A day after the BJP sealed its seat-sharing deal with Janata Dal(U) and the LJP in Bihar, the Congress revived its alliance with the NCP in Maharashtra on Monday. Away from the political manoeuver- ing of the BJP and the Congress, TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao kept up his effort to float a Front excluding both these major players as he engaged with his West Bengal counterpart and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. Both the Congress and the NCP had contested the last Lok Sabha polls together but went separately in the Assembly polls held a few months later. “In Maharashtra, the NCP and the Congress will togeth- er contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, along with the Peasants and Workers Party of India (PWI). Till now, we have decided seat-sharing on 40 seats, still eight are left. If any consensus is not reached on remaining eight seats then the final decision will be taken by the two party chiefs in New Delhi,” tweeted NCP president Sharad Pawar. AICC sources in Delhi said the performance of the two parties in the in the 2014 Assembly polls has been the basis of the seat-sharing arrangment as then the Congress had won 61 seats, while the NCP 41. “Our talks for seat-sharing with alliance partners have come to the final stage, which needs to be approved by the party leadership. The other minor issues that are left over sharing of seats will be resolved by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar,” said Congress leader Ashok Chavan. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had fielded 27 candidates in Maharashtra, while the NCP had contested on 21 seats. The Lok Sabha seats that are yet to be agreed upon includes Ahmednagar, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Aurangabad, Yavatmal, Nashik, Nandurbar, and one in Mumbai which the Samajwadi Party is desiring to contest in case the SP-BSP and Congress alliance takes place in Uttar Pradesh. A senior Congress leader said the NCP was keen to con- test from Pune and Jalna Lok Sabha seats, which are from the Congress quota but said the NCP has now agreed to with- draw its demand. Though the Congress is yet to decide its candidate from Pune, party insiders said a senior Shiv Sena leader, who is likely to defect, is being con- sidered the party candidate from Jalna Lok Sabha con- stituency. State BJP president Raosaheb Danve is a four-time MP from this constituency. Both the Congress and the NCP have also agreed to share three seats with other allies — Hatkanangale in Kolhapur for the Raju Shetti-led Swabhimani Paksha, Amravati in Vidarbha for the Rajendra Gawai-led Republican Party of India (RPI) and Akola for the Prakash Ambedkar-led Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM). The SP has also been demanding one seat in Mumbai. Meanwhile, K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday met Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna (Bengal State sec- retariat) in Kolkata where the two leaders engaged in a “pro- ductive discussion” over the possibilities of stitching togeth- er a viable Federal Front ahead of the 2019 general elections. Rao, who had just before the Assembly elections in his State, said his discussions with Mamata was quite encourag- ing. “After meeting Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikji, I have come to meet Mamata didi. Here we have a fruitful discussion. We shared the matters of mutual interest and national interest,” said KCR, adding the topics of dis- cussion were “usual,” as they veered around “issues that are likely to crop up when two national leaders meet. We dis- cussed certain issues that are crucial for the nation.” On whether he still want- ed a non-BJP, non-Congress Government at the Centre and whether he still was working towards that end, Rao said, “That is the mission of KCR. I will continue to give my efforts. This (a Federal Front) is not a small thing to do. Dialogues are going on and they will continue.” On the future of the con- tinuing dialogues, he said, “We will give you good news soon. Our talks will continue and we will come out with a concrete plan. We are discussing things. I will continue with my efforts,” he said. KCR is likely to meet SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati in Delhi. Rao is expected to stay in Delhi for a few days during which he is also likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some senior Union Ministers. A s Delhi continues to choke with air quality slipping to “severe” in the last few days, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)-led task force on Monday recommended clo- sure of all factories situated in the six industrial hotspots — Mundka, Narela, Faridabad, Wazirpur, Faridabad and Sahibabad — till Wednesday. The ban will also cover con- struction activities in Delhi, Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Noida till December 26. The move aims to give respite to residents from the increasing air-pollution level in the city. But it will also leave thousands of daily wagers employed with the industrial units and construction centres high and dry in the absence of any work in these areas. Addressing a Press confer- ence, Union Environment Secretary CK Mishra said that Delhi’s air quality remained in the “severe” level for the third consecutive day on Monday as wind speed and other meteo- rological factors remained “highly unfavourable” for dis- persion of pollutants. He, how- ever, hoped that the anti-pol- lution measures will help the pollution level to go down. The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) task force that includes Government offi- cials and environment, health and weather experts, advised the Environment Pollution Control Authority to intensify ground actions as suggested in a meeting chaired by Member Secretary (CPCB). The details of the meeting were shared by CBCB Chairman SPS Parihar to reporters here. Traffic police has been sug- gested to ensure smooth traf- fic flow in areas with high traf- fic. The police department is strictly advised to ensure that non-destined heavy duty vehi- cles travel through eastern and western peripheral express- ways. Concerned authorities are expected to take stringent action against illegal indus- tries. The residents have been advised to avoid all physical activities outdoors and shift the same indoors, said Parihar. The official said that since November 1, they have received around 7,600 com- plaints related to violation against norms with regard to pollution, construction activi- ties and stubble and waste burning. Action has been taken in 70 per cent complaints. Talking about anti-pollu- tion measures, he said the pol- lution watchdog has slapped fine of 1 crore each on three oil companies for their failure to install anti-pollution “vapour recovery” systems at fuel sta- tions. Vapour recovery device is an instrument to capture dis- placed vapours that emerge from inside a vehicle’s fuel tank during filling. “We have also issued notice to SDMC and EDMC for failing to check pollution in their areas,” he added. The authorities have swung into action as Delhi’s air qual- ity remained in the severe cat- egory for the third consecutive day on Monday and the city faced its highest pollution level since Diwali. While the CPCB data showed the overall air quality index (AQI) at “severe” level of 448, the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) showed an AQI of 468. P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said peo- ple of Odisha have already made up their mind for a big change in the coming elections as the development process has been hit in the State due to corruption and widespread of a PC (percentage) culture. He, instead, assured that his Government is fully com- mitted to an overall develop- ment of Odisha and would make it as an engine of devel- opment vehicle of new India. The Prime Minister stated this while addressing a public meeting, named "Swabhiman Samabesh" at the Goshala ground at the foot of Barunei hill at Khordha in the after- noon. Initiating his speech in Odia, he chanted 'Jai Jagannath' and said he is proud of attend- ing a meeting at a place (Barunei hill) where Paikas had for rights of Odia people years back. He put many questions on developmental aspects of Odisha. "Why Odisha is still lagging behind in sanitation? Why youths of Odisha are migrating from the State? Why women and children are dying of malnutrition? Why hospitals don't have sufficient doctors? Why farmers here are still cry- ing over irrigation facilities? Why farmers are resorting to distress sale? Why major parts of Odisha still don't have access to drinking water? Why teach- ers are taking to streets to get their salaries? Who are pro- moters of PC culture? Who are nursing chit fund demons? If these questions are answered honestly, development in Odisha could happen in a more transparent manner," said Modi. Reminding the ruling BJD in the State of its poll promis- es, Modi said the regional party had promised to provide irri- gation in 10 lakh hectare of land, but only 22,000 hectares of land have been irrigated. Besides one-third blocks in the State lack irrigation even though five major rivers flow through Odisha, he pointed out. He said the Centre has implemented the Swaminathan Committee Report, which the Congress failed to do during its reign, and increased the min- imum support price (MSP) of 22 different crops, including paddy. He also alleged that the State Government is not adopt- ing the Centre's universal health coverage scheme, Ayushman Bharat stating that lakhs of people staying outside Odisha could have benefited. "Why not a single person from Odisha didn't get benefit from Aushman Bharat while over six lakh people have already ben- efitted," he said. "But the BJP is focusing on a four-prong growth strategy with emphasis on develop- ment of people, farmers, women and entrepreneurs. While the BJP's efforts are on, things can be turned around only with the help of people. This huge gathering here is a testament to what people want and I am seeing the future of Odisha," said Modi. He said the Centre has already sanctioned for five medical colleges in the State. The ESI Hospital was upgradaded. His Government has made a provision of Rs 4,000 crore for developing waterway transportation. Odisha would benefit as it has many rivers. "For the development of infrastructure and connectivi- ty in urban and rural areas of Odisha, expenditure by the Centre has increased five times. N e w highways, new railway tracks and new airports are being con- structed in the State with pace. All-round development of Odisha, its villages, youths, women and farmers is our sole aim," Modi said. B iju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday urged the party MPs and MLAs to donate their one-month salary towards party fund to shoulder the huge expenditure to be incurred during the upcom- ing elections. Patnaik urged the party Legislators and Parliamentarians to donate their one-month salary in cheques to the BJD fund. He asked the BJD district presidents to request the party's well-wishers and sup- porters, who want to help in raising funds, to donate to the party through cheque or online at www.bjdodisha.org.in/dona- tion. Further, they have been asked to add 200 new mem- bers to the party in every panchayat and ward level. Patnaik also mentioned that the donations made by individuals to the BJD would be tax-free as per the Section 80GGC of Income Tax Act 1961-2017. He also made it clear that there is no certain limit of donations and contri- butions to the party. A n anti-corruption court in Pakistan on Monday sen- tenced ousted premier Nawaz Sharif to seven years in jail in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills graft case but acquitted him in the Flagship Investments case, con- cluding a series of three court cases against the Sharif family in the high-profile Panama Papers case. Three cases — Avenfield properties case, Flagship invest- ment case and Al-Azizia steel mills case — were launched against the Sharif family by the National Accountability Bureau on September 8, 2017, follow- ing a judgment by the Pakistan Supreme Court that disquali- fied Sharif in the Panama Papers case in July last year. Accountability Court II Judge Muhammad Arshad Malik Monday announced the short verdict in the two corruption cases against the Sharif family, after reserving the decision on December 19. Judge Malik said there was concrete evidence against the 68-year-old former premier in the Al-Azizia case, and that he was unable to give the trail of the money used to set up the Al-Azizia steel mills in Saudi Arabia by his family in 2001 and later on the Hill Metal Establishment also in Saudi Arabia. The court sentenced Sharif to seven years in jail and imposed a $2.5 million and 1.5 million pounds fine on him. The court also ordered to seize the Al-Azizia and Hill Metal properties. Judge Malik, however, said that there was no case against Sharif in the Flagship case. Sharif, who was present in the court, was immediately taken into custody. His lawyer requested the judge that the PML-N quaid (supreme) be shifted to Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore instead of Adiala Jail. The request was granted. The verdict was announced almost immedi- ately after Sharif arrived in the courtroom. He has the option to challenge the verdict against him. Sharif was also disquali- fied for 10 years from holding any public office. T he BJD on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit and political speech would have no impact on the people of Odisha. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Odisha today and laid foundation-stones for a few projects and inaugurated a couple of projects. He too addressed a political rally. His speech will not have any impact on people of Odisha. The people have blessed us for the past 19 years and will continue to bless us in the com- ing years as well. We will continue to drive the devel- opment process as we have been doing for the past 19 years,” said BJD spokesper- son Dr Sasmit Patra in a state- ment. I n reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speect at a rally held at Khordha on Monday, the Congress said the PM’s speech only confirmed the earlier belief that the BJP and the BJD have a secret political pact among them. “Today’s speech of Modi made it clear that the BJP and the BJD have a secret nexus; and this is the reason both par- ties are silent on various issues like farmers’ problems in Odisha,” Pradesh Congress Committee media cell chief Satya Prakash Nayak told reporters. BHUBANESWAR: The Additional District Judge (ADJ) Court here on Monday acquit- ted two brothers accused in the sensational 2011 Pipili gan- grape and murder case. The court acquitted the accused siblings Sukant Pradhan and Prashant Pradhan due to lack of evidence in the case. Both the brothers were accused in the gangrape of a 19-year-old dalit girl of Pipili in Puri district. Notably, the girl was found in a semi-nude and uncon- scious state near her house at Arjungoda village of the Pipili area on November 29, 2011. A case was registered by the family members alleging gangrape and a murder attempt on the girl. The victim was under treatment at the SCB Medical College Hospital at Cuttack in a critical condition after she was allegedly subject- ed to rape and then attempts of murder through strangulation. She died on June 21, 2012 after battling for life for more than five months. The gangrape and death of the girl triggered a furore in the State. A Minister was dropped from the State Cabinet and the then Pipili police station IIC was dismissed from service amid the controversy. A commission led by Justice PK Mohanty probing the alleged gangrape and mur- der had submitted a 400-page final report to the Home Department on March 30, 2016. PNS C hief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who, among oth- ers, shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendar Modi at the projects inaugural cere- mony at the IIT Bhubaneswar campus on Monday, urged the Prime Minister to accord ‘first freedom struggle’ status to the Paika Bidroh, which complet- ed 200th year this year. “We are celebrating the 200th year of the Paik Bidroh spearheaded by Buxi Jagabandhu. I would like to request the Union Government to confer the First Freedom Movement to the Paika rebel- lion so that it will be a real trib- ute to the great freedom fight- er Buxi Jagabandhu,” said the Chief Minister. He also assured that his Government would provide all support to the proposed projects, for which the Prime Minister laid foundation-stones on the occasion.
Transcript
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Aday after the BJP sealed itsseat-sharing deal with
Janata Dal(U) and the LJP inBihar, the Congress revived itsalliance with the NCP inMaharashtra on Monday. Awayfrom the political manoeuver-ing of the BJP and theCongress, TRS supremo andTelangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao kept up hiseffort to float a Front excludingboth these major players as heengaged with his West Bengalcounterpart and TMC chiefMamata Banerjee.
Both the Congress and theNCP had contested the last LokSabha polls together but wentseparately in the Assemblypolls held a few months later.
“In Maharashtra, the NCPand the Congress will togeth-er contest the 2019 Lok Sabhaelections, along with thePeasants and Workers Party ofIndia (PWI). Till now, we havedecided seat-sharing on 40seats, still eight are left. If anyconsensus is not reached onremaining eight seats then thefinal decision will be taken bythe two party chiefs in NewDelhi,” tweeted NCP presidentSharad Pawar.
AICC sources in Delhi saidthe performance of the twoparties in the in the 2014Assembly polls has been thebasis of the seat-sharingarrangment as then theCongress had won 61 seats,while the NCP 41.
“Our talks for seat-sharingwith alliance partners havecome to the final stage, which
needs to be approved by theparty leadership. The otherminor issues that are left oversharing of seats will be resolvedby Congress president RahulGandhi and NCP chief SharadPawar,” said Congress leaderAshok Chavan.
In the 2014 Lok Sabhaelections, the Congress hadfielded 27 candidates inMaharashtra, while the NCPhad contested on 21 seats.
The Lok Sabha seats thatare yet to be agreed uponincludes Ahmednagar,R a t n a g i r i - S i n d h u d u r g ,Aurangabad, Yavatmal, Nashik,Nandurbar, and one inMumbai which the SamajwadiParty is desiring to contest incase the SP-BSP and Congressalliance takes place in UttarPradesh.
A senior Congress leadersaid the NCP was keen to con-test from Pune and Jalna LokSabha seats, which are from theCongress quota but said theNCP has now agreed to with-
draw its demand. Though the Congress is yet
to decide its candidate fromPune, party insiders said asenior Shiv Sena leader, who islikely to defect, is being con-sidered the party candidatefrom Jalna Lok Sabha con-stituency. State BJP presidentRaosaheb Danve is a four-timeMP from this constituency.
Both the Congress and theNCP have also agreed to sharethree seats with other allies —Hatkanangale in Kolhapur forthe Raju Shetti-led SwabhimaniPaksha, Amravati in Vidarbha
for the Rajendra Gawai-ledRepublican Party of India (RPI)and Akola for the PrakashAmbedkar-led Bharip BahujanMahasangh (BBM). The SPhas also been demanding oneseat in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, KChandrashekhar Rao onMonday met Mamata Banerjeeat Nabanna (Bengal State sec-retariat) in Kolkata where thetwo leaders engaged in a “pro-ductive discussion” over thepossibilities of stitching togeth-er a viable Federal Front aheadof the 2019 general elections.
Rao, who had just before theAssembly elections in his State,said his discussions withMamata was quite encourag-ing.
“After meeting OdishaChief Minister NaveenPatnaikji, I have come to meetMamata didi. Here we have afruitful discussion. We sharedthe matters of mutual interestand national interest,” saidKCR, adding the topics of dis-cussion were “usual,” as theyveered around “issues that arelikely to crop up when twonational leaders meet. We dis-cussed certain issues that arecrucial for the nation.”
On whether he still want-ed a non-BJP, non-CongressGovernment at the Centre andwhether he still was workingtowards that end, Rao said,“That is the mission of KCR. Iwill continue to give my efforts.This (a Federal Front) is not asmall thing to do. Dialogues aregoing on and they will continue.”
On the future of the con-tinuing dialogues, he said, “Wewill give you good news soon.Our talks will continue and wewill come out with a concreteplan.
We are discussing things. Iwill continue with my efforts,”he said. KCR is likely to meetSP chief Akhilesh Yadav andBahujan Samaj Party supremoMayawati in Delhi.
Rao is expected to stay inDelhi for a few days duringwhich he is also likely to meetPrime Minister Narendra Modiand some senior UnionMinisters.
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As Delhi continues to chokewith air quality slipping to
“severe” in the last few days, theCentral Pollution ControlBoard (CPCB)-led task forceon Monday recommended clo-sure of all factories situated inthe six industrial hotspots —Mundka, Narela, Faridabad,Wazirpur, Faridabad andSahibabad — till Wednesday.The ban will also cover con-struction activities in Delhi,Faridabad, Gurugram,Ghaziabad and Noida tillDecember 26.
The move aims to giverespite to residents from theincreasing air-pollution level inthe city. But it will also leavethousands of daily wagersemployed with the industrialunits and construction centreshigh and dry in the absence ofany work in these areas.
Addressing a Press confer-ence, Union EnvironmentSecretary CK Mishra said thatDelhi’s air quality remained inthe “severe” level for the thirdconsecutive day on Monday aswind speed and other meteo-rological factors remained“highly unfavourable” for dis-
persion of pollutants. He, how-ever, hoped that the anti-pol-lution measures will help thepollution level to go down.
The Graded ResponseAction Plan (GRAP) task forcethat includes Government offi-cials and environment, healthand weather experts, advisedthe Environment PollutionControl Authority to intensifyground actions as suggested ina meeting chaired by MemberSecretary (CPCB). The detailsof the meeting were shared byCBCB Chairman SPS Pariharto reporters here.
Traffic police has been sug-gested to ensure smooth traf-fic flow in areas with high traf-fic. The police department isstrictly advised to ensure thatnon-destined heavy duty vehi-cles travel through eastern andwestern peripheral express-ways.
Concerned authorities areexpected to take stringentaction against illegal indus-tries. The residents have beenadvised to avoid all physicalactivities outdoors and shift thesame indoors, said Parihar.
The official said that sinceNovember 1, they havereceived around 7,600 com-
plaints related to violationagainst norms with regard topollution, construction activi-ties and stubble and wasteburning. Action has been takenin 70 per cent complaints.
Talking about anti-pollu-tion measures, he said the pol-lution watchdog has slappedfine of �1 crore each on threeoil companies for their failureto install anti-pollution “vapourrecovery” systems at fuel sta-tions. Vapour recovery deviceis an instrument to capture dis-placed vapours that emergefrom inside a vehicle’s fueltank during filling. “We havealso issued notice to SDMCand EDMC for failing to checkpollution in their areas,” headded.
The authorities have swunginto action as Delhi’s air qual-ity remained in the severe cat-egory for the third consecutiveday on Monday and the cityfaced its highest pollution levelsince Diwali.
While the CPCB datashowed the overall air qualityindex (AQI) at “severe” level of448, the Centre-run System ofAir Quality and WeatherForecasting (SAFAR) showedan AQI of 468.
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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday said peo-
ple of Odisha have alreadymade up their mind for a bigchange in the coming electionsas the development processhas been hit in the State due tocorruption and widespread ofa PC (percentage) culture.
He, instead, assured thathis Government is fully com-mitted to an overall develop-ment of Odisha and wouldmake it as an engine of devel-opment vehicle of new India.
The Prime Minister statedthis while addressing a publicmeeting, named "SwabhimanSamabesh" at the Goshalaground at the foot of Baruneihill at Khordha in the after-noon.
Initiating his speech inOdia, he chanted 'Jai Jagannath'and said he is proud of attend-ing a meeting at a place
(Barunei hill) where Paikashad for rights of Odia peopleyears back.
He put many questions ondevelopmental aspects ofOdisha. "Why Odisha is stilllagging behind in sanitation?Why youths of Odisha aremigrating from the State? Whywomen and children are dyingof malnutrition? Why hospitalsdon't have sufficient doctors?Why farmers here are still cry-ing over irrigation facilities?Why farmers are resorting todistress sale? Why major partsof Odisha still don't have accessto drinking water? Why teach-ers are taking to streets to gettheir salaries? Who are pro-moters of PC culture? Who arenursing chit fund demons? Ifthese questions are answeredhonestly, development inOdisha could happen in amore transparent manner," said
Modi.Reminding the ruling BJD
in the State of its poll promis-es, Modi said the regional partyhad promised to provide irri-gation in 10 lakh hectare ofland, but only 22,000 hectaresof land have been irrigated.Besides one-third blocks in theState lack irrigation eventhough five major rivers flowthrough Odisha, he pointed out.
He said the Centre hasimplemented the SwaminathanCommittee Report, which theCongress failed to do during itsreign, and increased the min-imum support price (MSP) of22 different crops, includingpaddy.
He also alleged that theState Government is not adopt-ing the Centre's universalhealth coverage scheme,Ayushman Bharat stating thatlakhs of people staying outside
Odisha could have benefited."Why not a single person fromOdisha didn't get benefit fromAushman Bharat while over sixlakh people have already ben-efitted," he said.
"But the BJP is focusing ona four-prong growth strategywith emphasis on develop-ment of people, farmers,women and entrepreneurs.While the BJP's efforts are on,things can be turned aroundonly with the help of people.This huge gathering here is atestament to what people wantand I am seeing the future ofOdisha," said Modi.
He said the Centre hasalready sanctioned for fivemedical colleges in the State.The ESI Hospital wasupgradaded. His Governmenthas made a provision of Rs4,000 crore for developingwaterway transportation.Odisha would benefit as it hasmany rivers.
"For the development ofinfrastructure and connectivi-ty in urban and rural areas ofOdisha, expenditure by theCentre has increased five times.N e whighways, new railway tracksand new airports are being con-structed in the State with pace.All-round development ofOdisha, its villages, youths,women and farmers is oursole aim," Modi said.
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Biju Janata Dal (BJD)supremo and Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik onMonday urged the party MPsand MLAs to donate theirone-month salary towardsparty fund to shoulder thehuge expenditure to beincurred during the upcom-ing elections.
Patnaik urged the partyLegislators andParliamentarians to donatetheir one-month salary incheques to the BJD fund.
He asked the BJD districtpresidents to request theparty's well-wishers and sup-porters, who want to help inraising funds, to donate tothe party through cheque or
online atwww.bjdodisha.org.in/dona-tion. Further, they have beenasked to add 200 new mem-bers to the party in everypanchayat and ward level.
Patnaik also mentionedthat the donations made byindividuals to the BJD wouldbe tax-free as per the Section80GGC of Income Tax Act1961-2017. He also made itclear that there is no certainlimit of donations and contri-butions to the party.
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An anti-corruption court inPakistan on Monday sen-
tenced ousted premier NawazSharif to seven years in jail inthe Al-Azizia Steel Mills graftcase but acquitted him in theFlagship Investments case, con-cluding a series of three courtcases against the Sharif familyin the high-profile PanamaPapers case.
