c m y k c m y k Vol. 83 No. 209 Established 1938 | 16 PAGES | `6.00 deccanchronicle.com, facebook.com/deccannews, twitter.com/deccanchronicle, google.com/+deccanchronicle IN BRIEF Gold prices zoom to `52,960/10gm No decision to reintroduce FRDI N e w D e l h i : Gold prices in Delhi continued to hit new highs, rising by `905 to `52,960 per 10 gram on Monday, in line with the rally in international marke- tas per HDFC Securities. It had closed at `52,055 per 10 gram in the previous trade. Silver was also in huge demand as it zoomed by `3,347 to `65,670 per kg from `62,323 per kg. N e w D e l h i : The government has not taken any decision to reintroduce the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill (FRDI Bill), the finance ministry said on Monday. The bill’s “bail-in” clause with potential to harm deposits in savings accounts drew flak. M a x : 33.2 O C M i n : 23.8 O C R H : 57% R a i n : Nil F o r e c a s t : Cloudy sky, rain or thundershowers likely. Max/Min temp 32/24º C ASTROGUIDE Sarvari; Dakshinayana Tithi: Sravana Shuddha Navami till 3 am (Wednesday) Star: Swati till 9.42 am Varjyam: 3.02 pm to 4.33 pm Durmuhurtam: 8.31 am to 9.22 am; 11.15 pm to 12 am Rahukalam: 3 pm to 4.30 pm HIJRI CALENDAR Zulhijja 6,1441 AH PRAYERS (SHAHI MASJID) Fajar: 4.47 am Zohar: 12.32 pm Asar: 4.52 pm Maghrib: 6.56 pm Isha: 8.10 pm SUNSET TODAY 6.50 PM SUNRISE TOMORROW 5.54 AM MOONRISE TODAY 1.06 PM MOONSET TOMORROW 12.08 AM COUNTER POINT 1,65,35,241 CASES AROUND THE WORLD STATE GOVERNMENT BULLETINS CASES (+45,352) 14,82,158 (+1,473) (+6,051) TS: 55,532 DEATHS (+631) 33,448 AP: 1,02,349 471 1,090 6,54,061 213 DEATHS COUNTRIES, AREAS WITH CASES COVID-19 C UNT worldometers.info/ coronavirus covid19india.org (+49) (+8) WEATHER THE LARGEST CIRCULATED ENGLISH DAILY IN SOUTH INDIA HYDERABAD I TUESDAY I 28 JULY 2020 Gov: Give 21-day notice for session Gehlot terms Rajasthan Gov’s response as ‘love letter’, speaks to PM, writes to Prez D C C O R R E S P O N D E N T NEW DELHI, JULY 27 The political tug-of-war in Rajasthan continued on Monday with governor Kalraj Mishra saying that an Assembly session can be called at a short notice only if the state govern- ment says that there needs to be a Trust vote, other- wise MLAs should be given three-weeks, or 21- day notice in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot termed the gover- nor’s response as a “six- page love letter” and said that he has written to President Ram Nath Kovi- nd and spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Mr Mishra’s “con- duct”. Last week the governor had rejected the Rajasthan government’s first propos- al to call an Assembly ses- sion and on Monday he returned its second pro- posal suggesting a three- week notice because of the Coronavirus outbreak, fol- lowing which Mr Gehlot said this is the first time in 70 years that such a thing has happened. He said he has asked the President to intervene and ensure that an Assembly session be called immediately, adding that it was the “constitutional right” of the CM. “Spoke to PM yes- terday over governor’s conduct… The governor has once again sent us a six-page love letter. Governors are bound to approve when an elected government calls for an Assembly session,” he said. SC allows Speaker to withdraw plea Terror rises in J&Kafter abrogation of Article 370 V I K R A M S H A R M A | D C HYDERABAD JULY 27 With massive prepara- tions underway to ensure peace on the completion of one year of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the blood- bath in the Valley this year alone — amid unpr- ecedented deployment of security forces — presents a grim picture of the ground situation in the valley, quite contrary to the Centre’s narrative that nullifying 370 would help bring down terrorism. Till July 25, about 190 people, including mili- tants, security forces and civilians have died. A majority of militants this year are locals, a clear indication that more Kashmiris are picking up arms and engaging the security forces. Information accessed from various government sources by Deccan Chronicle reveals that close to 140 militants have been eliminated by the security forces so far. Of them, about 90 per cent are local Kashmiri youth killed in multiple ‘encoun- ters’ across the valley. While the government and forces have spoken of major successes due to operational preparedness, the growing numbers of local militants have become a cause of major worry for New Delhi. With strict lockdown and mas- sive curbs and internet blackouts, the Centre had hoped to control the situa- tion. During the last seven months, about 135 inci- dents and a significant increase in the number of attacks on the security forces with camps or patrols attached show that the situation is far from peaceful. This resulted in the killings of over 30 security personnel besides leaving over 60 injured. Various incidents also left less than two dozen civilians dead and about 70 injured. “The figures are only till July 25. It is worrying when compared with the annual figures of the pre- vious years. Several local youth are becoming mili- tants,” a source said. An IAF Rafale aircraft takes off from the Dassault Aviation site in Merignac air base, France. Five of the aircraft, oper- ated by Indian pilots, will enter service in the N°17 “Golden Arrows” squadron of the IAF. — AFP IAF’s 5 Rafales on way to India D C C O R R E S P O N D E N T NEW DELHI, JULY 27 Five Rafale fighter jets operated by Indian Air Force pilots took off from the Merignac air base in France on Monday morn- ing for India in a big boost to the nation’s air power amid the military standoff with China. These five jets comprise three single-seater fight- ers and two twin-seater trainer aircraft. The aircraft are likely to arrive at the Ambala air- base on Wednesday, sub- ject to the weather. The Rafales will cover the 7,000-km France-India journey with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop in the UAE. In the evening, officials said all five Rafales landed safely in Al Dhafra air base in the UAE after a sortie in excess of seven hours. They are being flown by IAF pilots who have undergone comprehensive training on the aircraft. The air-to-air refuelling planned during the first leg of the flight will be undertaken by these pilots with dedicated tanker sup- port from the French Air Force. The first Rafale fighter was handed over to the IAF in October 2019 in a ceremony attended by French armed forces min- ister Florence Parly and defence minister Rajnath Singh. The delivery of 10 Rafale aircraft has been completed on schedule. Five will stay back in France for training over the next nine months. The delivery of all 36 Rafales will be completed by the end of 2021. India’s ambassador to France Jawed Ashraf was present to see off the India- bound Rafales and met the IAF pilots to wish them a safe flight. “Our air force pilots tell us that these are extremely swift, nimble, versatile and very deadly aircraft,” said Ashraf Dassault Aviation chair- man Éric Trappier and India’s air attaché in Paris Air Commodore Hilal Ahmad Rather were also present. The aircraft is capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European mis- sile maker MBDA's Meteor beyond visual range air-to- air missile and Scalp cruise missile will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets Meteor is the next genera- tion of BVR air-to-air mis- sile (BVRAAM) designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat. New Delhi, July 27: The Supreme Court allowed the Rajasthan Assembly Speaker on Monday to withdraw his appeal against the High Court’s order asking him to defer till July 24 the disqualifi- cation proceedings against sacked deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and 18 dissident Congress MLAs. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Speaker C.P. Joshi, told a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra that the Rajasthan High Court had passed a fresh order on Friday and they were weighing the legal options. While withdraw- ing the plea, Sibal told the bench, also comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Krishna Murari, that the appeal had become infruc- tuous as the apex court did not stay the earlier High Court order passed last Tuesday asking the Speaker to defer the dis- qualification proceedings till Friday. “The SLP (spe- cial leave petition) is with- drawn with liberty to file a fresh SLP and keeping all grounds open,” advocate Sunil Fernandes, who also represents Joshi, said. — PTI ANDHRA PRADESH BREACHES 1 LAKH COVID CASE TALLY HC slams state for inaction on Covid V U J J I N I V A M S H I D H A R A | D C HYDERABAD, JULY 27 Upset with the state gov- ernment for not following its directions to tackle Covid-19, the Telangana High Court, once again on Monday, expressed dis- pleasure. The court had sought to know what difficulties were being faced when implementing its direc- tions from the chief secre- tary. He was earlier sum- moned to appear before the court on Tuesday in some cases related to insufficient tests and not providing medical equip- ment to government hos- pitals to treat the pandem- ic. The division bench, headed by Chief Justice, Raghavendra Singh Cha- uhan, and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy, on Monday, was dealing with the five PILs complaining about government inac- tion in providing facilities to deal with the pandemic. The court had earlier directed the advocate-gen- eral to get back with the government’s reply by the next date of the hearing. However, during the adjudication on Monday, the court was informed that the advocate-general was not able to present himself in these cases, as he was engaged with other cases. ■ P a g e 2 : L a s t c h a n c e f o r s t a t e , s a y s C o u r t D C C O R R E S P O N D E N T VIJAYAWADA, JULY 27 Andhra Pradesh crossed one-lakh mark for Covid- 19 cases on Monday after the state reported 6,051 new cases. The total number of Coronavirus cases in the state now stands at 1,02,349. According to Covid-19 bulletin released by the government here on Monday, 6,051 people have been tested positive for Coronavirus out of 43,127 samples tested. The state has conduct- ed Covid-19 tests on 16.86 lakh people and 1.02 lakh were found to be infect- ed. While 49,558 patients were discharged after recovery, 51,701 patients are being treated in vari- ous hospitals. The state has carried out 31,581 Covid-19 tests for a popu- lation of million. On Monday, East Godavari topped the list for new cases with 1,210 infections, followed by 744 from Guntur, 664 from Kurnool, 655 from Visakhapatnam, 524 from Anantapur, 422 from Nellore, 408 from West Godavari, 367 from Chittoor and 336 from Kadapa. CENTRE BANS 47 MORE APPS WITH CHINESE LINKS New Delhi, July 27: India has banned 47 more apps with links to China, most being clones or from the same parent company whose main applications were ban- ned last month, a source said. The banned clones include TikTok Lite, Helo Lite, Shareit Lite and Bigo Live Lite, among others. A complete list of the banned applications has not been released yet. This takes the total num- ber of mobile applica- tions banned for being prejudicial to the sover- eignty, integrity and defence of the country to 106. The 47 apps that were banned now are mostly clones and variants of the applications which were blocked earlier, the source privy to the devel- opment said. The IT Ministry had invoked its power under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act and rules to block the 59 apps in view of infor- mation available that they were “engaged in activities which are prej- udicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.” — PTI K A N I Z A G A R A R I | D C HYDERABAD, JULY 27 With the festival of Id-al- Adha (Bakrid) round the corner, there is concern around women coming together to prepare the feast. The festival entails the gathering of women from several households and neighbourhoods in one home so that the sacrificed food might be evenly dis- tributed. Due to Covid-19, there is concern about whether this practice must be adhered to this year and what precautions must the women follow. Despite the number of women cases being lower, it has been found during the course of pandemic that most of them have not been aware or able to understand the prevention aspects proper- ly. They have unnecessari- ly exposed themselves to asymptomatic carriers which has led to infection. During the festival, it is advised that due to the dif- ferent rituals, prayers and preparation of different delicacies, women must wear masks at home and follow the norms of social distancing. Dr Mohammed Shafi, senior infection disease specialist, explained, “The pandemic has made it very important that it must be a low-key affair. Hence dur- ing the process of sacrifice, there must be very few peo- ple. At home too, there must be only family mem- bers and large social gath- erings must be completely avoided. Having too many people at home during times of Covid-19 is not advisable.” Family members who are going out for sacrifice must frequently wash hands, cover their faces with masks and shields and also maintain a distance of five feet at the place of sacri- fice. It is very important that when they come home, they first bathe, sanitise themselves and only then meet other family mem- bers. Women must maintain distance from members who have been out of the home and carry out hand washing frequently during the day of the festival. Sanitisation of homes and kitchens after the festival is very important before the end of the day. Use of hand sanitisers, face shields and masks and also complete plastic shields during the day when inter- acting with different peo- ple are advised for women. ■ P a g e 2 : E l d e r s s a y s a f e t y m e a s u r e s e s s e n t i a l Women advised to be cautious for Bakrid Wearing masks at home considered best protection from asymptomatic carriers SAFETY | FIRST ● ● A M A J O R I T Y of mili- tants this year are locals, a clear indication that more Kashmiris are pick- ing up arms and engaging the security forces. ● ● I N T H E last 7 months, about 135 incidents and a significant increase in the number of attacks on the security forces with camps or patrols attached show that the situation is far from peaceful. ● ● T H E A I R C R A F T are like- ly to arrive at the Ambala airbase on Wednesday, subject to the weather. They will cover the 7,000- km France-India journey with air-to-air refuelling WAKF TOLD TO GIVE DATA ON BURIAL GROUNDS D C C O R R E S P O N D E N T HYDERABAD, JULY 27 Questioning the functions and authority entrusted to muthavallis, caretak- ers of Muslim graveyards, the Telangana High Court on Monday directed the TS Wakf Board to furnish details of Muslim grave- yards along with their extents and the land being encroached upon, in Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medchal dis- tricts. It also sought infor- mation if muthavallis had the power to deny burial in graveyards they were appointed as care- takers. ■ R e p o r t o n P a g e 2 ● ● T H E F E S T I V A L entails women from several households gathering in one home so that the sacrificed food might be evenly distributed. ● ● F A M I L Y M E M B E R S going out for sacrifice must frequently wash hands, cover their faces ● ● T H E 4 7 A P P S that were banned now are mostly clones and vari- ants of the applications which were blocked ear- lier, the source privy to the development said. ● ● A C O M P L E T E list of the banned applications were not been released yet.
Tithi: Sravana Shuddha Navamitill 3 am (Wednesday)
Star: Swati till 9.42 amVarjyam: 3.02 pm to 4.33 pm
Durmuhurtam: 8.31 am to 9.22 am; 11.15 pm to 12 amRahukalam: 3 pm to 4.30 pm
HIJRI CALENDARZulhijja 6,1441 AH
PRAYERS (SHAHI MASJID)Fajar: 4.47 am
Zohar: 12.32 pmAsar: 4.52 pm
Maghrib: 6.56 pmIsha: 8.10 pm
SUNSET TODAY 6.50 PMSUNRISE TOMORROW 5.54 AM
MOONRISE TODAY 1.06 PMMOONSET TOMORROW 12.08 AM
COUNTER POINT
1,65,35,241CASES AROUND THE WORLD
STATE GOVERNMENT BULLETINS
CASES
(+45,352)
14,82,158
(+1,473)
(+6,051)TS: 55,532
DEATHS
(+631)
33,448
AP: 1,02,349
471
1,090
6,54,061
213
DEATHS
COUNTRIES,AREAS WITH
CASES
COVID-19 C UNT
worldometers.info/coronavirus
covid19india.org
(+49)
(+8)
WEATHER
THE LARGEST CIRCULATED ENGLISH DAILY IN SOUTH INDIAHYDERABAD I TUESDAY I 28 JULY 2020
Gov: Give 21-daynotice for sessionGehlot terms Rajasthan Gov’s response as‘love letter’, speaks to PM, writes to PrezDC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JULY 27
The political tug-of-war inRajasthan continued onMonday with governorKalraj Mishra saying thatan Assembly session canbe called at a short noticeonly if the state govern-ment says that there needsto be a Trust vote, other-wise MLAs should begiven three-weeks, or 21-day notice in view of theCovid-19 pandemic.
Chief Minister AshokGehlot termed the gover-nor’s response as a “six-page love letter” and saidthat he has written toPresident Ram Nath Kovi-nd and spoken with PrimeMinister Narendra Modiabout Mr Mishra’s “con-duct”.
Last week the governorhad rejected the Rajasthangovernment’s first propos-al to call an Assembly ses-sion and on Monday hereturned its second pro-posal suggesting a three-week notice because of theCoronavirus outbreak, fol-lowing which Mr Gehlotsaid this is the first time in70 years that such a thinghas happened. He said he
has asked the President tointervene and ensure thatan Assembly session becalled immediately,adding that it was the“constitutional right” ofthe CM. “Spoke to PM yes-terday over governor’s
conduct… The governorhas once again sent us asix-page love letter.Governors are bound toapprove when an electedgovernment calls for anAssembly session,” hesaid.
SC allows Speakerto withdraw plea
Terror rises in J&K afterabrogation of Article 370VIKRAM SHARMA | DCHYDERABAD JULY 27
With massive prepara-tions underway to ensurepeace on the completion ofone year of the abrogationof Article 370 in Jammuand Kashmir, the blood-bath in the Valley thisyear alone — amid unpr-ecedented deployment ofsecurity forces — presentsa grim picture of theground situation in thevalley, quite contrary tothe Centre’s narrative thatnullifying 370 would helpbring down terrorism.
Till July 25, about 190people, including mili-tants, security forces andcivilians have died.
A majority of militantsthis year are locals, a clearindication that moreKashmiris are picking uparms and engaging thesecurity forces.
Information accessedfrom various government
sources by DeccanChronicle reveals thatclose to 140 militants havebeen eliminated by thesecurity forces so far. Ofthem, about 90 per centare local Kashmiri youthkilled in multiple ‘encoun-ters’ across the valley.
While the governmentand forces have spoken ofmajor successes due tooperational preparedness,the growing numbers of
local militants havebecome a cause of majorworry for New Delhi. Withstrict lockdown and mas-sive curbs and internetblackouts, the Centre hadhoped to control the situa-tion.
During the last sevenmonths, about 135 inci-dents and a significantincrease in the number ofattacks on the securityforces with camps orpatrols attached show thatthe situation is far frompeaceful.
This resulted in thekillings of over 30 securitypersonnel besides leavingover 60 injured. Variousincidents also left lessthan two dozen civiliansdead and about 70 injured.
“The figures are only tillJuly 25. It is worryingwhen compared with theannual figures of the pre-vious years. Several localyouth are becoming mili-tants,” a source said.
An IAF Rafale aircraft takes off from the Dassault Aviation site in Merignac air base, France. Five of the aircraft, oper-ated by Indian pilots, will enter service in the N°17 “Golden Arrows” squadron of the IAF. — AFP
IAF’s 5 Rafales on way to India DC CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, JULY 27
Five Rafale fighter jetsoperated by Indian AirForce pilots took off fromthe Merignac air base inFrance on Monday morn-ing for India in a big boostto the nation’s air poweramid the military standoffwith China.
These five jets comprisethree single-seater fight-ers and two twin-seatertrainer aircraft.
The aircraft are likely toarrive at the Ambala air-base on Wednesday, sub-ject to the weather. TheRafales will cover the7,000-km France-Indiajourney with air-to-airrefuelling and a single
stop in the UAE. In theevening, officials said allfive Rafales landed safelyin Al Dhafra air base inthe UAE after a sortie inexcess of seven hours.
They are being flown byIAF pilots who haveundergone comprehensivetraining on the aircraft.The air-to-air refuellingplanned during the firstleg of the flight will beundertaken by these pilotswith dedicated tanker sup-
port from the French AirForce.
The first Rafale fighterwas handed over to theIAF in October 2019 in aceremony attended byFrench armed forces min-ister Florence Parly anddefence minister RajnathSingh. The delivery of 10Rafale aircraft has beencompleted on schedule.Five will stay back inFrance for training overthe next nine months. Thedelivery of all 36 Rafaleswill be completed by theend of 2021.
India’s ambassador toFrance Jawed Ashraf waspresent to see off the India-bound Rafales and met theIAF pilots to wish them asafe flight. “Our air force
pilots tell us that these areextremely swift, nimble,versatile and very deadlyaircraft,” said Ashraf
Dassault Aviation chair-man Éric Trappier andIndia’s air attaché in ParisAir Commodore HilalAhmad Rather were alsopresent.
The aircraft is capable ofcarrying a range of potentweapons. European mis-sile maker MBDA's Meteorbeyond visual range air-to-air missile and Scalpcruise missile will be themainstay of the weaponspackage of the Rafale jetsMeteor is the next genera-tion of BVR air-to-air mis-sile (BVRAAM) designedto revolutionise air-to-aircombat.
New Delhi, July 27: TheSupreme Court allowedthe Rajasthan AssemblySpeaker on Monday towithdraw his appealagainst the High Court’sorder asking him to defertill July 24 the disqualifi-cation proceedingsagainst sacked deputychief minister SachinPilot and 18 dissidentCongress MLAs.
Senior advocate KapilSibal, appearing forSpeaker C.P. Joshi, told abench headed by JusticeArun Mishra that theRajasthan High Court hadpassed a fresh order onFriday and they were
weighing the legaloptions. While withdraw-ing the plea, Sibal told thebench, also comprisingJustices B.R. Gavai andKrishna Murari, that theappeal had become infruc-tuous as the apex court didnot stay the earlier HighCourt order passed lastTuesday asking theSpeaker to defer the dis-qualification proceedingstill Friday. “The SLP (spe-cial leave petition) is with-drawn with liberty to file afresh SLP and keeping allgrounds open,” advocateSunil Fernandes, who alsorepresents Joshi, said.
— PTI
ANDHRA PRADESHBREACHES 1 LAKHCOVID CASE TALLY
HC slams state forinaction on CovidVUJJINI VAMSHIDHARA | DCHYDERABAD, JULY 27
Upset with the state gov-ernment for not followingits directions to tackleCovid-19, the TelanganaHigh Court, once again onMonday, expressed dis-pleasure.
