The Pioneer€¦ · Aviation (DGCA) is set to come in the way of the coun-try’s ambitious plan of...

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    Accusing Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman of notaddressing his specific questionon the Rafale deal during thedebate in the Lok Sabha,Congress president RahulGandhi on Friday vowed to ini-tiate a criminal investigationinto the purchase of the fight-er jets if the Congress comes topower after the Lok Sabhaelections in 2019.

    Asserting that those foundguilty of wrongdoings in theRafale deal will be punished,Rahul demanded that PrimeMinister Narendra Modishould be investigated for cor-ruption and for weakeningnational security by giving theRafale contract to “his friend”industrialist Anil Ambani.

    Also attacking DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman,Rahul said the Minister just“ran away” after a long speechin the Lok Sabha without pro-viding answers to his questionson the controversial fighter jetdeal. He further questioned theabsence of the Prime Ministerin Parliament when the debateon the topic was on.

    “The Defence Minister didnot answer any of the questionsI asked on the Rafale deal. Shedid not even take the name ofAnil Ambani,” Rahul Gandhitold reporters outsideParliament after Sitharamangave the Government’s reply onthe Rafale fighter jet deal issuein the Lok Sabha. Rahul said heput two questions to the

    Minister towards the end of thedebate and asked her to replyin yes or no. “I asked that aftera long negotiation process,those people who participatedin that negotiations — AirForce chief, Defence Minister,secretaries, Air Force officials— when the Prime Ministerdid a ‘bypass surgery’... Did theAir Force people object, yes orno,” Rahul said.

    “And you saw that insteadof answering this, the DefenceMinister started doing dramathat ‘I have been insulted, I wascalled a liar’,” he said.

    Earlier in the day, Rahulsaid the PM should be investi-gated for corruption for givingthe Rafale contract to AnilAmbani. The Gandhi scioncited a media report onSwedish Telecom majorEricsson filing a contempt plea

    in the Supreme Court againstReliance Communicationschief Anil Ambani anddemanding that he be detained.

    “In addition to corrup-tion, the PM should be inves-tigated for weakening nation-al security by giving the Rafalecontract to his friend and inter-national debt master, AnilAmbani,” Rahul said in a tweetand tagged the media report.

    Speaking to the media out-side Parliament ahead of theGovernment’s reply in the LokSabha over the issue, Rahulaccused Narendra Modi ofrunning away from the debateand posed a series of questionsto Sitharaman.

    “Let me tell you that if wecome to power in 2019, thenthere will be (an) investigation(into the Rafale deal).

    Continued on Page 4

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    ����������� �01�.02#3

    With senior Congressleader Ajay Maken relin-quishing the post of Delhi unitpresident citing health rea-sons, chances of Aam AadmiParty (AAP) and the Congresscontesting Lok Sabha electionstogether have brightened.

    Days after HS Phoolka’sresignation from the AAP overthe party’s likely tie-up with theCongress, Maken’s resignationassumes significance amidspeculation of a possiblealliance with the AAP in Delhifor 2019. He had been strong-ly opposing any coalition withthe ruling AAP in the city forupcoming parliamentary polls.

    Maken later took to Twitterto announce his resignation. Hehad taken over as the Delhi unitchief after the party lost the2015 Assembly election.

    “After the 2015 DelhiAssembly elections, as its Delhiunit president, I received a lotof love and support fromCongress workers, the mediacovering the party and ourleader Rahul Gandhi ji. It wasnot be easy in these difficult

    times. Thank you all,” he tweeted.

    “My resignation has beenaccepted and I would nowwork for the party in preparingit for the 2019 general election,due by May,” Maken told PTI

    “I had tendered my resig-nation in September itself. Imet Rahul ji yesterday to insistagain (to be relieved as DelhiPradesh Congress Committeechief). I said DPCC presidentshould be 100 per cent fitbefore elections. I would nowwork for the party and prepareit for the Lok Sabha election,”he told PTI.

    When he was asked if hisresignation has been accepted,Maken said, “Yes, Yes. That hashappened” and added he wasundergoing treatment for anorthopaedic ailment.

    The AICC incharge of theDelhi unit, PC Chacko, alsoconfirmed Maken’s resigna-tion, saying a search is on tofind his successor.

    Continued on Page 4

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    Bollywood thespian DilipKumar and his wife SairaBanu have slapped a legalnotice on Mumbai builderSameer N Bhojwani, alleging“continuous harassment and awell-planned conspiracy totake over the only property” thecouple has in Mumbai.

    The defamation notice hasbeen served in response to apublic notice published in theMumbai media throughBhojwani’s lawyer, DigvijaySingh, after which the celebri-ty couple said “they fear fortheir lives.”

    “It is disheartening to gothrough such a tumultuousphase at this age. The proper-ty rightfully belongs to YusufKhan saheb (Dilip Kumar).We neither have the supportnor the strength to go throughthis continuous harassment bySameer Bhojwani, whose onlyfocus seems to usurping ourland,” a distraught Saira Banutold IANS on Friday.

    She said the couple hasalready approached PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andMaharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis seekingtheir help.

    Continued on Page 4

    ����������� �'���������������� �01�.02#3

    Narrow and congested lanesof Moti Nagar’s SudarshanPark is a ticking time bomb forworkers as many illegal facto-ries in the area are runningunder the nose of civic author-ities. The workers are left withno choice but to work in theseillegal factories in perilousbuildings for livelihood.

    The tragic death of sevenpeople in Sudarshan Park inMoti Nagar of West Delhi onThursday due to gas compres-sor blast is a grim reminder thatcivic agencies don’t learnlessons from past tragedies asthey wait for another to happenand then time tested game of“passing the buck” begins.

    And this is not one-offincident as many areas whereillegal factories are operating inresidential areas are tickingbombs.

    These lives could have beensaved had the South DelhiMunicipal Corporation(SDMC) authorities acted onseveral complaints lodged withthem, said sources, adding thateight others sustained grave

    injuries after a ceiling fan partsmanufacturing unit runningillegally in a two-storey build-ing in Delhi’s Moti Nagar areacollapsed following an explo-sion in the gas compressor onThursday evening.

    Residents claimed that thecomplaint regarding the build-ing was made several times andeven the building was declareddangerous by the SDMC butfactory was still functioning.Also, residents claimed that anillegal factory in the area wassealed by authorities four daysago.

    SDMC officials were quickto put the onus on the ownersof the building and claimedthat commercial activity wasgoing on “illegally” in the two-storey building in SudarshanPark.

