T he exit polls have predict- ed that the BJP will retain power with a bigger mandate in Maharashtra — where it is in alliance with the Shiv Sena — and Haryana. All the exit polls, conduct- ed by various media houses and poll agencies, have ruled out any possibility of political rivals posing a challenge to the BJP in Haryana and the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra. Haryana and Maharashtra reg- istered 65.5 per cent and 60.25 per cent polling respectively on Monday. Some of the exit polls indi- cated that BJP on its own may reach the majority figure of 145 in Maharashtra on its own with CNN-News18-IPSOS pre- dicting 243 seats for the BJP- Shiv Sena alliance with the BJP winning 141 and Shiv Sena 102 seats in the 288-member Assembly. India Today-Axis predicted between 166 and 194 seats for the alliance in Maharashtra. CNN-News18-IPSOS has restricted political rivals the Congress-NCP combine in Maharashtra to 41 seats, while India Today-Axis exit poll pro- jected Congress-NCP alliance to win 72-90 seats in the State. The ABP-C Voter predicted 204 seats for the BJP-Shiv Sena and 69 for the Congress-NCP in Maharashtra. In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP is predicted to win maximum 80 seats while an average of all exit polls indicated 66 seats for the party. CNN-News 18-IPSOS pre- dicted 75 seats for the BJP, 10 for the Congress, and zero for the INLD. Other parties in Haryana are projected to win anywhere from 8 to 12 seats, according to various exit-polls. The ABP-C Voter fore- casted that the BJP will improve its 2014 results by winning 72 seats, while the Congress will bag only 8 seats in Haryana. A majority of exit polls suggest the BJP’s facile success in Maharashtra may whittle down the influence of its taci- turn ally Shiv Sena which until the fag-end of the campaign was questioning the confi- dence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis vis-à-vis the Congress-NCP alliance. The BJP and the Shiv Sena had fought the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elec- tions separately with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 122 seats and 27.8 per cent vote share. The Shiv Sena came second with 63 seats and 19.3 per cent votes. The Congress and the NCP came third and fourth with 42 and 41 seats respectively. It is the first time that the BJP’s strategy of projecting a Brahmin Chief Minister (Fadnavis) in the Maratha land of Maharashtra, and a non-Jat Chief Minister (Manohar Lal Khattar) in the Jat land of Haryana is likely to pay divi- dends. Fadnavis was the only Brahmin in his Cabinet and only the second Brahmin to occupy the CM post in Maharashtra. The first was late Manohar Joshi of the Sena. Of the total 18 Chief Ministers that Maharashtra has had till date, 12 were from the Maratha community. As to counter the criticism of dom- inant Maratha political lobbies, Fadnavis and his party roped in a scion of Chhatrapati Shivaji by nominating Sambhaji Raje to the Rajya Sabha in 2016. Therefore, the successive victory of the BJP in the two caste-conscious States may change conventional poll strategies of cultivating the dominant communities. The meteoric rise of the BJP in Haryana also coincides with the fall of the INLD and its subsequent breakup. I ndia on Monday said it is ready to sign an agreement with Pakistan on October 23 for the operationalisation of the Kartarpur corridor, even as it expressed “disappointment” over Islamabad’s insistence on levying $20 service fee per pil- grim and asked it to reconsid- er its decision. “In view of the long pend- ing demand of the pilgrims to have visa-free access to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib and in the interest of opera- tionalisation of the corridor in time before the Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary on November 12, the Government on Monday conveyed that India would be ready to sign the agreement on the corridor on Wednesday,” the MEA said. Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has slammed Pakistan for its insistence on charging devotees for visiting Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, saying the neighbouring country has made a “business out of faith”. “The $20 fee charged by Pak for Kartarpur Sahib dar- shan is atrocious. How will a poor devotee pay this amount? Pakistan has made a business out of faith. @ImranKhanPTI’s statement that this fee will boost Pak’s economy & result in earning foreign exchange is highly shameful,” Harsimrat said a tweet. Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had also lashed out at Pakistan for demanding service charge, say- ing it is tantamount to “putting a ticket” on visiting the historic gurdwara. Pakistan is expected to earn up to 258 crore — about Pakistani 571 crore — per annum from pilgrims vis- iting Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final resting place of founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev, officials said on Monday. The Government has taken the initiative to put in place state-of-the-art infrastructure and open the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on the auspicious occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak so that pilgrims from India and those holding overseas citizen of India card can undertake visit to the holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. “It is a matter of disap- pointment that while under- standing has been reached on most of the elements for facil- itating the visit of pilgrims from India, Pakistan continues to insist on levying a service fee of $20 per pilgrim per visit,” the MEA said. Continued on Page 4 T he Supreme Court on Monday accepted the Centre’s revised offer of 400 sqmt land in Tughlaqabad for- est area here for construction of Guru Ravidas temple which was demolished by Delhi Development Authority fol- lowing the court’s order. The verdict has been wel- comed by both the petitioners, Delhi Congress working pres- ident Rajesh Lilothia and for- mer Union Minister Pradeep Jain. In a joint statement, they termed it people’s victory. Cricitising the Centre, they said the attitude of the Government towards the issue clearly exposed its anti-Dalit mindset. “It was question of our faith and our struggle will con- tinue till the Government hands over the complex to the Dalit community for recon- struction of the temple.” Filing the main petition for the reconstruction of the Guru Ravidas temple, Jain and Lilothia said the Government produced wrong facts for demolishing the 600-year-old temple. They said that in 1509 Sikhandar Lodhi had donated 12 beeghas of land to Guru Ravidas and at that time, there was neither the DDA nor a Government but they have demolished the temple saying it was situated on forest land. Meanwhile Delhi BJP pres- ident Manoj Tiwari said the BJP always stand with Dalits and the AAP always play blame-game politics. Continued on Page 4 I ntensifying efforts to nab the two killers of Hindu out- fit leader Kamlesh Tewari, the Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday declared a reward of 2.5 lakh each for the infor- mation leading to the arrest of the two murderers. Director General of Police OP Singh announced the award. Meanwhile, a suspect named Sayed Asim Ali was arrested in Nagpur on Monday following a tip-off by the Nagpur unit of the Anti- Terrorists Squad (ATS). Police said the two fugitive killers, on whom the award has been announced, had come to a hotel in Lucknow on October 17 and identified themselves as Sheikh Ashfaqul Hussain and Muinuddin Pathan. On the day of murder, both of them moved out of the hotel, wear- ing saffron kurta, and there was a box of sweets in their hand. Meanwhile, the agencies investigating the case brought the conspirators arrested in Surat to Lucknow on transit remand for questioning. On the basis of the confes- sion during the investigation, cops recovered blood-stained saffron clothes and a blood- stained knife from a room of the hotel in Kaiserbagh police station area post midnight on Sunday. C ommoners can now visit Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield, as tourists and get a feel of how the Armed Forces guard this strate- gically important sector despite extreme weather conditions and inhospitable terrain. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday announced the glacier is now “open” to tourists and they can trek from the base camp to Kumar post. The Army earlier used to organise such treks for civilians annually but it was suspended two years back due to logisti- cal and operational issues. The one-month long trek used to take place intermittently due to harsh weather conditions and all the trekkers had to under- go medical test before under- taking the arduous journey. The temperatures there vary from minus 10 to minus 40 degrees Celsius and the troops have been guarding posts at heights ranging from 16,000 feet to 24,000 feet since 1984. More than 1,000 Indian soldiers have died there since then and most of the casualties took place due to weather and avalanches. However, the trekkers were taken through a guided route from Siachen base camp to Kumar post. The base camp is at a height of 12,000 feet while the Kumar post is at an altitude of 16,000 feet. Given the nature of the terrain, the trekkers were put through a three-phase acclimatisation due to harsh winter and lack of oxygen. Making the important announcement about the Siachen, Singh said it is “now open” to tourists, after inau- gurating a strategically impor- tant bridge on the Shyok river in eastern Ladakh. “From Siachen base camp to Kumar post, the entire area has been opened for tourism purposes,” he tweeted. Better connectivity in Ladakh would certainly bring tourists in large numbers, he said in another tweet. The Indian Army had pro- posed some months back opening up of the glacier to masses to let them appreciate the working conditions of the troops, officials said and the Government later gave the nod. Continued on Page 4 A t least 65 per cent voter turnout was recorded in election to 90-member Haryana Assembly on Monday amidst minor scuffles and snags in electronic voting machines (EVMs). Haryana chief electoral officer Anurag Agarwal said that around 65 per cent voting has been recorded in the State, as per the information received till the evening and final poll figures are likely to increase. The complaints were received at some places about the problem of operation of EVM machines which was immediately resolved, he said. According to the Election Commission data till 9 pm, the highest turnout was recorded at Tohana Assembly constituen- cy (80.56) followed by Dabwali assembly segment 78.20) while the lowest was recorded in Panipat city and Badshahpur, both with 45 percent. The election process across the State was majorly peacefully except for minor incidents reported in Nuh, Rohtak and Narnual districts. A total of 13 FIRs were reg- istered in the state including seven in Nuh, four in Rohtak and two in Narnaul. Tight security arrange- ments were in place with over 75,000 security personnel deployed for the polls, DGP Manoj Yadava said. Over 1.83 crore voters, including 85 lakh women and 252 transgenders were eligible to vote in Haryana. The BJP, led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is aiming at retaining power in Haryana and had set a target of winning 75 seats in the 90-member State Assembly. Currently, the BJP has 48 members in the State Assembly. While talking to the medi- apersons, Manohar Lal said, “We went to the public (for votes), they accepted us and we are going to form the govern- ment again and with a good majority.” Asked about travelling in a train, he said, “I am a com- moner and have come to vote as the common man.” Two-time former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who cast his vote along with his wife Asha, son and for- mer MP Deepender and daugther-in-law Sweta Mirdha, said the contest was only between the BJP and Congress and the latter would emerge victorious. Continued on Page 4 Related reports on P3
The exit polls have predict-ed that the BJP will retain
power with a bigger mandate inMaharashtra — where it is inalliance with the Shiv Sena —and Haryana.
All the exit polls, conduct-ed by various media houses andpoll agencies, have ruled outany possibility of political rivalsposing a challenge to the BJPin Haryana and the BJP-ShivSena alliance in Maharashtra.Haryana and Maharashtra reg-istered 65.5 per cent and 60.25per cent polling respectively onMonday.
Some of the exit polls indi-cated that BJP on its own mayreach the majority figure of 145in Maharashtra on its ownwith CNN-News18-IPSOS pre-dicting 243 seats for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance with the BJPwinning 141 and Shiv Sena 102seats in the 288-memberAssembly. India Today-Axispredicted between 166 and194 seats for the alliance inMaharashtra.
CNN-News18-IPSOS hasrestricted political rivals theCongress-NCP combine inMaharashtra to 41 seats, whileIndia Today-Axis exit poll pro-jected Congress-NCP allianceto win 72-90 seats in the State.The ABP-C Voter predicted204 seats for the BJP-Shiv Senaand 69 for the Congress-NCPin Maharashtra.
In the 90-member HaryanaAssembly, the BJP is predictedto win maximum 80 seatswhile an average of all exit pollsindicated 66 seats for the party.
CNN-News 18-IPSOS pre-dicted 75 seats for the BJP, 10for the Congress, and zero forthe INLD. Other parties inHaryana are projected to winanywhere from 8 to 12 seats,according to various exit-polls.
The ABP-C Voter fore-casted that the BJP will improveits 2014 results by winning 72seats, while the Congress willbag only 8 seats in Haryana.
A majority of exit polls
suggest the BJP’s facile successin Maharashtra may whittledown the influence of its taci-turn ally Shiv Sena which untilthe fag-end of the campaignwas questioning the confi-dence of Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis vis-à-visthe Congress-NCP alliance.
The BJP and the Shiv Senahad fought the 2014Maharashtra Assembly elec-tions separately with the BJP
emerging as the single largestparty with 122 seats and 27.8per cent vote share. The ShivSena came second with 63seats and 19.3 per cent votes.The Congress and the NCPcame third and fourth with 42and 41 seats respectively.
It is the first time that theBJP’s strategy of projecting aBrahmin Chief Minister(Fadnavis) in the Maratha landof Maharashtra, and a non-Jat
Chief Minister (Manohar LalKhattar) in the Jat land ofHaryana is likely to pay divi-dends. Fadnavis was the onlyBrahmin in his Cabinet andonly the second Brahmin tooccupy the CM post inMaharashtra. The first was lateManohar Joshi of the Sena.
Of the total 18 ChiefMinisters that Maharashtra hashad till date, 12 were from theMaratha community. As to
counter the criticism of dom-inant Maratha political lobbies,Fadnavis and his party roped in
a scion of Chhatrapati Shivajiby nominating Sambhaji Rajeto the Rajya Sabha in 2016.
Therefore, the successivevictory of the BJP in the twocaste-conscious States maychange conventional pollstrategies of cultivating thedominant communities.
The meteoric rise of theBJP in Haryana also coincideswith the fall of the INLD andits subsequent breakup.
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India on Monday said it isready to sign an agreement
with Pakistan on October 23for the operationalisation of theKartarpur corridor, even as itexpressed “disappointment”over Islamabad’s insistence onlevying $20 service fee per pil-grim and asked it to reconsid-er its decision.
“In view of the long pend-ing demand of the pilgrims tohave visa-free access toGurudwara Kartarpur Sahiband in the interest of opera-tionalisation of the corridor intime before the Guru Nanak’sbirth anniversary on November12, the Government onMonday conveyed that Indiawould be ready to sign theagreement on the corridor on
Wednesday,” the MEA said.Union Minister Harsimrat
Kaur Badal has slammedPakistan for its insistence oncharging devotees for visitingKartarpur Sahib Gurdwara,saying the neighbouringcountry has made a “businessout of faith”.
“The $20 fee charged byPak for Kartarpur Sahib dar-shan is atrocious. How will apoor devotee pay this amount?Pakistan has made a businessout of faith. @ImranKhanPTI’sstatement that this fee willboost Pak’s economy & resultin earning foreign exchange ishighly shameful,” Harsimratsaid a tweet.
Earlier, Punjab ChiefMinister Amarinder Singh hadalso lashed out at Pakistan fordemanding service charge, say-ing it is tantamount to “putting
a ticket” on visiting the historicgurdwara. Pakistan is expectedto earn up to �258 crore —about Pakistani �571 crore —per annum from pilgrims vis-iting Darbar Sahib inKartarpur, the final restingplace of founder of SikhismGuru Nanak Dev, officials saidon Monday.
The Government has takenthe initiative to put in placestate-of-the-art infrastructureand open the Kartarpur SahibCorridor on the auspiciousoccasion of the 550th birthanniversary of Guru Nanak sothat pilgrims from India andthose holding overseas citizenof India card can undertakevisit to the holy GurudwaraKartarpur Sahib in Pakistan,the Ministry of External Affairssaid in a statement.
“It is a matter of disap-pointment that while under-standing has been reached onmost of the elements for facil-itating the visit of pilgrimsfrom India, Pakistan continuesto insist on levying a service feeof $20 per pilgrim per visit,” theMEA said.
Continued on Page 4
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The Supreme Court onMonday accepted the
Centre’s revised offer of 400sqmt land in Tughlaqabad for-est area here for constructionof Guru Ravidas temple whichwas demolished by DelhiDevelopment Authority fol-lowing the court’s order.
The verdict has been wel-comed by both the petitioners,Delhi Congress working pres-ident Rajesh Lilothia and for-mer Union Minister PradeepJain. In a joint statement, theytermed it people’s victory.
Cricitising the Centre, theysaid the attitude of theGovernment towards the issueclearly exposed its anti-Dalitmindset. “It was question of ourfaith and our struggle will con-tinue till the Governmenthands over the complex to theDalit community for recon-struction of the temple.”
Filing the main petition forthe reconstruction of the Guru
Ravidas temple, Jain andLilothia said the Governmentproduced wrong facts fordemolishing the 600-year-oldtemple.
They said that in 1509Sikhandar Lodhi had donated12 beeghas of land to GuruRavidas and at that time, therewas neither the DDA nor aGovernment but they havedemolished the temple sayingit was situated on forest land.
Meanwhile Delhi BJP pres-ident Manoj Tiwari said theBJP always stand with Dalitsand the AAP always playblame-game politics.
Continued on Page 4
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Intensifying efforts to nabthe two killers of Hindu out-
fit leader Kamlesh Tewari, theUttar Pradesh Police onMonday declared a reward of�2.5 lakh each for the infor-mation leading to the arrest ofthe two murderers. DirectorGeneral of Police OP Singhannounced the award.
Meanwhile, a suspectnamed Sayed Asim Ali wasarrested in Nagpur on Mondayfollowing a tip-off by theNagpur unit of the Anti-Terrorists Squad (ATS).
Police said the two fugitivekillers, on whom the award hasbeen announced, had come to
a hotel in Lucknow on October17 and identified themselves asSheikh Ashfaqul Hussain andMuinuddin Pathan. On theday of murder, both of themmoved out of the hotel, wear-ing saffron kurta, and there wasa box of sweets in their hand.
Meanwhile, the agenciesinvestigating the case broughtthe conspirators arrested inSurat to Lucknow on transitremand for questioning.
On the basis of the confes-sion during the investigation,cops recovered blood-stainedsaffron clothes and a blood-stained knife from a room ofthe hotel in Kaiserbagh policestation area post midnight onSunday.
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Commoners can now visitSiachen glacier, the world’s
highest battlefield, as touristsand get a feel of how theArmed Forces guard this strate-gically important sector despiteextreme weather conditionsand inhospitable terrain.Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Monday announcedthe glacier is now “open” totourists and they can trek fromthe base camp to Kumar post.
The Army earlier used toorganise such treks for civiliansannually but it was suspendedtwo years back due to logisti-cal and operational issues. Theone-month long trek used totake place intermittently due toharsh weather conditions andall the trekkers had to under-
go medical test before under-taking the arduous journey.
The temperatures therevary from minus 10 to minus40 degrees Celsius and thetroops have been guardingposts at heights ranging from16,000 feet to 24,000 feet since1984. More than 1,000 Indiansoldiers have died there sincethen and most of the casualtiestook place due to weather andavalanches. However, thetrekkers were taken through aguided route from Siachenbase camp to Kumar post.
The base camp is at aheight of 12,000 feet while theKumar post is at an altitude of16,000 feet. Given the nature ofthe terrain, the trekkers wereput through a three-phaseacclimatisation due to harshwinter and lack of oxygen.
Making the importantannouncement about theSiachen, Singh said it is “nowopen” to tourists, after inau-gurating a strategically impor-tant bridge on the Shyok riverin eastern Ladakh.
“From Siachen base campto Kumar post, the entire areahas been opened for tourismpurposes,” he tweeted. Betterconnectivity in Ladakh wouldcertainly bring tourists in largenumbers, he said in anothertweet.
The Indian Army had pro-posed some months backopening up of the glacier tomasses to let them appreciatethe working conditions of thetroops, officials said and theGovernment later gave the nod.
election to 90-memberHaryana Assembly on Mondayamidst minor scuffles andsnags in electronic votingmachines (EVMs).
Haryana chief electoralofficer Anurag Agarwal saidthat around 65 per cent votinghas been recorded in the State,as per the information receivedtill the evening and final pollfigures are likely to increase.
The complaints werereceived at some places aboutthe problem of operation ofEVM machines which wasimmediately resolved, he said.
According to the ElectionCommission data till 9 pm, thehighest turnout was recorded atTohana Assembly constituen-cy (80.56) followed by Dabwaliassembly segment 78.20) whilethe lowest was recorded inPanipat city and Badshahpur,both with 45 percent.
The election process acrossthe State was majorly peacefullyexcept for minor incidentsreported in Nuh, Rohtak andNarnual districts.
A total of 13 FIRs were reg-istered in the state includingseven in Nuh, four in Rohtakand two in Narnaul.
Tight security arrange-
ments were in place with over75,000 security personneldeployed for the polls, DGPManoj Yadava said.
Over 1.83 crore voters,including 85 lakh women and252 transgenders were eligibleto vote in Haryana.
The BJP, led by ChiefMinister Manohar Lal Khattaris aiming at retaining power inHaryana and had set a target of winning 75 seats inthe 90-member State Assembly. Currently, the BJPhas 48 members in the StateAssembly.
While talking to the medi-apersons, Manohar Lal said,“We went to the public (forvotes), they accepted us and weare going to form the govern-ment again and with a goodmajority.”
Asked about travelling in atrain, he said, “I am a com-moner and have come to voteas the common man.”
Two-time former ChiefMinister Bhupinder SinghHooda, who cast his vote alongwith his wife Asha, son and for-mer MP Deepender anddaugther-in-law Sweta Mirdha,said the contest was onlybetween the BJP and Congressand the latter would emergevictorious.
Rejecting reports of inactionby the Punjab Government
in the 2018 Dussehra traintragedy, Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Mondaysaid the departmental actionhad already been initiatedagainst six police officers and seven employees of theMunicipal CorporationAmritsar had beenchargesheeted in the case.
“These police and MC per-sonnel had been found guilty ofdereliction of duty and neces-sary action had been orderedagainst them, based on thefindings of the MagisterialInquiry Report,” CaptAmarinder said.
The magisterial enquiryinto the incident, whichoccurred on October 19, 2018,was conducted by JalandharDivisional Commissioner BPurushartha, on the orders of
the Chief Minister. A total of 58persons died and 71 wereinjured in the tragic mishap.
Taking cognizance of somerecent reports, the ChiefMinister clarified that dueaction, as per the law, was beingtaken against all those foundguilty, and there was no ques-tion of brushing the matteraside or burying the inquiryreport, as alleged in a sectionof the media. His Governmentwas also taking all possiblesteps to prevent the recur-rence of such incidents in thefuture, Amarinder said, point-ing out that detailed guidelineswere issued to police and localGovernment officers suggest-ing corrective measures,
including creation of a singlewindow or authority to acceptapplications and grant permis-sions for such events.
The Commissionerates ofPolice in Amritsar, Ludhianaand Jalandhar, besides theSDMs in other areas, hadalready been appointed SingleAuthority for this purpose, headded.It was also stipulated thatthe application would containall relevant information alongwith detailed checklist and theorganisers would be asked tomake application at least 15days before the event.
Organisers would also becharged for security, fire ten-ders, water tenders, and clean-ing etc. In addition to making
video-graphing of these func-tions mandatory, the StateGovernment had also stipulat-ed that permission of the con-cerned department would be aprerequisite if the event wasproposed to be held onGovernment land.It may berecalled that immediately afterthe accident, the Chief Ministerhad ordered compensation atthe rate of �5 lakh to thedependents of each of thedeceased, with �50,000 com-pensation for those injured.
Of the �2.9 crore placed atthe disposal of DeputyCommissioner Amritsar fordisbursal to the kin of thedeceased, �2.6 crore hadalready been disbursed.
Of the 71 injured, com-pensation for three victimswas under process due to non-availability of their known res-idential addresses, said thespokesperson, adding effortswere in progress to find theiralternative locations.
Warning that no proce-dural irregularity would betolerated in the organisation,regulation and supervision ofsuch events, the Chief Ministerhas, meanwhile, urged the pub-lic to exercise restraint andobserve all due precautions, inview of the ongoing festive sea-son, to complement the admin-istration’s efforts to ensure totalsafety and security at suchevents.
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Punjab Chief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh on Monday sanctioned �5 crore to
the state Agriculture Department from theChief Minister’s Relief Fund to provide 25,000quintal of free wheat seed to Punjab farmersaffected by therecent floods.
The seedswill help thefarmers preparefor Rabi 2019-20,said a spokesper-son of the ChiefMinister’s Officeadding that thedecision was in line with the announcementmade by Capt Amarinder during his visit to theflood affected areas in the State.
The Chief Minister has also directed theDeputy Commissioners of the flood hit districts— Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Moga, Ferozepur,Fazilka, Ropar etc, to ensure the supply of ade-quate quantity of wheat seed to the farmers toensure its timely distribution before the com-mencement of the sowing season.
The seeds will be provided to the farmersthrough PUNSEED — the state’s nodal agencyfor the distribution of certified seed, as per therecommendations of Punjab AgriculturalUniversity. Spokesperson said this wheat seedwould be supplied to the farmers as per theguidelines of National Food Security Missionand Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
The heritage building of Indian Institute ofAdvanced Study (IIAS), which used to be the
residence of viceroy from 1888 till Independence,will soon be renovated.
Union Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment (MHRD) has recently given its in-principle approval for the renovation of the her-itage building which was renamed as RashtrapatiNivas after Independence, IIAS directorMakarand R Paranjape said.
The building spread over about 330 acres will
be renovated with a cost of�66.33 crore, Pranajape accom-panied by IIAS secretaryColonel Vijay K Tiwari said.
Then President SarvepalliRadhakrishnan conceived in1965 the idea of housing theIIAS in the building and direct-ed the Government to take nec-essary action. He later inaugu-rated the institute on October 20, 1965. Theviceroy lodge will be refurbished and renovat-ed under the supervision of Archeological
Survey of India (ASI) insuch a way so that its her-itage value should remainintact, Pranajape said.
Central Public WorksDepartment (CPWD) willsoon invite tenders to startits renovation work whichmay continue for two-threeyears, he added.
When Shimla became the summer capital ofBritish India in 1864, a search was mounted fora suitable location to house the Viceregal estab-lishment. The plan to build the residence ofviceroy at observatory hill was conceived by lordLytton and brought to fruition during theviceroyalty of lord Dufferin. The Dufferinsmoved into the viceregal lodge on July 23, 1988.
Carved of grey Himalayan sandstone, thelodge, a judicious blend of Elizabethan andScottish architectural forms, with wood-panelledwalls and a magnificent stairway, witnessed somememorable historic round tables as well as piv-otal ‘’Simla Conference’’ of 1945.
The building has hosted most of our nation-al leaders Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru,Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and others from timeto time who were here in connection with polit-ical dialogues and conference with the British thatfinally culminated in the Independence in 1947.
Meanwhile, a three-day celebration fromOctober 20 has been organised by IIAS to markits 54th foundation day. During inauguration ofthe three-day event on Sunday, Neela Bhagwatof Gwalior gharana spellbound the audience withher musical performance. Himachal VidhanSabha Speaker Dr Rajeev Bindal formally inau-gurated the three-day celebrations.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal onMonday asked Punjab ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh to ensure free pilgrimageto Sri Kartarpur Sahib on thepattern of similar service pro-vided to pilgrims under theMukh Mantri Tirath Yatrascheme by Parkash Singh Badalduring previous SAD-BJPtenure in the State.
Harsimrat said that theMukh Mantri Tirath Yatrascheme under Parkash SinghBadal facilitated travel of pil-grims by bus to Sri Darbar Sahibbesides travel by special trainsto Nanded Sahib, Patna Sahib,Varanasi and Ajmer. “The
scheme was scrapped when theCongress Government tookover the reins of the State. Thisscheme needs to be revived toallow the Punjab Governmentto absorb the service charge of20 dollars imposed by thePakistan Government on all pil-grims wishing to visit SriKartarpur Sahib during the550th parkash purb celebrationsof Guru Nanak Dev,” she added.