The court had sought toknow what difficultieswere being faced whenimplementing its direc-tions from the chief secre-tary. He was earlier sum-moned to appear beforethe court on Tuesday insome cases related toinsufficient tests and notproviding medical equip-ment to government hos-pitals to treat the pandem-ic.
The division bench,headed by Chief Justice,Raghavendra Singh Cha-uhan, and Justice B.Vijaysen Reddy, onMonday, was dealing withthe five PILs complainingabout government inac-tion in providing facilitiesto deal with the pandemic.
The court had earlierdirected the advocate-gen-eral to get back with thegovernment’s reply by thenext date of the hearing.
However, during theadjudication on Monday,
the court was informedthat the advocate-generalwas not able to presenthimself in these cases, ashe was engaged withother cases.
■ Page 2: Last chance forstate, says Court
DC CORRESPONDENTVIJAYAWADA, JULY 27
Andhra Pradesh crossedone-lakh mark for Covid-19 cases on Monday afterthe state reported 6,051new cases. The totalnumber of Coronaviruscases in the state nowstands at 1,02,349.
According to Covid-19bulletin released by thegovernment here onMonday, 6,051 peoplehave been tested positivefor Coronavirus out of43,127 samples tested.
The state has conduct-ed Covid-19 tests on 16.86lakh people and 1.02 lakhwere found to be infect-ed. While 49,558 patientswere discharged afterrecovery, 51,701 patientsare being treated in vari-ous hospitals. The statehas carried out 31,581Covid-19 tests for a popu-lation of million.
On Monday, EastGodavari topped the listfor new cases with 1,210infections, followed by744 from Guntur, 664from Kurnool, 655 fromVisakhapatnam, 524from Anantapur, 422from Nellore, 408 fromWest Godavari, 367 fromChittoor and 336 fromKadapa.
CENTRE BANS 47MORE APPS WITHCHINESE LINKSNew Delhi, July 27:India has banned 47more apps with links toChina, most being clonesor from the same parentcompany whose mainapplications were ban-ned last month, a sourcesaid.
The banned clonesinclude TikTok Lite,Helo Lite, Shareit Liteand Bigo Live Lite,among others.
A complete list of thebanned applications hasnot been released yet.This takes the total num-ber of mobile applica-tions banned for beingprejudicial to the sover-eignty, integrity anddefence of the country to106.
The 47 apps that werebanned now are mostlyclones and variants ofthe applications whichwere blocked earlier, thesource privy to the devel-opment said.
The IT Ministry hadinvoked its power underSection 69A of theInformation TechnologyAct and rules to block the59 apps in view of infor-mation available thatthey were “engaged inactivities which are prej-udicial to sovereigntyand integrity of India,defence of India, securityof state and publicorder.” — PTI
KANIZA GARARI | DCHYDERABAD, JULY 27
With the festival of Id-al-Adha (Bakrid) round thecorner, there is concernaround women comingtogether to prepare thefeast.
The festival entails thegathering of women fromseveral households andneighbourhoods in onehome so that the sacrificedfood might be evenly dis-tributed.
Due to Covid-19, there is
concern about whetherthis practice must beadhered to this year andwhat precautions must thewomen follow. Despite thenumber of women casesbeing lower, it has beenfound during the course ofpandemic that most ofthem have not been awareor able to understand theprevention aspects proper-ly. They have unnecessari-ly exposed themselves toasymptomatic carrierswhich has led to infection.During the festival, it is
advised that due to the dif-ferent rituals, prayers andpreparation of differentdelicacies, women must
wear masks at home andfollow the norms of socialdistancing.
Dr Mohammed Shafi,senior infection diseasespecialist, explained, “Thepandemic has made it veryimportant that it must be alow-key affair. Hence dur-ing the process of sacrifice,there must be very few peo-ple. At home too, theremust be only family mem-bers and large social gath-erings must be completelyavoided. Having too manypeople at home during
times of Covid-19 is notadvisable.”
Family members who aregoing out for sacrifice mustfrequently wash hands,cover their faces withmasks and shields and alsomaintain a distance of fivefeet at the place of sacri-fice. It is very importantthat when they come home,they first bathe, sanitisethemselves and only thenmeet other family mem-bers.
Women must maintaindistance from members
who have been out of thehome and carry out handwashing frequently duringthe day of the festival.Sanitisation of homes andkitchens after the festivalis very important beforethe end of the day. Use ofhand sanitisers, faceshields and masks and alsocomplete plastic shieldsduring the day when inter-acting with different peo-ple are advised for women.
■ Page 2: Elders say safetymeasures essential
Women advised to be cautious for BakridWearing masks at home considered best protection from asymptomatic carriersSAFETY | FIRST
● ● A MAJORITY of mili-tants this year are locals,a clear indication thatmore Kashmiris are pick-ing up arms and engagingthe security forces.
● ● IN THE last 7 months,about 135 incidents and asignificant increase in thenumber of attacks on thesecurity forces withcamps or patrols attachedshow that the situation isfar from peaceful.
● ● THE AIRCRAFT are like-ly to arrive at the Ambalaairbase on Wednesday,subject to the weather.They will cover the 7,000-km France-India journeywith air-to-air refuelling
WAKF TOLD TOGIVE DATA ONBURIAL GROUNDSDC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JULY 27
Questioning the functionsand authority entrustedto muthavallis, caretak-ers of Muslim graveyards,the Telangana High Courton Monday directed theTS Wakf Board to furnishdetails of Muslim grave-yards along with theirextents and the landbeing encroached upon,in Hyderabad, RangaReddy and Medchal dis-tricts. It also sought infor-mation if muthavallishad the power to denyburial in graveyards theywere appointed as care-takers.
■ Report on Page 2
● ● THE FESTIVAL entailswomen from severalhouseholds gathering inone home so that thesacrificed food might beevenly distributed.
● ● FAMILY MEMBERSgoing out for sacrificemust frequently washhands, cover their faces
● ● THE 47 APPS thatwere banned now aremostly clones and vari-ants of the applicationswhich were blocked ear-lier, the source privy tothe development said.
● ● A COMPLETE list ofthe banned applicationswere not been releasedyet.
CITY pg 2DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | 28 JULY 2020
SHORT TAKES
Last chance forstate, says CourtFrom Page 1
Reacting that these caseswere equally important asthe state has been wit-nessing an alarmingincrease in Covid-19 caseswith 30 out of 33 districtsreporting positive casesin double-digit numbers,the court lamented thatthe government is alsonon-compliant of itsdirection in releasing themedical bulletin.
The bench, in its earlierorders, had issued a seriesof directions which oughtto have been implementedby the government. Someof them are: test and treatpatients at GandhiHospital without insistingupon a test report, take up
testing for Coronavirus atGandhi Hospital, get thehealth department to cre-ate a weblink giving thedetails of hospitals treat-ing Covid-19 patients, thenumber of beds available,etc, install live dash-boards in all Covid-19 hos-pitals furnishing vitaldata, daily health bul-letins with the ages of thepatients, fix an upper capon private hospitals treat-ing Covid-19 patients withregard to the charges col-lected by them for con-ducting various tests etc.
Giving the last chance tothe government, the courtdirected the officials to bepresent before it on July28, in case its orders arenot implemented.
HC wants actionagainst spuriousseeds tradersDC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JULY 27
The Telangana HighCourt, on Monday, direct-ed the Telangana govern-ment to file a detailedreport on the concretesteps that have been initi-ated to safeguard thefarmers of the TelanganaState from falling prey tothe private companiesselling spurious seeds(US341 Chilli Seeds) andexpressed it’s discontent-ment over the tardy func-tioning of theAgricultural departmentofficials and observingthat the officials of theagricultural dept., shouldbe vigilant in their duties,rather the officials aresleeping over such a vitalissue. The Bench washearing the PIL filed byCherukuri Satish Kumar,MPP Mulugu districtwith a prayer to cause anenquiry into the sale ofSpurious Seeds US 341Chilli Seeds to the farm-
ers in Mulugu district dueto which farmers are suf-fering losses.
Mr Sanjeev Kumar,Special counsel to theState, informed the Benchthat the license of allthose private seed sellershave already been can-celled and the Laboratoryreports are awaited sothat action can be initiat-ed against them.
Disagreeing with thecontentions of the Specialcounsel, CJ Chauhanobserved, “Despite thecancellation of licenses,there is all possibilitythat the erring seed sell-ers may continue theirillegal business damag-ing the lives of the farm-ers. This is an issue ofgrave importance,because, it directly dealswith the lives of ourfarmers and to curb suchsale of Spurious seeds,the Agricultural depart-ment should formulateconcrete steps to put anend to this menace”.
KALAM’S CONTRIBUTIONS REMEMBEREDON HIS 5TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY Hyderabad: Governor DrTamilisai Soundararajanpaid rich tributes to for-mer President of IndiaBharat Ratna Dr APJAbdul Kalam on the occa-sion of Dr Kalam’s 5thdeath anniversary onMonday. She said that DrKalam always emphasisedthe building of a ‘beauti-ful society’ by which hemeant to build a societythat was tolerant to oth-ers’ opinion, others’beliefs, others’ culture andothers’ lifestyle.
Stating that creating
such a beautiful societywould be a real tribute tothe great soul, theGovernor said that late DrKalam had inspired andmotivated the nation inhis own unique way.
The Governor was par-ticipating as the chiefguest at the 5th YearRemembrance Day-ADigital Tribute pro-gramme organised by theAPJ Abdul KalamInternational Foundation(AKIF), Rameswaram,through the video conference. — INN
COVID CASESSURGE IN RURALTELANGANADC CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, JULY 27
Rural Telangana is see-ing a surge in cases with168 cases in RangaReddy, 111 in Warangal,98 in Sangareddy, 91 inKarimnagar and 86 inMedchal Malkajgiri.
A total of 1,473 newcases were recorded onJuly 27. Many people areopting for testing in pri-vate and public laborato-ries as they developsymptoms of cough, coldand fever.
More than 10,000 sam-ples are tested every dayand some opt to testtwice to reconfirm theirstatus.
Asymptomatic patie-nts who have no symp-toms and are absolutelyfine are not sure if theresult is right and henceare opting for testing ingovernment and privatesectors.
The government hasclaimed that there aresufficient beds and thatpeople must not panic.Yet finding a bed in thehospital is still a cum-bersome task.
There were eightdeaths recorded, takingthe total number ofdeaths in the state to 471.The total number ofcases in the state are55,532.
Furnish details ofgraveyards in TS:HC to Wakf BoardVUJJINI VAMSHIDHARA| DCHYDERABAD, JULY 27
Questioning the func-tions and authorityentrusted to muthavallis,caretakers of Muslimgraveyards, theTelangana High Court onMonday directed theTelangana State WakfBoard to furnish detailsof Muslim graveyardsalong with their extentsand the land beingencroached upon, situat-ed in Hyderabad, RangaReddy and Medchal dis-tricts.
The court also soughtinformation from theboard that muthavallishad the power to denyburial in the graveyardsthey were appointed ascaretakers.
The division bench,comprising Chief JusticeRaghavendra SinghChauhan and Justice B.Vijaysen Reddy was deal-ing with two PILs, whichcomplained against thecaretakers of graveyards.
Khaja Bilal Ahmed, aresident of Rein Bazaar,brought to the notice ofthe High Court that thebody of one Mohd KhajaMiya, a resident ofMarlaguda, was denied
burial by the muthavallisof nearly five graveyardsin the neighbourhood.However, with the help ofsome Hindus, the bodywas buried atGandhamguda ShamshanGhat.
Bilal urged the court totake necessary actionagainst muthavallis, whohad rejected burial of aMuslim’s body inkhabrasthans andrequested the court todirect the authorities totake immediate steps toshift the buried body ofMohd Khaja fromGandhamguda Smashanghat to any Muslim grave-yard.
In another PIL, Iliyascomplained that mostparts of several grave-yards in Telangana statehave been encroached,and the Wakf Board wassilent on framing rules topreserve such lands.
He requested the courtto order a survey to iden-tify graveyard lands thatremained in order to pro-tect them from landsharks.
The court directed theboard to furnish detailsabout action takenagainst muthavallis fordenial of burial to aMuslim.
TPCC sees BJP conspiracy inRajasthan’s power struggleDC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JULY 27
Alleging that theBharatiya Janata Party(BJP) government is mis-using power vested in thehands of RajasthanGovernor for their politi-cal gains, the TelanganaPradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC)planned to stage a protestat Raj Bhavan on Mondayafter taking out a rally
from Gandhi Bhavan inNampally on Monday.
However, the attemptwas foiled as policedetained Congress lead-ers, CLP leader MalluBhatti Vikramarka andother party leaders whowere to participate in theprotest.
The leaders criticisedthe BJP for alleged unde-mocratic acts inRajasthan, where theparty Legislators were
trying to topple theCongress government.They also alleged that theBJP used the CentralBureau of Investigation,Enforcement Directorateand Income Tax authori-ties to threaten CongressMLAs.
The leaders demandedthat Rajasthan Governorhold the Assembly sessionon July 31 and discussBJP's policies in theLegislative Assembly.
Bhatti Vikramarka saidthat the BJP was mockingthe Indian Constitution.He alleged that inRajasthan the BJP is con-spiring to come to powerlike they did earlier inGoa, Madhya Pradesh andManipur.
He criticised theRajasthan Governor foralleging misusing powerand toeing the diktat ofthe party’s national leadership.
INTERMEDIATESUPPLEMENTARYRESULTS THIS WEEKHyderabad: The resultsof the intermediate-advanced supplemen-tary examinations willbe declared this week byTelangana State Boardof IntermediateEducation (TSBIE).
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the govern-ment has cancelled theintermediate supple-mentary exams for sec-ond-year students, theintermediate board willdeclare the results bygiving minimum qualifi-cation marks to the stu-dents who pass them inthe compartment group.All second-year interme-diate students whofailed in IPE March 2020will be passed with min-imum qualificationmarks. With the decisionof the government, asmany as 1,47 lakh stu-dents will benefit andthey can apply withoutdelay for admissionsinto traditional degreeand technical courses.
Out of the 3,74,492 totalwho appeared for theexams, around 69.61 percent of second-yearintermediate studentspassed in the IPE.Although 37,139 candi-dates attended examina-tions in vocationalschools, 61.28 per cent ofwhich passed.
Nonetheless, studentswho failed in the inter-mediate first year wouldtake the supplementaryexams in order to gradu-ate. Only low qualifyingmarks they won't be con-sidered transfer. — INN
OGH LOCKED,SUPDT. OFFICE
SHIFTEDKANIZA GARARI | DCHYDERABAD, JULY 27
The heritage building of theOsmania General Hospital(OGH) has finally been lockedby the administration as therehave been frequent visitors tothe building for the last fewdays.
The crowd could not be con-trolled after the orders to“seal” the building were givenby the director of health andmedical education. Heritageenthusiasts, political partyactivists and doctors came tothe premises to convene ameeting about the state of thebuilding.
With the security and admin-istration unable to managethese crowds, it was decided tocompletely shift the doctors’chambers from the heritagebuilding to the other buildingson the premises.
Dr P. Naik, in-charge super-intendent of Osmania GeneralHospital, said, “We havelocked the gates. No one cannow enter the building. It hasbeen finally sealed.”
The Telangana High Courtwill now decide the fate of thebuilding.
Doctors, heritage lovers andcitizens of the city want the iconic building to berestored.
Expert advice was soughtfrom the Aga Khan Trust whohad agreed to support withtheir expertise, according tosources. But after that the ten-ders for the contract were notcalled by the government.
ELDERS SAYSAFETY STEPS
ESSENTIALFrom Page 1
Senior members of the com-munity advocating these stepsstate that they are essential.Khalida Parveen, a seniormember of the communitysaid, “We are having virtualmeetings with 20 to 30 womenevery day to explain about theneed for hygiene in thesetimes. This is being donebefore the festival so that theyare aware of the measures tobe taken. Many of them areworried and it is going to be avery low-key festival in mostfamilies.”
COVID SPREADINGAMONG MEDICOS
IN ADILABADDC CORRESPONDENT ADILABAD, JULY 27
The Covid-19 virus is fast-spreading among governmentemployees at the collectoratein old Adilabad district.
It is learnt that somemedicos of the Rajiv GandhiInstitute of Medical Sciences(RIMS), Adilabad have alsotested positive for corona.News is making rounds thateven top district officials gavetheir samples for testing.
As many as 78 positive caseshave been reported from July25 to 27 in Adilabad district. 18positive cases were reportedon Monday alone.
Altogether 14 positive caseswere reported so far in the collectorate and collectorcamp office of Adilabad district.
SOMU BECOMESBJP’S NEW
CHIEF IN APDC CORRESPONDENTVIJAYAWADA, JULY 27
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)national president JagatPrakash Nadda has appointedthe party’s senior leader andMLC from East GodavariSomu Veerraju as the presi-dent of the party’s AndhraPradesh unit on Monday.
In a communique, BJPnational general secretaryArun Singh said the BJPnational president hasappointed Somu Veerraju asthe new president of the BJP’sAndhra Pradesh unit byreplacing the existing presi-dent Kanna Lakshmin-arayana, who allegedly creat-ed controversy by goingbeyond the party line on someissues.
BJP state vice-president S.Vishnuvardhan Reddy con-gratulated the newly appoint-ed AP BJP chief SomuVeerraju and wished that theparty would get strengthenedin the state under his leader-ship.
The party has also served ashow-cause notice to partyleader Lanka Dinakar and afew more leaders for speakingagainst the party line on sev-eral issues in the state.
Most of Secretariat buildings has been reduced to rubble. The government claims that 90 per cent of the demolitionis over. Officials estimate that as many as 4,500 truckloads of debris are to be lifted. — S. SURENDER REDDY
IREDDY SRINIVAS REDDY| DCHYDERABAD, JULY 27
The state government’sbid to make the oldSecretariat buildings athing of the past will beaccomplished within days,as out of total eight, sixbuildings have alreadybeen reduced to rubblewithin a few weeks.
Spread over 25.5 acres,the Secretariat complexhad been functioningsince early 1950s. It alsohouses the building (Gblock) called ‘peshi’, fromwhere the last Nizam usedto run the administration.
The state government onMonday allowed mediapersons to witness theongoing demolition activi-ty in the old Secretariatamid tight security.However, they were notallowed to move freely.Only a few media personswere allowed to step out ofvehicles to capture thedemolition activity. Nomedia person was allowedtowards the place wheretemples and mosques hadexisted.
Heavy machinery isbeing used to dismantlethe buildings while takingall safety measures.Trucks could be seenremoving debris. Vehiclesof Rajasthan andTelangana (Medchal-Malkajgiri district) arebeing used, which indi-cates that the contract fordemolishing the buildingshas gone to a Rajasthanicontractor.
The government hasclaimed that 90 per cent ofthe demolition is over. Sofar, 2,000 truckloads of
debris have been removed.Officials estimate that asmany as 4,500 truckloadsof debris are to be lifted.Everywhere steel and con-crete clinkers could beseen accumulated. Itseems that within 2-3weeks, the entire debriswill be removed andground levelled for thenew constructions. One ofthe supervising officersrevealed that additionalheavy machinery will bereaching tomorrow andthe remaining two build-ings will also be razedwithin two-three days.
When journalistsentered premises of theSecretariat, theyremained stunned for a
while when they saw pilesof rubble in front of theireyes. The buildings theyroamed in and exploreddifferent floors whilemeeting ministers and
officials had turned intodebris. Many of the jour-nalists could be seen dis-cussing with each othertheir memories with theSecretariat.
Govt says 90% of Secttdemolition completedMedia not allowed at demolished temples, mosques sites
DC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JULY 27
The Hyderabad city policeon Monday launched theLast Ride services to carrythe bodies of Covid-19 vic-tims and other bodies freeof cost.
The services will beavailable from 8 am to 6pm every day and it willtake care of the final ritesin case of non-availabilityof the family members ofthe deceased.
Hyderabad PoliceCommissioner AnjaniKumar flagged-off theLast Ride vehicle at thecity police headquarters.Families that cannot
afford to carry the body ofthe person who died cancall on 79954-04040, to availof the free services.
This is meant for eventhose who were not vic-tims of Covid-19.
“The vehicle will be sani-tized after every trip andall necessary precautionswill be taken,” theCommissioner said.
“Volunteers will takecare of cremation ifimmediate kin or friendsare not available. Weinvite more volunteers tocome forward and help theneedy persons during thepandemic situation,” theHyderabad police chiefadded. — INN
Cops start free last ride service for needy
●● ALL SECOND-YEARintermediate studentswho failed in IPEMarch 2020 will bepassed with minimumqualification marks.With the decision ofthe government, asmany as 1,47 lakh stu-dents will benefit andthey can apply foradmissions into tradi-tional degree andtechnical courses.
MEDIA PERSONS CAN VISIT SECTT ATSPECIFIC TIME: GOVT INFORMS HCDC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JULY 27
In the petition, on allow-ing the media to cover thedemolition of Secretariat,for the purpose of report-ing, the Telangana stategovernment on Mondayinformed the Telangana
High Court that it wouldmake all arrangementsand provide facility tojournalists, for visitationof demolition of build-ings, at a prescribed time,in view of the safety pre-cautions. The courtadjourned the case forfour weeks.
Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar launches ‘Last ride service’ to transport bodies ofCovid and non-Covid patients from hospital to the cremation ground free of cost, atBasheerbagh on Monday.
Only one mosque to comeup in Secretariat: MalikATHER MOIN | DCHYDERABAD, JULY 27
Convener of JAC forReinstatement ofSecretariat’s MosquesMushtaq Malik says onlyone of the two demolishedmosques will be comingup in the new Secretariatcomplex, that too not inthe original place, as man-dated by Sharia.
