˘ˇˆ˙˘˝˛˚˚˜...week ended with a Quiz and English-Hindi Essay Writing Competition, in which...

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Team Whack from BharatiyaVidyapeeth College of

Engineering, New Delhisecured the top position whileteam arcade was second in theHACK A BIT organised atBIT Mesra.

The winner received cashprize of �25,000, wireless head-phones, coupons from eckova-tion, goodies from bugzeeworth 500 dollars while therunner up got cash prize of�15,000, coupons from ecko-vation, fitbands, goodies frombugzee worth 300 dollars.

Team Cubs from IITKharagpur, Team AHA fromHeritage Institute ofTechnology, West Bengal, TeamDefaulting from ISM Dhanbad,IIIT Kalyani Coders from IIITKalyani were third, fourth,fifth and sixth in that order in

the competition.The best hack on ‘.tech-

domain’ was from InfiniteDebug from NIT Raipur whilethe best project built usingZulip API was made by LoneWolf from BIT Mesra.

The 36 hours long hackwhich started on October 26from 10.00 pm ended onOctober 28 at 10.00 am. It wit-nessed participation from col-leges around the countryincluding Punjab, Delhi,Odisha and institutes like IITKharagpur, IIT(ISM) Dhanbad,IIT Varanasi and NIT Raipur.

There were a lot of innov-ative projects and ideas thatwere developed into a func-tioning product at the end ofthe 36 hours long hack.

The projects included safe-ty devices for women thatwould send an alert to nearbydevices with an increasing

radius if unanswered; a medi-cine prescription tracker; aglove that will convert sign lan-guage to voice which will bebeneficial to deaf and mute.

Arcade, an all-girls team,developed a game calledApocalypse, which aimed atdeveloping a sense of responsibility towards the envi-ronment. The HACK-A-BIT judging panel consisting of DrDurga Raju, Gadiraju, KaushikMLN, Pratyush Agarwal,Kushagra Singh and Abhishekselected projects of 15 teams forthe finals.

The event concluded witha vote of thanks by Dr VijayLakshmi, faculty coordinator,Hack-A-BIT. The faculty coor-dinators of the hackathon, DrVijay Lakshmi and Dr DKUpdahyay felicitated the dig-nitaries- the judges and theDean Students’ Welfare.

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Amid much fanfare JIA-SOWA’S Diwali Utsav con-

cluded on a high note here onMonday. With a series of activ-ities, the tantalising fair waswrapped up with a promise tomake a comeback in a muchgrand way next time. Leavingits impact on the denizens, thefive-day fair was a huge hitamong the Ranchiites.

From variety of cuisines tohandmade products to brand-ed stuffs, the fair had every itemof customers’ choice. Startedwith much enthusiasm, thisseason too received a thumpsup from the visitors for its man-agement. Having completedalmost 13 years, grand event,this year saw participation ofnumerous artisans from acrossthe nation as well as globe.

Uttarakhand’s Khadi prod-ucts to Kashmir’s woolen prod-ucts were a huge hit among theRanchiites who got the desiredproducts from across thenations at an affordable price.Artisans from different districtof Jharkhand shared a commonplatform for directly sellingtheir handiworks and other

utility items with the sellersfrom Rajasthan, Nagaland,Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, UttarPradesh, West Bengal, Odisha,Gujarat, Bihar etc. The womenSelf Help Groups (SHGs) havebeen given stalls for free of cost.

Also, a separate zone formaking Aadhar Card, Voter IDCard, Divyang Certificate,Goods and Service Taxes(GST) camps was put up herewhich proved immensely help-ful for the visitors.

The funds collected annu-ally through this fiesta organ-ised on a much wider scale,where artisans from across thecountry is invited to showcasetheir specialties ranging fromhome décor to handicrafts areused in accomplishing different social endeavours andaid the needy.

In a unique attempt, takingthe fair beyond the commercialactivities, cultural nightsendorsing different folk artforms, fashion show etc wasorganised. A cultural eventfocusing on ‘WomenEmpowerment’ and otherthemes captured the attentionof fair hoppers receiving muchappreciation.

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CCL is celebrating theVigilance Awareness Week

in Headquarter as well as in allits Areas from 29th October to3th November.

Vigilance Awareness Weekstarted off at CCL with mass“Integrity Pledge” and“Vigilance Awareness March”in which hundreds of students,employees, Directors and CVOAK Srivastava participated withplacards displaying messageto “Eradicate Corruption-Building New India”.

The Vigilance AwarenessMarch started from CCL head-quarters and ended at CCL’sJawahar Nagar Colony, KankeRoad, Ranchi. Addressing agathering, CVO AK Srivastavasaid the main objective of theongoing “Vigilance AwarenessWeek” is to create awarenessamong the employees as well asstakeholders regarding chang-ing role of vigilance.

“We are moving from pre-ventive vigilance to pro-activevigilance which works towardscreating a system which ismore transparent and account-able,” he added.

During the programme,Director (Pers) R S Mahapatroadministered the “IntegrityPledge” to the employees, students and other stakehold-ers of CCL.

Director (Finance) DKGhosh read out the message ofHon’ble President of India,and Director (Tech/P&P) VKSrivastava read out the messageof Hon’ble Vice-President ofIndia and Shri Mahapatro readthe message of CVC for thegathering.

E-pledge’ booths have beenstarted at CCL Headquarter(till November 3) where peoplecan take the e-pledge. The firstday of this Vigilance Awarenessweek ended with a Quiz andEnglish-Hindi Essay Writing

Competition, in which CCLemployees took part with greatenthusiasm. Also during theprogramme, a “mobile VigilanceAwareness vehicle” with thetheme “Eradicate Corruption-Building New India” was flaggedoff by CVO, CCL and theDirectors. The vehicle decorat-ed with messages related toanti-corruption will moveacross Ranchi to create aware-ness among common publics.

In SAIL Ranchi Units theVigilance Awareness Weekstarted with its utmost spirit byall employees assembling inthe entrance lobby of Ispat

bhawan, Shyamli Colony,Ranchi and taking Vigilanceoath administered by KamakshiRaman, ED(HRD) in Englishand Kajal Das, ED (CET) inHindi. The messages fromPresident, Vice-President andCentral Vigilance Commi-ssioner were read out by SKDas, GM(Incharge), RDCIS;Ajay Arora, GM and SanjayAgrawal, ACVO. The pro-gramme was coordinated byPrashant Kumar, DGM(Vig.).Till late evening a sketchingcompetition involving SAILemployee’s children and otherschool children was in progress.

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Spring Fest is the annualsocial and cultural fest of

Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Kharagpur. With a foot-fall of more than 40,000, SpringFest is one of the largest of itskind in Asia to be organisedentirely by students of theprestigious engineering col-lege of the country.

Enthusiastic participantsfrom almost 200 major collegesof India throng to Kharagpurto this three-day celebration of

fun and frolic.Spring Fest 2019 will be the

60th edition of the fest and ishappening from 25th to 27th ofJanuary, 2019.

This year, Spring Fest hasscheduled Hitch Hike, theNationwide Prelims for five ofits flagship events Nukkad, SFIdol, Shake a Leg, Two for aTango and Shuffle in Octoberin nine cities across India,namely Delhi, Mumbai, Pune,Bangalore, Hyderabad,Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Patnaand Bhopal.

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Chief Minister RaghubarDas on Monday laid the

foundation stone for theschemes worth �427.92 crorefor West Singhbhum district ata function organised atChaibasa. A total of 37 schemesof different departments will beundertaken under the project.

Addressing a function, Dasstated that the all-round devel-opment of the coal region is thepriority of the State Gover-nment. Chaibasa will soon geta better connectivity with bypassroad. The ground breaking cer-emony of the project will bedone soon, he added.

He noted that the aim ofthe Government is to developkey infrastructure such aswater, electricity and road inChaibasa. For this, the StateGovernment is working withfull commitment.

The Chief Minister said theproblem of drinking water in therural areas of Chaibasa will alsocome to an end. The StateGovernment has instructed thatthe money under DistrictMining Fund to be spend on thesupply of pure drinking water.

Under 400 crore project,the Government will ensuresupply of pure drinking waterfrom pipelines in each villageof Chaibasa.

The Chief Minister saidthat Jharkhand is the first statein the country, where CSRCouncil has been constituted.Two per cent of the industrialestates established in the stateare spending for the develop-ment of the society.

The Chief Minister saidState Government had givenapproval for establishment ofMedical College in Chaibasa. Ahospital with 500 beds is alsobeing constructed. Now chil-dren of Kolhan region will notneed to go to outside State tostudy MBBS.

Das added now thereshould be no politics in thename of martyrs. TheGovernment is working tohonour the brave martyrs ofthe State.

Prime Minister NarendraModi also discussed the life ofBhagwan Birsa Munda in‘Mann Ki Baat’. Birsa MundaMuseum is being constructed

in Ranchi in collaboration withthe Central Government. ABirsa Munda Tower will bebuilt on the lines of Tower ofShanghai. The role of publicparticipation will be importantin making this programmesuccessful.

On the occasion, WestSinghbhum MP LaxmanGiluwa, Chaibasa MLA DeepakBirua, TAC Member JB Tubid,Commissioner of KolhanaVijay Kumar Singh , DeputyCommissioner Arwa Rajkamal,Superintendent of Police KrantiKumar, along with other offi-cials and a large number of localpeople were present.

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�3��+��,�*��67� ��'�*82�� Ranchi: Chief MinisterRaghubar Das on Mondayinaugurated Jubilee Lake atChaibasa. Built at a cost of Rs10 crore, Tata Steel along withKRG Rainwater Foundation,Chennai has revamped thelake to give it a new face.

The project involves beau-tification and resurrection ofthe lake by arresting and diverting the various sources ofcontamination. Speaking onthe occasion, the ChiefMinister said, “Tata Steel hasrich legacy in communitydevelopment in its areas ofoperation and taking forwardthis legacy Tata Steel has devel-oped this Jubilee Park to thepeople of Chaibasa.”

The lake inside the park

also acts as major source ofrecharge for the surroundingwater extraction structures.KRG Rainwater Foundation,Chennai, a reputed expertorganization working on waterharvesting projects was entrust-ed to carry out a feasibilitystudy for this project and theyhave submitted their reportwith feasible solutions.

Jubilee Park (popularlyknown as Jayanti Sarovar) is apopular tourist destination,located near District High Courtat Chaibasa.

The arena has a boundarywall of 1.2 KM having a path-way of 1.3 KM which is illu-minated by LED’s throughoutat night.

The project entailed diver-

sion of grey water from lake tosewage canal by laying under-ground pipeline with pitsaround the lake, installation oftransformer for power supplyand fountains. The western sideof the lake has colourful path-ways with toe guards, view-points, sitting places, treeguards, gents & ladies toilets,security room cum ticketcounter, cross over pathways tocafeteria, drinking water trough,children playing equipment andexercise equipment.

There are in total fourbathing ghats for ladies, gents,community rituals and forimmersion purpose. The specialdedicated Children’s cornerinside the park is an addedattraction for children. PNS

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As the Supreme Court onMonday turned down the

plea for expeditious hearing ofthe Ram Janmabhoomi landdispute case and said the mat-ter will be dealt with by anappropriate Bench in January,the court faced harsh criticismfrom several quarters anddemand for an Ordinance forthe construction of RamTemple grew louder withinthe BJP, RSS and various Sangh Parivar outfits. TheCongress exercised restraintsaying that the apex court ver-dict should be awaited and theissue be not linked with vote-bank politics.

With the country warmingup to the Lok Sabha polls,around six months away, theBJP and the RSS called forbringing a legislation to expedite the temple construc-tion at Ayodhya apprehendingthat the court proceedings onthe issue may not conclude too soon.

Outlining theGovernment’s stand, UnionLaw Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad, at the same time, saida lot people in the country wantthe case to be heard quickly.Addressing a press conferencein poll-bound Chhattisgarh,Prasad said the BJP neverlinked the Ram Mandir issuewith polls.

“The Supreme Court todaysaid the hearing (on theAyodhya land title disputecases) will be held in January.

As a Law Minister, I should notsay anything else, as you under-stand that there are certain lim-itations,” Prasad said.

“I would like to humbly saythat a lot of people in the coun-try want that the hearing on theissue should be completedsoon,” he said.

The RSS said the SupremeCourt should make an earlydecision on the RamJanmabhoomi land dispute andthe Union Government shouldbring a legislation to removehurdles, if any, in the way of theconstruction of a Ram templeat the site.

RSS chief spokespersonArun Kumar said theAllahabad High Court in itsverdict has accepted that thesite is the birthplace of LordRam and a temple existedthere. The HC judgment, deliv-ered in four civil suits, had saidthe 2.77-acre land be divided equally among threeparties — the Sunni WaqfBoard, the Nirmohi Akharaand Ram Lalla.

“The Sangh believes agrand Ram temple should beconstructed soon at the birth-place of Lord Ram. And landshould be allotted at the birth-place for temple construction.With the construction of thetemple, an atmosphere of unityand harmony will be created.With this in view, the SupremeCourt should make an earlydecision and if there are anydifficulties, the Governmentshould make a law to removeall hurdles in the way of giving

land for temple at the RamJanmabhoomi site,” Kumar saidin a statement.

“Ever since this andolanwas started by sants, we havesupported it and will continueto support them in their deci-sions in future,” he said.

BJP leader Vinay Katiyaralleged that the issue was beingdelayed “under pressure” fromthe Congress, which denied thecharge. “The decision isbeing delayed under pressurefrom the Congress. People likeKapil Sibal and PrashantBhushan are pressing for delay-ing the issue. Till when willRam bhakts (devotees) wait? In2019, the Congress will cometo know,” he said.

Former Union Ministerand BJP leader Sanjeev Baliyansaid, “I am surprised at the pri-orities of the court. I am of the

view that the Ram Templeshould be constructed. TheGovernment should exploreall possibilities.”

BJP’s ally Shiv Sena leaderSanjay Raut said the Ram tem-ple is an issue of faith anddemanded that theGovernment comes out with anOrdinance soon. “It is a matterof faith. The court cannotdecide on this. TheGovernment should bring anordinance,” he said.

Senior Congress leader PChidambaram, however, main-tained that it was a familiarstory every five years before theelections when the BJP tries topolarise the issue.

“The Congress’s statedposition is that the matter isbefore the Supreme Court andeveryone should wait until theSupreme Court decides... We

should not jump the gun,” hetold reporters.

To a question on possibil-ity of an ordinance for con-struction of the temple, hesaid the Ordinance has to bedecided by the Governmentand not by Parliament. “Ifsomeone asks for anOrdinance, the Prime Ministerhas to respond to them, but asyou know, he will not respondto any issue,” he said.

On allegations by someBJP leaders that the delay wasunder pressure from someCongress leaders,Chidambaram said, “TheSupreme Court will decidewhen to hear the case. We don’tdecide when the court willhear the case.”

Another Congress leaderAnand Sharma said, “Everyoneshould patiently wait for theSupreme Court verdict.Congress party has stated thatit will welcome and accept theSupreme Court verdict.” Hesaid religion is a matter of faithand linking this issue to thevote-bank politics will be a dis-service to the nation.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen(AIMIM) leader AsaddudinOwaisi dared the Governmentto bring an Ordinance, sayingthe BJP refers to the RamTemple again and again. “Ifthey have the courage, theyshould bring an Ordinance onRam Temple construction.They are trying to scare usabout bringing an Ordinance,why don’t they bring it,” he said.

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The Supreme Court onMonday refused to enter-

tain the Uttar Pradesh plea forearly hearing of the RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjidland dispute case, saying it hasdifferent priorities. The courtfixed the case for the firstweek of January before an“appropriate Bench” which willdecide the schedule of hearing.

The court’s decision is abig blow to the temple pro-tagonists who had hoped foran early resolution of the dis-pute and day-to-day hearing ofthe case that could have pavedthe way for building of theRam temple before the 2019Lok Sabha polls.

“We will fix the date ofhearing of the Ayodhya disputecase before the appropriateBench in January,” said a three-judge Bench, headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi, andcomprising Justices SK Kauland KM Joseph.

Solicitor General TusharMehta and senior advocateCS Vaidyanathan, appearingfor the UP Government anddeity Ramlala respectively,sought early listing of theappeals in the case after refer-ring to their long pendency.

But the Bench remained unim-pressed and clearly indicated the case was not apriority for it.

“We have our own priori-ties. Whether the matter willbe heard in January, Februaryor March, the appropriateBench will decide,” the Bench said.

Hopes for expeditious set-tlement of the Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute casewere revived after a three-judge Bench, by a 2:1 majori-ty last month, refused to referto a five-judge ConstitutionBench the issue of reconsider-ation of the observations in its1994 judgment that a mosquewas not integral to Islam. Thematter had arisen during thehearing of the Ayodhya landdispute.

The majority view byChief Justice of India (CJI)Dipak Misra and Justice AshokBhushan ordered that the hear-ing in the main Ayodhya titlesuit appeals should resumefrom October 29.

Justice S Abdul Nazeer, ina stinging dissent, observedthat the question of what isessential and what is not in a religion cannot behastily decided as is beingdone by the majority on theBench now.

As many as 14 appealshave been filed against theHigh Court judgment, deliv-ered in four civil suits, that the2.77 acre land be partitionedequally among three parties —the Sunni Waqf Board, theNirmohi Akhara and RamLalla.

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Aday after Leader ofOpposition and JMM

executive president HemantSoren commenced second legof his ‘Sagharsh Yatra’ fromUlihatu, place associated withthe uprising of Birsa Munda,Jharkhand BJP launched itstirade against him on Monday.The party in power in State,alleged Hemant of playing inthe hands of divisive forces andfor creating instability.

BJP spokesperson PratulSahadeo addressing a Pressconference at party headquar-ters today also took dig to hisstatement in which the JMMleader had allegedly sent out athreat to the ‘outsiders’ residingin the State.

“Hemant Soren is out todestabilise the State and isusing indignified languageagainst the people who havecome here from UP, Bihar andsettled. Earlier we have seen thedevastation caused by thedomicile politics of BabulalMarandi in the State and nowHemant Soren is again trying to create fissures byfanning outsider-insider issue,”said Shahdeo.

Fearing the consequences of

the coalition coming up in theform of JMM-Congress-JVMcombine ahead of the polls,Shahdeo said the divisive issueslike these may come up to fore.

“It is baffling to learn thatCongress has become followerof Hemant Soren who hasbeen talking about unconsti-

tutional and provocative issues.In fact he has panicked due topro-tribal measures taken bythe Raghubar Das Governmentin recent times that were justtreated as vote bank by theJMM for so many years,” addedthe spokesperson flanked byDeendayal Barnwal and others.

Shahdeo also termed thestatement of Soren in whichhas had said that people wouldnot allow the BJP to enter intovillages after 2019 polls as ludi-crous and said that in fact theJMM would not be allowed toenter the Assembly.

He also charged the JMM

leader for playing into hands ofa particular community forvotes and of those who hadbeen behind the seditiousPathalgarhi movement andreligious conversions.

Hemant Soren had duringhis yatra charged the BJP forexploiting tribals and moolva-sis on the lines of the Britishers.

However, besides theOpposition JMM, partner inthe Government Sudesh Mahtoof AJSU, during his SwabhimanYatra had also blamed theGovernment for overlookingGram Sabhas and imposingschemes from the top.

Deendayal Barnwal attack-ing the coalition coming upagainst the BJP in the Stateasked the Congress to provideaccounts of about Rs 4,000crore of scam taken place dur-ing the Madhu Koda regime.

“The Congress is againdoing similar acts by roping inJMM like it did earlier. The party is desperate to forgethe alliance despite the region-al parties are maintaining dis-tance with it. This urgency is toconduct similar kind of lootonce again in Jharkhand, but people of the State are in no mood to entertain that,”Barnwal said.

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On account of the protestsorganised by para teachers,

Mid-Day Meal (MDM) cooksin Capital city, heavy trafficcongestion was a common scenario at all prime itinerarieson Monday.

Commuters taking theNew Market route, Kutcheryroute, Upper Bazaar road orany other prime direction fordifferent purposes had a tough time navigating onthese routes.

In an attempt to registertheir agitation against the StateGovernment’s apathy, the pro-testers under various bannerscongregated at MorhabadiGround, Raj Bhawan, includinga few other places chokingnearly all prime routes.

The vehicles were stuck forseveral kilometres and trafficwas slow moving. Regardless ofseveral attempt to clear the traf-fic jam from different check-posts, traffic constables had tostruggle hard to streamline thetraffic system going haywireduring peak hours.

As many as 5,000 MDMcooks first gathered atMorhabadi Ground with theirlist of demands and marchedtowards the CM residence withtraditional weapons, however,

the protesters were stopped atRaj Bhawan.

For more than two hours,Mid-Day Meal (MDM) cookssat near Kishori Yadav Chowkblocking all directions thatseverely affected the smoothvehicular movement.

The protest was organisedunder the aegis of ‘JharkhandRasoiya Sangh’. The majordemands includes all removedMDM cooks must be reap-pointed, on the lines of State ofTamil Nadu, the MDM cooksmust be included in the StateGovernment’s fourth grade list,minimum �18,000 must bepaid monthly to the all theMDM cooks, all MDM cooksmust be allowed to work untilthey attain the age of 70-year,all goods required to makeMDM must be purchased bythe cooks, all due paymentsmust be cleared at the earliest,�5 lakh insurance of eachMDM cook and special leavefor women.

At present, each MDMcook gets �42 per day with noadditional facilities. This is forthe second time in a month,when these MDM cooks haveto come on road to registertheir protest.

In addition, para teachersin large number who too havebeen keeping their demands

since few years taking up incre-ment and job regularisationissue, blocked different routesto register their agitation.Having the back up of opposi-tion parties, the protest of parateachers is likely to gain muchimpetus as para teachers fromdifferent divisions are planningto launch a massive driveagainst the State Government’sindifference soon.

During the protest, theagitating para teachers unani-mously stated that if the officialof the State Government do notpay attention to their demands,67,000 para teachers of all the five divisions will cre-ate much uproar leaving out the Government machin-ery in complete disarray onStatehood Celebration DayNovember 15.