She said other StateGovernments were also facili-tating travel of pilgrims to var-ious religious places in thecountry. “The CongressGovernment should take upresponsibility for paying 20dollars charge which thePakistan Government is insis-tent on charging from each pil-grim,” she said adding that
this would go a long way inensuring the pilgrimage iswithin the reach of the underprivileged sections of society.
At the same time, she urgedthe Pakistan Government toreconsider its decision to waiveoff 20 dollars service charge.“Pakistan Prime minister ImranKhan’s statement that the ser-vice charge as well as creationof a religious hub will result inearning of foreign exchange forhis country is quite shocking.
Pakistan should not seekto profit from piety. It shouldnot try to earn money from theaashtha of the pilgrims whichamounts to disrespecting thesentiments of the Sikh com-munity which is known for itsservice to humanity across theworld,” she added.
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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on
Monday travelled by train fromChandigarh to Karnal and thenrode a bicycle to reach a pollingbooth to cast his vote.
Khattar said he had a live-ly interaction with co-passen-gers during his train journey toKarnal. “I travelled by JanShatabdi train to reach Karnal.Then I travelled in a e-rickshawand then rode a bicycle to reachthe polling booth,” he toldreporters after casting his votein Karnal, from where he isseeking re-election.
Sharing his experienceabout the two-hour train jour-ney Khattar tweeted, “had alively interaction with my co-passengers during my journeyto Karnal to cast my vote.”
The 65-year old chief min-ister who has on past manyoccasions used a bicycle to
travel from his official resi-dence in Chandigarh to reachthe civil secretariat, said as faras possible people should use acycle to commute, at least forthe short distances, as it willhelp protect environment.
The chief minister was alsoasked to comment about a videoof the BJP candidate fromAssandh Bakshish Singh Virkpurportedly making controver-sial remarks about ElectronicVoting Machines (EVMs). Thevideo had emerged on the socialmedia on the eve of HaryanaAssembly polls, following whichthe Election Commission issuedVirk a showcause notice andappointed a special observer tothe Assandh constituency totake “corrective action”.
“Virk has clarified that thisis a fake video, things have beendoctored. ElectionCommission has taken cog-nizance and is looking into it,”he added.
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Despite the opinion and exitpolls which favoured the
ruling BJP, former Haryanachief minister Bhupinder SinghHooda on Monday exuded con-fidence that his party will makea comeback in the assemblypolls as he cast his vote alongwith his family members here.
Before exercising his vote,the two-time former chief min-ister and his family membersoffered prayers at a temple. Hewas accompanied by his wifeAsha Hooda, son and formerMP from Rohtak DeependerSingh Hooda and daughter-in-law Sweta Mirdha. Hooda is asitting legislator from GarhiSampla-Kiloi.
After casting his vote,Hooda, who was Congress’face in the Haryana poll cam-paign, exuded confidence thathis party will make a comeback
in the assembly polls. Hittingout at the Khattar government,he told reporters, “Haryana,which was number one in allthe spheres during our time,now leads in unemploymentand crime.”
On the BJP making scrap-ping of Article 370 in Jammuand Kashmir a big poll issue inHaryana, he said, “The entirecountry knows my stand. I havesaid it is not an issue anymoreas it has become a law. But theyraised this issue because theyhad nothing to talk about theirperformance,” he said.
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Dushyant Chautala, who isleading young outfit
Jannayak Janta Party, a break-away faction of Indian NationalLok Dal (INLD), reached thepolling booth in Sirsa by ridingon a tractor.
His mother NainaChautala and his wife were rid-ing with him. DushyantChautala is contesting fromUchana Kalan in Jind district.
Talking to the media, hesaid, “People are looking for achange and that is why wereached the polling booth with
a mode of transportation thatis our identity.” He admittedthat support extended by rebelstate Congress chief AshokTanwar would help his partygetting maximum seats.
“Boond-boond se sagarbharta hai (every drop con-tributes to the ocean). So ispeople (Tanwar) joining ourparty -- strengthening ourbase,” he added. Dushyant alsoleveled allegation of “bogusvoting” in connivance with apolice official at a booth inDumerkha Kalan village of theUchana Kalan Assembly con-stituency.
More than 60 per cent, outof 7.68 lakh eligible vot-
ers, on Monday exercised theirfranchise in 11-hour-longpolling process to seal the fateof as many as 33 candidates ofPunjab’s four assembly seg-ments in the electronic votingmachines (EVMs).
Amidst stray instances ofminor scuffle and clashes, 62.33per cent (as per figures avail-able till the filing of the report)polling was reported onMonday in the bypoll toDakha, Mukerian, Phagwara,and Jalalabad Assembly con-stituencies in the State.
The results of the electionswill be declared on October 24,Thursday.
Maximum 71.64 per centpolling was witnessed inDakha assembly segment fromwhere Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh’s close aideCapt Sandeep Sandhu hastaken his first politival plunge,against SAD’s former MLAManpreet Singh Ayali. In 2017,a polling percentage of 81.52percentage was recorded inDakha when Aam AadmiParty’s HS Phoolka emergedthe winner.
About 70 per cent pollingpercentage was recorded in
Jalalabad, against 86.91 percent recorded in 2017 elections.In Mukerian, the polling per-centage is 57.28 per cent against72.54 per cent in 2017, while49.96 per cent polling was wit-nessed in Phagwara against72.68 per cent during 2017elections.
The polling, which beganat 7 am at a slow pace, contin-ued even after the 6 pm dead-line as the voters who hadqueued up earlier were allowedto cast their vote for the total33 candidates who are in frayin four segments.
Long queues of voters wereseen at some polling stations, especially in ruralareas, while at some polling sta-tions, there were no voters inthe afternoon.
“The election to the fourassembly constituencies endedpeacefully.
We are expected that thepoll percentage of 62 per centwould increase further as thelatest updated reports areexpected from many areas,”said an election official.
The official said that therewas no report of any untowardincident in all the four assem-bly segments.
Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh also urgedvoters to judiciously exercisetheir franchise. “As Dakha,Jalalabad, Mukerian, andPhagwara go to polls today, Iurge the voters of these fourassembly constituencies to judi-ciously exercise their mostimportant democratic right &fulfil their duty by voting for astrong and prosperous Punjab,” Capt Amarinder saidin his tweet.
During previous elections,the SAD-BJP combine hadbagged two of the four assem-bly segments—Jalalabad andPhagwara, while one each waswon by the Congress(Mukerian) and the AAP(Dakha).
This time, the main contestis between the Congress andthe SAD-BJP combine.
While the SAD is contest-ing the Jalalabad and Dakhaseats, its ally BJP has fielded
candidates in Phagwara andMukerian.
On the Dakha seat, theCongress has fielded CaptSandeep Sandhu, political sec-retary to the Chief Minister.The SAD nominee from theseat is former MLA ManpreetSingh Ayali.
Meanwhile, the ElectionCommission, in its orders onOctober 20, issued directionsthat the Deputy Inspector General of LudhianaRange would take over super-vision of the model code ofconduct and other securitymeasures from the SSP (Rural)in Dakha assembly con-stituency.
The commission has alsodirected the DIG to keep awatch over the activities of theSSP (Rural) in Ludhiana.
The Akali Dal has lodgeda complaint against the SSP(Rural) and sought that he bereplaced, SAD senior vice-president Daljit Singh Cheemasaid on Monday.
The SAD has also com-plained against Congress MLA
Kulbir Singh Zira for alleged-ly “intimidating” voters ofDakha assembly segment.
The Dakha seat fell vacantfollowing the resignation of for-mer AAP leader and notedSupreme Court lawyer HSPhoolka from the state assem-bly.
In Phagwara (reserve), themain contest is betweenCongress candidate and formerIAS officer BS Dhaliwal andBJP’s Rajesh Bagha. Besides, theAAP, BSP and the Lok InsaafParty have also fielded theircandidates.
The Phagwara seat fellvacant after sitting MLA SomParkash was elected to the LokSabha from Hoshiarpur.
In Jalalabad, there is astraight contest between SAD’sRaj Singh Dibipura andCongress’s Raminder SinghAwla.
The seat fell vacant aftersitting MLA and SAD chiefSukhbir Badal was elected tothe Lok Sabha from Ferozepurparliamentary segment in the2019 general election.
From Mukerian, the BJPhas fielded Jangi Lal Mahajan.The Congress nominee isIndu Bala, the wife of lateCongress MLA Rajnish Kumar Babbi, whosedeath necessitated the by-
election.
RO RECOMMENDS LEGALACTION AGAINST AYALI
Dakha Returning OfficerAmarinder Singh Malhi hasrecommended a legal actionagainst SAD-BJP combine can-didate Manpreet Singh Ayaliafter the his main rival and theCongress candidate fromDakha, Capt Sandeep SinghSandhu, filed a complaintagainst him for allegedly vio-lating the election model codeof conduct.
Sandhu alleged that Ayaliappeared “live” on theFacebook and asked the peopleto press the button of SAD’selection symbol on Mondaymorning.
Following the complaint,Returning Officer wrote to theDSP to take required legalaction on this complaint.
MINOR SPAT BETWEENSAD, CONG WORKERSHeated arguments were report-ed between the Congress andAkali workers n some villagesincluding Mandiani andGorsian Kadar Baksh, of Dakhaassembly segment.
Congress workers alleged-ly ‘manhandled’ the grandsonof a former Akali sarpanch ofMandiani village outside the
polling booth. Gurmukh Singh,kin of the youth, said Congressworkers hurled abuses at theAkali worker.
It has been learnt thatmany political leaders fromoutside the constituency werepresent in area. Some Congressleaders from Ludhiana werespotted at Mullanpur-Dakhatown.
Ludhiana DeputyCommissioner Pradeep KumarAgrawal said that the pollingprocess has remained peacefultill now. There were complaintsabout a snag in two to threeEVMs but required measureswere immediately taken, hesaid.
MAN ARRESTED FOR“BUYING” VOTES
A man was arrested onMonday in Jalalabad assemblysegment for allegedly disburs-ing money to purchase votes. Awave of tension prevailed in thearea when SAD workers spot-ted a man at a polling boothdisbursing money to “buy”votes.
The man, from whome Rs40,000 were also recovered,was taken to the Jalalabad citypolice station and handed overto the police. SAD candidateRaj Singh Dibbipura alsoreached the city police station
and demanded action againstthe accused.
SAD leaders alleged thatone Ramesh Kumar of theneighbouring Guru Har Sahaiconstituency was allegedlyfound disbursing money tobuy votes.
CONG’S DHALIWALRECEIVES NOTICE FORPOLL VIOLATIONCongress candidate fromPhagwara and former IAS offi-cer Balwinder Singh Dhaliwalon Monday was given a noticeof explanation for code viola-tion as per election rules.
Dhaliwal was seen wearinga muffler printed with theword Congress and the party’ssymbol when he went to casthis vote at Booth no 184 in theMarket Committee premises.
The BJP polling agentobjected to this and informedthe former MLA and theUnion Minister of State forCommerce and Industry SomParkash, who immediatelylodged a complaint before theReturning Officer LatifAhmed and Observer SauravBhagat.
Besides issuing notice toDhaliwal, the Election Officersalso removed the entire staff atthe polling station and replacedthem.
At least 65 per cent ofHaryana’s 1.83 crore eligi-
ble electors cast theirvotes on Monday toseal the fate of 1,169candidates in the fray for90 Assembly constituencies,where the poll battle was main-ly between the ruling BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), its archrival the Congress and thefledgling party — JannayakJanta Party (JJP).
Polling began at 7 am andcontinued till 6 pm in theState. The results will bedeclared on October 24.
Minor incidents of clasheswere reported in district Nuh,Rohtak and Narnaul but over-all situation remained peacefulduring the voting.
Haryana Chief ElectoralOfficer Anurag Agarwal saidthat at least 65 per cent votinghas been recorded in the stateand the final poll figures arelikely to increase.
In the 2014 Assembly polls,Haryana had recorded thehighest-ever turnout of 76.54per cent.
The Chief Electoral Officersaid that elections were heldpeacefully in the State.
Agarwal said the com-plaints were received in someplaces about the problem ofoperation of EVM machineswhich was immediatelyresolved.
The places where the com-plaints related to EVMmachines kept near the win-dow was reported were imme-diately resolved and the EVMmachines were removed fromnear the window, he added.
ADGP, Law, and Order,Navdeep Singh Virk said thatthe election process across thestate was majorly peacefully
except for minor incidentsreported in some areas.
He said a total of13 FIRs have been
registered in the stateafter some complaintswere received. FIRsregistered included
seven in Nuh, fourin Rohtak and two inNarnaul area, he
said.At many places, great
enthusiasm was witnessedamong voters. From centenar-ians to youngsters, sportsper-sons to the general public,people queued up outsidepolling centres to vote for the90 Parliamentary seats inHaryana, where the BJP hopesto retain the power.
Pink booths manned onlyby women staff got an enor-mous response in major citieslike Karnal, Panipat,Gurugram, Faridabad andPanchkula. The pink pollingbooths had only women staff,including presiding officers,polling officers, microobservers and security per-sonnel.
In an attempt to encouragewomen voters’ participationin the polls, the ElectionCommission had set up thesepink polling booths, also calledSakhi booths with an all-women staff.
More than 75,000 person-nel from the State and Central Armed Police Forceswere deployed to ensure that noanti-social element causes anytrouble during polling in thestate. As many as 19,578 pollingstations and 153 auxiliarypolling booths were set up inthe State.
To cast his vote, HaryanaChief Minister Manohar LalKhattar first travelled byJanshatabdi Express from
Chandigarh to his hometown Karnal and thenrode a bicycle to the pollingbooth.
On the other hand,Dushyant Chautala, 31, who isleading young outfit JannayakJanata Party (JJP), a breakawayfaction of the once prominentIndian National Lok Dal(INLD), reached the pollingbooth in Sirsa by riding on atractor. His mother NainaChautala and his wife were rid-ing with him.
Wrestler-turned-politicianand BJP candidate from Dadri,Babita Phogat, cast her vote ather native village in Bhiwanialong with father MahavirPhogat and sister Geeta Phogat.BJP’s wrestler candidateYogeshwar Dutt cast his vote inSonipat district and formerIndian hockey captain SandeepSingh from Pehowa inKurukshetra district.
All the three athletes aregreenhorns and the BJP hasnever won the seats from wherethey are contesting theAssembly polls. According tothe Election Commission data,the constituencies that saw rel-atively higher polling includedTohana (80.56 per cent),Dabwali (78.20), Narnaund(77.75 per cent), Kaithal (77.79per cent), Bawani Khera (SC)(77.71 per cent), Fatehabad(76.70), Meham (76.45),Sadhaura (SC) (74 per cent),Narwana (SC) (73.10).
In Karnal Assembly con-stituency, from where the ChiefMinister Manohar Lal Khattaris seeking re-election, record-ed a moderate turnout of 49.30per cent. 67.10 per cent turnoutwas witnessed in Garhi-SamplaKiloi, from where former ChiefMinister and senior Congressleader Bhupinder Singh Hoodais seeking re-election.
Fewer voters turned out inBadshahpur (45 per cent),Panipat city (45 per cent),Faridabad (48.20 per cent),Karnal (49.30), Pataudi (SC)(50 per cent), Badkhal (51.30per cent), Ballabhgarh (52 percent), Gurgaon (51.20) andHisar (53.80).
Meanwhile, leaderDushyant Chautala levelledallegation of “bogus voting” inconnivance with a police offi-cial at a booth in DumerkhaKalan village of the UchanaKalan assembly constituency.
Dushyant Chautala, a for-mer MP from Hisar, is in the
fray from Uchana Kalan andcontesting against sitting BJPMLA Prem Lata, who is thewife of former Union MinisterBirender Singh.
Talking to the mediaper-sons, Dushyant said when heobjected to it, an attempt wasmade to hurl a glass at him bysome persons.
“When I said a woman’svote was cast in a bogus man-ner, five to six persons tried tohurl a glass at me. I have com-plained to the returning officerconcerned about the policeofficial and others,” the JJPleader alleged while demand-
ing that re-polling be held atthe booth.
A scuffle between sup-porters of the BJP and an inde-pendent candidate over allega-tions of electoral malpracticeswas reported at a polling boothin Arjun Nagar, Gurugram.
In another incident, awoman was injured as clashtook place between two groupsoutside a polling booth inMalaaka village in Nuh. Apolice official said that someargument broke out between apresent Sarpanch and formerSarpanch after which some oftheir supporters accompanyingthem clashed. Stones were alsohurled during which onewoman was injured.
Meanwhile, HaryanaDirector General of Police,Manoj Yadava said that pollingfor all 90 seats of StateAssembly was conducted in apeaceful manner.
All efforts to disrupt thepolling process were neu-
tralised as a result of energeticpatrolling by the concerned SP,DSP and SHO coupled witheffective action and decisiveintervention carried out sinceearly morning across the state,he added.
In Haryana, a total of 1,169candidates, including 105women and a transgender,were in the fray.
A total of 1.83 crore(1,83,90,525) voters, includ-ing 98.78 lakh males(98,78,042) and 85.12 lakhfemales (85,12,231), constitut-ed the electoral roll across thestate, which has a population of2.53 crore (according to Census2011). The total electors alsoincluded 1.07 lakh service vot-ers and 252 transgender voters.
The political parties in thefray were ruling BJP, theCongress, the Indian NationalLok Dal-Shiromani Akali Dalalliance, Jannayak Janta Party,Aam Aadmi Party, BahujanSamaj Party (BSP), Loktantra
Suraksha Party (LSP) andSwaraj India.
While the BJP, Congressand JJP are contesting on all 90seats, the BSP is in the fray on87 seats, and the INLD is con-testing on 81 seats.
The political analysts saythat the main contest is large-ly between the BJP and theCongress in the state.According to exit polls after theend of polling, the BJP is set toretain power with a biggermandate in Haryana.
Notably, the BJP has set atarget of winning over 75 seatsin the 90-member StateAssembly. Currently, the BJPhas 48 members in the stateassembly.
In 2014 Assembly polls, theBJP had won 47 seats followedby INLD’s 19 and 15 of theCongress.
Earlier this year in LokSabha polls, the BJP had man-aged to win all 10 parliamen-tary constituencies in Haryana.
�������� ( �)����� �����)Chandigarh: Prominentamongst those in the fray forState Assembly polls are ChiefMinister ML Khattar fromKarnal, former Chief Ministerand Congress Legislative Partyleader Bhupinder SinghHooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, Randeep SinghSurjewala from Kaithal, KiranChoudhary from Tosham,Kuldeep Bishnoi fromAdampur, Haryana AssemblySpeaker Kanwar Pal Gurjarfrom Jagadhri. Besides, JJP’sDushyant Chautala fromUchana Kalan, INLD’s AbhaySingh Chautala fromEllenabad, state BJP chiefSubhash Barala from Tohana,
lone woman minister KavitaJain from Sonipat, MinistersRam Bilas Sharma fromMahendergarh, Anil Vij fromAmbala Cantt, OP Dhankarfrom Badli and CaptAbhimanyu from Narnaund.Three sportspersons namelyBabita Phogat from Dadri,Yogeshwar Dutt from Barodain Sonipat and Sandeep Singhfrom Pehowa are also in thefray besides TikTok artistSonali Phogat from Adampur.
The prestige of families ofHaryana’s famous ‘Lals’ DeviLal, Bansi Lal and Bhajan Lal,who were former ChiefMinisters — is at stake in theelection.
The Late Bansi Lal’sdaughter-in-law KiranChoudharyand son RanbirMahendra (Badhra) are con-testing as Congress candidates.
Dushyant Chautala isbeing seen as the real inheri-tor of his great grandfather andformer Deputy Prime MinisterDevi Lal’s political legacy.
The Chautala clan in thepoll arena are Abhay Singh,Dushyant, Naina, Ranjit Singhand Aditya Devi Lal. So is hisestranged uncle and Devi Lal’sgrandson Abhay SinghChautala. Sitting legislatorNaina Chautala is contestingfrom Badhra in Bhiwani districtvia his son’s outfit JJP. PNS
Reiterating Punjab Police’sfirm commitment to assure
the well being of kin of Policemartyrs, the State DirectorGeneral of Police Dinkar Guptaon Monday said that the newpolicies for the well-being andprosperity of such families wasalready in the pipeline.
Gupta, addressing a gather-ing at the PAP complex after
paying tributes to the martyrs,said that the Punjab Police hasthe distinction of being one ofthe finest Police force across theworld.“Since 1981 till 2019, asmany as 2,719 Police officers orofficials have laid down theirlives while safeguarding theunity, integrity and sovereigntyof the country,” said Guptaadding that this tradition wasstill being kept alive by thebrave hearts of the Punjab Police.
“Punjab Police was com-mitted to ensure the well-beingof families of these officers andofficials who have laid downtheir lives for the country,”. Healso said that the policies for thewelfare of these families werebeing framed to ensure that theydo not face any sort of problemin life.“The families of the mar-tyrs are,in fact, the families of thenation and their interests wouldbe fully taken care of,” he said.
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The Delhi Government hasnotified the proposal of
the Delhi Police to raise themaximum speed limit on theNational Highway (NH-9)(earlier NH-24) fromMillennium Park to GhazipurBorder from 60 kmph to 70kmph for light vehicles such ascar, jeep and two-wheelers.
However, the speed limitfor the heavy motor vehiclessuch as goods carriage remainsthe same, 40 kmph.
The notification comesdays after the decision of thetraffic police to cancel the 1.4lakh challans issued for “speed-ing” on NH-9 — betweenMillennium Park and Ghazipur— since August as the speedcameras on the stretch were notcalibrated to allow 60kmph asmaximum limit.
As per the officials, theDelhi Traffic Oolice is also indiscussion with the TransportDepartment to explore ways torefund the money to the com-
muters who have paid finesthrough e-court.
Besides, the decision wasalso taken following the com-plaints of the commuters, whocontinuously raised the matterand confusion over the speedlimits set up by the NationalHighway Authority of India(NHAI).
“Moreover, many com-muters complaint that signboards installed by the civicagency is 70 kmph, while thetraffic police issued challanfollowing the norms of 60kmph. Following, which thetraffic police decided to go bythe limits set up by the NHAI,”said an official.
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From Page 1The Government has consistently urged Pakistan that in def-
erence to the wishes of the pilgrims, it should not levy a fee, itsaid. While agreeing to sign the agreement, the Pakistani gov-ernment has been once again been urged to reconsider its insis-tence to levy service fee on pilgrims, it said, adding India wouldbe ready to amend the agreement accordingly at any time. Thecorridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’sPunjab with the gurdwara at Kartarpur, just about four kilome-tres from the international border, located at Shakargarh inNarowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province.
India and Pakistan had planned to open the corridor in earlyNovember before the year-long celebrations to mark the 550thbirth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhismwho had spent more than 18 years at the Kartarpur gurdwara,located on the banks of the river Ravi. In November 2018, Indiaand Pakistan had agreed to set up the border crossing linkingGurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final resting place ofGuru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak.
The foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor was laid inPunjab’s Gurdaspur district by Vice President M Venkaiah Naiduin November last year.
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From Page 1Earlier, Attorney General K
K Venugopal told a Bench ofJustices Arun Mishra andShripathi Ravindra Bhat that theCentre has revised its offer from200 square metre area for thetemple to 400 square metre keep-ing in view the faith and senti-ments of devotees.
The Bench directed theCentre to constitute within sixweeks a committee for the con-struction of the temple in the areaearmarked for it. The Bench saidthat nobody will carry out anycommercial activity in the area inand around the place earmarkedfor temple. The top court alsodirected that persons who werearrested during agitations fol-lowing the demolition of thetemple be released on furnishingof personal bond.
From Page 1The nearest airport to
Siachen is located at Thoise andtroops board and deboard thereto serve a stint at the glacier orreturning after finishing theterm which lasts about three tofour months.
As regards the bridge inLadakh, the ‘Colonel ChewangRinchen Setu’ was constructedby the Border RoadsOrganisation (BRO) at an alti-tude of 14,650 feet in the for-ward area of Ladakh region.
“This bridge has been com-pleted in record time. It will notonly provide all weather con-nectivity in the region but alsobe a strategic asset in the bor-der areas,” Singh tweeted afterthe inaugural ceremony.
He also tweeted that Indiashares cordial relations withChina and while there are“perceptional differences”between both the countries onthe boundary issue but “theissue has been handled withgreat maturity and responsibly.”
“Both the countries havenot allowed the situation toescalate or go out of hand,” hestated. Construction started in2007 and the bridge is 4.5
meters wide and 1400 ft longand has a load carrying capac-ity of 70 tonnes. It will be boostroad connectivity from Drabukto Daulat-Beg-Oldie (DBO).This is part of strategic roadsunder construction to facilitatefaster movement of the mili-tary.
According to informationgiven in Parliament by Ministerof State for Defence ShripadNaik in July 2019, a revisedLong Term Roll on WorksPlan of Border RoadsOrganisation for five years(2018-19 to 2022-23) has beenformulated forconstruction/improvement of272 roads of length 14,545 kmin border areas.
“Out of these 272 roads, 61roads of length 3323.57 km havebeen identified as strategic.Work has been completed on2304.65 km and work on bal-ance stretches is in progress,”Naik had stated in a writtenreply adding that in addition tomeeting the operational require-ment, these roads on comple-tion, “would also enhance acces-sibility to border areas where theborder infrastructure and for-ward connectivity is lacking.”
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From Page 1Meanwhile, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)
leader Dushyant Chautala, who is locked ina tough contest with outgoing MLA Prem Lata of the BJP in Uchana Kalanassembly constituency alleged “boguspolling” in the Dumarkha village of the con-stituency.
Dumarkha is the native village of PremLata who is wife of former Union Ministerand Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh. Herson Brijendra Singh is the MP from HisarLok Sabha constituency.
Following this, DC Aditya Dahiya andSP Ashwin Shenvi reached the spot andadditional force was deployed in Dumarkhavillage.
Dahiya claimed that they had not comeacross any video proof or other evidence ofthe incident.
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The Government of India’s decision to import semen of Gir bulls from Brazilsupposedly to promote indigenous breeds of cows has led to protests in
Gujarat and Maharashtra. Now opposition to this plan is also being expressedin Haridwar.
The milk of indigenous cows of India contains an effective A2 beta-caseinprotein that gets broken down into amino acids for easy digestion. This milkis known for its natural sweetness, as an immunity booster and for nourish-ing body tissues helping in growth and development of a child's brain.
But every second cow reared in the state is either Jersey of ‘Dogali’ (mixbreed). Pure desi cow is becoming rarer to find. In the rush to have more milkproduction the small dairy farmers are falling prey to the cow breeders whoare providing only hybrid varieties.
Manoj Bahukhandi of water works colony who recently bought a hybridGir cow said that pure desi breed costs him more. "Dogali is cheaper than orig-inal Gir. Moreover it gives only 10 to 15 litres a day while mix breed gave himover 35 litres a day which he could sell and earn profit."
