinda Karat

The Centre has said that theKerala fl��oods were a “calamity of severe nature for allpractical purposes”, keeping in view the intensity andmagnitude of the fl��oods andthe landslips.

Minister of State forHome Kiren Rijiju said thefl��oods were being treated asa natural calamity of severenature but there was nothing to declare it as one.“When the situation becomes unprecedented andextremely diffi��cult to handlein a normal rescue and reliefoperation we treat it thatway [as natural calamity ofsevere nature]. And in Kerala we have already treated itas one,” Mr. Rijiju told TheHindu.

A letter, dated August 16,sent by the Disaster Management division of the UnionHome Ministry to the RajyaSabha Secretariat said the

same. “It is to inform that asper information receivedfrom the State Governmentof Kerala, 247 human liveshave been reported lost and17,343 houses/huts havebeen reported damaged dueto the fl��oods/landslides inthe State during southwestmonsoon 2018. Keeping inview of the intensity andmagnitude of fl��oods /landslides in Kerala, this is a calamity of a severe nature,”the MHA letter said.

Meanwhile, the NationalCrisis Management Committee met for the fi��fth time toreview the rescue and reliefoperations in the State.

It’s a calamity of asevere nature: Centre Special Correspondent

New Delhi

Kiren Rijiju





CMYK

A ND-NDE

EDITORIAL

The rupee’s depreciation tomore than 70 to a dollar justahead of Independence Day

led to historical comparisons ofthe value of the rupee. These canbe misleading, as political freedom did not automatically resultin India’s monetary independencein 1947. The rupee’s associationwith Britain was prolonged by factors beyond India’s control.

On a sterling standard 1931 onwards, the rupee, linked to a depreciating currency, depreciatedalong with the sterling.

War distortionsBritain (and France) declared waron Germany in 1939. In preparation, India’s economy was gearedup by the colonial government towards the war eff��ort through imposition of controls. The fi��rst wasthe exchange control. Completelyconvertible into any currency untilthen, the rupee was made inconvertible. Transferring money outside the sterling area required permission under rules that were laiddown in London. The maze of controls grew as the war went on.

Dollar securities held by privateindividuals were compulsorily acquired, and compensation was inrupees at the market price on anarbitrary date, resulting in lossesto many. The Bank of England(BoE) sold the securities so acquired, adding the dollars to itscoff��ers. Dollars for the war were also raised by selling silver bullionfrom India’s reserves to governments outside the sterling area.

Dollars could be spent on imports of essential consumables,not capital goods. What was essential was defi��ned by the war requirements until 1946, when civilian requirements were included.The restrictions on capital goodsimports continued because theBoE had blocked what were calledIndia’s sterling balances. By theend of World War II, India had accumulated a sizeable sterling balance of £1,300 million — India’searnings in foreign currency on itsexports for the war, deposited inthe BoE in the form of sterling tothe credit of the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) account. The balancehad grown with import controlslimiting forex outfl��ows. The corresponding increase in rupee circulation stoked war infl��ation inIndia.

After the war ended, the transfer of the sterling balances was negotiated between India and Britain. (After Partition, Pakistanjoined the talks.) India’s key nego

tiator, B.K. Nehru, has describedthe protracted settlement in hismemoirs.

Winston Churchill had beenthreatening to write off�� the sterlingbalances. In the fi��rst round of negotiations, in 1946, by which timeChurchill was out of power, theBritish delegation sought a considerable scalingdown of the sterlingbalances. India sought word thatthe sterling — that had becomemuch overvalued — would not bedevalued. The visitors refused.The sterling to them was still thepremium currency against whichother currencies were valued.

The next sterling balances negotiations were held in London in July 1947 against the backdrop of theGovernment of India having beenthrown into chaos by the advancement of the date Independence/Partition to August 15, 1947, fromJune 30, 1948.

After August 15, India and Pakis

tan would have had no forex otherthan the sterling balances to payfor imports. The urgency of reaching an agreement increased. Theimpossibility of a writeoff�� was accepted. But limits were placed ontheir use by the two countries — asunrestricted spending would haverun the British balance of payments, and consequently its economy, to the ground.

Under this interim agreement,India could spend from the balances in dollars, as Britain hadagreed to make the pound convertible under the terms of a loanfrom the U.S. But Britain soon repudiated the convertibility clause,in turn altering the character ofthe agreement entered into withIndia. Pound convertibility wasruled out by the sorry state of British production after the war years.Pentup demand for consumergoods could only be met with imports from the U.S. Pound convertibility would have exhausted British forex reserves.

A delegation was sent back toLondon to renegotiate the convertible portion of the sterling balances. It returned emptyhanded. Thenegotiations were concluded inthe summer of 1949, after the completion of the bitter separation ofIndian and Pakistani fi��nances. (TillJuly 1, 1948, the RBI continued asthe central banker for the Government of Pakistan. India nationalised the RBI on January 1, 1949.)

The Indian side, led by FinanceMinister John Mathai, agreed totwo types of deductions from thesterling balances. First, towardsthe pensions of former Britishmembers of the ICS. Second, thevalue of military equipment, regardless of the condition andworth, the British forces had leftbehind. The subtractions added to£100 million.

Limits were placed on howmuch could be drawn in a givenperiod from the balances.

The Cripps missionAt the talks, the British side gavecredible warnings of an imminentsterling devaluation. India failed tocapitalise on them. The telegram,‘For ( Jawaharlal) Nehru from Attlee’, received on September 21,1949, announcing a devaluationfrom $4.03 to the pound to $2.8 tothe pound, took India completelyby surprise. It eff��ectively wrote off��a third of the sterling balances.B.K. Nehru noted that Churchill’sthreat was partially achieved byStaff��ord Cripps, then Chancellorof the Exchequer. India devaluedthe rupee proportionally: from₹��3.309 to a dollar to ₹��4.762.

The sterling was fl��oated againstthe major international currenciesin the early 1970s, the rupee as lateas 19931994. The two currencieswere delinked in 1975.

Puja Mehra is a Delhi-based journalist

A brief history of the rupeeAs the currency trades at around 70 to the dollar, a recap of its revaluation soon after Independence

GE

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Puja Mehra

more letters online:

www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

Intelligence is often referred toas the ‘missing dimension’when there is a failure to antici

pate critical developments of apolitical and strategic nature. History is replete with many such instances. In recent times, renowned historians likeChristopher Andrew have alsotalked of a lack of ‘theologians’compounding this situation. Combined, these are seen as reasonsfor failing to anticipate many ofthe serious developments thattook place during the late 20thand early 21st centuries.

To this day, for instance, manystill wonder how the West and itsintelligence agencies failed to realise the dimensions of Iran’s religious revolution, leading to the establishment of a theocratic stateunder Ayatollah Khomeini. In retrospect, the Iranian Revolutionwas much larger than most previous secular uprisings, includingthe French Revolution. The generally accepted view, hence, is thatintelligence agencies and policymakers are usually unable to recognise the potential of movements about which they know little or understand even less.

Grave lacunaIntelligence analysts are better off��when it comes to matters arisingfrom more pedantic issues andevents. For example, in the case ofnondenominational terrorism,which has been around for a longtime, intelligence is better placedto understand its dimensions thanthat of religiousoriented terrorism. Any number of instances canbe cited, wherein agencies failedto understand the emerging dimensions of religiousorientedterrorism.

Hardly any intelligence agencyin the mid20th century was ableto comprehend the danger posedby the teachings of Islamist scholar, Sayyid Qutb. Few saw in whathe said the seeds of allembracingreligious terrorism that wouldplague the world for years tocome. Today, no doubt, it is possible to see the connection betweenQutb’s views and the establishment of alQaeda, and how histeachings spawned an entire generation of Islamist terrorists.

It was only after alQaeda carried out its spectacular attack onthe World Trade Center in NewYork in 2001, that the world trulywoke up to this reality. The failureor inability to piece together missing pieces of nonsecularthought, leading to a lack of understanding of the expanding saga ofrevolutionary violence, mostly ofthe religious variety, constitutesone of the most spectacular failures of intelligence in moderntimes.

Ethnicoriented violence andterrorism is no less sanguinary inmany instances, as the history of‘peoples’ uprisings’ in diff��erentparts of the world confi��rms. Someof the better known struggles ofrecent times, such as that of theKurds in West Asia, have attractedinternational attention. Many others, however, have had a more limited shelf life. Some are based onlocal grievances, and many aresponsored by outside forces anxious to create turbulence and disorder in another country. Hardlyany of them, however, have thesame broad sweep or appeal as religiousoriented terrorism, especially Islamist terrorism. This isnot to say that they do not pose athreat, or that the danger theypose is any less.

What is apparent as one surveysthe global scene today is that thenumber and variety of terrorgroups is larger and more widespread than at any time previously.Ideology remains the main sourceof violent extremism. When intert

wined with religious extremism, itbecomes an even more potentmixture. Behavioural patternscontribute to escalation, fromgrievance redress to mobilisation,and on to violent extremism.

The Islamic State Consequently, any premature celebrations of the socalled destruction of the Islamic State (IS) ‘Caliphate’ would be uncalled for. ISstormtroopers have moved fromstrongholds in Syria and Iraq tocountries across Europe, Asia andAfrica. Many regional franchiseslinking individual IS and alQaedagroups are already in the works.

As the IS lost ground in Syriaand Iraq, parts of Africa becamethe new battleground. More than adozen African countries acrosstwo broad belts of Africa — fromSomalia and Kenya in the eastthrough Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal in the west— are facing a wave of Islamist terrorism. During the past two years,unverifi��ed reports indicate thedeaths of more than 10,000, andthe battle continues in unrelentingfashion.

Boko Haram, a onetime affi��liateof the IS, has been even more sanguinary than the IS or alQaeda. AlShabab in Somalia, the Jama’atNusrat alIslam wal Muslimeen inMali, and several others continueto thrive in parts of Africa.

Afghanistan is the other mainepicentre of radicalised Islamistterror. The years 2017 and 2018have been particularly bad interms of the number of terror attacks and casualties resulting fromthese attacks. In a single month inJanuary this year, terrorists be

longing to disparate terror organisations, including the IS, carriedout four major terror attacks, killing over 160 people. In succeedingmonths, there have been severalsimilar attacks, leading to thedeaths of many more civilians andsoldiers. Killings have been indiscriminate and a majority featuresuicide bombers. Targets tend tobe indiscriminate; in a recent suicide attack, the target was a convoy of Sikhs and Hindus on theirway to meet the President of Afghanistan in Jalalabad city inwhich at least 19 persons werekilled.

Given the climate of violence,and the determination of radicalgroups to wage war, India cannotaff��ord to be oblivious to what ishappening around us. It cannot afford the luxury of amnesia, giventhe kind of terror threats that wefaced in the past.

The ‘Khalistan’ revivalVery recently, we have seen a manifest attempt by Sikh extremistgroups residing in Canada and theU.S. to revive the demand for Khalistan and of selfdetermination forSikhs. They have the backing ofsections of the Sikh community inthe U.K. as well. As a result, a freshwave of Sikh radicalisation is beginning to be seen in quite a fewWestern nations.

The August 12 proKhalistan rally in London, sponsored by a bodystyling itself as ‘Sikhs for Justice’based in the U.S. has the backingof the U.K.based Khalistan SikhFederation and the Dal Khalsa. It isthe clearest sign yet of the resurgence of proKhalistan sentiments.The August event has come in thewake of proKhalistani activistsripping off�� the Indian fl��ag in Parliament Square, London during theIndian Prime Minister’s visit earlier this year. A revitalised movement for a separate Sikh state cancause problems within India,sooner rather than later.

India is currently preoccupiedwith terror attacks from Pakistan,

and the role of organisations suchas the JaisheMohammed ( JeM)and the LashkareTaiba (LeT) insponsoring terror attacks fromacross the border. Notwithstanding this, India must not be oblivious to attacks from other radicalIslamist sources. According to reports, both the IS and alQaeda areengaged in a fi��erce competition toenlarge their activities in India.There are also attempts beingmade to secure more recruits fromIndia. The territorial demise of theIS in Syria and Iraq is likely to exacerbate insurgencies elsewhere, aswas witnessed after the ‘Afghan Jihad’ in the 1980s and 1990s. Militants fl��eeing the ‘Caliphate’ couldenlarge the ranks of those alreadypresent. As it is, there are reportsfrom many nations in the West ofstray attacks by returning IS recruits from the Syrian and Iraqibattlefi��elds — in cities as far apartas London, Toronto and Paris.

It is important to appreciate thefact that the strength of Islamistterror groups, and especially thatof the IS, lies not only in their military capabilities but more in theirideology and propaganda. Jihadand martyrdom continue to infl��uence young Muslims to jointheir fold. Socalled polarisationand the plight of religious minorities present them opportunities aswell as soft targets.

No time for complacencyThe enduring message is that

the ideological battle against religiouslyoriented terror groups likethe IS is far from over. No shortcuts are available as of now. Aboveall, India must realise that some ofthe world’s top 10 most wantedterrorists are located in its vicinity(the Haqqani brothers, LeT ChiefHafi��z Saeed, JeM leader MasoodAzhar and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi). India, hence, cannot aff��ord tobe complacent.

M.K. Narayanan is a former National

Security Adviser and a former Governor

of West Bengal

An enduring threatIntelligence agencies have a terrible track record in anticipating religious-oriented terrorism

M.K. Narayanan

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Sidhu’s Pakistan visit

I wonder why Navjot SinghSidhu, who is a Minister inthe Punjab government, isnow the target of muchcriticism just because hehugged Pakistan Army chiefGen. Qamar Javed Bajwaduring Imran Khan’sswearingin as the PrimeMinister of Pakistan(“Wrong of Sidhu to hugPak. Army chief, saysAmarinder”, August 20). Itis silly to question aperson’s patriotism becauseof this act. When South Korea andAmerica could hold directtalks with North Korea —which made it a point tomaintain bitterness allaround — there is nothingwrong in Mr. Sidhu’sgesture. It is a fact thatPakistan is a troublesomecountry, but that does not

mean that an inimicalstance needs to bemaintained all the time.Sports and culturalprogrammes are great stepsthat can help usher inpeace between any twowarring nations. T. Anand Raj,

Chennai

■ The controversy is not onlyan overreaction but alsouncalled for. Punjab ChiefMinister Amarinder Singhtoo is only playing to thegallery with his publicdisapproval of whathappened. But moreridiculous is the BJP’sdemand for Mr. Sidhu’sresignation; the party needsto be reminded of formerPrime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee inviting thenPakistan President GeneralPervez Musharaff��, the

architect of the Kargilconfl��ict, for a summit at Agraas a diplomatic gesture toimprove bilateral relations.Even though it turned out tobe a fl��op, the Oppositionthen did not demandVajpayee’s resignation. Weneed to grow as a nation andnot get worked up over suchtrivialities. S.K. Choudhury,

Bengaluru

■ The hue and cry in somequarters over Mr. Sidhu’sgesture is perhapsunjustifi��ed. It has to beconstrued as a spontaneousgesture. When India hasaccorded Pakistan the ‘MostFavoured Nation’ (MFN)status, and when thegovernment clarifi��ed inJanuary this year that therewas no proposal to withdrawthe MFN status to Pakistan, —

according to a written replyby Minister of State forExternal Aff��airs M.J. Akbar tothe Rajya Sabha — whyquestion Mr. Sidhu’s gesture?. As long as we maintaindiplomatic ties withPakistan, all such actions areto be viewed through theprism of diplomacy. Mudgal Venkatesh,

Kalaburagi, Karnataka

■ The actions and utterancesof Mr. Sidhu show theCongress party in a bad light.Was he trying to emulate hisparty president? TheCongress president needs torein in his partymen, whichis a tall order given thatRahul Gandhi attacks thePrime Minister almost everyday without rhyme orreason. The Congress isdesperate and is shootingitself in the foot with the

Christian lyrics set toCarnatic music. It is alwaysthe ignorant who createspurious schisms in societyand use them to further theirbigoted agendas. Anyonewilling to investigate thematter dispassionately willinvariably come up with anuanced narrative. To use asuniversal a language as musicto drive a wedge betweenpeople can only be the workof diseased minds. Amidst allthis, the deafening silence ofboth the purveyors ofCarnatic music as well as thecognoscenti who fl��ock tomainstream concerts isworrying. Those who knowbetter should never allowlumpen elements to takeover such discourses. S. Bhashyam,

Bengaluru

strange actions andutterances of its leaders andcadre. C.M. Umanath,

Kozhikode

A collaboration

Carnatic music has noreligion, which the writer hassuccinctly brought out(Editorial page, “A chronicleof collaboration”, August20). It is the mindset andmilieu which have changedrecently, whichunfortunately have resultedin the present atmosphere ofmanufactured hate thatsome people are trying toexploit. Please leave Carnaticmusic alone.S. Viswanathan,

Chennai

■ It is good to see that sanityis being restored in theongoing debate on singing

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

The Iraqi Supreme Court’s ratifi��cation of the re

sults of the May 12 parliamentary election has set

the stage for government formation. After claims

of widespread irregularities during voting, Iraqi law

makers had ordered a recount. The only change after

the recount is that the AlFatah bloc, which had come

second with 47 seats, now has 48, gaining one from the

Baghdad Coalition. The Sairoon Alliance led by fi��re

brand Shia cleric Muqtada alSadr remains the largest

bloc with 54 seats, while incumbent Prime Minister

Haider alAbadi’s Victory Alliance has 42. Now that the

results are offi��cial, lawmakers have about 90 days to

elect a Prime Minister. The MPs must elect the Speaker

in the fi��rst session of Parliament. Within 30 days they

are to elect, with a twothirds majority, the next Presi

dent. The President will then, within 15 days, ask the

largest coalition’s representative to form the govern

ment. The Prime Ministerdesignate will have 30 days

to come back to Parliament to approve a Cabinet, with

each member required to be approved by a majority

vote. If this process fails, the President has 15 more days

to invite another candidate to be Prime Minister. A wor

kable coalition will need the support of 165 MPs in the

329member House.

For now, four Shia blocs — Mr. Sadr’s Sairoon that in

cludes the Sadrist movement and the Iraqi Communist

Party; Mr. Abadi’s Victory Alliance; Shia cleric Ammar

alHakim’s National Wisdom Movement; and secular

politician Ayad Allawi’s Wataniyah — have formed a

grand alliance. This Shia coalition has the support of

about 140 lawmakers, and has sought support from oth

er parties. The second largest bloc, Hadi alAmiri’s pro

Iran Fatah Alliance, is yet to join hands with Mr. Sadr.

During the campaign, Mr. Sadr had attacked the grow

ing infl��uence of the U.S. and Iran in Iraq. Fatah, made

up of the Irantrained Popular Mobilisation Forces that

were at the forefront of the battle against the Islamic

State, ran a proIran campaign. In June, Mr. Sadr and

Mr. Amiri had announced a surprise alliance in Najaf,

but later Fatah backed out. If Mr. Sadr’s grand coalition

does not get Fatah on its side, it will have to seek sup

port from Kurdish or Sunni parties. Mr. Sadr cannot be

come Prime Minister as he did not contest. But being

the leader of the largest bloc, he will play a crucial role

in selecting the Prime Minister and setting the agenda

for the government. His nationalist, propoor rhetoric

during the campaign focussed on policies independent

of foreign interference. The next government’s biggest

early task is to improve security and address Sunni re

sentment in the north against the Shia elite in Baghdad.

Mr. Abadi’s government has succeeded in regaining ter

ritories from the IS, but the task of reaccommodating

Sunnis into the national mainstream remains.

Muqtada’s turn?The decks have been cleared

for government formation in Iraq

Negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Eco

nomic Partnership, among 16 Asian and Pacifi��c

Ocean countries, have entered a decisive phase.

Most potential membercountries of the grouping, that

comprises the 10 ASEAN members and their Free Trade

Agreement partners, Australia, China, India, Japan,

New Zealand and Republic of Korea, would like to see a

“substantive agreement” on the trade deal by the end of

this year. At a meeting in Singapore, which is driving

the eff��ort as the current ASEAN chair, countries which

still have issues with the outline of the agreements

reached so far may be told politely to step aside and al

low a smaller group to go ahead with fi��nalising the

RCEP, with the option to join it at a later date. India is

among the countries that will have to take a call at this

point, and the government’s decision to set up a group

of four ministers to advise Prime Minister Narendra Mo

di on the path ahead indicates the seriousness of the sit

uation. India’s concerns with RCEP negotiations thus

far are manifold, but some have been addressed. The

fi��rst is the greater access Chinese goods will have to the

Indian market, a problem given India’s massive trade

defi��cit. To circumvent this, given that India is the one

country that doesn’t have an FTA with China, the go

vernment has proposed a “diff��erential market access”

strategy for China, which others are inclined to accept.

After the Wuhan summit, India and China have made

progress on addressing the trade defi��cit, with China in

creasing access for Indian goods such as pharma and

agricultural products. The second concern is about de

mands by other RCEP countries for lower customs du

ties on a number of products and greater access to the

market than India has been willing to provide. On the

other hand, the more developed RCEP countries such

as Australia and Singapore have been unwilling to ac

commodate India’s demands to liberalise their services

regime and allow freer mobility of Indian workers.

Naturally, none of this is made easier by the fact that

some of the RCEP countries, including India, are head

ed for elections next year, a point where governments

traditionally turn protectionist. Despite these con

cerns, the government must take into account the deep

er strategic pitfalls of either slowing down India’s RCEP

engagement or walking out of the talks at this stage. Do

ing so would cut India out of the rulesmaking process

for the RCEP and give China further space in the region

al trade and security architecture. At a time when the

U.S. has broken from the global concord on multilateral

trade agreements, an Indian walkout would endanger

the united message that RCEP countries, which repre

sent 40% of the global GDP, would wish to send out. It

would also be a sharp departure from India’s “Act East”

slogan and its extended outreach to ASEAN.

Stay with RCEPIndia must not take the easiest way out

on the trade deal and walk out of talks





CMYK

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OPED

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DATA POINT

The Union Defence Minister, Mr. Swaran Singh today [August20, New Delhi] turned down as unacceptable and untenablethe suggestions for the confederation of India and Pakistan.Answering a volley of questions arising from a calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha on Pakistan’s military preparations, the Defence Minister said: “With the type of tension thatnow exists, with their (Pakistan’s) forces in Jammu and Kashmir and with their throwing to the wind their obligations under the Tashkent agreement the proposal is untenable.” Mr.Swaran Singh stated that the two countries were sovereign andany suggestion that would compromise the sovereignty of thecountry would not be acceptable to India or Pakistan.

FIFTY YEARS AGO AUGUST 21, 1968

Indo-Pak confederation suggestion untenable

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FROM ARCHIVES

Yesterday [August 19] forenoon at 1030, a European Lady residing at No. 8 Waterloo Street [Calcutta], with her husband,Mr. W.B. Monk, was found dead with a bullet wound on herhead and a fi��ve chambered revolver lying by her side on thefl��oor. The deceased who was about 44 years old had been married about 19 years and there is a son who is being educated inEngland. It is stated that at about 1030 A.M. on Monday whenMr. Monk was putting on his hat to go to offi��ce his wife shoutedout something and immediately afterwards he heard the report of a revolver shot. He ran into the dining room whence heheard the report and found his wife lying motionless on thefl��oor. Near her side was a fi��ve chambered revolver.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO AUGUST 21, 1918.

Suicide by Revolver Shot.

Schelling pointGame theory

This refers to the commonsolution to a problem thatis chosen by individuals ina group when there is anabsence of coordinationbetween them. In otherwords, it refers to people’sexpectations of what others expect them to do inthe absence of suffi��cientinformation to coordinatetheir actions. Two strangers agreeing to meet in alarge city, but without anypredetermined time or venue, for instance, mightdecide to gather at a prominent locality of the cityat a signifi��cant moment. Itis named after Americaneconomist Thomas Schelling who proposed it in his1960 book, The Strategy ofConfl��ict.

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CONCEPTUAL

Kerala fl��oods: In

conversation with the

Ernakulam District

Collector

http://bit.ly/keralainterview

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MORE ON

THE WEB 3

In 2014, Prime Minister NarendraModi pledged to clean the “fi��lthinessall around us”, which, according tohim, is an obstacle for promoting thetourism that off��ers jobs to the poorest of the poor. Mr. Modi announcedhis government’s resolve to accomplish the vision of a clean India by2019, on the 150th birth anniversaryof Gandhi. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan(SBA) was an unprecedented nationwide initiative aimed to inspire thepublic to voluntarily clean publicspaces as a service to the nation. Thecampaign initially highlighted images of celebrities “voluntarily” sweeping the streets, in protective gear. Circulated by a pliable commercialmedia, these images trended on social media. Concurrently, municipalities began to employ more contractual labourers — mostly scavengersforced into the profession by theircaste — to remove waste.

Adopting the Western approachThis approach is an uncritical adoption of the 19th century Western model of removing waste from the public gaze. Although stopping thespread of disease was the primary intention in the West, sanitation is nowlargely an extension of visual aesthetics — sanitation means the absence of“fi��lthiness all around us”.

The West introduced technologiesto systematically remove waste. Forexample, when Londoners experienced the ‘Great Stink’ in 1858, thegovernment realised that it wouldneed a holistic sewerage plan, whichwould become part of the Londonwater infrastructure, to remove fi��lthand treat waste from the riverThames in a sustainable way. Soon,the construction of toilets in households and shops became mandatory.

The Swachh Bharat campaignhardly addresses a reworking of theunderground sewerage system. Thisis a cause for grave concern, sincemany labourers have died recentlywhile cleaning jammed manholesthat open into the sewerage system.Most disturbingly, these deaths havea caste pattern. According to a replyby the Ministry of Social Justice and

Empowerment to the Lok Sabha inDecember 2017, over 300 cases ofdeaths due to manual scavenging,mostly from particular caste groups,were reported that year.

Punitive measures should exhortthe public to learn where and howone should urinate, defecate and dispose of garbage. The campaign, however, burdens the contractual labourer with an ‘exclusive’ right tocleaning public spaces, while makingit a voluntary act for the ‘public’ tonot defecate, urinate or litter in random spaces.

In India, waste carries the stigmathat is attached to pollution andcaste, as does the process of removal(‘scavenging’), and the occupation(‘scavenger’). The waste remover inIndia is not a professional, like in theWest. Also stigmatised are the spacesin which the removal takes place andwhere the waste is disposed. All ofthese are considered to be contaminated by caste pollution. In short,stigma resides in the profession, thelabour, the body, and in the space.

In the past, municipalities erectedbins in common places for shops andhouseholds to dispose of waste.These bins were the fi��rst to be removed, as the mission off��ered doortodoor collection. Workers are nowexpected to whistle to announcetheir presence upon arrival in theirdesignated areas. Thereafter, members from the households bring unsegregated garbage, workers collectthose in a sack, and store garbage ina designated place from where it istaken to the composting yard. Theworkers, as per the campaign, haveto go to the yard to segregate thewaste. Manually segregating thewaste at the landfi��ll compromises

their hygiene and health.The doortodoor service has dark

er undertones. Until they werebanned in 1993, dry latrines wereemptied through a similar doortodoor service. On arrival, the municipal servant would blow a whistle andthe respective houses would moveaway from their toilet bowl or pots,which she would come to emptythrough an exclusive entrance. Thewhistle does not merely announcethe presence of the worker; it alsoannounces the presence of a lowercaste body from whom all contacthas to be avoided. The contemporary whistle echoes older practices,where members of the lower casteshad to whistle, ululate, etc., whilewalking in public spaces in order towarn caste Hindus from crossingtheir paths. As much as the waste itself, it is the presence of the body ofthe ‘scavenger’ which is seen as polluting by the larger public. This notion has a spatial correlate — toiletsare usually built away from livingspaces; this is the case even today.

In Agraharams (exclusive Brahminquarters), and even in some nonBrahmin households, for example,toilets are constructed behind thehouse so that the scavenger is ‘unseeable’ while walking down an ‘exclusive’ lane to the toilet to empty thebucket. Similarly, traditional Indianhouses had toilets that were often located at the boundary of the compound with an exclusive path for the‘scavengers’. Clearly, Hindu notionsof pollution on the one hand, andsecular notions of stigma on the other, infl��uenced the building of toilets.

This particular trait refl��ected incolonial architecture as well. The Indian Institute of Advanced Study in

Shimla, which was formerly calledthe Viceregal Lodge, has three entrances: one for residents and guests,one for servants, and one exclusivelyfor sweepers and scavengers. Thesweepers’ pathways — which form aninvisible and intricate network ofcorridors, stairwells and gangplanksleading to the many toilets in thebuilding — have now been closed off��.Signifi��cantly, in colonial Indian architecture, the scavengers’/sweepers’staircase did not intersect with theservants’ staircase. The original planning document of the ViceregalLodge has clear references to this secluded pathway.

It is signifi��cant that ‘toilets’ are notviewed as essential parts of buildingsand public architecture in India. Forinstance, the Delhi Metro did not include toilets in all the stations in itsoriginal plan. It was only after a PILthat the Delhi High Court directedthe Metro authorities to constructtoilets and provide other facilities inall stations. This ‘oversight’ is onlycompounded by the location of thetoilets. For instance, temples usuallydid not construct toilets. And whenthey are constructed, they are builtaway from the boundary.