Three cases — Avenfieldproperties case, Flagship invest-ment case and Al-Azizia steelmills case — were launchedagainst the Sharif family by theNational Accountability Bureauon September 8, 2017, follow-ing a judgment by the PakistanSupreme Court that disquali-fied Sharif in the PanamaPapers case in July last year.
Accountability Court IIJudge Muhammad Arshad Malik Mondayannounced the short verdict inthe two corruption casesagainst the Sharif family, afterreserving the decision onDecember 19.
Judge Malik said there wasconcrete evidence against the68-year-old former premier inthe Al-Azizia case, and that hewas unable to give the trail of
the money used to set up theAl-Azizia steel mills in SaudiArabia by his family in 2001and later on the Hill MetalEstablishment also in SaudiArabia.
The court sentenced Sharifto seven years in jail andimposed a $2.5 million and 1.5million pounds fine on him.The court also ordered to seizethe Al-Azizia and Hill Metalproperties.
Judge Malik, however, saidthat there was no case againstSharif in the Flagship case.
Sharif, who was present inthe court, was immediatelytaken into custody. His lawyerrequested the judge that thePML-N quaid (supreme) beshifted to Kot Lakhpat Jail inLahore instead of Adiala Jail.The request was granted.
The verdict wasannounced almost immedi-ately after Sharif arrived in thecourtroom. He has the optionto challenge the verdict againsthim. Sharif was also disquali-fied for 10 years from holdingany public office.
Modi’s visit and political speechwould have no impact on thepeople of Odisha.
“Prime Minister NarendraModi visited Odisha today andlaid foundation-stones for a fewprojects and inaugurated acouple of projects. He tooaddressed a political rally. Hisspeech will not have any impacton people of Odisha.
The people have blessed usfor the past 19 years and willcontinue to bless us in the com-ing years as well. We will continue to drive the devel-opment process as we have been doing for the past 19 years,” said BJD spokesper-son Dr Sasmit Patra in a state-ment.
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In reaction to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s speect at a
rally held at Khordha onMonday, the Congress said thePM’s speech only confirmedthe earlier belief that the BJPand the BJD have a secretpolitical pact among them.
“Today’s speech of Modimade it clear that the BJP andthe BJD have a secret nexus;and this is the reason both par-ties are silent on various issueslike farmers’ problems inOdisha,” Pradesh CongressCommittee media cell chiefSatya Prakash Nayak toldreporters.
BHUBANESWAR: TheAdditional District Judge (ADJ)Court here on Monday acquit-ted two brothers accused in thesensational 2011 Pipili gan-grape and murder case.
The court acquitted theaccused siblings SukantPradhan and Prashant Pradhandue to lack of evidence in thecase. Both the brothers wereaccused in the gangrape of a19-year-old dalit girl of Pipili inPuri district.
Notably, the girl was foundin a semi-nude and uncon-scious state near her house atArjungoda village of the Pipiliarea on November 29, 2011.
A case was registered bythe family members alleginggangrape and a murder attempton the girl. The victim was
under treatment at the SCBMedical College Hospital atCuttack in a critical conditionafter she was allegedly subject-ed to rape and then attempts ofmurder through strangulation.She died on June 21, 2012 afterbattling for life for more thanfive months.
The gangrape and death ofthe girl triggered a furore in theState. A Minister was droppedfrom the State Cabinet and thethen Pipili police station IICwas dismissed from serviceamid the controversy.
A commission led byJustice PK Mohanty probingthe alleged gangrape and mur-der had submitted a 400-pagefinal report to the HomeDepartment on March 30,2016. PNS
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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik, who, among oth-
ers, shared the dais with PrimeMinister Narendar Modi atthe projects inaugural cere-mony at the IIT Bhubaneswarcampus on Monday, urged thePrime Minister to accord ‘firstfreedom struggle’ status to thePaika Bidroh, which complet-ed 200th year this year.
“We are celebrating the200th year of the Paik Bidrohspearheaded by BuxiJagabandhu. I would like torequest the Union Governmentto confer the First FreedomMovement to the Paika rebel-lion so that it will be a real trib-ute to the great freedom fight-
er Buxi Jagabandhu,” said theChief Minister.
He also assured that hisGovernment would provideall support to the proposedprojects, for which the PrimeMinister laid foundation-stoneson the occasion.
Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra belongs to the 1988batch of IAS cadre. An MSc (Tech) with MBA
(Australia), he possesses a brilliant academicrecord and so is imbued with a rare vision andvitality in lending a transforming touch to the oth-erwise film of familiarity. During his tenure asCollector Puri and as RDC (Central), he muchearlier had an additional advantage to feel thepulses of the Shree Jagannath TempleAdministration (SJTA), of which he is now theChief Administrator. He has handled manyimportant assignments as Principal Secretary ofthe Department of Health and Family Welfare,Rural Development Department and FoodSupplies and Consumer Welfare Departments. Hecarved a niche in managing the aftermaths of thePhylin imbroglio as the steward of the Odisha StateDistaster Management Authority then. Currently,he is the Principal Secretary of the Departmentof School and Mass Education while beingentrusted with the additional charge as the SJTAChief Administrator. The Government in its col-lective wisdom has placed him here after the con-troversial issue of the loss of the keys of the RatnaBhandar that triggered a massive outrage amongdevotees. Himself an ardent devotee of the Lord,he remains every inch loyal to His services andconsiders himself as a true Sevak to the Lord hisposition as a senior bureaucrat notwithstanding.This visionary head honcho is expected to bringphenomenal reforms not only in the templeadministration but in catapulting the corpus fundof the temple to an approximately whopping Rs3,000 crores in a few years with the support of oneand all. In an interview to The Pioneer,Mohapatra spoke to Sugyan Choudhury.
What is your considered opinion on the intro-duction of ticket system in the temple?
We had previously a Parmanik Darshan, inwhich entry till the Garbha Gruha or sanctumsanctorum was allowed. Then, we had a tick-eted system where visitors were allowed till theBhitara Katha, from where one could have a fullview of the Lord. But that has been stopped bynow. We have the ticketed system now for thepeople who don’t want to stand in a queue. Inthis system, not just the VIPs are allowed butthen people those who don’t want to wait fortoo long including some privileged persons canopt for the same. It is nothingnew; we have been doing it in theParmanik Darshan, but nowthat Parmanik Darshan has beenstopped by court order, we haveintroduced the ticketed systemwhich is nothing but a change inits nomenclature. The templealso needs revenue; and whatev-er proceeds we get, we have toutilise it for the benefit of the pil-grims, Sevaks and to raise the corpus fund aswe have compelling requirements of fund inmany ways. The ticketed Darshan continuesonly for two to three times a day, each periodfor 20 minutes around, in which 200 to 300 peo-ple can have the Darshan. Thereafter, the nor-mal Darshan continues uninterrupted.
What are the reforms you have initiated in thedaily rituals of the Lord?
The Lord’s rituals should be done in time.This is something sacrosanct to the temple andthis has to be done by the Sevaks assigned forthe purpose. We have now introduced thereform in a sense that we are trying to incul-cate a sense of responsibility among the Sevaks.I have ordered that 15 minutes’ delay by a Sevakin performing his Neeti shall entail cut in hisdaily ritual fee and delay for one hour by a Sevakshall invites total forfeiture of his daily fee. Thisis intended for making them more disciplined.We are also developing an App so that a Sevakwill be administered with a system-drivenapproach that his duty is to commence at suchand such time. This is how everything is get-ting disciplined now and we are able to com-plete Paudha everyday by midnight only.
What are the steps you are going to take toprevent manhandling and misdemeanour todevotees?
We have been very strict about it. Even theamicus curiae learned Gopal Subramanium,who recently resigned from his post, took up
this matter for discussion with the Sevaks dur-ing his last visit. I am of the firm opinion thatthere is zero tolerance to such lapses if it is per-petrated by any Sevak. Recently, there was acomplaint about a lady being misbehaved in theAnanda Bazar. We not only suspended the SuarSevak but also the Bujhia who carried theMahaprasad along with two to three personsinvolved in the issue. We have installed addi-tional CCTVs and each and every Sevakincluding all others are under the constant sur-veillance of the system. Once an offender iscaught, he is punished. There is a policy ofreward for good services and punishment forthe wrongdoing. Whoever is found in indulgingin misbehaving with pilgrims or found extract-ing or extolling money from pilgrims eitherthrough covert or overt means, he will be pros-ecuted as per the law. Any Sevak repeating suchmisdemeanour for a second time will be for-bidden entry into the temple.
What about a revised rate chart of theAbadha conducive to the pilgrims?
Recently, a rate was submitted by theNiyoga prepared by them. We did not simplyaccept it. Items of the Mahaprasad were pre-pared by the temple administration; and verysoon we are going to publish a revised rate chartwith price tag on it including specifications ofthe size of each container so that the pilgrimswill not feel cheated and along with the credi-bility of the Suar Mahaniyoga shall be estab-lished. Now, reforms in the temple havebecome a continuous process. Regarding thejudgement of the apex court, I must say that outof twelve points of orders of the court, we havealmost implemented nine and are implement-ing nine points barring the exceptions of thethree other cardinal points under considerationsof the court. They are regarding the hereditaryrights of the Sevaks, abolition of Annadan Atikaand other collections by the priests inside thetemple and, finally, amendment of the ShreeJagannath Temple Act. We are carrying on mas-sive reforms inside the temple barring the abovethree.
What are the plans to augment the Lord’s rev-enue?
You must know that Lord Jagannath is thebiggest landlord in the country having morethan 70,000 acres of land in the State besidesthe lands outside. Neither the Lord is enjoyinganything out of this land nor are the people pay-ing anything to the Lord in this regard. Morethan 50% of the land stands unrecorded. I haveasked the concerned district Collectors andTehsildars to record it in the name of the Lord.On September 27, we have resolved in the com-
mittee to send a pro-posal to the govern-ment to sell these landsand to deposit themoney in the corpusfund. You will be gladto know that inKhordha and Jatni areawe are expecting aboveRs 2,000 crore by sale ofthe Lord’s land so that
the Lord may enjoy it. We will go for the sameonce the government approves it. Secondly, wehave decided to deposit the Lord’s gold lying idleat the rate of 1.5% interest; and I have discussedthe entire matter with the SBI. This will ensurehuge income to the Lord’s exchequer. Besides,we have discussed with the ITC company whichwill sell its Agaravati countrywide with thebrand of Lord Jagannath Temple along with itschariot and the company will contribute onerupee to the temple corpus fund for each pack-et that will generate huge resources. We havebanned online selling of Mahaprasad by privateand fictitious people and this will be done bythe temple administration. We have welcomedthe presentation of wedding cards to the Lordby depositing fees to the temple administrationand not by any private individual or organisa-tion. During the last Make in Odisha Conclave,many industrialists agreed to part with little por-tions of their incomes for the services of theLord and for the pilgrims. A multistoried carparking is also coming out at Puri; and you willnot find cars being parked helter-skelter anylonger. We have restructured our office and haveinstalled an E-office there in. I have also ensuredthat by February-end the budget will be avail-able online and people will have full knowledgeabout the income and the expenditure of thetemple. The Lord will certainly bless the peo-ple of Odisha and the people of the world andno stones shall be left unturned for a holisticdevelopment of the secular cult of LordJagannath, both at the micro and macro levels.
acre permanent campus of theIIT Bhubaneswar to the nationand laid foundation-stone for ahost of projects, together worthRs 14,523 crore, through avideoconferencing held at Argulon the city outskirts on Monday.
“I got the opportunity todedicate IIT Bhubaneswar tothe youth. Around Rs 1,260crore has been spent on its con-struction. This grand campuswill not only be a center ofdreams for the youth of Odishabut also spur its industrialdevelopment. It will provideemployment opportunities andimprove the lives of people,” thePrime Minister said.
He said his Government isfollowing the notion of ‘SabkaSaath, Sabka Vikas’ in whichOdisha is a focused State.
Modi laid the foundation-stone for the Indian Institute ofScience Education andResearch (IISER), Brahmapur.
The institute will be built on200 acres of land located atLaudigam in Ganjam districtbefore December 2021 at a pro-ject cost of Rs 1582.78 crore.
Established in 2016, IISERBerhampur is currently func-tioning from the building of theIndustrial Training Institute(ITI) in Berhampur.
As a part of the 200th yearcelebration of the historic PaikaRebellion, the Prime Ministerreleased commemorative coins,commemorative Rs 5 postagestamps and inaugurated theBuxi Jagabandhu ResearchChair of the Utkal University.
Foundation stones of IndianOil Corporation’s gas pipelinefrom Paradip oil refinery toHyderabad at a project cost ofRs 3,800 crore and Bokaro-TheAngul section of the PradhanMantri Urja Ganga project at an
estimated cost of Rs 3,437 crorewere also laid by the PM.
He also conducted ground-braking for six-laning ofChandikhole-Bhadrak sectionof NH-16, Khandagiri flyoverin Bhubaneswar of NH-16,four-laning of Cuttack-Angulsection of NH-55 and 6/4 lan-ing of Tangi-Puintola section ofNH-16.
This apart, Modi inaugurat-ed an Archaeological Museumin Lalitgiri and dedicated 50additional beds of the ESIHospital here to people. A totalof Rs 73.5 crore has been spentfor upgrading the hospital.
Among others, GovernorProf Ganeshi Lal, Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik, BhubaneswarMP Prasanna Kumar Patasaniand Union Ministers Jual Oramand Dharmendra Pradhan werepresent.
Panic gripped the residentialsettlement of Abhinav
Bidanasi here throughout the dayon Monday when an adult ele-phant entered into a park withdense plantation. The park islocated on the left embankmentof river Kathajodi.
Forest officials said thetusker had been separated froma herd of about 15 elephantswhich was crossing the river andgoing to the nearby AthagarhForest Range. "The male elephantis believed to be between 12 and15 years old and it has tusk," saidcity Forest Range Officer AKMishra. At least 50 personnelfrom the Forest Departmentand personnel from the localMarket Nagar police stationwere deployed around the parkrestricting the people comingclose to the site. Mishra said theelephant would be chased backto the river after dusk. Theseemingly panicked tusker wasseen loitering around the parkwhile the anxious onlookersclimbed atop buildings to get aglimpse of the wild animal.Tillthis report was filed early in theevening, the animal had alreadystayed in the urban environmentfor more than 12 hours.
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Two youths were robbed ofcash and other valuables
after allegedly consumingintoxicated tea outside the cityrailway station at MasterCanteen here on Sunday.
The victims were identi-fied as Hariram Das fromBaleswar and RajkishoreNayak of Keonjhar district.
They were found lyingunconscious in front of therailway station. Later, theywere admitted to the CapitalHospital . Hariram andRajkishore are engaged in aprivate company in Mumbai.They were allegedly targetedby the looters after theyreached here by a train inmorning.
Reports said two uniden-tified youths made friend-ship with Hariram andRajkishore after they arrivedin the station and offeredthem tea.
After they consumed thetea, they became unconsciousfollowing which the youthslooted their bags, mobilephones, approximately Rs2,000 cash from the victims.
The victims were rushed tothe Capital Hospital by a PCRvan.
against the State Government’sPEETHA scheme, here’s anincident that might embarrassthe Government over the pro-gramme.
A video has gone viral onsocial media featuringGovernment officials includinga BDO shaking legs with trib-al women belonging to theKutia Kondh community.
In the video, the BDO ofTumudibandha in Kandhamaldistrict is seen dancing with agroup of tribal women duringthe Peoples Empowerment –Enabling Transparency andAccountability of OdishaInitiatives (PEETHA) pro-
gramme on December 15 inBelghar panchayat.
Besides, some other offi-cials are also found joining thetraditional dance of KutiaKondhs at the programme.Condemning the act by theBDO, former Balliguda MLAKarendra Majhi termed thePEETHA programme as “offi-cers’ entertainment” and an‘insult’ to the Kutia Kondhs.
“We strongly oppose it.The way the government offi-cers are dancing with the trib-
al women putting handson their shoulders andthe employees are mak-ing fun during the pro-gramme, is highly con-demnable,” Majhi toldmedia.
“As I am a represen-tative of the Kutia Kondh com-munity and I was a legislatortwice, the video featuring thedance of the officials with thetribal women hurts our senti-ments,” Majhi said.
“If the Government fails totake stringent action against theofficials, who were directed tohold such programme hereand danced with the tribalwomen, the entire Kutia Kondhcommunity will hit the streetsagainst the NaveenGovernment,” he added.
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Following the viral videoand outcry concerning a
headmaster’s dance with girlstudents in a school premises,ADEO, Sundargarh along withBEO, Hemgiri block, conduct-ed an inquiry on Monday andthe report was sent to theDEO, Sundargarh for furtheraction.
According to sources,Dilip Naik, headmaster inKanika High School underHemgiri block, on December16 had danced with schoolgirls in a party in the schoolpremises.
However, later, when avideo of headmaster dancingwith girl students went viral,locals had protested it. Later
some villagers went to theschool and sought an explana-tion from Naik.
After getting informationabout the act of the headmas-ter Naik, DEO Ranjan Giri haddirected ADEO, RajashriPatnaik and BEO SurendraSahu to conduct an inquiry.
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The State Government onMonday declared 10,456.64
hectares of farmland in theState as pest-affected anddirected the concerned dis-trict authorities to undertakerelief measures.
As per field verification
reports submitted by the dis-trict Collectors, an area of10,456.64 hectares of land in
1567 villages under 319gram panchayats of 15blocks and 15 wards of fourULBs in two districts havesustained crop loss of 33per cent and above due topest attack.
The Government hasauthorised the Collectors
of the concerned districts toundertake relief measures inthe notified areas.
Minerals (Development &Regulation) Act in 2015, themining industry will be subjectto unprecedented hardshipaffecting employment, revenue,supply of raw materials forindustry, infrastructure andsocial fabric.
The issue was discussed ina workshop held on December23 here organised by theSociety of Geoscientists andAllied Technologist (SGAT)with the keynote address deliv-ered by Ranjit Rath, CMD,Mineral ExplorationCorporation.
A total of 12 papers were
presented in 3 technical ses-sions. The presenters werefrom Tata Steel, JSPL, EsselMining & Industries Ltd,Dalmia Cement, OMC,Directorates of Mines andGeology, SGAT, former
Other dignitaries whograced the event includedSanjay Patnaik, MD, Tata
Sponge Iron Ltd, DipakMohanty, Director of Mines,Arun Misra, Vice President(Raw Materials), Tata Steeland RN Praharaj, Director,OMC.
The meet called for
strengthening of theDirectorate of Geology, GSIsetup in Odisha and OMC inrespect of additional technicalpersonnel, back up laboratoryfacilities, re-vamping of drillingset up, strengthening of engi-neering geology and groundwater set up in the Directorateof Geology for proving reservesof different ores and mineralsin the State.
Besides, it called for formu-lation of proposals of explo-ration of deep seated depositsfor funding by NationalMineral Exploration Trust, pro-posals for aero-magnetic sur-vey over remaining hard rockareas of the State for technicalaid by Australia, Canada,among others.
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Doyen of Odia devotionalsongs Shantilata Barik, leg-
endary mountaineer KalpanaDash, inspiring teacher and lit-erary genius Dr SanghamitraMishra and veteran Odiaactress Namrata Das were felic-itated as women legends here.
Saroj Dash, national coor-dinator of social organisationKanyaa Anmol Hai (KAH)that organised theCharanSparsh Award givingceremony, said, “Celebratingthe life and work of our womenis to inspire our next generationof women.”
Mountaineer Das said that
when she will get an opportu-nity to go for mountaineeringshe will definitely take the‘Kanya Anmol He’ logo alongwith Lord Jagannath Bana(Pataka).
Sasmita Dash (founder),
Amiyabala Parida( president)Anshu Tripathy ( co-chairper-son), Archana Panigrahi, SagarDash ( coordinator),Suryanarayan Mohanty andTapaswini Pattnaik of the KAHwere present.
Aproposed truck terminalbuilding at Bhutamundei on
the outskirts of Paradip has beenopposed by locals including res-idents of adjacent villages underthe banner of Anchalika SurakshaSamiti.
Reports said that in view oftraffic problems owing to mush-rooming growth of trucks andgoods laden heavy vehicles com-ing to Paradip port, a truck ter-minal has been proposed to be
built at Bhutamundei. Meanwhile,locals of Bhutamundei Panchayatand surrounding villages haveopposed the construction of thetruck terminal in their locality.
They said that serious pollu-tion problem would occur if theproject comes up in their locali-
ty. Besides, peace and tranquili-ty of the area will be broken whenlots of vehicles would be comingand going. Samiti convener andformer Bhutamundei SarpanchSanjaya Behera instead demand-ed a super specialist hospital inBhutamundei.
“Locals are agitating for pastthree months for a hospital butinstead of fulfilling the demand,the authotities are planning atruck terminal,” Samiti’s anoth-er convener Minarva Paridalamented.
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The lawyers’ associations ofBalangir and Kalahandi
districts on Monday took tothe streets demanding settingup Permanent Bench of theOrissa High Court in theirrespective districts.
In Balangir, the ongoingagitation for the establish-ment of a HC Bench intensi-fied on the day as the Joint
Action Committee and theDistrict Bar Sssociation calledfor a shutdown till December30.
The members called forclosure of all offices, educa-tional institutions and banksduring the shutdown.
The protesters were seenpicketing at several places ofthe district resulting in dis-ruption of vehicular commu-nications.
“The agitation for theestablishment of a permanentHigh Court bench in Balangirwould be intensified and allthe offices of the State and theCentral Government, banks,schools, colleges wouldremain closed from December
24 till December 30 in the dis-trict ,” said Joint ActionCommittee convenor LalitNayak.
Similarly, in Kalahandimembers of the districtlawyers’ association observeda 12-hour dawn-to-duskbandh on the day.
The members of the com-mittee were seen picketing infront of several offices fromearly morning.
Normal life came to astandstill in the district due tothe shutdown of markets, busi-ness establishments, financialinstitutions, court,Government and privateoffices.
However, educationalinstitutions andvehicular move-ment were keptout of the purviewof the shutdown.
The bandhcalled by thelawyers gainedsupport of vari-ous organisationsand political par-ties in the district.
Meanwhi le ,adequate securitymeasures weretaken by thepolice to avoidany untowardincident.
In yet another incident of man-animal conflict, a tribal woman was trampled to death onMonday morning at Bhoimunda village under Brajrajnagarar forest range in Jharsuguda dis-
trict.The incident occurred at around 5.15 am in Bhoimunda. The deceased Bharti Khadiya
(33) came face to face with the elephant and while trying to escape, was attacked by the tusker.Bharti is survived by her husband and two children, said Forest Ranger Brajrajnagar HemantSahu.
A team of police and forest officials rushed to the spot and the body was sent for postmortem.The kin of the deceased were given immediate relief of Rs 40,000 while the remaining
Rs 3.4 lakh will be given upon completion of all formalities, Jharsuguda District ForestDivisional Officer (DFO) Sushant Kumar said.
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Various people’s organiza-tions under the aegis of the
Indian Citizens Action forNation (ICAN)-2019 held amassive dharna at the GirijaChhack in Annapurna Marketarea here in protest against var-ious failures of the UnionGovernment ahead of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s visitto the State.
The leaders raised 10promises made by the BJP in itselection manifesto and wantedto know clarifications fromthe Prime Minister.