Speaking to media,Mushtaq Malik claimedthat he has accessed theproposed plan of the newSecretariat.
According to it, theHindu temple will be com-ing up at a prime area
within the Secretariat.Only one of the twomosques will be con-structed at the placewhere the petrol pump ofthe Civil SuppliesDepartment existed.
“Our contention is thatthe places of mosques,according to Sharia, mustnot be shifted orremoved,” the JAC con-venor said.
He reiterated thatMuslims will not acceptone mosque in place oftwo. He said the TRS gov-ernment has violated thelaw and demolished themosques without intimat-ing the Wakf Board. With
this, four mosques andtwo ashoorkhanas havebeen demolished by theTRS government, healleged.
Mushtaq Malik criti-cised AIMIM for indirect-ly supporting the demoli-tion of the places of wor-ship. The main purpose ofthe party filing a writ peti-tion to protect mosques isto safeguard the govern-ment and not protect themosques, he maintained.
CITY pg 3DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | 28 JULY 2020
SHORT TAKES
DC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JULY 27
Four persons sufferedinjuries when the wallsof a room collapsed fol-lowing a blast in IDABalanagar during thewee hours of Monday.
Balanagar inspectorMd. Waheeduddin saidthat the incident tookplace between 2.30 amand 3 am at the reactorunit of VirupakshaLaboratories located inGandhi Nagar area ofIDA Balanagar. Theinjured workers — Srik-anth, Chowdary, Govind,and Anant Sarma suffer-ed injuries to their lim-bs. They are undergoingtreatment at a privatehospital and out of dan-ger. A case has been reg-istered into the incident.
Nurses on strike
Nurses recruited during the Covid-19 crisis protest outside Osmania General Hospital for not being paid salary and not regularising theirservices, in Hyderabad on Monday. — P. SURENDRA
Feeder: New Nagole 11 KV New Nagole, SnehapuriColony Road No. 5 and
surrounding areas.
Humta to hold survey onpost Covid-19 travel choiceSurvey will study impact of lockdown on public, pvt transportMADDY DEESKSHITH | DCHYDERABAD, JULY 27
The state governmenthas ordered a massiveonline survey to decideon the modes of travelpeople of the state capitalwould prefer when get-ting back to work in thepost Covid-19 situation.
The survey will be con-ducted by UnifiedMetropolitan TransportAuthority, Hyderabad(Humta) in associationwith World ResourcesInstitute (WRI), India. Itwill study the impact oflockdown on public andprivate transport.Officials say Covid-19 andlockdown have had a pro-found impact on citizens’lives, as many of themhave been working from
home and travelling onlyfor essential purposes.Authorities want tounderstand how resi-dents of Hyderabad willreturn to work and travelon a day-to-day basis oncethe lockdown is easedand various modes oftransport are available.
The study will focus ondifferent modes of trans-port available during preand post Covid-19 days.Before the Coronavirusstruck, commuters usedthe Hyderabad Metro,RTC buses, MMTS, andother means of trans-port. On an average,there were 12 milliontrips from origin to desti-nation. Overall 56 percent of commuters usedall mode of transportduring the pre-lockdown
period. This number hasfallen by 28 percent dur-ing the lockdown periodas authorities have com-pletely stopped servicesof Metro, MMTS andRTC buses.
Officials claim HUMTAsurvey will provide solu-tions on various modes oftransport preferred bycommuters and whetherworking hours should bestaggered. The focus willbe on safe public trans-port that ensures socialdistancing, sanitisationand other safety meas-
ures. The state govern-ment is ready to enhancethe number of buses,metro and MMTS tripswithout increasing vehic-ular load as part of lastmile connectivity. Planshave also been preparedto bring back bicyclesand enhance their usageup to 20 percent withinfour-kilometre radiusfrom office to residence.Officials said cyclingtracks would be con-structed to encouragecommuters.
Authorities say the sur-vey will throw light onvarious parameterswhich will need to beimproved. They will beput to limited use at leastfor three years until thegovernment builds confi-dence within the public
on safe travel. The surveywill be officiallyannounced through apublic notification afterapproval from MunicipalAdministration andUrban Development prin-cipal secretary ArvindKumar.
Officials say results ofthe survey will be veryexciting as commuting inthe city will not be thesame after the completelockdown.
Deccan Chronicle hasalready found the link tothe online survey.Readers can clickhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSegwmNpvxWAEFIGpwg4zR4w4A7VkzqVz3kQiAwWA3zcgWAZfg/viewformto participate in the sam-ple survey.
No mass immersionsfor Ganesh idolsSANJAY SAMUEL PAUL | DCHYDERABAD, JULY 27
The Bhagyanagar GaneshUtsav Samithi has called onvarious pandal organisersto keep the festivities low-key, ensure social distancingand take every precautionon all days from August 22,Ganesh Chaturthi, toSeptember 2, the statueimmersion day.
Addressing media onMonday, samithi generalsecretary Bhagwant Raoadvised organisers ofGanesh festivities in differ-ent localities of the city toexercise all caution becauseof Coronavirus, which isrampant in the city. Heasked volunteers at pandalsto avoid big gatherings atthe mandaps throughout the
period of festivities.Bhagwant Rao said on the
immersion day, no vehiclecarrying the statue shouldhave more than 4-5 personsper vehicle. He said imm-ersion of statues shouldonly be in natural waterbodies and not in water tubsor buckets, as that is againstthe custom. He appealed tothe police department toannounce the standard oper-ating procedures for safetyof the people during the fes-tivities. Last year, more than1.5 lakh idols had beenimmersed at Tank Bund.They had been brought in aprocession from variousparts of the GreaterHyderabad region.
T.S.S. SIDDHARTH | DC HYDERABAD, JULY 27
Care and concern for ani-mals is going from strengthto strength in NehruZoological Park every year.This is substantiated by thenumber of adoptions overthe last five years. In 2015,there were 97 animals thatwere adopted. The highestnumber of adoptions happened last year when115 animals were adopted.
The past four months,since the beginning of the
current financial year onApril 1, have been busy forthe Nehru Zoological Park with people comingforward to adopt the ani-mals at the zoo. Seven adop-tions have taken place sincethat time, and `7.9 lakh wasset aside for these animalsby benevolent denizens whocame forward to adopt them.
“I am taking up the adop-tion out of love and con-cern for these animals. Weall know how hard the lock-down has been on us.
Imagine the plight of thesespeechless beings. Theseanimals are brought fromother countries and aremade to feel at homethough it is away fromhome. Just like the guestworkers’ plight,” said DrVasundara, a resident of Somajiguda, who adopt-ed an Aldabra giant tor-toise, in July, this year.
Speaking about the plan,Nehru Zoological Park(NZP) curator, N. Kshitija,told Deccan Chronicle thatthey had “received good
support from the people.”The scheme to adopt ani-
mals from the zoo was firstlaunched in 2014. Themoney that is generatedfrom the adoptions is usedfor taking care of the ani-mals. That’s not all as thefunds are also used towardsthe protection of endan-gered animals.
“The adoptions that wehave received till now isgood, but there is alwaysscope to be better,” said DrSidhanand Kukrety, direc-tor, zoo parks.
Zoo witnesses spike in adoptions`7.9 lakh was set aside by benevolent denizens to adopt animalsCASH | FOR CARE
YOUTH ENDS LIFEBY SUICIDE OVER HAIR FALL
FOUR INJUREDIN EXPLOSIONAT BALANAGAR
MODDU SRINUKILLER DIES
AT KGH IN VIZAGDC CORRESPONDENTVISAKHAPATNAM, JULY 27
The 53-year-old prisonerMallela Om Prakash, who isunder life imprisonment inthe murder of a jailmate andsharpshooter JulakantiSrinivasa Reddy alias ModduSrinu, died of alleged renalfailure at King GeorgeHospital (KGH) in Vizag cityin the early hours on Sunday.
The Superintendent of VizagCentral Prison, S. Rahul, saidthat Om Prakash has been suf-fering from kidney-related ail-ments for the past few yearsand he has been undergoingdialysis treatment at KGH.
The superintendent said thatOm Prakash, an undertrialfrom Madanapalle area in Chittoor district, waslodged in Anantapur districtjail. He murdered JulakantiSrinivasa Reddy alias ModduSrinu, who was accused in theTDP’s MLA Paritala Ravi murder case, by smashingSrinu’s head with a dumbbellin the jail on November 9, 2008.
Burglar held for stealingproperty worth ` 1 croreDC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JULY 27
A notorious burglar,who stole propertyworth `1 crore, includ-ing ` 57 lakh in cash, hasbeen arrested alongwith his three aides byBalanagar central crimestation police. Using theproceeds of his crimes,the burglar had evenpurchased a house inthe name of his family members.
The case was crackedafter a burglary in thehouse of realtorRamchander underAlwal police station lim-its on July 5, when `57lakh cash and 43 tolas ofgold were stolen.
A probe by Balanagarcentral crime stationresulted in the arrest ofaccused M. VamshidharReddy, 30, a Medchal res-ident, and his wifePushpalatha. Policehave also held K. ShivaKumar, an employee ofAttica Gold Company atKukatpally, for taking
stolen gold and givingmoney, and K. LaxmiNarsimha Bargav RamaRao, 27, attender work-ing in the office of ChiefCommissioner ofLand Administration atVijayawada in AndhraPradesh, for selling hishouse in exchange of money that wasstolen.
Cyberabad police com-missioner V.C. Sajjanarsaid on Monday thataccused Vamshidhar,who started thefts as ateenager, developedacquaintances withother offenders in jailsand continued commit-ting burglaries. About
seven years ago,Vamshidhar marriedPushpalatha and startedliving in Medchal.
So far, accused Vamshidhar has beeninvolved in 72 cases ofburglaries and wasarrested several times.His latest arrest was byKhammam police andhe got released on June26.
After his release, heburgled the house ofrealtor Ramchander inAlwal. Vamshidhar used the cash stolen to pur-chase a house (3.66cents) at Konaka-nchi gram panchayat in Penganchiprolu man-dal in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh onJuly 17 in the name ofhis six-year-old son,making his wife as theguardian, the commis-sioner said.
Police have recoveredfrom Vamshidhar ` 53.35lakh in cash, 20 tolas ofgold, house documents,a bike, and four mobilephones.
DC CORRESPONDENTHYDERABAD, JULY 27
Upset over hair fall, a 23-year-old man fromWarangal committedsuicide by hanging fromthe ceiling of his roomin Uppal.
Police said the deceas-ed, identified as T. Nith-in was a catering workerand living with a friendin a rented room atChilakanagar in Uppal.
On Saturday, Nithinhad stayed back in theroom while his friendhad gone on work. Whenthe friend returned inthe evening, he foundNithin hanging from theceiling and alerted thelocal police.
Uppal police said anote has been recoveredfrom the room in whichNithin reportedly men-tioned that only he isresponsible for hisdeath; that he was com-mitting suicide becauseof hair fall. A case hasbeen registered andpolice have taken up fur-ther investigation.
DECCANCHRONICLE
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?
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● ● BEFORE THECoronavirus struck, commuters used theHyderabad Metro, RTCbuses, MMTS, and othermeans of transport.
● ● LAST YEAR, more than 1.5lakh idols had been immersedat Tank Bund.
●● ON SATURDAY, Nithinhad stayed back in theroom while his friendhad gone on work. Whenthe friend returned inthe evening, he foundNithin hanging from theceiling and alerted thelocal police.
TV channel ownerheld for cheatingJAYENDRA CHAITHANYA T.| DCHYDERABAD, JULY 27
The owner of a regional tel-evision channel, who cheat-ed over 40 persons on thepretext of getting themallotted double-bedroom ho-uses being constructed bythe state government, hasbeen arrested by Cyberabadpolice. Police recoveredfrom him fake house allot-ment letters, a fake identifi-cation card of police depart-ment, two fake stamps, ` 8lakh cash and an SUV.
According to Cyberabadpolice, accused G.Prashanth, 28, hails fromNadimilanka village in EastGodavari district and is aresident of KPHB. He alsoowns Vision-1 TV channel.After the state governmentannounced allotment ofdouble-bedroom houses forhomeless in the state,Prashanth started luringpeople saying he would usehis influence to get housesallotted to them. About 40people believed him and hecollected amounts varyingfrom `1.55 lakh to ` 1.7 lakhfrom each, apart from photo-copies of their Aadhaarcards, passport photos, andaddress proofs.
After collecting the docu-ments, he forged signaturesof government officials and
gave them fake letters allot-ting houses in Kukatpally,KPHB, Bachupally, andMiyapur areas.
Cyberabad commissionerV. C. Sajjanar said on receiv-ing a tipoff, the SpecialOperations Team ofMadhapur inquired into theissue and arrestedPrashanth in Vijayawada onJuly 24 throughBhavanipuram police. Atthe time, he even tried toevade arrest saying he was asub-inspector working withthe Cyberabad PoliceCommissionerate. He usedthis fake ID card to alsoavoid paying toll fees.Commissioner Sajjanar saidPrashanth had collectedabout `70 lakh from his victims.
●● ACCORDING TOCyberabad police, accusedG. Prashanth, 28, hails fromNadimilanka village in EastGodavari district and is aresident of KPHB. He alsoowns Vision-1 TV channel.
●●AFTER THE state government announcedallotment of double-bed-room houses for homelessin the state, Prashanthstarted luring people sayinghe would use his influenceto get houses allotted tothem.
● ● THE PAST four months,since the beginning of thecurrent financial year onApril 1, have been busy forthe Nehru Zoological Parkwith people coming forwardto adopt the animals at thezoo.
● ● SEVEN ADOPTIONS havetaken place since that time,and ` 7.9 lakh was set asidefor these animals by benevolent denizens whocame forward to adopt them.
● ● THE CASE wascracked after a bur-glary in the house ofrealtor Ramchanderunder Alwal policestation limits on July5, when ` 57 lakhcash and 43 tolas ofgold were stolen.
●● THE INJURED workers –Srikanth, Chowdary,Govind, and Anant Sarmasuffered injuries to theirlimbs. They are undergo-ing treatment at a privatehospital.
TRAVEL WORKERSHOLD ‘SHIRTLESS
PROTEST’ IN TSHyderabad, July 27 : Leadi-ng travel operators of Telan-gana State held ‘shirtless prot-est’ at Regional Transport Aut-hority (RTA) Headquarters,Khairtabad here on Mondaydemanding waiver of MotorVehicle Tax for the lockdownperiod.
Led by Telangana State Cabsand Bus Operators Associ-ation (TSCBOA) President Sy-ed Nizamddin, JAC membersK. Gopal Reddy and KM. Gov-ind Raj, the travel operatorsfirst met the RTA Commis-sioner at his office seeking thestatus of several representa-tions submitted to him and thePrincipal Secretary of the Tra-nsport Department in the lastone month. “The TSCBOA isthe representative body of ne-arly 3,000 big, medium andsmall travel operators in Tela-ngana State. Our industry con-tributes nearly `2,500 crore tothe State’s economy every yearand it employs nearly 5-6 lakhpeople. It is highly unfortu-nate that the State Governm-ent was not mistreating our in-dustry and not willing to ad-dress the problems being facedby travel operators. — INN
WORLD pg 4DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | 28 JULY 2020
SAD DEMISE
Sri MAHENDRA KUMAR SHAHYou will always be their in our hearts.
May your soul rest in peace.Inserted by: Prasad R.G.
Pancom Marketing Pvt. Ltd.(S/2021/D00338)
MOHAMMED FAIAZUDDIN FARYASS/o Mohammed Sharfuddin
Retd. Telecom Engineer,R/o: Asmangadh, TV Tower
Expired on 23rd July 2020 due to Kidneyfailure. Funeral held at Masjid-e-Mohammadia TV Tower.Buried same day at Masjid graveyard.
Inserted by: FamilyContact: 9032329454
SHRADDANJALI
KATTA KRISHNA KUMARDOB: 19-05-1952 DOD: 25-07-2020
We deeply condole his demiseInserted by:
Kylasa Narsamma & FamilyBoorugu Suvarnamala & Family
C. UmadeviGaruda Vijaya Laxmi & Family
12th DEATH ANNIVERSARYThe memory of the righteous is blessed.
Provers 10:7
G. VINAYA VILVA RAJ Rly. M.C.M. Moulali, Hydearabad
S/o Late Gund SamuelH/o G. Poola Vilva Raj
DOB: 7-1-1950 DOD: 28-7-2008Dad years are passing with out you but wefeel your presence is fresh in our hearts. MayJesus saviour give peace to your soul.
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SAD DEMISE
Shri D. LAXMINARAYANAD.O.D: 26-7-2020We All Miss You
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Seoul, July 27: North Koreanleader Kim Jong Un has visiteda national cemetery and hand-ed out commemorative pistolsto army officers, state mediareported Monday, as he pushesto muster public support forefforts to contain a potentialCoronavirus outbreak.
On Sunday, North Korea saidthat Kim had put a city nearthe border with South Koreaunder lockdown and declared astate of emergency after a per-son with suspected Covid-19symptoms was recently foundthere. If the person is diagno-sed with the Coronavirus, itwould be North Korea’s firstofficially confirmed case,though many outside expertsbelieve the virus has alreadyspread to the country. TheNorth’s official Korean CentralNews Agency reported thatKim visited a cemetery on theoutskirts of Pyongyang whereKorean War dead are buried tomark the 67th anniversary ofthe end of the 1950-53 war. Kimlaid a single rose and bowedbefore a big monument at theFatherland Liberation WarMartyrs Cemetery, accordingto KCNA. It didn’t say exactlywhen Kim went there.
A 1953 armistice that endedthe war has yet to be replacedwith a peace treaty, leaving theKorean Peninsula in a techni-cal state of war. North Koreaconsiders the armistice sign-ing as a victory and often usesthe anniversary as a chance topromote nationalism. KCNAalso reported that Kim gave“Paektusan” commemorativepistols, named after the sacredpeak on the peninsula, to sen-ior military officials during aceremony Sunday.
KIM MARKSWAR ANNIVAMID COVID
IN BRIEFMore than 60
killed in SudanCairo: A new bout of vio-lence in Sudan's war-torn
Darfur region has left morethan 60 people dead, the
United Nations said Sunday.The clashes threaten to deraila fragile transition to democ-
racy more than a year afterthe military's ouster of long-
time autocrat Omar al-Bashir.The UN Office for the Coordi-nation of Humanitarian Affa-irs in Sudan said about 500
armed men on Saturday att-acked the village of Masteri,
located 48 kilometers (30miles) south of Genena, the
provincial capital of WestDarfur province. The clashes
between the Masalit and oth-er Arab tribes in the area sta-
rted earlier Saturday and la-sted until late Sunday, state-
run SUNA news agency repo-rted, citing unnamed sources.
Local authorities asked formilitary reinforcements to
halt the clashes, it said.
Slavery: Samoanchief jailed
Wellington: A Samoan chief-tain living in New Zealand wasjailed for 11 years Monday over
an “abhorrent” slavery racketthat exploited workers from
his Pacific homeland over a 25year period. Joseph Matamatalured workers to New Zealand
with promises of generouspay but beat them once they
arrived, forcing them intounpaid labour on farms and in
his home, Immigration NewZealand said. During his trial,prosecutors said Matamata's
offences were exacerbated bythe fact that the 66-year-oldheld the chiefly title of mataiin Samoa, making him some-
one his compatriots trustedand looked up to. “Mata-
mata's actions and behaviourwere abhorrent and went
against all basic humandecency,” Immigration NewZealand's compliance chief
Stephen Vaughan said.
Chengdu, July 27: TheUS says it has closed itsconsulate in Chengdu,China. China ordered theconsulate closed in retali-ation for a US order toshut down the ChineseConsulate in Houston lastweek. A statement fromthe State Department saidthat the consulate susp-ended operations at 10a.m. on Monday.
It expressed disappoint-ment at China’s decisionand said the US would tryto continue its outreach tothe region through itsother missions in China.The American flag hasbeen taken down at a USconsulate in southweste-rn China, according tostate media, as officialsvacate the premises underorder of the Chinese gov-ernment. State broadcast-er CCTV said on its socialmedia account that theflag was lowered at 6:18a.m. on Monday at the USmission in Chengdu.
Police have closed off atwo to three block areaaround the consulate, cut-ting off virtually any viewof the property. Vehiclescould be seen moving inthe distance behind multi-
ple police lines. China or-dered the closing of theconsulate on Friday inretaliation for a US orderto close the Chinese Con-sulate in Houston.
The tit-for-tat closingsmarked a significant esca-lation in the tensionsbetween the two countriesover a range of issues,including trade, technolo-gy, security and humanrights. Moving trucksarrived at the US con-sulate Sunday afternoonand left a few hours later.Late at night, flatbed trail-ers entered the complex.One later emerged carry-ing a large shipping con-tainer and a crane.
Before the area wasclosed, the impending clo-sure of the consulate drewa steady stream of onlook-
ers over the weekend asChengdu, like Houston,found itself in the lime-light of international poli-tics. People stopped totake selfies and photos,jamming a sidewalk busywith shoppers and famili-es with strollers on a sun-ny day in the city of Che-ngdu. A little boy posedwith a small Chinese flagbefore plainclothes policeshooed him away as for-eign media cameras zoo-med in. Police had shutthe street and sidewalk infront of the consulate andset up metal barriersalong the sidewalk on theother side of the tree-lined road.