“The high-level committeeconstituted a few months agoto look into the demands of the para teachers and takeapt action in accordance to the requirements is mereeyewash.

The State Government ispurposely delaying the appoint-ment of the para teachers. Thistime, on November 16, ‘GheraDaalo Dhera Daalo’ will beorganised in a much violentway,” said a para teacher dur-ing the protest.

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To create awareness amongthe people about

Government plans and policies,director of Information andPublic Relation Department(IPRD) Ramlakhan PrasadGupta organised a meetingwith the DC Lohardaga BinodKumar and other officials.

Prasad said, “There mustbe awareness among people to avail the benefits ofthe plans. The plans of theGovernment must be imple-mented and the benefits must

reach the last person of thesociety.”

DC Binod Kumar said,“The district public relationofficer must do his duty to install LED lights inAjay Udyaan Park and other places.”

On the occasion, districtcouncil head Sunaiana Kumari,DDC R Ronita, MP represen-tative ChandrasheskharAgarwal, Bees Sutri vice chair-man Rakesh Prasad, districtpublic relation officerShivnandan Baraik and otherswere also present.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Monday stayed theBombay High Court orderrefusing extension of time tothe State police for filing chargesheet in the Koregaon-Bhimaviolence case.

Recently, the Bombay HighCourt had set aside the lowercourt’s order allowing extensionof time to police to file its probereport against the rightsactivists in the violence case.

Taking note of the appealof the MaharashtraGovernment, a bench headedby Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoistayed the High Court orderand issued notice to rightsactivists on the plea.

Earlier, the apex court hadrefused to interfere with thearrest of five rights activists by

the Maharashtra Police in con-nection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case anddeclined to appoint a SIT forprobe into their arrest.

The Pune Police hadarrested lawyer SurendraGadling, Nagpur Universityprofessor Shoma Sen, Dalitactivist Sudhir Dhawale,activist Mahesh Raut andKerala native Rona Wilson inJune for their alleged linkswith Maoists under theUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The arrests had followedraids at their residences andoffices in connection withthe Elgar Parishad conclaveheld in Pune on December 31last year, which, the policehad claimed, had led to vio-lence at Bhima Koregaon thenext day.

The MaharashtraGovernment had on October25 moved the apex court chal-lenging the Bombay High

Court order by which theextension of time granted tostate police to conclude probein the Koregaon Bhima vio-lence case was set aside.

In the previous hearing, thebench had considered the sub-missions of lawyer NishantKatneshwar, appearing for theMaharashtra Government, thatthe appeal needed to be heardon an urgent basis.

The lawyer had said that ifthe High Court order is notstayed then accused in theviolence case would becomeentitled for grant of statutorybail for want of non-filing ofcharge sheet within the stipu-lated period.

Under the UAPA, a chargesheet must be filed within 90days of arrest. However, theprosecutor can file a reportbefore the trial court, explain-ing the reasons for the delay,and seek more time. If satisfied,the court can extend the timeby 90 days. PTI

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The Congress on Monday hitout at Prime Minister

Narendra Modi over reportsthat US President DonaldTrump has not accepted India’srequest to be the chief guest atthe Republic Day parade nextyear and termed it a “diplo-matic faux pas”.

Former Union MinisterAnand Sharma said Modi’sapproach is “frivolous” and hisconduct of diplomacy lacks

gravitas. He said Modi mustunderstand that engagementwith strategic partners cannotbe transactional or episodic.

“President Trump’s non-acceptance of invitation to bethe chief guest for RepublicDay was an avoidable embar-rassment. Extending theinvite without assured accep-tance was a diplomatic fauxpas.

“Never before this honourhas been declined by a head ofstate... He (PM Modi) mustknow that engagement withstrategic partners can not betransactional or episodic,” hesaid.

Sharma said such a thinghas never happened in the

past.Another Congress leader

Manish Tewari said, “NotSurprising. I was inWashington DC when news ofIndia’s Republic Day invite toDonald Trump broke in July2018. Asked a senior WhiteHouse official would Trumptravel to India, the personsmiled and said-needs to beforward movement on a bunchof issues”.

Trump is unlikely to acceptIndia’s invitation to be thechief guest at the parade,sources said Sunday.

The US is understood tohave conveyed to New Delhithat Trump may not be able tohonour the invitation as he will

have pressing engagements,including his State of TheUnion address, around thetime India will celebrate itsRepublic Day.

This comes at a time whenIndo-US ties have witnessedsome strain after India wentahead and sealed a deal withRussia to procure a batch of S-400 air defence missile systems,notwithstanding US threat ofpunitive action under CAAT-SA (Countering America’sAdversaries Through SanctionsAct).

Sources said India hasshortlisted names of two-threeheads of states for extendinginvitation to be the chief guestat the parade.

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Women and Child DevelopmentMinister Maneka Gandhi on

Monday asked the Mother Teresa-found-ed Missionaries of Charity (MoC) to“come back into” the Government’s systemof adoption services.

The MoC had decided to stop puttingchildren up for adoption under theGovernment’s Central Adoption ResourceAuthority (CARA) system following anideological row with Ministry in 2015 overissues such as the organisation’s denial togive children to separated or divorced par-ents.

Maneka met a MoC delegation led bySister Mary Prema Pierick, who heads theorganisation after Mother Teresa, and

requested them “to come back into” theCARA system of adoption.

The CARA functions as the nodalbody for adoption of children and is man-dated to monitor and regulate in-countryand inter-country adoptions.

The Union minister said the moveaims to bring children living in the 79 MoChomes into family care.

“Prema agreed to my request to workjointly on each of these homes so that thechildren in the MoC homes can be on-board-ed into CARINGS expeditiously,” she tweet-ed. The Women and Child DevelopmentMinistry and the MoC have been involvedin a number of rows in the past.

In July this year, Maneka had orderedall states to get the child-care homes runby the MoC inspected, after cases of alleged

illegal adoptions carried out by the homescame to light. A shelter home run by theMoC in Ranchi has allegedly been involvedin “selling” three children and “givingaway” another one.

Taking cognisance of the cases ofalleged illegal adoptions carried out by theMoC in Jharkhand, Maneka ordered all thestates to get the child-care homes run bythe organisation inspected immediately,the ministry had said in a statement in July.

There was also a conflict in 2015 overthe MoCs not allowing adoption by sep-arated or divorced or single parents.

Maneka had then said the governmentwould have to derecognise the organisationif it continued to defy the revised guidelinesbut the Missionaries of Charity itself decid-ed to stop putting children up for adoption.

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Sugar production is likely to decline by3 per cent to 31.5 million tonnes (MT)

in the current marketing year due tountimely rains and pest attacks that affect-ed the cane crop. Diversion of cane juicefor ethanol is also a reason for decline insugar production.

Sugar production reached at an all-time high of 32.5 million tonnes in the2017-18 marketing year (October-September). The Indian Sugar MillsAssociation (ISMA) in July had projecteda production of 35 MT in the 2018-19 sea-son that started this month, taking intoaccount higher cane acreage and forecastof normal monsoon.

In its forecast issued Monday, theISMA reduced the sugar production esti-mate for the 2018-19 marketing year as thesugarcane crop in the three main growingstates of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra andKarnataka, which contribute around 80 percent to the total sugar output, have beenimpacted adversely.

“Sugar production in 2018-19 wouldbe around 32 MT. However, this figure maybe lower if we consider the expected diver-sion of sugar to ethanol...The sugar pro-duction estimates for 2018-19, after con-sidering this diversion into ethanol, will be

around 31.5 MT tonnes,” the statementsaid.

The association said that there wouldbe surplus availability of sugar in the coun-try despite estimated fall in productionbecause of huge carry-over stocks from theprevious marketing year. The total avail-ability of sugar would be 42.7 MT during2018-19 as against the annual domesticdemand of 25.5-26 MT. Even if millsexport 4-5 MT of sugar, the closing stockwould be significantly high at 11-13 MT,it added.

According to ISMA, sugar productionin UP was expected to be higher becauseof higher cane area under the high yield-ing variety Co0238. “However, severalareas in UP have had untimely rainfall inSeptember 2018 which has adverselyaffected the growth of the sugarcane atthis very important maturity period.Further, some areas have reported water-logging and in some parts of Western UP,there has been sugarcane lodging also,” itsaid.

As a result, sugarcane yields andsugar recovery would be impacted.Accordingly, ISMA has revised its sugarproduction estimates for UP from 13-13.5MT tonne made in July 2018 to 12.1 MT,which is almost similar to 12.04 MT in2017-18.

In Maharashtra, sugar production isestimated at around 9.5 MT as against10.72 MT in 2017-18. In July, ISMA hadpegged output at 11-11.5 MT. “These esti-mates were made considering a normalrainfall during July — September 2018which has a big influence on the sugarcaneyields and sugar recovery. However, dur-ing the last 2-3 months, the rainfall in mostof the sugarcane areas in Maharashtra hasbeen substantially lower than last yearsame period as well as below normal aver-age of the last three years,” it said.

Moreover, white grub has infested asignificant area in the districts ofAhmednagar, Solapur and Marathwadaand to a lesser extent in Kolhapur, Sangli,Satara and Pune. In some small areas with-in the above districts, the crop has beenso seriously infested that either farmershave uprooted them or the crop has notsurvived.

“The northern part of Karnatakabeing contiguous to sugarcane grown insouthern part of Maharashtra, have alsosuffered due to lower rainfall as well assome infestation of white grub. Theimpact is, however, lower thanMaharashtra,” ISMA said.

Sugar production in Karnataka isnow estimated at 4.2 MT from 4.48 MTprojected in July.

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Just as Delhi is gasping forbreath due to increasing air

pollution, a WHO reportreleased on Monday increasedthe concerns as it pointed outthat everyday 98 per cent ofkids globally, under the age of15 years, breathe air that istoxic, putting them to severehealth risk. Alarmingly, 14 outof the 20 most polluted cities inthe world are in India, thereport stated based on its studyin 2016.

Air pollution is fatal too asaround 600,000 children diedfrom acute lower respiratoryinfections caused by dirty airduring the study year, as per thereport titled, “Air pollutionand child health: Prescribingclean air.”

The report examines theheavy toll of both ambient(outside) and household airpollution on the health of the

world’s children, particularly inlow and middle-income coun-tries including India.

The report is beinglaunched on the eve of WHO’sfirst ever Global Conference onAir Pollution and Health at thefirst Global Conference on AirPollution and Health beingheld in Geneva from 29October — 1 November to rallythe world towards major com-mitments to fight this problem.

The conference will raiseawareness of this growing pub-lic health challenge and shareinformation and tools on thehealth risks of air pollution andits interventions.

The WHO report alsotalked about the health hazardsof toxic air on pregnantwomen. They are more likely togive birth prematurely, andhave small, low birth-weightchildren, it said.

“In low- and middle-income countries around theworld, 98% of all childrenunder 5 are exposed to PM2.5levels above WHO air qualityguidelines. In comparison, inhigh-income countries, 52%of children under 5 are exposedto levels above WHO air qual-ity guidelines,” the study says.

“Globally, 93 per cent of theworld’s children under 18 yearsof age are exposed to ambientfine particulate matter (PM2.5)levels above WHO air qualityguidelines, which include the630 million of children under5 years of age, and 1.8 billionof children under 15 years,” thereport said.

The PM2.5 (or particleswith a diameter of less than 2.5micrometres present in theair), also called “fine particu-lates”, can be a matter of moreserious health concern thanPM10 (those with a diameter ofless than 10 micrometres).

PM2.5 poses greater harmas being finer, it can easily beinhaled into the respiratorytract.

The WHO report cited acase study that investigatedwhether exposure to PM2.5during pregnancy was associ-ated with low birth weight inan integrated rural-urban,mother-child cohort in TamilNadu.

“The researchers recruit-ed 1285 women in the firsttrimester of pregnancy in pri-mary health care centres andurban health posts and fol-lowed them until the birth of

their child to collect data onmaternal health, prenatal care,exposure to air pollution dur-ing pregnancy and the birth-weight of the child,” the studysaid.

The findings indicate thatmaternal exposure to PM2.5should be considered withother risk factors for low birth-weight in India.

The report also quoted acase-control study in Indiawhich showed a correlationbetween exposure to HAP fromsolid fuel combustion and therisk of contracting TB in chil-dren less than 5 years of age.

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The CBI has shared all thefiles pertaining to allega-

tions against CBI Director AlokVerma to the CVC that is con-ducting a probe against himeven as the Delhi High Courton Monday asked the agency tomaintain status quo in thebribery case against the CBISpecial Director RakeshAsthana who has soughtquashing of the FIR.

The CVC probe againstVerma is being monitored byretired Supreme Court judgeAK Pattnaik. Earlier, Vermahad stalled CVC probe againsthimself by not sharing thesefiles with the anti-corruptionwatchdog despite repeatedreminders.Verma and Asthanawere divested of their roles inthe CBI.

Citing Verma’s non-coop-eration as “unprecedented”,the CVC had passed orders todivest Verma along withAsthana of the “functions,power, duty and supervisory

role in the cases registered bythe CBI under the Preventionof Corruption Act. The CVChas the authority of superin-tendence over the CBI in casesrelating to PC Act. Verma didnot furnish the files related toAugust 24 complaint byAsthana that is the subjectmatter of the CVC enquirydespite repeated adjourn-ments.

The Government hasappointed CBI Joint DirectorM Nageshwar Rao as the inter-im chief of the agency. CBIsources said the agency hassubmitted a number of files tothe CVC as and when demand-ed by the superintendingauthority. The Delhi HighCourt on Monday directed the

CBI to maintain status quo tillNovember 1 on the criminalproceedings initiated againstAsthana, who has challengedthe FIR lodged against him onbribery allegations.

Justice Najmi Waziri ques-tioned the CBI for not filing itsresponse to the petitions ofAsthana and the agency’sDeputy Superintendent ofPolice Devender Kumar, whohas been in CBI custody sinceOctober 23.

The high court, in lasthearing on October 23, hadasked CBI to file its response byMonday. It had ordered theagency to maintain status quoon the proceedings againstAsthana. When CBI’s SpecialProsecutor K Raghavacharyuluprayed for a “little” more timeto file its reply, the court askedas to why it has not been doneyet. The CBI prosecutor toldthe high court that the delay infiling of reply occurred as thecase files have been sent toCentral Vigilance Commission(CVC).

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday favoured cancellingthe 2017 SSC examination, whose declaration of results it hadstayed in August, and holding it afresh by the National TestingAgency (NTA) or the CBSE “in the interest of students”.

The top court observed it was difficult to ascertain the realbeneficiaries of the irregularities in the “tainted” examinationand hence it should be scrapped.

It refused to agree with the contention of Centre that theexamination held in February this year got “tainted” due to atechnical snag and a fresh examination of one paper had beenconducted thereafter.

The examination papers of the SSC CGL were allegedlyleaked, leading to huge protests from job seekers for several days.Amid the protests, the SSC had recommended a CBI probe intothe allegations of paper leak following the demands by the protest-ing job aspirants.

A bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao askedthe Centre to go through the status report and file its reply byNovember 13.

“We had stayed declaration of results for the examinationsas there were prima facie material. It is in the interest of studentsthat whole thing is scrapped and held afresh,” the bench said.

The court said that even after the CBI probe or investiga-tion by any agency, there was no mechanism by which it can bedetermined who all were tainted and who all were innocents.

“Sometimes a hard decision has to be taken to send a mes-sage to those involved that these kind of activities would not ben-efit and every thing can be washed off,” it said. PTI

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Army chief General BipinRawat said here on Monday

the army is verifying reportsthat snipers have enteredKashmir valley to target secu-rity forces. His comments camein the wake of reports that atleast three security men werekilled in sniper attacks by ISItrained Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM) militantssince mid-September forcingthe security forces to redrawtheir strategy to meet the newchallenge.

Responding to the patternof attacks, the Army chief saidthe Army was studying whetherthe attacks were carried out bysnipers. “Whether these attackshave been done by snipers ornot, this is something we arestill studying. “But to say thatsnipers have infiltrated andthat they have sniperweapons...We have not foundany sniper weapon,” he toldreporters on the sidelines of anevent here.

Rawat also said to saysnipers have come into theValley was “premature.”

Based on intelligence inputs,security agencies believe that atleast two separate ‘buddy’groups of the proscribed JeMcomprising two terrorists eachentered Kashmir Valley in earlySeptember and have entrenchedthemselves in South Kashmir’sPulwama district with the helpof some overground supportersof the outfit.

These terrorists, accordingto the officials, have beentrained by ISI for carrying outsniper attacks in the Valley andhave been armed with M-4carbines, used by the US-ledallied forces in Afghanistan.

Rawat, however, said nor-mal weapons could have beenused to target the security per-sonnel in the recent attacks asa good rifle has the range of200-300 metres. He also saidthe security forces were able totrace some snipers and “that weare fully aware that people havebeen trained in sniping

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New Delhi: As Delhi continuesto battle alarming pollution lev-els, a new study has found thatthree of the world’s largest nitro-gen dioxide emission hotspotsthat contribute to formation offiner particulate matter causingair pollution are in India, withone in the Delhi-NCR.

The study by Greenpeacecomes as Delhi’s pollution levelclimbed to alarming levels. Airquality continued to remain inthe “very poor” category as athick haze engulfed the cityMonday. NO2 is a dangerouspollutant in itself and also con-tributes to the formation ofPM2.5 and ozone, two of themost dangerous air pollutants.

The largest number ofhotspots, a total of 10, is foundin China, eight in the Arabworld, four in the EU and three

each in India, the US and theDR Congo, according to ananalysis of new satellite datafrom June 1 to August 31.

Delhi-NCR, Sonbhadra inUttar Pradesh and Singrauli inMadhya Pradesh and Talcher-Angul in Odisha are the identi-fied hotspots in India. Sonbhadraand Singrauli are considered aspart of a single hotspot.

“Air pollution is a globalhealth crisis, with up to 95 percent of the world breathingunsafe air. With hotspots acrosssix continents, ranging fromcities to industrial clusters toagricultural areas, this newanalysis shows us more clear-ly than ever before just how biga part of the picture NO2 pol-lution is,” Lauri Myllyvirta,Greenpeace Nordic air pollu-tion campaigner, said. PTI

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Tamil Nadu polit icsplunged into another cri-

sis on Monday as the SupremeCourt refused to adjourn thehearing of a petition filed bythe DMK seeking disqualifi-cation of 11 AIADMK MLAs,including O Panneerselvam,the Deputy Chief Minister, fordefying a party whip and vot-ing against the EdappadiPalaniswami-led Governmentin the trust motion onFebruary 18, 2017.

The Madras High Courthad dismissed the DMK petitionin April this year ruling that theCourt does not have the juris-diction over the powers of theSpeaker. The DMK laterapproached the apex court witha petition challenging theMadras High Court verdict.Since the court has paved theway for the hearing the appeal,the AIADMK Governmentwould be on tenterhooks as anyadverse verdict from the apexcourt means the loss of 11 MLAsfor the ruling dispensation whichis surviving only because of theproverbial ‘wafer thin majority’.

The AIADMK has 115members (including theSpeaker) in the House with atotal strength of 234. TheOpposition has 98 memberswhich include TTVDhinakaran, the lone memberof the AMMK. Chances arethat five members are all set to

cross over to the Dhinakarancamp which means theAIADMK would be left with99 members making thePalaniswami Government alame duck.

The day began with M KStalin, the DMK president,declaring at a marriage cere-mony that his party had col-lected all documentary evi-dence of ‘big-time’ corruptioncommitted by the EdappadiPalaniswamy Governmentover the last two years. “Wehave concrete proof of the cor-rupt practices of the chiefminister, his deputy and othermembers in the council ofMinisters. The day thisGovernment falls and ourGovernment takes over theadministration, all these cor-rupt ministers includingEdappadi Palaniswami,Panneerselvam and otherMinisters would end up injail,” declared Stalin.

He accused thePalaniswami Government of

running away from the elec-torate without holding eventhe local body elections. “ThisGovernment is unlikely tohold even the 20 by-pollsnecessitated by the disquali-fication of the 18 MLAs andthe demise of two MLAs,”charged Stalin.

Earlier in the day, theAIADMK leadership includ-ing Palaniswami,Panneerselvam and seniorleaders and Ministers wentinto a huddle following theSupreme Court’s refusal toadjourn the hearing of thepetition filed by the DMKseeking disqualification ofPanneerselvam and ten partyMLAs. Despite the MadrasHigh Court’s verdict uphold-ing the Speaker’s order dis-qualifying the 18 MLAs owingallegiance to VK Sasikala andDhinakaran, the Palaniswami-Panneerselvam camp extend-ed olive branch to the rebelMLAs as well as party func-tionaries with a request toreturn to the mother party.

The rebel camp is yet todecide on the future course ofaction. Though TTVDhinakaran told reporters atSivaganga on Saturday that thedisqualified MLAs would seekre-election as and when the by-polls are held, his party was yetto decide whether they shouldfile an appeal in the SupremeCourt challenging last week’sMadras High Court order.

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A‘Light & Sound Show’ onSardar Vallabbhai Patel, a

part of the Statue of Unity pro-ject, would be inaugurated byPrime Minister Narendra Modion Wednesday after he woulddedicate the world’s tallest stat-ue of Sardar Patel at Kevadiya.

The Light & Sound Showwill be shown in the exhibitionhall built at the pedestal of182-metre tall Statue of Unitybeing unveiled downstreamthe Sardar Sarovar Project(SSP) dam on River Narmadaon the occasion of the birthanniversary of the Sardar onOctober 31, 2018.

The show will depictSardar Patel’s fight against theBritish rule with reference to

partition of India, unifica-tion, the support of tribalpeople, construction of thedam and related issue.

A short video on theprocess and stages of con-structing the Statue of Unity,billed as the world’s talleststatue, will also be screened onthe wall from an audio-videokiosk for the visitors.

It took the time and toil ofpeople, besides collecting soiland iron for the statue, fromall over India.

The 73 feet high exhibi-tion hall spread on 4,637square metres will also screen16 films shot by famous direc-tors on the life and times ofSardar Patel with footagesfrom the history during amal-gamation of princely statewith Union of India duringIndependence.

The hall will also have alibrary of books on SardarPatel published over a periodof time.

