VIJAYAWADA, THURSDAY MARCH 11, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

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5

Will the SustainableDevelopment dreamever be realised with

current practices?

2

Only half of slumhouseholds use LPG

8

Dhinakaran-led AMMK

releases first list of 15

candidates

VVIIJJAAYYAAWWAADDAAWWEEAATTHHEERR

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SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

Confounding all calculations andestimates, the Central government hascalculated the value of the total assetsof the state-run Navaratna steelmak-er, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, at Rs32,022.32 crore.

Union Steel Minister DharmendraPradhan told the Lok Sabha onMonday that Gross Block of Property,Plant and Equipment, intangible assetsof RINL are valued at Rs 32,022.32crore. He also said that the Centre'sequity share capital in RINL as onDecember 2020 stood at Rs 4,889.85crore.

The shockingly low figure comes ata time protests continue to rage overthe proposed disinvestment of VSP.The calculation has also ignited anoth-er row over the value of thousands ofacres of unutilised land lying withRINL, the corporate entity of VSP.

It is public knowledge that the VSPhas around 19,700 acres of unusedland, and even conservative estimatesput its value at a few lakh-crore ofrupees.

For instance RINL expected to gar-ner Rs 1,000 crore from the sale of just22.19 acres located in the heart of Vizagcity for which it has signed an agree-ment with state-run constructioncompany NBCC.

The remaining part of the 19,700acres may not be as valuable as these22 acres, but it can be safe to say that

an acre of land in and around VSPfetches anywhere between Rs 1 croreto 2 crore.

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy had in an earlier occasion hadreiterated the same and also pegged the

value of the unused land lying withRINL as close to Rs 1 lakh-crore.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Over 65 per cent of polling wasreported in the elections to urbanlocal bodies in Andhra Pradesh onWednesday, which saw some inci-dents of violence, State ElectionCommission sources said.

Except for stray incidents,polling passed off peacefully, DGPGautam Sawang said. Compared tothe previous civic polls, violencewas less this time, he said in a state-ment.

Elections were held for 12municipal corporations and 71municipalities and nagar panchay-ats in the state.

The ruling YSR Congress hasalready bagged the Pulivendula(the Chief Minister's home con-stituency), Punganuru, Pidugurallaand Macherla municipalities"unopposed".

Counting of votes will be takenup on March 14.

Governor BiswabhusanHarichandan and First LadySuprava Harichandan exercisedtheir franchise in the CVR HighSchool polling station inVijayawada. This was the firsttime they voted in AP.

Jana Sena president Pawan Kal-yan cast his vote in the PatamataZP School in Vijayawada. DeputyChief Minister (Health) Alla KaliKrishna Srinivas was left disap-pointed as his name was not foundin the voters' list in Eluru city. Hehad to return without exercisinghis franchise.

Complaints about missingnames in the voters lists came infrom various places and in manycases the voters found the pollingstations changed randomly, forcingthem to go to a distant place to castthe vote.

State Election Commissioner NRamesh Kumar, who went roundthe polling stations in Vijayawada,directed authorities to allow peopleto vote based on other identificationdocuments.

He gave this direction after some

senior citizens complained aboutmissing names.

CPRADEEP KUMARn VIJAYAWADA

Known for trudging his ownpath, senior politician and BJPMP Subramanian Swamy didnot disappoint on Wednesday,making it known that he wasagainst the decision of theCentral Government, led by hisown party, to privatise theVisakha Steel Plant.

The MP said that privatisa-tion of the VSP was not a wisedecision taken by the Centreand emphasised that he wasagainst it. He also expressed hisdiscomfiture at the steep hike infuel prices, saying that it wasbad for the people.

The BJP leader met ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddyat his camp office and laterreminded the media that he wasalso against withdrawing invest-ments to Air India.

SubramanianSwamy: Decision tosell VSP is unwise

Telangana to back VSP 2.0 stir to the hilt

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

With the aim of meeting therequirements of the LordVenkateswara temple, the TTD hasembarked upon an innovative proj-ect to enhance indigenous milk pro-duction through embryo transfer.

As part of its Hindu SanatanaDharma Prachara, the TTD hadstarted SV Gosamrakshanashala in1956 as SV Dairy Farm. The namewas later changed to SV Goshala in2004.

TTD also commenced anotherGoshala in a sprawling area of 400acres near Palamaner in Chittoordistrict to develop indigenous

breeds.At present there are over 3,000

heads of cattle in these two centres.

Among them, 600 are breeding cat-tle with many types of Indianbreeds including Gir, Sahiwal,

Ongole, Kangeyam and also theshortest among cows in the world- Punganur breed native to Chittoor.

To sustain the productivity ofindigenous breeds as well toenhance milk production, TTDhas now focussed on embryo trans-fer technology to upgrade thebovines at SV Goshala.

The proposed project by TTD isaimed at improving genetic poten-tial of dairy cattle located at SVGoshala with a technique calledEmbryo Derived Pregnancies,"EDP" (IVF-ET) on current set ofanimals.

SUMIT ONKA n VISAKHAPATNAM

Realising fully well that thiselections, they literally hold thekey to the city's future, residentsliving in limits of the GreaterVisakhapatnam MunicipalCorporation lined up in front ofpolling booths on Wednesday.

Their eagerness was partly todo with the fact that the GVMCwas going to polls after over adecade.

Voters realised that all eyes areon three major Corporations -Guntur, Vijayawada and Visakh-apatnam - as the outcome inthese civic bodies will be seen asa virtual referendum on thecontentious three-capital deci-sion of the YSRCP Government.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh has received thehighest PMAY allocations forany state in the country withCentral assistance of Rs 30,731crore.

This was disclosed by Housingand Urban Affairs MinisterHardeep Puri in reply to a starquestion raised by BJP seniorleader GVL Narasimha Rao in theRajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Uttar Pradesh has received thesecond highest allocations.

Puri said that Rs 9,311 crorehas already been released toAndhra Pradesh which has con-structed only 3,60,325 houses sofar. In comparison, Uttar Pradeshhas constructed 7.02 lakh hous-

es for which Rs 15,128 crore hasbeen released. AP has greaterallocations but UP's perform-ance has been better, he said.

The reply shows how AP hasalready got sanction of Rs 22,650crore of Central assistance toconstruct 15.1 lakh houses.

The remaining 9 lakh houseswill also be sanctioned underPMAY (Urban) when 75 percentof areas sanctioned houses arecompleted.

"In other words, the Modi gov-ernment would be giving Centralassistance of Rs 36,000 crore toAndhra Pradesh when the stategovernment takes up construc-tion of all 24.1 lakh houses inurban areas on free housingplots," said GVL Narasimha Rao.

n RINL's combined asset value calculated by Centre to be merely Rs 32,022.32 crore

Centre shows it has very littlevalue for VSP or its propertiesn Market estimates put value of just unused RINL land into a few lakh-crore

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Actor-politician K Chiranjeevion Wednesday extended supportto rapidly intensifying agitationagainst the Central Government’sdecision to privatise theVisakhapatnam Steel Plant.

The actor-politician took toTwitter to say that the steel plant isa symbol of numerous sacrifices.“Let's rise above parties and regions.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Minister for Water Resources PAnil Kumar Yadav on Wednesdaystated that the diaphragm wall ofthe Polavaram project was dam-aged due to poor planning dur-ing the previous TDPGovernment.

Addressing a press conferencehere, the Minister stated that theprevious government had takenup the works irregularly, withoutproper planning, halting everywork in the middle of the process.

The diaphragm wall was con-structed in 2018 during the NChandrababu Naidu term, andnow around 1.8 meters of the wallwas damaged due to the flood sit-uation. In this context, theMinister slammed a report pub-lished in the vernacular media,saying that it was bereft of facts. Page 3: SEC thanks staff for

smooth conduct of GP, civic polls

Centre says AP gothighest allocationsunder PMAY

State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar interacts with elderly votersduring his inspection tour of various polling booths in Vijayawada on Wednesday.

Over 65 pc cast votein civic body polls

Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan castshis first vote in AP on Wednesday.

Vizagites line up atbooths holding keyto city's future

TTD eyes embryo transfer for higher milk yield

Poor planning byTDP hit Polavaramworks: YSRCP

PNS n NEW DELHI

Bengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee said she was attackedWednesday while in Nandigram,where she had gone to file hernomination for the coming elec-tions. The Chief Minister said shewas attacked by four or five peo-ple at a time when there was nopolice officer around her. Visualsfrom the spot showed securityguards lifting and placing her onthe backseat of a car. The 66-year-old -- who has sustained many aninjury earlier, most notably in

1991 when she was attacked byCPM goons -- appeared pale, vis-ibly shaken and in much pain.

Mamata says she wasattacked by 4-5 men, injured

PNS n HYDERABAD

Throwing Telangana's weightbehind the snowballing move-ment in Andhra Pradeshagainst the Centre's decision toprivatise the VisakhapatnamSteel Plant (VSP), TRS work-ing president K T Rama Raoon Wednesday pledged theunstinted support of the TRSgovernment to agitating VSPemployees and restive peopleof Andhra Pradesh.

Address ing an e lec t ionmeeting at Necklace Roadhere, KTR offered to "fightagainst the Visakha Steel Plantissue". He alleged that theCentre had been privatizingthe steel plant, which the undi-vided AP had attained after aprolonged public movementcharged with the s logan:'Visakha Ukku- AndhrulaHakku'.

PC CHACKO QUITS CONGRESS AHEAD OFKERALA ASSEMBLY POLLS, CITES GROUPISM

Congress veteran PC Chacko quit the partytoday complaining that there was "nodemocracy left" in the Congress and

not sparing the "high command" in hisrecriminations. "There is no Congressparty in Kerala as such," just two factionsof the party, he said. But he firmlydismissed speculation about joining theBJP. His abrupt resignation comes as ashock for the Congress in Kerala just daysbefore the April 6 state polls. He announced to themedia in Delhi that he had been considering the move for severaldays. No self-respecting politician could survive in the Congressin Kerala, he said in a series of truth bombs for his party.

DAY AFTER FILING GANG-RAPE CASE, UPGIRL'S FATHER DIES IN ROAD ACCIDENT

Two days after a 13-year-old girl was allegedlygangraped by three men in her village inUttar Pradesh's Kanpur, her father died

this morning in a road accident outside ahospital where she was taken for a medicalcheckup. The father of the two of theaccused - Deepu Yadav and Saurabh Yadav-in the gang-rape case works as a sub-inspector with UP Police in the Kannaujdistrict, about 100 km from Kanpur. While a thirdaccused, Golu Yadav has been arrested, seriousallegations have been levelled by the girl's family against the policesaying the family of the accused had been threatening them eversince the gangrape case was filed, and "police is complicit".

AFTER BUDGET, INVESTORS WITHDREW`17,220CR FROM STOCK, BOND MARKETS

Investors withdrew `17,220 crore ($2.5 billion)from the Indian stock market and companydebt mutual funds in February as concerns

mounted about the sustainability of returns.Corporate bonds saw the biggest outflowsin about two years after the government lastmonth announced a bigger-than-expectedborrowing plan in its budget, triggering aspike in yields. Equity indexes, which benefitfrom a stimulus, surged to a fresh record,prompting local investors to book profits."The periodof unusual returns is getting over," said Vidya Bala, co-founder atChennai-based research firm Primeinvestor.in. "Also, many investorscould be waiting it out till the interest rate environment settles."

MUMBAI COP REMOVED IN AMBANISECURITY SCARE CASE

Maharashtra Home Minister AnilDeshmukh on Wednesdayannounced the removal of

Mumbai police officer Sachin Vazefrom the Crime Intelligence Unit tillthe inquiry into the mysteriousdeath of automobile parts dealerMansukh Hiran is not completed.While making the announcement inthe Legislative Council, Deshmukh saidthe state government will conduct animpartial probe into the death of Hiran. "Police officer SachinVaze will be removed from his current posting in the crimebranch till the investigation is not completed,” he said.

Chiru backs protestagainst sale of VSP

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vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 11, 2021

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(IN HYDERABAD)

The dictionary definessustainable develop-ment as the economic

development that is achievedwithout depletion of naturalresources.

Dwelling deeper, onerealises that sustainability is amulti-dimensional concept. Itencompasses economic,social, environmental aspectsalong with inter and intragenerational equity issues.

India of yore practiced sus-tainable lifestyles for thou-sands of years. However, thewave of globalisation hadalso swept India off her feet.India now represents the fullspectrum of being home tothe wealthiest and poorest;and the most conspicuousconsumptive to the most fru-gal population.

Having said that, it isworthwhile to note that the

lifestyle of a majority ofIndians in the past was farmore sustainable in compar-ison to the modern daylifestyles anywhere in theworld, including that in pre-sent-day India.

Due to several global envi-ronmental concerns, theinternational community ini-tially focused on conserva-tion, preservation and abate-ment aspects.

The full import of sustain-able development has interna-tionally evolved over a peri-od of time from environ-mental conservation(Stockholm Conference,1972), environment anddevelopment (Rio de Janeiro,1992) and sustainable devel-opment (Johannesburg,2002).

This is being followed bythe international target cen-

tric approach from millenni-um development goals (eightinternational developmentgoals for the year 2015) tosustainable developmentgoals (17 interlinked globalgoals to be achieved by theyear 2030).

Most of these targets haveremained unachieved withinthe targeted time frame. Itwould continue to be so with-out infusion of significantadditional financial and tech-

nical resources.Unfortunately, development isstil l largely viewed bymankind in terms of ability toopt for conspicuous con-sumption, and following eco-logically malignant produc-tion patterns.

As any international dis-cussion on lifestyles is notpalatable to the so-calleddeveloped population (guz-zling natural resourcesthough in varying propor-

tions living both in developedand developing countries),chances of any major globalbreakthrough are dismal.

This leaves us with thepossibility of concrete actionsonly at the national, sub-

national and individual levelsand within our own meansand capabilities. Our suo-motu action, even withoutany international compul-sion/ imperative, is in ourown interest. India does nothave luxury to miss this withabout 16.7 percent of globalpopulation supported by 2.4percent of global land area.

To further aggravate the sit-uation, a majority of middle-class and higher incomegroup Indians have also givenup sustainable lifestyles byblindly aping the westerndevelopment model.

Sustainable developmentcannot be achieved by mererhetoric. It will forever remaina mirage unless intentions areconverted into concreteactions at all levels. As Indiais currently grappling with theissues pertaining to fresh

water, land degradation, andpollution (disposal of solidand liquid wastes and airpollution), any amount ofinstitutional lethargy /settingup obstacles is unacceptable.

Let us take the water sectorin India.

On the one hand, provid-ing adequate quality water fordrinking and other needs tocities, towns and villages is abig challenge; on the otherhand, supply to agriculture,industries and other uses callfor the robust water manage-ment strategies. We have todeploy all possible supplyand demand side measures inthis regard.

These days, even the com-mon man talks about waterconservation, rainwater har-vesting, groundwater charg-ing, importance of forestsand the ‘three Rs’ (reduce,

reuse and recycle) of avail-able resources. But most ofthe time, it does not getconverted into action due tothe dated approach followedby the institutions con-cerned.

As an example, peopleknow that brown water canbe used for gardening etc.,but there is no such systemplanned for either individualhomes or a cluster of hous-es. While according to townplanning permissions, ULBsshould plan and insist onsuch remedial measures forall houses.

In addition to regulatorymeasures, we need to adoptwater efficient appliancesand fixtures that use lesswater while yielding compa-rable performance. This isthe time to act and act nowbefore it is too late.

DR SHAILENDRA JOSHI, Advisor of Telangana govt and former

chief secretary of Telangana

India of yore practiced sustainablelifestyles for thousands of years.However, the wave of globalisation hadalso swept India off her feet. India nowrepresents the full spectrum of beinghome to the wealthiest and poorest; andthe most conspicuous consumptive tothe most frugal population.

Will the Sustainable Development dream ever be realised with current practices?

PNS n HYDERABAD

Communist Party of Indianational secretary Dr KNarayana has expressed hishappiness over KTR's state-ment on Wednesday extendingsupport to the Visakha SteelPlant movement. In this con-text, he called upon ChiefMinisters K ChandrasekharRao and YS Jagan MohanReddy to launch a unitedmovement for protecting VSPfrom privatisation. He appre-ciated KTR for offering tostage a protest in Vizag.Narayana released a video con-taining his statement to thiseffect on Wednesday.

The Vizag steel plant wasestablished after a prolongedpublic battle in the undividedAndhra Pradesh. The CPIleader expressed his appre-hension that, should VSP beprivatized, the axe would fallnext on coal mines in

Khammam. He recounted howpeople of the undividedAndhra Pradesh had fought forVSP on the lines of the sepa-rate Telangana statehoodmovement. Telugu people sac-rificed their lives for Telanganaand VSP in separate move-ments. So, the Telugu states'Chief Ministers should joinforces and stop privatization.They should prepare a com-mon action plan to take up thefight against the Centre, headded.

CPI wants Telangana, APto fight together, save VSP

Telangana to back VSP 2.0 stir to...Continued from Page 1

Extending TRS's support tothe movement in AP, KTRoffered to personally partic-ipate in the agitation inVizag. It was everyone'swish that the Vizag SteelPlant should not be priva-tized at any cost. Hence, theTRS party's rank and filewould extend support forthe movement, he asserted.

Coming down heavily onthe Modi government for itsprivatisation spree in thename of divesting publicsector undertakings, KTRsaid: "We may not be sur-prised if even the state gov-ernments are privatised."

Mentioning that theCentre was trying to sell off

the Vizag steel plant cent percent, KTR said he wouldshortly visit Vizag to takepart in the agitation afterobtaining permission fromChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao.

Suggesting the need forboth states to look beyondstate lines, KTR observed:"The Centre may sell VizagSteel Plant today and it maybe BHEL tomorrow; andSingareni Collieries the nextday… The Centre may reachus (TS) if we kept quietthinking that the movementwas somewhere in Vizag. Ifneeded, Andhraites have tojoin hands with Telanganitesif the Centre tries to sellpublic sector companies inTelangana," he added.

AP logs 120new Covidcases, one deathPNS n VIJAYAWADA

AP reported 120 fresh casesof Coronavirus onWednesday that took theState's caseload 8,91,004.

In the 24 hours ending 9am on Wednesday, 93 recov-eries and one more Covid-19death were recorded in thestate, according to the latestbulletin. After a total of8,82,763 recoveries and 7,177deaths, the number of activecases in the state nowtouched 1,064, it said.

Chittoor district logged 35fresh cases and a fatality in aday. Krishna added 25,Visakhapatnam 17 andKadapa 10 new cases whilethe remaining districts addedless than 10 each.

Chittoor has the highestnumber of active cases at 339and Krishna 136 but theremaining 11 districts haveless than 100 each.Vizianagaram district's activecaseload is just nine whileWest Godavari has 28.

Over 65 pc cast vote in...Continued from Page 1

In Guntur city, a clashbetween YSR CongressParty and TDP workersbroke out at a polling sta-tion in the 42nd divisionlate in the evening whenformer MP ModugulaVenugopala Reddy wentthere.

The TDP workers allegedthat the YSRC leaders wereresorting to rigging ofvotes and raised a protest.The TDP men staged a sit-in on the road outside thepolling station and thatled to a scuffle in which thecar of the former MP wasallegedly attacked.

Guntur Urban SP AmmiReddy said YSRC menattacked the TDP candi-

date in 42nd division fol-lowing which there wasretaliation.

"We have reg is teredagainst the two sides," theSP said. In Machilipatnam,former minister KRavindra was preventedfrom inspecting polling ata station, leading to analtercation with the police.

The TDP alleged that itsDalit candidate for one ofthe wards in Nellore wasforced to remove his shirtand abused in the name ofcaste.

TDP politburo memberVarla Ramaiah claimedmany of his party candi-dates in several civic bod-ies were placed underhouse arrest for no reason.

A total of 27,48,013 of

the 48,09,173 registeredvoters cast their votes.Prakasam (Ongole)Corporation reported thehighest percentage at 75.52percent while KurnoolCorporation reported just49.26 per cent .Vizianagaram reported63.98 percent ,Visakhapatnam 56.01 per-cent , West Godavar i(Eluru) 56.33 percent,Krishna (Machilipatnam)71.14 percent and(Vijayawada) 56.81 per-cent.

Guntur C orporat ionreported 57.15 percent,Anantapur 56.41 percent,Kadapa 54.85 percent,Chittoor (Chittoor) 66.06percent and Tirupati 53.44percent.

Vizagites line up at booths holding key to...Continued from Page 1

A defeat, particularly inVijayawada and Guntur, forthe YSRCP will be seen as aclear rejection of its decisionto relocate the capital city toVisakhapatnam. Such aneventuality will make victoryin Vizag mandatory for theruling party to claim peoplehave endorsed its move tomake it the state's ExecutiveCapital.

A victory in the port city onthe other hand will enable theTDP to proclaim that peopleof Visakhapatnam want nochange in the state capital.

Though polling began on adull pace, the final turnoutreached around 60 percent ofthe 17.26 lakh total regis-tered voters in GVMC limits.This is a jump of about 10

percent from previous elec-tions and the high percentageof polling may set up a tightcontest between the TDP andYSRCP.

The eagerness to cast bal-lots was higher among seniorcitizens who turned up inlarge numbers soon afterpolling began at 7 am. "It isgood to come early to avoidthe hassles later. In cities, thecivic body plays a key role. Soall should exercise their fran-chise," said NM Rao, a resi-dent of Madhurawada.