The religious fraternity has expressed concern over the rising mix breedsdemand in the country while the pure-breeds like indigenous Gir have beenrelegated to the background. Talking to The Pioneer, Swami Sharad Puri ofJuna Akhada said, “We must not tamper with the original breed of the cow.That is against the law of nature. Do experiments if you wish but save the orig-inal breed.”
Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Monday approvedprocurement of �3,300 croreworth of indigenously designedand developed equipmentincluding anti-tank guidedmissiles(ATGM). The DAC isthe apex body to give the nodfor acquisitions by the armedforces.
Giving details of the deci-sions taken on Monday, offi-cials later said maintaining itsimpetus on the 'Make in India'initiative, the DAC accordedapproval for three projects to beindigenously designed, devel-oped and manufactured by theIndian industry.
The first two projectsinclude third generationATGM and the AuxiliaryPower Units (APUs) for the T-72 and T-90 Tanks. While thethird generation ATGM wouldprovide 'Fire and Forget' and
"Top Attack" capabilities to thetroops in an armoured battle,the APUs would enable incor-poration of various upgrades toFire Control System and NightFighting capabilities of theTanks.
Both these projects will beprogressed under the 'Make-II'Category and will provide aboost to indigenous researchand development in the privatesector. With this, for the firsttime the Defence Ministry hasoffered complex military equipment to be designed,developed and manufacturedby the Indian private industry.
The third indigenous pro-ject pertains to discreteElectronic Warfare (EW) sys-tems for the mountain andHigh Altitude terrain, whichwould be designed and devel-oped by the Defence Researchand Development Organisation(DRDO)and manufactured bydesign cum production partnerfrom the Indian industry.
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Union Home Minister AmitShah on Monday assured
police personnel that theGovernment will undertaketime-bound steps to ensuregood working environment tothem besides looking aftertheir health and family welfare.
Addressing a joint columnof police and paramilitary per-sonnel after paying homage topolice martyrs, Shah saidIndia's stride into the world asa powerful nation is ensured bythe work of these men andwomen in khaki who renderdedicated national service.
Shah said the police isdoing an onerous task as againstthe benchmark 222 personnelfor 1 lakh citizens, only 144 arepresent on the ground. This isthe reason why about 90 percent of police personnel have torender duties of over 12 hourseach day and about three-fourth of them cannot even takea weekly off, he said.
"My Government has donea lot for police welfare and I canassure that we will be doingmore work, taking more stepsto ensure health, housing, fam-ily welfare and a good workingenvironment for you in a time-bound manner," Shah saidwhile addressing the troops onthe occasion of the police com-
memoration day. Shah said that on the occa-
sion of the police commemo-ration day, he and the citizensof the country pay a humbletribute to those who have madethe supreme sacrifice in the lineof duty, as also their families."When we see police work in anormal way, it looks usual butwhen we change the perspectivewe understand that the devel-opment strides our country istaking is due to the dedicate andsilent service of these police-men," Home Minister said.
From tackling terrorists toinsurgents and Naxals to man-aging traffic on the road, all isdone by the police personnel,he said. Shah added policeforces are responsible for ensur-ing a strong position and theidentity of an emerging powerfor India in the comity ofnations. "I can assure thepolice personnel that thismemorial will become an insti-tution that will tell the worldabout the tale of valour of thepolice personnel of the country, he said.
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Congress leaders continue tovoice opinion different
than the party line. And seniorCongress leader AbhishekManu Singhvi did so for thesecond time in recent times ashe praised Hindutva ideologueVinayak Damodar Savarkar onMonday terming him an"accomplished man" whoplayed a part in the freedomstruggle, fought for Dalit rightsand went to jail for the country.
His remark came days afterthe BJP's Maharashtra unitproposed 'Bharat Ratna' forhim prompting the Congress tohit out at the ruling dispensa-tion. The Congress saidSavarkar, though acquittedlater, had faced criminal trial inthe murder of MahatmaGandhi.
Singhvi, however, said hedid not subscribe to Savarkar'sideology, while noting that onecannot agree with the jingoismor "violent elements ofSavarkar's nationalism" norwith his "vicious anti-Gandhism".
He said one can accept thatSavarkar was imbued bynationalist motives.Commonly known as Veer
Savarkar, he was an IndianIndependence activist, politi-cian, lawyer, writer, and theformulator of the Hindutvaphilosophy.
"I personally don't sub-scribe to Savarkar's ideologybut that doesn't take away thefact that he was an accom-plished man who played part inour freedom struggle, foughtfor Dalit rights and went to jailfor the country," the RajyaSabha MP tweeted with thehashtag 'never forget'.
In another tweet, he said,"The strength of Indian think-ing has been inclusive. Manystrands of the freedom move-ment have existed — one can-not agree with the jingoism orviolent elements of Savarkar'snationalism nor with hisvicious anti — Gandhism but
one can accept that he wasimbued by nationalist motives."
Singhvi's tweets came on aday when Maharashtra goes topolls to elect its newGovernment.
The Congress leader alsolauded Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for tappingsoft power of Bollywood tospread Mahatma Gandhi'smessage of 'swachhta' that, hesaid, will help maximize eye-balls on the issue.
"Surprised that Modi didnot invoke the powers of Viveks(Agni and Ober), Ash Pan,Kashmiri Pandit fromHimachal and Abhi Da tospread the message of Gandhiji.Maybe because he was lookingfor soft power and not sanghpower. Appreciation should begiven where it is due. Narendra
Modi tapping soft power ofBollywood to spread Gandhiji's message of Swachta will helpmaximize eyeballs on theissue," the Congress leader saidon Twitter.
The Maharashtra BJP'smanifesto for the October 21assembly elections had saidthe party will ask the NDA gov-ernment at the Centre to con-fer India's highest civilianaward on Savarkar and socialreformers Jyotiba Phule andSavitribai Phule.
Former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, at a pressconference in Mumbai lastweek, had said, "We are notagainst Savarkar ji, but we arenot in favour of the Hindutvaideology that Savarkar ji patro-nised and stood for either."
Singh had noted that IndiraGandhi as prime ministerissued a postal stamp inSavarkar''s memory.
Singhvi along with ShashiTharoor had recently backedhis Congress colleague JairamRamesh who had disapprovedof his party's stance of target-ing Modi on every issue andadvised the party to judge himon issues.
A host of Congress leadershave also defied the party lead-ership by coming out in sup-port of the Modi Government'sdecision to abrogate the specialstatus to Jammu & Kashmirunder Article 370. FormerCongress president RahulGandhi has been one of themost vocal critics of Modi'sArticle 370 move.
New Delhi: Fifteen years aftera man was convicted by a trialcourt for raping a woman, theSupreme Court has acquittedhim saying the 'victim' was nota "trustworthy witness" as shewas "blowing hot and cold" andchanging her stand from timeto time.
The apex court said thiswhile setting aside the judge-ments of the Andhra PradeshHigh Court as well as the trialcourt which had convicted theman.
In 2011, the high court hadupheld the September 2004verdict of the trial court whichhad convicted and sentencedhim to 10 years jail.
A bench of justices DeepakGupta and Surya Kant said thetrial court had "virtually con-victed" the man while relyingupon statements recorded bythe police and had totallybypassed the statements madeon oath before the court.
"It is the statement madeon oath in the court which hasto be the foundation of con-viction," the bench said.
"No doubt, it is true thatconviction in a case of rape canbe based on the sole testimo-ny of the prosecutrix. However,
there is one caveat, which is,that the statement shouldinspire confidence. This is acase of victim who is blowinghot and cold and changing herstand from time to time," thebench said while acquittingthe man.
According to the police, theman had raped the woman inDecember 2000 when she wason way home.
She informed her husbandabout the incident after return-ing home and an FIR waslodged based on their complaint, the police had said.
The apex court noted in itsorder that though the womanand her husband were the "twomain witnesses" in the case,both of them turned hostilebefore the trial court whilerecording of their statements. PTI
New Delhi: The SupremeCourt Monday stayed the crim-inal trial in the alleged sex CDcase involving ChhattisgarhChief Minister and seniorCongress leader BhupeshBaghel as an accused andsought his response on CBI'splea to transfer the matter outof the State.
A bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi was toldby Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for the CBI,that it was seeking transfer ofthe case out of Chhattisgarh astwo prosecution witnesses havecomplained to the probeagency that they have beenthreatened.
The bench, which alsocomprised Justices S A Bobdeand S A Nazeer, soughtresponse of the Chief Ministeron the CBI plea and in themeanwhile, stayed the ongoingtrial in the case.
Mehta said for the sake offair trial, the CBI has filed theplea seeking transfer of the caseout of the State as the accused
is now the Chief Minister andthere are chances of the wit-nesses getting coerced.
The CBI had registered acase in 2017 against Baghel,then Chhattisgarh Congresspresident, on a complaint thathe had allegedly tried to framethe then state PWD Ministerand BJP leader Rajesh Munatin the fake sex CD case.
Munat, the thenChhattisgarh PWD Minister inthe Raman Singh cabinet anda BJP leader, had filed a com-plaint against Baghel and seniorjournalist Vinod Verma forallegedly tarnishing his imagethrough a "fake" sex CD.
In 2017, Chhattisgarhpolice had swooped down onjournalist Verma's house inGhaziabad and had picked himup for conspiring with Baghelto allegedly tarnish the imageof the BJP leader.
The then State BJPGovernment had transferredthe case to the CBI which hasfiled the charge-sheet in thecase. PTI
New Delhi: The All IndiaMuslim Personal Law Board(AIMPLB) Monday filed a pleain the Supreme Court challenging the law whichcriminalises instant triple talaq.
The Muslim Women(Protection of Rights onMarriage) Act, 2019 makestalaq-e-biddat or any othersimilar form of talaq having theeffect of instantaneous andirrevocable divorce pronounced by a Muslim husband void and illegal.
It makes it illegal to pronounce talaq three times inspoken, written or throughSMS or WhatsApp or any otherelectronic chat in one sitting.
Any Muslim husband whopronounces the illegal form oftalaq upon his wife is to bepunished with imprisonment for a term whichmay extend to three years, and also be liable to fine, it says. PTI
New Delhi: No stay onMumbai metro car shed projectin Aarey Colony but status quoon felling of trees: SC
New Delhi, Oct 21 (PTI)There is no stay on the con-struction of the Mumbai Metrocar shed at Aarey Colony, theSupreme Court said onMonday, clarifying that its sta-tus quo order is applicableonly on felling of trees there.
The top court asked theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) to submit areport on the number of treescut, afforestration and trans-plantation being carried out inlieu of felling of trees at Mumbai'sprominent green lung.
A bench of justices ArunMishra and Deepak Gupta wasassured by Solicitor GeneralTushar Mehta, appearing for theBMC, that no further felling oftree is being done in Aareycolony and complete status quois being maintained followingthe apex court's last order.
A counsel, appearing forthe PIL petitioners seekingstay on felling of trees, allegedthat in the garb of clearing oftrees from the area, the con-
struction work for the projectis going on.
"There is not stay on themetro car shed project. Ourstatus quo order is with respectto felling of trees," the benchobserved, adding that its inter-im order on stay on felling oftrees would continue till furtherorders.The top court asked theBMC to submit a status reporton the activities proposed inthe Aarey forest area.
"Tushar Mehta, SolicitorGeneral appearing on behalf ofthe Municipal Corporation,Mumbai, has prayed for time tosubmit response to the peti-tions, which have been filed.
"We have requested thesolicitor general to place onrecord as to what other activitiesare proposed in Aarey ForestArea, is there any project of con-struction of the building in theoffing, or has been sanctioned",the bench said in its order. Thetop court also asked the MumbaiMetro to submit pictures of theafforestration, transplantation,measurement of girth and heightof trees planted, and tree fellingdone in the area by November15. PTI
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The fast track trial court onMonday took cognisance of
the chargesheet filed by the CBIin the INX Media bribery caseagainst former Finance andHome Minister PChidambaram and 13 others,who are accused of variousoffences, including those underthe Prevention of CorruptionAct. Special Judge Ajay KumarKuhar had ordered productionof Chidambaram on October24 and summoned otheraccused including son Karti onNovember 29.
During the brief argument,CBI explained the role ofChidambaram and officials inthe Finance Ministry in illegallyapproving FIPB clearance toINX Media and saving themfrom the Income Tax prosecu-tion. The Prosecutors alsoexplained about the moneytrail from INX Media to Karti'sfirms and said that investiga-tion on this regard is still onand SupplementaryChargesheet may be filed.
Before taking cognisance,Special Judge Kuhar put vari-ous queries to the CBI includ-ing who were cheated. "TheGovernment was cheated,"advocate Padmini Singh,appearing for the probe agency,said, adding that the requisitesanctions were received to
prosecute the accused persons.
The court took cognisanceof the report and directed theEnforcement Directorate,which is currently interrogat-ing P Chidambaram in its cus-tody in a related money laun-dering case, to produce himbefore it on October 24, whenthe 74 years old custody isscheduled to end.
Meanwhile, SupremeCourt's Bench headed byJustice Banumathi will deliverjudgment on Chidambaram'sbail petition in the CBI case onTuesday. As the formerMinister is currently in ED'scustody, getting out from jail isnot possible now even if theapex court gave favourableorders .
Besides Karti and PeterMukerjea, who are currently onbail, and chartered accountantS Bhaskaraman, who is cur-rently on anticipatory bail inthe case, the court also sum-moned others, including vari-
ous former and current publicservants.
Those summoned includeSindhushree Khullar, the thenadditional secretary, depart-ment of economic affairs(DEA); Ajeet KumarDungdung, the then sectionofficer of FIPB unit (MoF);Rabindra Prasad, the thenunder secretary of FIPB unit;Pradeep Kumar Bagga, thethen OSD, DEA; PrabodhSaxena, Director of FIPB Unitand Anup K Pujari, the thenJoint Secretary (Foreign Trade)in the DEA.
The court also summonedINX Media Pvt Ltd, presently9X Media Pvt Ltd; INX NewsPvt Ltd, presently Direct News;Chess Management ServicesPvt Ltd and AdvantageStrategic Consulting Pvt Ltd(ASCPL) through their repre-sentatives.
The chargesheet is filedunder sections 120-B (criminalconspiracy), read with 420(cheating), 468 (forgery forpurpose of cheating), 471(using as genuine a forgeddocument or electronic record)of IPC and various sections ofthe Prevention of CorruptionAct, including section 9 (takinggratification, for exercise ofpersonal influence with publicservant). The maximum punishment for these offencesis seven years.
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The Centre has notified onekm area as Eco-Sensitive
Zone (ESZ) around SouthernIndia's Melaselvanoor-Keelaselvanoor Bird Sanctuaryin Tamil Nadu, the biggesthome to various migratoryand endangered winged birds,prohibiting activities such asmining and tourism that is haz-ardous for fragile eco-system ofthe wetland. At least 16,000birds belonging to 45 speciesflock the region every year.
"The move to declare onekm 'shock-absorber' aims toensure scientific conservationaround the wetland which wit-ness a variety of migratorybird species arriving from dif-ferent countries for feedingand nesting purpose particu-larly during winter season. Atleast 16,000 birds belonging to45 species have been listed inthe region," said an officialfrom the Union EnvironmentMinistry about the notification.
He said that envisagingsuccessful management mea-sures will attract more breed-ing species and winteringspecies to enhance the diversi-ty which in turn will attractmore tourists, birdwatchersand students.
Basically, theMelaselvanoor -Keelaselvanoor Bird Sanctuary,located near Sayalkudi inRamanathapuram district, is an
irrigation tank that is used forstoring water for agriculturerecharged by the northeastmonsoons from October tillJanuary and the tank remainscompletely dry from March toAugust. As the Sanctuary isbasically an irrigation tank,there is no natural forest with-in it.
Following notification, allactivities in the ESZ shallhenceforth be governed by theprovisions of the Environment(Protection) Act, 1986 andcarefully regulated.
The sanctuary is one of thepreferred nesting sites forheronry species and colonialbirds migrating to South India.The feathered visitors flockthe sanctuary from October toFebruary. The wetland is irreg-ular in depth and retains waterfor 3 to 5 months, if rain is nor-mal.
Winged birds like pelican,painted stork, eurasian spoonbill, white ibis, darter, flamin-go and water birds viz, com-
mon coot, pin tail, garganey,egrets, cormorants, blackwinged stilt, kingfisher, com-mon myna, brahminy kite,spotted owlet important birdspecies found in the Sanctuaryincludes, white ibis, black ibis,open-billed stork, egrets,mynas, teals, ducks, darters,herons, pelicans, etc are regu-lar visitor to the region.
Spread over 593 hactres,the Sanctuary is home to fau-nal species also which includeIndian grey mongoose, Indianpalm squirrel, jackal, Indianflying fox, black-naped hareand bandicoot rat, etc whilerare species are great cor-morant, purple heron, yellowbittern, chestnut bittrem, blackbittern, comb duck, northernshoveller, common teal andpied crested cuckoo amongothers.
The sanctuary is sur-rounded by three villages hav-ing a total population of about6000 people.
Following the notification,the State Government has beenasked to prepare zonal masterplan within a period of twoyears, in consultation with thelocal people. It shall regulatedevelopment in Eco-sensitiveZone and adhere to prohibited,regulated activities listed intable and also ensure and pro-mote eco-friendly develop-ment for livelihood security oflocal communities, said theofficial.
In a clear indication of voterapathy resulting in more
than three per cent drop in thepolling percentage from the2014 election, an estimated60.46 per cent of 8.98 crore reg-istered voters on Monday exer-cised their franchise in theMaharashtra Assembly polls.
On day when the exit pollspredicted a clear victory for theruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance inthe polls, the voters acrossMaharashtra were not asenthusiastic as they were in the2014 Assembly polls when63.08 per cent of the total elec-torate had turned out to vote.
Even in Mumbai whichhad registered a respectable 52per cent of polling 2014 polls,there considerable drop in thepolling, despite fervent appealsmade to people by senior polit-ical leaders, Bollywood per-sonalities and cricketers toturn out and vote in largenumbers.
Karvir constituency inKolhapur district of westernMaharashtra recorded thehighest polling percentage of84.05, followed by Kagal inKolhapur district (82.50 percent), Shirala in Sangli district(78.97 per cent) and Shahuwadi(78.87). Ulhasnagar con-stituency in Thane districtrecorded the lowest pollingpercentage of 38.22, followedAmbernath also in Thane dis-trict (39.71 per cent), Versovaconstituency in north-westMumbai (41.59 per cent) andColaba in south Mumbai(46.20 per cent).
The polling began on a rel-atively dull note and picked uppace in most parts of the Stateduring the afternoon. However,in Mumbai — a city that is longknown for its voter-apathy, thepolling remained dull allthrough the day.
Legendary cricketer SachinTendulkar and Bollywood per-sonalities turned out in largenumbers and tried to pep upenthusiasm among the votersin the metropolis. Several ofthem made appeals to the vot-ers to turn out and exercisetheir rights. Sachin Tendulkar
cast his vote at the Bandra Westconstituency along with wifeAnjali and their son Arjun.
Shiv Sena presidentUddhav Thackeray, his wifeRashmi, elder son and YuvSena chief Aditya and youngerson Tejas exercised their fran-chise at booth near theirBandra residence. Aditya iscontesting the Assembly pollsfrom Worli constituency fromMumbai south-central con-stituency.
Maharashtra ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis,who led the BJP-Shiv Senaalliance campaign in the state,cast his vote along with wifeand mother in Dharmpetharea in Nagpur. He is contest-ing from Nagpur South WestAssembly constituency.
NCP founder-presidentSharad Pawar, who led theCongress-NCP campaign inMaharastra, exercised his fran-chise from a polling station atTardeo in south Mumbai. Hisdaughter and NCP MP SupriyaSule exercised her franchisefrom in her home town ofBaramati.Union MinisterPiyush Goyal cast his vote
from the Malabar Hill con-stituency.
Other bigwigs like RSSchief Mohan Bhagwat, unionministers Nitin Gadkari, SmritiIrani, Ramdas Athawale andPiyush Goyal cast their votesat different places inMaharashtra.
Other politicians like RajThacekray, Narayan Rane andChandrakant Patil, EknathKhadse, State and CentralMinisters voted along withtheir families and appealed topeople to step out of theirhomes and cast their votes.
Among other politicianswho voted were: AshokChavan, Sushilkumar Shinde,Prithviraj Chavan, BalasahebThorat, Vijay Wadettiwar,Sachin Sawant, NationalistCongress Party’s leaders SharadPawar, nephew Ajit Pawar,daughter Supriya Sule, NawabMalik, Dhananjay Munde,Sunil Tatkare, Jitendra Awhad,and other heavyweights.
The film personalitiesmade their presence felt at thevoting booths across theMumbai. They included:Aamir Khan and his wife
Kiran, Gulzar and daughterMeghna Gulzar, Salman Khanand his father Salim Khan,Shah Rukh Khan and wifeGauri, Shabana Azmi and herhusband Javed Akhtar,Madhuri Dixit, Hema Malini,Urmila Matondkar, JohnAbraham, Dia Mirza, KareenaKapoor, Lara Dutta, DeepkiaPadukone, Prem Chopra,Govinda, Subhash Ghai, VarunDhawan, Anil Kapoor, PadminiKolhapure, Vidya Balan, JayaBachchan, son AbhishekBachchan and Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan.
Apart from Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis and ShivSena leader Aditya Thackeray,prominent candidates in thefray are: former Chief MinistersAshok Chavan (Bhokar),Prithviraj Chavan (KaradSouth), Maharashtra BJP pres-ident Chandrakant Patil(Kothrud), Sharad Pawar’sgrand nephew Rohit Pawar(Karjat-Jamkhed), late BJPleader Gopinath Munde’sdaughter s Pankaja Munde andnephew Dhananjay Munde(Parli) and Nitesh Rane(Kankavli).
Mumbai: Nationalist CongressParty (NCP) chief SharadPawar expressed confidencehere on Monday that there willbe a change of guard inMaharashtra after theAssembly elections.
Voting for the 288Assembly seats in the Statebegan at 7 am on Monday. TheBJP-Shiv Sena combine, whichousted the Congress and NCPfrom power in 2014, is seekinga second term this time.
Pawar, his grand-daughterRevati Sule and son-in-lawSadanand Sule voted at apolling booth in south Mumbaiin the morning.
“Youngsters want change.The BJP and Shiv Sena ruledthe State and people hopedtheir expectations would be ful-filled. That trust, however, has
been betrayed,” Pawar toldreporters afterwards.
Maharashtra lagged behindin sectors such as agricultureand industries, and there werejob losses too, the formerUnion Minister claimed.
“All this has created rest-lessness among people...I gotgood response across the state(during the campaigning). I donot have any doubt that therewill be a change,” he said.
Election results will be outon October 24. PTI
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In a rare instance, polling offi-cials in Deolali Assembly
constituency in Nashik dis-trict on Monday applied theindelible ink to one of the toesof a farmer who had lost hisarms in an accident a fewyears ago.
In another incident, vil-lagers joined tractor trolleystogether in Baramati con-stituency in Pune district sothat voters can reach a pollingbooth avoiding waterloggedarea of the polling station.
In Deolali, the polling offi-cer applied the indelible link toone of toes of Bajirao Mojad,who had lost both his arms inan accident.
Mojad has been exercisinghis franchise with an assistantsince the mishap.
On the Baramati incident,an Election Commission offi-cial in Pune said thatKalambeshwar polling stationis located in the local government-run school but itsentire ground remained sub-merged blocking the entranceof voters.
“Six trolleys were connect-ed to each other creating some50-feet long bridge, which isnow used by all the voters.Permission of local pollingofficials was sought,” he said.
Senior NCP leader AjitPawar is in the fray fromBaramati constituency againstBJP’s Gopichand Padalkar.
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Pune: Maharashtra BJP presi-dent and State MinisterChandrakant Patil, who is con-testing from Kothrud con-stituency here, claimed onMonday that he will win witha huge margin.
Patil was speaking toreporters before heading forKolhapur, his native city, to casthis vote.
“Since the 2014 elections,people’s faith in politics andpoliticians has increased, andthe reason is the transparentgovernment of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi,” he said.
He was seeing huge enthu-siasm among voters sinceMonday morning as the pollingbegan, and “body language” ofvoters showed that the BJP-ShivSena alliance will win a hugevictory, Patil said.
He will win the Kothrudseat by a margin of “1.60 lakhvotes”, he claimed.
The BJP fielded Patil fromKothrud by denying ticket to itssitting MLA Medha Kulkarni,sparking protests in parts ofconstituency.
Patil’s main rival is MNS’sKishor Shinde, who has beensupported by Congress andNCP. PTI
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Haryana recorded a turnoutof voters of 65.5 per cent
for 90 constituencies in theAssembly elections whileMaharashtra recorded nearly60.25 per cent voters turn outfor 288 Assembly seats onMonday.
According to the ElectionCommission (EC), the figure ofvoter turnout is provisional, andmay rise slightly. The highestvoter turnout has been record-ed in Karvir at 79.19 per centwhile lowest turnout registeredin Kasbapeth at 36.08 per centin Maharashtra. The highestvoter turnout has been record-ed in Fatehabad at 72 per centwhile the lowest in Pataudi at 36per cent in Haryana. Over4,400 candidates —1169 inHaryana and 3,237 inMaharashtra have contestedthis election. Haryana hadrecorded 76.54 per cent voterturnout while 64 per cent voterin Maharashtra had exercised
their franchise in 2014. “Polling was by and large
peaceful but affected due torainfall in several parts ofMaharashtra. Reports of elec-tronic voting machines glitch-es were also received fromsome parts of Maharashtra.Barring a stray incident inNuh district, polling was violence-free in Haryana,”the EC said.
According to the EC,seizure of cash, drugs and free-bies aimed at inducing voters inAssembly polls in Maharashtraand Haryana have seen a mas-sive jump as compared to thelast elections. Addressing apress conference here after the
conclusion of the polls in thetwo States, Director General(Expenditure) in the EC, DilipSharma said in Maharashtrathe overall seizure stood at�156.94 crore. It included�60.69 crore in cash, over 23crore worth of liquor and drugsworth �19.5 crore.
In the 2014 Assembly polls,the total seizures were to thetune of �30 crore. “It is a fivetime jump,” he said. Sharma said in Haryana, thejump is three times the previ-ous figures.
In the 2014 Assembly polls,the total seizure was �8.58crore and this time, it was�24.17 crore. Referring to thereplacement of control units,ballot units and paper trailmachines in the two States onMonday, Deputy ElectionCommissioner Sudeep Jaintold reporters that inMaharashtra, 525 ballot units,481 control units and 2,800paper trail machines werereplaced.
Thane: A Bahujan Samaj Party leader on Monday threwink on the EVM in a polling booth situated in Thane Head Post Office, police said.
Sunil Khambe, a local levelleader, threw ink on themachine after he had cast hisvote in the Assembly polls inprogress statewide, an official said.
A video of his act waswidely circulated soon after onsocial media.
While being bundled intothe police van, Khambe toldreporters that he did this asEVMs were making a “mock-ery of democracy”.