Addressing the stigmaSimilarities between the secular SBAand the casteist form of manual scavenging are evident, but they havegone unnoticed. The secular sounding Swachh Bharat off��ers nothing butconcealment of caste. The SBA enables a disjunction between the cleaning and disposing of waste, wherethe cleaning is a voluntary ‘service’which caste Hindus are called uponto undertake, while collecting anddisposing waste is a ‘duty’ relegatedto municipal workers from particularcastes. Any tangible achievement ofa clean India is possible only if thestigma attached to sanitary labour,place and waste are critically addressed by casteneutralising theseprofessions and through adoption oftechnologies. Until then we are unlikely to succeed in any mission tokeep our cities clean. Even if we succeed in putting up a façade of cleanliness, we need to remember that aclean village exists because an ‘unclean’ caste has absorbed all the‘fi��lth’ of the village.

Ravichandran Bathran is the founder of the

YouTube channel, Dalit Camera

(@dalitcamera). Email: ravi.ciefl��@gmail.com

The profession of of waste removal needs to be made caste-neutral through adoption of technologies

What Swachh Bharat Abhiyan ignores

Ravichandran Bathran

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Climate change has the potential to disruptand reshape lives. There are several alarming predictions about its impact. The UN Sustainable Goals Report, 2018 notes that climate change is among the key factors inrising hunger and human displacement. TheWorld Health Organisation estimates that climate change will cause an additional250,000 deaths per year between 2030 and2050, due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress. Undoubtedly, much ofthis loss will be accounted for by lowincomegroups in developing nations, including India. The World Bank projects that climatechange could cost India 2.8% of its GDP, anddiminish living standards for nearly half thecountry’s population, in the next30odd years.

These bleak scenarios raisequestions. Do those most at riskknow about climate change? Isthere suffi��cient awareness aboutits causes, especially about anthropogenic contributions? Dovulnerable groups know the manifestations of climate change,and are they aware that it could potentiallyaff��ect the health, livelihoods and lives oftheir families and communities, of presentand future generations?

Various initiativesSeveral initiatives have been implemented tocreate awareness about climate change —about how to mitigate it and adapt to it. In1991, the Supreme Court directed the Centralgovernment and all State governments toprovide compulsory environmental education to all students in schools and colleges.This directive was reiterated in 2003 (M.CMehta v. Union of India). Corporate organisations, research and education institutes,NGOs and foundations have committedthemselves to educating people about climate change and providing the knowhowfor mitigation, adaptation and resiliencebuilding. These initiatives target urban andrural populations including schoolgoing children. Their thrust ranges from inculcatingthe concept of environmental sustainabilityto driving home the impact of climatechange on food, water, nutrition and health.

However, despite these eff��orts, and the

reach of the court’s order, climate changeseems to fi��nd low salience in everyday livesand conversations. Most of the country’splans for vulnerable populations are directed towards poverty alleviation, improvingliving standards, enhancing access to education, sanitation, healthcare and ensuring human rights. Climate change fi��nds little mention. It must receive greater prominencebecause the lives of a large number of thepopulation is at risk. It is important that theyknow how to address and minimise the risksthey face. So, what more can be done?

The way forwardAt present, climate change does not fi��ndspecifi��c mention in Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013. However, if it were to be articulated and specifi��ed as an activity for corporate social responsibility (CSR), ratherthan be implied in the umbrella term of environmental sustainability, organisations maybe encouraged to view it with increased importance and clarity and lend more weight

to creating awareness, mitigationand resiliencebuilding. ScheduleVII would then need to be amended from “ensuring environmentalsustainability, ecological balance,protection of fl��ora and fauna, animal welfare, agroforestry, conservation of natural resources andmaintaining quality of soil, air andwater” to include climate change

as an area for investment. Scaling up current initiatives of the corpo

rate and social sectors to regional or nationallevels would be an early, albeit challenging,solution. Eff��orts on this front could be facilitated and amplifi��ed by companies’ CSR activities. The National CSR Data Portal reportscorporate spends on environment, animalwelfare and conservation of resources to be₹��801 crore in 201415 and ₹��912 crore in 201516. Clearly, business organisations are willingto invest their money in issues related to theenvironment. Similarly, the fi��lm industrycould consider ways to incorporate key aspects of climate change in fi��lms, writerscould introduce climate change in adult andchildren’s literature, and gaming companiescould develop games on this theme.

Given the startling forecasts about the impact of climate change, it is the need of thehour to educate and equip both rural and urban communities to build resilience againstnatural disasters, adapt to environmentalchanges, and manage potential risk.

Sohini Mitra is a Bengalurubased market researchprofessional. Email: [email protected]

Educating people aboutclimate change Vulnerable populations should be made aware of thepotential risks and how to cope with them

Sohini Mitra

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To rename the 150yearold Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh after Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, who was mysteriouslyfound dead on the railway trackclose to the station in 1968, doesn’tmake much sense if the objective is

to systematically erase Mughal history. Islamic and Hinducultures mingled in India for centuries, leaving a plethora ofshared or overlapping nomenclature — too many to wipeout. How far do we go back in history and what do wechoose to excise?

Yet this prominent example is but one in a long list of stations, roads and other venues that are slowly and steadilybeing renamed. Are we witnessing a movement that seeks torewrite or erase parts of history?

Some seek to justify this process and draw parallels tomovements in other countries, such as the movementagainst Confederate monuments and memorials in the U.S.,or the movement to bring down the Cecil Rhodes statue inOxford in the U.K. But these are not the same. In the U.S.,fi��erce debates continue to rage over allowing Confederatestatues — symbols of the country’s dark history of slaveryand white supremacy — to stand, and parks bearing thenames of Confederate leaders have been renamed JusticePark and Emancipation Park. The net impact has been tobring a measure of solace or closure to those who suff��eredracist attacks. And in the U.K., students have led protests tobring down the statute of Cecil Rhodes, the BritishoriginPrime Minister of Cape Colony who espoused racist views,yet left behind a generous and lasting corpus of funds inhigher education. This hints at a broader social realisation ofthe legacy of colonialist racism.

In India, the last of the Mughals became the symbolicleaders of a revolt against white rulers. Yet, Aurangzeb, notthe most popular of Mughal rulers in public memory, hasbeen so demonised in school textbooks that alternativereadings of him have become impossible. As historian Narayani Gupta once remarked to this newspaper, “Ultimately,it comes down to the appalling way we teach history interms of good and bad kings. It shows a lack of imagination,a lack of a sense of history, a smallness of mind.”

The clamour for renaming roads is also unlike the movement to erase the names of British rulers from the roads ofDelhi. Colonialism diff��ered from Mughal rule in that the British government’s motives were resource extraction and strategic control. Thus, an argument could be made for relabelling roads named Chelmsford, Curzon, and Connaught afterIndian leaders. However, isn’t India’s Mughal legacy an indispensable part of its history, culture and cuisine? Thereare always new roads and railway stations waiting to benamed after Indian leaders. So, why attempt to wish awayhistory?

The writer is an Associate Editor with The Hindu in New Delhi

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SINGLE FILE

Erasing the pastWhy rename old roads and stations when new ones are waiting to be named?

Anuradha Raman

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parliamentary electionsfrom 2003 onwards. Theycompiled dynastic connections using the nomination papers of the candidates, and combinedthat with the data collected by Patrick French (whohad also tabulated dynastic politicians before2014). In order to studythe outcomes of the presence of dynastic and nondynastic candidates, theauthors restricted thecomparison betweenthem to closely contestedraces, as in such racesthere are no particularreasons for a candidate’sclose victory over his/ herimmediate competitor.

The authors measuredthe following variables tostudy the impact of thewinning candidate: nightlight variation (as a proxyfor economic growth); public goods distribution (effi��cacy of public schemeseff��ected by the legislator,such as availability ofschools, healthcare services, and so on); and subjec

Dynastic politics is an oftrepeated term in Indianpolitical discourse. Mostmajor political parties arehelmed by people who arethe sons, daughters or relatives of prominent leaders. At the parliamentaryconstituency level, howdoes a dynastic politicianperform, both duringelections and as a legislator, compared to othercandidates who do notcome from dynasties? Thisis the question that researchers Siddharth Eapen George and DominicPonattu sought to answerin their working paper,“How do political dynasties aff��ect economic development? Theory and Evidence from India”. It wasrecently presented at theAnnual Bank Conferenceon Development Economies hosted by the WorldBank.

The researchers lookedat 1,05,000 Indian politicians across Assembly and

tive responses in surveyswhen people were askedabout a legislator’s performance. They found thatthe performance of dynastic politicians and legislators was poorer comparedto nondynastic ones in allthe three categories. Thisfi��nding is consistent withstudies in other democracies.

The authors concludedthat dynasts are overrepresented in Indian politics as they have electoraladvantages, but “dynasticdescendants underperform in offi��ce”. This is because while dynasts inherit voters easily from theirpredecessors, the veryfact of a loyal vote basecould “mute performanceincentives”, thereby lowering their performancelevels.

Interestingly, the authors also found that politicians who have sons perform better in offi��ce,which suggests that this isan incentive to establish adynasty (“bequesting”).

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ABSTRACT

Dynasties and development Comparing dynastic and non-dynastic politicians

Srinivasan Ramani


CMYK

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NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

The State government hasconvened an allparty meeting on Tuesday to discussthe fl��ood havoc.

Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan said the rescue operations would continue tillthe last of the marooned victims were brought to safety.

Responding to a publicinterest petition in the HighCourt, Assistant SolicitorGeneral N. Nagaresh saidthere was no provision inthe statute or manuals to declare a disaster as ‘NationalCalamity.’ He, however, saidthe Centre considered thefl��ood situation in Kerala as adisaster of serious nature.

The Union Ministry ofHealth airlifted 52 tonnes ofemergency medicines toKerala.

Another 20 tonnes wason the way, the National Crisis Management Committeewhich met in New Delhi wasinformed.

A consignment of bleaching powder and chlorine tablets would be despatchedon Tuesday and 12 medicalteams were put on standby.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said ithad sanctioned 12,000 KL ofkerosene for Kerala andmade arrangements for dis

tribution of LPG cylinders.The Chief Minister said

volunteers had been enlisted to clean up damagedhouses. Electrical andplumbing jobs would bedone free of cost and hospitals supplied with antivenom to deal with snakebites.

Mr. Vijayan said the Statewould require almost asmuch as the annual Planoutlay of ₹��37,248 crore forreconstruction of infrastructure.

He said the Central government was expected toprovide assistance to helpthe State tide over the crisis.

Revenue Minister E.Chandrasekharan said allfl��ood victims would be compensated for losses based onreports and verifi��cation byrevenue authorities.

The State Level BankersCommittee which met hereon Monday announced amoratorium on repaymentof interest on crop loans fora period of one year.

Based on a request fromAgriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, the committee also resolved to restructurethe repayment of the loanamount over a period of fi��veyears.

Road, rail servicespartially restored

Stating that Pakistan wantsto resolve all issues with India through talks, Mr. Qureshi said, “We need a continued, uninterrupteddialogue. It is the only wisecourse for us.”

Mr. Qureshi, who is alsovicepresident of the Pakistan TehreekeInsaf, said External Aff��airs Minister Sushma Swaraj had sent a letteron Sunday to congratulatePrime Minister Imran Khanand mentioned talks to resolve issues.

“I welcome her letter,” hesaid.

Responding to ExternalAff��airs Minister SushmaSwaraj’s letter, he said, “Iwant to say to Indian Foreign Minister that we arenot only neighbours but also nuclear powers. We haveold issues and we bothknow what these issues are.We need to address these issues,” Mr. Qureshi said.

The Foreign Minister saidthe two countries could notaff��ord any adventurism dueto close proximity. “We cannot aff��ord any adventurismas response time is so short.The only option is to engagewith each other. We cannotlive in enmity and we haveto accept that there are outstanding issues,” he said.

He said Kashmir is an issue and both countriesknow about it. “Whether wewish or not, Kashmir is anissue and both countrieshave recognised it. In myopinion there is no optionother than talks to resolveit,” he said. He said formerprime minsiter Atal BihariVajpayee visited Lahore andIslamabad and recognisedthe reality of Pakistan andthe issue of Kashmir.

Growing divideMr. Qureshi has had an earlier stint as foreign ministerfrom 2008 to 2011 under thePakistan Peoples Party(PPP) government duringthe Mumbai terror attacks.He was in New Delhi when10 Pakistanbased LeT terro

rists attacked India’s fi��nancial capital.

The IndiaPakistan tieshave nosedived in recentyears with no bilateral talkstaking place. The ties further deteriorated after the terror attacks by Pakistanbased groups in 2016 and India’s surgical strikes insidePakistanoccupied Kashmir.The sentencing of allegedIndian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to death by a militarycourt in April last year added to the strain.

Message for KabulOn Afghanistan, Mr. Qureshisaid he will make a phonecall to the foreign ministerof Afghanistan and also visitKabul with a “solid message” that both countrieshave the same destiny.“There will be no peace inPakistan without peace inAfghanistan,” he said.

“I want to tell people ofAfghanistan to understandeach other’s problems andbilaterally try to resolve allissues,” he said.

Talking about relationswith the U.S., the foreign minister said there is a trustdefi��cit between the twocountries but Pakistanwants to have good tiesbased on its interests.

Economic diplomacyMr. Qureshi said the foreignpolicy of the new government will be based on theinterests of Pakistan and itcan be fi��netuned accordingto the needs of the nation.He said the foreign policypriority will be to changethe lives of common peoplethrough economic diplomacy. “We will try to changelives of people through socioeconomic development,” he said.

He said, “There are enormous local and regionalchallenges but we want tomake progress on these issues. Some forces have beentrying to isolate the countrybut it will not happen now,”he said.

Pakistan off��ers‘continued dialogue’

Major political parties andthe Hurriyat in Jammu andKashmir on Monday expressed support for a Kashmircentric dialogue between India and Pakistan,welcoming the intent for“constructive engagement”expressed by the former and“uninterrupted dialogue” bythe latter.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,chairman of the All PartiesHurriyat Conference, described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s letter to Pakistan Prime Minister ImranKhan and the Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s remarks of“uninterrupted dialogue onKashmir” as “a positive deve

lopment”. “It refl��ects newpositivity. We hope that thechannels of communicationwill remain open to buildtrust. It is in the interest ofKashmir and also in the in

terest of the entire region ifthe two countries come closer and resolve the longpending Kashmir dispute,” he toldThe Hindu.

The Mirwaiz, who is a part

of the Joint Resistance Leadership along with Syed AliShah Geelani and Yasin Malik, hinted at holding a meeting of various leaders overthe latest engagement between India and Pakistan.

Kashmir, he said, was acomplex issue, and Pakistanhad rightly suggested an uninterrupted dialogue.

“The dialogue is the needof the hour. We always support any such initiatives,” hesaid. The Mirwaiz, however,was quick to add that Indianeeded to show reciprocityand “change its current military approach in Kashmir toa political one”.

Good beginning: PDPPeoples Democratic Partyleader Naeem Akhtar said

the two countries had madean encouraging beginning byspeaking of talks.

“We hope the new government in Pakistan walks thetalk and gets adequate response from this side too.Jammu and Kashmir is directly hit by the hostility between the two countries andthe progress in the region isheld hostage to security concerns. We expect a seriousdialogue to follow up thestatements,” Mr. Akhtar said.

The National Conferencetermed the statements of India and Pakistan “a crucialdevelopment”.

“Dialogue needs to be taken forward. All groups willappreciate it,” party generalsecretary Ali Muhammad Sagar said.

Kashmir backs IndiaPak. dialogueMirwaiz says the two countries should come closer and resolve the longpending J&K dispute

Peerzada Ashiq

Srinagar

Reliance Group chairmanAnil Ambani has said thatthe Congress has been “misinformed, misdirected andmisled by malicious vestedinterests and corporate rivals” on the Rafale deal.

In a letter to Congress president Rahul Gandhi lastweek, Mr. Ambani termed allallegations against the Reliance Group “baseless, illinformed and unfortunate”.He expressed anguish overwhat he called “continuedpersonal attacks” by Mr.Gandhi on him.

Explaining the role of Reliance in off��set exports andwork share with Dassault, hesaid Reliance or the DassaultReliance Joint Venture wouldnot build the Rafale jets. All36 planes would be manufactured in France and ex

ported to India, with Reliance making not even asingle component. Hence,the allegations about thegroup’s “lack of experience”were irrelevant.

He said the Defence Ministry had not awarded anycontract related to the Rafalejet to a Reliance Group company. Allegations that Reliance had benefi��ted by thousands of crores of rupeeswere a fi��gment of imagination. “Our role is limited tooff��set exports/export obliga

tions. More than 100 medium, small and micro enterprises will participate in this,along with public sector undertakings like BEL and Defence Research and Development Organisation. This rolestrengthens Indian manufacturing capabilities, and is inpursuance of the Off��sets Policy introduced by the Congressled UPA Governmentitself from 2005 onwards,”Mr. Ambani said.

Mr. Gandhi had allegedthat Reliance Defence wasset up 10 days before theApril 10, 2015 announcement in Paris to buy 36 Rafale jets.

Mr. Ambani said: “The Reliance Group announced itsdecision to enter the defencemanufacturing sector in December 2014January 2015,months before the intentionfor purchase of Rafale.”

Congress misinformedon Rafale: Anil AmbaniSays it’s the handiwork of vested interests, corporate rivals

Anil Ambani


Mumbai

An aide of Dawood Ibrahimis set to appear in a Londoncourt on Tuesday morning,following his arrest by theMetropolitan Police’s extradition unit at a hotel here onFriday.

Jabir Motiwala, or JabirSiddiq, is said to be an aideof Ibrahim, the key accusedin the 1993 Mumbai serialblasts that killed 257 peopleand injured over 700.

Motiwala was arrested inthe Paddington area of central London and is due toappear at the WestminsterMagistrate’s Court.

Allegations against himHe was arrested in relationto an allegation of “conspiracy to commit blackmail,import class A drugs andmoney laundering in theU.S.A,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Monday.

A warrant had been issued by the WestminsterMagistrate’s Court, wherehe appeared later on Friday,and is due to appear againon Tuesday, the police said.

Earlier this year, YasinMansoor Mohammed Farooq, aka Farooq Takla, 58,also an aide of Ibrahim, wasextradited to India by theUAE.

In early August, a Thaicourt ordered the extradition of an aide of Ibrahim’sformer associate ChhotaShakeel, Press Trust of Indiareported.

India believes Ibrahim tobe in Pakistan. The U.K’sconsolidated list of fi��nancialsanctions’ targets updatedearlier this month, liststhree addresses for Ibrahim(who has 21 aliases according to the same list) in Karachi, including one describedas a “palatial bungalow.”

He fi��rst appeared on thelist in 2003

Dawood aide to appearin London court todayHe was arrested at a hotel on Friday

Vidya Ram

LONDON

Political parties and seniorMinisters led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi paidhomage to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ata prayer meet in New Delhion Monday, each remarkingspecifi��c facets of his publiclife.

While Mr. Modi spoke ofhis holding strong on ideology and nationalistic priorities, former Jammu andKashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti termed him amessiah for the State.

Leader of the Oppositionin the Rajya Sabha GhulamNabi Azad recalled his government’s collegial ways,now “absent”.

Mr. Modi, in his address at

the Indira Gandhi IndoorStadium, said Vajpayee hadbraved political untouchability accorded to his party’sideology and had a very longstint in the Opposition toemerge as a statesmanleader, who put the country and

democracy fi��rst. “When Atalji formed the

government for 13 days, noparty was willing to supporthim. His government fell. Hedid not lose hope and remained committed to serving the people. Atalji showed

the way when it came to coalition politics,” he said.

He mentioned the Pokhran tests of 1998, whichstrengthened India’s defences, and credited him withchanging the narrative onKashmir, to shifting focus onthe terror being sponsoredfrom across the border.

In a remark aimed at theerstwhile ally Telugu DesamParty, the Prime Ministermade a special mention ofthe creation of three newStates — Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand —without any “acrimony andbitterness.”

Advani’s tribute Former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani made anemotional speech about his

compatriot of over sixandahalf decades, stating that he“never imagined that hewould be addressing a publicmeet without him[Vajpayee].”

“We read books together,watched fi��lms, he evencooked for me. We werecompatriots and I learnt a lotfrom him,” said Mr. Advani.He said it would be a satisfaction that they lived their livesby the values taught by theRSS.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwattermed Vajpayee a modelswayamsevak.

The meet was also addressed by Yoga guru BabaRamdev and chief of the JamateUlemaeHind, Maulana Madani.

The most rousing speech

es came from the three former Chief Ministers of Jammuand Kashmir — Mr. Azad, Farooq Abdullah and Ms. Mufti.

Mr. Azad recalled his dealings with Vajpayee when hewas Parliamentary Aff��airs Minister in the minority Narasimha Rao government, stating that Vajpayee was the kindof man who even when hecriticised you, did it with asweetness and light touch.

Dr. Abdullah spoke of hispatriotism and toughness inthe face of the sanctions afterthe Pokhran test and duringthe Kargil war, ending hisspeech with a rousing cry of‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.

“He was the fi��rst nationalpolitician who trusted Kashmiris and who won theirtrust,” Ms. Mufti said.

Vajpayee put country, democracy fi��rst: Modi Political leaders across party lines and representatives of various faith groups pay homage to former PM in New Delhi

Shared grief: Former Deputy PM L.K. Advani comforting thekin of A.B. Vajpayee in New Delhi on Monday. * R.V. MOORTHY


NEW DELHI

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Mondaysaid every citizen needed torefl��ect on how to work together and arrest “disturbingtrends” of intolerance, communal polarisation and incidents of violent crimes propelled by hate groups andmobs.

Speaking at an event toconfer the Rajiv GandhiSadbhavana Award (201617)on the former West BengalGovernor and diplomat Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the former Prime Minister said such“unsavoury trends” wereanathema to the promotionof peace, national integration and communalharmony.

Mr. Gandhi said, “All thosewho are opposed to zabar-dasti [coercion], to bigotry,to the cult of fear and hate, to

the centralisation of power,to the nexus of big power andbig money need to work together. And that means shedding personal and institutional egos.”

UPA chairperson SoniaGandhi said conferring theaward on Mr. GopalkrishnaGandhi signifi��ed a “resolve tooppose the ideologies thatreject the composite essenceof our nationhood and to

fi��ght the forces of divisiveness, hate and bigotry”.

Karan Singh, who is thechairman of the advisoryboard of the Rajiv GandhiSadbhavana Award Trustsaid the homage to RajivGandhi should be marked bya reaffi��rmation of one’s commitment to the core valuesthat the late Prime Ministerstood for.

Remembering Rajiv Gand

hi as a leader who put Indiaonto the 21st century withthe IT and telecom revolution, brought about pathbreaking changes like women’s reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions andallowed 18yearold youth tovote, Mr. Gandhi took aswipe at the present regime.“We have seen that the opening of the economy and theclosing of the mind is adangerous and destructivemix,” he said.

Mr. Gandhi said, “Thelarger entity, the bigger leader, the bigger party or thelarger community is expected to make the larger gesture… I envision the democraticparties and movements of India through the wisdom oftheir dynamism, harmonising their strengths to meetthe challenge of harmony’sopposite: suspicion, bigotryand violence.”

Curb intolerance: Manmohan Former PM says such ‘unsavoury trends’ are anathema to the promotion of peace

Former PM Manmohan Singh felicitating former diplomatGopalkrishna Gandhi in New Delhi. * SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR


New Delhi

The nation rememberedformer Prime Minister RajivGandhi on his 74th birth anniversary on Monday, with ahost of leaders led by PrimeMinister Narendra Modipaying homage to him. “Tributes to our former PrimeMinister Shri Rajiv Gandhi Jion his birth anniversary. Weremember his eff��orts towards the nation,” tweetedMr. Modi.

Former President PranabMukherjee, former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh,UPA chairperson SoniaGandhi and Congress chiefRahul Gandhi off��ered fl��oraltributes to him at Veer Bhumi, dedicated to the lateleader.

Mr. Gandhi took to Twitter to share his memory ofhis father. “Rajiv Gandhi

was a kind, gentle and aff��ectionate man whose untimely death left a deep void inmy life. I remember thetimes we had together andthe many birthdays we werelucky to celebrate with himwhen he was alive. He isgreatly missed, but his memory lives on,” he tweeted.

At the Rajiv Gandhi memorial, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, her husband Robert Vadra and former UnionMinister Mani Shankar Aiyarwere among those who paidhomage.

In Parliament’s CentralHall, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and veteranBJP leader L.K. Advani,among others, garlandedthe portrait of Rajiv Gandhi.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat brought out a bookleton the life of the formerPrime Minister.

Nation remembersRajiv, PM pays tributeRahul shares his memories on Twitter


NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onMonday gave the RajivGandhi assassination convict A.G. Perarivalan a fortnight’s time to place on record a copy of hisapplication made to the Tamil Nadu Governor twoyears ago seeking grant ofpardon.

A threejudge Bench ofJustices Ranjan Gogoi, Navin Sinha and K.M. Josephlisted the case for September 6.

In a court hearing thatcoincided with the 74thbirth anniversary of thelate leader, Perarivalan, represented by advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan,submitted that his mercypetition was pending sinceDecember 30, 2015.

In his letter to the Governor, he had written how hehad already undergone 24years of solitary confi��nement, while life imprisonment is for a maximum of20 years after which theconvict could be considered for release.

“The main culprits whodesigned the bomb madeof RDX were not nabbed tilldate. They are scotfreeand investigation is stillpending into the vital aspects of the crime itself,”the letter said. Perarivalanwas 19 years old when theCBI arrested him in June1991 for his involvement inthe assassination. He wasfound guilty of purchasingtwo ninevolt batteries forthe Improvised ExplosiveDevice used in the killing.

The Supreme Court hadconfi��rmed his death sentence on May 11, 1998 on adeath reference. His deathpenalty was commuted tolife sentence by the courtin February 2014. Now, inhis midforties, Perarivalanhas spent over 26 years inprison. On an earlier occasion, the CBI had objectedto the apex court going infor a relook into his case.

SC to reviewPerarivalanpardon plea

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Uttar Pradesh Deputy ChiefMinister Keshav PrasadMaurya said on Monday thatParliament could enact alaw to build a Ram temple inAyodhya, but the government would do so only afterexhausting two other options. The fi��rst was a Supreme Court decision andthe second mediation. Mr.Maurya said the Centre

could introduce a law if other options failed.

“There is no need for alaw today as the fi��rst two options are open. Also, wedon’t have the numbers [inRajya Sabha] as of today,” hesaid.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi hit out at Mr.Maurya for his ‘atrocious’comments and said it was aploy by the BJP to divert attention of the people.

Temple can be builtby law: MauryaSpecial Correspondent

LUCKNOW


CMYK




NEWS

PNB case: CBI courtgrants bail to Usha MUMBAI

A CBI court on Monday

granted bail to Usha

Ananthasubramanian, former

managing director and chief

executive officer of

Allahabad Bank, who was in

the same position at the

Punjab National Bank (PNB)

at the time of the multicrore

fraud, and two others.

Sanjeev Sharan and Nehal

Ahad were also granted bail.

IN BRIEF

Tejashwi Yadav worriedabout Lalu’s healthMUMBAI

Tejashwi Yadav, former

Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar

and son of Rashtriya Janata

Dal chief Lalu Prasad, said on

social media on Monday that

he was worried about his

father’s poor health. Mr.

Prasad has been under

treatment at the Asian Heart

Institute in Bandra Kurla

Complex for some time now.

After visiting him on Monday,

Mr. Yadav tweeted,

“Perturbed to see his falling

health & increased infection.”

Complaint filed againstSidhu in Bihar court MUZAFFARPUR

A complaint was filed in a

court here on Monday against

former cricketer and Punjab

Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu

seeking registration of a case

against him under sedition

and other charges for

hugging Pakistan’s Army

chief. The complaint was filed

by advocate Sudhir Kumar

Ojha. The court will hear the

matter on August 24.

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Principal Secretary (Home) of Rajasthanto clarify the VasundharaRaje government’s positionand “every aspect” of the action taken against offi��cials inthe aftermath of the lynchingof Rakbar Khan by cow vigilantes and his subsequentdeath at Alwar district inJuly.

The incident took place acouple of days after the Supreme Court’s July 17 verdictcondemned lynchings andmob violence as “horrendous acts of mobocracy” andurged Parliament to enact anew antilynching law.

The court had also directed offi��cials from the Statessuch as Rajasthan, Haryanaand Gujarat to take immediate steps to prevent cow vi

gilantism. Khan, 28, was attacked by cow vigilantes inthe Ramgarh area of Alwardistrict on July 20 when hewas leading two cows from

Ladpura village to his hometo Haryana.

The orders came during ahearing on a contempt pleafi��led by Tushar Gandhi and

activist Tehseen Poonawalaseeking action against theRajasthan government.

In its order, the Bench ledby Chief Justice of India Di

pak Misra recorded the submissions made by senior advocate Indira Jaising for Mr.Poonawala that “a terriblelynching has taken place onJuly 24, 2018 at Village Lalwandi, District Ramgarh,Rajasthan”.

Additional AdvocateGeneral for Rajasthan Shiv Mangal Sharma submitted thatappropriate action has beentaken against the erring offi��cials. Mr. Sharma undertookto fi��le an affi��davit of from thePrincipal Secretary (Home)within a week. “Needless tosay, the affi��davit shall dealwith every aspect and clarifythe position, keeping in viewthe assertions made and alsoregard being had to the directions issued in the judgment ( July 17),” the SupremeCourt ordered.

The court listed the casefor hearing on August 30.