Some areas, mostly slums,Appughar and Peda Jalaripeta,witnessed long queues by 8am itself.

With the issue of privatisa-tion of Visakhapatnam SteelPlant (VSP) raging, all pollingstations around Gajuwakaand VSP were notified as sen-

sitive and hyper-sensitive.In defiance of the Centre's

proposal for 100 percentstrategic sale of VSP, employ-ees of the plant dropped anextra slip of paper with theslogan 'Save VSP' along withthe ballot papers.

In general, polling waspeaceful across all 98 wards inGVMC and in the 22 wards inYelamanchili and 28 inNarsipatnam municipalities.However, the polling booth inAndhra University witnessedtense situations for some timeas the local TDP MLA com-plained of mischief andstormed the booth with hissupporters.

In view of Covid, the dis-trict administration had takenall precautions at the pollingbooth as per the protocol.

At every polling station,

two to three counters mannedby Aasha workers with sanitis-ers and hand-held thermalscanners were placed. "Allvoters entering the booth haveto pass through our counters,"said an Aasha worker at apolling station in Muralinagar.

Videographers were seenat many of the polling stationsand police personnel and vol-unteers were seen helpingsenior citizens and different-ly-challenged voters at thepolling stations.

Though in general peoplewere seen wearing masks, atsome of the polling stationspeople were seen walking inwithout them. Both the policeand the health workers wereseen insisting that they wearit. However, social distancingnorms were not practised atmost of the polling stations.

Centre shows it has very little value for...Continued from Page 1

In his letter to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi recently, Jagansaid "The company (RINL)has around 19,700 acres ofland currently and the valua-tion of these lands alone couldexceed Rs 1 lakh-crore due tothe location of the plant in theurban area and rapidlyexpanding urban sprawl".

Significantly, Jagan had alsosuggested that the Centre canbegin efforts to monetise theselands by way of plotting andsale by RINL itself and theamounts realised will makethe company flush with cashthereby increasing its valua-tion. He assured that the StateGovernment would provideall necessary permissions forland use conversion to facili-tate this intervention.

As per the details providedby Pradhan, the outstandingdebt of RINL until December2020 stood at Rs 21,236.01crore. A majority of the debtburden was due to the RINL'sambitious expansion plan.

RINL currently has a capac-ity of 7.3 Million Tonnes andhas taken up plant moderni-

sation and capacity expansionrecently which forced theplant to borrow from banks.

Owing to the unfavourablesteel cycle globally, the com-pany was making losses since2014-15 and was finding it dif-ficult to service the debt.

Though the turnover ofRINL has gone up in the lastfive years from Rs 10,059.34crore during 2015-16 to Rs15819.24 crore during 2019-20, its cash reserves were inthe red by Rs 1,618.06 crore.The cash reserves of RINLwere put at Rs 4983.35 croreduring 2015-16.

During 2018-19, RINL hadclocked the highest everturnover in the last five yearsat Rs 20,338.06 crore.

However, RINL sufferedlosses by Rs 1,420.64 crore in2015-16, Rs 1263.16 crore in2016-17, Rs 1369.01 crore in2017-18. In 2019-20, RINLreported a loss of Rs 3,910.17crore. It was only during 2018-19 RINL reported a profit ofjust Rs 96.71 crore.

VSP showed good perfor-mance between 2002 and2015, earning profits with apositive net worth. The plant

has pragmatically turned-around in 2002 after beingreported to BIFR as a sickcompany.

RINL's net worth alsoplummeted to Rs 3,271.79crore by 2019-20 from Rs9,873.20 crore in 2015-16.

For RINL's financial turn-around, Jagan suggested thatshort-term loans along withlong-term loans could be con-verted into equity taking off

repayment pressures andinterest burden.

The high cost debt which isactually Rs 22,000 crore isbeing serviced at interest ratesas high as 14 percent.Conversion of these loans intoequity by the banks so as toremove the interest burdentotally and listing RINL on thestock exchange giving thebanks exit option through thestock exchange route throughthe general public may also beexplored, Jagan had said.

These measures could easethe burden of debt servicingand improve financial sus-tainability, the Chief Ministersuggested.

"It's unfortunate that theCentre had valued the assetsof RINL as just Rs 32,022.32crore while the land bankvalue itself runs into Rs 2 lakh-crore to Rs 3 lakh-crore andthe plant and machinery canbe valued at a few thousandsof crore of rupees.Privatisation of RINL is noth-ing but giving such valuableassets to crony capitalists on aplatter at paltry sum," saidpolitical analyst Prof KNageshwar.

Chiru backs protestagainst sale of VSP Continued from Page 1

With a Steely resolve, Let'ssave Visakha Steel Plant,”Chiranjeevi tweeted, becom-ing the first celebrity from theTelugu speaking states to havespoken out against the pro-posed disinvestment of theGovernment of India’s share inVSP.

Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman onMonday told Parliament thatthe Centre planned 100 per-cent disinvestment in RINL-VSP.

Chiranjeevi stated that hestill remembers the move-ment during the days he wasstudying at Narasapuram’sYNM College in AndhraPradesh. He said that heremembers how people wererallying behind the steel plant,with the slogans “VisakhaUkka, Andhrula Hakku”(Visakha Steel is the right ofevery Andhra person). Hesaid that many people scari-

fied their lives for the steelplant, and that those sacrificeswill not go in vain, and thatthose sacrifices will not be for-gotten.

The actor-politician said thatevery single person belongingto AP felt pride when the steelplant was announced.

Chiranjeevi criticised thefact that no captive mineswere allotted for the steelplant, and how the Centrenow plans to privatise theinstitution claiming that it isnot yielding profits. He saidthat it is better for the Centreto take a step back regardingprivatisation of the plant, con-sidering that there are manylives dependent on it, direct-ly and indirectly, and howthese lives would drastically beaffected.

Chiranjeevi said that it isnow everyone’s responsibilityto save the plant from beingprivatised and that this issuegoes beyond any politics,rivalries and parties.

As per detailsprovided byPradhan, theoutstandingdebt of RINLuntil Dec. 2020stood at Rs21,236.01 crore,a majority ofwhich was dueto the RINL'sambitiousexpansion plan

SubramanianSwamy ...Continued from Page 1

Swamy opined that privatisa-tion of Public SectorUndertakings blindly was notthe right move. "There shouldbe a strong reason to initiatesuch a big step," he said.

Swamy also opined thatJagan's decision to entrust theTTD accounts to ACG foraudit was a good move andTTD should be transformedinto an autonomous entityand the devotees should takecare of it.

Meanwhile, SubramanianSwamy filed a Rs 100 crorecivil defamation suit in theAP High Court against amedia house, accusing it ofspreading canards against theTTD that it was turning thetemple into a "hub ofChristianity".

He said that the mediahouse supported TDP presi-dent N Chandrababu Naiduand was responsible for suchnews. "In the capacity of aBalaji Bhakt, I am filing thedefamation case suing it forRs 100 crore," Swamy said.

TTD eyesembryotransfer forhigher milk...Continued from Page 1

This technology will notonly help to increase pro-ductivity of animals butalso reduces the risks ofdisease transmission byproducing calves with supe-rior germ plasma.

According to SV Goshaladirector K Harnath Reddy,though it takes ninemonths for the productionof offsprings, for thesecalves to turn into full-f ledged milch yieldingcows, it will take threeyears.

"Our chief motto is toprotect, preserve and devel-op cent percent desi breedsfor better yield, risk freeand more self-reliant tomeet the needs of therequirements of varioustemples located under theumbrella of TTD", he said.

Poor planning by...Continued from Page 1

He said that the previousTDP government had givencontracts to close associatesof its leaders and never both-ered about the quality ofwork. He assured that theState government will com-plete the project on time asChief Minister YS Jaganm-ohan Reddy has prioritisedPolavaram from day one.

On privatisation ofVisakha Steel Plant, Yadavslammed the TDP supremo,accusing him of doing "cheappolitics". He said, between1999 to 2004 as many as 54companies like NizamSugars, Alwyn, Cotton Millshave either been privatised orshut down in the State dur-ing Naidu's rule.

He said that neither Naidunor Lokesh have any moralright to speak in Vizag, asthey opposed it as executivecapital. "Naidu, who cam-paigned as the CEO of APinstead of CM, shouldanswer to the people, as healready supported privatisa-tion even way back in 2004,"the Minister said.

Continued from Page 1

Ms Banerjee told reportersthat she was pushed by four orfive men while she was tryingto get into her car. Pointing toher leg, she added, "See how itis swelling up". Asked if it wasa planned attack, she said, "Ofcourse it is a conspiracy...there were no policemenaround me".

Mamata, who was expect-ed to spend the night inNandigram, soon left forKolkata, around 130 kmaway.

The attack came a day afterthe Election Commissionreplaced the Director Generalof Bengal Police, Mr Virender,amid concerns of violencevoiced the loudest by the BJP.An IPS officer of the 1987batch, P Nirajnayan, has beennamed the new police chief.The Commission has askedfor a report on the attack onthe Chief Minister.

Nandigram will be the site

of the biggest battle in the stateelections that begin by the endof this month. The ChiefMinister has been challengedby her erstwhile aide SuvenduAdhikari, who is now repre-senting the BJP.

The attack came a dayafter the poll panelreplaced the DGPamid concerns ofviolence voiced theloudest by the BJP.

Mamata says she wasattacked by 4-5...

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 11, 2021

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Expressing satisfaction overthe conduct of elections togram panchayats and urbanlocal bodies, the SEC in astatement on Wednesday saidthat it was the first time thatrepolling was not held any-where after completion of boththe elections.

The Commissioner thankedall the stakeholders for therestraint exercised to facilitateincident-free poll.

The Commission, however,is not taking instances of vio-lence lightly and seeking timebound reports by from con-cerned collectors and SPs andCPs.

Instances of ward volun-teers participating in election-eering would be taken intoconsideration and as per HighCourt Orders, explanationswould be sought before takingaction, the SEC said.

State Election CommissionerNimmagadda Ramesh Kumarinspected the polling process atvarious polling centres inVijayawada on Wednesday.Krishna district collector AMD Imtiaz accompanied theSEC.

The SEC, on the occasion,said that the urban local bodypolls across the state werebeing held peacefully.

The SEC visited eight pollingcentres set up in variousschools and colleges in the city.

The SEC, Collector andother officials visited BishopGrace high school, GunadalaCVR School, KarnatiRamamohana Rao school,Satavahana College,Montessori school, KBNCollege, NSM High School

and Gandhiji Municipal HighSchool and observed thepolling activity.

He said that time and againthey have been coordinatingwith the polling officials fromacross the state for the smoothconduct of polling.

The SEC personally askedabout the issuing of voter slipsto the voters well in advancewith the voters who were inqueues.

The success of the municipalpolls has largely been due to thedistribution of voter slips andthe adherence of the ModelCode of Conduct. All thesenior officers, the DistrictCollectors, Superintendents ofPolice/Commissioners ofPolice have led from the frontand showed necessary grit aswell as leadership, the SEC said.

Hundreds of governmentofficials were involved in thepolling process that includesreturning officers,

assistant/additional returningofficers, presiding officers,polling officers, microobservers, zonal officers, routofficers and webcasting person-nel.

Polling was held in 4,626 in12 municipal corporations thatinclude 1,235 sensitive, 1,151hypersensitive and 2,240 nor-mal polling stations.

Similarly, 3,289 polling sta-tions were set up in municipal-ities of which 1,233 are sensi-tive, 1,169 area hyper sensitiveand 887 polling stations werenormal.

SEC Ramesh Kumar fur-ther said that all arrangementshave been made for the count-ing process that would be heldon March 14.

For Municipal corporations2,376 counting supervisors,7,412 counting staff and 2,204counting tables were beingarranged. For municipalities,1,941 counting supervisors,

5,195 counting staff and 1,822counting tables are arranged forthe counting process.

In all, 20,419 police person-

nel were deployed including172 DSPs, 476 CIs, 1,345 S-Is,17,292 constables and 1,134others, he added.

SEC thanks staff for smooth conduct of polls

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

TDP leader and Visakhap-atnam East MLA VelagapudiRamakrish nababu and TeluguNadu Students Front leaderPranav Gopal were taken intocustody by the Town-III policein Visa-khapatnam on Wed-nesday. Town-III inspector KEswara Rao said it was a pre-ventive arrest since the MLAand the student leader enteredprohibited 100 metre at apolling booth under 21st wardin China Waltair. They werebrought to the police stationand later released on self bail.

The MLA and the studentleader rushed to the pollingbooth after TD contestingcandidate of 21st ward PAvinash complained to himthat the ruling YSRC workerswere rigging the polls.

Around 200 YSRCP work-ers tried to prevent them, butthey could manage to enter thebooth. Ruling party workerslater tried to block his vehicle.The MLA’s followers however,managed to send him awayfrom the spot. The policepicked them at AU HighSchool grounds and took theminto preventive custody.

The 21st ward assumesimportance since the YSRCPmayoral candidate and party’scity president contestingagainst Independent candi-date Ghouse Mohammed.

Velagapudi takeninto custody forentering pollingbooth

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh GovernorBiswabhusan Harichandanand his wife SupravaHarichandan onWednesday exercised theirfranchise at the ModelPolling Station located inCVR GMC High Schoolnear Raj Bhavan inVijayawada at about 11 am.

For the first time, he hasexercised his franchise inmunicipal elections afterassuming charge as

Governor of the State.Speaking to the media

after casting his vote, theGovernor said voting rightis the most valuable right ofthe citizens. Whether it isgeneral elections, municipalelections or panchayat elec-tions, they can choose theperson of their choice bycasting their votes, headded.

“As the first citizen of theState, it is my duty to exer-cise the right to vote,” theGovernor said.

Governor Harichandan castshis first vote in state

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

While RINL-VisakhapatnamSteel Plant struggles to getcaptive iron ore mine due tothe open auction process, theMinistry of Steel Plant hadallocated iron and coal minesto Steel Authority of Indiabypassing the auction process.

To a query raised by YSRCPRajya Sabha MP V VijayasaiReddy whether captive mineshave been allocated to anysteel company by the Ministryof Steel Plant directly withoutfollowing the auction or otherprocess in the last five years,it was replied: “Two iron oremines were allotted for SteelAuthority of India Limited

(SAIL) in Odisha in 2004and 2019. Against this reser-vation, Government of Odishavide order, on February 24,2021, grantedP r o s p e c t i n gLicense (PL) toSAIL underSection 17A ofM M D RAmendmentAct, 1957 for aperiod of threeyears.”

And, two coalmines were alsoallocated to SAIL, in2015. However, allotmentof both these mines has beenterminated as SAIL surren-dered the mines.

Steel Minister admitted thatRINL procures iron ore fromopen market at the market

price in the absence ofany captive mine.

This is one of thef a c t o r s

a m o n g s tother reasonsfor lossesincurred byRINL. RINLhas requested

various StateGovernments

such as Odisha,Chhattisgarh and

Andhra Pradesh for rec-ommending reservation ofiron ore deposit under section17A(2A) of MMDR Act, 2015

to the Ministry of Mines,Govt. of India. The Ministryof Steel has also requested theGovernment of Odisha toreserve an iron ore block toRINL.

Regarding allocation of coalmines, Union MinisterDharmendra Pradhan saidRashtriya Ispat NigamLimited (RINL) has been “inprinciple” allocated RabodihOCP coal mine in Jharkhandunder the provisions of CoalMines (Special Provisions)Act, 2015 in March, 2020 byMinistry of Coal. Allocationof coal blocks is done as perthe provisions contained inCoal Mines (SpecialProvisions) Act, 2015.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy has askedofficials to focus on solvingproblems related to housesites that are in legal disputesand not to compromise inquality of construction in theproposed Jagananna colonies.

Chairing a review meetingon housing and infrastructuredevelopment in Jaganannacolonies besides felicitationof volunteers in recognition oftheir services, the ChiefMinister instructed officials tosupport with constructionmaterials those who opt tobuild houses on their own.“Ensure they are providedwith steel, cement and otherconstruction material at lowerprice,” Jagan told the officials.

He directed them to focuson providing water and elec-tricity facilities in the coloniesso that the construction workscould be expedited.

The Chief Minister direct-ed the officials to ensure thewidth of roads in Jaganannacolonies should be not lessthan 20 feet. He examined thedesigns for development ofinfrastructure facilities such asroads, drainage, electricity inJagananna colonies and sug-gested changes.

The Chief Minister alsoinspected the medals, certifi-cates and badges to be award-

ed to volunteers.The State would award vol-

unteers under three categories– Seva Vajra, Seva Ratna andSeva Mitra on the eve of Ugadirecognising their services. SevaMitra will be awarded for2,18,115 volunteers whoserved for over one year with-out any complaints. Seva Ratnaaward will be given to 4,000volunteers of which five volun-teers would be selected fromeach mandal, five volunteersfrom each municipality and 10volunteers from each corpora-tion. "Seva Vajra" award for 875volunteers for which five vol-unteers would be selected fromeach constituency.

Volunteers will be selectedbased on the efficiency shownin door-door survey, distrib-ution of pensions, implemen-tation of home delivery ser-vices and in activities relatedto pension card, rice card,health card etc. A financialincentive of Rs 10,000 wouldbe given to Seva Mitras, Rs20,000 to Seva Ratnas and Rs30,000 to Seva Vajras.

Panchayati Raj MinisterPeddireddy Ramachandrareddy, Housing MinisterCherukuvada RanganathaRaju, Municipal and UrbanDevelopment Special ChiefSecretary Y Srilakshmi,Housing Secretary Ajay Jain,and other officials were pre-sent.

Don’t compromise,housing staff told

Nimmagadda expresses satisfaction as no repolling was required in any booth in GP, municipals polls

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The necessary arrangementshave been made for Kotapp-akonda Tirunallu organisedon the occasion of Mahasivara-tri at Trikoteswara temple onthe hilltop near Narasaraopetaof in Guntur district.

The Kotappakonda Tirun-allu has been recognised asstate festival by the AP govern-ment and nearly 10 lakh peo-ple throng the temple onMahasivaratri.

Devotees from AP andadjoining states – Telangana,Tamil Nadu, Karnataka andother state participate in thecelebrations.

The Kotappakonda is theonly hill that appears withthree peaks in any direction.The stairway with 703 stepswas constructed in the year1,761 by the then king Gunda

Rayalu to help devotees reachthe temple.

The Shaivite temple is situ-ated at 1,500 feet and the devo-tees use either ghat road or

stairway to reach the temple.The Tirumala TirupathiDevasthanam (TTD) con-structed Chaturmukha (four-faced) Brahma and

Seshasayana Vishnu idols onthe ghat road.

Further, forest departmentrenovated children’s park, birdsanctuary and fish aquarium

on the way to the hilltop tem-ple on the ghat road to attractthe devotees.

Kotappakonda Tirunallu isknown for prabhalu which areconstructed by the villagesadjoining the hillock with acost of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.

Prabhas draw huge crowdsto God’s abode on Maha SivaRathri, but this time the num-ber of prabhas might reducedue to Covid guidelines.

Narasaraopeta MLA Dr GSrinivas Reddy said that theofficials of all departmentshave been working for thepast fifteen days to makearrangements for Tirunallu.He said that the road going tothe hilltop was widened torestrain frequent traffic jams.He said that the APSRTC wasoperating special buses toKotappakonda from variousplaces if the state.

Kotappakonda decked up for Mahasivaratri

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former MP and YSRCPleader Modugula VenugopalaReddy on Wednesday allegedthat the Telugu Desam Partyactivists carried out an attackon his car and damaged thevehicle in Guntur.

He said that TDP leaders ofDivision 42 brought girls ofa hostel in Guntur city to castvotes illegally.

He said that some girl stu-dents staying in a hostel runby TDP supporters in the cityhave come to the pollingbooth and cast votes severaltimes with separate names.

As the girls were wearingmasks and as the photos inthe voters' lists were not clear,they made good use of thesame to cast fake votes, he

alleged and claimed that hecaught a girl while castingfake votes.

Further, our party activistscaught three girls who wererepeatedly casting votes, hesaid.

Reddy alleged that when he

came to the polling booth,TDP goondas attacked his carwith a boulder and damagedthe vehicle. He said that theyhad submitted memoran-dums to the State ElectionCommission and the policeofficials to deploy more policefor a free and fair poll byrestraining fake voters but invain.

He stated that they hadlodged a complaint withpolice about TDP was usinggirl students to cast votes inthe name of others anddemanded SEC to take sternaction against the TD leaders.

In the second incident,Guntur MP Galla Jayadevrushed to 43rd Division inGuntur and demanded actionagainst YSRCP leaders alleg-ing casting of fake votes.

Heated arguments pre-vailed between YSRCP andTDP activists as they tried toclash with each other. Thepolice acted swiftly and dis-persed the two groups.

Guntur Rural SP VishalGunni visited various pollingbooths in the district andsupervised the pollingprocess. He said drone cam-eras were used in the munic-ipal elections beside body-worn cameras and pollingpassed off peacefully in therural district.

Guntur collector VivekYadav removed root-3 officerO Venkateswarlu from elec-tion duties at Sattenapallidue to dereliction of duties.The Collector said that thepolling was concluded peace-fully in the district.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Muthyala Rajendra fromNellore emerged victorious inthe Cluster 1 Finals of TataCrucible Campus Quiz 2021,the maiden online edition ofIndia’s largest business quizfor campuses.

