@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneer Follow us on: MONEY 8 ‘RURAL CONSUMER SPENDING SLUMPS TO 4-DECADE LOW’ OPINION 6 DEMOCRATIC ONSLAUGHT SPORTS 12 DOUBLE DONE & DUSTED HYDERABAD, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2019; PAGES 12 `3 } BUNNY'S STAR POWER TO THE FORE Page 11 www.dailypioneer.com { RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469 *LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 37 *Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable Established 1864 Published From HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA PNS n MUMBAI The chief minister's post in Maharashtra will go to the Shiv Sena in the govern- ment being planned by the saffron party with the NCP and the Congress, NCP chief spokesman Nawab Malik has said. The Shiv Sena contested the October 21 Assembly polls in alliance with the BJP as part of the 'Mahayuti' (mega alliance), which was in a comfort- able position to form gov- ernment in the state, win- ning 161 seats in the 288- member house. The two parties, howev- er, fell out after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party per- sisted with its demand of sharing the chief minister's post on a rotational basis. The Sena is at present working with the NCP and the Congress on a com- mon minimum pro- gramme (CMP) that will guide the actions of the government the three par- ties plan to form. "The chief minister will be from the Shiv Sena. It walked away from the 'Mahayuti' on the issue of the chief minister's post. "It is our responsibility to respect its sentiment," Malik said. Continued on Page 2 BJP to stage countrywide stir seeking Rahul's apology PNS n NEW DELHI The BJP will hold a nation- wide workers' programme on Saturday to seek Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's apology over his "lies" on the Rafale issue, after the Supreme Court gave a clean chit to the Modi government in the matter on Thursday and rejected the petitions for a review of its earlier order. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secre- t a r y Bhupender Yadav told reporters here that t h e Congress and Gandhi were "exposed" by the apex court's verdict and they should now tender an apology. He also mocked the Congress's demand for a probe in the issue, noting that the court, in a unani- mous verdict, rejected the petitions seeking a probe in the purchase of Rafale fight- er aircraft and also quashed the pleas for a review of its order. BJP workers will hold nationwide protests at the district level, Yadav said, adding that the ruling party carried out a similar exercise in Delhi on Friday. GHMC official, two scribes in ACB net PNS n HYDERABAD Officials of the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB) caught a GHMC official and two local journalists for demanding and taking Rs 2 lakh as bribe on Friday. The arrested persons were identified as Siddhantam Madhan Raj, Akula Kiran Goud and Sopally Srinivas. Madhan Raj works with the GHMC Town Planning wing as a section officer for Circle - 18; Kiran is a reporter with Andhra Prabha, a Telugu daily; and Srinivas is a reporter with Mana Telangana, another Telugu daily. Continued on Page 2 Trump proposes 83% hike in cost to become US citizen WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump's administration has officially proposed an 83 per cent increase in cost to become an American citizen, claiming that "current fees do not recover the full costs of pro- viding adjudication and nat- uralization services". "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to adjust certain immigration and naturaliza- tion benefit request fees charged by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)," Xinhua news agency quoted a DHS state- ment as saying. Delhi: Most polluted city in the world NEW DELHI: Delhi has earned the dubious distinc- tion of becoming the most polluted major city in the world with an air quality index (AQI) of 527 on Friday, as per data by Air Visual on the World AQI rankings. The Air Visual data is updated frequently, so the caveat is that rankings and AQI counts change accord- ingly during the day itself. Delhi air quality broke all records on November 5, when it was in the hazardous range for nine consecutive days, making this the longest spell of hazardous air quali- ty since public records began, according to Air Visual. Centre mulls ‘One nation, one pay day' NEW DELHI: To safeguard the interests of workers in for- mal sector, particularly work- ing class, the Centre is plan- ning to introduce 'One nation, one pay day' system, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said on Friday. "There should be a pan-India single wage day every month across various sectors to ensure that workers get timely payment of salaries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on this legislation to get passed soon. Similarly, we are also looking at uniform minimum wages across sectors which will safeguard better livelihood of workers," said Gangwar, while addressing at 'Security Leadership Summit 2019' here. Sena-NCP-Cong govt to last 5 years: Pawar PNS n NAGPUR NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said a Shiv Sena-NCP- Congress government will be formed and it will complete five-year term as he ruled out the possibility of mid-term polls in Maharashtra which is currently under Presidents rule. He said the three parties want to form a stable govern- ment which will be develop- ment-oriented. There is no possibility of mid-term polls. This govern- ment will be formed and it will complete five years. We all will ensure this government runs for five years, Pawar told reporters here. Asked whether the BJP was holding discussion with the NCP over government forma- tion in the state, the former Union minister said his party was holding talks with only the Sena, the Congress and its allies and nobody beyond these. He said the three parties are at present working out a com- mon minimum programme (CMP) that will guide the actions of the government being planned in the state. Continued on Page 2 PNS n HYDERABAD A good friend of Minister for Municipal Administration, Industries and IT K T Rama Rao has extended financial assistance to the tune of Rs 90,000 to help Shilpa Reddy, a girl student from Bengaluru, purchase a brace needed in the process of her recovery from a spinal cord surgical treatment. The cheque was handed over by the Minister to Nandish Reddy, father of Shilpa Reddy, on Friday. Shilpa is studying Class X in a Government English Medium High School at Konappana Agrahara in Electronics City, Bengaluru. The Minister tweeted: "Since the girl is from Karnataka, we couldn't help her from Govt. But a good friend, who wants to be anonymous, has come for- ward to support Shilpa. Handed over the cheque today." Rama Rao's friend came for- ward to help since assistance could not be extended by the Telangana State Government as the girl hails from Karnataka. In fact, the girl made touch- ing appeals that she wanted to go to school and study like all others and that Telugu super- star Mahesh Babu helped her undergo a spinal surgery. And, a belt was required for treat- ment of legs that would cost Rs. 1.10 lakh, of which she had paid Rs. 20,000. Shilpa Reddy tweet- ed even to Karnataka Chief Minister for help. According to reports, Dr Sumanth Kumar, Clinical Prosthetic and Orthosis, said the automated Knee Ankle Foot Orthosis (KAFO) brace, if fixed, would ensure that she doesn't need any help as the automatic lock system of the brace would help her walk independently. Nandish Reddy thanked the Minister and his friend profuse- ly for extending help to his daughter. Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod, City Mayor Bonthu Rammohan and for- mer Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy were present on the occasion. PNS n WASHINGTON A US-based Indian profession- al, whose name was listed in the Green Card backlog, died suddenly and as a result his newly-wedded wife has been rendered out of status result- ing in her inevitable return to India, a media report said. Based in Tampa, Prashanth Padal, a native of Telangana, died after a heart attack on November 9, The American Bazaar said in its report on Thursday. He had married his wife, Sindhu, only four months ago in India. She had just recently moved to the US with Padal. Padal's death comes after Shiva Chalapathi Raju from North Carolina, whose name was also in the Green Card backlog, passed away sudden- ly in October, leaving his preg- nant wife in limbo. The North America Telugu Society has started a fundrais- er to help Padal's family. Through the Go Fund Me campaign, the organization is actively working with family members and friends to make all funeral arrangements and extend fund-raising support. The fundraiser with a goal of $100,000 has already received contributions of $58,409 in two days since it was started. Prashanth Padal Another Telugu techie in US Green Card backlog dies PNS n PATNA At a time when family members of departed math wizard Vashishtha Narayan Singh were seething with indignity and anger at having been made to wait for an ambulance to bring home his body, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday expressed grief over the death of the renowned mathematician. The 74-year- old mathemtician, who has worked at NASA and California University, is credited for chal- lenging Einstein's theory of rel- ativity. The family of Vashishtha Narayan Singh, who passed away on Thursday at PMCH in Patna after prolonged illness, has accused the hospital of negligence. They alleged that they had to keep the mathemati- cian's body outside the hospital as the management kept them waiting for an ambulance. A video clip, which was aired on various news channels and in social media after the death, showed Singh's younger broth- er Ayodhya Prasad Singh stand- ing with his body on a stretch- er outside the emergency ward of the premier Bihar hospital. On why did not he contact any official for help, Ayodhya Singh, while showing the death certifi- cate provided by the PMCH, said "Whom should I tell my problem. There is no one to lis- ten to my problem. I will take the body to my native village Basantpur in Bhojpur in hired private ambulance. "The gov- ernment never paid attention towards Singh's treatment", he alleged. ‘MODINOMICS’ STINKS SO BAD, GOVT HAS TO HIDE ITS OWN REPORTS NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked PM Narendra Modi on Friday over an official survey which reportedly points to a fall in consumer spending and said "Modinomics stinks so bad", the government has to hide its own reports. A media report cited the latest consumption expenditure survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO) to claim that consumer spending fell for the first time in more than four decades in 2017-18, primarily driven by slackening rural demand. The report also claimed the NSO report was approved to be released on June 19, 2019, but was withheld by the government agency owing to its "adverse" findings. ‘SCARED’ OPPOSITION NOT UNITED : SHARAD YADAV GHAZIABAD: Former union minister Sharad Yadav on Friday claimed that opposition leaders are not united as they are "scared" that the central government might lodge cases against them. "Some leaders like Chidambaram are in jail while others are on bail," Yadav told reporters here. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram is lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody in the ED's money-laundering case. "Opposition leaders are scared of central government that cases can be lodged against them ... that is why opposition parties are not united and the ruling BJP is taking advantage of it," he said at the residence of a Rashtriya Lok Dal leader here. Minister for Municipal Administration, Industries and IT KT Ramarao handing over the cheque to Shilpa Reddy's father Nandish Reddy in Hyderabad on Friday NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD Telangana ranks sixth in respect of registration of pro- jects under RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) while Andhra Pradesh occupies 13th position across the country. Telangana has 1,374 registered projects and 967 real estate agents under RERA, while Andhra Pradesh has 569 reg- istered projects and 79 real estate agents. Nationwide, as of 8th November, 2019, around 46,480 projects and 36,671 real estate agents have been registered under RERA. At 22,885, Maharashtra has the maximum number of regis- tered projects in the country and the state accounts for 21,869 agents. Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are among the list of top five states head- ed by Maharashtra. As per the data shared by Anarock Research, the deploy- ment of RERA, alongside an increase in the number of states and Union Territories, adds another level of certain- ty to the gradual revival of housing market. Even though about 5,000 projects have been approved in Telangana since January 2017, the registrations still add up to 1,374. On this, G Ram Reddy, Credai TS unit president said, "Telangana is doing well when it comes to implementation of RERA and everybody is falling in line now. Big projects have registered and there are small projects which are primarily not registered. Additionally, many projects since 1 January 2017 go to occupancy certifi- cate, while RERA started only since August 2018. Continued on Page 2 Even though about 5,000 projects have been approved in Telangana since January 2017, the registrations still add up to 1,374 KTR chairs TRS Parl party meeting Party president KCR skips for the first time L VENKAT RAM REDDY n HYDERABAD Officially speaking, TRS work- ing president KT Rama Rao may not be in reckoning as Chief Minister-in-waiting, with none other than party supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao stating during the recent Budget ses- sion of the Assembly that, contrary to media reports and political grapevine, KTR would not be made CM and that he himself would continue as Chief Minister for the next 10 years. Still, on Friday, KTR chaired the pink party's par- liamentary meeting for the first time, indicating that he is inching closer to take over the mantle. The meeting was held at Telangana Bhavan, TRS' head- quarters here, to devise the party's strategy for the upcom- ing winter session of Parliament. All Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members of the party attended the meeting. The meeting raised eye- brows because it was for the first time that TRS' parlia- mentary party meeting was held without KCR presiding over it. KCR has chaired all meet- ings of TRS parliamentary party since 2004. With KTR deputizing for KCR at the cru- cial meeting, the hot topic of discussion not only in TRS but also in other political circles is that at last KCR is preparing to hand over the baton to KTR. What lends credence to this postulate is that KCR has been noticeably staying away from party activities, having con- fined himself to administration of the state ever since he assumed office for a second term in December 2018. Two days after being sworn in as Chief Minister for a sec- ond term, KCR elevated his son as the party's working president. KTR was later given reins of the party activities with a mandate to ensure victory of TRS in the subsequent gram panchayat, Lok Sabha, mandal/ zilla parishad polls held between January and June 2019. He was not taken into the cabinet till all the elections were over and in which TRS emerged victorious. KTR was inducted into the cabinet in September and allot- ted the key portfolios of indus- tries, information technology, and municipal administration, which he held even in KCR's first term. TRS working president and Municipal Administration Minister KT Ramarao chairing the parliamentary party's meeting at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad on Friday The meeting was held at Telangana Bhavan, TRS' headquarters here, to devise the party's strategy for the upcoming winter session of Parliament. All Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members of the party attended the meeting CM post for Sena in three-party Mah govt KTR gets friend to help Bengaluru girl walk again PNS n HYDERABAD Ashfaq, a former defence staffer and grandson of Haji Qutubuddin, suspected mas- termind in the Kushinagar mosque blast, was nabbed by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) in Hyderabad on Friday. Investigating offi- cials revealed that Ashfaq was present at the site of the blast in a mosque at Bairagi Patti village under the Turk Patti Police Station area of Kushinagar district in eastern UP on November 11. Following leads, the UP police arrested Haji Qutubuddin at Gorakhpur near Indo-Nepal border late on Thursday night. Qutubuddin, who had report- edly brought around 10-12 kg of explosive to the village mosque in April this year, was arrested by the local police reportedly while he was try- ing to cross over to Nepal from the Gorakhpur border. His grandson, Mohd Ashfaq, was serving in the rank of major in the medical wing of Army in Hyderabad. He took voluntary retirement in 2017 and now works at the Military Hospital in Trimulgherry. Continued on Page 4 KUSHINAGAR MOSQUE BLAST Army Captain taken into custody from Hyd Math wizard, who challenged Einstein's theory, dies Family made to wait a day for ambulance TS ranks 6 th and AP 13 th in RERA compliance HYDERABAD WEATHER Current Weather Conditions Updated November 15, 2019 5:00 PM ALMANAC TODAY Month & Paksham: Kartik& Krishna Paksha Panchangam Tithi : Chaturthi: 07.14 pm Nakshatram: Ardra: 11:16 pm Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start any important work) Rahukalam: 09:12 am – 10:36 am Yamagandam: 01:24 pm – 02:48 pm Varjyam: 07-38 am - 09:14 am Gulika: 06:24 am - 07:48 am Good Time: (to start any important work) Amritakalam: 01:15 pm - 02:51 pm Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:38 am - 12:23 pm Forecast: Mostly Cloudy Temp: 28/20 Humidity: 79% Sunrise: 06.21 Sunset: 05.40
Transcript
@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:
MONEY 8‘RURAL CONSUMER SPENDINGSLUMPS TO 4-DECADE LOW’
OPINION 6DEMOCRATIC ONSLAUGHT
SPORTS 12DOUBLE DONE
& DUSTED
HYDERABAD, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2019; PAGES 12 `3
}BUNNY'SSTAR POWERTO THE FORE
Page 11www.dailypioneer.com
{
RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469
*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 37*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable
Established 1864Published From
HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH
BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA
PNS n MUMBAI
The chief minister's post inMaharashtra will go to theShiv Sena in the govern-ment being planned bythe saffron party with theNCP and the Congress,NCP chief spokesmanNawab Malik has said.
The Shiv Sena contestedthe October 21 Assemblypolls in alliance with theBJP as part of the'Mahayuti' (mega alliance),which was in a comfort-able position to form gov-ernment in the state, win-ning 161 seats in the 288-member house.
The two parties, howev-er, fell out after the UddhavThackeray-led party per-sisted with its demand ofsharing the chief minister'spost on a rotational basis.
The Sena is at presentworking with the NCP andthe Congress on a com-mon minimum pro-gramme (CMP) that willguide the actions of thegovernment the three par-ties plan to form.
"The chief minister willbe from the Shiv Sena. Itwalked away from the'Mahayuti' on the issue ofthe chief minister's post.
"It is our responsibilityto respect its sentiment,"Malik said.
Continued on Page 2
BJP to stagecountrywide stirseeking Rahul'sapologyPNS n NEW DELHI
The BJP will hold a nation-wide workers' programmeon Saturday to seekCongress leader RahulGandhi's apology over his"lies" on the Rafale issue,after the Supreme Courtgave a clean chit to theModi government in thematter on Thursday andrejected the petitions for areview of its earlier order.
Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) general secre-t a r yBhupenderYadav toldr e p o r t e r shere thatt h eC o n g r e s sand Gandhiwere "exposed" bythe apex court's verdict andthey should now tender anapology.
He also mocked theCongress's demand for aprobe in the issue, notingthat the court, in a unani-mous verdict, rejected thepetitions seeking a probe inthe purchase of Rafale fight-er aircraft and also quashedthe pleas for a review of itsorder.
BJP workers will holdnationwide protests at thedistrict level, Yadav said,adding that the ruling partycarried out a similar exercisein Delhi on Friday.
GHMC official,two scribes in ACB net PNS n HYDERABAD
Officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)caught a GHMC official andtwo local journalists fordemanding and taking Rs 2lakh as bribe on Friday.
The arrested persons wereidentified as SiddhantamMadhan Raj, Akula KiranGoud and Sopally Srinivas.Madhan Raj works with theGHMC Town Planning wingas a section officer for Circle- 18; Kiran is a reporter withAndhra Prabha, a Telugudaily; and Srinivas is areporter with ManaTelangana, another Telugudaily.
Continued on Page 2
Trump proposes83% hike incost to becomeUS citizenWASHINGTON: USPresident Donald Trump'sadministration has officiallyproposed an 83 per centincrease in cost to become anAmerican citizen, claimingthat "current fees do notrecover the full costs of pro-viding adjudication and nat-uralization services".
"The Department ofHomeland Security (DHS)proposes to adjust certainimmigration and naturaliza-tion benefit request feescharged by US Citizenshipand Immigration Services(USCIS)," Xinhua newsagency quoted a DHS state-ment as saying.
Delhi: Mostpolluted cityin the world NEW DELHI: Delhi hasearned the dubious distinc-tion of becoming the mostpolluted major city in theworld with an air qualityindex (AQI) of 527 on Friday,as per data by Air Visual onthe World AQI rankings.
The Air Visual data isupdated frequently, so thecaveat is that rankings andAQI counts change accord-ingly during the day itself.
Delhi air quality broke allrecords on November 5,when it was in the hazardousrange for nine consecutivedays, making this the longestspell of hazardous air quali-ty since public records began,according to Air Visual.
Centre mulls‘One nation,one pay day'NEW DELHI: To safeguardthe interests of workers in for-mal sector, particularly work-ing class, the Centre is plan-ning to introduce 'One nation,one pay day' system, LabourMinister Santosh Gangwarsaid on Friday. "There shouldbe a pan-India single wage dayevery month across varioussectors to ensure that workersget timely payment of salaries.Prime Minister NarendraModi is keen on this legislationto get passed soon. Similarly,we are also looking at uniformminimum wages across sectorswhich will safeguard betterlivelihood of workers," saidGangwar, while addressing at'Security Leadership Summit2019' here.
Sena-NCP-Cong govtto last 5 years: PawarPNS n NAGPUR
NCP chief Sharad Pawar onFriday said a Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government will beformed and it will completefive-year term as he ruled outthe possibility of mid-termpolls in Maharashtra which iscurrently under Presidentsrule.
He said the three partieswant to form a stable govern-ment which will be develop-ment-oriented.
There is no possibility ofmid-term polls. This govern-ment will be formed and it willcomplete five years. We all
will ensure this governmentruns for five years, Pawar toldreporters here.
Asked whether the BJP washolding discussion with theNCP over government forma-tion in the state, the formerUnion minister said his partywas holding talks with only theSena, the Congress and itsallies and nobody beyondthese.
He said the three parties areat present working out a com-mon minimum programme(CMP) that will guide theactions of the governmentbeing planned in the state.
Continued on Page 2
PNS n HYDERABAD
A good friend of Minister forMunicipal Administration,Industries and IT K T RamaRao has extended financialassistance to the tune of Rs90,000 to help Shilpa Reddy, agirl student from Bengaluru,purchase a brace needed in theprocess of her recovery from aspinal cord surgical treatment.
The cheque was handed overby the Minister to NandishReddy, father of Shilpa Reddy,on Friday. Shilpa is studyingClass X in a GovernmentEnglish Medium High Schoolat Konappana Agrahara inElectronics City, Bengaluru.
The Minister tweeted: "Sincethe girl is from Karnataka, wecouldn't help her from Govt.But a good friend, who wantsto be anonymous, has come for-ward to support Shilpa. Handedover the cheque today."