While unemployment hasbecome a national phenomena,number of farmer deaths isincreasing across the country.There are no doctors and facil-ities in medicals and theGovernment is shutting downschools and colleges. Prices ofessential commodities haveskyrocketed and lahourers arenot getting due wages. TheCentral Government is usingconstitutional agencies like
Information Commission, CBIand RBI as its tools, alleged themembers.
Stating that the PM didn’tgive Routkela youth MuktikantBiswal, who had walked 1400km to remind him about hispromise of constructing a sec-ond bridge at Rourkela andupgrading RGH to a super-speciality hospital, Youth leaderMadhusudan Sethi said thePrime Minister’s December 24visit was just an election gim-mick.
Manav Adhikar SurakshaManch president lamentedsaying that though both the
Central and StateGovernments have announcedhealthcare supports upto Rs 5lakh per individual, yet hos-pitals and medical collegesare running with huge short-ages of doctors.
Social activist KishorePatro alleged that eligible peo-ple are not getting housesunder Government schemes.
They alleged that anemergency like situation hasarisen in the country due toeconomic and social terrorismand the Modi Governmenthas turned to be unconstitu-tional.
dation stone of Paradip-Hyderabad pipeline project ofSouth Eastern Region Pipelines(SERPL), Indian OilCorporation Ltd, at Khajuriavillage, before Jankia toll gate,Khorda through videoconfer-encing from the IIT Argulcampus.
The proposed pipeline witha capacity of 4.5 MMTPA pro-
vides connectivity to a newgrass root depots atBrahmapur, Achchutapuramin AP and Malkapuram,Hyderabad in Telangana, andalso to Indian Oil’s existingdepots at Vizag, Rajahmundryand Vijayawada in AndhraPradesh.
The groundbreaking cere-mony also witnessed a series ofactivities. A free health check-up camp was organised by theSouth Eastern Region Pipelinesin association with ApolloHospitals at the site.
Under CSR 2018-19,SERPL conducted a needassessment camp in Khordhadistrict. Identified Divyangjans(PWDs) were provided withaids and assistive devices.
The Nesco utility centre hereis in the eye of a storm as
scraps worth of lakhs of rupeesare missing from the storeyard.
The department headswhile sitting tight over thealleged irregularities, it isalleged they are trying to sweepthe issue under carpet after sus-pending three officials, includ-ing the officer in-charge andtwo others in the store chargeand lodging compliant withSahadevkhunta police.
If sources are to bebelieved, scarp materials worthover Rs 50 lakh were missingfrom the central yard located inBaleswar.
The Nesco is engaged inpower distribution to districtssuch as Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj,Keonjhar, Jajpur and Baleswar.Besides, it has corporate officeas well as central store inBaleswar.
The materials are whiledistributed from the central
place, similarly the scrapsincluding transformers con-taining high grade copperwires, bobbins, aluminummaterials are being collectedfrom these districts and auc-tioned time to time after bid-ding in which the bidders fromKolkata, Chennai and otherStates participate.
Sources added that thegoof up came to the fore whenthe materials were loaded forauction. The department whilehad 233 tons of scrap materi-als to be disposed, yet 210 tonswere physically found. Noaccount for the missing of 23tons of scraps was shown.
One ton of scarp materialsis estimated around Rs 85,000. The personnel in the
charge of the store couldn’taccount for the missing\ mate-rials.
The deficiencies came tolight while incumbentExecutive Officer AnanatNaryan Bisoi lodged an FIRwith police after learning scrapmaterials worth of lakhs ofrupees were missing from theutility store,
Although Bisoi lodgedcomplaint with police, yet hisFIR didn’t contain any specif-ic names. Executive EngineerChittaranajan Mistry and twostore keepers, Rajendra KumarKhilar and Satyabrata Das ,however , were placed undersuspensions by the authorities.
Sources further added thatsimilar theft was reported inthe year 2014-15 in whichmaterials worth of over Rs 20lakh were missing.
On the issue the executiveofficer, SDO, Junior engineerand the store keeper involvedin the utility store transac-tions were suspended. It isalleged that a racket with theblessings of biggies is workingin the irregularities of the scraphandling.
Since the store has CCTVcameras, a detailed high levelinquiry would unearth thescams and embezzlementwhich are going on for years,intellectuals observed.
Forum held its general councilmeeting under the chairmanshipof its president Rasa Bihari Das.
Senior citizens discussedabout various issues being facedby them, solutions to such pro-belmes and measured taken bythe forum to resolve them. As
many as 30 senior citizens hav-ing birthdays in December werefelicitated with flower bouquets,shawl and greeting cards.
SMIT president DrBhagaban Gantayat, formerVice-Chancellor JayantMohapatra and senior JournalistRabi Rath graced as guests.
A representative team led byDas met the Collector and the SPand presented a memorandumseeking fulfillment of their var-ious demands.
It was decided to hold a NewYear get-together at MahuriKalua on January 6.
Among others, vice presi-dent Prabhakar Sahu,general secretarySeemanchal PrasadBishoyi, secretaryP u r n a c h a n d r aMoharana and mem-bers BhishmacharyaChoudhury, AshokKumar Sahu,Manmohan Parichha,Giris Patro, PrashantDas, Soumik Sahu,Niranjan Mohanty,Bijay Kumar Patnaik,Prabhat Purohit andKapila ChandraMohanty were pre-sent.
torch his three acres of paddywhich was totally damageddue to Chakada pest out offrustration.
According to a petition tothe district Collector, Balangir,Pabitra Rout, a farmer ofTentenkhunti village of
Loisingha block, has decided totorch his three acres of paddyfield, as a mark of protest of notgetting adequate compensa-tion, after his paddy crop wastotally damaged due toChakada pest.
“I had cultivated paddycrop in three acres of land thisyear which was totally dam-aged by Chakada pest attack.I approached the LoisinghaBDO for assistance and alsointimated to local agricul-ture official, who visited thepaddy field. However, I havenot received adequate com-pensation so far. Hence, as amark of protest I am going totorch my three acres of stand-ing paddy crop on December28,” said farmer Rout.
Monday passed the final order forconfiscating the movable andimmovable properties of OdishaBridge and ConstructionCorporation (OB and CC)Limited’s former Senior Manager(Tender) Somnath Panda to thetune of Rs 27,48,295.
The properties comprises asingle storied building atJaganath Vihar here, five agri-cultural land measuringAc.0.316dec at Raghunathpurand Chodangpur and othermovable properties i.e. depositsin different banks, vehicles,cash of Rs 4,04,472 seized dur-ing house search.
minor reshuffle in the IAScadre, giving new assignmentsto three senior officials.
A General Administration(GA) Department notificationsaid Chandra Sekhar Kumar,currently posted as the Revenueand Disaster ManagementDepartment PrincipalSecretary, was appointed asOdisha State WarehousingCorporation Chairman.
Excise DepartmentPrincipal Secretary NikunjaBihari Dhal was appointed asRevenue and DisasterManagement DepartmentPrincipal Secretary.
Similarly, Agriculture andFarmers’ EmpowermentDepartment Special SecretaryBhaskar Jyoti Sharma wouldtake charge as Science andTechnology DepartmentSecretary, the notification said.
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The Odisha Revenue ServiceAssociation (ORSA) on
Monday threatened to go onmass leave from December 26demanding fulfilment of itslongstanding demands.
ORSA president PurandarNanda and secretary HitansuSekhar Samal at a Press meethere said the association hastaken the drastic decision afterrepeatedly appraising theGovernment about theirdemands.
Earlier in meetings onMarch 27, July 5 and December13, they were assured by theRevenue Minister that their
demands would be looked into. “We had raised several
issues including hike in gradepay from Rs 4,600 to Rs 5,400as per Seventh PayCommission recommenda-tions and up-gradation of ourrank from ORS to ORS-I cadre.But unfortunately even monthshave passed the Governmenthasn’t taken any concrete stepto fulfill even one of theirdemands,” said Samal andNanda.
It might be mentionedhere that 891 ORS officials areengaged in different posts likeAdditional Tehsildars,Additional Collectors, DeputyManagers and MunicipalityExecutive Officers. If they goon leave public service wouldbe affected. So, taking thisinto consideration ORSA’slegitimate demands should beconsidered positively,” theyadded.
Cold wave has affected sev-eral parts of Koraput dis-
trict with night temperaturedipping below 5 degree Celsiusin many places, affecting nor-mal life badly.
The fog weather is beingwitnessed in both hilly andplain terrains of Koraput andJeypore Sub-Division. Whilethe night temperature hoversbelow 5 degree Celsius in hillypockets, the plains recorded 9
degree Celsius. Intense fogcovers several ghat pockets ofKoraput and Sunki till 11 am inthe morning.
People woke up to densefog on Monday morning thatbrought the visibility down tozero in several parts of the dis-trict. On Friday, the day tem-perature was recorded at 18degrees Celsius, 6 degreesbelow the normal. The sharpfall in day and night tempera-tures forced people to stayindoors.
The zero visibility affectedthe traffic movement especial-ly on the national highwaybetween Koraput and Sunkibordering Andhra Pradesh.Heavy vehicle drivers were theworst hit. The fog along withmist on windscreens turneddriving into a nightmare.
Sources said the cold wavewas intense in areas includingLamataput, Machkund,Padwa,Boipariguda, Nandapur,Pottangi and Narayanpatna inthe district.
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The Sahadevkhunta policeon Monday arrested two
persons in connection withmurder of a 14-year-old girlat Jadpur village in the dis-trict.
The accused identified asSk Sahadad (19) and hisfather Sk Majid (45) wereforwarded to court after beingbooked under Section 302 ofIPC and other relevant sec-tions including kidnapping,Section 25 and 27 of Armsact, said Sahadevkhunta PSIIC Subhranshu SekharMishra .
“Basing on the compliantof the father of the deceasedthat his daughter was kid-napped by the main accusedSk Sahadad and killed in theirhouse, the son-father duowas arrested. The motive ofmurder is yet to be ascer-tained and weapon of offenceyet to be recovered. Theymay be taken on remand forfurther investigation i frequired,” said Mishra .
The minor girl, a studentof Class IX had eloped withSahadat from December 3.Her dead body was foundunder mysterious circum-stances around 10.30 pm onSaturday in front of house ofSahadat in village Jadpur .
She had an injury nearher neck. Initially it was notascertained whether she diedof stabbing or gunshotwounds .
However, the post-mortem confirmed she diedof bullet injuries.
Father of the deceased SkAlam lodged an FIR withpolice alleging that she waskidnapped and then killed.Police said the other membersof the accused family werestill at large and said effortswere on to trace the weaponof offence and round up oth-ers involved in the crime.
In order to enable the peopleto pay their respects,
Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, whereformer Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee was crematedwith full State honours onAugust 17, has been developedas a Samadhi named as “SadaivAtal”. The Samadhi will bededicated to the nation onDecember 25, on the occasionof his 94th birthday anniver-sary. The Samadhi is spread ona 1.5-acre of land.
With the construction ofSadaiv Atal, the BJP in a waywould get its own ‘Rajghat’. Thememorials of former primeministers Jawaharlal Nehru,Indira Gandhi and Rajiv
Gandhi have been the iconicrallying points for theCongress.
The BJP has had no suchplace to converge in the capi-tal. In Vajpayee’s final restingplace, the BJP would get thefirst samadhi at the RashtriyaSmriti Sthal for any of its lead-ers.
The Samadhi has beencompleted by CPWD at a totalcost of Rs. 10.51 Crores with-out felling of a single tree. Theentire cost of construction ofthe Samadhi has been borne bythe Atal Smriti Nyas Society.
Officials of Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs(HUA) said that the centralSamadhi platform comprises ofnine square black polished
granite solid stone blocks,capped with a ‘diya’ in the cen-ter. The number nine holdssignificance and represents thenavarasas, navaratras and nav-agrahas.
“ The placement of thenine square Samadhi is in a cir-cular lotus shaped pattern.The nine-square platform isaccessed in four cardinal direc-tions by pathways made inwhite composite tiles so thatthe floor does not get heated.
The Samadhi is enclosedby nine bas-relief walls whichhave inscriptions of the prose/poetry of Vajpayee which canbe read by the visitor while tak-ing a pradakshina on the outercircular path,” officials added.
Interestingly, the govern-
ment led by Atal BihariVajpayee had decided againstconversion of official bunga-lows in Lutyens Delhi ofnational leaders into memori-als. A Cabinet note in the year2000 had taken a decision tothat effect.
The Modi Cabinet, inOctober 2014, also decidednot to convert the official bun-galows into memorials.
The decision was takenweeks after former UnionMinister Ajit Singh demandedthat his 12, Tuglaq Road bun-galow be converted into amemorial in the name of hisfather and former PrimeMinister Choudhary CharanSingh.
Officials said that to con-
struct a Samadhi, a society —“Atal Smriti Nyas Society” (reg-istered under the SocietiesRegistration Act XXI of 1860)formed by eminent persons.The founding members of theSociety include Lok Sabhaspeaker Sumitra Mahajan,senior BJP leaders LaljiTandon, OP Kohli, VajubhaiRudabhai Vala, Vijay KumarMalhotra, Ram Lal and RamBahadur Rai.
In 2013, the UPAGovernment had decided todevelop the Rashtriya SmritiSthal as the common site forperforming last rites of nation-al leaders such as past andincumbent Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Prime Ministersand others.
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Two public interest litiga-tions (PIL) were filed on
Monday in the Supreme Courtagainst the Government’s noti-fication authorising 10 Centralagencies to intercept, monitorand decrypt any computer system.
Advocates Manohar LalSharma and Amit Sahni filedseparate pleas seeking to quashthe Government’s December 20notification that empowers 10central probe and snoop agen-cies for computer interceptionand analysis.
Both the petitionersclaimed the notification was“unconstitutional” and the“blanket surveillance” bad inlaw.
The 10 agencies notifiedunder the new order are theIntelligence Bureau, NarcoticsControl Bureau, Enforcement
Directorate, the Central Boardof Direct Taxes (for Income TaxDepartment), Directorate ofRevenue Intelligence, CentralBureau of Investigation,National Investigation Agency,the Research and AnalysisWing, Directorate of SignalIntelligence (in service areas ofJ-K, North East and Assam)and Delhi Police commission-er.
Sharma sought urgent list-ing of his plea but his requestwas declined by the apex courtregistry and he was told thepetition would come up forhearing in the normal course.
Sahni, in his plea filedthrough advocate Preeti Singh,claimed the December 20 noti-fication was liable to be setaside according to the mandateof the right to privacy judge-ment delivered by a nine-judgeConstitution bench of the topcourt.
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Remembering the long yearsthat former Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vaypayee spent onOpposition benches, PrimeMinister Narrendra Modi onMonday took a jibe at theCongress saying that power isoxygen for certain people andthey become restless even outof power for two or five years.
Releasing a �100 com-memorative coin in the mem-ory of Vajpayee on the eve ofhis 94th birth anniversary,Modi said the former PMalways committed every secondof his life for welfare of the people.
“Today’s political landscapeis such that if someone has tostay out of power even for twoor five years, they become rest-less,” he told the gathering.
“For some people, power isoxygen...They can’t live withoutit. A long part of Atalji’s careerwas spent in the oppositionbenches but he spoke aboutnational interest and nevercompromised on the ideologyof the party,” the PrimeMinister’s Office (PMO) addedon Twitter while quoting thePrime Minister’s speech.
Vajpayee’s long-time asso-
ciate and BJP veteran LKAdvani, Lok Sabha SpeakerSumitra Mahajan, FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley and BJPpresident Amit Shah were alsopresent at the event. DiscussingVajpayee’s political journey,Modi said he always kept thenation and democracy beforehimself and the party.
“Atal-ji wanted democracyto be supreme. He built the JanaSangh. But when the timecame to rescue our democracy,he and others went to theJanata Party. Likewise, whenthe choice was betweenremaining in power or com-
prising on ideology, he leftJanata Party and formed theBJP,” Modi said.
The party which “Atal-jibuilt brick by brick” is nowamong the largest political par-ties in the world, the primeminister said, adding thatVajpayee had sown the seeds ofthe lotus (the BJP symbol) inthe country.
“When he spoke, thenation spoke... When he spoke,the nation listened. Atal-ji’svoice was not only voice of theBJP, it was an expression of thecommon man’s aspirations,”he said., narrating Vajpayee’s
oratory skills. The mind, Modiasserted, is not ready to believethat Vajpayee is no longer alive.
“Though he was away frompublic glare for nearly a decadedue to ill health, the way peo-ple gave him a farewell on hisdemise showed the mark hehad created in people’s minds,”Modi said. The former primeminister died in August thisyear at the age of 93 followingprolonged illness.
Modi said he would go toVajpayee’s memorial onTuesday to reiterate his com-mitment to the ideology andpath shown by the statesman.
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The Congress on Mondayaccused the Modi
Government of opening an‘extra constitutional detectiveagency’ to ‘snoop us’, ‘steal ourdata’ and ‘clamp down on free-dom’. It also alleged that a“systematic and systemicground work is being laid bythe present regime to convertIndia into a ‘nanny state’”.
The party demanded thatthe Government withdraw theDecember 20 order, thatallowed Central agencies mon-itor computer data and to placethese Draft Amendments inpublic domain for public con-sultation “so that India is savedfrom becoming a Police State”.
AICC spokespersonAbhishek Manu Singhvi said,“Modi Government is seekingto amend ‘The IntermediaryRules, 2011’ governed under the‘Information Technology Act,2000. The Intermediary Rules,
2011’provide immunity foronline platforms, InternetService Providers (ISPs) — big,large, and small — for the con-tent which is transmitted andpublished by end users. Thisallows these conduits of infor-mation to facilitate a core func-tion of ‘free expression’ and pre-vents them from throttlingcontent or overbroad censor-ship, thus securing our privacy.
“Modi Government seemsto be seeking major technicalchanges in such platforms asthat use encryption. With therequirement of traceability ofend-to-end, the platform willeither need to be substantiallyaltered or completely doneaway with,” said Singhvi.
“In a nutshell either end toend encryption platforms will
be dead leading to exposure ofthe data, calls, messages ofordinary people toGovernment monitoring orthe platforms will just need tobe adapted at the whims andfancies of the ModiGovernment. This is the perfectrecipe to ensure a ‘Nanny State’!Modiji’s ‘Gujarat Model’ ofSnooping has now reachedhumongous proportions,’’ hesaid.
Terming the alleged moveby the Government as oneseeking to undermine legiti-mate speech by requiringonline platforms to becomepro-active arbiters and judgesof legality (not their own termsof use which is a contractbetween the user and a plat-form), Singhvi said ,’’this colos-sally violates legal foundations,principles of natural justiceand treats ‘Everyone asCriminal’. It also shifts theduty of the state to a privateparty.’’
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The Narcotics ControlBureau (NCB) is working
on a proposal to map the entirecountry for availability of illic-it drugs, identify the maincentres along with the relatedactivities so that specific strate-gies to counter menace can beput in place.
A scientific data analysis isalso proposed to be used toplan an effective strategy tocounter the flow of drugs. Theagency plans to reach out to thevulnerable segments and influ-encers like the youth and in-charges of educational institu-tions to get into the root of theproblem.
Campuses of the universi-ties and educational institutionsare considered to be one of themajor points for consumptionof the contraband drugs and aneffective strategy to check theconsumption pattern has tofactor in the educational hubs,sources said.
A mechanism could helptrack the drug peddling chan-nels and profiling the end userswho could subsequently besubjected to de-addiction
efforts, they said, the proposalis being worked out in collab-oration with the Union HomeMinistry.
Sources said the proposalemerged as an actionable rec-ommendation from the DGPsconference earlier this year.
At present, the NCB’s pri-mary counter-narcotics focusareas include surveillance andenforcement at import pointsand land borders besides pre-ventive and interdiction effortsalong the known drug routes.
Other focus areas includecontrol measures at exportpoints, such as air-passengerterminals, cargo terminals andforeign post offices.
To achieve these tasks, theagency has emphasizedimproved co-ordinationbetween the various drug lawenforcement agencies for iden-tification and eradication ofillicit cultivation and the wildgrowth of cannabis and theopium poppy.
It also seeks to strengthenthe intelligence apparatus toimprove the collection, colla-tion, analysis and dissemina-tion of operational intelligence.
The NCB has already been
coordinating with variousnational and internationalenforcement agencies includingthe Directorate of RevenueIntelligence for interdiction ofnarcotic drugs and psy-chotropic substances.
Over the years, the NCBhas also stressed on the need tohave a mechanism forincreased international co-operation, both in operationaland long term intelligence aswell as in investigations andmutual legal assistance.
While the DRI seized26,785 kg of ganja in 2017-18as compared to 16,197 kg in theprevious year, the NCB alsointercepted thousands of kgs ofthe contraband during the yeareven as the agency is compil-ing the data of seizures fromvarious States.
Officials suspect a portionof the contraband ultimatelyreaches the campuses besideshotels and lodges especially inthe tourist places and anexhaustive mapping of theareas besides coordinationamong the various agenciescould lead to better results inchoking the supply lines of thedrugs, officials added.
er in five States a hoax and saidthe latter was asking national-ized banks to bear the burdenthus incurred.
Addressing a Press con-ference here, Union Ministerand senior BJP leader PrakashJavadekar alleged that goingback on promises was not anew habit for the Congress. Hesaid there was no loan waiversof farmers’ debt in five statesof Karnataka , Punjab, MadhyaPradesh, Chhattisgarh andRajasthan. In Karnataka thetotal debt is �45,000 crore buteven �75 crore is not allottedin the budget. KarnatakaGovernment, he claimed hasasked nationalized banks tobear the burden of farm debtwhich banks have refused say-ing it was a public moneywhich could not be used forwaving off loans.
Javadekar said the formsmeant to be filled to get loanwaver have 52 conditions andeven 15 per cent of farmerswere not illegible for it. Heclaimed 397 farmers havecommitted suicide inKarnataka in last six monthsunder the Congress-JD(S) rule.
Similarly, the BJP leadersaid Punjab has a debt of
�90,000 crore but the sanc-tioned amount in the budgetwas only �3,000 crore.Congress has “fooled” farmersin the five States, saidJavadekar. “The Congress isanti-farmers. It has duped
ryots in the name of waivingtheir loans,” he said.
To aggravate the prob-lems of the farmers, Banks, hesaid are demanding farmerspay-back their debts and havebeen served notices by banks.
New Delhi: The BJP is of the view that the Supreme Courtshould hear the Ram temple land dispute case on a daily basisto deliver an early judgement, Union Minister PrakashJavadekar said on Monday. “Our wish is that there should bea daily hearing on that matter so that we have an early judge-ment,” he said responding to a question on the issue. PNS
Acrucial trilateral meeting ofofficials from India,
Afghanistan and Iran on thes t r a t e g i c a l l y - i mp o r t a ntChabahar port was held onMonday during which theyagreed on the routes for tradeand transit corridors betweenthe three countries.
The first meeting of the fol-low-up committee for imple-mentation of the trilateralChabahar agreement betweenIndia, Afghanistan and Iran atthe level of Joint Secretary orDirector General was held inthe Iranian port city ofChabahar, the Ministry ofExternal Affairs (MEA) said.
On the occasion, India
Ports Global Limited companyopened its office and took overoperations at the ShaheedBehesti port at Chabahar.
“Positive and constructivediscussions were held betweenthe three sides on full opera-
tionalisation of the TrilateralTransit Agreement for inter-national transit and transportthrough the Chabahar Port.They agreed on the routes forthe trade and transit corridorsbetween the three countries,”the MEA said.
It was agreed to finalise atthe earliest, the protocol to har-monise transit, roads, customs,and consular matters.