The Cluster 1 Finals repre-senting the Andhra Pradeshregion, was a thrilling affair tothe last, with participantsshowcasing their quick think-ing and sharp quizzing abil-ities.

The winner took home acash prize of Rs 35, 000 and

will now compete in theZonal Finals to qualify for theNational Finals.

Kanav Mehra from IndianInstitute of Management(IIM) Visakhapatnam wasdeclared runner-up, winninga cash price of Rs18, 000.Hitendra Sharma, GeneralManager Vivanta Hyderabad,Begumpet was the chief guestat the event and gave away theprizes in a virtual prize distri-bution ceremony.

Stepping up to the chal-lenges posed by the pandem-ic, like the Tata CrucibleCorporate Quiz 2020, the

Campus edition too hasbrought in its first ever virtu-al format.

For the online version ofthe Campus Quiz, the coun-try has been divided into 24Clusters and after two levelsof online prelims, top 12finalists from each Clusterwill be invited for Wild CardFinals out of which top 6finalists will then compete inthe 24 online Cluster Finals.These 24 Clusters are furthergrouped into four zones-south, east, west, and northand each zone will compriseof 6 Clusters.

Muthyala Rajendra winsCrucible Campus Quiz

Former MP’s car damaged during polls

SCR invites advocates forits panelsPNS n HYDERABAD

South Central Railway hasinvited applications from eli-gible advocates willing to beon the Zone Panels before theHigh Courts, CentralAdministrative Tribunals andRailway Claims Tribunals.

The zone has made displayof necessary notice/ informa-tion in the offices of the barassociations of the HighCourts of Telangana, AP,Bombay High Court, CATHyderabad bench andRailway Claims Tribunal, atHyderabad and Amaravati.

Steel ministry allocates mines toSAIL without auction, ignores RINL

Labourer diesas boundarywall collapsesin S-PuramPNS n VIJAYAWADA

A worker died when a wallcollapsed during the con-struction of a railway under-pass at Madhuranagar Rail-way Station in Vijayawada onWednesday. The victim wasidentified as Tabuzuddin, 35,from Assam.

According to reports, themishap occured when theboundary wall of the railwayunderpass caved in andburied the victim underneath.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Going ballistic against theCentre’s privatization spree,TRS working president and ITMinister KT Rama Rao char-acterized the Union govern-ment’s latest divestment moves,including its decision to priva-tise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant‘at any cost’, as a new scheme:‘Becho India-Sell India’.

He was addressingAthmeeya Sammelan of pub-lic sector companies’ employ-ees held at Haritha Plaza onWednesday.

Pointing out that the newagenda of the BJP-led govern-ment at the Centre was sellingaway public sector companies,KTR exhorted employees of allpublic sector companies on thechopping block to put up aunited fight against all priva-tization moves of the Centre.He questioned the Union gov-ernment as to what had led itto sell the public sector com-panies. “Is it for the sake ofnation or dharma?” he askedrhetorically.

“We have to respond to theselling of the public sectorcompanies, even if those beacross the nation. The Centrewill sell Singareni Collieries ifwe maintain silence in regardto Vizag Steel Plant. TRS hasbeen working with the publicsector companies since itsinception. TRS is the party thatmade Singareni to run onprofitable path. It is time forthe employees of the publicsector companies to unitedlyobstruct the privatization bid,”he said.

KTR said that there was seri-ous concern among employeesof the public sector companiesover the future of their jobs.The interests of India and wel-fare of the people of the nationdepended on the future ofpublic sector companies. Boththe Congress and the BJP haddisinvestment for their agenda.

However, the Modi govern-ment had beaten all other pre-vious governments hollow inits spree to privatise PSUs, heremarked.

The TS IT Minister alleged

that the Modi governmenthad collected Rs.3.30 lakhcrore funds by selling publicsector companies of the coun-try. The Modi government,which had launched ‘Make inIndia’, ‘Skill India’, ‘Fit India’,was now selling public sectorcompanies with the slogan‘Becho India- Sell India’. TheCentre was selling public sec-tor companies, instead ofextending help to such compa-nies. “The Centre will certain-ly sell Singareni too, if we keepquiet regarding the sale ofVisakha Steel Plant. There is aneed for us to extend our sup-port to people opposing theprivatization of Vizag SteelPlant. The Centre will sell thecompanies here if given achance,” he warned.

KTR said that theTelangana government had ahistory of helping public sec-tor companies to run on prof-itable lines. The Telanganagovernment gave Rs.35,000crore orders to strengthencompanies like BHEL, he men-tioned.

Centre’s new scheme is ‘BechoIndia - Sell India’, says KTR

Telangana IT Minister K Taraka Rama Rao addresses an election meeting organised by the Recognised Schools’Management Association at Jala Vihar at Necklace Road in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 11, 2021

telangana 04

RAJESH JAIN NIDARKAR

n HYDERABAD

Despite the StateGovernment's serious warn-ing and the recent High Courtorder, there is no let-up in theillegal constructions in thecity of Greater Hyderabad.Irregular structures can beseen in any corner of the city.The town planning officialsbecame mute spectatorsthough the victims have com-plained with evidence againstthe unauthorized structures.Illegal constructions are onthe rise of late in the sur-rounding areas of Kukatpalli.One of the victims have com-plained to GHMC officialsthat a commercial complexbeing built under the name‘SBR-Siri’ near RaidurgaPanmaktha, has failed toadhere to the approvedGHMC plan.

The commercial complex isunder construction. With 60% built-up area and a 40%common area. The builderwithdrew from the approvedplan after obtaining theOccupancy Certificate fromGHMC. The commercialcomplex, which is scheduled

to be completed by April 14,2018, as per the GHMC build-ing permit order is not yetcompleted. With building per-mit No is 22272 / HO / WZ /CIR-11/2013, the developersreceived approvals from theGHMC. With several com-plaints, the GHMC hasdashed three notices to thebuilder on February 20,March 3 and March 10, 2021.

The complaint says thatapart from the pattern givento the town planning author-ities for approval, unautho-rized constructions are going

on in the premises. As per theapproved plan, the first andsecond floors are shown asshowrooms. The commercialcomplex is being constructedcontrary to the plan sanc-tioned on the ground floor.Also, fire safety norms are notconsidered blatantly violatingthe regulations. The area allot-ted for toilets is also used forcommercial structures. Thecommon areas on the groundfloor, first floor and secondfloor are occupied by thebuilder. The circle-20 officehas issued a notice after the

complaint was submitted toGHMC authorities. But, thebuilder was still continuing tobuild as per his whims andfancies. The victim appealedto the authorities concernedto take action against thebuilder for violating normsunder Section 452 (1) & 461(1) of the GHMC Act 1956.

It may be recalled only fewdays back the Telangana HighCourt has expressed its dis-pleasure over the way theunauthorized constructionsare coming up and mentionedthat the authorities have no

control over the illegal struc-tures in the GHMC limits.The HC ordered GHMC offi-cials to stop illegal structures.The High Court also com-mented that what the fieldstaff were doing when the ille-gal structures were going onunabatedly. Asked the govern-ment why no action has beeninitiated against the field staffwho have performed theirduties irresponsibly. The courtalso suggested that actionshould be taken against thefield-level staff as well assuperiors responsible andasked GHMC to monitor theirperformance. Even the HCorder brought no change inthe situation as illegal struc-tures are continuing withoutany pause. It is observed thatmany builders and construc-tion companies are managinglocal town planning authori-ties. But the GHMC officialshave not initiated any mea-sures to punish the corruptfield-level staff. There aretough laws, but GHMC has noofficials to act tough toenforce the laws strictly. Thenumber of victims continuesto rise as conditions remainunchanged.

Illegal structures rise uncheckedPNS n NALGONDA

TRS Graduates' con-stituency candidate PallaRajeshwar Reddy hintedon Wednesday that theGovernment of Telanganawould launch a newscheme on April 1 tobenefit the jobless amongSCs, STs and BCs.

At an election meetinghere on Wednesday,Rajeshwar pointed outthat 25 per cent of thepolice recruits were fromNalgonda district. Hementioned that ChiefMinister K Chandrasek-har Rao had spoken withleaders of TNGOs as wellas NGOs, Secretariat staffunion and Teachers' unio-ns on Tuesday and assur-ed them that governmentemployees in TS wouldbenefit more compared totheir counterparts inother states with regard tothe implementation ofthe Pay RevisionCommittee recommen-dations.

New scheme on anvil for jobless SCs, STs & BCs

PNS n SIRCILLA

The devotees made a beelineto the Rajarajeshwara Swamytemple, Vemulawada, for theMaha Shivarartri. They wereseen arriving at the templetown along with their familymembers to take part in athree-day annual MahaShivaratri jatara which beganon Wednesday.

Endowment Minister AIndrakaran Reddy along withBC Welfare and Civil SuppliesMinister Gangula Kamalakar,TS Planning Board Vice-Chairman B Vinod Kumarand others will present silk

cloths to RajarajeshwaraSwamy on behalf of the Stategovernment on Thursday.

On the other hand, theSivarchana programme wasstarted at the temple tank onWednesday evening. In orderto entertain devotees who takepart in the three-day fete,authorities made arrange-ments to organise Sivarchanaand other cultural pro-grammes.

Besides a huge dais, seatingarrangements were also madein a huge area to ensure pil-grims to take part inShivarchana and watch cultur-al programmes.

PNS n HYDERABAD

BJP national general secretaryTarun Chugh said that theChief Minister of Telangana KChandrashekar Rao has beendeceiving people of the statein the name of 'BangaruTelangana' by indulging inlarge scale corruption andpromoting nepotism.

Addressing public meet-ings at Ibrahimpatnam andMaheshwaram, Tarun Chughsaid Telangana was fed upwith the politics of nepotismplayed by KCR in which hisfamily members are indulgingin rampant loot in the state.

Chugh said the KCR gov-ernment was plagued withinefficiency and corruption asa result of which the state hasnot been able to get benefitsof various welfare schemesand programmes initiated by

Prime Minister NarendraModi. "Instead of running thestate government honestlyand sincerely the KCR gov-ernment has been promotingfamily members to loot thestate", Chugh said.

He said the administra-tion is completely collapsed aswe see in the state that peo-ple do not have even basicfacilities of drinking waterand power supply. Roads allover the state are in bad

shape. Trade and industryhas been facing an unprece-dented crisis.

The KCR government hasin fact been following a neg-ative approach to scuttle thewelfare policies of the Centreand has consequently failed todeliver on all fronts followingwhich the people inTelangana are looking for achange and the BJP hasoffered them a promisingand progressive change.

Telangana should uproot KCR lock, stock and barrel: Chugh

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Pradesh CongressPradesh (TPCC) President NUttam Kumar Reddy exhort-ed employees to revolt againsttheir union leaders for betray-ing their cause.

He was addressing a seriesof meetings in Nalgonda andHyderabad on Wednesday inconnection with the MLC pollcampaign for Congress candi-date Sabavath Ramulu Naik(Hyderabad-Rangac Reddy-Maha bubnagar). Bhongir MPKomatireddy Venkatreddyand other senior leaders alsoaddressed the meeting atLaxmi Gardens in Nalgonda.

Uttam Kumar Reddyaccused the union leaders ofmortgaging the interest ofemployees for personal gains.He said that the union leaderswere acting like TRS leaderswhile treating the employees

as their slaves. He said thatinstead of pressuring the stategovernment for implementa-tion of new PRC and fitmentof not less than 43 per cent, theunion leaders have reported-ly bargained for some sops forthemselves with ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao. The TPCC chief strong-ly objected to the secret meet-ing the union leaders hadwith the Chief Minister atPragathi Bhavan and ques-tioned its validity. He said thatKCR held the meeting not asthe Chief Minister, but as thePresident of TRS seeking thesupport of employees.Therefore, he should've organ-ised an on-camera meetingand should've given assur-ances of giving fitment of notless than 43 per cent in fullpublic view. He said KCR hasbeen using union leaders as atool to betray the employees.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Besides TRS WorkingPres ident andTelangana IT MinisterKT Rama Rao's state-ment extending sup-port to Vizag SteelP lant ag i t at ion ,Congress MLA fromMulugu constituencySeethakka extendedher full support to theongoing VSP agita-tion. Moreover, Seethakkaflooded her twitteraccount with satire onPr ime Minis terNarendra Modi.

Seethakka tweeted,''I can see the transfor-mation of Chaiwalaand Chowkidar toSalesman. Modi Ji youare a PM not a sales-man, we don't sit athome if u touch ourbirth rights.

Vizag, I give mysupport to you; don'tmove an inch back onVizag Steel Plant" .Seethakka tagged aphotograph of theVizag Steel Plant alongwith her tweet.

Seethakka's satire pins Modi on VSP

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Centre is understood to becontemplating to supply LPGcylinders to Ujjwala beneficia-ries, free of cost, for threemonths in the wake of steeprise in LPG cylinder cost,which escalated to Rs 871.50each. It may be recalled that thecost of LPG domestic cylinderis up by Rs 225 in threemonths. The cost is likely to goup further as per oil prices inthe international market.

Out of 26 lakh LPG connec-tions in the twin cities, 1.42lakh are beneficiaries ofUjjwala scheme, according tostatistics available with theCivil Supplies department.

The Centre has been explor-ing the possibility of supplyingthe LPG, free of cost, in theyear 2021-22 for three months.

It may be recalled that theCentre under Garib KalyanYojana, had supplied LPGcylinders free of cost duringthe lockdown period. Becauseof the steep rise in LPG prices,the Centre wants to repeat theexercise, it is learnt.

As was the practice earlier,the consumers had to purchase

the LPG cylinder at theirdoorstep. But the Centre reim-bursed the amount directlyinto the bank accounts of thebeneficiaries. The number ofbeneficiaries of Ujjwala schemein Hyderabad is 81,083; thereare 20,231 beneficiaries inMedchal district and 40,766 inRangareddy district.

Move to supply free LPG cylindersto 1.42 lakh Ujjwala beneficiaries

PNS n HYDERABAD

NTPC Southern Region is likely tocommission about 217 MW floatingsolar capacity, including one of thelargest floating solar power plants of100 MW at Ramagundam, by May-June this year, a senior official saidon Wednesday.

NTPC Regional Executive DirectorC V Anand said:"100 MW atRamagundam, 25 MW at Simhadri,Visakhapatnam, 92 MW atKayamkulam, Kerala.So, these are thefloating solar, what we have taken upright now." The Corporation would,subsequently, take forward the initia-tive wherever space is available, hesaid.

A 230 MWac ground Solar projectis also being established atEttayapuram near Tuticorin in TamilNadu. “Time schedule for floatingsolar is somewhere this financial

year beginning, say May-June, by thetime this all will be commissioned,"Anand said.

According to him, though they areall supposed to be commissioned thisyear, it could not happen due toCovid. Floating solar is a new conceptand its main advantage is that it doesnot require additional land, he said.The official said NTPC is havingreservoirs in its plants to supplywater and the existing water reservoirsare being utilised.

The NTPC release pointed out thatNTPC has significant presence inSouthern Region with a total installedcapacity of 9125 MW through Coal,Gas/Liquid Fuel and Solar PV, includ-ing 1500 MW through JV NTECLVallur. In addition to this, 2000 MWof power from NTPC- Talcher,Kaniha Stage-II located in Odisha, isdedicated for supplying power toSouthern states, it added.

‘Sand miningmust be curbed in eco-sensitiveforest zones' PNS n MULUGU

Mulugu ZP ChairmanKusuma Jagadishwar onWednesday demandedthat illegal extraction ofsand from the eco-sensi-tive forest zone that fellunder Etur Nagarammandal having surveynumber 651 / 17-20 bestopped.

He said that some acresof paddy land becamesand layered followingheavy cloudburst in thearea during the last rainyseason.

As the land turned intoa sandy stretch the culti-vators and landownerssought licences to extractsand from the TS MDC,in accordance with thedirectives of the districtcollector, the ZP chairmansaid.

However, unscrupulouspersons with ties to thesand mafia, taking advan-tage of the situation, start-ed extracting sand fromthe area without properdocuments.

NTPC to commissionfloating solar capacity

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana State BharatiyaJanata Party has lodged acomplaint with the DirectorGeneral of Police (DGP)demanding that the latter ini-tiate strict and stringent actionagainst the culprits, whoresorted to violence onSunday, March 7, 2021 atBhainsa. They also demandedthat the DGP conduct a high-level police enquiry into theseries of communal incidentsto identify the habitual cul-prits, who incite riots in thearea and to open rowdy-sheetsagainst them.

Permanent police pickets be setup at incident-prone areas,they said and demanded abeef-up in intelligence net-work to identify anti-nationalelements across the districtand Telangana to pre-emptsuch unfortunate incidents andwithdrawal of all cases foistedand filed against Hindu youths.BJP MPs-Soyam Bapu Rao,Dharmapuri Arvind, MLA TRaja Singh, former MP Vivek,former MLAs-ChintalaRamachandra Reddy, NVSSPrabhakar, party leaders-DPradeep Kumar met the DGP,Mahender Reddy, and sub-mitted a memorandum.

‘Initiate strict action againstculprits of Bhainsa violence’

PNS n NAGARKURNOOL

The wild fires that have broken outin Nallamala forest region sinceFebruary have been exposing thefailure of the forest officials inbringing the flames under control.The recent wild fire incident thatoccurred in the forest region onMarch 7 left tens of Chenchusinjured in the incident. They areliving in the grip of fear.

From the first week of Februarytill March 2 at least four wild fireincidents were reported in the for-est. The trees in the forest caughtfire in the mishap reported onMarch 7 as the March 2 incidentwas still green in the memory ofthe public. At last 10 km of forestarea was gutted in the fire inci-dents. On March 2, the flames

started at Octopus view point inAmrabad Tiger Reserve zone andspread up to Neelaram Hills gut-ting valuable timber, medicinalplants, wildlife species. Turningdown claims of forest officialsspending crores of rupees to con-trol these flames, the people of the

region discount them and accusethe officials of total failure in rein-ing in the forest flames.

Daily thousands of devoteestravel by foot on Srisailam-Hyderabad national highway toreach Srisailam. The devoteestravelling to Srisailam cook food

in the forest and embers from thestove are likely to ignite the for-est flames. Similarly, cigarettebutts thrown carelessly by thetravellers often cause the firemishaps.

The flames spread in no timeengulfing the thatched huts of thetribals, causing loss to the life andlimbs and to other properties.Sometimes, cattle also get burntin the flames.

The tribals living in the forestregion are apprehensive of morefire accidents that take place inthe forests during summer.

People of the region urge offi-cials to take steps to protecttourists and devotees, who trav-el along the forest route to reachSrisailam, in their lakhs, for theSivaratri.

TRS has betrayed minorities: Uttam

Vemulawada Jatara starts on grand note

Wildfires cause concern to tribals in Nallamala

Increase in demand for Kadaknath birdsPNS n HYDERABAD

Most of the people loveto eat Chicken and weall know that Chicken isrich in proteins. Here isa special chicken whichcontains low fat content- Kadaknath chicken.

The Kadaknathbreed of poultry is inhuge demand in thecity if the sale price ofthe live bird is any indi-cation. In fact, live birdsells at Rs 800-1000 akg.

Now available inHyderabad and themeat is sold at Rs 1,000to Rs 1,200 per kg. Thecost of the live bird is Rs850 a kg

This variety of poul-try birds are generallyfound in MadhyaPradesh, Chattisgarh,Gujarat and Rajasthanand contain very highmelanin content. Themeat lovers set theirsights on this poultrybird as it is endowedwith many nutrients.

This bird meat is richin proteins and has lessfat and cholesterol.People eating the meatwill not become obese.The nutrients in themeat help increasehaemoglobin contentin blood. The meat isuseful for asthamapatients and those whosuffer from breathingproblems. The meat isalso highly useful inreducing labour painsand also contributes toimproving reproductivecapacity among males.

While the broilerbirds take only 45 daysto gain weight,Kadaknath variety ofpoultry birds take eightmonths to gain weight.The quality of the birdsis very high and themaintenance costs arevery high. It reflects inthe sale price of itsmeat.

Since the pandemic,the people want to eatchicken to increasetheir immunity power.They consume dryfruits, fruits, green andleafy vegetables, eggsand meat. In this back-drop, the demand forKadaknath chicken hasincreased enormously.Rearing of these birdson the city outskirtshas picked up.According toKadaknath ChickenFarms, a major suppli-er of such birds in thetwin cities, the cost ofbreeding is around Rs500 per bird. It con-sumes nearly 100 gramsof feed every day andbreeding is differentfrom broiler chicken.

Apart from the meat,Kadaknath eggs are alsoexpensive with eachcosting Rs 30. The eggis believed to be nutri-tious, especially forelderly people and highblood pressure patients."Hatching of eggs is aproblem for this breed.Though it has demandin the market, produc-tion is less and this hasresulted in high prices,"said a farmer.

ANUSHA PUPPALA

n HYDERABAD

Telangana State ConsumerDisputes Redressal Commis-sion has directed Brand facto-ry to pay Rs 10,000 towardsthe mental agony caused to aHyderabad customer by col-lecting GST over MRP aftergiving discount and also forselling a logo cover.