Rama Rao's friend came for-ward to help since assistancecould not be extended by theTelangana State Government asthe girl hails from Karnataka.
In fact, the girl made touch-ing appeals that she wanted togo to school and study like allothers and that Telugu super-star Mahesh Babu helped herundergo a spinal surgery. And,a belt was required for treat-ment of legs that would cost Rs.1.10 lakh, of which she had paidRs. 20,000. Shilpa Reddy tweet-ed even to Karnataka ChiefMinister for help.
According to reports, DrSumanth Kumar, ClinicalProsthetic and Orthosis, saidthe automated Knee Ankle
Foot Orthosis (KAFO) brace, iffixed, would ensure that shedoesn't need any help as theautomatic lock system of thebrace would help her walkindependently.
Nandish Reddy thanked theMinister and his friend profuse-ly for extending help to hisdaughter.
Tribal Welfare MinisterSatyavathi Rathod, City MayorBonthu Rammohan and for-mer Minister NayaniNarasimha Reddy were presenton the occasion.
PNS n WASHINGTON
A US-based Indian profession-al, whose name was listed inthe Green Card backlog, diedsuddenly and as a result hisnewly-wedded wife has beenrendered out of status result-ing in her inevitable return toIndia, a media report said.
Based in Tampa, PrashanthPadal, a native of Telangana,died after a heart attack onNovember 9, The AmericanBazaar said in its report onThursday. He had married hiswife, Sindhu, only four monthsago in India. She had justrecently moved to the USwith Padal.
Padal's death comes afterShiva Chalapathi Raju fromNorth Carolina, whose namewas also in the Green Cardbacklog, passed away sudden-ly in October, leaving his preg-
nant wife in limbo.The North America Telugu
Society has started a fundrais-er to help Padal's family.Through the Go Fund Mecampaign, the organization isactively working with familymembers and friends to makeall funeral arrangements andextend fund-raising support.
The fundraiser with a goalof $100,000 has alreadyreceived contributions of$58,409 in two days since itwas started.
Prashanth Padal
Another Telugutechie in US GreenCard backlog dies
PNS n PATNA
At a time when family membersof departed math wizardVashishtha Narayan Singh wereseething with indignity andanger at having been made towait for an ambulance to bringhome his body, Bihar ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar onThursday expressed grief overthe death of the renownedmathematician. The 74-year-old mathemtician, who hasworked at NASA and CaliforniaUniversity, is credited for chal-
lenging Einstein's theory of rel-ativity. The family of VashishthaNarayan Singh, who passedaway on Thursday at PMCH inPatna after prolonged illness,has accused the hospital ofnegligence. They alleged thatthey had to keep the mathemati-cian's body outside the hospitalas the management kept themwaiting for an ambulance.
A video clip, which was airedon various news channels andin social media after the death,showed Singh's younger broth-er Ayodhya Prasad Singh stand-
ing with his body on a stretch-er outside the emergency wardof the premier Bihar hospital.On why did not he contact anyofficial for help, Ayodhya Singh,while showing the death certifi-cate provided by the PMCH,said "Whom should I tell myproblem. There is no one to lis-ten to my problem. I will takethe body to my native villageBasantpur in Bhojpur in hiredprivate ambulance. "The gov-ernment never paid attentiontowards Singh's treatment", healleged.
‘MODINOMICS’ STINKS SO BAD, GOVT HAS TO HIDE ITS OWN REPORTSNEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhiattacked PM Narendra Modi on Friday over anofficial survey which reportedly points to a fall inconsumer spending and said "Modinomics stinksso bad", the government has to hide its ownreports. A media report cited the latestconsumption expenditure survey by the NationalStatistical Office (NSO) to claim that consumerspending fell for the first time inmore than four decades in2017-18, primarily driven byslackening rural demand.The report also claimed theNSO report was approved tobe released on June 19, 2019,but was withheld by thegovernment agencyowing to its"adverse" findings.
‘SCARED’ OPPOSITION NOT UNITED : SHARAD YADAVGHAZIABAD: Former union minister Sharad Yadavon Friday claimed that opposition leaders are notunited as they are "scared" that the centralgovernment might lodge cases against them."Some leaders like Chidambaram are in jail whileothers are on bail," Yadav told reporters here.Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram is lodgedin Tihar Jail under judicial custody in the ED'smoney-laundering case. "Opposition leaders arescared of central government thatcases can be lodged againstthem ... that is why oppositionparties are not united and theruling BJP is takingadvantage of it," he said atthe residenceof a RashtriyaLok Dalleader here.
Minister for Municipal Administration, Industries and IT KT Ramarao handing overthe cheque to Shilpa Reddy's father Nandish Reddy in Hyderabad on Friday
NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD
Telangana ranks sixth inrespect of registration of pro-jects under RERA (Real EstateRegulatory Authority) whileAndhra Pradesh occupies 13thposition across the country.Telangana has 1,374 registeredprojects and 967 real estateagents under RERA, whileAndhra Pradesh has 569 reg-istered projects and 79 realestate agents.
Nationwide, as of 8thNovember, 2019, around46,480 projects and 36,671real estate agents have beenregistered under RERA. At22,885, Maharashtra has themaximum number of regis-tered projects in the country
and the state accounts for21,869 agents. Gujarat,Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh andMadhya Pradesh are amongthe list of top five states head-ed by Maharashtra.
As per the data shared byAnarock Research, the deploy-ment of RERA, alongside anincrease in the number of
states and Union Territories,adds another level of certain-ty to the gradual revival ofhousing market.
Even though about 5,000projects have been approved inTelangana since January 2017,the registrations still add up to1,374. On this, G Ram Reddy,Credai TS unit president said,
"Telangana is doing well whenit comes to implementation ofRERA and everybody is fallingin line now. Big projects haveregistered and there are smallprojects which are primarilynot registered. Additionally,many projects since 1 January2017 go to occupancy certifi-cate, while RERA started onlysince August 2018.
Continued on Page 2
Even though about5,000 projects havebeen approved inTelangana sinceJanuary 2017, theregistrations still addup to 1,374
KTR chairs TRS Parlparty meeting Party president KCR skips for the first time
L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD
Officially speaking, TRS work-ing president KT Rama Raomay not be in reckoning asChief Minister-in-waiting,with none other than partysupremo and Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao statingduring the recent Budget ses-sion of the Assembly that,contrary to media reports andpolitical grapevine, KTR wouldnot be made CM and that hehimself would continue asChief Minister for the next 10years.
Stil l , on Friday, KTRchaired the pink party's par-liamentary meeting for thefirst time, indicating that he isinching closer to take over themantle.
The meeting was held atTelangana Bhavan, TRS' head-quarters here, to devise theparty's strategy for the upcom-ing winter session ofParliament. All Lok Sabha andRajya Sabha members of theparty attended the meeting.
The meeting raised eye-brows because it was for thefirst time that TRS' parlia-mentary party meeting washeld without KCR presidingover it.
KCR has chaired all meet-ings of TRS parliamentaryparty since 2004. With KTR
deputizing for KCR at the cru-cial meeting, the hot topic ofdiscussion not only in TRS butalso in other political circles isthat at last KCR is preparing tohand over the baton to KTR.What lends credence to thispostulate is that KCR has beennoticeably staying away fromparty activities, having con-fined himself to administrationof the state ever since heassumed office for a secondterm in December 2018.
Two days after being swornin as Chief Minister for a sec-ond term, KCR elevated hisson as the party's working
president. KTR was later givenreins of the party activities witha mandate to ensure victory ofTRS in the subsequent grampanchayat, Lok Sabha, mandal/zilla parishad polls heldbetween January and June2019. He was not taken intothe cabinet till all the electionswere over and in which TRSemerged victorious.
KTR was inducted into thecabinet in September and allot-ted the key portfolios of indus-tries, information technology,and municipal administration,which he held even in KCR'sfirst term.
TRS working president and Municipal Administration Minister KT Ramarao chairingthe parliamentary party's meeting at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad on Friday
The meeting was held at Telangana Bhavan,TRS' headquarters here, to devise the party'sstrategy for the upcoming winter session ofParliament. All Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabhamembers of the party attended the meeting
CM post for Sena inthree-party Mah govt
KTR gets friend to helpBengaluru girl walk again
PNS n HYDERABAD
Ashfaq, a former defencestaffer and grandson of HajiQutubuddin, suspected mas-termind in the Kushinagarmosque blast, was nabbed bythe Uttar Pradesh Anti-TerrorSquad (ATS) in Hyderabadon Friday. Investigating offi-cials revealed that Ashfaqwas present at the site of theblast in a mosque at BairagiPatti village under the TurkPatti Police Station area ofKushinagar district in easternUP on November 11.
Following leads, the UPpolice arrested HajiQutubuddin at Gorakhpurnear Indo-Nepal border lateon Thursday night.Qutubuddin, who had report-edly brought around 10-12 kgof explosive to the villagemosque in April this year, wasarrested by the local policereportedly while he was try-ing to cross over to Nepalfrom the Gorakhpur border.
His grandson, MohdAshfaq, was serving in therank of major in the medicalwing of Army in Hyderabad.He took voluntary retirementin 2017 and now works at theMilitary Hospital inTrimulgherry.
Continued on Page 4
KUSHINAGARMOSQUE BLAST
Army Captaintaken into custodyfrom Hyd
Math wizard, who challengedEinstein's theory, diesFamily made to wait a day for ambulance
TS ranks 6th and AP 13th in RERA compliance
HYDERABADWEATHER
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HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2019 hyderabad 02
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Minister Gangula Kamalakar and others at HealthMinister Etela Rajender daughter's wedding ceremony in Hyderabad on Friday
The officials are making fool-proof arrangements for thebiennial Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara, also knownas the Medaram Jatara, to beheld in February next year. Forthe purpose, the concernedofficials from various depart-ments undertook differentdevelopment programmes tocater to the needs of the devo-tees, who are going to throngthe Jatara site.
The biennial jatara is likelyto attract one crore odd devo-tees from various parts of thecountry and this tribal festivalis likely to grab the Nation'sattention this time with theTelangana government pitch-ing for according national fes-tival status for the Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara.
The authorities of erstwhileWarangal district and the Jatarapreparatory committees havechalked out a budget of Rs 19crore under the rural waterscheme implementationprocess and this rural water
scheme works allocation islikely to be captured by agroup of contractors who havesufficient experience in the
scheme implementationprocess.
Also, the committee mem-bers have allocated Rs 6.5
crore to set up toilet facilitiesat the jatara site. On Friday thetenders for these works werefinalised and the groups bid-ding these works were allocat-ed with the works so as tospeed up the execution ofworks.
Last month, Tribal MinisterSathyavathi Rathod asked theofficials to complete all theworks before Sankranthi.They observed that with therush of devotees to MedaramJatara increasing every year,permanent structures areneeded to be constructed ina planned manner. Theywanted the officials to ensurethat shortfalls and errorsexperienced during the pre-vious festivities are notrepeated under any circum-stance.
The Ministers asked theofficials to deploy staff whohad experience working duringMedaram Jatara. They statedthat CM has released Rs 75 crfor the festivities and asked theofficials not to compromise inproviding quality service.
Jatara is likely to attract over 1 crdevotees and is likely to grab thenation's attention this time with theTS govt pitching for accordingnational status for the biennial festival
Harish makessurprise visit toprocurement centren Asks officials to supply gunny bagsewing thread free of cost to farmersPNS n SANGAREDDY
Finance Minister T Harish Raohas asked the staff at the paddyprocurement centre not tocharge the farmers for sewingthread of gunny bags. Makinga surprise visit to the paddyprocurement centre atGongulur village of PulkalMandal on his way to Singur inSangareddy district on Friday,the Finance Minister saw anotice board asking farmers tobring their own sewing thread.
Asking the procurementcentre's staff to supply thethread at their own expense, he
said the State governmentnever charged farmers for suchthings. Rao also instructed theSangareddy District CollectorM Hanumantha Rao to ensuresupply of sewing thread free ofcost at all the procurement cen-tres in the district. The Ministeralso interacted with the farm-ers to know about their issuesat the procurement centre.When the farmers complainedabout the delay in releasinghamali (Labour) charges, Raodirected the officials to depositthe hamali charges in farmers'bank accounts without anydelay.
Generations of this family saw Ayodhya conflict unfoldPNS n AYODHYA
Eighty-three-year-old RamKishore Goswami says he stillrecalls the sound of `azaan'from the Babri Masjid neigh-bouring his nearly 200-year-old house and how as a childhe played around the historicmosque with no securityforces around.
His sons Neeraj and Nikhil,both born in the 80s, vividlyrecount the day the Mughal-era mosque was demolishedby a frenzied army of karsevaks in 1992, an unsettlingsight the duo saw straightfrom the rooftop of theirgrand home `ShringarBhawan', about 300 metresfrom the disputed site.
The kar sevaks were somad, they appeared possessedand with iron rods and otherobjects knocked down thethree domes of the 16th cen-tury Babri Masjid one by one,engulfing the skyline in acloud of smoke, whose reper-cussions were felt across thecountry, said Neeraj Goswami,who was just 10 years old then.
Successive generations ofthe Goswamis have livedthrough the multiple phases ofthe Ramjanmabhoomi-BabriMasjid dispute, and the his-toric Supreme Court verdict inthe case has come as a relief forthe family.
On November 9, it felt likea weight had come off ourchest. In over 80 years of mylife, I have heard stories frommy father, grandfather aboutthe Ramjanmabhoomi, theBabri Masjid that stood theretill 1992 and so many legendsassociated with both. I am gladthe dispute has been resolved,Goswami told PTI.
Ramjanmabhoomi is a holysite for us and I am happyabout the verdict. ButAyodhya's people are peace-loving and so communal har-mony should be maintained,he said.
Enfeebled by age, Goswaminow spends most of his timeindoors as his wife and sonstake care of him. The stories ofRam Lalla and the festivals cel-ebrated near the mosque in the60s and the 70s, often figure intheir conversation.
Despite having lived in suchclose proximity to the disput-ed site, I as a child was neveraware of any dispute. The areawas more like a playground forus kids, he said.
It was only in December1949, when an idol of LordRam was surreptitiously placedin the mosque and passed offas a miraculous appearance,that I realised the import of thecase, Goswami added. Indiawas then just two years old asa free nation. The wounds ofPartition had not healed yet.
After the 1949 idol incident,announcements were madethrough loudspeakers mount-ed on 'tongas' that Lord Ramhad appeared to galvanise theHindus, the octogenarianclaimed.
"As a child, I rememberhearing 'azaans' from themosque. It ceased to happenfrom the early 1950s, he said.
Shringar Bhawan has beenwith the Goswamis for gener-ations. Ram KishoreGoswami's great-grandfatherDayalal Goswami moved toAyodhya from Vrindavan,according to the patriarchyounger son Nikhil Goswami.
Dayalal Goswami boughtthis 'kothi' which also has atemple inside and a hugecourtyard. Since then our fam-ily has been performing 'puja'here. And I have grown uphere seeing a huge securityforce around us all the time,Nikhil Goswami, 33, said.
The young Goswami toorecalls the fateful day ofDecember 6, 1992 when karsevaks from different parts ofthe country overran Ayodhya,flooding the street in front ofShringar Bhawan and theRamjanmabhoomi Marg thatled to the disputed site.
He said Dayalal Goswamimust have been alive in 1885,when Mahant Raghubir Dasfiled a plea in Faizabad districtcourt seeking permission tobuild a canopy outside the dis-puted structure. The plea wasrejected. "My father witnessedthe 1949 episode. We saw the1992 demolition of themosque and the next genera-tion in the Goswami familywill see the Ram Temple, allliving next to theRamjanmabhoomi site," hesaid. In a landmark verdict, theSupreme Court on November9 granted the entire 2.77 acreof the disputed land inAyodhya to the Ram Lalladeity for the construction of atemple. It also ruled that analternative five-acre plot mustbe found at a "prominent"place for a mosque in the holytown.
Woman held forabusive texts tohubby’s first wifePNS n HYDERABAD
The Rachakonda Cybercrimepolice arrested a 39-year-oldwoman for sending derogato-ry text messages to her hus-band's first wife in NorthLalaguda . The arrested wasidentified as V Subashini.
Subashini reportedly lefther first husband to getmarried to VenkateshwarRao in 1999. Venkateshwarwas also married and hadtwo children. He alsoreportedly hid his secondmarriage from his first wifeand started to live separate-ly from his first wife and forthe last three years inVijayawada. However, hisfirst wife came to knowabout his marriage withSubashini and dispute arosebetween the two.
In December 2018, Rao'sson from his first marriagedied. After the funeral, hestarted living with his firstwife again since January2019. Subashini bore agrudge against the first wife,following which she sentabusive and derogatory textmessages to her, said thepolice.
Revenueofficials fearfor lifePNS n JAGTIAL
The officials in the Tahsildaroffice in Ibrahimpatnam ofJagtial district are nowaddressing the people’s griev-ances through the window toavoid any untoward inci-dents.
This move comes overweek after a MRO VijayaReddy was burnt alive in heroffice at Abdullapurmet onthe outskirts of Hyderabad. Insome places, the officials arecarrying pepper sprays tothe workplaces.
However, in rare cases,people after being checked bythe VRAs are only allowedinside the office. Meanwhile,the public fumed over theofficials for coming up withnutty ideas to protect them-selves. They also alleged thatthe incidents will not getrepeated if the officials workproperly.
MRO Vijaya Reddy was seton fire at her officer inAbdullapurmet by one Sureshover a land row. A few daysafter in Kamareddy, a consta-ble allegedly threatened aTahsildar to dire conse-quences for not completinghis work. The series of inci-dents have panicked the offi-cials who have set up barri-ers in their offices so thatpeople can't approach themdirectly.Continued from Page1
Consequently, projects withOCs have not gone for regis-trations." Experts attribute thelow registrations in AndhraPradesh to the small numberof projects that came up. Headded, "In Andhra Pradesh,the registrations are definitelylow as not many projects cameup due to Government change,political scenario. The rules arealso different; so, not many areregistering". Even in the com-bined Andhra Pradesh, theshare of Hyderabad was signif-icant, so RERA registrationsare higher.
C Shekar Reddy, Chairman,Indian Green Building Council- Hyderabad, said, "Even incombined Andhra Pradesh, thenumber of apartments deliv-ered in Hyderabad was wayhigher than in Vishakapatnamand Vijawayada. Apartmentculture is less in AndhraPradesh and builders arefocused in Visakhapatnam,
Vijaywada, Guntur,Rajahmundry, Kakinada andthat too in very small numbers."
Experts opine that statescannot be compared with oneanother as the number ofdevelopers varies. He said,"Most of the professionaldevelopers are registered inTelangana as housing andfinancial institutions ask forRERA number and they can-not advertise and participate inproperty shows. By registering,they comply with all normsand are good for marketing."
It may be mentioned herethat projects such as apart-ment complexes of more thaneight units or layouts andagents have to register them-selves under the Real Estate(Regulation andDevelopment) Act 2016.About a fortnight ago, SomeshKumar, Chairman of TS-RERA,said that the TelanganaGovernment would shortly doan overhaul of the TS-RERA soas to make it more effective.
GHMC official,two scribesnabbed by ACBfor taking...Continued from Page 1
According to ACB officials,the trio had demanded andaccepted Rs 2 lakh as bribefrom the complainant. Thecomplainant, identified asKeshav Reddy from JubileeHills, had approached ACBafter they had asked for abribe for not taking actionagainst him in connectionwith a shed he had erected onhis building.
ACB officials then laid atrap and caught the trio red-handed when they acceptedthe bribe on Friday. All theaccused have been sent tojudicial remand.
Visitors look at the carved stone slabs to be used for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya
Successive generations of Goswamishave lived through the multiple phasesof the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjiddispute, and the historic SupremeCourt verdict in the case has come as a relief for the family
CM post will go to Sena in three-party...Continued from Page 1
The three parties are likely tobe part of the government andnegotiations on sharing portfo-lios among them are on, sourcessaid.
Earlier, the Congress wasexpected to support the govern-ment from outside.
"The Congress must be partof the government to ensure itsstability," sources in the NCPsaid.
The BJP emerged as the sin-gle largest party, winning 105seats in the election, followed bythe Shiv Sena with 56 seats.
The NCP and the Congress,also pre-poll allies, won 54 and44 seats, respectively.
Any party or alliance seekingto form government in thestate needs to secure support ofat least 145 MLAs on the floorof the House.