    A senior SDMC officialsaid a closure notice was servedlast month by the West Zoneand sealing activity was slatedto be carried out next week. Ateam of senior officials visitedthe site soon after the incidentand assisted the Delhi DisasterManagement Authority(DDMA) staff in the rescue

    operation.He said when the SDMC

    team visited the site in BasaiDarapur they saw many partsof the building hanging pre-cariously after the collapse,which were demolished forsafety of passersby.

    The SDMC has been car-rying out sealing action againstsuch units as per instructionsof the Supreme Court, he said,adding, many units were eitherfound closed or vacant after anotice to that effect had beenserved.

    Continued on Page 4

    ��������(&����� �01�.02#3

    Even as anti-poaching dronesare increasingly being usedworldwide to keep watchfuleyes on endangered wildlife,India’s new policy ‘The DroneRegulations 1.0’ regulated bythe Directorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA) is set tocome in the way of the coun-try’s ambitious plan of imple-menting high-end gadgets forsurveillance and habitat man-agement in tiger reserves andprotected habitats.

    The Drone Regulations 1.0,which were released by UnionMinister of Civil AviationSuresh Prabhu, came into effectfrom December 1 last year.However, some of its clauses do

    not augur for the functioningof the wildlife agencies like theNational Tiger ConservationAuthority (NTCA) andWildlife Institute of India (WII)engaged in curbing wildlifecrime and habitat manage-ment including human-ani-mal conflicts.

    Sources said that theNTCA and WII, both underthe Union EnvironmentMinistry, are likely to jointlyrepresent before the civil avia-tion regulator DGCA soon,with demands such as allowingit to fly the drones in night, inprotected areas and along inter-national borders sharing theboundaries of Indian tigerreserves. They also insistedthat maintaining “full visual

    line of sight” at all times, as pre-scribed in the new guidelines,is impractical.

    Poaching of wildlife likeelephants and rhinos and tigersin India for their valuable partshas threatened the populationof these species across thewildlife-rich continents,prompting rangers and wildlifeadvocates to fight back by tak-ing to the sky with drones capa-ble of spotting poachers froma distance. In India too wildlifeis facing scourge of poachingwhich needs to be trackedthrough sky, said an expertfrom the WII.

    He said while theunmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) also known as drones,are fast becoming a necessary

    hi-tech tool in wildlife man-agement all over the world, thenew policy has completelyignored our entities (NTCAand WII) as security agencies.This, despite our suggestionsduring the drafting of thedrone policy, he said.

    The aim of drones is tomake the system easy for con-servationists and foresters toallow endangered animals to betracked and monitored easily,and proactive way to stoppoaching. This will also helpkeep a tab on movement of ani-mals in the villages, preventinghuman-animal conflicts.

    Much before the policycame, the WII under the super-vision of the NTCA hadalready taken permission from

    the regulatory bodies fordeploying drones fitted withGPS device and hi-resolutioncameras in five tiger reserves -- Panna, Jim Corbett NationalPark, Kaziranga, Sundarbansand the Sathyamangalam for-est of TN. However, the WIIexperts feel that plans to imple-ment more drones will not beeasy in view of the new policy.

    “The new policy will makeour task difficult to use dronesin other reserves as some of itsclauses do not meet our need,”said an expert from the WII.

    For instance, they saidpoaching of wildlife increasesduring the night while thenew rules do not allow the useof the drones after the sunset.

    Continued on Page 4

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    ����� �01�.02#3

    Defence Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Fridayattacked the Congress for aseries of scams in defence dealsin the past, and told the LokSabha that the ModiGovernment’s Rafale jet pur-chase was transparent and wasexecuted in the interest ofnational security. During hernearly two-hour long reply toa discussion on the issue,Nirmala gave a “point-by-point” rebuttal to Opposition’sallegations, including on priceof the fighter aircraft and HALnot getting the offset contract.

    She alleged the Congressstalled the deal when it was inpower as it “didn’t get money”and ignored national security.

    “Defence Ministry hasbeen functioning without dalals(middlemen) during five yearsof Prime Minister Modi. Rafaleis a decision in national inter-est. I don’t want to talk aboutBofors because Bofors was ascam and Rafale is not.

    Bofors brought themdown. Rafale will bring usback, Rafale will bring Modiback to have a new and trans-forming India and... Removethe corruption which is stink-ing around the Congress,” theMinister said.

    Countering Congress’

    charge, she said that it was theIndian Air Force which sug-gested that the Governmentbuy two squadrons or 36 Rafalejets in fly-away conditioninstead of 18, as was planned tobe purchased under theCongress-led UPAGovernment. She accused theCongress of compromisingwith national security in theinterest of the party’s “treasury”while deciding on buying 126fighter jets.

    Under the deal finalised bythe NDA Government, thedelivery of first Rafale willhappen in 2019, while the lastof 36 jets will be delivered in2022, the Minister informedthe House. With regard to

    pricing difference, Sitharamansaid there was no formal pricenoting by the Congress of �526crore as the deal price. But theprice negotiated by the NDAGovernment is nine per centlower than what was negotiat-ed by the UPA.

    “Comparing the cost of�526 crore with �1,600 crore, islike comparing apples tooranges. The cost quoted in2007 will not remain the samein 2016, because there is esca-lation cost and there isexchange rate variation,” shesaid, adding that the price ofthe basic aircraft cannot becompared with price ofweaponised aircraft.

    Continued on Page 4

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    Minutes after transfer ofJoint Director VMurugesan was reported, theCBI issued a fresh order statingthat he would continue to beincharge of probe againstSpecial Director RakeshAsthana, officials said on Friday.

    The agency had issued anorder on Friday transferringMurugesan from Anti-Corruption wing which wasprobing the case againstAsthana to Economic Offenceswing. Within minutes thetransfer was reported in themedia, the agency issued asubsequent order stating thatMurugesan will continue to“supervise” case againstAsthana, officials in the knowof development told PTI.

    The earlier order accessedby PTI shows that Murugesan,who was deputed by Director(in-charge) M Nageswara Raoto probe Asthana, was trans-ferred as part of efforts to givean “impetus to expeditiouscompletion of coal scam cases”.

    The order said Murugesanwas “bogged down” by addi-tional charge of Joint DirectorAC(HQ)-I zone, which being a“heavy zone” takes away muchof his “time and attention”.

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    %���&%�������������������'��������������� �01�.02#3

    BSP supremo Mayawati andSamajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav are under-stood to have given final shapeto the Uttar Pradesh maha-gathbhandan in Delhi onFriday night in highly “secret”meeting, keeping the Congressout of the alliance. The twoleaders held a three-hour meet-ing at Mayawati’s residence.

    TV channel News 18 quot-ed sources close to develop-ments saying the two partieshave decided to contest 37seats leaving six for the otherparties, including the Congress.