Uniformed and plaincl-othes officers kept watchon both sides of the barri-ers after scattered inci-dents following the Che-ngdu announcement onFriday, including a manwho set off firecrackersand hecklers who cursedat foreign media shootingvideo and photos of thescene. A man who tired tounfurl a large placard lateSunday that he called anopen letter to the Chinesegovernment was quicklytaken away. — AP
US consulate inChengdu closedRetaliation for shutting Chinese mission
● ● THE TIT-FOR-TATclosings marked a sig-nificant escalation inthe tensions betweenthe two countries overa range of issues,including trade, tech-nology, security andhuman rights.
Beijing, July 27: Chinaon Monday reported itshighest number ofCoronavirus cases inthree months, part of aworrying swell of sec-ond and third-waveinfections that are hit-ting Asia and Europe.Australia has beenrocked by its deadliestsurge since the start ofthe pandemic, HongKong is experiencingrecord daily numbersand Spain’s caseloadhas tripled in the lastfortnight. Meanwhile,other regions are stillbattling their firstwaves after never get-ting the virus undercontrol: The US alonehas recorded almost 4.23million cases of Covid-19, while infections inLatin America and theCaribbean surged onSunday to briefly over-take North America’stotal for the first time.Worldwide the confi-rmed case count has pa-ssed 16 million,although expertsbelieve that figure isvastly short of the truenumber. One study inNew Delhi found a quar-ter of people tested hadcontracted the virus,amounting to 4.7 millionin the Indian capitalalone.
China — where the Co-ronavirus was firstreported in Decemberlast year —recorded 61cases on Monday, thehighest daily figuresince April. The second-wave surge was prope-lled by clusters in sepa-rate regions, andauthorities havedeclared “wartimemode” lockdownmeasures to combat thespread of the deadlycontagion.
Most of the 57 newdomestic cases were inthe far northwesternXinjiang region.
Men burn incense as a small number of Muslim pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba, the square structurein the Great Mosque, towards which believers turn when praying, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Anywhere from1,000 to 10,000 pilgrims will be allowed to perform the annual Haj pilgrimage this year due to theCoronavirus pandemic. — AP
China reports Covid-19 spikeas global cases go past 16 mn
Dubai, July 27:Muslim pilgrims havestarted arriving inMecca for a drasticallyscaled-down Haj asSaudi authorities bal-ance the kingdom’soversight of one ofIslam’s key pillars andthe safety of visitors inthe face of a global pan-demic. The Haj, whichbegins on Wednesday,normally draws around2.5 million people forfive intense days of wor-ship in one of theworld’s largest gather-ings of people fromaround the world.
This year, SaudiArabia’s Haj Ministryhas said between 1,000and 10,000 peoplealready residing in thekingdom will be allowed
to perform the pilgrim-age. Two-thirds of thosepilgrims will be fromamong foreign residentsin Saudi Arabia andone-third will be Saudicitizens. The kingdom
has one of the Mideast’slargest outbreaks of theCoronavirus, with morethan 266,000 reportedinfections, including2,733 deaths. FatinDaud, a 25-year-oldMalaysian studyingArabic in Saudi Arabia,was among the selectfew whose applicationfor Haj was approved.After her selection,Saudi Health Ministryofficials came to herhome and tested her forCovid-19. She was thengiven an electronicbracelet that monitorsher movement and toldto quarantine for sever-al days at home. Daudwas moved to a hotel inMecca, where she rema-ins in self-isolation.
— AP
Pilgrims arrive in Mecca fordownsized Haj amid virus
TRUMP’S NSATESTS POSITIVEFOR COVID-19Washington, July 27:US national securityadviser Robert O’Brienhas tested positive forCoronavirus and has“mild symptoms”, theWhite House announcedon Monday, becomingthe highest rankingadministration officialto contract the disease.
O’Brien has been self-isolating and workingfrom home and therewas no risk of exposureto President DonaldTrump or Vice-Pres-ident Mike Pence. “Thework of the NationalSecurity Council contin-ues uninterrupted,” astatement said. — PTI
SHAFQAT ALI | DCISLAMABAD, JULY 27
Pakistan PrimeMinister Imran KhanMonday advisedPakistanis to take allCoronavirus precau-tions during Id-ul Azhaand Muharram so thecases do not spikeagain.
Addressing the nationover the radio and tele-vision, he said that thenumber of Coronaviruscases in Pakistan hadgone down.
On Monday, Pakistan’sdeath toll from Covid-19was the lowest in the
last three months. “I am very pleased to
announce that the pres-sure on our hospitalshas considerablydecreased.”
The steps taken byPakistan have helpedthe country control thenumber of Coronaviruscases “by the grace ofAllah”, he said. “Westill have challengesand we need to proceedwith caution.”
“It was our govern-ment that understoodthat our situation is dif-ferent from that inEurope and China,” heremarked.
Take precautionsduring Id: Imran
● ● THIS YEAR, SaudiArabia’s Haj Ministryhas said between1,000 and 10,000 peo-ple residing in thekingdom will beallowed to performthe pilgrimage. Two-thirds of those will befrom among foreignresidents in SaudiArabia and one-thirdwill be Saudi citizens.
SRI LANKA DROPS ADVANCE POLL PLAN FOR PEOPLE UNDER QUARANTINEColombo, July 27: SriLanka’s election commi-ssion on Monday droppedits plan to hold advancevoting for persons underquarantine due to theCoronavirus after ques-tions were raised on itsdecision to operate mobilepolling stations.
National Elections Co-
mmission ChairmanMahinda Deshapriya onSunday set July 31 as thedate for advance voting forpersons under quarantine.Over 16 million voters areregistered to vote onAugust 5 to elect a 225-member parliament for a5-year term.
Speaking to reporters on
Monday, Deshapriya saidthe plan was dropped fol-lowing complaints madeby multiple factions. Hesaid as there is no legisla-tion with respect toadvanced voting in SriLanka, concerns wereraised.
According to the electionlaw, voters must cast their
votes at official pollingbooths. The arrangementnow would be to extendthe polling duration tofacilitate voting for thepersons under quaran-tine, officials said.
The counting would takeplace only on the followingmorning.
— PTI
Portland (US), July27: A night that start-ed with a reportedshooting and a bagcontaining loaded riflemagazines and Mol-otov cocktails amid apeaceful protest —morphed into anintense early morningconfrontation betweendemonstrators and lawenforcement inOregon’s largest city.US agents repeatedlyfired what appeared tobe tear gas, flash bangsand pepper balls earlyMonday to clear amass of protesters out-side the Mark O. Ha-tfield United StatesCourthouse inPortland.
Some protesters hadclimbed over the fencesurrounding the court-house, while othersshot fireworks, banged
on the fence and pro-jected lights on thebuilding.
The federal cou-rthouse has been aplace of contention asthe city has seen night-ly protests for twomonths since the dea-th of George Floyd inMinneapolis in May.
President DonaldTrump said he sentfederal agents toPortland to halt theunrest but state andlocal officials said theyare making the situa-tion worse. The protestlate Sunday startedpeacefully, with organ-isers giving speechesand leading chantswith the crowd.
But things intensi-fied as the night woreon. US agents declaredan “unlawful assem-bly” — AP
US agents use gasto clear protesters
Fort-De-France, July27: Anti-racism activiststore down a statue ofNapoleon’s empressJosephine and anothercolonialist figure in theoverseas French territo-ry of Martinique, the lat-est test of PresidentEmmanuel Macron’s vownot to erase controversialmonuments. A statue ofJosephine de Beauharna-is, who was born to awealthy colonial familyon the island and laterbecame Napoleon’s firstwife and empress, wasattacked by a crowd ofpeople wielding clubs andropes in Fort-de-Franceon Sunday.
The emperor reintrodu-ced slavery in French col-onies in 1802, eight yearsafter it had been bannedunder the French Revolu-tion. Josephine’s statuehad already been decapi-tated nearly 30 years ago,and never been repairedsince. The activists alsodestroyed a statue ofPierre Belain d’Esnamb-uc, the trader who estab-lished the first Frenchcolony on Martinique in1635. A police source saidthe government’s top offi-cial for the Caribbeanisland ordered lawenforcement not to inter-vene, though he denoun-ced “unacceptable actio-ns by a violent minority”.On May 22, the annive-rsary of the abolition ofslavery on Martinique,activists toppled two stat-ues erected in honour ofVictor Schoelcher, thelawmaker whose decreeoutlawed slavery acrossFrance in 1848. — AFP
The Supreme Court onMonday sought response fromUniversity Grant Commission(UGC) on a batch of petitionsseeking the quashing of itsguidelines instructing all theuniversities to conduct finalyear examinations bySeptember 30.
A bench headed by JusticeAshok Bhushan and also com-prising Justice R. SubhashReddy and Justice M.R. Shahsought response from the UGCon a batch of petitions by 31 students from universitiesacross the country seeking thequashing of guidelines issuedby it for the conduct of thefinal year examinations acrossthe country by universitiesand colleges.
One of the petitioners isMaharashtra tourism minis-ter Aditya Thackeray. SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta appear-ing for the UGC told the courtthat the apex body regulatingthe universities would fileresponse by July 29. The fur-ther hearing in the matter willtake place on July 31.
The petitioner students, so-me of whom have tested posi-tive for Covid-19, have conten-ded that the pandemic has inf-ected a number of final yearstudents or their family mem-bers. Appearing for one of thepetitioners, senior counselAbhishek Manu Singhviasserted that the UGC guide-lines are harsh and unreal.
Advocate Alakh AlokSrivastava appearing for otherpetitioners told the court thatthe guidelines ought to bestayed in view of India record-ing more than 50,000 Covidcases in a single day
SRIDHAR KUMARASWAMI | DCNEW DELHI, JULY 27
In what is being seen as anassurance to India,Bangladesh on Mondaytermed bilateral ties as “rocksolid”, adding that in the pastfew years both countries “havescripted a golden chapter(‘sonali adhyaya’)” under theleadership of BangladeshPrime Minister Sheikh Hasinaand Prime Minister NarendraModi.
The remarks by Bangladeshforeign minister A.K. AbdulMomen came on the occasionof a virtual ceremony that marked India’s handingover of 10 Broad Gauge (BG)locomotives to Dhaka to boost rail connectivitybetween the two nations, seenby both countries as a “vital element of bilateralcooperation in promotingtrade and connectivity and inboosting the economic part-nership”. It may be recalledthat China has been trying toincrease its economic influ-ence in Bangladesh whichNew Delhi is only too aware of.
This also comes at a timewhen Pakistan is trying to fishin troubled waters by reachingout to Bangladesh and raking up the Kashmir issuewith it.
GILVESTER ASSARY | DC THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY27
M. Sivasankar, former princi-pal secretary of Kerala ChiefMinister was questioned bythe National InvestigationAgency (NIA) for nearly 10hours in Kochi in connectionwith the gold smuggling case.
Sivasankar, who was sus-pended by the governmentsoon after his name was linkedto the accused, is likely to becalled again for further ques-tioning. He left the NIA officeat 7 pm.
Sivasankar’s advocate Rajeevsaid there was no evidence toprove his client’s links withthe gold smuggling. “I stronglybelieve that he has no role inthe case. A responsible investi-gating agency is examiningthe facts. There is nothingunusual about questioning aperson for how many days andhours,” he told media personsin Kochi. The IAS officer willappear before the agency onTuesday again. The investiga-tion agency is probingwhether the bureaucrat or hisoffice assisted the accused inany manner. Sivasankar wasquestioned for the third time.
Earlier, Sivasankar had stat-ed that Swapna was a friendand that he had absolutely noidea of her alleged links withthe gold smuggling racket.
MANOJ ANAND | DC GUWAHATI, JULY 27
Assam has lost at least8,000 square kilometres ofland, that is close to 60lakh bighas of land, since1951 due to devastatingfloods that rock the stateevery year.
Referring to the recordsof the state revenuedepartment, former addi-tional chief secretary C.K. Das who served thestate revenue departmentfor a long period, pointedout that as land holdingsin Assam are much small-er compared to some otherstates, it is estimated thataround 10 lakh familieshave become landless overthe years.
Asserting that erosion isa much bigger threat toAssam than floods, he saidthat people can recoverfrom the losses that theygenerally suffer due to
flood by resorting to vari-ous alternate means offarming after the floodwater recedes.
But in case of erosion,people are not only losingtheir land but also compelled to migrate from one place to other as there have beeninstances of many vil-lages washed away in ero-sion, he said.
Referring to certain nat-ural disasters like earth-quakes which had devas-tating impact on the geog-raphy of the region, Dassaid that the bed of therivers became shallowafter the earthquakes in
1897 and 1950, whichreduced the water carry-ing capacity and the prob-lem of erosion aggravat-ed.
He pointed out that ifone examines the maps ofthe Survey of India since1872, it is easily visiblethat the width of theBrahmaputra is increas-ing in different partsthrough its coursethrough Assam.
Stressing that thereshould be a technicalstudy by involving technical institutes onfinding ways to protect the state from erosion andthe places where land can be reclaimed, headmitted that quality ofembankment has been oneof the major reasonsbehind the escalating dev-astation of rivers inAssam.
Admitting that the stategovernment has been
adopting some policy time to time to extendrelief to families affecteddue to erosion, authoritiesin the state revenuedepartment, however, saidthat steps like giving onetime grant of `5 lakh toerosion hit families to buy land could be a sus-tainable solution to theproblem of erosion fortime being but not perma-nent.
Pointing out that therehave been long pendingdemand before the Centreto declare erosion as a natural calamity so thatadequate compensationcan be paid to the peoplewho lose their land in erosion, authorities in thestate revenue departmentregretted that most oferosion hit people havebeen forced to live onembankments orencroaching upon govern-ment lands.
Assam lost 8,000 sq kmof land to soil erosionAround 10 lakh families have become landless over the years
Mosques in Ayodhya spreadingmessage of communal harmony
Kolkata, July 27:Sacred soil from majortemples in West Bengaland holy water fromsangam, the confluenceof the Ganga with otherrivers, will be sent toAyodhya for ‘bhoomipujan’ (groundbreakingceremony) of the Ramtemple on August 5, asenior VHP leader heresaid.
The August 5 ceremo-ny will mark the begin-ning of the temple’s con-struction. A decadeslong title suit over thesite at Ayodhya in UttarPradesh was settled bythe Supreme Court inNovember last year.
“Holy water from con-fluences of rivers suchas Gangasagar, Bhagir-athi, Triveni, along withthe sacred soil of vari-ous temples like Kal-ighat, Dakhineshwar,Gangasagar and MadanMohan temple of Cooch-behar will be sent toAyodhya. It will be usedduring the ‘bhoomi puj-an’ ceremony of the Ra-m temple,” said seniorVHP leader and itsmedia-in-charge in Ben-gal, Sourish Mukherjee.
Due to the Covid-19pandemic, Vishva HinduParishad (VHP) leadersfrom West Bengal won’tbe able to attend the pro-gramme in Ayodhya, hesaid.
“We will watch it onTV and make arrange-ments so that it can beviewed on social mediain every nook and cor-ner of the state,”Mukherjee said.
VHP’s internationaljoint general secretarySurendra Jain said thisexercise of soil andwater collection from allmajor places of worshipis a “symbol of unityand rich heritage of ourcountry”. — PTI
‘SACRED’ SOIL,FROM BENGALTO BE SENT TO AYODHYA
A young girl teaches flood-affected children near their makeshift homes along a road on NH-77 at Mithan Sharay inMuzaffarpur district on Monday. — PTI
NAYEAR AZAD | DC PATNA, JULY 27
The flood situationremained grim in Biharwith major rivers flow-ing above the danger ma-rk. As per an assessme-nt, more than 15 lakh pe-ople are affected and alarge section has movedto safer places after wat-er entered into hundredsof villages across the 11districts of the state.
As many as 25 teams ofNDRF and SDRF are en-gaged in relief and res-cue operations in the flo-od-affected region of thestate. The governmenthas also deployed IndianAir Force helicopters toprovide relief to peoplewho have been living inmakeshift shelters. “La-khs of people have beenaffected due to heavyrains and flood in sever-al districts of the state.IAF choppers are beingused to drop food pack-ets and other relief mat-erials in the affected reg-ions of the state”, offici-als monitoring relief an-d rescue operations said.
The major cause ofconcern for the state go-vernment has been fiverivers — Kamala Balan,Kosi, Bagmati, and Gan-dak. Sources said thatwater level in Ganga toois gradually increasing.The worst affected dis-tricts in Bihar have beenWest Champaran, Gopal-ganj, Darbhanga, Supa-ul, Samastipur andMuzaffarpur.
Officials said that thestate government has setup more than 400 com-munity kitchens andseveral relief camps inthe affected areas. “Com-munity kitchens are pro-viding food to more than1.5 lakh people and arou-nd 14,000 have been keptin the relief camps whi-ch has been set up in theflood-affected areas”.
“More than 70 commu-nity kitchens have beenset up and 150 boats arebeing used in Muzaffarpur region toprovide relief to theflood-affected people.District magistrates inother areas where thesituation is grim havebeen asked to use dronesand boats to rescue peo-ple who are stuck due toflood”, deputy chiefminister Sushil KumarModi said.
OVER 15 LAKHHIT DUE TOFLOOD IN BIHAR
Ayodhya, July 27: Withdays to go for the August 5‘bhoomi pujan’ ceremonyof the Ram temple inAyodhya, the mosquesadjacent to the RamJanmabhoomi premisesare spreading the message of communalharmony.
“It is the greatness ofAyodhya that the mosquessurrounding the Ram tem-ple are giving a strongmessage of communalharmony to the rest of theworld,” said Haji AsadAhmad, the corporator ofthe Ram Kot ward.
The Ram Janmabhoomipremises is situated inAhmad’s ward. “Muslimstake out the ‘juloos’ ofBarawafaat that goesthrough the periphery ofRam Janmabhoomi.
All religious functionsand rituals of Muslimsare respected by their fel-low citizens,” the corpora-tor said.
There are eight mosquesand two mausoleumslocated close to the 70-acreRam Janmabhoomi prem-ises mandated by theSupreme Court for a tem-ple of Lord Ram. Azaanand namaaz are offered inthe mosques and the annu-al “Urs” is held at themausoleums without anyobjection from the localHindus.
The mosques locatednear the RamJanmabhoomi premisesare Masjid Dorahikuan,Masjid Mali Mandir keBagal, Masjid KaziyanaAchchan ke Bagal, MasjidImambara, Masjid Riyaz ke Bagal, MasjidBadar Paanjitola, Masjid Madaar Shah andMasjid TehribazarJogiyon ki. The two mau-soleums are KhanqaaheMuzaffariya andImambara.
The priests of varioustemples here said Ayodhya is a town where
Hindus and Muslims havealways lived togetherpeacefully.
On the presence ofmosques near the RamJanmabhoomi premises,the chief priest of the temple, AcharyaSatyendra Das, said, “Wehad a dispute only withthe structure that was connected to the name of(Mughal emperor) Babur. We have never hadany issue with the other mosques and mau-soleums in Ayodhya. Thisis a town where Hindusand Muslims live inpeace.”
“Muslims offer namaaz,we perform our puja. Themosques adjacent to theRam Janmabhoomi prem-ises will strengthenAyodhya’s communal har-mony and peace will pre-vail,” he added.
Both Hindus andMuslims have acceptedthe Supreme Court verdictover Ram Janmabhoomi,Das said, adding, “Wehave no dispute with eachother.”
Sayyad Akhlaq AhmadLatifi, the “sajjadanasheen” and “pir” of the500-year-old KhanqaaheMuzaffariya mausoleum,said Muslims in Ayodhyaare performing all religious practices freely. “We offer prayersfive times a day in themosque at Khanqaah andhold the yearly ‘Urs’,” headded.
“What a scene would itbe — a grand Ram templesurrounded by smallmosques and mausoleumsand everyone offeringprayers according to theirbeliefs. That will be representative of the trueculture of India,” MahantYugal Kishore SharanShastri, the chief priest ofthe Sarayu Kunj templeadjacent to the RamJanmabhoomi premises,said. — PTI
Muslim devoteesgear up for Aug. 5Ayodhya, July 27: AsAyodhya gets ready for the‘bhoomi pujan’ of the pro-posed Ram temple, someMuslim devotees of LordRam are gearing up to cel-ebrate the historic cere-mony.
Jamshed Khan, a resi-dent of Faizabad district,said he will celebrate thebeginning of the templeconstruction with hisHindu brothers.
“We have converted toIslam and embraced itsprayer system, but thatdoesn’t change our ances-tors. We believe that LordRam is our ancestor,” hesaid.
Wasi Haider, also anative of Faizabad, echoedsimilar sentiments. “Webelieve in the fundamen-tals of Islam and we prac-tice Islam, but we alsobelieve that Lord Ram wasour ancestor. It will begreat that we will witnessthe construction of theRam temple.”
Haji Saeed said IndianMuslims consider LordRam as ‘Imam-e-Hind’.
Rashid Ansari said hehopes he gets a chance toenter the sanctum sancto-rum of the RamJanmabhoomi site.
“If due to security andother reasons I don’t get achance to go there, I willcelebrate the beginning ofthe construction of theRam temple in Ayodhya,”he said.
Awadh provinceincharge of MuslimRashtriya Manch AnilSingh said some Muslimdevotees of Lord Ram arecoming to Ayodhya fromother states to join the cel-ebrations in the holy
town. “One of the devo-tees is coming to Ayodhyawith bricks from hisnative state Chhattisgarhfor the construction of thetemple,” he said.