Sena-NCP-Conggovt to last 5...Continued from Page 1
Representatives of the three par-ties met in Mumbai on Thursdayand prepared a draft CMP.Pawar took a dig at DevendraFadnavis remark that the ShivSena-NCP-Congress govern-ment will not survive for morethan six months. I knowDevendra ji for some years. ButI did not know he is a studentof astrology too, Pawar quipped.Pawar took a jibe at Fadnavisover his mi punha yein (I willcome again) remark. It is alrighthe said it. I was thinking some-thing else all the while: I willcome again, I will come again,I will come again. Now, you (thereporter) is giving some otherinformation, he added.
Bus passengers hurt inaccident in KarimagnarPNS n KARIMNAGAR
Three lorries and an RTC buswere involved in an accidentnear Erukulla on RajivRahadari on the outskirts ofKarimangar town. A few pas-sengers travelling in the busreceived injuries.
According to locals, one ofthe tyres of a lorry got punc-tured while passing throughErukulla. While the driverwas trying to park the vehiclebesides the road, two otherlorries and an RTC bus behindthe first lorry rammed eachother. Some of the passengerstravelling in the bus wereinjured. The alert locals res-cued the passengers by break-ing the windowpanes andshifted them to hospital
Two run over by truck on outskirts
Two motorcyclists werekilled on the spot when anoncoming truck ran overt he i r motorbike ne arAlgunur on the outskirts ofKar imnagar town. Thetruck was coming fromWaranga l s ide toKar imnagar, w hi le t hemotorcyclists were going inthe opposite direction whenthe truck ran over them.The deceased were identi-fied as Chindam Sai Kiranand Sriramula Sai Krishna.The bodies have been shift-ed to the government hos-pital mortuary for autopsy.Both were residents ofKarimnagar town.
Finance Minister Harish Rao interacts with officials at a procurement centre
PNS n HYDERABAD
Governor Dr TamilisaiSoundararajan inaugurated the7th Annual Conference of theBreast Imaging Society of IndiaBISICON 2019 in Hyderabadon Friday. About 500 radiolo-gists, who sub-specialize inbreast imaging, from acrossIndia and other SAARCnations, are attending the three-day international convention.Speaking on the occasion, DrSoundararajan has called forenhanced awareness about theailment among Indian women.
Breast Cancer now in manyparts of India has become thecommonest cancer in women!
Unfortunately, our health caresystem due to its limitedresources is not able to grap-ple with this explosion. Inaddition, the presentation ofbreast cancer in Indian
women is variegated, as Indiais an amalgam of different cul-tures, dietary habits &lifestyles. Differing standardsof Breast Imaging and report-ing compound this problem;
and a convention like BISI-CON 2019 helps in bringingthe best knowledge in thefield to address the emergingdifficulties.
Dr. László Tabár, a vision-
ary physician, researcher, andeducator who has contributedsignificantly in the worldwidefight against breast cancer isthe main attraction at BISI-CON 2019. In a career span-ning over 40 years, he hasworked tirelessly to reduce oreliminate suffering and deathfrom the disease; and Dr.Tabár would share his expe-rience. His pioneeringresearch has laid the founda-tion for early detectionthrough modern mammo-graphic screening. As a clin-ician, he has applied hisexpertise to the interpretationof well over one millionmammograms.
HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2019 hyderabad 03
RIMEORNERC
Farmer dies inhoneybees' attack
Afarmer, busy in harvestingpaddy in his fields was stung to
death by a swarm of bees inBegumpet village of Rajapetmandal here on Friday. The farmer,Balijagidem Anjaiah (60) died whilebeing rushed to Gandhi Hospital inHyderabad in an ambulance. Hiswife and two sons were alsoinjured in the bee attack. The familymembers were busy harvestingpaddy when bees from a nearbeehive on a tree attacked them.The hapless family members ran toshelter as the swarm attackedthem, but could not save Anjaiah.His wife Uppalamma and two sonsKrishna and Naveen got injuredwhile trying to save Anjaiah. Thethree family members have beenshifted to a hospital at Bhongir forthe treatment to the stings theysustained. Their condition was saidto be out of danger.
Two jailed forassaultingtraffic cop
Alocal court sentenced twopersons, including a woman to
three months of imprisonment forassaulting a traffic policepersonnel on duty on Thursday.The arrested were identified asHarshitha Thourani and B SaiKishore. According to the police,the incident occurred in January2016. The duo were riding amotorbike on the wrong side atDammaiguda crossroads andwere stopped by Ch. Venkatesh, ahome guard, who was thenposted at Malkajgiri traffic policestation. Venkatesh clickedpictures of the violation. The duonoticed this and started abusinghim. Harshitha assaultedVenkatesh and damaged thecamera. Sai Kishore too joinedher in assaulting the cop. Basedon a complaint from Venkatesh,the Keesara police booked a caseand arrested the duo.
Fire breaks out at fruit market
Amajor fire broke out at a fruitmarket in front of Raithu
Bazar at Erragadda under SRpolice station limits in the weehours on Friday. The fire eruptedin a fruit shop that was laterspread to three shops. All theshops were completely gutted.However, no casualties have beenreported. Locals doused the fireand alerted the police whoreached the spot and inspectedthe area. The reason for the fire isyet to be ascertained. On October27, a major fire engulfed a tyregodown near Sushma theatrearound 5 pm.
PNS n HYDERABAD
In a bid to make life easier forsenior citizens, Telangana gov-ernment developed 'T-App',wherein pensioners can submittheir life certificate without vis-iting either banks or treasuryoffices.
Principal Secretary JayeshRanjan said, "It is a mandatethat the pensioners mustappear physically once in a yearto prove that they are alive.Here we developed an App tohelp them. With its help, thepensioner of the State govern-ment can submit their life cer-tificate through 'T-App' with-out visiting either pensiondrawing banks or treasuryoffices. They can even posttheir selfie as proof that theyare alive".
Authorities judge the pictureshared on the app for the live-liness with 99.5% accuracy.Principal Secretary, shared theinformation while giving aninaugural address at 3rdUNMUKT Knowledge Seriesat T-Hub on Friday.
Jayesh Ranjan, who was theChief Guest at the programmesaid, "Any technology devel-oped for senior citizens caremust be inclusive. Elderly peo-
ple have many pressing andunmet needs. Technology cananswer some of those needs.Elderly people have livelihoodissues. A survey conductedsome six years ago in the cityrevealed that 60 per cent ofpeople who beg at 100 trafficjunctions are elderly destitute".
Speaking further Ranjanadded that quite a lot of devel-
opers in the city like Saket havedeveloped separate townshipsfor the elderly. They haveelderly retirement homes. SaketPranaam, was one amongst thefirst few to have constructed anActive Adult RetirementCommunity, is a facility-enriched gated community, heshared.
The event was organised by
UNMUKT Festival, India'sfirst comprehensive platform toserve both providers and cus-tomers in the senior care com-munity. The theme for theUNMUKT Knowledge Serieswas "Technology--DrivingGrowth in Senior Care". Itwas organised in partnershipwith T-Hub, RICH, Action forIndia, and AssistiveTechnology Accelerator. Theday-long program comprisedof many talks, sessions andpanel discussion.
Some of the issues dealtwere The Changing Face ofIndian Seniors, TransformativeImpact of Artificial Intelligenceon Senior Life, VoiceTechnology its role in enablingsenior the independence theydeserve; The Connected Care,Usage of Data in Senior Care;Harnessing AI & Analytics toMaximise Efficacy etc and oth-ers.
All in all the 3rd UnmuktKnowledge Series forumfocused on the intersection oftechnology and senior care,exploring the potential of anunprecedented confluence ofdemographic and technologi-cal trends that were creating anopportunity, too compelling toignore.
n Elderly can submit life certificate without visiting banks or treasury offices
Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan and others at 3rd UNMUKT Knowledge Series at T-Hub on Friday
Any technology developed for senior citizens caremust be inclusive. Elderly people have manypressing and unmet needs
— JAYESH RANJAN, Principal SSecretary
AYODHYA VERDICT
Sedition casebooked againstMuslim women PNS n HYDERABAD
The Hyderabad police regis-tered a case against a group ofMuslim women under sedi-tion who offered namaz andorganised a meeting, protest-ing the Supreme Court's ver-dict in the Babri masjid landdispute. More than 100women, including young girlsled by Jille Huma alias HumaIslahi and Sabista gathered atthe Ujale Shah Eidgah groundat Saidabad. They offeredprayers, raised slogans con-demning the judgement.
The police were acting upona complaint filed by one DinDayal Singh, sub-inspector ofpolice - Saidabad. The com-plainant cited that the group ofwomen offered namaz andorganised a meeting withoutseeking police permission.Two women, Huma andSaghufta, both residents ofSaidabad, had led a prayercongregation at the Ujale ShahEidgah grounds on Thursdayevening in view of theSupreme Court verdict on theAyodhya issue.
Muslim women hailingfrom Jeevanyarjung colony,Saidabad, conducted the meet-ing. During the meeting,Huma Islahi criticised the
judgment pronounced by theSupreme Court regarding theRama Janma Bhoomi/BabriMasjid land dispute. Shealleged that the SC judge-ment was in favour of Hindus,and it appears to have beenpronounced because of some-body's orders.
She further stated that theSC verdict is part of a plan."The Supreme Court deliveredthe judgement based on theHindu faith and thus denyingfacts and evidence. The judg-ment made Muslims into vic-tims and the powerless. Evenif the entire Hindustan isgiven for the Masjid, we willnot leave an inch of the BabriMasjid land," said HumaIslahi. She added that theywouldn't leave the issue unlessand until Masjid is built at thesame place. Masjid was therein the past and present, and itwill be there in the future.
The participants sharedbanners that represent theirthoughts. Some featured theBabri Masjid and the SupremeCourt side by side, and someelaborated on the BabriMasjid's presence in the past,present, and the future. Theyalso gave a press release stat-ing that they will constructBabri Masjid.
Blaize todoubleheadcountin a yearPNS n HYDERABAD
Blaize, formerly known asThinci on Friday announcedthat it would increase it head-count by 450 in a year. Thecompany whose currentheadcount is 325 globallyhas about 225 employees inHyderabad. To develop 5more chips by 2023, the com-pany will be hiring moreengineers.
Blaize unveiled the first trueGraph-Native silicon architec-ture and software platformbuilt to process neural networksand enable AI applicationswith unprecedented efficienc.Driven by advances in energyefficiency, flexibility, and usabil-ity, Blaize products enable arange of existing and new AIuse cases in the automotive,smart vision, and enterprisecomputing segments, wherethe company is engaged withearly access customers.
Dinakar Munagala, co-founder and CEO, Blaizesaid, "Blaize was founded ona vision of a better way tocompute the workloads of thefuture by rethinking the fun-damental software andprocessor architecture. It is aspecial day for the entireteam in Hyderabad which hasplayed a crucial role in help-ing us in realising this vision.
School bus turnsturtle at MadhapurHYDERABAD: A private school bus lost con-trol and turned turtle at Ayyappa Society inMadhapur here on Friday morning. There wereno students in the bus at the time of the acci-dent, police said. The incident occurred around7 am when the mini bus belonging to SwetchaSchool in Ayyappa Society was going to pick upstudents. The driver who was allegedly drivingquite fast, lost control of the wheel leading tothe accident, officials said. The Madhapurpolice are investigating the case.
PNS n HYDERABAD
The Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) will be organis-ing a special drive to col-lect debris from all thepublic places or roadside.Minister KT Rama Raohas directed the GHMCto conduct a ten-day spe-cial drive for collection ofC&D waste from all thepublic places and roadside by all the ZonalCommissioners ofGHMC in their respectivejurisdiction, so that theproblem of debris isresolved.
The civic body noticedthat the concerned fieldofficials are not payingrequired attention to theissue of unauthoriseddumping of debris by thepublic in both residentialand commercial areas.
Even the penalties arenot imposed on a regularbasis and no proper mon-itoring is being done lead-ing to formation of C&DVulnerable Point(CDVP).
Even Hyderabad C&Dwaste pvt ltd (HCDWPL),who is the concessionairefor C&D project of
GHMC noted that nopickup slips are beinggenerated by the con-cerned authorised offi-cials (AMOHs) due towhich the 25 tonner'svehicles engaged by themare lying idle.
Due to the aforesaidreasons, the GHMC hasdecided to conduct a spe-
cial drive for collection ofdebris between 20-29November during whichperiod all the ZonalCommissioners shouldensure that their designat-ed officials shall ensurereheaping of smallerdumps at designatedpoint and raise the pick-up slips and post theupdate of issuing pickupslips.
GHMC slammedfield officials for not paying attentionto issue ofunauthoriseddumping of debrisby the public inboth residential andcommercial areas
Debris collection drive from Nov 20
PNS n HYDERABAD
The first steps towards a newbuilding for the RachakondaCommissionerate, which cur-rently operates from a rent-ed building, were madeParvatapur near Medipallyhere on Friday, with the foun-dation stone for the com-pound wall being laid.
Home MinisterMohammed Mahmood Alilaid the foundation stonealong with Director Generalof Police M Mahender Reddy.Currently, the RachakondaPolice Commissionerateoperates from a temporarybuilding over a 28,000 squarefeet area at Neredmet.
The government has allot-ted 53 acres for the commis-sionerate in Medipally inMedchal-Malkajgiri districtand 33 acres for an ARHeadquarters at Yadadri-Bhongir district.
Foundation laid for new RachakondaCommissionerate building
Venkateshwarassumes chargeas DG-PIB (TS)PNS n HYDERABAD
S Venkateshwar, a senior offi-cer of the Indian InformationService (IIS) - 1989 batch hasassumed charge as DirectorGeneral (Telangana Region)of Press Information Bureau,Hyderabad on Saturday.
Venkateshwar had earlierworked in Doordarshan, AIRand PIB, Bangalore. He willalso head the RegionalOutreach Bureau ofthe I &BMinistry.The ROBhas beenformed,clubbingt h r e em e d i aunits of theMinistry viz. Directorate ofAdvertising and VisualPublicity, Directorate of FieldPublicity and Song & DramaDivision. He will also lookafter the Department ofPublications Division.
OU degreeexamspostponedPNS n HYDERABAD
The Osmania Universityadministration has post-poned degree semesterexams by two days i.e, theexams which are sup-posed to be held fromNovember 19 will beconducted fromNovember 22, said exam-ination controller Prof.Sriram Venkatesh. Thefirst, third and fifthsemester exams of BA,BCom, BSc, BBA examswere postponed for thesecond time due to vari-ous reasons. It is said thatthe private college man-agement has delayed thesubmission of fee docu-ments which resulted inthe rescheduling ofexams. Earlier, the OUexams were supposed tobe held on November 13and were later postponedto November 19.
Dutch poultry industry toshare expertise with IndiaPNS n HYDERABAD
The Dutch poultry industrywill share its expertise andexperiences with businessleaders and relevant stake-holders in the Indian poultrysector at a session to be heldhere on November 25. TheNetherlands BusinessSupport Office (NBSO),Hyderabad will host the thirdedit ion of the "DutchKnowledge Day" at NovotelHICC on the eve of 13thPoultry India meet.
Bas Rodenburg of UtrechtUniversity and JasperHeerkens of Aeres Centrewill deliver sessions focusedon the possibilities and chal-lenges offered by cage-freehousing of laying hens andalso on the 'alternative cagesystems' available in the mar-ket. These sessions aim at
improving the poultry hus-bandry in India by develop-ing indigenous housing solu-tions and novel and sustain-able feed strategies. Theywill also talk about howpoultry welfare not onlyfocuses on the animalaspects of welfare like feath-er pecking, foot pad lesions,beak treatment, tail biting,but also its societal impor-tance.
Ajay Odathekal, TheNetherlands TradeCommissioner for AndhraPradesh and Telangana, saidthe Netherlands look at Indiaas a strategic partner and iskeen to work with India infinding solutions to the chal-lenges faced by the industry.He noted that for Dutch com-panies, India is a learningground and not merely a des-tination for their products.
Guv calls for awareness on breast cancer
Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali laying the foundation stone for theconstruction of Rachakonda Commissionerate in the city on Friday
T-App feature to help sr citizens draw pension
HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2019 hyderabad 04
‘SCR READY TO EXTENDMMTS UP TO YADADRI' K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD
South Central Railway (SCR)is ready to extend Hyderabad'sMulti-Modal Transport System(MMTS) up to Yadadri andJangaon from Falaknuma,according to Bhongir MPKomatireddy Venkat Reddy.
However, the SCR askedKomatireddy Venkat Reddyto bring a letter from ChiefSecretary SK Joshi admittingthat the state government is notready to bear 50 per cent ofexpenditure for the project,and the Centre has to bear thetotal expenditure. The SCRstated that it would take up theissue immediately once itreceives the letter from theChief Secretary, the MP said.
While speaking to ThePioneer, Komatireddy said thathe will talk to the ChiefSecretary SK Joshi on Saturdayin this regard to prepare a let-ter as asked by the SCR as it isready to extend MMTS up toYadadri and Jangaon. “It willhelp commuters and devoteesfrom Jangaon and Yadadri in agreat manner. SCR officials areready to extend MMTS up toYadadri and Jangaon if the stategovernment gives a letter to theSCR,” Komatireddy said.
According to Komatireddy,the SCR officials responded ina positive manner on his pleas,particularly on extending theMMTS up to Jangaon andYadadri. He explained to theSCR officials that about 30,000to 40,000 people come toHyderabad everyday fromJangaon and around 50,000
people from Hyderabad trav-el to the temple town, Yadadriand it is better if MMTS isextended up to these twoplaces keeping the commutersin view.
Komatireddy Venkat Reddyand TRS Rajya Sabha memberBadugula Lingaiah Yadav metthe SCR general managerGajanan Mallya on Friday atRail Nilayam and submitted a
memorandum urging the lat-ter to complete the works ofpending railway lines underBhongir constituency.
He urged the SCR GM forstoppage of trains at the sta-tions located in his con-stituency. He asked GajananMallya to construct a road-over-bridge at a gate located inbetween Chityal and SiripuramRailway Stations.
He further requested theSCR GM to take up recon-struction works at RamannapetRailway Station in YadadriBhongir district besides settingup purified drinking waterplant and construction of wallaround the Station to haltChennai, Shabari, Kova, Deltafast passengers.
He requested the GM forstoppages of Nanded,Charminar, NSL Express atJangaon Railway Stationbesides providing facilities inplatform number 3. He alsorequested GM to construct afoot-over bridge at GoodsYard.
He asked the GM for thestoppage of Shathavahana,Padmavathi, Konark,Machilipatnam express trainsat Bhongir Railway Station.
He also asked the GM tostop Konark, COA, Nagavali,Nanded, Dakshin, Falaknuma,Padmavathi express trains atAlair Railway Stations besidesconstructing road-over-bridgeat Railway Station. Later,speaking to the media,Komatireddy said that the GMassured him that the SCR willsolve all the problems men-tioned in his memorandum.
SCR urged to renameRaigir as Yadadri station PNS n HYDERABAD
South Central RailwayGeneral Manager GajananMallya conducted a meetingBhongir MP Komati Reddyand Suryapet MP BadugulaLingaiah Yadav, at RailNilayam. During the courseof the meeting, the MPsraised several issues related todevelopmental works andservices in their respectiveconstituencies. The demandsraised by the MP includedstoppage of trains at Raigir
station for convenience ofpassengers visiting Yadadri,introduction of MMTS trainservice to Yadadri and alsoproposed for renaming ofRaigir Station as Yadadri.
MP's suggested proposalsfor new lines, introduction ofnew trains, extension of exist-ing train services, additionalstoppages to existing trains,construction of ROB/RUBand providing improvedpassenger amenities etc atrailway stations in the juris-diction of their constituencies.
TJS filesanother PILin High courtPNS n HYDERABAD
The Telangana Jana Samithi(TJS) vice president Prof PLVishweshwar Rao, who hadalready filed a PIL on theissue of the issuance of the5,100 private permits ofTSRTC, has filed anotherPIL before the High Court onthe continuous suicides andheart attacks of the TSRTCemployees as a party in per-son.
In his petition, he saidthat around 25 employees ofthe corporation have eithercommitted suicides or suf-fered heart attack. He alsotold the court that the denialof salaries to the workers ofthe corporation was nothingbut violation of the funda-mental right of 'right to live'of the workers guaranteed bythe article 21 of the IndianConstitution.
He alleged that the stategovernment and TSRTCmanagement were responsi-ble for the deaths and healthproblems being suffered bythe workers as they have notinitiated any action to nego-tiate with the strikingemployees for consideringtheir demands and for the
non-payment of thesalaries for the period theyworked.