During the meeting, it wasagreed to allow cargo move-ment at Chabahar usingTransports InternationauxRoutiers Convention provi-sions, the MEA said.
It was decided to hold anevent to promote and popu-larise the potential of Chabaharon February 26, 2019.
A study would also be ini-tiated for determining mea-sures to make the route attrac-tive, decrease logistic costs andpave the way for smooth oper-ationalisation of the ChabaharAgreement.
The next Follow-upCommittee meeting, followedby the second CoordinationCouncil Meeting at the level ofsecretaries or deputy ministers,will held in India.
In May 2016, India, Iranand Afghanistan inked a pactwhich entailed establishment ofTransit and Transport Corridoramong the three countriesusing Chabahar Port as one ofthe regional hubs for sea trans-portation in Iran, besidesmulti-modal transport of goods
and passengers across the threenations.
The port in the Sistan-Balochistan province on theenergy-rich nation’s southerncoast is easily accessible fromIndia’s western coast and isincreasingly seen as a counterto Pakistan’s Gwadar Port,which is being developed withChinese investment and islocated at distance of around 80km from Chabahar.
The Chabahar Port is con-sidered a gateway to goldenopportunities for trade byIndia, Iran and Afghanistanwith central Asian countriesbesides ramping up tradeamong the three countries afterPakistan denied transit accessto India.
Sabarimala: Another bid bytwo women in their forties totrek to the hill shrine of LordAyyappa here was foiled onMonday by protesting devotees,a day after a similar effort by agroup of 11 women failed.
The attempt by the twowomen — Bindu (42), aCPI(ML) activist fromKoyilandy in Kozhikode dis-trict, and Kanakadurga (44),said to be a civil suppliesemployee from Angadipuramin Malappuram — came after11 women activists of aChennai-based outfit were pre-vented from reaching the shrineand chased away by devoteeschanting Ayyappa mantras onSunday.
A case has been registeredagainst 150 people for riotingand causing obstruction, policesaid. Though the police at firstgave them protection and triedto take them to the templedespite protests, they soonrealised that it was dangerousand advised them to abandontheir plans. The two women,who reached Pamba at around4 am, faced massive protestsfrom devotees at Apachimeduand Marakootam, about onekm from 'Sannidhanam' (tem-ple complex), as they werebeing escorted by police.
Ayyappa devotees surged inlarge numbers to the narrowpathway while the women werebeing escorted, and there was aminor scuffle with police forover an hour. Police tried toevict the pilgrims who shouted"go back" and chanted Ayyappamantras and a tense situationprevailed with the restive devo-tees showing no signs of back-ing off.
Seeing the growing numberof protesters, including young
children, and to prevent the sit-uation from getting out ofhand, the women were advisedto return by the police.
Though both women, whohad trekked about 4.5 km, ini-tially insisted they would offerprayers at the shrine,Kanakadurga complained ofuneasiness shortly thereafterand fainted and had to berushed to Pamba hospital,police said.
Bindu was also taken to thehospital. Both were later shift-ed to the Kottayam medical col-lege hospital. A cameraman ofa Malayalam TV channel wasinjured in a the scuffle between
media personnel and policewhen the former tried to talk tothe two women when theywere being moved to the hos-pital.
Bindu told reporters thatboth were fine and there wereno health issues and it was onlya ploy by police to shift them tothe hospital to prevent themfrom reaching Sannidhanam.
While Industries MinisterEP Jayarajan insisted that theGovernment would not takeany stand which will destroy thepeace in Sabarimala,Opposition Congress hit out atthe Left Government, saying itwas playing a "double game".
"The protestors are behav-ing like Taliban militants,"Jayarajan said.
Attacking the StateGovernment, Opposition leaderRamesh Chennithala said itwas playing a "double game."
"What was witnessed inSabarimala on Sunday andMonday is a drama, which is aninsult to Kerala, police andpeople of the State," he said.
Senior Congress leader andformer Chief MinisterOommen Chandy said theGovernment's interest was toput up a "women's wall" fromKasaragode toThiruvananthapuram,
Flood relief and rehabilita-tion, Sabarimala pilgrimageseason are not matters whichare of any concern of theGovernment, he told reporters.
Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan, earlier this month,had announced that the'Women's Wall' would beformed on January 1 from thenorthern district of Kasaragodeto the southern most district ofThiruvananthapuram "to
demonstrate the secular andprogressive mindset of thestate".
BJP State president P SSreedharan Pillai said the partywas waging a 'Dharma Yudh'(religious war) and until theGovernment protects the faithof Hindus, the protests wouldcontinue. CPI(M) veteran V SAchuthanandan wanted theGovernment to arrest thosewho protested in front of thehouses of the two women.
Earlier, Bindu told reportersthat the government shouldimplement the September 28Supreme Court verdict andthey be allowed to go to theshrine.
The women said they hadnot asked for any police pro-tection. "The Supreme Courthas given a verdict. So it is thegovernment's duty to help usclimb the hills," they said.
Some BJP workers raisedslogans at Thiruvanathapuramrailway station against threewomen activists of "Manithi"who were returning to TamilNadu this afternoon.
The three had come toThiruvanathauram reportedlyto meet the Chief Minister, aday after 11-members of theoutfit unsuccessfully tried tomake it to the Ayyappa shrineon Sunday.
However, since Vijayan wasaway at Kozhikode, the meet-ing did not take place, officialsources said. Since the topcourt verdict, no women in the10-50 age group, who are tra-ditionally barred from enteringthe shrine, have been able toenter the 'sannidhanam' andoffer worship to the presidingdeity Lord Ayyappa, who is a"Naishtika Brahmachari"(perennial celibate). PTI
Patna: In a remark that couldtrigger fresh speculation aboutrift within RJD national presi-dent Lalu Prasad’s family, hiselder son Tej Pratap Yadav onMonday made it clear that hewould not shy away fromassuming the leadership of theparty if given a chance.
Yadav was responding toqueries from journalists at theRJD State headquarters here,after beginning a daily 'JantaDurbar' programme.
He had a week ago declaredthat he would henceforth takeactive interest in the partyaffairs.
Why not, Yadav shot backwhen asked if he was ready totake over the reins of the partyif the need arose. He also has-tened to add The leadershipvests with the people and I amhere to serve them.
The RJD MLA and formerBihar Minister had been in aprolonged state of reclusionafter filing a petition seekingdivorce from his wife of sixmonths as he has been miffedover the refusal of his family toback his decision.
He was last week allotted abungalow by the Nitish KumarGovernment about a kilometreaway from the residence of hismother Rabri Devi, where hisfather also used to live prior tohis imprisonment in a fodderscam case, as he was reported-ly reluctant to live with his fam-ily members.
After announcing the com-mencement of his daily 'JantaDurbar' programme at the par-tys Veerchand Patel Marg officeon Twitter, Prasad spent close
to four hours inside the cham-ber that had been reserved forhis father, sitting on his chair,listening to grievances of partysupporters.
Responding to queries ofjournalists afterwards, he said"The Janta Durbar has beenstarted at the party headquar-ters but I will be similarly hold-ing such darbars at variousplaces including at my assem-bly constituency Mahua. I donot wish to cause inconve-nience to our supporters livingaway from Patna.
There are speculations thatthe mercurial elder son of Lalu-Rabri has been feeling uneasywith the growing clout ofyounger but more savvy broth-er Tejashwi Yadav, who hasemerged as the partys de factoleader in the absence of theirfather.
Notably after their simul-taneous electoral debut in the2015 assembly polls Tej Pratapwas awarded with a cabinetberth but Tejashwi was appoint-ed the Deputy Chief Minister.
After the party lost powerbecause of Chief Minister NitishKumars exit from the rulingalliance, Tejashwi was desig-nated the leader of Oppositionin the State Assembly. PTI
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Bengaluru: JD(S) supremo andformer Prime Minister HDDeve Gowda on Monday dis-missed any threat to the rulingcoalition headed by his son HDKumaraswamy after the recentCabinet rejig.
The Government was sta-ble and the alliance will effi-ciently fight the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls, he told reporters.
"Nothing willhappen...Why do you havedoubts? It is all your (media)creation," Gowda said inresponse to a question abouttroubles for the coalitionGovernment after the Ministryexpansion and reshuffle onSaturday.
Pointing out that there aresenior leaders and high com-mand in the Congress to resolveall issues, he said "don't worry,the coalition Government willwork efficiently."
"We (alliance partners) willfight efficiently during parlia-ment polls, there are noissues...I'm saying there is notrouble for coalitionGovernment," Gowda added.
Kumaraswamy on Saturdayhad expanded his six-month-old Cabinet, inducting eightmembers from the Congress inthe much-awaited exercise,while dropping two Ministers.
The rejig was marked byrumblings of dissidence, asmany senior Congress MLAswere upset over their exclusion.
The JD(S) was not part ofthis round of Cabinet expansion.
Asked when JD(S) will fillvacant slots under its quota, theparty patriarch said "JD(S) is asmall party and whatever weget, it is great for us, we don'thave any dispute."After therecent cabinet expansion,Kumaraswamy Cabinet'sstrength now stands at 32. PTI
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Jaipur: Seeking to balance casteand regional factors, theRajasthan Cabinet was onMonday expanded with as manyas 23 Ministers — 13 Cabinetand 10 Ministers of State —being sworn in, a week afterChief Minister Ashok Gehlotand Deputy Chief MinisterSachin Pilot took oath,
Eighteen legislators includingSubhash Garg of RLD are firsttime Ministers, while the otherfive have held ministerial postsearlier, as efforts were made tohave a mix of young faces andexperienced legislators from bothGehlot and Pilot camps.
The Cabinet includes onewoman, Mamta Bhupesh, and aMuslim face, Saleh Mohammad.
Portfolios of the Ministersare yet to be allotted.
Pilot said the formation ofthe Cabinet reflects a balancebetween age and experience,caste and different geographicalregions.
"It is a balanced Cabinet. Wehave a lot of people who are beinggiven chance for the first time andalso some who got experience inearlier Congress Governments.So it is a balance between geo-graphical regions, different com-munities, and between experi-ence and age," Pilot told PTI.
"It is a forward looking,fully charged energetic Cabinet.We have added 23 Ministers toour existing strength and theGovernment is fully equipped todeal with the challenges andexpectations people have fromus,” he said.
Of the 23 newly inducted
Ministers, Shanti KumarDhariwal, Master Bhanwar LalMeghwal, Pramod Jain Bhayaand Parsadi Lal Meena wereMinisters in former CongressGovernment (2008-13) whileBD Kalla was the Minister inCongress Government (1998-2003).
Both these Governmentswere led by Ashok Gehlot, whohas now become the chief min-ister of the State for a third time.
Apart from the member ofthe erstwhile royal family ofBharatpur and influential Jatleader of eastern RajasthanVishvendra Singh, HarishChoudhary, Lalchand Katariaand Govind Singh Dotasara areJat leaders who have found aplace in the Council ofMinisters. PTI
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Agartala: High alert will besounded along the interna-tional border in Tripura, hoursbefore the Bangladesh generalelection, as the BSF steps upefforts to avert any "untowardsituation" in the poll-boundcountry, a senior official saidhere on Monday.
Tripura shares 856-km-long border with the neigh-bouring country.
Bangladesh is set to go topolls on December 30. Pittedagainst the Sheikh Hasina-ledruling Awami League (AL)and its various allies is theBangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP) which had boycotted thelast parliamentary elections.
Security has already beenbeefed up in the border areasin Tripura to check infiltrationbids, the senior Border SecurityForce (BSF) official said.
"Our main objective is tocheck influx of anti-social ele-ments. We will ensure that lawand order is maintained along
the border to avoid any unpleas-ant situation in poll-boundBangladesh," said AK Yadav, theofficiating Inspector General(IG) of BSF, Tripura Frontier.
Talking to reporters, Yadavclaimed that militancy hasbeen largely contained inTripura owing to persistentefforts by security forces overthe past few years.
"Law enforcement agen-cies of Bangladesh have alsoadopted a zero tolerance atti-tude to anti-Indian activities ontheir soil and our joint effortshave paid off well," he said.
The IG, however, cau-tioned against militant activi-ty in the border areas, given thefact that Bangladesh lawenforcement agencies havedemolished their hideouts inthe past few months.
"The militants oftenbefriend local people or try andmake inroads into the countrywith the help of their relativesresiding here," he said. PTI
Muzaffarnagar (UP): The SpecialInvestigation Team probing the2013 Muzaffarnagar riots is yet toget the permission of UttarPradesh Government to prosecutethe accused, which include severalMLAs and MPs, in around 20 riotscases.
According to sources in theSpecial Investigation Team (SIT),the State Government has notresponded to the investigativeagency's request of initiating legalproceedings against the accusedunder IPC Section 153(A)(offence committed in place ofworship) since the last five years.
The SIT had sought permis-sion from the State Governmentto prosecute the accused forallegedly making hate speechesduring the riots in about 20 cases,including the Kutba mass killing,they said.
The police had registeredcases against BJP MLA UmeshMalik, BJP MP Bhartendu Singh,Hindutva leader Sadhvi Prachiamong others over their allegedrole in the riots.
It is alleged that the accusedparticipated in a 'mahapanchayat'at Nagla Mandor and incited vio-lence through their speeches dur-ing the riots. PTI
and indirectly calling PrimeMinister Narendra Modi“Chowkidar Chor hain”, a bel-ligerent Shiv Sena presidentUddhav Thackeray on Mondaywarned the Government on theRam Mandir issue, saying thatHindus would teach the BJP alesson if it did not wake upfrom its slumber and keep itspromise of building the Ramtemple at Ayodhya.
Invoking the “Jai Jawan,Jai Kisan” slogan, Uddhavcharged that the ModiGovernment had cheated sol-diers through the Rafale scamand had taken the farmers fora royal ride through the cropinsurance scam. “When wetalk Jai Jawan, we see scam inthe purchase of Rafake air-craft. When we talk about JaiKisan, we have in front of uscrop insurance scam.(Journalist-tuned-activist) PSainath has said that the cropinsurance scam is of the samemagnitude as the Rafale scam.
That being the case, do youexpect us to back theGovernment that committedsins, merely on the Hindutvaissue?,” the Sena presidentasked.
Addressing a huge publicrally in the temple town ofPhandarpur in westernMaharashtra, Uddhav casti-gated the Modi Governmentat the Centre and BJPGovernment in the State on ahost of issues, including RamMandir, Rafale and cropinsurance scams, the BJP sur-rendering to Nitish Kumarand Ram Vilas Paswan, thePrime Minister’s promise todouble the agriculturalincome, failure to extend relief
to drought-affected farmers inthe State, snooping notifica-tion efforts to bring in unde-clared emergency in the coun-try, failure to protect cow,violence on the issue of cowprotection and the DevendraFadnavis Government’s failureto implement the �35,000crore farm loan waiverscheme.
Uddhav made an indirectpassing reference to“Chowkidar Chor hain”, whenhe spoke about the severedrought prevailing inMaharashtra. “I had recentlygone to a village in Beed dis-trict where I saw a tree eatenaway by insects. I could noteven recognise it was a lemontree, till an old farmer told meabout it. This was the first timeI was seeing such a sick lemontree. The old man told me thatthere was a time we would use lemon juice to insects but the same lemon tree hasbeen eaten away by insects.Such things do happen incountry where these chowki-dars have turned thieves inthese strange days”.
leader Nirupam Sen, whosetenure as West Bengal’sIndustry Minister saw rapidindustrial growth in the Statebut also the exit of the TataNano project after violentprotests, died here on Mondayafter a prolonged illness, fami-ly sources said. He was 72.
The former politburomember of the party is survivedby wife, a son and a daughter.
Sen passed away at 5.10 amfollowing a cardiac arrest, hos-pital sources said.
West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee, who hadspearheaded the anti-landacquisition movement inSingur, and CPI(M) generalsecretary Sitaram Yechury con-doled the death of the Marxistleader.
The state government hasannounced a half-day holidayin educational institutions andoffices on Monday as a mark ofrespect to the departed leader.
The former state Commerceand Industry minister was on lifesupport system after his healthcondition deteriorated in earlyDecember and had been criticalsince then. PTI
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Muzaffarnagar: An accused in the 2013Muzaffarnagar riots was found deadunder mysterious circumstances atSikheda village here, police said onMonday.
Sodan Singh's body was found onSunday evening hanging from the ceil-ing of a room, which housed a tube well,they said.
The body was sent for postmortemand the matter is being investigated,police said.
Singh's son has lodged a complaint
at the local police station and allegedthat his 60-year-old father was mur-dered, they said.
Based on the complaint, a case wasregistered against Anup, Rajesh, SunilKumar and Ramgopal, police said.
The communal clashes inMuzaffarnagar and adjoining areas inAugust and September 2013 hadclaimed more than 60 lives while over40,000 people were displaced.
Singh was also named as an accusedin a sexual harassment case.
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Maharashtra may emerge asthe first State in the coun-
try where the constituents of‘Mahagathbandhan’ will form agrand Opposition alliance totake on the BJP in the forth-coming Lok Sabha polls.
The leaders of theOpposition Congress and NCP,which are the two main parties,said on Monday that they hadarrived at a broad consensus onthe sharing of seats for the LokSabha polls.
“We (NCP, Congress andother allies) have held discussions on seat sharing.The alliance is being firmed
up,” NCP president SharadPawar said.
Maharashtra’s ChiefMinister and senior Congressleader Prithviraj Chavan saidthat the talks over the formationof a grand Opposition alliancewere in final stages. "We areworking on it (the formation ofan alliance). We have had sev-eral meetings. We would be hav-ing a few more meetings in thecoming days. We expect to for-malise the alliance soon," he said.
Apart from the Congressand NCP, the other constituentsinclude include Peasants andWorkers’ Party and HitendraThakur-led Bahujan VikasAghadi.
Chavan also said that thetalks were also on with PrakashAmbedkar-led BharipaBahujan Mahasangh (BBM)"We want that they should bewith us," he said.
What is coming in the wayof the BBM agreeing to be apart of the grand Oppositionfront is its alliance withAsauddin Owaisi led All IndiaMajlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM). The two parties hadcontested the TelanganaAssembly elections in alliancewith the K ChandrasekharRao-led TRS. Rao has beenrooting for forming a non-Congress, non-BJP front for theLok Sabha polls.
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Lucknow: Union Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad appealed to the Supreme Courton Monday to fast-track the hearing ofthe Ayodhya title suit, stressing if it canhappen in the Sabrimala issue why canit not be done to resolve this long pend-ing matter.
The Union Minister for law andJustice was speaking at the inaugurationof the 15th National Conference of AkhilBharatiya Adhivakta Parishad here.
He said, "I appeal to the SupremeCourt, in my personal capacity, to hearthe Ram Janmbhoomi issue at a fast-track court for a prompt disposal of thecase".
"When the Supreme Court can giveits verdict on the Sabrimala Temple casepromptly, why is the Ram Janmbhoomiissue pending for the past 70 years," he
said.Supreme Court Justice M R Shah,
Chief Justice of the Allahabad HighCourt Govind Mathur were amongothers present at the event.
The minister also said "why shouldwe worship Babar".
Showing a copy of the Constitution,he said, "There is a mention of Ram,Krishna as well as Akbar but there is nomention of Babar... But if we talk aboutsuch things in the country, a differentkind of controversy is raised."
He also talked about bringing an allIndia judicial services system forappointment of judges in future.
He appealed to the members of theAdhivakta Parishad to ensure that thecases related to the poor and needy peo-ple are heard promptly. PTI
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Banihal (J&K): The PDP on Monday sufferedanother setback when its senior leader and for-mer bureaucrat Bashir Ahmad Runyalannounced his decision to quit the party.
Runyal, a former IAS officer who wasRamban district president and State secretaryof the PDP, had joined the party prior to the2014 Assembly polls after his retirement and hadunsuccessfully contested the elections fromBanihal constituency.
"I have tendered my resignation from thebasic membership of the party and I am fight-ing the upcoming assembly elections as an inde-pendent candidate," he told reporters here.
Runyal was accompanied by BJP leaderShowkat Javaid Daing who also announced hisresignation from the basic membership of thesaffron party.
"We have decided to join hands in the larg-er interest of the development of our area whichwas ignored by the previous PDP-BJPGovernment," he said.
Daing had also unsuccessfully contested thelast Assembly elections on BJP ticket fromBanihal constituency which was won byCongress candidate Vikar Rasool Wani. PTI
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Shillong: Authorities in Meghalaya's EastJaintia Hills district on Monday temporarilysuspended operations to rescue 15 minerstrapped in a 370-foot-deep illegal coal mine inKsan area of Lumthari village since December13.
The exercise will resume once more pow-erful pumps are made available to districtauthorities, district Deputy Commissioner, FM Dopth, told PTI.
The miners were trapped in the illegal pitafter water from nearby Lytein River gushedinto the mine.
About 20 miners on December 13 enteredthe quarry owned by Krip Chullet. After reach-ing the bottom of the pit, they entered hori-zontal manholes, often termed as 'rat-holes', aseach just about fits one person.
Five persons were able to climb out of theflooded mine, leaving the others behind.
"We have temporarily suspended pumpingof water out of the mine as the exercise did notyield any positive result. The water level has notsubsided," Dopth said.
NDRF assistant commandant S K Singhsaid the current water level in the mine shaftis about 70 feet. PTI
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Mathura (UP): Former VHP presidentVishnu Hari Dalmia, one of the threemajor exponents of the RamJanmabhoomi agitation, has been admit-ted to the ICU in a Delhi hospital.
Dalmia has been kept in the ICU inApollo Hospital, Kapil Sharma, secretaryof the Shri Krishna Janmasthan SevaSansthan, said.
The nonagenarian is the trustee ofthe Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas andmember of Kendriya MargdarshakMandal, Sharma said.
With veteran VHP leaders AshokSinghal and Giriraj Kishore, Dalmiaplayed a major role in the agitation.
The Babri mosque was demolishedon December 6, 1992, by 'kar sevaks',who had converged as part of the move-ment by the BJP and Hindu outfits for
a Ram temple atthe disputed site.
The SupremeCourt is scheduledto take up a batchof petitions forhearing in theR a mJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid titledispute case onJanuary 4.
The bench is likely to constitute athree-judge bench for hearing as many as14 appeals filed against the 2010Allahabad High Court judgement, deliv-ered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acreland be partitioned equally among threeparties — the Sunni Waqf Board, NirmohiAkhara and the Ram Lalla. PTI
When a scientist, whobasked for decades in theglory of a technologythat ‘rescued’ India fromstarvation, says that the
green revolution was a failure and theclaims made for generation nextGenetically Modified (GM) crops areutterly bogus, the shock waves are like-ly to resonate for a long t ime.Unsurprisingly, “modern technologies forsustainable food and nutrition security”by geneticist PC Kesavan and agriculturescientist MS Swaminathan (CurrentScience, Vol. 115, No. 10, November 25,2018), has set the cat among the pigeons.
Given the sharp rebuttal by angry sci-entists, the article merits scrutiny.Kesavan-Swaminathan state that none ofthe modern technologies, aimed atboosting food production, including theGreen Revolution of the 1960s, is sustain-able because of “adverse environmentaland social impacts”. The Bt and HT (her-bicide-tolerant) crops are highly unsus-tainable, cause environmental damage,exhibit “genotoxic effects” and havefailed to achieve “the original objectiveof reducing the need for chemical pes-ticides”. Swaminathan claims he warnedabout the ecological consequences of theGreen Revolution at the Indian ScienceCongress, Varanasi, in 1968. This is hard-ly known even today and does notmatch his public positions, especially thepromotion of GM crops, in recent years.