An 18-foot tall bronzestatue of Sardar has also beeninstalled at the exhibition hallas centre of attraction.

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Chandrashekhar Verma,the absconding husband

of former Social WelfareMinister Manju Verma, sur-rendered in the court onMonday and was sent to judi-cial remand. After this it isstrongly believed that she toocould surrender very soon asa warrant against her is withthe police.

Verma was wanted inconnection with the infa-mous sexual harassment ofminor girls at a Government run shelter home inMuzaffarpur and had goneunderground for over threemonths when his name sur-faced in this case with his calldetailed record showed hewas in constant touch withthe main accused Brajesh Thakur.

He was also accused ofvisiting the shelter home allalone and spending good timebehind closed door.

His wife Manju Verma,who was then Social WelfareMinister in Nitish Kumarcabinet had to quit after hishusband’s name figured inthis case and many victim

girls alleged about the visit ofa “pot-bellied uncle” and sex-ual assault by him.

This reference was sup-posed to be about Vermawho came on the radar on theinvestigating agency CBI.

After the Patna high courtrejected his anticipatory bailpetitions and Supreme Courtexpressed displeasure overpolice inaction in arrestinghim, Verma had little optionleft but to surrender inManjhaul sub-divisionalcourt.

Warrant was issuedagainst the former Ministerthis month after her antici-

patory bail plea was rejectedby the high court.

The police had filed a casagainst her under Arms Actafter the recovery of 50 car-tridges of different bores,some of them banned forpublic use, from her home inher constituency CheriaBeriarpur during a searchoperation.

Manju Verma is alsoabsconding after submittingher resignation to the CM in August. A warrant was issued afterBegusarai police filed FIRagainst her in September andthe high court turned downher anticipatory bail petition.

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Assam Finance MinisterHimanta Biswa Sarma on

Monday said that the Governmentof Assam has decided to bring themaster roll and casual workersemployed by the StateGovernment under pay-scaleswhich will ensure increased finan-cial benefit to them. The Ministersaid this while addressing a pressconference at Dispur and addedthat the decision will benefit13,860 master roll and casualworkers working under 52departments of the State.

"The average wage of thesemaster role workers used to bebetween �3000 to �6.000 permonth. However after they werebrought to the pay scale system,their average monthly salary willbe �18,000 approximately," saidthe Minister. Sarma said that themove will cost the State exchequerwith an additional expenditure ofclose to �177 crore per year. Hesaid that the Government willissue the notification in this regardsoon and will be executed fromMonday itself.

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The �100-crore indigenous-ly developed high-tech,

energy-efficient, self-propelledor engineless train was flaggedoff by Railway Board ChairmanAshwani Lohani here onMonday.

Soon after Lohani waved thegreen flag, the white-colouredtrain with a dash of blue moveda few yards in the IntegralCoach Factory (ICF) amid thebeating of drums in celebration.

Officials said India's firsttrainset — Train 18 — will bea game-changer for the IndianRailways.

The train was developedat nearly half the cost that isnormally incurred for suchdevelopment.

Speaking to IANS earlier, S.Mani, General Manager, ICF,said the train with a capacity totouch speed of 160 kmph willreplace the Shatabdi Express.

"With 16 coaches, the trainwill have the same passengercarrying capacity. There arenow separate power cars. But itis about 15-20 per cent energyefficient and leaves less carbonfootprint," Mani said.

Officials said the trainsetwas conceived, designed anddeveloped in about 18 months'time as against the industry

norm of about 3-4 years.The trainset has aerody-

namically designed driver cab-ins at both ends for quickerturnaround at destinations.

According to an ICF offi-cial, every alternative coach ismotorised, to ensure even dis-tribution of motive power andfaster acceleration/ deceleration.

The train sports advancedregenerative braking systemwhich saves power.

Mani also said the fully air-conditioned train offers betterpassenger comfort and safety, asall equipment are fixed under

the carriage/ coach, so thatmore space is available on board.

In the Executive Class, theseats are rotatable to match thetrain direction.

Train 18 will have modernlook with continuous windowson the exterior and the totalseating capacity will be 1,128.

On safety front, TrainManagement System in thedriver's cab will ensure precisebrake control and automateddoors control.

The coach doors will openonly when the train toucheszero kmph and the train will

start only when all the coachdoors are properly closed.

The train will have auto-mated sliding steps uptil theplatform avoiding the risk of apassenger falling. The drivercan also monitor the move-ment of passengers on theplatform via closed circuit tele-visions (CCTVs) in his cabinbefore closing the door.

There are emergency talk-back units (through which pas-sengers can talk to crew in caseof emergency) and CCTVs areprovided in all coaches for safeand secure travel, officials hadsaid earlier. CCTV cameras onboth sides of driving cab wouldhelp the driver monitor themovement of passengers on theplatform before closing thedoors and starting off.

ICF would roll out six suchtrainsets.

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At least three personnel ofthe Border Security Force

(BSF) were injured when ter-rorists attacked their vehicle atPantha Chowk on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway onthe outskirts of Srinagar city onMonday evening.

Security sources said theterrorists fired upon theBorder Security Force (BSF)vehicle at Zewan Crossing leav-ing at least three personnelinjured. They said the injuredhave been shifted to nearbyhospital for treatment.

In another incident, thesecurity forces arrested threesuspected Over GroundWorkers (OGWs) on SrinagarBaramulla highway in the out-skirts of Srinagar city.

Sources said suspected ter-rorists travelling in a vehiclejumped over a police check-point (Naka) while opening firetowards security guard per-sonnel near Shalteng inSrinagar outskirts.

The security forces alsoretaliated and one among threesuspects on board the vehiclewas injured in the brief

shootout.Later, two suspected mili-

tants or Over Ground Workerswere intercepted in the fleeingvehicle and overpowered nearNarbal. They were taken intocustody for questioning.

The injured militant hasbeen taken to nearby JVCHospital for treatment.

Arms and ammunitionwere also recovered from thearrested trio.

Reports said the trio wastraveling from Pulwama insouth Kashmir and belonged tothe same area. However, Policehave not revealed identity ofthe arrested persons.

“A vehicle-borne terroristwas intercepted by a naka partyat Narbal leading to a brief

exchange of fire in which oneterrorist sustained injury whiletwo others were apprehended.The injured has been evacuat-ed to hospital for medicalattention. Their identity isbeing ascertained,” a policespokesman said.

“Incriminating materialincluding a huge quantity ofarms and ammunition wererecovered from the spot,” he said.

A case has been registeredand the investigation has beeninitiated, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, terroristsattacked residence of a formerlegislator in south Kashmir’sShopian district.

Reports said that unknownmen hurled a grenade towardsthe residence of a former MLAof Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Abdul Razaq Zawoora,in Zawoora Shopian.

However, the grenadeexploded outside the boundarywall of his residence and therewas no damage reported fromthe site.

Security forces have cor-doned off the area and man-hunt has been launched to nabthe assailants, reports said.

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The Reang tribals, shelteredin Tripura for over 20 years,

have demanded the setting upof polling stations in refugeecamps to cast their votes for theNovember 28 MizoramAssembly polls, a refugee leadersaid on Monday.

ver 35,000 Reang tribalrefugees, comprising 5,907families, fled from Mizoramand have been staying inTripura's Kanchanpur andPanisagar sub-divisions sinceOctober 1997 following ethnictension after a Mizo forestofficial was killed in the neigh-bouring state.

Among the refugees, onlya little over 11,000 immigrantsare eligible to vote in nextmonth's elections to constitutea new Assembly in theCongress-ruled Mizoram.

"Though the names of lit-tle over 11,000 refugees areenrolled in the electoral lists ofMizoram, but there are over5,000 more people among theimmigrants who have the eli-gibility to become voters butdue to the negligence of theMizoram administrations,their names are yet to beenrolled in the electoral lists,"refugee leader Bruno Mshatold IANS over phone fromKanchanpur.

Msha, who is the GeneralSecretary of the refugees' apexbody Mizoram Bru DisplacedPeople's Forum (MBDPF), saidthat the Election Commissionand the Mizoram ElectionDepartment were yet torespond to their demand forsetting up the polling stations.

A senior official of theMizoram election departmentsaid that the issue of setting upthe polling stations was dis-cussed when the full ElectionCommission headed by ChiefElection Commissioner OmPrakash Rawat visited the stateon October 16.

"However, the Commissionhas not yet communicated itsdecision to us in this regard,"the official said.

Meanwhile, leaders of var-ious political parties includingthe Congress and the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) are visitingthe seven refugee camps as partof their election campaign.

The BJP-led alliance gov-ernment on October 22resumed the supply of food andrelief material to the refugeesafter the relief was stoppedfrom October 1.

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The verbal duel betweenShiv Sena and NCP,

sparked by Sena presidentUddhav Thackeray's Ram tem-ple construction pitch, hasintensified with a close relativeof NCP chief Sharad Pawarassailing the Sena leader.

Rohit Pawar, son of SharadPawar's nephew Rajendra, hitback at Thackeray over hiscriticism of formerMaharashtra Deputy ChiefMinister Ajit Pawar over the

temple issue.Addressing a rally in Jalna

last week, Ajit Pawar, nephewof the NCP chief, said UddhavThackeray had failed to con-struct a memorial in the nameof his father, Bal Thackeray, butwas "harping" on constructionof Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Sena had hit back,with an editorial in partymouthpiece Saamana callingAjit Pawar a "gutter insect" ofPune politics who lives off hisuncle Sharad Pawars fortune ashe was left with no importance

in Maharashtra politics.In a counter attack, Rohit,

in a Facebook post Sunday,said, "During his last day,Balasaheb had appealed peopleto look after Uddhav. Yesterday,we learnt what he meant whenhe made the appeal. His wordsmeant his son was gullible andtherefore should be taken careof," Rohit said.

The late Sena founder wasa clever and big leader who hadcommand over language andwould attack political oppo-nents through the weekly mag-azine Marmik and Saamanabut those who engage in poli-tics using Bal Thackeray's namehave insulted his pen bylaunching tirade against AjitPawar, Rohit said.

"Uddhav Thackeray nei-ther got elected through pub-lic, nor has he toiled to seeMaharashtra by stepping out ofMatoshree (the Thackeray fam-ily residence in Mumbai).While Maharashtra is on fire,this man is hoodwinking peo-ple by sharing power (withBJP)," Rohit said.

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Chief Minister YogiAdityanath said that saf-

fron was the colour of Sikhismand it was adopted byBharatiya Janata Party as Sikhsare an integral part ofHinduism and the BJP prop-agates this philosophy withoutany hesitation.

“It is only the BJP which hasadopted Sikh’s saffron colour.Those organisations which haveused Muslims as vote bankdesist from using saffron in theircolours. This is really a bigmockery of the political system,”Yogi said while addressing aSikh Sammelan in Lucknow onMonday to commemorate the550th birth anniversary of GuruNanak Dev.

The Chief Minister saidthat there was no differencebetween Hindu and Sikh fam-ilies. “But attempts are beingmade to divide them byspreading canards. Peoplewho are doing this do notknow the history of Khalsa.They were born to protect

Hindus. Sikhs and Hindushave always lived in harmonyand will continue to do so infuture also,” he said.

Yogi declared that out ofthe eight medical colleges com-ing up in Uttar Pradesh, onewill be named after GuruNanak Dev.

“Some institutions will also

be named after Guru GobindSingh and Guru Teg Bahadur,”he added.

Deputy Chief MinisterKeshav Prasad Maurya saidthat Sikhs had played a stellarrole in making Narendra Modithe Prime Minister of India.

“They (Sikhs) played thesame role in Uttar Pradesh by

ensuring a resounding victoryof the BJP, paving the way formaking Yogiji the ChiefMinister of the State,” he said.

Deputy Chief MinisterDinesh Sharma said that theparty which was instrumentalin killing Sikhs in the 1984 riotshad no right to seek vote andsupport of the community.

“Opposition parties likeCongress, Samajwadi Partyand Bahujan Samaj Party arein the ICU and their revival isnext to impossible,” he commented.

President of LucknowGurudwara PrabandhakCommittee, Rajendra SinghBagga, demanded that BaldevSingh Aulakh be made a CabinetMinister in the YogiGovernment.

Aulakh is junior ministerin the Minority Welfare depart-ment. In his address, Aulakhsaid that the Yogi governmentwas working for the welfare ofthe people. He strongly advo-cated the construction of Ramtemple at Ram Janmabhoomicomplex at Ayodhya.

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Lucknow: Chief Minister YogiAdityanath will preside overRail Investors’ Summit inLucknow on Tuesday.

The summit is a follow-upof the announcement for set-ting up a rail ancillary park inUttar Pradesh.

The announcement wasmade by Railway MinisterPiyush Goyal during the UPInvestors’ Summit held inLucknow in February this year.

Chief Secretary AnupChandra Pandey said here onMonday that the rail park wasbeing developed on 254 acreland in Fatehpur district.

“The rail park will augmentproduction capacity of existingModern Coach Factory at RaeBareli. The rail park will bedeveloped by ABA InfratechPvt. Ltd., Lucknow,” he said.

PNS

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Sabarimala: Rights, ecology, righteousnesswww.dailypioneer.com

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Concerted attempts by mischievousnon-believers to defile theSabarimala precincts and under-mine its hallowed traditions high-light the urgent necessity to recov-

er Hindu temples from Government controland uphold dharma as understood and prac-tised by believers. With each passing day, it isbecoming obvious that the majority decisionof the Supreme Court, while it has to be respect-ed, does not do justice to the faithful. Justicecan be done only by recognising the AyyappaSwami panth as a religious denomination, orSection thereof, under Article 26 of theConstitution. The shrine can then manage itsaffairs in peace.

The State-run Travancore DevaswomBoard has denied the Mala Araya tribe its tra-ditional rights at Sabarimala, which werealways respected by the Pandalam royals andThazhamon Thantri family. These include the

right to light the Makaravilakku (perform artiat a temple in Ponnambalamedu, not open tothe public); bathe the deity with forest honey(abhishekam); and enjoy puja rights at sub-shrines, like the Karimala temple along the way.

Sabarimala’s major customs, including 41-day vrat and restriction (not ban) on womenin a specific age group, derive from tribal cul-ture and traditions. The AkhilaThiruvithamkoor Mala Araya Mahasabhaplans to approach the apex court to protect itsage-old customs under the Forest Rights Act.The community, which claims to have estab-lished the shrine before it came under the con-trol of the Pandalam royal family, also plans tofile a review petition against the verdict allow-ing women of all ages to enter the hill shrineafter the State Government refused to do so.

The Communist regime’s eagerness tofacilitate entry of women from the hithertobarred age group, even as review petitions arepending before the Supreme Court, was intend-ed to humiliate the faithful. As genuine devo-tees gathered for the pilgrimage when the shrineopened on October 17, they encounteredunseemly attempts by ineligible persons to gate-crash the temple. Mercifully, the temple closedwithout violation five days later.

In a major provocation on October 19, ateam lead by a tearful inspector-general SSreejith escorted Rehana Fatima (of Kiss of Lovecampaign fame), and Kavitha Jakkal, a reporter

from Mojo TV, Hyderabad, to the shrine gates.They were forced to return after being recog-nised by devotees, despite wearing bulletproofjackets and helmets given by the police (a pos-sible violation of the Police Act). Later, MarySweety also returned midway after being chal-lenged by vigilant bhaktas.

Realising that the State Government mayhave bitten off more than it can chew,Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendranurged activists not to make the holy precinctsa place to prove their strength and lambastedthe police for escorting the women without ver-ifying their credentials. Sabarimala is a huge rev-enue earner and the State could lose crores ifTantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, backed byPandalam palace, closes the sanctum forpurification if the temple is defiled. Just fivedecades ago, barely 5,000 pilgrims managed thearduous 61-km trek to the temple; now fourcrore come in the winter season alone as newroads have shortened the route.

An ideal solution would be to close theshrine for a decade and allow passions to cooldown. Simultaneously, the degraded ecology ofthe Western Ghats could recover, especially afterthe recent floods, the worst Kerala has faced indecades. The 777 sq km Periyar Tiger Reserve,where the shrine is located, hosts 20 tigers, ele-phants, and other wildlife. Even after the floodsreceded, there were torrential rains inSabarimala, and no one has taken stock of howthe wildlife fared.

The National Tiger Conservation Authorityis concerned that the rising numbers of devo-tees disturb the area’s fragile ecology. Virtuallynothing has been done to implement theSabarimala Master Plan of 2007. A review bythe Kerala Government and Devaswom Board

on October 9, 2018, found evidence of defor-estation and major deviations from the plan.At Nilakkal base camp, trees were cut to makeparking areas, while driver shelters, dormito-ries and hotels have been built, disregardingmaster plan specifications.

At the next stop along the sacred Pamba, sev-eral buildings have been constructed within 50-metre radius of the river, including a Governmenthospital. The green zone in front of the hospitalhas become a parking lot. The bio-toilets are inad-equate; sewage treatment plant dysfunctional, anduntreated faecal waste is being dumped into theriver. The tree cover at Sannidhanam is less than20 per cent, as opposed to 50 per cent recom-mended in the master plan.

A study by two expert teams has warnedof landslips and tremors at the holy hillock dueto extensive concrete f looring at theSannidhanam, but the Devaswom Board is con-tinuing construction works at Pamba andSabarimala. While ordinary devotees merelydesire clean and hygienic lodgings, a holy dipin a clean river, the Government and Boardinvariably start preparations at the eleventhhour and fail to serve the pilgrims.

Shops are auctioned at high rates at Pamba,Sannidhanam and along the route, and pilgrimsare fleeced by traders even though many vol-untary and religious bodies are willing to pro-vide free food and beverages to devotees.Experts say pilgrims do not need multi-storey

complexes, they need temporary shelters withproper sanitation and drinking water, which donot disturb the ecology of the sacred grove. TheState Government is responsible for preserv-ing wildlife and protecting rivers from environ-mental degradation under Article 48A of theConstitution. Under the Water Act 1974(Section 24, 25), polluting river water is a pun-ishable offence. But Pamba is being contami-nated under the aegis of Government agencies,with impunity.

In 2005, thanks to the intervention ofinfluential persons such as TKA Nair, principalsecretary to the Prime Minister, the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests transferred 12.65hectares of reserve land for Sabarimala’s �1,000-crore development plan, which was approved bythe Supreme Court. Environmentalists lamentthat the Devaswom Board has made Sabarimalaa concrete jungle and commercial township. Lessthan 12 per cent of shrine land is used for pub-lic purposes; the rest comprises hotels, shops andguesthouses. The shrine stands in the low alti-tude evergreen stretch which is the WesternGhats’ biodiversity hotspot. Yet over 20 per centof forest cover has disappeared in the past twodecades. The Supreme Court should scrutinisethis ecological desecration rather than AyyappaSwami’s rites of pilgrimage.

(The writer is Senior Fellow, NehruMemorial Museum and Library; the viewsexpressed are personal)

�� Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Strongman’s return” (October 29).What has hit the neighbouring coun-try, Sri Lanka, is almost the politicalversion of an earthquake. The suddenpolitical development ends an overthree-year-old coalition Governmentthat was formed by Sri LankanPresident Maithripala Sirisena and for-mer Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe on a promise tocombat corruption and financial irreg-ularities.

Sirisena, who was Rajapaksa’s

Minister of Health, broke away fromhim to contest the presidential elec-tions. Now Sirisena has made a dra-matic volte-face. He has proved thatthere are neither permanent friendsnor permanent enemies in politics.

Although there were speculationbut nobody thought that Sirisena andRajapaksa would close ranks so soon. The wheel has now turned a full cir-cle and a President, who unconstitu-tionally said that he would not makeMahinda Rajapaksa the PrimeMinister even if he had the numbersin August 2015, has now made himPrime Minister with no hard indica-

tion of whether the numbers haveturned against Ranil Wickremesingheor not.

But that is the game of politics.India can only hope that order willemerge out of chaos and the countrywill not be plunged into anarchy.

J Akshay Bengaluru

��Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Strongman’s return” (October 29).The developments in the island nationappear to be unconstitutional and havestruck a blow on democracy. The

return of Mahinda Rajapaksa casts ashadow on Sri Lankan politics. Thedevolution of powers to the Tamilsshould not be forgotten in the process.Rajapaksa is known to lean towardsChina. India should be extra vigilant.

NR Ramachandran Chennai

�� Sir — In his Mann Ki Baat programmePrime Minister Narendra Modi spokeabout Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary(October 31), which is observed as theNational Unity Day.

Patriotic spirit and national inte-

gration are the need of hour for astrong and united India, which willpromote unity and harmony despitecultural, social and economic diversi-ties and provide peace, progress andprosperity in the country.

So, let us salute this great vision-ary’s efforts to unite India and be unit-ed in spirit and celebrate our diversi-ty. We must remember that India’sunique identity is unity in diversity.

TS KarthikChennai

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Modi is like a scorpion sitting on a Shivling.You can’t remove him with your hand and

you can’t hit it with a chappal either.—Congress MPSHASHI THAROOR

The Congress has been bad-mouthing LordShiva, and Rahul Gandhi should removeShashi Tharoor from party ranks soon.

—BJP spokespersonSAMBIT PATRA

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The big cats — lion, tigerand leopard — are suscep-tible to diseases as theylargely prey upon domes-tic animals, including dogs

and pigs, which are a carrier ofpathogens. Domestic livestock consti-tute over 40 per cent of the food forlions and about 60 per cent for theleopards. Dependency of the tiger ondomestic livestock is also high butlesser than the other two big cats.Dogs are the main source of rabiesdeaths, contributing to about 99 percent of all rabies transmissions tohumans. Cases of leopard deaths dueto rabies were reported during theBritish period. In absence of adequatereport, it is difficult to assess deathsof tigers, lions and leopards due torabies but higher possibilities exist.

The carcass of every rabies infect-ed dog or livestock is eaten by the car-nivores, primarily big and small cats,hyena, jackal, wolf, foxes, and honeybadger. A few deaths of lions andtigers too were suspected due to rabiesattack in the past. Vaccinating dogs isthe most cost-effective strategy to pre-vent rabies in humans and carnivores.