    Of the six remaining seats,the BSP and the SP have decid-ed to leave the Congress twoseats — Rae Bareli and Amethi— from where Sonia Gandhiand Rahul Gandhi contestrespectively. The Congress hadwon only these two seats in the2014 general elections.

    Ajit Singh's Rashtriya LokDal (RLD) is likely to be allot-ted two seats. While Singh islikely to contest from hisstronghold Baghpat, his sonJayant Choudhary will onceagain contest from Mathura.

    The two remaining seatshave been kept aside for sulk-ing BJP ally Om PrakashRajbhar’s Suheldev BharatiyaSamaj Party.

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    With the Sangh Parivarmounting pressure forearly disposal of the RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjidtitle case, the Supreme Courton Friday said an “appropriateBench” on January 10 will fixthe date of hearing. The SC isto be set up for hearing thematter on a batch of petitions.

    “Further orders in the mat-ter will be passed on January 10by the appropriate Bench, asmay be constituted,” said aBench comprising Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi and Justice SKKaul. The CJI passed this ordereven before senior advocatesHarish Salve and RajeevDhavan, appearing for differentparties, get the opportunity tomake submission. The hearingfinished in 30 seconds.

    After it passed the order,the Bench came across a freshplea which demanded that theSC should hear the Ayodhyaland dispute matter on anurgent and day-to-day basis.

    The SC dismissed the PILfiled by advocate Harinath Ram,who had submitted that in viewof the inordinate delay in theadjudication of the matter andin the prevailing sentimentssurrounding the Ayodhya landdispute, matter should be givena hearing on priority.

    Continued on Page 4

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    Day after ‘severe plus’ valuesof primary pollutantsrecorded on the NationalAmbient Air Quality Index(NAAQI), the EnvironmentPollution Control Authority(EPCA) has come down heav-ily on the authorities over con-tinuing traffic congestion andgarbage burning activities thatare worsening air quality in thenational Capital.

    EPCA chairperson BhureLal, in a meeting with repre-sentatives of Delhi PollutionControl Committee, DSIDC,civic bodies, police and DelhiMetro Rail Corporation, askedpolice to strictly regulate trafficand ensure its smooth passage.

    Various road stretches inSarai Rohilla, Anand Vihar,Zakhira Najafgarh Road, SoanPark, Azadpur Mandi whereheavy traffic congestion isresulting in increase in pollu-tion were identified. In SaraiRohilla, Lal was told by author-ities that the absence of a foot-over bridge is resulting inincrease in traffic. “Illegalencroachment further adds totraffic woes in the Capital.Guards need to be posted toensure smooth passage of traf-fic,” Lal said. He also orderedpolice to ensure traffic regula-

    tions are followed strictly, espe-cially in Soan Park in Mundakawhere he said no traffic regu-lations are followed.

    Lal expressed concern overgarbage burning in Bawana,Mundaka and Narela whichworsens the air quality. Helashed out at the Delhi StateIndustrial and Infrastructure

    Development Corporation(DSIDC) Ltd for not monitor-ing day-to-day status of garbageaccumulation. He also camedown heavily on civic bodyofficials over not lifting garbageregularly in Nangloi.

    Delhi’s air quality has beenoscillating between ‘very poor’and ‘severe’ categories for the

    past three weeks. Delhi’s airquality was in the ‘very poor’ cat-egory on Tuesday, before dete-riorating to ‘severe’ onWednesday as it was on Monday.Since Wednesday the air quali-ty was in the severe categorybefore slightly improving onFriday morning to very poor.

    In view of the prevalence of

    severe air quality for over 31hours, the EPCA on Thursdayimposed the 24-hour ban onthe entry of trucks.

    Entry of trucks to Delhiwould be stopped for 24 hoursstarting 11 pm Friday in viewof the severe pollution in thenational capital, the SupremeCourt-appointed EPCA hasinstructed authorities.

    In a letter to chief secretariesof Delhi, Uttar Pradesh andHaryana, Lal directed them tostop the entry of truck traffic intoDelhi, except essential com-modities, from 11 pm on January4 to 11 pm of January 5.

    “The enforcement of thisdirection requires coordinationof all NCR (National CapitalRegion) states and you are there-fore, requested to take steps toensure that this happens.

    “Also, the opening of theEastern and WesternExpressway will make this eas-ier to implement as the trucksthat are not destined for Delhinow have convenient alterna-tive to take,” Lal said.

    Lal also urged people tominimise use of personal vehi-cles and avoid being outside forprolonged periods.

    The direction came afterthe recommendations of theCentral Pollution ControlBoard-led task force.

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    Delhi Metro’s newly inaugurated Ashram station on the9.7 kilomertres Mayur Vihar Pocket-I to Lajpat Nagarhas become the smallest station in the country with itsstructural engineering plan in the country with a lengthof 151 meters against a normal of 265 meters. After PinkLines’s Ashram station, Bhikaji Cama Place is the secondsmallest stations with a length of 225.5 m in the entireDelhi Metro network.

    “Ashram underground station on line 7 of Phase-III DelhiMetro was a typical underground station box of 265 metreslength located along the Ring Road at the intersection ofMathura Road at the Ashram Chowk junction. However,there were constraints in acquiring a private plot which wasneeded for the construction of a part of the station box. Thiswas posing a problem in the completion of the project.Therefore, the station box boundary shrank a little further,”said a DMRC official while explaining the design.

    Adding further, the official said, “Given the constraintsof an existing flyover adjacent to one side of the stationbox being constructed, and CSIR apartments along theother side, there was no option left but to shift or relo-cate the station box. At this stage, it was decided that designoptions should be explored to contain the station box with-in the available space on site. This provided for an inter-nal length of 151 metres for the new station box.”

    In keeping with this constraint, and after many delib-erations, an alternate design for the underground stationat Ashram was developed. The station further inculcat-ed the theme of ‘mother and child’. The colour schemeused in the station draws out a theme of ‘abundance’.

    ���� � �01�.02#3

    Delhi Education Minister ManishSisodia on Friday welcomed thepassage of Right of Children to Freeand Compulsory Education(Amendment) Bill in Parliament.

    In a series of tweets, Sisodia saidthe introduction of no detentionwithout changing teaching practices,books, evaluation system and properteachers training was a “bad idea andit is a correct step to scrap it”.

    He said the Delhi Governmentwas among the first to oppose the nodetention policy.”I welcome the pas-sage of RTE (Amendment) Bill inParliament which scraps the badlyimplemented no detention policy tillClass 8 students.

    “The Delhi Government wasamong the first to oppose no deten-tion policy. After taking over as (the)Education Minister in February 2015,I had written to then HRD Ministerto restrict it till Class 3,” he said.