The gene-based Green Revolutionreduced the height of wheat and rice cropswithout altering the length of the grain-bearing panicle, hoping that these dwarfand semi-dwarf plants could uptake highlevels of chemical fertilisers and water,and produce greater number of heavygrains. This high-input technology ofinorganic chemical fertilisers, chemicalpesticides and fungicides needed copiousirrigation with groundwater drawn withthousands of pumps (electricity wasgiven free). Some of these high-yieldingvarieties were grown continuously overlarge areas, displacing several locallyadapted varieties and landraces, leadingto loss of biodiversity, while being moresusceptible to pests and diseases withpotential for widespread failure.
Kesavan-Swaminathan claim it “wasalready known that chemical inputsexert deleterious effects on soil andwater”, which constitute the ecologicalfoundations of sustainable agriculture.Given the extent of soil and water degra-dation, and the explosion of health epi-demics among the population, we needa White Paper on which authorities knowabout the ill-effects of chemical agricul-ture and let it be extended all over thecountry, barring the hill regions. In theWest, private companies are being suedfor suppressing data that exposed the poi-
sonous effects of glyphosate;India must also fix responsi-bility. Swaminathan says hewarned that the GreenRevolution was showing‘yield fatigue’ by the late1980s and reached peakdecline by the mid-1990s.
Modern biotechnologyusing recombinant DNA (r-DNA) allows genes fromwidely different species to be‘inserted’ into another species.This is so undesirable andfraught with danger that oneis astonished it never raisedmoral qualms with scientistsworldwide. As Kesavan-Swaminathan now admit, theproblem with genetic engi-neering is that all molecularand cellular events triggeredby the process are not yetunderstood. As the cost of GEseed, like Bt cotton, andinputs, are exorbitant com-pared to non-GE seeds, smalland marginal farmers cannotwithstand financial losses ifcrops fail for any reason.
GE organisms have shownmany ‘unintended’ effects, rais-ing health safety concerns.Calgene Company’s ‘FlavrSavr’ tomato, the first GE foodcrop in the US, was withdrawnin barely two years in the late1990s after stomach lesionsdeveloped in experimentalrats. GE failed in L-tryptophan,causing the deaths of 37 peo-ple and paralysis in about
1,500 people. Hence, Kesavan-Swaminathan insist that “theassumption of ‘substantialequivalence’ to give marketapproval to genetically modi-fied (GM) crops is whollyunscientific and extremelydangerous”. Ironically, all argu-ments in favour of commercialcultivation of GM Mustard reston equivalence.
The duo debunk claimsthat hybrid Bt-cotton has ledto an unprecedented increasein India’s cotton production.According to Keshav Kranthi,former Director, CentralInstitute for Cotton Research,Nagpur, from 2008 onwards,Bt-cotton yield stagnated ataround 500 kg/ha and may belower at present, despite largeincreases in the area underBt-cotton cultivation. Pestresistance to Bollgard II wasalready evident in 2008 andsecondary pests are a seriousconcern. As Kranthi observes:“Bt-cotton was supposed tohave conferred two majorbenefits to cotton production:(a) high yields due to effectiveprotection of bolls from boll-worm damage and (b) reduc-tion in insecticides recom-mended on bollworm control.Official data show that noneof these promises was kept inthe past ten years in India”.
The Union of India in itscounter affidavit in the DelhiHigh Court (in WPCC No.
12069 of 2015), correlatedfarmer suicides with failure ofBt-cotton. Simultaneously,leading American cotton sci-entists, Gutierrez and co-work-ers, showed that farmers’annual suicide rates in rainfedareas are directly related toincreases in Bt-cotton adop-tion (ie costs). Indian dataestablishes the failure of Bt-cotton due to rising resis-tance, hybrid policy and sec-ondary pests.
Blaming Monsanto is notenough. Why did StateGovernments allow poorfarmers to incur debt fromprivate money-lenders (notcovered by loan waivers) andgrow high-input food and/orcash crops in rainfed areas?The failure of these crops trig-gered farmer suicides yearafter year, yet no State agricul-ture Ministry ever told poorfarmers to grow hardy cropsand practice sustainable agri-culture. In irrigated areas,farmers were not educatedabout the soil and water pol-lution caused by chemicalfertilisers and pesticides.
The Supreme Court-appointed Technical ExpertCommittee had recommend-ed a total ban on HT-crops.Given the failure of Bt-cottonand rising health concernswith Bt-crops, Kesavan-Swaminathan support the banon commercialisation of Bt-
brinjal, imposed by JairamRamesh, then Union Ministerfor Environment , Forestsand Climate Change. TwoParliamentar y StandingCommittees (of 2012 and2017) concluded that regula-tors failed to uphold rigorousand independent test proto-cols for GMOs and conflictsof interests hampered properregulation.
All HT-crops of corn, soyand cotton are resistant toroundup, whose active ingre-dient is the herbicideglyphosate, which was classi-fied as a group 2A carcinogenby the World HealthOrganisation’s InternationalAgency for Research onCancer, in 2015. Today,Argentina suffers significantbirth defects and cancers inHT-soy regions. After theCalifornia Supreme Court’sverdict on Roundup’s link tocancer, Kesavan-Swaminathanadvocate that Deepak Pental’sHT-mustard hybrid DMH-11,tolerant to glufosinate, must bebanned as the genotoxic glu-fosinate is as hazardous asglyphosate. They add thatIndia has several mustard vari-eties and hybrids that out-yieldDMH-11. This is what activistshave consistently argued.
(The writer is SeniorFellow, Nehru MemorialMuseum and Library; theviews expressed are personal)#�%�������)�����#��*%)#+
Sir — It has been more than fourmonths that the President ofIndia, on August 11, accordedhis assent to the Criminal Law(Amendment) Act, 2018, aspassed by both Houses ofParliament. It is, thus, now dulyan Act of Parliament.
This Act, inter alia, amends,rather strengthens the penalprovisions as regards the offenceof rape of women below 16 and12 years of age. It also amendsSection 376(1) by increasingthe minimum term of imprison-ment to 10 years as againstseven years hitherto ie beforeApril 21, 2018, when this law gotpromulgated as an Ordinance bythe President of India.
But unfortunately, till date,no law-maker has even takennote of a glaring discrepancyexisting in Section 376(1) of theIndian Penal Code, which laysdown that “Whoever, except inthe cases provided for in sub-section (2), commits rape, shallbe punished with rigorousimprisonment of either descrip-tion for a term”.
Hemanth KumarHaryana
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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Snooping silently” (December24). Raising the spectre of anOrwellian state and triggering apolitical storm, it is unfortunatethat the Centre has named nineCentral agencies and the Delhipolice as those authorised tointercept, monitor and decrypt
information transmitted by orstored in any computer.
Of course, the Governmentand the BJP have claimed that thisis only a routine gazette notifica-tion of a legal provision that cameinto force since 2009, highlight-ing that the clause was brought inby the UPA. The Government’sdefence that it has basically mod-ified an earlier order to the sameeffect is a weak one. The language
of this order allows any of theseagencies to demand access to datastored in computers of any kind.Since the previous rule wasframed in 2009, there has beenconsiderable clarity on the statusof privacy in India’sConstitutional scheme of things.
The Supreme Court hadruled, in a unanimous, nine-bench finding in August 2017,that the right to privacy is a fun-
damental right, dismissing theGovernment’s plea that theConstitution does not offer sucha right.
JS AcharyaHyderabad
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Sir — For Christians, Jesus Christis the messenger of god. As wecelebrate Christmas not onlyChristians but even non-Christians remember, with duereverence, the son of god, whosuffered the terribly painful deathon the Cross to deliver humani-ty. The spread of love and peaceamong mankind is the suprememessage of Christmas.
Most people know thatChristians celebrate Christmas asthe birthday of Jesus Christ, butthis day means much more. Itmeans having fun with yourfamily, spending time with them,seeing beautiful Christmas lights,decorating the Christmas tree,spending time in prayers and eat-ing rich food and sweets.
The State of Jammu & Kashmir is pass-ing through a very crucial phase.While Government agencies are work-ing diligently to restore normalcy in theState, vested interests, which include
pro-Pakistan sympathisers and soft separatists, aredetermined to ensure that the State remains in tur-moil. The modus operandi adopted by spoilers isto build a situation that alienates people and givesrise to an anti-Government mindset. In otherwords, an anti-Government perception is builtamong the public to promote their narrative ofthe Government being anti-Kashmiris. In such ascenario, media has an important role to play. Themanner in which an event is presented to theKashmiris and the nation at large, helps build per-ceptions to a large extent.
Let’s have a look at the recent Pulwama inci-dent which once again was an ugly attempt byspoilers to derail the process set in by theGovernor’s Administration to win over the youthand restore normalcy in trouble-torn southKashmir. Most media headlines read: ‘Seven civil-ians, three militants, one jawan killed in Pulwamagunfight.’ The vernacular Press crossed all limitsand chose to highlight National Conference leaderOmar Abdullah’s tweet, who described the inci-dent as a “massacre.” Local Kashmiri media, too,did not lag behind in arousing passions.
Both, technically and grammatically, there isnothing much wrong in the quoted headlines. Butfactually, it appears to be incorrect and wordedinappropriately. The same headlines should haveactually read: ‘Seven stone-pelters, three terror-ists killed and one jawan attained martyrdom inPulwama encounter.’ The usage of correct termi-nology helps build correct perceptions. Themedia needs to realise this. The second is a mat-ter of fact headline and portrays a better imageof the security forces who undertake these oper-ations as duty and service to their nation.
Terrorists are enemies of the nation and thosewho assist them are their sympathisers. Theydeserve no leniency. The nation needs to recog-nise the sacrifices made by soldiers and shouldbe indebted to the forces who are involved in anti-terror operations — be it in Kashmir, the North-East or in the Maoist heartland. It is time that themainstream leadership in Kashmir and the civilsociety start investing in the return of normalcy.It appears to be difficult because there arenumerous vested interests involved whose exis-tence, politically or otherwise, depends onKashmir remaining a melting pot.
But the majority, who has only been suffer-ing and has gained nothing from the ongoing tur-moil, is yearning for peace. At least for their sake,the need to change mindsets and give peace achance is essential. Kashmiris have been exploit-ed to the hilt by these power brokers who havegiven nothing to them except false and brokenpromises. The effect of the turmoil is equally beingfelt by other two regions of the State wheredemand for trifurcation is gaining momentum butit is not in the nation’s interest.
Rather than pacifying the public and preach-ing restraint, leaders, who have occupied the high-est chair in the State, issue provocative statements.Nothing could have been more ill-timed than thistweet of a former Chief Minister: “Protests
around encounter sites are now thenorm, not the exception. Why are weunable to learn how to handle them bet-ter?” Indirectly, the leader tried justi-fying the stone-pelting on our securi-ty forces and blamed them for not beingable to handle stone-pelting mobs whoare blood thirsty.
Another former Chief Ministertweeted, “No country can win a war bykilling its own people.” Even withoutgoing through the facts, this leaderblamed the Indian nation for the civil-ian causalities that occurred because theso-called ‘civilians’, who were actuallyfriends and sympathisers of the trappedterrorists, were hurling stone missilesat the soldiers. They were preparing toreturn to their barracks after a success-ful encounter with no collateral dam-age. In the bargain, they lost one of theircomrades who made the supreme sac-rifice to ensure that Kashmiri awam isnot troubled by the terrorists.
Rather than being indebted to themartyr and his family, these goonsdared to not only attack the jawans withstones, but also had the audacity toclimb on their vehicles and snatch thebodies of terrorists. How then can oursecurity forces be blamed for the civil-ian causalities? Human rights are uni-versal and applicable to everybody,including the soldiers.
Another tweet of the same ChiefMinister read: “South Kashmir has beenreeling under fear for the last sixmonths.” As if prior to that, when theleader was at the helm, south Kashmirwas a heaven. What does the leaderwant to convey? If at all south Kashmiris reeling under fear, it is due to the bar-baric jihadi terror unleashed by the ter-rorists, duly financed and supported byPakistan. Does the leader want southKashmir to be handed over on a plat-ter to the jihadis? Or does the leader
want the security forces to kill the ter-rorists and eliminate the terror supportnetwork? Was no lesson learnt from theunsuccessful experimentation of givingamnesty to stone-pelters who wereeventually recycled to strengthen theterror network? Why should terroristsbe referred to as militants? There is adistinct difference between a militantand a terrorist. What cause are these ter-rorists fighting for except furtheringPakistan’s agenda of “bleeding Indiathrough thousand cuts?” There is quin-tessential evidence to prove that whatis going on in Kashmir is not militan-cy but Pakistan-sponsored proxy war.
The entire terror infrastructureand network has the support ofPakistan, including arming, equippingand financing. Unfortunately, even theofficial handouts issued by the StateGovernment use the word ‘militant’and not ‘terrorist’, for reasons bestknown to the police and bureaucrat-ic machinery of the State. Hopefully,the Governor will take note of thisanomaly and issue directives for itsrectification.
It is a fact that civilians are sup-posed to be civilised. Certainly thoseusing stone-pelting to kill security per-sonnel deliberately cannot claim to becivilised. The truth is that there werethree heavily armed terrorists andseven lightly armed terrorists. All ofthem were killed in a mandated mil-itary operation conducted by thesecurity forces in an area declared“disturbed” by a competent civilianauthority.
All of them died of their own willand security forces cannot be heldresponsible or blamed for the same. Thethree heavily armed terrorists couldhave surrendered when appealed by thepolice and lived thereafter. They chosenot to do so out of their own will.
The seven should have used dis-cretion and stayed away from theencounter site. A thorough scrutiny oftheir call history revealed that theywere summoned to reach the site afterthe encounter began and that theycame from different places. Theywere not essentially locals. They weresummoned as part of an escape strat-egy, which TA soldier-turned-terror-ist Gowhar Thokar, had mastered andsuccessfully escaped from the securi-ty forces’ cordon on numerous occa-sions previously.
How can the jawan, who laiddown his life for the motherland, beclubbed with the terrorists, the nation’straitors and referred to as ‘killed’? Letnobody in this country harbour anydoubt that the martyrdom of jawans inthe line of duty cannot be belittled byusing wrong terminology. The jawans(term used for all ranks includingofficers) are not killed but they willing-ly die for a cause, which is neither hispersonal agenda nor his ideology. Helays down his life unflinchingly fornamak, naam and nishan and hiscountry without caring for his family.He is a martyr and deserves to bereferred to as such. There is no greatersacrifice known to man than to laydown one’s life in defence of the nation.A nation that fails to honour its mar-tyrs is bound to fail. In the words ofNapoleon Bonaparte, “It is the cause,not the death, that makes the martyr.”
Discretion is better part of valour.Insensitivity needs to be replacedwith apathy and care. Proper selectionand use of correct terminology willcertainly help the nation win the bat-tle of perceptions.
(The author is a Jammu-basedpolitical commentator and strategicanalyst. The views expressed are entire-ly personal)
As we celebrate the birth anniver-sary of Mahamana MadanMohan Malaviya today — a
freedom fighter and a great son ofmother India who was born on this dayin 1861 — we must also rememberabout his phenomenal contributionand his vision for higher education ofthis country. Besides being a great edu-cationist, Malaviya was a socialreformer, who founded the BHU.
While the formation of the BHUholds the foremost expression of hisvision par excellence, his ideas on edu-cation remain highly relevant in thepresent scenario. The higher educationsystem as it exists today is marred byadministrative corruption, nepotismand promotion of vested interests, fail-ing institutional integrity and qualityresearch, managing cost and crumblinginfrastructure, poor student-faculty
ratio and apathy for talent. All of thesehave come at the cost of underminingnation-building efforts and the failureto respond and take along the palpa-ble amount of youth energy, driven bya sense of confidence and aspiration.
To put it on factual terms, a formerIndian Ambassador to the US told thiswriter: “Almost close to six billion dol-lar is the amount spent by Indians onlyon tuition fees at universities in the US”,emphasising on the importance ofhigher education among the presentgeneration. Faced with new challengesof ‘fiscal prudence’, the country’s high-er education sector reflects a sense ofdisillusionment. Contrarily, Malaviyadreamt of establishing an ‘ideal scheme’for the higher education that would actas a ‘foundational block’ for the creationof an inclusive, accessible, equitable anddiverse knowledge society. For him, allof this was above parochial interests.
Malaviya conceived a uniquemodel of education based on the val-ues of integration, harmony and peace,deriving from our rich cultural heritageand combining the same with science,reason and an inquisitive mind, muchlike the way he shaped and formed theBHU. This is very well expressed in the
motto of this pioneering institution,which suggests: “The end of all knowl-edge is the attainment of immortality.”For Malaviya, the essence of our edu-cation system must be “openness andacceptance” of noble thoughts from alldirections, and also sending out its ownmessage to the outer world.
Knowledge remains the biggestsource for balance of power in contem-porary times. In the past, India hasalways been recognised as an epitomeof ‘civilisational wisdom’, but at a timewhen the system is faced with seriouschallenges, Malaviya’s vision for edu-cation finds much relevance and con-templation today for both our leader-ship and educationists. The same wasechoed at the 2009 World Conferenceon Higher Education which noted that,“Higher education must pursue thegoals of equity, relevance and qualitysimultaneously.”
Malaviya emphasised that as thesystem fails to insulate itself from thechallenges of marketisation and glob-alisation, collective efforts must be putto protect our indigenous knowledge,tradition, culture and values. In searchof the new, we must not fall prey tocomplete Westernisation. Rather, we
must build a system combining tradi-tional wisdom with modern innova-tive thinking and scientific rationalitywith spiritualism. He believed thatIndia’s spiritual traditions, given its lib-eral and non-conformist beliefs, willalways attract philosophers, scholarsand educationist. As the urban-basedmiddle class look for inner peace, it hasmade deep inroads into the newly afflu-ent society. Rabindranath Tagore noted:“Is not the East the mother of spiritu-al humanity and does not the Westquite often turn their faces to thatserene mother, the East?”
Being a great votary of protectingvernacular languages and accessiblepublic education, Malaviya alwayswarned against the modern educationsystem becoming subservient to theforces of market and privatisation. Asour current system of education is facedwith financial crunch, Malaviya laidemphasis on higher public spending oneducation. Interestingly, while Chinaspends almost four per cent of its GDPon education, India remains muchbelow at 2.7 per cent of its GDP, as perlatest financial estimates.
For Malaviya, good education andcritical learning were the noble ways
towards self-realisation ie salvation ormoksha, which is considered as thesupreme duty for Hindus. He believedthat religion and education were inter-dependent and existed in harmonywith each other. The relation betweenboth, he argued, was going through anew change. In pursuit of serving thehumanity, it shall be build on the foun-dations of social charity, higher moral-ity and greater public good.
While addressing the second ses-sion of the Congress in Kolkata in 1886,Malaviya emphasised that to revi-talise our motherland, we need toimpart our young minds with educa-tion founded on Indian ideals, whichmust be combined with the richness ofscience and learning from the West.
Malaviya believed that thedemands of modern industry wouldmake it essential for India to intro-duce an extensive system of techni-cal and industrial education. The cen-trality of skill-based technical educa-tion was at the core of his educationscheme. His educational policy wasenvisioned on multi-disciplinaryresearch-based academic model. Forhim, modern universities were like‘power houses’, taking the young
minds away from misery, ignoranceand darkness to new levels of devel-opment and empowerment.
Malaviya very well understoodthe problem of unemployment andits relation with quality of education.Hence, his vision outlined the role fordeveloping the mind even with aver-age intelligence, based on impartingnew skills, technological tools andvocational training. For him, theframework of modern higher educa-tion should always address andrespond, keeping in mind societaltrends, nature of economy and demo-graphic composition.
In the present age, driven by con-sumerism and capitalism, Malaviya’svision of education, establishing it asthe most honoured value againstwealth, must form the guiding force toformulate and execute educationalpolicies. Nations that fail to learnfrom the vision of its great leaders aremost likely to remain in non-viable fan-tasy for long in the future. By carryingforward Malaviya’s vision and mission,we can surely pay tribute to him.
(The writer holds PhD from EastAsian Studies, JNU and teaches at theUniversity of Delhi)
The Goods and Services Taxwas implemented w.e.f. 1st
July, 2017. It hasn't completedeighteen months of imple-mentation as yet. The GST hasbeen at the receiving end of alot of ill-informed and moti-vated criticism. What hasbeen its real performance?
The Pre-GST regimeIndia had the worst indi-
rect tax system anywhere in theworld. Both the Centre and theState Government were entitledto levy a set of taxes. Therewere seventeen taxes levied.An entrepreneur, therefore,faced seventeen inspectors,seventeen returns and seven-teen assessments. The rate oftaxation were exorbitantly high.The standard rate of VAT andexcise was 14.5% and 12.5%respectively. To this could beadded the CST and the cas-cading effect of tax on tax. Thestandard rate thus became 31%on a large number of com-modities. The assessees hadonly two options — either topay a high rate of tax or evadeit. Tax evasion was prevalent
to a large extent.India comprisedof multiple mar-kets. Each Statewas a separatemarket becausethe rate of taxcould be differ-ent. Interstatesales becameinherently inef-ficient becausetrucks had towait for hoursand days at theState borders.
The GST impact on 1stJuly, 2017
From the date of its imple-mentation, the GST changedthe situation radically. Allseventeen taxes were com-bined into one. The whole ofIndia became one market. Theinterstate barriers disappeared.Entry into the cities becameopen with abolition of theentry tax. States were chargingan entertainment tax rangingfrom 35% to 110%. This camedown radically. 235 items werebeing charged at either 31% taxor even higher. All except 10such items were brought downimmediately to 28%. The 10such items were brought downto even a lower rate i.e.18%.Multiple slabs were fixed tran-siently in order to ensure thetax of no commodity goes upradically. This contained theinflation impact. Mostaamaadmi items were placed inthe zero or 5% tax bracket.Returns became online; assess-ments will be online; multipleinspectors had disappeared.The States were guaranteedthat for the first five years theywill be ensured a 14% annual
revenue increase. The revenue trendsA frequently made com-
ment has been that the revenuepositon has been disappointing.The comment is based on aninadequate understanding ofboth the targets and the rev-enue increase. The targets setfor the State in the GST regimeis unprecedently high. Eventhough GST commenced on1st July, 2017, the base year forrevenue increase has been cal-culated is 2015-16. For eachyear a 14% increase is guaran-teed. Thus, even when 18months have not been fin-ished since the launch of GST,on this day every State has atarget of improving its revenuewith three 14% increases com-pounded annually over thebase year of 2015-16. This isclose to a 50% being reached inthe second year itself. It isalmost an unachievable target.Yet six States have alreadyachieved it, another seven arewithin a striking distance ofachieving it and only eighteenare still more than 10% awayfrom achieving it. By thethird, fourth and fifth year, asin the case of VAT, the abilityto increase revenues and clos-
ing the gap will substantiallyincrease. Those States whichdo not achieve the target of14% are paid out of the com-pensation cess. The require-ment of compensation cess inthe second year is expected tobe much lower than the firstyear. This increase in the taxcollection has to be factoredkeeping in mind the significantrate reduction which has takenplace in the GST. The reduc-tion in monetary termsamounts to about Rs.80000crores per year.Notwithstanding the substan-tial tax reduction, the GSTcollection in the first sixmonths of this year has showna significant improvement ascompared to the first year.The average monthly tax col-lected in the first year wasRs.89700 crore as compared toRs.97100 crore per month inthe second year.