“EVMs should bereplaced with ballot papers.This is the demand of thepeople of the country. EVMsmurdabad (down withEVMs),” he shouted out toreporters before beingwhisked away to a nearbypolice station. PTI
Aurangabad: AIMIM MPImtiaz Jaleel received minorinjuries in a clash betweenworkers of the NCP and hisparty in Aurangabad Centralassembly constituency inMaharashtra on Monday, thepolice said.
Elecions to the MaharashtaAssembly were held onMonday. The incident tookplace near a polling booth inKatkat Gate locality, a localpolice official said.
There was a scufflebetween workers of the AllIndia Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen and the NationalistCongress Party, and when Jaleelintervened, he too was attackedby unidentified men, said alocal police official.
Deputy Commissioner ofPolice Rahul Khade said it wasa minor scuffle, and the situa-tion was under control.
Poll-related altercationswere also reported inLotakaranja, Harsul andBaijipura areas of the city. PTI
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Mumbai: Senior NCP leaderChhagan Bhujbal on Mondaysaid he could not cast his vote inthe Maharashtra assembly elec-tions on Monday as he was busyin the Yevla Assembly con-stituency in Nashik district fromwhere he is seeking anotherterm.
Bhujbal is a registered voterin Nashik city. “I was in my con-stituency, which is big in size. Ifanned parts of the constituen-cy since this morning. I couldnot even cover all parts of it,”Bhujbal told a news channel.Meanwhile, the former deputychief minister claimed that hewould win with a margin of atleast one lakh votes. He alsoexuded confidence that theCongress-NCP combine willbag at least 12 of the total 15seats in the region. PTI
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Faulty EVMs delayed pollingat some booths in
Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri andBhandara districts on Monday,an official said. Polling was alsohalted for sometime at a boothin Worli area of Mumbai due toa technical error, he said.
The State Congress unitalso sent 187 complaints to theElection Commission of mal-functioning of EVMs.
In Ratnagiri’s Dhamangaonvillage, polling was stopped ata booth from 8.30 am to 10 amdue to a technical fault in theelectronic voting machine(EVM), he said.
The EVM glitch also halt-ed the polling process at abooth in KalambanGavhanwadi village in
Ratnagiri since 9.42 am, hesaid, adding that votingresumed there around 12.30pm.
In Bhandara district,polling was disrupted from9.15 am to 9.35 am due to asimilar issue, he said.
Long queues were wit-nessed outside these pollingstations as the voting processwas disrupted.
In Mumbai, polling at acentre near the Doordarshanoffice in Worli area was haltedfor sometime due to a techni-cal error, the official said.
However, the issue wasresolved soon and pollingresumed, he added.
Meanwhile, the StateCongress sent 187 complaintsto the EC of malfunctioning ofEVMs at several booths.
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A102-year-old man, suffering from a heartailment, went straight to a polling booth
to cast his vote after being discharged from ahospital in Maharashtra’s Pune district onMonday.
Ibrahim Alim Joad, who, according to hisfamily, has never missed voting sinceIndependence, consulted his doctors beforegoing to vote. After he was granted permission,the centenarian was taken directly from theJehangir Hospital to a polling booth inWadgaon Sheri constituency where he cast hisvote along with around 50 other voters fromhis own family, his grandson Tanveer Joad said.
He was admitted to the hospital four daysback for a heart ailment, he said. “He has nevermissed voting since Independence. So whilehe was in the hospital, he expressed hisresolve to cast the vote this time also. After con-sultation with his doctors, he was given per-mission to cast his vote,” the grandson said.
Gadchiroli: A 45-year-old teacher posted on elec-tion duty in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district diedin hospital after fainting while walking towardsthe voting booth on Monday morning, an offi-cial said.
B a p uPandu Gavade,who was head-ing to the vot-ing booth witha polling partyfrom Deharibase camp,fainted mid-way in themorning near Pursalgondi village of Gadchiroli’sEtapalli area, he said.
“He used to get epileptic fits. He suffered headinjuries after he fainted. He was taken to Etapallihospital first and then to a bigger facility atChandrapur. Gavade, however, died during treat-ment,” the official said. PTI
Visuals of people engaged infisticuffs over non-receipt
of cash from the major con-testants for casting their votesin the bypolls held atVikravandi and Naguneri inTamil Nadu went viral even aspolling was underway in thetwo Assembly constituencies.
The one minute-long visu-als aired by Tamil news chan-nels featured voters who wereyet to get the money taking onthose who walked away withthe formers’ share of cash forvote. The policemen on duty
watched silently while thetroublemakers had a free run.
Assembly constituency ofVikravandi went to bypoll toelect the legislator in place ofthe DMK member who diedwhile by-election was necessi-tated in Nanguneri because ofthe resignation of VasanthKumar of the Congress whowas elected to the Lok Sabhafrom Kanyakumari in the May2019 polls.
While Vikravandi saw adirect fight between the DMKand the AIADMK, inNanguneri, the contest wasbetween the Congress (sup-ported by the DMK) and the
AIADMK which was support-ed by the constituents of theNDA.
The results of the by-pollwould not make any majorimpact in Tamil Nadu politicsas the ruling AIADMK has amoderate majority in theassembly which has an effec-tive strength of 234. “This wasone of the insipid and issuelessbypoll I have seen in my life.The DMK and the AIADMKwhich swear by castles andclassless society had turned theelection into a cash and castecontest,” said RaveendranDoraisamy, a political analystbaseda in Chennai.He pointed
out that both the parties hadfielded Vanniyar candidatesin Vikravandi where there isconsiderable Vanniyar popu-lation. In Nanguneri, theCongress and the AIADMKfielded candidates from theNadar community as the con-stituency has a considerableNadar population, pointed outDoraisamy.
He reiterated that elec-tions in Tamil Nadu are won by cash and caste and not byideology . No untoward inci-dents has been reported fromboth the constituencies exceptthe scuffles for cash for votesvisuals .
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556������ �� � #7���� ��� ! ��� �Jaipur: Mandawa and KhivsarAssembly segments inRajasthan witnessed 66 percent voting during the assem-bly bypolls on Monday.
As many as 12 candidates— nine in Mandawa and threein Khivsar — are in the frayfrom both constituencies
The election authoritieshad set up 259 polling stationsfor 2,27,414 voters in Mandawawhile 266 booths were set for2,50,155 electors in Khivsar.
Chief Electoral OfficerAnand Kumar said accordingto preliminary information,
69.62 per cent of electors casttheir vote in Mandawa ofJhunjhunu.
Around 62.61 per cent vot-ers turned up at polling boothsin Khivansar of Nagaur.
In the 2018 assembly elec-tions, the polling percentage inMandawa was 73.57 while inKhivsar it was 75.58.
Kumar said the pollingprocess was completed withoutany hindrance at 525 pollingbooths in both Assembly con-stituencies, adding that nountoward incident took placeduring voting. PTI
Ahmedabad: A 53.68 per centturnout was recorded in thebyelections to six Assemblyconstituencies in Gujarat onMonday.
Polling for the six seatsspread across various districtswas held between 8 am and 6pm. Counting of votes will betaken up on October 24.
The bypolls were held forTharad in Banaskantha dis-trict, Radhanpur in Patan,Kheralu in Mehsana, Bayad inArvalli, Amraiwadi inAhmedabad and Lunawadain Mahisagar district. By 6 pm,Tharad recorded the highest
turnout of 68.95 percent, whileAmraiwadi, an urban seat ofAhmedabad city, recorded thelowest 34.75 per cent polling.While Radhanpur seat record-ed 62.95 per cent turnout, itwas 61.01 per cent in Bayad. Itwas followed by Lunawada(51.23 per cent) and Kheralu(46.15 per cent), officials said.
No untoward incidenttook place during polling.
At Nani Hirvani village inKheralu, police found a manhanging from the fence of thecompound wall of a primaryschool, which was used as apolling booth. PTI
Thiruvananthapuram: Thebypolls to the five Assembly con-stituencies in Kerala was marredby heavy rain, especially inErnakulam, with the tentativeoverall voter turnout touching70 per cent.
No untoward incidents werereported, officials said.
As per the tentative figures,Aroor recorded the highestturnout of 80.26 per cent tillaround 7 pm, governmentsources said, adding heavy rainsmarred polling in Ernakulamwhere the voter turnout was thelowest — 57.67 per cent.
While the voter turnout inManjeshwaram touched 74.81per cent, in Konni it was 69.99per cent and Vattiyoorkavu62.59 per cent, the sources said.
A woman was arrested inManjeshwaram in Kasaragod
for impersonation as she alleged-ly tried to cast bogus vote in abooth.
She was later released onbail.
As voting drew to a close at6 PM, people in queues in var-ious booths were allowed to vote.
Heavy rains affected votingin the early hours in Ernakulamas voters waded through water-logged roads to exercise theirfranchise and water seeped intosome booths, while polling pro-gressed in the four other con-stituencies.
Chief Electoral officer TeekaRam Meena said 10 water-logged booths on the groundfloor were shifted to the firstfloor in Kochi.
Voting in Ernakulam wasnot affected, he said.
Except Manjeshwaram, the
constituencies of Konni,Vattiyoorkavu and Aroor werealso affected by rains till noon,but worst hit was Kochi city andnearby areas in Ernakulam.
A woman voter in Kochisaid this was the first time peo-ple had to exercise their fran-chise wading through knee-deep muddy water atAyyappankavu.
A 92-year-old man, whowas not allowed to vote as hecarried only a copy of hisvoter ID, returned with all hisidentity cards to vote despitethe rains. The electoratestrength in the five con-stituencies is 9.57 lakh. Theruling CPI(M)-led LDF, oppo-sition Congress headed UDFand BJP-led NDA are the threefronts which had locked hornsfor the five seats. PTI
����*�#�����%��-#����4�����<6:(����"��<=;�2:�������"���6�3���&������Patna: A total of 45 per centvoters' turnout was recorded inSamastipur Lok Sabha con-stituency, while 49.26 per centpolling was registered in thebypolls on five Assembly seatsin Bihar, which passed offpeacefully on Monday.
Out of 32,23,169 voters,49.26 per cent people exercisedtheir franchise on 3258 pollingstations in five Assembly con-stituencies of Kishanganj, SimriBakhtiarpur, Nathnagar, Belharand Daraundha in the by-elections in the state with a totalof 51, including 6 women can-didates, trying their luck in thefray. "Polling passed off peace-fully in all the five assemblyconstituencies and one LokSabha constituency for whichbypolls took place today," ChiefElectoral Officer (CEO), H RSrinivasa told reporters here.
While the by-poll inSamastipur has been necessi-tated by the death of sitting LJPMP Ramchandra Paswan,younger brother of the party'sfounding president RamvilasPaswan, the five assembly seg-ments have fallen vacant uponthe respective MLAs gettingelected to the Lok Sabha.
Kishanganj witnessed thehighest voters' turnout of 59.18per cent followed by 53.49 percent in Belhar, 52.50 in SimriBakhtiarpur, 43.20 inNathnagar while Daraundharecorded lowest electoral par-ticipation of 42.20 per cent atthe end of voting this evening,he said. PTI
Lucknow: Just over 47 percent of eligible voters exercisedtheir franchise in the bypollsto 11 assembly seats in UttarPradesh on Monday.
Polling began at 7 amamid tight security, officialssaid, adding that 47.05 percent of electors exercised theirfranchise.
Gangoh in Saharanpurdistrict saw the highestturnout with about 60.30 percent voters exercising theirfranchise.
In Lucknow Cantonment,only 28.53 per cent of eligibleelectors cast their vote.
Polling was by and largepeaceful in the state and therewere no report of any unto-ward incident, they said.
According to the office ofthe UP Chief Electoral Officer,among the other constituen-cies, Jalalpur witnessed 58.80per cent polling followed byZaidpur (58), Manikpur(52.10), Balha (52), Ghosi(51), Rampur (44), Pratapgarh(44), Iglas (36.20) andGovindnagar (32.60).
A significant dip was wit-nessed in polling in a major-ity of constituencies in com-parison with the 2017 assem-
bly elections.The polling percentage in
2017 stood at 71.92 per cent inGangoh followed by Zaidpur(69.71), Iglas (64.88), Jalalpur(62.55), Manikpur (59.44),Ghosi (58.67), Balha (57.83),Rampur (56.16), Pratapgarh(55.56), Govindnagar (52.48)and Lucknow Cantonment(50.77).
Polling was held up for acouple of hours after an elec-tronic voting machine (EVM)developed a snag at boothnumber 350 in Salhipur, areport from Pratapgarh said.
District Information
Officer Vijay Kumar said theEVM was replaced and thevoting had started.
Of the 11 seats, eight wereearlier held by the BJP and oneby its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal).
The seats of Rampur andJalalpur (Ambedkarnagar)were held by the SamajwadiParty and the Bahujan SamajParty, respectively.
The BJP, the BSP, the SPand the Congress have fieldedtheir candidates on all seats.
According to the office ofthe UP Chief Electoral Officer,109 candidates were in the frayfor the bypolls. PTI
Srinagar: It was a quiet birth-day for Lok Sabha parliamen-tarian and three-time chiefminister of Jammu andKashmir Farooq Abdullah,who is detained under strin-gent Public Safety Act (PSA), ashe turned 82 on Monday.
West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee wasamong the first ones to greet
Abdullah, whocontinues toremain confinedto his house.
" B i r t h d a ywishes to FarooqAbdullah Ji. These are difficulttimes for you. We stand by you.Please stay positive. We pray foryour good health@OmarAbdullah," she posted
on twitter.Abdullah was wished by
his wife Molly and daughterSafia who were permitted to seehim on Monday.
The former chief ministerhas been detained along withother political leaders of thestate since the Union govern-ment abrogated Article 370on August 5. PTI
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RSS chief Mohan Bhagwaton Monday said the Sangh
has been targeted since last 90years, but there is no need toworry as the society is one andwill always remain so.
Bhagwat also said he is "nota political person".
After he cast his vote inNagpur for the MaharashtraAssembly polls, some reportersasked him about the Congresstargeting the RSS over theissue of demand for BharatRatna award for Hindutva ide-ologue V D Savarkar.
Replying to it, Bhagwatsaid, "We have been targetedsince last 90 years. Hence, there is no need toworry as the society is one andwill always be one. It is politics,all this is part of it. But the society is one and will alwaysbe one."
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Nagpur: RSS general secretaryBhaiyyaji Joshi said on Mondaythat he did not think thatHindu leaders were unsafe inthe country, but added thattheir safety should be ensured.
Speaking to reporters here,he also said that Hindutva ide-ologue Vinayak DamodarSavarkar should get "suitable honour".
Joshi's statement aboutsafety to "Hindu leaders" camein the wake of murder of a for-mer leader of the faction ofHindu Mahasabha, KamleshTiwari, in Lucknow last week.
The senior RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh leader wasspeaking to reporters aftercasting his vote for theMaharashtra Assembly elec-tions in Mahal area here.
To a question if the Sanghfelt that "Hindu leaders areunsafe in the country", Joshisaid, "I don't feel they are
unsafe, but there is a need for(to ensure) their safety."
To a question about theallegation by Tiwari's motherthat the government was notworking in the interest of theHindus, Joshi said the govern-ment should give a reply to her,and it will.
Tiwari (45), president of lit-tle-known Hindu Samaj Party,was found murdered at hisLucknow home on Friday.
Five persons, includingthree from Gujarat, were takeninto custody in connectionwith the case.
Meanwhile, to a questionabout BJP's demand for BharatRatna for Veer Savarkar andopposition by some Congressleaders to the proposal, Joshisaid, "We don't know what theCongress is saying. We want thata person (Savarkar) who is aninspiration to the country shouldget suitable honour. PTI
. �1�����(���������������������� �����4�-,,����� Thiruvananthapuram: As the
North East Monsoon becamevigorous over Kerala, a 'redalert' has been sounded in 7districts on Monday with heavyto very heavy rains andextremely heavy falls beingforecast at isolated places overthe southern state and Mahe.
According to the KeralaState Disaster ManagementAuthority red alert has beenissued in Thiruvananthapuram,Alappuzha, Kottayam,Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissurand Palakkad on Monday andin four districts on Tuesday.
Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan has asked people to bevigilant.
The red alert is a call toimmediately take preventivesteps to evacuate people fromvulnerable areas to sheltercamps and provide others withemergency kits.
According to the IndianMeteorological Department,squally weather is very likelyover east central and adjoiningsoutheast Arabian Sea alongw i t h M a h a r a s h t r a - G o a -Karnataka-Kerala coasts,Lakshadweep and Comorinand over southwest and adjoin-ing west central Bay of Bengalalong with north Tamil Nadu-south Andhra Pradesh coast.
Kochi witnessed severewaterlogging with heavy rainspounding the commercial cityand nearby areas in the morning,affecting polling. Voters had towade through knee deep muddywaters to cast their franchise.Most of the public transport alsokept away in many places.
According to the IMD,Ernakulam South recorded thehighest rains of 20 cm, fol-lowed by Vaikom in Kottayam19 cm, Alapuzha, Mancompu(Alappuzha district)17 each,Kochi 16, Kozha (Kottayamdistrict) 15, Punalur (Kollamdistrict), Kanjirappally(Kottayam district) 12 eachand Konni (Pathanamthittadistrict)11 cm. PTI
Leh: Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Monday warnedPakistan to stop its terror activ-ities to destabilise India or facebefitting reply.
"Our soldiers never launchoffensive against Pakistan. Theother side is doing activities todestablise India (by sponsoringterrorism and resorting toshelling, Singh said at a functionin the inauguration of 1,400-ftbridge across the Shyok Rivernear the Line of Actual Control(LAC) with China in Leh dis-trict of Ladakh.
"If this is not stopped orcontrolled, we will continue togive befitting reply," Singh said.
Singh said that India has
good relations with China.China spoke nothing regardingKashmir during meetings withPrime Minister Narendra Modiand considers Kashmir as aninternal issue of India, he added.
The Colonel ChewangRinchen Bridge falls at the fagend of the recently-completedroad connecting Leh with theKarakoram Pass and will allowease of troop movement to theDaulat Beg Oldi sector.
Colonel Rinchen remainsone of the six forces personnelto have won the Maha VirChakra, the second highest mil-itary honour presented for actsof gallantry in the presence ofthe enemy, on two occasions
during his career. He was first honoured with
the Maha Vir Chakra in 1948during the first Indo-Pak con-flict over the Kashmir issue.
He was conferred the awardfor a second time for gallantrydisplayed during OperationCactus Lily in December 1971during which he freed nineenemy strong points, held byone to two platoons, in Partapursector in Ladakh.
Singh was accompanied byArmy chief General BipinRawat and Director General ofBorder Roads Organisation(BRO) Lt Gen Harpal Singhduring the inauguration of thestrategic bridge. PTI
possible implementation ofNational Register of Citizensasking the people of NorthBengal to “unite against theNRC wallas” by taking lessonsfrom what happened in Assam.
Addressing a meeting atSiliguri the Bengal ChiefMinister said “like in Assamwhere they have thrown out, 4lakh Muslims, one lakh Nepalibesides, lakhs of Biharis andother North Indians and 11lakh Bengali Hindus out ofwhich a sizeable number ofRajbangshis and Kamptapuristhey (the BJP Govermment)are planning to make you for-eigners in your own country byinvoking NRC,” and asked thepeople of North Bengal to “uniteagainst their nefarious designs.”
Rajbangshis and
Kamptapuris account for a largenumber of people in seven dis-tricts of North Bengal.
“They have decided to bringin Citizenship Amendment Billafter which they will invokeNRC and render you a foreign-er in your own country for sixyears after which they will decidewhether to give you citizenshipor not. As long as I am there I willnever let that happen. So restassured that there will be noNRC happening in Bengal,”Banerjee who is presently tour-ing North Bengal said.Wondering as to “what kind ofsystem it is where farmers, work-ers, Hindus, Muslims, Jains,Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians,tribal people and those from var-ious languages who have beenliving in this country for ages willbe thrown out in one go,” she said“in our country everyone is a cit-izen and no one has any right totake away that citizenship right.”
?������ ��6������������������@-"4.����� �� ��������� Jammu: The National
Conference (NC) asserted onMonday that time alone wouldprove its efficacy and rele-vance in Jammu & Kashmir'spolitics, adding that the "dig-nity and welfare of peoplecomes first for the party andnot politics".
"We do not need any cer-tificate from the BJP about ourrelevance in the state's politics,"senior NC leaders said in a jointstatement, while reacting to theobservations of BJP leadersabout the significance ofdetained party presidentFarooq Abdullah and vice pres-ident Omar Abdullah inJammu and Kashmir's politics.
"There seems to be inher-ent contradictions between thegovernment and the BJP lead-ership. While the central gov-ernment is maintaining thatmainstream political leadershave been detained to preventthem from mobilising people
against the political decisionstaken in the recent past, there-by creating breach of peace, onthe other hand, BJP leaders aresaying mainstream politicalparties are irrelevant in Jammuand Kashmir," the statementsaid.
"If they are irrelevant, whydon't you release them?," theNC leaders asked, advisingthe ruling Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) to shun the "NCphobia" and instead, reach outto people and work towardsrestoration of peace anddemocracy in the state. Jammu& Kashmir was passing throughthe most difficult times and theBJP must come up with a clearroadmap to deal with the situ-ation, instead of indulging inrhetoric, the statement said,adding that spreading canardsabout the NC leadership wouldnot work and the saffron partyshould try to provide succourto people. PTI
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Suri (West Bengal): Thepolice on Monday found dis-membered body parts of amissing CPI(M) leader, whichwere buried at two places inBirbhum district.
A couple was arrested inthis connection and an extra-marital affair could be the reason behind the killing,police said.
Subhash Chandra Dey, a58-year-old local leader of theCPI(M), was a resident ofNanoor area of the districtwhile his body parts were dis-covered near Dubrajpur,around 70 kilometres away.
Birbhum Superintendent
of Police Shyam Singh said,"Two persons were arrested inconnection with the murder.The parts of the body havebeen recovered. Prima facie, anextramarital affair could be themotive behind the murder."
However, he said, thepolice are not ruling out otherpossibilities behind the killingof Dey who was an insuranceagent by profession.
The body parts werefound in two gunny sacksburied in the bank of the Ajayriver and a nearby agricultur-al f ield — both underDubrajpur police station limits. PTI
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For over six decades after indepen-dence, “the Establishment” inLutyens’ Delhi comprised peoplebelonging to the Nehruvian-Marxist,pseudo-secular consensus. These
ideological brothers-in-arms influencedeverything — from school curriculum to pub-lic policy to history writing — and built upa false narrative that systematically debunkedand condemned India’s civilisational journey.
Such was the influence of this consensusthat it successfully managed to draw awaythree generations of Indians born after inde-pendence from the country’s great heritageand also inject a sense of shame among citi-zens about their own past. Much of this dam-age was done by Left-leaning politicians,bureaucrats and academics, who ensuredthrough educational material — from prima-ry school text books to major tomes on his-tory, government policy and legislative mea-sures — that the populace developed an aller-gy to its own culture and traditions.
Further, since the overwhelming major-ity of the people in the country were Hindusand since India’s civilisational experience formillennia was Hindu, the grand scheme of thispseudo-secular establishment became anti-Hindu. It encouraged people to negate any-thing associated with Hinduism and to eulo-gise everything that was non-Hindu. Thisextended to various fields and included con-demnation of the Vedas, treating the greatepics — the Ramayana and the Mahabharata— with derision, pooh-poohing yoga andayurveda and pouring ridicule on Sanskrit,the mother of Indian languages.
I wonder if there is another example ofthis kind where a miniscule minority of peo-ple launched an enterprise with such successto get the people living in a land to invalidatetheir own civilisation and culture.
They worked this consensus successful-ly for 67 years — and this included the sixyears during which the National DemocraticAlliance (NDA) coalition was in powerbetween 1998 and 2004 — until they met theirnemesis in Narendra Modi. Finally, the peo-ple of India decided that enough was enoughand knocked down the Nehruvian-Marxistbrigade from its perch in 2014. People reit-erated their position in the 2019 Lok Sabhaelection and with this, the process of chang-ing the narrative and getting the people toown, appreciate and applaud the phenome-nal contribution of the oldest civilisation inthe world has begun.
Now that the people of India haveensured the marginalisation of the Nehruvian-Marxist pseudo-secular school, work mustbegin to restore national pride. It is in this con-text that one must see Union Home MinisterAmit Shah’s recent call for re-writing histo-ry. Shah cited many examples and said thatbut for Veer Savarkar, who described theevents of 1857 as the “first war of indepen-dence”, historians would have written it off asa mere revolt against the British.
Shah is right when he says we must write
history that is faithful to facts, inother words, re-write history.For example, let us take the caseof Aurangzeb. He asked hisGovernors in 1669 to destroyHindu temples, including themost revered Kashi Vishwanathtemple, the Somnath temple inGujarat and the Krishna templein Mathura. He built a hugemosque after destroying theMathura temple and had theidols of the Krishna mandirburied under the steps of amosque in Agra.
Aurangzeb is also the emper-or who offered Government jobsto Hindus who converted toIslam. Computation of prisonterms was another incentive. Healso imposed higher customsduty on Hindus, who importedgoods into his territory andimposed a tax on the Hindus(jizya) who wished to practisetheir faith. Finally, let us not for-get that it was Aurangzeb whodestroyed Sikh gurdwaras,imprisoned and tortured GuruTegh Bahadur and eventuallybeheaded him when the latterrefused to convert to Islam. Hecontinued his assault on Sikhismduring the tenure of GuruGobind Singh and killed hissons as well.
This is the story ofAurangzeb. Yet, historians of thevariety named above have triedto bury these facts and even painthim as person who was “secular.”If ever there was a prize for fraud-ulent history, this would get it.
Will someone from the pseudo-secular, Nehru-Marxist combinetell us as to what was the ratio-nale in naming a key arterial roadin New Delhi after this tyrant?
Similarly, many towns andkey roads and suburbs in othercities have been named after him— all because the Hindu-hatingNehru-Marxists controlled thelevers of power in this country forover six decades. Similarly, Babar,Humayun and Jehangir havebeen accorded pride of place inthe national capital and elsewherein the country.
How can India remain a sec-ular, democratic nation so longas it perpetuates the memory ofsuch invaders? If we are to pre-serve our Constitution and oursecular, democratic tradition,our history books must mirrorthese truths and our public pol-icy must get attuned to the corevalues in our Constitution —meaning thereby that the last ves-tiges of these dreadful memoriesmust be wiped out forever.
Fortunately, the name ofAurangzeb has been obliteratedfrom that road in New Delhi andit has been named after themost honourable formerPresident, APJ Abdul Kalam.Others, who fall in Aurangzeb’scategory, deserve similar treat-ment. Also, the truth about theirempires and their bigotry mustbe part of the school curriculum,if only to emphasise that India’sfuture lies not in such bigotry butin genuine democracy where
the mantra is equality and equi-ty. François Gautier, the Frenchjournalist who has made India hishome, and Koenraad Elst, theBelgian scholar, have both alert-ed the people of the country tothe humongous fraud that hasbeen perpetrated by Left-leaningpoliticians, academics andbureaucrats since independence.