Clarify action taken on lynching: SCOrder on contempt plea against Rajasthan government; Additional AG says appropriate action taken

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Sulaiman Khan, father of Rakbar Khan who was lynched, at a recent protest. * FILE PHOTO

The Board of Governors ofeach Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT) will nowdecide what fees foreignstudents will have to pay tostudy there, the IIT Councildecided on Monday in its52nd meeting chaired by Minister of Human ResourceDevelopment PrakashJavadekar.

Last year, foreign students were required to pay₹��6 lakh per annum to studyat any of the IITs, according to a decision taken in2016 to fi��x the fees for foreign students at threetimes what domestic students paid.

This decision stands reversed now, meaning thefees to be paid by foreignstudents can vary from oneIIT to another.

There will be no changein the fees domestic undergraduate students pay tostudy in the IITs.

Rules revisedon IIT foreignstudent fees

Vikas Pathak

NEW DELHI

Observing that the people ofSikkim are “living in fear”because of the standoff�� inDoklam between India andChina, Sikkim Chief MinisterPawan Chamling on Mondaysaid the Centre had kept theborder State in the dark onthe issue.

“Nobody has consultedus, neither the Centre northe Army has told us anything about the situation. Wha

tever we get to know aboutDoklam is from newspaperreports,” Mr. Chamling told agroup of journalists from theKolkata Press Club.

“Here in Sikkim, we livewith the Doklam issue.There is a fear psychosisamong the people. We areafraid of the situation,” Mr.Chamling said.

He said the people feareda war with China, and referred to Kupup, the last inhabited village in Sikkim,

about 30 km from Doklam.“We want good relations

between India and China.The State government andthe people of Sikkim haveshown their love for thecountry and have worked forthe interest of India,” hesaid. On a solution to the issue, he said the Centre knewbest. Mr. Chamling, who hasthe record of the longestserving Chief Minister of aState in the country, said hehad tried to shield the State

from external disturbances,whether from Maoism in Nepal or the Gorkhaland agitation in Darjeeling. He said hewanted peace in Darjeeling,and supported the stand ofWest Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee.

“We want to join MamataBanerjee and contribute tothe prosperity of Darjeeling,”. In 2017, West Bengalhad accused Sikkim of sheltering Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung.

Sikkim in the dark on Doklam: ChamlingShiv Sahay Singh

Gangtok

BIMSTEC suff��ers from a“lack of visibility” in the region, said the envoys of seven member countries whoform the “Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoralTechnical and EconomicCooperation,” who alsocalled for the speedy conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement within the group comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan,India, Nepal, Sri Lanka,Myanmar and Thailand.

Prime Minister NarendraModi will join a summit ofleaders from BIMSTEC countries in Kathmandu on August 3031 and hold bilateraltalks with most of them, including Bangladesh PrimeMinister Sheikh Hasina andNepal Prime Minister K.P.Oli. At an event organised bybusiness chamber FICCI justahead of the summit, envoysof BIMSTEC countries saidthe FTA should be the toppriority for them.

“It is really disappointingthat we are yet to fi��nalise andconclude the FTA which wasnegotiated in 2004. We needto expedite the BIMSTECFTA to boost our intraregional trade from its presentlevel of 7% to 21%,” said Bangladesh High CommissionerSyed Muazzem Ali. “The visibility of BIMSTEC needs tobe enhanced in a regionwhere already a few otherregional cooperation groupslike ASEAN, SAARC, SASEC

are in place,” he added.When asked about a timelineto complete the FTA, Sri Lankan High Commissioner Chitranganee Wagiswara said itwas still unclear whether theagreement would go forwardduring the summit.

“Even for the framework(2004) it took seven years. Itis easy to negotiate an FTAbetween two countries. India and Sri Lanka have it. Butwhen seven countries are involved maybe it is not so ea

sy,” she said. Others addedthat at present the negotiations of the 16nation Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP), due tobe completed by the end of2018, were takingprecedence.

The envoys also spokeabout the need for the upcoming summit to promotesecurity issues including“terrorism and violent extremism” in the region.

“Terrorism is the most signifi��cant threat in the Bay ofBengal region as well asSouth East Asia and we callfor more cooperationamongst the member stateson this issue,” said MyanmarAmbassador Moe KyawAung.

Thailand’s AmbassadorChutintorn Gongsakdi pointed out that the IndiaMyanmarThailand TrilateralHighway had not been completed, which is crucial totrade movement betweenthe countries.

BIMSTEC envoys bat for FTA Modi will attend a summit of leaders of the group in Kathmandu on August 3031

Trade talks: Bangladesh Ambassador Syed Muazzem Ali at theBIMSTEC panel discussion on Monday. * R.V. MOORTHY

Suhasini Haidar

NEW DELHI

It has become a trend to target judges, Supreme CourtJustice D.Y. Chandrachudsaid on Monday.

The judge, who is part ofa threejudge Bench led byChief Justice Dipak Misra,passed the remark whilecontemplating a fi��ne of ₹��25lakh on the Bharatiya Matdata Sanghatan, whichlinked Chief Justice DipakMisra with his “cousin” Pinaki Misra, a Lok Sabhamember and lawyer, citing“confl��ict of interest”.

The allegation was madeby the organisation in itswritten submissions in acase seeking a ban on sittingparliamentarians and legislators from practising aslawyers.

“These written submissions were made after we reserved the case (dealingwith the plea for a ban onlawmakers practising as lawyers). We want to imposecosts on you in the multiplesof ₹��5 lakh… If it were up tome, the costs should be ₹��25lakh,” Justice Chandrachudaddressed the general secretary of the Sangathan, whois a lawyer.

The offi��cebearer issuedhis unconditional apologyin writing. Senior lawyerslike Shekhar Naphade suggested that the court impose₹��50,000, but AttorneyGeneral K.K. Venugopal raised itto ₹��5 lakh.

The Sangathan’s generalsecretary, repeating hisapologies, said ₹��5 lakh wastoo high for theorganisation.

The Bench said it wouldpass a judgement againstsuch allegations againstjudges and posted the matter for August 27. The courtordered the general secretary to fi��le an affi��davit listingthe names and details of allits offi��cebearers.

‘Targeting judgeshas become a trend’Supreme Court contemplates fi��ne

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud

A Special Bench monitoringthe CBI investigation intothe alleged extrajudicial killings in Manipur will hear apetition fi��led by 355 Armyoffi��cers in the SupremeCourt, alleging “persecution” by agencies such asthe CBI for doing their dutyin the insurgencyhit areasof Jammu and Kashmir andthe northeastern States.

The petition came up forhearing before a threejudgeBench of Justices Madan B.Lokur, S. Abdul Nazeer andDeepak Gupta on Monday.

However, Justice Lokur toldsenior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and Aishwarya Bhati,appearing for Colonel AmitKumar and other Army offi��cers, that the petitionshould be heard by a Benchcomprising himself and Justice U.U. Lalit.

It was this Bench of Justices Lokur and Lalit, in a July2016 judgment, that endedthe immunity provided bythe Armed Forces (SpecialPowers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA).

The judgment declaredthat “there is no concept ofabsolute immunity fromtrial by a criminal court”.

SC to hear petition by 355 Army offi��cers Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

The Union government hasdeclared the Kerala fl��oods a“calamity of severe nature”.Here is a look at what thismeans, whether the Statecan expect additional helpfrom the Centre and how thevarious disaster relief fundsin the country are fundedand deployed.

What are the classifi��cations

of disasters, and how does

this aff��ect funding?

■ According to the NationalDisaster Management Policy,the State governments haveto provide disaster relieffrom their respective StateDisaster Response Funds(SDRFs), and only for a “calamity of severe nature”, willadditional assistance be provided from the National Disaster Response Fund(NDRF).

There is, however, no provision in the law or rules forthe government to designatea disaster as a “national calamity”.

Minister of State for HomeKiren Rijiju informed Parliament recently that the guidelines of the NDRF and theSDRFs did not contemplate

declaring a disaster a national calamity.

How are the NDRF and the

SDRFs funded?

■ The NDRF is fundedthrough a National CalamityContingent Duty levied onpan masala, chewing tobacco and cigarettes, and withbudgetary provisions as andwhen needed. A provisionexists to encourage any person or institution to make acontribution to the NDRF.However, this source offunding has not been tappedso far, according to thegovernment.

The 14th Finance Commission recommendedchanges to this structure

once the cess was discontinued or subsumed withinthe Goods and Services Tax.However, the government,instead, decided to continuewith the National CalamityContingent Duty even in theGST regime. The SDRF corpus is contributed by the Union government and the respective State governments ina 75:25 ratio for general category States and 90:10 forSpecial Category States.

The allocation of theSDRF for each State is doneby the Finance Commission,and the Centre contributesits specifi��ed share each fi��nancial year. The Centralshare of SDRF is released intwo equal instalments, inJune and then in December.

What has been the trend in

budgetary allocations to the

NDRF and SDRFs?

■ The Union governmenthas maintained a steady fl��owof funds to the NDRF eachyear, ranging from ₹��5,690crore in 201516 to a budgeted amount of ₹��2,500 crorefor the current fi��nancialyear. In addition, the Centrehas also been contributing tothe SDRFs every year,amounting to ₹��8,374.95

crore in 201617 and₹��7,281.76 crore in 201718.

How have NDRF funds been

allocated to States in the

recent past?

■ In 201718, up to December27, 2017, the Union government released NDRF fundsto nine States — ArunachalPradesh, Bihar, HimachalPradesh, Karnataka, Kerala,Nagaland, Rajasthan, TamilNadu, and Telangana — overand above its contributionsto their respective SDRFs.The recipient of the highestamount was Karnataka,which got ₹��913 crore thatyear.

Over the four years till December 27, 2017, the Centrehas released the most cumulative funds to Maharashtra(₹��5,244.69 crore), Karnataka(₹��5,122.45 crore), Uttar Pradesh (₹��4,949.04 crore), Tamil Nadu (₹��3,115.31 crore),and Madhya Pradesh(₹��1,958.93 crore). For specific calamities, the Centre released ₹��1,365.67 crore for theChennai fl��oods of 2015 and₹��218.76 crore after CycloneVardah in 2016. Andhra Pradesh received ₹��400 croreand ₹��230 crore after Hududravaged Visakhapatnam.

NDRF aid only for severe calamitiesThere are no legal provisions to designate a disaster a ‘national calamity’

TCA Sharad Raghavan

BACKGROUNDER

Assam lynching: 13arrested in BiswanathGUWAHATI

The police in Assam’s

Biswanath district have

arrested Lochan Pator, one of

the leaders of the mob that

lynched a man last week on

suspicion that they were

cattle thieves. Pator was the

13th person to be arrested in

connection with the incident

that left one person dead and

three others injured. A mob

of about 50 people had

formed at the Diplunga Tea

Estate.


CMYK

A ND-NDE

WORLDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



Trudeau to run for re-election in 2019MONTREAL

Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau announced on

Sunday that he will run for

reelection in 2019

legislative polls. He was

nominated by his party in the

district of Papineau, which he

has represented since

2008. Reuters

ELSEWHERE

Iran journalist gets 10years for ‘insulting’ imamTEHRAN

An Iranian journalist has been

sentenced to 10 years in

prison for “insulting” an imam

from the ninth century on

Twitter, his lawyer said. Mir

MohammadHossein Mir

Esmaili, a journalist for the

Jahan-e Sanat daily, was

arrested while trying to leave

the country in April 2017. AFP

The Taliban rejected onMonday an Afghan government off��er of a ceasefi��re andit would persist with their attacks, two militant commanders said, while insurgentsambushed three buses andkidnapped nearly 200 passengers travelling for aholiday.

The two Taliban commanders said their supreme leader rejected President AshrafGhani’s Sunday off��er of athreemonth ceasefi��re, beginning with this week’s IdalAdha Muslim holiday.

In June, the Taliban observed a government ceasefi��re over the threeday Id ulFitr festival, leading to unprecedented scenes ofgovernment soldiers andmilitants embracing on frontlines, and raising hopes fortalks. But one of the Talibancommanders said the Juneceasefi��re had only helpedU.S. forces, who the Talibanare trying to drive out of thecountry, and Taliban leaderSheikh Haibatullah Akhunzada rejected the new off��er onthe grounds it would onlyhelp the U.S.led mission.

“Our leadership feels thatthey’ll prolong their stay inAfghanistan if we announceda ceasefi��re now,” a senior Taliban commander, who de

clined to be identifi��ed, saidby telephone.

An offi��cial in Mr. Ghani'soffi��ce said the threemonthlong ceasefi��re declared bythe government was conditional, and if the Taliban didnot respect it, the government would maintain military operations.

Wave of attacks The Taliban has launched awave of attacks in diff��erentparts of the country in recentweeks, including on the cityof Ghazni, southwest of Kabul. Hundreds of peoplehave been killed in the fi��ght

ing. The rejection of Mr. Ghani’s ceasefi��re came as government offi��cials weretrying to secure the releaseof at least 170 civilians and20 members of the securityforces who were taken hostage by the Taliban fromthree buses in the northernprovince of Kunduz.

Esmatullah Muradi, a spokesman for the Governor ofKunduz, said the kidnappinghappened when three buseswere travelling through Kunduz from Takhar province,on their way to the capital,Kabul. “The buses werestopped by the Taliban fi��ght

ers, passengers were forcedto step down and they havebeen taken to an undisclosedlocation,” Mr. Muradi said.

The Taliban confi��rmed ithad captured “three busespacked with passengers”.“We decided to seize the buses after our intelligence inputs revealed that many menworking with Afghan security forces were travelling toKabul,” Zabihullah Mujahid,a spokesman for the Taliban,said.

Civilians to be freed“We have taken the buses toa safe area to prevent anyclashes and we are now identifying members of the security forces,” he said, adding that civilians would bereleased.

Kunduz provincial councilmember Sayed AssadullahSadat said people on the buses were travelling to be withfamily in Kabul for the holiday. A senior Interior Ministry offi��cial in Kabul said offi��cials in the area were talkingto Taliban leaders in Kunduzto get the estimated 190 hostages released.

Separately, Mr. Mujahidsaid the Taliban would release at least 500 prisoners,including members of the security forces on Monday, aday before Id celebrationsbegin.

Taliban rejects Ghani’s truce off��erInsurgents ambush three buses and kidnap nearly 200 passengers travelling for a holiday

Reuters

KABUL

Fighting will go on: Taliban fi��ghters in Ghazni in June, whenthe militants observed a threeday ceasefi��re. * AP

Sharif to be barred fromtravelling abroadISLAMABAD

Pakistan will bar Nawaz

Sharif from travelling abroad,

the government said on

Monday, in one of the fi��rst

decisions taken by the new

Cabinet. “It has been decided

that the names of Nawaz

Sharif and his daughter

[Maryam] will be placed on

exit control list,” said

Information Minister Fawad

Chaudhry. Reuters

Greece emerged from thebiggest bailout in economichistory on Monday afternine years of creditormandated austerity, with European institutions hailing theexit a success but jadedGreeks fi��nding little reasonto celebrate.

The milestone weans thedebtburdened eurozonemember off�� fi��nancial lifelines off��ered on three occasions by creditors over thebest part of a decade, andthe country will now needto support itself.

Exit from crisisAthens will rely on bondmarkets to refi��nance itsdebt, offi��cially leaving behind a crisis that shrank itseconomy by a quarter andpushed many into poverty.

Since early 2010, Greecehas relied on more than€260 billion ($300 billion)lent by its eurozone partners and the InternationalMonetary Fund.

The European StabilityMechanism (ESM), the eurozone’s bailout fund, expressed confi��dence thatAthens could manage without an international fi��nancial safety net.

“Today we can safely con

clude the ESM programmewith no more followup rescue programmes as, for thefi��rst time since early 2010,Greece can stand on its ownfeet,” Mario Centeno, thechairman of the ESM’sboard of governors, said in astatement.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to addressthe nation on Tuesday tomark Greece regaining fi��scalsovereignty and the abilityset its own economic policies. Greek media reportedthat he would symbolicallymake the speech on Ithaca,the island where Odysseusreturned home from theTrojan war after a 10yearvoyage recounted by classical poet Homer. “We are entering a new era for theGreek economy andGreece,” government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told Real FM radio.

Greece emerges fromeurozone bailoutWe are entering a new era, says govt.

Reuters

Athens

Greek Prime Minister AlexisTsipras. * GETTY IMAGES

Russia on Monday said itwas preparinginternational peace talkson Afghanistan onSeptember 4 and hasinvited the Taliban.

“We are preparing it forSeptember 4,” ZamirKabulov, specialrepresentative of theRussian President onAfghanistan, said in anInterfax news agencyreport.

Asked whether theTaliban was invited to themeeting in Moscow, Mr.Kabulov said it was andthat the talks were “in theframework of launching aprocess of nationalreconciliation inAfghanistan”. He saidMoscow views “positively”the truce off��er extendedby Mr. Ghani.

In April 2017, Moscowhosted an internationalconference on Afghanistanwith representatives fromAfghanistan, India, Iran,China, Pakistan, and fi��veformer Soviet republics inCentral Asia.

Russia invitesTaliban toSept. talksAgence France-Presse

Moscow

Pope Francis condemned onMonday the “atrocities” revealed by a farreaching U.S.report into clerical child sexabuse in the state of Pennsylvania issued last week.

“In recent days, a reportwas made public which detailed the experiences of atleast a thousand survivors...the abuse of power and ofconscience at the hands ofpriests,” the Pope said in aletter made public by theVatican.

‘Uproot the culture’“Even though it can be saidthat most of these cases belong to the past, nonethelessas time goes on we have

come to know the pain ofmany of the victims,” hesaid.

“We have realised thatthese wounds never disappear and that they require usforcefully to condemn theseatrocities and join forces inuprooting this culture ofdeath,” he added.

A devastating U.S. grandjury report published lastweek decried a systematiccoverup by the CatholicChurch. The grand jury saidthat more than 1,000 childvictims were identifi��able,but that the actual numberwas “in the thousands”.

The report is thought tobe the most comprehensiveto date into abuse in the U.S.church since The Boston

Globe fi��rst exposed paedophile priests in Massachusetts in 2002.

Calling for “solidarity”with the victims and a fi��ghtagainst “spiritual corruption”, Pope Francis said “noeff��ort to beg pardon and toseek to repair the harm donewill ever be suffi��cient”.

Pope condemns ‘atrocities’committed by U.S. clergy

Agence France-Presse

Vatican City

Pope Francis. * AP

A report last week accused church of covering up abusePakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan on Mondaymoved into a threebedroom house of his militarysecretary along with twoservants, a day after announcing that he would notbe staying in the sprawlingPM House that has a staff�� of524, keeping his pledge tocut down the expenditure ofthe cashstrappedgovernment.

Before Mr. Khan wassworn in, his party, PakistanTehreekeInsaf (PTI), hadreported that the Chief Minister’s annex in PunjabHouse will be utilised as thePrime Minister’s residence.But it was later decided byMr. Khan to move to the military secretary’s residencefollowing security concerns.

Mr. Khan’s new residenceis situated in the PM HouseColony and according tomedia reports, he willspend Sundays at his ownhome in Banigala.

Pledge of austerityDetailing plans on how hewill cut down his own aswell the country’s expenditure, he said on Sunday inhis maiden speech as aPrime Minister: “I will keeptwo people with me out ofthe 524. I will be staying in athreebedroom house. I willhave to keep two of the cars[out of 80] because my intelligence agencies tell me mylife is under threat...”

Mr. Khan said his government would auction off�� allthe other bullet proof carsand invited businesses tobuy them during auction.

PM Imran moves intomilitary secretary’s homePress Trust of India

Islamabad

U.S. President DonaldTrump’s administration hasrejected Turkey’s off��er tocondition the release of anAmerican pastor on clearinga top Turkish bank of billions of dollars in U.S. fi��nes,media reported on Monday.

Washington and Ankaraare locked in a bitter feud over the nearly twoyear jailingof Andrew Brunson over disputed terror charges.

Bank facing fi��nesIn exchange for Mr. Brunson’s release, and that ofother U.S. citizens as well asthree Turkish nationalsworking for the U.S. government, Turkey asked Wash

ington to drop a probe intoHalkbank, which is facingpossible fi��nes for helpingIran evade U.S. sanctions.

But the U.S. said that discussions regarding the fi��nesand other areas of disputebetween the two countries

were off�� the table until Mr.Brunson was released, aWhite House offi��cial told The

Wall Street Journal. “A realNATO ally wouldn’t have arrested Brunson in the fi��rstplace,” the offi��cial said.

Mr. Trump has said thathe had doubled the tariff��s onaluminium and steel tariff��sfrom Turkey, prompting Ankara to sharply hike tariff��son several U.S. products.

Also, gunshots were fi��redat the U.S. Embassy in Ankara early on Monday, withoutcausing any casualties. Sixshots were fi��red with threebullets hitting the iron gateand exterior wall, the Ankara Governor’s offi��ce said, indicating there were “no casualties”.

U.S. rejects Turkey’s off��er ofpastor’s conditional release


Washington

American pastor AndrewBrunson. * AP

Ankara wanted a probe against a Turkish bank dropped

Uri Avnery, a leftwing peaceactivist who in 1982 becamethe fi��rst prominent Israeli tomeet in public with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat,died on Monday in a Tel Avivhospital. He was 94. The encounter took place during Israel’s invasion of Lebanonand war with Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organisation(PLO), then designated a terrorist group by Israel.

Mr. Avnery crossed intowest Beirut from the Israeliheld east. “It was the fi��rsttime Arafat had met with anIsraeli, and from this per

spective, it could be called a‘historic meeting’,” Mr. Avnery wrote in Israel’s Haa-

retz newspaper in February.Mr. Avnery fl��ed Nazi Ger

many with his family as a

boy and became a journalistand politician. His meetingwith Arafat, after he travelled to Lebanon at the invitation of the Israeli militaryas part of a reporting trip,

lasted about two hours and“dealt entirely with the possibility of peace between Israel and the Palestinian people”, he wrote. It wasbroadcast the same night.

Mr. Avnery served as alawmaker from 1965 to 1974and, from 1979 to 1981, ashead of a leftwing party.

In 2003, during the Palestinian uprising, Mr. Avnerytravelled with other Israeliactivists to Arafat’s headquarters in the West Bank toact as a human shield againstwhat they said were Israeliplans to assassinate Arafat after a Palestinian suicidebombing.

Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery dead

Exploring peace options: Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery withPalestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah in 2002. * AP

Reuters

Jerusalem

In 1982, he became the fi��rst prominent Israeli to meet PLO leader Yasser Arafat

American lawmaker Carolyn Maloney on Sundaysaid that she will introducea legislation to posthumously award MahatmaGandhi a CongressionalGold Medal, the highest civilian award in the U.S., forinspiring peaceful movements for civil rightsaround the world.

In 2016, she had led thesuccessful eff��ort to createthe Deepavali Stamp,which she says has sincebecome one of the highestselling stamps.

Highest U.S.

civilian honour

for Mahatma?


New York

Federal investigators are inquiring into whether U.S.President Donald Trump’sformer personal lawyer Michael Cohen committedbank and tax fraud exceeding $20 million via loans obtained by the taxi medallionbusiness he owns with hisfamily, The New York Times

has reported.The Times, in its report

fi��rst published on Sunday,said investigators were alsotrying to determine whetherMr. Cohen violated campaign fi��nance or other lawswhen he made deals usinghush money to silence women who claimed they hadaff��airs with Mr. Trump.

Prosecutors could fi��le

charges by the end of themonth, the newspaper said,citing two people familiarwith the matter.

Convictions for tax andbank fraud carry potentiallyhefty prison terms, whichcould put additional pressure on Mr. Cohen to cooperate with prosecutors inthe event that he is charged.

ExTrump lawyer could becharged with bank fraudAgence France-Presse

Washington

Michael Cohen. * AFP

About 90 families fromNorth and South Korea weptand embraced on Monday asthe neighbours held theirfi��rst reunion events in threeyears for relatives wrenchedapart by the Korean War formore than six decades.

The brief reunions are setto total just 11 hours over thenext three days in theNorth’s tourist resort ofMount Kumgang after theneighbours renewed exchanges this year following astandoff�� over Pyongyang’snuclear and missileprogrammes.

North Korean leader KimJongun and South KoreanPresident Moon Jaein

agreed to the reunion eventsat a summit in April.

About 330 South Koreansfrom 89 families, many in

wheelchairs, embraced 185separated relatives from theNorth with tears, joy and disbelief. Some struggled to recognise family not glimpsedin more than 60 years.

‘How are you so old?’“How are you so old?” KimDalin, 92, asked his sister,Yudok, after gazing at herbriefl��y in silence. “I’ve livedthis long to meet you,” replied the 85yearold, wipingaway tears as she clasped aphotograph of her brotherin his youth.

From Thursday, 88 moregroups of relatives will meet,comprised of 469 individuals from the South and 128from the North, Seoul’s Unifi��cation Ministry says.

Reuters

Seoul

A South Korean, right,hugging his North Koreanbrother on Monday. * AFP

Separated Korean families hold brief, tearful reunions


CMYK

A ND-NDE

BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



NIFTY 50

PRICE CHANGE

Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378.25. . . . . . . . . 4.15

Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1409.10. . . . . . . . . 8.45

Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624.40. . . . . . . . -2.90

Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2735.35. . . . . . . 74.00

Bajaj Finserv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7063.60. . . . . . -33.75

Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 2839.75. . . . . . -11.45

Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370.55. . . . . . . . -0.85

BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375.95. . . . . . . . -1.65

Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643.85. . . . . . . . -3.05

Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284.05. . . . . . . . . 2.65

Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 2380.75. . . . . . . 16.60

Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 28382.80. . . . . . -93.35

GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379.05. . . . . . . . -8.65

Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1039.85. . . . . . . . -6.00

HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 988.25. . . . . . -14.80

HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1920.05. . . . . . . 34.40

HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2096.20. . . . . . . 18.85

Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 3304.00. . . . . . . 61.70

Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226.65. . . . . . . . . 6.95

HPCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270.00. . . . . . . . . 2.45

Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1777.00. . . . . . . . -7.75

Indiabulls HFL . . . . . . . .. . . . 1296.20. . . . . . . 29.30

ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338.45. . . . . . . . -1.55

IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1990.95. . . . . . . . . 0.55

Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 284.80. . . . . . . . . 2.25

Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1384.25. . . . . . -46.10

Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 158.65. . . . . . . . -0.90

ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313.30. . . . . . . . -0.45

Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1274.75. . . . . . . 11.50

L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1323.70. . . . . . . 83.55

Lupin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869.25. . . . . . -12.00

M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969.55. . . . . . . . . 8.05

Maurti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 9074.35. . . . . . -77.75

NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158.55. . . . . . . . . 0.55

ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168.70. . . . . . . . . 5.65

PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 187.65. . . . . . . . . 0.55

Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1234.90. . . . . . . 31.15

State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307.65. . . . . . . . . 5.55

Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626.35. . . . . . . . . 2.85

Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270.10. . . . . . . 11.85

Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599.40. . . . . . . 19.25

TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2009.95. . . . . . . . -2.80

Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 687.95. . . . . . . . . 0.25

Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921.70. . . . . . -19.85

UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 4300.70. . . . . . . 15.00

UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618.90. . . . . . . . . 2.15

Vedanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221.85. . . . . . . . . 6.65

Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285.05. . . . . . . . . 5.00

YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394.00. . . . . . . . . 0.80

Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 506.15. . . . . . . . . 2.65

EXCHANGE RATES

Indicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on August 20

CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 69.62. . . . . . . 69.94

Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 79.50. . . . . . . 79.87

British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 88.84. . . . . . . 89.26

Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 62.97. . . . . . . 63.26

Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 10.15. . . . . . . 10.19

Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 69.95. . . . . . . 70.28

Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 50.74. . . . . . . 50.98

Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 53.25. . . . . . . 53.50

Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 16.97. . . . . . . 17.07

Source:Indian Bank

BULLION RATES CHENNAI

August 20 rates in rupees with pre-vious rates in parentheses

Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40. . . . . (40.21)

22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 2811. . . . . . (2820)

market watch

20-08-2018 % CHANGE

Sensex dddddddddddddddd38,278.75 dddddddddddddd 0.87

US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 69.82 dddddddddddddd 0.47

Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 30,420 dddddddddddddd 0.56

Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 72.53 dddddddddddddd 1.15

A broad crosssection of U.S.businesses has a message forthe Trump administration:new tariff��s on $200 billion ofChinese imports will forceAmericans to pay more foritems they use throughouttheir daily lives, from cradles to coffi��ns.

Six days of public hearings on the proposed dutiesof up to 25% will start onMonday in Washington aspart of President DonaldTrump’s and the U.S. TradeRepresentative’s eff��orts topressure Beijing for sweeping changes to its trade andeconomic policies.

Unlike previous rounds ofU.S. tariff��s, which sought toshield consumers by targeting Chinese industrial machinery, electronic components and otherintermediate goods, thousands of consumer productscould be directly hit with tariff��s by late September.

The $200 billion list targets seafood, furniture andlighting products, tires,chemicals, plastics, bicyclesand car seats for babies.

“USTR’s proposed tariff��son an additional $200 billionof Chinese imports dramatically expands the harm toAmerican consumers, workers, businesses, and the economy,” the U.S. Chamber ofCommerce said in writtentestimony for the hearing.

The top U.S. business lobbying group said the administration lacks a “coherentstrategy” to address China’stheft of intellectual propertyand other harmful tradepractices and called for “serious discussions”.

