VIJAYAWADA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

www.dailypioneer.com

RNI No.APENG/2018/764698

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

*LATE CITY VOL. 3 ISSUE 295*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

MONEY 8CAIRN CEO SAYS $1BN REFUND OFFERACCEPTABLE TO FIRM, TO DROP CASES

ANALYSIS 7SELF-RELIANCE IN GAS IS THE WAY FORWARD

SPORTS 11WE ALWAYS AIM TO BE IN

PRESENT: BUMRAH

}VD GEARS

UP FOR HIS

NEXT WITH

SHIVA NIRVANAPage 12

{AIIMS TO ASCERTAIN PRESENCE OFCOVID IN VARIOUS PARTS OF EYE

The RP Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at AIIMS isconducting a study to ascertain the presence of thecoronavirus in various parts of the eye of those who

have died due to the infection, the centre's chief Dr JSTitiyal said on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference onthe 36th Eye Donation Fortnight celebration by the NationalEye Bank, he said that five eye balls have been collected forcarrying out the study. "The research will help ascertain thepresence of the coronavirus in the cornea, optic nerve andretina of Covid infected deceased," Titiyal said.

COVID: PUBLIC GANESHA FESTIVITIESIN BENGALURU RESTRICTED TO 3 DAYS

The Bengaluru civic agency has permitted only three-dayGanesha Pooja celebrations in public places against theKarnataka government order allowing five days' of festi-

vities in the state, to keep Covid infections in check. "Gane-sha festival will not be allowed for more than three days inBengaluru city. There should not be any procession whilebringing the idol or during immersion," BBMP Chief Commi-ssioner Gaurav Gupta said in a circular. The instruction cameafter Gupta had a meeting with senior district level officersand Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant.

BENGAL GOVT CHALLENGES RELIEF TOBJP LEADER SUVENDU ADHIKARI IN HC

The West Bengal government on Tuesday filed an appealbefore the Calcutta High Court challenging an order ofa single bench that directed the police not to take

coercive action against BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari incriminal cases relating to him in the state. The matter wasmentioned by a state lawyer before a division benchpresided over by Justice Subrata Talukdar with regard tofiling an appeal against the single bench order. The state'sappeal may be listed for hearing before the bench onWednesday, a lawyer associated with the matter said.

ANTILIA BOMB SCARE: NIA SAYS WAZEWANTED TO REGAIN ‘SUPERCOP' TAG

Dismissed police officer Sachin Waze placed an SUV withexplosives near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's househere to regain his reputation as a "supercop", the NIA

has said in its charge sheet. Thane businessman MansukhHiran was subsequently killed as Waze thought him to bethe "weak link" in the conspiracy, the NIA said. The NIA lastweek filed the charge sheet before a special court hereagainst Waze and nine others in connection with the reco-very of a vehicle with gelatin sticks near Ambani's residence‘Antilia' on February 25 and the subsequent murder of Hiran.

VVIIJJAAYYAAWWAADDAA

WWEEAATTHHEERR

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 5:00 PM

FFoorreeccaasstt:: Scattered thunderstormsTTeemmpp:: 30/25HHuummiiddiittyy:: 77%SSuunnrriissee:: 6:02 amSSuunnsseett:: 06:24 pm

AALLMMAANNAACC

TTOODDAAYY

Month & Paksham:

Bhadrapada & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Dwitiya 26:33

Nakshatram : Uttara Phalguni 15:55

Time to Avoid : Time to Avoid (Bad

time to start any important work)

Rahukalam : 12:13 pm - 1:45 pm

Yamagandam : 7:38 am - 9:10 am

Varjyam : 11:50 pm - 1:20 am

Gulika : 10:41 am - 12:13 pm

Good Time : (to start any important work)

Amritakalam : 9:04 am - 10:35 am

Abhijit Muhurtham : Nil

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In a much-needed breather to thecash-starved State, the Union gov-ernment on Tuesday enhanced theOpen Market Borrowing (OMB)limit of Andhra Pradesh.

With the latest enhancement,the State government can nowraise Rs 10,500 crore from themarket in the first nine months ofthe current fiscal, 2021-22.

The breather to Andhra Pradeshthat has been struggling to evenpay salaries to its employees ontime came after persistent and sus-tained efforts put in by financeminister Buggana Rajendranathand especially by Chief SecretaryAditya Nath Das who had taken

up the issue with the FinanceMinistry.

Both Rajendranath andDas sent several pleas andSOS to the Centre.

Das along withRajendranath and also latermade several trips to Delhi tomeet Union FinanceMinister NirmalaSitharaman and also sen-ior off icials of theFinance Ministry.

Das had taken spe-cial interest and contin-ued correspondencewith the senior officialsof the Finance Ministerthat had raised severalqueries regarding the loans

already availed by the State gov-ernment. Finally, the Centre

approved the Stategovernment's plea.

With this, the totalOMB allowed to

Andhra Pradesh duringthe current year would be

Rs 31,251 crore, theFinance Ministry saidin a letter to the

Reserve Bankof India.

T h eCentre fixeda NetB or row i n g

C e i l i n g(NBC) of Rs42,472 crore

for the state for the year 2021-22,with a borrowing space of Rs37,163 crore for the first ninemonths.

A debt statement prepared bythe State Finance Departmentindicated that a sum of Rs34,058.80 crore has already beenborrowed from April to Augustthis year. The sum includes Rs14,867.60 crore OMB in the firstfive months of the current fiscalyear, the statement said.

Andhra Pradesh's cumulativedebt has now shot up to a whop-ping Rs 3,84,615.66 crore, includ-ing Rs 1,27,105.81 crore borrowedby the Jagan government in the lasttwo years.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh govern-ment too has begun efforts tomonetise its non-productiveassets to generate the much-needed extra revenue to tide overthe grave financial situation.

In the first step, the govern-ment has decided to hand over a3.26 acre site in the heart ofVijayawada city for commercialdevelopment over the next 24months under the 'Mission BuildAP.'

Though the expected revenuefrom the project has not been dis-closed, official sources monitor-ing the project estimate that theincome could be "substantial".

"Importantly, the project willcreate tens, if not hundreds ofjobs, and boost the local econo-my," a top official pointed out.

The 'Mission Build AP' waslaunched in late 2019 and theJaganmohan Reddy governmentput some properties on sale.

However, it is now stuck in a legaltangle, with the High Court stay-ing the proceedings.

"We are not selling the proper-ty in Vijayawada, where current-ly the State Guest House ishoused. We are only giving it fordevelopment," the official said.

The State Guest House inVijayawada once used to be theplace of stay for all visiting dig-

nitaries, including the Presidentand the Prime Minister. However,half of it is now in a dilapidatedcondition and the other half alsoneeds a facelift.

As the state government is inno position to spend crores forthat, it has decided to monetisethe prime asset.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The AP High Court has warnedthe State government that a con-tempt case would be initiated if itfails to clear the bills of MahatmaGandhi National Rural Emplo-yment Guarantee Scheme (MGN-REGS) by September 15.

The High Court was hearingpetitions filed on payment of thebills on Tuesday.

The High Court expressed itsanger at the government for fail-ing to implement its orders issuedtwo weeks ago in this case. TheHigh Court pointed out that ithad issued orders to clear MGN-REGS bill arrears of 494 cases twoweeks ago, but the governmenthas cleared bills of only 25 caseseven after two weeks elapsing.

On Tuesday, the High Courtgave a one-week deadline for theState government to clear the duesor face contempt proceedings.The court directed the State gov-ernment to give details of whohave been paid the amounts so far.

The State government earliersaid that the Centre failed to rele-ase the funds. However, the Ce-ntre filed an affidavit in the HighCourt stating that it does not oweany dues to AP government andthat it has cleared all the bills sub-mitted by the State government.

SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

Probably for the first time in thehistory of Andhra Pradesh, cel-ebrating Vinayaka Chavithi, anevent that heralds the year'sHindu festive season - hasbecome a bone of contentionbetween political parties.

The State governmentannounced that it would not

allow Chavithi celebrations atpublic places owing to imminentthreat of Covid third wave. Thegovernment advisory asked thecitizenry not to take out proces-sions and confine the celebrationsto home.

The BJP, which has been wait-ing for such an opportunity, saidthat this was a direct attack on theHindu faith itself. It raked up theissue and its cadres hit the streets.

The TDP, perhaps fearing beingrelegated to obscurity, joined thechorus against the government.The Left parties however cameout in support of the State gov-ernment's decision.

On their part, YSRCP leadersand government heads had try-ing to explain that the restrictionshave been imposed based on theguidelines and advisory issued byUnion Home Secretary Ajay

Bhalla on August 28 to all theStates in the wake of the begin-ning of festive season.

However, the AP BJP has beenunrelenting in posing questions.It has been asking why theYSRCP government singled out aHindu festival while allowingChristian gatherings and Muslimfestivals.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Education Minister AdimulapuSuresh on Tuesday said that theState government will file a reviewpetition in the Andhra PradeshHigh Court against the order ofpaying Jagananna Vidya Deevenaamounts directly to principals ofcolleges instead of depositing itinto the accounts of mothers of stu-dents.

Stating that the YSRCP govern-ment was implementing a full feereimburse scheme as part of itselection promise, Suresh said thatthe administration has decided tofile a review petition in the HCagainst the order.

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy conducted a review meet-ing on Mana Badi-Nadu Nedu inwhich Suresh and officials partic-ipated. It may be recalled that theHigh Court had heard the petitionfiled against payment of VidyaDeevena funds directly to themothers and directed that theamount be paid to principals asthat most of the students were notpaying fees to the colleges. Thecourt also heard the petitionagainst the online admissions forIntermediate and ruled that theadmissions be conducted as earli-er in offline mode.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy on Tuesday directed officialsto be prepared for the implemen-tation of New Education Policy(NEP) across the State, ensuringthat each school has subject-wiseteachers from Class 3 onwards.

During a review meeting held onNadu-Nedu (schools) and NEP, theChief Minister instructed the offi-cials to improve the quality of text-books and told them to focus onCBSE affiliation for all types ofschools along with ICSE affiliation.The officials informed that initial-ly 1,000 schools are being affiliat-ed with CBSE.

Reviewing Nadu-Nedu, Jaganasked the officials to immediatelystart the tender process for the sec-

ond phase of Nadu-Nedu works. Inthe second phase 12,663 schoolswill be revamped with a cost of Rs4,535.74 crore, where 18,498 addi-tional classrooms will be con-

structed. Similarly, in the thirdphase 24,900 schools will be ren-ovated at an estimated cost of Rs7,821 crore.

Centre enhances limit, allowsAP to borrow more from marketn Major relief for cash-strapped govt, Aditya Nath Das efforts pay off

Govt gets oneweek to clearNREGS dues

AP govt to monetise State GuestHouse, its asset in Vijayawada city

Jagan tells officials to gear up toimplement New Education Policy

Ganesh Chavithi celebrations turn political

Govt to ask HC toreview order onVidya Deevena sop

14 top copstransferred in StatePNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh govern-ment on Tuesday effected thetransfer of 14 top police officersacross the State with DGPGautam D Sawang issuingorders.

Accordingly, K Prakash Raowaiting for posting was posted asDSP, CCS, Guntur Rural in theexisting vacancy.

E Balaswamy Reddy was post-ed as DSP, CCS Kadapa, MRamesh Reddy was posted asDSP, SB, West Godavari, MSnehitha as DSP, CID in theexisting vacancy and MBalasundara Rao was posted asDSP, Intelligence.

KVVNV Prasad was trans-ferred and posted as ACP, CSP-I, Vijayawada city, B Moses Paulwas posted as DSP, CCS Guntururban, U Narasingappa was post-ed as SDPO, Guntakal, V PothuRaju as SDPO Tulluru and J RamBabu was posted as DSP NorthGuntur urban.

U Nagaraju was posted asSDPO, Ongole, D Durga Prasadwas posted as DSP, PTC, Ongoleand V Srinivas Rao was trans-ferred and asked to report atpolice headquarters

Farmers lay siege to Karnal secretariat PNS n KARNAL(HARYANA)

Thousands of farmers startedmarching towards the district head-quarters here on Tuesday eveningafter union leaders said their talkswith the local administration hadfailed.

Farmer unions had demandedaction against officials over thelathi-charge against protesters onAugust 28 in Karnal. Otherwise,they had threatened farmers will laysiege on the Karnal mini-secretari-at – a threat they appeared to becarrying out.

Farmers reached the New AnajMandi for a mahapanchayat in themorning, riding tractors andmotorcycles. As they gatheredthere, an 11-member delegationwas invited by the local administra-tion to discuss their demands anddissuade them from marchingtowards the secretariat.

“Our talks with administrationfailed as they did not agree to our

demands,” senior farm leaderJoginder Singh Ugrahan said aboutthree hours later.

Farmer union leaders then urgedthe large gathering at the mahapan-chayat to march peacefully towardsthe mini-secretariat, five kilometresaway.

The leaders told the farmers notto enter into any confrontation with

policemen, and squat in protestwherever they are stopped.

Thousands of protesters walkedtowards the secretariat carryingfarmer union flags. Several barri-cades have been put up on theroute.

Earlier, BKU leader RakeshTikait told reporters that they haddemanded the suspension of the

IAS officer who was caught on tapeallegedly telling policemen to"break heads" of protesting farmers.

Rakesh Tikait, Balbir SinghRajewal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan,Darshan Pal and Yogendra Yadavwere among the senior SamyuktKisan Morcha (SKM) leaders whohad reached Karnal for the rally,being held days after a huge maha-panchayat in Uttar Pradesh'sMuzaffarnagar.

Farmers from Punjab, Haryanaand Uttar Pradesh have beenprotesting for months over thethree farm laws enacted at theCentre, claiming that the legislationwill lead to the erosion of the min-imum support price (MSP) system.

Deputy Commissioner NishantKumar Yadav, Karnal's InspectorGeneral of Police Mamta Singh andSuperintendent of Police GangaRam Punia, were among the offi-cials who took part in the talks withfarm leaders.

PAGE 3Air Indiaresumes

Vja-Muscatflights

PNS n NEW DELHI

The finance ministry on Tuesdaysaid electronic records submittedthrough registered account of tax-payers in the income tax portalshall be deemed to have beenauthenticated by the taxpayer byelectronic verification code (EVC).

The Central Board of DirectTaxes (CBDT) amended incometax rules on Monday to easeauthentication of records submit-ted in faceless assessment proceed-ing.

The ministry said the amendedrule provides that electronicrecords submitted through regis-tered account of the taxpayers in

the income tax department's por-tal shall be deemed to have beenauthenticated by the taxpayer byelectronic verification code (EVC).

"Therefore, where a person sub-mits an electronic record by log-ging into his registered account indesignated portal of the income taxdepartment, it shall be deemed thatthe electronic record has beenauthenticated by EVC...," it said.

The ministry said this simplifiedprocess would also be available tocompanies, or tax audit cases andthey are mandatorily required toauthenticate the electronic recordsby digital signature.

Rules for authenticationof e-records eased

FACELESS ASSESSMENT

22

2

22

22

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, D.No. New 3-88, Old 3-22, Chandra Theatre, Gosala, Penamaluru Mandal, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh - 521 151, Executive Editor: Navin Upadhyay. Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any

damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement before

responding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

EGG

RATES

VIJAYAWADA 425

HYDERABAD 398

VISAKHAPATNAM 425

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀44..2255

`̀//110000

CHICKEN

RATES

Dressed/With Skin `251

Without Skin `271

Broiler at Farm `139

`̀//KKGG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana State on Tuesdaywitnessed nearly 9 times morerainfall than the normal, caus-ing deluges in various districts.According to TSDPS, theState's average rainfall on 7September, 2021 was 63.5mm, against the normal 7.5mm.

According to EldoradoWeather, Nizamabad wasamong the top 5 rainiest placesin the world at 4th position,with 182 mm rainfall onTuesday, while Vishakapatnamwas at 15th position with 107mm rainfall.

The heavy rain phase haspassed for the state and thestate will only witness light tomoderate rain or thunder-showers at a few places overTelangana until 12 September.

According to IMD directorNaga Ratna, "The South WestMonsoon has been very vigor-ous over Telangana for the past24 hours. Rain occurred atmost places in Telangana.

Extremely heavy rain i.e.greater than 20 cm occured at10 places in Telangana andvery heavy rainfall was record-ed in 39 places in a few dis-tricts of TS and heavy rainfallwas recorded at 61 places ofthe state. Heavy rainfall wasseen over Warangal Rural,Warangal Urban, Jayashankar,Bhadradri Kothagudem,Karimnagar, Peddapalli andRajanna Sircilla districts.

About 40 per cent morerainfall has been recordedstarting from the rainy seasonuntil 7 Sept, i.e. 885.5 mmagainst the normal 631.1mm".

The GHMC's DisasterResponse Force teams weredeployed with boats andequipment in Sircilla on theinstructions of MinisterMA&UD K T Rama Rao. Theteams will assist the districtadministration in rescue &relief operations in view of theincessant rains and flooding.

Heavy rains f loodedTelangana's Sircilla town andsome other parts of RajannaSircilla district on Tuesday.

Massive downpour sinceMonday evening inundatedthe low-lying areas and turnedstreets into cesspools. The

usually busy Bus Stand,Pragati Nagar, KarimnagarRoad and other areas wereflooded. Rainwater enteredthe District Collector's office,causing severe inconvenienceto employees. DistrictCollector Anurag Jayanti andSuperintendent of PoliceRahul Hegde supervised therelief measures in the affectedareas.

Municipal and Police per-sonnel entered maroonedhouses surrounded by floodwater with the help of cranesand rescued stranded people.KTR directed the districtadministration to intensifyrelief efforts in view of theflood waters coming to thetown of Sirisilla and reachingthe colonies after three days ofheavy rains.

KTR held a teleconferencewith the District Collector, SPand MunicipalCommissioners on Tuesdaymorning, after learning thatheavy rains since Mondaynight had devastated colonies.

Heavy rains batter Telangana

Gangavaram port sets cargo recordPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Gangavaram Port, the deepestand the most modern port inthe country, on Tuesday stat-ed that it has set some recordsin various cargo commodities.

The port has vast storagefacilities and state of the artmaterial handling systemswhich help quick import andexport of cargo.

The port discharged 26,885MT of fertilizer in just 24 ho-urs by using the Mobile Har-bour Cranes (MHCs) whichsurpassed their earlier recordof 16,690 MT in 24 hours.

MV Kmax Emperor carry-ing 64,575 MT of urea berthedat GPL on account of IPL, thisachievement stands out as thefastest urea discharge rate inthe history of the port.

The management of M/sIPL, the receivers of the cargoexpressed their gratitude andappreciated the port manage-ment and staff who helped inachieving this milestone.

The port recorded anothermilestone in pig iron loading.GPL leaded 23,500 MT of pigIron by using vessel cranes attheir berth-7 on 24 hour basis,which surpassed its earlierrecord of 16,600 MT in thesame time period.

MV African Jacana carrying44,000 tonnes of pig Ironberthed at GPL mobile har-bour cranes. The vessel wasberthed on August 30, 2021,entire cargo loaded in just 46hours, this new loading recordachieved on September 1.

The port recorded anothermilestone in iron ore pellets

loading. GPL loaded 46,700MT iron ore pellets by usingthe ship loader at their Berth-4 on 24 hour basis, which hassurpassed earlier record of41,314 MT in 24 hour basis.

MV KM Hakata carrying82,500 tons of iron ore pelletsberthed at GPL mobile har-bour cranes. Gangavaram Portreached another milestone bycoal transfer to RINL.

Gangavaram Port has trans-ferred 6,08,706 MT of coalcargo through conveyors to theRINL plant in the month ofAugust, 2021. This is the ever-highest achievement in trans-fer of cargo since inception,which has surpassed old recordof 5,67,888 MT which wasachieved in April-21. The mile-stone was achieved due tooperational efficiency and

smooth coordination betweenRINL and GPL teams.

GPL executive director G JRao said, "We are extremelydelighted at these achieve-ments by our team. The recordcargo discharge of variouscommodities yet again reaf-firms our superior port infra-structure and operational effi-ciency. Gangavaram port offerssubstantial economic benefitsto Indian importers in terms ofreduced ocean freight, highlyefficient operations, advancedmaterial handling and evacu-ation system, vast storage areasfor all types of cargo, extensiveancillary facilities, and fasterturnaround time and delivery.We are extremely happy to seethe trade derive benefits ofmodern deepwater infrastruc-ture at Gangavaram Port".

Jagan tellsofficials to gear...Continued from Page 1

The officials informed theChief Minister that current-ly, engineers who will be tak-ing up Nadu-Nedu worksare undergoing training at vil-lage secretariats and soontraining for parents' commit-tees will also start before ini-tiating Phase-2 works.

The Chief Minister saidthat special attention shouldbe paid to the maintenance ofschools and toilets; else theyare likely to go back to theearlier state. He suggestedkeeping a contingency fundin every school for any emer-gency repair works anddirected the authorities toprepare an SOP in this regard.

Further, reviewingJagananna Vidya Kanuka,Jagan instructed officials toprovide the kits by the timethe next academic year startsand to ensure that items ofgood quality are distributed.He asked them to includesports shoes and sports dressin the kit from the comingyear.

AP govt tomonetise...Continued from Page 1

The Centre's NBCC (India)Limited, which has beenentrusted with the MissionBuild AP plan, has appoint-ed Rudrabhishek EnterprisesLimited (REPL) to providecomprehensive architecturaland engineering consultancyservices for the developmentof the proposed project inVijayawada.

REPL has drawn up plansto reconstruct the State GuestHouse with a built-up area ofone lakh square feet and acommercial complex with abuilt-up area of 2.5 lakhsquare feet.

REPL CMD PradeepMisra said the proposed pro-ject was being designed as anenergy efficient campus withunique and inspiring space towork, rest and rejuvenate.