The rate rationalisationWe were faced with a situ-
ation with a large number ofcommodities being taxed heav-ily in the pre-GST regime.The Congress legacy of indirecttax was a 31% tax. We tran-siently put them in the 28%slab. As the revenues kept
increasing, we started bringingdown the rates. Most of thecommodities have seen taxreduced. Today, barring tobac-co products, luxury vehicles,molasses, air-conditioners, aer-ated water, large TVs, and dishwashers, all 28 items have beentransferred from 28% slab to18% and 12% slab. Onlycement and auto parts areitems of common use whichremain in 28% slab. Our nextpriority will be to transfercement into a lower slab. Allother building materials havealready been transferred from28% to 18% and 12%. The sunis setting on the 28% slab.
Of the 1216 commoditieswhich are used, broadly 183 aretaxed at zero rate, 308 at 5%,178 at 12% and 517 at 18%.The 28% slab is now a dyingslab. Restaurants are beinglevied a tax compounded underthe composition of turnover at5%. Assessees with turnoverupto Rs.20 lakhs are exemptedfrom tax payment.Assesseesupto Rs.1 croreturnover can get a compositionby paying 1% tax. The com-position scheme for small ser-vice tax assessees is under con-sideration. Cinema tickets taxbetween 35% to 110% has beenbrought down to 12% and18%. The GST has helped incontrolling inflation. Evasionhas also come down.
The net effectLower rate of taxes,
increased tax base, higher col-lections, easy for trade and leastinterface in assessments with asignificant part of the tax ratio-nalisation over, the growthpercentage in the years to comewill increase. The transfor-mation has been done over a
period of 18 months. Anyabrupt transformation couldhave been either detrimental torevenue or to trade.
The GST CouncilThe GST Council has had
31 meetings. It is India's firstexperiment with the federalinstitution. It is a body that hasbehaved with utmost respon-sibility. Several thousand deci-sions, including legislativedrafting, rules drafting, notifi-cations, fixing initial rates andrationalising rates have all beentaken unanimously with con-sensus. The political noise out-side is inconsistent with theharmony inside the Council.
A personal thought withregard to the future road map
With the GST transforma-tion completed, we are close tocompleting the first set of rate ofrationalisation i.e. phasing out the28% slab except in luxury and singoods. A future road map couldwell be to work towards a singlestandard rate instead of twostandard rates of 12% and 18%.It could be a rate at some mid-point between the two.Obviously, this will take somereasonable time when the tax willrise significantly. The countryshould eventually have a GSTwhich will have only slabs of zero,5% and standard rate with luxu-ry and sin goods as an exception.
Epilogue Those who oppressed India
with a 31% indirect tax andconsistently belittled the GSTmust seriously introspect.Irresponsible politics and irre-sponsible economics is only arace to the bottom.
(The writer is UnionFinance Minister, Governmentof India. Views expressed in thearticle are personal.)
private security services underthe Reverse ChargeMechanism for charging ofGST, the Central Associationof Private Security Industry(CAPSI) Chairman KunwarVikram Singh has written toPrime Minister NarendraModi thanking him for pro-viding much-needed relief tolakhs of private security agen-cies.
"I have the honour toexpress our sincere gratitudeto you and the Ministry ofFinance for taking a decisionto bring Private SecurityServices under the ReverseCharge Mechanism for themanagement of the GST. Thishistoric decision will have farreaching positive impact onthe business growth of morethan 22,000 Private SecurityAgencies and 85-lakh work-force enjoying gainfulemployment in these estab-lishments. Your decision hasaverted the total collapse ofthe Private Security Industrywhich was getting throttleddue to GST," Singh said in hisletter to the Prime Minister.
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The rupee on Monday recov-ered by 4 paise to close at
70.14 against the US currency,aided by weak crude oil pricesand the dollar's losses in glob-al markets due to politicaluncertainty in the US.
Crude oil prices remainedbelow the $55 per barrel mark,strengthening the rupee senti-ment, a forex dealer said.
The dollar was weakagainst major currencies inglobal markets which support-ed the local currency, the deal-er said.
crores by Larsen & Toubro(L&T) to set upTelecommunication Systemsfor Mauritius Metro Express &Dhaka Metro Mass RapidTransit System Projects
Himachal FuturisticCommunications Limited(HFCL) announced that it hasbeen awarded two contractstotalling �148 crores by L&T toexecute theT e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o nSystemsprojectsfor theMauritius Metro ExpressProject and for the DhakaMetro Mass Rapid TransitSystem.
The Mauritius MetroExpress Project is along a 26kmroute that will connectCurepipe to ImmigrationSquare in the capitalPort Louisand will feature 19 stations. TheDhaka Metro Mass RapidTransit System Project is alonga 20 km route and is an ele-vated metro rail system with 16Stations and a MaintenanceDepot, connecting Uttara andMotijheel.
The scope of work forHFCL includes,Design,Manufacturing, Supply,Installation, Execution, Testingand Commissioning andTraining for Communication
Network, Control &Monitoring (C&M)Systemwhich includesOperation Management &Control System (OMCS), VoiceCommunication System(VCS), Emergency HelpTelephony System (EHTS),Master Clock System (MCS),Closed Circuit Television(CCTV), PassengerInformation Display Signs(PIDS), Public Address System(PAS), Passenger InformationKiosks (PIK), Electronic AccessControl System (EACS) andSpares.
These overseas projects arethe first of their kind whichhave been awarded to HFCL,and are a recognition of itscapability in designing, inte-grating, installing and com-missioning complex systems intelecommunications for
Railways andMetros thathave to be exe-cuted withinwel l -def inedtime lines andmeet stringentoperating con-ditions. It hasbeen theendeavour ofthe Companyto expand itsbusiness out-reach beyondIndia and these
projects will provide a footholdto access similar markets over-seas.
Mahendra Nahata,Managing Director of theCompany said "TheCompany'sexperience from the threeongoing similar projects beingexecuted by it for AlstomServices India Private Limited,L&T Railways StrategicBusiness Unit, and ChinaRailway Signal &Communication for turnkeytelecommunication systemsonthe Eastern and WesternDedicated Freight CorridorsofDedicated Freight CorridorCorporation of India Limited(DFCCIL)will certainly helpthe Company in executing theMauritius Metro ExpressProject and the Dhaka MetroProject efficiently."
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Airports Authority of India(AAI) being the sole Air
Navigation Service (ANS)provider and operator ofAirports across the country isconsistently honoring the 2030Agenda for SustainableDevelopment. By implement-ing cost effective carbon miti-gation action to conserve envi-ronment and reduce its adverseimpact on the society and thelarger ecosystem, AAI is com-
mitted towards the reduction ofGreen House Gas (GHG).
The policy includes aframework to reduce emissionsand develop a Carbon Footprintmapping for the airport's ownemissions which are under itscontrol. In line with national aswell as global climate changeinitiatives, AAI has initiatedGHG management program atfour of these airports with anobjective of ensuring sustain-able development of the avia-tion industry.
New Delhi: The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India's hatch-back Swift emerged as the best-selling passenger vehicle (PV) model inNovember, pushing down the company's entry level car Alto, which occu-pied the number one spot in the same month last year, to fourth position.
According to data by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers(SIAM), Swift sold 22,191 units last month as against 13,337 units in theyear-ago month when it occupied the sixth spot in the best-selling PV modellist. Retaining the second place last month was MSI’s compact sedan Dzirewith 21,037 units sold, albeit lesser number compared to 22,492 units inNovember last year. MSI’s premium hatchback Baleno also retained its thirdspot with 18,649 units. It had sold 17,769 units in November 2017. The com-pany's entry-level small car Alto came in the fourth spot with 14,378 unitssold in November as compared to 24,166 units in the same month last year,when it occupied the top spot. Another model from MSI's stable, Vitara Brezzasold 14,378 units last month coming at the fifth spot, down from fourth posi-tion in November 2017 when it sold 14,458 units. Completing a sweep ofthe top six spots for MSI was Wagon R with 11,311 units sold last month,down from fifth in November last year when it clocked 14,038 units. HyundaiMotor India Ltd's (HMIL) premium hatchback Elite i20 sold 10,555 unitsin November coming at seventh position, up from eighth in the same monthlast year when it sold 10,236 units. HMIL’s SUV Creta clocked 9,677 unitsto be at eighth position, moving up one slot from November last year whenit registered 8,528 units. Another compact car from the company's stable,Grand i10 sold 9,252 units last month coming in at the ninth spot, downfrom seventh in the year-ago month when it sold 13,249 units. Making anentry into the top ten best selling PV models was HMIL’s comeback modelSantro with 9,009 units.
�(�#������������ �� � �� � ������$&&�New Delhi: The number of Japanese companies operating in India has
gone up to 1,441 till October this year, on account of improving businessenvironment in the country, said Ambassador of Japan to India KenjiHiramatsu. In a communication to Commerce and Industry Minister SureshPrabhu, the Ambassador said there was a significant increase in the num-ber of companies in metal manufacturing and services. “We have complet-ed the annual survey of Japanese business establishments in India...the num-ber of Japanese companies in India has reached 1,441 as of October 2018,which is an increase of 72 companies or 5 per cent as compared to the pre-vious year,” Hiramatsu said. He added that manufacturing sector accountsfor half of the total Japanese companies. The Ambassador said he would likethe Indian leadership to resolve issues related to tax, customs, financial andcapital regulations and infrastructure as it would help in achieving “our mutu-al goal of doubling the number of Japanese companies in India and foreigndirect investment to India in five years”.
With cleaner fuel fast emerg-ing as an order of the day
in 2018, a busy year awaits theIndian automobile industry in2019, a year before the BharatStage-VI standards gets imple-mented, when manufacturerswould need to drive extra mileto meet the strict emissionnorms. Although electric vehi-cles are being already talkedabout as a futuristic option forIndia, considering increasingpollution that many of its citieswere facing, automobile indus-try players are still divided on theway forward. While hybrids,CNG and biofuels found favourin 2018 among many carmakersincluding Maruti Suzuki,Mercedes-Benz, Toyota andHonda, others such as M&Mand Tata Motors have shown fullfaith in electric vehicles.
The government, which hadlast year pushed for EVs,changed its stance opting for atechnology-agnostic approach asfar as clean energy fuel is con-cerned but a much awaitedFAME II scheme didn't see thelight of the day.
Despite facing slowdownin sales, specially of passengervehicles, in the second half of theongoing fiscal, automakers didnot take their eyes off the BS-VIdeadline.
The industry is well pre-
pared for the change as it hasbeen part of the planningprocess over last few years,Maruti Suzuki India ChairmanRC Bhargava told PTI.
Speaking specifically for hiscompany, Bhargava said, "As faras MSI is concerned, new prod-uct launches next fiscal year areall likely to be BS-VI (compli-ant)."
He also said that byDecember 2019, the companywould stop manufacturing ofmajority of its BS-IV models toprepare for transition to BS-VI.
On concerns whether thechanges would hurt sales duringthe transition period, Bhargavasaid there would not be anyimpact on the company's sales.“Sales of small diesel cars will godown substantially with thecoming of BS VI emissionnorms. Customers will shiftfrom diesel cars to small petrolcars in such cases and thereforeit should not impact overall salessignificantly either way. So BS-VI itself should not have anymajor impact on sales nextyear,” he said. Tata Motors,which is a leading player incommercial vehicles (CV) seg-ment, said it is well on track fortransition of its vehicles to BS-VI norms.
“We have assignedresources for it. We are left withno room after the SupremeCourt ruling,” Tata Motors MD
& CEO Guenter Butschek said. The apex court has ruled
that companies would not beallowed to sell BS-IV stockafter April 1, 2020. This wouldmean that the companies wouldhave to exhaust their BS-IVinventories before the dead-line.
The Society of IndianAutomobile Manufacturers(SIAM) Deputy DirectorGeneral Sugato Sen hope theauto industry moving to BS-VIfrom April 2020 and severalother regulatory complianceissues will have to be fulfilled inthe next one year. “It (industry)has met and overcome all chal-lenges in the past and will do soin future also,” he noted.
Grant Thornton India LLPPartner Saket Mehra said man-ufacturers need to calibrateexisting systems for a strictercontrol on emissions with intro-duction of BS-VI compliantvehicles from April 2020.
“The much spin-off ininvestments will implicate fewerlaunches by OEMs and also pro-duction and technology align-ment by component manufac-turers,” he added.
Prime Minister NarendraModi has already set the agen-da for the future roadmap ofclean energy technology, seek-ing investment in electric vehi-cles and increased use of pub-lic transport.
The commerce ministry is preparingan incentive package for labour
intensive sectors like leather with a viewto promote shipments and addressissues of exporters, Union MinisterSuresh Prabhu said.
He said there have been challengesfor export sector over a period of time,such as issues related to credit availability.
“We are preparing a package whichwill ensure that exporters' woes areaddressed properly. There have beenchallenges for the export sector over aperiod of time and one big challenge iscredit,” Prabhu told PTI.
He said the package would focus onlabour intensive sectors such as leather,textile and marine products as theywould help in creating jobs.
The minister said there has been asharp decline in credit to the export sec-tor and the department of commerce hastaken up the matter with the financeministry and with the RBI.
“I am supposed to meet new RBIGovernor (Shaktikanta Das) and willexplain him, what are the new things weneed to do at export front. We are alsosaying that RBI should classify credit toexport as priority sector lending," headded. The other challenge, he said,which the export sector is facing is relat-ed to refund of Goods and Services tax(GST). The minister suggested thatintroduction of e-wallet mechanismwill effectively address the woes ofexporters who have been complaining ofdelays in refund of taxes under the GSTregime. “If there will be an e-wallet, they(exporters) do not have to pay the taxfirst. Today, the problem is that they getrefund over a period of time. They have
to first pay upfront and in that, yourworking capital gets locked up that iswhy we want to address that issue,” thecommerce minister said.
As per a proposal under the e-wal-let mechanism, a notional credit wouldbe transferred to exporters' accountsbased on their past record and the cred-it can be used to pay taxes on inputs.
Talking about the steps to reducetransaction cost for exporters, Prabhusaid the ministry is in the process of pre-senting a bill on multi-modal transportin Parliament. This will help enhanceefficiency in logistics sector, he saidadding each logistics company will berated by a regulatory organisation,which will be created by the industry.
India’s exports grew by a meagre 0.80per cent to USD 26.5 billion inNovember. During April-November thisfiscal, exports rose 11.58 per cent to USD217.52 billion.
Federation of Indian ExportOrganisations (FIEO) President GaneshKumar Gupta believes that timely andaffordable credit to exporters are impor-tant to boost shipments.
Harvard and MIT, have chal-lenged the Trump administra-tion in a court against its newstringent visa policy for foreignstudents, warning that the new‘backdating’ rule will have adetrimental effect on America’shigher education system.
The new policy announcedby the Trump administration inAugust places restrictions onoverstaying a visa.
Under longstanding immi-gration policies, when an indi-vidual is no longer authorisedto remain in the US — such aswhen a visa expires — a peri-od of “unlawful presence”begins. After six months ofunlawful presence, an individ-ual can be forced to return to
their country of origin and sub-ject to a three year bar from theUS.
Prior to the August policychange, individuals only beganto accrue unlawful presence theday after the governmentissued an official determinationthat the visa holder was “out ofstatus”.
With the new rules, theDepartment of HomelandSecurity (DHS) can set retroac-tive start dates for unlawfulpresence that begin the dayafter an individual’s degreeprogramme is complete or theday after a person’s visa expires.
The top institutions,including Harvard, MIT,Cornell, Yale, and Princetonsigned onto an amicus brieffiled Monday, arguing that thenew rule puts visa-holding stu-dents in a position to make
“tough choices”.These institutions argue
that the new policy’s use of a“backdated unlawful-presenceclock” will render tens of thou-sands of F, J and M categoriesof visa holders subject to threeand 10-year re-entry bars with-out any opportunity to cure.
According to the NationalAssociation of Foreign StudentAdvisors (NAFSA), interna-tional students contributedUSD 39 billion to the US econ-omy during the 2017-2018 aca-demic year.
The same study found theeconomic activity of foreignstudents supported over455,000 American jobs.
The 65 institutions andone higher education systemBoard, mostly member insti-tutions of the Presidents’Alliance on Higher Education
and Immigration, signed thebrief which urges the federalcourt to grant them motion fora preliminary injunction.
The brief explains that thenew ‘backdating’ rule intro-duces considerable uncertain-ty into the calculation of unlaw-ful presence and needlesslyexposes international studentsto devastating reentry bans.
“The new rule will harminternational students andscholars, as well as institutionswhich host them,” it said.
It notes the new backdatingrule by US Citizenship andImmigration Services will like-ly result in fewer internationalstudents, scholars and instruc-tors contributing to the com-munities.
The brief supports GuilfordCollege, et al in its lawsuitagainst US Secretary of
Homeland Security KirstjenM Nielsen et al. It was filed inthe US District Court for theMiddle District of NorthCarolina.
“International students andscholars are vital members ofour campus communities andimportant contributors to ournation,” said John J DeGioia,Georgetown UniversityPresident and Presidents’Alliance Steering CommitteeMember.
“The talents, perspectives,insights and passion to serveour world that they bring ourcampus communities benefitsour nation and contributes tothe common good that we allshare,” he said.
The brief argues that a 10per cent rise in the ratio of for-eign graduate students to totalgraduate students results in a
5.1 per cent increase in patentgrants.
International students andscholars also continue to con-tribute to the US economybeyond their periods of enrol-ment.
For example, in a study ofAmerican startup companiesvalued at USD 1 billion ormore, it was found that nearlyone quarter of such business-es had a founder who first cameto the United States as aninternational student, it said.
The backdating rule intro-duces significant uncertaintyand punishes students for rea-sons that are frequently beyondthe students’ control.
In some cases, studentsand exchange visitors can fallout-of-status due to unwittingclerical and technical errors,often of someone else’s making,
the brief said.In many cases, the infrac-
tion will not be discovered (ordetermined, as the F, M, and Jregulations are not always clearand may be subject to varyinginterpretations) until the indi-vidual reapplies for anotherimmigration benefit, such as anoptional practical trainingallowance or an H-1B visa, itsaid.
“A ban, in turn, could havedevastating immediate conse-quences for a student’s courseof study and would outright barthe student from reentering theUS for any reason — even forbusiness purposes, or to see achild — for a period of year,” the brief said, adding that the new rule will diminish US’ ability to competefor international students andscholars.
funding President DonaldTrump’s US-Mexico border wallappear to have moved towardeach other, but a shutdown ofone-fourth of the federalGovernment entered Christmaswithout a clear resolution insight.
In fact, a top White Houseofficial warned the shutdowncould stretch into January.
Acting White House chief ofstaff Mick Mulvaney, who is alsothe budget director, said he waswaiting to hear from SenateDemocratic leader ChuckSchumer of New York about acounteroffer the White Housepresented Schumer over theweekend. Mulvaney would onlysay the offer was betweenTrump’s $5.7 billion request and$1.3 billion Democrats haveoffered.
“We moved off of the fiveand we hope they move up fromtheir 1.3,” Mulvaney said lessthan a day after a senior admin-istration official insisted thatCongress would have to cave into Trump’s demand for
the shutdown to end, high-lighting Trump’s unpredictablenegotiating style.Schumer’soffice said the parties remained“very far apart.”
Sen. DickDurbin, D-Ill.,argued forincreased use oft e c h n o l o g yalong the bor-der instead of“some medievalwall.” Askedwhether he’swilling to offermore money aslong as it is notspent on a wall,D u r b i nr e s p o n d e d :“Absolutely.”
A stale-mate over thewall led partsof theGovernment toshut downSaturday afterfunding forn u m e r o u sdepartmentsand agenciesexpired. Theclosure affects
hundreds of thousands of federalworkers across the country andwas expected to last at leastthrough Thursday, when theHouse and Senate meet again.
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The death toll from a vol-cano-triggered tsunami in
Indonesia has risen to 281, withmore than 1,000 peopleinjured, the national disasteragency said on Monday, as thedesperate search for survivorsramped up.
“The number of victimsand damage will continue torise,” said agency spokesmanSutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Hundreds of buildingswere destroyed by the wave,which slammed into the coastof southern Sumatra and thewestern tip of Java about 9:30pm (1430 GMT) on Saturdayafter a volcano known as the“child” of Krakatoa erupted.
According to Indonesia’sgeological agency, AnakKrakatoa had been showingsigns of heightened activity fordays, spewing plumes of ash thousands of metres into theair. The vast archipelago nationis one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth due toits position straddling the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire,where tectonic plates collide.
Syria has been signed, the USmilitary said on Sunday, afterPresident Donald Trump andhis Turkish counterpart agreedto prevent a power vacuum inthe wake of the controversialmove.
The announcement thatUS troops would leave thecivil war-racked country —where they have been deployedto assist in the multinationalfight against the Islamic State(IS) jihadist group — shockedglobal partners and Americanpoliticians alike.
“The execute order forSyria has been signed,” a USmilitary spokesperson told AFPwhen asked about the with-drawal order, without provid-ing further details.
Turkey was a rare ally thatlauded Trump’s momentousdecision on Syria, a countrywhere it will now have a freerrein to target US-allied Kurdishfighters who have played amajor role in the war against ISbut are deemed terrorists byAnkara.
Trump and PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan spokeby telephone on Sunday and“agreed to ensure coordinationbetween their countries’ mili-
tary, diplomatic and other officials to avoid a power vac-uum which could result following any abuse of thewithdrawal and transition phase in Syria,” theTurkish presidency said in astatement.
Late Sunday, Trump tweet-ed that Erdogan had assuredhim that any remaining ISfighters in Syria will be elimi-nated.
“President @RT_Erdoganof Turkey has very stronglyinformed me that he will erad-icate whatever is left of ISIS inSyria,” Trump said in a Tweetaround midnight Sunday, usinganother acronym for thejihadist group.
Repeating a pattern ofadmiring comments towardsglobal strongmen, Trumpadded that Erdogan “is a manwho can do it.”
The US president concluded: “Our troops are coming home!” Hours earlier, Trump had tweetedthat he and Erdogan “dis-cussed (IS), our mutualinvolvement in Syria, & the slow & highly coordinat-ed pullout of US troops fromthe area.”
new budget will be presentednext February after the parlia-ment approved a 1.77-trillion-rupee ($9.39 billion) stopgapmeasure to cover Governmentexpenditures over the first fourmonths of 2019, averting a Go-vernment shutdown January 1.
Sri Lanka had been engulfedin a political crisis since lateOctober after PresidentMaithripala Sirisena sacked thecountry’s prime minister, RanilWickremesinghe, and cabinet.
The country did not have afunctioning government fornearly two months. Sirisenareplaced Wickremesinghe withformer President MahindaRajapaksa, who lost two confi-dence votes in parliament.
The country faced the riskof being unable to use state fundsfrom Jan. 1 and potentiallydefault on a foreign debt repay-ment of $1 billion due onJanuary 10.
Bangladesh will seal off refugee campshousing about one million Rohingya
Muslims for three days around the coun-try’s tense general election this week,officials said on Monday.
Rohingya living in the southeast-ern border district of Cox’s Bazar willnot be allowed out of their settlementsfrom Saturday.
The election is Sunday with PrimeMinister Sheikh Hasina, who earnedinternational praise for accepting therefugees who fled a military crackdownin Myanmar, seeking a record fourthterm.
The Election Commission orderedauthorities in Cox’s Bazar to preventrefugees being exploited during electioncampaigning, Bangladesh refugee com-missioner Mohammad Abul Kalamsaid.
“This is a security measure. Theembargo also applies to NGO workers.They cannot go inside the campsunless it is an emergency,” he told AFP.