The first fatal attack of CanineDistemper Virus (CDV) and BabesiaProtozoa was confirmed in the Girlions when 23 out of the 26 knowninfected lions died in a short periodin September this year. Tigers andleopards are solitary animals and theirsocial life is different from the lions.Except females with cubs, none ofthese two big cats live in groups. Thus,the death of each one of them due tosuch disease is usually not detected,and are reported as natural deaths. Inthe case of death of a nomad lion ora small group of lions, by virus or pro-tozoans, incidence would have beenignored even with thorough high-level investigation of the disease. Butit cannot be ignored when the num-ber of deaths exceed half a dozen ina short period of just two weeks. Thepresence of virus or protozoansamong the big cat is not rare but hasnever been reported because the sci-ence of virology has not been integrat-ed with wildlife management.

In a majority of places, they donot die due to their immunity system.When immunity is lowered againstthe attack of any virus, the attack ofCDV and Babesia turns fatal to the

animal. Perhaps this was the case forlarge-scale deaths of Gir lions.

Two scientific institutes for thefirst time reported in 2011 about thelion death in Gir due to highly infec-tious Pestedes petits ruminants virus(PPRV). Active viral surveillance inneighbouring Gir villages for PPRV,similar to CDV, was also recommend-ed by an institute. Subsequently, itappeared in newspapers that thefour Gir lions sent to Etawah, UttarPradesh, died of CDV during 2014-16. This called for vaccination of dogsand other such animals against CDV.However, action could not be put inplace due to some reasons.

Asiatic lions face serious threatsto their future as about half of themlive outside the core habitat of the Girforests and hunt domestic livestocks,along with livestock and blue bull.Lions in the peripheral zone also huntdomestic livestock in the villages ormaldhari nesses. A large number ofleopards hunt dogs along with otherpreys and sometimes their kills areappropriated by the lions. Probabilityof transmission of virus, bacteria andother such disease is very high in theAsiatic lions. Epidemic disease risksfor lions in fragmented small popu-lations become significantly higher ascontact with domestic animal popu-lations, including dogs, become morefrequent as a result of alterations inmicroclimate and landscape ecology.

The tools to predict, prevent, andrespond to these risks are not wellestablished in conservation manage-ment. But deaths of Gir lions due tothe fatal disease is expected to opena new chapter in wildlife manage-ment. Crucially, rescue operationand wildlife health management arethe best in lion conservation land-scape in our country but not enoughto address the challenges effectively.

In Serengeti, the lions are proneto simultaneous outbreaks of CDVand Babesia Protozoa. Canine distem-per is a virus that affects dog’s gas-trointestinal, respiratory and centralnervous systems as well as the con-junctival membranes of the eyes.CDV, a disease that results inencephalitis and pneumonia, is trans-mitted by domestic dogs; Babesiosisis carried by a tick-borne blood par-asite called Babesia. Symptoms of theCDV attack include fever, eye infla-tion, discharge from eyes and nose.CDV or Babesiosis alone aren’t thethreats to lions in Serengeti. It is acombination of CDV with a high-levelof exposure to Babesia that killed thelions in Africa in 1994 and 2001.

Co-infection by more than one

pathogen can accelerate expectedtransmission rates and virulence of adisease. Environmental perturba-tions can also change the host para-site’s relationship. In a majority of thecases, lion populations are infectedwith at least one, and most with mul-tiple pathogens, often with multiplestrains of pathogens.

Scientists suspected that the dis-ease — identified from blood and tis-sue samples as CDV — came fromdomestic dogs in the villages aroundthe Serengeti perimeter. Blood sam-ples from the dogs showed the pres-ence of CDV. In the villages wherelions hunt livestock, domestic dogs arevery common. Canine distemperspreads mostly via sneezing. It waslikely that the virus travelled direct-ly to the Gir lions from the domesticdogs or it was more plausible that thelions caught the virus from other car-nivores — hyenas, jackals, or leopards.

Hyenas and jackals are scav-engers that frequent villages, and leop-ards hunt domestic dogs or eat car-casses. Lions would come into con-tact with these infected species at kills.In and around Gir forests, over 625leopards hunt domestic animals, pri-marily dogs. The possibility of appro-priating these kills by the lion is notruled out. A mad leopard, infected byrabies, can challenge lion and what alion can do to such leopard is wellknown. Lions are scavengers and theyfeed on dead animals. These animals,including naturally dead dogs, can be

a source of transmission to the lion.Although two dozen lions died of

fatal diseases, similar incidences maybe occurring in other carnivores too.Why is it that the wild dog popula-tion suddenly dropped in protectedareas in central and south India, andthen recovered in two-three yearsbefore the next drop? Why is it thatthe number of jackals is registering adownfall? Perhaps, a solution to theirproblem lies in scientific wildlifehealth management. Also, the fatalattack of CDV and deaths of lions ina large number can be a lesson to usethe science of wildlife diseases inwildlife management.

Alternative home for AsiaticLions: The Species SurvivalCommission of the InternationalUnion for Conservation of Naturepublished guidelines on strategicplanning for species conservation,which have single population in onegeographic region. The Asiatic lion isone of them which has the only wildpopulation in the world in the Girforests. A group of leading conserva-tionists declared that an extinction cri-sis is facing the world’s largest carni-vores, including the big cats. The supercats — lions and tigers — need verylarge area as they need huge tracts ofnatural habitat to survive. Due to theirlarge size and threats, they are lessresilient than many smaller speciesand less able to handle the threat.

Big carnivore population, restrict-ed to a single site, face a variety of

extinction threats from poaching,intentional killing and environmen-tal factors. Catastrophes, such as anepidemic or fatal disease, remain themain factors for loss of species.Reintroduction of the last free-rang-ing population of Asiatic lions to analternative site to ensure their long-term viability became a major conser-vation agenda. Considering this, thefirst trial to introduce Asiatic lion inChandra Prabha Sanctuary inVaranasi was done in 1959 by translo-cating few lions but the experimentfailed after initial success.

Subsequently, the Gujarat StateGovernment ordered the BardaWildlife Sanctuary in 1979 to estab-lish an alternative for the Asiatic lion,but the decision remains on paper dueto lack of a bold decision by theauthority. Subsequently, after a longexercise, Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary(Kuno WLS) in Madhya Pradesh hasbeen identified as an alternative site.After a long legal battle in theSupreme Court, decision went infavour of Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, buteven five years after the decision, it hasnot been implementated.

The climate of the alternative siteis a major issue which needs exami-nation before the translocation of theanimals there. The lion evolved andflourished in temperate and sub-trop-ical environment, and the climatechanges, especially temperature vari-ations, impacted its migration, disper-sion and distribution in Europe, Asia

and Africa since it evolution. Review of climatic parameters of

past and present lion areas across thethree continents indicate that the lionperhaps never flourished in hot trop-ical environment, and lion habitatsmay have a high risk of extreme tem-perature in the hot summer. At pre-sent, major populations continue tosurvive in sub-tropical environmentin over two dozen countries, and insmall populations in temperate andmoderate tropical climate in Africa.

In India, temperature of theAsiatic lion distribution range intropical climate is around the Gir for-est. The shelter of evergreen riverinevegetation along the seven perenni-al or semi-perennial rivers andProsopis cover along Shatrunji riveror along the coast provide cool envi-ronment for the lions. Alternative sitefor lion in very hot environment of theKuno WS in the Vindhyayan regionis debatable. The logic of the survivalof the lion in the north-west India 150ago in Mini Ice Age (1300 AD to 1850AD) does not hold ground.

Disappearance of the lion outsideGujarat coincide with the end of theMini-Ice Age when average temper-ature in north India was lower thanthe present temperature. In fact, cli-mate then in the north India was nearsubtropical. The distribution of theAsiatic lion since its entry in India tothe present need examination withrespect to the climate.

In background of these facts,the Government has few optionswhich should be undertaken tominimise threat factors which cancause the extinction of the sub-species. First, the science of genet-ics, forensic and virology should beused intensively for long-term con-servation of the lion. Second, satel-lite areas should be managed in lineof Gir protected area by enhancingadministrative staff and restoringhabitats. Third, an alternative sitefor the lions should be developedwithout delay. Barda Sanctuary isone of the good option. Success inthis case is high because similartype of administration, with allfacilities and know-how, can betransplanted there. If it is not doneshortly or not possible due to somereason, the Government should nothesitate to develop an alternativesite far away from the Gir forest.

(This is the second article in atwo-part series on Asiatic Lions. Thefirst part appeared in these columnson Monday, October 29. The writeris Member, National Board forWildlife)

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An artiste lives through his creationsand those who are exceptional, getimmortalised. SD Burman, dada, as

he is refered to, belonged to the latter cat-egory. It is now more than four decades thatwe lost him but his music of the fifties andsixties still appears to have a flavour of effer-vescent youthful bounce. It was the geniusin him that despite the obvious generationalgap, his musical scores have retained an ele-ment of contemporary freshness.

Comparatively a late comer toMumbai, as he was already in his late thir-ties, his knowledge of Bangla folk andRabindra Sangeet, coupled with his flex-ibility and innovativeness, helped himestablish himself. Very soon, he was beingcounted in the front ranks alongsideNaushad, Ghulam Mohammad andKhemchand Prakash. Not averse to takingrisks, dada as he was affectionately called,was looking for a new voice and found one,by chance, in his neighbourhood.

Geeta Ghosh Roy Chaudhary (laterGeeta Dutt), whom he had seen in a cho-rus song, was given a break in 1947 whereshe sang for Kamini Kaushal on screen forDo Bhai. The song mera sundar sapna beetgaya was an instant rage and from then onthere was no looking back. Later, dada wasto make ample use of the husky voice ofGeeta Roy to give many more memorablemelodies .

Always yearning for something newand experimental, dada was looking for alyricist for Naujawan in 1950, when hefound Sahir who was yet to establish him-self in Mumbai. Serendipitiously , after herdebut in Mahal in 1949 and later onBarsat, Lata Mangeshkar was taken onboard for Naujawan.

This combination of three geniuses —dada, Sahir and Lata — produced animmortal composition thandi hawayein.The music of this song is such that it lendsto the lyrics an atmosphere of breeziness.Till date, it remains one of the best andfavourites of Lata. In fact, later, several

composers took up and adopted theshades of this very popular tune in theirown compositions .

The successful association of Sahirwith dada, which began with Naujawan,continued for 17 more films, giving onehit after another, like Jaal, Baazi, Devdas,Taxi Driver, Munimji, House No 44, Pyasa,among others. But with two temperamen-tal and sensitive artistes, who consideredthemselves the masters of their craft, com-ing together, some sparks were bound tofly. For Baazi, tadbeer se bigdi hui waswritten by Sahir in a mujra — ghazal style— but dada had other ideas. He composedthis into a very peppy tune with Western-style beats. Sahir protested and wanted toquit but a compromise was brokered byGuru Dutt. Ultimately, Sahir relentedand acknowledged the genius of dadawhen this song became a hit and virtual-ly took Baazi to glorious heights.

Sahir was very passionate about hispoetry and for Pyasa in 1957, he wanteddada to compose music to his lyrics.Besides this, he wanted to be paid morethan the music Director, though usually,it is the other way around. Even thoughinitially adamant, dada relented to Sahir’s

terms but thereafter, never worked withhim again. This led to a crisis and GuruDutt for Kagaz ke phool had to give a breakto Kaifi Azmi while retaining dada.

Scion of a princely state, dada wasalways very choosy, temperamental anduncompromising. This often led to tiffswith other artistes, including Lata. Aminor misunderstanding over a re-record-ing led to their parting of ways for six yearstill she came back with him in 1963 to singfor Bandini, which was also the debut vehi-cle for Gulzar as a lyricist.

Even Kishore Kumar considered hissuccess largely to the mentoring andpatronage of dada who projected him asthe voice of Dev Anand in the fifties whenKishore was absolutely raw.

His deep understanding of the musi-cal notes gave him the flexibility to adoptWestern-style as early 1954 in Taxi Driver,where he made good use instruments, likethe trumpet and the bongos.

On the other hand, his use of the tablaplayed by Pandit Santa Prasad in nache manmora magan from meri soorat teri ankhen,is one of the best expositions of Indian clas-sical music in Bollywood. Dada’s sonorousvoice with a high intone was perhaps ide-ally suited only for a background scorewhere he made full use of Rabindra sangertand gave us some classic compositions. Hispower was such that when one listened tohis compositions with eyes closed onewould actually be living the moment withthem. Who can forget not being on a riverbank steering a boat while listening to meresajan hain us paar, mein is paar….

Recognising his immense contributionto the field of music and cinema, he wasconferred with the Padma Shri and lateron a postage stamp and a first day coverwas also brought out in his honour. Sadly,like many other dada too became a victimof Bollywood politics and got only twoFilmfare awards — first in 1954 for TaxiDriver and then in 1973 for Abhimaan. Hiscompositions of Guide, Aradhana andJewel Thief, besides numerous others,were all overlooked. Perhaps a true geniuslike him never needed any awards. Forhim, the most important thing was theadulation and affection of the publicwhich he got in ample measure.

(The writer is a retired Delhi PoliceCommissioner and former UttarakhandGovernor)

Remembering SD Burman

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A home for the big catThe outbreak of diseases such as Canine Distemper Virus and Babesia Protozoa may not kill a majority of

Gir’s lions but the threat they pose looms large. Big cats need scientific wildlife health management

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The Lion Air crash in Indonesia has once againdemonstrated the poor safety record of Indonesianairlines. Dogged by safety and security issues, theairline had been banned from flying into Europeanairspace till 2016. Being a vast archipelago, Indonesiais heavily reliant on air travel but such incidents aresymptomatic of the state of air safety there.

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Market benchmark Sensex on Monday rallied by718 points to end above the 34,000-level buoyed

by heavy buying mainly in financials like ICICI Bankand SBI coupled with revived optimism relating toRBI's move to ease liquidity crunch.

The broader 50-share Nifty too rose over 220points to close above 10,250. Among the Sensex con-stituents, ICICI Bank was the biggest gainer with 11per cent jump, followed by State Bank of India, whichrose 8.04 per cent. The index heavyweight ICICI Bankcontributed over 200 points to the Sensex gains. Thecountry's top private sector lender ICICI Bankswung into profit in the second quarter of this ongo-ing fiscal. The bank had reported a net loss of �119.55crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

On year-on-year basis, ICICI Bank, however,reported a 42 per cent drop in its consolidated netprofit to �1,204.62 crore in the September 2018 quar-ter. Other top Sensex gainers were Adani Ports, L&T,Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and TCS,rising up to 7.33 per cent.

Market sentiments were further revived by theReserve Bank's decision to pump in �40,000 crore intothe system in November through purchase of gov-ernment securities, with an aim to tackle liquiditycrunch. "Markets bounced out of extremely poor sen-timent and oversold conditions. A good sign shortterm as we may have started a short-covering rally in

equities," said Rohit Srivastava, Fund Manager - PMS,Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

"The rise was broad-based which is a good signand weak sectors like PSU banks were strong per-formers. Given the double bottom in the bank nifty,it appears the trend may continue in the near term,"he added. Snapping its two-day losing streak, the 30-share index ended 718.09 points, or 2.15 per cent,higher at 34,067.40. It had opened 173.33 points, or0.52 per cent, higher at 33,522.64.

The NSE Nifty too surged 220.85 points, or 2.20per cent, to reclaim the 10,250 mark. It had opened44.25 points, or 0.44 per cent, higher at 10,074.25.

Bucking the uptrend in a majority of Sensex con-stituents, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bankand Bharti Airtel fell up to 2.26 per cent.

Meanwhile, the rupee was trading flat at 73.43against the US currency.

According to Friday's provisional data, foreignfunds sold shares worth a net of �1,356.66, whiledomestic institutional investors bought shares to thetune of �1,875.89 crore.

Dr Reddy's too surged 5.29 per cent to �2,531.65on the NSE after the company reported a 77 per centjump in profit-after-tax for the quarter endedSeptember 30 at �504 crore against �387.6 crore inthe second quarter of FY18.

Oil prices fell on Monday. Brent crude oil futureswere down 31 cents at USD 77.31 a barrel, while WTIFutures fell by 28 cents to USD 67.31.

Meanwhile, concern over China's slowing econ-omy kept Asian stocks subdued. Shanghai Compositeended 2.2 per cent lower, while Hang Seng Index rose0.4 per cent. Japan's Nikkei closed 0.2 per cent down.

European shares climbed on strong earnings DAXwas up 0.7 per cent while STOXX50E rose 0.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, investor wealth soared over Rs 3 lakhcrore Monday driven by a rally in the broader mar-ket where the BSE benchmark index zoomed 718points.

Sharp gain in stocks, send the market capitalisa-tion of the BSE-listed companies higher by Rs3,11,665.6 crore to Rs 1,36,43,642.98 crore.

Snapping its two-day losing streak, the 30-shareBSE index ended 718.09 points, or 2.15 per cent, high-er at 34,067.40. "The equity markets remained buoy-ant throughout the trading session with impressivebuying across sectors including PSU banks, power andtech. The market assumed an upward push with manyof the factors of the past two weeks probably brushedaside for the time being," said Joseph Thomas, HeadResearch, Emkay Wealth Management.

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The rupee ended almost flat at 73.45 againstthe US dollar Monday after its initial gains

were erased by a late dollar demand fromimporters despite strong equity markets and theRBI's move to ease liquidity crunch.

Despite the initial bounce, the home unitappeared to struggle, as the dollar remainedbroadly firm.

Foreign investors also pulled out �2,230.79crore from capital markets Monday amid thedollar hovering near 10-week high and hitting96.66 against the basket of six global currencies.

The rupee opened higher at 73.33 amidsharp gains in local stock markets.

The local currency, however, gave up initialgains due to capital outflows and a firming dol-lar to hit a session low of 73.53.

The rupee made a comeback in the closinghour to settle at 73.45, showing gains of just 2paise over the previous close.

Brent crude oil futures were down 31 centsat USD 77.31 a barrel, while WTI Futures fellby 28 cents to USD 67.31.

Meanwhile, market benchmark Sensex ral-lied over 718 points to end above the 34,000-level, while the broader 50-share Nifty rose over220 points to close above 10,250.

At the same time, the Reserve Bank's deci-

sion to pump in �40,000 crore into the systemin November through purchase of governmentsecurities, with an aim to tackle liquiditycrunch, failed to bring cheer to the forex mar-ket, but arrested any significant fall in the rupee.

In an another development, India andJapan Monday concluded a USD 75 billion bilat-eral currency swap agreement, a move that willhelp in bringing greater stability in foreignexchange and capital markets in the country.

"India and Japan has signed currency swapagreement worth $75 billion – a step will go longway in soothing frayed nerves of Rupee bulls,"said V K Sharma, Head PCG & Capital MarketsGroup, HDFC Securities.

The Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd(FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dol-lar at 73.4181 and for rupee/euro at 83.6942. Thereference rate for rupee/British pound was fixedat 94.2644 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at65.62.

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New Delhi: Tata Sons, the promoter ofmajor operating Tata group companies,has severed ties with celebrity consultantSuhel Seth, following allegations of sex-ual misconduct by several women,according to a company official.

Ever since several women, includingmodel Diandra Soares, filmmakerNatasha Rathore and writer Ira Trivedi,accused Seth of sexual misconduct,

Tata Sons stopped dealing withCounselage, a brand consultancy firmowned by Seth. When asked to confirmif Tata Sons has severed ties with Sethafter allegations of sexual misconduct in#MeToo campaign in India, a companyofficial said "Yes". "Post the allegations,Tata Sons has not engaged withCounselage," a source said. When con-tacted, a Tata sons spokesperson said,"Counselage's contract with Tata Sonswill end on November 30, 2018."

Although the company did not elab-orate on the future of its contract withCounselage, the source, however, saidconsidering the backdrop it would not berenewed. Comments could not be imme-diately obtained from Seth, who isamong the leading brand consultants inthe country.

He played a key role in rebuilding theTata brand after crisis hit one of the mosttrusted corporate brands in India in thewake of abrupt sacking of then Tata Sonschairman Cyrus Mistry in 2016. PTI

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India and Japan on Monday con-cluded one of the largest bilateral cur-

rency swap agreements at USD 75 bil-lion that will help in bringing greaterstability in foreign exchange and cap-ital markets in the country.

The agreement will furtherstrengthen and widen the depth anddiversity of economic cooperationbetween the two nations.

"With a view to enhancing finan-cial and economic cooperation, gov-ernments of Japan and India wel-comed the agreement to conclude aBilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) ofUSD 75 billion," said India-JapanVision Statement.

The statement was released afterIndia-Japan Annual Summit betweenPrime Minister Narendra Modi and hisJapanese counterpart Shinzo Abe inTokyo.

Commenting on the development,Economic Affairs Secretary S C Gargsaid in a tweet: "Bilateral swap arrange-ment with Japan for USD 75 billion isone of the largest swap arrangementsin the world.

"Accepting Japanese request, Indiaagreed to do away with requirement of

mandatory hedging for infrastructureECBs of 5 years or more minimumaverage maturity".

The finance ministry said the cur-rency swap agreement should "aid inbringing greater stability to foreignexchange and capital markets inIndia...This facility will enable theagreed amount of foreign capital beingavailable to India for use as and whenneed arises".

The facility will also help in bring-ing down the cost of capital for Indianentities while accessing foreign capitalmarket, it added.

Recognising the unparalleledpotential for development of relationsbetween the two countries, Modi andAbe reviewed the significant mile-stones achieved over the last four yearsand outlined a shared vision for thefuture of India-Japan relations.

The two leaders remain committedto synergising India's demographicdividend and Japan's capital and tech-nology to realise the true potential ofthe India-Japan economic partnershipfor a prosperous future.

"In this regard, India welcomedJapan's strong support for key trans-formational initiatives such as Make inIndia, Skill India and Clean India

Mission, through sharing of resourcesand advanced technologies, and activemobilisation of Japanese public and pri-vate sector investments," said the visiondocument.

The two leaders "reviewed with sat-isfaction" the progress made, includingthe signing of the Exchange of Notes foryen loan, on the Mumbai-Ahmedabadhigh speed rail project, which is animportant symbol of India-Japan col-laboration.

They also welcomed the continuedcooperation on metro projects whichsupport smarter development of Indiancities.