The company would pre-pare a master plan, conceptdesigns and a detailed projectreport and also assist in pro-ject coordination and bidprocess management, he said.

REPL said in a release thatit was currently working onpreparing GIS-based masterplans of four clusters in 14urban local bodies.

Rules forauthentication ofe-records eased...Continued from Page 1

"In order to provide the ben-efit of the simplified processof authentication by EVC tothese persons (such as com-panies, tax audit cases, etc.) ,it has been decided to extendthe simplified process ofauthentication by EVC tothese persons also," the min-istry added.

Hence, assessees who aremandatorily required toauthenticate electronicrecords by digital signatureshall be deemed to haveauthenticated the electronicrecords when they submit therecord through their regis-tered account in the Incometax department's portal.

Legislative amendments inthis regard would be broughtin due course.

GENGO plans 2more hydel unitsPNS n HYDERABAD

The Andhra Pradesh PowerGeneration Corporation(APGENCO) has recentlyfloated tenders for two unitsof the Lower Sileru power-house of 115 MW capacityeach.

These two units will be inaddition to the four units of115 MW capacity each thatare already up and running inLower Sileru powerhouse.

Engineers have been point-ing out since long that therewas scope for another twounits in the Lower Silerupowerhouse that could meetpeak demand.

As per the tender, Thescope of work envisagesdesign, engineering, manufac-turing, testing at manufactur-

er's works before dispatch,supply, transportation, storageat site, insurance, erection,testing and commissioningof two 115 MW capacity ver-tical francis turbine generatorunits along with all associat-ed auxiliary and ancillaryequipment, 220 kV switchyardand power evacuation struc-tures including balance civilworks of power house, pen-stock, butterfly valve, spheri-cal/shutoff rotary valves, etc atLower Sileru Power House inAndhra Pradesh on EPC(turnkey) basis.

As per tender notification,bids can be submitted byOctober 1.

The work will entail aninvestment of Rs 384 crorewith a completion period of24 months.

Ganesh Chavithi...Continued from Page 1

In fact, BJP leaders went a stepahead and branded the YSRCPgovernment as "anti-Hindu"and also staged protests acrossthe State. BJP cadres havebeen on the roads demandingthe government to lift thecurbs on Vinayaka Chavithicelebrations.

"Why target only Hindufestivals? This government isanti-Hindu. The governmenthad allowed many Muslimfestivals and large gatheringsby Christians. Even temples,churches, schools and mallsare open and functioning.Why then restrictions only onVinayaka Chavithi?" asked BJPState general secretary SVishnuvardhan Reddy.

TDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu called on his partycadres to celebrate the festivalin public places followingCovid norms but defying therestrictions.

The Left parties issued ajoint statement accusing theBJP of unveiling its communalagenda in the State as it did inother States to make politicalinroads.

In the advisory issued by theUnion government to all theStates on August 28, AjayBhalla said: "State Governm-ents / UT Administrationsare advised to take suitablemeasures to avoid large gath-erings during the coming fes-tive season and if required,

impose local restrictions witha view to curb such large gat-herings. In all crowded places,Covid-appropriate behaviourshould be strictly enforced. Weneed to continue focus on thefive-fold strategy i.e. Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination andadherence to Covid appropri-ate behaviour for effectivemanagement of Covid-19.".

YSRCP leaders point outthat the State government hadissued orders curbing publicgatherings during Bakrid andMuharram.

Criticising State BJP forpoliticising the restrictions oncelebrations of festivals inpublic, Brahmin CorporationChairman Malladi Vishnu saidthat the restrictions were putonly as per Union HomeSecretary directives.

"Restrictions are only on thepublic celebrations keepingthe possible Covid third wavein view and there is no neces-sity to politicise the issue. Inorder to avoid mass gather-ings, the State governmenthad postponed the events likeYSR Achievement awards,Teacher's Day celebrations andeven celebrated 75thIndependence Day withoutallowing public participationin the State function," point-ed Malladi Vishnu.

Endowments MinisterVellampalli Srinivas said thatBJP is trying to instigate com-munal violence in AP for itsvested interests.

Centre enhances limit, allows APto borrow more from market...Continued from Page 1

Besides, other outstandingloans for which the Stategovernment gave guaranteesclimbed to Rs 96,500.36crore, an increase of Rs47,058 crore in the last twoyears.

Unable to pay even thestaff salaries in time, theJaganmohan Reddy govern-ment has pleaded with theCentre to give consent forraising Rs 17,810 crorethrough OMB in the firstnine months of financial year2021-22.

The Centre adjusted anamount of Rs 17,923.94 crorewith the available borrowingspace on account of over-bor-rowing by AP during theprevious years and therebybrought down the NBC this

year.The State government has

been requesting that theCentre review the wholething in light of the repay-ments made under StateDevelopment Loans pertain-ing to the erstwhile undivid-ed AP, official sources said.

Rajendranath made sever-al trips to New Delhi andmade repeated SOS pleas toSitharaman to allow the Stateto borrow more money tomeet the basic needs.

But, the Centre found faultwith the manner in which thestate has been raising freshloans by pledging future taxrevenues.

Prima facie, the pledging offuture tax revenues appears tobe not in consonance withthe Article 266 (1) of theConstitution, the Union

Finance Ministry noted in arecent letter to the statePrincipal Finance Secretary.

It sought details of theloans raised by the State andthe revenue sources that havebeen pledged or escrowed torepay the loans.

Last week, Rajendranathhad called on Sitharaman yetagain and gave a detailedclarification on the issue,official sources here said.

According to highly placedsources in the government onSeptember 3, the Departmentof Expenditure under theUnion Finance Ministrywrote to the Internal DebtManagement Department ofthe RBI, asking it to makenecessary arrangements inconsultation with the Stategovernment to enhance theOMB.

Govt to ask HC...Continued from Page 1

The Minister said that theywill go for an appeal onJagananna Vidya Deevenaand Intermediate onlineadmissions.

He said that mothers aretaking responsibility for theirchildren's studies by going toeducational institutions, pay-ing fees and further enquir-ing about the progress andstudies of their children.

He questioned who wouldtake the responsibility forthe children's education if theVidya Deevena schemeamount was given to theprincipal and it was mis-used.

Suresh said that without 75percent attendance, the sec-ond instalment will not becredited. He said that thereservations were not fol-lowed in Inter admissionspreviously.

The Minister also said thatthe online approach is forcomplete transparency, whichhas been successful in degreeadmissions.

What mirrorssmooth admin-istration? What

happens if welfare mea-sures override real indi-cators of development?What would be the ulti-mate scene once thestate government's finan-cial resources get exhausted?Does a welfare state meangiving everything free tosome people in view of theirBPL status and making themhappy? These are the crucialquestions that are uppermostin the minds of those reallyconcerned about AndhraPradesh.

An elected governmentnaturally tries to bind to thepromises made by the rulingparty in its election mani-festo.

In Andhra Pradesh, onecould get an overall picture ofthe state's financial positionjust by looking into thepromises made in theYSRCP's manifesto. For, it isnot possible for any govern-ment to implement such wel-fare agenda using only funds

that are readilyavailable. It has to gofor mobilisation offunds on a large scaleto meet its require-

ments, often atexorbitant interest rates,

from the Union govern-ment and external fundingagencies. Besides, the gov-ernment is desperately think-ing of selling its lands inprime localities of variouscities and town. Funds total-ing thousands of crores ofrupees may be available withthis kind of indiscriminateselling of lands. People gen-erally think that the govern-ment is the custodian of pub-lic properties like lands andthat it would protect themfrom encroachment by per-sons enjoying proximity withthe rulers.

If the present governmentsincerely protects govern-ment lands in var iousplaces, then future genera-tions also would be able touse public property.

A popular chief minister ofyesteryear, at a review of the

Endowments Department,stated that thousands of acresof land worth Rs.4 lakh crorewas available with the govern-ment. The officials and mediapersons present were takenaback. The same leader madea vain bid to go further in thatline of action later. Thanks topublic awareness in thisregard, the government couldnot move freely in that direc-tion.

Monthly borrowings havebecome common now tomeet the minimum require-ments of the state, includingpayment of salaries to gov-ernment employees. Earlier,

the government had toenhance the retirement agefrom 58 years to 60 yearsmainly due to lack of funds topay their retirement benefits.

Freebies are slowly becom-ing hurdles on the road todevelopment.

Many departments in thegovernment are forced todivert funds meant for devel-opmental works. For exam-ple, the funds allocated toSC&ST Sub Plan get divertedto populist schemes.

The government oftendefends its act of divertingfunds, saying the funds arebeing used for the welfare of

the same people. Some observers say that

freebies are going to cause'fiscal paralysis' of the state ofAndhra Pradesh in the back-drop of the government'sborrowings for the imple-mentation of welfareschemes.

There is dire need for bal-ancing welfare measures anddevelopmental schemes. Forinstance, in view of the rainyseason, roads across the stateare in a bad shape with dead-

ly potholes that may claim thelives of road users. Yet, thegovernment is not in a posi-tion to repair even very badlyaffected roads due to financialcrunch.

As per official data, theAndhra Pradesh governmenthas deposited Rs.1.05 lakhcrores, out of the Rs.1.27 lakhscrore it borrowed, into theaccounts of beneficiaries ofvarious welfare schemes in thestate. Even a single rupee wouldnot come back to the govern-ment from this huge amount.

This amount of Rs.1.05lakh crores is almost doublethe amount that is requiredfor the Polavaram multi-pur-pose project, which is consid-ered to be the lifeline ofAndhra Pradesh in the back-drop of the state's bifurcation.

Imagine how pleasant itwould be if the Polavaramproject is realised! The irriga-tion situation would be verycomfortable in AP with'assured water' to every majorand medium irrigation pro-jects across the state.

The present government

headed by YS JaganmohanReddy got 86% of seats (151seats out of 175) of the totalstrength of AP Assembly.Every member of the rulingparty, including its president,may agree that their partywould not get the same num-ber of seats (151) in the nextelections even if it retainspower.

He can still do wonderswith his majority and makethe rest of his political jour-ney hassle-free. He has noopposition both within theparty and the government.Jagan would do well to takeup the Polavaram Project inright earnest. Only by takingdaring steps the state govern-ment can create assets.

Creation of assets will bethe real gift and service tofuture generations.

Despite being hamperedby financial crunch in the ini-tial years of the Andhra Statethat was carved out of com-posite Madras State in 1953,the then Chief Minister ofAndhra State T.Prakasam laidthe foundation stone for the

Krishna Barrage (later namedafter him) at Vijayawada in1954. In fact, initially he gota negative reply from thenPrime Minister Pandit Nehruwhen he sought financialhelp from the Centre for theproject. Still Prakasam hadhis way finally. Jagan is in farbetter position now.

People are no doubt gettingthousands of rupees for thepurpose of creating liveli-hood options for themselves.

They set up a small busi-ness establishment like gro-cery shop or something elsewith the sum of Rs.30, 000/-given freely by the govern-ment. They simply wind upthose establishments oncethat amount gets exhaustedwithin days. Since there is norecovery or question of repay-ment of that money to thegovernment by the beneficia-ries, they are free to do any-thing. That means the gov-ernment is indirectly makingits own people shed respon-sibility and commitment.

Let us hope the AP govern-ment becomes far-sighted.

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

As per official data, the AP

government has deposited Rs.1.05

lakh-crore of the Rs 1.27 lakh-crore it

borrowed, into the accounts of

beneficiaries of various welfare

schemes in the state. Even a single

rupee would not come back to the

government from this huge amount.

PIN

POINT

Jagan should focus on creation of assets in AP!

Farmers laysiege to Karnal..Continued from Page 1

Addressing the mahapan-chayat earlier, YogendraYadav said, “We have come toask the government whichConstitution, which law givesan IAS officer permission togive orders to break the farm-ers' heads.”

“Under which law arepolice allowed to carry outbrutal lathi-charge resultingin the death of one andinjuries to several others,” headded.

The authorities have, how-ever, denied that any farmerdied due to the violence onAugust 28.

The Haryana Police hadthat day lathi-charged agroup of farmers disruptingtraffic on the national high-way while heading towardsthe venue of a BJP meeting.

Over 10 protesters wereinjured. The SKM had said amurder case should be regis-tered against IAS officerAyush Sinha over his alleged“break heads” remark.

Sinha, who was later trans-ferred in a reshuffle alsoinvolving some other IASofficers, has now been post-ed as the additional secretaryin the Citizen ResourcesInformation Department.

Farm leader GurnamSingh Chaduni said a meet-ing with district administra-tion officials was held here onMonday as well.

After failing to get anysatisfactory response on theirdemands the farmers decid-ed to hold a mahapanchayaton Tuesday, he added. He hadearlier sought the registrationof a case against thoseinvolved in the lathi-charge.

Security had been beefedup in Karnal a day ahead ofmahapanchayat and centralforces deployed.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

As part of the ‘Swarnim VijayVarsh ‘celebrations commemo-rating the 50th anniversary ofIndia’s victory in the 1971 Waron Pakistani Armed Forces andto inspire young minds on val-our and patriotism, the ‘VictoryFlame’ visited various schools inVizag on Monday before arriv-ing in Rajahmundry onTuesday.

The schools included NavyChildren Schools, NausenaBaugh (NSB) and 104 Area,Kendriya Vidyalayas in NSB,

Malkapuram and Sri VijayNagar Colony. Principals, teach-ers, and children of five schools- Sanskriti Global School,Chaitanya Public School, SrishtiWorld School, Apple I EnglishMedium School and TimpanySchool - also participated in thecommemorative programmeconducted at Navy ChildrenSchool, NSB Campus.

The ‘Victory Flame’ wasgiven a grand reception at alllocations by the staff and chil-dren of the respective schools.Commemorating programmesat all locations included the

playing of short movie clips onthe Indian Navy’s role in the1971 Liberation of BangladeshWar, the singing of patrioticsongs by children and thedance/ skit on patriotic themes.All events were shown online tothe children to educate them onthe historical war of 1971 result-ing in the birth of a new nation,Bangladesh.

The ‘Victory Flame’ arrivedin Rajahmundry in a militaryconvoy from Eastern NavalCommand on Tuesday. The‘Victory Flame’ was received atLate Sepoy Ravi Prasad Circle

at Rajahmundry by ZSB Officerand Ex-Servicemen who escort-ed it to the felicitation venue atHotel River Bay in a motorcy-cle rally. The ‘Victory Flame’was handed over to GallantryAwardees of the 1971 War inthe presence of Capt VSC Rao,ENC.

Later, the Gallantry Awardwinners, veterans and theirnext of kin were felicitatedfor their glorious service tothe nation. The ‘VictoryFlame’ was kept for publicview after the culmination ofthe ceremony.

‘Walk-in’ liquor shopsdraw flak from TDP

PRADEEP KUMAR

n VIJAYAWADA

Ban on the public celebration ofthe Ganesh Chaturthi by the APgovernment this year has notonly come as a bolt from theblue for idol-makers but also asa big blow to their livelihood.Orders banning festivities inpublic were issued just a fewdays ago.

In a double whammy for thealready Covid-battered idol-makers, the government’s banorders have poured cold wateron their hopes to make goodtheir losses during the GaneshChaturthi celebrations. Noorders were placed last year onaccount of Covid restrictionslast year and this year too thegovernment’s order has come asa dampener with no businessopportunities.

Barely over a day’s time leftfor the festival on September 10,the idol sales have come to agrinding halt, leaving the arti-sans clueless on what to do withthe ‘gods’ they created.

On the other hand, the Stategovernment is firm on prevent-ing mass gatherings during thenine-day festival period due tothe probable Covid third wavethreat which hangs like Sword ofDamocles on the entire country,not just the State.

Meanwhile, political parties,

including TDP, BJP, and JSP, arekeen on celebrating the Ganeshfestival on a grand scale in pub-lic, following Covid protocols.They all find fault with theState government for restrictingGanesh festivities, confiningthem to homes.

The Covid pandemic hashad a huge impact on theincome of the upper and lowermiddle-class people.Consequently, a majority of thepeople are planning to celebratethe festival spending lavishly. Itis also one of the reasons whypeople prefer buying smallidols.

Collecting donations also hasbecome a herculean task for theorganisers of Ganesh festival

pandals. Festival enthusiastsused to install big idols ofGanesh in the pandals and per-form special pujas with pompand piety. However, this year, thepeople are reluctant to donatemoney generously to the festi-val committees.

Last year, several restrictionswere placed on the celebrationsat public places, especially themain roads. This year, the policeare implementing the ban ordersstrictly and are advising the fes-tival organisers not to take therisk.

An artist Mohan Bhatia fromRajasthan, who settled inVijayawada 10 years ago, saidthat his team had started mak-ing big Ganesh idols four

months back and they are readyfor sale. “With the State govern-ment imposing restrictions onbig idols, we do not know whatto do.”

He said that last year, due tothe Covid first wave, he hadincurred a loss of Rs 7 lakh dueto poor sales. He further saidthat he has no money to pay theinterest of the loans he hadtaken.

“We have invested Rs 10 lakhin the current season. After thegovernment’s announcement,our business has fallen flat,” hesaid and demanded that the gov-ernment compensate for theloss as it had banned the use ofbig idols just a few days beforethe festival.

‘Victory Flame’ visits schools in Vizag city, reaches Rajahmundry

Ban on public celebration ofGanesh fete hits artisans hard

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Air India has resumed flightservices from VijayawadaInternational Airport atGannavaram to Muscat, thecapital of Oman fromTuesday.

As per reports, the airlineswill run only one service perweek and the flight durationis of 3.30 hours.

As per Air India officials,an Airbus A321 with a seat-ing capacity of 182 passengersdeparts from Hyderabadevery Tuesday at 11 am andreaches Gannavaram. Itleaves for Muscat at 12 noon.Air India representatives saidthe flight would reach Muscatat 2 pm local time.

Due to the Covid situationleading to poor occupancy,Air India had cancelled itsweekly flight to Muscat fromVijayawada InternationalAirport which was scheduledto start in July. As per theschedule, Air India hasannounced to operate theHyderabad-Vijayawada-Muscat flight.

Air India’s Vja-Muscatflights resume

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Sleuths of Odisha CID’s crimewing, who took YSRCP seniorleader Malla Vijay Prasad intotheir custody after raiding hisresidence in Visakhapatnamon Monday evening, producedhim in a local court onTuesday.

Before producing VijayPrasad before the magistrate,Odisha CID sleuths conduct-ed medical tests on him atKing George Hospital. Later,with the magistrate’s permis-sion, he was taken to Odishaas part of an ongoing investi-gation into an alleged Rs 1,200crore chit fund scam beingprobed by Odisha CID. AnFIR was registered againsthim by the Odisha policeunder IPC sections 406, 420,467, 468, 471 and 120 (B).

Vijay Prasad, who lost the2019 polls to TDP candidatePVGR Naidu, had only recent-ly taken over as chairman ofAndhra Pradesh Educationand Welfare DevelopmentCorporation.

It is learnt that his compa-ny Welfare Group has alleged-ly duped investors of aroundRs 1200 crore. The companywas mainly active inBerhampur, Jeypore,Similiguda, Bhadrak, Balasore

and some coastal areas inOdisha. Many cases were reg-istered against his company atvarious police stations inOdisha.

Not only cases in Odisha,CBI has filed at least four FIRsagainst Malla Vijay Prasad inJharkhand. CBI has registeredcases against Vijay Prasadunder the Prize Chits andMoney Circulation SchemeAct 1978, The RBI Act 1934,SEBI Act 1992, The CompanyAct 1956, Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act 2002.

The Welfare Group is pop-ular among the lower andlower middle class familiesacross Andhra Pradesh,Odisha and Jharkhand for itsmoney collection schemesoffering high interest in return.

Malla produced in Vizag court,taken to Odisha

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Telugu Desam Party (TDP)leader and former ministerNakka Ananda Babu onTuesday accused theJaganmohan Reddy govern-ment of increasing the num-ber of liquor shops in aphased manner in the Stateinstead of fulfilling its elec-tion promise on the phasedimplementation of the totalprohibition.

Anand Babu stronglyobjected to the Government'sproposal to open 300 newliquor shops in urban areasin the name of 'walk-in’stores. Another 175 shopswere already opened underthe cover of tourism promo-tion.

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy'sStatewide Padayatra seemedto be an inspiration for these'walk-in' stores.

In the Padayatra, hepromised to phase out liquorbut now he was opening'walk-in' stores to promoteconsumption.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, the TDP leader

termed it atrocious on thepart of the ruling YSRCP toconvert liquor as the mainsource of revenue for itsGovernment. Moreover, CMJaganmohan Reddy hadbrought Rs 25,000 crore loansby mortgaging the drinkersand by showing liquor rev-enue as security.

Alcohol consumers in theState were mortgaged to thebanks for the next 15 years inviolation of the establishedrules and laws. This wassomething no other State orCentral Government did everbefore in the country.

Ananda Babu said that asalesman was appointed forevery 50 houses to ensure ahigher sale of liquor. In thename of the governmentshops, the CM was selling hisown liquor brands.

In a very alarming manner,CM Jaganmohan Reddy hadturned all revenue fromliquor sales into his own per-sonal income.

Like this, the ruling partywas setting its sights on high-er income for themselvesfrom all resources of the gov-ernment.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Senior BJP leader KannaLakshminarayana has said thatmass gatherings during GaneshChuturthi celebrations are a tra-dition in the State. It is unjust forthe State government to confinecelebration of the festival tohome, he said.

In a representation submittedto Governor BiswabusanHarichandan here on Tuesday,Lakshminarayana demandedaction on the issue. He said thathis party would celebrate GaneshChaturthi following all Covidrules.