Invite RTC JAC for talks: Cong
PNS n HYDERABAD
Telangana Congress has describedthe RTC JAC's decision of droppingof their main demand 'merger ofRTC into the state government' isa good decision in view of increas-ing RTC workers suicides.
The RTC JAC has the responsi-bility of protecting the lives of theRTC workers as the state govern-ment is behaving with stubbornattitude, it stated. The partydemanded the Chief Minister toinvite the RTC workers for the talksto end the RTC strike beforeNovember 18.
Speaking to the media at GandhiBhavan on Friday, TPCC workingpresident Mallu Ravi slammedChief Minister for behaving stub-bornly towards RTC strike thoughthe High Court suggested him tosolve the problem.
He congratulated the RTC JACfor dropping its main demand ofmerging RTC into state govern-ment. He asked Chief Minister toinvite RTC workers for talks onremaining demands immediately."It is not correct on the part of theChief Minister to remain stubbornas 23 workers were already com-mitted suicide. The workers com-mitted suicides just because ofChief Minister's remarks of 'self dis-miss' and 'no discussions'," hepointed out.
Stating that the strike enteredinto 41th day, Mallu Ravi said that
the workers have taken up strikepath hoping that Chief Ministerwould merge the RTC into stategovernment similar to neighboringstate Andhra Pradesh state.
Chief Minister did nothing, hesaid alleging that the behavior is ina way that he was exceeding theConstitution. Reminding that theHigh Court stated that the strike isnot illegal, TPCC vice-presidentasked the Chief Minister to solvethe strike immediately. "RTC strikeis not confined to RTC employeesbut it is also belongs to 1 crore peo-ple who travel every day in RTCbuses", he said. Demanding theChief Minister to solve the RTCstrike problem immediately, Raviwarned KCR that the latter wouldpay heavy price in case he failed tosolve it.
RTC workers protest Pragathi Bhavan
A clash erupted between the policeand RTC workers when the formertried to prevent the workers fromentering into the CM's residence,Pragathi Bhavan in Hyderabad onFriday. The police took the work-ers into custody and sent them tothe nearby police station. The RTCworkers removed the barricadesand tried to lay siege to KCR's res-idence by raising slogans againsthim. Meanwhile, in the wake ofRTC JAC ‘Bus Roko’ call onNovember 16, Hyderabad PoliceCommissioner Anjani Kumarissued prohibitory orders under Sec144 CrPC around 500 meters ofeach of the bus depot and at the Bus Bhavan.
n Demands CM to solve the crisis to save the lives of employees
Continued from Page 1
He has been nabbed for hissuspected complicity in theblast as he was present at thespot on the fateful day, butpushed off to Hyderabadimmediately.
Investigating agencies sus-pect Ashfaq had escaped fromthe spot soon after the blastand reached Hyderabad.When contacted, however,the Hyderabad Police saidthey had no informationregarding the development.
Praveen Kumar, InspectorGeneral, Law & Order, UP,said that a total of six peoplehad been arrested in con-nection with the mosqueblast case. "No terror link hasbeen found in the investiga-tion so far. A detailed inves-tigation against main accusedQutubuddin is on," he said.
"Haji Qutubuddin, a nativeof Mau and a retired employ-ee of the state PWD, hadbrought the explosives withthe help of his accomplices,including Asfaq, and storedthem in the mosque in April
of this year," officials fromthe UP police said.
All the accused have beenbooked under Section 5 of theExplosives Act and Sections147, 295, 120B of IPC alongwith Clause 7 of Criminal Act.They will be in ATS remandtill Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, ATS, which isinvestigating the matter, saidAshfaq would be broughtfrom Hyderabad and inter-rogated face-to-face with HajiQutubuddin. The four per-sons, including a clericMaulana Azeemuddin aliasAzeem, Izhar Ansari, AashikAnsari and Javed, arrested inconnection with the blast onNovember 12, were handedover to ATS on a 48-hourremand by Judicial MagistrateKP Singh on Friday.
The UP police and intelli-gence agencies are also lookingfor a possible link betweenKushinagar mosque blast andthe one that took place in alocked house in Bijnor, WesternUP, when a thief allegedlybroke open the door and wentinside for theft on Nov 12.
PARLIAMENT WINTER SESSION
KTR briefs MPs onissues to be taken upPNS n HYDERABAD
For the first time afterbeing appointed asTRS party workingpresident, KT RamaRao chaired the partyParliamentary meetingat Telangana Bhavan.TRS ParliamentaryParty leader K KeshavaRao formally wel-comed KTR to themeeting. During themeeting, the leadersdiscussed the strategyto be adopted in theupcoming winter ses-
sion of Parliament.KTR briefed the MPson the issues to be dis-cussed in both Housesof Parliament. Hedirected the MPs toraise the voice aboutimplementation of thepending assurances ofthe AP ReorganisationAct. In the meeting,KTR stated that theparty will take a standbased on issues, butultimately TRS party'sstand is aimed at all-round development ofTelangana.
TPCC workingpresident Mallu Ravislammed CMChandrashekhar Raofor behavingstubbornly towardsRTC strike though theHigh Court suggestedhim to solve theproblem
MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy submitting a memorandum to SCR GM GajananMallya at Rail Nilayam in Hyderabad on Friday
Army Captain takeninto custody from Hyd
HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS
Truck driver, helperkilled in accident inUP's BareillyBAREILLY (UP): A truck driverand his helper were killed whentheir rice-laden truck caughtfire after ramming into astationary vehicle in UttarPradesh's Bareilly district,police said on Friday. Thedriver Rajiv (45) and his helperRam Charan (32) were on theirway to Delhi in their truck whenit hit another stationary truckand caught fire, SP CityRavindra Kumar said. Rajiv wasalso the owner of the truck, theSP said, adding that the bodieshave been sent for postmortem examination.
AAP report: Partyfunds rise from Rs 6cr to Rs 10 cr
CBI sets upspecialised unit totackle child porn
After Supriyo, Unionminister Debashreefaces slogans
NEW DELHI: The CentralBureau of Investigation has aset up an online Child SexualAbuse and Exploitation(OCSAE) Prevention/Investigation Unit at itsheadquarter to counter thegrowing menace of child pornon the Internet, officials said onFriday. The new "specialisedunit" under the special crimeinvestigation wing of theagency will collect intelligencenot only on those who areallegedly creating andtransmitting such material onthe Internet but also those whoare browsing and downloadingsuch material, they said. Itseems to be a proactive step ofthe agency to counter childporn, officials said.
GOSABA (WB): Union ministerDebashree Chowdhuri was onFriday greeted with "go back"slogans by a group of TMCactivists when she visitedSouth 24 Paraganas to assessthe extent of damage caused byCyclone 'Bulbul'. Chowdhurisaid she was in the district toenquire about the groundsituation post the cyclone,which claimed at least ninelives and left behind a trail ofdestruction. Shortly after shereached Gosaba, a group ofTMC activists stopped herconvoy and raised "go back"slogans. According to sources,the aitators dispersed followingpolice intervention.On Wednesday, Union ministerBabul Supriyo had faced asimilar protest during his visitto the district.
NEW DELHI: The AAP's totalfunds rose from Rs 6.06 crorein 2017-18 to Rs 10.11 crore in2018-19 with donations to theparty nearly doubling in thesame period, according to itsannual audited accountssubmitted to the ElectionCommission. Under the'donation and contribution'section, the report showed thatthe party's income went upfrom Rs 10.61 crore to Rs19.31 crore. The AAP's electionexpenditure also rose from Rs33.21 lakh in 2017-18 to Rs4.30 crore in 2018-19, thereport said. Under the 'cashand cash' equivalent thatincludes details of savings bankaccounts, fixed depositaccounts, cash in hand andcheques in hand, the amountincreased from Rs 3.85 croreto Rs 7.94 crore. The AAP'stotal funds rose from Rs 6.06crore in 2017-18 to Rs 10.11crore in 2018-19, the reportsaid.
PNS n KALAMB
India (Reuters) - Heavy rains inOctober and November havebrought more misery to India'sfarmers, after summer-sowncrops such as soybean, cotton,rice and vegetables sufferedrain and flood damage duringthe wettest June-Septembermonsoon season in 25 years.
"We couldn't harvest soy-beans last month due to con-tinuous rainfall," said ShantabaiChikhale, 65, while harvestingwith her son on a one acre plotin Maharashtra, India's secondlargest soybean production state.
Chikhale had been expectinga bumper crop, but now esti-mates that two-thirds of thesoybean pods on her farm inKalamb village were knockedoff by the rains, while much ofthe remaining crop has beendamaged.
The recent wet spell is alsoforcing farmers, like Chikhale,to delay sowing winter crops,placing a further drag on therural economy at a time whenIndia's economic growth hasslumped to a six-year low.
After the ample monsoonrains, The Solvent Extractors'Association (SEA) had expect-ed India soybean harvest to bemore than 10 million tonnes,just a little down on 2018's 10.3million tonnes.
But heavy recent rains dam-aged the crop in Maharashtra andMadhya Pradesh, which accountfor more than 85% of India's out-put, and forced the trade body tocut that estimate to below 9 mil-lion tonnes, said B.V. Mehta,
executive director of the SEA.As a result local soybean
prices have risen to their high-est in 3-1/2 years, makingexports of soymeal uncompet-itive, traders said.
Lower soybean productioncould force India, the world'sbiggest importer of edible oils,to import more in 2019/20 mar-keting year that started on Oct.1,said a Mumbai-based dealerwith a global trading firm.
The deluge also hit cotton inthe world's biggest producer.
Cotton bolls were damagedby late rains in Maharashtraand Gujarat, which account forover half of the country's out-put, said Arun Sekhsaria, man-aging director of exporter D.D.Cotton.0
Until a few weeks ago, indus-try officials such as PradeepJain, president of KhandeshGinning and Pressing FactoryOwners and TradersAssociation, were expecting a20% jump in cotton productionin 2019 from a year ago.
Untimely rains hit summer crops, delay rural economy recovery
PNS n NEW DELHI
The government must readthe "extremely important dis-sent" verdict in the 3:2 major-ity judgement pronounced bythe Supreme Court in theSabarimala case, Justice R FNariman said on Friday.
Justice Nariman had pennedthe dissent order on behalf ofhimself and Justice D YChandrachud in Thursday'sjudgement.
"Please tell your govern-ment to read the dissent judg-ment delivered in theSabaimala case yesterday,which is extremely impor-tant.... Inform your authorityand the government to read it,"he told Solicitor GeneralTushar Mehta.
Justices Nariman andChandrachud, who were a partof the five-judge Constitutionbench in the Sabarimala case,on Thursday dissented fromthe majority verdict and dis-missed the plea seeking reviewof the apex court's earlier judg-
ment allowing entry of womenof all ages to the Sabairmalatemple.
He made these comments toMehta when the court washearing an appeal filed by theEnforcement Directorate chal-lenging the Delhi High Courtverdict granting bail toKarnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar in a moneylaundering case. The SC dis-missed the ED plea.
Terming the denial of entry
to "unarmedwomen" intothe Sabarimalatemple as a "sadspectacle", theminority verdictby the SupremeCourt on Thursdayhad held that enforce-ment of its 2018 order is"non-negotiable" and no per-son or authority can flout it.
It had said the Constitutionplaces a "non-negotiable oblig-
ation" on authorities to enforcethe judgements as it was nec-essary to preserve rule of law
and directed strict com-pliance with its
September 2018decision allowinggirls and womenof all ages toenter the hill-topshrine in Kerala.
"If those whoseduty it is to comply
were to have a dis-cretion on whether ornot to abide by a deci-sion of the court, the
rule of law would be set atnaught. Compliance is not amatter of option. If it were tobe so, the authority of the
court could be diluted at theoption of those who are boundto comply with its verdicts," ithad said.
"Today, it is no longer opento any person or authority toopenly flout a Supreme Courtjudgement or order, given theconstitutional scheme," theverdict had said.
However, the majority ver-dict, written by Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi for himself andjustices A M Khanwilkar andIndu Malhotra, decided torefer to a larger 7-judge benchthe pleas seeking review of the2018 judgement allowingwomen and girls of all ages toenter the temple which is all setto open on November 17.
PNS n NEW DELHI
Top Union Home Ministryofficials told MPs of both theHouses of Parliament onFriday that the situation in theUnion Territory of Jammuand Kashmir is getting nor-mal and the detained politi-cal leaders are being releasedgradually, but no timelinecan be given for the rest of theleaders, sources said.
At a meeting of theParliamentary StandingCommittee on Home Affairs,headed by Congress leaderAnand Sharma, the MPsquizzed Union HomeSecretary Ajay Kumar Bhallaand his team of officials on theprevailing situation in UnionTerritory of Jammu andKashmir, and the steps takento bring back normalcy there.
This was for the first timethat the meeting of the com-mittee was held since August5, when the central govern-ment abrogated the special sta-tus given to the erstwhile stateof Jammu and Kashmir underArticle 370 and divided itinto two Union Territories.
The home secretary con-veyed to the MPs that situa-
tion in the UT of Jammu andKashmir is getting normal,schools have been opened,while apple trading is goingon, sources said.
Asked specifically aboutthe release of detained polit-ical leaders, Bhalla and histeam of officers said they arebeing released gradually butno timeframe about whenthe rest will be freed could begiven, sources said.
The home ministry offi-cials also told the parlia-mentarians that those whowere detained under thePublic Safety Act (PSA) canchallenge their detention ina designated tribunal and ifnot satisfied with its order,they can move the highcourt.
As the majority verdict kept the reviewpleas pending for a 7-judge bench anddid not stay its September 28, 2018majority judgement, girls and women ofall age groups will be entitled toundertake the pilgrimage to the shrine
Government must read ‘extremelyimportant' dissent order: Nariman
SABARIMALA VERDICT
PNS n BHUBANESWAR
A government booklet describ-ing Mahatma Gandhi's deathas an "accident" has triggereda row in Odisha, with politicalleaders and activists demand-ing an apology from ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik andimmediate measures to correctthe "blunder".
The two-page booklet"Aama Bapuji: Eka Jhalaka"(Our Bapuji: A Glimpse) --published on the occasion of150th birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi -- presents abrief account of his teachings,works and links with Odisha,while also stating that he "dieddue to accidental reasons in asudden sequence of events onJanuary 30, 1948 at Delhi'sBirla House".
The Patnaik-led govern-ment, in the wake of the furoreover the pamphlet, has ordereda probe to ascertain the cir-cumstances that led to its pub-lication by the School andMass Education department
for distribution in state-runand state-aided schools.
Calling the error an "inex-cusable act", senior Congressleader and former ministerNarasingha Mishra said thechief minister, being the head ofthe government, must tender anapology for the misinformationprovided in the booklet.
"Patnaik must take respon-sibility for the blunder, seekapology and issue a directive toimmediately withdraw thebooklet," the Congress
Legislature Party leader said.Accusing the Biju Janata
Dal (BJD) government offavouring Gandhi haters,Mishra said children haveevery right to know who killedMahatma Gandhi and the cir-cumstances in which he wasassassinated.
"The death of the Father ofthe Nation has been put in away that it pleases his haters,"he added. Echoing similar sen-timents, CPI state secretaryAsish Kanungo alleged that the
move was part of a conspiracyhatched by the state to twisthistory and hide the truth.
"Everyone knows thatNathuram Godse killedGandhiji, following which hewas apprehended, tried andsentenced to death. The chil-dren should be told the truthand the booklet immediatelywithdrawn," Kanungo stated.
Contending that the gov-ernment has made a "deliber-ate attempt" to mislead chil-dren, senior CPI (M) leaderJanardan Pati said, "Untruthhas been presented in a cun-ning manner.
Justice Nariman
PNS n NEW DELHI
The Delhi High Court Fridaydenied bail to former financeminister P Chidambaram inthe INX Media money laun-dering case filed by the ED,saying prima facie allegationsagainst him are serious innature and he played activeand key role in the offence.
Justice Suresh Kait said thatwrong message will be sent tothe society if bail is granted toChidambaram in this case.
"I am not inclined to grantbail," Justice Kait said.
While pronouncing the ver-dict, he said the material col-lected by the ED in the moneylaundering case is distinct,different and independentwith that collected by the CBIin the corruption case.
Even the investigation donein this case is different from
the CBI's case, the court said,adding that in cases of eco-nomic offences, the entirecommunity gets affected.
"I am conscious that bail isrule and jail is exception but awrong message would be sentto the society, if bail is grantedin this case," the judge said.
The high court had reservedthe order on November 8 onthe bail petition after hearingthe arguments of counsel forChidambaram and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
PNS n NEW DELHI
Top officials of theEnvironment Ministry, DDAand municipal commissionersstayed away from a key meet-ing of a parliamentary panelheld here today on the issue ofsevere pollution in the nation-al capital, sources said.
According to sources, mem-bers present at the meeting ofthe Parliamentary StandingCommittee on UrbanDevelopment were upset withthose absent and plan to raisethe issue with the Speaker.
They asked junior officialsto convey to their seniors thatthey should have attended themeeting, sources said.
The officials who skippedthe meeting included top offi-cials of the Environment
Ministry, Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) and munic-ipal commissioners, they said.
The questions that the mem-bers were planning to raiseincluded: As there are about 50lakh cars on the roads in Delhi,is the government coming upwith any sort of car pool poli-cy or regulation? Another ques-tion was that as per the UnionGovernment, Rs 1,150 croreswere given by the Centre to thestates in the last one year to
combat air pollution alongwith 14,000 machines. Doesthe government have a quan-titative and qualitative utilisa-tion report of the money dis-bursed?
The third question to beraised pertained to theSupreme Court's recent obser-vation that everybody rangingfrom the secretary to the grampradhan will be held respon-sible for losses due to air pol-lution. Does the government,in this regard, intend to defineand fix responsibility throughan internal mechanism?
The national capital is bat-tling alarming levels of airpollution for the past fewweeks. The air quality furtherdeteriorated in the last fourdays, forcing authorities toshut schools for two days.
PNS n NEW DELHI
The Union Health Ministrywill push for a key legislation,that seeks to punish peoplewho assault on-duty doctorsand other healthcare profes-sionals by imposing a jailterm of up to 10 years, in theupcoming winter session ofParliament, officials said.
The Health Ministry hasasked all other ministriesinvolved in the inter-ministe-rial consultations over TheHealth Services Personnel andClinical Establishments(Prohibition of Violence andDamage to Property) Bill,2019 to send their commentsat the earliest so that the draftlaw can be finalised and placedbefore the Cabinet next week.
The draft legislation hasproposed imprisonmentbetween three and ten yearsand imposition of finesbetween Rs 2 to Rs 10 lakhfor those "grievously hurting"doctors and other health-care professionals in clinicalestablishments.
‘Economy fine,people gettingmarried, airports full’PNS n NEW DELHI
Union minister Suresh Angadion Friday dismissed the oppo-sition's criticism over the stateof economy, asserting that"airports and trains are full andpeople are getting married"and this indicates that thecountry's economy is "doingfine".
Noting that the economyslows down every three yearsbut it will pick up soon, theMinister of State for Railwayssaid "some people" are tryingto malign the image of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.
"Airports are full, trains arefull, people are getting mar-ried. Some people are doingthis for nothing else but tomalign the image of NarendraModi," Angadi told reportersduring an inspection of thesoon to be commissionedTunda Khurja eastern dedi-cated freight corridor.
"Every three years there isfall in demand in economy. Itis a cycle. Then the economypicks up also," he added.
Opposition parties includ-
ing the Congress have beencriticising the governmentover the state of the economyand plans to raise the issue inthe upcoming Winter Sessionof the Parliament.
The two-pagebooklet "AamaBapuji: Eka Jhalaka"(Our Bapuji: AGlimpse) -- publishedon the occasion of150th birthanniversary ofMahatma Gandhi
School booklet in Odisha claimsGandhi died due to ‘accidental reasons'
Centre mulls 10yr jail for assaulton doctors
Those detainedunder the PSAinclude former chiefminister FarooqAbdullah. EX- chiefministers OmarAbdullah andMehbooba Mufti arealso under detentionsince August 5
Detained J-K leadersbeing releasedgradually: MHA to MPs
Top officials skip key Parl panelmeeting on pollution: sources
HC denies bail to PC in INXMedia money laundering case
SC dismisses ED pleachallenging bail to Shivakumarin money laundering case
PNS n NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on Fridaydismissed the EnforcementDirectorate's plea challengingthe Delhi High Court ordergranting bail to KarnatakaCong leader Shiva-kumar in a moneylaundering case.