"India further appreciated Japan'srole in promoting connectivity throughquality infrastructure projects such asthe Western Dedicated FreightCorridor and the Delhi-MumbaiIndustrial Corridor," said the visiondocument.

Modi and Abe welcomed theexpansion of Japan's FDI in Indiaunder the "India-Japan InvestmentPromotion Partnership”, the progressmade in Japan Industrial Townships(JIT) and other initiatives included inthe Japan-India Roadmap forInvestment Promotion. Both leaderswelcomed the launching of a compre-

hensive India-Japan DigitalPartnership with a vision todevelop IoT and AI solutions forsocietal benefits and explorecollaboration in emerging tech-nologies by utilising 'Japan-IndiaStartUp Hub' in Bengaluru andNASSCOM's IT corridor projectin Hiroshima Prefecture.

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Bengaluru has witnessed thehighest decline in unsold

housing stock among sevenmajor cities in the last one yearat 25 per cent on the back ofbetter sales, according to prop-erty consultant Anarock.

The unsold housing stockin Bengaluru stood at 76,500units at the end of July-September quarter (Q3 of 2018calendar year), down 25 percent from 1,02,740 units in theyear-ago period.

Pune reported a 10 percent fall in unsold inventoriesto 90,610 units in Q3 2018 asagainst 1,01,020 units in Q32017.

The Delhi-NCR marketalso saw 9 per cent decline inunsold stocks to 1,90,650 unitsfrom 2,09,430 units.

There were marginal drop

of 1-2 per cent in unsold stockin Mumbai MetropolitanRegion (MMR) andHyderabad, while there wereincrease in Chennai andKolkata by 7 per cent and 1per cent, respectively.

"Bengaluru's real estatemarket has out-performed allother cities in terms of shed-ding unsold housing invento-ry. Bengaluru saw a remark-able decline of 25 per cent inthe total unsold stock acrossthe top cities," Anarock said inits report, which was releasedat ACETCH 2018 inBengaluru last week.

The report trackedBengaluru's residential realestate trends since 2013, fac-toring in the city's evolution interms of infrastructure devel-opment, transport and con-nectivity.

"Burgeoning commercial

activity, a cutting-edge start-up culture and realistic prop-erty prices dictated by end-user demand have keptBengaluru's real estate marketvibrant, and generally moreresilient than in other cities,"said Anuj Puri, Chairman -Anarock PropertyConsultants.

IT/ITeS sector continuesto drive most of the city's res-idential demand and supply,and housing sales haveremained healthy despite allmacroeconomic headwinds,he added.

Bengaluru's housing salesincreased by 26 per cent in Q32018 over the same period lastyear, the highest amongst allcities. Overall unsold stockdeclined by 32 per cent andstood at 76,550 units in Q32018 in contrast to 1,12,995units in Q3 2015.

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Russia has expressed interestin investing in projects like

Delhi-Mumbai IndustrialCorridor (DMIC) and smartcities besides railways, andpublic transport, Commerceand Industry Minister SureshPrabhu has said.

The minister also said thatin the November 23 trilateralmeeting on International NorthSouth Corridor (INSTC), allissues are expected to beresolved in order to opera-tionalise the route as early aspossible.

INSTC is an initiativetaken by India, Russia andIran to promote transportationcooperation and to enhanceconnectivity with central Asiancountries.

It is the shortest multi-modal transportation routelinking the Indian Ocean andPersian Gulf via Iran to Russiaand North Europe.

The estimated capacity ofthe corridor is 20-30 milliontonne of goods per year andwill reduce time and cost by 30-40 per cent. These issues werediscussed during the meetingof Prabhu and Russian businessdelegation on Saturday here.

"There is a possibility forRussian investments in DMIC,smart cities, railways, publictransport, sanitation and lowcost housing," the ministrysaid in a statement quotingPrabhu.

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��!��!��Mala (name changed) was 20 when she first experienced

symptoms of psoriasis. She mistook it to be a skin prob-lem and assumed that it would cure in time. She relied

on creams and moisturisers to relieve her symptoms. Every sec-ond month, she had similar rashes and she continued to resort toself-medication. Eight months later, she was diagnosed with pso-riasis. She has, now, been living with this condition for eight yearsnow.

Like Mala, there are a lot of women in India living with pso-riasis and hesitant to talk about it. A global survey — Clear AboutPsoriasis revealed that 66 per cent of people face discriminationand humiliation because of their skin. The disease looms over theeveryday lives of about 20 per cent of women, compared to 12 percent of men. Nearly 60 per cent of women said psoriasis interfereswith their quality of life.

��'�!"13The immune system mistakenly starts attacking healthy skin

cells, accelerating the formation of skin cells and causing dead skincells to rapidly build up on the skin’s surface. This results in raised,scaly, itchy, dry, and red rashes with silvery scales appearing on theskin, commonly occurring on the scalp, elbows, knees, lower back,hands, feet, nails, genitals, and skin folds.

The problem dramatically reduces the quality of life of affect-ed individuals, and takes a mental, emotional, social, and econom-ic toll on them. It is still not known why it happens, but the mostcommon belief is that genetic factors, stress, skin injury and a faultyimmune system triggers this condition.

An Indian epidemiologicalpattern study showed a pointprevalence of 8 per cent. This fig-ure might be higher as manypatients with milder type of pso-riasis may resort to home reme-dies and alternative therapies.

� '�There are three stages based

on the amount of area of the skindamaged. Psoriasis is categorised

as mild when plaques cover less than three per cent of the body,and moderate when they cover three per cent to 10 per cent of thebody. When the disease affects more than 10 per cent of the body,it’s considered severe.

��3��The treatment options are customised for each patient. The

therapy requires continuous maintenance, lifestyle modificationsand monitoring. With medical advancements and accessibility, bestof the treatments are available in India. It is advisable for the patientsto visit trusted dermatologists for consultation.

1�-�� 1�3!��-��!��Control stress and anxiety: Try keeping stress at bay as it mightflare-up psoriasis. Breathing exercises, yoga and meditation canhome handy to stay calm and collected. Since psoriasis patients arealso at the risk of having depression, they need to be extra carefulabout their mental well-being�Quit smoking & drinking alcohol: Smoking doubles a person’srisk of getting psoriasis. The risk increases with the number of cig-arettes smoked per day and is higher in women than men. Likesmoking, drinking alcohol also triggers the immune system.Psoriasis patients are advised to completely stay away from smok-ing and alcohol.�Follow bathing and skin care routine: Avoid bathing with veryhot water as it might dry the skin and use lukewarm water instead.Be gentle with towel drying and try to pat dry yourself after a show-er. Use baby soaps and avoid using a loofah or exfoliate as it mightdamage the skin tissue. Moisturise after a shower and keep yourskin moisturised throughout the day. For scalp psoriasis, use sham-poos made with coal tar or salicylic acid.�Eat healthy and stay active: Stick to a nutritious diet with lotsof fresh vegetables and fruits. Avoid eating oily and junk food.Psoriasis patients should also include a regular exercise regimenin their daily routine. Brisk walking, yoga and dancing helps stayactive and promotes positive thoughts.

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��3�@��1�: Widely consumed in dried form, or as roastedsnacks like pancakes, sweet balls, chikkis and gajaks, sesame

seeds are highly nutritional. Only 100 grams of sesame seedscan contain up to 573 kcal of energy and almost 50 grams of fat,of which approximately 85 per cent are healthy fats. These seedscontain an abundance of vitamin B6, thiamine, and niacinamong vitamins, and calcium, copper, magnesium, iron,phosphorus, fiber and protein. It facilitates digestion, improvesskin and hair health, reduces hypertension, reducesinflammation, prevents cancer and bone diseases, controlsdiabetes, improves oral health, and improves metabolism.Infusions of sesame help cure chronic respiratory disorders likepneumonia, bronchitis and asthma. White sesame seeds havehigher iron content than the black ones and are mostly used asingredients in foodor in the form ofoil. Whereas blackseeds have astronger aroma thanwhite or brown sesame seedsand are preferably used inmedicines.

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Arecent researchsuggests that therehas been an

increase in the incidence ofgastrointestinal (GI) andskin cancer among locals in theLadakh region of India. The high altitude,exposure to excessive ultraviolet (UV)rays, lack of oxygen, and a sedentarylifestyle are some of the causes attributedto the increase. The rise in GI cancer ismostly due to the unhealthy and sedentarylifestyle which includes consumption ofstored meat and hot beverages.

GI cancer is more common in menover the age of 40. Women who haveundergone menopause are also prone to it.What adds to the burden is that fact thatpeople are not aware of the early symptomsof this condition. There is also a lack ofaccess to cancer treatment and properdrugs to combat GI cancer. Some lifestylechanges suggested by HCFI.

Avoid using tobacco in any form:Smoking has been linked to various typesof cancer like cancer of the lung, mouth,throat, larynx, pancreas, bladder, cervix andkidney.

Consume a healthy diet: A diet richin fruits, vegetables, and whole grains isimportant to prevent the risk of cancer.

Maintain a healthy weight: This canlower the risk of various types of cancer ofthe breast, prostate, lung, colon and kidney.

Avoid risky habits: Habits such asunsafe sex and sharing needles can lead toinfections that may increase the risk ofcancer.

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We all love to burstcrackers aroundDiwali and even

though we know that precau-tions are a must, one getscaught up in the festivities anddistractions can leadto carelessnessespecially ifthere aresmall chil-d r e na r o u n d .Here are afew simplethings thatone can doto treat mildburns.

Treating a mildburn with lavender oil is agood way to prevent scarring.Take two-three drops of undi-luted lavender oil on a cottonpad and spread it evenly on theburned area. Do this threetimes a day until you see pos-

itive results.Using mustard seeds helps

too. Take a tablespoon of yel-low mustard and add 1/2 table-spoon of water. Make a finepaste. Apply this on the affect-

ed area. Do this at leastthrice a day.

We all know thewonders of aloevera. Take a tea-spoon of aloevera gel. If youhave a plant athome the betterit is. Peel the

fleshy leaf andapply the gel to the

burned area evenly.Do this two to three times

a day.Honey is another ingredi-

ent that is available at home.Take 2 teaspoons of organichoney and slather it onto theburn. Do this at least thricedaily to see positive results.

Diwali is next week, and so is theseason to burst crackers. Despite

several warnings and precautions,children tend to get careless and

may end up with mild burns.ROSHANI DEVI shares some

quick home remedies

There has been a spike in the num-ber of positive H1N1 cases report-ed in Bengaluru in the month of

September. October has been no differ-ent and the causes attributed to theincreasing prevalence includechanges in weather and rains.There were 68 positive cases dur-ing the first week of October,which further increased by 21 ina matter of some days.

This disease is caused by astrain of the influenza A virus andwas found to have been transmitted tohumans from pigs. H1N1 can also befatal if not treated on time. Its symptomsinclude a cough, sore throat, fever,headache, nausea and vomiting.

Speaking about this, Padma ShriAwardee, Dr KK Aggarwal, formernational president of Indian MedicalAssociation, said: “Swine flu presentswith fever of more than 1,000 F with

cough or sore throat in the absence ofany other main cause. The diagnosis isconfirmed with a lab test using Reversetranscription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) technique. Mild or uncompli-

cated flu or Swine Flu is charac-terised by fever, cough, sorethroat, nasal discharge, musclepain, headache, chills, malaiseand sometimes diarrhea andvomiting. In mild cases, there is

no shortness of breath.”Progressive swine flu is charac-

terised by above symptoms along withchest pain, increased respiratory rate,decreased oxygen in the blood, labouredbreathing in children, low blood pres-sure, confusion, altered mental status,severe dehydration and exacerbation ofunderlying asthma, renal failure,Diabetes, heart failure, angina or COPD.In the pregnant women, flu can causemore serious complications.

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With the surge in employment industryand increasing work pressures, there hasbeen a boom in the entertainment

industry as well. Each medium is emphasising howit’s important to take a break and chill. Whileadventure and outdoor activities have made a sortof comeback, we hardly see anyone without aphone, even when engaged in adventure. The flipsare many.

In a recent study presented in November 2017at the American Heart Association’s ScientificSessions in Anaheim, California, risk of blood clotsin the leg veins or lungs was higher in those whoreported watching TV “very often” compared withthose who reported watching TV “never or sel-dom.”

Dr Parinita Kaur, consultant, internal medi-cine, Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital,says: “Whenever we are sitting for a long dura-tion, the blood circulation in our veins slows down.This may lead to formation of blood clots, whichcan block the deep veins of our legs. This can causepain and swelling in the legs. Often the clots mayresolve on their own, but at times these clots canextend throughout the leg veins, or sometimeseven dislodge and travel upwards to the heart andlung blood vessels. This can further lead to sud-den onset breathlessness, chest discomfort, lightheadedness and even sudden death. Elderly peo-ple, pregnant women, those who are bedboundfor various reasons, including those recoveringfrom surgeries, cancer patients, travellers are allat a risk of developing these deadly clots.”

Apart from these clots, sitting for long pre-disposes one to obesity and its adverse outcomes.So it is recommended that while we all must takethese entertainment breaks, we should remindourselves to not stay glued to our cozy sofas forone movie after the other. It will be ideal if we allhad our TV in front of a treadmill or a station-ary bike to lead a fuller and healthier life.

Dr Neeraj Bhalla, senior consultant & direc-tor in Cardiology Department at BLK SuperSpeciality Hospital, says: “Watching TV isn’t bad,but we tend to snack and sit still for prolongedperiods while watching. Research has found thattoo much time spent sitting watching TV is linkedto an increased risk of blood clots, even if peopleare getting sufficient amount of exercise. Too muchTV viewing has already been associated with heartdisease involving blocked arteries, with sedentarybehaviour in general also linked with a range ofhealth conditions such as an increased risk of car-diovascular disease, including coronary heart dis-ease, stroke and heart attack, a higher risk of obe-sity and an increased risk of death.”

Too much TV viewing has a risk of develop-ing a Venous Thromboembolism (VTE), a bloodclot which starts in the veins of legs, arms, pelvisand lungs in a western population. The risk of life-threatening clots in both the extremities and thosein the lungs also increases with more TV view-ing. Although obesity was found to be more com-mon in people who watched more TV, it is foundthat only 25 per cent of the increased risk of a VTEcould be explained by obesity.

The risk of VTE can be reduced by maintain-ing a healthy weight and staying physicallyactive. It is estimated that between three to sixlakhs people in the US develop VTE every year,making it common vascular diagnosis after a heartattack and stroke. Although VTE is more com-mon in people 60 and older, it can occur at anyage.

BINGE-WATCHINGA RISKY AFFAIR

Stroke or brain attack is potentially life-threatening in whicha part of the brain is deprived of adequate oxygen and energy.Stroke may be ischemic due to clotting in artery of brain thatresults in the brain damage, or it may be haemorrhagic due totear in the wall of artery that results in bleeding in the brain.Nearly 80 per cent of all strokes are ischemic.

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� A patient may undergo behaviour-al problems like depression. It isimportant to ensure that they feelsupported. Making them a part ofa support group is one way to enablethem to handle their emotions.

� Motor-skill exercises can helpimprove their muscle strength.

� Forced - use therapy: An unaffect-ed limb is restrained while they prac-tice moving the affected limb to helpimprove its function.

� Range-of-motion therapy: Certainexercises and treatments can ease

muscle tension and help themregain range of motion.

� Functional electrical stimulation:Electricity is applied to weakenedmuscles, causing them to contractand may help re-educate muscles.

� Robotic devices can assist impairedlimbs with performing repetitivemotions, helping the limbs to regainstrength and function

� Virtual reality: The use of videogames and other computer-basedtherapies involves interacting witha simulated, real-time environment

� Therapy for cognitive disorders:Occupational therapy and speechtherapy can help them with lost cog-nitive abilities, such as memory, pro-cessing, problem-solving, socialskills, judgment and safety awareness

� Therapy for communication dis-orders: Speech therapy can helpthem regain lost abilities in speak-ing, listening and writing.

� Treatments such as massage, herbaltherapy, acupuncture and oxygentherapy are being evaluated

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�High blood pressure: Increases the risk two fold. Thisis because it can narrow the blood vessels causing themto rupture or leak. It can also result in the formationof blood clots which further increase the risk of stroke.� Smoking: It is known to cause stroke as it leads toincreased blood pressure which can cause the blood toclot and additionally builds up fatty substance in themain artery which provides blood to the brain.�Diabetes: Doubles the risk. High blood sugar in theblood can damage blood vessels making them harder,narrower and more likely to be blocked.�High Levels of cholesterol: Low-density lipoproteincholesterol carries cholesterol through the blood whichcauses blockage. The build of plaque in the arteries makesit difficult for the blood to carry the oxygen to the brain.

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WARMING SIGNS� Sudden weakness or numb-ness of face, arm or leg on oneside of body� Sudden loss of vision— par-ticularly in one eye� Sudden loss of speech ortrouble talking or understand-ing speech� Sudden severe headaches � Sudden confusion� Sudden dizziness, unsteadi-ness or falls

The pneumonic —BEFAST — can help people toremember the symptoms:

B: Balance loss E: vision loss in one or both

Eyes F: fascial tilt A: Arm drift S: Speech slurring or loss F: time to act Fast.People must be aware of

these symptoms and caregiversneed to be extra careful inrecognising these.

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Up to 85 per cent ofall strokes are ischemic.For this, there is anoption of intravenousmedication called TPA(recombinant tissue plas-minogen activator) avail-able which can be givento the patient within first3 to 4.5 hours of thesymptom onset. Thepatients who have ablockage in a large bloodvessel can be offeredmechanical thrombecto-my or ‘clot buster’ drugup to 24 hours, but soon-er the better), whichinvolves removing theblockage in the bloodvessel and restoring theblood supply. This pro-cedure is done through asmall nick in the groin.Trials have shown thatpatients do well postmechanical thrombecto-my and have a greaterchance to live indepen-dently.@�#��"��

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Stroke is the third commonestcause of death worldwide and thereis an increase in the number ofstroke patients with disabilities everyday. India and China contribute to40 per cent of world’sstroke patients.Increased prevalence ofdiabetes, high bloodpressure, heart prob-lems are directly con-tributing to theincreased stroke preva-lence.

Diet which is highin carbohydrates andfats add to the risk.There is a pandemic of obesity in ourcountry along with sleep apnea,which adds to the risk of stroke. It’s

unfortunate to note that 20 per centof stroke patients are less than 40years of age. Stroke in young patientscause significant morbidity and hasa huge impact economically as well

in the family. This year,world stroke day 2018 iscelebrated with the themeof “#up again after stroke”to reinstate hope amongstroke survivors

Every minute afterstroke 1.9 million braincells (neurons) die and84km of nerve fibers getpermanently damaged.

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Bangladesh’s ailing formerPrime Minister Khaleda

Zia suffered a major setback onMonday when a court herejailed her to seven years in asecond corruption case forembezzling millions from acharitable trust in her late hus-band’s name, ahead of generalelections.

Zia, 73, is already behindbars after being handed a five-year term in February in anoth-er case related to embezzlementof funds of an orphanagenamed after her husband latePresident Ziaur Rahman.

The latest sentence, whichcomes ahead of general elec-tions in December, is relatedthe Zia Charitable Trust.

According to the case, Ziaand three others abused theirpower and collected $3,75,000for the trust from unknownsources.

Judge MohammadAkhtaruzzaman announcedthe verdict from the temporarypremises of the court at the oldcentral prison at Dhaka’sNazimuddin Road.

The final trial proceedingsin the case went ahead in the

absence of Zia, the leader of theBangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP), after the prison author-ities repeatedly failed to bringher to the court.

She had recently com-plained to the court that shewas losing feeling in her handand in a leg.

The Zia Charitable Trustgraft case was filed by theAnti-Corruption Commissionin 2011.

Zia’s former political affairssecretary Harris Chowdhury,his former aide and formerBangladesh Inland WaterTransport Authority actingdirector Ziaul Islam Munnaand former Dhaka mayorSadeque Hossain Khoka’s per-sonal secretary Monirul IslamKhan are the three others con-victed in the case.

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All 189 passengers and crewaboard a crashed

Indonesian Lion Air jet werelikely killed in the accident, res-cue officials said Monday, asthey announced they hadfound human remains andwould continue the grim searchthrough the night.

The Boeing-737 MAX,which went into service justmonths ago, vanished fromradar 13 minutes after takingoff from Jakarta, plunging intothe Java Sea moments after ithad asked to return to theIndonesian capital.

Websites that display flightdata showed the plane speed-ing up as it suddenly lost alti-tude in the minutes before itdisappeared, with authoritiessaying witnesses saw the jetplunge into the water.

“My prediction is thatnobody survived because thevictims that we found, theirbodies were no longer intactand it’s been hours so it is like-ly 189 people have died,” search

and rescue agency operationaldirector Bambang Suryo Ajitold reporters.

Some 40 divers are part ofabout 150 personnel at thescene, authorities said, with theplane wreckage some 30 to 40metres deep in the water.

Earlier, video footageapparently filmed at the sceneof the crash showed a slick offuel on the surface of the waterand pictures showed whatappeared to be an emergencyslide and bits of wreckage bear-ing Lion Air’s logo.

The carrier acknowledgedthat the jet had previouslybeen grounded for unspecifiedrepairs.

“It’s a really mystery whatcould have happened,” saidGreg Waldron, Asia managingeditor of industry publicationFlightglobal.

“Hopefully they will beable to locate the (cockpit)voice data recorders.”

The plane had been enroute to Pangkal Pinang city, ajumping off point for beach-and-sun seeking tourists on

nearby Belitung island, when itdropped out of contact around6.30 am (2330 GMT).

One Italian national wasaboard the plane which wasflown by an Indian pilot, thetransportation ministry said.

Images filmed at PangkalPinang’s main airport showed

families of passengers cryingand hugging each other, withsome calling out to god.

“This morning he calledasking about our youngestson,” said a sobbing Ermayati,referring to her 45-year-oldhusband Muhammed Syafii,who was on board.

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Indian pilot Bhavye Sunejadied on Monday after the

Indonesian plane he captainedwith 188 passengers and crewon board the budget carriercrashed in the Java Sea, IndianEmbassy here confirmed.