    The Rajya Sabha on Thursdaypassed the RTE (Amendment) Billthat does away with the no-detentionpolicy.

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    ����������� �01�.02#3

    Having taken a dim view of the lack-adaisical approach of the officer’svis-à-vis policies and programmed ofthe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)Government. Delhi Chief SecretaryVijay Kumar Dev on Friday directed allthe head of departments (HoDs) toensure that assurances given by theGovernment in the Assembly are ful-filled in a stipulated time period.

    In an official circular to principalsecretaries and secretaries, Dev, the topbureaucrat in the Delhi Government,said non-seriousness on the part ofdepartments will be viewed adverselyfor appropriate action.

    Dev, whose predecessor AnshuPrakash had been at loggerhead with theAAP dispensation on a range of issues, has successfully avoided con-frontation with the Arvind KejriwalGovernment so far.

    The move comes following adop-tion of the first report of the ‘Committeeon Government Assurances’ of theDelhi Assembly on December 21 in the House.

    “It is the responsibility of the con-cerned head of department to furnishcomplete information with regard tofulfillment of the assurances after tak-ing action to the Assembly Secretariatwithout delay and within three monthstime — as mentioned by the commit-

    tee — in respect of replies given in theHouse that ‘information is being col-lected’,” he said in the circular.

    In the circular, the chief secretaryalso said, “All concerned are advised toreview the assurances given in theLegislative Assembly and ensure that thesame are fulfilled in the stipulated timeperiod.”

    It stated that the main responsibil-ity of the Assembly’s committee is toscrutinise the assurances, promisesand undertakings, among others, givenby ministers from time-to-time on thefloor of the House.

    Apart from this, Dev also issuedanother directions to head of depart-ments (HoDs) to ensure that all contract

    employees, who have been hired by theGovernment or contractor, are paidtimely wages by seventh day of everymonth if the establishment has engagedless than 1,000 workers.

    If the establishment has engagedmore than 1,000 workers, wages of con-tractual employees should be paid by10th day of every month, the ChiefSecretary said.

    “In case of non-compliance, the listof the defaulters will be sent to theVigilance Department for issuing showcause notice to the head of departments(HoDs) concerned to explain as to whydisciplinary proceedings should not be initiated against the officer,” he added.

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    The Supreme Court onFriday directed the Centreto place on affidavit steps takentill date for Lokpal’s appoint-ment and expressed its dis-pleasure over the tardy progressmade in this regard.

    The apex court askedAttorney General KKVenugopal to file an affidavit byJanuary 17, when the matterwill be taken up again forhearing, explaining in detail thevarious steps, including thesetting up of a search commit-tee by the competent authori-ty for recommending namesfor the appointment.

    The search committee willforward the names to the selec-tion committee members com-prising the Prime Minister, theleader of the single largestOpposition party, the LokSabha speaker and an eminentjurist.

    A Bench comprising ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi andJustice SK Kaul said everythingon the issue has to come onrecord through an affidavit.

    The attorney general had

    submitted that progress hasbeen made since Septemberlast year over the appointmentof Lokpal and wanted to placebefore the Bench a preparednote.

    However, the Benchdeclined to accept the note andsaid, “Bring everything onrecord what you have donesince September 2018”.

    After making some oralremarks, the Bench in its ordersaid, “We request the attorneygeneral to ensure that the stepstaken till date are brought onrecord by means of an affidavitof the competent authoritywhich shall be filed withintwo weeks from today. List thematter again on January 17.”

    ����� �01�.02#3

    The Centre told the SupremeCourt on Thursday that itwas facing difficulties in res-cuing 15 miners trapped sinceDecember 13 in an illegal coalmine in Meghalaya as there wasno blueprint of the 355-feetwell which has “maze of ratholes”.

    The Government told aBench comprising Justice AKSikri and S Abdul Nazeer thatthe illegal mine was locatednear a river and seepage ofwater from the river was hin-dering the rescue operation.

    The Bench observed thatinitially “no serious efforts”were made to rescue thesetrapped persons but now itseems that the authorities aremaking efforts.

    The court directed theCentre and MeghalayaGovernment to file on January7 a status report detailing thesteps taken and also theprogress made in the rescueoperation.

    The top court was hearinga public interest litigation (PIL)which has sought urgent steps

    for rescuing these miners.Solicitor General Tushar

    Mehta, representing the Centre,told the court about the stepstaken by the authorities, includ-ing Central Government offi-cials, for undertaking swiftrescue operation in Meghalaya.

    He said that since the minewas illegal, no blueprint wasavailable and they were facingdifficulty in rescue operation as“a maze of rat holes have beencreated and nobody knowswhere this goes”.

    He said the 355-feet wellwas like having a 20-storeyedbuilding beneath the land.

    The rat-hole mine, atop ahillock fully covered with treesin Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hillsdistrict, was flooded whenwater from the nearby Lyteinriver gushed into it, trapping 15miners.

    ����� �01�.02#3

    The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on Fridaysaid it has attached a factory inThailand worth �13.14 crore ofa Gitanjali group company,owned by absconding diamondjeweler Mehul Choksi, in con-nection with the alleged�14,000 crore PNB credit fraudcase.

    In a separate case, the EDalso attached an amount equiv-alent to �41.87 crore lying inbank accounts in Hong Kong ofshell companies in JNPT-OBCbank fraud case.

    The agency said it hasissued a provisional order forattachment, under the PMLA,of the factory premise ownedby Abbeycrest (Thailand)Limited which is a group com-pany of the Gitanjali group ofcompanies.

    “Investigations underPMLA revealed thatAbbeycrest (Thailand) Limitedis the beneficiary of the LoUs(Letters of Undertaking) issuedfraudulently and unauthoris-edly from the PNB to the tuneof �92.3 crore. During probe,this overseas property has beenidentified and after gathering

    concrete evidence of ownershipit has been attached,” the EDsaid in a statement.

    The ED is probing this caseunder the Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) aftertaking cognizance of the CBI

    case.Officials said ED investi-

    gators will soon get issuedLetters Rogatories (judicialrequests) for legal formalisationof the attachment of the foreignbased asset.

    Choksi, his nephew anddiamond jeweller Nirav Modi,and others are being probedunder various criminal lawsafter the fraud came to light,following a complaint fromthe Punjab National Bank(PNB) that they allegedlycheated the public sector bankto the tune of over �13,000crore in alleged connivance

    with its employees.“With this attachment, the

    value of attachment/seizure inthe PNB scam is to the tune ofof �4,765 crore (approx).Further investigation is inprocess,” the ED said.