Midlevel Trump administration offi��cials and theirChinese counterparts are expected to meet later thisweek in Washington to discuss their trade dispute. Butit is unclear whether thetalks will have any eff��ect onthe implementation of U.S.

tariff��s and retaliation byChina.

In more than 1,400 written comments submitted toUSTR that will be echoed inthe hearings, most businesses argued that the tariff��s willcause harm and higher costsfor products ranging fromHalloween costumes andChristmas lights to nuclearfuel inputs, while a smallnumber praised them orasked that they be extendedto other products.

‘Safety of children’Graco Children’s ProductsInc. said tariff��s “will have adirect negative impact onour company, American parents and most importantlythe safety of American children.”

The company said higherprices may prompt more parents to buy car seats,swings and portable playyards on the secondhandmarket.

“The proposed tariff��s mayforce parents to use unsafesleeping environments or letchildren dangerously cosleep with parents,” Gracowrote.

The tariff�� “only causes achildren safety issue; it willnot convince China tochange its policies.”

Evenfl��o Feeding said thetariff��s will hit manual breastpumps “and would causedisproportionate economicharm to U.S. interests.”

At the other end of the lifecycle, Centennial CasketCorp.

President Douglas Chensaid his Plano, Texasbasedcompany relies exclusivelyon Chinesemade casketsand the tariff��s would cause“great loss” and raise costsfor “grieving families purchasing caskets for theirloved ones at one of theworst times of their life.”

The Internet Association,representing companies including Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and AlphabetInc., said the tariff��s “wouldcause disproportionate economic harm to American Internet companies. The listincludes products that impact how Internet companies function.”

Cost of nuclear fuel Westinghouse Electric Co.LLC, the leading U.S. nuclearfuel producer, said it relieson China for zirconium andzirconium powders — key inputs for tubes used in nuclear fuel assemblies that ituses at plants in Utah, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

There is no U.S. source ofzirconium so the tariff�� would“raise the cost for Westinghouse to manufacture nuclear fuel for U.S. commercial nuclear power plants”and ultimately “would increase the cost of electricityto a signifi��cant percentage ofU.S. electricity consumers.”

‘China tariff��s to raise costsfrom cradle to grave in U.S.’American fi��rms warn administration against new dutiesReuters

WASHINGTON

Grief compounded: Centennial Casket says it relies on casketsfrom China and duties would hurt grieving families. * REUTERS

The Reserve Bank of IndiaAct, 1934, may need to beamended to facilitate the setting of a public credit registry (PCR), RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said onMonday.

Underscoring the vitalneed for the registry — thePCR is planned as an extensive database of credit information for all credit products in the country frompoint of origination of creditto its termination — Dr.Acharya said its main benefi��twould be to provide lenderswith a 360 degree view of theborrower’s outstanding credits and past performance.This would allow betterscreening at the time of providing credit and superiormonitoring during the life of

the borrowing.Highlighting some legal is

sues around setting up thePCR, Dr. Acharya said whilethe PCR is initially being setup within the existing RBI infrastructure, the fact that theRBI as a statutory corporation can only engage in thoseactivities that are permitted

by the RBI Act, or other relevant legislation, creates complications.

He said in addition to itscore central banking functions, RBI also performs certain promotional functionswhich is only limited to ‘fi��nancial institutions’.

“Since no fi��nancing activi

ty is contemplated for theproposed PCR, it might bediffi��cult to label PCR as a ‘fi��nancial institution’. Thistakes it out of the purview ofa promotion under the Reserve Bank of India Act,1934,” he said.

Other optionsAnother option, would be topromote an organisation fora matter incidental to thefunctions of RBI — as part ofthe RBI Act or Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

He said collection of information, including credit information, from regulatedentities is an important aspect of the RBI’s regulatoryand supervisory functionsand hence such an activitycould be done by setting up asubsidiary or a department.

“Otherwise, the Reserve

Bank of India Act, 1934, canbe suitably amended conferring the Reserve Bank powers to conduct the businessof PCR, he said.

In October 2017, RBI hadset up a highlevel task force(HTF) chaired by Y.M. Deosthalee to review the availability of information on creditand assess the gaps.

“The HTF submitted its report on April 4, 2018, recommending that a PCR shouldbe set up by the RBI in aphased and modular manner,” Dr. Acharya said.

Highlighting the importance of the interplay of theGST Network and PCR, hesaid with such an infrastructure in place “we expect thecosts for onboarding thoseusers who are currently excluded by formal credit tonosedive.”

Credit registry: RBI Act may need tweakSetting up the crucial database of public credit information may pose legal issues, says RBI’s Acharya

Bird’s-eye view: The PCR would provide lenders with a 360degree view of borrower’s outstanding credits. * PAUL NORONHA


Mumbai

State Bank of India Chairman Rajnish Kumar hasheld everyone including thegovernment and the judiciary responsible in their ownway for the sharp rise innonperforming assets(NPAs) in recent years.

“The problem of stressedassets, many people ask me,who is responsible for that.That is a question withwhich the country is grappling,” the chief of the country’s largest lender said onMonday.

“I would say everybody isresponsible, be it the bankers, be it the industry or borrowers, be it the government and without invitingcontempt of the court, eventhe judiciary has played arole in this situation,” Mr.Kumar said at a FICCIIBAseminar here.

He cited the retrospectivecancellation of coal mine allocations as an example andasked how an industrialistwho had taken an investment decision could haveforeseen such an event.

According to ratingsagency Crisil, gross NPAsrose to about ₹��10.3 lakhcrore, or 11.2% of advances,as of March 2018, comparedwith ₹��8 lakh crore, or 9.5%

of advances, in the yearearlier period.

A major factor for thesurge in NPAs, according toMr. Kumar, had been consortium lending, which often led to inordinate delaysin loan appraisal.

Multiple banking, thesuccessor to consortiumbanking, too had not helpedspeed up decisionmakingbut had only led to moreNPAs, he opined.

Availability of equityHe stressed that it would becrucial in future to ensurethat the promised equitywas very much available inthe business while evaluating a fi��nancing proposal.

“When banks are givingmoney they do not have themindset of the CBI or theEnforcement Directorateand we lend the money ontrust apart from paperwork.There have been several cases with clear breach of thattrust. Now, we will trust butwe will verify; probably thatverifi��cation factor was missing,” he said.

Separately, RBI DeputyGovernor N.S. Vishwanathan stressed the need forstrengthening credit bureaus, and said legislativeamendments were neededto facilitate it.

Loan proposals to be verifi��ed: SBI chief


Mumbai

Tough times: There have been several cases where there hasbeen clear breach of trust, says Rajnish Kumar. * REUTERS

‘Govt., judiciary tooresponsible for NPAs’

Private equity fi��rm TPG Capital is considering investingin India’s Jet Airways Ltd.but is not close to fi��nalisinga deal, two sources withknowledge of the mattersaid, a plan that could raisemoney for the beleagueredairline.

The investment could bemore than $100 million butdiscussions are at an earlystage and the size of thestake and the investmentare not clear yet, the sources said.

TPG declined to comment. Jet Airways did notrespond to an email seekingcomment.

Jet Airways told staff�� earlier this month it was running out of money, a sourcehad told Reuters, but it has

denied this and said it isconfi��dent of cutting costsand keeping its planesfl��ying.

Days later, Jet Airways deferred reporting earningsand the airline’s shares fellto a threeyear low, withanalysts saying the company urgently needed torecapitalise.

₹��8,150 crore debtThe airline, which is partlyowned by Etihad Airways,had net debt of ₹��81.5 billion($1.16 billion) as of endMarch.

The carrier has said it ismeeting all its paymentsobligations to lenders and isalso looking at ways to cutcosts to create “a healthierand more resilient business.”

TPG Capital in talks toinvest in Jet Airways ‘Discussions are at an early stage’

Reuters

Consumption of noncoking coal is forecast to climbto 1,076 million tonnes infi��scal 2023, from 826 million tonnes in fi��scal 2018,Crisil Research said in a report.

In a sectoral study, CrisilResearch also said thatnoncoking coal importswould decline to 145 million tonnes in fi��scal 2023from 162 million tonnes infi��scal 2018. However, thiswould be due to lower imports by nonpower sectorwhich has seen improveddomestic supply after linkage auctions. Overall, thepower sector, with improved plant load factors,has driven domestic coalconsumption.

On coking coal, the report said that importswould remain high as domestic supply of metallurgical coking coal is estimatedat 19 million tonnes againsta demand of 65 milliontonnes in FY23.

Global coking coal prices are expected to softenbut still be dear at about $190 to $200 per tonne thisyear according to the Crisilanalysis, noting a worldwide revival in steel demand. Production too isexpected to improve led byresumption of coal mineswhich were closed earlierand resolution of transportbottlenecks in some of themining countries. However, these easing of supplyconstraints may lead toprices dropping to about$175 to $185 per tonne nextyear, Crisil Research said.

It said that Coal India isexpected to increase itsoutput through increasedproduction from largeblocks.

Domestic noncokingcoal prices would be governed by linkage prices,auction of linkages andspot auctions.

Coal use to rise onpoweruptick: Crisil


KOLKATA

Singaporelisted SembcorpIndustries said its powerplant in India won a tenderto supply 250 megawatts ofpower to Bangladesh for 15years.

Other bidders vying forthe tender had includedAdani Power Mundra Ltd.,Hindustan Power, Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd.,Meenakshi Energy Pvt Ltd.and Odisha Power Generation Corp Ltd., industry insiders said.

Letters of intentSembcorp’s Gayatri PowerLtd. power plant, whollyowned by Sembcorp EnergyIndia Ltd., has received let

ters of intent from Bangladesh Power DevelopmentBoard, the parent companysaid on Monday.

It will start supplyingpower to Bangladesh uponcompletion of procedural requirements and relevant government approvals, Sembcorp said. Gayatri Poweroperates a 1,320megawatt

coalfi��red power plant inAndhra Pradesh and Sembcorp India’s combined thermal and renewable energyassets have a total capacityof 4.37 gigawatts.

Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) invited bids in February for buying 250 MW power fromIndian fi��rms under a contract until December 31,2019 and under longtermcontracts (to January 1,2020, and to July 31, 2033),according to the tender document. Supply will bethrough the BohrompurSubstation in Murshidabad,India and will be transferredto the Bheramara Grid Substation in Kushtia,Bangladesh.

Sembcorp’s India unit winsBangladesh power tender The plant will supply 250 megawatts for 15 years

Reuters

SINGAPORE/DHAKA


CMYK

A ND-NDE

BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



IN BRIEF

Top level changes atCoca-Cola IndiaCHENNAI

CocaCola India has made top

level changes. Sundeep

Bajoria, earlier vicepresident

strategy and insights, has

been named VP – South West

Asia (SWA) operations.

Chandrasekar Radhakrishnan

has been appointed VP

strategy and insights, Coca

Cola India and SWA. “These

changes will address the

developing business needs,”

said T. Krishnakumar,

president, CocaCola India

and SWA.

Hyundai to partner withself-drive start-up Revv NEW DELHI

South Korean automobile

major Hyundai Motor

Company on Monday

announced a partnership

with Revv, an Indian self

drive car sharing startup.

The partnership, along with

Hyundai Motor’s investment

in Revv, will help the two

fi��rms build competency and

the technology necessary for

leading the “future mobility

market” in India, Hyundai

Motor said in a statement. It,

however, did not disclose the

investment details.

Maruti Suzuki on Mondayunveiled a refreshed versionof its midsize sedan Ciazwith prices starting from₹��8.19 lakh. The sedan comeswith a new 1.5 litre K15 petrol engine along with smarthybrid technology featuringa lithiumion battery.

“At Maruti Suzuki, we always strive to bring newer,advanced and greener technologies in India,” said Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO,Maruti Suzuki in astatement.

Lithium-ion battery“The New Ciaz, powered byK15 smart hybrid gasolineengine, is testament of thesame. Ciaz is the fi��rst car inIndia to be powered by nextgeneration smart hybrid

technology with lithiumionbattery,” he added.

The petrol version comeswith both manual and automatic transmissions. Themanual variants of the petrol version are priced between ₹��8.19 lakh and ₹��9.97lakh while the automatictransmission options arepriced between ₹��9.8 lakh

and ₹��10.97 lakh.The fi��rm said that the up

graded car would off��er fueleffi��ciency of 21.56 km/litre.

The diesel versions of themodel would continue to bepowered by the original 1.3litre diesel engine with hybrid technology and wouldbe priced between ₹��9.19lakh and ₹��10.97 lakh.

Prices begin at ₹��8.19 lakh for petrol version of the sedan

Special correspondent

NEW DELHI

New avatar: The sedan comes with a new 1.5 litre K15 petrolengine along with smart hybrid technology. * PTI

Maruti unveils new Ciaz

Cloud communication services provider Tanla Solutions Ltd. is acquiring KarixMobile and its wholly ownedsubsidiary Unicel fromBlackstone company GSOCapital Partners at an enterprise value of ₹��340 crore.

Announcing that the defi��nitive share purchaseagreement, to acquire 100%of Karix and its subsidiary,was signed on Monday, Tanla said in a statement that theacquisition would be a cashand stock transaction. Acash payment of ₹��112 croreapart, GSO will also be issued ₹��125 crore worth ofTanla stock at a price of₹��56.79 per equity share. Tan

la will take over a debt of₹��103 crore and would use internal accruals for makingthe cash payment to GSO.

Tanla Solutions CMDUday Reddy described Karixas an “ideal strategic fi��t” toachieve the objective of adding diverse and highvalue

customer base and business.On a fully diluted basis,

GSO would own about 14.6%in Tanla, promoters 30.6%,employees 5.6% and the public 49.2% on completion ofthe acquisition. GSO wouldhave an observer seat onTanla’s board and also be entitled to preemptive rightsin future allotment of capitalto enable it to avoid dilution.

Established in 2000, Karix (formerly known asmGage India) has 1,500 enterprise clients across industries. In FY18, it had posted arevenue of ₹��540.2 crore.

‘Will accelerate growth’Tanla’s expects the acquisition to accelerate growthstrategy and deepen its en

terprise reach. Subject to approval from Tanla shareholders and regulators, theacquisition is expected toclose by October.

With combined revenuesof ₹��1,170 crore in FY18, Tanlawould emerge as a leadingcloud communications fi��rmproviding digital transformation strategies to its enterprise clients.

According to the statement the acquisition leverages Tanla’s strong telecomcarrier partnerships and Karix’s enterprise selling expertise to build a rationalised yet comprehensivesolutions portfolio that canquickly generate revenuesand reduce gotomarket timelines.

Tanla Solutions to buy Karix Mobile, unitfrom Blackstone’s GSO in ₹��340 cr. dealKarix will help in adding a diverse, highvalue customer base, says Tanla’s Reddy


HYDERABAD

Uday Reddy

HMFCL unveils newMitsubishi Outlander MUMBAI

Hindustan Motors Finance

Corporation Ltd. (HMFCL)

has introduced the next

generation Mitsubishi

Outlander with Advance CVT

technology at an

exshowroom Mumbai price

of ₹��31.95 lakh. “The new

engine provides the superior

performance, capability and

refi��nement customers in this

premium SUV (sport utility

vehicle) segment expect,”

said Uttam Bose, managing

director, HMFCL.

Maxxis India, the Indiansubsidiary of Taiwanbasedtyremaker Maxxis, plans toset up fi��ve additional manufacturing plants in thecountry.

“The company has plansto set up fi��ve more plants inIndia which will also cater tothe fourwheeler tyre market,” according to a statement from the company.

Maxxis India, on Monday,rolled out its fi��rst twowheeler tyre consignmentfrom its Sanand facility toHonda Motorcycle andScooter India (HMSCI).

The company had beensupplying OEM (originalequipment manufacturer)tyre fi��tments to HMSCI

through the Vietnam facilitysince 2016, according toMaxxis India.

The Sanand facility is currently manufacturing twowheeler tyres and tubes.The plant has a capacity toproduce about 20,000 tyresand 40,000 tubes a day, thecompany said.

To supply 1 mn tyresProduction from the fi��rstphase of the India facilitybegan in August 2017. Thecompany aims to supplyone million tyres to its OEMpartners by the end of thisyear.

Maxxis India is targetingto capture at least 15% of thecountry’s twowheeler tyremarket by 2023, accordingto the statement.

Taiwan’s Maxxis to setup 5 tyre units in India Firm also eyes 4wheeler tyre market


Bengaluru

Southern States are outshining the rest of India in mobile banking adoption in savings accounts, according to areport by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The report was preparedin association with FICCI andIndian Banks’ Association.

Telangana tops the tablewith 10% of savings bank accounts having at least onemobile banking transactionin the last six months ofFY18, according to thereport.

This is followed by Andhra Pradesh (6.30%), Karnataka (5.50%), Puducherry(5.80%), Tamil Nadu (5%)and Kerala (4.70%). The all

India average is 3.40%.The report had a sample

size of more than 2,600 respondents and BCG factoredin 34 banks across four segments — 15 medium PSU

banks; six large PSU banksand fi��ve new private banks.

Mobile banking activationstood at 21% for privatebanks and 3% for PSU banksfor FY18, the consulting fi��rm

said in the report.

Leading the charge BCG also said that easternand southern States wereleading the charge as Indiacontinued on the digital journey. More than 20% of theactive savings banks accounts in Telangana, Manipur and Mizoram had atleast one Internet banking fi��nancial transaction in thelast six months of FY18 compared with the national average of 11.30%.

Other southern States tootopped the national averageon the metric.

The theme of the report is“Providing fi��nancial servicesto SMEs in an increasinglydigital ecosystem.”

‘Southern States outshine restof India in mobile banking’ Eastern, southern States lead in Internet banking fi��nancial transactions, says BCG

Touch transfer: Mobile banking activation stands at 21% forprivate banks and 3% for PSBs in FY18. * GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK


CHENNAI

One97 Communications,that owns the Paytmbrand, on Monday introduced ‘Paytm AI Cloud forIndia’ — a cloud computingplatform aimed at developers, startups andenterprises.

The company has partnered with Chinese technology giant Alibaba forthe cloud computing infrastructure.

The cloud computingplatform will off��er a suiteof businesscentric appsfor organisations that needsolutions for cloud computing, readytouse services to automate their workfl��ow, easy to integratepayments, messaging andcustomer engagement.

Paytm parentunveils cloudplatform


NEW DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE




SPORT

Two years back, when Vinesh Phogat was stretcheredout of the arena writhing inpain and crying inconsolablyat the Rio Olympics, it wasanybody’s guess if she wouldever be able to fi��ght again.Her image of wheeling herself to receive the Arjunaaward was one of the mostpoignant moments that year.

On Monday, she was againlifted off�� the mat — this timein celebration after claiming

India’s and wrestling’s second gold medal at the 18thAsian Games here, overpowering Japan’s Yuki Irie 62 inthe 50kg fi��nal to end her losing streak to her opponent —this was the fourth meetingbetween the two with Iriehaving the upper hand everytime before this.

Sakshi failsWith Rio bronze medallistSakshi Malik going downtamely in the 62kg bronzemedal match, and PoojaDhanda in the 57kg, she ensured the women wrestlerswould not return emptyhanded from thecompetition.

Irie was not the only onethe 23year old Vinesh hadbeen on the lookout for to

avenge her pain and struggles in the past two years.Among the favourites to wina medal at Rio before hertwisted knee against Sun Yanan abruptly halted her campaign, the Chinese was thefi��rst to be ticked off�� the listhere in the prequarters withan 82 win.

Diff��erent challengeThe next two rounds did notlast the distance and saw herstorm into the fi��nal on technical superiority. Irie was adiff��erent challenge, though.Japan is a powerhouse in women’s wrestling and againstIrie, Vinesh knew she had totake her chances.

“I knew I had to win gold, Icould not have gone backwith a silver yet again. I wastired of being the secondbest. I had an opportunity today, my body was responding well. Bhagwan ka sath

tha, meri mehnat thi, sab sathme aa gaya,” (god was withme, my hard work was withme, everything came together),” she admitted after thewin.

She was clearly a favouritefor a medal here but even Vinesh did not expect to stampher dominance in this manner. “For me, this is likeOlympics. We had the Olympic bronze medallist hereand to beat a Japanese is a bigthing. It needed a lot of mental and physical composureand I managed to keep thattoday.”

She also admitted to pressure before the bout — toprove herself. “It was thepressure of proving it to myself. I knew I was strongerand better but the mat iswhere it counts,” she said.

She proved it in style too.Two minutes into the boutand 40 up, she had a chance

to pin her opponent butcould not break her defence.“Against a strong opponent,the match can turn even in 10seconds. If I get a chance tooutplay her with a pin, therecould not have been anything better and I put all mypower into it but she is toogood and escaped,” Vineshexplained.

She did concede twopoints towards the end forpassivity but by then, therewas little doubt that the goldwas coming India’s way. Forsomeone who, having tornall six side ligaments on herknee in that freak accident atRio, took less than sixmonths to return to action, itwas sweet retribution for allthe naysayers. “Someone hassaid that injuries make anathlete stronger. It took a lotof eff��ort to get out of it backthen, but I also have learnt alot from that injury,” she said.

Vinesh Phogat crowns herself in style Overpowers Japan’s Yui Irie 62 in the 50kg fi��nal after a dominant performance in the initial rounds

UTHRA GANESAN

JAKARTA

Breaking through: Vinesh Phogat ended her losing streak against Yuki Irie to bag gold. * REUTERS

WRESTLING

Sun Yanan had a shockedlook on her face but everypair of eyes was only onthe slumped fi��gure inorange singlet on the mat.Vinesh Phogat, only 21then but already one of India’s brightest hopes for amedal at the Rio Olympics,had twisted her knee at anawkward angle, could notmove at all and was distraught enough to not evenrealise the extent of herpain and injury.

That pain fi��nally easedaway on Monday herewhen Vinesh overcame Yanan with a dominating 82win in the prequarterfi��nals of her Asian Games

competition. Yanan, aformer World Championand silver medallist at theIncheon Asiad four yearsago, was no pushover butVinesh made it look tooeasy.

She admitted even shehadn’t expected it to be soeasy.

“As an opponent, yourespect everyone. I wasn’tlooking for revenge. Butyes, there was pressure onme before the bout — pressure to prove it to myself.

“I have met her thricebefore and lost every timebut I knew I was goodenough, strong enough. Ihad to now prove it on themat, that is where itcounts,” she said.

The pain eases, fi��nallySpecial Correspondent

Jakarta

Deepak Kumar and LakshaySheoran, shooters with contrasting career paths, mademajor breakthroughs onMonday by winning silver inthe men’s 10m air rifl��e andmen’s trap.

The 33yearold Deepakdid not mind the long waitfor a major medal, 14 years after he took up the sport.Lakshay, on the other hand,picked up the gun only fouryears ago as a teenager and at20, is now a silver medallistat Asiad, equalling the featachieved by Manavjit SinghSandhu at Doha 2006.

Sandhu also happened tobe in the trap fi��eld and was in

the medal hunt until he missed fi��ve targets towards theend to fi��nish fourth.

With father Somvir being aformer National wrestler, itwas no surprise that Lakshayrushed to touch Sandhu’s

feet right after the competition was over.

The trap fi��nal was won byChinese Taipei’s Kunpi Yang,who shot 48 to equal theworld record. Lakshay shot43 while South Korean Daemyeong Ahn took the bronzewith 30.

Another silver came India’s way with Deepak producing a late surge in the 10mrifl��e event.

China’s Yang Haoran retained the gold with an aggregate of 249.1, pushing Taipei’s Lu Shaochuan to thirdwith 226.8 in the 24shot fi��nal. Ravi Kumar fi��nishedfourth. Deepak shot a perfect10.9 to dislodge his Air Forcemate before producing a 10.8to pip the Taipei shooter.

Major breakthrough for the two shooters


Palembang

The wait ends: Deepak Kumar won a major medal, 14 yearsafter he took to the sport. * PTI

Deepak and Lakshay provide the silver lining

Late surge: Lakshay Sheoran, who was not in the medal raceuntil the 18th, shot a 10.9 to fi��nish second with 247.7. * PTI

SHOOTING

Badminton, quarterfinals:Men: Indonesia bt India 31. Women: Japan bt India 31. Basketball 5x5, Preliminary:Women: Unified Korea bt India10454.Handball: Men: Group 3: Indiabt Malaysia 4519.Kabaddi: Men: South Korea btIndia 2423; Women: India btThailand 3323.Rowing (heats): Men’s light-weight single sculls: 1. Dushyant (enters final); Doublesculls: Om Prakash & SwaranSingh (enter final).Men’s lightweight eight:Heats: India makes repechage

round from Heat 2; Women’ssingle sculls: Heats: 6. SayaliRajendra & Pooja (enter final).Sepak Takraw: Regu prelimin-ary: Men: India bt Iran 21; lostto Indonesia 30; Women: Laosbt India 21. Volleyball: Men’s preliminary:India bt Hong Kong 2725, 2522, 2519.Wrestling: Women 50kg free-style: Vinesh Phogat (Ind) btYuki Irie (Jpn) 62; 62kg free-style, bronze medal: Rim JongSim (Kor) bt Sakshi Malik (Ind)122; 57kg freestyle bronzemedal: Sakagami Katsuki (Jpn)bt Pooja Dhanda (Ind) 61;

INDIAN RESULTS

Competition in Asian hockeymight not be exceptional buteven by its limited standards,a 170 walloping is unheardof in the tournament.

The Indian men did justthat to hapless host Indonesia here on Monday to opentheir account in the competition in style, bettering theirown record at the AsianGames in the progress.

The previous highest margin for the country was 120,against Iran in 1974 and Ban

gladesh in 1982.The goalfest started in the

fi��rst minute of the game andcontinued till the end.

ExperimentationIn between, coach HarendraSingh experimented with hisplans and personnel and ensured everyone got enoughplay time to get a feel of theturf.

The experimenting sawSardar Singh playing muchahead in the attack andcreating chances while thetwo central midfi��elders Manpreet Singh and Vivek Prasadheld back.

It may all change in thecoming games, though,when the competition wouldget tougher.

India converted six of itsnine penaltycorners. Youngsters Dilpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh and SimranjeetSingh scored thrice each, thelast being impressive with a100 percent conversion rate— scoring in each of his threeattempts at goal.

Rupinder Pal Singh scoredtwice while HarmanpreetSingh, Lalit Upadhyay, S.V.Sunil, Akashdeep Singh,Amit Rohidas and Vivekscored one apiece.

170 romp for Indian men

UTHRA GANESAN

JAKARTA

HOCKEY

The last time Saina Nehwalplayed Nozomi Okuhara wasmore than a year ago, at theGlasgow World Championships. And when the Indianmet the Japanese in the women’s team badmintonquarterfi��nal of the 18thAsian Games at the GBK Istora Stadium here on Monday, Saina felt her opponenthad changed tremendously.

Okuhara had been a greatretriever earlier but nowSaina realised that she hadbecome more of an attacking player.

It took Saina time to settledown in the second singlesand once she did, she troubled the World No. 8, moving her nicely and pickingup plenty of points with hersmart net play. But justwhen she appeared ripe fora win, Saina cracked.

And though World No. 3P.V. Sindhu defeated AkaneYamaguchi, who is one rungabove her in the world rankings, Saina’s loss virtuallystopped India’s run in anevent where it had won abronze at the last Asiad. Itdid not take the Japaneselong to win the series 31 andenter the semifi��nal.

“In the third game, therallies were getting longerand I was trying to get moreeasy points. After 16 or 17,somehow I knew that someone would crack,” said Saina. “I made many unnecessary errors in the last threeor four points, I could haveplayed more rallies well. ButI did my best.”

Japan had won the UberCup in Thailand in May, andit had beaten India 50 whenit had met then. Chief coachP. Gopi Chand tried tochange the doubles combinations, breaking up theAshwini PonnappaSikkiReddy pair and pairing thetwo with diff��erent partners,in an eff��ort to unsettle theJapanese. Reddy partneredArathi Sara Sunil while Ponnappa teamed up with Sindhu but it did not make muchof a diff��erence in the end.

Later the Indian mencrashed out too, losing to Indonesia 31 in the quarterfi��nal. The host was backed bya loud crowd and the signswere not good for India asits best bet K. Srikanth(World No. 8) lost to Anthony Ginting, ranked fourrungs below him, in theopening singles. H.S. Prannoy defeated Christie Jonatan for the lone Indian victory in the fi��vematch event.