Lakshminarayana alleged thatabout 150 incidents of attacks ontemples took place so far during

the YSRCP government but noaction has been taken to date. Hefurther said that the JaganmohanReddy government was lookingdown upon the Hindus in theState. VHP State vice-president PVenkataswamy Baidu said thatGanesh Chaturthi was a veryimportant festival for the Hindusand said that the YSRCP govern-ment was against the Hindus inthe State. He criticisedEndowments MinisterVellampalli Srinivas Rao for talk-ing against the Hindus in theState.

He further alleged that theminister was talking ill of Hindusand made it clear that the BJPwould celebrate Ganesh festivalin the State.

Govt order on Ganesh puja unjust: Kanna

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

YSR Congress Party (YSRCP)MLA Vasantha KrishnaPrasad has come down heav-ily on TDP leaders for propa-gating what he called falseinformation on maintenanceof roads across the State andsaid it was due to the negli-gence of N ChandrababuNaidu during the previousgovernment that the roadswere damaged.

Addressing a press confer-ence at the party central officehere on Tuesday, the MLAsaid TDP leaders are hidingfacts and misleading the peo-ple through biased informa-tion. He said the previous gov-ernment had constructed1,356 km new bitumen roadsduring its five-year rule at anaverage of 271.2 km per yearand had done 8,917 km of

widening and repair works,with an average of 1,783 kmper year.

He said the governmenthad constructed a 1,883 kmbitumen road with an averageof 942 km per year, in the lasttwo years after YSRCP, formedgovernment and added thatthe State government hadtaken up widening and repairworks along 4,015 km roadswith an average of 2,000 kmper year in last two years. Hesaid the State government hadalready approved for con-struction of 9,557 km roads ata cost of Rs 7,828 crore and thetender process was almostcompleted.

The MLA said the roadswere damaged due to heavyrains after YSRCP came topower and they would berepaired once the monsoonseason was over.

TDP propaganda on conditionof roads false: YSRCP MLA

The roads weredamaged due to heavyrains after YSRCPcame to power andthey would be repairedonce the monsoonseason was over.

Tammileru inspate, firstwarning soundedPNS n ELURU

The Tammileru river is inspate following heavy rain inthe catchment areas and thefirst warning was sounded bythe Irrigation departmentofficials.

The Tammileru is receiv-ing heavy inflows after theincessant rains in the catch-ment areas for the last threedays. The water level stood at15.10 m at the bifurcationpoint located at the FCIgodown.

The floodwater is over-flowing on theSanivarapupeta causeway.The officials asked the peo-ple living in the low-lyingareas to be alert.

Big threat to democracy:Former minister KalvaPNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP politburo member KalvaSrinivasulu on Tuesday assertedthat Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy would godown in history as the only CMwho has broken all his promis-es only to cause great pain andsuffering to all sections of people.

Srinivasulu said that overhalf a dozen ministers in theYSRCP government werecompeting with the ChiefMinister in looting public

wealth through mindless cor-ruption. The TDP leadertermed it a big threat todemocracy that the CM, hisministers and advisors werethinking of buying anythingand everything with their ill-gotten wealth. JaganmohanReddy had never focused ongovernance and administra-tion but got busy only withpersonal publicity propagan-da. The Cabinet Ministerswere minting easy money andspending luxurious lifestyles.

Teacher thrashed for ‘misbehaving’ with girlPNS n GUNTUR

A Hindi teacher working atthe ZP High School inVatticherukuru of the districtwas thrashed by irate parentsfor allegedly misbehavingwith their daughter onTuesday.

Police said that Ravi wasworking as a Hindi teacher atZP High School in the village.A 7th Class girl student com-plained to her parents that theHindi teacher was misbehavingwith her.

The irate parents and theirrelatives rushed to the school,

dragged the teacher out of theschool and thrashed him.When headmaster SrinivasaRao and two women teacherstried to rescue him, they werealso attacked.

The parents lodged a com-plaint with the police allegingthat the Hindi teacher hadmisbehaved with their daugh-ter.

The school teachers alsolodged a complaint with thepolice for beating up their col-league while the teachers’union condemned the attack.

Ravi said that he did notmisbehave with the girl butonly asked her to study well.

PNS n ELURU

The timely action taken bythe Velerupadu police savedthe lives of some shepherdsand over 3,000 sheep atMaddigatla village inVelerupadu mandal of WestGodavari district on Tuesday.

Police said that shepherds,along with over 3,000 sheep,were stuck in the floodwaterof Pedavagu stream.

When the shepherdscamped at the island area inthe eucalyptus grove theywere surrounded by theswirling floodwater.

After receiving informa-tion, Velelrupadu SI Sadiqe,along with the police person-nel and villagers, rushed tothe spot and brought theshepherds and sheep fromthe floodwater.

Head constable Daniel,Satyanarayana, Writer GangaPrasad and other police per-sonnel took part in the rescueoperation.

Cops rescueshepherds,3,000 sheep

Police personnel took strict action against vehicles users violating Covid norms in Vijayawada on Tuesday

ACTING TTOUGH

vijayawada 04VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

The Polam Badi programme was organised by East Godavari district Agriculture officials in a paddy field near Kakinada onTuesday to sensitise the farmers on the use of modern techniques in farming.

SENSITISATION IINITIATIVE

‘Baby shower’ for woman cop GUNTUR: In a touching gesture, the police have shown their affec-tion and generosity by holding 'Seemantham' to a pregnant womanconstable attached to the Gurazala police station on Tuesday. TheGurazala One Town police held ‘Seemantham’ to lady constableBangaramma who is pregnant. On the directions of CI SurendraBabu, the Gurazala police personnel held the ‘Seemantham’ to thepregnant constable. Moved with the affection of her colleagues, thewoman constable thanked the CI and her colleagues.

TTD darshan tokens from todayTIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is consid-ering the issue of Slotted Sarva Darshan Tickets (SSDT) on a trialbasis from September 8 onwards with a quota of 2,000 tickets perday. The issuance of tickets in counters would begin from 6 amonwards. TTD in a release here on Tuesday said that these SSDTtokens would be issued for Chittoor district residents initially at theBhudevi complex near Alipiri. TTD has appealed to devotees tocooperate and observe all Covid guidelines while taking tokens

SV Zoo to adopt animals, birdsTIRUPATI: The animal lovers can adopt birds, reptiles, and cats oftheir choice under the new scheme launched by the famous SriVenkateswara Zoo here. Disclosing this at a press conference here onTuesday Zoo Curator M Hema Shailaja said the zoo authorities hadlaunched the adoption scheme for birds, reptiles, cats, or even aquavarieties of aqua life. The names of Donors of above Rs.25,000 wouldbe scripted at the enclosures, the curator said. Sri VenkateswaraZoological Park, the biggest in Asia, spread over 1247 hectares ofSeshachala forests comprising over 10,087 animal wealth, the curatorinformed. The curator appealed to all animal lovers to opt even onlinefor adopting animals or birds of their choice. Adoption SchemeAccount Details: The Curator, SV ZOO PARK, Tirupati, Canara Bank,Main Branch, Tirupati, A/C No.31712210040128, IFSC Code:CNRB0013171. Curator mobile: 94408 10066 for more details.

Blood donation camp held TIRUPATI: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation(APSRTC) Chittoor district region and Indian Red Cross Societyorganised a blood donation camp at Alipiri RTC depot here onTuesday as part of the road safety week. APSRTC Chittoor RegionalManager (RM) T Changal Reddy inaugurated the blood donation.Speaking on the occasion, he said such programs were organised tospread awareness among the RTC workers to save lives. The RTCworkers of Alipiri, Tirupati and Mangalam, Srikalahasti, Pileru Depotsparticipated in the blood donation camp. APSRTC Deputy TrafficManager T Madhusudan, Indian Red Cross Society treasurer GalaSudarshan Rao, and among others participated in the programme.

Mumbai man’s charge against TBZ MUMBAI: A cheating case has been registered by the police inMumbai against well-known jewellery retail chain TBZ on thecomplaint of a city-based jeweller over alleged dues of Rs 6.57crore, an official said on Tuesday. The FIR was lodged against twodirectors of the firm last week on the complaint of jeweller HarshSusaniya, who has told the police he had done work worth Rs 6.57crore for the retail chain but was never paid, the official informed.No arrest has been made in the case, lodged at the Mulund policestation in suburban Mumbai, and a probe is underway, he added.

‘Defer Kerala visit plans’ BENGALURU: ln view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation in Kerala,Karnataka government on Tuesday advised public to defer theirplans to visit the neighbouring state till the end of October, if there isno emergency or urgency, with a view to avoid third wave of COVID-19 and in larger interest of public health. The government in anadvisory has also advised all administrators or principals of theeducational, nursing, paramedical institutions to instruct their wardswho have not yet returned to Karnataka from Kerala, to defer orpostpone their return till the end of October.

SHORT TAKES

PNS n ONGOLE

Mayor G Sujatha has calledupon the people to plantsaplings and reduce the use ofplastic objects to check air pol-lution. On the occasion of the‘International Day of CleanAir for Blue Skies’, on Tuesday,the Mayor flagged off anawareness rally in the city.

Speaking on the occasion,she emphasised upon the need

for planting saplings and nur-turing them to check air pol-lution. She appealed to thepeople to minimise the use ofplastic material.

Deputy Mayor V VSuryanarayana, MunicipalCommissioner KBhagyalakshmi, AssistantCommissioner Srinivas andEnvironment EngineerNagireddy were among thosepresent.

PNS n GUNTUR

Municipal CommissionerChalla Anuradha sacked a san-itary supervisor who shiftedGanesh idols in a garbage trac-tor here on Tuesday.

The news went viral on socialmedia and the sanitary supervi-sor’s act drew flak from variousHindu outfits and the BJP. TheMunicipal Commissioner in astatement here said that the IDHospital authorities objectedto the sale of Ganesh idols infront of their hospital building.They complained to the sanitarysupervisor about the issue.

The supervisor shifted theGanesh idols in a tractor usedto transport garbage. “The san-itary supervisor was working asan outsourcing employee in theGuntur Municipal Corporation.He was sacked for his act. TheDeputy Commissioner wasdirected to conduct an inquiryinto the incident and submit areport,” the Commissioner said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Andhra Pradesh Roads andBuildings Minister ShankaraNarayan on Tuesday urged theCentre to expedite construc-tion work of the Greenfieldexpress road betweenBengaluru and Vijayawada.

In a meeting with UnionRoad Transport and HighwaysSecretary Giridhar Aramane,Shankara Narayan discussedongoing national highwayworks in the State, new roadsto be sanctioned, funds to beprovided by the Central gov-ernment, among other issues.

After the meeting, theMinister told reporters herethat he requested the Centralgovernment to expedite theconstruction work of theGreenfield express roadbetween Bengaluru andVijayawada to improve theconnectivity.

Project reports related to thework should be prepared soon,he added.

He also said projects likeVisakhapatnam Beach Roadand port connectivity roads,Vijayawada Eastern Bypassworks and Benz Circle projectin Vijayawada should be com-pleted expeditiously.

The Andhra Pradesh gov-ernment has also urged theCentre to declare 10 stateroads, including the connec-tion road from H-69 to NH-44

and NH-342, as national high-ways.

State Principal Secretary forRoads and Buildings M TKrishnababu, and Members

of Parliament Midhun Reddy,Lau Krishnadevarayalu andMagunta Srinivasa Reddy,along with other officials werealso present in the meeting.

AP urges Centre to expediteBengaluru-Vja expressway

PNS n KAKINADA

Joint Collector Kirthi Chekurihas said that all steps are beingtaken to ensure that rainwaterdoes not enter the wards in theGovernment General Hospitalat Kakinada.

Rainwater entered the OP,Medical, Surgical and otherwards on Monday after heavyrain, causing untold hardshipsto the patients and their atten-dants in the GGH. The atten-dants of patients themselvesdrained out the rainwater fromtheir wards.

Joint Collector KirthiChekuri and Municipal

Commissioner SwapnilDinakar visited the GGH hereon Tuesday. They inspected allthe wards and the hospitalpremises. They also spoke tothe GGH Superintendent andother medical officers aboutthe reasons for rai water enter-ing the wards.

Talking to the media, theJoint Collector said that stepswere taken to ensure that rain-water does not enter the wards.All the blocks were closed anddrains and outlets werecleaned. The JC said that themunicipal sanitary andMSIDC staff were directed totake all steps to stop rainwater

from entering the wards again.Municipal Commissioner

Swapnil Dinakar said thatsome wards in theGovernment hospital werelocated at a place whose levelis lower than that of the roadwhich caused rainwater gush-ing into the wards.

The Commissioner said thata plan would be formulated inthree days to start work in thisregard.

RMO Dr Giridhar,Municipal SuperintendingEngineer Satyanarayana Rajuand Executive Engineer SatyaKumari accompanied the offi-cials.

Official sackedfor shiftingGanesh idols ingarbage vehicle

Cops drove 2 TDPworkers to suicidebid: Dhulipalla

Plant saplings, Mayor tells people

Steps apace to stop rainwaterfrom entering GGH wards

PNS n ONGOLE

Prakasam District CollectorPravin Kumar has directedthe school teachers to conductadditional classes forMathematics and Science sub-jects to the students andexplore the innate talent inthem.

The Collector inspected theZP Boys High School atMarkapur, the 15th ward sec-retariat and

Ramachandrapuram villagesecretariat on Tuesday.

He interacted with the 10thclass students at the ZP HighSchool and enquired aboutthe activity of the students dur-ing lockdown. He asked thestudents why they did not puton uniforms and shoes, givento them by the government.

The Collector inspected the‘pulihora’, ‘sambar’, boiled eggsand ‘chikki’ which were pro-vided as part of the midday

meal. He expressed dissatisfac-tion at the poor maintenanceof the kitchen.

The teachers told theCollector that the high schoolwas established in 1940 andnow it has a strength of 1,240students.

The Collector asked the stu-dents to wear uniforms everyday. He asked the students andthe teachers to follow physicaldistance, wear masks and usesanitisers to wash their hands.

Prakasam collector interacts with students

PNS n GUNTUR

Additional Superintendent ofPolice and SpecialEnforcement Bureau (SEB)Joint Director Bindu Madhavhas directed the police officialsto intensify the raids on theillegal liquor and gamblingdens.

The Additional SP held areview meeting with the offi-cials here on Tuesday.Speaking on the occasion, hedirected the officials to con-duct extensive raids to checkillegal liquor sales, gambling,illegal extraction, and trans-port of sand in the district.

He asked them to take strin-gent action against the perpe-trators, whoever they are, andregister cases against them.

Bindu Madhav asked themto keep a strict vigil on theillicit liquor brewing unitsand transportation of illegalliquor and take tough action tocheck them.

The Additional SP directedthe officials to implement the

non-bailable warrants to sucha manner that the offendersshould fear committing crimesonce again.

“Take steps to ensure thatpunishments are given to theoffenders. "Deal with an ironhand, the import of liquorfrom Telangana, Goa andKarnataka states," theAdditional SP directed theofficials.

SEB and Excise officialswere present at the meeting.

Step up raids on illegalliquor sale: Addl SP

PNS n GUNTUR

Animal Husbandry MinisterSeediri Appala Raju onTuesday inaugurated a live-stock research centre under theMission Punganur pro-gramme, along with the SriVenkateswara VeterinaryUniversity (SVVU) scientists atLam Farm.

The minister explained theefforts being made by the Stategovernment for the develop-ment of livestock and dairydevelopment. The ministerlauded the efforts of the scien-tists of Mission Punganur.

“The government has allo-cated Rs 65 crore to protect theOngole breed bull andPunganur breed cattle,” hesaid.

Later, the minister inspect-ed the livestock research cen-tre, released a brochure andplanted saplings to mark theoccasion.

Later, the Minister held areview meeting with the offi-cials in which Home MinisterMekathoti Sucharita andMLAs Undavalli Sridevi andSk. Mustafa were present.

Speaking on the occasion,the minister said that the milkcollection centres were beingincreased in all villages and Rs5 to Rs 10 is being paid addi-tionally for 1 litre milk at theprocurement centres.

“The State government has

reached an agreement with theAmul Dairy only to help thefarmers and not to damage theprospects of other dairies. Theveterinary hospitals are beingmodernised under the Nadu-Nedu programme. The dairyproduction will play a key rolein the progress of State govern-ment,” the Minister said.

Appala Raju said that oneveterinary doctor was appoint-ed per 1,000 animals by thegovernment.

Minister reels out efforts to develop livestock in AP

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Madras High Court retiredjudge Justice V Kanagaraj,who was appointed chair-man of the Andhra PradeshState Police ComplaintsAuthority by theJaganmohan Reddy gov-ernment is facing anotherlegal hassle.

Now, P Kishore, an advo-cate from Amaravati, haschal lenged Just iceKanagaraj’s appointment inthe AP High Court on tech-nical grounds. Kishore fileda petition to this effect onTuesday and the case isexpected to come up forhearing on Thursday.

Kishore argued that theappointment of JusticeKanagaraj as the AP PoliceComplaints Authoritychairman was against aSupreme Court order inanother case. DescribingJustice Kanagaraj’s appoint-ment as illegal, arbitraryand mala fide exercise ofpower by the State govern-ment, the pet it ionerappealed to the court toissue an appropriate ordercancelling his appointment.

Justice Kanagaraj wasgiven the new post after theHigh Court struck down hisappointment as StateElection Commissioner.

PNS n VIJAYAWAD

Andhra Pradesh reported1,178 fresh cases of coron-avirus, 1,266 recoveries and10 deaths in 24 hours ending9 am on Tuesday. The totalCovid-19 positives in thestate now increased to20,32,242, the latest bulletinsaid.

The number of active casesstood at 14,452 after a total of19,94,855 recoveries and13,935 deaths, the bulletinadded.

Chittoor reported 204 freshcases, SPS Nellore 177,Krishna 151, Guntur 135,West Godavari 124 andPrakasam 118 in 24 hours.

The remaining seven dis-tricts added less than 100 newcases each, with Vizianagaramregistering only nine.

Krishna, SPS Nellore andPrakasam districts reportedtwo fresh Covid-19 deathswhile Chittoor, East Godavari,Visakhapatnam and WestGodavari had one each in aday.

PNS n ONGOLE

Telugu Desam Party (TDP)senior leader and former MLADhulipalla Narendra Kumaralleged that the harassment bythe police has driven two TDPactivists to attempt suicide.

The TDP leader called onthe two TDP activists,Pallapotu Srikanth and MRataiah, who allegedlyattempted suicide unable tobear the harassment of thepolice and undergoing treat-ment in a private hospital, inKandukur on Tuesday.

He asked the TDP activistsnot to be disheartened and bebrave. He interacted with themand enquired about the rea-sons for taking the extremestep. He assured the activiststo extend all help.

Later, talking to the media,he alleged that disenchant-ment with the YSRCP govern-ment was growing amongpeople. Unable to bear thepolice harassment, the twoTDP activists attempted sui-cide at Mogalicherla

Village in Kandukur con-stituency, he said.

More legalhurdles forretired judgeKanagaraj

Covid deathtoll up by 10 in the State

A representational image of the Vijayawada-Bengaluru Expressway.

nation 05VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

ICMR should look into complaintsagainst private labs, suggests HC

The Delhi High Court Tuesday said the ICMR should look into the complaints received againstprivate pathology laboratories and revoke licences in case of breach of conditions. It is the

ICMR which gives licences to the labs and it cannot be sitting in ivory towers, the high courtsaid. “You have to look into it. You give licences to them. The whole year has gone by. Thewhole nation is suffering. The whole NCR is suffering,” Justice Najmi Waziri said. The highcourt was hearing a plea seeking contempt action against the authorities for not adhering to

the Delhi High Court's earlier direction to take actionagainst online health service aggregators which areoperating illegally and collecting samples for COVID-19 tests. The Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) said that monitoring of the activities of onlinehealth service aggregators does not come under itspurview. Advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi,representing petitioner Dr Rohit Jain, argued thatcommon people are dying and the ICMR is settingguidelines but says that the issue does not pertain tothe research body.

Over Rs 1.64 crore seized from drug peddler's kin in J&K's Rajouri

Over Rs 1.64 crore was recovered during a joint search operation by the police and theArmy in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, a senior police officer said.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Rajouri, Sheema Nabi Qasba said the recovery was madefrom two bags belonging to local resident Manzoor Ahmad in Saryah village. “A case undervarious sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been lodged in police stationNowshera in connection with the recovery and efforts are on to arrest Ahmad for further

investigation,” Qasba told reporters. She said the jointoperation was carried out on credible inputs and the moneykept in the two bags amounting to Rs 1,64,70,600 was seizedin the presence of a magistrate. Ahmad is a relative of drugpeddler Sikandar who was recently arrested under theNarcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act by a jointteam of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir Police from Nangalin Punjab. On September 4, Rs 29.5 lakh was recovered fromthe house of Sikandar by a joint team of Punjab and Jammuand Kashmir police from his village Saryah in Nowsherasector.

HC reserves order onGadchiroli blast accused's plea

Saying the fundamental right to protection of life and liberty guaranteed by Article 21 ofthe constitution applied to everyone, including prisoners, the Bombay High Court on

Tuesday said it will consider alleged Maoist leader Nirmala Uppuganti's plea seekingtransfer from prison to a hospice "from all angles" permissible under the law. A bench ofJustices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar reserved its order on Uppuganti's plea seeking suchtransfer. An accused in the 2019 Gadchiroli IED blast case, Uppuganti had filed a plea in

the HC earlier this month seeking that she be shifted from theByculla women's prison to a hospice as she is terminally illwith cancer. At least 15 security personnel of the GadchiroliQuick Response Team and one civilian were killed in an IEDexplosion triggered by Naxals in Maharashtra's Gadchirolidistrict on May 1, 2019. In her plea filed through seniorcounsel Yug Chaudhry and advocate Payoshi Roy, Uppugantiasked to be shifted to a hospice for palliative care so that shewill be "properly taken care of during her final days". OnTuesday, Roy told the bench that Uppuganti's had metastaticcancer that had spread to her lungs and other organs.