Gautier’s book, A History ofIndia as it Happened: Not as itHas Been Written, which was firstpublished six years ago, is one ofthose books which compels thenation to re-write history.
Elst is another scholar whohas focussed on the phenomenaldamage done by Marxist histo-rians, who have tried to erasefrom Hindu memory “the histo-ry of their persecution by theswordsmen of Islam.” Elst says inhis book, Negationism in India:Concealing the record of Islam,says India has its own “full-fledged brand of negationism”and “this movement is led byIslamic apologists and Marxistacademics and followed by all thepoliticians, journalists and intel-lectuals, who call themselvessecularists.”
Also, this has been promot-ed by the Indian State. He says theEnglish-educated class has turnedthe negation of India’s civilisation-al greatness into a fashion state-ment. The Home Minister is alsosaying very much the same.
(The writer is an author spe-cialising in democracy studies.Views expressed are personal.)
Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Still too hungry” (October18). Hunger means the distressassociated with a lack of sufficientcalories, which disables and stuntsfuture citizens of a country for-ever.
According to the GlobalHunger Index, with a score of30.3, India suffers from a level ofhunger that is “serious.” About37.9 per cent of the children arestunted. Ironically, it has also beenestimated that nearly 20.8 percent of the food produced in thecountry is either wasted or lost.
Instead of renaming cities,streets and airports and playingthe game of statues and percep-tions, the need for our policy-makers is to adopt better tech-nologies, which can help reducefood wastage and improve fooddistribution. Developing effectivepolicies can help solve the foodwaste problem and, thus, con-tribute towards food security andsustainability. The Governmentmust also start building shelterswhere cooked food can be distrib-uted to hungry people.
Sujit DeKolkata
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Sir — Brexit was perhaps as mis-conceived as have been the effortsto give a practical shape to it. TheBritish-Irish history of mutualdiscord had long been troublingthe contours of a Brexit deal.Despite the Irish political demar-cation into the Republic of
Ireland, a sovereign nation, andNorthern Ireland, as a part of theUK, both had managed to keeptheir mutual Irish bonds goingunder an economic umbrella ofthe European Union.
Brexit will place an econom-ic division and deepen politicalfault lines — an anathema to thespirited Irish. Where TheresaMay was unable to find the key,
Boris Johnson was helped byBrussels, equally pressured bytime. To assuage Irish sentiment,the deal provides for a customscheck protocol at port on the IrishSea rather than on a hard borderwithin. This could well have beendone three years earlier but forponderous British partisan poli-tics. In voting for a delay to passthe Brexit accord within October
2019, the MPs have yet again cho-sen pedantics over pragmatism.Brexit stays as uncertain.
R NarayananNavi Mumbai
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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Bangla pride” (October 15).Sourav Ganguly’s appointment asthe BCCI president comes at atime when Indian cricket needsthe support of a strong adminis-trator. He fits the bill perfectly.The BCCI should now take moreinterest in grooming first-classcricketers, who have not been get-ting their due.
With the talent available fromall corners of the country and theresultant, intense competition,the National Cricket Academy —the BCCI’s premier coachinginstitute — should ensure that themost promising youth are givenproper training so that only thebest may make it to the team.Ganguly has a tough task aheadof him.
The smoke emanating from the fields burn-ing in the National Capital Region (NCR)blends with Delhi’s ecosphere to give each
adult lung the world’s most toxic 11,000 litres ofair a day. However, smoke emanating from burn-ing crop stubble only adds to our troubles andthat too episodically as other major pollutants areautomobiles, industries, dust and constructionactivities. Our notion of success unfortunately hasserious environmental ramifications. The mea-sures of our wealth are numerous cars, tractors,larger ACs, new houses, bigger bikes and an adu-lation for conquest of nature, which is very hardto change. Diwali card parties are often broad-casts for every new car, mall and house in thevicinity. So much so that we have become enam-oured by the idea of ecological destruction.
Similarly, the farmers around Delhi have alsobeen ensnared by the habit of biomass burning.This is an age-old practice, which originatedwhen farmers were “advised by agriculturalexperts” to switch over to paddy, keeping asidetheir native varieties and crops post the GreenRevolution. These hybrid paddy varieties creat-ed the problem of stubble as cattle rejected thefodder made from their straw. As the crop residuecreated an unexpected problem, farmers weretold to burn the stubble as “ashes benefit the soil.”Gradually the cattle started to disappear and thepractice spread around Delhi.
Farmers burn stubble mainly because theyhave become habituated to this cost-effectivemethod, as described by Tota Singh of Ludhiana.He has been working for the past few years tostop stubble burning in Punjab. In his own expe-rience, he believes it can be changed. I agree withhim. The most simple solution to stubble burn-ing is, mulching. “Ashes to ashes and stubble tomulch,” can be the motto that farmers can adopt.Mulching paddy means uprooting the straw,spreading it and allowing it to compost on thefields. This step would add significant organicmatter to the soil, thereby increasing its fertili-ty, water retention capacity and reducing use offertilisers for the next crop. This would also pre-vent weeds from emerging as mulched paddystraw would cover the fields. Apart from all theagricultural benefits, this ecological processprovides Delhi her much-need eco-system ser-vices. Mulching from Punjab to western UttarPradesh can sequester many tonnes of carbonand help soak up excessive emissions choking thenational Capital.
But no change or good work is without itschallenges. Most farmers own either small ormedium holdings and have limited resources —financial and technical. They are already hurt-ing due to falling farm incomes and higher inputcost, so hiring labour or buying machinery tomulch or remove the stubble from fields isbeyond their means. They need training andthere needs to be an intensive awareness cam-paign on stubble burning, informing them ofviable alternatives.
This is where the Government of Delhi andthe industry can step in. The latter can lead bymaking biomass a valuable raw material. Forexample, rice straw, as already announced byIKEA, can be used to make lampshades and otherhousehold accessories. Then the power industrycan convert rice straw into pellets and briquettesfor the boilers in coal power plants. The same
straw can be used to make biochar, bio-CNG or gas. The good news is that allof this can be done with technologycurrently available to the Indian indus-try. This conversion of straw from wasteto raw material will give farmers a lit-tle extra income and save cities likeDelhi from pollution.
It will be a win-win situation for all,as the industry will get raw materialcheap, the farmers will get money fortheir waste and Delhi-NCR will be freeof choking smoke. The Governmentcan facilitate this by designating specialindustrial zones within these areas tominimise logistics. Tax breaks for com-panies helping farmers stop stubbleburning may also be considered.
However, the Herculean responsi-bility of getting this done lies withGovernment, both in the concernedStates and at the Centre. The issue ofcrop residue burning can be used to cat-apult the whole region towards sustain-ability, instead of being the nightmareit is now.
As India now produces a large sur-plus of rice, the farmers of Punjab,Haryana and western UP may now beencouraged to grow other crops. We asa nation have to break the paddy-wheatcycle, by pushing for agro-ecologicalfarming and crop diversity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’sscheme to bring back traditional farm-ing and promote organic clusters shouldbe first implemented around Delhi.Farmers should also be encouraged togrow millet, pulses, oilseeds or fruitsinstead of paddy. Once they adoptorganic methods, they can get premi-um money for their produce, whichmay double their profits.
We can learn from Germany. It has
a system which incentivises farmers forproviding cities with eco-services, (bypractising agro-ecological farming andagro-forestry). Organic farming meansno use of chemicals or industrialisedfarming, which reduces emissions,minimises toxic runoffs of chemicalsand cleans the water system. These clus-ters also act as carbon sinks aroundcities like Berlin.
Farmers in Delhi Dehat, Haryana,and Uttar Pradesh should work in syncand be given assistance to convert theirfarms to organic ones or pursue agro-forestry. If possible, the larger farmersaround Delhi should be incentivised toplant orchards. The need of the hour isfor Delhi to have a green wall of treesencircling it.
Private corporates can play a cor-rective role as well. The Confederationof Indian Industry (CII) has said it hasadopted over 100 villages and 100,000acres of farm area in Punjab andHaryana to enable zero crop residueburning. The industry body has adopt-ed Ludhiana, Barnala and Patiala dis-tricts in Punjab, and Rohtak, Sirsa andFatehabad in Haryana.
The next major policy requires theGovernment to push a robust urbanrooftop gardening policy. Starting withthe Delhi Development Authority’s(DDA) apartments, all Governmentbuildings should have either a solarpanel or low-cost urban gardens, grow-ing vegetables and food. If cities inFrance, Germany and nearer homeSingapore have done this, why notDelhi?
They have converted vast con-crete jungles into organic food gardens,providing fresh food and vegetables fortheir cities, creating more employ-
ment and reducing a big load of “foodmiles” along with carbon emissions. AllDelhi Government schools can be rolemodels for the world by growing deli-cious vegetables and beating pollutionat the same time. We have to make thesoil of Delhi breathe again, otherwisewe will suffocate with it.
The Delhi Government also needsto levy an “air cess” on every car or vehi-cle bought into Delhi-NCR. This tax canbe used to support the eco-services likeagro-forestry and urban gardening.The Delhi Government has also to con-trol the rampant Ola-Uberisation ofDelhi. I don’t own a car so as not to pol-lute the city further but I feel the Odd-Even scheme of vehicle rationing willwork better if the Government doesn’tallow Uber and Ola to run unlimitedtaxis in the city. It is time to promotecycle tracks in areas such as South Delhi.
Finally, all residents of Delhi haveto realise that stubble doesn’t burnthroughout the year, yet we lose lovedones to severe diseases caused by air pol-lution. The Government, industry andfarmers can act within limits. We haveto collectively shed our complacency andnot let air pollution be the master of ourlives. Our cars, money and air purifiersare not enough to save us and our chil-dren. We need to resist the colonisationof our minds and our air. It’s time we saveour city from an ecological enslavement,by cleansing our filth and rejuvenatingDelhi with nature and life.
We have to act now, or be poisonedby the soot of our own indulgence. Ichose life and ecological resistance forthe right of Delhi to breathe, will you?
(The writer is Programme Directorfor Policy and Outreach at the NationalSeed Association of India)
The European Court of Justice(ECJ) recently came out withtwo landmark rulings on the
“right to be forgotten”, deciding on theterritorial scope of the right and onhow sensitive data or information isto be treated in relation to it. Theright, at least in the EU, allows indi-viduals to request a “data controller”to remove online information aboutthem.
The data controller is an entitythat decides how and why the dataof an individual is processed. Forsearch engines, since the GoogleSpain ruling in 2014, this has meantthat they would have to de-referencelinks from search results where theinformation is inaccurate, irrelevant,or inadequate, subject to certain
conditions.There are a few reasons people
may want to exercise this right — itgives a person control over the infor-mation available about them online,especially when such information canhave implications for their safety,career or relationships; it can help vic-tims of abuse not be publicly associ-ated with painful and difficult partsof their lives and it can help peoplemove on from mistakes made previ-ously.
It appears that many peoplehave exercised this right, with Googlereportedly receiving over 8,45,000requests over the last five years, andremoving 45 per cent of the links.
The right has also been criti-cised, chiefly for its potential to cur-tail free speech, for the additionalburdens on data controllers and forthe implications on the Right toInformation and accountability, espe-cially if there is a lack of adequatesafeguards.
Some of these concerns havebeen taken into account in theGeneral Data Protection Regulation(GDPR), which carves out freedom
of expression and information, pub-lic interest and research among oth-ers as exceptions to this right. Therecent rulings of the ECJ are especial-ly interesting in this context becausethey are among the first in trying todelineate the boundaries of the right.
First, in dealing with territorialapplicability, the ECJ specified thatGoogle would not be required to de-reference links outside the geograph-ical boundaries of the EU or evenoutside the borders of the countryfrom which the request arises. But itnoted that de-referencing resultsglobally may sometimes be necessary,depending on the facts and consid-erations in each case. Although theruling requires search engines to“effectively prevent” or “seriouslydiscourage” users from within the EUfrom gaining access to restrictedresults, this can be hard to implementif people utilise VPNs or similarencrypted software.
Second, in the sensitive data rul-ing, the ECJ requires search enginesto “adjust the list of results” in sucha manner that the overall picture itpresents to an internet user reflects
the current legal position, with linkscontaining such information appear-ing at the top of the search results. Forexample, in a case of a personaccused of a crime being acquitted,the absolution would have to be thefirst link that is displayed on thesearch results for that person. This isinteresting because the ECJ is essen-tially telling search engines howthey should order their search results,and seems to suggest that thisreordering is something that shouldbe done proactively, and “at the lat-est” on receiving a request to de-ref-erence by the user. Some have notedthat this could prove counter-produc-tive, where results regarding theoutcomes of a person’s legal disputeswould not have otherwise made itonto the first page of results, especial-ly where the person is a public fig-ure. While well-intentioned, thisrequirement also raises concernsabout the ways in which biased arti-cles could make it to the top of searchresults, with credible reporting on therelevant allegations or chargesappearing later on.
So, what do these rulings mean
for us in India? Not much at themoment, except that they are amongthe first cases delineating the bound-aries of the Right to be Forgotten andare likely to be relied on if similarcases were to arise here. AlthoughIndia does not currently have theright, the draft Personal DataProtection Bill (Bill) includes a ver-sion of it.
It states that the individual want-ing to exercise her right would havethe right to “restrict or prevent con-tinuing disclosure” of personal databy a data fiduciary in certain circum-stances. Whether this means thatsuch results are to be removed entire-ly or de-referenced is not specified.
Second, unlike the EU, whichrequires data controllers to determinewhether to de-reference or removecontent based on a request, the Billproposes that an Adjudicating Officerwould make this assessment.
There have also been casesdealing with this right in India,mostly in the context of name redac-tion or removal of publicly reportedjudgments, with High Courts takingdiffering views on the matter. In 2017,
the Karnataka High Court (HC)ruled in favour of a petitioner whohad approached it to have his daugh-ter’s name removed from digitalrecords pertaining to previous caseswhich had been settled. The HCgranted the petition and redacted thedaughter’s name from the cause titleand the order.
In contrast, the Gujarat HCrejected a petition requesting thatpublic display of the judgments andorders be restricted, where the peti-tioner was initially accused of sever-al criminal offences but was subse-quently acquitted. In this case, thedecision hinged on what a“reportable” case was, and on the factthat there was no provision of law thatthe petitioner could point to for thisrequest.
These cases highlight the need toeffectively implement existing legis-lation. For example, the Indian PenalCode (IPC) contains provisionsrequiring anonymisation of victimsof certain crimes. It also highlights theneed for instituting a comprehensivedata protection legislation.
The way rights are framed
around our personal data will havesignificant implications for the Rightto be Forgotten, if recognised inIndia. The recent EU rulings and thelarger global conversations aroundthis issue are important to considerand learn from, as they indicate thekinds of issues we’ll have to face if weenact a similar law.
However, it is clear is that anycase dealing with the right will nec-essarily be subjective and depend onthe individuals making the decisionsin each case, whether that is a statu-torily appointed Adjudicating Officeror a team at Google.
It will also always involve balanc-ing the right to privacy with the rightto free speech and the larger publicinterest. It is, therefore, vital that sucha right is framed in the context of arobust data protection legislation, andthat proper safeguards are institutedto ensure that it is not used as a wayto reduce transparency and account-ability, but is instead used to empow-er individuals to have more controlover their lives.
An anonymous group claim-ing to be employees of IT
major Infosys has written to thecompany’s board accusing CEOSalil Parekh and CFO NilanjanRoy of indulging in “unethicalpractices” to boost short-termrevenue and profits.
“We have high respect forall of you and bring to yournotice the unethical practices ofCEO in recent quarters. Samemeasures are taken up in thecurrent quarter also to boostshort term revenue and profits,”the letter addressed to Board ofDirectors dated September 20,read.
Calling themselves as “eth-ical employees”, the “whistle-blowers” have said that theyhave emails and voice record-ings on these matters.
“We hope the Board willconduct immediate investiga-tion and take action,” theyadded.
The Bengaluru-headquar-tered Infosys said the whistle-blower complaint has beenplaced before the AuditCommittee as per the compa-ny’s practice.
“The whistleblower com-
plaint has been placed beforethe Audit Committee as per theCompany’s practice and will bedealt with in accordance withthe Company’s whistleblow-ers policy,” it said in a state-ment.
The Whistleblowers havealso written to the US-basedoffice of the WhistleblowerProtection Programme onOctober 3, alleging willful mis-statement and accountingirregularities for the last twoquarters.
Stating that in the lastquarter, they were asked not tofully recognise costs like visacosts to improve profits, thewhistleblowers have claimed:“We have voice recordings of
these conversations. Whenauditor opposed, the issue waspostponed.”
“This quarter, there is lot ofpressure to not recognise rever-sals of $50 mn of upfront pay-ment in FDR contract, whichis against accounting practice.As this will reduce profits forthe quarter and negative forstock price, they are puttingpressure not to take the charge,”they claimed.
Alleging that “critical infor-mation” is hidden from theauditors and Board, the letterclaimed that in large contractslike Verizon, Intel and JVs inJapan, ABN Amro acquisition,“revenue recognition mattersare forced which are not as per
accounting standards”.“We have emails and voice
recordings and we will sharewhen investigators ask us. Weare asked not to share large dealinformation with auditors,”they said.
“Large deal approvals haveirregularities. The CEO isbypassing reviews andapprovals and instructing salesnot to send mails for approval.He directs them to make wrongassumptions to show margins.CFO is compliant and he pre-vents us from showing in boardpresentations large deal issues,”they further alleged.
“The CEO told us, no onein the Board understands these
things, they are happy as longas share price is up...”, thegroup alleged.
Claiming that several bil-lion dollar deals of last fewquarters have nil margin, thewhistleblowers have urged theBoard to ask auditors to checkdeal proposals, margins, undis-closed upfront commitmentsmade and revenue recogni-tion.
“All information is notshared with auditors.”
“In board meetings, weare told not to present data onlarge deals and importantfinancial measures as it will getboard attention. The CEO andCFO are asking us to showmore profits in treasury by tak-ing up risks and make changesto policies. This will provideshort term profits. They ask usnot to make key disclosures in20F and annual report and toshare only good and incom-plete information withinvestors and analysts,” theywrote.
“Whoever, disagrees issidelined and many of themleave. In large deal financeteam, important employees areleft due to pressure to makedeals look good,” they claimed.
For the second time afterVishal Sikka, Infosys in January2018 had roped in Parekh, anexternal candidate for the CEOrole in its over three decade his-tory.
Sikka left Infosys abruptlyin August 2017, after a pro-longed standoff with promot-ers including the iconic N RNarayana Murthy over allega-tions of corporate governancelapses, and hefty severancepackages of former executives.
Infosys has receivedwhistleblower complaints inthe past too, over alleged gov-ernance lapses.
Earlier, one such reporthad alleged wrongdoings byInfosys while buying Israeliautomation technology firmPanaya.
Infosys had said its internalaudit committee, after investi-gation, had found no evidencesupporting the allegations.
In 2017, Infosys had wit-nessed a protracted stand-offbetween its high profilefounders and the previousmanagement over allegations ofgovernance lapses and issuesrelating to severance packagedoled out to former executives,including ex-CFO Rajiv Bansal.
Services in state-owned banksmay be affected as some of
the employees unions havedecided to observe nation-wide strike on Tuesday toprotest against bank mergersand fall in deposit rates.
However, officers and pri-vate sector banks are not partof the strike call given by AllIndia Bank EmployeesAssociation (AIBEA) and BankEmployees Federation of India(BEFI).
Most of the banks, includ-ing the country’s largest lenderState Bank of India (SBI), hasalready informed customersabout the strike and its impacton them.
“The membership of ourbank employees in unions par-ticipating in strike is very few,so the impact of strike onBanks operation will be mini-mal,” SBI said in a filing to stockexchanges last week.
Another public sectorlender Syndicate Bank said:“The bank is taking necessarysteps for smooth functioning ofbranches on the proposedstrike day. However, in theevent the strike materialises,
the functioning of the branch-es/offices may be impacted”.
In the absence of any pos-itive outcome in the meetingcalled by Chief LabourCommissioner, it has beendecided to go ahead with thestrike, AIBEA GeneralSecretary C H Vekatachalamsaid.
The meeting held beforeChief Labour Commissionerbetween representatives ofIndian Banks’ Association andunions failed to reach to a com-mon ground.
“Hence our call for strikestands. We exhort all ourunions and members all overthe country to go ahead withthe strike,” he said.
Last month, officers’unions had called a two-day allIndia bank strike on September26 and 27, which was laterwithdrawn following the gov-ernment’s intervention.
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In signs of worsening of rela-tions between the two coun-
tries, Pakistan has stoppedpostal mails from and to India,a move that New Delhislammed as a violation ofestablished internationalnorms.
Pakistan has not acceptedany postal consignment fromIndia after August 27 in amove seen as a retaliation ofscrapping of special status forJammu and Kashmir.
Communications and ITMinister Ravi Shankar Prasad,who is also in-charge of thepostal department, saidIslamabad resorted to stop-ping postal mail services uni-
laterally and without giving anyprior notice to India.
“Pakistan’s decision isdirectly in contravention ofworld postal union norms. ButPakistan is Pakistan,” Prasadsaid on the sidelines of anevent. With Pakistan refusing toaccept and send mails throughthe post, from and to India,Indian postal authorities havebeen compelled to put mailaddressed to the country onhold. Reports suggest Pakistanicorrespondence was reachingIndia through services provid-ed by the Saudi Arabian airlines.
Prasad confirmed reportsthat the postal services havestopped for the last twomonths.
Pakistan has, without any
prior notice or information,stopped sending postal depart-ment’s letters to India, prompt-ing India to act accordingly, theminister said.
“There is a world postalunion system and everyoneoperates under that. Pakistanhas stopped it for the last twomonths. So when Pakistan hasstopped this, our postal depart-ment has thought of thisaction...Now that Pakistan hasstopped India’s letters, that iswhy there is this action,” theminister said.
The latest move is unprece-dented as the postal mail ser-vice had continued in the pasteven through the partition,wars, and cross-border tensions.
As India has emerged as theone of the fastest growing
civil aviation markets of theworld, it is time that the gov-ernment take steps to make theaviation sector globally com-petitive beginning with reduc-tion on its tax structure, thehead of a low-cost airline has said.
Ajay Singh, Chairman andManaging Director, SpiceJet, inan interview to PTI rued thatthe civil aviation sector inIndia is highly taxed and iden-tified it as one of the majorstumbling blocks in making it globally compet-itive.
“I think lowering of taxesand looking at aviation in aholistic sense as a job creator,as something that connectsIndia to itself and to the world.It’s important that we take amore holistic approach to avi-ation,” he said.
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The closure of Vedanta’s cop-per smelter plant at
Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu hasled to a rise in imports of themetal, making the country anet importer of refined copperafter 18 years, Care Ratings hassaid.
“India used to be a netexporter of copper cathodes tillFY18. Now with the closure ofthe Tuticorin smelter, the dropin domestic production has ledto the domino effect of increas-ing the country’s imports anddecreasing its exports. India hasbecome a net importer ofrefined copper after 18 years,”Care Ratings has said.
During FY2018-19,exports fell by 87.4 per cent,whereas imports increased by131.2 per cent, it said.
India imported refinedcopper from, Japan, Congo,Singapore, Chile, Tanzania, theUAE and South Africa whileexported refined copper toChina, Taiwan, Malaysia, SouthKorea and Bangladesh during2018-19.
Share of exports towardsChina has increased, from itbeing 63 per cent during 2017-18 to 75 per cent during 2018-19 and share of imports fromJapan has increased.
New Delhi: India’s energy tradewith the US is likely to jump byover 40 per cent to $10 billionin 2019-20, as the world’s third-largest oil consumer seeks tomove away from its tradition-al suppliers in the Middle East,Oil Minister DharmendraPradhan said.
Mounting geopoliticaluncertainties, rising US oil andgas production, and India’s insa-tiable energy appetite has creat-
ed both the need and the oppor-tunity for the two nations to liftbilateral energy ties to a newlevel. India in October 2017began importing crude oil fromthe US and in March 2018 it gotthe first shipment of liquefiednatural gas (LNG) from there.
In the last one year, theimport of US crude oil has dou-bled and New Delhi is nowclosing on the biggest long-term LNG import deal. PTI
New Delhi: India and the UShave almost resolved broadissues of the proposed tradepackage and an announce-ment is expected soon,Commerce and IndustryMinister Piyush Goyal said.
He said that the two coun-tries should look at a muchlarger engagement in the daysahead, possibly even leading toan announcement for a bilat-eral agreement. PTI
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Reliance Jio on Mondayannounced new medium
priced tariff plan by marginal-ly cutting the existing pack andadjusting the interconnectionusage charges (IUC) in them.
“The three-month 2 GBper day pack will now cost only�444 instead of �448 withadditional 1,000 minutes ofoffnet IUC min which wouldhave come at nearly �80, sep-arately,” Jio said.
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Telecom operator BhartiAirtel in its submission to
sector regulator Trai hasfavoured charging incomingcalls originating from networkof other mobile phone serviceprovider till 2022.
Liver cancer starts in the cells of your liver. Our liver is almostequal to a football-sized organ that sits in the upper right por-
tion of our abdomen, beneath your diaphragm and above our stom-ach.
There are various types of cancer that can form in the liver.The most common type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carci-noma, which begins in the main type of liver cell (hepatocyte).Other types of liver cancer, such as intrahepatic cholangiocar-cinoma and hepatoblastoma, are much less common.
Cancer that spreads to the liver is more common than can-cer that begins in the liver cells. Cancer that begins in anotherarea of the body — such as the colon, lung or breast — and thenspreads to the liver is called metastatic cancer rather than livercancer. This type of cancer is named after the organ in which itbegan — such as metastatic colon cancer to describe cancer thatbegins in the colon and spreads to the liver.
Symptoms: Most people don’t have signs and symptoms inthe early stages of primary liver cancer. When signs and symp-toms do appear, they may include:
�Weight loss�Loss of appetite�Upper abdominal pain�Nausea and vomiting�Weakness and fatigue�Abdominal swelling�Yellow discoloration of your skin and the whites of your
eyes (jaundice)�White, chalky stoolsCauses: The exact cause of
liver cancer is not known.However, most cases are
linked to scarring of the liver,also referred to ascirrhosis.People with bothhepatitis B or C have a signifi-cantly higher risk of developingliver cancer. Some inheritedliver diseases, such as hemochro-matosis, cause cirrhosis andalso increase the risk of liver can-cer.
Other risk factors for livercancer development include:
�Diabetes: People with dia-betes, especially if they alsohave hepatitis, or regularly con-sume a lot of alcohol, are more
likely to develop liver cancer.�Family history: If a person’s mother, father, brother, or sis-
ter has had liver cancer, the person has a higher risk than oth-ers of developing the cancer themselves.
�Alcohol intake: Consuming alcohol regularly and in exces-sive amounts is one of the leading causes of cirrhosis.