The consumer court hasalso directed the BrandFactory to pay Rs 5,000towards the costs of the litiga-tion, Rs 10 towards the cost ofthe paper carry bag and Rs74,98 towards the excessiveGST within 45 days fromMarch 10, 2021 else the abovegranted amount will attract a12 per cent interest per annumtill realisation. Consumer

activist Srikha-nde UmeshKumar visited Brand Factoryoutlet in Secunderabad onMay 27, 2019 for shopping.While shopping the staff in theoutlet informed him aboutthe 40 per cent discount offeron MRP on purchase.

Umesh Kumar purchased aJeans and the MRP on it is Rs2,499. According to the 40%discount offer, he should ide-ally pay 60 percent of the MRPi,e Concessional price amount-ing Rs 1499.40. However, uponnoticing the bill/invoice, foundsome discrepancy in it andquestioned the management asthey had collected Rs 1574.38instead of Rs 1499.40 for aJeans. They collected Rs1,574.38 instead of Rs 1,499.40which is Rs 74.98 more thanthe concessional price.

CHARGING GST ON MRP

Brand Factory to pay Rs 10K to customer

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 11, 2021 nation 05

Amma Makkal MunnetraKazhagam, led by TTVDhinakaran on Wednesday

released its first list of 15candidates for the April 6 TamilNadu assembly elections.Former state Ministers, PPalaniappan, G Senthamizhan,and C Shanmugavelu wouldcontest from appireddipatti,Saidapet and Madathukulamrespectively, AMMK general secretary Dhinakaran said in a party release.S Anbazhagan, and K Sugumar, both former MPs, have been fieldedfrom Rasipuram and Pollachi segments respectively. Several formerMLAs have also been named in the first list of the AMMK. Dhinakaran,nephew of late chief minister Jayalalithaa's close aide V K Sasikala, hasdecided to contest the elections despite his aunt announcing her ecisionto stay away from politics and urging her supporters to ensure thevictory of the ruling AIADMK and defeat DMK in the polls. The AMMKhas entered into a tie-up with Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi'sAIMIM, alloting it three seats.Tamil Nadu with 234 assemblyconstituencies will have a single-phase elections on April 6 in whichfronts led by arch-rivals AIADMK and DMK are the main contenders.

ABJP leader was booked for allegedly interfering in the work of agovernment official and misbehaving with him, police said onWednesday. An FIR was registered Tuesday against BJP leader

Awadhesh Mishra and others on a complaint by Tehsildar GaneshPrasad in this connection at Bindki police station, said its acting SHOAshutosh Singh. In his complaint, the tehsildar alleged that the BJPleader and his associates sought to put pressure on him to add namesof people in the voter list for the panchayat elections, the SHO said.Singh said the BJP leader's wife Rekha Mishra too has lodged acounter-complaint against the tehsildar accusing him of misbehavingwith her. The police are also looking into her complaint, said the SHO.While Awadhesh Mishra is the vice president of the BJP's Bundelkhandregion Kisan Morcha, his wife is the secretary of the BJP nit of theFatehpur district.

INDIA CORNER

The Supreme CourtWednesday soughtresponses from the

Centre and others on a pleawhich has raised the issue ofexclusion of eligible andwilling female candidatesfrom joining the prestigiousNational Defence Academy(NDA) solely on the groundof sex which allegedly is aviolation of fundamental right of equality.The plea has sought adirection to the concerned authorities to allow eligible femalecandidates to appear in the ‘National Defence Academy and NavalAcademy Examination' and train at the NDA. A bench headed byChief Justice S A Bobde issued notices to the Centre, the UnionPublic Service Commission (UPSC) and others seeking theirresponses on the plea which said “the categorical exclusion ofeligible female candidates from entering the National DefenceAcademy is not constitutionally justifiable and is simply done on thebasis of their sex."

Dhinakaran-led AMMK releasesfirst list of 15 candidates

SC notice to Centre on femalecandidates from joining NDA

Awoman claiming to bea rape survivor wasthwarted by police

from attempting self-immolation in front of theUttar Pradesh Assemblycomplex after she pouredkerosene on herself onWednesday. The woman,who said that she had fileda rape case in Sultanpurrecently that the police therewas not acting on, reached Gate No. 5 of the Assembly complex andtried to set herself on fire but was stopped by the police personnel at thespot, officials said. "The woman, a resident of Sultanpur, reached GateNo. 5 in the afternoon and poured kerosene on herself on the other sideof the road near a temple. She was stopped before she could set herselfon fire," Commissioner of Police D K Thakur said. The woman,according to Thakur, said the police in Sultanpur was not taking actioneven after registering an FIR, which led her to the act in the statecapital.He added that the woman has been detained and Sultanpur policehas been informed. A probe is on in the matter.

Woman attempts suicide infront of UP Assembly complex

BJP leader booked forobstructing official on duty

PNS n HALDIA

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee onWednesday filed her nomina-tion for Nandigram assemblyseat, where she will take on herformer protege and BJP leaderSuvendu Adhikari and exudedconfidence of winning it say-ing she has never returnedempty-handed from the land ofanti-farm land acquisitionmovement.

Accompanied by TMC pres-ident Subrata Bakshi, Banerjeefiled her papers at the Haldiasub-divisional office here aftertaking part in a 2-km road-show. She offered prayers at a

temple before filing hernomination, and at anotherafter doing so. "I am confidentabout my victory from theNandigram assembly seat. Icould have easily contestedfrom Bhawanipurseat (whichshe represents). "When I hadvisited Nandigram in January,there was no MLA from here

as the sitting MLA hadresigned. I looked at the facesof the common people anddecided to contest from here,"she said after filing her paper.

Deputy chairman of EastMidnapore zilla parishadSheikh Sufiyan has beenappointed as Banerjee's elec-tion agent.

"I have never returnedempty-handed from here.Nandigram is not just a name,it is the name of a movement.Bhulte pari sobar naam, bhul-bo nako Nandigram (I can for-get everyone's name, but can

never forget Nandigram).That's the significance of thisplace for me," the TMC supre-mo said.

Banerjee said that she hadmade up her mind this time tocontest either from the Singuror Nandigram - the cradles ofthe anti-farm land acquisitionmovement which had catapult-ed her to power in 2011.

"My feeling is very clear - noone can divide this place alongreligious lines. During theNandigram movement all thecommunities had participatedin it. Those who are lecturing

now about its legacy werenowhere when violence wasunleashed here. I was fightingalone," she said.

The fiesty TMC chief willcontest from Nandigram forthe first time after relinquish-ing her Bhowanipore con-stituency in Kolkata.

She has rented a house inNandigram and will campaignfrom there.

Nandigram assembly con-stituency is set for a highoctane battle with Banerjeedeciding to contest from theseat against Adhikari, whorecently switched over to thesaffron camp.

Adhikari, who too filed hisnomination paper for the seaton Wednesday, called her an"outsider" to Nandigram andhimself a "bhoomiputra" (sonof the soil).

He had won the Nandigramseat in the 2016 assembly poll,while another TMC candidateemerged victorious from the-constituency in 2011.

CONFIDENT MAMATA FILESPAPERS FROM NANDIGRAM

PNS n NEW DELHI

Foreign funding licences of8,353 NGOs were notrenewed by the Union HomeMinistry and the registrationof 264 NGOs was suspendedin the last five years, the RajyaSabha was informed onWednesday.

Union Minister of State forHome Nityanand Rai said theregistration of 5,347 NGOsunder the ForeignContribution (Regulation) Actwas not renewed in 2016, 559NGOs in 2017, 1,010 NGOs in2018, 974 NGOs in 2019 and463 NGOs in 2020. The FCRAwas amended last year. As perthe amended law, providing

Aadhaar numbers of the officebearers of the NGOs has beenmade mandatory for registra-tion of the NGOs.

Besides, with the amend-ments, office expenses werebrought down to 20 per centfrom 50 per cent and electioncandidates, government ser-vants, members of any legis-lature and political partieswere prohibited to accept for-eign funding.

According to the rulesissued after the amendedFCRA, the NGOs, whichintend to receive foreign fund-ing, must have an existence ofat least three years and spentRs 15 lakh in voluntary activ-ities prior to their applications.

Govt: Licences of8,353 NGOs stayed

PNS n PUNE

To check the spike in COVID-19 cases, the Maharashtrahealth department has comeup a seven- point action plan,including testing of close con-tacts, fast contact-tracing,mass testing in hot-spots andaudit of deaths.

All district administrationshave been directed to act uponthese points immediately, asper a letter dated March 3 ofthe health department's prin-cipal secretary Dr PradeepVyas. The action plan alsoincludes strict adherence toguidelines on social, politicaland religious gatherings, andto involve civil societies andreligious leaders to motivatepeople to adopt COVID-19-appropriate behaviour.

The cases in Maharashtrahave been on a rise since thesecond week of February. OnTuesday, the state reported9,927 new COVID-19 caseswhich took the caseload to22,38,398, while 56 fatalitiespushed up the death count to52,556, as per official data.

The action plan has beenprepared following observa-tions of a team from theUnion Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare, which recent-ly visited Nagpur, Amravati,Yavatmal, Thane, Pune andMumbai, where there has beena spike in cases of the viralinfection. In the letter issuedto all district collectors andcivic chiefs, Dr Vyas saidthough the central team cameout with observations basedon its visits to the above-mentioned districts, a similarsituation might be prevailingin other districts also.

As per the letter, the districtshave been asked to activateinstitutional quarantine or iso-lation facilities as there is noproper mechanism to monitorpatients in home isolation ona day-to-day basis.

Maha draws actionplan to curb Covid

PNS n NEW DELHI

Six states -- Maharashtra,Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka,Gujarat and Tamil Nadu --accounted for 83.76 per cent ofthe 17,921 cases of COVID-19reported in the country in aday, the Union Health Ministrysaid on Wednesday.

India's tally of activeCOVID-19 cases stood at 1.84lakh and comprised 1.64 percent of the total infections,according to the ministry'sdata. The total number of testsconducted in India so far hascrossed 22 crore and the dailypositivity rate stood at 2.43 percent. Maharashtra continuedto report the highest dailynew cases at 9,927, followed byKerala with 2,316 cases andPunjab 1,027 fresh instances ofthe infection.

According to the ministry,133 deaths were reported in aday, with five states accounting

for 77.44 per cent of the fatal-ities.

Maharashtra saw the maxi-mum daily deaths at 56, fol-lowed by Punjab where 20 peo-ple succumbed to the diseaseand Kerala witnessing 16 fatal-ities. Nineteen states andUnion Territories have notreported any COVID-19 deathin a day. These are Rajasthan,Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh,Odisha, Uttarakhand,Jharkhand, Bihar, Puducherry,Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Ladakh,Manipur, Meghalaya,Nagaland, Daman and Diu,Dadra and Nagar Haveli,Tripura, Mizoram, theAndaman and Nicobar Islands

and Arunachal Pradesh.According to a provisional

report, over 2.43 crore vaccinedoses have been administeredthrough 3,39,145 sessions till7 am on Wednesday.

These include 71,30,098healthcare and 69,36,480 front-line workers who have admin-istered the first dose, 38,90,257healthcare and 4,73,422 front-line workers who received thesecond dose of the vaccine.

Besides, 8,33,526 peopleaged more than 45 years withspecific comorbidities and51,04,123 beneficiaries agedover 60 years also were giventhe first dose.

On Day-53 of the vaccina-tion drive, more than 13.5lakh vaccine doses were givenin 52,351 sessions. Out of this,10,60,944 beneficiaries wereadministered the first doseand 2,98,229 healthcare andfrontline workers received thesecond dose of the vaccine.

Six states account for over80 pc of fresh Covid cases

PNS n NEW DELHI

Thirty-three per cent of the sit-ting MLAs in Tamil Nadu - 68out of the 204 - have declaredcriminal cases against them,according to a report by pollrights group ADR(Association for DemocraticReforms).

Out of the total sittingMLAs from the poll-boundstate, 38 (19 per cent) MLAshave serious criminal casesagainst them, it said.

Serious criminal cases arenon-bailable offences withover five years of imprison-ment.

The report also said that 157(77 per cent) Members of theLegislative Assembly havedeclared their financial assetsto be worth crores.

About 89 (44 per cent)MLAs have educational qual-ification between fifth stan-dard pass and 12th standardpass while 110 (54 per cent)are graduates and above.

PNS n GUWATHI

Altogether 281 candidates havefiled their nominations for 47assembly seats in Assam goingto polls in the first phase onMarch 27, a release issued bythe CEO's office said onWednesday.

The last date of submissionof nominations for the firstphase was Tuesday.

Among prominent candi-dates who filed nominationswere Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal fromMajuli, sitting BJP MLAsAngoorlata Deka fromBatadroba, Ashok Singhalfrom Dhekiajuli, Mrinal Saikiafrom Khumtai and PadmaHazarika from Sootea, besidesformer ministers Ajanta Neog

from Golaghat and BismitaGogoi from Khumtai, thestate's chief electoral officer(CEO) said in the release.Other candidates who filedtheir nominations includeSpeaker Hitendra NathGoswami from Jorhat on BJPticket, AGP ministers AtulBora from Bokakhat and

Keshab Mahanta fromKaliabor, BJP ministers RanjitDutta from Behali, NabaKumar Doley from Jonai andSanjoy Kishan from Tinsukia,and Nazir Hussain of the saf-fron party from Rupohihat.

Assam Pradesh CongressCommittee president RipunBora filed his nomination

from Gohpur, CongressLegislature Party leaderDebabrata Saikia from Naziraand AICC secretary BhupenBorah from Bihpuria.

Among others who filedtheir nominations were formerministers Bharat Narah fromNaoboicha, Pranatee Phukanfrom Naharkatiya and RakibulHussain from Samaguri,besides sitting MLAs RupjyotiKurmi from Mariani, RanaGoswami from Jorhat,Roselina Tirkey fromSarupathar. AJP presidentLurinjyoti Gogoi filed hisnominations from bothDuliajan and Naharkatiya con-stituencies while the party'sgeneral secretary JagadishBhuyan filed his nominationfrom Sadiya.

281 file papers in 1st phase in Assam 33% MLAs in TNface criminal cases

PNS n GHAZIABAD

The CISF is working to estab-lish itself as a "zero-error" and"cost-effective" force keeping inview future security challenges,the chief of the paramilitarysaid on Wednesday.

Subodh Jaiswal, the DirectorGeneral (DG) of the over 1.62lakh personnel strong force,said they are working tochange the perception thatthe Central Industrial SecurityForce is a "costly force".

He was speaking at a forcecamp here during an eventheld to mark the 52nd raisingday celebrations of the force.

Union Home Secretary AjayBhalla, who officiated as thechief guest of the event andreviewed the ceremonialparade, said the CISF is a"well known force" and itshould work to live up to itsgood reputation in securingvital installations, airports andDelhi Metro, which have ahuge public interface and wit-ness heavy footfall.

"Keeping in view futurechallenges, we are continuous-ly trying to establish ourselvesas a cost-effective force byhaving a better synergybetween our human resourceand the modern technologyavailable now.

"We are working to adopt tothe new requirements of ourclients...it is our effort to be aclient responsive force," DGJaiswal said.

According to rules, the costof the armed CISF security andfire wing is borne by the con-tracting organisation, be it in

the government or the privatedomain.

The CISF chief said they areworking to change the percep-tion that it was a costly force.

He said the CISF was alsoworking to adopt a "zero-error" policy in its organisa-tional, training and function-al aspects.

"The personnel of the forcewill have to understand thatoperational challenges nevergive a second opportunity...themore you sweat during train-ing, the less you bleed in war,"he said.

CISF to be a zero-error,cost-effective force: DG

PNS n NEW DELHI

Lok Sabha was adjournedfor the day after repeateddisruptions by Oppositionmembers who demandedrepeal of three farm laws.

After the House recon-vened at 2.30 PM, BJP MPRam Kripal Yadav startedspeaking on the Demandfor Grants for the Ministryof Railways.

Thursday is a holidayon the account ofMahashivratri. It is a normthat if any holiday falls onThursday, then Friday isalso declared a non-work-ing day since it is precedesthe weekend. This is toenable parliamentariansto visit their constituen-cies.

PNS n BENGALURU

ISRO's commercial armNewSpace India Limited(NSIL) has bagged four morededicated launch service con-tracts even as it plans to pur-sue satellite building deals.

NSIL launched its first ded-icated commercial mission onFebruary 28, orbiting Braziliansatellite Amazonia-1 fromSriharikota spaceport of theIndian Space ResearchOrganisation (ISRO).

"We currently have fourmore dedicated launch servicecontracts, which will be exe-cuted in the coming two tothree years," NSIL's Chairmanand Managing Director GNarayanan told PTI in aninterview.

Apart from launchservices,NSIL is also actively pursuingthe new policy change topro-vide space-based services on'demand driven basis', a shiftfrom thecurrent supply drivenmodel, he said.

"Towards this we are in dis-cussions withseveral users toascertain their demands andshortly you will hearfrom usregarding firm agreements forbuilding and launching ofsatellites through NSIL andproviding services primarily inthecommunication sector forthe end customer", he said.

Asked if NSIL has any plansto buildsatellites for othercountries, in addition to pro-viding launch services at pre-sent, Narayanan said on thebasis of its new mandateobtained as part of the spac-ereforms, the company willshortly enter into realising ofsatellites too.

ISRO's commercialarm bags 4 contracts

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre Wednesday toldthe Delhi High Court that thedecision for COVID-19 vacci-nation is based on vulnerabil-ity of citizens to the diseaseand is not profession wiseand the government is sensi-tive to the needs of the coun-try.

The Centre made the sub-mission in response to a PILinitiated by the high court toexamine the demand todeclare all people associatedwith the judicial functioning,including judges, court staffand lawyers, as “frontlineworkers” so that they couldreceive COVID-19 vaccina-tion on priority and withoutlimitations of their age orphysical condition.

A bench of Justices VipinSanghi and Rekha Palli said ithopes that the government issensitive to the needs of citi-

zens and the country and dueto the pandemic courts func-tioning has also taken a hugehit.

“Judiciary is an importantwing and one of the three pil-lars of the state. To compare itwith others is not correct. Itsfunctioning is getting ham-pered. Nobody can deny thatefficiency of cases has taken ahuge hit. Hundreds and thou-sands of people congregatehere daily and everyday differ-ent people are coming. Risk ofexposure is there,” the benchsaid.

HC: Profession nocriteria for vaccine

LS adjournedover farmlaw protests

Over 4.76 lakhcattle seized inlast 5 yrs: GovtPNS n NEW DELHI

Over 4.76 lakh cattle meantfor smuggling to Bangladeshwere seized by the BSFalong the Indo-Bangla bor-der in the last five years,Union Minister of State forHome Nityanand Rai saidon Wednesday.

Replying to a writtenquestion in Rajya Sabha,Rai said a number of stepsare being taken by the BSFto prevent cattle smugglingalong the India-Bangladeshborder including effectivedomination of the borderby carrying out round-the-clock patrolling, layingnakas, establishing observa-tion posts all along theinternational border andstrengthening the existingdefences of BorderOutposts (BOPs).

Pakistan’s Constitution begins.Before going further, we

need to record a moderndefinition of secularism. Theold one was merely the sep-aration of the Church fromthe State. Bernard Stasi wascommissioned by the FrenchGovernment of JacquesChirac to report on whatprecisely is secularism. Thelast was defined in the FrenchConstituent of 1905 when thecountry became strictly sec-ular. To quote Stasi briefly:Freedom of conscience;Equality in law for spiritualand religious belief; andNeutrality of political power.

In other words, there arein any modern State three setsof relations: (a) Religion andthe individual; (b) the Stateand the individual; and (c)the State and religion.

The State is excluded fromthe relationship at (a) above.In (b), the State views the indi-vidual as a citizen and not asa member of a religious group.The implication of (c) is thatreligion and the State functionin two separate areas ofhuman activity. Donald Smithhas compared the above rela-tions as three sides of a trian-gle. And the integrity of (a)and (b) is largely determinedby the third relationship whichseparates them. Therefore, for

any State to function as a sec-ular State, it is of the utmostimportance that there is a wallof separation between theState and the Church.

The French law hadattempted to implement theseprinciples. It did not abolishthe wearing of either Jewishskull caps or Muslim head-scarves. All that it hadordained was that the studentsattending Government schoolsor employees working inGovernment offices must notdisplay religious symbols of aconspicuous nature, whichwould include a large cross.There is no restriction onwearing any form of dress ordisplay of any religious sym-bols in the country at large.

The State, however, has tomaintain absolute neutralitybetween one religion and theother. The French insistenceon secularism or the absoluteseparation of religion from theState goes back to December1905 when a Republican lawwas passed by the NationalAssembly. Its Article 1 assuresthe liberty of conscience. Itguaranteed free exercise ofreligious beliefs. The onlyrestrictions were decreed inthe interest of public order.

Messrs Pracha andJaffrelot, in the former’s arti-cle in this journal of March 1,

developed a creative memo-ry while claiming that Sir SyedAhmad Khan formed theMuslim League. He did not.What he did form was theAligarh Muslim University. Itis no use bringing him into adiscussion on secularism for,in 1887 and 1888 at Meerutand Lucknow, he declaredHindus and Muslims wereseparate nations. Sir Syed wasexclusively a Muslim leader. Inthe summer of 1906, 35 emi-nences led by Sir Aga Khanformed a delegation to submita memorandum to theViceroy at Simla. InDecember 1906 at Dacca(now Dhaka), the All IndiaMuslim League was formed.To get local support, NawabSalimullah was given a loan of£10,00,000 by the Viceroy.There was nothing secularabout Muslim politics beforeor after the Partition.