A bench compris-ing Justices R FNariman and SRavindra Bhat rejectedthe request of the SolicitorGeneral, appearing for the
Enforcement Directorate (ED),to issue a notice to the other sideon the appeal. The Delhi HighCourt had on October 23granted bail to Shivakumar.
Shivakumar was arrested bythe ED on September 3. He
was in judicial custody asthe trial court haddenied him bail in thecase. The high courthad granted him bail
saying he "cannot tamperwith the evidence as the
documents are with the inves-tigating agencies".
“Airports arefull, trains arefull, people aregetting married.Some peopleare doing thisfor nothing elsebut to malignthe image ofModi” saysunion minister
The recent wet spell is also forcingfarmers, like Chikhale, to delaysowing winter crops, placing a furtherdrag on the rural economy at a timewhen India's economic growth hasslumped to a six-year low
Progress and development are thekey pursuits of an aspirational gen-eration in a globalised world.India, too, is on the move, strivingto accelerate transition from the
status of being a developing to a developednation. In this march ahead, there is littletime to seriously monitor regular onslaughtson the democratic principles and norms,imbued with moral and ethical values asenshrined in the Constitution. Is “politicswithout principles” no more a sin — asMahatma Gandhi had termed it in 1925 —but more of a routine practice?
On November 8, 2019, a couple of well-informed individuals — achievers —expressed disappointment on the machina-tions indulged in Maharashtra after theAssembly elections. This was not for the firsttime. Even before, there was a severe senseof disappointment in this group, where noneis bound by political or ideological con-straint. But they appeared seriously involved,concerned and worried. Yes, they all loveIndia; they value its democracy, ethical,moral and spiritual heritage for which thecountry is eulogised globally even today.They were just not able to comprehend howa political party with just 56 seats out of a288-member Assembly could stake claim tothe top post with unimaginable arrogance.One more blazing instance of the decline ofdemocratic values came with Haryana’s cul-ture of “Aaya Ram Gaya Ram”, whichbecame a practice and has resulted in sev-eral anomalous situations.
We have had Prime Ministers andChief Ministers, who should have never beenthere. In the current context, while lengthyreports on the herding of MLAs to hotels ashostages were highlighted in both electron-ic and print media, hardly was there anymention of the trampling of democratic val-ues, neglect of the wishes of the people, whoelect their leaders and expect some swiftaction from them on a plethora of pendingissues that impact daily life. Do the electedrepresentatives in Maharashtra, irrespectiveof their party affiliation, owe no debt of grat-itude to the freedom fighters of India, theirsacrifices, their indomitable spirit, whichalone is responsible for their newly-acquiredperks and privileges and the exalted posi-tions? Did the people elect them to indulgein such unsavoury public conduct forpower, position and creamy Ministries?
It is indeed shocking that not even oneMLA could protest against his/her herdinginto the hotels, which was apparently done“to save them from poachers of the otherside.” Are our leaders so weak and vulner-able? Maharashtra is only a repeat of whathas been happening in several States in thepast few decades. Why should herding notattract the attention of Parliament? Shouldsome provision like making it mandatory toinstall a new Government — in full strength— within seven days of the declarationresults not be put in the statutes? There wasno justification — moral, ethical orConstitutional — for the non-formation ofa full strength Government in Haryana even
after three weeks. All that hap-pens in the intervening periodis that the credibility of democ-racy and of the elected represen-tatives is lowered. It is shamefulto term certain Ministries as“creamy.” People interpret it intheir own way and they arerarely incorrect.
On October 2 this year,India celebrated the 150th birthanniversary of MahatmaGandhi. It was a time to recallhis life, values and that immor-tal one-line statement: “My lifeis my message.” If political lead-ers of today — baring exceptions— reflect on this one-liner, theywill realise what they have doneto Swaraj of Gandhi: “RealSwaraj will come not by acqui-sition of authority by a few butby acquisition of the capacity byall to resist authority when it isabused. In other words, Swarajis to be obtained by educatingthe masses to a sense of theircapacity to regulate and controlauthority.”
On March 19, 1931, Gandhiwrote in Young India: “Theword ‘Swaraj’ is sacred, it is aVedic word, meaning self-ruleand self-restraint and not free-dom from all restraint, whichindependence often means.”Gandhiji wanted Swaraj “tokeep intact the genius of ourcivilisation.” This hardly needsany elaboration: Think of the lastman in the line, his welfare andyour role and responsibility tobetter his life. The Mahatma’s
writings are universallyacclaimed for their simplicity,sensitivity, originating from theheart and are based on hardexperiences and realities of life.To comprehend and to putthem into practice, one requiresinner strength, perseveranceand empathy for others. Swaraj— Independence — is a dynam-ic living entity and it has to bemaintained and sustained withpersistent individual and nation-al effort. It can be sustained onlyif certain basic values and prin-ciples of democracy are adheredto by the people and more seri-ously by their democratically-elected representatives.
Gandhiji tells us how thiscould be achieved: “Swaraj canbe maintained only where thereis majority of loyal and patriot-ic people to whom the good ofthe nation is paramount aboveall other considerations, includ-ing their personal profit. Swarajmeans Government by themany. Where the many areimmoral or selfish, theirGovernment can spell anarchyand nothing else.”
Expectations of Gandhi —and all other stalwarts of thefreedom struggle — and thepeople were that, “If Swaraj wasnot meant to civilise us and topurify and stabilise our civilisa-tion, it would be nothing worth.The very essence of our civilisa-tion is that we give paramountplace to morality in all ouraffairs — public or private.” It
was a warning articulated withunimpeachable logic even beforeSwaraj was anywhere on thehorizon.
In fact, in 1922, Gandhijihad mentioned in a letter thatSwaraj would not bring happi-ness to our people as four thingswould weigh heavily on them.Defects of elections was promi-nent among these four. Theother three were injustice, bur-den of administration andtreachery of the rich. Was he notprophetic indeed?
Post-Assembly electiondevelopments in Haryana andMaharashtra must be viewed asa serious warning sign, whichcreate distress and erode people’strust and confidence in theelectoral process that is so crit-ical to sustain democracy in itstrue spirit. A brighter side couldopen even in a clumsy politicalarena if everyone in the positionof power realises how the worldvalues our contributions andachievements in creative andfields — right from the ancienttimes to the launch ofChandrayaan.
Let Our MPs and MLAsrealise their responsibility inthe light of India’s achievementsin space sciences, ICT andalso that of young Indians,who have brought us fameand global attention throughtheir presence in the SiliconValley, NASA, particularly intop slots in big corporate andglobal institutions. This thread
of India’s greatness becomesvisible in practically every seri-ous analysis of the current sit-uation. It is indeed necessaryfor inspiration and motivationto move ahead with renewedvigour on the path of progressand inclusive growth.
One evening, an interac-tion closed at a point whensomeone mentioned that theAyodhya judgment would bedelivered tomorrow, that allnecessary steps are being takento beef up security, maintainlaw and order and ensure thatno breach of law and ordertakes place. And what a great9/11 this was in India in theyear 2019. It must have causedacute anxiety and anguish tothe perpetual detractors of thecountry, who were expecting acountry-wide unrest, whatev-er the judgment be.
But on this day, the worldsaw a glimpse of a united India,one which was proud of itsancient culture of acceptance ofall, every conceivable diversityand that India has learnt to “livetogether” over a couple of mil-lennia, a skill that some of theWestern nations have no escapebut need to learn now. Our polit-ical representatives should notpresent a disheartening sce-nario before the people. Onceelected, they owe a debt to thecountry, its people andGandhiji. It was a proud achieve-ment for the country, its democ-racy and the Constitution.
People have very high hopesfrom the elected, young repre-sentatives, who must chalk outtheir own path. They can learnso much from the likes of ourgreat leaders like SwamiVivekananda, Sri Aurobindo,Rabindranath Tagore, MahatmaGandhi and other luminaries,who continued to grow in lifeand were at peace with them-selves. JRD Tata had once said,“Always aim at perfection foronly then will you achieve excel-lence.” Gandhiji did just that allalong the journey of his life. Thiscan be the aim of life for anyone.Look around but never be slackin looking within.
To comprehend it, one mustrecall the words of John Dewey:“Not perfection as a final goal,but the ever-enduring process ofperfecting, maturing, refining, isthe aim in living. The bad manis the man who, no matter howgood he has been, is beginningto deteriorate, to grow less good.The good man is the man who,no matter how morally unwor-thy he has been, is moving tobecome better. Such a concep-tion makes one severe in judg-ing himself and humane injudging others.” This canenlighten the path of those inpublic life.
(The writer works in educa-tion and social cohesion)
British telecommunications giant Vodafone hashad a troubled time in India. Its entry, led byIndian-origin Chief Executive Arun Sarin, was
made to tap the billion-plus Indian consumer mar-ket. But the acquisition of the operations of HutchisonTelecommunications Hong Kong by Vodafone ledto a huge tax tussle as the Indian Government feltshort-changed on matters related to tax and formerFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee changed the lawto retroactively charge tax with that one transaction
in mind. This change brought in by Mukherjee is cited by several foreign investorsas the beginning of the end of the India growth story. Foreign investors havebeen wary ever since.
The latest development — where the Government demanded that tax on Indiantelecoms be calculated on total revenues instead of just revenues and with theSupreme Court deciding in the Government’s favour — seemed to be the prover-bial last straw. The British telecom company, which merged its operations withthe Aditya Birla Group’s Idea in mid-2018 so as to better compete with the entryof Reliance Industries, was blindsided by this latest demand. The ̀ 50,000 crorequarterly loss declared by Vodafone Idea this past quarter is the largest ever inthe annals of Indian corporate history. Usually, one would argue that in free mar-kets, companies should be allowed to grow and fail as per market conditions.However, there can be little doubt that the Government is skewing the playingfield. For one, some of the tax demands have been plainly ridiculous and com-panies like Vodafone-Idea and Airtel strongly believe that policies have beendesigned to favour Reliance Industries’ Jio operations. And while the retroactivetax demand scared all, for the most determined foreign investors, this latest deci-sion by Vodafone, coupled with vindictive policies being followed in some States,particularly in Andhra Pradesh where Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy’s pol-itics of vengeance has had diplomatic repercussions, mean they will run. TheGovernment is failing in its endeavour to raise enough money to fund its ambi-tious social sector schemes, which has led to unmitigated tax terrorism. However,it would behove the Government to learn that only a huge amount of investmentcan save the economy from going into a dangerous tailspin. While voters havereposed faith in the Modi Government, thanks in no small part to an incompe-tent opposition, it is failing dramatically in its ambitious “minimum Government,maximum governance” mantra. The Income Tax department in particular is nowthe greatest fear-monger. The situation can still be salvaged but make no mis-take, time to save the economy and investor confidence is running out. And fast.
For nearly three weeks now, Delhi has beenat its toxic worst, happy to make peacewith “very poor” to “very severe” air qual-
ity after a “hazardous” spell. So much so thatwe have forgotten what a sparkling winterweather is and have developed a kind of fatal-ism about choking ourselves. So as the airkeeps thickening, saddled as it is with all sortsof poisonous gases that are harmful to humanhealth — smoke, dust, carbon dioxide andacidic fumes — our ennui and lethargy set-tle just as stubbornly between its layers. We
have slept through many wake-up calls and must realise that air pollution is nota seasonal or a State-specific issue, it affects our breathability round the yearand should be treated as a national emergency. We may have the laws, grad-ed action plans and preventive measures but we need a national, not a region-al, will to implement them uniformly across the country and throughout the year.What else explains the blame-games between State Governments of Delhi, Haryanaand Punjab or the fact that key officials from the Environment Ministry, the DelhiDevelopment Authority (DDA) and the municipality did not deem it fit to attenda meeting organised by a parliamentary panel on pollution? MP Gautam Gambhir,who has been consistent in his social media sabre-rattling over pollution, failedto contribute in real terms when needed. Even the Supreme Court, which suc-cessively threatened to penalise bureaucracy in North Indian States for failingto control crop burning and pulled up the Delhi Government for just relying onthe odd-even vehicle rationing scheme, has not been able to scale up the fearof a public health hazard. Officials have already said that managing stubble firesis impossible as farmers defy the ban in the absence of an affordable alterna-tive model or a graded changeover to crops that don’t generate waste. Fact check:For all our claims of awareness and course-correction, the levels of PM 2.5 andPM 10 continue to spiral. The total volume of crop residue this year equals thecombined output of the last two years. Burning crop residue makes up about40 per cent of our brown haze, yet little effort has been made to either under-stand the reason behind it or the way it can be tackled. First, shredders are tooexpensive and varied for different crops. They leave stubs on surface soil thatcannot be pulled out fast enough for preparing the farm beds for the next roundof sowing, thus reducing the window before harvest. The cheapest and the fastestsolution for farmers, therefore, is to set their fields on fire. Besides, farmers oftenuse a combined harvester, which comes with its own demerits. Most crucially,it leaves up to 80 per cent of the residue on the field, which can only be elimi-nated through burning. Along with better solutions to junk their crop residue, farm-ers need solutions which can encourage them to use stubble for manure andenhance soil quality. At least the Centre, which professedly prioritises the farmeconomy, should incentivise stubble use, collect and buy residue up till mech-anised shredders become viable in numbers and prices. Farm policies must betweaked to reorient cropping patterns. We must discourage water-guzzling andstubble-prone crops like rice in Punjab and Haryana, the rice bowls in the plainsenough to sustain volumes. But then there should be a subsidy offered for theswitchover varieties, at least for the first few cropping seasons.
Per se, the Delhi Government’s odd-even scheme to control vehicular pol-lution is constructive but disproportionately ranged against four-wheelers. Wehave to now ration the most polluting two-wheelers. With even the top courtruling that the odd-even scheme is not a permanent solution and that cars con-stitute only three per cent to pollution levels, it is time to strengthen public modesof transport. As part of urban planning measures, green walls must be construct-ed to capture, reduce and trap dust. Beijing beat pollution by sticking to specif-ic targets such as restricting the total number of vehicles to six million by theend of 2017, reducing coal consumption by 80 per cent by 2020 and meetingannual average PM 2.5 concentration of micrograms per cubic metre by 2017.For instance, in 2017, the quota for new vehicles was 150,000 cars there, with60,000 allotted only to fuel-efficient ones. In 2018, it was reduced to 100,000.No action plan can work without targets and one hopes a national pollution pol-icy is at least considered in this session of Parliament.
Learn from history
Sir — The nation today is in a fluxover reviewing the role of thepantheon of leaders, who helpedshape a post-Independent India.Together, Mahatma Gandhi,Jawaharlal Nehru and SardarPatel represented our nationalethos, which stands incompletewithout any one of them. Nehruis under debate not because theCongress is not in power but ourhistory’s palimpsest is overwrit-ten by aspirations of the day.Because the Nehruvian era wasahead of its times, it helped ussustain both democracy and eco-nomic progress at fair levels.
The first of the famed IITs wasestablished ahead of our first gen-eral election of independent India.In foresight, the Right to Educationwent hand-in-hand with the rightto vote and technological andresearch institutes formed the bul-wark of macro economics. Thereare lessons for a progressive nationlike India. History is not for selec-tive reading. It matters less as towhere we started but more on howwe intend to progress quickly andinclusively.
R Narayanan Navi Mumbai
Injustice to women
Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Sabarimala takeaways” (November15). The Supreme Court hasreferred the Sabarimala issue to alarger bench of seven judges. Thecourt expressed its opinion that“courts should tread cautiously” on“issues pertaining to religion,including religious practices.”Ideally, this view should have been
taken by the top court when it wasdisposing of the case in 2018 itself.By allowing the entry of women inthe age group of 10-50 in 2018, reli-gious sentiments have been hurt. Soit would be better had the courtinterpreted its decision back then aspart of a process to restore demo-cratic rights of women. In this sense,rescinding the 2018 judgment isonly a damage-control exercise.
KV SeetharamaiahHassan
Laudable step
Sir — It is indeed welcome thatthe Supreme Court’s verdict putthe office of the Chief Justice ofIndia (CJI) under the arc of theRight to Information (RTI) Act.The verdict will usher in an eraof transparency in the way thehigher judiciary functions. Whilethe judiciary is the mostrespectable institution, it has
often been subject to publicscrutiny, too. In a similar way, allpublic institutions must comeunder the RTI purview.
The top court’s order mayallow the citizens to seek informa-tion regarding theappointment/transfer of thejudges but constraints will remainas most of the collegium’s deci-sions are largely based onIntelligence Bureau reports, whichare not covered under RTI.
Kavya ShahUjjain
Defuse tensions
Sir — This refers to the article,“Pay heed to warning signs”(November 15) by Ajoy Kumar.The clash between the police andthe lawyers was uncalled for andshows the country in poor light.This is a delicate issue and needsto be handled prudently. With thelawyers still continuing their strike,the Bar Council of India mustcounsel the lawyers and ensurethat tensions do not escalate.
Post-Assembly election developments in Haryana and Maharashtra can create distress anderode people’s trust and confidence in the electoral process. Leaders must review their acts
Be it playing a fat or an agedperson. I don’t think it has any-thing to do with the way youlook on screen but how hon-estly you are telling the story.
Actor—Bhumi Pednekar
If Islamabad is serious tocooperate with New Delhi, itshould hand over the Indianswanted for terrorist activitiesliving in Pakistan.
External Affairs Minister—S Jaishankar
S O U N D B I T E
L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R
JNU’s fee hike policy is flawed
This refers to the editorial, “Fee hike unjust” (November1). The clash over fee hike between students of theJawaharlal Nehru University over a university man-
ual that proposed to hike hostel fee, set a dress code forhostellers and install water and electricity meters on hos-tel premises is symptomatic of the change confrontingthis venerated institution of learning. But the politics ofpopulism seldom demands such answers. Even since thestory of JNU protests hit headlines, there has been a flur-ry of stories of the underprivileged, who would have todrop out of JNU, if the administration enforces the feehike. There is, however, no talk about those who avail sub-sidised education in this varsity after paying for exorbi-tant private schools and those who would be paying ̀ 50-`60 lakh to study in overseas universities after paying `20and `10 for JNU hostels.
From healthcare to public transport, from water toelectricity, what is it that we wouldn't want for free? But
free comes with its own cost. The Banaras Hindu Universityand the University of Delhi supported the JNU's cause ofhiking. They, too, should take note that only those whodeserve fee concessions should get it. Even the econo-mists, who swear by capitalism, would tell us subsidiesshould be given only to those who need it.
Opposition leaders are scaredof the Central Government.That is why they are not united and the ruling BJP istaking advantage of it.
Former Union Minister—Sharad Yadav
The Parliament should wake up to formulate a nationalpollution policy this season to seriously fight a health hazard
With Vodafone threatening to quit, should the Governmentintervene and sort the crisis faced by the industry?
Anything can happen incricket and politics.Somewhere you feel you arelosing the match, but theresult is exactly the opposite.
Union Minister—Nitin Gadkari
Reason trapped in haze
op nion
An invisible pandemic
THE SC’S DECISION TO DISMISS THE REVIEW PETITIONON RAFALE IS A BEFITTING REPLY TO THOSE PARTIES
WHO RELY ON MALICIOUS AND BASELESS CAMPAIGNS.—UNION HOME MINISTER
AMIT SHAH
THE SC HAS OPENED A HUGE DOOR FOR A RAFALESCAM PROBE. A JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEEMUST BE SET UP TO INVESTIGATE THIS SCAM—CONGRESS LEADERRAHUL GANDHI
POINTCOUNTERPOINT
Air pollution is all around us, killing usslowly but surely. Because it is an invis-ible killer, (till it doesn’t form a toxic smog
that hangs low in the air during the wintermonths) it often goes unnoticed. However, inignoring the problem, we are letting ourselvesbecome victims of it. Today, air pollution killsmore people than poor diet, smoking, lack ofphysical fitness and high blood pressure do, puttogether. It is an ongoing public health emer-gency in India, claiming one in every eight lives.Larger portions of India’s economy are being lostto health issues, reduced agricultural yields anddamage to biodiversity and ecosystems causedby air pollution. Delhi’s air pollution has beenmaking international headlines and while Indiaendeavours to become a global super power, thestate of air pollution in the national Capital isticking all the wrong boxes for global tourists,investors and the international perceptiontowards India.
When one looks at the various causes ofdeaths, a worrisome fact emerges. According toa health commission report (2017) published byLancet, diseases caused by air pollution wereresponsible for an estimated nine million pre-mature deaths in India in 2015. This was almost16 per cent of all mortalities worldwide; threetimes as many deaths as by AIDS, tuberculosisand malaria combined; and 15 times more fatal-ities than caused by wars and other forms of vio-lence. It is estimated that there could be a 30 percent increase in air pollution-related deaths inIndia by 2021 if particulate matter levels in theair do not come down from the present haz-ardous levels. Continued exposure to pollutedair is causing diminished lung function and acuteand chronic respiratory symptoms like cough,wheezing and asthma in children.