According to members ofthe Shri RamJanmabhoomi TeerthaKshetra Trust, PrimeMinister Narendra Modiis likely to visit Ayodhyafor the ceremony to beginthe construction of theRam temple.
Anil Mishra, a memberof the trust, said that vet-eran BJP leaders L.K.Advani, M.M. Joshi andRSS chief MohanBhagwat are among thosebeing invited to the ‘bhoo-mi pujan’ ceremony whichwill be telecast live byDoordarshan.
Besides, there is a planto invite spiritual leadersfrom all faiths, he hadsaid.
In the wake of theCoronavirus pandemicand social distancingrestrictions, there will bea limited gathering of upto 200 people at the event,they said according toMishra.
— PTI
Bid to conduct10L Covid testsa day, says PM
● ● WASI HAIDER, a nativeof Faizabad, says, “Webelieve in the fundamen-tals of Islam and we prac-tice Islam, but we alsobelieve that Lord Ram wasour ancestor. It will begreat that we will witnessthe construction of theRam temple.”
● ● IN THE wake of thepandemic, there will be alimited gathering of up to200 people at the event.
● ● THE BED of the riversbecame shallow after theearthquakes in 1897 and1950, which reduced thewater carrying capacityand aggravated the prob-lem of erosion.
VINEETA PANDEY |DCNEW DELHI, JULY 27
India continues to createnew records on a dailybasis with regard to newcases of Coronavirus.
As per Monday data ofthe Union health min-istry, total fresh casesdetected in the last 24hours were 49,931 while703 new deaths wererecorded taking India’stotal tally to 14,35,453cases and 32,771 deaths.
However, by evening theoverall numbers wereclose to 14.52 lakhs, anddeaths close to 33,000according tocovid19India.org.
Officials said more testsare leading to higherdetection of infections.To ramp up testing fur-ther, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi onMonday launched “HighThroughput” Covid-19testing facilities atKolkata, Mumbai andNoida.
Modi said that these hi-tech testing facilities willboost the testing capacityby almost 10,000 dailytests in each of the threecities and more numberof tests will assist earlydetection and treatment,thereby helping fight thespread of the virus.
He added that these labswill not be limited to test-ing for Covid, but infuture, will also be able totest for Hepatitis B and C,HIV, Dengue and severalother diseases. These labswill reduce turn-around-time and exposure of labpersonnel to infectiousclinical materials.
He said more than 5lakh tests are being con-ducted in the countrydaily, and efforts are und-erway to increase this ca-pacity to 10 lakh in the co-ming weeks. He underli-ned that the recovery ratein India is higher than ot-her countries and is im-proving on a daily basis.
The Prime Ministeradded that India has sig-nificantly improvedhealth infrastructure totackle the deadly virus,and the country now hasmore than 11,000 Covidfacilities and more than11 lakh isolation beds.
Union health ministry
officials said India’s CaseFatality Rate is progres-sively falling and current-ly it is 2.28%.
The number of recover-ies too is increasing byeach day and for thefourth consecutive daymore than 30,000 recover-ies have been recordedwhich has taken the totalrecoveries beyond 9 lakh.
The number of recov-ered as per ministry cur-rently stands at 9,17,567and the Recovery Rate is64%, while active casesare 4,85,114.
Meanwhile, Delhi, whi-ch had an alarming situa-tion till a month back wi-th close to 4,000 cases onMonday provided someray of hope as it detected613 fresh cases and 26deaths.
Rahul says hidingtruth on China is ‘anti-national’DC CORRESPONDENTwith agency inputsNEW DELHI, JULY 27
Congress leader RahulGandhi on Monday saidhe is not going to lie aboutChinese transgressionsin eastern Ladakh even ifit costs him politically,asserting he will say thetruth as far as Indian ter-ritory is concerned.
Mr Gandhi made theseremarks in a tweet, alongwith an over-a-minute-long video, as part of aseries launched by himon the India-China face-off along the Line ofActual Control (LAC) ineastern Ladakh.
Asked in the video howhe would react to peoplewho say his questions toPrime Minister NarendraModi on China weakenedIndia, the formerCongress chief said, “Ifyou want me to lie thatthe Chinese have notentered this country, I amnot going to lie. I will sim-ply not do it. I do not careif my whole career goesto hell. I am not going tolie.”
“This disturbs me.Frankly, it makes my
blood boil. How can someother nation just comeinto our territory?…Hiding the truth is anti-national. Bringing it topeople’s attention is patri-otic,” Mr Gandhi said.“So frankly, I do not careif it costs me politically. Ido not care if I have nopolitical career at all afterthat. But I am going to saythe truth as far as Indianterritory is concerned,”he added.
“As an Indian, my num-ber one priority is thenation and its people,” hesaid on Monday.
The Bharatiya JanataParty hit back at MrGandhi over his attack onthe government on theLadakh face off, alleginghe is seeking to politicisedefence and foreign poli-cy matters and “washtheir past sins of 1962 andweaken India”.
Taking a dig at him, theBJP on Monday said theCongress leader’s politi-cal career ended in 2019after he insulted soldiersand he was again insult-ing the bravery 20 mar-tyrs who sacrificed theirlives in Galwan Valleyrecently.
SHIVRAJ WORKS FROM HOSPITAL BEDRABINDRA NATHCHOUDHURY | DC BHOPAL, JULY 27
Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan who has beenhospitalised after con-tracting Coronavirus, onMonday functioned fromhis hospital bed to dis-charge his duties.
Chouhan, whose sam-ples tested positive for thesecond time on Monday,reviewed the law andorder and pandemic situation in the state atofficial meetings throughvideo conferencing in the afternoon, the chiefminister’s office saidhere.
Interestingly, he has del-egated his power to threeof his ministerial col-leagues soon after he wasadmitted to a Covid-19 designated hos-pital on Saturday.Narottam Mishra,Vishwas Sarang andPrabhuram Choudhury,have been asked to lookafter the governancejointly. Also, the CMwould avoid signing filesduring his hospitalisa-tion, sources said.
AKSHAYA KUMAR SAHOO | DCBHUBANESWAR, JULY 27
A 16-year-old boy wasreportedly killed in acrocodile attack atParimukundapur villageunder Rajkanika policelimits in Kendrapara,police said on Monday.
The deceased was iden-tified as Rudra Behera,son of one Bholanath
Behera. Rudra along withhis four friends had goneto Kharasrota river totake a bath. Whilebathing, Rudra wasallegedly dragged intowater by a crocodile. “Thecrocodile suddenlyemerged out of knee-deepwater and dragged himinto the river. Though hisfriends tried to save him,he was killed,” said aneyewitness.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s radio address on Sunday charac-teristically tried to deflect attention from the main issue — theChinese Army’s occupation of terrain adjoining the Line of ActualControl (LAC) in Ladakh previously patrolled by India — in favour
of self-serving political polemic. On the 21st anniversary of the KargilVijay Diwas, the PM heaped oppobrium on Pakistan, the evergreen easytarget, calling it wicked, and for whom “enmity with one and all comesnaturally”. No doubt, the 1999 Kargil intrusion was deceitful, but in inter-national relations one moves on. Hardly anyone reminds Germany anymore about the Third Reich’s crimes during the 1940s.
However, our creative PM always has a method and that was evidentwhen he moved rhetorically from Pakistan to the “battles (that are) foughtwithin the country too, on many fronts simultaneously”, and the occa-sions when “without paying heed to the essence, we encourage certainthings on social media that are detrimental to the country”. He was specif-ically referring to the Congress Party’s Rahul Gandhi, who on Mondayreleased another video on the social media holding the government toaccount for the Chinese land-grab in Ladakh. “If you want me to say thatthe Chinese have not entered our country, I’m simply not going to lie,” MrGandhi said. “I don’t mind if my whole career goes to hell, but I’m notgoing to lie.”
The Congress leader, unlike other Opposition leaders who obviouslydon’t want to expend political capital by attacking the teflon-coated PM,was referring to Mr Modi’s June 19 statement to political parties where hesaid that China had not entered Indian territory. He obviously did that toreassure his core constituency; it is a pattern that whenever the PM statessomething, no matter how economical with the truth he is — it is a com-monality between strongmen leaders around the world that their primarytool of consolidating support is nothing more than mendacity — the pub-lic laps it up and as the final word.
However, former soldiers in the print media, experts abroad, and privatesatellite imagery all show that the Chinese are dug in, after havingingressed as deep as 16 km into Indian territory. Defence minister RajnathSingh nearly a fortnight back visited Ladakh and admitted that there wasno guarantee that the matter would be resolved, nor how long the disen-gagement would take.
But rather than address these grave matters, the PM as usual has flippedthe matter on its head. He has lumped Rahul Gandhi — and anyone elsewho questions the government on what is going on in Ladakh — with“wicked” Pakistan. Mr Modi disingenuously warned that “whatever wesay or do has immense bearing on the morale of the soldier” — butnowhere has Mr Gandhi questioned our troops, much less sought to lowertheir morale. It is the PM’s usual tactic of deflection and changing the sub-ject when his government’s competence is called into question. His “Mannki Baat” shows that if anyone’s morale is fragile, it is his own.
Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it’s awful: Thesewords, pronounced by Estragon in Samuel Beckett’s seminal workWaiting For Godot, reflect the mindscape of many in the country,
and the world, traumatised by the Covid-19 pandemic. That way, actorAmitabh Bachchan was stating only the obvious when he talked about hislife as a Covid-19 patient in a Mumbai hospital. The patients never get tosee another human for weeks, he says. “There are the nurses and the doc-tors on visit and medicine care but they ever appear in PersonalProtection Equipment (PPE) units.” Lakhs of people who are either undertreatment, quarantine or isolation face the same fate of being deniedhuman contact for days.
Most discussions on the pandemic revolve around the impact it has onthe economic conditions of the people, especially the poor. But the psy-chological impact is borne by the rich and the poor alike. The isolation iscomplete if the near and dear ones, fearful of the virus, keep themselvesaway. There are reports of people committing suicide from across thecountry unable to bear the pressure of isolation.
Even those who have been successful in keeping themselves away fromthe virus talk passionately of the past and grimly about the future. Theycompare their days when they walked on to the streets without a care,hugged their friends, and ate their favourite food. Or pat the railings onthe escalators in their favourite malls. Social media reverberates with theanxious question if humans will ever return to those good old days.
Logically speaking, an end to this life in the cabins will end once a vac-cine appears on the scene. But the waiting is too much for too many peo-ple, the rich and the poor alike. Amitabh Bachchan reminds one and allabout the importance of being considerate to each other.
Trauma the virus causes
PM avoids key issues,tries to deflect focus
Every expert worth his name ina TV studio or on a webinarwill tell you about the Art of
War, written by Sun Tzu, a Chinesegeneral and military strategist in 5thcentury BC. It teaches you allaspects of warfare, specially how towin a war without fighting it.
Mao Zedong himself was said to beinspired by the treatise, but today itseems President Xi Jinping hasn’treally read the book properly.
It’s not that Xi hasn’t received mil-itary training. From 1979 to 1982, heserved as secretary for his father’snumber two, Gen. Geng Biao, thensecretary-general of the CentralMilitary Commission. The CMC’spresent chief should have learnt bet-ter how to deal with “enemies”.
When one looks at the past fewmonths, one seriously doubts histactics will lead China to victories“without fighting” for one simplereason: he has taken on too manyenemies in one go.
His predecessor Deng Xiaopingthought the best way for China torise was: “Hide your strength, bideyour time, never take the lead”. Xi,however, decided to pick quarrelswith most nations on the planet at
the same time (of course with theexception of all-weather friendPakistan, and Nepal, now under thecharm of a beautiful lady ambas-sador).
This wasn’t mentioned in the Art ofWar. Whether it’s the United States,Japan, Australia, Vietnam, thePhilippines… the list is long. This iswithout counting Hong Kong,Taiwan, or “autonomous” Tibet andXinjiang.
In May, India was added. Xi decid-ed to fight a war in the highHimalayas. What’s the purpose ofthis new belligerence? Only a coupleof “fingers”, or a few hundredmeters, in inhospitable terrain? Wasit really smart to start this at thetime of Covid-19? Did Sun Tzu everteach this? Not to my knowledge.
What will Xi win? It appears a lose-lose venture for him. Realising this,Xi’s clever special representativeWang Yi, also the foreign minister,had a long phone chat with hisIndian counterpart, NSA Ajit Doval.An external affairs ministry com-muniqué said: “The two special rep-resentatives had a frank and in-depth exchange of views on therecent developments in the western
sector of India-China border areas.”It said the SRs agreed maintenanceof peace and tranquillity in the bor-der areas was essential and “[the]two sides should not allow differ-ences to become disputes”. But it isXi who created the differences. TheSRs spoke of the need to ensure “atthe earliest complete disengagementof troops along the LAC and de-esca-lation from India-China borderareas”.
As usual, the Chinese statementdiffered from the one in Delhi; itshould allow Beijing to play withwords in future. Ambitious generalsin Chengdu’s Western TheatreCommands sold the idea to Xi toteach a lesson to Indians and to placethe PLA troops on the LAC in far bet-ter position to destroy, if necessary,the new infrastructure built by Indiain East Ladakh. Gen. Zhao Zongqithought it would be easy if he tookthe Indians by surprise.
Unfortunately, the Leh-based 14Corps reacted faster than expectedby Gen. Zhao, and thereafter nothingwent according to plan, particularlyon June 15, when between 45-60Chinese soldiers lost their lives in adeadly clash with Indian troops in
Galwan Valley. Of course, the totali-tarian Middle Kingdom can hide thetruth from their masses, whilestressing that only India lost manysoldiers.
But how long can the Chinese Statekeep this secret in an era when thesocial media is all-pervasive?
For now, Beijing still controls theinformation domestically. On July 6,two TV panellists discussed thethird round of military talks inChushul. They argued that China’ssovereignty over Galwan was a factand Indian troops illegally crossedinto China. The “experts” furtherargued that Galwan was not disput-ed till India illegally moved into thearea; Chinese viewers were repeat-edly told blatant lies such as threeyears after Doklam, Indian troopscrossed again the line and startedprovocations. They said Mr Modi’sLadakh visit was a provocation, likeIndia banning 59 Chinese apps.
How long can the Chinese govern-ment bluff its own public and changeinto black what is clearly white?
China’s top leadership knows XiJinping has taken a too big a bite andhe doesn’t have the capacity to digestit. It wasn’t a smart move. Therefore,
the leadership has started question-ing the People’s Leader, especiallywhen the pandemic isn’t yet over.
A temporary “disengagement”may give Xi some breathing spaceand help him save face in the shortterm; all the more reason for India tostay awake and not be fooled.
One shouldn’t forget that earlynext month, the annual secret CCPconclave will be held in the seasideresort of Beidaihe; it will give spaceto the party’s elders to review Xi’sleadership. The agenda will be toughfor Xi: on top of the usual issues, hehas to answer for the catastrophiceconomic situation… and an unnec-essary war with India.
A party publication, Qushi, recent-ly published what is seen as “Xi’sLittle Red Book”: the gist of it being“Party, government, military andcivilian studies, East, West, South,and North, the Party is the leader”.And Xi is the Party’s core! Thesegimmicks don’t augur well for theMiddle Kingdom.
The writer is based in South Indiafor the past 42 years. He writes on
India, China, Tibet and Indo-Frenchrelations.
How Xi Jinpingfailed to learn
the basics fromTzu’s Art of War
Significant public dis-cussion around therecent defection of
Jyotiradatya Scindia andthe proto-defection ofSachin Pilot, politicaldynasts who gained trac-tion early in life primari-ly on the strength of theirproximity to the com-mand headquarters(owing to their lineage),has centred on the stateof ennui that is said toenvelop the Congress’ topleadership. If only Soniaor Rahul Gandhi hadacted in time to soothethe fraying nerves ofthese young men whodeserved greater rewardsthan those they had beenbestowed, they would nothobnob with the BJP,runs the refrain.
This is a mistakennotion, for the woes of theCongress Party are trace-able to complex causes,not Mills and Boon fan-tasies where dashingyoung men are meant tobe romantically pursued.In fact, arguments suchas these are calculated towhittle the Nehru-Gandhi idea of constitu-tionalism rooted in ruleof law precepts — with adose of welfarism. It isinteresting that thesearguments are beingadvanced in an era inwhich the idea of thesupremacy of a singlereligious communityseeks to bulldoze policy-making by dismissingold-style constitutional-ism rooted in the inde-pendence movement.More, they condone theact of defection itselfeven when it is for nohigher purpose than self-aggrandisement.
Even if Mr Pilot’s ven-ture does succeed on theheels of Mr Scindia’sbrazenness in backingthe ideologues of the com-munal agenda, a mock-ing question will remain:“Would there be high-profile turncoats if theCongress still ran theCentre even if it wasorganisationally hollowand the Gandhis wereditherers?” That said, it
is evident — and worry-ing — that the most strik-ing political feature ofour day is the advancingof crypto-fascist majori-tarian tendencies whilethe principal Oppositionparty is in an enervatedstate. One is in fact not aresult of the other,although some — even inthe Congress — maybelieve this to be thecase. At the same time, itis also clear that the dom-inant current trend inwhich life, culture, poli-tics and society aresought to be steam-rollered and homoge-nised under a repressiveone-party order seemsimpossible to challengewithout the strengthen-ing of the mainOpposition party, whichalone has nationwiderecognition and spread.
Historically, theCongress’ decline owes totwo key factors — andnot the ideological orpolitical misconductattributed to the presentset of Gandhis, thoughthey have been remoteand sometimes high-handed in their style, andshown a sophomoricpreference for individu-alism, even dilettantism,rather than collectiveendeavour. The first ofthese is the coming of ageby 1967 (when theCongress lost severalstate polls) of the socialforces that were enabled,in the first place, to comeinto their own throughthe progressive policiesof earlier Congress gov-ernments and nowsought to carve out sepa-rate political spaces forthemselves on a regionalbasis.
Two, in the aftermath ofthe Emergency and theelectoral rout of IndiraGandhi, the rank feck-lessness and inability ofthe “pro-class” anti-Con-gress and ex-Congresselements led by MorarjiDesai and ChandraShekhar, the socialists(Jayaprakash Narayan,Madhu Limaye), and thefreewheeling caste par-
ties masquerading aspeasant radicals (CharanSingh), in the rulingJanata Party combine tocohere and show the way— in effect to be a some-what right-of-centrereplacement for thedefeated Congress.
These factions, in fact,became jelly before anideologically determinedand crafty competitor,the Bharatiya Jan Sangh(the BJP’s forerunner),within the Janata Partyfold, with the formerCongress socialist Jaya-prakash Narayan, whoNehru had sometimevisualised as his succes-sor, shockingly endingup as a mascot for theRSS-Jan Sangh, present-ing anti-Congress politicsin independent India itsfirst defining moment.
These structural fault-lines in the politicalspace supplemented theearlier Bonapartist —and patrician — direc-tion imparted to theCongress — in the run-upto the Emergency (whichalso had other importantcauses) — by the charis-matic Indira Gandhi.With her aura undimin-ished, she triumphantlyreturned as PrimeMinister after the inglori-ous Janata interregnum,but by then, organisa-tionally, there remainedno Congress to speak of.
Indira was mouldedthrough organisational,political and ideologicalstruggles within theCongress, but those whocarried her family namein politics can be said tobe wholly devoid of thatdistinction. Indira’s suc-cessors — not just herson Rajiv but also otherslike Congress chief Sita-ram Kesri and Nara-simha Rao — showed nointerest in building theCongress organisation,and undoubtedly lackedthe capacity for the task.
In the later period,Sonia and Rahul Gandhiproved just as uninterest-ed and inept, although
the UPA government ofDr Manmohan Singhunder Sonia’s steward-ship of the Congress,recorded striking govern-mental successes unlikeNarendra Modi, who hasexecuted only disastrouspolicies that haveharmed India. The 10UPA years yielded anaverage annual growthrate of nearly eight percent and pulled 275 mil-lion people out of pover-ty, according to the UN.
The intrinsic value ofthe Gandhis to theCongress is undeniable.The Congress’ and theGandhis’ real ideologicaland political foe, the RSS-BJP, understands thisbetter than anyone, andtherefore the Modi gov-ernment harasses andmaligns them withoutpause. And yet, it’s acounterfeit argumentthat the Gandhis mustalways be at the helm forvoters to give the Congre-ss a second look. TheGandhis would in factrender real service totheir party — and thecountry — if they, in cali-brated fashion, midwifedthe birth of a new leader-ship through an internalelection process, andthen with sincerity offe-red themselves for ser-vice under the neworganisational umbrella.Rahul Gandhi showedthe perfect democraticinstinct — in copybookstyle — when he steppedaside from the Congresspresident’s post last year,announcing that no onefrom his family will suc-ceed him. His fundamen-tal mistake was that hedidn’t stay put to imple-ment his plan. He nowhas a second chance. Hecan help float the Cong-ress (as economists speakof floating the rupee to letit find its level).
Since the Bihar pollsare near, this cannot bedone right away.However, the first stepcan be taken across Indiaimmediately — to launcha massive enrolmentdrive. This may put lifein the party even inBihar by creating somelegitimate political exci-tement — and dynamismand hope. There is noother way to challengethe deeply communalproject given the decep-tive name of “NewIndia”.
Congress’ woesare traceable to
complex causes,not Mills and Boon
fantasies whereyoung men are
meant to be romantically
pursued.