The only occasion whena secular tune was played inPakistan was by the Qaid-e-Azam on August 11, 1947, inhis address to the ConstituentAssembly. He said Hindus,Muslims and others can prayfreely but they all are hence-forth Pakistanis first.

(The writer is a well-known columnist and anauthor. The views expressedare personal.)

There are extraordinary moments in history that etch themselves on film rolls, fromwhere they are conveyed by sight to the mind and leave a lasting imprint. But suchinstances are separated by years, or even decades, for catching these on film is a

matter of perfect timing, positioning and an element of luck. One such picture has recent-ly surfaced from the north Myanmar town of Myitkyina, where large-scale protests are

taking place against last month’s coup by the nation’smilitary. It shows a nun sitting on her knees in theBuddhist-dominated country, pleading with the heav-ily armed police to stop shooting the unarmed pro-testers. Identified as Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng, sheis seen speaking to two policemen who are also kneel-ing in front of her, apparently in deference. Ultimately,however, she did not succeed. But that’s just the back-story; our focus here is how powerful images of eveneveryday, mundane incidents can have a wide-rang-ing impact in shaping global opinion about an issue.

There are several cases in point. Who can forgetRaghu Rai’s iconic picture, ‘Burial of an UnknownChild’, which brought the horrors of Bhopal’s mid-

night gas tragedy in full focus of the world? Ditto, the ‘Tank Man’, which is the nick-name of an unidentified Chinese man who challenged a column of tanks in TiananmenSquare in 1989. Then there are the heart-rending images of three-year-old Syrian boyAlan Kurdi, lying face down on a beach after drowning in the Mediterranean Sea in thehope of getting asylum in Europe. But the most hair-raising and distressing of these talesbelongs to Kevin Carter, who shot ‘The Vulture and the Little Girl’ in Sudan and won thePulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1994. The picture showed a vulture waiting patient-ly for the frail, famine-stricken child (it was known later that it was a boy), collapsed tothe ground and with face pressed to the scorching earth, to die so that the bird couldfeast on it. Depressed, Carter took his own life four months after winning the Pulitzerbut the boy is reported to have eventually survived. In this age and time when peopledon’t have the time, inclination or attention to go through articles in the long form, how-ever beautifully these may be written, an expressive picture is worth a lot more than thespace it is printed on or the pixels it comprises. After all, they don’t say “a picture isworth a thousand words” for nothing.

Amere `90 crore of the proposed `69,000 crore, just 0.13 per cent, is the DelhiGovernment’s planned outlay for patriotic activities in its ‘Deshbhakti Budget’,the annual financial statement for 2021-22. Imbibing the figures, one might won-

der by what yardstick can it be termed “patriotic” and whether there is such a thinglike “non-Deshbhakti Budget”? The Arvind Kejriwal-led Government will spend ̀ 45 croreof the `90 crore earmarked for “Deshbhakti” activities for installing 500 high-mastTricolours across the Capital. It will keep the sentiments of patriotism and national pridealive among Delhiites, argues Finance Minister Manish Sisodia. True, in a country wherenationalistic fervour often transforms into jingoism, and sloganeering and flag-hoist-

ing are considered a litmus test of one’s patriotism,a Government making it the central theme of itsBudget should not surprise anyone. However, whatprompted the Government to keep nationalism at thehelm is the moot question, the answers to whichare implicit in the financial spreadsheet of the AAPGovernment. These nationalistic activities include acurriculum on patriotism in schools, organising cul-tural events on the lives of Bhagat Singh andBabasaheb Ambedkar and appointing yoga instruc-tors in community parks. While presenting theBudget, Sisodia said that these “nationalistic initia-tives” will be held not just in Delhi but across India.

Does it behove a Government to spend part of its Budget in other States? Well,it is perfectly in tune with the AAP’s ambition to expand beyond Delhi. In pursuit ofits ambition, the party is striking the very note that its arch-rival, the BJP, has beenaccused of hitting till now: “Deshbhakti”. The BJP came to power at the Centre inthe 2014 Lok Sabha elections riding the wave of nationalism and the emotion paidit rich dividends in 2019, too. The Congress, which had played a prominent role inthe Freedom Movement, was voted to power for several decades following India’sIndependence. An entire generation and many subsequent ones were swayed by theidea that many leaders of the ‘Grand Old Party’ gave up their lives to break awayfrom the shackles of colonialism and that the nation can progress only under theCongress’ rule. However, slowly and gradually, this notion turned into disillusionment,thanks to the widespread corruption within the ranks of the Congress party and itsGovernment. Further, “historic blunders” by its leadership over the years cost theparty dear. Political pundits opine that the BJP has filled this void by milking nation-alism. Now, the AAP seems to be planning to beat the saffron party at its own game.The think-tank of the BJP must be putting their heads together to find an antidote forthe AAP’s “nationalism” and also to convince people that its brand of nationalismis superior to the AAP’s patriotism. On the other hand, the Kejriwal-led party hascertainly taken a giant leap in trying to impress voters in the name of “Deshbhakti”but the latter must exercise prudence. We cannot let politicos fool us forever.

0.13% ‘Deshbhakti'

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

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VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 11, 2021

06

Shot for her pietyPoignant images of a nun trying to save protesters

in Myanmar tell a story, as all great pictures do

As nationalism started replacing religion, the concept sprouted

and it gradually became important to treat all citizens as equals

PICTALK

Buddhist monks attend a prayer meeting after a rally on the occasion of the 62nd Tibetan Uprising Day, in Kullu PTI

IN DECEMBER 1906 AT DACCA,

THE ALL INDIA MUSLIM LEAGUE

WAS FORMED. TO GET LOCAL

SUPPORT, NAWABSALIMULLAH WASGIVEN A LOAN OF

£10,00,000, ODDLYENOUGH BY THEVICEROY. THERE

WAS NOTHINGSECULAR ABOUT

MUSLIM POLITICSBEFORE OR AFTER

THE PARTITION

PRAFULL GORADIA

The AAP Govt plans to spend public money in other States, ostensibly to increase its footprint

The conception of secularism

The birth of secularismmay be owed to whatMartin Luther and JohnCalvin perceived as

Vatican imperialism. Each year,3,00,000 gold pieces had to be sentfrom the German-speaking areasto Rome. This, as the reformerssaw, for no benefit to theGermans. In fact, they suspectedthat the gold was mostly misusedin luxuries indulged in by thesenior priests at the Vatican.

Nevertheless, Christianityvaguely provided the ideology tothe monarchies in Europe. At thetime, meaning the 16th and 17thcenturies, neither capitalism norMarxism nor even fascism hadbeen theorised. Therefore, whenthe French Revolution broke outin 1789, there were three Housesof the National Assembly; theLords or Counts, the Commonsor the Merchants, and the Abbotsand Bishops. The Church ownedup to a third of the farming land.

As nationalism began toprovide an alternative to reli-gion, the concept of secularismsprouted and gradually becameimportant so that all citizenscould be treated as equals. As atheology, or rather non-theolo-gy, secularism is an Abrahamicneed. All the three religions thattreat Abraham as the firstprophet, begin with God, thenprovide a detailed prescriptionof how to lead life and, in theearly times, ended with slavesand how to treat them.

There was thus so much ofreligion in the social sphere and,in Islam, even in political life thatsecularism is necessary to neu-tralise this influence of faiths andenable civil society and democ-racy to function. In some Islamiccountries, the Constitutionsbegin by ascribing the sovereign-ty to Allah the Merciful. This isthe 1973 document of Pakistan.The earlier ones, I believe, alsohad the same provision. How cansecularism or democracy coex-ist in such a Constitution?

“Whereas sovereignty overthe entire Universe belongs toAlmighty Allah alone, and theauthority to be exercised by thepeople of Pakistan within thelimits prescribed by Him is asacred trust.” This is how

SOUNDBITESTART READING NEWSPAPERS FOR NEWSSir — One of the interesting outcomes fromthe ‘Interview of the Decade’ — the explo-sive interview of Prince Harry and his wifeMeghan Markle with Oprah Winfrey —was how people are watching TV. The inter-view clearly won in its time slot but withabout two million out of 26 million inAustralia (seven per cent), 17 million outof 333 million in America (five per cent)and as high as 11 million out of 67 millionin the UK (17 per cent), the ratings reallyweren’t “huge” or “massive” as reported butsimply the best at the time and probably oneof the best for the year.

This suggests that few people arewatching TV at all and there may be moreappropriate media to get your message outto the public. Has TV reached the end ofits popularity run as people seem to haveabandoned it as they had discarded the printmedia? TV shows the story in its newsbroadcast, although rarely in detail, where-as newspapers usually rely more on details.Have they all been passed by YouTube,Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? If so,then we must be prepared for the inaccu-rate, unconfirmed and invalid news.

People across the globe should watchTV to get the headlines and should readnewspapers for accurate details. Socialmedia news is no substitute for the newsin newspapers and TV. Authenticity mat-ters a lot.

Dennis Fitzgerald | Melbourne

ISSUE PRECISE COPY OF COURT VERDICTS Sir — The courts, especially the SupremeCourt, are giving lengthy judgments whichat times run into hundreds or thousands ofpages like the apex court’s verdict in theRam Janmbhoomi case.

Such lengthy verdicts are practically notread by even the litigants and are not com-prehendible to the common man. Suchlengthy court verdicts are showpieces bestkept in libraries and only researchers andselect lawyers can understand these. Theneed is that commoners, including litigants,should be given short and precise court ver-dicts so that they do not have to depend on

lawyers to understand it. Further, such a system will prevent

media and commentators from twistingcourt findings according to their require-ments. Things can improve a lot in ourcountry if we adopt the practice of issuingshort and precise verdicts instead of lengthycopies. It should be implemented not onlyin the Supreme Court but also in HighCourts and lower judiciary. Also everylengthy court verdict exceeding 50 pagesmay be compulsorily accompanied by ashort version to be simultaneously issuedand posted on the court’s website on thedate of judgment itself. The judges of theSupreme Court should mull the idea as pre-cise, comprehendible verdict means reach-ing out to more people and helping them.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal | Delhi

WE MUST DO OUR BIT AGAINST CORONA Sir — The Maharashtra Government is con-sidering the possibility of imposing a par-tial lockdown in Mumbai to bring the

spread of COVID-19 under control as freshcases in the city rose to over a four-month-high.

The Government is trying to controlthe infection by implementing measureslike levying fines for not wearing a mask,banning crowding at marriage halls andpubs and so on. The statement of AslamShaikh, the guardian Minister for the city,that a partial lockdown is possible due toan alarming increase in active cases is acause for concern. But it seems that a com-plete lockdown is needed as people areshowing an insouciante attitude and not fol-lowing rules.

We cannot afford to lose the battleagainst the pandemic when the vaccinationdrive is in full swing and the Governmentis putting all its weight behind the anti-con-tagion efforts.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

The recent incident of a group of people burn-ing face masks in Idaho in the US is bizarreand deserves condemnation. When people

and governments across the world are strugglingwith COVID-19 pandemic and doing their bit tofight against it, such happenings are not only sillybut rather a criminal act that should invite penalaction. Some of the protesters were seen withplacards that read: “I will not suffocate”. It is a

bitter truth that millions of lives have been lostworldwide and thus the virus cannot be takenlightly. Many countries are still in the grip of thepandemic, desperately seeking help. Plus, themasks and the COVID-19 vaccines have yet toreach many places across the world.

Further, the media should not concentrateon such incidents like burning masks as it divertsattention from the real issue and weakens theresolve against Coronavirus. I still remember howpeople and businesses had been severelyaffected by the pandemic in areas like Tuticorin,Korkai, Tiruchendur, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumariin Tamil Nadu.

The countries need to take more serioussteps to end the pandemic. The UN should framea common law which should be applicable to allthe countries. This law should make burningmasks or improperly disposing it a criminaloffence, inviting heavy penalty and a jail term.

P Senthil | Mumbai

Burning masks is a crime Once the Ramtemple in Ayodhya isready, the DelhiGovernment will takethe senior citizens ofDelhi for a religiousvisit there.

Delhi CM

— Arvind Kejriwal

The inauguration of the NewAdministrative Capitaland the relocation ofthe Government'sheadquarters to the

new city will mark the birth of anew State.

Egyptian President

— Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi

Comedy is actually avery serious business.It is not easy, it is atough thing to do. Theshift has happenedand people in thecomedy genre are taken seriously.

Actor— Varun Sharma

There is no democracyleft in the Congress.The candidate list hasnot been discussedwith the StateCongress committee. Ihave sent my resignation to SoniaGandhi.

Congress leader — PC Chacko

England playersshould be dockedmoney from theirsalaries if they want togo home on a breakfrom national duty.

Former captain — Geoffrey Boycott

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

For lasting peace, sign on the dotted line

SOME ARE PINNING THEIR HOPES ON

30 PER CENT VOTES WHEREAS I HAVE THE

SUPPORT OF 70 PER CENT PEOPLE.

—BJP LEADER

SUVENDU ADHIKARI

YOU ARE PLAYING THE HINDU CARD AGAINST ME

BUT IT WILL SERVE NO PURPOSE AS

TRUTH WILL BE VICTORIOUS.

—WEST BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER

MAMATA BANERJEE

An unexpected announcement just 24 hoursprior to the eve of the second anniversary ofthe Balakot air strike on February 26, 2019,

that had brought two nuclear neighbours to thebrink of war, brought cheers on both sides of theLine of Control (LoC). The joint statement by Indiaand Pakistan pertaining to cessation of ceasefire vio-lations, which had peaked beyond 5,000 in the pre-ceding year, was justifiably welcomed by dwellerson both sides of the border. However, the telephon-ic consensus reached between the two Director-Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) isbeing wrongly reported as a “Ceasefire Agreement.”It is in fact nowhere near an agreement as per inter-national protocols, it is just an announcement as noone has signed on the dotted line.

The announcement came in the wake of thestatement made by the Pakistan Chief of Army StaffGeneral Qamar Javed Bajwa on February 3. He hadsaid, “It is time to extend a hand of peace in all direc-tions.” His statement was hailed by Pakistan’s ForeignOffice as reflective of the country’s desire for peaceand security in the region. The statement surprisedmany because it came at a time when the diplomat-ic ties between the two countries were at the low-est and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan hadannounced that there would be no negotiations withIndia till the restoration of Article 370 in Jammuand Kashmir (J&K) by the latter.

Thus, the offer of honouring a ceasefire and ces-sation of ceasefire violations from the DGMO ofPakistan Army confirmed yet again that peace onthe LoC and the foreign policy of Pakistan are decid-ed not in Islamabad (the seat of political power) butin Rawalpindi (the seat of military power). It hasalso established the fact that among the “3M” troi-ka of mullah, militants and military that rulesPakistan, the military yields the maximum power.

What is perplexing defence analysts is the rea-son for a sudden U-turn by the Pakistani militarywhich survives at home on the basis of an anti-Indiabogey created through the notion that India is anexistential threat and the Pak Army is the nation’ssole saviour. Has Pakistan lost the battle in J&K andrealised the futility of meddling in its affairs? WasPakistan under any obligation to China to keep theLoC active in support of the standoff in EasternLadakh and now that the disengagement betweenthe People's Liberation Army (PLA) and theIndian Army has taken place in the most volatilePangong Tso sector, Islamabad has also been askedby Beijing to go easy? Is the American decisionunder President Joe Biden to not abandonAfghanistan in a hurry upsetting Pakistani calcu-lations? One immediate trigger which comes tomind is the valiant response of the Indian Army toChinese belligerence in Eastern Ladakh. The pro-fessionalism and mettle displayed by the IndianArmy not only surprised the PLA and the ChineseCommunist Party’s leadership but its all-time allyPakistan as well. Pakistan has realised the futilityof competing with India and its military might.Coupled with this is the strong international sup-port garnered by New Delhi through its subtle diplo-macy, resulting in a bitter experience for Pakistanwhere even the majority Muslim nations refused toside with it on the issue of Kashmir.

The latest move could also be a ruse to get themuch-needed breather to improve its defences. Thesudden change in the mindset of Pakistan Army is

very difficult to digest, while on theIndian side other than the desire tohave peaceful relations with itsneighbours, there appears to be noother visible indicator.

The Indian Government hasbeen consistent in its stand ofPakistan divorcing itself from cross-border terror and dismantling all ter-ror-related infrastructure. No suchindicators have emanated fromPakistan and launch pads are full,infiltration attempts continue, jiha-di training camps are being re-established under a new organisationcalled the Tehreek-e-Lebek. Thecosmetic actions taken by Islamabadagainst the established terror leader-ship to dodge the Financial ActionTask Force (FATF) are not very sig-nificant and it has decided to keepPakistan in the ‘grey list’ till June. Allin all, Pakistan still continues withterrorism as an instrument of Statepolicy and has not taken any seriousmeasures to divorce itself from ter-rorism that could please India.

The statement of Imran Khan’sadvisor on security affairs, MoeedYusuf, coming on the heels of GenBajwa’s statement did give a slightindication of what was brewing inPakistan when he said, “If you wantpeace, we have to move forward. Ifwe want to move forward, everybodyhas to be rational and not ideologi-cal.” But his statement immediatelyafter the announcement of the cease-fire claiming it as a “win-win” situ-ation for Pakistan, denies all logic andputs a question mark on Islamabad’sintent. Will the current consensus be

any different from similar exerciseson numerous occasions in the pastwhich after a brief lull had been vio-lated by Pakistan with impunity? The2003 ceasefire, which was also not anagreement, lasted the longest: For fiveyears. The 2003 ceasefire wasannounced unilaterally by the thenPakistan Prime Minister on the eveof Eid-al-Fitr and was received pos-itively by then Indian Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee, a great votaryof peace between the two neighbours.But unfortunately, the agreement wasnot formalised and it could also lastfor five years only because it wasbacked by the leaders of both thenations.

Plus, it had the approval ofPakistan Army because of the humil-iating defeat it suffered at Kargil andbecause the military was shifting thefocus towards Afghanistan throughTaliban insurgency. Such attemptshave always remained fragile in viewof the absence of a structured proto-col to ensure their enforcement.

An almost identical statementwas made by the two DGMOs inMay 2018 as well. But it lasted onlyfor a few months and the LoCbecame volatile once again after thePulwama terror attack and the sub-sequent Balakot air strike by India.

Efforts made by Pakistan PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif in 2015 didnot find a favourable response fromIndia on two counts. First, Islamabadwanted the ceasefire to be monitoredby the United Nations MilitaryObserver Group in India andPakistan, which was not acceptable

to New Delhi since it violated thespirit of the Shimla Agreement.Second, India insisted on Pakistanproving its sincerity by dismantlingall terror infrastructure, to whichIslamabad showed no inclination.

But times have changed now.India has successfully exposedPakistan as a fountainhead of terrorand it is globally recognised as such.Islamabad’s isolation on the worldstage has compelled it to act againstterror on its soil. The FATF’s role incompelling Pakistan to abandon ter-ror is also critical. The downward spi-ral in the country’s economy and itsrealisation of the need for peacefulcoexistence with India are drivers ofa mindset change in the Pakistaniestablishment.

India should now go ahead andsign a formal ceasefire agreementwith strict protocols to check infil-tration, cross-border terrorism,narco-terrorism, ceasefire violationsincluding drone dropping or tun-nelling, attack on civil areas andmaintenance of peace and tranquil-lity. This agreement, if proved suc-cessful, could become the steppingstone for a lasting peace between thetwo neighbours. In internationalrelations there are no permanentfriends or foes, only permanentnational interests. Peace in the sub-continent is in the national interestof both countries. Pakistan has toaccept that the ‘non-zero sum game’approach with India is in its bestinterest while New Delhi will have tomould itself to play the key role of anelder brother.

India and Pak should sign a formal ceasefire pact with strict protocols to checkinfiltration, cross-border terrorism, narco-terrorism and ceasefire violations

VK BAHUGUNA

AN ALMOSTIDENTICAL

STATEMENTWAS MADE

BY THE TWODGMOs

IN MAY 2018 AS WELL.

BUT IT LASTED

ONLY FOR A FEW MONTHS

AND THE LOCBECAME

VOLATILE ONCEAGAIN

AFTER THEPULWAMA

TERROR ATTACK

AND THESUBSEQUENTBALAKOT AIR

STRIKE BY INDIA

The UNESCO world heritage site Khajuraho was in the news recent-ly for hosting the world-famous Indian classical dance festival.A treat for the senses at any given time, what made the festi-

val even more special this time was the fact that it was held underthe shadow of the Coronavirus pandemic and was organised in thetemple complex after a gap of 44 years. The Archaeological Surveyof India (ASI) gave special permission to the Madhya Pradesh (MP)tourism department for this. Consequently, the temple complex res-onated with the sound of music as the dancers and their troupes per-formed various Indian classical dances that ranged from Kathak toKathakali; Kuchipudi to Odissi and Mohiniyattam. The Khajuraho groupof temples was built by the Chandela rulers of Bundelkhand in theircapital Khajuraho between 885-1050 AD. These Nagara-style Hinduand Jain temples spread over an area of six sq km are a prime exam-ple of North Indian art and temple architecture. The temples werebuilt from locally-available sandstone in interlocking style with a gran-ite foundation. There were 85 temples in the area but now only 25stand as the rest were destroyed during the Sultanate period.