Suneja, 31, was flying theLion Air flight JT610 which lostcontact with the ground offi-cials 13 minutes after taking offfrom Jakarta Soekarno HattaInternational Airport.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8aircraft en-route to PangkalPinang city crashed nearKerawang, 32 miles east ofJakarta.

“Our deepest condolenceson the tragic loss of lives in theLion Air Plane crash, off thecoast of Jakarta today. Mostunfortunate that Indian PilotBhavye Suneja who was flyingJT610 also lost his life,” IndianEmbassy in Indonesia said in atweet.

“Embassy is in touch withCrisis Center and coordinating

for all assistance,” it said.The flight carried 178

adults, 1 child and 2 infants.The plane also had 3 crewunder training and 1 techni-cian, the statement said.

The aircraft was com-manded by Captain Sunejaand co-pilot Harvino with sixcabin crew members.

Suneja has 6,000 flighthours and the co-pilot morethan 5,000 flight hours, the air-line said in a statement.

Captain Suneja was a res-ident of Jakarta. He is originallyfrom New Delhi and attendedAhlcon Public School in EastDelhi’s Mayur Vihar.

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The US has called on SriLanka President

Maithripala Sirisena to imme-diately reconvene parliament toallow the democratically elect-ed representatives in the coun-try decide who will lead theirGovernment following a polit-ical turmoil sparked by the sud-den sacking of Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe.

Sirisena on Friday sackedWickremesinghe and appoint-ed former strongman MahindaRajapaksa as the new PrimeMinister, triggering politicalchaos in the Indian Oceanisland nation. Next day, hesuspended Parliament afterWickremesinghe, who hadtermed his sacking as illegaland unconstitutional, sought anemergency session to provehis majority.

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Washington: President DonaldTrump on Monday accused themedia of being “the true Enemyof the People” in the wake of amass shooting and a mail bombplot.

Trump tweeted: “There isgreat anger in our Countrycaused in part by inaccurate,and even fraudulent, reportingof the news.”

He added that the media“must stop the open & obvioushostility & report the newsaccurately & fairly.”

The president’s commentsfollow a mass shooting at aPittsburgh synagogue that left11 dead and a mail bomb scaretargeting Democrats and CNN.

The election season vio-lence rattled a deeply dividednation and prompted ques-tions about whether Trump

should tone done his rhetoric.Trump strongly con-

demned the Pittsburgh attackas an act of anti-Semitism andhas denounced political vio-lence and called for unity.

But with eight days to gobefore the midterm elections,he has continued to hold hispolitical rallies, complete withharsh criticism of Democratsand the media.

At a rally Saturday night,Trump was somewhat mutedbut still offered his standardcampaign attack lines, includ-ing citing Hillary Clinton andRep Maxine Waters, both ofwhom were targeted in thebomb plot.

On Twitter on Sunday, hesavaged billionaire business-man Tom Steyer, another tar-get of the mail bombs. AP

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Sao Paulo: In some of his firstwords to the nation as presi-dent-elect, far-right politicianJair Bolsonaro has promised todefend the constitution andunite a bitterly divided popu-lace.

His left-wing rival imme-diately vowed to mount a vig-orous opposition, while rightsgroups warned against a roll-back of civil liberties.

That juxtaposition under-scored that the end of the elec-tion was not the end of acri-mony and that myriad chal-lenges lay ahead for LatinAmerica’s largest nation.

Bolsonaro appeared to tryto allay those concerns Sundaynight, saying he would “pacify”Brazil following a race thatrevealed deep divisions and wasrepeatedly marred by violence.

The candidate himself wasstabbed and almost died whilecampaigning in earlySeptember, and there werenumerous reports of political-ly motivated violence, espe-cially directed at gay people.

“This country belongs toall of us, Brazilians by birth orby heart, a Brazil of diverseopinions, colors and orienta-tions,” he said, reading off asheet of paper in a live televi-sion address. AP

Geneva: Exposure to toxic airboth indoors and out killssome 6,00,000 children underthe age of 15 each year, theWorld Health Organisationwarned on Monday.

Data from the UN healthbody shows that every day, 93percent of children under theage of 15 — a full 1.8 billionyoungsters, including 630 mil-lion under the age of five —breath dangerously pollutedair. This has tragic conse-quences: In 2016 alone, some600,000 children died fromacute lower respiratory infec-

tions caused by polluted air, theWHO report found.

“Polluted air is poisoningmillions of children and ruin-ing their lives,” WHO chiefTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesussaid in a statement.

“This is inexcusable. Everychild should be able to breatheclean air so they can grow andfulfil their full potential.”

According to WHO data,more than nine out of 10 peo-ple on the planet breath dan-gerously toxic air, causing someseven million premature deathseach year. AFP

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Britain’s Treasury chief willsplash out on health ser-

vices in a spending plan to beannounced on Monday, sig-nalling the easing of eight yearsof austerity — Brexit permit-ting.

Philip Hammond is set topledge 2 billion pounds (USD2.5 billion) more for mentalhealth services as he delivers hisfinal budget before the countryleaves the European Union, hisoffice said.

In advance of the presen-tation, he told the BBC he alsointends to increase NationalHealth Service funding by 20billion pounds a year by 2023.

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Former strongman MahindaRajapaksa on Monday

assumed charge as Sri Lanka’snew Prime Minister even asdefiant Ranil Wickremesingheasserted that he still com-mands the majority in parlia-ment amid warning by theSpeaker that there could be“bloodbath” on the streets if thepolitical crisis is not resolvedimmediately.

Rajapaksa assumed theduties in the prime minister’ssecretariat which was not usedby the ousted Prime MinisterWickremesinghe.

President MaithripalaSirisena’s new Cabinet was alsosworn in and Rajapaksa wasnamed the new minister offinance and economic affairs.

The new Cabinet was lim-ited to just 12 ministers, oneminister of state and onedeputy minister. Among the

new ministers, three belongedto the ousted Wickremesinghe’sUnited National Party (UNP)who have defected.

The rest of the ministersare from Sirisena’s previousCabinet with Wickremesinghewho have been given sameportfolios which they had han-dled under the unity govern-ment.

One new addition is fromthe northern district of Jaffna,Douglas Devananda, a Tamilwho has been named theMinister of Resettlement,Rehabilitation, NorthernDevelopment and HinduReligious Affairs.

Devananda while in oppo-sition had backedWickremesinghe during theno trust motion in April whichWickremesinghe won to retainhis premiership with supportcoming from Tamil andMuslim minority parties.

Arumugam Thondaman,

representing the Tamils ofIndian origin from central teaplantations, has been namedthe minister of Hill CountryDevelopment.

President Sirisena onFriday night sackedWickremesinghe and appoint-ed Rajapaksa as the new primeminister in a surprise move thatis being debated as a constitu-tional coup.

Sirisena also suspendedparliament till November 16after Wickremesinghe soughtan emergency session to provehis majority.

Sri Lankan parliamentSpeaker Karu Jayasuriya haswarned that there could be“bloodbath” as some peoplewere trying to resolve a powerstruggle between the presidentand his ousted premier on thestreets. Addressing reporters inKandy, Jayasuriya said the issueshould be resolved insideParliament.

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She burst upon our screen as thecomplete antithesis of contemporary

heroines. She was strong yet vulnerable.She could be rescued by the hero but wasalso capable of rescuing him right back.She was dusky when that singularattribute could push you into Bollywoodoblivion. When one spoke of ChitrangdaSingh or Geeta Rao, the character thatshe played in Hazaaron KhwaisheinAisi, she was as flesh and blood and con-temporary as any other woman could be.But just like a shooting star, Chitrangdadisappeared, as troubles in her marital lifedominated.

She turned producer with Soormarecently, appeared in an item in Gabbaris Back and is now seen in Baazaar whichreleased this Friday to rave reviewswhere she plays, Mandira Ben who ismarried to Shakun Kothari, the charac-ter played by Saif Ali Khan. “I am ahome-maker, married to this man whois ambitious as hell and trying to be aspowerful as much as possible. She comes

from a rich family and is nota career person as opposed tothe others in the film. She isalmost like the conscience ofthe film as she is the purestcharacter,” says Chitrangdadressed in a black dresswhich has some elementsof bling. She elaboratesthat her take on life, ambi-tion and power is very dif-ferent from the others.“She is trying to hold on tothis man and bring him backfrom this game that he has got intobut eventually gets sucked into it andhow it affects their marriage and rela-tionships,” she adds.

Coming to the #MeToo movementand the way it has affected the indus-try, she recalls one of her earliermovies, Inkaar which released in2012 and grappled with the issue ofharassment. “Everything that Ihave done has come too early,

no?,” she says and laughs throwingher head back and goes on to add,“Bad timing. At that time Iremember having this discussionwhen Sudhir (Mishra, the direc-tor) got in some people very high

up from a leading ad agency.One of them discussed so

many similar real-lifesituations. The forms

of harassment arenot always obvi-

ous. Even in themovie, we did-

n’t want it to bein your face. The

mental pressure thatyou are put to and the

professional setbacks thatyou possibly have for not giv-ing in are immense. A womanhas to work harder to proveherself. What I really likedabout the film was that it wason that thin line and was sowell-balanced.”

In real l ife too,Chitrangda took a standwhich cost her a movie. Sheleft the shoot ofBabumoshai Bandukbaaz,

midway as there was discrep-ancy between the way it was scriptedand the way the film’s director KushanNandy wanted to shoot it. “It was writ-ten that they make passionate love.What is your interpretation of thatyou have to tell me beforehand. If youdon’t, you can’t try and get away withanything on the set by pushing meinto it because we are there andshooting. The language that he used,the way he behaved and shouted at me

was unacceptable. He was so livid thathe was shaking with anger. I think Iam someone who can keep myselftogether quite a bit but I was crying.The worst part was that it didn’t mat-ter to anyone. That’s not the way Iwould like to be treated,” she saysrecalling the time. She preferred towalk out lost out on a film. “Sadly, notmany people took a stand. What I did-n’t like was that during film promo-tions, Nawaz laughed and joked aboutme not wanting to kiss a dark com-plexioned man. I used to get these hatetweets from his fans saying that Irefused to kiss him because he wasdark. He went on to say on a radiostation that, Humne to do do baarmaze le liye. (I enjoyed myself twice).Somewhere you feel that just not sen-sitive about what the other person isgoing through. But the actual personwho did it was not Nawaz so you can-not take his name in that sense. It isnot fair.”

She does agree that harassment wasrampant in the industry and she didhear about it often. “I’ve been fortunateenough not to go through a really hor-rendous experience. But I heard aboutit all the time. Sometimes I got a senseof what was expected out of me so Iwould take a step back,” she says.

But was it because of her stand thatshe isn’t seen as often? “Nobody is mak-ing films like Hazaaron... or maybe theyno longer think of me when they makefilms like that. And I have been awayfor fits and starts every time. I supposethis affected my work. Other thanthat… ,” she trails off and shrugs whileleaving whatever is on her mind unsaid.

However, Chitrangda has upped

her game in an altogether differentdirection. “As a producer you are look-ing at things differently. It is a muchlonger process. You are trying to get theright people together which is a muchlonger process. You can’t pick up thephone and say acha chalo ye karte hain.It takes a long time for film to comeas a producer. As an actor you aremostly concerned about your vans andyour role. It is different as you are con-fined to yourself. But production is alot more satisfying. You see it comingto life from baby steps. I made a threeminute presentation pitch and thenwrote out those 30 pages and then youfinally have the film. I think theamount that I learnt in those two anda half years, I wouldn’t have otherwise.Also, there is more respect for produc-ers,” she says.

Having taken up something new,she is ready to venture further intounchartered territory. She is readingsome interesting scripts for digital con-tent. “The kind of production valuesand the writing that is done is great.Everything has improved — the con-tent, writing and the directors onboard running the show. It is a greatplace to be in.”

On another note, she is happyabout the way the industry is chang-ing. “It is moving in the right direction.Having superstars on board is nolonger a guarantee of a film doing well.I am so happy the audience havechanged. They want good content andthey have really evolved so all credit tothem. This has to do with the interna-tional exposure which has made all thedifference,” she says as she hopes some-thing similar comes her way as well.

Bird Of Dusk, a docu-featurebased on the life story of lateNational Award-winning

Bengali filmmaker RituparnoGhosh, offered an absorbing expe-rience to the audience during itsIndia premiere at the 20th MAMIMumbai Film Festival with Star.

The movie left the audienceemotional about the filmmaker’spersonal journey.

Directed by Sangeeta Datta, thedocu-feature captures Ghosh’stransformation from the copy-writer of an ad agency to a cultur-al and fashion icon of Bengal withhis celebrated films. The movieincludes several interviews of actorslike Nandita Das, Sharmila Tagore,Arjun Rampal, Aparna Sen,Konkona Sen Sharma along withcinematographers, and other film-makers who had a long associationwith Ghosh.

Ghosh’s personal creative jour-ney touched the audience, andmany budding filmmakers andyoungsters regretted not knowingGhosh and his contributions to theIndian cinema, well enough.

A 19-year-old viewer said, “Iloved this documentary and now Icannot wait to binge watch

Rituparno Ghosh’s films.Unfortunately, I had not muchidea about his personality, thoughI have watched some of his worklike Chokher Bali.”

The docu-feature also showsGhosh’s transformation from being

a man to coming out of the closetas one of the third gender. Dattahad worked closely as an associatedirector with Ghosh.

Asked if she had any conversa-tion to know Ghosh’s opinion onthe third gender and his frame of

mind after coming out of the clos-et, she said, “There was a time whena number of his friends stood backwhen he started experimentingwith his own body. We knew thathe was diabetic and such an oper-ation would be risky for his body,which eventually turned out lethal.

“During Chitrangda (a film inwhich Ghosh acted), he talkedabout the possibility of changefrom male to female and thenexplaining that it is not that simple,from one gender to another, but itis about androgyny. In fact, we hadseveral conversations on androgy-ny. Ritu would ask me, ‘What is it?’and I would explain how I interpretthe concept of Ardhnarishwar,which has a reference in our ancienttext. Yet, our society will not acceptthat concept,” she said.

That was an emotionally darktime for Ghosh.

Dutta said, “At one point, a larg-er group felt laid down because Ritudid not go through sex reassign-ment surgery and that remains atopic of conversation in the Bengalifilm industry. The question washanging on if Ritu is a man or awoman... but Ritu did not answerany of them.” @��(�

Food that is as different fromthe mainstream north

Indian cuisine as much as pos-sible. Then there are the silks— extremely durable and hasa natural yellowish-golden tintwith a shimmering, glossy tex-ture. Earlier, it was reserved forthe use of royalty. The secondis a woolly white silk, which isoften referred to as the fabricof peace as it is processedwithout killing the silkworm.The offerings are as unique asthey are diverse. So not surpris-ingly, the sixth edition of theNorth East Festival had visitorsfrom the capital queuing up.

And it was not curiositythat got them here to have adekko. The food-stall owners,weavers and first time entrepre-neurs were elated by theresponse to the three-day cul-tural extravaganza. Not onlydid their crafts, foods andartefacts get an internationalrecognition but it also gavethem their due credit in thedomestic and internationalmarket. It has also opened thedoors to collaborate with sev-eral well-known names.

Entrepreneur SushantPhukan earned �1,80,000, thistime around, the highest in thethree years since he has beenputting up his textile stall.Most of his wares found inter-national buyers. He deals withNorth Eastern fabrics includ-ing cotton, Muga and Eri silk,which he mixes to get a finetexture. “This time the businessis better than previous years.Last year, people just looked atthe products. This time theyare aware about the products,so they are confident to pickthem,” he said.

Not just the products eventhe food is finding takersamong the audience. Most ofthe specialities got over muchbefore the day ended. EthnicKitchen, and Assam specialitycuisine restaurant has beenselling non-vegetarian itemslike fried pork, chicken andvegetarian ones like paneer,chole and daal. Its owner,Hemanka Gogoi, said he did-n’t expect a turnover of�3,50,000 in three days.

“We are happy that peoplehave discovered a taste for ourfood. It’s not only the peoplefrom North East, craving for ataste of home, but even NorthIndians who are enjoying. Oneof the couples complimentedus saying that they haven’teaten a tastier pork gravy intheir lifetime,” Gogoi said.

It’s not only Assamesecuisines or crafts which were ahit among the festival-goers butalso the food from Meghalaya,Sikkim and Tripura. A first-time stall owner, DavidsonShangpliang from Shillong wasamazed at the reception thathis Khasi food received. “I didnot expect that Khasi foodwould be in demand. We didnot anticipate that there wouldbe so many people lining up.We lacked adequate manpow-er of just five people whomanaged everything. But wedidn’t fare too badly. We earnedmore than �75,000,” he said.

Debutant Juhaal, an onlineauthentic Assamese kitchenproduct and ready-to-cookfood items, too registered itspresence with the shop thatthey had put up to showcasetheir items. “We are very happyas our launch took place theway we expected it to. We gota really good response from thebuyers. We will get to work onour drawbacks. So far, we havesold items worth �2,25,000 inthree days. It was a good expo-sure,” said co-owners OlenkaDilip and Krishnazina Thakur.

Interestingly, collabora-tions too were forged at the fes-tival. The Sikkim food stallRomaroo, for instance, wasapproached by a Delhi foodjoint. “We used organic ingre-dients from Sikkim to give cus-tomers authentic food. Our selroti, pork momo and gundrukpickle are the best selling prod-ucts. We couldn’t accept thedeal received from a Delhirestaurant as we didn’t want tochange our base,” said TikaSharma, owner.

Shyamkanu Mahanta, chieforganiser of festival, is glad thatthe fest has given exposure tothe budding entrepreneurs.“We haven’t charged a singlepenny from the stall owners. Iam glad that they had a goodbusiness here. I wish themluck,” he said.

From meaty kebabs, prettydesserts, scrumptious rolls, spicychaat, to even ice-cream shakes,boozy fruit drinks, they have it all.And it’s not just restaurants or cafesthat offer such delicacies today.Courtesy to many food festivalswhich are ruling the hearts and arenow perhaps as many as the num-ber of winter days.

The evolution of these food fes-tivals over the years is captivating.Not just big and established brandsbut the startup food outlets too aremaking their way to these. Some ofthe most favoured food fests likeGrub Fest, ELP (Eat.Love.Party)Food Fest, Horn Ok Please, havetheir own speciality and genre ofvisitors. While Grub fest is moreabout disparate restaurants andmusic bands, Horn Ok Please is anultimate one-stop-shop for all thestreet food lovers. It’s not necessarythat people who will visit ELP willtrudge down to the other festivalsas well. However, those who pro-claim to be foodies, it is simply thecase of more the merrier.

Jai Manish Sharma, organiserof ELP fest says, “People haveadapted new terminologies andhave become more experimentalwhen it comes to food. They pre-

fer something new every time inorder to please their taste buds. Ithink food fests are not only forsavouring delicacies and signaturedishes, rather they have become amajor source of entertainment.

“We try to do innovationsevery year. This time, instead of get-ting only well-known artists to per-form, we have planned to go to var-ious colleges and get bud-ding artists from thereto perform. This isbasically to providethem a bigger plat-form so that theycan showcasetheir talent to awider audience.These kind ofadditions engagesthe audience morethan just givingthem palatable experi-ence.”

He adds, “I don’t thinkthere’s a better platform than a foodfestival for the newer brands to pro-mote their outlets. It’s out an outpromotion plus one gets to actual-ly make people taste your food. Theaudience gets the whole touch andfeel factor of a new brand.”

Jai feels that food fests are also

a great reach for brands who arelooking to expand in the areas thathaven’t been tapped yet.

It becomes a research activityfor them as they get to see the typeof crowd, whether their brand fitsin well or not and if their food andconcept would be welcomed.

Bhavya Anand, who is one ofthe organisers of Horn Ok Please

says, “Going back in time,food festivals used to

be more of gov-ernment-drivenfests. Now thesefests accommo-date all kindsof cuisines, forall of agegroups. Itcaters to a big-

ger market.Festivals like these

play a vital role inadding to the food

industry as they are the rea-son for promoting and helpingsmall outlets and startups to getthemselves established. Startupsdon’t have resources to marketthemselves, and these fests helpthem do just that.”

He feels there is so much ofbrand exposure that small ventures

get a great chance to showcase theirculinary skills in front of the wideaudience.

Organiser of the Grub Fest,Aman Kumar says, “Other than justfood, fests like these have variousother sections where the visitorscan have a great time. We kept aselective and a closed audience fora masterclass this time for the ulti-mate foodies who not only love toeat but also aspire to be mas-terchefs. They could learn the sig-nature cuisines from executivechefs of distinguished outlets withlive cooking demonstrations andmasterclass sessions. We also hada carnival zone this time withinteractive games and challengeslike Power Hammer, ShowtownKnockdown, Shoot and Aim, HookA Duck.”

So food festivals aren’t justabout a weekend to devour deli-cious food, even though that isunquestionably one of the bestthings about them.

These festivals are all packedwith various workshops and enter-taining events. What makes suchfestivals even more special andinteresting is that they provideequal opportunity to the newerbrands.

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Imagine discovering a size nine PeterLord shoe box full of images captur-ing life in India a century ago in one

of Scotland’s national collections. CuratorOmar Khan stumbled upon such a post-card from a collection called WomenBaking Bread. These postcards from theBritish Raj come with exotic tales.

Opened at Art Heritage, Globetrotters,Early Postcards from the IndianSubcontinent, from the prestigious AlkaziFoundation, are a selection of picturepostcards that capture the many moodsand nuances of a country under a foreignyoke in the years leading toIndependence.

The exhibition has a representationof the Presidency states of Bengal andMadras, also Delhi, Agra and Bengaluru,and covers the larger South Asian ambitof postcards in Ceylon.

One section is devoted to images ofMumbai (erstwhile Bombay), seen notonly in the cityscapes and elite commu-nities but also the mythological, allegor-ical works of Ravi Varma, who foundeda press just outside the city. Another sec-tion explores popular images from Delhiand the hill stations (Shimla, Ooty) andKashmir, and concludes with imagesfrom the Independence movement.