Subhani
Gandhis could midwifea new Cong leadership
Anand K. Sahay
Claude Arpi
Far & Near
28 JULY 2020
LETTERSCOVID-19 AND JOBSJobs have taken a massivehit of the Covid-19 pan-demic. Many people,young and old, have losttheir jobs and are strug-gling to eke out their liveli-hood. I request the gov-ernment to take action inprotecting jobs andsalaries till the pandemic isover. Every individual isdependent on one another.
Samala ManasaHyderabad
INHUMANEI feel it is inhumane to ask ‘patientID’ from a person in ‘life and death’situation (‘Official process’ landsCovid +ve man in trouble, DC, July27). I request the Chief Ministerand the health minister to takeaction against officials concerned.
K.N. Vivaan Vikram RajHyderabad
ACADEMIC YEARInstead of reducing school syl-labus, the government can extendthe academic year for all students.Board exams can be conducted inSeptember 2021. The world will notcome to an end with that decision.
Ramyam VeerHyderabad
EMPOWER PILOTRajasthan Chief Minister AshokGehlot is talking indecentlyagainst Sachin Pilot. Gehlot is atrick master. He should be asked toresign and give Pilot a chance.
J. S. ChauhanHyderabad
Ranga Reddy statue atCharminar proposed
BY A STAFF REPORTER HYDERABAD, JULY 27
The general body of the Hydera-bad Municipal Corporation,today paid glowing tributes to thememory of late Mr. K. V. RangaReddy.
The meeting adopted two sepa-rate resolutions expressing “pro-
found sor-row” onthe saddemise ofMr. RangaR e d d y ,
“who took part in the freedomstruggle when the erstwhileHyderabad State passed througha period of political transition”and Mr. Pattom Thanu Pillai, for-mer Governor of AndhraPradesh. After passing each reso-lution, members stood in silencefor two minutes, as a mark ofrespect to the departed souls.
Calls for tapping changes for structural transformation
Das lists dynamicshifts in economy
pg 7TUESDAY | HYDERABAD | 28 JULY 2020
Beijing, July 27: Theyhave the largest economiesin the world. They spendmore than anyone else ontheir militaries. Fromhigh-tech chips to controlof the high seas, theirinterests are closely inter-twined.
The ongoing sharp dete-rioration in US-China tiesposes risks to both coun-tries and the rest of theworld. In the latest escala-tion, a US consulate inChengdu in southwesternChina has been shutteredon Monday, in retaliationfor the US shutting downits consulate in Houston.
With the US presidentialcampaign heating up, allbets are that relations withChina will only get worse.
Both countries alreadyhave suffered heavy lossesin a tariff war that eruptedin 2018 over Beijing's tech-
nology ambitions andtrade surplus. If talks onending the dispute fail, theworld could face down-ward pressure on trade ata time when the globaleconomy is reeling fromthe pandemic.
The US is China's biggestsingle-country export mar-ket, even after PresidentDonald Trump imposedpunitive tariffs on Chinesegoods. And China is theNo. 3 market for Americanexporters, as well as a hugemarket for goods and serv-
ices produced in China byUS companies rangingfrom General Motors Co toBurger King.
Chinese purchases ofAmerican farm goods,semiconductors and othergoods declined 11.4 percent last year but stillexceeded $100 billion.Exports to China supportjust under 1 millionAmerican jobs, accordingto the US-China BusinessCouncil.
US and Chinese produc-ers of telecom, computer,medical and other technol-ogy and their markets aretightly interwoven. Apple,Dell, Hewlett-Packard andothers rely on Chinese fac-tories to assemble most oftheir smartphones, com-puters and other consumerelectronics. Those facto-ries need processor chipsand other components
from the United States,Japan, Taiwan andEurope.
The disruption caused bymoves including theTrump administration'scurbs on Chinese techgiant Huawei's access toUS components and tech-nology threatens to dis-rupt those flows and costsuppliers, including Sili-con Valley companies, bil-lions of dollars in lost rev-enue.
China is also a top mar-ket for Apple and other UStech brands.
The United States often isthe top market for China'shighest-value-added goods.
Beijing has been urgingexporters to find othermarkets, but many sayAsian and even Europeanmarkets won't buy suchhigh-value goods.
— AP
MARTHE FOURCADEJULY 27
AstraZeneca Plc agreedto pay as much as $6 bil-lion to buy into a prom-ising medicine for lungand breast cancer in thesecond potential block-buster oncology deal intwo years with Japan'sDaiichi Sankyo Co.
The UK drugmakerwill pay Daiichi $1 bil-lion upfront to jointlydevelop and bring tomarket a cancer therapyin early clinical testscalled DS-1062, with asmuch as $5 billion inadditional paymentssubject to regulatoryand sales milestones,the companies said onMonday.
AstraZeneca is forgingahead to become a glob-al oncology powerhouse.
The latest treatment,an antibody drug conju-gate that targets tumorsthat express a proteinknown as TROP2, could"redefine treatmentstandards in lung,breast and multipleother cancers," accord-ing to Astra.
— Bloomberg
ABHISHEK VISHNOIJULY 27
Indian drugmakers areon track to become a sta-ple investment for someequity investors afterbeing spurned for at leastfive years.
The S&P BSEHealthcare Index hasrisen 27 per cent this yearand is set for its firstyearly outperformance infive years versus the S&PBSE Sensex Index.
The benchmark gaugehas just one pharmaceu-tical member, SunPharmaceutical Ltd.That means the Sensexwas unable to benefitfrom a stellar rally insome of the largest drug-makers.
"Improving fundamen-tals and the potential forCovid-19-led risk off inother sectors will keepthe pharma rally going"said Aneesh Srivastava,the Mumbai-based chiefinvestment officer at StarHealth and AlliedInsurance Co. The oddsfor better returns overthe next few years haverisen, he said.
A flurry of plantapprovals from the USFood and DrugAdministration this yearhas boosted the fortunes ofIndian pharma compa-nies, while domestic drugsales have recovered afterthe world's biggest lock-down eased in June. OnMonday, the governmentunveiled a policy aimed atboosting local output ofraw materials used in drugproduction to break areliance on China, whichsupplies about 70 per centof those ingredients.
"These steps come at an
opportune time," EmkayGlobal Financial ServicesLtd analyst Praful Bohrawrote in a note. A lot ofcompanies globally arelooking for "an alternatesource of raw materialsto reduce their depend-ence on China," he said.
The optimism is reflect-ed in analyst earningsestimates for the sector.Forecast profits for mem-bers of the local health-care index have rebound-ed to pre-pandemic levelswhereas that for thebenchmark has slumpedto near its lowest since2017, according to datacompiled by Bloomberg.
"Pharma stocks cancommand a higherweight in the indexes andportfolios as India is setto become an evenstronger hub for drugs,"said Deven Choksey, man-aging director atKRChoksey InvestmentManagers. He sees thestocks adding as much as20 per cent to their rallyby the end of this year.
With only the one stockremaining, the industry's
weighting in Sensex hasdropped to about 1.2 percent, the lowest levelsince 2011 as sentimentfor the shares souredafter several majorIndian pharma compa-nies were hit by a wave ofFDA sanctions in 2015that threatened access tothe profitable US market.Things have sincechanged.
Still, US PresidentDonald Trump annou-nced new policies onFriday aimed at loweringdrug prices that can haverepercussions for India'sgeneric drugmakers.
"Growth in the sector isrebounding as the econo-my is opening up,"Abdulkader Puranwala,an analyst at AnandRathi Financial ServicesLtd wrote in a recentnote.
"We expect pharma tobe one of the fastestgrowing industries inIndia," as shown by theprice increases and newproduct launches, thenote said.
— Bloomberg
Virus ignites investmentappeal of pharma firms
FALAKNAAZ SYEDMUMBAI, JULY 27
The Reserve Bank of Indiagovernor Shaktikanta Dason Monday listed fivemajor dynamic shifts thatare underway in the Indianeconomy which “need to beconverted into structuraltransformations” to yieldsizable benefits and helpthe country as a leader inthe league of nations.
In a virtual address toindustry leaders, Das listedshifting fortunes in favourof the farm sector; chang-ing energy mix in favour ofrenewables; leveraginginformation and communi-cation technology (ICT)and start-ups to powergrowth; shifts insupply/value chains (bothdomestic and global); andinfrastructure as dynamicshifts. He said that whilethese involve testing chal-lenges, they offer signifi-cant rewards. He urged theIndian industry to play apivotal role in what couldbe a silent revolution.
While addressing mem-bers of the CII NationalCouncil, Das assured themthat the central bank wasclosely monitoring the eco-nomic situation and wouldnot hesitate to take appro-priate action.
“Shifting the terms oftrade in favour of agricul-ture is the key to sustain-ing this dynamic changeand generating positivesupply responses in agri-culture. Experience showsthat in periods when termsof trade remainedfavourable to agriculture,the annual average growth
in agricultural gross valueadded (GVA) exceeds 3 percent. Hitherto, the maininstrument has been mini-mum support prices, butthe experience has beenthat price incentives havebeen costly, inefficient andeven distortive. India hasnow reached a stage inwhich surplus manage-ment has become a majorchallenge. We need to movenow to policy strategiesthat ensure a sustainedincrease in farmers’income alongside reason-able food prices for con-sumers,” said Das
Referring to infrastruc-ture, Das said that the gapon the infrastructure frontremains large, making astrong case for stepping upinvestments in the sectorto revive the economy. He
suggested high speed railinfrastructure projectsconnecting the length andbreadth of the country as along-term measure tostrengthen the sector.
Das said a big push to cer-tain targeted mega infra-structure projects can spur
the economy. He said Indiawould need around $4.5trillion for investment ininfrastructure by 2030, asper the Niti Aayog.
Observing that India hasnow become a power sur-plus country, exportingelectricity to neighbouringnations, Das said the shareof renewable energy inoverall installed capacityhas doubled to 23.4 per centin March 2020 from 11.8 percent in March 2015.
At the interactive ses-sion, HDFC Ltd chairmanDeepak Parekh urged Dasto not extend the six-month moratorium onterm loans beyond Augustthis year as it would hurtbanks. Parekh reasonedthat borrowers who havethe capacity to pay are alsonot paying.
SANGEETHA GCHENNAI, JULY 27
Gold prices made a newall-time high in the inter-national market touching$1,944 per ounce, surpass-ing the previous high of$1,920 in September 2011.This saw gold in the localmarket, moving past Rs52,000 per 10 gm, provid-ing 32 per cent returnssince the beginning of theyear. At Rs 66,000 a kg, sil-ver has provided returnsof 42 per cent.
Gold moved up morethan $40 per ounce in theinternational marketwhile crossing a key mile-stone of $1,920. The DollarIndex, which furtherweakened to 93 levels, pro-vided the much-neededpush for gold to make afresh high.
“The dollar tumbled to atwo-year low on Mondayafternoon. Internationalgold made new highsamid concern over thehealth of the US recoveryand increasing signs of asecond wave of Covid-19around the world.Meanwhile, the new stim-ulus bill would be present-ed by the Republicanparty in the Senate laterin the day,” said Sriram
Iyer, senior research ana-lyst at Reliance Securities.
Gold was trading at$1,574 per ounce at thebeginning of the calendaryear and has providedhandsome returns of 23.5
per cent in the interna-tional market in the pastseven months. In theMulti Commodity Excha-nge, gold moved past Rs52,000 per 10 gm, havingsurged from Rs 39,280 inthe beginning of the year.
“Having crossed the pre-vious record high, therecould be some profit-book-ing and consolidationaround $1,900 or $1,920 lev-els,” said HimanshuGupta, VP & head of com-modities & currenciesresearch, Globe Capital.
Gold hits record high in globalmarket, crosses `52K at home
RAVI RANJAN PRASADMUMBAI, JULY 27
Bank stocks fell sharplyafter RBI’s financial sta-bility report highlightedrising non-performingassets (NPAs) risk in thebanking sector.
NSE's Nifty Bank Indexfell 3.59 per cent, causingbenchmark indicesSensex and Nifty-50 toclose more than half percent lower.
In its latest financial sta-bility report (FSR), theRBI has indicated thatwhile the Indian financialsystem remains stable,the overall economy and
economic prospects facesignificant downsiderisks. The RBI indicatedthat, under very severestress, scheduled com-mercial bank’s grossNPAs could rise from 8.5per cent at present to 14.7per cent in FY21.
Private banks fellsharply despite some ofthem reporting stand outfinancial performanceduring the first quarter.The top losers on the NSEincluded ICICI Bank (-6.05per cent), HDFC Bank (-3.50 per cent), Axis Bank(-3.07 per cent), IndusIndBank(-2.93 per cent), SBI (-2.42 per cent) and Kotak
Mahindra Bank (-2.04 percent). Among the NBFCs,the top losers includedBajaj Finance (-2.30 percent), Bajaj Finserv (-1.46per cent).
The exact impact of themoratorium on the econo-my is still uncertain; thiswould be measurable onlyin the coming quarters.The RBI has warned thatthe asset quality of thefinancial system coulddeteriorate sharply,impacted by lockdown-induced disruptions toboth supply- and demand-side factors, diminishedconsumer confidence, andrisk aversion.
Bank stocks take a beating over NPA fears
Trade, tech at risk in US-China feudLAYAN ODEHJULY 27
A waste managementfirm in the United ArabEmirates has a novel ideafor a disused garbagelandfill: convert it into asolar-power farm.
The project, the first ofits kind in the PersianGulf, would producemore than 42 megawattsa year, the government-run company Bee'ah saidin a statement. Bee'ah,which means environ-ment in Arabic, plans tobuild the solar farm on 47hectares (116 acres) ofclosed landfill in the emi-rate of Sharjah, nearDubai.
The facility will reduceSharjah's dependence on
fossil fuels while makingproductive use of a sitethat would typicallyrequire years of environ-mental remediationbefore it could be redevel-oped, the company said.Closed landfills containgarbage but are no longerusable for waste disposal.
The UAE, which holdsabout 6 per cent of globalcrude reserves, aims tospend 600 billion dirhams($163 billion) by 2050 onwhat it calls clean-energyprojects.
The Opec member tar-gets meeting half of itsenergy needs fromsources other than fossilfuels-- including solar,wind and nuclear power--by then.
— Bloomberg
Garbage dump to morphinto solar farm in UAE
Shaktikanta Das
SANGEETHA GCHENNAI, JULY 27
Considering the fall insales due to the pandem-ic, the Centre has extend-ed the deadline formandatory hallmarkingof gold jewellery andartefacts by over fourmonths to June 1, 2021.
The government inNovember last year hadasked the jewellers to getpurity certification fortheir entire inventory byJanuary 15, 2021. How-ever, the jeweller commu-
nity has been seekingextension of the deadlinein view of Covid-19.
"Jewellers had made arequest to extend thetime. We have extendedthe deadline fromJanuary 15 to June 1,2021, in view of the dis-ruption in the wake ofthe Covid-19 crisis," saidConsumer Affairs Mini-ster Ram Vilas Paswan.
The jewellers had oneyear to either liquidatetheir non-hallmarkedstocks or get their inven-tory hallmarked for 14, 18or 22 carat.
Scheme to raise drug,medical device mfgBengaluru, July 27:India’s chemicals minis-ter on Monday outlinedplans to boost local manu-facturing in the bulkdrugs and medical deviceindustries to reduce thecountry’s reliance onimports, particularlyfrom China.
The plans, whichinclude setting upresearch and manufactur-ing sites across the coun-try to develop drugs andmedical devices, followweeks of heightened ten-sions between India andChina.
India, often called ‘phar-macy of the world’, has arobust $40 billion pharma-ceutical sector that is seenas a reliable supplier ofgeneric drugs. But it isreliant on China foraround 70 per cent ofactive pharmaceuticalingredients, or raw mate-rials, which are oftencheaper to import thanmake.
“Some of them are verycritical as they are used inproduction of essentialmedicines,” D.V. Sada-nanda Gowda, the Unionminister for chemicalsand fertilisers, tweeted onMonday. Around 86 percent of materials used tomake medical devices are
imported, he added.Industry executives have
long called on the govern-ment to provide subsidiesto boost local manufactur-ing. The pandemic hasexposed weaknesses inglobal supply chains andposed a “threat to thehealth security of thecountry,” the ministertweeted.
“These parks will bebased on plug and playmodel with prior regulato-ry approvals, state-of-the-art infrastructure, excel-lent connectivity, afford-able land, competitiveutility charges, and (a)strong R&D ecosystem,”he said, adding thesewould begin operating in“about two or threeyears”.
—Reuters
Adani Green Energy 92Aurobindo Pharma 80Muthoot Finance 72Biocon 47Cadila Healthcare 45Dr. Reddy’s Lab 44Cipla 43Reliance Industries 37Divi’s Laboratories 30Info Edge India 29
Six of the top 10 gainers among large firms this year are drugmakers
Kotak MahindraBank net profitdown 8.5% Kotak Mahindra Bank reportedan 8.5 per cent decline in itsstandalone net profit to Rs1,244.45 crore in the Junequarter against Rs 1,360.20crore reported in the year-agoperiod. Total income (stand-alone) too declined to Rs7,685.40 crore from Rs 7,944.61crore a year ago. The bank'sprovisioning for bad loansand contingencies were raisedto Rs 962.01 crore from Rs316.76 crore.
Sebi fines CareRatings `1 crin RCom case
The Sebi has imposed a penaltyof Rs 1 crore on Care Ratings forlapses in assigning credit ratingto non-convertible debenturesof Reliance Communications.The case relates to RCom’sdefault on the repayment ofprincipal of Rs 375 crore andinterest of Rs 9.7 crore due inFebruary 2017 and March 2017,respectively. The Sebi foundthat Care Ratings had failed tomonitor the factors affectingthe creditworthiness of RCom.
Vivo launchescamera-centricX50 smartphonesVivo India has launched its cam-era-centric premium smart-phones X50Pro and X50. Thesmartphone that redefines thephotography experience will beavailable offline and online atpopular stores and on e-tail plat-forms. The X50 Pro is availablein Alpha Grey colour and X50will be available in Glaze Blackand Frost Blue, priced at Rs49,990 (X50 Pro 8+256GB), Rs34,990 (X50 8+128GB) and Rs37,990 (X50 8+256GB).
E-com firm offers‘worship fromhome’ facility
Printed & Published by K. Sudhakar on behalf of Deccan
Chronicle Holdings Limited, Printed atDeccan Chronicle Press at Deccan
Chronicle Holdings Ltd. #563/9/D&9/E,Behind Andhra Bank Pet Basheerbagh,
www.worldofdevotion.com, areligious e-commerce platformthat provides all religious serv-ices including travel packages atholy destinations of India, nowprovides ‘worship from home’facilities. Customers can booklive & exclusive video streamingof any puja and ritual of theirchoice at sacred destinationslike Haridwar, Banaras, Kedar-nath, Badrinath, Yamunotri,Gangotri, Shirdi, Ayodhya andmany more.
ASTRAZENECA TOPAY DAIICHI UP
TO $6 BN FOR NEWCANCER DRUG
HALLMARKING DEADLINE EXTENDED
MICHAEL GONSALVESPUNE, JULY 27
Escorts, India’s thirdlargest tractor and farmequipment manufacturer,on Monday reported a 5.72per cent year-on-year risein consolidated net profitat Rs 92.68 crore for thefirst quarter ended June30. The company hadclocked a net profit of Rs87.66 crore in April-Juneperiod last year.
Total income declined toRs 1,119.115 crore duringthe first quarter as againstRs 1,458.38 crore in thesame period a year ago,
“Due to the unprecedent-ed Covid-19 pandemic situ-ation during this period,the financials for the quar-ter ended June 2020 do notrepresent normal opera-tions,” the company saidin a statement.
ESCORTS NET UP6% AT `92.68 CR
SANGEETHA GCHENNAI, JULY 27
The Centre has releasedpending GST compensa-tion of Rs 13,806 crore tothe states for March 2020.With this, the Centreclaims to have paid com-pensation for the entirefinancial year, 2019-20.
"Entire compensationup to 2019-20 has beenreleased to states. Thetotal amount of compen-sation released for theyear 2019-20 is Rs 1,65,302crore,” the governmentsaid in a release.
GST compensation isprovided as a relief to thestates for the loss of rev-enues due to the imple-mentation of GST for thefirst five years. This is col-lected from compensationcess levied on five prod-ucts in the luxury catego-ry, including SUVs.
Though the Centre haspaid Rs 1,65, 302 crore tothe states, the cess col-lected during 2019-20 wasonly Rs 95,444 crore. Therest is funded from thebalance cess in 2017-18and 2018-19 and Rs 33,412crore taken from Conso-lidated Fund of India.
Centre: Statesgiven full GSTcompensationfor FY20
GAMES pg 8DECCAN CHRONICLE | HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | 28 JULY 2020
Regd. No. H/SD/509/2018-20Printed and Published by
K. Sudhakar on behalf of DeccanChronicle Holdings Limited. Printedat Deccan Chronicle Press situatedat Plot No. 9 Alwal Village, VallabhNagar Taluk, Medchal Malkajgiri
Dist. Telangana and Published at 36,S.D. Road, Secunderabad-3.
RONALDO ROCKSJuve down Sampdoria 2-0 to clinch Italian titleMilan, July 27: CristianoRonaldo powered Juve-ntus to their ninthstraight Serie ‘A’ title onSunday in a 2-0 win overSampdoria that put themover the line with twomatches to spare.
Ronaldo opened the scor-ing deep into first halfstoppage time in Turinand then had a hand inFederico Bernardeschinetting the second after 66minutes.