Treatment: For people who have early-stage liver cancer thatcan be treated, only surgery that removes the tumours complete-ly will lead to a chance of recovery.
Surgical options include the following:�Partial hepatectomy: When the tumour is small and occu-
pies a small part of the liver, that part of the liver can be surgi-cally removed. Partial hepatectomy is only considered for peoplewith otherwise healthy liver function. This procedure is often notan option, as the cancer has spread to other parts of the liver orother organs in the body.
Liver surgery of this scale can lead to excessive bleeding andblood-clotting issues, as well as infections and pneumonia.
�Liver transplant: Candidates for a liver transplant cannothave a tumour larger than five cm or several tumours larger thanthree cm. The risk of the cancer returning is too great to justifya procedure as risky as a transplant if the tumor is larger than this.
With a successful transplant, the risk of cancer returning isgreatly reduced, and normal function can be restored.
��)��� The fenugreek leaves or methi are aromatic,bitter flavoured leaves that are widely used for enhancing the
flavours of some foods. These are rich in fibre, Vitamins andminerals.
They are also known for lowering blood pressure levels. Theanti-diabetic element in fenugreek leaves helps in controlling thelevels of glucose metabolism.
Fenugreek leaves work wonders for yourskin too. They help in getting rid of skinmarks, blemishes and other skin prob-lems.
The high levels of iron andnutrition in fenugreek leaves areperfect for the treatment of anaemia.
Antioxidant properties offenugreek and its fibre contentcan help in improving digestion,thus reducing several gastroin-testinal problems.
They also help in reducinginflammation levels in the body andcan help in treating chronic cough,bronchitis and other problems. Thismakes them a perfect food for winter.
hormone - ghrelin, whichmight also increase yourmotivation to exercise, said a newresearch. The study, published in theJournal of Endocrinology suggested that asurge in levels of the appetite-promotinghormone — ghrelin, after a period of fast-ing prompted mice to initiate voluntaryexercise.
These novel findings indicate that bet-ter diet control, for example limiting foodintake to mealtimes or fasting intermit-tently, could help overweight peoplemaintain a more effective exercise routine,lose weight and avoid debilitating com-plications like Diabetes and heart disease.
“Our findings suggest that hunger,which promotes ghrelin production, mayalso be involved in increasing motivationfor voluntary exercise when feeding is lim-ited,” said author Yuji Tajiri from theKurume University in Japan.
Ghrelin, often referred to as thehunger hormone, stimulates appetitethrough actions on the brain reward cir-cuitry that increases motivation to eat. Ithas also been reported to be essential forendurance exercise by increasing metab-olism to meet the energy demands of pro-longed exercise.
These findings suggest that ghrelinmight play an important role in the moti-vation for both feeding and exercise, inresponse to restricted eating plans.
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We all love a laughingand playing baby.But if he cries, as par-
ents, they worry. Babies cry formany reasons — they need adiaper change, or a burp orthey are hungry. Othertimes, it could bebecause he is colic.Don’t panic.
First, rule outthe commonproblems like thebaby is hungry.
Second, checkfor fever or a runnynose and then a doctorneeds to be consulted. But ifthe baby still continues to frethere is what one can do:
Rock your baby by placinghim in the arms, stand withyour feet slightly apart, andmove back and forth at thehips. If you get tired, use arocking chair.
Wrapping your baby is
perhaps the best way to calma fretting baby. Tightly wrapthe baby in a blanket. Somebabies prefer to have theirarms out as they may want
their freedom. In anycase, this helps the
baby sleep betterand for longerhours.
Some babiescalm down to‘shhhh’ sound; itreminds them of
the womb. Onecan buy a special
white-noise machineor mobile.
Even babies get bored andthis can lead to all the fuss.Make silly noises and faces. Siton the floor and play with thetoys. Some babies love it whenyou read a book.
Take a drive. The smooth,consistent motion of a carlulls many fussy babies.
If the baby is fussing or crying,there is no fun for the parent or
the tiny tot. ROSHANI DEVIshares home remedies that onecan follow to soothe a wailing
toddler
Continuing with its efforts towards pro-moting the mental health and well-
being of orphaned and vulnerable children,Miracle Foundation India, a fully-licensedSection 25 non-profit organisation,organised a week-long MentalHealth awareness campaign forWorld Mental Health Day 2019.Conducted across its partnerchildren’s homes, the campaignfocused on creating awarenessabout and engaging in positivemental health practices among thechildren (aged six years and above),partners, and staff at Miracle FoundationIndia.
As per the World Health Organisation,one out of four teens in India between theages of 13-15 years suffer from depression.In connection with this, suicide is the sec-ond leading cause of death in the world forthose aged 15-24 years and 30 per cent ofsuicides worldwide happen in India and
China.In light of this year’s theme, ‘Suicide
Prevention’, Miracle Foundation India’scampaign was aimed at cultivating the social
and emotional development of thechildren under their care. According
to the National Mental HealthSurvey 2015-16, less than 10 percent of those suffering fromthis illness actually consult a pro-fessional. All of these statistics
highlight the need for action, sup-port, and awareness from the early
phases of one’s life so that it doesn’treach a stage where it’s too late.
The foundation is committed to pro-mote mental health and well-being of chil-dren in CCI’s by cultivating social-emotion-al development, building life skills, anddeveloping coping strategies. This preparesthem to cope with the stresses of life,achieve their full potential and live a pro-ductive life.
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In the current season and certain times acrossthe year, rarely do we get any respite from
being exposed to different mosquitoes andinsects. Climate changes and the increase inhumidity have increased their proliferation.Babies/children are all the more unprepared todeal with mosquitoes and hence become easytargets for them.
In babies, especially, the bites are not onlyannoying, but they can even lead to irritative andallergic reactions with extended and long-last-ing skin rashes. More so, mosquitoes are poten-tial carrier of diseases such as dengue, chikun-gunya and malaria.
Two of the main preventive tools that theWorld Health Organisation suggests to protectthe babies from mosquitoes are — the controlof the environment and the use of mosquitorepellents.
In case of a baby in the family, one has tobe extra cautious as it is important to make surethat the baby is protected from mosquito bites.In an effort to help you protect your baby frommosquito bites, here are some easy steps to fol-low.
Choose the right mosquito repellent: Thebest way to protect your little one is by simplyincluding anti mosquito repellent in his dailyregime;; For babies, it is advisable to use prod-ucts with delicate formulas that protects themfrom mosquitoes and are gentle on the skin,therefore choose mosquito repellent which isspecially formulated for babies. Look for featureslike natural ingredients, dermatologically test-ed and chemical free which ensures gentle anddelicate protection for infants and children
While mosquito repellents are an effectiveway to protect your baby’s skin from being bit-ten, some of these repellents may be too strongfor your baby’s skin, and may cause irritation andrashes hence it is important to choose a mos-quito repellent that is free from alcohol, coloursand synthetic perfumes.
One should ideally choose a mosquitorepellent that has been specially formulated forbabies considering their skin’s sensitivity inmind.
Avoid using scented/perfumed products:Other than being attracted to dark and brightcolors, mosquitoes are also attracted to a vari-ety of floral and fruity scent perfumes. So, it isbest to make sure that your baby does not wearthem.
Dress to protect: One of the most effectiveways of protecting your baby is to minimise thearea of exposed skin. Choose lightweight knitsand cotton garments that allow the passage ofair while covering your child’s body. Especiallyduring rainy season when mosquitoes breed themost, younger babies can be dressed in bodysuits that cover as much of body as possible. Forolder babies, dress them up in full sleeves shirts,long pants and shoes to protect them from mos-quitoes.
Keep mosquito nets ready: Nets can be veryeffective if used well and the advantage is that,they have no negative health effects. If you shareyour bed with your baby, you can use a big netover your bed. And if your baby sleeps in a cotnext to your bed, you can use Mosquito net forcot.
Similarly, you can also use mosquito net forstrollers when you are taking your baby out inthe evening. It would be preferable to use netmade of fine mesh fabric with elastic edging thateasily fits to the cot/stroller. While doing so,make sure that no mosquitoes are caughtunder the net.
The advancements in scienceand technology has took theworld by storm. No one is
spared from its influence and so ishomeopathy. There was a time whenhomeopathy was the most preferredtreatment among the patients butwith the invasion of newer technol-ogy the essence of it faded. But, nowthe time has come when homeopa-thy is no longer the last option. Thereason being so many advance-ments in the field which has broughtin rich results in curing or atleast pre-venting the spread of some of thelethal diseases. Having said that, datafrom recent case studies have shownthat homeopathy is effective in man-agement of severe heart diseases too.
The evidence, gathered overmany years, states that more than 85per cent of cases of patients requir-ing cardiac stenting or bypasssurgery, who started specific home-opathic treatment protocols at theclinic in the early stages, avoided get-ting the procedures done in theirentirety. Patients showed consider-able improvement in their bloodpressure and cholesterol readingswhen started on these homeopathytreatment regimens developed overdecades of experience.
Dr Kushal Banerjee from DrKalyan Banerjee Clinic’s says thatthere has been an extensive changein the mindset of people in the last10-15 years. “In the wake of severi-ty of diseases, people are becomingmore responsible and alert. Earlier,people used to go for homeopathictreatment only when allopathic or forthat matter ayurvedic treatmentfailed to bring the desired results. Alot has changed since then. Now,people prefer to opt for homeopath-ic treatment in the early stages of dis-ease and this is the reason behind thesuccess of the treatment,” he tells you.
He tells you that homeopathyand allopathy can work together andthere are no side effects of it. “Addinghomeopathy to the allopathic pre-
scription often has a beneficial effectwithout the added side effects ofhigher doses of allopathic medicines.In some cases, the lipid profile or ele-vated blood pressure of a patient doesnot improve despite taking allopath-ic medicines. However, homeopathyhas been effectively able to managecholesterol and blood pressure read-ings. Patients who visit us in the earlystages of the disease can be on exclu-sive homeopathic medicines fortheir blood pressure management. Iflifestyle and dietary modifications are
followed, then patients may be off allmedicines too. Old, established casesof elevated blood pressure are grad-ually weaned off allopathic medicineswith homeopathy, wherever possible.When this is not possible, patients areeither able to reduce their allopath-ic medicines or prevent an increase,thereby limiting their side effects.”
The reason behind increase inheart diseases has been said multi-ple times but is still often ignoredby the people. “It has been almosta decade now since we have been
trying to list out the reasons behindheart diseases, but still not manygive it a thought. The most commoncause is an extremely unhealthylifestyle which includes less or noexercise, lack of sleep and consump-tion of unhealthy or junk food. But,not only the general public is to beblamed here. The real villain is thehectic working hours in India wherea person is left with no choice butto follow a dull and unhealthy rou-tine. This is a matter of concern andshould be addressed before its toolate,” he says and suggests that flex-ible working hours is the only solu-tion. There is a misconception thatsleeping more than eight hours canlead to various problems.
“Some people are of the opin-ion that sleeping more can causediseases, however it is the opposite.Sleep deprived people are moreprone to diseases including heartdiseases. Also, keeping in mind thehectic lifestyle that we are bound tofollow sleeping for 10 or 12 hourswon’t cause any harm. Instead, it willhelp the body to rejuvenate andrelax. But, yes improper sleepingpatterns or more than 12 hourssleep can be a warning sign andshould be taken care of immediate-ly,” he says.
Homeopathy not only help incombating heart diseases, it alsohelp in the healing process aftersurgery. “Homeopathy also plays avery important role in the recuper-ation phase in patients who haverecently undergone heart surgery. Adifficult complication is the non-healing of the site from where thegrafts for bypass was taken. Thereis no cure for this in the allopathicsystem.Complications arising fromthese sites can lead to drastic out-comes like gangrene followed byamputation of the affected limb.These patients can be treated withhomeopathy alone, sparing thepatient’s prolonged discomfort aftera major surgery,” he tells you.
Heart attack rates are increas-ing in India among all age
groups. The rising rates amongadults in their 20s and 30s is aworrying trend. Nowadays heartattack has become very common.In many cases, cases of heartattacks were also seen whilesleeping. As per the IndianCouncil for Medical Research(ICMR), the prevalence of heartdiseases in the country hasincreased by 50 per cent from1990 to 2016. It is alarming tonote that cardiovascular problemscontribute to 17.8 per cent of totaldeaths.
In such a situation, it isimportant to know what to do incase of a heart attack. It is impor-tant to understand three suddensigns of heart attack and how to
respond to them. These include:� Any type of chest discomfortcan make you prone to a heartattack. Sudden pain, pressure orburning sensation, especially inthe chest, is a sign. Also, one canexperience discomfort in chest orbreathlessness� Feel pain in your left or rightarm, or your neck, jaw, back orstomach. For some people, thepain or tightness may be severe,while other people feel uncom-fortable.� One may feel sick, sweaty,light-headed or short of breath.
Respond to sudden signsIf you feel that you are hav-
ing a heart attack immediately callthe ambulance and visit a near-by hospital. Also, don’t worry ifyou’re not sure about the symp-toms of a heart attack. In this case,seek medical attention and followthese three steps.� Do not hurry, sit down andremain calm� Take 300 mg aspirin� Wait for the paramedics.
British Prime Minister BorisJohnson attempted for a
second time to secure law-makers’ backing for hisEuropean Union divorce deal on Monday as Parliament geared up for agrueling week of political war-fare over Brexit.
With just 10 days to gountil the UK is due to leave thebloc on Oct. 31, Johnson’s gov-ernment planned to ask for a“straight up-and-down vote” onhis EU divorce agreement,which changes how both sideshandle the Irish border. Thatrequest comes two days afterlawmakers voted to delayapproving the Brexit deal.
But House of CommonsSpeaker John Bercow couldrefuse to allow such a votebecause parliamentary rulesgenerally bar the same measurefrom being considered a sec-ond time during the same ses-sion of Parliament unless some-thing has changed.
Johnson’s ConservativeGovernment will also intro-duce the legislation necessaryto implement the Brexit agree-ment it struck with the EU lastweek. The Government hopesto get that done by Britain’sscheduled October 31 depar-ture date. But it’s unclear
whether the bill can win major-ity backing in Parliament, andOpposition lawmakers will tryto seek amendments that couldalter or scuttle it.
Brexit Secretary StephenBarclay urged lawmakers toback the bill and — more thanthree years after British votersnarrowly voted to leave the EU— “enable us to move onto thepeople’s priorities like health,education and crime.”
“This is the chance to leavethe EU with a deal on October31,” he said. “If Parliamentwants to respect the referen-dum, it must back the bill.”
With the Brexit deadlinelooming and British politi-cians still squabbling over thecountry’s departure terms,Johnson has been forced to askthe EU for a three-month delayto Britain’s departure date.
He did that, grudgingly, tocomply with a law passed byParliament ordering the gov-ernment to postpone Brexitrather than risk the economicdamage that could come froma no-deal exit.
But Johnson accompaniedthe unsigned letter to the EUlate Saturday with a secondnote saying that he personallyopposed delaying the UK’sOctober 31 exit.
Pro-EU activists, who tookthe Government to court in
Scotland to ensure that it com-plied with the law, said the sec-ond letter might amount to anattempt to frustrate the legisla-tion. Scotland’s highest court saidMonday it would keep the caseopen, retaining the power to cen-sure Johnson’s ConservativeGovernment until its obliga-tions under the law have beencomplied with “in full.”
The claimants’ lawyer,Elaine Motion, said the rulingmeant “the sword of Damoclesremains hanging” over theGovernment.
The bloc said the factJohnson had not signed the let-ter was irrelevant.
European Commissionspokeswoman Mina Andreevasaid Monday that EuropeanCouncil President Donald Tuskhad acknowledged receivingthe Brexit extension requestand was now talking with theEU’s other 27 leaders about it.
Those 27 EU leaders areweary of the long-running Brexitsaga but also want to avoid a no-deal British exit, which woulddamage economies on bothsides of the Channel.
Germany’s EconomyMinister suggested it could bea few days before the EU decid-ed to respond to the Brexitdelay request.
“We will have somewhatmore clarity in the coming
days, and we will then exerciseour responsibility and quicklymake a decision,” Germany’sPeter Altmaier said.
He told Deutschlandfunkradio that he wouldn’t have a problem with an exten-sion by “a few days or a fewweeks” if that rules out a no-deal Brexit.
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China’s Defence MinisterWei Fenghe on Monday
made a veiled attack on the USfor its alleged interference inthe internal affairs of othercountries.
In his keynote address atthe opening ceremony of theninth Beijing XiangshanForum, Wei vowed that Chinawould never succumb to exter-nal pressure, reports Efe news.
“Intervening in regionalaffairs, meddling in othercountries’ internal affairs, incit-ing a ‘colour revolution’ andeven subverting the legitimatepolitical power of other coun-tries are the real source ofregional chaos and wars,” Weisaid in statements reported bystate-run Global Times.
The Minister, who did notmention Washington directlyin his speech, has accused USpoliticians on previous occa-sions of supporting the protestsin Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong streets descend-ed into chaotic scenes fol-
lowing an unauthorised pro-democracy rally Sunday, asprotesters set up roadblocksand torched businesses, andpolice responded with tear gasand a water cannon.
Protesters tossed firebombsand took their anger out onshops with mainland Chineseties as they skirmished late intothe evening with riot police, whounleashed numerous tear gasrounds on short notice, anger-ing residents and passers-by.
Police had beefed up secu-rity measures ahead of therally, for which they refused togive permission, the latestchapter in the unrest that hasdisrupted life in the financialhub since early June.
Some 24 people were hurtand treated at hospitals, includ-ing six with serious injuries, the
Hospital Authority said.Police did not give an arrest
figure. One person was seenbeing handcuffed and takenaway to a police van.
As the rally march set off,protest leaders carried a blackbanner that read, “Five maindemands, not one less,” as theypressed their calls for policeaccountability and politicalrights in the semi-autonomousChinese territory.
Supporters sang the protestmovement’s anthem, wavedcolonial and US flags, and heldup placards depicting theChinese flag as a Nazi swastika.
Many protesters woremasks in defiance of a recent-ly introduced ban on face cov-erings at public gatherings,and volunteers handed moreout to the crowd.
Matthew Lee, a universitystudent, said he was deter-mined to keep protesting evenafter more than four months.
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President Recep TayyipErdogan on Monday lashed
out at Western states, accusingthem of “standing by terrorists”in failing to support Turkey’soperation against SyrianKurdish fighters.
“Can you imagine thewhole West stood by the ter-rorists and all attacked usincluding NATO memberstates and European Unioncountries?” Erdogan said inIstanbul.
“Since when did you startto side with terror? Did PYD-YPG (Syrian Kurdish forces)join NATO and we do notknow about it?” he asked.
Ankara says the YPG is a “ter-rorist” offshoot of the out-lawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK), which has been wagingan insurgency inside Turkeysince 1984.
The PKK is blacklisted asa terror group by Ankara, theUS and the EU.
Ankara’s military actionagainst Kurdish forces whoplayed a key role in the fightagainst the Islamic State grouphas drawn widespread inter-national criticism and prompt-ed some NATO countries tosuspend new arms sales.
NATO Secretary GeneralJens Stoltenberg has repeated-ly voiced “serious concerns”about the military operation
launched on October 9 to pushSyrian Kurdish forces backfrom the border. Erdogandenied any territorial ambitionsaying: “Turkey does not havean eye on any country’s terri-tory...We consider such anaccusation as the biggest insultdirected to us.”
Turkey announced a 120-hour suspension of the offen-sive following a deal with USVice President Mike Pence,under which Kurdish fighterswere to withdraw to allow a“safe zone” to be set up alongborder.
Erdogan was to meetRussian President VladimirPutin on Tuesday in the BlackSea resort of Sochi.
Tehran: Iran on Monday urgedTurkey to respect Syria’s terri-torial integrity and nationalsovereignty.
“Iran acknowledgesTurkey’s security concernswhich should be addressedthrough peaceful means,”Xinhua quoted Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesmanAbbas Mousavi as saying toreporters.
In the meantime, “Turkeymust respect Syria’s sovereign-ty and territorial integrity in itsconflicts with the SyrianKurds,” said Mousavi. IANS
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Angry over the US with-drawal from Syria, resi-
dents of a Kurdish-dominatedcity pelted departing Americanmilitary vehicles with potatoesMonday as they drove through.Defense Secretary Mark Espersaid US troops will stay in east-ern Syria to protect Kurdish-heldoil fields for at least the comingweeks and he was discussingoptions to keep them there.
A video by the Kurdishnews agency showed a convoyof armored vehicles drivingthrough the northeastern cityof Qamishli. People in thestreet hurled potatoes at thevehicles, shouting, “NoAmerica,” and “America liar,” inEnglish.
“Like rats, America is run-ning away,” one man shouted inArabic. Another shoutedobscenities and talked of babiesin Kurdish-held areas who havedied in the Turkish offensive.
The scene encapsulatedthe Kurds’ feelings of betrayaland added a new indignity toan American withdrawal thathas been rushed and saw sev-eral close brushes with Turkish-backed forces. The Kurds werestunned when President
Donald Trump two weeks agoabruptly decided to pull U.S.troops out of border areas,abandoning their alliedKurdish-backed fighters aheadof Turkey’s invasion. After theassault began Oct. 9, Trumpordered a general withdrawalfrom Syria.
At another location, nearthe town of Tal Tamr, a groupof protesters raised banners todeparting US troops lateSunday, according to anAssociated Press video.
One man blocked the wayof a U.S. van with a poster read-ing: “Thanks for US people, butTrump betrayed us.”
The Kurdish-led force wasa key ally of the United States inthe long and bloody fight thateventually brought down theIslamic State group’s rule overnortheast and eastern Syria.Abandoned by US forces, theKurds agreed to a cease-fire dealbrokered by Washington thatrequires them to leave a sectionof the border, handing it over toTurkish-backed forces.
Esper said he is discussingan option that would keep asmall residual U.S. militaryforce to secure oil fields locat-ed in eastern Syria and con-tinue the fight against ISIS.
Tehran: Iran’s Foreign Ministryon Monday announced that thecountry was ready to furtherreduce its commitments underthe 2015 nuclear deal, unless itsinterests were secured by thesignatories.
Ministry spokesman AbbasMousavi said that “we hopeparties to the nuclear deal takespecial measures (to protectIran’s interests) pertaining tothe deal, otherwise, we are
ready to take the fourth step”,reports Xinhua news agency.
As a reaction to the USwithdrawal from the JointComprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA) in 2018 and its sub-sequent sanctions on Iran andEurope’s sluggishness to saveTehran’s interests under thedeal, the Islamic Republic start-ed reducing its nuclear com-mitments from May this year.
The agreement places sig-
nificant limitations on Iran’snuclear programme to preventthe country from makingatomic bombs.
Last month, Iran had acti-vated advanced centrifuges toboost its reserves of enricheduranium. As a third step in Iran’sreduction of commitmentsunder the deal, the AtomicEnergy Organization of Iran(AEOI) activated 20 IR-4 and 20IR-6 centrifuges. IANS
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Sterling fell modestly as trad-ing resumed on Monday
following British PrimeMinister Boris Johnson’s latestfailure to break the Brexit deadlock, with forexmarkets shrugging off a week-end of drama in the British
parliament.The currency was down
0.55 percent to US$1.2913 ataround 0000GMT, holding rel-atively steady for a currencythat has been on a rollercoast-er over the past month.
“The fact Sterling hasproven surprisingly resilient...Buttresses well for risk senti-
ment,” wrote Stephen Innes,Asia Pacific market strategist atAxiTrader, in a commentary.
All eyes were on the poundafter the House of Commonssat on Saturday to considerJohnson’s EU divorce deal in avote that was seen as a poten-tial turning point in the long-running Brexit saga.
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London: Scotland’s highestcourt says it could censure theBritish Government if it tries toskirt its obligation to avoid ano-deal exit from the EuropeanUnion at the end of this month.
Britain’s Parliament haspassed a law compelling theGovernment to seek a three-month delay to Brexit if an EUdivorce deal was not in place byOctober 19 — and to accept adelay if the EU offers. Judges atthe Court of Session inEdinburgh ruled Monday thatthe case should continue untilthe Government’s obligationsunder the law have been com-plied with “in full.” AP
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France believes an addition-al delay to Britain’s exit
from the EU is “in nobody’sinterest,” a Governmentspokeswoman said on Monday,as British Prime Minister BorisJohnson seeks support fromMPs for a new divorce deal.
“It’s now up to the Britishparliament to say what itthinks, it’s no longer up to theEuropean Union,” SibethNdiaye told journalists after acabinet meeting. “So a voteneeds to be taken on the heartof the matter, not just stallingtactics to gain time,” she said.
Step into a designer store at afancy mall and there is anaura of intimidation that
refuses to shrug itself off irrespec-tive of how heavy a wallet youcarry or whether you are shoppingfor a trousseau or a pret dress. Yes,a redux of the famous scene fromthe Julia Roberts- starrer PrettyWoman is bound to play in yourhead when you enter a high-endstore. But stereotypes exist tomark out the disruptors in thegame. Away from stiff upper lips,nose in the air and a condescend-ing attitudes is Shahpur Jat, a hub,where it is as normal to bump intoa crafts person as often as adesigner. It is to explore this andmore that Rishi Raj, a stylist whohas dressed the likes of KanganaRanaut and Katrina Kaif, besidesordinary mortals, undertook awalk on retail therapy in the fash-ion street, which was held as a partof the Shahpur Jat AutumnFestival by the Delhi Government.
“The best part about thisplace is that it democratises fash-ion,” says Raj as he addresses amotley group of about 25 women,many from a polytechnic inGhaziabad, who have assembledat a meeting point on an after-noon. Before we dive into thethroes of the action, Raj gives usa brief history of the area. “Thiswas agricultural land, so a lot ofJat clans, the Panwars and theTomars settled here and becamefairly prosperous. Shahpur Jatmeans the royal land of the Jats,”he says. With time Khel Gaon,Asiad Village and Hauz Khascame up and rich wealthy familiessettled there. “Wherever the afflu-ent section moves, luxury andfashion also make an appear-ance. So it developed as a fashionmarket,” he says. What makes themarket special is that the two lay-ers exist cheek by jowl, intersect-ing at times though not quite asmany original inhabitants haverented out their properties to thenew. “Often, when we climb thesteps to visit a studio, we can seefood being cooked in a kitchen orhear the whistle of a pressurecooker,” says Raj.
We start walking and Rajgestures towards two carts, oneselling tender coconut water andthe other, shakarkandi (sweet
potato) chat. “This is sustenance,”announces Raj and adds, “WhenI am here, this is often what I sur-vive on and you need to try thisbefore you leave,” against thebackdrop of shuffling feet as wemove ahead. We are headed toMint Blush, a store run by threeyoung designers – Amir, Sahil andShazmeen. We bump into Amir alittle before his store, parked as heis with one foot resting on a scoot-er and at the end of his hand isdangling a cigarette. “This isexactly what I was saying. We canjust bump into many of thedesigners and some have becomefriends. Unlike the top-notchones with whom you have to takean appointment,” points out Rajand this statement is borne outthrice more during a period of twohours that we pace about in thenarrow lanes which also house thelikes of Samant Chauhan, JenjumGadi and Nida Mahmood.