INDIA

CORNER

At Shikshak Parv, Modi launcheskey education sector initiatives PNS n NEW DELHI

The teaching-learning processhas to be constantly redefinedand redesigned to make the edu-cation sector in the countryworld-class, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said on Tuesday.

Noting that the transforma-tions being undertaken in theeducation sector are not justpolicy-based but also participa-tion-based, the prime ministerlaunched several initiatives in theeducation sector which, he said,will play an important role inshaping India's future.

Addressing the inauguralconclave of 'Shikshak Parv'through video-conferencing, heexpressed confidence that thesemeasures will not only make oureducation system globally com-petitive but also make the youthfuture-ready.

"We have to constantly rede-fine and redesign our teaching-learning process in order tomake our education sectorworld-class. In this rapidly chang-ing era, our teachers also have tolearn about new systems andtechniques rapidly. The countryis preparing its teachers for thesechanges," he said in his address.

"If we are in the midst of atransformation period, fortu-nately, we also have modern andfuturistic new NationalEducation Policy. These transfor-mations in the education sector

are not just policy-based but alsoparticipation-based,” he added.

Prime Minister Modi praisedthe contribution of academi-cians, experts and teachers atevery stage in the formulation ofthe National Education Policyand its implementation. He urgedeveryone to take this participa-tion to a new level and also toinvolve society in it.

"During COVID, we have allwitnessed capabilities of our edu-cation sector. There were a lot ofchallenges, but you solved allchallenges swiftly. Online class-es, group video calls, onlineexams - such terms weren't heardby many earlier," he added.

Modi launched the IndianSign Language Dictionary (audioand text embedded sign languagevideo for the hearing impaired,in conformity with UniversalDesign of Learning)and TalkingBooks (audio books for the visu-ally impaired).

PNS n SRINAGAR

PDP president Mehbooba Muftiwas put under house detention onTuesday and she claimed that thedecision of Jammu and Kashmirauthorities to restrain her move-ment had "exposed the govern-ment's claims of normalcy".

She also hit out at the Centrealleging that while the govern-ment was expressing concern forthe rights of the people inAfghanistan, the same were beingdenied to Kashmiris.

"I've been placed under housearrest today because according toadmin (administration) the situ-ation is far from normal inKashmir. This exposes their fakeclaims of normalcy," Mehbooba,who is the last chief minister ofthe erstwhile state, tweeted.

"GOI expresses concern for therights of Afghan people but wil-fully denies the same toKashmiris," she added. Mehboobaposted pictures of a securityforces' vehicle blocking the maingate of her Gupkar residence.

According to officials,Mehbooba had expressed a desireto attend a family function inSouth Kashmir's highly volatileKulgam district.

The authorities persuaded hernot to go for the function as someanti-nationals were still trying tovitiate the atmosphere in the val-

ley following the death of pro-Pakistan separatist Syed Ali ShahGeelani. Mehbooba has beenvocal since his death and onMonday she accused the admin-istration of turning the valley into"an open air prison" where "thedead aren't spared".

"A family isn't allowed tomourn and bid a final farewell asper their wishes. Booking Geelanisahab's family under UAPA showsGOI's deep-rooted paranoia andruthlessness. This is New India'sNaya Kashmir," she tweeted.

However, hours later, the

Jammu and Kashmir Policereleased videos of the funeral ofGeelani, who died on September1 at his home after a prolonged ill-ness. He was 91.

A statement was also releasedby the police clocking eventsafter his death saying that its offi-cers were made to wait for threehours at the separatist's homewhen they went there for his bur-ial.

Refuting rumours allegedlybeing floated from across the bor-der, the Jammu and KashmirPolice also released four videos

through its Twitter handle toshow that Geelani was laid to restas per rituals in the interveningnight of September 1 and 2.

"After the death of SASGeelani, IGP Kashmir Shri VijayKumar met both of his sons attheir residence at 11 pm, condoledthem and requested for burial inthe night for the larger interest ofthe general public due to poten-tial major L&O (law and order)situations. Both agreed and askedto wait for two hours until rela-tives reached," the police said onits Twitter handle.

Mehbooba questions claim ofnormalcy, under house arrest

PNS n NEW DELHI

Over 1,100 academicians, writersand civil society members havewritten to Delhi University's actingvice-chancellor, urging him toreinstate the works of MahaswetaDevi, Bama and Sukirtharani inthe English (Honours) syllabus.The petition came a few days afterthe teachers of English in theuniversity made the same pleaand accused the OversightCommittee of making a "completemockery of all democratic anddue processes" while drafting thesyllabus. The petition has beensigned by the likes of writersArundhati Roy and VikramChandra, actors Sharmila Tagoreand Shabana Azmi, filmmaker andwriter Adoor Gopalakrishnan andfilmmaker Anand Patwardhan."The exclusion of Bama and

Sukirtharani is a blatantly casteistact as it discriminates againstcontemporary Dalit womenauthors in a core paper onwomen's writing, Surely, todelete, without any justification,two living Dalit women authors isa rare example of politicaldisregard, omission andmarginalisation of existing livingwritings... "Both Bama andSukirtharani are contemporaryTamil writers, is it not importantto teach and know, in a centraluniversity located in Delhi, theregional diversity of India," thepetition questioned.Mahashweta Devi's short storyDraupadi, which has beendropped from the syllabus,revolves around a Dalit womanwho is picked up by the police onthe accusation of being a Naxaland is then raped.

DU asked to reinstate textsby Mahasweta Devi, Bama

PNS n NEW DELHI

There have been "catastrophicconsequences" of the prolongedschool closure in the country dueto COVID-19, with over 37 percent of students in rural areas notstudying at all and 48 per cent notbeing able to read more than a fewwords, a recent survey hasclaimed.

The School Children's Onlineand Offline Learning (SCHOOL)survey, titled "Locked Out:Emergency Report on SchoolEducation", involving nearly 1,400students from underprivilegedhouseholds was conducted inAugust in 15 states and union ter-ritories. It was released onMonday.

"The picture that emerges from

this survey is absolutely dismal. Inrural areas, only 28 per cent ofchildren were studying regularlyat the time of the survey, and 37per cent were not studying at all.The results of a simple reading testare particularly alarming: nearlyhalf of all children in the samplewere unable to read more than afew words," it said.

The corresponding figures forstudents studying regularly, notstudying at all, and unable to readmore than a few words in urbanareas were 47 per cent, 19 per centand 42 per cent, respectively, thesurvey claimed.

The main findings of theSCHOOL survey are focused onthe relatively deprived hamletswhere children generally attendgovernment schools.

Schools and other educationalinstitutions across the countryhave been closed for over a yearand a half since the onset of the

pandemic. Following a markedimprovement in the COVID-19situation, several states are reopen-ing the schools in a phased man-

ner from September.As per the report, the propor-

tion of children who were study-ing online regularly was just 24 percent and eight per cent in urbanand rural areas, respectively.

Lack of money, poor connec-tivity, or no access to smart-phones were some of the reasonsbehind the "very limited" reach ofonline education among sam-pled students, the survey noted.

"One reason for this is thatmany sample households (abouthalf in rural areas) have no smart-phone. But that is just the first hur-dle: Even among households witha smartphone, the proportion ofchildren who are studying onlineregularly is just 31 per cent inurban areas and 15 per cent inrural areas. Smartphones are often

used by working adults, and mayor may not be available to schoolchildren, especially the youngersiblings (only nine per cent of allSCHOOL survey children hadtheir own smartphones)," itexplained.

Even among the underprivi-leged households, the figureswere "much worse" for Dalit andAdivasi families than for others,be it for online education, regu-lar study, or reading abilities,claimed the survey.

For instance, only "four percent" of rural SC/ST childrenwere studying online regularly, incomparison to 15 per cent amongother rural children. Barely half ofthem were able to read more thana few letters in the reading test, thesurvey added.

37 pc students in rural areas, 19 pc in urban not studying at all

ED’s actions againstMaha leaders bid tosubdue govt: PawarPNS n PUNE

NCP chief Sharad Pawar onTuesday claimed theEnforcement Directorate'sactions against variousMaharashtra leaders were anattempt to encroach on the stategovernment's rights and dis-courage political opponents.

Notably, the ED is conductinga probe into separatemoney launderingcases against for-mer state homeminister and AnilDeshmukh, NCPleader EknathKhadse. The cen-tral agency last weekalso conducted raids atmultiple premises inMaharashtra linked to Shiv SenaMP Bhavana Gawali in connec-tion with a money launderingcase.

The NCP shares power withthe Shiv Sena and Congress inMaharashtra.

Talking to reporters here,Pawar said, "Never heard of somany ED's actions in

Maharashtra in the past. Oneaction is going on against Khadse,another against Anil Deshmukh,also against Bhawna Gawali.There is an attempt to encroachupon the state government'srights case and discourage theopponents by using these agen-cies as tools."

To a question on the ED's raidsat premises linked to Bhavana

Gawali, Pawar said theissue is about education-

al institutions. "When there are

allegations againstthese kind of institu-tions, the complaints

can be lodged beforethe charity commis-

sioner. If not the charitycommissioner, then there are

state government agencies, buthere directly the ED wasinvolved," the former Unionminister said.

Asked about the possibility ofa third COVID-19 wave, Pawarsaid, "I have seen many eventshappening where the (COVID-19 prevention) protocols are notbeing followed."

PNS n KOCHI

Kerala police on Tuesday reg-istered a case against IAS offi-cer N Prasanth for allegedlyinsulting the modesty of awoman journalist by sendingher inappropriate stickers overWhatsApp while she reachedout to him for an official reac-tion.

Police told PTI that a casehas been registered in the inci-dent, which happened inFebruary this year after obtain-

ing legal advice on theissue.

"We have regis-tered a case underSection 509 of theIndian Penal Code,"police said.

The section deals withthe offence of insulting themodesty of any woman, uttersany word, makes any sound orgesture, or exhibits any object,intending that such a word orsound shall be heard, or thatsuch gesture or object shall be

seen, by such woman, orintrudes upon the pri-vacy of such woman.

Prasanth, theManaging Director ofKerala State Inland

Navigation Corporation(KSINC), was caught in a

political controversy early thisyear after the corporationsigned an MoU with a US firmon deep sea trawling.

The reporter from a vernac-ular daily texted Prasanth intro-ducing himself and sought a

reply on the controversy. In thescreenshots of the WhatsAppmessages that were circulated,the journalist could be seen ask-ing whether it was a goodtime to talk regarding a newsstory.

To this Prasanth replied withjust a sticker. When she repliedsaying the story was not toharm him, and asked him togive a statement regarding thecontroversy, he replied with aninappropriate and obscenesticker.

IAS officer booked for Whatsapp text

IIT-Jodhpur initiativeto conserve, restoreThar desertPNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT), Jodhpur haslaunched a unique initiative toconserve and restore the Thardesert, its minerals, medicines,flora and fauna by carrying outecosystem phenomics throughtransdisciplinary framework ofmedical, engineering, environ-mental and life sciences.

The initiative called DesertEcosystem Sciences Guided byNature and Selection (DESIGNS)was launched under the aegis ofthe Jodhpur City Knowledgeand Innovation Cluster.

According to officials, Thar isa hot desert, unique to the Indiansubcontinent and is characterisedby high maximum temperaturewith large diurnal variations,scanty rainfall, extreme aridity,and intense UV radiations.

This has been one of thelargest natural laboratories forevolving innovative 'designs' thatensures adaptation and survivalof its constituent species, theirinterdependencies and the con-servation of the entire ecosystem.

"The impact of loss of naturaldeserts is immense as these habi-tats are rich in flora and fauna aswell as minerals and medicinesthat nurture and maintain differ-ent life forms on earth. Oftenconsidered as wastelands, desertsare crucial for stabilisation of cli-mate. "Any shiftin climate change or anthro-pogenic activity can lead to mal-adaptations for organisms wholive at the ebb of physiological

extremes, loss of diversitythrough extirpations and ulti-mately an ecosystem collapse.This threatens the lives and liveli-hood of the native inhabitants,"said Mitali Mukerji, professor andhead, Department of Bioscienceand Bioengineering.

Under this initiative, theresearchers will use IOT enableddevices and Big Data analyticsframework to crowd sourceobservations from the localecosystem to the regional levelkeeping the cultural context andtraditional medicine knowledgein perspective.

Researchers would also inte-grate computer vision andmachine learning along withdomain knowledge to infer linksbetween environment, pheno-type and genotype at geo-spatiotemporal scales and identify sig-natures of Thar DESIGNS forearly actionable interventionstrategies.

"This knowledge generationwill result in providing a 'DesertEcosystem Knowledge Grid' thatcould foster the cycle of engineer-ing- research-development-com-mercialisation.

"This data grid will be helpfulin finding solutions for manage-ment of diseases common andendemic to desert regions, novelbioprospecting opportunities andinnovative bio-inspired engi-neering designs. It could also helpevolve unique strategies for eco-logical conservation and restora-tion that ensures sustained liveli-hood for its inhabitants," Mukerjisaid.

MUMBAI: The NCB has arrested a Nigerian national and three other drugtraffickers in different operations in Mumbai and Goa, and seized a hugestock of heroin, cocaine among other narcotic substances, an official saidon Tuesday. Based on a tip-off, the Mumbai unit of the NCB on Mondayraided the house of Mohammed Nasir Saifur Rehman Khan at Byculla andrecovered 27 kg of Codeine syrup, and arrested the accused and his aideMohammed Salman Shaikh, the official said. Following this, the NCBraided the house of one Ajay Nagraj at Mazagaon and recovered 7.5 kg ofCodeine syrup, 105 gm of heroin, 400 gm (700 tablets) of Nitrazepam and250 gm of ganja, he said. In another operation, the NCB team conducted araid at Foreign Post Office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai and seized a60 gm of multi-strain buds (cannabis) on Monday, the official said. Thebuds were concealed in a box of chocolates, which had originated fromCanada, he said, adding that the multi-strain buds are worth over Rs 5,000per gm in the illicit market. Meanwhile, the NCB's Goa team nabbed DavidChibuike Chisom alias Eze Chukwebuka Joshua, the official said.

NCB nabs Nigerian, three othersin drug raids in Mumbai, Goa

GHAZIABAD: Five people, including two minors, were killed in a headon collision between a truck and a car on the Meerut Expressway underMasuri Police Station area here, police said on Tuesday. The accidentoccurred near Bhojpur town at around 9.30 pm on Monday when thetruck, being driven on the wrong side of the road, collided with the carin which seven people were travelling, they said. All seven passengers,who were on their way to Ghaziabad from Haridwar, sustained seriousinjuries and were taken to a nearby hospital in Ghaziabad, they said.Ashish (33), his wife Shilpi (30), and son Dev (1), residents of AzadNagar of Aalam Bagh, Lucknow, alng with Sonu (35) and his daughterPari alias Kavya (11) – hailing from Ratroi village in Aligarh --succumbed to injuries, police said. Nidhi (28), wife of Sonu, and Shivi(4), daughter of Ashish and Shilpi, are undergoing treatment,Superintendent of Police (Rural) Iraj Raja said. Truck driver Bablu wasarrested and the vehicle impounded. An FIR under appropriate sectionsof the IPC has been registered, police said

UP: 5 killed in truck-car collision on Meerut Expressway

Kathmandu in 2003 where hebecame a star for his balancedand low-decibel views. He wasthe only journalist from theIndian side (there was nonefrom Pakistan). He became afavourite of many Pakistanis. Itturned out at some momentsinto a shouting match evenwhen notables like Sartaj Aziz,Niaz Naik, Moinuddin Haider,Ayesha Siddiqua from Pakistanand Satinder Lambah, GParthasarathy, Raja Mohan,among others, from India werethere. In 2013, before the ModiGovernment came to power,Indians and Pakistanis met inDubai. Chandan put the cardson the table squarely: “AtalBihari Vajpayee said thereshould be talks insaniyat kedaayre mein. This was the mostremarkable statement by anyIndian PM. It was a unilateraloffer of talks, not bound bytreaty, letter or precedent. If weadopt this attitude, everything ispossible. People of both coun-tries are looking to lasting peace.Humanity implies honour anddignity. But killings must stopacross border. The minor issues— Sir Creek, and so on — canbe solved in a minute if theintention is sincere. It is impor-tant for the new Government in

Pakistan to set time limits foritself.” The dialogue was organ-ised by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

As a Rajya Sabha MP, hebecame the de facto leader ofthe Indian delegation for theannual event held outside Indiatill the dialogue was suspend-ed due to COVID-19.Chandan was a treat to listento during the off-the-record,free-flowing conversationsafter a hard day’s work lacedwith sturdy beverages. Track IIis remembered more for all theleisure time talk than the offi-cial exchange. Chandan was agreat raconteur and, whensuitably inspired, would reciteBegum Akhtar’s epoch-making“Hamri ataraiya pe aao saan-waria…sara jhagda khatamhoi jaave”. The story goes thatwhen Prime Ministers IndiraGandhi and Zulfiqar Bhuttomet at the Simla summit afterthe 1971 war, Mrs G had goneinto the minutest detail about‘bandobast’, including Bhutto’sfavourite Scotch Whiskey,Havana cigars and an after-dinner recital by BegunAkhtari Bai Faizabadi. Shesang the thumri Chandanloved. Bhutto congratulatedBegum sahiba for her rendi-tion. She asked him, “Kaisa

chali baat?” He replied, “Sarajhagda khatam hoi jaave.”

Chandan and I shared twoloves: Dogs and Black Dog. Igot to know his wonderfulwife Shobori who was handlingthe books page. She was verykind to me with books andobliging with use of space onher pages. We met once over ameal and I will never forgethow she took out from herhandbag miniature idols ofMukunda ji and placed them infront of her plate; then a pouchof chillies, her very own IED.

When Chandan quit theBJP, I was not surprised. He wasnot cut out for the Modi-Shahvision of India but was more inthe mould of Jaswant Singh,Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley.We got a bit disconnected dur-ing COVID though we wereconversing digitally. Chandannever said no to me. His largeheart always resonated withkindness. Chandan left earlyand will be missed. I will misshis “Arre General”.

(The writer, a retired MajorGeneral, was Commander,IPKF South, Sri Lanka, andfounder member of the DefencePlanning Staff, currently theIntegrated Defence Staff. Theviews expressed are personal.)

THE SUPREME COURT MUST INTERVENESir — It refers to media reports that abust of late Ram Vilas Paswan has beenstalled at a Government bungalow (NewDelhi) by the family of the deceasedpolitical leader even as the extended datefor vacating the bungalow draws near.Evidently, it is a bid to retain the saidbungalow for lifetime in the name of hismemorial. The Directorate of Estate(Government of India) should immedi-ately remove the statue before it becomesa political liability for the Centre to bowto the demand.

Earlier, all efforts of late Ajit Singhto turn 12 Tughlak Road as ChoudharyCharan Singh memorial were successful-ly foiled by the Central Government.Likewise, the Central Government firm-ly rejected the demand to turn 3, SouthAvenue (New Delhi), as a memorial forformer Prime Minister Chandrashekhar.This trend was started by the earlier UPAGovernment which allotted 6, KrishnaMarg, to Babu Jagjivan Ram NationalFoundation to indirectly convert it intoa memorial for the political leader.Since political compulsions may notallow the Central Government to takestrong steps, it is for the Supreme Courtto intervene and put an end to this trend.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal | Delhi

ALL EYES ON THE VALLEYSir — Kashmir is once again in the spot-light. The takeover of Afghanistan by theTaliban following the withdrawal of theUS troops has fuelled speculation abouta spurt in militant activities in theValley. There are reports that there is asurge in foreign ultras in Kashmir. TheTaliban, which is amenable to beinginfluenced by Pakistan, has already stat-ed that it will ‘raise voice for KashmiriMuslims’. It would be an inversion of thetruth to say that the people of Kashmirhave become less disaffected and lessalienated as a result of the abrogation ofArticle 370.

The Modi Government cannot mis-construe the ‘calm and silence’ in theValley as popular acceptance of the strip-

ping of special status and letting thingsdrift into a situation difficult to manage.The BJP may have its political compul-sions as a Hindutva-oriented party totake a rigid stance on the Kashmir issue,but it should not feel constrained bythem to be stuck in limbo. An unresolvedproblem can trigger a disconcerting turnof events. The Government has to dowhat it needs to do to convince the worldthat it is not running roughshod over thepeople of Kashmir and refusing to ful-fil their legitimate aspirations.

G David Milton | Kanyakumari

CONGRESS REVIVAL UNDER SUDHAKARANSir — K Sudhakaran rose to his currentposition through sheer hard work.There has been an eminent role ofSudhakaran in re-establishing theCongress in Kannur district. The bestthing one can do is to cooperate with himto revive the Congress party, which has

been in a moribund state for the past fewyears. Due to the absence of an effec-tive Opposition, negative forces are rul-ing in strength, especially in Kerala. Thesincerity, hard work and attainments inthe polity can speak volumes about thewillpower of Sudhakaran, the strongmanof Kannur, Kerala and India.

The BJP is nurturing the interests ofbig corporates at the cost of farmers andcommon people, who are the real back-bone of India. The Opposition leadersshould occupy effective positions, in theState and at the Centre, to fight againstnegative forces and join hands with theCongress in Kerala and at the Centre.The Congress leaders at the Centre haveto be in contact with their people in allthe States and meet the necessaryrequirements to instal leadership there.