Shuttlers bow outin team event Saina falls to Okuhara; Sindhu loses

out in doubles with Ashwini Ponnappa

Stan Rayan

JAKARTA

Not enough: Saina Nehwal took it to the decider againstNozomi Okuhara, but could not get past the fi��nish line. * AFP

BADMINTON

Archery: Recurve women’s individual (Deepika Kumari, PromilaDaimary, Ankita Bhakat, Laxmirani Majhi) and Recurve women’steam (7.30 a.m.); Recurve men’sindividual (Sukhchain Singh,Jagdish Choudhary, Viswash,Atanu Das); Recurve men’s teamand Recurve mixed team (12.50p.m.). Artistic gymnastics: Women’squalification subdivision 3 (DipaKarmakar, Aruna Budda Reddy,Pranati Das, Pranati Nayak,Mandira Chowdhury), 2.30 p.m.Hockey: India vs Kazakhstan(6.30 p.m.).Kabaddi: Women: India vs SriLanka (7.30 a.m.); vs Indonesia(10.50 a.m.); Men: India vs Thailand (3.30 p.m.).Rowing (repechage rounds):Men’s single sculls (DattuBhokanal), 7.30 a.m; Women’spairs (Sanjukta Dung Dung &Harpreet Kaur), 8.20 a.m; Men’slightweight four (Bhopal Singh,Jagvir Singh, Tejas Shinde,Pranay Ganesh), 8.30 a.m.Shooting: 50m rifle 3 positions

men’s qualification (Sanjeev Rajput, Akhil Sheoran) and 10m airpistol men’s qualification (Abhishek Verma, Saurabh Chaudhary), 7.30 a.m; Trap mixed teamqualification (Lakshay, ShreyasiSingh), 9 a.m.Swimming: Men’s 50m freestyleHeats (Anshul Kotharim, Virdhawal Khade), 7.36 a.m.Tennis (starts 8.30 a.m.): Women’s singles: Roundof16(Ankita Raina, Kamran KaurThandi); Men’s doubles: Roundof16 (Sumit NagalRamkumarRamanathan); Mixed doubles:Roundof32 (Rohan BopannaAnkita Raina) and Roundof16(Divij SharanKamran KaurThandi).Volleyball: India vs Vietnam(8.30 a.m.).Wrestling: Men: GrecoRoman60kg: 1/8 Finals (Gyanender),11.48 a.m.; 67kg: 1/8 Finals(Manish), 12.48 p.m.

Women’s freestyle: 68kg:Quarterfinals (Divya Kakran),Noon; 76kg: 1/4 Quarterfinals:(Kiran), 12.42 p.m.

INDIANS IN ACTION

In a major upset, seventime gold medallist Indiasuff��ered its fi��rstever loss inthe Asian Games to SouthKorea in a men’s kabaddiGroupA game here onMonday.

India lost 2324 to SouthKorea. This was India’s fi��rstdefeat in 28 years at theAsiad.

In the women’s event,India cruised past Thailand3323 in its second groupgame.

South Koreashock forIndia


JAKARTA

KABADDI

Srihari Nataraj set his second National record in asmany days, clocking 26.19seconds in the men’s 50mbackstroke heats (old record, own, 26.31), but it wasnot enough to carry him tothe fi��nal.

Arvind Mani came second in the same heat in26.89.

Advait Page also bettered

his own National record inthe men’s 800m freestyle,clocking 8:09.13 (old8:10.22) but did not makethe fi��nal.

And in the 200m individual medley, Neel Roy wasfi��fth in his heat in 2:08.07.

The men’s 4x200m relayteam was the only Indiansquad (Srihari, Saurabh Sagvekar, Avinash Mani andNeel Roy) that qualifi��ed forthe fi��nal and it fi��nished seventh in 7:37.07. Japan wonthe gold in 7:05.17.

Srihari, Advait betterNational records

Stan Rayan

JAKARTA

SWIMMING

Ramkumar Ramanathanand Ankita Raina, made impressive starts to their campaign, progressing to theprequarterfi��nals of the tennis event here on Monday.

Ramanathan won the fi��rstset 60 against Wong HongKit but was stretched by theHong Kong player in the second set before getting past76 (4) on tiebreak in around of 32 match.

Prajnesh Gunneswaranhad it easy against Indonesia Rifqi M Fitriadi, winning62, 60.

India’s fi��rst match of theday was of Ankita Raina,

who beat Beatrice Gumulya62, 64 in a round of 32match. Karman Kaur Thandihad little diffi��culty in gettingpast Mongolian Jargal Altansarnai, 61, 60.

In men’s doubles, Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal defeated Nepal’s Abhishek Batola and SamrakshyBajracharya 61, 61.

women’s doubles as Rutuja Bhonsale and Y. Pranjala lost to Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and NichaLertpitaksinchai 64, 36,911.

Men’s doubles top seedsRohan Bopanna and DivijSharan defeated Indonesians Ignatius Anthony Susanto and David Agung Susanto 63, 63.

Ramanathan andAnkita advance


Palembang

Smooth start: Ankita breezed past Beatrice Gumulya. * PTI

TENNIS

Take that: Thokchom Seitaram Singh, left, jumps for the ball against Jafari Mehrdad. Indiadefeated Iran 2116, 1921, 2117 to enter the semifi��nals of the sepak takraw event. * AFP

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Medal hunt


Whatever else happens onthis tour, one thing is for certain: Virat Kohli’s struggles of2014 will soon be a distant,hazy memory. Four yearsago, he managed all of 134runs from 10 innings. Thistime, he has 440 from six. OnMonday, Kohli raised his second hundred of the series —and 23rd overall — as Indiamoved into an impregnableposition in the third Test atTrent Bridge.

This was a day when thevisiting batsmen had onlyone thing on their minds: therelentless, unhurried accumulation of runs. This theyachieved, with Kohli andCheteshwar Pujara in thevanguard, as India declaredon a mammoth lead of 520late on the third evening.

It left England nine trickyovers to face before the closeof play. Despite much pressure from the fi��elding side,Alastair Cook and KeatonJennings got to stumps unscathed, their side 23 without loss. But with two fulldays left in the game, any result other than an Indian triumph would represent amiracle.

No rushKohli and Pujara were, understandably, in no rush toscore in the morning. Indiaresumed on 124 for two andthe pair knuckled down inthe face of controlled, disciplined English bowling.

In the midst of a sustainedspell of pressure, the tirelessJames Anderson drew anedge from Pujara only for JosButtler to shell the catch atsecond slip. The ball wentquickly to his left but Buttlerought to have gone with twohands instead of one; Anderson has been cruelly letdown by his fi��elders thisseries.

Pujara was on 40 then anda little later he pushed uncertainly — the curtainrail shot

they call it here — at a ballfrom Ben Stokes. The Saurashtra man did not lookpretty or convincing, but hesurvived. And sometimes,that is enough.

Pujara completed his 50,off�� 147 balls, with a single off��Stuart Broad; it was only hissecond halfcentury in 13Test innings.

The eff��ort will have comeas an immense relief to thebatsman who, having beendropped for the fi��rst Test,managed scores of one and17 in the second.

And all this on the back ofa poor summer for Yorkshirein the County Championship(a top score of 41 in 12 innings). India will hope theknock represents the end of

what has been a fallow period for one of its lynchpins.

Only 24 runs came off�� theday’s fi��rst 15 overs, but thebatting side did not care. Itwas important to keep England in the fi��eld and wear itsbowlers down. With muchtime left in the game, therewas little reason to makehaste.

Kohli, who had just seenan inside edge whistle pasthis legstump, as if to illustrate the point that batsmenare never truly comfortablein these conditions, soonraised his 50 as India wentinto lunch having added 70runs in 29 overs.

Forty minutes after therestart, Stokes brokethrough, removing Pujara for

a watchful 72. The batsmanhad pushed forward in defence, but had been surprised a little by the bounce.

At the other end, Kohlicarried on, running hard between the wickets (39 singles,nine twos and two threes heran, in all) and punishingloose deliveries, of whichthere were a few from AdilRashid.

Kohli dropped

Minutes after tea, Kohli wasdropped on 93, the ball justgoing through Jennings’s legsat gully. Anderson, to noone’s surprise, was the victim again.

Kohli got to his hundred inthe next over, an edge off��Chris Woakes racing to thethirdman boundary. He wasout legbefore to the samebowler not long after, for 103.

The lead had already swollen to 449 at this stage andnext Hardik Pandya, whohad the license to attack,clouted a runaball 52. Indiadeclared on 352; it should bemore than plenty.

India in command after the Kohli-Pujara showThe former scores his second hundred of the series, while the latter makes a watchful 72; England faces a mammoth target of 521

At it again: Virat Kohli ran hard between the wickets and punished the loose deliveries whileposting his 23rd Test century. * AP

INDIA IN ENGLAND

Shreedutta Chidananda

Nottingham

<> It wobbled and I just

copped it on the end.

It is a fracture but it's

not displaced and

that is a big thing.

We are hopeful that

a bit more ice

overnight and some

protection [will

help].

Jonny Bairstow

after injuring his fi��nger while keeping

CMYK

A ND-NDE




SPORT

SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 12400 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

It is impossible not to respond to the dominant feelings ofpathos and poignancy running as the undercurrent in theRamayana, evoking a sense of pity that is celebrated as ‘karuna rasa.’ It reaches a peak when Rama steels Himself tosend Sita to the forest in her pregnant state, on the groundof suspicion. The delicate situation rends the hearts of all,and even Valmiki, Narayana Bhattatiri and others are overtaken by grief and falter in continuing with the narrative. Valmiki exclaims that though Brahma has granted him the necessary vision and poetic abilities to fulfi��l this enormoustask of composing the Ramayana, he is at a loss to fathomthe hearts of the divine couple in their human role as Ramaand Sita, pointed out Sri B. Damodhara Dikshitar in a discourse. To him they remain inseparable and omniscient,cherishing each other in the secret depths of their hearts.

Sita never accepts that Rama suspects her, though he hassent her away. Such is the nobility of her virtue and pativratadharma, and the oneness in thought, word and deed thatbinds the divine couple playing the roles Sita and Rama. Sekkizhar, in his account of the life of Tiruneelakanta Nayanar,praises the outstanding chastity that this Nayanar and hisdevout wife exemplify while serving the Lord with tremendous love and devotion. Owing to an incident involving thesaint’s lust, his wife asks him to refrain from approachingher. Moved by his faith in Siva, he then and there renouncesany relationship with women with great determination andremains so throughout. The Lord wishes to make known thevow of chastity that this couple observes for forty years andcomes in the guise of a Siva yogi. He leads them throughtrials and tests and fi��nally rewards their resoluteness by taking them to His abode in their youthful forms.

FAITH

Inseparable in virtue4 Unenthusiastically dresses pet

lazily (7)

5 Bishop loves king? Novel,

perhaps (4)

6 Sending out old wine and gin

cocktail (9)

7 Test paper, set without

presence of PTA, is

determined in advance (6)

8 Swiss psychiatrist is at the

French forest (6)

14 Track deer footprints with

some hesitation, followed by

swallow, an insectivorous

creature (5,4)

16 Increase, in Agra, government

value added tax on energy (9)

17 Reptiles slither? Ask Sen (6)

18 Foreign currency is with the

Spanish officer (7)

20 Indian monkey found in Jalan

Gurdwara (6)

21 Somehow aspire for Iran of

yore (6)

24 Plants four Romans, that is,

senators initially (5)

25 Mongolian ruler takes

thousand ethnic Chinese (4)

15 Indy team danced for

Wodehouse's uncle? (8)

17 Ban bird's tap (8)

19 Dramatist: "First, nothing less

than 10 to the power of 100"

(5)

22 Din, in India, may follow this

type of pain? (4)

23 Foreign country expels

national leader resulting in

estrangement (10)

26 Perhaps, trunkcallers

erroneously telephone,

substituting a nine, at fi��rst,

for one six in the beginning

(9)

27 Goodbye, heads of all

departments in English

university (5)

28 Gardner lies about chief

troublemakers (11)

■ DOWN

1 Behind church, daughter

consumes one large tot (5)

2 Con man on the run consumes

BLT preparation in the peak of

European tourism (4,5)

3 It's built with two rings and

ellipse to start with serving no

practical purpose (6)

(set by Incognito)

■ ACROSS

1"Commander's fi��t to capture

stronghold — At ease!" (11)

9 Rule Niger badly (5)

10 I am on time, you hear!

Without any preparation! (9)

11 Abreast, like LR? (4,2,4)

12 It's chokey for one just over 18

shortly (4)

13 Spoilt, stale unit (5)

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12401

India — 1st innings: 329.England — 1st innings: 161.India — 2nd innings: ShikharDhawan st. Bairstow b Rashid44 (63b, 6x4), K.L. Rahul bStokes 36 (33b, 7x4), Cheteshwar Pujara c Cook b Stokes 72(208b, 9x4), Virat Kohli lbw bWoakes 103 (197b, 10x4),Ajinkya Rahane b Rashid 29(94b, 3x4), Rishabh Pant c Cookb Anderson 1 (6b), HardikPandya (not out) 52 (52b, 7x4,1x6), Mohammed Shami c Cook

b Rashid 3 (6b), R. Ashwin (notout) 1 (1b); Extras (b1, lb9,w1): 11; Total (for seven wkts.decl. in 110 overs): 352.Fall of wickets: 160 (Rahul,11.2), 2111 (Dhawan, 23.2), 3224 (Pujara, 71.3), 4281 (Kohli,93.4), 5282 (Pant, 94.4), 6329(Rahane, 107.1), 7349 (Shami,109.3).England bowling: Anderson 227551, Broad 163600,Woakes 224491, Stokes 203682, Rashid 2721013, Root

3090.

England — 2nd innings: AlastairCook (batting) 9 (28b, 1x4),Keaton Jennings (batting) 13(27b, 2x4); Extras (nb1): 1;Total (for no loss in nine overs):23.

India bowling: Bumrah 31160, Ishant 4150, Ashwin2120.

England needs another 498runs with 10 wickets remaining.

SCOREBOARD ENGLAND VS INDIA, 3RD TEST, DAY 3

For most of Monday, thecricket was like what Groucho Marx famously described during his visit toLord’s in 1954 — a wonderfulcure for insomnia.

Any chance of fi��nal day excitement in the opening Duleep Trophy fi��xture at theNPR College Ground endedwhen unfi��t ground conditions — there were problemsat the bowling runup area —allowed only sevenandahalf overs of play in the fi��rstsession.

The match between IndiaRed and India Green ended

in a tame draw, with theformer taking the fi��rstinnings points.

Even this eminently forgettable day will be remembered with fondness by twoplayers — Sanjay Ramaswamy and B. Aparajith.

Both scored hundreds andadded 210 for the unfi��nishedthird wicket. Sanjay was unbeaten on 123 (245b, 9x4,2x6) and Aparajith 101 (205b,7x4, 3x6) as India Red was262 for one when stumpswere drawn for the fi��naltime.

Aparajith, though, wasn’tthe fi��rst batsman from his family in Chennai to score ahundred in this match. Histwin brother, B. Indrajith,

had made an elegant 109 onSunday.

“I was determined toscore a hundred,” Aparajithsaid. “I am happy that Indrajith also got a century. It wasimportant for him as he iscoming back from a shoulderinjury. This is the fi��rst timewe both are scoring hundreds in the same First Classmatch, though we have doneit before in other matches.”

Abhinav misses outAparajith had come to thewicket after the fall of hiscaptain Abhinav Mukundwho was the only one to getout this day. The openeredged to Indrajith at secondslip off�� Ankit Rajpoot.

He would surely be regretting his dismissal, as he missed out on batting against afriendly attack on a friendliertrack.

Aparajith and Sanjay, however, were in no mood tolet go of the opportunity.They were willing to grind initially and changed gears,clearing the boundary on afew occasions.

Sanjay, the Vidarbhaopener who has had a greatyear, was the fi��rst to reachthe milestone when hesmashed leftarm spinner Vikash Mishra for a huge six over longoff��. “After missing outin the fi��rst innings, I wantedto hit a hundred in the second,” he said.

In the next match, beginning on August 23, India Redwill take on India Blue.The scores:

India Red — 1st innings: 337.

India Green — 1st innings: 309.

India Red – 2nd innings: SanjayRamaswamy (not out) 123, Abhinav Mukund c Indrajith b Rajpoot 31, B. Aparajith (not out)101, Extras (lb1, nb5, w1) 7;Total (for one wkt. decl. in 79overs): 262.

Fall of wicket: 152.

India Green bowling: Rajpoot112401, Dinda 70290, Vignesh 50160, Saxena 172470, Mishra 253680, Chopra 120550, Panchal 2160.

Man-of-the-Match: RajneeshGurbani.

India Red 3 points, India Green1.

On the double: Sanjay Ramaswamy and B. Aparajith combined to torment the Green bowlers.* B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

Sanjay and Aparajith light up fi��nal day Hammer unbeaten centuries in drawn encounter; India Red takes three points

DULEEP TROPHY

P.K. Ajith Kumar

DINDIGUL

Cheteshwar Pujara maynot have scored too manyruns for Yorkshire in theCounty Championship Division One this season (172runs from 12 innings) butthat stint had helped him agreat deal, he stated onMonday.

This was his fourth season of county cricket, thebatsman previously turning out for Derbyshire andNotts.

“Playing county cricketdid help me,” he said. “I’velearnt a lot. Although Ididn’t score too many runsin redball cricket, I wasplaying on challengingpitches. Ultimately we justneed to trust our technique. We just need to playthe way we know.”

Pujara’s 72 on the thirdday of the third Test wasonly his second halfcentury in 13 Test innings, but hefelt he had been strikingthe ball well. “There is always some pressure, especially when you haven’tscored too many runs. ButI always felt that I was batting well. Especially in thenets, the way I was timingthe ball I was very confi��dent I was up for a big one.

“I’m really pleased tohave scored those valuable72 runs for the team. Whenyou’re away from home it’snot about big hundredsbut about having enoughruns on the board collectively,” he said.

All setPujara was confi��dent Indiawould dismiss England onthe fourth day. “There’senough help for the fastbowlers,” he said.

“We saw in the fi��rst session today [Monday] thatsome balls were climbing,some stayed low. “If webowl the way we did in thefi��rst innings, we’ll have agood chance of bowlingthem out tomorrow [Tuesday].”

County stinthelped, says Pujara


NOTTINGHAM


CMYK

A ND-NDE




SPORT

Asian Games: Sony Ten 2,Sony ESPN (SD & HD), 7 a.m.England vs India: 3rd Test,day four, Sony Six (SD & HD),3.30 p.m.KPL: Star Sports 2 (SD & HD),6.30 p.m.

TV PICKS

Chievo goalie thanks‘legend’ Ronaldo MILAN

Chievo goalkeeper Stefano

Sorrentino called Cristiano

Ronaldo a “legend” and

thanked the Juventus star for

wishing him a speedy

recovery after being knocked

out by the Portuguese player

in the season opener

between the two teams at

the weekend. Sorrentino, 39,

suffered a broken nose,

whiplash and a shoulder

injury following a tackle with

the fivetime Ballon d’Or

winner. “I received a message

of solidarity and speedy

recovery from Cristiano

Ronaldo. Thank you legend!”

Sorrentino tweeted. AFP

IN BRIEFNovak Djokovic ended a careerlong jinx as he completed a matched set of Masters1000 titles on Sunday with a64, 64 victory over RogerFederer in the Cincinnatifi��nal.

The former World No.1 became the fi��rst man to win allnine of the ATP’s elite Masters 1000 events since theATP was formed in 1990.

First loss

Federer, a seventime champion in Cincinnati, lost a fi��nalin the hardcourt US Open tuneup for the fi��rst time.

In addition, his streak of100 straight unbroken service games in Cincy was ended by Djokovic in the seventhgame of the fi��rst set.

The 37yearold Swiss hadbeen aiming for a 99th career trophy, but was unableto get over the line due inpart to four doublefaults atthe most inopportune oftimes.

“Thanks for letting mewin here once,” Djokovicjoked to Federer at the trophy presentation.

“I didn’t play my best tennis today, but I managed.”

Djokovic claimed theopening set in 37 minutesand came back from an earlybreak in the second to over

haul his longtime rival asthey played for the 46thtime.

Dutch challenger Kiki Bertens profi��ted from a thirdsetcollapse from Simona Halep

to score the biggest win ofher career Sunday, beatingWorld No. 1 26, 76(6), 62 inthe Cincinnati fi��nal.

Halep, who came into thefi��nal on a ninematch win

ning streak, ran out of reserves. The results (fi��nals): Men: Novak Djokovic bt RogerFederer 64, 64.Women: Kiki Bertens bt SimonaHalep 26, 76(6), 62.

Djokovic breaks Cincinnati jinx Beats Federer to complete Masters collection; Bertens halts Halep’s streak

MASTERS TENNIS


Cincinnati

HYDERABAD: Mr. Marthand SinghMahindra, Mrs. Rina Mahindra &Mr. P. Prabhakar Reddy’s Kangra(A. Sandesh up) won the Nizam’sGold Cup, the chief event of theraces held here on Monday (August 20). Athaollahi trains thewinner.

1 DECCAN QUEEN PLATE

(1,600m), (Cat. II), maiden 3yo only (Terms): ALEXANDER-

THEGREAT (P. Trevor) 1, Lockhart(Deep Shanker) 2, Super Act (Md.Ismail) 3 and Nathu La (AkshayKumar) 4. Not run: Jo Malone. 3,2 and 21/4. 1m 43.71s. Rs. 5(w), 5and 7(p), SHP: 10, FP: 8, Q: 7, Tla:refunded. Favourite: Alexanderthegreat. Owners: M/s. S. M.Ruia, Kersi Homy Vachha &Aditya P. Thackersey. Trainer:Deshmukh.

2 ASTRONOMIC PLATE (Div. II),(1,100m), 3yo & over, rated

26 to 46 (Cat. III): 1. LIGHTNING

FIN (Deepak Singh) 1, MoneyTime (Gopal Singh) 2, ExcellentHope (Suraj Narredu) 3 and LaMer (Akshay Kumar) 4. 11/2, noseand shd. 1m 8.72s. Rs. 19(w), 7, 23and 6(p), SHP: 145, FP: 1,108, Q:567, Tanala: 2,004. Favourite: Excellent Hope. Owners: M/s.Rajesh Sanghani Atul BhanuSanghani, Narendra Surana &Madharapu Sudhir. Trainer: D.Netto.

3 ASTRONOMIC PLATE (Div. I),(1,100m), 3yo & over, rated

26 to 46 (Cat. III): SHAQUILLE

(Suraj Narredu) 1, Trump Girl (Akshay Kumar) 2, Rahil (GopalSingh) 3 and Cash For Rank (P.Ajeeth Kumar) 4. 23/4, 13/4 and3. 1m 8.60s. Rs 23(w), 7, 6 and5(p), SHP: 12, FP: 73, Q: 30, Tla:100. Favourite: Rahil. Owners:Mr. Sardar Jivtesh Singh, Dr.Prabhakar Chowdary Tripuraneni & Mr. Mohammed RasheedAli Khan. Trainer: D. Netto.

4 CHARMINAR CUP (1,400m), 3yo & over, rated 42 to 62 (Cat.

II): SOUTHERN LEGACY (Tanwar)1, Barnabas (Akshay Kumar) 2,Bayrd (Suraj Narredu) 3 and TurfLegend (Akeeth Kumar) 4. Notrun: City Of Sails. 11/2, 1 and 61/4. 1m 28.61s. Rs. 8(w), 5, 6 and7(p), SHP: 12, FP: 12, Q: 10, Tla: 21.Favourite: Southern Legacy.Owner: Mr. Teja Gollapudi.Trainer: Laxman Singh.

5 XISCA PLATE (1,400m), 3yo& over, rated 26 to 46 (Cat.

III): BLUE EMPRESS (KuldeepSingh) 1, The Special One (Aneel)2, Guiding Force (N. Rawal) 3 andVashishta (P. Trevor) 4. 1/2, 11/4and hd. 1m 29.66. Rs. 7(w), 6, 7and 7(p), SHP: 19, FP: 20, Q: 17,Tla: 66. Favourite: Blue Empress.Owners: Dr. Pratap C. Reddy,Mrs. Upasana Kamineni & MissAmeeta Mehra. Trainer: LaxmanSingh.

6 NIZAM’S GOLD CUP (2,000m),4yo & over (Terms): KANGRA

(A. Sandesh) 1, Captain Morgan(Akshay Kumar) 2, Lady In Lace(P. Trevor) 3 and Like Wise (Nakhat Singh) 4. 2, 33/4 and 1/2. 2m7.55s. Rs.15(w), 5 and 8(p), SHP:12, FP: 84, Q: 31. Owners: Mr.Marthand Singh Mahindra, Mrs.Rina Mahindra & Mr. P.Prabhakar Reddy. Trainer: Athaollahi.

7 MANCHIRYALA PLATE

(1,600m), 5yo & over, ratedupto 30 (Cat. III): CARNIVAL EX-

PRESS (Koushik) 1, My Windfall(C.P. Bopanna) 2, Amaravathi (G.Naresh) 3 and Dhool Ka Phool(Md. Ismail) 4. Hd, 1/4 and 21/2.1m 45.05s. Rs. 18(w), 8, 8 and10(p), SHP: 17, FP: 70, Q: 46, Tla:601. Favourite: Hammer. Owner:Mr. Syed Nawaz Hussain. Trainer:L.D’Silva. JACKPOT: Rs. 2,279 (156 tkts),RUNNER-UP: 164 (926 tkts),TREBLE (i): 347 (146 tkts), (ii): 116(1,067 tkts).

Kangra wins Nizam’s Gold Cup

Burnley great McIlroy diesLONDON

Northern Ireland international

Jimmy McIlroy, widely

regarded as Burnley’s finest

ever player, has died aged 86,

the club announced on

Monday. An inside forward

who was capped 55 times and

helped the Northern Irish

reach the 1958 World Cup

quarterfinals, McIlroy was an

integral part of the Clarets

team that won the 1960

league title. AFP

India u16 boyslose to OmanNEW DELHI

After finishing second in the

WAFF U16 football

championship, the Indian

boys lost 21 to Oman in a

friendly in Turkey. After Oman

scored on either side of

halftime on Monday, Vikram

scored from the penalty spot

in added time to reduce the

margin. IANS

La Liga debutant Huesca announced its arrival in theSpanish top fl��ight in style.

Powered by two impressive strikes from midfi��elderAlex Gallar, the promotedside grabbed a 21 win awayto Eibar on Sunday in its fi��rstgame of the season.

Gallar danced his waypast three defenders beforesticking the ball through thelegs of Eibar goalkeeperMarko Dmitrovic to scoreHuesca’s fi��rst ever goal in LaLiga in the fi��fth minute of amatch between the twosmallest clubs in the league.

Gallar followed that spectacular goal by unintentionally hitting his second from alongrange free kick in the40th minute as his attempted cross went beyond its intended target and fl��ewstraight into the net, catching Dmitrovic by surprise.

Real Madrid got its La Ligacampaign off�� to a winning

start with a 20 victory overGetafe on Sunday.

Inter stunned

In Serie A, a late Edin Dzekostunner got AS Roma off�� themark in its campaign at Torino but Inter Milan made theworst possible start with a10 loss at Sassuolo.

The results:La Liga: Eibar 1 (Escalante 69)lost to SD Huesca 2 (Gallar 5 &40); Rayo Vallecano 1 (Embarba 85pen) lost to Sevilla 4(Vazquez 15, Silva 31, 45+1 &79); Real Madrid 2 (Carvajal 20,Bale 51) bt Getafe 0.

Serie A: Torino 0 lost to AS Roma 1 (Dzeko 89); Bolonia 0 lostto SPAL 1 (Kurtic 71); Empoli 2

(Krunic 14, Caputo 51) bt Cagliari 0.

Parma 2 (Inglese 43, Antonio Barilla 59) drew with Udinese 2 (De Paul 65pen, Fofana69); Sassuolo 1 (Berardi 27pen) bt Inter Milan 0.

Premier League: Brighton 3(Murray 25, Duff��y 27, Gross 44pen) bt Manchester United 2(Lukaku 34, Pogba 90pen).

Huesca registers historic win Gallar powers the side to a 21 victory over Eibar in its maiden La Liga appearance

EURO LEAGUES


Eibar

Full of beans: Gareth Bale scored one goal and created another in his team’s 20 win overGetafe. * REUTERS

Former India skipper Dhanraj Pillay will be followingthe Asian Games hockeycompetition closely.

Chief coach HarendraSingh’s approach will be ofspecial interest due to the similarity with M.K. Kaushik(1998 Bangkok Asiad chiefcoach) when it comes toteam building.

“Harendra is the kind ofcoach whom players can approach with suggestions. Helistens to seniors, is approachable to the youngsters and then takes his owndecision. Having a coach ready to listen helps in improving understanding,” saidDhanraj.

India is the defendingchampion in men’s hockey.The previous championmen’s team was led by Dhanraj at Bangkok 1998 andcoached by Kaushik who believed in carrying everyonealong.

“Harendra had travelledto Bangkok on his own expense, to watch hockey andkeep in touch with latest developments. He may have

observed Kaushik managingthe team on and off�� the fi��eld,assisted by M.R. Negi, anexpert in lifting the mood ofof players.”

India had beaten SouthKorea on penalty strokes towin the Bangkok fi��nal, twostrokes saved by goalkeeperAshish Ballal. The highestgoalscorer of the competition (11 goals) points out thatsuccessful sides have coaches who can bring out thebest in a diverse group ofplayers.

“Kaushik gave seniors thespace and respect, heldteam meetings to prevent infi��ghting. As captain I took

certain decisions on thepitch like retaining Ballal forthe penalty strokes in the fi��nal, he backed me. Credit forkeeping the players togethergoes to his mature handling,” said the forward.

Methods explained

Dhanraj explained the chiefcoach’s methods. “He put seniors in charge of specifi��cpositions, for example theforwardline had to be handled by Mukesh Kumar andme, midfi��eld by RamandeepSingh and Baljit Saini, defence by Dilip Tirkey, etc.”

“The federation (IndianHockey Federation) had in

vited Merwyn Fernandes(multiple Olympian and famous inside forward) for aweek to give motivationaltalks and guide forwards.When the tournament started, Kaushik did not put pressure on us. He understoodthat an experienced groupwas giving a robust displaymatch after match till the fi��nal.” India beat Korea on penalty strokes, with two savesfrom Ballal.