Raj says that there is a reasonwhy each level of fashion design-ers should co-exist. He adds,“Fashion started as a form ofexpression. Now it has become anassociation where your self-worthis defined by the brand that youwear.”
We troop into the small storeand fit but just barely. The racks
on display cater to both men andwomen with their interesting mixof lightweight lehengas, suits,bandhgalas, sherwanis and Indo-Western wear. Amir says, “Thisplace holds everything that weneed. There are embroiderers,dyers, printers, even people whocan make the publicity materialand what have you. So you canfind textiles, heritage work, fash-ion pret, juttis, traditional batuaswith intricate work so it is a one-stop market for everything. Plus,the rents are a fraction of any ofthe big designer malls. Naturally,for a new designer, this is the placeto be in.” Raj nods in agreementand adds, “You are earning foryourself rather than for yourlandlord.”
Moreover, as a spin-off, mod-elling agencies are also beginningto sprout. “They are teaching andtraining people interested in theprofession. There are designers inthe areas so it is easy to getwork.” We can see the board ofone agency, Purple Thoughts,that can be approached afterclimbing a narrow stairway.Looking up, we see a mesh of elec-tric wires, through which thesunlight streams through. It is asmuch a part of the collage of thearea as a Samant Chauhan studio
existing at a stone’s throw awayfrom a small non-AC store ped-dling Telephone brand of threadswhich “don’t lose colour”.
“It is like an artisanal villagewith everything. When sourcingembellishments, it is not possibleto go a place like Turkman Gateeach time. Plus, at many of theshops, things are sold in wholesalewhich are unaffordable for thesmaller designers. Not just theornamentation but even thecraftsperson to sew it on and stitchthe clothes can be found in thearea,” says Raj.
He also points out that design-ers here are closer to the idea ofheritage textiles and designs andas if on cue a thela laden withprinted textiles appears. Sooncustomers are milling around ittrying to figure out what worksbest for them.
He recalls that when he start-ed out as a stylist, there were justfive people in the profession. “Ijoined Satya Paul and started toput together saris, blouses andjewellery for Mandira Bedi whowas the brand ambassador,” saysRaj who has been coming here forthe past 15 years.
Shahpur Jat works for a styl-ist like Raj who works withcelebrities of all levels. “When I
want to dress a starlet, this iswhere I come because it works forboth. It is easy for a Katrina or anAishwarya to get access to a LouisVuitton or a Rohit Bal. Youngercelebrities need styling and thedesigners here are hungry forexposure. It works out for both,”he says.
One thing that we can’t helpbut notice is the gorgeous windowdisplays that each of the storeshave. Some play around withmannequins that have heads madeof wires, while the others haveframes with crochet work inwhite, creating an ethereal lookwhile there are still others whichhave embellished it with flowersthat look almost real.
We walk into Nitya Bajaj’sstore which screams bling andglam. But what is interesting isthat very many of the clothes havea children’s version as well. Rajsays, “I often source clothes fromher for TV shows as these areideal for it.”
The next stop that Raj shep-herd us to is Olivia Dar’s studio.The French lady is not in the storewhich is located on the first floorand has a precarious spiral stair-case leading to it. There are inter-esting knick knacks — braceletsmade of beads, earrings fash-
ioned from ornamentation that isusually used on clothes and kur-tis and dresses with embroiderythat reminds one of the weavingthat one usually sees on theMekhla chadar. “What is it thatspurs a foreigner to come andwork here?” he throws a questionand answers himself, “Clearly,she sees potential.”
But the best is yet to come —a store Second Floor Studio,which has a large space spreadover two floors. Raj tells us thatPuneet Jasuja, the man behind itgave up his high-paying job in theUS at 36 as he wanted to workwith Indian design and products.“He sources jewellery, homeware, textiles and more from var-ious clusters and villages,” saysRaj. Especially, fascinating are theearrings made of blow glass,their very own modernistic takeon lights, which can be worn withIndian and Western wear.
Raj points out that unlikewhat people might think that theplace is inhabited by designerswho are yet to make it big, thereare some who have come back tothe area. “There is a far greaterfootfall and sales-wise, it worksbetter for even the bigger design-ers,” he says.
We are nearing the end of thewalk and he tells us that the entirearea is in a big oval, which is apart of third oldest city of Delhicalled, Siri. “There are parts ofrocks, tombs and mosques hereand several monuments as well.The interesting thing about Delhiis that there is so much historywhich is especially important interms of fashion because to knowwhere you are going, you need tobe aware of where you are com-ing from. How fashion, silhou-ettes, textiles and culture evolvedis a part of Delhi’s history as it isthe textile and design capital,” hesays and adds that the place hasbecome a craft and food hub.“There is rustic authentic farerather than a spaghetti bologneseor a teriyaki or a sushi bar,” heguffaws.
By this time we have reachedTohfe Wala Gumbad. Certainly,a one of a kind, both the monu-ment and the stroll around thearea.
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The Duchess of Sussex says her first year of mar-riage to Britain’s Prince Harry has been dif-
ficult because of the pressure from Britain’s tabloidpress.
The former Meghan Markle told ITV in aninterview broadcast Sunday that her Britishfriends warned her not to marry the princebecause of the intense media scrutiny that wouldfollow in his country. But the U.S. television starsaid she “naively” dismissed the warnings,because as an American she didn’t understandhow the British press worked.
“I never thought this would be easy but Ithought it would be fair. And that is the part thatis hard to reconcile,” she said. “But (I) just takeeach day as it comes.” The royal couple revealedtheir struggles with the media during the ITVdocumentary “Harry & Meghan: An AfricanJourney,” which followed them on a recent tourof Southern Africa. Both said they had struggledwith the spotlight, particularly because they saymuch of what is printed is untrue.
The pressure was aggravated by the fact thatthe duchess was a newlywed, then pregnant andthen a new mother. “Any woman, especially whenthey’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable. And sothat was made really challenging, and then whenyou have a newborn, you know?” she said, addingthat it was a struggle.
Later she added: “I would say thank you forasking, because not many people have asked if I’mOK, but it’s a very real thing to be going throughbehind the scenes.” The 35-year-old Harry didacknowledge there have been some differencesbetween him and his older brother, 37-year-oldPrince William, although he said most of whathas been printed about a rift between the two hasbeen “created out of nothing.”
“Part of this role and part of this job and this
family being under the pressure that it’s under,inevitably stuff happens,” he said. “But, look, we’rebrothers. We’ll always be brothers. We’re certain-ly on different paths at the moment, but I willalways be there for him, as I know he’ll alwaysbe there for me.”
Harry has lashed out at the British media inthe past for its treatment of Meghan, accusing themedia of hounding her the way it did his moth-er, Princess Diana, who died in a 1997 car crashwhile trying to elude paparazzi. Harry insist-ed he didn’t want such history repeated.
During the trip to Africa, Harry walkedthrough the same minefield in Angola that hismother visited just before her death as she pub-licised efforts to clear thousands of mines leftbehind by the country’s 27-year civil war. Hetold ITV that one of the most difficult parts ofbeing constantly in the public eye is that everyclick of a shutter and flash from a camera is “theworst reminder” that his mother’s life ended soyoung, at only 36. But he added, “I will not bebullied into playing a game that killed mymum.”
At the close of their African tour, Harry andMeghan each brought separate legal actionsagainst the media.
The duchess earlier this month sued theMail on Sunday tabloid, claiming it illegallypublished a letter she wrote to her father. Harrysued over the alleged illegal interception ofvoicemail messages by journalists from the Sun,the News of the World and the Daily Mirrornewspapers.
Harry, who has joined his brother in pro-moting a more open discussion of mental healthissues throughout society, described his ownmental health struggles as being a matter of“constant management. Part of this job, and partof any job, like everybody, is putting on a brave faceand turning a cheek to a lot of the stuff,” he said.“But again, for me and again for my wife, of course,there is a lot of stuff that hurts, especially when themajority of it is untrue.” —AP
With a few other actors,Rajkummar Rao is powering a
change in the world of content, wherefilms, rooted in real lives, are makinga more frequent appearance on thescreen. But he refuses to take creditand prefers to hand out accolades tothe audience by saying, “It couldn’thave been possible without them. Ihave always done films that I believedin. I follow my heart. But it’s the view-ers who acknowledge my work. Theyare the reason why we, as actors, getto do what we want to. We are gettingto be a part of exciting stories becausethey have happily accepted out-of-the-box content and are welcoming thisnew change in cinema. We just portraythe characters that they can believe in.”
The actor has often picked filmswith scripts, which revolve aroundmiddle class men or small towns. Andsomehow the time also seemed rightfor actors like Rajkummar as the sto-ries in Hindi film industry, which wereearlier considered parallel, are nowmainstream. He believes that thechange was brought about by severalfactors. He says, “Cinema is gettingmore rooted now. It has become thenew mainstream. These are charactersthat I relate to and so does everybody.I’ve seen these in my life. I am some-one who believes in reality. So I canrelate to these stories and the problemsthey go through. That’s the reason whyI get attracted to them. But having saidthat, it’s not like I am not open to doingsomething different. I am very muchready to explore different ideas.”
Rajkummar, an alumni of FTII,has been influenced in his choices bythe great work done by many actors aswell as directors who have graduatedfrom the institute. He is highly inspiredby all these stories, the way theyfunction and their processes. He want-ed to do exactly that. “When Love SexAur Dhokha, (LSD) happened, firstfilm made entirely in the digital for-mat with different cameras, I wasdelighted to start on that note. Butthen, by the time I was getting recog-nised in the industry, there was alreadya wave of exceptional filmmakers andoriginal ideas. And they were pushingthe envelope of cinema. I got a chanceto work with most of them such asVikram Motwane, Hansal Mehta,Anurag Kashyap, Reema Kagti. Theyhave really helped me grow as an actor.I am really glad that I got the chance,”says he.
The National Award winner is allset to display his acting chops withanother powerhouse performance inMade in China, directed by MikhilMusale. The film is an enduring jour-ney of Raghuvir Mehta, a middleclass struggling Gujarati business-
man, who is trying to make it big. Hehas tried his hands at many disparateideas which have flopped but he is notready to give up. As the film progress-es, he lands up in China and returnswith an aphrodisiac, a kind of soup
made from tiger parts that supposed-ly cures all sex-related problems. Herealises that the Chinese find Indiansas those who prefer sex over smoothroads. Raghuvir’s mentor (PareshRawal) tells him, “Don’t sell the story.
Sell the hero.” That hero is sexologistDr Vardhi (Boman Irani). And thestory follows Raghuvir who convinceshim to start a business together. Hebecomes rich but several complicationsfollow.
He feels that it’s time to talk abouttaboos like sex. Primarily, the film isthe journey of Raghuvir but sex is anunderlying theme which says that it isokay to talk about it and the problemsaround it. “Boman sir always says, ifyou get fever or cold, you go to a doc-tor or take a paracetamol. Similarly, ifyou have a sexual problem, there aredoctors for that too. It’s as normal asthat,” says he.
Of course, the changing discourseof India, where the growth of technol-ogy has helped fuel the idea of startups,too, forms the backdrop of the film.The trend, as we are seeing, is towardssmaller set-ups rather than big organ-isations. Indians of the new millenniaare strong believers of pursuing theirdreams rather than following theinstructions of any foreign multina-tional, believes Rajkummar. He says,“Raghuvir, too, didn’t start the businessin China. He just gets the idea to Indiaand starts his business in Ahmedabad.I was in Bangalore and met a lot ofpeople with different startup ideas. Ifeel the whole culture is really expand-ing. It’s getting huge and a lot of peo-ple are coming up with crazy ideasevery day.”
So how did Rajkummar preparefor the role? Were there any referencepoints from real life? He says, “AsRaghuvir is a Gujarati guy, my first jobwas to sound like that because I am notfrom the state. I am not familiar withthe place at all. I spent a fair amountof time in Ahmedabad and spoke tomany locals. I recorded all my conver-sations and listened to them repeated-ly to get the nuance that I wanted formy character. We wanted to keep itauthentic and not make it look cari-caturish. I just recreated whatever Iheard. Another thing was that I want-ed to look a bit different, physically, forthis film. I gained some weight, espe-cially on my tummy and got a unibrow,which is inspired by Mikhil.”
Certainly, another idea that isunique in content and carries thestamp of the actor.
(The film releases on October 25.)�����8� �� !7�� �
The artistic development throughouthistory compels us to appreciate
how creators have translated their ideasinto tangible art. And now, with evenmore means and creative liberty, nomedium poses a challenge. Not evenmetal. Rohit Gandhi’s Palette Art opensthe season with a nuanced exploratorysuite of works — Burnished/Tarnished —that plays around with its malleability.
�)� ����)#��The artist tops the collection with his
leitmotif of the narrative in the story ofexperiments with metal. Gupta’s oeuvrehas blossomed with the use of metalliclustre which can be in any form, be it ves-sel or other metallic compositions.Gangajal to Brancusi reflects his fondnessfor doubling effects and recurring motifs.The paired objects — two pails, invert-ed handi and the small water pot — high-light the minimalist associations.Enlivened by the odd surrealist touch, itis the weight of the brass sculpture thatalludes to the shiny reinterpretation ofIndia’s everyday idioms.
������%����On the next wall is Gigi Scaria’s
Around the Corner. Gandhi’s placementof Gigi’s work gets you thinking of theinfinite possibility of media and materi-als. The objects are carefully arranged toreveal the architecture of the gallery,encouraging the viewers to be con-scious of the sculptural engagement.
Aesthetically, Gigi soars as a cuttingedge creator, who creates work thatmoves from minimalist to an eclecticform of avant garde reflections. Themetallic matte finish or lustre in his instal-lation represents qualities such as truth(because it does not pretend to be any-thing other than what it is), order, com-plexity , simplicity or an alluring unseenharmony. His work proves to be a per-fect counterpoint to Subodh in manyways.
��������)����#��Enticing in her explorations is
Bangladesh artist Tayeba Begum Lipi’swork from 1.7 million mi to 55,598 mi .It is a series of four circular panels framedin razor blades, suggesting the notions ofPartition. Translating geophysical bound-aries into art, she presents the sub-con-tinent’s land mass of 1.7 million squaremiles, dissected into maps of Bangladesh,India and Pakistan.
In an interview she said, “When I wasa child, I used to hear stories from myparents when the inhabitants from dif-ferent beliefs and perspectives used to livetogether happily. I used four etched mapson polished stainless-steel plates to cre-ate a scratched and wounded reflectionof the subcontinent and its inhabitants,who are survivors or an aftermath of thePartition, borders and barbed fences.”
���������Bharti Kher reinvents her language
and practice with the bindi. It unlocks thematters of the heart, is a summation ofexperiences about the materiality of a cul-tural fabric and an inherent subtle fem-inist narrative born of harsh and haunt-ing truths. In tone, geometry andcoloured contexts, bindis for Kher are likemarkers that carry memory, narrative andthe sleight of hand. They become silentsentinels — a witness to the day in thelife of a person, a residual idea, a leftoverexperience, even small rituals that fill ourlives. In an interview, Kher has explained:“It’s the small markers that you make inyour life that have meaning for you, andyou’re not really sure why you do that. Icelebrate the passion, aesthetic and thebeauty of the works, and how they playvisually. They’re uncentered. I like howI can take simple form somewhere else,and then bring it back into my own prac-tice.”
9�����������New York dweller and mentor Zarina
Hashmi’s Twisted House 1984 is dulcetand full of an esoteric essence of nostal-gia. Through a few lines, abstractedgeometry, essential colours and evokingthe language Urdu, she uses individualexpression to capture collective experi-ence. Memory and history and Partitionand boundaries, everything comes intoplay. In the theme, we sense the naturalflow of human relationships, the corri-dors of communication and the vibra-tions that enhance or disturb understand-ing. Zarina creates corollaries in conver-sation, of social understanding and har-monious communities.
��������� ���Vibha Galotra’s Trip to Mars echoes
social consciousness and sparks conver-sations on mass migration. Galhotraaddresses the impact of globalisation ontopography and the environment. Shecalls into question natural disasters andlimited natural resources. Deeply influ-enced by the Yamuna River, her workfrom the series Life on Mars focusses onrecent exploration of our neighbourplanet in search of viable sources of water.
The enticing surreal ghungroos are meld-ed into reconstructed photographs pulledfrom NASA’s research that began in 2005.The work compels futuristic inquiry andquestions why we don’t preserve ourresources.
# $�������Staple pins become her material. And
sky scrapers become her composition.Pooja Iranna’s stapled grids could be mis-taken for bar graphs but she positions thevery existence of civilisation all over theworld. She does that with the stapled skyscraper like creations that illustrate herpre-occupation with architecture, mem-ory, experience and the vision of yester-day, today and tomorrow.
Among the others in the epic suiteare Himmat Shah’s elegant bronzes of2004 and 2005. Ravinder Reddy’s Srideviis commanding in scale and demeanour.Here is a hybrid Sridevi, her history goingback to roots in the past and has one footin the pop cultural present. Reddy rev-els in his sculpture being an emblem ofheroic art with a common man’s touch— kitsch for the ages.
Six hundred love letters written bypoet-litterateur Dharamvir Bharati tohis second wife. The poetic love story
of Radha and Krishna. The last day of the18-day Kurukshetra war of Mahabharata.Even though these three anecdotes mightseem extremely distinct from each otherin terms of timeline, they do have a stringof commonality that binds them togeth-er. And actor-singer-writer Ila Arunholds on to it to recreate and retell thethree works by Dharamvir Bharati — EkSahityik ke Prem Patra, Kanupriya andAndha Yug — through a dramatised ren-dition titled Shabd Leela.
Explaining why she chose the threeworks, she says, “These are some classicswritten by Bharati that have greatlyimpacted people who have read them. Ihave been reading his writings sincechildhood and even my mother was veryfond of them. I have read Gunaahon KeDevta, another classic by him. I wantedto bring his works to life on the stage anddo some theatre around it. His poetry,Kanupriya, has been narrated many times.But I wanted to create something new andof my own. Even Andha Yug has beenstaged in various versions before. So Ithought how could I present these gemsin a different manner?” It was then whenIla read his Ek Sahityik Ke Prem Patra,which has over 600 letters he wrote to hissecond wife. “I decided to connect the dotsin a way that they brought out the writer’screativity. Interestingly, the love letterstalked of various subjects, including liter-ature, politics, geography, history, physics,etc,” adds Ila.
So how did she connect the threeworks with totally distinct themes? Shepoints out that the letters formed a basisto understand everything that had everbeen written by the author. “Be it any ofhis classic, his letters answered why hewrote whatever he wrote. After readingthose letters and looking at how headdressed his wife in them, it became eas-ier for me to understand Kanupriya. I
realised what was his inspiration behindpenning that poetry. Hence, I decided todo it through his letters,” she says and addsthat this was one way in which thingswouldn’t have been repeated.
There’s a human angle to each ofBharti’s stories, she says. “After he expe-rienced love, he found Radha andKrishna’s relationship to be very special.Krishna became a very interesting char-acter for him. He looked at him in a dif-ferent light as a warrior, a human being,god, a lover and a philosopher. However,having said that, one also finds his criti-cism against him in the letters. Throughthem, you also come to know about otherwriters of that era who have commented,analysed his work or criticised it andreviewed it. That is a very unique thing,”adds Ila.
When she revealed the idea of depict-ing it via letters to director KK Raina, heagreed too and found the idea veryunique. However, combining the three wasthe tough part. Ila says that “love” is thecommon theme and sentiment that sheheld on to to connect all the three pieces.However, one might wonder that sinceAndha Yug is about the last day of theMahabharata war, how can it explore love?Bharati’s Andha Yug showcases Krishnabeing cursed by Gandhari, whereas inKanupriya, he is enveloping Radha in hisarms. How has she placed the two contra-dictions in the same narration? Sheexplains the different facets of love shefound even in Andha Yug. “Even asGandhari curses Krishna on the Yadavaclan destruction, she still loves him as hisson. Then there is Radha’s love whichmakes her question him — You are mylove but now that you’ve created a war, are
you really the same? She says that love can-not exist where there is war. Hence,Andha Yug has stayed so relevant. It ques-tions the value of love and war. Jahan warhai, vahan pyaar nahi ho sakta,” she says.
The drama also showcases howBharati’s letters included many otherthings than just love. Their relationshipwas much more than physicality; theypassed on their creativity to each other.She says, “They never said I love you orI miss you to each other unlike today’sgeneration who are constantly on theirmobile phones, conversing with eachother yet failing miserably at handlingrelationships. They learnt from eachother and taught each other since theywere a student and a teacher who fell inlove. Words played a very important rolein their lives. They conversed through lit-erature. They also discussed politics. Hetold her that had she been present duringthe time of Nehru ji, she would have beenthe railway minister. They talked about thegenerosity of Shastri ji. Hum kahan aaj ketime me politics discuss karte hain.”
The narration also looks at howdespite his failure to ensure peace, it wasKrishna’s presence throughout AndhaYug, which revealed that the ethical andthe sacred are always available to humanbeings even in the worst of times.
It was indeed a challenge for Ila to findout that one letter through which shecould connect the other two stories andweave them in the same narration. “Kaisenikalu voh common link?” she used tothink. In letters, the two talked of Tagore’sworks too. And one of them focussed onhow relationships are important. That waswhere she found the right chord. She says,“It said, ‘Bandhan bohot zaroori hai’ andthrough that they discussed Krishna’s rela-tionships with Radha, Yashoda andGandhari. There I connected Gandhariwith Krishna and her curse. Then I tiedall the three things. I had to read the 600letters over and over again. Otherwise, itwould have been difficult. Ek mala bananeke liye agar main galat moti piro deti tohuss mala ka koi point nahi rehta. It wouldhave been futile. The script had to betight.”
Which is why her rendition is titledShabd Leela, which implies the creativityof words. It is about how a writer can cre-ate different kinds of emotions and dramawith so many words. Perhaps, it’s also whyPushpa Bharati (Dharamvir Bharati’s sec-ond wife) told Ila “how she has created his-tory. Nobody has ever done it this waybefore.”
(The drama was staged at the IndiaInternational Centre as a part of the IICExperience.)
Artists, mathematicians, musicians and sci-entists have explained and worked with
shunya (zero) in innumerable ways. In fact, itsconcept was not just mathematical or scientif-ic, but is deeply rooted in branches of thought,especially metaphysics and cosmology. It alsoreflects the void before creation and the pointof infinity.
The Architectural Digest Design Show2019, threw up a suite in the Apparao Galleriesshowcasing its collection — Exploring theShunya Collection. According to SharanApparao, founder of Apparao Galleries, “Theworks of art in this range will explore the def-inition of shunya. According to the gallery, shun-ya is the silence before sound and the zerobefore numbers.”
����7��)�%�������%���Artist Bala’s installation of six hands is
evocative and deeply ephemeral because of theemotive echoes it throws up. Bala is known forhis felicity with acrylic and other media. He cre-ates an uncanny alchemy with various forms ofmedia to give us human hands that transcendphysical elements, even as they emote the eventsthat surround us. Working across a range ofmedia and materials, he has in the pastfocussed on the notions of what is visible andtangible—bringing the geological and elemen-tal to human-scale. The six hands render invis-ible processes into delicate sculptural forms.
������7��� �����Dhasan, the show stopper gives us multi-
ple renderings and moorings with mixedmedia that celebrate the power and manifesta-tion of forms. For example, Dhasan uses designas an allegory to create concentric as well as cir-cular and elliptical arrangements. As you studythe elements, you find that there is a cohesivecondensing, a slow exchange between theatmosphere and the evanescent yet indicatemood of creating islands of thought around it.
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Perhaps, most notably is one of India’s great-est abstract master Sohan Qadri’s watercolour
on paper. It is a minimalist rendition of tran-sient, fleeting and resonant in search for theabsolute. Qadri’s work talk about the infiniteplanes and tactile patterns that can flirt with ouridea of shunya. He exemplifies many realms ofShunya, which is not merely the transition pointbetween opposites, but also symbolises the bal-ance between divergent nuances and nitty grit-ties.
�9�7����������Dulcet and ethereal is Sayed Haider Raza’s
awakening. His work defines design in all itsmyriad permutations and his idea of unity wasnot restricted to cultures alone. In his work,Raza expanded the idea of the universe and thebeing, and the quest for enlightenment betweenindividual bodies which is found in the unityof souls. Awakening also exemplifies the gift ofpeace. The work speaks about the layers ofShunya, how poetry and mathematics exist sideby side and how we can unearth acoustic rangesand vibrations, sending out ripples of tranquil-ity. Shunya then is about the beauty of energyfound in life. Its power can be experienced inthe blanket of emptiness that is deceptive.Ultimately, its all about the depth of silence thatis within each of us.
Bayern Munich face Olympiakos awaytoday with key defender Niklas Suele
sidelined as Niko Kovac’s side seek to provetheir demolition of Tottenham was no fluke.
The summer overhaul of Bayern’ssquad bore spectacular fruit a fortnight agoin a 7-2 thrashing of Spurs as winger SergeGnabry scored four second-half goals.
“The 7-2 was a great match, a state-ment, but nothing more,” insisted Bayernhead coach Kovac after last season’s final-ists were routed.
Now Bayern must back up the Spurstrouncing in Athens on the back of below-par performances in the Bundesliga and theloss of Germany centre-back Suele.
Bayern suffered their first defeat thisseason 10 days ago by crashing 2-1 at hometo Hoffenheim, then leaked a 91st-minuteequaliser in Saturday’s 2-2 draw atAugsburg to stay third in the Bundesliga.
The point at Augsburg carried a highprice as torn knee ligaments means Sueleshould be sidelined for the next six months.
Mats Hummels has been sold back toformer club Borussia Dortmund, but nowhis former centre-back partner Boateng canprove himself after Suele’s injury.
Having been heavily linked to ParisSaint-Germain and Juventus this year,Boateng could now partner LucasHernandez at Olympiakos, where Bayernchase a third straight win to stay top ofGroup B.
Kovac had been using Suele, 24, andHernandez, 23, asc e n t r e - b a c k s ,backed up byFrance’s 2018 WorldCup winnerBenjamin Pavard,
23, who can play in the middle of defenceor left-back.
Bayern have reached at least the semi-
finals of the Champions League in seven ofthe previous ten seasons, but crashed outin the last 16 to eventual winners Liverpoolin 2018/19.
However, the effect of bringing in newblood like Countinho was obvious atTottenham, where the ruthless perfor-mance suggested “Bayern are one of thefavourites this season,” said Sky pundit DidiHamann.
Yet as the Hoffenheim and Augsburgperformances showed, Kovac’s new-lookBayern is still raw as the club looks to avoidanother knock-out phase exit, like inrecent years, against such teams asLiverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“A lot needs to go wrong for the otherteams and everything must be perfect forBayern to shorten the gap on the interna-tional stage,” ex-Germany midfielder StefanEffenberg told magazine Kicker.
“I see Barcelona, Liverpool, ManchesterCity and Juventus being ahead of Bayern.”