    In the JNPT-OBC bankfraud case, the accused RajeshBangawala allegedly conspiredwith bank officials, and fraud-ulently transferred FixedDeposit worth �180 croredeposited by Jawahar LalNehru Port Trust to a privateentity on the basis of forgeddocuments, the ED said.

    The amount was furthertransferred to various accountsand part of which was siphonedoff to Hong Kong in theaccounts of shell companiescontrolled by the accused. Anamount of �109 crore has beenrecovered till and returned toJNPT

    “Investigation in India andoverseas revealed that anamount of $5.29 million andHKD 4.76 million (�41.87crore) is lying in the accountsof shell companies controlledby accused and accordingly thesame is provisionally attachedunder PMLA,” the agency saidin a statement.

    ����� �01�.02#3

    In a move to encourage large-scale citizen participation,ensure sustainability of initia-tives taken towards garbage freeand open defecation free cities,the Ministry of Housing andUrban Affairs (HUA) on Fridaylaunched the ‘SwachchhSurvekshan (Cleanliness sur-vey) 2019’, the fourth edition ofthe annual nationwide cleanli-ness survey of urban India. Thesurvey will cover 40 crore peo-ple across over 4,237 towns andcities between January 4 and January 28.

    To make the data moreauthentic, inspection will beconducted without giving anyprior information to the con-cerned official for real-timecheck and survey will be basedon people’s feedback by anindependent third party. Inthe last three years, Mysuru andIndore had been ranked as the“No. 1” city in SwachchhSurvekshan 2016, 2017 and2018 respectively. The

    Swachchh Bharat Mission(SBM) is one of the flagshipprogramme of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

    Launching the survey,Union HUA Minister HardeepSingh Puri said that people maycontribute to their city’sSwachchhata scores by segre-gating their waste at source,adopting home compostingand coming up with innovativesolutions for waste manage-

    ment and creating short videosand jingles to support theirrespective Urban Local Bodiesin Swachchh Survekshan 2019.

    The cleanliness surveyaims to evaluate the achieve-ments in the cleanliness level inurban areas of the country.Expected to be larger than theprevious cleanliness surveys,survey 2019, completely digitaland paperless survey, will becompleted in a record time of28 days.

    Puri claimed that 83 per-cent of wards in the country arecovered by door-to-door col-lection while 53 per cent wardsare practicing source segrega-tion and 46 per cent of thewaste generated is now beingscientifically processed.

    “If claims of a cityGovernment about any para-meter are found to be incorrectby independent assessors, it willget zero marks for that para-meters. Also, it will attract 33per cent negative marking onthe total obtained marks,” saidofficials.

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    From Page 1As the new drone policy equates NTCA and

    WII with any common flyer, it will make its taskdifficult to use the drones for anti-poachingefforts and habitat management.

    “We want that we should be allowed to flyduring night time, when poaching usuallyoccurs. The present policy doesn’t allow dronesnear international borders. But in our case, sur-veillance is required along such areas also, espe-cially in reserves such as Dudhwa, Pilibhit,Valmiki, Buxar and Sundarbans,” the officialsays.

    The drone policy has introduced a ‘NoPermission- No Takeoff ’ (NPNT) clause. Itmeans drone hardware have to be configured insuch a way that unless regulatory permission isgiven, the drone cannot take off. It has demar-cated the Indian space as Red (no-fly zones),Yellow (restricted permissions), and Green (allaccess). Also, drones must only be flown dur-ing daylight, while maintaining full visual lineof sight at all times. The policy has also desig-nated test sites across States to experiment. Justa few agencies engaged in security have beenkept out of its ambit.

    According to reports, systems combiningartificial intelligence, drones and infra-redimaging have been designed to monitor animalsat night in order to prevent poaching. Thedrones can survey large areas of difficult terrainfrom above, allowing ecologists to access hardto reach areas and monitor wildlife without dis-turbing the animals.

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    From Page 1“The ward in which the

    collapsed building is locatedhad about 700 units. Out ofwhich 670 are now closedsealed or were found vacantwhen our team visited duringthe drive. As per the remaining30 odd units, we will seekaction against them, and alsoexamine if there was any laxi-ty on the part of any civicdepartment,” he said.

    He said the nature of workcarried out in the building wasbeing ascertained, adding, “Itwas still not clear whether itwas ceiling-fan making unit orpaint-making unit”.

    Interestingly, in a surveydone by the SDMC last year noteven a single building wasfound dangerous.

    However, narrow and con-gested lanes of Moti Nagar’sSudarshan Park are a tickingtime bomb for workers asmany illegal factories in thearea are running under thenose of civic authorities. Theworkers are left with no otherchoice but to work in these fac-tories to earn their bread

    “We don’t have any otheroption other than to work here.

    At least we are able to get onesquare meal for our family,” saidAjit Kumar, who hails fromEtawah in Uttar Pradesh and isworking here in a shoe factory.

    Farhan, a worker in thearea, told The Pioneer he hadbeen working in a denim fac-tory in the area for last fiveyears. “I work and earn Rs4,000 per month. This incidentis shocking for us and I agreethere is no provision for us toescape if there is some tragedyor a fire incident but for livingwe have work,” he said.

    Venting his anger overpromises by local leaders fordeveloping facilities and betterworking conditions for them,Rajendra, who works in a fac-tory situated at a narrow andcongested lane of the area,said leaders talk about devel-opment but the ground realityis just the opposite.

    “We have a family to run.Children to teach and a houserent to pay so why would I notwork, knowing that there is riskto my life. Leaders come and shedtears, announce compensationsbut nothing happens on theground. So what if seven liveswere lost, people will forget it after

    sometime and things will be backto square one,” Rajendra said.

    “This is not the only illegalunit in the area. Basai Dara Pur- cramped, dirty and jumbled- at Sudarshan Park area inMoti Nagar has several smallillegal factory in two or four-stroyed houses running juststone’s throw away distancefrom zonal office of SouthDelhi Municipal Corporation(SDMC)”, said Harish Saini, aresident of the area.

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    ����� �01�.02#3

    Issues, including possibility ofproviding agricultural bonusto tenant farmers, ensuringsafety on unmanned level rail-way crossings thereby reducingaccidents, small boat ownerssuffering due to cruise by bigcompanies in Ganga inVaranasi and opening up a bor-der post in Gujarat withPakistan to provide access tomarkets there for agriculturalproduce figured in the RajyaSabha on Friday.

    Tamil Nadu parties-AIADMK and DMK staged awalkout on the Cauvery issueswhile the Left parties did thesame to protest against violencein Kerala following a row overentry of women in Sabarimalashrine. However, the Housefunctioned smoothly withChairman M Venkaiah Naidumaking a witty remark thatmembers have every right to“walk out, talk out but notbreak out.”