Coming back to the current squad under goalkeeperP. Sreejesh’s captaincy, theexIndia skipper emphasisedthat playmaker SardaraSingh’s return under Harendra, after being dropped bythe previous coach for theGold Coast CommonwealthGames, is a realisation thatexperience is valued.

“Harendra prefers oneonone chats with hisplayers, will spend time withthe youngest member incase inexperience is aff��ecting performance. Both heand Kaushik believe in building a good atmosphere in thesquad. Experienced sidesneed a players’ manager, nota headmaster.”

‘Harendra and Kaushik are players’ managers’ Dhanraj sees similarities in the coaching styles of both Nandakumar Marar

MUMBAI

Keen listener: Harendra Singh is a coach who can be easilyapproached by the players. * FILE PHOTO

India’s Viswanathan Anandplayed out a draw withMaxime VachierLagrave ofFrance in the secondround of Sinquefi��eld Cupchess here on Monday.

Magnus Carlsen joinedLevon Aronian of Armeniaand Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan in thelead with 1.5 points out of apossible two. Anand sharesthe fourth spot with fourother with one point.

Anand held


St. Louis (USA)

Anirudh Chandrasekarmissed two match pointsand went down 64, 36, 67(6) to fourth seed CingYang Meng of Chinese Taipei in the fi��rst round of the$15,000 ITF men’s Futurestournament on Monday.

The results: $15,000 ITFmen, Nonthaburi, Thailand:Doubles (prequarterfi��nals):Chayanon Kaewsuto & Patcharapol Kawin (Tha) bt RoyHobbs (Sgp) & Kunal Anand64, 62; Niki Poonacha & Nitin Kumar Sinha bt Mark Kolenberg (Bel) & Techist Krasaesom (Tha) 61, 62.

$15,000 ITF men, Anning,China: First round: CingYangMeng (Tpe) bt Anirudh Chandrasekar 46, 63, 76(6); Kazuma Kawachi (Jpn) bt S.D.Prajwal Dev 75, 64.

Anirudhgoes down

Sports Bureau

Anning (China)

After an impressive fi��rst leg,Hero MotoSports Team Rallyrider C.S. Santosh grabbedthe second position at theIndia Baja 2018 — the only‘Dakar Challenge’ rally in thecountry.

The fi��nal leg of the rallyresumed action in Jaisalmerwhere Santosh arrived at thefi��nish ramp, maintaining theteam’s 100 % fi��nish record atthe India Baja.

After completing the274km run across Jaisalmer,

it was time to mark yetanother milestone fi��nish forthe factory rally team.

The closing stage of therally went rather smoothcompared to the fastpacedfi��rst day as the competitorshad to tackle a hard pack terrain due to heavy rain theprevious night.

A total of about 208kmwere run on Monday, divided into three special stagesin the desert. The team isnow gearing up for the INCARally in Peru where Santoshwill lead the charge and car

ry forward the team’s ‘Roadto Dakar 2019’ campaign.

‘Great competition’Santosh said: “I am glad

to cross the fi��nish line of India Baja to be on the podiumafter a tough race with greatcompetition and challengingweather conditions.

“This is the fi��rst race onhome soil where I am walking away healthy in the pastthree years and that is a bigpositive I take forward goinginto the fi��nal months beforeDakar.”

Santosh fi��nishes second Press Trust of India

New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond on a PIL fi��led by a lawstudent to make sports afundamental right.

A Bench of Justices S.A.Bobde and L. NageswaraRao gave the government afourweek deadline to provide a reply to a petitionfi��led by Kanishka Pandey ofthe NGO ‘Sports: A Way ofLife’, represented by advocates Siddharth Dave andRajiv Kumar Dubey.

The petition submitted

that sports should be made afundamental right under Article 21A (right to education).

Hand-in-handIt argued that academics andsports should go handinhand so that a child wouldbe better prepared to copewith the challenges andpressures of life in the modern world.

“Their confi��dence and patience level will also bestrong through sports activities and competition involved in sports,” the petition said.

The petition asked thecourt to direct the government to bring in laws to promote sports, incorporating itinto the Directives Principlesand fundamental duties ofthe Constitution, and makeit an integral part of the curriculum in schools.

The Bench issued noticeto the State governments,University Grants Commission, Union Human Resource Development Ministry, Sports and Youth Aff��airsDepartment, Ministry of Finance, and Sports Authorityof India.

Sports should be made afundamental right, says plea

LEGal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Supreme Court seeks government’s response

The Murshidabad Swimming Association will conduct the 75th edition of theNational open water swimming competition, world’slongest event, on the Bhagirathi river on August 26.

Altogether 25 swimmers, including those fromSpain, Thailand, Sweden,Argentina and Bangladesh,have registered for the81km race, which will startat 4.30 a.m.

The 19km race having 54swimmers, including 15women, will start at 1.30p.m.

Nationalopen waterswimming Special Correspondent

KOLKATA


CMYK

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Malaysia seizes rhinohorns worth $12 million KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia has made a recordseizure of 50 rhino hornsworth an estimated $12million at Kuala Lumpurairport as they were beingflown to Vietnam, authoritiessaid on Monday. Customsofficials found the parts incardboard boxes in the cargoterminal of the capital’sairport. The 50 rhino hornsweighed 116 kg. AFP

IN BRIEF

Milk at breakfast canhelp manage diabetes TORONTO

If you are diabetic, thenconsuming milk at breakfastcan help lower blood glucoselevel throughout the day,suggests a study. The findingsshowed that milk consumedwith a high-carbohydratebreakfast reduced bloodglucose even after lunch, andhigh-protein milk had agreater effect. IANS

U.K. woman falls off�� ship,spends 10 hours in water ZAGREB

A British tourist who fell off acruise ship near Croatia hasbeen rescued and is safe afterspending a full night in theAdriatic Sea, officials said onMonday. “I was in the waterfor 10 hours, so thesewonderful guys rescued me,”the woman, appearing ingood health, told Croatia'sNational Television after herrescue on Sunday. AFP

Competitors approaching a target during the FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship nearGross-Siegharts in Austria on Monday. * REUTERS


Racing in the air

Italian actress Asia Argento,who became a leading fi��gurein the #MeToo movement after accusing powerhouseproducer Harvey Weinsteinof rape, paid hush money toa man who claimed she sexually assaulted him when hewas 17, The New York Timesreported on Sunday.

The $3,80,000 paymentwas made to Jimmy Bennett,an actor and rock musician,who claimed Ms. Argento assaulted him in a Californiahotel room in 2013, according to the Times, which citeddocuments sent to the paperby an unidentifi��ed party.

Mr. Bennett was twomonths past his 17th birthday at the time of the allegedencounter, while Ms. Argento was 37. The legal age ofconsent in California is 18.The pair are now 22 and 42respectively.

The newspaper said it hadtried repeatedly withoutsuccess to get a comment onthe matter from Ms. Argentoand her representatives.

The terms of the deal including a payment schedulewere fi��nalised in April thisyear, according to the documents seen by the Times.

Among the documents itreceived was a selfi��e of thepair lying in bed dated May9, 2013, that Bennett wassupposed to hand over to

Ms. Argento along with itscopyright under the agreement. The Times cited threepeople familiar with the caseas saying the documentswere authentic.

The pair acted together inthe 2004 fi��lm The Heart IsDeceitful Above All Things,in which Ms. Argento playsBennett’s troubled mother.

Ms. Argento’s lawyer Carrie Goldberg described themoney as “helping Mr. Bennett,” lamenting that the actress had to deal with people“who preyed on both yourstrengths and yourweaknesses.”

Mr. Bennett’s lawyers hadcharacterised the hotel encounter as a “sexual battery” that traumatised theformer child actor, threatening his mental health andincome.

His notice of intent to suesought $3.5 million in damages, the paper said.

Weinstein accuser paidteen to settle assault case Asia Argento was a leading fi��gure of the #MeToo movement


Washington

Asia Argento

Westland Publications announced on Monday theacquisition of former Indian cricketer V.V.S. Laxman’s autobiography.

A book titled 281 andBeyond will be publishedon 20 November 2018, thecompany said.

“It was an emotionaljourney that left medrained at the end of eachsession. Several incidentsthat I had all but forgottensuddenly sprang back intomemory as I relived my lifein great detail. It was hardwork, but it was also greatfun,” the cricketing greatfrom Hyderabad said.

“V.V.S.’s account of hislife is refreshingly candidand full of insights into theway cricket is played... Weare delighted to launch ournew imprint, WestlandSport, with this outstanding book,” said GautamPadmanabhan, CEO,Westland.

Book soonon life ofV.V.S. Laxman

Special correspondent

HYDERABAD

Apple Inc said on Mondayit has pulled illegal lotteryapps from its App Store inChina amid tightening regulation and a barrage ofcriticism from State media.

According to state media, the company has recently pulled around25,000 apps from its Chinese store in an eff��ort tocooperate with regulators.

Apple confi��rmed it hasrecently removed gambling apps from its store,but did not confi��rm thenumber of apps or a timeline for the removals. “Wehave already removed many apps and developers fortrying to distribute illegalgambling apps on our AppStore,” Apple said in astatement.

Apple dropsillegal lotteryapps in China

Reuters

BEIJING

A commonly used antidepressant medication Prozaccan counter some of the effects of brain ageing, such assensory and cognitive decline, an MIT study suggests.

The research published inthe Journal of Neuroscienceprovides fresh evidence thatthe decline in the capacity ofbrain cells to change — called‘plasticity’ — rather than adecline in total cell number,may underlie some of thesensory and cognitive declines associated with normal brain ageing.

Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technologyshowed that they could res

tore a signifi��cant degree oflost plasticity of the cells bytreating mice with the commonly used antidepressantmedication fl��uoxetine, alsoknown as Prozac. “Despitecommon belief, loss of neurons due to cell death is

quite limited during normalageing and unlikely to account for agerelated functional impairments,” researchers said.

Age-related decline“Rather it seems that structural alterations in neuronalmorphology and synapticconnections are featuresmost consistently correlatedwith brain age, and may beconsidered as the potentialphysical basis for the agerelated decline,” they said.

Researchers focused onthe ageing of inhibitory interneurons which is lesswellunderstood than that ofexcitatory neurons, but potentially more crucial to plas

ticity. Plasticity, in turn, iskey to enabling learning andmemory and in maintainingsensory acuity. In the study,while they focused on the visual cortex, the plasticitythey measured is believed tobe important elsewhere inthe brain as well.

“Our fi��nding that fl��uoxetine treatment in ageingmice can attenuate the agerelated declines in interneuron structural and visual cortex functional plasticity suggests it could provide atherapeutic approach towards mitigation of sensoryand cognitive defi��cits associated with ageing, providedit is initiated before networkdeterioration,” they said.

Antidepressants may countereff��ects of brain ageing: study MIT study found that fl��uoxetine could restore some of the lost plasticity of the cells


Boston

The research was published inthe Journal of Neuroscience.

* GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

It’s easy for a Netfl��ix subscriber to watch one epi

sode after another of a favourite show: a viewermakes a selection and letsthem keep on coming.

Subscribers are now facing promotional videos,which can last from 10 to 20seconds. Almost like a commercial, they appear between episodes, remindingviewers not to miss a diff��erent show on Netfl��ix.

Netfl��ix users were nothappy.

“If @Netfl��ix gives us commercials I will absolutelycancel my subscription. I literally pay for no commercials,” a Twitter user identifi��ed as Gigi posted.

Netfl��ix users complained

they could neither skip normute the videos.

But Netfl��ix said that thecompany was not addingcommercials but merelytesting promotional videos,which can in fact beskipped. “We have beenlooking at ways to insert richvideo into our experiencesfor several years,” said Smita Saran, a companyspokeswoman.

“These video promos areactually personalised recommendations for titles wethink a member may enjoywatching,” Ms. Saran said.

It was not clear how many subscribers were seeingthe videos. Mr. Saran saidthe company does not comment on where such testsare conducted but that theyare done globally. NY TIMES

Netfl��ix tests promo

videos between showsBut subscribers are not happy

Sandra E. Garcia

The Advertising Club hasannounced various sectorand special category awardsas part of Marquees 2018,the advertising and marketing awards organised by it.

Brands from the auto sector, durables, life insurance,banking, ecommerce,FMCG and telecom serviceproviders will be amongthose competing for theawards which will recognisecreativity, eff��ectiveness andexcellence in marketing.Five special awards will begiven to brands which havesurpassed challenges in addition to the 17 awardcategories.

Impact on people“Brands have the power toinfl��uence and lead conversations. However, as we allknow, with power comesresponsibility. The variouscategories of special awardsthat we choose should beable to directly impact people and their lives positively,” said Vikram Sakhuja,

president, The AdvertisingClub.

Partho Dasgupta, chairman, Marquee Awards, saidthat he was looking forwardto see the analysis on howthe contenders of the fi��vespecial categories have provided a fresh lease of life totheir respective sectors.

Sanjiv Mehta, chairman &MD, Hindustan Unilever Limited, has returned as jurychairman for Marquees2018 after successfullychairing the jury in the fi��rstedition.

C.V.L Srinivas, countrymanager, WPP India; HarshGoenka, chairman, RPG Enterprises; Agnello Dias,founder and chief creativeoffi��cer, Taproot Dentsu; Naveen Chopra, senior advisor, TPG Capital; and RajNayak, COO, Viacom 18, willbe the jury members.

Marquees 2018 is scheduled to be held on August29 at the St. Regis Mumbai.This year’s edition of theawards is presented by Zeeand powered by Colors andRepublic TV.

Marquees 2018 to takeplace on August 29 17 award categories, 5 special honours

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI

The pet dog of a 14yearoldgirl attacked and bit one ofthe two men who allegedlyraped her near here inMadhya Pradesh, forcingthem to fl��ee, police said onMonday. The incident tookplace on Friday night in Kareela village of Sagar district, a police offi��cer said,adding the duo was laterarrested.

On the night of the incident, the minor girl wentout of her house to bringfodder to create smoke forkeeping mosquitoes at bay,Motinagar police station in

charge Vipin Tamrakarsaid.

As she came out of thehome, two persons, identifi��ed as Aishu Ahirwar, 39,and Punit Ahirwar, 24,overpowered her and tookher to a nearby desertedhut at knifepoint, wherethey allegedly raped her,he said.

The girl shouted for helpand her pet dog reachedthe spot and bit Aishu Ahirwar on his leg.

Dog attackedThe accused attacked thedog with the knife but thedog continued to bark, Mr.

Tamrakar said, quoting thevictim.

The victim freed herselffrom the clutches of the accused and ran towards herhome.

After hearing the noiseand the dog’s continuousbarking, people from nearby homes rushed towardsthe hut, forcing the duo torun away, he added.

The victim's family fi��leda complaint on Saturday,following which the twowere arrested on Sunday,he said.

The duo has beenbooked for rape and abduction, he said.

Two accused have been arrested after a police complaint


Sagar

Brave dog in M.P. attacksowner’s rapist, helps her escape

Robots can infl��uence theopinions and decisions ofyoung children, accordingto a study published in thejournal Science Robotics.The study shows that kidsare signifi��cantly more susceptible to manipulationby machines than adults.

Researchers from University of Plymouth compared how adults and children respond to anidentical task when in thepresence of both theirpeers and humanoid robots.

Children were likely togive the same responses asthe robots, even if theywere obviously incorrect.

Robots canmanipulatechildren


London


CMYK

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follow us:

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tuesday O august 21, 2018

IN BRIEF

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Free drinkingwater The Delhi HC asks DMRC how

it can justify not providing

free drinking water to

commuters Page 2

Nuh truckdriver Burial of truck driver shot

dead during police raid in

Nuh to take place after a

twoweek protest Page 3

Takingfl��ightChennaiborn Preeti

Vasudevan returns home

with an autobiographical

story Page 5

Happy birthday#hashtagEver since a San Francisco techie

used the fi��rstever hashtag in

2007, the concept has become

part of the zeitgeist Page 6

NSUI calls for morecredibility in DUSU pollsNEW DELHI

The National Students’ Unionof India (NSUI) alleged onMonday that the DelhiUniversity Students’ Union(DUSU) election has beenlosing transparency as well ascredibility over the past fewyears.

CITY A PAGE 2


Vaccine-induced paralysiscalls for action: studyNEW DELHI

Over 4.9 lakh persons in Indiadeveloped paralysis between2000 and 2017 because oforal polio vaccine (OPV), sayleading doctors in tworeputed hospitals here. Astudy has shown that “thefrequency of pulse polioadministration is directly orindirectly related to theincidence of nonpolio acutefl��accid paralysis [NPAFP]”.

CITY A PAGE 4


Homeless womanmowed down in CPNEW DELHI

A 50yearold homeless

woman was killed after a

woman driving an SUV on the

wrong side of the road ran

her over in Connaught Place

on Sunday night, the police

said on Monday.

CITY A PAGE 3


Home delivery of 40 government services — includingapplications for driving licences, marriage certifi��cates, caste certifi��cates andwater connections — is likelyto start in the fi��rst week ofSeptember, Delhi government offi��cials said on Monday.

The Cabinet, chaired byChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had in July given its approval to the contract beingawarded to VFS Global, thecompany to which many embassies and high commissions have outsourced visaapplications to.

After the Cabinet meetingon July 3, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia hadsaid that starting with 70 different services, to be followed by 30 more within amonth of the launch, wouldbe made available to applicants at their doorstep byaround Augustend.

24/7 call centre Rakesh Bali, the Secretary ofDelhi government’s Administrative Reforms Department, which is carrying outthe project, said the doorstep delivery of 40 services

could start by “fi��rst week ofSeptember”.

He added that the Department would run a 24/7 callcentre through another contractor. Applicants wouldhave to book a home visit bythe “mobile sahayak” hiredby VFS.

During the visit, the sahayak or helper would use atablet computer to uploadthe documents needed forthe application and collectany application fee required.After completion of the process, the applicant wouldhave to pay ₹��50 as a facilitation fee. The completed cer

tifi��cate would then be postedto the applicant’s address.

In order to monitor thefunctioning, Mr. Bali said aproject management unitwould be set up. A privatecompany had been hired asa consultant for a period of ayear. The mobile sahayakswould most likely operatefrom Monday to Saturday,from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., whilethe call centre to make appointments would operate24/7.

Police verifi��cation To ensure safety of applicants, police verifi��cation of

the mobile sahayaks wouldbe done and they would notbe given the phone numbersof the applicants they haveto visit, he said.

The Department expectedthat about 60 mobile sahayaks would be hired tolaunch the project, followingwhich it could go up to about300.

The Cabinet had given inprinciple approval to theproject in November 2017. Atthat time, 40 services wereto be included to start with.A total of 25 lakh applications had been made forthese 40 services last year.

Doorstep delivery of 40 govtservices likely by SeptemberApplicants would have to book a home visit by the ‘mobile sahayak’: govt offi��cial

Damini Nath

NEW DELHI A week after Jawaharlal Nehru University student UmarKhalid was attacked, twopersons have been detainedby the Delhi Police SpecialCell in connection with thecase.

Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (Special Cell) ManishiChandra confi��rmed the development and said that thetwo detained accused havebeen identifi��ed as NaveenDalal (28) and Darvesh Shahpur (25), both from Haryana.

The accused had uploaded a 4.28minute video onsocial media on Independence Day claiming responsibility for the attack and hadsaid that they wanted to give“the people of the nation agift on the day”.

Sources said the two accused were detained fromthe outskirts of Delhi in theearly hours of Monday withthe help of human and technical surveillance.

Ascertain motiveA senior police offi��cer saidthe accused are being interrogated to ascertain whetherthey had actually committedthe crime and the motive behind it.

“We have to be sure

whether they are the oneswho actually attacked Mr.Khalid. We have to gatherevidence because the videodoes not prove anything,” hesaid.

The police are interrogating the two men on theirwhereabouts on the day ofthe incident and trying toobtain CCTV footage fromnearby places.

“Their locations on theday of the incident will bechecked and matched to ascertain whether they werenear or at the place wherethe incident happened. Eyewitness accounts will becrosschecked with their version of the events,” the offi��cer said.

The police suspect that

the accused uploaded the video “for publicity”, which,perhaps, was their “primarymotive”.

“It was important to detain them because, going bythe video, they posed athreat to Mr. Khalid’s life,”the offi��cer added.

To a question on whetherthe accused had connectionswith any gang, the offi��cersaid that “no connection hasbeen found so far”.

In June, Mr. Khalid had received death threats from someone claiming to be gangster Ravi Pujari. Mr. Khalidwas attacked on August 13outside the ConstitutionClub, where he had gone toattend an event organised byan NGO.

They had claimed responsibility in video uploaded by them

Hemani Bhandari

NEW DELHI

The accused had uploaded a video on social media on IDayclaiming responsibility for the attack. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Two ‘accused’ detained inUmar Khalid attack case

The Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare has notifi��eda new set of specifi��ed healthwarnings for all tobaccoproducts — manufactured orimported or packaged on orafter September 1 — to bedisplayed on the packets.

The images, details of thespecifi��ed health warningsand the rules are available atwww.mohfw.gov.in.

Punishable off��ence“Any person engaged directly or indirectly in the production, supply, import ordistribution of cigarettes orany tobacco products shallensure that all tobacco product packages shall have thespecifi��ed health warningsexactly as prescribed. Violation of the above mentionedprovision is a punishable offence with imprisonment orfi��ne as prescribed in Section20 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products [Prohibition of Advertisement andRegulation of Trade andCommerce, Production,Supply and Distribution]Act, 2003,” noted a releaseissued by the Ministry.

The new set of specifi��edhealth warning for all tobacco product packs has beenbrought in by making anamendment in the Cigarettes and other TobaccoProducts (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008 videGSR 331(E) dated April 3,2018, “Cigarettes and otherTobacco Products [Packaging and Labelling] SecondAmendment Rules, 2018”.

The amended rules willbe applicable with eff��ectfrom September 1, 2018.

New set of warnings ontobacco products notifi��ed

To be applicable with eff��ect from Sept 1

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

The Union Health Ministryissued pictorial warningshighlighting the illeff��ectsof tobacco consumption. *

FILE PHOTO

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)government on Monday saidthat the Food Commissionerdecided to cancel more than2.9 lakh ration cards withoutproper inspection, whichsets the stage for yet anothertussle between it and thebureaucracy.

Rejecting the government’s statement, the Department said 2.48 lakh “ineligible” ration cardholdershave been deleted after following “due process of law”.The cancellation of rationcards has remained a contentious issue between theAAP’s political executive and

the bureaucracy for severalmonths. In April, for instance, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussainhad alleged that the FoodCommissioner was “benton” cancelling three lakh ration cards without properverifi��cation.

Restore supplyIn May, Mr. Hussain wrote tothe Food Commissioner directing him to restore supplyof ration to those who havenot received it from Januaryto March.

The Department hadstopped distribution of ration to people who had notgotten themselves verifi��ed by

food and supplies offi��cers bythen. On Monday, the Department said the exerciseundertaken by it “must beone of its kind” and the Public Distribution System hasbeen “cleansed and sanitised” adding that ration“worth crores was savedfrom pilferage”.

Despite objectionThe Department also said ithad recommended to the government restoration of theePOS (electronic point ofsale) system, which the government had put on hold.On its part, the governmentsaid the Food Commissionertook the decision despite

“strong objection” from Mr.Hussain.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the government said ina statement, took “strong exception” to the Food Commissioner’s decision warning

of disciplinary action againstthe offi��cers concerned.

In the statement, the government said, “Since theseoffi��cers do not report to theelected government, therefore, they are workingagainst the interests of thepeople of Delhi, which is avery serious matter.”

It further stated that theDepartment’s offi��cers had“failed” to appreciate the adverse social impact of cancellation of 2.93 lakh rationcards covering more than 10lakh benefi��ciaries.

“All such families andmembers in one go would berendered hungry because ofthe insensitive, apathetic,

hostile, inhuman attitude ofthe offi��cers,” it stated. It added that it had been informed that the cancellationprocess was undertakenwithout doortodoor surveyof households.

“The cancellation is beingdone by offi��cers sitting intheir offi��ces without any fi��eldinspection and without following due process of law.Such acts of commission oromission make the acts ofpublic servants suspicious.Their conduct may invite disciplinary action against theoffi��cers concerned,” thestatement added.

Department counters AAP govt’s statement; says 2.48 lakh ‘ineligible’ ration cardholders deleted after following ‘due process of law’

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

‘Food offi��cer cancelled 2.9 lakh ration cards without proper inspection’

Imran Hussain

SEE ALSO A PAGE 2

Standing inside theconference hall at the KeralaHouse, which has nowturned into a makeshiftgodown for relief materialcollected for fl��ood victims,Amir Harshal, a student ofDeshbandhu College swiftlyscribbles on the neatlypacked and scotchtapedbox “sanitary napkins” code10, weight 9.5 kg beforepulling out more scotch tapefor the next box.

The room is brimmingwith men and relief material.At fi��rst glance it lookschaotic but at a closer look itis all working like aclockwork. At one end of theroom, P.V. Rajagopal — adriver with the Keralagovernment is now doublingup as a supervisor — standswith sheaf of papers neatlyjotting down the quantitiesof each item received andpacked.

Free of costOn Sunday itself, fi��ve tonnesof relief material — fromclothes to food packets weresent to relief camps fromhere. And in two days over

₹��1.12 crore of money hasbeen collected in chequesand cash.

“We started the collectioncentre here on Sunday. Thefi��rst consignment was senton 5 a.m. on Monday. All thefl��ights have been carryingthe cargo free of cost. So wesent the fi��rst two loadsthrough a SpiceJet fl��ight this

morning,” said Keralagovernment Joint SecretaryS. Syam Kumar.

It is not just residentMalayalees who have beenturning up with relief.“Across Delhi, there aremany Malayalee associationswho are collecting reliefmaterial and sending themacross. Here the number of

North Indians exceed theMalayalees,” Mr. Kumaradded.

Biggest demand In another room, womenvolunteers are sorting a pileof clothes, into variouscategories, baby clothes areseparated, from sarees, tomen’s trousers to bed sheets

and so on. “We are packing the

clothes which are fairly in agood condition for Kerala.Only in case of bed sheets weare keeping them even ifthey are worn out becausethere is a huge demand forthem. We are not returningany clothes to the donators,but the discarded clotheswill be sent to one of thetemples here,” a volunteersaid as she gently placed aneatly pressed pista green

saree into the box. One of the biggest

demands is for sanitarynapkins. Till 5 p.m. onMonday, 55 kg of sanitarynapkins were received andpacked.

“We went from room toroom in our hostel and everygirl gave away the sanitarynapkins she had. Everyonein college from our teachersto fellow students have beenreally caring and havedonated huge amount ofrelief material and money,”Afeefa P. a student ofpolitical science in DelhiUniversity’s Hindu Collegesaid.

Her friend Rizwana T.P.says that it was only onSunday that someone madea call on a recently formedWhatsApp group for at least25 volunteers over the Keralafl��oods, and they all signedin.

In the corridor, there arestill rows and rows of boxeswith diapers, baby food,milk powder, tea, bucketslined up, still to be packedand marked. The volunteersare prepared to work till lateinto night, till the fresh lotarrives.

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Spirited volunteers fl��ood Kerala House to help those in distress


New Delhi

Relief material pours in; several boxes with diapers, baby food, milk powder, tea, buckets lined up, still to be packed and marked

Untiring workers: Relief material being packed for the Kerala fl��ood victims at the Kerala House,in the Capital on Monday. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

<> We are packing

the clothes which

are fairly in a good

condition for

Kerala. Only in

case of bed sheets

we are keeping

them even if they

are worn out

because there is a

huge demand for

them. We are not

returning any

clothes to the

donators, but the

discarded clothes

will be sent to one

of the temples here

Volunteer

Seven dogs were foundmurdered in Dwarka onMonday morning. Probe isunder way after the policeregistered a case.

Deputy Commissionerof Police (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse said they receiveda complaint from a womanon Monday alleging that seven dogs were murdered atKargil Apartments in Sector 18 of Dwarka .

“The staff�� reached thespot and called a veterinary van, after which theywere taken to Dabri Vete

rinary Hospital. The canines were declared deadand the postmortem wasconducted,” Mr. Alphonse said.

A Facebook usershared pictures of thedogs, complete with multiple injuries on their bodies.

“People were so annoyed with these puppies so they killed all ofthem. they were 7 innumber and all werefound dead in the morning. there were so manycut marks on their body[sic]” she wrote.

Seven dogs foundmurdered in DwarkaStaff Reporter

NEW DELHI





CMYK

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CITY

Kerala flood : DANICSofficers donate ₹��1.5 lakhNEW DELHI

The association of DANICS

officers handed over ₹��1.5

lakh collected by it for flood

affected Kerala to Delhi Chief

Minister Arvind Kejriwal on

Monday. Officers belonging

to Delhi, Andaman and

Nicobar Islands,

Lakshadweep, Daman and

Diu and Dadra and Nagar

Haveli Civil Service pledged

to donate their oneday

salary for the flood victims,

the association said. STAFF REPORTER

Pathak appointedincharge of party aff��airsNEW DELHI

The AAP on Monday said its

Political Affairs Committee

(PAC) appointed Durgesh

Pathak the in charge of party

affairs in Maharashtra,

Karnataka and Goa. Mr.

Pathak, who is also a member

of the PAC, replaced party

national secretary Pankaj

Gupta. STAFF REPORTER

IN BRIEF

The Delhi High Court onMonday asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)how it could justify not providing free drinking water tocommuters if metro servicesin Kochi, Jaipur, Lucknowand other cities are making itavailable.