However, this unique temple town was not widely known until1950 when one foreign journalist made it famous. After that therewas no looking back as tourists began flocking to the area. The spurtin tourism resulted in the local economy and the infrastructure grow-ing exponentially. Now there are good roads and other infrastructurelike five star and budget hotels along with good connectivity.

In the last 10 years, the tiny town of Khajuraho has grown inprosperity with almost ever family in the area involved in tourism andallied businesses. During 2018-19 more than 60,000 foreign and3,61,594 domestic tourists visited Khajuraho and almost each house-hold benefitted economically. However, the ban on international trav-el due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has left the local econo-my in tatters as the flow of foreign tourists stopped. Even domestictravellers became scarce as train, bus and regional air services weresuspended due to the countrywide hard lockdown and all shops, cin-ema halls, restaurants, bars and hotels were closed. Consequently,staff from these establishments and the local people, especially thelocal craftsmen and vendors selling their wares to tourists, were ren-dered jobless. The festival was a means for the Government of MPto revive the State’s sinking tourism and hotel industry. It was alsoused to expose the visitors to the rich cultural traditions of Bundelkhand.There were exhibitions on local art and craft forms, a dialogue onarts, a fair on indigenous arts, films focusing on art, artists and arttraditions, an exhibition of terracotta and ceramic-ware and a Bundelifood festival too.

While these are good endeavours to boost the economy, the ASIwhich maintains the temple complex needs to restore the temple archi-tecture to the original style and not the way they are doing now withcement and mortar. It is good that the ASI is creating more infra-structure for visitors like toilets and more entrances, but it has to bein harmony with the architecture of the place. Hopefully, tourism willpick up once the COVID situation improves and the Government mustpromote it in cooperation with the Tourism Ministry and embassiesabroad and hold road shows. Till that happens, the Centre and StateGovernment should announce some relief for the people engagedin tourism. The MP Government should boost ecotourism and pro-mote local arts and handicraft among other things to improve thelocal economy.

(The writer is Chairman, Centre for Resource Management andEnvironment. The views expressed are personal.)

The prognosis on avert-ing disaster due to glob-al warming had been

very bleak till last year. Globalwarming should be restrictedto 1.5° Celsius and the com-mitments under the ParisAgreement aiming at 2°Celsius were inadequate andthese too were not achieved.

Former US PresidentDonald Trump took thecountry out of the ParisAccord even though theInternational Panel forClimate Change (IPCC) hadbeen highlighting that timewas running out for mankind.

However, the situationchanged with President JoeBiden as he made tackling cli-mate change one of his majorchallenges. On his first day inoffice, he decided that the USwould rejoin the ParisAgreement.

To fight global warming,

governments were earlierexpected to act by spendingmore of the taxpayer’s moneyor by getting consumers topay more for the transition toa fossil fuel-free energy econ-omy.

This was politically diffi-cult. Fortunately, technologyhas evolved dramatically inthe last decade and a net car-bon neutral economy nowappears both technically fea-sible as well as affordable.Biden is positioning this ener-gy transition as one whichwould strengthen economicrecovery in the US, create mil-lions of jobs and bring greaterprosperity.

Therefore, there is nowsome cause for optimism asBiden and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi have agreedto work together on climatechange.

The US and the European

Union (EU) are movingtowards becoming net carbonneutral by 2050. France andthe UK have already madethis their national goal. Thekey drivers of this transitionwould be to first have electric-ity generation only fromrenewable sources, giving upthe use of coal, oil and gas forproducing electricity alto-gether.

The Biden campaign hadenvisaged achieving the targetin 15 years, while Germany isalready getting around half ofits electricity from renewablesources. The sun and windhave become the cheapestsources of electricity genera-tion and the costs of electric-ity storage are also fallingrapidly with batteries beingthe front runner for storagetoday.

The next major transitionwould be to get all transport

to become fossil fuel-free.Electric vehicles have arrivedand they are cheaper to use ona per km life cycle cost basis.With all electricity comingfrom renewable sources andall transport becoming elec-tric, over two-third reductionin carbon emissions wouldtake place. Norway has takenthe lead and would permit thesale of only electric or other

zero emission vehicles from2025. The UK has decided toimplement it by 2030.

Most industries can useelectricity from renewablesources and hydrogen insteadof coal and gas. However,technological challengesremain for substituting fossilfuels in some industries. Butgiven the progress that hasalready been made, there iscause for optimism.

India has surprised theworld by its achievements inincreasing the share of renew-ables. The initial target of 20gigawatt (GW) of solar powercapacity by 2022 has beenraised to 100 GW. As many as90 GW of renewable capaci-ty has already been achievedand its share in electricity gen-eration is about to cross 10 percent. A much higher goal of450 GW has now been adopt-ed. India is set to achieve

more than its Paris commit-ments.

A study by The Energyand Resources Institute(TERI) has found that raisingthe share of renewables inelectricity generation to 40 percent is the least cost option forIndia. Domestic manufactur-ing of solar panels and batter-ies has been included in theProduction Linked Incentive(PLI) Scheme, hence beingself-reliant at the technologyfront should be feasible in thisdecade.

A ‘Hydrogen Mission’ hasbeen announced, too, and wecould position ourselves onthe frontiers of the hydrogeneconomy.

Our traditional positionwas to adopt a low carbongrowth trajectory and ensurethat our per capita emissionswould not cross those of thedeveloped countries as they

decarbonised theireconomies.

The advanced industrialeconomies are now set tomove towards zero per capi-ta emissions by 2050. Theimplication is that we shouldalso aim at having zero percapita emissions by then.Going by our extraordinarysuccess, this could well be fea-sible and affordable. Indiacould leapfrog as it is nowdoing in many sectors.

We can assume a leader-ship role and choose to moveshoulder to shoulder withthe US, Europe and Japan insaving ourselves andmankind. It would be alto-gether befitting if we set our-selves the goal of becomingnet carbon neutral by 2047,the centenary of ourIndependence. That wouldbe a fitting tribute to ournation.

The advanced industrial economies are set to move towards zero per capita emissions by 2050. India should try to achieve it by 2047

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 11, 2021

07

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

FIRSTCOLUMN

MP MUST FIGHTCOVID IMPACT

The Govt should boost ecotourism and promote localarts and handicraft to improve Khajuraho’s economy

ANIL GUPTA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The author is a Jammu-based political

commentator, columnist,security and strategic

analyst. The views expressed

are personal.

India must take bigger strides on road to carbon neutrality

AJAY SHANKAR

The writeris Distinguished Fellow, TERI.

The views expressed

are personal.

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 11, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Realty firm Tata Housingon Wednesday said it

will offer 150 units across15 projects at a discountedprice in a flash sale startingfrom March 12.Theprospective buyers can savebetween Rs 2 lakh and Rs21 lakh in this flash sale.

Tata Housing will launch'The Final Rush', a

national flash sale applicable on 15 projects across India, thecompany said in a statement. The flash sale, which is applicable fora limited time period of 72 hours, will go live on March 12 and willend on March 15. The offer is applicable on a limited Inventory of150 units and 15 projects ranging from Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 6 crore.The flash sale will enable homebuyers to make big saving rangingfrom Rs 2 lakh-Rs 21 lakh, Tata Housing said.

Tata Housing to offer 150 unitsat discount; sale from Mar 12

Gold prices roseby Rs 112 to Rs

44,286 per 10gram in thenational capital onWednesday amidrupee depreciation,according to HDFCSecurities.In theprevious trade, theprecious metal hadclosed at Rs

44,174 per 10 gram. Silver also gained Rs 126 to Rs 66,236per kg, from Rs 66,110 per kg in the previous trade. In theinternational market, gold was trading marginally lower at USD1,711 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 25.78 per ounce.HDFC Securities Senior Analyst (Commodities) Tapan Patelsaid, "Gold prices traded marginally down at COMEX (NewYork-based commodities exchange).”

Gold gains Rs 112; silverjumps Rs 126

Passenger vehicle sales inIndia increased 17.92 per

cent to 2,81,380 units inFebruary as compared withsame month last year, autoindustry body SIAM said onWednesday. Passengervehicle wholesales inFebruary last year stood at2,38,622 units. As per thelatest data by the Society of

Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler dispatches todealers also rose 10.2 per cent to 14,26,865 units, compared to12,94,787 units in February 2020. Motorcycle sales during the lastmonth increased 11.47 per cent to 9,10,323 units as against8,16,679 in February 2020. Scooter sales were also up 10.9 per centat 4,64,744 units from 4,22,168 units a year ago. Three-wheelersales, however, declined by 33.82 per cent to 27,331 units as com-pared with 41,300 units in February last year.

Passenger vehicle sales inIndia up 18 pc in February

Leading two-wheeler helmet manu-facturer Studds Accessories on

Wednesday said it has tied up withRajasthan Royals as their associatesponsor for the Indian PremierLeague 2021 and 2022 seasons.Based on the terms of the arrange-ment, Rajasthan Royals will sport thelogo of Studds on the leading side ofplaying headgear including helmet

and caps during the 14th and 15th editions of the league. As a partof this engagement, Studds will also produce exclusive, co-brandedlimited-edition riding helmets, which will be available for purchase inthe market. "This partnership not just adds a Royal touch to ourbrand but also helps in further strengthening our commitmenttowards providing the best safety and quality products as well asservices in the country," GM-Sales & Marketing Gaurav Bhola said.

Studds inks multi-year dealwith Rajasthan Royals

PNS n NEW DELHI

Housing sales involume termsi s l i k e l y t odecline 34 percent this fis-cal because oft h e C OV I D - 1 9p a n d e m i c b u td e m a n d i sexpected to risein 2021-22 from aweak base, accord-ing to India Ratingsand Research.

The agency expects theresidential real estate sec-tor to stage a sharp K-shaped recover y in thenext financial year.

"The overall floor spacesold is likely to increase by30 per cent YoY (year-on-year) in FY22 after a 34 percent YoY decline in FY21,"it said in a statement.

The agency emphasisedthat the overall sales in

F Y 2 2could s t i l lbe around 14 per centbelow FY20 level.

The tot a l re s ident ia lfloor space sold in Indiaremained largely stagnantat 326 million sq ft in2019-20.

The f loor space solddeclined 41 per cent YoYin the

first nine months of this

fiscal year, the

r a t i n g a g e n c ysaid, and expected34 per cent fall in theentire

2020-21. India Ratingsnoted that Grade I players(large real estate firms)

have managed to buck thetrend.

T h e i r m a r k e t s h a r eexpanded to 15.6 per cent

in the first nine monthsof this fiscal year as

they managedto report a

4 . 3 p e rc e n t

Y o Yincrease in sales despitethe pandemic.

India Rating said therecover y wi l l l ikely bedominated by Grade I

players, whose sales arelikely to grow by 49 percent YoY in FY22, after a14 per cent YoY increase inFY21.

" I n d i a R at i n g s a n dResearch expects the per-formance of the residentialr e a l e s t a t e s e c t o r t oimprove in FY22 from a

weak base currently. "Grade I players are

likely to see a surge ingrowth from a mod-

erately strong base,while non-Grade I

players are likelyto see a reversal

of the sharpdecline expe-r ienced in

FY21," theagency said.

India Ratingssaid that lower inter-

est rate on home loans islikely to improve the afford-ability of house ownership.

India Ratings and Researchis a fully-owned subsidiary ofthe Fitch Group.

PNS n MUMBAI

Extending its gains for thethird straight session, equi-ty benchmark S ensexjumped over 254 points onWednesday tracking gainsin pharma, IT and autoshares amid largely positivecues.

The 30-share BSE indexended 254.03 points or 0.50per cent higher at 51,279.51,and the broader NSE Niftyrose 76.40 points or 0.51 percent to 15,174.80.

Bajaj Finance was the topgainer in the Sensex pack,rising around 2 per cent, fol-lowed by Sun Pharma, TechMahindra, Axis Bank, BajajAuto and Infosys.

On the other hand,ONGC, Kotak Bank, ITC,HDFC Bank and PowerGridwere among the laggards.

According to Binod Modi,Head - Strategy at RelianceSecurities, domestic equi-ties extended gains for thethird consecutive day main-ly aided by favourable glob-al cues.

IT, metals and pharmarecorded sharp rebound over1 per cent, while a strong

buying was seen in automo-bile stocks also.

Barring, PSU banks, mostof the key sectoral indicesended in green. UnlikeTuesday, midcap and smallcap stocks attracted investorinterest on Wednesday again.

Elsewhere in Asia, bours-es in Shanghai and Seoul

ended with losses, whileHong Kong and Tokyo set-tled on a positive note.

Stock exchanges in Europewere largely trading withgains in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the global oilbenchmark Brent crude wastrading 0.59 per cent lowerat USD 67.12 per barrel.

Sensex jumps 254 points;pharma, IT stocks drive gains

PNS n NEW DELHI

About 50 per cent of urbanslum households in six Indianstates - including Uttar Pradeshand Bihar - use liquefied petro-leum as (LPG) exclusively,according to a survey.

The other four states sur-veyed are Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, Madhya Pradeshand Rajasthan, CEEW'sCooking Energy Access Survey2020 released on Wednesdaysaid.

The survey was conducted inurban slums across the sixstates. It covered 656 house-holds across 83 notified andnon-notified urban slums in 58districts.

"Only half of the urban slumhouseholds in six Indian statesuse LPG exclusively. This is inspite of 86 per cent of urbanslum households in these stateshaving an LPG connection,"according to thesurvey conduct-ed by theCouncil onEnergy, Enviro-nment andWater (CEEW).

The six statesaccount fornearly a quarterof India's urbanslum population.Further, 16 percent of thehouseholds are

still using traditional fuels suchas firewood, dung cakes, agri-culture residue, charcoal, andkerosene as their primary fuel

and over athird are stack-

ing LPG with these pollutingfuels. This increases exposureto indoor air pollution for suchhouseholds. "As part of the nextphase of the PMUY, the gov-ernment must target poorhouseholds without an LPGconnection in urban slums.Policymakers must also nudgeoil marketing companies anddistributors to improve homedelivery of LPG refills in slumareas to increase exclusive useof LPG. "Also, as the LPGrefill prices rise, the govern-ment must target vulnerablehouseholds - beyond PMUYbeneficiaries - with differentialsubsidy support for using LPGin a sustained manner," CEEWCEO Arunabha Ghosh said.

Only half of slum households use LPG

PNS n MUMBAI

Hit by the coronavirus pan-demic, the Indian PremierLeague (IPL) lost 3.6 per centof its brand value to Rs 45,800crore in 2020, says a brand val-uation report.

In 2019, the IPL command-ed a brand value of Rs 47,500crore, which had grown 7 percent over the previous year.

Though one of the key fran-chises, the Mumbai Indians -- owned by the RelianceGroup -- has retained the topspot in the brand rankings forthe fifth consecutive year at abrand value of Rs 761.0 crore,it is down 5.9 per cent from2019, Duff & Phelps said onWednesday releasing the sev-enth edition of its valuationreport on IPL.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)and Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) have seen their brandvalue erode by 16.5 per centand 13.7 per cent, respective-ly, from 2019. While CSK'svalue dropped from Rs 732

crore to Rs 611 crore, that ofKKR declined from Rs 629crore to Rs 543 crore, thereport said.

Duff & Phelps, which spe-cialises in brand valuation,said the pandemic-hit 2020was challenging which had itsrub off on the sports economy,and disrupted the sporting cal-endar with a string of tourna-ments being postponed orcancelled. The individual fran-chisees saw reduction in theirbrand value over the last yearmainly due to the reducedfranchisee-related sponsor-ship revenue, loss of gatereceipts, reduced food andbeverage revenue and certainteams' on-field performances.

Pandemic shavesoff IPL brand value

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme CourtWednesday constituted a com-mittee under the chairmanshipof a former Bombay HighCourt judge to consider thesuggestions and submit areport in three months speci-fying the steps to be taken forearly disposal of cheque bouncecases across the country.

A five-judge bench headedby Chief Justice S A Bobde wasinformed by Solicitor GeneralTushar Mehta that the Centrehas “in principle accepted” theneed for creating additionalcourts to deal with such cases,after the modalities are workedout on the issue.

The top court had last weektermed the pendency of over 35lakhs cheque bounce cases as“grotesque” and suggested tothe Centre to come up with alaw to create additional courtsfor a particular period of timeto deal with such cases.

It had said that Centre hasthe power under Article 247 ofthe Constitution coupled with

the duty to establish addition-al courts to deal with chequedishonour cases under provi-sions of the NegotiableInstruments (NI) Act.

Article 247 of theConstitution gives power toParliament to establish cer-tain additional courts for thebetter administration of lawsmade by it or of any existinglaws with respect to a matterenumerated in the Union List.

The top court was hearing asuo motu case to work out amechanism for expeditiousand just adjudication of casesrelating to dishonour ofcheques, fulfilling the mandateof law and reduce high penden-cy.

During the hearing con-

ducted through video-confer-encing on Wednesday, thebench observed that the apexcourt is considering the matterrelated to delays that are occur-ring in disposal of cases underthe NI Act and the pendencyof these matters is around 30per cent of the total cases.

The bench also comprisingJustices L Nageswara Rao, B RGavai, A S Bopanna and SRavindra Bhat said that manysuggestions have been receivedfrom various stake holders inthe matter. “The Union ofIndia has agreed positively tothe suggestion of court forimplementing the establish-ment of additional court's forbetter administration of NIAct cases,” the bench said.

It said that suggestionsreceived by the top court on theissue are very useful and con-structive and it needs to beworked out carefully so thatalterations and amendments tothe procedure do not itselfbecome impediment to thecourts, bars as well as the liti-gants.

SC seeks report on disposal of cheque bounce cases

PNS n BANGALURU

Hitachi ABB Power Grids,India, said on Wednesdayit has won Rs 160-croreorder from ChittaranjanLocomotive Works andthe Central Organisationfor Rail Electrification(CORE).

For CLW, the companywould deliver tractiontransformers for one of themost successful class oflocomotives - the WAG 9that was developed inresponse to strong growthin the rail freight trans-portation sector.

For CORE, the compa-ny would supply tracksidetransformers.

Hitachi ABBbags Rs 160-crorder from Rly

PNS n MUMBAI

Insurance regulator IRDAI islooking to shift from the 'fileand use' procedure for productapprovals to the 'use and file'system, its Chairman SubhashC Khuntia said on Wednesday.

"We would like to moveover from the 'file and use' sys-tem of product approval to the'use and file' system to theextent possible. We havealready started this in some ofthe segments and we wouldlike to go further," he saidwhile addressing a virtual actu-arial conclave organised bythe Institute of Actuaries ofIndia.

Under the file and use sys-tem, an insurer, who wishes tointroduce a new product, hasto file an application for theproduct with the InsuranceRegulatory and DevelopmentAuthority of India (IRDAI)and use the product for sale inthe market only after getting allthe regulatory approvals.

Under the use and file sys-tem, insurers are permitted tomarket products without theregulator's prior approval.

He said the first and fore-most responsibility of appoint-ed actuaries, who play animportant statutory role inthe insurance sector, is to bal-ance the policyholders' protec-tion with the prudential oper-ations of insurance companies.

Actuaries need to factor inuncertainties and threats such

as climate change and futurepandemics while designingappropriate products anddetermining the pricing in away that it would provide pro-tection to the public at large atthe times of need, he empha-sised.

Khuntia said actuaries arethe eyes and ears of the regu-lator as it depends on the cer-tification of appointed actuar-ies for various activities ofinsurance companies.

PNS n NEW DELHI

ICICI Bank onWednesday announcedthat it will cover the costof inoculating about 1lakh employees of thebank and their familiesagainst coronavirus.

The bank will provideCOVID-19 vaccinationfor its employees and theirimmediate family mem-bers free of cost, it said ina release. The initiative isaimed at safeguarding thelives of its employees andtheir dependent familymembers from theCOVID-19 pandemic,said the lender.

ICICI to bearcost of Covidvax for staffers

PNS n MUMBAI

The rupee edged higher by 2paise to settle at 72.91 (provi-sional) against the Americancurrency on Wednesday,tracking the trend in the USbond yields.

At the interbank forex mar-ket, the local unit opened at72.97 against the greenback,and witnessed an intra-dayhigh of 72.88 and a low of73.10.

It finally ended at 72.91against the American curren-cy, registering a rise of 2 paiseover its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee hadsettled 32 paise higher at 72.93against the American curren-cy.

"This week USD/INR spotis trading sideways between72.75-73.30 tracking the trendin US bond yields. Now, theattention turns to the releaseof US inflation figures forFebruary due tonight, which

will ultimately dictate the pathforward for bond prices aheadof next week's FOMC mone-tary policy meeting," saidRahul Gupta, Head OfResearch-Currency, EmkayGlobal Financial Services.

The dollar index, whichgauges the greenback'sstrength against a basket of sixcurrencies, rose 0.07 per centto 92.02, ahead of the inflationdata this Wednesday.

"The market expects USinflation to remain elevatedcompared to January figureand this may add furtheruptrend in US yields and dol-lar index," Gupta said.

Rupee inches 2 paisehigher to close at 72.91

PNS n NEW DELHI

To enhance coal productionand reduce imports, CILhas identified 15 new pro-jects with a capacity to pro-duce 160 million tonnesper annum, Parliament wasinformed on Wednesday.Coal India Ltd (CIL) aimsto achieve 1 billion tonnesof coal production by 2023-24.