Police said extra roadblocks wouldbe set up around the camps.
Over 720,000 Rohingya Muslims fled what the UN called eth-nic cleansing in Myanmar’s Rakhinestate after August 2017. There werealready nearly 300,000 refugees in the
overcrowded camps.More than 450 police will be
deployed in the camps alongside bor-der guards and community police, aspokesman said.
Thousands of troops were also puton law and order duties across thecountry Monday amid escalating pollviolence, said a military statement.
Media reports said some 30,000soldiers were joining more than 20,000paramilitary forces already deployed.
At least six people have been killedin the election violence while theopposition Bangladesh NationalistParty (BNP) says at least 152 of its can-didates have been attacked.
The BNP meanwhile criticisedBangladesh star cricketer MashrafeMortaza for being a candidate for theruling Awami League.
One-day international captainMashrafe is now campaigning afterleading Bangladesh to a series win overWest Indies this month.
The BNP said though that Mashrafte could not be a candidate when he earns public moneyas a cricketer.
“We welcome youngsters like himjoining politics. But the law cannot bedifferent for a superstar and a layman,”opposition spokesman Rizvi Ahmedtold AFP.
His directorial career includes National Awardwinning film Paan Singh Tomar and Saheb Biwi
Aur Gangster and his acting prowess was capturedbrilliantly in projects like Manjhi - The MountainMan and Gangs of Wasseypur.
Actor-writer-director Tigmanshu Dhulia, whois now playing the role of Shah Rukh Khan’s fatherin Zero, feels that even big budget films need a goodscript now.
He also emphasised that after 1960s the respectfor a content writer went down significantly and thatmust change now.
“Big budget films have started to face this chal-lenge of just being big budget and loaded with stars.But even big budget films need a good script now.Look at Thugs of Hindostan. The stars delivered whatthey promised because the first day collections werephenomenal. So people went to see AmitabhBachchan and Aamir Khan, but from the second daythe collections sank,” he said.
“So, whether it’s a big budget film or not, con-tent is the king. The audience is smart and the typeof things that are coming up online has given a goodexposure to the audience to quality content,”Timangshu added.
“I think after 1960s the respect for a contentwriter went down significantly and that must changenow,” Dhulia said, when asked that how oneshould take care of both commercial imperatives andcreative ambition in today’s time of filmmaking?
He was present at a grand scale theatrical playof Mahabharata from the point of view of Gandhari,Kunti and Draupadi, by students of Mount LiteraSchool International. Following its inquiry-basedlearning methodology, the play aimed to imbueIndian values in the students and showcase humanfrailties, character flaws and highlight follies of thegreat and good of society.
Having grown up in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh,the filmmaker says he tries to incorporate his small-town experience in his cinematic presentation. Hisfilms including Haasil, Charas and Shagird, thoughdid an average business at the box- office, but is stillalive in the minds of movie-goers inspite of havingno big stars in it.
When asked if Indian cinema was moving awayfrom the fascination of Khan era with new faces tak-ing the lead, he said cinema is now addressing a larg-er audience.
“Earlier, multiplexes were present only in bigcities, but we see them now in smaller towns as well.Hence cinema is also addressing characters fromsmall towns. Look at Ayushmann Khurrana andRajkummar Rao — their characters are from smalltowns,” he said.
“The Khans of the industry typically played glam-orous roles and not these roles. Also, these smallertowns are contributing significantly to the revenueshence that is also another reason these characters
from small towns are considered,” said Dhulia.Directed by Anand L. Rai, Zero was released on
Friday and got a mixed reaction at the box-office withsome critics calling the narrative weak, while sometagging the film as best coming from King Khan. Thefilm also stars Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif,Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub, Abhay Deol, SheebaChaddha and Bijendra Kala.
So what made Dhulia say yes to the film and howwas it working with Shah Rukh?
“Shah Rukh and I worked together during Dil Sefor which I had written the dialogues. Our friend-ship goes way back. In terms of Zero, there were twoor three reasons for me to take it up. One — The rolewas really different and unique and not like what Iplayed in ‘Gangs of Wasseypur, he said.
“Second, Anand L. Rai is a dear friend who wasmaking this technically heavy film with special effects.I was curious to see how he was making the film andlearn more on the sets. And third, one is always exit-ed to work with Shah Rukh,” he said.
Dhulia, who feeds his creative hunger throughnewspaper, books, travel and meeting new people,can see the future of entertainment moving to web.
“Most content would move to the web and thecinema theatres would only see big movies likeBaahubali playing,” he said.
G����
Agroup of people are standingand chatting around a cornershop in Lucknow. Out ofnowhere a gangsters strolls in,takes out a gun and shoots a
person. Can you imagine the scene? Nowplace yourself in the centre of the situa-tion. What would be your reaction?This is exactly what happened withsome people in the city of Nawabsrecently.
Director Bhav Dhulia’s new webseries, Rangbaaz, starring Aahana Kumraand Saqib Saleem in lead roles, placedordinary people at the centre of the actionduring one of the scenes. “We set it upwithout telling Saqib that there were peo-ple from the real public standing around.He just had to come to shoot a person. Iwanted to catch the real reaction of thepeople but,” he laughs, “he spoilt eventhat. There were many re-takes and bythen the people obviously understoodthat it was a fictional scene.”
Rangbaaz is a term, often used inparts of Uttar Pradesh, especially Kanpurand Lucknow, used for cunning or slypeople. When Bhav describes his idea ofa rangbaaz, he says that it is the journeyand a love story of a man in his 20s whois responsible for more than 20 murders.“It is the real-life story of Shiv PrakashShukla (Saqib’s character’s name) who wasthe talk of the town in the 90s. He wasone of the first gangsters to be involvedwith the state politics and power gamesin the state where he was in touch withseveral politicians and police officers. Thiswas unprecedented as nobody had ear-lier done something like that. A task forcewas made for the first time to catch agangster like him. It is also a story abouthis transition as the 90s saw the liberal-isation and globalisation in the country.It is a very fascinating period that way.Indians saw cable TV for the first timethen. Things started becoming easilyaccessible to some extent. So it is abouthow he was influenced by and in turninfluenced the political and liberal land-scape,” says he.
Saqib, known for his roles in films likeMujhse Fraandship Karoge, HawaHawaai, Mere Dad ki Maruti, and more,the most recent one being Dil Junglee andRace 3, plays a gangster in the series whichis set in the backdrop of politics and crimein Lucknow in the 1990s.
If you ask Saqib how he transitionedto such an intense role after playing whatis referred to as a “chocolate hero”, he says
that it was all about changing his conven-tional understanding of a hero.
He says, “I have never done a rolesimilar to this one. Even when I did Race3, it was on a very different track, I wasthe bad guy there. When this role cameto me, I saw it as a great opportunity espe-cially because of the web space doing sowell in the industry today. So I decidedto walk out of my comfort zone. I felt kiab Hero-Hero bohot khel liya. You get
influenced by what others are doing too.I observed that everybody is playing char-acters today, especially ‘flawed’ ones. Irealised, why such roles would always belarger-than-life characters. The fact thatI wanted to step out of my comfort zonewas the most important thing here forme.”
He believes that the role had givenhim a chance to grow on a personal level.“Earlier, I wasn’t even thinking before act-
ing. I was just playing roles withoutunderstanding them. To play such a per-son who came from Gorakhpur was real-ly important for my personal growth.Here I didn’t have to just stand there, talk,keep my hair in place and look like ahandsome hero. I had to move ahead andsimply act no matter how I looked,’ headds.
Saqib narrates how he attained anunderstanding of the character he played,since it is inspired from real life. He says,“If Bhav had let me play the kind of gang-ster I understood, I would have only beenabusing and shooting people. But therewere a thousand other things which hadto be done with subtlety.”
He tells us that Bhav would keepinsisting on “‘Less is more. Even if you areangry you don’t have to show it.’ Ilaughed when I heard him say this. I actu-ally came here after doing Race 3,” helaughs to add, “It was a film where youhave to look like a hero in every frameor even walk in slow motion every time.Here, I had to understand what my direc-tor wanted and then fit in that. Soeverything was a challenge for me, espe-cially since I come from a school ofthought that if I remove my shirt as anactor, my six-pack abs should be visible.And when there was a scene where I actu-ally had to remove my shirt, I asked himif I could wear a vest, since I don’t havethem. (Laughs). But I didn’t have to playa stereotype here.”
For Aahana, who is from Lucknow,fitting into the character was not a greatchallenge since the set up was familiar.She laughs to say that when she first heardthat the web show would be set inLucknow, she instantly agreed. Adding,“It was a great story. There were somethings that I have actually seen before. Ihad taken stories and character referencesfrom my family itself.”
She says that she has known the belt,especially in the 90s, since that was thetime when she spent her childhoodthere. It was her family background thatgave her a better understanding of awoman in that time and what conse-quences she had to go through when peo-ple caught her or got to know about herrelationship with someone, given theprevalent gender restrictions.
She tells us what she found was themost intriguing thing about her role andthe story, “Most of my scenes were shotseparately from Saqib as it was more ofa telephonic relationship than physical or
the one where meetings were involved. Ithought that I have never done a role likethis. I was instantly attracted to it. Plus,I knew the dialect and the style of com-munication in that city. It was quicker topick up the style.”
The only challenge, as she describes,was that she never cued any scene withSaqib, it was all done separately.
While talking about how the relation-ships have evolved today, both the leadactors believe that things have becomeway easier today.
Aahana says, “There’s only one reasonwhy relationships are losing theirendurance — things getting easier andthose that can be manipulated.”
Saqib recalls the time when he was ateenager to say that since there were nomobile phones at that time, they used land-lines to call their partners. “And even then,they had to look for an appropriate timewhen their parents were not around. Theyhad to first give two to three missed callsto the other person to give an indication.Today, in the whatsapp age, you don’t getone reply and the relationship is called off.How easy, right?” he says.
Aahana, who has worked for five sep-arate media — TV, cinema, digital, livesports anchoring and theatre — says thatthe most challenging one was to anchorlive. The Lipstick Under my Burkha actress,who undertook this during Pro Kabbadi,says that there were many complex stepsthat were involved including spontaneityand pre-researching. “Before being actu-ally present on the field, I had to be pre-pared with all the information about theplayers and their previous records. I wasstrictly instructed to not even once ques-tion them about ‘how did the match go?’I had to study all of it myself to actuallyask them relevant questions.”
There was yet another factor. “Thecoordinator who was from Yorkshire hada hard-to-get accent. I had to constantlykeep listening to what he was sayingthrough micro phones and then ask ques-tions accordingly and he would oftenchange the questions at the last minute.There were 20,000 people in the stadiumand you can’t make a mistake because it’sall live,” she adds.
For her, it’s always important to seekout something and respect people for beingwhat they are since as an actor, “one alwayshas to step into someone else’s shoes inorder to know them and portray them bet-ter.”
(The web show airs on ZEE 5.)
Welcome trends for 2019As the ‘Living Coral’ has
been declared as the year for2019 by the Pantone ColourInstitute, we are bound to wit-ness a series of interior innova-tion that will be a reflection ofthis color trend. The shadeexudes positivity and vibrancewith a subtle undertone of fem-ininity, and as a result, we will seemany interesting combinationssuch as coral paired with grey,beige, white and other neutralshades to highlight happy under-tones.
In 2019, we will also see therise of eco-friendly and sus-tainable trends for interiors,thus pro-environment fabricsand innovations will be a hugetrend. Right from cotton andorganic fibres such as jute, silk,and hemp — the idea of sustain-ability will impact lifestyle choic-es. Eco-friendly furniture for ahome like cane, hand-loommade organic cotton upholsteryand bedspreads, jute rugs andsilk curtains will come in handyto style your home. The idea toreduce our carbon footprints willalso see an upsurge in recycledproducts that will not only makeyour house more beautiful butwill also make have an impact onthe well-being of the planet.The focus will be on well-litrooms with natural light andbright colour combinations forliving rooms.
One can include additionalprops like indoor plants, classicwood furniture and artworks toempty spaces to add a personaltouch. Speaking of wood finish-es for interiors, some of the bigtrends in this segment for thecoming seasons are the her-ringbone, chevron, and geomet-ric patterns. The criss-crosschevron pattern on floors withthe herringbone adds a sophis-ticated look and gives a luxeappeal to your home. If you like
a modern touch, go for geomet-ric decor items that create a sub-tle contrast with your interior.One can also use patterned rugsand arty highlights to balance thesymmetry of the room.
Say goodbye to trends of 2018While trends in interiors
keep changing every season, abig shift in interiors will betoward discarding of ‘fast furni-ture’. Just like fast fashion, wetend to buy interior goods thatlook good for a while but fadeout too quickly. Finally, it is timeto say goodbye to them foreveras the next big change points atsustainable options. Harsh andbold lighting like big, uglychandeliers that consume a lotof electricity will be officiallyout. Emphasis will be on LEDlights, minimalistic bulbdesigns, quirky antique stylelamps and of course, naturallight that will brighten up yourdecor.
Complex patterns such asdense damask are totally goingto be out of style, especially forwallpapers, furniture and cur-tains because if everything issimple then why bother addingcomplicated designs that matchnothing. Similarly, it’s time tosay goodbye to prehistoric ideassuch as window valances thatmatch curtains and furniturebecause the idea is to open upand not get restricted in space.
Devika Daulat Singh ofPhotoink stands apartamongst gallery persona inDelhi. She has a quiet sophis-tication far-removed from
other profit-pursuing self-proclaimedcurators. At Photoink the finale for 2018is a historic legacy which belongs to VivanSundaram, the nephew of Amrita Shergil.“These are letters and archival materialfound in an old trunk,” says Devika as shesupervises the show’s display. Wakefulnessand the Dream State: A Self-Study byUmrao Singh Sher-Gil consists of pho-tographs, drawings and scholia (grammat-ical, critical, or explanatory comments,either original or extracted from pre-exist-ing commentaries, which are inserted onthe margin of the manuscript of anancient author) from the Sher-Gil Archivesis a delight to behold.
Album of archival imagesThere are small black and white
images, typed rumination and letters andreflections from the enigmatic UmraoSingh Sher-Gil’s photographic archive. Hewas a man with the physique that is bothenviable and perfect and his notes tell usabout his practice of abstinence, his per-sonal fears and his love for his family mem-bers. Indeed once you look closely at hisnotes as well as the images of Shergil, thatare riveting, you know this archive is analbum that echoes a parallel legacy.When you study the private nature of itscontents you realise that unconsciouslyUmrao Shergil was every bit a mini-his-torian in the manner in which he con-structed an archive that speaks of a mod-ern proto-postcolonial subject in which thepersonal and the private both become ele-giac emblems.
Shergil’s photographic universeThe Amrita images have about them
a haunting gravitas as well as a forlorn,
despondent grace that tells us that herfather’s photographic universe began andended with members of his immediatefamily.
The images tell us also that Umrao wasa princely individual who was both arecluse as well as a fastidious eccentric. Hewas happy clicking self portraits in an agewhen the world hadn’t heard of such anexercise. Obviously he loved dressing up,kept an impeccable home and seemed tobe very much in love with his own imageas well as his mirror.
The book on Umrao Shergil publishedby Photoink tells us that the hundreds ofphotographs that he took of his familyform an extraordinary record of the lifeand world of an Indo-European family, and
are a valuable document in the archives ofmodernity — in the large sense of thatterm.
Amrita’s allureTwo images of Amrita call for scruti-
ny — the artist at her easel, Simla, India,1937 and Amrita wearing a zari sari Simla,1936.
The image which shows Amritamomentarily turning away from her easel,paintbrushes in hand suggests a hint ofrestlessness that shades into somethingmore melancholy than in the more formal-ly posed portraits.
Amrita is always impeccably andexquisitely draped, but appears sometimeswistful, sometimes elusively withdrawn,
but nevertheless undeniably beautiful.Clad in a zari sari, she is the epitome ofgrace.
In his essay Deepak Ananth wrote,“Was it (melancholy) due to a growingsense of isolation that had crept upon herin the years prior to her sudden death in1941? (The artist alludes to her intellec-tual solitude in some of her letters.) Andyet the pictures she painted at the timehardly indicate a failure of artistic nerve.On the contrary, they suggest that she waspoised to become a truly major artist. Butthat promise was to remain unfulfilled.”
Umrao a pioneerAfter reading and studying the prints
you know that Umrao Shergil deserves to
be feted in history, to be seen as a pioneer-ing figure of Indian photography, anauteur. He had followed Amrita’s self-trans-formations, probably as beguiled as shewas, by the face she presented to the world.And yet many of the photographs takenin the late 1930s disclose a lingering dis-quiet in her expression. By figuring so cen-trally in her father’s photographic art,Amrita Sher-Gil helped forge a record ofa hybrid culture, one that was nourishedby both East and West yet managed totranscend both.
And one wistfully remembers Amrita’swords. “How can one feel the beauty of aform, the intensity or the subtlety of acolour, the quality of a line, unless she isa sensualist of the eyes?”
Grammy-nominated Indian-American songwriter-rap-per Raja Kumari, who lent
her voice to the title track of SalmanKhan-starrer Race 3 and HusnParcham in Shah Rukh Khan’s Zero,feels that things are evolving forIndians in US when it comes tocross-cultural collaborations andterms it a “brown renaissance.”
In one of her previous inter-views, Kumari mentioned thatIndian classical training helped herunderstand hip-hop mathemati-cally. However she also said that itdidn't really have a huge platform
in America so have things changednow especially with so many crosscultural musical collaborations hap-pening?
“Things are evolving in the US.I like to call it the “brown renais-sance” Indians are more relevant inso many fields, especially entertain-ment. It’s exciting to be a part of thatwave and really influence the cul-ture,” she said on the sidelines ofRED FM’s Riders Music Festivalwhere she performed recently.
Kumari is best known for hercollaboration with notable artistsincluding Gwen Stefani, Iggy
Azalea, Fifth Harmony and Fall OutBoy. She was also nominated for aGrammy award in February 2015and featuring on BBC AsianNetwork programme BobbyFriction on July 5, 2016.
Talking about her growth planand how she balanced being bothIndian and American with herperformances, she said, “My parentsalways valued the arts so I alwaysimmersed in classical dance andmusic. American music was myrebellion, my escape. I think learn-ing to navigate both worlds withauthenticity has helped me become
the artist I am today.”So was India always in your
mind to make a big impression?“India has always been impor-
tant to me. If my own people don’tknow me, then how can I representour culture worldwide? TouringIndia has been the greatest gift. Ihave learned so much about myselfand you can really hear that on myupcoming album BloodLine,” shesaid.
Her first big placement was IggyAzalea’s Change Your Life and shealso wrote six songs for GwenStefani album, This Is What theTruth Feels Like, which debutednumber one on the Billboard Top200 chart.
Talking about the initial days,she said, “Sometimes it looks like anovernight success, but countlesshours were spent learning andpracticing my craft. It’s been soincredible to have commercial suc-cess with artists that I admire andlove.”
And she feels much more ener-gised now.
“I feel energised and ready togive my new music to the world.Shook was a personal triumph forme. Releasing that record started anew journey for me and I'm excit-ed to share that with all of you,” saidKumari.
This year the Riders MusicFestival (RMF) showcased a perfectline-up of contemporary musicianswith different genres of music atJawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here.From Nucleya’s high octane gig,Lucky Ali’s husky Bollywood charmto Mame Khan’s folk music, theevent saw over 20 thousand bikingand music enthusiasts. Adding jazzto the line-up, was Shirley Setia’sfilmy vocals with Divine’s new-agerapping and some soulful musicwith Bhuvam Bham.
Kumari released her new singleShook at the festival. “The singlereally inspired me to level up,” shesaid. G����
The bittersweet, nostalgic story of three friendswhose love life revolved around handwritten let-ters, bicycles, and meetings — agreed to after
much prodding by peers — with equally shy girls nextdoor, formed the storyline of the play Prem Kabootar.It was staged recently as a part of an ongoing theatrefestival and successfully transported the viewers to abygone era.
Performed at the Shri Ram Centre for PerformingArts (SRCPA) as a part of the eight-day Panna BharatRam Theatre Festival, Prem Kabootar is a light-heart-ed play written by thespian-filmmaker Manav Kaul.
Kaul was nominated at the 63rd Filmfare awardsfor best supporting actor for 2017 film Tumhari Sulu.
The two-hour comedy, peppered with momentsof uproarious laughter by the spectators, might be sim-ple and without too many plot twists, but that is exact-ly what made it relatable.
The characters, sporting high-waisted bell-bot-toms, shiny shirts and haircuts inspired by whatBollywood figures got photographed in that month,take us a few decades back.
When Saleem, the tailor receives his first letterfrom his sweetheart Meenakshi; or when Suneel, anardent follower of Hindi films, agrees to write a loveletter on behalf of his tea-seller friend Raju, only tofind the writer inside him, it brought forth many mem-ories that most of the audience found buried withinthemselves.
The dreamy love affair, in an age with no datingapps, takes one to the “era of school days, teenage loveaffairs, romance in the air and enthusiastically follow-ing the heroes, heroines and even the story-lines ofHindi Cinema.”
“There was no social media, but there were feel-ings. If you had to say something to someone, you hadto go to their house, pursue for weeks or say it throughfriends. The human feelings of love and desire are stillthe same today,” the play’s director Sameep Singh, anNSD graduate and currently the repertory chief inSRCPA said.
Asked how he adapted Kaul’s story for the prosce-nium, Singh said, “Kaul did write it as a story, but evenwhile dramatising, I’ve tried to retain its flavour. Thereare additions to scenes, for instance Kaul wrote just aline in the dream sequence saying ‘I saw her in mydreams’, but I’ve developed it fully as a scene.”
The theatre festival gained traction on just its sec-
ond day, after Prem Kabootar and another powerfulplay Tughlaq written by Girish Karnad and directedby K. Madavane.
Also lined up are plays Arsenic and Old Lace, Dadu,Kala Suraj Safed Sayee, Poem of an Ending (based onShesher Kobita by Rabindranath Tagore). The week-long theatrical retreat will end on Friday with Agni aurBarkha.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said the fact hisside top the Premier League table heading into the
busy holiday period counts for little.The Anfield club are four points clear at the sum-
mit going into their Boxing Day clash at home toNewcastle, with champions Manchester City second andTottenham Hotspur six points adrift in third place.
Liverpool, however, have not won the English titlein the Premier League era -- their last domesticChampionship crown came back in 1990.
And with Tottenham having hammered Everton,Liverpool's local rivals, 6-2 on Sunday, Klopp does notexpect to have things all his own way during the rest ofthe season.
"You (the media) make these stories about who isin and who is out," said Klopp.
"I saw the game against Everton who playedabsolutely more than okay and then they (Spurs) hit pret-ty much everything and it was really impressive howTottenham did.
"The same will happen to Arsenal and Chelsea. Nodecision is made, why should it be? Nobody should feelsafe, no one should feel out of the race. It is not a timeto think about it.
"For me they (Tottenham) were never out so whyshould people be surprised they are now in? A lot ofteams are in whatever you call the title race and that ishow it should be."
The German added: "That is maybe only the dif-ference to last year when pretty much nobody was in anymore at this time and that is good for all supporters outthere.
"Being unbeaten in the league until December is notsomething I had too often in my life. We did really wellso far, and we have to do even better from now on. That'sthe challenge for us." Liverpool fans know only too wellthat being top at Christmas is no guarantee of the league
title.There may have only been two occasions in the past
10 years where the team top on December 25 failed towin the Premier League but in both instances it wasLiverpool, in 2008 and 2014, who could not completethe job.