    Earlier, the House wit-nessed banter when somemembers complimented Naidufor his attire. The Chair in turnsaid leader of House ArunJaitley, Derek O’Brien (TMC)and T Subirami Reddy(Congress) always come tothen House well dressed. Theentire House had a good laugh.

    Later, during the QuestionHour appreciating the con-cerns raised by several MPsover the plight of farmers,Naidu asked the Governmentto study the possibility ofensuring that bonus ifannounced on rice or wheatprocurement reaches even thesub-tenant farmers.

    The issue was raisedChhaya Verma (Congress) whosaid tenant farmers are not get-ting bonus and sought to knowif the Centre will put in place

    some mechanism to protectsuch farmers. Minister of Statefor Food CR Chaudhary said,there is no provision (to trans-fer bonus to bank accounts of)for sub-tenant farmers. If two-three tenant farmers togetherregister one bank account, thenpayment is distributed pro-portionately, he said.

    Expressing concern overthe issue, Naidu asked FoodMinister Ram Vilas Paswan totake action in this regard.“This is a practical and sensi-tive issue. You please study onthis. You know what happensin villages,” Naidu said. Paswanagreed and said, “I will meetyou in this regard.”

    Fielding questions aboutsafety on unmanned railwaycrossings after some MPsexpressed concern over acci-dents, Railway Minister PiyushGoyal said almost such cross-ings have been eliminated.

    As a result, the number ofaccidents has come down tothree in the last nine monthsfrom 50 a year ago, heinformed the House.

    Giving figures, he said therailways has eliminated 3,451

    unmanned railway level cross-ings up to December 2018. Inthe next few weeks, theRailways will be free fromthese crossings on broad gaugetrack, Goyal added. Withregard to compensation, theMinister said that whereverthere is responsibility ofRailways, the compensation isprovided to the families of thedeceased. Trespassers are notgiven compensation

    Highlighting the plight ofsmall boat owners, VishambarPrasad Nishad (SP) said theintroduction of cruise ownedby some big companies onGanga in Varanasi had hit thelivelihood of the small owners.He urged the Government totake immediate steps to addressthis issue.

    Madhusudan Mistry(Congress) urged the centralgovernment to open a borderpost with Pakistan in Gujarat toenable the farmers there toexport their produce to thatcountry. At present, they haveto transport produce like toma-toes to Wagah border in Punjabfor this purpose thereby caus-ing losses, he said.

    ����� �01�.02#3

    Cutting across party lines,women MPs in the RajyaSabha on Friday urged theGovernment to ensure passingof the Women’s Reservation Billin the Lok Sabha to providewomen adequate representa-tion in legislative bodies anddecision making. The Bill waspassed by the Upper House in2010.

    Participating in a briefdebate on the issue, almost allthe women MPs urged theBJP-led Government to use itsmajority in the Lower House topass the Bill. The Constitution(108th Amendment) Bill iscommonly known as theWomen’s Reservation Bill andis awaiting nod of the LokSabha.

    Initiating the discussion,Jaya Bachchan (SP) said herparty was not against the Billbut favoured sub-reservationfor other backward classes(OBC) and Dalits. Termingthe present Bill as “cosmetic,”she also said it caters to only tothe privileged section ofwomen. The SP member saidpolitical parties should be givenright to choose the seats or con-stituencies from where theywish to field 33 per centwomen, she said.

    Jharna Das Baidya (CPM)said the BJP has absolutemajority in the Lok Sabha buthas not got the Bill passed. VThota Seetharama Lakshmi(TDP) said her party supportsthe legislation and appealed tothe Government to ensure itspassage in the Lower House.

    Shanta Chhetri (TMC) saidher party gave one-third oftickets to women in the 2014Lok Sabha election and WestBengal has already provided 50per cent reservation to womenin local bodies.

    Vijila Sathyananth(AIADMK) urged theGovernment to bring the Billand ensure its passage it in LokSabha. “You have enormousmajority” to pass the legislation,she said.

    Kanimozhi (DMK) saidthe Right, Left and Centre aresupporting the bill, yet it hasnot been passed in Lok Sabhafor nine years. “It is very sadthat women have to put up withdecisions made by menthroughout their lives. Evenhere men are making decisionfor women,” she said, asking thegovernment to bring theWomen’s Reservation Bill inLok Sabha.

    Backing the Bill, SonalMansingh (nominated) saidthe rotational provision in thebill needs attention and detail-ing adding women in legisla-tures will bring “grace, wisdomand harmony.” However, theBill should not be a handdowns by males and theyshould do it with grace.

    Congress member ViploveThakur said there cannot bewomen empowerment untilthey become decision-makers.She said the ruling BJP hadpromised reservation forwomen in Parliament and nowthe Lok Sabha should pass thebill already cleared by theUpper House.

    Asserting that her partyfavours the Bill, KahkashanParween (JD-U) said Biharhas already implementedwomen reservation in localbodies. She said several womenare heading Zila Parishads andare also mayors. BJP memberSampatya Uikey said her partyis empowering women.

    ����� �01�.02#3

    Members of Parliament andState Assemblies fromKarnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat,Haryana, Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra and Bihar besidesactivists have alleged that fundshortage under MNREGA iscausing a grave situation ofrural distress in the country. Ina letter to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, they urgedhim to renew his Government’spolitical commitment to therural job flagship scheme.

    On Friday, MPs includingKaran Singh Yadav, RajeevGowda and K Raju, MLAs likeJignesh Mewani and PrithivirajChavan and members of thePeoples’ Action forEmployment Guarantee,NREGA Sangharsh Morcha,Samruddha Bharat Foundationand prominent economists andactivists like Jayati Ghosh,Prabhat Patnaik, Aruna Royand Harsh Mandar shared withmedia persons their concernsand measures needed forstrengthening MGNREGA as aconcrete response to the gravesituation of rural distress in thecountry.

    They pointed out that asper the ManagementInformation System (MIS), 99per cent of this year’s allocationis already exhausted and noadditional funds have beenapproved. With the lean agri-cultural season beginning,demand for work will increasebut the programme is starvedof funds.

    Deepender Singh Hooda,Lok Sabha MP from Haryana,pointed to the severe decline inthe scale of work as a conse-quence of fund shortage whileK Raju from the Congressparty said that the scheme willbe implemented in a mission

    mode in the States headed byhis party. Hooda said, “Thedecline in MGNREGA work isastronomical. This year, only 26households got work of 100days”.