The occurrence of these symptoms is morein areas with higher levels of pollution.Furthermore, air pollution caused by seasonaloccurrences such as stubble burning by farm-ers soon after harvest of the rice crops inOctober-November and fireworks used duringDiwali, triggers diseases during those periods.
The national Capital, for instance, observesepisodic pollution events during the post-monsoon season (roughly from October 26 toNovember 15), due to open burning of paddyresidue in the three neighboring States ofPunjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP).
The problem is exacerbated by the burningof firecrackers during the festivals of Dussehraand Diwali. This year the very next day ofDussehra, PM10 concentration went up to 191ug/m3, which was a 50 per cent increase fromthe previous day’s concentration. In fact, Delhihas earned the dubious distinction of becom-ing the most polluted major city in the worldwith an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 527 onNovember 15, as per data by Air Visual on theWorld AQI rankings. Delhi’s air quality brokeall records on November 5, when it was in thehazardous range for nine consecutive days, mak-ing this the longest spell of hazardous air qual-ity since public records began.
Six of the top 10 cities fall in the Indian sub-continent, Delhi, Lahore, Karachi, Kolkata,
Mumbai and Kathmandu. So within Asia, airpollution is concentrated in South Asia. ThreeIndian cities are on the list, Delhi, Kolkata andMumbai. So air pollution is not necessarily aproblem specific to northern India althoughDelhi’s pollution is double that of Kolkata.
According to a study conducted by TERI in2016, about 36 per cent of the PM2.5 pollutionin Delhi during winter was contributed by localsources, while the rest was owing to trans-boundary pollutants. Even though theGovernment is making efforts to reduce emis-sions within Delhi, it won’t change pollution lev-els by much, because the air quality deteriora-tion during this time has less to do with Delhi’slocal pollution and it is more about meteorolog-ical conditions. Stable wind conditions preventthe pollutants from dissipating, while the shal-low planetary boundary layer (PBL) traps theemissions, increasing its concentration. The lowPBL height is owing to the prevailing low tem-perature, which results in temperature inversionat a lower height. These meteorological condi-tions remain largely unchanged from Octoberto January.
A research report published by theInternational Journal of Epidemiology estimatesthat the economic and health cost of air dete-rioration caused by stubble burning in India isaround $30 billion per year. It further suggest-ed that people, who live in areas where residueburning is intense, are associated with threetimes higher risk of acute respiratory infection.Children are most susceptible to health effectsof crop burning. Many proposals have been for-mulated by environmentalists and Governmentofficials to curb the practice and to promote theusage of alternative sustainable managementmethods for paddy straw. These include the useof Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code(CrPC) to ban burning of paddy; The AirPrevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1981;The Environment Protection Act, 1986; TheNational Tribunal Act, 1995 and The NationalEnvironment Appellate Authority Act, 1997.Stringent directions have been given by theNational Green Tribunal (NGT) to limit crop-residue burning in the States of Rajasthan, UP,
Haryana and Punjab.Despite all researches pointing to stubble
burning as the major contributor to Delhi’s ris-ing pollution levels, not much has been doneabout it on-ground, because biomass burningis an issue of public concern. The NGT bannedresidue-burning in 2015 but it is still widely prac-tised due to weak enforcement of the order, polit-ical economy issues and lack of viable alterna-tives among poor farmers. The best alternativewould be to use the crop residue on-site, with-out any need of transportation, logistics and stor-age, such that there is sustainable use for the end-product in the agricultural field itself. Accordingto a research on stubble burning in India, pub-lished in 2018 in the International Journal ofEnvironmental Research and Public Health,there are two practices that farmers can adopt— composting and biochar production.
Composting is not a new concept in India,but doing it with residue has its advantages.Composting with organic waste doesn’t have asecure market but compost made with cropresidue can be fed into one’s own field to increasesoil productivity and agricultural yield. InIndia, the practice of biochar production is notwidely prevalent but if crop residue is used tomake biochar, it can secure a market that willhelp farmers economically as well as the watertreatment and construction sectors and the foodand cosmetics industry.
The issue of residue burning is at present farfrom reaching a successful resolution. The inter-ventions undertaken so far, while significant,have been limited in their impact despite theefforts and time that have been invested in them.It is time to think out of the box and tackle theproblem head-on.
The stakeholders — implementing author-ities, citizen groups, industry representatives, sci-entists, researchers, non-government organisa-tions and others — must come together andchalk out a better plan to address the issue, inthe short-term and the long-term, and providethe citizens of India the pollution free air thatthey are entitled to.
(Suresh R is Fellow and Shivang Agarwal isProject Associate at TERI)
Diseases caused by air pollution were responsible for an estimated nine millionpremature deaths in India in 2015, almost 16 per cent of all mortalities worldwide
analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N
A spur in thefight against TB
POONAM KHETRAPAL SINGH
Efforts to expand treatment are yielding results.Yet there are miles to go before the WHO’s targetof ending the disease by 2030 can be achieved
Areport on the global battle against TB, the world’s most dead-ly infectious disease, by the World Health Organisation (WHO)says several positive trends are being witnessed worldwide
in this fight against the killer. First, efforts to expand TB treatment are yielding results as in
2018, globally 600,000 more people received treatment than theprevious year and deaths due to the disease dropped by more thansix per cent.
Second, TB prevention is picking up pace. Substantially morechildren below the age of five, who are contacts of TB patients,are accessing preventive treatment, with a four per cent rise in 2017levels. The coverage of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) rose by animpressive 19 per cent.
Third, there have been inroads in the fight against drug resis-tance, as in 2018, more than 156,000 patients globally withRifampicin-resistant or multi-drug resistant TB initiated treatment,an increase of almost 12 per cent over the previous year. Treatmentsuccess rates for both new and drug-resistant cases continue toimprove.
However, challenges persist and drug-resistant TB remains aserious global threat as just one in three people afflicted are get-ting treatment and major gaps in case notifications remain. An esti-mated three million patients globally are unaccounted for. Accessto preventive treatment is insufficient and just below half the peo-ple, newly-enrolled in HIV-care, are receiving preventive therapy.Funding shortfalls continue and in 2019 alone, committed globalfunds for TB diagnosis and care fell short by $3.3 billion.
The world will struggle to reach the 2020 milestones of WHO’sEnd TB Strategy. This is of concern given that by 2030 WHO andits member countries and partners aim to end TB, as reflected inthe Sustainable Development Goals and the UN’s High-Level PoliticalDeclaration on the Fight against TB.
As the world’s most TB-affected region, South-East Asia’sprogress is significant, as between 2017-2018 estimated case inci-dence fell from 226 per 100,000 people to 220 per 100,000. Thenotification of TB cases increased substantially, from 2.96 millionto 3.36 million, with most cases coming from India and Indonesia— a credit to their resolve. Notably, the number of children underfive who required preventive TB treatment and accessed it increasedby12 per cent. Myanmar was identified as one of a clutch of coun-tries on track to reach the global End TB 2020 milestones.
Though the region’s progress has been strong, more is need-ed to end TB by 2030. To do that, active case-finding should beintensified. Efforts to engage communities should be stepped upand the private sector encouraged to act.
In particular, community groups should be further empowered,including by engaging them in policy development. Information cam-paigns should be targeted at high-risk communities and access toTB testing guaranteed. Enhancing the coverage of preventive treat-ment is crucial. By fully implementing the region’s recently adopt-ed action plan on latent TB, member states can reduce the annu-al burden of TB patients by an additional 12-15 per cent annually.That equates to around 270,000 fewer patients each year. All house-hold contacts of TB patients should be screened, in addition to PLHIVand those at high risk of developing the disease. Preventive treat-ment should be provided where needed.
Social protection and support mechanisms for TB patientsshould be augmented. Undergoing treatment for TB often involvestime off work, which can impede treatment adherence. Food sup-plements and vouchers, transport subsidies and financial incen-tives are all important in ensuring the best patient outcomes areachieved and catastrophic costs are avoided. This is especially impor-tant as the region strives to achieve universal health coverage.
Finally, all national action plans should be aligned with the PoliticalDeclaration’s targets. As the region works to attain the investmenttarget of at least $2 billion annually, all countries must stay on tar-get. Of the 40 million people globally that require diagnosis and treat-ment by 2030, at least 18 million will come from South-East Asia.Of the 30 million that require preventive treatment, the region willcover at least 10.5 million.
Though the region’s work is cut out, the foundations for progressare strong. There’s commitment; technical capacity; communitybuy-in and partner support. In other words, the area has all theassets needed to ensure the End TB strategy’s milestones are metand the Political Declaration’s targets are reached. WHO is com-mitted to supporting member states achieve each of these outcomesand to securing the region’s continued progress. Ending TB by 2030is possible. We must dare to be bold.
(The writer is the Regional Director of WHO-South East Asia)
Did Harper Lee know in 1960when she wrote her seminalnovel To Kill A Mockingbird
that her character’s model of persis-tent and peaceful resistance wouldstrike a strong chord with activists ofthe civil rights movement?
Could she have possibly imaginedthat America would continue to feelthe influence of her novel well into the21st century — in the national con-versation on criminal justice, the“Black Lives matter movement” andthe more recent prison reforms.
The powerful work of fiction is atestament to the ways in which sto-ries can reflect society’s mores andattitudes, penetrate public conscious-
ness and set the stage for socialchange. It is not just To Kill AMockingbird that has had considerableimpact on a cultural movement.Almost all of the world’s major reli-gions are built on the bedrock of pow-erful stories that have the power toshape human behaviour and history.In recent years, there have been anumber of initiatives that have recog-nised the power of purposeful storiesto educate and influence the behav-iour of people for the better.
A great example is Amar ChitraKatha, the comic series started by edu-cationist Anant Pai. It used storiesfrom mythology, epics, oral folk-tales, literature and history to impartvalues to a generation of Indian chil-dren.
Underneath the engrossinglywritten stories were subtle hints onpeople’s behaviour, motives and dri-ves. They were designed to preparechildren for the real world that theywould soon enter. A scientist byeducation and an entertainer byvocation, Pai later launched the fort-nightly magazine Tinkle featuringunforgettable characters and stories
that entertained, edu-cated and informedkids simultaneously.Their success rests ona very simple formu-la, one that packageseducation in enter-tainment by harness-ing the power of sto-rytelling. If you areable to weave lessonsinto a story, both chil-dren and adults aremore likely to learnfrom it.
Brands and the power of story-telling: In 2013, an advertisement byGoogle India proved to be so impact-ful that its vibrations were also feltacross the border in Pakistan. The“Reunion advertisement” that narrat-ed the story of two friends separatedby the Partition and reunited with thehelp of Google, became bigger thanits brand as it touched a chord withpeople on both sides of the RadcliffLine. This powerful example of sto-rytelling tells us how this art can behighly useful for brands.
Even in the world of business and
technology, compa-nies are beginning tounderstand thepower a story has toshape markets andw o r k p l a c e s .Maximising humaninterest helps peopleset and attain goalsthat are worth pursu-ing. People genuine-ly crave real values sothat they can becomea better version of
who they are. They look for trust andto be worthy of their trust, brandsmust have the power to change theway they think and act. If you wantto inspire people to change theirbehaviour, storytelling is the best toolat your disposal. There is a growingtrend of brands using strong narra-tives to make profound comments onour social and behavioural traits. Anumber of brands have propagatedideals through stories of equality,comments against patriarchy and onsocial harmony.
The power of narratives: Thereis a neurological basis to the power of
narratives. Researchers from Spainfound that when people are present-ed with vivid and captivating stories,a lot of different centres in the brainlight up. For example, if a battle sceneis described graphically in a novel, thebrain’s movement and sight centreslight up (even if you cannot fight).When a scent is described in evoca-tive detail, the smell centre lights up.In other words, you have a more emo-tional and immersive experiencecompared to a tiny blip in the brainwhen it is presented with a bare fact.Sociologically speaking, stories havethe power to establish and reinforcebehavioural norms that are in align-ment with what you are trying to pro-mote. If a relatable character in a storymakes a healthy diet choice or exer-cises regularly, it conveys the idea thatthis is what people do and the listen-er or viewer should do it too. It worksbecause you are not just promoting aproduct but a better quality of life, onethat resonates with the viewer. Forinstance, the South African series,Soul Buddyz, an award-winning mul-timedia edutainment experience,closely chronicles the lives, hardships
and joys of children. It captured thepublic imagination so fiercely thatthousands of young ones from acrossthe country wrote to the non-govern-mental organisation (NGO) behindthe show, Soul City Institute, askingto participate. Pretty soon, the NGOwas able to establish over 8,500Buddyz Clubs, with nearly 1.5 lakhchildren, dedicated to the education,physical and mental well-being of theyoungsters.
There is a wide body of evidenceto support the power of story-basedadvertising and media to create a sig-nificant shift in societal norms, beliefsand values much more effectively thantraditional advertising and messaging.
Digital technology and socialmedia have made it possible forbrands to maximise the reach of thesestories at negligible costs. Just as ToKill A Mockingbird catalysed thenationwide conversation on civilrights, strong narratives hold thepower to change our world and livesfor the better.
(The writer is director and creativestrategist at an advertising and consult-ing agency.)
Storytelling an influential tool for brandsJust as the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, catalysed the nationwide conversation on civil rights in America,
strong narratives hold the power to change our world and lives for the better
KEWAL KAPOOR
HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2019
www.dailypioneer.com
F O R E I G N E Y E
Whoever wins the elections,Sri Lanka’s friends shouldbolster the cause ofdemocracy. The MaithripalaSirisena Government’s mainachievement is itsconstitutional changes, whichcannot be altered without atwo-thirds majority inParliament. Legislators andthe judiciary have learned thatthey have real power. Civilsociety has carved out greaterspace. Can these gains beprotected? No one hasespecially high hopes shouldSajith Premadasa win.
(The Guardian editorial)
LANKA’S TRYSTWITH DESTINY
COMPOSTING WITHORGANIC WASTEDOESN’T HAVE ASECURE MARKETBUT COMPOST
MADE WITH CROPRESIDUE CAN BEFED INTO ONE’SOWN FIELD TOINCREASE SOIL
PRODUCTIVITY ANDYIELD.
IN INDIABIOCHAR
PRODUCTION ISNOT WIDELY
PREVALENT BUT IFBIOMASS IS USED
TO MAKE BIOCHAR,IT CAN SECURE A
MARKET THAT WILL HELPFARMERS
ECONOMICALLY ASWELL AS THE FOOD
AND COSMETICSINDUSTRY
SURESHR
SHIVANGAGARWAL
HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2019 money 08
CAPSULE
UCO Bank elevatesdeputy GM ShashiKant Kumar as CFONEW DELHI: State-ownedUCO Bank on Friday said it haselevated deputy generalmanager Shashi Kant Kumaras new chief financial officer."We inform that Shashi KantKumar, Deputy GeneralManager of our Bank, hasbeen designated as new ChiefFinancial Officer (CFO) of theBank with immediate effect,"the bank said in a regulatoryfiling. Kumar has beenappointed in place of RamKumar, General Manager ofthe Bank, it said. Stock of UCOBank traded at Rs 13.31, up0.91 per cent from previousclose.
No reference fromDoT on floor priceissue: Trai chiefNEW DELHI: The telecomdepartment has notapproached the regulator forany views on floor price fortariffs, Trai Chairman R SSharma said on Friday. "Wehave not received anything,"Sharma said when asked if theDoT has approached TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(TRAI) for its views on floorprice or minimum tarifffixation for mobile services.Last month, the governmenthad constituted a committeeof secretaries to explore afinancial bailout package forthe telecom sector. At thattime, official sources had saidthat in parallel, sectorregulator TRAI is expected toexamine prescribing minimumcharge for voice and dataservices, which will ensurelong-term viability and robustfinancial health of the sector.
Vodafone Idea sharesjump over 10 pc despitehuge loss in Sep qtrNEW DELHI: Shares ofVodafone Idea on Fridaysurged over 10 per centdespite the company posted atremendous loss of Rs 50,921crore - highest ever loss postedby any Indian corporate - forSeptember quarter. On theBSE, the stock witnessed ajump of 10.16 per cent to Rs3.25 in morning session. Lateron, the scrip shed some of itsgains and was trading 4.41 percent up at Rs 3.08. The stockmoved up by similar marginson the NSE in early trade. Itwas trading at Rs 3.05, up 3.39per cent. Telecom operatorVodafone Idea on Thursdayreported consolidated loss ofRs 50,921 crore - highest everloss posted by any Indiancorporate - for the secondquarter ended September 30.
REUTERS n MUMBAI/KOLKATA
India's tax officials are facing ataxing issue. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's governmentwants them to collect 17% morein direct taxes this year as NewDelhi seeks to shore up revenuesamid a sharp economic slow-down. The target has been main-tained even though Modi recent-ly approved a massive cut in cor-porate taxes, which are part ofdirect taxes, and warned officersnot to harass businesses in theirdrive to collect revenue.
Over a dozen tax officialsinterviewed by Reuters said theyare stuck between a push to meetunrealistic collection targets,which influence their appraisalsand transfers, and the fear ofbeing accused of over-zealous-ness if they crack down on eva-sion.
Critics say Modi's demands ofhis tax officials are symptomaticof the confusion surrounding hisgovernment's economic policies,and that the bungling has con-tributed to a slowdown in
growth.Twenty-two top-level tax
department officers have optedfor voluntary retirement so farthis year and around 34 did so in2018, according to data provid-ed by Bhaskar Bhattacharya, vicepresident of the Income TaxGazetted Officers' Association.
Bhattacharya was unable toprovide comparative data but saidbureaucrats ditching jobs usual-ly considered prestigious andpowerful was rare.
"Even seasoned officers afterworking for 25-30 years cannottake this pressure anymore," hesaid. "There are applications forvoluntary retirement coming inone after the other despite the factthat there is no voluntary retire-ment or golden handshakescheme in the department."
The Central Board of DirectTaxes (CBDT) did not respondto requests for data and commenton the resignations.
The CBDT, the FinanceMinistry and the PrimeMinister's Office did not respondto questions about tax targets and
alleged harassment by tax offi-cials.
While only a small fraction ofthe tax department's few thou-sand senior officers have quit,several officials in the taxdepartment said the departuresprovided a snapshot of broaderdiscontent that has also led tointernal transfers as well as res-ignations among lower-level
employees. "The level of impa-tience in the government hasgone up ... Anyone who has anyalternate option says: 'Whyshould we stay in the depart-ment?'" said one officer who hasquit the job and plans to go tendthe family farm. He said the stresshad "become unbearable."
"The pressure is getting greater.To achieve our targets we are
u n d e rpressure,so we dosome thingsthat we don't want to do," saidanother tax official in northernIndia.
The two men asked to remainunnamed for fear of reprisalsfrom the government.
Unorthodox tactics being used
by the department includedasking companies for advance
tax payments, as well as delayingrefunds, other tax officials said.
India's economy grew 5%year-on-year between April andJune, its weakest pace since 2013,and the slowdown could deepen,economists say. They blame themess partly on the centralisationof power in Modi's office and lack
of debate, leading to ill-con-ceived policy.
"Even well-meaning peoplefind it very difficult to tell him,'This is wrong, let's do it anoth-er way,'" said Sebastian Morris, asenior faculty member at theIndian Institute of Management,Ahmedabad, India's premierbusiness school.
Conflicting signals on issuesranging from tax policy to theauto sector were confusing,Morris said. "It's a madhouse."
Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman has been touringtax offices saying that the revenuetarget is realistic and thereforecollectors "need not overstretch."
But there is no clear definitionof over-reach, so confused offi-cers are hesitant about how tohandle truant taxpayers, saidBhattacharya of the tax officers'association.
"In an effort to erase the fearpsychosis in the public, tax offi-cers are now going through a fearpsychosis themselves," he said.
Indian businesses were com-plaining about sometimes high-
handed tactics used by tax offi-cers to crack down on evasionlong before Modi came to power.
But it became a hot-buttonissue after a prominent coffeemagnate committed suicideearlier this year, purportedlyleaving behind a letter blam-ing persecution by tax officers.Tax authorities said at thetime their probe was based oncredible evidence of concealedtransactions.
The government compulsori-ly retired 64 senior tax officersover alleged wrongdoing thisyear, a government source said.