TV Jayaprakash | Kerala

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

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

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

06

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

A multifaceted personality, he juggled many hats with aplomb anddexterity. But his soft, kind heart was easily his biggest asset

THE FIRSTDIALOGUE

WAS HELD INKATHMANDU IN2003 WHERE HEBECAME A STAR

FOR HIS BALANCEDAND LOW-DECIBEL

VIEWS. HE WASTHE ONLY

JOURNALIST FROMTHE INDIAN SIDE

(THERE WAS NONEFROM PAKISTAN)

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

ASHOK K MEHTA

It is alarming that cases of fake vaccinesare increasing rapidly. The police in several States have captured a few mis-

creants who are making money by sellingfake COVID-19 drugs and vaccines. TheWorld Health Organisation (WHO) hasissued a warning on the use and sale of thecounterfeit COVID-19 vials. The WHO hasidentified a large number of forged vials ofcommonly used vaccines, like Covishield,Covaxin and Sputnik V. The use and saleof duplicate drugs for money is unethical

as well as deadly, that too on a large scale.The COVID-19 inoculation drive by theGovernment, aimed to vaccinate citizensfree of cost, could yield heavy damage dueto this racket.

Vaccination is essential to achieve herdimmunity and to contain the spread of thevirus. However, fake vaccines would onlyworsen matters. Therefore, the Governmentmust ensure that no counterfeit or fake vac-cines are administered because the con-tent inside the vials could be anything. Thewarehouses where the vaccines are stored,should be monitored regularly. The doctorsshould check the vials before administer-ing a dose and the receiver, too, should bewatchful. The investigation authoritiesneed to bust this racket because fake life-saving drugs were sold during the oxygencrisis as well. The more fake vaccines areadministered, the more complicationswould arise from it, which we cannot affordat the moment.

Kirti Wadhawan | Kanpur

Fake vaccines pose a threat

A tribute to Chandan,a large-hearted man

Ifirst met Chandan when hewas resident editor, HindustanTimes, and I was the defencecorrespondent for SUNDAY

magazine, after I hung my boots.Those days, I was writing mainlybook reviews for the paper till heasked me to send him the occa-sional column which he publishedon the news pages. I recall writ-ing a few stories on Nepal wheremultiparty democracy had beenintroduced and elections were tobe held. I met Chandan at theAshoka Hotel swimming pool,where he used to swim, with aplan he had asked for to cover theNepal elections. I did go to Nepalbut he told me, “although Nepalis a very friendly country, few peo-ple are interested in it news-wise’,hinting I should focus on some-thing else in my writing. “ArreGeneral, aur kucchh likhiye.” Mystory on Wangdung, SumdurongChu, in 1995 on what is the editpage today and was a news pagethen — “Why are we withdraw-ing from our own territory?” —created quite a stir, he told me.

A budding fashion celebrityrelated to me asked if she couldmeet Chandan. I gladly organisedthis tete-a-tete around the fireplaceat the Delhi Gymkhana Club.“You’ve introduced me to the mostspectacular fashion designer,” hewould say. She became a regular onthe VivaCity page when he movedas editor of The Pioneer. I wrote myfirst column for Pioneer whenVinod Mehta had revived thepaper after nearly eight decades, in1991. When Chandan took overthe paper, he offered me a columnwhich I have been writing uninter-rupted for at least 20 years. Iremember Chandan commendingme for the anchor story on thePalace massacre in Nepal titled “Kegardiye ko?” (What have youdone?) — these were KingBirendra’s last words after his sonPrince Dipendra went on a ram-page during the weekly family royaldinner after a heady mix of drugsand Famous Grouse. I’m happy tosay that Chandan’s views on news-ability of Nepal changed after this.

Chandan joined the Track IIcircuit when India-Pakistan rela-tions had plummeted following theterror attack on Indian Parliamentin 2001. We were together amongthe who’s who of the two countries.The first dialogue was held in

SOUNDBITEWe will fight thebypolls with fullstrength and will win all the threeAssembly seats.Mamata Di will face anotherdefeat in Bhabanipur.

West Bengal BJP president — Dilip Ghosh

Bio-terror possibili-ties may seem like the realm ofscience fiction, butwe would be wise

now to prepare for their poten-tial use by non-state actors.

British Prime Minister—Tony Blair

Cases have declinedin Maharashtra,requesting the Govtto #openupcinemasand save the dyingfilm and theatre business.

Actor— Kangana Ranaut

Yediyurappa’s tourprogramme willsoon be fixed. Wewill face the nextAssembly electionsunder his guidance and leader-ship of CM Basavaraj Bommai.

Karnataka BJP president— Nalin Kumar Kateel

A lot of effort wentinto this win. All thebowlers contributedwith the bat and theball. So very happy.

India pace bowler

— Jasprit Bumrah

Sunday’s Mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar re-energised the farmers’ protest whichhad seemingly lost steam in the last few months. Thousands attended the protestas the farm leaders kept slamming the Government on the three controversial farm

laws. The Centre can now brace for impact as the farmers in large numbers chargetowards Karnal’s mini secretariat to gherao it after talks with the Haryana Government

failed. The authorities, like they usually do, have sus-pended mobile internet and SMS services till midnightto “avoid mobilisation of mobs”. Reportedly, farm lead-ers including Rakesh Tikait and social activist YogendraYadav were briefly detained by the forces and watercannons were used on protestors as they broke throughthe barricades. These “bullish measures” to make peacewith enraged farmers have never worked before andthe ad hoc attempts by the forces are lamentable. TheSamyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) had earlier said that acase should be registered against IAS officer AyushSinha for his alleged comment, telling the police to

“break heads” of the protesting farmers in Karnal. The lathicharge by the police left 10people injured late in August. The officer, however, has already been transferred.

The protest has certainly unsettled the BJP Government ahead of the Uttar PradeshAssembly elections in 2022. The Opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party andthe Congress, have shown their support “digitally”. The BJP leaders never fail to claimthat the protesting farmers are just “acting farmers” and actually belong to the SP, BSPand the Congress. It is now a question for the BJP whether to address the laws issue orjust let the protest be. However, would they let the farmers’ agitation torpedo their UPpoll prospects, and later the 2024 general elections, as BKU leader Rakesh Tikait haspromised to dethrone “foreign powers”? What is saddening is that even after nine monthsinto the protest and several rounds of discussions, no conclusion has been reached. Thegovernance of this sort is questionable, as they say, if you cannot convince; get con-vinced, because it is the public that suffers the consequences. The Government shouldrealise that it is not a power tussle and considering the demands of the farmers wouldnot make it any weaker. However, if the Government is waiting on the public to stage aprotest against the one currently going on, that the country certainly cannot afford.

Ashop worker sitting on a stool is not something many Indian customers are com-fortable with. The employers back the customers, insisting that standing sales-persons appear “respectable” and create a “good” impression. All that is going

to change in Tamil Nadu, as it has already changed in Kerala. The Tamil Nadu Governmenthas tabled a Bill in the Assembly to provide mandatory seating facilities for salesper-sons during working hours. The Bill, seeking an amendment to the Tamil Nadu Shopsand Establishments Act, 1947, proposes a new section: “The premises of every estab-lishment shall have suitable seating arrangements for all employees so that they maytake advantage of any opportunity to sit which may occur in the course of their workand thereby avoid (being) on their toes… throughout the working hours.” However,the Bill does not have a punishment clause for the shop owners who violate the rule.

Still, it is a beginning in righting the wrongs millionsof shop workers suffer. In late 2018, Kerala broughtin a similar law after a women workers’ organisa-tion, Asanghadita Mekhala Tozhilali Union, launchedan agitation for making the right to sit a part of func-tional work ethics. Salespersons in Kerala today getstools or chairs to sit when they are not required tostand to attend to customers. On an average, sales-persons work for nine to 12 hours in shops, stand-ing all the time. Most of them develop arthritis, kneeproblems, varicose veins, water retention in the lowerlimbs and blood pressure over the years.

The lack of seating arrangement is only one of the issues. Most shops do nothave toilet facilities and even where these exist, they are dirty or not suited for womenemployees. In most shops, they are under constant CCTV surveillance, subject to cam-era abuse. The Tamil Nadu Bill is bound to lead to complaints from owners becausethey realise that once the floodgates open, other, rightful, changes will follow. Argumentsalready exist that the right to sit cannot be universal because some types of work,like assembly chain processes, cannot be done sitting. The point they miss is thatworkers must be handled with dignity and they need a comfortable work environment.An assembly chain worker should get adequate breaks every four hours, just like asalesperson can sit when customers are not around. The progressive amendmentsin these two States should encourage national laws on workplace ethics. The UK hasthe most comprehensive such laws in the world, called the Workplace (Health, Safetyand Welfare) Regulations, 1992. One of the primary rules is that employers “mustprovide seats for workers who have to stand to carry out their work, if the type ofwork gives them an opportunity to sit from time to time”. The rules are effective becausethey have been framed by consulting the workers who know the problems related towork, health and safety that they face and help spot workplace risks.

Right to sit

Deepening divideAs the protesting farmers have thrown the

gauntlet, the Govt must seek speedy remedy

PICTALK

A ‘Nagar Kirtan’ to mark the 417th anniversary of the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib, at the Golden Temple PTI

After Kerala, TN is set to mandate seatingfacilities for salespersons during work hours

Let all green initiativesnot be just gas

THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE CONTINUED

FOR 90 YEARS, SO I HAVE NO IDEA FOR

HOW LONG THIS AGITATION WILL RUN.

— BKU SPOKESPERSON

RAKESH TIKAIT

THERE ARE PEOPLE FROM THE SP, BSP AND CONGRESS IN

THE FARMERS' MOVEMENT. AS SHAHEEN BAGH BROKE

DOWN, SO WOULD THE FARMERS' MOVEMENT.

— UP DEPUTY CM

KESHAV PRASAD MAURYA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi saidthis Independence Day that Indiacan achieve self-reliance in energythrough an economy of gas-based

fuels, electric mobility and bio-fuels/ethanol in petrol. Following up on thepromise of National Hydrogen Missionannounced in the 2021-22 Budget, he alsolaunched this mission to facilitate gener-ation of carbon-free fuel from renewables,setting a target of 2047 for India toachieve self-reliance in energy. He foundthe right optics by saying that the coun-try has had to take a pledge to becomeenergy-independent in the 100th year ofindependence.

Let us go back to another announce-ment by the PM on energy front; In the“Urja Sangam” conference in March 2015,he had proclaimed the objective of reduc-ing India’s oil import from 77 per cent oftotal consumption in 2013-14 to 67 percent by 2022. Today, the dependence hasactually increased with imports account-ing for 85 per cent of oil requirements.

Whether the new national targets arepragmatic or not is a subject of a largerdebate. Days before the PM’s announce-ment, there was a media splash thatIndian Railways (IR), with a view to kick-ing off hydrogen mobility in India, hadinvited bids for hydrogen fuel cell-basedtrains. Whenever calling of bids, and notactual execution, by IR becomes news, theproject usually ends in a whimper. We will,therefore, confine ourselves to see thecountry-wide status through a limitedprism of what IR has done. Before that,however, a glance at electric mobility, par-ticularly e-buses.

Although diesel buses account for asmall percentage of the total vehicularpopulation, they contribute to more than50 per cent of air pollution and carbonemissions in India. State transport corpo-rations, mostly with poorly-managedfinances, are known to run smoke-spew-ing, rickety, diesel buses. The UnionGovernment made an ambitious plan toshift them to cleaner and sophisticatedelectric buses. It started with FAME(Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of(Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India) thatproved to be ill-conceived and came acropper due to ambiguity and misuse ofthe subsidy. It was later rejigged asFAME 2 for subsidy only to state trans-port corporations but the impact has sofar been far from healthy; the penetrationof e-buses in the country languishes ataround 2000 buses whereas the numberof buses in the country is over 17 lakhs.

If the bard’s “What’s past is prologue”is a lesson in history which sets the con-text for the present, then IR’s report cardso far has been dismal and does notinspire any confidence in its ability to con-tribute and complement the PM’s ambi-tious road map.

The thrust started somewhat with bio-fuels and IR even set up a dedicated orga-nization in Delhi called IROAF (IR

Further electrification of India's rail tracks would actually result in higherCO2 emissions because electricity is majorly sourced from fossil fuels

UNLESS THISPROJECT IS

TAKEN UP INRIGHT EARNEST

WITH ALL LOOSEENDS ABOUT

VIABILITY,TENDERING FOR

EQUIPMENT,ORDERING,

DESIGNING THEVEHICLE AND

RETRO FITMENTSCHEMES,

COMMISSIONING,TRIALS ANDOPERATION

TIED UP WITH CLEAR-CUT

RESPONSIBILITIES,IT WOULD ALSO

END UP LIKE ALL ITS

PREDECESSORS

The world is not homogenous and can’t be made into one. The UnitedStates has failed to understand cultural variables that drive gover-nance models across the world. It should have learned early that

'one size doesn’t fit all’. The modern world fancies democracy as theonly viable governance model, as they haven’t experienced better mod-els in the past. The intent of the West and especially the US to trans-form nations into democracies is an unrealisableday dream. Successfullyageing democracies have strong cultural fundamentals of tolerance anddefined social values. Nations with authoritarian and hybrid regimes nei-ther understand the spirit of democracy nor can implement democrat-ic governance. India was not a democracy prior to 1947. However, 800years prior to foreign occupation, it was ruled by kings democratic intheir outlook. India’s cultural fundamentals for centuries were of toler-ance, simplicity, divinity, self-sufficiency, universal harmony and knowl-edge. After 1947, ancient values of this civilization could easily allow

India to adopt democracy and continue successfully as a vibrant andfunctional democracy. Afghanistan is the latest American mis-adventureto export democracy. Foreign entities cannot dictate governance mod-els for a nation and expect its citizens to follow them. Democracy is amind-set. It could be the best possible governance model available tothe world now, and some democracies like the US, the UK, Germanyand France might feel it suits the entire world too. Only 49 per cent ofnations have adopted democracy as a governance system. Nineteen percent of them seem to be truly functional democracies while 30 per centare flawed or dysfunctional. That leaves us with around 51 per cent ofnations completely non-democratic. China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam,Jordan are among non-democracies that are still vibrant economies. Chinawith a differential governance, social and economic model other than ademocracy, has even become a global super power. Altering a nation’scharacter thinking that human aspirations are the same and can beachieved by a homogenized approach is flawed.

This cultural and political prejudice can be a recipe for a huge dis-aster. President Joe Biden’s recent press briefing suggests the US has-finally realized that democracy is not a ‘saleable commodity’. Nobody,not even the US, and with the best of intentions can shape the futurecourse of a nation by forcefully altering its governance structures. Historicfailures in Vietnam, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and recently Afghanistanshow us that. I can understand a war destroying a nation. However, occu-pying a nation to change its fundamental structure is a foolish enter-prise. Mindless initiatives of ‘building nations’ has led many nations inrecent times into horrifying chaos, violence and poverty. Afghanistan todaystands as a broken nation with no possibility of repair in the near future.It is heartbreaking to see the plight of its innocent citizens trying to fleetheir war-torn nation with their families. Images of hordes of people cling-ing on to the sides of an aircraft show the unprecedented desperationof Afghan citizens. Developments like this impact not just a nation butalso the neighborhood, region, sub-continent and even an entire conti-nent. The outcome of this mess is global and can destabilize political,social and economic course of many nations in the region. Situationslike this also provide opportunities for nations with expansionist inten-tions to exploit it and ‘fish in shallow waters’ for their selfish geo-polit-ical ambitions. The US, its formal and informal allies in Europe and else-where should realize that democracy is not an ‘exportable commodity’.Unilaterally trying to impose this model on random nations will not onlyfail but also lead huge global events that can displace and destroy millions of lives across the world.

(The writer is the Chief Spokesperson of BJP in Telangana State andanOrganizational Strategist.)

Is there a need for a castecensus? Will it give theright kind of data on dif-

ferent castes in the country oropen the Pandora’s box? Willit end up tearing the socialfabric as it did in 1990 whenthe then prime minister V.P.Singh decided to implementthe Mandal Commissionreport? Will it perpetuatecaste? These are some of thequestions that need answerswhen there is a chorus toinclude the caste census in thenext year’s decadal census.There are powerful pro- andanti-lobbies for it.

Despite pressure fromNDA allies and the opposi-tion, the Centre has shelvedthe idea for now. During therecent Monsoon Session ofParliament, the chorus forcaste census resurfaced. It

was strengthened by the draftproposal of the Justice G.Rohini-led commission rec-ommending sub-categorisa-tion of the Other BackwardClasses.

Union Minister of Statefor Home Nityanand Rai hadannounced in Parliament inJuly that the Government hasno intention of carrying out acaste census. While India’sdecadal census has consistent-ly recorded the population ofDalits and Adivasis, it hasnever counted OBCs since1931. Since 1950, theGovernment has reservedjobs, college admissions andelected seats - from Villagecouncils to the Parliament -for Dalits and Adivasis. Thiswas to rectify historicalwrongs that have denied themequal opportunities for the

weaker sections.Politically, caste undeni-

ably is an essential tool inIndia. It plays a crucial rolein every Indian election, fromthe village panchayats to theParliament. There is no sur-prise that several politicalparties have intensifieddemand for a caste-basedcensus. Samajwadi Party (SP)in UP, JD(U) in Bihar andDMK in Tamil Nadu havebeen most vocal in raising thedemand.

The supporters of thecaste census insist that it will

justify the weaker among theOBCs. The Government,too, would benefit from theenumeration of the caste cen-sus for the programmes. Forinstance, Bihar chief ministerand NDA ally Nitish Kumarmet Prime Minister NarendraModi along with a delegationof all parties. Kumar arguedthat the census will help bet-ter formulate and implementschemes for different socialgroups’ welfare. Secondly,there would be clarity over thepercentage of the OBC pop-ulation. Decades ago, theMandal Commission estimat-ed it at about 52 per cent.

Significantly, in the pastfew years, several OBC groupshave been seeking reserva-tions. This includes theMarathas in Maharashtra,Patidars in Gujarat, Gurjars in

Rajasthan, Kapus in AndhraPradesh and Jats in Haryana.

The poll-bound UP is abig prize for the BJP and otherregional parties. The chorusgrows with other tiny region-al outfits, including AnupriyaPatel’s Apna Dal (Sonal),vocally supporting him.

Why is the BJP reluctantfor a caste census that toowhen it has mobilised manysmaller OBC groups? TheBJP has argued that it wouldlead to the perpetuation ofcaste identities. It fears itmight lead to a messy situa-tion similar to when the V PSingh Government imple-mented the MandalCommission report in theearly 1990s. There were agi-tations because it granted 27per cent reservation to OBCsin central Government jobs

and educational institutions.Secondly, and more

importantly, the BJP appre-hends that a caste censusmight harm its goal of unit-ing Hindus. It is significantthat amongst the numerousopponents of a caste census isRashtriya SwayamsevakSangh, the parent organisationof the ruling BJP. The BJP andthe RSS want to consolidatethe Hindus. A caste countcould cause fissures in theHindu vote, which the BJP isassiduously working to reducein recent years.

The BJP also apprehendsthat the subsequent demandwill be the fair share ofresources in proportion totheir numerical strength.Former UP chief ministerAkhilesh Yadav is known forhis slogan, “jiski jitni sankhya

bhari, uski utni hissedari” Theshare in resources should beproportional to the commu-nity’s numerical strength).

The party has recentlygot legislation passed givingstates the right to changecastes in the OBC category inParliament. The UPGovernment has included 39new castes in the OBC cate-gory.

No doubt there is a casefor caste census but when thecountry is facing too manyproblems, including COVIDand sliding economy, this isnot the time to raise anothercontroversial issue. If nothing,it can raise the passionsamong the people. Withoutbeing blunt, the ModiGovernment was wise in post-poning it. There are indeedother ways of getting votes.

A caste count could cause fissures in the Hindu vote, which the BJP is assiduously working to reduce in recent years

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

07

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

FIRSTCOLUMNDEMOCRACY: AFAILED EXPORT

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

(The writer is retiredGeneral Manger, Indian

Railways. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

The ‘yes’ and ‘no’ of a caste census

KALYANI SHANKAR

(The writer is a seniorjournalist. The views

expressed are personal.)

K KRISHNA SAAGAR RAO

Organization for Alternate Fuels),mandated for fixing standards,development, research and execu-tion in fuel and energy efficient andeco-friendly technologies for assim-ilation in IR. After numerousexperiments, sanctions, build-up ofesterification plants, repeated newsitems, there is not one diesel trainof IR which runs regularly ondiesel+bio-fuel mix.

We soon heard of initiatives ofa dual fuel mode, diesel with CNG,for diesel locomotives and diesel-electric multiple units (DEMUs) toreduce their tail pipe emissions.Some prototypes were made but theproject was given up in favour ofLNG as CNG has limitation oflower energy density and thusposes a space limitation for onboard fuel. LN Ghas comparableenergy density with diesel andtherefore is much less problematicfor on-board storage of fuel. TheLNG project lies in infancy for yearswith no clear road-map.

The next to catch the fancy ofIR was multi-gen set diesel locomo-tives, which with the option toswitch on and off one engine, aremore energy-efficient. Two suchprototypes were made nearly tenyears back but the project was fore-closed due to the increased pace ofelectrification of IR tracks and theIR perceived, belatedly, that theselocomotives could not be prolifer-ated.

We also heard of Solar Panelson roof tops of DEMU. A pilot pro-ject was completed on some coach-es of DEMUs and introduced in theDelhi suburban area, touted funni-ly as the first-ever in the world. Ifindeed it was a first-ever, that itself

should have alerted IR about theinefficacy of the project. Nevermind, moreover, that these proto-types were so constructed that thesolar panels mounted on top of theroof offered air resistance andnearly negated the saving in fueldue to solar cells. It was anotherirrational project which seems tohave died with the death of DEMUsthemselves in the face of rapid elec-trification.