    According to theGovernment’s own estimates,the allocation of MGNREGAas a percentage of GDP hasdeclined from 0.51 per cent in2010-11 to 0.38 per cent in2017-18. Rajeev Gowda, RajyaSabha member from Karnatakadwelled on payment of wagessaying that the State govern-ment is yet to get the centralfund �1,500 crore to be paid tolakhs of workers.

    Contrary to the govern-ment's claims of more than 90per cent of wages paid within15 days, a recent study hasfound that only 21 per cent ofpayments in 2016, and 32 percent of payments in the firsthalf of 2017 were made with-in 15 days, the members said.

    “If there were adequatefunds and payments were madeon time, lakhs of more work-ers would demand employ-ment. In fact, FIRs are beingfiled against us to discourageworkers from demanding workunder the programme,” allegedSanjay Sahni, an activist fromMuzaffarpur, Bihar.

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    The Sabrimala temple entryissue was raised by mem-bers in the Lok Sabha on Fridayas Congress MP KK Venugopalvoiced concern over the tensesituation in Kerala.

    Speaking during the ZeroHour, Venugopal, wearing ablack arm band, said incidentsof violence were reported dur-ing the BJP’s call of bandh andasserted that steps should betaken so that there is peace inthe State.

    Apex court had recentlyallowed entry of women in thetemple which is being opposedby a section of people in Keralawith the BJP also wanting thattemple traditions of restrictingentry of menstruating womenin the famous religious shrine.Two women this week enteredthe shrine with the help of Stateadministration.

    Welcoming the StateGovernment’s handling of theissue, CPI MP P Karunakaransaid that according to the coun-try’s Constitution each andevery citizen has the right toenter their respective holyplace.

    He also claimed that sev-eral BJP MPs had hailed theapex court judgement, whichallowed entry of women of allages in the Sabarimala shrine.

    BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhiclaimed that people who don’tunderstand Hinduism weretrying to set a wrong narrative.

    “These people are not wor-shippers of Lord Ayyappa andare anti-religious,” she alleged.

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    Prime Minister NarendraModi Friday assured thepeople of Assam that no gen-uine citizen will be left out ofthe NRC and said the citizen-ship bill will soon be passed inParliament to make amends forpast injustices.

    Flagging off BJP’s LokSabha poll campaign in theNortheast, he told the VijaySankalp Rally at Kalinagar nearhere that he is aware of theproblems, concerns and diffi-culties faced by many duringthe NRC process.

    “I assure you no injusticewill be done to any genuineIndian citizen... A problemhanging for decades is reachingits conclusion and this hasbeen possible due to your sac-rifices. Continuous effort isbeing made to ensure that allpeople are heard and they faceleast difficulty in the process,”he said.

    The Government in a bidto simplify the entire NRCprocess had made a specialappeal before the SupremeCourt to accept the relief eligi-bility certificate and other relat-ed government documents.

    “I am happy the SupremeCourt has accepted theGovernment’s appeal and thishas benefitted lakhs of peoplein making their claims,” Modisaid.

    On the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, 2016, hesaid the BJP-led NDA govern-ment is moving ahead with it.

    “It (the bill) is linked toemotions and related to peo-ples’ lives. It is not for the ben-efit of anyone but a penance forthe injustices done in the past,”he said.

    He continued, “Where willa persecuted person anywhere

    in the world having faith inMother India go? Does thecolour of the passport matteronly and not any blood rela-tion? The country was parti-tioned, people believed in thosewho divided it and some stayedback for the love of their landand home but their hopes andaspirations were crushed.

    “Will Mother India notembrace them under such cir-cumstances? Will their criesnot be heard? Mistakes mayhave been made in the pastduring Partition - I do not wantto dwell on those but penancefor past injustice is necessary,”he said.

    The Citizenshp Bill was

    introduced in the Lok Sabha toamend the Citizenship Act,1955. It seeks to grant citizen-ship to people from minoritycommunities — Hindus, Sikhs,Buddhists, Jains, Parsis andChristians from Afghanistan,Pakistan and Bangladesh aftersix years of residence in Indiainstead of 12 even if they do notpossess any proper document.

    It has been opposed by alarge section of people andorganisations in the Northeastsaying it will nullify the provi-sions of the Assam Accordwhich had fixed March 24,1971 as the cut off date fordeportation of all illegal immi-grants irrespective of religion.

    Modi said the bill wasbrought in 2016 after deepthinking and long discussions.“I hope that the bill will bepassed as soon as possible inParliament. There is immenseresponsibility on those havingfaith in Mother India to keepin mind the interest of all con-cerned”.

    The prime minister said hisgovernment has also decided toimplement Clause 6 of AssamAccord that was “hanging” for35 years.

    “Now the road is clear tosafeguard social, cultural andlinguistic identity of peopleAssam”, he said adding that ahigh-level committee will talk

    to the stakeholders and preparea road map for implementingthe clause.

    The clause aims to provideconstitutional, legislative andadministrative safeguards topreserve and promote the cul-tural, social, linguistic identityand heritage of the Assamesepeople.

    Hitting out at the Congress,he said some political partiesdid nothing for the people ofAssam and the country despiteruling for long years and treat-ed them only as their votebanks.

    “Our Government has puta halt on corruption, installedhonesty and removed middle-

    men... The Congress govern-ment had made dalals (brokers)a part of all deals,” he said.

    Without mentioningAgustaWestland scam accusedmiddleman Michel Christian,Modi said Congress lawyersrushed to the jail to his aid andletters were exchanged.

    “Should the nation’s lootedmoney not come back, shouldthey not be punished, shouldModi not ensure this? ... Is thisnot the responsibility of thechowkidar? ... Some peopleare disturbed by the chowkidarand so they have resorted to

    raving and ranting (aanap-shanap),” he said.

    Modi said after NDAGovernment came to power forthe second time in 2014, allstalled infrastructure projectswere expedited and are beingcompleted during the last fourand half years.

    Referring to his visit toinaugurate the rail-cum-roadbridge at Bogibeel in the statein December, he said, “I am for-tunate to be with the people ofAssam for the second time in10 days. The Barak andBrahmaputra are a source of

    inspiration not only for thestate but also for the country.

    “I am indebted to the peo-ple of Assam for voting for theBJP in the just concluded pan-chayat elections and I am com-mitted to repay this debt byensuring the development ofthe State,” he said.

    Modi arrived at Silchar inCachar district from Imphal asa part of his first phase of pollcampaign, wherein he is sched-uled to address rallies in 20states in 100 days before themodel code of conduct comesinto force.

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    The Congress on Friday accused NarendraModi of trying to divide Assam on religiousand linguistic lines, hours after the prime min-ister announced that the citizenship bill wouldbe passed in the Parliament soon.