"Some black sheep in the taxadministration may have mis-used their powers and harassedtaxpayers," Modi told theEconomic Times in August. "Wewill not tolerate this type ofbehaviour."
Modi's administration needsfunds for flagship programmesincluding free cooking gas con-nections and toilets for poorrural Indians, popular policiesthat helped win him a secondterm in May.
Tax officials find Modi's targets too taxing, some quitCritics say Modi'sdemands of histax officials aresymptomatic ofthe confusionsurrounding hisgovernment'seconomic policies,and that thebungling hascontributed to aslowdown ingrowth
HARINDER MISHRAn TEL AVIV
India is seeking Israel's help toensure functional tap-water toevery Indian household by 2024with a senior minister visiting thecountry next week to fulfill thegovernment's mission, India'senvoy here has said.
During his Independence Dayspeech, Prime Minister NarendraModi said that more than Rs 3.5lakh crore will be spent in thecoming years under the 'JalJeevan Mission' to bring pipedwater to households by 2024.
"During the historic visit ofour Prime Minister (Modi) toIsrael in July 2017, India andIsrael agreed to establish a'Strategic Partnership in Waterand Agriculture' in view of thecentrality of these areas to devel-opment. Under Prime Minister
Modi's leadership, theGovernment of India is accord-ing top priority to conservation,development and managementof water resources", India's newlyappointed Ambassador to Israel,Sanjeev Singla, told PTI.
"The visit by Jal ShaktiMinister, Gajendra SinghShekhawat is significant as both
sides will explore possible areasfor further collaboration andtangible outcomes. It is also inline with the Prime Minister'svision to ensure functional tap-water to every household inIndia by 2024 under the JalJeevan Mission," Singla, whoserved as Private Secretary toPrime Minister Modi, empha-
sised. Israel has made waterrecycling an integral part ofdaily life. More than 80 per centof household waste water isrecycled, amounting to 400 mil-lion cubic meters a year, theEnvironment Ministry says. Thatratio is four times higher than inany other country, according toIsrael's water authority.
‘India seeks Israel's help to ensure tapwater to every Indian household by 2024'
PNS n NEW DELHI
The government on Fridaynotified rules under the insol-vency law to deal with resolu-tion of financial serviceproviders, excluding banks.
The corporate affairs min-istry has notified theInsolvency and Bankruptcy(Insolvency and LiquidationProceedings of FinancialService Providers andApplication to AdjudicatingAuthority) Rules, 2019 (Rules).
It will provide a genericframework for insolvency andliquidation proceedings of sys-temically important FinancialService Providers (FSPs) otherthan banks, an official state-ment said.
"The special framework
provided under Section 227 ofthe Code for financial serviceproviders is essentially aimedat serving as an interim mech-anism to deal with any exi-gency pending introduction ofa full-fledged enactment todeal with financial resolutionof banks and other systemi-cally important financial ser-vice providers," it said.
The move also comesagainst the backdrop ofinstances of various FSPs fac-ing problems.
Govt notifies rules underinsolvency law for resolutionof fin service providers
PNS n NEW DELHI
Leading global investment firmBlackstone has invested Rs 1,750crore in Kishore Biyani ledFuture group firm FutureLifestyle Fashions Ltd (FLFL).
"Funds managed byBlackstone have invested Rs1,750 crore (including by way ofdebentures) in RykaCommercial Ventures, the hold-ing company of FLFL," thecompany said.
It further added that: "Withthis transaction, Blackstone willbe the only financial partner inRyka. As a part of the transac-tion, Blackstone has alsoacquired a 6 per cent stake inFLFL through a block deal withRyka."
"FLFL and the Future Groupare expected to benefit fromBlackstone's portfolio opera-tions team to create value in itsbusiness," the statement said.
The fund would be utilised to
"retire/pre-retire" all existingfinancial obligations of Ryka.
"We have been impressedwith the business that KishoreBiyani has built at Future Groupand are delighted to supportFuture Group in this journey,"Kishore Moorjani, Head ofBlackstone TacticalOpportunities, Asia said.
FLFL is an integrated brand-ed fashion company and oper-ates in-house retail chains likeCentral, Brand Factory andPlanet Sports along with a port-folio of 20 domestic and globalfashion brands.
Consumer spending in the coun-try's rural areas has plummetedto a four-decade low, a leadingbusiness daily reported on Friday,bringing more bad news forPrime Minister Narendra Modi'sgovernment that is struggling torevive a stuttering economy.
Consumer demand in vil-lages fell 8.8 per cent between July2017 and June 2018 - thesharpest 12-month drop since1972-73, a daily reported, usingunpublished data recorded by theNational Statistical Office (NSO).
Two-thirds of the 130 crorepopulation live in rural areas,making it a key economic driver.But spending on food, educationand clothing declined, withdemand for essential items suchas cereals plunging 20 per cent,the newspaper said.
The report should have beenreleased in June, but was pushedback because of its "adverse" find-ings, the daily said citing sourcesfamiliar with the matter. A gov-
ernment official told AFP thereport was not finished.
"The NSO report is stillunder processing and not val-idated, and many officials arenot privy to the data," said AKMishra of the ministry ofstatistics. The data "can onlybe confirmed once the min-istry publishes the report", MrMishra added. If the findingsare confirmed, it would ringyet another alarm bell overAsia's third-largest economy,
which has endured five con-secutive quarters of slowinggrowth.
In January, the daily reportedthat unemployment had surgedto a four-decade high during PMModi's first term in power, citingunpublished data from the min-istry.
The delay in releasing thejobs report prompted a topgovernment statistician to quitin protest. The report con-firming the joblessness data
was finally released in May,after PM Modi was re-electedwith a thumping majority.
Congress leader RahulGandhi attacked the govern-ment over the new report,accusing it of trying to buryunflattering data. "Modinomicsstinks so bad, the governmenthas to hide its own reports," hetweeted.
PNS n NEW DELHI
The National Company LawTribunal (NCLT) has directedthe lenders of Kwality Ltd toreconsider the revised Rs 145-crore offer by Haldiram Snacksto acquire the debt-riddendairy firm.
The Delhi-based bench ofthe tribunal has also extendedthe Corporate InsolvencyResolution period by anotherthree weeks and directed theCommittee of Creditor (CoC)to reconsider the enhancedoffer.
Earlier, the lenders ofKwality Ltd had rejected the Rs142 crore bid of Delhi-basedHaldiram Snacks, whichemerged as the sole bidder toacquire the debt-ridden dairyfirm.
Following which, HaldiramSnacks had revised its offermarginally and approachedthe NCLT with a plea that itslatest resolution plan should beconsidered by the lenders asthe offer is higher than the liq-uidation value.
In 2018, the NCLT orderedinsolvency proceedings inKwality on a petition filed byglobal private equity firmKKR. Shailendra Ajmera, whois part of multinational con-sultancy firm EY, has beenappointed as the resolutionprofessional to conduct theinsolvency proceedings.
On November 2, the CoChad rejected Haldiram Snacks'Rs 142 crore resolution plan, asonly about 40 per cent of thelenders voted in favour of theresolution plan as against therequirement of 66 per cent.
Kwality has a total debt ofaround Rs 1,900 crore.
Haldiram Snacks had ear-marked Rs 135.64 crore for thefinancial creditors out of itstotal offer of Rs 141.59 crore toacquire Kwality Ltd.
Post rejection of its offer,Haldiram had written a letteron November 4 to IRP, revis-ing its offer to Rs 139 crore forfinancial creditors, taking thetotal value of the bid to Rs144.95 crore.
Haldiram has filed a petitionbefore the NCLT, requestingthat RP should be directed toplace the revised bid before theCOC for consideration.
It had requested the NCLTto direct the resolution pro-fessional to place the latestoffer before the CoC for con-sideration.
"The said letter (November4, 2019) offers an increase inthe offer value to financialcreditors by Rs 3.3 crore to Rs139 crore from Rs 135.64 croreand consequently, the totaloffer value to Rs 144.95 crore,"
Veg oil importsup 3.5% at 155.5L tonnesPNS n NEW DELHI
India's vegetable oil importsincreased by 3.5 per cent to155.5 lakh tonnes in 2018-19marketing year ended October,due to increase in inward ship-ments in refined oils, accordingto industry data. Imports of veg-etable oils stood at 150.26 lakhtonnes in the previous year.While shipments of edible oilincreased to 149.13 lakh tonnesin the 2018-19 marketing year(Nov-Oct) from 145.16 lakhtonnes in the previous year, theimports of non-edible oil grewto 6,36,159 tonnes from 5,09,748tonnes during the period underreview, Solvent Extractors'Association said in a statement.
PNS n NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on Fridaypaved the way for ArcelorMittaltakeover of debt-ridden EssarSteel for Rs 42,000 crore and setaside the July 4 NCLAT ordergiving equal status to financialcreditors and operational cred-itors. A bench headed by JusticeR F Nariman clarified that finan-cial creditors enjoy primacy overoperational creditors and theadjudicating authority cannotinterfere with the decisionapproved by the committee ofcreditors.
The top court said that theadjudicating authority can sendback the resolution plan to thecommittee of creditors (COC)for implementation in accor-dance with the guidelines butcannot change the commercialdecision taken by the COC.
The bench also relaxed thetimeline of 330 days to find a res-
olution plan as prescribed underthe Insolvency and BankruptcyCode. The bench said it wouldbe open for the the adjudicatingauthority to maintain the time-line in exceptional cases.
The bench said that the COCresolution plan must balance theinterest of all stakeholders.
The apex court had on July 22ordered status quo in the Essarinsolvency case.
The verdict came on a plea ofthe committee of creditors chal-lenging NCLAT's order of July 4in which it had approved steeltycoon Lakshmi Mittal-ledArcelorMittal's Rs 42,000-crore
bid for the acquisition of EssarSteel after it rejected a plea by thelead shareholder of the debt-laden firm challenging the eligi-bility of the bidder.
The National Company LawAppellate Tribunal (NCLAT)had, however, given operationalcreditors equal status as lendersin the distribution of theArcelorMittal's bid amountamong the creditors of EssarSteel. Essar Steel was auctionedunder the new Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (IBC) torecover Rs 54,547 crore ofunpaid dues of financial lendersand operational creditors.
SC paves way for ArcelorMittal totake over Essar Steel for Rs 42K cr
‘Rural consumer spendingslumps to 4-decade low’
KWALITY INSOLVENCY
NCLT directs lenders to considerHaldiram's revised offer
Consumer demandin villages fell 8.8per cent betweenJuly 2017 and June2018 - the sharpest12-month dropsince 1972-73, adaily reported,using unpublisheddata recorded bythe NationalStatistical Office
Kishore Biyani
DGCA gives moretime to IndiGo,GoAir for modifyingP&W enginesPNS n NEW DELHI
Aviation regulator DGCA hasextended the deadline for mod-ification of Pratt & Whitneyengines, powering A320 neoplanes of IndiGo and GoAir.
In the wake of multiple inci-dents involving P&W enginesin recent times, DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation(DGCA) had given certaindeadlines to the two airlines forcarrying out changes to theirP&W engines.
"...as the task is onerous andavailability of such engines is anissue, we have now asked themto complete the task in a slight-ly modified time line i.e.November 24, 2019," the reg-ulator said in a statement onFriday.
Directives were issued bythe watchdog on October 28, 29and November 11, with regardto change of engines with mod-ified Low Pressure Turbine(LPT). Initially, engines of 16A320 neo planes of IndiGo wereto be modified by November 12,while 13 such aircraft of GoAirby November 13.
Besides, IndiGo was to mod-ify engines of 23 A320 neoplanes by November 19. "Theposition has been reviewed andwe are happy to note that the air-lines have made substantialprogress with regard to thedirectives issued dated October28 and 29," DGCA said.
Out of 23 planes, IndiGo hasplaced modified engines in 15of them while GoAir has donefor 9 aircraft out of the total of13. The regulator noted theprogress made is "below expec-tation".
Further, DGCA said itsdirective to IndiGo on com-plete change of all P&Wengines with modified LPT byJanuary 31 remains in force.
During his IndependenceDay speech, PrimeMinister Narendra Modisaid that more than Rs 3.5lakh crore will be spent inthe coming years underthe 'Jal Jeevan Mission'to bring piped water tohouseholds by 2024
t is easy to saythat ‘age is just anumber’ andthen lie back togo wherever lifetakes you. But
there are others who puttheir words to work andcreate history. SyamalaGoli, at 47, became the firstwoman from Telangana toswim across the Ganga, adistance of 13 km.
This feat was accom-plished at the 12th NationalTakshila Open Water LongDistance Ganga SwimmingCompetition in Patna,Bihar, organised by theBihar SwimmingAssociation under the aegisof Swimming Federation ofIndia. Syamala finishedsixth among the 40 swim-mers from across the coun-try who attended the event.
Syamala had underwenttraining at the swimmingpool at the GachibowliStadium under the supervi-sion of Coach Ayush Yadav.
Syamala recently partici-pated in the National OpenWater SwimmingCompetition (AQUAMAN)and came second in the 10km category. She also wonthe bronze medal in 400 mfreestyle at the 16thMasters National AquaticChampionship held inLucknow this year.
Her biggest achievementso far was when she repre-sented India at the FinaWorld Master’sChampionship held atGwangju in South Koreawhere she swam 3 km inopen waters and securedthe 22nd position in theevent. — PNS
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SYAMALAREPRESENTEDINDIA AT THEFINA WORLDMASTER’SCHAMPIONSHIPHELD ATGWANGJU INSOUTH KOREA
SaturdayNovember 16, 2019
Humanemancipationis incomplete
without gettingrid of
trafficking. VSATEESH
REDDYspeaks to a
Hyderabad-based social
activist who isall set to beginRed Ride that
will bringawareness on
humantrafficking
ccording to theGlobal SlaveryIndex, 2017, inIndia, a child goesmissing everyeight minutes. It is
horrifying to see that traf-ficking of minor girls for sex-ual exploitation and/or forbonded labour rose by 416per cent between 2009-13. Asper a report by the NationalHuman Rights Commissionof India, only 10 per cent ofhuman trafficking in India isinternational and the remain-ing 90 per cent operatesbetween states which meansit can be tackled throughlocal participation. All thesestatistics show how humantrafficking is increasing withevery passing year,” saidChrysolyte Sanamanda, aHyderabad-based socialactivist, who is all set tobegin the Red Ride 2019 inthe city on December 7 tocreate awareness among peo-ple about human trafficking.
She says, “Red Ride is acycling expedition acrossmost trafficked prone areasin Telangana and AndhraPradesh to create awarenesson modern day slavery andhuman trafficking. We planto run this campaign annual-ly, and by 2020, we wouldlike to reach out to every dis-trict of the Telugu states andcome up with a solution totrafficking.”
The objective of the initia-
tive is to raise awareness onissues surrounding traffick-ing in rural areas and alsopromote physical fitnesssimultaneously.
She said that she has beeninterested in social activitiessince her childhood and soonshe began participating invarious social welfare activi-ties. Having understood howprevalent is human traffick-ing she wanted to do some-thing about it. So she cameup with the Red Ride initia-tive under her NGO, RedRope Movement.
“The ride will be flaggedoff on December 7 atSuchitra at 6.30 am. Ridersfrom the Hyderabad CyclistsGroup and other cyclinggroups and corporates willparticipate. The ride will startfrom Suchitra via Bowenpallyand end at LB Nagar fromwhere our core team of 10volunteer cyclists will contin-ue the journey to Suryapet ina separate van. The Red Rideteam would then travel fromdistrict to district organising
the cycling event with localparticipants of various com-munities and age groups,”said Sanamanda.
The Red Ride memberswill ride through Suryapet,Nalgonda, Guntur, Vijaya-wada, Machilipatnam, Elluru,Bhimavaram, Rajahmundry,Kakinada, Visakhapatnam,Narsipatnam, Badrachalamand Warangal and interactwith the people there.
She added, “At everyprominent place the teamwill facilitate an awarenessprogramme that will startwith an icebreaker. This willbe followed by brief sessionson statistics and ways toreport and eradicate traffick-ing and types of modern dayslavery. We teach people howto handle strangers on socialmedia, especially when con-fronted with fake profiles andstrange friend requests. Wewill also talk to young girlstudents about how to reportoffline and online abuse tothe police, have safe tripswhile travelling alone in cabsand so forth. The event willend with a song aboutempowerment. The ride willclose on December 15 at theTankbund with the distribu-tion of certificates to all theparticipants and supporters.”
Sanamanda said that theteam will also explain thevarious laws on the safety ofwomen and children such asThe Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences(Amendment) Bill, 2019(POCSO) — which seeks toprotect children from crimessuch as sexual assault, sexualharassment, and pornogra-phy — and the SexualHarassment of Women atWorkplace (Prevention,Prohibition and Redressal)Act, 2013, that seeks to pro-tect women from sexualharassment at their place ofwork.
She shared, “I am talkingwith NGOs and police offi-cials about various projects tocollaborate with and so farmany have responded well. Ihope all of us will cometogether to combat this socialexploitation.”
CYCLINGAGAINSTEXPLOITATIONA
At every prominentplace the team willfacilitate an awarenessprogramme that willstart with an icebreaker.This will be followed bybrief sessions onstatistics and ways toreport and eradicatetrafficking and types ofmodern day slavery. Wealso teach people howto handle strangers onsocial mediaCHRYSOLYTE SANAMANDA
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
THE RED RIDE TEAMWILL CYCLE THROUGHSURYAPET,NALGONDA, GUNTUR,VIJAYAWADA, ELLURUAND OTHER DISTRICTS
Art for a cause
one are the dayswhen childrenwere just passiveparticipants inevents organisedby schools to
accommodate the regularprogrammes of dance, musicand drama.
Now schools are lookingbeyond these traditionaltroupes to interact with chil-dren in a more meaningfulway; help them understandthe larger role that they willplay in the society tomor-row.
Students of the ElateInternational School helpedorganise a charity — Art fora Cause — for the children
recently as an alternative tothe usual competitions andtalent shows.
At the event, everythingmade by the children willused to help others in need.
The students invited theirparents, grandparents andsiblings as guests to attendthe workshops that wereorganised at the school andhelped raise money.
Workshops on canvas andvase painting and clay mod-elling were held where stu-dents made and sold thepaintings and art decor theymade.
“We raised Rs 34,585through the exhibition andworkshops which will bedonated to an orphanage.The students are going tobuy supplies that these kidsmight need and conduct anart workshop in the orphan-age for 50 children. In linewith our motto ‘children forchildren’, our students aremaking giving their best forunderprivileged children,”says Kareem Basha,Chairman of Elate. — PNS
One of thefunctions of art
is to makepeople work for
a cause.Schools are
tapping into thecreative outletsof students tocrowd sourcefunds for the
needy
G
Overcoming the test of time
I
10
Hyderabad Saturday November 16, 2019
ARCHANA TIES THE KNOTActress Archana Veda got married to Jagadish,
who is the vice-president of a leadinghealthcare company, in Hyderabad on Thursday
evening. K Raghevendra Rao, TSubbarami Reddy, MuraliMohan, ParuchuriGopalakrishna, Ali, SivaBalaji along with his wifeMadhu, Sameer, Ohmkar andAshwin were among a hostof others whoextended theirwishes to thenewlyweds.
l Manchu Lakshmi
l Paruchuri Gopalakrishna and Vijaya Lakshmi
l Murali Mohan
l Ali along with his wife l Siva Balaji and Madhumitha
l Raghavendra Rao
FUN TIME
Rules
ARCHIE
GARFIELD
SUDOKU
REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD
GINGER MEGGS
NANCY
CALVIN AND HOBBES
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
l The playINDRAJAL isone of themasterpiecesof Hindiwriter JaiShankarPrasad. It is alove storybetween Belaand Goli, members of a travelling community whodream of devoting their entire life to each other andhow different reflections of our society play a role.It will be held at Pheonix Arena tomorrow at 7.30pm.
l Surmandal and ICCR in association withRithwik Foundation, Economic Committee ispresenting a flute recital by Shashank and vocalrecital by Jayateertha Mevundi accompanied bySateesh (Mridangam), Ojas Adhia(Tabla) andVyasmurthy Katti(Harmonium) on November 17at Gandhi Centenary Hall, Exhibition Groundsfrom 6 pm onwards.
CITY GUIDE
lIndia’s biggest MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) event isback in Hyderabad. Mercury presents to you theBrave 30, at GMC Balayogi Sports Complex. PopularMMA athletes from across the globe will fight it outon the arena on November 23.