AccessibilityA Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and JusticeV.K. Rao also asked theDMRC how it was going toprovide free drinking waterat one particular point insidemetro stations, so that it wasaccessible to everyone.

“Clarify how you [DMRC]will implement it. Clarify ifyou can provide free drinking water at one particularpoint at a station which is accessible to all commuters,”the Bench said as it listed the

case for further hearing onOctober 11.

The DMRC, in an affi��davit,said that at stations wherewater ATMs or kiosks are notavailable its offi��cials can beapproached by those inemergent need of water. Thecourt also sought information over the matter.

The DMRC told the Benchthat it can provide signs at

metro stations to direct commuters to the point wherefree drinking water would beavailable in case of an emergency. It also said it has setup water ATMs at its stationsthat charge ₹��2 per glass ofwater. Besides, it said, thereare kiosks and shops whichsell drinking water. It alsosaid that commuters are freeto carry their own drinking

waterPetitioner Kush Kalra’s

counsel told the court thatmetro services in other citieswere providing free drinkingwater to commuters, but theDelhi metro, which was aconsultant in all those projects, was not doing thesame.

The court was hearing Mr.Kalra’s appeal against a HighCourt Single Judge’s orderthat a metro commuter doesnot have a right to free drinking water.

The Single Judge had saidthat a person has a right todrinking water, but not forfree.

The court had earlier thisyear pulled up the DMRC fornot providing free drinkingwater or toilet facilities tocommuters inside the stations, asking whether it hadlost “a sense of human problems”.

Free drinking water at stations:clarifi��cation sought from DMRCHC asks for justifi��cation for not providing water for free unlike other cities

The High Court listed the case for further hearing on October11. * FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Speaking at an event organised to discuss the politicalclimate in the country, Minister for Employment, Development, Labour, GeneralAdministration and Irrigation in the Delhi government, Gopal Rai said: “Wedo not want a second partition within India”.

Mr. Rai was the chiefguest at the event organisedby the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the student wing of the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) in Delhi University on Monday.

The Minister said, “TheBJP and RSS belief that theyown Indian culture”. Evoking Nazi Germany, Mr. Raidescribed how Adolf Hitlertried to enforce his versionof German culture, resultingin the genocide of millions.

Speaking on the idea ofcreating a Hindu rashtra

(nation), Mr. Rai attackedthe ideology of the RSS, stating that this would not helpbring education or employ

ment and will only result inhatred and divisiveness.

Mr. Rai also spoke aboutthe various achievements ofthe AAP government led byChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. He said: “Education hasimproved tremendouslywith our government. Government schools in Delhiare at par with privateschools.” He cited the recentbudgetary decision to allocate 26% (₹��14,000 crore approx.) of the Delhi government budget towardseducation as a majorachievement.

Mr. Rai also spoke of thegovernments scheme involv

ing home delivery of variousservices, such as birth certificates, licenses, vehicle registrations and pensions. Heattacked the Central government and the LieutenantGovernor for preventing thescheme to come into fullforce.

Meanwhile, on beingasked whether the CYSS willcontest the Delhi UniversityStudent Union elections, Aqdas Sami, the vice presidentof the CYSS said: “A decisionon the matter has not beentaken yet. It will be takensoon. As of now, electionsare a small component ofwhat he hope to achieve.”

Gopal Rai says at talk held on India’s political climate

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

‘We do not want a secondpartition within India’

<> Education has

improved

tremendously with

our government.

Government

schools in Delhi

are at par with

private schools

Gopal Rai

Minister for Employment,Development, Labour, GeneralAdministration and Irrigation

With cancer emerging as thesecond leading cause ofdeath globally, the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO)has listed ways to reducecancer risk.

It advised not to consumeany form of tobacco, tomake one’s home smokefree, to enjoy a healthy diet,to vaccinate children againstHepatitis B and HPV, to usesun protections, to bephysically active, to limitalcohol intake and take partin organised screeningprogrammes, adding thatbreastfeeding reduces amother’s cancer risk.

The WHO saidconsumption of tobacco andalcohol, unhealthy diet, andphysical inactivity are majorfactors that increases cancerrisk worldwide and are alsothe four shared risk factorsfor other noncommunicable diseases.

“Some chronic infectionsare risk factors for cancerand have major relevance inlow and middleincomecountries. Approximately15% of cancers diagnosed in

2012 were attributed tocarcinogenic infections,including Helicobacterpylori, Humanpapillomavirus (HPV),Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis Cvirus, and EpsteinBarrvirus. Hepatitis B and Cviruses and some types of

HPV increase the risk forliver and cervical cancer,respectively. Infection withHIV substantially increasesthe risk of cancers such ascervical cancer,” the WHOsaid.

Dr. Pawan Gupta,additional director, Surgical

Oncology, Jaypee Hospital,Noida said: “Cancer is theuncontrolled multiplicationof cells. Cancer can spreadfrom where it started toanother part of the body.The original cancer is calledthe primary tumour. Thecancer in another part of the

body is called metastatic orsecondary cancer.Metastatic cancer has thesame type of cancer cells asthe primary cancer. Theterm metastatic cancer isusually used to describesolid tumours that havespread to another part of thebody.”

Doctors have warned thatprevalence of cancer casesare on the rise in India. TheIndian Council of MedicalResearch stated thatapproximately 12 to 13 lakhnew cases of cancer arebeing diagnosed every yearalong with an existing 25 to30 lakh cancer cases at anygiven time in India.

“The saddest part is that avast majority of them arebeing diagnosed inadvanced stages. On thecontrary, majority of cancercases are diagnosed in theearly stages in developedcountries, including Europeand the U.S.A., thanks totheir eff��ective screeningprogrammes. Awareness ingeneral population aboutthe big ‘C’ also helps in earlycancer diagnosis,” added Dr.Pawan.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

WHO highlights ways to reduce cancer risk

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI

‘Tobacco and alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity are some major factors’

A delegation of studentsfrom the ABVP met withDelhi Transport MinisterKailash Gahlot to discusswith him the problemsfaced by DU students pertaining to DTC buses.

The delegates demanded an increase in DTC buspass counters and facilitating the online applicationprocess for the new DTCpasses. They also asked forUspecial bus for routesconnecting North Campus,South Campus, and othercolleges affi��liated to theDU.

ABVP Delhi media convener, Ashutosh Singhsaid, “ABVP has been struggling for DTCrelated grievances since years. Availability of the online facilityfor new bus passes woulddecrease the time consumption and the newroutes would be helpful inconnecting remote placesin Delhi to DU campuses.”

ABVPstudentsmeet Gahlot

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

The National Green Tribunal(NGT) has directed the Railways to seek no objectioncertifi��cates (NOC) from theCentral Ground Water Authority (CGWA) for extractinggroundwater to clean stationplatforms and coaches.

Directing the CGWA to address the issue pertaining tothe issuance of NOCs to therailways, a Bench headed byNGT judicial member Raghuvendra S. Rathore said,“The Railways should seekNOC from the CGWA for thepresent purpose. The authority shall take up the matteron priority and will decidethe question of NOC at theearliest.”

The Bench further said,“The Railway Board shall approach the CGWA for thepurpose of NOC zonewise.On fi��ling of the applicationthe zonal offi��cer or regionaloffi��ce of the CGWA shall de

cide such application andpass appropriate orderswithin a period of onemonth thereafter.”

The directions camewhile the green panel washearing a plea that soughtdirections to stop “indiscriminate withdrawal” ofgroundwater by theRailways.

Rainwater harvestingThe plea had also sought

directions to the Railways toinstall rainwater harvestingsystems in all 73 divisionsacross the 16 zones.

“Railways have failed tocomply with the directionsof the CGWA, making it mandatory for all industrial establishments falling in the overexploited and criticalareas to adopt rooftop rainwater harvesting systems ontheir premises” the plea hadcontended.

Plea opposes ‘indiscriminate’ withdrawal of groundwater

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

The green panel said that the Railway Board should approachthe CGWA for the NOCs zonewise. * FILE PHOTO

NGT to Railways: seek NOC fromCGWA on groundwater extraction

SDMC mayor NarendraChawla on Monday termedthe Delhi government circular over clearance ofconstruction debris byMCDs a “political move”.

The PWD had issued acircular stating that removing “unclaimed malba”was an “obligatory function” of the corporations.Responding to it in a statement, the Mayor allegedthat unclaimed debriswere left on roads formonths, to malign the image of the city’s civic bodies. He cited the non release of funds to thecorporations as a reason,adding that he would takeup the issue with the LG.

SDMC Mayorrakes upfunds issue

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

The Election Commission(EC) hearing on the offi��ceofprofi��t allegation against 20Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators has been posted forFriday.

Earlier on July 23, thecommission had adjournedthe oral hearing of arguments for Monday, after the

legislators moved the DelhiHigh Court contesting theEC’s decision disallowingthe demand to crossexamine petitioner Prashant Patel.

Cross-examinationThe court, in its interim order, said that while the petitioner could not be crossexamined, the AAP MLAs

could approach the commission for crossexaminationof the offi��cials of the Delhigovernment and the StateAssembly to prove that theywere not holding any offi��ceof profi��t.

As the fi��nal order of thecourt is awaited, the MLAssought adjournment of theproceedings before the commission, and it was allowed.

EC had adjourned oral hearing of arguments for Monday


NEW DELHI

EC hearing on offi��ceofprofi��t charge

against AAP MLAs posted for Friday

The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) on Monday alleged that over thepast few years, the Delhi University Students’ Union(DUSU) election had beenlosing its transparency aswell as credibility.

The NSUI alleged that thecandidates face number ofproblems due to irregularityin implementation of rulesand political pressure fromparties involved.

“Looking at past incidents, in the case of NikhilYadav, the presidential Candidate of NSUI 201617, therewere complaints from variedcolleges on the polling day

and allegations of unfairpolling were made. Similarly, in the year 201718, thepresidential candidate ofNSUI, Rocky Tuseed’s nomination was fi��rst cancelled bythe committee, but he waslater permitted to contestelections as per the orders ofthe High Court. As a result,he got the least number of

days for campaigning thanother candidates making itunfair for him,” the NSUIsaid.

NSUI demanded certainprovisions to be made forthe upcoming DUSU elections to ensure higher transparency and credibility. Itasked that lD cards be issuedto eligible student voters, atleast one week prior to theday of election. It also calledfor allotting polling agents,saying one for each candidate contesting elections inevery college must be allotted agents to ensure transparency in polling of votes.

The NSUI also called forthe use of VVPAT machinesamong other demands.

Says DUSU polls have been losing credibility since few years

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

NSUI calls for more transparencyin DU Students’ Union elections

Leader of Opposition in theDelhi Legislative Assembly,Vijender Gupta on Mondaydemanded that the AamAadmi Party (AAP) government immediately startedthe process of issuing newration cards in place of 2.5lakh fake ration cards thathave been cancelled.

Since the process of issuing new ration cards hadbeen held up for a long time,

Mr. Gupta said that the poorcould not wait any longer.

‘1 lakh families applied’“We should not forget thelesson learnt from the Mandawali incident where threegirls died of starvation. It isessential to provide wheat,rice and sugar at subsidisedrates to the poor. There aremore than 1 lakh familieswhich have already appliedfor new ration cards. Theyhave been kept waiting for a

long time now,” Mr. Guptasaid.

E-PoS systemDemanding that the processof making new ration cardsbe based on the electronicpoint of sale (ePoS), Mr.Gupta said that the procedure to be followed must be“foolproof and simple” with“no scope for manipulationand fake entries”.

“The ePoS system madeit possible to identify fake ra

tion card holders. Thescheme lunched on January2 was suspended on April 27.It should be restarted afterremoving shortcomings,” hedemanded.

Mr. Gupta also said thatthe cancellation of 2.5 lakhfake ration cards meantthere remained a balance of1692 lakh ration cards all ofwhich — both old and new —must be linked to the ePoSsystem so that possibilities offake entries are eliminated.

Gupta seeks issuance of new ration cards

For 2.5 lakh fake cards that were cancelled; says the poor can no longer wait

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Seeking justice: Student activists raise slogans during a protest march outside Bihar Bhawanin New Delhi on Monday demanding justice for Prof. Sanjay Kumar. He was beaten up by agroup of people after he allegedly made a comment criticising former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee on Facebook, a day after the BJP stalwart’s death. * SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR


Prop up for Professor

DCW staff donate a day’ssalary for flood relief NEW DELHI

Employees of the Delhi

Commission for Women

(DCW) have donated their

one day’s salary for relief

operations in floodhit Kerala.

DCW chairperson Swati

Maliwal has donated her one

month’s salary for the relief

operations. STAFF REPORTER





CMYK

B ND-NDE

CITY

Man shot dead in Narela, manhunt onNEW DELHI

A man was shot dead in

Rohini’s Narela on Monday

evening, the police said. The

DCP (Rohini) said Armaan was

arrested under the Arms Act

in June and released a few

days ago. A liquor bottle and

two plastic glasses were

found at the spot, the officer

said. The police claim to have

clues about the accused. STAFFREPORTER

Man held for enteringairport with fake ticketNEW DELHI

A Chinese man was

apprehended at the airport

for allegedly using a fake

ticket to enter the terminal

area, said an official on

Monday. He was intercepted

by CISF personnel as he was

about to leave the Terminal 3

building of the IGIA on

Sunday, the official added. PTI

IN BRIEF

Talk: Panel discussion on “IndiaAustralia Relations in a ChangingGeopolitical Landscape in the IndoPacifi��c”. Panelists: Prof. StephenSmith, former Australian Ministerfor Defence and Foreign Affairs;Ambassador Peter Varghese,former Australian High Commissioner to India; and Prof. GordonFlake, Founding CEO, Perth USAsiaCentre. Moderator: AmbassadorShyam Saran at Multipurpose Hall,India International Centre (IIC),6:30 p.m.

Talk: Seminar on “A Systemic Analysis of the Chinese State Council’sNext Generation Artifi��cial Intelligence Development Plan” by Ravish Bhatia, Yenching Scholar,Peking University at SeminarRoom, Institute of Chinese Studies(ICS), 8/17, Sri Ram Road, CivilLines, 3 p.m

Dance: Solo Odissi performance byNamrata Mehta, disciple of DakshaMashruwala at The Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 7p.m.

Exhibition: “Individuality” agroup exhibition by students fromIHC art workshop at Open PalmCourt Gallery, India Habitat Centre(IHC), 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

(Mail your listings for this columnat [email protected])

DELHI TODAY

Another man has been arrested in connection withthe murder of mother andson in Shahdara’s DilshadColony, the police said onMonday.

Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (Shahdara) MeghnaYadav said on Monday thatAmit Chouhan alias Goli, resident of Nand Nagri hasbeen arrested.

Ankit (21) was arrested inconnection with the murderon Sunday, the offi��cer added.

Multiple stab injuriesOn Sunday morning, VeenaMalhotra and her son Ravialias Lucky were found murdered with multiple stab injuries inside their residence.

During investigation,when the police scannedCCTV footage of the area,they found Ankit and Amitleaving the victim’s place.

Ankit was called for interrogation where he allegedlyconfessed to the murdersand revealed the involvement of Amit, the policesaid.

The accused allegedly toldthe police that Malhotras had

lent Ankit a sum of ₹��25,000last year. Following this,when they pressurised theaccused to return the money, he decided to eliminatethem. He also committedrobbery at their place, thepolice added.

Accused failed to return ₹��25,000 borrowed from victims

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

The two accused in police custody on Monday. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

One more arrested for murderof mother-son duo in Shahdara

A 50yearold homeless woman was killed after a woman driving an SUV on thewrong side of the road ranher over in Connaught Placeon Sunday night, the policesaid on Monday. AccusedShreya Agarwal (20) was arrested and released on bailon Sunday itself.

Phoolwati was waitingoutside a restaurant in outercircle to collect leftoversaround 9 p.m. when the incident happened, the policesaid. She stayed in a nightshelter at Gurdwara BanglaSahib.

The vehicle, which wascoming from Shivaji Stadiumside, hit Phoolwati beforedragging her for nearly 100metres. A policeman on bar

ricade duty fl��agged downthe SUV after seeing a groupof people chase it.

“The people told the policeman that the SUV hadcrushed a woman outside an

eatery and dragged her fornearly 100 metres. The policemen and passersby liftedthe car to rescue Phoolwati.She was rushed to a hospitalin the police control roomvan but was declaredbrought dead,” said a seniorpolice offi��cer. Shreya andher two friends were detained and brought to Connaught Place police stationfor further investigation andmedical examination. Theblood alcohol report isawaited to confi��rm whetherShreya was under the infl��uence at the time of the incident, the police said.

Case registered“We have registered a caseunder Sections 304 A [causing death by negligence] and279 [rash driving] of the In

dian Penal Code at Connaught Place police station.The driver was arrested butreleased on bail. Phoolwati’sbody was handed over to herhusband after the postmortem,” said a senior policeoffi��cer.

A resident of Bareilly inUttar Pradesh, Shreya is pursuing fashion designing froma Mumbaibased institute.She was scheduled to leavefor Mumbai on Mondaymorning. She had come toDelhi on Sunday morningfrom Bareilly in the car,which was earlier being driven by her driver. Afterreaching the city, shechecked in at a hotel in Connaught Place, the policesaid. She met two of herfriends in the evening andthe trio left for a joyride.

Homeless woman moweddown in CP; accused gets bail Blood alcohol report awaited, say police; body handed over to victim’s husband

SAURABH TRIVEDI

New Delhi

<> The passersby told

the policeman that

the SUV had crushed

a woman outside an

eatery and dragged

her for nearly 100

metres. The

policemen and

passersby lifted the

car to rescue

Phoolwati. She was

rushed to the

hospital where the

doctors declared her

brought dead

Police officer

A fi��re broke out at All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) on Monday at 12.20p.m., a fi��re department offi��cial said.

“The fi��re was reported at12.20 p.m. and it was completely doused by 12.50 p.m.No injuries reported till now.The situation under control,” the offi��cial said.

The immediate cause ofthe fi��re is not known.

Last year, an inquiry intoa fi��re in the pathology department at AIIMS had reported major gaps in safetyparameters at theinstitution.

The fi��re department hadsuggested structural changesto improve safety at AIIMS.

Fire breaks out at AIIMS, no casualties reported

A fi��re broke out at the nursing college of AIIMS in New Delhi on Monday. * VIVEK TRIPATHI

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

Blaze reported around 12.20 p.m. and doused by 12.50 p.m., says offi��cial

The committee spearheading the campaign seekingjustice for Sahib, a truckdriver shot dead during police raid in Nuh, on Mondaydecided to bury the body after twoweeklong protests.

Former Transport Minister Aftab Ahmed, who is onthe 31member committee,said the decision to bury thebody was taken in view ofBakri Eid two days later.

He said the body was keptat a mortuary at the PostGraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, wherethe postmortem was conducted.

‘Buried on Tuesday’ “The body will be brought toNuh on Monday night andmost probably buried onTuesday. The decision willbe taken keeping in view thecondition of the body,” saidMr. Ahmed.

Besides, the committeemembers have decided tomake contributions amongthemselves and give ₹��10 lakhto the family of the deceased. Mr. Ahmed said ateam was also constituted to

pursue the case in the court.“A large demonstration willalso be held at minisecretariat at Nuh on Friday [August24],” he said.

A daylong dharna was also held at Jantar Mantar inDelhi on Sunday in this connection. Sahib was killed onbeing hit by a bullet whenthe Uttarakhand police andthe Nuh police carried out ajoint raid at Patakpur villageon August 7 to arrest Sabbir,who was wanted in connection with a burglary case in

Dehradun.The police have claimed

that the villagers, armedwith illegal weapons andbricks, attacked the raidingteam and Sahib was caughtin the crossfi��re as the policeteam also fi��red in retaliation.

The police maintainedthat it was not clear as towho fi��red the bullet killingSahib and registered an FIRon murder charges againstunknown people. But the locals alleged that he was shotby the police.

Sahib death: panel decides tobury body after 2week protest‘Decision taken in view of Bakri Eid two days later’

Committee members during a meeting. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Staff Reporter

GURUGRAM

An employment agency insouthwest Delhi was allegedly carrying out a new “visascam”, the Australian HighCommission in Delhi said in astatement on Monday.

Over 50 people had approached the Commission inthe past few weeks saying thatthey had paid lakhs for a workvisa but told that they hadbeen scammed, the statement said. The Commissionwas concerned about the increase in these cases.

“Australia does not have awork visa program of the sortbeing promoted by the scammers. Our Temporary Skills

Shortage work visa is run onlywith approved sponsors, andonly for applicants with specifi��c skills in demand in Australia,” an Australian High Commission spokesperson said.

Visa lodgement fees Some of the victims said theyhad spent up to ₹��50,000 for“nonexistent airfare and amedical check with an unauthorised clinic” apart fromother kinds of fees, the spokesperson said. They werecharged for job placement,“visa lodgement” fees andmedical examinations at a facility in south Delhi that wasnot associated with the approved panel of physicians,

the statement said. The employment agency had allegedly given victims fake visagrant notices, which linked toa fake website to check the visa. “We have seen clones ofour website before but thenewest versions link to a fakevisa checking site that onlycontains the visa details concocted by the agent. This maylook convincing to someonewho is wanting proof theagent is not duping them – butactually, it is still all fake,” thespokesperson added.

The statement added thatvisa applicants should refer tothe offi��cial website,www.homeaff��airs.gov.au forinformation.

Australian High Commission warnsof visa scam by employment agency

50 people told the Commission that they paid lakhs for work visa

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court onMonday sought response ofan NGO on the pleas of appbased taxi service providersseeking quashing of summons for allegedly operating taxis without licence andcharging excess fare frompassengers.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdevaasked NGO Nyaya Bhoomi,on whose plea a trial court

here had summoned the cabproviders under variousprovisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, to fi��le its reply bySeptember 10.

The High Court also saidits interim order staying theproceedings in a criminalcomplaint lodged before thetrial court against the twoservice providers shall continue till further orders.

The NGO had lodged thecomplaint against ANI Tech

nologies Pvt Ltd, which runsOla; Uber India Systems PvtLtd and Serendipity InfolabsPvt Ltd, which runs Taxi ForSure.

The trial court had on July31 last year summoned themand directed their authorised representatives to appear before it.

In its complaint, the NGOhas sought recovery of₹��91,000 crore from the twoappbased taxi service pro

viders for allegedly overcharging passengers.

Both the companies, intheir pleas before the HighCourt, have contended thatthe complaint against themwas at the behest of a competitor, Magic Sewa.

They have said they were“service providers on anelectronic platform facilitating booking of radio cabs/ecabs, in respect of whichthere were no provisions

framed under the MotorVehicles [MV] Act”.

Bill introducedThey had also told the HighCourt that a bill has been introduced in Parliamentseeking to regulate the services being provided bythem.

While summoning them,the trial court had said a prima facie case of permit violation was made out against

the fi��rms for allegedly charging excess fares which is inviolation of the provisions ofthe MV Act.

June 2013 notifi��cationThe High Court in August2016 had directed that afterAugust 22, 2016, taxi aggregators or operators shall notcharge fare more than thecap stipulated in the Delhigovernment’s June 2013 notifi��cation.

HC seeks NGO’s response to pleas by app-based taxi service providers

Trial court had on July 31 last year summoned them, directed their authorised representatives to appear before it

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Out of line: Passengers board a train from the wrong side at Shivaji Bridge railway station inNew Delhi. * R.V. MOORTHY


Play station

A 34yearold man allegedlycommitted suicide at his residence in the servant quarters of a church in KhanMarket on August 17, the police said on Monday.

No suicide note has beenfound, they said.

Rubel Rahul Anthony wasliving with his family in thequarters, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (NewDelhi) Madhur Verma.

“The information was received from a private hospital about Anthony beingbrought dead. His postmortem was conducted on August 18,” Mr. Verma said.

During investigation, itwas found that at the time ofthe accident, his wife hadgone to meet her mother inMalviya Nagar along withtheir children.

She returned around 2.45p.m. and found Anthonyhanging with a dupatta, thepolice said.

She then rushed him tothe hospital where he wasdeclared dead.

Anthony was a driver andhad a fi��nancial crisis whichthe investigators suspect tobe the reason behind thestep.

“He had fi��nanced twocars and was unable to pay

instalments as he out ofwork for the few months,”Mr. Verma said.

Case pendingHe added that the victimwas also embroiled in a fi��nancial dispute, a case ofwhich was pending in Patiala House Courts.

Suspicion raisedAnthony’s family, however,raised suspicion over hisdeath and alleged that hewas being troubled by a fewpeople over a monetarydispute.

The postmortem reportis being awaited, the policesaid, adding that he is survived by his wife and twominor sons.

Suicide prevention hel-pline: Sanjivini, Society forMental Health, Telephone:011-4076 9002, Monday-Sa-turday, 10 a.m. -7.30 p.m

‘Financial crisis suspected reason’

Staff Reporter

New Delhi <> He had fi��nanced

two cars and was

unable to pay the

instalments as he

out of work for the

few months. His

postmortem was

conducted on

August 18

Madhur Verma

Deputy Commissioner of Police (NewDelhi)

Man found hanging;no note recovered

A court here on Monday allowed Congress leaderShashi Tharoor’s plea to travel to Geneva to express condolences to the family offormer United Nations SecretaryGeneral Kofi�� Annan andseek international aid forKerala, which is reeling under unprecedented fl��oods.Annan died on August 18.

Mr. Tharoor, who is currently on bail in a case relat

ed to his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death almost four yearsago in a hotel here, approached the court on Monday following an earlier direction that he will not leavethe country without its permission. Additional ChiefMetropolitan Magistrate allowed the politician’s application after his counsel saidMr. Tharoor had worked under Annan for 10 years andwas his “close friend andmentor” at the UN.

Sunanda case: Tharoorallowed to travel to Geneva Press Trust of India

New Delhi


■ Across

1 Someone on a short plank

with wheels (12)

9 Spanish table wine (5)

10 Censure severely (7)

11 Cloying — repulsive (4)

12 Disease caused by vitamin B

defi��ciency — ie briber (anag) (8)

14 Admirable — dignitary (6)

15 Tropical rainforest area (6)

18 After which (8)

20 City with a leaning tower (4)

22 In perfect

circumstances (7)

23 Repeat the word(s)

above (5)

24 Harlem basketball

17 (12)

■ Down

2 Door banger —

detractor (7)

3 Piece on baby’s

bottle (4)

4 Dog? (6)

5 Decorative design

made of one

material sewn over

another (8)

6 Continuous low

pitched note (5)

7 Cooler (12)

8 Systematic

indoctrination (12)

13 Velvety fabric (8)

16 Cartilage (7)

17 Active

sportsperson (6)

19 Set of beliefs (5)

21 Revise a text (4)

THE GUARDIAN QUICK CROSSWORD12845

6

Solution will appear

in Delhi Metro dated

August 22, 2018.

Solution No. 12844

POOCH CAFE

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

TIGER

PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

WUMO




CMYK

B ND-NDE

CITY

Forest Dept imposes fineof ₹��5 lakh on NCERTNEW DELHI

A fine of over ₹��5 lakh has

been imposed on the NCERT

for heavily pruning 33 trees

and cutting five without

permission from the Forest

Department inside its campus

on Aurobindo Marg here, an

official said on Monday. A

team of forest rangers had

visited the NCERT campus

following a complaint by an

NGO on August 7. PTI

Delhi University releasesninth cutoff list NEW DELHI

DU on Monday released the

ninth cutoff list for

admission to undergraduate

programmes, with some

North Campus colleges

declaring availability of seats

under some courses for

general category students.

Colleges in the list include

Daulat Ram College, Hansraj

College, Hindu College, Kirori

Mal College, Ramjas College,

Miranda House, and Gargi

College. PTI

‘Frustrated man createsruckus on SC premises’NEW DELHI

A man from Coimbatore

allegedly created a ruckus on

Supreme Court premises due

to frustration and hunger on

Monday, the police said. The

SC security informed the

police about a man lying in

the parking area and

screaming. Babu, who lost a

case in the Madras HC, was

frustrated as he could not file

an appeal due to lack of

papers. PTI

IN BRIEF

Goats for sale near the Red Fort in the Capital ahead of Eid. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA


Festival fare

Over 4.9 lakh persons in India developed paralysis between 2000 and 2017 because of oral polio vaccine(OPV), say leading doctors intwo reputed hospitals here.

Jacob Puliyel, a paediatrician at St. Stephen’s Hospital, and his coworkers claimtheir study has shown that“frequency of pulse polio administration is directly or indirectly related to incidenceof nonpolio acute fl��accid paralysis [NPAFP]”.

WHO recommendationTheir study, which calls forjudicious use of the OPVschedule to prevent vaccineinduced paralysis, has beenpublished in the Internation-al Journal of EnvironmentalResearch and Public Health.The Union Health Ministry isyet to respond to the issue.

To monitor the progress ofpolio eradication, the WorldHealth Organization (WHO)

recommends that countriesconduct surveillance for cases of acute fl��accid paralysis(AFP).

Acute fl��accid paralysisAFP is defi��ned as a suddenonset of paralysis or weakness in any part of the bodyof a child less than 15 years ofage. The surveillance allowsnations to detect paralyticpoliomyelitis due to wild poliovirus transmission in thepopulation. There are manycauses of AFP, so each caseneeds to be evaluated to fi��ndout if the paralysis is due topolio or not. This investigation includes testing stoolspecimens of all cases for detection of the polio virus.