Nearly twenty years after its for-mation, the IROAF website has thisto state: “Except for minor projectsand showcase installations, IR havenot aligned itself with the targets ofthe 2022. There is very little that IRis doing on its own to contribute tothe agenda set by the GoI. The stepstaken so far by IR are not commen-surate with the quantity of energythat it consumes and the influencethat it can exert due to it being thesingle largest buyer of petroleumand electricity.”

An honest admission. But thisis now followed by this hydrogenpunch, supposedly in line with thePM’s declaration that green hydro-gen would give India a quantum-jump in achieving its green targets.According to IROAF, the projectwill commence on the 89 kilome-tres-long Sonipat-Jind section withretro fitment of hydrogen fuel cellin two DEMU rakes.

It is notable that IR has beentrying to acquire hydrogen fuel celltechnology for diesel locomotivesfor a decade but in vain. Has therebeen any inquest before announc-ing this bidding process? In hisspeech, the PM also said what IRhas been saying now for manyrecent years: 100 per cent electrifi-

cation of all tracks under the zero-emission policy, thus becoming thefirst major railway-country in theworld to do so. This policy itself isdebatable. There is a view that fur-ther electrification of India’s railtracks would actually result inhigher CO2 emissions becauseelectricity is majorly sourced fromfossil fuels and therefore Indiashould first prioritise greening itselectricity network by pursuingregenerative energy sources morevigorously rather than electrifyingits tracks. In any case, if the policyof 100 per cent electrification isindeed here to stay, why waste timeand energy on the hydrogen fuelcell project?

Assuming that the project is aneffort to develop a standby technol-ogy, sourcing of hydrogen needs tobe settled simultaneously. Allhydrogen production in the coun-try employs the Steam MethaneReforming process that utilises fos-sils fuels because since the clean-er method of Water Electrolysis isnot only expensive but also in thenascent stage. Will the project begreen enough if hydrogen issourced from fossil fuels?

Unless this project is taken upin right earnest with all loose endsabout viability, tendering forequipment, ordering, designingthe vehicle and retro fitmentschemes, commissioning, trialsand operation tied up with clear-cut responsibilities, it would alsoend up like all its predecessors. Ihope these questions are settledand IR engineers work silently tomake it successful instead of cre-ating another hoopla which wouldturn a damp squib.

SUDHANSHU MANI

Forcibly altering a nation's governingstructure creates chaos

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Birla Corporation onTuesday saidcommissioning of its Rs

2,450-crore Mukutban cementplant, which has been delayeddue to the COVID-induceddisruptions, is expected byDecember. Due to flight ofmigrant workers from theproject site, the commissioningof the Mukutban factory inMaharashtra has been delayed by a few months, the companyinformed shareholders in its annual report. "Mechanical erection workis progressing well. Most of the equipment reached the site.Commissioning of the project got delayed due to lockdown anduncertainty created by the raging second wave of COVID-19. Thefactory is now expected to be commissioned in December," an officialsaid. The project proposes a 3.90-million tonne integrated cementfactory with a 40 MW captive power plant and 10.60 MW waste heatrecovery system. After the commissioning of the cement plant, theinstalled capacity of the group will increase to around 20 milliontonne.

Birla Corp's Rs 2K-cr cementproject to commission in Dec

KRaheja Group-ownedretailing firm ShoppersStop has collaborated with

global IT and professionalservices company Accenture toaccelerate its digital commercetransformation across retailchannels, a joint statement saidon Tuesday. The programmeaims to enhance customerexperience and profitability, aswell as support Shoppers Stop's goal of being the go-to digitaldestination, it stated. Shoppers Stop Managing Director and ChiefExecutive Officer Venu Nair said omnichannel commerce has been ahuge focus area for the company. "By collaborating with Accenture,we want to further strengthen our digital commerce strategy forgreater reach and access and also improve the overall shoppingexperience of our customers," he said, adding that the company aimsto "achieve significant profitable growth" in the digital commercerevenues over the next three years.

Retailing firm Shoppers Stop collaborates with Accenture

India Post Payments Bank(IPPB) has joined hands withLIC Housing Finance for

selling housing financeproducts of the latter to its 4.5crore customers, a statementsaid on Tuesday. Through itsrobust and extensive networkof 650 branches and more than136,000 banking access points,IPPB will make LIC HousingFinance Ltd's (LICHFL) home loan products accessible to itscustomers pan-India, the statement said. Under the strategicpartnership, credit underwriting, processing, and disbursement for allhome loans will be handled by LICHFL, while IPPB will source theloans. The alliance with LICHFL is part of IPPB's strategy to expandits range of products and services, and to cater to the banking andfinancial needs of diverse customers, especially unbanked andunderserved, across the country. IPPB already distributes general andlife insurance products through partnerships with insurancecompanies. Credit products are natural extension for the customers atthe last mile, the statement said.

India Post Payments Bank, LIC tie up to sell home loans

PNS n NEW DELHI

UK-based Cairn Energy PLCon Tuesday said it will drop lit-igations to seize Indian prop-erties in countries rangingfrom France to the US, withina couple of days of getting aUSD 1 billion refund resultingfrom the scrapping of a retro-spective tax law.

The firm, which gave Indiaits biggest onland oil discovery,termed "bold" the legislationpassed last month to cancel a2012 policy that gave the taxdepartment power to go back50 years and slap capital gainslevies wherever ownership hadchanged hands overseas butbusiness assets were in India.

The offer to return moneyseized to enforce retrospectivetax demand in lieu of droppingall litigations against the gov-ernment "is acceptable to us,"Cairn CEO Simon Thomsontold PTI in an interview fromLondon.

Cairn will drop cases toseize diplomatic apartmentsin Paris and Air India airplanesin the US in "a matter of a cou-ple of days" after the refund, hesaid adding Cairn's sharehold-ers are in agreement with

accepting the offer and movingon.

"Some of our core sharehold-ers likes BlackRock andFranklin Templeton agree (tothis). Our view is supported byour core shareholders (that) onbalance it is better to acceptand move on and be pragmat-ic. Rather than continue withsomething negative for all par-ties which could last for many

years," he said.Seeking to repair India's

damaged reputation as aninvestment destination, thegovernment last month enact-ed new legislation to drop Rs1.1 lakh crore in outstandingclaims against multinationalssuch as telecom groupVodafone, pharmaceuticalscompany Sanofi and brewerSABMiller, now owned by AB

InBev, and Cairn.About Rs 8,100 crore collect-

ed from companies under thescrapped tax provision are tobe refunded if the firms agreedto drop outstanding litigation,including claims for interestand penalties. Of this, Rs 7,900crore is due only to Cairn.

"Once we get to final resolu-tion, part of that resolution isus dropping everything in

terms of litigation. We can dothat within a very short peri-od of time, just a matter of acouple of days or something,"Thomson said. "So we arepreparing on the basis of get-ting this resolution quickly,all these cases being dropped,and putting all this behind."

He said all enforcement pro-ceedings brought because ofthe Government of India'srefusal to honour an interna-tional arbitration award askingit to return the value of moneyseized to enforce the retrospec-tive tax demand, will bedropped.

"Everything will be dropped.There will be no more litiga-tion, that will be it. It will clearthe matter up," he said.

Cairn in its half-yearlyreport on Tuesday said it willreturn up to USD 700 millionout of the Rs 7,900 crore (USD1.06 billion) it is supposed toget from the Indian govern-ment, to "shareholders via spe-cial dividend and buyback."

Asked if the company wouldmake a comeback to India,Thomson said India willbecome another potentialinvestment destination oncethe issue is closed.

Cairn CEO says $1bn refund offeracceptable to firm, to drop cases

PNS n NEW DELHI

Former RBI deputy governorR Gandhi on Tuesday made acase for treating and regulatingcrypto as a separate asset classwith a view to enabling gov-ernments around the world toeffectively deal with illegalactivities associated with virtu-al currencies.

After quite a lot of debateover the years, he said, peoplehave fully understood thatcrypto cannot be a currencybecause the fundamental ele-ment of a currency- that itshould be a legal tender- ismissing in this case.

He said that in this case, onecannot compel a crypto cur-rency to be accepted by anoth-er person as it is not a legal ten-der. The general consensusamong many policymakers isthat it should be deemed as anasset, not as a currency, not asa payment instrument and notas a financial instrument asthere is no clear identifiedissuer, he said.

"So once we have an under-standing and acceptance, thatit is an asset (not a currency),then it becomes relatively lit-tle easier to have regulationaround it," he said at a virtu-al event organised by Internetand Mobile Association ofIndia (IAMAI) andBlockchain & Crypto Assets

Council (BACC).He expressed apprehension

that there is a possibility ofusing this virtual asset forcriminal activity in absence ofregulation and there arenumerous instances indicatingthat. So, he said, any jurisdic-tion should have a clear frame-work by which any part of theeconomic activity should notbe seen as supportive of anycriminal activity. "So that iswhere the real difficulty comesin vis-à-vis a crypto assets asthere is a possibility, and notreally a possibility, there hasbeen quite a bit of an anecdo-tal evidence that crypto assetshave been utilised for increas-ingly, or in large scale, for ille-gal activities like ransomattacks etc," he said. He saidthat the basis of origination of

crypto some 12 years back asan asset was that it cannot betraced and taxed.

"So the very idea of cryptowas that it should be anony-mous, independent, and it can-not be taxed or tracked, so asI said every society will have itsown rules, which expects com-pliance by all its members andit penalises non-compliance,"he said. Last month, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanhad said proposed legislationregarding cryptocurrency ispending before the UnionCabinet. The inter-ministerialpanel on cryptocurrency, underthe Chairmanship of Secretary(Economic Affairs) to study theissues related to virtual curren-cies and proposed specificactions, has already submittedits report.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Sterling Holiday Resorts onTuesday said it has added fivenew resorts with a total of 174rooms as part of its plan todouble room inventory by theyear 2025.

With the addition of thesenew resorts, the company nowhas an inventory of 40 resortswith 2,400 rooms, Sterling

Holiday Resorts said in a state-ment. The new resorts areeach at Alleppey in Kerala; Girin Gujarat; Kalimpong in WestBengal; and Madurai andTiruvannamalai in TamilNadu, it added.

"Our new locations alongwith our existing network isaimed at meeting the multipleholiday needs of the Indiancustomer — from leisure hol-

idays in the hills, beaches,waterfronts and jungles toquick-breaks in drive-to desti-nations," Sterling HolidayResorts Chairman andManaging Director RameshRamanathan said.

The company will continueto expand using an asset-lightmodel of taking up resorts onmanagement contracts, thestatement said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The commerce ministry'sinvestigation arm DGTR hasrecommended the impositionof anti-dumping duty onVitamin C, used by pharma-ceutical firms for medicineproduction, from China toguard domestic manufacturersfrom cheap imports.

The Directorate General ofTrade Remedies (DGTR) hasconcluded in its probe that theimports from China are enter-ing the domestic market atprice below the level of the sell-ing price, and even the cost ofsales. The domestic industryhas been impacted due to thedumped imports, DGTR hassaid in a notification.

"Accordingly, definitive anti-dumping duty...is recommend-ed to be imposed for five years

from the date of the notifica-tion to be issued by the CentralGovernment, on all imports ofgoods...originating in orexported from China," itadded.

The DGTR has recommend-

ed USD 3.2 per kg and USD3.55 per kg duty on imports.The finance ministry takes thefinal decision to impose theduty.

In international trade par-lance, dumping happens when

a country or a firm exports anitem at a price lower than theprice of that product in itsdomestic market.

Dumping impacts the priceof that product in the import-ing country, hitting the mar-

gins and profits of the manu-facturing firms.

According to global tradenorms, a country is allowed toimpose tariffs on such dumpedproducts to provide a level-playing field to domestic man-ufacturers. The duty is imposedonly after a thorough investi-gation by a quasi-judicial body,such as DGTR, in India.

The imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissibleunder the World TradeOrganization (WTO) regime.India and China are membersof this Geneva-based organisa-tion, which deals with globaltrade norms.

The duty is aimed at ensur-ing fair trading practices andcreating a level-playing field fordomestic producers vis-a-visforeign producers andexporters.

‘Anti-dumping duty on Vitamin C from China for 5 yrs’

Sterling Holiday adds 5 new resorts

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Cabinet is likely toapprove on Wednesday a pro-duction linked incentive (PLI)scheme for man-made fibresegment and technical textileswith a financial outlay of Rs10,683 crore over five years toboost domestic manufacturingand exports from the sector, anofficial said.

The proposal is expected tocome up before the UnionCabinet meeting onWednesday, the official added.

The Cabinet had earlier

approved PLI schemes in 13key sectors for enhancingIndia's manufacturing capabil-ities and exports.

After the approval, the tex-tiles ministry would comewith detailed guidelines of the

scheme for these sectors.The prime objective of the

scheme is to make manufac-turing in India globally-com-petitive by removing sectoraldisabilities, creating economiesof scale and ensuring efficien-cies. It is designed to create acomplete component ecosys-tem in India and make Indiaan integral part of the globalsupply chains.

The scheme is expected toattract global investments, gen-erate large scale employmentopportunities and enhanceexports substantially.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The rupee plunged by 32paise to close at 73.42 (pro-visional) against the US dol-lar on Tuesday, tracking astrong American currencyin the overseas market andmuted trend in domesticequities.

Forex traders said the fallin the domestic unit was inline with other Asian peers.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the localcurrency opened at 73.12and dropped to a low of73.44 in the day trade.

The domestic unit finallysettled at 73.42 against thegreenback, down 32 paiseover its previous close. OnMonday, the local unit settledat 73.10 against the green-back.

Meanwhile, the dollarindex, which gauges thegreenback's strength againsta basket of six currencies, wastrading 0.22 per cent higherat 92.23. According to DilipParmar, Research Analyst,HDFC Securities, the rupeedepreciated in line with otherAsian currencies. "Profitbooking in domestic equities,after touching lifetime high,and dollar outflows weighedon rupee.”

PNS n NEW DELHI

Amazon India on Tuesday saidit has inked an agreement withthe Industries and MinesDepartment of Gujarat govern-ment to help drive e-commerceexports from the state.

As part of the MoU(Memorandum of Under stand-ing), Amazon will train andonboard MSMEs from the stateon Amazon Global Selling,enabling them to sell theirunique Made in India productsto millions of Amazon cus-tomers across over 200 countries

and territories, a statement said.Amazon Global Selling helps

companies launch their brandsglobally using the e-commerce

major's platform.Amazon will conduct train-

ing, webinars and onboardingworkshops for exporters fromkey MSME (micro, small andmedium enterprises) clusterslike Ahmedabad, Vadodara,Surat, Bharuch and Rajkot andothers, the statement said.

The workshops will focus onsharing expertise and provid-ing training to MSMEs aboutB2C e-commerce exports andselling to over 300 millionpeople worldwide throughAmazon's 17 foreign market-places, it added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Drug f irm Dr Reddy'sLaboratories on Tuesday saidit has launched Minoxidil top-ical solution for the treat-ment of female pattern hairloss in India.

The company has launchedprescription drug Minoxidiltopical solution USP 2 percent and 5 per cent for thetreatment of female patternhair loss. The company willsell its products under thebrand names Mintop 2 percent and Mintop Eva 5 percent, respectively, Dr Reddy'ssaid in a regulatory filing.The launch follows the first-

ever approval of the addi-t ional indicat ion by theCentra l Drugs StandardControl Organisat ion(COSCO) in India for the useof the product for the treat-ment of female pattern hairloss (FPHL), it added.

Minoxidil topical solutionhas been approved in India forthe treatment of alopecia inmen, the filing said. "Thismarks the first-ever approvalgiven to a first-line treatmentoption for female pattern hairloss, and truly fulfils a hither-to unmet need," Dr Reddy'sLaboratories CEO (BrandedMarkets- India and EmergingMarkets) M V Ramana said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

On-demand staffing plat-form Gigforce on Tuesdaysaid it has raised USD 3 mil-lion (about Rs 22 crore) infunding, led by EndiyaPartners.

Existing investor UnitusVentures and key angels alsoparticipated in the pre-seriesA round, a statement said.

Unlike classifieds, leadsharing and job-search plat-forms, Gigforce offers full-stack staffing solutions andprovides pre-screened andpre-trained gig workers tovarious enterprises.

"The market is under-served today because of thelack of suitable technology tomanage scale. India's top fivestaffing companies togethermanage a workforce of onemillion," Gigforce co-founderand CEO Chirag Mittal said.

He added that this is set tochange with strong tailwinds,including the proliferationof inexpensive smartphones,ubiquitous Internet accessfor blue and grey collar work-ers, maturing technologyplatforms, simplification oflabour codes, and the hugegrowth trajectory that Indiawill witness in the next 10years.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Logistics services start-upCOGOS Technologies onTuesday said it has raised atotal of USD 2 million (aroundRs 15 crore) in pre-Series-Afunding, to expand the busi-ness and strengthen its tech-nology platform.

The funding round was ledby Dubai-based global ship-ping and logistics player

Transworld Group and NewYork-based deeptech fundWorldquant Ventures, andincludes other investors,COGOS said in a statement.

COGOS also announcedthat Transworld Group's RiteshS Ramakrishnan will be join-ing its board. In its seed fund-ing round, COGOS had raisedUSD 1 million from the IAN,Emergent Ventures and somehigh-net-worth individuals.

COGOS co-founder andCEO Prasad Sreeram said,"We are happy to have globallogistic players and deeptechVCs believing in the potentialof COGOS platform." Sreeramadded that going forward, thecompany will continue to pro-vide customised solutions to itspartners and push itself tofurther provide the best expe-rience to the clients with itstechnology-driven platform.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Gold in the national capital onTuesday fell by Rs 37 to Rs46,417 per 10 gram amid weakprecious metal prices in theinternational market, accordingto HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, the pre-cious metal had closed at Rs46,454 per 10 grams. Silver alsotumbled Rs 332 to Rs 63,612 perkilogram from Rs 63,944 perkilogram in the previous trade.

In the international market,gold was trading lower atUSD 1,815 per ounce and sil-

ver was flat at USD 24.50 perounce. "Gold prices tradedweak on Tuesday followingdollar recovery," according toHDFC Securities, SeniorAnalyst (Commodities),Tapan Patel.

Cabinet may approve PLISfor MMF, technical textiles

Rupee plunges32 paise to closeat 73.4 against $

Amazon inks pact with Guj to drive exports

Logistics start-up COGOS raises $2 million in pre-Series-A funding

Gigforce raises$3 million fromEndiya Partnersand others

Dr Reddy's launches Minoxidilto treat female pattern hair loss

Gold down Rs 37; silver tumbles Rs 332

Crypto not currency; needs to beregulated as asset: RBI ex official

9

Vijayawada | Wednesday September 8, 2021what’s brewing?

lthough Indiais seeing adecline inCovid-19 cases,the disease hasleft several

after-effects on the body.Uncontrolled hair fall isone of them — many peo-ple who have recoveredfrom the disease complainof hair fall. Scientists areyet to determine the rea-son for such a phenome-non — whether it is thevirus making it happen orthe stress of living in apandemic or any deficien-cy caused by the disease.

However, in the recov-ery period and even afterthat, it is important wekeep a tab of meeting ournutrient needs and overallhealth to control incidentslike hair loss.

There are many nutri-ents that promote hairgrowth and prevent hairloss — biotin is one ofthem.

What is biotin andhow does it work?

Biotin is one of the Bvitamins; it is also knownas vitamin B7. It is solublein water and is the cata-lyst that converts somenutrients into energy.

Biotin stimulates keratinproduction in hair andcan increase the rate offollicle growth, and hencehas a role to play in thehealth of hair and nails —lack of adequate biotin inyour body may cause hairloss or brittle nails. Biotinrequirement in adults isaround 30 mcg/day, whilewomen who are breast-feeding should take 35mcg/day after consulta-tion with a physician.While most of the

requirements can besourced from the food weeat, in people with biotindeficiency, taking over-the-counter supplementsmay help prevent hair lossafter recovering fromCovid.

Food sources ofBiotin

The common sourcesof biotin in food itemsinclude egg yolk, organmeats such as liver or kid-ney, whole grains and

cereals, nuts like almonds,peanuts, pecans, and wal-nuts, and nut butter, veg-etables such as cauliflowerand mushroom, soybeansand other legumes, andfruits such as bananas andraspberries.

Reduce stress to pro-mote hair growth

According to dermatol-ogists, there are threephases in the hair folliclecycle: growth, resting andshedding; it is normal for

most people to shedbetween 50 and 100strands of hair every day.However, there is general-ly a two to three-monthgap between a stressfulevent and the onset ofhair loss that can last forup to six to nine months.The pandemic-relatedstresses, including anxietyabout contracting thevirus, financial stress,concern for ill familymembers, social isolationand changes related toworking and schoolingfrom home, impact us sig-nificantly. It is importantto calm the mind beforestarting any treatment formanifestations like hairloss.

Other uses of biotin

Biotin converts carbo-hydrates into energy andhelps amino acids to carryout normal bodily func-tions.

It is also consideredhelpful in reducinginflammation, improvingcognitive function, reduc-ing blood sugar in peoplewith diabetes, andincreasing HDL or goodcholesterol and decreasingLDL or bad cholesterol inour body.

Involve your kids in happieractivities to reduce screen time

miss the goodold busy morn-ings of packinglunch, braidingmy daughter’shair, nagging

my son to be ready ontime and dropping themoff at the bus stop. Whatreplaces all this is screens.Lunch boxes come in theform of meals served onstudy tables, staring atgadgets,” says Divya SinghVishwanath, LifestyleBlogger and Stylist.

But what is the solu-tion? School is online andso are submissions, extraclasses and social activi-ties. This is worrying, butDivya suggests some funsolutions to reducescreen-time:

Board games: Get afew that interests the kids,as children of all ages

enjoy these and there areso many available; some-thing is sure to work. Thebest is to involve them inchoosing.