    State Congress president Ripun Bora toldreporters that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)did not know what it wants, as implementationof the Assam Accord and the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, 2016, cannot be donesimultaneously.

    “Modi came today to divide Assam on reli-gious and linguistic lines. He wants to bringHindu Bangladeshis to Assam only for vote-bank politics,” Bora said.

    Earlier in the day, Modi told an election rallynear Silchar in Assam’s Barak Valley that theCitizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, would bepassed soon in the Parliament as a “penanceagainst the injustice and many wrongs done inthe past”.

    The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha toamend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to grant citi-zenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains,Parsis and Christians, who fled religious perse-cution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan

    and entered India before December 31, 2014.Modi also spoke of implementing Clause 6

    of the Assam Accord, which states all immigrantscoming after March 24, 1971, were illegal.

    “So, they (BJP) do not know what they aresaying. It’s completely contradictory. Basically,Modi and the BJP are blackmailing people withthe bill,” Bora said.

    The Lok Sabha MP clarified that there wereno “double standards” between the Congressleaders of Bengali-dominated Barak Valley andrest of the state regarding the bill.

    “Our Barak Valley leaders are just sayingthat people coming from Bangladesh should begiven citizenship as per the Assam Accord. Thatmeans, all those who came before March 24,1971, should be accepted,” he said.

    Bora said the joint parliamentary commit-tee (JPC) for the bill would submit its reporton Monday, a day before the Winter Session ofthe Parliament is scheduled to end.

    “In one day, nobody can prepare a bill, dis-cuss and pass it in both Houses of Parliament.It proves that Modi cannot pass the bill now.They (BJP) are just seeking votes by indirect-ly saying, ‘if you (people) vote for us (BJP), thenthe bill will be passed by the next BJP-led gov-ernment’,” he added.

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    Army Chief GeneralVipin Rawat onFriday remembered thesupreme sacrifice madeby Lance Naik AlbertEkka, a recipient of thecountry’s highest mili-tary award Param VirChakra, during the 1971Indo-Pak war.

    Expressing his grat-itude to the war hero’swidow Baldina Ekka,Rawat said he was for-tunate that he could paya visit to Chainpur,Ekka’s paternal village inGumla district.

    Rawat honouredBaldina with a shawland handed over acheque of Rs 51,000 andsaid the country wasproud of Ekka and hisfamily.

    He narrated howEkka had destroyed thePakistani army’s bunkerat Gangasagar in the Battle ofHilli despite sustaining injuriesas a part of 14th Guard battal-

    ion. He was posthumouslyawarded the Param VirChakra.

    Rawat also paid tribute atEkka’s bust situated inChainpur Bazar Tand.

    The Army chief wasin Gumla to takepart in a rally organ-ised to remember thearmymen who madesupreme sacrificeswhile serving for thecountry, as well asformer armymenand their families.

    Addressing thegathering at BarwayHigh School groundin Chainpur, Rawatsaid, “We shouldrespect their sacrifice.”

    The army jawansfrom Jharkhand havemade the forceproud with their sin-cere and hard work,he said.

    Rawat alsohailed the patience ofthe families of thejawans and called onthe retired army per-sonnel to inspire the

    youths and guide thesociety.

    He also honoured18 jawans and three physical-ly handicapped former jawanson the occasion.

    ����� �#0���3

    DMK Friday urged theTamil Nadu governmentto enact a law to ensure thecontinued closure of Vedanta’scopper plant Sterlite atTuticorin.

    Citing the National GreenTribunal (NGT) setting asidethe State Government’s closureorder, saying it was non-sus-tainable, DMK MLA P GeethaJeevan said it was the wish ofthe people that theGovernment take a policydecision to ensure that theplant continued to be shut.

    Participating in the debateon the motion of thanks to theGovernor’s address, she saidSterlite cannot stake a claim toreopen the plant and urged thegovernment to enact a law forthe “permanent closure” ofthe plant.

    On December 15, theNational Green Tribunal hadset aside the Tamil NaduGovernment order for clo-sure of mining companyVedanta Ltd’s sterlite copperplant at Tuticorin, which wasat the centre of massive

    protests over alleged pollution,saying it was “non sustainable”and “unjustified”.

    Thirteen people werekilled in police firing on May22-23 and several injured afterthe protests against Sterliteturned violent in Tuticorin.

    She demanded enactmentof a law similar to that passedby the state government toallow the bull taming sportJallikattu.

    In January 2017, TamilNadu amended the Preventionof Cruelty to Animals Act toensure that the sport was heldwithout any hindrance.

    Though no prohibitiveorders are now in place atTuticorin, the DMK MLA saida sense of unease prevailed andpolice were not granting per-mission to hold meetings.

    On the ban on single useplastic items like carry bagsthat came into force in TamilNadu from January 1, shewondered why popular snackbrands of multinationals werespared and demanded thatthe state ban them too.

    Intervening, EnvironmentMinister KC Karuppannansaid the government has notfavoured any multinationalfirm and pointed out thatonly 14 types of single useplastic items, which cannot be

    recycled and are non-biodegradable, had beenbanned.

    When Jeevan referred toboats of Tamil Nadu fishermenleft to rot after they wereimpounded by Sri Lanka,Fisheries Minsiter DJayakumar said the govern-ment bore the expenditure ofbringing them back ensuringthat fishermen did not spendeven a Rupee for it.

    Replying to CongressMLA H Vasantha Kumar, whosought expansion of Tuticorinairport, Information andPublicity Minister KadamburC Raju said 601 acres havebeen acquired and handedover to the airport onDecember 31, 2018 for thepurpose.

    Initiating the debate,Deputy Speaker Pollachi VJayaraman urged the govern-ment to provide coconutsaplings free of cost to thefarmers.

    He wanted the govern-ment to come up with saplingvarieties that would reach aheight of only about 5-10 feetand provide good yield in ashort time and withstandcyclones as well.

    He also wanted a separatedistrict with Pollachi as itsheadquarters.

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    Closely on the heels ofThursday’s Kerala hartalcalled by the Sabarimala ActionCommittee to protest againstthe entry of two middle agedwomen into the SabarimalaTemple on Wednesday, theTravancore Devaswam Board,the Government agency thatadministers the temple, hastightened its noose around thechief priest.

    The Board which met atSabarimala on Friday demand-ed an explanation fromKantararu Rajeevaru, thethantri (chief priest) of the tem-ple for ordering purificationPooja and yaga in the templeon Wednesday following theentry of the women.

    This was announced by APadmakumar, president, TDBwho is also a prominent CPI-M leader. “The purificationceremony ordered by theThantri was like insulting theSupreme Court verdict andwe have asked him to furnishan explanation for the same in15 days,” said P