Only James Milner among Liverpool's current squadknows what it's like to win the Premier League, havingbeen a member of Manchester City's victorious squadsin 2012 and 2014.
But Klopp, who won the Bundesliga title withBorussia Dortmund in 2011 and 2012, insisted: "I knowthat all players who have won the title, at one time it wastheir first time.
"You don't know what is more important, is it expe-rience, potential, attitude, desire or joy, being completelyfresh having never had it before? "Experience is alwaysgood if you are young enough to use it. We have to useall experience from the last games, especially from thelast season, and that's much more important.
"Character is always very important but with theseboys there is no doubt about that because we achievedalready in the past big things: finals, good positions inthe league."
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The Indian football team'sfortunes in the upcoming
Asian Cup will depend a lot onits opening match againstThailand and it should go all outto get a result, feels former play-er Renedy Singh.
"We have to go all-outagainst Thailand in the firstmatch. Do not think about UAE,do not think about Bahrain. Justgo after the result in the firstgame," Renedy, who was a keymember of the Indian team thatplayed in the 2011 Asian Cup inDoha, said.
"Only after the match we candecide on the next course ofaction. If they can get a resultagainst China, we should beable to do the same againstThailand," the former midfield-er told the official website of theAll India Football Federation.
The Asian Cup is being heldin four venues of the United ArabEmirates from January 5 toFebruary 1. India has beenclubbed with Thailand, Bahrainand hosts UAE in Group A. Indiaplay Thailand on January 6,UAE on January 10 and Bahrainon January 14.
When India played last timein the Asian Cup in 2011, theteam lost all their group match-es (against Australia, South Koreaand Bahrain). Skipper SunilChhetri is the only current play-er to feature in that team.
Renedy, a dead ball special-ist of the Indian team then, saidthat Chhetri has been leading thecurrent side by example.
"There are many playerswho have been doing well recent-ly. But for me, Sunil sets the bestexample. He has done so wellconsistently over the past fewyears. He may not be growingyounger, but most significantly,he's not just there to support. Heis there to lead by example," the39-year-old Renedy said.
He also feels that Chhetri hasimproved a lot as a dead-ballplayer and disclosed how the cur-
rent skipper became one of theset piece takers in the team.
"It's good to see that Sunilhas improved as a dead-ballplayer. Back in our days, he neverused to take free-kicks -- it waseither me or Steven Dias,"Renedy recollected.
"But then one fine day, hewalked up to me and said,'Renedy-bhai, you can't takeboth free-kicks and penalties. Iwant to chip in too. So wedecided that Sunil will takepenalties, and we would contin-ue taking the free-kicks," saidRenedy who also had captainedthe Indian team on a few occa-sions.
"But he did not stay contentwith the penalties. Rather, heimproved himself as a free-kicktaker. In fact, he has scored frommany free-kicks since then."
Left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra yetagain tormented Madhya Pradeshbatsmen with a six-wicket haul as
Delhi thumped the visitors by nine wick-ets for their first victory of the ongoing sea-son, here on Monday.
The 25-year-old Mishra, who hadtaken six wickets in the first innings as well,finished with career-best match figures of12 for 71 to help Delhi bundle out MadhyaPradesh for just 157 run in 64.3 overs onthe third day of their Elite Group B fixture.
The hosts needed to score just 29 runswithout losing wicket to claim the win witha bonus point but lost opener KunalChandela (6) two runs short of the targetto settle for six points.
Hiten Dalal (15) and Dhruv Shoreycompleted the win in 6.4 overs. Delhi willnext take on Bengal in an away match fromDecember 30.
"At the start of the season I was bowl-ing a bit faster and after talking to coachMithun Manhas, I started bowling slow-er. This created confusion in batsman'smind whether to come forward or play onbackfoot," Mishra said on his 12 wickethaul.
The visitors resumed at seven for noneand their inexperienced openers --Aryaman Birla (32) and Anand Bais (46)-- put up a fighting 83-run stand but once
left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya snaredthe former, it opened the floodgates.
The MP batsmen again struggled tocounter the guile of Mishra, who ranthrough the middle order.
Not only Mishra (6/30), but the visit-ing batsmen also struggled to counter off-spinner Shivam Sharma (3/52) as the twospinners shared nine wickets betweenthem.
Rajat Patidar (21), captain NamanOjha (22) and Yash Dubey (15) got startsbut the kind of fight MP needed was nowhere to be seen or rather the wilyMishra made the rival batsmen dance tohis tunes.
After dismissing Ojha and Dubey,Mishra trampled the lower-order alongwith spin colleague Shivam, who claimedthe last wicket in Avesh Khan (6).
"The pitch wasn't great to start with butlocal curator did a splendid job that
match went till tea on third day. At the startit looked like it could finish in two days,"MP captain Naman Ojha.
"We should have taken thelead when Delhi were 36 for 5.But save Avesh Khan, othersdidn't take wickets. Avesh isnow ready to play for India ashe has pace as well as varia-tions," added Ojha.
��) ����(�#� '�����(�#� �Shreyas Iyer blitzed his way to83 of just 60 balls after Mumbai pressedon for a much-needed outright victoryafter taking the first innings lead over tabletoppers Saurashtra.
Iyer slammed seven sixes, three ofthem off successive balls from left-armspinner Dharmendra Jadeja before per-ishing to the fourth ball while trying fora fourth maximum hit.
Mumbai ended day three of the four-day Elite Group A match by making 175
for five in their second innings, anoverall lead of 221 going into the
final day Tuesday.Iyer, who looked out for
runs from the first ball hefaced after coming to the creaseat 20 for one, also struck 5 fours
and got involved in a rapid-firefourth wicket stand of 74 in 57
balls with all rounder Shivam Dubewho made a brisk 29-ball 39 with the helpof three sixes and as many fours.
Earlier, resuming at the overnight 213for five chasing Mumbai's first innings totalof 394, Saurashtra were bowled out for 348,with 12 minutes left for tea.
Meanwhile at Raipur, Chhattisgarhwere in a good position to score an out-right win over Maharashtra, who ended thethird day at 172 for 3 in their second
innings, still trailing by 51 runs.After bundling out Maharashtra for
239 in their first innings, Chhattisgarhsecured the crucial first innings lead byposting 462 in their first essay.
At Nagpur, hosts Vidarbha posted ahefty 485 in their first essay and overhauledGujarat's first innings score of 321.
Veteran Wasim Jaffer slammed 126and there were crucial contributions by themiddle order batsmen for the hosts.Gujarat ended the penultimate day At 22for 1, still trailing by 142 runs.
At Shivamoga, Railways needed 318runs to win against hosts Karnataka, withnine wickets in hand.
(��(�� �(��(����=�Uttar Pradesh defeated Tripuraby an inninngs and 384 runs in their EliteGroup C game.
Uttar Pradesh, who were in commandright since the beginning of the four-daygame, posted a convincing win with a dayto spare.
After posting a mammoth 552/7 intheir first innings, courtesy a double hun-dred by Priyam Garg and hundreds byRinku Singh and skipper Aksh Deep
Nath, their bowlers ensured that the bats-men need not bat again.
Resuming at the overnight score of33/4, Tripura's first innings folded up at108 in just 44 overs.
Apart from skipper and wicket-keep-er Smit Patel (47) no other batsmendelivered for the visitors.
For the hosts, leggie Zeeshan Ansari(3-33), Saurabh Kumar (2-9), AnkitRajpoot (2-42) shared the wickets.
Meanwhile at Guwahati, Goa neededanother 52 runs for an outright winagainst Assam and have four wickets inhand.
Their hopes depend on Amit Vermaand Lakshay Garg, who are unbeaten on62 and 57, respectively.
At Jammu, Odisha would aim to go foran outright win as Jammu and Kashmir are76 runs ahead with just three wicketsremaining and an entire day's play left.
At Jaipur, visitors Haryana ended thethird day at 244/3, but still are trailingRajasthan by 128 runs.
Rajasthan secured the first-inningslead after posting a massive 490/6 declaredwith Robin Bist remaining unbeaten on150.
�� � ;� ����
India's number one singles player PrajneshGunneswaran, who is coming off a suc-
cessful season during which he won twoChallenger titles, said 2018 was his best yearand the aim is to "ideally be in the top 50".
"2018 has been my best season. I'm look-ing to have a better 2019. I have given myselfa good platform to push and I hope that hap-pens," the 29-year old left-hander, ranked107 in the ATP rankings (as of Dec 24), said.
The Chennai player, who has overcomeinjuries to fight his way back into the cir-cuit, said the priority was to stay in the top100.
"I mean being inside the top 100, pos-sibly if I do well there is a chance to be inthe top 50 in the world. But I am more inter-ested in making sure I improve enough tobe able to compete in the Tour level, in theTour events.
"... And as I long I am inside the top 100,then I have done a decent job of keeping myranking and my level. But the goal would
ideally be to get around 50," Prajnesh saidon the sidelines of a TNTA event to honourpast and present players from Tamil Naduon Sunday night.
Asked whether he intended to play moreTour events in 2019, he said initially hewould participate in some Challengers andsome Tour events and later take a calldepending on how well he does in them.
���� ���
Arsenal midfielder HenrikhMkhitaryan will be out of action for
at least six weeks because of a foot injury,the Premier League side revealed ontheir website on Tuesday.
Mkhitaryan fractured themetatarsal in his right foot in lastWednesday's Carabao Cup defeat byTottenham and was replaced at half-time. He missed the win against Burnleyat the weekend.
Arsenal said the Armenian play-maker is "expected to return to fulltraining in six weeks".
Mkhitaryan has been a regularunder Unai Emery and has scored fourPremier League goals this season.
The 29-year-old will miss key leaguegames against Liverpool, Chelsea andManchester City as Arsenal continuetheir pursuit of a top-four place.
Mkhitaryan arrived at the EmiratesStadium almost a year ago as part of theswap deal that took Alexis Sanchez toManchester United.
B����'�� ����IRafael Benitez believes it will be
"another miracle" if his Newcastle sideretain their Premier League status.
"We have to be realistic and under-stand that we will be in the bottom halfduring the whole season," said Benitezahead of the Boxing Day clash away tohis former side Liverpool who are
looking to cement their lead at the topof the table.
"For me, it is almost clear and if wecan be better than three teams, it willbe another miracle.
"It was a miracle last year. Peoplewere thinking, 'Oh, you finished 10th...',but with a couple fewer wins, we couldhave been in the bottom five, so it wasa miracle.
"If we do the same this year withteams spending even more money thanlast year, it will be a miracle."
He added: "I know what is comingnow and I know where we are. You cansee the team — the team is trying a lotof things, but still it's not enoughsometimes to get the points, and it willbe like that.
"If we are under pressure and we feelthis pressure, we will not be better, wecan make more mistakes," explainedBenitez.
Newcastle are currently five pointsabove the bottom three heading into thebusy holiday period after last weekend'sgoalless draw with Fulham.
Australia skipper Tim Painesaid on Monday he is "rel-
ishing going head-to-head" withhis Indian counterpart ViratKohli in a Test series and lookedforward to "intense, hard" crick-et in the Boxing Day game atMelbourne.
The pair had heatedexchanges in the second Test atPerth, prompting the umpire tointervene. Australia won thegame to level the four-matchseries at 1-1.
Paine said he understandsthat Kohli never liked to lose.
"A lot was made of my bat-tle with Virat in the second Test,and for the past few years whenI haven't been playing interna-tional cricket, he was one guy Iloved watching," he said in a col-umn for 'Herald Sun'.
"Now to be out in the mid-dle going head-to-head withhim in a Test series is somethingI'm really relishing."
Paine said he was notannoyed "in the slightest" byKohli.
"Virat is someone who is
prepared to wear his heart on hissleeve and like all professionalathletes, hates to lose," he said.
"I like the way Virat plays. Idon't know him personally butI've always admired -- not onlyhis obvious skill as a player -- butthe passion and aggression heplays with. People like to see thatand he gets fans through thegates."
Meanwhile, Australiancoach Justin Langer said all-rounder Mitch Marsh is "anattractive commodity" andremains in contention for areturn to the Boxing Day Testbecause of the MCG pitch.
"In a perfectly balanced sideyou'll have someone who canbowl some overs so Mitchbecomes an attractive com-modity on a wicket probablyunlike Adelaide and Perth," hesaid.
�� � � ����
Australian pace spearhead MitchellStarc has described Virat Kohli as
a "fantastic captain", having shared thedressing room with the India captainwhile representing Royal ChallengersBangalore in the Indian PremierLeague.
Kohli's on-field heated exchangeswith Australia skipper Tim Paine in thesecond Test turned out to be a subjectof discussion with many former play-ers, including Mitchell Johnson, criti-cising the batting maestro's behaviour.
However, Starc backed Kohli."I've played a couple of IPLs with
Virat and he's been fantastic to playunder, as a captain," Starc toldreporters.
"Obviously, he's a fantastic player.The way India play this series and goabout their cricket, it's up to them."
Starc, who was bought by RoyalChallengers Bangalore in 2014, had
emerged as a key bowler for the IPLteam. He parted ways with Bangalorein February last year before beingpicked by Kolkata Knight Riders earlythis year.
Starc, though, was ruled out of the2018 IPL season due to injury and wasreleased from KKR last month.
On Sunday, Indian coach RaviShastri called "an absolute gentleman",while former Australian openerMatthew Hayden suggested Kohli wasmore Australian than Indian in manyways.
Kohli also received the backing ofAustralia coach and Paine himself,
who said he relished his war ofwords with the combative Indian.
India and Australia arecurrently tied 1-1 in thefour-match series after topsy-
turvy contests in Adelaide andPerth. The two teams will face off in thethird Test on December 26 at the icon-ic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
�� �� ���� #
Australia coach Justin LangerMonday expressed surprise
that the ICC had rated thePerth pitch 'average', saying Testcricket becomes "boring" in theabsence of balance between batand ball.
"I was really surprised(about Perth rating). A couple ofdeliveries stayed low, but Ithought it was entertaining Test.That was the fastest pitch I'veever seen in Perth and I've beenthere a long time," he said.
About the MelbourneCricket Ground, venue for thethird Test, he offered cautionknowing how the pitch plays outover the course of five days.
"It's great to see some grass.I've said forever the most impor-tant thing in Test cricket are thepitches. If you have great pitch-es you'll have contest betweenbat and ball, then Test cricketwill be alive and well.
"If we play on flat wicketsthen it becomes a boring gameand that's from someone wholoves Test cricket. Hopefully it'sa contest between bat and ballbecause it's important, not justfor this series but also for worldcricket."
Langer was full of praise forNathan Lyon who has taken 16wickets in two Tests, and hasbeen a pivotal member of theattack.
He talked up his duel withKohli, whom Lyon has dis-missed seven times in Test crick-et.
"I hope it's 11 by the end ofthe series because we knowVirat is another level. That hun-dred in the first innings is an
unbelievable Test innings. He'sa great player and great bowlersget out the great batsmen.
Australia will have a deci-sion to make as all-rounderMitchell Marsh looks poised toget in the side in place of PeterHandscomb who has looked outof sorts.
"In a perfectly balanced sideyou have someone who canbowl some overs so Mitchbecomes an attractive com-modity on a wicket, unlikeAdelaide and Perth were weknew it would be an even con-test.
"Our pacers had been lucky,they have bowled less oversthan the Indians at the moment,particularly Jasprit Bumrah, andthe more we can look afterthose guys the better. It willcome down to that decision,"Langer added.
He said that the duo hastheir own strengths, but the finalcall will be made keeping thebalance of the side in mind.
"We weight up all thosethings. Pete's a very good play-er of spin bowling and Mitch isa good player of spin too. Theyare the hard decisions. You gen-erally talk about one positionand they are the ones that giveyou the most headaches."
�� � � ����
Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahanewas on Monday confidence per-sonified, saying his rhythm and
counter-attacking mindset could helphim rack up not just a ton but a dou-ble at the Boxing Day Test.
Rahane has hit two fifties in his164 runs from the first two Tests buta three-figure score has eluded himsince scoring a century against SriLanka in Colombo last year.
"I am sure it will come in thismatch. The way I am batting, fromAdelaide to Perth, the mindset I wasin to counter attack and the rhythmI was batting in, maybe 100 or even200 can come," said the 30-year-old.
"I think it is more important forme not to think about it. I have to con-tinue batting the way I am. I can readthe situation a bit better and if I can
play like that it will be better for theteam. Personal milestones can beachieved later as well.
"I am really happy (to return herefor Boxing Day Test). We all knowhow big it is and to come here at 1-1is really good. We had our chances inPerth but it is important to stay in thepresent right now and give our beststarting from December 26."
Rahane said the batting unitneeds to step up and support thebowlers if they are to win consistent-ly overseas.
India lost 1-2 to South Africabefore suffering a 1-4 defeat againstEngland this year, mainly due to thebatting line-up's failure to produceconsistent performances.
"As a batting unit we must supportthe bowlers. Since South Africa tourIndian bowlers consistently got oppo-sition out twice. If we batters play well
and support our bowling unit resultswill be different," Rahane toldreporters on Monday.
"Yes we played some good crick-et but right now it is important to startwell and giving your best in each andevery session, because the game canchange in a session. We need somegood batting in these two Tests and Iam sure the batsmen will take this
responsibility," he added.Coach Ravi Shastri on Sunday
stressed on the opportunity to securethe four-Test series after being placed1-1 with two matches still to play.
Rahane said that it is important tolearn from the past, but more impor-tant to take the next two Tests sessionby session.
"I do believe in momentum espe-cially while playing cricket. We hadsome great chances to dominate thePerth Test and result would have beendifferent.
"In Test cricket you have to grabsmall little opportunities. From nowon it's two match series for us. We gotnice break after second Test, whichwas so necessary. We are startingafresh," he said.
Rahane has scored two half-cen-turies in the series — 70 in the sec-ond innings at Adelaide and 50 in the
first innings at Perth — and said hisvisualisation has really helped himcounterattack the opponents.
"Batting at 4 or 5, sometimes youhave to think 1-2 steps ahead of thegame and think of the counter attack.So visualization helps me in that," hesaid.
"It comes naturally because I aman attacking batsman ... Reading thesituation is really important becausewe all know the Australian attack cancome really hard at us. The best optionto go in the middle and putting themon the backfoot.
"Counter-attacking in Perth wascompletely my own decision. The wayI was visualizing I was thinking aboutwhat are the important shots on thatparticular wicket. You have to take thatrisk and you have to be brave to takethat call because it can go either way,"he said.
��� � ;�����;���;��
New Zealand and Sri Lankaboth have unfinished busi-
ness when they head into theseries-deciding second Test inChristchurch on Wednesday.
The home side have put thefrustration of the drawn firstTest aside as they push to win afourth consecutive series for thefirst time.
Sri Lanka are equally deter-mined to show the epic part-nership by Angelo Mathewsand Kusal Mendis to save thematch in Wellington last weekwas no fluke.
"We got so much confi-dence from that game for thisgame," wicketkeeper NiroshanDickwella said during nets prac-tice on Monday, ahead of theBoxing Day Test on whatpromises to be a green wicket.
"If we get some movementhere our bowlers will do the joband they know what areas theymust bowl at. Unlike in the sub-continent we have to bowl fullerhere." New Zealand went intothe two-Test series with achance to move to number twoin the world rankings if theywon both Tests.
That opportunity dissolvedin Wellington with the heroicsof Mathews and Mendis, as wellas the rain which washed outmost of the final day, leavingNew Zealand with their next
target of winning a fourth con-secutive Test series.
In their 88-year Test histo-ry they have won three consec-utive series on only four occa-sions.
But having put down theWest Indies, England andPakistan over the past year,and posting 578 in their soleinnings in the first Test againstSri Lanka, they sense a historicfourth is within reach.
"We're very proud of ourhome record and I guess that'sone of the challenges now,"batting coach Craig McMillansaid. "This is a one-off Testmatch and with the series on theline there's a lot for the side toplay for.
The Hagley Oval wicket tra-ditionally offers pace andbounce and both New Zealandand Sri Lanka voiced the impor-tance of winning the toss andbowling first.
Neither side has finalisedtheir playing XI, and whilechanges are unlikely, the empha-sis for the fast bowlers could beless on the short-pitched deliv-eries New Zealand used topound Sri Lanka with inWellington.
The last time New Zealandand Sri Lanka played at HagleyOval, in the 2014 Boxing DayTest, the tourists won the tossand bowled first only for NewZealand to win by eight wick-ets.
�� � � ��� ���
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was onMonday brought back to India's
T20 squad to ensure he gets "enoughgame-time" before the ODI World Cupbut the young Rishabh Pant was axedfrom the 50-over side for the upcom-ing series against Australia and NewZealand.
While Dhoni's inclusion in theshortest format came as a surprise afterhe was dropped for the Australia leg justlast month, Pant's omission is an indi-cation that he is currently not in theteam management's 2019 World Cupradar as a first XI player.
The convenor of selection com-mittee, Amitabh Chaudhary, refused tocomment on the matter but a sourceprivy to the development justified the37-year-old Dhoni's selection.
"Since there are only eight ODIs(three against Australia and five againstNew Zealand), selectors want to give MSas much game time as possible (beforethe World Cup). Three T20Is means 11international matches through the nextone month," a BCCI official said.
Pant, on the other hand, will comeback to play five ODIs against EnglandLions in India from January 23.
The 16-member squad for the twinODI series against Australia (startingJanuary 12) and New Zealand (startingJanuary 23) is pretty much the core teamfor the World Cup in England that startsMay 30. The three T20 Internationalsagainst the Kiwis are lined up fromFebruary 6.
The selection committee's deci-
sion to bring back Dhoni is set to raisea few eyebrows as the logic givenbefore the Australia T20s was that hewas not going to be in the scheme ofthings for the T20 World Cup inAustralia in 2020. The former captainis already retired from the Test format.
"That's the reason Rishabh is a partof T20 squad. Also now with Kedar(Jadhav) and Hardik (Pandya) are fitand Kedar being an off break bowler, itwill be difficult for the team manage-ment to fit in Rishabh in playing XI inthe World Cup unless someone getsinjured. Already Dinesh Karthik and KLRahul are there in case MS gets injured,"
he added.Interestingly, skipper Virat Kohli,
when asked about Dhoni's T20 omis-sion in November, had stated that theveteran had offered to give up the for-mat so that Pant could be groomed forthe job.
"...He (Dhoni) just feels that in theT20 format, someone like Rishabh canget more chances," Kohli had said lastmonth.
From the last T20 squad, ShreyasIyer and Manish Pandey have beendropped as Hardik expectedly made acomeback and Kedar was also includ-ed to give him more game time.
The squad is also an indicator thattill the World Cup, all doors are closedfor Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahaneand premier spinner R Ashwin.
The other senior bowler RavindraJadeja, however after a good show in theAsia Cup, is in the mix with first choicewrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav andYuzvendra Chahal.
Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmedhas impressed the team managementenough and if all goes well, will surelyboard the UK-bound flight.
India are currently engaged in a Testseries against Australia and will playthree ODIs against them starting inSydney.
This will be followed by a limited-overs engagement with New Zealand,beginning with five ODIs from January23.
�'��G(���ODI against Australia and NewZealand: Virat Kohli (Capt), RohitSharma (VC), KL Rahul, ShikharDhawan, Ambati Rayudu, DineshKarthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(WK), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav,Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja,Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah,Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami.T20I series against New Zealand:Virat Kohli(Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc),KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, RishabhPant, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav,MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya,Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav,Yuzvendra Chahal, BhuvneshwarKumar, Jasprit Bumrah, KhaleelAhmed.
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