ART AAND SSPORTS
MELANGE
THEATREJOD TODlJod Tod, a Hindiplay presented byKalayan Theatregroup fromBengaluru,is a funfilledcrackling comedyaboutquintessentialrelationships andits complications.This light hearted funfilled play will be held atLamakaan on November 30 at 7.30 pm.
BRAVE 30 - AN MMA EVENT
lLeatherpuppetryworkshop is theshadow theatretradition of AP,Telangana andparts of Karnataka.Stories from epicssuch as Ramayana and Mahabharata will beenacted. The workshop by B. Raju ofNimmalakunta leather puppetry, will be held onNovember 20 at Alliance Francaise.
WORKSHOP ON PUPPET THEATRE
INDRAJAL
STEPPIN OUT NIGHT MARKET
ARIJIT - LIVE PERFORMANCE
l ‘My music, my country is bringing in Arijit Singhfor a live performance. It was initiated byHyderabad Talkies as a platform for gifted Indianartistes and to re-introduce the ethnicity of Indianmusic. The event will take place on November 23at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium.
FLUTE RECITAL
l The Steppin Out Night Market, ChristmasEdition in association with CRED Experiences, willbe held at Hotel Taj Krishna. It’s a one-stepgateway to the world of fashion with clothing,jewellery, home decor, and lots more which will beheld on December 14.
GET YOUR EVENT LISTED: To get your events listed, please send your detailsalong with a poster and contact number to [email protected]
what’s brewing?PARTY
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LEGENDS LIVE IN CONCERTlOne of the most-awaited events isfinally happening, athree-hour musicalconcert with thevoices of legends— SP Balasubrahm-anyam, KJYesudas, and KSChitra. The power-trio shall perform live at LalBahadur Shastri Stadium on 30 November at7.00 pm. Organised by Eleven Point Two, theconcert will showcase soulful melodies by thetrio, who have come together for the first time.
opular comedyshow Jabardasth,which runs on ETV,has lost some of itsstar performers suchas Chammak
Chandra, Rakesh, Ram Prasadand directors Nitin and Bharat
to competition. Chandra, thehighest paid among all, whodrew close to Rs 1.5-1.6 lakhper skit, has been snatchedaway by competitors for Rs 2lakh per skit. According to asource in the know, the chan-nel, which has taken in newmembers, first initiated talkswith Sudigali Sudheer, promis-ing him bulk of the shows ontheir channel. He was initiallywilling to shift loyalties but hada change of heart after speakingto other members ofJabardasth. Naga Babu, who is ajudge on the show, has madethe switch though, while Rojawill continue to be withJabardasth show runnersMallemala Entertainments,we’ve learnt. Apparently, NagaBabu didn’t like the way he wastreated when he was busy cam-paigning for his NarasapuramLok Sabha constituency earlierthis summer. In his place, someother actors had judged theshow. The participants on theshow had to fight with theMallemala management tobring him back, it is widely
believed. “Some other partici-pants on the show tooexpressed their desire to leavefor the other channelbut producerShyamPrasad’s hecticparleys over thelast week meant thatthey’ve decided to stick withMallelmala. Sattipandu-Anandteam is likely to replaceChandra. The competitivechannel is planning to run ashow similar to that ofJabardasth,” added the source.
hile his ambitious Actionwith C. Sundar opened torelatively positive reportson Friday, action heroVishal treated his fanswith the title and first look
of his next with director M.S.Anandan on social media. An actionthriller, the film has been titledChakra. It is rumoured to be thesequel to his hit Abhimanyudu butthere’s no official word yet. The film,which sees the actor in the role of anArmy officer, has gone to floors earli-er this April, and is presently in thelast leg of filming. Regina Cassandraand Shraddha Srinath are playing the
female leads. It is scheduled to hit thescreens for Pongal.
Meanwhile, Vishal will shift atten-tion to Mysskin’s Detective 2 nextmonth in London. Close to 45 days ofshoot has been planned in theQueen’s City. Also featuringPrasanna, Rahman, and Gauthami inpivotal characters, it is likely to have aHindi dubbed release as well. Vishalhas also given his nod to headlineNOTA director Anand Shankar’s nextin the summer of 2020. He will beginshooting for it after he wraps upDetective 2. Overall, the possibility ofhim having three releases next year isnot ruled out at this juncture.
he cast of Raj Tarun’snext with VijayKumar Konda,
Orey… Bujjigaa, hasgot a new addition.
The film’s makers onFriday announced the signing of
Hebah Patel for a crucial role.While the nature of her role hasn’t
been revealed, producer K.Radhamohan said that her role is as
important as film’s leading ladyMalavika Nair. He added that she
has joined the sets on Friday itself.“Pure commercial equations led to
Hebah coming on board even thoughshe wasn’t in the initial plan. ProducerK.K. Radhamohan proposed her name
because she and Raj Tarun are a hit pair— having done films like Kumari 21F,
Andhhagadu. She has also done films suchas Eedo Rakam Aado Rakam. Vijay Konda
too nodded to the idea as it would help thefilm on the business front,” said a source.The film is a drama set in Hyderabad on
lines of Konda’s GundejaariGallanthayyinde but with an interesting
love story thrown into the mix. More than50 per cent of the film’s shooting has beenwrapped up. The supporting cast includes
Vani Viswanath, Naresh, Posani KrishnaMurali, Sapthagiri, Raja Raveendra, Ajay
Ghosh, Annapurna, Sathya andMadhunandan, while Anup Rubens is the
music composer. Radhamohan is planning torelease the film early next year.
Chemistry of a hit pair liveson and helps the next movie
they are cast in. Makers ofOrey… Bujjigaa are banking
on the same formulato draw crowds into
theatres, findsNAGARAJ
GOUD
Hyderabad Saturday November 16, 2019
11
tollywoodHEBAHand RAJTARUNagain T
he buzz surrounding Ala Vaikunthapuramlo star-ring Allu Arjun has made a solid deal on theHindi dubbing, satellite and digital rights front.The fact that Bunny’s films are popular in theNorth Indian market, and that the film boastspopular Hindi faces like Tabu and Pooja Hegde
in key roles, has worked in favour of producer S. RadhaKrishna despite the Hindi market going through a lull offlate. Sources say the film has made Rs 19.5 crore from theaforementioned avenues. On the other hand, superstarMahesh Babu-starrer Sarileru Neekevvaru, which will battle
it out with AlaVaikunthapuramlo forSankranti, has made Rs 15crore from Hindi dubbingand satellite rights. As report-ed by The Pioneer earlier, thisamount will go to Mahesh asa part of his remunerationfor the film.
Meanwhile, the team of theAllu Arjun-starrer returnedto Hyderabad following theEuropean leg of filming.Director Trivikram is plan-ning to shoot a song fromnext week in Hyderabad.Pending portions toowill be shot throughthe rest of the month,with which the film-ing will come to anend.
T
W
P
VISHAL has a jam-packed 2020
WAIT FORMISMATCH ENDS
aiting for anappropriate releasedate for past fourmonths, Mismatch— featuringAishwarya Rajesh
and Aatagadharaa Siva fame,Uday Shankar in lead roles —will finally be opening in the-atres on December 6.
Directed by Tamil film-maker Nirmal Kumar, thefilm is a joint productionventure between G. SriramRaju and Bharat Ram.
The film, according toUday, is a love story betweena rural girl (AishwaryaRajesh) and an IT guy. “I playSiddhu, a smart neatly dressedgentleman, who attempts towork on something onlywhen he is confident that hewill pull it off. He believes insmart work more than hardwork. Aishwarya will be seenas a mass girl with a roughand tough look. She has nofilters, speaks her mind and isbold. They are a kind of amismatch and how they fall inlove and the events that followmake the film,” he had told usearlier.
Bhupati Raja, who haspenned films likeMutamestri, Annaya, Daddyand Nenunnanu, has writtenthe film’s story, while GiftonElias is the music composer.Pawan Kalyan’s revered mon-tage number Ee Manase Se Sefrom his 1998 blockbusterTholi Prema has beenremixed for the film. PradeepRawat and Sanjay Swaroopwill be seen in supportingroles.
Jabardasth loses NagaBabu, star performers
BUNNY'Sstar powerto the fore
W
PTI n NEW DELHI
Chris Lynn, David Miller, Jaydev Unadkatand Chris Morris were among the 71
players released by their respective fran-chisees on Friday ahead of next month’s IPLauction.
Friday was the deadline for releasing,trading and retaining players. A total of 127players have been retained including 35 for-eigners.
Lynn, the big-hitting Australian open-er, was released by Kolkata Knight Ridersafter five fruitful seasons when he got theteam off to a flying start on umpteen occa-sions.
The other 10 released KKR playersinclude West Indian Carlos Brathwaite,South African Anrich Nortje, former Indiaplayers Piyush Chawla and Robin Uthappa,who struggled to get going last season.
Kings XI Punjab go into the auction onDecember 19 with a purse of ̀ 42.70 crore,the biggest among the eight teams after theyreleased eight players including SouthAfrica’s Miller, Englishman Sam Curran andmystery Tamil Nadu spinner VarunChakravarthy, who was bought for a whop-ping `8.4 crore last year.
Miller went on to become one of the bat-ting mainstays for Kings XI Punjab over the
past eight seasons, scoring 1850 runs in 79games at a strike rate of 138.78.
“Kings XI Punjab now have the high-est salary cap available going into the auc-tion while Royal Challengers Bangalore havethe most number of player slots (12) avail-able (including 6 overseas slots). After today’sdeadline, Chennai Super Kings have thelargest squad size (20),” read a BCCI state-ment.
“Of the eight franchises, RoyalChallengers Bangalore (12) have released themost players while Sunrisers Hyderabad (5)have released the least players from theirsquad,” it added.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians
have retained 18 players including veteranSri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga despite hisfitness issues while releasing 12.
Among the released players are
Australian fast bowler Jason Behrendorffand Alzarri Joseph of West Indies, NewZealand’s Adam Milne, Beuran Hendricksand Ben Cutting.
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh,who quit all forms of cricket including IPLearlier this year, has also been released.
Kiwi seamer Trent Boult, WestIndian Sherfane Rutherford andMumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarniare the three trade-ins for thefranchise.
Three-time IPL championsChennai Super Kings havereleased England cricketers SamBillings and David Willey besidesthree Indian players including2015 World CupperMohit Sharma. With 20players already in theirsquad, CSK go into theauction with a meagrepurse of `14.60 crore.
Virat Kohli-ledRoyal ChallengersBangalore have let go oftheir 12 players includ-ing seven foreigners.The big namesreleased are SouthAfrican pacer DaleSteyn, New Zealandall-rounder Colin deG r a n d h o m m e ,Australian Marcus
Stoinis and West Indies batsman ShimronHetmyer. They roughly have `28 crore towork with at the auction.
Delhi Capitals, who had traded inRavichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahanefrom KXIP and Rajasthan Royals respective-ly, have retained young Prithvi Shaw whosedoping ban ends on Friday. There was spec-ulation over Shaw being traded to the Royals.
The Delhi franchise has released nineplayers including two South Africans, all-rounder Morris and power-hitter ColinIngram. New Zealand top-order batsman
Colin Munro has also been released andso has been India’s Test specialistHanuma Vihari.
Rajasthan Royals have released 11players including pacer JaydevUnadkat, whom they had boughtback for `8.4 crore last year after pay-ing ̀ 11.5 crore for him in the previous
season.The franchise also
announced that starAustralian batsman
Steve Smith will con-tinue to lead the team.
S u n r i s e r sHyderabad havereleased the least
number of play-ers — five —and theyinclude ShakibAl Hasan, who
has been bannedby the ICC, New
Zealand opener MartinGuptill, Deepak Hooda
and Yusuf Pathan.
sport 12HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 16, 2019
PTI n PROVIDENCE
The fast-rising JemimahRodrigues starred with
the bat after India’s spinnerswreaked havoc to set up aseries-clinching seven-wick-et win over the West Indies ina low-scoring third women’sT20 International in Guyana.
The spinners restrictedWest Indies to a paltry 59 for9 in the stipulated 20 oversbefore Rodrigues played anunbeaten innings of 40 (51balls) to take India home with20 balls to spare and for theloss of just three wickets.
The triumph sealedIndia’s second consecutive
T20 series win. They hadbeaten South Africa at homelast month.
Spinners Radha Yadav(2/6), Deepti Sharma (2/12),Poonam Yadav (1/8) and
Anuja Patil (1/13) were thearchitect of the win that reaf-firmed India’s supremacyover West Indies, who havenow lost six T20Internationals on the trot.
PTI n NEW DELHI
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has hitthe nets in his hometown
Ranchi but it is unlikely that thetalismanic former captain willmake himself available for theupcoming limited-overs homeseries against the West Indiesnext month.
Dhoni, who has not played acompetitive game since the WorldCup semifinal against NewZealand in July, had a net sessionat the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi onThursday, raising hopes of a come-back.
However, he remains unavail-able for the three T20s and asmany ODIs against the WestIndies starting December 6 in
Mumbai.“He is not available for the
West Indies series,” a BCCI officialsaid on Friday.
Ever since that World Cupsemifinal loss to New Zealand,Dhoni's future has been a subjectof intense speculation but theplayer himself has not spoken aword on it.
Host broadcaster Star Sportswanted Dhoni to commentate inIndia’s first-ever day-night Test,against Bangladesh, fromNovember 22-26, but he will notbe doing that as he remains a con-tracted player of the BCCI
As per the existing constitu-tion, Dhoni commentating wouldhave also amounted to conflict ofinterest.
PTI n INDORE
Opener Mayank Agarwal grind-ed a below-par Bangladeshbowling unit with a career-best
second double hundred as Indiaburied the visitors under a deluge ofruns on the second day of the open-ing Test here on Friday.
Agarwal’s third Test hundred,
243 off 330 balls, formed the corner-stone of India’s 493 for 6, which gavethe home side a sizeable lead of 343runs.
Friday solely belonged to Agarwal,who in this particular innings, man-aged to overshadow a batting line-upthat has Rohit Sharma (6), CheteshwarPujara (54 off 72 balls), skipper ViratKohli (0) and Ajinkya Rahane (86 off
172 balls) in its ranks.Agarwal’s partnership of 91 for the
second wicket with Pujara and 190 forthe fourth wicket with Rahane werehowever important in the context ofthe Indian innings.
A whirlwind partnership of 123 in23.5 overs with Ravindra Jadeja (60batting) for the fifth wicket onlyadded insult to injury for Bangladesh.
The match might be over insidethree days if India declare overnight.
Bangladesh’s brittle batting line-up may not have the mental capacityto withstand India’s pace barrage iffirst innings was any indicator.
For Agarwal, his voraciousappetite for runs, carefully cultivatedthrough solid performances at thedomestic and India ‘A’ level, is payingdividends.
Exactly one year ago, Agarwalwas in the fringe, scoring those“Daddy Hundreds” but lost out to theprodigious talent of Prithvi Shaw, whowas given preference and a headstartat the international arena.
Destiny, however, had other plansas Shaw got injured and also lost a bitof focus. That was the openingAgarwal was looking for and he isshowing with each innings that he isnot going anywhere too soon.
The Shubman Gills and theShaws may have to wait a wee bitlonger.
Having scored those tough runsDown Under, Agarwal has nowearned the right to consolidate hisplace with some heavy duty scoring.And he is doing that exactly.
It did help that Bangladesh gottheir bowling combination awfullywrong.
On a pitch, where someone withexpress pace and variation was need-ed, the visitors fielded two specialistspinners in left-arm orthodox TaijulIslam (0/120 in 28 overs) and off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraj (1/115in 27 overs).
The spin duo was like lambs forslaughter as Agarwal went after them
with all his might.All the eight sixes that he hit came
off the two spinners. This apart, healso hit 28 boundaries during hiscareer-best international score.
The coveted double hundredcame by lofting Miraj over long-onwhile the stand-out six was an insideout over extra cover off Taijul. Thenthere was one down the ground anda couple over long-off.
The spinners were either bowlingtoo short or too full outside the off-stump. At one stage, Miraj, a formerBangladesh U-19 captain, complete-ly lost confidence as he started com-ing round the wicket.
The negative field placement foran off-spinner — a deep point for sav-ing a cut shot and deep square leg forsaving a pull-shot — was a reflectionof Bangladesh’s approach.
Abu Jayed (4/108 in 25 overs) wasthe only bowler, who showed someheart getting the wickets of Pujara,Kohli and Rahane but his new ballEbadot Hossain (1/115 in 31 overs)neither had pace nor the variation totrouble the Indian batsmen.
They attacked him at will anddefended when they found it neces-sary.
The lack of pace also became afactor and the pitch on which Indianpacers looked menacing, Bangladesh’smedium pacers merely went throughthe motions.
Each boundary left their shoul-ders dropping further and by the timeAgarwal was out trying to hit hisninth six, the visitors had resigned tothe fate that the remainder of this Testmatch will now be a mere formality.
PTI n INDORE
The slump in form that heendured early in his career
has taught Mayank Agarwalto make hay while the sunshines and he did exactly thatagainst Bangladesh, smashinga career-best 243 on the sec-ond day.
For someone whose con-sistency was an issue someyears ago, Agarwal has nowscored two double hundredsin his last four Test appear-ances. And he wants to makeevery opportunity count tillthis kind of dream form lasts.
“I think it goes down tounderstanding that there hadbeen times when I have notgot runs. So I must respect thegame that I am batting well.When I am doing that I haveto make sure that I make it bigand put the team in driver’sseat or put it in such a posi-tion that they cannot losefrom there,” Agarwal saidafter the second day’s play.
There are players onwhom selectors would puntpurely on talent and there aresome like Agarwal, who hadto break the door open witha mountain of runs.
Asked if it makes himmore aware that he mightalways have to score morethan say a Prithvi Shaw to bein the mix, Agarwal spokeabout how “his journey is dif-ferent from others.”
“I don’t look at it that way.My journey is not going to besame as someone else’s and Idon’t like comparing two peo-ple’s journey because some-body might get chance quick-ly and somebody might getchance late,” he said.
“But that (chance) is notunder our control and it is
important to understand thethings that are in my controland think I’m glad to play forthe country and from therebuild on.”
The opener gave a peekinto his mindset as he wentonto build a marathon knockwith 28 fours and eight sixes.
“I think it goes down togameplan. Who you are feel-ing comfortable against andwho you want to attack andthen pick the right balls. Youcan’t just say that okay I amgoing to hit each and everyball. You can’t do that. It’s notgoing to happen that way,” hesaid.
“It’s a case of understand-ing, okay, this is the bowler Iam playing well today and thisis the ball that I can go after.Pick those balls and thenhave mental discipline tobuild your innings on that.”
He, however, agreed thatsecond day was better forbatting compared to the firstday.
“The wicket has settleddown compared to what itwas yesterday. It got better tobat on as there is good bounceand good value for yourshots.”
He said that his skipperwanted him to continue andget a triple hundred but he gotout going for a ninth maxi-mum.
“I could have playedlonger. But the ball was in theslot. The captain was backingyou and he wanted the bestfor me more than what hewants from himself. That is abig thing,” said Agarwal.
So how does Mayankunwind after a hard day?“Mayank Plays Pub G,” hereplied and broke into laugh-ter.
PTI n INDORE
Senior India cricketers RohitSharma, Cheteshwar Pujara
and Ravichandran Ashwin gota first feel of playing with thepink ball under lights during aday-end net session at theHolkar Stadium on Friday.
With only two training ses-sions are possible under lightsbefore the day/night Test at theEden Gardens startingNovember 22, the Indian teamis trying to make most of thetime at their disposal.
Couple of days before thefirst Test, skipper Virat Kohli andother top-order batsmen had athrowdown session in the after-noon but Friday was the firsttime when they had a nearly 35-minute session under lights.
It was opener Rohit and pre-mier spinner Ashwin, whospend considerable time in oneof the nets with head coach RaviShastri keeping a close watch onthe proceedings.
Skipper Virat Kohli spokeabout adjusting to the newcolour under lights and that pre-cisely was the exercise as the two
senior players faced each other.Ashwin bowled with the
semi-new ball as Rohit andlater Pujara also had a go. In theother nets, reserve batsmenHanuma Vihari and ShubmanGill faced throwdown expertsRaghavendra and NuwanSeneviratne.
But it was the first net onwhich all eyes were trained onas Rohit was seen trying to giveAshwin the charge. Rohit andPujara took turns to face Ashwinand Kuldeep Yadav.
Kuldeep incidentally wasvery effective during the firstDuleep Trophy that was playedwith pink Kookaburra balls asthe batsmen were unable to pickthe seam when the left-armwrist spinner would flight thedeliveries.