CULTURE AND CUSTOMSThe show encompasses key themes

important to postcard publishing. Itstraddles religion, dancers, teas andsoaps, famines, fakirs, humour, warfareand the role of postcards in theIndependence movement. It presentsstories of the first postcard publishers ofthe sub-continent between 1892 and1947, most of whose images have notbeen seen since they were published acentury ago.

VICTORIA MEMORIAL TERMINALAND CASHMERE GATE

Monochromatic and magnificent isthe Clifton & Co postcard of VictoriaMemorial Terminal with a note writtenin 1903. The Chhatrapati ShivajiTerminus, formerly known as VictoriaTerminus Station, in Mumbai, is an out-standing example of Victorian Gothic

revival architecture in India, blended withthemes deriving from Indian traditionalarchitecture. The building, designed bythe British architect FW Stevens, becamethe symbol of Bombay as the “GothicCity” and the major international mer-cantile port of India. Built over 10 years,starting in 1878, according to highVictorian Gothic design based on latemedieval Italian models, its architectur-al detailing of remarkable stone dome,turrets, pointed arches and eccentricground plan is close to traditional Indianpalace architecture. It exemplifies theblending of two cultures, of brilliantBritish architects working with Indiancraftsmen to include Indian architectur-al tradition and idioms, thus forging anew style unique to Bombay.

Yet another beauty is Cashmere Gate.It reminds us of the Moghuls and theirarchitecture, it also reminds us of mon-uments touched by the ravages of time.This monochromatic image with hints ofgreen foliage stands as a residue of its glo-

rious past. Delhi used to be enclosed byhigh walls; had 14 gates as entry and exitpoints from different directions.

MEN AND WOMENA number of postcards depicting men

and women becomes an emphasis that hasvast narrative possibilities of this deceptive-ly elementary medium. The diversity ofindividuals represented speak clearly tothis. The telegraph person’s attire, the sarisworn by Parsi women, the cast of charac-ters sitting in a group, and the people punc-tuating a street scene. There are no detailsbut there are specifics of cultural ethos anda certain lighter hint of the brown skins.

The Parsi lady sitting at a Singersewing machine with another bejewelledwoman watching her sewing is a charm-ing image of candour and caprice. Thenthere is a black and white image of school-girls from Madras and yet another capti-vating image of Hindu girls of that peri-od. It was interesting to see the flounces intheir blouses, some short with a baremidriff and some longer. The settingseems Maharashtrian by the look of theway they have worn their sarees but whatis even more intriguing is the manner inwhich they are all engrossed and wrapt inconversation.

Omar Khan as a curator affirms thetruth that postcards being circulatedamong the masses over time became a formof knowledge dissemination, as they pro-jected images of prosperity, poverty anddegrees of power that lay within andwithout among common people.

While we are looking atvignettes of everyday lives, we arealso looking at images fromcolonies as it were. Each citybelongs to an album of mem-ories, and you walk away withnostalgia writ large.

(Globetrotters, EarlyPostcards from the IndianSubcontinent runs till November17, 2018)

The sea’s immeasurable coastline, sky-scraping mountains, the ever floating

clouds, the dark blue night sky, the petalsof ethereal roses and the golden forests...the intricacies of the changing naturescapecome to the fore on the canvas of artistHeerina Misra.

Using various pigments, mica powder,metals, acrylic and even shells, the artist’sresin paintings are a tribute to the flora,fauna, the sea and natural mineral forma-tions from the beginning of creation. Andto highlight the ebb and flow of life, shehas created her own wave lashes on thewhiteboard wood canvas. She adds corals,fresh water pearls and shells to work in abeach-like texture, the sand her preferredmetaphor for the end of a creative process.Striking a difference between resin paint-ings and oil paintings, she explains howother kinds of art don’t require spontane-ity or even any kind of time constraint,unlike resins, which are much more dif-ficult and challenging. “For oil paintings,one can spend hours, days and weeksworking on it and completing the samepainting. One can redo some parts whichare not painted properly.”

But in case of resin, she adds, “thestructuring work needs to be

done within 20-30 minutesof beginning. Given its

level of spontaneity,it’s extremely diffi-cult. One has towork with large can-vasses and small sec-tions at a time andwork on it for nine to

10 hours at a stretch.With normal paint-

ings, I can put my brushdown and go for a break.

Resins don’t require brushes.Two or more colours are mixed togeth-er in a cup and then poured on the can-vas. Following that, there is a 20-

minute working time for whatever youwish to do on it as it then starts to spreadacross. And then it cannot be playedaround with any more.”

The artist, who “likes all colours in herpalette,” has used quite a range for her resinpaintings. “I generally use a lot of blues,greens and reds. However, this series hasa lot of black that I’ve never dominantlyused before. I have also used a lot of metal-lic shades and gold to give it a shimmer.”

Lustrous like glass but composition-ally similar to plastic, resin effortlessly pairsform with functionality, giving away a daz-zling crystalline look showcasing the ver-satility of the material. She explains, “It’sa two-part polymer that can be mixedtogether and when it dries out, leaves avery shiny and glossy surface.”

As Misra names her series of paint-ings as Unparalleled Forms, she tells thatit’s because of the impossibility of recre-ation that comes with resin paintings. “Itis a very different form of art that cannotbe recreated. If you see a scene that is cap-tured in your mind, or if you come acrossa beautiful painting, you will try to cre-ate it in your way and may be you succeedin creating a replica of it. But through resin,every painting will look different.”

For Misra, art has to be “evocative.”What’s the point of something that does-n’t even get noticed? “Sometimes you lookat something and just walk past it and noteven notice that it was in the room. Butsometimes there are paintings that juststrike your sight and they really evokesomething in your conscience,” she says.

While we use our smartphones for

networking, the 42-year-old artist used itto browse for resin painting ideas. “It wasover many hours of browsing and learn-ing the ways that I could understand theprocess of resin art,” she says. And whenshe finally could understand its basic func-tionality, she moved to an art school inGermany to “hone my skills.”

As the artist has always been paintingdivine figures on her canvas, she explainsthat it’s the first time that she is display-ing her newly-explored resin art. She ismore drawn towards the abstract natureof resin, relishing the unpredictability ofthe method and ultimately emerging vic-torious to the art’s challenge. “I wanted toexplore the abstract form of art and tomove ahead of the traditional gods andgoddesses.”

She believes that even though she is“mostly a self-taught artist when it comesto resin,” it was only in Germany that shecould understand well about what mate-rials she would require for her paintings.

Her art practice brought her closer toGerman art cultures. She found out thatresin art is not very prevalent in India andthat “Germany is far ahead. The right typeof material isn’t even available in the coun-try. In fact, this is one of the first exhibi-tions in the city for resin paintings.”

There isn’t any particular lens shewants her art to be seen through. She givesan example of one of her paintings,which people sometimes infer as LordKrishna’s Morpankh or peacock’s feather.“Sometimes they see it as just another pat-tern reflecting the cosmic waves and irreg-ular oceanic patterns.”

Explaining few of her paintings, shetalks about Eye of the Tiger, which is “basi-cally the last thing that the hunter seesbefore he kills it.” The other one isGolkonda that has many textures showingmountains and layers of earth, with a goldand silver foiling on its top. The next inline is Sapphires, which is highly inspiredby the geo formations, and they are foundunder the rocks and mines. The paintinghas blue textures with shimmery goldenlines on the top. While Bed of Roses show-cases a number of red spots with goldensprinkles on their head, Diamonds in theSky is inspired by constellations. One ofthe most striking paintings is NewZealand, that makes one go back to won-dering about how a squirrel got its stripes.The only difference is of its colour — blue— with shells and pearls at the bottom ofthe white canvas.

Lessons learnt well are never forgot-ten. There is one that Misra never forgetswhen it comes to understanding about art.“I believe that all art begins with imitationand ends with innovation. Every artist firstcopies from his/her teacher and tries tomake something exactly like that. Andthen when he gets the concept, he startsinnovating it.”

(The show, curated by Payal Kapoor,is on display till November 15 at ArushiArts, Greater Kailash II.)

An energetic drummer got onthe stage with an ensemble of

musicians from Iran, Spain,Reunion Island - and fromRajasthan in India - to set on a col-laboration in pairs and in quartets.The occasion was the finale of theannual Jodhpur RIFF — and themusicians awed the gathering withwhat they laid forth in themoments that followed.

People in the audience were allset as the stage of the city’s annu-al Rajasthan International FolkFestival (RIFF) was soon to presentthe most sought after event of thefestival — “RIFF Rustle”, which isnothing short of magic.

The Jodhpur RIFF had itsfinale stretching from enthusiasticnight-time revelries like rustle atthe majestic Mehrangarh Fort tofinally concluding at the dawn con-cert with the recital of thumri anddadra by Hindustani classicalsinger Vidya Rao against the back-drop of a temple at Jaswant Thada.

The annual folk music anddance festival has a tradition ofholding a large collaboration eventwhere one artist, referred to as the“rustler”, gathers others to performtogether. At its 11th edition,Australian drummer GenePeterson curated the set.

The line-up of artists for thefestival is usually designed bykeeping the tastes of a variety ofaudiences in mind, fusion is cer-tainly their forte. So, the muchanticipated rustle had Iraniansounds and their instrument tar

fused with Peterson’s drums andshowcase of human beatboxing byhis very talented companion fromAustralia Tom Thum. Thum con-tinued his incredible technique ofvocal percussion using his mouth,lips, tongue, and voice to resonatewith the voice of the Iranian artistMakan Ashgvari.

Then came Spanish girls OlaiaManeiro, Sabela Maneiro and AidaTarrio with their tambourines,accompanied a man on accordionand another one on the guitar tojam with Peterson.

In an earlier performance, thegirls collaborated with theRajasthani men. The two styles res-onated in a way that it didn’t soundlike there were musicians from dif-ferent countries playing two dis-parate kinds of instruments. It wassomething like never heard before.

Post their performance,Festival Director Divya Bhatia, ina conversation with the girls,admitted that in the last 11 yearsof RIFF, this was the first time thata band with female leads fusedwith the Rajasthani musicianswith instruments like Khartaal,

Kamaicha, Morchang, andSaarangi among others.

The rustle had TilounRamoune from Reunion Islandalong with his band members ondrums and Congo collaboratingwith Rajasthani dhol players.

Towards the end, the audiencewitnessed a fantastic jugalbandibetween the Australian men andthose from Rajasthan, which goteverybody on the floor moving andgrooving. The audience got numb

when Thum did beatboxing wherehe presented a glimpse of musicfrom parts of the world.

Earlier in the day, Australianband Bush Gothic, performedtheir unique oeuvre of sung-stories.Defiantly modern but achinglyold, this daring band fromMelbourne performed songs ofcriminal women and desperatemen from an era of transportation,adventure and gold.

A unique Welsh-Indian collab-

oration that began at RIFF in2017 came back this year in a newformat — story teller AngharadWynne and composer, singer-songwriter Gwilym Morus-Bairdcreated a tapestry of story and songtogether with classical Sufi singerSmita Bellur, master kamaichaplayer Dharra Khan Manganiyarand others.

The annual Jodhpur RIFF hascarved a niched for itself in theIndian music space, and aims togive back to the society by involv-ing local musicians in workshops,seminars and residencies, wherethey are trained by the masters andare provided with musical instru-ments.

Unlike most other culturalfestivals in India, the JodhpurRIFF does not run on the sponsor-ships but is a joint initiative of theMehrangarh Museum Trust, JohnSingh and Jaipur VirasatFoundation. The festival has beenpreviously endorsed by UNESCOas a “People’s Platform forCreativity and SustainableDevelopment.”

Timed every year to coincidewith the “Sharad Purnima”, thebrightest full moon of the year innorth India, Jodhpur RIFF featuresa series of spectacular concerts andevents based in and aroundMehrangarh Fort.

(The 11th edition of the festi-val that brought to fore an eclec-tic mix of roots musicians was heldfrom October 24-28.)

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Lewis Hamilton claimed hisfifth drivers' world champi-onship to draw level with

Juan Manuel Fangio in theFormula One record books whenhe finished fourth behind a vic-torious Max Verstappen in theMexican Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton claimed hisfifth drivers' world championshipto draw level with Juan ManuelFangio in the Formula One recordbooks when he finished fourthbehind a victorious MaxVerstappen in the Mexican GrandPrix.

Hamilton's success - the thirdtime he has taken the title with-out finishing on the race podium- elevated him to a supreme clubalongside Fangio with only seven-time champion MichaelSchumacher ahead of him.

He was adding the 2018crown to his championship winsin 2008, 2014, 2015 and 2017.

The 33-year-old Briton's onlyremaining championship rivalSebastian Vettel of Ferrari, whoneeded a victory, with Hamiltonoutside the top seven, to keep hishopes alive, finished second onSunday.

He celebrated by executing'doughnut' wheel spins for thecheering crowd before leap-ing out of his car and intothe arms of his team.

After being congratu-lated by Vettel,Hamilton said: "It's avery strange feelingright now."

After survivingwhat turned into abattle of attrition atthe AutodromoHermanos Rodriguezhe added: "It was a hor-rible race... I really don'tknow what happened.

"We were strugglingboth Valtteri (Bottas) and Iand we had to just hang onand bring the car home.

6��1F"I've been with Mercedes

since I was 13 and to completethis, when Fangio had done itwith Mercedes, is an incredi-ble feeling and it is very surreal tome at the moment.

"I just feel very very humble,of course I dreamed about this butI never thought I'd be standinghere as a five-time champion."

Four-time champion Vettelheaped praise on his rival.

"It is not easy today but welldeserved for him and I want tocongratulate Lewis. They did asuperb job all year. We need tostand there, accept that and sendcongratulations. We would haveliked to have hung in there longer,but it was not to be."

Reflecting on his seasonHamilton added: "It has been thetoughest year physically, mental-ly and personally with everything

I'm committed to, but I haveamazing support.

"Mercedes and my team havejust been the most incredibleunit and worked to raise the bar.In my mind it is just another dayof fighting and I have more racesto win, it is not over.

"In my mind I have to work,go to the brief andtry to win in Brazil.

Hamilton, whostarted third on the

grid, struggled withchronic tyre-wear

after making a strongstart in his Mercedes

and settled for a cautiouscruise to the title without

a podium finish.Max, upstaged by his

Red Bull team-mate DanielRicciardo in qualifying onSaturday, came home 17.108seconds ahead of Vettelafter the luckless Australianpole-sitter retired with ninelaps remaining.

"I didn't sleep verywell last night," saidVerstappen.

"I was very determinedto win and we've done thatwe had the right tyres andthe car was working verywell... "It was a shame tolose Daniel. We wantedtwo of us on the podium.

A puff of smoke sig-nalled an engine failure

and his eighth 'Did Not Finish'(DNF) of the season while his 21-year-old Dutch tyro team-matesecured a repeat of his 2017 tri-umph, his second win this seasonand the fifth of his career.

Vettel's Ferrari team-mateKimi Raikkonen came homethird ahead of Hamilton and hisMercedes team-mate ValtteriBottas. Nico Hulkenberg wassixth for Renault ahead of CharlesLeclerc of Sauber, StoffelVandoorne of McLaren, MarcusEricsson in the second Sauber andPierre Gasly of Toro Rosso.

For Ferrari, it was a firstdouble podium success in Mexicosince 1990 with Alain Prost andNigel Mansell.

�-'�� .��

Novak Djokovic can completea stunning return to world

number one at the Paris Mastersthis week as Rafael Nadal hits thecomeback trail for the first timesince limping out of the USOpen.

Roger Federer could alsoresurface in the French capitalafter a three-year absence,although the 20-time Grand Slamchampion said a decision on hisparticipation will be made onTuesday.

The Swiss star won his 99thcareer title in Basel over theweekend but hasn't played inParis since 2015 due to a combi-nation of injury and selectivescheduling.

Djokovic also missed lastyear's event as he dropped out-side the top 10 for the first timein over a decade, but the Serb,who was lingering down at aranking of 22nd as recently asJune, arrives having won 27 of hislast 28 matches.

"In both the US Open andShanghai, I've played as good asever," said Djokovic, who claimedhis 14th major championship inNew York.

"So I really enjoy tennis at themoment and enjoy competing,because obviously when you'rewinning that many matches youhave a lot of confidence."

However, it was just monthsago that doubts were raised overhis future following a dramaticdecline as he battled to recoverfrom a nagging elbow injury. Heunderwent surgery after a fourth-round loss at this year'sAustralian Open but admittedlyrushed his return and suffered aseries of early exits that knockedhis confidence.

The 31-year-oldthough outlastedNadal in an epicWimbledon semi-final before sweepingKevin Andersonaside to claim his first GrandSlam since the 2016 FrenchOpen.

He then completed a sweepof Masters victories by downingFederer to claim an elusiveCincinnati title.

"We are very, very pleasedwith what was achieved in the lastfour, five months," said Djokovic.

"And with Rafa's injury andhim not playing China and soforth, it put me in a position tobe very close to him in rankingsand to fight for a year-end No 1.

"So of course right now I'maware of it and I'm going to givemy very best to try to achieve it."

"I do think that I'm playingat my best at the moment and Ialways feel like I can improve, butI feel like this is a very high level,"he added.

��1��4'��!��Incumbent world number

one Nadal has not played since aknee injury led to him retiringfrom his US Open semi-final

against Juan Martin del Potro.The Spaniard, for all his successat Roland Garros, has never lift-ed the trophy at the Paris Masters- his best showing came when helost the 2007 final to DavidNalbandian.

Nadal withdrew before hisquarter-final last year, and hemust match Djokovic's perfor-mance to retain top spot goinginto the season-ending TourFinals in London.

"I stop for a while after theUS Open so then I started topractice slow step by step. Andthat's it. Here I am. Happy to behere," said Nadal.

"It's nothing new for me.Something that happened in mycareer a couple of times. Somore or less we know the process

and we know the thing thatworks well for us, the things thatdon't work well.

"I am not thinking about bigimprovements or big things. I amjust thinking about smallimprovements, and that's thegoal."

"This city so special for me.So that's little bit more motiva-tion to be here," he added.

Marin Cilic and DominicThiem are in position to claimthe remaining two Londonberths, with Kei Nishikori and2016 Paris runner-up John Isnerstill with an outside chance ofqualifying.

With 1,000 points to defendthis week and 400 to drop offfrom London, defending cham-pion Jack Sock faces crashing outof the top 100 if he loses in hisopening match.

��1'�!��!'�Romania's Simona Halep

maintained the No 1 spot in theWomen's Tennis Associationrankings released on Mondaywith 6,921 Points, ahead ofGermany's Angelique Kerber.

Elina Svitolina of Ukraineclimbed three spots after pre-vailing over Sloane Stephens ofthe United States 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 onSunday, becoming the firstUkrainian player to win the sea-son-ending WTA Finals title.

Japan's Naomi Osaka fell onespot down to the fifth, whilePetra Kvitova of the CzechRepublic dropped two places toworld No 7.

Further down the ranking,Viktorija Golubic of Switzerlandjumped 16 positions up to worldNo. 91, following her triumph atITF France 20A on Sunday overRussian Natalia Vikhlyantseva3-6, 6-1, 7-5.

'�� =��5��

Divij Sharan on Monday became India's new number one dou-bles player, overtaking veteran Rohan Bopanna by moving to

38 in the latest ATP rankings.The left-handed Sharan, who has been one of the most con-

sistent players on the doubles circuit with partner Artem Sitak, hasheld the numero uno position in the country for the first time inhis career.

Bopanna dropped nine places to 39 while Leander Paes gainedtwo places to be 60 in the world now.

Another consistent player Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan touched acareer-high rank of 72 with a jump of three places.

"It feels pretty amazing to have become the highest ranked play-er in India today. It's not easy by any means with Mahesh, Leanderand Rohan having dominated the doubles circuit for the last cou-ple of decades but they have carved thepath and set the trend for the rest of us,"the 32-year-old Sharan said.

"We have had as many as seven play-ers from India ranked in the top 100 thisyear which is impressive. Personally it'sbeen another positive year for me whereI was able to achieve my best ranking of36 and win a Gold medal for India at theAsian Games," he said.

Sharan has won only one Challengerthis season but reaching the Wimbledonquarterfinals was the highlight of the 2018season for him. He also reached semifinal stage of various ATP 250tournaments this year.

In the singles, Yuki Bhambri dropped a place to 108 and wasfollowed by Ramkumar Ramanathan (121, +3), PrajneshGunneswaran (142, +4) and Sumit Nagal (311, +1).

In the WTA charts, Ankita Raina remains India's lone singlesplayer in the top-200 at number 197. Karman Kaur Thandi, whoended runner-up at Nanning on Sunday, was static at 215. Her pointsfrom Nanning will be added next week.

�-'�� .��

Kylian Mbappe responded tobeing dropped by coming off

the bench and scoring the open-er as Paris Saint-Germain won 2-0 at Marseille on Sunday to makeit 11 wins out of 11 in Ligue 1 thisseason and match a long-standingEuropean record.

Mbappe was a shock omissionfrom the PSG starting line-up bycoach Thomas Tuchel, withbroadcaster Canal Plus reportingthe move was a punishment afterthe teenage World Cup winnershowed up late for the pre-matchteam talk.

But he was sent on in the62nd minute of 'Le Classique' forEric-Maxim Choupo-Moting andscored the breakthrough goal justthree minutes later, being releasedby Angel di Maria and racing clearto finish past Steve Mandanda.

It was Mbappe's 10th Ligue 1goal this season, and JulianDraxler then wrapped up thevictory in stoppage time.

An 11th win on the bouncefrom the start of the campaign for

PSG means they have equalledTottenham Hotspur's record fromthe 1960-61 season, the best in anyof Europe's big five leagues.

"It was what the team needed,"Mbappe told Canal Plus of hiscameo off the bench.

"A great team relies on itsleaders and they need to be able

to make the difference in keymoments. I can take on that roleand I did it today."

The win record is a superbachievement for Tuchel, even if itis marred somewhat by PSG'spatchy performances in theChampions League, including afortunate 2-2 draw at home toNapoli in midweek.

But the German admittedthat the result had been over-shadowed by the decision to dropMbappe, which he intimated wasa necessary measure.

"I don't like to play withoutKylian. I hate playing without himin a match like this," he said.