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Tottenham manager MauricioPochettino accepted on
Monday his job will come underscrutiny if fails to rally the flag-ging fortunes of last season’sChampions League finalists.
Spurs have endured a terriblestart to the season, winning justthree of their first 12 games in allcompetitions, which has seenPochettino face prolonged criti-cism for the first time in five-and-a-half years at the club.
“I am not surprised. That isfootball,” said Pochettino.“Football is always about to wintoday and tomorrow, what hap-pened yesterday is gone.
“I understand it’s the business.I am 47 — look, why do you thinkthat I don’t have white hair?
“Because I don’t pay attentionto any of this. I only pay attentionto what we need to do to improveour performance.”
Pochettino said afterSaturday’s 1-1 draw against bot-tom-of-the-table Watford thathis side was slowly regainingtheir confidence after a 7-2
thrashing at the hands of BayernMunich three weeks ago.
Tottenham can begin to putthat result right when they hostRed Star Belgrade today with thechance to move back into poleposition for a place in the last 16.
“It’s important to win tomor-row (on Tuesday) to be in a goodposition in the table.” addedPochettino. “In this type of peri-
od, our worstopponent are our-selves and we needto compete withourselves to build
our confidence.”Despite taking just one point
from their first two games inGroup B, Tottenham are betterplaced than they were at thesame stage in the ChampionsLeague last season before going allthe way to the final for the firsttime in the club’s history.
“We know it takes a lot ofexperience, a lot of energy to getthrough a Champions Leaguegroup. If we can win tomorrownight we will be in a better posi-tion than last year and obvious-ly we ended up going to the final,”said Harry Kane.
“We have to believe in everygame we play, fight for eachother and then who knows what’spossible.”
Kane’s form has not falteredas much as some of his team-mates with the England captainscoring seven times in 11 appear-ance for Spurs this season.
However, he admitted thepast few weeks are the toughestperiod he has gone through sincebreaking into the first-team fiveyears ago.
“The standards we have setover the past four or five yearshave been very high. Now whenthings aren’t going so well peopleare going to wonder why,” addedKane.
“This season little thingsaren’t going our way, we’ve got totry and find away to overcomethat.”
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Manchester Citymanager Pep
Guardiola believesthe English champions are still not strong enoughat either end of the field to count themselves as real-istic contenders to win the Champions League forthe first time.
City are the bookmakers’ favourites to finally winthe biggest prize in European football after more thana decade of huge investment from the club’s AbuDhabi owners and in Guardiola’s fourth season incharge.
However, the Catalan, who has won theChampions League twice as a manager and once asa player at Barcelona, thinks City will be punishedin the latter stages of the competition if they con-tinue the inconsistent form they have shown so farin the Premier League this season.
“We miss a lot of chances in the final third andwe have to do that, to be clinical. When the peoplesay about the Champions League being the target,we are still not ready,” said Guardiola, whose side havewon their opening two Champions League games andhost Atalanta at the Etihad today.
“In this competition you have to be strong in theboxes and this season we are not incredibly strongin the boxes. Of course we have time.”
City have been beset by injuries in defence andsuffered shock defeats to Norwich and Wolves in theiropening nine Premier League games.
Guardiola, though, believes the onus is on his sideto attack well as a unit to mask any defensive fail-ings.
“When you play good, you defend less. When ourbuild-up is bad, when you don’t play good, you con-cede a lot,” he added.
“What happens when we make our incredible,fluid game from the build-up? We concede few(chances). When our build-up is wrong, we makemistakes in the first pass, we are nervous like whathappened against Wolves...we concede a lot.
“That's why it’s related. It’s not that you play wellin one department and it’s enough. When our press-ing is high, is intense, we concede really few(chances).”
Guardiola will at least have more defenders tochoose from for the visit of the Italians in midweekwith Nicolas Otamendi and Kyle Walker returningto training after missing Saturday’s 2-0 win at CrystalPalace, while John Stones could make his first startin five weeks.
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Real Madrid faces a tough test atGalatasaray as they chases firstChampions League win of the
season. Madrid sits in last place inGroup A after losing 3-0 at Paris Saint-Germain before barely savingface in a 2-2 draw with visitingClub Brugge.
Coach Zinedine Zidane’spreparations are far from idealfor today’s game in Istanbul afterhis heavily rotated squad surren-dered its Spanish league lead on theweekend in a 1-0 loss at Mallorca.
Group leader PSG visits Bruges asthey bid to maintain its perfect start.
Also today, Tottenham is aiming tobounce back from the humiliation at thehands of Bayern Munich with a winover visiting Red Star Belgrade, andItalian newcomer Atalanta faces a tripto English champion Manchester City.
GROUP ALast season’s worries were supposed
to disappear after Zidane returned totake over Madrid’s dysfunctional team.But the problems have continuedthrough an expensive summer rebuild-ing campaign and an unconvincing startto the Spanish league.
Injuries haven’t helped. LukaModric, Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos andLucas Vázquez are all doubtful for thegame against Galatasaray.
Madrid goalkeeper ThibautCourtois has faced heavy criticismamid questions from supporters overwhy he was preferred to Keylor Navas,who joined PSG in the offseason.
Navas will hope to maintain anoth-er clean sheet for PSG in Bruges,which is unbeaten in six ChampionsLeague games.
GROUP BTottenham reached last season’s
final despite claiming just one point fromits opening three games, but MauricioPochettino’s team will not want torepeat the attempt after conceding sevengoals in a home game for the first time.
Bayern’s 7-2 win leavesTottenham with one point fromtheir opening two games and thePremier League team will be keento restore some lost pride whenRed Star Belgrade visits.
Despite domestic setbacks,Bayern will be confident of maintainingits winning start to the ChampionsLeague with another victory atOlympiakos in Greece.
GROUP CManchester City has won their last
five games at home in European com-petition and Atalanta seems unlikely tostop that run after losing both games onits tournament debut.
City coach Pep Guardiolaplayed for Atalanta’s bitter rivalsBrescia, offering the visitorsmore motivation for causing anupset.
Shakhtar Donetsk hostsDinamo Zagreb in the other groupgame.
GROUP DAtlético Madrid will be without star
forward João Félix when it hostsLeverkusen and tries to stay top of itsgroup with Juventus, which hostsLokomotiv Moscow. Félix sprained hisright ankle on Saturday.
Atlético, unbeaten in its last 11matches at home in European compe-titions, eliminated Leverkusen in theRound of 16 of the Champions Leaguein 2016-17.
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Stefano Pioli's first game incharge of AC Milan in Serie
A ended in a 2-2 draw againstlowly Lecce at San Siro onSunday. Pioli's debut was spoiledby two players he previouslycoached — Khouma Babacarand Marco Calderoni.
Babacar cancelled outTurkish winger HakanCalhanoglu's first-half goal,when the Senegalese forwardmissed a penalty but turned inthe rebound after an hour.
Krzysztof Piatek came offthe bench and scored with nineminutes to go after a Calhanoglupull back, but Calderoni rifledin the equaliser in stoppagetime. "Tonight I suffered becauseof my exes," said Pioli.
"I had hoped for a gift thisevening for my birthday, but Isaw some good things, the teamdeserved a win, but it was ourown fault we didn't," added theformer Fiorentina coach, whoturned 54 on Sunday.
Milan are in 12th with tenpoints from eight games. Lecceare one point above the relega-tion zone.
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Former world number one Andy Murray wasrewarded for his victory in Antwerp at the
weekend, with another dramatic rise in the ATPrankings which were released on Monday.
The Scotsman, who is on the comeback trailafter career-saving hip surgery, climbed 116places to 127 following his 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win overStan Wawrinka — his first title in two years.
He is now expected to take a break as his wifewaits for the birth of their third child.
Novak Djokovic remains at number one, the273rd week in his career that he holds the topspot, with Rafael Nadal just 320 points behind.
The only change in the top 10 sees theJapanese Kei Nishikori climbing one place fromnine to eight with the Russian Karen Khachanovslipping down in the other direction.
BENCIC AT 7Belinda Bencic completed an excellent week,
which saw her win the Kremlin Cup and qual-ify for the year-ending WTA finals, with a three-place climb to number seven in the WTA rank-ings.
The Australian Ashleigh Barty retains thenumber one slot ahead of the Czech KarolinaPliskova.
Bianca Andreescu, Simona Halep and PetraKvitova all climb one place at the expense of ElinaSvitolina who slips four spots to eighth while KikiBertens is down two to 10.
The main climber outside the top 10 is JelenaOstapenko, the 2017 French Open champion,who climbed 19 places to 44 following her titlevictory in Luxembourg on Sunday.
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Midfielder Sushila Chanu is confi-dent of the Indian women’s hock-
ey team qualifying for the TokyoOlympics as she feels the country hasmade a lot of improvement in the lastthree years.
The Indian team, which returned tothe Olympic fold in Rio in 2016 after agap of 36 years, plays against UnitedStates here on November 1 and 2 for aberth in next year’s Tokyo Games.
“We know how it felt representingIndia at Olympics when we qualified forit after a 36-year gap in Rio. However,when we came back from that outing,there was a unanimous feeling aroundthe group that we need to push ourselvesand make sure we consistently put in theperformances which will help us in qual-ifying for the next edition,” Sushila said.
“We have made huge strides fromthe previous Olympics, and now we areall very determined to secure our place
in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” said the26-year-old Sushila who captained theside in 2016 Rio Olympics.
It was a disastrous performance forIndia in the Rio Olympics as the teamcrashed out in the preliminary stageafter losing four matches and drawingone to finish at the bottom of the group.
“We have 10 players in this currentside who were there in Rio as well, andall of us collectively want to experiencethat feeling again. Not just that, we wantto win a medal for the country this timein Tokyo,” said the midfielder from
Manipur.The world number 9 Indian team
is currently training here at the KalingaHockey Stadium ahead of their OlympicQualifiers against USA.
“We have the best opportunity toqualify for Tokyo Olympics as we areplaying at home against USA. We willhave the support of the home crowd,and even though USA are a strong unit,we have full belief in ourselves and inthe way we play.
“We have made huge strides in ourgame from 2016 and now is the time to
show it to the world that India is hereto challenge for the top honours, regard-less of the opposition we face. That isthe kind of confidence we have and weare determined to produce the resultsin the Olympic Qualifiers,” Sushilasaid.
Having missed two major tourna-ments last year due to a long-terminjury, the midfielder returned to theside at the start of this year. He said thejourney back to the team has been atough one.
“It was unfortunate that I suffereda long-term injury in 2018, and had tomiss major tournaments like the 2018World Cup, the 2018 Asian Games andthe AHF Women’s Champions Trophy.It was a difficult period for me person-ally as I was low on confidence.
“There were times when I woulddoubt myself and think about thewhat-ifs, but the support was immense,it helped me in making a comeback,”said Sushila who has 179 int’l caps.
Juventus forward CristianoRonaldo gave coach Maurizio
Sarri a vote of confidence onMonday when he said he is happywith the “more attacking” approachthe club had adopted since Sarricame on board in the summer.
“I think the team is getting bet-ter,” said Ronaldo on the eve ofJuve’s Champions League Group Dmeeting with Lokomotiv Moscow.
“We are getting more andmore confident. We are playing adifferent brand of football, moreattacking.
“I like the way he (Sarri) wantsthe team to play. We are creatingmore opportunities, we have moreconfidence in ourselves, I’m happywith these changes.
“Maybe we could score a littlemore but I’m proud of what we aredoing.”
So far this season, Ronaldo hasscored five goals in nine games andwas on target at the weekendwhen Juventus beat Bologna 2-1 toconsolidate top spot in Serie A.
“My role hasn’t changed, per-haps I have a bit more freedom,” hesaid.
“I am happy because, bit by bit,we are getting to where Juventusought to be. We have a differencecoach, a different system, newplayers. We changed in order toimprove.”
Last week, the five-time Ballond’Or winner scored his 700thcareer goal while playing forPortugal.
“That’s already in the past. Iwant to move on, reach newheights to help the team. I want toplay and help the team win tro-phies. “Of course I am proud of theindividual records but the priori-ty is to win games for Juventus andPortugal.”
Rain ended Mumbai’s Vijay Hazare Trophycampaign here on Monday as Chhattisgarh
made it to the semi-finals on the basis of morewins against their quarterfinal opponents in theleague phase.
Tamil Nadu also reached the semi-finals onthe basis of more wins than Punjab in the leaguestage after their quarter-final game was cut shortby rain.
Tamil Nadu had won nine out of ninematches in Group C, while Chhattisgarhemerged victorious in five out of eight gamesin Group A. Mumbai won four.
While Tamil Nadu will take on Gujarat inthe semifinals on Wednesday, hosts Karnatakawill clash with Chhattisgarh.
In pursuit of a revised target of 195 from39 overs, Mumbai were cruising at 95 for no lossin 11.3 overs with young Yashasvi Jaiswal bat-ting on 60 (38 balls, 5 fours, 5 sixes) and AdityaTare on 31.
However, the skies opened up and the matchwas abandoned, ending Mumbai’s topsy-turvycampaign.
As per rules, Mumbai needed to bat a min-imum of 20 overs to get a result in this game.But as the game was abandoned, Chhattisgarhqualified.
The Mumbai Ranji team later confirmedthat they will ask the state cricket associationto discuss with the BCCI the "unfair" rules thatcut short their campaign despite dominating thequarterfinal.
A member of the Mumbai support staffexpressed displeasure over the current rules.
"Yes definitely we will make a demand. This
was unfair," the member said."How should the performance in the league
stage matter in the knock-out stages. Every dayis a new day. Else, a good team goes out in thisfashion," the member said, adding "else this thingwould continue."
In the other last eight game, Punjab restrict-ed Tamil Nadu to 174 for six in 39 overs whenrain stopped play. Tamil Nadu had a shaky startafter openers Murali Vijay (22) and AbhinavMukund (17) failed to convert starts.
But the in-form Baba Aparajith came upwith a patient 76-ball 56 (2 fours, 2 sixes) to pullhis side out of trouble. He lacked support as all-rounder Vijay Shankar (13) and skipper DineshKarthik (11) didn’t last long enough.
Thanks to Washingston Sundar’s unbeaten35 off 39 balls, Tamil Nadu breached the 170-run mark.
Punjab were 52 for two in 12.2 overs, hav-ing lost opener Abhishek Sharma (6) andAnmolpreet Singh (9) when rain stopped play.The game was eventually called off.
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Bangladesh’s upcoming tour of Indiawas on Monday thrown into jeop-
ardy after their national team playersrefused to participate in any cricketingactivity until their demands, includinga hike in salary, are met.
The boycott plan was announcedby the country’s top players such as Testand T20 captain Shakib Al Hasan,Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahimat a press conference here. Nearly 50players are part of the protest.
A boycott of any cricket activity forthe foreseeable future will have animmediate impact on the NationalCricket League, currently in progress.The action could also jeopardise thetraining camp for next month’s tour ofIndia and possibly the tour itself.
During the tour starting November3, Bangladesh are scheduled to playthree T20 Internationals and two Testmatches as part of the WorldChampionship.
“We have to respect the localcoaches, physios, trainers and grounds-man. They get really a little amount ofsalary at the end of the month,” senioropener Tamim Iqbal said on behalf of
the players at the press conference.The camp was supposed to start
this week with the team’s spin consul-tant Daniel Vettori in attendance.
India responded with a guardedstatement, calling Bangladesh’s internalmatter.
“The BCCI will wait and watch thedevelopments closely. This is an inter-nal matter of the Bangladesh CricketBoard and until and unless we hearfrom them, there is no need for us tomake any comments,” a senior BCCIfunctionary said.
Later BCCI president-elect SouravGanguly said in Kolkata that he is con-fident that Bangladesh will not call-offthe series.
“It is the internal matter of BCB butit’s not under my purview,” Gangulytold reporters in Kolkata.
One of the major points raised bythe players was better remuneration forthose competing at the first-class level.
“Match fee for the first-class crick-et should be increased to one lakh(Bangladesh Taka), which is now 35thousand only. At the same time, thesalary of first-class cricketers alsoshould be increased by 50 per cent,” saidtheir most decorated player Shakib.
“A first-class cricketer gets only1500 taka as the daily allowance. I don’tthink this is enough for a cricketer inorder to get a healthy lifestyle. At thesame time, we are demanding toincrease the travel allowance. We willbe happy if BCB ensures the air tick-ets for travelling for the First-class crick-eters around the country.”
In case Bangladesh forfeits, the ICCwill award the Test series to India whowill get 120 points.
Some of the players’ main demandsare: Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)must go back to franchise model,Dhaka Premier League (their domes-tic first-class competition) must go backto open market transfers, central con-tract salary should be higher, andinclude more players, higher first classmatch fees, players association to nolonger have conflict of interest.
“We just came to know about it wewill discuss it in the board and try toresolve it as soon as possible,” BCB CEONizamudin Chowdhury was quoted assaying by Cricbuzz.
“I don’t think it is anything likerevolt. They are yet to tell us anythingformally, but we are looking into thematter.”
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India’s pace prowess came to thefore yet again as MohammadShami and Umesh Yadav bossed
over a fragile South African battingline-up to put the hosts on the cuspof a 3-0 whitewash here at JharkhandState Cricket Association stadium onMonday.
As many as 16 South Africanwickets fell on day three of the thirdand final Test with Shami and Umeshdoing the bulk of the damage. Theduo bowled with fiery pace and werealso rewarded for consistently attack-ing the stumps.
Staring at another massivedefeat, South Africa were 132 foreight in their second innings at
stumps with India needing to turn upon day four to complete formalities.
It has proved to be another dis-mal tour of India for the SouthAfrican batsmen and notwithstand-ing the high quality of fast bowling,they looked like sitting ducks onMonday. Resuming the day at ninefor two in their first innings, SouthAfrica were bowled out for 162before India enforced the follow-on.
Umesh set the tone of the day byclean bowling South African skipperFaf du Plessis with an unplayable lateoutswinger. If Umesh was lethal in
the first innings, Shami upped hisgame in the second. The left-armspinners, debutant Shahbaz Nadeemand Ravindra Jadeja, too did their bitas India steamrolled the opposition.
Like he had done in the firstinnings, Umesh gave the first break-through in South Africa’s secondessay when he cleaned up Quintonde Kock (5) with a perfect lengthdelivery that angled across the left-hander.
Then Shami ripped through themiddle-order, first castling ZubayrHamza for a duck with a full lengthdelivery before getting rid of Faf DuPlessis (4) and Temba Bavuma (0) insuccessive overs to leave them gasp-ing at 22 four in their secondinnings.
An early tea was taken as boththe teams were left shaken afteropener Dean Elgar was hit on thehelmet by a 145kmph bouncer fromYadav. The batsman took a pause, saton the ground before going off thefield.
SHAHBAZ’S MOMENTIndia wrapped up the South
African first innings for 162 in 56.2overs in yet another meek battingsurrender that lasted less than twosessions after the visitors resumedthe day at nine for two in five overs.
Local lad Nadeem cleaned up thetail by trapping Anrich Nortje infront to make it a memorable debut,returning with figures of 11.2-4-22-2.
Nadeem had his “big moment”when he dismissed Temba Bavuma(32) for his first wicket in interna-tional cricket. He foxed Bavuma withhis flight as the batsman stepped outof the crease, leaving WriddhimanSaha to do the rest.
Nadeem’s first internationalwicket incidentally came even beforeany batsman could score run againsthim.
The only high point of the SouthAfrican batting in the first inningswas Zubayr Hamza as the 24-year-old, who replaced an injured AidenMarkram, showed fine application inhis 62 off 79 balls.
Hamza alongside TembaBavuma (32) gave the Proteas someray of hope in a 91-run partnershipthat came after Yadav cleaned up DuPlessis.
Hamza, who struck 10 bound-aries, hit seasoned off-spinnerRavichandran Ashwin for a six overmid-on to bring up his maiden fiftyin his second Test.
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Pakistan on Mondaynamed five uncapped
players, including legendaryleg-spinner late AbdulQadir’s son Usman, for theupcoming T20International and Test seriesin Australia while ignoringrecently sacked captainSarfaraz Ahmed for theimportant tour.
The 26-year-oldUsman, a leg-spin all-rounder, was included inthe squad for the three T20Imatches next month. Heplayed in the Big BashLeague in Australia last sea-son and there was specula-tion that if he was notpicked by Pakistan hewould try to settle in thatcountry and play for it.
Senior players ShoaibMalik, Mohammad Hafeezand Ahmed Shahzad alsodid not figure in the T20squad for the importanttour.
The three T20I match-es are scheduled forNovember 3 (Sydney), 5(Canberra) and 8 (Perth)while the two Tests will beheld in Brisbane (November21-25) and Adelaide(November 29 to December3).
In an expected move,
wicketkeeper-batsmanSarfaraz, who was removedas captain in all three for-mats because of poor formand leadership issues, didnot feature in the touringsquads.
Head coach and chiefselector Misbah-ul-Haq tolda press conference in Lahoreon Monday that Sarfaraz’scareer is not over and hecould get back into theteam after regaining hisform by playing domesticcricket.
The Pakistani selectorshave included wicketkeep-er-batsman MuhammadRizwan in place of Sarfarazin both the formats.
Misbah defended theinclusion of Usman in T20squad, pointing out he ispicked because of his expe-rience of playing Big Bash aswell as domestic cricket inPakistan.
Misbah said the twosquads were announcedkeeping in mind thatPakistan would approachboth series in Australiaaggressively.
“Our aim is to move upthe Test rankings and beginthe World TestChampionships strongly.There is a need to play a dif-ferent brand of cricket, thebalance of the squads isreflective of us havingoptions to play aggressive,attacking cricket,” he said.
“To beat Australia wehave to match them andplay the same aggressivecricket in batting and bowl-ing. That is the only way tobeat them.”TEST SQUAD: Azhar Ali(capt), Abid Ali, AsadShafiq, Babar Azam, HarisSohail, Imam-ul-Haq,Imran Khan senior, IftikharAhmed, Kashif Bhatti,Mohammad Abbas,Mohammad Rizwan, MusaKhan, Naseem Shah,Shaheen Shah Afridi, ShanMasood, Yasir Shah.T20I SIDE: Babar Azam(capt), Asif Ali, FakharZaman, Haris Sohail,Ift ikhar Ahmed, ImadWasim, Imam-ul-Haq,Khushdil Shah, MohammadAmir, Mohammad Hasnain,Mohammad Irfan,Mohammad Rizwan, MusaKhan, Shadab Khan, UsmanQadir, Wahab Riaz.
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Afghanistan star Rashid Khanbecame the first player select-
ed in The Hundred draft, but WestIndies legend Chris Gayle wasn’tselected for next year’s tourna-ment.
Rashid has enjoyed a superbstart to his international career,with 81 wickets at 12.03 inTwenty20 making him ideal forthe new eight-team UK-basedcompetition featuring 100 balls perinnings.
The 21-year-old spinner wasmade the first overall pick by theTrent Rockets on Sunday.
West Indies all-rounder AndreRussell went next to the SouthernBrave, with Australia batsman
Aaron Finch third to the Leeds-based Northern Superchargers.
Gayle was not among themand, with players not eligible to beselected if they failed to make theirallotted price point, the 37-year-old will be absent from the com-petition.
Sri Lanka fast bowler LasithMalinga and South African pace-man Kagiso Rabada were alsounpicked.
The Welsh Fire selectedAustralia duo Mitchell Starc andSteve Smith, with the Invinciblesadding West Indies spinner SunilNarine to the pre-selected JasonRoy.
The Manchester Originalspair South Africa spinner ImranTahir with Dane Vilas, already a
successful T20 Blast overseas play-er for Lancashire.
All-rounders Glenn Maxwell(London Spirit) and LiamLivingstone (BirminghamPhoenix) completed the first selec-tions, accompanying ‘icon’ picksEoin Morgan and Moeen Alirespectively.
New Zealand captain KaneWilliamson was the highest-pro-file name taken in round two,heading to Birmingham, while theSpirit paired Afghanistan’sMohammad Nabi and Pakistanpaceman Mohammad Amir.
Round three started with twooverseas picks, Australia bowlerNathan Coulter-Nile to theRockets and Pakistan’s ShadabKhan to the Brave.
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Debutant left-arm spinnerShahbaz Nadeem on
Monday said he was nervousfor exactly three balls in hismaiden Test appearance againstProteas and his wealth of expe-rience in first class cricket pre-pared him for internationalchallenge on short notice.
Nadeem was drafted intothe squad for the third Testafter Kuldeep Yadav suffered ashoulder injury.
The 30-year-old took twowickets on his debut at hishome ground, sending backTemba Bavuma and AnrichNortze during South Africa’sfirst innings.
“I was excited, and a bitemotional too, but then I con-centrated on what I had to doin the game. I was nervous forthe first three balls, especiallyduring my run-up. My nervessettled during the fourth ball,”said the late-bloomer, who gothis maiden Test call up 15 yearsand 110 first class matchesafter he made his Ranji debutback in 2004-05.
“When you have playedcricket for so many years,you’re ready to play 6am in themorning after getting a 4 amcall. It was around 2.30pm onFriday and I was observing
Namaaz (prayer) when myphone kept ringing. I finishedmy prayer and saw that I wasbeing called for the Test. I cameby road from Kolkata,”Nadeem, who is now based inKolkata, said.
“It’s been a good journey,I had to work hard to reachhere. As a cricketer you dreamto come on TV after seeingmany players on TV. I also haddreamt that people shouldwatch my performance on TV.It feels great.”
Nadeem had his “bigmoment” when he foxedTemba Bavuma (32) for hisfirst wicket in internationalcricket.
“It was an ideal left-armspinner delivery. We have a lotof India A matches which helpyou knowing the opponentplayers well. You know theirstrengths. Four-five playersfrom this team played in thetouring South Africa A seriesearlier.
“IPL is such a formatwhere batsmen attack you. Soit helps you in controllingyour nerves better. So youwhen have already played atthat stage, you don’t feel newthe feeling is kind of similar,”Nadeem who played for DelhiDaredevils and SunrisersHyderabad in the IPL said.
India’s first-choice Test wicketkeep-er Wriddhiman Saha suffered an
injury on his right ring finger dur-ing the South African second inningsas Rishabh Pant kept wickets in thefinal hour on day three.
The 35-year-old Saha, who wasphenomenal behind the stumps inthe second Test, was hurt in the 27thover, while keeping to off-spinnerRavichandran Ashwin.
The latest injury adds to the longlist of on-field setbacks that theBengal stumper had suffered in hiscareer including a career-threateningshoulder injury for which he had toundergo surgery which forced himout of national team for 20 months.
“Wriddhiman Saha had a ballimpact on his right ring finger. He isbeing treated and is doing well. Hewill be assessed Tuesday morning,”Indian team’s media cell released astatement.
It was George Linde who tried toplay a cut but missed and Saha gothit on his right ring finger whichprompted physio Nitin Patel toescort him back to the dressingroom.
For the remainder of the thirdday, Pant kept wickets and becomethe second “substitute wicketkeeper”for India after the ICC rules cameinto effect in late 2017.
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