More than 50,000 AFPcases are investigated in India every year as part of thissurveillance system, whichhas been in place since 1997.In 2009, 741 of these AFP cases in India tested positive forpolio. In 2010, only 42 casestested positive, while in 2011

only a single AFP case testedpositive for polio. Not a single AFP case tested positivefor polio in 2012, 2013 and2014. All AFP cases duringthe last three years havebeen due to nonpoliocauses.

“These are all cases ofnonpolio paralysis, whichincreased dramatically as polio paralysis was broughtdown with repeated doses ofOPV. This report shows thatthe rate of paralysis is nowcoming down where OPVdoses have decreased and

this is additional proof thatparalysis is caused by OPV,”says Dr. Puliyel.

Last case of polioThe last case of polio in thecountry was reported in2011, but India, even after itwas certifi��ed poliofree,maintains its surveillancesystem in order to pick upany imported cases of polio.In the absence of wild poliotransmission, it is expectedthat AFP cases in India willreduce to an acceptable rateof around two in 1 lakh cases.

causatively associated withOPV vaccination campaigns

“While the mechanism involved is speculative, ourfi��ndings support the hypothesis that the frequency ofpulse polio administration isdirectly or indirectly relatedto the incidence of NPAFP.Now that India has been poliofree for over six years, wemay be able to reduce NPAFPby further reducing pulse polio rounds,” the report says.

OPV administrationCommending the government for its enormous eff��ortstowards polio eradication,the researchers hope theirobservation “will help at optimising the dose schedule ofOPV administration” to prevent paralysis in vaccinatedchildren.

Dr. Puliyel’s team includedRachana Dhiman and Sandeep Prakash of St. Stephen’sHospital, and V. Sreenivas ofthe All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

an additional 47,500 children with paralysis in 2011,which was over and abovethe assumed NPAFP rate of 2per 1 lakh cases and theNPAFP rate started to decrease from 2012, when thenumber of pulse poliorounds decreased.

“From the results, NPAFPrate shows a decline with reduction in pulse polio dosessuggesting that OPV vaccinations are responsible for theparalysis. A total of 6.4 lakhchildren developed NPAFPfrom 2000 to 2017, suggesting that there were an additional 4.91 lakh paralysedchildren above the numbersexpected to develop NPAFP,”they add.

The report says that “repeated doses of live vaccinevirus delivered to the intestine may colonise the gut andalter the viral microbiome ofthe intestine”.

Also, studies from Finlandand Turkey suggest that GuillainBarré Syndrome (GBS) is

“Although surveillance inIndia has been exemplary,this has not yet materialised,” the report says.

AFP rate in some States isas high as 30 in 1 lakh persons. The present study — using surveillance data obtained from all 36 States andUnion Territories — was doneto see if the incidence ofNPAFP declined with reduction in pulse polio immunisation rounds.

‘High correlation’The results, however,showed that the number ofpulse polio rounds conducted in a State had “high correlation” with NPAFP rate in aState. NPAFP rates in UttarPradesh and Bihar were thehighest in the country.

“Our study found thatNPAFP rate in these Stateswas high in those years whenthe number of pulse poliorounds conducted was high,”the researchers say.

For instance, there were

Vaccine-induced paralysis calls for action, says studyFrequency of pulse polio administration is directly or indirectly related to incidence of nonpolio acute fl��accid paralysis, say researchers

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI <> This report shows

that the rate of

paralysis is now

coming down

where oral polio

vaccine [OPV]

doses have

decreased and this

is additional proof

that paralysis is

caused by OPV

Study

The Delhi High Court onMonday sought the Centre’sresponse on a plea by erstwhile promoter of BhushanSteel Neeraj Singal againsthis arrest by the SeriousFraud Investigation Offi��ce(SFIO) for allegedly siphoning off�� funds worth over ₹��20billion.

A High Court Bench ofJustice S. Muralidhar andJustice Vinod Goel gave thedirection on Mr. Singal’splea, which sought bailapart from challenging thepowers of arrest granted tothe SFIO in August last yearunder the Companies Act.

“What is the need for continued custody? Somebody’spersonal liberty is involved.

Tell us what the seriousfraud is,” the Bench said, adding that use of adjectiveslike “serious fraud” will notsuffi��ce before the court.

The court listed the matter for hearing on Tuesdayafter Additional SolicitorGenerals Tushar Mehta andManinder Acharya “vehemently opposed” grant ofbail on the grounds that theinvestigation is at the initialstage and serious fraud hasbeen allegedly committed byMr. Singal, who was arrestedon August 8.

The court directed theSFIO, which comes underthe Centre, to fi��le a short affi��davit and also bring relevantrecords by Tuesday. It alsoasked the Centre why it hadallowed the Tatas to take ov

er Bhushan Steel if there wascriminality associated withthe latter.

“Did corporate criminality emerge after the take overby the Tatas? If criminalitywas already there, why didyou permit the take over orsale,” the court asked theCentre.

The court also asked,“What happens to criminalliability after a take over?Can it be transferred?”

Mr. Singal was arrested inconnection with an investigation being carried out bySFIO into the aff��airs ofBhushan Steel Ltd andBhushan Steel and PowerLtd, pursuant to a May 2016order of the Central government under the provisionsof the Companies Act.

What is the need for continued custody, asks Bench

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

HC seeks Centre’s response onplea by Bhushan Steel promoter

‘Animal sacrifices only at designated spots’NOIDA

The Gautam Budh Nagar

district administration said on

Monday that sacrifice of

animals on Bakri Eid should

take place only at designated

spots. Ahead of the festival

on Wednesday, District

Magistrate Brajesh Narayan

Singh and Senior

Superintendent of Police Ajay

Pal Sharma held a meeting to

review security

arrangements. PTI





CMYK

B ND-NDE

SHOWCASE

Art

Nature Morte presents Gradient Descent, an

artificial intelligence art show in India. The show

brings seven pioneering artists from across the

world. The artwork is created by the

collaboration between man and machine, the

artist is a cyborg.

Venue: Gallery Nature Morte, A1, Neeti Bagh

Time: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

EXHIBITION

Dhrupad

Pandit Siyaram Tiwari Memorial Sangeet Trust is

organising 9th Dhrupad Sabha Dhrupad

Dhamar. It features musical treat for listeners.

Vocal recital by Aditi Sharma Garg and

Manmohan Nayak on pakhawaj will be followed

by Surbahar recital by Pandit Pushpraj Koshti,

who hails from Mumbai.

Venue: Amaltas Hall, India Habitat Centre

Time: 7 p.m.

MUSIC

Photography

A photography exhibition that documents

different stages of the restoration and

conservation of the twohundred year old Haveli

Dharmapura that is located in Gali Guliyan,

Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi.

Venue: Convention Centre Foyer, India Habitat

Centre, Lodhi Road

Time: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m

EXHIBITION

Mera Gaon Mera Desh

Habitat Film Club presents Vinod Khanna

Retrospective. Mera Gaon Mera Desh is a story of

an exconvict who comes to a village and decides

to take on a dreaded bandit who has terrorised

the region. Directed by Raj Khosla, it features

Vinod Khanna, Asha Parekh and Dharmendra as

lead characters.

Venue: Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre

Time: 7 p.m.

FILM

Special Menu

Celebrating 72nd Independence Day, Kiyan

unveils a new menu “Unsung recipes of India”.

The menu features diverse dishes from across

the country like atta chicken (Kot Kapura,

Punjab), bhooni makai ki raab (Rajasthan), sepu

badi (Himachal Pradesh) and mash ki dal

(Hyderabad).

Venue: Kiyan, Roseate Hotels & Resorts

Time: 6 a.m. 12:30 a.m.

FOOD

5 EVENTS WORTH-YOUR-WHILE

The cow vigilantes resortingto lynching innocent peoplehave been posing a gravedanger to destroy the cherished ideals of compositeculture and its legacy to assimilate diverse culturalstreams. Unmaad, a featurefi��lm made on a shoestringbudget, screened at the PressClub of India recently mirrors in a creative way thisdeeply worrying aspect ofcontemporary India. Lacedwith romance and captivating songs, there are strongundercurrents that runthroughout the fi��lm that reveal the collective will of thepeople to resist these darkforces.

Directed and written bydebutant Shahid Kabeer, agraduate from the A.J.K. Institute of Mass Communication, Jamia Millia Islamia, heis essentially a theatre practitioner who is endeavouringthe collective creative pro

cess of the theatrical art tofi��lm making, establishingcamaraderie between the director, cast, crew and designers. In the process of makingUnmaad, he discussed thetheme of the fi��lm with hiscast members, incorporatingtheir suggestions into thescript. Almost all membersof the cast have been drawnfrom theatre

“This is our humble eff��ortto produce a fi��lm to expresssocial contradictions withinthe framework of popular cinema without compromisingthe truthful depiction of danger posed to our basic fundamental rights that are essential to preserve and enrichthe plural vision of Indiandemocracy,” said Kabeer.The title of the fi��lm – Un-maad – appears to be infl��ammatory, evoking strong feelings of anger, hatred andrevenge. The director has eschewed such interpretation,projecting the antagonisticforces with restraint and inan objective manner.

Mostly shot in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, it captures the plight of a Muslimfamily on the verge of starvation. The family was oncewelltodo. The head of the

family is Kallu, a butcher byprofession. The atmosphereof intolerance has ruinedhim fi��nancially and his workhas almost been destroyedby forcible closure of hisshop. Starved and terror

ised, Kallu Kasai goes to hisMuslim friend to demand themoney he owes to him. Thefriend expresses his inabilityto pay back. Ultimately, hegoes to his Pundit friend forhelp. Moved by Kallu’s pitia

ble condition, the Brahmingives him his ox for sale sothat he could support his family with the money fromthe sale of the ox.

A group masquerading ascow vigilantes, notices aMuslim with an ox, they surround him. With lathis intheir hands, they start beating him mercilessly and takethe ox in their possession.They call police, handingKallu to them on the fabricated charge that he was takingaway a cow which he had stolen. The ox is shown as cowin the police record. Thereare many twists and turns tothe narrative leading to several court scenes.

There is a subplot whichdeals with true love betweena socially conscious journalist who happens to be a Hindu and a beautiful and sensitive Muslim girl. The directorhas treated romance beautifully, revealing the inneremotional force of the loversand the purity of theirhearts.

At another level, the subplot suggests that there is noplace for true love in a society affl��icted by ‘Unmaad’,frenzied communal violence. The fi��lm also illus

trates the struggle of an honest and socially consciousjournalist who is working foran editor interested only insensational stories . The subplot is intricately becomespart of the main plot manifested towards the denouement with the journalist acquiring the power of catalystto resolve the crisis.

Betrayed by friends

Imtiaz Ahmed as Kallu Naiframed in the case of stealinga cow creates a pathetic image of an honest man betrayed by friends and haunted by religious fanatics. GyanPrakash as the Brahminfriend of Kallu Nai is torn between his loyalty to his friendKallu and his duty to protecthis family in the captivity ofcow vigilantes who are blackmailing him to deposeagainst Kallu.

Neeraj Giri as the youngjournalist plays an idealisticyouth and a true lover whobecomes a tragic hero in thecause of truth. Manisha Mondal as the young Muslim girlin love with the journalistcreates a subtle and sensitiveportrait that is marked byelegance and poetic intensity.

The anatomy of a frenzy Debutant ShahidKabeer’s Unmaad

captures the plightof a meat seller

Diwan Singh Bajeli

Heart to heart talk: A scene from the fi��lm

The dancer jokes that she sometimes feels like a cheese cloth. Thestories have to seep through you andmingle with every other story buriedinside you. She does not see herselfas a rebel who shuns a form to reinvent another. Rather, she takes thekernels of those myths she hasknown since childhood, and weavesthem into the tapestry of her ownlife. “The RamaSita story has beenkey in my project as it resonated withthe fl��aws of the epic, which led me into thinking of my grandparents andtheir lives together, which in turn ledto my cousin’s homicide story. Theseare relationships, and the outcome isnot to be judged but to be refl��ectedupon. I feel there is no division now,and honesty is what is prime. Vulnerability leads. And that keeps the vessel deep.”

Rising strongVasudevan describes the sensation asbeing naked on stage, being watched,and yet feeling incredibly powerfuland refusing to cover up and apologise. It begins in the studio, whereeverything is stripped down. Theseare the most private moments, whichno one else has access to. It is fragilityand strength all at once. A raw space.It is where she says she fi��nds themask with which she can then comeout and perform.

“The mask is key to feeling powerful. It makes you the other, a powerful channel of communication. Youbecome everyone suddenly. Butwhen you reveal that studio self tothe outside world, I feel you’re allowing that vulnerability to be seen,” shesays.

Now in her 40s, I ask Preeti howher relationship with her body haschanged over the years, and how thishas changed the way she dances. Sheuses an interesting word: richer. “Iknow I can’t do many things I used tobe able to do, but what I can do has alot more to say and is stronger and fi��tter in more ways than I was before.”It is a coming together of body andmind, of all the languages and disciplines collected over the years. A distillation. Mostly, she feels that she is100% herself in performance onstage. Being on stage, she says, is being part of a continuum of artists, soyou are never alone, even as a soloist.“It’s an incredible feeling when thelight transforms you and the space isinfi��nite. It’s a cosmic feeling, as if youbecome a myth yourself!”

New Yorkbased dancer Preeti Vasudevanand I are talking about the importance of rituals. We are in London’s Hyde Park besidethe Serpentine Lake on which Christo’snew sculpture — a fl��oating pyramid of colourful barrels — gleams. For Vasudevan, rituals are companions to memories, theyoff��er clues to identity. Her simplest andmost important rituals bookend the day.She wakes at six for tea while everyone elsein the house sleeps. And every night sheputs her daughter, Ambaalika, to bed withan improvised story about a princess andher magical friends.

Storytelling lies at the heart of Vasudevan’s practice. Born in Chennai, she begantaking Bharatanatyam lessons when she

was four, and has since worked acrossseveral disciplines and forms. Her latest choreography, Stories by Hands,which will tour India in Septemberwith The Park’s New Festival,opens with a line, “English becomes too big for me.”

Power of BabelVasudevan says her body is multilingual with Indian roots, although Tamil is the language she is most at homein. The piece was conceived with multimedia artist Paul Kaiser, who has workedwith dance legends such as Merce Cunningham, Bill T Jones, and Trisha Brown.“Paul always felt I was a storyteller rightfrom the start,” says Vasudevan. “While heliked my dancing, it’s my storytelling in an

intimate situation that caught his eye, andhe felt the rest of the world needed to experience this.”

Vasudevan is an animated speaker, evenwhen she is not performing, using her

hands and eyes to great eff��ect. To distract her daughter as we talk, she

points to a swan on the lake andinstructs her to draw its picture and think of a story for

him. “Storytelling is never linear,” she says. “That’s the point

really.” I tell her the new piece is themost intimate work of hers I have seen.There are seemingly disconnected stories:Vasudevan sitting on a swing with hergrandmother, telling her she is going toleave her husband. Her daughter talkingabout the rooms of a new house. Her cousin Karthik’s tragic homicide story in California. For someone who has worked solong with the narrative platform of Bharatnatyam, was it liberating to departfrom the stories of myths and gods, to tellthe stories of one’s own life?

Taking

fl��ightChennaiborn Preeti Vasudevan

returns home with anautobiographical story

Tishani Doshi

<> The RamaSita story has been key

in my project as it resonated with

the fl��aws of the epic

Preeti Vasudevan

Digital empowermentTo mark the International

Youth Day, a seminar, jointly

organised by the Russian

Centre of Science and

Culture, the International

Federation of IndoRussian

Youth Clubs and BRICS

International Forum was held

in Delhi recently to

emphasise importance of

digital empowerment in

achieving sustainable

development.

Addressing youth of BRICS

countries, the seminar saw

lively discussion by experts

on the vast potential of

digital application ensuring

easy access and connectivity.

Describing digital sector as

the leading sector for the

youth, Dr. Manpreet Singh

Manna, Director, AllIndia

Council of Technical

Education (AICTE),

Government of India,

stressed the need for

mobilising funds for digital

empowerment. He

underlined role of laptop and

smart phones.

BRIEFLY

Literary carnival

Fifteenyearold author

Paakhi Maheshwari, Abhishek

Khanna from Lucknow and

Abhishek Goswami launched

their books at Hindi Bhavan in

Delhi recently. A confluence

of writers from various cities

gave a glimpse of their talent.

Speaking on the occasion,

Sandeep Marwah, founder of

Film City and Director Marwah

Studio appealed to littérateur

and authors to contribute for

the mission to build a cultur

ally sound society through

their literary pieces reflecting

the truth.

Organised by Jashn Events

and Promoters, the festival

welcomed authors and poets

from different cities. Vineet

Bjapai, Tanmay Dubey, Indrajit

Ghoshal and Tauseef Ahmed

were speakers at the event.

Imtiaz on ‘Laila Majnu’Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali,

who has written the story ofthe upcoming fi��lm LailaMajnu along with his brother Sajid Ali, says he initiallydidn’t intend to make it intoa fi��lm.

Imtiaz recollects thatwhen he started writing thestory of ‘Laila Majnu’ he hadno intention of making afi��lm. His fi��rst introduction to‘Laila Majnu’ (the folklore)happened when he was supposed to read a collection offolk stories and ‘Laila Majnu’ was one of them. “Thethought came to my mindabout what happened toMajnu and why did he refuse to accept Laila whenshe came to him after facing

all the obstacles? I was trying to discover that whathappened to Majnu, whydid he do that? As a writer,since I do not get a clear picture from my mind unless Iwrite it on paper, I startedwriting.”

In due course, Imtiazrealised he had writtendown several scenes. “Iwrote around 40 scenes justto discover what happensbetween Laila and Majnu. Ikept it aside and moved on.I knew that I do not want todirect the fi��lm because Iwanted to see somethingnew and only another mindcould bring that,” said theJab We Metfame director.

IANS

SHORT TAKE


It’s simple enough in theory, butfew have truly mastered the understated art of the hashtag.How many are just right? Whichone is best one for your brand,or personal profi��le? What mistakes are people making most?For the average millennial, social media has become akin tobreathing — it’s an animal withimmense power and complexity. On Twitter and Instagram,knowing your hashtags meansunlocking social media gold (Facebook isn’t a contender).

The number gameA team at Twitter tells us that“the hashtag was created withthe objective of indexing keywords or topics, allowing people to easily follow threads theyare interested in. Ideally, a hashtag should be short and distinct,so it can be easily added toTweets. Hashtags aren’t casesensitive, but adding capital letters does make them easier toread; for instance, #MakeAWishvs #makeawish,” an adage thatholds true for Instagram as well.

While the two social giants

may confer on this, Instagramand Twitter seem to part wayson the next: hashtag limiting. ATrackMaven study found themaximum engagement on postswith around 11 hashtags on Instagram (and much less on Instaposts with only one or two hashtags). The Twitterverse, in turn,functions by the reversed rule.The team says that “brevity isthe soul of Twitter, so it’s advisable to make judicious use ofthe 280 characters. We recommend using no more than 2

hashtags per Tweet.”

Your tag topicThe reason for diff��erent numbers: the distinct diff��erence between the mediums. A hashtagon Twitter will be intrinsicallylinked to a subject of debate anddiscussion, popular examplesfrom 2017 being hashtags like#MumbaiRains, #TripleTalaq,and #GST. Instagram, on theother hand, is visual, so a hashtag is almost invariably descriptive of the photo or video posted

with it, with #TBT, #PicOfTheDay and #Instagood being someof the mostused Instagramhashtags in 2017.

Zeroing inRelevance, of course, goesdeeper than this skinlevel analysis. For blogger Akanksha Redhu of akanksharedhu.com, herstreamlining and specifi��cityhelped her establish her following of 131k (and counting). “I usehashtags like #RedhuBeauty,#RedhuLuxury, #RedhuTravels,etc because it doesn’t just helpme build engagement, but helpssegregate my work to show toclients,” she tells us, adding thatshe uses #AkankshaRedhu in every post — part of her personalbrandbuilding.

In terms of branding for aproduct or service, an articleon Hootsuite by Evan LePagegives us clarity. It cites the useof a nonbrand hashtag, such asLays chips’ #DoUsAFlavourcampaign that worked wonders for them. While generalhashtags (#love #happy) mightmildly work, they’ll never serveyou in the long run the way adistinct, thoughtcrafted hash

tag will.

Category rouletteThere are also certain categories that draw more eyeballs(and double taps) than others,we’re told. “Travelrelated hashtags do quite well,” Akankshasays. “For instance, #GlobeTrotter, or those specifi��c to a placelike #BaliTravel, #CroatiaGuideand so on.”

Clean and clearBut one thing that always workswith a hashtag is clarity. “Try tokeep it short and sweet,” Evanwrites. “Even though ‘#AvocadoToastLovers’ might target avery specifi��c audience, no onewill use the hashtag becausethey just don’t want to type inthat many characters.” Beingoverly clever, or tossing in wittyrhetoric is equally alienating.

“Hashtags are supposed tomake things easier to fi��nd andengage with, but long, complicated hashtags can actually bemore arduous. In this case,you’re better off�� with somethinglike #avocadotoast or even,#avotoast,” Evan says.

System errorMistakes are normal for thehashtag newbie, and while being vague defi��nitely earns topbilling (with overuse coming ina close second), shoving theminto the middle of sentences isboth distracting and unaesthetic. Or, as Akanksha puts it, “Having a #fun #party #in #hauzkhasvillage #tonight #with #my#peeps #is #going #make #you#look #like #huge #NOOB.

On Twitter, it’s less about aesthetic and more research (orlack thereof ). “People oftendon’t do enough research onTwitter before launching a campaign centred around a hashtag,” the Twitter team says.“Using hashtags that have multiple meanings or usecasescan confuse your audience.For example #BTS can refer to‘behind the scenes’, but it’s also

the name of a popular Kpopband. You’ll want to search yourhashtag on Twitter beforelaunching it to get a sense of thecontext around it,” they advise.

The big blunderThe greatest mistake, though, isto just straight up hashtag everything, Evan warns. “Hashtagsserve to make your content discoverable to a wide audience.The truth is, not everything youproduce is going to fi��t into thatcategory. If your Tweet, post, orcomment isn’t adding any substance to the wider conversation, you might want to consider leaving the hashtag off��.”#JustSaying.

Happy birthday

#hashtagEver since San Francisco techie Chris Messina used thefi��rstever hashtag on August 23, 2007 (#barcamp) onTwitter, the concept has become part of the zeitgeist.Here’s how to get it right

................................................................................................................

A TrackMaven study

found the maximum

engagement on posts

with around 11 hashtags

on Instagram

Get it right: Hashtags are tough to use correctly, but can aid brand

building *SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

MANY FACES

Before becoming the symbol ofthe millennial generation, the ‘#’

symbol was generallyreferred to as a numbersign or pound sign, andwas even used to denoteweights in pounds in the

United States.

Saumyaa Vohra




CMYK

B ND-NDE

TECH

As we speak, there are thousands ofhunters planning, practising and taking on the biggest, baddest Elder Dragons for glory and loot in Capcom’subersuccessful Monster Hunter:World. A vibrant world kept alive byregular events, the introduction oflarger monsters and premium loot,keeping hunters glued to their PS4s.Yet, there’s a legion of PCtoting hunters sharpening their blades gleefullywhen Capcom announced they werereleasing on the PC.Now it’s fi��nally hereand it’s glorious.

What’s it about?You play a hunter andhis felinelike sidekickcalled a Palico, part ofa large fl��eet set out intothe unknown to discover a New World by theResearch Commission.To search for these mythical creatures known onlyas Elder Dragons.Exceptwhen they almost reach,their fl��eet is waylaid by oneof them, that’s as big as anactive volcano.

The New World is an interactive Jurassic Park, fi��lled with hybrids of dinosaur and mythical creatures.A living and breathing ecosystem, whereyou see peaceful herbivores goingabout their munching, when biggercarnivores attack them and then really big monsters hunt them. You’re atthe bottom of that food chain.

How does it play?It’s almost expected that games thatfare well on consoles are often portedto PC with disastrous, bugriddled results (we’re looking at you DarkSouls). Monster Hunter: World isabout to change that perception,with an absolutely fl��awless port, andin fact, if you have a good Radeon orNvidia card, you can expect some incredible graphics and better fi��delityat 60fps.

Monster Hunter: World’s gameplay is simple. Once you

get past that busy introand get out into theworld doing story questsand hunting monsters,it’s addictive. You notonly have an array of

very interestingand inventive

weaponry tomaster, but

you alsohave to

keep

grinding, getting level

ups, loot to improve your stats. Capcom has been regularly releasingnew monsters into the wild. Just going in blind and taking them down isnot the way; you will need to stake

out your quarry, plan with yourteammates and then attack with astrategy.

The game controls surprisinglywell with the mouse and keyboard,especially if you’re used to The Division. If you aren’t, there’s always thecontroller. A fair warning though,Monster Hunter games are unforgiving with their interface design, andyou will be confronted with a lot ofscreens fi��lled with stats, which is something you’ll need to get familiarwith. Once you do, everything will goyour way.

Should you get it?If you’re a PC gaming buff�� and wantto jump into this open world safarifi��lled with towering beasts, then grabyour blunderbuss and head intoMonster Hunter: World.

After years of teasing and tantalising us with a sort of spiritual homageto Stanley Kubrick’s violent, dystopian movie A Clockwork Orange and

a world like that of BioShock, WeHappy Few is fi��nally out, and it doesbring with it a truly horrifying formof storytelling with a certain humourtacked on. Which makes the slogthrough the game worthwhile.

What’s it about?We Happy Few is a story about drugabuse at its extreme societal level. It’smandatory that you take your Joy, aharmlesslooking little pill, because ifyou don’t, then the entire happytown of Wellington Wells will descend upon you with a mad fury. Setin 1960s Britain, you play three wokepeople as you experience life in Wellington Wells from three diff��erentperspectives.

Starting off�� with Arthur, who getsoff�� his meds while at his job redactingnews. Joy as a drug is like having beergoggles on, as it paints a beautiful rosy picture of warmth and perfection,but yet, out of your peripheral visionyou notice the decay and darkness.As the city’s denizens wear thesewhite mime masks with horrendoussmiles painted on it, walk in and outof the frame, talking about daily stuff��with a tinge of madness.

The writing is topnotch and oneof the best parts of the game. Capable

of making your skin crawl and bringup a couple of chuckles at the sametime. As you experience the worldthrough the eyes of your three protagonists, you have the choice to see itwith Joy or without. Sending a powerful message about drug abuse and itseff��ects, through an onoff�� fi��lter.

How does it play?BioShock, We Happy Few is not,though it tries to be and comes veryclose, but there’s that balance missing in making this fi��rstperson meleecombat survival game exciting. Thenarrative is exceptional, from thetone, the design of the houses andtheir interiors, as well as the little stories that are left behind for you tofi��nd, that help fl��esh out this world.Somehow, it feels like the rest of thegame has been tacked around it, likea scaff��olding to hold it together.

Take for instance, as a survivalgame, once you break free from theclutches of Joy. You will need to blendin with the herd of people with masksof grins.

The fi��rst few times it seems immensely frightful, as one wrong overenthusiastic move will bring theBobbies down on you, which are thepolice. Then it’s run for your life,hide somewhere until the commotion dies down.

It’s all too easy, and even the meleecombat, which seems to exist just togive players something to do, is veryfl��at and boring. So all you have is afl��at game that you have to activelyslog through, just to get someanswers.

Should you get it?If you like narrativedriven games,then We Happy Few is fantastic, especially with its creepy compellingworld and excellent, snappy, wittywriting.

The writer is a tech and gaming enthusiastwho hopes to one day fi��nish his scifi�� novel

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

GAMESPOT

Monster Hunter: Worldfi��nally releases on thePC and We Happy Fewlets you survive joy

Slice and dice: Images from Monster Hunter: World and We Happy Few* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD

DEVELOPER: Capcom

PUBLISHER: Capcom

PRICE: ₹��2,999 on PCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

WE HAPPY FEW

DEVELOPER: Compulsion Games

PUBLISHER: Gearbox Publishing

PRICE: ₹��2,999 on PCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Hunt or be

HUNTED

Julian Almeida

Scientists develop Wi-Fi system todetect explosivesScientists at Rutgers University in New Jersey havecome up with a system that relies on ordinary WiFito detect explosive devices. It comprises a WiFidevice along with a few antennae, and can beintegrated with an existing system of WiFi. Themethod involves analysing the responses triggeredby the wireless signals as they penetrate and bounceoff objects, revealing the dimensions of the materialor the volume of liquids. .

TECH-A-BYTE::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

New app can extend smartphone’sbattery lifeA new mobile app has been developed to boost thelife of batteries by reducing the consumption ofenergy by noncritical applications that run in thebackground. According to researchers, whose studywas published in the journal IEEE Access, the builtinmultiwindow feature released with the new AndroidOperating System allows users to have multiplewindows and files open at the same time, but thisresults in energy drain.

Now teach Alexa how to speak inIndian languagesAmazon has launched a new category of skills thatwould enable customers in India help Alexa learnIndian languages. Using the new ‘Cleo’ skill, Amazonallows users to teach Alexa more about Indianlanguages and culture by interacting with the voiceassistant.

“During each round, Alexa will ask you to say atleast five things in your language,” the company saidin a statement.


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