In Ligue 1, PSG are eightpoints clear of second-placedLille, who beat Caen 1-0 onSaturday and visit the Parc desPrinces next Friday. Marseille,meanwhile, are fifth, already 14points behind the league leaders.

OM have now failed to beattheir greatest rivals in 18 meetingsin all competitions going backseven years, although theymatched the reigning championsfor long spells of this game.

While Neymar started, Tuchelleft both Mbappe and AdrienRabiot on the bench at kick-off.

Edinson Cavani missed thegame due to injury, so Cameroonstriker Choupo-Moting made hisfirst start since his surprise arrivallate in the summer transfer win-dow.

Dimitri Payet played the fur-thest forward in a Marseille sidelacking a proper striker, and thebest chance in the first half camein stoppage time as KevinStrootman cleared off the linefrom Di Maria.

Payet forced Alphonse Areolainto a good stop from his free-kickjust before the hour mark, butMbappe then made his entranceand needed little time to put thevisitors in front.

Jordan Amavi hit the postwith a long-range pile-driver butMarseille could not find anequaliser and Paris wrapped upthe victory with the last kick of thegame.

Mbappe found Neymar, andhis shot was going wide of the farpost before Draxler turned it in.

�-'�� .�5��

Dries Mertens grabbed a lateequaliser to snatch Napoli a 1-

1 draw with Roma on Sunday whichsaw Carlo Ancelotti's men cutJuventus' lead at the top of Serie Ato six points.

After seeing Paris Saint-Germain steal a last-gasp 2-2 in theirmidweek Champions League clashat the Parc des Princes, this time itwas Napoli's turn to salvage a pointat the death.

Stephan El Shaawary's earlyopener for Roma looked to havewon the game for the visitors, butBelgian international Mertenspounced in the 90th minute to limitthe damage for Napoli.

Reigning champions Juventusremain well clear after CristianoRonaldo scored a double, includinga thunderous 25-yard winner, in a2-1 win at Empoli on Saturday.

But last year's runners-upNapoli are now unbeaten in their lastfive games in all competitions sincea 3-1 loss at Juve in September.

Just seconds after Edin Dzekohad seen a long-range shot fly nar-rowly wide, El Shaarawy gave Romaa 14th-minute lead with his thirdgoal of the season.

Dzeko failed to get a touch onTurkish winger Cengiz Under's lowcross, but the 26-year-old El

Shaarawy was on hand to slotthe ball in off the post, despitethe best efforts of KalidouKoulibaly on the line.

The hosts quickly went insearch of an equaliser, but Romagoalkeeper Robin Olsen didwell to deny both Arkadiusz Milikand Marek Hamsik in quick suc-cession.

Napoli dominated possession inthe second half, but struggled to cre-ate many clear-cut chances, withMertens seeing two late effortsruled out for offside.

But the 31-year-old wingerlatched onto a miskick from JoseCallejon to smash into the roof ofthe net and score his fifth goal of the

campaign.

(��!�(��'��Earlier on Sunday, Gonzalo

Higuain hit a crucial equaliser andSuso fired a second-half winner asAC Milan got back on track in SerieA with a 3-2 win over Sampdoria.

Coach Gennaro Gattuso wasunder intense pressure after a last-gasp derby loss to Inter last week wascompounded by a 2-1 defeat by RealBetis in the Europa League onThursday.

But the former Rangers andMilan midfielder has won respite,for the moment at least, after afourth league win in nine outings left

Milan fifth, albeit 13 pointsadrift of leaders and champi-ons Juventus.

Milan looked to be underthe cosh when Sampdoriatook a 2-1 lead through FabioQuagliarella on 31 minutes

after Riccardo Saponara had levelledPatrick Cutrone's 17th-minuteopener for the San Siro giants.

But Higuain responded on 36minutes and, amid a second half thatsaw few real chances, Spanish for-ward Suso provided an impressivewinner. "I have to thank my playersfor a performance of character andquality," added Gattuso. "We've gotto keep working, getting better andenjoying each others' company."

/��3��:�India advanced into the semi-finalsof the SAFF U-15 Championship when theyblanked Bhutan 4-0 in their last group league matchhere on Monday.

Shubho Paul scored a brace while SubbaKushang and Xalxo Aman struck one apiece. Indialed 1-0 at half time.

The Indians were off to a great start with thefirst goal coming as early as the 4th minute whenShubho converted from the spot - placing it to theright of rival goalkeeper Gyeltshen Dorji.

The Indian boys stayed patient while the rivalsmanaged to sneak into the visiting box on a cou-ple of occasions, especially immediately afterresumption.

Their perseverance soon paid dividends as thesecond goal came in the 66th minute, thanks to ashow of individual brilliance.

Receiving a loose ball in his own half, the irre-pressible Subba ran past the entire rival defence,dribbled past three, entered the box and placed intothe far corner.

The third goal came in the 83rd minute asShubho completed his brace. It was a build-upwhich started in India's half and after some casu-al exchanges, Shubho followed up a vicious longball, sped past all and put it in.

Aman completed the rout in the 89th minutewhen he tapped into an empty net after the rivalgoalkeeper had misread a Harsh Patre free-kick.

�-'�� .��

Cristiano Ronaldo has said hedecided to leave Real Madrid for

Juventus after sensing that the Spanishclub's president, Florentino Perez, nolonger saw him as being "indispens-able".

"I felt within the club, especiallyfrom the president, that I was nolonger considered in the same way asI was at the beginning," Ronaldo saidin an interview with France Footballmagazine.

"For the first four or five years, Ifelt like Cristiano Ronaldo. Less soafter.

"The president looked at me in away that suggested I was no longerindispensable, if you know what Imean. That is what made me thinkabout leaving."

The 33-year-old Portuguese super-star joined Juventus in a 100 million-euro ($115 million) deal in July, end-ing a glorious nine-year associationwith Real.

His last act with the Spanish clubwas to participate in them winning theChampions League for a third con-secutive season by beating Liverpoolin the final in May.

But Zinedine Zidane departed ascoach in the wake of that game,

something which Ronaldo admitsconfirmed to him that it might be timeto move on.

"My decision to leave was notbased on him going. That said, it wasone of the little details that con-firmed to me what I had been think-ing about the situation at the club,"Ronaldo said.

He added that he would "deserve"to win the Ballon d'Or this year, andin doing so would pass Lionel Messiby taking the award for a sixth time.

The winner of the prize, awardedby France Football, will be announcedin early December.

�-'�� #�K��2��0B�

Lewis Hamilton on Monday deflected all sug-gestions that he might be the greatest Formula

One driver of all time, saying that seven-timechampion Michael Schumacher remains the manwho most deserves that label.

The 33-year-old Briton, who on Sundayclinched his fifth drivers' title when he finishedfourth for Mercedes in the Mexican Grand Prix,rejected consideration of him-self as the greatest in history,citing his father Anthony'smantra to "do your talking onthe track."

Hamilton's achievementdrew him level with the sport's 'godfather' JuanManuel Fangio on five titles with only GermanSchumacher ahead on seven. Schumacher, with91, also has more race victories, another targetfor Hamilton during the two remaining years ofhis current Mercedes contract.

But the Englishman put such statisticalambitions into a distant perspective when headopted a modest role on his own triumphantcareer.

"Firstly, I could never personally classifymyself as the best," said Hamilton.

"Obviously, within myself, I know my abili-ties and where I stand, but ultimately, as my dadalways told me since I was eight years old -- hesaid 'do your talking on the track'.

"So I just try to let my results and the resultsfrom the things that I do outside of my sport,hopefully, also contribute to that. So people canhopefully create a decent opinion.

"But Michael's still quite far ahead in racewins so you have to say he is still the GOAT(greatest of all time)."

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997champion, said that he felt the way in whichHamilton had succeeded throughout his careerput him way "miles" clear of Schumacher in theevaluation of the greats.

Villeneuve said that Schumacher's career hadbeen accompanied by "too many negative stories- too many question marks on how some racesor championships were won. And being a greatchampion is about more than just winning races."

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India embarrassed the WestIndies by 224 runs in the fourthOne-day International here

Monday for one of their biggest winsand a 2-1 lead in the five-matchseries.

Rohit Sharma (162) and AmbatiRayudu (100) struck belligerentcenturies to guide India to animposing 377 for five after thehosts opted to bat.

The duo took centre stage aftera rare failure by skipper Virat Kohli.

Rohit's 21st century came off137 balls with the help of 20 foursand four hits over the fence, whileRayudu decorated his 100-runknock with eight boundaries andfour sixes.

Chasing 378, West Indies sim-ply caved in against India's clinicalbowling attack on what was a bat-ting-friendly wicket to be bundledout for a paltry 153 in 36.2 overs.

Young pacer Khaleel Ahmed(3/13) impressed upfront beforechinaman Kuldeep Yadav (3/42))ran through the West Indies' tail.

The Indians dished out animpressive effort on the field, inflict-ing two run outs besides Rohit hold-ing onto three fine catches in theslips.

This is India's third biggest winin the format. Their biggest-ever winin ODI remains the 257-run demo-lition of Bermuda in the 2007 ICC

World Cup.West Indies' chase never really

got going as they lost half of theirside inside the 50-run mark withKhaleel doing the bulk of the dam-age.

Except for skipper Jason Holder(54 not out), no other West Indianbatsmen could withstand the Indianattack, as the visitors lost wickets atregular intervals and were neverreally in the hunt.

West Indies lost two wickets —Chandrapul Hemraj (14) and Shai

Hope (0) — in the fifth over. WhileHemraj gave a sitter to Rayadu offBhuvaneshwar Kumar, Hope wasrun out courtesy a stunning directhit by Kuldeep from mid-on.

Matters became worse for thevisitors after Kieran Powell (4) was

run-out in the very next over byKohli.

Wickets kept tumbling and thenext to be dismissed was ShimronHetymar (13), who was trapped infront by Ahmed in the 10th over,even though the batsman went foran unsuccessful review.

The 20-year-old Ahmed was onfire as he picked up two more wick-ets in quick succession. He firstcleaned up Rovman Powell (1) andthen accounted for Samuels, whoedged one to Rohit in the first slip.

Batting first, India made a quickstart with Rohit and Shikhar

Dhawan (38) and added a run-a-ball71 for the opening stand before thelatter pulled a Keemo Paul shortdelivery straight to Powell at themidwicket boundary.

Kohli, who hit three consecutivetons before Monday's match, playedaggressively for his 16 before edginga Kemar Roach delivery to Hopebehind the stumps.

Rohit and Rayudu held fort andcontinued to play aggressive brandof cricket.

The duo continued theonslaught and made the West Indiesattack look ordinary, picking up

boundaries and sixes at will.After Kohli's dismissal, Rohit,

who had scored a match-winningunbeaten 152 in the lung-opener atGuhawati, and Rayudu built theinnings and in the process shared abreezy 211-run stand for the thirdwicket, which came off just 163deliveries.

Rohit didn't spare a single WestIndian bowler and made his inten-tions clear when he opened theaccount with a boundary over point.

The Mumbaikar initially playedsecond fiddle to Dhawan but afterhis half century, that came off 60balls, he upped the ante.

Rohit displayed all the shots inthe book — the drives, pulls, flicksand cuts — before he departed in the44th over.

Rayadu, on the other hand,took time to settle down, but thenhammered the bowlers with hisexquisite stroke-play — first inRohit's company and then alongsideveteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni(23).

Kedar Jadhav (16) and RavindraJadeja (7) remained unbeaten as thehosts amassed 116 runs in the last10 overs.

India won the first ODI by eightwickets before the second gameended in a tie. West Indies bouncedback to win the third ODI by 43runs. The final match of the serieswill be played inThiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

'�� #�5723��

Cricket Australia will notreconsider reducing the

ban on Steve Smith, DavidWarner and CameronBancroft in the ball-tam-pering case despite a seriesagainst a full-strength Indiaawaiting them next month.

Skipper Smith and hisdeputy Warner wereslapped with a one-yearinternational ban whilerookie Cameron Bancroftwas suspended for ninemonths by Cricket Australiain March this year for theirrole in the ball-tamperingscandal in South Africa.

The AustralianCricketers' Association(ACA) termed the punish-ment on the trio "harsh"and called for a reconsid-eration but CA chairmanDavid Peever remained

adamant and turned downthe plea.

"Sanctions were carriedout and imposed by theboard after a very full andthoughtful process. So thesanctions stand," saidPeever.

"As chairman of theboard of CA, I acceptresponsibility for what hap-pened in South Africa, butI'm also very confident thatwe're positioned to moveforward from here.

"We've learned manylessons and of course therehas been a lot going onsince then. Both within theplaying group and withinthe organisation itself tomove things forward."

Bans imposed onWarner, Smith and Bancroftfor their role in theNewlands ball-tamperingscandal should be re-exam-

ined in light of systemicfailings raised by the inde-pendent reviews into CA,the players union presidentGreg Dyer said.

The scandal involvedthe three players conspiringto use sandpaper to illegal-ly alter the shape of the ballin the third Test againstSouth Africa in Cape Town.

Calls have been grow-ing for Smith and Warnerto return to the interna-tional fold after a string ofpoor performances by thenational team.

The series against Indiawill get underway fromNovember 21, comprisingthree T20Is, four Tests andthree ODIs. The series willend on January 21. Thebans on Smith and Warnerwill be in effect till April2019, while Bancroft's sus-pension ends in January.

'�� #�5723��

India captain Virat Kohliagain backed Ambati Rayudu

for the critical number four slotafter the "intelligent" batsmanreposed his skipper's faith witha less-than-a-run-a-ball centu-ry in the fourth ODI against theWest Indies here on Monday.

India recorded one of theirbiggest wins in the 50-overcricket with a 224-demolitionof the visitors, following blaz-ing hundreds by Rayudu andRohit Sharma.

"Rayudu has taken hischance with both hands. Weneed to back him till the 2019World Cup. He reads the gamewell, so we are happy thatsomeone intelligent is battingat number four," Kohli said atthe post-match presentationceremony.

India were ruthless, barelytwo days after the shockingdefeat in Pune, to take a 2-1lead in the five-match series.

"Yes, (we) ticked all theboxes. We were clinical in alldepartments. We got intorhythm. We are known tobounce back and it was anoth-er example. Khaleel (Ahmed)was good with pitching it in theright areas, making the balltalk, and swinging it both

ways," the skipper said.Defending 377, young

pacer Khaleel (3/13) impressedupfront before chinamanKuldeep Yadav (3/42)) ranthrough the West Indies' tail tobowl them out for 153 in 36.2overs.

This was Rohit's 21st ODIcentury and seventh 150-plusscore, having notched up onein the series opener.

"Very clinical right fromthe start. After losing two wick-ets, I had mentioned this ear-lier about having a big part-nership and that was a game-changing partnership," saidRohit, who as declared as theman-of-the-match.

He added, "Once you are

set, you got to make it countand that is what me andRayudu did in the middle. Wecarried for as long as we did.

"Heartening to see the waywe bowled as bowling unit. Itwas a long time coming, thiskind of performance from thebowlers."

The Mumbaikar alsopicked up three catches inwhat was an all-round displayby him and his team.

"I've been doing some slip-catching for a while. I canhear Virat laugh there.

"Especially if you're fieldingin the slips for Kuldeep, it isn'teasy to read his hands. Whenyou play him in the nets, it iseasy to understand when he is

going to bowl that googly andI got to be ready for it," Rohitsaid.

The West Indies chasenever really got going as theylost half of their side inside the50-run mark with Khaleeldoing the bulk of the damage.

"We didn't play wellenough. We allowed them toscore too many runs. We nevergot going with the bat and theapplication definitely was notthere. Lost wickets up front anddidn't get enough momen-tum," West Indies captain JasonHolder said.

The Indians dished out animpressive effort on the field,inflicting two run outs besidesRohit's three fine catches in theslips.

Holder said, "Run-outs aresomething that you don't wantin One day or in any limitedovers cricket. Two of our bet-ter players as well and it reallyset us back up front. It was a lotto do to rebuild to get up to 370odd.

"Obviously I have beenhearing that (batting up theorder) for a long while. Thestructure of the team probablyneeds to be looked at andobviously I want to get up theorder as well. Probably, nextgame you could see that."

'�� #3��0

India's Akashdeep Singh wasadjudged player of the tourna-

ment but the team had to share theAsian Champions Trophy withPakistan after the much-anticipat-ed summit clash was abandoned dueto heavy downpour here.

Heavy rain delayed the start ofthe final on late Sunday night andeven though the skies relented later,the damage had already been doneby then.

The turf was completely water-logged because of thunderstorm andheavy showers and after discussionwith both the coaches of India andPakistan, the tournament directordecided to call off the match anddeclare both the teams as jointwinners.

India won the toss of coin andearned the right to take home thetrophy of the biennial tournamentfor the first year. It will be given toPakistan for the next year.

Since the Indians took home thetrophy, the tournament gold medalswere presented to the Pakistaniplayers. Asian Hockey FederationChief Executive Dato Tayyab Ikramsaid gold medals will soon be sentfor the Indian players.

Akashdeep was adjudged Playerof the Tournament while P RSreejesh was declared best goal-keeper. Pakistan's Abu BakkarMahmood was named EmergingPlayer of the Tournament whileMalaysia's Faisal Saari emergedhighest scorer.

India remained unbeaten inthe tournament having topped the

round robin stages with 13 points,courtesy four wins and a draw outof their five games. Pakistan endedthe round robin stages on the sec-ond spot with 10 points.

India had earlier defeatedPakistan 3-1 in the round robinstage.

Malaysia claimed the bronzemedal by prevailing 3-2 in thepenalty shootout against Japan afterthe two teams were tied 2-2 in reg-ulation period.

It was both India and Pakistan'slast international outing before theseason-ending FIH men's WorldCup to be held in Bhubaneswarfrom November 28 to December 16.

India and Pakistan had won thetitle twice each before the currentedition. India came into the tour-nament this year as defendingchampions having won the last edi-tion in 2016 after their title triumphin the inaugural edition in 2011.

Pakistan won the title twice in2012 and 2013 besides finishingrunners-up in 2011 and 2016. Indiatoo have finished runners-up oncein 2012.

�-'�� 37��

Opener Babar Azam struck a half-cen-tury and leg-spinner Shadab Khanclaimed three wickets as Pakistan

secured a 3-0 T20 series whitewash overAustralia with a 33-run victory in Dubai.

Azam's 40-ball 50 lifted Pakistan toanother challenging total of 150-5 beforeShadab's 3-19 helped bowl Australia out for117 in 19.1 overs on Sunday.

It is Pakistan's first-ever whitewashagainst Australia in a limited-over series andtheir 10th series win under Sarfraz Ahmedsince he took over as captain in September2016.

Pakistan justified their world-number-one ranking in the shortest format of thegame, following a 66-run thrashing in AbuDhabi with an 11-run win in Dubai.

Australia's batting line-up never recov-ered from being bowled out for 89 in thefirst game.

Only Mitchell Marsh (21), BenMcDermott (21) and Alex Carey (20)looked like getting big scores on Sundayagainst a varied Pakistan attack.

Carey, promoted to open the innings,smashed two fours and two sixes in ImadWasim's first over of the innings but theylost wickets at regular intervals.

Skipper Aaron Finch failed yet again,scoring only one while Chris Lynn (15) andGlenn Maxwell (four) also inflicted littledamage as seamer Hasan Ali finished with2-14.

Sarfraz said the series win was "a rewardfor hard work".

"I would say that all the boys haveworked hard in all facets, the result is justthe reward," said Sarfraz.

"Whoever has got an opportunity hasdone well. We wanted to carry forward themomentum to the New Zealand series, theway we bowled and took our catches wassuperb tonight."

60��!��FFinch admitted it was disappointing

to come up so short when chasing 151 to

win."We had our chances in all three

games," said Finch. "You back yourselfwhile chasing under 150, you back yourbatsmen to get the side over the line butit didn't happen.

"Our bowling was very impressive allseries, keeping them to below 150 wasgreat. We're looking forward to a toughseries against South Africa (at home)."

Earlier, Azam scored his second fiftyof the series after the hosts had won thetoss and batted.

Azam and Sahibzada Farhan gavePakistan an excellent start — their open-ing stand of 99 their highest againstAustralia in T20 internationals — in12.5 overs, but Pakistan could not capi-talise on that start.

Farhan, dismissed for a first-ballduck in his only previous match againstAustralia in Harare in July, hit a 38-ball39.

But after the openers, onlyMohammad Hafeez managed to scorefreely during his 20-ball 32 not out.

Shoaib Malik scored 18 and becamethe second-highest run-scorer in T20international history, passing NewZealand's Brendon McCullum.

Another New Zealander MartinGuptill is at the top of the charts with 2,271runs in 75 matches — 118 more thanMalik.

Pakistan next play New Zealand inthree Twenty20 internationals, three ODIsand three Tests, starting with the firstTwenty20 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

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Pakistan's selectors on Monday kept thesame winning combination against

New Zealand for the three-matchTwenty20 series which whitewashedAustralia in United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan beat Australia by 33 runs inthe third Twenty20 international onSunday to clinch the series 3-0 — their firstwhitewash against Australia in a limitedover series — prompting selectors not tomake any changes.

Pakistan face New Zealand in thethree-match series with the first in AbuDhabi on Wednesday, followed by the lasttwo in Dubai on Friday and Sunday.

No change means experienced pacespearheads Mohammad Amir and WahabRiaz continued to be left out, while fastbowler Rumman Raees is still not fit aftersuffering a knee injury.

Meanwhile, New Zealand have addedsecond specialist spinner to their Twenty20squad, with left-armer Ajaz Patel drafted

in from New Zealand A side.New Zealand's new coach Gary Stead

said Patel was on form and would offer thenecessary balance to the side consideringthe conditions in the UAE.

"It's no secret that spin is crucial in thispart of the world and with the wickets onthe slower side, we've taken the option ofa second spinner to bring our squad up to14-players," said Stead.

�;��Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed, FakharZaman, Mohammad Hafeez, SahibzadaFarhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, AsifAli, Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan,Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman KhanShanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim,Waqas Maqsood, Faheem Ashraf New Zealand: Kane Williamson, CoreyAnderson, Mark Chapman, LockieFerguson, Colin de Grandhomme,Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel,Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert,Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.

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