Art: Works great evenif neither of you is artistic.You could even make aboard game like snakesand ladders and knots andcrosses at home. It getsthe kids all excited and offthe screen. Try paper-mache or pottery or sim-ple paint and paper.Mandala art books are agood idea. Kids of all ageslove puzzles and everypossible puzzle is availableonline.

Cooking: Making din-ner or evening snacks andcleaning up could be apart of family activity.Your meals will be deli-cious, it’s good bondingtime, kids will learn about

nutrition, you would havekept them away fromscreens and the food willfinish without a fuss.

Dancing: How about alittle workout before bed?And what better way todo that than a quickdance!

Reading time: Get yourkids to read every day.Discussing the story after-wards is super fun.

Make studying fun:With lockdown, life isboring for them as it is.Make studies fun. I taughtmy kids simple additionand subtraction by play-ing snakes and ladders.

Routine: This is veryimportant for kids and forgrownups (of course withsome flexibility). In myexperience, a set wakingup time and sleeping timeis a good start.

Physical activity: Trymaking them play a sportevery day, be it a trek or arun, a long walk, tennis,badminton, anything thatcan be arranged. It’s goodfor their health, theirenergy gets used up andthey sleep well.

If nothing is possible,get innovative. Hide thepuzzle pieces around thehouse and ask them tofind it and all to be donewithout pausing. A trea-

sure hunt around thehouse is a good idea too.So is climbing stairs. Justa few examples.

Conversation: Talk tothem. Share how your daywent and ask them to dothe same. No bond is builtbetter than by talking andlistening. Ask them fortheir thoughts on certaindecisions you need totake. It’s beautiful to heartheir views and opinionson things and situation.

as your waistlineexpanded since thepandemic began?Don’t worry, you arenot alone. A lifestylethat confines you

inside the four walls of a house,with limited movement, isbound to add inches to yourtummy. Routines have been dis-rupted, stress has increased, andwith the emergence of new vari-ants of the virus at regular inter-vals, it is unclear when thingswill get back to normal. Weightchanges have come with goodreason, as people’s diets, activitylevels, sleep habits, and dailyroutines have been turnedupside down in this last year.

Reaching and maintaining ahealthy weight is important forwell-being and quality of life. Ifyou are overweight or obese,you are at higher risk of devel-oping serious health problems,including heart disease, highblood pressure, diabetes, gall-stones, breathing problems, andcertain cancers. Obesity is alsolinked to mental health issuessuch as anxiety, depression andso on. Keeping your weightunder control will help in stay-ing agile and strong and willalso have a positive effect onyour health and happiness.

If you are among those whohave gained some inches ontheir waistline, do not startbeing self-critical after readingall of the above. Rather, makesome changes to your lifestyle tohelp reverse the scale and feelbetter.

One of the main causes ofunhealthy weight gain is havingan improper diet coupled withleading a sedentary lifestyle

devoid of physical activity.Additionally, emotional stressand improper sleep routinesover the course of the pandemichave compounded the problem.Getting into shape requires aproper diet, regular exercise andgood sleep — compromising oneither of them can defeat theentire purpose.

Follow these simple tips tokeep your weight healthy levels.

Eating right is half the jobdone! Let’s face the truth — ahealthy diet is a key to weightmanagement. I cannot stressenough on the importance ofregularised calorie consump-tion. Although a calorie-restric-tive diet does require eatingfood in measured portions, itdoesn’t necessarily require youto starve to death! Incorporatingfoods that are rich in fibre, pro-tein and healthy fats is a greatway to tackle weight gain. Arecent study by researchers atthe University of Leeds identi-fies almonds as one such food.The study found that peoplewho snacked on almonds (com-pared to crackers with equiva-lent energy) as a mid-morningsnack reported a lower overallhunger drive. Snacking onalmonds also led to suppressedunconscious desire (“implicitwanting”) to consume otherhigh-fat foods, which could beuseful in a weight managementstrategy. Another study pub-lished in the Journal of theAmerican Heart Associationfound that a daily snack of 42grams of almonds, consumed aspart of an overall healthy diet,improved a number of heart dis-ease risk factors. In addition tosignificantly improving HDL

cholesterol, it also reduced cen-tral adiposity (belly fat) andwaist circumference, all well-established heart disease riskfactors. Additionally, almondsare also known to have satiatingproperties which makes them agood snack to munch on espe-cially in between meals, as theywill keep you satiated withoutadding to your weight. So besure to add a handful ofalmonds to your daily diet, tomanage your weight better.Besides almonds, you can alsoeat fruits, buttermilk, lemon-infused water to curb yourhunger cravings.

Sweat it Out! Yes, you readthat right — working out is amust if you want to lose weight.Did you know maintaining aworkout routine of at least 150minutes per week can do morewonders than you can imagine?Besides shedding those extrapounds, exercising helps ingaining muscle mass, increasingmetabolism and maintaining ahealthy heart. It also releasesendorphins or happy hormonesin your body that elevate yourmood.

Celebrity Fitness Instructor,Yasmin Karachiwala, recom-mends “By making sure to addboth cardiovascular and resis-tance training to the mix, youwill be shedding those waistlineinches in no time!” She also rec-ommends that “There must be agap of at least 2 hours between amajor meal and a workout. Foran added boost of energy, I sug-gest my clients eat a bananawith a handful of almonds atleast 30 mins before exercising.”She says, “Almonds can satiatehunger without bloating thestomach, thus enabling a goodworkout session. They are a veryconvenient pre-workout snackand can be carried and con-sumed on the go.” There ain’tnothing a good sleep can’t solve!Adequate sleep is essential foryour body to recuperate fromdaily exertion. Lack of sleepdecreases your resting metabolicrate and can also cause insulinresistance. Moreover, it canincrease appetite and reducemental well-being by interferingwith hormone production, mak-ing you more likely to indulge inbinge eating unhealthy foods.

Losing those extra poundsmay seem difficult at first, butremember that it is never toolate to begin. Adopting basic,quarantine-friendly steps willhelp you remain in your targetweight range. You might facesetbacks and not be able to set-tle into a healthy routine as fastas you would have liked. But it'simportant to remember to keepyour focus on the long term,and that will lead the way.

Keep your weightUNDER CHECK

a

h

i

Post-Covid hair loss? Can Biotin help?

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

FUN

C PRADEEP KUMAR

allam Sahil, a 17year old NRI fromGuntur district inAndhra Pradeshhas pioneeredthree software

innovations that had phe-nomenal impacts in theIndian and American com-munities — he designed themodern process of identifi-cation and sowing of fertilesoils with his softwareknowledge of fallow lands,sharpened research with thehelp of drones in the hillyareas of Telangana andAndhra Pradesh, and devel-oped software programmespertaining to securityarrangements, besides smartglasses for the blind.

Sahil’s first project was onsecurity after noticing theneed for close surveillanceand security arrangements inschools after a series of inci-dents in the USA where gunculture prevails. “I createdsoftware that could detectanyone on the school cam-pus with a firearm, such as agun or a pistol or anythingunusual. I set up schoolcamera systems and waspraised by the faculty!Software-based micro-cam-era system was unveiled atSan Raman DoughertyValley High School inCalifornia, where I studied,as an ‘integrated objectdetection project’. A con-nected camera scans andsniffs out any dangerousdeadly weapon that can besecretly hidden by peopleroaming the designatedarea,” he shares. He was inhis 9th grade when he beganfocussing on the wondersthat can be done with vari-ous software elements.

His next one was for thecultivation sector and Sahilhas developed a projectaimed at the reforestation offorests all over the globe

through drone technology.“Understanding that thereforestation initiative wastoo labour-intensive and Iwanted to find a more effi-cient method and decided toautomate reforestation andbegan working on the pro-ject for both my communi-ties in California andGuntur, which have beenseeing adverse effects fromdeforestation,” he tells us.Sahil built multi-functionaldrones, each performing dif-ferent tasks, one being thesurveillance drone that scansthe landscape to find opti-mal locations to plant treesusing Machine Learning.The Dream Project forSmart Cultivation with ‘E-Plantation’ with smart farm-ing drones is how it works.The uniqueness of this pro-ject is that it will be able toenhance the seed germina-tion capacity from the fieldlevel rather than the tradi-tional agricultural sector.The goal of this software isto automate the nature of thesoil by surveying, selectingseeds, and linking the germi-nation process to GPS.

Another innovation wasthe design of smart glassesthat give clarity of vision tothe blind. These glasses bySahil are equipped with acamera, mic, sensor, andspeakers and are integratedwith a software programme.People who stare at them-selves can read the letterswritten on the board in frontof their eyes. “If a blind per-

son wears these glasses andstands at any bus stand, theywill also be able to see theadvertisements at the busbay or in the traffic,” Sahilinforms, adding that he willbe launching a number ofevents, both in the UnitedStates and India, to intro-duce his inventions to themasses.

Sahil is no ordinary lad. In2016, he pursued his com-puter software engineeringat the Young Wanks CodingAcademy. Not just acade-mics, in 2018 he completedthe Piano Level 4 course by2018 at Dougherty ValleyHigh School and studiedvarious research topics.Under his leadership as theCEO of Locked ReadySecure (LRS) Company, heset out to develop surveil-lance cameras to track thewhereabouts of suspiciousindividuals and createdmedia applications for socialmedia marketing agenciesbesides Technology promo-tion for many artificial intel-ligence projects and quali-fied in the RoboRaveInternational competition inAlbuquerque in 2018 andsecured third place. He par-ticipated in the Solar HawksArtificial Intelligence Projectundertaken with the BemaxCompany and won.

Sahil then completed aninternship in Unified Sportsas a web developer inAmerica, for India Artificialintelligence applications pro-vide technical support toMempage Technologies.

Sahil was a SemifinalsQualifier for the prestigiousMicrosoft Imagine Cupcompetition with his droneProject. Apart from innova-tive software programminghe is loved for his generosity.He helps people in needthrough his NGO and was atthe forefront in helping peo-ple during the Covid pan-demic.

T

SHIKHA DUGGAL

ou probably didcome acrossnews thatNavjyotGurudutta wasofficially certi-

fied by the ‘Golden Book ofWorld Records’ for wavingthe Sikh flag, ‘Nishan Sahib’at about 13,000 feet abovesea level.

Navjyot is delightedabout the fact that he gotfeatured on the list ofworld’s top 100 influentialSikhs alongside ‘the termi-nator’ aka Harbhajan Singh,among many others, in therecently published and per-sonalised cover page of the

out-

standing book — ‘For theSikhs, to the Sikhs and bythe Sikhs’! The book writ-ten by Dr Prabhleen Singh,Administrative officer,Punjab University, Patiala,covers the life, struggles,achievements and impecca-ble works of the Sikhs inour country from acrossvarious niches and indus-tries.

Navjyot, who recentlyearned the title of the‘Shining Sikh of India’ toldus he goes by his owntailored tagline thatscreams ‘I makepeople famous’.He wrote a bookonly to teachpeople the rightway to grow onsocial media.People seem to be

loving thebook!

They have shared theirinspirational stories onsocial media, and mostimportantly, quite a fewsuccessful influencers inthe country have appreciat-ed his body of work too,people say they can actuallywitness results after adopt-ing his techniques.

Navjyot shares with usthe ultimate changing pointin his life: “Since I’m pro-fessionally devoted to therising digital marketing

profession, it’simportant to

meet peoplewhom you areworking withto grow faster,some peopleassume digital

marketing is aservice based

company so oncethe deal is done, itjust provides ser-

vices but youknow

what?

Meeting new people, grasp-ing their set of knowledgeand implementing that intomy life at times helps megive a new perspective tolife. Since childhood, Idreamt of achieving a mile-stone once in my life! Andthat dream came true in theform of skydiving for me. Iwanted to do it differently,and I wanted it to beunique adding my owntwist to it so that peopleremember me. At thebeginning, I wasn’t evensure if I would be able to doit, because I was of theopinion that waving the‘Nishan Sahib’ flag while

skydiving wasn’teven

allowed and it may stir acontroversy! Luckily, I metsomeone with whom I wasworking and he allowed meto do it.”

Unaware of the fact thathe would receive fame ofthis kind, it helped himgrow as a businessman too,and most importantly,bloom as a good individual.This stint also opened thedoor to several opportuni-ties, which he is forevergrateful for!

“For me, the flag standsfor peace and humanity. WeSikhs believe that it is ourresponsibility to help eachother. The Sikh communityalways aims to spread love,peace and kindness, andthe same applies to me.When I look at the flag, it

reminds me of myresponsibility to bethere for whoeverneeds me. I am hon-oured to be amongsuch stalwarts ofSikh community,who are doingexemplary work intheir respectivefields and makingour country proud.Coming from ausual background, Ihave never imag-ined that I wouldconquer this mile-stone. Getting fea-tured in a bookalongside HarbhajanPaaji is so unbeliev-able,” he added.

All set to come upwith another bookcredited to hisname, he is going tofocus on the exclu-sive combo of entre-preneurship andmental health in thebook, so watch out!

yGuntur-originshows the wayin inventions

he other day, Iwas in a master-class and we alldecided that sinceit’s the last day, wemust take a group

photo. It was then that I dis-covered something new. Itwas a ‘face touch up’. I couldadd makeup, blush, reshapemy eyebrows or use lipstickand my choice of eye-make-up. Wow! I had never heardof such a feature. Just as I wasregistering my surprise,someone asked me, “Hey,where is the bindi setting? Ireally want your big bindi!” Icould all but barely stammer,“No, that’s not a setting, that’smy own.”

After class, I texted on thesocial media group askingwhy this feature ended uphere. I mean, this is a meet-ing place for professionals,students etc. The answer gotme thinking. “How wouldyou feel if you had to stare atyourself all day, every day?” Irealised that I too was sick ofseeing myself on screen forhours, which is probably whyI would change my back-ground, the lighting, thebrightness etc. and now I hadthe knowledge and the accessto a feature that can changethe colour of my lips andnails too!

Psychologists call thissocial media fatigue or Zoom

fatigue. I don’t even remember

having to look at myselfwhen I taught, interactedwith others, spoke at a con-ference or sang at a party.Today, here I am, well-coiffed, trying hard not tomake funny expressionswhile I listen or speak on asocial media platform. I takescreenshots and balk at howawful or how comical I seem.

Recent research says thatconstantly seeing yourselfmakes you more self-con-scious and heightens yoursense of self-awareness, theconsequences of which may

not always be pleasant orwelcome. Also, when the self(we) becomes the object ofattention and awareness,there is heightened self-accountability and we end upclosely monitoring ourbehaviour, gestures, and gen-eral social standing.

There is a sense of shyness,embarrassment, and self-cri-tique. So, in the world of theinternet, where anonymitymakes one unaccountable fortheir behaviour, a platformwhere one sees oneself couldmake them more account-able, which sounds like agood thing.

This is the perfect way toinculcate etiquette on theinternet. It could be the har-binger of more humaneexchanges and less toxic fall-outs due to faux pas, trollingrages, and other low behav-iours.

Social media fatigue is real,it happens to all of us. Thegood part is that we havebecome more conscious, self-critical, conscientious, polite,ethical, and self-accountable.Well, hallelujah!

(The author Dr. PurnimaNagaraja, is a consultant psy-chiatrist at Dhrithi WellnessClinic, Hyderabad.)

Do you have Zoom fatigue? he stunning SidhikaSharma is making aname for herselfand has carved herimage in the heartof the audience. The

actress has garnered goodattention in the Punjabiindustry through the song NaJi Na alongside HardySandhu. The actress will bealso seen debuting in thePunjabi film Fufadji alongsideJassie Gill. Sidhika Sharmahas a huge following and isvery active on social media asshe updates her fans withgorgeous and sexy picturesand videos.

Sidhika is very particularabout her diet and fitness,you can figure that out fromthe pictures of SidhikaSharma on her social media.She is a fitness freak and hasshared some of the tips andsecrets to keeping our bodieshealthy and fit. “I take nutri-tion very seriously as itimproves one’s life, it affectsour mood. If you eat thewrong things it increases therisk of illness. It’s okay to eatthe wrong things occasional-ly, but I make sure that 90percent of the diet is good soI keep a regular checkup onmy meals. I try to avoid carbsfrom my diet. I eat a lot ofgreen leafy vegetables, fruits,and a protein diet. In theevenings I avoid carbs andjunk and I make sure I’mdone with my dinner before 8pm,” she shared.

She further mentioned,

“One should neverstarve, it’s not goodfor health. Itshould be likehaving a meal orsmall snacksevery 3 to 4hours as it’s thebest for metab-olism. Oneshould drink a lotof water, coconutwater, andhigh-fibermeals. I add alot of walnuts,berries, Greekyogurt, beans,grilled chicken, andfish. When a personis on diet one shouldalways remember toadd fiber and healthyfat to their diet. Drinka lot of fluids and stayhydrated.”

This shows the actress isvery particular about whatshe consumes, no doubtSidhika has worked reallyhard to keep her body inshape. On the work front,Sidhika was seen in Sau SauWari Khat Likhe alongsideOmkar Kapoor and her pre-vious singles have been out-standing too like Na Ji Naalongside Hardy Sandhu,Phulkari, Love Conquers,and Tauba Tauba. Shewill be soon seen onthe Bollywoodscreens, details ofwhich she saysshe will dis-close soon! SI

DH

IKA

SAY

S N

A J

I N

ATO

UN

HEA

LTH

Y D

IET

TT

NAVJYOT KEEPS THEFLAG FLYING HIGH

WednesdaySeptember 8, 2021

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

AFP n NEW YORK

Novak Djokovic struggledbut advanced within three

matches of completing the firstmen’s singles calendar-yearGrand Slam in 52 years onMonday by outlasting AmericanJenson Brooksby at the USOpen.

In the late match of the day,2019 US Open winner BiancaAndreescu, the sixth seed fromCanada, battled hard in an 2hour 3 minutes epic but Greek17th seed Maria Sakkari pre-vailed in three sets. The matchfinished well past 2 am localtime in New York.

Sakkari won 6-7 (2/7), 7-6(8/6), 6-3 as Andreescu’s unbeat-en record in the main draw ofthis Grand Slam came to aclose.

World number oneDjokovic rallied past 99th-ranked Brooksby 1-6, 6-3, 6-2,6-2 to book a quarter-finalencounter with Italian sixthseed Matteo Berrettini in arematch of July’s Wimbledonfinal.

“It’s going to be exciting,”Djokovic said. “He loves thebig stage. Big serve, big gameoverall. I know what to expect.Going to try to prepare agood game plan and hope forthe best.”

The 34-year-old Serbianstar would become the firstman since Rod Laverin 1969 to sweep allfour major titles inthe same year bycapturing his fourthcareer US Opencrown.

An epic shockerseemed possiblewhen Brooksby, a 20-year-old American wild-card who hadn’t playedDjokovic before, brokein the second andsixth games andfired a service win-ner to claim the first

set in 29 minutes.Djokovic broke in the sec-

ond game of the second set, butwas broken in a electrifying 20-minute fifth game, netting abackhand on Brooksby’s sixthbreak chance as the Americanraised his arms and jumped forjoy.

But Djokovic broke back inthe sixth game, ripping a cross-court forehand winner for a 4-2 lead, and held from there totake the 68-minute set.

In all, Djokovic won 15 ofthe last 20 games after themarathon broken serve, rollingto victory in the stamina testafter two hours and 59 minutes.

Berrettini advanced bydefeating 144th-ranked Germanqualifier Oscar Otte 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

OLY CHAMPS WINTokyo Olympic champions

Alexander Zverev and BelindaBencic advanced with straight-set triumphs, as did British 18-year-old qualifier EmmaRaducanu.

German fourth seed Zverevstretched his win streak to

15 matches by beatingItalian 13th seed Jannik

Sinner 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(9/7).

Swiss 11th seedBencic eliminated

Polish seventh seedIga Swiatek, last

y e a r ’ sF r e n c hO p e nchampion,7 - 6(14/12),6-3.

A n d

1 5 0 t h - r a n k e dRaducanu ripped43rd-ranked AmericanShelby Rogers 6-2, 6-1 in66 minutes.

Raducanu is only the thirdqualifier to reach the US Openwomen’s quarter-finals afterEstonia’s Kaia Kanepi in 2017and American Barbara Gerkenin 1981.

Zverev, last year’s US Openrunner-up, reached his seventhcareer Slam quarter-final andfourth in the past five Slams.

Zverev saved two set pointson his serve in the 12th game ofthe third set and three more inthe tie-breaker before Sinnernetted a forehand to end mattersafter two hours and 25 minutes.

Zverev will next face 46th-ranked Lloyd Harris of SouthAfrica, who eliminated US 22ndseed Reilly Opelka 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.

Swiatek beat Bencic in theironly prior meeting in February’sAdelaide final, but the Swiss has-n’t dropped a set this week andhas been broken only threetimes.

Bencic next playsRaducanu, a US Open debutantwho hasn’t dropped a set in fourmatches and easily disposed ofthe woman who ousted top-

ranked Wimbledon champi-on Ashleigh Barty.

Czech fourth seedKarolina Pliskova, thisyear’s Wimbledon runner-up, beat Russian 14th seedAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova

7-5, 6-4. She next facesSakkari.

PTI n ABU DHABI

It will be a herculean task for them but KolkataKnight Riders batsman Dinesh Karthik is con-

fident that his side can win six out of theirremaining seven matches and qualify for the IPL

playoffs. The two-time former champions did nothave a great run in the first phase of IPL 2021 as

they could manage just wins from sevenmatches.

They are languishing at the bottom halfof the table as the IPL is set to resume inthe UAE in a few days from now.

“We want to win six out of sevenmatches (to qualify). It’s as simple as that.

As a team that’s what we’ll be lookingto do. Take one game at a time but tryand win six out of seven matches,”Karthik told KKR website.