"The focus of the govern-ment i s on incre as ingdomestic production of coal

and to achieve these targetsthrough the allocation ofmore coal blocks, pursuingwith the state governmentfor assistance in land acqui-sition and co-ordinatedefforts with railways formovement of coal. . . 15greenfield projects identi-fied with a capacity of about160 MTPA (Million Tonnesper Annum) to be operatedby mine developer cumoperator mode," Coal andMines Minister PralhadJoshi told Lok Sabha.

To enhance coal outputgovt identifies 15 projs

Housing sales to drop 34 pc involume terms due to pandemic

IRDAI considering shifting to ‘useand file' for product approvals: Chief

9

Vijayawada Thursday March 11 2021what’s brewing?

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

FUN

he much-awaitednominations forthis year’s BritishAcademy of Filmand TelevisionArts (BAFTA)

Awards were recentlyannounced with Nomadlandand Rocks leading the packwith seven nods each in themost diverse nominations listever seen in the BritishAcademy’s history.

Bollywood actor AdarshGourav scored a best actornomination for his perfor-mance in the 2021 Netflixfilm The White Tiger. BesidesGourav, The White Tiger hasbagged a nomination forRamin Bahrani in the adapt-ed screenplay category.

Gourav was ‘shocked’ onbagging a nomination atBAFTA 2021. The actor tolda news agency, “I wasshocked honestly. I wasshocked to see my name inthe longlist itself but thiswas… I went blank when Iread the first message.”

Taking to Instagram toshare his happiness over theannouncement, Gourav

wrote, “.. it’s really happen-ing! Thank you Ramin fortrusting me to play the char-acter that has given me morethan anything I’ve ever expe-rienced. Congratulations tothe team for two BAFTAnominations!! Best adaptedscreenplay and Leading actor.Congratulations to all theother nominees too!”

Earlier in the evening,actor-producer PriyankaChopra tweeted she feels asense of pride to have actedand been an executive pro-ducer on The White Tiger,which earned two nomina-tions at the 2021 BAFTAs.Priyanka posted a two-parttweet, calling the develop-ment a winning moment forIndian talent as the Netflixfilm boasts of an all Indiancast.

The actress, who was theexecutive producer on thefilm along with AvaDuvernay, also heaped praiseat Adarsh Gourav, saying hedeserved the recognition forhis stellar performance.

Nomadland is noinated forbest film as well as best direc-

tor, in addition tonominations inthe adaptedscreenplay,leadingactress,cinematog-raphy, edit-ing, andsound cate-gories,reportedVariety.

Meanwhile,Rocks is up foroutstandingBritish film, aswell as an outstand-ing debut by aBritish writer, direc-tor, or producer. Thefilm is also nominat-ed for best director,original screenplay,leading actress, sup-porting actress, andcasting.

Following closelybehind with six nomina-tions are The Father, Mank,Minari and Promising YoungWoman while The Dig andThe Mauritanian picked upfive nods.

irector JamesCameron is com-ing back for hiscrown.The film-maker’s 2009blockbuster

Avatar will receive a wide re-release in China on Friday,per news reports. It will beavailable to exhibitors inboth IMAX 3D and ordinary3D. The official screeninggreenlight by China’s Film

Bureau comes only threedays before the planned roll-out. With such a short win-dow between the two dates,it seems that some theatersmay not receive their digitalcinema packages (DCPs) byFriday.

China’s Film Bureaurequested a re-release ofAvatar in March 2020, as thecountry’s cinemas wereattempting to reopen with

the government beginning tohandle the spread ofCOVID-19. Spikes in localcases prevented exhibitorsfrom fully reopening at thetime. The surprise re-releasecarries the possibility ofAvatar reclaiming its recordas the highest-grossingmovie in global box officehistory. The film held ontothe superlative for nearly 10years with a $2.790 billiongross before being overtakenby Marvel’s Avengers:Endgame’s $2.797 billion in2019.

Avatar would only need togross some $7.4 million andchange in this re-release to

launch ahead of Marvel’sblockbuster. Disney will like-ly be happy either way as thestudio owns both films.Avatar was originallyreleased by 20th CenturyFox, which has since beenacquired by Disney. No mat-ter the numbers of Avatar’sre-release, the company willstill have the record.

Avatar was one of the firstHollywood blockbusters tobecome a crossover hit inChina. Its first-day gross seta new record for the biggestweekday opening in China.The film ended its run in thecountry with a $202.6 mil-lion gross.

AVATAR GETS A SURPRISE RE-RELEASE IN CHINA

ack Snyder’s JusticeLeague doesn’tdebut until March18. However, aglitch on HBOMax led to the

Snyder Cut debuting on theplatform early. The four-hourcut from director Snyder wasplayed on the streaming plat-form for users attempting towatch the Tom & Jerrymovie.

The accidental debut wasreportedly available for a fewhours before it was takendown from the platform. Anews agency reported thatHBO Max confirmed theerror in a statement. “ZackSnyder’s Justice League wastemporarily available onHBO Max and the error wasaddressed within minutes,”HBO Max said.

Justice League star RayFisher, who plays Cyborg inthe DC Extended Universe,took to Twitter and urgedfans to refrain from watchingthe leak and to stream it onthe day of its release. “Youknow what beats a leak? Aflood of views on @hbomax!On March 18th we’re watch-ing #Zack-Snyders JusticeLeague on repeat ALL DAYLONG!!! Who’s streamingwith me??? #SnyderCut#BORGLIFE,” he tweeted.

Justice League originallyreleased in 2017. The moviewas directed by Snyder buthe stepped down during thepost-production stage. Theduty to wrap the movie washanded to The Avengersdirector Joss Whedon.

The movie left fans disap-pointed and they began peti-

tions demanding for ZackSnyder’s version of JusticeLeague.

After years of demands,Warner Bros confirmed thatSnyder’s cut of Justice Leaguewill release on HBO Max.

Justice League stars BenAffleck (Batman), HenryCavill (Superman), GalGadot(Wonder Woman),Ezra Miller (The Flash),Jason Momoa (Aquaman)and Ray Fisher (Cyborg).

The teasers and trailershave already got fans excitedabout the movie.

To top it off, Snyder hasbeen sharing photos andvideos from the upcomingrelease to hype up the cut.Fans have already drawn par-allels with the original releaseand found differences in bothversions.

Justice League leaked during a Tom & Jerry glitch, Ray Fisher reacts

elena Gomez saysshe wants “to give itone last try” beforepossibly retiringfrom music, she saysmusic might not be

in her future forever.The actress/singer made the

admission in an interview withVogue. Gomez is their Aprilcover star.

“It’s hard to keep doingmusic when people don’t nec-essarily take you seriously. I’vehad moments where I’ve beenlike, ‘What’s the point? Why doI keep doing this?’”

She added, “Lose You to LoveMe, I felt, was the best song I’veever released, and for somepeople it still wasn’t enough. Ithink there are a lot of peoplewho enjoy my music, and forthat I’m so thankful, for that Ikeep going, but I think the nexttime I do an album it’ll be dif-ferent. I want to give it one lasttry before I may retire frommusic.” Gomez debuted herfirst album in 2009 with Kiss &Tell, and went on to releasethree solo albums and twomore albums under SelenaGomez & the Scene.

Selena Gomez saysshe's thinking aboutretiring from music

T

SD

Z

BAFTA 2021 NOMINATIONSOUT, ADARSH GOURAV SCORESNOD FOR THE WHITE TIGER

RACHEL DAMMALA

e celebrateInternationalWomen’s Day withpomp and gloryyear after year, buthave we ever

stopped to see if women whoare really in need of empow-erment and push, get it at all?A group of youngsters whoasked themselves this ques-tion and realised that theanswer was in the negative,set out to make a difference.

Meet Bhaarath Varma,Reena George, Aruna Jyothi,Mohan Padamata, Raghavaand Krishna, some of themfriends, some others, like-minded individuals. These,along with a very tiny groupof volunteers were deter-mined to help women whoneed empowerment the most— in the rural areas, formedTvameva Foundation in2018. There has been nostopping ever since — theyhave been a helping hand forrural women entrepreneursin the rural parts of theTelugu states, while they’rebased in West Godavari.

Sharing what they do, on adaily basis, Bhaarath Varmasays, “We bring aspiringentrepreneurs a step closertowards their dream byorganising workshops onproduct training, end-usertesting, packaging, creating abrand name and logo, andmarketing the product. Thestart to end product supportenables them to take up ideasand turn them into reality.”With Tvameva’s guidance,these women are able toreach out to different end-users like institutional buy-ers, supermarkets in differentregions and states for mar-keting. Not just that,impressed by the work andthe products, individualusers arranged eco-bazaars intheir regions to support thesewomen!

The team’s basic work isacting as social consultants towomen entrepreneurial aspi-

rants who look to form agroup and want to set up asmall scale industry. “Self-help groups have low-interestcapital and they themselvesbeing the human resourcesneed ‘know-how’ on machin-ery sourcing, training, pack-aging and marketing. Webeing social consultants, pro-vide free consultancy towomen on these ends andhelp them with documenta-tion on bank loans and gov-ernment subsidy. UnderPrime Minister’s employmentgeneration programme,

women can avail subsidyfrom 15% to 35% but veryfew know about this. Apartfrom this scheme, we alsohelp them with bank loandocumentation,” shares theChartered Accountant turnedfull-time worker withTvameva.

They began with hand-looms and handmade prod-ucts training, and have nowmoved into machine-madeproducts where women forma cooperative society as aunit and work in groups. Bygiving initial hand-holding in

marketing, the group trainsthese women to market theirproducts and become self-sustainable.

Asked how they managethe funds, he says that apartfrom crowdfunding on mul-tiple platforms like milaap,they’re also looking to turnthree years old to be able toreceive funds from CorporateSocial Responsibility.

The team also works onpolicy research, implementa-tions and work aroundground-level experiences tosee how better they can be

drafted for the utmost benefitof society. Currently con-fined to two districts, theteam hopes to increase theirpresence in the coming years.How you can help, is bydonating to them and lettingwomen you know that needhelp, about their organisa-tion. “It’s difficult when wego to women and tell themthey can do something withtheir lives. It gets easier andsuccess rates go up whenthey come to us knowing fullwell what they’re capable of,”Bhaarath concludes.

GIVING WOMEN WINGS TOREALISE THEIR DREAMS

he planet earth isperfect.Everything aboutour world — itssize, its distancefrom the sun, its

spin and tilt, its moon — isperfectly suited to our exis-tence, and our planet’s natur-al forces perfectly nurturelife.

A global weather systemcirculates and distributesfresh water to all corners ofthe globe, marine currentsdeliver nutrients to even the

deepest reaches of the ocean,sunlight warms and energiseseverything it touches, andpowerful volcanoes createand fertilise the land. As aresult, there is literally nopart of our planet where lifecan’t be found.

The five-part series — APerfect Planet — is a uniquefusion of blue chip naturalhistory and earth science thatexplains how our living plan-et operates. It shows how theforces of nature drive, shapeand support earth’s great

diversity of wildlife. The first four episodes

explore the power of volca-noes, sunlight, weather andoceans.

The final episode in theseries looks at the dramaticimpact of the world’s newestforce of nature: Humans, and

what can be done to restoreour planet’s perfect balance.

It takes us on a stunningvisual journey from landsdrenched by the Indian mon-soon to the slopes of fieryHawaiian volcanoes, the tidalislands of the Bahamas andthe frozen wastes of

Ellesmere Island. We will wit-ness time and again how thelives of animals are drivenand enabled by our planet’sgreat natural forces. Excerpts:

What was the ideabehind the series?

Huw Cordey and I felt

strongly that nobody hadever really done justice to thepower and beauty of the nat-ural forces that shape all lifeon our planet. There have, ofcourse, been many weathershows, but even these neverreached the quality andambition of this blue chip

landmark series. We wereattracted to the fact that mostpeople see the forces ofnature, such as volcanicactivity, as negative anddestructive. However, thiscould not be further from thetruth. We also liked the ideaof telling the story of ourplanet’s forces through theeyes of the animals andplants whose lives they domi-nate. Finally, we felt thisseries could not have beenmore timely. Everyone isquestioning whethermankind has upset A PerfectPlanet and we were deter-mined that our last episodewould answer this questionin a powerful and honestway.

How does this seriesmove forward from pre-vious natural historyseries?

Combining the very bestnatural history footage withpowerful images of the forcesof nature has never beenattempted in this way before.We are proud that big globalstories have been toldthrough the lives of engaginganimal characters. The envi-ronmental narrative runsthroughout the whole seriesbut the final episode has to

be the most powerful envi-ronmental message ever inany natural history landmarkseries.

What does it mean tohave Sir DavidAttenborough present?

Sir David’s skill as a com-municator goes withoutquestion. It comes with anauthority that was critical tothis series.

This is particularly true ofthe final episode where, hispresence in vision, adds somuch to this complex anddifficult message.

What has been yourfavourite moment in thewhole series?

There are so many won-derful sequences. I find italmost impossible to chooseone favourite moment.However, if pressed, it wouldhave to be the extraordinaryspectacle of flamingos nest-ing on Lake Natron thatopens episode one. It is oneof the most extraordinarysurvival stories in nature,absolutely beautifully shot.

It combines epic aerialimages, captured as neverseen before, with a really dra-matic narrative and intimatecharacter portraits.

t is a widelyknown fact thatobesity is apotent factor forthe development

of major risks for chronickidney disease, like dia-betes and hypertension,and it has a direct impacton the development ofeven end-stage renal dis-ease. Doctors at GleneaglesGlobal Hospitals observedthat there is a 30%increase in weight-gainlinked kidney ailmentssince the start of Covid-19lockdown last year.

Being overweight candirectly affect kidneys, andextra weight forces thekidneys to work harderand filter wastes above thenormal levels. Obesityraises blood pressure byincreasing renal tubularsodium reabsorption,impairing pressure natri-uresis, and causing volumeexpansion because of acti-vation of the sympatheticnervous system and renin-angiotensin system and byphysical compression ofthe kidneys, especiallywhen visceral obesity ispresent.

Commenting on theobservations made, DrGandhe Sridhar, ChiefConsultant Nephrologist,Gleneagles GlobalHospitals said, “Sedentaryhabits have crept intoeveryday lives of peoplesince the start of Covid-19

pandemic and lockdowndue to it. Among thosevisiting us at the hospital,we observed there are atleast 30% of patients whoare at amplified risk ofkidneys ailments arisingdue to increased bodyweight. The lockdown pro-duced behavioural, psy-chosocial, and environ-mental changes which,through a variety of mech-anisms, has led to wide-spread rapid weight gainamongst certain sectionsof the population. Therehas been an increase infood shopping, food take-aways, and a surge in alco-hol sales that resulted inan increase in obesityinstances, and related kid-ney problems.”

“Job losses linked toCovid-19 pandemicincreased stress levelsresulting in high-bloodpressure and an increase inmetabolic syndromeamong people, which isdangerous for the kidneysbecause it can increase thepressure on the glomeruli.(Glomeruli are the tinyblood vessels in the kid-neys where blood iscleaned) Over time, theincreased pressure dam-ages these vessels and kid-ney function begins todecline. Considering allthese scenarios, it is bestadvised people lead aphysically active life daily,to ensure their internal

organs do not feel thepressure of excessive bodyweight or BP leading toproblems like kidney fail-ures,” added DrDhananjaya KappadiLingappareddy, ConsultantNephrologist and KidneyTransplant Physician,Continental Hospitals.

Adding further, Dr PVijay Verma, ConsultantNephrologist, SLGHospitals said, “The fear ofCovid-19 pandemic hasdissuaded many withearly-stage as well as end-stage kidney ailments fromseeking timely medicalhelp at hospitals. And thisled to some devastatingoutcomes among the lowimmunity sections alongwith the aged population.”

Kidney problems gener-ally do not cause symp-toms until they enter amore advanced stage.However, a basic metabol-ic panel and completeurine examination arestandard tests that can bedone as part of a routinemedical exam to checkblood for creatinine orurea. These are chemicalsthat leak into the bloodwhen the kidneys are notworking properly, and testscan detect kidney prob-lems early when they areeasier to treat. And oneshould be tested annuallyif they have diabetes, heartdisease, or high bloodpressure.

Onein a

billion

Executive ProducerAlastair Fothergill sharesthat A Perfect Planet is aunique fusion of blue chipnatural history and earthscience that explains howthe place, we call home,operates —PNS

‘OBESITYWORSENSKIDNEYAILMENTS'

W

T

I

Onein a

billion

ThursdayMarch 11, 2021

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@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | MARCH 11, 2021

AFP n TURIN

Cristiano Ronaldo’sJuventus crashed out of

the Champions League in thelast 16 for the second yearrunning on Tuesday, losing to10-man Porto on away goalsdespite winning the second leg3-2 in Turin.

Sergio Oliveira’s extra-time free-kick sent twice for-mer winners Porto through tothe quarter-finals as the tiefinished 4-4 on aggregate.

Leading 2-1 from the firstleg in Portugal, Oliveira’s first-half penalty increased Porto’s

advantage but Juventus lev-elled the tie through two goalsfrom Federico Chiesa, whichcame either side of Portostriker Mehdi Taremi’s redcard.

Oliveira then rifled homea low free-kick on 115 min-utes, which passed through thelegs of Ronaldo, with AdrienRabiot’s header in reply com-ing in vain for Juventus.

“When you make four bigerrors over two legs in theChampions League last 16,you can get eliminated,” saidJuventus coach Andrea Pirlo.

“It will take a few days to

wipe this game from ourminds, but then we must playevery game with the rightattitude, realise we’re still onlyin March and have time toclimb the Serie A table.”

Juventus had been count-ing on Portuguese striker

Ronaldo, the competition’srecord goalscorer, and in-form Spaniard Alvaro Morata,who had scored six goals inthe competition this season, topull them through.

But Juventus’ ChampionsLeague heartache stretching

AFP n DORTMUND

Erling Braut Haaland scoredtwice as Borussia Dortmund

held off a late Sevilla fightbackto reach the Champions Leaguequarter-finals with a ‘crazy,amazing’ 5-4 aggregate winafter a frantic 2-2 second-legdraw on Tuesday.

Haaland, who also netted adouble in Dortmund’s 3-2 last16 first-leg victory, tapped in afirst-half opener and scored aretaken penalty after the breakbehind closed doors at SignalIduna Park.

“It was a hard game — I’mtired now, but to be in the nextround feels very good,” Haalandtold Sky. “It was a crazy gameand a crazy, amazing win.”

Sevilla forward YoussefEn-Nesyri scored a 69th-minute spot-kick and a last-gasp equaliser but Dortmundclung on.

“We’re not happy with theresult. Truth is, we didn’t haveany luck — they had one chanceand they scored,” En-Nesyri

told Movistar. “We fought untilthe last minute.”

Haaland, the man of thematch, is the competition’s top-scorer this season with 10 goalsin six games.

The 20-year-old is theyoungest player to reach 20Champions League goals, in just14 appearances, breaking theprevious mark set by KylianMbappe.

“We have been punished bya player (Haaland) who willmake his mark on this era,” pre-dicted Sevilla coach JulenLopetegui.

“It was a turbulent game,”said Dortmund caretaker EdinTerzic. “It’s not a given for us toget this far, so now to be amongthe best eight in Europe makesus very happy. Erling Haalandwas just outstanding.”

PTI n NEW DELHI

It will be a battle of the big-hit-ters when prodigiously talent-

ed openers Prithvi Shaw andDevdutt Padikkal square offagainst each other in a semifinalclash between domestic giantsMumbai and heavyweightsKarnataka in the Vijay HazareTrophy here on Thursday.

While Padikkal, whosmashed four consecutive List Ahundreds to become the firstIndian to achieve the feat, is theleading run-scorer of the tour-nament with 673 runs, Shaw isnot far behind with 589 runs inhis kitty.

Shaw, who will be leadingMumbai, has been on a record-breaking spree. The diminutiveright-hand batsman became thehighest individual scorer in thehistory of the tournament whenhe smashed an unbeaten 227against Puducherry in thegroup stage match.

On Tuesday, he addedanother record to his nameby notching up the highestscore by an Indian in a chasein a List A game when hesmashed an unbeat-en 185 againstSaurashtra in thequarterfinal.

B o t hy o u n g s t e r swould be keento score big andpush theirteams into thefinal comeThursday.

Padikkalwould like toimpress thenational selec-tors once

again and push his case for aberth in the ODI squad for theupcoming three-match seriesagainst England.

Karnataka have an array ofexperienced players like ManishPandey, pacers Ronit More, MPrasidh Krishna, all-rounderShreyas Gopal and spinner KGowtham and could have aslight edge over Mumbai, whoboasts of several youngstersand will be without the servicesof regular skipper Shreyas Iyer,prolific Suryakumar Yadav andpacer Shardul Thakur.

For Karnataka, anotheradvantage is the form of skip-per Ravikumar Samarth, who issecond highest on the leadingrun-scorer list for this year, hav-ing amassed 605 runs.

He hit a whirlwind 192 inthe quarterfinal against Keralaand would be more than keento put up a show once again.

For Mumbai, who last wonthe tournament in 2018-19, alot will also depend on howtheir bowlers led by medium

pacer Dhawal Kulkarni (13wickets) perform.

The role of spinnersShams Mulani, Prashant

Solanki and TanushKotian and all-

rounder ShivamDube will also be

e q u a l l yimportant.

T h es e c o n dsemif i-n a l

betweenGuj arat

and Uttar Pradesh, to beplayed at the Arun JaitleyStadium, can be touted as thebattle of equals.