He missed a late penaltybut Maurizio Sarri’s sidemoved seven points aheadof second-placed InterMilan to seal a 36th‘Scudetto’.
The title is Sarri’s firstand extends a record runwhich Antonio Contestarted with three titlesfrom 2012 andMassimiliano Allegri con-tinued with the followingfive.
Ronaldo shrugged offthe quick succession ofmatches played in hotsummer weather after thelockdown, bringing histally to 31 this season.
The Portuguese strikerhas scored 10 goals sincefootball returned in Italy
on June 20, more than anyother player in Europe.
He also matched formerItaly World Cup winnerFelice Borel, who was thelast player to score 31goals for Juventus in the1933-34 season. But heremains three goals
behind Italian league’sleading scorer CiroImmobile, who scored ahat-trick earlier in Lazio’s5-1 win over HellasVerona. Meanwhile, Romabeat Fiorentina 2-1 withtwo penalties from JordanVeretout. — Agencies
Cristiano Ronaldo (right) of Juventus celebrates after scoring during the Italian league football match against Sampdoria played behind closeddoors at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Sunday. Juventus won 2-0 to emerge champions of the Italian league. — AFP
Chelsea’s Mason Mount (centre) vies for the ball withDiogo Jota (right) of Wolverhampton Wanderers duringtheir English Premier League match at Stamford Bridgein London on Sunday. Chelsea won 2-0. — AFP
Chelsea, Man Ugrab spots in CLLondon, July 27:Manchester United andChelsea sealed Cham-pions League places onSunday as Bournemouthand Watford fell throughthe trapdoor on a dramat-ic final day of the longestPremier League season.
United finished thirdafter a nervy 2-0 win in aChampions League shoot-out against Leicester,thanks to BrunoFernandes and JesseLingard, who found theback of the net to keepLeicester at bay.
Leicester’s Jamie Vardywon the Golden Boot forthe league’s seasonthough, with 23 goalsagainst his name. At 33,he is also the oldest to winthe award in England.
Meanwhile Chelseaended in fourth spot afterbeating Wolves 2-0 thanksto two goals on the stroke
of half-time by MasonMount which was wellcomplemented by OlivierGiroud. Frank Lampard’sChelsea required just adraw to seal ChampionsLeague qualification fornext term and two goalsin first-half stoppage timegave them breathingspace.
Also, the trio of VirgilVan Dijk, Divock Origiand Sadio Mane poweredLiverpool to go pastNewcastle.
At the other end of thetable, Bournemouth andmanagerless Watforddropped to theChampionship whileAston Villa fans breatheda huge sigh of relief afterthey got the draw theyneeded at West Ham.
Manchester, July 27:Rain wiped out the fourthday’s play at Old Traffordon Monday to frustrateEngland’s bid for a series-clinching win over theWest Indies and keepStuart Broad waiting forhis 500th Test wicket.
Bad weather meant thewhole of the penultimateday’s play in the decidingthird Test was washedout, with the umpiresfinally abandoning anyhope of action soon after4:00 pm (1500 GMT).
England do, however,still have one day left topress for a win that wouldsee them take the three-match series 2-1. Broad isjust one wicket away frombecoming only the sev-enth bowler to join the“500 club” after taking allsix West Indies wicketsthat fell on Sunday.
He returned first-innings figures of 6-31 asWest Indies were bundledout for 197 in reply toEngland’s 369, whichincluded Broad’s dashing62.
And after England made226-2 declared in their
second innings, featuringRory Burns’ 90 and fiftiesfrom captain Joe Root andDom Sibley, there wasstill time for Broad tostrike twice by removingJohn Campbell and night-
watchman Kemar Roach.That left Broad, contro-
versially omitted fromWest Indies’ win in theseries opener atSouthampton, on 499 Testwickets. The only seam-
ers ahead of Broad arehis long-time Englandnew-ball colleague JamesAnderson (589), GlennMcGrath (563) and theWest Indies’ CourtneyWalsh (519) — AFP
SHORT
BREEN-PAULFINISH FOURTHAT EURO RALLY
TAKES
Another loss forAnand at Legends
Qatar has plansto host Olympics
Shantha bats forcricket board
CChheennnnaaii:: Former world champi-on Viswanathan Anand’s strug-gles continued in the $150,000Legends of Chess online tour-
nament as he suffered his sixthconsecutive defeat with a 2-3loss to Ian Nepomniachtchi of
Russia.Anand started the sixth roundmatch with a draw as he cameup with good defensive movesto keep the Russian at bay in a
53-move draw.However, Nepomniachtchi wentahead by pulling off a 34-move
win in the second game. Thethird saw the players sign
peace after 48 moves.Nepomniachtchi won the deci-
sive tie-break in 41 moves toshatter the hopes of the 50-
year old Indian superstar andleft him winless after six
rounds.World champion Magnus Carlen
continued his winning run andtops the standings with 17
match points. Nepomniachtchiis second on 16 followed by
compatriot Vladimir Karmnik(12). — PTI
DDoohhaa:: Qatar will seek to hostthe 2032 Olympic Games, it
said on Monday, joining acrowded field and raising ques-
tions about scorching summertemperatures and underwhelm-ing attendances at past events.
India, Australia’s Queenslandstate, the Chinese city of
Shanghai and a potential jointbid between South and North
Korea are also being touted forthe 2032 Summer Games.
Under changes put forward in2014, interested countries sub-
mit a request to join the non-committal “continuous dia-
logue,” which Qatar confirmedit had done via a letter to the
International OlympicCommittee in Lausanne.
“Today’s announcement marksthe beginning of a meaningfuldialogue with the IOC’s Future
Host Commission to exploreour interest further and identify
how the Olympic Games cansupport Qatar’s long-term
development goals,” QatarOlympic Committee president
Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad binKhalifa Al-Thani said. — AFP
NNeeww DDeellhhii:: The BCCI withdraw-ing the women’s national team
from a tri-series in England isnot a case of neglect, Apex
Council member ShanthaRangaswamy asserted on
Monday, urging those doubtingthe Board’s commitment
towards the side to wait fornormalcy before passing judge-
ments.The BCCI’s decision to not send
the team for the tri-seriesinvolving England and South
Africa amid the Covid-19 pan-demic has raised a few eye-
brows at a time when it ispreparing to host the IPL in the
UAE in September-November.But former captain Shantha
rejected the criticism. “It is nota case of neglect. You need atleast six weeks to be match fit
and with the Covid-19 affectingmost part of the country, is it
possible to organise a trainingcamp right away? Then you
would also have 14-day quaran-tine England. There was just not
enough time to make it hap-pen,” she said. — PTI
CChheennnnaaii:: Craig Breen and PaulNagle secured a fourth place
finish for Team MRF Tyres in its maiden foray into the
European Rally Championshipat the Rally di Roma Capitale in
Italy.Breen and Nagle, driving a
Hyundai i20 R5, started at thefifth place on Sunday and were
involved in a huge battle for thefourth position with Simone
Tempestini and Sergiu Itu withboth the pairs swapping posi-
tions throughout the day,according to a press release.
Irishman Breen had started thefinal loop in the fifth place butimmediately moved to fourth.
He consolidated the gap on thesecond last stage, building 4.5
second gap before the finalstage. In the end Breen con-
trolled the pace to take fourthplace by 1.3 seconds in the
season opener. — PTI
Rain halts English charge
Dhaka, July 27: Young Bangladesh pacer KaziAnik Islam has been handed a two-year ban by thenational cricket board for failing a dope test in 2018.
Kazi, who was Bangladesh’s leading wicket-takerin the 2018 U-19 World Cup, tested positive forMethamphetamine, a prohibited substance, duringa National Cricket League game in the same year.The 21-year-old admitted to the offence.
“ln Mr Anik’s case in considering his level ofFault, the BCB has considered his youth and rela-tive inexperience, the fact that he did not ingest theProhibited Substance in an effort to enhance hissport performance, his limited anti-doping educa-tion and his prompt admission of the anti-dopingrule violation when first notified to him,” said theBangladesh Cricket Board in a statement. — PTI
BANGLA PACER HANDED2-YEAR BAN FOR DOPING
England’s Stuart Broad (center) celebrates with teammates after dismissing WestIndian batsman John Campbell during the third day of the third Test at Old Traffordin Manchester, England, on Sunday. — AP
ICC TO LAUNCH SUPER LEAGUETO QUALIFY FOR WORLD CUPNew Delhi, July 27: Anew one-day internation-al Super League to deter-mine qualification for the50-over World Cup in 2023will launch this week, theInternational CricketCouncil said on Monday.
Thursday’s ODIbetween England andIreland in Southamptonwill be the inauguralmatch of the 13-nationleague, with India andthe next seven highest-placed teams automati-cally qualifying for the
2023 edition. The ICC’s 12full members and theNetherlands will takepart with each side play-ing four home and fouraway three-match series.
The ICC said it wasworking with nationalboards to find dates forseries in the new SuperLeague to be “safely andpractically rescheduled.”
The start of the SuperLeague comes nearly ayear after the ICC launc-hed a world Test champi-onship. — AFP
New Delhi, July 27: TheBCCI is likely to hand overa comprehensive StandingOperating Procedure(SOP) to the eight franchis-es for the upcoming IPL inthe UAE but there are a fewpressing questions that allthe stakeholders need tofigure out in the comingdays.
While it is expected thatmost of the franchises willbe starting to send theirrecce teams to the UAE tocheck out the facilities aswell as what kind of bio-secure environments thatcan be created.
Some of the franchiseshave questions which prob-ably BCCI will need toanswer in their SOPs.
Players’ familiesThis is a tricky issue thatwill totally depend on whatBCCI states in its SOPs. Asenior franchise officialsaid that it will be “crimi-nal” to keep players awayfrom their partners andfamilies for two months.
“During normal times,the wives and girlfriends,at times families join theplayers during a specifiedtime but this is completelydifferent scenario,” an offi-cial said.
“There will be playerswho have kids agedbetween 3 to 5 and how doyou keep them in a roomfor two months,” he added.
Hotels or Resorts?While top cricket teams areused to staying in five-starfacilities it is a difficultproposition to rent outmultiple five star hotelsjust for the team whereother visitors won’t be
allowed. A senior BCCIofficial said in Dubai eventhree-star boutique hotelsare as good as five star andthere are resorts which areeasier to be rented outcompletely. “Every fran-chise won’t be able tomatch up to say MumbaiIndians, who will undoubt-edly have the best set-up inthese trying times. Theyhave private jets, can eventake doctors from theirsuper speciality hospital,rent out a five-star hotel.Others need to check outwhat’s best for them. Maybe a beach resort,” the offi-cial said.
He gave a logic of havingresorts with separate cot-tages which nullifies thethreat of centralised airconditioning, as there ischance of infection spread-ing through AC ducts.
Drivers, securityNormally at any venue, theBCCI (on foreign toursliaising with host Board)and, in this case, the fran-chises in co-ordinationwith the Emirates CricketBoard will be hiring localtransport, including luxu-ry bus which carries theteam to stadiums.
Normally, the locals whodrive the bus leave forhome after the day’s workbut in this case, they mighthave to be asked to stay inthe bio-secure environ-ment for two months. “Ifevery day, they are going togo home, they are exposedto outside environmentand you have to negate therisk to minimum,” a topfranchise official said.
Ditto for the local securi-ty personnel. — PTI
WAGs, drivers abother in bubble
FAN FRAME
Sundar Ashok and Anshu took this photo with bad-minton champ P. V. Sindhu at the Hyderabad airport.
S. RAMACHANDRAN
The winner oftwo Grammyawards and two
Oscars, apart from sixnational awards, A.R.
Rahman, said in an inter-view that he’s quite con-vinced there’s a “gang” inBollywood that has beenworking against him.
Shekhar Kapur wrote toRahman on Twitter, “Youknow what your problem is@arrahman? You went andgot #Oscars. An Oscar is thekiss of death in Bollywood. Itproves you have more talentthan Bollywood can han-dle…” to which Rahmanresponded, “Lost Moneycomes back, fame comesback, but the wasted primetime of our lives will nevercome back. Peace! Let’s moveon. We have greater things todo.”
Resul Pookutty too made asimilar allegation a few days
ago.If the ‘gang’ can keep a
Rahman out of Bollywood,then God save the lesser mor-tals. Agrees award-winningeditor and writer ApurvaAsrani, who says that if theWho’s Who of the Indian filmindustry can be subjected tosuch things, then he shud-ders to think what wouldhappen to others. Asranialso alleges that the ‘thegangs of Bollywood’ joinforces with corrupt jour-nalists to convert a lie intogospel truth. “If this canhappen to a Rahman or aResul, then imagine whatthe smaller names gothrough. The problem is,these camps/groups are notstraightforward about theirgames; they plan theirCancel Culture and ghostingin DMs and on WhatsApp.Then they start writing badthings about a person, theypan their films or ignoretheir achievements. Thenpeople who follow them, orwant favours from them jointhe gang. This includesmany journalists who writenegative/mocking storiesabout the person. Within afew weeks, lies become truthfor the public,” says Asrani.
‘ARR IS UNAFFORDABLE’On the other hand,Ramkamal Mukherjee, for-mer Stardust editor-turned-filmmaker with award-win-ning films like Cakewalk andSeason’s Greetings, says that
the claim that Oscar winnersare being kept out are farfrom reality. “It’s sad thatRahman and Resul Pookuttyare saying that camps arespreading false news andthey are not getting workfrom Bollywood. I think thatin today’s time it’s tough forf i l m m a k -ers to
afford Rahman Sir. As afilmmaker, I would love tocollaborate with Rahman
Sir, but will he work in thebudget that our film canafford? Unfortunately, noneof the music companies arepaying any additional moneyfor the songs to the produc-ers. The days are gone whenrights of movie songs wouldfetch lakhs and crores. Butnow music companies ask usto give it away as a compli-mentary deal against a mar-keting spend, which is noteven clearly shared with theproducers.
TURN TO PAGE 5
It’s sad that Rahman is sayingcamps are spreading false news
and he is not getting work fromBollywood. I think that in today’s time it’stough for filmmakers to afford RahmanSir. As a filmmaker, I would love to col-laborate with Rahman Sir, but will hework in the budget that our film canafford?
— RAMKAMAL MUKHERJEE, editor-turned-filmmaker
If this can happen to aRahman, then imagine
what the smaller names gothrough. The problem is, thesecamps/groups are notstraightforward about theirgames; they plan their CancelCulture and ghosting in DMsand on WhatsApp. Then theystart writing bad things about aperson, they pan their films orignore their achievements
— APURVA ASRANI,award-winning editor and
writer
hyderabad glam sham
3 >>
You shouldembrace who youare: Vidya Balan
TUESDAY | 28 JULY 2020
CHRONICLEIt’s ‘Cabal’ywood!Nepotism is not the big issue now. It’s the ‘gangs’ inBollywood that have been hurting everyone
Aishwariya-Aradhyatest -ve, back homeDC CORRESPONDENT
After undergoing treat-ment for Covid-19 for
about 11 days at Mumbai’sNanavati hospital, AishwaryaRai Bachchan and daughterAradhya have tested negativefor the virus and have beendischarged from the hospital.Husband Abhishek Bachchantook to his Twitter account toshare the news on Monday
afternoon. “Thank you all foryour continued prayers andgood wishes. Indebted forever.Aishwarya and Aaradhyahave thankfully tested negativeand have been discharged fromthe hospital. They will now beat home. My father and Iremain in hospital under thecare of the medical staff.(sic),”wrote the actor and informedthat he and his father AmitabhBachchan are still recovering
from the virus in the hospital.The mother-daughter duo wastested positive for Covid-19 aday after Amitabh andAbhishek were tested positiveon July 11. While both fatherand son were admitted to thehospital the same day,Aishwarya and Aradhya wereinitially advised home quaran-tine, but they too had to beadmitted to the hospital onJuly 17.
While Abhishek and Amitabh are still in hospital undergoing treatment
Resul Pookutty
A.R. RAHMAN, SAID IN AN INTERVIEW THAT HE’S QUITECONVINCED THERE’S A “GANG”IN BOLLYWOOD THAT HAS BEENWORKING AGAINST HIM
SASHIDHAR ADIVI
DECCAN CHRONICLE
Adah Sharma willsoon commence
shooting non-stop forher next Telugu filmunder director Vipra,and she’s thrilled tobe working during thepandemic. The shootwill be held in a for-est.
But isn’t it scary, weask. “I spoke to theproducer GouriKrishna and hepromised me that allprecautionary mea-sures will be taken.From sanitising tosocial distancing tospraying disinfectantsand thermal screen-
ing — everythingwill be in place onthe set,” explainsAdah. “We areshooting with lim-ited crew, so I feelwe are followingall the guide-lines. Butshooting in themiddle of the
forest amidthe pan-
demic isexciting,” she says. “I am blessed to get theopportunity; it is definitely challenging, butsince I have scenes where there aren’t toomany people involved on screen, I feel wecan shoot with all the precautionary mea-sures,” she explains. She is, however, tight-lipped about her role in the as yet untitledfilm. Adah is glad that her distinct roles inHindi have been keeping her going.
“I play the role of a man in AbirSengupta’s film, Man To Man, then I havea web series, the Commando Franchise,etc. So I thought since I have such a loyalaudience in Telugu I must do some stuff inTollywood too,” she says, adding that shedecided to play roles that the audiencethink only she can do.
“What I realised is that my audiences inHindi and Telugu are the same. Theyalways appreciate me when I pick up inter-esting roles and that has been happeningconsistently in Hindi. And so I wanted to
follow suit in Telugu as well,” explains theKshanam star. “I have done one crazy Instavideo and people have been raving about it. Ithoroughly enjoyed it,” she beams, addingthat she’s glad filmmakers are writingscripts for her. “That’s one of the best
things to have happened to me in mycareer. It’s a great sign. When filmmak-
ers are writing roles for me, it meansthey want to cast me in interesting
roles,” Adah says, clarifying thatshe is not choosy when it comesto Telugu films.
“I have been offered a few rolesafter my last film, Kalki (2019),
but I had to skip them becausethose roles did not offer me any-
thing new,” she shares.
Tuesday 28 July 2020 2
Deccan Chronicletollywood
Boiled veggies andfloor exercises……Naga Shaurya is single-minded about staying in shapeSURESH KAVIRAYANI
DECCAN CHRONICLE
Naga Shaurya is one ofthe most talented actors
that Telugu Cinema can cur-rently boast of. He has beendieting and working out to bein shape for upcoming roles,and flaunts his six-pack for afilm on archery direct-ed by SantoshJagarlapudi.
“I have beenworking forthe last sevenmonths forthis role,”says NagaShaurya.
“After thelockdown wasannounced, forthe last fourmonths, I havebeen maintaining adiet of boiled vegetablesand chicken. As south Indians,we have a lot of rice. But I man-aged to slowly remove ricefrom my diet,” he explained,adding, “It is difficult, but Idecided to be dedicated to theregimen for the sake of the
role.” When director Santoshnarrated the script to him, hewas inspired, and decided towork on his physique, the actorshares. “It’s not a biopic, it’s acomplete commercial film, butit’s a realistic story,” explainsShaurya.
The actor has been doing floorexercises, and he will continue
to do the same till shoot-ing resumes. “The
six pack is like awife,” he
explains. “Ifyou cheat on it,you will loseit.” Talkingabout hisother projects,he says he has
completed 40per cent of
A v a s a r a l aSrinivasa Rao’s
film. “Furthershooting will have to be
done in the US, so we haveto wait,” he says. He hasanother film withSithara Entertainmentand one with produc-er MaheshKoneru.
Adah is excitedabout shooting in a forestI go for interesting roles, says theintrepid actress
Adah Sharma with the clapboard at thefilm’s launch in Hyderabad on Monday
Afterthe lockdown
was announced, forthe last four months, I
have been maintaining adiet of boiled vegetables and
chicken. As south Indians,we have a lot of rice. But I
managed to slowlyremove rice from my
diet
What I realised is that myaudiences in Hindi and
Telugu are the same. Theyalways appreciate me when Ipick up interesting roles and thathas been happening consistentlyin Hindi. And so I wanted tofollow suit in Telugu as well
NAYARE ALI
Over the last couple of weeks,actress Vidya Balan has been pro-moting her film extensively. It’s 7.30
pm when she chats with us over a tele-phonic interview from Mumbai, andVidya sounds exhausted but her enthusi-asm has not diminished. She respondsearnestly to every question posed in thisfreewheeling conversation that is pep-pered with infectious laughter.
EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW:
How do you feel about ShakuntalaDevi releasing on an OTT platform?
I get an adrenaline rush during thesepromotions. This film was ready torelease on 8 May, but then the pandemichappened, which led to further delay. Iam glad that it’s releasing on an OTTplatform at a time when people aregoing to be home. And hopefully, theywill enjoy it.
Do you see yourself taking upan OTT project?
I have been offered many rolesbut nothing has yet excited meenough because it is a long-term commitment, andthat is something that Iam a little wary of. Itend to get bored easily.But I will explore thatat some point when Ifind the right sub-ject.
What drew youto Shakuntala?
I read that despitebeing good atmaths, youfound it a bitchallenging toplay hercharacter.
I enjoy num-bers and wasan above-a v e r a g emaths stu-dent inschool. Butit wasimpor-
tant that I portrayed Shakuntala Devi’sflourish when it came to maths. When youwatch Shakuntala Devi’s shows, yourealise she gave her answers with élan. Itwas like a magic show unfolding in frontof you. I had to capture that spontaneitywith which she revealed the answers, andthat was challenging. Most people havethis aversion to maths, but she broke thatmyth of maths being a dry subject. I knowso many people who interacted with themaths genius. It seemed like I was theonly person who had not met her.