The 2020 edition of IPL sawKKR lose out on a last-four berthowing to a not-so-healthy NetRun Rate.

“Last year when we were inUAE, we missed it (qualifyingfor playoffs) by a whisker. We

won as many matches as the lastteam had won but still just missed it by awhisker. Two years on the trot, we have been

fifth on the table. That’s something that stillgnaws at me,” Karthik said.

AFP n LONDON

George Russell was Tuesdayconfirmed as Lewis

Hamilton’s new team-mate atMercedes for next season afterValtteri Bottas sealed a move toAlfa Romeo.

The British driver, 23,earns the move to the SilverArrows after three campaignswith Williams.

He also impressed in aone-off appearance forMercedes at last year’s SakhirGrand Prix as a stand-in forHamilton after he tested posi-tive for coronavirus.

“It’s a special day for mepersonally and professionally,”Russell said in a statementfrom Mercedes.

“I’d be lying if I said I was-n’t absolutely buzzing,” headded. “It’s a huge opportuni-ty and one I want to grab withboth hands.

“But I’m under no illu-sions as to the scale of thechallenge. It’s going to be asteep learning curve.”

Russell confirmedas Hamilton’s newMercedes teammate

New Delhi: The upcomingnational men’s boxing champi-onship is unlikely to feature anyof the five pugilists who com-peted at the Tokyo Olympics,ruling them out of contentionfor next month’s world cham-pionships in Serbia as well.

Amit Panghal (52kg),Manish Kaushik (63kg), VikasKrishan (69kg), AshishChaudhary (75kg) and SatishKumar (+91kg) had competedat the Tokyo Games. All ofthem lost in the preliminaryrounds barring Satish, whowent down in the quarters.

Of these, Vikas, Satish andAshish are nursing injuriesand have withdrawn. There isno word yet on what Amit andManish would do but a sourcesaid they might also skip thetournament due to “lack ofpractice time”.

“They have opted out of theNationals because they haven’tbeen able to train well sincecoming back from Tokyo. Oneor two might still consider itcloser to the tournament but in

all likelihood, they wouldn’tcompete,” a source said.

The Nationals are due to beheld from September 15 inBellary, Karnataka. The BoxingFederation of India has statedthat only the Gold-winnersfrom the national champi-onships will make the squad forthe world event scheduled tostart on October 26 in Belgrade.

FOREIGN COACHES EXTNThe BFI has sought a

three-month extension for itsforeign coaches, whose con-tracts were expiring thismonth, saying a review will bedone after the WorldChampionships for men andwomen later this year.

Indian boxing has two for-eign recruits in men’s HighPerformance Director SantiagoNieva of Sweden and hiswomen’s team counterpartRafaelle Bergamasco from Italy.Both of them came on board in2017 and their contracts wereto end after the TokyoOlympics. PTI

Tokyo Olympians set to skipNational Boxing C’ships

Dubai: Rajasthan Royals open-er Yashasvi Jaiswal reckons thathaving played in similar condi-tions to the UAE duringMumbai’s tour of Oman recent-ly will help him during theupcoming second phase of theIPL.

The 19-year-old was a partof the Mumbai team that defeat-ed Oman in the One- Dayseries in Muscat.

“I had a very good seriesagainst Oman and in similarconditions to the UAE. I’m real-ly happy with the way I’m play-ing my cricket at the moment,and I can’t wait to replicate theseperformances in the IPL againstmuch stronger line-ups,” theyoungster said.

Jaiswal, who had a tally ofclose to 300 runs in the one-dayand T20 series combined, saidit’s always better to have somecricket under the belt.

“It was good practice for mebefore the big matches in theIPL. It had been a while I hadplayed competitive cricket, andto play against an internationalteam like Oman is certainly

good preparation. I’m happy Icould score some runs and winsome matches for my team.”

Jaiswal also got the chanceto have a one-on-one sessionwith his idol, batting greatSachin Tendulkar.

Speaking after joining upwith the Royals’ squad ahead ofthe IPL, as he quarantines in hishotel room in Dubai, he said,“My idol has always been SachinTendulkar, and I was really for-tunate to have a conversationwith him before the Omantour.

“I was over themoon when I firstheard he wasgoing to be pre-sent there, andwhen I had thechance to speakto him atlength, he wasreally humbleand helpedme on somes k i l l swhere hethoughtI could

improve on.“It was good to see that a

legend like him was aware of mygame, and it was certainly a veryhappy moment for me. I can’twait to keep implementing thosethings in my game and expressmyself better on the field,” headded.

Jaiswal also revealed thechats he had with another leg-end Kumar Sangakkara, who isthe Royals director of cricket,earlier this year.

“We have had so manychats on what I can do during

the game — how I shouldthink, what my approachwill be against whichbowler, how I can change

the tempo of the game, etc.“I’m really fortunate tohave a mentor like him.

I also feel the bestthing about himis that he’s alwayswilling to listenand give histime to theplayers,” they o u n g s t e r

said. PTI

Having played in UAE-like conditionsin Oman will help in IPL: Yashasvi

New Delhi: The Indian women’shockey team has gained a lot ofconfidence from its stellar dis-play at the the Tokyo Olympics,according to midfielder SalimaTete, who feels the side showedsigns of a bright future despitenot ending on the podium.

The Indian women’s teamfought tooth and nail againstsome of the top teams in the

world at the Tokyo Games. “Our performance in Tokyo

is slowly starting to sink in now.We were really dejected when welost to Great Britain in theBronze medal match, but nowwe are seeing the positives fromthe tournament,” Tete said.

“We may not have won amedal, but we have certainlygained a lot of confidence fromthe way we played in Tokyo andit’s definitely going to help us togrow as a team and producemuch better results in thefuture,” she added.

When asked about the mostimportant things that helpedIndia perform exceedingly wellat the Olympics, Tete said, “Wealways found a way to push theball forward and attack ouropponents in the Olympics. Wecreated many goal-scoringopportunities and ensured thatwe utilized our Penalty Cornerswell.

“And also we gave every-thing we had on the pitch andnever gave up, no matter whatthe situation was.” PNS

PTI n LONDON

Battle-hardened Indiaexposed shortcomings of

England in all departmentswith their famous win in thefourth Test, reckons formerskipper Michael Vaughan.

India were on the backfootinitially but conjured up acomprehensive 157-run win atthe Oval on Monday to take a2-1 lead in the five-matchseries.

Vaughan found faults inevery department of the game.

“The deficiencies ofEngland’s Test team were laidbare this week in batting,bowling and fielding. Theywere beaten by battle-hardenedopponents who know how towin the key moments,”Vaughan wrote in his columnfor The Telegraph.

“It started with their catch-ing on day one, continuedthrough their batting in thefirst innings before their bowl-ing was exposed on a flatwicket over the weekend.

“I would like to know whyin the last couple of years thisfielding team has notimproved. They continue todrop chances and should havebowled India out for 125 in thefirst innings,” he said.

Vaughan said England did

not make enough runs in theirfirst innings and also ques-tioned the shot selection of thebatsmen.

“England played somepoor strokes through lapses inconcentration. HaseebHameed chased a wide ball, forexample, and Moeen Ali top-edged one in the air whenEngland were strolling thegame. Those were poor crick-et shots.

“England lack pace andvariation to make things hap-pen in flat conditions. ThisEngland Test team are depen-dent on the pitch helpingthem. When that happens theylook like taking 20 wickets likethey did at Headingley, other-wise they struggle.”

Vaughan also found “lackof intent” among England bats-men.

“The run out of DawidMalan was a prime example. Ifyou are busy from ball one youare alert to singles but Malanwas on his heels because hewas not expecting that callfrom Hameed. That is a lack ofintent. It was an insight intoEngland’s mindset. They werejust batting.”

The former captain alsodid not like the way Englandchose their combination forthe Oval Test.

‘Poms too dependenton help from pitch’

PTI n LONDON

Jasprit Bumrah, one of thechief architects of India’scomprehensive win in the

fourth Test, on Monday said histeam’s success lies in the factthat it is a “happy bunch” thatlives in ‘present’ and doesn’tfocus on negatives.

Bumrah’s response camewhen he was asked if the newsof head coach Ravi Shastriand other support staff mem-bers testing positive in themiddle of the Test match affect-ed them in any way.

“We focus on the goodthings. We want to focus oncontrollable things and we as ateam are bunch of individualswho are very happy and fun-loving people, not always try-ing to find needles in all thethings,” Bumrah said duringthe virtual press conference.

It was Bumrah, who tiltedthe match in India’s favour inthe post-lunch session on thefinal day of the fourth Test,with his two-wicket burst.

Bumrah said the teamcompletely shut the outsidenoise and was not overtly wor-ried when they were down at127 for 7 in the first innings.

“Yes, the wicket was freshand we didn’t score much in thefirst innings. But we didn’tlose shape as a team and did-n’t think about lot of things thatare said and lot of things thatare written.

“We wanted to fight till theend and that’s the character wewanted to show and things thatare going outside is somethingthat we wanted to addresslater.”

His final figures were 2/27in 22 overs on a flat deck andthe key was building the pres-sure, said the senior speedster.

“In Test cricket, nothing iseasy. Even though it was a verygood wicket, you have to bowlin right areas and that’s themessage you want to commu-nicate. We had decided, even ifwicket is on flatter side, we haveto create pressure for thelongest time.

“We created a lot of pres-sure in the first hour and werealised that it was a flat wick-et and but our job was to notlet the game slip away and weare happy to do that.”

The IPL and the WorldT20 are also approaching butBumrah doesn’t want to losefocus on immediate goals.

“When you play a Testmatch, you don’t realise whathas been done before or howmany overs you have beenable to bowl because rightnow the focus was on doingthe job for the team,” Bumrah,who has taken 18 wickets in151 overs so far in this series,said.

“I want to play longesttime for my country so I workhard on gym, on my diet andeverything I try to control. Itrain really well and I have gotammunition inside me andwhen I want to push, I canpush hard.

“I am not thinking too farahead about the IPL or WorldCup because then mentally you

can be tired. My focus is on thepresent, concentrating ball byball and get results in our favour.”

AFP n LONDON

England on Tuesday recalledleft-arm spinner Jack Leach

and wicketkeeper-batsman JosButtler to the squad for the finalTest against India as they seekto level the five-match series.

The hosts trail 2-1 aftertheir 157-run defeat at theOval ahead of Friday’s deciderat Old Trafford but head coachChris Silverwood has madeonly minor alterations to hissquad.

Leach, who gives Englanda second spin option alongsideoff-spinning all-rounderMoeen Ali, has not played aTest since March despitetaking 28 Test wicketsin six matches ontours of Sri Lankaand India.

Buttler missedthe fourth Test toattend the arrival ofhis second childbut is ready toreturn and, if hereclaims hisplace as vice-

captain, there may only beroom for one of Jonny Bairstowor Ollie Pope.

Silverwood and captain JoeRoot must decide whetherpacemen James Anderson andOllie Robinson, who have bothbeen ever-present in the series,can rally for one last crack at theIndians.

“I think they (Andersonand Robinson) have beenexceptional. I’m proud of theway they have contributed to

the games, the way theyhave gone about theirbusiness and the effortthey have put in for theteam,” said Silverwood.

“But it is somethingwe have got to keepan eye on.”

Root’s men losta two-match seriesearlier in the seasonto New Zealand

and need a sharpreversal of fortunes toavoid becoming thefirst England side tosuffer twin defeats onhome soil since 1986.

Buttler, Leach return for 5th Test

PTI n LONDON

The Indians know how tofight back,” said England

head coach Chris Silverwoodas the Virat Kohli-led sidebounced back to stun thehosts in the fourth Testdespite conceding a 99-runfirst innings lead.

India went on to make466 in their second effort toset England a stiff 368-runtarget and scripted a sensa-tional 157-run victory on theback of their stupendousattack.

Silverwood said a lead inthe vicinity of 200 wouldhave given them the perfectopportunity to put India

under the pump.“If we’re being truthful, I

would like to have gone fur-ther past them at that point,that’s going to be the oppor-tunity to really put pressureon the Indians,” Silverwoodwas quoted as saying byESPNCrininfo.

“We failed to do that soit’s something we’ll reflect onin the dressing room andtalk about amongst our-selves.

“It would have beengreat to go maybe 190 pastthem and really pile thepressure on, but again cred-it to the Indians, they knowhow to f ight back,”Silverwood added.

Credit to India, they knowhow to fight back: Silverwood

Dubai: Indian teen star ShafaliVerma maintained her numberone position among women’sT20 batters while New Zealand’sSophie Devine is the new jointtop-ranked all-rounder in thelatest ICC rankings.

Verma is holding onto hertop rank with 759 rankingpoints, ahead of Australian BethMooney (744) and SmritiMandhana (716). Meg Lanningis at fourth spot with 709 pointswhile Devine also gains a placein the batting chart to jump upto number 5 with 689 points.

Devine showed her class inthe third T20I against Englandand that has enabled her to jumpup a spot and be the joint top-ranked all-rounder alongsideEngland’s Natalie Sciver. PTI

Shafali retainsNo 1 spot

Sakkari beats Andreescu in epic battleBopanna-Dodig pairgoes down fightingNew York: Veteran Indian ten-nis player Rohan Bopanna andhis Croatian partner IvanDodig fought their hearts outbefore losing their men’s dou-bles third round to fourthseeds Rajeev Ram and JoeSalisbury at the US Open.

Bopanna and Dodig,seeded 13th, lost 7-6(4),4-6, 6-7(3) to theAustralian Open run-ners-up in a gruellingcontest that lastedtwo hours and 30minutes on Mondaynight.

With this defeat,India’s challenge hasended at the lastGrand Slam of theseason. PTI

Tokyo show will help us producebetter results in future: Tete

Karthik confident of KKRqualification for play-offs

We always aim to be in present: Bumrah

ctor YamiGautam, whotied the knotwith film-maker AdityaDhar in an

intimate wedding cere-mony in June, says even ifthere were no restrictionsdue to the Coronaviruspandemic the couplewould have opted for alow-key affair.

Gautam, 32, and Dhargot married in Mandi,Himachal Pradesh in thepresence of 20 guests.Dhar, 38, had directedGautam in the 2019blockbuster Uri — TheSurgical Strike.

Their weddingannouncement — postedon Instagram by the cou-ple —came as a surprisefor many. But theYuddhamactress saidkeepingthe

most special day of theirlife private was ideal forthem.

“It was as simple aspossible. Aditya and I are

simple people and welike to keep it like

that. We are pri-vate and

reserved andonly wantedto share itwith theworld when

the timewas right.Even iftherewas nopan-demic,

I assure you it would havebeen the same wedding.Nothing would have beendifferent,” Gautam told anews agency.

For the wedding, theGouravam actor wore hermother’s sari, a nose ring,and a dupatta given byher grandmother.Gautam did her ownmake-up and had her sis-ter, Surilie, do her hair.

She said the coupledidn’t feel any obligationfor “pomp and show” andhence were comfortablewith a traditional andintimate ceremony.

“It is just about thosemoments, you don't haveto prove anything to any-one. It’s your day, yourfamily and it’s best whenyou can celebrate it with-out making it an obliga-tion. Both of us don'tbelieve in pomp andshow. To each his own,it’s your big day, what-ever makes you happy.But we don’t likewastage of food, andnever wanted a DJ wed-ding. We are both tradi-tional, we did our ritualswhich we loved. Weplayed traditional Pahadiand Kashmiri songs,Punjabi folk tracks...There were just 20 peoplebut it was really memo-rable,” the actor added.

Gautam is currentlygearing up for her latestadventure-horror-come-dy Bhoot Police, sched-uled to be released on thestreaming platformDisney+ Hotstar VIP onSeptember 17.

Directed byPavanKirpalani,the film fea-tures actorsSaif AliKhan,ArjunKapoor, andJacqueline

Fernandez.

t is known news thatMega Power StarRam Charan anddirector Shankar areteaming up for#RC15. Kiara Advaniis the leading lady of the

big-budget pan India film. Themakers of the film took to Twitterto officially announce the news ofthe launch and that the upcomingbig-budget pan Indian project#RC15 will officially go on the floorswith a formal puja ceremony onSeptember 8. We now hear thatactress Kiara reached Hyderabadfor the photoshoot of #RC15. Shewill also be attending the poojaceremony of the film.

#RC15 will be shot in Tamil,Telugu, and Hindi simultane-ously.

The official cast and creware expected to beannounced soon as theywill be joining the teamon an opening day.Butta Bomma fameThaman will scoremusic for the film and it willbe bankrolled by Dil Rajuunder Sri VenkateswaraCreations.

he shooting ofPawan Kalyanstarrer magnumopus Hari Hara

Veera

Mallu is all set to resumesoon. Director Krish andproducer A M Ratnam metPawan Kalyan recently dur-ing which it was decided tocommence the shoot ofHari Hara Veera Mallu onceworks related to the actor’scurrent project BheemlaNayak are over.

Directed by Krish, whohas carved a niche for him-self in making period films,

the epic movie starringPawan Kalyan in the leadrole will depict the life oflegendary war-

rior Veera Mallu.The film is being made

on a grand budget. Mainscenes, songs, and actionscenes will be shot ongrand sets. It is to be notedthat around 50 percent ofthe shoot is already over.

Produced by A DayakarRao under the Mega SuryaProduction banner, themovie will be presented byA M Ratnam in Telugu,Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam,and Kannada. Plans are on

to release the film on April29, 2022.

The film is the first col-laboration

between Krishand Pawan Kalyan.

It is set in the 17th centu-ry against the backdrop ofthe Mughals and QutbShahis. The film has musi-cal score by M MKeeravani.

an India star VijayDeverakonda, who kepthis promise and offereda chance to Indian Idol12 finalist ShanmukhaPriya in his next film

Liger, looks like he is gearing upquick for his next.

According to reports, the actoris teaming up with director ShivaNirvana for a project.

Shiva Nirvana, who is awaitingthe release of his next film, TuckJagadish, starring Natural starNani, Ritu Varma, and AishwaryaRajesh in the lead role, interactedwith the media recently. ShivaNirvana dropped a big update onhis next with Arjun Reddy fameVijay Deverakonda. He said,“The preproduction work of my

film with Vijay has started. Theupcoming drama is loaded withentertainment. The movie will goon the floor after Vijay is done

with Liger.”The film is expected to start rolling

after Vijay Devarakonda completes Liger.From the likes of it, we can expect themovie to launch by this year-end or early2022.

There hasn’t been any confirmationabout the cast and crew in the movie,there are few names that are being dis-cussed but nothing has been confirmedyet.

12

Vijayawada | Wednesday September 8, 2021 tollywood

PK to resume shootingfor Hari Hara Veera Mallu

Most Eligible Bachelorto hit screens on Oct. 8

akers of the upcom-ing Tollywoodromantic film MostEligible Bachelor star-ring Akhil Akkineniand Pooja Hegde have

finally announced the film’srelease date after a lot ofpostponements. The film isall set to release on October8. Sharing about his film’srelease date, Akhil wrote,“#MostEligibleBachelor isMarchingTowards Oct 8th.”

The poster shows Akhil in7 different looks, rangingfrom casual to formal. Theyoung actor looks the part inall the avatars. Going by theposter, Akhil could play amulti-faceted character in thefilm.

The makers of the film hadreleased the first teaser of thefilm last year and it has sethigh expectations among themoviegoers. However, due tothe Covid-19 pandemic, theshooting of the film gotdelayed and finally, PoojaHegde and Akhil Akkineniare gearing up for the big-

screen release. Pooja will beseen as a standup comedianwhile Akkineni will be seenas an NRI in MEB.

The film will hit big screensjust a few days before SSRajamouli's RRR, which isreleasing on October 13. Thefilm holds crucial for Akhil ashis last three films were disas-ters and with this, he is hop-ing to strike a blockbuster.

Meanwhile, Akhil is shoot-ing for another upcomingfilm, Agent. Directed bySurender Reddy and writtenby Vakkantham Vamsi. Theactor is leaving no stoneunturned has gone undermassive body transformationfor his role in the film.

Pooja Hegde, on the otherhand, has 7 big films in thekitty. She will also be seenplaying a cameo inChiranjeevi and Ram Charan-starrer Acharya. KajalAggarwal plays the femalelead role. Besides these, Poojaalso has Beast, co-starringThalapathy Vijay.

Yami, husband ‘don'tbelieve in pomp and show’

pcomingTollywood actressUrvashi Rautela isall set to begin herthird schedule forher Tamil debut

film, The Legend oppositelegendary actor Savarna. Shehas also stunned the worldthrough her consistentefforts and acting skills. Theactress has made a name forherself in the Bollywoodindustry with her charismat-ic personality and her lovefor acting. Today, she isloved not only by Bollywoodbut also by audiences downsouth, thanks to the actressworking for films in severallanguages.

Urvashi Rautela recentlyuploaded a video announc-ing the schedule in whichshe plays the character of amicrobiologist. According tothe sources, some parts of

the film will also be shot inIceland. In the video,Urvashi is seen in her char-acter, wearing a formal yel-low jumpsuit with a blackjacket, and white heels. Shecaptioned the video: “3rdFILM SCHEDULE BEGINS#THELEGEND #ICELANDHERE I COME “

The actress is also going toappear in a bilingual thrillerBlack Rose along with theHindi remake of ThirutuPayale 2. She recently got ablockbuster response for hersong Doob Gaye oppositeGuru Randhawa and VersaceBaby opposite MohamedRamadan. Urvashi is starringin a lead role in Jio studio’sweb series Inspector Avinashopposite Randeep Hooda,which is a biopic based onthe true story of super copAvinash Mishra and PoonamMishra.

Urvashi joins thirdschedule of The Legend

M

P

A

U

I

T

VD GEARS UP FOR HIS NEXT WITH SHIVA NIRVANA

Kiar

a Ad

vani

land

s in

Hyde

raba

d fo

r#RC15