Haaland breaks another recordDortmund striker becomes youngest player to reach 20 CL goals

Project Ronaldo: Failed10-man Porto knock Juve out of Champions League on away goals

back 25 years continued,falling in the first knockoutround the second consecutiveyear after losing to French clubLyon last season.

“The work of the wholeteam was important to gothrough in a manner that wasfully deserved,” said veteranPorto defender Pepe.

“It’s hard to explain bywords the way we managed toreact (playing with 10 men).Today we showed lots of char-acter: the players were focusedand that made it easy for us.”

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after he fails to score against Portoduring Champions League R16, second leg match in Turin on Tuesday @UEFA

Dortmund's Erling Haaland celebrates after he scores his side’s first goal @UEFA

PTI n AHMEDABAD

An opener who can alsobowl both off and leg

spin, Liam Livingstone is backin the England T20 squadfour years after his debut forthe upcoming India series,claiming to finally have thematurity and sense of belong-ing for International cricket.

The 27-year-old, whoplayed his two T20Is back inJune 2017, earned himself arecall to the T20 squad in aWorld cup year on the back ofa successful Big Bash cam-paign in which he made 426runs in 14 games for runners-up Perth Scorchers.

“I am a very different play-er and a very different personsince then (2017). The experi-ence that you get by playingfranchise cricket around theworld is pretty valuable whenyou come back to playingInternational cricket.

“For the first time in mycarrier I feel like I belong inthis environment. I was pret-ty immature back then. I amback to enjoying my cricket,”said Livingstone in a mediainteraction on Wednesday.

Livingstone wasbought back byRajasthan Royals in therecently held IPL auctionand is looking forward toadding to his four gameshe played in the 2019 edi-tion.

“I have spenttime in theIPL, twoB i gBashes aswell asPakistanS u p e rLeague.Playingwith dif-f e r e n tp l a y e r s

around the world, how they goabout their stuff is quite anexperience. Franchise cricketis a great way to learn,” he said.

Considering the strengthof the England squad,Livingstone might not get toopen when he plays but it isnot an issue for him.

“We have got so manyworld class players in Englishricket. I pride myself on beingflexible. Wherever I get theopportunity, I will be readytake to it.”

Livingstone used to bowlonly off spin earlier but hasnow developed as a leg spin-ner too.

How did that happen?“I spent a lot of time work-

ing on my leg spin. Playing atOld Trafford helped (consid-ering it is spin friendly). It issomething I want to continueto work on and hopefully inthe next couple of years, I candevelop into a proper all-rounder,” he said.

Asked about the morale ofthe dressing post the defeat inthe Test series, he added: “It isa different squad with differ-ent players. Fresh people bring

more energy into the side.“We have played

some great white ballcricket of late and wewant to continue doingthat. The series alsogives us a chance towork out the pitches

(ahead of the World Cuplater this year).

“We havegot a prettyfull strengthside againstthe bestteam in theworld. Itwill be agood testahead of theW o r l dCup.”

Livingstone feels readyfor International cricket

PTI n AHMEDABAD

England white-ball vice-cap-tain Jos Buttler feels hosts

India, who are strong in everyformat of the game, arefavourites for this year’s T20World Cup.

India, who won the inau-gural T20 World Cup in 2007,will host the tournament inOctober and November.

“Going into World Cups,you probably look at hostsnations one specially as strongas India who are going to befavourites for that tournament,”Buttler, in an interaction withBritish media on Tuesday, said.

“There are many excellentteams, in the last few WorldCups hosts nations have per-

formed very well. India is ofcourse strong in every formatand T20 is no different andespecially playing at home I seeIndia as the favourites,” Buttleradded.

England and India are slat-ed to play in a five-match T20series and Buttler feels it is theperfect opportunity for his sideto get acclimatised to the theWorld Cup conditions.

“It’s vital for us to play andhopefully you want to win thatseries and take that confidenceand gel together as a group andhave that clarity ahead of theWorld Cup.

“So, it's a fantastic oppor-tunity for us as a side to beplaying against India in WorldCup conditions,” he added.

PTI n AHMEDABAD

India vice-captain RohitSharma on Wednesday saidhis team is not seeing the

upcoming five-match seriesagainst England as a dressrehearsal for the T20 WorldCup at home later this yearand remains focussed on win-ning it.

India have picked somefresh faces for the series whileresting lead pacer JaspritBumrah as the team looks tobuild on its preparations forthe showpiece event.

“We don’t see it as anyrehearsal ... We are not think-ing too far ahead and focusingon winning the series,” Rohitsaid ahead of the series open-er here on Friday.

“If we focus on the pre-sent, the future will take careof itself. It’s a long series andit’s important to see where westand as a team and individ-ual.”

It will be interesting to seewho among KL Rahul andShikhar Dhawan opens along-side Rohit, who did not revealmuch on the combination forthe first game.

“I won’t be able to revealthe combination, we will haveto wait and see till Friday,” hesaid.

The star Indian opener,however, said his role does notchange and he would contin-ue to bat the way he does.

“It’s about giving the teama good start if we bat first,nothing changes for me. Whenwe chase, the approach is thesame but the mindset changesas you have to calculate a lotmany things.”

His Mumbai Indiansteammate Surykumar Yadavand Ishan Kishan earned theirmaiden India call-up for theseries and Rohit, their IPLskipper, said both are bound to

be nervous.“It’s natural for them to

feel nervous, thinking of per-formances but it will only putpressure on them. It’s aboutbeing relax and just have funbeing part of this great Indiansetup.

“It’s not going to be easyand there will be challengesevery now and then but it’show you respond to it will becrucial,” he said.

‘HOPE HARDIK IS READY’ India vice-captain Rohit

expects Hardik Pandya to con-tribute substantially with theball in the T20 series, havingseen him do “everything hecould” to get back to his bestfollowing a back surgery thatkept him away from bowlingregularly in Internationalcricket.

Pandya, who underwenthis back surgery in October

2019, made a comeback withthe IPL last year but did notbowl. He won India gameswith his batting in the limitedovers series in Australia but hebowled only once across threeODIs and as many T20Is.

He was with the Test teamduring the recent Englandseries and Rohit feels thathelped him get ready for hisresponsibilities in white-ballcricket.

“Of course he’s been anintegral part of the squad. Heis been working on his bowl-ing and batting, trying tosharpen those skillset. It’s beengood month and a half thathe’s been with the team inorder to get ready for this lim-ited overs series,” Rohit said.

“He’s done pretty mucheverything so it seems thattime has come for him to getready and start doing what hedoes.

“He has worked hard forhis bowling and batting in thislast few weeks. I hope he’sready to do what the teamexpects from him.”

The in-form Rishabh Pantis making a comeback to theT20 side following his exploitsin Test cricket and Rohit sees

the southpaw building on hisrecent success in the longestformat.

“He can go from strengthto strength. There is no look-ing back for him. So far he hasdone exceptionally well fromAustralia to the home seriesagainst England recently, he’sperformed exceptionally well,”he said.

“I don’t see anything stop-ping unless you guys stopputting pressure on him. Thegood thing about his gameright now is he is starting tounderstand the game situation,something that he ticks a box.”

“He can go from strengthto strength from here. He islooked very good in keeping,approach or batting in allthree departments,” Rohit said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The International CricketCouncil on Wednesday for-

mally announced thatSouthampton will host theinaugural World TestChampionship final betweenIndia and New Zealand inJune and a limited number offans could be allowed if the eas-ing of lockdown in the UK con-tinues.

The game will be playedinside a bio-secure bubble atthe Hampshire Bowl inSouthampton from June 18-22.

“Should the UKGovernment’s phased easing of

Covid-19 lockdown measuresproceed as planned, it is antic-ipated that a limited number offans will be allowed into theHampshire Bowl to watch thefinal,” the ICC statement read.

Initially, the final was sup-posed to be held at the Lord’s

but the ICC Board and theEngland and Wales CricketBoard (ECB) decided to changethe venue to ensure that the fix-ture could be staged safelywith the potential impact ofCovid-19 minimised for allinvolved.

“In selecting theHampshire Bowl, the ICC drewon ECB’s experience of deliver-ing a full summer of bio-safeinternational cricket in 2020,”the ICC said.

“The venue providesworld-class playing and train-ing facilities, giving both teamsthe best possible environmentin which to prepare.”

Southampton to host India-NZ WTCfinal, limited fans possible: ICC New Delhi: The International

Cricket Council’s ChiefExecutive Manu Sawhney hasbeen sent on “leave” after hisconduct came under the scan-ner during an internal investi-gation by audit firmPricewaterhouseCoopers andmay resign before his termends.

It is understood thatSawhney, who replaced DaveRichardson after the ICC WorldCup in 2019 for a tenure till2022, hasn’t also been on bestof terms with some of theinfluential cricket boards withregards various policy deci-sions.

He has come under scruti-ny for his allegedly “abrasivebehaviour” with colleagues.

The 56-year-old hasn’t beenattending office for some timeand was asked to go on leave onTuesday.

“The Board of Directors aretrying to find a compromiseformula where Sawhney leavesthe post with dignity by tender-ing his resignation,” a seniorofficial close to the ICC Boardsaid. PTI

It's Shaw vs Padikkalin Hazare semis

Bach promises‘safe, secure'Tokyo OlympicsAFP n LAUSANNE

International OlympicCommittee president

Thomas Bach promised todeliver a “safe, secure” TokyoOlympics this year in July-August before he was re-elect-ed for a second term till 2025on Wednesday.

As he opened the IOC ses-sion, Bach said it was nolonger a question of whetherthe Olympics, which werepostponed last year as thecoronavirus pandemic spreadaround the globe, would takeplace but in what conditionsthey will be held.

“Tokyo remains the bestprepared Olympic city everand at this moment, we haveno reason to doubt that theOpening Ceremony will takeplace on July 23,” Bach said.

“The question is notwhether, the question is howthese Olympic Games willtake place.

“The IOC is working atfull speed together with ourJapanese partners and friendsto make the postponedOlympic Games a safe mani-festation of peace, solidarityand resilience of humankindin overcoming the pandemic.”

Bach said his aim was tocreate “a safe, secure and fairenvironment for all the ath-letes”.

The local Japanese organ-isers are due to announce bythe end of the month whetherforeign spectators will beallowed to attend the Games,although it is widely reportedthat they will be barred due toCovid-19 concerns.

Eng series not rehearsal for T20 WC: Rohit

ICC CEO sent on ‘leave’ India favourites for T20 WC: Buttler

Chakravarthy failsfitness test againPTI n AHMEDABAD

Leg-spinner VarunChakravarthy’s failure toclear fitness tests has

ruled him out while pacer TNatarajan is racing againsttime to be battle-ready, mak-ing him doubtful for at least theearly part of India’s five-matchT20 series against Englandstarting here on Friday.

Chakravarthy has repeat-edly failed to clear the fitnesstest at the National CricketAcademy in Bengaluru whileyorker specialist Natarajan isyet to join the squad here dueto an apparent “shoulder nig-gle”.

“Varun Chakravarthy wasselected because he recoveredfrom his shoulder injury thatruled him out of the Australia

series. He did his rehab at theNCA and started throwingnormally.

“However, he has failed toclear the YoYo test mark stip-ulated for a 2km run at leasttwice,” a senior BCCI sourcesaid.

The question now beingasked is why did the ChetanSharma led committee selectsuch a player, who, after themonth of October, hasn’tplayed even one competitivegame for his state Tamil Nadu.

It is learnt that RahulChahar will be inducted in thesquad as he is already in thebio-bubble since the start of theTest series.

In case of Natarajan, theNCA medical staff is trying toget him fit or at least the laterpart of the series.

India limited overs Deputy Rohit Sharma poses for photo with Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer @BCCI

England vice-captain and wicket-keeperbatsman Jos Buttler AP/File PPicture

hat actress Ritu Varma ofPelli Choopulu fame isworking with actor Nani inthe upcoming film TuckJagadish is known news. Onthe occasion of her birth-

day, the makers of the film unveiled anew poster.

The poster shows the soft-spokenactress in a fierce avatar. The KanuluKanulanu Dochayante actress plays therole of Gummadi Varalakshmi in theNani-starrer, which is being directedby Shiva Nirvana. Actor JagapathiBabu will be seen playing Nani’s broth-er in the film.

Tuck Jagadish was shot in Pollachiand Rajahmundry before the lock-down, and the shoot for the rest of thefilm is progressing at a brisk pace.Initially, the film was set for a release

date of April 16, 2021, but the makerspushed it back by a week. The movie isnow set to release on April 23, 2021.

Tuck Jagadish marks Shiva Nirvana’ssecond collaboration with Nani afterNinnu Kori (2017) and is pro-duced by Sahu Garapatiand Harish underthe banner ofShineScreen,withmusicscoredbyThaman.It has cine-matographyby PrasadMurella and editingby Prawin Pudi.

12

Vijayawada Thursday March 11 2021 tollywood

ver since the launch ofJathi Ratnalu by actorPrabhas, the film hasbecome the talk-of-the-town, mainly for its cast-ing, and a unique story-

line that will tickle your funny bone.Produced by Swapna Dutt and NagAshwin and directed by first-timerAnudeep K V, the madcap comedystarring Naveen Polishetty,Priyadarshi and RahulRamakrishna has caught wideattention because of the hilariousteaser and trailer.

Speaking at a presser, NaveenPolishetty, who will be seen asJogipet Srikanth in the film,said, “After Agent Sai SrinivasaAthreya and Bollywood’sChhichhore, which were both

good hits, I felt pressuredabout my next, as I have tomeet the audiences’ expecta-tions with my third film.”The actor says the script ofJathi Ratnalu was narrated tohim while he was shootingfor Agent…, after being sug-gested by Nag Ashwin thathis role is something that

will be remem-bered.

“The success of Agent SaiSrinivasa Athreya has been bitter-sweet on me. People recognised mywork and talent, not my name.Whenever people spotted me inpublic places, they would call me‘Agent’. I was confused about whatto do next, for people to know myactual name. I didn’t want to doanother thriller as I might be brand-ed. During such a time, I metAnudeep who narrated to me JathiRatnalu, and I was impressed withthe storyline, particularly my char-acter Jogipet Srikanit I felt it’s 180degrees opposite to Agent and theaudience will also feel refreshedwatching me play Srikanth. As anactor too, this was very new,” theChichorre actor shared on how hecame onboard Jathi Ratnalu.

Naveen says this film is an outand out entertainer, which can be astress buster to the audience, mak-ing them walk out of the theatreswith smiles, and feeling refreshed.“Jathi Ratnalu is a fun, light-heartedfilm that you can watch with yourfamily and laugh at the helpless sit-uations the three main characters inthe film get into,” he says. ForNaveen, his real Jathi Ratnalu areNag Ashwin, Priyanka and Swapna,who produced the film and believedin him. While the film is differentfrom his previous ones, Naveen,who is known for delivering breath-less lengthy dialogues, does havesuch dialogues in this film too.

Speaking about his love Chitti inthe film, he says, “Chitti (FariaAbdullah) will play my love interest,their love track is very cute towatch. Faria and I have improvisedthe scripting during the shoot to fitinto our characters and she has apromising role in the film.”

The actor is so particular abouthis character and shoots that hewould call his director Anudeepevery night asking for the next day’sscript. “During the initial stages ofthe shoot, Anudeep would shootscenes in one go. I would wonderwhat he shot, as I’m someonewho likes taking multiple shots

and editing them later. A few daysinto shooting, I started requestingmy director to take multiple shots, atleast for my satisfaction,” he laughs.

Jathi Ratnalu, an emotionalthriller filled with fun elements, willkeep the audience glued to theirseats throughout. The actor saysJathi Ratnalu could see a Hindirelease too, depending on theTelugu audience’s response to thefilm, and talks about the same, arestill on. Like other actors, Naveenalso has a wishlist for directors inTelugu and Hindi with whom hewants to work in the future.Rajamouli, Sukumar, Zoya Akhtar,and Rajkumar Hirani are a fewamongst the big list he has.

On the work front, apart from aHindi movie that is yet to be shotabroad, Naveen also has two moviesin Telugu.

With both his filmsAgent Sai SrinivasaAthreya andBollywood'sChhichhore beinggood hits, actorNaveen Polishettysays he's nervousand pressured abouthis next JathiRatnalu that hitscreens today.Though this film isdifferent from hisprevious ones, hispreparation, actingand comedy remainthe same, writes K RAMYA SREE

‘JATHI RATNALU IS AN OUT-AND-OUT COMEDY ENTERTAINER'

RACHEL DAMMALA

ree Vishnu, whose next GaaliSampath releases today, sharesthat the strength of the film liesin its story. “It began when direc-tor Anil Ravipudi garu called meand told me that he would like to

narrate a story. I was quite surprised,given that his films are usually commer-cial, something so different from what Ido. He told me the story, I loved it, andimmediately gave my nod. When I askedwho would play the father and was toldit’d be Dr Rajendra Prasad garu, I wassure of accepting the role. I knew thestory carried a lot of potential,” the PremaIshq Kaadhal actor shares.

Asked what it was like sharing screenspace with veteran actor Rajendra Prasad,and working on set withpeople like AnilRavipudi, he says, “Iconsider myselfblessed to be work-ing with people thatbring to the table somuch learning andexperience. ThoughI’m the kind of actorthat doesn’t let howbig or new my co-star is, affectme,whileI’min

the character, once off the screen, I spenthours making valuable conversations withRajendra Prasad garu. He’s someone whoonce did 12 movies in one year, he hadgreat answers to how he chose his charac-ters and scripts. Working with biggies likeAnil Ravipudi has only made me better asan actor and person.”

Sree Vishnu has always been an actorwho stayed away from commercial, massentertainers. He’s known to take the off-beat, experimental route. With a film likeGaali Sampath that has Anil Ravipudi atthe helm of affairs, will there be a changein the kind of scripts he considers? Willhe now be open to doing commercialfilms? “There won’t be a change in thekind of films I choose, I’ll still alwaysstick to doing these kinds of roles. Yousee, with Gaali Sampath, it’s not me doingcommercial films, it’s directors like AnilRavipudi garu choosing to do experimen-tal films. Oh but you’ll definitely see achange in my acting, and my perfor-mance, it’ll show in the films you will seenext,” says the actor of Second Hand fame.

Asked further about his character andthe bond he shares with his on-screenfather Rajendra Prasad, Vishnu says, “Thefilm has entertainment and emotions inthe right dosages. Unlike the usual, theson in the film is responsible and mature,and the father is carefree. What happens

when the father, a mute person, acci-dentally falls into a pit, sets aninteresting premise.”

With characters specificallybeing written with him in mind(as informed by Anil Ravipudi),where does Vishnu see himself?“I started as a nobody and this isa blessing. It gives me hope,responsibility, and tells me thatI’m here to stay,” the MentalMadhilo actor shares.

Apart from playing the lead,the actor is also well known forplaying supporting roles in filmslike Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi,Brochevarevarura and more. Willhe be open to considering more

such roles and ones with negativeshades too? “I’d definitely take uproles that are strong and add to astory. About negative characters, Idon't think my face would sell for arole like that, but why not, if some-body thinks I can!,” the Needi Naadi

Oke Katha actor concludes.Veering towards his upcoming

films, Sree Vishnu has quite an inter-esting line-up. He has Raja Raja

Chora in which he plays a petty thief,one with Banam director Chaitanya,and another one with a debutant direc-tor, which is a cop biopic, and a couple

of other films that are in the discussionstage.

‘Gaali Sampath has entertainmentand emotion in the right dosage'

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Majiligirl bagsher next

ctress Divyansha Kaushik, who playedNaga Chaitanya's first love interest inMajili, was lauded for her exceptionalskills. The actress received love andpoints from both fans and critics, but

despite her impressive debut, she wasn't seentaking up any Telugu projects. She was last seenon the big screen in the Tamil film Takkaropposite actor Siddharth.

But here's great news for Divyansha and herfans: the actress will soon be seen in actor NagaShaurya's next titled Vaari Hecharika. The filmis being directed by debutant KP Rajendra, withMahesh Koneru bankrolling the project underEast Coast Productions banner.

The team is likely to make a formalannouncement on Divyansha's inclusion soon,with regular shoot to commence from April.

fter RashmikaMandanna’s Hindi-Tamil crossovermusic video withBaadshah andYuvan Shankar

Raja proved to be a majorsuccess recently, actressNivetha Pethuraj of AlaVaikunthapuramulo famehas now starred in a videoWhat the Uff that wasreleased on YouTube tocommemorate Women’sDay.

Composed by DearComrade-fame JustinPrabhakaran, the music

video was directed byNelson Venkatesan.Harika Narayan has sungWhat the Uff, while thelyrics were written by KuKarthik. What the Uff cel-ebrates the fashionista inNivetha like no otherwork of hers in the recentpast — she gets amplescope to flaunt her moves,fashion sense and superbscreen presence. The lyricsunderline the need to notjudge a woman’s characterby what they wear, post onsocial media or their rela-tionship status. Though

the music dominates thelyrics, the video is certain-ly catchy on the ears andeyes, making you remem-ber its concept for long.

The video has garneredmore than a million viewsin just hours since itsrelease.

With actors looking tomore than just films toreach their audience, theChitralahari actress hasmade the timely decisionto cash in on the trend ofstarring in music videos,add to that, the strongmessage it carries.

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Nivetha's musicvideo hits big

TUCKJAGADISHPOSTER HASRITU IN AFIERCEAVATAR