As you play these very intense char-acters, does it help to have a life
partner from the industry?I don’t know if that makes a difference.
It is the person who makes the difference.Sidharth is someone who understandsthat I get fully immersed. Over the years,since we have spent so much time togeth-er, we have begun to understand eachother better. And now, he knows how I amwhen I am in the midst of a film, so hegives me that space. He gives me that sup-port. I think even if he was not from theindustry, he is the sort of person whowould give me that space.
The two of you have decided not towork together. Does this
also include notsharing or dis-cussing yourprojects witheach other?
We sharewhat’s hap-pening ineach one’slife and wesupport eacho t h e rbecause we
are very
passionate about what we do. Sometimes,being supportive requires you not to sayanything — just to hear the other personout. He is a fantastic listener and I tend totalk a lot. We definitely discuss and sharewhatever is happening in our lives.
You are an inspiration to all thosewomen who suffer from low self-
esteem because of constant body-sham-ing. What is your advice to them?
Each of us has a body type. You can’tfight that and you shouldn’t fight that asyou would spend a life time fighting it. Irealise that there was a phase when I hatedmy body for so many years, and it is sounfair because it is the same body that iskeeping me alive. Yes, it is important tostay healthy, eat right and exercise, butthere should be a balance. You shouldembrace who you are and feel good in yourskin because you will never earn anyone’sapproval 100 per cent. For instance, when Ilost weight, people told me, ‘Your face hasbecome so thin.’ The only person’sapproval that should matter toyou is your own.
Your days of struggleare well chronicled. Do
you think the current gen-eration has lost the abil-ity to handle disap-pointment?
I do think social mediahas a role to play aspeople are projecting acertain image aboutt h e m s e l v e s .Probably you areputting out anaspirational post,but someone else
thinks that isyour life,
and then you end up wanting to constant-ly live up to that image. At this point, weall feel the need to opine about every-thing, and that is also very harmful. Andthis does not just happen to celebritiesalone.
Once, a friend, who is a well-knownnutritionist, posted her picture on asocial networking site wearing a sleeve-less top. Someone she knew well com-mented that her arms were looking flabby.She is a fit woman and she confessed feel-ing terrible about it for an entire day. Itold her not to be ridiculous and that sheis gorgeous. We are letting people get tous.
You have friends who are clearlynot a part of the glamour world. Is
this where you get your sense of bal-ance from?
I did try making friends in the industryearly on in my career. These are notfriendships that last. You are intenselyinvolved with one group of people duringthe making of a film; then you move onand the same pattern follows. It becomesdifficult to keep in touch with the firstgroup, so you enjoy it while it lasts andthen you move on. I have friends who liveabroad. They are all married with kids.Our lives are busy and there is also thetime difference to deal with. We are verymuch in touch once in two weeks or oncea month and that is very fulfilling for me.
Speaking of social media, yourarely post pictures from your per-
sonal life. Is this a conscious deci-sion?
I love people. But on a personal level Iam deeply private. I am married to anequally private person and I respect that.I guard my privacy and loved ones fero-ciously and don’t want to expose them toany lose comments. Otherwise, there isSidharth whose brains I chew besides mysister’s.
Finally, before we conclude, whathas the pandemic taught you?
More than ever, I have begun to countmy blessings. I have realised I can be self-
reliant. As actors, some ofus are quite spoilt anddepend on many peoplefor many things.
Tuesday 28 July 2020 3
glam sham Deccan Chronicle
Vidya Balan talksabout her upcoming
biopic ShakuntalaDevi, the support she
gets from husbandSidharth, and how
one should have selfesteem and not let
people’s commentsget to you
Q
Q
QQ
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
‘You should embrace who youare and feel good in your skin’
Sidharth is someone whounderstands that I get fullyimmersed. Over the years,
we have begun to understand eachother better. And now, he knowshow I am when I am in the midstof a film, so he gives me thatspace. He gives me that support.”
“Each of us has a body type. Youcan’t fight that and you shouldn’tfight that as you would spend alife time fighting it. I realise thatthere was a phase when I hatedmy body for so many years, and itis so unfair because it isthe same body that iskeeping me alive.
SWATI SHARMA
DECCAN CHRONICLE
SARS-COV-2 has causedsignificant illness anddeaths around the world.
While SARS-COV-2 is known tocause substantial pulmonarydiseases such as pneumonia andacute respiratory distress syn-drome (ARDS), clinicians haveobserved other presentations ofthis disease.
Dr Y Gopi Krishna, seniorinterventional pulmonologist,Yashoda Hospitals, tells us thatscientists are now documentinga growing list of atypical coron-avirus infection symptoms, thusproviding doctors with moreinsight into the emerging dis-ease. The new and surprisingsymptoms that have appearedinclude strokes, blood clotting,the rare Kawasaki disease, pur-ple toe rashes and ‘silent hypox-ia’. According to Dr GopiKrishna, however, many of thesesymptoms remain rare, and sci-entists aren’t yet certain if theyare directly caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
Read on to understand the vari-ous types of symptoms and pos-sible damages the virus couldcause.
THE UNUSUAL SYMPTOMS
Direct virus causing damageto blood vessels, leading to bloodclots formation Dysregulation or over-acti-
vation of one’s own immune sys-tem
HEMATOLOGIC MANIFESTATIONS(BLOOD-RELATED CHANGES)
Lymphopenia (WBS, lympho-cytes are reduced) Platelets are reduced (blood
(potassium and sodium salts inbody can go up and down caus-ing disturbances in BP andheartbeat rate)
GASTROINTESTINAL MANIFESTATIONS
Severe nausea Severe loss of hunger Loose motions (seen in 30%
patients) Liver Injury (white jaundice
and yellow jaundice for some)
Another couple of issues thatDr Gopi Krishna points outinclude Kawasaki disease, thatis, joint pains and blood vesselsaffected, which leads to dis-colouration of toes and fingers
(underlying mechanismsbeing blood vessels dam-age). The doctor also talksof many patients present-ing other symptomsincluding high bloodsugar (hyperglycemia),
sometimes going into a statec a l l e d
ketoacidosis in patients withpreviously undiagnosed diabetesor no diabetes.
NEUROLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS
Anosmia (loss of smell) Severe dizziness, myalgias,
headaches and fatigue
Dr Gopi Krishna also talks ofcases in which a few patients hadsuddenly gone into brain stroke(paralysis) while a few othershave suffered encephalitis (brainInjury). “In one case, we wit-nessed a dangerous manifesta-tion of the Guillain–Barre syn-drome, in which the protectingmuscles and nerves are suddenlyaffected, which leads to suddenrespiratory arrest,” the doctoradds.
DERMATOLOGICAL (SKIN) MANIFESTATION
Rashes Vesicles (like chicken pox
lesions) Petechiae (dark spots on
skin)
“Other than causing life-threat-
ening pulmonary (lung) compli-cations, the virus can affectmajor organ systems becauseeven a small clot formation inthose organs can lead to anorgan failure,” adds Dr GopiKrishna.
TREATMENT
Oxygen Steroids Plasma therapy Antivirals (Remidesivir and
Favipiravir) Vitamins (Vitamin C,
Vitamin D and Zinc) Blood thinners (low molecu-
lar weight heparin) Rarely (anti-inflammatory
drugs to Tocilizumab)
However, Dr Gopi Krishna cau-tions that all these trial medica-tions and therapies are to reducethe severity of the disease andthat none assure cure.
Tuesday 28 July 2020 4
wellthy Deccan Chronicle
A breathless viralDr Y. Gopi Krishna,
SeniorInterventional
Pulmonologist,Yashoda Hospitals,
shares atypicalsymptoms of
coronavirus infection
(Right) Jennifer Aniston in face mask recently shared a heartbreaking imageof her friend (above) hooked up to a ventilator in hospital with Covid-19.
HAPPY HYPOXIA IS ASILENT KILLER
The normal oxygen sat-uration in the blood-
stream of a healthy per-son is above 95%, butCOVID-19 patients displaydangerous declines of asless as 40%. Whilehypoxia is a warning sig-nal for imminent failureof vital body organs likethe kidneys, brain, heartand is usually accompa-nied by prominentbreathlessness, accordingto experts, patients withextremely low blood oxy-gen levels appear com-pletely normal, until theysuffer a cardiac failuredue to low oxygen. It istermed as ‘HappyHypoxia’.
In one case, we witnessed a dangerous manifestation of the Guillain–Barresyndrome, in which the protecting muscles and nerves are suddenly affected,
which leads to sudden respiratory arrest— Dr Y Gopi Krishna, senior interventional pulmonologist, Yashoda Hospitals
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Deccan ChronicleCLASSIFIEDS5Tuesday 28 July 2020
NOTICEReaders are advised to makeappropriate enquiries whileresponding to advertisements inthese columns. Deccan ChronicleHoldings Ltd. does not vouch forany claims made by theAdvertisers. The Printer,Publisher, Editor and Owner ofDeccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd.shall not be held responsible /liable for any consequences,in case such claims are found tobe false.
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The colours in an iridescent cloud tend to be subtle and are usually pastel, but in some cases they can be vivid. Here is cloudiridescence captured by Sumita Shankar Garg at National PoliceAcademy, Hyderabad. “It was my first time to see a rare cloud phenomenon like this.”
“Just reminisc-ing’’: Can’t
wait to do thiswith y’ll all
over again...IAS Smita
Sabharwal,Secretary to
Chief Ministerposted a throwback picture of
her BFF -- IFSPriyankaa
Varghese, OSDto Chief
Minister, IASNeetu Prasad,Commissioner
CommercialTaxes andTelangana
Foods memberSecretary-
cum-MD IAS DrChristina Z.
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CONTINUED FROMPAGE 1
In such a situation wehave to change our way offunctioning and continueproducing good music.Camps and groups will bethere, we can either fightit out or keep ranting.Choices are very person-al,” says Mukherjee.
But over the years, therehave been others whohave made similar allega-tions about the film indus-try. Simi Garewal did notname the person who hadkept her out of Bollywood,and Parveen Babi in oneof her last interviews in1998 spoke about how shewas ostracised.
“Today, the majority ofthe industry has cut ties
with me because of oneman. Anyway, I don’t feellet down. On the contrary,I feel it’s their loss. Thefilm industry is wonderfulin the beginning, whenyou are in your youth. Butthen, it doesn’t let yougrow in any other direc-tion. The reason I didn’tattempt to make a come-back in the industry isbecause this man is stillthere,” she had said.
Meanwhile, former edi-tor-in-chief ShekharGupta, talks about howKaran Johar felt hurt andFarhan Akhtar and familywere upset about Zoya notwinning an award, howHrithik Roshan too wasupset about his dad notwinning the Best Directoraward, how Katrina Kaifcried at not winningawards, and how they did-n’t want to perform at orattend functions becausethey were not beingawarded.
With Bollywood campswanting to call the shotsand control everything intheir space, is it surpris-ing that a Sushant SinghRajput lost his life in anattempt to be a part of thisgolden club?
It’s ‘Cabal’ywood!Dear reader, send in your photos too! We shall publish them and brighten up your day.
Shekhar Gupta, eminentjournalist, talks about howKaran Johar felt hurt/angryat his film not being nomi-nated for an award. Somebig actors threaten to notperform at, or attend awardfunctions because theywere not being awarded!
Quite a spectacle
Women in Power
6
Deccan Chronicle
Tuesday 28 July 2020
coffee-break
Taurus: Problems arise one afterone. Your new task will bring hugeprofits. Beware of hidden enemies;they bring loss. Expect bitterness
in family relations.
Gemini: You’ll try hard to cope withsituations but with very minimumresults. You may meet someonespecial, who’s also very influential.
Your mental abilities bring you success.
Leo: Expect unwanted business-related news. Parental propertydisputes may resolve and youprofit well from it. However,
expect a major business loss or loss of job.
Virgo: Your held-up work findsmomentum; you’ll earn moremoney. Avoid financial risks.Expect new income sources and
better success opportunities. You may beinvolved in important domestic issues.
Cancer: Your achievements will bepraised. You’ll solve problemsintelligently. Expect economichardships. You’ll travel to distant
places but without profits.
Capricorn: Expect sudden develop-ments in business. Your prospectscan be excellent if you work hard inthe right direction. Don’t expect
desired satisfaction at work.
Aquarius: Your professional skillsmay be acknowledged. You’llstart managing your finances andsave for a rainy day. Travel for
business is auspicious and rewarding.
Pisces: Expect parents and friendsto be available in need.Tightening the domestic budgetimproves savings. Expect an inti-
mate relationship to develop. Today’s full ofspectacular activities. Some of you mightspend on luxury and comforts.
Scorpio: You’ll be satisfied with howthings move. Expect misunder-standings in the family, which afamily elder will help settle. A good
day for investing in real estate.
Libra: Your best efforts help com-plete long-awaited projects. Yourposition improves at work. You’llpass time well. Your social reputa-
tion enhances and you’ll be praised in soci-ety and by friends.
Sagittarius: Despite constraints,you’ll progress well. Handleromance with adequate caution.Today’s excellent for scheduling
business negotiations.
Aries: Give time to your family toimprove situations. You’ll partici-pate in active politics this month.Your new contacts may soon
prove to be useful.
Your day today
By Dr C.V.B. Subrahmanyam
Dulquer Salmaan,Indian actor who
predominantly works inMalayalam language
films. He has alsoworked in Tamil, Telugu
and Hindi languagefilms like O Kadhal
Kanmani, Mahanati,Karwaan and The Zoya
Factor.
You share your b’day with
scrabble brand | G2 R1 As Ms S1
DIRECTIONS: Make a 2 to 7-letter word fromthe letters in each row. Add points of eachword, using scoring directions at right. 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks”used as any letter have no point value. AllJudd’s words are in the Official ScrabblePlayers Dictionary (Merriam-Webster) andOSW Official Scrabble words (Chambers).JUDD’S Solution Tomorrow
every 3x3 boxcontains thedigits 1 to 9.Every puzzlehas only one
correctsolution.
YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
SU◆DO◆KU
YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
SU◆DO◆KU 2
Did you think the
SU◆DO◆KUon the left was easy?
Try this. Check the solution tomorrow.
Tips available at www.sudoku-xls.com
DC-AGE SU DO KUFORUM: Discuss theSU DO KU puzzlesprinted and con-
tribute mind teasersof your own at
www.sudexel.com/forum
Lewis Carroll wrote, "Ifyou don't know whereyou are going, any
road will take you there."Some bridge players are
like that. They don't knowhow they are going to makeor break a contract, so theyjust pull cards and hopethat they get home. Butmore often than not, theywill run out of fuel first.
On other deals, partnersuddenly steers down aroad that looks closed. Butif you trust him, follow him-- with luck, he knows some-thing that hasn't crossedyour mind.
This deal occurred duringthe 1975 EuropeanChampionships, in theopen match betweenBelgium and Greece. Howdid East-West defeat fourhearts?
North's hand looks goodfor a single raise, and advo-cates of the Losing Trick
Count will note that thehand has only seven losers,which is the normal num-ber for a game-forcingraise! North should haveinvited game. But whenSouth, with a six-loserhand, made a help-suitgame-try in diamonds,North happily jumped togame.
West, George Roussos, ledthe diamond queen; East,Hercules Matrangas, over-took with his king andreturned the spade jack.Thinking his partner hadswitched to a singleton,West won with the ace andplayed back a spade.
When East didn't ruff,declarer probably felthappy, but that joy didn'tlast. When he played atrump to his jack, West wonwith the ace and led anoth-er spade. East's ruff withthe heart nine effected anuppercut, promoting West's
heart 10 as the setting trick.West could have also
defeated the game with anunlikely opening club lead.The curious may work itout.
Copyright United FeatureSyndicate
(Asia Features)
bridge
PHILLIP ALDER
ONCE ON THE ROAD, DONOT DEVIATE
Across6.Amity, closeness (10)8. European country
(5)10.Sweeten (5)13.Power of creative
thought (11)14.Separated (5)17.Raze (5)19.Ad-libbed (10)
Down1. Region (4)2. Disobey (4)3. Probability (4)4. Hoodlum (4)5. Angry lips (anag)
C A L V I N A N D H O B B E S | B i l l W a t t e r s o n
25
coffee-break7Tuesday 28 July 2020
Deccan Chronicle
jumble
Dennis the Menace
B L O N D I E | D e a n Y o u n g a n d J o h n M a r s h a l l
A N D Y C A P P | R e g S m y t h e
T A R Z A N | E d g a r R i c e B u r r o u g h s
T H E W I Z A R D O F I D | P a r k e r a n d H a r t s d
A R C H I E | B i l l H e n r y S c a r p e l l i & c r a i g b o l d m a n
China’s favouriteIndian actor AamirKhan, along with Sara
Ali Khan, may have gone miss-ing from the home pages ofthe Chinese phone brandsthey endorse after the borderskirmish and the subsequentbanning of some Chinese appsby the Indian government. Butwhether mainstreamBollywood films can bereleased in China or notremains to be seen.
Before the India-China skir-mish, Reliance Group CEOShibashish Sarkar had saidthat the Hrithik Roshan-star-rer Super 30 had been submit-ted to the Chinese censors lastNovember and was awaitingclearance when the pandemicstruck China. “We were in themidst of the process wheneverything shut down there.We are in the queue and look-ing forward,” he had said.
But then the work of actorslike Akshaye Khanna,Ayushmann Khurrana, RichaChaddha and Adil Hussainhave managed to scale theGreat Wall. The ShanghaiInternational Film Festival inChina started on Monday, and
many released and unreleasedIndian films were screened.
Anubhav Sinha’s 2019social drama Article 15starring AyushmannKhurrana, RajatKapoor’s RK/R Kay, apartially crowd-fundedfilm, and Arati Kadav’sCargo which couldn’tbe released due to thelockdown are beingscreened at the festi-val. Master auteurGoutam Ghose’sfilm Raahgir (or TheWayfarers for the fes-tival circuit), star-ring Adil Hussain,Tilattama Shomeand Neeraj Kabi, isalso being shown.
Adil Hussain, whoplays a daily wagelabourer in TheWayfarers, does therole of cycle rickshawdriver in PrakashJha’s Pareeksha. Alsobeing shown is AjayBahl’s film withAkshaye Khanna andRicha Chaddha.
—Sanskriti Media
8Tuesday 28 July 2020
Deccan Chroniclematinee
DC CORRESPONDENT
After the success of his critically-acclaimed movie Thappad released this
year, Anubhav Sinha has announced his nextproject — an anthology film based on storiesand experiences from the Covid-19 pandemic.It will be produced by his banner, Benaras
Mediaworks. For the film, Sinha has joined hands with four of
his filmmaker friends — Hansal Mehta, SudhirMishra, Ketan Mehta and Subhash Kapoor. “We willall interpret this period — starting February-March2020 — and we will all tell a story from it,” Anubhavshares.
Anubhav said it was the struggle to find a hospitalbed for Sudhir’s driver who had caught the infec-tion that triggered the idea of doing an anthology.The death of Sudhir’s father during the period, andalso the trauma of losing Irrfan Khan and not beingable to attend his funeral fuelled this decision.
“There’s one story by Subhash, one by Hansal, oneby Sudhir bhai, one probably by Ketan. These arefilmmakers that I believe the so-called ‘Bollywood’has largely ignored,” adds the director.
Elaborating on each filmmaker’s part, Anubhavexplains, “Hansal’s story is quite comic and tragic.Sudhir bhai’s is quite political. Subhash’sis also political, but in a different way. I amstill struggling with my story — I want totell an atmospheric story, which is aboutfear. I live on the 20th floor and I cansee a very large expanse of Mumbaifrom my window. It has suddenlystarted looking like a deserted,dead city. And Ketan says‘main dekh ke batata hoon.”[I will think about it andget back].
The yet-to-be-titledanthology is scheduledto release in 2021.
Even as OTT gets film pre-mieres, television is get-
ting some too. Aditya RoyKapoor has started dubbing forthe film Ludo with AnuragBasu at Sunny Super Soundamidst a very high-level saniti-sation process, and the film isslated to hit an OTT platform
soon.“Anurag is a taskmas-ter. He makes surethe intonations areexactly rightbecause his film is arather sensitiveone,” says Aditya.Abhishek also was todub for Ludo, but hasbeen grounded for afew days by the Covid-19 infection. Meanwhile Aditya’s
last theatrical outing,Malang, which was
yanked off theatres fol-lowing the pandemic, hit
the small screen on July26 on Sony Max.Malang also stars
Anil Kapoor, Disha Patani andKunal Khemu in pivotal roles.
“I’ve very fond memories offilming Malang in Goa,” saysthe Aashiqui 2 actor.
“Preparing for the characterwas interesting because I wasplaying him at two differenttimes in his life, before andafter certain events. There wasa marked change in the charac-ter from the past to the presentand for some of the youngerportions, I had to tap into myteenage years and that was afun journey. I spent a lot of timein Goa in my carefree teenagedays, so I went there a week orso before the shoot to revisit allthe places that I used to go to.The other portion had anotherphysicality to it and I needed totoughen up and bulk up on theoutside, apart from obviouslytrying to understand what aperson goes through who hasfaced traumatic events. Overall,it was a very rewarding jour-ney.”
— Sanskriti Media
Aditya gets allkind of premieres
Hrithik Roshan waits whileAyushmann scales Great Wall
